Universe One; The Game of Lives
By Thomas Baskerville
Chapter 2; Beginnings
Staff’s sharp, fox-like eyes shifted to his left, then to his right with annoyance. The roar of a fiercely passionate crowd bellowed so loudly he could barely hear his own thoughts. Thus far he’d chosen to not be noticed, which had clearly been the right call.
He stood tall at the very back of the highest row of seats that overlooked the massive sand pit arena that marked the centre of the colosseum. The stalls surrounded the arena and were completely packed. Staff was not a fan of crowds at the best of times, but right now their presence was an issue beyond his own personal feelings. He shifted his gaze to the dead centre of the arena. There, a man covered in blood and sweat. Shirtless and armed with a single short sword drenched in the very same blood. His arms raised in victory as the crowd continued to cheer him on.
Edward Clawson. His target. Staff’s first thought was of how to disperse such a massive audience. A fantastical display of dangerous magic? He knew for sure that this time his mere presence wouldn’t suffice in such an environment. He quickly gave up on such thoughts, however. He was overthinking things again. Zoie had warned him time and time again about such a habit. Clawson was a threat to the balance of this world. Crowd or not, he had to be dealt with.
A blinding, instant flash of light that caught the attention of all in attendance. The air cracked and thundered as it made way for the divine being that had suddenly appeared. Staff now stood directly before Clawson himself. His leather boots firmly placed in the lightly blood-soaked sand. The crowd fell silent.
Mortals often had rather peculiar reactions to Staff’s presence. An admin’s presence was certainly a rare occurrence, but it was more than just shock and wonder. One of their God’s had appeared before them. All at such a moment became humbled regardless of their place in the world. Yet, as Staff began to examine the man stood before him, he found it curious that he’d not reacted the same odd way the rest of the crowd had.
Edward Clawson instead matched Staff’s rather intense but silent glare. His grey eyes refusing to back down instead of trying to avoid his divine gaze. Staff glanced to the side, to the crowd now frozen still out of either fear or worship. Likely a mixture of both. He watched as they all instinctively averted their gaze to avoid locking eye contact with him. He turned back to Clawson, his eyes still firmly locked onto him. The issue clearly wasn’t with his own appearance then.
“You must know why I am here.” Staff rather softly spoke. Edward answered with a rather satisfied grin. While he was clearly fitter than most, Edward was by no means a large, muscular man. His long black hair did well to hide his own fox-like eyes.
“And here I thought Grey would be the first to show.” Edward rather arrogantly chuckled. Staff silently rolled his own eyes. So, he was one of these fools. A power-hungry lunatic who’d managed to obtain a small drop of power and thought himself capable of standing up to an admin. He was now rather thankful for the surrounding crowd. Witnesses to see just how easily he’d put him back in place.
Without so much as a flinch, suddenly Staff found a pitch-black blade hurtling towards him. He took a single step backwards to avoid the slash. His eyes sharpened on Clawson, now a little annoyed that he’d been caught off guard by such a cheap trick.
Shadow Pocket. A spell that allowed a user to conceal an equipped weapon. The only way Clawson could have pulled off such a sneak attack without first drawing the weapon from his inventory. Now that the weapon had been drawn, the spell was no more. Staff silently cursed his own stupidity. He’d been so focused on the blade itself; he hadn’t even considered the man had magical abilities to deceive him. His eyes then shifted slightly to focus on the blade itself now that it was out in the open for all to see.
Pitch black. The two-handed weapon had a thick, chunky blade as wide as a lightly anaemic, thinly built woman. Such a heavy weapon took some strength to swing about, but that was not Staff’s current concern. The guard, which was only marginally wider than the blade itself, had a beautiful engraving of a dragon etched into the dark material that seemed more rocklike than metal, yet the blade was just as sharp as any other. A Dragon Sword. A rather troublesome item indeed.
Edward’s grin turned into a teethy smile. He’d made a God backstep. An achievement in its own right. Yet his smile dispelled as his ears pricked to a quiet but ominous fizzing sound coming from the ground. His eyes fell to Staff’s feet. A fiery spark just about finished charring a perfect circle on the floor surrounding Staff. The second the shape was formed, a burst of magical power followed. The power swelled through Staff’s body, climbing up his legs, though his chest, right into the arm presenting a flat palm now thrust in Edward’s direction.
“Burn.” Staff softly spoke as the magical power within him slapped the inside of his own palm. The power sparked to life, no longer pure energy, no longer a simple concept. The air twisted and contorted, sparks turned to bellowing clouds of fire and destruction. The ground shook ever so slightly as a massive cone of flames launched itself out of Staff’s hand, directly towards Clawson.
Those in the crowd behind Edward quickly ran for their lives in panic, only to watch the powerful spell slap right into a magical barrier a mere metre away from them. The impact as the flames met the shield shook the whole building this time, causing further panic amongst the masses. Those who did not remain frozen solid ran for their lives.
Magic in its own right was quite the impressive sight. Spells and chants able to dazzle and amaze, but the combat side of such an artform gave a whole different feeling towards onlookers. While glass shapes and dancing flames made for fun entertainment in the hands of a performer, such things became rather untrue the second they were pointed towards another. Most capable of such feats of power usually went untested within this world of blades and bows. Wizards of high acclaim were often capable of deterring combat by their own mere presence. Cities would use them as bargaining chips. Superweapons that rarely ever were actually used, but kept places safer than others from bandits, monsters or invading armies. Such was the power of a truly experienced mage.
Yet, even they had one who they feared as much as others feared their own power. For if a mere mortal could command such power, what would a God with that same power be capable of? A question even the most dedicated of scholars could only ponder, for Staff would rarely display his might, and often when he did, survivors were rarer still. Burn, a second level fire spell. One the inexperienced mage would often struggle to master, but for a mage with decent magical knowledge the spell wasn’t that hard to master with some dedicated practice. By no means a powerful spell, not even for a fire spell, yet in the hands of Staff… such a mid-tier spell was outright terrifying.
As the flames slowly dispersed in the new, dry wind that tore through the arena, Staff’s eyes remained sharply trained in Clawson’s direction. A regular mortal would have burnt to a crisp, but a wielder of a Dragon Sword was no regular mortal. Edward stood tall. Void of a grin this time, he winced with pain, but he was alive and reasonably unscathed. The flat side of his dark blade steamed and glowed a ferocious heat, the side that faced towards Staff.
A few light burns were all such a display of magic had to show. Edward nervously chuckled to himself. His lips, nose and eyes dry of moisture, but he’d remained standing. He moved his sword to his side with a firm swipe, allowing the blade to cool a little.
“An impressive display.” He mocked with a voice loud enough to draw the attention of those in the crowd who’d remained, willingly or otherwise. Everyone in the building was completely shocked that he’d survived such an attack, all but Staff that was, “But you don’t seem to know what my sword is truly capable of!” He exclaimed as he pointed the blade’s tip directly towards Staff himself. Staff eyed him rather curiously as he sensed a buildup in magic from his opponent, “Burn!”
With Edward’s chant, the very same bellowing cloud of flames unleashed itself into the air once more, but this time towards Staff. The admin watched the flames approach with nothing but mild distain. Did Clawson believe him to be stupid? His own arrogance perhaps? Of course he’d be aware of the weapon he was hunting.
“Contain Magic.” He spoke with a quiet sigh. He once again outstretched his arm. The flames slammed into his outstretched palm only to be completely consumed. The entire spell instantly got sucked right into his hand, “Redirect Magic.” His voice boomed, despite his disappointed tone. Once again, the massive cone of flames was unleashed upon the arena. Edward’s eyes widened with surprise as he could do nothing but watch the flames wrap around his body.
Whatever hope anyone in the crowd had for Edward quickly faded. Once again, the engulfing flames rammed headfirst into a magical barrier seemingly placed to protect the masses from the otherwise indiscriminate destruction.
The flames cleared to reveal the sand floor of the arena ahead of Staff to now be glass. The pure heat had scorched the floor to a molten state, only for the fresh air to quickly cool it solid again. This time Staff’s eyes shifted to the crowd instead of focusing on where his opponent once stood. The biggest weakness with a sword that large and heavy no matter the strength; it was impossible to mount an attack and defence at the same time. He scanned his surroundings, watching those who hadn’t fled either due to their own courage and curiosity, or their own terror, as their eyes seemed to slowly but consecutively notice something he hadn’t. He followed their bewildered stares, which for once were not directed at him, until his eyes met Clawson’s once again.
His skin charred black. His blade now a few metres to his side. Edward’s back was against the glowing hot arena wall. He’d lost a lot of health. Most of it in fact. He was down to the single digits. Most would have passed out from such horrific injuries, yet his eyes remained open, obsessively glaring Staff’s way. Staff’s own eyes widened with realisation. There was more to this man than ambition and power. Such ferocity was brought about only by relentless persecution. He knew not why, but this was all somehow personal.
A thunderous crack. A blinding flash of light, and Staff was now face to face with Edward. The smell of charred flesh and burnt hair insulting his nostrils. His eyes narrowed at Clawson, seeking answers to his own curiosity, “You knew this would happen.” He quietly scolded, “So why would a successful guild master throw his life away for a shot against me?” He watched as Edward’s eyes sparked with fierce passion.
“Vengeance.” His brittle lips whispered.
“And what gives you the right to be vengeful of a God?” Staff pressed. A slight anger escaped his otherwise calm and collected composure for the briefest of seconds. Out of nowhere, his eyes suddenly caught movement.
“For murdering my sister!” Edward exclaimed as he put whatever strength he had left into a piecing stab. The short blade he’d wielded in his earlier match slipped through the front parting in Staff’s robes and sliced through the white waistcoat underneath in search of flesh. The blade found what it was looking for but immediately regretted it. The regular metal shattered like glass, as if it had tried stabbing a mountain. Staff looked down at what remained of the blade, completely unimpressed.
“All who die at my hands, Clawson, are deserving of such a fate.” He calmly spoke as he raised his right hand up, “Edward Clawson. For position of an item banned by administrative decree I am authorised to terminate you and any obstacles along my way however I see fit.” He snapped his fingers. A spark shot from the admin’s foot, calved a rather short path along the glass floor until it met Edward’s feet. The second it came into contact; Edward was set completely ablaze. Staff watched in complete silence as Edward slowly burned up in front of him. All the while Edward’s eyes remained fixed on the admin.
“I’ll make you pay.” The words drifted out of what was left of Edward’s mouth before he was reduced to nothing but bones, and then from bones to ash, and then ash to nothing.
***
Within this virtual world, somewhere, lay a room like no other. The room had no walls and consisted of a single small wooden table surrounded by four chairs. A single candle wick lamp lit the room from its place at the centre of the table. Beyond its small light, only darkness.
Staff flashed into the room. No thunderous crack this time, although his appearance still came with the rather signature flash of light for which the technique had been named. He quietly took a seat at the table and patiently awaited.
“Back so soon?” A voice asked from the darkness beyond the limited reach of the lamps light. Staff waved his hand, causing the black sword to gently float onto the table from where it had casually been hovering beside him.
“Your intelligence was right. It was a dragon sword.” He calmly muttered.
“Why am I not surprised that you’re the one who found it out of the four of you?” The voice chuckled as the sword flew off into the darkness.
“Because your intelligence wasn’t very detailed. Had to do some actual thinking for myself to dig it up.” Staff remarked as he kicked his feet up onto the table. His eyes caught a few grains of sand clinging to his boots. They silently narrowed out of subtle irritation.
“Don’t mistake my compliment for favouritism Staff. The four of you each have your strengths and weaknesses.”
“I couldn’t avoid there being witnesses. Minimised the damage, so only few dead guild members.” He casually added.
“I would have preferred the quiet approach, but something tells me you would have as well.”
“Anyone I mentioned the Dragon Sword to is dead, but a crowd of people witnessed a sword that held up to me for at least a small bit.”
“I suppose that will have to do. Return to your daily duties. I will inform the others of your success.” Staff removed his feet from the table and stood up from the chair. He gave a small wave and then flashed away.
***
The map of the Gameworld was divided into four kingdoms of equal size. With the map itself being square in shape, naturally the kingdoms occupied a whole corner of the map each. Dead at the centre of the map, stood a tower like no other.
The central tower, known commonly as The Tower of Peace, due to the word ‘Peace’ painted in bold black down its spire, which made up a majority of the tower itself. The spire held a massive plate structure high in the air. High enough in fact that it was the tallest man-made structure within the whole Gameworld. Owned by no kingdom, it was universally agreed as the only legitimately recognised neutral ground to all.
The main room of the central tower was positioned at the very centre of its massive disk top. Circular in shape, with only two massive doors which served as the only entrance.
The four current leaders of the kingdoms all sat around the massive, four-sided marble table which sat in the centre of the room. A large map of the Gameworld took up most of the table, with its outer edges lined with various scrolls, ink pots and scattered quills.
Lionel, the Human king of Avalon was an old but clearly sharp man. Dressed in a golden robe he sat very rigidly in his chair, his thin figure barely making a dent in it. Grey long hair covered his shoulders, only disturbed by the small golden crown on his head.
Ailbhe, the Elf king of Byw sat taller than the rest. Thin black hair rested very neatly on his shoulders. A green silk robe laced with gold covered the rest of him from shoulders to toes. On his head, two golden leaf clips were woven into his otherwise perfect hair.
Theophilus, the Demon king of Gehenna appeared to be a rather regularly built human figure, yet the smell of sulphur surrounded him along with a slight red aura that seemed to give off heat ever so slightly. His black, almost rock like armour and black hair made his red, snakelike eyes all the more noticeable, revealing his Demon race.
Lastly Egill, the Dwarf king of Virki. Short and fat, with a beard that covered most of his torso filled with gold and jewels of impressive shapes and sizes. Each one seemed to tell its own story somehow, although only another dwarf would be able to work out exactly what that story was. The rest of him was covered in thick leather, which was rather unusual for a dwarf, who normally wore thick and heavy armour instead, but the armour was bulky and not very practical for someone who, because of his position, got into less fights than the average dwarf does.
The four kings all sat impatiently staring at one another until the expected flash caught them all off guard. Staff had appeared next to the door. No thunderous entrance this time, as the people in this room delt with Staff on a far more regular basis than most mortals. He walked up to the nearest wall, put one foot up, and leant back on it.
“Sorry I’m late.” He muttered. His eyes glanced down to his now perfectly clean boots to double check.
“I know this was arranged on short notice Staff, but please try to arrive at the agreed time.” Lionel sighed as Staff began to pay more attention to his nails than anything else in the room. The Tower of Peace was where such powerful mortal figures could safely meet to discuss world affairs and politics. At such meetings, Admin Staff alone held the obligation of attending to represent the admins, the gods of this world, in such a conversation. Yet as the admins purposely left the politics of this world to the mortals alone, there was often little reason for Staff to actually be there. His presence was required, but little else.
“I wasn’t aware you guys were having such urgent issues to cause such a meeting. Last time I checked the four of you were getting along quite nicely. A rare period of peace for once.” Staff spoke as he continued to not really pay attention to anything they were doing. The room fell silent until Staff slowly began to realise that all four of them were staring at him.
“The issue at hand happens to be about you Staff.” Egill growled. Staff stood upright and began to pay attention. Today wouldn’t be a meeting he could ignore, it would seem.
“With me?” He slowly uttered in an unnervingly calm tone of voice. While these mortals were often within Staff’s presence, that was as far as their familiarity went. Questioning an admin was a bold move.
“Your recent actions. They have been rather disturbing.” Theophilus added. Staff double blinked out of genuine surprise. It had been a long time since someone had outright questioned his actions other than the Creator himself.
“To which actions are you referring to?”
“The incident with the guild master of Black Sword.” Lionel revealed. Staff’s attention fell back to his nails. He then seemed to become distracted by a spot of dirt on his sleeve.
“Admin business. Nothing more.” He answered. Yet once again he got the impression that they were glaring at him. Another odd reaction to him. Normally those words would be the end of matters, but not today. Such an answer would normally be all the answer they needed, but it clearly wasn’t the case this time.
“I don’t think you quite understand the situation Staff. The political mess you have put yourself in is-”
“And since when has an admin ever cared about politics? That’s what you four are for. All we do is keep everything running as smoothly as we can without interfering.” Staff interrupted. His eyes shifted off the speck of dust to face them all with a stern, unmoving death stare.
“The fact is Staff, by killing the guild master, you have in fact interfered quite drastically.”
“I can assure you my work was of the highest priority. It does not matter who he was or what position he held.”
Lionel slammed his fist against the table.
“Edward Clawson was the one who originally brought the four of us to agree to peace. In this very room, you were even present!” He exclaimed. Staff shrugged his shoulders. He turned back to the speck of dirt on his sleeve.
“I’m here to represent the admins. Unless there is something going on that would peak the Creator’s interests, it should come as little surprise to you that I don’t pay attention to the finer details. Who pissed who off this year, who decided to declare war because their egos were insulted… so on so forth.” Staff sighed. He brushed the speck of dirt off with his thumb and index finger.
“As I expected, an admin wouldn’t understand.” Theophilus sighed, “But perhaps I can pique your interest in this. The reason he managed to unite us was because he seemed to share our doubts about the admins.” Staff’s ears pricked up all of a sudden. He walked over from the edge of the room and stood in between Lionel and Ailbhe.
“Now then. You have my full attention.” Staff spoke in a voice so calming that it sent shivers down everyone’s spine. The kind of sweet voice one would use to reassure you before stabbing you in the back. A raising doubt of the admins? Under his very nose. Staff internally sighed. For once his unique position should have spotted this sooner. Gary would certainly not be pleased that such a thing had sprung up right under his nose.
“It is no secret that the admins are seen as gods to the common masses. In fact, the only religion amongst all four kingdoms worships this so-called Creator. Despite no one ever seeing him, ever.” Theophilus began. He stood up in his seat and placed his own two hands on the table as he faced Staff.
“You’re point?” Staff calmly responded.
“The faith in the admins and the Creator have been a constant throughout history. However recently that faith has been shaken.” Theophilus continued.
“For instance, you won’t even tell us why you decided to kill Clawson!” Egill snapped. Staff stood upright. So, they wanted clarification?
“If you must know.” Staff sighed, “Edward Clawson was in possession of a dangerous item. One known all too well amongst the admins, and one that called for drastic action to be taken.”
“And what proof do you have of this!” Egill spat in response. Of the four of them, he seemed to be the angriest at the particular situation. Staff turned his way with a glare, seconds from becoming a very real smite. Proof? Since when has a god ever had to prove anything?
“Actually, that keeps in line with the accounts I have heard.” Lionel revealed, “This black sword, right?” Staff broke his gaze before anything more could become of it and turned to Lionel.
“You would do well to forget that such a thing exists.” Staff muttered, once again in a tone so calming they could all feel the subtle edge of a knife against their own throats. Lionel gave a sigh.
“But that’s the problem. At least it is as far as me and Ailbhe are concerned.” Lionel began.
“Yes, such an item does indeed exist.” Ailbhe continued, “Eyewitness accounts claimed that you yourself stepped backwards at the sight of the sword. People do not like to see a god hesitate, let alone retreat.”
“Some speculate that you are nothing more than powerful beings using your great power to rule as tyrants over us.” Theophilus sighed. Staff paid careful attention to his body language. The guy didn’t seem to believe such a thing himself, although they all clearly had their doubts.
“What do you mean speculate.” Egill huffed, “I’m bloody convinced.”
“It’s an absurd theory. I won’t hear any more of it.” Ailbhe slammed his hand on the table, “The admins have been here since before we were born, and they will be here long after we die.”
“If it is your wish that the admins tread carefully in the public eye then I will make it a matter to raise with the Creator.” Staff suggested.
This argument was getting out of hand. A few seconds more and the four of them would be at arms against one another over this matter. Better he shut it down here and now than let it simmer in the fires of war. The last hundred years had admittedly been a little shaky. Echoes of Skell’s handy work remaining even now. Staff calmed himself. Losing his temper here wouldn’t bode well. While their questioning of the admins was irritating, he could now see what the root cause of the problem was. The dying embers of chaos putting up one last fight before vanishing into the night.
“I suppose for now that will do.” Theophilus added as he sat back down in his chair.
“Is that it? Is that all the backbone the three of you have?” Egill asked the rest of them. The other three turned to face him, and each gave him a questioning look.
“What more were you expecting?” Ailbhe asked him.
“This is by no means the first time the admins have used their authority to eliminate the seemingly innocent. Tales date back all the way to the first four kings. Many of which detail battles where cities were burned to the ground, where many lost their lives.”
“May I remind you that those times were turbulent and dark. Admins were forced to baby sit this world until it could stand on its own. Sometimes that meant getting our hands dirty.” Staff responded.
“He has a point. Few events have happened beyond the ancient history.” Lionel pointed out.
“Until one hundred years ago I’d have agreed with that. The admins have not been held accountable to their actions. They remain above the laws and rules of all lands.” Egill spat.
There was a flash, and suddenly Staff and Egill were at the edge of the room behind the dwarven chair. Staff’s hand was tightly holding the dwarf’s shirt.
“So, you wish to put the admins on trial, do you?” Staff asked him. His voice had changed once more. There was a hint of anger now, and a small hint of annoyance as well. If only the poor fool understood what the gods had been through in the past one hundred years. The pain, the torment, the struggle. Feelings so raw and fresh that no words could do them proper justice.
The dwarven king took a big gulp as he stared into Staff’s eyes. There was a small fire burning within them, “I was there when this world was first blessed with the gift that you call life. I watched the construction of the ground beneath your very feet. I saw this world before the sun that lights your sky ever had a chance to shine, and before the moon that guides the lost of the night home was anything more than a collection of dust beneath my feet.”
A firm hand landed on Staff’s shoulder. The fire in his eyes died down as he turned to look at the armoured guard, which the hand belonged to. A pure white armour with no insignia adorned upon it. Staff’s eyes shifted to the rather unique spear the guard was holding. Everyone quietly got the impression that Staff had a history with such a spear. No doubt a legendary weapon that even the admin himself would take note of.
“No fighting, no violence.” The guard demanded. Staff nodded and gently let go of the king. His momentary outburst at the Dwarf now over.
“You know, something has always bothered me about these meetings.” Egill sighed as he brushed himself down, “Why is it always you?” He asked Staff. Lionel gave a small chuckle.
“Because the guards won’t allow any other admin to set foot in this tower.” Lionel answered. Clearly, he’d brushed up on the history of the tower, unlike his fellow royals.
Staff straightened himself out as Egill began eyeing up the guards in the room. Two were guarding the door, although the one with the spear had walked away from his post to confront Staff. The other didn’t seem to have any obvious weapon, but these two were part of the tower guardians. A unit of mysterious guards who occupy the tower at all times.
“Not too keen on the admins either.” Egill chuckled as he eyed up the guard with the spear, “Tell me, what is your opinion on this matter?”
“Our purpose is to see that the tower stands. That any within are safe. That is all.” The guard replied as he walked back to his post beside the door.
“Why Staff?”
“That answer would take far too long to explain.” Staff sighed as he returned to his spot against the wall of the chamber.
“I’ve had quite enough of your secrets.” Egill huffed as he walked towards the two large doors. The guards opened the doors for him, “This won’t be the last that any of you hear of this.” He warned as he left the room. The guards closed the doors behind him.
“I take it we are done?” Staff asked. The three remaining kings all nodded. Staff quickly flashed away. Lionel repositioned himself on his seat.
“I advise that we begin keeping a closer eye on the admins.” He muttered. The other two shifted uncomfortably.
“No.” Ailbhe answered as he stood up and walked out of the room. Lionel and Theophilus remained, sat opposite one another.
“We rarely agree on much.” Theophilus began, “So when we do agree, I think we may be on the right path.”
“For now. I would love to give the admins the benefit of doubt, but shorty has one too many decent points to simply ignore.”
“What if we find something they are hiding?”
“Then we act depending on what it is.”
“And if that means the admins decide to use force?”
“If we play it smart, it won’t come to that.”
“How can you be so sure?” Lionel took another look around the room. No one but the two guards at the door.
“The admins have lived the whole existence of the world so far and will continue to do so. To them we are nothing but ants. Years to us must feel like seconds to them. Every now and again though, the ant must bite the giant to remind it that it is there, and that it doesn’t want to be accidently trampled on.”
“What is to stop the giant from crushing the ant for hurting it?”
“One ant may have to be sacrificed, or we rely on unity. They won’t wipe us all out; it would go against their entire reason for existence.”
“You’re playing with fire old man. Not just a small flame either, the biggest flame in existence.”
***
Staff stood on the roof edge of the Tower of Peace. Looking out over the Kingdom of Avalon, with the Edge Mountains pitch black as the sun began to set behind them. The wind was strong this high up, but it didn’t seem to faze him one bit.
“Old habits die hard, right?” A voice asked behind him. A beautiful maiden dressed in a bland white dress walked up to stand beside him. Just like his robes, her dress was void of any expensive status symbols or flaunts of wealth. Her pitch-black hair waved at his shoulder in the wind. Staff felt the cold from the breeze die down as she stood beside him. She too had the slight red aura that seemed to give off some heat.
“Do you ever get the temptation to just burn it all?” Staff sighed as he looked down at the many different human cities before them both.
“Avalon?” She asked.
“The whole map.” He answered.
“All the time.” She chuckled as she turned to face him, “Are they giving you trouble?”
“Sometimes I regret agreeing to my obligation. All I seem to do is babysit these ignorant people as they live their meaningless lives.”
“If only she could hear you now.” She muttered. Staff shot her a glance. She sensed a hint of anger, but he was trying his best to hide it from her, “Sorry, not my place.”
“Damn right it isn’t.” Staff snapped as he turned back to the view in front of them. He’d failed to hold his true feelings back. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, “Things might be different this time.”
“How so?” She asked, now eager to change the subject. Staff scrunched his face slightly as he thought about his answer.
“Don’t know. This lot seem to have a lot more backbone when they talk to me.”
“Is that why you’re in a bad mood?” Staff gave a small smile.
“No, that’s due to these damn black swords. Cursed things bring back too many old memories.” He sighed. He fell silent as they both sensed the conversation leaning back towards matters of the past again, “These royals though…” He quickly switched back to, “Something about them… It seems we dodged a bullet thanks to me killing Clawson. I sensed the embers of Skell’s chaos on their last legs.”
“Don’t get my hopes up.” She sighed, “But I know exactly who to stick to should interesting shit start to happen. You’re like a magnet for chaos.”
“You’ve had your fair share of interesting events. That knight who defeated you in the dragon wars for example.” Staff reminded her in a more playful tone. Matters of the long past may have been a touchy subject but matters of the very recent past were quite the opposite. The demon woman responded with a playful scowl.
“I never did track that bitch down.” She cursed. Staff seemed to chuckle at this response.
“I mean, out of all of us, I never expected you to lose to a mortal during a war.” Staff continued, clearly enjoying the fact that the whole idea was pissing her off more and more, “I’m very surprised you never found her.”
“Trust me, I searched the whole of Avalon for her. Sometimes I think I was seeing things.”
“But she was wielding a dragon sword, right?”
“Just like the others I’d killed before her… I…” She paused. The air between them suddenly changed as she fell silent with hesitation. Staff rather quickly noticed something was off. A secret on the tip of her tongue. He patiently waited as she reluctantly decided to confide in him, “I never did get my hands on that last one either.”
“You never mentioned that part.” He muttered. His playful tone had vanished now. His serious glare now bearing down on her, but for once not out of frustration or distain.
“Could you imagine Gary after I tell him I let a sword like that slip past me? I left one off the total to cover myself.” She tried to justify, but deep down she could feel his sharp, fox-like gaze pierce all the way down until it found the well of guilt deep inside her.
“Why tell me now?” Staff pressed, yet as he watched her bite her own lip, he seemed to get an answer all by himself, “I see. You want my assistance. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps.” She folded her arms and turned her head away from him. Not many people could read her the way Staff could, and right now it was starting to get on her nerves.
“Any clues?” He began. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the never-ending list of questions barrelling her way.
“A unique fighting style.”
“How unique?”
“She’s the only one I’ve ever seen use it. Dual wielding two heavy swords.”
“She has two dragon swords?”
“No, only one. But the other isn’t exactly your average sword.”
“A dragon sword is rather chunky. Only the strong can hold them in two hands.”
“Her second sword was similar in dimensions as well. I don’t know how she did it, but she seemed crazy strong.”
“Level?”
“Didn’t get a chance to look, but high. She seemed to be in command of the group I’d killed beforehand.”
“You have a list of names? Name of the regiment?”
“All wiped. According to army records, no mission was ever carried out to disable that damn flamethrower.”
“Did you check under the special squads?” Staff asked her. She seemed confused by this question.
“Special squads?” She muttered. Staff raised a disappointed eyebrow.
“The Avalonian army has a habit of picking up rather… unique people. Sometimes they assign them to special squads that do secret missions that no other team could pull off.”
“You seem to be quite knowledgeable about it all.”
“Knowledge is power.” He sighed. She watched as he struggled to come to grips with her clear deception. Right here, right now he could simply turn her in to Gary, and rightly so. Yet he also seemed unwilling to do so. Not without no other option at the very least. He sighed again, this time with unbound frustration. She’d put him in a difficult position, “I’ll see what I can turn up during my free time.” He finally caved.
“Much appreciated.” She sighed. Truth be told she’d been holding her breath throughout his silence. Yet he’d responded as she’d hoped. Unlike the other two, Staff wasn’t as much of a stick in the mud. Of them all, he’d be the least likely to turn her in. Her desperate gamble had paid off, for now anyway. She turned and began to walk towards the centre of the tower, ready to flash away. Staff turned to address her once more.
“Dracona!” He yelled after her. She turned around to face him again.
“Yes?” She sheepishly answered.
“Surely there is more trust between the two of us than to keep a secret for five whole years.”
“This one was personal Staff… Besides, you know what will become of me if Gary learns of my mistake.” Staff calmly walked over to now stand face to face with her.
“I’d never let that happen.” He muttered as he embraced her with a comforting hug, “I’d rather fight and die beside you instead of watching him tear you apart.” He quietly revealed. Dracona wrapped her own arms around him, and fulling embraced the hug.
There he was. Behind the cold heart, behind the analytical mind, behind his sense of duty as an admin of this world. There was the kind, loyal and caring friend she remembered from all those years ago, before their now ageless existence.
“Thank you.” She whispered. The two of them let go of one another and straightened themselves out. With a light tap of his thin, pointed finger Staff raised her chin so that their eyes met once more.
“I’ll fix this, but I need a promise in return.” He sternly demanded of her. She gave a slow nod, “Promise there aren’t any more secrets between us.” Once again, she immediately bit her lip, which once again answered his question.
“I…” She stuttered, “One more secret.” She promised instead, “A small one.” She added, “Nothing close to as important as this.”
“I see.” He quietly muttered as he turned away from her. Disappointment riddled across his face. Her own heart began to ache with guilt once again. She’d kept a massive secret from her closest, perhaps only true friend in this world, and to add to it all she’d refused to come clean with another.
Staff was not a man who trusted easily. The complete opposite in fact. His suspicious gaze fell equally on almost everyone, but always with their longstanding friendship being the exception. She slowly opened her mouth to speak up once again, sensing their friendship for once being thoroughly tested.
“Guess you’ll just have to owe be big time for this one then.” He responded before she could get a word in. She closed her mouth, then smiled with relief. Her betrayal hadn’t shattered his trust in her, “But Zoie?” He continued as he turned back to her, “Next time something this big happens. Either tell me immediately, or ensure I never find out.”
With those words, there was as bright flash, and he was gone.