“Now is your last chance to back out.”
“I’m in.” No hesitation. This kind of magic sounds awesome, and I’m sure my ethics will pass whatever his test is. Erinocalypse and TexBadass both nod.
“Very good. SirAsh3r, you first.”
I take a deep breath and step forward. He hands me a small bottle of an iridescent, almost pearl-like liquid. I unstop the cork and upend it; it’s only a mouthful.
Attention: Alithia Potion in effect
Description: You will only be able to speak the truth to Professor Alastair Dove for the duration of the potion’s effect.
Five minutes begins to countdown in red font in the corner of my vision. I feel a tightening in my brain, as though the magic is taking hold of my synapses. I can almost imagine threads of magic twisting and wrapping through my mind. For a brief moment I wonder what kind of technology Toterra Online is creating and if the world should be worried. Before I can think about that any farther, Professor Dove is looking me directly in the eye and beginning his interrogation.
“What is your name?”
“SirAsh3r.”
“What is your quest?”
I pause before answering. We have so many quests open; do I need to tell him about all of them? A lie begins to form in my mind, about a gift and curiosity and some other factor that my brain almost grasps on to. The thought slips away from me before it solidifies, and all that’s left is the truth. But there are many truths. The words describing all the many quests we have open begin to form on my tongue. I just have to choose which truth to tell.
“To gain audience with Queen Vivian in the Throne Room.”
“What is your favorite color?”
I snort, unable to hold in my laughter before answering. “Green.”
“What is the first thing you did upon arriving in Camlan?”
I feel my face flush; getting to Camlan a total noob and getting knocked to the ground by Jargonaut is how my game began. But, Professor Dove asked what I did, not what was done to me.
“I gathered some branches and learned how to make Clubs.”
“Why did you just blush before answering?”
“Because I was embarrassed.”
“What were you embarrassed about?”
I pause before responding, wondering if there is any way around this. Might as well get it over with. “I was embarrassed about what happened to me when I first arrived in Camlan. I got hit and almost knocked out by another player and I didn’t even fight back.”
“I see.” Professor Dove crosses his arms across his chest. “What is the worst thing you have done since you have been in Camlan?”
Again I blush, my face hot, and I keep my eyes on the professor. I hope Erinocalypse isn’t listening, but I don’t see how she cannot be. I clear my throat, but the delay won’t keep me from having to tell the truth.
“I, um.” I clear my throat again. I try to justify, and word this thought in a way that doesn’t make me look too bad, but the phrases just fly out of my mind before I can grab them. “I deceived a friend in order to get ahead.”
He holds my gaze a few moments longer, as though weighing what I’ve said. “Very well.”
I don’t meet Erinocalypse’s eyes as I move away from the group to recover.
I only half listen to him quizzing the others, I’m too distracted by the twisting and loosening sensations in my brain as the Alithia Potion wears off. I’m not sure I want to know what the worst thing they did was. It’s not as bad as what I’ve done. Five minutes is a long time when you are paying attention. We will need to remember to ask more specific questions when we use the potion on the queen. It was far too easy for me to deflect and hide some of the truth from Professor Dove.
“Well done, all of you. All three of you are worthy of continuing. Be sure you all bring the requisite ingredients so each of you can create a sample of the potion.
“Now that you know the effects of Alithia Potion, you may learn how to make it. As I mentioned, to make this potion you will need to collect the ingredients yourself. Once you have those, bring them back here and I will show you how to concoct the potion.”
Quest Offered: Truth Be Told
Description: In order to properly create Alithia Potion, you must collect all the ingredients yourself, from in and around Castle Nennius
Reward: Recipe and lesson for Alithia Potion
Requirements: Gather
Blood of a Varg
Small Pouch of Grave Dirt
Flame of Eavoth
Ice Blossom
Bundle of Dried Mugwort
Small Bottle of Spirit Smoke
Small Bottle of Alcohol
Starchwort Powder
As soon as I accept the quest, yellow dots are sprinkled all over my map of Castle Nennius, directing me where to find the ingredients and another game message alerts me to additions in my Inventory. The Small Pouch, and several Small Bottles have automatically been added so we have something to store all the separate ingredients we are meant to collect.
“Wow, this list of ingredients is going to take us all over the castle. There isn’t any way we could, I don’t know, buy some of them from you, instead of collecting them ourselves?”
“As you advance in this profession, that will become an option. I will provide the flask for you to store the potion in, but the rest you must gather for yourself.
“You need to prove your seriousness and dedication to the craft and do all the legwork necessary. Each item can be found on your map, and while they may be scattered about the castle, they are all on castle grounds. There will be no need to travel to another town or anywhere else across the kingdom.”
“We’d better get started,” Erinocalypse says, ushering us out of the library and on our way.
Chapter 16
As we step out the door I inspect my map, which is now covered with yellow blinking dots. The open quest chain from Cho is just one small piece of everything we need to do in Castle Nennius. It’s not so simple to just waltz into the Throne Room and install a jewel.
Open Quests:
Save the Kingdom I
Whose Idea Was This?
In Her Presence
Get the Truth
In the Middle of the Night I
Truth Be Told
“Well, where do we want to start?” Callidus looks up from his map expectantly. “We’ve got open quests all over this place. But I think interrogating the maid is closest. Looks like down this hallway to the stairs on the other end.”
I glance over my shoulder at the soldier still standing at the top of the stairs, keeping my voice down in case he can hear us. “Yeah, let’s get that one started. The sooner we clear that up for Morgana, the sooner she’ll take us to the queen.”
“Lead the way, kid,” TexBadass says.
The hallway requires us to walk single file, and I don’t notice there is yet another guard at the next stairwell until we are almost right on top of him. He never takes his eyes off us as we approach and then pass him.
“Um, excuse me,” Callidus says as we squeeze past him to climb the next spiral staircase.
This staircase takes us up into one of the towers of Castle Nennius. Up and up and up. I keep thinking that just around the next bend will be a room or even a platform to rest, but no. Up and up and up. Periodically small shelves are carved into the thick stone walls, but those seemed used for storage more than anything else. My thighs begin to burn at the constant climb, and I’m grateful for the attribute points I’ve added to Stamina.
I have long ago lost count of how many stairs we’ve climbed when TexBadass stops in front of me. I can’t see around the bend in the spiral staircase, but hopefully this means we’ve reached the top.
I hear someone, Callidus probably, knocking on a door. There is a creak as it opens and some mumbled conversation as Balderdash13 and Callidus convince whoever opened the door to let us inside. After a short moment, we are again climbing the stairs, finally filing i
nto the room at the very top of the tower.
When I reach the door, a serious young woman with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail holds it open for me and eyes me critically. As I step over the threshold into the wide, round room, the faint scent of trees and ocean greets me. To our right, a tall window stands open, looking out over the meadow and forest that surround the castle. The view of Camlan from this height makes me catch my breath. It looks like we’re on the northwest side of the castle, and the forest that lines the coast seems to stretch on for miles in the distance. It’s quite a payoff for having to climb however many hundreds of stairs every day.
There are nine small cots crammed in the room. Storage chests rest between the cots, or at the foot of them, and hooks on every available wall space hold the clothes and towels of the nine young women who live here. There is a single vanity with bowl and pitcher of water crammed in the corner by the window.
Thank god I don’t have to be the one to haul water up here every day.
Opposite the window is a small fire place, where the remains of that morning’s fire still smolder in ash and embers.
In spite of the evidence that this room is occupied by so many maids, only two are here to greet us, and neither seem very welcoming. The girl who opens the door for us stands near the doorway still, as though inviting us to leave.
“Can we help you?”
Name: Lara
Level: 27
Description: One of the maids of Castle Nennius; usually assigned to serve and clear tables during mealtimes.
There is another girl in the room, slouched and sitting on one of the nearby cots. She has dark circles under her eyes and her hair does not appear to have been combed today at least, maybe longer. My best guess is that she has not slept more than a couple hours in several days.
Name: Daphne
Level: 27
Description: One of the maids of Castle Nennius; usually assigned to clean and maintain the private rooms of the castle’s most important figures, including Morgana Avery.
Lara repeats herself, louder this time. “Can we help you?”
“We were sent here by Madam Avery to assist one of you,” I look at the slouching girl, “Daphne. We’ve been told she’s been having trouble sleeping.”
Lara’s expression softens, but her tone remains stern. “I’ve told her. She can’t go on like this.”
“Right. That’s what Madam Avery said.”
“Very well. I’ll leave you alone, shall I? Daph, I’ll cover for you as much as I can, but you have got to get this sorted.”
The bedraggled girl on the cot nods as Lara collects her apron from a hook near the door and leaves.
When it’s quiet again, Balderdash13 kneels at the remaining girl’s feet and carefully puts her hand on her knee. “Are you okay? Madam Avery sent us here to see if we could help you at all?” she says gently.
When Daphne looks up I think I see a flash of fear in her face, but it’s gone quickly. She tucks a tuft of hair behind her ear.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Really? It looks like you haven’t slept in a while. Is something wrong?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she says. “Maybe I’m just not eating enough, or, um. I don’t know. I think one of my roommates snores.”
She’s not meeting Balderdash13’s eyes; it seems like she does know why she hasn’t been sleeping. She knows exactly why, but she’s deflecting.
“Is this a new roommate? Or new snoring?” Balderdash13 asks.
Daphne shakes her head.
“Is there something worrying you, maybe?” Balderdash13 asks. “Something that keeps you awake and thinking every night?”
Daphne shakes her head.
Balderdash13 looks at the rest of us for help. She shrugs and stands up. But now with all six of us standing around the poor girl, towering above her as she sits on her cot, she shrinks down even more, trying to stay small and out of our notice.
TexBadass tries next. Flapping his hands, he shoos us back, away from where the girl sits with her head in her hand. “Give her space. Give the girl some room, y’all.”
Daphne looks up at him and gives him a weak smile.
He sits next to her on the cot. It sags under his weight and tips her toward him. He takes her hand in his and pats it, like my seventy-five-year-old aunt would do. When he speaks again, his voice has a softness that I’m not used to hearing. “Now, darlin’, you can tell us. We’re here to help. We’re Guardians of Camlan, after all.”
For the first time since we walked in the room, Daphne actually seems interested in us. She looks each one of us in the face, taking in our details and is not lost in her haze of sleepiness.
“Tell us, Daphne,” TexBadass prompts. “Why have you been having trouble sleeping?”
Chapter 17
Daphne looks at the six of us in turn, as we stand in her shared room at the top of this tower, trying not to hover, but also intent on completing this quest.
“I can’t sleep because I’m scared,” she says, almost in a whisper.
Quest Completed: In the Middle of the Night I
Description: You learned that the maid Daphne can’t sleep through the night because she is afraid.
Reward: +300 XP
Quest Discovered: In the Middle of the Night II
Description: Daphne can’t sleep because she is afraid; figure out what she is afraid of.
Reward: +300 XP
“What are you scared of, darlin?” TexBadass says gently, still patting her hand.
“I don’t know. This … thing shows up every night. It just cries all the time. Wailing all night. I’m not sure what is. Lara said it’s a banshee.”
“A banshee? Where is it?”
Daphne points up.
I look to see where she is pointing; the ceiling stretches over most of the room, but with large gaps here and there. The beams making up the ceiling only have boards between them at random intervals and so instead serve as a layer of storage. Brooms, bundles of some dried plants and folded, dusty blankets are propped or draped up between the beams. From several angles I can see all the way to the roof of the tower.
“There’s nothing above us, Daphne,” I say. “Where is the banshee?”
“It only appears at night, and I seem to be the only one that hears it. That’s why Lara says it’s a banshee.”
I feel as confused as Callidus looks; his frown deepens and he keeps looking between the girl and the gap between the beams.
“Banshees are rumored to foretell death,” Erinocalypse explains. “If Daphne is hearing a banshee it means a family member or someone she cares about is in danger and likely to enter a situation they will not survive.”
Quest Completed: In the Middle of the Night II
Description: You have learned that the maid Daphne is afraid of the banshee that wails above her bed every night.
Reward: +300 XP
She looks at the girl. “I’m sorry.”
Daphne begins to cry. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bring you all into this. I’m usually not this weepy, but I haven’t slept because of the wailing, and thinking about my brother dying is adding to my dismay.”
“Your brother?” I clarify.
“That’s the only person it could be. The rest of my family died long ago; that’s why Ezra and I work at Castle Nennius. We started here when we were just children. Madam Avery helped find us a place in the household. But now it seems like Ezra is in danger and he’ll die and I’ll be all alone.” She collapses into sobs.
“But, Daphne,” TexBadass says gently. “He’s not dead yet, darlin’. There’s still a chance we can help him.”
Quest Discovered: In the Middle of the Night III
Description: Daphne is afraid for her brother’s life. Find him and learn what he’s doing that is putting him in danger
Reward: +300 XP
“Could you? Do you think you could? I don’t even know why he’s in danger. I don’t know the first place t
o start.”
“When’s the last time you talked to him?”
Daphne shakes her head. “I don’t know. A few weeks ago, perhaps. We’re both kept so busy with chores here. And then I’ve been trying to get more sleep. I only just realized he is in danger in the last few days.”
“But he works here in the castle?”
“Yes, in the kitchen. You can usually find him there.”
“Why don’t you let us do that, dear,” TexBadass says, patting her knee. “We’ll go find your brother and find out what is going on with him.”
“Do you think you can?”
“We’ll do our best.”
While TexBadass is consoling her, my gaze wanders around the room. A faint golden glow catches my eye in the rafters above us.
“Wait, Daphne, before we go can we ask one thing of you?”
Tex glares at me, but the girl smiles. “Okay.”
“Do you happen to have … ” I consult my quest log, quickly skimming down the list of items we need for Professor Dove. “Do you have alcohol, a Bundle of Dried Mugwort, or something called an Ice Blossom in here?”
She looks surprised but nods. “Yes, there’s a half a pound of Dried Mugwort just up in the rafter there. We had been saving it for the next festival, for a bonfire, but if you need it you are welcome to it.”
“Really? That’s awesome.”
I’m the tallest of our party, but not tall enough to reach the rafters, even when standing on one of the chests. We try a couple different options, including poking at the Bundle of Dried Mugwort with the tip of SteelFeather’s sword, but in the end a well-aimed blast of Surge of Air from Erinocalypse knocks the bundle down to us.
Alithia Potion ingredients: 1 of 8 acquired.
As I’m saving mine in my inventory, TexBadass returns to comfort the maid.
“If the banshee only comes at night, try getting some sleep now.”
“I can’t,” she shakes her head. “I am expected in Madam Avery’s study to complete my duties. There’s too much work for Lara to do all of it.”
“We’ll explain to her why you need to be absent.”
Daphne looks dubious but seems too tired to argue further. As soon as TexBadass stands up, the girl crashes, stretching out over the length of the cot. The healer grabs a folded quilt from the chest at the foot of her cot and shakes it out, spreading it over her curled up form and tucking in the edges around her.
Guardians of Camlan Page 7