Reality inverted. Suddenly, I was flying.
A funeral procession trailed through the desert below me: a weeping, wailing parade plowing through a sandstorm. Triceratops hauled a massive stone sarcophagus toward high rose-colored cliffs. The face of the cliffs was carved out with columns and huge doorways. Dragons waited there for us, their heads bowed.
I turned, and through the scarlet fog, I saw the silhouette of a titanic humanoid figure striding behind the procession. It was an armored giant larger than the largest dragon, awe-inspiring to the Solonkratsu who had recorded his memories on this store. Was it... one of the Gods?
The recorder turned away, focusing back on the cave palace. It swung dizzily in all directions as the dragon landed and turned back to face the procession. As it watched the bleak scene, the titan came closer and closer... until I glimpsed it, looming out from the whipping clouds of sand. It was only there for a moment, a silhouette that vanished as the recording dragon closed his eyes, and the scene went blank.
I opened my eyes, back in the present, and found everyone staring at me - and the Spear. My hands were white-knuckled around the shaft. The Ravensblood Ruby was floating over it, and as I watched, it descended, and neatly fit itself into one of the divots beneath the blade. Slowly, the glow faded... but the light that crawled through the Spear remained red.
“This is... the... Ruby of Boundless Strength.” The words pulled themselves from my throat, unbidden. “The key to the Ruby Dragon Gate. The tomb of Khors and... and... damn, what did I just see?”
Ignas had turned pale. “You saw the memories on it?”
“Yes.” I looked down at the Spear again, and on impulse, I called up its description. “Oh wow.”
The Spear of Boundless Strength
Soul-Bound Fire Elemental Weapon
Slot: Two-Handed
Item Class: Relic
Item Quality: Mastercrafted
Damage: 160-185 Slashing or Piercing
Durability: 100%
Weight: 1lb
Special: Soul-bound, +50 bonus fire damage, +300 HP, +10 Strength, +%15 Evasion.
Special: Maker’s Blessing - Learn Crafting skills 5% faster.
“Interesting,” Ebisa remarked. “It changed the properties of the weapon.”
Ignas frowned. “Can it be removed?”
I used my finger to pry around the edges of the ruby, but it was firmly rooted. “Uhh… I don’t think so.”
Ignas sighed. “Well, I hate to part with another heirloom given that Andrik lost us the Scorched Armor of Lawislaw the Burned, but it seems the choice has been made for me. Such is the way of things. What do you make of the memory?”
“It was a funeral. Maybe of Khors himself,” I said. “There was a huge being… like a mech from some anime.”
Ebisa and Rin looked at one another.
“Can you describe it?” Rin asked.
I shrugged. “A hundred feet tall… humanoid. Kind of angular… reminded me a bit of a praying mantis.”
Ebisa drew a startled breath. “Ima’sancatul.”
“A Warsinger,” Rin translated. She sounded awed.
“A what?” Suri asked.
“They are a myth,” Ebisa said. “Giants from the time when the Aesari and the Solonkratsu lived together, before the Aesari enslaved the dragons and they became enemies. The Warsingers were made to fight the Drachan.”
“Do you know of any places in the desert with a high cliffside tomb or castle or something?” I asked them, looking to Suri. “That’s where they were taking this thing.”
She shook her head. So did Ignas.
“No.” Ignas shook his head. “We have been trying to find that place ever since this ruby was first read by my House’s founder. Wherever that place was, it has been swallowed by the Ati Krura Desert millenia ago. This was made during a time when the dragons had cities in what is now known as the Shalid. It’s over 5000 years old.”
I hefted the spear. “Well, maybe this spear will talk to me some more now. But speaking of land, what was it you wanted to talk about?”
“Ah. Well, first, let me show you something.” Ignas motioned to us all. “Follow me.”
He went to the wall, fiddled behind a painting, and depressed a button that slid open a section of wall. We trailed after him through a narrow stone hallway, plunging into the heart of Vulkan Keep. Some ten minutes later, Ignas drew up in front of another recess and opened a similar concealed door.
“This is the Bedchamber of the Serene Highness,” he explained, as we filtered in behind him. The splendid room beyond was furnished with dark wood, scarlet silk and velvet, gold and silver. “The Princes’ quarters - not the King’s Suite. Andrik kept his old rooms when he became Volod, in defiance of tradition. I would like to show you why.”
He stalked through the bedroom, past the orgy-pit-sized bed, and into a smaller room. Turning on the light in there revealed rows of wardrobes. Ignas confidently went to one of the doors, slid it open, and pushed the collection of fine clothing aside. There was a cleverly hidden hatch door back there.
“This is a last resort,” Ignas said. “A bolthole for the prince and others to hide if the castle was ever to be stormed. The lock can only be opened by the still-warm blood of a Corvinus scion. The blood must be fresh, so no man can just cut my throat and scrape the blood off his blade onto the sigil. Andrik and I used to play in these rooms. Rin, can you please conjure a light?”
“Sure. Ori, El, Phaz!” She concentrated, and a globe of white-blue light flared in the palm of her hand, lighting up the inside of the wardrobe.
We watched Ignas prick his finger, then trace a symbol behind the swinging robes and cloaks. There was a click, and he pushed the vault door into the panic room.
There was something wrong about it. A haunted, ghostly sensation swept out over me as I followed Ignas in. Suri came in afterward, shivering in her dress, with Rin and Ebisa piling in afterward. The room was about the size of a small study, eight by nine feet or so. A shrine had been set up with two tall tables flanking an altar that was a black rectangle of... nothing. Mounted above the featureless, angular block was the forked Y-symbol of the Ryuko Corporation.
“Do you feel that?” Ignas said quietly. “The... unhallow feeling of this place?”
“Sure do.” Suri grimaced. “Reeks of bad magic.”
“He sacrificed things in here.” Ignas pointed at bloodstains etched on the stones. “We found this symbol in his laboratory as well. This is the one I almost remembered seeing... but I could not summon the image to mind.”
“The Cult of the Architect,” Rin murmured.
I walked over to one of the tables. There was a black leather-bound book there. I added it to my inventory. It was [Andrik’s Journal]. I had the HUD read it to me, starting from the most recent entries.
“Today I reported to the High Priestess that the murder situation had escalated and that the Tuun and dragon had made an appearance. I was told that the appearance of the Queen hatchling was a matter of great urgency for the Master,” it read. “She urged me to keep up the ruse of hospitality while she sent faith militant to seize the creature before it grows more. She ordered I do everything to facilitate the rescue operation. The Architect is about to consolidate his rightful place as Ilia’s ruler.”
Then, a few pages on: “The damn agents failed! Once again, I wonder at the High Priestess’s loyalty and competence. Twenty men lost to a hatchling draak, a barbarian, and a Dakhari jailhouse whore! How could this be? At least I now know who the assassin is. Kanzo, that silverskin bastard... I should have had him killed.”
“What is it?” Suri peered over my shoulder.
“Here.” I took the book back out of my Inventory and handed it to her, then ordered my narrator to search back through the entries to the ones written about a month ago.
“The Master told us that he would return, and he has!” Andrik enthused. “Blessed be the Architect in all his might! I am truly overwhelmed by his munificen
ce. He contacted me after his Awakening and has told me to continue in the work of the church and bring it to heel. Of course the Architect should wish that the Church of the Maker be the law of the land... I cannot wait to see the future we shall build!”
“Fuck,” I said. “Ororgael is Baldr Hyland, and Baldr is now the Warden of Ilia.”
“Who?” Ignas said.
“Ororgael is an Architect,” Rin said from behind us. “He’s bad news.”
“You mean to tell me that one of the mythical progenitors of the gods now rules Ilia?” Ignas turned back to stare at her in surprise, and I realized - he couldn’t see her gold Admin ring.
“Yeah. He... umm... he hasn’t reached full power yet.” Rin glanced nervously at me. “But he’s very dangerous. I’m certain he was the one who inspired Andrik to smear you in the first place. Ororgael always said that Vlachia was too idyllic, that it needed more conflict, so... umm...”
“Could there be a more terrible foe?” Ebisa said, aghast.
Ignas’ face drew into hard lines. “No. I don’t think so. But we shall think of something.”
“Foe?” I frowned.
“Yes. And this ties into my having granted you peerage.” The Volod sighed, looking down at the blank altar. “This morning, we received a missive from Ilia. The Warden, this Baldr Hyland, is demanding that we extradite you and Karalti to Ilia immediately. If we do not, he will treat it as a declaration of war. We may soon have the armies of the Warden and the dragons of the Eyrie of St. Grigori on our shores.”
A twinge of nausea made my gut tighten. “Then why did you make me a Count?”
“I promised you sanctuary, and I intend to keep my word. Vlachia does not bow to the whims of bullies.” Ignas lifted his chin. “I have sent a return message stating that unless this ‘Lord Hyland’ can prove a serious crime was committed, I will consider it nothing but nonsense.”
“Thank you. I’m honored. You didn’t have to do that.” In truth, I was actually kind of gutshot to know this was happening... that Karalti and I might be responsible for causing a war.
Ignas snorted. “Andrik spent half his adult life serving this Architect for power he didn’t deserve. I will do no such thing. Vulkan Keep was built by dragons, to withstand siege by demons, and if he wants to break himself upon our walls, he is welcome to try. I shall be recultivating our good relationship with the Jeun Empire to the north, and I have already dispatched skilled ambassadors to North Zaunt and Meewhome. In addition to being Volod, I still lead the Nightstalkers - though Ebisa shall be the front from now on. As for you, Hector and Suri, I would like to make you an offer.”
I glanced at Suri. This smelled like a quest.
“As I’m sure you have heard, the Province of Myszno has been invaded by a vampire leading an army of undead,” Ignas said, pacing back and forth with his hands linked behind him.
“Right.”
“I’m going to send a real force down there, not the ineffective peasant militia that Andrik deployed,” Ignas continued, with a nod. “You two are now both ranked as military commanders. If you go to Myszno, unite the forces arrayed against the undead, and help lead them to victory, then the Duchy is yours. You may share it or divide it - that is up to you. But you shall become lords of Vlachia and will be entitled to form your own Houses, second only to the hereditary Voivodes and my own House, with all the benefits and riches that entails.”
New Quest: Unto Death
Myszno, in the south-east of Vlachia, was formerly one of the most beautiful places in the entire country. Now it is a ruin, blighted by undeath and ruled by a powerful vampire lord.
You have been offered a grant to travel to this troubled land and reclaim it from the vampire’s claws - a terrible proposition, given how powerful he has become. But with great risk comes great reward - you could become a true Count of Vlachia, with land, property, and income. Truly a base fit for a King - and a Queen.
Difficulty: Level 20+ (Extraordinary Difficulty)
Rewards: EXP, 60 Build Points, Charter to Resettle the Duchy of Racsa.
The new quest was also accompanied by an update to the very first quest I’d ever received:
Quest Update: The Shrine of the Elder Gods
When the Dark Star passes in front of the Moon, journey to the Thunderstones at Myszno, a village in the east of Vlachia - that is what I said to you, not long ago.
You have begun the journey of the Spear. Now, you know what you must do.
Reward: ???
Special: When you arrive at Myszno, seek the Baru, your brothers. Learn from them. Be prepared to accept the consequences of your decision to break the Moon Pact.
The last line caused me a twinge of unease, but it was what it was. Matir wasn’t judging me for breaking Andrik’s oath. If my fellow Tuun were going to attack me on principle, so be it. I looked to Suri and Rin. “What are you guys planning to do?”
“I’m going with you.” Suri gave me a terse nod. “If you’re a landed noble and Starborn, you’re bound to the land you own, right? Like... you’ll always spawn there by default?”
“Most assuredly,” Ignas replied.
Suri’s eyes were suddenly fierce and hard. “Then count me in. Countess Ba’hadir, at Your Majesty’s service.”
Rin looked between us and Ebisa, her lip in her teeth.
“Well... you guys... you’re going to need someone to help with magic and crafting,” she said. “But I’d really like to stay with Ebisa.”
Ebisa made a tutting sound. “Then I guess I’m going to Myszno.”
“What?” Ignas and Rin said at the same time.
“Kitten’s right,” she said, pointing at me and Suri. “These two meatheads need some subtler company. Do I have your permission to serve the realm, sire?”
Rin blushed so hard that her face turned blue. “Ebisa…”
I looked between them, and suddenly it dawned on me. In a few short days, these two were rapidly becoming more than friends. Ignas, however, could not disguise his shock. “Ebisa? Really?”
“Yes, really.” She drew herself up straight. “Your Majesty, I nominate Prathorna Ghan to lead the Nightstalkers so that I might accompany these Starborn on their mission. You need something dead. This assassin will be indispensable to them.”
Finally, Ignas seemed to notice the energy between the two Mercurions. “I see. Well, I cannot disagree... and I think it is good for you to spend time with another of your kind, but be ready to be recalled any day of the mission. If your king needs you, Ebisa, you will come. Until then, you have my leave. And my thanks.”
Ebisa bowed from the waist. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
There was a lot to gain from having my - our - own castle. If the worst happened, and Baldr massed Ilia’s forces, crossed the channel, and invaded... the further away we were, the more time we had to prepare, the better. I closed my eyes, feeling out for Karalti’s presence, and sensed her in flight. She was chasing birds in the air above Mount Racosul, radiating delight as she swam through the air like a swallow.
I looked down at the back of my left hand, where the Mark of Matir waited. Then I swiped my HUD in, and nodded.
“Quest accepted,” I said. “Let’s go and kick some skinny vampire ass.”
Book 3: Kingdom Come
Part 1: Before the War
Chapter 1
It was a beautiful, crisp fall morning in Vlachia. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and I was plummeting out of the sky on the back of a dragon, headed straight for Archemi’s unluckiest Glacier Toad.
“YEEEE-HAWW!” I clutched onto the saddle with my knees and one hand, spear gripped in the other as Karalti dove, arrow-straight, at the monsters below. “HERE COMES LEVEL SEVENTEEN, BITCHHHHES!”
The Glacier Toads were oblivious to the doom descending on them from the sky at two hundred miles an hour. Some of them were squabbling over who got to mate with who, their ice attacks freezing up the water. Others were rutting or shitting in the river and foul
ing the stream.
Just before we reached terminal velocity, Karalti snapped her wings out, fanned the fins of her tail, and bought us back up into a tight slingshot curve. The nearest Glacier Toads stopped humping and turned around just in time to see the dragon’s jaws gape open.
“CHAAAAARRR!” A plume of oily white flames erupted from Karalti’s throat, a sticky napalm-like stream she wielded like a bull-whip across the frog mob. Suddenly, the air was full of monstrous screams and the smell of cooked amphibian.
[You used a fire attack! It’s super effective! X3 damage!]
But we weren’t done yet. As Karalti pulled out of the dive and the g-forces crushing me against her saddle lifted, she twisted to the side, flinging me off into a controlled tumble. Like a gyroscope, I oriented mid-air and flew at the nearest flaming toad, Spear-first. Dark energy rippled along my arms and the weapon like electricity building charge around a Tesla Coil.
“Anchors away! Fire in the hole!” I slammed the Spear of Boundless Strength down underneath me and drove the glaive-like blade into the ground, releasing the built-up Umbra Blast. The toad I hit exploded into smoking goo. The other eight were struck by twisting, thorny tentacles of shadow that exploded from the ice like the arms of the motherfucking kraken. The Glacier Toads wouldn’t be affected by the Freezing debuff, but the attack itself still hurt them. A lot.
[Umbra Blast deals 1484 damage!]
[Glacier Toad is immune to Freezing!]
[You have killed Glacier Toad!]
“Take that, you slimy sons-of-bitches!” I yelled. “Who has the tentacles now, huh?”
The two attacks nuked the entire mob below 50% HP. Screaming, burning toads launched themselves at me, icicles erupting from their skin. I Shadow Danced out of the way, burning 10 HP to briefly disappear and dodge as they blew shards of ice in every direction. I couldn’t avoid all of them, though. As I reappeared, a couple of stray icicle shuriken impacted me in the arm and shoulder.
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