When the jewels were hidden, it didn’t just cause darkness to fall in the royal gazebo, it stole the light from an entire city that had never known the touch of night. Wails went up from the streets below, from the palace, from as deep as the dungeons, for even those had been forever steeped in the glow of the Vallorn. My wonderful eyes were suddenly useless, so I dropped into my adytum for a quick swap, then I dropped my protective lenses into my inventory in case I needed them later.

>>

Nadir —

Echolocation (3): You have extraordinary hearing, so much so that it can compensate for your other senses. Using sound alone, you can perceive your immediate area 40% as well as you could with sight.

>>

It wasn’t perfect, but with a few clicks and chirps I quickly built up a mental model of the platform and everyone on it. The King and Queen had been surrounded by invisible assailants and wrapped in Celestial cords. They were still asleep, a status effect that I had played into, though I wasn’t sure how, but it was the figure holding the bag that caught my eye… or ear. They were backing away from the platform, headed for the opposite end of the tower. There was nothing there, no rope or ladder, only open air, so unless this was a suicide mission, they must be able to fly.

I hopped onto Falcor, who was more relieved to have the light gone than bothered by his blindness, and pulled Shippo up behind me. A few chirps were all the instruction my dragon needed to trot forward onto the platform and maneuver around the King and Queen. The invisible figures were all headed for the rim of the tower, seemingly about to jump, and I wanted to catch them before they did. The thief with the crown stopped to unfold a set of mechanical wings, giving me just enough time to direct Falcor within pouncing distance. Then a cord wrapped around my throat and tugged me off my mount.

“Not for you,” Charmlet said. She obviously hadn’t been affected by the soporific that had taken out the Dark Elves, and she didn’t seem to be having trouble navigating without light either. Falcor spun, not sure where to lunge, and was smacked in the face with a Tanglefoot Bag.

>>

Tanglefoot Bag

Celestial Utility — Single Use

Confound your enemies, amuse your friends! This tightly bound trap will unwind at the slightest contact, and woe betide anyone who is caught in the mess. Reduce Movement by 50–100%, severe Dexterity penalty. DISTRACTION.

>>

They were common enough items, but I had actually never seen a Celestial version before. They weren’t made or sold anywhere in Valanthia with this level of skill. The patience and effort required to produce them wasn’t worth what they could fetch on the open market. But of course, Charmlet wouldn’t mind the inconvenience. Weaving was her hobby.

The bag exploded, and Falcor was as thoroughly wrapped as a birthday present, with Shippo twisted into a neat bow on top of him. This would have been more interesting to see, or echolocate, if I wasn’t also being strangled at the time.

“Hollen… I’m Hollen…” My perception wasn’t finely detailed enough to interpret the expression on her face; she may not have even understood me, but the pressure eased.

“Don’t follow us,” she said, and left me. The Invisibles were already diving off the edges of the tower, wingsuits outstretched to catch the air, dropping out of sight.

“Your name…” It was still hard to talk. “Name is Gianna.”

She paused, and with a light tug, the cord around my throat flew back into her hand. Then she was gone with the others and the Dark Elves were waking up. Many of the servants, being blind already, weren’t greatly inconvenienced by the absence of the crown, and they went about waking the others and freeing the King and Queen. Soon a host of wisps had gathered to illuminate the platform, and I considered running, but a few moments contending with the tanglefoot weave convinced me my companions weren’t going anywhere, and I wasn’t going to leave them. Falcor whined pitifully, and Shippo was shivering.

“It’s alright,” I said, and then messaged.

(They don’t know we had anything to do with this, and Kyofu won’t go back on his word. We’ll be out of here in no time.)

The Radiant King, bereft of radiance, was still possessed of his full command.

“Seize the singer.”

That didn’t take long. I was nearly stabbed to death by the overly enthusiastic soldiers collectively taking me into custody. Dark Elves had excellent vision, but they had been conditioned by the crown all their lives, and their eyes weren’t adjusting automatically. My companions, already bound, were dragged behind us like so much luggage, which wouldn’t be fun for them considering how many stairs we had to go down.

The dungeons were all smooth glass with sharp, geometric edges. Usually, the light that reached these regions was manipulated in such a way as to cause maximum discomfort for the occupants. The other prisoners were likely the sole group in the City of Light that was benefitting from the theft of the crown. Falcor, Shippo, and I were deposited together in a cell too small for Falcor alone and left to stew. They hadn’t bothered to undo the tanglefoot effect, so it fell to me to try to pick them free over the next half hour. While doing so, I sent PamyuPamyu an account of everything that had happened, but she hadn’t logged in yet for the day.

“This bad,” Shippo said.

“Yes,” I agreed, “but it could be worse. They could be torturing us.”

The door flew open and smacked against the wall. With a whistle, I picked up the shape of the guards and the chains and sharp implements they carried. One of them grabbed me and slapped a set of manacles around my wrists, and I was pulled alone out of the cell.

“It’s fine,” I said, “this is just one of those troughs in the story arc before things get interesting.”

Then the cell shut, and I discovered I couldn’t send Shippo messages anymore. The explanations I had sent PamyuPamyu had been on hold, and they were only released when I was taken into the hall. That was inconvenient. Light was returning in the form of wisps, and a bobble of them accompanied us to the torture chamber. No one called it that, but the purpose of the room was relatively clear from context. They strapped me to a chair and displayed various sharp and pointy devices like game show prizes before applying a few of them to my body. It didn’t hurt; there was heat, pressure, and buzzing along with status updates.

>>

(Pincer deals 15 Piercing Damage)

(Heated Brand deals 45 Heat Damage)

(You are DEMORALIZED. 15% penalty to all Ego checks and functions.)

>>

It was a game, so the actual efficacy of torture on player characters was questionable, but the creators had to include this sort of thing because a number of quests and situations wouldn’t have made sense without it, just as they had to include jail, even though it could be very boring. The Dark Elves kept saying things like “We have ways of making you talk…” and “Tell us who sent you!” It was mostly recycled nonsense until the Queen opened the door and sent all the shorter Fae scurrying away.

“We meet again, Singer. What regrettable circumstances.”

“My lady, I protest my innocence.”

“We get a lot of that down here. Are you aware this isn’t the first time the crown has been stolen?”

I wasn’t, which was unusual.

“It has happened half a dozen times over the years,” she went on, the tendrils of her shadow chasing away the pale illumination of the wisps. “Heroes find themselves embroiled in one quest or another, and it seems only the power of Vallorn can help them, so they come to my island, to my city, and make a ruinous mess of things. But they never reach the water with their prize.”

“That’s valuable information, but it doesn’t pertain to me, per se. I continue to profess my innocence.”

“There’s no need. Your companion has already given in. We know Kyofu put you up to this and that there were other heroes involved. That is why I am here. Tell me what you know of the one who took the crown from my husband’s head and I will release you. Refuse to aid us in its recovery and you may never be released. Which do you prefer?”

Persuasion to maximum.

“Shippo would say anything if he was afraid. I swear to you, I don’t know who took the crown. I’m not behind this plot. I’m only a performer, and Kyofu, if it is Kyofu, is using me as a diversion while the true culprits get away with everything.”

>>

(Persuasion: Failed)

>>

The Queen smiled, her teeth strikingly white against the deep purple of her face. “You are very skilled for a mortal, that I will grant, but you cannot hide the truth from me. All you can do is omit, and waste my time. Where are they taking the crown? Who are they?”

As there was still a chance that Kyofu would keep to his word and save me a gem, I couldn’t give him up. But Charmlet, despite our previous association, had not endeared herself to me thus far.

“I saw a woman enter the great chamber before us, dressed as a noble drow. She wasn’t affected by whatever spell caused all of you to sleep, and she left the platform with the others I couldn’t see. I think her name was Charmlet.”

The Queen’s eyes flared violet, then narrowed. “I know that one, a favored pet of my husband. She weaves trinkets and decorations for the courtiers. If what you say is true, then I will consider releasing you. For now, you will be returned to your friends.”

She vanished like a phantom, and the guards returned to escort me back to Shippo and Falcor. They were both unharmed, and Shippo claimed he hadn’t been questioned at all, which was likely enough. The only reason to interrogate or torture a companion was to use them as a tool to in some way enhance the play experience of the hero they were attached to, give them a sense of increasing drama. Incarcerated once again, my outgoing messages were blocked, so I wouldn’t know when or if PamyuPamyu replied. If it was true that the crown had been stolen before, but was always recovered, that didn’t bode well for my quest line. There wasn’t a gold or crystal equivalent to a unique ingredient like a gem of Vallorn. If we were going to use the Book of Old Names to win back Lawlimi and the ship, it was this or nothing. A normal player, in a similar situation, would log off. There were cool-down periods to NPC interactions after you were taken prisoner so you wouldn’t be released too quickly, but you didn’t have to actually sit through them. If you logged back in after a given period had elapsed, it would trigger whatever response you were waiting for in-game. I did not have that luxury

It was a relief when I started to hear things breaking. It started as a series of distant rumbles, more abrupt than thunder but similar in tone, but as the repeated blasts approached they became unmistakably the sound of someone using a Celestial hammer to punch through obsidian walls.

“Get down and in the corner,” I said, following my own advice. Shippo’s ears had perked, but he wasn’t as quick on the uptake about what was happening. Moments later, PamyuPamyu breached the wall.

“Oh, thank crap!” she said. “You have no idea how many cells I’ve been through.”

“Thirty-seven,” I said, patting the glass dust and stone fragments out of my companion’s fur. Falcor got up on his hind legs and put his claws on her shoulders to greet her, and PamyuPamyu went down into the rubble she had created under his weight.

“Off! Off!” She escaped the lazy grapple. “Yeah, thirty-seven sounds about right. So you do have an idea. Hey! We should probably get going. Most of the Dark Elves won’t come near this hammer, but there have got to be some higher-level defenders around here somewhere, and I don’t want to meet them. Your body looks good by the way, very chibi.”

“Thank you.” We exited the series of holes PamyuPamyu had made in the base of the darkened Palace of Undying Light, and it was immediately apparent why the response to her intrusion was not more forceful. The city was at war. I messaged her the directions to our meeting point with Kyofu. Though the appointed time had certainly passed, it would be a starting point to finding him, and we set off as swiftly as we could. The Fedo-ration was racing down the main road, not really fighting anyone but furiously tipping their fedoras as they ran by. Some of them were overtaken by Tengu, who dove from the rooftops with their katanas flashing, war caws loud in their throats, but a number were going to make it to the palace, the last known location of the jewels and therefore a de facto goalpost. I didn’t see the Hentai Clan, but the Disciples of the Worm were making a showing. Or JammyJams was.

He had gotten even bigger, now towering over some of the buildings and happily slogging through them as if they were particularly crunchy patches of brush. He was surrounded by Tengu and Dark Elf alike, but most of the defenders simply could not deal enough damage to meaningfully affect him. There were others, harder to see, lighting fires, screaming, and generally having a good riot. We had to turn off the main thoroughfare to avoid them, but it didn’t matter because where we were going, there were no roads.

Wisps followed us, as helpful as they were concerning, as they likely acted as spies for the Queen and would have been dispatched to monitor our escape. Perhaps that was why we had faced so little resistance. They wanted us to lead them to Kyofu. We made it out of the city and had to stop to rest. Falcor couldn’t carry all of us, and PamyuPamyu’s Constitution wasn’t much better than mine. The next leg of our journey would take place at a brisk walk. Kyofu had set our designated meeting point as a cavern tucked in a rough fold of land that was a part of the mountainous hand that held the city in its palm. Before we reached it, I messaged everyone my plan to avoid pursuit.

We were going to split up, and I would go alone to the rendezvous. I swapped my Skills and Affinities so that I had the greatest possible advantage to Concealment, and the group ducked behind a cluster of boulders so that I could engage my varichromatic camouflage without being directly observed by the wisps. We were only seconds ahead of them, but that was all I needed, so when the colorful floating spirits rounded the boulders all they saw was the rest of the group setting off in the wrong direction. Hopefully, they were stupid enough not to report that I was missing.

Crouching, crawling, progressing slowly enough that my skin could keep perfectly in tune with my environment as I moved, I ascended a rocky ridge and slithered down a steep incline into the waiting gorge. The cavern entrance was little more than a horizontal slit, fine for me, as I was already belly to the ground, but I imagined Charmlet wouldn’t have enjoyed having to traverse it on her hands and knees. The gap widened within, and I funneled some of my Nadir affinity back into being able to echolocate. A tunnel curved for thirty or forty paces until my light-starved eyes caught a hint of a glow coming from another opening. The upcoming cavern was as large as an arena, and the opening was situated as a part of a second-story shelf before a sheer drop to the floor.

A pair of lanterns had been left below. They couldn’t have been abandoned for long, as their oil was still burning, and this was almost certainly a trap. A few high clicks, higher than Mortal ears could hear, sketched a loose picture of the cavern in my mind’s eye. Stalagmites were scattered about, making it difficult to be sure, but a small cadre of goblins appeared to be waiting in the dark. If I focused, I could hear them breathing.

There was no need to give up the high ground. Instead, I rehashed the opening of the performance I had given the goblin regiment, and some of them tried to whistle it back, though rather terribly.

“Squidman!” A voice called out of the dark. “Is that you, Squidman?”

“I prefer Hollen.”

The goblins all started milling about, and a few of them came into the pale yellow region created by the lanterns. The light was wan, hardly enough to make them out by.

“Come out,” they said. “We’ll take you to the general.”

I didn’t detect any subterfuge or malice. Indeed, they were my biggest fans, and when I’d descended the short cliff they welcomed me with claps and hoots of approval. We had a brief discussion about where we were headed, deeper into the tunnel complex, which apparently extended all the way to the other side of the encircling mountains, and set off.

(Hey, Hollen?) PamyuPamyu messaged me. (Quick update. I hope you’re doing okay. We are too, sort of. Except that we’ve been captured by the Dark Elves and the Queen is here and she is kind of upset with us and me in particular because I drilled a hole through her palace or whatever. I couldn’t spook her with my hammer and I had to inventory it because she almost took it from me with some shadow claw stuff. It was cool. Anyway, just letting you know. If you don’t message me back where you are, they are going to kill me and Shippo and Falcor. No pressure though, you know, it’s… whatever.)