Chapter 29: Alariel and Kiki

  “But I wanted to come,” Bori whined. “And if I asked, you’d just have said no.”

  “That’s because it’s dangerous, little lady,” Primith said, patting Bori on the head.

  “Where’s your core?” I huffed, angry that she didn’t listen to me. “We are turning this airship around and taking you back to your dungeon where you’ll be grounded for the next forty years.”

  “Wait till you see this!” Bori completely ignored me, taking me by the hand and tugging me back up the gangplank. “I brought my dungeon with me.”

  Dumbfounded by the situation my daughter had landed me in, I allowed myself to be frogmarched below deck, where I quickly discovered who the culprits were. The heavy chest I watched the kids load turned out to be Bori’s hiding place.

  Bori stood back with her arms crossed. “Open it, Daddy.”

  I reached for the clasp on the chest, but it changed before I could touch it. What started as a simple mechanism turned into a complex puzzle, complete with runes and colored wires that reminded me of a bomb.

  “What is this?” I asked, glaring at Bori.

  She smirked. “It’s a puzzle, Daddy. I know you can figure it out.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” I growled. “Open the chest.”

  “But, Dad,” she whined.

  “Now!” I insisted.

  “Fi`ine!” she huffed, making me wonder when dungeons got to that teenage rebellious stage because Bori was clearly already there.

  Without her having to so much as touch the chest, the runes glowed, and the wires reconnected themselves. With a satisfying pop and hiss, the chest cracked and slowly opened. Inside was Bori’s pink core resting on a cushion surrounded by several items, one of which happened to be a tiny glowing dagger.

  “No!” The dagger vanished when I reached for it. “You don’t get a prize since you didn’t solve the puzzle.”

  I grabbed her core and set it into a nook in my stone arm. Without waiting to close the chest or for Bori’s avatar to keep up, I strode from the room and off the ship.

  “Are you mad that I didn’t let you have the treasure, Daddy?” Bori asked as we disembarked from the ship once again.

  “No,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “I’m worried because you put yourself in danger.”

  “Welcome to parenting,” Primith smirked when I passed her. “This is part of the reason I came to Gaia. I needed a break. I have four of them.”

  “Do you miss them?” I asked, some of the anger dissipating.

  Primith gave me a sad smile. “More than you know. I was hoping to bring them here before all the madness started.”

  “Maybe you still can once we get Albion up to speed,” I replied.

  The butler waited at the door for us and led us into the big house. We walked down a long hall lined with pictures of important-looking elves before he steered us into a quaint study.

  “The mistress will be right out,” he said with a bow. “Please make yourselves at home. I’ll be right back with a spot of tea.”

  While the others sat, I perused a bookshelf along one wall.

  Contracts Through the Ages

  The Princess Mysteries

  She who levels in Dungeons

  The long and industrious History of Logging in Canada

  Primith, noticing what I was up to, walked up behind me. “Anything good?”

  “I’m not sure,” I replied, picking up The Princess Mysteries. “It looks kind of like Sherlock Holmes meets The Princess Diary.”

  “What about this one?” Primith asked, picking up Contracts Through the Ages.

  “It’s a bunch of boring mumbo jumbo about magic contracts,” a young woman with jet-black hair pulled into a ponytail said as she entered the room. “My wife is a specialist.”

  “In boring mumbo jumbo?” I asked.

  She smirked. “Contracts, if you must know. I know you, don’t I?”

  “Yes and no,” I replied. “You might have seen me in Exui. Or Dabia, though I don’t remember seeing you with your mom that time.”

  “Hmm,” she rubbed her chin. “I remember Exui. You were one of the initiates. How did you free yourself from the wraith, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Well, that’s…” I trailed off, wondering how I’d ever explain Pi. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

  “I see…” she trailed off as well. “Well, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to help me, then.”

  “What do you mean?” Primith asked, getting up.

  She sighed. “First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Alariel Vestara, the last of the ancients. My grandmother escaped Luna several millennia ago and has been plotting revenge on the humans ever since. Recently, she decided she needed a powerful bloodline to make this happen. That bloodline just so happens to belong to my wife. So, she’s keeping her prisoner in the castle, and I need help getting her out. Then we are going to leave this planet and go to Earth.”

  Primith, ever the polite one, introduced us. “My name is Primith, and this is Alex and his daughter, Borealis. The others are a bit more complicated. This is Isabelle with her parents, Annabelle and Vince. However, they are currently trapped in the bodies of her friends here, Zelle and Nax. We came to Xanadu with the hopes of swapping them back.”

  “I’m not sure I understand.” Alariel turned her attention to Isa and her family. “How did their souls get swapped, and where are their bodies?”

  “They don’t have bodies,” Primith replied. “They died some time ago. We rescued them from the Wraiths and transplanted them into these bodies. That was when we were betrayed, and a friend absconded with the original souls.”

  “I see,” Alareil nodded as she followed the story. “And you believe they are somewhere here in Xanadu?”

  “Yes,” Primith and I both said at once.

  “I see,” she repeated. “That would likely mean they are at Shangdu with my grandmother. It appears we share the same obstacle. Unfortunately, if you don’t have a surefire way of dealing with the wraiths, you’re likely as helpless as I am. The castle is teeming with them.”

  “Is the bard, Jericho, there?” I asked.

  Alariel shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you. Many unknown people have been coming and going from the castle lately. The ones I know for certain are there, are Kiki and Altara, my grandmother.”

  “Is Kiki your wife?” Primith asked.

  Alariel nodded.

  “Is there a way to get into the castle?” I asked. “Preferably without getting caught.”

  “Yes,” she said in a low voice, as though she didn’t want the walls to hear. “You can get in through the Thief’s Corridor. Grandmother never stations guards down there because she isn’t afraid of anyone trying to sneak in. Melvin walked in through the front door earlier this year.”

  “I heard Melvin died,” I said.

  Alariel’s eyes widened. “He d-d-died? How? When?”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Primith corrected. “We heard that he disappeared after the battle of Dabia, and not from an eyewitness.”

  She heaved a sigh of relief. “Then he’s probably still alive. Has anyone checked Celestea?”

  “Never been there,” I replied.

  Primith and the others shook their heads.

  “Do you mind if I borrow your airship?” she asked, looking hopeful. “With Melvin and Kalli by our side, I think we can do this.”

  “Speaking of favors,” Primith said, changing the subject. “Some of our friends are missing on the island. Do you think there is any chance they are somewhere other than the castle?”

  “You’re missing more people?” Alariel crossed her arms with an exasperated sigh.

  Primith ignored her and nodded. “Two groups of people came to the island playing your mother’s game. We believe they weren’t equipped to fight the shadow monsters and either got captured or are in hiding.”

  “They could have,” Alariel replied, scratching her head. “Though I doubt grandmother would be interested in them. She’d be likelier to turn them away if they don’t have a bloodline.”

  “Hiding then?” I asked. “Any idea where they’d go??

  Alariel paced around the room for a bit. “Well, that’s tricky. The island is infected, and shadow beasts are everywhere. We harvested some strange souls that turned into monsters instead of wraiths toward the end. Grandmother had no use for them, so she turned them loose. I suppose your friends would have no choice but to escape to sea…unless…”

  “Unless?” Primith and I asked at once.

  “Unless they found an entrance to the Thief’s Corridor,” she said.

  I fished out the map. While the tunnels weren’t labeled, it was easy to see they spidered across all of Xanadu, passing through the house we were in and Shangdu castle. Unfortunately, entrances to the tunnel weren’t marked.

  “I think we should backtrack through the tunnels to find them,” Primith suggested.

  “No!” Isa snapped. “We need to press on to the castle. That evil grandma might be experimenting on Nax and Zelle’s souls as we speak.”

  “I don’t think she knows about them,” I tried to soothe her. “We just need to find Jericho and I can get them. I’m sure he just forgot he had them…or something.”

  “We need to prioritize safety, and we don’t know your friends are there for certain,” Primith went on. “Once we locate the other players, we can double back and check the castle. Like Alex said, your friend’s souls probably aren’t in any danger.”

  “I’m not turning back!” Isa scowled. “We’re pressing on with or without you.”

  I sighed. “Calm down. You aren’t going alone. Alariel, how long will it take us to get to the castle through the corridor?”

  Alariel smiled. “Less than a day if I guide you. You just have to promise to rescue Kiki if you can.”

  It sounded like a good offer. “Great! This is what we’re going to do. First thing tomorrow, we scout the castle and rescue this Kiki. If Jericho is there, I will talk to him alone. If we don’t see him, we head back and regroup. I need to get Bori home anyhow.”

  Primith sighed but nodded. “Very well. Tomorrow we go to the castle.”

  I planned to rough it on the airship but Alrariel wasn’t having it.

  “How many rooms do you need?” she asked.

  “I need two,” Primith said right after. “For me…and a friend.”

  “The one that’s snooping around my house?” Alariel asked.

  “How did you know?” I asked, amused even though I knew I should be embarrassed.

  Alariel tutted. “Most high houses, including this one, have magical detection. You’re better off tiptoeing than using magic to hide yourself.”

  “Good to know,” I replied, exchanging a meaningful look with Primith before turning my attention to the others. “Want to bunk with me, Isa?”

  She looked at her parents and shrugged. “Might as well.”

  “Can I have a sleepover with Primith?” Bori pleaded.

  “I don’t know,” I tried and failed to give Bori a stern look. “You’re supposed to be grounded but I suppose we can leave it up to Prim.”

  Primith smiled. “I don’t mind, but we can’t stay up all night. We have to be focused tomorrow.”

  “Oka~ay!” Bori chirped. “I can’t wait to show you my new puzzle.

  “So, four rooms then?” Alariel asked, looking amused.

  Unfortunately, we didn’t listen to Primith’s advice and stayed up way later than I intended. Even after Isa finally went to sleep, I sat up in bed playing with the Deductus Cube. With several layers of the outer shell solved, I was left with a green ball with pockmarks on it. It was slightly malleable, but I had no clue how that would help me solve it. There were no markings or indentations to use as clues like the previous steps. It was just too big to fit in my mouth or I might have been tempted to suck on it like an everlasting gobstopper.

  “I wonder,” I whispered so I wouldn’t wake Isa. “Are you made of stone?”

  The second my mana touched it, I knew I’d done something. The ball melted into my mana and formed a green mist, which embedded itself in my good hand. A cool sensation washed over me as my hand glowed green. When it calmed, all that was left of the Deductus Cube was a green swirl on the palm of my hand that wouldn’t rub off. I scratched my head wondering if I’d solved it or if the swirl was yet another puzzle to be solved. Either way, it was time for bed.

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