Chapter 19

  Downtime

  We received a pleasant surprise when we reached the tunnel to Floor Five.

  Checkpoint unlocked: A new tunnel is available on Floor One that grants direct access to Floor Five.

  “Thank fuck for that,” I said, letting out a sigh of relief. “We never have to visit Floor Three ever again.”

  “I don’t know,” said Rel. “I think we may have been too quick to judge the undead.”

  I said nothing. He was fishing for any excuse to brag about his newly acquired force of skeletal warriors.

  Again.

  He’d only just finished a fifteen-minute retelling of the battle, the story already containing several embellishments. I dreaded to think how much bullshit it would include by the time Kaelis heard it.

  “I’ve had enough of this place for one day,” I said. “Let’s go and check on Kaelis. I’m slightly concerned he may have ended up as bear food.”

  * * *

  Kaelis had not ended up as bear food.

  In fact, he had taken to Rel’s training regime with surprising enthusiasm. When we returned to Floor One, we found him fighting an enormous parrot.

  Shirtless.

  And judging by the state of his body, he’d not been slacking. It was a tapestry of cuts and bruises, but interestingly, none of his wounds were that bad.

  When he noticed our arrival, he turned to face us. He smiled - his teeth blood-stained - and waved enthusiastically.

  “Grandmaster Rel, Master Pete! It is go-…” Kaelis began to say, but the parrot seemed to take great offence at suddenly being ignored. It showed its displeasure by raking its razor-sharp talons across Kaelis’s naked chest.

  “Oh shit!” I said, dashing forward to put myself between them.

  I needn’t have bothered.

  Now, I’m not going to say that the attack didn’t hurt Kaelis - it definitely did. But rather than having his chest and ribs torn open as I expected, there were only a few deep gashes.

  “Well, it looks like someone’s become a bit of a tough fucker, eh?” I said, grinning.

  Kaelis beamed.

  “Thank you, Master,” he said, bowing. “The Grandmaster’s teachings have proven to be very effective.”

  I felt a sudden force press against my back.

  I turned around to see a now very sheepish-looking parrot slowly lowering its talons. Its eyes kept darting between its talons and me, as if it couldn’t quite understand what had just happened – or in this case, what hadn’t happened.

  I stared at it.

  It lowered its eyes, squawked apologetically, then turned and shuffled away.

  Rel arrived a moment later. He leaned on his staff, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he studied Kaelis.

  “You have performed adequately, my disciple,” he said, finally, with a small nod of approval.

  I thought Kaelis had been pleased by the compliment I’d given him, but I swear he almost pissed himself with excitement at hearing Rel’s.

  “Thank you, Grandmaster,” Kaelis replied reverently, bowing deeply. “Your methods are truly inspired. I have gained an additional two points in durability since you left!”

  Rel shrugged in what I think was supposed to be a modest way, but the effect was ruined by the outrageously smug expression on his face.

  “This is only the start, my disciple,” said Rel. “If you continue to follow my teachings, there will be no heights beyond your reach. Now, as we head back to town, let me tell you what Pete and I have been up to…”

  Here we go.

  * * *

  “A thousand tree monsters?” gasped Kaelis, his voice dripping with admiration. “Twelve feet tall?”

  “At least,” said Rel, nodding solemnly. “All appeared to be lost. Pete fought valiantly, but he was soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of foes we faced.”

  I stared daggers at Rel, but he was far too caught up in his self-aggrandising to pay any attention.

  “Fortunately, I was able to use my new spell to turn the tide of the battle,” continued Rel.

  “New spell?” asked Kaelis, eyes wide. “You managed to find another scroll?”

  “Indeed,” said Rel. “The boss of Floor Three gave it to me in exchange for sparing his life.”

  I was becoming a little concerned by the unrestrained worship that blazed in Kaelis’s eyes every time he looked at Rel. I’m not sure Rel had realised it yet, but I was pretty sure he’d started a cult - and Kaelis was the first member.

  “So, what happened next?” Kaelis asked eagerly.

  Rel waved his paw dismissively.

  “I simply did what any other competent archmage would have done in the situation. I summoned an army of legendary skeletal knights. After I gave them a few pointers, they quickly overwhelmed the tree creatures.”

  Then casually, as if it were of little consequence, he added. “I then annihilated the final boss with a fireball.”

  Kaelis’s jaw dropped.

  “You defeated the boss of Floor Four?” he said. “You’re the first people in this round of the Trial to accomplish such a feat!”

  “Oh, really?” asked Rel. “I suppose it’s no surprise…”

  * * *

  Thankfully, we soon arrived at the tavern Kaelis had recommended.

  When we entered, the whole place fell so silent you could’ve heard a pin drop. We stood in the entrance as dozens of nervous eyes turned to study us before quickly looking away. It was busy, with a dozen or so tables full of people enjoying an evening meal, but with our arrival, all movement and sound ceased.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  The owner approached hesitantly, looking as if he would rather be anywhere else in the world. He wrung his hands nervously as he came to a stop before us.

  “Welcome to The Oakreach Arms,” he muttered, bowing slightly. “We are very pleased to have your custom.”

  He paused and took a deep breath, as if having to muster the courage to continue.

  “It’s just that…” he continued, his voice weak. “It’s just that, we’ve had some issues the past few nights with Trialists, and we’d ask that you leave now if you intend to cause trouble.”

  I understood immediately, thinking back to all the assholes we’d seen strutting around the town when we’d first arrived.

  The dicks.

  I reached out to rest a hand gently on his shoulder. He flinched slightly, as if expecting me to strike him.

  “You’ve got nothing to worry about from us,” I said, giving him my best ‘I’m a nice guy, promise’ smile. “We’d just like something to eat and drink, and we’ve heard your place is one of the best in town.”

  He looked up and met my eyes, scepticism tinged with a little nascent hope in his gaze.

  After a few moments, some of the tension seemed to leave his shoulders, and he let out a deep breath. He smiled weakly, then gestured for us to follow him.

  I had to admit; I was impressed by the place. A roaring fire crackled merrily in the hearth, every surface was polished to an impressive gleam, and the food smelled delicious.

  “We have a lovely booth free in the corner,” he said, leading us past the bar.

  The diners had clearly decided we posed no threat, and they tucked back into their meals. There was a real pleasant hum of conversation as we were led to our table, and it made me realise how much I’d missed being around others. Sure, Rel was great, but three months alone in a cabin with anyone would eventually drive you a little insane.

  The booth was indeed ‘lovely’. A padded bench ran around the outside in a horseshoe shape, with a large table in the middle. I sat down and let out a satisfied grunt as I sank into my seat.

  “Now this is more like it!” I said, turning to the owner. “What’s your name?”

  “Derek, sir,” he said. “Our chef – my wife – has cooked up a pot of her world-famous stew for the evening meal. It’s a secret family recipe and I can assure you it’ll be the best you’ve ever had.”

  My mouth watered.

  Real food?

  After months of eating nothing but green sludge bars, I could have kissed him.

  I didn’t, of course - that’d have been highly inappropriate.

  “That sounds absolutely perfect!” I said, a little more enthusiasm in my voice than was probably normal. “I’d also like a mug of, umm… ale?”

  Derek looked at Kaelis and Rel, who both nodded to confirm they’d have the same, and then he headed back to the bar.

  “Right,” I said, turning to the others. “There’s only one rule for tonight: no talking about training!”

  Kaelis looked a little disappointed, but said nothing.

  “Agreed,” said Rel, a little too easily. “That gives us more time to talk about my new skele-”

  I raised a hand to cut him off.

  “Okay, there are two rules for tonight. No talking about training. No talking about skeletal armies.”

  Rel huffed moodily, only to look smug again a moment later.

  “That’s fair,” he said. “We can discuss how incredibly potent my fireball-”

  I cut him off again.

  “Okay,” I groaned, taking a deep breath. “Let’s put this another way…”

  I paused for a moment to think.

  “There are two rules for tonight. No talking about training. No talking about anything related to magic.”

  My rule setting was interrupted by an enormous crash followed by the sound of breaking glass. Raised voices followed, muffled by the walls of our booth, but from the tone it was clear the words were thick with anger.

  I started to rise to my feet, but Kaelis beat me to it.

  “Do not trouble yourself, Master,” he said. “Allow me to handle this.”

  I studied him for a moment, noting the earnestness in his expression.

  I nodded and sat back down.

  Kaelis left the booth, disappearing around the corner. His voice entered the conversation, calm and measured, but holding an unwavering certainty.

  “Mind your own fucking business, you filthy dog!” roared a voice, loud enough now that the whole street probably heard it.

  “Hmm,” said Rel. “Clearly their anger robs them of the ability to think of decent insults.”

  I snorted.

  “Do you think we should go and check on him?” I asked, tapping my fingers impatiently on the table.

  Rel’s answer was interrupted by a limp body hurtling past our table. It crashed against the wall outside our booth with a building-shaking thud.

  I leapt to my feet and found Kaelis slumped against the wall, barely conscious. His jaw was broken, bone jutting out at an unnatural angle, and his nose had been pulverised into a mangled mess.

  “How dare they harm my disciple!” snarled Rel.

  I glanced down at him. A dark, barely restrained fury blazed in his eyes as he took in Kaelis’s broken form. A fireball, larger than any I’d seen before, exploded into being at the tip of his tail.

  “Wait,” I said, stepping in front of him as he turned towards the commotion. “Don’t. If you cast a fireball in here, you could burn the whole place down. I want to hurt whichever dumb fuck was stupid enough to do this to Kaelis as much as you do, but Derek doesn’t deserve to have his livelihood destroyed.”

  Rel seethed, rationality warring against his burning desire to melt some motherfucker’s face, but then he growled and the fireball winked out of existence.

  We walked around the corner and my eyes narrowed at the scene before us.

  Derek was slumped against the bar, blood streaming down his face. One of the tables had been overturned, stew, ale, wine, and blood pooling together on the floor. The unconscious forms of several patrons lay strewn in and around it.

  Many of the other diners had used the distraction of Kaelis’s arrival to slip out, but the rest – a few dozen - were huddled in the corner, staring in horror at the three Trialists who stood in the centre.

  “Two more dogs have come to join the party,” said the one closest to us, his voice thick with mirth. It did not reach his eyes.

  He was humanoid in appearance, but a little shorter than me. His skin was a sickly yellow, like that of someone suffering from severe jaundice. Midnight black hair framed his angular, clean-shaven face, and his large, shimmering violet eyes brimmed with arrogance. He wore chainmail forged from a dark blue metal and had two vicious-looking blades resting at either side of his waist - his hands idly gripping the hilts.

  Next to him was a large reptilian creature. Its scales were a luminous silver, the light of the fire and torches causing them to glint menacingly. It had no legs, but rather the coiling lower body of a snake. Its upper body, more human-like in shape with a defined torso and arms, was covered by a thick jerkin, the leather dyed a deep brown like the colour of fresh soil. It held a long spear in one hand, the point coated in a dark green substance with a sickly sheen.

  The third Trialist, I recognised.

  Sul fucking Kan.

  The big bastard loomed over the other two like a hulking abomination, his thickly muscled body covered in a layer of coarse red fur. His face was like some weird amalgamation of a pig and a gorilla - a snout-like nose, and dark, beady eyes. His presence seemed to radiate a savage hunger for violence.

  When those beady eyes turned to look at me and Rel, they flashed in fearful recognition. He started muttering under his breath, ‘fuck, fuck, fuck’ being the only words I could distinguish. His companions turned to look at him, confused.

  He paid them no attention, instead raising both hands placatingly as he stumbled backward towards the door.

  “What-?” began the snake man, but the sight of Sul’Kan’s retreating form was lost as the door slammed shut behind him.

  They both stared at each other for a moment, but then the yellow-skinned man shook his head, a look of contempt quickly returning.

  “No matter,” he said, drawing both of his swords. “It just means more fun for us.”

  He took a step towards me.

  “For trying to ruin our fun? I’ll make sure your death is as slow and painful as possible,” he said, tilting his head slightly as he considered all the possibilities. “Perhaps I’ll take your tongue first? No, that means I wouldn’t get to hear you beg for mercy. Hmm… maybe your hands and feet instead.”

  I stepped towards him, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. His eyes widened in shock as my hands closed around his wrists in a vice-like grip.

  “I fucking hate people like you,” I growled. “You have all this power, and what do you do with it? Use it for good? Help people? No… you use it to intimidate and hurt those weaker than you.”

  I applied a steady pressure, and his blades moved slowly, steadily, back towards his chest. There was no trace of contempt or arrogance on his face anymore - it held nothing but unbridled fear.

  “I’m sorry,” he whimpered. “I promise I’ll leave right now and never come back.”

  “You’re sorry?” I hissed, my face now only inches from his. I could smell his piss as his bladder emptied itself. “Would you be sorry if I hadn’t been here? I don’t fucking think so. You’re only sorry because you’ve come across somebody bigger and scarier than you.”

  The points of his swords were now pressing against the links of his chainmail, the metal screeching as it gave way before the inexorable pressure.

  The blades met flesh.

  “How does it feel - being powerless? I wonder how many people you’ve made feel this way.”

  His terror had turned his pleas into pathetic, unintelligible sobs.

  “Well,” I said softly. “I guess it won’t be an issue anymore.”

  I gave a final push, the blades burying themselves in his chest. Blue blood ran freely from the wound, the colour a little lighter than that of his chainmail. He took one last rasping breath and then his head sagged forward.

  I let go of his arms, and his body crumpled to the ground in an undignified heap.

  The snake man watched on, stunned into motionlessness by how quickly the supposed predators had become the prey. His friend’s death seemed to jolt him back to his senses, and he turned in a desperate attempt to flee.

  Rel barred his path, a fireball crackling gleefully at the tip of his tail.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” asked Rel, his voice quiet and as cold as a blizzard.

  I hooked a hand around the snake man’s neck, yanking him backward so that my mouth hovered beside his ear.

  “Listen closely, you fucking waste of oxygen,” I snarled. “I’m not going to kill you, because I need you to do something for me.”

  He nodded frantically, latching onto the possibility of leaving with his life.

  “Tell any other Trialist you come across that this sort of behaviour will no longer be tolerated in Oakreach. Tell them that this entire area is now under the protection of Peter Brookes and Squire Rel. If we hear that a Trialist has so much as looked at a townsperson in the wrong way, I’ll rip their fucking heart out.”

  I spun him around to face me.

  “Do you understand?” I asked quietly.

  “Yes!”