The Adventurers Guild

by Phoenix Grey

  Lonnell was sitting on the edge of the stairs, staring down with a bored expression. Turning his head to the right showed Sir Thornton leaning against the wall asleep a few feet away. If Azure wanted to resort to dirty tactics, now would be a good time to kill the knight in his sleep. It was a tempting thought.

  "Should we kill him?" the words flowed through his lips unabashedly.

  Lonnell seemed startled for a moment, reanimating as he realized that his friend was awake. “I have half a mind to say yes. This quest has been nothing but miserable.”

  "Part of that has been my fault," Azure admitted, sulking a little.

  "You have every reason to dislike him. But..." he hesitated, "you shouldn't have tried to fight him. That was clearly a battle you weren't going to win."

  "That's not what I meant." Azure shook his head, feeling ashamed from all of the poor decisions he'd made over the course of the quest so far. "I'm talking about Velte. I got an odd feeling when I first laid eyes on her. I should have listened to my gut."

  "None of us knew she was going to end up being a Death Eater. It was a good disguise." Lonnell tried to offer him comfort.

  "He seemed to know." Azure nodded to Sir Thornton.

  Lonnell screwed his face. “I think he just likes killing things. Monsters, people, doesn't matter. I think he hates everything. There's so much anger inside of him.”

  "Not my problem." Azure forced himself to his feet. "Whatever his issues are, I don't care. Have you scouted up ahead?"

  "No." Lonnell sighed. "After he knocked you out, we dragged you in here and decided to camp for the night. At least the Death Eater stayed true to her word of opening the door. That's a rarity." His eyes flashed for effect.

  "I'm guessing all of those bodies in that room were her victims." Azure frowned.

  "Most likely."

  "I wonder why she didn't just kill the Cultists"why she was playing the victim."

  "I imagine it's much the same way that a cat toys with a mouse before finally killing it. She would have turned the tables if she really felt threatened."

  "I still don't understand." Azure furrowed his brow. "She Analyzed as blue to me."

  "Same here. It was likely part of her concealment spell."

  "Maybe she has a Pendant of Transformation," he guessed.

  "Maybe." Lonnell shrugged.

  "We have to find her and kill her," Azure said with determination.

  "Sir Thornton says he has no doubt that we'll run into her again. This dungeon is a prime feeding ground for her. More than likely, she'll bide her time until the timer on the curse runs down. He said we have to get to the staff before then. That will flush her out. She would rather kill us outright than have us destroy the dungeon."

  "That makes sense." He nodded. "Have you slept yet?"

  "For a short while. Honestly, I was afraid he'd leave us both behind, so when I did take my sleeping shift, I didn't sleep very well." Lonnell's gaze fell to Sir Thornton with distaste.

  "I'd rather be conquering this dungeon just the two of us," Azure confessed.

  "You know we couldn't do it alone," Lonnell said regrettably. "Honestly, this has been much more difficult than I thought it would be. Not so much physically...but psychologically." A sullen expression took over his face.

  Azure held up his palm. “You don't need to explain or apologize. I completely understand.”

  "I wasn't going to apologize," he shook his head, "though perhaps I should."

  "Don't even worry about it." Azure stretched and yawned. "Get some sleep. I'll keep watch from here. I'm fully rested."

  The two men switched places. Lonnell settled against the wall, and Azure stared down at the bottom of the stairs. All that he could see was more floor and hallway. He sat sentinel for a few hours. Concentrating on the purple crossbones icon brought up a notification.

  You have been inflicted with Curse of the Death Eater. You will die in 66 hours and 40 minutes if the curse is not removed.

  It was like a countdown clock to his impending doom. Guilt racked him that he had gotten them into this situation. Thinking about it though, Lonnell probably would have done the same. At the end of the day, they were still both very naïve about how dungeons worked. Azure had assumed that only monsters inhabited them. Well, technically, Velte was a monster, though she looked awfully human.

  Sighing, he realized there was nothing he could do but press onward. For as much as he wanted to, he couldn't change the past. The only way to get rid of the curse, according to Sir Thornton, was to flush Velte out by completing the dungeon. That was easier said than done when they needed to stop to sleep. If the dungeon was ten levels deep, it wasn't likely they'd finish in time. Perhaps that's why the Death Eater had set up her base so close to the entrance of the dungeon.

  Azure had plenty of time to ponder it, to go over every mistake he'd made. He regretted agreeing to do this quest with Lonnell. It had been labeled as Very Hard, which Azure was now associating with a high probability of death. The words looked harmless on paper, but they held so much weight.

  When Sir Thornton finally awoke, he said nothing to Azure. There was near palpable tension in the air between the two men. Azure refused to apologize for starting the fight, and he knew better than to expect The Asshole Knight to feel remorseful for antagonizing him. From this point on, they'd be enemies.

  Sir Thornton shook Lonnell to wake him. Almost the second that Lonnell opened his eyes, The Asshole Knight said, “Let's go,” and headed for the stairs.

  Neither of the men argued. Azure stood as Sir Thornton walked past him. No other words were spoken as they descended the stairs.

  They proceeded down the hall for a good thirty minutes before the end of it finally came into view. Much like it had the two previous times, the hallway opened up into a small room. At the back of it was an iron door protected by three knights heavily armored in, what appeared to be, black steel. With their visors down, their eyes were not visible. They didn't move as the Adventurers approached, and for a few moments, Azure thought they might just be statues until one of them spoke.

  "Who goes there?" the middle knight said in an authoritative tone.

  "We're here to claim Gaia's Staff," Sir Thornton told them. "Who are you?"

  "We are the Knights of Gaia. Beyond this door lies Gaia herself. If you wish to seek an audience with her, you must defeat us first," he replied matter-of-factly.

  Sir Thornton's eyes drifted from knight to knight, and then a smile curled his lips. “Now this is a battle I can get into.”

  All three knights Analyzed as green to Azure, a slightly higher level. That would make this battle challenging for him and Lonnell.

  No instructions were given this time as Sir Thornton stepped back a few paces and drew his sword. It was as if Lonnell and Azure no longer existed. There was an excitement to his expression that disturbed Azure. Apparently, he felt that fighting these knights might be enjoyable. Azure did not share his sentiment.

  Noticing that they were clad in heavy armor from head to toe, Azure doubted that his Bronze Arrows would do any damage against them. If he wanted to be ranged, he would have to use the Steel Arrows he had just picked up from the previous floor. The only problem was that he only had four, which wouldn't get him very far.

  "Do you wish to melee?" the center knight asked.

  "I didn't just draw my sword for funsies." Sir Thornton spit at the knight's feet.

  All three knights took a step forward at once. Azure felt his adrenaline rise, his heartbeat drumming inside his chest. The knights' longswords gave them better reach, but it might also make them slower, he hoped as he drew his Bronze Sword. Bronze against steel. The attack on their weapons would be better. This wasn't looking good.

  "Azure, to me," Lonnell called to him, perhaps thinking the same. They would need to work together to get through this.

  "I would advise you both to move," Sir Thornton said to them. "There's not much space here. Barely enough for me to swing my sword
." It was a silent warning. One that came just before The Asshole Knight took the first swing at the knight in front of him. Azure had to duck to avoid being hit. Both he and Lonnell scrambled for the hall as the clanging of swords filled their ears.

  When Azure looked back, he realized that all three knights were fighting Sir Thornton at once.

  "There's not enough space for us to get in there," Lonnell noted, his words coming out quick with panic.

  "But we can't just stand here." Azure resheathed his blade and drew his bow. Sir Thornton had risked hitting him, so he didn't feel so bad about returning the favor. It helped that the Knights of Gaia were working to surround him in the small space.

  Azure nocked and loosed an arrow into the side of one of the black-clad knights. At such a close range, it pierced through the armor, tunneling deeply into the knight's body, only half of the shaft still sticking out. For a moment, Azure was amazed. Were the Steel Arrows that much better than the bronze? But then he noticed that no blood was coming from the wound.

  "I think the suits are hollow," Lonnell said to him, mirroring Azure's thoughts.

  "What chance will he have against them, then?" Azure asked as he nocked another arrow and prepared to draw.

  That question was answered when Sir Thornton struck a blow to the neck of one of the knights, effectively knocking his helmet clean off his head. Their suspicions were confirmed. The suits of armor were empty. Thankfully, that didn't stop the knight from collapsing the rest of the way as if its head had really just been severed.

  With his body fully turned, Sir Thornton's back was exposed to the knight behind him. A quick thrust of the knight's blade to Sir Thornton's side had him arching and hissing in pain between clenched teeth.

  Azure would have hoped that the Knights of Gaia would finish him off if not for the fact that he and Lonnell would be stuck facing them afterward. He drew his bowstring back and aimed for the knight's head this time. When the arrow hit, he was rewarded with both a kill and a skill leveling notification.

  Critical hit! Defeated Level 9 Knight of Gaia. 54XP rewarded.

  Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 4. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.

  The suit of armor behind Sir Thornton crumbled to the floor from the arrow through its helm. Azure breathed a sigh of relief as The Asshole Knight turned to face the last of the Knights of Gaia. While he was injured and his Health had dropped a good twenty percent from that one hit, he still clearly had enough strength and determination to finish the job.

  "He's got this," Azure said, lowering his bow.

  "Should we try to help him?" Lonnell asked, still focusing on the battle.

  "Nope."

  "We can't just stand here," he protested.

  "I did my part already. If you want to help him, be my guest." Azure gestured.

  A misplaced foot made Sir Thornton trip over one of the downed knights and land on his backside. As quick as lightning, Azure drew an arrow from his quiver and loosed it into the black-clad knight's chest. It was a Bronze Arrow this time, so it just ricocheted off of the armor, leaving a dent behind. Whether it caused a distraction, Azure couldn't tell, but Sir Thornton barely missed being stabbed in the throat by the knight's blade when he rolled to the side.

  "I'm going in," Lonnell announced, rushing in to join the fray, though he was driven back as soon as Sir Thornton was on his feet again.

  The melee only took a few moments longer before Sir Thornton finally delivered the killing blow, plunging his blade deep into the black-clad knight's hollow gut after faking a move that the knight had tried to dodge, leaving him open for Sir Thornton's true intent. Relief filled the room from the final sound of armor pieces clanging as they broke apart and fell to the floor. Sir Thornton pulled his blade from the disembodied armor and quickly reached into his bag for a healing potion, his fingers trembling.

  "That was rather intense," Lonnell pointed out.

  "A good battle," Sir Thornton said between gulps.

  Azure watched as his Health bar quickly refilled.

  There was a clicking noise at the back of the room, presumably the door unlocking from them having defeated the knights.

  Sir Thornton wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, then knelt next to one of the knights and scowled.

  "What's wrong?" Lonnell asked.

  "Can't take it." The Asshole Knight shook his head while he stood.

  "Why not?" Lonnell arched an eyebrow.

  "Nothing on them."

  "You...can't take the armor?" Azure questioned. It seemed like it would be incredibly valuable.

  "No. The knights are the armor. They're bound to this dungeon. All they are is armor. There's nothing else of value. Let's move on." Sir Thornton stepped over the armor pieces in his path to open the door.

  Part of Azure was disappointed that he wasn't getting any praise for his part in the battle. After all, he'd taken out one of the knights on his own and had quite possibly saved Sir Thornton from death. The guy was an ungrateful asshole though, so he shouldn't be surprised.

  Entering through the door, Azure had expected to see another hallway. Instead, the door led to a massive chamber. A giant six-sided star made of different colored slabs of stone was set in the middle of the floor: brown, white, red, blue, black, and green. In the center of that was a red flower with a yellow center of pollen, also made of colored slabs. The entire thing was circled by ornate tiles.

  On the walls, larger versions of the same round stones used to illuminate the entrance into the dungeon were set to provide lighting. Three statues flanked both sides of the room, each about ten feet tall, though Azure couldn't make out what they were supposed to be. Most of them looked like humanoid monsters to him.

  At the back of the room, a figure stood. Not quite transparent, her body and clothing were all one shade. White. A bright light that seemed almost like a flame. Her long hair was solid, falling over her shoulders yet flaring out at the same time as if air was fighting to lift her. And maybe it was, because her feet didn't touch the floor. She simply hovered with a serene look on her face...which was clearly not human. Her features were too round and smooth. In the center of her forehead was a large blue diamond. It started at the crown of her hair and extended all the way down between her eyes. The dress she wore was ethereal in nature. Though it reached her ankles, the ends flowed upward like her hair, as if there was a breeze blowing it.

  Behind the being stood a grand door. One half was wood, the other half steel. There were no doorknobs or handles to open it. Down the center were twenty colored stones, ten on each side.

  "This is a big space," Lonnell noted, gazing at the statues.

  More than likely, they were all thinking the same thing. The only reason why this much room was required was because they were about to be fighting some rather large monsters. It made both Azure and Lonnell nervous.

  "I see you defeated my knights," the being said, her deep feminine voice echoing several times, though the echoes were short-lived. "Come forward. Be not afraid."

  At her invitation, the Adventurers approached. When they stopped in front of the being, Azure noticed that he felt calmer than he had since they first entered the dungeon. The light pouring off of her was soothing. It made him think of times of comfort, like when his mother used to sing to him as a child. He found himself wanting to smile but refrained.

  "I am Gaia," the being spoke.

  "I know," Sir Thornton said. "We've come for your staff."

  "Are you worthy of such power?" She gazed down at the three of them. Though her eyes were solid white, Azure couldn't help but feel that she was assessing each of them individually.

  "Who knows?" Sir Thornton's tone suddenly softened. "Probably not. But the man we're taking the staff to is. He will do the right thing with it."

  "Yet he is not here." Gaia's head turned, searching for a party member that had escaped her.

  "He is...a great lord, my lady
. He sent me in his stead."

  For the first time, Sir Thornton seemed humble. Was the being's presence having that much of an effect on him? Apparently so, because he knelt before her, a gesture of respect Azure never thought he'd see from The Asshole Knight.

  "How am I to truly judge the merit of a man who is not here?" she asked. When no one answered, she continued. "Three tasks you must accomplish to claim my staff. The first is a puzzle."

  Azure groaned internally. He hated puzzles. Back in his own world, he typically let other party members handle them if he could. Otherwise, there was always Google. Unfortunately, Google didn't exist in The Realm.

  "The second," Gaia continued, "is the loss of life."

  They all sucked in a breath at this one.

  A smile crept across the being's face. “Did you really think that you could take life without giving? The staff has the power to bring someone back from the dead. To charge it, a life is required. This is a one time sacrifice, and the staff only holds one charge.

  "But fear not, for I do not require your entire life essence. Half of my spirit flows within the staff as well. That means I will only require half. Whatever your original lifespan was will be reduced by half."

  "So if one of us was meant to die in the next day or two, what would that mean?" Lonnell asked, subtly referring to the fact that they were all still cursed.

  "You would die immediately," Gaia replied.

  They all cringed.

  "Well, I suppose it's a good way to find out if we would have survived the curse after all," Azure laughed nervously.

  "Ah, yes. I had sensed the presence of evil amidst you," Gaia mentioned, causing them all to look around for Velte. "For getting this far, a gift I will bestow upon you. I have the power to remove your curse." Without even asking for their permission, not that any of them would have protested, Gaia held out her arms. That's when Azure noticed that they were fingerless, tapering off into coned stumps where hands should have been. Light poured forth from them, encircling the Adventurers.