by Rick Scar
“Emin, please. Don’t call me that. At least when we’re alone. You practically raised me.” Tossing the towel onto a hook, Nanel walked past him to remove her weights. She had started using them several months ago. They had been introduced into Adamarona’s military training by Raven shortly after he had ascended to the throne. “What’s happened?”
Her voice had become more confident and more powerful since Raven’s arrival. She had grown into a strong woman with a steely gleam in her eyes. Emin smiled mentally at this metamorphosis.
She has grown up. At last.
Having removed the heavy weights, Nanel stretched, half-closing her eyes and smiling at the pleasant sensation of lightness, then looked up at Emin.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but the Latian army has been deployed at our border. We thought they were preparing for a march, but now they’re building their defenses.”
“What defenses? Some sort of fortifications?” Nanel frowned at the map on the wall of her bedroom.
“Yes. I can’t tell you more as we’re getting no reports. The flies are letting no one in or out.”
“What are they doing?”
Emin said nothing, just shrugged.
“Wait...” Nanel folded her arms over her chest and looked at him. “Why haven’t you told me this before?”
“Forgive me. I was hoping to get more information.”
“I see. You did what you thought right.” She gave an understanding nod.
“So, what will we do?” Emin asked. “His Majesty has left clear orders concerning their attack, but the current situation is different from what we’ve prepared for. Do you have any way to reach out to him?”
Nanel slid her fingers over a small black bead on her neck.
“He gave me this and told me to contact him in case he comes back and there are any problems.”
“Oh, the Calliota Beads. I remember them. But,” Emin tapped his chin with his knuckle and shook his head, “I’m afraid they won’t help.”
“That’s in case he comes back, just as I told you.” She came up to the wall and pulled a string attached to a bell. “I need a shower. Can you wait a minute?”
“Your Majesty. May I come in later?” Emin cast an awkward glance toward the bathroom.
Nanel sighed.
“You never change, do you? Don’t worry. I won’t take long.”
With a light tap on the door, a young girl entered and bowed to the queen and the captain, awaiting orders.
“Irma. You know what to do. I’ll be there soon.” Nanel waved and, following the girl out with her gaze, turned back to Emin. “By the way, is Rinnah here?”
“She is.”
“I think we should call her. She might know a thing or two.”
“I’ve already called her. I’ll go get her for you.”
No sooner had he taken a step out of the room than he heard a shriek. For a split second, Emin froze; then wheeled around and dashed back in.
Almost breaking down the door, he burst into Nanel’s bedroom to face an unbelievable sight: the young queen was hanging in the air, like a butterfly fixed to the wall with invisible pins. But the most shocking part was her body.
It wasn’t human. Or rather, it was only half-human.
For a man who had only ever seen the Latians as enemies, this was too much to bear. His mind refused to believe what his eyes were seeing.
Entangled in flashes of blue energy that snapped at her flesh like hungry snakes, Nanel dissolved into the air like ashes being scattered in the wind. If it wasn’t for his curiosity, Emin probably wouldn’t have been able to move, frozen by shock.
His body moved on its own before he became aware of it, in an attempt to help Nanel. But the last thing he saw before her body disintegrated were pain and confusion on her face, and sadness in her eyes. She was looking away, the tears in the corners of her eyes washing away the image of a confident young woman he had seen minutes before. He could feel her shame. She was too scared to meet the eyes of her mentor, her best friend, and her second father.
“Forgive me for being a monster.” Her last words resounded through the room, and lingered in the air long after her body had dissolved.
Irma was sobbing in the corner, utterly bewildered by what she had just witnessed.
Emin’s hands only caught the air, feeling a tingle of the weird energy taking Nanel away. A pang of guilt came to his heart. Losing his balance, he collapsed to his knees, his head dropping to his chest as he pondered what to do. The only thought on his mind was how he had to let Raven known about this as soon as possible.
But how?
***
The Mountains of the Heavenly Plague
Same time
Will, unaware of Nanel’s disappearance, rejected the idea of climbing the Mountain and continued his search for the tablet. Common sense had triumphed over curiosity. Soon, he left the Mountains behind, moving in an unknown direction.
Before leaving the game, he had covered a large distance, facing monsters at levels hundred and fifty and even hundred and seventy. That was also when he realized that Skiavra Village was actually just a starting location.
A drastic change came the next day. After running for three hours, he began to notice what seemed to be wheel tracks. The dirt road, washed by the recent rain, had lots of them.
Five minutes upon making himself comfortable on the side of the road, Raven saw a small procession of armed soldiers marching ahead of a coach.
Spotting a lone traveler standing at the roadside and waving at them, they gave a sign to the drivers who stopped the horses and watched.
“Charles? What’s wrong?” a dry female voice came from inside the coach. She sounded unhappy with the sudden halt.
“Someone’s blocking the way, my lady. I don’t think it’s a rogue. This place is really bad for an ambush.”
Will barely contained a laugh. Technically, he was a rogue, and he preferred not to wear his crown while roaming the roads. Had he leveled the Royal Gait skill, these soldiers and servants would’ve instantly recognized him as a king of another country. Unfortunately, he needed those resources for a different purpose.
“Forgive me. I won’t take much of your time,” he started politely. “My name is White Raven. I’m looking for a way to Shamtan-Kragh. I’d be forever grateful if you could give me any directions.”
The soldier whose name Will couldn’t see, and who was, apparently, the officer, stared at him. He couldn’t use Identification on human NPCs, so he just waited for an answer.
After a minute of silence and then whispering to the lady whose voice Will couldn’t make out however much he strained his ears, the soldier turned to him.
“My lady wants to know what kind of business you have in that abandoned castle.”
“It’s personal. I’m just asking for directions.”
Will could feel tension begin to form in the air after these words. Then the coach door opened and a boy jumped out and kicked down a staircase.
“My lady wants a word with you, traveler.”
The soldiers were calm. Will was surprised that no one protested the fact that a stranger was being invited into the coach – but soon he realized why.
Sitting inside, apart from the noble lady, were two people, whose full-face masks were covered with a pattern of overlapping squares. By their figures, Will assumed that they were female bodyguards.
When the door closed behind him, one of the passengers spoke a rather familiar phrase: “From light to shade.”
Will thought that he had been prepared for anything, but as he heard these words, his brows shot up as he answered: “From shade to dust.”
“So,” the woman who had been silent before spoke. “Welcome to the North, King of Adamarona. My name is Lily Frail.”
Chapter 260. Visiting the Black Castle
O nce Lily introduced herself, Will received a message that made him smile before he swept it away, and consider possible scenarios. A sudden opportun
ity granted by a long-forgotten quest, Dispensing the Loot, could help him earn the trust of this powerful individual.
The problem was that the quest reward depended on the circumstances and the duchess’s attitude toward him when he hands her back her jewelry once stolen by Shafri Konak.
It seemed quite logical that a higher relationship level would result in a better reward. Will could get it by waiting for a better moment to return the necklace. But if he gave it back right away, he could instantly level up the relationship, get answers to his questions, and remain on the duchess’s good side for a while.
Like a ray of light in a dark room, his mind shifted between these possibilities in search of the best one. But only time would tell which was actually the best. Like always in this game, as well as in the real world.
A few seconds after getting the message, Will made up his mind.
“Lady Frail,” he said and, pretending to be remembering where he could’ve heard this name before, continued: “aren’t you the Grand Duchess of one of the southern states?”
The woman whose aristocratic bearing, manners, and gleam of pride in dark-yellow eyes spoke of a long and hard journey to her present position, bowed her head slightly before answering.
“You’re well-informed for a newcomer, Your Majesty. Yes, that would be me. I had to leave my duchy to resolve… a problem.”
Her slow, thoughtful voice was hypnotizing, but Will knew enough about negotiating to feel comfortable conversing with someone of her rank.
“It’d appear so.” He gave a small nod to show his understanding. “But, please… We don’t have to be that polite. My visit is unofficial. Let’s use our first names.”
“As you wish,” Lily accepted.
“The Fates must’ve wanted me to meet you because I have something I’d like to return you as a token of my friendship.” Like an experienced magician, he pulled out the necklace from his clenched hand as if from a hat, and gave it to her. “I’ve found it in Successful Shaf’s hideout. I’m sure you know this name.”
Lily stared at the gift. Her stare, disbelieving at first, soon cleared up. Her right hand darted up to her mouth to cover the trembling lips, and her eyelashes fluttered as though to contain tears. With great care, she took the piece of jewelry from him and brought it closer to her face.
“It’s… It’s really my necklace.” She looked back at the rogue. “Thank you. I truly appreciate it. You have no idea how important this is to me.”
Attention! Your relationship with Grand Duchess Lily Frail has been upgraded.
+120
Current relationship status:
120/200 – Friendship
That much?! Will was startled. He knew how much effort it’d usually take to get such a relationship score. Luckily, he managed to contain his joy and surprise.
“It makes me happy to know it’s now back to its rightful owner.”
If anyone who thought of Raven as greedy could see him now, they’d probably be astonished.
Lily restored her composure and, hiding the necklace, looked at him with a different gleam in her eyes.
“Please, accept my gratitude, White Raven. I know you need information. You’re welcome to ask me or my servants anything you wish. We’ll tell you everything we can, unless it’s a state secret… or something too personal.”
Will expected something like this, so he immediately showered her with questions about everything he wanted to know: from the way to the abandoned castle to the most interesting places in her duchy, and those that she had visited.
I don’t know what the use all of this will be, but I’m sure there’ll be some.
Considering how far-reaching his ambitions were, putting the Duchy of Eternal Sun on his list of allies couldn’t hurt.
As for Shamtan-Kragh, the place appeared to be better known than he thought. The castle was blocking the way to The Raging Heavenly Snakes Plateau — it was how the former residents had named the clearing where the lightning, like raging serpents, often struck. The most remarkable thing about the Plateau was that none of those who went there to reveal its secrets ever came back.
This information was certainly useful. For Will, the castle wasn’t an obstacle; he had Wings. Or at least so he believed, still unaware of how wrong he was.
Having asked all of his questions, he inquired what kind of business had brought Lily north. Her duchy was far, far away, after all, separated from Adamarona by at least a month’s journey (assuming that she didn’t come upon any obstacles), so he was itching to know what exactly could make the duchess take a journey like that. Also, he hoped to get another quest from her.
Unfortunately, he got no answer. Her relationship with him was either too low, or there were other unmet conditions that he needed to trigger the quest. Or maybe it was something else entirely. Whatever it was, he had obtained what he needed — rumors about weird events and monsters told by residents of different cities.
Only one thing remained to be done.
“I can’t leave without asking this...” He pretended to ask no one in particular as he looked out through the coach window. “When I asked for directions, you asked what kind of business I had there. Do you have any?”
“No. As I’ve told you before, this place is infamous. I was just curious about who and why would want to visit it.”
During their conversation, the bodyguards never spoke a word. They were at work, and they didn’t care that the possible candidate for the Great Shadow title was sitting in front of them.
“I see. Well, I’m glad to have met you, duchess. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”
“Maybe. Everything is possible in this world, sire.”
Raven cast a meaningful look at her, then tapped on the coach wall, signaling to the driver to stop. Then he turned to the bodyguards.
“Before I leave, may I know your names?”
“Dalayla.”
“Neri.”
“You know what’s going on in the Order, don’t you?”
“We’re aware. But we can’t leave our employer before the contract expires. The Order’s code prohibits it,” they spoke in unison, voices muffled by the masks.
Having made sure that they knew about the Holies and the threat they posed, he bid farewell to the ladies and leaped out of the coach. If Lily’s words were true, he had a long way to go.
He had spent a full hour in the coach, so it took him the rest of the day to reach the castle, stopping in local cities to activate teleports.
The place where he had met Lily was on the border of the Crowtan Empire, ruled by the Crow family. Since times immemorial, it stood where it stands today, which elicited mixed feelings from Raven. This empire could become a problem for the expansion of his kingdom. According to Lily, the Crow family had succeeded in protecting their borders through all the wars, as if there were some divine power protecting them from the bellicose tribes, their neighbors, and monsters attacking other towns and villages like a locust infestation.
Raven knew that the local mobs would sometimes do that. Even on the first three Floors. This allowed the players to take part in large-scale battles, winning good rewards and leveling up faster than through regular grinding. But the reason why these events were particularly popular with players was that they granted Influence Points. To join the battle, you had to prove yourself to the military officers of the attacked country, and win their trust. After that, they could allow you into their ranks as a mercenary. Not many players had achieved that, but those who did had begun to work their way up the ranks at a much higher speed.
Beyond the Crowtan Empire was no man’s land, a grinding area populated with various mobs. Dens of agile Rastases. Plains of beautiful but dangerous Faeralia Butterflies. Swamps of bloodthirsty Kririas. And many more other kinds of monsters inhabiting the forests and hills, mountains and caves on Will’s way. He moved from town to town, from village to village, rarely discovering local communities and tribes. The Land of Forgotten Titans. The coun
tries of Finar and Del. The small country of Tur that stretched along a river. The stronghold of the Talissian rebels, which Will avoided, following Lily’s advice.
He had to avoid several other locations as he saw the minimal level required to visit them.
On his long journey that was slowly getting him closer to the looming towers over the mountain pass visible in the distance, he had collected many skill points and – most importantly – Influence Points.
+5 Intelligence
+7 Energy
+3 Luck
+6 Agility
+4 Endurance
+7 Strength
+625 Influence points
As he stopped to visit a small town on the way, he got awarded a new title.
BOOT WEARER
Description: You have visited 1,000 locations since the beginning of your journey.
+1 attribute point every time you visit a new town or village that has not yet been visited by any other player
“At last! Here I come,” Will muttered as he stared at the magnificent but abandoned structure. He took a couple of steps up the rocky path when a rumble came from a distance. Flashes of lightning cleaved the air. Will remembered this sound too well from his first tablet challenge. Instinctively, he slowed down and then stopped.
This looming skeleton of a once imposing castle was making him feel uneasy, for the first time in a long while. During the ride in the coach, Lily had listed three reasons why the castle had been abandoned, but all three were essentially the same: a mysterious creature having made it its home.
Having trespassed, Will must’ve attracted this creature’s attention.
A barely audible whisper surrounded him, crept into his mind, and tried to take over it. It was silent, angry, tender, and furious in turns. Calm like a caressing wind and wild as a storm, it looked for a way in, but in vain.
“Come here. You’ll be happy. Die! You’ll find your true self. I’ll devour your flesh! Come here. You’ll find the peace you’ve been looking for. Come. Here. Your death is waiting! Here. Here.”