NOVEL NEXT 43 - A Tricksy Bastard
Anilith lost track of how long she sat vigil over Pip's unmoving form. For all that he was her enemy, she couldn't help but feel like she'd just been forced to put an ally to rest. The goblin had not, after all, been truly seeking her life. Given the level of prowess he demonstrated, it was apparent that had he chosen to end things in a moment, he was likely more than capable of doing so, but that wasn't the reason he had sat here for unfathomable years, waiting.
No, he was here to test her, and anyone else who fought their way into the heart of this Hidden space. No encounter had ever given her the idea that any goblin amounted to anything more than a bloodthirsty beast. Her experience might have been a little bit limited, what with her being responsible for the death of damned near every goblin she'd ever met, but it wasn't as if they weren't aiming to do the same to her. Pip, however, was different. He had devoted himself to the purpose of ensuring those who made it here were worthy of the accolade, worthy of progressing, even at the cost of his own life.
It was, undoubtedly, the last thing she had expected when she walked into his chamber.
A voice escaped her shadow, interrupting her revery.
"So, uhhh," the voice began, "I don't really know what the proper timeframe to give someone who's mourning the loss of an…enemy…is, but we should really keep moving. I was happy enough to let you take your time while you were fighting, because it seemed like you were on to something new there, and he seemed like a swell guy, but do you have any idea how boring it is to watch a fight you don't have any intention of joining?" After a pause, the voice finished, "really, you should be praising me for my restraint!"
Razhik materialized from Anilith's shadow, despite the still active barrier of flame barring entrance to the chamber. It hadn't been extinguished with the death of the pyromancer as she thought it might, and she had yet to look around the room for anything that might solve that particular problem.
Anilith looked up languorously at her friend, blinking slowly. "You could have done that at any point, couldn't you?"
"Yeah," Razhik replied, "but like I said, it looked like you were having a good time. I was really tempted to pop out of that first crater he made in the wall, though. Talk about a dramatic entrance, but I held off. Seemed like you might be working through some stuff. I would have jumped in if it ever looked like you were really struggling, though. I'm all for a good time, but I'm not about to lose a friend over one, at least not if I can help it."
Anilith stared back at the creature pensively, "Well, thanks, I guess." She let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding, the air escaping in a drawn-out sigh. "He wasn't just some monster, Razh, no more than you. Can't help but wonder: are any of them? Yeah, he was different—older than I can imagine—but was that really all that set him apart? Are the creatures we've been killing really just pawns in a game everyone's been blind to this whole time?"
"Yeah," Razhik responded, "can't say you're in the right place for enlightened conversation like that. Who am I to say what makes a monster, aside from those beasts we took care of in the caves. Those things," a shudder ran through his sinuous form, "yeah, they make the mark any day, in my book. Probably good to be fluid with this kind of thing, though. Gods know there are too many of you who'd try to kill me on sight without giving it a second's thought. Not that they'd find that a wise decision."
Tension fled Anilith's shoulders as her friend forced a chuckle out of her. "Yeah, I can't imagine they'd live to regret that decision." She glanced back at Pip, his body illuminated by the soft light of the flames that stood vigil at the chamber's entrance, the barrier seeming to give her a moment's respite as she honored the fallen guardian, a fateful encounter that made her reassess their journey to the summit. "I'm not saying we made the wrong choices coming here, the beasts we've faced have been too far gone into madness to be reached by any diplomacy, but what if there are more like Pip? I'm not sure I can justify our mission if it means pushing more Pips to madness. Gods, our slimeball of an ally is far more monstrous than Pip was."
"See, I think you're overlooking something pretty important there," Razhik said, bringing his large saucer-eyes level with her own, "he didn't really give you a choice, did he? The way I saw it, he was proudly doing his duty, foolish as it might seem in our eyes. Seems to me, you do him a disservice by doubting his own mission. Plus, in his own words, he signed up for this. He wanted to be here, waiting for someone like you to come along and kill him…again. May be that you get the chance to ask him yourself, if he decides to come back and isn't too far gone."
Anilith shook her head, once more amazed by the simple difference another perspective might unveil. "When did you get all wise, buddy? Where's the Razhik who went traispsing off into the waters when we got here? Won't be convincing me or Orion to join you in that—we told you nothing good lurks in that much water."
"Oh, it just comes with being Kingly and all," he rumbled in laughter, "don't be jealous. Besides, wisdom doesn't come from never being foolish, does it? It comes from learning not to make the same mistake twice, and, really, does that even count as a mistake? It's not like there was anything actually in the water while I was there, and I really needed the swim."
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He finished his statement with a sense of surety that would have dispelled any notion that he could be wrong, if Anilith didn't know him better than that. Still, she appreciated his confidence—it was the air of a King, after all.
"Now," he continued, "can you please get to figuring out what we need to do here? Something tells me the unpleasant wall of crackling fire means there's still something for us to do here, and Gods only know I'm not going to waste any more brain power figuring out what that is. Step lively, citizen, your liege demands it." He promptly jumped into a shadow cast by the flickering lights, calling out in parting, "Oh, and Orion's not really doing his best 'patient' act out here, so it's on you if you make him wait much longer."
Anilith shook her head as she moved to a kneeling position near the remnant form that was once Pip. Looking around the room, she couldn't see anything that clearly hinted at a goal here. Truthfully, the only things in the room, aside from her and the body she knelt beside, were the markings of their battle, the dancing fires that had inspired her latest revelation, and the throne that stood sentry over the room.
Not really sure what I'm supposed to be looking for, she thought, What would you have hidden in here, Pip? What am I supposed to be seeing?
Her eyes settled on the throne as she panned the room. Not sure what other option she had, she moved to inspect the seat. As she moved up the steps, she noticed something that had escaped her when the chair was occupied by a bored looking goblin. The stone was seamless, as if the earth itself had borne the chair from its depths. There were no intricate carvings or anything ornate that might hint at a hidden purpose.
Intrigued by the oddity, she went so far as to inspect the throne with her earth sense, something that had been remarkably limited since they'd entered the fortification. She found herself unable to see anything outside of the room, not even the floor below her. The walls appeared clearly in her mind's eye, but beyond them was a blackness so unnatural, it nearly forced her out of the meditations of the Earth. Forcing herself to move away from the unnerving sensation, blocking it out of mind, she observed the throne of seamless stone.
Even with her senses running through the blocks that made up the room itself, inherently aware of where the staggered, interlocking bits of stone met, and the minute gaps that lay between them, gaps so small her natural sight would struggle to take note of them, she could not discern where the floor ended, and the seat began. Truly, it was as if it had come into existence naturally. The only unnatural feature it contained was an oddly dense layer of stone along its interior.
After a few moments spent inspecting the irregularity, one not mimicked anywhere else in the chamber, she realized that it was the result of the throne being subjected to intense, controlled heat. She also realized that it was worthless as far as hinting at what she was supposed to do in the room, especially as she realized it would undoubtedly take a particular set of skills to even notice the oddity.
Truly, you were a worthy guardian, Pip. Even having defeated you, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here.
Defeated, she sat down on the throne, the stone still warm to the touch, even as the coldness of death lay claim to its ancient occupant. She wasn't even disappointed when nothing happened, because that would have been too easy. No, Pip was surely not one to hide any hint so carelessly.
As she looked towards his body, wracking her brain for any answer she might find, she noticed a pattern to the flickering flames protecting the room. Her eyes relaxed as she stared, lulled into a sense of peace by the dance. After a moment, something clicked, and she realized the space between the flames was far too regular, revealing a pattern. From the raised position of the seat, she could see the words clearly now, and they were written in what she instinctually recognized as the common tongue of the Tower.
In death, my purpose is renewed, lest I fall into madness. Through my power, the way forward is revealed.
Anilith's jaw dropped, realizing that there was only one thing in the room she hadn't touched.
You bastard. Here I am looking for some elaborate clue, thinking you'd have left a puzzle to be solved after talking with you, and it turns out thinking is the problem. A grin stole across Anilith's face as she shook her head.
Moving down from the throne, she stood over Pip's corpse as she contemplated an action she'd done so many times, but which somehow felt so wrong now.
"You're a bastard, alright, Pip," she said as she began to, with as much respect as she could muster, remove his effects, placing them in her ring as she went. When she touched his staff, a long, blackened piece of gnarled wood with a gemstone set atop it that seemed to embody the dancing flames around her, the barrier at the door blinked out as the gemstone grew hot, seemingly capturing the remnant spell.
"I'd have figured that out a lot sooner if I'd just treated you like any old goblin," Anilith laughed as she made her way towards the door. She raised a hand in parting. "Until next time, Pip."
From beyond the door, Orion's grumpy voice carried easily. "You better have learned somethin' good in there, kid, pullin' a stunt like that. Here we are, deep in enemy territory, and you go off gallivantin' alone."
"Ori," she called back, "You have no idea. I'll tell you all about it while we figure out what comes next."
A moment's silence greeted her before a grunting reply came, "Try somethin' like that again and see if I don't wring your neck after."