Chapter 94 - Ezdeath (Part 3)

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Oath of the Warden has activated. Ezdeath is available for claiming. Do you wish to take Ezdeath as your minion?

Yes?

No?

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Oath of the Warden? What the fuck?

Trey had no idea what that was, but he assumed it had to do with Eleknar. The black miasma his bonded essence had let off was still tracing the succubus’ skin, armor, and occasionally sparked with power as she lay there unconscious on the ground.

Normally, he would have been overly enthusiastic about the opportunity to obtain such a powerful minion… but he merely selected yes and pushed the matter aside in his mind to check on the friends he still had left.

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Ezdeath’s oath has been activated, and her soul has been enslaved. Ezdeath is

now registered as your minion. For further information, please visit her status

Page.

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Simplified Status Page

Name: Ezdeath

Title: Warden of Necranoc

Race: Pureblood Succubus, Greater Demon

Class: Champion

Level: 705

HP: 1988/2700

MP: 675/1432

SP: 2299/3744

DP: 1/1

Skills: Polearms***** (lvl. 553), Blades* (lvl. 126), Heavy Armor*** (lvl. 342),

Hellfire Missiles*** (lvl. 312)(Chaos), Quickstep*** (lvl. 301)(Sacred Art),

Black Lightning** (lvl. 265)(Chaos), Black Lotus* (lvl. 124)(Sacred Art),

Chaos Ball* (lvl. 122)(Chaos), Font of Life* (lvl. 120)(Blood),

Red Cleansing* (lvl. 109)(Blood),

Champion’s Oath: Enhanced Block* (lvl. 107)(sacred art),

Champion’s Oath: Power Stroke* (lvl. 102)(sacred art),

Hand to Hand Combat^^^^^^^ (lvl. 71),

Champion’s Oath: Grasping Heart^^^^ (lvl. 40)(sacred art),

Bloody Strings^^^ (lvl. 33)(Blood), Shields^^^ (lvl. 30)

Traits: Flying, Elitist, Inspirational (Aura), Royal Blood, Potent Pheromones, Temptation’s

Voice, Paragon Warrior, Many Faces

Magical Attributes: Chaos, Blood

Opinion of you: N/A

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Control Limit Slots: 11 of 20 used.

Trey’s Minions:

Napoleon, Primal Imp, Level 25 (1 slot)(Admired) Talsh’Noc’Un, Sword of Ruin, Living Weapon (1 slot)(Content)(Thirsting Level 1) Atharost, Ifrit, Level 52 (1 slot)(Very Friendly) Rivia Ahst, Culn, Level 33 (1 slot)(Forever Indebted) Piggy, High Elf Thrall, Level 2 (1 slot)(Infatuated) Juila, Sacrificial Lamb, Level 14 (1 slot)(Devoted) Telipe, High Elf Thrall, Level 4 (1 slot)(Scared) Grimy, Human Thrall, Level 5 (1 slot)(Curious) Ezdeath, Pureblood Succubus, Level 705 (3 slots)(Opinion not currently available)

Izumi, Cow-Daddy, Fat-Daddy, Atharost, Boxamoth, Toady, Juila, and Reiklin were all dead - though at least Juila, Atharost and Boxamoth would be back. Napoleon, Ashe Rivia and Jason were all out for the count, with only Ashe remaining conscious and moaning in a great deal of pain. Trey’s left shoulder was broken, and half of the potions they’d taken in were crushed and shattered along the floor off to his back-left.

This had been more than they’d asked for.

He gingerly got up, taking care not to put any pressure on his left arm as he did, and walked over to the halfway-intact crate of remaining potions. Picking a health potion up and downing it, he grimaced as he felt his body began to slowly mend and heal.

“HAHAHA!” roared Xil from the beyond as Trey reached down to tend to his friend. “OVERCONFIDENCE, THE BANE OF THE FOOLHARDY! That succubus BITCH! I have not seen such a comeback… Ever? EVER! I AM DELIGHTED! I am AMAZED!”

Trey wasn’t having this bullshit. He glared up at the ceiling, because he couldn’t actually see the laughing lich directly, and let out an exasperated sigh.

“Would you mind healing my friends now that we’ve won?”

The laughing died down. “Yes, I can do that - but only for those who’ve lived.”

And it was as easy as that, in a flash his friends Jason, Ashe, Rivia and Napoleon were all fully restored and standing beside on another in front of him. They all looked shocked, and quickly took in their surroundings before settling on Ezdeath who still lay unconcious at their feet.

Xil really was pretty powerful after all.

“First things first…” Trey muttered, glancing over at Rivia and then pointing to where Izumi lay dead a ways off. He didn’t like the way Izumi looked in death, and staring at her corpse gave him the creeps. “We resurrect Izumi.”

Rivia’s eyes flickered between the succubus, the corpses and destruction about the room, and then finally rested on Izumi’s petite frame. “The cooldown is a week. I won’t be able to resurrect another before their souls vanish - so you’ll lose the rest of your minions. And I’ll need a sacrifice.”

Trey dismissively waved a hand. “Yes yes I know that. It sucks losing the rest, but Izumi is a priority. We can use a summoning circle to call a demon and sacrifice it when it arrives.”

The young summoner turned his gaze to the ceiling again, noting the lich still continuing to chuckle from the beyond. “Hey Xil. Mind if we have some time before picking those prizes out? I have some work to do.”

***

The demon they ended up summoning was actually an imp, and thankfully Napoleon didn’t have a problem with it. The poor creature was quickly killed to put it out of its misery though, and they sacrificed its soul to Alkir immediatly after.

As the miracle came to fruition, Izumi’s body quickly sealed all its wounds. The gaping hole in her chest where Ezdeath had ripped through her back out the front side was mended, and Izumi gasped with her eyes shooting wide open a half-minute later.

“Wow…” moaned Izumi as she clutched her body and shivered. “That was… intense.”

“This is so weird.” stated Jason as he patted down his previously scorched skin. “Too weird. We got our asses kicked there for a second, I was really scared. And in a lot of pain… obviously.”

Napoleon was just sitting there with his tiny arms folded, staring at the floor and shivering. Meanwhile he told the others what had happened with Ezdeath’s oath and how she’d probably been aligned with Eleknar somehow, but wasn’t exactly sure on the details just yet.

It was a question they’d have to ask her when the succubus woke up.

Ashe and Izumi nodded in acceptance and soon embraced one another tightly, eventually starting to cry.

Jason then clasped hands with Trey, giving him an appreciating nod after looking around the room at the mess. “We took a real hit… holy shit we got our asses handed to us. I was really scared there... but anyways you did really well Trey. Thank you for that, you saved us. When Atharost gets back we’ll have to tell him how it ended.”

“Not at all Jason, it was a team effort.” Trey replied sheepishly as he watched the succubus on the floor out of his peripheral vision. “And… it really wasn’t me that ended it.”

It took a little bit of adjusting to calm down after such an intense battle. They were all shaken and counting their lucky stars that they’d pulled through. No tears were shed for the minions Trey’d lost, no emotional connections had been made with them, but nevertheless it was an unnerving loss to take.

They took half an hour to eat, sit back, relax, and calm their nerves. A lot of that time was spent not saying anything at all, but eventually their spirits came back when they began to speak of the prizes they’d come for in the first place.

They’d won, and now they were going to get a payout.

“So what about these great items of power we keep hearing about!” exclaimed Jason as he walked out into the wreckage of the room with his hands up in the air. He glanced over at Fat-Daddy’s crushed skull, and grimaced. “Come on now! I’ve been giddy just thinking about what you’ve got in store for us!”

“Agreed!” said Izumi excitedly as Ashe giggled in excitement - trying to collectively boost the mood from what it’d been minutes ago. “Whatchya got big boy!? Let’s see it!”

Upon asking, the Lich was quick to reply.

“AGAIN, WELL PLAYED!” screamed Xil from the abyss in glee. “YOU HAVE COMPLETED MY GAMES! I AM SO VERY IMPRESSED! How you beat her with those backhanded tactics is somewhat… puzzling… but no matter. She was much too overconfident for her own good and that was her downfall.”

A laugh rang out and Trey’s irritation immediately spiked as he sat there, arms folded with his back to one of the remaining stone pillars. His eyes never left Ezdeath, more out of concern than anything else. She’d taken up 3 slots with the minion contract, would that mean she’d be able to break out? He didn’t think so after that oath kicked in, but he was definitely a little nervous about what would happen when she woke up. All roads pointed to it’d be alright though, otherwise he was pretty sure Eleknar would have said something just like he’d done earlier that day…

Wait, why was Eleknar able to speak into his mind now? That hadn’t been a thing before...

“But we do get a prize, right?” interrupted Jason as he stood and helped the two women to their feet. “Something about a choice out of three, right? I hope you didn’t make us go through all of that for nothing.”

“CORRECT! Three items from my vaults have be chosen at random, and you may only pick one of them as a group. If you cannot agree on which item it is you want, or who should receive the item, you may begin killing each other now to settle the dispute.” Xil’s voice boomed out. “You would think that it doesn’t happen, but it definitely has before. Greed can be quite a hilarious thing.”

Moments later: three shining orbs materialized into the room and in front of the four remaining members of the party. And one by one, the shining orbs disappeared to reveal three separate items - all of which had their status pages revealed without identification. There was a gigantic two-handed warhammer interlaced with glowing runes of Earth magic, created from some kind of polished marble and what looked to be strange vines wrapping around the shaft and blunt ends alike. It was larger than any of them, being something that one of the minotaurs would have likely wielded if they’d had the requirements to do so and even dwarfed Talsh’Noc’Un in size. Then there was a shimmering cloak that spontaneously changed through the colors of the rainbow at a slow pace at different areas all along its makeup. Lastly, there was a pendant necklace in the form of an eye decorated with pearls.

Ultvanera Groundbreaker

Item Tier: (17) World

Damage: 5709, applies an additional 30% Earth damage upon strike

On Hit Effect: Applies severe stamina drain upon hit

Bonuses: +680 Strength

Requirements: 320 Strength, Earth Trait

Durability: 15,000/15,000

Specials:

1 - Earthshatter: Strike the ground in front of you to send a wave of destruction at

your enemies in the form of earth magic.

2 - Stone Heart: Wielding this mace gives you the passive trait Stone Heart,

making you immune to all debuffs and applying +220 resistance to physical damage and +90 resistance to magic damage.

3 - Spirit of the Mountain: Summon a unique earth elemental bound to this

weapon, Spirit of the Mountain, to do your bidding. This elemental is a

permanent follower, may level up, and may be reborn upon death after a

cooldown period.

4 - Earthen Crown: Allows participant’s body to express Earth properties

Varwarp Cloak (Light Armor)

Item Tier: (14) Artifact

Armor: +82 physical resistance, +1035 magic resistance

Bonuses: +407 intelligence

Requirements: 210 intelligence, 50 wisdom

Durability: 3009/3009

Special:

Enables Flying Enables Triplecast - setting off sets of three offensive spells for the price and activation of any one offensive spell, 10 second cooldown

Eye of the Seer

Item Tier: (11) Legendary

Bonuses: none

Requirements: 78 luck

Durability: 895/895

Special:

When this necklace is worn, the bearer will be granted visions to guide him or her to more desirable paths with life events that would otherwise cause the bearer harm - either emotionally or physically. This effect is passive and occurs spontaneously.

“Think carefully now! Once your group unanimously decides, there is no turning back and changing your mind!” Xil noted as the others of Trey’s party began to drool over the potential prizes.

“The cloak! Let’s get the cloak! Flying and triplecast!? Wow! And it looks so nice!” Izumi squealed as she touched it. “I could do so much with this!! And it would really help keep me safe in our fights, usually I have to run around but with this! Oh, man.”

“You’re kidding me right?” asked Jason with a bewildered look as he stared at the shorter japanese girl. “The mace is obviously a better choice. The tier is higher and that alone should clue you into which one is better. And when’s the next time we’re going to see a WORLD TIER item!? THEY DON’T JUST FALL OUT OF THE SKY AND LAND ON YOUR LAP YOU KNOW! Other people that we’ve run across have talked to me about Trey’s greatsword and they said that kings have started WARS over items like that!”

“Tiers don’t mean shit, there are tons of basic tier items that are better than their common tier counterparts,” replied Izumi as she continued to marvel at the shimmering Varwarp Cloak. “You boys always want the big weapons so you can go smashing things. It doesn’t even compare to this though. And Artifact tier is WAY high up there too Jason! They’re nearly as rare, you know!”

“I agree with Izumi,” stated Ashe confidently, fox tail wagging quickly - side to side. “The weapon would be nice to have for sure, but the cloak is better. The flying does it for me.”

“You’re just saying that because you two are besties!” cried Jason with an accusing finger pointed at Ashe. “Trey back me up here! I mean just think - that ‘unique’ elemental could be the next member of our party and the mace itself would give a massive power boost to boot!”

He pointed his finger from Ashe over to Izumi. “AND WHAT ABOUT THAT EARTHEN CROWN ABILITY!? You BOTH know how much stronger Trey got by practicing his Shadowform just over the last couple weeks, and how much stronger Atharost was after he was able to master his Fireform. Imagine another one of us having the same type of abilities but with EARTH magic!”

Trey didn’t respond as the three argued and looked over the items one by one. The mace was magnificent and, with a blunt rounded end leading down to the long handle - it had many carvings that resembled what ancient celtic crosses often displayed. The cloak too was quite nice, and it shimmered a variety of colors that shifted and morphed about with the obvious enchantments built into it. The necklace would be almost invaluable if it was able to warn them of incoming deaths and things of the like. He honestly wasn’t sure which of the three he would have picked, but he did think that the others were overlooking the necklace in favor of the others without thinking of the implications of what it could mean to know pieces of the future. As for the tiers of the items - well, they were all very valuable… far more valuable than anything else they had if they didn’t include his sword or Rivia’s staff in the mix. Any of the items presented would be a significant jump in tier from what they were currently carrying.

“TREY! What is it that you always say? Ah yes in case you forgot it’s BROS BEFORE HOES TREY! COME ON! Tell them you want the mace already!” Jason urged and nudged Trey with laugh as the two women scouled up at their taller counterparts. “I know what Atharost would want, and shouldn’t his vote count!?”

Trey was a little surprised by Jason’s friendly nature, but he took it in stride. He did appreciate that Jason was at least trying to get along with him now despite their differences, and responded in kind with a grin. Perhaps Jason would end up staying with them after all.

“He’s not here so it doesn’t count!” insisted Izumi with a humph. “The ONLY reason why he’d choose the mace over the cloak is because HE CAN ALREADY FLY!”

Trey held up his right hand to silence the group, and Xil could be heard chuckling from the void as Trey turned to face his companions. He sighed loudly.

“Alright. I’ve thought about it, and I think that since I was the last one standing and saved all of your sorry asses that I should be the one who gets to choose which prize we take.” Trey’s crimson eyes made contact with each of theirs to make sure they understood what he was saying. “I do NOT want any objections to my choice here, can I get you all to promise that?”

Ashe rolled her eyes and Izumi gave out a large “HUMPH.”

“Agreed.” said Jason, confident in his companion to choose the mace. The women were thinking the same thing and were not nearly as pleased.

“Whatever, fine. Just hurry it up and THINK before you choose!” Izumi crossed her arms and awaited the verdict as did Ashe next to her.

“REMEMBER!” said Trey as he held up a finger. “No complaints!” He turned back to the three items and looked up at the ceiling. “We as a group have decided that I will make the decision. Is that alright with you Xil?”

Xil laughed hardily at the question. “Of course. Which prize do you desire, summoner? I am quite interested in which it is that you will choose.”

The question surprised him, but Trey grinned and nodded. “Yeah, go ahead. Though I doubt you’ll get it right.”

“Ahh… is that so?” stated the Lich deep in thought. “How about we put a wager on it then? Just to make things interesting…”

Trey paused and his eyebrows furrowed. “Not sure that sounds like a good idea to me.”

“Oh now is no time to be a coward! Look at how far you’ve come! At least hear me out before you decide!”

Trey frowned. “Fine. What’s the wager?”

Xil cackled excitedly. “If I guess right, you must come back for another round of my games again in the future!”

“And if you guess wrong?”

“Then you get to take an additional item on top of your original request!” replied Xil gleefully. “What SAY you!?”

Trey thought long and hard, trying to find the right words without revealing his plan to the lich. “On the front entrance to your tomb it reads; ‘Here lies Xil of the Third Age. Those who seek his knowledge and prizes may do so at their own risk. The game master watches all.’ Does this imply that we can ask for knowledge instead? What about asking for prizes that aren’t from your vault, but are within your power to give?”

There was a long silence as Xil considered the Earthborn’s words. “You are a clever one. Yes. You may ask other things as well. Though choose your prize carefully - be it knowledge or something else within my power to grant. Depending on what it is - I still may not grant it.” Trey was about to speak up before Xil commented again. “My offer still stands. Do you accept the wager?”

“And it is just me that you want to return?” replied Trey.

“Of course, of course. Though you may bring others with you if you wish, this wager is specific to you.”

“Deal.”

The lich laughed again victoriously from the beyond. “No cheating now! I have ways of telling whether or not you are telling me the truth, and if you do lie to try your luck at cheating me out of multiple items… well, I’ll enslave your soul to serve one of the champions here in my games.”

Trey turned pale and gulped. “Sounds fair. I wouldn’t have lied anyways.”

“OF COURSE NOT! Of course not… I have absolute faith that you wouldn’t have...” the lich cackled gleefully. “Alright. May I now take a guess at what you were going to choose?”

Ashe, Izumi and Jason all stood silently by - the stakes were high and the tension in the air could have been cut with a knife.

“Go ahead,” replied Trey.

“Hmmm…” Xil murmured as the air about Trey reverberated with the voice. “You were going to… no… you wouldn’t have picked that one… Ah yes. I have my answer! Are you ready for this? ARE YOU READY TO COME BACK? You would have chosen... knowledge pertaining to Eleknar. You fear for your soul, and rightly so…”

Jason let out a loud laugh and victoriously shot his fist into the air. “TWO ITEMS!” he exclaimed as Ashe and Izumi clapped their hands together.

Trey’s mouth dropped open and he stared at the ground as his companions celebrated a false victory behind him.

“WELL?” Xil said with an audible sneer.

“... Uh…” Trey turned around to look at his friends with an incredibly sheepish grin. “Yeah. Xil, you got it right.”

“AHA!” exclaimed the Lich as he cackled loudly. The other earthborn stopped their celebration to gawk at Trey.

“YOU IDIOT!” screamed Ashe as she came up to swiftly kick Trey in the shins.

“OW!” exclaimed Trey as he fended off another punch swung his way by the enraged blonde. “You can’t blame me for wanting to know something like that! I- OW!”

“WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE THAT OF ALL THINGS!? THESE PRIZES ARE AMAZING!!” Ashe was absolutely furious and Jason grimaced behind her back as Izumi tried to pull her away. “YOU’RE SUCH A FUCKING MORON! AND NOW YOU HAVE TO GO BACK AGAIN!? GOD!”

“JESUS CHRIST WOMAN!” exclaimed Trey as he leapt back out of her reach. “This is my SOUL we’re talking about! It was perfectly reasonable. Go make me a goddamn sandwich and stop pms-ing all over the goddamn place goddamn you.”

After that last comment, Izumi simply let her friend go as Ashe bolted after the summoner to chase him around the room while angrily throwing various objects she picked up along the way. She could have easily caught him considering her superior speed and dexterity, but she was content to just barrage him with stones, debris, and other hard objects instead. It was Jason who eventually stopped her as she flailed about in a fury.

“CHILDREN!” Izumi yelled as the scene was becoming out of control. “STOP!”

“I must say, I have never had quite this much fun at my games before.” Xil said loudly as the commotion died down. “You have all been quite entertaining. However, the subject of Eleknar is not something I can speak of. I am sorry, but that is something you’ll have to find out for yourself.”

The answer puzzled Trey greatly, and he stopped leaning against the pillar to stand up straight. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Why that was the case, Trey would never find out.

“You can thank me later if you live long enough... And because you provided the game master and I with so much amusement and excitement over the course of the day, I will grant you one of the three items I presented to you as well.”

A large flash of light blinded the onlookers, and just as the other Earthborn had been healed from their mortal wounds - the beautiful succubus now stood in perfect condition where she had once been laid out. Her armor was completely repaired and laid out to the side in a heap, her wings were completely intact, and she stared out blankly in shock at the others.

CONGRATULATIONS

CONGRATULATIONS

CONGRATULATIONS

BOSS FIGHT HAS BEEN ENDED. EZDEATH, WARDEN OF NECRANOC, HAS ENDED HOSTILITIES. HOWEVER, BECAUSE EZDEATH HAS NOT DIED, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE HEROIC TRAIT OTHERWISE GRANTED.

Ezdeath’s opinon of you has been changed from ‘Not Available’ to ‘Unsure.’

His heart skipped a beat in anticipation, hoping nothing dramatic would happen after the showdown they’d just had - and hoping she didn’t try to contest his summoner’s authority. She must have killed many thousands of creatures or people to get to where she was level-wise. It was no wonder she’d bested them in a fight.

“You are now bound to this summoner, Ezdeath.” boomed Xil’s voice as the demoness stared Trey down. “Serve him well, and be free from this prison of yours…”

The succubus stood motionless as notifications popped up in her own HUD. She stared at Trey, then to Eleknar’s symbol that burned along his chest, then glanced around the room… blinking numerous times and trying to get a grip on what had just happened. Her perfect features were a mixture of hesitation and hope as she timidly raised her voice to speak. “I… am free to leave?”

She abruptly shot Trey another glance. “And… is this truly Eleknar’s new Heir?”

Xil’s chuckle rang out into the room, still staying hidden from sight. “You are, and he is.”

Tears quickly pooled underneath Ezdeath’s eyes and a sob was suppressed briefly before she briskly walked over to her new master. She bowed her head, took a knee, and put her right hand over her heart. “I did not know who you were. My liege, please forgive my ignorance… and accept my life’s devotion as compensation for my poor decision making. I… it has been so long since I felt Eleknar’s presence… and even now, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this situation.”

She lifted her golden eyes to meet his own, now calm and collected as she recovered her previous composure. “If it pleases you, you may kill me for my arrogance. I have offended you, great one, and I have killed your devoted followers. Have my head and be done with it, if that is what you wish.”

Trey’s surprise was evident as his eyes boggled down at her, and he awkwardly gave her a pat on the shoulder. “No need for that… but thank you.”

“That’s so unfair.” stated Jason with an annoyed, jealous look as the symbol of beauty before them reverently took Trey’s hand to stand up. “So unjust.”

“Whatever,” spat Ashe as she walked back to the three items. “I’m just happy we still get to keep one of these things. HEY TREY! YOU DON’T GET A VOTE ANYMORE AFTER THE SHIT YOU JUST PULLED!”

Ezdeath came forward and embraced him out of nowhere, however brief it was. Then she smirked at the surprised look Trey gave her, brushing her white locks out of her eyes.

She stepped back, readjusting her posture - all signs of weakness now gone.

“You weren’t expecting that then?” asked Ezdeath, becoming rigid in her composure with confidence pouring out of her. Her eyes narrowed.

“... No, I definitely wasn’t.” replied Trey - still trying to come to terms with the idea of having this absolute babe along with the team. His eyes couldn’t help trace over her figure and the way she smelled made his knees weak… he glanced over at Rivia who scowled in his direction, giving her sheepish grin. He was a lucky man. A very, very lucky one considering how he should be very dead right now and had taken a get-out-of-jail-free card due to simple opportunistic chance.

He really should feel worse about the loss of his other minions, but truthfully… as long as it wasn’t Rivia, Napoleon, Atharost or Talsh’Noc’Un… it wouldn’t hit him that hard. Maybe he’d care a little more if it was piggy of Juila too, but even they weren’t something he overly cared about at the moment - Though they were definitely becoming favorites too.

“WE ARE PLAYING ROCK PAPER SCISSORS FOR THIS!” exclaimed Jason as he frustratedly tried to convince the girls that the mace was a better choice. “THAT’S NOT FAIR! YOU BOTH KNOW ATHAROST WOULD SIDE WITH ME!”

“Can any of you even wield either of those two items? Like, do any of you have the stats to wield them right now?” asked Trey hesitantly as the others stopped in their tracks.

“Shit.” The three arguing earthborn said simultaneously. It certainly put a damper on it all.

Upon further arguing and much later, it had been the Varwarp Cloak that the party decided upon - much to the frustration of Jason who was immediately put in a bad mood after losing the deciding rock-paper-scissors match.

Jason muttered himself with deathglares being cast over at the two women. “I guess I wouldn’t have been able to use it without a lot of training anyways…”

Varwarp Cloak (Light Armor)

Item Tier: (14) Artifact

Armor: +82 physical resistance, +1035 magic resistance

Bonuses: +407 intelligence

Requirements: 210 intelligence, 50 wisdom

Durability: 3009/3009

Special:

Enables Flying Enables Triplecast - setting off sets of three offensive spells for the price and activation of any one offensive spell, 10 second cooldown

“YAY!” exclaimed Izumi as she hugged the cloak tightly around her bloodied shirt, and the other two prize options disappeared. “I’ve been wanting to train in magic, and I’ve been looking at that grimoire you gave Ashe already! It’ll be just a matter of time before I get to use this baby other than just for the looks!”

Trey’s eyes shot up in interested curiosity. “Wait, you’ve been reading that grimoire to obtain the Dark attribute too?”

Izumi promptly smiled and nodded eagerly.

“It looks so cool too!” said Ashe as she admired the shimmering multi-colored cloak next to Izumi. “The changing colors makes it really look neat.”

Trey took a moment to adjust to this new information. He’d had no idea Izumi was also obtaining the Dark attribute.

“Ahem,” Trey cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the others. “I think that until one of you can use it, it should go to Ezdeath so that we can still make use of the item’s bonuses in the meantime.”

Izumi immediately scowled and hugged the cloak more tightly - but she didn’t get the opportunity to reply.

“I do not wish to wear it.” stated Ezdeath bluntly. She pulled at the star pendant around her neck and the central ruby lit up, equipping her intimidating Hadean armor and ebony halberd again in an instant. Trey and Jason just looked at her curiously, unsure of why she wouldn’t want the artifact.

“I can already fly. It would get in the way of my wings. I also am not sure it would fit over the armor, which is far better than… that.”

Far better than the cloak? Trey did a double take and tried to identify any of the set pieces with their glowing orange-red demonic runes littering the pieces - but utterly failed. “Ah. I see. Nevermind then.”

Xil’s voice echoed out into the room again. “Well, as much as I have enjoyed this it is time to return you back from whence you came.”

As he said this, another flash of light blinded the party members and before they knew what had happened - they were standing back in the game master’s room. Another group of adventurers or treasure hunters stood gawking as the screen far above them disappeared. “It appears your audience was quite awestruck with your capabilities, or more likely: the abilities of the new minion you have acquired. I truly look forward to the next time you come back. Please, do not make it too long. It is not often that I get such capable participants in my games.”

“You have completed the quest: Xil’s Games - complete the trials Xil puts before you and survive the final champion fight at the end. You have gained XP. You have gained 3 overall combat levels. Per Xil’s Contract, you have acquired Varwarp Cloak.”

“You have been offered a quest: Return to the Games - Return to Xil’s Tomb in the Deadlands of Ornthas and participate in Xil’s Games once again. You will receive XP and a sum of 1000 gold upon returning.”

“You have accepted the quest: Return to the Games.”

From up above on the large stone platform, the enormous stone game master stood up with its faceless head craning down to look at Trey’s group. The synthesized voice echoed out with an undertone of contentment. “Well done. As Xil has already said, you provided us with much needed entertainment. Now that you have completed the games, you are welcome back to Xil’s Tomb at any time for rest and recourse from any that would do you harm. We know that the Deadlands can be difficult to traverse at times, so if you are in need of a sanctuary… Needless to say, you will not be forced to participate in any of the games when doing so unless you bring in others that have yet to pass the trials.”

“That’s actually pretty damn useful...” thought Jason out loud while glancing up towards the enormous stone figure of the gamemaster. “Thanks!”

Murmuring from the other side of the room caught his attention and he brought his eyes back down to the other group of people standing not too far away. His eyes particularly focused on the large flesh golem in the background. “Who are they?”

“They are the next group to participate in the games,” replied the game master, one of it slarge stone insectoid legs briskly moving forward to point. “They wanted to watch you undergo your trials first so that they may better understand what awaits them.”

“Oh…” muttered Jason, and he awkwardly waved at them. “Well, good luck I guess.”

He didn’t sound very encouraging and the looks passed between the members of the opposite party were obviously worried and full of self doubt.

“The next trial will be postponed until tomorrow.” Xil’s voice rang out from the beyond, again not willing to divulge what he even looked like. “I have business I need to attend to, but I look forward to seeing you all then.”

There was a blip of noise, and then Xil’s presence vanished.

Trey yawned loudly and stretched, then took a look at the ashes he had gathered from Atharost’s remains and stuffed into his pockets. “We should probably take them up on their offer and wait here until Atharost gets back. Juila too. It will be safer that way, and I could use a break anyway.”

Noticing Ezdeath was gazing in wonder about the large room, he softly smiled. Yeah she’d almost killed them, but remembering how she’d acted when they’d first laid eyes on her… she was really desperate just for social interaction.

How long had she been in there? She must have been cooped up for a very, very long time. Then his eyes traversed her well crafted Hadean set armor, wondering how much it had cost or where she’d gotten it. The designs laced into the black metal underneath were spectacular.

And she was… very pretty.

He had to hit himself in the forehead a couple times to get ahold of his wandering thoughts. She looked absolutely threatening in that armor of hers, but when it wasn’t equipped and only the old shredded rags were in place… oh boy. Shouldn’t it be enough that he already had… let’s see: Juila, Rivia, and Piggy?

He was such a whore. That being said, he wouldn’t be forcing anyone to do anything they didn’t want to do - and Ezdeath may not even be interested in entertaining thoughts like the ones soaring through his mind.

Get ahold of yourself Trey.

“What does our food rationing look like Izumi?”

Izumi put a finger up to her temple before skipping away, Napoleon joining her to clamber up onto her shoulder and cling on as she laughed at his efforts. Coming to one of the empty coffins in which they had stashed their supplies, she pulled out a couple sacks of food and counted it out. “We have enough for another two weeks unless we go hunting and foraging. That includes Ezdeath. Perhaps you should summon Piggy so she can make us a meal? She needs the experience to increase her cooking level right?”

“Sounds good,” replied Trey with a thumbs up as he walked up to the supplies and pulled out his large fluffy blanket. 30 second later and his blonde demihuman thrall Telipe joined them atop a glowing pentagram on the stone floor, then another 30 seconds and Piggy the brunette elf had appeared as well. He gave Piggy orders to start prepping the food, and she began setting up her pots with Napoleon helping her light a fire as the imp hopped off Izumi’s shoulder and began to fill in the two slaves about what’d happened.

“We only need three days anyways. We’ll also have a show to watch while we’re here.” He stared out across the room at the opposite end where the other travelers were beginning to follow suit and make camp on their side too. “I just hope they make it out.”

He felt a light touch on his elbow and was blindsided by Ezdeath’s stunning face only two inches away from his own. She’d taken off her devil-like helmet and was staring at him curiously - big golden eyes boring into him. He reeled back out of surprise and was caught by Rivia who wrapped an arm around his waist protectively, glaring out at Ezdeath with a snort.

He quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat as Ezdeath waited expectantly nearby. “Can I help you?”

Ezdeath lowered her eyelids as her gaze fell to Rivia. With a confident grin of amusement, she dismissed the priestess from her mind and turned her attention back to Trey. She gave him a salute with her right gauntlet balled into a fist over her breastplate where her heart would be, keeping the black halberd in her left hand with the shaft resting downwards onto the stone floor. “I hope there are no hard feelings about what happened.”

She paused, giving him time to reply, but he just stared at her facial features. Gawked at her, more like. So she continued. “I was trapped there… I would not have killed your friends if I had a choice. I just wanted to live… and I would have never guess in a million years that the new Heir would be the one to set me free from this place. I want to express to you my absolute loyalty. I have always been a worshiper of Alkir and Eleknar, and it is an honor to serve you my lord.”

Trey thought back to the two minotaurs, Cow-Daddy and Fat-Daddy. Then to that fat oblivion toad, and lastly to Reiklin the archer. He grimaced, thinking about all the time he’d spent trying to obtain them, but in the end he just shrugged it off. “Honestly I didn’t know them very well. Though it’s unfortunate that they died, it’s alright. Thankfully you’re on our side now… I’d hate to have to fight you again. Also… remind me sometime to ask you about that oath you took. I’m very curious as to what it was about.”

“And we don’t want to get our asses kicked again!” Izumi butt in with a grin and held out a hand of friendship to Ezdeath. “My name is Izumi! It’s very nice to meet you, pretty lady! We don’t blame you for what happened, and I personally don’t blame you for killing me… as weird as it is to say. We know you weren’t there because you wanted to be.”

Izumi was shoved out of the way by Ashe, who was keenly taken with Ezdeath’s looks and wrapped an arm around the succubus as her fox tail went back and forth wildly. “And I’m Ashe! It’s very… very nice to meet you. Care for a drink?”

As Ezdeath was led away by the other two girls to where Piggy was mixing broth with spices, herbs and water from a large water jug, Trey couldn’t help but to roll his eyes. That said, he was just thankful the people he really cared about were still alright.