RSK Chapter 11

Hey Guys! Hows July going for everyone?! 

Oberon POV~~~~~

The tunnels varied as we passed through them. From wide almost cavern like sections to thin and narrow long corridors. The smell of death lingered on the air, even though I wasn’t sure I was smelling the actual scent or just my undead senses were picking it up. The undead I brought with me appeared to enjoy it though.

Alessa had covered her face with a strip of cloth to block the smell, but I wasn’t sure it was much help with how permeating it seemed to be in the cave. We didn’t encounter any resistance through the mine, mainly because the resistance were the ones leading us through it. I made a mental list of the resources I saw throughout the cave.

The upper floors mainly consisted of Rennantite, which when smelted down was roughly equal parts iron and copper. Copper was a good material for devices that ran on electricity. Some mages liked to use staff made from copper if they couldn’t afford silver. It was the poor man’s lightning staff. The concentration of mana was good here meaning the ores would be of decent quality, unless that changed with the world.

It still amazed me that I seemed to automatically know this information, while I could barely recall most of the people from before. It made me wonder if I was always that kind of person, putting my work and objectives before the people nearest me. It was too late to regret, literally in another life, and deep down I found it was more of a passing curiosity rather than a worry.

The iron concentration grew as we delved deeper into the mine, with some mana crystal nodes appearing every so often. This mine was a mage’s wet dream with these resources. Considering my nickname was the sorcerer king, maybe I built my city here because of the resources near it. It was something that would take a while to find out and I may never remember the answer.

Other monsters started appearing further into the mines. Spiders the size of a man were the most common with a few lizards here and there. The spiders would have left us alone if not for Alessa in our midst. It was probably the first fresh blood they sensed in a long time. It felt to me that they went into a frenzy. They rushed to reach Alessa almost like they were starving.

Alessa, a few of my undead that I brought, and the Revenant all unleashed attacks into the swarming ranks of spiders. The Revenant was the deadliest, his bow easily taking two or three at a time. Alessa was next in line her magic missile slicing through the head of a spider each. Though she could only use two right now they were deadly enough to make up for the lack in numbers.

My undead, the mage and the dark priest, at least, chanted quietly under their breath. A spell construct appeared in the air around them. I quickly recognized the matrix and created a barrier against heat in front of the group. I wasn’t sure how long the spells would take for the two of them. The status screen was not every intuitive for that type of information.

The front-line fighters met the front of the swarm. The skeletons dealt with theirs easily enough slicing the spiders’ heads off or smashing them in with maces. The Great sword wielding skeleton turned his blade to the side then jerked it to the side, using the momentum to continue spinning, ripping the front part of the swarm to pieces.

The mage and dark priest finished their spells and a surge of mana was sent flying towards to separate spots within the swarm. There was a boom from the mage’s spell that sent a blast of flames cascading into the swarm. With a chittering screech spider died by the dozen. The dark priest’s spell caused a fire storm of black flames that rained down on an area of nearly twenty meters.

The two spells killed close to a hundred spiders alone. The remaining swarm fled in terror. I could have let them go but most spider swarm usually responded to a Queen or Mother much like a hive of ants. I created the spell construct for my blade storm then launched the mass of energy blades into the fleeing swarm.

I was getting EXP before but couldn’t tell what level the spiders were at when my minion killed them. Doing it myself gave me the information. I was surprised when I found they were only in the mid-fifties range. I still don’t understand the reason for the Hero to add a level system to the world. It was so easy to abuse. Even now I was getting EXP from the Spector hunting around the city.

We continued on our way. The rest of the inhabitants knew to leave us alone. The lizards in particular were quite intelligent as they left us gifts at the entrance of their caves. One left a decent set of Steel armor that was still usable. I ordered one of the warrior skeletons to equip it before we continued deeper.

We finally reached the opening to whatever was causing the undead to frenzy. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when I saw it was a temple to Yuin. She was the Goddess of life, and the archnemesis of Siateth. Any undead that got near here would probably go insane. I motioned for everyone to stop then moved forward alone. Right at the threshold I felt a palpable barrier that stopped me from going forward.

I moved my hand over the barrier to inspect it, but I could tell at my current level I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. I could leave it alone and come back at a later date to break it. I didn’t like the idea of leaving an unknown potential enemy so close to home. I lowered my hand then made my way back to the others.

“It’s a temple of Yuin,” I sighed.

“Yuin, as in the Goddess of life?” Alessa asked surprise clear on her face, “What’s a temple to the Goddess doing down here?”

“I can only assume that an under race built it a long time ago. From the age of everything inside, at least what I could see, there hasn’t been anyone to this temple for several centuries,” I speculated.

“What do you want to do?” Alessa asked.

“I can’t do anything. You, however, can go in and see if there is any treasure,” I said, grabbing her shoulder.

Alessa POV~~~~

“What?!” I shouted, shocked. The sound echoed around the cave for a moment.

“Yuin rejects the undead. If I or any of the others try to go inside, we will be driven insane. You are still living and will be able to enter without any problems,” Oberon explained as if it was obvious.

“Can… can we come back later?” I asked or maybe whined a bit. I didn’t mind the fighting so much now, but that was because I had an entourage of undead with me to protect me. Going in alone just felt like a bad idea, at least for my safety.

“We could, but there might be valuables inside that can help us rebuild faster or even buy your mother back. I hate to say this but I’m not sure what might be useful in this changed world. For all I know there could be something that makes you max level instantly, if there is a max,” Oberon explained, rubbing the back of his head.

“Oh… Ok, I’ll go!” I said, puffing up my chest.

“That’s my girl,” Oberon smiled. He gave me a gentle push towards the breach in the wall. I shuffled my feet trying to make the moment last longer.

I walked through the breach without any trouble and it felt almost anti-climactic. I got a much better view when inside the temple. There were flames burning in sconces around the walls that gave off a blue light rather than the soft yellow that flames normally gave off. Statues of a beautiful Elven woman dotted the room usually in an enclave along the wall.

As I went further into the room the flames in the sconces burst to life casting their light much further throughout the room. It caused me to jump and form the magic missile spell construct in front of my hand. I looked around but didn’t see any danger, so I slowly lowered my hand, letting the construct break apart, while taking a deep breath.

The temple was in good shape, though the passage of time has still done a number on it. Cracks ran along the wall and pieces of the ceiling were laying on the floor. Faded paintings depicting the teachings of Yuin still hung in a few places while others were on the floor, knocked off by some long-forgotten event.

I moved over to one and carefully wiped the centimeter-thick layer of dust from it. It showed Yuin kneeling next to the World Tree as she created life in a lake next to it. It was one of the most taught stories back in the schools, but Yuin tended to take a backseat to some of the other Gods and Goddesses.

I turned away from the painting and looked around. An altar was raised at the far end of the room and there appeared to be a passage beyond it. There was another passage, but a cave-in sealed it off. When I inspected it, I found that at least six or seven meters of passageway was sealed by the collapse.

I made my way to the altar where I found the tools for her ceremonies still resting in their spots to either side of the altar. I was impressed, there must be some enchantment keeping them in perfect shape.  I didn’t reach out to take them just yet, I wanted to look around the rest of the temple before I messed with anything.

I left the altar and made my way down the passage behind it. The sconces came to life the further I went. There were two doors along the passage about a dozen meters in that lead to what looked like waiting rooms. One was collapsed, but the other was still in decent shape so I peered in carefully.

If it was similar to the church in my old village, then this should be where the bride or groom prepared for the Ceremony of Bonding. They would come out together and the ceremony would take place once both parties reached the altar. There were only a few shredded remains of some clothes and furniture. I continued down the passage another dozen or so meters and came to a single door at the end.

Entering the room carefully, I looked around to make sure I didn’t trigger any traps. It was the only room that was still closed so I wanted to make sure. I picked up a rock from near the wall and threw it as far as I could into the center of the room. The sconces started burning brighter but that was it. I took a deep breath then moved inside.

This room was in much better condition than the previous ones. There was a giant statue of the Goddess in the center of the room that was in much better shape than the ones outside. I could actually make out her features on this one. I moved forward in admiration at the beauty portrayed in the stone.

Yuin, The Goddess of Life, was an Elf from her features. She possessed very striking features that made one want to listen to her closely. Long golden hair flowed to the ground around her feet. She held a tree branch that was said to be part of the World Tree. Water came out of her cupped hands that flowed into a fountain under her feet.

I wasn’t sure how long I admired the statue but finally pulled my eyes away to the rest of the room. On the ceiling there appeared to be a perfect representation of the night sky with thousands of points of light. They added a warmth to the room. Along the walls were runes engraved into their structure.

I pulled a small book from my bag. It was my dairy, but I felt it was worth writing these runes down for Oberon. He would definitely know more about them. I was about to start writing with the charcoal when a voice reverberated through my mind causing pain to stab my temple.

“Foolish Child! You dare to tread in these hallowed halls!” An angry voice yelled.

I screamed from the pain and dropped to my knees, grabbing my head as it felt like it might burst. When I thought I was about to pass out from the pain, the pressure suddenly vanished. I let go of my head but felt something running down my face. When I felt it, I found my nose was bleeding.

“My apologies, Great One!” I said desperately.

“Odd. You are in a temple that has been plagued by undead for centuries. Did you managed to defeat them?” The Goddess asked, its earlier rage replaced but curiosity.

“In a manner of speaking,” I said vaguely, turning my eyes away from the statue.

“Interesting,” the Goddess murmured. A moment later it came back with a pressure that equaled earlier, “You little wench! You dare lie to a Goddess!”

The pressure was so great I ended up slamming my head into the ground as it forced me down. In that moment, I both thought that I would die, and wanted to die, the pain was so great. It felt like my blood was boiling inside me.

“I… did… not… lie…” I wheezed out desperately.

Again, the pressure vanished instantly. The gap between feeling such intense pain and not feeling any pain at all nearly made me black out. I laid on the floor breathing heavily.

“Child. You have only a moment to explain,” the Goddess demanded.

“One of the undead outside helped me reach this point,” I answered honestly, too afraid to lie.

“You consorted with the undead!” The Goddess shouted.

Just as I felt the pressure about to take hold of my mind again another pressure appeared that held it back. I was too scared to move, so I just laid there. Finally, I got an answer.

“Child… Is the wench giving you a hard time?” A sleek male’s voice echoed in my mind.

“Who’s there?” I asked carefully in my mind.

“Why its Siateth, dear Child,” the voice answered.

Fear flashed through my heart. What would the God of Death have to do with me?

“Lord Siateth!” I said in my mind.

“I ask again. Is the wench giving you trouble? I won’t ask a third time,” the God asked.

“I believe she means to kill me for the undead outside her temple,” I said.

“Oh, she very much means to kill you. She loathes the undead,” Siateth laughed.

“What can I do?! I don’t want to die yet. No offense,” I pleaded then remembered who I was talking to.

“None taken dear child. While my domain is death, I understand the purpose of life. That is why I don’t want such a lovely toy… I mean girl die so soon,” Siateth said, murmuring something in the middle.

“Then what should I do?” I asked again.

“She has power over you while you are in her temple you just needed to change the owner of the temple,” Siateth explained.

“How the fuck do I do that?!” I exclaimed.

“Normally you would need a sacrifice, but you are missing a certain ingredient for that to work. Since she plans to kill you anyway, how about you sacrifice yourself in my name and I’ll bring you back as a vampire. You would have to bring blood but that’s better than not living at all,” Siateth suggested.

I felt the pressure from the Goddess build to another level and knew that Siateth wouldn’t be able to hold her back much longer. I thought it through, but I didn’t think I had much choice in the matter. I would make Oberon pay if I made it out of this, since I was going to be a vampire, I would make him get the people that tortured me, and I would return the favor.

“Alright tell me what to do,” I sent.

“Oh, I liked those thoughts. Sounds like I’m getting the better end of this deal by turning you into one my children. Go to the statue and get under her legs. From there is the really simple part just stab your dagger through your heart and I’ll take care of the rest,” Siateth explained.

“Why aren’t you dead!” The Goddess suddenly screamed, causing blood to burst from my ears.

I started to crawl towards her statue, it was only five or six meters away but it felt like a marathon. I finally made it to the statue and crawled up the fountain edge. The pressure hit me again this time even harder and I felt my wrist snap, as I was forced back to the ground. I dragged myself the last meter so that I was directly under the statue.

“What are you doing!?” The Goddess yelled, though it was dulled due to my ears bleeding. All I really heard was a ringing sound.

I reached down and pulled my dagger out of my boot. I was using my off hand which made it even more difficult. I positioned it over my heart.

“Sorry child, the wench had realized I was helping you. The rest is up to you,” Siateth warned his voice fading.

Like a bow string just released, the pressure snapped onto me so strongly I spat blood as something inside me broke. I only barely maintained my grip on the dagger as black ate at the edges of my vision. I thought that was it for me when the pressure dropped by at least a third.

Using that moment of release, plunged the blade into my chest. I felt all the mana in my body surge in a way I never thought possible even as I felt my life fade. The last thing I heard was a ‘boom’ and the Goddess screaming in pain.