The Siege

by Jakob Tanner

You smell them, though, right?

  Gryph nodded.

  Hmm. They disappeared right when the bird came for them. Maybe he was creating too much noise? He was too easy a target to spot?

  You’re an easy target, said Gryph, reading my thoughts.

  Alright relax grumpy mcgrumperson. Here’s the plan, drop me off below far away from the unicorn-bats. I’ll scout them out from below ground while you stay up here soaring. Then when I send you the signal in psy-link we hit them with a two-pronged attack. Sound good?

  Alright Clay. This better work. I’m hungry and you know how I get when I’m hungry.

  Grumpier than he normally is?

  I can hear your thoughts jackass!

  Gryph kicked off into the air, flapped his wings and flew above the trees into the clouds above.

  I took in the forest. Thick trees, wobbling mushroom monsters, dappled sunlight poking through the foliage. I crept around the mushroom monsters—they paid me no heed anyway, being quite lower level than me—and kept my back to the trees. I moved slowly, cautiously. I wanted to find the unicorn-bats first, see them with my own eyes.

  I can smell them north of you, Gryph alerted me in the mind-link.

  On it.

  I moved ahead through the forest, jumping over small streams, and climbing over big branches, until off in the distance, was a group of four of the weirdest creatures perched on a branch. They were disembodied heads of unicorns—white furred horses with golden horns—with little spindly bat wings behind their ears. They looked absolutely demented.

  I adjusted my boots on the dirt ground and triggered my ranger ability, hunter’s stance, going completely invisible. I materialized my bow and lifted it up at the chubbiest of unicorn-bats. I grabbed an arrow from my satchel and dipped it in a vial of poison, before nocking it between the wood of my bow. I let mana flow from my fingertips into the poisoned arrow and stretched back the string of the bow, triggering sniper’s eye. The arrow flew through the forest until a sharp bizarre wail emanated from the unicorn-bat. A swoosh of wings fluttered as the unicorn-bats abandoned their wounded sibling.

  I walked cautiously towards the branch where the unicorn-bat had been. The creature—or, let’s be honest, horse head with wings—squirmed on the ground. I’d taken out a whopping 75% of its HP with my super buffed arrow shot. It writhed on the ground, neon green splotches glowing across its skin right below its white fur. I placed both my palms in front of the dying unicorn and put it out of it misery with a close-up critical fireball to the brains.

  +167 EXP!

  I crouched down to the corpse and materialized a dagger in my hand. I slit the body open. I closed my eyes as I reached my hand in searching for a solid vial. I pulled out the glass vial with a cork stopper full of a bright golden liquid. My HUD told me it was an “Elixir of Life (x1)”.

  One down, two more to go.

  The leaves rustled and a huge gust of wind blew my hair. Gryph landed on the forest floor. He dived in to start devouring the unicorn head, but at the last second swooshed his beak away in disgust.

  Are you kidding me?

  The bird glared at me.

  What?

  You poisoned it. It’s inedible now. Or are you trying to kill me, you ungrateful little spellcasting piece of crap?

  I took a step back from the incredibly grumpy bird.

  Oh whoops. I didn’t think Gryph. I’m so sorry! I wanted to make sure it wouldn’t get away. I won’t poison the next two, I promise.

  Do you piss all over a scrumptious bubblefish before you eat it? Or defecate on a delightful desert worm? NO.

  Okay two things. One, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Two, this mission isn’t actually about finding new trash mob delicacies for you to eat. It’s actually to save my pals who have turned into statues. That’s right stone lifeless statues. So I’m sorry if my mind is a little preoccupied.

  The gryphon raised its head and turned away. It was closest I was going to get to an apology. He kicked off back into the air. I focused in on the forest once more.

  They’ve moved further northeast from you.

  I moved quietly through the forest until I spotted the unicorn-bats once again. I entered hunter’s stance and readied my bow. I released the arrow—full of imbued mana—and it crippled the unicorn-bat. It flopped on the ground before dying.

  +167 EXP!

  I rushed over to the fallen creature and looted it for the vial of elixir. Gryph soon appeared and ravaged the unicorn-bat within three massive bites. He swallowed and burped.

  Delicious. He paused. Sorry for being so pissy, Clay. On the next one, I’ll let you save a slab of meat, you really need to cook it and taste it for yourself. You’ll see why I was so frustrated before.

  I rolled my eyes and smiled. Fine.

  We hunted down the last unicorn-bat with ease. I retrieved the elixir of life and dematerialized it into one of my inventory slots. I sliced off a slab of unicorn-bat meat to cook later as well. With the job done, I unsummoned Gryph and then selected fast-teleport in my HUD to the Dead Plains. I disintegrated out of the forest, closing my eyes as my body disappeared.

  I thought of Serena, Shade, and Jackson.

  This better work.

  17

  I opened my eyes to find myself once again in the barren, dreary, windswept zone of the Dead Plains.

  I scanned around for Kari and Will. They were nowhere to be seen. Puffs of smoke billowed out from behind a large boulder. I hurried over and found Will and Kari had made a small base camp. A cauldron boiled above a crackling fire.

  “I got the elixir of life,” I said. “Did you guys get the other ingredients?”

  “You betcha,” said Kari, stirring the water in the cauldron with a large wooden spoon. She was standing on the tips of her little fox toes on a rock-turned-stool, overlooking the bubbling alchemy pot.

  “I have to say,” said Will. “I thought collecting the boulder dust was going to be easy, but it was a right pain in the bum, filing away to gather it, but we did it. I’m sure it beat grinding unicorn-bats.”

  The strange creatures came back to me. “Yeah, it was a bit weird.”

  “The other ingredients are already in the cauldron, Clay,” said Kari. “Just need the elixir.”

  I handed her the three vials and she poured them into the bubbling cauldron. The boiling water gurgled and burped. A bright light glowed.

  Congratulations! A party member has created “Stone Skin Antidote (x1)”

  Congratulations! A party member has created “Stone Skin Antidote (x1)”

  Congratulations! A party member has created “Stone Skin Antidote (x1)”

  “Yay,” said Kari, handing me three small glass bottles full of a bright golden liquid reminiscent of jars of honey.

  I added the antidotes to my inventory, not wanting to accidentally drop them. I ran across the plains back to the site of our battle with Konrad and the shadow hunters. My three beloved party members all stood frozen in time, stone statues in the middle of the plains. I went up to Serena first and materialized one of the antidotes in my hand. I paused. How did this work? Did I pour it on her mouth? Her skin? I uncorked the bottle and brought the glass to her lips now made of hard rock. I gently tipped the potion on her mouth and as the honey-colored liquid hit her lips, the stone crumbled away as if it had only ever been a thin layer overtop her skin. First it was her lips, going from gray stone to red, then her whole mouth and cheeks flushed with life. I tipped the antidote further and it travelled down her throat and the gray stone skin disappeared and Serena was standing, alive in the flesh.

  She gasped. “Oh my gosh,” she said, breathing in and out heavily. “What the heck happened?”

  “You were turned into a statue,” I said. I gestured towards Jackson and Shade, still frozen. “Like our party members over there.”

  “Oh my,” she said.

  “Yeah we were really worried,” I said. “I had to teleport around southern Arethkar fighting the most deranged trash m
obs to get the ingredients to make an antidote. Speaking of which, you catch your breath, let me go heal Shade and Jackson.”

  I fed the antidote to Jackson, then Shade, both of whom were freaked and grateful to be back alive.

  “That battle did not bode well for our future,” said Jackson.

  “For sure,” said Serena. “How did you guys even stop him in the end?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, turning to Will. “My bro unleashed some insane warlock magic and was able to repel him. Worst part is, it turned out the thing we were fighting was a mere illusionary copy of Konrad. So it was like one mere percentile of his full power.”

  “A mere percentile!?” gasped Shade. “But he turned us into statues. Who the heck can turn people into bloody statues!?”

  “The goddamn creator of the game,” I sighed.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I always felt like the odds were tipped against us,” said Shade. “Yeah we’re the scrappy underdogs, but now I think it’s completely out the window. This guy is next level powerful.”

  “I know,” I said. “But guys we can’t stand here and moan about how strong our enemy is. We need to keep moving forward, make a plan.”

  “Before we make any new plans,” said Will. “We really need to discuss what we’re going to do with the group of shadow hunter corpses who will be respawning in two hours.”

  The pile of bodies rotted in a heap further up the Dead Plains.

  “I’d forgotten about them. I think they were ready to join forces with us, but we can’t risk waiting around for them. Maybe we can leave them a message about Crystal Port?”

  “I heard a far different conversation than you did,” said Will. “I think you should use the Prophetic Seal spell to paralyze them in place forever.”

  “You mean behave exactly like Takeshimi?”

  “He’s the one in power right now,” said Will. “He must be doing something right.”

  “No way,” I said. “This is what we’re going to do: leave them be. If they respawn and want to be our allies, great. If they respawn and wish to come after us, well, the good news is we’ll be long gone to the Storm Mountains.”

  “About that,” said Serena. “The Arethkarians clearly know where we’re going now. They also know some of our army’s best fighters have left Crystal Port. What if they attacked the town?”

  She made a good point. Did we stick to the plan we set out? Or did we diverge from it, given how our enemy now knew about it?

  I shook my head. “No, we’re going to keep moving forward. It was a good plan. We can’t let this attack set us back. I’ll send word to Raylene to continue to boost Crystal Port’s defenses. Worse comes to worse, we can always teleport back to Crystal Port if it gets attacked. Plus,” I turned to Will. “You said Iron Citadel is difficult for Arethkar to capture. They can’t get there with their army of airships. They’ll have to approach by foot. So the way I see it is: we still have the advantage to acquire the citadel. So let’s not lose hope, right!?”

  The group nodded. Shade shrugged, “You’ve had more inspiring speeches Clay, but I’ll take it.”

  Everyone chuckled. We gathered our things, dismantled the small outdoor laboratory Kari had created, and turned in the direction of the Storm Mountains.

  “I mean, they look terrifying and frightening,” said Shade. “But how much worse can they be than the bloody Dead Plains!?”

  “Don’t jinx it bud,” said Serena, walking ahead of him. “Don’t jinx it.”

  18

  I struggled to breathe as we headed up the mountain pass. We’d been heading upward for a couple of hours now. The sky around us turned pink with dusk. The silhouettes of Illyria’s two moons appeared in the sky.

  “Let’s set up camp,” said Will. “The gates to enter the mines are still a few hours away and we will want to be well-rested before entering the mountain.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said, taking a deep breath from all the uphill walking. I took in the small enclosed area we’d arrived at. “This looks like the perfect camping ground.”

  We set up base and found ourselves all sitting around a bonfire, wrapped in blankets, admiring the twinkling stars of the night sky. The glowing lights felt closer to us on this mountaintop than anywhere else we’d been in Illyria.

  I grilled the unicorn-bat meat over the fire, seasoning it with salt and pepper. I had left over basil and oregano which I threw on as well. When it was finished cooking, I cut it up into six pieces and passed a portion to everyone.

  “Gryph says this is the tastiest meat ever,” I said. “So let’s find out how good this unicorn-bat really is!”

  I took a bite. It was chewy like a rare piece of steak, but full of tenderness and flavor.

  “Mate,” said Shade, talking with his mouth full. “I don’t know if this is the best thing I’ve ever had, but it’s pretty bloody great, I’ll give you that.”

  “So you’re saying they were unicorn heads with bat wings?” said Serena, looking at me with suspicion.

  “I know—I don’t know how they come up with this stuff,” I laughed.

  Everyone had a satisfied face after their sample of unicorn-bat.

  “Is there more?” asked Kari, blushing.

  “Sadly not,” I said. “Gryph ate it all. He was very protective over the dead unicorn-bats.”

  Everyone grumbled.

  “But look, I’ll cook us each a slab of mountain goat meat!”

  Everyone smiled.

  “I mean, it’s no unicorn-bat meat but I guess it will do,” said Shade.

  So the night passed. We exchanged stories, ate food, and slowly people drifted off to sleep. Straws were drawn to determine who would keep first watch. Soon it was just Serena, Will, and me awake around the fire.

  “Will—there’s something I’ve wanted to ask,” I said.

  “Go for it bro.”

  “Well, the Arethkarians. The citizens we met at Crystal Port. They aren’t so bad. How did they end up going along with the treatment of The Chosen? How did it happen?”

  The fire flickered between us. Will stared into the light. “There was a certain level of manipulation done by those in power in Ryr’s Ascension, but The Chosen who arrived in Arethkar contributed, if not created, their negative image. I mean, remember when we used to play the early Arcane Kingdom games. We didn’t give a crap about NPCs. They were pawns to us, slaves for our enjoyment. So a few nasty players entered the game and ended up murdering, looting, and raping Arethkarians. They didn’t care. It was all a game they said. It was the perfect set-up to create anti-Chosen sentiment. The strange thing was—by the very quickness of the high council’s response—it felt as if they knew The Chosen were coming. I don’t know how. Maybe Takeshimi had let them know. It was bizarre, but they were ready and when they unrolled the enslavement necklaces onto low-level players, very few of the NPCs fought against the idea. Those who did were killed. The people were afraid of The Chosen, these new powerful people, and didn’t want to see their lives ruined or their friends and family hurt. The citizens of Arethkar were complicit out of fear, not malice.”

  Ash crackled around us.

  A private message appeared in my HUD.

  Serena: I still have my doubts, but I think I’m beginning to trust Will.

  Serena nudged my elbow and smiled.

  Serena: Don’t let him know we’re chatting privately while we’re in a conversation with him!

  “I guess,” said Serena, speaking aloud, “sieging one of their cities, doesn’t exactly paint a pleasant picture of The Chosen for them.”

  Will shook his head.

  “So what are we supposed to do? Nothing?”

  Will shook his head again. “I’m not sure,” he sighed. “But think carefully of what you want to achieve. A conqueror conquers, but does he rule?”

  19

  Shade shook me awake in the morning.

  “Rise and shine, sleepyhead,” he grinned, wagging his tail behind me. “I
poured you a morning pint to wake you up. Here take it.” He handed me a tankard. I pushed his arm away.

  “What? Can’t a guy pour his pal a pint in the morning?”

  “It’s not really a pick-me-up for me,” I groggily explained with foggy sleep-dazed eyes.

  “Bah! I thought you would say that,” said Shade. “Here—would you prefer coffee?” He handed me a second tankard.

  “Yes, thank you,” I said, grabbing the tankard. I took a sip and instantly spat it out. “Mate, what did you put in this?”

  “Normal coffee stuff.”

  “Including rum?”

  “Maybe,” said Shade. “I usually include whatever’s in my flask.”

  I got up and passed him back his tankard. “Thanks for thinking of me, but I think I can survive this morning without anything.”

  “Suit yourself,” said Shade, taking a sip out of both tankards, one held in each fist.

  The others were slowly rolling out of their sleeping bags and poking their heads out their tents. Kari rolled up her sleeping bag and then dematerialized it into her inventory.

  “You know you don’t have to roll it up,” said Jackson.

  “Yeah, but I like too anyway,” said Kari, shrugging. “Helps me wake up.”

  “You see Jackson,” said Shade, interjecting himself into the conversation. “Tidying up after herself is for Kari what drinking rum-laced coffee is for me. A wake-up ritual.”

  “Mhm,” said Jackson, dematerializing his camping gear into his inventory.

  “Rise and shine, bro,” I said, giving him a kick.

  Will grumbled and rolled over. He eventually got up.

  In minutes, our whole campsite was dematerialized back into our inventories. Other than wisps of smoke from the fire, our presence had been completely removed from the area.

  The mountain pass was winding and rocky. It got colder the further up we went. Frost and snow covered the rocks. Little flecks of snow drifted lazily around us. I led the way, casting a fireball in my arm to keep warm and light the way amongst the flurrying snow.