Chương 45

Lokta'Inif Sends Her Regards As we travelled through the streets of Oakreach to reach the Guild Hall, there was a noticeable difference in the general atmosphere of the place compared to our last visit. The townspeople seemed… relaxed. There was none of the tension that existed when we'd stumbled across the scaly Trialist being an obnoxious prick. People nodded respectfully as we passed, some of their earlier suspicion clearly having evaporated.

A few even stopped for a short chat about important matters such as the weather. It felt just like being back on Earth. It was when we were a few streets away from the Guild Hall that we encountered some hostility. And by hostility, I mean someone trying to murder me in a most painful and undignified way.

"Wait!" I turned to see a furry figure winding its way through the crowd. Its features were very similar to a wolf, with its thick grey fur, long muzzle and pointed ears. However, unlike its distant cousins from Earth, it walked on two legs. Its chest was covered by worn leather armour, deep gouges marring the surface that suggested it was no stranger to violence. It was one mean-looking bastard. When our eyes met, its mouth parted into a broad smile, revealing some disconcertingly impressive teeth.

There was a cold intensity to its gaze, its amber eyes unblinking as it approached. I was suddenly reminded of several stories from my childhood involving wolves, pigs, and young girls in red cloaks wandering through forests.

"Are you the great Peter Brookes that everyone is talking about?" it asked as it came to a stop before us.

"I've been looking for you all day." I stared at it a moment, noting the two daggers sheathed on either side of its waist.

"I am. Who are you?" Apparently, it had no interest in engaging in friendly conversation, its smile vanishing in an instant.

"Lokta'Inif sends her regards," it snarled, its paws blurring as it drew its daggers. The dark grey metal of the blades was serrated, with vicious-looking teeth running along their length. The tips were coated in a thick, black liquid that bubbled ominously as it was exposed to the air. Eyes glinting with a savage ferocity, it lunged to close the small distance between us. I raised an eyebrow as the blades darted towards my chest.

The creature wasn't particularly fast – honestly, I'd been expecting a little more considering it had approached us like it was the baddest motherfucker on the planet. I briefly considered catching its wrists and giving them a nice little twist, but the let's see what happens next part of me won out. The blades met flesh. And came to an abrupt stop, only just managing to pierce the skin. Even so, it was enough to inspire a small bloodstain to spread across the fabric of my shirt around the tip of the blades.

The creature stared at the wounds for a few moments, its previously savage expression replaced by one of gormless disbelief. It shook its head softly, and then its eyes, wide with poorly disguised fear, slowly drifted up to meet mine.

"What sort of monster are you?" it gasped under its breath. It glanced back down at the 'wounds' it had inflicted, and a trace of its earlier confidence came trickling back as it saw the thick black liquid coating the tip of its knife mingling with the blood staining my shirt.

"No matter – you're as good as dead. My blade was coated with voidrot. It's a poison so potent that even someone with thirty durability would struggle to survive its effects." It stepped back and studied me expectantly, eager anticipation twisting its features.

"I bet you're feeling it already, aren't you? It starts with the dizziness. It's just a little light-headedness at first. Then your muscles will start to fail, and you'll feel a little unsteady on your feet. When you try to sit down, you'll realise your body isn't listening anymore. You'll collapse. Blood will start pouring from your eyes, ears, and nose. The pain will be… immense. You'll want to beg me to end it, but the poison will have already stolen your voice. That's the cruel beauty of voidrot, you see.

It doesn't shut your brain down. In fact, it's quite the opposite. You'll feel everything. You'll want to scream from the pain, but the only place you'll hear it is inside your head. And you'll stay awake for all of it… right up until your heart finally gives out." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. What. The. Fuck. I turned my attention inwards and realised that I could feel something. There was a faint fuzziness loitering at the edge of my consciousness.

"There's definitely something happening," I said, reaching up to give my head a light tap.

"It feels like I've had one drink too many and I'm about to enter the tipsy zone."

"The tipsy zone?" replied the creature slowly, and then, as the words sank in, not so slowly.

"Your organs should be melting by this point!" I raised a hand and rested the palm against my forehead.

"Hmm, I do feel a little warmer than normal…" Rel had heard enough. Three ribbons of flame flared into existence around his body. One, rising slowly and menacingly like a snake about to strike, turned to face me. The other two raced outwards and began to whirl around the wolf creature – who had taken a few sneaky steps backward while I was examining myself – and were holding him captive in a fiery prison.

"Rel," I said, eyeing the ribbon warily, "I don't think this is necessary. Honestly, I feel–" I didn't have the chance to finish the thought. The ribbon darted towards me and licked the wound like an enthusiastic dog. It sent a pulse of heat racing through my body. I may or may not have let out a rather unmanly squeak and jumped a dozen metres into the air. When I landed, I spun on the spot to face Rel, fixing him with a glare. He just shrugged.

"I was concerned for your health," he said.

"Poison is serious business, and it just so happens that my new spell can burn it away." I mumbled under my breath, mostly swear words, though it may have included a mention of ' the little shit will probably start calling himself Dr Rel after this'. Apparently, I hadn't been mumbling quietly enough, because as those words escaped my mouth, his gaze left the prisoner and turned to consider me thoughtfully.

"Now there's an idea…" Fuck.

"Right," I said, gesturing for Rel to lead the prisoner down one of the alleys that acted as a cut-through between the busy roads. The townspeople had been giving us a wide berth as they witnessed our encounter with the wolf creature, and I didn't want to give them any more reason to be nervous of Trialists. All of the creature's earlier bluster had fled entirely, and it seemed to have shrunk in on itself a little.

Its shoulders were hunched, and it licked its lips nervously, eyes constantly darting around as if looking for a way out. It was quite ironic seeing a wolf look a little sheepish. I stared at it for a few moments.

"First, I'm fed up with mentally referring to you as Mr Wolf. What's your name?" It let out a resigned sigh.

"Grey Fang." Of course that'd be its name.

"Okay, Grey Fang, before you so rudely tried to skewer me, you mentioned that someone sent their regards. Tell me their name again – it sounded familiar."

"Lokta'Inif, the Overlady of Stonehaven." It said the name with an almost reverent whisper.

"The greatest of Trialists. First in kill score. First in acquired wealth. First in reputation and influence…" Of course… Lokta'Inif! I knew the name sounded familiar – she was the person I'd been competing against for first place in total stat gains. Rel swore loudly beside me. I glanced down to see him staring evilly at something only he could see.

"I've been knocked down to second place for reputation and influence. This is unacceptable!" As if sharing in their master's displeasure, the fiery ribbons imprisoning Grey Fang constricted a little, drawing uncomfortably close to the creature. It hissed in pain as the heat caused its fur to start blackening. Singed fur was not a particularly pleasant smell.

"Ease off a little. I can't imagine he'll be much use answering our questions if you cremate him," I said to Rel before turning back to Grey Fang.

"Why the fuck would Lokta'Inif want you to stab me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rel interrupted.

"She will not be satisfied until she takes the top position on all of the leaderboards." Grey Fang nodded eagerly.

"Exactly that. You're very wise!" Rel snorted, but gestured for the creature to continue.

"Lokta'Inif is great and powerful," it said, then paused. It glanced nervously around the alleyway and lowered its voice.

"But she does have a tendency to be… ah, well, prideful. When she saw that you'd knocked her from the top spot for stat points, she was not best pleased. She put a bounty on your head, promising great privilege and wealth to anyone who took care of the problem." She'd put a bounty on my head just because I'd overtaken her on the leaderboard? That was fucked up. Jeez… and here I was thinking Rel had a bit of an ego problem. This Lokta'Inif made him look like a saint in comparison.

"As you can imagine," Grey Fang continued.

"There were not many Trialists willing to risk their own place in the competition by forcing a confrontation with the strongest person in the Division." His gaze dropped to consider the ribbons racing around his body, the flickering orange glow reflected in his eyes.

"I think perhaps I should have followed their example, but the truth is I was growing desperate. You see, I'm only a low-ranking member of her guild, and I knew if I didn't try something drastic there was no possibility of me qualifying for Galaxy Showdown. Claiming the bounty was my only hope. I knew I had no chance of killing you through normal means, so I did my research. When I discovered voidrot and learned just how potent it was… well, I allowed myself to grow confident.

When I approached you earlier, I was certain I'd be able to kill you and return to Stonehaven a hero. Lokta'Inif would have rewarded me handsomely, giving me gold, armour, weapons and anything else I'd need to climb the leaderboards." His words trailed off and he looked up to meet my eyes. His gaze held no confidence. It held no fear either. It was the look of someone who had accepted their fate and knew it was beyond their power to change it.

"I know I have no right to expect such mercy, but when you kill me, I ask that you make it quick and painless."

"Kill you?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not going to kill you."

"You're not?" Rel and Grey Fang asked simultaneously. I was a little disappointed neither of them said'jinx'.

"Nope," I said to Rel.

"If I killed him, he wouldn't be able to go back to Lokta'Inif and pass on a message." Grey Fang stared at me in disbelief.

"Pass on a message? I can do that! What would you like me to say?"

"Tell her," I said, a savage grin spreading across my face, "that Peter Brookes will be seeing her very soon."