WARNING – THE MARK OF COMMAND HAS ALMOST REACHED COMPLETION

  FIND THE ALTAR OF THE CHTHONIAN

  The blurry letters slowly started becoming legible.

  “What?” Clara’s voice rang from somewhere behind him. When had she come down here? His mind was foggy. His gaze drifted to the lifeless body of the Witch.

  Is she really dead?

  Then why had her spell not faded? Why did the heat continue climbing up his neck? His chest tightened with despair.

  “It’s in the dungeon.” Victoria’s weak voice startled him. “She kept talking about it before he came.” She was too weak to stand up, though she still tried.

  “We need to hurry!” Was that Charles’ voice? He wasn’t sure.

  His uneven steps made it difficult to go down to the dungeon, and it was even more difficult to try and keep up with the conversation going on around him. Charles and Jason helped him walk, while Clara, Elizabeth, Ava, and Victoria followed a few steps behind. Sarah and the others were still at the courtyard, resting, and enjoying their reunion with their loved ones.

  His thoughts were sluggish, and the burning sensation had travelled up to his chin. From how the others avoided looking at him, he could only assume he looked rather terrible.

  Passing through the now empty dungeon, Victoria led them to a heavy, metal door. “It’s not locked.” She sheepishly spoke, holding onto Clara for support as she was still incredibly weak from everything she went through. “The altar is in there.”

  “Thank you,” Charles forced a smile before opening door. Its creak was loud, and echoed in the silent, abandoned hallways.

  The round chamber was quite spacious with a vaulted ceiling. The walls were covered in intricate carvings, and the floor was made of pristine granite slabs. The only object in the room was in the dead centre of it – a statue he didn’t quite know how to describe.

  “What is that…?” Clara’s voice was but a whisper as she reeled back as soon as her gaze landed on it.

  At first glance, it was difficult to make sense of it. It had a humanoid body, but it’s face was split in three – each made of different materials, ivory, obsidian, and gold. The statue had a large angelic wing made of ivory wrapping around their left shoulder, nearly touching the ceiling and the floor with its delicately carved feathers. A demonic, leathery wing stretched to its left, it was just as large as the angelic one, made of pure obsidian. A golden, feathery tail wrapped around the base of the statue.

  The statue wore what looked like a torn toga, and it was kneeling on its base, extending its right hand towards the door. It’s left hand held a torch.

  “Is that the altar?” Charles muttered, glancing at Victoria. The young girl nodded, though she didn’t approach the doorway at all. “Right…” He glanced at Alaric. “Hey, are you still with us?”

  He nodded. Barely. He stepped forward, through the doorway.

  YOU HAVE FOUND THE ALTAR OF THE CHTHONIAN

  A GOD COMMANDS YOU APPROACH

  The system message vanished as soon as he read the bold, white text. Fighting against the mark’s effects, he dragged his feet towards the altar. It really did look like the statue extending its hand towards him. Though looking at its three-part face, Alaric wasn’t sure if that hand was one he wanted to take.

  As soon as he arrived in front of the base of the statue, a new message appeared before him.

  A GOD OFFERS YOU STRENGTH

  WILL YOU ACCEPT?

  “What strength?”

  At what cost?

  A GOD OFFERS YOU STRENGTH

  WILL YOU ACCEPT?

  “I…” he hesitated. Charles had spoken to him about God-given powers. Was this what Clara and Ava were offered? Strength, without further context or information? I can’t ever be weak like this again. Not if he wanted to protect Clara.

  “I accept.”

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  The statue moved, it caught his hand and pressed its left palm over the back of his right hand. The climbing heat, the burning sensation of the Witch’s mark vanished in an instant, replaced by the cool, calming sensation of rejuvenation.

  YOU HAVE ACCEPTED THE OFFERING OF STRENGTH

  YOU HAVE BEEN GIFTED THE MARK OF COMMAND

  A CLAIM NOW RESTS ON YOUR SOUL

  Something burned on the back of his hand. Startled, he pulled his hand away from the statue’s grasp, to see a mark, black and crimson, on its back. It was a thick, inky looking circle, with five lines bleeding down towards his wrist. The longest line was the one in the middle and went just past his wrist before ending.

  The statue returned to its original position.

  “Did it work?” Clara asked, her eyes large with a mix of hope and fear. “Are you ok now?”

  He clenched and unclenched his fist. The Mark of Command stretched along with his skin, causing no pain or discomfort whatsoever. “Yeah,” he turned around with a faint smile. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

  Sitting with his back against the large boulder, Alaric watched Arthur and Sarah playing with a pair of sticks as if they were swords. The woman’s smile was almost blindingly bright, and full of joy despite their situation, and her young son’s innocent laugh lifted the spirits of the whole camp.

  Alaric’s smile slowly vanished as he spotted Charles and Jason circle the Hallow Ground’s perimeter. He couldn’t hear their conversation, but from their stern expressions, it was obvious that not everything was alright.

  His gaze turned to the church. Inside, Clara and Harriet had set up a simple but practical infirmary.

  Not everyone is alright.

  The raid to Castle Lorne didn’t go as smoothly as they had hoped, and they had more than one seriously wounded person. Once Ava’s voice woke the creatures up from their slumber, the lower floors had apparently turned into a rather bloody battlefield – something he, Charles and Elizabeth didn’t witness.

  While thankfully they hadn’t lost anyone, several people had been wounded badly, including the hunter Robert, and several of the kidnapped people. Since Clara could only heal a certain amount per day, Harriet’s grandmotherly knowledge came in handy. She was keeping the people fed, warm, hydrated, and their wounds as clean and sterile as she could.

  “How long are you going to pout there?” Edward’s voice startled him. The young man was sitting on the boulder. It was his turn to keep watch. “You should join them, you know.” He nodded towards Sarah and Arthur.

  “Ha,” Alaric shook his head. “No. You should go help Clara and Ava though. I’m sure Harriet’s working them to the bone.” He stood up and climbed up the boulder despite the young man’s protests. “I’ll take over guard duty.”

  “…Cruel.” Edward muttered before hopping down and dragging his feet towards the ruined church.

  Now that he was well and truly left alone, Alaric sat down cross legged and opened the system window he hadn’t paid any attention to before.

  REWARDS GRANTED:

  PHYSICAL ABILITIES SLIGHTLY INCREASED

  MAGICAL APTITUDE GREATLY INCREASED

  MANA INCREASED

  He clenched and unclenched his fist. The only time he had noticed his physical strength increase was when they climbed up that rope. “We could walk for quite some time too…” he muttered to himself as he dismissed the system window and summoned the next one.

  YOU HAVE SURVIVED THE FIRST NIGHT

  YOU HAVE SECURED FOOD AND WATER

  YOU HAVE SECURED SHELTER

  REWARDS GRANTED:

  DIFFICULTY OF THE NEXT MISSION REDUCED

  He scowled. These were the rewards everyone gained from the mission they had received the previous evening. “What next mission?” He groaned. There was more to come. Of course there bloody is.

  Arthur and Sarah’s cheerful laughter softened his expression somewhat. At least they had some time to rest and recover now.

  “Um,” a meek voice rang from behind him. He turned around and looked down at the mid-point of the boulder. Victoria was standing there, halfway up the boulder. “Do you mind if I sit with you?” She sheepishly asked.

  “Not at all,” he offered her his hand, helping her come up. “I thought you were with your grandmother and sister.”

  “I was,” she shrugged. “I… wanted to talk with you. And give you this.” She put a large, leatherbound toe she was carrying on the rock next to him, then hugged her knees. “The Witch was constantly writing stuff into it. So… maybe it will be useful for you.” She hesitated. “And thanks. For saving me. The Witch was scary. I thought I was going to die.”

  His expression softened. He pulled the book over his legs and rummaged through the pages absentmindedly. Numerous drawings of animals, plants and odd, intricate patterns took up most of the pages. He couldn’t read the writing made up of odd symbols and runic script. “We’re even, right?” He said with a playful chuckle. “You saved my life too.”

  Victoria visibly flinched. “I suppose…” she mumbled. She wrapped some of her hair around her finger as her gaze lingered far away. “I wasn’t really thinking. I just wanted the Witch gone, and you to live.”

  “Thank you.”

  She raised her hand in front of her. “I can still do that.” She glanced at him, watching for his reaction. “I… I think she made a mistake with me.”

  “How so?” He raised his eyebrows.

  Victoria pressed her lips together. “I can do things I shouldn’t be able to.” Black fog whirled around her hand, obscuring it. “The system called it something like innate power unlocked…” she furrowed her brows. “This is something like Ava has, right? And Clara?”

  He pried his gaze off of her hand. “Did the system tell you something like ‘a god offers you strength’?”

  Victoria’s eyes widened. “Yes!” She exclaimed with a glimmer in her eyes. “It said ‘A god offers you guidance’.” She then scowled. “Then it said a claim had been laid on my soul…” The excitement in her eyes turned into worry. “That’s… bad, right?” her hesitation and nigh regret was palpable.

  “The same happened to me.” Alaric stretched his right hand out, letting the bright sunshine on the Mark of Command. “We’ll find a way to fix all of it.” He glanced at her.

  Her eyes were large, filled with a mix of hope and fear. As soon as their gazes met, she nodded vigorously. “I’ll help too!” She exclaimed. “I can fight.”

  “You don’t need to-“

  “No, I have to,” she cut him off with sharper voice. “I can do things! Please, I have to help. So Elizabeth doesn’t have to go out there.” She clenched her fists. “She’s not like me. She doesn’t deserve to go through any of that! I’ll help – so she doesn’t have to.” A fire of determination burned in her eyes.

  You’ll do anything to protect her.

  Of course she would. I do the same for Clara. There was nothing wrong with that.

  “How old are you?”

  Victoria blinked once. “Seventeen.”

  “Oh, you’re the same age as my sister and Ava then.” He honestly thought she was a few years younger than Clara. Her larger eyes and childish expressions made her look fifteen at most.

  If Ava can fight, then so can she.

  A part of him couldn’t believe himself for thinking that.