Clovis raised his mace and, with a single swift blow, shattered the skull of a regular skeleton while bashing his shield against the second one, who was trying to gain a foothold against Nicole. Not that it mattered right now, but he wasn't going to listen to Marie when she would scream at him for not learning good habits. And oh God... Marie was a great friend, but she was scary as a party leader. Clovis rolled under the strike of a skeleton brawler and engaged another skeleton while his familiar dealt with the brawler. They were progressing through his quest at an incredible speed, but it was he who had to do most of the killing. The girls, while having their absurdly powerful armours, were using wooden weapons for special training made by the master Bjorn. Their durability was on par with regular metal weapons, but they dealt little to no damage so that they could be used for mock duels without any concerns.
He also was unsure how to feel about calling every other resident aunt or uncle, as his friends did. It was certainly a nice feeling, but it was probably too much for him. He dodged a blow from the skeleton tank and, with a swift move, landed a clear hit that broke the tank's shield arm.
"Clovis, behind you!" Fiona yelled.
Clovis quickly turned around just in time to catch a spear flying his way with his shield before swiftly returning to face the tank. He broke the shaft of the spear with his mace and gulped when he saw the vicious tip that had penetrated the laminated shield of the highest grade he could use for now. That would have hurt a lot... They were in the beginner's section, where the monsters' levels and their slow reaction allowed them to level up quickly. They were armed with special weapons as well; while non-lethal, the weapons hurt incredibly if you received a hit or blow from them. In fact, it would hurt much more than a regular wound would, and from what the girls said, the monsters later were rarely lethal, but they would beat you unconscious, and that would hurt like hell until you passed out.
It was just the way King Theon was. His idea of training grounds was much different from anyone they could think of, but it was working. The training weapons of the monsters were embedded with pain-inducing runes that very, very quickly made you learn dodging, parrying with shields or your weapons, or killing monsters as fast as you could, just to avoid the incredible pain...
"Aaaaaaa!" Clovis yelled, furiously rubbing his ass as one of the monsters missed Nicole, and his lower half was unfortunate enough to be in the perfect position to receive a mace blow. "GOD, THAT HURTS!"
The girls' giggles were not helping at all. That hurt so much! Even the fur on his tail was hurting now... He quickly focused again on his opponent. No more overthinking during battle...
•••
Iris observed the kids who fought with the training denizens and pondered on a thought that haunted her for a long time. What an imagination about childhood King Theon had to have, thinking that any kid had the luxury of 'having a careless childhood'. Careless children died in this world. She rubbed her chin and mentally shrugged. They died if they were lucky. If they survived, they found themselves kidnapped and enslaved. But fortunately, Queen Amber persuaded him and made him tweak the training grounds. His training dungeon was the scariest place in the world, but she knew that the habits learned here saved them in the Lich's lair. King Theon was not the greatest enthusiast of traps, but when he employed those few, the effects were terrifying.
For example, Rose once had a habit of just collecting everything and checking around every corner; three traps were enough to miraculously cure her habit of touching everything. The first one she triggered was in the 'mimic chest'; it was not an actual mimic, but a regular chest that hid a trap which was released upon opening it. The feeling that her hand had been bitten off and agonizing fire had poured into her veins lasted for three hours. The second trap Rose had triggered was when she opened a heavy iron door without checking it first. She was zapped by some kind of lightning spell and wasn't able to speak properly for two days. And of course, her hand again hurt as if someone had tried to rip it off. She and Lilly had looked at their friend with compassion but without much mercy.
But it was the third trap that probably convinced Rose to rethink her entire life. She found some potion in the chest and, without checking it, she assumed it to be a healing potion. It was not. After she drank it, she started screaming like crazy for about five minutes. They assumed that was the punishment this time. They were wrong... For the next three days, Rose refused to leave the toilet and for all that time, she begged for mercy. But that finally had done the trick, and Rose became the most cautious member of the former trio because she never touched anything until it was properly identified. Former trio because now they had Dahlia; a wolfkin girl their age, who, as well as the rest of The Flower Girls, was a liberated slave. She fit in well as a frontline fencer with her insane dexterity. But for now, she had to train, train, and train even more.
Iris was supervising the training because the danger here was real; these monsters could potentially kill even the residents. At first, Galahad had made sure no one got hurt. Now it was up to the high-level residents to take care of the lower-level ones. But that was fine; this feeling of friendship, and maybe what a family should be, was so valuable to her she would voluntarily spend her time helping them as much as she could. She looked at Dahlia and nodded, giving her the sign to take a rest. The kids, on the other hand, were restless. They slashed and hacked through the intermediate monsters without any signs of exhaustion. Iris sighed when Clovis received yet another blow, this time straight in his face.
They needed a break after all...
•••
With great interest, I was watching the caravan approaching Avalon. Amber and Irene sat with me in the war room, looking at the map. Little to say, they were sceptical, even almost hostile.
"How can you be more obvious than this...?" I sighed, leaning over the table.
"Sun church priests, the church of Miora, and at least four more. I can feel their hostility from here..." Irene pointed at each figure in disgust.
"Can we just make them lose their way in the fog? Pleaseeeee my Darling?" Amber looked at me with hope.
"Hmmm... No. I'll prepare a show for them. The weakest creatures possible, with coins made from wood, the most outrageous loot possible." I smiled, forming my plan.
"They won't buy it, Theon..." Amber rolled her eyes.
"I agree with Amber. They are not that stupid..."
"They will buy it. I just have to wrap it in good paper." I pointed at zone six where I had a hunting zone for the nearby villagers. "I will send them there and fill this zone full of fog. They will circle there for a few days and then, hopefully, they will go away."
"Why do you think so?" Irene tilted her head. "You have no idea how annoying and persistent those priests are..."
"Maybe they are..." I grinned with a mischievous smile. "But are they ready to handle a Jester?"
"No... Theon, I thought you banished him?!" Amber covered her mouth in terror.
"I locked him in the catacombs under the mausoleum." I shrugged, still grinning.
"Who is this Jester?" Irene looked at Amber and me in turns.
"Let's just say that he is a murderous clown that makes a lot of bad jokes and only god knows who created it." Amber buried her face in her hands. "I hoped to never see that abomination ever again..."
"Oh, don't worry. You won't see him." I shrugged, seeing the confusion on Irene's face. "He will simply harass them until they give up! I had hoped to correct his attitude, but it's pointless."
"Promise me to keep him away from us!" Amber was not going to give up easily.
"Honey... I will never allow him out of the containing zone..."
"Who is Jester?" Irene was nervous now.
"I found it in a jail one day, but he seems to be one of my skeletons... But he is just... Unhinged." I sighed. "Just..."
"Irene, trust me! You just don't want to know."
"Trust her..." I agreed without a single doubt.
"*sigh* Fine. Theon, I have to go to Everlight to talk with Lanka. She has something to discuss with me." Irene stood up and leaned over the table to kiss my cheek. "Whatever that Jester is, it sounds nasty. Just make sure it doesn’t mess around."
"*tsk*... Stella and Luna want something in the Magic Tower. I have to go!" She kissed the air and winked at me.
They both teleported away and left me behind. To be honest, before I unleashed Jester, I had to try to talk to him once more. I never created him, and I was as sure as hell he was not even remotely similar to my scions. Rewind! He was not even similar to the lowliest of my denizens. I sighed and buried my face in my hands, suddenly not so sure if this was a good idea. I sat there for a few good minutes in silence, pondering what to do when I received notifications that two more kids had finished their class quests. I smiled faintly and finally decided to give it a try...
•••
The prison of catacombs was not exactly a bad place. The underground complex was relatively small and any party high-level enough could explore it in under an hour. Jester was placed as a boss in the final room with a big warning: murderous clown ahead. I opened the doors to his room, I saw him sitting in the middle of the room on a single chair. When he saw me, instead of bowing, he detached his head and tossed it in the air. He caught his own skull, still wearing a pink, purple and gold jester hat with a number of small annoying bells on its ends. He then attached his head again and stood up from the chair to bow theatrically to me.
"OOooHhh! My Master! Hahaha! What brings you to my humble abode?" He asked me, prolonging and accenting his words in a way that might be funny for children and elderly people, but I had always found it incredibly annoying.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
His voice should have been pleasant. It was a powerful, deep baritone that was so similar to Galahad's voice, but no... Jester's voice had these high-pitched tones, making it break in random moments as if he tried to be forcefully funny. Which, ultimately, was true. He was a murderous maniac, not a harmless clown.
"Stop pretending... You know that I know that you hate me. I see your core. I see you are not one of "my" denizens. The only thing I ask you is to tell me who you truly are." I sighed, leaning on the wall and crossing my arms.
"But... But! That wouldn't be funny at all, my Master! Hahaha! AT ALLLLLL!" His maniacal laughter abruptly stopped as fast as it had started. "But... I know your patience is running low... FINE! But you must know that you ruin the fun!"
"I will not have any regrets about this matter." I sighed.
"No... You will not. *tsk*" He became serious. The light mood in the chamber was gone, replaced by chill air. "I was one of the generals of the Dungeon of Blood. My name... My name was... I don't remember… haha… HAHAHAHA!"
"Haven't I destroyed everything that belonged to the Blood Dungeon?" Despite this very disturbing news, I was in a rather better mood than before coming here. That at least confirmed that this maniac was not my creation at all.
"Oh yes... You tried. But you are still too young, my young King!" I felt his murderous intent focus on me. "But you destroyed only what my old Master wanted to show others. You never destroyed the dungeon space belonging to him, you usurper!"
"Huh?" I froze for a moment, thinking about what the clown had just told me. "Tell me where it is!"
Royal Authority is a skill that allows you to impose your will easier (influence persuasion). You can give simple orders like making living beings talk (they still can lie), or silencing them. You can make them sit, stand, or kneel.
Hmm... Useful skill. I looked at the Jester struggling to resist my new skill, since it was amplified by the Jester's natural obedience to the dungeon core. If he had any skin, he would probably be sweating right now, trying to fight my iron will.
"It is here... Aaaaaa!" He was furious. "You! You are..."
That explained why he never tried to leave this place, as here was an invisible portal joining my new world to the past he glorified so much. However, the skeletal Jester couldn't lie to me- my influence as a core, the gigantic level difference between us, and my skills finally made him obedient to my orders. I outstretched my hand, touching the remnants of the foul powers that once held this place in its clutches.
"Open it!" I silently ordered.
"Nooo! You can't!" the Jester tried to stop me, but it was too late.
A cave entrance formed on the wall. From inside it, the stench of rotten death engulfed the entire room we were in. I looked inside using my domain awareness, but the inside was surprisingly normal, except for all the rotten corpses laying in various parts of the cave. But... I entered inside and saw two bodies leaning on the cave wall, forever locked in an embrace. Judging by their tattered clothes and mostly ruined gear, a man and a woman had died here a very long time ago.
"Oh, they finally died! Hahaha!" The horrific clown clapped his hands, looking at the pair. "Serves them right! Hahaha!"
No wonder I had never sensed this place before. The upkeep of it was laughably low compared to the rest of Avalon. I ignored the Jester, for now, walking towards the pair. The man was holding the woman as if he had lulled her to sleep, but a remnant of the spear was in the place where her belly should be, revealing he had tried to comfort her in her last moments. Their gear was mostly ruined, except for two items.
Once a weapon worthy of a hero, now ruined beyond use. Can be smelted to retrieve its precious metal.
This gold ring once belonged to a powerful Kitsune named Sidri. She used it to store huge amounts of mana for use when needed.
Mana storage item.
0/10000
"What were their names?" I asked the Jester without looking in his direction. I summoned a large sarcophagus, and using my dungeon powers, I shifted their bones into it. I would put them to eternal sleep as I found them, holding each other even in death.
"Hmmm... I was not created back then... But Master told me to never enter this cave. But Vu-lanti, who spent a few days fighting them, said he was a Hero, and she was his Kitsune..." The Jester started speaking strangely. "Marcus Hyrkle and Sidri... Yes, yes! Champion of Hestia! Hahaha!"
"What's wrong with all of you?" I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "Why was your master so bloodthirsty?"
"Because it's fun, you boring Lord!"
I sighed and shook my head, teleporting their sarcophagus to the cemetery. I turned around and looked around at this place full of body parts and mutilated carcasses. The corpses here were artificial, created just to produce a foul smell to make these poor people's last moments more unbearable. But since the Jester was not even alive back then, I couldn’t blame him... With an annoyed wave of my hand, I cleaned the entire cave and left it for now. I moved closer to the creepy Jester and put my hand on his shoulder. He jumped, as if struck by a spark.
"I will have a funny job for you." I sighed.
"Haha? Can I kill?"
"Maybe. I want your targets to be afraid, but don't reveal yourself. Mock them from the darkness and make them uneasy. Disturb their sleep and hinder their efforts," I ordered him, knowing full well I would have to watch every his move. "They will be lost in the magic fog, so your presence should be enough to scare them."
"Oooohhhhh! THAT sounds funny! Hahaha haha!" He was really excited this time. "To stalk a party from shadow and fog? To scare them to death but not actually touch them? That will be extremely funny!"
I sighed and teleported us to the zone I was already preparing for the caravan. I left the Jester after making sure he understood his orders. I teleported myself to Irene and Luna to inform them about my findings and the necessity of organising another funeral...
•••
Gloria was tired after walking all day and still was angry after she had lost Gregon. Because of that, it was her duty now to inspect this new dungeon. Four days spent in the deep snow, with the cold and constant fear of snow monsters would be enough to scare her, but now it was worse. They entered a thick fog, and couldn't see anything, but they heard horrific laughter from time to time, with someone throwing snowballs at them. There were representatives of gods who had their churches in the capital city of Cridia with them. A large party of mercenaries had also arrived with them, paid for by the churches to protect the priests. Among them were some really grim and insane figures, but she hoped that the money promised upon their return would be enough to keep them in check. She was the lowliest priest in the entire group, barely level 6, and she wasn't feeling safe at all.
Gloria hoped to achieve two things in this dungeon. First and most important was to survive. She was on the edge, fixing her heavy winter coat, which was smelly and cumbersome, but she couldn't afford anything better. Her second dream was to learn about the fate of legendary hero Marcus and his equally legendary wife, the kitsune Sidri. Marcus was the man who had named Hestia, an unnamed Goddess, and she had used that name ever since. Gloria breathed heavily and scowled, startled as a snowball splashed on her chest, with snow covering her coat before another one hit her face.
"Hahaha!" The ghastly stalker was somewhere in the fog.
Its annoying bells rang from all around them, yet it was impossible to find him. She tried to wipe her face, but it was worse now because she unintentionally pushed the snow into her eyes. It started irritating her eyes, and now she had to take off gloves to clean her face properly. She was blindly walking for a few moments, cursing this hidden prankster, before she was able to see again. When she opened her eyes, she found out, in terrified shock, she had somehow separated from the group. Something touched her right arm, and when she looked, she saw a horrific skull with two purple burning spots where its eyes should be, wearing a Jester's hat.
"Boo!"
"Aaaaaa!" She jumped back, now uncertain if she would survive.
"Gloria!? Miss Gloria?" A strong male voice boomed right behind her.
"I'm here! There are undead in the fog!" she screamed, trying to stand up.
She was so tired now. Four mercenaries stood near her, but not even one tried to help her stand. Gloria grumbled from under her nose before she was suddenly pushed to the ground. She looked around and saw the mercenaries standing around her.
"You see, priestess... Your church hasn't paid us enough." Their leader started approaching her. "But we were paid by someone else to make sure someone dies here. Thank you for volunteering. You made it easier for us!"
"No! Help me, someone!" Gloria screamed as he raised his sword. "They’re trying to kill me! Aaaaa!"
Suddenly, one mercenary screamed as was towed backward into the fog, his face in shock. The three remaining formed a triangular formation, facing the fog while keeping their backs turned to each other. Gloria decided this was the best moment to run, so she dropped her heavy backpack and dashed into the fog. The unknown was better than certain death. If there were only undead in there, she might have had a chance. She had learnt a powerful skill called Turn Undead that should banish and purify any undead enemy, killing it on the spot. She panted heavily as she ran for her life, her sore legs exploding with burning pain with each step she took. Tears flowed from her eyes, but she continued to run.
•••
Gloria had reached her limits. She curled up under the never-ending wall and sobbed silently. It was already dark, and she had no idea how she had survived this long. She woke up just like this in a snowy field, but against all reason, she was still alive. She slowly stood up, holding the wall with her left hand and tried to walk, but suddenly maniacal laughter once again filled the air close to her. She gathered all her strength and tried to run, but something grabbed her heavy coat. In a panic, she ripped the poorly knit buttons and freed herself. She ran again, this time only in the warm clothes she had under her coat, feeling the freezing cold sapping away her strength. She dropped to her knees soon after, breathing heavily. Gloria was terrified. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure it would jump out of her chest.
"Hahaha!" The laughter was just in front of her, and she barely had the strength to look ahead. "Well, well, well... Isn't this a little cute priestess? Hahaha..."
She tried to scream, but her aching body wasn't able to put forth any strength. The darkness started claiming her as dark spots danced before her eyes. In a desperate attempt, Gloria took some snow to rub on her face. It helped for now, and with heavy panting, she rose up on her knees. The spooky Jester slowly approached her, step by step, without any hurry. His red, burning eyes, however, were fixed right on her. He laughed ominously, and from behind his back, he pulled out two bloodied cleavers. He tilted his head horribly, ringing the bells on his hat. Gloria's heart was beating like crazy, knowing full well she would die at this rate. Unbeknownst to her, her body chose this very moment to release all its adrenaline, allowing her to raise her hands and voice against all the pain and fear she felt.
"TURN UNDEAD!" She yelled and, with satisfaction, heard the cry of the undead abomination.
"HAHAHAAAAAAAA!" the monster screamed, but soon after, the flicker of hope turned into terrified consternation as the monster continued his laughter.
"TURN UNDEAD!" she yelled once again in desperation. A faint white ray engulfed the undead once more.
"OhhhHh yesss baby!... Mhmmm... That turns me on! Hahaha!" The monster stood in front of her, laughing hysterically.
He raised his cleaver, but she closed her eyes. She would never return home...