Endless Online: Oblivion's Promise

by M. H. Johnson

  "He is right," Arilius said softly, gently squeezing his son's shoulder. "We got along well with simple human traders and villagers for centuries before the Highlords came. And more than one mixed marriage did we bless, if you recall."

  "If it weren't for this one human, Father..." Ava's words hung in the air.

  Her father bowed his head. "I know. I know!" He let loose a trembling breath. "I have no quarrel with you, Valor Hunter, nor those you call friends or clan. But if I had those Highlords within my sights..."

  "I'd strike them dead, one and all." Val finished for him, smile as cold and hard as Astmar's. "The enemy of my family is my enemy as well. And I had enough reason to hate them before."

  Val was relieved to see any number of dwarves nod thoughtfully as he shared his sentiment.

  Astmar nodded. "And the friend of my friend... very well, Valor. Should we ever rid the galaxy of the blight that are Highlords, we will have no further quarrel with the race of man, though we will always guard ourselves against such betrayals again. Until then, you and your companions are the only ones that know our secret." His gaze became pained. "If our enemies should ever find out..."

  "That which I hold closest to my heart shall not be put in peril. I will strike down any discovered spy before he can blink." Val's voice was icy as death itself. More than a few dwarves smiled and cheered at this grim pronouncement, Astmar himself flashing a bleak smile, and somehow Val just knew his dark point was shining at that moment, boosting his presence in the grimmest of ways. He turned to Ava, hoping she wouldn't fear his gaze.

  Blue eyes held his own, and refused to let him go.

  "You hold a fortune in Valorium, enough to buy you a small city-state, I'm sure," Ava said, pinning Val with her luminous gaze as she slowly undressed him back in quarters far more luxurious than the ones she had been staying at, not so long ago. "You could own a harem of your own, if humans still hold to those customs, bent on servicing your every need. And still you would spend weeks in loneliness, coming back to me in secret only by the most circuitous of routes?"

  Soft lips caressed his own.

  Val growled and held her close. "You know I would. What are a couple baubles of priceless ore that could net me a city-state when I already have my princess right here?"

  She chuckled throatily, gripping him tightly to her, before gently lowering him to the bed. "What indeed," she said, her voice husky as she kissed his throat. "Let me show you treasures glorious and grand, so you never forget the girl who loves you, even as you embrace madcap adventures that I hope always leave you safe, and longing to come home to me once more."

  And that she did, allowing him to savor every soft, sensual curve of her, every precious secret, before savoring him in turn. A night of rapture spent in each other's arms, sweetest bliss turning to salty tears Val tried to hide and Ava let slide down her cheeks freely, when it was finally time to go.

  Val held the packet of Elementium bars alongside an open order for as much Silbium as Sten could supply them, a true request inside the enticement of trade, so Sten would have all the more reason to keep his secret, and none to query over Val's own prize. "Those cores are yours alone, Val," Ava whispered. "In the wrong hands, it would be all too easy to deduce who the manufacturer was, and perhaps a savvy merchant or Highlord would wonder if they were truly relics of a forgotten era, or if their enemies were not quite as dead as they had thought."

  Val swallowed. "Then why trust them with me?"

  Ava grinned. "Because my father thinks that if anyone is capable of doing something remarkable with them, it is you."

  Val blinked. "Me?"

  She nodded slowly. "Whatever you are lacking, your mind has curious nodes unlike anyone else that I've ever sensed. You have a gift for the arcane arts, my love, as I'm sure you have already deduced." She shrugged. "Besides, you alone have a pocket dimension to securely deposit your prizes within, so you alone could unload and sell them in a planet far away from our own, if you had the need for coin enough to buy a city-state."

  Val nodded, depositing his prizes safely within the grid of his mind, his heart breaking to see the way Ava gazed at him.

  "I pray you won't forget me, Val."

  Quick as she could blink, he was holding her tight. "Don't even say that!" He swallowed. "I think I've already fallen for you. Hard."

  She grinned at that, beautiful dimples showing. "I certainly hope so, Val, for I have surely fallen hard for you."

  He gently kissed her tears away. "Goodbye, Ava. I know not what schedule Sten keeps, or when or how we will be able to trade our Elementium or get ahold of Silbion. But I promise you, as soon as I figure out the way of things above, I will return by the route we agreed upon. Either by myself or with Sten's crew alone, hopefully with all the Silbion I can bring. And only when I absolutely know it's safe, and none follow in my wake."

  She flashed a sad smile. "Maybe I'll decide it's too risky for you to go out yet again. Maybe I'll decide I can't bear you leaving my side a second time. Would you be okay, Val, living amongst us all your days?"

  Val answered with a kiss fierce and passionate, delaying his departure far longer than Sten would have liked, but he really didn't care, so long as he could savor the simple bliss of seeing Ava so happy in his arms.

  Holding her until she fell asleep, he parted on quiet feet, smiling as his eyes alighted on the intricate puzzle box she had entertained him with during the brief interlude in their passion, her bemused smile inviting him to figure out the puzzles of the dwarves, and how she had teased him with her hot breath, whispering in his ear the secrets of the marvelous puzzle box before him, more secure than any safe.

  He shivered, seeing the rose already blooming from the arborium that she had put on it, knowing she wanted him to have it, to savor the memory of their sweet moments together, no matter what madness was to come next in his life. Treasures in hand, he forced himself to slip away from the greatest prize of all, heart heavy as he walked back to the edge of the city and the barracks rooms where Sten and the others were no doubt waiting for him, even now.

  9

  Val blinked, locking gazes with Elise as he opened the barracks door, her gaze one of concern and gratitude both. Her smile was genuine, and save for a single cracked tooth, she looked to have recovered nearly fully; long tresses of silky hair framing the same delicate elfin features as had first greeted him, free of any scars that he could see. Violet eyes peered deeply into his own.

  "Thank you, Val, for risking your life to save my own." She smiled. "Again."

  Val grinned back. "Saving beautiful damsels is sort of my thing."

  She chuckled at that. "Even as you put aside the call of your own heart, determined to see through your commitment to us." She bowed, fist to chest. "You have been nothing but a friend to us, even if we didn't all get off on the right foot."

  Val shrugged, smiling at the wryly grinning captain even as Halvar coaxed a frazzled looking Gregor to get his miscellaneous gear together, Val's brows raising as he noticed flasks and tubing very much like Ava's.

  "Sometimes people have to test each other. That's how the best friendships start, I think," the captain allowed. "And Val? You have certainly proven yourself to be a valuable member of the team."

  Val grinned, locking gazes with the captain as he pulled out the dozens of Elementium bars the dwarves wanted to use as trade collateral. "I can definitely say that the dwarves are interested in working with us. I take it we can get them a good return on their Elementium for Silbion? With a fair cut taken for ourselves, of course."

  Sten blinked, eyes widening, flashing Val the most approving of smiles. "Of course! I look forward to it. Now just put all that away, and as soon as our would-be alchemist is finished packing up, we'll be off."

  Val gazed at the little man, Gregor clearing his throat, shrugging his shoulders.

  "What can I say? I found the young woman's alchemy set, Ava, you said her name was? fascinating, absolutely fascinating to look at! She re
turned while you were fixing their gardens or whatever it is you were doing, and when I tried to communicate with her, well, it was slow going, but when she saw I had an interest in alchemy, she immediately began showing me how to make various potions out of the mushrooms here. I'm not saying I had the wildest success at replicating her procedures..."

  Halvar smirked. "Though you did give us all a good laugh when you managed to turn blue."

  Gregor rolled his eyes. "Obviously, sophisticated scholars learn better through tomes than a monkey's simple mimicry. Anyway, after you came back and there was a lot of cheering and roaring, she pulled me aside, gestured at her set, and started handing me the pieces!"

  His eyes widened, shaking his head in awe. "These crystalline flasks are far, far stronger than glass, and being of dwarven manufacture, are worth a fortune!" He then bowed low to Val. "I should have asked you this before, but next time you see her, please convey my gratitude to her. I tried to tell her, but dwarven is beyond me, I'm afraid."

  Halvar nodded. "Now let's assure Val that you're not going to sell it and risk revealing the hideout of our newest companion's beau."

  "Oh, never!" Gregor shook his head intently, gaze firmly on Val. "As I've told the captain already, this will be for my own personal use, as I try to figure out the secrets of alchemy on this fascinating world! Now that I have both a tome and a dwarven alchemy set, I expect to have marvelous success!"

  Val smiled. "I wish you the best, Gregor. I don't suppose you would mind letting me observe, maybe learn from you once you get your lab set up?"

  The smaller man's brows furrowed until the captain cleared his throat. "You do have a knack for the arcane, even if other things are still well, um, a bit beyond you. Perhaps alchemy will be the scholarly bridge to greater understanding for you? Very well. I only ask that you don't interfere with my experiments, but if you wish to imitate after the fact, perhaps you can learn a formula or two..."

  Val grinned. "Excellent."

  Sten smiled, his gaze suddenly intent. "Are you ready to head out, Val?"

  Val swallowed, forcing himself to nod. "The sooner we can sell the Elementium, the sooner we can return with Silbion."

  Halvar chuckled. "I like the way this kid thinks. A natural trader."

  With that, they solemnly headed out, Val's companions gazing at Val oddly even as he waved back at what were scores of dwarves cheering their champion as he left the city, Val shouting joyful words his companions couldn't fathom.

  Sten's gaze was curious, though his smile was friendly enough. "You seem to have made a remarkably strong impression on our hosts. Impressive gardening skills indeed."

  Val shrugged. "It's been awhile since they had access to Silbion, and I can tell you firsthand that it's remarkably good for the crops." He ignored his friend's probing gazes as they made their way towards the cavern where first they had their fateful encounter with the spiders, perhaps the one weak point in the city's phase-shift, Ava had said. Val smiled in memory, wanting to test Ava's theory that most would still be unable to find the way from the mushroom cavern to the tunnels leading back to the surface. He turned to Halvar. "You've kept coordinates telling us how to get back to the surface, right?"

  The larger man nodded. "Indeed I have. Considering that this route might be the road to our fortunes, I'd be a fool to lose the way."

  Val grinned. "Then I guess we should let you lead."

  The larger man chuckled. "Why not?" Yet after ten frustrating minutes, his bemused smile turned to a frown of frustration as the coordinate points refused to mesh.

  Gregor huffed. "Your internal map must be fritzing from all the Elementium deposits. The tunnels are clearly this way!" he said, confidently leading them to yet another dead end. He blinked in consternation. "But that's impossible, I was certain..." Halvar chuckled softly as the gnome of a man gazed the captain's way. "Sir, do you think it's possible the dwarves have somehow blocked our path?"

  Sten frowned. "Let's look a bit longer before we head back, tails between our legs."

  Val gazed at them, quietly surprised that none could see the tunnel entrance. It was so close to them. Just a little in front and behind them... he frowned, rubbing his forehead, realizing that it was indeed at a weird angle to their own positions. But easy enough to get to, he proved to himself, shifting his position and walking back to the entrance they had discovered only days ago, satisfied to see it exactly where he knew it would be.

  "It's over here, guys," he called triumphantly, having grown a little nervous himself, but he shouldn't have been. The way was as clear as ever.

  "Val? Where are you?"

  Val quickly made his way back to the central chamber of the mushroom caves. Sten blinked and frowned.

  "Where did you go, Val?"

  Val shrugged. "I found the way. Follow me." And as simple as that, they found the entrance back to the main tunnels, Halvar's map now working perfectly, and in less than a day they came upon the chamber of shattered crystals and devastation where they had defeated the most hideous of abominations and gathered a fortune in Elementium as well.

  Elise's gaze grew haunted. "So close we had come to death, against horror and specter both."

  Sten nodded, gazing proudly at them all. "But we worked as a team, fought as a team, and together, we persevered. As we always do."

  Val grinned, happy enough with that assessment, and the warmth his companions now shared with him freely.

  "But no using explosives like that on the surface," Gregor cautioned, eyes wide. "You'd get us a one-way ticket so some Highlord's personal pain-chamber. And that's not a place we want to be!"

  Val nodded. "Understood."

  Halvar grinned. "Lasers and blades, Val. Lasers and blades. It's worked well for us for over a thousand years. No need to risk everyone blowing themselves up and wasting a fortune in wealth by catalyzing arcane elements ever again."

  Val smirked. "Unless we're a heartbeat from being killed by nameless horrors or sentient spider queens.

  Elise's gaze hardened. "Fair enough, Val. But we don't tell a word about what happened here, not to anyone."

  Val nodded even as he caught the captain's eye. "Give me a couple minutes. I want to check on something." He began walking at a fast stride to one of the tunnels, ignoring the muttering of his companions which stopped soon enough as his footsteps led him to a neighboring chamber where he remembered having felt the slightest pull, Sten eyeing almost hungrily the shimmering Elementium rich crystals just waiting to be harvested all around them. It was much smaller than the main chamber, but a beautiful sight, nonetheless. "How are our water supplies, Halvar?"

  "Excellent, Captain," the man grinned. "We're making fantastic time, knowing exactly where we're going, and as we cleared most of this area out the first time, I've seen neither hair nor hide of trouble anywhere."

  "Excellent." The captain turned to Val. "Do you feel up to making us another fortune?"

  Val chuckled. "That's why I led us here, Captain." He closed his eyes, feeling the flow of Elementium resonating through the crystalline matrix overhead. He put a hand upon one of the massive sloping walls. "This will take a while. There may be less here than there was in the chamber the Horror made its home within, but it is buried a bit deeper. I'll see what I can grab us."

  Sten chuckled softly. "Take your time, Val, there is no place I'd rather be than wherever there are credits to be made."

  Halvar whistled. "I'm impressed as anything, Val, but how did you even know?"

  Val shrugged, eyes closed, already gathering his focus. "Back when I was clearing the main chamber, I thought I had sensed a tiny offshoot to the great river of power flowing through there. I paid it no mind with everything else that was going on, but when we got back to the main chamber, I sort of remembered."

  "Ancestor's mercy, that's incredible! For all we know, there are dozens upon dozens of rich Elementium finds down here!" said an amazed Gregor.

  "Nope," Val said with the corner of his mind focusing in
on the conversation. "This is it. The rest of the mine was drained in its entirety, a thousand years ago."

  "But how could you possibly know that?"

  Val was no longer paying attention to his companion's murmurs, focused intently on the task before him. Using his arcane senses and Greater Alchemy, Val sunk his awareness into the stone, sensing the seep and flow of precious Elementium. Like changing the course of a mighty river, his shifts in pressure and will coaxed a steady stream of that priceless ore to flow down from the ceiling to the wall to his hand and finally into the pocket rift that served him so well. He gave a satisfied nod what seemed an endless moment later, mind still lost in the wonder of somehow dancing amongst a crystalline waterfall of magical possibility, now locking gazes with a recently awoken Sten.

  "I gathered the ore, Captain."

  Sten gazed at the ceiling, all traces of that obsidian fire flashing gold and green gone as if it had never been. Only translucent crystal remained. "You did indeed, Val, you did indeed."

  Halvar cricked his back as he and his companions arose from their nap, Val having carefully paced himself so as not to rush and risk disaster. "How much did you gather, Val?"

  Val grinned. "Roughly speaking, another fifteen kilograms. Much slower going than in the main chamber, but the ore was more diluted and buried deeper within the rock, and my extraction was much safer, this time around." That, and he could feel that the practice had somehow pushed him past the midpoint of Greater Alchemy Rank 3. Much slower going than his first couple levels earned, but that only made sense, he supposed.

  Halvar whistled even as Gregor gazed at Val in no small amount of awe. "That's incredible! Explain it to me again. How are you managing such a feat?"

  Val shrugged. "I can just sort of feel the Elementium sitting around in the crystals, so I try to coax it like a puppy trapped in a corner to wiggle itself free, sensing how other compounds will somehow slip into the bonds the Elementium leaves behind. Then it all sort of flows into me and I put it in my rift."