Zones of Alacria- The Dragon Gate

by K R Dimmick

  That sounded perfect for me. I started laughing. I’d come into this game hoping to have anything other than a support build. And yet, here I was: a healer, creating Alchemy potions, a lot of which were buffs, and now I was also a Scribe, which sounded like the ultimate support tool. Oh well. So what if I wasn’t following any of my plans, I was enjoying myself. Wasn’t that what games were supposed to be about?

  I clinked my mug against Arik’s.

  “Let’s go have some fun.”

  I awoke slightly later than I would’ve liked, with Soter lying behind me like a large, warm pillow. A large red number five glared at me from the top right of my vision. Two days left. It was time to attempt creating my Phoenix potion. If everything went according to plan, I was going to go to the Dragon Gate later today. That way, I had a spare day on my timer in case things didn’t quite pan out like I was hoping they would. Hopefully, the Herbalist had my ingredients ready by now.

  As I got up and started walking toward his hut, I could hear some shouting off in the distance, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. I guess someone had probably drunk too much at the party. I chuckled, wondering how Mikael and Damir were doing. Probably not well, if last night’s drinking match was anything to go by.

  The Herbalist not only had all the ingredients processed, he’d given them to Aliz already and she was in the Alchemy hut, working on the potion.

  “How far have you gotten?” I asked after finding out how the party had been for her and Suri.

  “I’ve made quite a bit of progress,” replied Aliz. “Look at the recipe.”

  Phoenix Potion:

  1 bottle of water

  7 drops of Belladonna Berry clear tincture

  Pulp made from 2 Vetiver Grass stems

  10 finely ground, dried Wild Strawberry leaves

  10 drops of Superior Healing Potion

  20 powdered Alum Crystals

  Liquid from 1 chopped Solomon’s Seal Root

  Combine the water and tincture over Hot heat until black.

  Add the resulting liquid to the pulp, stirring until you have a smooth, purple paste with no lumps.

  Add the dried leaves and let sit until separated.

  Combine the liquids with the Alum Crystals, shaking until dissolved.

  Combine the solids with the healing potion, stirring until absorbed.

  Collect the gas from heating the Solomon’s Seal liquid over Molten heat until evaporated.

  Infuse mana into the gas, then bubble the mana-infused gas through the liquid until it turns silver.

  Combine the liquid and solids into a paste and heat over Hot heat until the mixture becomes liquid again.

  “So far, it’s working. I reached the point where I had to wait until it all separated, then I dissolved the powdered alum, added some of the healing potion I created yesterday to the solids, and then I evaporated the Solomon’s Seal liquid,” she carried on. “Now we just have to do the mana infusing part that I can’t manage alone.”

  “Wow, you’re nearly finished. I didn’t realize I’d slept in that late.”

  “Well, that’s what a party will do to you,” she said smugly. “In fact, I’ve actually gotten two sets of the potion created up to this point, that way, you’ll have a spare if you need one.”

  I grabbed the gasalator that was full of a sparkly, white gas and infused as much mana as I could into it. Once again, it took more mana than I’d thought it would, this time taking 620 of my available 635 mana pool.

  “I can see why your mother suggested you become a magic user,” I declared. “Or befriend one. It’s amazing how much mana these potions use up.”

  “Yes, when we’ve got more time, I’m going to ask for some help leveling up so I can increase my mana pool,” Aliz replied distractedly.

  While I’d been working, Aliz had set up the same contraption as last time, with the clear liquid swimming in one end, ready to be infused. I put the gasalator in place, but before Aliz could start the infusion process, I held up my hand.

  “I know you chanted something yesterday to get this to start, what did you say?”

  She whispered quietly in my ear, so it wouldn’t start the contraption, and then stood back to let me have a go.

  “Satus infusium,” I said, waving my right hand clockwise over the device.

  I was grinning like a crazy person as the appliance magically started working.

  She whispered the words I needed to say to stop the process and we both waited with bated breath, watching the liquid slowly turn silver. As soon as we’d gotten something that looked like liquid metal sloshing around in the end of the pipe, I knew it was time to turn it off.

  “Finis infusium,” I declared, moving my left hand counter-clockwise over the appliance, causing the contraption to instantly stop itself.

  This was the kind of magic I’d dreamed of as a child, all magic words and waving of wands. I was still grinning like an idiot as Aliz finished off the potion and presented the bottle to me.

  Success! You have created: A Potion

  Try it out to see what effect is has.

  It looked like I’d trapped a star system in a glass bottle. The potion somehow had a blue-pink hue to it, while at the same time, it twinkled, looking a little like glitter or what I imagined fairy dust would look like

  Yet another potion I couldn’t test before it was time, which was worrying, but there was nothing I could do about it. We only had three of the roots, and if I wanted a backup, I had to just take the potion as it was. I slipped it into my inventory, leaving me with a single spot left.

  Since my mana had all regenerated by this point, I grabbed the other gasalator full of the sparkly, white gas and infused another 620 mana into it. Just as I was about to add it to the infusing machine, a shout rent the peaceful surroundings.

  “Orianna! Ow! Stop hitting me,” yelled a familiar sounding voice.

  I gave the gasalator to Aliz and hurried out into the clearing.

  Standing there, with his hands tied behind his back and multiple bruises all over him, was a very angry looking Baynor. He was surrounded by Kira and five of her elven hunters.

  “What is the meaning of this?” thundered King Faelyn as he walked into the clearing.

  Baynor frantically looked around while struggling against the rope Kira had tied around him. He did a double take as he spotted me and started screaming my name again.

  I ran over to where they all were, and everyone paused to stare at me.

  “What are you doing here, Baynor?” I asked, “And how did you get in here?”

  “I need your help. Well, actually, Saris needs your help. We made a mistake trusting Andrew.” He stared at me with a pleading look on his face.

  Mikael, Allion and Damir all arrived in the clearing to find out what the commotion was about.

  “As for how I got in here,” he continued, “Colt told me that you’d had a bunch of elves with you when you ambushed them, so I put two and two together and figured out you must be living with them. I ran into Elvenwood, screaming that I needed to see you and this lot jumped on me.”

  “He somehow persuaded me to let him live and speak to you,” Kira said. “If I was wrong, tell me now and I’ll kill him.”

  “No,” I held up a hand and a look of relief washed across Baynor’s face. “Let’s hear him out. Just make sure the guards are looking around for invisible extras, in case this a set-up.”

  A rather pale King Faelyn ordered the guards to search the place.

  “I swear I’m alone,” declared Baynor. “Saris is in really big trouble. She can’t message you because Andrew had us all block you when he kicked you out of the guild. I know she didn’t believe you about the sacrifices, but she did something stupid and got put on prison duty like you did. The following morning, she came running to me and told me she’d been wrong, and you were right. She saw Andrew and Joe sacrifice another two people. We decided it was time we left the guild.”

  “Okay, but you’ve fo
rgotten I can see your guild tag, and you’re still in the Dragon Hunters,” I said, crossing my arms.

  “I know, I know,” Baynor quickly responded. “Before we could leave, Saris decided to confront Andrew about it.”

  Oh, that had been a bad idea, I thought. No wonder he was here.

  “Saris is now locked up in the prison and Andrew has discovered he can sacrifice her over and over to fuel his artifact, while the prison cells cause her to spawn right back inside them.”

  I felt like I wanted to throw up. No one deserved that.

  “I managed to sneak in to see her and she begged me to go and find you and ask for help. She said something seems to have finally driven him over the edge. He’s continuously going on about how commoners and aberths are completely worthless. When she asked why he was doing this, he told her that contributing her life force to the guild was the single best use for a double-crossing commoner and that he should have thought of doing this before.” Baynor started shaking. “We need your help. If I ask anyone in the guild, I’ll simply end up in there with her. Can you please help me rescue her? We’ll do anything you ask in return. I promise.”

  I watched as a series of golden lights spun around Baynor, creating a grid that disappeared into him. I guess this was his chance to earn some Reputation Points.

  “You need to stop listening to him,” declared Mikael. “They’ve done nothing but try to kill you and prevent you from getting your potion made, and we’ve both seen them releasing corrupted beasts in the forest.”

  A few of the elves gasped as they obviously hadn’t been told what we’d seen happening.

  “They deserve what they’ve created for themselves,” continued Mikael. “You have two days left to get to the Dragon Gate. This is simply yet another stalling tactic from Andrew. You have to stay focused.”

  I hadn’t even thought of that. If this was a trap, I was in deep trouble. Equally, could I really stand by and do nothing if what he was saying was true? There was no way someone could last through that and stay sane for any length of time. I looked around at all the faces staring at me, waiting for me to decide what to do. Before I could say anything, Baynor broke the silence.

  “No!” He shouted. “How?”

  We all waited patiently for him to finish as his eyes scanned back and forth, obviously reading something on his interface. He took a deep breath.

  “I’ve just received a message from Andrew,” he said, looking at me. “He said he knows where I am and what I’m up to, and that if he ever sees me or you again, we’ll be put to the same use as Saris because it’s time aberths and working class scum were useful for something.”

  Chaos erupted as people started shouting and the hunters started approaching Baynor as if they were going to kill him.

  All of a sudden, he let out a gasp and grabbed his arm. I noticed a small, vibrant green cross on the back of his right hand, which somehow seemed to move before my eyes and change into something that looked more like a capital W on a stick. Instantly, Baynor’s face went completely blank and he calmly turned to walk away.

  52

  No Other Option

  Kira was the first to react and grabbed the rope around Baynor, stopping him from making his way out of El Sanctum.

  “What just happened?” asked King Faelyn.

  “I’m pretty sure his protection sigil just activated,” I replied.

  Everyone turned their heads to stare at me, leaving Kira hanging onto Baynor, who was still calmly attempting to walk away.

  “I just watched the sigil on his hand morph into something else,” I explained. “I think we just found their real use. They clearly overwhelm someone’s mind and cause them to head somewhere. From the look of the direction Baynor is still trying to go in, my guess would be Ratters Town. Andrew has pretty much taken over that town and he’s probably using the town hall for his own purposes now.”

  Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Corruption 2

  You have received 20,000 XP.

  “Well, at least we know why Andrew is giving everyone those sigils now,” added the King. He reached into his inventory and handed something to me. “I believe this is what I owe you.”

  You have received 5 Florins.

  I’d completely forgotten about the multipart quest I still had active. The King once again interrupted my thoughts.

  “I know we don’t always get on with humans, but recently, I’ve come to reevaluate my thoughts on that topic. You’ve shown me I might need to reconsider, especially since I now have five of you living here, and I can honestly say it’s the best thing that could have happened to us. So, with that in mind, I think we need to work out a way to stop Andrew from doing this to all the humans in Ratters Town,” King Faelyn waved in Baynor’s direction. “I’d like you and Arik to work together and find a way to reverse these sigils, so Andrew has no power over them.”

  You have received a quest: Corruption 3

  Work with Arik to find a way to reverse the protection sigils.

  Completion of this quest will give you 20,000 XP and 10 Florins.

  Do you accept? Yes / No

  I quickly thought yes as Arik bowed to his King.

  “Did you see what it looked like?” Arik asked earnestly. “Both before and after?”

  I nodded.

  “Good, then we stand a chance of working out how to reverse it,” he said.

  “Before we start, we need to find some place to put Baynor so he can’t leave,” I turned to Kira. “Can you lock him up somewhere?”

  She arranged for a couple of the hunters to pick him up and carry him somewhere they could keep him safe.

  “If you’re even thinking about rescuing this Saris, you’ll need some way of removing her from the Dragon Hunters guild, or Andrew is going to come looking for her again,” the King cautioned. “I don’t want another attack on El Sanctum.”

  He had a point. I still wasn’t sure that it wasn’t a trap, but I really couldn’t leave her to Andrew, even for a few more days. Equally, there was no way I could get into the Dragon Hunters’ guildhall without Baynor. Well, other than as a prisoner, which I was determined to avoid.

  “If I do this rescue, I’ll need to take Baynor with me, because he’s the only one that can get us into the Dragon Hunters’ guildhall,” I said, mostly thinking out loud. “So, we’ll probably need to get him to leave the guild as well, when we’re done. Trouble is, getting kicked out of the guild is what reset my timer.”

  “Hah!” Snorted Aliz, who’d just joined us. “It was Andrew’s potion that did that to you. From what you described, I think he mixed several potions together to create the one he gave to you when he kicked you out of the guild. There are several guild potions listed in the journal. There’s one to make you share XP with the guild, one to channel all your free XP into the guild and one to stop you sharing XP with your guild.”

  “I bet they had to drink the same initial potion I did, which means they’re almost certainly sharing their XP with the Dragon Hunters guild,” I said.

  “Well, I know for a fact that you can’t contribute XP to a guild you don’t belong to,” declared Aliz. “So, they’re going to have to take the XP Release potion before they can leave the guild. I’m going to get started on that, while you and Arik work on the sigils. If it needs a mana infusion, I’ll come and find you.”

  She went back to the Alchemy hut.

  “I’ll be at Arik’s,” I yelled at her retreating form.

  “My most prized possession,” Arik declared reverently as he pulled a large tome off his bookshelf.

  The book was thicker than my arm and covered in some kind of bright blue, leather-like substance. The whole thing glowed faintly as well. Arik waved his hand across the front of the book, causing the glow to vanish and the book title to appear in large golden letters on the front cover. I peered at it, trying to make out what it said. However, the more I looked at the letters, the more they seemed to squirm and make themselves unreadable
.

  “It’s locked with magic so only I and those I choose can see it,” Arik said in response to the look on my face. “The dragon hide cover is what keeps it safe from everyone else. If someone takes it, it simply vanishes out of their hands and appears back on my shelf. Let me unlock it for you.”

  He muttered something I didn’t understand, and all of a sudden, the title of the book popped into focus, written in huge letters across the front cover.

  Orquin Glic’s Compendium of Marks, Symbols and Runes.

  “There. Now, anytime you need to access it, you can,” Arik said, opening the thick book and handing it to me. “I need you to look through and see if you can find both the initial sigil and the new one in here.”

  There was a single graphic accompanied by its description on each of the crinkled pages. I flipped through, trying to match the picture up to the ones in my memory.

  “This one,” I exclaimed. “This is what it looked like before it changed. It was bright green, too.”

  I pointed to a symbol that looked like a vertical cross with the sidebar sloping down to the right.

  “Nyd,” Arik replied, clearly in his element now that we were researching things. “It’s an elven rune that means ‘to bring help and salvation’, however, it also has an older meaning that is all to do with constraint and limiting choices.”

  “Well that’s an interesting choice of rune,” I said. “I expect he was banking on most people being unaware of its older meaning.”

  Arik nodded sagely.

  “Would the humans have known any of these meanings, though?” I asked out of curiosity.

  “Probably not,” Arik said somberly. “It’s really only Scribes like myself who understand the meanings or power of runes and symbols. Plus, only Scribes can activate them to create sigils that have a magical effect.”