Veil Online - Book 2: An Epic LitRPG Adventure

by John Cressman

  Two guards manning the double doors at the entrance reached over and opened them as Sir Villiame and his group approached. They didn’t salute or otherwise speak but simply stood at the side of either door at attention. These weren’t just common soldiers. They were the Royal Guard. And now Jace was entering their stronghold. If he didn’t play his cards right, he might not be leaving.

  That thought was still in his mind when his group halted in front of the large wooden door. Villiame knocked and after a moment a voice from inside answered. “Yes?”

  The knight opened the door to reveal a large, sparsely decorated room with a large wooden desk that dominated the room. Behind the desk sat a gray haired man with a short, well-tended beard and piercing gray eyes. Like the knights with Jace, this man was clad in shiny but obviously used armor. There was nothing to distinguish him from the other knights except an undeniable air of command. Jace guessed this was the captain.

  To the right of the captain was a gnomish wizard, dressed in robes. Jace guessed the robes were made of silk or some other expensive material but were plain except for the royal crest sewn into the right breast.

  On the captain’s left was a stern looking woman with glowing gold eyes. He recognized her as a nephilim, a playable race that had a divine spark. She was dressed in robes as well but judging by the large golden symbol of the god, Tholtar, he guessed she was a priestess. He remembered Tholtar was the god of truth, honor and duty and was favored by guardsmen.

  To be sure, Jace checked them out in his HUD:

  Captain Gabrien Avolin (Hero)

  Race: Human

  Level: 90

  Profession: Paladin

  Jirbavog Noomwagurt (Hero)

  Race: Gnome

  Level: 85

  Profession: Paladin

  High Priestess Cristene Richenza (Hero)

  Race: Nephilim

  Level: 90

  Profession: Cleric

  As he suspected, these were all very high level, boss NPCs. Even if Jace had wanted to try and escape, he’d have no chance against them. He had no choice but to stick with his original plan. The priestess did complicate things. Depending on which god or goddess they served, some priests had the ability to detect lies. Given that she was a cleric of Tholtar. God of truth, he guessed that was her main purpose here. He’d need to watch his words.

  “Ah yes,” the captain. “Our guest has finally arrived. Thank you Sir Villiame. You may leave him here and wait outside.”

  “Yes Sir,” the knight said and then he and his fellow knights left the room, shutting the door as they went.

  Looking at the three people on the opposite side of the room, Jace suddenly began to doubt the chances of his idea. He had been hoping that he’d have a few words with the captain, hand over the tiara, tell them about Tiebaut and then he’d be on his way. Now, he’d need to think quickly to stay out of the dungeons.

  “Have a seat,” the captain gestured to the chair opposite him.

  Jace walked over and sat in the chair and looked at the faces of the people around him. Each of them had serious expressions.

  The captain leaned forward and looked at some notes on his desk. “My report says you claim to be on, and I quote, ‘the king’s business.’ You also said to one of our sergeants that, and I am paraphrasing this time, that you know where the princess’ crown is and that there is treason and danger to his majesty.”

  “Possible danger,” Jace corrected.

  The captain seemed unphased by Jace’s interruption and nodded. “Very well, possible danger to the king.”

  The captain looked Jace up and down. “You appear to be wearing the uniform of a royal guardsman and yet, I do not believe you are a guardsman. If I am wrong, simply tell me the name of your commanding officer and I will have them come in here right now and verify your identity.”

  Jace knew his ruse was up and willed the magic of his hat to return him to his normal appearance. None of the people across the desk showed even the slightest hint of surprise.

  “That’s better,” the captain said. “So, who are you?”

  “I am called Dedrurrurth,” Jace replied, remembering to use his character name.

  “And who are you Dedrurrurth?” the man asked, leaning towards him.

  Thinking fast, Jace brought out his charter from the adventurers guild. “I’m a mercenary with the adventurers guild.”

  The captain glanced at the charter and then called out for Sir Villiame. “Sir Villiame, have one of your men get someone in authority from the adventurers guild and bring them here.”

  “Yes, Captain,” the knight said and then left the room again.

  “We’ll know soon if that is legitimate,” the man said and then narrowed his eyes. “In the meantime, do you actually know where the princess’ tiara is? Or was that another ruse?”

  Jace pulled out the round box that contained the princess’ tiara. He set it on the desk and slid it towards the captain. “It’s right there.”

  Captain Avolin glanced at the gnome. The wizard stared at the box intently for a moment and then looked back to the captain. “I sense no traps.”

  Nodding, the gray haired man reached over and removed the lid to reveal the tiara inside. He replaced the lid and then handed the box to the gnomish wizard. “Jirbavog, can you have this authenticated with the dwarves.”

  Taking the offered box, the gnome nodded. “Right away, Gabrien.”

  The gnome then cast a spell that Jace had seen many times before, a teleportation spell, and disappeared.

  Captain Avolin looked back at Jace, his face impassive. “And how did you come by the princess’ tiara.”

  “I stole it,” Jace admitted and the captain raised an eyebrow. “From the pirates who I believe had originally taken it.”

  “Are these the same pirates that you claimed,” the captain leaned forward and glanced down at the parchment on his desk. “Were under the command of a Captain Drakkar of the Wyvern’s Tail?”

  Jace nodded, impressed at the level of information that the man had been given. “Yes.”

  “And you stole it from these pirates?” Avolin asked.

  “Yes,” Jace answered and suddenly felt like Luna with her one word answers.

  The captain nodded again. “Why did you steal it from them? Why didn’t you tell the guard about it?”

  He glanced at the cleric, who was just watching him and knew he needed to tell the truth. But that didn’t mean he needed to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. At least, he hoped not. He wasn’t about to say that he stole the crown because the guildmaster of the thieves guild told him to. Instead, he answered the second question.

  “I didn’t tell the guards because I wasn’t sure who I could trust,” Jace said. “There’s a conspiracy.”

  The captain looked skeptical. “A conspiracy? Is this the treason you spoke of?”

  “Yes,” Jace nodded. “Lord… I mean, Sir Tiebaut arranged to have the tiara stolen.”

  Both the man’s eyebrows went up at that. He looked at the priestess who nodded. “You are accusing Sir Tiebaut of being involved in this? What proof do you have?”

  Jace was now walking on thin ice. He couldn’t exactly tell the captain of the Royal Guard that he’d broken into Tiebaut’s house and read his datebook. He needed to be careful what he said and how he said it since he was now sure that the priestess could detect lies. “I was hunting alligators in the sewer…”

  Both the people in the room shot him curious looks at the mention of alligators in the sewer.

  “It was a job for the adventurers guild,” he explained. “Anyway, I was down there trying to find the bos… the bull gator… when I happened upon a meeting between Captain Drakkar and Sir Tiebaut. That’s where I learned that Sir Tiebaut had ordered the thing stolen and it appeared that Captain Drakkar actually stole it from whoever Tiebaut originally hired and was renegotiating with him.”

  The captain once again looked to the high priestess
and she nodded. At that the captain’s brow furrowed. “Do you have any other proof?”

  Briefly, he thought of the note he’d found requesting a meeting, but he’d given that to Webley. “No, I don’t have any other proof.”

  “And why didn’t you bring this matter to the guard?” the captain asked.

  Gesturing to the captain, Jace replied. “Look at your reaction. No one would have believed my word over his. And I might have been thrown into the dungeon just for making such an accusation.”

  Everything he said was true. Jace simply neglected to mention that going to the guards had never been an option.

  “I see,” Avolin said. “There may be some validity to that. Even now, I cannot act on so little proof.”

  Jace’s heart sank at those words. He’d been hoping to get Tiebaut arrested but it didn’t look like that was going to happen. He tried to think of anything else he could say when suddenly the gnome appeared in the room.

  The tiny wizard set the box on the desk. “I just came from the master crafter himself. He confirmed this is the tiara the king commissioned.”

  “Thank you, Jirbavog,” he smiled. “The king will be pleased. Can you take this to the Royal Counsellor?”

  “Wait,” Jace said and everyone in the room looked at him. “Would you really like to apprehend Sir Tiebaut, the person who is behind the theft?”

  Captain Avolin looked at Jace with a stern expression. “I thought you didn’t have any other proof.”

  Jace smiled. He had suddenly remembered the conversation in the sewer. Tiebaut and Drakkar were supposed to meet tonight. Maybe they could do some sort of sting operation. “I don’t. But I know how to get some. Arranging to have the princess’ tiara stolen was treason, right?”

  The captain nodded. “It is.”

  “I happen to know that Tiebaut is planning to meet Drakkar to pick up the tiara,” Jace said.

  “And how do you know about this meeting?” the captain asked, eyes narrowing.

  “It was the last thing they said in the sewers,” Jace replied. “That they were meeting on Tideday, today, at a warehouse.” He thought back to the conversation. “A blue warehouse Mackerel and Anchor. Today at noon.”

  “And what are you hoping to accomplish,” the captain asked, but his voice held a note of curiosity. “Drakkar’s ship is gone. The pirates who chased you made it back to their ship and it set sail. He won’t be making any meeting.”

  Jace smiled again. “But Sir Tiebaut doesn’t know that. He’ll still show up and I can pretend to be one of Drakkar’s men, exchanging the tiara. When he does the exchange, your men can grab him. I assume finding him with the tiara would be proof enough, right?”

  The captain leaned back in his chair as he considered Jace’s plan. Slowly, a smile spread on his face. “That would work.” Avolin looked to the priestess. “Would you accompany us to see the truth of the matter?”

  “Of course, Captain Avolin,” the woman nodded. “It would be my honor.”

  Captain Avolin turned back to Jace. “Your plan has some merit. If we were to apprehend Tiebaut with the crown, that would be sufficient proof. However, if you can get him to admit his guilt in front of the priestess, that would seal his fate.”

  “I can try,” Jace told him.

  The captain’s face became stern again. “And what’s in this for you?”

  Jace glanced at the priestess again. He couldn’t tell the real truth: that he wanted to finish a quest so the guildmaster would help him sneak into the Noble District and possibly the Royal Palace itself. Instead, he went with a simpler truth. “I’d really like to not end up in the dungeons.”

  At that the man chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do about that. Now, let’s get you ready for the meeting.”

  Chapter 31

  Jace had been taken to another room and given a meal oatmeal and bread. The door had been locked, but Jace was just happy it wasn’t a dungeon cell. He’d sent a message to Luna, letting her know he was okay and would hopefully be back there soon.

  “Girls worried,” was the cat’s reply.

  “I’ll be back soon,” he sent her and hoped he wasn’t lying. He was about to do a sting operation on a noble and he was trusting the captain to keep his word that they’d let him go afterwards. If not, Jace had already decided he would attack the guards and force them to kill him rather than be stuck in prison. He’d lose all of his equipment but at least he’d be free.

  He was kept in the office for hours before Sir Villiame appeared with the dwarf from the adventurers guild, Throdgrug Greydigger. He escorted the sourly dwarf in and pointed to Jace.

  “Is he a member of your guild, good master dwarf?” the knight asked.

  Throdgrug looked him up and down and then shook his head. “Never seen him before.”

  The knight gave Jace a disapproving look.

  “Wait,” Jace blurted out before the dwarf could leave. “We killed the gators that were in the sewer. We brought back the eye and you… uh… ate it.”

  The dwarf stopped and squinted at Jace and then nodded. “That’s right. Yah, him and three women. Brought me an alligator eyeball from a bull gator.” The dwarf patted his groin. “Keeps things working!”

  The knight gave the dwarf an unreadable look, clearly unsure of how to take his words. Finally, he motioned for the dwarf to leave. “Thank you for your assistance in this matter, good master dwarf.”

  “Anytime,” the dwarf said and then turned back to Jace. “If you get any more of those eyes, you let me know.”

  The door was shut and locked behind them and Jace was once again left alone for several hours.

  At 11:00am, and Jace knew because he’d just stolen a peek at his gnomish timepiece, the knight returned. He motioned for Jace to follow him. “It’s time.”

  He followed the knight out of the building and this time, only two other knights accompanied Jace and Sir Villiame. The four of them left the royal grounds, went back through the Noble District and across the bridge into the city proper.

  From the bridge, they went east to the docks and then south to a blue warehouse. It was smaller than Jace had imagined, being only the size of a large inn. The only real difference was that the warehouse was only one large, open room.

  Villiame motioned Jace into the warehouse. The room was littered with old crates, most of which looked like they had been rummaged through long ago and stank of fish. He was sure Tiebaut would find this only slightly better than the sewers.

  The knights who had come with him spread out and disappeared behind crates. Villiame walked with him to the center of the warehouse. “We’ll be nearby so don’t get any ideas of running off with the tiara.”

  Jace glanced around, looking for the tiara. “Speaking of which…”

  Before he could finish his sentence, three figures shimmered into being nearby. It was the captain, the wizard, and the priest. Jace guessed they’d been hidden by a group invisibility spell. He’d used those himself when he was with a group who needed to infiltrate into enemy territory or just wanted to avoid unnecessary fights.

  Captain Avolin came forward with the round box that contained the tiara and handed it to Jace. “And he’s not the only one who will be around. Just stick to the plan and, if you can, get him to admit being behind it.”

  Accepting the box, Jace nodded. “I’ll try.”

  Villiame moved off and disappeared behind some of the crates and the captain walked back over the gnome and priest. The wizard waved his hands and they all shimmered and vanished, leaving Jace seemingly alone.

  It had taken almost half an hour to get here, which meant he had another half hour to wait. On the off chance that Tiebaut was early, Jace wanted to be ready. Using the magic of his hat, he willed the magic to change his appearance to what he’d seen Drakkar wearing in the sewers. It couldn’t make him look like Drakkar, but he should be able to pass as his first mate.

  A half an hour later, a man walked cautiously into the warehouse, looking around in
disdain. He recognized the man as Tiebaut and saw that he carried a bundle under one arm.

  Tiebaut spotted Jace and started toward him. Then the nobleman stopped and eyed Jace with suspicion. “Who are you? Where is Drakkar?"

  "Lord Tiebaut?" he asked in his best pirate accent, remembering to call the man Lord instead of Sir.

  "Yes? Who are you? Where is Drakkar?" the irate noble demanded.

  Jace noticed the man had taken a step back and was afraid he would bolt. He needed to get the man’s attention before he left. He knew of only one way to do that for sure. He reached down and pulled the lid off the box and tilted it towards Tiebaut.

  “Captain said you wanted this little trinket,” he told the man, trying to stay in character. “But if you don’t, he said we could find another buyer.”

  “Wait. What?” Tiebaut said, his eyes drawn to the sparkling tiara. “That’s it?”

  “Aye,” Jace replied. “Captain couldn’t make it on account of a certain guild being after him for turning them into the guard.”

  Tiebaut snickered and seemed to relax. “Yes, I heard about that fiasco in the Luxury District. So, now Drakkar has the guild after him. Better him than me.”

  Jace saw an opening to talk about the guild and took it. “Drakkar said to warn you that they might be coming after you.”

  “Ha,” the nobleman waved dismissively. “I didn’t turn them in.”

  “No,” Jace said. “On account that you hired them first to steal the tiara and then broke the contract.”

  “Bah,” the nobleman scoffed. “That may be true, but the deal was for them to deliver it to me. The way I see it, they broke the contract by not delivering it to me and I had to seek, shall we say, a secondary supplier.”

  Jace chuckled. “Yeah, that be us.”

  The noble looked Jace up and down, not even hiding his disapproval. His voice became mocking. “Yes, that be you. Now, hand over the tiara!”