Chapter 71: Resurrection Quest
Mentally closing the quest window which popped up into her peripheral display when the scroll given to her by the system administrator was untied, Lexi noticed that another alert window stood behind it, enumerating the experience points she had earned throughout the party’s assault on the slave market and tower. Given everything she and her team had accomplished, Lexi was actually a bit surprised that she had not advanced another level. Although, her current XP tally put her right on the cusp.
Attribute
Modification
New Value
Reason
Experience Points
+500 (x2)
29,750
Defeated 2 Hobgoblins
Experience Points
+250
30,250
Defeated Hobgoblin with Team
Experience Points
+250
30,500
Mind-Broke Goblin
Experience Points
+2,500
33,000
Defeated Tentacle Monster with Team
Experience Points
+1,500
34,500
Completed Quest
As she unrolled the scroll, she subvocally pulled up the statistics menu. Wincing internally at the absence of Gretel’s name right beneath her own, she was at least somewhat gladdened to see that both Samantha and Danica had leveled up as a direct result of their actions today.
Role
Name
Race
Class
Level
XP
HP
SP
MP
Leader
Lexi
Human
Paladin
6
28,750
13/45
1/10
1/11
Follower
Samantha
Human
Monk
4
19,750
7/30
1/7
5/8
Follower
Danica
Elf
Ranger
4
15,000
13/30
2/7
9/9
Good, she thought to herself. We’ll need every spell and hit point we can get. If this resurrection quest is hard enough that the fucking administration needed to go this far to orchestrate a scenario to rope me into taking it on, you can bet your sweet ass it’s going to be a fucking nightmare.
Unrolling the scroll all the way, the three adventurers crowded closely together, leaning in to read the flowing calligraphy in which the text was written. The piece of vellum itself was like a work of art, looking to Lexi like a page from an early medieval illuminated manuscript like the Book of Kells. The initial letter “L” was so heavily ornamented with interwoven knotwork of foliage and entwined beasts that it actually took the paladin a moment to realize that she was even looking at a letter. The following text, although unornamented, was printed in beautifully formed half-uncial script, done in a rich blue and trimmed with gold.
Lo! Thou brave adventurers who have shewn thy valor against the enemies of Xoth. True and pure have ye proven your hearts in the recovery of her most holy relic, for which she has stripped your peerless leader, the valiant paladin, of her curse. And yet, another boon would ye ask of the starlight goddess — the resurrection of your dearest companion, the fair mage. For this, she has come to an agreement withal the paladin to fulfill, so long as another quest is undertaken on her behalf. Deep beneath this world’s surface, layeth a realm of subterranean dungeons and corridors which stretch far beyond the reach of the goddess’ starlight. In this world of darkness, thither reins a terrible queen, the mistress of the dungeon world. Many of the goddess’ chosen has this infernal queen slain, and many more yet languish under the yoke of her imprisonment. Defeat her, and your request shall be granted.
“Does this truly mean what I think?” Samantha asked quietly, her voice barely rising above a whisper.
Danica furrowed her brows in consternation, her long pointed ears bobbing up and down slowly as she rolled the message’s contents around within her eternally scattered mind. “Well,” she said, clearly exasperated. “Someone please explain this to me, because I’m not sure I totally get everything here, but, to be fair, it’s sooo hard to concentrate on the meaning of the words when the calligraphy is so pretty, and—”
“You’re right,” Lexi cut in, abruptly stemming the elf’s stream-of-consciousness rambling. “The goddess promised me that she would resurrect Gretel on our behalf. The thing is, there’s a fucking catch. In order for her to agree to perform the resurrection spell, we’ve first got to go and take out this ‘Dungeon Mistress’ that she talks about in the quest scroll.”
“Never would I have thought such a thing possible,” Samantha said in hushed tones. Lexi looked over and saw the monk’s eyes practically glowing with warmth beneath her shaggy white bangs. Seeing Lexi’s gaze, she said, “The wound is yet raw, but this truly kindles the fires of hope within my soul.”
“Hooray!” Danica squealed, jumping up and down, clapping her hands like a kid who has just been told that they are going to Disney World. “Even though we’ve all only been together for a few days, I couldn’t bear to think of Gretel not being with us. You can count me in to help out with whatever we’ve got to do to get her back — even if that means we have to go down into the super-duper-creepy tunnels. I’ve heard about them, but elves really prefer trees and sun and wind and, y’know — nature — so we don’t typically go down into those parts of the world, but I’ve heard all kinds of spooky stories from my older brother, he—”
Danica’s speech was abruptly cut short as an enormous bronze hand clamped itself firmly over her mouth. The hand’s owner gave Lexi the barest hint of a smile, with just the corner of her mouth being tugged up slightly. But, her eyes sparkled at the vitality and optimism which had already been pumped back into the party by this seemingly miraculous scroll’s offer — a quest given by the goddess Xoth herself.
Lexi grinned back at Samantha, ruffling the elf’s hair playfully as she attempted in vain to pry the monk’s hand from her mouth. However, despite her apparent cheer at the news, a seed of reservation had been planted deep within Lexi’s heart as a result of her meeting with the administrator. It was good that her two friends believed that they were heading out on a quest quite literally ordained by one of this world’s deities. The truth of the matter was something else, and it was the things left unsaid by the administration’s representative which worried Lexi.
After that “lovely” little chat with the administration, I know that this “Dungeon Mistress” is another PC, Lexi thought to herself. And, if she’s been able to set herself up as some kind of fucking Queen of the Underdark, and it’s THIS much of a problem for the admins, then I’ll bet my tits she’s a really high-level PC. Not just that, but these so-called “goddess’ chosen” that she’s apparently been killing and kidnapping like hotcakes have got to be important too. And, I’ll eat my fucking helmet if that’s not some kind of administrative code for PC. So, that leaves my already hamstrung team with the responsibility of taking down a high-level player killer who’s probably got shit tons of infrastructure and security set up to protect her.
Sounds like it’ll be a romp in the fucking park for sure.
“Whatever it takes,” Lexi said, putting a hand on the shoulder of each of her remaining companions. “We will get Gretel back, even if we have to go kill some subterranean wanna-be queen to do it.”
The next thing Lexi knew, a pair of absurdly strong arms was crushing her in a hug. The paladin found her face squeezed between Samantha’s thick bicep and her strong broad chest. The small elf was caught in the crossfire, with her face smushed into Lexi’s cleavage. It was only when Danica started to struggle for breath, slapping feebly at the rock hard musculature behind her that Samantha eased up enough for the elf to pry her face out from between Lexi’s boobs, gasping for breath, but grinning — almost lewdly — at Lexi nonetheless.
“You,” the paladin said in tones low enough that only Danica and Samantha could hear her. “Are an incorrigible little perv.”
Danica’s only response was to waggle her eyebrows in her trademark “suggestive” gesture that came across so comically that Lexi had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle a fit of giggles. So wrapped up was she in the company of her two friends that Lexi had almost forgotten that Anya was still in the room with them. The high priestess had graciously allowed the three adventurers the space needed to digest this news, waiting until there was a natural break in the flow for her to reinsert herself. A discrete cough brought the older woman back into the forefront of Lexi’s awareness, and the paladin turned to regard her.
“Blessed are those who walk in service of the goddess,” Anya said solemnly. “As warriors chosen by Xoth herself to undertake this noble cause, please allow me to offer the services of my acolytes — poor as they might be — to help ease your suffering from the struggles you have already been through, and to prepare you to face those to come.”
“Thank you,” Lexi answered sincerely. “I’m sure whatever hospitality you and your acolytes have to offer is far better than the conditions we’ve seen on the road for the past few days.”
“Before I call an acolyte to escort you to the temple baths,” Anya began. “There is one gift I would like to offer to the two humans in your party.”
“Huh?” Danica said, scrunching up her face in annoyance. “What’s so special about them that they get a present and I don’t?”
“Pipe down, pipsqueak,” Lexi snapped in good humor.
Samantha’s mouth twitched, her hand inching towards the elf’s mouth. Danica saw this out of the corner of one eye, and decided to head the monk off at the pass, slapping her own hand over her mouth.
“You misunderstand me small one,” Anya said, laughing gently. “It is only that your friends require that with which you have already been blessed. The paths you will tread beneath Aeternia’s surface are truly lightless. And, without some means to light your way, you would surely be lost forever in the labyrinthine passages of the dungeon world below. The elven race is blessed by Xoth with eyes that can see just as clearly in the underworld’s darkness as a human might beneath the twilit sky above. What I offer to you now, paladin and monk, is a means to tread these paths with as much sight as your small companion.”
“Honestly,” Lexi said, rocking back on her heels. “I hadn’t even thought about that, but I guess there’s no way that we could just use torches or something on a journey that could take days or even weeks. After all, if these tunnels are anything like the caverns I’ve been in before, it’s not like we’d be able to find kindling or anything down there.”
“True indeed,” the high priestess said, nodding sagely. “Nor would such means of illumination be safe to use in the subterranean labyrinth. In that world of eternal darkness, any source of external light flare up like a beacon for every predator the beams reach, calling to them as clearly as the scent of blood does to a bird of prey. No, what will serve you best is this.”
And, with that, Anya held up the Starseed high above her head. The gemstone flared to life, blazing with an inner light that poured out like a miniature sun. From this starburst of brilliance, two beams of light coalesced before each of the two human adventurers — the light seeming to take physical shape as the rays focused and intensified.
“Hold out your hands,” Anya instructed.
Both Samantha and Lexi followed suit, cupping both hands beneath the small tear-shaped droplets of almost crystalline light which hung before them. Almost at once, each bead of condensation flared itself, and the light emanating from the Starseed receded back into the large gem. Lexi felt a small object fall into her hand. Looking down, she saw that it was a small gem, no larger than a pea, which had an appearance that reminded the paladin of something like an opal, except that when she gazed into the fractal depths of this gemstone it was like being drawn into the high sky itself, its midnight blue penetrated with gleaming flecks of silver and gold. As soon as the gem dropped into her hand, Lexi noticed a system alert message that popped up in her peripheral vision.
Magical Item Acquired!
When worn, the Starsight Gem provides its owner with the ability to see in the absence of all light. A pitch black chamber will, to the bearer of the gem, appear as if it were bathed in soft starlight, illuminating everything within 100-yards.