Grimoire Bound

by Jeff Sproul

  Chaxin's face changed from disbelief to fear. "Take me?"

  "Now he's scared, good job," said Panner from across the way. "Shoulda kept it a surprise. Not like he can do much about it."

  "Oh come on," said Randal, as he looked over to Panner. "Maybe he'll win his first match. He seems kinda scrappy."

  "He looks younger than us," said Panner. "He better hope they pair him with a beggar."

  "A beggar?" asked Chaxin. "What are you talking about?"

  Randal waved his hand dismissively. "Ignore Panner. He may be my brother, but he's a real downer. A beggar is like… you know, someone who lives in town or in the city, and begs for scraps. People like that can be found in here, who've died from lack of food, or due to the cold, or whatever. They're usually people with really low stats. But we do happen to be in Purgatory, where all dead souls arrive. So there's obviously a lot of fighters in here. People who made the wrong move in a monster fight, or just took a little too much damage. Or really bad folk. Lots of people here."

  "But why would I hope to be paired up with a beggar?" asked Chaxin. "What does that mean?"

  "Oh, right," said Randal. "Um, well, you see… You know how back on Wake, you fought monsters so that you could gain experience and capture energy in a soul crystal?"

  "Yeah?" Chaxin said.

  "Same thing here," said Randal. "Except that the monsters hold the soul crystals, and they force us to fight each other until one of us is dead. Then, they capture the soul energy for their own purposes, and one of us ends up dying, only to be resurrected again, but with lower stats, since they essentially took those stats for themselves by absorbing it in a soul crystal."

  Chaxin's gaze lowered to the floor, as he thought about what he'd just been told.

  "You get it now?" asked Randal.

  "So my stats are lower now?" asked Chaxin.

  "Sure are, by a little bit," said Randal. "It's hard to determine how much, unless you check with a grimoire."

  "And if I die again, my stats will be even lower?" asked Chaxin.

  Randal nodded. "That's right. These monsters here in Purgatory farm us for our experience. We fight in their damned arenas and give up all the stats we earned while we were alive. Well, we're technically still 'alive' but… well, you get my meaning."

  Chaxin swallowed and cleared his throat. "And when we run out of stats?"

  Randal turned his head and looked to Panner, but Panner only shrugged back at him before turning and taking a seat back in his cell.

  Randal looked back to Chaxin. "When your soul is out of stats, or levels, or however you wanna clarify it, it loses its… um… I dunno, like, its anchor. Without experience, your soul is too weak to even be reanimated in the mausoleums. You descend to a place far, far worse. A place no one has any hope of coming back from."

  Chaxin slowly lifted his head. "Hell."

  Randal nodded. "Hell."

  Chapter 16: Fight

  Groans and cries filled the corridor. The scent of sweat and dust was ever present in the air.

  Chaxin's knees were bent, his arms resting upon them. He stared at the far wall of his cell, while Randal lay back in the corner.

  Chaxin's mortality was the only thing on his mind.

  "Please no! I can't fight again!" came a pitiful voice from out in the hall.

  Chaxin tensed and turned his head to look past the bars of his cell.

  One of the lumbering spiked creatures stomped past, dragging one of the human prisoners behind it. It was a man, perhaps twice Chaxin's age. The man scraped his nails against the stone floor, trying desperately to pull away from the beast. But it was no use. No matter how he kicked and clawed, the monster kept a tight grip on his leg and kept moving without pause.

  The man's cries eventually faded, only to give way to the continued sobbing coming from other cells.

  "How long have you been here?" he asked, glancing over to Randal.

  "Couple days, I guess?" he said. "Perhaps less, perhaps longer. Not entirely sure. There's no sense of day or night in here."

  "Do they feed you?" Chaxin asked.

  Randal scoffed. "They may feed us to other monsters. But no… you don't last long enough for hunger to truly set in and claim you. And if it does, well, they have crystals to absorb the essence regardless. For some, starvation would be a blessing."

  "If you're lucky," came Panner's voice from across the hall. "You'll get a quick death in the arena. Sometimes, that's all you can hope for."

  Chaxin glanced over to Panner, then looked back at the wall across from him. "Thanks for the advice," he murmured.

  "Wish we had something better to tell you," said Randal. "But there's no getting out of here. This is the end. Maybe if you were incredibly powerful, you could've overpowered one of those spiked guards. They seem as dumb as they are lanky, but they're also really strong. Panner tried fighting one of them off when they took him to his last fight. It didn't go well."

  "I got one punch, and then it grabbed me," said Panner. "It didn't even flinch."

  "I wonder if Deloris could take such a creature," Chaxin mused.

  "You knew Deloris?" asked Randal, as his eyes opened and he sat up.

  "How is she?" asked Panner. "Did they survive the merfolk attack?"

  Chaxin nodded. "Yeah, she survived it. The attack decimated much of the populace of Kamber, but Kaiz, Deloris, Tiris, Vol… Bavol, they all made it through the fight, and helped evacuate and get people to Grittin."

  Chaxin seized up as he remembered Kaiz.

  "After the attack, we were sent to this ship off the coast. We lost Kalo and Jerem. Not really sure what happened to them, they were simply gone. But Kaiz and Deloris were with me. There was this shadowy creature, a spectre, I think they called it. Deloris fought it, and then we ended up in Grittin, where we went to speak with Lord Karnith. He ordered his guards to kill us. I fell in seconds, and then Kaiz. I think… I think Deloris might've still been alive when I lost consciousness."

  "Then Kaiz could be down here as well," said Randal. "Damn. Can't believe a man like him would've been killed like that. So, Deloris is still alive then?"

  Chaxin nodded. "I can't explain it, but she seemed able to fight off Lord Karnith's guards. Mind you, I was bleeding out at the time, so maybe things aren't as I remember them."

  "Deloris is the strongest person I've ever known," said Panner, who'd since taken a seated position closer to the bars. "If she’d been killed, I bet she could've beaten one of these gray beasts."

  "I hope she's not down here," said Chaxin. "Karnith killed us just because we saw that spectre. I still don't even know why. Why would he do that? I hope Deloris survived, so that maybe she can go back and kill him. At least then… well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm sure I'll be in hell long before then."

  Panner and Randal went quiet.

  Thump, thump, thump.

  Panner tensed and shifted away from the gate, and into the shadowy corners of his room.

  "Please not us," Randal whispered, as he shifted back against the wall as much as he could.

  The thumping got closer as the tall spiked brute stepped in front of their cells.

  Chaxin stared at the wall across from him, keeping utterly silent. He didn't even breathe.

  The thumping stopped.

  The gate to Chaxin's cell creaked open.

  A matte gray hand reached in, and long fingers wrapped around Chaxin's leg. He wanted to resist, he wanted to fight. But he'd seen just how powerful these creatures were. He didn't put up any resistance as his body was dragged out of the cell and back down the hall. His back stung from the constant abrasions. His heart raced as he began to sweat. This was it. This was going to be the end. He'd lost experience when he'd died, surely. He couldn't possibly have much left to be resurrected again.

  It felt as though the creature was dragging him for hours. Every moment was agony. Everything looked the same. Stone walls, yellow burning torches. Hall after hall.

  But then, the monster drag
ged him through a doorway, and a cacophony of sounds assaulted his ears. Cackles and hisses, laughs and cheers, but from mouths that were inhuman.

  Chaxin found himself being dragged through sand upon passing through the threshold. Then, he was pulled and tossed several feet away. The spiked creature immediately turned around and returned the way it came. Metal bars fell from the top of the doorway and sunk into holes at the base of the floor, blocking off Chaxin's escape.

  He pulled himself to stand and looked around.

  Dark figures moved and shifted in heightened regions all around the circular arena. A dozen torches burned high up near the ceiling, casting their sickly yellow glow down upon Chaxin, but concealing the watchers, who were behind bars similar to the ones that had kept him confined to a dungeon cell.

  He couldn't make out the finer details of the creatures. At times, he couldn't determine if he was seeing a single entity, or two. Some were far larger than others, and many appeared humanoid, but the only humanity to be found in this coliseum was in the sand pit that Chaxin found himself in.

  "You look young," came a gruff voice, as another human man came through another doorway.

  Chaxin turned and saw the human figure. He was broad shouldered and wore only a pair of trousers, just like Chaxin. He had a thick brown beard, and long locks of dark hair. He almost reminded Chaxin of Kaiz, due to his size.

  "Who're you?" Chaxin asked, his voice almost catching in his throat.

  "Binno. You?"

  "I'm Chaxin."

  "As I said, Chaxin, you look new. Do you really want to fight me?" asked Binno, as he took several steps forward, his bare feet leaving impressions in the sand with every step.

  Chaxin breathed in and out, trying his best to get his bearings. There were strange scents that he couldn't explain, mixed with the familiar sweaty musk that had been prevalent in the dungeon cells.

  "I don't want to fight, but I'm not ready to die either!" Chaxin called back, as he lifted his fists into the air. He had no idea what he was doing.

  "You don't have to fight," said Binno as he slowed to a stop, about six feet away. "You're not long for this world, not someone as young as you. I can give you an easy way out. This doesn't have to be painful. Let me give you the only mercy this place will ever show you."

  "What?" Chaxin asked. He was tense, and unsure what Binno was referring to.

  "I can make it quick," the other man said. "A snap of your neck, and it's all over. We don't have to fight, you won't even feel it."

  "But I don't want to die!" Chaxin called back, and upon that utterance, a dozen cheers echoed out from unseen creatures with guttural voices.

  Binno turned his head and looked up at the shadowed stands. Then, he returned his attention to Chaxin. "You think you can fight me? You think you could possibly kill me, lad?"

  "What other choice do I have?" Chaxin asked. His hands would have been quivering, if they weren't clenched into fists.

  "Let me send you on your way," said Binno. He took another step forward, his arms low. "What do you know of hell anyway? I'm sure everyone speaks of it as some terrible place, but they also say that no one escapes it. So how can they possibly know it's so horrible?" Binno's lips curled on one side as he shook his head. "Where I'm from, hell isn't spoken of as a terrible place. We call it the endless sleep. Tell me, Chaxin. You've slept before, right?"

  Chaxin's gaze flitted around the arena. He still hadn't lowered his arms. "Of course I've slept."

  "So tell me. What sounds better to you? Having me pummel your face in until you're dead, and then going on to wherever it is you go next, whether it's this terrible hell, or an eternal slumber. Or, letting me end your life as painlessly as possible, in which… you'll still end up with either of those possible outcomes. Purgatory may be shit, but I guarantee that if you put up a fight, you're going to be begging me to kill you."

  Chaxin took a slow step back. Part of him wanted to rush at the larger man and strike him. He had a chance, didn't he?

  But then, the more rational part of his brain began to ebb further into his thoughts. Could he have taken Kaiz in a fist fight? Could he take anyone in a fist fight? He didn't have a weapon, and this man strode right into the arena. What hope did he have of possibly defeating such a man?

  "I have no reason to lie to you, lad. Those abominations out there," Binno said, lifting his arm and gesturing to the hidden crowd behind the bars, "they're betting on this fight. They watch this for entertainment, even as they siphon our dying essence. So why not end this painlessly, and spit in their face while you're at it? Don't give them the satisfaction of entertainment."

  Chaxin's arms slowly lowered. He didn't want this to be the end. He'd only just awoken yesterday. There had to be more to life than this. There had to be something.

  He looked into Binno's eyes. "What do I have to do?"

  He'd been stabbed by a monster within minutes of his existence on Wake.

  He’d fought a monster taller than the trees, and barely made it out alive.

  He’d watched a seemingly dead man rise up and attack Jerem.

  He’d seen a phantom deflect swords with a twist of its wrist.

  Then, he was killed by Lord Karnith, simply for trying to help those around him.

  What was left for him to do? To enjoy? What purpose did living in this place serve?

  "All ya gotta do is stand there," said Binno. "Keep your arms down, close your eyes."

  Chaxin nodded slowly. His arms came to rest at his sides, and his fingers unclenched, but then clung to the sides of his pants. "Ok," he said.

  "I'm going to come over there now. If you so much as move an inch, I may not be so merciful if I think you're trying to trick me."

  "I understand. Please, just… do it."

  Binno closed the distance on Chaxin and then slowly stepped around behind him. Chaxin swallowed and breathed in and out slowly.

  "Do you have any last words? Anything you wish to say?" asked Binno.

  Chaxin considered the strange question for only a moment before speaking, "If you make it out of here, don't trust Lord Karnith of Wake."

  "Not sure I've ever heard of Wake," said Binno. "But thank you for the warning. I hope you find peace in your next life, Chaxin."

  Chaxin closed his eyes.

  He felt a firm hand on his chin and jaw. Another went to the back of his head.

  For the briefest of moments, he felt motion, but then, everything disappeared.

  Chapter 17: Delirium

  Chaxin's eyes opened.

  He sucked in a breath of air and saw a gray ceiling.

  A strong hand seized his leg and dragged him along the smooth stone floor.

  "What? No! How?" he gasped and flailed in dismay. "I'm still here!"

  His words fell on unconcerned ears as the spiked abomination dragged him through the dungeon's halls. His body had been renewed, but new abrasions were forming with every inch he was dragged across the floor.

  "I'm still here," he repeated to himself. "I'm still here… How? I was…" he trailed off. Perhaps he had just enough stats left to be brought back to Purgatory. But what did that mean? Would he be brought back again? He'd been so ready to die, and now he was just back in Purgatory, in torment.

  The monster dragged him to a cell, opened the door, and tossed him in. Without word, the creature lumbered away.

  Chaxin lay there, naked on the floor. He stared at the ceiling. His back hurt again. He just wanted the pain to end. "I'm still here," he whispered.

  "Is that much of a surprise?" came a voice from behind him. A moment later, a pair of black pants landed on his face. "Cover yourself up. But also, tell me, around what level do you think you are?"

  Chaxin turned and twisted. Once more, he put the pair of pants on as he looked over to his cellmate. The voice was distinctly not Randal's, but that of another man. Standing against the wall was a man of roughly average height. He had sable skin and short silvery hair which made him look older than he probably was.<
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  "Who're you?" asked Chaxin.

  "My name is Verun," he answered. "Now you. How many levels do you think you have left?"

  Chaxin sat there, now with pants on. He shook his head. "I dunno," he murmured. "I was told never to reveal that… but shit. I guess none of that matters now, huh? I was level five the last time I checked. I might've been close to six when I died. And I just let the other man kill me in the arena."

  "Hmm, six… one death, probably… three? A second death here, probably… one," Verun murmured to himself. "Hmm. A shame." He shook his head. "You're almost out of here, aren't you?" he chuckled.

  Chaxin blinked up at the man, looking at him strangely. "If by out, you mean dead and bound for hell, then yeah."

  Verun shrugged. "That's precisely what I mean. You've nothing left. One more death, and you get to discover the great mystery of whatever happens when you don't resurrect here. I'm a man who loves knowledge, I'll have you know. I love solving mysteries, but I will say that I'm not fond of discovering that one. Personally, I have no interest in that mystery. It can remain a mystery forever, as far as I care."

  Chaxin's brows lifted as the man rambled. "Well, how strong are you?" he asked. "You seem pretty sure that you're not going to get dragged to the arenas and killed as many times as it takes."

  Verun's lips curled in a mischievous grin. "Oh, they will come. They will most certainly drag me away. To be fair, my strength isn't particularly high. I never really stretched those muscles, so to speak. I'm more of a… man of the mind, if you will."

  Chaxin nodded slowly. "How long have you been here?"

  Verun shrugged once more. "Mmm, perhaps roughly I'd say… an hour? You're actually the first cellmate I've had. It's nice to speak to someone."

  "There's no one else around?" asked Chaxin as he turned his head and looked to the cell across from them. There were three figures within. One against each wall, all laying down. None of them were moving.

  "I'm not too sure that they're still alive over there, to be perfectly honest with you," said Verun. "Didn't really want to draw too much attention. So tell me, Chaxin, was it? Where are you from? I'm sure we have some time to converse before one of us is dragged to our death."