Chapter 249: General Confrontation
The more the halls of destiny changed, the more they remained the same. The new corridor was much wider than the ones beforeperfectly square and brightly lit, it resembled a rainless subway rather than a corridor. If it werent for the torches on the walls, Dallion would have thought that he was back on Earth.
Seen one of these before, Nil? Dallion asked as he made his way forward.
Personally, no. Although I must say its quite an interesting case. Geometrical shapes are less common than one might think. This seems to happen a lot in your realm. Two paradox cubes and now this? One might think youre a mage.
Really? Dallion almost jumped, as a feeling of joy and euphoria filled him.
Strictly speaking he had little idea what magic includedapart from a few mentions in the library scrolls, all other information was jealously guarded by the Academy and the Order. Even the Imperial family relied on tutors. Could it be that the mysterious stat was, in fact, magic? That made a lot of sense, and it also
No, the echo broke Dallions train of thought. Theres no difference between realms. Its just that mages prefer that style of architecture. Its all in an attempt to be different from the Order of the Seven Moons, which prefers rounded shapes and, on occasion, perfectly cylindrical tunnels. Not that I can understand their obsessions with forms.
That was rather anticlimactic. Dallion deflated like a balloon.
You should ask my original to give you some scrolls on architecture. Youll find it quite interesting, especially since you have your own realm to arrange.
Maybe later, Dallion hissed beneath his breath.
The corridor ended in a large ornate door of gold and sky silver. Looking closely, Dallion could see motifs of Nerosal engraved on the frame. Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to create thisin this case, Dallions own subconsciousness. It made him think of his awakened arena. That was another impressive hall that Dallion had neglected visiting for some time now.
Holding his breath, Dallion took hold of the handle and moved the door open. The massive slab of precious metals slid to the side, revealing an even more illustrious room. It, too, was made entirely of gold, as was all the furniture inside. Four giant statues of milk white marble brought some contrast to the sight: a fury, a gorgon, a nymph, and a dryad. All of them were female, and all were looking at a medium-sized table in the center of the room.
That was rather unexpected. There didnt seem to be any other exits, windows, or openings of any sort. For all intents and purposes, it was as if Dallion was entering a vault.
Hesitation kicked in. In all the adventure books and movies, this was the point at which the unsuspecting adventurer would trigger a trap, nearly killing him, and destroying the entire room. To be on the safe side, Dallion had three instances of him walk throughout the gold chamber, touching as many things as possible. After a while, when no deadly trap was triggered, Dallion himself entered. Of course, there was one instance of him remaining at the door, just in case.
Since the central table was the only thing of interest, Dallion made his way to it. Like the corridor, the door, and the room, the table too was a perfect squareor rather, a cube. The sides were so perfect that the edges had the sharpness of a weapons tip.
So glad you could make it, a voice said on the other side of the table. Moments later, a form appeareda very familiar and annoying form.
General, Dallion hissed. Of all people, why did it have to be him? Probably because the Moons knew how much Dallion despised him.
I must say I was rooting for you all the way. The higher your level, the more interesting artefacts youd be able to clear for me, the general smirked. He was wearing an earth style suit entirely of gold with a ruby necktie. And of course, lets not forget our little arrangement.
No chance of that happening. Dallion crossed his hands.
Lux appeared and quickly thrust Dallion to the opposing corner of the room, before the trap could fully close. That was one thing about airhot air always had a significant advantage. On the way, Dallion did an arc attack with the Nox dagger. From past experience he assumed that if he defeated the general, all his guards would disappear as well.
The blade never got to hit its target. The final fury moved between Dallion and the general a split second before the attack could take place. The air seemed to thicken, creating a shield of some sort to deflect the blade of the weapon. That didnt seem to work either, as the bled continued unimpeded, slicing through air and into the furys chest. There was a split moment of surprise on the guards face, unable to understand what had happened, moments before disappearing with a loud poof. Sadly, he had done his jobthe general remained unharmed. By the time Dallion had reached the other corner of the room, the three remaining furies had positioned themselves in front of the general, creating a protective wall.
The crackling, of course, the general said with the same calm he almost seemed to have. It was almost as if he believed no ill could befall him, thanks to his riches and connections. You put him in your dagger, so now you can cut through anything, even air.
Why dont we find out? Dallion snarled.
That is hardly suited for civilized people. Clearly we disagree about something. It would be far more productive to find a mutually beneficial solution to the problem.
You just tried to kill me! Dallion snapped.
And so did you just now. The general shrugged. We can keep blaming each other for what has been or we can work around this. Keep in mind that the city guard will side with me. Despite everything, the shield is mine. I can easily compensate you with a reasonable amount of money and the artifact that you cleared for me. A kaleidervisto, if Im not mistaken. You were looking for one of those, werent you? Well, if you want prefer outside mediation, Ill be happy to oblige.
Dallion felt like killing the general. The man knew that Dallion wanted the shield and was taking advantage of that fact. Under the current circumstances, it seemed that Dallion didnt have any choice.
What if I just kill the rest of your guards? Dallion bluffed.
Youll find that its not as easy as it sounds. But lets assume that you manage that without suffering any serious wounds yourself. Heck, lets assume you manage to kill me as well and are then healed by your firebird. The armadil shield still wont belong to you. The moment youre within reach of a member of the city guard, the shield will scream so loud that every double-digit awakened within airshot will hear. Good luck explaining how you got it then. The only solution would be never to use it, which defeats the purpose, doesnt it?
I really hate him, Dallion thought.
Thats exactly what I tried to warn you at the time, I believe, Nil reminded. You really made some horrible choices back then, dear boy you had the Star take you to a rather unpleasant loan shark. This would be the punchline of a joke, if the situation werent so dire.
What do you propose?
Since both of us have faith in the Seven Moons, lets leave it to them. The general gave Dallion a confident smile. A game of skills and chance. Each of us will have a chance to win the shield. If you end up being the victor, the shield is yours, no questions asked. If I happen to win, though, youll have to relinquish it immediately. Either that, or agree to my very reasonable modification to our previous arrangement.
An artifact a month, Dallion snorted.
Merely a trifle, considering your skills. Naturally, the choice is yours. I can still give you a kaleidervisto along with enough pocket money to last you for half a year, at least.
Dallion frowned.
Lets get this over with. Dallion unsummoned his Nox dagger.