by R. A. Mejia
I held back what I was going to say since there was no point in causing problems. Not yet, anyway. As I looked around the room for some way to escape or turn the situation against our keepers, I caught sight of the back of Manny. He was using the sharp burr on his gauntlet to slowly fray and cut the ropes binding his hands together. Then I noticed that all of my goblin friends were doing something similar. They were each slowly trying to twist their bindings or picking at the ropes with their sharp nails. It was heartening to see that they’d not given up, but as I whispered the command for Inspect, I saw that the average level amongst the Scavengers was 6. That plus the troll meant that it was unlikely we’d be able to escape even if we were free. I whispered the command for Parker to detach from his place on my back but got an error message in my vision.
Error. Mechanical Companion unable to detach from storage position. Please remove obstruction and retry.
It took me a moment to realize that my arms were bound behind me too tightly for the spider to get the leverage to move. I felt him squirming and whispered the command for him to stop moving. I did not want the troll or the others to know he was there. Instead, I twisted my own bound wrists, hoping that I could free my arms enough to try to use Parker again.
While I watched the room, I saw the troll pull one of the Scavengers aside and heard him ask, “Has the mage come out of his chamber yet?”
The Scavenger shook his head and said, “No. He’s in his room still ignoring us behind his magic.” The goblin Scavenger looked toward one of the doors in the long wall, and I noticed a faint shimmer around one of them. The shimmer disappeared as I watched, a familiar man walked out wearing the same furred cloak as the troll.
Enemy Detected. Multiple contacts logged. Automatic alert protocol initiated...connecting...connecting...message sent.
It was the third time I’d seen that notification, and it felt a bit redundant just then. I already knew that I had enemies in front of me, which made me question why it had only appeared after the mage entered the room and why there was a new section about sending a message. It made it seem urgent that someone know about the enemies. Or was it more?
I pulled my mind away from the question of what the notification meant. I had to focus. My eyes followed the thin man that came out of the side room and stood staring down at us. It took me a moment to place the face, but when I did, I said aloud, “Harrison?”
Harrison Freud
Level 10 - Aeromancer
HP 60/60
Mana 93/93
He turned toward me at the mention of his name, and I saw a crooked smile appear on his face. He tilted his head as he looked down at me, and there was a strange look in his eyes as he said, “You remember me, golem? I suppose it was a memorable day in your unremarkable life the day that you grouped with me.”
The man was Harrison Freud, the Aeromancer that Greebo and I had grouped with for all of half a day. He’d been a decent enough addition to the team, but he had been so insufferable. His storming off after discovering that I used Magical Scanning on one of his spells had been a blessing. It hadn’t been that long, but he looked quite different now than the last time that I’d seen him. Before, he had been slightly overweight, but he had worn stately robes and kept his blonde hair slicked back so that not a single strand was out of place. But looking at him staring down at me now, I saw that his hair had thinned and was falling out in places and that he’d lost a good deal of weight--so much so, in fact, his eyes looked sunken, making him appear gaunt and sickly. His clothes were ruffled, and there was a dark red stain on his robe that I don’t think the man had even noticed. But more interestingly, he’d somehow done what I couldn’t despite all the time I’d spent learning to craft and fighting in the dungeon. He’d somehow gained four whole levels since I’d last seen him. It made my own failure feel worse somehow.
“Uh, hey, Harrison. Long time no see,” I said dryly, unsure what else to say.
He nodded, the smile still on his face as if he was talking casually to a pal. “Why, it has been a long while, hasn’t it?” He walked up to me and leaned down to pat me on the shoulder. “I have to thank you, dear golem. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have never found my true calling in life.”
“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” I said.
There was a brief twitch in Harrison’s left eye, but it disappeared so quickly most would not have seen it. “After I complained to the Mage’s Guild about you stealing my Extended Air Blade spell”--he waggled his finger at me--“a naughty thing, by the way--I was contacted by a mysterious man. It was he who showed me how much I was missing out on by focusing my studies on air magic.” The mage’s eyes became unfocused as he spoke. “The man became my benefactor and master in my new studies. He showed me so much.” Harrison’s eyes twitched, and his smile faltered as if he was remembering something unpleasant. “He showed me so much.” Then his eyes refocused, and the smile was back on his face. “And I have you to thank for it. If you hadn’t stolen from me, I wouldn’t have made the complaint and come to the attention of my master. He’d been searching out those disaffected with the Mage’s Guild and those seeking more power.”
Everyone stared at the man. Not just my goblin friends, but his own men too. Harrison stood up straight and looked around the room as if seeing the others for the first time. He turned to the troll and said, “Oh, you are all here too. Good. Terrance, have you found the intruders yet?”
The troll sighed and pointed at the goblins and me, “These are the intruders, Harrison. We caught them in the tunnels and he”--the troll gestured toward me--“was looking through the crates and barrels in the storage area.”
Harrison turned to me and gave me a hurt look of betrayal. “What, the golem is the intruder?” He shook his head and paced, absentmindedly scratching his chin. “No, the golem led me to my master, he is an old friend. No, but what if he heard about my good fortune? The master said there would be those that sought to stop me from learning the dark secrets, those who would want to take the knowledge for themselves.” He spun and marched back to me, his eyes taking on a wild look and he asked, “Is what the troll says true? Are you here to stop me from gaining the power that is rightfully mine?”
The switch from friendliness to paranoid accuser threw me. The Harrison Freud I’d known, even if he was arrogant, but also cool and composed. This man was unhinged. “I don’t know what dark power you’re talking about. We followed the Scavengers because we learned they were involved with something illegal and wanted to stop them before they brought trouble for their guild.”
The Scavengers looked at each other and one stepped forward. “I recognize one of their group, Master Freud.” The goblin pointed at Greebo and continued, “That one is the son of the goblin that founded our Scavenger guild. He could be here to try and stop us.”
“Then you are here to stop me!” Harrison yelled. He turned and poked me with a finger that was covered in sores and lacked a fingernail. “You were always jealous of my magic, golem.” Then the mage stopped moving and tilted his head as if listening to a voice only he could hear. The next moment, his posture straightened, his shoulders went back, and his arms dropped to his side. He calmly looked at me and the goblins. “So, the goblin is here to stop his guildmates. The rest I can assume are here to support him. But the golem is the real problem. He’s the one who can unravel my master’s plans.” Harrison looked down at me and asked, “What do you know about what we’re doing here, and who have you told about us?”
I shrugged and said nothing. Harrison stared down at me for a moment then turned to Greebo and the rest of the goblins and asked, “How about you? Any of you gobs going to tell me what I want to know?” My friends remained silent, following my lead, and the mage shook his head and turned to the troll. “Pick a goblin and cut off parts of him until one of them talks.”
The troll drew his sword from the scabbard at his back and took a step toward Frik. The goblin squirmed back, and his brother tried to throw h
is body at the troll. The troll raised his blade and was about to bring it down on the goblin when the mage yelled, “Hold!”
“I have a better idea,” Harrison said. “I can show the golem what I’ve learned since he last saw me. I can show these goblins why it was a mistake not to answer my questions.” Harrison began to mutter some arcane words under his breath, and the troll’s expression changed to one of fear. He quickly backed away from the bound goblins, and the Scavengers took their lead from the troll and ran across the room with Terrance. Harrison’s eyes rolled back, and the room seemed to darken. The shadows cast by the lights on the ceiling stretched and gathered around the mage. Like an inky pool disturbed by foul wind, the shadows moved until two hands reached out. They extended five feet into the air and waited there. Harrison’s eyes rolled back down, and he smiled again at me. “You see, golem? This is the least of my new powers. I’ve learned things that have been lost to history, and you will not stop me from learning more.”
With a whispered word, the mage extended one of the dark shadow hands and used it to grab one of the barrels next to the goblin’s weapons. Unlike the empty barrels that I’d seen in the storage area, these were full of ground Infernal Crystal. The shadow hand lifted up the barrel and floated it over to the goblins.
The mage looked over my friends and me, and a mad look seemed to take hold of him. “It’s such a tough decision. Who should I pick to make an example out of?”
Manny finally broke the ropes holding him, and he was instantly on his feet, activating Shield Rush. The goblin’s entire body glowed red and then he shot forward like a cannonball, but instead of tackling Harrison Freud like he’d intended, Manny hit an invisible wall of energy that shimmered and then broke as the goblin crashed into it.
The mage smiled sadistically, looking down at the dazed goblin at his feet. “Oh, it looks like we have a volunteer.” A second shadow hand scooped up Manny and carried him to the red arcane circle in the room and held him over it. The mage looked at the rest of us and said, “Say your goodbyes to your friend.”
Then the mage poured the barrel of the Infernal Powder over Manny, while screaming a series of arcane words. The goblin’s eyes widened in pain as the crystals touched his exposed skin, and smoke rose as the goblin’s skin started to burn and turn black.
“Manny! No!” Greebo yelled as he watched his cousin burn.
Manny screamed and tried to squirm from the grip of the magical hand holding him as more of the Infernal Powder was poured over him and they flowed into his armor. I imagined that the smell of burning flesh must have been terrible, and I heard several of the goblin Scavenger’s retch as they watched him being burnt alive.
The screams stopped as the magical black powder was poured down Manny’s throat, and a black flame erupted from his mouth, burning out his vocal cords. He struggled for a few more minutes, helplessly flailing about as he tried to put out the small fires that erupted from the fat in his own body being ignited. And then he stopped moving. But the black fires kept burning, destroying his body and melting his armor.
As the charred flesh fell and the armor melted away, there in the shadow hands was something still. It looked like a soccer ball sized glowing purple ball of energy. The ball pulsed with an inner light and a faint sound. I strained to hear what the sound was and when I finally made out what it was, I wished I hadn’t.
The sound said, “Help me. Please help me.” And I used Inspect on the ball of energy.
Soul – Manny Shinkicker
The physical manifestation of the soul of Manny Shinkicker.
“No! He has his soul.” I yelled as the mage smiled and continued to chant.
Slowly the shadow hands squeezed Manny’s soul and the energy flowed along the shadow arms to Harrison. His eyes glowed purple as he absorbed the energy until the ball was squeezed down to the size of an apple, then a marble. Then as the last of Manny's soul disappeared, so too did the voice.
“Oh, he didn’t last as nearly as long as I thought he would,” Harrison said with a mad cackle. He got a faraway look in his eyes and laughed again, “But it was enough energy for another level.”
The shadow hands opened, and all that was left of Manny was a pile of ashes and a pool of liquified metal on the floor. The mage turned back to me. “You see, machine? You and your gob friends never stood a chance against my dark powers. It was never the troll you needed to worry over.”
Harrison’s words made something click in my mind and I shuddered to confirm my thoughts and used Inspect on Harrison again.
Harrison Freud
Level 11 - Aeromancer
HP 65/65
Mana 102/102
It all made sense. I’d wondered how the level 6 Aeromancer had jumped in levels so quickly. It had taken me working just about every hour of every day just to almost gain three levels and yet he’d gained five in the same amount of time.
“Somehow the Infernal Powder and that spell let you steal his soul to gain more XP from his death. That’s what you did, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Oh, you are an intelligent one aren’t you?” The mage tapped his chin contemplatively and asked, “Would you like to try it yourself? Taste what another person’s soul is like? Gain enough XP for an entire level in an instant? My master would be delighted if you joined us. There is so much he could give you.”
I thought about it for a moment. I was just a bit over 6,000 XP shy of reaching level 8 and it would be so easy to take the path that Harrison offered. Yet, despite what was offered, I found that I was not tempted at all. Instead, I felt a deep disgust and hatred that someone would feel such entitlement that they’d not only kill someone for XP, but steal something as precious as their soul. I yelled, “Never! I’d die before I ever resorted to what you’ve done.”
Harrison laughed again and shook his head. “Well, I thought I’d try.”
The twins howled in grief, and tears streamed down their cheeks as they stared at what was left of their friend. I had no words to describe the terrible feelings of loss and anger that warred within me at the sight of Manny’s burnt body. He’d become a member of the team, and more, he’d become a friend.
Greebo, however, was not at a loss for words. He growled through clenched teeth, “I don’t care how long it takes mage. I will make you pay for what you’ve done here. I will burn you the way that you burned Manny. I swear it to the dark god, Esebur.”
There was a crack of thunder at the words, and for a moment, I wondered if Esebur were real and if he’d heard my friend’s oath. But Harrison’s laughter cut through the thought. “Please. As if some lowly gob could hope to approach the power I’ve gained.” The mage’s eyes looked over us all and said, “Now that you’ve seen what awaits you if you don’t cooperate, I want to know exactly who else knows about your expedition down here. Who else have you told about your suspicions?”
Thankfully, the trepidation I felt inside did not show on my Metalman faceplate. I didn’t know who else Greebo had talked to about this, but I doubted he’d told anyone that he planned to track the Scavengers from his guild. I turned my head and looked at the goblins. Their tear-streaked faces had turned hard, and they stared up at the mage with defiant looks.
“No talkers yet?” The mage shrugged. “I’ll leave you to think about who will be killed next if you don’t tell me what I want to know when I return.” He turned to the troll and said with a smile, “I need to refine more of the Infernal Crystals into their ground form. Please feel free to make them scream while you encourage them to tell me what I want to know. I’ll have my normal sound-dampening spell up.” Harrison left through the same doorway that he’d entered through, and the faint shimmer of magical energy returned to cover the door.
Terrance waited until the mage left and then looked at the pile of ash on the floor before he turned his attention to us. “It is a terrible way to go. Not the way a warrior should die.” The troll pointed the tip of his two-handed sword at me and then each of my friends. “You
do not want to go the same way. Tell the mage what he wants to know.”
I saw the looks on Greebo and the twin’s faces and saw a mixture of sadness, anger, and defiance. I knew they’d rather die than give anything to the person that had just killed their friend. But I didn’t think I could stand to see them die like Manny did. I was about to tell the troll that I’d talk when a new voice said, “I see that you’ve found more trouble, Metalman.”
All eyes turned to the woman that walked into the room. Evanora Everwoods had arrived.
Chapter 40 - The Witch versus the Troll
Evanora Everwoods looked like she was a hundred and eleven years old. She wore well-worn dark green robes, and her long silver hair was tied in a bun behind her head, revealing pointed ears. She used a knobby brown walking stick, and her back was bent so far forward that her elbows hung near her knees. But despite her appearance, there was a fierce fire behind her eyes and a purpose to her steps as she walked into the room. Her sharp-toothed smile was that of a predator as she took in the room at a glance.
Terrance blinked once at the sight of the old woman and barked a laugh. “Who are you? One of these goblin’s nursemaids?”