Was it a coup? Had the Armed Forces taken control of the country? That didn't sound right but I didn't doubt the possibility. Or was it the Congress itself who was making a coup against the judicial and executive branches?
There was still no news about investigations on the murders on V-Soft, and my PI still hadn't called back about the hooker.
After taking care of my backup plan, I went to sleep. It was a troubled night, full of nightmares and devoid of rest, even though I was worn out from playing Valia for two days straight.
The next day, I ate little and logged back in without taking any time to myself. Although the country in chaos was bad for everyone else, it made things harder for the cops who were after me.
With order looming, the clock was ticking much faster.
* * *
When I logged in, Daggers was already there. It was weird; she usually kept a strict schedule, it was too soon for her to be online.
She and some other zombies were mining the walls, but while they were doing it somewhat lazily, she was attacking the rocks as if they were her worst enemy.
<Whoa there, girl,> I said. <What's going on?>
She turned suddenly and pointed the pickaxe at me. <I am not a 'girl.' Sir.>
<Damn, you woke on the wrong side of the bed today. What's wrong?>
With another turn, she was back to hitting the wall. <Did you check the news?>
<Yeah. Are you upset about Congress and the Armed Forces, the world war, or about the paparazzi who got an angle at that model's underwear?> It was almost a legit question.
<My father was deployed, sir. He was not happy about it. In his words, this is the biggest mistake ever since the Unification.>
Unification, the annexation of Mexico and Canada to the North American Commonwealth. I raised my eyebrow at her comment. <A Separatist officer?> I let out a whistle; that was a rare sight. The brainwashing in the Armed Forces had been very thorough and only a few thought that the Unification hadn't been a glorious day for our country.
Her voice was full of venom as she answered. <A larger state only increases the power of the corrupt politicians, everyone knows that. The bigger the country, the more those in power become isolated from the people, and the easier it is to lie to our faces and to steal our money.>
<So, you're upset because your father got deployed?> I asked.
<No, sir. I am enraged because democracy is being killed by those who swore to defend it. Do you know why the Armed Forces agreed to what the Congress did?>
That got me interested. <Nope.>
<Because the Congress promised funds to them. They betrayed their ideals and vows for money!>
<So surprising,> I said lazily.
She looked back at me and under her dark hood I could see two glowing eyes. One was gold, the other was green. And they looked menacing as hell.
<Maybe not to you, sir,> her tone implied I was the worst scum on Earth. <But it was for my father.>
I sighed. Here I went again, tending the feelings of my temporary friends. Why couldn't Congress destroy the country a little more subtly to save me the trouble?
<Listen, Samantha,> I said with a soft voice, using her in-game first name. <The world is a rotten place, and sometimes we must do the best we can, with what we're given.>
<What does that even mean?> She was still upset but there was also curiosity in her voice this time. And her glowing eyes were fading into the darkness of the hood.
<That means that the Armed Forces were going to be deployed either way. And I mean deployed, as in used for war. It was only a matter of who was going to be the enemy: the government or the people.>
<They should have thrown the dirty politicians out of their seats and called for new elections!> She claimed.
I rolled my eyes. <Yeah, sure. And what do you think would happen to the Armed Forces if they acted against the government?>
<They would bring justice to the people.> She said matter-of-factly.
<Sure they would. For a few months. Before other bad politicians were elected; they always are, it never changes. I know that, you know that, everybody knows that. Then, after they were elected, who do you think would be the new politicians' nemesis?>
She didn't reply and I answered for her. <The Armed Forces. If they wiped out a government before, they could destroy the new government as well. They would weaken the Armed Forces for their own good and that, in turn, would make us vulnerable to external attack, in a time where the whole world wants a piece of us. And even if war didn't come, because you know, people love the NAC and there were never attacks to the old United States, it would still suck for the military. One day, they are the heroes. A few years later, nobody remembers them and they can barely maintain themselves.>
Again, I was met with silence. <And that is being very positive and believing they would even call for new elections at all. Similar things have happened in other countries, the Armed Forces telling everyone they were only deposing some tyrants, only for a dictatorship to be installed and->
She interrupted me. <So they sell their souls instead, and attack the people they swore to protect?>
<It's either that or lose their own power for no reason at all. You didn't disagree when I said bad politicians would be elected either way. Your anger is comprehensible and your love for the people is worthy of praise. But it's also impractical. Suppose you're a slave and your master is a bad one. Then, your master tells you that he can either sell you to an equally bad master, or give you more comfortable quarters. Why the hell would you choose to get a new master instead?>
She crossed her arms. <You are a pessimist, sir. The new master might be better.>
<Yup. What are the odds though? Even if things in the country get better for a while, how long do you think it'll take for things to go back to the way they were? The military deals with strategy and tactics, both are all about dealing with the concrete, not with hope. The Armed Forces did the best they could with the most likely development.>
Silence enveloped us until she finally turned back and hit the wall with the pickaxe again. This time, she used the piercing skill and the tool just stood there.
<Do you believe any of it, sir?> She asked in a near whisper, as if she didn't really want to hear the answer.
<Yes,> I replied sincerely. I did believe in some of it, and that had been her question. <But more importantly, I believe in conquering castles. I need you with me, Sam.>
<I am with you, sir.> Her voice was back to normal. Sometimes I felt as if Daggers only knew extreme emotions; if there was no more rage to be had, she wouldn't slip into melancholy over how things were; she would suck it up and move on.
I grabbed a pickaxe from the wall and pulled, ripping out a chunk of stone with it. <Good. Let's keep digging, then. It's about time we got inside this damn castle.
19. Mining Operations
Bear and most of the zombies joined us eventually. Ted, however, was still offline. It was quite curious, but I didn't care enough to ask Bear about it. Nope, zero interest. I did ask him about it just because the ghost was still following Bear around even though she had logged out and it could become a problem.
<Uncle William had some issues and Ted is taking care of him,> Bear explained.
David was Ted's father name. His middle name was William. It was weird to me that he called him that, but he called me Ugly-face even though I was, in all honesty, not bad. So, it wasn't out of character for him.
Against my expectations, the rest of the mining happened without issues. It made me wonder: was this why Manhart wanted this castle? He claimed to have an Army, after all, even though I had never seen it. Simply mining these walls could be quite useful to increase an Army's power.
When one of the pickaxes Bear pried out of the wall revealed an opening on the other side, my strength and constitution had increased by three points each. The strength points were back to before my death and the constitution had even surpassed my previous level.
Surprisingl
y, my dexterity also went up by one, and together with the natural level up of my Strategist core trait, I was only two points from level thirty-two.
Not only that, Daggers leveled up to twenty-three, and Bear to twenty-two. Most importantly, with my Strategist trait in effect to his constitution attribute, the zombie now had a staggering thirty-eight hundred HP.
These walls were nothing short of miraculous! I wouldn't be surprised if the Battalion decided to set up a church to worship them.
<Be prepared,> I said. <And tell the zombies to be prepared too.>
With a few more solid blows from the pickaxe, we finished creating an opening out of the tunnel.
On the other side, we found a corridor. I didn't even have to say anything; Daggers immediately became translucent and went scouting.
The zombies had now stopped mining and I deemed it the right time for a speech to draw them further under my power.
<Bear, unite the chats, please.> He did so. <Alright folks, I promised you attribute points, and I think we can all agree that I delivered! Much more than you expected!>
There was no cheering, but they did look much more interested in what I had to say than before. I continued. <Now it's time for me to fulfill the other part: money! And do you know who won't get it? The idiots who disobeyed their orders, broke the line, and got themselves killed by some puny goblins!>
That didn't make them happy, but contrary to popular opinion, loyalty isn't about happiness, it's about believing that the expectations you have of your leader are going to be met, and that they work towards your best interests.
<So, my lovely blood-drinking, flesh-devouring friends, obey the damn orders and we'll all be bathing in riches before long!> I concluded.
Their reaction was mixed, but interest was clear in their eyes and I counted it as a win.
<Thanks Bear, you can unlink the chats now.> He did so. <How are things going, Daggers?>
<Well.> That was her only answer. She wasn't feeling terrifically verbose it seemed.
We waited in silence, feeling tense.
After considering things for awhile, I decided to keep up eight fire morbs intended for firebombs, a death morb intended for a deathball, and a life morb intended for a lifeball. Eighty percent attack, twenty percent emergency healing.
Daggers took about fifteen minutes to come back, enough for the tension to slump into boredom.
<Three small storerooms with food and an empty torture chamber to the right,> she reported. <Two medium storerooms with chunks of metal, a large storeroom with weapons and armor, and stairs to the left.>
<Nice,> I said. <Bear, take the zombies to loot the food, I'll go take first pick of the equipment.>
He smiled. <Only if you get something nice for me.>
<I promise,> I said. <Daggers, you can come back now.>
<Sir?> Her voice was confused. <I am in front of you.>
I checked the minimap and I realized she was right.
Holy shit!
Focusing hard on the air in front of myself, I managed to see a kind of faint shadow on the middle of the corridor.
<How?> I asked. I was supposed to have a high-enough perception attribute to be able to see her.
<I do not know, sir. Maybe because my Shadow trait leveled up.>
I wasn't sure about that. Could a single trait level make such a large difference? Well, to be fair, it must've leveled twice since I met her again, after the Challenge. Still, two trait levels weren't that much unless they hit a new boundary, and she was still an Adept, not a Skilled, in her Shadow trait.
But Valia's attributes, traits, and skills worked in a mysterious way; there was nothing I could do about it.
<If you say so. Let's go.> I followed her to the equipment room first. There were hundreds of weapons, and armor of all kinds in there, including full plate armor. Forget first pick, the entire place was a gold mine! <Holy shit! Bear, don't let a single one of them come. I need to loot this place completely!>
<That's not very fair, Ugly-face,> he said.
<I know. Don't worry, I'll give them their share, but believe me when I say it's better if they don't see this.>
I wasn't lying; if the zombies saw this place, infighting would inevitably ensue and it would be a pain to stop them. Even worse, it could attract the attention of whoever was above us.
However it's not as if that was the reason I was taking everything myself. I did intend to give the zombies their share, but it wouldn't be an equal share to my own. I mean, they had tried to rebel against me and I had already provided them valuable attribute points. It was only right that they paid me some extra taxes.
Also, there was too much stuff to browse in the limited time I believed we had, so it was better to just take everything quickly and check the items out when I could.
With Daggers' help, we managed to loot everything. Then, just to make sure I wasn't leaving money on the table, I checked the metals and stones storerooms.
Sure enough, on the many metal shelves in there, I saw some ores that resembled lightsteel and grabbed them. Nothing else caught my eye, and even though it made me wonder if I was overlooking something, there wasn't enough space in the ring for everything.
Sighing, I told Bear to come and let them take the ore, while Daggers and I proceeded to the stairs.
There was something very wrong with the stairs though. They went down, not up. It seriously confused me <What the hell?>
<Sir, sometimes it is better to make a place difficult to access than have logical architecture, and the equipment we stole is valuable. It was strange to find no lock on the doors to those storerooms.>
At the same time, I was quite confident that this place was only secondary. As safe as it was, there was no gold or silver in here. It made me even more interested in finding the castle's true treasures.
The doors before us were made of lightsteel and there was no visible lock on them, which meant they were either operated by magic, or could only be opened from the other side. Or both. Neither possibility thrilled me.
There was an easy way to find out if they were enchanted though. I moved near them, without touching, and closed my eyes. A gray circle appeared in my mind with me in the center, except I was naked, skinless, fleshless, and made of dark gray and pulsating light gray lights battling each other instead. The battling lights were life and death magic, and they proved I was undead.
Even though what I was seeing inside the grey circle was my surroundings, here there were no walls, floor, ceiling, or any structure at all. Only living beings were visible in my mind's eye.
Daggers was there, at the edge of the circle. She was completely made of pulsating light gray light... Or should have been. She was a living being, but somehow she also had some streak of black light flashing here and there, like dark lighting.
That was weird. As far as I knew, I could only see living beings within my mind's eye, without actively looking for other types of magic. Why could I see dark magic inside of Daggers? Was it something all Blackguard had, something to do with the Devourer?
More interesting though, for the first time I wondered... Why could I see living beings at all? I mean, what I saw was actually magic, not life. Did all life in Valia run on magic? That was an intriguing line of thought. I should look into it sometime.
For now though, I had work to do. I focused my will on a single point the size of my fist, where I believed the door would be. Just as expected, it flashed with color. Purple. Gravity magic.
<Magic lock,> I said as I opened my eyes. <Let's try to dig through the walls instead.> The walls around the door were made of stone, so I could hope that whoever designed this place had been foolish enough to overlook the need to reinfo
rce the walls beside the door.
More excavation ensued. One hour later, we concluded that the designer of the castle had been worthy of his paycheck.
<What now, Ugly-face?> Bear asked. I was beginning to see a pattern, he usually asked that when he thought there was no hope in going forward.
Asshole! When I put my spider ring on, I'll show you!
Now, that was a random thought. The ring just couldn't shut the hell up.
I was almost disappointed. The ring could certainly do better than that, couldn't it?
<Now, we knock.> I answered Bear and, without waiting, I hit the door with my pickaxe.
A loud sound reverberated, filling the entire corridor. Bear's eyes widened and even Daggers body language seemed to suggest she thought I was stupid.
<Ugly-face, isn't the whole point of using a secret entrance to not attract attention?>
<Yup.> I winked at him, but I hit the door again.
<So...?> He insisted.
<So we make noise. Not enough that they will realize there's an army in here, but enough that someone will come and check.>
<Uh... Man, they saw us enter that hole in the ground, and now they hear a noise in here. It's kind of obvious,> Bear said.
<Wrong. It would be obvious if everyone in the castle knew about the secret passage. But it is secret, isn't it? Sure, the castle boss knows about it, but whatever minion is on guard here probably has no idea.>
Bear crossed his arms. <How are you so sure?>
<I'm not sure, I said 'probably'. But think about it: this is the Underworld. Why would someone with access not take everything and leave with all the riches?>
I wasn't sure how thieves would go through the wall, or the maze beyond after they stole everything, but they surely would have a way.
<Because they would rather die than betray the castle?> Bear said presumptively.
<Maybe. Or maybe because whoever's inside doesn't know about the entrance.> I replied.
<Dude, listen. They saw us go in here. Even if no one knows about this place except for the big boss, someone surely told him we entered his underground maze, and unless he's a complete idiot, he would keep watch on this place.>