It turned out to be a maid who was ordered by the handmaiden to take the pitcher away. The mystery still baffled Colm. He wondered if this person who wanted to paralyze him even knew he was a player, since his identity must be already widely known.
He asked the maid for a pen and paper, and later she gave him a quill, ink, and parchment. He stuck a note to the door. It said: sleeping. Be back in 12hrs.
He called the spider back in to take a sleep somewhere in the room.
Colm doesn’t know how players and NPCs who work together interact, given the disparity of the time players could spend in the game without draining their lives. He hoped the note would be enough.
As he took off the helmet, he found the old man Viktor waiting for him. But there was someone there next to him. A tall, imposing man with greying hair but sharp looks.
“Principal Forest?” Colm asked.
“I’ve heard about you,” he said. “I also heard you were imprisoned.”
“I am, sir,” Colm said.
“Give me a summary of what happened.”
Colm explained in full detail, while the principal and Viktor listened intently. As he told them in length, the principal seemed to lean forward with great interest, and would ask questions about the void lord. Colm omitted the void lord’s personal information and internal politics. He stuck to the hard and vague facts, at least until he learns what the principal was doing here in the first place. So, he asked the man.
Principal Forest was in deep thought. “I want you to do something for me,” he said. “Now, ultimately, it’s up to you if you'd like to, but this is an opportunity you won’t regret. Colm, I want you to hold off school for a month and spend your time in here instead.”
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Colm had taken the time off the game to take a long shower. He’d called Pavetta to ask how the twins were, and then spent the rest of the night on the rooftop of the building. He stared at the stars.
Now, he would be working at the same rate, at 500 credits, 16hrs a day. But the added benefit here would be that he could earn enough credits for himself. For now, he accepted the principal’s offer. Find the location of the void lord and he would get 15,000 credits. That was a month’s worth of minimum wage. Additionally, if he could find any more information on this void core, he could earn an additional 10,000.
Colm didn’t waste any time looking it up, but he only found bits and pieces of this void core. Apparently, they were used as foundations for the void lords and cities and towns, but they weren’t publicly traded because of their rarity. The price ranges from 1000 credits to several hundred million credits.
Viktor told him that the benefits the void lord has given him would be invaluable, especially in the future once he becomes a better player. At the moment, he would get the cores the void lord asked for, while on the side he would search for her location, more information about the void core, and set up an isolated base for the centurion brood to propagate as per Viktor’s advice.
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But one at a time. Priority number one: find the core. Priority number two: find his location.
He slept well. At six in the morning, he woke up and took a shower, and he was on the way to wear his uniform when he realized he wouldn’t be going to school today. He started to put on the suit.
Viktor knocked on the door shortly after.
“Are you ready?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” Colm said. “It’s all moving a bit too fast for my taste. All this.”
He grunted. “It comes with the profession. This is only the tip of the iceberg. You work hard,” he clenched his fist. “Simple credits for simple man, yes?”
Colm smiled.
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Colm found a letter that was slipped in the room. He read it. The letter was brief, curt, and to the point. Outside, the sun illuminated the palace, but it was six in the evening, and he guessed that in a few hours it would be dark.
Woah, you’re awake. The spider climbed atop his shoulder. I’m hungry. Gimmee something to eat.
“I’ll find you something. Just stay put.”
No, I’m hungry!
The spider skittered out of the window and disappeared.
Colm walked outside, and eventually, he found himself in the courtyard. He sat on the bench and set the cane next to him. The sun was close to setting. He couldn’t feel the warmth of it, however much he wished he could. In the distance, high beams of wood and stone were being hauled over—most likely the left wing of this palace. Farther from that was a sea of black sands.
He heard a man stumble into the courtyard holding an empty bottle. He was singing: “Halee-oh, halee-oh, Haley, you left me low…” He spotted Colm. “Spotted leg! Never seen you around here.”
“Good evening,” he said.
“Evening to you, sir—“ a mock salute. He was an aging man, with a loose, long shirt fastened by a belt around his waist. “Pray, tell me. Have you seen Haley? She be about your age.”
“I don’t know who Haley is.”
And then suddenly, he saw a woman in a white uniform run to the courtyard. “Sir, you’re not supposed to be out here! Come, come. There’s hot broth to be had for supper.” To Colm, “I’m terribly sorry, sir.” She bowed and pulled the man by his arm.
He left, singing, “Haley, good night. Haley, Haley, you left me....”
Colm strolled around the area for some time. He found the kitchen, a large dining hall, several rooms where paintings hung on the wall and a garden. There were always people moving about. The last place he found himself was another courtyard full of sand and separated buildings.
He found weaponries and bunk beds through the window where some soldiers lounged around. Outside, a board was nailed to the ground. There were numerous posters here.
And one poster caught his attention. “Missing: Haley Crossguard.” Under her sketched portrait: Eighteen years old. Long, black hair. She was drawn smiling.
A soldier came over and pulled the portrait, folded it, and put it in his breast pocket.
“Why did you remove it from the post?” Colm asked, curious.
“I told them to take this down this morning,” the soldier.
“What happened?”
“To the girl? We found her corpse in the canals this morning. Been dead for two days now. Several stab wounds in her stomach. A slit to her throat. The killer left this—“ he held up a pouch. “—silver and cores. Today was supposed to be her father’s birthday. Poor man. He’s gone insane.”
“Did you find the killer?”
“Not yet.” He turned to Colm. “If you find a red necklace, report it to an officer. I and several other officers swear we saw it around her neck. It was a gift from her father’s.”
“I will.”
Colm strolled around the palace for some more. Eventually, he reached the unfinished left wing. There was a large tent on the dirt road where he peeked. The Handmaiden Ametha and the void lord were there.
Qversenesia was facing the other way, and Colm watched as Ametha pulled out a reddish necklace from her box and put it around the void lord’s neck.
Another gift, he thought. As he walked back to the courtyard, he heard an old man’s voice, singing, “Haley, Haley, Haley....”
You left me.