Curselock

Chapter 42: Nightmares

Leland woke up with a shock. He sat straight up, his vision going wide. A groan escaped his lips, pain still drifting around his mind.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

Turning, Leland found Alkin sitting in a rocking chair with a book in his hands. “How long have I been out?”

“Two days.”

They were in an unfamiliar plain room. It was smaller and less opulent than anything in Onryo mansion. From a glance out of the window, Leland saw that there was no fog. In fact, there was only a clear blue sky.

“Where are we?”

Alkin hesitated for a moment, snapping his book closed. “A small village outside of Shoutwell.”

“Jude?”

“Asleep in the next room over.”

Again Alkin hesitated. “Boor searched for him. But…”

Curling up into a ball, for the next few minutes Leland didn’t speak. He only wished his parents were on their way, he needed their help, they all did. He desperately needed them to tell him it would be okay, that he did his best, and that everything that had happened wasn’t his fault.

But that wasn’t going to happen, and he knew it.

They were too far away, too caught up in whatever. His dad would teleport a letter, sure, but what good were written words when the world was crumbling? What was he supposed to do? Glenny had been taken or killed, and either way he was ill-prepared to handle the next steps.

“What happened?” he asked.

Alkin cleared his throat. “After mother dispersed the meteor illusion, we helped you move Jude into the mansion. Glenny wasn’t there, and you went manic. Theses… things, clawed their way up from the ground and you suddenly started glowing green. Your eyes… we could see that you were not there. Boor knocked you out before you harmed anyone or yourself.”

Leland wiped away a tear. “What about the mansion then? Why are we outside the city?”

“The mansion is not safe. Not with the Sightless running around, I mean,” Alkin handed over some jerky and water. “They almost killed us. If… if my mother didn’t rouse when she did…”

“Is she okay? A-are you okay?” Leland asked.

“Yes to both of us, but my mother is still in and out of consciousness. Boor went to find medicine or healing potions. This village doesn’t have an apothecary, but he should be back soon.”

“Mavi?”

“Least hurt out of us all.”

“Good, good…” Leland laid back, finding a scratchy pillow that felt oddly like a cloud.

He pulled at his tattoo, removing his grimoire and flipping it to the information page. It had been some time since he last checked on his progress and now that Glenny was missing, he’d need every advantage possible. The tome felt heavy in his hands, however, something he’d never noticed before.

You have assisted in killing multiple Witches and those that follow false ‘Lords.’

An appropriate reward has been added to your Legacy.

Fracture has increased to rank 8.

90% chance to break a random bone in a single target.

Crow Massacre has increased to rank 7.

Summon 10 ethereal crows to attack a target for 1 minute.

Curse of Collapse has increased to rank 5.

Exhaust the target for 100 seconds, lowering their speed by 25%.

Harbinger Halo has increased to rank 4.

Contract lasts for 240 seconds.

Circle of Souls has increased to rank 3.

Encase the souls of those within 15 yards, siphoning their lifeforce while chaining them to this reality. Fully consume a soul to increase your magical potency by 3% for 1 minute.

Overall, Leland was content with his progression. Under normal circumstances, he’d be thrilled. But… well… not when his best friend was out there alone.

“Uh, Leland?” Alkin asked. “How are you making your book float?”

Leland did a double take at the question and realized his grimoire was hovering just above his prone face at the perfect distance for reading. That was… strange, right? He honestly didn’t know, only that the tome was heavy and…

When did it start floating? he asked himself. Am I missing something?

Seeing Alkin’s confused face, he answered aloud, “Not sure, if I’m being honest. But it doesn’t matter. Let's go check on Jude.”

And they did. The small inn they were staying in was all wood, old, and quite loud. For being in a small village, Leland felt the noise pollution to be like that of a major city market square.

“How can it be this loud? What are they doing downstairs?” Leland asked, looking off the interior balcony down at the main floor.

Alkin looked from his friend to the floor and back. “What do you mean? There’s no one down there. I’m pretty sure we are the only guests here.”

Leland fumbled, tripping over his feet. Suddenly the noise dissipated, leaving the walkway silent. He just shook his head, pushing into Jude’s room. It was much like the one he woke up in, but there on the bed was the Berserker Legacy.

“Reminds me of when you and I first met,” Alkin said. “Back in the dungeon, you were the first awake then as well.”

“And Glenny was second,” Leland quickly retorted.

Jude was snoring, but otherwise looked uninjured. His tattoo of regeneration was out on full display, the itchy blanket hardly covering his chest. Leland and Alkin were not amused.

“Wake up,” Leland said. “Come on Jude, you’ve slept enough.”

The brute stirred, finding an unfamiliar ceiling. “Did we win?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“Glenny’s missing.”

Jude sprung to his feet. “What!?”

Alkin took the liberty to answer. “We are not fully sure what happened. After the cultist in white left, we returned to the mansion only to find Glenny was missing. Boor looked for him, but he didn’t find any trails.”

“We’ve been out for two days,” Leland added.

“Two days!” Jude echoed, falling to his butt on the bed. “I don’t remember anything.”

“You were pretty raged-out.”

He groaned. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Alkin said. “You, Boor, and Leland fought against the Sightless leader and essentially saved our lives.”

“She ran away,” Leland supplied. “We got most of the lower ranked cultists though.”

Jude sulked in silence for a moment, but a question got the better of him. “You said ‘we’ had been out for two days?”

Leland nodded. “My newest spell doesn’t leave me in the best headspace. It seems losing Glenny pushed me over the edge.”

Groaning, Jude said, “Welcome to the club.”

Leland smiled at that.

A presence appeared in the doorway. Boor the butler stood holding a sack of glass vials. “Apologies for the interruption but I figured Master Alkin would wish to be present. I have brought many potions.”

Alkin nodded vigorously and scampered out of the room. Boor, however, did not follow right away. He lingered, eyeing Jude and Leland.

Settling on Jude first, Boor said, “Thank you for your help with the leader. I was unable to make any headway, and you gave me a few openings.”

His eyes fell to Leland. “You… frighten me.”

“What?” Leland recoiled.

Boor didn’t answer right away, his eyes shifting back and forth. “When you found young Glenny was missing, you changed. For lack of a better word. Those things came and fed you power, power that you wielded with absolution.”

It was then Leland noticed the butler’s arm. It was limp. “You’re hurt? Who—”

“You did,” Boor said simply. “I had extracted the others from your domain, but the power was killing you. I had to intervene, which meant moving close.”

Leland’s face fell. “I-I’m sorry. My spell breaks bones, I must not have been—”

“My arm is not broken. Well, not really. One of those things hit me. It ripped part of my soul from my body, my arm specifically.”

Boor pulled up his sleeve, revealing a grey wrinkled appendage. “Feeling is returning,” he said. “Albeit slowly.”

“I-I…”

“I understand quite well. You were not in control. Although I do warn you to find a path forward. There is only ruin if you continue. That goes for both of you.”

Jude nodded right away but Leland just stared at Boor’s arm.

Boor didn’t say another word and simply turned away. The boys followed shortly after but not before Jude wrapped an arm around Leland and pulled him into a short hug.

“We’ll find him.”

“Yes we will.”

Lady Onryo was awake but sitting in a dark room with her eyes closed. The moment Alkin opened the door, however, she grimaced. Mavi spoke for her.

“Is Boor back?”

“I am,” Boor said, stepping around Alkin. He fished through his sack of glassware, eventually finding three small red vials. “Drink.” He pushed the potions over to Lady Onryo.

She did, instantly finding that the cloudy magma in her head cooled. Jude and Leland entered at this point and shared cautious glances with the House matriarch.

“It seems I’m going to be paying quite a bit for your services after all,” she said after the potions took effect.

Leland didn’t feel like speaking. Jude did, “I want a harmonica. My old ones were stolen.”

Leland did, however, feel like giving his friend a sideways glare.

“I’d like to formally apologize for Glenny going missing. None of this would have happened if—”

“It's alright, we’ll find him.” Leland interrupted.

Lady Onryo nodded. “What did you learn from the smuggler?”

Boor took the initiative and answered.