Chapter 17: Chapter: 17 Cloak-and-Dagger

Talasin POV

My two weeks staying with the Mesmers had been interesting to say the least. Baskin was a fountain of dubious knowledge. I was never really sure when he was telling the truth or just talking shit but he was entertaining. 

Griever spent so much time with his animals that I was beginning to suspect that his relationship with them was more than plutonic. I didn't call him out on it, for all I knew animal love was a normal way of life in Umbra. 

I spent a lot of time with Zoey and Jinn. I felt a kinship with them. Maybe it was because I’d been their child for a few minutes or maybe it was because we’d both experienced recent trauma. 

Jinn had been a town guard before running away and joining the circus. Every night before bed he’d patrol the grounds and some of those evenings I’d let Flint out and we’d patrol the grounds together. Jinn didn't say much but I was sure he enjoyed the company.

As for Ysolda I couldn't tell if she was a sex addict or just enjoyed flirting with everyone and I mean everyone. She hit on strangers, couples, passing town guards and homeless people begging for spare change. It was mesmerizing to watch, she’d taken simple flirting to another level, almost to an art form. 

Of course I did nothing with Ysolda, not like I didn't want to. She probably thought I was some saint who’d sworn off sex but in reality I had an STD and wasn't such an asshole that I’d spread it around. Plus a part of me feared that if I overworked my little guy it could just fall off.  

I hadn't just run off, joined the circus and ignored my problems. I had a game plan. I would travel with the Mesmers and keep an eye open for a healer. Once I was healed, I would figure it out then. It wasn't much of a plan but at least I could say I had one. If the harbingers wanted me to perform some duty for them, they would have to find me first and the chances of that were slim. We never settled in the same village for more than two nights in a row.

I wasn't just a freeloader though I helped with setting up the tents and as Baskin still had no horses to pull his caravan, Flint and I- mostly Flint- were hired to move the caravan from town to town. 

Ysolda convinced me to help her with her act. She’d mentioned roleplay and a whip and I couldn't say no to that. Unfortunately the act wasn't what I was hoping for.

---

It was my first night performing with the Mesmers and I was a bundle of nerves. My role was easy but sometimes the simplest things were the easiest and most embarrassing to mess up.

I stepped onto the stage in my bear suit and looked out at the crowd. Yes I was dressed like a bear, not the roleplaying I’d hoped for. The tent was dark but I could make out the individual faces of excited kids and bored adults. 

 

My job was simple. Ysolda had just told me to act like a bear. So I roared and walked up and down the stage pretending to forage for berries or some shit like that. I wasn't really sure what I was meant to be doing. Apart from hibernating, eating honey, shitting in the woods and scaring hikers I had no idea what bears actually did. 

Ysolda was the bear tamer. She wore a top hat, a red and black waistcoat and long stockings with high heel boots. Her outfit was a real crowd pleaser and each night she stepped onto stage she had creeps whistling at her and telling her that she could tame them anytime. 

Ysolda unclipped the whip on her belt and after swinging it around a few times she cracked it over my head. With her left hand she used a Polymorph spell card that was sneakily hidden behind her back. 

The spell took hold and magic shimmered across my body and I was transformed into a real bear. It wasn't the cleverest act but it gave the crowd something to shout about. 

My mind was still human but my body and clothes had turned into a real, breathing, terrifying, giant bear. It felt pretty damn good. 

I was really getting into being a bear. I raised my paws and roared. Spit and bits of the tuna casserole I’d had for lunch flew out of my mouth and sprayed the people sitting in the front row. 

I'd expected cheers or boos, but instead the crowd shat themselves. Kids in the front row dived under chairs, parents clutched children to their breasts and a girl in the back row screamed in gut-curling terror. 

I looked across the crowd of pale faces and saw a woman in a hooded robe. She turned in her chair to look at the terrified child. 

The woman’s hood fell back and long blue hair spilled out and fell across her shoulder. I could recognize that hair anywhere. Ahri what the hell was she doing here? 

The child Ahri was speaking to was dressed in rags, which was unusual for Brevale as everyone in that town was rich. She also had a red dress slung over her shoulder which made the situation even stranger. 

Something Ahri said frightened the girl and she turned and fled with Ahri chasing after. 

Ysolda hissed at me and I realized I wasn't standing in the right place for our big finish. I shuffled across the floor to the marked spot. I looked like an idiot rather than like an intimidating bear but the crowd got a laugh out of my awkward movements. As soon as I reached the spot I roared again and Ysolda cracked her whip once more and smoke engulfed the stage. 

The Polymorph spell ended and I was back to normal. The problem was my fake bear suit had fallen off in the process. I had to pull the damn thing up without exposing my junk to the front row of kids. 

This was the part we’d practiced for weeks and the part I kept messing up. I pulled up my bear suit and Ysolda tossed me her waist coat, top hat and whip. 

I put on the hat and held the whip in my teeth as I switched positions with her. I tried to zip up the bear suit but the damn zip was stuck. 

The smoke began to clear and I continued to struggle with the suit.

Screw it.

I held the outfit with one hand and cracked the whip over Ysolda’s head with the other. 

She raised her hands and roared in a sexy way. She now wore a set of bear ears and a skin tight one piece that strained to contain her breasts. It wasn't the cleverest ending to the show but it was a real crowd pleaser.

The crowd didn't notice my suit falling off as they were too busy staring at Ysolda’s chest. They applauded and we bowed to them and they cheered again and shouted lewd comments.

“Lost your concentration out there,” said Ysolda as we entered the change rooms.

“Suit was stuck,” I moaned. 

She walked up to me and pulled the zip up effortlessly. 

I pulled the zip down and up again. 

“Of course it works now.”

“Give us a hand, Tala.” she said as she struggled to climb out of her one piece. “This thing catches in all the wrong places.”

I unzipped the back of her outfit and averted my eyes as she peeled down her suit and cupped her breasts in her hands.

“You don't like what you see?” she asked in an innocent voice.

It took all of my willpower to look her in the eyes and not at the perfectly symmetrical set of breasts that she was cupping. 

“Could you put something on?" I mumbled, still trying my best to meet her eyes.

She laughed and pulled an oversized shirt over her head.

“You’re no fun.”

I would have usually enjoyed the moment with Ysolda and I liked to believe that I would have had something clever to say in that moment but Seeing Ahri had spooked me. I thought she would have moved on and found herself a new hero. The last thing I had expected was to run into her in the circus. If she could find me then the harbingers could too. 

“I thought I saw someone I knew,” I said.

Ysolda poked me in the ribs. 

“A girl?” 

“You could say that,” I stammered.

“Is she pretty?”

I felt my face turn red, but I said nothing.

Ysolda brushed the hair out of her face and studied me for a moment. 

“Is that why you haven't taken me up on any of my offers? Do you have feelings for this girl?”

I shifted uncomfortably. 

“It's not like that. We were… I don't really know what we were, but we separated on bad terms.”

Ysolda pulled on a pair of tight trousers.

“Did you sleep with her sister?”

“No!”

“Her mother?”

“What? No, nothing like that.”

“So what's the problem? If you like the girl, go after her.”

I definitely did not like Ahri, well I did but it wasn't that simple anymore. She was cute and if she’d been a little less crazy, maybe. I mean, she did damn well kill me and erase most of my memories. The clearest memory I still had from the before was being bullied in 6th grade by a girl named Petunia. 

I did need to see her though but not for the reasons Ysolda thought.

“Ok.” I said. “I’ll talk to her but if this goes bad I'm blaming it on you.”

I left the tent and ran into Baskin. He was whistling a tune and carrying a crate of apples.

“Apple pie for dinner, lad.”

I smiled and looked around for Ahri.

“Did you see a girl?”

“Lad, I'm going to need a bit more than that to go on.”

“A blue haired girl, wearing a hooded robe.”

“Ah yes, that I did. I bought a binding card from her. Strange girl. Didn't say much. She looked a touch unhinged if you know what I mean."

“Which way did she go?” 

Baskin looked around.

“That way lad, towards the mountain.”

---

I had no intention of joining Ahri again, but I felt guilty for leaving her without an explanation. In my defense she had been about to kill a naked man tied to her bed. Still, I could have handled the situation better. I could have asked Marrick if he could cast the Null Magic spell on me. I could have paid him for his trouble and excused Ahri for being a crazy psycho bitch but I fled like a coward instead. 

I’d done a lot of running away since arriving in Umbra. I decided that I was sick and tired of running away. Facing Ahri was the first step in becoming the man I wanted to be in this new world.  

I kept heading in the general direction of the mountain. There weren't too many paths that led that way and soon I found myself on a dirt road leading out of town. I saw recent footsteps on the path and I could make out a child’s bare footprint and a few adult shoe prints. I knew they were recent because there’d been a crazy storm the night before which would have washed away any marks in this sand.

I stayed on the path for quite some time, and then just out of nowhere the path came to an abrupt end on the side of the mountain. 

“What the hell?”

I looked around. There were clear signs that people had come this way but the footsteps just vanished like the people had sprouted wings and flown over the mountain. 

I searched around for a few more minutes and then remembering that Baskin was making apple pie, I gave up the search and headed back to the Mesmers camp.

---

The following evening I sat in the back of the Mesmer tent and watched Zoey climb onto the tight rope for her flying mermaid performance. She’d only been doing the act for a week and her nerves were definitely showing. Fortunately Baskin had cast a spell of Feline Prowess on her which massively increased her dexterity. He’d also told her that if she fell she’d always land on her feet.

 

Zoey stepped onto the rope and then pretended to lose her footing and stumble. She fell off the rope and I heard a gasp of astonishment from behind me.

I turned and saw a little girl watching the show through the side flap of the tent. She was dressed in rags and had two red dresses slung over her shoulder. I recognized her immediately. 

I slid out of the back of the tent and went around the side and snuck up on her. If somebody was watching me at the moment I would have been thrown in jail for being a creep but I needed to talk to her.

“Hi there.” I said as I stopped behind her.

I expected her to flinch or to jump in fright but instead she bolted forward like a frightened rabbit being chased by lions. 

“Flint fetch,” I said as I released the Twilight Titan spell card.

The titan appeared. His hand shot out and caught the girl easily. 

“Here boy,” I said.

Flint gave me a deadpan look then returned the child to me.

“You know what Talasin? Since joining you I've been used as a pack mule, a cart horse, a bird trap and as a human shield. You’ve even used me as a fire starter but you know where I draw the line?”

I couldn't help but smile at Flint. Since Ahri and I split he’d become my closest friend. He was moody and odd but he was a fun guy. I’d let him out of his card most evenings so he could roam around the camp and eat some rocks. He even joined us around the bonfire at dinner time and told us stories about his life as a gate guard. 

“I'm sorry, Flint,” I said. “I shouldn't have called you like a dog. You’re a person and you deserve to be treated better.” 

The titan gave me an odd look.

“What are you talking about, Talasin? The line I wont cross is kidnapping kids. By Belladeon’s balls, what are you going to do to this girl?” 

“What? No! This is not what it looks like. You can put the girl down. I just need to ask her some questions.” 

Flint placed the girl down in front of me and patted her on the head reassuringly.

“If he tries anything funny, just scream.”

I waved a hand at Flint.

“Thanks, you can go now.”

I unsummoned the titan and turned to the girl.

“Sorry about that but I really need to find someone.”

 

The girl hopped from one leg to another and looked over her shoulder like a frightened animal.

“I can't be seen, I can't be seen,” she repeated like some sick mantra.

You are reading story GOD OF CARDS [DECK BUILDING] [LITRPG] [COMEDY] at novel35.com

“I'm looking for a friend of mine,” I said. “A girl with blue hair.”

The girl stopped her odd-looking dance and shifted uncomfortably. I could tell she knew who I was talking about.

“I'm not allowed to say,” she said. “Or I won't become a flower.”

What the hell is a flower? Don't just Talasin you wanted to grow up to be a ninja. I guess kids are weird even in this world. If she wants to grow up to become a flower, who am I to stand in her way?

“I'm glad you are good at keeping secrets,” I said. I realized just how creepy that sounded as soon as it came out of my mouth.

“I have a surprise for Ahri,” I said quickly. “I’ve bought her something special. Could you help me find her so I can give her the gift?”

The girl cocked her head as she thought about it.

“Ahri's sad,” the girl finally said. “She would like a surprise.”

---

The girl didn't want to be seen with me, which I understood. I was an older guy and people might get the wrong idea. So she led me through the back roads and we meandered through town. 

I didn't bother asking her where she was taking me, she was still a bit skittish and I didn't want to spook her off. Every now and then she’d stop and make sure we weren't being followed and then she’d scurry off again with me close behind. 

Finally our trip took us out of town and down the same dirt trail I’d walked the night before. 

“There's nothing here,” I began to say but the girl held a finger over her lips for silence.

She pointed at a nearby tree and then she snuck behind it and waved me over. I had no idea why we were sneaking around like criminals. I was just looking for Ahri, not trying to rob a bank. 

The girl pointed at the mountain.

“Guards.”

I peered around the tree and sure enough there were two guards holding spears standing in front of the mountain. This was the same place I had searched the night before. I wasn't sure what was going on here. 

Why would someone place guards in front of a mountain?

The girl stood up and before I could stop her she walked over to the guards and greeted them. One grunted a greeting and the other guard drew out what looked like a spell card. 

I prepared a spell card of my own in case they tried to harm her.

Something creaked loudly and a door appeared on the side of the mountain and swung wide open.

Son of a bitch. 

I’d been standing in the right spot all along. They had a secret passage leading into the mountain. 

Why the hell would they have that? 

There was clearly something suspicious going on here. If there were guards, they had to be guarding something of value but how was Ahri involved with all this?

I needed to find a way in. The problem was I had no spell that could open that door. I couldn't steal their spell card either and I sure as hell wasn't planning to kill them but what other option was there?

Every spy movie I could still remember watching came back to me as I waited. I had no Jedi mind trick, no hole I could dig at the top and lower myself down in the mountain. I could possibly beat up the guards and use Flint to punch a hole through the wall but the noise would alert every person inside the mountain.

Just when I was about to step out from behind the tree and go and ask the guards to open up, one of them started walking in my direction.

“I need to spend a penny,” said the guard.

I didn't have time to think. I drew Polyblade and cast it.

* Reticulating probability--

* Whacking Trolls With Ugly Sticks--

* Doing Something You Don't Wanna Know About--

* Sharpening Swords--

* Weapon selected-- 

* Have a good day

 

* Cave man’s Club 

The weapon of choice for cracking skulls and picking up hot dates. 

A putrid odor wafted off the club as it appeared in my hand. 

The guard hadn't noticed the flash of light and whistled a tune as he unzipped his trousers. Just as he was about to pee against the tree I was hiding behind I snuck out and hit him over the head. He collapsed like a sack of potatoes. I reached for the man's spellbag and felt the familiar burning sensation. That meant the guard was still alive. 

Good, I’m not a killer yet.

I dragged the man behind the tree and cast the Mimic spell on him. I couldn't change the way I looked, I’d need Polymorph for that but I had another idea.

Mimic could only duplicate whatever was targeted. If I targeted one of my arms I could make many copies of it all over my body. If I targeted a person, like the unconscious guard, I could make a duplicate or many duplicates of him. 

I could control those duplicates with my mind but the control I had over them was limited. I had spent the last two weeks experimenting with my newly acquired spell cards and mimic was the most fun. I'm not saying I used it to create copies of Ysolda to spend the night with, that would be creepy.

I held my hands behind my back and the duplicate guard led me to the guard post in the classic I just caught this suspicious guy trope from every movie ever. 

“Caught man,” said the duplicate. 

Language was a challenge to control. If it came to long conversations the guard would uncover my deception.

“Open,” said the duplicate.

The second guard hesitated. With my hands behind my back I coughed to distract the guard. Sick people usually make other people very uncomfortable and those people tend to do whatever it takes to get away from them.

The guard looked at me and then looked back at the duplicate- who was sucking on his lips and making oddly sexual sounds. 

The guard frowned but he drew a spell card and pressed it against the mountain and the card disintegrated. A narrow doorway appeared in the rock.

“You okay, Pike?” asked the guard.

The duplicate shook its head, nodded, and then tried to do both at the same time. 

“Me right,” it said.

The guard hefted his spear.

“Wait a second,” he shouted but he was too slow.  The duplicate and I struck him at the same time.

I sent the duplicate to tie up the two guards and to watch over them. I wasn't sure how effective it would be but I just needed to keep the guards away from the door so it didn't shut behind me.

---

It was dark inside the mountain. To say I was scared of the dark was an understatement. The darkness in that tunnel was beyond black. It was a darkness that seemed to suck the light from the very air. I was shitting myself.

I fumbled along the wall and eventually my eyes adjusted enough so that I could make out faint shapes. I really needed to get a Mage Light spell card.  

I headed down the long passage. It twisted and turned and then began to descend. I traveled for quite a while, and the path continued steadily down for most of the journey. The air grew hot and stifling and at times I felt currents of cooler air on my face. 

There might have been beauty in those underground tunnels. However, my mind was so scared that all I cared about was finding Ahri and getting the hell out of this place. I didn't even want to think about what was going on down here. 

Finally a pool of light rose up ahead and I slowed down and took one silent step at a time towards the light. 

I peeked around the corner and saw the light reflecting off the iron bars. My stomach sank. It was probably the most horrible thing I could imagine. Inside the cell, a group of children huddled together.

I tapped the iron bars and a few children swiveled around and looked at me.

“You're not a guard,” said one of the kids.

A child stood up and pressed his face against the iron bars.

“Who are you?” 

“I'm here to rescue you,” I said in my most reassuring voice. 

“Rescue us from what?”

“Are you here to take us to the blooming ceremony?” a small girl asked.

More of this flower bullshit. I didn't know what they were talking about but it seemed like they cared more about some ceremony than about getting out of this place.

“Yes,” I lied. “I was sent to bring you to the blooming ceremony.”

"Where are our fancy clothes?” asked an older looking boy.

“Do you know Ahri?” I asked.

“Ahwi,” said the little girl. “She’s my friend.”

“Good, she sent me and told me to hurry up and bring you to the party.”

I shooed the kids back and away from the prison bars and summoned the Twilight Titan.

“Why’s it so dark in here?” asked Flint. He looked around. “More kids? You’re starting to worry me, Talasin.”

The kids huddled against the back wall as Flint flattened the prison bars like a fat kid smashing a cupcake into his face.

“Kids. Follow the friendly monster.”

“I prefer magical beast,” said Flint.

“And I’d prefer to be dressed like a bear and staring at a pair of jiggling breasts but here I am, in the dark with you.”

“Fair enough but when we get out of here we really need to talk about my pay raise.”

“You don't get a salary.”

“My point exactly.”

I left the titan and the kids and continued on down the passage. 

It was clear that something sinister was happening in this mountain. Whatever it was it seemed to be on a massive scale. The amount of work it took to carve out this place had to have cost a fortune. 

---

“Don't touch ‘em, don't look, don't listen, don't smell, don't even taste ‘em,” the words were murmured like a madman reciting the last words he’d heard.

A guard dressed in leather patrolled the passages. He had a torch in one hand and a short sword in the other. The torch made it easy for me to keep my distance but still follow the man. 

As I followed after him I caught glimpses of paths below some sloping up and some leading sharply down. Oil lamps burned in those passages. I thought I saw a man dressed in purple robes walking down one of those passages. I wanted to stay and find out what was going on but the torch was moving and I needed to keep up.

The guard eventually entered another holding cell similar to the last one. He ran a hand along iron bars sending a rippling sound through the chamber. He repeated his mad mutterings about not touching or smelling or whatever and then he left the chamber and made his way down the passage.

I counted to ten giving the guard enough time to get out of earshot and then I walked up the prison. I recoiled as a foul smell hit me. There was something dead or decaying in one of the cells. I didn't look too closely.

“Ahri,” I called.

A few shadows stirred and I strained my eyes and saw children standing in the dark, rocked up and down like zombies waiting for a victim. I felt like I was going to be sick.

The gate was locked with an archaic looking mechanism. I tugged on it but it didn't budge.

A child’s head appeared through the bars and glared at me. “What are you doing?” the child asked in a monotone voice.

I looked around hoping the prison guard wasn't nearby. 

“Keep your voice down. I'm trying to get you out.”

The child shook its head and began to mutter. 

“I'm scared, I'm scared over and over.”

I reached out a hand and tried to calm the child. 

“There's nothing to be scared of, it's just us.”

“I'm scared of the monster,” said the child.

I smiled at the kid in what I hoped was a reassuring manner.

“Don't worry, there's no monster here.”

The child raised a trembling finger. 

“It's behind you.”

---

You can find story with these keywords: GOD OF CARDS [DECK BUILDING] [LITRPG] [COMEDY], Read GOD OF CARDS [DECK BUILDING] [LITRPG] [COMEDY], GOD OF CARDS [DECK BUILDING] [LITRPG] [COMEDY] novel, GOD OF CARDS [DECK BUILDING] [LITRPG] [COMEDY] book, GOD OF CARDS [DECK BUILDING] [LITRPG] [COMEDY] story, GOD OF CARDS [DECK BUILDING] [LITRPG] [COMEDY] full, GOD OF CARDS [DECK BUILDING] [LITRPG] [COMEDY] Latest Chapter