“Oh,” she said, a little confused.
I stood beside her. “What…happened back there?” I asked.
“I…” she paused searching for the words. “It had been about an hour since Freya had left me to guard the village. I noticed something dark on the horizon, and a second later a strong burst of magic struck a few buildings within the village.”
It was probably Jelal, I realized.
“Yeah,” Nyx agreed.
“I tried to fight back, but there were far too many knights for me to take them all on myself,” she said. “I was trying to head here, to the village square, but a stray rock from one the collapsing buildings hit me in the head and then everything went blank.”
“Hmmm,” I said. “I still don’t get why the Knights attacked us in the first place though.”
“Maybe you can ask Raffiel,” Freya said.
“I doubt he knows much,” I said. “He’s merely a squadron leader in the Dark Alliance. They probably didn’t tell him much other than ‘We’re attacking’, or something of the sort.”
“Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“True.”
“What happened on your end?” Ijyela asked. “All I know is Freya suddenly charged after you. And, who is this young creature?” she pointed to Nazu, who was standing quietly beside Freya, trying to hide behind her legs.
“Ah,” I paused, and everything about that situation ran past my mind. “It’s…a weird story.”
The green-eyed elf smiled. “I was expecting nothing less.”
“I see,” I chuckled. I told Ijyela briefly about the Black Guardians, and then about the Lumina Knights, especially the weird machine we’d seen. She didn’t seem to know what exactly that was, but she was quite bothered by the fact that the Lumina Knights were this far out from home territory. She said it’d been a while since they’d headed to this part of the lands.
“I’m not sure what they could be up to,” she said. “Nevertheless, it’s odd that you would be attacked by two groups of people, and then have your village attacked by a third.”
“This after three months of peace,” Freya added.
“Something is going on,” Ijyela said. “There has to be.”
“It seems like it,” I said, still uneasy on what exactly it could be.
“I have a weird feeling we’re all going to be caught in the thick of things soon,” Freya said.
“I’d argue you already have,” Ijyela added.
“Ugh,” I muttered. “So many complications.”
“What of this young Kobold?” she asked. “How did you find him?”
I opened my mouth, ready to tell the story of how we’d found him tied to a pillar and maimed. But I realized that was too traumatizing to bring up again in front of Nazu himself, and so I abstained from it.
“That’s a story for another time,” I said.
Ijyela raised an eyebrow. “I see.”
DING!
Congratulations! You have unlocked the upgrade: Spirit guardian. Due to your ability, Spirit King, you can assign a spirit to help manage the village resources and status.
WHOA, my eyes widened. Nyx, are you thinking what-
“Yep,” he chuckled. “Do it.”
I quickly slid out the upgrade menu once again.
Upgrade
Cost
Time
Establish Spirit Assistant
1000000 Sol
5 minutes
Wow is that expensive, I said, but hit the upgrade anyway. I wonder how effective this will be.
“We’ll find out in five minutes,” Nyx said enthusiastically.
“Zoran?” Ijyela asked, snapping me out of my mental conversation, and I realized she’d called out to me a few times already.
“He was probably talking to his spirit friend,” Freya said, with a tone that didn’t quite capture whether she was amused or annoyed. And those were two very different feelings.
A shrieking cry exploded through the air, and for some reason, I could tell exactly who it was coming from.
“Nazu!” I yelled, and turned around. Only to see that the young Kobold was no longer behind Freya.
“What the heck?!” Freya exclaimed, spinning around in search of him.
“He must have wandered away on his own,” Nyx said.
“This way,” I charged down the street, trying to recall exactly where the sound had come from. It didn’t seem like it was too far away from where we were right now.
I turned at the first corner, and stopped immediately. There in front of us stood a Knight of the Dark Alliance, an ugly expression on his helmetless face. He had Nazu in one hand, his arms around the kobold’s neck, and held a crystal of blood red in the other.
He noticed our presence quickly, and a grin curled onto his face.
“You will never stop us, Eternal,” he chuckled.
He struck the jewel against the ground before I could even move, sending bright bursts of red shooting into our eyes.
And a second later, when I could see again, I saw but an empty street in front of us.
They’d disappeared.
***
CHAPTER TEN
“What the hell is going on?!” I slammed my fist into the wall, crunching into the rock and probably adding on a few extra minutes to the damage repairs.
“That man had a teleportation crystal,” Ijyela said, sounding a little surprised.
“But those are incredibly rare to find,” Freya said. “And much costlier to purchase.”
“This is what I get for trusting these Knights,” I muttered.
“My Lord?” Raffiel walked up to us. “You’d asked for me?”
“One of your men betrayed us, Raffiel,” I said, my tone sharp.
His eyes widened. “What?”
“I need to know who he was, and what his role within the Dark Alliance was,” I said.
“I don’t mean to be rude, my Lord,” he said. “But all the men who paid allegiance to you are still here. They are all still in the house we decided to temporarily stay in.”
“Damn,” Nyx said. “He’s right. I just checked the village’s current population and it hasn’t changed from before.”
That Knight came in from the outside then? I asked.
“He could have teleported inside the village.”
Shouldn’t we have been able to tell if someone was intruding? I asked.
“We should have,” he said. “But it’s possible there are ways to bypass that alert system. We both know how messy these info prompts can get at times.”
True, I said, not pleased.
“My lord, what exactly happened?” Raffiel asked. “What did this betrayer do?”
“Not to worry, Raffiel,” I said, not wanting to divulge any unnecessary information. “I will take care of things.”
“I understand.”
“And keep an eye on your men,” I said. “I do not want to lose my faith in you lot.”
“Yes, my Lord,” he said. “I assure you, you can trust us.”
“I hope so.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to tell him the exact details regarding what happened?” Nyx asked. “He might have some insight into who the guy was.”
I can’t trust him yet, I said. I don’t want to lean on him for help until I’m sure he’s on our side.
“Fine,” he said.
“We might be able to tell where this crystal took them to,” Ijyela said, picking up a stray piece of the shattered red jewel.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
She nodded. “A red teleportation crystal has its destination pre-set,” she said. “So it’s possible we might be able to figure out where it was supposed to take them to if we try.”
“Very well then, can I leave that to you?” I asked.
“Certainly,” she said. “Give me an hour and I will give you something to go on.”
“Thank you,” I smiled.
“Freya, come with me, I may need your assistan
ce,” she said, and the elves walked into the nearest house they could find.
DING!
You have obtained the quest: Save Nazu. The young kobold has been taken away by a man of dark attire. Find the location they teleported to and go after them. Rewards: Unknown.
I quietly read the text on the screen and closed it, not really surprised such a quest had come up. The Ga’em was known to provide quests based on the desires and motivations one had, and so it followed I’d get a quest like this.
“What do you think about what happened back there?” Nyx asked.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean, why do you think it happened?” he asked. “That young kobold? Kidnapped? It doesn’t make sense. We’ve been around that young one. Why would the Dark Alliance want anything to do with him?”
“We don’t even know if the Dark Alliance is who kidnapped him,” I said. “If betrayal runs deep that man might have just been posing as a Knight of the Dark Alliance to throw us off.”
“That’s true,” Nyx said. “Ugh, so many complications.”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered. “I can’t even begin to think of what this kidnapping might mean in the face of all the attacks we’ve had dealt onto us recently. And it just gets worse when you realize the Lumina Knights have their quirky machine out there in the desert sending pressure pulses out through the lands.”
“Yeaaaah,” Nyx said.
The image of the young Kobold lay thick on my mind. He had been frightened silly when that Knight had him in his grasp. I could imagine the thoughts that would have been running in his mind as the crystal broke into shards, and they weren’t thoughts that would have been comforting.
I hope nothing happens to Nazu, I said.
“There’s nothing we can do for now,” Nyx said. “Freya and Ijyela are trying to analyze those shards, and there’s basically nothing you can do to help them at the moment. We’re just going to have to be on our own.”
“Yeah,” I muttered.
I noticed a few Knights walk past one the streets, and realized Raffiel was the one leading them. I stepped forward, and then hesitated.
“Are you thinking about talking to him about the kidnapping?” Nyx asked.
No, I shook my head. It’s about the previous attack.
“But I thought you didn’t want to ask him about that either.”
Well, I don’t think he’d know why the Dark Alliance attacked us, I said. But like Freya mentioned before, it might not hurt to ask.
“Fine.”
I walked up to the small group of Knights, and on seeing me they all knelt to the floor in an instant.
“You don’t have to do that every time,” I smiled.
“Apologies, my Lord,” they all said and got up.
“Is there anything we can help you with, my Lord?” Raffiel smiled as he stepped forward.
“Walk with me, Raffiel,” I said. “The rest of you may do whatever you wish.”
The others nodded and walked away, while the Knight captain stood at my side, a little confused.
“Do not worry,” I said as we strode forward. “I just have a question I wish to ask of you.”
“Anything, my Lord,” he said. “Ask away and I will answer to the best of my abilities.”
“What do you know of why your Alliance attacked this village?” I asked.
“Ah,” he said, his tone saying he’d already expected me to ask this of him. “I am actually in question of the decision even now. We were given no forewarning about the attack. My squadron and I were called upon in the middle of the night to head out and follow a group headed west. I was unsure of what we were even doing, but as a knight in the Dark Alliance, you learn to follow orders and stop asking questions.”
“Do you know why Jelal, a man leading the Dark Alliance, would come here personally?”
“I was confused about that as well, my lord,” he said. “I am unsure of what the reason was. I was not told that the Dark Commander himself would be accompanying us and found out only when we left for the village.”
“Interesting,” I said. “It sounds like a lot of things were kept quiet for this attack. How many people do you think even knew about this?”
“I would reckon not too many,” he said. “We were called upon past midnight, and I doubt a lot of people would have known of such an attack if our call to arms was at such an odd time.”
“He’s right,” Nyx said. “That’s quite an odd time to ask people to head out.”
It is, I said. But it still doesn’t tell us why exactly they attacked the village.
“Were you aware that I was leader of this village?” I asked Raffiel.
He nodded. “We were briefed minutes before reaching here,” he said. “Only the captains and squadron leaders were told. They restricted the other men knowing from the fear of a fallout in the mission if they found out we were facing the Phantom Lord.”
“So they knew we were here,” Nyx said. “Does that mean this was a personal attack against you?”
Maybe, I said.
“There wasn’t much time between us claiming this village and them attacking us though.”
Are you saying my claiming the village alerted them of my presence? I asked.
“It seems a very likely possibility. We’ve been in hiding for three months, and all of a sudden the Dark Alliance just happens to find us?”
“Zoran!” I heard a voice call out to me, and I turned around to see an ecstatic Freya running towards us.
“I will have to take your leave, Raffiel,” I said. “Thank you for your help.”
“Anytime, my Lord,” he bowed and headed on his way.
I walked to Freya. “Did you find anything?” I asked.
She nodded. “You need to see this.”
I quirked my head to the side. That did not sound like it was something good, and the tone of her voice only intrigued me more. I quickly followed her back to the house she and Freya had settled in temporarily.
The elven witch was resting on a chair in there, her green eyes looking at a pile of shards lying on the table before her.
“He’s here, Ijyela,” Freya said as we entered.
“Good,” she turned to see me, a cold expression in her eyes.
“What did you find?” I asked, walking up to her.
“Ulhur,” she said.
“What?”
“The Ulhur mountains,” she said. “That’s where that teleportation shard was set to go.”
“Where’s that?” I asked.
“A few thousand miles north of here,” Freya said. “It’s an absolutely desolate mountain region. Barely anyone goes up there. In fact, it wouldn’t be too far off to say no one goes up there anymore.”
“And yet this Knight had a teleportation crystal that was preset to take him there.”
“I can’t pinpoint to where exactly in the mountain region he was set to go to,” Ijyela said. “But I’m certain the mountains were where he was headed.”
“Why on earth would he take a Kobold to a place like that?” I mumbled softly.
“To meet a contact?” Nyx suggested.
Possible, I said.
“What course of action do we take?” Freya asked.
“We follow,” I said. “I can take you with me to the mountain region. Ijyela, you stay here and guard the village. It should be easier than before now that we’ve fended off one attack and obtained a small attack force as well.”
“Understood,” she nodded. “I’ll talk to Raffiel and set things up.”
“Good,” I turned to Freya. “When can you leave?”
“Anytime you want,” she said.
“Fine, let’s leave immediately,” I said. “I don’t want to waste any time.”
She nodded.
I put my hand in the air. “Hiestia,” I whispered. Darkness surged out of the ground, and sealed our bodies, plunging us into a world of darkness. When I could see again, I found myself on a solid pathway of bla
ck, just like before.
“What the heck,” a voice sounded next to me and I turned to see Freya sitting on the ground, her eyes wide at the sight in front of her.
“You’ve never Shadow Traveled with me before, have you?”
“I mean you’ve only done it like two times before this sooooo,” Nyx chuckled.
Shut up, I rolled my eyes.
“This is my first time,” Freya said, watching the portals of shifting images floating all around us.
“Come on,” I said, giving her a hand up and leading her down the pathway. I formed a mental image of the word ‘Ulhur’ and walked along, my mind calm. Ijyela had given me quite a good idea of what this place looked like and where it was, and those were two very helpful factors in finding a portal to the place. A few seconds in, I could feel a presence far down the pathway, and I knew it was the one I wanted.
“Are each of these images a pathway to somewhere else?” Freya asked as we strode along.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Each one leads to a shadow being cast somewhere in the world.”
“So this basically lets you travel from shadow to shadow.”
“Basically,” I said.
“That’s such a trippy skill.”
“See?! I said the same thing,” Nyx chuckled.
I never said you were wrong, now did I? I smiled.
A chill hit my spine and I immediately stopped. I closed my eyes, feeling for the presence once again, and found it somewhere close to my right. I walked a few more steps forward, and looked around me. It didn’t take me too long to find what I was looking for.
A portal of pure white stood a few feet above the ground, as though it were a pool of pure milk.
“Is that it?” Freya asked.
I nodded. “Are you ready for a snowstorm?”
“Oh,” she said in a deadpan tone, showing she clearly hadn’t thought about the weather yet. “Well, I guess that makes sense.”
“Come on,” I held her hand and tugged her behind me as I ran into the portal.
“Ugh, I’m going to hate this,” she said.
One moment we were in darkness.
And then we were not.
The Eternal: Dragonborn - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 2) Page 10