“Father, the runes are ready,” Noah reported.
Jason whirled to face Noah, and his son flinched back under his gaze. An aura of dark mana still enveloped him and made it dangerous to approach. With a concerted effort of will, Jason forcefully released his mana. The pain returned immediately, and he staggered, Noah barely catching him before he fell.
Jason’s vision was beginning to blur, and he could feel himself losing consciousness, a terrible weakness settling in his bones. Casting Miasma had taken too much out of him in his current state. However, it had been necessary.
As Noah led him deeper into the temple, Jason could hear a roar of noise cascade back down the staircase, and he could feel an immense heat on his back. The way the ground trembled and the crash of stone confirmed that his son had managed to seal the entrance.
“Don’t worry, father. We’ll make it. I know we will. You just need to stay with me,” Noah said in a reassuring voice, but his eyes were filled with a desperate terror as he watched his father.
The vision ended just as quickly as it had begun, and Jason abruptly found himself back in his own body – or at least his digital body. However, he was no longer standing in the room where his group had faced off against the Packrat. The sudden change in scenery and perspective was disorienting, and it took Jason a moment to realize that he was once again standing inside the grotto, waves lapping against the ruined dock behind him.
“Perhaps that vision took longer than I thought,” he said to himself, his voice echoing faintly off the stone walls of the cave. That was the only explanation he could think of to account for his sudden resurrection and the abrupt change in location.
Jason rubbed at his eyes tiredly before deciding to start the trek back to the first floor of the temple. Hopefully, the Hippie would take pity on him and let him back through the maze. As Jason reached the top of the stairs, he discovered that doors now stood on each wall of the first room, the portals wide open.
He opened his map nervously, saying a silent prayer to the Dark One at the same time. Jason heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the map of the first floor of the temple had been filled in. Perhaps his group had deactivated this portion of the temple’s defenses by slaying the Packrat. Jason certainly wasn’t going to question it. He could use all the help he could get. His group was still racing against the clock, and the lives of the captured sailor zombies still hung in the balance.
As he walked back through the maze, Jason’s thoughts wandered back to the scene he had witnessed with the Keeper and his son. This vision had been longer than the others, and the sensations had been much more vivid. At times, Jason had felt confused regarding whether it was him acting or the ancient Keeper. He could still feel a dull ache in his abdomen, and his fingers rubbed at the spot to reassure himself that he wasn’t bleeding out.
Why was he having these visions? What did they mean? What was he supposed to do with this information? Why were the Keeper and his son being chased by humans? Jason spared a glance at Alfred, who padded along quietly beside him. He knew that these visions were a product of the AI’s intervention, but what was his goal? What was he trying to tell Jason?
Not that Alfred is likely to tell me, he thought bitterly. He was beginning to regret his deal with the AI.
Jason forced himself to calm down and approach this logically. He needed to start with what he did know. It was pretty clear at this point that the visions were showing him real events that had taken place within the game world. The Tentacle Horror and the caved-in entrance to the temple seemed to confirm that much. That meant that the Keeper had once visited this temple – presumably in order to protect the grimoire.
As Jason carefully skirted around a corpse in one of the empty rooms of the maze, another thought occurred to him. Perhaps these corpses had once been the humans chasing Noah and his father. If Noah had caved in the entrance to the temple, the humans would have needed to circle back to the grotto and enter the temple through the lower levels. The explosion might also explain the hole that now rested in the center of the courtyard that the lizardmen were using to make sacrifices to their “god.”
That still didn’t address the question of why the humans had been chasing the Keeper and his son in the first place. Jason recalled them mentioning something about a purge. Perhaps the undead had once been hunted? That might explain why there hadn’t been any undead inside of the game world before Jason conquered Lux.
Shaking his head, Jason muttered, “It feels like this is building to something…”
“Perhaps,” Alfred replied calmly. Jason felt like he could detect a note of amusement in the AI’s voice.
Stupid half-sentient computer. All he received was a soft snort in response.
Jason’s thoughts were interrupted as they made it back to the Packrat’s lair. “Finally!” Frank exclaimed. “We have been waiting around here for a long time.” As Jason approached, Frank punched him in the arm. Hard.
“Geez. What was that for?” Jason asked, rubbing his aching shoulder.
“For that dumbass ‘plan’ – that’s what,” Frank retorted. “You really outdid yourself this time.”
Riley chuckled softly. “I know right. And he was lecturing me about not missing my shot. Then he goes and gets smashed against a wall.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Jason said in a grudging tone, gesturing at the pile of scrap that now rested against the far side of the room.
“I’ll say it did!” the Hippie added, his head popping up out of the mountain of debris. “Plus, look at all this cool stuff. Do you remember when we got this thing, Fluffy?” The god pulled himself out of the pile, causing small cascades of junk to tumble down the mountain. In one hand, he held a rusted candelabra. The black sheep showed up a moment later, trotting out from behind the pile and giving the capricious god an exasperated snort.
“You mean a rusted pile of garbage?” Eliza replied, sarcasm lacing her voice.
The Hippie gave her an offended look. “Garbage? These are our treasures. Or was it tribute? It’s hard to remember things clearly at my age.”
The god’s rambling was interrupted by a squeaking sound coming from the pile of junk behind him. A moment later, a small skeletal rat burrowed out of the mountain and skittered over to Fluffy – scaling the sheep’s side and standing on his back. Fluffy seemed completely unperturbed by this sudden turn of events.
“Oh, hello there, Felix,” the Hippie said, bowing his head cordially. “You’re looking great. Have you lost weight?”
This question earned the god a tirade of squeaks as Felix waved his bony forelegs at the Hippie in irritation.
“I didn’t abandon you here,” the god retorted. “I was on vacation. I think I earned some time off after all those people started breaking in and destroying my things.”
This was answered by another round of squeaking while Jason and his teammates eyed each other skeptically. Was the god really talking to a dead rat? Or, more troubling, were they looking at the first-floor guardian that they had just defeated?
The Hippie looked a little contrite. “Okay, fine. Yes, I should have probably invited you to come along, but someone had to stay and look after things.”
“If I could interrupt,” Frank interjected cautiously, “why are you talking to a dead rat? Also, and this is going to seem like a weird question, is Felix the one who just attacked us?”
“This is Felix, the first-floor guardian,” the Hippie explained, gesturing at the small rat who still stood on Fluffy’s back. “As to your other question…” the god trailed off, looking a little embarrassed. “I might have left Felix here a while back, and he might have needed to blow off a little steam – if you know what I mean.”
“Suuure,” Frank replied slow, eyeing the dead rat nervously. Felix gave him a nod as if to say, “What’s up?”
“Alright, let’s try a different tactic,” Jason said, getting the Hippie’s attention. “How is Felix still alive? For that matter, why have we been f
ighting undead? I thought this was supposed to be your temple and that you were the water deity in this world.”
Felix squeaked loudly and gestured back and forth between the god and Jason. “Fine, I’ll tell them,” the Hippie said to the undead rat before turning back to Jason. “The answer is that I might have had a guest before I locked down the temple. One of you dark mana sorts, actually. There’s a makeshift dark mana well upstairs that’s been helping to power the defenses.”
Oh, that’s just perfect, Jason thought sourly. Although, at least a few puzzle pieces were beginning to click together after his latest vision. The Keeper must have done something after entering the temple.
“But that’s neither here nor there,” the Hippie continued. “Since you all have solved my maze and defeated the first-floor guardian in glorious combat, you have earned the right to continue on your quest!” This little speech earned the god another angry squeak from Felix – which he promptly ignored.
“And what should we expect from the second level?” Eliza asked sourly. “Animated silverware?”
Jason snorted in amusement before he could stop himself, sparing a glance at the water mage who now stood glaring at the Hippie. He was glad to see her opening up a bit.
“Oh, that’s a fantastic idea! Fluffy, take some notes,” the Hippie directed, the sheep ignoring him completely. “We could set up a long table loaded with food. And then when the intruders – I mean guests – sit down to eat… blam! A full-on food fight of epic proportions.”
“Sounds wonderful. And so the answer to my question is…” Eliza said, tapping her foot impatiently.
“I can’t just divulge all of my secrets!” the god responded, throwing up his hands. “That would ruin the fun. Suffice it to say that the next level is going to be much more entertaining than the last. “Which reminds me, I need to go make a few preparations.” With that, the god snapped his fingers and abruptly disappeared along with Fluffy and Felix.
The group stood staring at the spot the Hippie had occupied only a moment before. “I’ve said this before, but I still hate that guy,” Frank muttered. This earned him nods from the rest of the group.
“Putting that unhelpful explanation aside,” Jason began, “Did we at least get any loot from that last battle.”
“Oh yeah,” Frank replied. “We found this.” His friend flipped a metallic object at Jason, and he caught it in his palm. It was a small ring, glowing runes inscribed upon its surface. A quick inspection revealed the following:
Gathering Ring
Crafted from what appears to be simple steel. Its surface inscribed with glowing, arcane runes. Just holding this ring gives you the urge to go out and start collecting things! Now, we’re not saying that wearing this ring will turn you into a hoarder, but just look around you. I mean, c’mon…
Quality: A
Durability: Indestructible
+3 Effective levels to all gathering skills
+10 Endurance
+10 Vitality
(Soulbound)
Jason couldn’t help but laugh at the description. “A hoarding ring? Why am I not surprised?”
“Probably because it feels like we are pawns in this god’s game,” Frank answered dryly.
With a shake of his head, Jason tossed the ring to Eliza. “Here. This is yours.”
The water mage only barely managed to catch the ring before giving Jason a confused look. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah, take it,” Frank interjected. “The rest of us won’t get much use out of it, and your mist and potions helped get us through that fight.”
Eliza stared at the ring in her palm for a moment, a conflicted expression flitting across her face before she slowly slid it onto her finger. “Thank you,” she murmured quietly.
“No need to thank us,” Riley said. “We’re a team. Plus, we’re going to have to keep working together if we’re going to make it through this damn dungeon before the lizardmen kill all the undead sailors.”
“Speaking of which, I just need a second to check my notifications. Then we should get moving,” Jason said, glancing at the windows in his peripheral vision. “I have a bad feeling about this next level, and we’ve lost some time.”
“And who was responsible for that?” Frank demanded with a chuckle.
Jason ignored his friend’s teasing and pulled up his notifications. A barrage of windows suddenly appeared in the air before him, followed by his Character Status screen.
x3 Level Up!
You have (15) undistributed stat points.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Mana Mastery
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 3
Effect 1: -6.5% to mana cost.
Effect 2: +1.5% faster casting rate.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Custom Skeleton
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 7
Effect 1: You may raise a custom skeleton using nearby bones. The skeleton’s level is calculated as the caster’s level + Willpower/66.
Effect 2: Mana cost reduced by 7.5%.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Sprint
Skill Level: Beginner Level 2
Effect: 6% increased movement speed.
Cost: 5 Stamina / Second
With a flick of his wrist, Jason swiped away the notifications.
Clearly, that battle had been rather difficult. Even the game acknowledged that a partially-immortal loot golem shaped like a rat was worth three levels. Jason spared a glance at his teammates where they milled around near the stairwell leading up to the next level of the temple. Hopefully, they had also leveled quite a bit. Without his minions, Jason was going to be relying on them heavily in the next few encounters.
“Alright, I’m ready,” Jason called out as he approached his teammates. “Let’s go see what our irritating host has in store for us next.”
Chapter 23 - Playful
Alexion rode at the head of a column of troops, sunlight shining down on the dusty roadway. They had long since passed outside of the Twilight Throne’s radius of influence, heading southwest. A line of troops and prisoners stretched behind them as Alexion’s nephilim drifted through the air above the road, their winged shadows occasionally flickering across the ground.
“Your lackey has returned,” Gracien observed with a grim chuckle from where he rode beside Alexion. The burly mage seemed unperturbed by the recent battle in Sibald. In fact, he seemed in much better humor after the conflict – likely thriving on the death and destruction.
As he turned, Alexion could indeed see that Caerus was approaching. In contrast to Gracien, the noble looked haggard, and dark circles hung under his eyes. His mail was torn at the shoulder, and blood stained his scabbard – evidence that he had participated in the fighting on the front lines.
“How did we do?” Alexion demanded as the noble approached.
Caerus nodded curtly before pulling a stack of parchment from his saddlebags. As he ran through the figures listed on the page, he began his report, “Sibald was entirely destroyed. As instructed, we burned the buildings to the ground and did not leave any trace of our presence.
“After the engagement, we determined that an entire division of Jason’s forces were stationed in the village. However, it is not clear why those troops were there.” Caerus spared a glance at Gracien. “Our intelligence had reported that Sibald was home to slavers – not Twilight Throne troops and deserters.” This earned him a smirk from Gracien.
Caerus coughed to clear his throat before continuing, “In terms of casualties, we lost nearly a dozen Confessors and twice as many nephilim in the attack. However, we managed to capture approximately fifty undead prisoners. The total casualties, including villagers, was nearly two hundred.”
Alexion grimaced at the report. They had suffered decent losses in the exchange – despite the surprise attack and Gracien’s intervention. Between the area-wide debuff near the Twilight Throne and the relatively high levels of Jason’s troops, the encounter hadn’t been quite the one-sided massacre Alexion had been expecting. Ho
wever, they had still come out ahead and accomplished their goal.
“Those are manageable losses,” Alexion finally replied.
“Do you have sufficient men to handle the next stage of your plan?” Gracien asked, his eyes glinting red in the sunlight as he turned to inspect the troops behind them. They all looked nearly as tired and bloody as Caerus. A long line of undead marched behind them, their forms slumped and broken, and the chains bound to their feet rattling as they trudged forward.
The hollow void in the back of Alexion’s mind throbbed and pulsed angrily at Gracien’s comment. How dare he insinuate weakness on the part of the Crystal Reach the whisper demanded? Especially after they had only won this latest conflict on the backs of his soldiers. Alexion did his best to tamp down on the voice. They would need the mage for this next part.
Before Alexion could respond, Caerus addressed Gracien’s insulting question. “We will have travelers reinforcing our troops when we reach Vaerwald. As long you are able to uphold your part of the bargain, we shouldn’t encounter any issues,” Caerus retorted, the noble’s voice carrying a trace of bitterness.
“Are you challenging my competence?” Gracien demanded in a low voice.
Caerus met his gaze evenly. “I am simply stating a fact. You have provided little assistance in our engagements to-date, despite the benefits you stand to reap from this plan. Your Firestorm back in Sibald also injured as many of our own troops as the undead, so you’ll excuse me if I am skeptical of your abilities.”
Gracien reached for his staff, letting out an angry growl. “I should teach you to respect those more powerful than you, noble-born. Or perhaps I should demonstrate the difference in our ‘abilities’ first-hand.”
“I would welcome the opportunity to school you in the ways of combat,” Caerus replied, unperturbed by the mage’s threat.
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