Into the Darkness: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Axe Druid Book 4)

by Christopher Johns

  It was hard to argue that logic, though I was curious about the things she had to teach me.

  “We will leave soon,” she nodded to the others and looked to me, “Please, join me in our room for a moment.”

  I nodded to the others, and we left, opening the door narrowly and slipping into the main dining area of the inn. It was beautifully and expensively decorated with all-wood fittings. After walking up the stairs, we took a left, and our room was at the end of the hall on the left side. Once inside, the bed made the room a little smaller since it was bigger, but it would do.

  “Sit on the bed, and I will explain.” Maebe waved to the tan comforter that felt so thick beneath me as I sat.

  She wove her hands in front of her and shadows so thick I thought they were night, filtered into the air around us. They meshed together at the top, and the sound of the world around us fell away as if I had water in my ear.

  I hated it instantly.

  “Now, what I am about to teach you is referred to as the Calling.” I blinked at her and she continued, obviously aware I would be confused, “The Calling is simple. It is what a powerful Fae does to call a lesser Fae to them, no matter where they are. It is how I summoned Xiphyre to begin with.”

  I nodded because what she said tracked with some things I had heard before, but I didn’t know fully the gravity of it. Not yet.

  “When you call a Fae, you must use their true name, or they will not hear you.”

  That gave me pause. “Wait, I know that true names are important to your kind, but how is it that you can hear when people say your name, but others don’t?”

  Her smile was that of an encouraging teacher, “Think. Why could that be?”

  “It can’t be because you are actually using your true name, could it?” I frowned, and her smile deepened. “But that’s crazy! That means anyone could use that against you.”

  “They cannot, because while one holds the crown, their true name becomes their power.” she frowned as she thought of a way to explain it. “You told me once of a title you had earned, ‘Marine?’”

  I nodded for her once, my chest puffing up a little despite my usually relaxed nature toward my service.

  “Think of the name becoming my title.” She waved her hands, and a crown of ice and shadows appeared in her grasp. She tilted it onto her head and eyed me. “As I wear the crown, my name becomes me and more. It can never be taken, because I own all aspects of it, as it was gifted to me. When the next to take the throne does so, they will assume full control over their true name as I have.”

  “But what about once you abdicate the throne?” She looked at me in surprise. “Yeah, I’m literate. I like big words.”

  She laughed then; a throaty rumble that made me smile in return.

  “You never fail to surprise me, husband.” Her green eyes sparkled as she said the word again under her breath, “Husband. I do so love the way that feels. But yes. After we abdicate the throne, our name stays the same. The crown cuts the tie of the name from us, and we are whole with it. It is difficult to explain.”

  I smiled back at her from the bed. “Thank you for trying. So, the Calling, how do you do it?”

  “You speak the true name of the Fae you wish to summon, and they are called to you.” She gestured toward the room before her, where there was a little room. “It is simple, really, and I will show you now. But I cannot betray Xiphyre’s confidence. He is much too powerful to have as an enemy.”

  I raised my eyebrows, and shrugged. “Too useful as well.”

  “You are learning to think as a Fae royal. Excellently said.” She made a motion, and a globe of darkness covered my head, obscuring my view and hearing for a second, I panicked, then it was gone. “There, it is done.”

  “How long does it take?” I asked curiously as I watched the air around us.

  “Not too long.” Maebe joined me on the bed, her hand clasping my own. “After that, I will teach you to do it.”

  “I don’t know if I want to summon anything like that if it could be potentially devastating to your power.” I frowned as the scent of ozone and nickels pervaded the room, and a rent in the air burst open, and Xiphyre shot out. Naked.

  “This had better be g—Majesty.” The Ragalfr knelt in front of us and looked up, his serene features taking on a look of shock. “Those rings!”

  His supplication forgotten as he fluttered close enough, “I made these several centuries ago for…your grandmother on her wedding day.”

  His eyes shot back up to Maebe’s face, her countenance controlled and observant.

  “You…” His eyes shot back to me, then back to her. “With him…? Majesty, this is quite the scandal if I may say so myself. The court will be beside themselves!”

  Maebe’s hand shot out and grasped the winged man by his throat, pulling him close to her face so that she could snarl at him. “They will find out when I am ready for them to. Until then, you will make something for me. Call it another debt cashed in.”

  Maebe released him, and he righted himself mid-fall.

  “What can I make for the Queen and her King?” He bowed as if he actually cared. The little shit.

  “You will make either an item or a series of items that will assist in weakening the veil between this realm, and the Fae.” He gave her an odd look, but she continued. “If it can be portable, that would be best. But I want you to teach Zeke how to do it, as well. He needs the training.”

  “He does.” Xiphyre shrugged. “If it will get rid of one of the favors I owe you, fine. It will be hard, though. The item that I will need has to be the highest quality, so it must be Thogan who makes it. The components…three different samples of Unseelie Fae blood, and two of blood from people of this realm.”

  He landed on the ground and paced, then stopped and closed his eyes. “Thogan? It’s Xiphyre, shut up and stop what you’re doing. I don’t care if you’re making mead, I said stop!”

  I leaned toward Maebe, whispering to her as I watched the scene in front of me, “Is he always like this?” She nodded. “When is he going to put pants on?”

  “I heard that!” The little man snapped.

  ***

  While Xiphyre prepared for his enchanting, Thogan was hard at work on the item he had requested. It was painfully simple, according to the Fae, so it shouldn’t take more than a few hours, but we would see how that went. As for the components, Rowland had offered his own blood as a component, and one of the children would likely have to suffice otherwise.

  It had taken some use of my raven messenger, but it made things much easier for us, being able to speak almost directly.

  Xiphyre would use some of his own blood, and Mae offered hers at the time of enchantment. Blood was a powerful thing and though he owed her, Xiphyre was crafty. Giving him access to it could prove dangerous. The final vial Maebe filled with a small creature she summoned with a word muttered so low that not even I could hear it.

  We met with the others, and then we were off. I guessed that during this time of day, most people who held jobs were at them, because the area nearing the castle was pretty deserted. The castle, made of stone and glass in small chunks that looked worn but the higher additions looked to be made of copper like I had seen from a distance. The side that faced the ocean was green from oxidation like the Statue of Liberty. It was cool to see that those same kinds of scientific changes and reactions took place here.

  There was a moat around the castle, more than thirty feet wide, and the land it was on seemed to be connected by a bridge over the water, and maybe some other contraptions under the water. Perhaps it was like a vessel? If the city was attacked, the royals and those in the castle could go out to sea and coordinate an attack by the water?

  Observations about the area aside, making our way toward the castle in human form had proven to be very easy, though it proved a little more difficult than we thought to get through the guards, even with the Braves’ help. They tagged along for this leg of the journey to give th
eir accounting of what had happened in Lindyburg as well.

  “The king and queen don’t have time for every person in the realm who cries foul of their local governors, we would need good proof, and even then, it would have to go through the proper channels to ensure it isn’t tripe.” The human guard, to his credit, seemed like he knew what he was talking about.

  His scarred features and burly build even lent him a little more credibility than the half dozen others around him. But it was just his bad luck that he happened across us.

  Maebe was fed up. She was tired of this city. She was tired of the iron. And she sure as shit was tired of being told no.

  “You will take us to the king and queen, now, human.” She smiled sweetly as she growled at him, throwing me off.

  “You say that as if you aren’t one yourself.” the guard narrowed his eyes at us. “You all here under false pretenses? Or are you like some of the others who try to pretend they’re important when they don’t get their way?”

  “I think you can drop the act, My Queen.” Yohsuke sighed and knelt on the ground where he stood.

  The others did the same, except for me. I stood at her side, on her right hand, just behind her shoulder. It was weird, but I would have to get used to it.

  Maebe waved her hand, and the majority of her glamour fell away. Her yellow sundress turning into a form-fitting, black silken affair with bits of yellow near the hips that peeked out. Pale, ice blue accents flared out along her chest and neck to highlight the ebony of her skin, even with the starlit freckles. On her head sat her crown of ice and shadow.

  “May I introduce the Queen of Dark and Cold, She Who Whispers Death to Her Foes, Queen Maebe. Ruler of the Unseelie Fae, and visitor to the king and queen of this realm,” I did my best to keep my voice emotionless as if I were narrating a video back home. My inflection was important, but my bearing was necessary. “It would be best if you led us to your rulers. I doubt they want you keeping visiting royalty waiting.”

  The guard motioned to the others to bow deeply, then stood. “Raplie, three sharps and a long, please.”

  The thinnest man with a horn on his left hip pulled a string deftly and raised it to his lips. He blew three sharp bursts of noise, then one long one that lasted ten seconds. The head guard clapped the younger man on the shoulder, then motioned that we follow him.

  Smooth talking, man, Yohsuke teased. Good thing master sergeant was always a stickler for news voice, huh?

  Video, video, video, I groaned back. Yoh had been privy to more than a couple of our lectures on the importance of videography from one of the senior Marines in my office who had gone to Syracuse for it. The dude was amazing, and I learned a lot from him, but damn did he have a hard-on for video.

  I pushed the thought from my mind and paid attention to our surroundings. We walked over the moat, the water giving me the creeps as I glanced down and saw motion under the lightly lapping waves. Not going into that water without a damned fine reason. No sir. Not this fox.

  Once we were back on land, we entered a large hall, this was easily another thirty feet wide, the large ebon-wood doors opened wide. The interior was simplistic, the masonry on the side decorated with murals of sweeping tides carved into the walls. It was what was in those tides that I found equally as intimidating as those outside.

  There were murder holes lining the stone walls and guards spaced every twenty feet as we walked through.

  Muu, shield arm to the left of Maebe, walk a little in front of her and out of her immediate reach. Jaken, you take the right side and do the same. Shit gets heavy, you two crush in and guard Maebe.

  They stepped forward with no argument, shields out and ready just in case.

  “Not a necessary precaution,” the guard leading us advised amicably. “Those murder holes are only armed in times of war and for training purposes.”

  We remained quiet, letting our silence speak as to our belief in that statement. He sighed and continued on. After a moment or so, he had us enter a room with lavish couches, servants who looked bored until we walked in, and a small table in the center. Once we were in and seated, they busied themselves pouring wine, water, and other refreshments as the guard went to fill in whoever it was that he answered to.

  It was a good half an hour before anyone came to collect us, but the man who did looked respectable. His armor was simple, covered in a tabard of a shark fighting what looked like some kind of octopus in seafoam green and gray. He wore a neatly trimmed blond and goatee with a smartly curled handlebar mustache. His gray eyes sparkled in the light of the room, and his perfectly coiffed blond hair had gray near the sideburns.

  The guy was definitely silver fox material.

  “Good day, all of you, I am Jay Renald.” He bowed low at his waist and lifted his head to speak. “My humblest apologies, Queen Maebe, on your heinous wait. The king and queen are receiving a report currently, but they have asked that you be introduced to them without delay. If you would, please, follow me?”

  “We would be delighted.” Maebe’s smile looked to be forced, and it showed on his face that he knew.

  He stood and backed out of the doorway, allowing us to stand and have Jaken leave the room first to ensure it was safe. After that was me, then Maebe, then the others, with Muu bringing up the rear.

  For the next leg of the journey, the halls were much more constricted, about six feet wide at the most, and there was only a set of guards at the beginning of the hall and another set at the end of it. Each of them were armed to the teeth. Swords on each hip, belt knives, shields on the walls behind them that looked great as decoration and as if they could take a beating, and they all held halberds.

  Guard Lvl 30

  That wasn’t bad at all. These must have been the guards that Zhavron had been talking about when he referred to ours. How he thought they would be better than these guys. If that was the case, Sunrise was in good hands indeed.

  We walked through both the hall and the guards unmolested, which was good. Starting a fight with these guys would have sucked if all of them joined in. Dodged that bullet.

  Through the doors was a truly spectacular sight to behold. I wasn’t one for the ocean, but with a view like this? I’d give it a shot.

  The entire back wall was open to the water, serene crystal waters lapped at the edge of the stone floor. Pillars supported the room, but they looked like they could have been made of pure sand like someone had made the entire structure to be a sandcastle.

  Inside, the room itself was open to the light from the noonday sun flooding in from the side windows and the rear wall. Carpeted flooring in the center gave way to what looked like tan stone.

  To the left of us as we entered, was a raised set of steps leading to three thrones, and before them was a couple that looked vaguely familiar.

  “And as you can see, Your Excellencies, if the city guard are allowed to continue this grievous injustice to our people, this dire dereliction of duty, our people will suffer.” The older gentleman spoke. His clothes were much, much finer than they had been, but that was the old man who had been at the gates. And next to him was his wife. Or was she really his wife?

  “Thank you, Pilth,” the man in the center throne rumbled, his baritone voice sturdy, but somehow full of kind regard. “And Virrity, your report?”

  “Just that a serious ass-kicking be issued to the city guard, Your Majesty.” The old man looked like he was about to shit himself, but the woman seemed uncaring. “They think that their time on and off shift is their own and not that of the city’s. Some of them care not for the subjects, the reputation of our city, nor even the reputation of the guard. Why, if it hadn’t been for the Fae Queen who just walked into the door over there and her entourage, a girl may have been sullied by one of those brutes.”

  The woman in the left throne leaned forward, it was hard to make out her features from this far, but her soft voice carried, “How do you mean?”

  “Had his greasy mitts almost all the way up her
blouse at one point, and when she made to defend herself and her honor, he made to hit her back.” The old woman took the can in her hand and thumped it onto the ground, making me jump a little. “But Queen Maebe of the Unseelie put a stop to that. Cursed the boy. Likely scared him into priesthood.”

  She cackled maniacally at that and turned to look over at us before continuing, “That is all of our findings, Majesties. If it pleases you, we would stay and welcome your guests with you? I am certain they would have no issue assuring you that our claims are just and fair.”

  Jay took that as his time to motion us forward. Maebe led the way of course, and the knight announced us, “My King, Queen, and Princess, it is with profound honor that I introduce to you, Queen Maebe, leader of the Unseelie Fae, the Coldest Night, her entourage and the Braves of the Thorn.”

  The King stood, followed by his wife and their daughter, striding down the steps with practiced ease, the king smiling as he greeted my wife. “Queen Maebe, a pleasant and unexpected surprise!”

  “Indeed.” Maebe smiled and curtsied at him. He came up short and bowed back, his wife and daughter mimicking Maebe’s greeting.

  The king was a man in his mid to late forties with greying hair and a short beard. He was a little flabby about the midsection but was tall and muscular still, his greenish-blue eyes sharp as they took us all in.

  “Please, it has likely been centuries since you cared for human politicking, I am Abioye Westwind.” He motioned to his wife, then his daughter, “My wife, and Queen, Chareen Westwind, and our daughter princess Villeroa. We welcome you to Zephyth.”

  The Queen Chareen was young, possibly even our age, in her twenties, well-muscled, but on the thin side and had long, silver hair. Her black, swallow-tailed eyes flitted to each face, as if memorizing each individual. The pint-sized princess was an adorable mix of her mother and father. She had white hair with the same thin eyes as her mother, but with her father’s blue coloration and was a little chunk. Like I said, adorable. She looked like she couldn’t be too much older than my son. Maybe around seven or eight?