Dave arrived at the Bone Palace's gates. The two Death Knights there opened the gate to the Bone Palace for him.
"I'm not going in guys. I came looking for Abyssal Knight Dortha. Do you guys know where he is?" Dave asked.
One of the guard Death Knights replied, "Lord Dortha lives in his abode away from the undead city. I can mark the location of his home on your map."
"Thanks, that would be great," Dave replied.
The Death Knight added a new marker on Dave's map. It pointed to the north of the Dead Realm.
Dave thanked the two Death Knights and rode toward the marker location. Dave left the Dead Realm and continued moving through the barren lands of the Underworld. The broken hanging moon lit the underworld. The skies were clear, and a cool breeze caressed Dave's face.
In the distance was a small hut built on a top of a hill. That was the marker's location. The closer Dave got the clearer the cabin became to him. From around the hill was a small cornfield. The corn was growing strong; it had a golden color and looked healthy, quite contradictive to the vile atmosphere of the underworld.
This was probably the only patch in the underworld that had something like this — a patch of peace and serenity in a world of death, demons, and chaos.
Dave stopped Grumpy from going through the cornfield and jumped down.
Grumpy seemed interested in the growing corn and was about to try one.
"Don't touch the cornfield Grumps, this is not ours," Dave said, stopping the onyx basilisk from eating the corn.
"It's alright. You may let him eat." The sound of a gentle old man echoed from behind Dave.
Turning, Dave saw an old man with gentle features looking at him. This old man had smooth long white hair and a well-trimmed beard of the same color. He wore a red robe and supported himself with a cane.
Dave tried to inspect the man.
***
You have not been permitted to inspect such an entity.
***
'Oh, this happens every time I meet an abyssal Knight. So, this must be Dortha.'
"Lord Dortha. It's good to see you. I have been looking for you." Dave said in full respect to the Abyssal Knight in front of him.
The old man shook his hand at Dave saying, "Don't call me that. I don't enjoy being an Abyssal Knight, you know. But tell me, how did you know I am Dortha?"
"Just a wild guess," Dave said.
"Right, so tell me, Kis'Shtiengbrah. What brings you here."
Dave frowned, how did this abyssal knight know of his name. But Dortha answered his unsaid question, "Just a wild guess."
Dave chuckled, "I came here because Samael told me that you know about hydras. I need to slay one to finish building a powerful armor."
"Oh, hydras. Those are nasty creatures. Come with me," Dortha said.
Dave followed after Dortha after telling Grumpy to eat with moderation. Dave moved behind Dortha through the cornfield. The two of them entered the hut on the hill. The interior was simple. It had A straw bed, two chairs, and a table. And a small fireplace where a teapot was heating.
Dortha served tea for Dave and himself and sat in front of him on the table.
Dave was gazing at the interior of the hut with interest.
"What is the matter, lich?" Dortha asked.
Dortha's question brought Dave back to reality.
"Uh, I was just wondering. You are an Abyssal Knight. And from what Samael had told me, you are the strongest of the abyssal knights. Why do you live here? I hope I'm not rude with my question." Dave said after taking a sip from his tea.
Dortha didn't reply and waited for Dave to drink.
Amazed by the taste, Dave said, "This tea is pretty good."
"I grow it and brew it myself. I'm glad you like it. As for your question."
Dortha took a few moments to think then said, "There is a bit of inconsistency with what Samael had said. I am currently the strongest abyssal knight, but I wasn't always the strongest.
Dave said one word, "Deadra."
Dortha nodded. "Yes, the Exiled Knight. The Mighty Sword of the King. The Vanguard of the Legion. Deadra was an army by himself. He could take on thousands of soldiers with a hand strapped to his back. That man was the real beast."
Dortha's expressions turned to reminiscence and melancholy.
"You seem to miss him," Dave said.
"Yes, you see. There is a reason why I live so secluded from the world of the undead. I cannot remain too close to the Death Heart, or Undeath energy. Otherwise, I will start losing my sanity and become Dortha the Beast."
Shivers went down Dave's spine as he asked, "You don't transform into a werewolf, do you?"
"Werewolf? You mean a Lycan, yeah, I can."
Dave shuddered, he was sitting and drinking tea with one of his childhood nightmares.
Dortha added "I can change form to anything I wish. But when I do. Recognizing the enemy from ally becomes extremely difficult. And that's where Deadra came in."
"What do you mean?" Dave asked.
"Deadra had this strange ability to calm me down when I am transformed. My mind becomes focused, and I could fight a thousand time stronger than when I go mad and berserk. That's why when the king exiled Deadra. I exiled myself from the legion in fear of harming what is closest to me."
Deadra had deep and intertwined lore with most of the abyssal knights and high ranking undead of the legion. Not only was he promised the king's daughter, Eleanor in wedlock. He was the leader of the Rogue Division. A 100 Million man army. Deadra was a powerful knight. He was one of Death's champions. And the reason why Dave started his journey as Skelly.
It was said that he had dissipated to nothingness, but Dave wasn't going to make Deadra's legacy disappear.
Deadra brought an item from his inventory. It was a gigantic round shield and a sword that was as wide and as tall as Dave himself. The sword had several nicks and cuts while the shield had some bent parts in it. They were so heavy that they dug into the dirt floor of the hut.
"Oh, you have the cursed shield of Ajax and the Durandal. These are the prized weapon and shield of Deadra. I guess you met him, and this means he finally passed away," Dortha said in a mixed voice of sadness and relief.
"Yea. He gave them to me before he turned to dust."
"Take great care of them, young lich. But I doubt you have the strength to wield them."
"Yeah, I still need a bit more to wield them."
Dave needed to level up to 450. He wasn't that far away from it but the higher level he gets, the harder it became to level up. Dave had a lot of grinding to do.
"About the hydra. They are aquatic creatures, so most of them live in the Western High Sea. You need a powerful ship to go there. You can also go to the northern region of the overworld. There had been some sightings of a frozen dead hydra in the Mountains of Glory."
"If it's an aquatic creature, what would the hydra do in the northern region mountains?"
"There used to be a time where this world was filled with water. There used to be a race of creatures that live underwater. They raged war against mankind, but they had lost and were forced to retreat. You can find many of the remains of this species in the mountain of Glory. Frozen forever in time."
"Oh, I never knew. Thank you for everything Dortha. I need to leave now."
Dortha nodded to Dave, "Don't forget your weapons. And I recommend you take them to Andre, he can repair them for you. Deadra rarely cared about them, so I guess they will be in better hands from now on."
"Okay, I will do so, thank you Dortha. I hope to see you again." Dave took his weapon and shield and left the hut. The moment he stepped outside, Dave's lower jaw threatened to fall to the ground.
Grumpy must have liked the taste of the corn, as he went through the whole field and left not a single corn standing.
"You big oaf! What the hell did you do!" Dave shouted.
Dortha followed after Dave, seeing the cornfield in this stat, the old man chuckled saying, "It's alright. No harm is done. It's best that this creature feeds on the corn. You see, we of the legion need not food. It would have rotten anyway."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I can grow some more."
"Thank you a lot," Dave said apologetically and led Grumpy out of the field.
After riding away from the hut, Dave grumbled, "You know what that guy is called?! He is Dortha The Beast! What would you have done if he got angry at you eating his corn?" Dave scolded Grumpy.
The onyx basilisk cooed apologetically.
"No, stop trying to act cute. Anyway, I need to log out-" Yet before Dave finished his words, a notification appeared in front of him.
***
Conquest Server Announcement!
World Event: The Wrath of the Ancient Kingdom has begun!
The Eastern Kingdom of Qin has begun its retaliatory attack on the world for their disrespectful raid on their borders.
The Attack of the Eastern Kingdom of Qin will last for seven days.
All players are to prepare for a great fight. Death to Qin warriors will result in the loss of 2 levels and the immediate banishment to the Limbo.
Any city the kingdom of Qin conquers will become the territory of Qin.
Killing Qin Warrior will award the player with War Contribution Points.
You may use War Contribution Points to exchange with your kingdom's treasury for gold, weapons or other valuables.
The player with the highest Contribution points at the end of the event will be awarded the unique skill:
[Mass Destruction]
***
"Oh shit. Guess that the guildies are in for a bad week." Dave chuckled and logged out. He had no interest in the ongoing war.
