Grand Game 610: A Tricky Task (Patreon)

I closed my eyes, feeling the aching sting of bitterness in my mouth as I stared at the glistening pool of blood that was all that remained of Tosh.

That could’ve been me, I thought unhappily. I hadn’t even sensed the ward that had killed the rogue. This fact, coupled with the quickness of his death meant only one thing.

The ward was tier seven. Or higher.

Conclusive proof that there were Powers in the Dark encampment. I wonder which—

Movement on the mountainside.

Breaking off from my musings I watched a thin column of players rush down from Dark encampment. Marching swiftly and with purpose, the hundred strong tartan company drew to a halt around Tosh’s remains.

That was fast, I thought. The players in view were nothing like the bedraggled Dark soldiers I’d observed earlier. Their uniforms were crisp, their armor gleamed in the sun, and their eyes were hard and keen.

A figure separated himself from the rest. The man in question was grim-faced, had close cropped hair and a trim beard. He was dressed in full plate mail that had seen better days but nevertheless still sparkled in the sun. I recognized him, of course.

It was Captain Talon. A split second later, the Game confirmed this, feeding me his analyze data.

The target is Talon, a level 295 human sentinel. He bears a Mark of Supreme Dark and a Mark of Tartar.

Talon’s head, bent downward studying the pooling blood, whipped around to scan the trees.

For all that I was invisible, I held myself rigidly still. I’d not forgotten the shrewd captain, nor his uncanny perceptiveness. He’d either felt my analyze or sensed something else amiss.

“Captain?” a lieutenant called softly. “Is something wrong?”

“I thought I…” Talon shook his head slowly. “Never mind, I was mistaken.” Turning back to the remains, he kneeled beside it, showing no sign of squeamishness. “What do we have here?”

The lieutenant—a player by the name of Kassandra—shrugged. “Nothing mysterious. Just a dead Lightsworn scout.”

Talon frowned. “Are you sure? Lysinder’s people know better than to venture this deep into our territory. What prompted this one to risk our wards?”

Kassandra shrugged again. “Who knows or cares?”

Raising his head, the captain threw her a reproachful look. “I do.”

The lieutenant ducked her head apologetically. “Sorry. It’s only one scout. It can’t mean anything.”

Talon glanced over his shoulder to scan the treeline again. “Are we sure about that?” he asked softly.

Kassandra frowned. “Captain?”

Talon, his face deep in thought, did not reply immediately.

While the captain formulated his response, I pondered over something else: the lack of farspeaker bracelets. Come to think of it, I’d not witnessed any legionnaires except for Tuver—and he’d been in a squad of Awakened Dead—using a communication device. Talon hadn’t used them during my first visit to the valley, nor had Tartar’s guards seemed to employ them during my audience with the Dark Power. Was it a deliberate choice?

I was no nearer to the answer though, when Talon rose to his feet. My attention jumped back to the captain. His face had cleared. He’s come to a decision, I thought.

“Divide the company in ten squads,” Talon ordered. “I want them to search the vicinity.”

The lieutenant pursed her lips. “You think there are more scouts nearby?”

“Maybe.”

“But we already have patrols out,” she protested. “If someone was out there, they would’ve—”

Talon’s face darkened. “Patrols? That’s not what I’d call them. Those soldiers have been scarred by their time in the dungeon, and right now, they’re too scared of their own shadows to be of much use.”

“But still, they aren’t—”

“Do it, Kass.”

The lieutenant sighed. “As you wish, Captain.” Swinging around, she beckoned over the sergeants standing attentively nearby and rattled off a series of commands. Doing her bidding, the sergeants divided the company as instructed and, in short order, led the ten squads into the forest.

Which left only Kassandra and Talon on the mountainside.

“What now?” the lieutenant asked.

“We wait,” the captain replied grimly, his eyes darting over the treeline anew.

✵ ✵ ✵

Multiple hostile entities have failed to detect you.

Multiple hostile entities have failed to detect you.

…

…

I didn’t move or retreat.

Captain Talon might have faith his men would be able to uncover me, but I didn’t. So, renewing my buffs, I stayed where I was and kept watch. Just like the good captain was doing.

While I did, I reflected on the little I’d overheard. Lysinder, I knew already from Tosh, was Muriel’s envoy, and in overall command of the Lightsworn forces in the sector. The bit about the ragged patrols and the dungeon had been interesting, but I didn’t know enough of what was going on to decide what to make of it.

In the end, I realized I’d gleaned little of value, but that was not to say there wasn’t more to be learned. I just had to be patient. Talon and the lieutenant had not yet retreated to their encampment, and until they left, I wouldn’t either.

Fixing my gaze on the silent pair on the mountainside, I waited.

After thirty minutes of fruitless searching, the squads returned to the mountainside empty-handed. “Nothing?” Kassandra asked.

“Nothing,” a sergeant confirmed. “No footprints or tracks either.” He gestured toward the blood-soaked ground. “Not for that one or any other.”

Kassandra’s brows crinkled. “You sure about that?”

The grizzled sergeant nodded. “The scouts are certain.”

The lieutenant threw up her hands. “Then how did he get here?” she asked, meaning Tosh. “He didn’t portal in, we know that much. Did he fly? Or do you think he—”

“He travelled by treetop,” Talon interjected.

“Treetop?” Kassandra asked. “Is that possible?”

“Of course,” Talon replied. “It requires some nimble footwork, certainly. But it can be done.”

“Hmm,” Kassandra mused, not sounding convinced. “So, what do we do now?”

“Head back to base,” Talon replied, turning to the sergeant. “Ready the men.”

“Yessir,” the sergeant said, snapping off a salute before hurrying off.

Kassandra edged closer to Talon. “Are we not going to renew the ward?” she asked in a low voice. The whispered words were obviously not meant to carry farther than the captain, but my sharp ears caught them, anyway.

Talon grimaced. “We can’t. It was one of Paya’s,” he replied just as softly.

“Oh. Damn.” Kassandra’s lips twisted. “Have the Awakened Dead not freed her yet?”

“No. The chalice still has her in its grip. It’s all they can do to keep her confined in the dungeon.” He shook his head. “The damn fool. I don’t know what prompted her to such idiocy.”

“Desperation, perhaps?” she offered.

“Maybe.”

“Well, whatever it was, it has left us in a pickle,” the lieutenant reflected. “Tartar is not going to budge. And Erebus’ bunch are next to useless. We’re caught between a rock and hard place.”

Talon laughed bleakly. “An astute assessment, Kass. But we’re not going to solve the problem standing around here. Come, the men are ready. Let’s head back.”

✵ ✵ ✵

I watched the tartan company march off, a thoughtful frown on my face. This time around, I’d gained far more insight into events in the valley than earlier, and no matter how cryptic sounding some of the captain and his lieutenant’s utterances had been, three things were immediately clear.

One: Paya was in Erebus’ dungeon.

Two: so was the chalice.

Three: Paya had already used the thing.

On the heels of this realization, a message from the Adjudicator unfurled in my mind.

Your task: Heist in the Dark! has been updated. You have learned that the Awakened Dead Power, Paya, has already employed the chalice Loken requested you to steal. You have failed the task’s primary objective (securing the chalice before it can be used).

Ah well, I thought as I digested the contents of the Game alert. It was to be expected.

Loken had required me to acquire the chalice before anyone could employ it, and I’d quite obviously failed to do that. Nor was I truly as sanguine about matters as I was trying to be.

The stakes had just been raised again—and considerably.

Not only was the chalice in play, but any consideration or leeway I could have expected from Loken as a result of the open task had just gone up in flames. There was nothing to stop him from killing Saya now—nor me, for that matter. Still, I was surprised I hadn’t failed the task altogether.

That’s only a technicality, though. It means nothing. Once Loken learns the—

Another Game alert flashed for attention.

Your task: Heist in the Dark! has been updated. New objectives available!

My mouth dropped open in shock. What the—?

The task giver has chosen to revise the original task. New objective: present yourself within 24 hours to Loken at the Shadow Keep in Nexus and give him a full accounting of your findings. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid! I thought, cursing myself.

It had not occurred to me to wonder what would happen if I failed a task—or any of its objectives, for that matter—but of course, the Game had taken it upon itself to inform the task giver. And this time around, the task giver was not the Adjudicator as was the case with most of my tasks.

In this instance, it was Loken.

The trickster had directly bequeathed me the task to steal the chalice. I’d thought nothing of it, because tasks were not binding. Yet, accepting a task was not without consequences—as I had just found out.

Hells, I thought, swallowing unhappily as the full implications of the message sunk in.

Loken appeared to be taking a direct hand in events. He had to be, given the wording of the new objective. It didn’t matter anymore if Frey had been the one who had originally orchestrated Saya’s kidnapping. It was clear who was in charge now.

Loken.

Worse yet, if the trickster hadn’t been aware that I was in sector 12,560 before this, he now was. And while the new objective made no mention of Saya, I clearly read the ‘or else.’

If I didn’t meet Loken as instructed, I was certain Saya would not live to see another day.

And I couldn’t let that happen.