Chapter Sixty-One: The Jailer’s Blade

Chapter Sixty-One: The Jailer’s Blade

“Serena, Tiana,” I called. The warning in my voice was enough to get their attention. “With me. Noelle, watch the prisoners.”

Their concerned expressions hardened when I once again flicked the clasp open and drew the sword, letting its shadows spill around me. There was someone waiting for us outside, and my gut told me they weren’t friendly. I could only think of a few reasons someone might wait this long only to show their faces now, and none of them were good. I checked my Essence pool.

[Soul Essence: 41/130]

Much lower than I’d like, and I was already starting to feel the sharp pain in my chest that told me I was going too far. I had a funny feeling I was about to take things even farther. I shot both women behind me a look that said I’d take the lead here and walked out of the tent with the blade held idly at my side.

The man waiting for me was...not what I was expecting. Short, unevenly cut white hair that stuck up in every direction, a set of cracked glasses that had been repaired so many times they were as much tape as they were frame, a face covered in scars from both cuts and burns, and wide crazed eyes that told me I was in for a headache. His clothes were wrinkled and covered in stains and patches. The buttons of his ill-fitting tunic were off and his collar stuck up on one side. Only most of his shirt was tucked in, and he wore two different shades of boots.

When his eyes fell to the blade in my hand, a crazed smile split his face. “At last! Ah, all my plans paying off in dividends! Fear not, wretched soul, for I am here to end your misery and send you off into the next plane!”

Oh boy.

I exchanged a glance with Serena, who wore a rather confused look on her face, and shrugged. “Right,” I said to the man, “maybe back up a bit, because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He gasped. “You’re still lucid? Oh, you poor, poor man! Perhaps your soul was a bit tougher than I originally calculated.” He pulled out a very intricate looking timepiece. “After using the Jailer’s Blade so many times, there should be very little of you left. Wolves, spiders, and now bandits. Truly impressive fortitude, my man! But alas, I’m afraid your time is soon at an end.”

He held up the time piece so he could look at us both, clearly waiting for something, but I’d grown momentarily distracted. At the mention of the name “Jailer’s Blade,” a choking sense of revulsion had slithered beneath my skin. Fury and fear alike seeped into my veins, threatening to choke me out. It took me a terrifying moment to realize that the fear didn’t belong to me, but the blade. Or, rather, the entity in the blade. The name invoked something primal in the entity and the emotions were more than strong enough to bleed over into mine.

“Er, I see,” I said slowly. Tiana shot me a look, but I made a hand motion to tell her to wait. I knew a fanatic when I saw one, and if I played things right he’d be a great source of information. “Well, if you’re telling the truth and my time is limited, then what exactly is this Jailer’s Blade?”

He lit up. “Temptation and power! A parasite that gifts you strength unimaginable in exchange for the raw energy your soul is made of! It demands its wielders to find and slay the most powerful of creatures, devouring their essence and yours to strengthen the metaphysical bars of the prison it is. A magic older than the gods themselves from a plane long destroyed, cast into the ether by forces unknown only to land in Kasidiel to disrupt the cosmic balance so greatly that we feel the chaos caused by its existence millennia later! The time to serve its true purpose grows near, and every host it entraps merely takes it closer and closer to its time of reckoning!”

Fuck. Why did I send Rhallani back? Another pulse came from the sword that felt oddly like an amused chuckle, and I looked to Tiana again. “You getting all this?”

She winced. “I’ve got...the gist.”

I looked back at the crazy guy. “Don’t suppose you’d be willing to write this down, would you?”

His look fell. “Why have you not collapsed yet? How can you stand there so easily? I don’t understand, my calculations usually have a margin of error, but never to this extent!” Her frowned, then put the timepiece away before starting to rifle through pockets. “How interesting. How interesting! Oh, I do love being wrong! It always leads to such interesting observations! Now, where did I...”

“What are the odds he’s talking crazy and we can’t trust a word he says?” Serena whispered.

“Oh, he’s crazy alright,” I whispered back, “but the blade is reacting to what he’s saying enough that there’s truth in there somewhere.”

“Ah, here we are!” He pulled out a carefully cut gem with runes on every facet and I immediately dropped into a fighting stance. I recognized the receiving end of a keystone pair, but there was little I could do to stop whoever might be on the other end. “I’ll just have to force you to burn through the rest of your soul. We’ll need the Jailer’s Blade, after all, and I can’t exactly let you keep living after you’ve so cleverly extracted such valuable answers now, can I?”

Right. Cleverly. He tossed the keystone into the dirt nearby and I was just contemplating how dangerous it would be to try and destroy it with the sword’s magic before he pulled out a second gem. This one was rounder and nearly clear except for a blue bead in the center. He squeezed it between two fingers and the gem shattered into dust with a dim blue glow.Discover new chapters at novelhall.com

“I’ll just summon a little help, then once I’ve got the blade I can collect all those demi-humans you so annoyingly freed. Be a good chap and don’t struggle to much, will you?”

Before I could answer, a rift opened over where the keystone had landed, and through it walked a nightmare. It was like the Maleks from before, only twice the size. Even standing on its four legs, its shoulder was taller than I was. Thick, ropy muscles shifted under its dark grey, nearly black, flesh. It’s crimson eyes, complete with vertical slit pupils, locked onto me immediately. Its paws were much longer than the Malek’s, looking more like hands than feline paws, complete with an opposable thumb on each of its front legs. Its maw was still shorter like a large cats, but when it snarled it had a set of double fangs that looked like they’d be more than up to par at shredding me. Two long, thick tails dragged on the ground behind it.

“That’s a big fucking Malek,” Tiana breathed fearfully.

Dr. Crazy grimaced. “What? No it isn’t. This is a Rathum,” he said slowly, as if talking to a child. “The Maleks have wings, foolish girl.”

Filing that away for later—assuming there was one, since this bastard looked a lot closer to the giant bastard that had give me and the rest of the Seven a run for our money thirty years ago—I cleared my throat, backing away from the beast. “So, out of curiosity, what are the six-legged ones called.”

He gasped dramatically. “So you’re the one who killed my Ashai! Seems my suspicions that the Jailer’s Blade is drawn to Eldritch Beasts was accurate!” he sounded more excited than anything else, once again fumbling through his apparently many pockets.

“My head is starting to hurt,” Serena mumbled. The beast still hadn’t made a move. “Zaren, what’s the play here?”

I hefted the blade, shifting it from side to side. The Rathum’s eyes tracked its every movement. “I’ll play bait, Serena and Noelle,” I knew her sensitive ears would be listening for my orders as well, even inside the tent, “try to flank and come at it from the sides. Tiana, keep distance and hit it with everything you’ve got.”

“Ah,” Dr. Crazy exclaimed, “I was worried I’d lost it!” He pulled out a short wooden whistle and blew three notes out on it. “Kill the swordbearer, if you would.”

Then it was on.

I shot away from the tent at the same time the Rathum surged forward. [Giant Killer] made my Primal boost to a rather unsettling level. It was risky, but I conjured an Empowered tendril alongside three more standard ones. I summoned another on each of my girls, wishing Noelle had a set of armor for me to give her. I put one on Rhallani as well so she’d know something was wrong. There was every chance we’d need her and Fang, and if she was with the others then she could bring reinforcements.

That was all the time I had to do before it was on me. It lashed out, long, sharp claws extending from its fingers in the second before impact. I caught most of them on the Jailer’s Blade and my shadows blocked the rest, but the power behind the blow was still enough to knock me into the air. There was a flash of gold and the ethereal blue of Tiana’s bolts and the creature snarled, but it never took its eyes off me.

Instead, its tails thrashed out behind it, swinging towards Serena. [Danger Sense] practically exploded in my head. It told me that, while she wasn’t mortally wounded yet, the entity she fought was much stronger than her. I surged towards the beast, hoping my skills and the blade would be enough to keep me alive. It lashed again, but spectral ravens swarmed the Rathum’s claw, slowing it enough for me to duck it and get in a strike of my own. Its flesh was thick and tough, and the injury I inflicted was barely more than a scratch compared to its size.

It got its attention, though. Thanks to [Danger Sense] I was vaguely aware of Noelle and Serena both locked in the fight, but that was all I could tell from my rather unenviable position underneath the Rathum’s maw. Claws shredded my shadows, but my darkness was enough to make sure I only received a few shallow slices. I lashed out with tendril and blade, trying to take one of the beast’s eyes, but it was fast and smart.

[Soul Essence: 7/140]

I very wisely decided not to share those numbers until I’d recovered a little, so I merely told her, “I’m alive, but I vote we avoid any more fights for a few days.”

She opened her mouth, but was interrupted with the last voice I wanted to hear right now. “This is fantastic!” Dr. Crazy gushed.

With a growl, I stood and faced where he circled the Rathum. I conjured a blade, ready to beat some answers out of him, but he just kept talking. “I didn’t think it possible that another Shadowborn walked Kasidiel! And a second of the Primal Classes to boot? Outstanding! Simply outstanding! So many of my theories proven!”

I was not in any shape for another fight, but he didn’t have to know that. I reluctantly left Serena’s embrace and circled the man, tossing her an extra spear since hers was still nailing one of the Rathum’s tails to its hide. “Hi, yeah, remember me? I’ve got a few questions.”

He turned to me as if he’d forgotten I existed. “A few? My boy, I’ve got an ocean of them! How are you alive? How are you lucid? Do you really have the soul and the will to force the blade into submission? And those skills! Oh how I’d love to strap you to a table and learn how you tick.” He cackled. “Oh, if only I’d set up a second gem. Alas, it seems I’ve been bested. Fear not, wretched soul, we shall meet again!”

“Now hang on—”

But he barreled on. “Oh, what a glorious day! Poor Rathum, your sacrifice will not be in vain! The things I’ve learned...if there are two, then there have to be six! Oh, the master must learn of this!” He whirled, leveling a finger at me. “You! You are my best friend and my worst enemy! A font of questions that will keep me busy in the weeks to come! You who have ruined my plans and made me realize how little I actually knew! I thank you, and I curse you! You have earned yourself a nemesis today, good sir!”

I opened my mouth to tell the poor guy that he really was batshit crazy, but there was a flash of light and he was gone. Seems he had another Keystone, which was as annoying as it was disconcerting. Those were not cheap or common, which meant our enemies had considerable resources. Hardly a surprise, all things considered, but not exactly something I wanted confirmed so soon.

Tiana poked her head around a tent, making sure he was gone. Her face was flushed and her breathing was heavy. She walked towards me as fast as she could without running, throwing her arms around me and pressing her body against mine in a way that told me exactly which of her empowering spells she’d used.

“Zaren, I’m very, very happy you’re alive, but I’m going to need your help soon or I’ll lose my mind.”

I chuckled, conjuring a tendril on her and commanding it to pleasure her. She moaned, leaning into me with a shudder. “I’ll take care of you as soon as we wrap shit up here.”

There was a squeal of excitement, and I searched it out to see my Arelim already scribbling in her journal, circling the Rathum’s body. “This thing is way too big to cart around and it’ll be rotten by the time we get to town. Zaren, I need a paring knife please, I want to get every detail I can about this Malek.”

Right. She hadn’t been here for all the complicated stuff. My head was starting to pound just trying to recall all she said. I let out a breath, trying to think of where to start, when Noelle tugged on my shirt. “I can tell her what the man said word for word. I have good memory.”

I put my hand on her head and pulled her in for a hug. “Noelle, you’re a godsend.” I summoned a few paring knives and sent her off to help Rhallani while everyone else started filing in.

Most everyone was staring at the Rathum in disbelief, but Pierce headed straight for me with a chair in hand. He set it down and Serena guided me into it, Tiana settling in my lap with her head resting on my shoulder. Before I could say anything, Pierce kneeled.

“I know who you are,” he said softly. I opened my mouth, but he held a hand up. “I don’t know how, and I don’t really want to, but I do know. I’ve seen you fight before, when I was just a boy fighting a war I didn’t think we stood any chance of winning. Whatever the future holds, Zaren Nocht, my sword is yours.”

I let out a breath. “Right. That isn’t necessary, but something tells me you won’t be taking no for an answer.” I dragged a hand over my face. “We can deal with that when I’m not so tired. Just...keep doing what you’ve been doing, I guess.”

He nodded like he expected nothing less and stood. “The bandits had a few carriages we think were for transporting captives. A group of guards from Anford are planning to take those who surrendered, as well as any of the captives who wish to go, back to the city, if it’s acceptable to you.”

I wanted to argue that I didn’t really have any say in what they did, but I realized that wasn’t true. Rolar had always handled shit like this, but thanks to the rank that asshole gave me now I was the one making those decisions. “Uh, right. Sounds good to me. Extend the offer to Liana and her girls as well, they’re free to go back if they have family in Anford or anything like that.”

“I’ll take care of the prisoners you left in the command tent. Anything else?”

I racked my brain. I felt like I was forgetting several things, and one sprang to mind almost immediately. “The flaming archer. That wasn’t Reese.”

“No,” he agreed. “Reese was with me at the time. I don’t know who it was, but they vanished during the fight. Shall I send Al after them?”

I thought it over. “No. Whoever they were, they were powerful as shit. Not really a fight I want to pick right now.” My gaze traveled over where Rhallani was elbow deep in the Rathum. “Pretty sure we’ll be staying here at least until sunrise. I’ve got a tent and supplies in my storage, so I guess you’re in charge of the caravan ‘till we get back.”

“Yes, sir.”

I grimaced, but I didn’t have it in me to argue about how he addressed me. Pierce paused, and I just knew he was debating whether or not to salute me, but thankfully he just left with a curt nod. Tiana’s hands were already starting to quest southward, and Serena’s healing was leaving me more than ready to help with her current situation, but something was still nagging at me.

I really hoped it wasn’t something Dr. Crazy had said. I really didn’t have it in me to unpack all that shit right now. I replayed the night over again in my head, trying to find what it was. I was really stuck on the whole doppelganger situation, since I didn’t have a skill even close to doing anything like that, but I was far too exhausted to figure that out either.

Once everyone but my girls had left, I slid a hand under Tiana’s robe and slid two fingers inside her. She came on the spot, but her grip on my wrist told me she wasn’t nearly done. I smiled, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. Noelle eventually came over and I gave her a tent to set up since I sure as hell wasn’t going to be using one of the bandits’ tents, and Serena and Tiana corralled me into it.

I thought about banishing the blade, but a weak pleading passed through the bond. Fear. Loneliness. It understood being sent to the dark before, but surely the threat had passed. Shrugging, I pulled the blade and scabbard off and set it down next to where we’d be sleeping. A tired happiness trilled between us, and I patted the blade with a strange affection before turning my attention back to the girls.

“How’s your health looking, Zaren?” Serena asked while Tiana peeled clothes off me.

[Health: 120/220]

[Mana: 17/140]

[Soul Essence: 9/140]

“A lot better than it was before. If you’re low on mana, you can take a break from—” My words died in my throat. Suddenly I knew exactly what was bothering me. I stared at my status for a while longer while both Serena and Tiana waited patiently for whatever had interrupted me. My pool of Soul Essence had a maximum ten higher than when I’d woken up that morning, and so far there was only one thing that increased the pool.

With a painfully dry mouth, I navigated to my list of Soul Links, and when I got there I had to sit down. Serena’s, Noelle’s, and Rhallani’s were still there and still at level one, but my eyes were drawn to the fourth Link that had appeared.

Ash

Link Level: 1

Improved Soul Essence pool and conversion rate.

What. The. Fuck?