Lion's Quest: Dual Wield: A LitRPG Saga

by Michael-Scott Earle

  “That is a lot of gold, but I feel as if I might get better—”

  “You won’t,” the green garbed gnome seethed, “not in this city.”

  “I’ll think about it, if you change your min—”

  “I won’t,” the baron snapped, “and you’ve just wasted my time, Sir Lennox.”

  “My apologies,” I sighed as I shuffled two steps away from the angry little man. “I will be leaving now.”

  “I will walk Leo Lennox to the guards so they can escort him off of the estate.” The drow woman raised the hood over her head, and the gnome huffed with annoyance.

  “So be it.” He waved the back of his hand to me and then walked to the pedestal that held the relic that I needed.

  “Gift me with your muscular arm again, Leo Lennox,” Lady Feeyaz whispered as she reached for my bicep.

  I let her slide her warm hands around my arm, and we walked past the glowering gnome. My heart was slamming against my chest with a complex combination of disappointment, dread, and arousal. I knew I needed another plan, but first I had to get away from this unbelievably sexy dark elf. She made my head spin as much as Zarra, and I didn’t need two women like that in my life. Even if one was virtual.

  Well, especially if one was virtual.

  “Leo Lennox, please reconsider our offer. It is very fair,” the woman whispered after we had moved out of the gallery and neared the wide stairs that twisted down to the grand foyer below.

  “It is a fair offer, but I have my heart set on the glove. I can understand the baron’s hesitation, since it is a family heirloom, but the staff alone will be the envy of his peers, and the crown will probably make his collection the most sought after in the city. Both are powerful magical items and beautiful display pieces.”

  The woman was silent for a few moments, and I was unable to read her face because of the voluminous hood over her head. Finally, she spoke, and the question caught me off guard.

  “Leo Lennox, who are you?”

  “What do you mean?” I chuckled. “I’m an adventurer. Just looking to trade my items.”

  “I doubt that very much, and I am very intrigued.”

  “Why do you doubt my claim?” I asked, and almost every instinct in my body was screaming at me to escape this mansion.

  The rest of my instincts really enjoyed the feeling of her arm wrapped around mine, and the brief moments when her hip pressed against me as we walked.

  “You know what these items are. You knew the second you touched them. I didn’t sense any magic ability being used, but power radiates from you almost like the sun during the hottest summer months. The most telling sign that you are powerful and strange was when you first saw me. It seems that you believed me to be jesting earlier, but I was not. The desire for me was evident on your face and in the scent of your lust. You don’t fear me. No, you think you can tame me, a drow Mind sage with enough power to manage fleeing her kind and living on the surface. You are either a fool, or you are confident in your abilities.

  “Maybe both,” I said with a laugh.

  We reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, and she had to bow her head lower because of the sunlight coming through the windows.

  “Leo Lennox, I’ve never begged a man, let alone human, for anything, so understand how difficult these words are for me to say. Please take our deal. It is fair, and you will be a rich man in this city. If you join the baron’s house and continue to give us right of first refusal on your treasures, you will earn even more wealth. You might even rise to be one of the most powerful and influential men in the city. Especially if you have my guidance.”

  “And you would give me your guidance?” I asked, and I wished that I could see her face so I could read her emotions.

  “I would give you so much more.” Her words were dripping with a carnal heat, and the sides of my vision seemed to spin a bit. God damn, she had me charmed more than Zarra.

  “What about Baron Yinnia?”

  “I do not understand your question. He is my friend, and he helped me when no one else would. My kind is said to not have any honor, or love in our cruel hearts, but I will never betray him. Is that what you are hinting at?” Her voice sounded angry.

  “No. Of course not, I just wondered if he knew what you were offering me. I don’t understand your relationship.” We were walking across the gray slate tile of the foyer toward the door of the mansion, but her pace had slowed to allow us more time to speak.

  “I am not his servant. It is his collection, and we used his money to acquire it, but I’ve made him quite wealthy with my talents. I will continue to build with him, but my hope is finding someone that might give me an opportunity for my hobby, and provide me with my other needs.”

  “I see,” I said, and I tried not to pant the words like a hungry dog.

  “Please agree. I have not been this excited since I reached the surface of Ohlavar and felt the blinding heat of the sun for the first time.” Lady Feeyaz’s fingers ran along my bicep and then entwined with mine.

  “Ask him to trade me the glove, I’ll do it for the staff and the crown, nothing else needed.”

  “Ahhh,” she sighed heavily. “It is important to you. Do you know what it is? I have an idea, but I have never told my patron of my suspicions.”

  Something in the tone of her voice broke a bit of the spell she had upon me, and I stopped myself from answering her honestly. I didn’t know this woman at all, and underneath the thick layer of desire I felt for her, was a lot of suspicions that was probably due to having multiple run-ins with Cornalic.

  I was learning that, just as in real life, nice NPCs in Ohlavar Quest didn’t necessarily have my best interests in mind.

  “I just liked the look of it. Ask him to change his mind. You can reach me at Switt’s place. It is in the Northeast quarter.” I regretfully pulled my arm away from her, and then stepped away.

  “I will try,” she groaned, and it seemed as if her shoulders slumped in her robe. “But he is committed to keeping it, and he is determined to acquire your staff and crown. It is a shame, Leo Lennox, because you and I would have been delicious together, and I fear that we will never touch or speak with each other again.”

  “Is that a threat?” I asked with a scoff.

  “No, I don’t threaten, not the drow way, but then again, I have left my kind and tried to make some new ways. So, consider it a warning, and please weigh my offer one more time.” Her voice did sound sincere, and I wondered about the possible branches of my plan to acquire the relic.

  She was kind of threatening me, but it could have just been posturing, and they might fold in the next few hours and send a messenger to Switt’s guild hall. Or, Feeyaz could be telling me the truth, and the baron might actually try to kill me. The man had a lot of resources, and if he were offering me two purple items, a blue item, and a bunch of money, he would probably feel just fine about paying a lot less money to kill me and take everything. If I accepted the deal I would get the ring, armor, sword, and a bunch of gold that I could use to research the next relic. I could even just steal this relic and then flee to the next city. Part of me didn’t want to have a pissed off Lord chasing me because I killed his son, and a pissed off baron chasing me because I stole his priceless magical relic, but if this guy wasn’t going to trade, then I didn’t know what other options I had.

  “You are considering. I can tell, even though I can’t see you. I already know your scent as if we were mates.” Her words purred from beneath her cowl, and my arousal reminded me that I needed to get the hell out of here so that I could think.

  “I will need some time. You ask him to reconsider, and I won’t offer my pieces to another noble family for two days until I hear from him,” I said.

  “We are talking in circles, Leo Lennox. He won’t trade. He’ll just take.”

  “If you want me to agree, you’ll ask him to consider, if he doesn’t, then you let me know, and I might just take your offer. I honestly just need more time to thin
k about it. I liked what you offered.”

  “Which particular part did you like the most?” she asked.

  “I think you can guess. I’ll leave you now, and hope that we meet again to trade for that glove.” I stepped to the front door of the mansion, and realized that I hadn’t seen a single guard since the drow woman had dismissed them.

  “I will try my best, Leo Lennox, but only because of the lust I feel for you.” Her voice was a half whisper and half husky growl.

  “And not because you want my staff and crown?” I chuckled as I opened the door.

  “Especially because I want your staff.” She returned my laugh, and I gave her a final nod as I exited the mansion.

  Then I walked out past the low fence of the garden, nodded at the two guards at the post in front, and made my way down the hill of the rich quarter of the city.

  Chapter 21

  I almost jogged down the hill to the gate of the affluent neighborhood. It was more of a power walk in actuality, and I only got a few looks at my dangerous looking staff from the other citizens strolling through the clean streets.

  “Back already?” the guard who had let me in through the gate asked when I reached the front of the exit line.

  “Yeah,” I answered. The feeling of desire for the beautiful drow woman hadn’t really faded from my nerves, but the sense of dread had grown a bit, and my instincts probably weren’t going to feel more relaxed until I had joined the main throng of the lower city streets.

  “Anything to claim?” he asked as he looked at his sheet of parchment. “Leo Lennox was your name?”

  “Yeah. Nothing to claim. We ended up not dealing. I might try another noble house, or they might change their mind.” I shrugged, and risked a glance behind me. There didn’t seem to be anyone coming down the hill, and I let out a small exhale of relief.

  “Happens, I suppose. My brother was an adventurer for a few years. Before he met his wife and had a litter of kids. Used to tell me that some of the rich folk had tight pockets. I guess they didn’t become rich by spending all their gold on trinkets. Eh?”

  “Ha. That is the truth.” I gave him a smile, and wondered if he was so talkative because of the Charm ability that I had used on him earlier. I had no idea how long the ability would last, but I guessed that it had something to do with my Charisma rating.

  “I bet you’ve got some good tales. A bunch of us guys get together at The Cracked Glass tavern every night to talk about our days. The barmaids there are some of the best looking in the city, and they are real flirty with us soldier types. It is in the Middle quadrant, if you’re free tonight I’ll introduce you to everyone.” the man finished marking his paper, and then gave me a cheerful nod.

  “I thank you for the offer. I’ll try to swing by. If not tonight, then the next, or the one after that.” I had thought about saying no to the man, but I might need to keep coming up into this part of the city to sell or trade my loot, and befriending a bunch of the guards would probably make that process a lot easier.

  “Great. I’ll see ya then. My name is Gareth, by the way.”

  “Glad to meet you,” I said, and my new friend gestured for me to walk out of the half-opened gate.

  I merged into the thicker parts of the foot traffic, and then turned into the first narrow alley that I could find. Once I was there, I pulled out the cloth that I had used to wrap my staff up with from my backpack and set about covering it again. The task took me half a minute, but I felt much better once it was done. The thing was more than a little dangerous looking, and I stuck out like an orange parrot at a penguin dance party when I walked around with it in my hand. Now it just looked like I carried a wrapped package, and I wouldn’t get second glances from people.

  I checked my status screen to see the in game time. It read as a bit after 1:30 PM, and I wondered if my adventuring party was still at Switt’s guild hall. I didn’t know what I would get out of meeting with them again, but perhaps they had another exploration in mind, and I could gain another epic magical item that I could offer to Baron Yinnia. The idea of trading the man three purple items for the relic seemed a bit ridiculous, but it was my goal in this game, so I needed to do whatever I needed to do to get them.

  I would just prefer to leave more friends than enemies in my wake.

  I poked my head out of the alleyway and looked behind me. The flow of traffic seemed normal, and I didn’t spot anyone trying to follow me. Feeyaz had given me a warning before I left, but now I felt a bit stupid for being so paranoid. They were probably just attempting to intimidate me so that I would accept their deal, and hadn’t meant anything more with the words.

  I continued my walk through the streets of Arnicoal, and did my usual marveling at the organized chaos that the AI was bringing to the game. Even after all these hours spent walking through the streets, I was still amazed by the exquisite detail present everywhere. I almost didn’t need to play Ohlavar Quest. I could just sit on a street corner and watch the game run its course. The livelihood of the streets in Zarra’s game was heads and tails above anything that Hollywood was putting in the theaters.

  Then I felt eyes on me.

  It was a familiar sensation, of course, but I had never felt it in a game. I glanced around the street nonchalantly as I walked, but I didn’t notice anyone staring at me. The sensation didn’t leave though, and it only began to get worse as I walked closer to my destination. I even entered into a tailor shop, bought a set of new adventuring clothes, asked to leave out the rear door of the shop, and then jogged down another street before twisting back to see if anyone was following. I didn’t notice anything though, and I started to doubt my instincts.

  Then I saw the group of leather armored men step out of the alley some fifty feet in front of me.

  There were four of them, and I recognized the two men that Lady Feeyaz had dismissed from her room. They hadn’t been wearing obvious weapons when I saw them inside of the baron’s mansion, but now they were wearing short swords, daggers, and one of the four men carried a stout looking crossbow. Their eyes were on me like I was the only single girl at an all boys high school dance, and their hands collectively moved to the handles of their weapons.

  New Quest: Escape the baron’s men. My UI flashed.

  “No shit,” I said under my breath as I looked around the street.

  I made a sharp turn into the alley on my left, and broke into a sprint. My running form wasn’t perfect because of the staff in my hand, but I’d frequently done sub-five-minute miles, and my entire career of Astafar had involved jogging for hours every day. I could run very well, and I doubted that these fuckers would be able to catch me dashing through the city, even if I was carrying a bulky staff in my left hand.

  Then I turned the next alley corner and skidded to a halt. There were already two men waiting there, and they had their crossbows leveled at my chest.

  Ahh shit.

  “Slowly lower the staff to the ground,” one of the crossbow carrying men instructed.

  Quest Failed- Escape the baron’s men. My UI scrolled the words over my vision, but they faded almost as soon as they had appeared. This was the first quest that I had failed, and I almost groaned with frustration.

  “Listen, guys, I don’t know what the baron is paying you, but I’ve got some gold, and I can probably true you up if you just let me go.” As I spoke I heard running footsteps behind me, and I turned my head to see the other four men round the corner into the alley. The men smiled when they saw that I had fallen into their trap, and they made slow steps toward me.

  I glanced around the alley to figure out my options. The side walls were a good fifteen feet high, and the eaves hung out a foot or so from the stone there. Even if I could parkour up the walls, I’d have to be able to swing my arms out to catch the side of the roof before I swung myself up. It was something I might be able to manage if I had a bunch of free time, and no one trying to shoot me full of crossbow bolts.

  The alleyway was only ten feet across,
and that was actually good for me, since it meant that only one of them could come at me from each side. If I were able to take out the crossbowmen first, it would create excellent leverage against the other four men. I did have my Guardian of Fortune skill, as well as my Rwunidar’s Might and bracelet that would create a temporary shield. Maybe I could overwhelm the two men, take them out with a single cut, and then face the others?

  There was movement above me, and I looked up to see three more crossbowmen on the roof above.

  “Don’t be an idiot. Drop the staff slowly, and you might live through this,” the crossbow-carrying thug said again.

  “Fine,” I sighed as I lowered the staff to the ground.

  “Your pack next,” he said, and I shrugged my tense shoulders through the straps before I set it on the ground.

  Fuck me. I’d figured that this was going to happen. Lady Feeyaz had told me it would happen. I should have taken her deal, and then I could have figured out how to steal it from under their noses. Now I was going to be out both of my epic items, and have to find a new plan. There was a silver lining though, I now knew where the relic was located, I knew what it looked like, and I knew what kind of person Baron Yinnia was. If I could live through this, I would come up with a much better plan in the next few days.

  I just needed to live through this.

  “There. You’ve got them both now. I don’t want any trouble.” I contemplated begging a bit more, but it was hard enough for me to keep the disdain from my voice.

  “We don’t want any either,” one of the two bigger men said from behind me, and I turned to see him nod to one of the henchmen standing beside him.

  The man bumped his shoulder against me when he passed, and then he grabbed my pack and staff from the ground. I bit my tongue when he took them, and forced my muscles to relax.

  “Baron wants your broadsword also, slowly unbutton your belt and drop it on the street,” the big man said with an evil grin.

  “Oh, come on. That wasn’t even anything we were talking about trading. It was a gift to me from a good friend.”