Spell 20 :The Mission

No patrols around this area, thank goodness. With the help of Twiddlyfix's device, I managed to manoeuvre my way out of the twisting alleyways that which make up the entire slums. The only problem was that it was emitting a hell lot of beeps. Trust a genius like Twiddlyfix to come up with an amazing gadget like this only to make it completely unconcealable.

The city was as dead as a ghost town. As I followed the directions of Twiddlyfix's device, I checked around for any signs of activity. There was no one about as my eyes could take me. It was odd; the time now could not be less than 3 hours to midnight and yet all activities within the city had been ceased. Yet trams were still moving about, though I could not see if they were carrying people from where I was standing.

I was just about to continue following the gadget's direction when I just remembered something horrific.

My trunk!

Because I had followed my instincts and dashed out of the cafe only to find myself heading straight to the slums, I had completely forgotten that all my secret items, including the Communicater, were all back in my trunk in my hotel room! Fortunately, the trunk was locked by magical Seals placed by me and no one else can open it but me. Destroying the trunk would had destroyed its contents as well, and if the Steam government had indeed broken into my room after I had disappeared off their grid earlier this afternoon to steal my trunk, they would wait for me to return to question me. If they really had suspicions about my true intent here.

RIght now, I was faced with a dilemma. I could either follow through with the plan and try to break into a heavily secured fortress where security is bound to be further tightened, or I could risk going back to my hotel. I considered my options, and decided to go with returning back to the hotel.

Technically speaking, I had not broken any law... Yet. Steam government might have reason to suspect my intentions for coming here, especially with that vanishing stunt I pulled, but if they were to make any attempts to capture me, it would border on a conflict between two different factions. An interracial conflict too, if I might add, seeing that I'm an Elf.

Also, there was nothing wrong with me returning back to my hotel. They have no reason to stop me, but I have more reason to question them if I find my trunk missing or damaged in any way, which I can hold Steam government accountable.

The hotel loomed into the distance. I could make out the olden European-like architecture that was the hotel against the night sky. I stopped myself before I enter the garden that led to the hotel entrance. I wanted to be sure there were no sentries around, just in case. The gardens were empty, save for a few dogs that were chasing after a man who looked like he was delivering sausages. Mistcloak had worn off, and I was visible again. I entered the hotel.

Nothing was amiss. There were some people walking about, and a few were eating a late dinner over at the cafe. I walked right up to the counter and the receptionist greeted me as usual. He handed me the key to my room and told me to have a good night. I gave my thanks and headed upstairs.

Everything was quiet in the hallways. I could not shake off the feeling that all this was going too smoothly. It's kinda like that feeling you get when you're doing an exam, and you're finding the paper too easy. Like there's supposed to be a trick question somewhere that will kick you right in the face but you just can't seem to find it. I came to my door. Before I inserted the key, I closed my eyes and tried to probe around with Arcane Knowledge. Nothing was amiss. I unlocked the door and went in.

Everything was just as I had left it. I went straight to my trunk. There was no sign of any break-in. I removed the Seals and the trunk split open, revealing the set of papers I had received from the meeting I had with Steam government at the Central Engines a few days ago as well as the Communicater. Then, I heard a click behind me and Alter Time was triggered.

I stood up immediately, and whirled around. I saw no one, or nothing in particular. I was panicking; Alter Time would not have triggered unless I was about to be attacked. But no matter how I looked, I could not see or hear anything. In my desperation, I suddenly recalled what Twiddlyfix had told me before I had left his shop.

Steam magic... Volatile...You will find that traces of magic will only be present where it is being called upon, and not around the entire machination itself...

My precious 4 seconds was up and I was too late in raising Barrier. There was a blinding flash, and Arcane Knowledge detected a flare underneath the carpet. I was knocked off my feet and collided hard into the wall. The force of the explosion had caused all the papers in the room to fly about in a mess. My vision was blurred, but I could distinctly make out a few figures enter my room. My HP was also dangerously low, and I could not really move. One of the figures stepped forward and I heard a familiar voice.

'Now, now, Mr Diplomat. I've heard that you've been up to some mischief. Tut tut, is that how a guest should behave?'

I felt rough hands grab me, and the world went black.

When I came to, I found myself in a cell that was disturbingly clean and entirely white-washed, like an examination room of a mental hospital. I found that my HP was actually restored. Not a moment too soon, a door opened somewhere and I could hear footsteps approaching my cell. It was Red-Hair, and his associates. He smiled coldly when he saw me.

'A little birdie had told us that you were planning on stealing something from us.' It was him who spoke to me in my hotel room. I looked up defiantly.

'And who could have told you that? Release me this instant, or you risk war on these lands!'

I heard the same door open again, and this time I heard tiny footsteps.

It couldn't be!

Twiddlyfix had joined Red-Hair's side and grinned at me.

'Sorry,' Twiddlyfix said, 'but you have to admit, that quest would have gotten you caught anyway. This is much easier. I get what I want, I'm safe, and you're still caught. At least I get to benefit, eh?'

I was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. Apparently, this was a Scenario, one of the new in-game mechanics that Unicorn Inc. had recently introduced into the game. Most people have complained that doing quests was getting extremely boring and predictable. All you had to do was just follow the quest objectives and headers, and eventually, you'll get your quest reward and maybe some bonus loot. So in response to that, certain quests have been randomly tagged with Scenarios, where something out of the blue happens and the player taking up the quest has to find some way to resolve the issue himself or he risks failing the quest. I checked my quest objective, and to my relief, I had not failed my original quest, but the one that Twiddlyfix had sent me on was removed already.

Count my lucky stars that of all quests that a Scenario pops up, this one had to be one!

'Your gadget,' Twiddlyfix continued, 'was fixed with its own tracking device as well. That's what all those beeps were, to give off signals. In the afternoon while we were planning the 'break-in', I had a brilliant idea. Why not just trade you for the Frozen Core? Would that not make everything simpler? And so I contacted Mr Poche here while you weren't looking and we made a deal. The moment you left my shop, I had on my jet-pack and followed you. You gave me quite a scare when you started moving in the opposite direction of the coordinates I gave you, but I made a lucky guess where you were going to next. I zoomed ahead of you to your hotel, and flew in after destroying your window. I placed a mine in the room that would set to blow off once I triggered it. One of my own designs, it makes use of steam magic to cause an extreme surge of energy that would take out a group of trolls easily. I knew you could detect magic, so I designed this mine carefully. I replaced your window and left just in time to see you enter the hotel. I quickly informed Mr Poche and he was there at the hotel in a jiffy. I was given instructions to only set off the mine when you open some trunk.'

I listened to his story with awe. This was really a brilliant plan, I had to admit, and one thought out by the game's AI. Even I could not have thought up a better plan than this. And I take Criminal Psychology in school too.

Red-Hair, or Mr Poche it seemed, clapped his hands in wonder.

'Oh, what an exciting tale! Bravo!' Twiddlyfix then turned round to face Mr Poche excitedly.

'So... I believe payment is due?' He squeaked.

'Oh, of course! Dear me, how could I forget? Guards, take him away right this instant!' And without warning, the goblin was seized and brought away. Seemed like goblin was outsmarted this time round. Mr Poche turned his attention back to me, that cold smile never escaping his lips.

'Now, we have no idea why you wanted to steal the Core because that wretched goblin refuses to tell us. The contents of your trunk have also told us nothing, with just the papers we signed the day before and a useless scope. But we do know you had the intention of breaking into here and because of that, we have reason to detain you. We will, of course, send a message to the Council in your stupid Forest that negotiations have been concluded and that you are no longer with us.' He turned around and walked away.

'Prepare to stay here for a long time, Magi Crow. Farewell.'

My mind was working furiously. What he just told me had actually given me hope rather than despair. That useless scope he was talking about was actually the Communicater, and since they had no idea what it was, they also did not know that I actually establish regular contact back to the Council. I had not reported back at all today, and that surely would have alerted Aeryssya. What she may choose to do with this information, I had no idea, with the the game's AI being so complicated nowadays.

I had also learnt that even now, they have no idea what was my true purpose of coming here. Which means an all out war can still be avoided as long as I can find that stupid goblin and escape this place with him.

But, is escape even possible? Aeryssya, I really do need your help right now...

Unfortunately, Unicorn Inc. had recently disabled the Whispering function in the game and had converted all forms of long distance communication into Mail instead. If not, I would have Whispered to the gang for help.

The only thing I can count on right now is the game management to make my waiting time for rescue as short as possible. Or they'll find a very descriptive complaint letter from me once I log out for springing this Scenario on me.

Sure enough, within 15 minutes of waiting, I heard the door open and Aeryssya entered. She was completely dressed in her battle gear. With a crown made entirely of plumage, she had on light armour that covered all her vital organs and yet in no way restricted her movements. Strapped to her back was her quiver that held a very large quantity of silver arrows. She had on a bow on her right hand and on her left, a bloody dagger. I winced at the thought of her murdering somebody already. She smiled gladly when she saw me.

'Crow! I have finally found you! I was in and out of all these bloody rooms, trying to locate you!' Hurry! I got the keys here, We have to escape immediately!' She proceed to unlock the cell door and once the door was unlocked, we rushed out of the room.

'Wait!' I paused, looking around. 'You've been to all the rooms right? Did you see one with a goblin in it?'

She raised her eyebrows in a threatening manner. Obviously, she was in no mood to delay.

'Yes! It's this room, but why do you need the goblin for?' She asked impatiently.

'He's our key to the secret I was sent here for. I'm sorry, I know we do not have much time, but we have to bring him along with us!' I went into the room she pointed and I saw Twiddlyfix huddled in a corner, bawling to himself. He turned around in delight when he heard the door open, but he yelped in fright when he saw who it was.

'Listen, I do not have time to waste here. I'm busting you out. You're coming along with me. You try anything funny, and that lady over there will make you eat your own arm.' And as if to illustrate my point, Aeryssya brandished her dagger prominently. Twiddlyfix gulped and nodded quietly. We rescued him quickly and stormed out of the room.

'I managed to sneak in and disabled their security system. Right now, they only have about 10 minutes before they can mobilise their mechanical sentries. We have to leave this city by then! Hurry!

The white walls flashed past as we ran along each hallway. The whole building was alive with activity. There was shouting everywhere. Most of the guards met had the misfortune to encounter us, which we took down without hesitation. Everything was going smoothly, but it was evident that we were going to escape, and since there was only one way out of here, I was not surprised to find the bulk of the guards waiting outside with their guns pointed at us when we burst through the front doors. Mr Poche stood with his arms folded, chuckling as he saw us.

'My my, if it isn't Lieutenant-Ranger Aeryssya, such a surprise to see you here. You should have informed me that you were coming. It would have been most embarrassing of us to not welcome you at all to our home.'

'Enough with your nonsense, Poche. You detained the diplomat that we sent here. Do not expect us to send you flowers.' She nocked an arrow into her bow and aimed it at Poche. In response, all the guards pointed their rifles at her. Poche made a disapproving noise with his tongue again.

We were caught in a stand-off. And we had less than 7 minutes before the security system rebooted itself. Being the city's defenders, those mechanical sentries would definitely pack a mean punch, and there was no way a ranger and a mage could go against the entire army. I waited for Aeryssya's cue.

'Powershot!'

She let loose the arrow with such a force that the wind screamed with friction against the arrow's flight. But before the arrow could even reach any of the guards, an invisible barrier knocked off the arrow.

Poche had summoned a wall of light to block off the attack!

Wasting no time, I cast Lights of Heaven on Twiddlyfix to prevent him from escaping during the fight. Then I returned my attention to the fight. Aeryssya had taken cover behind a pillar and was shooting arrows at breakneck speeds towards the enemies. Alter Time was activated, and I turned on Barrier. In the nick of time too, for a swarm of bullets ricocheted off the air in front of me. Quickly I took cover behind the pillar and assessed the situation.

Poche was a priest, no doubt. With his defensive abilities, he kept the guards protected by the light barrier while they continued to push us back. To win this fight, we would have to destroy the light barrier...

Or so I thought, until a gigantic winged shadow swooped down from the sky behind Poche and attacked him. With his concentration lost, Aeryssya's arrows broke the barrier. The guards were thrown into disarray with some trying to engage us while some trying to help Poshe. I wasted no time in using the Tempest Storm and Meteor combo. Screams of pain wrecked the night sky as the guards were either burnt alive or shot through the necks by arrows that were as lethal as bullets. In the end, only Poche was left but he was not giving up without a fight. He was striking the winged creature with streaks of light. The creature roared with pain, and almost at the same time, Aeryssya screamed in fury. She leapt down from behind the pillar and ran forwards to attack Poshe. He had on a barrier that seemed to be deflecting her attacks as well. His barrier now covered only himself, and it was more powerful now that he was only concentrating on protecting himself.

But, I knew that his barrier could not last indefinitely if he is unable to maintain it. I channeled all my mana into my palms as I prepared my next spell.

'Cast Flashbomb!'

Holding a crystalline bomb made entirely of light and fire energy, I hurled it towards the air and controlled it with Telekinesis.

'Aeryssya, look down!'

She responded immediately by ducking her head down. I directed the bomb straight at Poche's face. He was not prepared for that and it exploded right in front of him. No barrier could have protected him from that; he was stunned and blinded at the same time.

I was going to attack him when I heard the city lights flashing red. The security system was rebooting itself. I turned to Aeryssya but she was already running towards the winged creature. I wasted no time in running towards our goblin friend, who had been shivering at the spot that he was rooted to, and carried him by the scruff of his neck towards where Aeryssya had mounted the creature. Against the moonlight, I finally saw what it was. The creature was her owl companion, but I had no idea it was so huge. She pulled me up towards the back of the owl while she threw Twiddlyfix towards the owl's talons. With a huge flap, we were off the ground and into the air just as gigantic rocket missiles flew towards the spot we were at seconds ago. The sentries were firing at us but thankfully, we were safely out of their range. Poche was waving his staff, but even he could not bring us down with his spells.

We reached the Forest after about an hour's flight. and I told Aeryssya to rest up and keep an eye on the goblin. I logged out and went to sleep.

The next day, I found the goblin alone next to the gigantic owl. Aeryssya was nowhere to be found. She had managed to find some shackle which she used to bind Twiddlyfix to her companion so that he could not really walk off even if he wished to. She had also, as I noticed, kept anything that could be made into a gadget out of his reach. When he saw me, he squealed in delight and begged me to release him, for the owl had did nothing but peck him whenever it felt bored.

'No. You owe me something, goblin. Before I burn out your tongue, you better spill the beans.' As if to illustrate my point, I summoned flames and brought it near to the goblin.

'A-A-Alright! I'll show it to ya! Just keep those beastly flames off me.' Satisfied, I removed the flames. He walked over to the bench that Aeryssya had and sat down. He looked at me.

'Bring me a... Glass or something that can hold magic. Some metal or gem is fine.'

'What do you need those for?' I asked, producing some red glass I kept in my bag for Enchanting.

The goblin grinned from ear to ear.

'To teach you how to compress magic, of course.'