Was it good fortune that these young humans were competent? Or were humans generally more impressive than he had previously appreciated? Despite several centuries of existence Lord Azanth had only limited dealings with humans. And those humans who ended up on the Seventh Plane of Wickedness – serving the demon population, carrying out endless tasks, or simply being tortured for diabolical entertainment – were of course those foolish enough to have bartered their souls for some temporary benefit on the Plane of Life. Perhaps such fools as these were not representative of the more resolute and quick-witted human.
Level 10 was close and that would be another important milestone, as this would unlock level 3 for all of his skills, meaning that the range for Telepathy would increase to 3m; Intoxicating Scent would stun up to 4 enemies within 7.5m for 5 seconds; and Fortify would give a health increase of 4 to everyone in his group. To go on and unlock level 4 for his skills would require Lord Azanth to obtain two stars from the soul stone collecting quests, which led him to a query.
Young Master Aengus, please inform me as to the number and quality of soul stones in your inventory.
Just a moment. Tricky split pull coming up.
At Lord Azanth’s urging the group were continuing their journey into the depths of the mountain. Not that the humans had required much persuasion. In the dark, splintered corridors and echoing caverns were maladent bats, level 10; cave ghouls, levels 9 and 10; death crawlers, levels 10 to 12; and a rare mini-boss, the cloaked stalker, level 15. These opponents – with the possible exception of the cloaked stalker – were perfectly manageable by this group and the XP was excellent.
Sorry, now, we have sixty-six grey stones, thirty light green, seven dark green, and two light blue.
I have been contemplating on the distribution of soul stones.
You have?
The large-fanged bats could not be stunned by the mages’ Freeze skill and before Lord Azanth could continue the conversation he was taken out of range of the monk by the need of the group to adopt a back-and-forth strategy, wherein the monk fell to the ground, the bat flew towards one of the mages, only for the monk to stand up and regain aggro with a Ki Shock Wave. Once the monster was slain, Lord Azanth continued.
From listening to you talk about soul stones, it seems that the well-accepted practice is for them to be shared equally among group members. After all, each of us needs two stars to unlock fourth level in our skills. Yet I believe this approach to be inefficient. Even now, if we accept the inferior exchange rate that is available at the hostelry, we could trade the light green soul stones for three grey soul stones each and thus you could gain 100 grey soul stones and the benefits of a star in terms of a rise by one in Strength, and by five in physical attack and natural armour.
I’m listening. Why me though?
Of all of us, you are the most likely to face opponents at close range and the benefits of a star are disproportionately valuable to you.
Right so. Let me talk to the others.
As the four of them went further into the mountain, now in a cave of stalagmites and stalactites whose floor sloped distinctly downwards, the youngest of the humans explained Lord Azanth’s proposal: that they give all the soul stones to him. Considering the propensity of humans to be selfish, the two others were surprisingly receptive to the idea. Of course they wanted to unlock level 4 in all their own skills, but they appreciated that the physical bonuses that came with stars were far less relevant too them. And they appreciated too that they were a team.
The monsters were becoming more challenging, being at the higher end of their spread of levels. All the same, with the monk’s ability to split pull even the groups that were resistant to Freeze, progress was rapid. Lord Azanth made no objection when Liam suggested they stop and return to the Hostelry of Eternal Darkness for their evening meal. The humans had done very well and there was no need to goad them on; let them replenish themselves for an even more productive day to follow.
They were not even out of the cave of stalagmites, however, when the mountain shook as though struck by a mighty earthquake. A deep, metallic crashing sound came from the black depths. And then a dot of light in the distance, approaching fast.
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‘Run!’ cried Liam.
There is no time. Hide!
‘Wait. Hide!’
Suitable rocks for crouching behind were everywhere and in just seconds the three humans were flat on the ground and probably out of sight of whatever was coming. Probably. Lord Azanth wondered whether to ask Liam to take the case from around his neck and hide it in the space between two rocks. But perhaps that wasn’t necessary and it might even prove unwise should the rocks be so disturbed by the rumblings from the mountain that they rolled onto the Tupperware.
Long before Lord Azanth would have been able to discern what the advancing light represented, Liam whispered, ‘it’s Earl Clarence!’
‘That’s okay, right? He’s a paladin,’ Aengus began to peer up over the rock he was hidden behind.
‘Stay down! I don’t trust him.’
I am destroyed if he finds me here.
The glow of bright light intensified. Shadows stretched and receded. Again, Lord Azanth felt the crushing humiliation of impotency. With his old powers, he would not have hesitated to step out into the path of his hated enemy and taking advantage of surprise, unleash a barrage of skills that would rip through that shining armour and at the very least deliver a serious punch to the smug face of Earl Clarence. In this moment, however, Lord Azanth must cower in fear until the paladin had run past. And not just the paladin, there was another presence: Lady Liseth. Both of them were sprinting hard and the painful moment in which Lord Azanth feared discovery was over before he had time to dwell upon it. They were already out of the cave.
'What do you think they were doing here?' asked Kate.
Aengus stood up, ‘It must have been to do with Chronos.’
Chronos. Titan with powers over time. There were some philosophers, both demon and human, who believed that every second was of infinite value. That it could be made to last forever from the standpoint of the divine. Mortal life experienced the passage of time, whereas immortals existed outside of its flow. Whether that was true in general or not, Chronos could play with time as a child plays with a ball. A clanking sound in the distance. More tremors. And then… then and.
Outside the tunnel, a reception had been arranged for their return. In his past, Lord Azanth had been honoured in many ways, mostly by insincere minor demons out to ingratiate themselves. Here, the demons and humans who were cheering and clapping as he arrived at the Hostelry of Eternal Darkness didn’t even know of his existence. His usual fierce devotion to the cause of vengeance abated for a moment at the warmth of the greeting and Lord Azanth even felt a sense of benevolence well up inside his fried potato body.
‘There you are at last!’ The Second Butler hurried forward at a waddle. ‘This way please, this way.’ He brought the humans to a wooden stage, one that was little more than a square made out of benches with boards on top. At its corners were poles from which hung long rectangles of purple cloth.
‘Esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues of the purple, friends, thieves, low-life, villains, and, lastly, colleagues of the blue. I jest. Hah, hah. Today is a marvellous day for am I able to declare open the tunnel between eternal darkness and eternal light.’ Cheers resounded over the cobblestones.
‘Two months ago, when I had the foresight to advertise for adventurers, in anticipation of this day, I had several medallions struck. Eight in fact. Remarkably, our three heroes here, despite being lower level than many of the monsters, have cleared out the infestation by themselves. I am therefore delighted to present each of them with a medallion and bestow upon them the title, Member of the Purple Order.’
Title Received
Member of the Purple Order
As the applause began to subside, someone screamed. ‘The sky!’
What light was that above the shadow of the mountain? Not the black depths of eternal night. At astonishing speed, the moon fled below the peaks and now came a fair sun as though chasing her. Blue sky, white sun. With a glorious chorus of angels, daylight poured into the square, killing several vampires instantly. The screaming went on and on.
One of the lanterns had gone out and while the other two were sufficient to guide the humans out of the caves to the tunnel, Kate paused to strike a match and attempt to relight it. In the distance, the clanging of chains continued to fill the air around them with ringing sounds. Hurrying, Kate spilled a pouch of matches. She reached for one, paused, then looked over at Liam. ‘I just had the most intense sense of déjà vu.’
‘.us for left meal evening the of some still there’s hope I,’ Aengus said, ‘hungry I’m’
Kate had spilled a pouch of matches. Reaching for one, she paused, then looked over at Liam. ‘I just had the most intense sense of déjà vu.’
That his human companion was worried about the consequences of Chronos escaping his mountain prison was more than understandable. Indeed, the young mage was not worried enough. With Chronos constrained, time was a flow with a current. Even then, it travelled at different speeds for different people. For some, those who were blessed with an inner happiness, it strolled; for others, those who pursued an urgent goal, it trotted; for demons of power, like Lord Azanth, it galloped; and for the philosophical and the tortured (how alike was the true philosopher to a demon’s victim) it stopped cold. With Chronos unbound, time was a storm in which all meaning, purpose, cause, and effect dissolved into fragments of thought and experience.
Kate had spilled a pouch of matches. Reaching for one, she paused, then looked over at Liam. ‘I just had the most intense sense of déjà vu.’