Break of Autumn, Week 3, Day 7

I whipped around, my body moving on its own. I pulled away from Jenny effortlessly. I was still close enough to the door that I barely had to reach for it. Gripping the handle, I twisted the knob and pulled.

Krrrrkkkkkkkrrkkkkt….. Krrkkkrrrrttt.

The sound continued and the sight of writhing roots greeted me, and I could feel all rational thought leaving my head. My breathe quickened, and I dropped my hand –just as Jenny grabbed it from the air and grasped it tightly.

A blight.

My vision was going black. I tried to take a slow breath to control myself. But Jenny was speaking, and I couldn’t understand a word of it. She was pulling on me, but I was staring at the dark opening left behind by a wide open doorway. I was focused on the monster, on the sounds it was making, on the way it was forcing me to feel.

I fired off an [Inspect].

[Sapling Blight, Tier 1, Level 17]

[A monster that subsists on mana, both ambient and otherwise. Currently a Sapling, an immature Blight that will grow into a specialization. Current specializations are predicted to be: Twig, Vine, or Shrub.]

As the words filled my vision, Jenny shouted something at me and forcefully tugged my arm –causing me to fall backward and land facing the doorway. But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Nothing but–

[Shadow Conjuration+Shadow Manipulation]

The command echoed in my head, and I gasped as I felt the ice of mana flood my veins. Out from my heart and through my chest. Chest to shoulder. Shoulder to wrist. Wrist to hand. I lifted my hand, palm down, and pointed at the beast in the darkness.

From my fingertips, black shadow oozed. It rolled off me like miasma and coalesced in the air into long tendrils. They were rapidly multiplying, one eldritch horror after another. All primed and ready to attack.

It was on my forced exhale that the spears of shadow went flying. From nothingness, they were born, but I could hear how solid they were. They shot from me like bullets, aimed for the mass of roots across from me. The first struck a root dead center, severing it from the mass. The second flew wide. The third another true shot.

The wood ripped and splintered as I attacked. I watched as shards of wood flung out from the body of roots. Another tendril shot out like a spear and ripped a limb from the blight. At some point, I felt Jenny release me, but I was too overwhelmed to stop my onslaught. I was consumed by the need to destroy the blight. To end the threat against me. It was thirty seconds before the roots stopped writhing noticeably.

My breathing slowly came under my control once again, and I pulled my hand back and stopped my attack. I realized I was shaking. I leaned forward, peering into the darkness, and saw the damage I had done.

I had ripped the limbs off the blight and severed its head. The writhing had stopped, and there were no more sounds coming from the room. As I watched, I saw that there were thick metal bars holding the monster back. I let my head fall between my knees, and I gripped my braid with both hands.

I released a shuddered breath. Beside me, I heard a whimper. My hackles raised, and I whipped my head up and reached for the noise. My body twisted faster than should have been possible, and I had my hand wrapped around Jenny’s throat. I was practically on top of the girl.

“You knew,” I hissed.

I was deathly still, but underneath my hand Jenny was shaking. Tears were running down her face, and I could feel her choked sobs. She was acting like a –my mind shuddered. Like a child, I thought, horrified. It was then I whipped back, scrambling away from the child.

Jenny brought her hands up to her throat, still sobbing and leaning back against the door.

I took another breath and filled my head with intention.

[Mental Fortitude]

In my head, moments flickered in my mind. The sight of the grey stone walls. The feel of the cold floor under me. The sound of Jenny’s shattered breaths. The smell of salt and sweat. The taste of stale air on my tongue. It did what it was meant to do –it grounded me. But it didn’t make me any less afraid. Simply more in control.

“Explain,” I yelled at her, anger and fear mixed together, “Explain why there is a monster in your basement!”

Jenny’s eyes were wide, and she began frantically trying to stand –only for her hands to fail to grip anything and her legs to collapse under her. So she started to crawl away. I was calm enough now that I stood. My legs were unsteady, but they held.

“Jenny,” I whispered, horrified.

Then, I turned around, surveying the damage once more. My stomach turned.

I turned on my heel and ran. I had been so tired, so ready to relax and soak in a bath. So prepared to let the burn of my muscles remind me I was alive. None of that was in me now. No. Now I was screaming.

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“Klein!” I shouted, passing Jenny.

“Arlen!” I screeched, bounding up the stairs.

I yelled and screamed and shouted like a banshee as I moved. The door at the top of the stairwell burst open right as I was about to rip it open myself. Immediately, I saw through the dirt –I saw the cream metal, the purple leathers, the emblem of the two suns, and I ran to the suit of armor in the doorway.

“Help me–” I choked out, a sob coming out, tears I hadn’t noticed running down my face.

Arms wrapped around me, and a familiar voice bellowed, “POSITIONS.”

I felt the command echo and rebound off the walls. Relief flooded me. It was Sir Rellar. I was lifted off the ground and positioned with my arms around his neck. He supported me and turned around. Within moments, a dozen knights were bursting through windows and bounding down the halls.

“Neil, Siobhan, secure the basement. Undein, George, grab the Baroness. The rest of you, subdue the house guards.” His voice was calm, collected, in control. And the Knights of the Dusk moved.

Like lightning, Sir Neil and Dame Siobhan passed us by. Quick as a blade, Sir Limrick and Dame Undein darted in one direction. Without hesitation, Klein and Arlen –who were off to the side, took down the singular Perry guard that had been with them. The rest disappeared at the command of their Captain.

I pressed my face into Sir Rellar’s shoulder and cried.

That was when the notice appeared.

[Analysis Complete! Presenting Combat Report.]

[Combat Report]

[Skills Used in Combat:

  Inspect Lv. 5

  Shadow Manipulation Lv. 6

  Shadow Conjuration Lv. 6]

[Hostiles Defeated:

1 Sapling Blight, Tier 1, Level 17 - Killed]

[Contribution: 100%]

[Level Discrepancy: 5 Level Excess]

[Overall Experience Modifier Adjusted for:

100% Contribution against Hostile

5+ Level Excess below Hostile]

[Achievements:

Killed a Blight-type monster for the first time. Extra experience applied.]

[Post-Combat Results:

Skill Level Up! Shadow Manipulation is now Level 7!

Skill Level Up! Shadow Conjuration is now Level 7!

Class Experience Applied.]

My stomach turned again, and I dismissed the box, burrowing myself further into Sir Rellar’s chest.

“You’re alright now, my Lady,” Sir Rellar said, his usually strong voice soft. He used his free hand to pat me on the back gently. “You’re okay, Lady Nora.”

It just caused me to weep more, all my anger and fear forcing its way out through my tear ducts.

“B–” I started, but choked on a sob as soon as I started.

I took a shaky breath and swallowed my tears, whispering, “Blight.”

I felt Sir Rellar stiffen, “What?”

I took another more sobering breath, and once the words started, they didn’t stop.

“There was a blight, it was trapped behind bars, but I didn’t know that. And it was so strong. I couldn’t think, couldn’t stop. I just had to do. So I did. I did! And now it’s dead, but Jenny knew. She knew it was there! What if there are more? What if Perry is its own destroyer!”

By the end, my voice was frantic all over again, and I was pulled back from Sir Rellar’s shoulder, looking right up at his stormy eyes. His brows had gone through a range of emotions, from furrowed in worry to raised in shock. His mouth was a firm line. Any softness he’d shown had disappeared as he fell back into the role of Captain.

“Explain what you mean by it’s dead?” Sir Rellar started with.

Right as I was about to answer, the sound of Jenny crying and being brought up the stairs filled the doorway.

“She–she just–” A hiccup interrupted her, “She is so scary!”

I stilled, my eyes going wide in horror, “I just did what I had to!”

I began pushing against Sir Rellar, and after a half second, he put me down. I turned on my heel, my body and voice still shaking.

“You knew what was down there,” I got out, “You knew, and you had us spend hours next to it!”

Jenny wasn’t even listening. Instead, she was burrowed into Sir Neil’s armor. My stomach churned. I felt Sir Rellar’s hand on my shoulder, holding onto me.

My knights. I thought they were my knights. What if they don’t believe me? What if they choose Jenny? I need Noir! He’s all I can trust.

As my thoughts spiraled and I leaned out against Sir Rellar’s hand, Sir Neil set down Jenny and stepped away, saying, “I found her huddled in the corner of the basement, crying about seeing a monster.”

His voice was calm, impassive, and his face was hard. He held no sympathy as he looked down at Jenny.

“Something tells me she wasn’t talking about the blight, either.” He sneered. Jenny covered her face as she continued to cry.

Warmth bubbled up in my chest, and while I was still shaken, I was at least reassured. He isn’t taking her side.

“Report. Neil, what did you find?” Sir Rellar asked, glancing down at me.

Sir Neil stood straight, his fist over the suns on his armor, “Reporting, Captain. I found a cellar at the back of the basement. There were eight cells in the room. The one closest to the door held a blight corpse –Sapling, Tier 1, Level 17. Deeper into the cellar were three more blights –seemingly sedated and unmoving, all Saplings and sub-level 10. Dame Siobhan found traces of elemental magic. She is currently verifying the status of the blights and the magic traces. There was no evidence of additional members of House Perry being present.”

As Sir Neil spoke, I could feel Sir Rellar’s eyes staring daggers into my back. The longer he spoke, the harder the stare became. Just when I thought I would crumble under the weight of his judgment, he let out a long sigh.

“House Perry is nothing but trouble. First the Baron and now the Baroness? Do these people never learn?” Sir Rellar looked to Jenny, “Lady Perry, please go with Sir Neil to the reception room.”

She never looked at me as she lifted her face out of her hands. Her eyes, red from crying, focused on Sir Rellar as she nodded, and Sir Neil began ushering her out of the stairwell and down the hallway. In the distance, I could hear the sounds of metal clanking and muffled shouts.

I stayed very still as Sir Rellar pulled his hand away from my shoulder. I did not move, even as the man shifted to kneel in front of me. My eyes were focused on the ground as he spoke.

“Now that we’re alone,” Sir Rellar tugged my chin up, forcing me to look him in the eye. ”Lady Nora, care to explain how you were able to kill a blight 15 Levels your senior?”