Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Lazarus does not immediately react to my story. His expression is blank, but I can see thoughts swirling in those iridescent red eyes of his. Or maybe that is just because he is a spirit. When he finally speaks, his voice is measured, as if he is carefully picking each word.

"You have experienced much for one so new to Eden. Now that I understand your situation better, I am even more certain you will need my guidance." His eyes glimmer with what might be sympathy or calculation—with an ancient being like him, it is difficult to tell the difference.

I nod, still considering his earlier request about finding his coven in the Blood Sands. The promise of recovering my memories is tempting, but I want to be sure of what I am getting into.

"About your coven... what exactly will I be facing when we reach the Blood Sands? And how do we formalize this arrangement between us?"

"A pact," Lazarus says, his voice taking on a formal tone. "Bound by the Judge itself. As for what you will face—my coven is sealed with powerful weaves of my own creation. Breaking those seals will be no simple task, but with my guidance, you will manage it."

He flicks a hand towards me, and surprisingly, a message from the Judge unfurls in my mind.

Lazarus has offered you a pact! In exchange for your help finding his lost coven in a sealed realm, he will become your guide and mentor on your journey through Eden and be bound to your soul. Doing this will grant Lazarus access to your player profile and all notifications related to it. This relationship will continue until such a time as you find Lazarus's coven, at which point your Pact will be renegotiated. Do you agree?

I read it over carefully. I am not sure about Lazarus having access to my player profile, but as our conversation has progressed, I have begun to like the ancient spirit, and the seed of trust has been planted. Plus, I could smash his skull if I wanted to, and I am certain that would hurt him if he did betray me.

I give my confirmation to the Judge.

Lazarus's eyes flash the same color as the orbs that float in the sockets of his skull. He grunts in satisfaction.

"Excellent. Your profile is not bad. I expected you to be a little higher level, but that is okay; you will get there. I am surprised that you are an enchanter; I have not seen that in a while. Now then, before you put points into your attributes, tell me what you know about them, fledgling."

Lazarus's tone has taken on not a lecturing tone, but rather the tone of someone used to teaching or guiding. I answer him as best I can through the fog of exhaustion.

"Not much. I know they are a representation of myself in a way, and I know they govern what skills I can learn. All of it has a kind of synergy with my Domain."

Lazarus nods thoughtfully.

"That is right, though it is not everything. Attributes, more than anything else, are critical for your advancement," he says.

I blink, trying to stay focused through all the pain and exhaustion still plaguing me despite my slowly healing arm.

"How so?" I ask, rubbing my eyes. Lazarus watches me, clearly seeing my exhaustion, but he continues.

"You said it yourself; it governs what skills you can learn and use. Think about that," he urges.

I try, and I honestly do, but the thoughts will not flow. I cannot see what Lazarus means, and I tell him so. The spirit lets out an annoyed sound.

"I can see that your exhaustion is taking its toll. I prefer to guide my fledglings to the answer, but very well. Domains level based on your attributes, which are a reflection of your Domain and overall strength."

A question occurs to me then, cutting through the fog in my mind.

"Would not a player just naturally do that, though? After all, we get an attribute point at every level. Surely that is enough that no one would ever have an issue," I ask.

Lazarus smiles, pleased at my question.

"It is not even close to enough, dear fledgling. To reach Journeyman Rank alone you need two attributes at level twenty-five. You do the math."

I whistle softly. "That is fifty points just to get to Journeyman. That is an absurd amount of points."

Lazarus nods, his expression grave. "It is indeed, my dear young fledgling. Apprentice lasts until level twenty-five, and Journeyman lasts until level one hundred. That is a whopping two-hundred points in attributes, just to get to Expert Rank, and most waste them, putting points willy-nilly into their attributes, and this leads to being unable to advance their Domain, and thus their growth stagnates."

I shake my head, both amazed and grateful. I could have fallen into the same trap without Lazarus.

"Is there any way around it? Any way someone can fix it, I mean?" I ask.

Lazarus waves a hand dismissively.

"Sometimes the Judge will grant attribute scrolls as rewards for completing quests, dungeons, or particularly hard encounters. However, by that point, it would take a tremendous amount of work to rectify."

I lean my head back, thinking, and finally, I look at the spirit.

"How would you recommend I spend my points then?" I question.

Lazarus's eyes shine with approval.

"You need to keep your path firmly in mind. Too many try to go in too many directions. A warrior wants to throw fireballs, so he invests in his mind and will. Or a mage wants to wear plate armor and be able to select skills that help take hits, so he invests in strength and constitution, despite having several points in both mind and will. It happens all the time and in many different ways. The Eden Tree is not fair; you are not meant to be able to do everything. Yet time and again, people try to anyway. My advice is thus, fledgling, know what kind of path you wish to walk and choose two attributes that represent that path."

I consider his advice, chewing on my lip. It is good advice, and my path is pretty clear as it is. I am good with weaving and enchanting. My class even has acolyte in the name, which is perhaps the strongest indicator that I am on a magic path of advancement, more than anything else.

I have five available attribute points I can spend. I decide to split them between mind and will, putting two extra points into will. With that, I decide to bring up my profile; it has been a while since I looked at it.

Name: Jackson Grey Level: 11 Race: Human (Shown) Vampyre (Hidden) Lives: 2 Domain Aspects: Blood and Destruction Class: Vampyre Acolyte (Hidden Class) Acolyte Class (Shown Class) Attributes: Mind: 13, Strength: 12, Dexterity: 17, Constitution: 15, Will: 18 Skills: Minor Regeneration (Basic Level 1), Consume Blood (Basic Level 1), Hidden Bloodline (Basic Level 1), Analyze (Apprentice Level 6) Weaves: Blood Lightning (Basic Level 1) Eden Coins: 9910 Faction: Unsworn

A slight pang of sadness echoes through my heart as I see my katana skill stricken from my profile. I will not ever be able to pick up a blade again. Yet it had been necessary and right to make that choice.

Lazarus claps his hands, the sound somehow audible despite his ethereal nature.

"Well, that is settled. You will need to continue this way; you are already a little behind since your path has essentially changed a bit, causing your previous attribute points to be essentially wasted."

I had not thought about that, but Lazarus is correct; by changing my path, it renders the points I had previously spent wasted. At least the points I put into dexterity and constitution. I sigh and slump to the ground against a wall. I wave Lazarus away.

"I need to sleep. I am too tired to think anymore," I say.

Lazarus holds up a finger, his expression concerned.

"Sleep will not heal you, you know. Your minor regeneration skill will help a bit, but without blood or a healing potion, you are going to be critically wounded like this for a long while."

I have stopped listening; my eyes, which feel like lead weights, are closing, and I allow myself to fall into a deep slumber.

The pain still throbs like a constant burn when I wake up. Despite that, I do feel a little better, in the sense that my thoughts flow a little better and I no longer feel like I am slogging through a bog. In fact, I am fairly certain the pain has gone down, if minutely. Compared to where I was at, it is a vast improvement, and I almost weep from the relief that washes over me.

Lazarus looks up; he is sitting on his sarcophagus. His expression is relieved.

"Finally! I thought I would be waiting for you to wake up forever. Did you know that you snore?"

"Har har," I say to him, not appreciating the humor at my expense.

I carefully unwrap my broken arm and am surprised to see that it has set itself in place and new skin has regrown around it. The arm is still very much broken, and it still throbs with absolute pain, but it is so much better than it was.

I am hungry, though, so very hungry. I know it is an almost unnatural hunger. I push it away and stand up.

"I think it is time we got going, Lazarus. I still have a lot to do," I say.

Lazarus vanishes and appears in front of me, holding up a hand.

"Hold on, we still have a few things to discuss. One, you should put my skull in your bag. I can still see and talk to you even with it in the bag, since the Judge sees it as still being in your possession. Take care of that, and then I have something to tell you," Lazarus says.

I eye him but do as he bids. Then I regard him and gesture for him to go on.

"Abaddon is lying to you," Lazarus says.

I interrupt him with a question before he can continue.

"How so?" I ask.

Lazarus glares at me, "If you stop interrupting me, I can tell you."

I rub the back of my neck sheepishly.

Lazarus nods curtly and continues, "He does not need you to receive the orb at the end of this dungeon; he could do that himself if he wanted, and if you had thought about that for more than five seconds, you may have realized that. Did you really never wonder why he could not retrieve this orb for himself?"

I scowl at him but shake my head. Lazarus chuckles, though there is no humor in it.

"I thought not. What he needs is for you all to progress and then die."

I stare at him in shock. "What? Why? Why in that order?"

Lazarus's expression grows solemn.

"This goes into dangerous information, Jackson. Information that very few know, and until you learn to protect your mind, I cannot give it to you. I need you to trust me on this. Suffice to say, Abaddon has very good reasons."

I chew at my tongue at his answer, but it does reveal to me that there is clearly more going on than I know. Which I find not at all surprising.

"Well, there is nothing I can do about it right now, but I appreciate you telling me what you could. Now can we go?" I ask.

Lazarus waves a hand.

I turn and head for the portal. It is finally time to move on.