Brows furrowed, Frost wondered why this player had been willing to take such a risk. Some players liked the idea of the outlaw life, but they were typically max level and had some OP armor and weapons. It was then Frost remembered the bounty Meritus had mentioned.
He was hunting me. Tensing, Frost studied the stand of trees from which the man had appeared. What if he hadn’t been alone?
Frost aimed Deadeye, ready to defend himself. RnB perked up at the motion but offered no other concern. Frost waited for perhaps a minute before deciding the man had been alone. If not, his associates would have attacked by now, especially when Frost had been distracted with looting the corpse.
Relieved, Frost bent and took the man’s storm lance. Crafted from thick wood, it reached Frost’s shoulder. The hierka had a blue tinge to it, marking it as rare.
Frost frowned. If the Expedition Sword had felt odd, the storm lance seemed as if it did not belong in his hands at all. The energy creeping up and down the weapon tingled his skin, raised the hair on his arms.
Acquired weapon: Luminance
Level: 10
Damage: 75 − 100
Force: 15
Special: Increases Flicker range
Available shard slots: 2
Seeing the damage and force, Frost was glad he had avoided a strike. He would have been the one needing to respawn somewhere. Or worse, he might have ended up like one of those invalids.
Shaking off the morbid thought, Frost put the storm lance in his inventory. The rarity and power of hierkas meant a good price on the Auction Market.
A quick inspection of the green brigandine left behind revealed it to be no better than Frost’s own. He put it in his inventory. The clothing and robes, he left where they lay. Deciding to look for the player’s drake, Frost made to head toward the trees when his Comm Orb dinged.
“Yo, it’s ya boy.” Meritus’ voice had that somber tone again. “I found out who took her. It was Nomarch Setnana Botros and her goons.
“I don’t know what else happened besides the thing in Kituan, but she’s got it in for the crew. She’s been torturing anyone suspected of knowing where y’all might be. Heard she wiped out an entire dvergar village on the island.
“Change up your look somehow. I checked the bounty boards when I got the news. Your pictures are up there. So, it’s not only NPCs after you but players also. The reward is five thousand credits of any type.
“If there’s any good news from all this, it’s that Dante and Saba contacted me. They both have Comm Orbs now. They’re all in on helping to save Gilda. How exactly we’re gonna do it? I don’t know. But knowing you like I do, you’ll come up with something.
“I’ll look into where they’re holding Gilda. Until then, meet up with Dante. He’s in Nalanda, a mid-eastern Lothal town not far from the coast in the Fujin nome, which is where you should be heading in from anyway. Saba’s on her way to meet me.”
Message ended.
Scowling, Frost removed his brigandine and replaced it with the dead player’s green one. Pondering how best to prep for the fight to come, he decided his first need was a map. One could be found in the nearest town. A visit to a bounty board was also a must.
He undid his braids and let his ebony hair fall around his face, down to his shoulders. It was a poor disguise, but for now, it would have to suffice.
CHAPTER 10
An hour later, pushing hard southwest across a sky marbled with gold and wispy white, Frost passed the great cliffs and curve in the land marking the borders of Khertahka and Lothal. A town sprawled not far from the coast, its roofs wood or red tile, the main thoroughfares made of cobblestones, while its lanes and alleys were dirt. Figuring it would be as good a place as any to stop, Frost made to follow several other drakes.
The hyoo, hyoo call of kirins echoed from behind. Frost frowned and peered down and back. He shouldn’t have been able to hear kirins from this high in the sky.
Something large swept by from above. Winds buffeted him. Even as he turned his head, another form darted by. And another. Several more followed.
Frost gaped. Blinking, he tried to reconcile his sight with his thoughts.
A company of gurashi were flying kirins. Frost had always thought the one-horned creatures were restricted to the ground. Their equine faces and bodies helped reinforce the idea. But that was where all similarities to a horse ended.
Rippling in the wind, the kirins’ spiky manes flowed upward and ran down the creatures’ backs to meet with bushy tails that tapered at the end. Equally spiky beards sprawled from their chins down to the curve of their necks. Tufts of hair fluttered around the backs of each leg. But what held Frost’s attention was the wisps of electric blue and white energy emanating from all growths of hair.
As the last kirin flew by, Frost picked out a depiction of crossed long-hafted axes on the cloak of its rider. Deluth’s Crossed Quakers, symbol of the Lothal military. The company of kirins continued on a path to a private Landing and Aviary.
Frost shook off his awe and continued down to the common Landing. An Aviary attendant with glowing glimmerwands directed his descent.
Upon touching down, Frost dipped his head to the green-skinned Flightmistress. “Good day, my lady. What town is this?”
Dressed in a dusty kimono, she was a bulky lion-faced gurash who’d seen better days. If her eye patch and one broken canine was any indication. “I’m not your lady and this here is Madurai,” the Flightmistress grumbled. “And unless you have a whistle to send that thing off and call it back, you’ll have to take it with you.” She grimaced in RnB’s direction. “We have no more stables left.”
The drake growled, the sound like a hungry belly.
“Thing?” Frost arched a brow. “You talking about my drake?”
“If that’s a drake, then I’m a gargant.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, gargants and gurashi are colossuses, but we sure as shit aren’t the same.” The woman jutted her chin to RnB, the side of her mouth with the good canine curling up. “All our drakes come from the Isfet or Ouroboros Mountains or Mount Setep. He might be some sort o’ drake, but his coloring isn’t right. Neither is his size. Too big for one so young. Never seen one colored like that before. Mixed and what not. Guess he’s like the guralim.” She hawked and spat on the dusty ground.
Frost narrowed his eyes. “Guralim?”
“Bastards like them over there.” Grimacing in obvious disgust, the Flightmistress jutted her head to the left.
Three gurashi, a man, a woman, and a child, were picking through a mound of garbage in an alley. When they found what they sought, in this case bits of cast aside food, they stopped to eat, stuffing their mouths as if they hadn’t seen a meal in days. All three were marble-skinned, the two adults green and red, the child, brown and green. Their kimonos were in tatters.
“Good for nothing. Not even to be named as us.” The Flightmistress snorted. “Either too dumb to work a proper job or always wanting to fight.”
“Whatever.” Frost shot the woman a dirty look. He couldn’t help but to think of DeGens when he looked at the guralim. “Come on, RnB.”
Heading for the alley, he stalked across the Landing, the drake strutting beside him. He stopped at the mouth of the alley from which the stench of garbage wafted. Frost grimaced at the fetor. RnB shook his head and blew out his nose.
The family cowered away from Frost, but there was a glint in the hulking father’s eyes. A warning not to come any closer. Frost took two chunks of roasted cervin from his inventory.
He held out the meat. “I’m not gonna hurt you. Just wanna give you some food.”
The man approached tentatively. One half of his face was mottled in red, while the other half was mostly green. His mane was matted. Golden eyes shifting from Frost
’s face to the food, he got within arm’s reach, the stink of shit and piss rolling off him.
Despite the stink, Frost allowed a smile to grace his lips. He waved the meat encouragingly.
Emboldened, the gurash slowly reached a bony hand out and took a chunk of cervin. He sniffed it first, golden eyes still on Frost. He took a bite. His eyes widened. The gurash outcast snatched the other bit of meat from Frost. He turned and signaled to his family, who shuffled over.
They tore the meat between them and quickly ate. By the time they were finished, Frost had taken the other chunks from his inventory and placed them on the ground in as clean a spot as he could find among the alley’s muck. He smiled, bowed to the man, and turned away.
Objective complete
Help the Helpless:
1000 experience points
400 Lothal dominion credits
A deep voice echoed from the alley. “Thank you.”
Frost turned back. “You’re welcome.”
“Can I know your name?” The gurash man was standing straight and proud despite his filthy clothes.
Frost thought about giving the man an alias, but on a whim, he decided against the lie. He glanced around to make certain no one else was within earshot. “I’m Frost. Drelan Frost.”
The man bowed from the waist. “I am Matsuta Tsujii. I will never forget, Drelan Frost.”
Smiling, Frost bowed in turn. Chest puffed up, he left the family to their meal. Frost thought about riding RnB, following the example set by many others leaving the Landing, but he was sure the drake could use a rest. Besides, he liked the feel of RnB next to him. Enjoyed the company. RnB was like a friend who didn’t talk too much and never got in the way.
He noticed every other drake was of a solid color. White. Green. Blue. Brown. Black. Red. Those were the most common, but a few yellows or oranges were sprinkled among them. The shades varied. But always solid.
People gave RnB odd looks, most often in awe or curiosity. Some pointed. A few folk shied away from him.
As for the other mounts? Most kept their distance or deliberately moved out of his way. One or two hissed or growled. None seemed friendly. The kirin they passed paid RnB no more attention than they did to any other drake.
Frost grimaced at the reflection of his encounter with the outcast family. At some point he’d have to get to the bottom of it, but his immediate concern was the map and the bounty board. He strode down the main avenue, asked a fellow erada for directions, and headed toward the trade district.
Madurai was quite busy for not being a city. People of all sorts crowded the streets. Horned eradae, lumbering bushy-maned gurashi dressed in kimonos and sandals, fair-skinned humans, and centaur-like dresdori their equine portions covered by barding. He even saw a few blue-skinned undines, water stalking along their skins like snakes. The air practically buzzed with their voices. And scents. Frost chalked up their presence to the town’s location, so close to the border of two dominions as well as the coast.
“Bless?” A silver-haired human in robes shuffled up to Frost. He held out a vial with golden liquid. “Do you wish to buy a Bless? Protect your goods from cutthroats with a Bless. From theft or identification. Only one thousand LDC.”
“Not interested.” Frost shooed the man away.
Frost had taken but a few steps when something tapped him on the leg. He looked down.
A gnome stared up at him, eyes twinkling. “Hey, buddy.” Voice high-pitched, the gnome graced Frost with a gap-toothed smile. “Wanna join my guild?”
Frost shook his head. “Sorry, I like to play solo.”
The gnome crossed his arms. “That’s because you’ve never been in an awesome guild before. Or at least not one as awesome as Pwnage Inc.”
Frost made to speak, but the gnome overrode him. “We have a ton to offer. Power-leveling noob guildees, guild dungeon runs, raids, PvP, castle sieges, and when the battlegrounds and the arena are finished, we’ll be there too. At the top, pwning everyone. You look strong. You and your mount. We could use someone like you. So, wanna join Pwnage? I’ll even make you an officer.”
The gnome had spoken so quickly, Frost hadn’t been able to get in a word. Not wanting to be rude, Frost smiled and dipped his head. “Maybe another time. Thanks, though.”
“Okay.” The gnome’s shoulders slumped. Before Frost took a step, the gnome had darted over to someone nearby. “Hey, buddy, wanna join my guild?”
With a shake of his head and a wry smile, Frost continued on his way. He stopped when he encountered a tailor’s stall, the wares spread out in front on tables or hanging from stands. The vendor was a burly gurash with a round gut not even his sheet-like kimono could hide. His gut fell over his sash. He kept peering at RnB, thick brows bunched as if he were trying to decide exactly what he was seeing.
“How much is that cloak?” Frost indicated the black knee-length piece with a large hood.
“Two hundred LDC. Double for any other types of credits.”
Frost winced. He considered going to a credit changer, but time was against him. “Two hundred LDC, it is then.” Lothal dominion credits appeared in his hands in the form of pale red paper with a likeness of Kalarch Amari Kisa, her ruby skin standing out.
With a tilt of his head, the vendor took the credits and passed the cloak. “Thank you, sir.”
Frost nodded, slung the cloak over his shoulders, tied it off around his neck, and strode away. He pulled the hood up over his head.
His next stop was at a cartographer. He managed to haggle with the man for a map of Mikander. Wanting to keep his few LDC, he paid two hundred IDC. When he received the map, it immediately became a part of IM.
Frost focused on the idea of the map. And stopped in his tracks, eyes wide.
An overhead rendition of Madurai had appeared, populated with districts, streets, lanes, and buildings. Most of them were unidentified, except for those he’d already passed. The latter had names attached. Striding forward revealed more. In awe, Frost shook his head and continued on, mapping the town.
He paused at a nearby building. Message, he thought, activating his Comm Orb. Dante’s and Saba’s IGNs were both highlighted now. Choosing Dante, he spoke in a low voice, “Yo, this is Frost. I’m on my way to meet you in Nalanda. Keep your head down until I get there.” End Message.
Frost set off again, sticking to the long shadows cast by buildings around him. He soon located the trade district and the Auction Market, a three-storied building. Outside the Market there was a long hitching rail separated in sections. Mounts of all sorts were tethered. Drakes, zephyrs, kirins, non-flyers like crevids and lupines, and even a four-tailed fox.
Unlike many other mounts, tethering a flying beast didn’t require a leash of some sort. The reins did the work. If he simply set the drake where he wanted, it would remain there until he returned. Frost made to place RnB beside a green drake, but it hissed.
RnB gurgled. A sad sound if Frost was any judge. RnB hung his head.
“It’s alright, boy.” Frost shot a scowl at the offending drake, petted RnB on the head, and took him two spaces away. “Stay here, I’m gonna be right back.”
Knowing the typical location for the bounty board would be outside the Auction Market, Frost headed to the building. The board was located to one side of the front door. No one was near it.
Imitating the confident stride of a man with nothing to hide, Frost ascended the stairs. He stopped before the board and studied the papers upon it. Each paper had names, bounties, and pictures of the wanted, approved by the Coalition Tribunal.
Not all the bounties were for murder. Some of the wanted people had committed other crimes like treason, arson, bribery, and theft.
He frowned. Murder and theft were rather common. The latter more so than the former. While the murderers ranged in class, the vast maj
ority of the thieves were cutthroats. Frost wondered how many on the board were NPCs and how many were players.
Running an index finger down the list, it wasn’t long before he found himself, Gilda, Saba, Dante, Adesh, and Ryne. Their last location was given as Imanok Sanctum. As Meritus had said, the bounty was five thousand each, except for Adesh Hamada. His was fifteen thousand.
Bringing them in dead or alive also mattered. The bounty was cut in half if they were dead. Their crimes were murder, theft, and treason against the Coalition as members of the Blue Sky Network.
A pack o’ fucking lies. Frost seethed.
IM flashed, letting him know the bounty board was now part of its archive. He could access updates on-demand in real time without having to visit another board.
The functionality made sense. A means to prevent a killing should the Coalition’s Tribunal absolve a person of their crime. Or if the wanted person had paid all necessary fines and penalties and were no longer considered chaotic. Or if someone had simply canceled a bounty.
Seeing himself and his friends on the board made Frost glad for the way the game worked now. For the inability to identify players through a Heads-Up Display. The lack of such information on a HUD made survival probable.
In the old version of the game, a chaotic player’s name would be in bright red when you looked at them. He wondered how the new functionality affected the game’s AI, if the guards suffered the same deficiency. Did they need to be shown the criminal first? The idea made sense, considering the Lothal soldiers who’d flown by had not chased him.
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