//------------------------------//
// 8: Who 2 Trust 
// Story: Dark Body, Light Soul (Or the Tale of the Stalfos) 
// by Garino 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 8: Who 2 Trust

As we went into my room, I felt a mace press against my good ribs. Oh, this was not gonna end well.

"Alright, skelly," Wisp said coldly, "just what are you?"

"What are you talking about?" I countered. "You already know I'm a skeleton."

"Oh, no you're not," he said. "Skeletons can't use magic. Yet, your blade managed to freeze my wing when it couldn't touch me before. You're not a skeleton...at least not a normal one. So what are you?"

Caught. Damn. Looks like keeping up a skeleton disguise was going to be a bit tougher from here on out. "You're a perceptive one, ain't ya?"

"What can I say?" he asked. "It's my old special talent."

Special talent? I guess now's a good of a time as any to see his mark. It was the shape of a magnifying glass pointing towards a deer cap. "You used to be a detective?" I asked.

"Now who's the perceptive one?" Wisp asked sarcastically. "Yes. But we're not here to talk about my past. We're here to talk about what you are."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well, I just tell the guards I found a Stalfos, and that's the end of you."

"So I'm just screwed over either way, then?"

"I would say...wait, how?"

"You'd say 'wait, how?'" I joked. He smacked the good ribs, not hard enough to break them, but enough for me to remember he could. I sighed. "You really want to know?" He came into view and nodded. I took off my hat and robe, watching two of my ribs hit the floor. I picked them up and waved them at my guest. "This is your fault, you realize?"

His look...drastically changed. He went from anger to...despair. "You're one of them!" he shouted. "You're a Stalfos!"

I put a finger to my teeth. "Keep it down! We don't want the whole city to know! Besides, I'm here to help y'all with your problem."

Wisp managed to regain his composure and lower his volume. "Sorry. It's just...aren't you guys supposed to be, y'know, extinct?"

"Hate to break it to you, but including me, two of us are left walking." I picked up my ribs and placed them where they belonged. I felt them reattach, but the cracks still showed where they had parted company with my body. Now how did I pull that off? I thought.

"Wait, how did you do that?" Wisp asked. He pointed to the ribs I had just reattached.

I gave him the honest answer. "I dunno. It just...repaired itself." What else can I do that Olman hasn't told me about?

There was that familiar knock at the door. I quickly threw on my robe and hat as Mr. Zombie Dragon entered the room. "I got some good news for you, Daniel," he said.

"I'm the winner of the tournament and don't have to fight anymore?" I said, half jokingly.

I was awarded with a strange glance. "How did you...? Well, not exactly. Your next match will have to be tomorrow, since the last fight between your next two potential opponents resulted in a draw." Oh, goody. I needed a bye from the tournament. "Oh, and your next match is against...ooh, you're going up against Dracula tomorrow. Be at the arena at 10 a.m. Have a nice night!"

Soon, it was just me and Wisp again. I decided to give Wisp the same story I gave Melody and Jack when they found out about me, again leaving out my true identity and my meetings with Olman. Amazingly, he took the story in stride. When I finished my tale for a second time, he decided to ask a few questions. First on his mind: "What do you get from helping Keeta out? You knew nothing about him when you ran into him other than what he told you. He could be lying."

"Well, one, it's kind of a problem of mine. I give others the benefit of the doubt. Second off, I know he's probably lying. But everyone's saying Keeta is out there, stuck in a puddle because of King Griffon's curse. If I break it, he'll be indebted to me. And I kinda need the...power." At least, that's what I reasoned. Then again, the 'they owe me one' excuse never worked for bad guys, so I was probably going to have to deal with that problem in all honesty.

"So Jack made your sword, and it's not enchanted, nor is it silver or demonic. We've established that you have no idea how you're imbuing it. So what about the shield?"

"The shield?" Right...if it was a normal shield, my uppercuts shouldn't have affected him after he lost his mace. And yet, the third hit still sent him flying. I shrugged it off and said, "It's silver." Another note for the files: find out the origins of this shield. Speaking of those files...

"Mind answering a question of my own?" Wisp nodded. Here it goes. "Ghosts are known for going through stuff, right? So how in the name of Azura's Star do you hold stuff?"

Wisp tilted his head. "What kind of question is that?" he asked. "I can hold my mace because it's enchanted."

"No, I mean normal items, like jars of dirt."

"Ah." Wisp took a deep breath. "That's a question everyone's been asking, including ourselves. We just pass it off as the item's enchanted, but we can't use that excuse for jars of dirts or money."

...well that doesn't help me at all!!! "Okay, thought I'd ask because it was just bugging me."

Wisp grabbed his mace and stretched. "Well, you've got a long day ahead of you, so get yourself a good night's rest, Daniel. Good luck with the rest of your matches."

I gave a small salute as he left. Pretty soon, I'd be bothered again, so might as well get some relaxation.





After a while, he finally appeared. "I must say, you're doing very well, Daniel. Or should I shorten it to Dan?"

Light refilled my vision as I acknowledged Olman's presence. Seemed like I was in his realm this time, judging by the fact we were looking at stars instead of the dank arena room.

"Daniel is fine," I said. "Nice to see you again, Olman. Are you going to keep appearing when no one's around?"

"Whenever I wish, actually. I just prefer to do so when no one's around so I can deliver valuable information. Which is why I'm here. I bear a warning."

"A warning? Does it have to do with my tournament? Is Dracula really THE Dracula?"

Olman raised an eyebrow at this. "No, it's not about...Dracula. It's about your recent group of friends. I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them, if I were you."

I was about to ask why, but I decided against it. For one, I had a pretty good idea which of them could be trusted and those who couldn't. Two, there were multiple questions I had that I believed took priority. "Very well," I nodded. "Anyway, remember when I asked why I wasn't Volvagia? You never answered that. Was that because it would be impossible?"

The geezer took off his hat and dusted it off. "I could have if I wanted to. But that would have brought up a handful of...complications."

"Such as...?"

"For one, you'd have been dead within the hour. Volvagia is a lava dragon, meaning he thrives on heat far more than a normal dragon. Even if I sent you to the Dragon Lands, it would still not be hot enough. The only way you'd survive is if you kept burning the land, and I doubt the residents, and the other gods, would appreciate it."

"Other gods? As in, it's not just me stuck here?" I asked.

"BINGO!" Olman shouted. "It seems to be a growing trend; everyone finds a human, asks them if they want to go to a new and exciting land, and then we send them to said land. This year we decided to go to Equestria."

"Glad I was your first candidate," I snarked.

"Actually, no. You're my seventh. Everyone else gave their 'pill' to a friend they thought would like to go. So...you're kinda late to the party, Daniel."

Okay, glad to be your SEVENTH! I silently retorted. There were still three other questions. "So how do I know if I'm dealing with one of the 'pieces?'"

"You won't," the man responded, replacing his normal hat with an Abe Lincoln-esque stove hat. "If you think you know one, you can always ask. Just remember, if they're not, they'll think you're insane."

"Oh, that's not something I'm worried about," I assured him. "What about my shield? I just found it beside Necro City's entrance."

Olman inspected the shield critically. After a moment, he nodded and said, "It's the shield of a crusader. Imbued with holy magic to protect its owner. I'm amazed you can even hold it: you usually have to prove your worth to wield it."

I killed a cyclops, a chupacabra, and I bested a badass ghost. I think I proved myself very well. ...totally forget the fact that all of those things happened AFTER I got my shield. "One more question for you, big guy. During my match with the chupacabra and Wisp, my sword started glowing. What happened?"

I think Olman nearly had a heart attack from that statement. "Glowing? Impossible. Skeletons have no magic latency. Stalfos have a bit of it, but not enough to cast spells or imbue weapons."

"That's what I've been told. Yet, I made a chupacabra explode and froze Wisp's wing with a thought and a slash."

The geezer motioned for me to hand him the weapon. I gave him a look that said, "I'd better get this back before tomorrow," before I gave it up. He didn't seem to notice, though, as he was too busy inspecting Jack's craftsmanship.

"Hmm...standard kris style...modified into a sword, that's impressive...and with red steel, that's rare...but what could possibly..." he stopped there. Eyes widened, he started muttering. "Impossible...and yet...I can't..." He finally handed the blade back to me.

I, of course, was curious about what the big deal was. "Your faithful pawn would like to know what's so special about his weapon of choice," I reminded him.

"I, um...cannot say. Talk to Jack about it," he deflected. "I must go, but remember, Daniel: be careful. In a place like Necro City, you should always be wary of who to trust. It may save your life." And like that, the sky dissipated and I was in the dark.