by Dante King
“He came!” a human said through a coughing fit. “He really came!”
“Eveline’s Braids,” Bolnir coughed. “All this bloody smoke? It’s enough to make me puke.”
I smiled beneath my hood. “Lilith sends her regards, Bolnir the Dwarf.”
The elf carrying the glaive wiped his streaming eyes on his gauntlet. He gritted his teeth and stepped closer. He was tall—taller than me—and moved with an agility that rivaled my own avatar. I let my eyes slide off him as if he wasn’t even there.
“Show your face,” the glaive-wielding elf hissed. “How are we to believe you are truly the Viceroy of Lilith?”
I ignored him and the point of the pale blade that moved closer with every step he took. His hand trembled around the glaive, and I admired his courage despite how the Fright seal affected him.
“Would you like a demonstration of my power, Elohin?” I asked, guessing his name from what Ralph and Puck had told me.
Before the elf could respond, I removed my second dagger and swept around him so that I had both blades pressed against his back. Elohin’s cool demeanor faltered as he realized I’d just vanished before his eyes, only to reappear behind him.
“Stop!” he called out to the others. “Do not attack!”
“Do you believe me now?” I whispered into his ear. “Or would you like to stare into my eyes? I promise you will not like what you find within my blackened pits.”
“He is Tainted!” another elf gasped. “An elf poisoned by Lilith’s dark energies.”
I hadn’t realized that my hood had fallen from my head, and I turned to glare at the Deadeye Guild members. I could feel my Enthralling ability rise up, and my vision hazed over with red. All I had to do was lock eyes with one of these fools, and they would become my thrall.
“I’ve seen enough,” Bolnir said as he rested his axe on the ground and leaned on it. “Please, Von Dominus, don’t kill Elohin today. As much as I’d like to see you cut him down a size, we need him.”
“Who am I?” I asked Elohin as I pressed my daggers into the back of his golden breastplate.
“Von Dominus,” he answered through gritted teeth. “Viceroy of Lilith. Lord of Zagorath.”
“Well done,” I said as I sheathed my daggers. “Three for three. You’re much cleverer than you look.” I waited for Elohin to join his comrades before I addressed them all. “You’re all aware of why I’m here?”
There were nods of assent from every party member, although Elohin was the last to make the gesture. If any one of them was unaware of my reason for being here, I would have ended their lives in an instant. I needed total, unwavering support.
“My servants tell me that your guild treats you with contempt, and that you have mage masters who are an even greater thorn. Your rightful spoils are withheld from you; join me, and I will ensure you are rewarded.”
Bolnir combed the length of his impressively thick beard. “They’ve not dealt with us fairly, no. But tell me this, Viceroy of Lilith.” A cunning look touched his eyes as he gazed at me. “What you got to offer us that won’t end in ruin? Why should we take another master when we already have too many fuckers trying to tell us what to do? ” The dwarf grinned at me when he finished speaking, and it was clear he meant no offense in speaking so brashly.
“A man after my own heart,” I said. “I never broker a deal unless I know it’s in the best interests of both parties. And I can assure you, this is not the kind of agreement you’ll want to decline.”
“Is that a threat?” Elohin asked.
“Oh, will you shut the fuck up?” Bolnir said. “The adults are speaking. Besides, I’m certain Von Dominus here has already made it clear you can’t beat him. Maybe I should have let him skewer you?”
Elohin seethed at the dwarf. “This is foolish,” he spat. “The Sap Lords will discover our treachery, and we’ll be hung from the city ramparts. We might be guild members, but we are still their servants. This is mere theatrics. A little agility is easy to acquire. He has no real power. The warrior behind him slew the Sage, but he was old and decrepit.”
It was obvious no other guild member shared Elohin’s doubts. I wanted to kill him for his insolence, and my time as a dungeon core had taught me to recognize powerful equipment. His glaive and his armor were the strongest items among this party. Ralph had a Nature Sigil, so he could utilize their enchantments.
There was only one option.
My hand grasped the hilt of the Baselard of Bold Agility, the entire movement hidden in the folds of my cloak. I pulled my blade a quarter of an inch free of the sheath and bared the first hint of steel. The magic of the seals charged through my body and gifted me with the power of the Infernal Realm for a second time.
“I say we tell these fools to return to their land. And if they do not go peacefully, then we will make them. Gather with me, brothers, and we will send them with their tails between their—”
I dashed toward Elohin and kicked him in the chest. He shot backward like a bullet and smashed into a tree. He groaned as he came to stand and looked at his glaive. The weapon laid directly in the middle of us, but rather than dive for the weapon, his hand snatched the bow from his shoulder and started to release a volley of arrows. The projectiles glowed as they arced toward me, but the Swiftness +3 seals in both my ring and my dagger allowed me to cut them down in a flurry of lightning-fast motions.
It seemed the buffs from the two Swiftness +3 seals did stack. That was good to know. I doubted I would have been able to slice apart every single arrow without both buffs working at the same time.
“Your equipment will be useful,” I said to the elf after he’d finished emptying his quiver of arrows. “You, however, will not be.”
I sprang forward, circled around Elohin, and slashed both his hamstrings with my daggers. He cried out as he dropped to his knees, and I silenced him as I drove both blades into his skull. I tore the weapons free as he fell face-first to the forest floor.
“Now, I will take my first payment,” I said to the wide-eyed and gaping-mouthed guild members. “I want Elohin’s breastplate and his glaive. You may take what remains.”
“Can’t say I’m sorry to see him go.” Bolnir approached the elf’s dead body and removed a knife from the corpse’s belt. “But I have to ask; do you plan on killing anyone who disagrees with you?”
“Only those who stink of future betrayal. Elohin was a traitor. I suspect he would have brokered his own deal with these Sap Lords. Hell, he might have already made one. For all we know, these lords could know about my presence here.”
“He didn’t say anything to them,” a human said.
“Are you Quinn?” I asked.
The young man nodded. He was much slimmer than Ralph, but his green eyes were sharp. A woodsman most likely, perhaps an archer.
“How can you be sure Elohin didn’t inform the Sap Lords that I would be here?” I asked the lad.
“I made sure to keep my eye on him ever since your two friends paid us a visit.”
“And why would you do that?”
Quinn chewed his cheek for a moment before answering. “Because I suspected he would betray us.”
“Exactly. Better I killed him before he got the chance, right?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Master?” Ralph asked. “Thank you.”
I turned to see my adventurer had already fitted himself into the elf’s breastplate. It was a little tight, and the straps were loosened so much that his ribs were almost completely unprotected. Still, it wasn’t the armor’s plates that gave Ralph reason to wear it but the seal burning on its chest.
“What does it do?” I asked him.
“It is enchanted with the Manipulate Earth seal,” Quinn said. “Elohin used it to allow us to move through difficult terrain.”
“And in battle?” I questioned.
“He would cause the ground to ripple and shake,” the lad replied.
It sounded a lot like spells I’d used in oth
er games. I didn’t think Ralph could ever become much of a spellcaster, but if he could use it in battle to cause an enemy to falter or stumble, then it would prove very useful indeed.
“A worthy addition for my prize adventurer,” I said as I clapped Ralph on the back. “And what of the glaive?”
“It carries the Gust seal,” Quinn explained. “Elohin would produce a wind to dismay airborne monsters.”
“This just keeps getting better,” I said. “Ralph, what do you think of your new acquisitions?”
“They are more powerful than I could have dreamed,” he said. “But what will I do with my swords and my old armor?”
“I have provided you with scabbards for your swords, and your armor carries no value. Discard it.”
“I wouldn’t mind it myself,” Bolnir said before Ralph could toss the Wanderer’s Armor to the ground. He took the item and glared at the other guild members. “It’ll fit me fine. I’m big-boned.”
As the dwarf tightened the straps on his new chest armor, Puck appeared in the middle of the guild members. They all jumped back upon seeing him, and he expanded himself so that he towered above them.
“I am Puck, Shade of Zagorath, and Right-Hand Champion of Von Dominus!” he yelled.
“You’re about five minutes too late,” I said.
“I am?” he asked as he reduced himself to the size of a man. The guild members seemed both frightened and confused, and I had to stifle a chuckle.
“You are. Is the path to the dungeon clear?”
“It is, Master. Will we be taking these foul-smelling cretins with us?”
“We will. Let’s leave now. I have a deadline to meet.”
“One other thing,” Bolnir said. “You gotta swear by your goddess that you’ll hold to your terms, and not break them.”
I smiled thinly. “And what oaths will you swear, dwarf?”
He didn’t answer.
Quinn stepped up beside Bolnir. I met his gaze and found I liked the courage I saw in his eyes. “We’ve sworn our allegiance to the Sap Lords,” he said. “We cannot make new oaths that bind us to you.”
“Sounds to me like you want us to do the filthy work,” Puck said.
Bolnir and the others flinched at his sudden interjection.
“If your loyalty is sworn to these Sap Lords, then you can’t move against them,” Puck continued. “But we can.”
“You want us to remove them, leaving you open to take power throughout the realm,” Ralph muttered in a dark tone.
I held up a hand and silenced my followers. “Bolnir.”
“Aye?”
“You’ve treated us fairly. If suspiciously. Our agreement— are you willing to hold it as sacred as if you swore it to Eveline herself?”
“I am,” the dwarf replied without hesitation.
“You may fear the Sap Lords,” I said, “but they’re mortal. They have weaknesses. And those who serve Lilith… well, we have a particular way of taking advantage of weakness.”
I held out my hand to Bolnir. The dwarf clasped it with a firm grip. I nodded to him, and he nodded in return. His face was resolute, if tight with concern. I offered my hand to the youth beside Bolnir. The young buck clasped it and inclined his head with respect.
“Quinn Harrowbark,” the young guild member said.
“Von Dominus,” I returned.
The second human, a taller man who looked like he could’ve been Quinn’s brother, took my hand in turn. He introduced himself as Vaughn Harrowbark. Ralph came forward and kept his eyes on the elf as he introduced himself as Lucius.
“Where do your loyalties lie, Lucius?” I asked.
“Unlike Elohin, I am no fool. But I must return to Elderwood House. Elohin was meant to report back to the officials. They will worry when he does not. I can explain that he was killed while diving a dungeon.”
“And you’re sure you can spin this tail without them suspecting anything?”
“If I do not at least try, then they will send out a search party. Someone must go there.”
“Why you?” I asked, sensing that there was more to this elf’s intentions than he was saying.
“He has to go back,” Bolnir said. “If Quinn, Vaughn, or myself return, then we’ll be questioned. They’ll think we killed him. It’s no secret we weren’t the best of friends.”
“Then, you may go,” I said. “But don’t be there long. Report to the officials and stay silent. You whisper a single word of my presence, and you’ll wish you shared Elohin’s fate.”
“Understood, Von Dominus,” Lucius said.
“So, will you be our master when all this is done?” Bolnir asked as the elf vanished down the forest trail.
“Unlike the Sap Lords, I am a fair master,” I said, avoiding his question. “My intention is to use Elderwood House as a base of operations for dungeon raiding in this realm. You and your guild will join us, whenever we need an extra sword, axe, or bow. If or when the Sap Lords decide to punish you, you’ll have my protection.”
“They don’t sound like unreasonable terms,” Bolnir said, and muttered agreement rumbled from Vaughn and Quinn.
“There is another term,” I said. “You’ll bring any items you find in dungeons to a predetermined place.”
If the adventurers could deliver unique items to my dungeon through the Gorengar Travel Stone, then I would have more seals, blueprints, and Nature Essence than I could ever need.
“And what place is that?” Bolnir asked.
“I will tell you once you’ve proven yourself.” I didn’t want to provide them with the location of the travel stone until I was certain I could trust them. “As your first test, we’ll dive a dungeon together. I’d like to see what you all can do.”
Bolnir pointed to our right with the heavy blade of his weapon. “This way.”
“I already know the way, halfling,” Puck said as he transformed into a cloud of shadows and raced through the trees.
“Halfling?” Bolnir spat. “I have a fucking beard! And no bloody hair on my feet.”
“He wasn’t so tall all that long ago,” I said as we marched.
“That so?” the dwarf said as he pulled a bottle from his pouch and swigged on it.
“He was once an imp,” I said. “Was that a potion?”
“Nah.” Bolnir held the bottle out for me to take. “Ale. You want a taste?”
“Not going to poison me, are you?” I asked with a smile.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I figure I owe you at least a few swigs after you offed Elohin.”
I gulped down a few mouthfuls of the ale and enjoyed the taste. Fuck, it had been too long since I’d had a beer, and this one tasted half decent.
“You can have the rest,” Bolnir said after I tried handing the bottle back to him.
I continued sipping on the pleasant tasting ale as we trekked through the thick undergrowth.
Quinn, Ralph, and Vaughn marched together while Ralph tested his new seals a few times, blowing a slight gust of wind that rustled leaves and reducing a small mound of dirt with Manipulate Earth. He certainly wasn’t a master of the magical abilities, but he’d grow accustomed to them in time.
Puck stayed ahead of the pack, barely visible as a cloud of shadows. He seemed a little annoyed that he’d missed the great announcement to the guild members, but I figured he’d get over it soon enough.
“We should be wary of being followed,” I said.
“You can sense someone?” the dwarf asked.
“No, but I don’t think Lucius will hold his tongue when he returns to Elderwood House.”
“Then, why did you let him leave?”
“Because I wanted to see what your guild has to offer. The Sap Lords do not live within the guild house, do they?”
“No, they’re a six hours’ march north of here.”
“And I will be long gone before they arrive. Hopefully, with another dungeon under my sway. What can you tell me of this dungeon?”
Bolnir filled me in on th
e dungeon’s details and what to expect. He said the dungeon had four floors in total and that we should be able to move through the first two in little more than 30 minutes. He hadn’t ever ventured deeper than the third, but that was unlikely to take more than another 30 minutes. The final floor, however, was a mystery to the dwarf, so he couldn’t give me an accurate estimation of the time it would take to complete.
“Here it is!” the Shade cried out.
We approached an enormous fallen tree that was almost as wide as a house was tall. An archway of intertwining branches edged with glowing flowers was set into the tree’s corpse. This dungeon opening seemed innocent enough, but I knew that whoever controlled the inside of it would be anything but.
I checked my timer and saw that I had over four hours remaining. Plenty of time to clear the first three floors and deal with the fourth. Then, I would either kill the dungeon core and take her power, or offer her a more enticing deal. Lilith had promised me that the avatars of dungeons would be beautiful females, but I wondered whether she had been truthful. I definitely didn’t want to be faced with the moral dilemma of having to kill a creature I couldn’t see myself sleeping with. Hell, I might have been a jerk in the past, but I didn’t think I could make that kind of choice.
I paused when Bolnir held out his axe to stop me going in. “You might have experience with dungeons, Von Dominus, but this is Nature. Not Infernal. It’s far more insidious than you’d think.”
I smiled humorlessly at him. “Would you like to lead?”
“I know this dungeon,” he said, “Best if I take us through what we’re familiar with. You can help us push deeper once you have a feel for it.”
An adventurer cautioning a dungeon on the dangers of a dungeon. Ironic, when you thought about it.
“As you wish,” I said.
Bolnir plunged into the archway without so much as a pause in his step. I admired the resolve of the adventurers as Quinn and Vaughn stepped down after Bolnir. I gave them a moment before I took the first step into my first dungeon. The moment wasn’t lost on me. My grin widened as I pulled my daggers free of their sheaths and gestured for Puck to scout ahead.