A Song of Shadow Page 12

  Having fished out my cartographer’s kit from the inventory, I began to scribble over the sheets, bringing what I had already written in line with the new idea. Geranika can have a ballad, this will be hymn—a hymn to Shadow! Powerful, awesome. My imagination painstakingly sketched in Mordor’s gloomy expanses, the formidable legions marching from horizon to horizon, and the cave we were in resounded with heavy guitar riffs punctuated by the majestic sounds of the organ. A little woodwinds, some drums and percussion...Eh. Wish the guys were here to help me. The guitar synth, of course, allowed me to produce whatever sounds I wanted, but I wasn’t much of a one-girl band. Nor were there any editing or production features here, so I couldn’t overlay pre-recorded tracks. No big deal. I’ll sketch out the score and we will play it all together at practice. Straus can add his special effects as he sees fit.

  To be honest, I forgot about Ha’art and why we’d come here in about five minutes. Finally I managed to latch onto the right idea. As soon as I stopped bothering about Geranika, my earlier scribbles quickly came together into a hymn to Shadow, and the music literally poured into my ears. It even occurred to me that the dead wind tearing around this place was whispering me one of the melodies that wanted to be played. No more than four hours later, the work was completed. It was still a draft, of course, but it sounded like a hymn. The guys and I could tinker with the arrangement at our next band practice and flesh out the melody, but even here and now it should sound good!

  In anticipation, I touched the strings of the eid and froze, enjoying the sweet moment. I live for just these kinds of moments. The idea, which originated somewhere in my head, had encountered the music from my heart and was about to enter the world. Is this not bliss? Is this not the act of creating a new world in the human imagination?

  A dark melody, full of strength and menace, filled the cave. The rhythm of the percussion and deafening bass was palpably lacking, but the sounds of the hymn made the body tremble with a sense of hidden power. The score laid out before me glimmered and disappeared like Cypro’s songbook had earlier, leaving a songbook shimmering in soft pearl light on the gray stones before me.

  You have created a new song: ‘Hymn to Shadow.’

  Description: Shadow is the power that lurks on the wrong side of the world, equally opposing Light and Darkness. Those who accept Shadow gain a source of incredible power, but at the same time become outcasts for the rest of the world. Spurned by gods and mortals alike, creatures of Shadow do not seek pity and indulgence. Their goal is to seek power and find their own way at any cost.

  The Hymn to Shadow strengthens all minions of Shadow:

  + (Composition + 20)% to all base stats for (5 + Composition) hours.

  – (Composition + 10)% to debuff efficacy for (5 + Composition) hours.

  Simultaneously dispels all active debuffs in the first seconds of the performance of the hymn. During the performance of the hymn, creatures of Shadow gain immunity to some debuffs.

  Casting time: The entire hymn must be performed.

  Casting cost: 100% MP.

  Area of effect: Affects all creatures of Shadow within hearing distance.

  Cooldown: 10 hours.

  If the hymn’s performance is interrupted, all Shadow creatures that have heard it receive debuffs proportional to the buffs they would have received if the hymn had been completed.

  Skill increase:

  +1 to Composition. Total: 2.

  +10 to Fame. Total: 31.

  The sense of satisfaction from the created spell was no match for the triumph of the composed hymn. Spells, characteristics—who cares! I had written a great song! And, among other things, Ha’art had fallen asleep. A buff called ‘The Composer’s Gift’ hovered over the slumbering ball of fur, its description explaining that due to the completed song, not a single soul would be able to enter the cave of the gatekeeper for the next three days and he himself wouldn’t hear songs or poems for that duration. And indeed the entrance to the cave was really covered with a flickering shroud like those that covered dungeon entrances.

  “You are singing a hymn to a force that is opposed to all that is good!” the Paladin General’s angry exclamation interrupted my thoughts, ruining the sweet aftertaste of my achievement. “Your verses shall poison hearts and minds, warding them away from the Blessed Visage of Eluna!”

  Ugh. Talk about a holier than thou attitude! Way to spoil a great moment...I glanced at the indignant holy warrior and seriously thought about whether it was worth trying to reason with him. Did I really need to? There are thousands of souls who can tell interesting stories in here, and I’m sure many of them did not care about my belonging to Shadow. And this moralist can easily attack me as soon as I summon him. If he had been here alone, I would have simply ignored his righteous anger, but Salamander also looked at me somehow suspiciously. I guess I’ll have to explain my spy mission for the benefit of my evergreen homeland.

  A brief account of my, no doubt, heroic act of self-sacrifice took a little time, but caused a volatile reaction. Both the paladin and the Salamander King had lived long before the emergence of a new faction and now experienced mixed feelings. But if the rebel king was on the whole happy to hear that the holy and dark empires had united against their common foe, the paladin general deemed such an alliance unnatural and the Shadow faction ‘apostate.’ Eid meanwhile looked at me so intently that I sincerely hoped he couldn’t tell Astilba what he had just heard. Oh, and a lot of interesting things he can tell her...

  One way or another, my composition of the hymn had been dealt with for the time being and we turned our attention to the portal from the Gray Lands.

  “Well, it’s time to say goodbye.” The Salamander King’s smile seemed a bit melancholy. “Anica, behave yourself and obey your aunt.”

  The girl sniffed, ran to Azur, hugged his leg and sobbed loudly. The paladin looked at her graciously, though when it came to me, his look was still full of suspicion. The eid’s malicious spirit was shifting from foot to foot at the portal, indicating his desire to hurry to the Intermundis. No big deal. He can wait. If I can’t take Salamander with me, then at least I should say goodbye to him normally. I just have to wait my turn to speak to this crimson-haired nanny...

  I did not have time to consider what would happen once my turn came. I guess there isn’t that much useful space in that skull of mine because the sudden hint that popped into it displaced everything else. Crimson-haired! Salamander’s hair was still crimson! And he can touch me and Anica. So, my promise is still in force, despite the fact that I had promised to take only the girl’s soul to the world of the living.

  Opening my spellbook as quickly as I could, I found the ‘Bonds of Memory’ spell and carefully read over the text. Maximum number of souls summoned at once: (1 + Composition). And I had just leveled my Composition up to 2, and that meant that I could take up to three souls with me at once! Yes! There’s no need for Salamander to stay here and wait for a later summons!

  My joy quickly gave way to healthy pragmatism. Sure, I can bring all three with me, but now the paladin with his pathological love of truth and fanaticism will blow my cover with the renegades. I can’t take him with me. Not this time. The right way to do it is to bring the Fifth with me—since this entire venture was his fault—but the cave is closed to all souls for the next three days. There was, of course, the option of leaving through the cave entrance, calling the Fifth with my song and finding another gate, but then Anica and Salamander couldn’t return to Barliona. They would have to remain in this cave. Theoretically, they could go through the portal on their own, but what will they do in the Intermundis? Hang around that nauseating whiteness for an eternity? It seemed like old Portulac would have to wait a few more days.

  “Enough with the tears already!” I interrupted the touching farewell scene. “Plan’s changed. I can summon both of you.”

  The joyous surprise on the face of the Salamander King paled in comparison with Anica’s pure ecstasy.

 
“Really? Really really?” She began bouncing up and down as energetically as she had been sobbing a second before. “And uncle paladin? Will he come with us, too?”

  “Not this time,” I answered vaguely, and, not wanting to continue the awkward conversation, waved at the portal. “Let’s not waste time.”

  The men shook each other’s hands curtly, Anica limited herself to waving vigorously at ‘uncle paladin,’ and I made do with a brief, “See ya, pal.” To everyone’s surprise, Eid briefly inclined his head and cheerfully exclaimed “We’ll be back!” and dived into the portal immediately after me.

  The familiar white jelly of the Intermundis was obscured by a system notification:

  Quest complete: Taming the Eid.

  You have passed the test and have proven yourself worthy of playing Cypro’s legendary instrument. From now on, you can not only create spells with the help of the eid, but also call on its spirit to help you.

  You have unlocked the ‘Summon Instrument Soul’ ability.

  Experience earned: +5,000 XP.

  Level gained!

  Level gained!

  Current Level: 20.

  778 XP remaining until next level.

  Unallocated stat points: 100.

  Training points remaining: 7.

  ‘Summon Instrument Soul.’

  A true master puts his soul into his creations, but a true bard can awaken this soul and acquire a devoted companion.

  Requirements: Must own an instrument type Rare or higher.

  Occupied with something else entirely, I did not read any further. How could I have completed this quest? Eid, after all, had clearly expressed his position regarding my prospects of achieving something in this life. I had no bright future ahead of me and this overstrung balalaika does not want to waste his best years on me.

  “Oh!” Anica’s frightened squeak caused me to postpone the mystery of the unexpected completion of my quest.

  The girl clutched Salamander’s hand convulsively and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. The king himself looked somewhat dumbfounded. It was understandable. Even for a player like me, this place was pretty impressive. What is there to say about NPCs? For a peasant girl, the Intermundis must be some nightmare.

  I looked around for some inspiration, a suitable song to transform the particles of the Intermundis. The place was full of the same impenetrable, milky maelstrom. I could see neither Eid nor his steed. I guess he’s hovering around somewhere nearby, awaiting his next guise. Everything in good time. First I’ll change the surrounding curds and whey to something easier on the eye, and then I’ll have a soul to soul with Eid. I’m just brimming with puns today, aren’t I?

  The child’s sobbing did not help me think, so I performed the first thing that popped into my head—the song about golden town that had pissed off Chip so much. The solution turned out to be suitable: The white morass obediently transformed into an idyllic landscape full of meadows, flowers and other animals mentioned in the lyrics. After years spent performing this song, my imagination had filled in such a detailed and beautiful picture that I never for a moment doubted the world it would embody.

  “You can open your eyes, Anica,” I told the girl.

  “It’s scary out here!” The girl’s soul shook its head and refused to open her eyes.

  “Not any more it isn’t. Look,” Salamander suggested to her.

  Anica carefully opened one eye, froze, squeaked enthusiastically and flapped both eyes wide open. The white stone walls with a golden finish were almost lost among the riot of greenery and flowers. Never before had I thought why in my imagination the golden city was not made of precious metal, but mostly of white marble. There was plenty of gold of course, but the majority of it was stone. A touch of fantasy, I guess.

  “Is this the forest where you live?” Anica rattled, hopping in place. “And this is your city? Can I pet the bull? Can I feed it grass? Can I ride it?”

  I did not get the chance to reply, as Anica uprooted a bunch of local greenery and thrust it into the muzzle of the ox who seemed uncomfortable from such sudden, intense attention. The picture was so comical that my lips involuntarily curved into a silly smile.

  “This is not Barliona, is it?” Salamander asked in a low voice, approaching me. “None of this was here until you started singing.”

  “Not yet,” I confirmed his hunch. “But it’s very close to Barliona.”

  All that remained was to figure out how we could get home. And that problem came with some fine print. Obviously, I should choose some suitable song and use it to travel to the main game world. Under closer examination, however, things weren’t so simple. Let’s say I sang some song about Anhurs—would I thereby lay the way to the actual city or just recreate Anhurs here in the Intermundis? And it’s not like I even need to go to the imperial capital. I needed to travel to the Hidden Forest, back to Astilba. Would I have to compose a new guiding song? It would be nice, but it’s not as easy as baking cookies—an hour isn’t enough. And anyway, if I really had to compose, then I’d rather it be something universal about a guide to the Intermundis. Although...I already have a certain experienced musical blockhead in mind. And it would be nice to figure out the issue of the completed quest.

  “Eid, are you here?” I asked just in case.

  The only response came from the ox, who lowed melancholically. Oh really? I looked at the pachyderm chewing his cud, and he looked back at me with large, sad eyes. Did I accidentally embody the instrument’s soul in this form? The ox finished chewing its cud and lowed again sadly. Damn! Can he even talk?

  “Good little cow,” Anica said enthusiastically, shoving a bouquet of flowers fearlessly into the animal’s maw. Personally, I would not get so close to a beast that large in meatspace. Either the girl understood that she was already dead and she had nothing to lose, or, for a peasant child, this was an entirely ordinary situation. “After the cow eats its lunch, we can go for a ride.”

  Why there’s an idea! Even if Eid can’t speak at the moment, he can still show us the way. Last time he just moved me from Barliona to the Intermundis, maybe he can perform the same trick in reverse this time?

  A soft but deep roar sounded from somewhere behind the white stone walls. Salamander and I both turned around: I in shock, the king on guard.

  “My guess is that’s a lion,” I finally guessed. “I don’t think he’s dangerous, but just in case, let’s look around.”

  The Salamander King nodded in agreement, and feeling very foolish, I went to the ox and with a certain apprehension held out my hand. Such are the tricks of the mind. I wouldn’t be afraid of entering a forest full of mobs. That situation was clear beforehand. A mob is a mob so it can attack you. Here on the other hand, I was dealing with what seemed like an herbivore, a peaceful creature—yet my fear refused to leave me. Well, what if he bites my hand? When all is said and done, I am a vegetable creature and would make a decent meal for this herbivore.

  “Eid, can you take us to Barliona? Or at least tell me, which way we need to go?”

  The ox raised his head, looked at me with big sad eyes and again lowed sadly.

  “I think it’s time for you to take a rest, Lorelei,” a strange, screechy voice came from somewhere above. “You seem to be talking to witless beasts.”

  A large eagle with golden plumage was perched on the branch of a tree. And he was speaking to me.

  “Did you really think that out of all the essences suggested in the song, I would choose this unwieldy ruminant for my next incarnation?” The eagle cocked its head in a typical avian manner and looked at me reproachfully.

  “Eid?” I inquired a bit dumbly.

  “No, the goblin queen in her finest evening gown,” grunted the eagle, then gracefully hopped off the branch and landed on the grass next to me. This was one huge bird. He stood up to my waist and his wingspan was more than four meters. I immediately wanted to quip something about ‘Freebird’ but restrained the dumb urge. “Of course I’m Eid!”

&n
bsp; “Do goblins have queens?” Salamander popped in with a tangential question.

  “Are you assuming that goblins are incapable of organizing themselves politically?” The eagle turned his head sideways, spotted Anica sneaking up behind him, hastily flapped his wings and returned to his previous perch. The girl followed him with a disappointed look, sighed and went back to feeding the ox.

  “We can find a queen for our king sometime later,” I quickly intercepted the attempt to steer the conversation aside. “We have more pressing matters to deal with at the moment.”

  Salamander blushed for some reason and muttered something unintelligible about pure curiosity. However, at the moment I was more interested in Eid than interracial dynastic marriages.

  “To begin with, explain why I was credited with completing the quest associated with you,” I demanded. “Didn’t you swear that you wouldn’t concern yourself with me any longer?”

  “I was just testing you,” Eid confessed. “My creator did not want his creation to serve an evil or self-serving sentient, ready to be tempted by generous promises and let monsters, like the Tarantula Lords, enter Barliona. You rejected the tempting offers in order to grant a few hours of happiness to the child’s soul without any reward. Even the threat of losing a unique instrument did not make you change your mind. This deserves respect. And so, you are the second person after Cypro whom I am prepared to serve in your travels around Barliona or beyond.”

  Attention! You have been granted permission to use the eid beyond the scope of this scenario.

  My heart warmed. It was not even a matter of receiving this fine instrument as a reward. It was merely nice to realize that Eid was not the selfish creature he had seemed like so recently. At least in this game, the sentients turn out to be better than I had imagined.

  “And right now, I could really use your help. Tell me, how do I return to Barliona? Preferably to the same place we left from?”