[Book 2] Chapter 2: Blackbog

“So, this Benjamin Blackbog. What else do we know about him?” asked Parth as Emilia and Andrea moved the platform per Stefan’s instructions.

Moira, keeping her eyes on the holo screen projected above her ring, answered.

“As I said, there are no confirmed alliances for his team. Moreover, his teammates are the Tapestry and the Brutile. He was locked to the team with the patron’s entitlement. The Tempestuous Bauble is a strong artifact, after all. He also is suitable for it, since he is a fairy. The team composition is built in a way such that his teammates would be the ideal support for him. Although I’m not sure if he is with his team. They would have had a problem regrouping, as we didn’t see any signal that corresponded to their artifacts. Maybe they had some subtle idea, I can’t say for sure.”

Parth mulled over the information and nodded. The Bauble was of the same class as his Pygilist and Andrea’s Crylleret. All elemental artifacts. This Blackbog would either be a strong ally or a difficult foe. Nonetheless, they were two teams at almost max strength. Due to Moira’s healing cards, they were fresh most of the time. Other teams that fought through the first trial for a week would not be in such good shape. They would be tired, possibly injured, and most definitely stressed.

There was nothing to fear. And losing ground at this point was not ideal.

He glimpsed at his screen and saw that the timer was steadily ticking. They had about an hour and a half left before they would be pulled out.

“What are we going to do?” asked Kwame, once again showing his reluctance to be on the offensive against voyagers. Parth scowled at that. Kwame did not hesitate when it came to monsters. But then again, they had not come across other voyagers since that mess atop the hill. It was time to see if anything had changed.

Parth didn’t hold out hope for that, though. This time, they would be the aggressors if it came to a fight. Kwame, someone who wouldn’t even retaliate in self-defense, would not step up in this case.

“We shall stay in the air and gauge the situation. If Blackbog requires assistance and would be amenable to an alliance, we shall help him and secure an ally. If he is attacking other voyagers for the sake of culling the competition, we shall do unto him what he wishes to do unto others,” Emilia stated in an imperious tone.

Andrea snorted. “I slept through half of that.”

“How would you determine his intentions, though? If he is fighting other voyagers, how would we know who the bad guy is?” asked Kwame.

Instead of answering, Emilia just pointed at Stefan.

“Ah, yeah,” Kwame muttered sheepishly.

Parth couldn’t help but shake his head. Stefan’s senses and his artifact working in tandem ensured that lying would be an exercise in futility. His artifact picked up minute cues and told him all about the actions of others. In the hands of a human, maybe it would be more limited. But a synthire’s senses were sharper, hence all the more data the artifact had to work with.

As they were speaking, the last of the waterspouts disappeared and an unnatural calm abruptly settled over the area. Stefan raised his hand at once, signaling them to stop.

For a moment, their platform floated in place as the Inspectacle observed the situation.

A few seconds later, Stefan said, “Go in a straight line, but be prepared to juke sideways swiftly. We are far enough that they would not have spotted us unless they were looking for us directly. I suspect whatever scuffle was going on has just ended.”

The next moment, they began shooting toward the island while steadily increasing their altitude.

“Should I make it look like a bird?” Andrea asked. “In case they see us from down below.”

“There’s no point in it,” Moira replied. “We don’t have normal creatures here, remember? If they see a bird, they’ll just assume that it’s a monster of some sort.”

“Ah shit, yeah. The change in scenery made me forget that for a hot minute,” said a sheepish Andrea as she propelled the ice platform even further.

After a few minutes, they reached their destination. Nothing had attacked them so far. That itself seemed like a positive sign. But they did not descend impulsively. As they floated high up above, Stefan peered down from the edge of the platform, putting his artifact through its paces. He did not move, nor say anything for a solid minute.

“I see what looks to be the site of the recent skirmish,” he said.

“Did you spot anything peculiar?” asked Emilia.

“My artifact is telling me that two parties clashed, and one has retreated. At least, that’s what I can tell from the felled trees caused by the retreating party. I can also tell that the one who stayed put is the one who created these weather hazards. That’s all I know. I need to get closer to determine more.”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“Alright. Let’s descend, then,” Parth said. “Everyone be prepared. The moment Stefan warns of any incoming attacks, we need to be ready to deflect them until we land.”

Except for Stefan, landing on their own was not an issue. Even if any attack disrupted the platform, almost all of them had the means to propel themselves—although for some, it was costlier than the rest.

Parth’s fear seemed to be unfounded in this case, since nothing happened as they descended. Stefan didn’t give the signal to stop, either, so it seemed as though nothing was going to jump at them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he did see Stefan’s expression getting uglier by the second. Moira also noticed that and began false-shuffling her deck nervously.

“What is it?” asked Parth.

The synthire shrugged, frustrated. “I’m stumped. There’s just too much chaos down there. I need more details to substantiate anything. Be prepared to engage.”

Soon they found themselves landing on a beach that had definitely seen better days.

The beach was carved with haphazard trenches, and the trees by the island’s edge were cracked and toppled over. What stood out were the footprints of large beasts. That and the copious amounts of blood soaking the sand.

In the midst of all this lay a man, who perked up as they landed. He scrambled to his feet, albeit with some difficulty.

The fairy was on the older end for a voyager. He seemed to be somewhere in his late twenties.

He looked pretty normal, except for the few features that defined his species. He was a black-haired, black-eyed fairy, which in itself was a rare sight to Parth. Every single fairy that he’d seen so far had colorful hair and matching eyes. It was not like it was an odd color. Parth and most of his countrymen had similar hair, after all. In fact, he was pretty sure that in Funar, there would be many fairies that had that coloring. It did beg the question of whether the man’s wings would be black as well. He could imagine it. Large butterfly wings that were a smoky black instead of the glowing spectacle they were for other fairies.

But that was not the important detail. Three large gashes had torn through his armor and gouged his torso, which was bleeding profusely. The way he limped on one foot also conveyed what kind of a fight he had been in.

He also noted that the man’s supply box was missing. Either it was somewhere nearby, or he had lost it completely.

Held in his right hand was a pinwheel. He was holding it like one would a pen, but they all knew what it was—the Tempestuous Bauble. It was a pretty little thing. The shaft was a darkly painted metal while the blades of the pinwheel were made out of a folded metallic sheet. Each blade was painted a different color–red, blue, yellow, and green–and the pinwheel spun slowly to a breeze of its own.

Parth was sure that in combat, it could be used in close quarters to spin rapidly and cut through defenses. But its melee effectiveness was not why they were here. It was the devastating ranged abilities of the artifact.

While Parth observed all this, he also noticed Stefan keenly looking at the monstrous footprints. At first look, it seemed like he was trying to figure out what monster it was. But Parth and his teammates knew better. The Inspectacle’s extrapolation was instantaneous. Stefan already knew what the beasts were. He mumbled something that only Kwame, who was standing next to him, could hear. Kwame didn’t react overtly, but he looked tense.

“Hello, guys,” said the injured fairy with a wave, a bright smile on his face.

Stefan returned the greeting. “Hello.”

“May we know what happened here?” asked Emilia.

“Just a random monster attack, you know. Three of them. Tough creatures.”

“I suppose you chased them away,” said Parth.

“Sadly, yes. I wanted to kill them. But the runt of the litter got me by surprise,” said Blackbog, pointing to his mauled torso.

“We can help out if you want. What monsters were they?” asked Stefan.

“Some sabretooth cats,” he replied nonchalantly.

“Smilodons? I faced a lot of them at the previous level. Didn’t know they were here too,” mused Kwame.

“Oh yeah, it’s not like they can’t live on islands,” said Blackbog.

Which was true. The dungeon slotted the monsters in wherever they could survive. Of course, monsters like the hippocamps were not present in the previous level, but that was because they needed water. Landbound monsters could be placed on the islands. It was to be expected. Just like how they were not rid of the death bats, and had to be on the lookout for the creatures as they flew around, even if they hadn’t encountered any on this level so far.

“Of course. What about your team? If you are willing, we can all help each other out,” probed Stefan as he took a couple of steps in front of the rest of them.

Parth could tell that Stefan was using his artifact to gain whatever information he could. But he had already told them to prepare to engage, so they were all on edge.

“My team is dead,” Benjamin answered, voice flat. “Killed by some monsters. So, any alliance you’d have to make would be with me and me alone.”

As Stefan stopped in front of them, he stood in such a way that he was turned somewhat sideways. Discreetly, he repositioned his hand so that his body hid it from Benjamin’s line of sight. He was intently looking at the devastation beside them. It seemed natural, which was what he wanted. This way, it was far easier to signal to the team without giving the game away.

“That is alright. The fact that you’re here alone speaks for itself,” said Stefan, looking at the footprints of the beasts pointedly while moving his hand in familiar patterns.

Enemy. Ready. Careful. Wait. Signal. Attack.

The signs painted a clear picture. Stefan wanted them to prepare and attack once he gave the right signal. But Parth still had to wonder. If Stefan knew that the person in front of them was an enemy, why did they have to wait to engage? They had the advantage in numbers.

“If you put it that way, sure,” said Blackbog. Throughout the conversation, he didn’t seem tense for even a single second. It looked as though he was confident even if things went south. And go south, things would. Even then, Parth couldn’t imagine himself acting like that in such a situation. Heck, Blackbog didn’t even make an effort to stop his bleeding.

“Alright, lead the way,” Stefan said, seemingly wanting the fairy to turn his back.

Alas, their enemy didn’t seem willing to do so. He didn’t even act suspicious. The duality of it thoroughly confused Parth.

“In a bit. I still need to rest a little,” he said.

“Of course. We have a healer with us. Moira, a heart card, please,” said Stefan. His hand, though, was a different matter. He was signaling the opposite of what he was saying.

Moira went through the deck and drew a card, and Parth was sure that it wasn’t a card that would heal.

“Oh, the Arbitrary Dealer,” Blackbog said. “Nice. This makes it so much more fun.”