by Andrew Novak
"The Black Sword, Black Sword," the little green beast said to Jack. "Are you a servant of the Master? The sword is dark, like the shadow of its master!"
Jack swung his blade in front of the goblin so that slivers of darkness slid from it and nodded.
"Forgive us, Dark Servant!" rasped the creature. Ugh, they had disgusting voices, the goblins. "We did not know it was you! Tell us what to do! How to repent? We serve the Master, we serve the Shadow of the Master, and we serve the one who wields the Shadow!"
"For starters, you can tell me where the temple is. You understand me, right? I'm looking for the temple. In the temple, there is a black altar. This is where I need to deliver the Shadow."
"Yes, dark servant!" the green beast croaked in his own language. And a scrolling line of text translated for Jack. "We go, go!
The goblin capered ahead. It ran about on its two hind limbs at the same time supporting itself on its left front leg, and it continuously used the right to poke into thickets or point the way. The others followed quietly ten paces behind.
When a black stone wall appeared beyond the bushes, the goblin drew aside the branches and indicated with a nod:
"Here, here, Dark Servant! The temple, the altar!"
"Perfect," Jack said gruffly.
He wondered whether or not these little runts actually served him now. Maybe they were luring him into a trap? Although, what point was there in a trap? And that one had even given him a ring...
"Dark Servant, Dark Servant!" called his goblin. "Can we... can we see? A little, just a very little bit?"
"See what?"
"The Master's tear! Life and death! Beauty and ugliness! Cruelty and compassion! Want to see! Just a little!"
Following what was probably their little goblin leader, the others began to keen.
"A little! Want to see! Master's tear! Life and death! Beauty and ugliness! Cruelty and compassion! Want to see! Just a little!"
They whined so piteously, that Jack couldn't refuse. Still holding the sword in his right hand, he drew the Tear out with his left and lifted it above his head.
When goblins smiled, it looked even nastier than when they bared their teeth in aggression. Jack now knew this as a fact. He stood for a moment longer looking at their faces, wrinkled with reverent grins, and put the Tear away. Then he waved the sword.
"Well, time to go! Service to the Dark doesn't suffer delays."
And with those words, he stepped out of the brush towards the black ruins. Once again in an open area, he glanced up. A white-gold speck was floating in the sky. Egghead hadn't gone back to his swanky mansion. He was still just milling about, watching. Well, let him enjoy the view... Jack wasn't going to worry about something he had no control over.
He continued along the thorned ivy-covered wall, found the entrance, and ducked into the darkness. He moved along for a while by touch only, putting the tip of the sword out in front of himself. Darkness, flowing from the Shadow of the King, poured into the gloom that reigned under these ancient vaults. But the light nevertheless broke through down here through cracks in the roof, although the holes were almost completely veiled by creeping shoots. When his eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness, or rather, when the eyepieces of the virt-headset responded to the block of code that set the illumination in the temple, Jack began to make out pieces of columns on the floor, withered leaves carried in by the wind, and other traces of neglect.
Farther and farther... the altar had to be somewhere. It was probably at the far end of the long hall. Jack went on. Dry leaves crunched under his boots and stone fragments rolled across the floor. Finally, in the dim, ghostly light, something appeared in the distance that somewhat resembled an altar. It looked more like a huge hump. The thing towering over the ground had an irregular, slightly rounded silhouette. But Jack couldn't see anything else even remotely resembling an altar.
A ray of light fell on the surface of the strange stone and Jack noticed a black spot, either a hole or an indentation in the shape of an exceptionally long, thin rhombus. "The temple altar is a closed lock. Your sword will serve as the key," the goddess had said. The sword! The hole in the stone matched the cross-section of the double-edged blade!
Jack carefully fit the Shadow of the King into the opening and plunged it in until the tip struck the bottom. The alter shook and lurched, changing shape. The sword hilt tore from Jack's fingers and he recoiled. The altar, which now looked like anything but an altar, grew and widened. From the lump emerged the contours of massive shoulders and a small head – no neck – sitting directly on the torso, which was growing from the opening in the floor.
The altar transformed into something resembling a stone man, tremendously massive and powerful. And probably deadly, as well.
The thickset figure, sword sticking out between its shoulder blades, spun and stepped toward Jack. It looked extremely threatening – the stone behemoth advancing toward Jack, creaking and crunching in the shadows. Well, shit! He couldn't reach the sword!
Jack backed away and then his eyes fell on the place where the altar had been. There was a cavity left in the floor and a faint light trickled from it. This was his quest objective... but how to get over there? The dark, heavy stone... whatchamacallit was advancing in clearly threatening manner. It was then that a shrieking, bounding, thrashing wave ran past Jack. The throng surged into the temple and pounced on the golem. A sentry golem, that's exactly what it was. The little monsters closed in on it, leaping from all sides. They scratched at it with their claws, scrambled up its powerful sides, pummeled it with tiny fists. The stone guard vanished completely beneath them. It couldn't take even a single step.
Jack rushed toward the roiling mound, ran around, and groped around in the shifting mass for the hilt of the Shadow of the King and tore it free. The blade was snug in its back and moved with great difficulty, but slid slowly in its stone vice... and finally pulled free. The golem stopped dead. Then it fell to all fours, compressed, and folded into itself. Its head disappeared into its shoulders, its back bent over the floor. It was a welcome sight, but now was not the time to admire it. He needed to get what was hidden under the altar. Jack bent over the hole. The thing there emitting the light rested in a pit that resembled a well. There were steps leading down, too narrow to place his feet comfortably. Jack, moving sideways, was scarcely able to squeeze into the well. He crouched, bent, stretched his arm, and blindly grabbed at whatever came to hand. It was a small, flat rectangle. It felt like a book. Yep, definitely a book!
Attention! Quest progression in "Service to the Dark"...
Jack, not even reading the message, began to wiggle out of the hole. He was too vulnerable. That gut feeling, which had saved his skin more than once in the Wasteland, was telling him now: danger, danger! Very close.
The chat icon was blinking in the corner of his field of vision. Jack ran away from the hole, the motionless golem, and the goblins, who were performing a victory jig on the petrified sentry.
Egghead wrote:
Shame you scuttled off so quickly. We had more to discuss. Watch your back. There are people heading toward you. A lot. Ten or more. Judging from your story, it could be the Gravediggers. I was thinking, if you got something from the drop off Weaver Lund, then you'd better get rid of it. Get in touch with me when this is all over.
Jack backed toward the temple exit but had barely gotten a couple of steps before a deafening bang sounded above his head. A portion of the wall had exploded in a fiery blast, stones sprayed in all directions. Something hit his shoulder, then stomach...
You receive damage!
You lose 4 hit points!
You receive damage!
You lose 7 hit points!
You receive damage!
You lose 5 hit points!
Jack felt his feet lift off the ground, himself flying, then landing hard on his back...
You receive damage!
You lose 5 hit points!
He crawled along the chilly floor tiles..
. Another blow!
You receive damage!
You lose 6 hit points!
Another blistering blast struck, shredding new chunks from the temple wall, but they missed Jack. He was already out of range. All he could do was make sure he kept the sword in his hands and crawl under a fallen column that rested askew against the wall. It was the best shelter he could find nearby. Hey, where was the book? He dropped it when the mayhem started. Jack looked around. Everything was littered with wall rubble. The book was lying somewhere among the cobblestones, but searching for it wasn't an option right now.
Egghead had written about that drop from Lund. It was an interesting thought. Jack whipped the Necklace of Veneration off and tossed the trinket across the hall, away from his hiding place.
The goblins, now much fewer than before, were snarling and writhing among the rubble... And in the breach, a man appeared and looked inside.
"Weaver, there are goblins here!" he called out. "He can't be hiding here!"
"Get out of the way!" a familiar voice answered.
A third volcanic blast hit the wall and more wreckage flew at the goblins. The same guy that had been speaking to Lund peeked in through the breach again.
"Just like I said, it's full of goblins!"
Cracks ran outward from the fissure in the wall. Jack could see daylight streaming through them. Another section of masonry collapsed, raising clouds of dust. Now the hole was the size of a decent-sized gate and the Gravediggers climbed inside, bringing up their weapons. They entered and spread out. A few shell-shocked goblins tried to attack but were killed in a matter of seconds. Jack shrank back in his hiding place. His health bar was refilling slowly and he wasn't ready for battle yet.
"He must be here...” Lund muttered, looking around.
The dust around the Gravediggers slowly settled, but the visibility inside was still awful. Too dark. Only the area near the break in the wall was well lit. Gravediggers slowly branched out to the sides, plunging into the gloom. But Lund stayed where he was, either turning his head or peering at the small object he was holding in front of him. Probably some sort of scouting amulet? Was it configured to find the Necklace of Veneration?
Jack weighed his chances. To be honest, they didn't look good, but he was out of options. He would have to attack these guys. It would be better to take out the first guy to start. He'd be able to take out one before the other Gravediggers laid into him. How would he manage to take two, hm?
Jack groped at his vial belt for a healing elixir and hastily brought it to his lips. His life bar slowly crept up, returning to full. But even with full health, this wasn't going to be easy. If he cut down two Gravediggers right off the bat, it would increase his chances, even if just a little, of getting out of there alive.
He had already prepared himself to hop out and jump on the closest enemy, but another explosion sounded from outside. The surprises continued.
Weaver Lund, who was closest to the hole, was blanketed in a green glow. The Gravedigger began to twitch and howl. And it was a real howl – he was really hurting.
Jack pressed back into the wall again. What the hell was going on here? Another round of green flame followed the first, then another, and another... someone was approaching from the outside – the hiss of flying spells, shouts, and the clang of metal grew ever louder. And there was some kind of incessant knocking. A dry, bony knocking.
A new cast of characters piled into the hall. They were thin, wearing dark robes, and carrying very menacing blades. Those were skeletons! Well, shit, Jack thought. Necromancers were just what he needed for his life to be complete!
Swords clashed and rattled as the skeletons attacked the Gravediggers, who were fiercely defending themselves. Jack managed to scan the stats of the closest undead:
Undead Warrior
Expertise: 35
Disease: 60
Whoa! Tough guy... Jack had never come across an undead of this level.
Another pair of the shapeless, black hooded robes ducked in through the breach, one large, the other quite small. And apparently they were living characters, not skeletons.
The larger of the two threw up a rod topped with a silver, skull-shaped knob and sent a new wave of green flames at the nearest Gravedigger. As he did so, his robe swept open and Jack spotted the person through the green light. Stately, with broad shoulders and trim waist, he was simply handsome. But his good looks were of a different sort than Egghead's. This guy wasn't wearing lace, but was in black from head to toe. He just radiated power. His burnished steel plate armor was embellished with silver. The pommel of the sword hanging at his waist was also in the shape of a skull. An arrogant sneer was etched into his wolfish face. Jack saw that the necromancer enjoyed using the green fire to annihilate the Gravediggers who were busy fighting skeletons. The spell didn't harm the Undead Warriors, but the living players were forced to the ground, writhing and howling. Must be strong stuff if the pain could be felt even through the game's filter.
The second necromancer, much shorter, thin, and agile, rushed into the hall and began milling around the debris and bodies, avoiding the Gravediggers. This one was clearly searching for something. Jack just stared blankly, watching the scene before him.
The struggle lasted for several minutes and before long, all Gravediggers had fallen, their bodies beginning to dissolve one after another. The undead were standing in the place where they found victory, and the larger necromancer, looked around and went outside, leaving a parting shot over his shoulder:
"Keep looking, El, look carefully. I'll be nearby, making sure no one bothers you."
Jack froze, hoping that the undead and their masters would soon leave. After all, this was the kingdom of Maxitor. The necromancers were on enemy territory. And it made no sense for him to attack. It was unlikely that Jack would have time to take them all out before their master interfered.
Moreover, it wasn't a fact that he could even cope with the skeletons. Sixty health points! Not even health, but disease, malaise... Even the black sword couldn't handle that. Better to remain unnoticed. Or should he attack anyway?
The necromancer busy searching the area was already heading toward him. And spotted Jack at the exact moment when he'd almost decided to attack. Jack had just started to raise his sword... but something stopped him. Most likely, it was his enemy's appearance. Close up, the player proved to be quite small and skinny. The voluminous, black robes completely swallowed him. The necromancer bent over Jack and raised a finger to his lips – quiet!
Here, under the wall and far away from the hole, it was dark, but Jack could see that this was a girl.
Eloise, Areut
Expertise: 22
Health: 30
Areut? But Areuts were dark-skinned. El was white. Not just white, but shockingly white, as if she had been rubbed with chalk. So pale that in the dark, she seemed luminous, radiant. Her face was like a mask made of porcelain. A very nice mask, for that matter. She had a delicate little nose, plump lips... And her eyes were huge, opened wide. The girl's gaze slid over Jack's head. The necromancer was reading his stats. She whispered something barely audible that threw Jack soundly for a loop:
"Jack? Jack the Tramp? I need you. Really need you. I'll find you. Wait for me."
Then she slowly backed away, turned around, and again began to scour the hall, searching for something in the dust, debris, and disappearing bodies... She stopped. And after a second, Jack realized why – one of the Gravediggers on the floor wasn't dissipating. Which meant he was still alive. The body on the floor moved and the player rose. He threw out his sword, but the little necromancer deftly jumped back, lifting her arms over her head. When she waved, the sleeves of her robe slid down, revealing her arms – skinny, like sticks, and unnaturally white. Green fire flashed between Eloise's fingers. She dropped her arms sharply and the ball of radiance slipped from her hands. It enveloped the Gravedigger, who howled in pain as he was overcome by the nasty green glow. He was still writhing and
whimpering as Eloise resumed her search.
She bent down, picked up some object, and immediately rushed to the exit, shouting loudly:
"I found it! Master, I found it! I have the book!"
A moment later, the skeletons shuffled into motion and made for the breach. They were leaving.
When the destroyed hall had emptied, Jack dropped the arm holding the sword and exhaled. Wow! What was that about? Was that it? And what about the quest progression? He needed to read the book.
Attention! Quest progression in "Service to the Dark".
Read the Corrupted Book of Bacchus.
Yep. For sure, the Corrupted Book of Bacchus was the same one that had been lying under the altar. The same one that the chalk-dusted Eloise had carried off to her master. After bringing Necta the nighttime sacrifice at the crossroads, Jack had received the sword, which opened the way to the book. There must be something important in it. Some valuable information that would turn aside the veils covering Alterra's past.
What else was there in the messages? It had been a long message feed. So...
Attention! You are the first player to touch the Corrupted Book of Bacchus.
You receive +1 XP.
You have 41 XP
Earn 9 XP to unlock new skills.
Jack frowned. That was, of course, fantastic, but he'd lost the book. And now he had no idea where to look for it.
Chapter Seven. Real Life, Real Death
WHAT NONSENSE! The game gave him a point of experience just for touching the book... and now he needed to read it to continue the quest, but there was no book! Jack, cursing a blue streak, wandered around the hall and collected the drops left by the Gravediggers. Egghead's idea about the Necklace of Veneration had turned out to be right, but to leave stuff behind just wasn't in Jack's nature. The necromancer had scorned it all because he was rich, but Jack could only dream of entering that league. If he just rushed past valuables, then he would never get his own castle, NPC servants, or stupid habits like wasting valuable goods.