Gleam of Darkness

by Elian Tars

  “I’m afraid that one gold coin wouldn’t be enough for such a task,” I played along, but immediately added in a serious tone: “This is for your silence. It’s the promise of our friendship and further cooperation. If anyone asks about me, don’t say anything. Better come to me and I’ll give you twice as much in exchange for the names of the investigators.”

  “Where will I look for you?” Gerp asked, as soon as the coin disappeared into his sleeve.

  “At the tavern that you told me about. What did you call it...? Juicy Hog, right?”

  ***

  I found the tavern without much difficulty. I paid thirty silver for the day, washed myself and ordered dinner be brought to my room. Having eaten properly, I stretched with pleasure on a soft bed and took a plank of the Wisdom Tree from my inventory.

  “Create an Altar,” I mentally ordered, tightly clutching the piece of wood.

  A system message appeared almost immediately.

  Choose the Element type.

  Darkness: basic

  Twilight: additional

  Light: alternative (on demand)

  I chose the first option.

  The piece of wood darkened and changed its inscription to:

  The Altar of Darkness

  Requesting more information, I received the following:

  The Altar of Darkness

  Personal item

  A portable symbol of your Patron’s Element. Perform your deeds in the name of your faith. It is also a symbol of your basic Element.

  That was all. The rest, as usual, I had to guess myself.

  Without any problems I created two more Altars.

  The Altar of Twilight

  Personal item

  A portable symbol of your additional Element. It’s the only symbol of your connection with it.

  Activation requirements: 150 faith points; 150 lives saved by a pure being

  The Altar of Light

  Personal item

  A portable symbol of your alternative Element. It’s the only symbol of your connection to it. It is its only embodiment.

  Activation requirements: 300 lives saved by a pure being.

  The planks had also changed their color; one became grey and the other two were glowing slightly. Both were not yet active. And in order to activate them I would have to run through the woods, “calming” the wolves. How long would that take? After all, those “unkilled” became something like faith points, or a certain cumulative unit. A “Follower of the God of Darkness” worrying about the lives of his enemies... I turned out to be quite a fun character.

  I yawned widely and felt my eyes closing. I needed to try something before falling asleep!

  I took out the “Altar of Darkness” from my inventory and, thinking a bit, loudly said:

  “I dedicate my life to the Darkness! May Darkness stay with me!”

  I couldn’t tell what drove me at that moment. Maybe it was the desire to find new strength as soon as possible. Maybe it was the longstanding absence of fear of the dark, and together with it, the Darkness itself. Maybe it was the father-son-like relationship we had. Or maybe it was just the belief that this was only a game... Although, that was unlikely. Whatever. What I had done was quite a dangerous thing in a world of Gods and magic. It was dangerous to use such words lightly. It was like selling your soul to the Devil…

  All these thoughts rushed through my head with the speed of a cheetah. But, fortunately, nothing terrible happened, except that the Altar got a little warmer, and an inscription appeared before my eyes:

  You have received 10 faith points.

  That was what I expected. But ten... Hell, isn’t that a bit too little for a whole life, huh?

  “Darkness, I offer my deeds and myself to you!” I spoke, hoping to get the desired result.

  This time there was no reaction at all from the system. I continued pondering…

  So, an Altar was needed for various rituals and prayers. I didn’t know how to pray. But I didn’t need usual prayers. Or did I? What did I know about prayers? There were daily prayers…

  “I dedicate all of my today’s successes to the Darkness!” I said clearly and smiled — the piece of wood became a little warmer once again.

  You have received 5 faith points.

  For one day, I received half of what I was given for an entire life? It was kind of unfair. On the other hand, I really did a lot today. And to devote a life... That was a long-term investment, it might not work out. A “Follower” could change sides.

  Okay, let’s try something else…

  However, all my other attempts to increase the number of faith points were unsuccessful. Content with the fact that I was able to raise them to a minus three, I fell asleep.

  I don’t remember what I dreamt about — a set of warm, bright images and figures, which might have even been indecent. I relaxed, giving my exhausted body a well-deserved rest.

  I shouldn’t have had done that.

  “Hey! What’s happening?!” I muttered in my sleep.

  “Stay calm, man,” answered a smug voice.

  Consciousness quickly returned to me. Damn it! Was I tied? Where were they taking me?

  Chapter 23

  The Journey

  At first I tried to kick and shout but after getting punched in the stomach I flinched and couldn’t feel my body any more.

  “Calm down and be patient for a while, lad,” my kidnapper said.

  Lade used a “Paralyzing Fist”.

  You have received 122 points of damage.

  You are immobilized for the next 50 seconds.

  Isn’t that skill too powerful? I can’t even blink! At least I can breathe and my heart is beating. I’ll be totally helpless for almost a minute… It’s too long for a “stun”, it has to be a “sleep”.

  I shouldn’t think about that now! What should I do? Should I let them carry me like a sack of flour? The bastards even put a bag on my head. I have absolutely no idea where we are.

  “Stop! Stop right now!” I heard an agitated voice. “Or I’ll shoot!”

  Great! The guards! Come on, take him!

  “Oh, that’s you,” the man got confused, “I’m sorry.”

  What? The guards let my kidnapper go? What was going on here?

  Heh… I get it.

  The fast-flowing stream of thoughts subsided and I finally understood. When the paralyzing effect wore off, I didn’t start kicking, allowing him to carry me to his destination.

  Soon, my kidnapper began to go up a flight of stairs. Then it became warmer; we definitely entered some room. Another flight of stairs…

  “Here we are,” Lade put me on the floor and took the bag off my head.

  “This is not very hospitable of you, Mr. Elliot,” I said calmly, looking intently at the mayor who was sitting behind the desk.

  While Lade was untying my hands, I took a quick look at the other people in the room. Aside from the familiar faces of secretary Anda and Captain Arthur, there were three others — a blonde girl wearing a pale gray, pointy hat and a robe.

  Sorceress Dina

  Level 57

  HP: 2010/2010

  A red-haired man in a green cloak, like Ilsa’s.

  Special Ranger Berg

  Level 52

  HP: 1870/1870

  And the last, —the one who had brought me here, —a thin, not very tall, bald lad with a childish face. He stood up beside me, after having dusted off his light-colored pants.

  Lade

  Level 61

  HP: 2345/2345

  “Sometimes you have to forget about such things as hospitality, young man,” Godwin answered calmly.

  Those present were looking at me like I was some sort of an exotic animal in a zoo.

  “As well as good manners, right?” I chuckled without taking my eyes off the mayor, and continued: “Is this a demonstration of power? Like, I am totally under your control in your city? But what was that for? If you wanted to tell me something, you could have just
invited me for a meeting.”

  I tried to speak as calmly as possible and keep cool. I was thankful that I had been cautious enough to sleep in my clothes; otherwise I would now be standing in my underwear in front of these NPCs. Still, I felt uncomfortable wearing just my shirt and pants, barefooted and the cloak-less.

  “Ha-ha-ha!” Godwin suddenly burst into laughter.” “Invite? Of course, I could’ve! But you’ve made it clear that negotiating with you is quite a difficult thing. You are not very modest in your demands, young man. Sometimes one has to go to the extreme,” he narrowed his eyes and added in a serious voice, “so that people don’t get out of line.”

  “Rich people have the strangest habits,” I shrugged. “But I get your point, Mr. Elliot.”

  I managed to get a grip of myself. In the worst case scenario, if they decide to kill me, I will be able to resurrect. I really wondered what the mayor needed so much that he decided to talk to me in the dead of night and even in the company of such serious fellows.

  “Very well, Bale,” Godwin smiled. “Then let’s get down to business. Who do you work for?” he asked.

  “Nobody,” I immediately answered.

  “Who is your Patron?”

  “I suppose everybody has a right not to answer that question?”

  The mayor made a wry face and nodded unwillingly.

  “That’s true,” he said, “but it all looks very suspicious. I hope you understand, Bale. I know more about you than you think,” the mayor said slowly and smiled again. “Okay, then. Let’s leave this conversation for better days. I have a job for you.”

  “I’m all ears,” I said, trying to stay calm. But different ideas started flashing through my mind. What was that? Were those just mere words and assumptions? I doubted that… I had probably been followed yesterday. They must’ve talked to the alchemist and the beggar. I was too cocksure if I thought that I could seriously beat the mayor in his own city.

  I had anticipated that something like this would happen, so I wasn’t very anxious. Only those didn’t stick their noses out of their houses lived a quiet life. And if you were brave enough to risk going out, you should be ready to be run over by a car, stabbed by a robber and on the like. Elliot, apparently, wasn’t going to use the information he had against me. And I couldn’t be sure if he had drawn the right conclusions.

  “I like to gather promising individuals around me,” Godwin said lacing his fingers together. “Being under my authority provides many opportunities and makes the purse much heavier. I’m usually right about people. But I don’t like to invest in someone’s future without a proper background check. I won’t beat around the bush — I’m interested in you. I don’t understand your motives and your abilities but I assume that we have a common enemy — one presumptuous baron,” the mayor snorted significantly. “I could tell you why he had ordered the Iron Faced to attack Listeri, but I don’t trust you that much for now. But, to fix this bitter misunderstanding I offer you to join my men in a very exciting journey to the territory of Decay.”

  I was no actor or an expert in negotiations. That was why I couldn’t keep my emotions in check. My eyes widened for a moment. Godwin grinned, pleased with the fact that he managed to throw me off my stride, even for a moment.

  “Why there?” I asked getting a grip of myself.

  “You won’t believe it, Bale, but it’s all because of you,” the mayor chuckled.

  “The letter!” I realized immediately. “What was in it?”

  “Just a couple of lines and a map,” he answered calmly.

  The map that leads to the decayed lands? It sounded painfully familiar. So Bon’s father wasn’t the only one who knew about the hidden cache. Shit! I wanted to get a hold of that unknown treasure so badly. I had spent so much time in the territory of Decay and it was all for nothing… All right! I had to calm down. The most important thing was not to give myself away.

  “And that’s why you would send your people to an extremely dangerous place?” I frowned. “What do you expect to find there?”

  The mayor turned serious and shook his head.

  “I can’t tell you. For now. But if you go with my people, I promise to be more open with you after your return.”

  “Let’s say I agree,” I answered after a few seconds of silence. “What will I get, besides information?”

  For the next couple of minutes I tried everything I could think of just to fish out something more out of the mayor. But it was all in vain. He turned out to be quite generous to an unknown, level 27 pauper— within reasonable bounds, of course. I was quite sure that had I aroused his interest. But I couldn’t understand in what aspect. As a potential skilful associate or as a possible double agent? What did he think I was? He had probably contemplated both variants, so I had to keep my eyes open. I could either get richer, or lose my life once the journey is over. I could make a powerful enemy should I fail.

  Attention!

  Quest available: “Hidden in Decay”

  Quest giver: Elliot Godwin.

  Quest objective: You are to venture deep into the territory of Decay together with Captain Arthur, Lade, Sorceress Dina and Special Ranger Berg to find the place marked on the map and the treasure that is hidden there. Once found, bring it back to Godwin Elliot.

  Reward: XP, information, unique item or higher, and maybe something extra...

  Submit quest to: Godwin Elliot

  “All right, I agree,” I said firmly.

  ***

  They gave me half an hour to return to the tavern and take my stuff. Putting on my cloak, which I had already got accustomed to, I promised myself that next time I would put all of my things into my inventory. I should stay alert and not throw my clothes onto a chair.

  After that, a guardsman, which was assigned to accompany me, showed me to the garrison’s precinct where the stables, training grounds, armory and other strategically important facilities were located. There were no barracks in the ordinary sense of the word; all of the guardsmen lived in the city with their families.

  A sleepy man, “Garrison’s Warehouse Commander Krim”, gave each member of the journey the rations consisting out of hardtack, cheese, cured meat, wine and other things for daily needs such as sleeping bags, a caldron, a kindling set, and, most importantly, two flattened acid-green polyhedrons.

  Glozeysk Crystal

  Artificial

  Rare item

  Activates after crossing the border of the territory of Decay. Protects the owner from all of the effects of Decay. It surrounds its owner with an aura that wards off creatures of Decay of the same or lower level than its owner.

  Duration: 10 hours

  “The horses are ready, gentlemen!” a smiling stable-boy ran up to us and beckoned us to the stables.

  Mueskan Race Horse

  Level 50

  HP: 1856/1856

  Five lean, jet-black horses with red eyes were standing surprisingly still with their heads hung low and waiting for their riders. The animals were really impressive, not only due to their beauty, but also because of their silver harnesses that gave a total of +5 points to Riding.

  Stopping in front of the first horse Arthur stroked its head, leaped deftly into the saddle and said:

  “Hurry up! We’ve already wasted a lot of time.”

  Ten minutes later, we were riding in a line along the main road with our leader riding ahead of the group. I was in the middle of the column as if I were being escorted. Were they afraid that I would run away with the Crystals? But I had to give another Oath to the mayor! Why would I risk my life and break the Oath?

  How did I manage to get into this mess? I still couldn’t understand how to treat this entire situation. It was a pity that the mayor would get the treasure. Besides, I wanted to start gaining faith points and accumulate the number of “unkilled” at the same time. After all, in order to get out of this game and return home, I definitely needed to cooperate with the Old Man, which would be difficult without faith points.r />
  On the other hand, collaboration with the mayor really had its perks. I could become stronger, which was what my Patron expected from me. Besides, thanks to the artifacts, our mission was, according to Captain Arthur, expected to be “ninety-eight percent safe”; or “an easy stroll to the stinky land”, as the mayor had called it.

  The horses either trotted, or galloped. Thanks to the game mechanics, I didn’t feel uncomfortable being in the saddle for long. More than that, I managed to even take a nap and read a book. Riding wasn’t difficult when one horse followed another and especially when one had upgraded Riding.

  So I finally let myself relax and empty my head of rubbish thoughts. Now I could rest and stop fearing for my life for a little while. High-leveled warriors were all around me and I could rely on their protection.

  But I would still open my eyes and look around every so often. Sometimes I noticed route indicators. And the further we rode, the more anxious I became.

  Where were we actually going?

  During our second short rest, and after taking care of my needs, I approached the leader of our group.

  “Well? Are we sticking to the schedule? Will we be there by evening?” I inquired benignly.

  “For sure,” Arthur nodded.

  “Will we keep moving at the same speed?” I clarified.

  The captain raised his brows.

  “Does it surprise you?”

  “Yes,” I smiled. “Your horses are gorgeous. How many miles will they have covered by the end of the day?”

  “About sixty-five,” Arthur answered calmly and I acted even more surprised. “That’s no big deal for them, they can do eighty. And can ride the same amount the next day, if they rest overnight. They can continue like that for five days.”

  “And then what?”

  “Then they should have a week of rest, lest they die of exhaustion,” the captain raised his head and shouted: “Saddle up!”

  A couple of hours and route indicators later, and after having consulted the map, I was sure that another miracle had happened. The treasure that Bon’s father had hidden in the territory of Decay and the one that we were now going after were two completely different things. The first was located north-east, while the second was north-west.