by Hugo Huesca
“Exactly where I was going to be,” Ed said. “They think I’m the villain. I don’t mind. I don’t like their methods, and I wouldn’t be their ally even if they asked. Meanwhile, I investigate Ioan’s plans. He couldn’t have worked alone, unless Undercity breeds mindbrood eggs and sells them. If there are people with those eggs out there, everyone’s in danger. I intend to go to Undercity and find them. Make them answer for their crimes.”
“What if I just share all of that with the Inquisition?”
“Well, they failed to stop Ioan’s group in the first place. Are they subtle enough to uncover a conspiracy while ensuring not a single egg escapes? Or will they just set the entire city ablaze and purge Starevos, all while the real culprits evade them?”
Gallio nodded and passed a gloved hand through his ash-laden hair. “Sounds like the Inquisition, yes.”
“Well, I’m a Dungeon Lord,” said Ed, extending his arms and offering Gallio his best, most charming smile. “If I’m not subtle enough, someone will come and kill me. Who else is better suited for the job?”
“If I ever suspect you, even a tiny bit, I will end you. And I’ll tell the Inquisition everything.”
“I expect nothing less.”
“I may kill you anyway, Edward. If Alita’s will sends me your way, her will be done.”
“You do you.”
Both men nodded, and then Gallio did something unexpected. He extended his open palm at Ed. Ed stared at it for half a second, then accepted the handshake.
Apparently, this was too much for Alder.
“Everyone, stop for a minute!” the Bard demanded.
When Gallio and Ed turned to him, Alder lost a bit of steam, but he kept going. “I don’t understand! Gallio, you were talking about ‘oh, I must do my duty!’ and then Ed was all, ‘ah, let’s spin a careful half-lie to the Inquisition!’ and now you are shaking hands! What, in all the gods’ names, is going on?”
Ed laughed, long and hard. All the hidden tension left his body while he did so. It wasn’t a happy laugh, more like the kind provoked by a mixture of strong emotions and adrenaline finally spending itself. His hands trembled as he laughed.
“See, Alder, turns out I am not the only one who likes to bend the rules.”
“That,” the Bard told him, “doesn’t explain anything at all.”
Gallio sighed, and said, “When I lost my powers, all those years ago, the Inquisition expelled me. That’s part of the rules. An Inquisitor without powers is just a warrior. I was sent to Starevos as a sort of exile. Here, I became a Sheriff. My duty as a Sheriff is to protect the people of Burrova. Alita asks that I fulfill my duty, so I am. By protecting Burrova from the Inquisition. From myself.”
The man took in the stunned looks of Kes, Lavy, and Alder, and shook his head. “Of course, as soon as I go meet the Church, I’ll be sworn into the ranks again, and that loophole will cease to apply. If I ever see any of you again, it will be as enemies.”
“Come whenever you want,” Klek challenged him. “Klek—the Ranger Slayer—will be ready for you!”
The Sheriff barked a laugh. A happy one, but marred by cynicism. “You should be, critter. If your Lord hasn’t taken his own life by then, I’ll be glad to do it for him and save him from himself.”
Ed’s smile vanished. He and Gallio exchanged glances, and the Dungeon Lord could tell the Inquisitor was serious.
“We’ll see,” Ed whispered.
“Indeed,” Gallio whispered back. His eyes glinted under the sun with only a tiny hint of the power they contained.
The Sheriff sighed, and walked away in the direction of the western gate, which was still smoking. “When I return, you all better be gone. I’ll check up on Alvedhra. With any luck, the herbalist’s hut missed all the action. Is there any message I should give her?”
He nodded at Kes, who grimaced like she had been stung by an arrow. The mercenary said nothing, but hurried to keep the man’s pace and spoke to him for several minutes, after which she returned to Ed’s side, eyes downcast.
“She could come with us,” Ed offered.
The mercenary shook her head. “Trust me, Ed, it’s better this way. Our life expectancy isn’t the best. We may have won the day, but there will be more battles. It will only get harder for you as your name gains fame. There could come the day when Inquisitors and mindbroods are the least of your troubles.”
“That seems hard to believe,” he said, with a smile without any humor behind it.
Alder, Lavy, and Klek reunited with them, and together they watched the man slowly walk out of sight.
Before he was gone, Gallio looked over his shoulder, briefly, and said, “The spiders call you Lord Wraith, Edward. Did you know that? Lord Wraith. I think you should find out what a wraith is, the first chance you get. It will be quite enlightening.”
With that, he left. Ed felt a sense of relief. They had come very close to killing each other, this time.
The Dungeon Lord was sure it wasn’t the last time they would meet. He felt it in his bones, that his story and Gallio’s was deeply intermingled, and that it was just beginning.
27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aftermath
The batblin cloud was hard at work freeing the villagers from their web bindings, while the drones and spiders carried the last of them to the safety of Ed’s hidden cave in Hoia.
The Dungeon Lord looked around with tired satisfaction. The place was brimming with activity in a way he had never expected. Everyone was working together. Alder and Kes were out to meet with the herbalist, who was working overtime to make anti-venom potions for the elderly, the young, and those few who had reacted badly to the paralyzing agent.
Klek caught Ed’s glance and gave him a thumbs up. The batblin had earned almost as much experience as Ed had, and it seemed the rest of the batblins finally respected him, at least a bit. He was directing the cloud’s efforts, standing atop a rock and looming over them. Close to him was Laurel, directing her spiders from a giant web she had created at the corner of the chamber.
Speaking of experience points, Ed would have to think long and hard about what to do with his. A bit more than a hundred points, and well earned. According to Lavy, he ought to have earned an easy thousand for killing Amphiris and the mindbrood, but a large part of his victories had been due to good luck.
He didn’t intend to rely on luck forever. He was already, according to the way the Objectivity rated him, a very, very different person than he had been before coming to Ivalis.
He was okay with that. It was an interesting world. And seeing his dungeons, and his people, steadily grow in front of him filled him with a sense of accomplishment stronger than earning any amount of experience points.
All his life he had been yearning for a feeling such as this. It was intoxicating.
But the rewards of the day still made his mouth water.
You have gained 108 experience. Your unused experience is 109 and your total experience is 315.
Your attributes have increased. Spirit +2. Charm and Mind +1.
Your skills have increased. Athletics +1. Untrained Combat and Dungeon Engineering +5. You learned Leadership +5.
There are new talent advancement options for you…
Lavy’s voice interrupted his musings.
“Edward, could you come here for a second? We need to talk.”
Ed shrugged and deactivated his Evil Eye. The Witch was sitting by the main tunnel’s entrance, watching the sunset. In just a few hours, it would be too cold to remain outside, but in the meantime, Ed sat beside her.
“We never talked about last night,” Lavy said, avoiding eye contact.
Ed could sense the direction the conversation was about to take, so he steeled himself. It could be a challenge just as deadly as the day’s battles.
“Yeah, I figured we ought to discuss it sooner or later,” he said.
“Look,” Lavy started, and then visibly strained to find the right words.
“We should remain friends, don’t you think?”
Lavy’s eyes widened in surprise, and then her face flushed with relief. “How did you know?”
“Like I said, I’m not new at this,” Ed laughed. “It’s okay. There’s no need to make it awkward.”
The Witch gazed down, and fidgeted with her fingernails like a child. Then, she nodded to herself, and said, “Thanks, Ed. But I think I owe you an explanation.”
“You really don’t—”
“It’s not like you aren’t attractive, I’d say you’re alright—”
“Thanks, I guess.”
“There was nothing wrong with your performance,” she went on.
“Uh, why would you mention—” Ed said, panicking a bit, but the Witch kept going:
“It’s just…I was dealing with a lot. I still am—obviously—not over Kael. And I’m not sure I’ve fully processed the knowledge that you were involved in his death. It’s hard to believe, you know? Even coming from you. You seem so…new to Ivalis, so unaware of our old rivalries and hatreds. To be honest, it’s refreshing. I don’t know what will happen to whatever it is that we are building, but I admit, I’m very curious to see where it takes us. But I just…can’t see you that way, you know?”
“Well, I appreciate the honesty, Lavy. Thanks,” Ed said. And it was true. He preferred the Witch as a friend. He would never admit it to her, but she had seriously freaked him the fuck out. It had been kind of sexy last night, but he knew that would get old very, very fast. He had not forgotten that she was into the Evil Eye making his skull glow in the dark.
Lavy flashed him another smile, the pure image of innocence. “I always saw Dungeon Lords as these distant, delicious tyrants who murdered their way into power. You are many things, but you aren’t a murderous tyrant I think. Maybe that’s good…I don’t have that many friends, you know, since most of them are dead.”
She stopped and searched for the right words again.
“What I am trying to say is,” she went on, “I hope you and Alder live. Even if you don’t…I promise you, I’ll become a powerful Witch and will raise your spirits as my undead servants, so we can still go on adventures together.”
“Oh, boy…” Ed gulped nervously and patted the woman on the back. After a moment, he added, “You know, Lavy? That’s the nicest thing a girl has ever said to me.”
They watched the sunset together, in happy silence.
Epilogue
Later that night, Ed dropped into his straw bed like a sack of rocks. He had thought he was tired in Burrova, but it was nothing compared to his current state. He planned to rest for a week. Perhaps he would hibernate during winter, like a bear.
The villagers were a piece of work. They were terrified of the spiders, and Ed didn’t blame them, given what the creatures had done to them. But this also made it very difficult to deal with Burrova’s population, and the fact that no one trusted a Dungeon Lord made it even harder.
In the end, he had had to create a hall just for them, and guard the door with his batblins. The villagers were kinda prisoners, at least until Ed could explain to them it was in their best interest not to go running to the Inquisition to tell them what had happened.
He had no idea what he would do if some refused to hear him.
I’ll have to be very fucking persuasive, he thought, while watching the flicker of the flame inside his oil lamp. It was almost hypnotic.
His eyes began to close on their own. It was funny. Back on Earth, he had never been able to fall asleep this easily.
Something in the air awoke him. The scent of formaldehyde.
The Dungeon Lord stared at his oil lamp and realized the flame had frozen in place. The orange tongue appeared cold, and it emitted no heat.
Ed stood up and left his quarters.
A tall man in a black suit, Earth-made, was waiting for him with a satisfied smile that was just a tad too long. His face lacked any other features.
“Kharon,” Ed greeted him. His well-deserved rest would have to wait. “I was wondering when you would appear.”
“I should have come sooner,” the man agreed, “but I didn’t expect you to accomplish your task so quickly.”
“What can I say? I’m liking it here.”
“The Dark is very glad to hear that. Contrary to popular belief, we enjoy when everyone is satisfied with our pacts.”
Ed raised an eyebrow at that. “Isn’t Murmur angry? I ruined his plans. I killed that Bane of his.”
Kharon scratched his chin with his long, black fingernails, and widened his eyes in exaggerated confusion.
“You think Murmur brought Sephar’s Bane to Burrova? Why would he do something like that, and then summon you here? The first thing you did was try to kill the Bane, and you ended up succeeding. Against all odds, yes, but succeed you did.”
“No idea. I was hoping you’d tell me. I admit, I’m confused. Ioan wanted Heiliges to go to war with Lotia, and everyone’s sure Lotia would lose a direct confrontation with them. Isn’t Murmur allied with Lotia?”
“Indeed,” said Kharon. “They’re his best source of sacrifices. That’s why he had to make sure they were well protected.”
Ed suddenly wasn’t feeling as smug. No, he didn’t like this conversation anymore.
“You’re saying…Murmur wanted me to kill the Bane all along?”
The realization struck him like a punch to the face, and Kharon’s happy grin confirmed it.
“Isn’t it fantastic?” the boatman said. “Murmur made sure that everyone won in the end. Alita’s agent found his faith again, you got to be the hero you’ve always wanted to be, and his faithful flock are safe to keep the sacrifices flowing his way.”
Ed passed a hand over his hair and backed against the chamber’s walls.
“But I almost died,” he told the boatman. “Why would he risk it, sending me? If he really wanted to avoid war, he could’ve summoned someone more powerful.”
Kharon shrugged. “I didn’t lie to you last time we met, Edward. The Dark is really in good need of new servants. There’s something out there killing us, calling themselves Heroes, but holding no allegiance to the Light. Murmur still hopes you’ll find them, and deal with them when you’re ready. In the meantime…well, he found somewhere you could grow stronger, and while you were here, he found something you would be happy to help him out with. And you did.”
The boatman sighed, and added:
“Don’t go around thinking you’re too special, Edward. That’s some personal advice. Murmur’s reach is spread wide, and he pays attention to many things. He recently made a dozen gambits with people like you, with similar intentions, all across Ivalis. He has done this for thousands of years. Not all of them pan out. Almost all of them die. It’s only the ones that survive who become legends…”
Ed’s glance was smoldering, and he didn’t need his Evil Eye to make his feelings clear.
“Oh, don’t be like this. You did a good deed, Edward, even if you helped Murmur. Are the lives of all these villagers worth so little to you? And war is a terrible thing, don’t you agree? It should be avoided, if at all possible.”
“Fuck you, I don’t need you to validate my actions.”
Kharon laughed. “See? You are recovering already! Earthlings are so resilient! Or I wonder if that’s just the way you are, Edward? Few people would’ve acclimated themselves to a world transplant as fast as you have. A little too eager to leave Earth behind, in my humble opinion. I can almost see the path your thoughts are taking. Let me guess, you’ll still go to Undercity, won’t you?”
That much was true. Just because Murmur wasn’t behind the Bane was no excuse to allow the real culprits to run around, unstopped.
It didn’t matter if the Dark thought Ed was being manipulated. As far as he was concerned, as long as he remained true to his morals and his own ideals, the schemes of laughing gods were irrelevant. Let them think they won the day.
> Ed and his friends had saved many lives. They had done good. Let the Dark and the Light sort themselves out.
Edward Wright knew where he stood. He knew who he was.
“I’m glad you’re taking this in stride,” said Kharon. He gestured at the wall next to him, and a portal materialized instantly. Ed could see, behind it, the black labyrinth that was the dimension where the Dark lived. “It’s much more enjoyable to deal with people who have a sense of sportsmanship. Good luck in your endeavors, Dungeon Lord. Here’s a reward for you, by the way. A hero deserves a prize when they finish the quest, don’t you agree?”
The boatman pointed at him and Ed’s mind sizzled with arcane knowledge. He was aware he had just learned a new spell, one powerful enough that it needed a rank more in spellcasting before he could use it.
“This spell is called Murmur’s reach,” Kharon explained. “It’s not one you can learn on your own. Murmur only gives it to the worthy. You may use it, or never think about it again—whatever you want. Today, you have proven very worthy, indeed.”
With that, the boatman crossed the portal. He grinned smugly at Ed one last time, and started to gesture at the portal to close.
“One more thing, Kharon,” Ed said. “We’ll meet again. You can bet your life on it.”
There was something in the Dungeon Lord’s grin that made Kharon falter. When the portal closed, a second later, the boatman wasn’t smiling anymore.
But Ed was.
Edward Wright
Species: Human
Total Exp: 315
Unused Exp: 109
Claims: Lordship.
Attributes
Brawn: 9
Agility: 10
Endurance: 9
Mind: 12
Spirit: 14 (+1 Dungeon Lord mantle)=15
Charm: 12 (+1 Dungeon Lord mantle)=13
Skills
Athletics: Basic (VI) - The owner has trained his body to perform continuous physical activity without penalties to their Endurance. For a while.