The Greystone Chronicles Book Two: The Dire Lands

by Dave Willmarth

  “No!” Alexander stopped her. “Get me to my room,” he grunted out through the pain. Taste, smell, speed, and magic weren’t the only things enhanced by full immersion. The pain was much more intense, as well.

  Sasha grabbed the hand as Lugs lifted his guild leader and quickly moved inside. The ogre’s long legs took the stairs four at a time, and soon Alexander was placed in a chair in his sitting room.

  “Lock the door,” he gasped. He was beginning to feel light-headed from blood loss.

  Looking to Helga, who had tears in her eyes, he said, “Kill me.”

  Healing magic in Io was miraculous. It could repair massive damage to internal organs, broken bones, burns, disease, and poisons. But it could not re-attach a severed limb.

  Brick, Sasha, and Lugs all nodded at Helga. Everyone understood. Alexander regretted the experience he was going to lose. But it was better than playing without his weapon hand. Helga’s sword would be the fastest, cleanest way to die.

  Wiping the tears from her eyes, she said, “I’m so sorry. This is my fault.”

  Alexander shook his head. Straining to speak, he said, “Pain. Discuss… later.” He leaned forward, baring his neck.

  “Shit!” Helga cursed. Pulling her massive sword from her back, she moved behind Alexander. With one swift motion, she severed his head, killing him instantly.

  Chapter Fourteen Keep Your Head Up

  Finding himself in limbo, Alexander took a seat. He had ten minutes to kill, and he expected visitors any second.

  Sure enough, his father’s avatar appeared in less than a minute.

  “That looked painful.” Richard chuckled.

  “Yeah, about that. The pain levels in immersion are a good bit higher. Maybe tone that down?” Alexander grinned.

  “We actually don’t have any control of that. It’s one of the challenges we’ve been trying to overcome. The immersion creates such a strong link that any attempts to scale things down just flat out fails. Not just pain. We can’t change the sensitivity of smell, either. Or taste.” Richard shrugged. “We’re still working on it.”

  “So, tell me about the investigation. Did the FBI get to all those players? The Chaos Nation ones, too?” Alexander looked at his limbo countdown.

  “Yes. They’ve all been arrested, along with some folks found with them. The FBI has found records of payment to several of them, but haven’t yet tracked the source. It seems they’re much larger and more organized than we hoped.”

  “And you saw that guy Marlin talking about his family starving after the Iran shutdown?”

  “Yes, we saw. The current theory is basically what you suspected. We think there must have been another member of Light of Truth that we missed. Maybe more than one. And they’ve been working for the last decade to get even,” Richard confirmed.

  “Dad, I know you don’t want to hear this. But that guy said the Dark One had people everywhere. I think you need to get security looking into everyone’s background again. Especially the people who’ve moved into the compound. Employees and family members. If there’s a mole, or more than one, inside the compound, they could hurt a lot of people.”

  Richard nodded his head. “We’ll bring on more security just for that. And I’ll ask the FBI to run their own checks. I’ll suggest that the bombing was just a planned trigger, to force us to turtle up and bring people in.”

  “I’m thinking there’s some connection between the Dark One and the queen in Antalia. PWP is based there. So is Chaos Nation. And the rogue today said the city’s guards posted the bounty on my head.” Alexander said.

  “I thought about that, too. But the queen would know about adventurers respawning. It doesn’t make much sense for her to place a bounty. She’d know you would just return. My bet is somebody within the palace. Somebody under the queen.”

  “Huh. Maybe you’re right. I’m going to find out. We’ve been planning to raid the PWP compound anyway. But I think I’m going to need more people. Any chance you’ve got more testers like Dayle’s group nearby who’d be interested?”

  Richard shook his head. “They were the only group anywhere near you. We purposely spread everyone out. Precisely to avoid you running into each other and sharing information that would affect the testing.”

  “Ah, well. Sorry about that.” Alexander grinned. Not really sorry. “Did Misty’s sister come to Olympus?”

  “No, she chose not to. She wants to help catch these people. She did move to a police department safe house, and has other officers with her full time. I placed a covert team on her, just in case.”

  “I’ll let Misty know. Thank you.”

  “Your limbo’s just about up. When you get back, give Jules a hug from me. And another one from Melanie.” Richard winked at him.

  “How’s she doing, by the way? I mean, physically. In the pod.” Alexander couldn’t help but feel a little flutter in his stomach.

  “She’s still healing. There’s a long road ahead of her. You need to keep in mind, son, that she may never wake up. Any relationship you two develop might only ever be in the game.” Richard put a hand on his son’s shoulder. Then pulled him into a hug.

  “Yeah. Thanks, Dad.” Alexander hadn’t really taken much time to explore his feelings about the girl.

  “Oh! Any chance our guys can make that mithril post disappear? Or discredit it somehow?”

  Richard nodded. “They’re already on it. Lucky for us he used the official game forum, which we control. But we can’t really stop Dirk from running his mouth. So, it’ll likely come up again.”

  “Okay. I guess if it were easy, the game wouldn’t be any fun, right?” Alexander winked. Then he looked to the ceiling and called out.

  “Odin, buddy. I need a clarification on the rules. As an owner of the keep and Dire Lands, do I have the authority to make laws, arrest people, and pass judgement?”

  Odin’s Avatar appeared. “You do, mortal. You hold the rank of Baron of the Dire Lands. Though technically your decisions can be overridden by the king. Unless you secede and declare yourself an independent nation. And your judgements are bound by the laws of Io. No player’s character may be detained for longer than one year. And while interrogation is permitted, torture is not. You have come close to the line more than once. Be careful.” Odin disappeared again.

  Alexander’s father waved at him as he and the limbo room faded out, and he found himself respawning in the sitting room of his quarters. Sasha, Brick, Helga, and Lugs were still there.

  “Thank you for getting me up here. I didn’t want the citizens to see me die and respawn,” he said. “Can I assume somebody is spawn camping Dirk?” He grinned.

  “Max and Lainey,” Lugs confirmed. “He respawned in the chapel. They’ve closed it off. He was level 40, so it’ll take a while. We’ll need to trade off.”

  “It would be best if Benny and Helga, the lower levels handle it. Let them get some xp. I may take a shot myself, to regain the level I just lost.” Alexander looked to Helga. “Unless you don’t want to? It’s cool if you don’t. I assume you two are friends?”

  “Were,” Helga said. “But not close friends. And he deserves it.” She was angry.

  “Thank you, by the way. For putting me out of my misery.” He reached out his restored hand to shake Helga’s. She shook it, then took her leave, heading down to find Benny and get to the chapel.

  “And thank you, Lugs. For the quick swing of your hammer. And for carrying me up here.” Alexander bowed to the ogre.

  Embarrassed, Lugs shuffled his feet. “Bah! Elves are light. I take dumps bigger than you,” he rumbled.

  “BWAHAHAHA!” Brick laughed. “Come with me, we’ll get good ‘n’ drunk! You can dance on top of the smithy again!”

  “One second, before you go,” Alexander said. “I got an update while I was in limbo. The FBI got to all the players we’ve taken down in the last couple days. And some folks who were at their homes. Several of them were paid significant sums in the real world lately. Looks li
ke we’re dealing with an actual organization.”

  “Aye, it were looking that way from in here already,” Brick confirmed. Then he and Lugs headed to raid Brick’s stash.

  Sasha handed Alexander all his gear, which had been left in a pile when his headless body disappeared.

  “Thank you. I imagine that was fun for you to watch. Helga slicing my head off.” He grinned at her.

  “Oh, it was like a dream come true. The number of times I’ve wanted to do that myself…” She rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly.

  While she wasn’t looking, he pounced. He began to tickle her mercilessly, payback for the day before.

  “Stop!” she gasped. “It’s creepy being tickled by a guy whose head was on the floor ten minutes ago!” She struggled free and darted for the door. “Come down and get some dinner. They’ll be glad to see you whole again,” he heard as she made for the stairs.

  Equipping all his gear, Alexander headed downstairs. His first stop was the chapel. The door was locked, but when he knocked, Lainey let him in. She hugged him, and said, “You look taller,” as he passed into the room.

  “Ah. Headless jokes. Very funny.” He winked at her. “How long till Dirk respawns?”

  Max clapped him on the back. “Four minutes. He’s already down to level 37. And begging after only one death. Well, one death in here. And one when Lugs splattered his tiny brain all over everyone’s dinner.”

  “Well, shit. No xp for killing him then. Helga and Benny should be here shortly. Let them do it. We’re all too high-level to get any benefit,” Alexander said.

  “Helga. Right. I hear she’s good at lopping off heads.” Max grinned.

  Alexander headed out of the chapel, through the keep, and out the kitchen door into the courtyard. He raised his fully restored hand as the crowd whistled and cheered.

  “Thank you, all of you, for your support!” he called out. “As you may have noticed, Dirk has been… removed from our guild.” This earned him some chuckles.

  “He made a decision to spread the word about the wealth we discovered in the mine. Causing those two rogues to try and steal it. We expect there will be more. So, I say again, please try to be vigilant, and keep your heads about you!” He grinned as the head joke soaked in and people groaned.

  Sitting down, he dished up a plate for his dinner. He chatted with a group that included a couple farmers, two guards, a carpenter, one of the merchants, and Lola. Lola had stopped by to discuss some guild business, but was patiently waiting for him to finish his meal.

  When he was full, he rose and carried his dishes into the kitchen. Lola followed behind. As he passed through the kitchen, he took one more shot at Sasha’s ribs, causing her to squeal, then blush as the kitchen ladies laughed.

  Alexander continued on until he found an empty room with chairs and a table. “What can I do for you, Lola?” he asked as he motioned for her to sit.

  “Well, first be the position o’ treasurer. I know ye’ve been busy…” she began. He held up a hand.

  “You’ve done a great job here so far, Lola. More than I could have asked. If you’d like the treasurer position, it’s yours. The others approve,” he said.

  “Thank ye, Alexander. Yer trust means a great deal to me,” she answered quietly.

  Alexander opened up the guild tab in his UI and promoted Lola to the position of treasurer. This automatically gave her access to the guild bank.

  “The first thing you should do is arrange to pay yourself and your grandfather proper salaries. The same for the citizens who we don’t have separate arrangements with. Like the guards. The miners are working for a percentage of their take. So are the merchants. Pay the masons until they have their quarry up and running. Then they’ll take a percentage of that.” Alexander paused as Lola scribbled notes.

  “Now, what else did you wish to discuss?” he asked.

  “Several things. Master Brogin mentioned when he returned that there be more dwarves who be wishin’ to join us.”

  “Any dwarves in particular?” he smiled. He suspected he knew the answer.

  “Aye. Nearly a dozen masons. Bunch o’ smiths. More than a hundred warriors. A few farmers. And miners.” she confirmed.

  “I don’t think we can feed that many yet,” Alexander mused. “The masons are welcome, as are the farmers. They’ll contribute to the keep’s resources. Speak to Brick and see if he has room for more smiths. Ask Grimble about miners. And you and Silverbeard can figure out how many more warriors we can feed. Invite that many.” He smiled at her. “Also, if there are any hunters, we could use more of those to help feed everyone. And if there’s a dwarf interested in learning to fish, they could work with Lars.” Lola nodded.

  “What else? I’m all yours until I fall asleep,” he said.

  “The farmers be wantin’ to build paddocks outside the walls, o’er near the ridge by the mine. There be not enough room inside the walls fer the herd ye bring’d back.”

  “I’ll ask Fitz to help me extend another wall out there. We can keep guards on the walls to watch over them,” he said. “But for the next couple days, they’ll need to stay inside at night.” Lola made more notes, then checked some others.

  “We need the lumber crew back out workin’. We need wood fer furniture, doors, all sorts o’ things.”

  “Are there any lumberjacks at Broken Mountain who wish to come here?” he asked.

  “I do no’ know. I’ll be askin’ tomorrow,” she replied.

  “If necessary, we adventurers will go out and cut wood. Do we have axes?” he asked.

  Lola nodded her head. “Next. The merchants, carpenters, laundresses, and the tanner be askin’ permission to set up shops. And space.”

  “The laundresses can find a room here in the keep that has running water, and set up there. We can alter it some to fit their needs. The rest should choose among the structures we’re building at the outer wall. That’ll be closer to the forest for the carpenters. And nobody’s going to want the stink of the tanner’s shop in here.”

  “I were about to recommend exactly that,” she said. “Next. How d’ye want to be selling the mithril that Grimble brought in?”

  “Do you have access to the auction house?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Not here. We’d be needin’ to purchase a franchise to have one here. It cost 10,000 gold fer that.”

  “Buy one,” Alexander instructed her. “We have many items we need to sell, and I would prefer not to have to travel to a city to do so. As for the mithril, keep half of it here, for Brick and the smiths to use when they’re ready. Offer it to King Thalgrin a pound at a time. And talk to Brick about an appropriate amount to put up for auction. Only one lot at a time, though. And use the funds from the first sale to pay Helga, Lugs, Grimble, Beatrix, and Sasha their shares.”

  While he was on the topic of money, he asked, “How hard would it be to start our own bank?”

  “Ye mean, like a public bank?” Lola asked.

  “Yes. Well, not exactly. Just for citizens and guild members here. We could put some of our guild funds into it, and the proceeds from the sale of resources the keep produces. Eventually, we could use it to loan small amounts of money to citizens to start businesses. Or just allow them to store their gold in it.”

  “Me grandad would know. I’ll be askin’ him in the mornin’,” she said.

  “Thank you. It’s not an urgent matter, I just thought it might be a good idea.”

  “Aye, it might at that,” Lola agreed, looking thoughtful. “That’s all I have fer ye. Fer now,” she said.

  Getting up, Alexander said, “Thank you for everything, Lola. And congratulations, Lady Treasurer!”

  With that, he headed upstairs. Checking on Edward, he found the boy face-down on his bed, snoring. Alexander retired to his room, crawled into bed, and fell asleep.

  He was awakened a couple hours later by a tremendous gong, accompanied by a light show outside his window. The keep repairs were complete! The keep had
leveled up again.

  Alexander sleepily checked the keep’s status.

  Dire Keep: Level 15/25

  Physical Status: 650/700

  Resources: 15,300 units

  See Infrastructure for details

  See Resources for details

  Current Population: 143

  Defensive Capabilities: 95%

  Citizens: 141 Guests: 2

  See Defense for details

  Ancillary Structures: 5

  Production rate: 20%