Play Testers Wanted Pt. 12

"Nice." We muttered. We picked up the rune staff and it zapped the shit out of us once and then grew cold in our grasp. "Must still be bound to the Seneschal or a black item." We looked at its description and sure enough it was listed as a black alignment item. We couldn't use it. We could sell it though. Off to the inventory with you we thought. We gave the robe and rest of the uniform a try and liked the look. We approached the door to the main boss' chamber and paused. Just in case, we thought as we touched our wrist interface and set a five-minute countdown for the explosives, we had placed on the nodes earlier. We donned the Seneschal's uniform and took on a male demonic aspect to pass for the greater demon. We knocked.

"Enter." A voice like living death bid us to open the door. We reached for the knob when it opened on its own. We levitated into the massive singular chamber that took up the pinnacle of the tower. The door was in fact a portal to the boss' room. We hovered to a spot marked by the rune for home. We gazed upon the aspect of the dark god Chthon a mass of swirling darkness and inky tentacles. It was one-part demon one-part eldritch horror. We flinched when we saw that the fire cat, our fire cat, lounged on the dark god's lap. It was the only stable place on the cosmic horror. "What was that commotion?"

"Just an intruder," we said letting the Seneschal's voice disguise our own.

"I see. Where is your staff of office?" Chthon asked a hint of distrust in his voice.

"We didn't wish to offend your sacred space by carrying a weapon," we said and bowed our head.

"I respect that. Do you like my little visitor? She somehow wandered in without you noticing." The dark god laughed. "Clever little thing, isn't she?"

"Yes." We replied wondering ourselves how the little shit slipped away and ended up here.

"Was it my imagination or did I hear a practitioner of the Voice beyond my door?" He asked and we flinched. "Well?"

"You are not deceived," we replied being careful with our words.

"What happened to that practitioner?" Chthon asked casually stroking the cat.

"He is no longer a threat." We replied honestly. We were no match for a god and so not a threat.

"I believe you, but you didn't answer my question," he continued with a sly grin on what passed for his face. "Perhaps a little history. It was I that created the art of Kaia-Jutsu. It was I that taught the current master and he only taught two students. I happened to hear the voice of one of those outside my door." He gestured and his divine power washed over us. "Ghost Fire, long time no see." He said and I recognized the voice of my former master Nightwind. "Dear me, where oh where did you get that?"

"What?" We asked as we looked down to find our disguise gone and all but naked except for an ornate loincloth covering our naughty bits. We saw what he was looking at, my left arm. Wisps of black smoke seeped from the forearm and hand. "I thought it was a dream. Whoa wait, that other voice is gone."

"I have blended both symbiotes into one." Chthon/Nightwind declared. "The Left Hand of Darkness will provide your armor and tactical needs for you now. You can still manifest your armor, but it will be sourced from the Hand."

"Thank you, that was a bit overwhelming." I said as my one-minute warning chimed.

"Ha, time is running out," Left chimed in. "We should go boss." I turned my left-hand palm up and there in the middle of my left hand was a crude humanoid face. "Hello boss."

"No time for introductions, I guess this cuts our reunion short." I said as the fire cat launched off the dark god's lap, raced across the floor, leapt and landed on my shoulder. She purred as she rubbed her cheek against mine.

"Before you leave, I need to do something. I hereby name you the new Seneschal of the Dark Tower of Chthon. Take up thy arms and depart in friendship Ghost Fire." He stated solemnly as he performed his last act as Master of the Dark Tower.

I teleported away and still nearly naked activated my new robes of office. I stood outside of the tower as the counter was displayed in my field of vision. Twenty seconds and counting. I liked the fact that the rune staff was now a grey item. While I wouldn't use it, it did make a nice show piece for my tower. Ten seconds and counting. I waited and watched the tower intently as the last scant seconds passed. The ground shook as the nodes went up simultaneously and the entire structure imploded in a rather impressive display.

"Sweet!" Left chuckled.

The ruins of the tower shook and Chthon rose from those massive stone blocks uninjured. He shifted to his Nightwind aspect and approached me. He conjured a table reminiscent of something from Alice in Wonderland. We sat, sipped coffee and chatted.

"So, you have grown strong since we last laid eyes on one another. Tell me about this dream." He said clearly concerned about Left and how I had acquired it.

"I'll be honest, my memory and dreams have been a bit jumbled lately." I began and he gestured that I should continue. "Okay. I had a dream that I was in a lab back in the real world. They lopped off my left arm and attached something out a frozen sarcophagus. A little one that was just big enough for Left. They called it an Atlantean artifact. But that had to be an in-game thing, right?"

"I have heard whispers about Left as you call him or her. Left was in life a Hyperborean sorcerer of great power. Facing his or her mortal death they poured their power into that portion of their body to make it effectively immortal." Nightwind said smiling slightly. "Maybe dream and game have blended. I've had my own hiccups with memory and game play. Perhaps game files drifted in via your A.I. interface. Just tossing out ideas. It's not like that could happen in real life is it?" He rambled for a bit and it all made sense. Dream and game blended made a hell of a lot more sense than Left being a real-life event. "Perhaps now is a good time to tweak Left to your needs."

"A good idea," I responded as I pulled up the screen for the symbiote. "It is classified as a follower, that is odd. I need to prove a worthy host it seems before I can get the higher functions. All I can do now is select gender and appearance." I locked in a grey personality and looked at the options. I preferred Traci and selected her as the voice and personality since Surfer wasn't even listed. Was that something the game had changed? The game blended the two seamlessly and the facial characteristics could be altered to fit my preferences. In my case I chose a more fun-loving cherub face with crinkly eyes when she smiled. The basics of Left was as Nightwind had said simply an item to deploy armor and weapons. I could preset favored weapons and change between melee and missile effortlessly.

"Now it makes sense!" I cried out suddenly remembering Gaia's words, be careful with that. "She had meant Left!"

"She?" Nightwind perked up.

"I ran into Gaia," I said, and he grinned. "She sent me here."

"Of course, she did," He laughed playfully.

"Ooh, I can tie shapes into Left later. That'll be interesting. How have you been doing?" I asked turning my full attention to Nightwind.

"I... I am surviving." He said and I felt he was hiding something serious, but I didn't push. "What do you know about the original play testers?"

"Nothing." I replied as the fire cat attacked a biscuit with great gusto.

"Nick wanted to see the long-term effects of deep dive technology on astronauts. So, he chose testers with little to lose for permanent inclusion into the game." He said and let me think it over.

"Terminal illness?" I asked and he nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Eh, life is like that." He said with a weak smile. "Nick gave me a chance to dodge the bullet on all of that pain and weakness. It is just a matter of time before my body gives out. After the other games didn't pan out, I migrated to the mainstream ones and I just want to say of all the players I have trained you are my star pupil."

"Since I have you here, should I train others in Kaia-Jutsu?" I asked. "It feels like it might be too much for certain players. I trust you and if you say it is okay then I have a few I might ask and see if they want to devote themselves to it." I gushed.

"It is yours. I gave it to you, and it is your burden to carry alone or pass on." He said and then started laughing. "Was that fortune cookie enough for you?" He continued to chuckle.

"Yeah, thanks, I might just use it later on," I said and then my HUD dinged. "What the...?"

"And so, it begins," Nightwind stated with a knowing smile. "I designed this place, just so you know. Good luck Ghost..." he said as he began fading from sight leaving his eyes for last to disappear. "...and give Nick my best."

He was gone before I could tell him, Nick was dead. I set up my quick menu with my favorite weapons and armor. I selected the runic robes to see how they worked in a fight and had the Darksaber as my primary weapon. It was time to give it a full workout after its recent upgrade. I saved my choices to lock them in and then looked at my new side quest.

'Raid the Ruins: Capture the six minor chests and bonus if you claim the three Boss chests.'

"Nine chests and all mine!" I declared.

'Trophy earned: Chthon's Favor. Title Earned: Seneschal of the Tower. Trophy Earned: Left Hand of Darkness Awakens! Home Upgrade: Black Tower. Costume Added: Runic Stealth Suit.'

I flipped through the cosmetic changes since the big upgrade and I found the Runic Stealth Suit. It was a modified version of the symbiote suit that Reed had given me. Instead of just the simple interconnected hexagonal pattern this one had runes inside of those hexagons. The color scheme ran the gambit from white and silver to black and silver or red. I went with black and silver. I added the shoulder cannon, mask, and the gloves that Thor gave me to round out the best of my equipment. The gloves matched the suit, as did the plasma caster, but the Osirian Mask took on a look that reminded me of Dormammu's Flames of Regency with black flames and shimmering blue eyes.

"Bitchin'!" I said as I teleported to the edge of the pit and looked down. The broken staircase formed a series of platforms that hung precariously over the abyss. I would climb down to not alert any enemies awaiting me. I activated my camouflage and slipped over the edge. Handholds were limited and forced me to take a specific path. That made me leery of an ambush. Let's see how well this place is designed. I soon discovered that the few handholds there were didn't last long and forced me to move quickly and not scan for enemies. I reached the first portion of staircase and it was teetering over the edge. The first chest was on the far side. I tried to use telekinesis, but it failed. I needed to physically open it to get the loot. I manually activated my web shooters for this environment. I fired off a line to a spot above and beyond the far side of the staircase. I would swing over and while hanging upside-down lower myself to the chest and claim it. What could possibly go wrong?

I swung over and as planned hung inverted. Since I lacked a Spidey sense, I reached out with other senses including the Force. It was while I was vulnerable that I found that once again I was cut off from any mystical powers. Fuck you Nightwind! I settled with the normal ones. I sniffed the air and caught the scent of some profound musky body odor. I peered into the darkness, but nothing revealed itself. I wasn't the only one that was hidden. I slowly lowered myself until I was nearly within reach of the first chest. I heard the soft whisper of inhuman voices. It didn't last long but it was a just wait until he touches the chest to pounce message.

'Just a few more inches!' I thought. 'That is what she said.' I fought the urge to laugh when I saw 'it'. I had to be at the right angle to see the thing's armored exoskeleton. It was a clever form of camouflage and completely non-magical. Even at this oblique angle it was still difficult to see the thing's outline completely. It was arachnid. I slid slowly and finally my fingers touched the chest. A bar appeared in my HUD and slowly filled indicating I was removing the contents of the chest using subterfuge. The bar filled and the chest was emptied. One down and eight to go. I flipped around and stood atop the chest and took aim with the Darksaber. I activated the blade and let it piece the spider's carapace. The strike killed it instantly, but its death didn't go unnoticed. A ripple passed through the others of its kind. I noticed a surge of energy and my fatigue vanished since I was at full health.

I looted the abyssal spider and found its carapace particularly useful. I deactivated my weapon and looked around for my next target. I glanced straight up, and there firmly woven within the very core of the abyssal spider's web was one of the Boss chests. Damn it... how to get you? I was going to have to cut it out and there was no way of getting to it without alerting the entire nest. I guess I'll just single them out until I was forced to take on what was left.

The next minor chest was only thirty feet away and tucked into a small niche on a thin shelf of rock. If I tried to climb over there, there is no way that shelf would hold the combined weight of that chest and me. Fuck that, I fired off a web and it struck true on the side of the chest. I pulled in the slack and gave it a strong tug. The chest came loose, and I caught it and waited. That sound I had heard earlier returned and much louder. Had I confused them? Had I angered them? Just holding the chest counted as looting it. I got the coins and minor crafting supplies. I was about to set the chest down when I caught the hint of furtive movement in front of me, and then to the sides. I was surrounded. It was only then that I realized that while I was invisible the chest was not. Stupid mistake and likely to get me killed. I tossed the empty chest into the abyss and drew the Darksaber. I waited to see if they would settle or get more aggressive.

"Fuck!" I cursed as they swarmed me. The black blade snapped silently into existence. I met them head on. The blade sliced through their natural armor with ease. The more I killed the more that attacked. It was like a living set of falling dominos. The corpses piled up and after the first wave ended, I did a quick loot and looked for a more defensible position. There wasn't one. This was designed to be a killing ground. The corpses tumbled into the abyss to make room for the second wave. "How many of you fuckers are there?"

The second wave was longer than the first. Kill, loot, rinse, and repeat. After the fourth wave I was facing exhaustion. I fired a strand straight up and through the larger web. I climbed the line until I was just below the boss chest. I cut through so I could reach out and claim its contents. The bar showed up, but it took three times as long for it to fill. While that happened, I was attacked from above and below. The Darksaber spun and slashed one handed careful not to cut the strand holding me. What really pissed me off is that they used my own line to climb up at me from below. I cut it and sent three of the fuckers down to the stone pillar beneath.

'Ding!' The Boss chest's contents were my own.

I snagged two other minor chests before I heard the loud scrabbling sound coming out of the abyss. Was it a minor boss or the mother of all spiders? I wasn't about to wait and find out. Ignoring the thing's approach, I snagged the second boss chest which was hidden behind a devious outcropping of fallen debris. I found the rest of the small chests, but the last boss chest eluded me. It must be down there, in the abyss. I finished looting everything and looked down. I cursed silently as the tank sized spider settled onto the center spire of stone. It was pale and covered in a spiked exoskeleton that shimmered as the agitated creature began to do something.

"What are you up to?" I whispered as the thing lifted its ass end and launched luminescent webbing behind it in a rough fan shape with the wide portion attached to the far wall. The strands stuck to the side of the cavern before the spider anchored them to that stone pillar. It rotated its body and it was clear what it was up to. It was going to lay out webbing filling the entire cavern below. A new acrid smell filled the air and I saw wisps of green smoke coming off the first strands of webbing. My HUD alerted me that I was being poisoned. I cursed as I watched my stamina and life bars turned green and slowly drop. I couldn't wait or the poison would take me out without the thing lifting a mandible. I fired off a line to the roof of the cavern. Darksaber in hand I swung into battle.

The energy blade left a long smoking gash across the top of the monster. My health and stamina jumped up and returned to normal for a moment before the poison struck out again. It was clear, I had to attack and maintain it lest it win out. I swung down and landed on the thing's back. It wasn't idle it let out a shrill cry. A new hoard responded from below. Their body color ranged from bone white to transparent. The larger of her children were the pale ones, the smaller ones you could see their internal organs and muscles. They ranged in size from the size of an average hound to that of a hippo. While the larger ones moved slower and would arrive later than the swarm of little ones, they were heavily armored and of a different variety than those that could conceal themselves.

I strove to maintain my balance as the mother spider moved and tilted her body to shake me off while the smaller of her children swarmed up her legs and came at me from all directions. The larger bypassed their mother and scrambled up the walls and set lines above and began to lower themselves towards me. I was besieged on all sides and before they reached me, I began the first song in my list of battle songs. I brought the Darksaber up as the first pounding notes filled my consciousness. My blade rose, fell, spun, twirled, and danced through the air. It pierced, it sliced, limbs were lopped off, smoking holes were left in carcasses, and they fell singularly and in pairs as I activated the second blade with just a thought. I loved the upgrade.

When the opportunity presented itself, I slashed at the mother spider and maintained my stamina and health. Their life preserved my own as the power of the rune dagger now belonged to the Darksaber. It would steal life and blood and perhaps even the very souls or spirits of these foul things. Gaia may have robbed me of my vampirism, but she had given it to the Star of the Ebony Flame. It served me well in this fight. For while the poisoned webs were a constant threat the flow of life from the swarm kept me up and fighting. I became lost in the carnage so when it suddenly stopped, I found myself panting and facing not a massive spider but a woman, a four-armed woman.

"I am the Weaver of Shadows," she said in a sensuous whisper. Her beauty was on par with Gaia's. Was she a full-fledged goddess or just a minor aspect of a greater being? "You have proved yourself to be worthy of my undivided attention." She continued and dismissed the webs with a wave of one of her hands. She was scantily clad in nocturnal silk that hinted at succulent treasures where her garment clung tenaciously to breast, hip, and ass. "I can feel your lust."

"Well, when you dress like that what do you expect?" I replied and she laughed.

"What am I going to do with you little thief?" She asked as a growing sense of dread replaced my desire to bed her. "Any suggestions?"

"All this talk has given you time to heal up, hasn't it?" I replied instead. "This is going to get ugly isn't it?"

"It depends, why are you here?" She said as a smile formed on her perfect pouty lips.