Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

VIP visit

At 90, Goldmi had recovered Light Golem, which in the game had been useful only as a decoration. That was the only reason it was at 4.

The Inch of Life skill had been essential for some missions in the past. Causes the power of nature to keep the target alive, but without healing them. It only guarantees to maintain them within an Inch of Life.

Eldi now had the second golem. The Frozen Golem is tougher, somewhat slower and less destructive than the Burning Golem. Its main advantage is to create a cold environment around it, which can be very annoying to certain opponents. However, he hadn't needed it often in the past, so it was at 5.

The This Is Nothing skill allows withstanding a level of pain that would cause others to succumb. Therefore, Gjaki had renamed it as the masochistic skill. In the game, they had used it to let Eldi be captured and tortured, which had brought the skill up to 10. Other players had automatically failed the quest, as they were supposes to confess or die beyond a certain level of pain. However, the high human had ignored such torture long enough for his companions to act. Nonetheless, he wasn't willing to repeat it now that it wasn't a game.

The only thing that gave the drelf some comfort was that her friend provided her with an abundant supply of rations. Besides, she knew that the elf would come back to her home almost every day, so she could see her there.

It wouldn't be so easy to meet the vampiress or the high human. She hadn't known him that long, but she liked him, plus there was a strong bond between them, and she felt guilty too. After all, Melia was her aunt, so she knew much more than she had been able to admit.

Maldoa reluctantly bid them farewell, while wishing they were done with their business as soon as possible. She was beginning to miss them.

She then opened her hand and sighed. Eldi had almost forced her to take those green earrings. He had only asked her to send them to her aunt if possible.

She sighed again, and let the earth swallow them up. Protected by the power of the dryads, they would travel hundreds of miles until they reached the trembling hands of one particular dryad. With a smile and tears of nectar sliding down her face, she wouldn't hesitate to put them on.

Ironically, the City of Light was protected from sunlight, as it was found inside some immense caverns. They had been excavated thousands of years ago, until its minerals had been exhausted. However, the caverns weren't dark, but enjoyed a perpetual light due to a dungeon that emitted it.

The dungeon's light didn't contain the power of the red sun, so it wasn't harmful to vampires. A group of these had found a safe place there to take refuge with other persecuted people. Sometimes, they were hunted for belonging to certain races. Sometimes, members of their own races chased them.

The dungeon had served them at first as a source of light and training, and finally as a source of wealth. Over time, once the problems that had forced them to hide were solved, the flow of visitors had increased. The lure of a dungeon like this was immense, and tourism had become the main source of income.

Restaurants and lodgings had been the first services offered, soon followed by other needs of the adventurers. Like the sale and repair of weapons and armor, healing services, the sale of potions and other supplies. In summary, they offered any service that could extract money from those who entered the dungeons.

Without a doubt, without the dungeon, the city would never have managed to grow to its current size. It would even have been difficult to overcome the supply problems.

"It's impressive," Eldi murmured.

Gjaki had left a couple of hidden Gate Exits in places near the city, but only one had survived. Then, they had gone to the wide main road, from which they could watch the magnificent city.

Several concentric circles could be seen, some of which still retained part of their walls. They were the product of different stages of growth, which presumably hadn't finished yet. The number of buildings behind the last wall had grown significantly since the vampiress' last visit.

"There weren't so many buildings outside before..." she admired.

"There really are many more," the elf confirmed.

Her friend had brought her one day to visit, some fifty years ago. Back then, there were a few precarious buildings outside, and there was still space inside the walls. Now, said space had been occupied, and some of the outer constructions looked much more solid.

They kept going until they reached the main entrance, where in several long lines, visitors waited to be granted pass. Among them, there were merchants and adventurers.

Gjaki led her friends to an empty checkpoint, whose occupants looked at the newcomers with annoyance and some disdain. Not a few had wanted to enter through there, as they wanted to skip the queues. They claimed their status or offered bribes, but there were other queues for that.

"This entry is restricted. Use one of the others," they were greeted by a vampiress soldier with a hostile tone.

Gjaki didn't flinch. She simply took something out of the inventory and tossed it to her. At the same time, she began to remove the hood that covered her face.

"It doesn't matter who you are or what you offer. I repeat, this entry is restric..." she wanted to reject them, without even looking at what she had thrown at her, and had been caught by reflex.

Unexpectedly, she froze, shocked at what her eyes were showing her. Not daring to believe it, she opened her hands to find an adventurer's identification, an adamantine one. It almost fell from her shaking hands when she read the name.

"Your... Your Majesty... Ex... Excuse me... for not having recognized you. Please come in," she stammered.

Her companions, who were simply chatting and ignoring the newcomers, turned. They found who was one of the most idolized living beings in the city, the Blood Queen.

Her kingdom didn't extend to this place, but many of the city's inhabitants had strong ties to the kingdom. As if that weren't enough, the city owed her a great debt. If they hadn't been petrified, they might have knelt down, or asked for an autograph, maybe a bite.