Ghostwalk.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/JRwdmGSC/Ghostwalk-WEBP.webp]
Felix walked alongside Tinuriel, but thanks to the Class Skill that he could maintain indefinitely whilst outside of those Mega-Dungeons, he would always be noticed after she was. Her harp playing was slowly improving. Agonizingly so. By nightfall she had figured out how to strum a few simple chords as Lucifer provided instructions.
They arrived at a walled town. The walls were only fifteen feet tall and made of mud blocks that had been dried and stacked. Better than nothing, but not a real fortification by any means. The gates were closed, and a few people walked on the walls above. Hellfire Wick.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/fDqqtV6P/Hellfire-Wick.webp]
The black and crimson flame appeared just above Tinuriel and Felix willed it to hover in place there. She waved her hand, “Hail!”
The bobbing torches on the wall converged to just adjacent to the gate. A young woman dressed in oversized armor leaned over the edge of the wall, “Who goes there?”
“Just a traveler,” Tinuriel replied. “I’m looking for a place to sleep.”
The woman squinted her eyes, “You don’t look like a bandit. Alright, slowly come toward the gate.”
Felix slinked off to the edge of the wall and waited for the doors to open as Tinuriel walked forward slowly. As soon as the trio of guards wielding pikes walked out toward Tinuriel, he slipped inside the town.
“You’ve got a floating fire near you,” The woman guard stated as she approached Tinuriel with the pike extended.
Tinuriel shrugged, “Magic.”
The guard nodded, “Fair enough. Spark-touched folks are rare around these parts. Most move to the big cities.”
“That’s where I’m heading. I need to get to Foundation,” Tinuriel replied.
A male guard chuckled, “With that big sword, I’m guessing you’re going to join the war?”
Tinuriel nodded, “I haven’t had a good fight in some time.”
The guards ushered her in and directed her towards a shabby building with a lantern hung up in the front. Tinuriel headed that way, and Felix joined her, dropping Ghostwalk and Hellfire Wick once they entered the building. It was a small tavern with a single hearth, a small bar, and several people sleeping on hay mats upon the ground.
A teenage girl was standing behind the bar reading some type of book before looking up. She smiled and waved them over. Felix got closer and the girl whispered, “Welcome to the Tavern. Looking for a place to sleep?”
Felix shook his head, “We need to buy horses.”
The girl frowned, “The stables are closed right now.”
Tinuriel sat at the bar, “Bring me the strongest alcohol you have.”
The girl nodded and vanished to a back room for a few moments before coming back with a dark liquor bottle, putting it on the counter. The girl went to grab some glasses, but Tinuriel shook her head and drank straight from the bottle. After chugging a few mouthfuls, she stared at the young woman. “What can you tell me about these bandits?” she asked.
The girl leaned forward on the bar, “I’ve heard that they’re scouts from the Coralith Empire who are trying to infiltrate and burn down the farmlands.” She shook her head, “But I’ve also heard that it’s just some folks from the mountains to the West who fell on hard times.”
Felix’s attention was drawn away from the conversation as he felt like he was being watched. Scanning the room, he saw one of the figures that was seemingly asleep – one partially propped up in the corner – whose eyes were covered by his hood. Felix stared at the person, and after watching for several moments, saw the glint of their eyes as they adjusted the hood. Felix left the bar and gingerly made his way to the man, squatting down next to him. “Why are you staring at me?” Felix asked.
The man looked up at him, “You’re dressed too pretty for these parts,” he muttered. “You’ll draw attention like that.”
Better to play along and see what this guy is about. Time for some subterfuge. Felix nodded and pulled his hood and mask down, “Fair enough. Do you have anything to report?”
The man frowned, “Password?”
Querying System…Try saying ‘Coralus is in bloom.’ It’s a code that entered their history books centuries ago.
“Coralus is in bloom,” Felix whispered.
The man’s eyes went wide, “That’s an old one, but it checks out. How long have you been operating here?”
How long should I say?
Looks like there’s been skirmishes for hundreds of years. So, take your pick.
“Ten years.”
The man nodded, “Our dead drop is outside of town. The well to the West. Third brick from the left. I’ll leave my report there.” He waved his hand, “Her will be done.”
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Felix nodded, “Her will be done.” He made his way back to Tinuriel and pulled the hood and mask back up. He stood on his tiptoes and whispered to her, “We need to talk outside.”
Tinuriel nodded, finished off the bottle, pulled 10 VC from the inventory, placed the cloth-laminate currency on the counter, headed outside, and went around the back side of the building. “What did you find out?”
“The Coralith Empire has agents here. I tricked one of them. We’ll get horses tomorrow, and check the dead drop outside of town.”
She nodded, “Let’s hope nothing happens between now and then that could scare this agent off.” The two sat down as Felix focused on opening the VBV.
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Felix’s concentration was broken, and Lucifer took over focusing on the VBV entrance. There was a loud crunch noise and a muted scream from one of the gates. Ghostwalk. Undetectable Step.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/JRwdmGSC/Ghostwalk-WEBP.webp] image [https://i.postimg.cc/z5skH47n/Undetectable-Step-WEBP.webp]
image [https://i.postimg.cc/vY16fC2y/61-1.webp]
Tinuriel stood up and unsheathed her sword. Felix followed her as she ran to the front gate. She clambered up the ladder and Felix climbed up after her. Near-instantly, she was attacked by a figure dressed in ragged clothing with a sack-cloth bag over their head with eye holes carved out. They looked emaciated and desperate, swinging some type of meat cleaver at Tinuriel.
She raised her bracer and caught the knife before whipping her sword around with preternatural speed – empowered by her incredible Might stat – and chopped the person in half.
Felix looked around and couldn’t see any of the guards from earlier still standing – but he heard faint clangs in the distance. Why leave your post to investigate some noise in the dark? He jumped off the wall, rolled with his landing, and sprinted towards the noise. He came across the two remaining guards – the young woman and a middle-aged man – who were surrounded by more sackcloth covered figures. Felix walked up behind each of the bandits, and using his Wyrmtooth Knife, stabbed into the base of their necks as they collapsed from the damage. Thanks to his (P) Killing Intent Talent, they were rendered unconscious. He deactivated his stealth Skills.
[Experience Awarded: 10]
Hellfire Wick.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/fDqqtV6P/Hellfire-Wick.webp]
"You’re…coming with us!”
Felix sheathed his knife, “I just saved you lot. Now help me tie these guys up.” He picked up one bandit in each arm, heading over to the walls.
Tinuriel jumped down and frowned, “This wasn’t even fun. Just annoying.” She looked past him at the two guards who were cautiously following Felix – dragging the other two bandits behind them. “I see you two met my companion.”
The young woman frowned, “You came to town alone.”
Tinuriel laughed before becoming serious once more, “You never give away your advantage in a military situation. You shouldn’t have left the walls.”
The other guard frowned, “Did you find Harry?”
Tinuriel shook her head, “No, but I’d bet he’s dead.” The two guards deflated at that. Tinuriel walked over to the gate and kicked it open with an enormous crash that surely woke up everyone in the town. She instructed the guards and Felix in tying the brigands up. She smacked one of the brigands until he groggily opened his eyes and began asking him questions.
Felix didn’t focus much on the interrogation – instead, his eyes were watching the crowd that had gathered – disturbed from their sleep by the raucous noise. The man that was watching Felix in the inn was slinking off through the gates behind him, and he followed the man – catching up easily. “Just give me the report instead of the dead-drop.”
The man turned to him and nodded, handing Felix a small conch shell that he pocketed. “Her will be done.” The agent continued off into the darkness.
Felix went back to the town center as Tinuriel finished her interrogation. “What did you find out?”
Tinuriel frowned, “Just some starving folk who suffered a poor winter. Nothing to trade, so they resorted to stealing and killing to survive.”
Felix looked at the young woman guard, “Since the town seems awake – who owns the stables?” She pointed to an older woman and a teenage boy, and Felix went over to them. “I need to buy horses. Four of the fastest and strongest you have.”
The woman wiped the sleep from her eyes, “Now?”
Felix nodded, “Now.”
She led the way to the stables just on the Northern edge of the town but still inside the walls. Her and her son set up everything for the two. Felix paid 400 VC – way more than the asking price – and they set off through the Northern gates. Felix’s Hellfire Wick lit the dirt road - so the horses could see - as they traveled towards Foundation, the Capital of the Monolith Empire.
He put the conch shell up to his ear and after a few seconds heard the agent’s voice – an audio recording. “This is Agent Staghorn. You’ve been here for a long time on what I assume is a deep cover mission. My mission, and that of other agents, was to go to the south of the Monolith Empire and investigate the food situation. Foundation is supplied by farmlands closer to the capital – but those farmers have been levied for war. That means The Far Shores are going to be vital soon enough. We’re going to destabilize the region’s food income, masquerading as bandits. If you want to join, come to the Safehouse. North of the town, take a right at the crooked elm tree. We’ll spot you.” He put the conch shell into his inventory.
Felix relayed the message to Tinuriel. “What do you suggest?” he asked his military veteran companion.
Tinuriel pondered for several moments. “If you help them, you’re effectively declaring for this Coralith Empire. If we stop them, then we are declaring for the Monolith Empire. We could just ignore the situation and continue to Foundation to gather more information.”
“Lucifer? What would you do?”
“More information is better. People will suffer if these agents do what they’re planning to do, but we could prevent more suffering if we get to the heart of the issue.”
Felix nodded and spurred the horse onward, “Then we ignore it.” A small mote of guilt tugged at his consciousness knowing that he could spare people from suffering – but Lucifer was right. He could solve the whole Crisis and prevent even more suffering. He stomached the guilt, and they rode into the night.
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Rotating the horses they made excellent time, the miles passing by at a rapid pace. They rode through the night and partway into the next day before they went into the VBV to take a breather. After resting up they exited the VBV and kept their pace.
On the third day of travel from Fielden they slowed their pace as they left dirt roads and progressed to a more official-looking trade road. Men and women dressed in breastplates and chainmail, wielding weapons, waved for the two to stop as they approached. Felix complied and sat with his hands crossed on the saddle horn.
“Travelers! Where do you go?”
Felix waved, “Foundation.”
The lead soldier rode forward on a horse and stopped it a few feet from Felix, “For what purpose?”
“I’m a Versewalker.”
The soldier’s face went pale. “A…no, it can’t be.”
Tinuriel slowly put her hand to her sword, “Felix…”
He glanced at her before looking back to the group of soldiers who were preparing weapons. The soldier that had ridden up slowly unsheathed their blade. “By the order of his majesty, Emperor Quarilon, I’m placing you under arrest.”