The sign on the door was switched over to closed, but I knew she was there. She had set this up so that we could be alone to converse in private. I reached for the doorknob and it opened with ease. I urged the others in and then closed and locked the door behind me.
“It's about time,” I heard a familiar voice reprimand me. “I was beginning to think you'd never finish with that,” Merissa coughed to allow her time to find a word for my atrocity, “execution.”
“I'm sorry I was rude to you when I got here, Merissa. I'm even more sorry that you had to witness that. Please tell me you didn't stay for the whole thing?”
Merissa gave me a grave look that told me she'd stayed for enough to know what was going on. “I stayed up until you started throwing needles into that monster, I mean man. After that, I left so my stomach wouldn't try to jump out my throat.”
“I'm sorry,” I said again lamely. “It wasn't something I wanted to do, but I had to. Do you understand?”
“No, but I can try.”
“Oh,” I blurted, remembering the others in the room. “Where are my manners? Let me introduce you to my friends. This is Bartholomew, and this is Zephyra. Guys, this is my friend Merissa Nightshade.”
Zephyra appeared out of nowhere, but Merissa didn't jump. I got the feeling she'd known Zephyra was there all along. After we exchanged pleasantries, I sat down on a wooden chair opposite Merissa. Zephyra and Bartholomew didn't need to sit due to what they were, so neither Merissa nor I bothered gathering chairs for them.
I looked around the room once more to get a feel for the new atmosphere. The familiarity I'd expected was nonexistent. The room was full of plants Merissa grew to get the ingredients she needed. The glass cases which had held Lesley's jewelry were gone. Now the tables had large quantities of potions on them. Some were commonplace items from item boxes and others were potions made by Merissa for an array of purposes.
The only familiarity was Lesley's old chair. It rested in the corner inside a glass casing with a plaque reading, In memory of Lesley Mintlock. May he rest in peace.
I wiped a tear from my eyes and pulled my gaze back to Merissa.
“It looks like you've had quite the journey,” Merissa voiced. “An elven bow and quiver, a dwarven head piece, a dragon, and a spirit. The way you acted back there was cold-hearted and so unlike you,” she accused. “It seems your time away has changed you, or was it your time with the elves that changed you?”
I shook my head in protest. “The elves did not change me, Merissa. This world has. I have fallen in love with this world and its people and I have sworn to protect them if possible and avenge them if not. I am fiercer than ever in my desire to protect this world, but I am still me. What I did to Jared sickens me even now, but it had to be done.”
I swallowed back the taste of bile that was rising in my throat as the image of Jared's mutilated body and the mutilated bodies of his victims entered my mind again. I had to make Merissa understand. My uncertainty that she would listen made my next words a question. “Let me explain?”
She sat in silence, no indication that she would or would not hear me out. I took that as an unspoken yes and continued.
I told her what Aurora had told me about the Avengers disregard for not only Jared the Goblin Slayer, but for all the monsters of this world. I told her how the Avengers were created for the sole purpose of defending the innocent against these monsters and that we were failing in our duties. A fire had to be lit to show these monsters that we wouldn't stand idly by any longer.
“My actions today have terrified the players in this city and word will quickly spread of what the White Avenger has done. This is my declaration of war against the people who slaughter and oppress the innocent, whether they are innocents from your world or mine. I plan to make sure that the Avengers are re-evaluated.
“When they were created it became a fad among people. People wanted to be able to call themselves Avengers, but they didn't care about the calling it entailed. All they wanted was the fancy title. Look at the sheer number of Avengers we have today, yet there was no one who was willing to stand up to Jared? His killing spree should have been stopped long ago! And it could have been, if only the Avengers were as they were meant to be.
“I am going to write a declaration to all the Avengers, have one posted at every Avenger Headquarters, and have one sent to every current Avenger detailing my actions today, the reason for them, and my call to arms for the future. Any Avenger who isn't willing to take a more active role in protecting this world isn't qualified to be an Avenger and will be stripped of their status as one.
“My hope is, now that the monsters of this world know what we are capable of, that we will no longer stand idle and allow such atrocities, they will be more averse of committing their atrocities for fear of our retribution. I am going to completely alter what it means to be an Avenger and bring us back to what we were meant to be when Richard, William, and I created this organization with Aurora. Once everything is completed, it is my hope that we will not need to carry out horrible punishments like the one I just did. The very sign of our salute should instill fear in our enemies and I promise that one day soon it will.”
By the time I'd finished explaining, my anger burned. I could feel waves of heat rolling off me. I was practically screaming at the end. Somewhere during my explanation I had risen from my chair, unable to remain still.
I took a few breaths to steady myself and took my seat once more. When Merissa was sure that my anger wasn't about to burst forth again, she responded.
“I understand what you are doing, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I know well the horrors of war. I do not blame you for what you did, Valkyrie, because I've had to do similar in my youth. I used potions instead of needles, but the result was the same. I was working as a spy for Cordova City during the war forty years ago. I entered the kingdom of Nebula and poisoned the food for the army and the royal family. I killed many people, but I saved the lives of many others as Nebula was on a rampage, trying to claim the whole of Evanasia for itself.
“It was after the war ended that I took to wandering. Helping others with my potions was a way for me to atone for all those lives I'd taken. I only pray that the path you've chosen doesn't corrupt you as power so often can. I do not see that corruption in your eyes, only righteous anger, but you must always be wary not to let your dark impulses become your only impulses.”
After we'd cleared the air between us, I went into detail about my journey, telling Merissa every detail that I could, leaving out only the secrets that weren't mine to tell. I left out the information about Nature and Spirit magic, making it sound as though I happened to encounter Zephyra on my journey and we'd become friends. I don't think Merissa bought that entirely, suspecting there might be more to my relationship with Zephyra, but she knew that sometimes the truth had to remain hidden. It was why she told Lesley not to ask questions about how I'd gotten all the gemstones he'd wanted when I first started my training with him. Besides, she could tell that Zephyra, Bartholomew and I had a deep bond of friendship.
I asked how Merissa knew about spirits and she laughed. “The elves aren't the only people that spirits have revealed themselves to. There are a few magicians who know about the spirits, though you would be the first I've seen traveling with a spirit. Most encounters that magicians have had with spirits were confrontations because the magician had upset the spirit in some way.
“In fact, that's how I'd learned about spirits. I was almost killed by a forest spirit when I entered her territory to get some herbs I'd needed. The spirit attacked because there had been a lot of magicians that were coming into the forest and ripping up the spirit's sacred trees for use in creating wizard staves. I managed to convince the spirit I wasn't after her trees before she tore my heart out. Still not trusting me fully, she escorted me through the forest, providing me a handful of the herbs I'd needed in exchange
for me promising to never enter her forest again.”
I could tell Merissa wanted to ask me more about Zephyra. She was curious as to how I'd befriended her. She kept silent on the matter, not wanting to pry, and asked me to continue my story.
The story didn't take as long as it had with the elves because Merissa didn't want every facet of every moment. When we finished, I asked Bartholomew to begin the journey toward the remaining goblin village without me. It would take him approximately a day and a half to reach the village. I told him that I had some last-minute things to do in town and I would join him at the goblin village as soon as I could tomorrow. All I had to do was teleport via the town fountain to Rolanzo City and then walk from there.
The remaining goblin village was well hidden inside a dark forest outside of Rolanzo City to the east. The creatures that lived in the forest were rumored to be vicious demons. The goblins lived in the middle of the forest and no one had ever traveled deep enough into the forest to find the goblins’ home or learn of their existence. Since no one knew about their existence, it should be easy to make it to them before Jared did.
Zephyra made her farewells and returned to the spirit world. Bartholomew asked me to be careful and kissed my forehead before leaving for Rolanzo City. When they were gone, I turned once more toward Marissa so that I could put my plan into action.
“Do you happen to have any blank parchment?”
She nodded, went to the desk she kept her cash box at, and placed a quill and parchment on the desk. She could tell from the tone in my question that what I needed to do now would be easier alone, so she left me to my thoughts, retreating to the apartment above the shop.
I took my seat at the desk, waited for the right words to come as I'd done so many times while working for New Tech, New You, and began to write.
Trinity
It took me three long hours before I had a completed declaration I could be proud of. The document had a recount of my actions, my motives, and my decree. It clearly outlined what an Avenger's duty was and that anyone who was not willing to put their hearts into their roles would be stripped of their Avenger status. All Avenger contracts were as of now null and void. A new contract would be drafted explaining the stricter rules and regulations of the Avengers. Anyone who would not sign the new contract or anyone who signed and did not fulfill their end of the contract would be removed from their position by Aurora Eventide.
After finishing the declaration, I spoke in a calm voice, “Aurora, I must speak with you.”
Aurora knew everything that was happening at any given moment in the SRU. She may not have been physically present while I spoke with Merissa or wrote this document, but she knew everything already. All it took was to call her name and she appeared in front of me.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Aurora's voice penetrated the room before her body formed.
“It has to be done. The dream that we had for the Avengers has turned into a nightmare. We were never meant to be a popularity group, but a fighting force for justice. These changes will see to that. I'm sure our numbers will drop drastically, but we don't need people who aren't willing to do the work they signed on for.”
I sighed and added, “Besides, a smaller force of elite Avengers is far more capable than a large force of mediocre ones.”
Aurora nodded her assent. “There is something that worries me, though. Part of the new duties that you describe state that an Avenger must help those who come to them for help. What if someone like a player-killer comes up to an Avenger and lies about having something stolen from them to get the Avenger to kill for them? It happened before when Marvin, that's the name of the guy you punished last time for killing the goblins, tried to get Richard and William to kill you.”
“I've thought of a solution for that,” I countered. “But I will need your assistance. As the system's AI, can you make an item, a ring with a stone on it that will detect lies? It would be a simple item that would have a stone that changed color from blue to red, blue for the truth and red for a lie. Of course, the ring would have to be for Avenger use only.”
“An item like that would be possible, but I couldn't make it. I cannot interfere directly in this world. If you made the ring, however, I could turn the ring into a commonplace item so that we have infinite copies of it. It is similar to my making copies of your decree that I can send to all current Avengers.
“First, you would have to go to the magic store in town to buy an altar for Discovery of Magic. I will create a new enchantment spell that turns a ring into a truth ring and tell you what the ingredients are. Once you've finished the process, you will be able to create a simple ring and enchant it. Then I will take the ring and turn it into a commonplace item, but one that is kept only in the Avenger Headquarters on each of the five fantasy worlds that currently allow players to start from.
“You will also want to place an anti-theft enchantment on the ring so that non-Avengers won't be able to get their hands on it. I will also add a clause to the contract explaining how the truth ring works, prohibits Avengers from discussing their ring with anyone, and warns that anyone who leaves the Avengers will have to forfeit their truth ring.”
Aurora gave me a list of ingredients for the truth enchantment and I handed her my letter. She advised me that she would be waiting for me at Avenger Headquarters and disappeared. I made my way toward the nearest magic store so that we could get this resolved as soon as possible and Aurora could make up the new Avenger contract and give a copy of the new contract along with my declaration and the ring to every Avenger.
On the way to the store, I stopped off at the bank. I wasn't certain how much it would cost for the altar, so I withdrew another ten thousand gold coins. I also deposited all the gemstones I'd taken from the tomb of the goblin village. I would make use of these gemstones and the ones left from my time with Lesley to make beautiful items that would help players and residents of this world alike, but I didn't have the time for such endeavors yet.
At the magic store there were a few different kinds of altars and most of them were more money than I'd brought with me. I did find one that would work for my purpose. It was a smaller, travel-sized altar about a foot high, and two square feet in length and width. It had a small metal basin and a small, pull-out stand for the scroll or book to be placed. The price for it was only five thousand gold coins, so I bought it.
The hard part now was getting the ingredients to make the spell. I also needed the metal to make the ring. I didn't want to make the ring out of gold because that would attract people's attention toward it. I wanted the ring to look so plain and cheap that no one would give it a second glance.
I went to a shop called Craftsman's Market, which specialized in raw materials for different crafts. Most of the items were commonplace, but there were a few rare materials that were incredibly expensive. Normally, it would be easier for me to gather the items myself for free so that I could make more of a profit from the finished product when sold. Plus, making the item would mean more with materials I’d mined myself.
Maybe that was just the dwarven teachings in me, but it was how I felt regardless. What made making things in this world fun was the scavenge and the thrill of starting from scratch. If I had the time, I'd be out mining the metal I needed instead of getting it here, but time was against me.
I ended up buying a small chunk of stainless steel for four silver coins. I didn't worry about buying a ring facet. Lesley taught me how to make them myself and the dwarves taught me how to create jewelry without needing facets. As for the stone in the ring, I bought a cheap blue agate for six copper coins.
Now it was time to get the ingredients for the spell. I looked at the list Aurora had given me and a strange urge to throw something at her overtook me. The creation of spells using Discovery of Magic typically had between two and ten ingredients. The list in front of me contained forty-five ingredients. None of t
he items on the list were difficult to come by, but they were so sporadic. There were cooking spices, toothpicks, dirt, grass, a common rock, spit, a drop of blood, a twig, a feather quill, black writing ink, a metal sewing needle, a piece of jerky, a small loaf of bread, and a large throwing needle, just to name a few of the strange recipe items.
After my bewilderment subsided, I realized the need for such a large number of randomized ingredients. Aurora didn't want someone other than me to discover the recipe to create this spell in an altar. This item was only meant to be used by Avengers and the only way to ensure that was to make the spell too complex to figure out. At the bottom of the list was also a note telling me to destroy the spell scroll and ingredient list after I've memorized the spell so that no one could get their hands on it.
Most of the supplies for the spell were easy to come by. Some of them I already had, some I could get by just going outside. The only ones I had to buy were cheap enough that it only cost me six silver coins. Once I'd finished gathering the ingredients I went back to Merissa's shop.
She still had the closed sign on the door.
I entered using the key she'd given me before she'd left me alone and locked up behind me. I went into the back room where Lesley had done his metalsmithing. Surprisingly, Merissa hadn't removed the items inside. The room was completely untouched. I went over to begin heating the smelter and placed the stainless steel into the clay crucible. I used magical fire so that I wouldn't have to keep stoking it and placed the crucible in the smelter to melt the metal.
While the metal was melting, I placed the small altar on the floor, added a scroll, and put all the ingredients in the basin. This was one of the easiest skills I'd learned since entering the SRU, as the hardest part was finding the right ingredients, and this time the ingredient list had been given to me.
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