BPL2 - Chapter 2

Hours after the attempted civil war and attack from six deities

Somewhere south of Uru’s lands

Lylan gasped as she woke, the pain from her dream still radiating through her skull. Bright moonlight stabbed like an icepick right through Lylan’s eyeballs and straight into her brain. Her head felt like it would tear open from the pressure.

Pain of all flavors assaulted her from every corner of her body. Muscles ached and joints screamed. The middle of her torso burned like it was filled with boiling water, and she was ninety-nine percent sure she was going to puke any second.

Lylan swallowed back her nausea with great effort and brought her hand up to the burning spot on her chest where she’d received her mortal wound. The hole had indeed closed, but you couldn’t tell it from the pain. This was not Hamma’s best work, honestly.

But Lylan wasn’t complaining—she hadn’t woken in a temple tub, which meant that she hadn’t died. Lylan composed her features into calmness so she wouldn’t worry anyone, then turned her head to the side, searching for the only face that mattered.

WHAT IN THE NAME OF VALORA’S LEFT ARM…

Sitting right next to her, his face within punching distance, was that musical ne’er-do-well, that raving gob of cheese, that ten-thousand-year-old mucus pie and smirch upon the Keel family tree… Gunder Haybier, King of the Poop Chuckers.

Gunder must have read her thoughts because he immediately pulled away. “I mean you no harm,” he said.

Sure, mate.

“Where am I?” demanded Lylan, sitting up and reaching behind her back for one of the daggers concealed in her armor. “My friends…”

“Please take it easy. Every time your… grandmother took fatal damage, the hydra’s healing made her dizzy and nauseous.”

The hydra’s healing? Lylan watched him closely, not willing to give away the fact that she knew almost nothing about the unwelcome snake-dragon-thing that lived inside her.

Gunder nodded toward his Mage lackey who was standing guard a hundred yards away in the dark. “We’ve verified the battle is over, and your friends are safe. We will take you back whenever you wish.”

That time would be now. “I want—”

He held up a hand again. “Let me show you something first. If you still want to leave, we will depart immediately.”

She did want to leave immediately. But she also needed answers about the creature and the zinging feeling she’d felt in her veins ever since it jumped through her skin. Gunder was her only lead.

If he was being truthful, the creature could cure fatal damage. Which meant that it was extremely dangerous—nothing that good came for free.

Could the creature pop out whenever it wanted and eviscerate bystanders? Maybe it would try to possess her. Or turn her into a fork-tongued witch like the countess from My Darkest Meridian. Healing aside, Lylan saw no reason to let this thing keep hanging around, but she had a bad feeling she’d need Gunder’s help to get rid of it.

Lylan nodded once, agreeing to hear him out.

“I owe you my life, despite throwing it away myself. And I want to say, thank you. True acts of heroism should never go unrewarded, which is why I brought you here.”

Lylan blew out a breath through her nose. It was hard to hate him when he got all nice like that. What a jerk.

He held out a hand to her. “Can you walk?”

Probably not, but she nodded anyway.

He stood. “Let’s go unlock your inheritance.”

Lylan stood and stared at the ruined structure which loomed over them in the moonlight. The building was carved into the face of the grey rock mountain behind it, intricate and designed to impress. It wasn’t impressive anymore, of course. Crumbling, dirty, and infested, it looked unsafe to approach. “Um…” she said, not wanting to be rude.

He chuckled once. “That’s not it.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Our destination is the Island—this is only the Gatehouse,” said Gunder. “Nevertheless, I am sorry to present it to you in this state of disgrace.”

“I’ll live,” said Lylan, shuffling slowly toward the doorway. “But to be upfront with you, while I want to get some answers, I haven’t decided to accept this inheritance you’re offering.”

Gunder looked at her in surprise and, perhaps, with a bit of pity.

“What’s wr—” Lylan’s chest constricted violently, taking her breath away. She stumbled to the side of the path and heaved into the bushes. Her vision blurred to white and pain radiated from her forehead as if she was back in the dream again. A moment later, the head pain faded and her vision returned.

Gunder hovered over her, but didn’t try to touch her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “The first time is the hardest. You will feel much better once we reach the Island.”

Lylan breathed deeply to calm the nausea. “Is there medicine at the Island? Why will I feel better there?”

“The hydra has an agenda of its own,” he said. “It will want you to take up your rightful place and uphold the treaty your kingdom made with the Ocean. Making you suffer until you visit the Island would be in line with what I know of its behavior.”

“Ye gods,” gasped Lylan, rubbing her still-burning chest. “Now I know I don’t want any part of this. I didn’t sign up for any treaties. How do I get this thing out of me?”

Gunder didn’t answer immediately, that look of pity returning. “A few of your ancestors have tried to undo the bonding, but it’s not possible. I’m sorry.”

“Not possible?” said Lylan. “You’re saying I’m not only stuck with this thing, but that I have to obey its whims or it will torture me?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what?” Lylan was getting very tired of Gunder’s lack of clarity.

“You and the hydra have bonded—that cannot be undone,” he said. “But as to which of you will become subservient to the other… that is an open question.”

“I’ve already made my decision on that,” said Lylan. “But I’m guessing there’s more to it.”

“Yes,” said Gunder, sighing deeply. “I’d wanted to show you the Island before I explained the Trial.”

“Trial?”

“I was hoping its beauty would soften the blow,” said Gunder. “Victory in the Underworld will be much easier for you if you actually want to be queen.”

“Underworld,” repeated Lylan blankly. “Underworld? Underworlllllld.” No matter how she said the word, it didn’t sound any better. “No. No, I’m not going to any place called the Underworld and I’m not doing any mysterious Trial. I’m needed elsewhere and that work is more important than whatever this is.”

“Then the question is decided,” said Gunder. “And the hydra has already won. It will grow stronger by the day until you do not know yourself. And then it will erase you.”

If this guy thought he could bully her with wild doom scenarios, he had another thing coming. Lylan forced herself to stand upright as she faced him, despite the increased pain. “You can shove your threats down your throat. I don’t even like you, let alone trust your word, so just stop talking and show me the way home. I’ll figure this out on my own.”

Gunder didn’t seem angry at her and simply shrugged. “Very well,” he said, pointing. “My friend is standing guard a ways down that path. Speak to him and he will return you to New Eiru.”

Lylan turned away from Gunder and started down the path, hunching as the creature doubled the pain in her chest. In this state, she honestly didn’t know if she could make it halfway.

“Or,” called Gunder. “You can spend the morning with me. Half a day is all I require. I will show you the ancient homeland of your family, answer every question I can regarding the hydras and the Vertex, and show you the path to mastery. Then I will return you to your fight against the gods, fully healed, practically immortal, and more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

Lylan turned around, laughing. “Oh, you’re good. They teach you those smooth words in Bard school?”

Gunder winked. “Give me one morning,” he said quietly. “Please.”

Lylan watched his expression for signs of deception as she thought it over. She hadn’t detected any lies so far, and his mention of the Vertex comported with the quest Blapy had unlocked for her back Pour Judgement. Apparently, Blapy was friendly with the hydras and they’d asked her to pass along this quest if the opportunity ever arose. Part One had already been completed when she’d received the quest, and bringing up the details now showed that Part Two was also finished.

Awaken the Bloodline (Part 1 of ? - The Hatchling)

Harken the Call of the Sea and bond with the Most Radiant Hydra [COMPLETED].

Reward: Regeneration

Reward: Poisoned Blood

Reward: 3000 experience

Awaken the Bloodline (Part 2 of ? - The Restoration )

Slay the Hydra to saturate the Primary Vertex [COMPLETED].

Reward: The Scepter of the Royal House of Ke’el

Reward: 10,000 experience

Lylan didn’t remember slaying anyone but herself recently, and it worried her that the quest considered that as fulfillment of its vague task.

She now had a new quest part.

Ting!

You have received the quest…

Awaken the Bloodline (Part 3 of ? - The Keys )

Consult with the kings and receive the Keys.

Reward: Audience with the Oracle

Reward: 15,000 experience

Accept or Decline

Lylan didn’t accept this time. Now that she understood the costs better, she knew this was a quest line she did not want.

But there were other reasons she might want to stay here. If she went back to her friends in this condition, she’d only be adding another problem to their list. In fact, Sift would insist that Lylan’s situation take precedence over all else. Ruwen, Hamma, and the Old Man, too.

Six gods and an army of demons had just violated the Pact by invading Uru’s lands, the Black Pyramid might have been destroyed before Sift could save it, and the Six and a Half Guild may have been all but wiped out.

Thinking about the Black Pyramid and its vulnerability made her feel strangely off-balance. Her headache increased and her thoughts felt scattered and out of reach.

Lylan clenched her jaw, but couldn’t clear her mind. Something was definitely wrong with her, and it went deeper than the fire in her chest.

The fate of two planets hung in the balance, and those who fought to defend those planets couldn’t afford any distractions. Lylan was in no shape to help. She needed to get her own issues sorted before she went back, and Gunder promised the quickest way.

“One morning,” she said.