Zectas Volume VI: The Delusive Realm of Mictlan

by John Nest

  At once, the Knights were engulfed in Ponderous Mist.

  Thanks to his Ponderous Mist Walker, Smoke was immune to the cumbersome fog. Stealthily, he walked around the blinded Knights.

  “Spread out,” commanded one of the Knights. “Attack anything that goes near you!”

  Deprived of sight, the Knights did as commanded. They hacked through the fog, hitting nothing but branches and shrubs of the forest.

  Watching this, Smoke found their movements to be sluggish. He wondered if it was because of the Ponderous Mist, but thought that it was something else.

  Focusing on clearing the path, he ran in between the separated Knights. Despite piercing their eyes and slashing their necks with his razor-sharp crescent guards, the Knights’ life bar still proved to be hefty. It took him a while to finish a single one.

  Yet, despite this, Smoke persevered in the thick hazy fog. He would attack them once and run towards his next target.

  It took a while. However, one by one, Smoke finished off the encumbered Knights in the zero visibility fog.

  After his Cunning of the Dire Fox sensed that there were no more enemies left, he had Vape disperse the Ponderous Mist.

  “You okay?” Smoke asked Jeter, slightly out of breath.

  Levitating, Jeter was looking up, his SP slowly recovering. “I’m fine. Just recharging.”

  Then, Smoke could sense a multitude of his allies rushing towards them.

  A falcon flying in the sky shrieked out.

  “Smoke! Thank Cuezaltzin, you’re here!” called out Thyrsus. He was followed by thousands of villagers. “Vijaya’s right behind me. Jinggu, Ichaival and Sharanga should be in the south-east. Weise, Stark, Rasant, and Adelige are in the west.”

  Thyrsus panted. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t help Sierra,” he regrettably added. “She told me to—”

  “It’s alright,” said Smoke, giving him a hug. “Good job making it here. Now, head for the tunnels. I’ll make sure everyone’s behind you.”

  “There’s something else,” went on Thyrsus. “Igniz and Daga stayed behind. They were supposed to come with me, but Igniz wouldn’t listen.”

  Stricken with alarm, Smoke desperately tried to calm down. “It’s gonna be fine. I’m sure they’re fine,” he said, trying hard to convince himself.

  Thyrsus nodded and headed for the foot of Mount Engrais.

  Although he feared what he might see, Smoke still opened his Friends List Window.

  —- Contacts —- Status

  …

  + Sierra [REVIVE IN 95:58:40]

  + Virer [REVIVE IN 95:55:58]

  + Courant [REVIVE IN 95:55:53]

  …

  Sidestory:

  Adapting Times

  Glistening in the snow, the sunlight bounced off on the quiet white blanketed ground. Two majestic antlers emerged from the winding roads of the snow-capped mountains. The riders of the stag moose paused and breathed in the sight before them, an Aqua Knight and a Lioumerean Pathfinder.

  “I love the green trees of Chayotl. But seeing all this white… feels calming,” blurted out Mamelon, breaking the silence. “Too bad Ilad couldn’t come.”

  Wagging her tigress tail over her shoulders, Gandiva pityingly shook her head. “It’s awesome and all, but I’m more impressed that you managed to keep up with me on Bilis,” she replied, trying to change the subject.

  Mamelon chuckled and patted the back of the stag moose’s head. “Bilis was the one who did all the work. I was just lucky I didn’t fall off… But what about Daga, though? She acts like she’s Ilad’s girlfriend or something. What’s her deal?”

  “They’re not like that,” defended Gandiva. “They’re more like brother and sister.”

  “I have a brother. But I don’t try to hug him to death,” said Mamelon, scorned

  “Too bad we couldn’t stay for Verbrannt’s inspection,” said Gandiva, changing topics. “Would have wanted to be there when the village turned into a city.”

  “Me too,” replied Mamelon. “It wasn’t easy convincing Sierra and Smoke to go for King Adrizol’s offer, but this is a good thing. You’ll see!”

  “Tsk! Wasn’t really up for it myself,” began Gandiva. “Hated the idea of working under King Adrizol… But after hearing you talk about what’s to come after the war with Burmistrz… Well, let’s just say you got me convinced.”

  “Exactly! We could do so much more than just conquering a city,” said Mamelon, pragmatic. “And getting the Decane to join us will greatly improve our overall strength.”

  “Now, I’m just wondering what King Adrizol would do with Burmistrz,” said Gandiva. “And when he’s stripped of his power, then who will be Duke of Coatl?”

  Mamelon shrugged. “Who knows? That’s why having the Decane as allies will force everyone to recognize our guild’s power.”

  “That’s all good, but I’m surprised Sierra and Smoke want to ally with someone like Amahan,” blurted Gandiva. Then, her striped eyebrows raised as if she just came upon a realization. “Are you sure Sierra knows the reason we’re here?”

  “Let’s just meet with them,” said Mamelon. “The sooner we’re done, the sooner we’ll be home.” She pointed down at the log-walled outpost below.

  Running like the wind, Bilis and Tulin picked up a cloud of snow in their wake.

  Stopping in front of the wooden gates, a smiling Mamelon called out for the guards. “Hey! Excuse me,” she said, flipping her long blond hair. “We’re here to see Amahan. I’ve been told that he’s here in Avance.”

  Blushing profusely, the Zectian Guard on top the log wall stammered. “Um… Yes, yes. My Lord Amahan is currently staying with us.” He then yelled down at his comrade. “Open the gates! A princess is here to see Lord Amahan.”

  Gandiva sniggered. “For once, I’d like to see someone gush over me like that.”

  “That could happen. If you comb that hair of yours once in a while,” said Mamelon, smiling sweetly.

  “Lord Amahan is staying in the May Flower Inn,” said the Guard, with even redder cheeks. “Please… Allow me to guide you there,” he added, leading the way.

  At the entrance of the Inn, Mamelon spotted three unmasked Death Knights. Although they wore the same black plated armor with white skulls on their shoulders, their hairstyles were different. One had a long straight black hair, the other had clean-cut hair but the last one fashioned a lizard mohawk.

  “You sure are lucky with Hilot, Bato,” said one of the Death Knights. “She doesn’t even mind that you looking like that!”

  “When the notification window asked… I just nodded and it updated my avatar with my current look,” replied Bato, grinning.

  “What? You really have that hair in real life?” asked the Death Knight in disbelief. “And Hilot’s still into you? Isn’t she a Bank Economist?”

  A conceited Bato was nodding his head. “What can I say? When you’ve got it, you’ve got it.”

  Then, a beautiful blond Priestess stepped out of the Inn. “Hon, you ready to go?” asked Hilot.

  “Certainly, my Lady,” said Bato, giving her an exaggerated bow. “Ligon, Puthaw, I’ll see you two later,” he said, giving his fellow Death Knights a sly wink.

  Speedily, Hilot walked past them.

  “Sure wish I’ll meet a blond beauty soon,” said Puthaw.

  “What and get married?” Ligon lightly punched Puthaw’s chest.

  Puthaw nodded with gusto. “Absolutely, even if it’s just in-game.”

  “Forget about it,” chuckled Ligon. “And where do you suppose you’d find anyone round these parts? A beauty like Hilot doesn’t just pop out of thin air.”

  Further away, the two lovers continued walking, out of Ligon and Puthaw’s earshot.

  “Put your helmet on. I don’t want other people seeing that ridiculous hair,” ordered Hilot, walking ahead of the mohawk Death Knight.

  At once, Bato covered his head with his full-face helmet.

  Oblivious to what was going on, P
uthaw and Ligon stared at them in envy, Mamelon walked in front of them.

  Ligon and Puthaw’s eyes zoomed in on the blond bombshell that graced their vision.

  “Quick! Say, I’ll get my own Djinn,” Puthaw said to Ligon, pushing him back as he offered his hand to Mamelon. “Hey, haven’t seen you before. Are you new here?”

  Without skipping a beat, Mamelon blushed. “Is it that obvious?”

  Although she tried to suppress it, Gandiva let out an audible groan.

  “I’m Mamelon and this here’s Gandiva,” she said, pointing at herself and the covered tigress Lioumerean next to her. “We were wondering—”

  “If we could be your tanks?” blurted out Puthaw, cutting her off. “Most certainly! We’re free right now. I know many great spots to level up… and if you’re looking for rare items, I know them too!”

  “Thanks but we’re not here for that,” answered Gandiva. “We’re here to talk to Amahan.”

  “Amahan? He’s an Exorcist, plays a lousy support and won’t do well in your party,” reasoned Puthaw, shaking his head and smirking.

  “Regardless, we still want to see him,” persisted Gandiva, her tail tightening around her waist.

  “Please,” added Mamelon sweetly.

  “Wait here,” said Puthaw, reluctant. “I’ll check if he wants to… What’s this about again?”

  “Please tell him we’re friends of Sierra and Smoke,” brightly smiled Mamelon.

  “The DarkElf and Werebear of Wysteria?” asked Ligon, grabbing Puthaw by the shoulder, preventing him from calling Amahan.

  Still smiling sweetly, Mamelon nodded.

  “Maybe you should call Magikera first?” said Gandiva. “Heard she’s friends with Sierra.”

  “We know,” flatly answered Ligon. “She keeps on telling us.”

  Ligon and Puthaw whispered whether or not to have them meet with Amahan. Puthaw kept glancing over to Mamelon, to which the voluptuous Aqua Knight always gave a hopeful smile.

  “Fine! Go tell him,” finally said Ligon.

  “Cool!” exclaimed Puthaw. “Wait right here, I’ll be back, really quick,” he said to Mamelon, grinning the whole time.

  It took more than ten minutes before Puthaw returned. His face sullen but quickly perked up when he faced Mamelon. “Sorry, took longer than expected. But he’s willing to see you now,” he said, leading towards the door with an overemphasized arm.

  “Thanks!” said Mamelon.

  Both Mamelon and Gandiva headed inside. But Ligon stepped in front of tigress Lioumerean.

  “Sorry, no Zectians beyond this point,” gravely said Ligon.

  “Gandiva’s not just any Zectian,” declared Mamelon. “She’s my best friend and she’s going with me.”

  “Come on, Lig,” pleaded Puthaw on her behalf. “Besides, I already told him about the Lioumerean,” he added, cheeks flustered as he looked at Mamelon.

  “Fine! But don’t pull me along if Amahan gets mad!” called out Ligon, leaving the Inn.

  “Now, that the sour-puss is out of the picture, let’s go,” said Puthaw.

  Letting Puthaw lead the way, Gandiva held Mamelon back. “Thanks for that.”

  “For what?” asked Mamelon.

  Gandiva’s tail shyly wiggled behind her. “You know… for sticking up for me. And for that, I won’t tell Ilad about you flirting with that Death Knight.”

  “Flirting? What are you talking about?” nervously asked Mamelon. “That was just acting. Otherwise, they would’ve sent us away.”

  “Right!” said Gandiva, as they followed after Puthaw.

  Inside the inn, they were taken upstairs into a spacious room. There, the famous Exorcist sat on a comfortable lounge chair. Two figures stood behind him. Sierra’s Aero Magi friend—Magikera and a robed figure whom Mamelon guessed to be the legendary Djinn—Gahoul Comataz.

  “Hey, Guys!” greeted Puthaw, breaking the cold silence. “This is Mamelon and Gandiva. They’re friends with—”

  “I know who they are,” flatly stated Amahan. “Just say what you’re here for.”

  Gandiva’s furry fist clenched. “What kind of greetin—”

  Mamelon quickly stopped her Lioumerean friend from acting out.

  “Sorry for intruding,” began Mamelon. “I know you’re a busy man. So, I’ll get right to it. We’re here to offer an alliance.”

  “What for?” asked Amahan.

  “Wait, this could be a good thing,” said Magikera. “We could get rare items and other stuff from Wysteria…”

  “Magikera!” boomed Amahan. “One more word…”

  Clicking her tongue, Magikera fell silent.

  Amahan cleared his throat. “I’m not completely opposed to the idea. But I’d like to know about the video Smoke posted.”

  “What? About Mictlan?” asked Mamelon. “I don’t really know anything about that place.”

  “Smoke has a video of Mictlan?” asked Gandiva, oblivious to the Zectas posts on the real world.

  Ignoring the Lioumerean, Amahan prodded. “No. Not Mictlan. I want to know what the Oracle of Aphend really means.”

  “Oh! Well, we’re not really sure,” replied Mamelon. “But from what I remember… Smoke said that it maybe a new event that requires Sonstwelters to fulfill the event conditions.”

  “Are you being serious?” asked Amahan, his voiced raised. “I’m asking for the triggers and what the potential event may be!”

  Mamelon playfully scratched her head and smiled at Amahan.

  “Fine. If you don’t want to say your theories, I can respect that,” said Amahan. He paused and studied Mamelon’s face. “I’m not sure if you know this. But there’s another Sonstwelter in Ishtar. She got the title of Seer from opening the oracle in Marooc City of the Matotl Kingdom. After she opened one of the oracles herself, she claimed that as a Seer it is her right to be the queen of Matotl, unless they want to be overrun by prehistoric monsters.”

  For a split-second, Mamelon’s eyebrows furrowed.

  “I see,” said Amahan. “You’re saying that she’s just lying.”

  Realizing that he could read her facial expressions, she tried hard to keep a straight face.

  “So, what’s the condition?” went on Amahan. “Is it level? An ability? A title? A position?” He paused and stared Mamelon in the eye. “Oh! Position. What kind? In the Kingdom? Like a Duke, perhaps?”

  Mamelon’s face contorted. She could not believe he was doing this with simple word queues.

  “I was offered to be Duke of Mezco City before. Maybe, I’ll take it,” said Amahan.

  In utter disbelief, Mamelon asked. “How are you doing this? I never said anything.”

  “You didn’t have to. Anyway, I’m fine being allies with the Vigilantez. But only in name. For us to be ‘friends’, I don’t need items. I need information,” declared Amahan. “If you can give me that, then we can come to an agreement.”

  “In name?” questioned Gandiva, but was held back by Mamelon again.

  “Alright,” said Mamelon. “Let me just add you to my Friend List.”

  + Amahan has accepted your friend invitation.

  An excited Puthaw looked at Mamelon. “You done with Amahan? Want to go raid a dungeon with me? Gandiva can come, of course!”

  Mamelon turned to Gandiva as if asking if she was okay with it.

  Gandiva shrugged, apathetic.

  “Sure,” said Mamelon. “Maybe you want to join us too?” she asked Magikera and Amahan.

  “No,” answered Amahan. “We’ve got something else to do.”

  A sullen Magikera’s shoulders sank.

  “Maybe next time then,” said Mamelon as she was escorted downstairs.

  Outside the inn, an alarming ringing rang in Mamelon’s ears.

  ▲ EMERGENCY CALL ▲: Smoke

  “Sorry, I have to take this,” Mamelon said to Puthaw, pulling Gandiva to a far corner.

  “Something wrong?” asked Gandiva, worried.

  “Emergency call from Smoke
,” replied Mamelon, silencing her with a shush.

  “What’s the problem?” Mamelon asked over the call.

  “We’ve been attacked! Adrizol tricked us,” said Smoke. “Hurry back home. Tell Gandiva to take you back to Nanahuatl.”

  Stricken with guilt, Mamelon’s mouth fell open.

  “You there? Anyway, just hurry back to Nanahuatl. We need to regroup!”

  —CLICK

  “So? What’s the emergency?” asked Gandiva.

  A teary-eyed Mamelon could only utter. “I was wrong.”

  Gandiva blankly stared at her, confused. “About what?”

  “Wrong about everything.”

  * * * * * *

  News of Verbrannt’s destruction spread like wildfire. Zectas forums were filled with developments in the continent of Wysteria. King Adrizol of Chayotl himself declared them as enemies of the kingdom. He also declared Centzo as a rebel city that needed to be reclaimed.

  In the war-torn lands of Sawtorn, two Sonstwelter brothers, equipped in a golden and silver plated armor, were respectively riding on a red and gray wyvern. Both of them were busy strategizing their attack on an Ork encampment. The green brutes were about to attack Newt Village—an OrkElf gambling village created by Cynar.

  “You sure this will work?” asked Tritank. “Can’t I just dive in with my wyvern? Why do we have to rely on those Avendre Mercenaries and OrkElves!”

  “Third, just follow the plan and we’ll be fine,” said Tristan. “Besides, Cynar was the one who begged us to save his village.”

  “Tritank! I told you to call me Tritank here. You don’t hear me calling you Junior, right?”

  Tristan sighed. “Fine! Tritank, then. But just follow the damn plan.”

  “You really liked that Cynar character and Guro too,” said Tritank. “Plan on making them members of your private army?”

  “Precisely! And Dad said you’re not perceptive. Easiest way to raise Intimacy,” replied Tristan. “And if they don’t join me, then better thin their numbers a bit. They’re too strong for their own good.”

  Tritank nodded, agreeing with his older brother. His eyebrows met in the middle as his eyes stared at Aurora and Bones in the midst of the invading army. “You sure it’s alright for them to always stay together? Aren’t you worried they’d, you know…”