by Eden Redd
Faye was barely to her feet as she stumbled down the corridor. Edric lay slumped against the wall, eyes closed. The wood elf fell to her knees by his side and pressed her hands to his chest. Channeling her chi, the warmth soaked into his body. A harsh electric guitar song began to play from Ralis’ room and a storm of metal on metal rang out. Light flashed as grunts rose up.
Edric’s eyes opened the moment the status effect faded from his vision. The summoner eyed the monk as she gave him a small smile.
“Time to call in the Calvary. I’ll wake Claudia and Leeta.”
Edric was up, arcane words spilling from his lips.
(Spell Casting)62+(Int)7=69/(Encounter Roll)15! Spell Successful!
Summon Demon! Mana: 200/220
An arcane circle appeared on the floor and a teal haired succubus rose up. Black leathery wings spread out as her scantily clad body glowed in the torchlight. When she reached her full height, she drew her sword and winked at her master.
Edric ignored her, casting the spell once again as chaos roared on in the diplomat’s chambers.
***
Rayna drove her fingers into the chords, small balls of light appearing throughout the room discharging thin bolts of energy at the intruder. She watched with intensity as Thalia and Dumadin engaged the assassin. The lamia and dwarf moved with skill, trying to land a blow on the assassin. Ralis pressed his back to the wall as if trying to make himself smaller as the hurricane of bodies swirled in deadly arcs.
The cloaked assassin twisted and turned his body to each blow while throwing forearms up to block the mini-lightning blasts from the bard. Dumadin’s axe swung as he roared in delight. Thalia moved with the grace of a venomous snake. Yet, even at close range, the assassin dodged each strike with a supernatural finesse. Stabbing his sword into his cloak, hands came back with metal darts between fingers. The intruder spun his body in the air, hands whipping out and fingers opening.
Thalia curled her body in a dodge when two darts sunk into her cleavage. The lamia’s eyes widened before eyelids grew heavy and she slumped to the floor. Dumadin growled his laughter as the darts bounced off his armor. The dwarf charged, bringing his axe down. The assassin landed and jumped, the axe head missing his leg and cracking the stone floor where he was just standing a moment before.
A dart whipped from the intruder’s hand, the point stabbing the dwarf between the eyes and sinking in a few millimeters. Dumadin’s eyes crossed upward as he looked at the dart in his head.
“You…bastard…” the dwarf managed before he fell forward and crashed onto the floor.
Rayna played a special chord, a wand sliding out of the top of her lute. The assassin spun around, sending several darts at the bard. Rayna lifted her lute up, the darts sinking into the wood before she pointed the arm and unleashed a lightning bolt. The bard laughed maniacally as the bolts missed the assassin. Body spinning and landing, turning and bending, the intruder growled his annoyance. Landing on the floor by Thalia, the man in black grabbed the lamia and hoisted her up as a shield. Rayna hesitated, aiming her lute, fingers on strings.
An arm swung from under the sleeping lamia, sending a single dart at the bard. Rayna side stepped but kept her wand pointed at the intruder.
“You’re not going to make it out of her alive,” Rayna said with a wicked grin.
The assassin peeked from behind the sleeping lamia he was holding up, “That secret passage you just came up seems like the perfect escape route.”
The bard kept her evil grin, “You don’t want to go down there. You may get eaten by a grue.”
The intruder drew his thin blade and held it to Thalia’s neck. “Drop the lute and step to the chamber door.”
Rayna stayed where she was, “That’s your ace card, a hostage?”
The assassin nodded. “Try to be surprised when I win.”
The two stared at each other, waiting for the next move when shadows filled the bed chamber. Ralis’s wide eyes turned to hope as five succubi flew into the room. The assassin turned to see all of them barreling toward him. Four had blades in their slender hands while one simply had their hands out.
Rayna’s eyes fell on the assassin’s blade hand, aimed and fired a bolt. The blast struck his hand and the intruder winced, pulling his blade away from Thalia’s neck but not letting go of the thin sword. The unarmed succubus dived down and crashed into the sleeping lamia, both tumbling to the floor. The four remaining succubi screeched as they attacked.
Edric reached the bed chamber door, eyes barely taking in the spectacle before him. Four succubi attacked, swords hacking down and the lone assassin parrying away each blow. Bodies became a blur as the sound of ringing steel sang on. Rayna aimed for another shot but the demons swirled around the assassin so quickly, she didn’t have a clear shot. Screeches and blades turned into a chorus of battle as the lone assassin kept the demon women at bay.
Faye, Claudia and Leeta moved next to Edric, weapons and fists at the ready. All watched as the white-haired assassin let out a deep growl before his eyes turned white. The blade in his hand glowed with supernatural light before it sliced in one wide arc. The room’s energy diminished as the succubi stayed where they were for a long moment.
The assassin stood, shadows covering his eyes as the heads of all four succubi fell off at once. Bodies slumped to the floor, cracking into veins of light before shattering away. Edric felt the loss of his demons and readied another spell. Faye and Claudia took a step forward while Rayna aimed her lute. Leeta stayed by Edric’s side, spiked mace in hand.
The assassin’s shoulders heaved softly as he eyed the rulers of Elora. “I tried to make this easy. Let me be clear, I’m leaving with the troll and if you stand in my way, all of you will end up like those demons.”
Edric stopped his incantation, eyebrow raised. “Leaving? I thought you wanted to kill him?”
The assassin let out a huff, “I have business to attend too with his kind. If you want Elora to be safe, back off…Now!”
“We can’t let you do that,” Edric said and took a step toward the intruder.
The white-haired assassin let out a long, tired exhale. “Don’t start something you can’t…,” the assassin trailed off.
Juna stepped from the secret passage, white armor glowing slightly in the torchlight. The half-troll walked past Rayna and stood, swords sheathed behind her and a firm gleam in her dark eyes.
The assassin eyed the troll with a pink stripe flowing from her temple. A crushing sadness bled into his eyes before they became as cold as ice. The intruder sheathed his sword into his cloak and bowed his head toward the half-troll.
“I surrender,” the assassin said simply.
Eyes looked to the assassin, to Juna and then to each other in utter confusion. Juna stepped closer, her mouth a small thin line. The assassin looked away, unable to meet her gaze.
“What just happened?” Rayna asked as she kept her lute wand aimed at the cloaked figure.
Juna stood before the intruder, eyes hard. “He doesn’t want to hurt any of us.”
“How do you know?” Edric asked before cold realization washed over his senses.
Juna’s eyes softened, “He’s my father.”
Six
Edric eyed the assassin as he sat in the middle of a large room. The chains strained against his chest, arms and stomach. A small creak rose up as the assassin shifted in the wooden chair, gazing downward. Around the chained intruder, Faye, Juna, Rayna and Claudia stood with Edric, Leeta standing behind them with a spiked mace in her hand.
The summoner rubbed his eyes with one hand while memories of Thalia and Dumadin taking Ralis to another location swirled. There were too many questions floating around and all agreed that the diplomat would have to wait until they had all the answers, if they would give him any answers. A fireplace crackled as an uncomfortable silence filled the room.
Looking down at the assassin with his cloak pulled back behind the chains, Edric didn’t realize how massive he was. Th
e assassin had a wide, barrel shaped chest but you didn’t notice it right away from the cloak. It seemed the cloak shifted his image to look thinner. Arms were large, like he could bench a small car. Edric rubbed his chest as he remembered the punch the assassin gave that sent him flying backwards. The chair seemed almost too small for him and the chains clinked as he breathed.
“Where do we even start?” Edric said in a low tone.
“The last anyone heard of Jayson Reed, he was on the Cursed Coast, serving the vampire lord Drakkus,” Faye stated plainly.
The assassin looked up at the wood elf, “I’m not Jayson Reed. The name is Jinn Frost.”
Rayna’s eyes widened a hair, “The famed assassin? You killed Master Niko Syth in the troll kingdom of Kraznith.”
Edric looked to the bard with a questioning brow.
Rayna continued, “He’s the only one to carry out an assassination in the Kunarr capital and get away with it. No player has been able to enter the city and succeed such a high-profile assassination.”
Jinn smirked, “Thought it would be enough to turn the tide of the war. Instead, others just took his place, biggest waste of my time.”
Juna stepped closer and knelt in front of the bound assassin. Dark eyes gazed into his and Jinn looked away, a sorrow touching the edges of his weathered face.
“You don’t have to hide,” Juna said softly.
Jinn’s eyes trembled as he continued to look away. Edric could see the pain and it caused a distant image of Elora to touch his mind’s eye. Faye and Claudia looked on as Rayna crossed her arms, mind working.
“I don’t understand,” Rayna began, “why Ralis? I haven’t heard of any contracts on him. It seems like a waste of your talent to try and kill a troll diplomat.”
Jinn looked up to the bard, “I wasn’t going to kill him. I was going to bound him up and toss him to his masters in the Middle Kingdoms before they had him killed.”
The group was silent as Jinn adjusted himself on his seat, eyes hard. Juna stood up and stepped back, eyes dark and a hint of wet gleam. All ears were on the bound assassin as he gathered his thoughts and let out a rough sigh.
“You have no idea what you have here in your kingdom. Elora sits four days from the Middle Kingdoms, a stone’s throw away. It is only a matter of time before they march on your gates and take the city for themselves.”
Jinn turned his gaze on Edric, “You played a good game, trying to be peaceful allies with the enemy but I’m sure they saw through that deception the moment you sent a letter to them. They are not some mindless monster, bent on destroying you. The lands here contain many veins of runic stones. From what I saw, you have several mines in operation. Why would the enemy work harder when you’re doing all the work yourselves?”
Jinn smirked. “The trolls I killed, they were spies for his masters. They had been sending information to them for some time. I intercepted a message, the masters wanting an accident to happen to the troll diplomat. Ralis was to meet his end tonight. I was going to leave him, unharmed, on their doorstep so they wouldn’t have an excuse for war.”
“Why didn’t you just come to us,” Claudia asked.
Jinn grew silent.
“He didn’t want to see me,” Juna said with a sad tone.
The half-troll’s lip curved downward before she firmed her resolve. “I could sense you watching me but I couldn’t find you.”
The assassin remained silent.
“Jinn, if you are the player who was Jayson Reed, we are not enemies,” Edric said in a soft tone.
The assassin turned his gaze to the summoner, eyes clouded with knowledge. “Like the wood elf said, Jayson Reed is on the western coast serving a vampire lord. I only wanted to give the trolls a black eye.”
Rayna’s mouth twisted into annoyance, “We know that’s not true.”
Jinn turned his gaze to the bard, “Maybe so but it’s the answer you're going to get. Now escort me to the nearest exit and I’ll leave you to your kingdom.”
Edric crossed his arms, “You’re not going anywhere until we have this all sorted out. The question now is, do you stay in the dungeon as a prisoner or do you stay in the keep as a guest?”
The three ladies turned to Edric but it was Rayna who spoke up.
“You can’t be serious? If we let him roam the keep, he can still kidnap Ralis and escape.”
The summoner looked to Juna.
The half-troll’s eyes lowered. “He won’t run if I’m watching him.”
Jinn let out a chuckle. “It’s already too late to kidnap Ralis. The moment he is out of sight of your courtesan, he will send a message to his masters. Elora’s days are numbered.”
The assassin turned his gaze to Juna, “I might as well take in the sights before the kingdom falls.”
Juna stood up straighter and looked to the lord and ladies of Elora. “I won’t let him harm anyone and will keep him in the city. You have my word.”
“Sounds good to me,” Edric smiled and nodded to Leeta.
The ogre made her way behind the chained assassin. Hands reached down and unlocked the locks. The chains fell away like streams of metal as Jinn lifted his arms and rubbed a wrist.
Edric stood before the assassin, eyes holding a flare of confident power. “All friendships start with an act of kindness. Betray us in any way and you will have an entire kingdom come down on you.”
Jinn looked up into Edric’s eyes and gave a small nod.
Edric turned his gaze to Juna, “Can you show him his room?”
The half-troll nodded. Jinn stood up as Juna stood by his side, eyes holding a mixture of fear and contained excitement. Faye, Claudia and Rayna watched as Jinn walked for the door with Juna close behind.
“Thank you,” Juna whispered to Edric as she passed him.
Once the assassin and half-troll closed the door behind them, all eyes turned to Edric. The air in the room took a dark edge as they tried to piece together what just happened. Rayna’s brow hardened as if she was holding back a flood of words.
“He’s dangerous and now he gets to walk freely,” the bard said flatly.
“I’m not even sure a dungeon could hold him,” Claudia chimed in.
Edric held up his hands to chest level, “I know this is weird but we shouldn’t stand in the way of Juna reuniting with her dad.”
“I don’t think anyone is saying that, but Rayna has a point. He’s dangerous and considering our relationship with the troll kingdoms on the line, he may do something else to jeopardize it,” Faye said.
Edric lowered his hands, eyes filling with dark intent. “I think that moment has passed. We knew the day would come when the trolls would try to take what we have built. I think it’s time we put into motion what we’ve talked about for months.”
“We’re not ready,” Claudia stated.
Edric stepped over to the chair and sat down. The player mulled over the chain of events and his heartbeat with new determination. No matter where he went, the feeling of being pushed around gnawed at him, so much so, a new flame flashed in his spirit. Looking up at the four beautiful women he called friends, the time had finally come where he knew they must push back.
“We have been playing defense since we started this adventure together. If there is a war on the horizon, we must be ready for it. It was only a matter of time before they came for us and now it looks like it’s happening. I don’t know about everyone here but I’m getting sick of being pushed around.”
Rayna eyed the summoner. “I like where this is going,” she said and licked her lips.
“I believe in us,” Claudia said with a half-smile.
Faye looked down as her heart weighed heavy in her chest. “We cannot let them win, not anymore.”
The summoner smiled. “We won’t. Not as long as we are all together to fight them.”
Leeta’s eyes were wide and wet. The ogre sank to her knees next to the chair and threw her arms around the summoner. Edric’s eyes bulged as the ogre’s strength pus
hed all the air from his lungs.
“I will fight by your side!” the ogre cheered as she smothered her master.
Edric pulled a hand free and pushed against the side of her head. “Leeta! Stop! This is embarrassing!”
The three ladies of Elora looked down on the struggling summoner, a lightness touching their hearts and smiles on their lips.
***
The light of a new day touched Gray Haven Keep. The castle began to stir as bird song filled the trees surrounding it. The sky was a clear, pale blue; brilliant light stabbing into every opening on the eastern side. The air took on a crisp freshness as the last strands of early morning mist evaporated in the morning light.
Edric walked alone, eyes on a balcony at the end of the corridor. A thin troll leaned against the edge of the stone balcony, facing the majestic sunrise. A raven flapped, dark wings catching a thermal and soon gliding away. Edric walked down the corridor until he reached the balcony entrance and stepped out into the light.
Ralis didn’t look back, elbows on the edge and staring out. The summoner crossed the balcony and stood by the troll, pressing his elbows to the edge just like the diplomat. The two men stared out in silence, basking in the warmth and splendor of the morning. Edric watched as the raven flew off to the south and became nothing more than a dark speck in the sky.
Ralis’s eyes lowered from the sky to the eastern wall of Elora. “My caravan has deserted me. They left during the night while I was here under your protection.”
Edric nodded silently.
The troll continued, “I did everything I could to ensure their safety and keep our relations respectable. I believed my masters when they informed me of creating peace in the new age. How wrong I was.”
“They had spies watching you,” Edric said.
The troll nodded. “There are spies everywhere, I knew that the moment I became a diplomat for the masters. Despite knowing, I felt it in my heart that I could help bring peace.”
Ralis stood up and faced Edric. The player stood up as well and looked down at the sheathed dagger at Ralis’ belt and a tiny piece of paper in his hand. Looking back up, the summoner eyed the troll as he stood; profound sadness in his dark eyes.
