Chapter 33: Unfolding Secrets (Patreon)

Despite my confident tone with Adalinda, I knew returning to Odenna’s shop was a long shot, but it was not a plan without merit. The elf and my family went back a long way, and she would help if I was desperate.

Which I was.

Then, too, there were the questions Groff and Glenda had asked. They strongly suggested Odenna was more than the simple old woman she made out to be. I’d guessed as much myself. But their repeated reference to ‘the resistance’ had struck me as odd. The old elf also seemed to know about things she shouldn’t.

Yes, I thought, nodding grimly to myself. There are many reasons to revisit Odenna, and damn few not to.

I passed through the gutter highway without incident. Navigating through Odenna’s district was similarly uneventful. It was late at night and most of the residents were fast asleep.

Striding up to the old elf’s familiar door, I knocked firmly.

The door creaked open.

My brows rose in surprise. I hadn’t pushed all that hard on the door, which meant it had been open, and whatever Odenna was, she wasn’t foolish. Even in a neighborhood like this, she wouldn’t leave the front door open.

“Ada, I think you should manifest,” I said, drawing my stiletto.

Obligingly, she began streaming outwards. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure but something is off.” I took a second look at the streets, but nothing looked out of place.

Your companion has cast manifest, taking on the form of a battle komodo.

“Guard our backs,” I whispered as the celestial materialized on the steps. Pushing the door open farther, I slipped into the shop. The room within was likewise empty.

“What do you think?” I asked as Adalinda followed me in.

“Looks normal,” the celestial replied. She cocked her head to the side like a dog. “Someone is upstairs. I ca hear them faintly.”

“Then we go up.” Closing the door behind me, I tiptoed up the stairs.

The stairs creaked with every step I took, and I couldn’t help but flinch each time, but the noise couldn’t be helped. Maybe, I should invest in some stealth, I thought morosely. With all the sneaking around I’d been doing, it would certainly come in handy.

As I turned the last corner of the stairs, Odenna’s personal quarters came into view, and I finally saw what Adalinda had heard.

It was Odenna.

Sitting on the floor, the old elf was wrapping up a deep puncture wound on her leg. The room itself was a mess of broken objects and burned furnishings. There had been a fight here, and recently.

Touched by sudden concern for the old woman, I burst into the room. “Odenna! What happened?”

Her head snapped up and her eyes widened. “Elana! What are you doing here?” A pregnant pause. “And what is that?” she asked, gesturing to Adalinda. Despite the strong front the old elf liked to project, I could see the finger she leveled at Adalinda was actually trembling.

She’s terrified, I thought.

“My companion,” I said as I dropped down beside her. “She won’t hurt you.” I paused. “Neither will I.”

“I know that,” Odenna snapped irritably. “You called her your companion,” she said abruptly. “Not your familiar. Which is she?”

I stared at her obliquely. Was she still afraid of Adalinda? “Is there a difference?”

“Stop avoiding the question. Tell me!”

I shrugged. “The Game calls her my companion.” I ran my gaze of the room. “What happened here?”

Sighing, she stood up shakily and limped to one of the leather chairs. “I was attacked,” she said, sitting down unceremoniously. “But I managed to fend them off.”

I sat down across from her. “Who attacked you? Not the City Watch, I hope?”

She snorted. “Things with them resolved almost as soon as it started. They searched the place, yes, but when they found nothing, they left, and haven’t troubled me since.”

“Then who?”

“Arinna’s spies,” she hissed.

My brows flew up in surprise. Whatever I was expecting it was not this. But… Pursing my lips, I thought back to some of the things my captors had said.

“Do you think it’s the same people who tortured you?” Adalinda asked.

“I am not sure,” I said. “Possibly.”

Returning my attention to Odenna, I abruptly decided to change tactics. I’d been planning on demanding answers from her. Now, I thought it better to be more open—or give the impression of openness—and see what came of it. “You know, I was attacked the last time I came here.”

“What?” She stared at me in consternation. “What did they want?”

I sighed, considering her question. “Not why did they attack you but what did they want? Did Odenna know how revealing her response had been?

Leaning back in my chair, I recalled the events of that painful day. A scaley nose rub against my leg. “Tell her what happened. Something tells me she was not involved.”

“Alright,” I agreed heavily. I glanced at Odenna. “They wanted to know about you. And what my… association with you was. They were insistent that there was one, that I belonged to something called ‘the resistance.’ So convinced were they that they went to the trouble of questioning me under a truth spell.”

Anger flared in Odenna’s eyes but at what I couldn’t say.

When she said nothing, I continued on. “Obviously, I told them nothing, because, after all, that’s all I know: nothing.”

Lowering her head, Odenna cupped her face in her hands. “They know,” she said hollowly.

I frowned. “Know what?”

The elf’s eyes rose slowly back to meet mine. Her gaze, normally so serene, was filled with what I could only label fear. For a long moment, she didn’t say anything and, giving her the time she needed, neither did I.

“The resistance,” Odenna started softly, “are a group of people who banded together a few decades ago in an effort to free Mesina of Arinna. We actually call ourselves the Insurgence, but they wouldn’t know that.”

My eyes widened. Free Mesina of Arinna? Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that possible.

“For years, we enjoyed limited success,” she went on, unaware of my thoughts. “Killing off Arinna’s followers and destroying caches of her artifacts. That sort of then. Then your parents joined.”

“My parents?” I asked, barely whispering.

“Yes. They were an integral part of the organization. Much of what we achieved would not have been possible without them. Your mother especially.” Odenna’s face took on an admiring cast. “She was magnificent.”

The world tilted. It was as if Odenna was upending everything I knew, or thought I knew. None of this was information I’d come for. Nonetheless, it explained many of the holes in my own history, so staying quiet, I listened avidly.

“With your father’s clever tactics to guide us and your mother’s many abilities to aid us, we enjoyed success after success against Arinna and her sworn. For a while— before you came into the world and Soren was just a young boy—we even believed we were on the brink of victory.” Her face fell. “Then we were betrayed.”

“By whom?”

“It doesn’t matter now, child. It’s all ancient history now.” The elf sighed. “But at that time, it tore us apart. As an organization, we lost all cohesion, consistently suspecting one another of treachery.  It took us years to recover, and you were nearly ten when we took the fight to Arinna again.” A smile slipped onto her face. “Right into the very heart of her palace, in fact.”

I bit my lip, guessing what came next.

“Your parents died in that fight.”

As Odenna said the words I’d been dreading to hear, tears rolled down my face. Odenna’s words had exposed old wounds, giving them new life. Atop Alon’s loss, it was nearly too much to bear, and for a moment, it was all I could do not to roll into a ball and cry.

My whole life I’d thought my parents had met their demise fighting Arinna’s wars in one godforsaken sector or the other, killed by some random player most like. Instead, they’d been here all the time fighting against Arinna, not for. I’d been too young to really understand at the time and all Soren would tell me in later years was that it was the fault of the players.

That was when I’d truly begun to hate the Game.

I paused, struck by a startling thought. Had Soren known the truth? Did he know then what I knew now?

No. He couldn’t have. Soren wouldn’t lie to me—not about that.

But it wouldn’t have been lying really, would it? Merely… twisting the truth.

I pushed aside the evil thought. It was not something I felt able to deal with right now. “But why rebel against Arinna to begin with?” I asked, focusing on Odenna again.

“You’ve heard what they call us. Proles,” she replied, her lip curling in disgust. “As if we’re something beneath them. You’ve felt that word’s bite, but not for as many years as I have. I tell you girl, when you live under the rule of a Power, you are oppressed. The Powers care nothing for the non-players that get in their way. They will do anything, use anyone, and that frequently means dead proles.” She spat out the hated epithet venomously. “Lots of dead proles.”

I stared at Odenna. The angry woman before me was the opposite of the calm, centered elf I’d always known. Something must have given birth to her hate. Who did she lose? I wondered.

Her hands balling into fists, Odenna continued, “And we got tired of it. Tired of dying. Tired of all the damned players and their machinations.”

“Is that why you kept trying to get me to leave Mesina? Because I’ve become a player?”

Odenna looked away, not meeting my gaze. “Not quite. There is more to it than that. But those things I warned you about were not lies, and some of those consequences, I spoke to you about, they’re coming to pass now.”

She sighed. “But when it comes to players and proles, Elana, you got to understand, most proles can’t afford to trust, no matter who the player is.”

I sat completely still, taken aback. In a roundabout way, she’d just admitted to not being able to trust me. All simply because I was a player. It was unfair and it hurt. Oh, it hurt.

I knew what it was like to live at the mercy of the Game. I knew what it was like to be a prole. If anyone could relate it was me.

But that seemed to count for nothing with Odenna.

“I’m different,” I said finally. “I will never be like Arinna and her ilk.”

“I hope so, I truly do,” she said sadly. “But power has a way of corrupting, and while you say this now, you will change. I know, believe me.”

“I see,” I said, not knowing what else to say. Odenna’s conviction seemed unshakeable, and to be honest, if I was in her position, I’d probably feel the same way she did, and I just couldn’t find it in me to be angered by her distrust.

“What else can you tell me more about my parents?” I asked, changing the topic.

Odenna shook her head. “Now is not the time.” When she saw my face drop, she added, “We’ll speak more of them later, I promise. But right now, there isn’t time. There’s no telling when those… people will come back. Tell me why you came to see me.”

Sighing, I told her about my kidnapping, what had happened in the poor quarter, about Alon, and lastly, that Soren and Eoman were missing.

“Eoman implied he knew you,” I said when I finished my tale. “And I thought you might know where he’d go. If I find Eoman, I find Soren. Will you help me?”

Odenna scrutinized me for a drawn-out moment, measuring me—against what I had no idea—and it was obvious she knew something.

But would she tell me?

“I will help,” she said at last.

I sagged, relieved she’d not found me wanting. “Then you do know Eoman?”

“He was one of the Insurgence’s founders.”

I nodded slowly. That made sense given what I knew of Eoman’s history. He’d always stuck out as… different. Emphatic and educated were not traits often seen in the poor quarter, and he’d always seemed to be so much more than a mere gang leader.

“With his Raccoon operations crashed and burned,” Odenna continued, “Eoman will likely seek aid from the resistance. I have some contacts who will be able to locate him. But we have to leave now.” She staggered up from her chair and glanced at Adalinda. “Will that one be a problem?”

“No,” I promised. “Do you need a healing potion?”

Odenna stared coldly at me for a second, then sighed. “A healing potion will be most welcome, thank you.”

Retrieving a vial from my bag, I handed it to her.

As always, the effect was immediate. Odenna’s back unbent and her stance became less stiff.

“Better?” I asked with a small smile.

“Better,” she agreed and marched to the stairs. “Let’s go.”

We hurried down the steps and through the shop. I glanced at all the herbs hanging from the ceiling. Odenna didn’t look like she intended on stopping to pick up anything. “Do you have everything you need?”

She was already at the door open, impatiently waving me through. “Yes, child. Come.”

Exiting swiftly, I scanned the surroundings for anything amiss, but nothing jumped out at me. The streets were as quiet as earlier.

Odenna followed quickly after. Locking the door behind her, she turned left, heading in the direction of the safe zone—and Arinna’s palace.

I frowned. Where were we going?

Up ahead, Odenna made an abrupt right, ducking into a nearby alley. It was small, narrow, and looked about as ill-reputable as a poor quarter street. Thoroughly confused, I opened my mouth to question the old elf, but before I could, raised voices from behind intervened.

“You two, stop!”

✵ ✵ ✵

I whipped around to see three city guards strolling toward us.

“Kill them,” Odenna instructed.

I stared at her. “What?”

“They’re not here to talk, girl,” Odenna said, shrinking farther back into the alley. “They’re her to kill or arrest us. They must’ve been watching the shop.”

I studied the guards. The trio were in no hurry, almost as if they knew we weren’t going anywhere…

I spun back to face Odenna. “This alley is a dead end, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she replied plainly.

My eyes narrowed. “You brought us here deliberately.”

“I did,” she said, still unperturbed. This is your chance.”

“Chance for what?” I growled, shooting the guards another glance. They weren’t close enough to be of immediate threat—yet.

“To prove your metal, player. Do nothing and you give the Sworn one of the Insurgency’s leaders. Save me… well then, the die is cast. Arinna’s people would never allow you within their ranks thereafter.”

I gnashed my teeth in frustration. “I told you I was not like them. I would never betray you—or the cause my parents fought for!”

Odenna raised her chin to gesture to the advancing guards. “Prove it.”

Sighing, I turned around again. The three men were heavily armored and armed with broadswords. Not your average city watchmen then.

“What’s the plan?” Adalinda asked from beside me.

I bit my lip. The trio were not players and I had little doubt Adalinda, and I could take them. What concerned me more, though, was one of them fleeing and raising the alarm.

“How far back does this alleyway go?” I called over my shoulder.

“Another fifty yards,” Odenna replied. “Why?”

“Fall back,” I said. Following my own order, I backstepped.

One of the guards chuckled. “Afraid, girl?”

“You won’t escape that way, you know,” a second said. “You’re trapped.”

“Come quietly, and we promise not to hurt you,” the third added.

“They don’t know I’m a player,” I said. “We can use that to our advantage.”

“Draw them in until they too far in to escape?” Adalinda asked.

“Exactly,” I said. Inhaling deeply, I began to weave mana.

It was difficult performing magic while on the move, not to mention dangerous—with my attention turned inward, I was largely unaware of the outside world—but I had Adalinda to guard me, so I accepted the risk. Speaking softly, I began to chant.

“What’s that you’re mumbling, girl?” a guard asked.

The second chuckled. “I think she’s pleading for mercy, Jarn.”

“Already?” the third laughed.

Ignoring the guards’ taunts, I kept chanting as I retreated. As long as they didn’t charge me and Adalinda, we had nothing to worry about.

Behind us, Odenna watched on silently.

The seconds ticked on, and still I chanted. The spell I was evoking was a long one and, ideally, cast before battle.

“We’ve almost at the end of the alley,” Odenna cautioned.

I inclined my head, acknowledging her warning. My spell was nearly done. “Ready, Ada?”

“Ready,” the celestial confirmed.

I drew to a halt, and Adalinda stepped protectively in front.

“Is that a… dog?” a guard asked.

“It’s one ugly dog if that’s the case,” a second quipped.

“It’s a lizard!”

“No, it can’t be…”

Prattling on and ignorant of what they faced, the guards drew closer. Spell ready, I waited. Five yards separated us.

Four.

Three.

I released the spell.

You have cast summon elemental.

The air above the three guards roiled and a hole formed, a void of emptiness to somewhere other.

The trio’s heads jerked upward.

“What the—?”

“Where did that come from?”

“She’s a witch!”

“Go!” I ordered Adalinda. Like an arrow released from a taut bow, she hurtled forward. I drew in more mana, my own gaze fixed on the tear in reality hovering above the guards.

A level 20 storm elemental has answered your call!

It will remain on this plain for a maximum of 1 hour or until defeated.

The hole—a summoning portal really—pulsed, expanding rapidly outward before contracting sharply. In the real, a shape appeared, and in my mind, a new presence entered.

My summons.

“Kill them!” I roared.

“Get her!” a guard shouted. “She’s a summoner. We have to—”

His cry transformed to a wet gurgle the living tornado descending from the portal enveloped him.

A storm elemental has killed a level 10 human.

Swept into the raging winds at the elemental’s center, the guard was torn asunder. I stared in shock, stunned by the power of the minion I’d summoned.

The elemental was about as large as an average man, but in no way humanoid. Cone-shaped, and seemingly formed from nothing but air and lightning, it lacked hands, feet, or even eyes. Still, it possessed a mind of sorts.

A mind, that bending to my will, fixed hungrily on its next victim.

Witnessing what the miniature tornado had done to their companion, the remaining two guards turned to flee.

They did not get far.

Launching herself through the air, Adalinda closed her jaws around the neck of the first, and despite the metal plates protecting him, the crunch of breaking bones was audible as the komodo squeezed.

You companion has killed a level 9 human with a fatal blow.

The last guard fared no better.

He managed all of two steps, before a jagged bolt of lightning struck him the back.

A storm elemental has stunned a level 11 human. Duration: 2 seconds.

Dazed, the guard rocked senselessly on his feet as the elemental swept over him.

A storm elemental has injured a human.

A storm elemental has injured a human.

…

…

Your minion has killed a level 11 human.

You and your companion have reached level 21!

Your summoning has increased to level 22 and your air magic to level 8.

Celestial trait triggered! Core skills mirrored.

The last guard lasted longer than the first, but his death was no less gruesome as gale force winds ripped him apart limb from limb.

Mere seconds after it had begun, the battle was over. Swallowing, I let my nearly forgotten second casting dissipate. It hadn’t been necessary.

“Ancients above!” Odenna exclaimed. “What are you, girl?”

I stared at her, my face set in stone. “Isn’t this what you wanted? To see me kill your watchers.”

Odenna blanched. “I expected you to kill them, yes, but what you did…” She shook her. “That was something else. Did you have to tear them apart like that?”

I shied away from her gaze, not attempting to explain. The manner of the guards’ death had shocked me as much as it had her. “Dead is dead,” I muttered.

“That’s cold, girl.”

I shrugged. “So, is life in the poor quarter.” Lifting my head, I held her gaze. “You should try it sometime. It may prove… enlightening.”

This time, it was Odenna who looked away. “What do we about that?” she asked, pointing to the guards’ remains.

For the first time, I looked at the corpses. Except for the blood pooling out of his neck, the guard Adalinda killed could’ve been mistaken for someone sleeping. Not so, the other two dead.

All that remained of them were two neat little piles of flesh, gore, and innards. Nearly nothing of what was left behind was recognizable as human.

“We leave the remains as they are,” I ground out harshly, struggling to contain my rising gore. “This deep in the alley it may be days before they are found.”

Odenna nodded slowly. “Makes sense. And your pets?”

I glanced from Adalinda to the quietly spinning tornado. Reaching out to the elemental with my mind, I unraveled the threads holding it together.

You have unsummoned a storm elemental.

I glanced at the celestial as the summoned creature vanished. No words were necessary. “Be careful of the old elf,” Adalinda said in parting as she too unraveled. “She knows what you are capable of now.”

Your companion has unmanifested.

Odenna grunted. “Interesting.” Striding past me, she headed for the alley mouth. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we headed?”

“To an Insurgence safe house, of course,” she replied.