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Once we had defeated our clones of ice, the gates had opened for us promptly.
I should have been celebrating, we had gotten to Phase 2 without anyone dying. But I was too preoccupied with other things.
Namely, I was worried because in Phase 2 all the raid participants –all fifteen of us and ten of them belonging to Eretia– would gather again.
There was a mixture of feelings all shadowed by the fact that although we were here to beat the Fracture together, that meant different things to the adventurers from Miltus and the adventurers from Eretia. My understanding of the Jayu States was that it was a fractured country, all gathered loosely under the term ‘alliance’ just to form a united front to larger powers, like the Turina Empire. Another advantage was bargaining power, bringing in precious goods from their trade partners like the Zimmskar Kingdom of beastman or the Mage Towers of Babel.
Yet, it was the same here as anywhere else. Men with wealth playing their petty games to eke out one advantage over each other, to gain a marginal amount of power at the expense of the people beneath them. In this case, those ‘people beneath them’ that were serving as their cat’s paws were Kyrian, Skaris and I.
That brought me to my current worry. Who did Skaris and Kyrian end up with?
Ending up with a party made only of Eretians boded ill. Their goal was to bring the Fracture Splinter, if it dropped at all, back to the Eretia branch adventurer’s guild. If the people that my party members ended up with were impatient or stupid, they’d kill Kyrian or Skaris preemptively. Why preemptive? The best place to betray us was during the Boss battle, when it was near death, or right after it. Therefore they could either claim that it was an accident –a lethal stray arrow or spell could be as good an excuse as any other– or wipe us all out when we were weakened.
So the chances of Skaris or Kyrian being killed was low. Still… the possibility was there.
My second worry was less pressing but nonetheless important: I too had to betray the Eretians at one point. I had to make sure the Fracture Splinter would get back to the Miltus Adventurer’s guild… or I’d be in debt. Then I’d lose out on a precious opportunity to enter another Fracture. Getting on Marc Pointell’s good side would open up many possibilities for me… Quests (if they existed), achievements and access to wealth. For me, burdened with the Core of a Beckoning Cat which I had to get rid of and severely lacking in the equipment department, gold was a necessity.
Yet, I’d lost precious opportunity to weaken their side by saving Sarai and Krag from moments of danger. There were so many moments when I could’ve let them die or bury a dagger –or in my case, a chipped katana– in their back.
Through that I learned one thing about myself.
I couldn’t kill in cold blood for the sake of getting stronger.
It was different from when I was a slave under the orcs. Everything I had done, all the lives I had taken, were in the name of survival. But now… if I killed these guys, I’d be doing it for no one but myself. Not to be set free or to keep head on my shoulders, but just for a chance at getting stronger.
Strangely, knowing this about myself bothered me.
While I was stuck in my thoughts, we walked through the door and I saw the survivors.
“Lock!”
“Sssslaveborn!”
I saw the seven-foot tall beastman from the lizard tribe walk over and we traded grips. Skaris was smiling, a rare occasion, and I was as well. A rare occasion indeed. Next I traded grips with Kyrian, the mage of our party. Except for his blonde locks being tousled and his magical robe holding stains of blood, he looked nonetheless for wear.
“Glad to see you two alive.” I said to them.
Skaris snorted. “Not assss much assss I worried for your life, Sssslaveborn. I had begun to bet on the posssssibility of you being in a monsssster’s gullet.”
“I took him on that bet.” Kyrian said good naturedly, reaching up and clapping a hand on Skaris’ shooulder. “You owe me five gold coins.”
I felt a slight twinge of annoyance at the mention of gold, that these two were throwing coins to each other despite the fact that our party was penniless. But between the two there was a sense of camaraderie, something that had been there but grown tense after their argument in the Slums. I knew that although Skaris always treated Kyrian no different than the others, there was still the fact that Kyrian had once been a soldier of the Akka Xaluds and a Noble from the Turina empire to boot. Kyrian on the other hand, had always been uncomfortable by Skaris’ impatience and sometimes boorish nature.
But the tension between them was gone. For that I was glad though I didn’t voice it for fear of bringing the topic up again.
“No thanks to me for keeping them all nice and safe for you?”
Eltis, the purple-haired elven priestess approached us. The low-cut dress from before was gone; replaced by a black-and-purple cloak. Unlike ours which were thin, hers was made of thick suede and the hood opening was adorned with fur. I felt much safer from my trauma, now that her overtly sexual demeanor was muted due to the cloak.
I met her gaze and gave her a small bow of my head. “Thank you.” I meant them too, I truly was thankful to her.
“You three were together? Just you three?”
“Yes.” Kyrian nodded. “Sister Eltis was with us. We were surprised to find out that the whole party had ended up being split up. But thanks to Sister Eltis we arrived here without much trouble.”
“Please, I told you to call me Eltis.”
Kyrian paled and didn’t reply.
I could’ve sworn Skaris took a step behind me, furthering himself from the priestess.
“What about you, Lock? Is this all of you guys?”
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“Yes.” I gestured at Aurora, Krag and Sarai who exchanged greetings. I looked past Kyrian and saw the others waiting for us.
Skaris and Kyrian shared a look.
“There ssseems to be a problem.” Skaris faced Sarai and spoke without preamble. “Two of your party membersss are dead.”
“Skaris.” Kyrian hissed then added for Sarai’s benefit no doubt. “They have not arrived yet.”
Sarai’s orange eyes widened. “Which ones?” But she didn’t wait for an answer, pushing past them. “Baran?! Baran!”
Sarai ran towards the center of the room, searching for her brother, the silent archer if I wasn’t mistaken.
Krag excused himself and went towards the Eretians gathering in the center.
That left my party with Aurora and Eltis.
“Thank you for taking care of Lock.” Kyrian said and Skaris mumbled his thanks as well.
“It was my pleasure.” Aurora met their gaze evenly. I saw Skaris look at Aurora’s armor, stained with blood and wear, then to her shield which looked perfectly clean in comparison. He quirked an eyebrow at me.
“Later.” I mouthed not wanting to lose this rare chance of talking amongst us without the Eretians listening in.
The clearing that we entered was surrounded on all sides by a dozen gates, all made of the same rock as the rest of this maze. But the only thing that was different about this room was that the walls stretched to form a ceiling, making this place look more like the inside of a building in the shape of a dome. It was large enough to easily fit more than a hundred people. At the center of the dome was a huge stone tablet, easily the size of the Namahage that we had fought in our way here. The Eretians were arguing near the stone tablet and if I wasn’t mistaken, soon they’d turn their attention to us.
“Marc Pointell has told you two what he needed from this?” I said to Aurora and Eltis.
Eltis smiled and nodded. Aurora frowned but did not deny it.
“If the Eretians do want to stab us in the back for it, they’ll do it after we defeat the boss of this Fracture. Keep your wits about you. Skaris, I’d prefer it if you stayed near the Priestess at all times from now on. If anyone gets hurt, she’s the only person who can heal.”
“Oh my, my personal guard.”
Skaris grimaced but didn’t object. “Done, Ssslaveborn.”
“Lady Aurora-”
“Please, Mr. Lock. Call me Aurora.”
“Ok. Aurora then. Please, stay near Kyrian. As long as you stick near Kyrian and Skaris sticks near Eltis our backline should be taken care of.”
“Mr. Lock. I’m a Shielder. It would be strange to seem like I’m staying near the back-”
“From what I’ve seen, there’s only two real shielders in this group. You and Ramhof. I’ll try to steer the conversation so you can stick near the backline. Sarai and Krag have seen your capability; being a mage and priest themselves no doubt that they’ll be more than relieved to have you protecting the rear.”
“Two problems with that.” Kyrian interjected. “You will be the only one near the fighting then. With all of us in the backline, you will be the first one to be targeted.”
“Only if they plan to betray us in the first place.” I shook my head. “Chances are that we could still draw lots for a Fracture Splinter, if it drops at all.”
“Yet you are placing everyone near the back where they’re safe. How gallant.” Eltis whispered with a smile.
I didn’t have an answer for that because she was right. If I truly believed they’d want to draw lots in the case of a Fracture Splinter drop, I wouldn’t be doing this much in the first place.
“What’s the second problem?” I wanted to address their concerns before going ahead with this plan. Instead of them just hopping in, it was always better to be on the same page working towards the same goal.
At least, that’s the party that I always dreamed of when playing MSS. I had always wanted to treat my party members like humans, wanting to do more than just clicking on dialogue boxes. It had always been a desire of mine to hear their thoughts about the plan and take their feedback; now I had that chance. With a party in a Fracture, tangled by intrigue… I knew that we were in a dire situation but I was just as excited as I was nervous.
I felt like we were adventuring.
“They won’t listen no matter what you say.” Kyrian pointed out, gesturing at the Eretians still convening among themselves. “That adventurer named Pyret, he’s working up a storm.”
“Tell me more about that.”
“When we entered, the sword usssser was sssspeaking to the otherssss, that hissss people were misssssing. Until you entered, we had hoped that they were with you. But if you are the lasssst ones to arrive… then it isssss ssssafe to assume that two of their own issss dead.”
“Mr. Skaris. Do you happen to remember the names of those who have not yet arrived or are presumed deceased as of now?”
“Forma, the human archer, and Trevor the priest.” Kyrian grimaced and even Eltis gave a pained smile. “Losing a priest in the Fracture… it doesn’t look good, Lock. He’s no doubt trying to make it out like it was us. Skaris, Priestess Eltis and I landed by ourselves; they suspect us of killing them.”
“Do you know who landed with who?”
“Pyret with the elven mage, Dibo, and the cat beastman.” Eltis answered for the others. “Then Ramhof, Baran and Furgrin. Those are the two groups.”
“Is there a possibility that those two landed in their own starting point and have not made it yet?” Aurora voiced her own concern. “We had Sarai and Krag with us. But it seems that you three not having any of the Eretians in your party is working against you; you have no third-party witness.”
“Now that we have arrived as well, they will no doubt point the finger at you.” She finished.
The elven priestess gave a bitter laugh, which she managed to make it sultry. “We know.”
Kyrian met my gaze. “Hence, if you dispatch two of the Miltus warriors near the back, they will no doubt raise their concerns. We have to be able to prove our innocence.”
I wracked my head thinking.
There were things I knew about the Twilight Maze that no one else here did, presuming that it was their first time inside the maze or that none of them were players. For example, the fact that the minimum number of people that the Twilight Maze put in a starting party in Phase 1 was three. That meant Forma and Trevor couldn’t have landed just by themselves. That being the case… they couldn’t have died to monsters.
No, they landed with at least three others.
And were killed by other adventurers.
There was always the possibility that Kyrian, Skaris and Eltis were lying to me. Well, maybe not Kyrian and Skaris; the three of us went through too much together for that. Or perhaps that’s why it’s called a betrayal, because you never expected it. Still, I wanted to believe them. That lead me to other possibilities.
One (or both) of the two Eretian parties killed them, then were blaming us for it. Why? There were many reasons. Perhaps Forma and Trevor got into a disagreement with the others. Perhaps about the political intrigue that they were being used for, or even for something typical like arguing over a monster drop. Either way, it would be more than convenient for the Eretian party if they killed the two then blamed it on us.
My other theory was that it wasn’t the entire party who killed them, but a select few or even an individual. Right after entering Phase 1, the killer could have killed Forma or Trevor in a single blow. It would’ve been easy too, both were backline classes. I knew for sure that someone like Skaris or I could easily kill those types of adventurers within a second. Then they’d use an ability to make the body disappear before the rest of the party realized it. The prime candidates were Furgrin, Pyret, Baran, Track, Dibo… basically more than half their number.
Without insight into what Cores or spells they had at their arsenal, it was too many suspects for me to narrow it down.
But one thing was for sure: the killer was in this room with us.
I suppressed a shiver.
I once played a game called Mafia when I was in elementary school. It was at the house of another kid, before my parents lost their corporation. This feeling brought me back to that scene. Although the game was make-believe, it had been real enough to me. The accusations flying in the air, the killer hidden among us and the frustration about not knowing who to believe. Except we were playing for keeps now with real blood on the line.
“Well, when it gets to that, we’ll deal with it. But for now, I think we’ll have to see what the Eretians say first.” More than Skaris and Kyrian, I looked to Aurora and Eltis.
Aurora nodded grimly and Eltis followed suit. “As you say.”
It wasn’t a moment too soon because Pyret called us over.
As we walked over, Aurora spoke to me while we were lagging behind the others. “Your party members… Mr. Skaris and Mr. Kyrian. They worry about you.”
“Of course. I’m always in their care.” I said with an easy smile.
Aurora seemed to study me while walking next to me. “Do you trust them?”
“Yes.” I didn’t hesitate.
“Would you bet your life on it, Mr. Lock?”
“Yes.” I said once more. “I’ve already done so. More than once. They’ve saved me more times than I can count.”
They’d never admit it. They always thought I was the one who rescued them from Samak City. But to me… They were the ones who believed in me and stayed next to me, watching my back.
“There are people who have spent their entire lives together, only to be betrayed at the last second.” Aurora continued. “I have known such people, Mr. Lock. Trust is a fickle thing and hard to come by. From what I know, it seems you have not known your party mates for that long. Where does your trust come from?”
The way she asked her question, the way she framed it, I knew there was something more behind them. Something unsaid, something that she had been looking for. Not just from me, but from everywhere. I thought carefully before answering.
“The length of time I spent with them doesn’t matter. We fought together, risking life and death.” I shook my head. “They’re my comrades. Nothing will change that.”
Aurora stayed silent for a bit. “I envy you.”
I thought I heard her wrong. “Excuse me?”
Before she could answer, Pyret yelled out towards us, unsatisfied by our leisurely speed. “Get over here! Now!”
Joining the circle of adventurers next to the slab of stone, we were met with hostile stares.
“I assume you’ve already been briefed.” Pyret aimed his question at Aurora and me. “Anything you have to say for yourselves?”
I asked a question I already knew the answer to. “Are you accusing Eltis, Skaris and Kyrian of murdering your party mates?”
“Who else could have done it?!” I saw the veins bulging from Pyret’s forehead. The man was furious. Any second now, he could draw his sword and shield.
I wished I was one of those characters in the manga that I often read, blessed with wit and a silver tongue. But I wasn’t one of those. I was just… me. So I stuck to the logic that I knew, trying to put holes in his argument.
“It could've been a party that wasn’t theirs. Why are you so sure it was them?”
“The only other party that could’ve done it was yours. But Sarai and Krag were in there.” Pyret glowered then pointed at Dibo. “I was with Dibo and Track. Baran and Furgrin were with Ramhof. Why would Baran stand by and watch Forma and Trevor be killed?”
“Perhaps you killed them.” I muttered, just loud enough for Pyret to hear. I thought of a theory that might be true in a soap opera. “Maybe you confessed to Forma but she loved Trevor. So you killed them both out of love.”
“SHE WAS MY WIFE! MOTHER FUCKER”
Ah shit.
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