"What's so special about this piece of junk? It doesn't even have any stats."

  I stop short and focus on the ring. Curious... I see stats, which means that only the ring's owner can, but no one else?

  "It's cursed in a number of ways, including severely hampering my damage," I explain. "On the other hand, if not for the ring, I would have never made it through the cursed mist and reached the temple of the Departed. But that happened after Thalim, where I was—"

  "Hold on just a second!" Daria doesn't let me finish. "You were in the temple of the Departed Gods?!"

  My girlfriend's entire demeanor changes in an instant. She's all business now.

  "Yes. I guess you’ve heard of them?"

  "Of course I’ve heard of them! They are an enemy of our people, Oleg. An enemy of our Mistress, too. They dream of returning and laying ruin to all of Anthrum!"

  "Is that so?" I chuckle. "Who told you that? Why would they be enemies of the drow? They were in Anthrum before your Mistress arrived. Lolth betrayed them, sacrificed them so that she could take control over the True Darkness..."

  "Stop talking nonsense! The Mistress banished them from Anthrum because they schemed to eradicate our people!" my girlfriend insists with conviction.

  "Daria, darling, you should take the things they tell you in the temple with a grain of salt. Or have you forgotten that Lolth is the Goddess of Cunning? I have the quest right here. Also, I spoke with Bel, and he told me that—"

  "You have a quest from the Departed Gods?!"

  I nod. "I do. Only no one bothered asking me if I want it. They 'blessed' me with a bunch of passive skills that will turn to debuffs if I fail."

  "You mustn't complete this quest," Daria gives a somber frown. "You have no idea how dangerous it is for all of us. And for the Mistress..."

  "Are you hearing me? I'll be forever crippled if the quest is failed. Why should I sacrifice myself for a traitorous, power-hungry goddess? We're not roleplaying anymore, Daria. This is our life now."

  I reach out to touch her shoulder and peer into her eyes, but she recoils from me, cold and tense.

  How quickly her mood has shifted... And that's some serious brainwashing they're subjected to in the temple. I'm not too worried about Daria, though. She's a smart girl, even if a bit stubborn. Give her time and she'll understand. At least I hope she will... My mood suddenly sour, I shrug and get up from the sofa.

  "Anyway, I really got to go now..."

  "Can you tell me about the quest, at least?" my girlfriend asks in a strange, synthetic tone.

  I draw a sigh. "We'll talk tomorrow, all right? I can see I've upset you, and I really am pressed for time."

  "All right, tomorrow, then," she agrees readily. "But let me make sure the hallway is clear."

  Daria comes up to the door, opens it and peeks out, then moves suddenly to the side. A trio of level 300 patrolmen rush in, the same ones that were chatting with the priestesses earlier.

  "Grab him!" Daria orders curtly, pointing at me. "Carefully! He serves the Departed Gods!"

  Chapter 60

  For a long moment, I cannot digest what's happening. To digest is to accept, and accepting this... The 'how' of it is clear enough. All priestesses are capable of mental communication, even when not grouped in the same party. This is the only way she could have summoned these assholes. The 'why' of it, on the other hand... Daria, my darling Daria. How could you... A great weight plunges on my heart, like a sandbag, crushing and grinding all things pleasant, leaving nothing but grief and despair. What is the point of living when you're betrayed by people you love? Betrayed by a woman that could have been my wife—if she wasn't a priestess of the Goddess of Cunning.

  A dark shroud envelops Daria's hand as the warriors simultaneously bare their weapons. The mage hurls Paralysis at me, which finally wrests me out of my stupor. Eat shit, you assholes! I've never betrayed anymore, and I will not die over anyone else's betrayal! Not only that, I will complete this quest chain in spite of it. Because more than anything in the world, I despise traitors!

  Dispelling Paralysis with the ring, I Kick the mage away as he runs up, leap into the left corner of the room, and break the vial in my belt slot with the hilt of a swiftly drawn dagger. The next second, I double over with AGONIZING PAIN as the world around me plunges into a blue-black darkness.

  Your Toughness skill has increased to 13%.

  Your Toughness skill has increased to 14%.

  Your Toughness skill has increased to 15%.

  I feel my bones breaking, my joints and ligaments tearing. I dive into the mouth of a volcano, then plunge into a pool of liquid nitrogen. My HP bar doesn't move, yet my whole body twists and turns inside out. A lifetime seems to pass by before the torment finally recedes.

  You have garnered the attention of a higher being. Lolth, the Goddess of Cunning, Treachery and Twisted Desires, relates to you with hatred.

  Attention! You have imbibed of True Darkness. The primordial element favors those who walk its path...

  I wave away the scrolling text and slowly rise to my feet. Whoever said that objects in a player's private room cannot be destroyed was dead wrong. Everything in the room has been turned to dust: from the furniture to the appliances to the people... Even the floor underfoot is more sand than floor now. The walls have crumbled, exposing the adjacent rooms that bear similar signs of destruction. I can see the lanterns burning from the temple courtyard... Too bad the actual temple didn't fall along with this dorm. But anyway, it's time to bounce!

  Sheathing the dagger that I still clutch in my right hand, I slip into invis and start making my way through the broken walls toward the street, teetering as I go.

  Cries of alarm follow, and then the heavy footfall of plated boots. This place will be swarming with people soon, and I don't want to be here when 'soon' turns to 'now.'

  A strange lightness of being takes over my body. I turn left to skirt around the South Wing and toward the staircase. I still have time. It's only in movies that cops and firetrucks roll up on the scene a minute after it becomes 'the scene.' Experience suggests I have about twenty minutes to flee the temple grounds before the local security forces ascertain even the broad strokes of what happened here and who's to blame for it. The better question is, what do I do next? Try to hand in the quest? Become a geiss and hightail out of the city?

  Daria will resurrect at her bindstone in six hours, and it would behoove me to be as far away from Louu as possible when that happens. Besides, do I even need nobility anymore? Say I hand in the quest and get adopted by Klahd. After the shit I just pulled, mine will be the quickest expulsion from a drow House in the history of the game. And I couldn't care less! With all my new gifts, I can bypass even the demon blockade on the border. There's nothing holding me in Anthrum anymore...

  A sickening clangor assails my ears. Then, a dark cloud gathers just ahead to the sound of wings flapping. A moment later, a tall dark-haired woman emerges from it.

  You are detected.

  You are paralyzed.

  Well, this is bad.

  Lolth looks like the cover girl of some glitzy fashion magazine. Straight nose, symmetrical features, tiny waist. Only cover girls don't come with eyes burning a furious crimson...

  "Do you realize what you've done, worm?" the goddess' voice rings with uncontrollable hatred. "And did you think you could escape once you've done it?"

  I cannot answer on account of being paralyzed, so I just stand there and gawk at this angry chicken clucking away. She is the reason my woman betrayed me, and all I feel toward her now is weariness and disgust. What is she going to do? Kill me? Declare me a criminal in a land filled with her toadies and bootlickers?

  "If you're hoping that your death will be easy," Lolth draws closer, peers into my eyes, and shakes her head. "Then you're in for a rude awakening, worm..."

  The goddess' eyes are entrancing. The world around me grows still, from the distant voices to the light of the magic lanterns. A great chill takes over my body, freezing even the beads of cold sweat running on my spine. My knees buckle as a wacky thought scrapes at the edges of my consciousness. What is she going on about, all ominous like a second-rate Bond villain? I can't help but start laughing. It starts in my head, then shifts to my belly, frothing and fuming deep within before finally bursting up and out of my throat, my facial muscles tingling. Her attempt at subjugating me foiled, the goddess frowns with displeasure, walks right up to me, and puts a hand on my shoulder.

  I wonder why her hair is black when everyone else's is white? That is the last thought that registers before my consciousness fades.

  Chapter 61

  Coming to, I quickly realize that I'm stretched out like a starfish, chained to an angled slab of smooth, cool stone. The room I'm in is small, less than one hundred square feet, and illuminated by four magic lanterns hanging off the ceiling, one in each corner. Encircling the slab are six black rods jutting out of the floor, each about six feet long and crested with light metal. My hands and feet are bound with thick leather straps that grow right out of the stone. My action bar is inactive. My character menu is available, though. I can even distribute stat and talent points, but that, alas, is all I can do.

  Calling my predicament "dire" at this point doesn't quite fit. To fall into the hands of a goddess who hates your guts... Why couldn't this bitch just kill me?

  A wave of pure terror washes over me, making breathing a struggle. I jerk a few times, but it's pointless, so I stop and will myself to calm the hell down. I don't know how this story will end, but it won't end with me giving up the book. I don't want to die any more than the next guy. And I am terrified of being tortured... But I will fulfill this bloody covenant, if only to pay back this vile bitch for stealing my girlfriend from me. I still can't believe that my Daria did what she did! All priestesses carry the mark of the goddess, but I have no idea what that actually means. Could it be the reason for her betrayal?

  I take a deep breath, then clench my teeth and shut my eyes. Idiot! Why do you console yourself and look to justify a betrayal? No mark, divine or not, could compel me to go against my will. Daria had a choice, and she made it freely. And that choice wasn't in my favor. Simple as that, and no excuses. It is that same betrayal that brought me here, to this slab. I hope that bitch is happy to have served her Mistress so well. She's not my Daria anymore. My Daria is far from here, back on Earth, in that cafe on Kuznetsky Bridge...

  I check my inventory just in case, to make sure the stolen book and the soulstone haven't vanished. Then, as I look around the room, I remember something quite important.

  The scrolling text after breaking the vial! I rush to display the system log and start reading. My capacity for shock already stretched thin, I feel it bursting at the seams.

  Attention! You have imbibed of True Darkness. The primordial element favors those who walk its path. You have earned a new title, Born in Darkness.

  From here on:

  You have full immunity to all spells from the Dark school of magic.

  Your maximum resistance to the Light school of magic is reduced to 50%. (Increasing maximum resistance to the Light school of magic is possible with items that boost maximum resistance to Light magic.)

  Any damage you deal is automatically converted to True Darkness damage.

  Your base damage is amplified by 2020 True Darkness damage (proportional to your level).

  A new talent branch will unlock for you at level 250.

  You've learned a skill: Phantom of Darkness I.

  Phantom of Darkness I

  True Darkness favors those who walk its path. Once every three minutes you can assume phantom form and become invulnerable to all types of damage and control while all of your attacks will hit for critical damage.

  If it wasn't for my current predicament, which includes being bound like a guinea pig, I'd be jumping for joy right now. I look around the room with mild despair. Am I still drow or not really anymore?

  "Kris Venom the two-lived..."

  Lolth manifests right in front of me, but this time her expression shows neither fury nor hatred. More surprisingly, she's wearing a see-through baby blue dress that conceals absolutely nothing. It would appear that the goddess is no fan of undergarments, and despite the horror of my situation I can't help but feel incredibly aroused. Lolth catches me looking and smiles, baring delicate teeth that are white as snow, then cocks her head and asks.

  "Where are they, Kris? My book and my stone."

  Her voice matches the body fully. With a voice like that she'd be a top earner answering the phone at one of those premium 1-900 numbers. Hell, there'd be hour-long queues for just a few minutes of her time. Dude, where the hell is my mind going with this?

  "Are you deaf? Where are the book and the stone? Answer me!"

  "I have no idea," I try to shrug, but do a poor job at that on account of my arms being spread out on the slab. The goddess isn't convinced.

  "Don't you know that you shouldn't take what doesn't belong to you? And then lie about it..." she says insinuatingly.

  I smirk in response. "Sure, I know that. Only the book doesn't belong to you, either. It belongs to Arkam. And you only got the vial by betraying the other gods of Anthrum, so how do I know the stone is really yours? Look here, girlfriend. You should know that I despise traitors, and I will use any means necessary to fight them. So don't expect special treatment from me."

  The slab grows scalding hot in an instant. My HP bar jerks, then starts rapidly dwindling. A sharp pain shoots through my chest and lower back.

  Your Toughness skill has increased to 16%.

  The pain too much to bear, I scream and twist in my bounds. After several spasms, the world goes dark once more.

  I don't know how much time has passes, but I suddenly realize that I'm lying on a soft surface. The pain is gone, and my hands... my hands are free! I open my eyes, then scramble up to my feet and take an astounded look around the seemingly boundless ravine coated with ash.

  "Greetings, Dark One!" a voice speaks behind me. I spin around and see a young and beautiful drow female standing not ten feet away. Her eyes a blend of almond and jade, her hair short and light, with a straight nose atop full lips. She's tall, almost as tall as me. And her voice... It's a voice I've heard somewhere before.

  "Greetings," I nod, and that's when it hits me. "This is a dream, isn't it? And you're Sherra?"

  "I am the shadow of one who was once Sherra. But this isn't a dream. We are in your subconscious."

  "Be quiet and listen!" The woman puts out her hand, palm out. Seeing that she has my full attention, she continues. "You must live through all that has been prepared for you by Providence. You are the last hope of Anthrum and all our people. She... she knows not what she's doing! But if you don't fulfill your destiny, our whole realm will sink into the foul blackness of the Dark Ocean. I had a premonition that something would happen, and so I left behind my shadow. She will help you as much as she can, but..."

  I snap open my eyes and find myself back on the same slab, opposite the same bitch.

  "Well, Kris, where are my book and my stone?"

  Her head cocked, Lolth clasps her hands behind her. The fabric on her bust grows taut...

  I shake my head to get my mind right, then turn away to avoid looking at her protruding nipples.

  "I'm not giving you either the book or the stone. Get that through your head! I'm not keen on repeating myself..."

  Once again, the slab grows scalding hot...

  Chapter 62

  "You're a stubborn one, Kris Venom. I like that," the goddess smiles unexpectedly after the tenth go-round. "So let's try something else. Tell me, what do you want with this book?"

  I feel like shit. Covered in sticky sweat, my breathing becoming increasingly difficult with each new awakening, and still I can think of little else than getting her in the sack. First I'll screw her, then I'll kill her. The thought keeps pumping in my head, displacing all others. I feel vile and dirty thinking it, but I can't help myself. Among other things, Lolth is a Goddess of Twisted Desires, after all, so I shouldn't be surprised. Though my Toughness has grown to twenty percent, the pain I feel only grows in intensity each time. Or maybe it's my perception? Sherra doesn't appear again, but I remember everything she said to me, down to the letter. Not that remembering aids in understanding. The last hope of Anthrum? Foul blackness? What the bloody hell did any of that mean?

  "Wake up, Kris! I ask you again, what do you want with my book?"

  "It's on my reading list," I flash a wry smile, staring at the revoltingly alluring body under that translucent dress. "Arkam is a writer of some renown, I hear. I hope to pick up some wisdom from him and become just like you."

  Lolth smiles. "The book teaches how to master True Darkness. How to capture a speck of Primordial Element by sacrificing five dolts and casting the sixth into eternal exile. During his study of the Dark Ocean, my teacher met the Fallen One, who told him about all this. In order to capture POWER, one needed to create an accumulator, wait for it to fully charge, then sacrifice to it a speck of Primordial Element. Anthrum suited my purposes best, and so I moved here. I used to be human, Kris. A companion and pupil of Arkam, the God of Wisdom," the goddess draws real close and puts a hand on my shoulder, her gaze growing distant and pensive. She continues, softly. "Everything happened just as my teacher predicted. The statue is nearly fully charged, and the vial... Do you really think that it doesn't exist anymore, huh, Kris?"

  "And do you have five more gods to sacrifice?" I ask in a voice hoarse with tension, intoxicated by her scent, my eyes glued to her heaving chest.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28