Gleam of Darkness

by Elian Tars

  “Woo-o-o...” she whined with displeasure, turned away and proudly walked to the porch. She then stretched near the steps and began to lick her wounds.

  I let the archer go, slightly shoving her, and took two steps back, putting some distance between us. The girl looked at me over her shoulder, and I could finally see her face. She had freckled, snow-white skin, a slightly pointed nose and reddish hair.

  Turning, she gave me an examining gaze. Her eyes stopped at the top of my head. “Sec…re…tive... Bale… Le...vel... 25.” she unsurely read.

  After escaping from Trikuni I changed my name, and yesterday, during the buff’s eight hours, I leveled up five times. Perhaps that was my only achievement. During all of this time we killed lots of creatures of Decay, but we weren’t even half there. We came up to the river, which was marked as the beginning of the decayed lands on the chief Jason’s map. We looked for the wade for a whole hour. When we finally found it, it was too late. I was tired and had decided to go back.

  My conclusions after the trip? There were lots of creatures of Decay. The borders of those dead forests had moved at least 6 miles further since the time when both of my maps were drawn. However, these were only superficial conclusions. As I remembered Jason's level and thought about how he was able to go so far into the land of Decay to make a stash, I realized that there were even more mysteries and conjectures. For example, the stash wasn’t made by Bon’s father; someone else had handed him the map. Maybe there weren’t any treasures at all and the mark on the map was made to confuse the enemies, and to put them on the wrong track...However, this theory didn’t hold up very well. No one except me could find the chest with the map. It was hidden too well. It was impossible to confuse the enemies if they hadn’t figured out your ruse.

  “You're too cocky for a level 25,” Ilsa's sad voice interrupted my reverie. “Well? You promised that you would tell me what...” she sighed heavily and hung her head.

  “I did,” I said quietly. “Come on.”

  I took the girl to her parents’ grave, where the half-eaten corpse of the decayed bear, leftovers from Vella’s previous meal, had been lying as well. The young archer couldn’t hold back her feelings and burst into tears. I left her alone, got back to the house, sat on the porch and started eating my breakfast.

  I planned to continue exploring the territory of Decay even though I didn’t feel as enthusiastic as before. But I still thought that it was too early for me to go to the meeting with the mayor of Ekheim. There was a chance that I would be able to clear a path to Jason’s hidden cache in about a week or so. As long as new creatures of Decay don’t show up on the land purified from the enemy. Although I upgraded Dark side of the World to level 3 and my resistance to the Effect of Decay had increased, the accelerated regeneration still wasn’t working full force on the cursed lands.

  It seemed like everything was clear with the plans for the near future, but Ilsa’s appearance made me nervous. I planned for this house would become my stronghold... Now what?! My resurrection point was there, too…

  But, on the other hand, I couldn’t stay in the bedroom forever and never go out. I don’t want to waste my day. I should go back.

  Determined not to let uninvited guest change my plans, I stood up and walked toward the territory of Decay. I didn't say anything to the girl. If those were indeed her parents, she should understand everything that is happening around her. I will let her have some space. She won’t go anywhere until the evening, so we’ll talk then.

  ***

  We had thoroughly cleaned the lands of Decay yesterday. For about an hour or so, I moved with usual caution, but the absence of enemies eventually made me relax involuntarily. Decayed dead bodies on the road contributed to this. There they were, creatures that we had defeated. They hadn’t gone anywhere. However, in less than a day they had almost completely turned into a multi-colored slush. I was sure that tomorrow I wouldn’t be able to identify the Black Wolves Changed by Decay in the vile puddles.

  No longer hiding, I briskly went ahead. It was at that moment that I realized something. I froze on the spot, wondering why I hadn't thought of it before. After all, it was elementary…

  “Hey, Vella,” the dog happily ran up and sat down in front of me, wagging her tail.

  “Get up,” I said. “Get up, why are you batting your eyes at me? Oh, my God...” I exhaled, lifting up the Bullkorg myself.

  “Stand just like that,” I told my companion who didn’t understand anything. In the expression of her pig-like muzzle I read a dumb question: “Master, are you alright?”

  The dog was surprised even more when I, clasping her neck with both hands, jumped onto her back.

  “Woof!” said Vella with disgruntled voice.

  It definitely wasn’t just my imagination. During our trip the dog had grown, got even stronger and the dark green patterns now looked clearer and richer. Even her muzzle got scarier... But I could be wrong. However, I was sure that she used to be about three feet high at the withers, just like the rest of the Bullkorgs, but now she was about one three feet and ten inches or three feet and five inches. The question was–why? Certainly it was not because of the levels, because Tayon’s dogs were all level 30. I had a pretty good idea…

  The dog jumped to the side, twitched her muzzle and took off. Unable to hold on to her, I rolled down from her withers. Well at least I was holding to her neck, otherwise I would have really gotten hurt. She stopped, not letting me fall, and looked straight into my eyes with reproach.

  “Well, how many yards did we pass?” I chuckled. “Wait!” The next thought forced me to look up the skills menu. A new line was added into the everyday skills column.

  Riding: 0

  Yesterday I got two everyday skill points and didn’t spend them on anything. Immediately I spent one Riding and tried to ride the dog again.

  “Just be quiet and don't grumble,” I told her as I climbed onto her back.

  Surprisingly, she listened. But she was just too slow.

  “You can go faster,” I commanded her, and the dog happily began to gain pace.

  However, I soon slipped from her shoulder and landed onto my feet. Well, it was quite clear and logical—the higher the skill was, the faster you could ride.

  With this good thought I raised Riding level two.

  For the next hour, I fell three more times. As soon as she reached certain speed, it became impossible to hold onto her back. Well, at least the dog would feel when I was about to fall, and stop. My Acrobatics prevented me from falling down onto the rotted grass.

  We got to the river, rode along the shore and stopped in front of the alleged wade.

  I took out a chair that I got from the house—it fit perfectly into the inventory slot—and sat down in front of the river. Vella drank some water and without any hint of disgust collapsed onto the black decayed grass.

  I decided not to eat on the territory of Decay. I drank some water, waited until the dog fully restored her energy and continued afoot. Ahead lay the unexplored lands, so it was time to return to the usual vigilance.

  Plunged knee-deep in the water, I moved to the other side. A system message immediately appeared before my eyes:

  You have delved into the territory of Decay.

  The effect of Decay has noticeably weakened. You receive 1 point of damage every 8 seconds for the next 5 minutes.

  “Shit…” I swore, perfectly aware of my possibilities.

  Chapter 18

  Neighborhood

  I got less than six miles closer to the hidden cache before night fell. After each defeated decayed creature Vella and I had to run to the other side of the river to restore our stats. The effect of Decay was weaker there.

  Nothing remarkable had happened during our raid. Although, the creatures we met got stronger and stronger each time. Only once did we get attacked by two Old Bears Changed by Decay in one go. However, we successfully coped with them.

  I also tried to experiment. I soaked the pitch
fork, knife and the crossbow bolts’ arrowheads—there ’weren’t many left—in acid-green, toxic liquid that had leaked from the bear’s wounds. I thought that the weapons would get poisonous like assassin’ ones... The hell they did! The items’ stats didn’t change at all. The liquid became transparent after a couple of seconds and completely disappeared a couple of moments later. Thus failed my beautiful plan to expand my arsenal with the effects of Decay.

  I made it back by riding a dog. The journey took about an hour.

  I noticed a dim light in the window from far away. Riding up to the house, I knew that Ilsa was still there. To avoid unnecessary questions, I got off Vella’s back some two hundred yards away from the house and walked the rest of the way.

  I went up to the clearing in front of the house and saw the grinning bear and the girl with her bow at the ready.

  “It’s you,” she said wearily, lowering her weapon. “Come into the house.”

  The bear, obeying the will of its mistress, no longer had a threatening growl. It waddled toward Vella and begun to sniff her carefully.

  “G-r-r!” my dog responded strictly and, with her snout up, headed toward the graves and the half-eaten carcass. I then realized that the creature’s decayed body decomposed much slower in the living part of the forest ’than on the territory of Decay. It didn’t stink and attract any other beasts except Vella. Only the ground underneath the creature seemed lifeless.

  Thinking about it, I went up the porch and entered the house. A pleasant aroma tickled my nostrils and my stomach let out a loud growl. I hadn’t eaten anything since morning.

  “Come into the living room,” Ilsa said, taking off her cloak and hanging it on a nail.

  While I was gone, she almost got the whole house in order. She mopped most of the blood and even cooked dinner. She also swapped the leather armor for a simple calico dress. It looked really nice. However, her face was swollen, eyes red and the sleeves of her dress wet. Even though the girl was trying to suppress her grief with physical labor, I didn’t think that it was’ helping her much.

  “Eat,” she placed a bowl of stew with a slice of bread in front of me, poured two mugs of wine, and placed a few pieces of cheese between them.

  “Thank you,” I replied and started to eat.

  “No, I should thank you,” Ilsa said quietly. “For burying... My mom and dad.” She took a sip of wine and, staring at the wall, slammed her fist on the table. “I wish I had been there!” she cried out, drinking from the mug again.

  I ’wasn’t about to tell her that she and her living bear would be able to defeat the decayed one.

  “You shouldn’t blame yourself,” I said calmly. “It has already happened. It’s not your fault. Better think about how you’re going to live. What are you going to do now?”

  “What’s there to think about?” she snorted. “I was planning on staying here for a couple of days and then going back to Ekheim. Vacation’s don’t last long...” she said bitterly and fell silent.

  I had learned not to trust anyone in this strange game as that could easily make you paranoid. It was amazing how I hadn’t lost the last bit of my humanity. That was why, looking at Ilsa’s sobbing, I felt a mix of feelings. On one hand, I wanted her to get out of my stronghold. On the other hand, damn it, she had lost her parents! She was grieving! Not to mention that a homeless person, who had already managed to take away all the money and valuables, was living in her house.

  What was I supposed to do now? What should I say to her? In what direction should I astir the conversation?

  “I suppose you wouldn’t mind if I stayed here for a while?” I asked her cautiously.

  She looked up at me. Her eyes were a little foggy from the wine.

  “Why did you decide to live here anyway? Where did you go today?”

  The dance in a minefield had started.

  “I was hunting,” I said.

  “Oh? Any luck?”

  “Not really,” I shrugged. “I will go again tomorrow.”

  “So you moved into an empty house to hunt? Here, near the border of Decay?” the girl was surprised.

  “I went the other way,” I said calmly. “To the living part of the forest.”

  “Yeah, you came from there. But do you really think I didn’t notice how you skirted the clearing?”

  I tried to keep an indifferent expression, though my heart sank. How did she see me in the dark behind the trees? How did she even know that I was coming? She met us dressed in a cloak and with her bow at the ready! The bear was showing its teeth... Wait! She was in the cloak... There was no armor under it, but a dress. That means that she knew who to expect! Although, again, the game is too realistic… Maybe she just didn’t have time to put on the armor.

  I thought I knew the answer to my question.

  “Your bear smelled us, right?” I made a guess out loud.

  “Right,” the girl nodded after some hesitation. “I knew that you were coming, and I even knew from which side,” she proudly straightened her back. “Maybe you were able to sneak up on me, but I’m a ranger, not a village girl!” Had the bear not been busy with Vella that morning he would have easily spotted me even with Blind Eye.

  I looked thoughtfully at Ilsa. Having to constantly figure out what was on the mind of my companions was tough. You didn’t usually have that kind of a problem in the real world. It was much easier to react to people, their actions and words. In real life, thank God, you didn’t have to constantly fear that you would receive a knife under the rib from anybody and everybody.

  The girl sitting before me was quite a mystery, after all. One day she was mourning the dead, trembling and breaking down, and the other she was acting all brave. Or scrubbing the whole house. People were different, not everyone behaved the same. That’s what was stressful.

  “I definitely don’t think of you as a ‘village girl‘,” I started, thinking that I should stop playing the silent game. “Your shooting skills are impressive, as are your smooth interactions with the bear. I’m amazed. Tell me, can all rangers do that?”

  “Only some,” the girl answered coquettishly.

  As I thought, most likely they were those whose Patron was one of the two hunting gods. I read about this rival couple in the Encyclopedia.

  Ilsa was in no hurry to get back to talking about my journey into the land of Decay, and I used that opportunity to get further away from uncomfortable topics.

  “Here, take it,” I materialized a small bag in my hand. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect to see the rightful owners of this house. So I sold some stuff and took all the gold. Here’s what’s rightfully yours. Plus a little rent money.”

  “Eighteen gold pieces?” she was surprised. “Not bad,” she hid the money in her inventory. “Thanks for giving it back,” she said quietly, lowering her head. “Grandma’s set of iron utensils… Our family heirloom... Tell me, who did you sell it to? Maybe I can buy it back? Where can I find the merchant?” she looked up again. There were tears in her eyes.

  “In Trikuni”, I almost told her, but my brain took control over my feelings. My paranoia might drive me crazy, but safety was more important than sentiment. It was better not to mention the city in which Tael and I had just made a lot of trouble…

  “I sold it to a wandering merchant,” I replied. “I think his name was Korel... I sold everything to him at full price.”

  “That’s too bad...” said the girl, barely audible, and poured us more wine. She raised the mug, I followed her example, and we drank in silence. “Thank you...” Ilsa muttered, resting her head on the table. “You can stay...”

  Quite unexpectedly, she fell asleep.

  ***

  No doubt that my “game body” was much stronger than the real one. I effortlessly picked up the girl, like she weighed no more than a feather, took her to the second floor and placed her on the bed. I covered her with a blanket full of holes. The best ones were in my inventory; I had sold those that were a bit tattered.

&
nbsp; I went downstairs and stepped outside. Something was bugging me. A stranger had spent a whole day near my resurrection point.

  With a firm step I went to the grave of Ilsa’s parents. First, I requested that the system give me information about my rebirth energy in the tomb. There was nothing wrong with it. Then I began to examine the grave from all sides. Thanks to Eyes in the Dark I could see all of the details even if it was late at night. I was either going crazy, or the form of the mound had changed a little. What could have been the reason for this? There was only one...

  No, that was a bullshit! In my thoughts, I had turned a poor girl who had just lost her parents into a real monster and a cunning snake. She can barely even read…

  Okay, enough analytics for today! I need to take a break and relax a little.

  Sitting on the steps of the porch, I grabbed a bottle of wine. I looked at the stars, scratched my huge, scary dog behind the ear and tried to relax as much as possible in such a hostile and gloomy world.

  Did I want to go home? That was a rather hard question. On one hand, of course I did. I got trapped here against my will, after all, so it was only natural for me to want to get out of this trap. Only then would I make an informed choice to return or not.

  But that would have been the ideal. It was unlikely that, having returned to the real world, I would be able to come back here on my own will; to this very realistic virtual world. It was a form of digital portal travelling, so to speak. Many people dreamed of something like that; to cast aside their mundane routine and become a hero with a sword and magic in a fantasy world. I dreamt about it myself, but, once I got there I became eager to get back to the real world. I dreamed of the happy moment when the lid of the virtual capsule would open... I would be happy at that moment… But for how long?

  I sipped some more wine and corked the bottle. The hell with relaxing! It had filled my head with absolute nonsense. Yeah, I needed to find a way out. And when I find it I will decide what to do next. Progressive, step-by-step development was what I needed. It was time to go to bed. Tomorrow, I’ll wander into the territories of Decay once again. I will become stronger and collect information about the world around me.