Nightmare Keep (Euphoria Online Book 2)

by Phil Tucker

  “Yeah,” I said. “Something like that. I cut its throat.” Despite the pain, I couldn’t resist a wolfish grin. “It seemed to lose interest after that.”

  “You… holy crap.” Falkon glanced down at what I was holding. “Is that a fucking Void Blade?!”

  I sheathed it somewhat self-consciously.

  “We’ll talk when we’re safe,” said Michaela, voice authoritative. “For now, let’s get the hell out of here. And who’s Brianna?”

  “Trouble,” said Falkon. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  We hurried along the ridge until it finally leveled out and opened up to a broad ledge. Brianna had been pacing, and at the sight of us ran forward, concern writ large on her features.

  “Whoa,” said Falkon, throwing up an arm as if to block a blow. “Go easy on the charisma there. Holy crap, I’m not even interested in girls and you’ve got me curious.”

  “Falkon,” said Brianna, in a tone I recognized as her trying to be civil, even engaging. “Michaela. I’m thrilled that Chris brought you out of the castle alive.” She gave me a sidelong look that made me feel unexpectedly pleased. “Not that I had any doubt.”

  Michaela was studying Brianna with something akin to cold curiosity. “You’re the source of these high-level items? You don’t seem too powerful yourself.”

  Brianna made a little moue of distaste. “My other avatar is level thirty-six. I simply dropped a bunch of gear here before creating this one.”

  “My other car is a TARDIS,” said Falkon.

  Michaela wasn’t thrown off. “And why would you do that?”

  “Listen,” I said, hobbling forward. “Brianna’s basically come to help. I know her from real life. Without her equipment, you guys would still be back in the castle and I’d be stuck out here alone.”

  “I’m not attacking her,” said Michaela. “I’m simply confused. A Void Blade is an incredibly potent weapon. I’ve only seen two the whole time I’ve been in Euphoria, and never wielded by anyone under level forty.”

  “I’ve got some powerful friends,” Brianna said. “And I knew Chris was in Death March mode. I had to do something.”

  “Especially since you were the one to dick him over so bad in the first place,” said Falkon. “What? Should I not have said that?”

  “Let’s get out of sight,” I said. “Barry’s cave’s not too far away. I’d appreciate the chance to sit down.” In fact, I was already feeling better. Ever since I’d left the castle, the periapt had been pumping me full of high-potency healing. At this rate, I’d be feeling fine within an hour or so.

  “Sure,” said Michaela. “Who’s Barry?”

  “Barry’s the best,” I said, walking past them all and toward the far end of the ledge. “An inspiration to us all. C’mon.”

  We climbed up the mountain’s flank, and only my Survival skill allowed me to navigate the dark woods back to the cave. When we were close, I instructed everyone to collect branches, then led them toward the entrance.

  “Chris!” The voice came from the undergrowth. “No move! Wait!”

  I startled and then held my hand out to reassure the others. “Allies.”

  Dribbler emerged from the bushes. “Look! Trip wire. Careful. Attached to bucket of Barfo’s Face Melta Pudding up in tree. Here, follow me.”

  We carefully stepped over the filament.

  “Good, good. Now watch here, foot spike trap with fire wasps. Nasty. Don’t step!”

  The area before the cave entrance was surprisingly dense with traps. Dribbler helped us pass a dozen of them, all within ten yards of the cave. It was as if they’d set up a blender.

  “There,” said Dribbler, turning at last and beaming at us. “Welcome to Barry’s cave!”

  Barfo’s head popped up from over the entrance where he’d been hiding. “Where Barry? I want to meet him.”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Cave was empty when I found it.”

  Barfo grinned. “Kreekit read from his diary. Very funny! He sleep with elf!”

  “Yes,” agreed Dribbler. “Very sexy. We all become very aroused.”

  “Uh.” I didn’t know quite what to say. “Yeah. Barry’s an enterprising goblin.”

  “C’mon,” said Falkon. “You’re about to fall down. Let’s get you inside.”

  We ducked our heads, leaving the two goblins outside on watch, and headed around the cave’s turn to where Kreekit was seated by the fire, reading from Barry’s diary.

  “This very special cave,” she said. “Very important goblin live here.”

  “Yeah,” I said, sitting down heavily beside the flames. The cave was much cozier with five of us inside; we huddled around the flickering fire, shoulders and hips pressed against each other. I groaned as I elbowed my way out of my cloak, and then gave the others a few minutes to admire Barry’s artwork on the walls.

  “Barry does indeed appear to be the man,” said Falkon. “Looks like he’s got a hydra in a headlock over here. All seven heads.”

  “At the very least Barry seems to think highly of himself,” said Michaela, a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.

  Kreekit, I saw, was nodding judiciously, as if taking personal pride in Barry’s accomplishments.

  “Dinner?” Brianna opened the Everypack and pulled out stemless glasses of red wine. “This is one of my favorite vintages. Blackberry, currants, with a hint of leather and oak. From a winery on the slopes of Etrubius.”

  Falkon took his glass and held it up against the firelight. “Isn’t Etrubius a volcano on the Sword Coast?”

  “They are very nervous vintners,” said Brianna with a pleased smile.

  I took a sip. I’m not much of a wine connoisseur, but this was delicious. “Adventuring is going to get a whole ton of a lot more civilized with Brianna around.”

  “As it should be,” said Brianna, handing Michaela her glass. “And I thought perhaps chicken wings with a chili lime seasoning?” She twisted around to pull out a large platter of wings piled in a steaming pyramid.

  “Oh, god, yes,” said Falkon. “The Beggars didn’t think us fit to feed. And I am so tired of wyvern steak.”

  For a few minutes we simply chowed down, grinning at each other as we devoured wing after drumstick, the sauce rich with garlic and ginger overtones, washing everything down with large sips of the wine.

  Brianna dumped everything in the Everypack when we were done, and we all leaned back against the smooth walls, bunching cloaks and packs for cushioning.

  “So,” said Falkon. “Strategy. Tactics. Stuff. We want to talk about it?”

  “If I may,” said Brianna, wiping her fingers with a wet wipe which she then tossed into the Everypack. “I’ve some experience in Euphoria, as it seems we all do. And my experience tells me we’ve been exceedingly fortunate against the Beggars thus far. The equipment I gave Chris allowed us to surprise them, but we won’t have that advantage again.”

  “No, Brianna,” I said. “We’re not abandoning Lotharia.”

  “And I literally can’t leave,” said Michaela. “I’m tied to Guthorios, and have some measure of free will only as long as I am following his orders.”

  “I’m with Chris,” said Falkon. “Though you’re testing my loyalties with this wining and dining thing you’ve got going.”

  “Chris?” Brianna turned to me, eyes wide, expression plaintive. “Step back and just think for a moment. We’re both in Death March mode—”

  “Hold on,” said Falkon. His eyes were blazing green. “That’s a lie.”

  “What?” Brianna whipped around to glare at him. “Of course I am—”

  “Nope. Sorry, hon. I’m in Euphoria’s IT department and smuggled in a little analysis tool. You’re level two, loaded with some epic gear, and playing in Tough Cookie mode. You’re not in Death March mode at all.”

  12
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br />   I gave a bark of laughter. I shouldn’t have been surprised. But apparently Brianna could not only still fool me, she could also still hurt me. “Tough Cookie mode?”

  “One level tougher than Cake Walk,” said Falkon.

  “Chris.” She held her hands up as if I were a wild animal. “I can explain.”

  “You can always explain,” I said. “You’ve had an explanation for everything you ever did. What I can’t explain is why I ever listened.”

  “I wanted you to feel a sense of solidarity, to not feel alone—”

  “Brianna, stop. I don’t care.” I shoved my emotions aside. I wouldn’t let Euphoria play me with her stats. Wouldn’t let the turmoil I was feeling mess with me anymore. “If you want to help us, great. You’ve already done me a huge favor with this gear. Let’s leave it at that. No more explanations, no more lies, no more anything. All right?”

  Her eyes filled with tears and she tucked her chin to her chest, a strand of coppery-red hair falling before her face. “I’m sorry,” she said, voice shaking. “I’m so sorry.” Then she stood and rushed out of the cave.

  And despite it all, I took a step after her. I clenched my fists and stared into the fire instead.

  “I see what you meant about her being trouble,” said Michaela dryly. “Let me guess. An ex-girlfriend?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Wasn’t a very healthy relationship.”

  “No kidding,” said Falkon, tossing a log on the fire. “I mean, I haven’t been in a lot of relationships, but even I know you don’t create solidarity through blatant lies.”

  “One might even argue that achieves precisely the opposite effect,” said Michaela.

  “Yeah.” My voice was soft. I blinked several times as my sight grew unfocused. I wanted nothing so much as to sit down. “She doesn’t see it that way. Never did.” There was so much I could share with them. Anecdotes. Explanations. But I didn’t want to go there. I didn’t want to open all those doors and pull out those painful memories, let them sap me of my vitality and will to keep going. So instead I took a deep breath and forced myself to sit up straight.

  “Regardless, she gave me some insane loot. Check this out.” I laid the Void Blade across my knees. “I cut through Makarios’ left fist with this thing. I think his actual hand is within his claws, like they’re some kind of gauntlet, because while I didn’t cut his hand off, he wasn’t able to use it after.”

  “He’s going to be pissed,” said Falkon in a sing-song voice.

  “And then I cut Vanatos’ daemon’s head off,” I said. “It disappeared completely. Do you guys think it’s permanently dead?”

  “Oh, man,” said Falkon. “Vanatos is going to be piiiih-issssssed.”

  “Not permanently dead,” said Michaela, voice slow, thoughtful. “More akin to banished. It hurts Vanatos, but he can regenerate his daemon in time.”

  “Then we can’t allow him to have that time,” I said. “That thing was ridiculous.”

  “No,” said Falkon. “What’s ridiculous is you taking it out. At what. Level eleven?” His eyes blazed green. “Nope. Level thirteen. That’s ridiculous. You keep this up you’re going to be level fifty by next week.”

  “It’s not ridiculous,” said Michaela. “He keeps placing himself in horrendously dangerous situations that he should have no chance at winning. There’s no quicker way to earn XP.”

  “Or die,” I said. “But the blade’s not the only thing Brianna gave me.” I showed them the rest of the gear. “I’m like a walking arsenal. And having mana thirty-six was crucial. I’d have died a hundred times over without it.”

  “Dang,” said Falkon. “Quadruple dang. You sure you need all that gear? Because if it’s too heavy, I’d be happy to—”

  Michaela smacked his arm without even looking at him. “This undoubtedly gives us an edge, but is it enough? How do we take down the Beggars without being killed?”

  “Did you learn anything from them while you were their prisoners?” I asked.

  Falkon made a face. “Not really. They’re on a pretty simple mission for Guthorios himself, turns out. The double-dealing bastard. Clear the keep, go into the dungeons, and find out what the treasure at the heart of it all is.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said. “I spoke with Guthorios after I ran from the castle.”

  “Oh?” They both sat up.

  “Didn’t go well. Guthorios isn’t interested in helping as long as the Beggars are trying to accomplish his goals. May the best tool win, or whatever.”

  Michaela rubbed her chin. “Perhaps we can simply let the Beggars do all our fighting for us.”

  “No,” I said. “For one, that might mean their killing Lotharia.”

  “If they do,” said Falkon, “then she’ll just respawn in the meadow. We can grab her there and take her to Guthorios to be cleansed.”

  “He won’t cleanse her if we’re not doing our part of the job,” said Michaela.

  “Oh,” said Falkon. “Well, so much for that then.”

  “Also, our only chance of defeating the Beggars is to ambush them right after a big fight,” I said. “When their reserves are at their lowest. Just like they did to us.”

  “Not a bad idea, though tricky to pull off.” Falkon frowned at the fire. “That’d involve knowing when they went into the keep, and then sneaking in and hanging back without their noticing till the right moment.”

  “I’ve acquired a new talent called Mute Presence,” I said. “The daemon spotted me, but the other Beggars might have trouble. Even if they do, I can get out of there fast without them being able to stop me.”

  “But if they do spot you, we’ll lose the element of surprise,” said Michaela.

  “That might not matter. They still have to clear the keep. Knowing we’re around won’t stop them from doing that. Even if they’re waiting for us, they’ll still be resource depleted after a big fight.”

  “All right,” said Falkon. “Sounds like a plan. How do we know when they enter the keep, though? We can’t hang around the castle.”

  “Maybe we can.” I smiled. “Where’s the one place they can’t get into?”

  Falkon hesitated. “Jeramy’s tower?”

  “To which I know the pass phrase. We go in, you guys hang out in the lounge, have some drinks, and I’ll keep an eye out. When they enter the keep, we’ll sneak in after them.”

  “Feasible,” said Michaela. “You can get us in through your Shared Darkness spell. Though that will burn up a lot of your mana.”

  “I’ve got lots to spare,” I said. “Or will, once I recharge my mana stones. Actually, how do I do that? That’s twenty-five points I need to generate.”

  Michaela laughed. “It’ll take you three full rests, or meditating all day, sleeping, then meditating the next day. You can only generate your natural number of mana points per regen period.”

  “Or you can give us your stones when we rest tonight, we’ll regenerate them for you, and then you can top them off tomorrow,” said Falkon. “I’m already back to full due to spending all day meditating.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I said, and tossed Falkon my mana marble and Michaela my larger stone. “Thank you. We can move in tomorrow at dusk. Michaela, why don’t you take Barry’s pallet? I’ll rest right here by the fire.”

  “And Brianna?” asked Falkon.

  “She can figure herself out,” I said. “She’s probably waiting for me to chase after her to have an argument. Let her wait.”

  Falkon grunted his approval and settled down more comfortably. Michaela rose and gave me a shallow bow.

  “Thank you, Chris. For coming to our rescue. I appreciate the risks you took. It was noble of you.”

  I gave her a pained smile. “We’re a team, yeah? That’s what teammates do for each other. No problem.”

  Michaela hesitated as if to say something more
, then frowned and lay down on the bed of straw, lying with her back to us and facing the wall.

  “You doing OK?” asked Falkon, his eyes reflecting the glow from across the fire.

  I didn’t answer at once. Was I? It had felt so good to fight both Makarios and the angel. To find it within me to marshal my powers and wits, go toe-to-toe and come out ahead. Yet that combat did little to mask my anxiety. Lotharia was now several days missing. The Beggars could easily crush us if we weren’t careful. Worse, Brianna had injected a sense of unease and frustration into my life that I’d hoped to never experience again. Especially not here in Euphoria.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said at last.

  “About what Michaela said. You coming to save us. I’ve seen some incredible things here in Euphoria, but all of it felt like a game. Fake. Easily risked. But you coming back to Castle Winter for us – that was some real heroism. Nobody has ever literally risked their life for me. I don’t think I even know anybody in the real world who would.”

  Falkon was staring into the flames, his expression haunted. He paused long enough that I thought he was waiting for a response, but I had nothing to say. Nothing that wouldn’t cheapen what he was expressing.

  “So thank you, Chris. For real. You’re a legit fucking hero.” Then his somber expression broke into a smile. “Or craziest idiot I’ve ever met.”

  “Maybe both,” I said. “But you’re welcome.”

  “I said I was meditating all day, but that’s not true.” He shifted around, army crawling around the fire to get closer to me, dropping his voice into a whisper as he did so. “I logged out for a while there.”

  “Understandable,” I said. “Why spend all that time just sitting on your ass?”

  “No, I wanted to do some snooping around. I called a friend of mine who’s on the Brussels Senior Dev team. Hadn’t talked to the guy since the big Vegas convention earlier this year, but I told him right off I was cheating on my in-game time so he got to the point.” Falkon inched closer again, resting on one elbow. “I asked him to look up Jeramy’s player. He promised to do so, but ran into some kind of unusual red tape. I didn’t want to wait too long, so I told him I’d check back in soon. I’ll have to wait a little longer before seeing what’s he’s learned.”