by Michael Ryan
“I wonder, what if you tried some of that healing potion on your shield adder?”
“You think?”
“It’s a pet…”
Dale had never tried to retrieve the adder except by putting it away and letting time work its magic.
He got the shield out and tossed it on the ground. The adder uncoiled and began searching for something to bite. Dale took a healing potion, poured it into the adder’s mouth, and its health fully reset.
Dale put the shield away and noticed that the shield’s durability was now full as well.
“Good call,” he said. “We’re at full strength.”
“I wish I could feed my war hammer.”
“We need to find a way to increase our crafting skills,” Dale said. “My class is Edificios. I should be able to do more. But so far, everything we’ve done is just kill, kill, kill, with a side of hunting, escaping, questing, and then killing some more.”
“Yeah, we’ll get a break,” Smith said. “If we manage to help the princess, the king will give us a lot of favor, and we’ll get leave from the platoon. We can go on some personal quests and you can work on your crafting skills. Hell, you and Amy can go back to role playing and get married…”
“Fuck you,” Dale said, but smiled.
“That’s my friend back,” Smith said. “Come on, we need to get out of here before your ex and her assassin friend catch Yingtai and Princess Jara. Then you’ll have to do something drastic and get all depressed again.”
Dale called Gingo, put her safely away, and brushed off the remaining spider webs. He began searching for a way out of the dungeon, which smelled like a butcher shop during a heat wave.
“So…” Dale mused.
“Yeah, so? How do we get out of here?”
There didn’t seem to be an exit.
Dale and Smith searched the chamber for an hour. Nothing.
“Now what?” Dale said. He sat down and closed his eyes.
“We could go back the way we came. Maybe we missed a hidden passageway or a secret door?” Smith sat next to Dale and put his face into his hands. “Maybe we need a fresh set of eyes…”
“Hey, maybe you’re right…” Dale brought Gingo back out. She licked his face. “Good girl, now go chase a squirrel. Go on! There’s got to be a way to find a squirrel or a bunny to chase.”
When Dale said the word bunny, the dog went crazy. She ran around the room smelling everything, then stood in the center of the room, put her nose in the air, and barked.
Woof, woof, woof, woof!
She wouldn’t stop barking at the ceiling. Dale and Smith looked up at the spot, and lightbulbs of realization flickered on at the same time. The skylight openings. Gingo smelled the outside, maybe even bunnies…
Dale gave her a treat and put her away.
Smith changed into his ape form. Dale climbed on his shoulders, and then shimmied up the shaft that led to fresh air. The narrow shaft didn’t go straight up, so he couldn’t see the sky, but he could feel a slight breeze. Dale braced his back tight against the wall, and kept his feet firmly planted. Smith jumped, changed into his humant avatar, and grabbed Dale’s legs.
“Damn, dude, you’re heavy,” Dale said. He grunted and pushed his legs even tighter against the wall, keeping them both from falling.
“Hold on,” Smith said as he climbed on to Dale’s shoulders.
Smith reached the point where the shaft changed direction. He climbed higher, and then turned back into an ape and lowered his arms. He lifted Dale up, and they walked through the horizontal shaft for a few hundred meters before it turned upward.
“I see the sky,” Dale said.
“Thank the spider gods…”
The last ten meters of the shaft shot straight up, and they had to climb by pressing their backs against the wall while moving their feet one tough step at a time. It took twenty minutes, but they emerged from the earth and found themselves in a small cavern with a view of a valley, a winding road, and the Three Queens.
Climbing Skills Increased: Student Level Achieved.
As you climb buildings, cliffs, trees, castles, and through long, narrow shafts, you’ll have fun, but more importantly, climbing skills can save your life.
Hint: Climb every mountain.
“I see why they call those rocks the Three Queens,” Smith said. “It looks like they were sculpted.”
“I think they were.”
“Robur said they were natural.”
Dale pointed to a path that headed off the road into the trees. “Maybe, but whatever, they’re an obvious landmark.”
“Hey look!” Smith pointed. Two figures walked in a clearing. They were visible for a moment as the path left the trees, and then they disappeared again.
“Was that Jara and Yingtai?”
“It was,” Smith said. “I mean, it sure looked like them.”
“They’ve got a big head start on us; I guess we should try to catch up.” Dale walked into the sunlight. “It feels good to be out of the ground.”
Smith followed him and took a deep breath. “Ahhh! Fresh air.”
“Holy Shit!” Dale pointed at the Three Queens. “Is that—”
“Yeah, shit. Amy and Emi…”
“Now what?” Smith started walking downhill.
“I guess we follow the assassins who are following the princess, who’s heading towards another princess, and see if we can stop the assassins before they cause any more damage. I guess. I don’t know anymore, but we can’t stay here.”
“Firm grasp of the obvious, commander.”
“You want to be the leader?”
“No thanks.” Smith looked back over his shoulder and gave Dale an evil smile. “It’s all on you, boss.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do except head to the castle. We’ll never catch them no matter what we do; the question is whether we can make it by nightfall or if we’re going to have to set up a camp and spend the night out here.”
“I’d rather not.”
“You could use a bath…”
They reached the Three Queens an hour and twenty minutes later. Moss grew in the fine cracks. The stone was worn from centuries of weathering, and broken-off pieces from the faces and hands gave the statues a look like they’d been rescued from vandals years too late.
Dale didn’t like the silence. “We should find some cover,” he said.
“Agreed.”
They headed to the path that led to the Pierstone Castle.
“Should we ride mounts?”
“Dangerous, being as there are only two of us. We’ll be spotted for sure.”
“The women were on foot. I guess we should follow suit…”
The advantage of a mount was speed. The disadvantage was the size, noise, and the dust created by any large beast.
When they reached the forest, Smith had an idea. “Why don’t you ride that grizzly bear mount you said you got from the bear boss drop?”
“Why?” Dale asked.
“Because I can outrun you as an ape, by a lot, and a bear ought to be able to run silently through the woods. It’s worth a shot.”
“Okay, let’s try it.” Dale brought out his grizzly mount, Smith became an ape, and the two of them set off, quickly and silently.
A couple of hours later Smith stopped. “I hear something.”
Dale halted the grizzly and dismounted.
They both changed into their humant forms and walked slowly towards the voices. The Pierstone Castle was in the Kingdom of King Mopsus. Because they had the King’s welcome, they didn’t want to run into anyone looking like they were in attack mode. Neither of them was armed, and Dale brought Gingo out; because she was so friendly she’d help them look even more peaceful.
When they dropped from the trail to the road, they saw dozens of dwarves, elves, hunters, merchants, and a few of the King’s soldiers. People were traveling in both directions, and nobody paid any attention to them.
Dale approached the closest
soldier. “Which way is the Pierstone Castle?”
“That way, traveler,” the soldier pointed. “You’d better hurry. The gates close for the night in under an hour.”
“How far is it?”
“A ways. Like I said, you’d better move if you plan on being inside—”
Dale didn’t hear the rest of what the soldier said. He began walking briskly towards the castle. “Come on Smith. I don’t want to have to camp outside again. I want a warm bed.”
“I’m right behind you on that…”
They passed through the gates forty minutes later.
The main castle was on the side of a hill. A steep mountain rose into the sky behind it. To approach the castle, an attacking force would be battling uphill. The small village of merchants, homes, and inns filled a large area inside the gates.
“I can see why somebody picked assassins and not an attacking platoon,” Smith said.
“Indeed. I guess they’re here.”
“Yes. And well disguised, too,” Smith said. “I can assure you of that.”
“Great.”
“We should find Jara and Yingtai.”
“Agreed,” Dale said. “Come on, Gingo!” Dale clapped his hands, but Gingo was running away from Dale towards a small child.
“Gingo, come here girl. Don’t scare that kid!”
But the golden retriever ignored him and jumped up on the young girl and licked her face.
Dale froze. His eyes met the eyes of the young girl. He immediately recognized those eyes, as had Gingo. It was Amy. Dale ran towards her. “Stop!”
She sprinted away and Dale gave chase with Gingo on his heels. Smith followed behind them.
Amy was fast. She dropped her outer robe on the ground, exposing an all-black tight-fitting body sheath, and sprinted down an alley, Dale and Smith on her tail. She jumped a small fence, climbed to a roof, and ran to the peak.
Dale followed, yelling at Gingo while he climbed the fence. “Stay! Stay girl! Stay!”
Gingo barked.
Smith shouted to him. “I’ll go around to the other side!”
Dale made it to the peak of the roof and ran towards Amy, but she’d already jumped to the next rooftop. Dale leaped to follow her, but lost his footing and fell to the ground.
Smith ran to him.
Gingo followed, jumped on Dale, and licked his face.
“Down girl, down,” he said, but she ignored him.
Dale and Smith approached the front entrance of the castle fifteen minutes later.
“Was Amy trying to…”
“I don’t know,” Smith answered. “But while we’re in town, you’d better have Gingo out.”
When she heard her name she looked at Smith and barked.
“Good girl,” he said, and petted her. “You’ve got to take a nap, girl. I don’t think you should be running around in the castle.”
“Probably not,” Dale said. “Come on, girl.” He put her away and looked at Smith. “What do we tell Jara and Yingtai?”
“Nothing,” Smith said. “Let’s see what they say first.”
They presented their credentials to the guards and were admitted into the castle.
An aide approached them and introduced herself. “I am Annagrum. Welcome! We’ve been eagerly expecting you. Follow me, Master Dale and Master Smith. We have rooms for you. Refresh yourselves and relax. We’ll be serving a feast in the main dining room shortly. You have seats next to Princess Talargo, who is anxious to meet you both.”
Dale and Smith followed the aide to their rooms, and agreed to meet again in the dining hall after taking a shower and a nap.
“Shall I send a bathing maid, Master Dale?” the aide asked before leaving the room.
“Um,” Dale said.
“It is the custom here, Master Dale,” she said.
“No. Thank you,” he said. “I can handle this on my own.”
“As you wish, Master Dale,” she said. “If you change your mind, please let me know, the maids of the Castle are the most skilled in the land.”
Dale took the longest hot shower of his life and fell into a deep sleep.
Later that evening he entered the main dining hall with Smith, and was shocked by the opulence. He’d expected something fantastic, but the scene was beyond what he’d pictured.
The room had a long table, at least one hundred meters in length, and there were people seated along both sides of it, shouting, eating, and drinking. On either side of the room, there were serving tables, bars, and hosts who brought drinks, meats, and dishes to the main table. Raised stages ran along the outer walls for all kinds of performers.
Their aide guided them to the head of the table.
“My Lord King Mopsus, may I present Master Dale and Master Smith, companions, and guardians of Princess Jara.”
The King stood and put out his hands. “Welcome to my Kingdom, travelers.” He took Dale’s hand in both of his and shook vigorously, then did the same with Smith.
Then the King introduced them to Princes Talargo.
Dale felt his heart stop.
She surpassed the word beautiful in a way that Dale wouldn’t have been able to explain beyond mumbling how pretty she. If love-at-first-sight was a reality, Dale had been sucked into a vortex leading somewhere he’d never been before.
Such was the nature of love and beauty.
Still, the image of Amy was strong in his mind, so he fought the compulsion to ask the princess to marry him on the spot. He felt insane to even be thinking about such things. For all he knew, she was an NPC, and he’d been enchanted with a romance potion.
“Thank you for risking a perilous journey,” she said. “Tomorrow we must meet and discuss news from my father… But not tonight. Tonight, we feast!”
The King pointed to the chairs that had been saved for them.
“Sit, eat, and drink,” his Highness said. “I’d like to hear about your world. I’ve been told the most interesting stories by Master Yingtai, and I don’t know if I should believe whether she’s a historian or a master story-teller. Machines that fly like dragons? Please, be at home and tell me fantastic stories, my friends. Our roasted razordillo is the best in the entire land. In fact, I’ve got the best bakers and the best brewers, too. Tell me if it isn’t so!”
Dale sat.
He smiled at Jara, and then at Yingtai. They seemed friendly. He’d talk to them tomorrow. It was too crowded and noisy now.
Dale wondered if it was safe. He remembered what had happened the last time he was in a banquet with the princess.
An assassination attempt…
The razordillo was absolutely the best Dale had ever tasted. The chefs had roasted the meat until the outside was crispy and lightly seasoned, the inside tender and juicy. Fat dripped down his chin as he ate. The meat was served with chutneys and sauces of various fruits, so that each bite perfected a mixture of savory and sweet.
Their waiter served a wheat beer that the King claimed had won ten brewing contests and was the best in the land.
“We love to serve only the best here,” the King said. He was clearly drunk.
Dale smiled, raised his mug, and drank.
“The best ever, your highness,” he said, looking straight at Princess Talargo.
While the feast continued late into the night, Amy and Emi perched themselves in a shadow on the roof of the main kitchen.
“There are still too many guards,” Emi whispered.
“We’ll wait as long as we need to.” Amy closed her eyes and rested.
“It’s going to be a long night,” Emi said, stroking Amy’s hair. “You should get some sleep, I’ll keep watch.”
“Princess, wake up,” Yingtai said.
“What?!” Princess Talargo sat up with a jolt. “Why are you in my room? Where are my guards?”
“They’ve been given a sleep potion, Rohini,” Jara said. “Yingtai and I are here to save you. There are assassins in the castle. Get dressed. We must sneak out of here.”
Dale jolted awake.
He heard commotion outside his room.
He rose, opened the door, and spotted a passing guard. “What’s going on?”
“The princess has been kidnapped,” the guard answered.
Dale donned his armor and changed into his professional avatar. He found Smith, who’d also awakened from all the commotion.
“What’s happened?” Smith asked.
“It’s the princess. She’s been kidnapped,” Dale answered.
“Let’s find Jara and Yingtai,” Smith said, and headed to their rooms.
He beat on Jara’s door. “Princess Jara! Wake up!”
There was no answer.
“Guard, can you open this door?” Smith asked.
A king’s guard opened the door. He did the same to Yingtai’s room after finding Jara’s empty.
“They’ve been kidnapped too,” Dale said.
“Maybe,” Smith said.
“What do you mean?” Dale asked.
“I mean… I don’t trust anyone, come on.” Smith ran off towards the main hall.
Emi shook Amy.
“Wake up,” she said. “It’s time, look.”
Princess Jara and Yingtai were riding away from the castle. They had a pony behind them, carrying a rolled carpet just about the size of a person.
“Bold,” Amy said.
“Indeed. They’re getting desperate,” Emi said. “We need to follow, now, before they get too far.”
Amy was already running before Emi could finish her sentence.
Dale and Smith left the castle. All the rooms had been searched. The princess Rohini Talargo had a company that was loyal, but they were all asleep thanks to a potion.
The king’s guard formed groups and argued about what to do and where to go. Dale and Smith had no time for it.
They left on their mounts and raced to the center of the village. The assassins would likely be taking their captives out of the city, although Dale wondered why they hadn’t simply killed them in the castle.
“This is about the Jewel of Sartozel, not about assassination, isn’t it?” Dale asked Smith.
