Chapter Six - Veridiem

Chapter Six

  Before my eyes was the most beautiful town I had ever seen. Even Drew caught his breath. It was something straight out of the medieval fantasy movies that my sister would once take me to when I was young. Greystone walls decorated with colorful banners rose multiple stories high, flowers lined the now cobblestone walkway. A small castle-like structure illustrated with white accents could be seen from over the walls.

Verdiem, as Grace had called it, was beautiful, but more importantly, looked safe. Guards lined the top of the castle walls, each one proudly wearing their uniform with a distinguished grey and white insignia.

Birds whistled in the trees surrounding the town, it was big, but I wouldn't call it a city.

"I wish Oliver were here to see this," I muttered under my breath to Drew while placing my hand on his shoulder. I was desperately trying to reach my friend, but instead, he shrugged off my hand but shared my look of sadness.

"Yeah, yeah, me too."

Our footsteps echoed against the cobblestone path as we walked closer and closer to the arched entrance of Verdiem. A guard stiffened as we approached but relaxed when one of the alliance members

shouted up.

"Calm down, Rein! If you get that choked up from us, what's going to happen when real monsters or, even worse, Demonics attack!" I held my breath; when Drew had opened his status window earlier,

it had said "Demonic Abyss Walker." Was that bad? He didn't seem to notice, or at least didn't show any hint of nervousness, like I had as we stepped underneath the arched entrance and into town.

"Grace!" a small burly man called as he ran towards us. His old eyes scanned the soldiers that we're returning with us. "Rey!? Grace, where is Rey?"

"I'm sorry--" Grace began, but the man had already turned and was stumbling away in tears.

"I told him not to go! I knew it was too dangerous." Grace's eyes said it all; she felt partly responsible for the deaths of her allies. When Drew, Oliver, and I first saw her, the magic she used set her leagues above the power of the soldiers around her. Feeling like I should say something to comfort her, I leaned forward and opened my mouth to talk but quickly stopped myself. Last time I had tried that with Claire, it had made things worse. So I held my breath and pretended to be focused on the town instead. Now that I had turned my attention away, I was preoccupied with

the inside of the walls. Houses were densely packed while merchant carts and shops crowded the street corners. Various shop signs caught my eye.

"Charlie's Iron Blacksmith," "Hen's Tavern," "Mal's Monster Exchange," and "Alliance Hall." I guess no innovation went into naming the last one.

A small girl was parked outside the monster exchange waving her hands, frantically attempting to lure in people. A medieval esque sign twirler, I caught myself smirking.

"Get your coins fast! Monster remains for money! Mal's pays best!" she shouted. Drew poked at Grace.

"They want monster remains?"

"Of course! Monster drops are super valuable. That's why we raided the Orc tribe! You can use the loot for anything from potions to making armor. It goes without saying the stronger the monster the better the loot."

Grace continued to explain to us about trading monster drops for money and goods.

*Grumble! *

My stomach promptly interrupted our conversation. I smiled sheepishly; Grace laughed and beckoned us to follow.

"Come on," she rolled her eyes, "let's get something to eat." She trotted over to 'Hen's Tavern' with Drew and I eagerly followed, hunger quickening our pace.

The tavern was exactly what you would imagine it. As adventurers gathered around small tables, sharing the day's story of monsters or just happily drinking. The musty smell instantly hit my nose, making me gag. Grace smiled at me.

"Get's everyone the first time. Don't worry, you will get accustomed to it," she laughed. Drew, of course, didn't flinch at the smell.

"Showoff," I muttered to him under my breath.

We gathered around one of the open tables, and a big hulking man with a wooden leg stumbled over to us.

"Welcome to Hen's Tavern," he said, with zero motivation. He tossed some menus in front of us and folded his arms, waiting for us to order. Seeing the menu made me realize how hungry I was and completely exhausted.

"Hen's Tavern"

Menu:

Hen's special: bread, roasted Hodag, drink of your choice. 3 copper

Bread: 1 copper

Today's meat special: roasted Hodag. 2 copper

Drinks: water, Ale. 1 copper

I laughed to myself; there weren't a lot of options. I'm not quite sure why anyone ate here. Grace smirked at me. Drew had a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh, this is what gets you!" I laughed. Grace joined in, giggling. He smiled, but it quickly faded as fast as it had appeared. He sure knew how to keep the mood dark.

Grace turned towards the hulking server; our laughing seemed to have annoyed him. I could tell this because of the vein that was popping out of his forehead.

"We will have three specials, please, Hen."

He grunted in response and hobbled off towards the back.

"Umm. Grace, we don't have any money" I said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, my treat for you freshies" she smiled.

"Grace, you mentioned that you could test to see if we had any magical affinities?" Drew questioned. She rummaged through her purse-like bag and brought out a handful of colorful stones. I counted eight.

"These are mana stones, and frequently they can be used for augmenting armor or weapons with magical properties of a certain element. Monsters drop them all over. The bigger the stone, the more powerful the augmentation. These stones are the smallest you can find, still rare, but nowhere as powerful as higher floor stones. They can also be used to test an Abyss Walkers magical affinity if mana is channeled through them." she continued.

"You two aren't aware of how to use mana effectively yet, but it's obvious you both have quite the reserve judging by what you accomplished while fighting the Orcs." her words stung as I thought about Oliver.

"How are we supposed to channel the mana if we don't know how to use it?" asked Drew.

"Well, I can send a surge of mana through your body; it's quite an unusual technique. Not many people obtain that ability. It should be enough to test both of your affinities. Drew, I want you to put the stones in your hand." Drew did as he was told. Grace moved closer to him, grabbing him by the wrists while he held up the stones. Grace closed her eyes and chanted something under her breath.

*Buzz! *

A slight buzzing emanated from where Drew and Grace were touching. He cringed in pain. Suddenly, three of the rocks began to glow. Grace stared at him in disbelief.

"Grace, what does that mean? Is that bad?" I questioned.

"N--No!" She stammered, "it's impressive! Only one other person has ever tested positive for three magical affinities. He is the only person to reach floor seven-teen. She relaxed and pulled away from Drew while studying the stones.

"Hmmm...Fire, Earth, and Stone!" she squealed excitedly. Drew put down the stones and stared at his hands, studying them. I was a bit jealous. Since we entered Purgatory. Drew had been stronger, braver, and now he had three affinities!

"Your turn Leo!" Grace turned towards me, smiling. Was she blushing? Her cold hands clasped around my wrist and she began her chant again as I picked up the stones. I felt a tingle throughout my body like electricity was being shot through my veins. One stone began glowing, then another, soon three stones were brightly shining in my hands.

"What!" Grace screamed, getting up, "both of you with three affinities! I thought I was special for having two!" she began to pout, muttering things like "no fair" between breaths.

"Wind, Earth and Lightning!" she shot back up, tripping over herself. "Lightning is rare, like really rare."

I had a rare attribute! After she told me that, I felt a jolt of confidence run through my body. I felt like I could save my sister or at least have a shot. I did not want to be useless; I needed to be strong.

"I have a Fire and Wind attribute," she fumbled with her fingers, avoiding eye contact. "If you two want, I could help you learn magic, I might not be the best teacher, but I should be to help you with the abilities we have in common."

Drew and I nodded at each other. We mutually understood that for us to reach higher floors, we needed to get stronger. I didn't have time to learn things on my own. Grace's help would be huge.

I smiled and put my hand on her arm.

"We would appreciate that, Grace. Thank you for everything."

"Eeek! You can't just touch a girl like that!"

I promptly received a smack to the face but laughed it off. After eating and thanking Grace, and promising to pay her back. Drew and I dragged ourselves to two of the rooms at the tavern. Grace had

paid for our stay and told us to rest up because we would start training tomorrow. I patted Drew on the shoulder and wished him goodnight as he stepped into his room. He responded with silence.

My thoughts dragged to Oliver, and gloom returned to my mind. A single tear dripped down my face. I walked towards the next room.

The room was small but elegant. It had a small chest for items at the foot of a twin-sized bed. A small cylindrical window peered off into a dark alley, not allowing for much scenery.

A single rose sat on my wooden bedside table. The best part of the room was the bed, just looking at it made my legs week with exhaustion.

*Poof! *

My head had barely hit the pillow, and I was sleeping like a log. Since I was a kid, I never dreamt much. My sister and I were similar in that regard. My father, however, suffered from horrible nightmares. He would wake up screaming and often burst into our rooms crying and telling us he was sorry he couldn't save us. The only way to calm him down would be to

coax him back to sleep by telling him we weren't going anywhere, and we were as safe as could be. I never built up the courage to ask him about his dreams before he died. I just assumed that they were because of his rough upbringing. However, after seeing him wake up in cold sweats and in fear, I became quite content with not having any dreams, and when I did dream, I was anxious. So when my dark, quiet sleep started to morph into a dream, I cursed my brain with as many curses as I knew.

Dreamy fog whirled and cleared. I was up high in some volcanic mountains. A plateau on the tip of the mountain came into view. A strange-looking throne with etched hieroglyphics stood at the center of the flat tip. My dream landed me in front of the throne. I could feel the ominous aura through the dream; fear tingled through my mind. Standing in front of me was a muscular blonde man with his back to me.

Fire and lava streamed off the sides of the plateau down towards obsidian rocks. He stood staring at the throne, he was talking to it, but all I could hear was distant mumbles. Then, finally, he stopped as if sensing something was off. His head slightly turned towards me, but I couldn't make out any of his features. Purple lightning radiated around him. Red and black armor formed around his body, horns coming out of the shoulder pads. His aura was almost as immense as the throne.

*Boom! *

I was woken by the sound of Drew pounding on my door. Upon opening my door, I noticed his mood seemed to have improved a little bit from yesterday. He gave me have a wide smirk like he was excited for the day.

"Leo, you ready to train?" he said cracking his fists in anticipation.