Spiteful Healer

Chapter 166: Kagil'aktos

“I’m a friend of Iuonok. He sent us here, from Belmiure.” Aegis explained. He remained still, with his hands up, but as silence followed his words he found himself staring at the NPCs with their weapons pointed at him, wondering if raised hands was a universal gesture that carried over into this game world.

“Iuonok is tasked with smuggling the unfortunate ones out of the city, not in.” Kagil’aktos shook his head. “Why would Iuonok send you here?”

“We asked him to help us get into the city. We’ve got a quest here, and we need your help.” Aegis replied, but as he had, Kagil’aktos let out an elongated sigh.

“Otherworlder. Troublemaker.” He grumbled to himself. “Lower your hood, show me what you truly are.” He commanded Aegis. Aegis hesitated. Looking around he saw himself surrounded by only Dark Elves, but after consideration he figured he didn’t have much choice. With a shrug he slowly pulled back the hood of the seeker cloak, revealing his human appearance. Upon seeing his appearance, Aegis watched as Kagil’aktos shifted his eyes upwards towards the ceiling as if thinking of something, lightly bobbing his head and murmuring to himself until eventually looking back at Aegis.

“Lower your weapons. He’s no threat to us, no guard would listen to a word he says even if he’s got ill-intentions.” Kagil’aktos instructed the others, and just as they all began to lower their weapons, the door behind Aegis swung open. Standing in the doorway was Lina, Pyri and Rakkan, all with their cloak hoods up. Their appearance immediately caused the weapons of the patrons to come back up.

“Relax, they’re with me.” Aegis waved his hands in a disarming motion to the crowd of angry Dark Elves, but it didn’t do much in the way of lessening the tension. “Guys, lower your hoods so they know we’re not a threat.” Aegis turned to his allies.

“You sure?” Rakkan hesitated.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Aegis insisted. Slowly, Pyri, Lina and Rakkan all lowered their hoods to reveal their true appearances. Pyri got a few nasty looks of disgust when it was revealed she was an Elf, but apart from that, it seemed to work.

“Do as I said. Lower your weapons.” Kagil’aktos repeated to everyone on the tavern floor. “You four, you will come with me, where we can talk in private.” He motioned to Aegis and his companions to follow him before turning to enter through a door behind the bar.

Aegis moved forward slowly and cautiously across the large room, maneuvering around tables, knocked over chairs and spilled drinks. Despite Kagil’aktos’ orders, many of the patrons were slow to respond and kept their weapons readied and pointed at Aegis and his companions. Particularly the elite NPCs, showing continued hostility towards Pyri.

Nonetheless, they managed to get through the tavern without incident and reached the backroom door that Kagil’aktos had gone through. Stepping inside they found themselves in a small back office, with a simple dark gray desk and a lantern bolted onto the back wall that was currently unlit - it was somewhat redundant as the walls of the office were carved into the White Tree. The inner wood of the tree did not shine as brightly as the exterior, but gave off a dull glow that provided enough light to allow them to see.

There was a chair behind the desk, and several more spread out along the wall that flanked the door. In addition, multiple bookshelves lining the sidewalls. Most interestingly, though, were the engravings carved into the wooden ceiling of the room, which drew Rakkan’s attention immediately.

Rakkan quickly nudged Aegis to get his attention, then motioned up to the ceiling to make sure Aegis saw the markings as well. It worked, Aegis looked up and recognized them. The symbols were identical to the symbols on the book, and in the tower they’d visited in Belmiure. Aegis gave a knowing nod to Rakkan to let him know he saw it just as Kagil’aktos had settled into the chair behind the desk and turned back around to face them.

“So. What is your quest, and why do you need my help?” He asked as he rested his elbows on his desk, clenched his hands together into a ball and used them to prop up his chin.

“Luryala sent us. She wants us to help free her people from your brother. Iuonok said you would be a more suitable leader for the Dark Elves. If we remove him from power, we need you to take his place.” Aegis explained.

“Hah…” He paused as he leaned back. “Luryala, you say?” He smirked. “She survived, and she reached you adventurers? She left quite some time ago.” He grinned. Something about his reaction felt off to Aegis and he found himself squinting curiously.

“Yeah…” Aegis replied hesitantly. In the following pause he decided to chalk it up to just odd NPC behavior. “You know who Luryala is?” Aegis asked.

“Yes. She is one of those who came to the Seekers for help after this city let her and her tribe members down. We helped her and several others escape, but life outside the city is cruel. With determination they sought out a better life, despite my warnings on the dangers of both the underrealm and the surface for a Dark Elf. I’m amazed to hear that she and her people made it.”

“Not her people, just her.” Aegis clarified.

“Ah, I see.” He nodded, closing his eyes and lowering his head for a moment. “Still, to come here and suddenly announce you’ll be killing my brother and wish me to take his place, that’s very ambitious.” He began tapping his fingers on his desk as he eyed Aegis and his companions carefully.

“We didn’t say kill him.” Rakkan interjected.

“You think he’ll just willingly step aside if you ask him nicely?” Kagil’aktos raised an eyebrow at him. “Not likely. No, it’s unlikely that as you are, you’d even manage to get inside his palace. You aren’t the first people to come, wanting to remove him from power. Half the Dark Elves in this city want him gone, but he is under heavy protection. His guard captain is armed with rare and powerful weapons, just as he is. Mithral. Have you heard of it?”

“We’ve heard of it.” Aegis nodded back.

“So, then you should understand just how hopeless of a task it would be. Even if you managed to get past the dozens of Royal Guards.” Kagil’aktos shook his head.

“Isn’t there any way you could arrange for us to meet with him? You’re his brother, aren’t you?” Pyri suggested.

“No. He tried to kill me, and thinks he succeeded. I’d prefer to keep it that way.” He replied.

“What about us? Is there any reason he’d want to meet with otherworlders?” Aegis suggested.

“Hm.” He squinted at Aegis curiously. “The only thing he’s interested in is power. If you had some way to expand his power, he’d want to have it.”

“What about an alliance with my city? I’m the lord of a land called Rene, on the surface. I could offer him a safe bastion for his people on the surface.” Aegis suggested.

“Really…” Kagil’aktos stared skeptically, turning his head slightly to the side. “You’d be willing to host Dark Elves on your land?”

“Luryala is already a resident.”

“Where is this land?”

“Built on the old Darxon hideout.”

“I see.” Kagil’aktos nodded as Aegis eyed him carefully. “It’s possible that such an offer could pique his interest, but that would only get us in the door. We’d need to take more steps to handle my brother, and guarantee that the people of this city would accept me as their leader after the fact, before his Guard Captain and the guards crush us… Okay.” Kagil’aktos smiled. “Fortune is smiling on me today, for Luryala has delivered the Seekers a very powerful gift. The gift of potential freedom for our people.” He leaned back in his chair.

“So, you’ll help us out and take your brother's place?” Aegis confirmed.

“Yes. It won’t be easy, but if you complete a few tasks in preparation, it will be possible…” He began tapping his finger on the desk again. “The only way we’ll be able to convince the people to follow me in place of my brother is by having Mayiera by my side. She is a Seeker that is loved by the lower class of this city. She was imprisoned for life for standing up to the Tyrant, to be made an example of, and is held at the depths of the cities' prison. If we can free her and convince her to join our cause, the rest of the city will easily follow. Then, we’ll need a method to remove the Warlord from power. Once we have those two things, we can try to arrange the meeting. I will grant you two quests. They will not be easy, but they are prerequisites for our plan to go off without a hitch.” He explained, followed by a wave of his hand. After he had, Aegis and his party were all hit with two quest prompts.

Quest[2/5]: Break into the Prison in The City of the White Tree, and release the prisoner Mayiera from her cell. Escort her safely back to the Seekers hideout in the Pale Watch tavern.

Objective: 0/1 Mayiera Rescued

Quest Giver: Kagil’aktos, The City of the White Tree

Reward: Unknown

Difficulty:Extreme(III)

Restrictions: Mayeria must survive.

Quest[3/5]: Deliver a Seekers shipment to the Quandros Apothecary and retrieve the shipments of goods in exchange. Return the shipment of goods to the Seekers hideout in the Pale Watch tavern.

Objective: 0/1 Shipment Retrieved

Quest Giver: Kagil’aktos, The City of the White Tree

Reward: Unknown

Difficulty:Extreme(III)

Restrictions: The goods must not be confiscated by the White City Guards.

“Yo, how’s it going? I just got two quest popups.” Darkshot said excitedly through the party interface communications.

“It’s going smoothly.” Aegis replied as he accepted the two quests, looking nervously at his party members who looked back at him equally anxious after reading the quests.

“Perfect. As I understand, otherworlders can comprehend what quests require them to do without very detailed explanations…” Kagil’aktos said while opening a drawer on his desk. From within, he pulled out a sealed small wooden box and plopped it on top of the desk before sliding it forward toward Aegis.

“This is the shipment you need to deliver to the Quandros Apothecary in order to get what we require for my plan. You will find the Quandros Apothecary on the upper branches, just below the Royal Ring.” Kagil’aktos explained while watching Aegis pick up the box. It was plain, but had an option identical to the Shiva Text - Aegis wasn’t allowed to add it to his inventory.

“As for the Prison, it is directly below the tree on the ground level. It is under heavy watch, both guards and magical defenses. The warden is a skilled Shadow Dancer, she is not easy to evade.” Kagil’aktos leaned back in his chair once more. “I hope you understand, both of these tasks are extremely dangerous, and borderline impossible. This is simply the only way that our plan will work. Removing the Warlord will not be easy.”

“I understand. We’ll figure out a way to complete these tasks and return Mayeria and the shipment to you.” Aegis replied. “Let’s go.” Aegis motioned his party out of the room and back out onto the tavern floor.

The tavern had settled down in the time that they’d been speaking in the backroom. The patrons were seated once more and several barmaids were mopping up the spilled drinks. This time, on entry, there wasn’t a huge commotion from the patrons, but they threw them nasty stares.

“Let’s get back to Darkshot and come up with a plan. It’s not safe to talk here.” Aegis said through the party interface to his companions. He got nods of confirmation in return before the group of four all threw up their hoods and made their way back to the spiral staircase, while Aegis took the time to tuck the small box under his leather chest armor to conceal it.

It took some time for the four of them to navigate their way back down off of the branches and towards the house that Darkshot and Snowflake were in, given the similarities between all of the houses on the lower sections of the city. But with Darkshot offering to stand in front of the door and wave them down, they eventually found it and headed inside.

“No one has come to this house yet?” Aegis asked him as everyone sat around the table that was positioned above the trapdoor.

“Nope, not a single person.” Darkshot shrugged.

“Okay.” Aegis took a deep breath.

“Aegis, breaking into a prison in this game is serious. It’ll put a huge bounty on us if we’re caught. Our characters will be locked up for at least a week.” Lina explained.

“That guy didn’t have any qualms about us wanting to kill his brother.” Rakkan commented while staring at Aegis carefully. “And, I don’t understand why that symbol was in his office.”

“Are we sure this is the only way to do this quest?” Pyri added.

“I’m not. In fact, these quests are completely unrelated to the one that Luryala gave me. In addition, I need The Warlord alive. But based on these two quests, it seems like he plans to use Mayiera to get the people on his side after we retrieve this poison for him from the Apothecary. He wants to poison the Warlord.” Aegis explained. “There’s more, though. Luryala… and the Darxon Hideout. I said Rene was built on the Darxon hideout, and he knew where that was without further explanation. But that also meant he knowingly sent Luryala and her people towards that Darxon Hideout - until we cleared it, there was no other way out of the underrealm in that area. Not at least according to the Plashrim map.” Aegis pondered.

“What does that mean?” Darkshot asked curiously.

“I don’t know.” Aegis pondered as silence fell over the group, each of them deep in thought. “Has anyone done a quest in any game like this before?” Aegis asked the group.

“Sort of. Not in such an open ended game like this one though. Anything could happen.” Lina shrugged.

“Yeah. There's some prison break and overthrowing monarchy quests in a few games. But this game offers complete freedom. We should be careful how we go about this.” Pyri added.

“Alright.” Aegis took a deep breath. “Our ultimate goal is to get an audience with the Warlord. We need to talk with him before things get hostile. If we do these quests, we’ll get a meeting with him. From there, we’ll have to play it safe, and hopefully get a feeling for what's really going on here. From what I’ve seen of this city, it doesn't match the picture that Luryala or the Seekers are painting. It feels like we're missing something.” Aegis explained.

“Breaking into a prison with a Shadow Dancer warden. That sounds like a task made for you two.” Aegis motioned to Pyri and Lina. “Use invisibility and the shadows to infiltrate the prison, find Mayiera, and get her out. Be careful, learn as much as you can about the place, and take your time.”

“Okay…” Lina replied as she and Pyri exchanged hesitant looks.

“Darkshot, you fit in the best with the Dark Elves because of your appearance and your skill with a bow. I want you to explore the city and try to understand the culture here. Find out just how oppressed these people are and what sort of social system is in place. Something has felt off since the moment we stepped into this city.” Aegis turned to him and he nodded.

“Rakkan, you’re on decryption duty. Those runes keep showing up. I was okay with them being in Belmiure, but the fact that they’re in this city as well means they’re probably significant in some way. I want you to stay here with Snowflake and work on decoding them using that book we got.”

“I’m on it.” Rakkan nodded with determination.

“I’ll handle this shipment delivery quest. I want to check out that Apothecary and see what it is that Kagil’aktos is having us retrieve for him. If it is a poison, like I’m guessing, then it might be possible I can develop an antidote for it ahead of time just in case, without Kagil’aktos knowing.” Aegis continued.

“Makes sense.” Darkshot nodded.

“Good. Everyone be sure to memorize this location, we’ll use this as our base of operation so long as it remains private as it has been so far. Keep the party communications open at all times. And most importantly, keep your hoods up and be careful.” Aegis finished.

“We’ll be extra sneaky.” Pyri winked at Lina and smiled at Aegis, a hint of excitement in her voice now.

“I’ll make sure to blend in. I’m good at blending in.” Darkshot brimmed with confidence.

“Imma figure out this dialect so we know exactly what those runes are, and what the book says. Don’t worry.” Rakkan replied.

“Perfect.” Aegis took a look over his party members staring back at him. Every one of them inspired confidence, and he felt himself getting excited about the tasks at hand. “These quests’ll be interesting. They’re marked as Extreme three. So,” he smiled, “I’m glad you guys are my party members.”

“Aw, c’mon, don’t get all mushy. It’ll ruin my style.” Darkshot shook his head while Lina blushed and Rakkan and Pyri grinned ear to ear.

“Right. Sorry. C’mon, let’s go save a city.” Aegis replied.