by Elian Tars
The guard, taking hold of the crossbow more comfortably, began to look around warily.
“Who’s there?!” he shouted, glancing at me a few times. “Is there anybody here?” The mustachioed man was walking in my direction, and I began frantically thinking about what to do. The broken twig was still lying under the sole of my left boot. If I began to move, it could crack again, attracting the guard’s attention, and then Blind Eye would be dispelled. But if I did nothing, the skill would simply expire.
“I must have imagined it...” murmured the man, while standing some six feet away from me.
When he turned away, I felt as if a mountain had fallen off my shoulders, because a second later, the effect of Blind Eye was gone.
Continuing to stand there like a statue, I waited for the guard to move away, and at the same time, decided to check my faith points.
Faith points: -49
How had that happened?! How could I find out what exactly had made them go up? Was it the danger of the situation? Was it Blind Eye? Or was it due to playing hide-and-seek in the dark?
Regardless, I couldn’t stop!
Carefully lifting my foot off the dry branch, I continued to pursue the guard. I followed him for fifteen minutes. Then I sat in the dark, next to the city gate where the guard had disappeared into the watchtower. Then I began to accompany another guard with long black hair visible under his helmet.
A miracle happened, and half an hour later, when the black-haired man was returning to the gate, I checked my progress and saw the cherished words.
Faith points: -48
This time, I didn’t use Blind Eye, so...
A big hand covered my mouth, interrupting the flow of my thoughts. I felt cold steel at my throat and heard somebody whisper into my ear:
“What do we have here?”
Suddenly, I realized that I knew who the voice belonged to.
Chapter 12
A Quest
I couldn’t answer, but I decided to stay still. As it turned out, I did the right thing — as soon as the guard disappeared from view, my old friend let go of my mouth and moved the knife away from my neck.
“Well? What are you doing?” Tael repeated the question.
I turned to reward the archer with a scornful look, but ended up giving him a surprised one instead.
Tael the Handsome was dressed in a fitted, black jacket with a hood, and his face was covered with a black mask. He had no bow or arrows with him, only two daggers: one in his hand, another in a sheath on his belt. He didn’t look like himself at all.
A thought crossed my mind — maybe I had been wrong about the voice? I immediately requested system information about the man standing in front of me.
Gloomy Bon
Level 82
HP: 3894/3894
“What the...?” I muttered in amazement.
“I’m you, from the future!” he said, changing his voice.
Perhaps I spent too long standing there, silent and confused, because after a few seconds, Tael/Bon laughed softly.
“You’re such a yokel,” he drawled, looked around, and took off his hood for a few moments. It was more than enough to let me see his long, blond hair.
It was Tael after all!
“What’s this entire masquerade for, if you were going to show yourself to me anyway?” I asked, pulling myself together and trying to understand how his stats had changed so much in just a few hours.
“Well, joking aside,” he said drily, “you haven’t answered my question yet. What were you doing here?”
“I was practicing my stealth.” I decided not to lie, but not tell the whole truth, either.
“Just as I had thought,” Tael said with a bit of regret in his voice. “Okay, let us move a little further away; otherwise, the guard might hear us.” He waved his hand casually, asking me to follow him, turned, and trotted toward the city center.
Should I follow him? Or should I try to escape? If I choose the latter, it might not work. There was too much of a difference in our levels, and a good chance I would die from a single blow.
I decided that, if Tael had wanted to kill me, he would’ve done it already, so I hurried after him. However, I did my best to stay alert. If my unexpected companion tried to threaten or corner me, I would scream and wake the entire city. Yes, he would kill me, but he would be in trouble with the alerted guards.
But I really hoped that it wouldn’t come to that.
“It’s all right, come on” Tael looked around and whispered, hiding in the shadows of a low shed. “I have a bit of work for you,” he explained, staring at me with his black mask. In the darkness, it would’ve probably looked scary to anyone else, but thanks to my night vision, I could even see his pupils.
“What do you need?” I asked in a barely audible voice.
“Not much, really,” Tael shrugged. “You just need to distract the guards in the dungeon while I sneak in and free someone.”
Attention!
Quest available: “The Bait”
Quest giver: Gloomy Bon (level 82.
Help Gloomy Bon (Level 82) distract the prison guards in the castle of Trikuni.
Reward: XP and maybe something extra
Reward giver: Gloomy Bon (Level 82).
Minimize, I thought reflexively, after I had read the text. Oddly enough, it really did shrink down, turning into a tiny line that said “quest available” in my peripheral vision.
“Why would I do this?” I asked firmly. “And why are you using my name?”
“You haven’t guessed it yet?” Tael smiled.
In fact, I did have some ideas about it, but not very pleasant ones…
“All right, listen,” having received no reply from me, the man in the mask continued. “Two gold pieces isn’t bad, but I’m not a coachman, driving everyone around. I needed...” Tael faltered, “A stranger in this city, someone who could eventually be framed; someone who would take all the blame for me. I was lucky enough to meet you.”
Hell, I had known it all along. What kind of world was this? Everyone was trying to use you and then leave you behind. First, it had been Una, now my savior from before was doing it, too.
“You won’t even try to be angry and resentful?” Tael sounded surprised, but there was also approval in his tone.
“What for?” I asked, after overcoming my desire to hurl abuse at him. “I would, however, like to know what made you change your plans and ask me for help.”
“I’ve learned that the security system in this prison is quite...unusual. If they just had simple locks, I would’ve cracked it without a problem. But Baron Geryon has spent a good amount of money on the Circle of Mirrors. The door to each chamber is reflected, creating eleven more doors. In addition, sound is distorted, so you can’t call out to the prisoner. As long as the spell lasts, I won’t know where the real door is. I’ll have to crack them all until I find the right one.
“Is it a pretty rare technique?” I asked curiously.
“Not really. It was created by the “Followers of Kiriana”. They know how to deal with it easily. If I had known about it in advance, I would have brought the right person for the job with me. But as far as I know, this security system is a recent addition.”
“In short,” Tael suddenly shook his head. “It’ll take some time. I’m asking you to keep the guards busy. I can’t kill them all at once; they will notice if I off some of them and raise the alarm. That will surely prevent me from getting my work done.”
“And if I’m clapping my hands and entertaining the guards, they won’t raise the alarm?” I grunted.
“They will,” Tael decided not to argue, “but they will chase after you. Maybe some guards will go into the prison, but there won’t be too many of them. Do you understand the difference?”
“It’s a stupid plan,” I shook my head. “Have you seen my level? If I get hit with an arrow or have to fight them, they’ll kill me.”
“It’s dark out.” I bet he’s smiling unde
r that mask. “You’re surprisingly good at hiding in the dark. Plus, you have some kind of Blind Eye skill, and you got Stealth today as well. You’ll last a while, and then I’ll finish up and help you get out of town.”
“Wait!” I frowned. “How do you know about my Stealth?”
“I also know that you were looking for a way to… Let me remember… Something like… you wanted to ‘feel your whole self’! By the way, unlike the caravaneer, I’m not going to send you off to get a drink. If you help me, I can really tell you about the stuff you are interested in.”
For a moment I froze, looking intently at my companion. It didn’t matter if he had been spying on me or if he had just spoken to Tayon. Tael and his words had finally started to pique my interest. I needed information about how to master the Light like I needed air. At least some sort of info.…
“Well?” the archer without a bow tried to make me hurry up. “What’s your answer? I don’t have much time. But I warn you, if you decide not to help me, I’ll have to kill you right away. No offense.”
“I can help you,” I said uncertainly. “But I’m not going to be the bait. You’re better suited for that part. I’ll save your prisoner.”
“Ha!” Tael grinned. “Will you now? Quit lying!”
“All I have to do is get through the spell and open the door, right?” I asked coldly. He nodded. “Let me guess, there are no windows in the prison and torches are the only light source?” Another nod. “Then I can definitely do it. If level 3 Lock picking is enough.”
“It’s not enough...” he said thoughtfully, “but it’s fixable... Damn it!” Tael shook his head. “Can you really make it through the Circle of Mirrors?”
“I can,” I nodded resolutely.
“Damn it...” he repeated, lowering his head and thinking.
Obviously, Tael was nervous, even though he acted like a tough guy. Things hadn’t gone as planned, and the unknown prisoner needed to be rescued, by all means. I wondered if Tael would believe me. Would he grasp at straws? He had doubts about being able to open all the locks in the prison before the horde of guards got there. How many cells were there? Let’s suppose there were ten, multiplied by twelve… He would have needed to open 120 doors. Of course, there was a chance that he would pick the correct door on his first attempt, but it was unlikely.
“So, you can overcome the sound insulation, too?” he finally asked me.
“Meaning?” I didn’t understand what he meant.
“Can you figure out right away which door to open? Right away?”
“I can,” I said just as evenly.
“It would take me less than a minute... Okay!” Tael stood up straight, and his eyes stared at me through the slits of his mask. “I’ll give you exactly six minutes. If you manage, I will be very grateful. If not... I will have to fight to the end in the hope of slaying the most zealous guards and try to avoid getting locked up in prison. But, in that case, I’ll kill you first.”
“Agreed,” I continued to project confidence. “But I have a condition. You’re going to tell me who we’re rescuing, who you are, and why you need this.”
For a second, I worried that I had gone too far in my desire to learn as much as possible about the world around me. However, Tael quickly responded.
“All right. But remember, before we start the operation, I can kill you if you try to use what you hear against me. After the operation, you’ll be tied to us anyway.”
I wasn’t sure that he had told me everything he knew, but it was enough to understand what was going on, and we decided to trust each other.
The man standing in front of me arrived to Trikuni under the name of Tael Handsome, as a negotiator sent by a “noble person”. They already knew Tael around here, and his arrival didn’t arouse any suspicions. However, he didn’t get a chance to speak with Baron Geryon. The honored guest had to be content with the company of the Baroness and her second son. Earlier that day, I had learned that the Baron had gone off to attack his “evil neighbor”. That was the official version, told to the locals. In fact, according to Tael, things were a bit different. The baronial town, Kelkoni, which was very similar to Trikuni, was very close to the border of Decay. The disease was spreading rapidly, and the creatures of Decay were already trying to climb the city walls. Kelkoni’s days were numbered, but while it was still outside the decayed land, Baron Geryon, with his heir and the army of Trikuni in tow, had decided to attack his weakened neighbor with a banal purpose — plunder. We had to act right away, because when Decay covered the city, there would be no way of stepping on the cursed land without the aid of the expensive Glozeysk Crystal.
“That bastard,” Tael said, talking about the local Baron, “has properly prepared for this war. In their current situation, the defenders of Kelkoni won’t put up a good fight, and may even open the gates themselves. After looting the city, he will have more than enough to recoup the costs, and even earn a nice profit. The only thing that could disrupt his plans is the army of Baron Helderd, the Lord of Nelburg. However, his only son and heir is in the prison of Trikuni castle. I tell you, he is well prepared.”
“But won’t that start a war between Trikuni and Nelburg?” I was listening carefully to Tael, sorting out all the complex names and titles.
“Not right away. Geryon has promised to Helderd that he’ll let his son go as soon as he returns from the war. But it’s highly unlikely that he will. Instead, he will probably wait till the last moment, using the heir as a shield. You’re right, if the heir of Nelburg gets home, his father will immediately start a war to avenge his sullied honor. It’s not profitable to return him.”
“That’s why you’re here. And therefore, the security around the prisoner was strengthened...” I said thoughtfully. “But something’s not clear to me. You don’t represent Helderd?” He shook his head silently. “So there’s a fourth side. Formally loyal to Trikuni, but…”
“Enough,” Tael interrupted, “that’s beside the point.”
“How did you manage to get fifty levels in half a day?” I decided to ask, though I had already guessed some of it.
“Don’t say such nonsense,” he waved my words away and pointed over to where his name and his level were displayed. “These are my real stats. What you saw before was due to the effects of the Weakening.”
“How did you end up in this game?” I nearly asked him the question that was plaguing me. But I managed to hold back in time. I was too weak to ask that out in the open. After all, then I would be making it clear to my companion that I was also a “player”. Or a “Reflection”, as the immortal “Followers of the Gods” were called in the Small Encyclopedia of Lloyd Koala. After talking to my Patron and discovering faith points, I had no doubt that my Old Man was one of the local gods, kind of like the God of Darkness, although I hadn’t read about him in the Encyclopedia.
The man standing in front of me was clearly a “Gleam”. And that meant he had his own God, and could resurrect after death. I wanted to learn so much from Tael, or whatever his real name was, have a real, honest talk with him, and find out the local secrets, but not yet, not now.
“Since we’re done talking, shall we go?” my companion spoke, ending the brief silence.
“I’m troubled by one thing,” I said. “If the local Baron had been preparing to guard the heir of Nelburg, wasn’t it a bit too arrogant of you to hope to get him out alone, and preserve your anonymity?”
“Hmm... Good point. But don’t underestimate my skills. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve had a really decent chance of doing the job quietly, delivering the heir over the wall, and returning to my chambers in the castle afterward. I could’ve managed it easily enough — knock out the guards, get inside, call out to the heir, open his cell. That’s all. But now...”
“But you could’ve sent this... ‘Follower of Kiriana’ in your stead. Then the whole security system would’ve been useless.”
“It’s not that simple. Not all of her ‘Followers’ woul
d’ve been able to handle the magic. Those that do have the right skills, as a rule, would have problems with stealth.”
Well, everything was now clear, more or less. A typical caster was needed to get past the magical defenses, but they would’ve found it difficult to get into the prison — they would’ve ended up getting caught before they even got to them.
“That’s enough,” Tael cut me off. “I’ve already wasted a lot of time on you. Either we go right now, or I kill you.”
The line with the last quest, which had been hovering in my peripheral vision, was now gone, and the text of the system message about my new quest immediately popped up before my eyes:
Attention!
Quest available: “Save the Heir of Nelburg”
Quest giver: Gloomy Bon (level 82)
Get inside the prison of Trikuni castle within six minutes and free the heir of Nelburg while Gloomy Bon (Level 82) distracts the prison guards of Trikuni castle.
Reward: XP, information, and maybe something extra
Reward giver: Gloomy Bon (Level of 82)
“By the way, here’s something that’ll be useful to you,” before I could answer, a rectangular leather sheath appeared in his hands.
The Endless Set of Lock Picks
Unique item
Agility: +3
“Lock picking”: +2
“I accept,” I said, glancing again at the quest description, and taking the lock picks from him.
Chapter 13
The Rescuer
We froze a few meters from the inner wall of the castle. Tael cautiously looked around and then materialized a black, leather bracer with a round device attached to it that had a grappling hook sticking out of it. He quickly put this device on his right arm and pointed it at the crenellation. With his left hand, he pulled one of the two levers on the device, causing a rope with a hook on the end of it to quietly shoot up toward the castle walls.