Neverfall: The Dark Path (Book 2): A Gamelit Lit RPG Series

by C. Wintertide

“So I still don’t get it. Why did you let us in? And why are just going to give us the key after withstanding all of that? You don’t know us. We could be in league with Bonecall or someone worse!” Mack pointed out.

  “The protection extends beyond the door. You actually knocked, so I knew that you could not be like Bonecall or in league with him,” Thomas answered. “And then you mentioned the forge after clearing the village. I sensed you were the right ones to hand this burden off to.”

  “So… you’re giving us the key? Just like that?” Mack repeated as he narrowed his eyes at the old man.

  Thomas turned, having pocketed his last bits of coin. “Just like that. But while the key may be easy for you to get, what it leads to will cause you no end of difficulties.”

  “What does Bonecall want a martial weapon for?” Luke asked.

  “It is not the weapon he wants. It is the technique for fusing a soul to metal. To use that soul to fuel the weapon. A soul is the greatest source of power after all,” Thomas explained, his voice dropping.

  Luke’s hand strayed to the hilt of his sword. Was a person’s soul infused into Dragon’s Claw? Was that why it was so powerful?

  This is a game. There are no real souls. It’s just lore. Not real. Luke told himself this again and again, but he still had this superstitious dread of what Thomas was saying.

  “Bonecall has a fascination for all uses of the soul and body. He could not resist such a power of the ancients,” Thomas said, hefting his sack over his shoulders. “The ancient weapon in the forge is of incredible potency. It was created with the soul of a high elven queen.”

  Gloria gasped. “No! It can’t be! Queen Evender and the Reckoning?”

  “What the what now?” Mack stared hard at her. “Why am I thinking that you took the Arcane Perk? That would explain your knowledge about everything.”

  “You’re talking in riddles again.” Gloria frowned at him. “I know what he is speaking about, because I am quite well-read in the history of the five kingdoms. I recognize this ancient weapon. It’s in the annals, after all. The high elves speak of it in low voices. It’s a shameful part of their history. Or, at least, a desperate time.”

  Christopher frowned deeply. He was still shaking and sweating. “The high elves fused souls to their weapons? I--I can hardly believe that.”

  Gloria looked at him curiously. “I have lived among your people for some time, and I can tell you that the high elves are hardly above creating weapons of destruction. In fact, Queen Evender gave her immortal life and eternal soul for it. They were losing a war, you see, and they needed a weapon beyond compare. The Reckoning, and other weapons and armor, were created to seize victory.”

  Her gaze dropped to Dragon’s Claw and Luke’s armor.

  “Couldn’t Bonecall find other ancient weapons to experiment on?” Luke asked, and his stomach clenched at the thought of anyone trying to take his sword or armor from him.

  “Denarius told me that the Reckoning was the first ancient weapon that was crafted. It was made in such a way that only it could, potentially, be unwound,” Thomas said. “The other weapons will not yield their secrets as the Reckoning will.”

  Luke breathed in deeply as he realized that Dragon’s Claw was safe. At least, Bonecall wouldn’t want to use the weapon for his experiments.

  “Maybe we should leave the Reckoning in the forge then,” Christopher suggested. “It’s safe there. Bonecall can’t get it. The moment we take it out, he will be after us.”

  “Indeed he will. You will have to defeat him, or he will dog your steps forever,” Thomas agreed.

  Christopher pointed at him. “See? We should not take it. We should leave it be.”

  “Hell, no!” Mack shook his head. “Imagine how powerful my axe must be! We can’t turn away from that.”

  “I think this is a foolish risk!” Christopher cried.

  “You said Queen Nurala blessed this key to keep evil away.” Luke’s forehead screwed up. “Does that mean that she knew what Denarius was doing with the--the Reckoning?”

  “Oh, yes, she was the one to give him the Reckoning in the first place. A great evil has risen again,” Thomas said. The way he looked at Luke, had Luke wondering if he knew that Luke was the Dark Lord’s son.

  Luke’s hands went to his tattoos to hide them, but they were already covered.

  “So Queen Nurala gave Denarius the Reckoning, and sent him here to see if he could create other ancient weapons to use against the Dark Lord?” Gloria’s eyebrows rose. “That’s--”

  “Desperate? Yes, yes, it is. But times are desperate.” Thomas headed to the door. “My small part in this grand play is over. Yours, clearly, has just begun.”

  With that, Thomas shuffled out of the door, leaving them with the flickering candles, and the magic key.

  27

  RECKONING

  “So I am going to be wielding an ancient weapon? One that has the soul of an elven queen inside? How awesome is that?” Mack chortled as they stepped out of Thomas’ house with the stone key in hand.

  Luke had been the one to pick it up. It had almost been a test for him. Would going down the Dark Path make him evil, and, therefore, unfit to hold it? Or, perhaps, simply being the Dark Lord’s son would be enough to disqualify him? But he was able to lift it easily with no ill effects. They had then all left the house.

  “Thomas has already disappeared.” Cassie looked about.

  She was right. Thomas, despite his hobbling, slow gait, was nowhere in sight. And darkness was rolling in.

  “Night is falling fast.” Luke looked up at the darkening sky. A sense of foreboding went through him. “We need to finish this quest, and be away from the village as soon as possible. I think we’ve overstayed our welcome as it is.”

  “Now that we know the Reckoning is here, and that it is more than just his undead pets that Bonecall wants from here, he’s sure to notice his Observer’s death, and come looking,” Gloria said.

  “Great, we’re nowhere near strong enough to face him, yet, are we?” Cassie asked.

  “No, definitely not,” Gloria agreed.

  “C’mon. No more time to waste,” Luke said, and hustled towards the darkening forge.

  As they approached the forge, Luke saw something different than he had before. Blue sparks were drifting up from the crack inside the fire pit. He nudged Mack.

  “Do you see what I see?” Luke asked.

  “Whoa! Yeah, that must be something to do with my axe!” Mack murmured.

  Christopher was hanging back, the last person in their group to reach the forge’s entrance. He was pasty-faced and pale with a sheen of sweat on his face. Luke felt alarmed.

  “Hey, are you okay?” He touched Christopher’s arm.

  Christopher shook his head. He raised a shaking hand to his forehead. “I don’t think I can go in there.”

  Mack frowned. “Seriously? Is there that much evil down there?”

  “I--I don’t know. I just keep hearing this voice, and it’s horrible!” Christopher gave a visible shudder.

  “What is the voice saying?” Luke asked.

  “It’s not really saying anything. It’s just… screaming,” Christopher said.

  Luke considered whether they could actually finish this quest without Christopher’s healing and shielding abilities. If all that was required was for them to use the key in the lock and retrieve the tools and axe, then no, of course they didn’t need him. But this talk of screaming, and the power of the weapon they were retrieving, was making him think it couldn’t be that easy at all. Yet one look at Christopher’s sweaty, pale face and trembling hands likely meant that Christopher would be of no use to them down there anyways. Also, Luke couldn’t imagine forcing Christopher to go into the dark forge when he appeared so ill.Winter looked just as unhappy.

  “We can handle it. You stay up here with Winter,” Luke told him.

  “Are you sure?” Christopher looked terribly hopeful, but also ashamed.

  “Ye
s,” Luke assured him.

  Mack then opened his mouth to speak. Luke was sure that Mack would say something teasing, but instead, he slapped Christopher’s back and told him, “Don’t worry about it! Once I get my magic axe there will be nothing that can stand in our way!”

  “It will be good to have such a powerful weapon on our side to fight evil,” Christopher said. “I should be with you to help--”

  “It’s okay, Christopher. This is the last push. We’ll go camp after this, and everything will be all right. We’ve got enough health potions that if anything goes badly, we’ll handle it. Just yell if you run into any trouble up here,” Luke assured him. He turned back to the darkened forge. “Let’s go, guys.”

  Luke went over to the far wall where he’d found the “lock” and, just before he inserted the stone “key” inside, he looked back once at Christopher. The cleric was outlined in the gathering gloom with Winter by his side, wagging his tail.

  “Why is he so affected by this place?” Alicia murmured, frowning.

  “He says he hears voices.” Mack shrugged.

  “A high elf cleric would be the most affected,” Gloria said.

  “But why?” Luke asked.

  Gloria frowned. “Because a high elf cleric created the Reckoning.”

  “Wait! A cleric created these powerful weapons?” Mack didn’t hide his disbelieving tone.

  “Of course. The weapon’s power doesn’t come from the sharpness of the blade but the soul inside. Clerics are all about controlling souls, remember?” she answered.

  Luke wasn’t altogether surprised after what she had mentioned to him before. But it now made more sense why Christopher was so affected by the weapon’s nearness.

  “So, the voice Christopher hears comes from the soul that’s in the ancient weapon?” Luke clarified.

  Gloria nodded. “I would suppose so.”

  “But he’s not affected by Dragon’s Claw, and it’s an ancient weapon,” Mack pointed out.

  “Maybe he would have been affected by it, too, if Luke hadn’t won it over at that point,” Cassie suggested.

  “That’s possible. But what if you’re wrong? What if there’s something about the Reckoning that will keep affecting him? Will he be able to handle even being near it?” Mack asked.

  “I have no idea. But we have to try. If nothing else, we can’t leave it here now that Thomas has abandoned his position as the key’s keeper,” Gloria said.

  “How do we know that you didn’t just join us to get the Reckoning? You serve the Dark Lord,” Alicia said.

  “Getting the Reckoning for him would put me in a very good position,” Gloria agreed. “But if I did that, I’d lose your help with Manon. The Dark Lord will not get him back for me. Not after what Manon did to Luke.”

  “So you basically won’t try to steal the Reckoning from us until you have Manon back?” Cassie lifted an eyebrow.

  Gloria smiled. “Exactly!” “At least we know what to expect,” Mack said.

  Luke cast one more glance at Christopher. He wanted to urge him to come into the forge, at least, and not be so exposed outside. But he didn’t say anything. Christopher would come inside if he felt he could. Luke bit his inner cheek and turned back to the engraving. He pressed the stone key against it, and he heard a snick followed by a grinding noise. A section of the floor suddenly sank a few inches then retreated into a slot along the side. A set of stairs appeared. Torches that lined the staircase suddenly sprang to life.

  Luke’s eyebrows rose up into his hairline. “Now that’s handy.”

  “It’s like a Clapper for electric lights, but this time it’s for torches,” Mack remarked.

  “It’s magic. Why are you also surprised by this?” Gloria asked, with one eyebrow raised.

  “In the real world, there is no magic. I mean there’s technology, which can seem like magic at times, but not conjuring fireballs out of the air or healing someone with a flick of your wrist,” Cassie explained her.

  “That sounds like a grim place. What is a world without magic?” Gloria responded, touching her chin thoughtfully.

  “The people in the real world created this one. So there is magic in the real world in a way,” Luke said.

  “I don’t know if our world is grimmer than here. We just had to kill this entire village because they were turned into undead monsters,” Cassie pointed out. “On the other hand, I’ve seen things in this game that are more beautiful than anything in real life. There’s certainly more magic, mystery and adventure here. Not to mention, I can get my hands on a hell of a lot more glittering gemstones and gleaming gold. Luke wielding a flaming sword is awesome. Not to mention calling a dragon to our aid. Mack being thrown up into the air by an orc is brilliant. Christopher healing our wounds is amazing. There have been so many moments that I’ll never forget.”

  Luke swallowed down a surprising lump of emotion that had formed in his throat. Neverfall was complicated for him, too. There were times when he wanted to let go, and just love it, but then he would remember the danger they were all in, and see his friends’ dead faces in front of him, and his joy would die. Neverfall truly was a double-edged blade.

  “Let’s go down and see what Neverfall has in store for us this time, Luke suggested.

  Luke drew out Dragon’s Claw, and ignited his other hand with Chain Lightning. He advanced first down the steps with Alicia close on his heels. Mack was next, while Cassie and Gloria brought up the rear. Luke was ready for an attack the moment he set foot on the stone floor. He pivoted to his left, and looked into the chamber beneath the forge.

  It was a simple round room, mirroring the one above it, and it was empty except for four things. The first thing, illuminated in red by his HUD, was the tools that they needed to upgrade any of their magical weapons or armor. The second thing was a skeleton. It was a small skeleton, but clearly not a child’s from the thickness of its bones. The third thing was the partially melted axe that lay beside the skeleton’s right hand. The metal looked almost blistered and blackened in places. The weapon was unusable.

  And then there was the fourth thing in the room, the thing that was letting out the blue sparks that drifted upwards through the cracked fire pit above, the thing that hovered two feet off the ground. It was a hammer. The shaft was longer than Mack was tall. It was double-headed. The workmanship was almost crude. The whole effect it had on Luke was one of brutality.

  This was a weapon that was made to smash, crush, and flatten enemies. There was no finesse in it. It was not a piece of art like Dragon’s Claw. It was not a weapon that one could hang over the mantle, and tell stories of the adventures that the weapon had been on with its wielder. No, this was an instrument of pure death. He could almost feel the desperate need of its creators to destroy their enemies. Luke would not want that weapon to be swinging towards him in its deadly arc.

  It would definitely cause a reckoning on the battlefield, that’s for sure.

  Gloria drew in a sharp gasp, and Luke saw her make the sign of the cross, when her eyes alighted upon the hammer. He wondered if she even realized she had done that. Her eyes were wide. Her cheeks were pale. She, evidently, felt the same way that Luke did. Cassie’s lips were flattened together, and she actually shook her head.

  “No wonder Christopher couldn’t come down here,” Cassie murmured. “It’s terrible.”

  “The depths the high elves sank to in order to save themselves,” Gloria whispered. She shook her head. “I had no idea.”

  Luke tightened his grip on Dragon’s Claw. It, and his armor, seemed as different as night from day compared to the Reckoning. But the same process had been used to forge both, supposedly. He swallowed. Mack, however, had a completely different reaction than the rest of them. His was disappointment, and Luke could understand why.

  “That’s not--that’s not an axe!” Mack cried out. He pointed at the hammer with such dismay that it was almost comical.

  “No, it is a hammer. A very powerful, large hammer,” Alic
ia murmured, and she strode over to the weapon.

  Mack went over to the dwarven skeleton, and touched the destroyed axe by his side. “This--this would have been my weapon, but--but it’s a useless piece of metal!” “So Denarius did not succeed in finding out the Reckoning’s secret,” Gloria remarked.

  “Cassie, Gloria, do you see any traps?” Luke asked.

  “No. Nothing physical, anyways,” Cassie told him.

  “I can’t believe there aren’t any. Although the key to get in here was hard to get,” Gloria remarked. “Well, it was because we didn’t go to Thomas’ house first.”

  “It wouldn’t have been there if we’d gone there first,” Mack told her.

  “What? You said that before. I don’t understand. The key was clearly with Thomas--”

  “Even if it was there, and wouldn’t appear somewhere else, Thomas wouldn’t have given it to us until we cleared the village. Trust me. That’s how games work,” Mack said.

  “Well, I suppose that he wanted to test our valor, or to give his fellow villagers peace,” she said.

  “That’s what the developers want you to think. But no, no, they just want us to have to work for the prize at the end. Except… there is no prize!” Mack’s hands flew up into the air.

  “There is. But it is not an axe,” Alicia said softly.

  Luke stepped towards the hammer, standing a foot from it, and looked up at the hole in the ceiling directly above it. Clearly, the destruction had come from the ancient weapon. Denarius perhaps had been trying to siphon some of the energy from the hammer to the axe, and something went terribly wrong. He glanced over at Alicia. Her black eyes were locked on the weapon. The reflection of the Reckoning shone within them.

  “You okay, Alicia?” he asked.

  She didn’t look away from the Reckoning. “This weapon…”

  “Yeah, it’s something, isn’t it?”

  “It is a terrible weapon,” she murmured.

  “It’s made for one thing.”

  “Killing,” she said.

  He nodded. “But you want to wield it, don’t you?”