Chapter 11 Making Friends and Influencing People

We had been tramping through the tunnels of the city sewage system, when I had an epiphany, the game could be too real at times. Usually, I loved the realism of the game, with its vibrant colors tastes and textures. Even the subtle smell of flowers and an incoming rainstorm were brilliant and showed that a great detail of attention had been put into the game. The sewers, however, were wet, cold and full of dirty water that smelled of shit. We were trooping through the tunnels with the water often knee high and little clumps of matter bumping into our legs when the leader held up his hand. We had reached the point where the sewers accessed the catacombs.

The leader pointed back and gestured, the bugger was pointing at me. I slogged over to him and waited, he quickly spoke, “Listen, I want you to climb up this ladder, go down the passageway and then climb down the other side, check and see if the route is clear if it is come back and let us know.”

The big blond dummy was smirking as he spoke, I knew what he was thinking if there is a problem let’s get rid of this useless git before we continue. Bastard, I might have done the same thing but at least I don’t think I would have smirked. I glanced around at the group I had been placed with and being honest, I was not impressed. We had the big blond dummy, our fearsome leader, he was useless. The others were not much better, I could not see them making it through this mission if problems arose.

I resolved to stay back, way back and perhaps disassociate myself from this group. I had a feeling that when the going gets tough, the tough won’t get going at least not with these guys. By now I was halfway through the small passageway and was now thinking about the Catacombs. The place where the dead of the city had originally been buried, stacked up like kindling, the years erasing any sign of who or what was buried down here. All this was game lore, but it made for some interesting thinking, the Catacombs were supposedly haunted and had evil people doing evil things down below the city.

I climbed down and looked around, aside from sneezing a couple of times from the dust the area was empty of life, but full of death or at least dead people. The bones of the departed were everywhere, all the walls had niches carved into them and the niches were full of bones, probably whole families were stuck together down here. It was a Necromancers wet dream, and a Death Knight would probably get a woody from it all but I just felt sad, sooner or later the great sleep will claim us all.

After making sure the area was secure I climbed back to the others and told them to come on over, the leader tried to question me about what I saw but I was pretty much done with him by now and just turned around and ignored him. The reality was he was annoying as hell, the type of guy who walks in and just assumes everyone will do exactly what he wants. I normally just ignore people like that but something was off with me today, I had felt out of sorts ever since I had been woken up.

I reached out to scratch my wrist and suddenly realized that the golden chain had become tight on my wrist and was gently pulsating. I recalled the warning I had received that the chain would stop compulsions from affecting me by absorbing them. I stroked the gold links as I realized what was happening, now that I knew someone nearby was trying to cast a compulsion on me the chain relaxed, it was a part of me on a level the transcended the physical and was probably more spiritual in nature. I was glad that I had the chain on, I would have to try to explore more of what I could do with it, I am sure that it was more than just a spell-buffer.

We finally all made it down to the Catacombs and stood around in a loose group while the BBD (big blond dummy) once again did the alpha male thing, I was watching closely and saw that he whispered to the Priest and then the both looked at me before turning away. Gotcha, you bastards, I thought. The leader was having the Priest work a low-level compulsion on me, probably to use me for cannon fodder if the shit hit the fan. We continued downwards as we followed the map given to us, eventually we would hit the sunken city.

After traveling for an hour in the dim light that the priest had summoned, I began to see my first ghosts. They were congregating near some of the side tunnels and I decided to go see what was happening, I was planning on leaving the group soon and this was a great excuse.

I turned left when the pug turned right and I walked over to the ghosts, they were dressed in styles that had been fashionable a long time ago and had the look of nobility about them. This was probably an area that the nobles had been placed in, I was sure the catacombs were segregated, the living would make sure that their loved ones would not have to sleep next to someone of lesser station.

I elbowed my way to the center of the group and ignored the surprised looks from the ghosts, I guess they were not used to the loving being able to touch them. In the middle of the group the body of a young gnome, a male that still had a sack in his hand and a surprised look on his face was on the ground. I gently looked at the ghost of the young man who was standing there with the surprised look still on his face.

“Kabor,” I called out. The boy was still unmoving, staring down at the shell that had been his body. I had to do something to get his attention, so I reached down and grabbed the bag, it was full of something and heavy. Once I had it in hand I noticed the Kabor was now looking at me, and he looked angry.

“Put that down,” he shouted. “I gave my life for what’s in that bag and you’re not going to take it.” His face was red with rage, or at least as red as a white ghost face can get. I noted his hands were trembling and he clearly was upset, this was good I now had his attention. What was bad was the sudden discharge of energy from his hands at me. I felt the energy hit me and then go through me, but it still knocked me on my ass and I was stunned for a minute. I had never felt anything like that and I wondered if it was something I could learn.

I watched as Kabor walked over to me and demanded I return the bag or else. I raised my hands and slowly stood and then started to speak.

“Kabor, your dad sent me down here to find out what happened to you, when I saw your remains, I knew that your dad would want this bag as proof that I had found you. Settle down, and talk to me, what the hell happened to you?”

I watched as his mouth opened and closed and then he looked down, and asked, “Did Da really send you here to find me?” I nodded and was surprised to see ghostly tears form as Kabor sat down beside me. The ghost slowly rocked back and forth his gnome body drawn tight with tension.

“I am dead, right, I mean I know I am but it seems so unreal. I was down here collecting some rare plants and stuff for Da, I know he has always told me not to come down here but I knew I could do it and I did.” Here Kabor pointed at the bag tied to my belt and then he hesitated before continuing.

I was starting to make my way back when I suddenly felt a coldness creep up to me. I had my torch going and it shoulda been good for another hour or two, but suddenly it was black all around me like I was in a sea of shadows. My torch was still burning but the shadows wrapped around it, around me and then suddenly they were going in me, my mouth, my eyes, my ears. I felt a darkness inside me and then I was sitting on the ground looking at me body. What the hell happened to me?”

“I think that once the shadows entered you, death came swiftly and you died. Because it was sudden and unexpected, your spirit has lingered on, although to be truthful I have no idea if that is bullshit or not, it is just something I have heard. The fact is you died and are now a ghost and your Dad sent me down here to find out what happened and retrieve something of yours.”

I stopped talking because it is a harsh thing to confront the dead with their death, it takes time I think for it to fully sink in. I felt a little bad for the kid but decided I would keep him from dwelling on it by asking what he had done to me when he attacked me.

“I don’t know he said, that was weird, I just became angry and lifted my hands and pushed out all the luminiferous aether I could at you,” Kabor spoke slowly his mind still dwelling on his death. I wanted to keep him going and I was curious, “what is luminiferous aether,” I asked? Kabor paused for a moment and then facing me he responded, “Luminiferous aether is the light energy of magic, it cannot be seen but can be used and handled. I suppose I can see it now, as I was able to pull some from around us and then push it at you.”

I stopped him and asked, “How do you see it, what does it look like to you?” I was curious because I had not come across any class based spells that used or even mentioned luminiferous aether. There might be another quest here, I thought, or at least some new knowledge of the game. I listened as Kabor began to describe what luminiferous aether looked like to him and how it felt. Finally, he spoke of how he could just grab it and then fling it at me. I listened intently, I knew that I would be practicing the visualization of seeing and grabbing this magical energy.

Once he was done speaking he stood up and then turned around carefully looking at everything, he seemed subjectively sad, and it bothered me. “What’s the problem man? You look like someone stole your favorite breakfast.” Kabor just looked at me and then shook his head and said, “I guess this is going to be home now, pretty bleak place, a bunch of bones and some snooty ghosts, not much fun here.”

He was looking at me like a dog watching people at the local dog pound, he wanted to ask if he could come with me but just could not. I stared at him for a minute and then said, “All right why don’t you tag along Kabor. We are going to the submerged city to find another lost person, he is probably dead by now. He was sent to get a scroll from the library but never returned, if he has the scroll we take it and run, if he does not, we get to the library loot it for the scroll and anything else we can and then get the hell out. You with me on this, or do you want to stay here?”

Kabor squared his shoulders and thrust out his diminutive chin and said, “I am with you, what do I have to lose now. Let’s go, I will lead and you follow, I will act as a scout. By the way, why is there an imp near you making faces at you?”

Damn it I had forgotten Wazzic the imp. Telling him to become visible I pointed to a spot right in front of me and said, “Come here Wazzic, I have a couple of questions for you.” Once he approached I squatted down and tried to look at him from his level.

“Wazzic, you have heard everything, have you ever encountered or heard of anything like this black shadow?” The little imp was given me a dirty look and I was expecting to hear some cursing but to my surprise, he spoke with perfect elocution and accent.

“Anon, you have a problem here, so listen very carefully. This Black Shadow as you call it was once all over the land, it was the spirit of the people who were here before you humans. We demons do not fully understand what happened, we avoided the Fae, the early ones and they avoided us. They were a magical race, with the power of their magic connecting everyone at some level. At some point, they decided to leave the physical realms and enter this Shadow, and they did as a race, abandoning the land and their places of power.”

“Once they were gone the Shadow disappeared and life continued, races came to the land and conquered, wars were fought and people lived, loved and died. But now the Shadow had returned and its very nature is inimical to life. I believe that the time of Humans, of all the races that live on earth, is coming to an end. There is an old prophecy that spoke of this time.”

“When the Shadows gather below the place of man, all will die who have not walked in the valley of death. The light will flee from the sky and darkness will come, the end of the day will call forth the Shadow of dark. The light will slowly dim from land to land as the time of the dark arises. Only one who has walked through the Shadows can call back the light, and there are none found, no not one.”

That was depressing, the realism was such that I felt the hairs standing on the back of my neck, I was a little spooked and did not want to show that to Kabor or Wazzic. Thinking fast I said, “Hey that is interesting but what happened to your foul-mouthed accent Wazzic?” the little imp looked at me and shook his head and said, “Fook it, he is too stupid to see the wart on his nose. Idiot.” With that, he stopped talking and I did not bother to try to get him to continue. I pointed at the Kabor and said, you go scout with him and if you see anything let me know.

Wazzic nodded his head and started walking down the tunnel with Kabor by his side, I slowly followed them wondering what we would find. The pathway zigged and zagged but eventually we ended up in a large cavern with the remains of an old road the led across a vast expanse to an ancient city. The old walls still stood in places along with several of the towers and buildings, there was some evidence that a river or canal had cut through the city at some point. We slowly made our way to one of the smaller gates that led into the city. I was not following the direct route that my map showed, but as I explored more areas were becoming visible and I thought I would be able to find the library easy enough.

Once at the city, we made our way slowly deeper into a maze of streets and alleys. At one time fountains tinkled and water had run but now all was shrouded in dust and silence. It was still and quiet with a sad feel to it. We had been proceeding for about an hour and were close to the library when the first scream rang out. It sounded like the BDB and I knew the group had just failed, I listened to several more screams and a pitiful cry for help which ended in a gurgle. Both Kabor and Wazzic had drawn close to me and I gestured to them to stay still.

After several minutes, I said, “I need to continue you two stay about 25 yards in front of me and let me know silently if you see something.” Once they both nodded we set off as silently as we could, heading in the general direction of the library and the screams. After a couple of turns, we were facing what looked like a park, with the library off to the left side. Immediately in front of us were the remains of the BDB and party. They looked undamaged except for the look of terror on their faces. I turned around and witnessed what looked like a black fog, it was rolling down the road, looking almost like mist on a fall day twirling covering the ground. Once it was out of sight I gestured and we walked silently to the bodies.

The dead have a look to them that says I am dead, be glad you are living. That is what I felt anyway, and I was glad to be alive. I stopped at each body and looted it, for my efforts I received 10 gold and a handful of silver. I decided to leave the gear, I did not want to fill up my bag with stuff I would not want. I took a swig of water as I finished it was dry down here and then glancing down saw much to my shocked surprise, a tendril of black mist forming over the eye socket of the BDB and then slowly slide down his cheek. Without thinking, I put the empty wineskin on the path and watched as the blackness slowly poured itself into the skin. Once it was all inside I capped the opening and put the skin in my bag.

Kabor had been observing me and once the skin was safely secured he asked, “Is that what I think it is, by the Gods you have balls Anon, that stuff just killed these guys and you captured some of it. What the hell are you going to do with it?”

I responded, “I am going to have your dad look at it, and give me his opinion, he seems pretty knowledgeable about all aspects of magic.” As soon as I spoke my message icon flashed and I saw that I had just been given a quest,

Take the Black Mist to Kabor’s father and ask his opinion while sharing all you know

Rewards xp and information

It was about time I had another quest, I thought. Looking around I motioned to my companions to continue on and we slowly made our way across the park towards the library. Eventually, we arrived at the entranceway and I saw the missing student. He was sitting with his back against the wall with the same horrified look on his face. I searched him but did not find the scroll. Looking at my map I saw it was now displaying the floor plan of the library with a marked trail for me to follow.

I told Wazzic to stay by the door and the Kabor and I entered the old building. Following the pathway on my map we stopped in front of a shelve that held several scrolls, the game conveniently had a soft glow coming off the one I was supposed to pick. Grabbing it I put it in my bag and then began to gently look at other scrolls, with Kabor calling out his finds as he too went down the shelves. Soon I had grabbed another dozen scrolls and began to make my way towards the doorway with Kabor by my side.

We had almost reached the entrance when Wazzic came racing in, seeing me he stopped and then whispered, “The damn Shadow is back and about to come into the library, hide master or you will join the ranks of the dead.” I glanced around there really was no place to hide, turning to Wazzic and Kabor I said, “Fade from sight, and go to the far wall, stay hidden till the Shadow is gone, then if I am dead stay here, I will return.”

Ignoring them I pointed to the back wall and when they started to walk there I turned and walked to the front. It was a calculated move, I would rather die on the steps, that way if the Shadow was in the library I would have a chance to loot my body without attracting its attention. I was not worried about death, this was a game and I would be back, but the look of horror I had seen on the faces of all the Shadow had killed did not make me feel good.

I arrived at the entrance and saw the Shadow was almost at the top of the stairs that led into the building, I glanced at it curiously it really was like a dark mist that could move and then I stepped into the middle of the darkness. It recoiled around me for a moment and then it swarmed over me, I had time to lay down before I felt the coldness enter my ears and eyes, it made its way into my mouth and nose and down deep into my body. I could feel my golden chain tighten up in a painful contraction and then suddenly it felt like a thousand voice were speaking, all wondering why I was alive, why I had not succumbed to the cloud of black death.

One voice was louder than the others and it acknowledged that I was not really living nor was a dead, but somehow, I was in-between and could walk with both Shadows and Light. At that point, it all faded away but I could still feel the golden chains contractions as it somehow diffused the magic that the Shadow was casting on me.

I awoke sometime later with both Kabor and Wazzic hovering near me. When I gasped and then coughed they both gave me a look. Ignoring them I grabbed a waterskin and after making sure it had water in it greedily drank the whole thing. Standing up I stretched and then said, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

As we began to make our way out I heard Wazzic say, “Pay up, I told you he was not dead, how could he be when he is not really alive like a human.” What the hell, I would be having a talk with that imp about what he was talking about as soon as we got out, ate something and slept.