Relics

Cyrus clears his throat and continues. "I'm a member of the Order of the White Rose. I was sent by the queen to assist you in the quest of defeating the evil forces that have been plaguing your land.

"As such, I have begun investigating and have found the hiding place of these creatures. I've brought with me one of their limbs as proof of my work.

"The Order of the White Rose? I have never heard of such a group. What faction do they belong to. Are they in any way related to the knights?" Elaine asks.

"They are a secret society that resides within the shadows of the kingdom. They are sworn to protect the people of Eluthera and were created centuries ago.

"My group is comprised of individuals who possess special abilities known only to a select few. We use our talents to aid those in need. Its a very secretive organization and we do not reveal ourselves to outsiders."

"So don't ask any more questions," Cyrus mumbles under his breath.

Elaine looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What did you say?" She asks.

"Nothing." Cyrus says.

"Oh...okay. Sorry." She says.

Cyrus sighs in relief. "Do you mind if I continue? There is a lot more information that I require to give to you."

"Sure. Sure." She says while waving him over.

Cyrus approaches her and tells her the information he gathered from the citizens and his time underground.

When he finishes talking, she stands up and walks over to the balcony railing.

Looking down, she lets out a sigh.

"This is just awful. If there is truly an army of those creatures under our feet, This city might be doomed. I have never seen anything like this before." She says. "I'm sure you must have heard the peach that the king gave earlier today, am I correct?

"Yes, I did hear that. What's the problem?" Cyrus asks.

"Well this is a huge problem. First off, The King wants everyone to know about it, but he doesn't want anyone to panic. He said that we are going to defeat the enemy before they can attack us but that was just for show. We don't have nearly enough forces to stop an infestation this grand. Although we were supposed to have been a neutral nation in this war, The king has still been sending soldiers off to fight in the war. Under the promises of that damned black king he has been secretly aiding him which has left our nation unprotected." Dianna explains.

"That is bad news, But it doesn't mean that you should simply wait for your destruction by these creatures. In fact I'd say you are in perfectly fine shape. I can easily remove these rodents from your nation.

Elaine frowns at him. "How can you possibly do that when we have barely any forces to even defend ourselves?"

"Simple. I will go down and take care of these bugs myself," Cyrus says confidently. "But if I am to assist you, I will need a favor from you in return."

Dianna looks at him curiously. "A favor?"

"Yes. In return for saving this great nation My leader is in need of the Red Rook piece that is currently in your possession," Cyrus says.

"The Red Rook? Why would you need that?" Dianna asks.

"Even I am not sure but I am not one to question my superiors. Its a simple exchange really. I gain a simple relic and you gain the continued prosperity of this nation. Its a win-win for everyone. Just hand over the Red Rook and I promise that these creatures won't be troubling you anymore." Cyrus says.

"You want me to just give you a valuable piece of our kingdom as a reward for helping us?" Dianna asks.

"Yes. I do. I am not asking for much. A small piece like this hardly matters compared to the lives of our people." Cyrus explains. "Think of it as a good deed. After all, Isn't that worth something?"

Dianna thinks it over and decides that it might be a good idea.

"Very well. I'll do as you ask. But there are conditions. First, You must swear that you will never divulge the secrets or any of the information I have shared with you to anyone. Once you leave our country, you must never return and you also cannot tell anyone of this deal. Is that acceptable?" Dianna asks.

"Of course." Cyrus says. "Now then, I'ts about time for me to fulfil my end of the deal. I'll be back by sunrise with good news."

Turning away from Dianna Cyrus sinks into his shadow Leaving her by herself once more on the balcony.

***

Cyrus returns to the market where he had left Elaine waiting. She appears to be deep in thought and doesn't notice him approach.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah. I'm just thinking about how disappointing this food is turning out to be." She replies.

"How bad is it for you to make that kind of face?" Cyrus asks.

"What do you mean, What do I look like?" She pouts

"Well, You kind of look like a dog that's being scolded." Cyrus says. "You know...like a dog that's been caught doing something wrong."

Elaine raises an eyebrow at him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing. Let's go." Cyrus says while guiding her down the street.

"I've managed to secure a deal with Dianna. I'll be clearing out those seers for he and in exchange we will receive the Red Rook. I'm pretty good aren't I?"

"Oh yeah. You're just the best," Elaine taunts.

Cyrus smiles. "Alright. You can wait up here. Ill be back in a jiffy"

Elaine nods and watches Cyrus disappear into his shadow before sitting down on a nearby bench.

"Jiffy?" She asks aloud.

Creating a light Cyrus dashes through the sewers heading deeper and deeper cutting through any insects in his path.

Getting closer and closer he reaches the the fork in the path, This time continuing on the right side to avoid the dead end.

The tunnel grows wider and he starts to hear some voices. It sounds like there is someone else down here with him.

Peeking around the corner he sees a large chamber filled with crates and barrels.

There are five figures sitting around a table. Three men and two women. One of the men is dawning a green cloak while the rest are dressed dark clothing.

Cyrus steps back and vanishes in his shadow, Listening in on the group.

"It looks like everything is going smoothly. Soon all of the pieces will be in place. The king will fall and then we will have control over everything," The cloaked man says.

"Using this relic we will be able to to easily take over this kingdom with these creatures. We'll be able to force the king to bow to our demands without even having to lift a finger.

"Its the perfect plan, And its all thanks to this Green Bishop," The man in the green robes says.

"Just thinking about how easy this is makes me so happy," The woman says.

"I agree. This is the most amazing feeling I have ever felt," The other woman says.

"And we're almost done here," The Green cloaked man says. "Soon, I will become the king and I will rule this land with an iron fist. I will be the one to decide what happens and no one will be allowed to question my decisions."

"This guy sounds like a real nut-case, But at least he useful for something. Ill be able to collect both the bishop and the rook all in one sitting." Cyrus thinks to himself.

Taking a deep breath, He Slips closer to the group while extending his shadow towards each of them.

Before giving any of them a chance to react his shadows swiftly cuts through four of them leaving only the robed man as Cyrus's shadows fail to pierce through the cloak.

"Hey!" The robed man shouts. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Don't worry about that. Your time is short," Cyrus says calmly.

"You must be a fool to come all the way down here. You wont be leaving here with your life." The cloaked man says.

"I'm not the one that needs to worry about that. You see, I need that relic that you were bragging about earlier, So how about you just hand it over to me?"

"You dare threaten me? You think that you can just waltz in here and take my piece like that? You know what. Since you want it so bad how about you try and take it from me.

Lowering his hands to the ground, a circle begins to form as green lights begin to radiate around the room. Soon the room begins to shakes as large insects crawl from beneath the circle.

"Let's see how long you can last," The man laughs.

Cyrus looks at the ring of insects surrounding him and draws his blade.

The cloaked man smiles at him. "This is going to be fun."

Cyrus begins to move forward slicing through the first insect in his path.

The robed man watches on as Cyrus slices one after another swiftly and effortlessly.

The insects' movements are slow, although their numbers are high.

Even as they slowly surround him, Cyrus's blade continues to slice them down.

Noticing light gathering Cyrus leaps into the air just barely avoiding a green beam from the robed man.

Cyrus kicks himself off of the ceiling towards the man's throat.

Throwing his arms out, The mans cloak stretches out and grabs Cyrus. With ease he lifts Cyrus into the air before slamming him against the ground.

"Now that wasn't very nice," The man says. "You could have hurt me."

Before the bugs could catch him, Cyrus sinks into his shadow breaking free from the cloak's grasp.

Appearing behind the man Cyrus attempts to stab him in the back but his blade is instead repelled by the cloak.

the man smiles as energy gathers on the robe before pulsing out, flinging Cyrus away.

Cyrus lands hard on the ground as the man turns to face him.

Without wasting any time Cyrus spins his body slicing through the surrounding bugs and returning to his feet.

"Impressive. But I think I've seen better," The man says.

"I haven't finished with you yet," Cyrus says.

Lifting his arm Cyrus releases a ray of blinding light.

The man quickly raises his hands shielding his eyes.

He quickly backs up against the wall and opens them to that Cyrus has disappeared.

His eyes dart around the room looking for him but he finds nothing.

"Where did he go?" The man asks.

Suddenly, Cyrus reappears from above him and slams him to the floor. Before the man can push him away Cyrus penetrates his chest with his blade.

"ARRRRGGHHH!" The man screams as he throws his hands up causing the cloak to thrash at Cyrus.

The cloak slams into Cyrus's side sending him tumbling until he slams against the table.

With a lightning fast motion, The man slams his hand to the ground Creating a new summoning circle.

Soon a Large centipede like creature arises from the circle almost filling the room.

It is covered in sharp spines along its back and a giant horn protrudes from its head.

The creature lets out a hideous roar which echoes throughout the room.

As its long tail lashes out from its back which drags the room with it.

Cyrus stands before the monster and raises his sword preparing to fight.

The creature charges at him swinging its Head at him.

Cyrus dodges the attack slicing his blade across the beast's neck to no avail.

The creature swings itself again and Cyrus jumps backwards to avoid it.

"That's it! Get him!" The cloaked man calls out to the creature.

It swipes at him once more and Cyrus is forced back.

Flipping himself onto the table while avoiding the rampaging creature

The cloaked man chuckles as he watches the creature work.

"You don't stand a chance." He says.

The creature swings its tail and without anywhere to go Cyrus is sent flying off of the table.

Using his shadow to soften the landing, Cyrus kicks off of it using his legs to propel him forwards.

Grasping his sword he stabs the creature in its head and it releases a deafening shriek.

Before it can react, Cyrus disappears into his shadow avoiding the creature as it violently slams itself into the wall.

Reappearing behind it. Cyrus strikes at it again but this time it is too quick.

It wraps its tail around him and pulls him towards itself.

Cyrus struggles to escape from its grip but is unable to as the creature begins to squeeze down on him.

Cyrus tries to escape using his shadow but its too small to deal any damage to the creature.

Trying anything he can Cyrus tries to get away as he is slowly crushed.

But still he remains strong.

With one quick decision, Cyrus sends a ball of light into the air before switching to his shadow.

The light shines brightly above the room and Cyrus's shadow begins to increase in size beneath him.

Gaining speed the shadow races downwards towards the beast.

The creature is startled by the sudden movement as it lets go of Cyrus but is to late.

The shadow was not only large enough to damage the creature but was able to devour it in its entirety.

Within a second, the creature is gone, Leaving behind a pile of yellow ooze.

Turning his attention to the cloaked man, Cyrus sends his enlarged shadow out wrapping around him.

Pulling him in closer Cyrus stabs his blade into the mans chest.

"How dare you! How dare you attack me in my own domain!" He screams.

Cyrus looks at the man. "Don't blame me, You should have just handed me the relic when I asked you to."

"I will make you pay for this. I swear to make you suffer! This will not be my end!"

Slowly, the man dies. His eyes still wide open.

With the man dead, The remaining bugs begin to deteriorate and melt into puddles of yellow goo on the ground.

The cloak also vanishes from the man and a small figure is left in its place.

Bending down Cyrus goes to see what it is.

As soon as Cyrus picks up the piece, the same green cloak that the man wore begins to form around him.

[cloak of the mad Bishop acquired]As the cloak forms around him Cyrus can feel a strange energy surging through his body.

Using this new energy Cyrus found that he was able to manipulate the cloak as if it was a part of his body. It was if he was controlling a second body. With his mission over Cyrus Makes his way out of the underground chamber and heads to the surface. as he does so, he feels a burning sensation as the cloak disappears and a mark resembling the cloak is burned into his hand.

Once outside he meets up with Elaine to tell her the good news.

"Wait really!? Why was the bishop in the hands of some sewer rat!" Elaine exclaims.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for it. But none of that matters anyways since now we have it."

"Hmm, well I guess that's a fine way to think about it. Lets just head over to Dianna to collect our second piece and then we can get out of this place.

Cyrus returns to the castle where Dianna is sat waiting for him.

"Ah, Good news. I have successfully fulfilled your request," he says.

"That fast?! That's amazing!" Dianna exclaims happily. "So, I assume that means that this town is safe?"

"Of course. I am not one to break my promises. I hope you are the same my lady.

"Yes, of course," Dianna agrees.

"Wonderful. Now then, I must ask that you allow me to take possession of the rook piece. Once I have it, be out of your hair.

"Very well. I shall fulfil my end of the deal.

Dianna holds out her hand as a burning mass of flames surround it. After the flames subside a figure is left in it's place.

Taking the piece from her hand the figure sinks into his hand leaving an imprint of a pair of greaves in its place as it combines with the other mark.

[Task completed]

[Reward: Burning Passion of the Rook]

"I thank you once more for what you have done for my people. I don't know what I would have done if my home had fallen to those creatures. You have truly saved us. No matter what happens, I will always remember you as my savior. I am eternally in your debt." Dianna bows her head deeply as she speaks.

"Don't mention it. Its my pleasure. Besides, It has allowed me to fulfil my role for this fine kingdom of yours." Cyrus replies. "Well then, I'll be off. Cyrus gives a small wave before leaping from the balcony.