The Lesser One Arc 2 Version 2 Chapter 13: Castle

 

Castle

I shudder. The feeling that I’m being watched has gotten stronger. It’s as if there is an assassin behind me, waiting to attack.

Sage? Is my hunch correct? Is there someone watching us?

Sage: Perhaps. I’m sensing several anomalies, but whoever is behind them is using cloaking technology.

Is it one of the darks?

It could be.

I stretch my hands behind my back. Tell me if you notice anything strange.

Understood.

I turn to Sebastian. He has a small pinhole camera and is taking pictures of the castle.

“I didn’t you know did photography.” I tilt my head. “I didn’t know dungeons allowed cameras.”

“This is a Daguerreotype.”

“A what now?”

Sage: The first form of photography, popular between eighteen-forty and eighteen-sixty.

Sebastian repeats the explanation. I hold out my hand. “Can I see it?”

“If you are careful. This is a very delicate system.” Sebastian hands me the device. It appears like something straight out of a steampunk story. “It’s so small, for an old camera.”

“It uses modern design techniques. The technology is old enough to be accepted by the dungeon, but the actual mechanisms are state of the art.” Sebastian appears proud of this fact.

I return the camera. Sebastian continues to take photos.

Tia appears a bit annoyed. I approach her as we walk towards the castle. “What’s up?”

“This place reminds me of home.”

I turn. “What’s your home like?” I know I saw a forest when I entered the portal realm during my trail by combat. But I never got a really good glimpse, and I’m not even sure if that was their home or just a temporary location.

Tia looks far off into the distance. “A beautiful paradise. A place full of life and laughter.”

“Why did you have to leave?”

“We were betrayed. An outsider came and promised us a new beginning. He traded some artifacts with us. Then there was a black stone that absorbed everyone in my city. The next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of a clearing in Wales.”

“So you don’t remember what it was like to be a portal monster?”

“Not at all.”

I turn to Sebastian. “Do you remember what it was like to be a porta monster?”

“I do not.” Sebastian snaps another photo. “My story is similar to Tia’s. A stranger came to the Layered Hells and tricked me and my brood. Then a black stone absorbed us all. It was an instantaneous transition.”

One of the adventurers seems to have been listening to the conversation. “Are these really portal beings?” He extends his hand. “My name is Jack. I’m a DPS mage with Dungeon Solutions UK.”

“Markus. Blue Dryads. Nice to meet you.”

“I’ve been hearing about you.” Jack looks between Tia and Sebastian. “Not only did you clear an A-class dungeon in New York, but you cleared an S-class dungeon in Wales as well.”

“Yeah. That’s pretty well known.”

Jack extended his hand. We shake. Jack turns to Sebastian. “You’re a devil, aren’t you?”

Sebastian tucks away his camera in his coat pocket. “Yes. I am.”

“And you were a portal being.”

“Yes.”

Jack seems impressed. “I didn’t even know that was possible. You’re friends with the Royal Gable too.”

I shrug. “I get around a lot.”

Jack sighs. “I just wish I was strong too. Then maybe Yevann didn’t have to bite it.”

“Did Yevann die today?”

Jack shakes his head. “No, she bit it two dungeons ago.” Jack motions to the rest of the adventurers. “I knew some of the casualties this time around, but not closely.”

We close in on the castle. Richard takes out a small divining rod. The rod swirls around, pointing up at the top of the castle.

“The readings say there’s a powerful magical artifact at the top of this sub dungeon.” Richard puts away the rod. “We need a group of ten adventurers to clear it.”

After some time, ten adventurers volunteer. They gear up and enter the sub dungeon.

I sit down on the soft grass. Tia sits down next to me. She starts picking at the blades.

“You seem down right now.”

“I’m just missing home.” Tia looks up. “I don’t even know if the planet I lived on is still intact.”

“Right.” I stretch my arms. “I want to know what the mystery is. Why all this is happening.”

Mandrake sits down across from Tia. “The mystery has an answer. But I believe you already know why I can’t tell you.”

I lean back. The sky is bright blue, almost perfect in its mimicry of an actual sky. When you stare at it hard enough, however, it starts to reveal its true nature as a fake. Like those painted-on walkways in Las Vegas. There is no distinct point of light illuminating the ground. Just a diffuse glow coming from above.

Sebastian kneels and takes a picture of the castle. He looks at me. “I want to get a closer look at this.” He stands up. “I want you to come with me.”

I approach Carl. “My friend wants to take some photos of the castle.”

Carl seems to think for a minute. “I’ll approve it.”

I turn to Sebastian and give him a thumbs-up. Tia gets up as well. She, Sebastian, and I approach the castle.

Sebastian kneels about a foot from the base of the wall. He takes a picture. The flash bulb crackles, illuminating the pockmarked wall. He turns to camera to look at it. “Thanks.”

The three of us return to where the adventuring party is situated. The mood is subdued. There’s really no reason to chat. Everybody is on edge, just waiting for another attack to arrive. Several sentries stand in guard locations around the group.

Carl blows a whistle. “It’s meal time.”

Several of the apprentices rummage through bags and pull out a number of MREs—standing for “Meal Ready to Eat.” They were originally created to feed soldiers in the field. If that’s not who we are, than I don’t know what is.

I get my MRE. It’s a British military issue, which makes sense. I slice it open with my hand sword. The main is pasta. Each MRE comes with a self-heating element. I add some water and let the main stew while I chow down on a granola bar. For flavor I conjure a bottle of Sriracha. Having the ability to create anything out of nothing really does come in handy sometimes.

I ask the Sage a question. Sage. Does my ability obey the law of conservation of matter?

Sage: It does. The explanation is long and technical. Do you wish me to explain anyways?

Go for it.

Very well then. The world is in the midst of a substance your scientists call “Dark Energy” and “Dark Matter.” These two substrates flow through the universe at a fairly constant rate. However, some ancient beings understood how to harness this energy and matter using the singularity known as consciousness. Each individual with a spirit has access to the Dark Flow. An unimaginable amount of energy and matter is contained within it. Most of it is compressed to the level of a neutron star. Thus, when you conjure something using your anima, you re not creating energy or matter. You are simply drawing from the Dark Flow.

I get it.

Good.

I turn to Sebastian. “Did you get the photos you wanted?”

“I won’t know until I develop them.” Sebastian is holding his camera and examining it.

My main is finished heating. I open it up—it’s actually pretty good. The MRE comes with a plastic spoon. I squirt some Sriracha onto the pasta and start digging in.

Several other adventurers notice that I have Sriracha. They approach me and circle around me. “Where did you get that? Can I have some?”

“One at a time.” Jack winks at me. “Everyone get in line.” Jack manhandles the excited adventurers into something resembling a line.

“Fifty pence a squirt.” Jack elbows me.

I do my best to go along. “Um, yeah. Fifty pence.”

“I’ll buy the whole bottle for ten quid!”

“Twenty quid!”

Jack whispers to me. “Ten percent cut. You can make more, right?”

I conjure two more bottles. “Twenty-five quid!”

We sell six bottles for a total of over a hundred pounds. Jack counts the money with a grin on his face. He hands me ninety pounds and keeps his cut. He winks at me. “Let’s do that again, eh?”

I realize that moment that I’ve been a little to liberal with my conjuring. I’m supposed to only be able to conjure iron, water, wood, copper, and grass. Plus steel.

Well, it’s no like anyone really noticed. And besides, isn’t Sriracha just water with “grass” inside of it?

Sage: Chili isn’t a grass.

Shut it.

Jack grins at me. “You really can do a lot with that spirit of yours.”

“Right. Sriracha is just a mixture of water and a kind of grass.”

“I get it, yeah.” Jack tilts his head. “How much can you create?”

“Calories in, calories out.” This is a blatant lie, but what can I do?

Jack chuckles. “All right. I have a request. Jamaican Jerk.”

“Sure.” I conjure a bottle and hand it to him.

Guess I’ll have to add plastic to my list of approved items to conjure. I hope Dr. Barrimore doesn’t mind.

He might. Sage sounds annoyed. You really need to be careful about using your power willy-nilly.

I grimace. Thanks for the warning. I finish my pasta main dish. There are some cookies in the MRE as well—they’re pretty good, actually. I finish the meal and stand up. “Jack, where do adventurers usually throw away their trash?”

“We follow the rule of the wilderness. Whatever you bring in, you bring out.” He finishes his food and crunches the packaging into a ball. “Some of the apprentices will do the carrying.”

A bell chimes. Nine adventurers come out of the castle, carrying the tenth, who is obviously dead. They approach Carl and Richard.

I don’t hear what they’re talking about, but I can tell that something incredibly valuable was found in the sub dungeon.

Carl addresses the whole group. “We’re moving in half an hour. Finish your meals and give the trash to the apprentices. Be careful. This is a B-class dungeon. Stay alert.”

I sit back down on the grass. “So, Tia. Do you have any family?”

Tia frowns. “Yes. I do.”

“Are they among the portal beings who are loyal to me?”

“Yes.” Tia seems like she really doesn’t want to talk about it.

“Okay, I’ll stop bothering you.”

Tia turns away. She hasn’t touched her food.

“Are you not going to eat?”

“My species can go for a long period of time without sustenance.”

“Okay. If that’s what you want, then I won’t bother you about it any longer.” I turn to the castle and stare at it for a few minutes.

Mandrake comes up to me and taps me on the shoulder. “We’ve got someone stalking us.”

“Is it who I think it is?” I avoid looking behind myself.

“Probably. The entire adventuring group here isn’t enough to take down a Dark. Plus, he’s got a number of minions with him.”

I motion to Tia and Sebastian, and fill them in. We look at each other and nod.

“Mandrake. They respect you. Figure out a way to tell them we’re in danger without revealing too much.”

“You’re starting to sound like an experienced adventurer. That’s exactly what I’ll do.”

We break out of our huddle. “This might be getting dangerous.” I crack my knuckles.

 

14

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