I woke sometime later with a nasty headache and constant reminder of my own frail mortality. The tunnel was completely dark except for where the spilled hallowed light still glowed faintly. I sat up and listened for any threats nearby before getting to my feet and walking over to the large hole in the ground. The weave was still present with the tiny spiders crawling all over it, the hole beneath too dark to make out any details.

My pack was still near the wall where I had entered so I grabbed it and lit another hallowed lantern, my last. Inspecting the rest of the room revealed a previously hidden ladder up to what I hoped was the wine cellar from Nadia’s map. There were no beasts remaining in the dungeon so I sat against the wall. I had enough food and water for a few more days so I enjoyed a bland lunch of ethel bread and water while going over my notifications.

Congratulations! You have survived Balra Queens Lair Dungeon!

Congratulations! You have reached level 42!

Congratulations! For your contribution to Balra Queens Lair Dungeon, You have received One Ruby Item Box, Five Gold Boxes and Five Silver Boxes!

I realized I still had a few item boxes from the defense of Gleice as well. The notifications from the framework felt overwhelming sometimes and I had a bad habit of ignoring them. It was on my ever growing list of things to work on to remember to check them more often. I opened all of the boxes and was underwhelmed at the results. It seemed that the Balra Queens Lair was not rated as a particularly difficult dungeon by the framework.

The Ruby Item Box gave me the supplies to craft ten more standard bombs while the gold boxes gave enough for twenty more simple bombs. The Silver boxes gave enough alchemy supplies to craft a few health potions. The level gain was the best part of the dungeon by far, I kept the skill point in reserve which increased my free total to 2. I had also received fifty gold from the dungeon boxes. Even after giving most of my gold to the Old Mining Camp and Arthur I still had almost two hundred gold now.

I climbed up the ladder to the wine cellar and gently lifted the lid. It was dark as expected but there was light shining through a window off to the far side. There were no corpses in the cellar which was a welcome sight. I slid the cover off and made my way fully into the cellar, replacing the wooden slat over the tunnel. If this location stayed secure I could use it to get my mother out of the city.

The cellar was fairly small, only twelve or so feet across and ten feet wide. It was completely packed with barrels and other supplies. There was a stairway set into the opposite wall so I headed over and put my ear to the door to try to hear if there was anyone on the other side. After a few moments of silence I tried to open the door and found out it was unsurprisingly locked.

I had to use my dagger to pry the door open. The damage would make it obvious that someone had been here but it couldn’t be avoided. I had no idea how much time I had lost after the dungeon. There should still be two full days before the deadline.

The wine shop was small on the first floor, barely larger than the cellar. There were no customers inside and it looked to be empty. I slowly crept through the barrels on display towards the door to the street. I wanted to get a good look at the style of clothing being worn outside to match my uniform's appearance using my cloak's ability.

I reached the window by the door and slunk down to look through without being seen. The street outside was oddly quiet and free of foot traffic which was concerning. If this was in the crafters district there should be crowds of people during the daytime either selling or buying goods. Etes was the largest city in Eter and a regional power in crafting. There was a strong draft coming in around the window and the air was frigid. I wrapped my cloak tightly around my shoulders and shivered in silence while I watched.

I debated with myself opening the door and going out to find a more informative hiding spot when a squad of soldiers stomped by. They were dragging a beaten and bloody captive along the road towards the central square where the market was usually held. I waited for them to pass and made my decision. I left my pack and spear behind a counter out of sight, keeping my bow, quiver and dagger.

Slowly cracking the door open just enough to slip out of, I ducked down and crept to the alley nearby. I used a broken down wagon to climb up and access the roof of the shop. Buildings in this part of Etes were close enough together to travel on rooftop thanks to my increased agility and strength. There was no one on the rooftop or any of the buildings next to it.

With no other ideas of where to go I began to slowly and methodically move towards the market square. It took some trial and error to move quietly across the rooftops and several times I almost fell or caused a loud crash. My nerves were on edge and I was beginning to panic over the lack of a plan. Nadia’s contact at the cloth shop was dead, I had to hope that her contact at the Mangler was still alive.

I had rarely been to the crafter district when I was growing up here. My family had lived on the far side of Etes with the other military families and used the markets on that side of the city. My knowledge of this area was only from Nadia and her map. There was a rough drawing of how to get to the Mangler from the cloth merchant. I needed to get around the square and make it a few blocks in that direction before turning west and moving three more blocks.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

When I reached the rooftop of a building that butted against the square, I glanced over the side and my heart sank. Dozens of soldiers in the livery of the Kingsworn were patrolling what looked like a temporary army camp. I saw a makeshift stockade full of prisoners in deplorable conditions. There was a corpse hanging from a noose near the middle of the square. I was shocked by what I was seeing. Hearing about the King’s abuses in the shadows was one thing, seeing it openly in the middle of the city seemed like a bad dream.

Being as quiet and careful as I could, I moved away from the square to the backside of the building. Looking across the rooftops it was clear that I wasn’t going to make it to the smith using the roofs. The buildings were simply too far apart to not be spotted crossing. The more cautious side of me wanted to wait for the cover of darkness but I was anxious to make progress. It felt like one slog of delays since finding out about this situation.

An idea that was either brilliant or a waiting disaster came to me as I watched one of the Kingsworn on patrol. I could change my cloak to match the appearance of the King’s chosen bullies. That would give me a plausible cover for walking through the district. The story would fall apart quickly if pressed but I only needed it for a short while.

Taking a deep breath and collecting my thoughts, I changed my cloak to match the closest soldiers that I saw. My cloak changed to a deep black color with fur lining the hood. My stryker uniform to a plate armor style worn by heavy infantry prior to the framework. This type of armor would normally be too heavy for someone like me, now it felt light like any other set of clothes.

I backed off and dropped down into a deserted alley. I set my shoulders and tried to mimic the posture of a cold, confident Kingsworn. I still kept to the side alleys and avoided the market square as I worked my way around the district towards the smith. I was halfway there when something smashed against my helmet and sent me to a knee.

“Death to the Kingsworn!” A voice called out followed by the sound of running.

I turned to look for the attacker but the alley was empty. It seemed like there was some resistance to the Kingsworn after all. Getting to the smithy before being attacked by either the Kingsworn or the rebels was seeming less and less likely.

“Halt!” A voice called from the mouth of the alley.

“Are you ok? Who attacked you?” Two soldiers had come to stand by me. My panic rose before I remembered that I was wearing an identical uniform to them.

“The bastards threw a large rock and ran off” I dropped my voice down as low as I could and replied in a slow, steady tone. It sounded ridiculous in my head and I waited for the entire charade to be seen through.

“Traitors. We will get them all eventually. The will of the King can not be denied.” One of them answered. “Let’s get back to the camp. Strength in numbers.”

Damn. I needed a reason to avoid the camp and fast. I could bluff it in front of two random soldiers but anyone in command would see through my lies. I didn’t have the practice of fooling people like this.

“I am hunting down a lead on a treasonous blacksmith. I will not let some children with rocks stop me from performing my duty to the King.” I replied, trying to sound arrogant and sure of myself.

“Continue on soldier.” One of them replied and turned to his comrade “let’s get back and report this. There has been an increase in attacks from this direction, they must be hiding in one of these abandoned shops.”

We split at the mouth of the alley and I kept along the edge of the road, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible. Three more stress filled blocks of avoiding both citizens and soldiers found me in front of the smith in question. The lights were off and the shop was boarded up. I poked around the building for another entry, thinking of the tunnels, when a barely audible gasp sounded from somewhere behind me.

I whipped my head around and strained to listen. I was in the back alley between two shops that opened out to roads on either side. There was a young looking man hiding near the side of the alley behind a pile of discarded trash. He saw that I had spotted him and raised his arm to throw a rock at me. I dodged it this time and started to chase him, if he was connected to the rebellion he could help me.

He raced away across the street to another alleyway. I followed and nearly caught him as he rounded a corner. As I turned the corner expecting to find another alley with the kid fleeing, instead I found myself facing three large men with clubs of various types. I turned to move backwards and found the alley blocked by another group of men. This had been a trap for the soldiers I realized.

“Wait!” I said to the men in front of me.

“Well that’s a new one.” One of them said with a chuckle.

“Yeah. It’s usually just the “Die traitors yada yada yada”” Another agreed and chuckled.

I started to speak and felt a strange sensation creep over me. I realized I was speaking without saying anything out loud. One of the men must have used a skill on me. I raised my hands defensively and kept trying to explain the situation.

“Put your weapons down!” The man in the lead barked.

I slowly unclasped my dagger and bow and placed them on the ground. I started to back up away from them when I saw him nod to someone behind me. There was a flash of pain in the back of my skull and the world went dark.