MLTNO P2- "A Perilous Task"

"A Perilous Task" is the second Part of "Miracula Luxia: The Noble One". It was released on 12.09.2020.
== Plot ==
Dorikas begins the first phase of his plan to take the mighty Demonslayer away from its resting place and destroying it- tricking the young and foolish Devin Pendragon II to sneaking into the Castle and stealing it.
The young man accepts the evil leader of the Darkside Loyalists's offer, completely unaware of his true identity. But at what cost?
If he only knew what danger he is getting himself into...
== Story ==
Devin Pendragon the Second walks on the streets of Blosk, undisturbed by anyone.
On the surface, people saw him as a noble individual, son of the King and Queen of Thais- Edward and Mel Pendragon. However, here, he is as important as a lowly traveler. No one gives him more than a glance and everyone treats him equally, not even realizing that he is the former Prince of Thais.
Since he does not attract any undesired attention, he is an easy target. For someone who is more dangerous than he seems to be.
"There are so many opportunities in Avernum!"- Devin says to himself, lost in thought- "I wonder if someone else will offer me a mission, though. I'm starting to run out of things to do for those unfortunate citizens."
Suddenly, he hears a quiet voice calling out to him.
"Psst. Hey, kid. Over here."- It whispers.
Devin turns to the right and sees a man coming towards him.
Much to his surprise, the man is dressed in a black robe, obscuring its face. Only his lower body is visible. Like, say, his steel armor, but not much more than that.
The man smiles (Or, at least, this is what he seems to be doing) and comes closer to him.
"I heard that you're Devin Pendragon the Second, a young mercenary who is looking for work. And you are eager to do it for pay."- He says- "Is that right?"
Devin nods happily.
"Yes. This is me!"- He says cheerfully.
Then he looks at how the man is dressed and starts to get suspicious.
"... How can I help you?"- He mutters.
The man smiles again.
"I can see the dedication in your eyes. But I will only give you this, for now."
He gives Devin an envelope.
"Oh, and don't be late for the task. Our Master does not like to wait for his employees."- He says and walks away before anyone can see him talking to the boy.
What a strange encounter.
"Don't be... late?"- He mutters- "What does that mean?"
He opens the envelope and reads the letter within with great interest:
"Devin Pendragon- I have sent my agent to give you this message, so I can offer you a great opportunity.. To recover a powerful artifact for me, of course. At night, come near the entrance to the Castle. Don't ask any questions. Don't tell anyone about where you're going, not even your own family. I will be waiting for you there. - D."
There is also something written on the back of the letter:
"If you are concerned about how much you will be paid, don't worry. The pay for what you're going to do for me will be very good. You will be reimbursed."
Devin puts the letter back into the envelope, confused.
"This offer seems to be very fishy."- He says to himself- "But the person promises me a good payment."
For a moment, he is conflicted about whether he should take the risk to accept the task or simply refuse it and not take any chances.
Unfortunately, his desire to help his parents is bigger than his suspicions for this task. He decides to accept the task and meet the person.
Despite the fact that his family lives in the city of Thais and the fact that his parents are the King and Queen of Thais, they are still having financial problems. This is one of the reasons why Devin came here- to help his parents, as well as his twin sisters live a better life (As well as the fact that he wants to experience a bit of glory and make a bit of wealth himself).
And so, Devin sits in a quiet corner until the sun sets.
When that happens, he gets up, sees that there is no one around him and heads toward the gate.
When he looks around, he sees only a few guards protecting it. They wave him by.
He quickly leaves and slowly approaches the Castle.
Eventually, he arrives there and sees that there is a small band of people standing near its entrance. There are no guards, though.
One of the people approaches Devin. He lifts his hood and smiles.
"So. I can see that you have decided to accept my little offer."- He says, his voice being very distant in the young man's ears.
Devin nods.
"I have done what you said to me in the letter."- He responds- "I am interested to learn more about the artifact you spoke of. What is it? Why is it so valuable to you? And why do you want to have it?"
The man smirks.
"Normally, I would tell you to mind your business and focus on the task that I will give you, but I think that it will be better if I told you about the item that I am sending you to recover."
He looks at the Castle and points at it.
"Within the capital of Avernum lies an artifact of raw, immense power- the sword known as Demonslayer. It was used by many adventurers of old who have slain many demonic entities with it. Lately, however, it has been sitting there, dusty and forgotten."
He looks back at Devin.
"So. Are you ready to learn more about the task that you will be given?"
Devin looks at the man suspiciously. He nods.
"Very well, you have convinced me."- He responds, although not very honestly- "What do you want me to do about this Demonslayer?"
The man nods and smiles.
"A wise choice."- He says- "I simply want you to recover Demonslayer for me. Take it from its resting place- the tomb of the first ruler of Avernum- King Micah and bring it to me."
Devin raises his eyebrow.
"And if I do, what are you going to with it?"
The man shakes his head. His face develops an expression that resembles a frown.
"Now, now. It wouldn't be fair to ask this old man about what he is going to do right away, would it?"- He says and grins mischievously- "For now, simply bring me this powerful artifact. I shall tell you what I will do with it later."
Devin thinks about this for a few seconds.
"As a mercenary, I am forced to do dangerous jobs for a living."- He says to himself- "However, I am not allowed to ask any questions. I simply do the work and get the reward."
"So... "
He nods.
"I shall recover Demonslayer for you."- He says stoically.
The man grins.
"Excellent!"- He says and hands Devin a small burlap bag.
Devin looks inside. There is a small amount of mysterious black powder in it.
"Use this powder on the control switch next to the entrance to the tomb, but only if you cannot pull it. It will help you deactivate the traps and reach the mighty sword."
"Good luck to you. We shall be waiting here. Please complete this task before dawn. Otherwise, we will be forced to flee and you won't get your reward."
"Plus, you are going to get in a lot of trouble with the Avernites in the Castle."
Devin raises his eyebrow.
"How much is the reward that you speak of?"- He asks.
The man grins.
"Why, it will be a huge one! 20 000 Coins! 1000 of them, I will give to you right now, the rest will be paid upon delivery."
As promised, the man hands Devin a big box containing exactly one thousand coins in it.
Devin gasps and puts it in his pocket.
"So. Do you accept?"
Devin nods.
"You will have the item that you need so much, sir. You can count on me!"- He says and enters the Castle to recover the Demonslayer.
Once he is out of sight, the man drops his disguise and is revealed to be Dorikas.
It seems like the foul leader's plan is finally working. He smiles.
"That fool doesn't realize what he's getting himself into."- He mutters- "He will be quite surprised when he sees us."
Meanwhile, Devin enters the Castle quietly. He goes to the east wing of the building and sees a door with a sign next to it that says "To Tomb of King Micah".
He tries to open it, but it is locked.
"Locked. Shucks."- He says to himself- "Maybe if I used my ability in Lockpicking... "
He picks up a needle from a nearby knitting set and begins to work on the lock. Soon, the lock falls down.
Devin looks around, to make sure that nobody is coming to investigate. Satisfied about the answer, he enters the tomb quietly.
Once he enters, he sees a multitude of traps in front of him.
Normally, this would easily discourage a normal looter. However, Devin is a skilled one. He finds the control switch and tries to pull it, although to no avail.
"Maybe if I used the powder... "- He mutters and uses the powder on the switch.
He pulls the lever again.
A few moments later, the noises coming from the traps subside. Their power dies down.
Devin grins and, without another word, enters the inner sanctum of the tomb.
There, he sees a single sarcophagus in the end of the room. When he opens it, he realizes that it had a trap in it. If he hadn't pulled the lever, he would be dead for sure. If he wasn't killed by the traps first.
Emitting a quiet sigh of relief, Devin stares into the sarcophagus, analyzing its contents.
At first, he only sees a lot of bones and a skull, things which belonged to the ruler of Avernum when he was still alive, many years ago. Looking closer, he also sees a shiny blade at the bottom.
"This must be the Demonslayer!"- Devin mutters and reaches for the sword.
He gets a good look at it and realizes that it is much more valuable than the suspicious man had described it. It is made of pure steel, a material that the Avernites of old could only dream of, a beautifully encarved handle with a small, white gem set in it and a very imposing look. Definitely a bane for the demons and other such creatures of darkness.
At first, Devin wants to place the sword back. Such an artifact should not be given to the wrong people! However, he soon remembers what the man asked of him- to bring him the Demonslayer.
The reward is too tempting for the young man. He sighs and closes the sarcophagus, taking the sword with him and sneaking out of the Castle.
He looks back. No one seems to have noticed the absence of the Demonslayer, let alone his arrival and departure. Yet.
When he approaches the spot where the man was, he sees him standing there with his men which have somehow grown in quantity since the last time that he saw them.
He looks closer and sees who the man is. He gasps.
"Wait a minute! You... you... "- He stutters, remembering the description of one of Avernum's greatest enemies- "You are Dorikas- the leader of the Darkside Loyalists!"
Dorikas grins.
"Why, you finally realized who I really am!"- He responds- "What a shame. I thought that you would be more attentive. Like now... "
He takes the Demonslayer from Devin's hand before he has a chance to react. He stares at it and grins.
"Now that I finally have what I want, I have no need of you. You are just a major dragdown for my greatest plan and you... shall be the first person that I will kill after my rebirth!"
Devin tries to defend himself, but is quickly subdued by Dorikas.
"Now, about the thing that I am about to do to you... "- He says and raises the sword, ready to kill him.
However, before he has the chance to do so, a fireball hits him in the back and he falls to his knees.
"Ahh!"- He screams- "What in tarnation was that?!"
Devin watches as a young woman in red robes approaches him quickly, helps him stand up and grabs him by the hand.
"You want to survive this situation, don't you?!"- She says angrily- "Then you must come with me. Now!"
Devin nods and runs away with her as Dorikas slowly comes back to his senses.
"Sir, Devin Pendragon has escaped!"- One of his men says- "Should we give chase to him and that girl?"
Dorikas stares ahead for a few moments. Then, he shakes his head.
"Not yet. He's not much of a danger for the Darkside Loyalists. Not for now."
He turns to his men and gives the Demonslayer to one of them.
"Right now, taking care of this wicked blade before it's too late is much more important."- He continues- "I want you to take the Demonslayer, break it in three pieces- Pommel, Blade and Handle and store them in dangerous places where no one could ever find them! Understood?!"
The men nod and leave the area, leaving Dorikas alone.
He looks back and sees that the Avernites in the Castle have learned that the Demonslayer is gone and are now hunting for the ones that have stolen it.
"I think that it is time for me to go as well."- He says to himself- "As much as I would like to tell them that I'm back and fight them, I stand no chance against all of them. Even I know my limits."
Having one last look at the Castle, he smirks, spits on the ground under him and leaves the area.
== Trivia ==
* Devin's mission is very similar to his mother (Mel Pendragon/Darkthrop)'s in the beginning of "Aveyond 3-1: Lord of Twilight". Both of them are tasked with stealing a powerful artifact (Devin's is the Demonslayer and Mel's is the Orb of Darkness), both of their employers appear as shady characters (Devin's is Dorikas, while his mother's is the vampire Gyendal), both of them are attacked by their employers after returning to deliver the artifacts and both of them are saved by friendly individuals (Devin is saved by Akari Minamino (His rescuer will be revealed in the next Part of the story) and Mel is saved by a friendly Vampress known as Te'ijal).
** However, unlike Gyendal, Dorikas wants to kill Devin after getting the Demonslayer from him, because he doesn't see him as a useful tool anymore, whereas Gyendal only wants to capture Mel and use her along with the Orb of Darkness, not wanting to kill her.
*** Although it is almost undoubtedly likely that he would have killed her afterwards.