<I understand, I guess. They were asses with me too.>
<In a way, you were lucky to find them after leaving the prison. You are a known criminal in Dakar. I don't know how things will stand when the internal wars calm down, but no one would want to harbor Dakar's enemy before today. Except for the drow.>
<Yeah, I committed this terrible crime of not letting myself be tortured. Of course, everyone should just hand me back to my torturers. Screw me, right?>
<Such is the destiny of the weak. If you can't handle it, go to the Surface. I know I would if I could.>
He got up, got to Daggers' body and took all her equipment off. Her cloak faded away quickly when he took it off. Her body was completely blueish black, but the angle he worked at didn't allow me to see her face. He got food and some weapons for himself, then threw her purse with everything else inside to me.
<I'll try to find the Father and resurrect Marbareus. You tell the observer and Eternal the truth, as well, if you ever see them. It was also Marbareus' wish.>
He got to Marbareus body and lifted it, gently wrapping it with the cloak.
<What about you? Won't you need more than these shitty daggers?>
<I have hidden stashes with better weapons. You, on the other hand, are only a fish out of water or a disguised god. If it's the former, Marbareus would have wanted you to have all possible help. If it's the latter, take it as an offering.>
<That's it, then? The whole truth? That he was just making my life hell because he liked me? I call bullshit.>
<Whatever you decide to call it, now you know.> He started walking away.
I took Daggers' purse, instantly receiving a level five encumbered status, and put it inside my own. <Well, I don't believe a word of it. Why wasn't his head cut? Why was he poisoned and allowed to leave? You are so full of it. Even if you told me any truth, I bet that you are the one who killed them. I bet you are the drow trying to poison me.>
He stopped but didn't turn.
<You see,> he said, <another thing I wonder is if Marbareus would have seen the blow coming if it wasn't for you. I was with him for decades, since the day he took the collar off my throat and told me I was free to go. He was always focused, always suspicious. He never left Sorina alone, unless it was in absolute secrecy. But four days ago, he left it in plain view of everyone. He allowed himself to become a target to protect you from his sister's treat.
<Who knows, maybe she saw through him and used you to force him to do something stupid. Or maybe she didn't. But know that if he had been in the city, we would have a healer available. He went out of his way to protect you. You, a Traveler who doesn't give a damn about our world. He believed in you. That you would keep bringing positive changes to the Underworld, greater even than killing Renno.>
He spat on the ground. <For me, you are just a spoiled child. He sheltered you like his own you like a son, and you killed him.>
He left the party and resumed his walk.
Flashbacks overcame my mind.
The looks from my parents' colleagues. Fear and respect. They didn't believe it had been an accident.
Grandfather's words, telling me he had taken care of the cover-up and that he expected big things from me.
My parents burned bodies.
Their funeral.
My aunt's funeral.
Tardas words echoed in my mind.
I ran.
* * *
I woke up coughing. All I remembered was going to the bathroom in the night, the big explosion sound, and my body flying into the bathtub.
Something was above me, covering the tub and blocking the light. I pushed it, and it moved effortlessly. It was the bathroom door.
"I think I heard something!" Someone yelled from outside.
"The structure is still too unstable, don't get in there!" Someone replied.
My body was aching, but nothing that prevented me from moving. The smell of smoke and ash was overwhelming, and so was the horrible taste in my mouth. I sneezed. When I finally left the bathtub, nearly without a scratch, I saw the first of a sequence of images that would never leave my mind:
My house was gone.
Everything had burned. Not enough to collapse the two stories wooden mansion to the ground, but enough that the floor of the corridor had become only support beams in some places.
My aunt, I thought immediately. But no, she would be on the first floor, and I was in the second. My parents would be nearby.
Not even they deserved to be ignored on an occasion like this.
There was a big part of the corridor with almost no floor, and I'm not sure how I did it, but I suddenly found myself in my parents' room. I saw their burnt corpses sprawled across their bed's charred wreckage.
Father had finally lost the weight mother insisted he lose.
Next thing I knew, I was on the first floor. Someone's roasted head was in the exploded kitchen. My aunt's bed was empty.
A fireman found me then and had to battle me as I desperately fought him.
"Aunt! Aunt!" I screamed. "I need to find my aunt!"
Suddenly, I was lying in a hospital bed. A doctor was flashing light in my eyes.
"He is awake," he said.
Richard, the family's lawyer, was standing nearby. He was almost as white as my bed sheets and let out a relieved sigh when he saw me look around.
"Can you tell me your name?" The doctor asked me.
"Jack," my voice was hoarse.
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"Do you know where you are?"
"In a hospital."
"Do you know who this man is?" He pointed to the lawyer.
"Richard."
"Do you-"
"I'm all right, doctor. My parents were the ones who burned to death, not me."
The doctor looked silently at me for a few seconds. "You suffered a minor concussion to the head, but as far as I can tell, your fainting was the extent of it. Just to be sure, and to relieve the stress in your body, I'll have you to stay here under observation for a week."
"I don't think that's necessary," I said.
"It's important. For your own good."
"Don't worry, doctor," Richard said. "We will stay here for as long as you say."
The doctor nodded to Richard and left the room. My lawyer approached my bed. "Are you... How are you feeling?"
"Where is my aunt?"
He swallowed and shook his head. "We found no one alive."
"Yes, but where is my aunt?"
"She is dead. I'm sorry."
"Her bed was empty. I saw it. Where is she?"
He closed his eyes in pain. "I... Some of the corpses couldn't be recognized. But they were all accounted for."
A thick silence wrapped us for a very long time.
"What happened?" I asked.
"An accident. The firefighters said someone left a gas valve open and when the cook lit the oven... They don't understand how she didn't smell the gas or even got close enough to the oven without feeling dizzy, but they are not interested in pursuing an investigation. I think it's better that way. These tragedies are difficult enough without strangers poking around." I didn't answer. "I'm sorry, Jack. I truly am."
I took a deep breath. "I was the last one in the kitchen before bed."
His eyes widened for a split second. "It doesn't mean-"
"I killed them." At last, I released the tears that I had been holding. "I murdered my father, my mother, Margaret, Simon, Stewart, Bruno. I murdered my aunt. I murdered them all."
"Jack, listen-"
"Leave me, Richard. I need a moment alone."
"I don't think that's-"
"Leave me!" I yelled. "Leave me! Now! Get out!"
He did, looking worried. When the doctor entered the room a few minutes later, I had used the IV needle to open my wrists.
I lived the next two years of my life in a psychiatric facility.
Jack Thorn
Unbound Deathlord
&nb
sp; Legendary Spotter, Hedge Wizard, Pioneer, Dark Archmage
Level 14
Hit Points:425 / 425
Mana Points:10 / 695
Stamina:5 / 250
Attributes:
Strength:10
Agility:12
Dexterity:7
Constitution:11
Intelligence:16 + 2 [Items]
Perception:8 + 10 [Items]
Willpower:11
Charisma:8
Traits:
© Adept Controller:21
© Adept Energizer:13
Adept Mage:11 + 10 [Items]
Diviner:2
Gold Digger:2
Scavenger:2
Scout:2
Antimage:1
Athlete:1
Crafter:1
Healer:1
Meditator:1
Mind Seer:1
Negotiator:1
Nitpicker:1
Shadow:1
Strategist:1
Tactician:1
Warrior:1
23. Don't Feed the Animals
'Shine, shine like a star...'
- Aunt
I eventually calmed down enough to remember the sleep function and use it. A short nap made me feel less messed up.
The first thing I did when I woke up was checking each centimeter of every item I had, looking for things that could be used to track me. Feeling my jerkin, I found not only one but two flat crystals inside it, each one about five centimeters by five, full of runic inscriptions.
I had been told runes only became visible when they were being used so even if no one was checking me out now, the crystals were still transmitting my position.
There was no way to be sure of their function, to be honest, but I had found them where Tardas told me they would be. That being so, it was sensible to assume he wasn't lying about what they did.
Using the same logic, he hadn't told me there was more than one crystal, so it was possible they did more than tracking.
The second crystal being from an unknown third party was also a possibility. I didn't care either way; I just crushed the damn things.
After thoroughly inspecting all the items I was carrying three times over, I found five crystals, and only one of them was on Daggers' stuff.
That was downright ridiculous.
Fury defined me. I had been taking shit from the damn game for far too long. I had clung to the fact that this was just a game I was supposed to have some fun with; a different world that didn't really affect my life. I had just gone along with the way things were presented me.
Those days were gone.
I didn't forget this was a game, but I would not just silently accept all this jackassery anymore. I would rise to my feet, become powerful enough to lay waste to all the Underworld, and show them who was the boss.
My number one target was Marbareus.
If Tardas had been telling any truth amidst all the holes in his story, the ex-First Lord had acted like a damn child. He could have just got me to a Disruptive Zone and told me the truth. That would make everything alright without the need to screw me over and over again.
On the other hand, if Tardas had been lying... Gods help the vampire.
And after I'm done with him, I'll conquer the Underworld.
Yes, I would-
I frowned. I was dead set on destroying all the bastards, and to do so I might have to conquer some of them, but that was not a primary objective. I was sure now: something was in my head.
Quest Series: Mind Invasion
You have detected thoughts that are not your own in your head.
What could it mean?
Quest: What is Going On?
[Mind Invasion]
? rank
You have detected thoughts that are not your own in your head.
Discover what exactly is doing this to you.
Condition:
» Cannot be dropped
That only deepened my frown. So it was not V-Soft messing with my character's motivations, as I had thought previously, but actual game content.
Why had I only received the quest now, though, and not in Ter'nodril? Could it be that I was only suspicious before, while now I was dead certain?
After some thinking, I concluded that the one responsible for the foreign thoughts had to be an item. Unless this quest was something I could have uncovered since coming to Valia, it would have to be something I had picked up along the way. Plus, the first time I detected the mind invasion, I already had some magical items with me.
A spell was also possible, but I was in the middle of nowhere, in a deserted corridor, and had just broken the crystals I knew could be used to track me. How would a spell affect me there?
Wait, that made me realize: I hadn't tried to check the items for hidden magic. Two more times, I went through everything I had, closing my eyes and I touching the objects with my mind.
As expected, the circlet, the bags, and my four rings – fire ring, illusion ring, minor intelligence ring, and spider ring – had magic on them, of multiple colors. Everything else, including Daggers' stuff, was normal.
I immediately discarded the possibility of it being the backpack, of the reason being that it was 'too lame'. I mean, a mind invading backpack? Please.
The legendary items were possible but unlikely. High Lady Renno had enough power to start some rather large wars, but she had instead retired to the middle of nowhere. I couldn't believe she had heard the voice for years and not done anything about it.
It left only the spider ring. I also had first thought about conquering the Underworld right after picking it up. Yep, undoubtedly the ring.
Uh... Ring? Hello?
No answer. No quest update, either.
It was just as well. A ring corrupting me with visions of grandeur and power? Too cliché. I'd need some pretty good motivation to pursue such a quest series.
C'mon V-Soft, you can do better than that.
Anyway, I had more important stuff to do: unending training. With difficulty, I fit the training armor over the half-breastplate.
On the middle of my fifteenth day in Valia, I started the most hardcore training ever known to humanity. Or at least that I knew about.
I hated my father, but I had to give it to him: he had taught me how to get revenge.
A weak part of me kept telling me I had no right to use this knowledge. Not after killing my mentor. Not being a patricide.
But the bars of the Kraken's prison were gone. The hatred had unlocked it, and there was no going back.
As usual, as much as I detested it, father had been right; there was no denying who I was.
It was in my blood.
* * *
The first thing I noticed every time I entered the room was the smell of cigars and paper.
My father's workroom was a mirror of the man himself: bad and knowledgeable. He was sitting with his fat belly behind the mahogany desk, typing on a laptop. Around us, there were thousands of books.
"Did you call me, father?" I asked with open defiance in my voice. I was seventeen, and I didn't bow to him anymore. Even if I couldn't defeat him, I could disobey him.
He stopped typing and looked at me.
"Close the door," he said.
"I won't-"
Then something happened. Something so alien, so out of place, so unimaginable, so wild, that I was rendered speechless.
He yelled.
"Close the door!" I never knew he could put so much anger into his voice. Eyes wide and full of fear, I obeyed.
"Good. Remember this lesson: what your mother teaches you about not demonstrating emotions is wise, but there's always the right place and time for everything. Sit."
That shocked me even more. In all my life, he had never allowed me
to sit in the wooden chair in front of the table. Mustering all my courage, I obeyed. Again.
It wasn't right. I wouldn't keep obeying! I took a deep breath and tried to get my bearings back.
"Tell me about your gang," he said, and I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me.
"What?!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Why the surprise? You believed I was in the dark about it? You are even dumber than I thought. Tell me about the gang."
"I- How do you know about it?" He squinted his eyes. I hadn't asked it in a polite way. He had cut my allowance last time I did that. I didn't care.
"Tell me about your gang." He repeated.
"Tell me how you know about it and I will." I insisted.
We locked eyes, and he eventually spoke. I knew my car would be gone when I awoke next day. "I have more police officers in my pocket than you have girlfriends." That was a lousy claim. "Now, the gang."
"What do you want to know?" I realized too late that I had made an agreement with him: I'd tell him about the gang if he answered my question. It wasn't even a good question, either. As usual, he had played me.
"Who runs it?"
"Didn't your pig friends tell you?"
"It doesn't matter, I'm asking you."
I sighed. "I run it."
"Did you found it?"
"Start the gang? No, it was Big K's."
"How did you come to rule it?"
"Found it? Rule it? This is a gang we are talking about, father, not a goddamn country." He balled his hands into fists, and I wondered if he would finally lose it and come at me.
"How?"
"I beat some, blackmailed others, created a faction... Politics. All the shit you taught me? I use it to shame you before your politician friends. How many of them know you have a delinquent son? Now that I think about it, how much are you paying the pigs to keep me out of jail? Hell, did the media get to it already?"
That was an exciting line of thought. To tell the truth, I had started going out with the boys to release some steam, but it hadn't taken long for me to see how I could use it to mess with my father.