I reincarnated in game

26 Questions Answered

Kenneth rocked back and forth, still holding his father’s head in his lap.  He sobbed uncontrollably; calling out to his departed Pa, repeatedly.  His grief was obvious; he seemed to be in a world of his own.  Hugh and Judi recognized that Kenneth needed some time to mourn his father’s passing, so quietly slipped past the frozen army and out of the cave.  At the entrance, Hugh looked back at father and son but in his mind’s eye, he saw himself with his mother.

Judi and Hugh walked together towards the edge of the abyss.  Hugh reflected on his last conversation with Kenneth’s father.  “You know Matthew said that the darkness element had entered his body through the wound inflicted by Bob’s men.  He said it was corrupting his body.  The wound itself didn’t look that serious.  He might have survived it had the darkness element not been a factor.  His decline was very rapid; probably because the darkness element is so strong here at the Abyss of the Demon.  He lived less than a day after suffering the wound.”

“I agree that the darkness element is very strong here,” said Judi.  “When I was trying to use my wood magic to replicate the branches to use for the fire, I really had to focus on my very core and concentrate extremely hard before it took effect.  That has never happened to me before.  My only explanation is that the darkness is very powerful and diminishes the strength of any other magic.”

As they continued towards the edge of the crevasse, Judi said, “If Matthew deteriorated so quickly because of the effect of the darkness entering through his wound, we will have to be careful not to get any cuts on these sharp rocks.”

When they reached the precipice overlooking the void, the winds and the chill pierced through to their bones.  While Hugh stared into the very maw of the abyss, something seemed vaguely familiar.  “Judi, look at the way the winds are swirling and circulating in the blackness … doesn’t that look like something we have seen before?”

“Yes … it does,” she said, hesitantly.  “I can’t place it … what is it you are thinking it resembles?”

“I’m not sure, but it is triggering something in the back of my mind,” Hugh replied.  “At any rate, we need to be getting back to Kenneth.  We’ll have to discuss with him what his wishes are with respect to Matthew’s remains.”

On their return to the cave, they found Kenneth pretty much as they had left him; still in a kneeling position with Matthew’s head on his lap.  Hugh walked over to him and put his arm around the grieving boy.  “I know it is hard to accept.  The same thing happened to me.  My mother died in my arms as well.  I know how you feel,” sympathized Hugh.  “We can’t stay here, though … it’s too dangerous.”

“I don’t care if it is dangerous … I am not leaving Pa!” Kenneth said emphatically. 

 “We won’t leave him here; we’ll take him back to Halea.  We have a wagon by the road,” said Hugh.  “I can go and bring it closer to the cave.  Judi will stay with you here until I return.  Is that OK?”

With a little encouragement from Judi, Kenneth agreed; Hugh went to retrieve the conveyance.

Once Hugh was back, he and Judi were able to lift Matthew’s body onto the back of the wagon; they covered him with one of the blankets.  Kenneth climbed up and sat beside his father.  Judi sat with him while Hugh carefully maneuvered the vehicle over the rough terrain, back to the main road; back towards Halea. 

During the return trip, Judi gently suggested that they would have to take Matthew to the local funeral home.  Judi said, “Kenneth, you will have to decide what you would like to do.  Do you think you would like to have your father buried here on fourth level?”

“No,” Kenneth replied.  “I think Pa would prefer to be buried back home in Stuhr.  Can we take him there?”

Recalling that Hugh had just buried his mother’s ashes in Riah, Judi said, “You know Hugh had his mother cremated on Third Level and carried her ashes in an urn with him to bury her in her home town here on Fourth Level.  You could do the same with your father.”

Kenneth stared at his father's body and then held his lifeless hand. “Yes, I think that would work; then we can take his ashes back to Stuhr for burial.”

Hugh made inquiries at the edge of town and was directed to the crematorium.  He stepped up to make the arrangements; it was the least he could do to spare Kenneth from dealing with the aftermath of his father’s death.  The funeral director promised that he would have the ashes, sealed in an urn, in two days.  Hugh asked him if he could put it on a chain so it could hang around the neck, just like what he had done with his mother’s urn.  The man confirmed it could be done; Hugh thanked him and returned to join his friends.

As the trio boarded the steam wagon, Kenneth said, “Pa kept our room at the Crystal Inn because we intended to come back after our research at the abyss.  We can go back there.”  He then continued, “Pa hid a bag of gold coins and valuables with our belongings; you can have whatever you need to pay for the cremation service.”  After a moment’s reflection, he added, “It’s a good thing because those men would have taken everything we had!” 

Hugh and Judi exchanged glances.  Hugh whispered to her, “It looks like Kenneth might be ready to talk about what happened at the cave.”

Judi replied, “I agree, however, I think it would be best to wait until we get settled back at the inn; maybe we can broach the subject after we have had something to eat.  It has been a rough day and Kenneth could use a little more time to absorb all that has happened.”

The three arrived back at the inn, had something to eat, and then retired to the spacious adjoining rooms that Matthew had reserved.  They lit a fire in the fireplace and then relaxed to enjoy their hot beverages in front of the comforting flames.

Hugh made eye contact with Judi, a questioning look on his face.  She understood that he was asking whether they should ask Kenneth what had happened at the abyss; she nodded in the affirmative.

“Uh, Kenneth, can you tell us what happened when you and your father went to do your research?” Hugh asked softly.

Kenneth hesitated a moment, then, with his gaze fixed on the flickering flames, he started to relate his story; it was almost as if he was describing a movie that was unfolding before him, one that only he could see.

“Pa and I went shopping for supplies.  He wanted to go back there to study how the darkness element of the abyss would affect the darkness element which entered my body from the curse.  He said that since I had felt a little better after we did the cleansing exercise the last time; we could do it again, but this time he would keep a close eye on me afterward.  That is why we found that cave for our camp.  The last time, I had wakened up in pain and ran out of the tent ... that was how we got separated.  Pa wanted to make sure I didn’t run off again; it would be easier to guard the entrance so I couldn’t get out without him knowing,” Kenneth related. 

“We built an even bigger pyramid of dark crystals; Pa did the purification ritual for a longer time.  I felt better again, like the last time.  We came back to the cave to have supper and settle for the night.  That was when those men came with their swords drawn.  They demanded that we give them all our gold.  Pa gave them what he had but they said they knew we had more and kept coming closer.  One of them went to grab me but Pa jumped in front of me.  That is when he screamed in pain and fell towards me.  I saw the blood and it made me mad.  Something seemed to well up within me; then I snapped.”

“I didn’t know what I was doing … I just felt so angry because they hurt Pa.  I closed my eyes and screamed.  I held out my hands towards them.  I felt a wave form in front of me.  In my mind, I sensed it was growing; expanding outwards to surround all the men who hurt Pa.  The next thing I knew, the wave had frozen them all and turned them all to ice.”

“After the energy left me, I opened my eyes and saw that it had happened exactly as how I have seen it in my mind.  I knelt to see if I could help Pa.  I tried to stop the bleeding as best as I could.  I was afraid there might be more people outside the cave waiting to hurt us so I used my ice magic and made a wall to block the entrance of the cave.  Then I just stayed there with Pa; I started crying because he wasn’t looking very good.”

“I don’t know how long it was before I heard you and Judi outside the ice wall, but as soon as I recognized your voices, I started melting a doorway for you to come in.  I was so happy to see you.”

Kenneth took a sip of his drink and continued to stare into the flames.  Hugh looked over at Judi and saw she was motioning to him to follow her to the adjoining room. 

Once there, Judi spoke in a whisper, “It doesn’t make sense that it was so hard for me to use some of my magic, but it was so easy for him to freeze all of those men and then make the ice wall.”

Hugh thought for a moment and responded, “Well, he has some darkness element in him from the curse; maybe it was strengthened by the dark energy from the abyss.  You found it harder to use your magic because it was different than what was around you; Kenneth’s magic may have been strengthened because of the darkness within him and its proximity to the stronger source of darkness within the abyss.”  After a moment, he added, “We will need to keep an eye on him because of the curse; we don’t know whether his affliction will get better or worse from the second cleansing that Matthew did top off by the darkness which would have surged through Kenneth when he had his meltdown.” 

Judi commented that she was tired so would be going straight to bed.  Hugh returned to the room where they all had been sitting in front of the fire.  Kenneth had fallen asleep; he too looked exhausted.  Hugh gently lifted him up and tucked him into the large bed.  He crawled in on the other side and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow; it had been a long day!

They continued their stay at the inn for some much-needed rest and relaxation.  On the morning of the second day, they left to pick up Matthew’s ashes.  When they arrived at the crematorium, Hugh paid the man and then picked up the chain attached to the small urn; he gently placed it around Kenneth’s neck saying, “This is how I brought my mother’s ashes to fourth level for burial; now your father ashes will be close to your heart until we get to Stuhr.” 

“I am so happy that you and Judi will be coming with me to Stuhr to lay my Pa to rest,” said Kenneth; his small hand tenderly cupped the urn to his chest.  “Pa was so right when he told me that I could trust you; you are both very good friends.”

“Thank you, Kenneth.  We definitely will be with you every step of the way,” Hugh responded.  “However, before we leave this level, there is something I have to check out … I cannot leave it to chance … the consequences could be catastrophic if I am right. I have to know for sure, ” he continued, adamantly.  He had a very resolute look on his face.