Almost all of the Barbarians raised their hands. The anger directed at John was now galvanized into getting revenge against the Griffins. John gave them a warm smile. “Thank you. I promise I’ll do my best to make this right.”
He noticed Black Beard and the other Heretics watching the proceedings and nodded to him. “What about you? Will you join with us?”
“We have a choice in the matter, Sir John?” Black Beard said.
“Of course. You no longer owe me any loyalty. Brother Cedric won’t be back, so you are free to do and go wherever you want, but I could do with as many Heretics on my side as I can if I’m going to fight back. You’ll have the protection of the Merchants of Death and access to potions and ingredients if you pledge yourselves to my cause.”
“Don’t listen to him Hain,” the Heretic next to Black Beard said. “We don’t stand a chance. We should go into the mountains and hide. It’s over.”
The NPC called Hain gave his companion a hard look. “What kind of life is that? We would be fugitives and we would not be able to brew the potions we need to commune with the higher realms. That is all that really matters. Without the sweet toxins of oblivion, life is meaningless.”
“Anyone who wants to leave is free to do so,” John said to the Heretics. “Those who want to stay and fight with me raise your hand.”
At first, nobody moved. They exchanged awkward looks until Hain raised one meaty hand and made it into a fist. “I am with you, Sir John.”
At that, the others gave their assent, including the Heretic who had spoken out against joining the Merchants. John was satisfied. He had the makings of a small army. The Noble Griffins might have superior forces at their disposal, but he knew that well planned attacks and strategic use of troops could make all the difference between victory and defeat.
“So then John,” said Brie. “What is the plan now?”
“First of all, I want all of the Frenzied Barbarians to log out right now,” instructed John. “I don’t want anyone losing anymore equipment if they get killed while we try and exit the city. Stay out of the game until you receive a message from Brie. I’m going to figure out a strategy and then I’ll contact her and she’ll bring the rest of you back online. Got it?”
“We understand,” said Brie.
“Good. Now go. I’ll be in touch later on today once I’ve got Hain and the others here safely out of harm’s way. Don’t worry. We’re gonna win this war.”
Brie made a face but said nothing. She turned to the rest of the Frenzied Barbarians and gave them a stern nod. “Okay, you heard the man. Let’s go.”
One by one, the Frenzied Barbarians faded out of existence. Brie was the last to go. “Are you really going to help us?” she asked, before she logged out. “You’re not just stringing us along?”
“Don’t worry, I’m on the level. I’ll be in touch shortly. Just stay out of Gilles’ way until then, okay?”
“Okay,” Brie replied, giving him a sullen pout.
“Tell Dwarfporn I said I’m sorry,” John added as Brie phased out of the game.
“Tell him yourself,” she said and then she was gone.
He stared after where she had been standing for a few moments and then looked out at the city. The tumult of battle was in no danger of receding and everywhere the marks of devastation were like ugly wounds. John had the feeling if Brother Cedric could see this, it would break his heart.
“Look up ahead!” yelled one of the Heretics, bringing him back to the here and now.
“What is it?” he demanded.
“The Griffins have set up a barricade,” Hain said. “There is a war galleon blocking the mouth of the canal.”
“What are we going to do?” the first Heretic said.
Hain shrugged. “Fight our way through.”
“No,” John said. “We’ll weigh anchor and head back into the city. Most of the city militia are addicted to the potions I supply them. If there are any left, we can bribe our way out of the city.”
“You heard what he said,” Hain said to the other Heretics. “Get to it.”
As the Heretic crew scrambled to move the ship back toward the shore, John began to put his plans together. He would organize a full fight back, and if he played his cards right it could make him a lot of money in the process.
Chapter 16
After the trading ship made landfall again, John and the Heretics picked their way through the city, making sure to keep away from any fighting and as many crowds as possible.
The players and NPCs were thinning out now and John got the feeling that the Griffins had pretty much quashed most of the resistance to their rule. He checked the game message boards from time to time and read through the traffic. The other four guilds he had done business with had gone over to the Griffins’ side and Gilles had made an official announcement that the guild of the Frenzied Barbarians had officially dissolved. John smiled bitterly as he read through the comments. Gilles was pretty confident his victory was absolute, which meant he wouldn’t be expecting John’s proposed retaliation. Unfortunately, all the blackmail information he had been gathering on the Noble Griffin leader had completely disappeared, no doubt thanks to a hacker who knew how to do their job, so there was no way to force Gilles to surrender or cooperate now.
John was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.
They got to the Eastern Gate without any incident and their luck was in as it turned out the garrison commander was one of John’s valued customers along with the guards stationed there. Although the Noble Griffins had been fanatically rooting out commoners and nobles who were suspected of being Heretics, their purges had not touched the majority of the King’s armies—which John could use to his advantage. Now finally out of the city, John led Hain and the others to the secret entrance of the nearby tunnel complex and got them down below and out of trouble. At the way station at the bottom of the landing, he collared a Tong slave who was going about his duties.
“Take these men down tunnel 86 B,” he instructed the slave. “Lead them up to the entrance and make sure they don’t stumble over any traps or wards.”
The slave bowed, understanding his orders. John turned to Hain. “My man will take you out to the valley west of Heaven’s Shield. Go straight on from the passageway and you’ll hit a small hamlet called Graff. I run a small potion distillery out there. If it hasn’t been discovered by the Noble Griffins, you should be safe there. I’ll be in touch with further orders as soon as I can.”
“I know the place,” Hain said. “We’ll go. Is there anything else you want me to do in the meantime?”
“If you can try and find as many Heretics as you can and assemble them together. We’re going to engage in guerrilla warfare with the Noble Griffins, carrying out raids on their supplies and ambushes. I’ll draw up the necessary plans.”
“Good,” said Hain. “Thank you, Sir John.”
John nodded, and Hain and the other Heretics headed away with the Tong slave. John went and grabbed a mechanical horse from the corral and headed back to Steamgrad. Kate and Mark were already waiting for him when he got up to his workshop.
“What the frick is going on over in the Holy Seal territory?” Kate asked as soon as John emerged from the hidden entrance. “The message boards are going crazy.”
“Gilles and the Noble Griffins are launching a takeover,” John said calmly as he headed over to his desk. “He’s smashing the Heretics in Heaven’s Shield and the guilds that work with them and us.”
“It’s not just Heaven’s Shield,” Mark said grimly. “Players on the boards are saying the cities of Steel Edge and Keldarn are being completely nuked by the Griffins. It’s like they have gone crazy.”
“Heaven’s Shield is all that matters to us,” said John. He sat down and rifled through his schematics. “That’s where the bulk of my Holy Seal business operations are located and the bulk of my Holy Seal profits.”
“Our profits,”
Kate corrected him. “We’re Merchants of Death too, remember?”
John gave her a wry smile. “How could I ever forget?”
“We’re also outmatched,” Mark put in. “The Knights of the Noble Griffin are way more powerful than us and they’re gaining members by the second. At this rate, the Holy Seal faction and the Noble Griffins are going to be one and the same.”
“That was Gilles’ plan all along,” Kate said in a repulsed voice. “He’s on a triple A power trip.”
“He doesn’t control all of the Holy Seal yet,” John said. “There are still a number of guilds that will resist the Noble Griffins even though they’ll pledge support, and we can get the Heretics organized so that we can start up potion brewing again.”
“I hear we’ve lost Brother Cedric,” Mark said. “That’s going to be a blow to operations.”
“It will be, but I think I’ve already found a replacement. An NPC called Hain. All being well, I’ll have him back in Heaven’s Shield reorganizing things within the week.”
“That’s a big if,” Kate said. “The Noble Griffins are clamping down hard; how are we going to get things back to normal that quickly? Gilles has declared all-out war on the Heretics.”
“Gilles can’t fight a war on two fronts or even three fronts,” John said.
“What do you mean?” asked Mark.
“This is the Eternal Battlefield. The Holy Seal are still at war with the Enlightened and the Seven Paths factions. If they see a chance to take advantage of the chaos that the Noble Griffins has caused, Gilles will have to engage them and leave the Heretics and our networks alone.”
“You think the other two factions are going to attack him?”
“They will once I’m finished,” John replied, “especially when I supply them with in -depth information about the Holy Seal guilds and my range of specialist weaponry.”
Mark blinked in surprise. “What in-depth information?”
John grinned and called up a holographic screen that was directly linked to his laptop in the bunker. He opened a file and reams of data appeared on the screen. Mark and Kate drew closer and read through the information.
“This is the stats for the Noble Griffins,” Kate said in surprise. “Inventories of equipment, location of bases on the Eternal Battlefield, army strength… stuff only the guild would know!”
“Not just that,” said Mark. “This covers all the other main guilds too. Where did you get all this intel?”
“I make it my business to gather as much information as possible,” John replied. “You should know me by now. Good intel makes all the difference between victory and defeat.”
Kate nodded. “You can say that again.”
“So, what are you going to do with all this stuff?” asked Mark.
“The same as what I do with all valuable resources, I’m going to sell it,” John said with a shrug. “I want you to set up a meeting with Jodie and the heads of the other big Enlightenment guilds to discuss launching a full scale attack on the Noble Griffins. Amongst that information is a map with the locations of all the strongholds the Griffins and their allied guilds control on the Eternal Battlefield. Some are common knowledge but there are quite a few that are only known to guild members. They contain a lot of valuable equipment, gold and stuff that’s too valuable to keep in the guild houses.
“I’ve also drawn up several battle plans on the best way to hit some of these locations that ensure a greater chance of victory with minimum casualties. That’ll save the guild leaders time trying to come up with their own schemes to take over the strongholds. If we get the guilds to coordinate their strikes at the same time, it’ll take the Noble Griffins off balance and they won’t have time to consolidate the victories they’ve made today. I’m going to get over to Bastion and have Xan set up meetings with the Seven Paths factions. They’ll do the same.”
“You going to charge the guilds for all this information?” Mark said.
“Of course,” said John. “It’ll go a long way to cover my losses in the Holy Seal.”
“Guild leaders like Jodie won’t like to pay for this stuff,” Kate replied. “She still hates you for forcing her into joining our client list.”
“She’ll pay if it gives her a chance for more glory and fame,” said John. “All the guild leaders will. They’ll figure it’s a good investment because they will have their pick of all the gold and gear they get hold off in the strongholds. It’s too much to resist.”
Kate nodded. “That makes a lot of sense. Come on, Mark, let’s get going.”
As they left to contact the Enlightened guild leaders, John prepared to head out to Bastion. It was time to teach Gilles a lesson he would never forget.
Chapter 17
Gilles clenched his fists in rage as his guild lieutenant finished his report. The guy kept his eyes on his feet and stumbled his way through the bad news, not daring to make eye contact with the guild leader.
“They completely overwhelmed us,” he said in a defeated voice. “Somehow they knew exactly where the money vault was hidden in our stronghold and went straight for it.”
“What about the wards protecting the entrance?” Gilles said in a tight voice. “They were supposed to be strong enough to prevent any intruder getting in.”
“They had some kind of weird spirit fetish that dissolved the wards,” the lieutenant replied. “That’s what Bailey told me anyway. The guys tried to fight them off, but the Seven Paths were too strong. They totaled the whole legion we had posted there.”
“How much gold did they make off with?” Gilles asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
The lieutenant swallowed. “All of it Gilles, the whole sixty grand.”
“Fucking hell!” screamed Gilles. He snatched up his wine goblet and threw the contents in the lieutenant’s face. The underling flinched, and let out a whimper. A couple of the other commanders sat at the meeting table in the Noble Griffin council chamber smirked but quickly hid their expressions from their furious leader.
“Do you have any idea how long it took me to amass that amount of gold?” Gilles said to the lieutenant. “I needed that money to bribe the NPC kingdoms in the southern Holy Seal territories to join my cause! With their manpower behind us, I could have been in complete control of the Holy Seal faction now! Do you have any idea how serious this is?”
“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do. It’s not my fault!”
“No, it’s not your fault,” Gilles agreed, “but you’re the only one here I can take it out on.”
The lieutenant gave him a worried look. “What do you mean?”
“You’re no longer a member of the Knights of the Noble Griffin,” Gilles said with a cruel smile. “Return all your gear to the quartermaster and get out. I never want to see your sniveling face around here again. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll delete your character and join another faction. Better still, quit the game altogether. If you stay in the Holy Seal I’ll make sure your life is a living hell. Understood?”
The lieutenant looked utterly devastated. “But I haven’t done nothing!”
“Don’t make this anymore embarrassing than it has to be,” Gilles drawled, his anger receding as he took pleasure from the little jerk-offs’ suffering. “Get out.”
Head down, the lieutenant shuffled out of the room. This wasn’t the first piece of bad news Gilles had received today. An Enlightened clockwork town had attacked one of the Noble Griffin bases on the Eternal Battlefield near Heaven’s Shield. Like the strike on the gold vault, the Enlightened forces had inside knowledge that had made all the difference between victory and defeat.
But that was only half the problem. He had also been receiving reports of a sudden resurgence of Heretic activity in the city. There had been attacks on several Noble Griffin garrisons, and a number of Griffin backed vendors had been taken out by Heretics and replaced. He would have sent troops in to deal with the problem but t
he renewed battles with the Enlightened and the Seven Paths meant all the players were going out onto the Battlefield. At this rate, he was in danger of losing all the ground he had taken with the purges.
“I don’t get it,” one of the commanders spoke up. “Either we’ve got an informant in the guild or the Heretics are obtaining information and selling it on.”
“Not the Heretics,” Gilles said darkly. “It’s the Merchants of Death. They’re behind all this.”
The commander nodded. “That makes sense, but what do we do about it?”
Gilles glared at the player and hurled his empty wine goblet at him. “You get off your fat ass and go and bring me the head of that John bastard on a plate! He’s the brains behind all this! We take him out and all our problems are solved!”
“He’s a hard guy to get to,” the commander said. “He seems to appear and disappear at will, and none of our hackers have been able to access his account. He has hundreds of agents working on his behalf. Some players don’t even think he exists.”
“He exists all right,” Gilles said. “You find him and you bring him to me! Now get out, all of you!”
Sour faced, the rest of the Noble Griffin High Command ambled out of the chamber, leaving Gilles alone. This was his game, he said to himself. The Holy Seal belonged to him now and no one was going to stand in his way.
Chapter 18
CRIMEWAVE
(EWO expansion pack 1)
Criminal elements have risen up to seize power in many of the cities, controlling districts and rivaling the three main factions in EWO for dominance. Behind these criminal networks are the sinister Merchants of Death and their mysterious leader, the criminal mastermind pulling all the strings. Can you turn back the tide of corruption or will you join forces with the unholy alliance of Tongs, Bandits and Heretics of crime and become a Merchant of Death yourself? The choice is yours.
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