ELIAS - SYSTEM-BOUND: BOOK THREE, page 1
ELIAS
SYSTEM-BOUND
BOOK THREE
Copyright© Andrew G. Wood
2025
All Rights Reserved.
Other titles by Andrew G. Wood
Ice Lord (Trilogy)
Arcane Magus (Two of Three)
The Caldronian Guild (Trilogy)
A Clash of Light and Dark (Trilogy)
Reign of The Dark Elves (Trilogy)
The Kothian Chronicles (Trilogy)
The Dark Wizard – Adventures of Sebastian Morrow
The Chronicles of Arandor (Trilogy)
Contents
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Chapter 3.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.
Chapter 10.
Chapter 11.
Chapter 12.
Chapter 13.
Chapter 14.
Chapter 15.
Chapter 16.
Chapter 17.
Chapter 18.
Chapter 19.
Chapter 20.
Chapter 21.
Chapter 22.
Chapter 23.
Chapter 24.
Chapter 25.
Chapter 26.
Chapter 27.
Chapter 28.
Chapter 29.
Chapter 30.
Chapter 31.
Chapter 32.
Chapter 33.
Epilogue.
Chapter 1.
As we crested the hill and looked down at the town we hoped to be calling home for a while, the wind picked up. I had to hold my cloak to stop it from flapping about, but the sudden breeze sent a chill through my body. Was it just the coolness of the late afternoon air or something more sinister? Why did I get the feeling it was probably going to be the latter?
We continued on at our languid pace, knowing there was no rush. The poor ox pulling Arthus’s cart looked about ready to call it a day, but there wasn’t much further for it to go. Little Neri was feeling the strain too, now hitching a ride on her father’s back, much like Vaeren sometimes did with Kepit, and to a lesser degree, me. Arthus had already handed me a slip of paper with his address and directions on it, along with a verbal invitation for us to visit at any time we wished. While the invite alone was kind of him, he also suggested that he may have a few things that could benefit us as a group. Although he wouldn’t say what they were, he did tell us that we were welcome to them as a gift for helping them get back to Hepton safely. I think we’d probably made a couple of new friends — at least I hoped we had.
As we got closer to our goal, I could already see that Hepton was huge. It had tall, thick stone walls, interspersed with guard towers and guards who patrolled along the top. If this were a town, I’d love to see what a city looked like. Although we hadn’t even entered yet, I was in awe of it. Even the guards at the gates looked professional, all wearing matching uniforms and actually appearing to be doing their job correctly.
Although we didn’t need to, we stayed with Arthus and Neri, and their ox-drawn cart. Separating from them now didn’t feel right. We’d escorted them this far, so it only made sense to see them safely through the gates as well. So that we didn’t look like we wanted to cause trouble, we all put our weapons away – I hoped there wouldn’t be any need for them here. We joined the queue of people looking to gain entry and waited for our turn.
As far as I could tell, there looked to be a steady flow of people in and out of the town, but we did appear to draw the gaze of others. I didn’t let it bother me, as it was something I was fast becoming used to. Luckily, the queue to enter was short, although there were a few laden wagons in front of us that could potentially cause a lengthier delay if the guards wanted to search them. But it didn’t matter — I felt relaxed and calm. We had no timer ticking down or the need to hurry anywhere.
I was forced to hold onto my cloak again as the wind appeared to swirl around me. Yes, just me. What kept doing that? I glanced over to Kepit and Luca, and neither of them seemed to be having cloak problems. Was this the System messing about again, or something else? And why was it always me? I tried to ignore the odd feelings I was now experiencing. Not quite the sense of danger that I sometimes got, but just the sensation that someone or something was watching and observing me.
“Are you okay?”
I turned to see Martha looking at me. She was perceptive and could tell something was bothering me. I shook it off.
“I’m fine. Just a bit nervous about the guild… You know, not sure what to expect.”
Martha nodded, although I could tell she hadn’t believed a word I’d just told her.
“We’ll be fine,” she said, her words soft and meaningful in a way she could never know.
When it was our turn to enter, we allowed Arthus and Neri to go through the process of questions and searches first. The little girl was so tired she could barely stay awake. It was only fair that her father got her home as soon as possible to let her sleep.
“Don’t forget to visit!” Arthus called back as he was motioned to move on through the wide stone archway that housed the enormous iron-studded wooden gates.
“We will,” I called back before stepping forward to await our turn.
“You five a group?” the guard asked, his voice deep and sounding a little hoarse and croaky.
“Yes, sir.”
“Contestants?”
“Yes, sir,” I said, again trying to remain polite and respectful to a man who was very clearly tired.
I knew tired people were quickly irritated, and I didn’t want any problems with town guards before we’d even managed to get through the gates. Besides, the man was over six feet tall and probably twice as wide as I was. Dressed in a smart uniform, he had a sword hanging from the belt at his waist, although I noticed the two men behind him, positioned on either side of the entrance, stood with halberds. I didn’t fancy facing off against one of those.
“And what’s your reason for coming to Hepton?”
“We have two quests to hand in at the guild. Would you like to see, sir?”
The man shook his head and then turned his attention to the other members of the group, lingering on Vaeren for longer than was necessary.
“He’s a contestant, too?”
“He is, sir.”
“A little young, isn’t he? Not sure I’ve ever seen one that young before.”
“A result of the System, sir,” I replied, not really wanting to go into the entire story of how Vaeren came to be a Contestant.
The man glanced over us once more before nodding.
“Go on then. The way to the Guild building is signposted, but if you just head for the centre of town, that’s where all the official buildings are located.”
I smiled and nodded, “Thank you, sir. And have a good day… what’s left of it.”
“I will, son. And thank you for being so polite.”
We stepped forward and past the other two guards who remained almost motionless as if they were statues, not real people. Not sure I ever wanted a job like that. The stone archway was impressive, and as we walked through it, I glanced up to see numerous holes in the stonework. I knew they were there deliberately, built into the design of the place. If the outer gates were ever breached, burning oil could be poured down on any enemies making their way through. See, I had learned something from my European history lessons. I noticed that as we left the stone arch, there was also a secondary pair of gates on this side, serving as a backup for those at the front. While all this was interesting, it did pose the question of what they were trying to keep out. To have such a strong defensive structure, was there a real threat of attack, or was it just the people of this town being overly cautious?
I pushed all my thoughts aside as we entered the town, and I was instantly hit by a wall of noise and smells that assaulted our senses. I felt Vaeren clasp my hand and could sense his unease and uncertainty through the link we shared. To be fair, I was feeling the same. This place was almost intimidating to anybody not used to large towns and cities. This was another step up again from the town of Hearthmill we’d briefly visited a few days ago. We had cobbled streets beneath our feet and not a hardened dirt track. The buildings here were mostly stone, and some were even three stories high, as if building upwards instead of outwards had been the only option to expand.
We spent a few minutes just getting our bearings and becoming a bit more accustomed to the large number of people. We stepped aside so we didn’t cause a nuisance by standing in other people’s way, and just tried to take it all in.
“There… Signpost!” Luca said, having to raise his voice slightly to make himself heard.
I looked over to where he was pointing and nodded. Sure enough, just as the guard had explained, the words Hepton Guild were clearly written. The sign pointed down a road just slightly to our left, and after waiting for another cart to pass us by, we headed in that direction.
Away from the main gates, we now had buildings on either side of us, which appeared to be mainly shops and other places of trade. I suppose it made more sense to have these places nearer the gates, as this was where the most traffic would be. I could already see Kepit’s gaze drawn to one shop selling woven baskets, bags and floor mats.
“You can have a look tomorrow,” I told him before he even had the chance to ask the question of us taki
What was it with him and weaving — it still made me smile just thinking about it.
I also noticed a store for alchemy and found it hard not to veer off in that direction just to have a quick browse at what was on offer.
“You can have a look tomorrow!”
I felt Luca’s hand on my shoulder as he echoed the exact same words I’d just used with Kepit.
We both grinned at each other.
I did notice that one or two of the stores were boarding up and locking their doors. It was late afternoon, and most were probably winding down for the day anyway. There were not many people around, either, which also put me at ease, although Vaeren still clutched my hand. He was unusually quiet, too, but I knew that was just down to the unease he felt about this entire place. I was sure he’d be fine once we settled in and got used to everything.
The area where the guild building was located was just as impressive, if not more so, than the other areas we’d seen. Set in a semi-circle with floral gardens and various statues dotted about, this looked another notch up the social scale from what else we’d seen. There were benches strategically placed under trees and near the rows of flowers, giving the place a park-like feel. Dominating the entire area were four large stone buildings — by far larger than any I’d yet seen in this world. Granted, that hadn’t been long, and these were in no way close to the size of buildings back on Earth, but they were impressive for a place still using what we would have deemed to be old building techniques.
We stopped a few moments to take everything in when I spotted two people walking side by side. Contestants! I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I did. There was something about them, the clothes they wore, the way they walked, I couldn’t put my finger on precisely what it was. One of them glanced over in our direction, but as I felt my heartbeat climbing rapidly, it was for nothing. To them, we were barely worth a glance. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
From where we were standing, I could see that one of the buildings was the Town Council building, duly identified by the enormous sign above a rather impressive set of blue-painted doors. I counted it to be six floors high, which was the tallest of the four large buildings in front of us. The one to our left was where I’d seen the two people leave, and after confirming it with a smaller, less obvious sign, it was the guild building we required. I checked with the others that they were ready, and once that was confirmed, I led the way towards the stone steps of the entrance, unsure of what to expect.
Chapter 2.
As we reached the top of the wide stone steps, I could tell this place was well-maintained. Everything looked so clean. The paint on the doors in front of us was bright and fresh, and even the brass handles shone and glistened in the light of the late afternoon sun. It was quite peaceful outside, but the moment I pushed the door open, that soon changed.
We were greeted by a large, cavernous area with dozens of people moving about, going about their own business and probably not bothered with ours. There were other Contestants, none of whom I recognised, and they took nothing more than a passing interest in us, although I did notice one or two looking at our tabards. The System had already told us that it didn’t hand many of them out, so I guessed they made us a little different from most.
The sounds echoed slightly as we looked around to get our bearings. I could see signs showing the way to various parts of the guild, such as the Dormitories, Dining Hall, Training Yard and one that was not somewhere I hoped any of us would be visiting — the infirmary. I could see a small gathering of people over to our right who were looking at various slips of paper attached to two large boards, both of which were several feet wide and taller than I was. Captain Rudget had explained briefly about what they were. These were the Quest Boards, updated every few hours with new tasks for Contestants of varying abilities. Some were specifically designed for groups, while others were for those who wished to take a solo approach to how the System guided them. All very exciting for a person like me, but I knew we had other things to do first.
In front of us was a long counter with several guild staff on the other side of it. I noticed some smaller signs dividing the counter area into different sections. One was labelled 'Board Quest Completion,' and another was labelled 'Board Quest Registration.' Both had small queues of people waiting to be seen by the Guild Attendants behind the counter, but neither was what we needed. I spotted a sign for Administration and Enrollment, and decided to try that one first.
I took a deep breath and led the group over to where a middle-aged woman with long, pointed ears was standing and watching us approach. She greeted us with a smile, showing her very sharp-looking teeth. Again, what was with these other races all having teeth that looked like they wanted to eat me?
“Hello,” I started, my voice breaking and me having to clear my throat to start again.
“How can I help you people?”
I nodded, unsure that I’d ever felt so nervous. This was a big thing for us as a group, and I didn’t want to mess it up.
Firstly, I explained who we were, not that I expected her to know or even recognise the name.
“Oh… Yes, we’ve been expecting you.”
“You have?” I replied, caught off guard by her comment.
“Sure. Captain Rudget sent us a very impressive letter of Commendation about you. He doesn’t do that very often.”
“He doesn’t?”
The woman smiled again and shook her head to confirm as much. I was making a mess of this; nothing I wanted to say was coming out how I wanted it to. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to matter.
“Oh, I’m Merani, by the way. Guild Attendant.”
“Elias… Elias Critchley… Contestant?” I replied, unsure if what I was saying made any sense.
“Let me get your details folder from the files.”
Merani turned about and walked over to some large wooden shelves and started going through several piles of brown folders. I glanced back to see the others all waiting and looking at me. Vaeren just gave me a thumbs up and a smile — something he probably wouldn’t have done if he could have heard what a nervous wreck I was. It was as if I had suddenly gone back to my old self again. The shy, happy-to-hide-away boy who backed away from anything that might be too difficult or cause conflict. Maybe I was just tired.
“Ah… here we go,” Merani said as she returned, placed a brown folder on the counter, and opened it. I could see a few forms and letters, and being naturally inquisitive, or nosy as some might call it, I tried to read what they said.
“Okay, before I fill in the registrations, do you have any quests that need to be completed?”
“Oh… yes. I have a couple. One is just mine and the other is for the group, although they both are to the group’s benefit.”
I wasn’t sure if that made any sense, but Merani just nodded and smiled again.
I quickly checked the System for that quest that had been hanging around for far too long.
Welcome to the guild.
Deliver the Eye of Vurkhaz to the Guild building in Hepton.
Reward:
Guild membership for you and your group.
I quickly went to my inventory and took out the Eye of Vurkhaz, carefully placing it down on the counter.
“Okay, and can you show me the quest, please?”
I nodded, and although I still felt nervous, I felt a little of my new confidence returning. I showed the quest, and I watched Merani as she started ticking off a few boxes with a pen on one of the forms.
“Anything else?”
I nodded and then retrieved the letter of commendation from Lord Morvain Blackspire – the one where the reward was access to the dungeon. The one I was actually most excited about. Again, I had to show the quest, which wasn’t too tricky, even for somebody like me.
Get your asses to Hepton!
Hand Lord Morvain Blackspire’s sealed letter into the guild at Hepton.
Reward:
Admission to the Forgotten Crypt Instanced Dungeon.
I heard Merani chuckle, “Strange wording from the System.”
I just grinned. I had no idea what she was referring to. The way the System worded its quests to me was always this way.
I was made to wait again while Merani said she needed to do something with the quest items, but would be back shortly. I just turned to look at the four people behind me again when I received two notifications.
