Kurt shook his head. Darrion was too smart to be in a room alone and not set up any precautions for any unwanted surprise visitors. There was probably a trap on the other side of the door, and it would surely alert him while also damaging the intruder. Kurt could wait out here for the Kobold and get the drop on him when he leaves. This would mean possibly not being back when everyone else woke up, though, and they’d grow suspicious.
He heard a noise inside and tensed up. Did Darrion know he was there? No, that wasn’t it. It sounded like he was talking to somebody. He pressed his ear against the door to see if he could make anything out.
“… but what happened to him, hee hee?” asked Darrion.
“There was an incident. It doesn’t concern you what happened to the contact.”
“Well it sorta does, hee hee, since now I have to go through additional work to get the same amount of pay. Do you know how difficult it was to get this stupid red orb? I tell you what, it was a lot! A lot of work! You know, hee hee, since you’re asking me to travel even further, I think it would only be fair to pay me more for the treasure… don’t ya think?”
The other voice paused to consider the Kobold’s proposition.
“Very well. That seems fair. I will increase the reward by 25 percent. Is that acceptable for you?”
“Hee hee, very much so!”
“Continuing on… there is another man who will act as you contact. He is currently heading north towards a secret location of ours, which we refer to as Base 504. I will send you the exact coordinates on this device. He’s coming back from Drax, and coincidentally was the one that noticed the presence of that orb in the first place. He took a new soldier with him, assuming he had the legendary item on him, but clearly he did not.”
Kurt’s eye widened. That must be the person who initially attacked Lorcan back in the Forest of Hildebrand. He took a soldier with him? As Kurt had suspected, Lorcan’s friend wasn’t killed, and must have willingly gone with this new contact.
“Not a problem, not a problem. I’ll head out once we are done with this call. I’ve already got the Amulet of Inganno, so passing through the bridge north will be no issue, hee hee.”
It sounded like this was all of the useful information Kurt was going to get, and he took a step back from the door. He could wait out here and take the orb and mysterious communication device from the Kobold… but he didn’t know what the device looked like, and there was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to figure out how it worked. No, that wouldn’t be a good idea. He had no issue tracking Darrion so far, and he intended to let the rat lead him to the paying contact and Lorcan’s friend. This would let him both cash in the orb, and get paid by the Mage for escorting him to his friend.
The Tracker quickly started back towards the inn where the others were sleeping. It had been a couple of hours since he left, and they should be stirring soon. Something was a little odd about the Kobold’s conversation with the other voice. Kurt had been to Inganno about a decade earlier, and had no idea what this Amulet of Inganno the rat mentioned was. Why would that help him get across the bridge north? It had always been free to travel on, as it increased commerce in Inganno from the lands to the north.
He shrugged as he made it to the inn. It was probably nothing important.
Chapter 4
Lorcan and his group were walking at a brisk pace towards the bridge, much to the chagrin of Gilnar.
“Oi, ya’ll are goin too fast,” he complained. “You know I can’t keep up with this speed!”
“We’re getting close to the Kobold,” replied Lorcan. “The sooner we get to him the sooner we won’t have to hurry!”
“Can’t come soon enough!”
Lorcan looked over at Kurt. “It does seem like we are close, doesn’t it?”
Kurt nodded without looking over. He appeared to be lost in thought as they approached the bridge.
They came to a stop when they reached the edge of Inganno. The bridge up ahead was much longer than any bridge Lorcan had seen before. The chasm below seemed to stretch for miles, and the darkness below didn’t reveal when it ended. In front of the bridge before them was a giant stone door blocking it, and a bored looking guard reading a book.
“Look down there,” said David as he pointed to the bridge. “Is that a Kobold?”
Lorcan peered down the bridge, and a little past half way was a hunched over tiny creature with big ears and a tail.
“Hey!” yelled Lorcan, running up to the front of the bridge. “Come back here, thief!”
The figure jumped and turned around. Lorcan could just make out his face, which turned from a stunned expression into a cocky one. The Kobold waved over to them mockingly, and then continued on his way.
“Did the Mage really think that would work?” mumbled the Warrior to his wife. The Sandy shrugged.
As the others caught up to him, Lorcan turned to the gate keeper.
“How much is the toll? We’ll pay it, we just need to hurry! That rat stole my stuff!”
The guard slowly glanced up at Lorcan. Apparently, this wasn’t as exciting for him as it was for Lorcan and his party.
“Okay? I don’t see how this affects me,” said the guard. “I didn’t take your ‘stuff.’”
“Just-just open up the way please!”
“Sure, just-just show me your Amulet and I’ll let you guys through.”
Lorcan look back at the others to see if any of them would explain. They all looked as confused as he did.
“I’m sorry,” pipped in Sandy. “What Amulet?” k`1`2
“Ah, so you guys don’t have it. Well, can’t let you through then.” The guard went back to reading his book.
“Wait,” panicked Lorcan. The Kobold and orb were right in front of them, if they hurried and got this Amulet, they’d be able to catch up to him soon. “Where can I get this Amulet?”
The guard glanced up. “50 gold.”
“Oh, the item just costs 50 gold? A bit steep, bu-“
“No, the information on how to get the Amulet is 50 gold.”
“Hey now, that doesn’t seem fair!” complained Sandy.
“10 gold,” said Lorcan.
“50 gold. You already told me how badly you wanted to catch up to that Kobold.”
Lorcan clenched his fist and turned to walk away.
“Come on guys, let’s just walk around that chasm and catch up with thief on the other side.”
Kurt grabbed his arm as he tried to pass him. “Not doable. The chasm has large mountains on both ends. It’ll take us weeks to get to the other side if we don’t take the bridge.”
Lorcan rubbed his eyes and took a few breaths. He had no choice.
“Fine. Here.”
Lorcan slammed his 50 gold onto the guard’s book.
“Oh, thanks,” said the guard, pocketing the money. “All you’ve got to do to get the Amulet of Inganno is beat our dungeon: Death’s Chasm.”
“Death’s Chasm? There wasn’t a dungeon when I was here a while back,” said Kurt.
“Yup, it’s new. Since we aren’t the friendliest of towns in Hyperion’s Keep, a lot of lower leveled players would try to head north as soon as they arrived here. They wouldn’t take the time to get to at least level 15, and the number of player deaths was getting worse every day. The government came through and threatened to shut down Inganno’s… unique nature… which most of the residents weren’t a fan of. An agreement was reached between the people and the government to block the bridge north, and setup a dungeon that travelers must beat first in order to prove they are capable of what lies beyond the bridge.”
“Where’s the dungeon at?” asked Lorcan
The guard reached out his hand. “Another 50.”
Before Lorcan could react, Kurt had his bow out with an arrow nocked, less than a foot away from the guard’s face. “He’s paid enough. Any more, and he won’t have any left over to pay me for my services.”
The guard dropped his hand. “Yeah, I figured as
much. Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
He waited for the Tracker to lower his weapon, and then point off to his left.
“About a half mile down that way is the dungeon portal. It ranges on how quickly people finish it, but with a five person team, you could finish it within a few hours. Heads up, it might be quick but it ain’t easy. Most people train up a long time before attempting it. While the dungeon has decreased deaths overall, it isn’t uncommon for people to die in there. Hints, you know, the name.”
With that, he went back to reading his book.
The group made their way towards the portal.
“Sandy and David, I’d be happy to have you two join us in this,” said Lorcan as they all walked. “Any gold I get in here will go to you two. Every little bit towards the guild fund helps, right?”
“We would be happy to,” said David. “We’ve never done a dungeon before. I’ve heard it can pay well to run players through dungeons, so if this goes well maybe the two of us can start that business up. Always wanted to be self employed.”
“Oh yeah, this is my first dungeon too,” Lorcan realized, turning back to Gilnar and Kurt. “Are either of you familiar with how dungeons work? Any words of wisdom?”
“Aye,” said the Dwarf. “Dungeons take you into a separate space, away from the the main realm. You’ll still be able to take anything you want with you in and out of the portal, but if you don’t go in as a group, you won’t see anyone else. This allows any number of adventurers to take on a dungeon at a time, without having to wait for all the baddies to reappear. The enemies in there will be stronger than the ones you fight out in the wild, and many will have special abilities, or will only be vulnerable to certain kinds of attacks. You gain bonus experience while you are in there, plus a higher amount of gold, for your trouble.”
They arrived at the portal, and Lorcan made to go in.
“Wait a minute, lad,” said Gilnar while placing a hand on the Mage’s shoulder. “Once we enter the dungeon, we can only leave once we have completed it. No matter what. Make sure you’re as prepared as you can be.”
Lorcan thought about it. He was full on mana and health, and had his potions on him from earlier. Any more time they spent out here would only accomplish letting the Orb of Agner get further away.
He took a breath and stepped through the portal.
Chapter 5
Jacob scanned the horizon below them as he lay on the ground, on guard for a potential ambush from Gamebreaker. Felix was also prone beside him, looking through a small telescope down at the entrance of an unassuming cave. According to Felix, this was Base 504.
“Notice anything strange?” whispered Jacob over to his shady ally.
“Hmm… nothing out of the ordinary from what I can tell,” thought Felix aloud. “We are supposed to place a black X near the entrance of our hideouts if they are abandoned or if there was an attack, but I’m not seeing any markers. There also isn’t any signs of conflict or blood anywhere, which is promising.”
“So it should be safe to move up?”
“Perhaps. However, my man in Inganno was taken out before he could place any warnings for us, and there was also no signs of struggle, let alone a body. I was hoping to notice something different here, but unfortunately there is no way to know for sure if someone is in there or not without checking it ourselves.”
Felix sighed, and then nodded over to Jacob.
“Nothing left to do but move in. Remember what I said-”
“I know, I know. If your comrades are there, shut up and be don’t draw attention to myself. If we run into Gamebreaker, shut up and don’t draw attention to myself.”
“Perfect.”
The two approached the cave with as much stealth as they could muster. When they entered, nothing stood out that wouldn’t be in any other cave. Felix approached the back wall and started feeling around.
“There we go,” he mumbled as he found a small plastic covering and flipped it open.
Jacob watched as Felix knelt to be eye level with the tiny keypad, and entered in the numbers “1-3-9-3”. He took a mental note. While he was willing to work with the hooded man for now, he wasn’t confident that their alliance would hold forever. This is the guy who killed him, after all.
Before he could question the current arrangement any further in his mind, the wall next to the keypad opened up a few feet, revealing a small passage.
“Code still works,” whispered Felix. “That’s promising. Come on.”
Felix beckoned Jacob as he walked into the tunnel. They made their way down a thin, spiral staircase, which appeared to have been carved out of the ground. When they arrived at the bottom, there was another door. Felix removed his blue dagger, prompting Jacob to do the same with his sword.
Felix opened the door.
On the other side, lights above reflected off the white floors and walls, temporarily blinding Jacob. As he regained focus, he saw what looked to be a laboratory. Tubes with floating little creatures and plants were scattered across the room, dozens of microscopes and strange machine cluttered on the handful of long tables. Several large monitors hung from walls, some showing lines of code while others showed maps of Hyperion’s Keep.
Felix hadn’t stopped to take in the scene, and moved quickly towards the back of the lab, where there were two doors left ajar. Jacob followed close behind, trying not to be too distracted by everything around him. He hated science in school, but this looked cool, like in the movies.
Felix nudged both doors open. Each room appeared to be an identical bedroom, with a large bed taking up most of the space, and a dresser off to the side for clothes. Both beds had people sleeping in them, one with a male and one with a female.
Felix visibly relaxed and sheathed his dagger as he approached the woman.
“Hey Amber, wake up. Why haven’t you been answering the boss’ calls?”
Amber didn’t stir as Felix leaned over her.
“Amber. Hey, wake up!”
Jacob watched as Felix shook the woman, gently at first, and then more violently. When he let go, the woman didn’t move.
“Is… is she dead?” Jacob quietly asked.
Felix shook his head with a confused look on his face. Jacob realized this was the first time the hooded man didn’t seem to be in control of the situation since the Warrior first met him.
“No… she still has hit points. Even if she was put to sleep by a spell, me shaking her would have broken the spell and woken her up… I don’t understand.”
He rushed over to the room with the man asleep on his own bed and tried the same thing.
“Fred, wake up!”
Nothing happened, and Felix came back to Jacob, who had chosen to stay in the door frame.
“What should we do?” asked Jacob. While the gadgets in the lab looked fun to try out, he was feeling more and more uneasy and wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
“Let me call the boss and report in… He’ll know what to do.”
Felix removed a small disk from inside his cloak and pressed some small buttons. A few seconds later, a small figure appeared, projected on top of the device. He had on a faceless mask and spiked armor. This did little to reassure Jacob he was working with the good guys.
“What is it, Felix? Have you scouted Base 504 yet?”
“Yes sir. Jacob, our newest recruit, and I have made it into the base. Fred and Amber appear to be knocked out, and won’t wake up. I’m unsure of what the next steps are.”
The small figure paused to think about this new development.
“Interesting. Well, unfortunately it seems as though Base 504 has been compromised. Destroy it in case Gamebreaker comes back for anything.”
“What about Amber and Fred? Are we to drag them back with us? My mount can only hold two.”
“Of course not. Gamebreaker could be altering their minds as we speak! Dispose of them along with the rest of the place.”
Jacob jaw dropped in shock, and he glanced
up at Felix. The man’s hood hid his face most of the time, but to Jacob, the shadow that fell across it appeared to become even darker.
“… Yes, sir.”
“When you finish, setup camp nearby and wait for a Kobold to show up with a legendary item. Pay him, and then take the orb with the Warrior up to Benelica. The Council will await you both there.”
With that, the hologram disappeared.
Felix stood staring at the device for a moment before putting it back in his cloak. An orb? Could that be the Orb of Agner that Lorcan had? Jacob’s heart skipped an excited beat, and then he tried to calm down. He could worry about that later. Felix’s stern face was a more pressing matter.
“You’re not gonna actually kill these two… are you?”
“You haven’t met the boss yet. When he wants something, anything, you do what he says. He’s not someone to be crossed.”
“Hahahaha!”
Laughter that sounded like it was reverberating from inside of a mask rang out behind them.
Jacob and Felix slowly turned to see a humanoid figure laying on one of the empty lab tables. He looked comfortable, laying with his head on his hand and elbow on the table. His garb was black and white, and he was wearing a mask with a demon’s face on it, which resembled a Japanese Oni from the Pre-Game era.
“Your boss is someone who I’d very much like to cross!” exclaimed the hollowed voice, a chuckle escaping him once again.
Felix stepped in front of the stunned Jacob and pulled out his dagger. With narrowed eyes, Felix spoke just one word.
“Gamebreaker.”
Chapter 6
As Lorcan emerged through the portal, he found himself in the beginning of a cave. Behind him was a wall with no exit, and before him was a thin tunnel. To the right of the tunnel was a large board with five circles, each connected to one another with a small line. The last circle had a picture of a skull and crossbones. He felt a chilling breeze that seemed to come from up above. When he looked, all he saw was darkness, stretching up forever. The portal must have teleported him to the bottom of the chasm. His group slowly materialized around him, each taking a look around.
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