by Sarah Lin
As they walked, they seemed to be heading in an upward direction. The buildings thinned out a little as the hills became steeper, but they were still obviously within Edsdam. Meara spent more time with her eyes closed, frowning in an odd way, so eventually Danniah had to say something.
"Is everything alright, Meara?"
"There's something... it feels connected, but it's definitely not one of us. It's throwing me off." Meara didn't seem to have trouble walking with her eyes closed, but whatever she was feeling was definitely bothering her. Once again Danniah wished she could help, but she was helpless when it came to this stuff. She wondered if that was how Meara felt when she was watching them fight.
Then Danniah spotted someone ahead and tugged Meara into an alleyway. She wasn't even entirely sure why, she just knew that was what her instincts told her to do. As she recovered and Meara gave her an odd glance, Danniah's mind caught up to the rest of her.
She peered out around the corner and confirmed her suspicion: the dark-clad woman ahead of them was the same one who had met with the Outsiders.
"Meara... what was the name of the dark-haired woman with the Outsiders again?"
"You mean Marrin?" The other woman closed her eyes briefly, then frowned. "You're right... now that I realize it, I can understand what I'm feeling. She's heavily embedded in the same system as we are, but she's definitely not an ally."
"Well, she's walking away. Do we follow her?"
"Considering that the only reason for her to be here is on the mission the Outsider gave her... yes, we definitely do. Let's figure out just what's going on here."
Danniah headed down the street to catch up to Marrin. As they went, Meara handed her a generic cloak - not only did it hide her features, it fit right in with all the other suspicious people in Edsdam. Though they would hopefully just follow, Danniah switched to her best helm just in case things got violent.
Just following Marrin proved to be difficult, however. She moved easily in Edsdam as if she was intimately familiar with its streets. If they had been trying to follow her through the main part of the city, she unquestionably would have escaped them. But they were getting into a sparser area, so Danniah always managed to catch a glimpse of her and keep following.
Right up until she turned a corner and the other woman was just gone.
Danniah started to turn to Meara... and discovered a knife at her throat.
"Oh, hell, are you one of them?" Marrin had been standing just behind her, holding the knife. Meara stood off to the side, completely still. "The boss said you were taken care of, but I guess that's what I get for trusting him."
"Um, hi." Danniah was a bit intimidated by how easily the other woman had gotten behind her, but pressed on. "We'd like to talk t-"
"No, you don't. You're just spying like before. Well, I got an upgrade since the last time, so you're not going to find it so easy."
"An upgrade?" Meara stepped closer, eyes narrow. "Who upgraded you?"
The sharp question made Marrin hesitate for a moment, a bit of uncertainty entering her eyes. Danniah hadn't really thought about it, but she had to wonder if Marrin was being manipulated by the Outsiders too. Was it possible that they could talk to her?"
"We don't have to be enemies," Danniah said. "We just wan-"
"Shut up." Marrin snapped back to focus, pushing her knife further against Danniah's throat. "He said to capture you, but... fuck it. With that Aesidh lunatic around, better to kill on sight."
With that, she tried to cut Danniah's throat. But not only was Danniah fairly well armored around the throat, she had been expecting exactly that. When Marrin started to move, she lunged forward in a headbutt, slamming into the other woman's torso and sending her staggering backward.
Though she staggered, Marrin recovered shockingly fast. Danniah had only had time to get her mace and shield ready and the other woman was already stabbing out at her. It looked like they were going to fight, but Danniah didn't really want to fight her to the death, not if there was a chance-
Marrin flowed around her defenses and stabbed at her arm. Some sort of nasty magic bit straight through her armor and Danniah grunted in pain. She responded on instinct by thrusting her shield forward and sending a shockwave of force from it, but Marrin spun aside from the attack and was on her flank, stabbing again. This one went through her armor on her side and Danniah barely swallowed the sound of pain.
"How long have you been alive?" Meara's question cut through the combat and Marrin froze, her eyes going wide. Though Danniah had the perfect opportunity to strike her, she held back, wanting to give her a chance to come to her senses.
"You, shut up!" Marrin rushed to Meara and slashed straight through her throat.
It did no good, the blade simply passing through Meara's body. Unlike many opponents, Marrin didn't seem baffled, rapidly understanding the situation. But even though it was harmless, seeing Marrin go for the kill had gotten Danniah angry. She had already stepped in, and though Marrin reacted quickly, it wasn't fast enough.
Her shield slammed into Marrin, stunning her for a moment, and then Danniah swung a flame-empowered blow directly into her chest. Marrin skidded backward across the street... and stayed on her feet.
Danniah's eyes widened. She knew that she had landed a decent blow and Marrin hadn't twisted aside or done some sort of other trick. No, she'd just taken the blow despite her light armor. Maybe she benefited from additional power from boxes, just like Bloodwraith.
"You'd be adorable if you weren't so pathetic."
Marrin rushed in, stabbing repeatedly. Though Danniah managed to keep the magical knives at bay with her shield, when they got past that, she felt them bite into her body. Soon she faltered, her body burning with the strange pain, and Marrin kicked her over onto her back.
For a moment Danniah was helpless and Marrin tried to finish her off... but her hands were empty. Both of them blinked in surprise and saw Meara nearby, holding Marrin's knives. Had she used her Steal ability? Marrin scowled and raised her hands, causing her knives to escape Meara's grasp and fly back to her. But in that time, Danniah grabbed her shield and pulled it up to defend herself.
"You're trying to save me?" Marrin began walking around Danniah, looking for a chance to strike a killing blow. "You're like children. I know that they're fucking with my head, I just don't give a shit. In return for doing a bit of work for them, I gain new power. Like this, I can live forever."
"That's awful!" Danniah struggled to get up, but her body felt weaker than expected. Marrin's only response was to sneer.
"I can't believe someone as stupid as you has been a thorn in our side. Were you the one responsible for taking Raigar onto the stupid heroic path? Maybe after I kill you he'll at least try for revenge. That might be fun."
Though the words made Danniah angry, as she gritted her teeth she didn't feel quite right. She could keep fighting, but her body was slowing down. It was no shame to admit that she couldn't take Marrin one-on-one, but since Meara had already done her best to intervene, Danniah had no idea how she was going to be able to pull through. If she tried to drink a potion, Marrin would no doubt stop her...
A bolt of lightning shot through the street. Marrin only barely dodged aside, eyes flying to a point on a much higher building.
Danniah looked to and was overjoyed to see Gharavi kneeling there, preparing to release another spell. Though she did, Marrin retreated too quickly. After one last acidic glance, she melted into the shadows of an alleyway and vanished into Edsdam.
Once it became clear that she wasn't going to attack again, Danniah let herself lower her weapons. Meara came to stand beside her with a concerned look and Danniah winced. "Sorry that I couldn't take her out, Meara. She's really fast, but she's also tougher and stronger than she looks."
"I'm not worried about that. There was magic in her blades, strong enough that I couldn't hold them... are you alright?"
"Don't worry about me, I'm tough. Now that Gharavi found us, we're doin
g a lot better!"
As they went to meet Gharavi, Danniah looked around the nearby area just in case Marrin had allies who might ambush them. But everybody nearby seemed to be intentionally turning a blind eye to them. The fact that they had a mage shooting lightning at their enemies probably helped with that, but whatever the reason, they were able to meet Gharavi on a nearby hill that had a clear plaza area.
Danniah immediately stepped up to hug her, though Gharavi was so tall it was an awkward hug around the waist. "I'm glad you're alright, Gharavi!"
"Glad to see all of you." Gharavi looked serious, but she hugged Danniah back a bit, which she usually didn't do. "I take it we got scattered instead of being transported to the intended location."
"That's my theory." Meara came up to stand beside them. "I'm still not sure if we went here randomly or if we were pulled here by something in particular. The fact that one of the Outsiders' tools is here supports the latter, but my theory can't answer that yet."
Gharavi frowned, examining the streets around them as if the dark-clad woman would appear again. "Yes, one of their local allies. I saw that you were trying to speak to her... do you think that she's being manipulated by them? Can we try to reach her?"
"After that conversation... I doubt it."
"Yeah," Danniah said, "she was pretty nasty about it." Though she'd planned to say more, it was harder to speak than she expected. Danniah found herself sitting down, the ache sinking down through her muscles to her bones. She should drink a potion for those injuries, but her arms felt so heavy...
Though she intended to push through it, suddenly she was lying on her back with Meara and Gharavi leaning over her. The sorcerer put a hand to her forehead and then groaned. "Danniah... you've been poisoned. I'm not sure what it is, but... I don't think simple anti-poison spells will be able to flush it out."
"Don't worry about me." Danniah struggled to her feet, proving that she could still move, but she felt rather faint. "I'll... I'll fight off the poison."
Meara supported her with a fond smile. "That's actually not bravado - your life force is fighting the poison back. I'll give you some potions to keep you from deteriorating."
"But she's not going to be able to recover on her own," Gharavi said. "If we don't find an antidote, we can't keep fighting, much less face that woman again."
Though Danniah understood their words with some part of her mind, the entire world was spinning. She let herself relax into the others' supportive arms. Later on, she would fight again. Hopefully that would be enough.
Chapter 26
Though he was curious about the current state of Cresthaven, Bloodwraith decided that the most logical thing to do was try to advance directly to the Forest of Beginnings. If his allies were scattered nearby, they would logically gather there. And regardless, if the battle between the Outsiders was growing so intense, it would be better to act quickly.
Unfortunately, that might not be possible. When he had left the Forest of Beginnings, it had apparently vanished, as if the system itself had obscured it. He strongly suspected that it wasn't a real location at all, but an unnatural place like the Testing Dungeon, which meant that it could likely move. If the map in the boxes hadn't placed it near Cresthaven he wouldn't have assumed it was in the same place, but even that wasn't certain.
As Bloodwraith headed in the reverse direction of his path at the beginning, his eyes swept around the gently rolling hills to try to find his allies. Things had been so fragmentary when they went through the portal... he could only hope that they hadn't been sent somewhere unlivable.
Before he walked long, a box appeared in his vision.
[Extended Nose (cosmetic)
Cost: 1 NP
The Undead Companion will gain an extremely long nose.]
Despite the circumstances, Bloodwraith found himself smiling. Not only was that useless, ridiculous trait the sign that Izzy was safe, he remembered how much she had laughed when she'd heard about it.
That signal wasn't the one that indicated that everything was fine, so he couldn't assume too much. But the fact that Izzy had landed safely boded well for the others. He began to hope that he would see them soon, since Meara would be able to home in on his location, but he saw no one but a few peasants.
The walk was strangely silent. He'd grown accustomed to having allies around him, talking with him or involved in their own conversations. Bloodwraith began to scowl irritably and hurry, wanting the dull walk to be over with as soon as possible.
When he neared the mountains and saw something glittering, he reconsidered his position.
It should have been the destruction and the bodies strewn across the landscape that bothered him, but Bloodwraith barely paid attention to those. They were symptoms of the things that disturbed him. Most obviously, there was a crystalline glitter from the mountains. More subtly, Bloodwraith realized that there were peasants in range of what must have been a great battle, yet they simply went about their business as if nothing was the matter.
He diverted his path to one of them and grabbed the man's shoulder. "Peasant! What happened here?"
"Things are about like normal." The man twisted out of his grip and kept walking.
"Insolent fool! I..." But Bloodwraith trailed off as he saw the blank look in the man's eyes. It was too unnatural for peasants to be simply walking within sight of the aftermath of a battle - speaking with them was useless, since they were clearly in the grip of something greater. He couldn't be sure of exactly what, but the box gods had already proved they could manipulate events on a far larger scale than a few peasants.
Ignoring the man, Bloodwraith marched toward the mountain pass irritably. He didn't want to approach it alone, but he needed information. Especially about that glittering object, which continued to trouble him on a level he couldn't quite describe.
It sat at the mouth of a pass and he couldn't be sure if it was the path that led to the Forest of Beginnings. Whatever it was, it appeared to be made mostly from a vast blue crystal, a single spike jutting up from the earth. Yet as he drew closer, he saw that it sat within a structure of steel, a case that held the crystal and spider-like legs that could move it. The steel had strange letters along the side... he realized that it reminded him of the Earthian steel at the Return Point.
Bloodwraith wasn't sure what that said about the outcome of the battle he'd glimpsed, but he didn't like it either way. He unhooked his sword and began to advance toward the crystal. If those were truly legs, then it might be capable of movement, likely because it was designed to fight. The closer he walked, the larger he realized it was, the crystal jutting upward higher than a house.
Before he drew close, a red box appeared in his vision:
[WARNING
Tuning is currently in progress in this region. Players should retreat until the work is complete, as tuning may interfere with a positive experience. Please continue your AdventureCorp journey in other regions.]
The intent of the message was clear enough, but Bloodwraith frowned over the exact nuance. It would make sense if this crystal entity played a defensive role and was the reason the nearby peasants didn't react, but what precisely was it doing? The use of "tuning" was ambiguous, but it reminded him of comments Alan had made - was this thing one of the "Tuners" he'd mentioned?
Bloodwraith took another step and without warning a blue shockwave expanded from the crystal. He barely had time to brace himself and it didn't matter: the shockwave pulled him off his feet, spun him through the air, and landed him in a field.
Though he grimaced as he pulled himself up, prepared to feel pain, to his surprise he felt fine. His box declared that he hadn't lost even 1 point of Health. Yet as he got up, another box appeared over all the others:
[Debuff: Tuning
All buffs and enchantments removed. Enchantments on equipment temporarily disabled.
This debuff will last while in range of the Tuner.]
Eyes widening, Bloodwraith tested by hefting his sword a
nd swinging it experimentally. Yes, he was definitely weaker. His natural Might was 78, so it was effortless to swing his sword, but he had grown used to his enhanced strength that came with a Might of 93. Furthermore, this "debuff" had no time limit - it must be a punishment for coming in range of the crystalline entity.
He scowled and stared up at the Tuner, for that must be its identity. From his current distance, he wouldn't even be able to strike it with a burst of force, and though he might be able to get into range before it knocked him backward with another shockwave, he didn't want to assume that this was the worst the Tuner could do to him.
Alone, he didn't see any simple way to break through. Even if he did, he wasn't sure what would come of it. Scouting alone was one thing, but charging into battle without his allies... no, that didn't strike him as a wise course of action.
So with one last look at the Tuner, its crystal still pulsing softly, Bloodwraith turned back toward Cresthaven. He recalled how dull the trip had been the first time, and as he was now the bandits wouldn't even be a distraction for him. Hopefully he would find his allies before he had to return to Cresthaven, but he resigned himself to possibly going all the way back if necessary. After the Forest entrance, the city would be the most logical place to regroup.
He trudged over the mundane roads, seething internally as he considered his options and came up with nothing. But after walking far enough, yet another box appeared in his vision:
[Potential Objective: Take over the Thieves Guild in Edsdam.
Regroup with allies and unite to gain control of the Thieves Guild.
Reward: EXP
Accept? Y/N]
The message stopped him in his tracks and Bloodwraith could only stare for a time. The message immediately told him one thing: Meara was alive and well. Clearly she was using the quest box to contact him, but given that her ability to shape quests had been limited, how much could she shape this one? Could he reasonably assume that his other allies were safe? More importantly, did they actually want him to go to Edsdam? He could assume that the message meant they were currently there, but beyond that...