As he finished inspecting his newly gained goods, Atreo was drawn out of his daydream by the shape of another man moving swiftly in their direction. Why did he have to be such a popular guy today? he thought as he shoved the items into his pockets as best he could.
Groaning internally, he braced for a fight.
This newcomer was nothing like the shadowy figure from the previous night. He moved with a purposeful stride, exuding confidence. Tall and clean, his attire was immaculate, and he carried himself with the grace of a seasoned warrior. His slender frame belied a strength that was evident in his every movement. His face was stern, and he was adorned with weapons—a set of metallic swords on his back and two daggers at his waist. What stood out most to Atreo were his ears, covered in gleaming metal that extended from the lobes to the tips, and the metal didn't stop there. It wrapped around his head, creating an intricate pattern that resembled a claw gripping his skull, with sharp points running down his forehead.
“Creepy,” thought Atreo.
“I am Abel of the Solinthar Dominion,” the man declared, his voice smooth and authoritative. “I have a task for you.”
Atreo, still trapped, replied, “Why don’t you free me first, then we can discuss this task? As you can see, I’m not exactly mobile.”
“In a moment,” Abel replied. “First, tell me your name.”
Unsure if he should give Abel his name, he thought about CJ and how pissed he’d been when CJ had refused. Reluctantly, he gave up his name. “Atreo,” he said.
“Greetings, Atreo. Once you're free, you will follow me to the peak of Hellholm to meet Urgon the half-giant. From there, you will enter a dungeon called the Endless Catacomb. I hope you will survive and prove useful to me, unlike those who came before you.”
“I won’t ask something of you without offering something in return. Nothing is free in this world, so here's a bit of information.” As he spoke, a fly dive-bombed toward his face with the determination of a moth to a flame. It disintegrated in mid-air, not even making it within an inch of Abel, who didn't seem to notice at all.
“Fucking wild,” Atreo thought as he tried to catch up with the conversation.
Abel paused when he noticed Atreo had lost focus and then continued. "You have shown much spirit in defeating Urgon in single combat. This has never happened before by someone of your level, which is why I have come to greet you in person. This world has certain rules. When a higher-level individual is defeated in a duel by a lower-level opponent, the victor has rights to one of the loser's possessions. I believe this information will aid you in finding an object my people have sought for a long time. I won't tell you what to claim, as that would violate the rules. However, I suggest you claim a weapon—something to aid you in your dungeon dive. Just say, 'I invoke my claim.' Do you understand?
Atreo nodded in confirmation.
“Back to the main point of my visit. In the dungeon, you may stumble upon an old journal containing information my people have long sought. If you bring it to me, I will reward you generously. Does that sound fair?”
Atreo, still wary but seeing no better option, agreed. He was unsure if he should trust this Elvyn man, but the courtesy and boon shown were appreciated. “When you complete the dungeon, find me. I should be in this pile of dung for a few days yet. Unlike your current host, I am no savage. However, if you refuse my request or prove useless, I will slay you. Do you understand?”
Abel had made it loud and clear. Not only was Atreo eager to get out of his current predicament, but there was something about this Elvyn man that made his thoughts of fleeing disintegrate, just like the fly had.
Atreo glanced up at the man and gave a nod. With a quick flick of Abel’s wrist, the cage popped open wide for Atreo to make his escape, yet he did not attempt to flee.
“Come on then,” he said, turning to walk away.
As Atreo followed the man across the courtyard, he wondered if now was his chance. Was this rare opportunity the only chance he’d have to flee? He thought hard on it but decided against it, remembering Abel’s words. Atreo followed closely as they followed the stone path through the overgrown courtyard. He risked a glance back to Kore and hoped that she’d survive until he returned. If he returned. He wasn’t infatuated with her or anything, but the connection they’d begun to form through their shared suffering was the only thing he had in this world. He didn’t want to let her go so easily.
As they traversed the courtyard, Atreo couldn’t help but be in awe as he took in the full scope of the town nestled up against the mountain. It wasn’t like any mountain he’d ever seen. He wondered if this was how Everest would look back on Earth but couldn’t fathom something so large. It stretched beyond the clouds and reached up to join the stars, looking as if it never ended. The sheer size gave Atreo pause.
“Had it actually been night yesterday when the man came? Or had the shadow of the mountain blanketed the town in darkness?” Atreo thought to himself.
Streams of water snaked down the mountain’s side, reckless in their descent until they crashed into the earth below. The town had been carved out of the mountain and constructed with few thoughts of safety. At the base of the mountain where Atreo was now, there were dozens of thatch and wood houses strung together, using one another to remain standing. Had that kid and the slug man not come from these doors, he would’ve figured them unlivable. As Atreo began his ascent, he noticed the lengths the residents had gone to place their homes on this treacherous mountain path. Each home appeared to be built upon the corpse of a home that had fallen before it. Long-forgotten foundations protruded irregularly from houses built more recently, giving the appearance of awkward shapes.
“Why take such a risk?” Atreo thought to himself. “Is being two feet closer to the dungeon really so worth it?”
Atreo followed Abel as best as he could, but his injuries kept him from being at his best. He’d almost fully recovered thanks to Kore, but then that shithead had come and kicked his ass, and now he was back down to 186 health, right at 60%.
He scanned his eyes over the homes, watching each window as he passed, suffering in silence. He wanted to spot an onlooker, maybe a kid or another woman, but there were none. Many of the homes appeared to be abandoned and empty, but on occasion, he’d see the rustle of a drape as if it had just been pulled back and let go.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Each step brought new insight to Atreo on the sheer depth of wealth the dungeon must contain. As he climbed, he noted that the level of wealth also grew. Houses that were thatch and wood down below now looked to have been improved as he got higher in elevation. These newer houses stood strong, made from stone, brick, and precisely cut logs. It didn’t stop there though. Further up the winding path, he could see the glint of metal shining in the sun and wondered if these people had truly gone so far as to make houses of pure metal.
As he neared the end of the cobblestone path they’d been following from the courtyard down below, he began to see people—not the residents he’d expected in this town, but tattooed men, grizzled men, and men with scars covering their bodies. The men up here stood in direct contrast to the growing beauty of the homes littering the side of the mountain. Their demeanor, filth, and lingering gazes stood out, tainting the almost tranquil feeling Atreo had begun to gain as he climbed each step.
No one came near, giving Atreo and Abel wide berths. He wasn’t sure why, but he assumed it had to do with Abel. He hadn’t seen another Elvyn, which made him wonder at Abel’s reasons for being here.
“That journal must truly be important.” Atreo thought.
Atreo continued following Abel until they reached the top of the inclining walkway. Abel stopped and put a hand out, signaling for Atreo to pause. In front of them was a truly breathtaking home. It was crafted from intricate metals, stone, brick, and many prefabricated panels. Atreo had assumed that the technology in this world was behind that of Earth, but this house alone pushed the realms of possibility back on Earth. It stood without sway, partially hanging off the mountainside as if the architect had purposely created it to incite the survival instinct of all who laid their eyes upon it.
Atreo re-evaluated his statement. It wasn’t a home; it was a goddamned fortress, and he could already guess who lived there. On the sides of the pathway leading up to the home, yellow tents stood erected, and men similar to the ones Atreo had noticed earlier lounged around smoking and drinking. Several of the tents had the flaps open, and Atreo could see dice being thrown around inside followed by piles of money being snatched off the floor. Some turned to look at Abel and Atreo, but that was about all the attention they were given. That was, until Atreo noticed something familiar. A man sat beside a tent with a nose bandage that forced his cheeks and nose upward, making it seem as if he was scrunching his face and looking down on people.
Atreo chuckled internally. “Fitting.”
The moment of triumph was short-lived as the smell of rancid body odor and stench assaulted him. It smelled like a gas station bathroom next to a Mexican restaurant. He watched as a man took a bucket full of human waste and poured it down one of the natural streams that flowed down the mountain.
“Disgusting.”
A thumping sound dragged Atreo’s eyes back to the mansion. A massive door slid open like shoji doors in a traditional Japanese home. A looming figure stood in the doorway, covered in the shadows of the home. It was just outside of Atreo’s vision. Just as Atreo’s eyes began to adjust, Urgon the half-giant stepped out, causing the tents closest to the home to wobble.
“Little ant,” said Urgon as he eyeballed Atreo, his eyes still oozing with that inky blackness. His voice had been loud and confident, belying the fact that he’d just taken a sword to the knee not two days ago. Yet, Urgon didn’t appear to be as injured as he should’ve been.
The half-giant flexed his fists in Atreo’s direction as if he were imagining squeezing the life out of him.
Atreo sat silent. He’d bested Urgon and ripped a ring from his lip, yet here he stood.
“Nothing to say, eh?” boomed Urgon.
“Where’s that vigor you had just a few days ago? Don’t tell me my boys took the fight right out of you already. By the smell of you, I’d say you had good nights, no?”
At this, Atreo’s temper began to rise. He’d beaten him once. He could do it again.
“Yeah, at least he put up a better fight than you did. What are you anyway, a troll?"
Atreo laughed aloud and spat onto what would’ve been Urgon’s porch.
“And about your boy,” he continued. “I’m sure he won’t be back either after what we did to him.”
Atreo was leaving out the fact that he hadn’t really done anything except get his ass beat, but that was beside the point.
The dull clack of dice hitting stone silenced, and the loungers all turned their attention to the pair facing Urgon. The tension had begun to rise when they’d arrived, but now it edged on reaching a bloody climax.
Having passed the point of rational anger and moving into full-on rage, Atreo sneered in disgust and yelled,
“And on top of that, what kind of coward beats a woman in a cage? Sounds to me like none of y’all were spanked as children, and it shows. Or maybe y’all are still children and just need a good ass kicking?”
Urgon roared and brandished a giant two-headed axe that gleamed menacingly. Each side was covered in splotches of dark blood that looked as if they’d dried over time and had never been cleaned off.
Atreo swore he could see the corner of Abel’s mouth tilt up in a smile, but he was too far back to be sure.
“Enough!” commanded Abel, silencing Urgon. “Be about your business; this is the only warning you will receive.”
Silence filled the air, and Urgon broke eye contact with Atreo, grunting in confirmation.
“If you wish to have a rematch with Atreo, it will have to be after his dungeon dive is concluded.”
“What do you want from me?” said Atreo. “Why am I here?”
Urgon returned his focus back to Atreo and stepped closer. “You think you beat me again? Me thinks not a chance.”
“You go into dungeon and bring me loot. Since you not been in dungeon before, you get extra loot. Bring me all the loot, and then maybe you be free. If you not back in five days, Urgon will have boys come get you in pieces.”
“Let me get this straight,” said Atreo. “You want me to go into a dungeon and bring you back the loot? Why the hell would I do that? I’m not going to work for a scumbag like you.”
“Go or die,” said Urgon, and somehow between those three words, a sword had been placed at Atreo’s throat, drawing blood. Abel hadn’t even twitched, but he was ready to separate Atreo’s head from his body.
Atreo’s gulp got hung up on the blade notching itself into his throat.
“I invoke my claim,” said Atreo, and he could have laughed at the color as it left Urgon’s face.
Above them, the sky began to churn. Clouds pooled together, swirling and darkening as a storm brewed above the mountain. Whatever Atreo had said had beckoned the attention of this world, and the air around them seemed to crackle with anticipation. The wind picked up, howling through the trees and whipping around the rocky crags. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a deep, resonant sound that echoed through the valley. The atmosphere grew heavy, charged with an almost palpable energy, as if the very fabric of reality was responding to Atreo's invocation.
“Hurry,” said the giant. “What is your claim?”
Atreo had spent a large portion of his climb wondering what he should claim. Initially, he was going to take Abel’s advice and ask for a weapon—not that he knew how to use one. But then he’d started thinking outside the box and had come up with something far superior to anything else he could claim from Urgon.
“I claim Kore the captive,” Atreo announced confidently, staring Urgon in the eyes. He couldn't leave her behind; she had saved his life, and this was his way of returning the favor.
All previous tension left Urgon, and he laughed louder than Atreo had heard any other creature laugh. The people who had been eavesdropping began to laugh as well.
“I accept your claim,” said Urgon, wiping tears of joy from his face.
As soon as it had come, the looming thunder stopped and the clouds receded, turning the skyline back to normal as if it hadn’t just been so threatening a moment ago.
“You dumb,” said Urgon, waving his hand dismissively. “Now go get me my loot.”
At this, Abel’s sword was removed from Atreo’s neck, and the tension he had been feeling faded away. Abel began to lead Atreo towards a giant cavern in the side of the mountain, and it reminded Atreo of the hole he’d come out of when he’d arrived on Memora.
There was an undulating portal accented with metal carvings that surrounded it on the inside. They stopped in front of the portal, and Abel turned to face Atreo.
“You could have claimed anything Urgon possessed, probably even his life, depending on how badly you’d beaten him in your duel. Yet you chose a beaten, starved, useless girl.”
Abel let out an audible sigh and directed Atreo to step into the portal and wait.
“I will return with your claim.”