— Rarity: Epic.
— Effect:
— Conveys a message.
— Note:
— Activates only in the hands of the recipient.
— Recipient: “My family.”
— Sender: Ivar Bergman.
— Disappears after use.
— Weight: None. Takes no space.
My legs buckled and I slid down the wall onto the floor. How could this be? I read the description another few times. At first, I thought there must have been other Bergmans walking this earth. But then the system offered to let me activate the amulet and, after a taste of my blood, gave an unexpectedly positive result.
A letter written by my older brother came before my eyes.
Father! Mother!
My dear family, if you are reading this, it means I am no longer alive...
I know I have wronged you! And it eats at my heart! But I could not have done otherwise! I was trying to protect you!
It all started the day I won the tournament. Remember I took a slash to the forearm and the healing mage who was there for the occasion healed my wound and didn’t take a single coin from you? Mom, you were very afraid for me then. And you dad, spent a long time praising that mage for his selflessness. Well, I for one rue that day and that encounter! Because that is precisely where it all started!
A little while after the tournament, the Baron’s scouts approached me and encouraged me to join the military. But I refused! Because I dreamed of working with you my whole life, dad! I never told you because I didn’t want you to try and persuade me to accept the Baron’s men’s offer. After all, military service has always been a respected profession. But afterward I realized you never would have done that.
The scouts spoke with me another few times, but I refused again and again. And then he came to me. It was a mage. He told me I now belonged to the Order of Mages.
Later I realized that it was all to do with my blood. In my veins flows the blood of the Ancients. It is a very rare gift... Which for me became a curse. There’s a major hunt for those who bear the blood of the Ancients. The powers that be carry on invisible wars for those like me.
As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, it all started with that ill-fated wound at the tournament. The mage healer recognized me as a carrier. Always keep your guard up around healers! Almost every one of them is a spy for the Order of Mages!
When I left home, I was placed with a group of ten newcomers and sometime later we were transferred to the capital of Fradia. In Ironville, the ten of us were enlisted in the Imperial select expeditionary corps of his radiance Count Milon. Now I think the whole expedition was partially arranged by the Order specifically to get me to the Dark Continent. Those brutes just love to weave their multi-level intrigues.
Never doubt what I have written here! There is nary a whit of exaggeration. The blood of the Ancients is a key that can unlock many secrets!
The Count’s ships wrecked on the shore of the Dark Continent. Everyone on my ship sank beneath the waves. What became of the rest I do not know.
But I got lucky. I was rescued by a good man who then became my teacher. He was a Wanderer. He taught me to travel between worlds.
At first, I was desperate to return home to you. You were probably told I died. But little by little I started to realize that, if I were to be “rise from the grave,” I would be putting you in mortal danger. Mages have their ways of getting rid of inconvenient witnesses.
I chose the path of the Wanderer! The main objective of every Wanderer is the search for the Original World! The world of the Ancients or the Departed! That is where we will find the answers to all the biggest questions of existence!
All the chatter about the world of the Ancients was most likely legend or fable! Or so we thought until this very day! We finally found an untainted portal!
But then He came for us! Our Archnemesis!
We are holding the line now, but we won’t last long! We don’t have much time...
We cast lots – one of us is to hide with all our amulets. In case he is also captured, we sealed our amulets inside these messages for those we trust implicitly. No one will be able to so much as read the description of my messenger if they are not a member of my family – not even the sender or recipient. Whoever the lot chooses will be the only one who knows where to deliver the messages in these amulets.
As you might have guessed, given I am writing this letter – the goddess Fortuna has made her choice...
Farewell!
Once finished reading the letter, I lowered my head. There was a little disk of silver in my hand which could easily be confused for a regular old coin. I glanced at the description.
Amulet of the Wanderer.
― Type: Conveyance magic.
― Rarity: Legendary.
― Description:
― A legendary artifact of extraordinary rarity, this amulet allows its bearer to use Otherworldly Portals with no restrictions. The main feature of the artifact consists in the fact that, once its bearer reaches the otherworld, they will not need to seek a victim to be reborn.
― Warning!
― Only select individuals may use the Amulet of the Wanderer!
― Expends 10000 mana points.
― Has no weight. Takes no space.
Gorgie called out to me, tearing me from the daze. Something was happening out there, beyond the wall.
Chapter 30
HURRIEDLY STEPPING through the magical doorway, I found myself in the colonnaded hall yet again. I could immediately sense Gorgie’s relief. I took a quick look around. No one else had noticed that I entered. And no wonder. All the halflings’ attention was directed at the front door.
Two slumping dark outlines had appeared in the wide passage. From a distance, there was no telling what kind of beasts they were. But I think I can guess what is happening. The poisonteeth must have come. The ones Elun was referring to. They were here to make more sacrifices.
In comparison with normal draks, the poisonteeth or whatever they were, didn’t make a big impression with their physical presence. Little slouching black lizards. Though honestly, clearly larger than halflings.
When the black beasts came near the portal, I got a good look at what I was up against. They were in fact poisonteeth. Both level thirty. Nimble. It’s plain to see – their agility and speed figures are sky high. And based on the name, they’re venomous.
The halflings noticeably came to life. Took a step back in fear. Like ripples in water after one throws a rock.
Running my gaze over the bunched up halflings, I found Elun. The halfling I’d chosen, surrounded by dozens of his distraught countrymen, was a few steps away from the black lizards. I noticed the pipsqueaks were brandishing shards of bone and rocks.
What is he doing?! I told him where the tunnel entrance is! And then it hit me. There were around seventy prisoners in the room, based on my estimation. Most of them are just simple halflings. Peasants, craftsmen, traders. But the ones bunched up around Elun look to be warriors. I glanced Gorgie’s way – a few steps from him, the very youngest halflings were all crouched down.
Now I see what Elun is planning. He and his brothers in arms want to save the youngest first. And will be covering their retreat.
I understand that this is not my war, and that Gorgie and I should get out of here, but I have to admire these tormented and half-living but not yet broken warriors. I suddenly realized distinctly that, if I didn’t help these poor souls right now, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.
I quickly walked over to Gorgie, and he nuzzled his armored forehead into my chest, reproaching me for the long absence. I walked closer to the magic “lock.”
I was about to activate the marker when I suddenly remembered the map.
I’m such a screwup! Smacking myself on the forehead, I reached for my map tab.
So... What do we have here? I squinted. What if we try something like this?
I quickly found the activators for all the
magic traps around the colonnaded hall and got started.
First of all, I opened the door to the secret tunnel, then the one leading outside as well. There was enough energy in the supply to hold them open a few days at least.
No one in the hall reacted to the door opening. Everyone was concentrated on the simmering conflict near the portal. Elun and his cohort were standing at their full height opposite the poisonteeth, who were hissing at them. The crowd of halflings lurched forward menacingly. I saw a few draks jerk their flat heads up toward the ceiling, and a loud cackling hiss carried over the hall. Echoing off the walls, the vile sound bounced down the corridors and stone tunnels of the cave, notifying every reptile in the area of the uprising.
I chuckled ravenously. Now you are in for quite the surprise! Quickly looking for the main door mechanism on the map, I chose “close.”
Just in the nick of time. I could already hear rustling, scraping and many lizards impatiently hissing from the darkness of the passage. There were dozens if not hundreds of them rushing to heed the call.
The big huge slab inside the wall shuddered and started coming down. Despite the many centuries of idleness, the magic lock was still working properly. The mechanism, meanwhile, did not seem to have survived its many years of neglect. Crunch, scrape, dust! The slab stopped before it had even closed a quarter of the way. I pursed my lips in anger. Damn!
But the door, unexpectedly, as if remembering the task its ancient creators had made it to perform, gave another interior crunch and slammed down full force.
The boom was so deafening that I lost my hearing for a bit. When the dust had settled, I saw that the main entrance was closed up dead tight. Truth be told, the whole surface of the stone slab was covered with scratches.
The falling door served as a signal for the halflings. Snarling furiously, they threw themselves on their attackers. A dozen draks and two poisonteeth against almost eighty frothing-mad halflings. The lizards didn’t stand a single chance. In a matter of seconds, the wave of pipsqueaks had the hissing reptiles pinned to the ground.
The young halflings bolted over to join in, but I stopped them with a cry.
“This way! Don’t waste time! Faster!”
A few of them shuddered at my voice from the darkness, but then they reacted properly – they came running my way. Elun did well instructing them all. He’d even managed to organize them in some fashion. I obviously hadn’t just chosen some simple halfling.
The first halflings that ran over to our hiding spot stopped still as statues. They’d seen Gorgie.
“What are you stopping for?!” I shouted at them. “Go in! Run! We don’t have much time!”
The smallest and grimiest of them unexpectedly bolted off first and, trying not to look at the scaled monster’s terrible fangs, whisked forward. They stopped for a second before entering the dimly glowing passage.
“Come on!” I barked.
“Hrn!” Gorgie added.
Squeezing their eyes closed, the halfling bolted forward. Like they were diving into a whirlpool.
“You alive over there?!” I shouted.
“Y-yes! I just hurt my knee!” came a tender feminine squeak.
Hm... I guess she’s a girl.
“Well, what are you all standing around for?!” I shouted to the others. “Look, even the girl wasn’t afraid!”
That brought them all to their senses, and they dashed forward all at once.
“Careful! One at a time! Like this!” I encouraged the halflings as they ran past. “Run as far as you can up the tunnel! All the way to the exit!”
While the throng of halflings gradually turned into a more or less organized procession, I glanced toward the fight.
It was all as good as over. The bloodied bodies of the lizards were lying on the floor. The halflings also took some damage. Twenty were down for the count. And about as many were wounded.
I searched for Elun with my gaze. He was sitting with his back against the black body of a poisontooth. His right shoulder had turned into a bloodied piece of meat. But he has a smile on his face.
Thinking briefly, I ran up to him. The Canopy had already disappeared, and our gazes met.
“Thank you, explorer!” he rasped. “Now I will die a warrior’s death!”
His tongue was stumbling. Blood was seeping from his wounds without end. The chestnut hair on his forehead was soaked with sweat.
“Not so fast,” I grumbled and took a few flasks of potion of satiety from my backpack.
Several of Elun’s fighters were watching me. I could read hope in their eyes.
“Drink!” I said, handing out bulbs to each of them. “It won’t heal you fully, but it will restore your life force.”
“Don’t waste any on me,” Elun objected hoarsely, pushing the bulb in my hand away. “A poisontooth got to me...”
“Don’t be a fool! Drink!” I insisted and in fact forced the potion down his throat.
The pallor on the halfling’s face was replaced with a light rosy glow. The crimson haze gradually started to go out of his eyes.
“There you go,” I said. “The poison won’t be gone so easily, but you will live for the time being. Here!”
I extended him another few bulbs. Elun, obviously already having made peace with death, looked at me again as if for the first time.
“You’re an explorer, right?” he asked unexpectedly.
“What difference does it make now?” I chuckled, helping him up.
“What is your name?”
“Eric.”
“Remember Eric, from this day forward, you’ll never find a friend more loyal than Elun!” the halfling said solemnly in a still weak voice. “Know this – in our village you’ll always have food, warmth and a roof over your head!”
The halflings around us supported their leader with loud cries.
But I didn’t have time to respond. A powerful blow shook the front door! Sand and pebbles rained down from above.
Then another blow! And another! And another!
Something truly enormous must have been trying to break into the hall! Gorgie washed a wave of panic over me!
I turned. The harn was shaking nervously after every blow. The scales on the nape of his neck stood on end. The beast was beside himself. He was baring his teeth and snarling softly. This was the first time I could remember something like this happening to him.
Driving the halflings on with words and pushing them with my hands, I was nervously staring at the shuddering door. From above, somewhat larger stones started falling out of the darkness.
— Would you like to summon Longtailed Ysh Spirit?
After I said yes, my supply was instantly drained of six hundred mana points. The semi-transparent giant snake appeared out of thin air and curled around my body, forcing the halflings running next to me to shout in fear.
I should note that I summoned my ghostly snake just in the nick of time. A strong impact hit my back and I was sent flying forward like a whirligig. I rolled over the sharp stones and stayed there, lying on my back with my arms and legs splayed helplessly to the sides. My eyes went dark for an instant. But I didn’t have time to cool off. Gorgie appeared at my side in a burst and jerked me to my feet, pushing my back with his head. As if to say, let’s go! Let’s go already!
Shaking my head, I kept running on my wobbly legs. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at my shield.
― 16538/20000.
Woah! I took a pretty serious thrashing!
But a second later, I realized I’d actually had untold luck.
A boulder the size of a goat’s head slammed down right on top of the halfling running to my right with a terrible whistling sound. The crunch and vile squelching of flesh made me pick up the pace.
After that, more stone fragments rained down from the darkness above. The murderous cracking of stones, the bone-chilling cries of the wounded, the hard, powerful blows – it all mixed together into one monstrous cacophony.
The triang
ular head of the Ysh was watching every falling stone closely. It reacted instantly to one elongated chunk of rock, tensing its thick scaled rings tight. And I didn’t have to wait long for the payoff – my shield dropped another seven hundred points.
I’d almost made it to the columns when Gorgie gave a warning roar that made me whip all the way around.
The wall to the right was bulging and covered in wide cracks. And dark nimble bodies were clambering out of the cracks.
“Poisonteeth!” shouted one of the halflings.
The Dark Continent (Underdog Book #3): LitRPG Series Page 29