“Divide and conquer?” Chloe asked the others.

  “Sure,” Ben replied. “Where are you going?”

  Chloe told them she wanted to go back toward the shrine. She had noticed some smaller caves nearby and wondered whether any of them might lead to underground dungeons or somewhere a piece of armor might be hiding.

  Ben and Tag offered to join her, but Chloe dismissed them with a wave of her hand. “If I come across anything, I’ll come straight back, okay. I’ve learned my lesson now. No more solo journeys.”

  “Experience whore,” Tag murmured.

  “Digital whore,” Chloe replied with a wink.

  “I’ll come with you,” Gideon said. “We can head back to the Mages’ Academy later and check out that library.”

  “Oh, I see. Let lover boy come along.” Ben laughed.

  “It’s not…that’s not…”

  “We get it.” Tag grinned. “It’s okay, I’m going to investigate some new armor and shields. I managed to get a wee bit of additional coin from minor missions, and want to see what I can get in this city.”

  “Good deal,” Ben said. “I’m coming with you then. I want to upgrade my equipment. If we’re fast enough, I might be able to get back to Francesca in time for this afternoon’s scout in the woods.”

  “Who’s Francesca?” Tag said.

  “No one.”

  They said their goodbyes, splitting up. Ben and Tag disappearing into the crowded streets as Chloe and Gideon once again made their way past the guards. Talbot headed toward the public library, clearly gunning for a mission of his own.

  They searched for several hours, treading along the rocky paths that circled the lake. They found several small caverns in which the water flowed or that had been hollowed over years and years of weather wear, but they came up short.

  Most of the caves were only a hundred meters or so deep before the ceilings sloped down so fast that they couldn’t go any farther, only water able to continue running through tiny holes and crevices bubbling with foam.

  A few of the caves led a little deeper, unveiling wider caverns that were like small shelters built into the mountains. Chloe wondered if this was the case, and what kind of creatures they would have contained. They stumbled across a few bones of deceased creatures, and—once—they found themselves in a battle with a cave jaguar that had made the hollow its residence, but otherwise they left the caves empty-handed.

  “I don’t get it. Where aren’t we looking?” Chloe said.

  Gideon caught his balance after almost slipping off a moss-covered rock. “Woah!” He exclaimed, then calmed down. “Maybe we’re looking at it all wrong?”

  “How d’ya mean?”

  “Maybe it’s not about the caves, or the lairs, or the dungeons. Maybe it’s somewhere else. Y’know, in plain sight?”

  “Impossible,” Chloe replied. “Someone would have scooped it up. Taken it for themselves, surely?”

  Gideon shrugged. “Just something to consider.”

  Chloe did consider it the entire way back to the gates of the city, even as they wound their way up several tiers of Killink View and the Mages’ Academy came back into view.

  What if she was thinking about this all wrong? Was it any more unbelievable than the idea that the armor was hidden in a cave or somewhere beneath the city?

  She had found her greaves in the belly of a sandworm. Would this piece be any more unbelievable than that?

  Chloe’s head was filled with questions with no answers. KieraFreya gave suggestions that were less than helpful. And, as they bypassed a mage that they didn’t recognize on the door, Chloe couldn’t help but wonder how long they would have until someone else beat them to the items.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  The rallying call came a little after sundown that evening as a cry from a fearful goblin as he sprinted toward the city gates, a torch in his hand and a terrified expression on his face.

  He ran through the town, not pausing to speak to anyone. Any guards who came his way, he slid through their legs or darted around them, his small size much to his advantage. Soon there was a small gaggle of guards behind him, but that didn’t stop him. It was only as he made it to the upper tiers of Killink View that he allowed himself a breath, the royal guards clad in their gold armor blocking his way with a barrage of arrows and spears.

  But even they couldn’t do much to stop the message. Sure, maybe the goblin’s journey had neared its end, but the message carried on, flying through the palace on the guards’ lips, the titter of rumor making its way eventually to the ears to the prince of Killink View—the final barrier between the message’s delivery and its destruction.

  “Really?” Prince Gilligan muttered. He looked down at the pair of guards kneeling before him, helmets flanked with wings.

  The guards murmured confirmation. The prince rubbed his chin, wondering what he should do with the information he had received.

  The youngest of the king’s sons, Prince Gilligan was nowhere near the front of the line for Killink View’s throne. He had been trained as a soldier, and was far superior in strength and talent than his other siblings, who had grown soft and rested on their laurels as they sauntered around the palace, their stomachs almost as large as their egos—but that didn’t get him the attention he wanted.

  No matter how many times he had begged his mother in her private chambers to consider changing the laws on the monarchy to entitle him to inherit the crown, she had refused. To Gilligan, it was simple. Those who are strong enough to protect should rule. Those who were too fat to make the return journey to their people should wallow and die in the pit of shit they’d created.

  And now here was a chance to prove himself. To head out beyond the walls and save the city. A mission that could see his point proven and honor bestowed upon his person.

  “How many?” the prince asked.

  “Seven, m’lord.”

  “At least,” the second guard answered. “That’s at a guess. The goblin didn’t stay long enough to gather all the facts.”

  Prince Gilligan sighed. Perhaps seven were a bit too many for him to take on, even with all of his skills and abilities. Even after all of the training he had undergone, abusing the palace’s facilities and people to become the hardest warrior on this side of Obsidian. Even then, it might be too much.

  Gilligan grunted in frustration. “Very well.”

  The guards left without the need for further instruction. Prince Gilligan swanned into his parents’ room, recoiling as the sight of the two rolling around in bed caused a lump to catch in his throat.

  “What is it?” the king snapped, his heavy bulk resting atop arms as thin as twigs. Beneath him, Gilligan’s mother lay frozen.

  Gilligan explained what the guards had told him, relaying the poor goblin’s message with no further thought to the selfless messenger who, even now, was being fanned back to consciousness after collapsing on the floor outside the palace doors.

  The king sat up next to the queen, sheets pulled up to their necks, and sighed, unable to process what he had just heard. After a quiet discussion with his wife, he nodded, got out of bed, and put on his clothes.

  “Assemble the vanguard and prepare for the broadcast,” the king said.

  Prince Gilligan nodded and sped out, glad to be leaving the room.

  “Can it really be that bad?” the queen asked, buttoning her dress.

  “I don’t know,” the king replied. “But after the last time, I’m sure not going to leave this to chance.”

  For the first time since they had arrived in Obsidian, Chloe was tired. Not physically tired—her stamina was near-enough full—but mentally tired. After several hours of sitting in the library with Gideon and studying dusty old texts, not only did her eyes sting, but her head felt fit to burst, too.

  When she had arrived at the library, Chloe had added her assignable attributes to intelligence, remembering her leveling up in the Shrine of the Damned. She didn’t want to make the mistake of not assigning her skills again, and since they would be studying for the next few hours, she dumped them all into intelligence since she was slightly unbalanced in that area.

  That helped the studying somewhat. She hated to think what someone with zero intelligence would feel after studying for five minutes, let alone an hour.

  Chloe dumped the points, then checked her character sheet, happy to see the additional level in place and the increase in mana and HP.

  Bio

  Character name: Chloe (click to select a new character name)

  Level: 12

  Class: Battle Mage (Novice)

  Race: Human

  Stats

  HP: 380/380

  MP: 650/650

  Stamina: 367/375

  Active effects: Null

  Boons: +15% luck to experimental magicks

  Attributes

  Strength: 22 (+49)

  Intelligence: 10 (+39)

  Dexterity: 20 (+49)

  Endurance: 25 (+36)

  Etheric Potential: 9 (+56)

  Skills

  Languages: Human

  Acrobatics: Lv 5

  Armed Combat: Lv 4

  Charismatic: Lv 4

  Climbing: Lv 2

  Cooking: Lv 2

  Crafting: Lv 1

  Creature Identification: Lv 5

  Dark Vision: Lv 4

  Dual Wielding: Lv 3

  Experimental: Lv 1

  Fishing: Lv 1

  Hand of the Gods: Lv 1

  Herb Identification: Lv 2

  Reckless: Lv 6

  Saddler: Lv 5

  Sneak: Lv 4

  Swimming: Lv 3

  Available Points: 0

  Wait, what happened to my stamina? She thought. Oh, right. The stairs…

  There had been thousands of books in there, so many books that Chloe didn’t quite know where to start. Luckily for her, Gideon spotted a sweet librarian who had directed them toward books that would be beneficial for her level, explaining the categorization system that was in place.

  “Books are divided by skillset and ability,” the kindly mage had said as she led them over to a large section near the entrance. “Your basic spells are all around here, as well as history and lore of Obsidian’s rise to magic. Is there anything you’re looking for in particular?”

  “Do you have anything on darkness or shadow spells?” Chloe asked.

  The mage gave Chloe a curious look, as if seeing her for the first time. Her eyes wandered down to her sword.

  “Not often I see mages with swords.”

  “I’m a special kind of girl,” Chloe said, chuckling weakly.

  Chloe knew her cover was blown as soon as the mage aimed her answers at Gideon instead of the girl who had asked. “Spellbooks are categorized just over here by element type. If you require anything further, let me know.”

  Chloe couldn’t help but scoff at the emphasis on “you” as the mage bowed low to Gideon and left them to it.

  “Man, it really is hard being a battle mage in a mage’s world.”

  Gideon laughed. “You made your bed; you lie in it.”

  “Y’know, I don’t think I like you now that you’re here full-time. I preferred it when I had a little bit of a break from you occasionally. It was nice. Peaceful, even.”

  “Screw you.” Gideon grinned.

  They had scoured through the books, hunting for spells that would diversify their abilities. The pages were filled with maneuvers, instructions, and ability levels, not too dissimilar from the tome Gideon carried in his bag, although these were all much more tailored to those learning to grow their powers as they leveled up their classes.

  By the end of the session, Chloe wore a satisfied smile. She had learned several new spells (having only been able to try out a few that were safe to cast in the library) and promised herself that she’d try the rest when she had a chance. From what she’d learned so far, only once a spell had been cast successfully did it lock into her inner inventory for use in combat.

  Her favorite spell so far had been a variation on the vine control spell she had seen the elf use during their evaluation session with Sillick, only this one—Creepers Crawlies—not only controlled vines and sent them snaking toward victims, but also helped control any and all creepy crawlies that happened to be on the plants at the time.

  She had had great fun aiming her magic through an open round window above the shelves and sneaking a stray vine into the building, snaking it through the air toward Gideon and tapping each of his shoulders in turn. She had managed to make a spider which had been crawling along its leaves hop onto Gideon’s hair and hang on a thread between his eyes before he had screamed and batted it away.

  The librarian had glanced over and rolled her eyes, then put a finger to her lips, shushing them loudly. Several mages who were sat clustered in the far corner of the library looked at them with disapproval.

  Chloe had also acquired a shadow manipulation spell, Shadow Tweak, as well as a spell designed to engage the affections of animals and gain their favor toward the mage, Whisper of the Wild, which could cause them to come to your assistance in a pinch.

  That one she had tried on a mouse, the book stating that lower levels of the spells could only work on small weak-willed creatures, and managed to bring it over to her feet. It hopped up onto her lap, sniffed inquisitively, and squeaked before Chloe released her power.

  She had left the library wondering how the influence could be used with Blueballs, later deciding she probably didn’t need to worry. That blue bastard was already pretty docile and willing to help in a pinch.

  Even if he wasn’t the most refined of fighters.

  When Chloe and Gideon finally arrived back at the Twisted Spire, the sun had already begun to set beyond the forests that topped Angel Falls. Bright orange rays of brilliance painted the sky as they ducked through the doors and headed over to Tag, Talbot, and Ben, who were already busy drinking in the corner.

  “How was it?” Ben grinned.

  “Didn’t get too rough on you, did he, Chloe?” Tag scoffed into his drink.

  “What are you two talking about?” Chloe asked. Gideon flushed beside her.

  Talbot rolled his eyes. “They’ve sat here making jokes and puns about the fact that Gid has spent loads of time inside your cave for the last half hour. Please save me from their juvenile chatter.”

  “Well, he didn’t quite make it inside,” Chloe said, taking a seat. “It was too messy down there. He slipped a couple of times on the way in, and when I found nothing, we both shot straight back out.”

  Ben and Tag howled with laughter as a look of disgust came over Talbot. Gideon stepped to the bar, trying to ignore their comments. He came back a moment later with two drinks, the laughter only just dying down.

  The others proceeded to update Chloe and Gideon on their days, mentioning the small quests they’d completed and noting that there had been rumblings in the city of the Thieves Guild getting a bit too big for their boots, but otherwise all had been quiet. Ben mentioned that he had asked a few of the older rangers if they knew of any legends or stories that might indicate something akin to the KieraFreya treasure and was given strange looks by the pack leader.

  “Honestly, I don’t know how long we can keep lingering around here and asking strangers,” Ben said. He took a sip of his drink. “People are starting to give me funny looks.”

  Tag nodded. “Not only that, but if we’re not careful, we’re going to draw too much attention to something we don’t want others’ attention to be drawn to.”

  “Try to say that drunk,” Talbot quipped.

  “I just did.” Tag smirked. A moment later, his eyes glazed over as he stared ahead, forehead creasing as he read through the message that popped into his vision.

  Chloe would have made fun of Tag, had the same message not popped up in her vision, as well as everyone else’s within Chloe’s party.

  The message appeared on a digital scroll, the words written in a cursive that was admittedly rather difficult to read.

  Party quest unlocked: A Call to Arms

  An opportunity has presented itself for parties currently residing in Killink View to gain favor with the monarchy of this great city.

  Darkness has infected the nearby wilds. In the surrounding valley, reports of several dreyda have sprung to the attention of the king and queen. Shadow demons have been witnessed being birthed from these dreyda in an effort to break into the city.

  The motivation behind this attack is, as yet, unclear, but speculation can dictate that someone (or something) inside Killink View has activated the interest of the dark gods.

  Working within your parties, track down the dreyda, destroy all that remains, and remove this threat from the land before they continue to spread, and darkness befalls Killink View.

  NOTE: Choosing not to partake in this mission does not remove the global threat. Parties who choose to ignore this quest may still be under threat from its dangers.

  Conditions: You will have 48 hours to complete this mission in order to gain rewards. For every 2 hours that pass without a single dreyda being destroyed, another will appear nearby. Destroy 10 dreyda.

  Difficulty: 7/10

  Rewards: 20,000 experience to each team member of the party who contributes the greatest progress to this task (3,000 to each member of every other party) + favor with the city of Killink View + an audience with the king and queen.

  Accept quest: Y/N

  Chloe tried to dismiss the message so she could speak to the others, but it refused to budge from her vision.

  “Wow. Persistent little bugger, isn’t it? What do you think, gang? I’m presuming everyone else received the same message?”

  “What?” Tag stuttered. “You mean, you haven’t accepted already? I thought it was far too cool not to take.”

  “You already accepted? Dude, it’s a party quest. That means we need a party decision,” Gideon replied.

  “I’ve already accepted mine,” Talbot added.

  Chloe put her head in her hands. “You did?”

  “Well, sure. The way I see it, no matter what we do, this is going to get in the way of what we’re trying to achieve, right? Plus, we get a buttload of experience if we win.”