John reached the end of the alleyway and spotted a narrow staircase leading up to the street above. He shot up it as the Griffins came clattering down the alleyway after him. Fortunately for him, they didn’t see him go up the steps and carried on running down the alley, getting swallowed up by the labyrinth of side streets that laced through the city.
Free of his pursuers, John kept on running until he was well away from Lord Grayton’s home, and then slowed down to a normal walk. There were less people here, but everywhere he saw the banners of the Noble Griffins, and several times he had to duck into a doorway or slip into the shadows as Griffin patrols came past. Plumes of black smoke stained the sky, and he heard several explosions from the distance. John had been in enough war zones to know the signs that the Griffins were trying to take over the city. That meant his whole operation would get shut down here and chances were they would hit his activities in other Holy Seal cities and settlements. He needed the income he was making in this territory to get his new life set up, and if he lost it his whole plan would be set back months—if not indefinitely.
He began to head east toward the location of the guild office of the Frenzied Barbarians and soon found the streets clogged with people and NPCs. Fights had broken out between non-Heretics of both types and supposed Heretics. Huge piles of player and NPC bodies were piled up in the streets and many buildings were damaged by fire.
He hung back from the main areas of the fighting and realized he would have to find another way to the Frenzied Barbarians’ base. He headed down toward the riverfront, keeping to the side passages and alleyways.
Once he got there he found more chaos, with heavy fighting going on between a large group of NPC Heretics and a battalion of Noble Griffin billmen. There was a trading ship in the dock which the Heretics seemed to be trying to get to but were being blocked by the billmen. Around them several warehouses were burning, and there were barricades blocking the roads leading off from the docks. Hunkering down behind a pile of crates, he realized he wasn’t going to get to the guild office without getting into trouble. It was going to be harder to get there alone as well.
He watched the battle raging for a little longer. The Heretics were pushing as hard as they could, but the Noble Griffins were holding ground and the battle seemed evenly matched. They could be fighting for hours, grinding themselves down to a halt.
John slipped his backpack off his shoulder and opened it. He searched through it until he found what he was looking for. It was a Potion of Root Golem Transformation. Since Brother Cedric had successfully developed the potion, John always carried three bottles around with him at all times in case he got caught in a tight jam. He was reluctant to use a potion unless it was absolutely necessary, but if he was going to get to the guild office he would need the help of those Heretics.
Making his decision, he unstopped the cork and swallowed down its contents. A tingling sensation went through his body and he felt himself starting to expand and grow in size and power.
You have consumed: Potion of Root Golem Transformation!
Attack stats increase by 2,800 points
Defense stats increase by 2,200 points
60% increase in taking no damage when attacked
80% increase of instant kill with a single blow
Effects last six minutes
Within moments he was fully transformed, and conscious of the time limit on the change, he rushed towards the battle.
At first, the Heretics thought he was going to attack them and scattered at his approach.
“I’m with you!” he yelled. “Let’s finish this!”
He lunged forward and smashed his tendrils into the nearest billmen. The Noble Griffins retreated in shock and he took down several of them before any of them had time to fight back.
“Help me!” he shouted to the other Heretics. “I can’t do this alone!”
A pain lanced through his tree trunk leg as a billman drove the end of his poleaxe into the mixture of wood and rock that was now his flesh. John lashed out, smacking the player hard in the face with his tendril. The blow sent the player flying, and John used his tendril arms to land devastating attacks on the other Noble Griffins. He started laughing out loud. How good it felt to be able to fight in this game for once and not get obliterated!
Spurred on by his arrival, the Heretics rushed forward with renewed vigor. Conscious that his transformation time was slowly running out, John continued to fight savagely, focused on crushing as many Noble Griffins as possible. The Heretics fought alongside him, complementing his attacks. Before long, a large number of the Griffin players had been dispatched, and many of those left behind began to run toward the barricades. John was just beginning to change back into his normal avatar form when the last of the Noble Griffins had fully retreated.
“Thank you,” a stocky Heretic with a thick black beard and blood running down his temple said, shaking John’s hand. “I don’t know what we would have done without your help.”
“Don’t mention it,” said John, “but I need you to return the favor. I need an escort to help me get to the guild office of the Frenzied Barbarians. They are under attack from the Noble Griffins.”
Another Heretic with a squat broken nose barked a harsh laugh. “We are all under attack from the Noble Griffins! That is why we have to get out of the city. Sir Gilles has vowed to slaughter every Heretic and anyone who fraternizes with them before the day is out. This ship is our only chance of escape.”
“He’s right,” the NPC with the black beard said, nodding his head sadly. “We owe you a debt of thanks, but we have to get away while we still can.”
“Wait a minute. I can help you fight back. I have weapons and potions that the Noble Griffins don’t possess. If we plan this in the right way and hold our nerve, we can defeat them. I am strategist. I know how to do this.”
“The Noble Griffins have the King’s full support. They are too powerful!” snapped Broken Nose. “There are too many of them and most of the other player guilds are cooperating with Sir Gilles to save their own resources and standing in the Holy Seal. The battle is lost.”
Nods and murmurs of agreement went up from the other NPCs. Only Black Beard remained silent. He was looking at John with a curious expression. “You are one of the Merchants of Death. That is how you possessed a potion to transform you into that creature, a Root Golem isn’t it?”
“I’m the leader of the Merchants of Death,” John said.
Black Beard raised his eyebrows. “Sir John? Brother Cedric spoke most highly of you. We have a duty to help you in any way we can.”
“Brother Cedric abandoned us!” said Broken Nose. “We don’t owe him or the Merchants anything! Let’s go!”
The Heretics started to move as one toward the gangplank of the ship when John blocked their way and raised his hands. “Wait a minute! There’s a canal leading off from the river that runs behind the Barbarians’ offices, right? At least let’s go over there and see if we can rescue any of the guild members and other Heretics trapped there before you leave the city. You can at least do that.”
Broken Nose was about to argue against the idea but Black Beard grabbed his shoulder and gave him a warning look. “Very well,” he said, taking on an air of authority. “We owe it to our brethren to try.”
He shot a meaningful look at the others and most of them nodded their agreement. John made his way up the gangplank. “Good,” he said, “let’s get going!”
Black Beard and a large number of the Heretics turned out to be seamen so they quickly got to grips navigating the vessel down the river. John stood on the prow and took in the devastation of the city. Everywhere he looked, there was damage, and large sections of the poorer neighborhoods had been completely engulfed in flames. In many of the streets there was hand-to-hand fighting, and a large number of citizens were trying to flee the city any way they could. A huge flotilla of boats, ships and any other water going vessel now clog
ged the river, and many people were even jumping into the waters themselves and trying to swim for it.
Just before they reached the fork where the river linked with the canal, John spotted a large group of archers and musketeers wearing the crest of the Noble Griffins beginning to assemble at the riverfront. They opened fire on the makeshift armada of fleeing ships. John ducked down as flaming arrows and musket balls sailed overhead, and watched in alarm as a battalion of Noble Griffin engineers brought up several large gold embossed cannons, their barrels shaped to resemble the open jawed heads of the guild’s namesake.
The air trembled as the first of the cannons was loaded up and fired, scoring a direct hit on the little cog that was in front of John’s ship. The cannonball smashed straight through its middle and the little vessel crumpled and began to sink. Screams and panic-filled shouts came up as the crew and passengers abandoned the ship. Many of them did not even reach the water before they were cut down by arrows or grapeshot. A few moments later, the air roared again as the other cannons belched into life, raining down devastation on the other boats.
“Get us down the canal as fast as you can!” John yelled to Black Beard. “We don’t stand a chance trying to get through.”
“We don’t stand a chance anyway,” the Heretic said grimly. “Look!”
John swore angrily when he spotted the small knot of Griffin Holy Priests that had come down to the riverfront to join the ranged attackers. They quickly closed their eyes and began chanting in unison, raising their arms in the air.
Above the river opposite their position, large black clouds began to appear out of nowhere and a fierce wind whipped up, hitting the flotilla full on. Several small fishing boats were upturned straight away and a fresh wave of panic went through the fleeing NPCs as a huge tornado solidified a few feet over the water and began to move directly towards them.
“A Maelstrom of Holy Vengeance!” John heard Broken Nose shriek. “We’re doomed! We’re doomed!”
“Stay calm!” John said, though he was finding it hard to do so himself. “Panic and we’re all dead!”
“We’re already dead!” Broken Nose bellowed. Before anyone could stop him, he ran across the deck and threw himself over the rail.
John shook his head and looked back at the Maelstrom. It was carving a path through the helpless vessels, forks of blue lightning spitting out of it like snake tongues. When it hit them, it would dash the ship to pieces.
The canal mouth was just within range and the crew scrambled to maneuver the ship down it before they were caught up by the Maelstrom. The river churned beneath John’s feet, and as they made the turning, a wave of fire arrows started to bear down on them. Several hit the sails and the deck, and the flames started to spread.
“Put them out!” John yelled as he grabbed a bucket and quickly filled it with water from a nearby butt. “Hurry before the fire spreads!”
The Heretics scrambled to put out the little fires either with water or stamping then out with cloth and any other bits of material they could get their hands on. The arrow attack was joined with musket shots, and several Heretics fell in the onslaught.
Crouching low, John scooped up his backpack and rifled through it. As well as his remaining Potions of Root Golem Transformation, he also had several Pain Bombs tucked safely in a hide wrapping.
He got them out quickly and laid them out on the deck. Selecting one, he primed it and then raised his head over the railing. There were a group of Noble Griffin ranged fighters now on the canal path bombarding the ship. They were close enough to hit with the bomb, so he hurled it into the center of the group. The explosion took most of them off their feet, and the shadowy form of the Torturer Spirit rose up and went after the nearest Noble Griffin. Another group came running along to try and carry on the attack on the ship and John lobbed another bomb at them. That put an end to any further assault, and the ship headed on down the canal and safely away from the fury of the cannons and the Maelstrom.
Unfortunately, they were sailing deeper into the danger zone. Reaching the Frenzied Barbarians’ guild base, they found a brutal battle going on between the guild and a small army of Noble Griffins. The building was on fire and Barbarian guild members were coming out to be hacked to pieces by the Griffins.
The ship came alongside the canal front and John grabbed another Potion of Root Golem Transformation. “Lower the gangplank,” he said to Black Beard. “I’m going to try and get as many of them onboard as I can.”
“We’ll come with you,” Black Beard said, and the rest of the Heretics nodded, now emboldened and ready for battle.
“Okay,” John said, “but don’t get caught up in the fighting. We get as many of them out and then we split, okay?”
“Lead the way,” Black Beard said.
John swallowed down the potion and was in the midst of transformation as he rushed down the gangplank. He led from the front, inspiring the others, and ploughed into the nearest of the Noble Griffin warriors.
Several Frenzied Barbarians stared in confusion at the arrival of John and his makeshift attack force. He scooped up the warrior he was fighting like he was a rag doll and hurled him against a nearby wall.
“Come with us!” he roared at the Barbarians. “To the ship! To the ship!”
The Frenzied Barbarians in earshot didn’t need telling twice and raced toward the gangplank. John came round and covered them from the Noble Griffins that gave chase and urged his Heretic forces to get back aboard before he advanced back up the gangplank.
He changed back as he got aboard and snatched up two more Pain Bombs. He activated them both and hurled them down at the Noble Griffins, plunging them into chaos.
“Cast off! Cast off!” he ordered Black Beard, and the ship set off down the canal.
The exhausted Frenzied Barbarians milled about on deck, talking excitedly. Many of them were angry and vowed revenge on the Noble Griffins. John scanned the sea of faces for Dwarfporn but couldn’t find him. He did recognize an Advancement Archer called Brie who was a senior lieutenant amongst the Barbarians.
“Brie!” he called. “Brie! Over here!”
Brie spotted him and came over to his position. “You’re John, aren’t you?”
John nodded. “Yes, where’s Dwarfporn?”
“His account got nuked along with a lot of other guild leaders, thanks to you!”
“He’s been kicked off?” John said in surprise.
“Lifetime ban. Thanks a fucking lot, John. I warned him not to do business with you. I just knew the Noble Griffins would hit us hard for stepping out of line. You’ve ruined our guild!”
A few of the other Frenzied Barbarians began shooting him dark looks and shouted insults. Black Beard and the other Heretics raised their weapons and it looked like there was the distinct possibility of another battle breaking out on deck.
“Everyone calm down,” John said, raising his voice and making it strong and firm. “Okay Brie, you’re right, this is my fault, but the Noble Griffins were screwing you over anyway, weren’t they—making you buy their gear and charging extortionate rates? It was seriously harming the growth of your guild. Dwarfporn told me all about it. He also told him that you were losing more and more members. They were switching over to the Noble Griffins because they offered better prospects for advancing their characters. In a couple of months, your guild would have folded altogether. I’m right, aren’t I?”
Brie’s face was red with anger, but she didn’t disagree. “That doesn’t mean Dwarfporn should have made a suicide pact with the Merchants of Death. There have been other guilds in the past that tried to take over everyone else, but we fought them off. We would have fought off the Griffins too.”
John shook his head. “Gilles is different. He’s playing for keeps and he would have smashed you down sooner or later. I just accelerated the process, though I didn’t mean to. I am really sorry about all this. I’m losing money and prestige too.”
“Be
ing sorry ain’t worth shit,” Brie said. “How are we going to fight back at Gilles? He’s got the upper hand now.” She called up the stat screen for the Frenzied Barbarian Guild and shook her head in despair. “I fucking knew it. The Noble Griffins messaged the rest of the members in the backwater regions and told them what happened. They’ve opened their doors and offered everyone a place in their guild. We’ve lost two hundred and forty members already.”
“How many do you have left now?” asked John.
“Including what you see here and a few scattered around, about sixty. We’re going to have to start building from the ground up again, but if we do that the Noble Griffins will just knock us down again. Me and Dwarfporn and the other guild heads worked so hard to get where we are today, it’s not fair! Man, I feel like quitting altogether.”
“No, don’t do that,” John said quickly. “We can turn this around.”
Brie huffed, far from convinced. “How the hell are we supposed to do that?”
“You forget I possess an armory of specialized gear and weapons,” John said. “My network spreads across all three factions and territories, and I have more than enough resources to put together a counterattack against the Noble Griffins. We can stop Gilles if we work together. What do you say?”
Brie scowled. “I don’t know, John. I don’t want to get blocked from the game.”
“But we haven’t got anything to lose,” spoke up another guild member. “I’d rather be blocked than be at the beck and call of that prick Gilles and his elitist buddies. It’s either that or we delete our characters, get a new account and start up a new game in either of the two other factions, which I don’t really want to do that. I love playing in the Holy Seal. We all do.”
There were nods of agreement from the other Frenzied Barbarians and John could see that they were willing to cooperate with him. He looked at Brie. “Well Brie, what do you say?”
Brie sighed heavily. “I don’t want to carry on playing as a Holy Seal character if it means I’m Gilles’ servant. That much is certain. But like the others, I don’t want to start from scratch in another faction. If the rest of the guild here says yeah, then I’m with you.” She turned to the Frenzied Barbarians. “Show of hands, who wants to team up with the Merchants of Death and fight back against the Noble Griffins?”
Merchant of Death Page 24
