Ch. 28 – Dirge (IV) (Patreon)

The approach to the Dark Lord’s citadel was hazardous. The enormous stone bridge slowly rose until it towered a full hundred feet over the surrounding swamp. Large chunks were missing. “We’ll have to leave the horses,” Roy stated bluntly as he dismounted. Felix and Tinuriel followed suit, tying the horses off to a chunk of rock – loose enough that they could pull free and run if needed.

Facing the citadel, Felix felt a sense of unease wash over him. The enormous structure was imposing; a titanic creation forged from some ancient, powerful Magic. Traversing the gaps was easy – all three were quite capable physically, and progress was rapid. Felix activated Ghostwalk as they approached the gate.

The fortress was very in-tact, a fact which caught Felix off guard. “How’d they beat you?” he asked.

“I was fighting up North, where we came from on the other side of the Tier. I do not know why the allied forces that opposed me did not come for the citadel.” He looked back at the ruined bridge, littered with siege equipment. “Or perhaps they did, and it was simply too hard for them to take.”

Tinuriel looked back at the bridge, then up to the walls, and nodded, “Those forces did in fact siege.” She pointed to several hard-to-see divots that were taken out of the wall by some type of launched object. They were difficult to see due to years of grime, but the citadel suffered some form of assault.

The main gate was a traditional medieval setup – a portcullis that could be raised or lowered, an inner chamber that could be assaulted from above, and a large, metal set of doors on the other side of the chamber. Felix spotted some shadow moving up above, immediately used Detect Hostiles, using extra Anima to fuel the radius.

He saw four, enormous forms up above them on the wall – some prone, and one beginning to move around. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he informed his allies. “There’s giant things above us.”

Roy glanced up, “The goblins mentioned an Ogre King,” he replied at the same volume.

Tinuriel slowly unsheathed her weapon, prompting Roy to do the same. Felix pulled out his bow. “Can you convince them to re-accept you?” Tinuriel asked as she walked towards the portcullis.

“It hasn’t been working,” Roy muttered. He glanced between his two allies. “We can go in the sally-port. It’s around the side.” He gestured to a tiny walkway that could barely fit a single person, to the left of the main bridge.

“I’ve got a better idea,” Felix replied. “You two can do this whole sally port side entrance, and I can get inside through the main gate.”

Tinuriel frowned, “If you fly over, they’ll spot you.”

Felix smiled, “I won’t fly.” He looked to Roy, “In traditional medieval style, sally ports are locked from the inside, yes?” The Dark Lord nodded, “You’d have to make a lot of noise to break it down then.”

This gave Roy pause for a moment and he nodded, “Very well. We’ll continue to the other entrance. You do whatever it is you are going to do to unlock it for us.” He knelt and using the dust and dirt, traced out a small map of the main courtyard and the entrance Felix was looking for.

As Felix stood up, Tinuriel grabbed him and kissed him deeply. “Try not to die.”

“I promise,” Felix snuck back the way they had come and looked up to the top of the wall. “Shadestep.”

He teleported to the crenellation below the wall, gripping it with his hands and gently pulling himself up. He saw the gold-limned humanoids that were each the size of a telephone pole, laying prone on makeshift beds made from various debris and detritus. Their skin was thick and leathery, and they were wearing metal armor that had been cobbled together from existing sets. Pulling himself over, he saw his first view into the courtyard. What once may have been filled with expansive gardens and ornate fountains was instead desiccated and cracked. The fountains had long been smashed.

Thinking of getting some stealth kills?

They haven’t attacked me yet. I don’t feel comfortable preemptively striking things that haven’t shown hostility.

Fair point. Good thing you’re not losing your morals.

Felix got to the stairs and descended them, his Ghostwalk ensuring he would not wake the sleeping ogres. The tunnel Roy had shown on the map was easy enough to find, and he made his way to the sally port door. It was locked as he suspected – a pair of beams crossed over the top and bottom right where the hinges lined up. He gently lifted them off and set them down – having learned his lesson from earlier with his fight against the merfolk. He opened the door and his two allies came inside.

[Experience Awarded = 15]

“Four up top, I didn’t see anything else. They were all fast asleep.”

Tinuriel nodded and glanced at Roy, “Where to?”

“My throne is not assembled; it is split into three parts.” He knelt and glanced at the two, “Got anything to draw with?”

Lucifer? Mind buying some?

Am I just your glorified delivery service now? Lucifer chuckled. Joking. I have a whole VBV to run in your absence. And those goblins are very rambunctious. Oh, it’ll cost 1 VC.

A moment later, Felix was holding a composition book and a ballpoint pen. He handed both to Roy, who gave him a questioning look before Felix demonstrated how to write with it. Roy traced out a map of the citadel. He circled three locations, “My throne is the beacon of my power. Whoever is sitting on it has their power amplified greatly. Hence, why I split it into parts.” He pointed to the main throne room, “One piece I keep there. The base of it. Too heavy to move easily.” He pointed to a large tower – the highest point on the map. “This is my quarters. I kept the headpiece in there.” He then pointed to the lowest place on the map, “And this is in the vault, the middle section.”

Tinuriel frowned, “You want us to split up?”

Roy glanced between the two, “It would be faster, but that’s up to you two. Felix is stealthy, so it might make sense for him to go off on his own.”

Felix nodded, “I can do that. You two can keep each other safe, and we’ll meet in the throne room.”

Roy nodded, “Tinuriel and I will take the vault, then. I have to use my Magic to open it.”

“Which leaves me with your old quarters.” Felix looked down at the map and did his best to commit it to memory. Lucifer, how are you with memorizing stuff like this?

Already done.

Felix smiled, “Okay then. Let’s get to work.”

“Wait.” Roy looked at Felix with a stern expression, “The door to my chambers is a magical item. It will ask you a series of riddles you must solve. They are random and meant to test your intelligence.”

“Is there any way to bypass it?” Felix asked.

Roy shook his head, “None. Some nights I would sleep in the throne room or a guest suite because I couldn’t figure out the riddles. You get a reset once every day.”

“I think I’ll manage.”

The trio made their way to the courtyard and to the main inner doors. Felix saw the golden spindle on the edge of his vision that denoted a trap and paused the group. He was able to disable the pressure plate easily enough, and then slowly pushed the door open – just enough for them to squeeze through before gently shutting it behind them.

They were in a dark entry hall. Hallways forked off in either direction, a set of double doors stood in front of them, and two sets of stairs flanked the doors – one set going up, the other going down. Roy and Tinuriel went to the right set and began their descent, while Felix began to climb.

He went up to the first landing – the floor the throne room was also on – and saw a set of ornate, carved, wooden doors that depicted the Dark Lord’s journey. It mirrored what Roy had told them before. The handles were gone, and Felix peered through the hole, his sight sublimating to Lucifer’s red dark vision as he peered into the gloom.

There was a monolithic marble foundation to a throne upon a raised dais. A shoddy wooden seat had been ramshackle together atop it. Below it was a pair of beds that were thrown together to allow an even bigger ogre to sleep atop it. Felix used Shadestep to enter the room.

The figure did not stir, and he went to a shattered door behind the throne that would lead him up to the Dark Lord’s quarters. The first few feet of the stairs were scratched and broken up – as if someone tried to reach in but could not get any more into the small space. He jumped past the broken stairs and ascended, encountering several traps which he quickly disabled. Reaching the top he found a locked door. It was made of a silvery metal and a face appeared on it.

“In forests deep, where shadows play, / I dance and flicker, night and day. / I’m born of fire, yet fear its touch, / In darkness, I’m the light’s sweet clutch. / What am I?”

Felix put his hand to his chin. Forests deep and where shadows play, so darkness of some type. Dancing and flickering night and day could be fireflies. Born of fire makes sense with that as well because fire is in the name.

I love riddles. This could be a candle.

But then why talk about the forest? It has to be something in nature. Plus, a candle isn’t afraid because it's not living.

Do fireflies come out during the day?

I don’t know. Query the System?

Checking…some types are out during day and night.

But would this door know something like that? Probably not.

I mean…it’s a magic door. You have to leave behind some logic.

“Firefly,” Felix said with slight hesitation.

“Correct.” The face warped and became a different one. “A crown of silver, a blade of gold, / I’m wielded by the brave and bold. / In battle’s heat, I sing and gleam, / a warrior’s dream, a nightmare’s scream. / What am I?”

Oh, this one is tough.

Felix leaned against the wall behind him. Crown of silver and blade of gold means that it could be someone wearing a crown and wielding a sword. But the third line implies that it is used in battle, and no sane person would fight with a gold sword.

Again, MAGIC.

Right…Okay. Start over. It’s wielded, so it can’t be a person…are items that can talk to people a thing on Heficyre?

Querying System…Nope, no intelligent items.

Okay. ‘In battle’s heat I sing and gleam’ means it has to be something that sings when swung, like a sword. A warrior dreams of a good sword, and if you fight on a battlefield, you scream at the memory of it.

“It’s a sword,” Felix said confidently.

“Correct.” The face warped again and became a different one once more. This one was much longer. “In realms of old where magic thrives, / I hide beneath the moonlit skies. / A cloak of shadows, silent tread, / I dwell where mortal feet dare dread. / My form is fluid, ever-changing, / In darkness deep, forever ranging. / In dreams, I’m feared, a haunting sight, / Yet in the day, I vanish from sight. / What am I?”

“A nightmare.”

“Correct.” The door clicked and swung open.

How’d you get that last one so fast?

The second half was a dead giveaway. In dreams, I’m feared – that was the indicator.

[Experience Awarded = 10]

The chamber beyond the door was a large circle. A fancy, four-poster bed with a mirror above it was in the center of the room. Around the outside was an empty armor and weapon display, a wardrobe, a writing desk, and a small bookshelf. “Detect Object.”

The golden line shot out to the desk. Going over and inspecting under it, he found a hidden trapdoor in the ground. There was a trap which he disabled with ease before he pulled open the door. It led to a small ladder. Descending, he arrived in a chamber directly under the bedroom with no other entrance or exit. In front of him was a pair of chests. He opened the one with the line leading to it on the left, picking the lock and opening it to find an ornate, three-foot wide by two-foot tall, grey marble piece of rock that was polished and had two pegs sticking out of the bottom. Must be the headpiece. He put it into his inventory.

The other chest piqued his interest, and he picked the lock on that one as well, opening it to reveal a book and a dagger. The dagger was made of the same silvery metal as the door up above, and when he touched the hilt, it blazed with Netherlight and Hellfire, whilst dimly glowing gold. As he pulled his hand away, the mixed light faded. “Detect Properties.”

[Item Description: Channeling Dagger]

[This weapon can be affected by multiple weapon-enhancing Magic/Power effects at the same time.]

“That’s cool,” he muttered. He equipped it and put the old knife he first got on the Death World into his inventory. He opened the small book and immediately shut it once he realized it was a journal.

Not going to snoop through his thoughts?

Felix put that into his inventory. No. He’ll share what he wants to share. I trust him as an ally.

Lucifer seemingly smirked at him in his thoughts. Good. You’re making the same decisions I would.

“Are you testing me?” Felix whispered.

I’m always evaluating you. I’m a part of you now. If I see you start going down a bad path, I’m going to try and redirect you. I don’t want guilt by proxy.

Just watching out for yourself, eh?

Watching out for you. If you start doing messed up stuff, you may get in more trouble with the Administrator. There was a pause and a sigh. But, yes. I don’t want to be on his shit list if I can help it.

Felix put the journal into his inventory and crept back up the ladder, exiting and going down the stairs. He paused before entering the throne room – the creature inside was stirring. Staying put, he watched as the enormous ogre stood up with a large stretch and yawn before stepping down the dais and exiting the main doors.

As he flung the main doors open, Felix saw Roy step aside and dodge the swinging door. But Tinuriel was carrying an enormous chunk of stone, and she was flung away. Felix heard the sickening crunch as the stone she was carrying crushed into her.

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