“Ehhh. He is fine. I think. I’m really confused,” I said as I faced them again. Allurie was putting a pot of rice on the table, and she looked at me with obvious concern.
“What’s wrong, Leo? Can I help? Maybe you just need to mate? Do you just need to mate? I’m ready if you wan—”
“No, I was in the baron’s home, and I was on my way to speak with Lady Feeyaz,” I said.
“Lady who?” Gratia asked as she scooped some of the rice into a bowl.
“The drow woman that was working with the baron.”
The five of them stopped what they were doing and stared at me with horrified expressions on their faces.
“Why in the name of the Light, and the Shadow, and your grandfather’s beard would you speak with a drow?” Gratia almost screeched. “Leo, you’ve said, and done, a few idiotic things since I’ve known ya, but this has to be the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard leave your lips. Drow are dangerous, and you can’t just be going around speaking with them as if it is tea time on Smithing Day.”
“Leo, I don’t think you are stupid, but I know that you are a little lost in our ways. Drow are the stuff of nightmares. Please tell me you didn’t actually speak with one?” Artus asked.
“I wanted to meet with her, I actually like her, but when I walked down the stairs, I ended up back here. I’m confused. Is this real?” I asked, and then I found myself laughing a bit. No, this wasn’t real; this was a virtual reality video game. Had there been some sort of bug? Did the map glitch or something?
“Oh, no! She has enchanted Leo!” Allurie held her arms up to her chest, and her eyes got large. “Did she make you mate with her? Maybe you don’t—”
“If he actually did speak with the drow, he wouldn’t be standing here right now. Don’t be talking foolishness,” Gratia snapped at Allurie.
“Oh, that makes sense,” Allurie said with a thoughtful nod.
“Guys, she isn’t like that. The baron tried to kill me, and I, well, I don’t want her as my enemy. I just want—”
“Leo,” Artus interrupted me, “come sit down friend. It is time for dinner.”
“I need to return to the mansion. I’m going to have to skip the meal.” I sighed and thought about how annoying this glitch was. Cornalic was probably still outside of the mansion waiting for me to tell him to steal the glove and ring. I’d have to climb all the way back up that trail to reach him. Maybe I could just get through the gate if I paid or sweet talked one of the guards.
Fuck. This sucked, and was going to cost me hours of game time. I really needed to get this glove quickly, so we could catch the ship out of Arnicoal in time. I had breakfast with dad tomorrow, and I still needed to meet Chip for a workout session so that I could figure out what he was talking about with his note.
“I’m sure Cornalic can take care of himself. Aren’t you hungry? When was the last time you ate?” Artus asked.
“I am actually hungry, which is weird.” The soup smelled amazing, and my stomach was growling.
“Come sit, Leo.” Urllia patted my chair. “A meal will do you good.”
“Yeah. It probably would. I didn’t eat much for lunch,” I said as I walked out of my room.
“Set that staff against the wall, it is dreadful looking, and there isn’t room at the table for it,” Urllia said with a twitch of her whiskers.
“Oh, yeah,” I said as I looked at The Darkest Death. The space around the table would be tight with all six of us eating there, and the large staff would just get in the way. I leaned it against the wall, and almost took my hand off of the black bone of the shaft.
“Wait a minute. It is past dinner time—” I started to say as I spun around to face my friends.
Just as Allurie buried a kitchen knife into my stomach.
I didn’t feel anything for a moment, just the impact of the blade, and my own emotional surprise. Then the cold pain slid through my stomach and into my chest as if I was throwing up ice water. My hand fell away from the staff to grab the hilt of the knife, but the pretty elf girl pushed against the blade, and my back slammed against the wall of Artus’ home.
“Allurie?” I wheezed against the agony in my stomach.
“No,” the elf woman said sadly, and then her face morphed into that of the beautiful drow woman. The entire scene of Artus’ home shimmered, and then vanished to reveal Lady Feeyaz’s bedroom.
“Ahh, why?” I asked. I couldn’t feel my legs for some reason, and I tried to make another grab for the hilt of the knife.
“Why? Leo Lennox, that is a strange question to ask.” She tilted her head to the side and her messy white braids draped over one of her perfect shoulders. She was wearing the bodysuit from earlier today, but now there was an armored skirt and small chest plate over the form fitting fabric.
“Ahhh,” I said as my hands closed around hers. She was pushing it into me, and her mint eyes widened a bit when I yanked the blade out. The woman let go of the weapon and then moved a few steps away. I thought about trying to cut her with the edge of the knife, but the corners of my vision were starting to turn a yellow color. I was probably going to faint from the pain, and I needed to heal myself. I used Breath of Life, and the green-orange glow immediately covered my body.
“Oh, I can’t let you do that,” the drow said as she made a small motion with her hand. The glow was suddenly gone from my body, and the agony returned. I didn’t realize that anyone had the ability to remove one of my enchantments, but I guess the mechanic made sense.
“I… wanted to trade,” I wheezed.
“I am not foolish, Leo Lennox. You killed Baron Yinnia with your staff, and then came into my room. Your motivations are clear. It is a shame; I did like you, but—”
“I wasn’t going to kill you. Damn.” I tried to put more power into my legs, but they just weren’t moving. Fuck, Cornalic had been right. I thought about the grinning half-orc and remembered the potions he had given me. They were attached to my belt, and I imagined I could get out of this mess if I could drink one before Lady Feeyaz stopped me.
“You weren’t?” She raised a mocking eyebrow. “I wish I could believe you, but you are quite a mystery. I don’t even know how you used that staff. Do you really have that high of a Shadow attribute?”
“You can believe me. I didn’t want to fight you, but the baron tried to kill me, and I wanted to strike back before he had another chance.” It was getting hard to say the words. It was like I’d just gone to the dentist, and my mouth was numb from the Novocaine.
“Hmmmm,” she said as she tapped her chin with a delicate finger. “What to do? What to do? You’ve killed my patron, which is inconvenient, but I will admit that I thought you intended to do the same to me. In truth, I was probably a little upset that you wished to do away with me after I had felt we had made such a nice emotional connection. I’ve killed many men for less compelling reasons. Oh, don’t try to move, Leo Lennox, the blade was coated with a special poison. I’m honestly surprised that you are still alive and speaking.”
“I’m full of surprises.” I forced my hands to close and my fingers obeyed my command. I felt like I could move my arm, but I didn’t think I had the strength to keep her away if I grabbed a healing potion. “I didn’t intend to kill you. I had hoped that you hadn’t either. I really like you.”
“Hmmmm.” She started to pace the floor as she moved her fingers to touch her lips. “Now I feel rather bad.”
“Me too,” I grunted.
There was only a slight pain in my stomach from the wound, and I guessed I wasn’t really feeling the pain because of the poison. I thought about asking her if I could drink a healing potion, but that might play my hand too soon. Then again, I didn’t know how much time I had left. My vision was starting to get really blurry.
“Ha! You are clever. I do adore you. Perhaps I should let you live, but then again, the baron’s family will probably reward me if I avenge him. I do not know what will happen to me if they return to the mansion. It might
be that they will think I had something to do with his death.”
“Maybe we can talk about it some more once I am healed? I’m sure— we can— work out something,” as gasped as my stomach spasmed and my blood poured out onto the tile.
“By the Light, it has been a while since I’ve had to make a decision this quickly.” The woman glanced at the bleeding hole in my stomach, and then back at one of the shelves behind her. It was somewhat disorganized, but I saw a few potions stacked there.
“I will trade you the staff and the crown for the ring and glove. It is a fair trade, and the baron’s family will—”
“Ehhh, they don’t care much for the collection, I’m afraid. Let me consider for a few more moments, Leo Lennox. If I let you live, it places my own future in jeopardy. If I let you die, I don’t lose much but a potential lover and I—”
I interrupted the woman by using Ember on the bloody knife I had pulled from my gut. I closed my eyes, and turned away when I made it flare, but my eyeballs still felt as if hot mercury was being poured on them.
Lady Feeyaz screamed as if someone was removing her skin with a rusty saw.
I dropped the glowing knife, reached into my belt with that hand, and grabbed one of the test tube sized healing potions from the slots. I could see the faint outline of the thing’s cork, but I was having a problem moving my left arm up to grab on the lid. I chomped down on the cork, yanked with what little strength I had in my right arm, and then spit it out before I swallowed the potion.
It took half a second, but then my stomach itched like a thousand ants swarmed over the wound. My vision began to clear, and I felt the dizziness fade from my head. There was still some numbness in my limbs, but I managed to fight through the sensation and push myself to my feet. I grunted as rose, but I couldn’t really hear myself over the sound of the drow woman shrieking.
How quickly the tables turned.
“Well?” Cornalic said from beside me, and I almost jumped out of my skin.
“How long have you been here?”I asked.
“Handful of seconds, dear Leo. I felt as if the woman was going to have an error of judgment, and I said to myself: ‘Cornalic of the Mind, you are a handsome, dashing, and capable half-orc. I know you are terrified of drow, but are you really going to let one kill your dearest friend in the world?’ To which I replied to myself ‘Of course not, but Leo does not need my help, he is more than capable of taking care of the one drow woman.’ But then I replied to my reply by saying: ‘It seems as if he might have gotten gutted, and he might not be ab—”
“Okay, I get it. Here,” I said as I handed him the baron’s keys. “Go get the ring and the glove. I’ll meet you outside.”
“Are you going to…” his voice trailed off as he nodded to the beautiful screaming woman rolling on the ground of the room.
“I’ll figure it out, but I think you are right, we need to get out of here tomorrow.”
“I’ll complete my part then. Meet you out front. Please be quick, friend Leo.” The man faded into the shadows next to me, and I blink a few times with surprise at the spot he was standing in.
I turned to the thrashing woman and puzzled out what to do. It had seemed apparent that she had been leaning toward letting me die, but it was also clear that she had felt conflicted about the situation. I probably should just kill her, but the decision just didn’t sit well with me. Maybe the beautiful woman was evil, but I had also put her in a tough predicament, and forced her hand.
My eyes turned to the glowing dagger on the floor, and then I looked down at the handles of my swords poking out of my cloak. It would be easy enough for me to kill her. Then I could actually loot the rest of the baron’s collection. I could take that nice longsword, and the armor that I wanted. I could keep the staff and the crown, and leverage them to get the next artifact. The idea was compelling, and it would make my quest so much easier.
It would probably mean that Artus, Urllia, Gratia, and Allurie would feel the wrath of Baron Yinnia’s family once they returned.
“Lady Feeyaz!” I shouted over the woman’s screams, and her cry turned into a whimper.
“You’ve blinded me, Leo Lennox. Why would you do such a thing? It hurts terribly,” she whined as she turned her head around the room in an effort to try and locate my voice.
“It sounded as if you were going to let me die.”
“No! I was about to find the antidote for you. I have one on my shelf, and also a healing potion. If you fetch them I will use them on you.”
“I don’t really need them anymore. I’m sorry I blinded you.”
“Will you kill me now? Make it swift please. I want the pain to end.” She moved from her fetal position on the floor to kneel on her knees as if she was a Japanese geisha. Her eyes were forced shut, and a torrent of tears dripped onto the ground.
“No. As I said before, I like you.”
“You… will spare me?” Her face rose in my direction, and I was again struck by how gorgeous she was, even covered in tears and in obvious pain, the woman was all sorts of desirable.
“I am leaving you the staff, and the crown. I am taking the ring and the gauntlet. I’ll let you live, and you, in turn will do me a favor. Do you agree?”
“It doesn’t sound as if I have much of a choice, Leo Lennox, but I would have given my body to you without such bartering activities.” The drow tried to smile at me, but it came across as more of a pained wince. I couldn’t imagine the pain that she was in. The light I created had hurt my eyes, and I wasn’t a creature of the underdark.
“I am leaving Arnicoal. You will let me go, and you will make up a story around the baron’s death that doesn’t involve my friends that live in the city or me.”
“What story should I make up?” she asked.
“I don’t care. I’m leaving you the staff and crown, so do whatever you want. You say that the baron’s family doesn’t much care for his collection. Perhaps you can negotiate a job with another noble house. Some of the guards might know I killed the baron, but you will make it so that the Yinnia family doesn’t find out. Understand?”
“Yes, what if I fail, and they come after your friends. You said the name ‘Allurie’. Is that one of their names? The magic I used doesn’t show me what is in your mind. It just creates the illusion.”
“If the Yinnia family doesn’t know my name, they won’t know where to look. If they don’t think I killed him, then they won’t come after me. Do you understand that it would just be easier to kill you? I am giving you a chance to live. I am trusting you. Most would think I am crazy for trusting a dark elf, but I will admit that I thought we had a good connection. Can I trust you?”
“Yes, Leo Lennox.” The woman nodded. “I will protect your identity. You have my word. Not as a drow, but as someone that left her people and wants new friends.”
“Good. We have an understanding.” I looked at the glowing dagger on the floor, and thought about the light of the Ember ability leaving. It went dark immediately, and I took the wrapping off of my head while my eyes adjusted again to the darkness.
Once I had unwrapped my head and pulled off the crown, I used Breath of Life on the blinded drow woman. I didn’t know if it would actually work on her, but she blinked her eyes after a few seconds of the enchantment, and then stood with a graceful movement. Her mint colored eyes were still teary, but she wiped nodded to me when I gave her the crown.
“Thank you, Leo Lennox. I think anyone else wouldn’t have trusted me. It shames me to tell you that I was going to let you die. I do not deserve your kindness.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “The staff is against the wall. I’m going to leave.”
“What if I fail to protect your identity, and your friends end up being found out?” she asked as she glanced down at the crown in her hands.
“I will be returning to Arnicoal, and if I find out that you failed, the pain you just felt will be a fraction of the torture I will inflict upon you,” I growled the words to the wo
man, and her eyes opened a bit with surprise.
“I will not fail you then,” she replied with a quick series of nods. “When will you be returning, Leo Lennox?”
“I am not sure of that either. I just know that I will.”
“When will you be leaving?” she asked.
“Soon, I need to—”
“Will you stay a bit?” the woman interrupted me, and she gestured behind her to the dark corner where I saw the end of her large bed. “I was attracted to you before you turned the odds against me, and then threatened my life. Now I must tell you that I may be in love with you, and I want to feel your body against mine until the sun kisses Arnicoal again.” Her strange green eyes met mine, and I glanced at them, her bed, and the perfectly curved shape of her body.
“Perhaps when I return,” I said with a sigh. I had almost said yes, but I knew Cornalic was waiting for me, and I didn’t want him listening in on us through the magical pearl in my pocket.
Oh, and this was a damn game, and Zarra’s staff was watching me play. I had almost forgotten that small detail again.
“I will wait anxiously for that day then, Leo Lennox,” the dark elf said, and it seemed to me that she really meant the words.
Chapter 24
“So, you let her live?” the half-orc asked from the shadows of the oak tree down the street from Baron Yinnia’s mansion.
“Yeah. Here is your pearl back,” I said as I handed him the magical listening device.
“Dearest friend Leo, I know you had your reasons, but I feel as if it wouldn’t end well. Drow can’t be trusted.”
“I know. I might be wrong, but I feel as if I am not.”
“Enough to risk your friend’s lives?” he asked as he slipped the pearl into one of his many pockets.
“They will be safe. Lady Feeyaz and I have an understanding.”
“Dearest friend Leo. I trust your judgment. As I said before, I am your man, and loyal companion on this life quest of yours, but I do think you missed an opportunity, and I don’t know if I shall ever forgive you for it.”
Lion's Quest: Dual Wield: A LitRPG Saga Page 39
