by Atlas Kane
“So does that make us the Casmeeri tribe?” Cade asked.
“Sure, why not? It beats the tribe of nothing,” Satemi said, her voice low with sudden despair.
Minda spoke next, her voice heavy with compassion. “There has never been a tribe of nothing. We’ll be Casmeeri and will always remember Imenda and all those brave enough to follow her. This village will be in honor of them.”
Satemi nodded, sniffling softly.
“And Satemi…” Cade added with as much gravity he could muster. “You will be our champion and protector. What chance would we have to survive without you?”
With that, the warrior woman stilled, her resolve settling into place once more. She was not one who would give an oath lightly. Cade knew that from her mask alone. He just hoped she would be able to forgive herself for yet another crime she could not prevent and was in no way her fault.
That thought made Cade reflect on his old past guilt, and he knew if he was honest with himself, he’d felt the same heavy guilt for years.
Maybe that was just the price of being a soldier. Many of his old friends had felt the same. That inexplicable and devastating weight that settled over everything. That guilt was pervasive. He couldn’t shit without feeling it before, but here in Antinium, things had changed.
The transfer into this new world had been the starting point. But improving his mental Attributes might have done more. And since meeting those who’d been cast out of Tanrial, Cade had felt more focus, more purpose than he had in years.
But is any of it necessary at all? Or is the guilt just a way of trying to hold onto the things you can’t control?
Satemi would cling to her oath, but he found he respected the decision. She’d set a goal for herself: to let go and move on when the new village was secure. Whether or not she’d be able to do so was yet to be seen, but the intention was valiant.
He decided he too would try to let go of the past and focus instead on the inevitable future.
21
Temple Headache
Cade woke with legs spread wide and the morning sun flitting across his face. He yawned, scratching his balls at length. Then he noticed that his inelegant actions were observed by two gorgeous women.
He sat up and ignored their reproachful giggles. If they had balls they’d scratch them too, he grumbled in his head. I’ll need to explain that the tent flap stays closed until everyone is awake.
But when he smelled charred meat, he decided to change his mood. Emerging from the tent, he found he was the only one of his tiny village still naked.
“It is good to know you sleep with a weapon nearby. Though I do not think that one sharp enough to kill,” Satemi joked, nodding toward Cade’s half-hard dick.
“Yeah, yeah. Lots of jokes today. You’re just lucky it isn’t in its full majesty. Some have gone blind staring at my dick’s unyielding glory.”
Minda laughed, exchanging a glance with Satemi. “It’s a nice cock, Cade. But don’t think it’s the best one in the forest. You saw the size of that boar, didn’t you?”
Finding his pants hung over a few bushes nearby, Cade dressed himself, muttering under his breath.
When he was dressed and ready, he sat down and took the steak that was offered to him. He ate his fill again and then found some unfortunate tree to shit behind. The change in diet had made things interesting to say the least.
When he returned, he found the girls in deep conversation. Satemi’s arms were folded, and Minda stood hands on hips. Oh shit, he thought. If there was ever a sign that they were in a serious mood, this is it.
“What’s going on? Did I miss the morning memo?”
Satemi’s brow knitted with confusion or consternation. “We don’t know what a memo is, Cade. We were discussing our plan for the day.”
He nodded approvingly. “Good idea. Would be nice to splash around in the waterfall all day, but there’s a ton to do. What are your thoughts?”
Minda chimed in. “Well, I want to see what plant life there is in this little glade of ours, and Satemi is concerned about security. So I think we can both be appeased by exploring first. I didn’t have time to do so when I found this place.”
“Okay, I like it. I have to agree with Satemi that security is top priority. Doesn’t matter how many herbs grow here if we die in our sleep one night by an unknown threat,” Cade said. He glanced at the belt of land that wrapped around the heart of the camp. Steep cliffs blocked off most other approaches, and they knew enough of the narrow pass that led them here past the Earthen Apes. The foliage grew densely leading up to camp from that direction, but it was nothing but bushes and ferns. If there was anything of note in there, it would have been at least partially visible.
Then he looked to the grove of trees that clustered together a half mile away, backed up against the mountain. “So we go there then? Seems the only place we need to explore.”
“Thank you for playing catch up,” Satemi said with a lopsided grin. She patted him on the shoulder, and Minda chuckled, hiding her mouth with a hand, her eyes apologetic. I go and take a dump, miss out on a single conversation, and this is what I get? he thought, but seeing Satemi’s sarcasm returning was a good sign, so he took it with a smile.
An hour later, they had finished their morning rituals and were prepared to explore. Weapons in tow, the three made their way to the grove.
It didn’t appear to be a large area, but as they pressed into the dense patch of jungle, Cade was surprised with how far back it went. There were a few acres at least, and it would take them the better part of the day to sift through.
Cade suggested they do it tactically. Combing through the forest incrementally, the three walked fifty feet apart, close enough to keep occasional eyes on, and when the bushes grew too thick, they could communicate easily. Minda walked closest to the clearing, then Satemi fifty feet in, Cade another fifty beyond her. Walking horizontally, they searched the grove for hidden dangers, turning back and heading in deeper each time they came to an opposing cliff wall.
Three hours passed in this fashion, and so far, they’d found dozens of sources of food, a few species of animals they could readily hunt, but no lurking panthers, mean-spirited drakelings, or bottomless pits of doom.
After a brief lunch, the group pressed on and shortly came to the end of the forest. Grouping up, they walked together, staring up occasionally at the cliff above.
It was thanks to Minda’s keen senses they noticed the overgrown entrance into the mountain itself.
Vines grew up the cliff in places, lichen and moss spreading over every surface. Tucked against the black stone of the mountain, a plague of vines grew, bushes sprouting up all around. At first, Cade thought they might have proliferated due to water collected and deposited by the cliff. But Minda’s nose thought otherwise.
“Hold up guys. I smell mold. Something damp, and… I feel a breeze too,” she said, slowly walking toward the vines.
“There’s mold everywhere,” Satemi said, though her tone was curious, not dismissive.
Minda pointed, turning back to them. “Yes, but I smell it coming from there. I think there’s a cave back there, or something like it.”
Something like it ended up being closer to the mark. Cade pulled at a few of the vines, hoping to get a better look, but had little success. Then he felt it, a chill breeze upon his face and the smell of an underground space. There was no mistaking it.
After half an hour of hacking away at the overgrowth with his axe, they uncovered the mystery.
Stepping through the door he’d cut through the vines, the three explorers looked up at a stone archway that had the unmistakable craftsmanship of the builders of Tanrial. Smooth golden metalwork wormed into the stone seamlessly. It was wide enough for the three to pass through abreast, but they chose a more cautious approach.
Cade whispered, “Satemi. Let me go in first. You come next. Minda, stay out here until we call you in. If it’s deep, we’ll call you in.”
Minda
sighed but nodded. Then she produced a crude torch from her Inventory. After striking a small bit of flint against her staff, the thing was lit. She handed it over and gave him a be careful look he could not mistake.
Satemi was given another, and then Minda produced her own yet didn’t light it but remained to guard the entrance like Cade had asked.
Giving Satemi a nod, Cade walked into the darkness.
The torch flickered in the dank breeze, and Cade’s mind ran wild with every sort of terrible ending to this situation. He strode slowly, axe tucked under his arm, blast staff pointed ahead of him. If anything slimy and stupid jumps out, I am shooting it immediately. Questions later when exploring a cave in a fantasy world.
Yet it wasn’t a cave, not really. The walls ran in a straight line, masterfully etched if not overgrown by lichen. Along the ceiling a thick beam of the Tanrial metal ran as if connecting the archway to some other structure within. The tunnel ran for about fifty feet until it abruptly turned to the right, leading into a large chamber.
Satemi walked behind him, and he waved her forward as he entered the dark room.
Only a dozen paces in, Cade discovered an elaborate structure glittering back to him. Gold, the color of Tanrial. It looked like an altar or some long forgotten temple.
Cade ignored it and looked about the room to see if any further openings presented themselves. He found the walls in this room were circular, and he came back round to the opening once more, finding Satemi standing there watching him.
“Let’s call Minda in. I think this is as far as it goes. Then we can take a look at that thing together,” he said in a whisper.
In short time, the three were holding their torches aloft to expose as much of the odd structure as they could. Four pillars were sunk into the stone floor, connecting above in a dome. The beam of gold metal that traced the top of the tunnel here ran up the wall, across the ceiling, and fell down to connect to the dome in its center. It seemed to Cade a lot like wiring. If that was the case, then where was the power switch? And what exactly did the contraption do?
“Look, up there. Those images seem strange. Almost like they were added afterward,” Minda said, pointing up at the underside of the golden dome.
Sure enough, crude words seemed to be etched into the metal, and an image that made his skin crawl. The words were unreadable, at least to him, and reminded him of a sci-fi language from a movie, geometric and angular.
The picture though, showed what he thought might be a creature. Two rounded wings rose from the back of a figure roughly humanoid in shape. It had a melted, sickly look to it, as if someone had etched an angel and the gold it was carved in melted just a little.
“That’s terrifying,” Cade said, shaking his head. “Just glad that dude isn’t here.”
As he spoke, Satemi reached out and touched one of the pillars. Hidden sconces around the room lit up in a gloomy and flickering light, and they all stepped back from the altar.
Exchanging looks, the three took a collective sigh of relief, grateful some hidden trap hadn’t sprung to life once more.
Then, of course, the etched creature spoke.
“Supplicants! Supplicants I must presume. You are welcome to worship,” a voice came from all around them. It was as if the air itself spoke. As if that weren’t creepy enough, the voice it adopted slurred. The consonants blended into one another, the s sounds extending unnaturally.
Cade froze, turning around in an attempt to see what was talking to them.
“I am waiting. It is time to give me your sacrifice. Which of you will bleed for me? Do not hesitate. I am hungry.”
“We are not here to bleed for you,” Cade said in a firm voice. Regardless of what this thing was, he did not plan to sacrifice a thing.
A long hiss erupted, and a shadow condensed on the back wall of the room. It focused becoming a familiar shape.
Satemi said it first. “Out! We must—” she tried, but the hiss grew louder, dampening her voice. They turned and ran toward the entrance, but a wall of shimmering gold erupted from the ceiling, slamming down into place to lock them in.
“Sacrifices must be made. The god grows old and hungry. And too long I have waited. Which is first?” it said, the winged creature solidifying and descending toward the ground.
Cade opened his mouth and triggered Alpha’s Call. But as his voice erupted with power, the creature expanded its sunken chest, the skill dissipating and being absorbed in the being. None of the buffs applied.
It sighed, a sound of immense satisfaction. “Sacrifice received. Thank you, supplicant. But blood is still required. I will take all of your forms and forge my own body anew. Who is first?”
The thing had grown somewhat more tangible after absorbing Cade’s skill. Unsure of what else to do, Cade aimed his blast axe at the thing’s chest. He looked to Satemi questioningly. She nodded, most likely thinking what he was. If it can be killed, better try to do so soon.
His weapon erupted with light, the mana bullet crashing into the being. Shadow rippled away from its core, and though the being hissed, Cade thought it was in delight. Again, the bullet seemed to absorb into the creature, making its form more substantial.
“Sacrifices taste divine. What more do you have to give me?” it asked, this time reaching out a long arm toward where Minda and Satemi stood.
“Don’t attack it. At least not with skill or spells. We’re just feeding that thing,” Cade said, and Minda lowered her staff.
If it could absorb a party buffing skill as well as a mana attack, what else could they throw at it that wouldn’t also act as a source of energy?
Satemi cursed, refusing to lower her swords, the silver of her mask reflecting in their torchlight.
That gave Cade an idea. “It is a thing of shadow. I think the light is feeding it.” Regretting his words, he suggested the only idea that came to mind. “We need to snuff them out.”
Satemi shook her head, as if to refuse, but Minda’s eyes flashed with realization. In a flash, she dropped her torch to the ground and pulled out a waterskin to splash over it.
The flame sizzled, and the room grew just a little bit darker. The shadow hissed in anger. “No, give me more!” Shuddering anger coursed through its body, and it began to strain outward. Cade saw that it was somehow affixed to the wall, not corporeal enough to pull itself free and attack like it wanted to.
Not caring about the pain, Cade dropped the torch and stamped it gingerly with his foot. The light faded more and when Satemi followed suit, it was only the dim glow of the lights around them that kept the creature alive.
Despite having grown in size, the creature had pulled itself a few feet from the wall, thick streams of shadow still pulling back against its drooping wings and hollow face. It reached out with its arms. The appendages stretched horribly, seeking Minda.
She backed toward the wall, but as the arms grew by the second, it was clear that the danger had not yet passed.
“The lights! How can we turn them off?” Cade asked stupidly. The answer was obvious, but the solution was not. Light poured up toward the domed ceiling from slits high in the wall. There was nothing to snuff out or douse in water.
Then Satemi sheathed her swords in a flurry and sprinted toward the altar. Cade wanted to ask what she was doing, but there was no time. He watched as she pressed her hands into the gold pillar once more. She stood there silently, and all the while the shadow arms grew thicker and longer. Minda was pressed against the wall, and though Cade knew she could easily avoid them, the arms were growing ever thicker. Soon, there would be nowhere to hide.
Satemi growled, then shouted, “Come quick, both of you.”
“What is happening?” Cade asked, running toward her.
“No time, just touch a pillar and close your eyes,” the woman said, her head falling back down in concentration.
Minda slid under the grasping arm nearest her and touched one of the pillars while Cade touched another. When he closed his eyes, a display for
med in his mind that reminded him of the UVS he used to level up or read quests.
This time, however, words echoed in his mind, as if spoken aloud.
Town Interface
Interface Controller: Maashtem the Bright, Shadowlord
You wish to modify the Interface Settings? Access Denied. Only the Interface Controller may modify current settings.
Change Interface Controller.
You wish to modify the Interface Controller? Access Denied. A 2/3 majority vote of current township population must be reached to change Interface Controller.
At first, Cade was confused. Then he realized who the two voices in his head belonged to. Satemi was the one who was attempting to change the settings. The other must be whatever powered this interface, some Antinium version of an AI.
He waited impatiently as Satemi struggled to take over the shadow, this Maashtem asshole, and remove him from the system.
Vote to replace Interface Controller!
You wish to vote to change current Interface Controller? Accepting votes now.
A light pulsed in Cade’s mind, and a prompt asking him who he wished to preside in the role of Interface Controller. Only two options appeared: Maashtem the Bright, Shadowlord and Caderick Shelby Clarke, the Terran.
He heard Minda squeal in pain, and the shadow beast hissed once more in delight. Cade opened his eyes to see Minda reeling back from the pillars, the shadow arms writhing in the room all around them. She was clutching her shoulder and had leapt over one of the grasping appendages. She crouched in the far corner, and once more the hands twisted back, seeking her out.
“Now, Cade!” Satemi shouted. He closed his eyes once more and made his vote.