The Mad Immortal: A LitRPG Adventure, page 9
This had to be the Lord Protector’s badge. Every protector was given one to indicate their station, as were many of the other servants within the city. They were used to identify the bearer or allow them to bypass certain defensive wards.
His first thought was to use it to sneak into the Lord Protector’s office or private quarters. But even if the Immortal had left some hint of his plans behind, those places were likely crawling with other protectors by now. There was no way he’d be able to sneak in undetected.
Another realization hit him, and he froze. Could it really be that simple? Every badge like this one worked via a unique vera signature bound to its owner. That meant this tiny piece of metal contained a small link directly to the Lord Protector himself. If Nate could enhance that trace, perhaps harness it through some form of divination veristry…
He pocketed the badge with trembling hands. This was it: the lucky break he’d needed. As if the Source itself were on his side.
He wove his way back to his group, trying to calm his thrumming heart. They were closer to the rift than when he’d left them, though not by much.
“I think we should split up,” he said as soon as he’d arrived.
“Split up? Why?” Wes asked. “We need to bring word of the new bounty back to the guild as soon as possible. I’m sure the commander will want all hands on deck for this.”
“Sure, but there may be more announcements sent only to the city,” Nate said. “If we all leave now, we might miss something important. Ellie can take the twins back with her; she’s already proven she’s not terrible in a fight.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks for that extravagant praise.”
“Wes and I will wait here for a bit to see if any additional information comes to light,” he continued. “Then we’ll head back in a couple hours to report on what we learn.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Wes said, furrowing his brow.
“Sounds good,” one of the twins said.
“Yeah,” the other added, hefting his pack. “I’m just eager to get these supplies back.”
Only Ellie seemed unconvinced. She studied Nate with narrowed eyes. He readied himself for an argument, rehearsing how he might try to convince or cajole her into going along with the plan.
To his surprise, though, she said simply, “You’re the boss,” and turned away.
Assent enough for him. Wishing the others a safe trip, he dragged Wes from the rift back toward the pad. Once he was certain they were out of sight of the others, he let out a relieved sigh. Laughing, he threw an arm around his friend’s shoulder.
“This is it, Wes! We’ve finally hit the jackpot!”
Wes tilted his head. “Are you talking about the bounty? It’s definitely exciting. There’s no way the commander will let your punishment stand now; she’ll want every able-bodied verist out contributing. But the odds of the Riftwalkers finding the Lord Protector seem pretty slim.”
“You’re definitely right about that. While Commander Grisham and the others are off chasing their own tails, we’ll be taking a nice, leisurely stroll to our destinies!”
He winced inwardly at how cheesy he knew that sounded, but that did little to dim his rising excitement. For the first time since arriving in the Nexus, the possibilities for advancement felt truly limitless.
He wouldn’t let himself end up in the same rut he had back on Earth. This time, he’d seize the opportunity he’d been given rather than allowing it to pass him by.
Wes stared at him in growing alarm. “I recognize that look, Nate. What are you planning?”
“See this?” Doing his best to shield it from view, he withdrew the Lord Protector’s badge and angled it so Wes could get a good look at the symbol.
“Is that a protector’s badge?”
“Not just any protector’s badge: the Lord Protector’s badge. I found it in the cloak he left behind.”
“But that’s…” Wes’ mouth slowly peeled back into a grin. “With the proper binding, we might be able to use that as a trace that’ll lead us right to him!”
Then his face fell. He sighed, running a hand over his half-frozen hair. “And you sent the others away because you want to do something stupid.”
Nate’s turn to grin now. “You said before that you felt like you were falling behind. Well, this is our chance to make up for lost time. If we can pull this off, we’ll be heroes! The essence from the bounty will be enough to take us to at least the Adept tier, maybe even further.”
“What about the Riftwalkers?”
“To the Null with the Riftwalkers! It can’t be a coincidence that this badge fell into our laps. We were meant to do this.”
Wes snorted. “That’s ridiculous. You know as well as I do that there’s no such thing as fate.”
“Maybe not,” he conceded. “But this is still the chance of a lifetime. If we took this to the guild, do you think we’d get more than a pittance for our trouble? Commander Grisham and her lieutenants would claim all the credit and keep the lion’s share of the bounty, to boot. The rest of us would be lucky to see a drop.”
Wes’ loyalties warred on his face. “I don’t know about this, Nate. This feels an awful lot like betraying our oaths to the guild.”
“There’s nothing stopping us from returning to the Riftwalkers after we claim the bounty,” he said hastily. “A cut of the spoils and the addition of two Adepts to their roster should do a lot to smooth any ruffled feathers, especially since our deeds will reflect so well on the guild.”
Nate honestly didn’t know if he had a future with the Riftwalkers when this was all over, no matter how things shook out. But he and Wes could cross that bridge when they came to it. Maybe an adventure away from the guild was just the thing Wes needed to show him how much the Riftwalkers had been holding them back.
“We can figure all that out once we return,” he said. “What do you say? Are you in?”
Wes considered for a long moment. Then, he finally frowned and shook his head. “I’m going to regret this.”
“Does that mean you’ll do it?”
“Yes, it means I’ll do it,” Wes said with a long-suffering sigh. “Someone’s got to make sure you don’t blow up the entire Null-cursed Nexus.”
Nate beamed. “I knew I could count on you!”
“You don’t have to sound so smug about it,” Wes muttered. “So, where do we start?”
Before he could respond, someone cleared their throat loudly right behind them. They both jumped. Nate whirled, his heart skipping a beat when he realized who had made the sound.
“What’s that you’ve got in your hands, Nate?” Ellie asked.
He attempted to shove the badge back into his pocket, but once more, his low Finesse failed him, and he fumbled. By the time he got it safely tucked away, he was certain Ellie had already seen more than enough. Just how long has she been eavesdropping?
“Ellie!” he said, trying to keep his voice measured. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in line with the twins?”
She rolled her eyes. The gesture was starting to seem as commonplace as blinking to her. “They do have names, you know. I sent Bill and Kris back on their own. Like you said, it should be safe enough out there right now, even for them.”
“Why didn’t you go with them?” Maybe there was still some way to salvage the situation. If she hadn’t heard their entire plan, then perhaps—
“Want to tell me why you have a protector’s badge?” she asked, ignoring his question.
Nate’s breath quickened, and he felt heat rising in his cheeks. He just hoped his blush wouldn’t be too visible on his red and blue skin. Before he could even attempt to come up with a reasonable explanation, Ellie snorted and shook her head.
“You know, the guildmaster warned me about you. She said that you were one of the best fighters in the entire guild and that you had the potential to become a genuine leader someday. But she also said that you were selfish and the only thing you cared about was empowering yourself, no matter who else had to get hurt along the way.”
Nate flinched. He avoided looking in Wes’ direction.
Ellie continued, either not noticing his reaction or not caring. “She actually asked me to keep an eye on you during this trip. She wanted me to report back to her if you did anything ‘unbecoming to the guild’.”
Nate’s temper flared. Commander Grisham was spying on him now? “That’s not—”
“Look, I don’t really care about whatever tension there is between you and the rest of the guild. All I care about is what’s going on right here, between you and me. So, before you try to lie to me, I’ll ask you again: why do you have a protector’s badge?”
Nate ran through potential plans in his head. He could try to make a break for it through the crowd, but there was no way he’d be able to slip away quietly. Not with her alert and at full vera. Anything he did would attract unwanted attention from the other verists in the Landing.
Lying seemed the safest course, but she’d already proven herself plenty perceptive, and deception clearly wasn’t his strong suit. That left just one option: tell the truth. Or at least, most of it.
“It’s from the Lord Protector. I recovered it from his cloak just before we fought the fungitera. I…hoped that it might offer a way to track him. We were going to look into it and take whatever we found back to the guild.”
His excuse sounded weak, even to his ears. Ellie just stared at him, her expression unreadable. Wes shuffled silently beside him. His friend might’ve been a terror in an actual battle, but in a social confrontation like this, he’d much rather remain on the sidelines.
“Back to the guild, huh?” Ellie finally said. “Riiight.”
Nate didn’t bother contradicting her—what was the point? Instead, he waited for her judgment. She’d undoubtedly demand he hand over the badge. Was there some way for him to bribe her?
Maybe if he and Wes just ran for it, they’d be able to lose her in the crowd. Tabula Rasa was massive; if they could make it to the pad, she’d never be able to find them, no matter the scene she caused.
After a painfully long pause, Ellie nodded to herself as if coming to a decision. “Alright. I’m in.”
Nate blinked, gaping at her. “What do you mean, you’re in?”
“I mean, I’m in for whatever crazy scheme you’ve got cooked up in that brain of yours.”
“You’re…you’re not going to report us?” Wes sputtered.
“Nah. This seems like way too good an opportunity to pass up. I’ve only been in the guild for a couple weeks, and the guildmaster is already trying to get me to spy on the other members? Pass. I did not agree to join the Nexus for that kind of drama.”
“Then why are you here?” Nate asked.
“Why, for adventure, of course. And with you at the helm, I’m sure there’ll be no shortage of that. The Nexus is a dangerous place, full of hostile verabeasts and unpredictable hazards. You’ll need all the help you can get if you want to reach the Lord Protector in one piece.”
Nate struggled to recover his wits. That was not at all how he’d expected this to go. Ellie was just about the last person he wanted tagging along on a perilous journey where speed was of the essence.
She must’ve sensed his hesitation because her veneer of confidence cracked. He was surprised to see a hint of desperation in her eyes.
“Look, I know it’s unorthodox for a binder like me to head out into the rifts, but you saw me fight back there. I promise I’ll be useful. Please.”
He sighed. She had impressed him with her prowess under pressure. Besides, it wasn’t like he really had any choice in the matter. If he said no, there were all kinds of things she could do to impede their mission.
Two hundred thousand drops split three ways were better than no drops at all. And he supposed the Immortals would look just as favorably on a group of three coming to their aid as they would a group of two. He’d still get his chance to be a hero.
He reluctantly held his hand out toward Ellie. “Welcome to the team.”
Grinning, she gripped it in her own. The crystalline specks swirling around her settled on his arm, reflecting the dual sheen of fire and ice. “Glad to be along for the ride. So, what’s the plan?”
“We, uh, haven’t exactly gotten that far yet,” he confessed.
She pursed her lips. “Well, it seems like what you really need is someone who can turn that badge of yours into a proper way to track the Lord Protector.”
“Right,” Wes agreed. His earlier tension had eased now that it was clear they wouldn’t come to blows. “We could head to the Canals and see what we can find.”
Ellie shook her head, tapping a finger against her chin. “Too risky. The Canals and every other common market will be packed by now with verists. All it’ll take is one wrong person catching wind of what you’ve got to put the entire plan in jeopardy.”
“Well, what do you propose, then?” Nate said.
“I think I know just the place…”
Chapter Eleven
“Welcome to the Undercroft,” Ellie said.
Nate stepped off the pad, sweeping his gaze across the cavernous space surrounding them. Pale blue orbs flickered along rough-hewn stone walls, the ceiling above them high enough to be shrouded in shadow.
More than a dozen passages twisted off from this main chamber, some as wide as a city street, and others so narrow, he thought he’d need to turn sideways just to squeeze through.
“What is this place?” Wes said. “I’ve never even heard of this district before.”
“That’s because it’s a secret,” Ellie said. “The whole place is under a binding that makes it very difficult to find if you don’t already know about it. Even the protectors don’t have a clue it’s here.”
“Then how do you know about it?” Nate asked.
He hadn’t meant it as an insult, but Ellie huffed and turned away. “Believe it or not, I have all sorts of connections in the city. Benefit of advancing through most of my Mortal Stage here rather than out exploring rifts with the rest of the Initiates.”
Nate wondered what she’d done to earn her essence and decided not to ask. He himself had joined up with one of the starter guilds when he’d arrived in the Nexus. There were plenty of those around, relying on Initiates for grunt work in some of the safer sectors. That’s where he’d met Wes.
It had taken him a year to earn enough essence for the Riftwalkers to accept him. Just thinking about being cooped up in Tabula Rasa instead for all that time made him antsy. It helped explain why Ellie had shown such a fascination for the flora and fauna of the Nexus during their trip.
“Well, now that we’re here, where do we go?” he said.
“There’s a shopkeeper here I’d trust with my life,” Ellie replied. “He’s been working out of the Undercroft almost since the district was founded. If there’s a verist who can create a trace for us, he’ll know how to find them.”
Nate shrugged. “Lead the way, then.”
Ellie started toward the nearest wall, Nate and Wes trailing after her. Though the Undercroft was almost empty compared to the bustling Canals they’d visited earlier, Nate spotted the shadowy forms of other people in the dim light.
Most paid them little attention, slipping up to the pad or vanishing down one of the side tunnels. But a few seemed to be studying their group more closely than he would’ve liked.
He caught a glimpse of one such figure’s face and realized it was covered by a crude mask carved to resemble a snarling beast. In fact, now that he looked more closely, he could see that everyone except them appeared to be wearing either a mask or heavy hood.
“I feel like I missed a memo,” he said, leaning in close to Ellie. “What’s with everyone hiding their faces?”
She waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, a lot of people that come here take the whole secrecy thing a bit too far. Plus, this is one of the few places in the city out of the watchful eye of the Patriarch. That means that much of what goes on here isn’t exactly, well…legal.”
Wes frowned at that, but Nate didn’t particularly care what happened in the Undercroft so long as they could find what they needed. He was relieved when Ellie chose one of the widest tunnels; he hadn’t been looking forward to scrunching up.
A hulking figure emerged from the passage just as they were entering. He slammed a massive shoulder into Nate, sending him stumbling back.
“Watch where you’re going,” the figure growled.
The eyes within the hood were slitted vertically like a cat’s, and Nate thought he caught a hint of movement beneath the figure’s cloak that might’ve been a tail.
A wildweaver then, one that tended more toward beast magic rather than the plants that Commander Grisham favored. The brute didn’t wait for a response, shoving past them and continuing on his way.
Nate opened his mouth to shout after the man, then caught the anxious look Wes gave him. Instead, he turned to Ellie. “Should we be expecting any trouble while we’re here?”
“No, no trouble. The people are just a bit…rough around the edges. They’ll leave us to our business, though; they won’t want to risk angering the Patron.”
“The Patron?” Wes asked.
“The verist who founded the Undercroft. I’ve never met him personally, but it’s said he’s the one who put the secrecy binding in place and keeps all the various factions in line.”
Despite Ellie’s bravado, Nate didn’t miss the way her eyes flicked anxiously from side to side, like a deer about to bolt for cover. He stayed alert for anyone following them as they vanished down their chosen tunnel, ready to conjure his Ice Blade at the first sign of danger.
After they’d walked a while without spotting another verist, he allowed himself to relax.
“So, how did you find this place?” he eventually asked.
“I have my ways,” Ellie said, glancing back at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. “It’s amazing what you can learn when you actually take the time to talk to people.”
