Feverishly thinking through what spells to cast underfoot, I suddenly sensed something else. Or rather, someone else. When I realized what was happening, my mouth spread into a rapacious smile.
The Seeds of the Great Forest had awakened! Sensing hostile magic too close by, they had kept quiet at first. And it was not fear or fright. No. They were experiencing insatiable hunger and demanding I feed them immediately. There was no time to think over why they hadn’t made a peep for so long. My supply was down to its last crumbs of mana. The chaos spirit, not expecting any more surprises, was going full bore.
Quickly plunging a hand into my backpack, I grabbed all three seeds. When I opened my hand and glanced at them, I had to overcome an immediate desire not to shove them back into my pack. They looked like burning sparks. As soon as the magic waves of emerald light emanating from them touched the lilac fog, then in the blink of an eye absorbed several dozen of the protuberances, I felt my supply stop losing mana. In fact, a moment later, my mana started filling up faster than ever.
Then I heard the spirit give a frightened cry, which transformed into a shriek in just a few seconds:
“No! What have you done?!”
Despite the fact that chaos was theoretically strong against forest magic, in this case it didn’t matter. The minor spirit couldn’t cope with a newly awakened and famished Heart of the Forest. And I meanwhile, had a whole three of them seated on my palm. Beyond that, the spirit was already quite drained.
The seeds swallowed up chunks of the lilac fog, growing before my very eyes until they were the size of chicken eggs. I had to move one of them to my other hand.
“Stop!” the spirit squealed.
“Why should I do that?” I chuckled. “My children are hungry.”
Though I had already realized that, if I let this keep going, I would soon lose control of the situation.
“I beg you, stop this!” the spirit shouted. “If you kill me, the only citadel of chaos in this world will be left defenseless!”
“Is that so?” I asked in surprise. “Then why didn’t that seem to bother you when you were thinking of flying the coop?”
Based on the bitter sigh, my awareness level caught it by surprise.
“What do you want?!” it cried out.
“Now that’s more like it,” I stated. “First of all, stop attacking me.”
“Done,” the spirit called back at once.
“Okay,” I said, stashing the seeds. I had to strain to hold in the sigh of relief. To be frank, based on the speed they were growing, I was already starting to doubt that I would be able to get them back in my pack. But strange as it may have been, everything was fine. Honestly though, I could sense how displeased they were. It was like I’d pulled them away from a sweet piece of candy.
“Don’t worry,” I decided to reach out to them mentally. “You’ll have plenty of tasty treats soon enough.”
Suddenly, all three of them asked a question at the same time that just about made me stutter.
“When?!”
“Soon enough,” I answered, squirming. A-hem… Pinebogey is gonna have a lot to do.
“We’ll be waiting…”
I choked. Little predators. Gorgie now had competition.
“What do you want?” came the spirit again, now in a calmer voice. The lilac fog now looked like an old moth-eaten blanket. Hm… I think I really dealt a blow to the Citadel today. The forces of chaos will have to work overtime running through the labyrinth for particles.
“I came here to get stronger. Can you help me with that?”
“Well, you must have realized already that I am essentially the Citadel’s supply, right?” the spirit muttered back.
“Come now, don’t go feeling sorry for yourself,” I chuckled. “Is there anything you can do? Or should I just feed you to my hungry babies?”
The three simultaneous voices squealing “Ye-e-es!!!” made me shudder.
Abyss! I need to hand them off to Pinebogey right away. Let them be his headache. I was not hired to play nanny to a trio of little gluttons.
The spirit quickly realized its error and hurriedly started:
“I have one little thing. Its ancient. I got it from a long-departed Gatekeeper. I’m sure you’ll like it. Here. Take it. As you folk say it comes ‘from the heart.’“
Sure, but the thing is you don’t have a heart. I wonder what happened to that Gatekeeper. Strange as it may have been, without suspecting it, the spirit had led me to an idea.
― Congratulations! For meritorious service to the Forces of Chaos, the Keeper of the Citadel grants you:
― Iridescent Tablet “Avatar of Chaos” (1).
I quickly read the message and held my breath unwittingly. My state did not go unnoticed by the spirit.
“Like it?” it asked softly.
“I do,” I answered honestly. “But it isn’t enough.”
“Well it’s all I have,” the spirit responded, dumbfounded.
Based on its emotions, I don’t think this is a lie. But it’s still a shame…
“Then here’s what,” I continued. To be frank, I was starting to enjoy calling the shots. I felt no pity for the spirit. Whatsoever. Just a few minutes earlier, it was trying to transform me into a subservient little puppet. So it could have a little patience now. As a matter of fact, it got off easy.
“I’m listening,” the spirit answered docilely.
“The troll Gatekeeper,” I said. “I need him. Would it be in your power to set him free? Or is that for the magister to decide?”
Despite the troll’s melodramatic speeches about the majesty of chaos, I saw a look in his eyes when I told him about his brethren and the Stone Forest. I was sure he would give up a lot to return to his homeland.
If the spirit had teeth, I’d probably be hearing them grinding.
“It is in my power,” it responded with a colorless voice. “You may take him. He’s yours.”
“Uh, no,” I said, sensing a nasty trick. “I want all his oaths gone. He needs to be completely free. Alive and well, too.”
“If you say so,” the spirit answered coldly and added: “From this minute, he is entirely free. He is also in no danger.”
I chuckled, picturing the troll’s face when he got the message. Hopefully, he wouldn’t give me a slap for taking such matters into my own hands.
“And now, the nice part,” I snorted, sensing the fog around me go tense. “I have a couple chaos particles here. What do you say we exchange them at a fair rate? What do you exchange them for, by the way?”
The fog lit up, its lilac shade growing more saturated.
“Chaos tokens,” the spirit responded a bit too quickly. “How many particles do you have?”
“Almost thirty thousand chaos and a couple thousand fire and water. Do you want those as well, by the way?”
“Of course!” the spirit squealed. Seemingly, this was a feast beyond its wildest dreams.
“So, without induction or reputation, can I visit your armory?”
“You will be given full access!” it answered chipperly with a bit of impatience.
― Congratulations! For meritorious service to the Forces of Chaos, the Keeper of the Citadel grants you:
― Amulet “Friend of Chaos” (1).
We spent the next few minutes trading. In the end, I got just shy of twenty thousand chaos tokens. For the record, the spirit gave the most tokens for the fire particles. While it would trade Chaos one to two, Fire was at a one-to-one rate.
“And one last thing,” I said right before leaving. “What do you know about the dynasty of the Steel Kings?”
His forces noticeably replenished after the huge serving of particles, the lilac fog started rippling. The spirit didn’t like that question.
“They are ancient enemies of chaos!”
“Where does their power lie?”
“I don’t know,” the spirit answered thoughtfully. “Nobody knows. There is only one man who can answer that questi
on, but he took that secret with him to the grave. I am speaking of Gunnar the Destroyer.”
I just nodded in silence and turned to the newly opened arch. Apparently, Egbert did have good reason for seeking the Tomb of the Founder after all.
The magister was waiting for me at the exit. If looks could freeze, I’d have been turned into an ice sculpture on the spot.
“You’ve let me down me!” she hissed.
“And you me,” I shrugged. “You sold me a pack of lies, then tried to feed me to batty old spirit. What did you think would happen when you sent me there? Did you think I’d just throw up my hands and give up?”
“You… You…” the primordial was seemingly not accustomed to such a tone.
“You should be thanking me,” I squeezed out when I saw her boiling over.
“Thanking you for what exactly?!” her eyes squinted menacingly. Her hissing made a chill run down my spine. “You practically destroyed everything that took us so long to build! You deprived the Citadel of its powerful Gatekeeper. You…”
I could see she was on edge. Another little push and the ancient nightmare creature Nure-onna would take her true form. The snakefolk accompanying her had already jumped aside in horror.
“I saved your citadel,” I said, trying not to let my voice quaver. “That minor spirit wanted to flee after so much time chained up. It tried to subdue me. And I don’t think I have to tell you what happened next.”
My words had the desired effect. Nure-onna’s cold composure slowly returned.
“And the fact that I demanded compensation for the trouble is my right as victor.”
I saw rage in the magister’s snake eyes, but seemingly the storm had passed. Running an apathetic gaze over the Friend of Chaos amulet around my neck, she loudly announced:
“You have one day! After that, I will no longer tolerate your presence inside the citadel. If you’re still here, it’s your funeral.”
Chapter 13
“WHAT HAPPENED in there?” I could sense unfeigned concern in Pinebogey’s voice. As for who the woodsman was really concerned about, I was not especially deceived. But considering the fact that dozens of serpentine eyes were staring maliciously at me out of every nook and cranny, even that kind of support was welcome.
I glanced at Pinebogey and Dobbess standing next to him. The Goblin was clearly not enjoying the hostile attention from the serpentine guard. He was constantly looking all around, as if preparing to deflect an attack at any moment. And it didn’t much look to be a game. He really did consider himself part of our team. Hm… Our team… As a matter of fact, we were gradually starting to take shape as a fighting unit. Sure, I wasn’t completely clear on all of my allies’ end goals but the simple fact that I would not be fighting alone – it was hard not to be happy about that.
“I failed the induction and unification,” I answered curtly, then made up my mind to add: “The spirit keeper tried to subjugate me so he could use me to escape from the citadel.”
“And your Will was able to withstand that?” the goblin asked with admiration.
“Not exactly,” I responded in a near whisper. “They awoke and just about devoured the keeper spirit of the citadel.”
“They?!” Pinebogey and Dobbess asked almost simultaneously.
“The seeds,” I rubbed the back of my head. “I actually have more than one. The Great Tree gifted me three. And now they’re the size of chicken eggs.”
While Pinebogey gasped for air like a fish out of water, Dobbess said, dumbfounded:
“So that’s why the citadel has been in such disarray the past few days!”
“What do you mean days?” Then came my turn to be surprised.
“You were gone for three days,” the goblin answered and added: “Ahem, boy. I haven’t seen this kind of turmoil around here in a dog’s age. I think as soon as your time is up, the magister will sic all the hounds on you. And I’m not just being colorful. They say another pack of shapeshifters is coming to the citadel. And they’re nothing like those milk-fed whelps you took down in the labyrinth. A dozen seasoned werewolves. The best fighters from the Eviscerators clan. Ulf is mad at you. And I won’t even mention the snakefolk.”
“Well, what about this thing?” I asked, pointing at the Friend of Chaos amulet.
“Take a gander at its expiration date,” Dobbess gave an oblong smile. “Didn’t you notice what they slipped in there?”
I quickly opened the amulet’s description and clenched my teeth. So, the spirit was able to make a mess of things in the end. And I was surprised at the fact the magister had given me a day precisely.
Meanwhile, the goblin continued:
“For now, you’re off limits. But as soon as that time limit is up, the hunt will begin.”
“What if I leave the citadel before that?”
“You’ll lose your immunity,” the goblin responded.
“Is the magister going to be taking part in the hunt as well?” I asked with a frown. If she’s as powerful as her sister, we’ve got a problem on our hands.
“Thank the gods no!” Dobbess said with a smile. “Although I’m certain she’d be all too happy to flay you alive.”
Seeing my incomprehension, he started to explain.
“Luckily for you, the Labyrinth doesn’t allow magisters inside. No one knows why it’s setup that way. There’s a theory that it’s a way of maintaining balance between the factions. But that’s just a guess…”
“What does the labyrinth have to do with this?” I asked in surprise.
“Well, how else were you planning to escape?” Dobbess answered with a question. “Going by sea is not an option. Even if we did have a ship, the surrounding waters are teeming with high-level monsters.”
“Through the portal on the observation platform,” I responded. That was how I wanted to leave this place at first.
“Forget about it,” the goblin brought me down to earth. “It is part of the citadel’s energy structure, which means it’s controlled by the magister.”
“But then…”
“The labyrinth has two different modes,” Pinebogey finally chimed in. He knew what I was trying to ask, so he started to explain. “We call them Dream and Awake. You’ve been in Dream mode already. But there is also Awake – an ancient cavern swiss-cheesed with a confusing tunnel network.”
“And are there anomalies there?”
“There are,” the goblin tossed his two copper in. “But the thing is, these anomalies are not locations like in Dream but entities which, ghostlike, are able to appear and disappear without warning.”
“The factions use Dream more often,” said Pinebogey. “Awake is only for edge cases.”
Seeing a question in my eyes, Pinebogey said:
“There are a few portals inside the labyrinth, which we use from time to time.”
“So, the labyrinth is currently in a mode we can use without the magister’s permission. Am I understanding this right?”
“Exactly,” Pinebogey confirmed. “And that is precisely why we need to hurry before the labyrinth ‘falls asleep’ again.”
“Great,” I nodded. “I just have one more piece of unfinished business. Despite failing the test, the spirit generously provided me full access to the contents of the citadel’s armory, where I wanted to spend all my chaos tokens.”
“Ha!” Dobbess exclaimed admiringly. “The more I learn about you, the more I’m convinced I made the right choice!”
“Let’s go!” said Pinebogey, nodding toward the nearest hallway. “Just don’t get too excited. The Armory Master here is a real cheapskate.”
Dobbess confirmed that with a crushed sigh.
“I’m sure when that orc was learning to talk, his first sentence was: ‘No way!’“
“What about the troll?” I asked when we were walking down the hallways.
“No one has seen the Gatekeeper for a few hours,” answered Pinebogey. “Is that somehow connected with what happened?”
“I thin
k so,” I shrugged. “And he isn’t the Gatekeeper anymore. The Spirit set him free. On my, ghm… request.”
Dobbess and Pinebogey exchanged significant glances. Based on their happy faces, they liked that news. I didn’t go asking them what I may have earned for taking matters into my own hands there. If I ever saw the troll again ― I’d know. But something was telling me I didn’t have much chance of finding the former gatekeeper now. That big old goon was probably halfway back home by this point.
Labyrinth of Fright (Underdog Book #5): LitRPG Series Page 14
