City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

“We will agree to swear, on the condition that you free our mother,” one said. He lifted his arms, and the ropes used to bind them fell through to land on the floor as his body became momentarily transparent.

“Nice trick,” I said, nodding. “Air elemental, right?” He nodded in reply and flowed slowly forward, lifting into the air so that his body floated a few feet from me. He hovered at eye-level, and he made sure to keep his arms to the sides to show his peaceful intent.

“Yes… we can become insubstantial for a few seconds, but it costs us a lot of mana. It’s also the only reason we were captured rather than killed. Your people are fast and vicious.”

“Hey, you attacked us, bub,” I said, shaking my head. “You don’t get to complain because we didn’t roll over and die.”

“Well…”

“Tell me about your mother.” I folded my arms and focused on him.

“She is our clan mother, and the Skyking holds her hostage, forcing us to obey,” he said simply.

“And where does it hold her?”

“We don’t know. We only know that she is held still, and is alive, or we’d feel the bond break.”

“Aaaaand you’ve no idea where? Absolutely no fucking clue?” I asked skeptically.

“We don’t. We cannot be compelled by the Skyking to give an Oath, so instead we are forced into servitude by our clan mother’s captivity. If we knew where she was, we’d already have freed or killed her.”

“Killed her?” I asked, and he nodded.

“She is held somewhere and blinded by the power of another. She weeps in the darkness for her freedom, and for her children who thieve, murder, and die. She wishes to be free but would rather accept death than her prison.”

“I can’t just let you go free until I manage to find a Djinn clan mother, who might not even exist, for all I know. You know this… right?”

“We know. We accept the risk. You have taken Alkyon into your service, and we will swear as well, giving our Oath willingly, but only if you give an Oath in return, that you will try your best to free the Clan Mother, or failing that, to kill her.”

You have received a Quest from Xerix: ‘Free our Mother’

You have been asked to free, or kill, Helenica, Clan Mother of the Gueric Clan. If you agree to do your best, and not to ask the Djinn to leave the city without securing her freedom, they will swear a Conditional Oath to you. If you free her, she and her children will swear to obey you for ten years…

Free Helenica: 0/1

Kill the Skyking: 0/1 – (Optional. If you succeed in this secondary objective, the Djinn will swear for your lifetime instead.)

Reward: Allegiance of the Djinn of the Gueric Clan, 62,500xp, Unknown

Accept: Yes/No

I studied him for a long minute, before finally nodding. It was another ‘free the slaves’ mission, I just fucking knew it. Why the hell couldn’t I get something nice and simple, like ‘kill the fucking rats in the bakery cellar’ or something… I wondered inanely.

“It’s worth it,” I heard Barrett whisper directly behind me. I frowned at him and lifted my chin in question. “The Djinn might not look like much, but it’s because they get hunted and harvested for magical components so aggressively in the cities, and they usually get eaten in the wild. Those that survive to maturity become damn powerful. If you could gain their allegiance, it could be a huge bonus. They don’t expect to survive either way, or they’d not offer so much, so easily.”

“You think that was easy? Next time, you get to fight the damn Promethean…” I muttered to him, and he snorted, shaking his head.

“Ah, no, I’m all right, thanks. I’ll leave the scary big guys to you.”

“Chicken,” I muttered.

“Rather be a live chicken than a dead fool!” he said, grinning and stepping back.

I regarded the Djinn, the Imps, and the Alkyon, shifting my gaze around to take in the piled bodies and wishing there’d been a way to avoid all this slaughter.

“Okay, Xerix, you’ve got a deal. You all swear to me, and I’ll swear to do my best to free your Clan Mother.”

Oracle lifted off my shoulder again, reaching out and directing my mana, as the Djinn began to speak among themselves, reading the prompt from me.

“We need to change this,” Xerix said after a hurried discussion. “It makes no mention of saving our Mother or killing the Skyking.”

“It’s the Oath; you all need to give it,” I said flatly, then drew in a deep breath and bottomed my mana out again.

“I, Lord Jax of the Empire, Lord of the Great Tower of Dravith, give Oath to free Xerix and his clan of Djinn from the Oath of allegiance they offer me, if I do not honestly try my best to free, or failing that, kill The Clan Mother Helenica of the Gueric Clan.”

There was a minute or more of silence before the Djinn huddled in again, discussing the details of what I’d said. I started to get annoyed, but Barrett gestured to get my attention, and then held his hands up in a ‘calm down, just wait’ gesture. I gritted my teeth… but waited. Eventually, Xerix floated forward again and bowed his head.

“There are loopholes in the Oath you offered, but we are satisfied that you give it in good faith, and we agree, provided that you swear that you will follow the spirit of the agreement, not just the letter?” he asked tentatively, and I saw Barrett covering his eyes and stifling a laugh, looking up at me.

“Very well…” I said around gritted teeth, and the Djinn waited, while I used the dregs of my mana to bind myself further.

“I, Lord Jax of the Empire, Lord of the Great Tower, swear to follow the Spirit of the agreement between myself and the Gueric Clan, not just the letter, provided the Gueric Clan and all