Grand Game 438: On the Clock (Patreon)

My grin faded. One hour? Really?

Nyra gasped. “Michael, did you see—?”

I nodded grimly. “I did.” I didn’t understand the message’s reference to a ‘final chamber,’ but I was sure Adriel and Farren would enlighten me.

Lifting my gaze, I saw the others had arrived. Their faces solemn, Ceruvax, Adriel, and Farren drew up beside Ghost and Nyra. I wanted to immediately blurt out my questions about the surprising alert from the Adjudicator, but there was an expectant air about the trio.

Ceruvax was also carrying the Skull of Souls, I saw. Catching my gaze, he mouthed the word, “Wait.” He, too, of course, had received the Game message.

Trusting the former envoy’s judgment, I stayed silent while the wolfmen, the hundred possessed waiting for rehoming in flesh golems, and the New Haveners formed a tightly packed circle around us.

Raising his chin, Ceruvax began speaking. “Hail, scion!” he pronounced formally.

“HAIL SCION!” the wolfmen, the possessed, and the lichs echoed.

Whatever was going on had a hint of ceremony about it, and once more, I was reminded that my new allies belonged to a different era. As former scions, they had no doubt witnessed other ritual combats in their past lives and knew better than me what to expect.

“You have faced your foes in the sacred Circle and triumphed,” the old wolf continued. “Your victory has earned you the right to their blood memories.” Going down on one knee, he held up the Skulls of Souls to me.

Sensing it was expected, I placed my hand atop the artifact.

Commencing the Ritual of Infusion…

Before I could think how to respond, the light in the eye sockets flared, the jaws creaked open, and an unseen force gripped my palm, keeping it fastened to the top of the wolf’s skull.

A heartbeat later, an ethereal mist streamed out of the artifact and assumed a person’s hazy outline for a split second. My eyes narrowed.

Is that Darius?

The spirit gave me no chance to confirm my suspicions, though, and in the next instant vanished, sucked into my own body.

You have absorbed the essence of a fallen scion.

Your blood awakening has begun...

A second spirit emerged from the Skull. Then, a third. One by one, I absorbed their essences. With every infusion, I felt my awareness expand. Alien thoughts skittered across my mind, and my body thrummed with a strange energy I knew was not mine.

The fallen scions I absorbed were nothing like those I’d encountered in the trial of the Mind. Those had been young, untried. These spirits were not that. Older, experienced, they were measurably stronger.

And each stirred my blood more vigorously.

Energy raged within me, an inferno that only gradually subsided after each infusion. My nerves tingled, my skin was rubbed raw, and my organs protested. On and on it went until I felt full to bursting. Squeezing my eyes shut, I endured as best I could.

And just as I felt I could take no more, the ritual drew to a close.

Ritual of Infusion complete.

Congratulations, Scion, 51 fallen of your House have gifted you their essences, infusing your blood sufficiently to recall either 3 lesser blood memories or 1 greater blood memory. To determine the form your awakening will take, consult the Blood Talisman.

The Skull released me, and I staggered back.

Nyra yelped.

I turned to her. “What’s wrong?”

“Your eyes, they’re glowing!”

“It’ll fade,” Adriel reassured her before I could grow concerned. The lich glanced at me. “Right now, I’m sure you’re buzzing with energy. But that’ll pass once your blood absorbs the spirits’ essence.”

I nodded slowly.

Stowing away the skull, Ceruvax stepped forward. “In the meantime, there is something else you need to attend to urgently.”

I opened my mouth.

“It can’t wait,” he said, “and you’re on the clock.”

Adriel and Farren looked at Ceruvax curiously but didn’t ask him to explain.

“Alright. What is it?” I asked, expecting him to pull out the Blood Talisman.

Instead, Ceruvax waved Regus forward. “We’ll have to cut things short,” he told the wolfman. “Pare it down to the bare bones.”

The former possessed nodded curtly and went down on one knee. “I, Beta of the Pack of the Reach,” he growled in the manner I was coming to recognize as the normal speaking voice of the wolfmen, “pledge myself and the Pack in service to the Forerunner faction. From this day on, it alone holds my loyalty.”

“I, Michael,” I replied firmly, “accept your oath on behalf of the Forerunners faction.”

You have accepted the Pack of the Reach into the Forerunners faction. As non-players, the wolfmen are free to break their pledges at any time and without consequences. As are you. However, until such time as the Forerunners disavow the Pack—or vice versa—they will be considered the faction’s sworn people, and their actions will reflect on it.

Regus rose to his feet, and I shook his hand. “Thank you, my friend.”

“It is you who deserve our thanks,” Regus replied. He smiled, baring his sharpened fangs. “After your performance in the Circle, none in the Pack doubt that you will succeed in restoring the ancients. You and the alpha honor us by allowing us to join the cause.”

I waved aside his words. “It was nothing. I only did—”

“It was not nothing,” Farren interjected sharply. “Even in our day, few would have managed such a feat.”

Ceruvax nodded. “The lich speaks truly.”

I inclined my head, heartened by their words. “What’s next? Do I use the Blood Talisman?”

The old wolf frowned. “It depends on what the Game message meant. There may be no time.”

Adriel’s brows rose. “No time?” she echoed.

“The Adjudicator has just informed us the dungeon will reset in one hour, and the final chamber resealed,” I explained. “Do you know what that means?”

“Reset to what?” Farren asked carefully.

“To its original configuration,” Ceruvax said. “After which a new sector boss will spawn.”

“Ah,” both lichs exclaimed simultaneously.

“That’s not good, I take it?” I asked.

Farren rubbed his chin. “It depends on how you look at it. I’ve been wondering when—and where—the new sector boss will spawn. It is nice to have confirmation of both.”

“But?” I prompted. “There is a ‘but,’ right?”

“There is,” Adriel confirmed. “The dungeon’s original configuration included the sub-level beneath the court. It forms an entire underground complex all on its own.”

“Incidentally, it’s the sub-level,” Farren added, “that prompted the idea of the New Haven tunnel.”

I frowned. “This sub-level is the same one housing the exit portal?”

“It is,” Regus growled.

I sighed. “And let me guess, the sub-level is also where the sector boss spawns?”

Adriel nodded. “Correct. But the more pertinent point is that it’s the chamber housing the exit portal that seals.” She paused. “You will need a completed Emblem of the Reach to open it.”

I groaned, finally seeing the cause of their concern. “So… either I leave in an hour—before the chamber reseals—or I spend days hunting down the emblem’s mosaic pieces?”

Regus grunted. “More like weeks.”

“You could collect the old pieces from Gamil,” Algar said, speaking up for the first time.

I nodded slowly. “But that, too, will take days.” Even using the underground tunnel, New Haven was not close.

Stepping forward, Ceruvax placed something in my hand.

You have acquired a Blood Talisman.

“Don’t use it now,” he warned before I could say anything. “Take it with you.”

I shook my head in denial. “It’s safer with you. Rather I use it here, then—”

“You can’t,” Ceruvax interjected. “Not unless you want to spend more time in the dungeon.”

I frowned.

Seeing my confusion, Adriel asked, “Do you remember your first blood awakening?”

I did. It had been painful, and it had felt as if my blood had been on fire. “I do, but I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”

“You’ll understand soon enough,” the lich replied. “How long did you sleep after the first awakening?”

“Hmm, I can’t remember. A few hours, maybe? But that was more due to the trial of the mind than anything else.”

Adriel shook her head adamantly. “It wasn’t just the trial that exhausted you. Blood awakenings are strenuous. They will drain all your energy pools and more besides. Depending on the strength of the blood memories you’re recovering, you can expect to be out from anywhere between a half day to a week.”

I stared at her. “A week?”

She smiled. “Don’t worry. Those only apply to the ancient memories, which you don’t have to concern yourself with just yet.”

“But even a lesser memory can knock you for hours,” Farren added.

I sighed. I didn’t want to spend another day in the dungeon, much less a week. “Alright, I’ll take the Talisman with me.” I glanced from face to face. “Then I guess this is goodbye. For now, anyway.”

Regus bowed his head. “Safe travels, scion.”

Ceruvax shook my hand. “Return safely to us. In the meantime, you can rest assured House Wolf will grow in your absence.”

“Don’t forget what we spoke of,” was all Farren had to say.

Algar stiffened to attention. “The warband will await your return.”

“No goodbyes from me,” Adriel said. “I’ll be coming with you, of course.” She stepped back, pulling Farren with her. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, my brother and I must attend to something before we leave.”

Inclining my head in acknowledgment, I turned to Nyra. She was the only one who hadn’t said anything.

“I’m coming too,” she blurted.

My brows shot up. “But I thought—”

“I know I said I would stay,” she said rapidly. “But seeing what you did in the Circle changed my mind. Can I learn all that here?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but she resumed speaking before I could. “I don’t think I can. The skills I need aren’t available here.”

“You can always—” I began.

“And besides, Ceruvax agrees with me,” she added stubbornly.

I threw the old wolf a reproachful look.

He shrugged. “She’s right. I cannot teach her to do what you do. And certainly not in this dungeon.”

I sighed. “Alright, you can come.”

✵ ✵ ✵

Congratulations, Michael, you have discovered an exit from the Endless Dungeon. This portal leads directly from sector 73,102 to the surface of the Forever Kingdom. This location is a key point and has been added to your Logs.

The dungeon will reset in 10 minutes.

Fifty minutes later, Nyra and I were in Draven Reach’s final chamber, staring at the shimmering curtain of white hanging before us.

The exit portal.

“What’s keeping Adriel?” I muttered for the tenth time.

“Patience, Prime,” Ghost replied, sounding amused. “She’ll be here.”

The pyre wolf was back in spirit form. Not knowing what we’d face on the other side of the portal, we’d both agreed it was better for her to make the transition while tucked away in the Cloak of the Reach.

“She should have been here twenty minutes ago!” I said, frustrated. “What could—”

At the approach of soft footsteps, I spun around.

“I’m here,” Adriel said.

I stared at the oversized pouch she was carrying. “What’s that?”

“For you,” she said, placing it in my hand.

You have acquired a small bag of hiding. This bag is enchanted with a tier 6 concealment ward and contains 100 possessed finger bones.

I blinked. “This is what kept you?”

She nodded. “Farren and I worked as quickly as we could, but killing a hundred possessed, extracting their finger bones, and setting their spirits to sleep does not go quickly,” she said wryly.

“I see,” I said, feeling suddenly churlish for my impatience. “Why don’t I see their spirits hovering in the air?”

“Well, for one, they’re dormant,” the lich replied. “And for another, the bag is shielding them from detection.”

“Ah, wise that,” I said, stowing away the pouch and turning about to face the portal. “We’re all ready, I take it?”

“I know I am,” the lich said with a small smile. “It’s been too long since I set foot in the Kingdom.”

Nyra nodded mutely, looking too nervous to say anything.

I inhaled deeply.

It had been thirty-five days since I’d entered Draven’s Reach. I’d ventured into the dungeon with only escape in mind. Yet, I’d found so much more.

An entire city of non-players.

A new Pack.

A familiar.

Other scions. Powerful allies. A former envoy. A restored guardian. What’s more, I’d grown immensely, both in terms of my understanding of the Game and power.

I’d entered the dungeon with the nebulous goal of restoring House Wolf.

I was leaving it, not only with a plan, but the means of executing it, too.

I exhaled. “Right, let’s go then.” Stepping forward, I crossed through the shimmering curtain.

Transfer through portal commencing…

…

…

Leaving sector 73,102. Entering the Forever Kingdom.

✵ ✵ ✵

The End.

Here ends Book 6 of the Grand Game.

Michael’s adventures will continue in Ancient Debts.

Coming 01 September 2024 (Amazon release date)!

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Happy reading!

Tom Elliot.