Chapter 154 (Patreon)

Chapter 154

Daskus.

City of Canyons.

A sprawling fantasy metropolis located at the Y-junction between three intersecting canyons.  Not only were buildings located on the ground level - the rich of the city actually had palaces, manors and castles built into the sides of the canyon walls or even on crest of the canyon itself.  It was a city almost untouched by the devastation Elysium’s integration had brought elsewhere, pristine and well maintained, though Riven couldn’t be sure just how that was.  Bridges crafted from sandstone and made sturdier with magic crisscrossed the thriving, breathing heart of the city.  There was even a towering Elysium altar located in the eastern branch of the intersecting canyons that looked very similar to Riven’s own, but instead of the unholy attunement it was a generic one; lacking the green halo of fire and being made of white marble instead of black obsidian.  And at the very center of it all, hovering in mid air with constantly rotating slabs of stone panels displaying variously shaped carved insignias, was an enormous puzzle-box cube.

[Puzzle-Box Cube Labyrinth: This stone cube is a permanent fixture on the world of Panu, granted to this city by Elysium as a prize to the populace after the king of Daskus completed a difficult system quest with perfect marks.  Rules: The trials are formed by utilizing monsters, mazes, and puzzles with a real possibility of death.  Only 10 may enter an instance event at once, instance events that are not full may be entered by outsiders at any time as long as they are within the same tier of trial, any amount of instance events between different groups may be ongoing at any time, you do not require sustenance while inside the cube, you may only complete the Puzzle-Box Cube Labyrinth event up to 3 times with scaling difficulty and scaling prizes via attempt tiers 1 / 2 / 3, and you may leave the Puzzle-Box Cube Labyrinth instance events at any time - but only through the single entrance and single exit points inside.  Leaving the instance event will forfeit all remaining attempts at completing this system event or collecting its prizes.  To create your own instance event or joint another’s, just stand underneath the cube and focus on it while thinking ‘Activate’.]

Riven stood on a main ground-level street amidst a bustling crowd of what was mostly humans and dwarves all dressed in clothing suited for the sandy, hot weather.  He’d call it ‘Arabian’ attire, with faces that often had wrapped cowls at the ready to bring up over their faces if need be - yet most of them wore as little as possible to bear the heat of the desert.  Sandstone and clay buildings holding apartment buildings, crafter’s workshops, and general goods stores rose up on either side of the street - with the city’s main trading district further ahead.  There were even occasional trees, though they were rather thin, very dark green, and very tall - definitely not species of plant that were native to Earth.

As he stood motionlessly staring up at the gigantic structure that cast a shadow over the center of the city, he intently watched the individual pieces of its body when they’d randomly separate themselves from the main core to twist, turn, and then settle back down in a new orientation.  It was almost like a rubik’s cube, but there were more squares to it and each individual cube piece had its own unique insignias that occasionally glowed a bright blue before settling down to an normal stone variant like the main core of the inner body.  Occasionally even entire faces of the structure would twist or turn, and just once Riven saw a party of 10 heavily armed people distantly channel a beam of light from the monstrous thing - only to be sucked up into the cube like a UFO would do.

“Move it old man!” The haggard voice of a fat, sweating dwarf merchant wearing a v-cut, sleeveless tunic stated as he pushed a small wooden cart full of vials.  “You’ve been blockin the road since I was all the way down near Billba’s Smoke Shop!  Stop gawkin and move!”

Riven turned to look at the dwarf, ignoring the swarms of people around them to stare back without a care in the world.  In a voice not native to a man appearing the age that Fay was displaying him at - Riven’s cold words cut through the air.  “Walk… around us… little piggy.  And don’t come back.”

A very pinpoint aura of cold dread crashed into the dwarf and only the dwarf, making him gasp and keel over in wide-eyed shock.  He sat there in the middle of the road, getting sneers or jeers from the other passersby as he repeatedly blinked - trying to determine what had happened.

But when Athela turned to face the pudgy dwarf and fingered her crossbow, the man quickly got up and turned his cart around the other way - spilling numerous vials along the road and rushed back the way he’d come while hyperventilating.

[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Rita Fellburge has fallen in battle to Fred Talons.  Fred Talons has acquired 4 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi’s Inheritance.  A new Chalgathi’s Chosen will be picked within 1 hour from now as a replacement for Rita Fellburge.]

Frowning at the notification only he and the other chosen could see, Riven turned back around to stare up at the cube.  Utilizing his ‘Ping Chalgathi Artifacts’ ability, he saw both lights flare up to indicate the positions of the other participants of this unholy quest nearby.

Both lights came from the inner core of the massive stone cube.

“They’re inside.”

Azmoth grunted, sounding very much like the hulking, bald, tattooed barbarian he was portrayed as.  “We go find if they with each other?”

“Hopefully they are.” Luke commented with a frown and wiping sweat away from his forehead.  “Otherwise it may be foolish to enter it at all, as going inside may mean one of them could exit the event and disappear or lay in ambush for us to get out next.”

Riven slowly nodded.  “Agreed.  Entering at all, even if they are inside the same event, could potentially mean that.  They’ve been inside the labyrinth for at least two weeks because they’re locations haven’t changed, and I’m willing to bet a lot of money that one is hunting the other.  It’d make sense if they both pinged each other’s location and the weaker participant decided to try to lose his opponent or buy time by entering the cube.”

“Could it just be one man with two different pieces you need?” Fay asked curiously, pushing her witch’s hat up an inch to get a better look at the bridges holding hundreds of traveling people criss-crossing above them between different sides of the canyon.  “It’s at least a possibility, right?”

Riven cocked his head to the side, pinged the Chalgathi artifacts again, then hesitantly shook his head.  “It’s possible, but if that’s the case he or she has split the artifacts into two separate places.  I’ve heard from the locals in the caravan that this was a spacially warped event, but they’re still moving in different areas even despite this.  No, it’s more likely that there are two different individuals.”

Fay nodded in agreement after processing the logic behind his guess, then winked with a perfectly white smile and an intentional giggle.  “Well after we get the other pieces, I’m really hoping we can finally get that suit off of you.  For science, of course!”

Athela let out an exaggerated sigh.  “Riven, why did you have to contract with a succubus?  Could you have not just chosen the shady beholder demon instead?”

“I believe it was you who decided to pick Fay over the beholder.”

“Well I take my decision back!”

Fay licked her lips and waggled her eyebrows at Athela next, then pointed her staff towards the other demoness with a seductive hip-pop.  “Don’t be like that!  My darling Riven and I can always include you as well!  In fact, I’ve been thinking about that for quite a while now and I think it’d be best if I was positioned inbetween the two of you when we have our first.  I think you’d like it, I’m rather good with my tongue!”

The mental image flashed into Riven’s head unbidden as Athela simultaneously open-mouth gawked, and he combatted a nosebleed while shaking his head in disbelief and started off into the crowds towards the floating cube without another word.

Meanwhile a feminine screech that turned into a gurgling choke from behind told him Fay had been attacked by Athela again.  Most likely by asphyxiation by the sounds Fay was making.  “I’m going to fucking stab her, Riven!  I swear to all the hells, I’m about to fucking stab her!”

***

The King of Daskus - City of Canyons, was a large and darker-skinned man with a well-kept beard who sat shirtless on his diamond-studded throne in an empty audience hall, barren of everyone except for the collared and otherwise naked brunette slave woman next to him who held his tray stone-still.  Slaves were a bit rare in the city, but they were still legal as long as you had a license to own them or were of the nobility.  And the king was no exception to this rule.

Darius Stoneshield remained in his palace positioned atop the cliffs while quietly watching the hundreds of images flickering about him.  As the one who’d been gifted the cube in the first place, he was able to see the different instance events anywhere in their entirety - instead of the local populace, who only ever got to witness the end battles in the last room of the labyrinth.

Well, if people really wanted to they could always watch it from beginning to end if they stayed underneath the cube and accessed the viewing features that way.  Some people actually did this if they had loved ones inside, but most people didn’t have the time to spare - waiting weeks on end for people to finish if they ever did at all.  There’d even been a few groups trapped inside the shifting, ever-changing maze for months now - but out of all of them there was one particular instance event that was more eye-catching than all the others.

He took a sip of wine out of the chalice at his right hand side, placed it back on the tray the nearby slave was holding for him, and steepled his fingers while focusing back on the most interesting group of them all.

The creek of a wooden door on his left caused him to turn, and one of his advisors and a long-time personal friend dressed in gold-colored silk began walking across the room.  He was of similar age, in his late 40’s, sported a longer black beard, had good posture and a thinner build than Darius had - while he carried a slate, papers, and a pen.  “Good day, Darius!  Still watching I see?”

Darius casually nodded with a grunt of affirmation, then turned back to the central image that kept shifting between scenes ahead of him.  “You would be correct, old friend.  The groups we sent in have died again.”

The advisor frowned, glanced up at the main image, and sighed.  “Unfortunate, but to be expected.  They’re rather powerful, almost on your level.”

“Almost.” Darius repeated flatly.

“Not to be taken lightly.” The advisor stated with a sagely nod.  “Quite a game of cat and mouse they’re playing, utilizing the puzzle traps like that to try and corner one another and gain advantage.  And quite fascinating the skills they both possess, don’t you think?”

There was a lull in the conversation, and the advisor’s frown deepened as Darius didn’t reply.  “Do you intend to take the artifacts and enter the world quest yourself?  Doing so would mean you’d need to leave the city, no doubt about it.”

“And who else, if not me?” Darius asked, shifting his brown eyes back to his childhood friend.  “Even aside from the draw of power, which this quest no doubt would bring should I succeed, I cannot afford for them to fail.  Billions of lives are at stake here.  The future of our very world is at stake here.  Should I gain the power of one of the three apocalypse beasts, at the very least I will have a chance to defend my city from whatever other evils may lurk out there.  The system spoke of a lich to the north, snow giants to the south, invaders from beyond, and word has it that the mer-people and naga have begun to attack coastal cities all over the world by the millions.  Our allies of the Merivine have already lost two of their own cities, all of their residents being butchered down to the last child.  It appears that the world quest regarding the sea-dwellers is one of genocide, but specifics were hazy and reports differ between sources.  Of course… you already know most of this, don’t you?”

“Better than you, majesty.” The advisor replied with a soft laugh.  “Regardless, the troops you’ve asked me to hide around the plaza have been positioned.  Perhaps other groups of mercenaries or guilds will try their hand to take the heads of these Chalgathi’s Chosen, but despite the increase in pay there aren’t many people willing to take the bounty after so many have fallen.  It is likely that we’ll need to capture them with superior numbers after they actually leave the cube, rather than attempting to kill them inside with only 8 others being able to join their instance.”

Darius frowned, nodded, then got up to stretch.  “Perhaps, perhaps not.  I’m still hopeful that some of the braver fools out there will strike it lucky and manage to kill one or both of them.  I’ve put enough money on their heads to warrant at least the desperate to keep trying.

Glancing over at the stone-faced slave, Darius looked down her bare body and then back up to her glazed-over eyes.  Putting one hand on the back of her head, he abruptly yanked her backwards by her hair and threw her violently onto the throne as she yelped.  The chalice and pitcher of wine spilled onto the floor with a clattering sound, and Darius began to unbuckle his belt.  “Leave me Chagin, I want privacy as I relieve some stress.  Let me know if anything interesting happens with the cube.”

The advisor, Chagin, nodded and bowed before turning heel.  “Very well, have a good time!  I’ll send another one of your harem up here to replace her, assuming you break this one like you broke the last.  Try not to damage her too much though, the quality of slave you ask for is always hard to find and I’m tired of having to abduct locals with the excuse of treason against the crown when we run out of good foreigners.”

The only response Chagin got was a high pitched scream of horrified pain behind him, and he huffed to himself just once before exiting the audience hall and shutting the large wooden door behind him.