"Honestly, we aren't doing too badly," Chandice said as they crossed a dingy room that had been guarded by four zombies.
"We do seem to be doing well," Jaina agreed as she held Gisley's hand.
"We are improving on our tactics," Roric said as he tested the four exiting tunnels with the touch. He found one that caused the flame the flicker and blew the light smoke into the room.
"These zombies were easy to drop," Evalynn added as she checked them for loot. "But I still think this proves something of an undead nature is down here. That snake thing was a construct, meaning a player is involved."
"Could this player be working with our stalker?" Jaina asked as Roric sniffed the air at his chosen tunnel.
"I don't think so," Roric replied as he became satisfied this was the right path to take. "I don't know much about constructs, but I doubt that creature was easy to create. More likely, our foe knows the dungeon well and can drive us into conflict with this other player. I suspect she is hoping to capitalize on a few of us dying off, making it easier for her to capture Jaina."
"And what happens if I am the one who dies?" Jaina asked.
"I believe she is willing to take the risk," Roric said. "She can't touch us inside Rajeen's inn, so this was her best option."
"I know this isn't going to be a popular idea, but we may need to confront Alexandria,"
Chandice said. "She is not going to let us live in peace."
"I wish I knew why," Jaina sighed as they collected at the hall Roric had chosen. "I know using her form upset her, but this much?"
"We mentioned this before," Gisley added. "Something more is going on. The dancing in her form was just the thing that made her hate you. Prior to that, she wanted you to work for her."
"Your right," Roric said as his ears went up. "She wanted Jaina to work for her at first, but now this is revenge. I keep thinking she still wants Jaina as a slave, but what she really wants is to hurt Jaina."
"And every time she fails at it, she gets more desperate," Evalynn said as she took the lead. "Burning a town to the ground just to try and reset her was a good indication of that."
"So we either run so far away she can't reach us, or we confront her?" Jaina asked.
"It might be the only option," Roric said as he walked beside Evalynn. "Maybe if we can get her to explain her anger, we can do something about it."
"In my experience, a hateful person doesn't need a reason to hate, only a target," Jaina said.
"I hate to say it, but I agree with her," Gisley said with a sigh. "Some people just hate."
"But those people can't get into New Eden," Roric said. "The system doesn't accept people who are violent or criminal in nature. They can make a character, but the portal won't translate them over."
"I heard about places claiming they were going to empty their prisons or get rid of their undesirables by forcing them into New Eden," Gisley said.
"Some places tried," Roric answered as they reached an intersection in the tunnel. "And some people bragged they were going to come in to ruin the experience for others. But the visitors have some way of knowing who is here for the right reasons and can reject the problem people."
"Which means Alexandria came in for the right reasons but changed once she got here," Jaina said. "Speaking of which, do you think that rumor about there being a prison world someplace is true?"
"I heard about that," Evalynn said. "It was all over Reddit. People were calling it Abbadon."
"If there is one, Alexandria needs to be sent to it," Chandice suggested.
"I would not want anybody sent to such a place," Roric said as he tested the three tunnels for airflow. "As much as she is a pain in the ass, I wouldn't want Alexandria to be locked away. I would rather she came to her senses and left us alone."
"The air is flowing from the right," Evalynn said as he held his torch in the tunnel.
"Yes, but it smells damp," Roric said, indicating a nearby water source. Hopefully, if their friend showed up, the imp whore curse would send Chandice's pets after her. The curse was supposed to make the woman crave the imps as well, but she seemed to resist it. Chandice believed that no mind-affecting spell could bend somebodies will completely. It could magnify an existing desire, but it couldn't make somebody kill a loved one or commit a crime that would haunt them. It was strange how the visitors gave players a huge degree of freedom but built subtle protections into the system. Though Jaina was his slave, the collar would only lock around her neck if she wanted it to. It would unlock if he ever dared to abuse his power and control over her. If he knowingly ordered her to harm herself, he could not only lose her forever but be stripped of his class.
Roric gave Evalynn a nod, and she took the lead with him just a step behind. The tunnel was wide enough for them all to walk side by side and went up a good ten meters to a rounded arched ceiling. It was made with what appeared to be ancient bricks cut by some long-lost civilization. Cobwebs clung to the walls and arch, creating curtains of shimmering silk that danced in the faint breeze. The ground was littered with dust, loose stones, and the occasional gnawed bone. The one thing he didn't see were footprints, an indication that this passage hadn't been used in a while. That fact made him nervous, considering that Rajeen's harem girls made regular forays into the depths.
"Gisley, can you sense anything?" Roric asked as he looked about.
Gisley unfurled her sensitive antenna and waved them about in the air. She looked from side to side as if confused about something, then dared to reach out and touch the wall, only for her hand to pass through it.
"It's an illusion!" Jaina cried as she saw the hand pass through. A second later, the tunnel filled with light as something like an explosion went off. The entire group was thrown to the ground with the exception of Evalynn, who weathered the blast. The sudden attack caused the illusion to vanish, showing they were actually inside a large rectangular room.
"How unusual," a woman said as she floated in the air on a glowing disk of light. "Very few people notice my illusions."
The room had an upper ledge with a stairwell on one wall that took you to the walkway. The ceiling was a good twenty meters up and crisscrossed with wooden beams. The woman wore gray robes decorated with black patterns that resembled spirals. She had short black hair and dark eyes, but her oddest feature was a curious ball of glass that floated near her head. She laughed as the group struggled to recover from the blast, but her laughter faded a second later when Evalynn leaped into the air.
[lvl 2 Glaive knight skill: Crushing swing] Leap into the air and deliver one heavy attack. A modest attack that does 20% more damage and lowers a target's defense for 12 seconds. You can leap up to ten meters up and fifteen across even if encumbered.
"What!?!" the woman cried as Evalynn was suddenly in her face, the glaive coming down in a deadly arc. The weapon passed through her, and Evalynn twisted, her arm pulling back as the second illusion faded.
"Ha, did you think it would be that easy?" the woman laughed as her real form appeared in the far corner. She began to dance her hands while chanting, preparing another spell.
Evalynn was still falling as she threw her weapon, letting loose with a primal shout as the glaive raced through the air.
[lvl 11 Glaive Knight Skill: Distracting hurl] Throw your weapon at a nearby target, causing a guaranteed interrupt if successful.
"Ow!" the woman cried as the weapon tore her side. She cupped a hand over the wound as her magical disk carried her away from the weapon.
Evalynn rolled as she hit the ground and threw out a hand, causing the glaive to race back to her grasp.
[lvl 6 Glaive Knight Skill: Recall] Summon any weapon you have just thrown back to your hand.
"Gelric!" the woman screamed. "Keep that tank busy!"
A third illusion faded to reveal a tunnel on the far wall. Standing inside it was a man with broad shoulders and plate armor decorated with red skulls. He leveled a black-bladed sword Evalynn's way, and suddenly skeletons appeared out of black mists, charging at her with spears.
"Roric," Jaina groaned as she crawled to where he lay on the floor. Whatever that blast was, he had been the center of it, taking the explosion full in the face. She turned him over to see fur had been singed away, revealing burned and blistered skin around eyes swollen shut. "Oh, Roric!" Jaina cried as tears began to well up. She quickly pressed her lips to his, giving him the healing power of her kiss. She felt the pain of that blast as his slave master power forced her and Gisley to share a portion of the damage. She wasn't sure how much she had to give him, but when the healing began, she was grateful he wasn't dead.