The Adventurers Guild
Page 10
I'm not going to hit you,” he seethed. The last thing Azure needed was added tension before a battle.
"We good?" Sir Thornton's gaze volleyed between the two friends.
"I'm ready," Lonnell whispered, and Azure nodded in agreement.
Sir Thornton rolled around the corner, immediately followed by Lonnell. Azure drew his bow as he sidestepped to the left. The scene that The Asshole Knight had described came into sight. While Azure couldn't see the whole room, it wasn't set back very far―maybe twenty paces from the end of the hall to a large wooden door that stood on the other side. In the center was a crude altar made of sticks. It rattled as the woman tied atop it struggled to free herself.
From where he was standing, Azure could only see two of the three Cultists that Sir Thornton had spoken about, and both of them spotted their oncoming attackers as soon as the Adventurers had rounded the corner. Trying to steel his nerves at the thought of killing another human being, Azure let the first arrow sail, hitting the Cultist behind the altar in the right shoulder. The impact made him hiss with pain and stumble backward, but it didn't take him down. For as much as he hated to admit it to himself, Azure had purposely missed a vital organ. Maybe he wasn't as ready for this as he had thought.
Quickly Analyzing the two targets showed that they were equally matched. While the third target didn't make an appearance, Azure saw a strange red cloud form near the entrance to the tunnel, obviously some sort of spell. Red rain fell down in heavy droplets, hitting the ground and puddling there. Lonnell gave pause, but Sir Thornton pressed on, his armor turning crimson as he was drenched by the sudden downpour of, what appeared to be, blood.
Azure nocked another arrow. The sound of steel clashing could be heard as Sir Thornton engaged one of the Cultists in melee. Lonnell stepped to the left to take on the hidden foe, and his Health instantly began to drop. Azure noticed the same of Sir Thornton, though his was less noticeable. It must be the effect of the puddle.
The Cultist that Azure had hit with the arrow ripped it from his shoulder in a show of...some major balls, Azure thought. He cursed and glared at Azure before circling around the table. Azure slowly crept toward the room, realizing that he was way further away from the action than he should have been. Stay a few steps behind probably didn't mean ten.
The enemy ran into his field of view, stopping just at the edge of the hallway in the puddle of blood. He made a motion with his hands as if conducting an orchestra and telling the musicians to play louder, saying a single word in a language that Azure didn't understand. Blood rose from the floor and stuck to his body, soaking into his skin. In an instant, the wound in his shoulder was fully healed, and he was ready to fight again.
"Oh shit," Azure whispered as he let another arrow sail.
The Cultist easily dodged. At the same time, he pulled two blades from a belt around his waist. Azure barely had time to draw another arrow from his quiver before the Cultist was charging at him. He stopped a short distance away, also dodging Azure's next shot before he pulled his wrist back. Azure had seen Uden do this same move many times before. The guy was getting ready to throw the dagger.
He was halfway to nocking another arrow, his fingers now trembling as he feared missing again. If there was anything this fight was proving to him, it was that people were a lot harder to kill than monsters. This guy had already dodged two out of three of Azure's arrows. Would he be able to do the same when the Cultist threw the knife?
Azure would never know the answer. Everything happened so fast. First, he saw the longsword, then blood and brain matter sprayed at him as Sir Thornton cleaved the guy's head nearly in half. The dagger fell from his fingers, hitting the ground with a clanking sound. His mouth agape, the Cultist stared wide-eyed at Azure, one of his eyes twitching it its socket.
As if to further prove his strength, Sir Thornton flung the body against the wall. It hit with a sickening thud before falling to the floor. Azure immediately bent over to empty the contents of his stomach. It was the most horrific thing he had ever seen―something he'd have nightmares about for years to come.
Sir Thornton smirked, and then a laugh slowly came bellowing from his throat. “You truly are pathetic.” He shook his head and bent near the body to start looting it. As Azure recomposed himself, The Asshole Knight looked at him again. “None for you. You didn't do shit. I'm proud of your boy, though. Racked up his first kill.”
Azure ignored him the best he could and proceeded toward his friend. He found Lonnell simply staring at the man who lay on the floor at his feet. There was no blood, so Azure could only assume that the Cultist had been bludgeoned to death, as was the nature of Lonnell's staff.
"They were bad people," Lonnell said as if trying to convince himself.
Azure wasn't sure how to get through to him, so he didn't even try. Instead, he rushed to the woman who was now laying still as she surveyed the carnage around them. Her large blue eyes settled on Azure's face as he approached, but there was no sign of relief.
"Don't worry, we're going to get you out of here," he told her as he pulled out his Starter Dagger and began cutting away her restraints. She relaxed, allowing Azure to do his job.
"Those Cultists were horrible," the woman told him. "They were trying to sacrifice me to open the door." She glanced in the direction of the wooden door.
Following her gaze, Azure muttered, “I'm guessing there's some type of spell on it.” This was not going to be fun, mainly because it would likely lead to more arguing between the three Adventurers. The thought of having to deal with Sir Thornton for much longer was completely miserable. “What about that door?” Azure asked, noticing a second door he hadn't seen before. It was off to the right and smaller than the main door that appeared to lead to the next level.
"I'm not sure. The Cultists brought me here, so it's not like I really had time to explore." She sneered.
"Well, you're safe now," Azure assured her with a smile. "What's your name?"
The woman sat up, giving him a shy look as she brushed a long strand of raven hair behind her ear. Something inside of Azure stirred as he gazed upon her―something he'd never felt before and couldn't quite place. A roiling in the pit of his stomach that was usurped by the enchantment of her pure beauty.
"My name is Velte," she said sweetly. "And you are my heroes." Her eyes danced around to the other men.
"What do we have here?" Sir Thornton walked up behind Azure, startling him.
Azure was embarrassed. A dungeon was the last place he should be caught off-guard. Yet there was something about this woman that drew all of his attention.
"Thank you for saving me. You all fought very bravely." Velte avoided Sir Thornton's gaze as if intimidated by him. Azure couldn't blame her. He seemed a bit beastly now covered in quickly drying blood. Hopefully, she'd been spared the sight of The Asshole Knight cleaving that one Cultist's head practically in half.
"Anything for a lady." Sir Thornton pushed Azure out of the way, dropping to one knee and taking Velte's hand in his to place a gentle kiss on top of her knuckles.
She giggled in response.
I see how it is. Azure didn't bother to try stopping his eyes from rolling. This guy was too much.
"We should get her to safety," Lonnell suggested, still standing next to the body he'd slain.
Sir Thornton stood and turned to him. “No time. We need to finish this dungeon.”
"She can't come with us. Look how she's dressed. She'll be an easy target." Lonnell gestured to the thin white nightgown Velte was wearing. It was caked in dirt, making it look like the Cultists had dragged her here.
"No. She can't come with us," The Asshole Knight agreed.
"I can wait here," Velte offered quickly. "As soon as you finish the dungeon, a portal should open for me to get out."
"Is that how it usually works?" Azure turned to Lonnell for an answer, not daring to direct the question at Sir Thornton lest The Asshole Knight make him look like an idiot.
"I
t should," Lonnell replied, "but it's still dangerous for her to stay here unprotected. Who knows who or what could enter as we venture onward."
"I'll be fine if you lend me a dagger," Velte insisted, jumping off of the table and walking over to where Lonnell was standing. She knelt beside the body of the dead Cultist and picked up one of the daggers he had dropped. "I have a weapon now. I didn't have one before."
"Do you even know how to use that, sweetheart?" Sir Thornton placed a hand on his hip, clearly patronizing her.
A wicked smile crossed her lips. “Would you like to try me?”
"I would, but not in that way." His eyes raked her up and down lecherously.
Azure bit his tongue, knowing that it was best not to say anything unless the situation escalated. He wouldn't put it past The Asshole Knight to be a rapist on top of being a douchebag. Few people oozed villain like this guy. And to think...they were working together. It still made Azure's skin crawl.
His blood pressure rose even further as Sir Thornton began to approach Velte. Instinctively, Azure's hand tightened around the dagger he had used to cut her bonds. If he needed to stab The Asshole Knight in the back to save her, so be it.
"Listen, doll," Sir Thornton stopped a few feet shy of Velte. "If someone comes in here, just run. We're going to go inspect that room over there." He nodded toward the unexplored room. "If it's safe, you should probably hide in there until this is all over."
"I'll be just fine," she insisted, saying each word as if it was its own sentence.
"Whatever you say, love." He turned away from her finally, and Azure exhaled a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding.
Sir Thornton went back to looting his first kill, and Lonnell finally knelt to start disrobing the Cultist he had slain. With nothing else to do, Azure walked over to Velte to talk with her while his comrades finished their business. Since she Analyzed as blue, he was naturally worried. If anyone higher level came into this part of the dungeon, she'd be easy pickings. Part of him wanted to abandon the quest to escort her back, but he knew that he'd lose everything that had made him press on this far. For as much as he wanted to play the part of the hero, it just wasn't worth it.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he asked.
I'll be fine.” Velte stared down at the two men who were rummaging through the corpses' belongings.
"Do you have any healing potions on you...just in case?"
"Don't worry about me." Velte waved his concern away, seemingly annoyed by his fretting.
As soon as Lonnell and Sir Thornton were done, they reformed the party to explore the smaller of the two doors.
"What do you think is inside?" Azure asked.
"Who knows? But we need to be ready for anything." Sir Thornton drew his sword. "Same formation as last time," he told them. "On the count of three."
Azure nocked an arrow and held his breath, preparing to be thrust into new dangers.
Sir Thornton threw open the door with the same reckless abandon as the previous one. If there had been enemies on the other side, they would have instantly been alerted. For a knight who seemed to think he was the smartest guy in The Realm, Azure thought that Sir Thornton would use more caution. Nope.
The Asshole Knight took a step into the room, then came to an abrupt halt. Lonnell almost ran into him. Taking up the rear, Azure hadn't bothered to move. He was still holding onto the several paces behind rule since he was the archer.
"It's safe," Sir Thornton announced as he stepped aside.
The smell was the first thing that struck Azure. Rotting flesh―a scent of death so strong that he shied away, lowering his bow to cover his nose with his arm.
"Oh, Gods!" Lonnell pushed past him to walk back into the other room and retch. "Don't look!" He waved Velte away. She obeyed, retreating to the other side of the room to shelter herself from the horrible sight, though the smell clearly didn't escape her.
"What the hell is that?" Azure asked, peeking into the room as he tried to hold his breath.
The room was no bigger than the bedroom of a cheap apartment. There was no furniture. No windows or doors. But there was one thing that the room had aplenty. Corpses. They were piled. Stacked. About a dozen men lay slain in various states of decay. Warriors, archers, mages, and priests. Dwarves and humans.
"Keep your guard up. They may come back to life." Sir Thornton held up his sword, waiting.
He and Azure stared at the bodies for a good five minutes, both adjusting to the smell. Eventually, Lonnell joined in as well, though he stood just outside of the door with Azure. Nothing stirred in the heap of death.
"I still don't know what this is," Azure shook his head.
"Maybe the Cultists' past victims?" Lonnell suggested.
"Probably," Velte told them from the other side of the room. "They had planned to make me a blood sacrifice to open the door since I'm a special kind of mage."
"This doesn't make sense," Sir Thornton said as he poked at one of the corpses. "Not all of them have dagger marks."
"Some of the Cultists were magic casters," Lonnell reminded him. "With continued failures, they could have tried sacrificing in a variety of ways."
"Could be." The Asshole Knight shrugged. "Oh well, let's start looting the corpses. Obviously, no one else has gotten to it yet. If they come back to life, we'll just kill them again." He smirked.
You are one sick fuck, Azure thought, though greed quickly got the better of him and forced him into the room. The three men spent the next hour going through the bodies, four apiece. It was an amazingly good haul. Between the four bodies he looted, Azure was able to collect five gold and eight copper. He also found the following items:
Bronze Axe
Attack: +1-5
Type: One-Handed Weapon
Durability: 7/15
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 1.0 kg
Spiked Vambraces
Defense: +4
Strength: +2
Type: Light Armor
Durability: 14/30
Item Class: Rare
Quality: Good
Weight: 1.0 kg
Cultist Necklace
Magic Defense: +12
Durability: 2/10
Item Class: Extremely Rare
Quality: Epic
Weight: 0 kg
Traits: +10% to all Magic Damage
Requirements: Level 70 in Death Magic
Wooden Staff
Attack: +1-7
Type: Two-Handed Weapon
Durability: 14/15
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 1.0 kg
Black Boots
Defense: +9
Type: Light Armor
Durability: 12/20
Item Class: Common
Quality: Good
Weight: 1.0 kg
Requirements: Level 10
Potion of Minor Stamina
Quantity: 1/1
Item Class: Common
Quality: Poor
Weight: 0 kg
Uses: Restores 25 Stamina.
Potion of Minor Stamina
Quantity: 2/2
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0 kg
Uses: Restores 30 Stamina.
Steel Arrows with Quiver
Quantity: 4/15
Durability: 2/2
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.8 kg
Azure quickly swapped out his Vambraces of Light for the Spiked Vambraces, since they gave him a strength boost. He placed the Steel Arrows in his own quiver, happy to have arrows that no longer exploded on contact, though he wished he would have gotten more of them. Worried that he might not get it back, he stored the Cultist Necklace in his inventory, then handed everything else to Lonnell to put in his Bag of Holding since all of his inventory slots were now full.
"Are you sure you want me to
keep your Stamina potions?" Lonnell asked.
"On second thought..." Azure let him hang onto his Starter Pole and three Boxes of Basic Bait instead, since those were things he wouldn't need in this dungeon. At least, he was pretty sure he wouldn't need them.
Sir Thornton walked over to the door and shut it, causing both Lonnell and Azure to look at him. “We have something important to discuss.”
Azure sighed inwardly, wondering if this was going to be another demeaning lecture.
"The door is clearly magicked," the knight started. "Otherwise, those Cultists wouldn't have made so many sacrifices. From the sound of it, some type of blood sacrifice is the only way to get through." He paused to let them marinate on that for a moment.
Lonnell's eyes widened as he realized what Sir Thornton was getting at. “You're not suggesting that―”
"That is exactly what I'm suggesting," The Asshole Knight quickly shut him off. "You heard what she said. She's a special kind of mage. There's a reason why we found her here."
"No." Azure shook his head, feeling anger well up inside of him from the mere suggestion that they sacrifice Velte. What had been the point of saving her then? "Just no."
"I'm with Azure on this one." Lonnell crossed his arms over his chest.
"There may only be one way to get through that door," Sir Thornton told them.
"If that's the only way, then no." Azure put his foot down. "I will not be a part of this."
The Asshole Knight snorted. “Did you guys really think that obtaining a staff that brings people back from the dead would be as easy as walking into this dungeon and killing a bunch of monsters? Life demands death. That's how it has always been. That's how it always will be,” he said matter-of-factly.
"I don't give a fuck," Azure's anger finally boiled to a head. He stood in front of the door, hoping that his raging adrenaline would be enough to save Velte. "If you plan to kill her, then you'll have to go through me first."
"Whoa!" Lonnell stepped between the two, throwing his arms out. "It doesn't have to come to this. Let's try to find a solution first."