Grand Game 363: The Final Piece (Patreon)

I stared at Adriel aghast. “The archlich? You’re telling me the sector boss is the archlich?”

She nodded.

“But how?” I demanded. “The possessed were once players. How does a former player become a sector boss?”

She laughed humorlessly. “We were surprised as you. But as Farren likes to say, the Game cannot be tricked. The Adjudicator sees all and has his own way of punishing those who bend the rules too much.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, confused again.

Adriel smiled sadly. “Have you forgotten? Loskin, Farren, and I became lichs. The other scions became possessed. By doing so, all of us abandoned the compact we’d forged with our Houses. It did not matter that we did it with the best of intentions—we tore free of the bindings the Game itself stood witness to.”

“Alright, I see your point, but what does that have to do with Loskin becoming a sector boss?”

“When we entered the dungeon, we gave the Game its chance—not that we knew it at the time. We then proceeded to compound our error by slaying the sector boss. That allowed the Adjudicator to punish us in keeping with his own rules.”

I was still lost. “How?”

“Simple, really. When a sector boss dies, the Game grants the Adjudicator some leeway in deciding how the dungeon is repopulated. And we were no longer players. So, what better way for the Game to replenish the creatures we had killed than by making us part of the dungeon?”

“Wow,” I breathed. “That must have come as some shock.”

Adriel nodded solemnly. “It did.”

My brow furrowed. “Wait... What happens if Loskin leaves the dungeon?”

Adriel smiled. “That’s the thing. A sector boss cannot leave his dungeon. The Game itself keeps him in place.”

“So, the rest of you can leave, but not the archlich? That must irk him!”

“You have no idea,” she murmured. “Of course, if Loskin can’t leave, the others won’t either. He is their ticket to eternal life.”

“Which brings up another point,” I said. “If the archlich can’t escape the dungeon, how does he intend on taking the fight to the new Powers?”

Adriel’s eyes twinkled. “He is still figuring out that bit.”

I grinned. “Making Loskin a sector boss was certainly a dastardly play by the Adjudicator.” A moment later, I grew more serious. “Coming back to the guardian. You said earlier Draven is weakened. What did you mean by that?”

“It is not only Draven. All the guardians are weakening. And when the guardians wane, so do the barriers protecting the dungeons—which is the only reason the stygians managed to invade this sector in the first place.” Her face grew morose. “I fear what is happening here could also be happening elsewhere.” She shook herself. “That is only fruitless speculation on my part, though. But, regarding your question, the reason behind the guardians’ deterioration is also tied to their nature. How much do you know about the guardians?”

“Only what I told you,” I replied automatically. “That they are constructs.” I paused. “If unusually intelligent and powerful ones.”

“And do you know why they are so intelligent?” she pressed.

I shook my head.

“The answer lies in the manner of their creation. When the Primes made Draven and his brethren, they were somehow able to bond spirit to inanimate stone, marrying a living being with non-living matter.”

I blinked in surprise. “Are you saying… there is a person inside each guardian?”

“I am, and not just any person. Every guardian is a former scion, one who willingly sacrificed themself to protect the Endless Dungeon.”

“I see,” I said slowly. “But what does that have to do with Draven being weak?”

“Stone and rock may be eternal—or nearly eternal—but people aren’t,” Adriel said. “People tire. People long for rest, which is exactly what is happening to the spirit in this dungeon’s guardian. His will has faded. He has performed his tasks well beyond the time he should have and now longs for the afterlife.”

“Hmm,” I mused. Adriel had just told me everything I needed to know to complete the silent brethren task, but the solution she described was going to be far from easy. “So, to restore Draven, we need to find a scion willing to take his place?”

Adriel nodded. “Yes, but there is no need to find someone. I intend on replacing him.”

I stared at her in shock. “You?”

“I may not be a scion any longer, but given the situation, I don’t think Draven or the Game will refuse me.” She looked at me gravely. “There is no one else, and this way, I can make up for a small measure of the harm I’ve done.”

I wanted to convince her otherwise, but what she proposed made too much sense. If not Adriel, it would have to be one of the other possessed—or me. I couldn’t see them volunteering, and I still had too much left undone in the Game. “That is a brave thing to do,” I said, acknowledging her decision. “How would we go about it?”

“Then you will help?”

“Of course.”

Adriel bowed her head. “Thank you,” she whispered. A moment later, she regained her composure and continued, “Before I can take his place, Draven will have to be awoken.”

I glanced down at the Emblem. “Which means killing the archlich and completing this.”

She nodded.

“Then what?”

“That’s when things get difficult,” Adriel said reluctantly.

“Really?” I asked wryly. “Because I thought killing the archlich sounded challenging enough.”

Adriel smiled, but her eyes remained worried. “The void tree, the driving force behind the nether’s invasion in the sector, has taken root next to the guardian, blocking access to him.”

“Ah,” I exclaimed sitting back. “I’d been wondering when we’d get to the stygians. I’m assuming the tree is a problem. Is it a young tree?”

Adriel shook her head. “No, it’s a sapling.”

“Oh? That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“It isn’t,” Adriel agreed. “Void trees are powerful psionics, especially the older ones. This tree hasn’t matured enough to pose that much of a threat yet, though. As long as we stay outside of its mental range, we can deal with it easily.” She exhaled heavily. “However, it is not the tree we have to worry about, but its protector: the harbinger. The stygian Power doesn’t often leave his charge.” Her gaze darted to mine. “And as you know, when he does, he returns quickly.”

My eyes narrowed. “What do you know of the creature?”

“The void frequently uses chimeras like the harbinger to protect young trees in newly claimed sectors or where the threat level is high. It is, in fact, where the name ‘harbinger’ springs from. The chimeras are often the void’s forerunners.”

“I see,” I said softly. “From your tone, I take it you don’t think we can kill the harbinger?”

“We can, but not in the vicinity of the void tree where the nether is thickest. You’ve been to the safe zone. What was the nether toxicity there?”

“Tier six.”

“There you go.” Adriel frowned. “Even assuming we can rally all the possessed to our cause and get through the nest surrounding the void tree, the nether itself would kill us before we could take down the harbinger.”

“Can’t you and the other possessed shield yourself from the nether?”

“We can,” Adriel said, waving aside my suggestion, “but not long enough to take down a foe as powerful as a harbinger and the no-doubt-hundreds of stygians nesting around the sapling. None of us have anything like your nether resistance skill.”

“That is a problem,” I conceded.

“An impossible one,” Adriel muttered. “Farren and I have been worrying about it for years. To disperse the nether, we have to kill the sapling. But to kill the sapling, we have to survive the nether and its protectors long enough to reach it.”

“Couldn’t Draven help?” I asked, thinking of the power I had glimpsed in Kolath.

“There’s no guarantee he could. Maybe if we woke him. But to wake him—”

“—we have to slay the void tree first,” I finished for her. “Right, I see the problem.” Bowing my head, I pondered the situation.

“So, to summarize,” I said a minute later, “we have to kill the archlich—which we can’t do because his phylactery is out of reach. And we have to kill the void tree—which we also can’t do because of the harbinger. Yet, we must accomplish both to evacuate the New Havens and restore the guardian. If we don’t, the entire Endless Dungeon could be at risk. Is that about it?”

Adriel smiled humorously. “It is. The unfortunate truth is we cannot do this alone. We need help.” She leaned forward across the table. “Which is why I think the best approach is still for you and Ghost to flee the sector. Farren and I could have you out in a matter of days. Find help and return. From what you told me, you are on amicable terms with at least two different Powers.”

I stared at her. “You want me to seek help from the new Powers? Your sworn enemies?”

Adriel’s mouth twisted unhappily. “I told you: the stygians are not a threat that can be ignored. I abandoned Loskin because of them. And, as much it pains me to go begging to the new Powers, I will do it if it means keeping the Kingdom safe.”

I rubbed at my temples, contemplating the lich’s words. I didn’t doubt Adriel’s sincerity, and her conviction served to spell out how severe the situation was. She was right, too.

No matter how much it galled me, if we couldn’t come up with a solution of our own, I would have to approach Tartar, or even Loken, for help. But something else niggled at my thoughts, and closing my eyes, I waited for my conscious mind to catch up.

“Michael? Are you listening to me?”

I held up my hand for patience as the idea in my subconscious slowly germinated.” Yes, I thought, contemplating it for a moment. That can work.

I opened my eyes. “I think we’re going about this all wrong.”

Adriel frowned. “What do you mean?”

“What if, instead of treating this as two separate problems, we tackle them as one?”

Adriel looked at me askance.

I leaned forward across the table. “Here’s what I think we should do…”