by Tony Corden
A dark green beam shot from the staff and hit the mixture in the Mortar; it began to bubble, and then suddenly it changed and turned a brilliant yellow. The beam faded and Jillian’s face went pale as she lifted the mortar to Yvette and had her drink the mixture. Moments later she began to cough, and this time instead of blood, a dark tar was deposited in the handkerchief. Jillian and the healers were quick to remove this from Yvette and store it away.
Jillian said, “Merdiven! You claim the great staff as well. I hesitate to let you leave this house. Come with me to Sihirbazlari. I will take you today.”
“Thank you, but no. I have business to finish before I go to Sihirbazlari. I am just pleased that I could be here today and help with Yvette’s health. I assume she is better.”
“Yvette is fine. I’ve checked, and she is returned to full health. I, on the other hand, will return home and need to calm my nerves before contacting Jonathan and my mentor at Sihirbazlari. Know this, should you find the way there you will be questioned for all your secrets.”
After Yvette rose, she led Leah back to the Boutique and helped Leah and her friends to choose a range of clothes, some for travelling and others for everyday and entertaining. Altogether they had been in the shop for several hours and were about to finish up when the front door opened and an older man rushed in and embraced Yvette. He said, “I came as soon as I heard. I was at the temple and asking for help. I am sure you are well because my Goddess has heard my prayers. I am so pleased you are well.”
Yvette turned to Leah and said, “Atherleah, this is my fiancé, Trevor, he has been so worried for me. Since my late husband passed away, Trevor has always been there. Trevor, this is my friend Atherleah. Except for her timely intervention I believe I would soon have died.”
Trevor stepped forward and took Leah’s hand and said, “Atherleah, I thank you. I will give thanks to Utsal, whom I serve, for your good health.”
Leah was about to reply when a voice whispered in her ear, “Atherleah, my friend, be wary. He does not serve me and he has not been to my temple.”
Another voice, this one Olme, whispered, “He has been to mine. He prayed for her death, not her life. He wasn’t after freedom from pain but wanted me to hurry up and take her.”
Leah said, “Then let us go together to the temple and pray. Utsal is my friend, and I shall thank her for hearing your plea. She might appear, and you can thank her personally.”
Trevor started and stammered, “She is your friend?”
“Yes! The strange thing is she just spoke with me, and said she doesn’t know you. But fear not, another Goddess I know shared that she has heard your prayers, she hasn’t answered them but has shared them with me. Would you like me to tell you her name and what she said?”
Trevor began to tremble and with his words faltering, asked, “You speak with the Gods?”
“At times, I do. Now Trevor, let me ask you: Why did Olme, Goddess of Death, tell me you asked her to hasten Yvette’s end?”
Trevor turned pale as Yvette gasped and he said, “That is a lie. I would never speak with the Goddess of Death about Yvette. Whoever told you that is a liar.”
A voice, which was audible to all, spoke into the room, “A liar, am I! Behold I come.”
Suddenly Olme appeared and stood before Trevor. She looked at Yvette and then turning to Trevor said, “Trevor, son of Martin, son of Andreas, you have called me a liar. I call on Utsal, Goddess of Light and Truth to be my witness and to affirm the words of Atherleah, thy friend.”
Suddenly Utsal appeared and said, “I, Utsal, Goddess of Light and Truth, do affirm the words of Atherleah and bear witness to the true speech of the Goddess Olme. Now, Olme dear, will you take him, or will I?”
“You can have him, and then I’ll take him after you. Eventually, you see, I get them all.”
“That’s the truth dear, that’s the truth. Now Atherleah, remember, I have my eye on you. The whole vampire thing changes nothing. You take care.” Utsal grabbed Thomas by the head and disappeared with him.
Olme said, “I’d best go as well. Now Atherleah, I expect you to find a dungeon soon and send some sentients my way. You've really slowed down in the last few days and need to maintain the pace. I, by the way, am looking forward to your first kill as a vampire. Bye dear!” And she too disappeared.
Yvette stumbled backwards and sat on a divan that was placed there for customers. She said, “As my legal and announced fiancé, if I had died, everything was his; the shop, my business, but not my family. Once married, that would be true but he would also need to care for my family. Oh, what an old fool I am.”
Leah came and sat beside her and said, “Why a fool, Yvette? No one is a fool who wants love. No one is a fool who accepts and trusts. The true fool is the one who spurns love, who wastes it, or who devalues it. The fool here is Trevor, he had the opportunity to know you, to be with you, and he has spurned and destroyed that opportunity. You still have your family, your friends, and me. By now Trevor already rues the day he met you. As he is gone, I imagine what was his, is now yours. Take a deep breath and go claim what belongs to you.”
Yvette smiled and said, “Thank you, dear. How right you are. I have my family, my friends and my shop. Trevor was alone, he was an only child and had no family. But I want nothing of his. Instead, I, Yvette, do declare my right to the worldly goods of Trevor, son of Martin, be transferred to the traveller Atherleah. This is my word and solemn oath.”
Suddenly a message appeared:
Atherleah, Stylist Yvette has made a magically binding oath which transfers her right to the worldly belongings of the merchant Trevor, son of Martin to you. You need to visit the Chamberlain of the Ticareti Town Council to finalise the transfer. You also need to visit the Ticareti Merchant Bank. Also, Stylist Yvette has rewarded you for completing the Unique Personal Quest you accepted during the startup.
Reward 1: Your reputation with Stylist Yvette is increased to Deep Trust!
Reward 2: 50000 Experience Points (423651/950000) (+148%)
Leah said, “No Yvette, that is too much of a gift.”
“Nonsense, I want nothing from him, and I trust you will use the resources wisely. Now please, let us talk of this no more. I am going to close the shop when you go and have some time with my family, who as you reminded me, do truly love me.”
“We shall go then. First, let us finish our purchases.”
“Again I say, nonsense. I am healed from death, freed from despair, and can face a future of promise. I will take no payment for your goods. I look forward to your return and to hearing of your adventures and the defeat of your foes.”
A short while later the friends left the shop to find it was only one and they had an hour to wait for Thad. Amy said, “He’ll be here soon. I messaged him a few minutes ago, and he said he’d hurry. Boy, do we have something to share with them.”
Leah said, “Actually, as we’re early he can take me to the Town Council and the bank. I’ve got to transfer the property and financial accounts.”
Over the next hour, Leah discovered she now owned a merchant business with several offices throughout Vatan and even a small office on the continent of Tanamore. Besides a warehouse in Ticareti, Trevor had operated ten merchant caravans in Vatan and a galleon which plied the trade between Vatan and Tanamore. Personally, he owned a mansion on the same street as the Guàn Mansion. At the bank, Leah discovered that it was not all positive news as he had an outstanding debt of just over twenty diamonds. In inheriting all he owned, she also inherited his debt. Rather than leave it as outstanding, she transferred from her account and cancelled the debt.
The carriage returned them to the mansion just after two, and they all sat and discussed the morning. They were winding down when one of the house servants came and said, “Lady Atherleah, there is a Peter Scorsese here to see you.”
“Please show him in. Everyone, please stay. This is the broker Wisp and I visited yesterday. You should all stay and meet him.”
> When Peter was shown in Leah introduced everyone and then said, “So Peter, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
“I’ve thought about it and talked with my brothers. They are happy for me to do this as a separate job if I continue to help them with our family business. I am interested in joining the clan but want to review the terms.”
Leah said, “We are going to meet in my virtual world later today real time. What if we have everything ready and you come at the beginning of that meeting? I’ll have the information to you before then.”
“That sounds good, anything else that I need to know?”
“Um, do you know of the Trader Trevor, son of Martin?”
“Yes. He’s a reasonable merchant but not someone I admire. Why?”
“Unfortunately for him, he died today, well, sort of. Either way, I’ve inherited his warehouse and business. Can I add those to your list of things to look after?”
“What’s in his warehouse?”
“No idea but everything is debt free and mine. You can use the mansion or sell it and the same with the businesses. It’s just I thought you might be able to make use of the ten merchant caravans he owns and operates. There is also a galleon which goes back and forth between here and Tanamore.”
“Ok, I’m interested. Can we meet at the warehouse sometime and review his goods? Also, let’s visit the mansion.”
Leah agreed, and after Peter left, the clan discussed things and decided they would admit Peter if he checked out security wise. Thad promised to have the clan documents ready for review in the morning. At three, Rana and Leah dressed in some new clothing and left in the carriage to visit the Patriarch.
Thad was driving and turned the carriage onto the long driveway toward one of the grandest mansion in Ticareti. It was just outside the town and backed on to a large forest reserve. He pulled up to the front porch and opened the carriage door with a wink at Leah and a nod to Rana. As Leah and Rana exited the carriage the front door of the Mansion opened, and a human whom Leah could tell by scent was a vampire said to Thad, “My master shall see them returned home, you need not wait.”
Thad turned to Leah who nodded, so he returned to the carriage and drove off.
The man said, “Please follow me.”
Leah and Rana followed the man through the mansion to the rear garden where a Gazebo stood, it overlooked an intricate maze. There was an older man, a younger man, and a woman already seated and waiting. Rana approached first and stood before the older man. She said, “Lord Silas, Patriarch of Ticareti, I greet you in the name of my Father, Lord Namus, Patriarch of the Ebony House. I am Rana, daughter of Namus and I present my sister, Lady Atherleah, Lady of the Deep Wood and daughter of Namus.”
A message appeared, and everything seemed to freeze while Leah quickly read it:
Level 4 Named Personal Achievement
Open a new Dungeon - Achieved (Opal)
You have fulfilled the requirements for the opening of a dungeon. You are the first vampire player to visit the Ticareti Patriarch from outside his clan. This patriarch is unable to accept what is different.
Result 1: He will try and kill you and will lose his grip on reality
Result 2: He will retreat into his mansion, and the new dungeon (The Ticareti House of Horror) will open twelve hours later. Dungeon (Four-Player, Starting Level - Group Range +5)
Reward 1: 50 Experience Points x Player Level - 50 x 230 (+148%) (452171/950000)
Reward 2: 10 Silver x #L4 NPA (Opal) = 10 Silver
Reward 3: 5 Fame Points (131705 FP)
A Commemorative Plaque has been placed in your bag.
As she dismissed the message, everything resumed.
The older man acknowledged the welcome with a nod of his head and said, “Welcome Rana, daughter of Namus, Patriarch of the Ebony House.”
He then flicked his hand toward Leah and said, “But what is this abomination? This half-breed? How can you call her sister? How could Namus even contemplate such a thing? Surely this makes a mockery of what is pure. It is a blight on all vampires.”
He turned to the younger man and said, “Dispose of her.”
Rana responded before the man could stand and said, “Lord Silas, please hear the tale before you act hastily. My father himself was the one who changed my sister.”
Silas shook his head and said, “There is no reason you can give that would satisfy. I fear this creature has bewitched your father and you. But we shall cleanse this stain from your house, as we shall cleanse all except those who are pure.”
The younger man stood, and Rana began to step in front of Leah but stopped when Leah touched her arm. Leah said, “Have a seat Rana, I’ve got this.”
As Rana stepped back, the young man assumed his vampire form and reached for Leah bringing a hand, with claws fully extend, down to rend her torso. With Ki speed fully active Leah stepped to the side and as the vampire overstepped she removed his head with a swipe of her Haladie. She took another step backwards and teleported about twenty paces from the Gazebo, and she called out, “Hey Silas, is that all you’ve got? Surely you have more than one child you don’t need.”
As vampires began to materialise around her, she equipped her armour and cast Chain Lightning, then killed the stunned vampires with Baris. She cast Rain of Fire as more appeared. She danced among them with sword and knife, and occasionally she would reach out and freeze a heart or head. At one stage she was caught with three vampires surrounding her and as they struck she unequipped her weapons, misted and allowed the claws to miss her. She then rematerialised, equipped her weapons and continued to kill the now off-balance attackers. She was not aware of how long she fought, just that she was getting tired. She was about to take a potion when in a loud voice Silas called, “Desist.”
Leah looked around the area which was strewn with dead vampires. She checked her statistics and saw both her Health and Stamina were under fifty percent. Her Mana and Ki were almost gone. She waited and watched as he looked around at the destruction. He said, “You are a worthy advisory for a half-breed. You have killed twenty of my children. I give you twelve hours to run. Then, for the death of my children, and the affront to my honour, I will follow you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”
“Silas, you are a fool. Don’t bother looking for me. Obviously, you have run out of children readily at hand. I assume they are all out scurrying in dark places. You need time to recover before you attack. I will respect your weakness and leave now, but I will return in twelve hours and clear this house of you and your family. I will advise Lord Namus that the Patriarchy of Ticareti was destroyed because of stupidity, prejudice and incompetence. Come, Rana. Silas, is twelve hours enough time to collect your family?”
“Begone, you foul-blooded creature. Tomorrow, for the first time in living memory my house will reveal itself. We will meet you and we will rend your flesh.”
Leah and Rana left the old man still raving and headed back to the clan, Rana misted there, and Leah teleported. When they arrived Rana said, “I apologise Leah, I had no idea he would try and kill you. If I had known I would never have taken you there.”
“I know that, but tomorrow I expect the house will have transformed into a real dungeon.”
Their sudden appearance caused some consternation, but after Leah explained, Zack said, “So, finally we get to do another dungeon. Sweet.”
Leah wasn’t as pleased. She was more disturbed by the prejudice that seemed acceptable to the makers of Dunyanin. Nonetheless, she said, “Only four can enter the dungeon, I plan to be there, who else wants to come?”
Thad said, “Why don’t we all do it? We’ll go in two teams. Your team starts first and the next team a minute later. We know the dungeons are in separate realities. It’ll be a race to the finish.”
“Okay, who’s in what groups?”
Everyone just stared at each other, so she said, “How about Rana, Wisp and I go first? Wisp and I are used to working together. You four go next; you work well to
gether, and your levels are close, and the MOBs will be closer to your levels. Wisp and Rana, are you both ok with that?”
They both nodded, and Wisp said, “Just like old times.”
After some more discussion, they all agreed and made arrangements to meet in the clan mansion at half past three in the morning. Leah spent some time discussing the next day with Rana and Wisp. She then logged out from her bedroom.
She headed for breakfast with her parents and was just finishing when she received a message that John wanted to see her. She headed outside and saw him standing beside a beautiful girl who she had only met a few times, Jenny Ngô, John’s girlfriend. She walked up and said, “Hi Jen, it's been a long time since we had a chance to chat. I couldn’t believe it when I heard this guy had grabbed your eye. What do you think now that he’s bald?”
“To be honest, I think it suits him. At least I now know that if he does go bald that his head isn’t all knobbly like some men.”
They chatted for a bit and then Leah said, “So, John, have you interacted with your new AI yet?”
“I have. It’s pretty much as you described. No databases and nothing yet, except speech. Apparently, everything is ready to go. I just wanted to touch base and check what’s next.”
“Well, once you get to your room you need to have a shower and then have the AI open the Pod, and you get in. The AI is set up to make that happen and will help you get everything correct. You’ll arrive in an empty room with plain walls, floor and roof. I suggest you begin by having the AI change the room in some way and then let it experiment. Gèng uploaded a public domain texture for the walls and then experimented until I was happy with it. You can find free furniture, pictures and clothes but most of it is poor quality. It helps the AI begin to experiment. Most people I’ve met just buy what they want and their AI’s never learn to manipulate the world thoroughly.”