Theia

by Tamryn Tamer

  Mirage was right. Owl had acquired two familiars in a week giving him access to both body and spirit magic. While werewolves and wraiths liked him, he seemed to be striking out left and right with the fairies. Other players quickly acquired fairy familiars but struggled to find others.

  It was an arms race. They were learning how to control their elemental magic and acquiring new types of magic. And with every familiar they acquired came the possibility of them acquiring new information. Jericho had the lead at the moment but it was only a matter of time before the others caught up.

  As part of his agreement with Raven, Sapphire, and Diana he’d given the guilds all of his information. At the time that covered earth, fire, wind, water, mind, body, and spirit. As for the others, time, space, light, dark, life, and death, he really didn’t know anything except their names at the time so there was nothing to offer. After the meeting that changed.

  Mirage told him that the magic was broken up into elemental, sensory, cosmic, and immortal as well as where to find more information regarding it. So, he had a competitive advantage, at least temporarily. The more familiars people acquired the more likely it was that their familiars brought their own information.

  “Goddammit,” Terra threw a donut at Mirage which the shapeshifter deftly swatted out of the way. “Why are you like this?”

  “Like what?” Mirage asked sweetly while resting her head on Jericho’s shoulder. “I’m advocating what’s best for my master. I’m only recommending he collect all the books. I’m not endorsing using the information immediately. I think you really need to get a handle on your jealousy issues.”

  “My jealousy issues?” Terra clenched her fist. After a few awkward moments of silence, she started to laugh. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it? You’re a psychotic jealous girlfriend. You’re all sweet and smiles, but behind that mask you’re crazy.”

  “Are you talking to yourself?” Mirage joked.

  “Fuck,” Terra laughed. “Whatever, at least things are starting to make sense. Jericho, you realize she’s crazy right?”

  “Hm?” Jericho pulled his head from Mirage’s ample breasts. He wasn’t not listening as much as he needed a moment for the words to register. While he agreed Mirage was jealous of Terra he wasn’t convinced of the crazy part. Terra was basically his closest player friend and walked around the house half naked constantly, “Wouldn’t it be crazy not to be jealous of you?”

  “What?” Terra’s face turned red. “What’s that supposed to mean.”

  “It means these,” Jinx jumped across the table and grabbed Terra’s breasts. Terra swatted Jinx’s hands away but Jinx just moved them to her waist and hips. “And these. You’re the slutty queen of the elf strippers. Tramp. Hooker.”

  “I never said I was jealous,” Mirage insisted.

  “Sometimes I’m jealous,” Ariel said quietly while rubbing her chest.

  “See,” Jericho shrugged. “I’m not going to call Mirage crazy for being jealous of you. I mean, look at you.”

  “Shut up,” Terra snapped angrily even though she was obviously pleased. “I see your point. I guess I can’t call her crazy for being jealous. But something is definitely off about her.”

  “That applies to everybody in this room,” Jericho laughed. “Anyway, we’re at least going to the library in Castle Black. I can’t let that information sit out there.”

  “Fine,” Terra said. “I’m coming with.”

  “What a great idea!” Mirage said happily.

  “I thought you’d object,” Terra turned to Jericho. “Why isn’t she objecting?”

  “The library is on the seventh floor,” Jericho laughed. “The plan is to shapeshift to get past the guardians. So…”

  “She wants me dead,” Terra chuckled. “Figures.”

  “It’s not a bad idea though,” Jericho sighed while checking his bounty. “My bounty is sitting at seven hundred thousand and Castle Black sometimes has player killers wandering around.”

  “If the elf slut gets to go I do too! Dunce. Rake.” Jinx insisted while squeezing Terra’s chest again. Terra had given up on fighting it.

  “Me too!” Ariel jumped excitedly. “I’ll be the lookout!”

  “Ariella,” Cynthia growled. “You’re avoiding your work again.”

  “No,” Ariel smiled playfully. “They need somebody who can fly to be a lookout. Right Jericho?”

  “It’d be helpful,” Jericho admitted.

  “Fine,” Cynthia said reluctantly. “But you can’t avoid the work forever.”

  “Sounds like a plan!” Mirage grabbed a slice of cake for Jericho. “Better eat up, you’ll need your energy. You’ll also want to pack some extra because we’ll be maintaining our shapeshifted forms for a while.”

  “Great,” Jericho said. “So, after the party we’re heading to Castle Black!”

  “Not much choice since you won’t listen to reason,” Terra nodded.

  “To family!” Ariel raised a shot of liquor.

  “To family! Morons. Dunces.” Jinx said.

  “To family!” The rest of them chimed in and they all drank their shots.

  “Blagh!” Ariel looked like she was going to throw up. Mirage tossed her a cupcake to bite into as a chaser. “That only made it worse!”

  “Lightweights,” Cynthia said finishing her ninth mug.

  Chapter 3

  The Duelist

  Dungeons and raids in Forbidden Arcana came in a wide variety. A majority of dungeons consisted of a unique respawn mechanics which provided endless streams of enemies and bosses. A crypt, for example, would have streams of undead rising from graves. A goblin den would be fueled by their massive birthrates. Even if you killed one goblin den, goblins overflowing from another den would move there when it opened up.

  Some dungeons and raids were different in that they had no real respawn mechanics. That meant whoever was the first to take down the dungeon earned the loot, nobody else. The developers said the scarcity ensured conflict, they were right.

  Except in the case of Castle Black. Everybody gave up on killing the third boss of the dungeon. Even top raiding guilds only attempted it once every few months because it was universally considered a fool’s errand. But fools’ errands were Jericho’s specialty.

  “Are you sure this is going to work?” Jericho asked awkwardly moving through the dimly lit hallway. The metal on his feet clanked loudly with each large step he took on the dark stone floors. The first two floors were clear of enemies but once they arrived on the third floor Jericho and Mirage transformed to avoid detection.

  “It will if you move properly,” Mirage said in the sarcastic tone of Alistair Black. “The lower level obsidian guards won’t notice your awkward walking but I can’t speak for the floor guardians.”

  “I’m trying,” Jericho said while narrowly dodging a standing torch. Obsidian guards were ten-foot-tall monstrosities clad in heavy plate armor, a far cry from a cloth wearing human mage of average height. “It’s just really awkward.”

  “Well, get less awkward because we’re approaching the guardian’s room,” Mirage growled as they turned a corner.

  The third-floor guardian stood in front of a large set of double doors protecting the staircase to the fourth floor. Jericho realized he was massive from pictures he’d seen but seeing it for himself was entirely different. The only previous time he’d felt so small and powerless was right before a dragon ate him.

  It was no wonder that no players had ever beaten him, he was the size of a house and everything he wore was either epic or legendary plate. The biggest problem was there wasn’t a tank in the game that was capable of taking a single hit from the monster. He’d seen several videos of tanks being crushed by him.

  “Lord Nightshade!” the guardian stood to attention as Mirage approached as Alistair. “You’ve been gone for years! Where have you been?”

  “I’m sorry,” every syllable out of Mirage’s voice was condescending. “I was unaware of your promotion!”<
br />
  “Promotion sir?” the massive soldier looked confused. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh,” Mirage said sarcastically. “I assumed you were promoted. It was the only logical reason as to why you’d ask me questions as if I were obligated to answer! Now open the damn doors you idiot!”

  “Sorry sir,” the giant guardian hastily moved aside and opened the large double doors. Mirage walked through confidently and Jericho followed behind. In a blink, a large golden blade was in front of him blocking his path, “Halt!”

  “What are you doing?” Mirage asked wrathfully.

  “I thought obsidian guards aren’t allowed past,” the guardian answered nervously.

  “How about you use that empty head of yours!” Mirage stomped her foot like a petulant child. “It’s obvious that the obsidian guard is with me! Look at it! Does it look normal? It’s sluggish! Oafish! It can barely manage to walk! It’s obviously infected with a disease and I intend to study the infection! Now get out of our way!”

  “I’m sorry Lord Nightshade,” the guardian sheathed its blade. “My mistake.”

  “That’s all you idiots are is mistakes,” Mirage looked at Jericho. “Now come on idiot.” She turned to the guardian. “Just to be clear I’m talking to the obsidian idiot, not you.”

  “Yes sir,” the guardian said embarrassed.

  “I actually feel bad for that guy,” Jericho said as they reached the fourth floor. “He was just doing his job.”

  “Don’t feel sorry for him,” Mirage chided. “The lord of this castle only hires the most disgusting monsters to work for him. Creatures and people who look the other way as he commits endless atrocities. They deserve no pity.”

  “But Alistair’s dead,” Jericho said. “So now who are they working for?”

  “There are nine floors in this castle. Alistair wasn’t the master. He was just another monster,” Mirage said. “All I know about the lord of this castle is that Alistair was terrified of him and the experiments he had Alistair run.”

  “Good to know,” Jericho said. Many of the dungeon bosses were completely irredeemable monsters. It made them easier for players to kill. Although, every now and then one would have a story that really made you root for them. Jericho was happy that it wasn’t the case here because it made the climb easier.

  The fourth and fifth-floor guardians were similar in stature to the third-floor guardian but extremely different in their overall appearances. One was a draconic looking beast with a spiked tail and the other was basically an enormous gorilla carrying two massive clubs. Both of them reacted similarly to the third-floor guardian and let them pass without issue.

  Surprisingly, getting past the guardians were the easiest part about the climb. The hard part was finding areas without patrols to refuel. They ate as much as they could to maintain their energy whenever they could find a closet or corner without guards since seeing an obsidian guard eating could create trouble.

  Jericho also needed to eat a lot more than Mirage since he was maintaining a larger form and he was far less experienced. So, it seemed every few minutes he’d feel tired. He’d just finished off an entire stack of chocolate while sitting in a storage room.

  “Just as a warning,” Mirage said as they left the room to head to the guardian. “This guardian is a little different than the others. Remember to stay in character.”

  “Okay,” Jericho answered. “How do you mean?”

  “You’ll see,” Mirage said as they approached a large open room with a massive black hexagon in the center of the room.

  “Uh,” Jericho paused as he stepped into the room. Standing on the far side of the room was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. Her hair and eyes were violet and her skin was almost translucently pale. She looked like an armor-clad marble statue.

  She was wearing a combination of cloth and plate which was a unique set up. Normally characters would specialize in a single armor type and if they wanted another stat they aimed for a surrounding class. For example, a chain wearer might supplement with some plate for more armor or leather for more agility. But to skip multiple tiers and mix cloth was strange.

  In this case, her chest was a cuirass that only protected her heart and lunges while leaving her stomach clothed in cloth. Her right arm wore a long white cloth glove while her left was legendary plate. Her pants were white cloth and her boots were tall plate greaves.

  Unlike the other floors, there were no doors only her standing in the center of the room staring lifelessly as they entered.

  “That’s the guardian?” Jericho asked as they walked in.

  “Lady Mai Latrodectus,” Mirage said nervously as they entered the room. “She’s a powerful duelist.”

  “Thank you,” an almost hypnotically beautiful voice echoed as the woman walked to the black center of the room.

  “Right,” Mirage said getting into character. “Get out of my way stupid woman! I need…”

  “No,” the woman answered coldly. “Since Lord Nightshade is deceased you are no longer permitted to pass Lady Mirage.”

  “Dammit,” Mirage grumbled. “How did you know it’s me?”

  “I don’t understand the question,” Lady Latrodectus said. “You are obviously Lady Mirage. You look exactly like you did previous times you entered while pretending to be Lord Nightshade. I am unaware of who the other shapeshifter is, but they are only a sixty-four percent match to an obsidian guard. Your match to Lord Nightshade is much better, ninety-two percent.”

  “No point in this,” Jericho said reverting to his human form. He looked at Mirage who’d shifted back to her buxom form. “So, we need to defeat her?”

  “That’s not possible,” she answered robotically. “I am stronger than you both.”

  “She’s right,” Mirage said. “We need help to beat her.”

  “Don’t suppose you’d be interested in becoming my familiar?” Jericho offered as they approached the edge of the black hexagon. The woman was a bit off-putting but also intriguing. Her vision was sharp enough to notice nearly indiscernible differences in people and her beauty was heavenly, “That way we could avoid a fight.”

  “No,” she answered. Her face didn’t show the slightest hint of emotion. “I am not magically inclined. Additionally, I only follow the strong.”

  “Wait,” Jericho grinned. He’d definitely heard a keyword. “Did you say follow? So, you cannot become a familiar but you can become a follower. Is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you like to be my follower?” Jericho asked.

  “No,” she answered emotionlessly. Jericho was a bit disappointed about how quick the answer came but not entirely surprised. There were always conditions for followers. Some could be purchased, some required ranks and titles, others had more unique requirements, “You are weak. I only serve the powerful.”

  “What if I defeat you?” Jericho asked. She’d hinted that power was important to her, and there was the hexagon in the center of the room mirroring a duelists arena. It would make sense that a powerful duelist would require you to defeat them in a duel. “Then will you serve me?”

  “You cannot defeat me.”

  “That’s not what I asked,” Jericho said. “If I defeat you, will you serve me?”

  “That’s impossible. If you defeat me, I will be dead.”

  “This is pointless,” Mirage said huffily. “She’s always been like this.”

  “What if there was a condition which made defeat possible without death?” Jericho asked as a plan started to form. The arena was the key to everything.

  “Yes,” Lady Latrodectus answered. “If defeat were possible without death, I would serve you.”

  “Got it,” Jericho grinned while looking at the black hexagon. It took up a vast majority of the room but not all of it. He believed his condition and plan would work. “If I can force you out of the hexagon, I win.”

  “That’s acceptable,” Lady Latrodectus said. “If you attempt to leave the hexagon you will forfe
it your life.”

  “Jericho darling,” Mirage put her hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re thinking but she’s extremely powerful.”

  “So, we’re agreed,” Jericho stepped into the hexagon. “If you step out of the hexagon, you will lose and serve me. If I step out of the hexagon, I die.”

  “Agreed,” she answered.

  “Mirage,” Jericho looked back. “Stay out of this. It’s a duel so entering the hexagon would be considered a forfeit.”

  “What if you’re in trouble?” Mirage asked.

  “No need to worry about that,” Jericho said as fire and ice swirled around him. He unleashed a cold mist that gradually filled the room until he could barely see an inch in front of his face. His opponent had inhumanly sharp vision, in order for his plan to work he needed to limit it, even if it meant limiting himself.

  “Are we starting?” Lady Latrodectus’ voice echoed. “I will begin at the count of ten.”

  “Ten count it is,” Jericho said stretching his spirit until it filled the entire room. His spirit would serve as his eyes as Jinx had taught him.

  “Nine, eight…” Lady Latrodectus counted down.

  “Mirage, I never asked. At the battle of Dayrose, how many enemies did you kill?” Jericho began creating illusions of himself.

  “Why are you asking about that now?” Mirage sighed from the sideline. “I think around four hundred maybe?”

  “Six, five…”

  “Diana killed three hundred and seventy-one,” Jericho smiled. “Raven killed three hundred and forty-two. I should have had you join that bet.”

  “Four, three…”

  “Anyway, I just wanted a baseline for power,” Jericho activated elemental overload doubling his elemental power. He concentrated on filling his magical pathways and compressing his magic as much as he could. “If this works against her and you’re scared of her, then it’ll probably work on Raven and Diana.”