High gloom, p.3
High Gloom, page 3
part #6 of The Bad Guys Series
“I mean, I—”
“Just yes or no.”
“No.”
“Can food be art?”
“Can— uh, yes?”
“There are no wrong answers. Just answers. Is it okay to disobey the law?”
“Yes.”
“Is it objectively wrong to torture innocent babies just for fun?”
“What kind of— Yes. Big yes. No torture of anyone.”
“Is it wrong to sell yourself into slavery?”
“I guess, um, no, but I kind of think—”
“Should we fear death?”
“Not me. No.”
“If you replace all the pieces of a sword one at a time, is it still the same weapon?”
“I’m going with yes because I’m not sure I even understand the question.”
“Is intelligence more important than wisdom?”
“No? No.”
“Is justice more justified than revenge?”
“Yes.”
“Were you me, would you let yourself, Clyde Hatchett, into Gloomguard?”
I paused a heartbeat, and tried to figure out what he wanted to hear. Most likely, everyone said yes, why would I be here if I didn’t say yes?
“Yes. Probably.”
He nodded at me, and tossed the parchment into the fire. There was a shower of brilliant green sparks that shot up into the chimney.
“Level nine though.” He stood up, walked over to the window, and looked out over Raim. “I know some may view my role here as arbitrary. As though I’ve only earned it through holding the lift. But there is more to my responsibility than just making a lift go up and down safely. Gloomguard is one of the most dangerous places on this planet, at least as I understand. And those who go down there do so knowing they will be asked to defend the settlement against all potential incursions. And there are many of those. The Gloom does not appreciate that we maintain access, that those of us on the surface can visit whenever we so choose. Those down there face constant attack, and when we just let anyone go below, we found that, on occasion, those who were lower level weren’t just not helping, but they actively hurt the defenders. There are also those agents of the Gloom who seek to come in from this direction, which I must also guard against. It pains me that I must make these decisions, but I would rather disappoint someone up here than send them to their death. But perhaps the most challenging decision I must make is looking at who might succeed. Who might go down into the Mad God’s tomb and come out stronger. Come out with new powers, levels, abilities, or what-have-you, and how that might change the world up here. There is immense power available there, but—”
“With immense power comes great responsibility?” I offered.
“I have not heard that before, but I admit, it’s a good phrase. I might just use that. All that said, you getting here requires a certain amount of either luck, skill, or determination, and it would not behoove me to deny you based on level alone.” He paused, and stared out at the rain again. “On to the next step then, I suppose. Your level will certainly hinder you, but I suppose if you managed to get here without dying, that is at least telling me you will not be a hindrance to those fighting to keep the back the Gloom below. There is a little something I require doing, and I suppose if you are successful, I would be willing to grant you access.”
You have been offered a quest by Lord Quince of Raim:
Save a Soul, Gain a Pass
Save a person before they are killed by the tribe to the east.
Reward for success: Quince will grant you GloomGuard Passage Indicium, XP
Penalty for failure (or refusal): You will be asked to leave Raim
Yes/No
“What say you?” He asked.
I read over the quest a second time, and sighed. I didn’t know why I was getting so many quests requiring me to save strangers, but so be it. I accepted the quest.
“I’ll do it,” I replied.
“Best of luck,” Lord Quince said, and he gestured at the wall behind me. A door now stood there.
“Thanks,” I said.
He merely nodded at me.
Grim darted up and took his position in my hood while I walked over to the door, and went through, stepping out into the rain. When I turned around, I was just looking at a stone wall.
“Weird building,” I said.
“You have no idea,” came a voice.
I looked up and saw a small gargoyle on the gutter, smiling down at me.
“Enjoy the rain,” the statue said, and spit water at me.
I darted out of the way as the little statue cackled. But he didn’t make any other movements. I just shook my head and walked away.
I trudged through the rain, thinking about the quest. Thinking about needing to do it alone. And thinking that I had no clue how to even go about finding this potential sacrificial victim.
I shook the rain off my cloak as I walked into the tavern, and then stopped in my tracks. The entire room was engaged in song, some bawdy tale of draconic seduction. At the center of things stood Jørn, guiding the crowd and teaching words as necessary, though it seemed that was more of an afterthought.
I shook my head, and walked at the edge of the crowd until I got to the bar. The innkeep saw me, walked over and gave me a wink.
“Good news from our almighty Lord high?” He asked. I couldn’t tell if he liked Quince or was making fun of the man.
“Well, I’m not kicked out,” I said, “so there’s that.”
“He get you to join the guard?”
“No. Is that a thing?”
“It’s offered as a means to gain access. Man the wall, protect the caravans, get another chance to visit the Lord next month.”
“Are you, I mean, is every job in this town just to try and get down the lift?”
“Bah, I own this heap,” he said, looking around. “Me and mine, we work here because there’s good money here if you’re not foolish enough to fight. Stay in these walls and up top, and you’ll be fine. Same with Wallace Uday over in the general store. He makes plenty of coin keeping adventurers in arrows, bolts, and whatever other nonsense they need to go die in the Gloom.”
“Not something I can do.”
“You long for adventure, eh?”
“Not sure that’s the case, but it’s what needs to happen.”
“Ah, one of those.”
“One of what?”
“Someone searching for salvation. It’s a common thing. People seem to think there are answers down there. A way to find their way to a better life. Is it a dying parent? Those are always the worst. Or a dying child, that’s probably worse. One of those?”
“Neither.”
“Dying self then?”
“Something along those lines.”
“Ah, well. Not contagious is it?”
“No.”
“Can’t be too careful, can I?”
“I suppose not.”
“So you’ll be angling for a trip to the fountain of life?”
“Is that a thing?”
“Depends if you believe the legends.”
“There’s a legend of a fountain of life in Gloomguard?”
“Gods no. It’s in the tomb.”
I wanted to ask more about the tomb, but I had other things to care about.
“Is there a group of people that lives outside the walls of Raim?” I asked.
“People?” The innkeep asked, leaning back against the wall to let one of the barmaids slip by. “Now that depends highly on how you define people.”
“A group that might be into sacrificing people?”
“Oh, them. Yeah, they’re out there. Might be what you heard when you arrived. They tend to make noise for caravans.”’
“The howls?”
“They’re counting you. Judging. Seeing if they can some of you when you leave. ‘Praps not you, what with you staying, but they are out there.”
“Do you know where?”
He shook his head. “I don’t go out of these walls. Not ever. Not going to happen until I have me enough gold to hire an army to get back home. But I’d imagine the captain of the guard might have a good idea. Some of his boys and girls go out and bash heads here and there. Bring back some heads to prove to Lord Quince they can go down below.”
“Who’s the captain of the guard?”
The innkeep peered around me, searching the room, then pointed right past my ear. “That one. Flirting with one of your party.”
Looking over my shoulder, I saw Lux smiling while chatting with a tall, dark, and handsome man. He. wore a sleek sword at his hip, with a fine silver chainmail glinting out under his coat.
“Thanks,” I said, getting to my feet and putting a gold coin on the bar.
“Good luck on that quest of yours,” the innkeep said, flipping the gold coin in the air off his thumb.
“Which one?”
“All of ‘em.”
The guy seemed nearly preternaturally happy, I’ll give him that.
5
Making my way through the crowd took a little work, mainly because the crowd had moved on to a new song from their collective new best friend Jørn, one that seemed to be getting most everyone into a lather.
Still, I managed to get to Lux.
She smiled when she saw me.
“Captain Cooper,” she said brightly, “this is my friend Clyde.”
The tall, dark, and handsome man turned to face me. He forced a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Clyde,” Captain Cooper said with the very certain undertone he wished me to leave.
“Where have you been?” Lux asked.
“Out and about,” I replied, then turned my attention to the captain, but it was clear that Lux wasn’t done.
“You didn’t pick out a bed.”
“That’s okay,” I said.
“Where are you sleeping?”
“I’ve got somewhere in mind,” I lied, not wanting to explain why I wasn’t going to need a bed.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Who—”
“Can you point me towards, say, the home base of the group that’s outside the walls?” I asked.
“The Carchedonians tend to have a home base in Carchedon,” Captain Cooper said with a wry grin.
“Looking for someone a little closer to here. Maybe someone who might be interested in sacrifice?”
The captain’s face darkened. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me a good distance away from Lux, until we had the illusion of privacy in the midst of a singing crowd.
“Is this something Quince has given you?” He asked.
I nodded.
“I warn you against this quest,” the captain said, “if it is what I fear it might be.”
“A rescue,” I offered.
“There is little chance for you to accomplish this. My team has tried several times to retrieve their captives, and each time we have failed.”
“I don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“I can speak to Quince if you like. See if he might be willing to give you a different assignment for a chance at the lift. Or if you might join us for a few months."
"I appreciate the offer, but I'd like to try my hand at the quest."
"You will fail. We have all failed."
"I've got this."
He snorted with derision. "It’s always the same with you who come here for the glories down below. The fervent and irrepressible belief that you can do anything, despite what evidence clearly dictates. The main encampment we have found is five miles due east. If you line up towers three and six, that leads in a nearly straight line. That is where they camp, and we believe their temple is nearby, but we do not have a clear idea where that might be."
"What are they?"
"Creatures who worship dark gods and desire little more than blood."
"Do they have a name?"
"Night goblins? Yes. They’re called night goblins."
"Night goblins?"
"You don't know what night goblins are?"
"I grew up a bit sheltered. Tiny hamlet called Denmark."
He shook his head at me.
"Then go have a look, Clyde Hatchett," he said. "Go and attempt this quest designed to kill you. Just remember, when you are on their horrific altar to their dread gods, you had a chance to get out of this. That there was a good man who tried to give you a different path."
'"I appreciate that,” I said, and walked away from him.
6
After asking Lux where her brother was, I went up to the rooms and found the one with Nox and Mornax. I somehow knew the two of them would wind up being roommates. I was not expecting my new ranger to be there as well, but Denitza was laying down on her cloak at the bottom of the two beds, her head surprisingly close to Hellion the mimic. All three members of my tjene stood up when I walked in.
"No need for that," I said, pulling off my cloak and getting Grim from the hood. I set the little guy on the bed, and he darted along the blanket, jumping through the air to land on Hellion.
“Why does it seem like you are heading out somewhere?” Mornax asked.
“I am heading out,” I said, pulling some clothing and goods out, trying to think what I might need for my upcoming night mission. Obviously I understood that I had more time to complete the quest than just this one night, but just because I had time to complete the quest didn’t mean I had time to complete the quest. I needed to keep the ticking clock on my mind — provided I still had a mind. Otherwise I could find myself in the midst of waiting for something to happen, and the corpse king would strike and I’d be done for.
“Where are we going?” Mornax asked, getting up as he slid his axe out from under his bed.
“Solo event,” I said, pulling off my white shirt and changing it out for my lone black one. “I was given a quest to get the party access to Gloomguard, and apparently I have to do it fully alone.”
Mornax scrunched up his face in confusion and anger, but the other members of the tjene had settled back onto their beds. Denitza was still watching me, but Nox had his face in a book.
“Nox,” I said, “while I’m out, see if you can find out more about how this place operates. The history of it, and also how down below works. I don’t like not knowing things.”
Nox nodded. “Consider it added to the very top of my research list.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“The quest can’t exclude the tjene,” Mornax said.
“Specifically does.”
“But—”
“I get it, Mornax,” I interrupted. “I really do. But I have to do this on my own, and I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem.”
“What is the quest?” He asked.
“Just going to get someone who, uh, got lost.”
“You should take Denitza.”
“Can’t.”
“But—‘
“Mornax, watch over Nox and the crew here.”
There was a thump and a cheer from below.
“Let me clarify that,” I said quickly. “Keep Jørn out of trouble.”
Mornax nodded, clearly not happy, but finally realizing he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Truth be told, I’d much rather have a few of my party members along with me. I’d grown used to the company, and to having others I could rely on. It was going to be odd to go solo again.
Denitza had gotten up while I’d been talking with Mornax, and she was looking over my gear. She tightened a belt here, and tied a strap down there.
“If you are going into the woods outside the walls,” she said, “understand you need to move quietly.”
I nodded.
She pulled a necklace out of her shirt, and unscrewed something from the pendant. Then, she shook out another metal chain and put that chain around my neck.
“This will always lead back to its pair,” she said, holding up the other chain, that was on her neck. “You may not find what you are looking for out in the wilds, but you will find your way back here.”
“Can you find me from it?” I asked.
She nodded. “How long would you like me to wait before coming for you?” She asked.
“Two days.”
Another nod. Then she helped me get my dark leather armor on, double checking all my various snaps, straps, and ties.
“Thank you,” I said.
“It is the very least I can do,” she replied.
Not exactly knowing what else to say, I just nodded again, and headed out.
7
I walked out of the inn before I could get involved in whatever fracas Jørn had started, hoping the other members of the party would be able to get the self-professed sword master out of trouble. Instead, I went into the rain. I had my cloak on, my mile of rope in a pouch, a few non-magical daggers, my bag of holding (empty), and a small bracer of mana potions.
Naturally, it was raining. Not hard, but enough that it made staying indoors seem wildly preferable. No one else was out wandering around. Even the animals had all gone into the barn from the pasture. There were lights in nearly all the windows, which made Raim feel quaint. Cozy. This could be a really nice place to live, provided you got used to living within the protective walls.
I could just make out a few torches burning on the top of the wall. The main gates were closed up tight, and given the nature of things in Raim, I knew there was no chance I’d be able to convince any guard to let me out. Not only that, but if the night goblins had watched the caravan come in, there was every chance the damn night goblins would be watching the gates to see if anyone left. I’d have to make a different exit. I had some rope, so I’d go over the wall.
I aimed for a set of stairs near tower six, remembering that I needed to go in a straight line east away from that landmark. Thankfully, it was one of the tallest remaining towers, and I figured it would be easy enough to see from the woods, provided, of course, I could climb a tree to get a view above the canopy.
I walked across town, my feet squelching through puddles, making me idly wished for something more waterproof. Vuldranni was definitely a world in dire need of GoreTex.
