Darkness Fallen

by Dave Willmarth

  Pollock and the others were nodding along as he spoke. “I’d be willing to pay you guys one thousand gold each to help us in that fight. Plus, you’d each get a share of whatever loot there is. And we can probably improve your gear a bit with what we have in our guild bank. But there are a few conditions.”

  “Such as?” one of the players asked before Pollock could.

  Well, I’m being monitored as we speak by Jupiter tech folks and the FBI. And if you’re going to fight alongside us, they’re going to want to make sure you’re not Chaos Nation or some allied group. So, the first condition would be you’d have to pass background checks. The second condition would be you’d have to swear an oath of loyalty, witnessed by Odin, for the duration of the quest. Betraying that oath will mean anything from a long suspension to outright loss of your account. Betraying it by helping a terrorist organization in some way, could mean you wake up to find FBI agents with handcuffs waiting for you.”

  He paused while the others considered this. None of them looked particularly nervous. But if they were already involved with the Light of Truth, none of this was news to them.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to decide pretty quickly. The folks out there will need time for background checks,” Alexander prompted them.

  “Give us a minute to talk it over,” Pollock replied.

  Alexander pointed to Lydia’s shop a few doors away. “I need to go in there for ten minutes or so. Talk it over, and I’ll meet you back here. I can also tell you where to go to get some xp and earn some gold before we head to Antalia.”

  Leaving them to talk, Alexander went into Lydia’s shop. She waved to him from her workroom in the back. “Come on back, Alexander!”

  He pulled his enchanted healing potion from his bag as he walked back. “Hi, Lydia! I’ve got something to show you.”

  He handed her the potion, which she promptly inspected. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked at him. “Is this, what I think it is? You found a way to enchant liquid?”

  “Not exactly.” He grinned at her. “I cheated!”

  Lydia laughed and ruffled his hair “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Show me? This could be huge for my clinic work. If we can use low-level potion ingredients and get rare potion results…”

  Alexander set a new common potion on her workbench. Then he produced a sugar cube, and talked her through the process. When he was done, she just looked at him. “That’s really it? It was that simple?”

  “I mean, you can experiment with other things. Sugar was just the first thing I thought of that would dissolve, and not be any kind of danger. You’re the alchemist. Maybe there’s something that will hold an even larger enchantment and produce a larger heal that will dissolve properly?”

  Lydia was lost in thought, already trying to improve upon Alexander’s idea. “I’ll have to get Fitz to teach me how to do a healing enchantment. Then I can experiment myself…”

  Alexander knew when he was no longer needed. Pausing to give Lydia a quick hug, he headed out of the shop. Pollock and the others were waiting.

  “We’re in. There are a few concerns though. Chris over there has a couple arrests for possession. Like ten years ago. And Orville owes some back taxes.”

  Alexander looked to the second player Pollock had pointed to. The caster. “Your name is Orville?” He couldn’t help grinning as he asked. The man rolled his eyes. “Yes. My dad really, really liked popcorn.”

  “Okay, well. The drug charges aren’t an issue. As for the taxes, does the government already know you owe them? Or would it be a surprise?”

  “Oh, they know. That’s why I’m in here. Trying to pay off the penalties and interest. Friggin’ IRS!”

  Alexander breathed a sigh of relief. At least once in a while, things were simple and easy. “Okay, you should be fine. And hopefully, you’ll be able to pay them a little quicker now.”

  Motioning toward the compound gate, he said, “Okay, guys, come with me. We’ll do the oath in the courtyard. In case Odin decides any of you are lying. Don’t want the lightning bolts to damage the city street…”

  The others looked surprised for a moment, looking up at the sky then back at Alexander before following him. He paused at the outer gate. “There are wards here. I officially welcome you as guests of the Greystone guild. It is now safe for you to enter.”

  He led them inside and halted in the courtyard. As they gathered around him, Orville asked “You were uh… kidding about the lightning, right?”

  Deciding to mess with him a bit, Alexander took a step back and away from the man “No, I wasn’t. Dude, if you’re going to bring down lightning, tell me now. Last time it happened I tingled for like an hour cuz I was too close.”

  Another player chimed in, “But how’s Odin gonna know if we’re lying?”

  Pollock smacked the man on the back of the head. “Odin’s the game’s AI. He’s connected directly to all of our brains right now, genius.”

  “Oh, right.” The man’s face flushed with embarrassment. “So, what is this oath?”

  “Well, let me see. You’ll have to promise to keep secret anything you see or hear relative to Greystone, Dire Keep, or its people. And anything relative to the upcoming battle with Chaos Nation. Pretty much anything you’ve heard today and will hear in the next three days. And you’ll have to promise not to act in any way that would endanger us or hamper our efforts. Oh! And you’ll have to swear that you do not in any way serve the Dark One or Light of Truth.”

  Pollock was the first to step forward. He held out a hand for Alexander to shake. “I can do that.”

  One by one, the others stepped forward as well. When he had shaken each of their hands, Alexander looked up to the sky.

  “Great All-Father, I call upon you to witness the oaths of these adventurers. To look into their hearts and know the truth of their intent!”

  Then he had them repeat after him as he went through the oaths again. When it was complete, he once again looked at the sky. “Let these men be judged!”

  Just for theatrics, he took several steps back and adopted a nervous look on his face. Seeing this, a couple of the players began to sweat.

  There was a rumble of thunder from the clear sky, but no lightning.

  Alexander let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Looks like Odin believes you’ll keep your word. And since no GM’s have shown up, I’m guessing none of you have set off any red flags with the FBI yet.”

  Motioning them to follow him again, he led them inside the house and to the dining room, where they all took seats.

  “I can’t let you guys into Dire Keep yet. Not until I get word that you’ve all been cleared in the real world. But I can teleport you to a good spot. How do you feel about Dire Wolves?”

  One of the players shuddered. “Giant wolves that hate everything and try to kill you on sight. Lovely.”

  Alexander chuckled. That’d been pretty much his reaction the first time he encountered Dire Wolves himself. “The king has a standing bounty on their hides. Five gold each. And if you have a trained skinner, you can get two hides from each. One in the loot drop, and one from skinning. A little glitch we recently noticed. You can only turn in the loot drop to the king, but I’ll buy the others from you. Also, I’ll buy the meat off you. Same for any bears or boars you run into out there. The mobs where I’ll send you are all close to your level.”

  Alexander considered for a moment. “I have hunters and scouts in those woods. I’ll give you a badge to show them if you run into them, so they don’t kill you on sight. We’ve been expecting to be attacked by armies from both Antalia and from a cavern full of demons and undead.”

  “Hardcore,” Orville said with admiration. “Any chance we could join you guys?”

  Alexander looked around the table. All but Pollock were nodding their heads. “Let’s see how the next few days go. Then we can talk about it.”

  He looked at Orville. “Are you a healer?”

  Orville shrugged. “I know a few heals.
But I’m not classed as a healer. I can generally keep these guys alive.”

  “Against these wolves, especially if you pull more than one by accident, you’re going to need solid heals,” Alexander instructed. “The fights can come one after the other, without much recovery time.”

  He looked at the four players. “You got any healing potions?”

  Orville produced half a dozen common healing potions. The same variety he had in his own bag from Sasha. They each healed for 1000hp.

  “Those won’t do. Leave them with me. I’ll improve them. And I have some too. But you’re going to need more. Go see Lydia in the alchemy shop I just left. Tell her I sent you. You’ll need a couple dozen more. And ask her for sugar. She’ll know what you mean.” He handed Pollock a hundred gold. “Get yourselves some stamina, strength, and mana potions with whatever’s left. She’ll help you.”

  The four men left to go see Lydia. Alexander pulled some obsidian from his bag and began shaping a wand. He rounded out the tube, then began channeling the Healing Light spell into the stone. He kept at it until he felt resistance. When he was done, he had what he needed.

  Wand of Healing Light

  Quality: Epic

  Heals target for 2000hp with each cast. Charges 50/50

  With that done, he removed the remaining nine common healing potions Sasha had given him. Putting them on the table next to Orville’s he began enchanting sugar cubs, then popping one into each potion. By the time the others returned, he had fifteen potions that each restored 5000hp.

  Alexander handed three of the potions to each of the players, giving the extra three to Orville. “Each of these will restore 5000hp.” The players made various sounds of surprise as they looked at the potions. Pollock said, “These would cost a hundred gold each at the auction house.”

  Alexander shook his head. “These aren’t in the auction house. This is one of the things you’ll need to keep secret. I just invented these this morning. They are common health potions that I’ve enchanted to do better. These are for you to USE, not to sell. Everyone clear on that?” When they’d all agreed, he continued. “Okay, how many health potions did Lydia give you?”

  Pollock set two dozen more potions and a bag full of sugar cubes on the table. Alexander took half of them, pushing the others toward Pollock. “Each of you carry a couple of these, for times when you don’t need 5000hp. No point in wasting the good stuff.”

  Then he set the wand on the table. “I made this for you, too. If I had a spare healer, I’d send them with you. But for now, this will have to do.”

  Pollock picked up the wand. His eyes grew wide. “This is epic quality. You made this? And you’re just giving it to us?”

  “I’m an enchanter, among other things. I’ve had a lot of practice lately. Only took me a few minutes. Don’t make a big deal about it. Though, once again, this better not end up in the auction house. This is Greystone property on loan to keep you guys alive while you hunt.”

  Pollock handed the wand to Orville. The caster’s eyes widened as he read the description. “This is… yeah, I can keep them alive with this.”

  Alexander shook his head. “Practice your own heals as much as you can. Use this and the potions when you need to. But it’s better to improve your own spells. Also, the wand doesn’t need any particular magic ability to use it. It’s intent-triggered. Literally, just point and shoot. If Orville gets himself killed, one of you can pick up the wand and use it on your buddies.”

  Orville passed the wand around so that the others could look at it. While they did, Alexander said, “If you run across any demons out there, this wand will damage them. It uses light magic. If there’s more than one demon, or it’s a higher level than you, I suggest running. Come to the keep; it’ll be closer than the city. It’s north of where you’ll be. Make lots of noise as you run, and my people might find you to assist. I’ll let them know to keep an eye out for you.”

  He looked around at the warriors. “Any of you a blacksmith?”

  Pollock raised his hand. Alexander said, “You might have noticed the smithy outside. It’s a dragon forge. Made of obsidian, blessed by two gods, and the forge is lit with dragon fire. If you guys want to go take a look, I’ll enchant these other potions. Just tell Master Ironhammer that I sent you. Ask him if he can teach you something, help you make an item. Tell him I’ll pay for the materials. Actually, one sec.” Alexander pulled four small cubes of obsidian from his bag and handed them to Pollock. “Ask him to shape these for me. With one wing. He’ll know the shape. Then bring them back.”

  Shaking his head, Pollock rose and led the others out. Alexander wasted no time, enchanting a dozen more sugar cubes and putting one in each potion. He kept four for himself and set the other eight on the table. Then he pulled one more small obsidian cube from his bag. Shaping it into a rough ring, he enchanted it with Far-Speaking.

  When he was done, he checked his UI. None of the other guild members were online yet. He was half hoping to be able to send Benny with these guys. Then he could report on their fighting style, personalities, etc. Alexander had hopes of recruiting these four into the guild. But they were some ways away from that yet.

  The group soon returned. Pollock was carrying a new dwarven steel sword with runes engraved on the blade. “He…Ironhammer. He gave me this. Said you owe him a pendant.”

  Alexander chuckled. “For one sword? He’s dreaming. I’ll talk to him.”

  The other two warriors each pulled out dwarven steel axes. The taller one said, “One sword, two axes. With this thing, I could cut through a tree in one swing.”

  Pollock set the one-winged dragon pins on the table. Alexander motioned for them to each take potions and a pin. “If you run into my people, show them the dragon. Try to do so before they kill you.” He winked at Orville. Then he handed the ring to Pollock. “This only works one way. But if you get in a bind, call me. I’ll be able to find you.”

  Pollock stuck the ring in a pocket. He put both hands on the table, looking Alexander in the eye. “When we first met this afternoon, I thought you were mostly full of shit. Throwing titles around and talking about how we’d epic fail if we attacked you. But everything I’ve seen and heard today leads me to believe you can do exactly what you say you can do.”

  Alexander smiled, knowing what was coming. He was, after all, his father’s son.

  “But HOW?” Pollock continued. “You’re not yet level sixty, but you can do things that higher-level players can’t do. You’ve made ungodly rep gains, and have your own goddamned keep. You’ve got to be cheating somehow.”

  Alexander said, “Not cheating. Though I do have a couple advantages. One, I have better interface gear than you do. The most recent from Jupiter Tech. It makes me faster when it comes to casting, moving, etc. Two, I’ve played this game full-time since launch day. I was a level 74 warrior before I decided to change to the new interface and start again. So, although I’m only level 58 now, I’ve actually leveled over a hundred and twenty times total. Lastly, I don’t waste time. Every minute I’m in the game I’m learning something, building something, killing mobs, chasing quests. I don’t waste time sitting in taverns bullshitting. Or chasing quests that earn me cosmetic rewards like custom pink armor mods. Me and my group are literally fighting for our lives here. We’re working in here to track down this Dark One that has killed real people in the real world. The FBI is pretty sure he’s part of a group that killed my mother, some of my friends, and several hundred others ten years ago.”

  Alexander noticed that Pollock and the others were leaning back in their chairs, looking nervously at him. “I’m sorry.” He lowered his voice, only then realizing he’d been shouting. “I get worked up about this.”

  Pollock leaned forward again, replacing his hands on the table. “I get it, man. If they’d killed my family, I’d be angry too. Don’t sweat it.”

  “Anyway,” Alexander resumed the discussion. “We all work hard to develop our skills. And we try to think outs
ide the box. Fight smarter rather than harder. As for rep gains, that’s no big mystery. If you help us out in Antalia, you’ll get massive rep gains there, and here in Stormforge. When you take on high-risk quests like this, the rewards are big.”

  He rose to his feet. “You guys ready?”

  They all stood and gathered around him. With a flash, he teleported them to the open area just outside the demon caverns. He held up a finger for them to be quiet a moment, then opened guild chat. “Lorian, are you out in the forest by any chance?”

  “I am up on the plateau with a couple of our hunters.”

  “Alright. I’m down by the demon caverns. Do you know who’s watching this place right now?”

  “Bradby should be there now. He’ll be about twenty yards in from the tree line, up in a tree somewhere.”

  “Okay, I’ll find him. Thank you. I’ve got a group of four adventurers with me. They’re going to hunt Dire Forest for a while. If you run across them, they’ll have one-winged dragon pins. Try not to kill them.”

  “Ha! I shall pass the word among the hunters,” Lorian replied.

  Alexander moved to the cavern entrance, checking the area for any tracks leading out of the caves. Finding none, he led the group into the tree line. Once he was deep enough, he called out “Bradby! You here?”

  “Right above you, Alexander,” came the hunter’s voice. Alexander looked up and located the smiling face in a tree not far off.

  “Any new developments? Seen any demons or undead about?” Alexander asked.

  “Nothing, sir. Pretty boring here. Shot a few wandering critters. That’s all.”

  “Okay. Bradby, this is Pollock. He and his guys are going to be hunting beasties in the woods the next couple days. Pass the word around. See the one-winged dragons?”

  Bradby nodded in understanding. “Got it.”

  Alexander added, “If you see or hear them running and screaming, help them if you can. And call in reinforcements if you need to.” Pollock rolled his eyes, but kept quiet.