The unassuming man before him had delivered that warning with such calm gusto that Colin admitted that he probably could thrash him. It had always been a policy to take special note when someone offered him a threat and did some calmly. Those that felt no need to boast or brag or otherwise flaunt their prowess were ones to be careful around.
Still breathing heavily, Colin focused for a moment on calming himself. He was still too weak to kill everybody here, even if he wanted to, so he took the bald man’s chance and… obeyed. He slid the blade away in its sheath with some hesitancy, removing his hand from it with only a little hesitation.
“Good, I was told to take you right to the Speaker. Please,” Norris said, smiling. He gestured past the group of Cultist’s that were still cowering from Colin’s initial outburst, all of whom moved out of the way when he gestured.
Still annoyed, Colin started down the path indicated that led down one of the many magically lit ways through this tunnel system. Norris was stunned when Colin started ahead of him but hurried after when Colin didn’t stop.
After walking with Colin for a few seconds, a few more Cultists joined behind them, and Norris started talking, “so, tell me, Walker. What is a guy like you doing delivering postage for thieves and troublemakers?”
Colin merely shrugged, not wanting to go into detail with a random man he just met, “who knows. Just keeping busy.”
The bald man nodded sagely, “I see. Well, busy is good.”
Nodding in agreement with his guide, he just added, “yup.”
Norris made a turn, and the procession followed along. They passed by several natural water features, like underground streams and a misting waterfall that moistened the air around them. The mist with magic lights embedded in the wall created stunning rainbow effects that drew Colin’s focus into them. The water’s noise, the lights, the color calmed Colin’s frayed nerves from the magic that sent him down here.
Norris kept to himself for several minutes, letting Colin enjoy the scenery as they walked. At least until they reached a point in the natural tunnels that he considered the two-thirds point in the trip. “Walker, if you don’t mind indulging some curiosity of mine, could you answer a question. Why did G.B. send you instead of one of her little thieves?”
“Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t, that’s why it’s just curiosity. You got down here without a scratch on you, and Sinna sounded like she wasn’t happy when she called. I know her well, and while she’s rarely happy, she sounded particularly salty this time. This tells me the fight, and trust me, I know she fought you, was one-sided. This tells me that you are not one of her usual people,” he said, barely breathing between sentences.
“What if I told you that nobody else wanted to because they thought you’d sacrifice them to Scylla,” Colin stated blandly. When Norris didn’t respond immediately, Colin eyed him, “but that’s crazy, right?”
“You know, we sacrifice one bookkeeper from city hall named Odysseo Ithaca and no one ever trusts you again. Geez,” Norris said, rubbing the top of his head in annoyance, his lips pressed together in mild irritation.
“Did you really?” Colin asked grinning.
“Our goddess told us to. She said that a horrible man who got away from her had a name similar to him,” Norris shrugged. “She willed it, so we did it.”
That’s fanatical,” he told the man, reconsidering his option to kill them, or at least trying to kill them.
“Yes, it is. We also found out that he was falsifying records for some of the city’s nobility. Making it look like they had been paying their taxes. I’d like to believe that she knew that when we gutted him and chummed the water with him for our goddess. Ah, that was a dirty but good day. She actually talked to us that day,” Norris smiled contentedly.
Yup, definitely fanatics, Colin kept to himself. His hand kept just a little closer to his weapon than a minute earlier, “At least he deserved it.”
Norris nodded, “oh indeed. I’ll admit that I was tested in my belief in the Scylla’s way of life, but once I found that out, I knew she was just and fair. Oh, Scylla, one of the blessed horrors of the Strait of Messina. I only hope that one day, I will have the opportunity to see her in person, in her holy waters.”
“Uh-huh, I hope you do too,” Colin told him, trying his best to sound sincere.
The smile Colin received from his words was kind of creepy and definitely insane. For a moment, he wondered if fanaticism led to insanity or if he was just crazy for his worship of a monster goddess. The cause didn’t really matter; all that did was that this man was someone to be concerned about should the Speaker be a similar sort of crazy.
“And here we are,” Norris said, rounding a ninety-degree bend that somehow dampened the sound of the room beyond it. Four waterfalls poured into a large center lake the size of an Olympic swimming pool created a lot of noise. The water was a pleasantly clear emerald green in color and smelled wonderfully clean in this underground space. More of the magic lights lit up this cavern, but these were mildly dimmer and certainly paler than the lights in the rest of the underground system he’d seen.
Speaking to a small group of earthen green-robed monks, a man with a full beard and dark hair that fell past his shoulders stood a prominent spot. His face held what Colin would immediately think of as kindness and strength, a rare combination that came from personal hardship and moving past it. Norris paused at the chamber entrance and gestured for Colin to do the same, waiting to be addressed by the man who Colin assumed was the Speaker.
“And so the daughter of Hecate and Triton was cast away from her parents, not for something she did or wanted, but because of what she was. Scylla was a monster of their own divine blood, and neither could stand the sight of their greatest and most terrible child. She was placed in a location of great dishonor, across from another the child of the gods who’d been cursed by-”
Colin stopped paying attention after the speech turned into a monologue that sounded like the monster version of the Book of Genesis. It was exciting, but as it didn’t have any particular use, Colin, unfortunately, stopped paying attention and let his mind wander for a moment or three.
He started to develop a small list of ways he might get into a well-used church and get down into its depths. More important than how to get in, there was how to get the Demon out without triggering the alarms. He did not have enough information on anything in there, and annoyingly, the only option he had was something he wanted to stop relying on. Nox was a powerful ally and useful friend, but leaning on the level one hundred and seven Legendary Dusk Alchemist would lead to reliance that he could not afford.
An idea came to him, his class and other things were being hidden by the Eyes of Deception ability. Then there was his Silver Bracelet of Obfuscation that prevented things from scrying him. Both stopped things from being able to sense him, and he figured that, at least, this was a place to start. He didn’t mind in the least using Nox as a sounding board.
“-Walker, and he brings a letter that he was to deliver to you personally,” Norris stated, the direct mention of Colin’s name bringing him out of his short mental processes.
“Ah, Walker,” the bearded man said, walking towards him, his hard-soled shoes clacking against the ground. He stopped before the freshly introduced man and raised his hand to shake the man’s before him. “A pleasure to meet you,” he said, his voice smooth and cultured like a college professor.
Colin considered declining the proffered hand since he didn’t fully trust them yet, but politeness was due when he wanted something. So he took the hand and gave it a single firm pump, “thank you for allowing me down here.”
The smile on his face was genuine as he looked at Colin, “well it has been a while since anyone new has graced our halls. Even longer since anyone not of the fold has done so either. Allow me to welcome you here, Walker, to our congregation hall. If I may ask, what do you think of our safe space?”
“It’s really quite beautiful,” Colin answered truthfully. “The lighting choice you’ve made with the natural water flows make for a stunning area.”
“I think so too,” the Speaker agreed. “It took many months after we came here to get everything set up down here and remove the previous, more unintelligent denizens who lived here before. Now we’ve closed off all of the natural ways into these chambers and made carbon dioxide to oxygen conversion runes.”
“Wow,” Colin said, interest now piqued since the mentioned Enchanting, which he’d actually been practicing. “You must have a pretty good enchanter to be able to make a rune script that works constantly.”
“I thank you,” the Speaker said, a satisfied smile gracing his face. “That would be all my work. Are you an Enchanter yourself,” he asked.
“I am,” Colin answered. “Still new at it, but I’ve made a few working enchantments. How did you solve the mana issue with your rune work here? Shouldn’t it need constant recharging?”
The smile widened, “well that is the trick. The first rune, Consumption with the modifier of Carbon Dioxide, is connected to the Creation rune with the identity Oxygen. Consumption runes actually generate mana since they absorb something, and if you connect it to a Creation rune, you can create a sustainable effect. As long as you choose the Identities carefully, at least.”
Colin’s eyebrows knitted together at the unfamiliar term, “Identities?”
The man’s smile lessened a little, “my apologies, I forgot that you are new to the field. Identities exist in most forms of intermediate to advanced magical art forms, including spells. When you create something like certain enchantments, you give it an identity that can apply to it. Like the Creation rune and the Oxygen Identity. Do you understand?”
Colin nodded, “I take it that there just isn’t a single rune or number of runes to work around this sort of thing?”
Speaker Fahtagin nodded, “there is, but inscribing and enchanting these items is costly since you have to attune a much heavier inscribed item. Identities act as both a shortcut and a creative boon for those who can use them. But, I would not recommend using them until your Knowledge: Enchantment Skill is level 10. It helps you understand what runes can benefit from certain identities and how far you can stretch certain things.”
Your Knowledge: Enchanting Skill is Level 2. Your understanding, prompt information, and Charisma bonus has increased by a small margin when Enchanting or Enchanted Items is involved.
Colin was now more than happy to come down here; just this information alone made the trip worth it considering how he’d read through most of that Primer for Enchanting book, and it mentioned nothing on this concept. That book also had almost killed him once, and hadn’t even leveled his Knowledge: Enchantment skill once, so maybe it was time to look into other options.
But not now, now he had other things to do.
“Thank you, Speaker Fahtagin, for the information. The books I have been reading on the subject have been inadequate, and I greatly appreciate the instruction,” Colin said, being as respectful as possible. “But I have an assignment to complete and personal goals to achieve.”
“Indeed, I was told that you’re here to give me a letter.” he said, extending his hand to take it from Colin.
Colin withdrew it from his pocket and passed it to the Speaker, who immediately started opening the envelope and pulling the colored paper from the parcel in scanning it intensely. Colin was able to trace his eyes as it moved back and forth down the letter, absorbing each word in the message and smiling more and more with every moment.
“Oh, Scylla, finally,” the Speaker said, excitedly. He then looked up at Colin and sighed, “thank you for this, but now we have a lot of work to do. This letter gave me everything we needed to move forward. So, Is there anything else you need?”
“Actually, yeah. I’d like to speak with Scylla, is there a way we can do that?” Colin queried, his face twisting into a facetious smile.
Everyone in the large chamber froze for a moment, stunned by what the stranger in their halls had just asked. Several started into raucous laughter that immediately infected everyone else in the room, except for the Speaker. He was standing stoically, observing Colin as if to discern something in Walker’s demeanor that spoke of a joke.
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When he found nothing, he frowned though everyone else still laughed at the preposterous request. Who asked to speak to a deity on their first meeting with a prophet?
“Look, sir, I don’t know how much you know about Occult religion or religion altogether, but you cannot just meet them face to face. This is not like setting up an appointment with your therapist, which I think you’re several months late,” Speaker Fahtagin stated, the snark dripping of his educated tongue.
“Speaker Fahtagin, I would like to have a brief conversation with Scylla. What would it take to initiate this exchange of words? A prayer, sacrifice of money, or would bloodshed suffice? I admit that I am a little out of my depth here, but I wonder how many I can take down before any of you manages to stop me?” Colin spoke, his voice oddly non-threatening, though his right hand moved smoothly towards the handle of his Mythic Xiphos.
“Walker, I do not doubt your skill but realize your position here. You are outnumbered, out weaponed, and out leveled by at least a few congregations here. Are you certain that you want to try this?” The Speaker asked seriousness answered Colin’s own words.
“All I am asking is for an attempt to be made,” Colin told him. “Once it is out of your hands, what else can be done?” he stated rhetorically.
Eyes narrowed, the Speaker truly took in Colin for the first time. While he looked a little ragged, the Diamondesque handle of the shortsword at the man’s waist radiated an energy that seemed to snap and crackle with malevolence. Other parts of his body radiated with power like the magic items, enchanted clothing, and, oddly, his eyes. But there’s an unknown quantity to his soul that showed up in the Speaker of Scylla’s sight.
Literally, an ability the man had earned when he became Scylla’s Speaker had given him an ability to see a measurement of people’s souls. This ability, called Occult Spectrum, allowed him to see, when he triggered it, some of the colors, shades, hues, and prismatics that determined a person’s soul.
But when he looked at the man before him, what he saw made him hesitate. There was a large swath of blood red that he’d associated with unadulterated wrath, an opaque red that represented resolve, and along the edges encroached prideful violet. There was also a core of nihilistic black in the center of his being that surrounded two other colors, lime-green that represented some kind of fear and magenta that meant passionate love.
From here, the Speaker could do things to the man who he’d seen the measure of and see what happens to the color scheme, but Fahtagin wanted to avoid this. Usually, rage would be a veneer for some kind of fear, a temporary measure, but this man was something else, and he did not wish to provoke him. Especially since the color scheme around the man’s face shifted to a dark and intense orange, suspicion.
While he’d been willing to let the man ponder the decision, the longer he stared, the more he knew something was going on.
“Speaker, what will you do?” Colin asked, his hands aching to grip his weapons.
The Speaker blinked and looked at Colin’s more normal face again. All colors and hues went, and only the stern-faced human before him, “my apologies, I was… lost in thought for a moment.” The sweat on his brow seemed weirdly out of place. The Speaker was level 42, he’d have his Specialized Class and upgraded his body in the long chain of progression, yet this man had made him sweat?
“I will pray and ask, but don’t expect too much, Walker,” Speaker Fahtagin stated, turning towards the giant water pool. He walked towards it and removed the top portion of his robe to lay from his waist rope like a cape. The emaciated body beneath it made Colin wonder what sort of terrible will the man had to allow him to move with such a body. He could clearly see the outline of taut muscles, ribs, and spine underneath the thin skin.
“That’s all I ask,” Colin affirmed. His arms relaxed as the chance for violence decreased.
The Speaker walked towards the water, his steps even and sure as he stepped out of his sandals. His walk had him step into the shallows of the pool and stop before the water went past his ankles. Colin observed the man raise his arms to either side of his body and muttered out his prayer to Scylla herself.
Colin could hear him but was not able to tell what he actually said. In the end, his words seemed to reach a climax as he dropped his arms back to his sides. He stared out over the water for several moments before he turned around to face Colin.
“I’m sorry, Walker. Normally, If she’s going to respond, I can get an answer pretty quick. But there’s no-” suddenly, a black shadow snaked through the water, just under the surface. A second later, a serpentine body burst from the water in a fluid boom.
A serpentine body rose from the water, it’s feral draconic head bent low and immediately locked eyes with the Speaker. A small rumbling growl escaped its mouth as water slid off its smooth, obviously water-resistant green-black scales. The teeth that showed on the creature were large slicing blades that Colin really wanted to avoid being the focus of.
Then the head turned to see Colin, and he stood his ground, even as the head flowed towards him. The rumble from the creature’s mouths continued as it started at him, consideringly. Then something changed in the bearing of an animal that seemed to only have a head and body. What little lips it had peeled back into a wicked-looking smile, “I recognize that power I’m sensing from you, Walker. It has been such a long time since someone like you has sought me out,” it said, voice feminine and humanoid but somehow overlaid with a great rumbling beast.
“Someone like me?” Colin asked, a bit nervous about another god-like being knowing about his status as Antagonist. So far, he could count the number of beings that knew on one hand, but if gods could find out, then the shit he was in was worse than before.
“An Effigy Channeler,” it stated, head pulling away from Colin. “I have only ever seen a handful of those skill holders, and all of those Lamia were forces to be reckoned with and feared. Do you know what killed them all?” it asked.
“No,” he answered simply.
It shook its head, “pity. I’ve always wondered, but the answer has never reached my ears, and my followers have claimed the information is old. So tell me, Walker, why seek me out for your skill? I’m sure you had other possible candidates for this pleasure. I do smell another deities touch upon the skill, though it is unused.”
Nodding his head, Colin agreed, “yes, Loki had visited me before I got the skill. But as far as I’ve deduced, the skill does not determine my own personal tastes. It only records the divines who like me enough to allow, uh, channeling,” he answered.
“Bah, Loki is a foul, scheming, underhanded, and treacherous god. He is not one to be trusted, and I think you know that. Why else haven’t you at least attempted to use the skill in his name?” she asked, the voice knowing the answer before he even spoke.
He nodded, “I do, but I would still use his power if it could be of use. I’ve only had the skill for a day, and it would be a bit more accurate to say that I haven’t had the chance to use it yet.” He shrugged and moved one, “but I was hoping to curry favor with you, oh great and mighty Scylla, for the honor of channeling one such as yourself.”
As soon as his words were completed, the serpentine dragon started to laugh. It was the kind of full-body laugh that told of real humor, not mocking the man before it. “You show no fear from me, your words show respect, yet you suffer no fools even within the Cult that acts in my name. You’re becoming a monster yourself, aren’t you?” the creature asked, though it was obviously rhetorical.
“No matter, I actually do have a way you could gain enough favor for me to be added to your skill. There is a traitor in this room, an Outworlder who has been giving his friends information in the Krimson Spire Guild,” the serpent head spoke.
A hush fell over the room, cultists looked at each other, and many were accusing each other in hushed tones. Most looked simply aghast at the very idea that someone in their midst could go against their goddess or themselves. The goddess chuckled deeply at their confusion, and the sound echoed and rumbled the caves around them.
“Indeed, one of you has lied, tricked, and deceived your way into this place. DevilWalker, your charge is thus. Find the traitor, slay them, and lay their corpse before me,” the giant creature stated, teeth bared in a predatory grin.
Colin turned away from Scylla and looked at the crowd of bickering and panicked people in the room. “So, one of you is from Krimson Spire?” he spoke quietly, these words for himself only. “I think that I’ll enjoy this.”
So Colin did something no one in the room expected. He drew his Xiphos and proclaimed, “Well, me and the lord have an understanding. ‘Cause I’m on a mission from god!”
Everyone in the room froze at the declaration from Colin. What had this man just shouted at the top of his lungs? Wasn’t this obvious given that Scylla herself had given him the job? The room was filled with whispered muttering as many people speculated as to what he could be attempting. Maybe, he was trying to assert-
Someone in the room tried to stifle laughter, escaping only as air between their lips. Whoever it was went silent again quickly as Colin narrowed the area where the sound was made. The idea was simple, Outworlders were likely the only ones who’d recognize things from Earth. What was the quickest way to elicit a response? Humor.
“I’m sure you don’t want to know anything else about me. So let’s talk about you, sir. I know that,” his voice slipped into an outrageous French accent, “your mother was a hampster and your father smelt of elderberries” he announced.
“Ha!” a single male voice sounded through the cavern, again stifled quickly.
“I know you all must be wondering if I’m insane right now. But I promise I’m not insane. My Mother had me tested,” Colin told them, displaying the phrase in the same deadpan as the famous character. Another sound of repressed humor came from a similar section of the room, fourth times the charm.
“Are you stupid?” one of the front most cultists.
“Well,” Colin started, using what little perception he had to actively listen and look for anyone to react. “Stupid is as stupid does.”
While most people looked at him with a mix of confusion and nodding acceptance of the phrase, indeed stupid is as stupid does sometimes, one person actually turned away.
“Gotcha,” Colin grinned, activating kinetic Vigor, Empowering Mana(Fire), and sprinted.
The man in question turned in time to see a boosted man coming towards him like a freight train. He reacted in a panic, the robes bursting free from his torso in a wave of golden mana. The man, unlike the Speaker, had a torso built, conditioned, and ready for combat. The muscles were defined, and most of the visible skin was covered in enchanted tattoos. His knees bent low, intending to meet Colin’s charge, but the charge was never the plan.
When the shirt came off, Colin slowed and threw his Mythic Xiphos into the ground, the blade sinking halfway into the dirt. Instead, he drew his Drenching Dagger and his other non-enchanted Dagger and dove into the fake Cultist’s reach.
The center tattoo glowed as the man braced himself and swung a wide arm outward. He blocked Colin’s charge and backhanded him away several feet in the same smooth motion.
You have taken 31 points of damage and now 269/300 health remaining.
Grinning, Colin deactivated his buffs and got back to his feet. Rushing towards the man, Colin threw the unenchanted Dagger and used the moment it took to catch the weapon to close in and enter his attack range.
Colin thrust, and the man dodged, only for the Antagonist to point at the belt the man wore and activate his Fire Magic Manipulation subskill, Ignition.
The faux leather burst into flames and immediately spread to the cloth pants they held up. Dropping the Drenching Dagger, Colin jumped backward, drawing two of his throwing knives and tossed them at the man, now attempting to keep the fire from spreading to his crotch. Both flying blades were enchanted, one with Lesser Chill and the other with lesser increased impact.
Both blades impacted the man with intense force, and they immediately activated their effects. A thin layer of cold spread from the wound a second before the dagger that carried an extra helping of kinetic force. The man howled in pain as he was knocked on his back from everything happening at once. Colin drew rushed forward, grabbing the dropped Drenching Dagger and dropping onto the man, straddling his torso and leaning his knees onto his biceps.
“Arg, fuck!” the man howled as he flailed his legs and tried to muscle Colin off to no avail. “Fuck you, man!”
Colin leaned down, placing his face close to the thrashing and nameless Outworlder, “is it true? Are you a member of the Krimson Spire Guild?”
“Hell yeah, and I’m gonna round us up and kill your ass, you motherfucker!” he screamed, still trying to dislodge Colin. Why did no one know how leverage, holds, and weight placement meant? Especially when someone who knew what they were doing was performing the holds.
The smile on Colin’s face widened into menace. “I doubt that. I think you’ll try, but I sincerely think you got the job here because you are low ranked in the guild. So go ahead, but just know that I hope you do.”
And without another word, Colin drove the Drenching Dagger into the man’s eye. When he still twitched, Colin drew one of his throwing knives and plunged it into the other one for good measure. A few more seconds passed, and the notification Colin had been waiting for arrived.
You have killed an unknown player and your ability Player Killer 1 has triggered. You gain 761 EXP out of his held experience points to the next level. You now have 1835/13,672 Experience remaining until level 12.
Congratulations, you have triggered a hidden quest from your Antagonist(Avenger) Class.
Quest: No ground to run to. Objective: The party that you were briefly a part of, led by the man MonterayRevial, belonged to the Krimson Spire Guild. Thin their herd and leave their holds less defended. Objective: kill 5 members in good standing of the Krimson Spire Guild. Reward: 10 Pride Points. time limit: None.
Your Hubris Ability has triggered for the first time! You have stolen the Player’s Base Class of Brawler. It has been added to your Hubris Menu.
So, to finish the arrangement with Scylla, he picked up the body and carried it into the shallows of the pool that the serpent-dragon waited in patiently. Colin released it and stepped away from the corpse, having a sinking feeling about what was going to happen next.
Scylla’s head snapped down and took the corpse’s entirety into its mouth with a single bite. Chewing on the body a few times for good measure, making the cave seem to echo with snapping bones, then it swallowed him whole.
“I admit, Walker, I am impressed with how fast you worked this issue,” she commended. The serpent tongue slipping between teeth and cleaning out any remaining bits of Player, then it spat out the throwing knives that were still in the body when she’s eaten it.
Colin nodded, “thank you. But I have to ask if you knew the traitor existed and was here, why didn’t you just do… that,” Colin said, snapping at the air with his mouth.
The beast grinned, “what fun would that have been?”
The candid response made Colin smile, “yeah, I understand that.”
Your Channel Effigy Skill has gained another asset. Deities that look upon you favorably: Loki, Scylla.
“Thank you, Scylla,” Colin said, showing her his teeth. “Hope to feed you again soon.”
“I hope this time you take a moment to slather the body in olive oil and basil,” it said, the voice seemed to shiver in happiness at the thought. Then, the serpent slithered back under the surface of the water and vanished from sight.
Walking around the room, Colin collected his things and took special care of his Mythic Xiphos. He wiped the dirt off on his pants, put it away, and then repeated the process with the rest of his dropped or thrown weapons. After that was done, he returned to the Speaker.
“I just have two questions before I get out of your hair. Do you know of any good books on enchanting, and how do I get out of here?”