by Deck Davis
He looked at them. He concentrated so much that it made his head hurt. Without a better answer, he almost wanted to just have done with it and name the wife.
“Do you have your answer?” said the Ancient.
“Just wait.”
Then he saw it. He’d missed it all this time, since he was looking for an obvious clue in the attempted murder. He’d overlooked a finer detail. He stared at the older man in the middle of the row. Around his neck, almost disappearing down his shirt, he wore a necklace. On the end of it, there was a cross.
This man must have been an advisor to the king of some sort. That meant that he’d know about the king’s plans to dissolve the church. The cross around his neck meant the man was religious, which in turn meant that he wouldn’t agree with the king’s orders. Was it reason enough to kill him? Well, religion was a strong motivation for murder.
Nathan turned around. “I’ve got it,” he said.
The Ancient beckoned him over. “Then come here, Ken, and tell me what your fine mind has concluded.”
He was about to walk over to the Ancient and name the king’s advisor as the suspect. He was sure of his conclusion. But then he stopped. He noticed something that threw everything in doubt.
The red-haired lady’s right hand - there was something staining her skin. On her right index finger, he saw a faint trace of blood. Almost as if she’d tried to wash it away, but had missed a spot.
It was her. It had to be.
Time to decide. The advisor, or the woman? Which one to choose?
The last grains of sand trickled to the bottom of the glass. He had just seconds left.
“A decision, please,” said the Ancient.
“It was the wife,” said Nathan. “She did it.”
“And why have you named this woman?” asked the Ancient.
“She took off her wedding ring, for one. And on her other hand, there’s a blood stain.”
“Have you considered that perhaps she took off her ring while she bathed? And that she might have cut herself and cleaned the blood away?”
That gave him a second of pause, but he’d made his decision. It was too late.
“It was her,” he said.
The Ancient nodded gravely. He put his stubby hand to his chin. He seemed to be delaying telling Nathan whether he was right or not. The room was silent, and Nathan felt tension in his chest. He really needed this power, but he began to doubt his answer.
Finally, the Ancient spoke.
“You are correct, Ken,” he said.
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Come, and collect your reward.”
Nathan walked toward the Ancient and stopped in front of him. Up close, the Ancient smelled of spice and incense.
“Come closer,” said the Ancient.
Nathan went closer. The Ancient reached across, and delicately tapped his head.
For a second, nothing happened.
“That’s it?” said Nathan. “I don’t feel different.”
And then a message flashed on his screen.
Power Gained – Mind of the Monster
The Tuphos monster can reach into the minds of others, infecting them with emotions.
The first emotion is fear, but upgrades can be purchased.
Experiment with different emotions to see different effects.
Note: chance of success with Mind of the Monster depends upon current insanity %.
The higher the insanity, the more chance of success.
“Look in the mirror,” said the Ancient, gesturing to his left.
Nathan followed the gesture. He saw that part of the wall behind the Ancient looked like the mirror in his main chamber. He stared at it, and saw that his reflection had changed. Now, as well as his claws, his head was fully visible.
Boy, was he ugly. His skin was scaly and dry. It looked as tough as leather. His face was so monstrous that Sherlock and Watson looked like Hollywood A-listers by comparison.
Senses improved!
Your sight, smell and hearing have been boosted.
This allows you to see in darkness and hear far away sounds.
Although it felt great to get his second power and a boost to his senses, it brought up a problem. If he was to use Mind of the Monster, he’d need to keep his insanity meter high. That would bring back the horrible desires and cravings. The higher it went, the less control he’d have over himself.
But he’d been told this before, hadn’t he? First by Ancient #1, and then by Dereck. They told him that he’d have to embrace his instincts. It seemed that no matter how much Nathan wanted to stay human, he’d have to give in to his Tuphos nature.
The Ancient spoke, breaking him from his thoughts.
“You are close,” he said, “but be warned. Some doors are best left unopened.”
He thought about the 3rd Ancient door and the blood sacrifice he’d have to make to enter it. He just hoped he was strong enough to kill the guild and use their blood. He brought up his character sheet and looked at the changes to his power list.
Power 1 – Soul Claw Lvl 2
Orbs until upgrade: 4
Power 2 – Mind of the Monster Lvl 1
Orbs until upgrade: 3
Power 3 -
He still didn’t feel powerful enough to face Layre, Gevil, and the others. He just wished there were other things in the mountain. Enemies he could fight that he’d be able to earn EXP from. Maybe the best plan would be to spend some time hunting rats until he reached a higher level. Then, he could spawn more minions.
“Nathan…” said Dereck.
He turned to look at the cleric. “What is it?”
“We’ve got a problem. Check your map.”
He brought up his map screen and saw what the cleric was talking about. He was right; they did have a problem.
As he studied his map, he saw that the Seekers guild had managed to find their way out of the maze he’d set. They were heading toward the main chamber.
He couldn’t explain it, but every cell in his body told him that it would be a disaster for them to get there. There was something personal to him about the main chamber. Something that made him vulnerable. Was it the rot room?
Whatever it was, he needed to stop the Seekers getting there.
Chapter Fourteen
If the Seekers reached the main chamber, the game would change. The mountain tunnels were like veins in an enormous body, and the chamber was its heart. If the Seekers got to the heart, they cut off Nathan’s blood supply. Namely, the only place where he could replenish his energy. The rot room. After that, it was only a matter of time until his energy sapped and he couldn’t replace it. Then he wouldn’t be able to fight back. They’d chase him down in the tunnels and kill him.
Time to make a plan. He couldn’t craft anything because he’d spent his orbs on the fake walls that had kept Layre and the others busy. There wasn’t enough time to have Sherlock and Watson mine some more.
No, crafting was out. He was going to have to use a show of force. Fear and trickery wouldn’t drive them out, so he’d have to face them head-on. First, he wanted to get a fix on where the Seekers were.
“Can you see them on your map?” he asked Dereck.
“They’re headed toward the main chamber. It won’t take them long to get there.”
“Do you think they know where the main chamber is and they’re purposefully seeking it? Or are they just wandering around?”
“Layre knows how quests work in Adonis,” said Dereck. “Every dungeon, cavern or tunnel system leads to something in the centre. That’s where quests are usually completed. He's just using game logic.”
He needed more information. He was going to have to use his newly gained monster senses and see what he could detect. Since the senses were passive, there was no need to activate them. He simply had to look around and concentrate.
“Point to which direction they are on your map,” he said.
Dereck checked his map, then pointed No
rth-East.
Nathan looked in that direction. Sounds drifted his way. He heard footsteps on stone. He heard Gevil grunt an order at a newbie who wasn’t picking up the pace. The more he listened, the clearer he heard them. It was strange how strong his senses were.
“How far away are they?”
“A few minutes from the main chamber.”
“No, I mean from us.”
“They’re on the other side of the mountain. All the way back the way we came.”
“It’s at least a mile from here to the main chamber,” said Nathan.
Wow - his senses were strong indeed. Not long ago, he’d envied how good Sherlock’s hearing was. Now, Nathan’s was miles better.
He brought up his map again. The other main chamber passageway was filled in on his map now, courtesy of Sherlock and Watson. As Nathan suspected, it was a series of tunnels that twisted and looped before joining the other passageway. There was more than one way into the main chamber, it seemed.
Seeing how well-tuned his senses were had given him an idea. One that would bring him an advantage. He turned to face Dereck.
“You said there was an option for you to leave the guild?” he asked.
Dereck nodded. “Just the click of a button. But like I said, if I do that…”
“They disappear from your map. But listen, I’m pretty sure that my senses mean I’ll be able to see the Seekers on my map no matter how far away they get.”
“Are you certain?”
Nathan listened again. Despite the Seekers being a mile away, he heard their boots scrape on the ground. He heard Gevil muttering something under his breath. He couldn’t pick out all the words, but he definitely heard ‘bloody,’ ‘damn’ and ‘tunnels.’
That firmed his resolve. “Quit the guild. It’ll mean you can help me when it comes to a fight.”
“Unless…” said Derek.
“Unless what?”
The cleric had thought of something. From the look on his face, it wasn’t good. “Since I’m still in the guild, they can see me on their map. They must know I’m still here, and they haven’t come to find me. Why?”
“Maybe they think you’re annoyed at them for leaving you here to die.”
“Or they’re suspicious of me.”
“Either way,” said Nathan, “I need you to be able to fight. I know you’re not much of a warrior, but every little helps. Do you know any offensive spells?”
“Mostly healing ones. I’m a cleric, not a mage. But I have a few scrolls.”
He checked his inventory bag, before pulling out 3 sheets of paper. “Let’s see here,” he said, leafing through them. “I’ve got 2 fire scrolls and one paralysis.”
“Good enough. Quit the guild.”
Derek looked at Nathan for a few seconds. He wondered what the cleric was staring at. Then he realized that he must have been looking at his menu screen. A couple of seconds later, the cleric nodded.
“Done,” he said. “But maybe we should have made sure your senses worked before I quit.”
Nathan shook his head. “If you could see them, it meant they could see you. It won’t take them long to figure out we’re working together. It had to be done either way.”
This was it. Time to check if it had worked. If the plan failed and Nathan’s senses weren’t as good as he thought, the Seekers were now off-radar. He took a breath, then pulled up his map.
He saw the tunnels. He saw markers for Sherlock and Watson, which showed his minions walking toward him. He looked toward the main chamber, but he couldn’t see any ‘P’ icons.
He felt a sense of crushing defeat. It was like a vice closing on his chest. He’d just given up a strategic advantage on a hunch.
Or maybe not. Right now, he couldn’t hear the Seekers. It was only when he listened – really listened – that he heard them. So, with the map still displaying, he tapped into his monster hearing.
Voices. Footsteps. An occasional cough. Gevil grumbling about something. Two of the newbies sharing a joke and laughing.
As he listened to them, he saw 8 ‘P’ icons flash on his map. They were close to the main chamber, heading along a tunnel that led to the heart of Nathan’s base.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ve got a fix on them. This is a win for us – it means I can still watch them, and you can help me fight.”
“And here comes Sherlock and Watson. So that makes a Tuphos, a cleric, and 2 goblins against 8 of the Seekers guild.”
Nathan shrugged. “We’re getting there. Now, what else do we have that we can use?”
They spent ten minutes strategizing. Nathan thought about everything he’d ever learned about combat. He studied his map. He listened to Dereck describe the Seekers guild and what he knew of their weaknesses. After a while, they had a plan. It wouldn't help them kill everyone in the Seekers party, but hopefully it would be enough to drive them out of the mountain.
“Ready?” asked Nathan.
Dereck nodded. Sherlock grunted. Next to him, so close that it was like he could barely stand to be even an inch apart from his friend, Watson squeaked.
“Then let’s go.”
The part of 4 crept through the tunnels. Sherlock and Watson walked together. They’d only just met, really, but it seemed like they were already the best of buddies. Nathan smiled. He was beginning to have more affection for a couple of goblins than he’d thought possible.
Nathan stopped every so often to check his map and use his senses. He altered their course occasionally, taking certain shortcuts where he saw fit. He knew the tunnels so well now that they were like the veins in his hand. They were part of him, and he knew exactly where they ran.
Finally, after altering their route a little, they came within 50 meters of the Seekers guild. There were two tunnels that branched off to the left and right, and then one up ahead. Importantly, the guild didn’t know they were there yet.
Nathan looked at Sherlock and Watson and whispered.
“Remember what I said. One of you takes the left tunnel, the other the right. Follow the loop into the main chamber, and then you know what to do from there.”
Sherlock nodded. Watson looked at his friend and then nodded back. His head bobbed up and down enthusiastically.
For a second, the tunnel seemed dark, filled by the thickness of eternal shade. The darkness cast shadows on the Seekers’ faces, making it seem like they walked with a sombre purpose. Then, Nathan used his senses. The darkness began to drain away. It wasn’t replaced by white light. Instead, it was as if the darkness of the passageways was condensation being evaporated by the sun, leaving clarity behind.
He saw the glow of an orb in the inventory bag of one of the hooded figures. The newbies surrounded Layre and Gevil; 2 walking in front, 2 behind. Despite the camouflage effects of his attire, he could see the rogue as he took careful steps. He stayed a pace or two behind Layre as if he didn’t want to be drawn into conversation with the wizard.
Nathan and Dereck were alone now. Sherlock and Watson were making their way through the tunnels to their designated positions.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” said Nathan.
The cleric nodded. “It’s our only chance.”
“It’s my only chance,” corrected Nathan. “You’re not trapped here.”
“I’m not going until I see Gevil clutching his throat and gargling on his own blood. Woah – that sounded pretty evil, didn’t it? Still, I need to see this through. And I want to help you leave.”
Nathan nodded. “Okay, let’s do this. Remember the signal. I’ll be watching.”
Dereck nodded, then walked down the tunnel and toward the Seekers. Nathan stayed back. He stepped to his left so that he was just inside the opening of the tunnel that branched away. Although his keener senses gave him a full view of the passage ahead of him, the shadows hid him.
Dereck strolled ahead with perfect calm. If it occurred to him that this could all backfire, he didn’t show it. That was a quality Nathan liked about
him. Ever since getting here, he hadn’t been ruffled by anything.
The closer the cleric got to the Seekers, the more Nathan’s chest tightened. They could just kill him on sight, he knew. If they were clever, that’s exactly what they would do. But he was counting on Layre’s greed and arrogance to overrule basic precautions.