Chương 99: B2 Chapter 7 - Shaltar’s Castle

The shiny spears of the guardsmen must have been enhanced by a some sort of magic, and whatever sort it was, it would most definitely one-shot us. I wasn't ecstatic when a dozen more guards with such spears were stationed inside the wall by the portcullis. The orange-named demons were lazing around, barely qualifying for their jobs. Two leaned against the inside of the wall with bored expressions.

Between them was a door, and through its barred windows, I caught a glimpse of more demons playing cards on a round wooden table. Veyra and I walked past like good citizens. We received glances, ranging from disapproving to mildly hostile ones, but luckily they didn't seem to notice that we'd bribed our way in. Every single guard was level four hundred or above—high enough that we'd get killed even if we wore our best gear. If I died to Shaltar's guards now, my soulshards were probably gone.

I couldn't afford to fuck around. We walked straight through the initial heavily guarded entrance and entered the city. The street was naturally dark, light coming from a canal of bubbling necromantic energy. Paths and buildings were constructed of black bricks, making the shadows appear even darker. Street lamps were fueled straight from the canal, and what little light the lamps provided left an ominous tint of green on everything they touched.

The abundance of necromantic energy smelled vaguely like laundry detergent. An unconscious NPC was being pulled into a dark alley. A few others were coughing, their skin rough and bloodied, clothes soot-stained, too ragged to take even to the mines. Wails came from the another alley, followed by shouting, Beyond them, a slightly livelier group of Mineral Extractors crossed the street, pickaxes strapped to their backs as their only possessions. Five of them pulled a cart full of minerals.

Four orange-named Shaltar's Guardsmen protected the cart.

"Straight from a horror game, huh?" I said. Veyra said nothing as we approached deeper. I found myself on alert, scanning the streets for threats. A disheveled man was having a breakdown on Veyra's side of the street. I quickly switched sides, putting myself in between the man and Veyra. The man, this creature of an NPC, wailed incomprehensibly. He reached out with his hand, and I couldn't tell whether he was pleading for help or attempting something. I stepped further away.

I kept scanning the street for threats, staying away from alleys. We were the least disheveled looking people in the city, and thus, the richest. Something could have lashed out at us any second. I suddenly wished I had my actual daggers with me, but still I prepared myself to fend off whatever disgust the game could throw at us, even if putting up a fight in common gear would have been difficult. Veyra was on guard as well, but she didn't look scared.

"So is this an accurate depiction of New York?" she asked. I snorted.

"The lights here are a bit prettier, I'd say." I couldn't look in any direction without seeing at least one dying NPC. To my left, one of them pleaded with a harsh voice, "Coin, sir, kind sir, coin, please!" We continued past, and he thankfully didn't follow. Just about every tenement had their windows closed with wooden shutters. I wondered if anyone even lived here or if everyone was just homeless and dying. Then I felt a bit silly for thinking that, considering we were playing a videogame.

Everything truly felt real, from the smells of necromantic energy to the noise from the alleys. The small details really made a difference, especially the sounds echoing around us. Laughter came from the next alley to my left, accompanied by the scent of booze. The adjacent building had a sign that read, "Treign's Tavern." Lamplight escaped onto the street from its half-open door.

"Taverns are the best places to gather information, right?" I asked.

"Or is this one too touristy so close to the entrance?" Usually, the nearest tavern to a city's entrance or spawn point was way too crowded.

"In such a tourist friendly city," Veyra said with an amused smile.

"I'd say it's worth checking out." I nodded and grabbed the thick wooden handle. The door squeaked open. As creepy as even the tavern appeared, it would probably be safer inside than outside. A few dim kerosene lamps lit the black brick floor, though the interior was otherwise wooden. The cushioned seats by the wall had tears and prickles poked out of the wooden tables here and there. The scent of booze was mixed with sweat and a general scent of uncleanliness.

Not overwhelmingly disgusting—Wonderwind rarely threw any genuinely unpleasant sensations at the players—but I wouldn't have liked to spend a night here if this was real life. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The tables were decently quiet with men in jackets playing cards, a less ragged NPC eating soup who looked like he wanted to finish his meal and head the hell out before he got robbed out of his broth, and of course a few shady looking drunkards I would have preferred to avoid. The innkeeper behind the counter had the name tag Treign (NPC, Innkeeper, Level 221). His unkempt beard was cleaner than any of the outfits in the city, excluding the demonic guards. I walked up and sat on the bar stool before him.

"A beer, please," I said.

"Three copper," Treign said. That was basically free. One silver was worth around a cent, and coppers were fractions of that. I handed him the coins and a few extra for the questions I was about to ask.

"And for her… Something that tastes good?" Treign's head bobbed slightly upward. He began pouring the beer.

"You imply my ale's shit, eh?"

"I sure hope it's not," I said.

"But you could have the best ale in the world, and I think she'd still prefer juice."

"Correct," Veyra said. Treign grabbed a bottle of some clear liquid and poured it into a beer mug.

"Clear water," he said.

"The best tasting drink I serve. One copper." Smiling, Veyra gave him a copper. She looked rather comfortable on her seat next to me. I took a sip of the ale, and the system hit me with a notification. [You have consumed an alcoholic beverage.] [You are under the legal drinking age in your country of residence. Effects of intoxication are canceled.] That worked perfectly fine by me. Sadly, though, the system didn't remove the taste of alcohol. The ale, in fact, tasted like yeasty piss.

I sipped it regardless, then said, "We're new to the city. I'd like to know what's going on here." To emphasize my words, I tossed a few more copper coins on the table. Bribing seemed to be very effective, considering just how cheap copper was. Treign accepted the coins, but said, "To answer you honestly, I would have to speak badly of a person who I would prefer not to get in the bad graces of." I slipped a silver coin in the mix. He eyed me suspiciously, and accepted that coin as well.

"You're in Aetherdale, now renamed to Shaltar's Castle by our overlord and supreme sovereign. A pleasant city, perhaps once in the past. Today… I would not recommend starting a family here."

"The city used to be better?" I asked. Treign snorted.

"Aetherdale was a mining city. A happy and successful one. Resources and minerals were spent on building walls, streets, facilities, foundries... The people were fed, and the miners rewarded. Shaltar's Castle… It's similar by appearance, but with a large mountain of minerals in our supreme sovereign's personal vault. Loves her gold, that woman."

"Lovely," I said.

"I presume that Shaltar wasn't voted for her position as a sovereign." Treign let out a deep laugh, while Veyra watched curiously from the side, probably amused to see me have a serious conversation with an NPC.

"Shaltar is an omnipotent spiritualist," Treign said.

"We are all very lucky to have her as our overlord." His tone couldn't have been more sarcastic. I thought I had a pretty good idea of this place from that. A city torn down by a tyrant. Shaltar was probably the final boss of this area. We'd get some insane rewards if we managed to kill her. Although, considering every single one of her guards was already level four hundred, assassinating their leader would probably be impossible. I slipped in another silver coin, then asked, "What do you know about soulshards?"

Treign blinked, staring at me. He suddenly looked uncomfortable, refusing the coin.

"No," he said. He knows something, I thought. I idly sipped my ale, while thinking of how to get the information out of him. I summoned five gold coins and slid them to him.

"So, soulshards?" His discomfort turned nearly to panic. He pocketed the coins, then glanced around himself. Nobody was near, and hastily, he said, "The Northvale district. Find Chisa, the leader of the Phantom Spirits. She is the only one who will help you. Hell, she might just be the city's only hope."

"Is she also a spiritualist?" I asked. Treign stared at me.

"Don't tell anyone," he said.

"If Shaltar finds her, we'll be doomed for eternity. If you have soulshards, seek her. You might be able to help her." A customer walked up to order a beer, and Treign rushed to his side of the counter.

"Another ale, sir?" Treign asked nervously. That was all the questions I'd get, then. Veyra was sipping her water. I asked, "How did I do? Five gold was probably overkill."

"That was good," Veyra said.

"I told you the NPCs have been more interesting this time. But yeah, it looks like the city is poor. Bribe with silver first. We have our next target now."

"I'll grab my daggers and gloves. We won't be safe otherwise." She smiled at that and rested her elbow on the table.

"You have good instincts. I like it." I wasn't sure what that meant, but it was a compliment, so I smiled with her.

"I'll also grab my staff," she said.

"Low chance of losing it."

"Yeah, the portals will be useful," I said. Then I turned to the innkeeper and said, "Treign? Can we buy a room for the next two weeks?" He didn't look happy to see me still in the tavern. After a short staredown, he reached into a cabinet and tossed me keys.

"Third floor, first room to the left. It's yours for two weeks." I thanked him, and headed upstairs. I didn't plan to stay here, but a room in a tavern would be one of the best spots to toss a teleportation stone into. We returned to Mycelara to swap our items, then headed out to find whoever this leader of the Phantom Spirits was.