by Edward Brody
The horse, unfortunately, was less aware.
I attempted to lead it across the stones, and after only one step, the horse’s hooves slipped off the stone, and we both fell into the water. The horse rushed back to the shore and almost ran away while everyone had a good laugh at me from the other side.
Soaked, I swam out of the water, fetched the horse, and then urged it into the deep of the river. The horse swam behind me while I held its reins, but I could tell it wasn’t comfortable.
When we made it to the other side, I felt like hell. Swimming through the Crystal River before had led to stinky leather and squishy shoes, but now that I was wearing a mage’s robe, I felt twice as heavy.
Ozzy and Donovan’s horse were a little more agile, and they luckily escaped the same fate.
Everyone waited while I took off my robe and wrung out as much water from the fabric as possible. When I put it back on, the dampness still made me feel terrible.
We continued east with Jax leading the way, and eventually, the thick trees to the right of us opened up a bit and gave way to a large clearing of land. The ground was mostly barren, save for patches of sad green and brown grass and few random dead bushes. It was as if something was preventing vegetation from thriving in the immediate area.
Straight ahead of us were several tall, steep, oval-shaped mountains. I wasn’t even sure if you could call them mountains, as they looked almost like they had been carved out of one solid stone and weathered over time. The steepness, however made all of them look impossible to climb.
One of the mountains, however, was positioned near the center of the cluster and taller than the rest. A small opening could be seen at its base, and circling around the mountain and running from top to bottom at intervals were clearly man-made paths.
We moved at a slow pace as we approached Dragon’s Crest, and I could see that in each of the other mountains surrounding it were other caves. One even had what looked like a metal door covering it, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was inside.
Another day, I thought. There was only one reason for our visit, and that was in hopes of finding an ancient weapon at the main mountain where the dragons nested.
“W-w-what are you doing here?” a scratchy voice said from behind us.
I turned to see an old, skinny man, wearing nothing but a loincloth, hobble out of one of the caves. His white hair was long, but consisted only of a handful of threads, and his beard was just a few short strands hanging off his chin. His skin was tanned and looked like leather.
I held my hand out towards him, preparing to cast a Fireblast, and I could see the rest of my group placing their hands on their weapons.
“Don’t go that way!” he shouted, ignoring his imminent danger.
“Who are you?” I asked, dismissing both his question and his warning. Though the man didn’t look very dangerous, I knew better than to trust outward appearances.
“I live here!”
I glanced around again at the mostly barren landscape. It didn’t look that inhabitable. “You live here?”
“What did I say? Yes, I live here!” He waved his hands at us several times. “Now get out of here before you get yourselves killed!”
“We’re going to Dragon’s Crest,” we said.
“You’re at Dragon’s Crest. Now you’ve seen it, so go home!”
“I mean, we’re going to climb the crest,” I said. “The big one in the center. I turned and pointed to the tallest mountain.”
The man twitched nervously. “Listen up, kiddos. You’re won’t be the first to die in these parts.”
“You’re alive,” I said.
“Because I don’t try to go up there!” The man stamped his foot and pointed at the ground. “I stay here where I belong.”
I knew we weren’t going to listen to the old man’s warning. We already knew how dangerous it was. But I was curious how or why a man was living there.
“Who are you?” I asked again.
“I live here!” the man shouted again.
“I know, but what’s your name?”
The old man twitched again, and his head shifted from left to right. He paused a moment before answering, but his tone seemed to soften a bit. “Bartholomew, if I remember correctly.” He grinned a little, showing yellow and black teeth.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
His brow creased, and his voice turned back to annoyance. “I live here!”
“I mean, why do you live here?”
“I don’t suppose that’s any of your business, is it?” He stamped his foot in the ground, kicking up a bit of dust.
“How do you live here?” I waved my hand in a circular motion around me then pointed towards the tallest crest. “There’s nothing here… and dragons. You’re not afraid of dragons?”
The man grinned again. “Oh, there’s lots here. Lots of stuff that will kill you! But I can eat here; there’s plenty of mushrooms, and there’s endless water in the river. Fish too!”
“You live here alone?”
The old man laughed and began bouncing around in a crazed dance. “No one to tell! No one to tax! I live for myself, and I like it like that!”
I turned to my group, and they all looked disturbed by the weird old man.
Jax rode Fenris close to me. “Let’s move on. We’re wasting time with this man.”
As if he had a sixth sense, Jeremy moved Rarri in close to me as well, and Sung leaned over. “He’s probably a quest giver.”
“Why do you think that?” I asked.
“He’s out of place,” Sung explained. “Out here in the middle of nowhere and reluctant to give information. I’m sure there’s something he wants if we press him.”
I was torn on if it were worth it to waste more time with the old man, but I figured a few more questions wouldn’t hurt. He wasn’t as crazy as Trynzen, but he reminded me a lot of the Barbaros. Maybe all I needed to do was strike the right cord. “How long have you been here?” I asked.
The man stopped bouncing around and spat, “None of your business!”
“Okay,” I said raising my eyebrows. “Well, where did you live before you lived here?”
“Oh…” the man said softly. He touched his chin and looked down as if he were thinking of answering the question or not. “Highcastle, I believe is the name? A city full of bullshit.” He looked up and grinned again.
I grinned as well and switched my tune. I held my arms out and turned my hand to look all around. “It looks like quite the upgrade you’ve made. There’s no—“
There was a loud howl, and the sound of heavy wings roaring overhead. The ground became overcast, and we all ducked as a large, dark dragon flew past. I had to hold the reins of my horse as it got spooked and tried to pull away.
The dragon flew straight into an opening near the top of Dragon’s Crest and disappeared, but my heart was still thumping for several minutes afterward.
The old man seemed to not even notice.
I swallowed hard and mumbled the sentence that I was saying so confidently before. “There’s no bullshit out here.”
“None at all!” the old man cried. “Freedom to do what I want!” He bounced around again. “You know? No one holds rights to Dragon’s Crest! No King, no Queen!” His eyes flickered, and he looked like he had a revelation. “If I’m here alone, I guess that makes me the King of Dragon’s Crest!” The man hobbled up towards me with wide eyes and then turned, looking towards all my companions, one by one. “Did you hear that? I’m the King of Dragon’s Crest!”
Clearly the man had spent too much time alone. But again, I had enough experience with looney-toons in Eden’s Gate already after meeting Trynzen. I know it was best just to play along.
“We’re honored by your presence, King Bartholomew,” I said. I could see the other members of my group looking at me with astonishment.
The man opened his mouth wide, and his eyes were practically bugging out of his head. “I’m King! I’m King!”
“Of course, you are, my King,” Jeremy said. Given that he had been with me during our meeting with Trynzen, he knew what was going on.
“Your highness, we must spread word of your glory,” I said. “Please tell us how you came to the throne of Dragon’s Crest, so we can share it with the rest of the world.”
The man raised one of his hands in excitement. “I—” He stopped, lowered his hand, and his face softened. “It’s not a story to share.”
“Why? At least share it with your loyal followers?” I asked gently.
“I… I…” He looked down and shook his head. “I was a noble in Highcastle, I suppose. Rich! Very rich! I owned several shops around town.”
“Why did you leave Highcastle?” I questioned.
“Ormond…” The man muttered.
“Ormond?” I asked.
“King Rutherford.” The man looked up and clenched his rotten teeth together. “I didn’t pay the King’s bullshit tax. He was trying to bleed me dry!” He looked from side to side at us as if searching for agreement. “I caught word I’d be sentenced for tax evasion! I fled and found myself here!”
“Glorious Dragon’s Crest!” I said loudly, raising my hand in the sky as if cheering a mug.
“Yes!” the man said. “Glorious!”
“Ormond passed long ago,” Jax said. “Owen Rutherford now sits on the throne. He’s a more forgiving King.”
I raised an eyebrow to that. If that were the case, Ormond must have been a terrible king. The current king was a real ass most of the time.
“The King is dead?!” the man asked.
“Your crime would’ve long been forgotten,” Jax said. “I’m sure you can return to Highcastle now. Or the Freelands even. There’s no taxes in the Freelands.”
“No tax in the Freelands?” the man asked with wide eyes.
“No tax,” Jax repeated.
The man looked off into the distance as if considering something, then muttered, “But I am King…”
“Would you like help returning to Highcastle?” I asked.
The man’s shoulders slumped, and he looked down at his derelict figure. He suddenly seemed to realize the weight of his situation and didn’t seem sure what he wanted. “I… I… I don’t know what to do. Ormond is gone…”
“Ormond is dead,” Jax repeated.
The man swallowed, then looked up quickly. “Wait here!” He turned and hobbled off into the cave from where he had emerged.
Jax leaned over to me. “What’s going on? What are we wasting time?”
“Just a little longer,” I said.
The man reappeared, carrying a small bundle of something wrapped in a dirty cloth. He moved close to me and placed a first to his mouth as he let out a loud cough. “Your King needs your help…” He sounded a lot less confident with his words.
The man unwrapped the bundle, and rolled inside were several official-looking pieces of paper and a keychain with three keys.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Deeds,” the man said. “Deeds to my shops!”
Bartholomew’s Deeds. Durability: 2/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Rare. Weight: 0.1 kg. Deeds to Bartholomew’s shops in Highcastle.
Bartholomew’s Keys. Durability: 325/1000. Quality: Average. Rarity: Rare. Weight: 0.1 kg. Keys to Bartholomew’s shops in Highcastle.
“Okay, what do we do with them?” I asked.
“Highcastle! Find if the deeds are still valid and inform your King, will you?”
You’ve received a quest offer: Bartholomew’s Deeds
Bartholomew would like you to investigate his deeds and find out if they’re still valid.
Reward: 5000 XP
Do you accept this quest? Accept/Decline
I grinned a little at the quest was glad that Sung had been right. “Sure, Your Highness. We can do that for you.”
You have accepted the quest: Bartholomew’s Deeds!
The man’s eyes shifted from side to side as if he were suddenly concerned. “You won’t steal them, right? I can trust you?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” I replied.
The man seemed to believe me, and he licked his lips, as if he were anticipating telling me something else.
“Is that all you need?” I asked.
“One more thing…” the man said. “My son. Can you find out if he is alive and tell him where I am? Tell him that I am King!”
“What’s his name?” I asked.
The man looked down and wrinkled his brow as if he had forgotten the name a moment and then raised a finger as if he looked up. “Bartholomew the Second,” he said.
“And where might we find him?” I continued.
The man shook his head and groaned. “I couldn’t tell you. Highcastle, perhaps. Surely Ormond wouldn’t have turned his wrath on my son.” He looked up and suddenly seemed excited again. “Oh gods! Do this and your King will reward you greatly!”
You’ve received a quest offer: Son of the King
Bartholomew would like you to locate his son and notify him that he’s now the King of Dragon’s Crest.
Reward: 5000 XP, Unknown Reward
Do you accept this quest? Accept/Decline
“Alright, I’ll do my best.”
You have accepted the quest: Son of the King!
I glanced back towards Dragon’s Crest. “We’ll be taking our leave now, Your Highness.”
“Yes!” the old man said. “Leave here!”
I smiled and turned my horse in the opposite direction. The rest of our group turned their mounts to follow.
“No!” the man yelled. “Not that way! My son isn’t over there!”
I gave my horse a small kick to speed him up to a quick trot.
“Your King demands you halt!” I heard the man yelling. “Don’t enter Dragon’s Crest! You’ll die!”
Chapter Thirty-One
2/12/0001
It was only a minute’s ride from Bartholomew’s cave to the base of Dragon’s Crest. The old man had been screaming his lungs out for us to turn around nearly the whole way until finally giving up.
We halted several meters away from the mountain—close enough that we could get a sense for its massive scale, but far away enough that we didn’t alert a group of strange creatures that were stationed nearby.
The creatures looked like caterpillars, but instead of the caterpillars slithering on their bellies, six, long, pointy legs were attached to bottom half of their torso. The upper-half of their bodies were aligned vertically as they moved. Their heads had four sharp talons on either side, and their wet, mushy faces made it difficult to make out where their mouths and other features began or ended.
Name: Hexapodra
Race: monster
Level: 29
Health/Mana/Stamina: 300/390/400
Status: aggressive
Up close, it seemed that the mountain was broken into levels as—at least from where we were standing—it appeared that you had to enter the cave at the bottom to exit at a higher level that finally led to the outer path. That path led up to other another cave entrance which needed to be entered to reach the next section of the path, and on and on.
The Hexapodras were clustered in groups surrounding a thick mesh of hay and other dead foliage covered in thick, silky webs. They appeared to be guarding whatever it was and weren’t particularly interested in the crest or anything else around them.
It seemed possible to avoid the Hexapodras altogether, but there was no way to be sure how far their aggro extended. It was a close call if they’d notice us walking into the crest.
“Alright, guys,” I said. “It’s time.”
“Groups?” Jeremy asked as he dismounted Rarri.
“How about me, Keysia, Ozzy, and Donovan?” I suggested, knowing that groups were limited to four. “Group two will be Jax, Rina, Sung, and Jeremy. We know from when we attacked Shashana that things can get hectic, so again, let’s stick to the main rule of keeping Rina alive.”
&nb
sp; We backtracked a bit so that we were even further out of the way of the Hexapodras and tied off our horses. Jax and Jeremy ordered their beasts to stand guard by the horses, and Keysia released Neshander to the Otherworld.
“We’ll be the front lines,” Ozzy said as he slapped a light backhand against Donovan’s chest.
I nodded. “Sung and Jeremy, just get in and do damage where you can, but I want you to keep a close eye on Rina. The rest of us—Rina, Keysia, and I—will stay back and use magic.”
“Got it,” Ozzy said, unfastening his hammer and shield. I noticed his shield was a lot bigger than the one I was used to seeing him use—nearly half his length and his entire width. It was also free of scratches and dents.
“Nice shield, Oz,” I said.
“Thanks,” he said. “Aaron made it with the schematic we found in the serpent’s cave. Hopefully we can find some more badass stuff in here.”
I gave a subtle nod. “Just remember we’re here for Adeelee. If we get loot, we get loot, but that’s not the main focus. We need an ancient weapon.”
Ozzy nodded back in understanding.
Our group crept back slowly until we could see the Hexapodras again.
“Jeremy, you’re the best sneak of the group. What don’t you see if you can get by these guys?” I asked.
“Go in that cave alone?” Jeremy asked worriedly.
“We’ll be right behind you,” I said. “Just want to avoid any unnecessary fighting and walking into anything that’s going to maul us immediately.”
“But it’ll maul me immediately,” Jeremy protested.
