Novels2Search
System Corruption: Patch
Chapter 5: Beauty Is Not A Virtue

Chapter 5: Beauty Is Not A Virtue

Quest: Event Fairies Wake

Info: Having accidently stepped into the fairy realm you must escape alive without being cursed or badly hurt. Use and silver tongue to beat the fairies with meagre knowledge of their legends.

Location: Jonmans Park

Optional Objectives: Save your sister and/or dog!

Reward: 100 EXP

Optional Reward: One vial of [?]

Failure: Become a servant of [?]

Declining: None

Yes or No?

Accepting the event, I sigh and look at Ali. Tightening the grip on my weapon I put my phone away, grabbing Ali I pulled her along the path watching for any sign of movement. Following on the paved path the surrounding trees increase in number as bushes that previously did not exist spring up before our eyes. Ali squeezes my hand and I give her a little squeeze in an attempt to reassure her.

Deciding to slow down so I wouldn’t step on any of the leaves and twigs laying on the path. Music and flickering lights start to fill the forest as we walk ever closer. Stopping when we hear rustling from the bushes, a little white rabbit runs onto the path. It stops and looks at us all the while standing on its two feet, elegant and white as snow, cute well… it would be if its blood shot eyes weren’t filled with… malicious curiosity. Shaking its head, it turns to the road and then back to us before sprinting along the road to whatever is making the music. Gulping I tell Ali “If something happens to me run.” Turning to her I continue “Remember fairies can’t tell a lie knowingly and are scared of iron or someone knowing their real name.”

Looking at me with a timid smile she asks curiously, picking up on my anxiety “I don’t think that was a fairy. That looked more like a bunny.”

“Just trust me on this. If you have to make a deal and remember they take the wording literally.”

She looks at me and nods but answers “Fairies are good, aren’t they?”

Giving her a little smile “This isn’t Disney Ali, fairies don’t care about being good or bad they want to have fun and it doesn’t matter if humans get hurt.” I guess being a bookworm will at least help me deal with anything supernatural, I hope at least that some part of the stories is true after all there must be a grain of truth in them.

Still unsure I slowly pull her along, leaving her behind puts her at the risk of being captured at least with me I can defend her. The Bloody Butcher is probably made of iron so it might hurt them. After a few minutes and a few turns on the path we get lost in the forest stranded in another world. The trees are beautiful and exotic but are unnaturally colourful with red, blue and green. The sky is covered with some kind of dome separating us from the clear blue sky but still letting light in. Eventually the forest and bushes grow sparse as a wide-open glade appears before our eyes, a round stone table with stone chairs sits at the centre with delicious and warm looking food on top of it. With no other option we step closer until we finally reach the table and we look upon the banquet set before us.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

The food smells delicious and looks enticing, drooling at the sight I stop myself from grabbing a nearby apple. Never can be too careful I turn to see Ali about to bite into bread, with surprising speed I knock the delicious loaf out of her hand onto the floor. Hissing at her “Don’t bloody eat that. You don’t know what it is!”

Shouting back at me “Shut up! Its bread what’s the worst that could happen?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know? No one leaves behind warm food in a forest with cutlery and chairs waiting for you.”

A beautiful voice filled with mirth and joy interrupts us and we turn around to see an impossibly beautiful man. He towers above any man they had seen with hair the colour of gold and emerald eyes that hold a malicious glint. Wearing elegant white robes with golden linings which compliment his white porcelain skin. Gripping his weapon Kacper puts himself in front of Ali momentarily forgetting their argument.

The man starts speaking but the word seems to be more like a repetitive melody then a real language, he stops to look at us seeing clearly the confusion painted on our faces. Irritation appears on his face but disappears just as quickly being replaced with a slightly too sweet smile. He starts speaking again in perfect English “Hello their mortals may I ask why you interfere with the preparations of my feast? Oh, not to be a bother could you move that abomination in your appendage as far away as possible from me.”

Gulping I give Ali a quick look so she would keep quiet, I slowly putt the cleaver back into my coat pocket never taking my eyes of the… I don’t know what maybe an elf? I look closer at him to see that he does indeed posses pointed ears sticking through his hair. I would rather not offend someone who can create their own dimension. I carefully ask trying to keep my voice steady “Sorry for the trouble we were looking for our dog a black Labrador? Any chance you saw him, we think he might have chased a squirrel into this forest.”

Gently tapping his face with one elegant finger he grins before grabbing a shadow and then pulling out Czarny by the scruff of his collar, Czarny is desperately struggling to get free. He turns to look at me with a grin that splits his face in two but somehow is still elegant. His voice has a tinge of excitement as he speaks “Do you means this mutt I caught him trying to eat one of my attendants.”

My eyes flicker between him and Carny who howls in pain as the man’s long and sharp nails slowly tighten on his neck, “Stop! I’m sorry for that but killing my dog is not a fair.” My mind is working at the speed of light trying to remember anything I could use against a fairy.

He nods at my words but continues “That is true, but you have disrespected me. You have come to my banquet uninvited and ruined my carefully planned feast. Not only have you come here without permission but also with an abomination and you never showed respect for your betters. I think the death of this mut is a very lenient punishment, don’t you agree?”

He begins to tighten his grip on Czarnys throat unable to do anything I hear Ali screaming at him to stop I have my hand in front of her to stop her from doing anything suicidal. As I watch tears start to form in her eyes and I hear the whimpering of Czarny, something clicks in my brain. Shouting at the fairy I shout, “HOW ABOUT A GAME?” this stuns Ali and stops the death of Czarny for a few more seconds before he starts laughing. Soon the laughter is joined by a cacophony of other voices follow as more strange and otherworldly beings step out of the forest. All shapes and sizes but what unites them is their beauty that surpasses anything I have ever seen on Earth. I feel my thoughts becoming slow and muddy as they step out from the shadows laughing at me. Shaking my head, I turn back to the dog strangler and try to focus on my canine ignoring the laughter and jokes thrown in my direction.

The dog strangler eases his grip and his ear-splitting grin grows wider somehow extending behind his ears, He looks at the laughing crowd before coming to a decision. He theatrically throws my dog back into the shadows where he disappears with a yelp, before twirling around and somehow appearing inches away from my face. Before I can think how he did it he bends down and grabs my hand, shaking it. His voice dripping with contempt he continuous “Very well little mudman we shall play a game for your little mut and your sorry lives.” He straightens and like a circus performer speaks loudly into a microphone “Today I have a little treat for you! We shall watch a Wild Hunt or my name isn’t Angthe Du Nali!”

I look at Ali to see her staring at me with abject horror, welp I'm an idiot I might as well have given my soul to the Devil. At least he might have the concept of empathy unlike these monsters.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter