Lee stood at the gates to Felispar as he looked out over the slightly roving hills and fields of farmers, waiting for the arrival of the very first people he’d ever met here in this new world.
Off to the side of the tall towering gates, remnants of the former campgrounds for the Thexian military could be seen. Stomped grasses, ashy and charcoaled logs, and bits of trash marred the formerly beautiful scenery. They’d apparently left as soon as Lee had, and if he had his say, it was a terrible decision.
There was no way for them to return to the front so quickly, not with the numbers they were traveling with. The war was over as well. They were un-needed for the final push, so he didn’t really have a clue on why they left in the first place. There was a dragon beneath them, and they would be needed if a battle was to erupt.
“Are they going to be here soon? If not, do you have anything to read?” Em whined from his side, her armored form splayed out on the bare earth, all eight legs flaccid as she sulked.
“They should be. Remember how I said you didn’t need to come to greet them? This was why.” Lee snorted as he turned to face her. “I still don’t know how they will react to you, Em. From what I know, they have never met… someone like you.”
Em shoved herself up, her eight metallic limbs spiking into the earth as she stood. “That’s why I’m here. To show them that I’m your friend. Plus, if they do attack, I could do with letting off some steam. Your little punches feel the same as they did before you decided to finally use your stat points.”
Lee frowned as he turned to stare ahead. Yeah, that hadn’t been the greatest of ideas. Even with near instantaneous healing, he could still remember breaking a finger trying to punch her with all of his massive fifteen strength. It made hardly any difference. He was still pitifully weak.
“I’m pretty sure Neia would wipe the floor with you. I haven’t seen you go all out, but I have seen what she can do.”
“Oh? Is that a challenge? I think a good duel would be fitting for the Paladin of Healers.” Em chuckled darkly as Lee’s hairs stood on end.
“Nope. Choose another—Actually, scratch that, how about you become the Paladin of Nothing. You’re fine as you are.” Lee said, as footsteps approached from behind.
Turning around, Lee spotted Jeremy approaching at a quickened pace. “Lee! I bring news from my father.” Jeremy glanced around at the people coming and going from the gate. “It’s quite sensitive. Would you come to our estate? Dendros is making moves.”
Lee spared a glance back down the winding road, not spotting any signs of Neia and Ruven—Not that he knew what their wagon was supposed to look like. He turned to Em and had to take a deep breath and not cringe as he asked a favor. “Em… Would you wait here for my friends? Lead them to the hospital and all of that?”
It was a recipe for disaster. Deep down, he knew that something was going to be fucked up about their meeting, but news from the Lord about Dendros was a pressing matter.
Em gave him a cheshire grin. “Of course…”
That did not inspire confidence, but he had little choice. Lee turned back to Jeremy and gestured for him to lead the way. “Let’s make this quick. Em’s going to fuck something up.”
“I AM NOT!” She shouted, indignant as they parted.
Soon enough, Jeremy and Lee arrived at the Lord’s manor. As they passed by the guards stationed out front, Lee noticed that they had increased their guard. A month ago, there had been three guards out front. Now, there were five. As they entered the building, even more guards were stationed around the hallways and by nearby doors. Each of them were armed, covered in armor, and looked alert and on… well, guard.
Whatever news had come in must have been severe, going by the reactions.
Instead of being led toward the meeting room Lee had been to twice before, they took a separate path and soon arrived at a spiraling stone staircase which led deeper into the ground. Without pause, Jeremy grabbed a nearby torch off a sconce, held it up, and continued onwards.
The stones were slick with humidity and the sounds of their footfalls echoed off the cobbled walls around them. The staircase was much larger than anticipated as well, leading at least three stories below ground. When they reached the floor below, Lee got a good look at where they were.
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A dozen guards stood at attention around what looked to be a dungeon or prison. Metal bars, implanted in the stone floor and ceiling created prison cells, with the only entrance and exits being a solid metal door with an inbuilt locking mechanism attached.
Jeremy continued on, and Lee followed. Down at the end of the dungen-esque room, Jeremiah Blight, Lord of Felispar paced back and forth with a face full of consternation. Before him, a large door made of solid silvery metal was implanted within the wall. It looked to be what Lee would call a ‘maximum security’ section. The door was unique, as it shimmered faintly in his Mana Sight.
Before he could throw an Identify towards the unique metal, Jeremiah approached. He’d hardly interacted with the man, only a handful of times since his arrival, but the look of worry on his face wasn’t reassuring.
“Lee. Glad you could make it so quickly. Dendros has sent a messenger, and it was apparent that he was displeased given their state of being.” Jeremiah came forward and shook his hand.
“State of being?” Lee asked, concern evident.
“Dendros, being a green dragon, is a master of poisons. Magical and mundane. Our antidotes were useless in dealing with the problem, and what little information we gathered before they collapsed was dire. Being who you are, we hoped that you could heal them so we could all hear the rest of their message.” Jeremiah basically pleaded with him, hand still held well after the shake was over.
“Are they behind the doors?” Lee asked, peering past.
“Yes. I was unsure if it was his innate poison or some sort of sophisticated magical contagion. This door and the inside of the cell hampers magic within. Normally, it’s used to house criminals—mage’s specifically. I didn’t want to risk his sending a plague above to wipe us out in some insane attempt to get rid of us from his paranoia.” Jeremiah finally jerked his hand back, looking frustrated at his lack of poise and grace.
Lee patted him on the shoulder. “Better to be safe than sorry. How much dampening is there within? It will be hard to heal them if it blocks my magic.”
A man off to the side of Jeremy spoke up next. “Basic and advanced spells will be unusable. Expert and higher? We’re unsure. Never got to test it before.”
Lee nodded, using Identify on the man who spoke. He looked to be in his late forties and wore a rope not too dissimilar to his own.
Howard Beraft - Human - Level: 43 High Enchanter. (Rare)
Lee surmised that the man in question was the enchanter that Jeremy had spoken of in the past. It was a shame that this was the circumstance that enabled them to finally meet. He was interested in speaking to Howard about enchanting later on.
Taking several steps to the side, clearing the way for Lee to reach the door, Jeremiah signaled the nearby guards to open up the cell. Both guards wore cloth coverings for their face, seemingly in an attempt to protect themselves from whatever contagion might lay within.
Standing before the doors, Lee gave them a nod. The leftmost guard took out a keyring, cycled through, then unlocked the door. It cracked open an inch, and the guard hastily stood a step back.
As Lee shoved the door forward, swinging it inward, the first thought to come to his mind was: this door is heavy. It was several inches thick, and even with his newly found strength, it was a task to open.
Once opened wide enough to slip through, Lee finagled his way inside… only to find that the cell was empty. The walls were carved with numerous runes, obviously heavily enchanted. Their subtle glow was the only light source within.
THUNK
Quickly turning around at the sound, Lee saw that the thick enchanted door had been slammed closed.
With hammer fists, Lee swung, knocking loudly on the door. “There’s nobody here!” He shouted.
As the seconds ticked by, with nobody opening the door to release him, a deep seated fear took root in his heart. They knew that nobody was in here. They’d betrayed him.
Without a second thought, Lee tried to cast Spear of Eternity, aiming to blow the whole damn wall/door down. The mana left the pores on his hands, then fizzled out into nothingness.
MP: 660/800
His mana had drained, then evaporated into the air with nothing to show for it.
With shaky steps, Lee backed away from the door as he started hyperventilating. There was one thing that he never wanted to happen, and it was being captured and used as some sick healing station. Now, he was locked deep beneath the ground, unable to use his magic, and left to the mercy of those who’d betrayed him. For now.
Oh. He’d escape, of that he was certain. The second those doors opened, he was going to unleash hell upon whomever was on the other side. If the slide, connected to the door so that they could check on him, ever opened up… They were dead.
His hyperventilating fear transitioned into one of hatred. His formerly thudding heart, filled with worry, swapped to the thunderous sound of fury.
The seconds he laid his eyes upon anyone, they would die. He didn’t need magic to slaughter, he just needed a target.
In the meantime, Em would find him. She knew where he went. And, unlike the nobles of Thexis, he was confident that she wouldn’t backstab him.
Not ever.