Chapter 2
Castle of Ethwar
"Ghouls!!" Sylas scread as he leaped from the bed, appearing maddened. "Ghouls everywhere! Everywhere!"
"Recruit! Calm down!" the bearded n reprimanded quickly with a strangely hurried tone but Sylas was of no mind to listen. He reached forward and grasped the middle-aged man's collar, his eyes wide like saucers, and began to shake him.
Ghouls! They are everywhere! They are killing everyone! Everyones dead!
Wake up, Recruit!! the bearded man hollered loudly as he swung his arm and squared his fist against Sylas cheek. The latter felt an imnse pang of pain pulsate throughout his entire body as he found himself aflight backward. He fell, ass-first, onto the rough floor and rolled further back, slamming directly into the wall. His organs jerked violently, and he was forced to cough; pain, though deeply uncomfortable, did help wake him a bit. Looking around, he realized he wasnt at the top of the tower but back inside his room.
All the sa, however, he was unable to calm down entirely. The feeling of having his throat crushed was still fresh and the cold claws of death were still right on him. He was shivering and shaking like a leaf in the stormy wind, entirely unaware that his nose had begun to bleed from the sheer force of impact. The middle-aged man walked over, mumbling sothing under his breath, as he crouched in front of Sylas and sighed.
twas a nightmare, Recruit, he said. Did you wake yet?
y-yes. Sylas replied ekly.
I understand that Ghouls are a scary bunch, the middle-aged man continued. But that is why weve got to be brave. So that our wives and sisters and mothers back ho wont have to worry about none of this. You understand, Recruit?
I do, Sylas replied chanically, replaying everything.
He recalled the window that appeared just before he diedit ntioned sothing about a save point and, a re few seconds later, he was back here, being woken up by this old fella. He experienced that ghoulish nightmarehe didnt just fabricate that, no way. It all could only an one thinghe is saved to this point in ti, at this mont, and should he die he would be brought back here. That, more so than the bearded mans empty words, cald him down considerably.
Nonetheless, that answer only brought up a myriad of new questions, pri of which isjust how many tis is he allowed to die before he can no longer load the save point? Twice? Thrice? A hundred tis? Not knowing was half the ntal struggle. Whatever happened to him was well beyond his limited comprehension, but all he had was that very limited comprehensionand his was telling him that he cant joke around.
You ready to go up the watchtower and start your shift? the middle-aged man quizzed as Sylas ca back to his senses, sowhat. One thing he needed more than anything else in the world right now is information. He was effectively blind and deaf and mute with how little he knew. Whether it was about who he was, what this place was, where it was, or how the hell can sothing like a ghoul exist he knew effectively nothing.
Yes, he nodded, standing up and dusting off his behind. Apologies. I dreamt a ghoul ate .
Scary stuff, I know, the bearded man said, leading him outside and down the sa path as before.
Have you have you ever seen one? Sylas probed carefully. Right now, his only connection to this world, for better or worse, was this old man. And his priority was to bleed the man dry of all the possible information.
Aye, a few tis. Killed one, actually, in my adventurous youth, the man boasted with a bellied laugh.
Was it strong? Sylas continued probing, liking the fact that the man looked to be a boastful chatterbox.
Aye, aye, plenty strongI wrestled with the thing for nearly half an hour before finally lopping its ugly head off.
Wow. That sounds terrifying. Sylas played along.
It was, the old man nodded. So, dont worry. If any of em ghouls show up, I'll be right here to kill the bastards. You just need to stand on that tower and ring the bell inside here if anything goes wrong." He pointed at the very sa bell Sylas had already rung once, but to no avail, as it seed since, by the ti he returned to the top of the tower, nearly the entire castle had already fallen.
Of course, Sylas paid so lip service to the man as they reached the top, whereupon the latter bid the forr a laughing farewell. At least, Sylas mused, he learned how to play the man. Itd be a bit strange if I asked where are we, eh? he glanced back at the castle. There werent many people roaming about; if he was careful enough, he could sneak in there, but to what goal? He had to do one last test tonight and see whether the loading up to the save point was just a one-off event or was it sothing that would stay. If it was one-off, it was pointless to try anything since hed die anyway. And if not he began concocting plans, slowly.
First on the list, naturally, was to get all info out of that old guard. The second was to figure out where the hell he landed and if possible, just how. That bothered him greatly, but he could only ascribe it to so act of divine intervention. A man of no faith ascribing sothing to the act of divine intervention sounded like lunacy, but that was where his head was at; all he could do, inevitably, was to bear down on the surging terror.
The image of the rotted face inching closer to his, the cold, dead fingers digging into his throat, and the eyeless socket peering into his soul were all permanently etched into his mory, its top layer even. He couldnt forget. Couldnt erase it. Couldnt yet move on. It truly would have been a miserable way to die, he mused, looking at the inner castle once again. He had to map it outat least very roughly.
For any type of scam, laying down proper foundations was the most important thing. He once spent an entire sumr normalizing his existence for a fairly rich girl before even trying to scam her. In the end, those months during the sumr painted him, at least in her head, as soone trustworthy since she saw him on the daily basis. She firmly believed she knew who he was and that he would never dare try to pull a fast one on herexcept he did. And she wasnt the only one in his nurous exploits
The sa thing applied hereexcept it was many magnitudes more difficult. If nobody in this castle knew who he was, that would be perfect. Starting with a blank slate was like giving him a cheat. However, if sobody did know whover he inherited, it would be a problem. Especially considering that the world he landed within was one of magic. If he was not careful, he could be accused of witchery and such and burned at the stake.
Tsk, Sylas clicked his tongue and rubbed his hair in frustration, only now realizing he wasnt even wearing a helt. The best thing to do would be to figure out a way to either run away from this hell or to hide and ride out the ghoulish invasion. Then again theres that stupid quest
To save the boy if there was ever anything vaguer, he wished to hear it. It was likely soone important in the depths of the castle, especially since the notification that he failed didnt co up until the ghouls had already sward the entire castle. So noble son that would likely spit on him if Sylas ever approached the more he thought about his circumstances, the more he lanted them.
In those lants, the night crept in and dug deep. Before long, the scenery from the last ti returned; the whole world swallowed in absolute darkness, only the edges barely frad by the faint moonlight, absolute silence dominating everything. And within those encroaching shadows, soon enough, he saw them. Just like the last ti. They were slow but absolute. Unlike the last ti, however, he didnt screech and ran to ring the bell. He wanted to see them in action, to see how they broached the tall walls.
He swallowed a mouthful, with it pushing back down the terror that nearly overwheld him. Flashbacks of his gnarly death once again shocked him, like a bolt from the clear sky. Gnashing his teeth, he kept his eyes wide open and focused on the swarming numbers. A minute two eventually, their slow crawl led them directly to the walls and they began to claw and climb on top of each other.
They all fell, without a fail, until, so five minutes later, just as another bell elsewhere in the castle rang, a bright flash of light blinded Sylas montarily. In that sa mont, the world beneath him shook and quaked as the sound of an explosion froze the blood in his veins. Before he could register anything else, a window appeared in front of him.
You have died.
A Save Point discovered.
Loading
You will be returned to the Initial Save point.
"On your feet, maggot!" a harsh and loud and an voice jolted Sylas from his rather confused and short-lived sleep. Ah, here we go again... he mumbled inwardly, slowly opening his eyes into the new, yet old day.
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