New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 587 Dark Interior

Following her away from the blazing in that was once hers, Astaroth watched the old woman's figure closely. He half expected her to suddenly turn and strike him, but it never came to pass.

The closer they got to the central tree, the more restless he and his party members became. Especially since they were still two members short.

Astaroth's anger had receded a bit to the back of his mind. He was still angry, but the rage had passed.

"Excuse me, madam Isarrel. But where are you bringing me?" Astaroth asked.

He wasn't against being guided directly to the center of the city, but he felt like his time could be better spent right now. With the corruption rapidly spreading through town, he could put his blade to use.

The old woman turned her head to him a bit, her stride forward unabating.

"That artifact you wield. I recognize it. I was tasked with bringing it to the king in a not-so-distant past."

Astaroth halted his steps, his face hardening.

"I will not hand it over. Whatever you want with it, it will be over my dead body."

The old woman turned her head back forward with a snort.

"Hah! If I still wanted it, I would have taken it from your still-hot corpse already, child. You are a century too young to be a threat to the likes of me. No. That is not what I meant by this."

Astaroth's eyes squinted at her words. He wanted to scan her, to see where she got her confidence, but had a feeling it was a terrible idea to do so.

Luckily for him, someone in his party wasn't as concerned about that.

Jaxx, a few steps behind him, suddenly gasped, grinding to a stop. His face was pale, and his mouth agape.

"Le-le-le-Legendary grade!" he stuttered, shaking in fear a bit.

Jaxx had seen only her grade and level, before averting his prying gaze, as the woman was already glaring at him. She had stopped walking and turned to face the party of Abnormals.

"I don't appreciate people poking their nose into my status, young runt. Your muscles may be large, but it seems your head is devoid of the respect you owe your elders."

Astaroth raised his hand.

"I apologize on my ally's behalf. We are not from around here, and most of us lack knowledge about these things. But I would like to know why someone of your… stature… is interested in the artifact and not taking it."

Worry still covered Astaroth's face. He was waiting for the shoe to drop.

But the old woman only glared a bit more at Jaxx, before spinning on her heels and resuming her walk.

"There is someone who will want to meet you. He is in there," she said, pointing at the tree.

Curiosity overwhelmed Astaroth's wariness, just long enough for him to start walking forward again. He was still keeping a healthy distance between him and the old woman, but he wanted to see where this led.

They crossed paths with a few corrupted citizens on their way to the tree, but nothing that could slow them down. The ex-General, Isarrel, cut them down, with ruthless efficiency, whenever they came near her.

It didn't seem to bother her that these were her brethren. Her face remained stoic, with not a drop of blood ever reaching her figure.

Astaroth did the same to any stray corrupted Elves that rushed toward him and the party. He barely let them have any time to react, and the enemies dropped dead.

Their grades might have gone up, and their levels as well, but the Elves were impressively weak, for a level fifty-five dungeon. Something didn't add up.

'Where is the real threat? Why are there only weak enemies on this floor?' Astaroth wondered, his eyes peeled for any sign of danger.

Once they reached the tree, amidst the now orange-lit city, with fires breaking out in every corner of it, the old woman stopped and pivoted toward them.

"My part stops here. The lord will want to see you. Step inside, he'll guide you to him."

As she said that, the large door adorning the tree, which would eventually become their palace, groaned open, making the ground shake slightly under its movement and weight.

Once the opening reached five feet wide, it stopped. The scarcely lit interior, with reflections of flames on what seemed like vases and shiny statues of marble, made the scene eerie.

But Astaroth heard a whisper in his ear that sounded tired.

"Come. Climb the steps. Reach the bough. Help."

It said the last word with a sense of urgency that Astaroth felt it echo inside his head.

"Let's go," he commanded, as he entered the darkened tree's interior.

As his group followed him inside, the door shut behind them, leaving them in complete darkness.

Phoenix lit up a small fireball that she used to light their path, as did Astaroth. Soon after they entered, Twinxie suddenly jolted up from SharpTusk's back, falling to the ground.

"What's happening?! I got a notification we were under attack! Where is the enemy?!"

She jumped to her feet, hands raised, ready to enter combat, only to notice the dark room they were in, with only two flickering flames as light sources. Next to her, her allies were looking at her with smiles and chuckles.

Before they could explain the situation to her, the gnome of the party, Food Goblin, also jolted up from Galtion's grasp. He pulled out his kitchen knife and frying pan, swinging them around, shouting.

"Aarrgghh!!! Come at me, you damned monsters!"

*Clang!*

A loud clanging of metal on metal echoed in the small enclosed room, as the frying pan collided with Galtion's armoured leg.

"Argh! You little fuck! That hurts!" Galtion started cursing, jumping on his other leg, and holding his tibia.

Food Goblin spun on himself, looking for enemies, his breath rapid, before calming down.

"What the fuck happened? Why aren't we in the inn anymore?" he asked, putting away his arsenal.

SharpTusk opened his mouth to give them both an abridged version of the last half hour, but Astaroth interrupted him.

"We can talk while we walk. Follow me," he commanded.

Phoenix was curious why he suddenly looked in a hurry. But she didn't want to voice it and instead wrote to him in private.

'What's wrong?'

'We are being watched. And whoever wants to talk to us seems to need our help. Time is of the essence.'

Phoenix nodded covertly, understanding his reasoning. But she still wondered how he knew this.

Astaroth didn't tell them he had heard someone whisper in his ear. And no one else but him heard it, either.

But they followed his lead, and started climbing the staircase, once they found it, while Tusk resumed his explaining to Twinxie and Food Goblin.

Their climb would take a long time, after all.