"Help!" The old lady's helpless, painful cry echoed throughout the kitchen.
Slowly, Jinx walked into the kitchen and saw the lady laying on the floor. Looking down at her, she smiled.
"Your sister sends her love." Jinx looked down at her, smiled and watched her slowly die.
"See that drawer?" The old woman panted, struggling to live.
"Yes..." Jinx arched an eyebrow. She did not expect this.
"Get that poison crystal and hand it to my sister."
Jinx walked over and opened the drawer. She took a cloth and picked up the deadly killing gem.
"Take it to her and press it against her and she'll be dead. For your payment, look in that drawer." She motioned with her eyes to the counter.
Jinx did as she was bade. Once the drawer was open, there were three gold pieces. Her eyes lit up. It was the biggest payout yet.
"Kill her and you'll get that in your purse. If you don't, you won't. Try to steal it and you'll end up dead. Do you accept my conditions?"
"Of course." She owed no loyalty to her sister. Besides, she was receiving the money - if not she'd get her payment one way or another.
Quest accepted. "Kill my Sister."
Jinx watched as her soul left her body and she lay on the floor with her eyes staring at the ceiling. Jinx took some more money from the back, then left.
"I did it." Jinx said to her demon.
"Yes!"
Ding!
You are now level three. The spell you receive is Shadow Fire. This spell can be cast and does two to ten points of damage per second. Each level, it grows stronger.
The next caltrop is spikes.
That was a good one. It'd be useful.
The woman handed over the coins to Jinx. There were thirty silver and she was pleased with the reward.
Now for the task at hand.
"Here." She pressed the gem into the woman's outstretched hand.
Her cry of surprise echoed through the forest air, stilling the singing birds.
"Bitch!" She fell on her knees, looking at her with complete shock.
"Do you think your dear sister would let you live once she knew it was you?" Jinx said, opening her leather pouch to see three glittering gold pieces.
"How could you do this to me?"
"Money, honey." Jinx turned as the elf gasped her last breath.
"Quest complete. Kill My Sister." Two hundred xp flashed before her eyes which doubled.
Jinx walked along the trail, thinking of what to do next.
"You have chosen to walk the evil path. 100 xp gained. You are at level one. Once at level ten, you can't turn back from your destiny.
She nodded, please at how she was doing in the game.
Azhar walked beside her in silence.
"Well...well...well...look at what we have here." A woman's voice cackled and shattered her thoughts.
"Ah...the bitch." Jinx said. Her eyes gleamed with evil excitement.
This was outside the tower's range. Drizilla couldn't do anything about it. This was the moment she'd been waiting for and she jumped at the chance.
"So you think you're so big and tough, with that loser demon?" Razdua said.
Azhar stood up straight, tension played along his shoulders and back. His tail lashed, ready to fight.
Since when weren't demons boiling for a fight?
A loud, challenging ring filled the air as words flashed before her eyes. An orange banner slammed on the ground.
"Do you accept?"
Azhar snarled, glaring at his old enemy. Cherkax bored his eyes into his as he gripped his weapons repeatedly.
"I accept." Jinx said, licking her lips.
Eagerness to fight her foe coursed through her blood. She felt her demon's lust for battle.
"Begin!"
Jinx's hand weaved through the air. Sparks of fire swirled and danced as she cast Demon Fire. It flew through the air, smashing into her foe.
Azhar leapt toward Cherkax with a lion-like roar. He raised his arm and brought down his mace. His foe blocked his blows with his shield.
Razdua laughed as she cast her spell of Shadow Fire. A bolt of dark energy shot through the air and before Jinx could step aside, the bolt smashed into her chest, flinging her to the ground.
Jinx saw ten hp instantly drain away as she looked at her rival. There were no hp missing from her health bar.
Jumping to her feet, she fired off a spell from Keylos. It's red and yellow bolt of power slammed into Razdua's face. The brightness of the spell didn't seem to have any effect her.
Jinx didn't see her grab for her face or rub her eyes, attempting to shield herself. It had no affect on her as she cast another spell.
This couldn't be happening!
Razdua cast another spell, Demon Fire. This spell felt like she was being devoured by piranhas. Jinx gritted her teeth and, through the pain, she cast another spell.
It blasted her enemy, but there was no effect.
"How in the fuck did you do that?" Jinx blinked in disbelief.
This couldn't be happening!
"That is for me to know and you never to find out." Razdua said.
All at once Jinx realized that she was cheating and wished she had not been so impulsive. There was nothing she could do about it now.
Would she really die?
"I admit defeat." Jinx loathed to say those words, but there was something wrong and she guessed that it was a hack from the computer game.
"No! I haven't come this far for you to admit you lost to me!" She screamed. "Computer! Disregard what she said."
Jinx knew she was right when she heard those words. Somehow, she had hacked into the computer and was winning by fraud.
The clanging of weapons rang through the air as both demons fought to protect their masters. Azhar noticed the same thing with his enemy. No matter what he did to him, he didn't lose any hp.
Jinx felt weak as she was on the losing end of the battle. She knew there was no mercy, nor did she expect any. There was nowhere to run and there was something in her foe's victorious eyes that spelled trouble for her.
She knew her "friend" wouldn't make this quick. Would she torture her before killing her?
She had hacked into the program somehow and gained an enormous advantage. Could she be killed permanently?
"How did you hack into the game?" She said.
"You'll never find out."
"I'll rip you to pieces for real bitch. You were the one who pushed me out of the way and he selected you! How dare you!" She hissed like an angry cat.
"What are you blathering about?" Jinx said.
She laughed at her confusion.
Weakened from the dots and the spells she'd cast, Jinx fell to her knees as Razdua spun around and hissed something.
Whirling around, Azhar leapt toward her as she cast a spell which froze him in place. Jinx saw he couldn't move, but his blazing eyes burned more fiercely.
"What the fuck?" Azhar struggled against the spell.
"I'm going kill you very slowly and there is no coming back. You won't be rezzed because the computer will devour you."
She withdrew a wavy dagger and grabbed her, pulling her close. Jinx was too weak to fight, though with the rest of her remaining strength, she tried to push the dagger away.
It drew closer to her throat and Jinx forced herself to stare into her enemy's eyes. She refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing anything but defiance.
Chapter 8 ***
"Stop!" A voice thundered as the banner snapped and crashed to the ground as if it were made of toothpicks.
A blast of dark power smashed into her rival and flung her back into a tree, yet she lost no hit points. Her demon leapt toward the intruder, pounding her with his ax raised.
Shock overcame Jinx when she realized that an anti-paladin had come to her aid. She was battling the other warlock's demon, but he wasn't losing any hp. The paladin was pushing him back outside the battle circle.
Why? She must have hacked the game, somehow.
"This fight is over!" The stranger said.
"You bitch! I'll kill you one night." Razdua curled her lips in a feral snarl.
"Promises, promises..."
With a snap of her fingers, she vanished in a cloud of smoke. Jinx steeled herself for the killing blow from the anti-paladin.
"Hurry up and get it over with." Jinx gazed up at her.
"Don't you recognize me?" She folded her arms across her chest with a wiry smile.
"No."
"Roxy. Don't you recognize me?"
"Sandra? How did you get in the game? Are you a Founder?" Jinx staggered to her feet.
"We need to talk. Follow me." Sandra said as she walked down the road, then cut off into the forest.
She stopped at a glen at the foot of a waterfall. Sandra motioned for her friend to sit down on a rock.
"Why are you here? Are you a Founder?" Jinx watched her friend pace around like a caged animal as she motioned with her hands. It was as if she were contemplating what to say.
Sandra stopped and looked at her.
"Rick came to see me and he told me of Razdua."
Jinx clenched her fists. "Why did he tell you?"
"He told me because he thinks she's a hacker in the game. He had to turn one person away. It was her and he believes she hacked herself into the game."
"What does this..." Jinx pondered the question and then snapped her fingers. "She must be mad that I was chosen and she wasn't."
"Rick needs to stop her and he can't at the moment. He made me a Tester. I'm here to protect you, because it was him that made you a Founder instead of her."
"There's got to be more than that."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you think that she would want to destroy the game?"
"I hadn't thought of that. I suppose it could be so."
"I will destroy her. Since I met her in the game, I follow the game's rules while she doesn't have to. We've got to find a way to make sure we have no more problems like I did with that duel."
"Do you think you could have won?"
"I don't know. No. We need to see how she did this and then somehow prevent her from completing her goal."
"What is her goal? Is she working alone?"
Jinx shrugged. "Thanks for saving me."
"No problem."
"How did you get in the game?"
"Rick contacted me and told me that we may have a problem. He said I could come into the game if I was a tester. So, I did. I can't be here when they do maintenance though."
Jinx looked at her name above her head.
"Valdara EbonBlade? That's a great name."
"Thanks. Yours is too." Valdara said as she paced around, throwing her head back, letting her long, black hair cascade down her shoulders as she studied the sky.
"I've come here to tell you your parents are contesting them unplugging your body. Your father has vowed to bring you back."
"Ugh! Will they ever stop?" Jinx hid her face with her hand.
"No. I don't think so."
"Can they do that?"
"Apparently."
"Rick wanted to tell you himself, but he told me to mention it to you if I saw you first."
"Come on, let's go to the tower and talk to him. His name is Drizilla and can you believe he chose a female?"
"Just like a guy!" Jinx laughed.
"How do you like the game?"
"I love it!"
They talked, walking down the path heading toward the tower. When she entered the tower, they met her rival which sneered at them. However, she left them alone as they walked toward the headmistress' room.
They explained everything to her. Her eyes were concerned as Jinx explained what happened. All she knew was she had acted like a half-witted fool.
She'd let her emotions overwhelm her when she saw her enemy and thought she could take her on. She'd learned more about her since the battle and she didn't like what she had learned.
"Hmm..." Drizilla's chair creaked as she placed her feet on the desk. She steepled her fingers as she thought about what was said.
"Both you two need to go into the Thieves' Guild." Drizilla said, narrowing her eyes.
"I was being spied on when I went there before." Jinx tapped her fingers on the desk.
"That's not all that impossible. Before you go to the Thieves Guild, I want you to complete this quest. It's hard, but it's a Founder's quest and offers special rewards if you complete the quest chain."
She opened her drawer and handed her a coin that felt alive to the touch.
"What is this?" Jinx rubbed the coin and a warmth ran through her fingers, up her arm, spreading through her body.
"It is a coin that connects you to the game. Think of it as an invisibility spell."
"Will it protect me if I fight her again?"
"Yes, you will get an actual invisibility spell when you reach thirty. This will protect you until then." Drizilla explained.
Jinx nodded her head.
"Now go to the Thieves' Guild and they will have a good quest for you. You will find the Founder's quest there."
"While we are on their quest?" Jinx wanted to make sure.
Drizilla nodded.
"Make sure you get to tenth level. At tenth level, you can have two demons out. I'd suggest that you use Obsidian as a spy. You also can get buffs for your demons to strengthen them."
"Good."
"Go to the big oak tree and slay the demon rabbit."
"Do you accept "Slay the Demon Rabbit?"
"Yes." Jinx said, laughing at the quest. How dangerous could a rabbit be?
"Well, we're here." Valdara looked around as she tried to spot the tiny little bunny. "Where's the stupid rabbit?"
"Maybe we need to do something." Jinx leaned against the tree, pondering their next move.
They were at the location the map directed them to. Where was it? There were probably a hundred rabbits in the area. How would they know which one it was?
The earth rumbled like a creature was digging from the earth's center to where they stood. Dirt exploded, scattering clumps as if a bomb went off. They swayed and fought for balance as the creature leapt upward.
The roar of a gigantic red rabbit shattered the forest air as his blazing crimson eyes drilled into theirs.
"That's him?" Valdara studied the horse-sized bun bun.
"It has horns?" Jinx blinked, wondering if this was some kind of sick joke.
"No, antlers. It looks like a Jackalope." Valdara smiled, preparing to charge into battle.
"Whatever it is, let's kill it and then talk about it." Azhar give his battle cry and charged. Reaching for his mace, he slammed it down on the rabbit's twitching nose.
His mighty attack dealt 10 hp of damage. The rabbit staggered backward, shaking his head.
With a war cry, Valdara rushed toward the monster. Her two-handed sword gleamed in the moonlight as she slashed it down on the beast's shoulder, causing it to shriek.
Her sword bit into it's flesh, instantly tearing away 25 hp from the creature.
Jinx cast Demon Fire on the gigantic rabbit as she aimed Keylos at it, blasting it with dark energy. The spell drained four points off the rabbit's life while Keylos's black magic took twelve from him.
The rabbit slammed his mighty hind foot on the ground. The group staggered, trying to keep to their feet. Jinx toppled to the ground while Azhar kept his feet only by hugging a tree. Valdara jumped toward the rabbit, fury blazing in her eyes.
The rabbit whirled around, its claws ripped into the demon's chest and threw him back thirty yards.
He fixated his red eyes on Jinx. She felt her heart freeze and her blood congeal when he lunged at her with his fangs bared. Too stunned to move, they bit deep into her shoulder as she screamed, dropping Keylos.
Red flashed before her eyes as 20 points faded from her. The pain was so intense she didn't feel the rabbit's attackers causing damage to him.
He shook her as if she was a rag doll. She tried to cast her spells, but couldn't. He was shaking her so hard, she couldn't make the correct hand movements.
It seemed like an eternity of pain and suffering as the demon rabbit shook her. His chisel-like teeth were dagger sharp.
Hp flashed before her eyes. She attempted to fight, but it was impossible.
With desperation filling her heart, she tried her trinket which drained the rabbit's life force and give it to her. But not enough to destroy the beast.
"Hey dumbass! Is your mom a cockroach?" Azhar growled. He slammed down his mace as the rabbit turned its attention to him.
Jinx rubbed her aching, bleeding shoulder as Valdara and Azhar brought the rabbit crashing down. They stood over the vicious beast as it gasped its last breath.
Jinx staggered to her feet and walked over as they looked at the loot.
There was 25 gold, 30 silver and 80 copper scattered around its lair. There were steel-clad pants, a bracelet and a statue of a cat.
Valdara handed her something to swallow and she quizzically looked at her.
"Restores health."
When she swallowed the small pill, she felt her wounds healing.
Then she turned her attention to the cat.
Founder Quest "Catch the Night Stallion." You will receive a chest piece and a wand. These will be more powerful than most players will get.
"Cool!"
She could use them both in a fight. She'd use her wand, then skull for attacking. It'd be worth it.
"To catch the stallion, you'll need a magical rope, enchanted halter and corn. Purchase these in town."
"Can you ride him?" Valdara whistled. "I thought you had to wait until twenty before you could ride your mount."
"Don't know." Jinx said. "Come on. I'm going to stay at the inn and have a good warm meal. What about you?"
"I want a nice steak dinner with mashed potatoes and corn. To top it off, I want a nice glass of wine and for dessert, I want a strawberry chocolate cheesecake." Valdara smacked her lips, anticipating the meal.
"That sounds good, I think I'll have the same thing. Are you sure you don't want a salad?" Jinx laughed, clapping her friend on the shoulder.
"Salad is for rabbits."
Demons of the Dark Online Part 1 Page 6
