Pendrackon

by Aaron Oster

  Plus, it just looks so much cooler, he thought, sticking it back in his waistband.

  He didn’t need any ammo to fire the thing either, something which any real firearm would need. There was no need to reload and no need to carry magazines. He could fire as quickly as he could squeeze the trigger, though the recoil would be a problem. There was also the fact that he couldn’t wield both the gun and his staff at the same time. That was fine, though. The Flintlock would be a backup weapon for when he ran low on MP.

  He could still cast his shielding abilities without it, though the decreased cost bonus wouldn’t be applied. He also would make sure to use it and bring up his Deadeye skill. He had a feeling that if he raised it just one more stage, it would help reduce the recoil. For now, he had his regular skills and abilities to raise, and with another battle coming up, he was going to raise some hell.

  As he drew nearer to the burning village, he could begin to make out the figures who were fighting. Shockingly enough, it was a single fighter pushing back nearly fifteen soldiers dressed in military uniforms. It was easy to tell that they all worked for the same person from the crest of a lizard-like creature on their tabards.

  The fact that they weren’t dressed in something like chainmail or plate armor told him they were likely low-level grunts too, very much unlike the man facing them. He was dressed in gleaming steel plate with the crest of a lance emblazoned across his kite-shield. His head was bare, revealing shoulder-length blonde hair, dark eyes, and a ruggedly handsome face. He clutched a three-foot lance in his other hand, and he thrust forward just as Sam entered the village, the weapon blazing with golden light as he skewered one of his attackers.

  “Scoundrels!” the man roared. “Thou shalt not defeatist one such as I!”

  “Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me!” Sam cried out at the horrible dialogue.

  Everyone turned to stare at the newcomer, but the first to speak was the armored man.

  “Salutations, Sirrah! Your comrades in arms passed through on their way to battle and informed me of thine arrival! Come, let us slay these villainous cretins in the name of justice!”

  QUEST AVAILABLE

  In the Name of Justice: Join Sir Spearlittle in driving back the corrupt forces of Borgana the Frayed

  Difficulty: Easy

  Objectives: Kill 20 Soldiers, Kill 1 Corporal

  Rewards: 1,000 XP, 10 Silver, Basic Tabard

  Sam sighed when he saw the quest but accepted it all the same. It had mentioned their target, and if this Sir Spearlittle was part of the quest chain to stop the enchantress, then it seemed he had little choice.

  “Huzzah!” exclaimed the knight when Sam accepted the quest. “The noble Samuel has joined our cause! Tremble in fear, villains, and pray to your dark gods. To battle!”

  25

  Sam let loose a growl as the moronic knight moved in to engage the enemy once more. He couldn’t see Emma, Gordon, or Barry through all the smoke, and the soldiers in their way clearly weren’t going to move. It seemed this quest was just for him, though the rewards were kind of pitiful compared to the last few quests he’d finished.

  Then again, the difficulty level was Easy, so he shouldn’t have any problems getting through these soldiers. Sure, he wouldn’t get any bonuses since they weren’t monsters, and his MP had been lowered by over 200 points, but he still had plenty in the tank to finish these invaders.

  “Have at thee!” Sir Spearlittle roared, swiping his lance through the air as a couple of soldiers attempted to flank him.

  Sam raised his staff then and cast Mana Shot, being careful to aim for the heads. Four blue bolts of mana blasted from the tip, slamming into a soldier on the far left and dropping them in a single hit.

  You deal: -122 Damage to East Kingdom Soldier (Mana Shot)(Critical).

  East Kingdom Soldier has collapsed! +492 XP

  “Well, that was easy,” Sam muttered, wondering just how weak these soldiers were.

  Inspect.

  HUMAN

  Name: East Kingdom Soldier

  Gender: Male

  Class: None

  Level: 8 - HP: 125/125 - MP: 0/0 - STA: 210/210

  Status: Bewitched

  Greatest Threat: Sword Slash

  Humans are one of the most common races in Somerset and have no bonuses to any of their attributes.

  Now that’s interesting, Sam noted as he downed another soldier.

  He’d never seen a Bewitched status before, though it was pretty self-explanatory, and he had to wonder if they were doing the right thing by killing them.

  Then he remembered the message he’d immediately dismissed regarding the soldier’s death, and when he re-checked it a moment later, he saw that he’d read correctly. Instead of dying, the soldiers were ‘collapsing.’ Maybe that also explained why they’d gone down, even though their HP wasn’t completely depleted.

  “Foul bewitchery is at play here, but I shall not waver. Huzzah!”

  Sam wanted nothing more than to shoot the weirdo in the back, but he suppressed the urge and instead focused on taking down the soldiers. Despite continuously spouting horrible and cliché lines, Spearlittle was holding his own, which told Sam that he was likely a key player in this quest chain.

  Seeing as he had that god-awful name, which sounded very reminiscent of another famous knight, Sam surrendered himself to the fact that he would probably be stuck in this weirdo’s company for the next few days.

  With such low levels, the regular soldiers were all soon lying on the ground, knocked unconscious by their combined attacks. Though Sam didn’t really gain much XP for beating them, his skills and abilities still got a workout.

  “It’s not over yet, Spearlittle!” a voice boomed out of the smoke.

  “Come at me, vile fiend, I shall not fall!” the knight cried, raising his lance and taking up a defensive stance.

  Out of the smoke strode a man dressed in leather armor. The same crest was emblazoned on his chest, but his equipment seemed to be of a slightly higher grade. The way the man casually held his sword also told Sam that he was by far superior to the basic soldiers they’d been facing so far. However, when he used Inspect, Sam still wasn’t very impressed.

  HUMAN

  Name: East Kingdom Corporal

  Gender: Male

  Class: Warrior

  Level: 10 - HP: 150/150 - MP: 0/0 - STA: 260/260

  Status: Bewitched

  Greatest Threat: Thrust

  Sam moved in a bit closer now that they only had a single enemy left, and now that he did, he could see that the Corporal’s eyes were shrouded in a glowing green mist. If he hadn’t already seen the status of this man, this would have given away the fact that something was off.

  The Corporal let out a guttural yell and charged forward, thrusting his sword at the knight, his blade glowing yellow.

  “Come, villain, to thine end!”

  Sam shot the man in the head with his Flintlock, forcing him to stumble back. Sam grimaced as he saw the reduced damage, but a couple more shots knocked the man out cold.

  “Though I do not approve of thine trickery, evil must be defeated at all costs,” Spearlittle said, dropping his shield. “I thank thee for stopping these rogues. I hope that I can count on thee for a most important task. Come, we shall meet thine comrades at the center of the village and discuss this further. Huzzah!”

  QUEST COMPLETE

  In the Name of Justice

  Rewards: 1,000 XP, 10 Silver, Basic Tabard

  Sam dismissed the notification, stooping to snatch the two glowing items sitting right in the middle of his path. The small pouch of silver went into his Spatial Wallet, while the tabard was stuffed into his bag. Villagers began to pour out of nowhere now that the soldiers were defeated and started fighting the fire.

  As they walked, Sir Spearlittle would shout encouragement, spouting cheesy lines about justice and how they were all safe now. The people didn’t look very pleased that their houses were burning down and all g
lared at the knight as he passed.

  It seems like Sir Spearlittle isn’t exactly Mister Popular.

  He could see the path ahead opening up into a big square, the only area untouched by the fire so far. It contained a single structure, a well, from which people were dragging buckets and running to help fight the fire. An elderly woman sat near the well, calling out instructions and keeping the villagers organized and efficient.

  “The foul villains have been defeated, good elder!” Spearlittle boomed as he walked into the clearing.

  “Had you not come, they wouldn’t have set fire to our village in the first place!” snapped the old woman.

  “Madam, please, there is no need for thine hostility.”

  “And what’s up with that weird way of talking? You Knights always think you’re better than the rest of us, don’t you? Waltzing around like you own the world and doing as you please. Do you have any idea how much all of this is going to cost to repair?”

  “The kingdom is most generous…” Spearlittle began, only to be cut off midsentence.

  “The kingdom? Ha! It’s because of this damned kingdom that we’re in this mess in the first place! Your king has seen fit to tax us until we can’t even feed ourselves, and you think they’re going to come help?! Wasn’t it the kingdom’s soldiers who just came and torched more than half our buildings?!”

  Sir Spearlittle looked a lot less sure of himself now as the old woman rose, face red as she continued laying into the man.

  “Madam, the kingdom is under threat from a great evil…”

  “Evil, my ass! How are we supposed to live when winter comes? At this rate, we’ll be lucky to survive the week.”

  At that moment, Emma, Gordon, and Barry walked into the opposite side of the clearing. As soon as they saw Sam, they walked over to greet him.

  “When did you get here?” Emma asked as the old woman continued screaming at the knight.

  “Just a few minutes ago,” Sam replied. “Finished a quest handed to me by that crackpot over there.”

  “Wow, that old lady’s really giving it to him, huh?” she replied with a grin, noting the knight’s shoulder slumping ever more by the minute.

  “What is up with him anyway? Any clue what’s going on here?”

  Emma shrugged.

  “All I know is that the place was attacked by bewitched soldiers. The three of us had to fight off twenty of them, plus a Colonel on the other side of the village.”

  Sam eyed the knight once again in distaste.

  “I really wish I didn’t have to deal with this quack. Can’t we just kill him and move on to the main quest ourselves? I have no patience for all these side-quests.”

  “You can try,” Emma replied. “Though seeing as he out-levels all of us, that might be hard.”

  This surprised Sam as he’d just assumed the knight was around level 15. He’d needed Sam’s help to defeat the soldiers, so it was a fair assumption. Focusing on the knight, Sam used Inspect and got another shock.

  HUMAN

  Name: Sir Honor “Spearlittle” Righteousman

  Gender: Male

  Class: Fortress-Knight-Lance-Warrior

  Level: 50 - HP: 4,150/4,150 - MP: 2,880/2,880 - STA: 4,900/4,900

  Status: Cowed

  Greatest Threat: Unknown

  “Holy shit! The guy’s a monster!” Sam exclaimed, suddenly very glad he hadn’t shot the man in the back. “That old bag must have a pretty impressive Intimidation skill to cow someone of his level.”

  “Tell me about it,” Emma replied. “I definitely wouldn’t wanna get on her bad side.”

  “What’s with his name?” Sam asked, feeling his teeth beginning to grind.

  “Yeah, I thought the name ‘Sir Spearlittle’ was already pretty ridiculous, but this beats it by a mile,” Emma sniggered.

  Sam didn’t see the humor in all of this. The names were growing more and more ridiculous by the day. What kind of lousy mother named their kid ‘Honor?’ And what the hell kind of last name was ‘Righteousman?’

  “Think we should intervene?” Emma asked, interrupting Sam’s internal fuming.

  “I guess,” he sighed, heading over to interrupt.

  “…you’d just stayed where you belonged, this never would have happened!” the old lady shrieked.

  “Excuse me, ma’am?” Sam asked, interrupting the old lady’s tirade.

  “WHAT?!” she screamed, rounding on him.

  “First of all, rude,” Sam replied. “I’m only trying to help, so no need to be a bitch. Secondly, here,” he said, tossing a heavy bag laden with coins at her feet. “That should be more than enough to rebuild your village.”

  The woman wavered for a moment, not sure whether to be insulted or grateful. When she opened the bag to reveal gold, her attitude immediately changed.

  “What a generous and helpful young man! This will be more than enough to rebuild and supply our village. Thank you!” The old lady now had a grin stretching across her wrinkled face.

  DIVINE BOON

  You have kept today’s rule! As such, you have been granted a divine boon!

  Effect: Permanent +5 to Charisma

  “Huzzah!” Spearlittle exclaimed. “I knew you were an honorable group, and now I have once more been proven to be correct. Saviors of the kingdom, listen close…”

  “Shut up, you walking tin can!” interrupted the old woman. “Don’t go spouting off like that until you’re out of my village!”

  The wind now knocked from his sails, Sir Spearlittle simply hung his head and walked away.

  “Meet me on the road when your business has concluded,” he called to them, not seeming able to muster his usual booming voice.

  Yeah, Sam thought as he watched the level 50 monster walk away like a scolded child. That old lady is definitely not someone to piss off.

  26

  “Can you tell us what that was all about?” Emma asked as the knight vanished between the charred and still-smoking houses.

  By now, most of the fires were out, and the previously frantic villagers were all slumped in exhaustion as their Stamina recovered.

  “Nothing for you to worry about, dear,” the old lady said.

  “Has there been a lot of trouble from soldiers recently?” Sam tried.

  “Oh, yes, very much so,” the old woman replied, immediately answering his question, much to Emma’s annoyance.

  “What have they been doing exactly, and why are you so mad at the knight? Didn’t he protect your village?”

  The old woman scowled at that and shook her head.

  “The king has been raising taxes over the past few months, sending soldiers around and taking everything he can get. Normally, we’d just hand over what we have and avoid trouble, but the idiot knight decided to step in and ‘help,’” she said, making air quotes with her fingers.

  “Wait, don’t the knights work for the king?” Sam asked.

  “They do, but it seems there’s been some dissension in their ranks. Some of them went rogue after the king raised taxes and are now hunted by the king’s men. If that idiot hadn’t shown himself, the soldiers would have just left after taking what they wanted. Instead, they went and burned down half the village!”

  “Will the money I gave you be safe?” Sam wondered.

  “Oh, yes, it will be. There’s no need to worry about that. They’ll never even think to ask for such a sum, as we could never be expected to have so much gold. If we’re careful and purchase the goods from outside the kingdom, we can make this last for quite some time.”

  Sam nodded. “I’m glad we were able to help, but we really do need to get going now.”

  “Come again any time, dear. You’ll always be welcome here!”

  “How come you always get to do the talking?” Emma muttered. “Aren’t girls supposed to be better at that?”

  “Emma, how sexist of you,” Sam said, pretending to be offended. “I can be as diplomatic as anyone! And I also have almost twice your Charisma.” />
  “I guess it makes sense.”

  “It was quite the sporting battle,” Gordon said, speaking up for the first time since he’d arrived. He and Barry tended to be quiet around others, due to the fact that regular people couldn’t understand them.

  “Those soldiers did have a very odd scent about them,” he continued. “Sort of like sour milk, or Samuel after a long battle.”

  “You know, if that wasn’t true, that might have made me angry, dog.”

  The two of them glared at each other for a couple of moments until Emma broke the tension.

  “Anyway, it looks like we found the beginning of the chain that will lead us to the palace and the horribly named enchantress.”

  “Did somebody say enchantress?”

  They all looked up in shock as Sir Spearlittle came hurtling out of the sky and landed with a massive boom right before them.

  “Just point to the vile woman, and I shall slay her at once!”

  “We were just talking about her. Take it easy,” Emma said as the knight rose to his feet.

  “Oh,” he said unintelligently. “Wait. How dost thou knowest of the enchantress?” The knight demanded, looking suspicious. “Art thou perhaps spies, evil minions of the witch, sent to slay my noble person?”

  “Calm down,” Sam said, fighting to stay calm himself. “We got a quest from Princess Willow to save the kingdom from an enchantress.”

  “Wait! Thou knowest the fair princess?”

  Now he’s just fucking with us, Sam thought. There’s no way he’s using that right.

  “Yes, we knowest her quite well,” Sam said, feeling a tick starting in his eye. “She gave us a quest and was supposed to be leaving the kingdom. But someone kidnapped her and brought her back here.”