Mask of Humanity

The warden’s chains didn’t loop around throats, the blades on the ends didn’t cut and slice. Instead it just gripped the others tight and began to pull, dragging them stumbling after it, Perro yelping as he was dragged over the stone.

Nicolai followed at a distance, pleased to find that his shelling of Soul Sense combined with the poncho was effective at hiding him from this undead. He could faintly feel its own Soul Sense sweeping around when it brushed him, but with his own shelled he blended into the background and it simply passed over him.

The Warden took the others to the same administrative centre as always, and Nicolai lurked outside, watching through the large door as they were greeted by the same crotchety zombie he had dealt with him, then they were led away.

Through his Link connection to them, through which they shared their feeds, he saw them led by the zombie. He watched as they moved down the hallway toward the smiths room, until the distance and the obstruction of the stone around them grew too great and the connection faded out.

Some time later, they all came back into range and he re-established his Local connection to them. Through their eyes he saw they all now had bands around their necks.

‘All good?’ he asked.

‘It went like you said it would,’ replied Jo.

‘What the hell is that thing?’ said Azure. ‘He’s huge!’

‘It’s called a Titan,’ Perro supplied, ‘I got a quest.’

‘Yeah, we all did, but I mean what—‘

Nicolai tuned out their chatter.

The zombie was tapping their bands with its rod, now, and they reacted as he’d taught them. Letting out grunts and yelps as though the band was actually doing anything. That done, the zombie sent them on their way.

Very good. Nicolai smiled. He called them towards him over Local and they tramped over. ‘Here,’ he said, passing control of the drone to Jo, and handing it over. ‘You all understand what you’re doing, right?’

Jo and the others all nodded with various degrees of surety.

‘This place is huge,’ whispered Azure, staring around.

‘What are the undead doing, what’s the point of all this?’ asked Jo with a frown.

‘I believe they’re feeding Oma crystals to something called the Castle Core. Other than that, I know as little as you,’ said Nicolai. ‘Remember, you can ask the zombie for food and water and perhaps other things. I gave you supplies in case it isn’t forthcoming or they’ve run out, but I suspect you’ll be able to get at least something from it.’

Soon, if all went well, he’d be receiving a constant influx of all the Oma crystals he could—his Mask tugged at him, and he frowned. What? Oh. The centipede? They’ll be fine…

But his frown deepened. ‘Be wary of the centipede,’ he said, the words pulled from him. ‘Avoid the walls up here, on the edges of this pit-room. When you’re in the tunnels, don’t go too far, and try to stick to the smaller tunnels.’ There, enough? Not really, according to his Mask, but better than nothing.

‘Good luck,’ he said.

And Nicolai slipped away.

However, he did not leave. Instead he checked the shell he’d formed around his Soul, ensuring he was cut off from the world around him. He worked harder to blend himself in, and he crept towards the large administrative building.

The most dangerous moment came quick, as he moved slowly between the two guards bracketing the entrance. Neither of them stirred, and just like that he was in.

Padding through he saw the zombie staring at the wall as always, then he was into the corridor and headed quickly down it to peer into the smith’s room.

Gorf the Titan was sat in its usual spot, a silent behemoth in the flickering dark, gazing into the flames. Beside Nicolai the wall was cracked and splintered where the hammer the Titan had thrown at him had smashed through. A reminder to be wary.

‘Gorf,’ he huffed, aiming his voice at the Titan.

Gorf stirred, head raising, staring silently. Alert.

‘Who’s there?’ Gorf asked, voice pitched equally low.

Seems calmer than last time. Nicolai had worried the Titan might still be able to smell some lingering remnant of Paxolnaz’s spell.

He tugged his poncho’s hood off, revealing his face.

The Titan squinted, peering at him. ‘More visitors, is it? Busy day. Who are you?’ it asked, seeming to struggle to make him out.

Nearsighted? Nicolai stepped into the room, deactivated his poncho, and slowly approached with an eye for the few scattered piles of metal and masonry littered about. Things to hide behind if Gorf attacked.

‘We talked before. I was captured, you made a band for me. You mentioned that you wanted those chains off.’

Gorf watched him carefully, and as he drew closer its eyes relaxed, recognition blooming in them.

‘Ah.’ The Titan smiled. ‘Yes. I had hoped you would return. You had the look of one unlikely to stay bound for long.’ Its eyes narrowed. ‘But when did you get a key?’ The Titan’s gaze slid to the side, to the rack of pole-keys, to where the metal was torn and bent and the wall behind cracked, the damage its thrown hammer had inflicted. ‘Ah. I wondered about that,’ it murmured, affixing its gaze once more to Nicolai. ‘So, you met something very dangerous, and very evil, and… you freed it. It rewarded you.’

Nicolai remained silent, staring at the Titan. Gorf was one-hundred percent correct. It was a little concerning the Titan had worked things out so quickly. He already knew the Titan had some kind of feud with the demon or demons in general after the last time he’d been here. Would that extend to someone who had merely helped a demon? He was only a little way into the room, the exit close behind. He kept his eyes on Gorf but remained aware of its hammer on the anvil beside it in his peripheral vision. If it reached for that hammer he’d be out the door in a blink.

The Titan’s face was creased in a frown as its eyes bored into him, but to Nicolai it looked a frown more of concern than anger, and its gaze seemed more lost in deep thought than bearing down in accusation. He saw no signs of aggression from it, though with his Soul Sense shelled he was unable to check properly.

‘Something like that, yes,’ said Nicolai at length, and he let out a little sigh, as though dismayed at the memory, twisting his features with imaginary regret. His Mask helped his act by providing these sensations, because it truly did feel that way.

Nicolai struggled a little to read the meaning of the Titan’s features. With holes instead of a nose, small and recessed eyes, and a lipless mouth, it appeared quite different to a human. Still, the similarities were there and Nicolai felt he was able to guess at its thoughts. They were easy enough to predict from what it’d said, anyway.

It was worried, worried because he’d released Paxolnaz.

‘I tried to talk to you the last time I was here,’ said Nicolai. ‘You seemed unable to hear me.’

‘How could I, with you cloaked in that spell.’ The giant gave him a sullen glare. ‘What agreement did you make with the demon?’

The question of just how much to tell the giant, of whether or not Nicolai’s answers might upset it and draw a hostile reaction, was now pressing. ‘Am I safe to use Soul Sense here?’ he asked.

The giant frowned, confused. ‘Yes. There are no Cultivating undead near to us. Why do you ask?’

‘Just checking,’ said Nicolai, while unshelling his Soul Sense and quietly beginning to feed Oma into his Sheltering Glove, becoming ready to activate his shield if necessary. ‘The deal I made with the demon is between me and it. It’s done and there’s no changing it now. What is your dispute with it?’

‘What is my dispute?’ Gorf chuffed a disbelieving little laugh. ‘The same dispute as any sane, living being. I want to remain alive. In the event the Unwinder is freed, it is likely I, and everyone else on this planet, will be killed.’

‘What is the Unwinder?’ asked Nicolai. Paxolnaz had refused to speak on the matter, holding a similar reticence as it held towards the Lizard.

Gorf scowled. ‘A terrible being. A True Demon of the 8th Circle. It was the reason for Heaven’s vengeance on the People. They allowed it access to this realm. In the ensuing actions, the People were broken and so was the Unwinder. It was split and cast across the Nightmare, and now its minions seek to put it back together. Once reformed, it will kill and consume everything on this planet. That is what Demons do. Whichever Demon you released, it matters not. They all seek the same end, to release their master.’

Gorf glanced away, gazing into the sullen flames, then it settled back onto its seat, and sighed. ‘I suppose it matters little,’ the Titan murmured. ‘Doubtless plenty other such creatures are seeing similar release, with the arrival of you foolish, clueless Marked. In many ways, what is to come is inevitable.’ It shot a dark look at Nicolai. ‘Even so, that eventuality is now—in some small way—yours to bear.’

Another stain on my immortal soul. But what does it matter, for a soul painted as black as mine? ‘You seem to know much about Marked, about what is happening here. What can you tell me about all this? About the Great Game?’ After asking all that, Nicolai chewed over one final question. He figured that since he had no more Contract slots, he might as well lay his cards on the table now. ‘And finally, have you ever heard of the Lizard?’ He’d stopped charging his glove. The Titan didn’t seem likely to attack.

The Titan snorted a laugh. ‘Little of all,’ it said. ‘Everything is very hazy to me. Things are missing. I feel… I feel that I have been here a long time. Longer than I remember. We are within the Great Game, and that means…’ It frowned, and gazed at its hands. ‘And I am not Marked. This is very bad.’ Its voice faded to a murmur with the final words.

‘What is the Great Game? And the Lizard, have you heard of him or her or it?’ Nicolai pressed. The Titan seemed affected by a similar dementia as Kleos showed at times.

‘No, I have not heard of this Lizard. The Game is an opening. A test, among other things. It is where the greatest Cultivators are made, arising from mountains of corpses.’ Gorf shook his head. ‘I never knew much. I was never meant to be here, or at least I never thought such a thing would happen. This world was placed within the Game as part of the People’s punishment. That was… long ago. How long?’

The Titan lifted its hands, examining the thick black manacles clamped around its wrists, eyeing the chains that disappeared into the dark. ‘Is this to be my lot?’ it muttered. ‘I had nothing to do with the calling of the Unwinder. That was their doing. No…’

Nicolai observed it warily, taking a small step back, beginning to charge his glove again. It was talking to itself, not him, and seemed to be getting a little worked up.

‘No. It won’t be. I refuse. I will get free. I must get free. And free the others. It is said that any can find their way to the top, once within the Game. It can be done. But how many times have I tried? How long have I been here? Is this the first, or the hundredth?’

Its voice had dwindled to a confused, faded muttering. Nicolai felt it was time to get things moving back in a more productive direction, and had an obvious angle to play. ‘So, you want those chains off, do you? You want me to free you, right?’ he prompted.

The Titan’s head snapped up to stare at him. It seemed surprised to find him there. ‘Yes,’ it said after a pause. ‘Yes. Free me. Free me! You must!’ Its voice was rising, and he saw the desperation in its eyes, heard it in the rattle of its chains as it rose from the chair.

‘Hey,’ Nicolai hissed, patting at the air. ‘Not too loud. I can free you. But what will you give me in return?’

‘In return?’ The titans brows rose, then it smiled. ‘Of course. Alas, I have little to give you, stuck here as I am. But, I can offer you a Titan’s debt. It is no small thing. If I cannot repay you in the future, then one of my kind will. You need merely show them the mark I will give to you.’

No guarantee it’s telling the truth, but I’ll complete a Quest by freeing it regardless. To Nicolai’s mind it was worth it. ‘That will do, then,’ he said with a smile, bowing his head. ‘Any idea how I can free you?’

‘Easy enough,’ said Gorf, straightening up. ‘In this building you may find the key to my chains. I believe it will be on the top floor, in the head Warden’s office. You seem a sneaky type. I think you should be able to get it without being seen. I am told the Warden spends its time sleeping, these days.’

‘I will see what I can do,’ said Nicolai.

The Titan told him the route to where he needed to go, and Nicolai left. He infiltrated with his Soul Sense shelled once more, poncho cloaking him as he crept past undead guards and wormed his way ever deeper into the dark and gloomy building.