Empyrean 20: Captured (Patreon)

Amelia, here! :)
A new chapter of Empyrean's Flight is ready. I am hoping to post quite a few more this week, and keen to hear your thoughts on where the story is going.

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I found myself in a dark little room, and three figures were standing in front of a half-broken wooden door. Above me was a single, dim light—and it was doing no favors for my throbbing temples. I slowly looked around the space, turning my head slowly to not worsen its ache, and saw that it was desolate.

“What if she doesn’t know anything?”

“We saw her leave the shop, in the middle of the night.”

“She probably holds the kind of information—”

My ears were ringing, which only let me hear bits of the hushed conversation between the figures. I turned my attention the Game alerts that were waiting for me.

You have sustained critical damage.

Warning! Death is imminent. Your health is at 5%.

Damnit, of course this happened before I found the gnome. I swore at myself, thinking that if I had just kept my secret from Odenna, I wouldn’t be in this position. What an idiotic decision.

Nonetheless, though, I was here now, and I needed to get out. “Ada, are you okay?” I asked the celestial.

“Elana! You’re awake, thank goodness.”

“I am, but barely. Have you heard anything that could help?”

“No, nothing.”

I swore loudly. On purpose, I thought, so I could catch the attention of my captors. If I was going to die here, at least I could die knowing who had killed me, and why.

“She’s awake,” a raspy voice said.  As he neared, I saw he was a stately-looking dwarf. His face met mine, given his height, and it was difficult to miss the hole where his eye used to be.

“Now, girl, tell us why you were visiting Odenna,” he demanded.

I spat at him. The dwarf chuckled as he wiped away the gob from his cheek. He grabbed my neck, holding me up a little bit. His immense strength lifted both me and the chair off the ground, and I started gasping for air.

“Killing her won’t help,” a cool voice to my left said. “Put her down, Groff.”

“Bah!” the dwarf exclaimed, before dropping me and the chair back to the floor.

I coughed, searching for the air I lost, and looked to the side. A graceful figure walked toward me and into the light covering the spot I was in. It was a woman—a human—wearing a black cape and donning a short haircut. She grabbed my chin gently, coming right up to my face, and spoke with minty breath. “You will not die if you answer our questions,” she said.

“What do you want from me?” I blurted out, my throat still burning from Groff’s grasp.

“We just want to know why you saw Odenna,” the woman replied softly. “If we believe you, and your answer is what we want to hear, we might let you live.”

I looked down at my tied legs. “I just wanted to find out where I can get health potions,” I said through grit teeth. “That was all.”

“So late at night? I don’t believe it,” Groff chipped in.

“The dwarf has a point, girl. Besides, wouldn’t you know where to get that anyway? Or are you really that useless?” the woman taunted.

“Not everybody has the same experience, Glenda,” a third voice spoke. The final figure walked into the light, and I noticed she was a lizardperson. Not the kind we found very often in the city.

Before I could say anything, I felt a slight tingle across my body. Unlike anything I had ever felt before. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it certainly didn’t make me feel comforted. In fact, it made me feel exposed.

“Empyrean? What kind of Class is that?” the lizardwoman asked.

“How did you know?” I interrogated.

“I analyzed you. It’s a very basic ability,” she chuckled. “Wow, you really are useless.”

“I told you,” Glenda said. “Still, though, Empyrean is not anything I have heard of before. Where did you find that kind of stone?”

“I don’t believe that will help your line of questioning,” I snipped. “We aren’t here for a comprehensive history on me, are we?”

Glenda walked toward me slowly and backhanded me across the face. “Keep speaking like that, I dare you.”

The pain seared through my cheek. I was on the edge of death, I could feel it, and it was bringing me to my knees. I couldn’t afford to die now. I had already taken more time than I bargained for, and having to navigate my death would be catastrophic to the plan with the Raccoons.

I stared blankly at Glenda. “Ask your questions,” I said. “I will answer.”

“What were you doing at Odenna’s shop?” the human asked again.

“Looking for health potions,” I insisted.

“Is that all?”

“I am a new player, as you have so gracefully pointed out,” I sneered. “I thought she could help me with some information.”

“Sounds like you’re still hiding something,” Groff interjected.

“I still want to know about this Empyrean Class,” the lizardwoman added. “I've been around long enough to know most Classes in the Game. And this is not something I’ve ever known.”

“I merely came across the stone,” I said. “I barely even knew what it meant.”

Silence fell. I had a better idea why these people had captured me—Odenna obviously had more to her story than I knew. But it seemed they had found more than they bargained for when they came across me.

“You don’t just find rare stones,” Groff spat. “I think Odenna gave it to you.”

“Odenna chased me out when she found out I was a player,” I argued. “Why would she have given me the stone?”

“Liar,” the dwarf accused.

I let out a belabored sigh. My body was aching, and I was struggling to keep my focus on anything but the need for sleep. These three had knocked me out and dragged me to, well, who knows where, and now I was being accused of lying.

I lifted my eyelids a little more. “I can barely see, why would I lie now?”

“Clearly because you’re part of the resistance,” Groff said. “You scum will do anything to protect your efforts.”

“What are you talking about?” I snapped.

“Why do you think that now, Groff?” Glenda asked sardonically.

“Think about it,” the dwarf said. “We find this skinny thing visiting Odenna in the middle of the night. She couldn’t possibly hold her own in a fight, unless, as it is, she was a player. We know Odenna is still part of the resistance, and this child just happens to be in her shop when things start stirring up again? It’s too coincidental.”

“He makes a good point,” the lizardwoman said.

“But he’s also the most paranoid dwarf we’ve ever come across,” Glenda argued. “I’m still not convinced this child is part of the resistance. I think that’s all Odenna’s doing.”

“I know how to tell if she’s part of the resistance or not,” the lizardwoman cut in. She neared me, slowly, and held her palm out flat in front of my face. She uttered words I had no knowledge of.

An unknown entity has cast circle of truth.

As she cast her spell, a thin blue line circled me. My head felt clear, despite my injuries. As I tried to ask what the circle was, though, words didn’t escape my mouth.

“Don’t even try,” the lizardwoman said. “You can only speak when I tell you to.”

I closed my lips slowly and frowned. I had never seen this kind of spell, but it made sense for a spy to have access to it. It made for an easier interrogation.

“Tell me, are you part of the resistance?” the lizardwoman asked.

You have failed a mental resistance check.

“No,” the words escaped me. I had little control over my body now, and I couldn’t claim that I had spoken myself. It was like they were forced out.

“Do you know what the resistance is? Speak,” she continued.

You have failed a mental resistance check.

“No.”

The lizardwoman turned to her companions. “Anything you two want to know? I can only ask one more question before the spell dissipates. And I can't cast it on her again.”

Glenda whispered something in her ear.

The lizardwoman turned back to me. “What is your name?”

You have failed a mental resistance check.

"Elana Shanis,” I said. As the words escaped my mouth, the blue circle disappeared, and I felt myself regain control of my faculties.

“Please just let me go,” I whispered. “I don’t know what I’m doing here, but I don’t think I have the information you want.”

“Well, she’s obviously not part of the resistance,” Groff said. “But that doesn’t mean she’s not a threat.”

“She isn’t right now,” Glenda said. “But she will be. She’s of the bloodline.”

✵ ✵ ✵

Time passed slowly. With Glenda’s accusation, my captors flared into a full-on argument I was sure the whole city could hear. But I was in my last dregs of energy. I could barely feel my face, and my eyelids were getting heavier with each passing second. I couldn’t care enough to listen in on their bickering.

I hung my head and started to give in to the call of slumber. If I fell asleep, maybe they would leave me alone. Maybe I could finally find some peace.

But before I could truly find some rest, a muffled voice called to me. “Girl,” it said. I ignored it. Louder, again, I heard it; “Girl! Wake up.” I pursed my lips, determined to drown out the noise.

Again, the voice spoke, this time accompanied by violent shaking of my body. “Wake up!”

I opened my eyes and looked up to see Glenda grabbing my shoulders. The intensity of her gaze made me let out a small gasp. “We have more questions,” she said. “Get it together.”

Still struggling to keep the slight crack of my lids open, I growled slightly at the woman. “Do you finally have your story straight?”

She rolled her eyes at me. “You’re going to have to convince us that you aren’t a threat.”

“A threat to who?” I asked.

“You should know,” the lizardwoman said incredulously.

“I still have no idea what you’re talking about,” I snapped.

The three spies looked at me. I could almost see the cogs turning in their head.

“Do you not know who you are?” Glenda asked finally.

“I already told you,” I said.

“And you’re not planning to dethrone Arinna?” Groff accused.

“I have no qualms with the goddess,” I said plainly.

Glenda let out a defeated sigh. “I’m beginning to believe her,” she said. “I think we’re wasting our time here.”

Groff pushed past the human and stood in front of me. “How do you know Odenna?”

“She’s an old family friend,” I said. “I visited her to find out how I can get health potions.”

“When did you become a player?” the dwarf continued to interrogate me.

“A few days ago. I did it to save my brother.”

“And where did you find the stone?”

“It was among my father’s things,” I admitted. “I don’t know where he found it. My parents have been dead for years.”

The dwarf said nothing, standing back and inspecting me. He pulled his hand through his short, messy hair and looked at his companions. “I don’t think she knows.”

“I agree,” the lizardwoman said. “Look at her. She’s half dead, falling asleep as we speak. She doesn’t have the energy to come up with elaborate lies.”

Glenda had a defeated look on her face. “Let’s leave her, I doubt she’ll make it through the night if we continue like this,” she said.

“We report back, then?” the lizardwoman asked.

“Of course. Arinna should know about this,” Groff said. “She will tell us what to do. And this little girl can’t escape. We can return when we know our next steps…”

His words trailed off as the three left me tied to the chair in the dimmed room, and I was left alone.

“Ada?” I called to my celestial.

“I’m here, Elana.”

“Please help me,” I pleaded. “I can barely move.”

Adalinda has taken the form of a fire lizard. She has 20% psi remaining.

As the celestial took her form, I could feel a slight tugging on the rope holding my hands together. She was trying to bite me free, but ever so gently, so she didn’t hurt me. I felt small nibbles against my wrist until, after about a minute, I could break free from the ties.

“My legs are still trapped,” I said, failing to tug at the rope with any real strength. The lizard shuffled around to the front and, like she did before, nibbled me free from the ties holding me.

When she was done, I tried to stand up. My legs wobbled beneath me, and I collapsed before I could take a step. But I couldn’t give up now. If I could just get outside and see where we were, maybe I could still find the gnome. Maybe he could still help.

I pushed into the rotting wooden floor with my palms and lifted myself. Adalinda, who could see I was struggling, positioned herself beneath my torso to try and help me gain more strength to move. I managed to bring myself to a seated position. Turning around to the chair, I held on to the legs of it and used the leverage to stand again. Taking one step at a time, painfully, and slowly, I walked toward the door.

To my surprise, when I opened it and looked outside, I hadn’t been dragged far away from the gnome’s emporium. In fact, as I shuffled slowly down the street, I saw the familiar sign three doors down from the room I had been captured.

As I reached the gnome’s shop, I lifted my arm to knock, but sank to the floor. My eyes, failing me, closed on their own accord. All I heard was the slight sound of Adalinda screaming my name before darkness took me.