by Charles Dean
After that exchange, no one said anything. They all just quietly waited for something to happen. Liu and Viola kept their eyes glued on the forty-man cavalry, but Katie pulled out a knife and began to whittle something small in her hands, and Nick simply moped against the wall where Liu had first threatened him.
Liu was starting to grow impatient when two men, dressed in the type of formal regalia expected in a ballroom, not on a battlefield, walked up to the group. Even if she hadn’t spotted the duo immediately, Viola’s immediate tap on her back would have alerted her to the fact their wait was over.
“How long must we wait before we charge in? The headmistress’s trap has already sprung, and the enemies are all in one nest, so why don’t we go kill them and cut this diseased commoner blight from our city at once,” one of the men, dressed in blue and purple, asked the other as they walked in front of the line of cavalry.
“My men are not waiting here for decoration, Edwin,” the other said. This noble wore an entirely different set of colors, black with orange and silver, which looked like a miserable choice under the scorching sun. “Edmund has given us strict orders not to proceed until the moment the peasants have nearly killed themselves off. If we charge in now, who is to say that a stray arrow or a well-placed spell might not kill one of our fine soldiers? If we charge in later, who is to say they will even have the capacity to threaten us at all?”
“This is why the headmistress and the other nobles don’t trust your lot, Pembroke,” Edwin grumbled.
“The other nobles are precisely why we show caution,” Pembroke said. “We are at the precipice of destruction, and you wish to be cavalier with the cavalry? Think hard, Edwin. What do you think will happen if our forces wane? The Imperium has neither the manpower nor the momentum to handle the growing threat of the Alfar and the beasts. Our army is the only thing that ensures the land trading continues as normal without a pause. If either of those groups were to catch wind that we’d lost too many of our elite mage-killing cavalry, how long do you think it would be until they decided we weren’t necessary for their own survival? Until they decided that they could fake a war between each other just fine and chose to finish us off?”
Edwin seemed to agree with Pembroke. He went quiet and cast his gaze downward as if contemplating what his fellow noble had said.
What in the hell is this? Liu wondered as she watched on. She had no idea that there was such a complicated scheme afoot in the Imperium. She knew for a fact that the people mentioned, the academy headmistress and Duke Edmund, were NPCs. They should have been following standard quest progression, yet here they were, talking about land trading and back-end deals with factions that should clearly be their enemies. No, actually this makes sense, Liu thought as she watched the group. This must be how the world itself regulates the territory of the three factions, an explanation for them being at war for generations with never a single hint of any involved parties properly winning. The war is fake, but the players don’t know that. They continue fighting the good fight, when in reality, it’s only a good fight to them.
“If that’s really what you believe, then why are we wasting so much of our time and effort trying to clean up this pro-Imperium, self-important plebeian?” Edwin asked, finally breaking his moment of silent reflection. “We could back up, let his power grow, and have him fight the Alfar and the beasts instead of us. He’d wear them down, and they’d be in the position you fear we might end up in.”
“What you suggest is another option, and it’s another reason why we’re being patient. Edmund has grown increasingly concerned with House Ostreicher, and if we can control this Lucas and point him in the right direction, then it’s better for us. At the moment, however, he’s still a greater liability to us than the others. It’s our trade, our supply lines, and our reputation he is wrecking at every given opportunity,” Pembroke explained. “If he were not such a thorn in our side, then your plan would be an advisable one. Unfortunately, he is, so the issue still stands. We must eliminate him to protect our interests.”
“And the headmistress . . . Whore, harlot, slut,” Edwin spouted out. “The headmistress has been called so many things by so many people, but none of them know the truth--that pride and reputation don’t exist for us--yet it hasn’t impacted our business or our stature. Perhaps for all the scheming Edmund does, he is protecting the wrong things. Trade and supply lines can be replenished after the war, reputation means nothing once used up, and the rest of what you’re describing as a liability . . . Our headmistress won’t be affected. Her reputation can’t go any lower.”
“What are you saying?” Pembroke asked.
“I’m saying that, for now, I’m going to withdraw, report the situation and your stance to the headmistress, and leave you on your own.”
“Y-You can’t just abandon us here!” he protested. “What will you do if something happens to our troops? Will you be responsible if the Human faction loses its negotiating ability and collapses?”
Edwin looked over at the mounted soldiers. “A handful of your finest cavalry? Who do you think educated them? Whose classes do you think they took when they were learning how to battle? We can make more. I will not fight simply for Edmund’s pride.” Edwin snorted and then turned and walked away, leaving the others standing in the middle of the street watching his back.
Pembroke watched as Edwin left with a look of consternation drawn across his face. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Then what do you want us to do? Just let him continue on like it’s nothing?” Pembroke shouted at Edwin’s back. “Do we just allow him to upend our society out of fear?”
Edwin paused. “Ostreicher is always eager to prove his champions are better than ours, so send one of them.” He turned to face Pembroke, but didn’t take a single step closer. “Either he solves the problem for us, or he pays the price for thinking my mistress is such a wanton woman that she’d lie with a beast.”
Pembroke glared at him in disbelief. “To give away our honor by shucking our problems and duty onto others . . . How far we’ve fallen . . .”
“Honor is a chain. Discard it, or you’ll find yourself bound to death’s door eventually,” Edwin replied with a shrug and then continued his departure.
Pembroke huffed for a minute and then sighed and nodded. “Men, we’re leaving,” he said defeatedly.
Most of the soldiers just nodded, but the one at the front-most left side questioned him. “Sir,” he began, “are you sure it’s wise to simply discard our plans?”
“We’re not discarding anything. Before the sun sets, we’ll have made sure Ostreicher’s best bear-men have sieged the building that upstart is holed up in. Edwin is right: we shouldn’t dirty our own hands,” Pembroke explained.
“You should put more faith in us, sir,” the armed man pleaded.
“Quiet. The decision is made. If you have any need to complain, do so with Edmund because I won’t hear any more of it.” Pembroke shook his head, turned on his heel, and followed after Edwin.
The cavalry awkwardly turned their horses around and then cantered off as if they suddenly had somewhere else to be.
“So, the headmistress and Edmund . . .” Nick observed once everyone was gone. “As well as Ostreicher’s beast faction and some Alfars . . . It seems like Lucas was successful in creating more than just a few enemies.”
“And at least one of them is going to try and kill him tonight,” Liu said. She knew the name Ostreicher quite well. He was one of the toughest bosses that a player could face. Ostreicher, the Beast King, and two others were considered the four guardians of the Beast lands, and that title wasn’t just for show. “We need to make it to Lucas as soon as possible.”
“Right,” Nick agreed. “It’s what I’ve been saying from the start. And I think this time I’m going to walk in front.”
What? Liu looked at him confused. Are you trying to lead now?
“Those notifications coming in left and right are proof that Lucas is fighting. He’s undermanned and
losing that fight isn’t worth the time we’ve wasted on this little bit of information, which is barely more than a long list of idiots who are trying to kill him. So, I’m going on. If you want to take another stab at me, go ahead, but you’ll be doing it from behind. I’m going to go help my bro out and try to get to him before whatever ridiculous monster bear attack squad of bull crap that Ostreicher guy ends up sending.” Nick pushed past Liu and Viola and made his way around the corner with his chest puffed out.
Liu gave Nick a half-hearted smile. There may be hope for you yet, she thought as she watched him pick up the pace and start jogging toward the next turn. Liu quickly fell in behind Nick along with the others, and the group hastily made their way toward Lucas and whatever mess he was caught up in. It only took a short amount of time to reach the market plaza now that they had abandoned all stealth, but when they rounded the final turn, the group came to a collective halt when they saw what was waiting for them.
“What in the hell happened here?” Nick asked incredulously. He took several tentative steps forward into a massive puddle of fresh blood and then began wending his way around the occasional body scattered throughout the area. Even with the number of people that died, there was no explanation for how or why the area was filled to the brim with such an excess of blood. The effect was almost as nauseating as the smell.
“You guys just show up for the quest?” a Human man holding a blue and green staff and wearing robes that said “Shoot Me First in PvP” asked when he saw them.
“Yeah, something like that,” Liu answered hesitantly. Does he not recognize us? I mean, I should stick out like a sore thumb, and so should Nick. He’s basically the only black-plated Dark Knight that exists around this level. Liu studied the stranger’s reaction, trying to tell if he seriously believed that they were on their way to kill Lucas with the rest of them or if he was just saying that so that the four of them didn’t kill him on the spot.
“You’re in for a treat then,” another man, a large Were-Beaver carrying a two-handed axe, said as he walked up to join the Human. “This event has proven to be one of the most unique and insanely fun events that we’ve had in the game in a long time. It’s been going on past an hour, and we still don’t have a winner. I’m pretty excited to take a crack at it myself. Anyway, are we waiting for anyone? Got more people coming, Nathan?”
“Not enough, Thompson. Only two more. Should be three,” Nathan grumbled.
“Should be three?”
“Yeah, Kristen was supposed to show up with Grispino, but she left us to go join that stupid freaking jackhole’s side,” he cursed.
“‘Jackhole’ is a little polite compared to the words I’d use,” a Were-Wolf wearing leather armor and playing with two daggers chimed in as he approached. “That traitor and the devilish fiend deserve a lot harsher words than I’m willing to say in front of a beautiful lady.”
“A beautiful lady?” Viola put a hand over her mouth as she gasped. “Oh, my, I do declare. I would have thought we were all pretty, but there is clearly only one beautiful lady, not a pair or trio,” she teased, causing the man to turn red from embarrassment.
“I . . . I didn’t . . . I meant . . . I . . . No, it’s that . . . It’s just, well . . .” He kept trying to reply, but he couldn’t seem to get past the first few words.
“She’s just pulling your chain,” Liu said. “Don’t worry about it.” Truthfully, she wanted to watch the man squirm as long as she could, but the longer he stood there stammering, the more people would show up, and the tougher their job was going to become.
“I’m really not trying to say you're not all pretty. I mean, you all are, but I don’t mean to say that in a way like . . . It’s just . . .”
“Grispino, sometimes it’s better to just shut your mouth and accept your losses,” a tall Alfar holding a magic staff that looked very similar to Nathan’s said as he arrived on the scene.
“Ha!” Swinging his axe around as if it were a toy, Thompson laughed at his friend’s predicament. “You didn’t have to stop him, Dan. I was just gonna let him keep running his mouth. We coulda held him up by his toes and used him as a lawnmower with how fast he was yapping.”
“You really should give up trying to make metaphors into jokes. They don’t ever work. Anyway, we got a dungeon to beat, so let’s get a move on,” Dan said. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and started toward the entrance, seemingly uncaring as to who might follow him. The others rushed to join him once they saw where he was headed, leaving Liu and her group standing in place.
“Well, you heard the man,” Liu said, seizing on the opportunity as she walked up to join the group. She didn’t plan on upsetting Lucas’s dungeon, but it would be much easier to kill this squad of enemies if they had help from whoever was in the dungeon already. And, more importantly, this was the perfect opportunity for them to get into the hotel without causing a ruckus. Even if someone thought he recognized them at this point, it was unlikely that anyone from Lucas’s cadre would be teamed up with a bunch of players assaulting the very dungeon they were supposed to defend.
“It really is a hideously ugly hotel,” Viola whispered as she walked next to Liu, her face scrunching up into a disgusted frown. “Do you think we could get him to paint it something prettier? And festive? Like purple and blue with some green or gold trim?”
Liu just cocked an eye as she looked over at the woman.
“Black. It has to be black with red trim,” Nick said, joining in the whispers as the four of them reached the door. “Or red with black trimmings.” The partially-open doorway swayed back and forth in the wind, creaking eerily as they approached the door.
“This is some creepy horror movie crap,” Dan grumbled as he grabbed the handle and pulled the heavy oak door open, causing a half-inch-tall wave of blood to ripple toward their ankles.
Liu had no idea how Lucas had managed to create such an effect, but she had to agree.
“It’s dark as hell in there,” Grispino commented, peering through the open doorway.
“I got a torch,” Nathan said as he took off his backpack and began to rummage through it.
If it were Lucas, he’d have just repeatedly channeled spells to light up the pathway, Liu thought, watching as the man pulled out four torches and started passing them around. After he was down to his last torch, he then took out a flint kit and lit them.
After the lighting situation was solved, with Viola and Katie both holding two of the torches and Dan and Thompson holding the other two, Dan stepped forward.
Nick looked over at Liu as if asking the question, “Do we kill them yet?” but Liu just shook her head. She had no idea what to expect in this creepy, sanguine nightmare, but having four warm bodies to go ahead of them and absorb the first blow seemed like the right decision.
They waded into the lobby and discovered that the large room was filled with far more corpses than they had encountered outside, yet there was somehow far less blood.
There was also a long counter to their left that had been shattered from what appeared to have been a hellish set of spells and a brutal fight. Most strikingly, the room was completely devoid of any and all signs of life--no enemies, no goblins, no evil foes waiting to eat them. Just death in all directions.
When her eyes caught the face of one of the dead men on the ground, she frowned. Damnit, Glenn. Why did you have to die here? she snickered as she immediately recognized one of Lucas’s personal guards. She wasn’t actually upset. Glenn somehow managed to die every fight, and he was always one of the first to go. Seeing him on the floor, she couldn’t help but be a little amused with how some things had failed to change.
“Hey, what’s that?” Nathan asked, pointing to one of the corners with his magic staff.
“I . . . I think that’s a chest, but it’s covered with two dead people. I’m guessing they’ve done us a pretty big service by hiding it for us,” Thompson laughed as he moved toward the large wooden box.
“I don’t thin
k you should do that,” Nathan said, reaching out to stop Thompson.
“Why not?” Thompson asked he hoisted the two bodies aside.
“That chest is in the first room. There is no way someone didn’t notice it before us. Don’t-- Look, dude, don’t!” Dan insisted, trying to drive home Nathan’s wisdom, but it was useless. Thompson had already started fiddling with the chest. There was a loud click as he opened the lid, and the wall in front of him erupted as dozens of small darts came flying at him. It was only a single burst of needles, but it was powerful enough to send the man flying back several feet through the air.
Even if Viola had been inclined to help the man and had known the trap was there, it would have been too late by the time she finished channeling a healing spell. The man died instantly, his whole front half riddled from head to toe in small wounds. The little piercing weapons looked like a hundred little flag poles planted across the disgusting mess that was his body.
“Freaking hell,” Nathan cursed as he pulled a few stray darts out of his own flesh. He hadn’t been close to Thompson, but he had been directly behind the Were-Beaver and had managed to catch more than a few of the darts himself.
Viola glanced at Liu out of the corner of her eye and then shrugged helplessly. “I’ve got it.” Her spell landed a second later, and the healing effects pushed the remaining darts out of Nathan’s body.
“Thanks,” Nathan said.
“Well, until we kill the bastard, let this be a lesson. We look but we don’t touch any of the treasures. We haven’t even gotten to the first fight, and we’re already down a man!” Dan barked. As if proving his point, he marched across the lobby to the closest door and flung it open, revealing a long two-person-wide hallway. There was a door directly across from him, and then the hallway ran in both directions, leaving him with a choice of which way he should go--left, right, or directly across and through the second door.
