I reincarnated in game

27 Suspicions Confirmed

Judi was intrigued by Hugh’s statement, especially because of the determined look on his face.  “What is it you are thinking about, and what is it that you have to do here on Fourth Level?” she inquired.

Hugh replied, “Something has been irking me about Bob.  Whatever magic he used during our confrontation was very strong.  I don’t know where he got it. More importantly, I don’t know whether he had any more of those balls or, if the one he used was one of a kind.  If there are more of them, I would hate for something like that to fall into the wrong hands.”

Judy nodded in agreement.  “How are you going to find out?” she asked.

“We need to check out Bob’s den.  We could start out by asking the town guards.  Remember they all came in response to the growls from my distraction device when Bob and his thugs were accusing us of k********g Kenneth.  I am sure it was not the first time that Bob would have been in trouble with the law; maybe they might know where he hung out.  What do you think?” Hugh asked.

”Sounds good,” Judi replied.  “Since we are already in town, why don’t we go to their office right now?”

“Well count me in; the three of us are a team, now!” Kenneth chimed in, a big smile on his face.

When they arrived at the guard’s office, the three walked in to speak to the man in charge.  He was in conversation with a few of the other town guards so motioned to them that he would be about ten minutes. 

While they waited, Hugh spied a notice board with a few posted signs on the far side of the room.  To occupy his time, he ventured closer to read the bulletins.  One which stood out in his mind was a request for help to locate a missing steam wagon.  He noted that the date the report had been made was the same day he and Judi had left for Riah.  Instantly, Hugh made the connection.  The wagon they had been using was the missing steam wagon.  Bob would have needed to get to Riah ahead of them to allow for time to arrange the ambush; he had, no doubt, stolen the wagon from the farmer who made the report.  The notice included the farmer’s name, address, and an offer of a reward for the wagon’s return; it also stated, ‘No questions asked’. 

Hugh glanced over at the guards; they were still in deep conversation.  He shielded the notice from their view and subtly reached up to remove it from the board; then he folded it and quickly put it in his pocket.  As he had it safely tucked away and out of sight, he turned around; the head guard was just motioning for the trio to come forward.

“Hello there.  I was wondering if you could help me out.  I am looking to get in touch with a local fellow from around here.  He goes by the name of Bob.” Hugh asked.  Judi and Kenneth both looked at Hugh with quizzical expressions … they wondered where he was going with his approach; they knew there was no way for Hugh to get in touch with Bob.

The guard looked from one to another of the trio, then asked, “Aren’t you the ones that came into town a month or so ago and got into a confrontation with Bob?”

Hugh replied, “Yes … that’s the Bob we are looking for.  We have settled our differences and there is something I need him to do for me.  I just don’t know where he is staying here in town.  Can you point me in the right direction?”

“Well, the only place we know that he hangs out is at the Beaumont Inn, on the tougher side of town.  Not exactly where you would want to take the lady and the lad,” he responded.

Hugh got the directions and thanked the man.  The three left and set out for the Beaumont Inn.  “When we get there, I want the two of you to stay out of sight … remember what the guard said.  I will go in and ask for Bob.  Given the part of town, we will be in, I may be able to buy the information, so I will go in prepared.”

At the Beaumont, Judi and Kenneth went around to the back of the inn while Hugh entered through the front door.  A tough looking fellow stood behind the counter situated against the far wall; he seemed to scrutinize the approaching newcomer. 

Hugh walked up to the man and leaned on the counter.  “I’m looking for Bob.  Is he in?”  

“Maybe …” was the surly reply ... “Who’s asking?”

Hugh pulled a gold coin from his pocket; he laid it on the counter, then pushed it across to the man.  “My friend is,” he said, nodding towards the gold coin. 

“Well, if your friend had a friend who was also looking for Bob, I might be able to help you out,” was the greedy response.

Hugh pulled out a second coin and placed it with the first.  “OK.  My two friends are here looking for Bob.”

The man quickly pocketed the two pieces of gold and said, “Up the back stairs, second door on the left, and you didn’t hear it from me.”

Hugh left out the front door then circled back to where Judi and Kenneth had been waiting behind the inn.  Together they went up the back stairs and found Bob’s room.  Hugh tried the door and found it was locked.  Judi placed her hand on Hugh’s arm and gently moved him back.  “I got the key right here,” she said, smiling, as she pulled out her knife.  She stuck the tip into the c***k between the door and the door jamb; she hit the handle sharply, jimmying the lock.  The trio entered the room and closed the door behind them.

Bob’s room was surprisingly tidy and well kept.  Hugh surveyed the room.  “If I were Bob, where would I hide my most prized possessions?”  He turned to the others and said, “Judi, why don’t you check the foot locker.  Kenneth, you can look around the room for anything that seems out of the ordinary.  I will check the closet.  Holler if you find something.”

Each person proceeded with their assigned tasks.  After several minutes, Kenneth called out, “I found something here under the bed.”

The box was very plain; made of wood, it measured only about a foot long, maybe six inches high, and about the same measurement deep. 

Judi and Hugh both crossed over to where Kenneth had put the box on top of the bed.  Hugh took charge.  He raised the lid.  Inside, they saw three red, velvet, drawstring bags, nestled on some soft padding material; one looked as if it was empty but the other two seemed like they had something round inside.  “This looks interesting,” he said. 

Carefully, Hugh picked up one of the bags and opened the drawstring.  The soft cloth fell away, revealing a black spherical container, engraved with a golden, forked-tongued snake.  Beneath its translucent surface, a subtle swirling of black liquid could be seen.

As Hugh looked at the mesmerizing swirls in the black ball, something clicked in his memory.  Turning to Judi, he said, “This looks to be about the same size as the black ball that Bob threw down when he confronted us at the lake.  When it broke on impact, the shock wave of dark energy spread out in black swirls like we see in here.  That wave nullified the magic of my distraction device.”

“You are right.  This does look a lot like what came out of the sphere that Bob had,” Judi agreed.  “It also reminds me of the black, swirling winds we saw when we were looking down into the black void of the abyss.  When we were there, the dark energy diminished the effectiveness of my wood magic.”

Hugh reflected a moment.  He had first seen this energy when he was in the grotto in the Punished Land; then again when Bob used it as a weapon, and also in the depths of the abyss. “I believe this sphere holds a concentrated mass of the darkness element.  It is the same dark energy as exists in the abyss.  Somehow, someone was able to harness the energy and compress it within this container,” Hugh ventured.  “It looks like there are two of these spheres left; the empty bag likely held a third which would have been the one Bob used against us,”      

Judi responded, “Makes you wonder how it is that someone like him came into possession of such a powerful weapon … knowing his taking ways, he probably stole it from someone.”

Hugh countered with, “Bob was pretty cagy and smart in his own way.  We don’t know his full background but he obviously has some education and knowledge of magic.  Maybe he was the one who harnessed the darkness element in the container.  At any rate, he won’t be doing it anymore if it was him.”

“Let’s take them and get out of here.  I would rather have them in our possession for our use than to leave them here to be used against us,” Judi stated.  “We have to get ready to leave for Third Level.”

Hugh nodded, recalling how he had come to be on this level.   The last time he was on Third Level, he was a wanted man.  He did not know what, or who, awaited him on his return.