Ruinous Return

Chapter 38

Lyn led her allies down the hallway. It was square, like they all were, but it was once more covered in oceanic elements. Multi-color, prismatic coral was the most prominent, but there was a sheen of liquid coating the walls. Lyn touched it with the tip of Cataclysm's spear, and it sizzled. She had encountered only a handful of dungeons with the other heroes that had this level of change to the chambers and corridors – something that was almost always consistent. They only have this level of customization if they haven't been defeated in a long, long time.

The next chamber was markedly different. Rather than being a square, it was a long, horizontal, rectangle. There was a much larger raised pedestal. "Why is this one different?" Vael asked.

"This is a puzzle of some type," Lyn replied. She placed her hand onto the pedestal, and it stayed put instead of sinking. The surface lit up as the room darkened, and an illusory image appeared in the air in front of Lyn. A series of images that were arrayed side by side. The first was a depiction of a ship at sea, slowly rocking and rolling on the waves as the crew dashed to and fro on the deck. The second was extremely like the first. In fact, it was almost identical. As was the third one. I Fucking hate these things.

"What must we do?" Gael asked.

Lyn sighed, "These are the most annoying puzzles to me. We have to find the image that is different from the other two." A small hourglass appeared above each picture. "And if we don't do it fast enough, it will switch."

Vael peered at each image before pointing to the one on the right. "That one. There is a small tear in the rear-most sail that is not present in the other images."

Lyn tapped the associated icon on the altar, and it glowed green. Another trio of images appeared. Damn, Vael is a natural at this. The next two rounds of images were the same; a group of ocean-related images appeared, and Vael stared at each for a few seconds before identifying the one that was different. After all three rounds had concluded, and three of the green boxes representing successes were filled, another, harsher challenge appeared.

The next set of three images were not static. They moved, depicting a fisherman casting his line off of the edge of the docks. Their timer was extended, and Lyn stared at the slowly in-motion images. To her eyes, nothing was off. But again, a few seconds later, Vael pointed to one of the moving images. "That one. His eyes blinked twice instead of once." She leaned past Lyn and tapped the corresponding button.

The room brightened and the hallway in front of them unlocked, the rock wall sliding to the side to reveal the passage. "You're smart, you know that?" Lyn said to her female companion.

Vael shook her head, "No I'm not. I am just good at seeing patterns. I always have been."

"She's been that way ever since she was a child," Gael followed up. "She was the best at playing hide-and-seek, because she learned every person's pattern for searching." He wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulder and squeezed her tightly much to her protestation. "That's my sibling."

Vael pulled herself away and pointed to the passage, "Let us continue. I want whatever rewards are promised to us at the end."

Cecily concluded that evening's session of torture and mana core extraction from her most recent victim. No, victim wasn't the right word. They were criminals; those who would disrupt her kingdom. They deserved everything they received. Her Ruler core confirmed this to her. She took a luxurious bath before having her servant dry and dress her. As she stood in front of the mirror, she ruminated on the missive her messenger had brought from James.

To Cecily Valagonia,

King Kristoph is dead. I have taken the role of king in his place, as the people desired. There will not be any serving of my head to sate your desires. I wish you would put the past to rest, but if you will not, know that I am more than capable of not only defending myself, but my kingdom as well.

The Azure Divide will mark the limits of our territories. Stay on your side of the river, and I'll stay on mine. Don't send any further missives to me, I will not receive them. Instead, I will send envoys to Fort Watch, on the first day of each month, and if you desire to communicate, they will convey messages.

- James Marshall, King of Khrelardia, Paragon

Cecily grunted as her servant finished dressing her. She walked out of her chambers and headed towards the throne room. She had a very important guest to attend to, but the thought of James being on the throne of Khrelardia gnawed at her. He was her rival for good reason. When they had first arrived and defeated their first dungeon as a group of twenty, James insisted the heroes try and complete more of them.

But Cecily wanted power without the risk. And she knew it wasn't what you could do, but who you know. She started making connections with nobility – the real power structure. And she built strong ties with the then-king of Khrelardia, Kristoph's father. She was slated to marry the widower and then had planned to kill off Kristoph, but James led a revolution that deposed the man. All of Cecily's plans, flushed down the toilet in a single, rebellious uprising.

They had a falling out that evening, and she remembered the conversation vividly. "You bastard!" she had screamed as she threw a cup of wine at him. "I was going to have everything!"

James had dodged the cup with ease and gone around the large council table, Volio, Misty, Thomas, Trisha, Ben, and Lyn backing him up. "You don't just get to control people! We are better than that! We're heroes!"

Cecily laughed, "Heroes? You mean people who were fucked by some goddamn statue that ripped us away from our reality? I was going to Harvard! I had a full ride scholarship! I wasn't going to be a nobody like you fucking, pathetic losers." She smiled sweetly at them, "I hate all of you. You small-town idiots. None of you are as smart as me, have my drive for success. That's why I was valedictorian. That's why I got a full ride. And that is why none of you deserve my help." She walked down the corridor, away from the other heroes. "Have Khrelardia. I'll find another kingdom to rule. It's what my core was made for. And it is what I deserve."

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She had relented when the Demonic Dragon's forces threatened her own territory and had aligned – for a short time – with the other heroes. She even accompanied the group as they snuck into the Valley of the Volcano through the secret entrance Lyn had found. Cecily had planned to puppet them with her mind spells, once they were weakened by the fighting. But the Demonic Dragon was so strong, and they all fled before they became weakened enough to affect with her spells. Fucking Lyn going and ruining my plans there, also. At least she's dead.

Cecily relished the idea of killing James and taking over his kingdom. Even better if she could control him and puppet him to her will. But…there were events at play in the world. She had vassals to deal with. More territory on her side of the Azure Divide to take control of. The proclamation from the North that echoed through the entire world was lingering in her mind as well. I should send a few spies into that territory. A human would stand out like a sore thumb, but she could give one of her spies an inscribed item that allowed them to veil their appearance as one of the Duskari.

She gestured for her servant to come over, "Send word to the Spymaster, and tell her to report to me once my business is done." The servant bowed and ran off. Cecily continued to the throne room. And now for the politics of ruling. Part of her reveled in exerting her will on others, but another, smaller voice in her mind hated the boredom that came with listening to nobles drone on and on.

At least she would have more criminals to torture this evening, she thought with delight, as her Commander of the City Watch handed her a scroll with ten names. They were busy last night…

Bolvon stalked the hallways of the Conclave of the Fortress. He was on a very special mission – to spy on the Steward, Bhelarm.

Spymaster Velenna had checked the records that Lady Rivers had required when they retrieved the hoard of her past life, and they did not comport to the reports that Bhelarm had compiled. She had given the Shadowstalker the task of finding out what the Steward was doing.

And that led Bolvon to the locked doors of the treasury. He pulled out the key Velenna had given him – each Councilor and Lady Rivers had keys to this place – and he silently opened the door. The room was spacious and the deepest in the mountain. The walls were covered with steel to prevent tunneling and were melted together in the corners and along the seams. A metal box in the center of the Conclave. He saw the series of chests, and the pieces of parchment neatly bundled together on a desk nearby.

It took him a few hours – thankfully, the Spymaster had promised him plenty of time without worry of anyone entering – and he was able to confirm the suspicions. Someone was taking money. It was either Bhelarm, or one of the other councilors.

Bolvon made sure to copy down each document before making the place seem as if he had never been there. He's up to something, he thought as he stealthily left the chamber, whispering a spell as his mana depleted by half. His mana core was not as strong as many of the warriors were, but whereas they were primarily skilled with internal spells, he had a knack for shadow elementalism. And this came in handy as Bhelarm came stomping down the corridor, muttering something under his breath.

Bolvon laid flat against the wall, and in the darkened corridor, despite the Duskari ability to see through darkness – he was coated in shadow. A blot against the wall. The Steward went into the vault, and Bolvon went to give his report. I would really like to kill him. With each kill, he could covertly harvest the person's mana core. Slowly, steadily, he would grow in power. Serving his goddess, he would be rewarded as well. I'll be her most loyal.

Lyn knew what the next challenge would be from the inscription above the portal leading them inside. A riddle. She was not very skilled at solving those, and depending on how forgiving the dungeon was, she could get multiple guesses before it shifted and presented a new one. She recalled the last time she dealt with a riddle. It was her, Thomas, Misty, and Ben. Trisha and James had to opt out of that dungeon, as there was a local issue with wildlife they were dealing with; healing those injured and hunting down the animals, respectively.

"I mean…It has to be a cave," Misty said, staring at the maddening riddle in front of them.

"Just say something and if its wrong we get another one to bang our heads against," Ben replied. "Fucking stupid." He slammed his shield onto the ground and leaned on it with a hefty sigh.

Thomas shook his head, "Go with cave. May as well try it. Maybe we can roll the dice enough to get an easy riddle."

"Cave," Misty said into the small rod sticking out of the pedestal like a microphone. In Elenthir, as that was the only language the dungeons responded to.

Lyn was standing near the door that would lead to the next hallway, and the wall slid open revealing the next hallway. "Good job!" She shouted. The rest of the party also congratulated Misty, and she shyly walked over next to Lyn. Misty hated being the center of attention. "You did great," Lyn whispered.

Shaking her head she returned to the present and placed her hand on the pedestal. Just like the prior chamber, a set of words floating in Elenthir hovered above them. The small rod rose from the pedestal, and Lyn read the riddle aloud for her allies. "I am the guardian of doorways. Without me, one cannot enter. I only exist in places where the untrustworthy live. What am I?" Lyn looked back to her allies. "Thoughts?"

Gael had his hand on his chin and was deep in contemplation. Vael shook her head and shrugged, "I would say it's a guard."

Gael shook his head, "No…They wouldn't have used the word 'guardian'." He looked up to Lyn, "What do you think?"

Lyn racked her brain. Guarding doorways means that it's the door itself. But one cannot enter without it? "Locks are sort of like guards for doors," she replied. "And you would use a lock to prevent people you don't trust from entering a doorway. But then it doesn't make sense for the second line, 'Without me, one cannot enter'."

Vael sat down on the ground, "I'm not good at these mind puzzles. I'll leave you two to it."

Gael snapped his fingers, "It's a key! It opens up a locked door. It guards doors, you have to have it to enter a locked place, and you don't have keys in places where you trust others, because there are not any locks!"

Lyn stepped aside and gestured, "You do the honors. The word for 'key' in Elenthir is 'thango'."

Gael walked up to the podium and leaned towards the circular pillar rising from it. "Thango."

The pedestal lowered, and the doorway opened up. Lyn raised her hand to high-five, "Good job Gael!"

He looked at her raised hand curiously, and lifted his own slowly. "Does this mean something?"

"It's called a 'high five'." She hit his hand with hers.

Vael stood up, "Ah, because you have five fingers. It is a celebratory gesture?"

Lyn nodded, "Yes." She looked back to Gael, who had his hand up still. "You can put it down after," she giggled.

Gael lowered his hand and nodded, "Shall we?"