"Answer me a riddle, Lieze."
"A riddle?"
"Listen closely-" Drayya began, "-Suppose there was a king whose reign was so detestably just and righteous that his subjects were practically lining up to kiss his feet every morning. Why, then, would such a king ever commision a seemingly endless labyrinth of hallways and cells beneath his auspicious castle?"
"To eliminate political enemies?" Lieze answered.
"Suppose he had none?"
"Oh, please." She sighed, "No king is without his enemies, Drayya. Ricta III knew better than to publicise his efforts in quelling them. Imagine the scandal if he was suddenly revealed to be a despot who killed anyone disagreeing with his policies."
"From my perspective, what we're seeing down here is more wicked than any crime the Order has ever committed." Drayya replied, "We're only interested in corpses! Our captives die quickly and mercifully--most of the time."
"Most of the time." Lieze repeated.
"Better than Ricta's father, who tossed his enemies into cells and left them to starve! Have you seen the size of this place!?"
"Try to be a bit quieter, will you?"
"Exactly who is going to hear us? We can be as loud as we want."
As was revealed just a few seconds later, it wasn't a matter of who was going to hear them, but what. Drayya's self-satisfied smirk practically leaped off her face as a deafening roar flooded the corridor with noise. Expecting an attack, Lieze trained her eyes towards the darkness. As silence once more returned to the prison, she couldn't be certain whether or not her mind was playing tricks on her.
"...What in Garland's name was that?" Drayya dared to ask.
"Seems we're not alone down here." Lieze concluded, "That was… otherworldly. Like the wail of some dying titan."
"Perhaps the elder Ricta trapped a Dragon under the castle?"
"Joking aside, do you have any idea what that might have been?"
"An excellent excuse to turn tail and flee." She admitted, "-But that look in your eyes tells me your curiosity's been piqued."
Lieze's ears were still ringing. It was like no other sound she'd ever heard in her life--and she had been forced to listen to many unpleasant sounds in the Order.
"We may be putting these skeletons to use after all." She warned, "A monster beneath the Devil's Castle… what a strange mystery."
Neither of the two dared to speak up as they continued down the abandoned corridor. Yet more rusted gates awaited them ahead--nothing their skeletons couldn't barge through with force. Lieze was beginning to think that perhaps they had been locked for a reason. Not to keep the prisoners inside, but to prevent something else from getting out. Something old and forgotten.
A final stairwell at the end of the hallway separated them from the dungeon's most secluded depths. Rising up from the passageway came the shrieks of chains seething across a stone floor.
"This was a poor idea." Drayya was now whispering, "Whatever's down there--it's there for a reason. What kind of ruler entombs a monster beneath his very own castle?"
"I don't-"
"-I'll tell you what kind: one who isn't capable of killing it. We grew up together, Lieze. You know that creatures beyond any explanation wander this world. What if this is some mad beast from the Wild Lands?"
"Then why is it down here, of all places?" Lieze retaliated, "And why is this dungeon so large? Something is amiss here, Drayya. Now, are you going to come with me down these steps, or will I have to kick you down?"
Fearlessly, she began her descent. Drayya's expression was muddied by the darkness, but it was clear she was none too pleased about continuing.
"Let me tell you right now that the second this situation takes a turn for the worse, I'll happily put you in harm's way if it guarantees my own survival." She warned.
"That makes two of us, then."
The staircase seemed to be endless. There was no reason for it to exist. When the scale commanded Lieze to unveil the castle's secret, she expected to find some evidence of a political scandal. As the sounds of scraping chains grew louder, she suddenly found herself wishing she was back at the gala, arguing back and forth with Helmach.
"Stop." Drayya hissed, "...Do you hear that?"
"I'm trying to focus on not falling down. I can't believe you're doing this in that ridiculous dress."
"Lieze, stop." She commanded, "Listen."
Sensing the uncharacteristic caution in Drayya's voice, Lieze froze with two feet on different steps, closing her eyes in an attempt to hone her hearing.
..s. …
..m. …., .oth..
A voice.
Deep enough to become inaudible as it travelled up the passageway, but with a certain tone that made it sound almost pitiful.
"Someone's down there…" Lieze muttered, "A prisoner?"
"Perhaps a necromancer?" Drayya suggested, "Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Somehow, I doubt that's the case."
Minutes later, the stairwell terminated. The path forward tapered into a positively miniscule corridor, barely wide enough for two people to walk through side-by-side. It was difficult to conceal the sound of rattling bones from the skeletons accompanying them--especially when they kept tripping and breaking themselves apart on the stairs.
.h … I ..nt .. ..me out ..w
..ther … I .rom.se .ll be ...tter
Even so, the voice continued. As she entered the thin passageway, Lieze could make out a new sound--laboured breathing, equal parts exhausted and desperate.
A final chamber lay beyond. Circular, with a ceiling tall enough that it was impossible to see in the darkness. It was undecorated--but not unoccupied.
Something sinister dwelled in that forgotten gaol. The silhouette of a gargantuan creature lingered in the centre, curled up on the ground like a swaddled babe. Swaddled in what, you may ask?
"...Feathers?" Lieze whispered.
Dirty-grey plumes, as long as her forearm, blended into the stone floor. Even more seemed to be shedding from the beast's twitching form, floating gently through the dust-filled air. Lieze recoiled as one crossed her vision stained with globules of fresh blood. Drayya was somewhere behind her, reluctant to say a word. Even the skeletons seemed to quieten upon sighting the creature.
???
Level 14 Monstrosity
HP - 480/480 MP - 0/0
Quest 'Hidden Sin' Complete!
Reward - 2,000xp
Level Up!
You are now level [11]
HP+0 MP+55
Level Up!
You are now level [12]
HP+10 MP+45
Pointless notifications. She didn't care about any of them. The shuddering thing hidden beneath Tonberg Castle defied the world's natural laws. A nauseous repulsion struck Lieze as she took stock of the beast's appearance. Two crooked wings poked out from the layer of matted feathers covering its body--a practical joke by whatever cruel deity willed the creature into existence.
Finally enlightened to their presence, the bird-thing reared its head. Though it was shaped as if accommodating a beak, there was no such thing. Instead, its features resembled that of a horse with its upper jaw removed. The chalk bumps of its molars studded the beast's gums like pearls. The neck was serpentine and much too long, able to twist itself towards Lieze without so much as a twitch from the body. Droplets of spittle and blood swayed from its un-mouth.
Lieze blinked. The beast's eyes carried within them an unmistakable spark of intelligence. She couldn't believe for a second that it was the source of the voice she'd been hearing just a moment ago--the mere thought threatened to steer her into madness.
M… Mother…
"Lieze!"
Drayya's voice snapped the girl from her stupor. She hadn't heard a thing. She couldn't have. The monster in front of her was simply a cruel beast from a forgotten corner of the world. A terrifying method of execution for the king's political enemies. Nothing more than that.
Taking a step back, Lieze and Drayya's Skeletons moved to encircle the creature. It was chained by its brittle legs to the floor, allowed only a few metres of slack, but seemed pushed to action by the undead thralls regardless. With a screech, its gangly arms discarded something heavy and dripping--a corpse--before sweeping through a handful of Skeletons, sending dislocated bones flying every which way throughout the chamber.
"Drayya, pull those Skeletons back!" Lieze commanded, "It's too dangerous to have them in a tight formation!"
"Don't tell me you plan on killing whatever this foul beast is!?" She answered, "We have our answer--why not cut our losses and run!?"
It was a rare day indeed when Drayya felt intimidated. However, Lieze wasn't quite so convinced of the creature's strength. Despite its size, it was a measly [Level 14], and seemed incapable of escaping from its restraints or using magic of any kind. In short, it relied heavily on sheer intimidation factor to deter enemies.
"It's not as powerful as it looks!" Lieze assured, "We have the advantage in numbers! Use your weaker thralls to distract it while my own attack from behind!"
"Madness… this is pure madness…" Drayya muttered, "Fine! I'll use a transmutation spell to camouflage one of your own! Use it to your advantage!"
MP - 75/982
Drayya was already low on mana. The battle would have been a breeze if she could hide every Skeleton with illusions, but she would have to settle for only one. Her logic made perfect sense--better it be Lieze's higher-level Skeletons than one of her own.
Thankfully, Skeletons benefitted from a unique feature that no other thrall could lay claim to: an imperviousness to trauma. While it was a simple enough matter to blow them apart, their bones would continuously reconstruct unless broken. Undead creatures had a reputation for their durability, but Skeletons in particular were known for being especially troublesome.
As the bird-thing thrashed about in its restraints, horrid wails escaping from its serpentine throat, Lieze and Drayya made certain to skirt the room's edges under cover of their thralls, ducking as shards of bone clattered noisily against the walls. When Lieze recalled one of her thralls, Drayya wasted no time wreathing the Skeleton in an illusion, making it practically invisible in the pitch-black.
HP - 390/480
Their sheer advantage in numbers had earned them a scratch or two against the gaol-beast. Unfortunately, none of the Skeletons were armed, leaving them with nothing but the sharpened tusks of their fingers to dig beneath the creature's flesh.
Hurts… it hurts…
Someone… help me…
"Is it… speaking?" Drayya wondered.
"Don't lose focus!" Lieze yelled, "You have a dagger, don't you!? Throw it over here!"
She had no reason to refuse. Lieze recoiled as Drayya pulled the weapon from her waist and tossed it through the air. She wasn't about to try and catch a blade in the dark, instead waiting for it to clatter noisily against the floor. At the same time, she drew her own dagger, searching the room for one of her twin thralls.
She could only glimpse the [Level 9] Skeleton she'd raised earlier thanks to the nameplate above its head--Drayya's enchantment had transformed it into little more than a shimmering haze in the darkness. Willing it to approach her, she thrust both of the daggers towards it, unsure of where its hands were.
"The neck…" She paused, "Mount it from behind, when it's distracted, then strike at the neck. Sever the head, bleed it out--I don't care… just kill it!"
Easier said than done, she could almost imagine the thrall replying. Regretfully, its capacity for humour had been lost long ago, departing as soon as Lieze's instructions had left her mouth.
The beast seemed to share in their blindness. With wide sweeps and thoughtless slams, one would be forgiven for assuming that the creature had never seen a fight in its life. Even so, there was merit in that ferocity. Like a cornered animal, it lashed out at anything resembling a threat. From Lieze's perspective, it was almost pitiful--a sanguine, beastly dance reminiscent of a child's tantrum.
HP - 283/480
It was dying. A miracle, considering the sorry state of its existence. Like some cruel execution, the legion of Skeletons surrounding it buried their fingers into its pale flesh, only to be blown away seconds later by a storm of rampaging feathers. Single-mindedly, the bird-thing remained oblivious to the dual-wielding thrall approaching it from the rear.
Together… together with mother…
Mother…
It wasn't speaking. Lieze refused to believe it. Even as tears began running freely from its woeful eyes, she refused to believe it. There was no 'humanity' to speak of within that chamber. Only chaos--the screams and wails of a pitiful, cursed creature. So concerned by its own despair, the beast barely reacted to the shimmering mass clinging to its back, or the frozen touch of twin blades against its skin.
HP - 201/480
It needed to die. There was no other conclusion that would have satisfied Lieze. The thought of attempting to raise it as a thrall never even occurred to her. It was more pitiful than any undead. A soulless being that yet lived. She would never be able to call herself a member of the Order after allowing such an abomination to live.
As if accepting its fate, the beast's movements slowed. It knew that its end was near--perhaps even humbled by the fact. Lieze's hidden Skeleton worked up through the flea-infested plumage with some difficulty, making barely a sound as it set to work bleeding the gaol-beast's oily neck with its daggers. A wail of pain escaped the beast's cursed throat as blood poured from its wounds.
It hurts…
Lieze plugged her ears with her fingers. Even so, the voice buried itself in her head.
Let me see… mother…
I want to… go… home…
"Finish it off already!" She demanded.
Stab after stab. There could scarcely be a death more painful and slow than one caused by a thousand cuts.
152/480
101/480
63/480
Blood flowed, but the beast did not stop screaming. An eternity seemed to pass before its struggling finally ceased, until finally--amidst a whirlwind of scattered feathers, the bird-thing collapsed into a heap on the ground, and all that remained of its frenzied pleading was a terrible ringing in Lieze's ears.
[???] Defeated
Boss threat level - Low (x5 xp)
70xp Rewarded
Had she awoken from a nightmare? Even in the pitch-black of that chamber, Lieze found herself unable to turn her gaze towards the beast's terrifying half-jawed visage. With their mission completed, the Skeletons--or, however many remained of them--became motionless.
"Lieze…" Drayya's wandered over, "What was that?"
"...Just some horrible beast Ricta was keeping as a pet." She lied.
"It was speaking-"
"I don't want to hear about it!" Lieze exclaimed, "What do you want me to say!? I was expecting a Chimera, or a Drake, not… whatever that was!"
A secret. That foul creature was unmistakably the 'secret' her scale had foretold. But why would Ricta's father ever have imprisoned such a foul thing? Why did it return Lieze's gaze with one so utterly pitiful and human? Why was it capable of speech?
"Mother…" She repeated, "Why did it say that word? Mother…"
"You don't think…" Drayya began.
"No… no." Lieze answered, "Don't even suggest something like that."
A memory was dredged up from the depths of her mind. Her first meeting with Alma, in the dilapidated church.
"And--well, it's not polite to accuse him of anything, but it's said that the king's father actually sired two-"
"You do know the legend, don't you?" Drayya insisted.
"-Of Ricta III's twin heirs?"