The True Enemy Revealed

by Jason Cheek

  Reaching into the pouch at my waist, I held out the sigil for Officer Quaiel to inspect. Holding his hand under the hanging sigil, he cast a Minor Dispel Magic spell. The warm golden glow that came from the sigil seemed to pass whatever test he’d performed as he stood up with a troubled look.

  “Please, take care of your business while I pass this along to my Assault Leader.” Officer Quaiel said, as he called a messenger over. “I’m sure the Council of Light will call for you shortly.” Dismissing us, he began a hurried conversation with his subordinate as we headed into the massive cavern.

  There were a lot of eyes on us as we headed through the path that had been left open to the trainers and the stairs behind them. A number of fingers were pointing and excited whispers followed after us. Mostly, it was from the players that were hiding away from the PKers, but there were some from the refugees too. Many of the snippets I caught were comments about our levels and armor. Mostly though, it seemed like people wanted to know how we were all matching and where we’d gotten the plate greaves and pauldrons from. Neysa proudly strutted next to me at the speculations going on about the gorgeous Silver Dire Wolf and where they could get one of their own. While I was glad it made her happy, I was mostly thankful that no one was talking about our wanted status in the city.

  To understand many of the comments coming from the players, you have to understand the nature of gamers and games. Each MMORPG has its own style about what was considered acceptable dress. My first MMORPG was Chaos Online. In that game, how you looked was almost as important as how well you played. Deck yourself out in mismatching armor and no one would trust having you on their team. To look the part, you had to have a full set of matching armor, know how to play, and understand the social rules of the server. If you did that, you were considered LEET. Well, maybe not LEET, but you weren’t considered a scrub, which was just as important.

  In World of Warcraft, this was not the case. No one gave you a second look for dressing like a vagabond. Having a different piece of armor in every single body slot was no problem, because everyone looked that way. It was almost impossible to get a matching set of armor and the few times that you did, it was useless two levels later. Not everyone noticed this. At least, not until they saw a raid group of fifteen players all looking the same in custom but matching armor.

  My attention was pulled from my internal musings as the messenger passed us by just as we were stopping in front of the line of five priests. They were all sitting in solid wooden chairs as they helped the injured or taught their skills. Most of the people standing in line were the beaten and downtrodden people of The World who were living here as refugees. Although, I was interested to note that the two level 18 newfar picking up their priest skills were a Warrior and a Rogue. It made me wonder if my alternate play style was getting around.

  Most of the priests were young. At least in comparison to the ancient looking man that seemed to be the leader of the small group helping the refugees. His bald head shone with sweat as his long white beard wagged back and forth while he helped a family with an injured child. Stepping up to the shortest line, I waved everyone over. Seeing that I meant her and the rest of the Devil Dogs, Kenzie stomped over sourly with Zhou and Darkhorse trailing behind.

  “What?” Kenzie snapped, in annoyance. “You know they won’t share out Light magic with us.” Her voice changed to a deeper, baby-like tone as she did air quotes. “Mister High Priest in Amyalneas doesn’t want the House of Kayden to have Light magic.”

  “Um, it’s no problem to teach you Light magic, Miss.”

  “Gah!” Kenzie and I both exclaimed, jumping slightly in surprise to see the petite, white-blonde haired Priest we’d been waiting in line for standing next to us. Her information popped over her head, Natalie Pilner, Level 30, Priestess. Looking around, I saw that the people she’d been helping were already headed back to the refugee camp.

  “What do you mean, you can teach us Light magic?” Kenzie snapped irritably, as she turned on the younger woman. “I thought our Dark magic made that impossible!”

  “Um,” Priestess Pilner stuttered uncomfortably at the other woman’s vehemence, before continuing in a mousy voice. “I don’t see why that would be any particular problem. It’s really just another form of magic.”

  There was a stunned silence at that pronouncement as everyone in the raid looked at each other questioningly. If Dark magic didn’t particularly mean anything important to the Priests of Light in the Human Realm, then what the hell was going on in the Kingdom of Larethien? Hurriedly, I pulled up my quest log to read the quest I’d received from Priestess Ines.

  Discover the reason the High Priest of Light in Amyalneas has forbade training Light Magic to anyone who has mastered Dark Magic!

  The High Priest has forbade any trainer in Light Magic to teach anyone that has learned Dark Magic. Evidence in Delonshire has pointed that this edict was made as an attack against House of Kayden and is not in line with the precepts of the Light. Priestess Ines Eruaistaniel believes this edict has to do more with greed then following the teachings of her order and has requested that you discover the reason for the High Priest’s edict, but with the newest information you’ve discovered in the Kingdom of Kader, the evidence seems to be pointing towards something more sinister.

  Objective: Discover why the High Priest is not following the precepts of the Light.

  Difficulty: Nightmare.

  Reward: Unknown.

  Accept: Yes / No

  The quest had automatically updated with the newest information I’d just received. Even more disturbing, its difficulty level was now listed as Nightmare. There was definitely something stinking with the High Priest of Light in Amyalneas. Closing the window, I was just in time to see Kenzie starting to quietly back away with a nervous look on her face. Zhou and Darkhorse were giving her a knowing smile as I stepped up and snagged Kenzie’s elbow. Grinning like a fiend, I dragged her to the front of the line.

  “That’s wonderful news!” I exclaimed, coming to a stop in front of the priestess and giving her a curt bow. “My name is Lord Ironwolf.”

  “Priestess Pilner,” the slim woman said formally. “But, most of those I help just call me Natalie, Lord Ironwolf.”

  “Please, if I can call you Natalie, then you can call me Star.” I said agreeably, giving her my best winning smile. She was just so cute, I couldn’t help but flirt a little. “My friend here would love to learn Light magic and your first level heal, starting with my good friend Kenzie here.”

  “I don’t need to be first,” Kenzie stuttered, dragging her heels as I shoved her ahead of me.

  Kenzie was always giving the healers in the group a hard time about taking too long to heal or not getting going quickly enough once she was healed up. It was a running joke between Thompson and me, since we were the ones that took the brunt of her attitude on this. Even more annoying, Kenzie normally wouldn’t sit down and eat to heal up in-between fights, but expected to be topped off immediately whenever she was injured, treating us like we were her personal heal pet, it was a little annoying to say the least.

  This attitude wasn’t uncommon in the gaming world. A lot of players tended to give healers a hard time in their teams. Even if it didn’t make sense, you’d see obnoxious assholes treating healers like they were doing them a favor by having them in the team. It was all bullshit. Usually, you could find a replacement for everyone but the healer and maybe the tank. That was because Rogues, Rangers, and Mages tended to be a dime a dozen.

  Most everyone wanted to do high damage, but very few players wanted to be the healer or tank. Even though both were essential for a successful team, they were typically looked down upon in the MMORPG community. At least, that was until you pissed either off in your group and found yourself booted from the team. Kenzie had been one of the worst in that category of player, and now with her new Healing ability, that was going to be a thing of the past, I thought, as a shit eating grin came to my lips.

 
“Oh, it’s no problem at all.” Natalie said sweetly, as she offered the training to Kenzie with a thought. The Rogue’s shoulders fell as she grudgingly accepted both the Light magic and the first level Heal spell. Giving me a look that promised payback, she shuffled away as we quickly got everyone trained up. Another Priestess came to help. She could have been Natalie’s twin sister, if not for her blonde hair and dark-brown eyes.

  Her name was Priestess Marie Nundra and she was also level 30. It was obvious that Natalie and she were close, since they finished each other’s sentences as they talked. Between the two of them working together, they got the raid trained up on Light magic and Heal in no time at all. We even had Tinyr’s group go ahead and join us, since the Combat Priests were guarding the entrance to the cavern. When we got down to just Thompson, Yun, and I, Natalie apologized saying she wasn’t a high enough level to upgrade our spells, but, if we’d wait a moment, Reverent Priest Walt could give us a hand.

  The old man was nice enough. As soon as he was finished with upgrading a level 31 newfar from a guild called Midnight Sun, he called the three of us over. Within moments, Natalie and Marie had explained our situation. With a kind smile, the old man went to Yun and Thompson to teach them their new spells. Unfortunately, they only had enough mana pool available to learn the base Resurrect spell, since the Enhanced Resurrection spell required a base pool of three thousand mana. Not that I was complaining. Having others in the raid that could Resurrect was a burden lifted from my shoulders. Turning to me, I saw the old man’s eyes widen at the sight of my gear.

  “I’m surprised to see a warrior such as yourself with such a high Light magic skill.” Reverent Priest Walt exclaimed as he metaphysically looked me over. At his response, I triggered my own Identify on the old man. Instantly, his information became visible to me, Hugon Walt, level 50, Reverent Priest of Light. As soon as I cast the spell though, a frown formed on the old man’s lips as he scowled at me unhappily.

  “Don’t you know it’s rude to use Identify on your elders?” Reverent Priest Walt grumbled as he looked me over. Getting no response, his scowl turned into a glare. “What’s wrong, boy, did you lose your tongue?”

  “No sir,” I replied back, trying to remain polite.

  “I’m no Royal Knight,” the old man snapped as if I’d given him an insult. “I’m a Reverent Priest.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, the polite expression on my face disappeared as I pressed my lips together. Did this old guy think he was a Drill Sergeant or something? It’s one thing to be polite, but it’s another to be pushed around by a rude asshole. Sucking in a deep breath, I stood up straight as my voice turned harsh.

  “Just like I’m Lord Ironwolf,” I snapped back in the same tone, “and not boy!” For a long moment, we scowled at each other, before a smile suddenly split the old man’s lips. Standing up straight, he laughed heartily, clapping me on the back.

  “Well-met, Lord Ironwolf,” the old priest said, holding out a hand. As I clasped his wrist, the Reverent Priest continued with a smile. “No disrespect intended. I just wanted to get a feel of what kind of newfar lord you were, before I decided to train you further. Besides, this is my first time meeting a nightmare newfar face-to-face.”

  “I’m no push-over, if that’s what you mean.” I said, feeling somewhat unsettled at being tested. Besides, his use of the term “Nightmare newfar” didn’t leave me feeling warm and fuzzy either. “But neither am I needlessly an asshat.”

  “He’s not like the other nightmare newfar,” Royal Investigator Lamkin hurriedly said in a rush of words as if she were trying to do damage control. “He’s doing his best to save as many people in Telrain as possible, while coming up with a plan to deal with the newfar of the Chaos Storm alliance.”

  “Be at peace, Royal Investigator.” Reverent Priest Walt said, holding up a palm to cut her short. “The information you gave to Team Leader Quaiel has already made it to my ears. I just wanted to get a feel for the young man myself.”

  “So, I gather you want to be trained in everything available to your level and stats?” Reverent Priest Walt asked as he studied me closely.

  “Yes, please.” I replied with a bemused expression. The old man had his pleasant demeanor in place once again. Before I could question him further, system windows began popping open in front of my eyes. A quick “Yes” and I’d picked up three new spells.

  Minor Cure Disease (80 Mana) – Instant cast – Cures one poison on inflicted target. Requires Light magic skill level 35. Range 60 yards.

  Light Word of Censor (150 Mana) – Instant cast – Creates an aura around target that unleashes the judgment of light for 600% spell power. The affect also stuns the target for five seconds. One minute cool down between casts. Requires Light magic skill level 35. Range 60 yards.

  Enhanced Resurrection (3000 Mana) – 30 sec cast - Brings a dead player back to life with 25% health and mana. Spell is able to regenerate internal organs such as eyes, kidneys, and similar internal organs. Cannot regenerate heart, brain, or missing limbs. Three day time limit on resurrecting targets using this spell. Cannot be cast when in combat. Range 20 yards.

  Paying the fee, I gave Reverent Priest Walt a nod of thanks and backed away to go over my new spells. Although they weren’t anything particularly special for the coming battle, at the same time they weren’t bad either. Minor Cure Disease meant I wasn’t stuck to having a potion on hand every time one of us got poisoned. While it wasn’t a huge issue now, I had no doubt it would become a regular problem further on into the game. In most MMORPGs, there’s usually a shit-ton of poisonous creatures at the higher levels. It was a good bet this game wasn’t going to be any different. At least, not in that way. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be making a spell like this available at my current level.

  The Light Word of Censor was somewhat interesting. While not much in the damage department, having a higher level Stun wasn’t anything to bat an eye at, even if it was just a single target. It might be just enough to save my ass in the right situation. More worrisome though, was that someone could use the same spell against me. My anti-root boots wouldn’t do anything against that and five seconds in a PKer battle was no joke. Hmmm, maybe there was some way I could counteract this with Minor Dispel Magic or something.

  Contemplating how that might work, I went over my last spell, Enhanced Resurrection. While it was an obvious upgrade to the original spell and only required half the cast time, it had some definite plusses and minuses in comparison to the original. The regeneration of internal organs would allow me to save victims that had hatched a full clutch of Meer Lizard eggs. Although, I’m not sure if anyone would want to come back after living through something like that. Still, it was nice to have options now. And, when it came right down to it, the three day lockout wasn’t that big of a deal. By that time, most corpses had already been ravaged by scavengers and were not Resurrectable anyway.

  “Hey, is that you, Star?” The deep male voice caught me off guard, as I hurriedly closed my Spell Book window and looked over at the man that had walked up to me. He was big, at least six-foot-two, with wavy, short-blond hair and a full beard. His brown-leather armor and green cloak looked well-used and had been noticeably repaired several times. Standing a little behind him was a woman dressed in similar gear with two animal companions at her side, looking just as confused as I did.

  “Yeah, I’m Star … Startum Ironwolf.” I awkwardly replied, knowing I hadn’t ever met either one of them before.

  “It’s Zedic and Zyndi!” The man said pointing at his chest, before nodding towards his wife. “We used to play together on Dark Ages of Camelot Unleashed about four years ago.” He continued, clapping me happily on the back just as my Identify triggered, displaying their names, Zedic ZStat, level 31, Ranger and Zyndi ZStat, level 31, Ranger. Both of them wore the guild name, Midnight Sun. “Remember the two clueless noobs you saved in the Cursed Tombs from that group of PKers?”

  “What’s up guys? Long time no see!�
�� I exclaimed excitedly, as the memories came flooding back to me. They were a married couple out of Texas that played with their three grown children. A really nice family of gamers. We played together for a year before I moved over to the PVR version of World of Warcraft with the rest of my guild, while they stayed back in DAOCU. Next thing I knew, I was getting hugged by Zyndi and clapping Zedic on the back. After introducing everyone in the raid, we caught up on everything that had been going on over the last few years.

  None of them had played any of the PVR titles that came out earlier. The World was the first game they’d all agreed on leaving DAOCU to play. Even more surprising, they’d been playing since day one. They’d all taken an Advance start, which set them up well for adventuring in the game. Zedic had found my Twitch channel and had tried to get a hold of me, but I hadn’t been answering any of his emails. Apologizing, I explained my situation with the online trolls harassing me and filling my mailboxes with spam. That brought up the current situation here in Telrain.

  They’d been using Telrain for a base of operations to sell everything and had gotten caught up in the PKing crap when Chaos Storm and their alliance took over the city. Many of the lower level players had been trapped in the city’s graveyard, caught in a respawn loop as the PKers ruthlessly spawn camped the graveyards hard for the first day. Many of the players had finally managed to log out after getting slaughtered twenty to thirty times in a row. Surprisingly enough, when they’d logged back in to see if it was safe, they’d discovered that their bodies had been moved to the catacombs.