Zectas Volume III: Malediction of Veneficatl Valley Read online

  Deropa slowly walked with his cane to a chair and sat down.

  "I guess migrating with another village sounds better. It will help my villagers understand just how dangerous this place has become. But you still haven't answered my question. Where do you propose we migrate to?"

  "There's a prospering village just outside of Coatl. It's called Verbrannt. My friend Sierra runs that place. It's currently focusing on its defensive power. So you can be sure that your villagers will be safe there. I'm sure they will give you a seat at the village council when join them there as well."

  Smoke saw Deropa nod with relief. His Charisma was only at 34 but his intimacy with Deropa compensated for it. He had convinced Pferde's elder.

  Before Smoke left Deropa's house he had to tell him about the individuals he planned on guarding them for their journey to Verbrannt.

  "I'll have Adder join you. He is my second in command in the private army. He will lead you to Condortl as he will tell them of my plan for their migration."

  Deropa passively nodded until Smoke went on to say.

  "Just one more thing. The Tikbalangs were Terrabelle's creation but twenty of these monsters are now under my control. Their leader is a winged Tikbalang named Ledur."

  He instantly saw Deropa's relieved face turn into a horrified Volataur.

  "Don't worry you'll like Ledur. I promise..."

  * * * * * *

  A video of a DarkElf fighting together with a Volataur against a single Witch robed in brown displayed on Nash's desktop screen.

  He didn't need to edit the video that much because the other Zectas players already saw his weighted chain and sickle. He just left out the parts where Terrabelle cursed the Centaurs and turned them into Tikbalangs.

  His last video on his solo fight against the Brandals earned him a check worth $15,000. He hoped that a similar check would come his way with this boss fight video.

  Yet, the real reason why Nash was very pleased with the $ 15,000 check was because his birthday was coming this weekend. He already told his family members that they would go to the lakeside resort called Etona Lawa.

  He made all the necessary preparation that allowed him to stay offline from Zectas for more than forty-eight hours. Since it took almost that amount of time for the Pferdean Centaurs and Condortlians to head for Verbrannt.

  With Adder in charge and Ledur in control of his Tikbalang army, Nash felt that he had nothing to worry about it. He even loaned out his newly acquired rare ring to Ledur just for this trip. He couldn't wait to see the red werebear's expression when she sees the new recruits he sent her.

  As per his agreement with the arcade manager, Smoke sent an email informing him that he will be away from Zectas for more than forty-eight hours.

  Nash thought he had the whole trip figured out, until he got the resort's information. He only bought accommodations for four people, but to his surprise Lake Etona Lawa Resort had another promotional offer. Aside from the already low prices, the lakeside resort also included a four plus one sale.

  His frugal nature would not allow him to waste the free accommodation. Yet despite this fact he was still in a dilemma. Where could he find someone who could go with them on such short notice?

  He could invite master Cacoy, but he couldn't picture him having fun at the lake. He did however decide that he could borrow his silver suburban for their long drive to the lakeside resort.

  He thought about inviting his arcade manager, but Nash knew that he was busy with his three kids. Going on a weekend get away wouldn't suit him as well.

  Nash was left with only one logical choice. As he searched for his phone, a part of him knew that she was the person he really wanted to invite in the first place.

  He picked up his phone and dialed Sherry's number.

  Riinngg Riiinng Riinng Riinng.

  He smiled when he heard the old telephone ring back. He liked how Sherry was quirky that way. He prepared to leave a message on her phone when he unexpectedly heard her answer his call.

  "Hey, Nash, what's up?"

  "Oh, hi. I thought you'd be inside the game."

  "Nah, I needed some time off from my side quest. I've been looking everywhere for... Oh, nevermind about my sidequest."

  Smoke sniggered. He remembered Sherry searching for the labyrinth's exit.

  "Still searching for something, huh?"

  "Quit it! I bet you wouldn't have found that exit if you were the one looking for it throughout the entire Otaczac Forest."

  "Yeah, you're right. Mitleid's clue was more of a distraction." Smoke kept an awkward grin as he spoke with Sherry. He didn't notice it until he saw himself in the mirror.

  "Anyway, my family and I are going to lakeside resort for the entire weekend... Umm... We have one extra accommodation... And I was wondering if you maybe wanna come or something?" Smoke asked in his most nonchalant voice.

  "A whole weekend away from Zectas? Have you ever been away that long before?"

  "No, this will be my first time." Nash knew that he couldn't just ask anyone out of the blue like that. "I understand if you don't wanna go. I just thought I'd ask you that's all..."

  "Hey! Who said I wasn't coming. Tell me when and where and I'll be there. Just let me get a few things sorted out in Zectas first, okay?"

  "Sure, sure. No problem. How about in front of Cafe Soeurette? At... five in the morning tomorrow. Think you can do that?"

  "Yeah, I know that place. You better not keep me waiting, Nash."

  He remained on the line until he got the busy dial tone.

  * * * * * *

  BWEEP BWEEP BWEEP BWEEP BWEEP.

  A hand reflexively came crashing down on the black rectangular alarm. Nash woke up to a chilly fifty-one degree fahrenheit morning on his birthday.

  He groggily checked the time and saw four-thirty displayed in his digital alarm clock. He headed to his brothers rooms to wake them up.

  Yet, as soon as Nash opened the door to leave his room, his brothers and grandma surprised him with a strawberry tart pie. A single lit candle stuck out at the center of the pie.

  From when they were younger, their Mima Daphne always made them pies for their birthdays. Sadly, Nash's grandma stopped making the birthday pies when her hands lost their strength.

  Donny excitedly greeted his eldest brother. "Happy Birthday, Nash. I came up with this whole idea. Seth just tagged along and helped me with some stuff," explained the youngest Smoak.

  Seth interjected. "Ha! If Mima wasn't there to guide us I doubt the pie would have turned out like this."

  "Now, now, boys. This is Nash's day. He doesn't need you two to start it by fighting. Go ahead, Nash. Blow out your candle."

  Nash silently watched his two brothers bicker with a smile on his face. His birthday was off to a great start. He blew the candle and took a slice of the strawberry tart pie.

  "Alright, come on you two. We have to get ready. I told Sherry that we would pick her up at five."

  He borrowed Grand Master Cacoy's silver suburban the day before. Ten minutes later, all four Smoaks excitedly rode on the huge car.

  The birthday celebrant and his family arrived at Cafe Soeurette five minutes early, but Sherry was already there sitting in front of the cafe with five cups of hot drinks.

  Nash got out to help Sherry with her bags. Mima Daphne tried to get out of the front seat to let Sherry sit with Nash, but Donny stopped his grandma.

  "No, no, Mima. You stay right there. Sherry can sit with me at the back." Donny quickly said while forcibly pushing his grandma back to her seat.

  "Sherry, you remember my Mima Daphne, Seth, and Donny, right?" Nash said while loading her bags into the suburban.

  "Yeah, yeah. Of course. Nice to see you all again."

  "You can sit right here." Donny said as he patted the seat next to him. "Seth can sit at the back. He told me he wanted to take a nap before we arrive. Isn't that right, Seth?"

  "Huh? When did I say that?" Seth shrugged as Donny shoved him to the furth
est seat in the back.

  Sherry comfortably sat down beside Donny. "Oh, I brought drinks for everyone. Mima, you like caffe misto, right? Nash, here. I got you a java chip frappuccino. Seth, yours is a green tea frap. And for Donny. I got you a double chocolaty chip blended creme."

  "Oh, my dear. You remembered everyone's drinks, when we ordered them at your diner once, and how long ago was that? Almost two years ago?" Mima said in a very delighted voice.

  "Of course, Sherry, remembers. Especially my drink." Donny said. "By the way, I heard that they have horseback riding up in Etona Lawa. I also remembered you say you were a champion equestrian when you were fourteen?"

  "Donny, you remembered. So, you were listening when I was talking to you. All you ever did was just stare at your chocolaty creme."

  "Right. Anyway, I was wondering if you could teach me how to ride a horse there?"

  "Sure! If Nash and Mima are fine with it?" Sherry replied.

  "Are you sure, dear? You don't have to give in to Donny's silly little request." Mima Daphne said as she took a sip from her warm caffe misto.

  "No problem with me. Donny, fasten your seatbelt and give Sherry some room. That seat's suppose to be big enough for four persons." Nash said as he started the three hour long drive to the lakeside resort.

  For the entire trip, Donny grilled Sherry with questions. Sherry politely answered them, but Nash could tell that she had almost reached her limit.

  Finally, they arrived in Etona Lawa lakeside resort. Nash followed the directions towards the parking lot. There they saw a sporty young girl with blond hair dressed in a green Etona Lawa camp suit.

  She looked to be younger than Nash and Sherry. She waved at them when they arrived at the parking lot. She walked up to them as soon as they got out of the car.

  "Welcome to Etona Lawa! My name is Betty and please allow me to guide you to your cabin." Betty said with a big smile on her face. "You're the Smoaks, right?"

  "Yes, yes. That's us. I'm Nash." He shook her hand and answered her with a smile as Betty kept on her cheerful demeanor.

  "Alrighty then. Follow me please."

  After they gathered their bags, all four Smoaks and Sherry followed their Etona Lawa guide through a serene foot path. Tall Douglas, Pine, Spruce, and Cedar Trees shaded them.

  A few gaps in-between the trees revealed the majestic blue lake. There were already a couple of people swimming inside the lake. Others were riding on two passenger row boats and some where fishing further away from the crowd.

  Betty stopped in front of a big log cabin. It had a porch with two antique looking rocking chairs. When they got inside, they were astonished at how spacious the cabin was.

  The spacious cabin had a fire place with dried logs neatly piled inside. The lounging area had a comfortable looking sofa and a rug in front of it.

  Nash quickly inspected the rooms and found that the cozy log cabin had three. The two larger rooms had two beds in it while the smaller room just had one.

  He walked to the smaller room and called his invited guest. "Sherry, you can take this room. Mima and I will share a room and Donny and Seth can have the other one."

  "Thanks, I was wondering how our sleeping arrangements were going to be."

  Nash grinned mischievously. "Nah, you don't have to worry about that. Alright, I'll let you get settled in while I check on everyone."

  While Seth and Donny busily explored the log cabin, Nash walked over to Betty and shook her hand with a neatly folded hundred dollar tip in it. He normally wouldn't have done it, but he intended this trip to be extravagant and special.

  To his surprise Betty rejected it. "No, you don't have to do that. My pay here is good enough as it is. I'm just happy to help."

  He watched Betty as she began to walk out of the door. "So, Nash, if you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask. I'm staying in the main cabin."

  "Thanks for the offer, Betty. I'll be sure to look for you if we ever need anything." Nash happily showed their lakeside guide out of their cabin.

  Once everyone got accustomed to their rooms for the weekend, they talked about what they wanted to do. Seth already decided on trying the kite surfing that Etona Lawa offered.

  Nash wanted to come, but he promised their Mima to take her on a relaxing walk to get some fresh air. Sherry asked if she could come, but Donny insisted that they begin their lesson on horseback riding.

  Before they went to their separate activities, he reminded Seth to wear a life jacket even if he knew how to swim and told Donny to follow Sherry's instructions all the time.

  He trusted Sherry to be safe with Donny, but his younger brother always had a tendency to show off in front of the girl he liked and it was clear that he had a major crush on Sherry.

  With a comfy scarf wrapped around Mima Daphne's neck, Nash and his grandmother started their walk on Etona Lawa's nature trail. This activity was the only his Mima felt comfortable doing.

  Further into the trail, his Mima began talking about how she missed her husband Percival.

  "Nash, did you know that Papap was very much like Seth?"

  "Really? From your old stories, I thought he was more like Donny?"

  His Mima Daphne giggled. "His mischievousness only comes out when it came to his family members. He liked pranking all of us. Especially your father, Steve."

  "Yeah, I remember dad saying something like that." Nash chuckled with his Mima.

  "But there was one person in our family that your Papap could never prank."

  "Really? Who?"

  "I think we need to sit down for this one." Mima Daphne said as she pointed to a bench by the nature trail made out of cypress branches.

  "Your dad's twin brother, Zach. You don't know about him, right? Your dad asked me not to. Right after what Zach did to our family."

  Nash was confused. "What did he do? Why are you telling me this now? Do you know where he is?"

  "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but I'm doing this now because I feel that my days with you three boys are coming to an end. Also, I'd like you three to meet your uncle."

  "But if dad said that we should stay away from him, shouldn't we follow dad's wishes?"

  He stared at the open field. His mind wandered off as to why his dad did this. Suddenly, he felt Mima's hand pat him on his shoulders.

  "True, but I think you should make that decision on your own. Zach is still my son, despite of what he did in the past. Besides, I know from his mails that he has changed."

  "Why didn't he come to Mom and Dad's funeral? Or even to Papap's? I was still four back then, but I don't remember anyone by that name."

  His Mima shook her head. "No. He was there. He came to both the funerals, but he respected your father's decision about not letting you know about him."

  "Why would he do that? Also, I just realized that he has never sent us any money? Any kind of support? If he wanted to respect dad's decision then he really did a great job. I never once felt his presence."

  "He did offer to send us money, but I asked him not to. I was still able to support us when your parents died, right?"

  Nash crossed his arms as he rejected the idea of having an uncle.

  "I didn't even go to college just to support us!" Nash simply snapped.

  His Mima grabbed hold of his hands and tried to calm him down. "I know! I'm so sorry for putting such a heavy burden on you. That's why I contacted Zach and asked for help."

  For the first time Nash stared angrily at his Mima. "So, what you asked him for help about two years ago? Let me guess, he turned you down, right?"

  "I didn't get any reply from him until last month. He apologized and said that he got caught up in something important. He had only finished the second phase and only got to check his mailbox just a few days ago."

  "Really? Doesn't that sound too convenient? Now that we have a house and have some decent income! Mima, I wanted this weekend to be a memorable and relaxing one. I'm also aware of your condition that's why I planned this whole t
hing, but please let's drop the topic about my uncle."

  He heard his Mima Daphne give a deep sigh. "Alright, I'm sorry for bringing it up."

  With the need to change the topic, Mima Daphne spotted an archery field from the nature trail. "Nash, did I tell you about the time your Papap got invited to play in the olympics?"