by Edward Brody
“With an invisibility potion,” Jax countered. “And the Fellblade had just been stolen by the Sparrows. It was poorly guarded in their hideout. Who knows how long it took them to acquire it? It was a combination of extraordinary circumstances that allowed that to happen.”
“The All-Seeing Eye was an ancient weapon too,” I said. “I was able to get ahold of that.”
Sung raised his eyebrows. “If I remember the story correctly, hundreds of Faithsworn died to steal an eye from one of the Old Ones.”
“And if it weren’t for Commander Eldrich, you would’ve been toasted by it.” Ozzy raised his hands in submission. “Just saying…”
“And even after that, Eanos and a Dragon ultimately got the eye out of Solomon’s hands,” Rina said. “Do we remember the story you told us better than you do, Gunnar?”
I looked down slightly, sighed, and shook my head. “No… I remember.”
“The fact of the matter is, we don’t even know where to look for an ancient weapon,” Keysia explained.
“Even if we worked together, I can’t imagine we’d be able to get one,” Jax said. “Ancient weapons are usually in high-level areas, in King’s hands, in places where that are guarded by dangerous magic or dangerous monsters. It’s beyond our scope.”
“We could work together,” Ozzy said. “Unity.”
“Hell yeah,” Jeremy said as he reached out and bumped his fist against Ozzy’s.
“Well…” Aaron chimed in. “I didn’t work specifically with ancient weapons, but I know the world isn’t designed to make getting those kind of things easy. You can only do so much at your levels.”
“But this is an open-world game,” Sung said.
“Game!” Trynzen said as he jumped out from behind one of the houses and scurried over towards us. “Trynzen wants to play a game!”
“Hey,” I said subtly in Sung’s direction. “Don’t say ‘game’ if you can avoid it. NPCs get confused by it.”
“What are enn...pee...sees?” Rina asked.
I groaned. “It’s… um… just a label for people who aren’t Reborns.”
“Oh, okay,” Rina said. “I guess I’m an ennpeesee then. How odd sounding.”
“Yeah, anyway…” I shook my head a little. “Eden’s Gate is an open world. With some creativity, we can figure this out.”
“Or maybe you should just let the elves handle this, Gunnar,” Keysia said. “Even if you’re a Reborn, this is above you. Listen to their orders and let them lead the charge.”
I shook my head. “The elves just think the Magi are going to contact them directly for a ransom. With the King and Queen gone, I think there’s no way for me to get through to them. Even if I did, the Magi want an ancient weapon and nothing else.”
“Gnominom…” a voice said from somewhere in the trees. A tall, dark elf stepped into the clearing and smiled.
“Donovan,” I said with a grin. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.” I felt a little uncomfortable seeing him again, knowing now that he was once Adeelee’s suitor, but I still missed the guy.
“Gunnar,” Donovan said with a nod as he continued to approach. “The gnomes have an ancient weapon, though I’m certain they wouldn’t be willing to hand it over just to rescue an elf—even a Princess.”
“There,” I said. “We’ll go to Gnominom and steal it. What level are the gnomes?”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Donovan snapped. “The gnomes are fine people, and I wouldn’t stand idly by while someone attacks or attempts to steal from them. You cannot right this wrong with another.”
My brow wrinkled in confusion. “Why mention it then?”
“Because there are a few places where we know ancient weapons can be found. Gnominom is one, and there are others.”
“It’s rumored that King Ryvvick has an ancient weapon,” Keysia said. She lowered her head and shook it lightly. “But even if it were true, I don’t think they’d give it up. The elves would try any other method before transferring that kind of power over to kidnappers.”
“Ergoth has one,” Ozzy said. “I mean… you handed it over yourself.”
“Storm the Wastelands?” I asked.
“The Wastelands are huge,” Jax said. “And the orcs aren’t dumb enough to put it in a place where it could easily be stolen again.”
“The citadel at Brightwynn,” Rina said. “The half-giants have an ancient weapon, but it’s kept under a magic prism and guarded by twenty level fifty plus guards at all times.”
“Doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen,” I said.
Jeremy pulled his shirt over his head and held his hands up. “We could cornholio them. Tell them I’m on kroka and they’ll all run after me.” He glanced down at his shoes. “I’m out of charges though.”
“Yeah…” I groaned. “I doubt that’s going to work on twenty guards at once.”
“And the All-Seeing Eye is off the table, I assume,” Sung said.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Even if we could get it, that would cause a lot more trouble than what we’re in now. We don’t want to disturb the Ancient Beasts.”
“There’s umm…” Jax trailed and then shook his head as if he were dismissing the thought.
“What?” I asked.
“I don’t think it’s worth mentioning,” he said low, “but there’s supposedly an ancient weapon in Dragon’s Crest.”
“Dragon’s Crest?” I asked.
“Oh yeah…” Aaron said. “Aren’t you supposed to go there to get some reagents for that Bloodthirsty Blade recipe?”
“I believe you already know that up until recently, dragons rarely engage with humans,” Jax continued, “But that hasn’t stopped some of the braver high-levels from climbing up the crest and attempting to slay a dragon themselves.”
“Sounds more mad than brave,” Rina said.
“Dragon slayers?” Jeremy asked.
“Would-be dragon slayers,” Jax explained. “It’s not impossible for someone to slay an Ancient Beast. Great heroes were created that way during the War of a Hundred Years. But since the beasts were pacified and weakened by the Old Ones, a few who’ve reached a high level of power or acquired an ancient weapon have tried their hand at slaying one on their own.”
“And that means?” I asked.
Jax raised his eyebrows. “That’s why there should be an ancient weapon in Dragon’s Crest. Maybe even more than one. There’s a famous story about one man in particular—a powerful blademaster who cleared the depths of Tymrial’s Crypt.
“Tymrial was a legendary fighter who died shortly after the war. It was a feat for this other man to survive the crypt and recover Tymrial’s Blade, and with that power, he sought to climb Dragon’s Crest and slay a dragon—maybe for renown, or maybe for its scales.
“Imagine,” Jax continued as he glanced from side to side. “Dragonscale Armor and Tymrial’s Blade. He could’ve bested a King. But alas, he entered Dragon’s Crest, and was never heard from again.”
Aaron snapped his lips together a let out a whistle. “Umm yeah. Getting past fifty level twenty guards might be easier than that.”
“Twenty level fifties,” Rina corrected.
“Whatever.” Aaron smirked.
“We’re talking about one guy,” Sung said. “And he was actually trying to defeat the dragon. All we need to do is recover the sword, right? We don’t have to kill it.”
“It’s not like you can just walk in there and sneak around,” Jax said. “There’s several levels you’d have to pass before you’d even make it to the top of Dragon’s Crest where the dragons nest—so I’m told.”
“Do we even know that he made it to the dragons?” Sung asked.
Jax shook his head and shrugged.
“So it could be anywhere in there, any level,” Sung said. “Or another ancient weapon.”
“Hmm…” Aaron said. “And you need to get that Heaven’s Shroom anyway. I’m starting to like this idea.”
“I don’t like thi
s idea,” Keysia said. “It’s beyond Gunnar’s level range.”
“Beyond Gunnar’s level range,” Jeremy said. “But all of us together are just as strong as one guy with an ancient weapon.”
Rina laughed. “You underestimate the power of a high-level fighter with an ancient weapon. I’ve seen Dryden’s power, and even without an ancient weapon, he could murder us all, I’m sure.”
Jeremy swallowed hard.
“Are there any better ideas?” Sung asked.
Everyone fell silent.
“So, we all go to Dragon’s Crest and see what we can do,” Sung continues. “We won’t know unless we try.”
“I’m in,” Ozzy said.
“Me too,” Jeremy said.
The NPCs were a little slower to speak up, but Donovan spoke first. “I’ll accompany you and go as far as my skill will take me. This is a fool’s task, but I will go, only because of Adeelee.”
Keysia swallowed before saying, “I’ll go.”
“For Adeelee,” Jax said with a nod. “We can at least try. If not, we leave it to the High Elves.”
“I can’t let Jax go alone,” Rina said. She scooted closer to the hunter and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’ll heal if I can.”
I agreed with Jax that it sounded like a fool’s mission, but Sung was right that Eden’s Gate was a truly open world. A dwarf had died in Nambunga’s Cave, leaving his higher-level sword to be discovered by a lower-level human, an invisibility potion had allowed me to infiltrate a group of rogues and change the course of events in the world, and I had beaten the odds when I managed to leap onto a harpy’s peak and found a Levitation scroll.
Though a little crazy, maybe it was possible.
“Alright,” I said. “I don’t know what to expect, but let’s give it our best shot. We need to do whatever it takes to get Adeelee back.”
Though I was hopeful due to the unrestricted world and possibility of success, I also knew how brutal the game could be. Traveling to Gramora had led to death. Stepping into the Arena had led to death. Multiple guild mates had died during our battle with Shashana. Hell, just spawning in my starting area would have killed me had I not been rescued by Jax. And all of those encounters seemed trivial compared to climbing into a nest filled with dragons in hopes of finding an ancient blade.
But what was the alternative? Hope Adeelee managed an escape on her own? Hope the Queen would return and make things right before the Magi killed her? After meeting the man with the cow-skull for a head, I felt even less confident that would happen.
We had to try…
“Fuck that!” Aaron said loudly. He through his hands up and started walking away. “I’m out. You can catch me outside doing the usual when you get back.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
2/12/0001
No new runestones had flowed into the village to allow me to practice my inscription, so I spent the evening doing some light sparring with the guild. I mostly got my ass handed to me, since I limited my fighting to staves, but the practice led to me leveling the skill.
When everyone else headed to bed in preparation for the next day, I stayed up a little longer. It was hard to get to sleep after being in two long, drug-induced slumbers for most of the day.
I sat near the smoldering campfire casting Clumsy on any of the bugs and insects that came nearby. Like the frog, they didn’t seem to scare off when I cast the spell, but I noticed a few of the flying insects stupidly fly into the hot embers in the fire pit after I hit them with my magic.
I threw in some random casts of Divine Sight on myself and Meditated as much as possible. Meditating was coming much easier than it had when I first began the skill, and the recovery of mana was quite a bit faster, but I noticed that the skill gains were slowing down. Nevertheless, I gained a level in Mentalism and Mediation skill that night.
When the sun started coming up, I headed back into my room and might have gotten a few hours of sleep in before waking back up.
I was a little groggy as we all readied the horses for our trip to Dragon’s Crest, but I was more anxious than anything.
“Fenris!” Jax shouted as he pounded his hand into the ground.
The large wolf came running into the clearing, and in usual form, almost topped his master over.
“Rarri!” Jeremy yelled, making the same motions that Jax had.
The wild boar burst through the foliage of Edgewood, and its hooves skidded across the ground as it stopped at his feet.
I was rubbing my hand across one of the horses’ necks when Keysia approached from behind. “Aren’t you going to summon Sora?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I think I’m going to let her sit this one out.”
Sora was probably okay to head out after having a free day in the Otherworld, but I was hesitant to summon her when I knew where we were heading. If I were gaming on Earth, I would’ve looked at Sora was as no more than a weapon adding more damage to each fight and distracting enemies from attacking me, but in Eden’s Gate, she was so much more. She was my summoned pet, my friend, and I didn’t want to lose her. I’d have to choose wisely when I used her and avoid putting her in reckless situations like I always did.
Keysia nodded. “After Tsarra’s death, I can understand why.”
The reminder made my heart sink.
Keysia kneeled and placed her hand on the ground. “Neshander!”
I was surprised by the sudden summon and turned my head from side to side, looking for her snake. Tall grass and bushes started parting in the distance, and a thick, long, serpent emerged into the clearing.
Neshander had grown substantially in just a couple of days. He was maybe half his mother’s size, but his body was nearly as thick as Fenris’. When he slithered up to Keysia, he lifted his head, and slithered his tongue in an out of his mouth.
“Whoa-ho!” Ozzy said. “That thing is getting big!”
“He is,” Keysia acknowledged.
“You’re taking him with us?” I asked.
“Only until we arrive at Dragon’s Crest,” she replied. “I don’t he’s ready for battle just yet, but I want to ride him there.”
“Ride him there?” I questioned. I wasn’t sure how that was going to work.
Keysia nodded. “It takes a bit more balance than riding on Sora, but I practiced a little yesterday.”
I chuckled. “I can’t wait to see how that works.”
I hoisted myself on to the horse and turned it around so that I was facing our group. “Is everyone ready? Potions, bandages?”
Everyone grunted and nodded.
Jax had already mounted Fenris, and I watched as Rina hopped on behind her.
“Per usual, our main focus at all times is to keep Rina alive,” I said.” Do everything in your power to make sure Rina lives, so she can resurrect in the event of casualties.” I homed my eyes in on Jax. “You wouldn’t be able to make revival potions, would you?”
Jax shook his head. “Nah. Way out of my skill range, and I wouldn’t know where to get the reagents for it either. Nor do I have the recipe.”
“Just checking,” I said.
Sung hopped on the back of Rarri with Jeremy, and Donovan hopped on the back of another horse with Ozzy.
When Keysia got on top of Neshander, she sat somewhat sideways and on her knees, with one knee in front of the other. Neshander raised his head as he slithered, and Keysia placed a hand on the back of his neck for added balance. It almost looked like she was surfing on her knees, but she didn’t show any signs of falling off.
“I guess I should ask if anyone has ever been to Dragon’s Crest,” I said.
Everyone looked at each other, but no one said a word.
I took a deep breath. “Okay, then. I guess we’ll just come up with a plan when we see what we’re dealing with.”
“You guys take care of yourselves!” Aaron yelled. “Gerard and I will hold the fort down ‘til you’re back.”
“As you always do!” I yelled back. “And
make sure to keep an eye on Trynzen!” I turned my horse back around and lead the gang of eight south towards Dragon’s Crest.
Chapter Thirty
2/12/0001
The journey through the Freelands was uneventful. A few travelers passing us turned their heads and stared at the unusual group of humans and dark elves riding an assortment of creatures, but we made it all the way to the Crystal River without a major encounter.
“I guess we’ll swim here, since the only bridge is closer to Nestle Rock,” I said.
“No,” Jax said. “Follow the river east, and there’s an area where we can cross, just before we reach Dragon’s Crest. It’ll take us right into the Vale, so we won’t have to pay tribute to the Addenfall guardians either.”
“Alright,” I agreed. “You should lead, since you’re more familiar with the area.”
Jax nodded and rode to the front of our caravan as we continued heading east.
After several more minutes of riding, I could see the trees across the river changing from the tall green behemoths of Addenfall to the scattered blue-hued green jungle-trees of Mist Vale.
Jax stopped and turned Fenris towards the river. “Here’s where we cross.”
The Crystal River looked just as wide and just as deep as the other area where I had planned for us to cross, so I was surprised when Jax urged Fenris straight into the water.
Fenris took a cautious step, and then another, putting one foot in front of the other. Remarkably, Fenris’s feet only went a few inches into the water and didn’t sink.
“There’s stepping stones hiding under the water here,” Jax yelled. “So long as you’re careful, we there should be no issue crossing.”
Fenris continued his cautious trek through the water and eventually made it to the other side. Rarri followed, and while the boar seemed a little more anxious about the crossing, it made it across without incident as well.
Neshander ignored the stones, and slithered across, floating expertly with Keysia balanced on his back.
Since I wasn’t riding a Great Beast, things were a little more difficult for me. The stones weren’t visible if you weren’t paying close attention, but up close and with a keen eye, I could see where you were supposed to step.
