As he entered through the door, the sight of the creature was made clearer in his mind. He had seen it in the flash of light, and this time he had time to process it. It looked human, but distorted. It was hunched over and had a long snout. Hairless, though hair seemed to belong on its body. From its back protruded two limbs that looked like arms, bent several places with joints. It had sprouted black smoke which made them look like vast wings. It was a terrifying beast; wile and tortured; enraged at its existence. He had never known that a beast like that could belong to this world. The sounds from outside suddenly subsided for a moment, until a wild hammering and scratching at the door shook the bones of Pi’ve. The door rattled, and screams and snarls of the terrible creature made him almost certain it would sever the barrier between them. Until it stopped.
When he had waited a while to be sure it was over, Pi’ve finally turned around and saw the room he had entered into. He lit his staff once again, this time keeping it dim to conserve mana. It was a chamber, but for what it was, he felt it was quite small. Not fit for any King. There were shields on the walls and swords in a cross behind them. There were four shields, two swords behind each one, and beneath them sat an equal amount of thrones made of stone. Four knights sat keeping a vigilant watch in their upright positions. They must have sat here for a millennium judging by the dust and wear, not to mention the unique adornment still visible and the rust on their armour. But the armour should have wholly rusted away, surely? They sat there, old and proud, as relics of the past. They had the crest of a king on their chest plate— wait, it could not be… He must be mistaken, surely.
Pi’ve adjusted the mana valve in his mind, increasing the light from his staff. He saw in the middle of the room a huge marble tomb built into the ground seamlessly, as if it was carved out in the creation of the room itself. It was shut. There was no crease or gap in the stone that indicated that the tomb had ever been opened. Pi’ve tried to inspect it. He got no information. On the middle of the tomb sat the same insignia which have been quite numerous throughout the cave.
—Pi’ve suddenly recognised the insignia. It was the family crest of the long-lost king of Thergiam. It was well known that he had vanished over a thousand years ago, and that because of his vanishing, another line of kings had risen to power. Many folktales and stories had come from this upsetting, consequential disappearance. It was the consensus of the people that if the forgotten king was brought back, then the rightful heir would be found and crowned king again.
The current royal family were greedy, cared only for lavish parties and the status and power that came with being the rulers. But Pi’ve could not concede to the fact that this was the forgotten king— How had he disappeared so thoroughly?
Pi’ve placed a hand on the tomb, and traced his palm across it as he strode around it. Dust covered his hand as he walked to the other side, where he saw a small chest on the floor. More loot! He bent down, and opened the chest.
Inside, there was a scroll. It had a red band keeping it rolled up. Beside it lay a pin. On it, there was the same circle in the middle, the one with the vines and the thorns. In the middle of the circle, there was a green gemstone. It was translucent and had a rich green colour. Much richer than the green gemstone on Pi’ve’s staff. He took the pin and placed it in his inventory for safekeeping. Then he opened the scroll, and it read:
Herein lies the words of a dying king in exile. These words were ordered by the King Oarios III to be written by the Third High Knight Bakar, as the King lies in his last, weakened state, prior to the setting of his tomb.
At the bottom of this page lies my signature, which will serve as proof that this is my true body and statement, and that I were driven out of my own halls by the enemy of the people of Thergiam, the throne usurpers, by now I am confident you know of whom I speak, if they have not succumbed to their foolhardiness.
As a second proof of the credibility of these words, which may be validated deftly:
In Vesen City, in my honoured Brother’s keep of old, there is a stable for the horse beasts. Therein you shall find, under the ground covered in three feet of rock, a chest with my personal glove, with my heirloom scorched in it, which I covertly placed there when I were a mere prince.
I wish— as do my dearest family and descendants— that my body is recovered to its righteous place, be that in Vesen City where I was born, or to be buried under the throne of the great halls of Thergiam beside my uncle. If you find this letter, do know that if this wish is granted, then you will be forever in the grace of the noble house of Oarios. Keep the pin as a token of my promise, my most beloved possession given to me by my late daughter and Princess Aline.
— Baroun Oarios III
Pi’ve’s mouth was open in astonishment. The name of Oarios was revered as the greatest line of kings since the broken line of the Royal Family of Aronnar two thousand years ago. He had in front of him the most beloved king in millennia. He was left paralysed by the idea that he, Pi’ve, held the fate of Thergiam future, but also history, in his hands. His discovery could topple the current monarch and his family, reinstating the Oarios as rulers once more!
Will you accept the quest to bring the Forgotten King Oarios back to Thergiam, or Vesen City? Accepting this quest may bring adverse effects to the stability of the social and political climate of Thergiam, and your path as a wizard. [Yes] or [No]. Note that if you decide to decline, you must still bring the King back to the entrance of the cave, as that is the minimal requirement of the tutorial quest to be completed. Additional rewards will be forfeited.
Pi’ve had thought of the collateral effects of bringing the king back. He was aware that others thought the same as he about the current king and his governing. How narcissistic and horrible he was! Pi’ve wondered if it was accepted for wizards to interfere in the societal affairs of the common people to this degree. Surely they did. The smartest people in the world were wizards. They had to be in the council of the government.
From his years in Thergiam, The City of Wizards, Pi’ve have gathered that wizards live separate from the common people, which made sense as he found it rather difficult to locate them. He had read a book on this. It said that they have their own society which they live within. There were many institutions which resided within the societal structure of the wizards. What they were, it did not say, for it was not a wizard who had written the book. They live within the confines and boundaries of the cities and towns of man, but if they were a part of it other than being the protectors of the humans in that city or town, he did not know.
Pi’ve was on his way to become a wizard now, and would soon integrate into their society. Then he would learn what was the right choice, but for now, he had to trust himself. He was merely bringing a dead body back, one that, by its name, has been lost, and someone lost is meant to be found.
He took the pin out of his inventory, and inspected it.
[Pin of King Oarios III (Superior)] - Bestowed upon the saviour of his long forgotten body, this pin grants the wearer +12 wisdom, +10 willpower and +8 strength. In addition, the pin holds a single-use spell in its gem:
[Manifest the Obscured (Superior)] - You may find that some things are hidden from you as if by a veil, covering the truth of that which surrounds you. Use this spell to uncloak the invisible or hidden, returning them for the eyes to see. The spell works on any concealment spell, regardless of its efficacy. This is a single use spell.
The item [Pin of King Oarios III (Superior)] will not be usable before completion of the quest. Title is granted upon completion of the quest. Pin must be worn for effects to apply.
This was an amazing item. So many stat points, especially now in this stage as an early wizard. In addition, it had a single-use spell which did magic he had no idea existed or was even possible. It sounded extremely potent. It also made him aware that concealment spells was a thing. He had to keep that in the back of his mind for the future. What sealed it for him was that last sentence. Pi’ve had only one title from before, and that had given him +3 points to all his stats; there could be great things given by titles, it seemed. He could not forfeit these rewards.
Pi’ve decided what he was going to do. This was done on the request of a long dead man, not because of the current political rule in Thergiam, though Pi’ve was certainly tainted by his views. He did it predominantly because it was the right thing to do— returning the body of a dead relative to his family— but also because the rewards were too good to pass on. Even if the return of the king made Thergiam unstable for a while, or Vesen for that matter, as mentioned in the letter by the King, it was not up to him to not honour the request of a deceased man. He was just reinstating him to his righteous place.
Having justified his decision, Pi’ve folded up the sleeves of his cloak. He had formulated a plan. He could not carry the king, for even in the king’s undoubtedly dehydrated, light state, Pi’ve would become too tired by the weight. Right as he had seen the shields, he knew that he could put them together to form some sort of sleigh, or carrier to place him on. Two shields should be enough. He would have to cut some of his rope to connect them, but he could live with that.
He went over to the knights and took down the two closest shields. They were the size of a round bar table seating three people, he mused. With his knife he cut the rope he had taken out of his inventory, then he tied the two shields together so they would stay together with the king laying upon them. The rest of the rope he tied to the handle of one of the shields so he could drag the king with him. He thought that it looked rather uncomfortable to lay upon, and was glad that the king would not feel any of it.
He took down the rest of the shields, and then swords and placed them in his inventory. They were heavy in their own right, and he was surprised that they carried no weight once inside his inventory. He then took the armour off the knights, and felt a bit bad about that, but at a second thought, he would also give that back to the kingdom. It was not his to keep, but artefacts of the history of Thergiam.
Now that he had finished his affairs inside the tomb, he brought up the prompt to accept the quest of bringing the king back, and he selected yes.
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Air seeped out of the sarcophagus, spraying dust like ash from the sides, and he heard a deep crack throughout the massive stone. Then he saw the lid open slowly, and slide away. Sliding long side first, it tipped over the edge and dropped to the floor, the impact shooting even more dust into the air. Pi’ve jumped out of the way, almost getting his feet crushed by the huge stone slab.
When the dust had settled somewhat, Pi’ve peered down into the stone sarcophagus. He feared the smell and sight he was about to experience, but his nose was pleasantly surprised, and his eyes met no harsh fate either. For what he saw was a man, or rather a skeleton, with the most elegant garment he had ever seen. Blue and gold with intricate designs, and leather boots still shining like they had been polished mere minutes before the tomb was opened. A crown was laden above his head. He took the crown, and looked at it for a brief second, before he stored it in his inventory. He did not know what he had expected, but it was not this. There was no sign of decomposing, or rot. His flesh and blood seemed to have vanished by magic. Or did a millennium do this to a body naturally?
Suddenly, Pi’ve felt like he was on an urgent timer. From what he could gather, he was not, but there seemed to be some kind of urgency springing to life inside of him; he had to get out. And so, Pi’ve wasted no time with grabbing hold of the man in the sarcophagus, and hoisting him up. His bones stayed together throughout the whole lift, surprising him. Pi’ve had never lifted a skeleton before, and did not know if this was typical. There was no time for these thoughts.
The man was slightly heavier than he had anticipated, but nothing he could not muster. He placed the king on the mock sleigh he had made of shields, with the rope fastened on the handle of the foremost shield. He tried dragging it, and to his surprise, it worked quite well. It was not too burdensome. The metal lumps on the back of the shields seemed to make it glide effectively on the stone floor.
There was only one thing to do now. Get the king out of this cave. Pi’ve looked around for an alternative door to go through, but there were none beside the one he had entered through. He had to settle for that door, unfortunately.
Pi’ve dragged the King over to the door, and placed his ear against it. He listened for the beast who had previously been right outside. He heard nothing, so he opened it slightly. Seeing nothing, hearing nothing, he lit his staff. The whole corridor looked abandoned. He knew the beast was out there somewhere, and that he had to confront it before the end, but for now, he had to get moving, despite this certainty. He was scared, but ready.
He pushed the door wide open and began moving. He was dragging the shields carrying the king through the cave at a slow but steady pace, and after only a few minutes, he arrived at the crossroad where he had made a choice of either left or right. He had done some great last-minute light magic here. He remembered taking a right then, so he took a left now. Then, not far after, he met the wall that had slid down and shut the way, there he took a right. For a while he walked a straight line, before the cave made him take a couple of turns again. He had ran this distance previously, with the eminent threat of an unknown beast behind him. This time, he knew that it would be before him, and that somewhere along this cave, it would appear.
He came to the room with the stalactites again, and knew then that the next obstacle was the stairs. He cut some of the rope again to fasten the king to the shields better. The stairs would prove too steep for the king to stay put, and would cause a problem if he did not prepare here, were he knew it was still somewhat safe.
The stairs eventually came, and as he had picked the left one on the other way around, he took the right. Hoping against hope that there had not been any sudden changes regarding the traps. He could hear a shriek from further within the cave. Pi’ve stopped immediately, his heart skipping a beat. It sounded so near. What could he even do if the beast was on top of the stairs? He had one spell he had already tried. It had worked, but he had hid behind a door that time. He did not think he would be so lucky this time. He looked down at his belt, where his knife hung. It seemed useless, and too little, but even so, he had to bet his life on the knife. It was the only way. He had no spells to fend against a creature like that.
Scared for his life, he walked slowly and silently up the stairs to see if he could see where it was, but atop the stair and along the cave were another set with turns which obscured his vision. He went down again, and began to drag the king up. He cringed every time the shields made a sound as they clunked up the steps.
It was bumpy. It was much harder than dragging the king along the flat surface of the floor. After several, exhaustive minutes, he had the king at the top of the stairs. He checked his status while regaining his breath, and saw that he had reached 77 health points. That confirmed that the health potion did not continue regenerating until it was full, but after some time stopped giving him a replenishing boost.
His mana was at 39 out of 160. Low... He had noticed the mana expenditure on the previous light spell. It was a lot. He hoped he did not have to do much more magic, or else that could prove to be his demise. What a wizard he would be then!
He was beginning to become tired, and that was reflected in his status. He had 33 stamina points left, out of 80. Well, the glass is almost half-full, he thought.
He took a deep breath, grabbed the rope and began to drag the king along the cave again. After the next turns, he saw what he had secretly been dreading all the way here.
On the other side of the hole where he had been trapped in the cage, it stood. The beast which had haunted him throughout this cave. He dropped the rope, for he knew that he had to confront it willingly. It was blocking the only way out. He walked towards the beast with shaking feet, his shoulder tense. Suddenly, his plan of using the knife did not seem too solid. The beast was larger than him, presumably stronger than him, and even if he managed to stab it, one swipe with its claws could utterly destroy him.
As Pi’ve reached thirty feet or so from the beast, it seemed to awaken. Its yellow eyes lit up, and like a nightmare, its arms and black, smokey wings sprang forth. It leaped over the nine feet wide hole with a single flap, and prowled towards Pi’ve.
The thin figure of the beast made Pi’ve’s mouth dry. Sweat began to run down his neck. What in the name of anything wicked am I supposed to do? Blast it with light, again? He only had so much mana. He could not fight the beast. He had so little stamina left too, and he did not know how to fight, let alone a beast with claws that could rip right through his neck. He stood as a statue, frozen in fright.
Fear became anger in a second. New energy pulsed through his body. Pi’ve ripped out his knife from its sheath, and with some hesitation he threw it at the beast. In his desperation to not fall prey to this abominable beast, that was the only thing he thought to do. It hit, and stuck to its abdomen. It did not even flinch. As its next step landed, the knife lost its purchase and fell to the ground, blood barely visible. The beast bared its teeth and growled.
The beast jumped before Pi’ve could register it, and on reflex his only defensive move was to extend the bottom end of his staff. He felt the staff hit the beast, and claws latching onto his forearm as it swung. Pi’ve shouted in pain and cursed as the claws scraped along his arm. The beast let out a gargled grunt as the staff poked at its chest harder. He had to do something fast.
He saw the knife he had thrown laying some feet behind the beast, and then it struck him. Of course. It was obvious.
Pi’ve jumped back from the beast, pushing the opposite way with the staff at the beast’s chest. The beast took a moment to steady itself. Pi’ve reached out his left hand, closed his eyes, and opened the mana valve to have enough power for what he envisioned. He produced a tremendous amount of light, the heat of it burning his skin. The beast had seen this trick before, yet it yowled in pain. The smoke covered wings wrapped around the beast, shielding itself from the brightness, which made it even easier for Pi’ve. In the end, it had not been that difficult, only terrifying.
He conjured from his inventory two swords from the walls above the knights. He plunged the swords into the chest of the bat-like, human-sized beast, and ran forward. Pushing the beast with all the strength he had, he eventually let go and watched the beast fall down the hole in the floor he had escaped earlier. The beast did not even try to stop its descent as it died mid-air.
*You have slain [Black Upir - lvl 9] - Additional experience earned for killing an enemy of a higher level.
*DING*
Race [Human] has levelled up: lvl 6 -> lvl 7 +3 free points. Stat points from class [Wizard - Initiate Mage] has been allocated, +1 free point. Max health is increased with one (1) point.
*DING*
Race [Human] has levelled up: lvl 7 -> lvl 8 +3 free points. Stat points from class [Wizard - Initiate Mage] has been allocated, +1 free point. Max health is increased with one (1) point.
’Woah.’ It was like a warm surge through his body as he felt the points being allocated to his stats. He still bled from his forearm, but the sensation of the level up masked the pain somewhat. Coming back to his senses, Pi’ve wrapped his forearm with a piece of clothing he ripped from his cloak, and went back to fetch the king. It was harder to drag him now. It had taken a lot to face the beast.
When he came back to where he had slain the beast, there was no sign of a fight. It had been so violent in his head. He was sure there had been a pool of blood, but there was only the blood on his arm. At closer inspection, the ground had soaked the blood between the cracks of the stone, leaving wet marks where it had spilled.
There was still one obstacle. The hole. He could not traverse the hole. Even by himself, he could not jump it. There had to be a way. Think! He looked around for any clues. He saw the sconces hanging from the walls with the unlit torches, but he could not use the rope this time. The stone slab which he had trodden on to activate the metal cage was gone with the floor.
A tiny fragment of an idea emerged. Some wisp of clarity, but not in the forefront of his mind. There was something he had forgotten— something he saw, even now… In front of him, but where?
His eyes snapped to what he thought was a sconce, but at a closer look, he saw that it was not. It was the lever he had not activated on the other way around.
Pi’ve went as close as he dared to the hole in the floor. Twenty feet, that was the approximate distance to the lever, and he knew he could do it. He closed his eyes, and entered a concentration so deep he had never been. Then, looking at the lever, he began working on the link. It was difficult. The distance made it even harder. He was trying to link to something new, and have it be in his command.
35 mana points… 31… 27… 23… 19… His body began to tingle, his concentration waning. 15…
He had done it! In the time it took for his staff to link, he prepared himself to manipulate the lever. As the staff also linked, he pulled the lever. He let out an exhausted sigh as he watched the floor be pieced together with large brick stones. He was too fatigued to marvel at the floor being magically pieced together. It was one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life. He had not known that the lever was the final— and his strongest— opponent.
The chest he had initially opened when entering the cave appeared as the light from his staff reached the end of the corridor. He saw a door which had not been there before. It was made of wood, and had a round, shiny knob.
He grabbed the handle, and a prompt popped up in front of his eyes.
Tutorial completed. [Enter] to return to place of origin. Rewards will be granted upon completion of the quest and placed in your inventory. Additionally, since you have begun the quest The Forgotten King, King Oarios III will be transported with you to your destination.
’Congratulations, Pi’ve, on completing the tutorial.’
Pi’ve turned. He knew that voice. Monotone and unimpressed. It was a comforting voice.
’Thank you.’ Pi’ve said, and even in his happiness in seeing the entity again, he felt more than ever his strain and exhaustion.
’Go, now. I wish you luck on your path to becoming a true wizard. Be well.’ The entity said, and then it was gone. Pi’ve brought the prompt back, and then accepted the prompt to enter through the door.
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