[http://i.imgur.com/2PZ6gNi.gif]
“Can thou not accelerate a smidgeon?”
CHAPTER 14: DUNGEON BREAK IN THE BREAKING DUNGEON
Wow! That was scary!
...though, I’m not sure if I’m talking about the ceiling nearly crushing me, or about the one-ton-five-hundred—approximately—of semi-orc in black armour of doom charging at me with murder on her face—Well, I’m starting to think “about to murder someone” is her default expression. Granted, she was actually trying to save me, not kill me, but the mind isn’t always rational on the moment stuff happens.
‘specially mine.
Hindsight is 20/20 like they say.
Whatever this means.
Or whoever “they” are.
And, like I said, Thena looked pissed… like she always does.
That girl really needs to learn how to chill the fuck out.
I can understand in a way. I do feel bad about handing over to her a piece of equipment that turned out to be cursed. I do. Even though those specs are to kill for. I mean…have you inspected that thing?! A self-upgradable armour!? That’s so OP late game! Who cares if it makes you berserk!? I love Berserk! It's an awesome manga! But I digress...
Either way, Thena looks badass in her cursed armour. Bordering on hot—despite the green skin and tusks. She might not be Black Swordsman level badass yet, but she is certainly well on her way to Black Shield Bearer With a Bit of Green Skin and Fiery Red Hair badass!
And I kind of want to see her go berserk.
Might be a bit suicidal of me, I know, but I can’t get out of my head that look on her face when she tried to choke me.
You’re sick.
Awww~ Thank you.
Maybe it’s because I’m a happy-go-lucky guy...gal...gual?
Gay?
Whatever. Maybe it’s because I rarely take anything seriously, but man, did that intense look on her face draw me in. Those murderous golden eyes are something I’d kill to see again...though I’d rather them be directed at someone else...
…or do I?
I think I'd be jealous if she glares murderously at some other girl.
……
Point is, Thena is one hell of an intense gal.
I think I'm in love.
.........
Okay, maybe not. But I'm definably in lust.
I think it’s time I stop blinding myself to the truth. At some point, my preferences have switched from your everyday, common, banal sexy woman to girls physically stronger than myself. Preferably tall and muscular ones.
I think I also have a rather strong masochistic tendency. I think. Still needs to experiment a bit on that front.
I blame Yasmin for both.
Seriously, a girl shouldn’t be allowed to be both so violent and attractive at the same time. I swear, if we did not fundamentally see each other as siblings—which made dating uuuunbelievably awkward when we were together—we'd be married by now. Yas’ mom sure would like for us to be…err…
....I’m digressing again.
Where was I?
Thena saved us from the falling masonry.
Right. Thanks.
Well, turns out, it wasn’t only the ceiling that was coming down, but the whole tower.
Hahahaha.
So we’re currently running.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
“Shut up, Princess.”
*CRAAAAASH*
Woohoo. That was close.
Truthfully, though, Thena is running. Me? I’m back-riding the Shield Bearer Express...which isn’t really express at all, but it’s still faster than me...because I have a tendency to trip…and she certainly can carry on for longer.
Did I mention that my stamina is like a fly’s birthday cake?
Crap?
Well that too. But mostly, so small that there’s no need for it to even exist.
Still...I take a peek behind us...
*BAAM-CRASH-BAM-BABAAM*
…My, my, the stairs are collapsing rather fast, aren’t they? Might need to kick the gears up a notch.
I knock on Thena’s shoulder. She’s unequipped that cursed armour and is only wearing cloth. Sure, it makes her marginally faster, but I hope she won’t be hit by a boulder. That would hurt.
Hurt me, mostly.
...No, seriously, I hope she won’t be hit by a boulder. I’d die, you know?
*knock-knock*
“What?!” She snaps at me with her deliciously raucous voice. I could listen to her talk and shout all—AH! Focus.
“Can thou not accelerate a smidgeon? The ravage is gaining on us.”
“Well, excuuuse me, Princess! My class isn’t exactly built for speed!”
Hahaha. Good one. Was that a reference? You don’t seem the kind to do reference, though. And that Zelda cartoon was terrible. Still, well played.
She snaps at me, “Instead, don’t you have some speed spell?!”
Ugh! Low blow.
You see, I used to have plenty of speed spells—let me tell you—but that curse robbed me of them. Now I need to learn them again. Granted, I got a cheat for that. Since I know runes, I can make grimoires to fast learn spells...theoretically. Never actually tried. Because it only works for spells I already learnt once, I never needed to. It’s actually a method meant to teach spells to other people, I think. Err…I really should bother to understand my abilities better.
Anyway, the problem is that I need special paper to make the grimoire and special ink too. I do have the paper, but I’m out of ink! Blood would work for some dark spells, but that’d be stealth spells rather than speed. Speed would use wind, or earth, or lightning...though lighting tends to give [Paralyse] status after a while...
Well, long answer short...
“Nay.”
“Then shut the fuck up and stop distracting me! It’s fucking hard to run in stairs during an fucking earthquake!”
“Language,” I quip gently. “And, technically, ‘tis not an earthquake. ‘Tis the magic holding the fortress intact which is unravelling, therefore causing the tremor and destruction we are currently nimbly evading.”
“Ugh! Do you ever shut up?!”
“...Nay?”
Thena let out an unintelligible grunt.
Sounds like a mix between despair and resignation.
Quite a peculiar sound.
We pass by a torch holder, and I note there is no flame burning anymore. Makes sense, they were part of the magic too. The whole castle is shutting down. But that means it should be pretty dark in here.
“I did not know orcs had night visions...”
“We do, a little...Why am I even answering?”
“This one’s irresistible charm?”
“Ever heard of modesty?”
“Doth it taste good?”
Ah. It’s that grunt again.
Why do I feel like I’ll hear it often in the future?
Try not to break the poor girl.
What? But she’s the one who could break me in twain, though?
…Never mind.
We eventually reach the bottom of the stairs and the corridor leading to the throne room.
As soon as we cross the halfway point, a thundering noise informs me the tower finally crumbles completely. Athena takes off, actually increasing her speed a little. She jumps out of the tunnel, above the broken throne. In mid-air, she reaches behind her back and grabs me by my dress. I yelp as I find myself plucked of her back, flying above her shoulder and pressed against her…chest...
Not bad. Not bad at all. Not as big as I’d like, but soft and bouncy.
You steal the words right from my mouth…It’s not always about size though, you know?
Pft. Amateur.
What would you know?!
Holding me close, Athena wraps her body around me and shields me from the impact when we impact the stone stairs before the throne. A cloud of heavy dust erupts from the tunnel we just left, which I catch glimpses of as we roll to the bottom of the stairs. I still lose a couple HPs, of course, but once again I’m blown away by Thena’s quick-thinking which probably saved my life. I could get used to not dying so often.
Especially if it involves being hugged by beautiful women.
Well, obviously. Though I wouldn’t exactly call Thena “beautiful”.
Handsome women?
At the bottom of the stairs, almost without slowing down, my knightress out of her cursed armour jumps to her feet and starts running through the rain of falling debris, holding me in a princess-carry while evading raining boulders the size of large horses. Her focused golden gaze never leaves the exit at the other end of the room.
…
……
………so cool.
Wa-Wa-Wait?! Did I just blush?!
Hoy, hoy, hoy. Thena, are you actually trying to seduce me, you big oaf? It’s not going to work, okay?! I'm not that kind of easy girl, okay?! You don’t even look that cool, ba-ba-ba-baka!!
It’s rather pitiful when you do this.
Shu-Shu-Shut up! It’s not what it—“…uh?”
A strange mental tug snaps me out of my delusions. Scanning the ruined throne room, I search for the origin of the sensation.
There! A distance away to the left, a strange purplish blue glow is filtering from inside a half-collapsed column. “Thena!” I uncoil one of my arms from around her strong, thick neck and point in direction of the glow. “That way!”
“What is it?! The door is just over there!” Thena retorts. I don’t think she can see the glow.
“Trust me!”
Quite a tall order right now.
What? I’m the trustworthiest most tremendous person in this world! I’m so trustworthy, I should run for president!
“Arrr!! Fuck! Alright! This better be good!”
See, told you so.
Doesn’t she just want to avoid missing out on additional rewards for her quest? Ignoring clues from NPCs is the best way to fuck things up.
Moooooh! You party pooper! Meanie!
…I’m really starting to worry about what this body is doing to you.
Thena shifts her trajectory sideways and slaloms between fallen and falling rocks. She might be slow, but she has a damn impressive control over her body. I don’t know how many times I’d have tripped by now. Even with my former body. I think, in my previous form, I’d have just blasted my way through with magic. What kind of training did she do to achieve this kind of moves?
Somehow, I can totally picture this semi-orc training in the rain to avoid drops while refining her qi dressed in nothing but a messy kimono.
Wait. Thena?! Are you a really an immortal cultivator?!?!
“…Martial Elder Sister?”
“What bullshit are you spouti—The fuck is this?!”
Ah. I guess she’s seeing the glow too now. “Thou swear too much. And I believe ‘tis a soul.” Does she have [Sense Soul] too? Her range has to be smaller than mine.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Would make sense. Has to be that Soulbond thing.
Right.
Thena comes to a halt beside the glowing column. “What do I do?” No pointless question, straight to the point, and also not ashamed to defer, as expected of Martial Elder Sister!!
Could you bloody focus? We are inside a freakin’ collapsing motherfuckin’ castle.
Right.
“Just smash it,” I advise.
“Easy enough.” She nods and lowers me on the floor. She then takes a running step and slams both her fists into the column with the power of a sledgehammer, right atop the origin of the blue glow. The stone shatters.
I let out an appreciative whistle. That is some brute power she’s packing, my Thena.
It’s ‘my Thena’ now?
I call her what I want inside my head, okay?
It’s my head too, though.
Shut up.
Thena’s blow has opened a sizeable hole in the column. Behind what turns out to be just a thin layer of stone, a glowing crystal the size of a large melon is embedded in the rock. Pulsating runes surround it, disappearing into the pillar—like some kinds of electronic circuits, but more convoluted, Celtic glyph-like.
“Is that...?” Thena whispers, disbelief in her voice.
“A managem, yes,” I reply, not a little smugly.
“But...this size?”
“And it contains the Kalameet’s soul.”
“That dragon?!”
“Forsooth. Did thou bethink the mighty beast to be summoned out of nothingness? ‘tis not an elemental spirit. Its essence needed to be confined somewhere in the vicinity.”
I could almost see the wheels turning inside her head at the implications of my words. “Then—”
*BRRRRRRAM*
A loud rumble cut our conversation short. I glance back in direction of the throne. Between the columns, I see a huge house-sized piece of ceiling is now sitting where the stone seat once was.
I gulp.
“Let us make haste.”
“Right.” Thena, who had followed my gaze, turned back to the managem.
The question is how to take it out. “How are you—”
Thena grabs the managem with both her large, strong hands and rips it out of the stone then throws it nonchalantly inside her inventory.
…
What do you say to that? “…...‘tis works, I suppose.”
“Come on, Princess, hop on.” She turns around and kneels, presenting me her broad back. I guess princess carry time is over, uh? Oh well...We are in a bit of a hurry, I suppose.
*RUMBLE*
“Hiiiiiii!!” With a girly scream I shall forever deny, I jump on Thena’s back and wrap my arms around her neck and my legs around her waist, clinging to her like a frightened baby koala.
As she takes off running, with lethal devastation surrounding us, I lean into her neck. Face in her hair, I close my eyes. Despite the stone dust and ashes in the air, irritating my sensitive nose, I am enveloped by the smell of her. A strong, earthen and faintly musky tang. She smells like sweat and nature. I can feel her warmth from underneath her shirt. It’s a bit like taking a nap in a grass field on a sunny day after a good workout.
She really does smell nice.
“So unfair...”
How am I supposed to resist that kind of smell with my enhanced vampiric senses?
Before I notice, I have started falling asleep.
A violent shake snaps me out of my drowsiness. “OH!! Don't fall asleep! You'll fall. You’re light, but not that light.”
“...so rude.”
* * *
“Princess!”
“Abwuuuh!!”
No sooner have we crossed the door out of the throne room, that we are greeted by a pair of enthusiastic [dullahans]. It’s hard to gauge their emotions without...well...heads—they do have them, but they’re inside full helmets that they hold underarm—but from body language, I’m pretty sure Headison is crying.
“P-P-Princess!! After all these yeaaaars! This servant is sooo ha-happy to seeeee you-ou-ouuu!!”
And Tazius...well...
“Gabuuhaa pwcessss graaaa babuu!!”
...is being himself, I guess.
“Headison, Tazius. It has truly been a while.” I play along. For what I know, these two were already royal guards before becoming undead. I guess they’re happy to see “Princess Victoria”. I still feel a bit bad about how I tricked these guys—see chapters B0-C09.4 and B0-C09.5—so I play my role.
Somehow, when I see those two earnest idiots, I don’t want to disappoint them. Even the background mumble of the princess’ angry spirit sounds a little tamer than usual. Thena is here anyway, so telling the truth is out of question. “Ye both look...err...energetic. But now is not the time for effusive reunions. The castle is unravelling. We must make haste! To the exit!”
“There might be a problem with that.” Thena’s voice takes my attention away from the undead pair. I look at her face, then follow her golden gaze to the other end of the hallway.
“...Oh.”
A large portion of the ceiling has collapsed, blocking the other door. This pile won’t budge without at least artillery class magic…or a lot of time we don’t have at our disposal. Ssssh-ugar! It’s so annoying that I have this ridiculously large mana pool, but barely any spell! I’m not even a glass cannon. I’m a box of gunpowder labelled [Fragile]!
“Princess! This way.”
Both Thena and I turn around, to see Headison pressing a stone on the wall. A section pivots, revealing a dark tunnel beyond.
“This leads to the outer courtyard.”
“......”
“......”
ARE YOU TELLING ME THERE WAS A WAY TO BYPASS THIS WHOLE ZOMBIE-INFESTED LABYRINTH?!?!?!
I slide off Thena’s back and fall to the floor on all fours, head hanging down.
Why?! Why didn't I search that courtyard better? I know there is ALWAYS a shortcut!
I’m a disgrace, a disgrace to the name Elric Walker. What would my fans say?
Good riddance? Serves you right? Die bastard?
…I…I want to reincarnate as a shrimp.
“Princess, wha—what are you doing on the floor?!” Headison stutters.
I am orzing. Can’t you see?
“Just let me die.”
*CRAAAAAAACK*
“Oh, hell.” Thena swears, ducking slightly by reflex. “Come on, Princess, we don’t have time for your bipolar bullshit. I have a quest to complete.” A large hand picks me up by the back of my dress and Thena unceremoniously throws me on her shoulder. She turns to Headison. “You, the smart one, lead the way!”
“Right away, Ma’am!” He abruptly straightens, salutes, and takes off jogging into the secret tunnel.
...
No, no, no! Shouldn’t you be outrage that your princess is treated like a potato bag?! Headison, thou miscreant! This one trusted thee!!
Oh, well, I guess that’s just Thena’s natural authority aura at work. You can’t help but want to obey~
I want to object, but…
Hehehehehe~
…and please stop acting like you have a split personality. As your split personality, it makes me very uncomfortable.
We proceed at a jogging pace in the dark and narrow passage, Headison at the head, Thena and me in the middle, and Tazius at the rear. The distant noises of rumbling and collapsing fill the silence, along with the loud sounds of the three colossuses’ footsteps and my own mumblings. Thankfully, the secret passage seems to hold up better than the rest of the castle.
It makes sense, if this was planned as an escape route for royalty.
We continue in silence. We pass several junctions, but Headison never slows down. He looks pretty sure of where he’s going. Thena is visibly not in a talkative mood. I bet she is the type who puts all her focus in everything she does. How commendable.
As I am praising the impressive semi-orc in my head—so strong, so brave, so honourable—I happen to catch her murmuring about Headison.
“Good thing he doesn’t remember when I attacked him from behind.”
…
Ma-Ma-Martial Elder Sister!? How could you forsake your bushido this way?!
Okay, you can stop mixing up martial arts clichés now.
...Sorry.
But, right, she did kind of take advantage of that dead dual-wielder who challenged the dungeon before her. On hindsight, it suddenly makes sense why he avoided so many ambushes. She must have been following him discreetly, disposing of monsters that would have attacked him from behind and thus keeping him alive to take on the bulk of the enemies.
Well…it’s a smart strategy, I suppose. For a tank, she’s good at mitigating her lack of offensive power, but getting another to do the killing is faster and more efficient.
She’d probably have killed that guy after or during the boss fight and claimed the reward for herself.
You think?
Yeah. She's more treacherous than she appears. We should be care—
How brilliantly cunning!
...You're a lost cause, you know that?
Love you too~
“Headison, where is this...heading exactly?”
“Hohoho. Good one, your highness.”
Yeah, well, it wasn’t on purpose. I only noticed halfway.
“To answer your question, Princess, this tunnel leads directly to a small cellar at the inner edge of the outer courtyard. We should reach the exit soon enough. In fact...we’re there.”
Not a single bad pun. Wow. Headison, are you trying to save “face” in front of this princess?
And are you trying to compensate? Also, what did I say about wuxia reference?
Ugh. Whatev's, Mom.
We’ve stopped in front of a nondescript stone wall. At least, I can’t see anything which might set it apart from the rest of the tunnel. But then, my [Night Vision] is only at level one and—
*ting*
[Night Vision] has reached level 2
...I swear this world is trolling me.
The marginal improvement to my eyesight doesn’t help much, though, without even the faintest light source. [Night Vision] is not some kind of Daredevil-like sonar that lets you see in total darkness...
Which, in fact, begs the question: How am I seeing anything in total darkness right now?
Maybe...
I close an eye and cup the other one in my left hand. A bluish red shimmer is reflected on my white skin.
Oooooh! My eyes are glowy!
Well, that’s going to be a bummer for stealth. I hope I can find a way to turn this off.
“Princess, it seems something is obstructing the exit.” A voice cuts through my musings. I look up. Headison has been pressing a stone, but obviously nothing is moving.
“Well, what art thou waiting for? Smash through. The whole castle is collapsing in any case. No need to be gentle with the architecture.”
“Oh! Of course! What brilliant insight your Highness!”
Thena and I exchange a glance but tacitly agree not to comment.
“Tazius, come here!”
“Gaaabuuuh!!”
As the gargantuan undead—who is forced to walk bent down to fit in the tunnel—passes by us, Thena leans into my hear and asks, “What’s wrong with the big guy.”
“Hiii!!”
A pair of eyes and two severed heads pivot in my direction.
“Princess?”
“Ah…errr…it’s no-nothing, Thena. Err…” Don’t breath against my ear that way!!! Those things are sensitive, for Chaos’ sake! Alright, focus, Vicky. You can do this. Answer’s the lady’s question. “Ahem. I believe Tazius’ psyche was damaged during the transition to undead.”
“How did this happen, anyway?”
“Errr…”
I am saved to answer by a Tazius ramming his fist through the wall, like a kid punching papier-mâché. Above the sound of shattering stone, we hear screams of panic—and a few of pain.
Wait…a cellar in the outer courtyard…why does it rings a bell?
Uncaring for the screams, Tazius conscientiously widens the opening. In his hurry, he throws more than one stone our way, but Thena nonchalantly pushes them away.
“You’re trying way too hard to be cool, you know?”
“You said something?”
“Ah? No. No…”
Soon, the hole is large enough for Tazius to pass through. Headison stops him and walks though instead. This causes another round of screams and squeals beyond the hole.
“Princess,” the Dullahan’s voice reaches us over the cacophony of cries. “It appears a tribe of goblins has set up residence in this cellar. What course of action do you recommend?”
Goblins? Oh! Right. That tribe was living in the outer courtyard. It had slipped my mind in the rush.
“Goblins? How many?” Still carrying me, Thena steps through the hole after Headison. Tazius once again falls into step behind us.
In the cellar, about fifty green midgets wielding crude spears are encircling us in a loose formation. They’re trying to appear threatening, but their shaking legs are quite obvious. Well, I would be scared too if my home was shaking, loud sounds of collapse echoing everywhere, and three black armoured giants suddenly erupted through the wall of my bedroom. Having barely more intellect than an average dog also doesn’t help these runts.
“Hmm, there aren’t that many. We can take the—”
“Wait!” I stop Thena’s line of though. Truly thinking like a player. Not that I can blame her. Diplomacy is usually lost on goblins. They’re basically cheap XPs. “Let me try something.”
The semi-orc cast me a dubious glance, but I think obtaining a dragon soul gained me a few trust points, because she agrees relatively fast. “Okay. But be quick.” Another distant but loud crash spares her from elaborating why.
I smile brightly at her and return my attention to the goblins. “Waha sprak Hobu Ru od Hobu Mia. Kik!”
The green midgets’ eyes widen in surprise. Fufufufufufu. Didn’t expect that, did you? I’ve been brushing up on my Goblin.
Don’t underestimate the power of boredom!!
…I am ashamed for you.
After a short talk amongst themselves, one of the goblins runs out of the cellar. He comes back less than a minute later, two taller green individuals in tow. I recognize Ru and Mia, the two hobgoblins who lead this pack of dumb ugly children. One of the newcomer is holding a spear of relatively good quality, the other a small Morgenstern…Where did she get that thing?
Anyway. That was fast. Guess the pair already on its way here. But then, our entrance wasn’t exactly stealthy.
Ru’s eyes study the scene with more intelligence than all the others greenies combined. The little bugger always was the smart one of the bunch. He’s the reason why I didn’t slaughter the whole tribe back when I first arrived at Bluerose. Ahhh…Fond memories.
His eyes widen in fright when he spots the pair of hulking [Dulahans], then widen even more when he notice Thena and me. Although, I think it’s mostly Thena.
My intuition is confirmed the next instant, when he suddenly drops his spear and throws himself to the ground in prostration. “Gran Oroks!” At his words, all the other goblins follow suit and prostrates themselves—even Mia, although she is clearly more reluctant than the rest. She’s a prideful one, that girl.
“Did he just call me an aurochs?” Thena whispers at me in puzzlement.
“Nay. That was the goblin word for ‘orc’. I believe orcs must be sacred for goblins. Or maybe just for this tribe?”
“…But why didn’t they do it right away?”
“Because…they’re dumb?”
“……”
“Did thou fought any on your way in?”
“No, I didn’t see any.”
Makes sense. These guys have been mostly hiding since the first players started raiding the castle. If she went straight for the door, it’s normal she didn’t meet any of the goblins.
“Anyway. We should take advantage of their reverence of thee and leave speedily.”
“How do I tell them to let us through?”
“Mov asaid. Opn wa.”
“…Seriously?”
“Goblin tongue is much closer to common tongue than one might expect.”
Thena hums in contemplation, then turns to the prostrating Ru and repeats my words. She did alright for her first time. And really, goblins aren’t much attentive to pronunciation.
At Thena’s words, Ru jumps to his feet, picks up his spear and makes wide gestures while ordering the other goblins around. “Mov asaid! Mov!! Opn wa Gran Oroks!” A corridor opens quickly amongst the short green mob and we jog out of the cellar without trouble.
Passing by Ru and Mia, who is eyeing us suspiciously while gripping her morning star, I throw a few words at the pair. “Kasle kaput. Ran.”
Understanding flashes in their eyes. Without a word, Ru dashes out of the room and disappears down a hallway that goes deeper into the castle underground, while Mia gathers the goblins in the cellar and starts following us towards the exit.
“What are they doing?” Thena asks, noticing the goblins suddenly running behind us.
“Evacuating, I reckon.”
No sooner have we emerged from the tunnels and into the courtyard that large cracks start appearing in the walls of the whole castle. We stop in the middle of the open space and look back at the once-majestic Bluerose. From the centre out, the edifice is collapsing on itself like a sandcastle. The stone is turning straight to ashes as it suffers the effects of millennia of damages and decay in a matter of minutes.
“RUUUUUU!!”
All eyes turn towards the screaming hobgoblin who is staring at the crumbling castle in distress. Well, what I assume is distress. Those ugly little buggers have such deformed face it’s sometimes hard to figure out what they’re thinking. Everyone then follows her gaze. The entrance to the tunnels is still standing, but the collapse is progressing fast outwards and dust is blowing out of the undergrounds. Like an old dragon coughing its last breath.
Then, just before the archway crumbles, a dusty figure dashes, followed by about seventy smaller figures. Some are really, really small, even for goblins. And some look strangely bloated.
Ah. He went to get the pregnant females and children. Good job, little Ru. You’re pretty cool…for a hobgoblin.
That said, I pay little attention to the emotional reunion between Ru and Mia. It’s rather disgusting actually, involving lots of crying and snot. I slide off Thena’s back and take a few steps in direction of the castle—of where the castle used to be. It’s strange. I spent so long trapped inside, and now there isn’t even a ruin left. Only a big pile of ashes. It’s kind of sad in a way. Even the original Victoria’s spirit is whimpering softly.
A breeze sends a cloud of ashes in my face.
“Cough! Cough! Cough…”
Damned wind. Ash storm should only happen in the Infernal Realm.
I turn away from huge pile, but even the outer walls that protected the castle have been reduced to chimney wastes. Beyond the long ash dune surrounding the courtyard, the tall and menacing trees of the forest seem much closer than when I was observing them from the top of my tower. I don’t remember them being quite so tall…but then I’m shorter, I suppose. Must amount to something.
The woods are oddly silent too. I guess the racket scared off the monsters.
Not really thinking, I walk closer to the imposing wall of vegetation and look up.
It is reeeeeeeally tall, isn’t it?
“Umm…?” A movement behind the large ferns to my left catches my attention. I lower my gaze.
What could this be—OH SHIT!!!
* * *
~ [Athena] ~
Athena was staring ponderously at the huge pile of grey powder laying where the imposing fortress once stood. She was trying to piece together what had happened.
Beside her, the goblins were chatting noisily. It was starting to cause her a headache, but she refrained from slaughtering them. Goblins didn’t bring that much experience and the princess seemed to like them for some reason. She couldn’t afford to alienate her charge when they still had a whole dangerous forest to cross. As a tank, she had accepted several escort quests for rich NPCs, and trying to protect someone uncooperative was a real nightmare.
Which reminds me. I have to ask her about the exit. She looked around. Where is that crazy dhampir? A distance away, she spotted the two armoured undead who’d been guarding the boss room. The shorter one, Headison, turned in her direction and waved. He jogged closer and offered her a hand.
“I don’t think we have been properly introduced, milady. I am Headison, royal knight…well, I suppose former royal knight of Erwyn.”
“Athena, mercenary,” the semi-orc answered laconically, shaking his armoured hand.
“Lady Athena, is it?” The voice was coming from the helmet he held under his arm. It was pretty disconcerting—as was talking with an undead. Undead monsters weren’t common at this stage of the game, and none had never been capable of speech. There were legends of intelligent liches, undead mages of great power, but Athena had seen none so far, nor did any of the forums mention them as anything but rumours.
The dullahan surprised her then by taking a knee and holding her hand he still had not released between both of his. His head fell on the ground—literally. “Ow…ahem…Lady Athena, Tazius and I have little time left. The curse on Bluerose has ended and I can feel the power keeping my soul in this plane rapidly dissipating. Therefore, I beseech thee, Lady Athena, please protect Her Highness in our stead from now on.”
The NPC’s declaration was followed by the apparition of a blue pop-up. At a glance, Athena would see it was an update on her previous quest [Save the Princess]. She started reading through the notification, when a thought struck her.
Wait… “The Princess. Where is she?”
“…Eh?” The dullahan let out a strange sound. “What?” He picked up his head and moved it frantically around. Athena too searched the vicinity with her gaze.
But no matter where they could not locate the white-haired girl.
*ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR*
Suddenly, a loud angry bellow echoed in the humongous clearing left by the fallen castle. All present, semi-orc, dullahans and goblins, immediately swivelled around and stared with widening eyes and dropping jaws. A twenty-foot tall, three-headed bull spewing flames from all three maws was charging out of the woods, chasing after a small white figure who was running with all her puny might in their direction, screaming.
“WHY IS THAT THING STILL HEEEEEEEEEEERE????? HEEEEEEELP!!”
“Oh, for the love of…” With a groan and resisting the urge to facepalm, Athena launched herself towards the monster threatening her charge, the pair of dullahans not far behind.
Inwardly, the semi-orc feared noisy goblins would be the least of her headaches in the near future.
* * * * *