by G. Akella
A crooked rose-tinted moon hung resolutely in the heavens. In Darkaan and the Borderlands it was always blood-red, but here even the stars were somehow different. Not that I cared. The wine rushed through my head, and unlike Father Sebastian, I made no attempt to hold myself back from imbibing. We weren't worried about Bonbon and Masyanya who were waiting for us, since the champion had sent a messenger to the Wheel where they were staying. And since the inn was not the ideal place for someone of the noble class, accommodations for them were provided at The Unicorn, the main inn in the Square of Heroes, at the Order's expense.
When I was done, the room lay silent for five minutes. At last the champion turned towards the table and poured himself another half-glass of wine.
"The Order of the Forgotten God lies destroyed. The castle of Baron Adris, the residence of the Order, lies in total ruin. None survived." He swirling his wine in his glass, then drank and leaned back in his chair. "There has been a terrible invasion from the Gray Frontier, and judging by the stories coming from the peasants of nearby villages, it was the morts' doing. And now that you have told me your story, I realize what exactly those monsters are. The king has traveled to the County of Nantes, meaning your audience with him is delayed indefinitely. I will send a messenger in an attempt to hasten things along, but first we must eliminate the threat to the city."
"So we players are the ones who must fight Teiran?" Donut chimed in.
"The magic of Arkam is fatal to all but you arrivals from another world." Sebastian said with a shrug. "And it is you, more than anyone, who must find your place in this world. Providence has chosen you, demon, yet not for your own sake. All those who care for the land they reside on must care for its defense."
"You really think I can find five hundred people? No one in this town even knows who the hell I am." Thus dispensing with courtesy, I poured another glass and took an indecorous mouthful.
"Providence chose you, Krian, and so it falls to you to decide who is worthy to accompany you into the tomb of the Forgotten God." He smiled. "I will help you, as much as I am able, little as that may prove to be."
Change of terms for the quest: Defending the Great City II.
Quest type: hidden, chain.
Open the Gate of Inevitability in the catacombs of Vaedarr and destroy the army of the Great Lord of Darkness, Teiran.
Reward: experience, increased reputation with Myrt the God of Wisdom and Battle Valor; increased reputation with Celphata the Goddess of Death and Rebirth; increased reputation with Liana the Goddess of Art; increased reputation with the human race; increased reputation with all the races in the Realm of Arkon, up to unfriendly (reputation with any race already higher than unfriendly would increase by the required number of points); unknown.
Attention! To complete this quest you will need up to 499 allies level 200 or above.
When you enlist allies in the name of the King of Erantia, Rayan I Erast, you can guarantee that the leaders of two groups who join you will receive, upon completion of the quest, the hereditary title of Count of Erantia, with all the associated privileges and with lands in the Borderlands, as well as two hundred thousand gold for the construction of these Counts' castles and the option to grant the hereditary title of Baron of Erantia to twelve of their vassals, who will each received fifty thousand gold for the construction of their own castles.
All other participants in this quest will receive a reward of one thousand gold from the royal treasury upon completion of the quest.
Attention! The time for completing this quest is limited! If you fail to destroy the army of Teiran, the Great Lord of Darkness, in the allotted time, you will fail the quest.
239:59… 239:58… 239:57
No way! I read the system message again. That really is a royal reward!
"All of these so-called 'player clans' will soon be annihilated," Sebastian said without a hint of anxiety. "At best, they will become squads of mercenaries. And mercenaries are not very popular in this world—though there are a few quite respectable detachments, I'll grant you. The Order of the Red Flame, the Blue Salamanders, and perhaps a few others."
"Why has the quest duration changed to ten days?"
"You cannot think the Order of the Forgotten God was destroyed on a whim. Vill knows you are in Vaedarr, which means his companion knows it, too. So, our time is limited. Yet I do not think there is a large army gathered in the tomb of Arkam. The Great Lord of Darkness, Teiran, is master of pandemics and deferred death. Direct attacks are not his way. I fear that a severe epidemic threatens Vaedarr, and you must crush the beast before he unleashes it upon the city."
"It will be done." I finished my wine and followed up with my trusty old pipe. "I knew this would ultimately fall to my responsibility."
"So, what do you want for yourself? What can Grand Champion Sebastian offer the one chosen by Providence?"
"Master Urgam," I replied without hesitation. "The one from my vision, who trained and sent Rynec to Ahn Kulad. I would like your people to find him, if he is not in the tomb of Arkam. He has something I need, and I know he's somewhere in this city."
"Your quest journal tell you that?" Sebastian smiled at my surprise. "Of course I know about these quests of yours and all their requirements. When millions of outsiders swoop down on your land, you'd best learn all you can about them!"
I chuckled at that. "Well then, yes, it did. It says he's in the western section of the city."
"Then we'll find him. You have my word. But I do have one more gift for you, something that does not transgress against the laws to which you are beholden, but will help you complete your task. You are a tank, correct?"
Donut chuckled into the channel. "This guy would be great to take on raids with us. Are you sure he's not a player?"
"Yeah, I am." I grinned at Donut. "Yes, Father Sebastian—in my party, I often perform a role similar to that of a tank. Meaning I need solid armor, an excellent shield—"
"And a very unusual sword," the champion mused. He stepped towards one of his bookshelves as he continued. "All of your taunts and aggro-inducing skills only work on unintelligent creatures, but this..." He placed a small parchment scroll on the table. "This is magic, and it will always work."
Shackles of War Shield Enchantment.
Epic. Magic.
Any creature that takes critical damage from your attack must attack you within ten seconds. This does not prevent the creature from using area-of-effect spells that also attack multiple other targets. Attacks which miss or are blocked or dodged still fulfill this requirement.
"An excellent item. Thank you." I picked up the scroll and immediately applied it to my shield.
I didn't need more resistances. There were always people in my group to cast tons of them on me, besides alchemy and food buffs. This enchantment was roundabout, but it would still help me tank any creature in this world. And there was a lot of tanking in my future. The spell would have been great for Kan, but sadly he would not be going with me to the Tomb of Arkam.
"Here are you tags, allowing you to walk about the city." Sebastian placed two small silver discs each engraved with a sword and a chalice onto the table. "You do not have to disguise your appearance, though that is still your own decision. I will assign Brother Tukkard as your escort. After I give him the details, he will meet you at The Unicorn or find you by your tags. You will feel more secure in his presence, trust me. At the very least, his presence will add weight to your words."
"Yes, Father." I put my tag in my bag, and Donut and I got up from the table. "Thank you for everything. Till we meet again."
"Orlin will show you out of the temple," the man nodded at the small monk who had served us our refreshments. "But as it is already nighttime, you may stay here with us until morning, if you wish."
"No, thank you. Our friends are waiting for us, and we would like to see the capital at night."
He nodded. "Then till we meet again! Bring me the head of that Beast, demon, and Vaedarr will be in
your debt."
Donut was back in the channel now, chuckling as we followed the monk down the hall. "Would you look at that. We've got official tags this time. Order tags! Damn, we're VIPs now, cooler than nobles!"
"If only I shared your priorities," I replied with a sigh.
"Oh, come on, you're about to kill this Teiran fellow and see all the finest establishments of Vaedarr throw their doors open and beg you to come in." A moment of silence was enough to sadden his voice. "Right, I forgot, succubi only. Oh well. You can bring me as your guest, right? And wait on one of their luxurious couches until I'm done?"
It was my turn to chuckle. "Are you sure you're not on anything? How about I bring Masyanya there, too? She can wait on the couch with me."
"You buzzkill," he waved me off, changing the subject as he stared at the back of the monk's head.
"Hey, my good man, is it true that a huge black dog wanders the streets of the city at night? I had this friend tell me that—"
The monk made no hesitation to cut him off. "That was your idiot friends scaring the guards with illusions. Nowadays the art of illusion is learned on rats and spiders in Shanama."
The assassin feigned a sorrowful sigh. "As always, if it's too good to be true... But anyway, this place is still pretty fascinating, dog or no. Come on, prince, let me show you Vaedarr by night."
The Temple of the Blessed Myrt owned a couple of square miles of land surrounded by a fifteen-foot wall. Without an escort, we would have wandered around in search of the exit until morning. But in the end, after passing countless fountains, statues, and edifices, we reached the main temple gate—which was open, strangely enough. Judging by the light fires blazing on either side, this central sanctuary of Vaedarr was open for visitors even at night. Our escort waved at the guards occupied by nothing but standing in the darkness and watching the empty street. Then, he turned to me and spoke in a low voice.
"Brother Tukkard, whom the Grand Champion assigned as your escort, is devoted to serving the Blessed Myrt like no other. He is a tad... strange, however, so don't be too surprised."
"Strange?" I echoed.
The monk smiled. "You will see what I mean. Do not rush things. Good luck with your difficult task, prince, and farewell."
The monk nodded and returned to the temple grounds, leaving me to reflect on his final words.
"Whatever," Donut dismissed, pulling my sleeve. "Come on, he's not a monster or anything. Let's go—the Square of Heroes is close by."
At night, the center of the capital was lit as well is the city of San Francisco. There were almost as many people out on the streets, too. Despite the tag I now carried, I activated my disguise and made Donut do the same. I really did not want to have to explain to every single person who asked what pointy-eared creatures from another kingdom were doing here in Vaedarr.
On my colleague's recommendation, I had visited a house of ill repute located in this square back in my former life. I wasn't paying much attention back then, but now the reality of the square surpassed all my expectations. Its beauty was beyond words. Vaedarr's Square of Heroes reminded me of the Central Square in Prague, but it was at least three times the size, maybe four. The buildings surrounding it displayed diverse architectural styles: Gothic, Renaissance, Rococo, all covered in greenery and illuminated by mighty light-giving flames. For a moment, I was near convinced that I was on a trip to Disney World. The light gray walls of the Royal Citadel bordered the opposite edge of the square, and every hundred feet or so a majestic marble figure depicting one of the cohort that gave the place its name stood in silent judgment over all.
The Unicorn was an inn, if a grand five-story stone building could even really be called that. It was about five hundred feet to our right and shone as brightly as the Bay Area's Nicco, where I had stayed several times in another lifetime.
"I've seen this so many times, but it still fills my heart with joy," Donut explained over the drunken laughter of revelers walking by. "Let's go!" He pulled my sleeve towards the road away from the square. That surprised me, and he saw it.
"Our friends can wait five more minutes! We have to touch the hoof!"
"The hoof? What hoof?"
"You'll see in a moment, it's very close now!"
We skirted around two tree-embraced fountains with multicolored jets painting their elusive figures in the air, and emerged to see a massive set of sculptures. There were at least a hundred players here, all crowding each other and seeming queuing up.
A twenty-foot-tall marble dwarf stood to our left, grasping his shield tightly as if a blow from some monstrous enemy were about to hit. His face was rigid, his lips curved into a stubborn, even wicked grin. The grip with which his right hand held his hammer left no room for doubt that the invisible opponent would soon be knocked down flat. To our right, an elven sorceress was casting a spell. Her mouth was open in a silent but deafening cry, with her left palm jutting out and her short staff held high over her head. I had seen that pose many times by now. Her palm would create an Ice Spear, and woe to the one who stood in her way! The crown jewel of the whole composition was the marble figure of a knight. His right hand held a spear, and his left pointed back behind him. He held his jaw slightly open in a look of gloomy determination. The artist had depicted the man and his movement so accurately that for a moment I thought I heard the clatter of hooves from a thousand-strong cavalry regiment riding up from behind him.
"This is the sculpture of the heroes who fought in the Wolfish Wastes," the rogue informed me. "The knight in the center is General Marcus Jonathan, commander of the united heavy cavalry of the Dukes of Erantia. Tradition says that they overthrew the gorts—the elite and monstrous cavalry of Velial—and drove into the rear of the demon force. Alas, the general died in that battle." The rogue sighed. "Come on. We'll wait in line and touch the hoof. They say it's good luck, and that's exactly what we could use right now."
I gave him a smile, without taking my eyes from the knight. "You're right about that. Maybe we should touch it twice."
The guards posted by the sculptures smiled at the whole line waiting for the chance to touch the hoof. I even noticed a few locals here. We moved quickly. I ran my hand over the marble, somehow unwarmed by the endless touching of the masses, and then Donut and I turned back towards The Unicorn.
"You know," he said before we arrived, "there's a reason that sculpture is here. It's a tribute placed there by Arkon's developers. A tribute to another great game. There, he was the commander who defended Stormwind. He died in that game, too. One of your development team chose to immortalize the character in marble in Vaedarr. Quite the collision of worlds."
Chapter 13
As soon as we stepped into the inn's small, well-cared-for garden, an alarm sounded in our ears. A magical red light appeared atop a decorative bush to our right, then changed to green a moment later.
"Halt!" cried a voice from our left. An instant later, three tall armored figures stepped out of the darkness.
The local keepers of the peace. Two soldiers wielding short swords and a magician clad in beige robes. The soldiers were level 300, the mage, thirty levels higher. Their weapons were sheathed, and they showed no obvious signs of aggression.
"An elf?" the soldier asked, surprised. I saw that Donut's illusion had dropped. Had that light changed color to indicate everything was OK? Ah, right. The ring from the God of Thieves was too much for the local law. It hadn't worked in the temple, but that made sense. After all, this was an inn, not the center of all worship and reverence for Myrt the Blessed.
"Lord of the Great Forest and Knight of the Order of the Goddess of Vengeance at your service," said Donut lazily, without skipping a beat. "If I'm not mistaken, you already have two representatives of the Great Forest as guests. So why the surprise, soldier?"
"Forgive me, ryhn," the mage offered, stepping forward. "The rules of this institution preclude those staying here from using illusions, and so the entrance is protected by a spell of Archmage Stav
us, which excludes any violations of this order. If you insist on masking yourself within this building, you will need permission from the Fellowship of the Untainted or from the Chancellery of Duke Gel'ta."
"We do have permission." I showed the mage the tag Sebastian had given me, turned to Donut with a smile, and instructed him: "Show him yours, too."
Life was worth living for moments like this one. The mage carelessly waved his palm over the tag I had given him. Suddenly he jerked, froze for a moment, and slowly raised his gaze to meet mine, his expression similar to the one I would give if I ran into a real-life Donald Duck on the street. Back in real world, that is. Here, it might barely surprise me.
"With respect, esteemed prince," he said with a reverential nod. He glanced at the green light hovering over the bush, then returned his gaze to me.
"The ryhn and the representatives of the Great Forest he has spoken of will be issued amulets to counteract the archmage's spell. I believe you will not be needing such an amulet. Please forgive us for the delay, and welcome to The Unicorn."
The glass doors opened without a sound except the pleasant music wafting out. The air smelled of potted flowers and trees, and the doorman bowed deeply.
Donut chuckled. "I've only ever seen paintings of this place."
The reception hall was decorated in light brown tones. Marble fountains, wide couches and armchairs, and books spread out across the tables in seeming disarray—a display of refined negligence. Anyone who had stayed in a hotel that charged more than a thousand dollars a night would understand. But I supposed the look was fitting for the main hotel in Vaedarr.
