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HTN 6-37 An old acquaintance
🕑 Added 2023-03-14 23:40:41 +0000 UTC
Heather peered into the darkness, trying hard to spot any danger. The tunnel walls were damp, and the air smelled of decay as she, Webster, and Breanne hesitated. They were here to test their skills and learn how to use the new classes. Against them were Quinny and Frank, playing as the dungeon and trying to stop them. The task was to reach the heart of the third level, but the going had been rough. Dozens of battles had been fought where Heather and Breanne had been clumsy together. On top of that, Frank had moved the ways down around, so they had to hunt through the levels to find the exit.
“Why hasn’t Frank or Quinny shown up yet?” Heather asked, leaning against the wall.
“You know they are here somewhere,” Breanne said as she held her bow.
“I know, but I can't see them,” Heather replied, looking up at her spider crawling along the ceiling. “Do you see anything?”
Webster chirped softly that all he could see was an empty tunnel and offered to go ahead. Heather was reluctant to send him forward, especially after the last ambush nearly killed him. She decided to summon three skeletons instead and sent them down the tunnel as bait for the traps.
“I bet they are laughing at us,” Breanne grumbled before taking a deep breath. “Do you really think I should use the ring?”
“Of course, you should,” Heather replied. “It was obviously made for you.”
“I know, and that's what disturbs me,” the elven woman countered. “That must mean I was here with you at some point, and I have forgotten.”
Heather felt her anguish and turned to put a hand on her arm. That thought had hung in their minds ever since they reexamined the ring. Of course, it was still possible it was just a coincidence, but none of them believed that any more than they believed Heather wasn't Hathlisora. Somehow they had all been here before and, for some reason, been wiped out and reset with no memory of what happened. Umtha had been the only ray of sunshine, citing how it could only mean that when Heather regained her memories, she would likely still love them.
“At least you have the rest of us to understand,” Heather said.
“Maybe, but what bothers me is I have memories of the necromancer war. I was there to see it in all its terrible glory, so when was I killed and reset?” Breanne asked.
Heather paused to consider that point and agreed it didn't make sense. If they had a previous life together, then Breanne must have been reset before the necromancer kings and their war. Heather tried to put the pieces together, but the timeline was all wrong. It was beginning to hurt her head when they heard the sound of combat.
“The skeletons are fighting something,” Breanne remarked and took a cautious step out of the shadows. Heather followed, holding her dagger firmly as they hurried down the tunnel. They reached a corner, and she peered around it to see bones strewn all over the floor of a large chamber. Whatever had killed those skeletons was hiding just inside, and that meant an ambush.
“You know you agreed not to use undead,” Breanne reminded.
“We will tell them they were yours,” Heather replied.
“Mine are all archers,” Breanne replied and drew back on her bow. “And I can place them more carefully.” She fired an arrow that pulsed with green light, sending it down the tunnel and across the room to land on the floor. A green mist spilled out where it struck the ground, and skeletal arms burst forth as five skeleton archers crawled out. A moment later, they were beset by what looked like zombie dogs rushing to pull them apart. With the threat brought out into the open, Heather felt more confident they could manage.
“Ok, just like we did before,” Heather said as Breanne nodded.
The elven woman fired an arrow that split into a dozen small black darts as she channeled her shadow spells through the bow. Just as they pelted the dogs, Heather appeared out of a green flash and buried her dagger in one of their backs. The beast howled and turned to bite her, but a second arrow sailed in and struck it, causing black chains to wrap around it. Heather vanished in a flash, appearing on the ceiling a moment later. She smiled at the beasts who were still battling the archers and being pelted from the hall by arrows turned into shadow spells. To her surprise, one of them leaped into the air and caught something she wasn't used to having. It grabbed her tail and tore her from the ceiling to crash into the ground with a thud.
The beast was shot by an arrow that caused the creature's flesh to rot, but it hardly slowed a zombie dog. It went for Heather as she blinked away, arriving in the hall behind Breanne, where Webster was watching.
“You nearly got yourself mauled,” Breanne scolded as Heather got to her feet.
“I am not used to having a tail,” Heather growled, grabbing the tail to see the vicious bite. “Thank goodness these injuries don't hurt as badly as they should.”
“I am sure you would have found having your throat torn out by that dog unpleasant, even if it didn't hurt as much,” Breanne said as she focused on a new spell. Her arrow glowed with blue fire, and when she loosed it, the light flashed. It raced down the hall trailing the flames, and collided with a dog in a burst of fire. The creature was set alight to howl as it raced about the room. Her skeletons were nearly gone, and only one of the dogs was down.
Heather vanished again and plunged her dagger into another dog's back, using her new impressive strength to drive it home. It went down with a howl, but a second one leaped for her, only to be met by a vicious claw from Heather's hand. She could turn her fingers into razor-sharp talons at will, and her skin was far tougher than it was before. With claws and dagger, she began to fight, wading into combat with her pulsing heal already on. She took a few horrible bites, but the dogs didn't stand a chance. A minute later, they were all dead, and Heather's wounds were already on the mend.
“You know, this really isn’t a good tactic,” Breanne said. “You are fighting like Frank does, wading into the thick of battle and absorbing hits.”
“The Lilim can take them,” Heather said with a shrug before looking to the two halls that exited the room.
“It can take some damage,” Breanne corrected. “But Frank is a solid tank with a lot of health and armor. You will be surprised at how quickly your health runs out.”
“I can keep my health recovering with my pulsing heal,” Heather replied. “And if I get into trouble, I look through Webster's eyes to blink to safety.”
“I still think you need to focus on stealthy kills,” Breanne said.
“And I think you need to remember you are a flower singer,” Blackbast replied as she walked into the room.
“Oh, are you here to scold us again?” Heather groaned.
“You are not taking this seriously,” Blackbast insisted. “You have plenty of plant powers that could have mitigated that battle but refuse to use them.”
“I have too many powers,” Heather shot back. “I can't keep all of this straight, and it's even harder in the heat of battle.”
“Which is why we are practicing,” Blackbast replied. “You and Breanne need to master your classes, but do not forget your original ones.”
“You said I couldn't use necromancer powers,” Heather replied.
“That is because you are supposed to keep that class hidden,” Blackbast said with a stern glare. “But there is no reason why you couldn't have summoned your combat plants or tangled them in vines. You don't even wear your armor when you decide to stand there and get chewed up.”
“Oh, right, I have the natural armor,” Heather said, shaking her head. “Wow, who knew having too many powers would actually make things harder.”
“You have hell plate armor as well,” Blackbast corrected. “I am fairly certain that is your best armor.”
“But I get naked defense from the slave collar,” Heather protested. “If I wear the other armor, it isn't as good.”
“You are not wearing the slave collar,” Blackbast reminded. “We took it off so you could train without it, remember?”
Heather reached up to touch her neck as she felt foolish for forgetting they had taken it off so she could flex her full Lilim power. It was all part of why they were practicing, and she had messed it up.
“Did you also forget that your Lilim can use a lethal strike as a rogue can? All I saw you doing was stabbing randomly,” Blackbast scolded.
“Alright, I get it. I suck at this,” Heather sighed. “We will keep practicing.”
“I believe that is enough for now,” Blackbast replied and hugged Heather. “And I don't mean to be so hard on you. You once asked me to help protect you, and I mean to do it as best as I can. But part of that means you must train to best use your classes together.”
“I know,” Heather relented as she put her arms around Blackbast. “Will you be with us tonight?”
“My slave girl will be at the temple tonight, and I do not like to leave her alone,” Blackbast replied. “But you are always welcome to come to the temple and sleep in my bed.”
“Will she be in it?” Heather asked with a raised brow.
“Our bed is for us, and if you wish to be in it, she will not,” Blackbast said as she stroked Heather and leaned back. “Now give me a kiss and go back to the surface.”
Heather smiled and shared a quick kiss, then watched as Breanne shared one as well. Then Blackbast walked with them out of the tunnels that made up part of Frank's very dangerous system. They came out of a mausoleum to find Umtha nervously standing nearby as she looked across the graveyard at a distant building.
“I will see you tomorrow,” Blackbast said and hugged Breanne. “But keep practicing.”
“Of course,” Breanne replied and waved her off.
They watched Blackbast go, only to be replaced by Umtha, who didn't look happy. She explained that Viylah hadn't so much as moved in days, and that made the goblin woman suspicious.
“She is probably doing something,” Heather replied, but the expression on Umtha's face said she didn't like that answer.
“What could she possibly be doing?” Umtha asked. “All she does is sit there and pretend to be part of the graveyard.”
“Is there something wrong with that?” Heather questioned, not sure what Umtha was getting at.
“Would you be happy sitting so still for days at a time?” Umtha asked. “Look at Jaina, she is practically a full mimic, and she is always doing something.”
“She does have a point,” Breanne agreed as she looked into the distance. “How does that woman avoid going crazy when all she does is wait?”
“I don't know,” Heather said as she looked at the distant mausoleum that was the mimic woman. “But she did it as the cabin in the swamp and didn't seem to mind.”
“I don’t trust her,” Umtha said. “She is keeping too many secrets.”
“Oh, you have no right to accuse people of keeping secrets,” Heather said as she turned her gaze on Umtha. “You kept dozens of them from us. In fact, I thought of a few more just this morning.”
“What haven’t I explained to you?” Umtha asked.
“How about why you kept telling us to take the egg back to its mother,” Heather pointed out. “You had me believing we were on our way to meet an angry mother dragon.”
“That was what I was supposed to tell you,” Umtha insisted.
“Let me guess; I told you to say that,” Heather groaned and watched Umtha nod. “Why would I say something like that?”
“I don’t know,” Umtha insisted. “But you hated how the dragon knights were stealing eggs and fought with them on several occasions to steal them back.”
“And that raises another question,” Heather said with a finger in the air. “How are the dragons having eggs? Nothing can reproduce in this world.”
“They can,” Umtha insisted. “And so can other things under the right circumstances.”
“So the dragons can reproduce?” Breanne asked with a funny expression. “So why do the dragon knights want their eggs when they can summon an NPC dragon?”
“It has something to do with the natural dragons being more powerful,” Umtha answered. “I am sorry I don’t know every detail of why they do it, but they are committed to controlling the dragons.”
“And that one dragon refused to attack you,” Breanne said as she recalled the battle. “It even called you its sister.”
“And said I shouldn’t trust the voice in the crown,” Heather reminded them.
“I don't think we needed the dragon to tell us that,” Breanne agreed and paced a few steps. “But I am fascinated by the idea that the dragons are laying eggs, and Kevin's fanatical branch of dragon knights want them.”
“It still doesn’t shed any light on why I would tell Umtha to tell me to take the egg back to its mother when it is part of a machine meant to repair something,” Heather argued.
“It has to mean something,” Breanne said. “It might have been part of a larger plan to trigger your memories or put you on the right path.”
“Maybe it was,” Heather said as she thought about it more. “But it can all wait. All I care about is being the princess and managing my kingdom.”
“I still think we should keep an eye on Viylah,” Umtha cautioned. “She has an agenda. I can feel it.”
Heather didn't need another problem to worry about, but she did trust Umtha's instincts. The goblin woman had an uncanny sense of impending doom, so she made a mental note to ask Frank about it later. She took them into the tower and through the magic door into Rajeen's temple. It had been a hard morning of practicing in the tunnels, and she was ready for a drink.
“You’re not nervous about this?” Breanne asked as Heather walked into the large common room crowded with people.
“Do I have a choice?” Heather replied and looked down at her black and red outfit that was little more than a leather top and a pair of panties. “If I wear more clothing than this, I lose half my power.”
“You could change,” Breanne offered. “You haven’t taken that crown off since he selected the evolution.”
Heather pondered that idea as she walked into the room. She had worn just as little for weeks, traveling across the world while pretending to be Blackbast’s slave girl. She had oddly grown accustomed to being so skimpily dressed and thought it might have something to do with the appearance. Nobody would recognize who she was while looking like this, and she found it fun to pretend to be somebody very different from her true nature. Still, she was aware of the glances and stares as she crossed the room and took a table near the wall with the girls.
“Can I get you something?” an excited fox woman said as she rushed to the table.
“The usual,” Heather replied and looked to the others.
“I will have a white wine,” Breanne said.
“Could I have a tall beer, please,” Umtha requested as the woman nodded.
“Coming right up with your drinks,” the woman said and hurried off, leaving the three to listen to a woman playing the harp as she sang softly.
“I should have taken skill in an instrument,” Heather said as she watched the delicate dance of the woman’s finger on the strings.
“You can still spend points on it,” Breanne said.
“We goblins had very different instruments,” Umtha said. “Except for the drums. Ours are the same.”
“I don’t see how you can improve on a drum,” Heather said as she leaned back in her chair. “But I am surprised your drums don’t wind up and play themselves.”
“We didn't have this mechanical skill until we came here, and your people started to arrive,” Umtha clarified. “Until then, we were a very simple people.”
Heather saw her point and apologized for being inconsiderate. Umtha forgave her and took her hand as they waited for the drinks. Heather played with Umtha's fingers as they talked about how best to put their powers to use. Umtha suggested they try focusing on one class at a time until they mastered it, then tried blending abilities slowly.
Breanne agreed as she was finding the new skills difficult to remember. She was so used to her original skills that the new ones were hard to manage in a tense situation.
“Blackbast should let Umtha train with us,” Heather suggested as their drinks arrived and a round glass of rich blue juice spiked with silver glitter arrived.
“You need to drink something else,” Breanne said as Heather scooped up her glitter bomb.
“I happen to like these,” Heather replied and took a soothing sip before smiling. “Something about them is so good.”
“We should find out what’s in them,” Breanne suggested.
“Don't you dare,” Heather remarked, pointing a finger at her. “If you ruin this for me, I will never forgive you.”
“Suit yourself,” Breanne said with a shrug as she swirled her tall wine glass.
“You should both drink beer,” Umtha said, holding up her glass. “Simple and tasteful.”
“This is why she is becoming Frank’s favorite,” Heather said with a gesture to Umtha. “He is all about beer.”
“All men are,” Breanne said with a roll of her eyes. “I swear they think it increases their virility.”
“You found a way to use that word in a sentence?” Heather laughed.
“I happen to have grown up when people couldn't text everything with emojis,” Breanne countered. “We had to speak our thoughts clearly.”
Heather smiled and took a deep sip of her drink, savoring the sweet tropical flavors. She set the glass down with a pleased smile when suddenly she felt a tug on her tail.
“Well, hello there,” a man said as Heather went ridged. She turned slowly to see a tall man with pale skin and narrow red eyes. She couldn't place his race, but she was pretty sure he would be undead if he kept swinging her tail like a toy.
“Let go of that!” Heather demanded as she stood up and snatched the tail from his hand.
“Oh, a fiery angel,” the man said with a smile that revealed pointed teeth. “I knew you would have a bit of fight in you when I saw your dark beauty from across the room.”
“Are you being serious?” Heather demanded as he took a bold stance and introduced himself as Elriz, the bard.
“You should go before you discover just how big a mistake you’re making,” Breanne suggested as the man leaned closer to Heather.
“I can see you are a woman who enjoys the sultry pleasures,” he said while looking deep into her eyes. “Allow me to sing you a sonnet and express how helplessly in love with you I am.”
“How about I allow you to escape with your life,” Heather suggested as she folded her arms.
He smiled and batted his eyes as she felt a slight pushing in her mind. She realized he was using some kind of seduction, and her Lilim class resisted it. She clenched her hand into a fist but bit back her anger, not wanting to make a scene in Rajeen's inn.
“Umm, Elriz, was it?” Heather asked.
“It fills my heart with joy to hear you call me by name,” he replied, covering his chest with his hands.
“Right,” Heather groaned as she rolled her eyes. “I can tell you are trying to seduce me, and I would like you to stop and go away.”
“But surely a devilish beauty like yourself requires a bit of feeding,” the man said with a smile. “Perhaps I could satiate your lustful needs.”
“My lustful needs?” Heather growled. “I don’t have any lustful needs, and you would be the last person I would try to feed on.
“Oh, but you can seduce me to your heart's content. I won't put up a fight,” he insisted and leaned in so close he nearly touched her.
“Get away from me!” she shouted in a commanding voice.
[Level 40 Lilim power: Command] Give a simple command or order to any creature who can hear you and understand what you are saying. The creature must save against willpower or seek to follow the command to the best of its ability. Hostile creatures have a significant advantage to their saving throws.
Eliz went ridged a moment, then jumped back before blinking his eyes. He smiled and begged her to use more of her powers on him, promising he wouldn't bite.
“Great, he's resistant to seductions, too,” Heather grumbled.
“He must be a troubadour type bard,” Breanne said with a shake of her head. “Half their skills are related to making women swoon.”
“And I will play you a song guaranteed to make you understand how much I love you,” he insisted and stepped away before raising his hand. A stringed instrument that Heather didn't recognize appeared in his hand with a flash, and he quickly took a pose as he was about to sing.
“Is this really happening?” Heather grumbled and looked at the others as the man broke into song. She turned back as he began to dance and sing while strumming along with a song that was a confession of love. He caused colorful hearts and patterns of light to bloom around him and then flutter across the space to Heather, who snarled with murder in her eyes.
Heather hated that he was drawing so much attention and then claiming their love was destined. Still, she bit back her rage knowing Blackbast wouldn't approve of a bloody murder in the middle of the inn. She imagined how much worse it would be if Frank walked in and caught him, and for a moment, she smiled at the thought. The man took her smile to mean she was enjoying his song, so he stepped close to her and offered her a hand to dance.
Before Heather could move, a dagger plunged through it, and Umtha twisted the blade and grabbed him by the throat with the other hand.
“Your song is over, and the lady is not impressed. You will leave now,” Umtha snarled.
“But I saw her smile,” he protested while trying to pull his hand free.
“I was smiling about your impending murder,” Heather corrected as she put a hand on Umtha's shoulder. “Now, don't make my friend here have to ask you again.”
“Why is everybody so angry?” the man said with a nervous look at the blade. “I was just offering the succubus a chance to feed.”
“She has plenty of lovers to feed on,” Umtha replied. “Now go, or I will cut your eyes out.”
“Is there a problem, ladies?” a woman in slave silks said as she showed up with four other girls. Heather didn't know the woman specifically but knew she was one of the chief slave girls and led the others. The ones at her side were armed with weapons as if expecting a fight, and they all glared at the man who smiled and put his hands up.
“Just a small disagreement,” Elriz insisted as he looked nervous. “I misunderstood the lady's body language.”
“He grabbed my tail and then tried to seduce me,” Heather explained. “It only got violent when he refused to take no for an answer.”
“I made a minor mistake,” he insisted.
“Well, go make your mistake someplace else,” the harem girl insisted. “Or our mistress will ban you from the inn.”
The man quickly dismissed himself and hurried away as the harem girls giggled and blended back into the crowd.
Heather turned to Umtha with a smile and hugged her before returning to the table.
“He tried to seduce you?” Breanne asked as Heather sat down.
“He did, and what made him think he could just grab my tail?” Heather replied.
“Have you looked at yourself in a mirror?” Breanne laughed. “You look like a succubus who is out looking for men.”
“I am a succubus,” Heather replied and lifted her drink. “But that doesn’t mean I am a public utility.”
“Try to see it the way others do,” Breanne said. “They all assume you picked that class intentionally because you came to New Eden to have rampant sex. Why else would anyone play it?”
“I get your point,” Heather sighed. “I guess that is what people expect, and I don’t blame them for asking, but they need to take no for an answer.”
“Very few succubi ever say no,” Breanne said. “A lot of men are still timid about approaching a lady, but your class is basically a sure thing. They see you and think there is somebody who won't turn me away.”
“Why is this world so depraved?” Heather groaned. “I would change this class to something else, but Frank loves it so much.”
“I like it too,” Umtha said, smiling when Heather put her tail in Umtha's lap.
“Why don't you protect that for me,” Heather suggested as Umtha took firm hold of it. She returned to her drink as Umtha played with her tail, and they discussed how best to use her flower singer powers. Most of it came down to her preparing the battlefield and making use of plants. Umtha asked her about the flower sprite she could summon, and Heather did remember it. She realized that she had neglected the skills and admitted they needed practice. A few minutes later, another man approached and asked if she was interested in some company.
Breanne handled it this time, and the man was shocked Heather wasn’t interested. He wandered off dejected as Heather began to simmer.
“You are going to have to get used to that,” Breanne suggested. “You are a billboard that says men welcome.”
“I have a solution for this, “ Heather said, closing her eyes. Her form blurred, and a moment later, she was a human woman with short red hair. “It's time I used this shape-shifting power.” She smiled as the problem was solved and went back to her drink until a man’s hand landed on her shoulder a minute later.
“Oh, I am sick of this!” Heather cried and shot up to stare into the dark eyes of the man she loved.
“Oh, Frank,” Heather said as she blushed. “I, um, didn’t know it was you.”
“Why do you look like this?” he asked as Quinny arrived with Webster in her arms.
“You left Webs in the graveyard,” she said, setting him on the table before looking Heather up and down. “Did you change your look?”
“Obviously,” Heather groaned and leaned into Frank before confessing what happened. Frank stroked her back and sat her down before suggesting she take the crown off. Heather was touched that he would rather she wasn't being harassed than have the Lilim, but she couldn't take it off just now. People would see the sudden transformation to Princess Hannah, which would spell the end of her secret identity.
“So long as I can mask my appearance, nobody will know I am a Lilim,” Heather said.
“If anybody else tries to harass you, I will bite their fingers off,” Quinny said as she sat beside Heather. Webster chirped his support and volunteered to web their eyes shut so the girls could pummel them.
Heather laughed and lifted her drink to share it with Quinny. It was becoming a ritual to share the drink with the zombie woman, and it felt special. Frank sat across from her and put an arm behind Breanne, who smiled and looked pleased. Unfortunately, he then began to tell them he knew they cheated by summoning skeletons.
“That's why Blackbast ended the challenge,” Frank said. “She didn't think there was any reason for you to keep going if you were going to cheat.”
“Cheating is what I do,” Heather argued. “I have more classes than anybody because I break the rules.”
“Shh,” Umtha insisted. “Don’t say that so loudly here.”
Heather looked around and realized she was being headstrong and overly confident again. She bit back her desire to prove her point and admitted she shouldn't have used them. She then discussed how hard it was to limit what she used when she was so accustomed to the darker powers.
“When a monster is about to cut me in two, the last thing I am thinking of is who might see the power I am using,” Heather admitted.
“You just need more practice,” Frank encouraged, then froze as his face went pale.
“Umm, Frank?” Heather said and snapped a finger. “Hello? Anybody home?”
“You broke him again?” Quinny asked and leaned over the table to poke him.
“Stop doing that,” Frank said in a low voice as his eyes stared into the inn. “She will see you.”
“She?” Heather asked and looked at Quinny, who shrugged.
“How are you talking about?” Breanne asked as she leaned in close to him.
“The woman with soft blue skin and white hair across the room by the wall,” Frank said with a nod her way.
“I see her, but I have no idea who that is,” Breanne said.
“That sounds familiar,” Heather said as she and Quinny turned to look and nearly dropped the drink they were sharing.
“It can’t be,” Quinny said in shock.
“Oh, yes, it can,” Heather growled.
“Wait, I do remember that woman,” Breanne said. “She was the one that rogue who stole your bag ran to. The one you said betrayed you.”
“That's her,” Heather replied as she clenched her hands into fists. “Moon has come to our city.”
