Crystalfire Keep

by J. A. Cipriano

  Congratulations! You, Kayla, Crysta, Burndall, and Wazif have formed The Knights of the Four!

  You now hold the rank of Guildmaster!

  Only you have the power to disband the guild and you may dismiss any guildmember regardless of rank. In the event that you leave the guild without having transferred the rank or without another Guildmaster, it will be transferred to the next highest ranked guildmember who has been active in the last 72 hours.

  For the first time in my time in EO, I had a guild. In the immediate moment, it did nothing and technically it meant nothing and yet, it felt good, like a little hole in my experiences here was filled. I found I was smiling like an idiot as I looked around at the others, their guild tags popping into place.

  “Well done, everyone,” I nodded, “and remember, tomorrow the real challenge begins. Just know that it’s a challenge the Knights of the Four can beat.”

  14

  To say I didn’t sleep well the night before the big day was an understatement. It wasn’t motivated by fear, oddly enough. Not that I wasn’t afraid, at least a little. There was too much riding on our success to not be, but I had a decade of being a worrywart to inure me to that. Besides, I was confident in our rag-tag guild.

  Guild. It felt nice to have that ringing in my brain.

  No, my restlessness was pure, unadulterated anticipation, the build-up of liquid excitement in my veins keeping my brain dancing well past time I needed to crash. A million scenarios and countless possible battles whirled through my imagination. Everything I had ever read about every raid battle currently in the game blitzed out of my memory and kept me tossing and turning well into the night.

  Eventually, ultimately, I did get some sleep. In fact, oddly enough, I woke up feeling like a million bucks, well, after a few cups of soycafe at any rate. Taking a deep breath, I looked across the breakfast table at the rest of my family and smiled, doubly so at Chrissy, who was finally recovered enough to be up and around full-time.

  To credit my little sister’s amazing taste, her new, sleek chrome arm and mouthplate did make her look like a cyber ninja. “Why the big, goofy grin, Max?” she said, her voice still faintly echoing from the voice modulation but thankfully lacking the constant breakdowns. “Where’s my frowning, knit-browed worrier of a big brother?” She inclined her head towards me conspiratorially. “Did Kayla feed him to a dragon or something?”

  Laughing, I shook my head. “No, not exactly. I’m just … I feel good about this. Maybe I’m being crazy, but I know we’re going to do great today.”

  “It’s about time you were confident about something,” Roxanne added from across the table. I hadn’t laid the full burden of what was at stake on Chrissy’s shoulders, but Roxanne knew and I was still surprised she was taking it so well. “Especially something like this. After all, we’re all behind you on this, even with the risks.”

  “It’s just an extra session each day, eesh.” Chrissy shook her head as she stepped away from the table, her new prosthetics barely making a whir as she moved. “We were in the dive a lot longer when we were testing for Dr. Fontaine.”

  Roxanne and I shared a knowing look as she cleared her throat. “Still, it’s my job to take care of you two and that many dives can be stressful. You’re right, though, I probably shouldn’t worry as much as I do.”

  “Exactly!” Chrissy let out an electric giggle as she turned towards her room. “Well, I’ve been forced to lie down and veg in the dive most of this week, so I’m going to call up some friends and see about getting out for some sunshine.” She slowed up as she got to her door, glancing at me hesitantly.

  Normally, I’d be forced to grill her, make sure that whatever teenage fun she wanted to go do wouldn’t break either her rickety cybernetics or our minuscule pocketbook. Trust me, it was hard as heck to say no to her going full puppy dog eyes at me, but I had to put my foot down a lot. Now, well, what reason did I have to be a stingy grump? Her prosthetics were up to snuff and if we won, money wouldn’t be a problem and if we didn’t, not letting Chrissy have a day of fun wouldn’t matter.

  “Go for it, spud,” I nodded. “Just promise you won’t be out too long and always keep your fingers crossed for me.”

  She was silent for only a moment before her eyes lit up. “Really?” She laughed again, and it made me smile a bit brighter. “I’d say I should look for the alien pod, but I’ll chalk it up to actually having friends for once!” Chrissy opened her door and waved over her shoulder. “Good luck, Max, we’ll all have our fingers crossed for you, I promise!”

  As she disappeared into her room with all sorts of teenage dreams floating in her head, Roxanne refilled my mug with more, steamy soycafe. “I’m proud of you, you know that, right?”

  “Don’t give me a big head now.” I sipped at my synth coffee and bit back the bitter artificialness of it all. “Chrissy should have as much fun as she can.”

  “While I agree on both counts, I won’t say something that’s not true. I am proud of you and I’m not alone.”

  “That sounds nice and cryptic.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “Nothing so secret. I’ve been talking with your friend Wynona, that’s all, and, well, I actually talked to my mother for a few minutes that didn’t involve arguing over things. Wynona has total faith in you and while I absolutely do not agree with this insane bet my mother has going on, I do agree with the confidence she feels in you.”

  My first instinct was to spit out some self-deprecating remark, something too humble for words, but for the first time in my life, it just didn’t feel right. Sure, being humble was great and virtuous, but false humility was as bad as pride. We had done some great things in the game and that had done some pretty good things in real life too, and I was a key component to it all. I could take pride in this and not be a jerk because of it.

  “Thanks, Roxanne,” I smiled. “I’m going to keep it up and win that bet, for all our sakes.”

  Roxanne nodded and raised her mug in a salute. “Cheers to that, Max. I know you will.”

  “Cheers!” I answered as I matched her salute. “Now, it’s time to get to work!”

  The descent into Elementalis that day felt like it took forever. I wanted to be in there, on the ground, moving forward, even though the announced start of Crystalfire wasn’t set to start for another five minutes. Down below, on the shattered world below, the kingdoms segregated by the tumultuous rifts filled with the Elements of Chaos, there was a shining pillar of light that radiated up from the northern Earth Kingdom. It was the warcamp of Crystalfire Keep, a beacon to every player logging in that this was the big day.

  I guess the devs didn’t want anyone to forget about it. As if any of us could.

  Before I could dwell on it too much, I made my final comet descent through the atmosphere and right into Shale’s body. His strength filled my body and my senses cried with joy as my legs and arm came back to me, even if they weren’t mine. As the rest of the desolate wasteland right outside the Shadowyard resolved around me, I clenched my fists and realized how much I had been itching to be back here and how much I wanted to stay.

  And that was when I realized the cause of my constant anxiety the night before. I didn’t sleep because I was excited to start the raid, to help myself and my friends. No, I wanted to be back in the dive and be whole again. Taking a deep breath, I shook it off.

  More than ever, I wanted to finish this quickly, not just for the prize but for my own well-being. The rising echoes of what had to be a third of the server washed over me, even as I mentally flipped open my social and guild tabs. Everyone was on, the whole group, and everyone had been brought successfully into the Knights. We were only nine but that would be enough.

  Spread out before me was the warcamp proper. While the cemetery itself was intact and no dishonor cast to those dead the Dark Rider hadn’t already desecrated, a circle of sandstone obelisks almost identical to the ones that surrounded the desert outposts of the Fire Sultanate stood guard around the
perimeter, topped by faintly glowing crystals. Add to that the soldiers on watch bearing the coat-of-arms of each of the four kingdoms, an almost unheard-of thing post-Sundering, and the true importance of the journey into the bowels of the Keep became obvious.

  With the light from those warding stones and the guttering lights of scattered campfires, the bleakness of the blood-red rows of grave markers was somewhat reduced. Around those fires was a hodge-podge collection of tents, as diverse as the camp’s inhabitants. The largest one of the tents was more like two royal pavilions combined, one combining the slate-grey of typical Granholm décor and the ocean-blue of the Ocean Mother.

  Overwhelming the NPC contingent in number was the players. From edge to edge, champions of every level, class, and guild filled the camp. Though they were gathered into little clumps, no doubt in fairly even ten packs most often differentiated by guild, there was quite a bit of mingling among raids and guilds. The tension of the competition seemed to be tempered with a raw excitement for what was to come and that alone made me smile. It was like both of the two big celebrations I had been in only magnified ten times over.

  As it all sank in, a raid invite from Kayla flashed before my eyes and I immediately accepted it. The concentric arcs of my friends’ statuses filled my vision, the immediate cluster of what was currently my group larger in the center with our under-manned group two radiating out in smaller bands from there. Almost as quickly as I accepted the invite, she transferred both group and raid leadership over to me.

  Everything looked to be in order. We had already devised our group make-up the other day, hoping a little planning could help make up for our lack of a second tank. Obviously, Kayla and I were still together, the best way to maximize the advantages of our Rings of Promise. However, we had come to the mutual decision that it would be best for her to swap to Support mode.

  While both Merina and Crysta had both proven to me their prowess at their roles, the Dancer’s unique combination of abilities backed by Raid Order Gems meant she was better at keeping raid-wide healing while Crysta was more focused on healing single targets. With that in mind, the three ladies decided to keep a strong single healer in each group, Kayla in mine and Crysta in group two, while Merina would keep us generally in the green. As those group heals would draw plenty of attention, she would be staying close to me. As Burndall’s Ring of Purity/Fire trick was tied to a Group Order Gem, he and Dunya rounded out our first group to maximize overlapping Ring damage.

  That left Nahma, Vindril, Wazif, and Crysta to form group two. As that entire contingent had ranged options for both damage and support, it made sense to have them as our flexible squad, able to stick and move as needed. Intriguingly, having a large contingent of people able to spread out and still do their jobs triggered some ideas of using Imposes to rapidly get around the battlefield, something that could come in handy in what was to come.

  Still, I’d preferred to have one more tank. Ironic. Back when this all started, the very thought of having another tank in the group set off my inferiority complex. The fact that it was originally going to be Vanni, one of the best tanks on the server, made me feel even worse. Now, all I wanted was to have another, especially Vanni.

  That wasn’t going to be though. I shook my head and moved forward into the camp proper as raid chat came to life.

  Burndall: All right! The boss is here!

  Nahma: Good morning, Mr. Shale!

  Kayla: Hi Max! We’ve got a little place staked out in the grand pavilion. You’re not going to believe how big it is and more importantly who’s here.

  Vindril: She’s not wrong, sarge.

  Crysta: Spoilers … all our totally fav people are here already.

  Wazif: At least they aren’t making trouble, well, yet.

  Dunya only added a derisive snort at that.

  Merina: I’m with her. It’s only a matter of time, but whatever. El Rec and the Sisters both told me to take a hike. They can go to Tahiti for all I care.

  Shale: Well, we won’t be the ones to make trouble. Hold tight, I’ll be there in a moment.

  Moving toward the closest gap in the black iron fence around the Shadowyard, I plunged into the crowd proper. Unlike the general cheers and adulation I had been growing used to it, there were more than a few suspicious or downright nasty looks among the other players there. I suppose I shouldn’t have been shocked, not with Thadivus’ continued bad-mouthing. However, most people seemed to have either gotten over it or weren’t buying the crap coming out of the popular El Rec leader’s lips.

  I nodded to those that greeted me and ignored the ones who seemed set on giving me hell. I’d never been one to listen to the crowd anyway or else I’d never have picked to play a Warlord. Speaking of that, my smile started to grow as I noticed more than a few Warlords, Bladesaints, and other ‘out-of-meta’ classes. My hope was that I and our little group of rebels could take some credit for that. We’d be able to take even more if we won the whole thing.

  Ducking into the central tent with a few minutes to spare, I found out that Kayla was absolutely right. The ripple of magic flashed before my eyes and my stomach did a little twirl, something I more commonly associated with teleportation spells. Here, I figured it had something to do with the fact that this place was at least the size of the entire boneyard, probably bigger. It made sense, what with all the hype generated here. This main quest area needed to be able to accommodate as many people as possible. Even so, the pavilion was as jam-packed as the rest of the camp, and it took a bit of maneuvering to both find my friends and get a view of the place through the sea of champions.

  The most important thing outside of my fellow Knights was also the most obvious. In the center of the entire place was a platform of polished wood that stood a good yard above the dirt floor and atop that platform, I could see Copperholt, Kallisandre, and most surprisingly the Mountain King Crystain V. The three luminaries were studying maps and parchments spread out across a ring of tables that formed a sort of perimeter on the platform.

  Now, I had never seen the Mountain King in person before. The rulers of the Four Kingdoms only showed up in the end-game questlines, something I hadn’t quite gotten to yet. Even through the masses, the immense size of Crystain shocked me. Maybe it was the massive plate armor he wore, slabs of stone cut straight out of the heart of the mountains that surrounded Granholm, but the king was ten feet tall at least and wide enough that he dominated the platform. I couldn’t make out his actual face through the visor of the great helm atop his head, but three diamond spires jutting up from the forehead of it formed the prongs of a crown. While he didn’t have a weapon in his hands, what I first thought was a blue crystal pillar in the center of the platform was actually an immense, foot-wide sword that was taller than even the Mountain King. It was proportionally even bigger than Dunya’s scimitar and I was left to wonder what was so terrifying you’d need a sword that huge to kill it.

  K-Pat was throwing out all the stops on this one.

  Fortunately, finding the others was made easy by the green outlines surrounding them if I concentrated a little and Kayla’s golden one stood out even more. They had managed to jockey into a good position near the platform proper and it only took me a few moments to work my way to them. Most everyone was smiling at the sight of me but a few of them, namely Burnie, Kayla, and Merina, were more focused on the other two clusters of champions also crowded next to the stage with us.

  Unlike our little knighthood, both the Sisters of Artemis and Elementalis Reclaimed were arrayed in disciplined ranks with uniform colors and gear; red and silver for the Sisters and white and gold for the El Rec crew. At the head of each formation was their respective guild leaders, Amethyst scowling faintly at both her former Sisters and Merina while Thadivus had his hooded visage focused on me.

  “Well, look who the cats dragged in?” he chortled. “Or are you the cat dragging things in?” The Mystic cast a disparaging glance at our newer recruits.

  I flat out ignored hi
m, instead taking a position next to Kayla. Putting a hand on her shoulder hoping to defuse things a bit, I went into raid chat again.

  Shale: I’m guessing this is what you guys have been dealing with?

  Dunya: Yeah. I asked Burndall and Kayla if I could start challenging them to duels, take ‘em down a peg, but they said no.

  “What’s horrible is that I keep finding myself agreeing with you, Thadivus,” Amethyst muttered, shaking her head before focusing on Merina. “How many times have we rejected you? You’re a good player, Merina, but you have to learn how the game is played.” Before our Dancer or anyone else could object, she tilted her head and let out a strange smile. “All the same, I would be willing to let you into the fold and the rest of my wayward Sisters back if you would only turn away now.”

  It was dirty pool, to say the least, and I wasn’t sure if it was spurred on by spite or some unsaid fear on Amethyst’s part. Crysta’s grip on her bow tightened as she pointedly turned towards the stage while Kayla tensed up even more under my hand. I was about to say something, but Merina was the one to fire back.

  The Amazonian Dancer puffed up to her full height and tried to kill Amethyst with her eyes. “You manipulative basket weaver! If there’s one thing I’ve learned this past week, it’s that I don’t need your validation anymore. Not yours and not his.” She thumbed over at Thadivus. “To think, I almost believed you guys, too. I was almost going to completely re-Gem, copy some cookie-cutter tank build or something, before the Firsters came along. Now, I’ll get to show you that my way works when we rub your noses in it.”

  “You don’t even have a full raid here,” Amethyst shot back, not one to back down so lightly. She straightened up as well, stepping forward towards Merina as she continued. “So, when you let your one tank die because of your short-sighted stubbornness, don’t come mewling to me about how right I was.”