Chapter Eight – The Mysterious Egg Pendant
A/N: Skills Appearing in <<-->> are skills used with "Path of Silence" (meaning he is not saying them aloud)
The hallway stretched into the distance. In fact, Knox was certain that it was far longer than the outside of the building should allow. Doors, with odd symbols engraved at eye level, lined the corridor that led to another set of golden arches. Knox tried a few of the doors along the hall only to find that there were no handles and they seemed to be magically locked.
“Hmm... Maybe they need some kind of spell?”
“Who knows? Let’s go check out what’s at the end.”
Knox and Nightshade walked along the tiled hall, Knox on the lookout for more traps but surprisingly there were none. When they reached the end of the hall Knox stopped and stared... Before them was the hugest library he had ever seen, towering dozens of stories into the air, shelves upon shelves of books. Knox watched ladders move to and fro along the shelves as though invisible librarians were hard at work. High among the rafters, it looked like books with wings were circling lazily! Knox was getting a strong Harry Potter vibe about this...
“What the heck is this?”
“Why the hell are you asking me?”
“I don’t know... but if someone pops out with a magic wand, I’m gonna stab ‘em on principle.”
The weird meter didn’t stop there! Glass cases filled with a variety of odd things like pixies, balls of light that changed color and a dinosaur head that kept winking at Nightshade, were spread around the room.
It was the center of the room, however, that really drew Knox. In a ring of water, designed in an intricate pattern that seemed to move and whirl, stood a pedestal. A small oval object was floating above the pedestal, emitting an ethereal blue light. It drew him in with a musical hum, until it was all he could see.
*hum*
Knox stood there, mindlessly staring, until something moved in front of the pedestal. A tall girl, completely clad in armor with silver hair flowing down her back, was reaching for the object.
‘Nightshade! No!’
Even though in his mind he screamed, his lips never moved and his body remained perfectly still, as Nightshade’s hand closed around the floating object.
*BOOM!*
A huge shockwave exploded outwards, taking Knox clean off his feet and sending him hurtling back down the hallway. He slid along the hall, like a lumpy shaped bowling ball until suddenly...
*Click*
One of the tiles let out an audible sound as it sunk into the floor. With a yell, Knox disappeared into one of the many traps he’d missed on the way into the temple.
_____________________
Nightshade was in more pain than she could have ever imagined. As soon as her hand touched the object, the world exploded. Even though she could feel the explosion through every bone, her feet were seemingly glued to the floor. Intense vibrations made her feel as though she’d be ripped apart at any moment. Her teeth ground together and her very bones seemed to be cracking under the strain.
‘How! How can it hurt so much inside a game?!’
Nightshade screamed in her own mind... Then a voice answered her.
- Why? -
A childish voice rang inside her head like a gong and Nightshade dropped to her knees clutching at her head.
- Why am I alone? Why did the others break? -
The piteous voice, filled with pain, confusion and fear, wailed inside Nightshades head.
- Am I broken? Is that why none will take me with them? Is something wrong with me? Is that why I am alone? -
Nightshade’s mind reeled at the words... Words so similar to the cries she had once made as a little girl... when her mother had left her.
********
A small girl huddled in the corner of the room, blankets pulled up over her head and tears streaming down her face. A part of her world had disappeared... She had been abandoned. If that person could just leave... Then so could anyone! No one would stay with her. They would all leave her. There was no one to count on!
*knock*
*knock*
“GO AWAY!”
The little girl screamed. She huddled deeper into her blankets and waited for whoever it was to leave. They were all liars anyway. The police had explained ‘it’ truthfully. ‘It’ could happen to anyone. Death.
*creaaak*
The little girl peaked out from her blankets at the sound of the opening door. A small boy walked in, no bigger than the girl, dressed in a tiny suit that already had a few stains around the neck. He glanced nervously around the bedroom, trying to penetrate the dark.
“I SAID GO AWAY!”
The boy swiveled in the little girl’s direction and began walking toward her. The little girl looked away and hid under her blankets and began to cry louder. The boy sat next to the sobbing girl, his face completely impassive and his hands folded in his lap.
He sat perfectly still, listening to the sound of the girl’s sobs and didn’t utter a word of fake condolences like all the adults. They sat like that for hours, the girl sobbing and the boy patiently waiting until finally...
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why am I alone?! Why did she leave me? What did I do wrong?”
“But you’re not alone.”
“YES I AM!”
“Your dad is still alive isn’t he?”
“He’ll die one day too!”
“I’m still alive.”
The little girl’s head appeared out of her blankets and a pair of green eyes, fierce yet swollen and watery from crying, glared at the boy.
“You’re useless! I bet you’ll die before anyone else!”
The little girl expected her words to hurt the boy and make him leave her alone... Yet... Something entirely different happened... The boy’s grey eyes flared and his expression seemed to age and harden. The little girl couldn’t help but shiver as the boy seemed to transform into an entirely different person before her eyes.
“I can’t promise that I won’t die... but I won’t die as long as you’re alive.”
His voice seemed to be filled with a weight that even the adults had lacked and somewhere deep inside the girl, the ball of despair that had been building, began to crack... a little.
After his declaration, the boy stood and offered the girl his hand. After a moment of hesitation, a small hand reached out from within the blankets...
********
- Why am I always alone? –
The childish voice knocked Nightshade from her memory and she was surprised to find tears on her face. Then with a sad smile she thought as loud as she could...
‘You’re not alone anymore!’
_____________________
“WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THIS GAME?! THIS ISN’T ALICE IN WONDERLAND! STOP DROPPING ME DOWN HOLES ALREADY!”
Knox screamed and shook his fist in the air, as he got to his feet. He brushed himself off and looked around. He was apparently in... another library. Unlike the majestic library he had entered earlier, this one was covered by a thick layer of dust.
“Well... At least there weren’t any spikes at the bottom... That would have sucked. I’d better see if I can contact her.”
- Nightshade, are you alright? –
...
The only response he received was silence. He quickly pulled up his party info and was relieved to see she still had over eighty percent of her HP.
‘Maybe I can’t send PMs from here? Or maybe she can’t receive them? Whatever... first I need to find a way out of here.’
Knox had just taken a step forward when he felt his hair stand on end. Without even knowing why, Knox jumped backwards, just as a stone fist exploded from the floor.
Sixth Sense skill successful
The floor in front of Knox began to bulge upwards and a humanoid shape, made completely out of dirt rose up out of the ground. Knox’s eyes were drawn to five circles embedded in the stone golem that seemed to glow in the dark.
Sixth Sense skill successful
‘Wait, did it just illuminate the monster’s weak points? Did it register them as a danger? Or a way to eliminate the danger?’
He didn’t have any more time to wonder. Knox heard a flapping noise as something smashed into the back of his head. He only caught a glimpse of wings and pages but it was enough for him to know what it was. One of those damn flying books...
Knox dodged again as another stone fist came at him. He stared in disbelief as the golems arm turned in midair, like a right-straight with a homing device!
‘That is freaking cheating!’
Knox took the punch in the stomach and it lifted him clean off his feet. His breath whooshed out and his back exploded with pain as he crashed into a bookshelf.
-300 HP from a body blow
Knox tried to attack again, using his high agility and speed but each time he was countered by the golem’s limbs. Arms changed their trajectory, feet exploded out of the ground without warning.
‘This damn golem has an almost unlimited number of attack angles...’
Knox had just rolled under another punch when he spotted something strange. Just as the golem’s fist had been about to smash into the bookshelf, it had halted. Then Knox understood.
‘Its orders must be to protect the books! It can’t harm them!’
Knox looked around for the annoying book from earlier and saw it flying in circles nearby. He made a dash for it and snatched its wings. The book struggled for a bit but Knox got a firm grip on it and ‘voila’ instant bookshield!
‘Hostage situation, baby!’
He approached the golem with the book in one hand and a throwing knife in the other.
‘Now who’s smashing who?!’
Whenever the golem tried to attack, Knox brought up the book and prayed for the best. Each time the Golem halted its attack, before trying a different approach.
‘Muhahaha! Loophole! Okay, let’s see how it responds to attacks.’
Knox threw a knife at one of the glowing circles but as soon as the knife left his fingers, the other arm shot out and the knife sunk to the hilt in its forearm.
‘So it will defend the circles if it can... but can a stoner dummy multi-task?’
Knox rushed forward, holding the book in front of his body, to shield against any incoming fists. Then, the golem tried a new tactic. The stoner’s fist shot past Knox on the right and tried to come in from the side. Just before the blow connected, Knox activated his skill...
<
He slipped under the hit by a hair’s breath and launched a second throwing knife at the opposite arm. He had aimed for the shoulder circle and the arm below it twitched violently before going limp, as the blade hit.
Critical Hit!
Target’s right arm is disabled.
‘What? The circles must be some kind of seal that binds each part to the main body. Damage them and it must disable the corresponding section. Well, that’s one arm down then...’
He saw the golem’s left arm reach toward the knife and Knox chose to attack to distract it. He swung the book at the golem with one hand and threw his third knife at the golem’s right leg circle with the other hand. The golem’s leg collapsed underneath it and it toppled forward. The golem managed to hold itself up with its left arm but that meant the left arm couldn’t retaliate!
Knox pulled one of his daggers from its sheath and closed the distance. The golem’s arm bent at a ridiculous angle trying to stop him but he slipped past and cut the right arm circle with an upwards slash. He then cut horizontally, aiming for the circle at the base of the neck and the golem began to crumble.
Burst effect fades away.
He sighed with relief. He’d managed to disable it without having to spam his Burst skill.
Knox collected his throwing knives after stabbing the fifth and final circle that held the golem together. Then he began looking for an exit. He looked in every corner but there was no door! Then his eyes focused on the multiple bookshelves around the room...
Twenty minutes later...
More than 90% of the room’s books were on the floor. At first he’d patiently began moving each book, looking for the secret lever that always showed up in movies. That didn’t last long, as he soon got pissed off and started sweeping books off the shelves. Then he proceeded to knock shelves off the walls. He really could make a mess... A small section of the bookshelves had opened, revealing a stair heading up.
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‘That’ll teach this game to fuck with me! Well then... Time to find Nightshade.’
_____________________
- I’m not alone? –
‘That’s right. You aren’t alone anymore.’
- You’ll play with me? Take me out of this boring place? You won’t break? -
‘Well... I might break but I’ll always come back.’
- Promise? -
‘Yes, I promise. I’ll always come back and you can come with me.’
At these words everything stopped. The explosion, the pain and the vibrations all came to an abrupt end. The glowing object floated up out of her hand and toward her chest. A silver chain materialized and wrapped itself around her neck, with the oval object dangling from the end.
- You’re mine now! You’ll have to take me everywhere! –
‘You’ve got it wrong! You’re mine! I have been nice because of your troubles but don’t get the wrong idea. Now... What, exactly, are you?’
- I don’t know... –
‘Hmmm... Let me try something.’
Nightshade picked up the oval object and held it out in front of herself.
“Identify!”
You have failed to Identify the item.
“Identify!”
You have failed to Identify the item.
“Identify!”
Mysterious Egg Pendant
Durability: Indestructible
A mysterious egg pendant with its own intelligence. Due to the low level of the Identifier’s skill, not much can be ascertained about this item.
Bonuses:
Unknown
Unknown
Restrictions:
This item is Soul Bound. It cannot be removed, or deleted.
‘Wow. You’re an egg? Egg of whom?’
“Wait! Whose skill, is this game calling low? I’ll kill you!”
- Am I an egg? What’s an egg? –
‘Uh... It’s rather complicated.’
- Well, you can explain later... We’ve got some company and they don’t look very friendly. –
‘What?’
Nightshade quickly looked around and saw that she was completely surrounded by... humanoid figures made out of water. As soon as she noticed them they shot pressurized jets of water at her from all sides. Nightshade dropped to the floor and rolled to one side of the pedestal.
She slipped her greatsword off her back and chose one of the watermen standing in front of her. She crouched down, lining up her target and shouted.
“Charge!’
This skill always disconcerted her. It felt like, instead of charging at the enemy, the enemy was pulling her in. Her skill let her close the distance in an instant and she brought her greatsword right through the waterman’s stomach. Unfortunately, the water reformed its body as soon as her blade passed through.
Nightshade decided to retreat and tipped over a table to hide behind.
‘Crap. Physical attacks don’t work... What’s a warrior to do?’
- Don’t you have an attack that can hit ethereal beings? –
‘Ah... Actually... I do but it’s more of a buff. I got it when my fighting spirit reached a certain number... but since it takes HP at a steady rate and only gives me a little attack I never used it.’
- Now would be a good time to test it out. –
‘Don’t forget who’s in charge here!’
She got to her feet and kicked the table aside.
“Soul Blade! Punishing wave!”
Nightshade snarled. Her health dropped and her greatsword glowed. Then with a savage slash, she launched a violet crescent through the waterman. It exploded on impact and, this time, didn’t reform.
‘Much better.’
- You seem to be a little more sadistic than I originally thought... -
‘If you keep babbling, I can show you just how sadistic I am. I wonder how much tension I can release by beating an indestructible object.’
- Silence it is, dark mistress. -
The watermen began moving together, merging into one another until a giant waterman was formed. Each waterman was absorbed and soon a towering water figure rose up in their place.
Guardian Water Elemental
“Hohoho. This just became interesting. Charge!”
Nightshade shot forward and smashed her Greatsword into the Water Elemental. The glow surrounding her sword clashed violently with the water and the Water Elemental gurgled in pain.
“Shockwave!”
“Punishing Wave”
Nightshade beat on the elemental until the stuns were about to wear off. Then she moved a few feet away and shouted again.
“Charge!”
“Shockwave!”
“Punishing Wave”
She kept repeating the same tactic and the Water Elemental kept getting smaller and smaller.
“Gurrrgle... Mer...cy...”
The Water Elemental managed to get out just before Nightshade’s Punishing Wave made it explode. Nightshade slumped to the ground in a puddle, her breath coming in gasps, as she flopped onto her back.
“Now that I think about it... Where the hell is he?”
- If you mean the other human... He fell into a hole when you picked me up. –
“You can keep track of a lot of things at once, can’t you?”
- I guess so... -
“So it looks like ‘rescue one idiot’ is next on the to-do list. He’s so useless.”
*Slam*
A section of one of the bookshelves opened outward and a large stone humanoid hurtled out. Nightshade had been about to scramble to her feet, when the stone golem took one last step and fell on its face.
Knox walked out of the opening right behind the golem, a book in one hand and a dagger in the other.
“Oh, good. You’re still alive. This place is pissing me off. Stupid elementals and traps all over the place!”
- I guess he is less useless than anticipated? –
‘Shut up.’
“Let’s get the hell out of here.”
_____________________
In a hidden room, within Aerouant’s Temple, two spectators watched the departure of Knox and Nightshade. One dressed in black robes with his feet resting carelessly on a table, the other tall and radiant in her golden armor.
“Well? What do you think? They’re interesting aren’t they?”
“Hmm... The girl didn’t get destroyed like the others... and that boy walked out of here with ‘that’ book. They will definitely be fun to watch.”
“See! I told you! And my sisters will just throw a hissy when they find out I’ve chosen someone like him.”
The tall girl giggled and the man in his dark robes sighed.
“I don’t really understand why you like to make them twitch. It’s like poking a bunch of bears with a stick... Except they are female so it would be even worse than poking a bear.”
The girl just continued to giggle.
_____________________
“Shut up humpy dumpty!”
Knox was already tired of the egg. It had been two weeks since they’d left the temple and the egg was driving him mad.
- What is that?! Oh! What’s that?! -
- Are we there yet? -
- Where are we going again? -
- Are we there yet? -
- Hmm... I’m not sure if I asked this but... Where are we going again? -
You get the picture... After finding out it could talk to whoever it chose, Knox had initially thought it was pretty cool. Not to mention that it could sense nearby monsters and people, making their journey out of the valley easier.
But after hours upon hours of random questions and the fact that it seemed to suffer from short term memory loss, Knox was ready to rend someone. Unfortunately... Until they were just outside of Cara City, there hadn’t been a soul...
When the bandits walked up arrogantly and told Knox to hand over his loot, he had practically been foaming at the mouth. He slaughtered them all screaming things like ‘Stress relief!’ and ‘Die you stupid egg!’ Knox was glad Nightshade had let him have his fun.
In truth he was utterly surprised at how patient she was being with the annoying egg... Nightshade tended to destroy anything she saw as annoying.
As they drew closer to the city, Knox and Nightshade had to kill several more bandit groups, who seemed to be gathering in the area.
“Maybe they plan to take over the city or something?”
Nightshade asked when they were finally close enough to see the walls of the Republic of Thieves... which was now teeming with bandits, thieves and other shady characters without names.
“Gahaha! They are welcome to it! But if they try to stop me from getting into the city I’ll kill them all!”
Just then Knox saw a group of bandits trying to drag a single girl toward the city... Trying, seemed to be the keyword. Since in the few seconds Knox was watching, she kicked one between the legs, jammed her fingers into one’s eyes and bit the hand of the bandit who tried to grab her from behind.
Knox threw a few knives as he approached and the bandits died. Then he blinked in surprise.
“Ah... I remember you from somewhere...”
“Please help me! My brother Darrak has been capture by the King of Thieves!”
‘She’s lucky she ran to Nightshade for assistance instead of me... she barely escaped death.’
“Ah! Mr. Assassin! Darrak’s been captured!”
The girl repeated once she noticed him.
“Yeah... I Heard. Who the hell is this King of Thieves?”
“He’s an Outlander like you. He took over the city about three months before you arrived...”
“I see... And what does he want with Darrak?”
“Well... Since the Outlander kept raising the taxes everyone was starving... So Darrak and the few remaining thieves outside of the King’s control began stealing...”
“So, the King is why Cara is such a dump?”
The girl nodded.
“It only gets worse! Somehow, the King found out about the death of the bandits and that Darrak was there. But Darrak wouldn’t tell them who did it, so they are holding him as bait! Please, Mr. Assassin, rescue my brother!”
*Tring!*
Quest: Darrak’s Rescue
Description: Rescue Darrak from the King of Thieves’ Dungeon.
Requirements: Must be friends with Lynne & Darrak. Most not be allied with the King of Thieves.
Difficulty: D
Reward: Unknown.
Knox glanced at Nightshade who just shrugged. She was looking decidedly awkward with a sobbing girl clinging to her.
“Okay, we’ll bust him out.”
“Yup.”
Your party has accepted the quest.
“Thank you!”
Then Nightshade started laughing.
“Does this mean we can kill as many people as we want, without any penalty?”
“Now that you mention it... Some of these bandits and thieves must have some decent stuff. Especially if some of them are players!”
“Fufufu! Let’s kill them all!”
“Maybe if I slaughter them all, Vennec won’t torture me!”
_____________________
A cloaked traveler appeared at a side gate of the City of Cara. He was covered from head to toe in his traveling gear, the only thing visible were two odd shapes on either side of his waist. His gait was calm and confident as he approached the Republic of Thieves, as though, the cut throats and murderers within were of no consequence to him.
“So... This is where he’s hiding... I’m not even sure this bounty is worth it.”
Two bandits approached the traveler with their weapons drawn.
“Hey you! Give us your gear and we might let you live.”
The traveler cocked his head to one side at this demand. A palpable killing aura seemed to explode outwards from him and the bandits let out shouts of surprise. Then two crossbows appeared from beneath the cloak, and two bolts appeared between the bandit’s eyes...
A mechanical whirring sound could be heard, and with an audible snap, the crossbows’ strings were pulled into place. Then two new bolts rotated into position, ready to be fired.
The traveler sighed and hooked the weapons back onto his belt before moving on.
“So much riffraff... If this wasn’t a guild request, I’d turn around and leave right now.”
With another sigh, the traveler walked into the City of Cara.
To be continued...
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Author's notes: Comments/Critiques & Opinions Appreciated! If you see a mistake please point it out to me!
Special Thanks to: Ramzicmain & Kaine(PR)