Dragon Kings of the New World

by Dante Doom

  There was a triumphant cheer from the rest of the group.

  “Well, that’s the thing,” Sang said. “There’s only one way to help this little guy grow.”

  “How?” Sahara asked as she tried to touch Jet again. He snapped at her fingers a little harder this time, but wasn’t quick enough to nab her.

  “We need to get down to Bikorn as soon as possible,” Sang said, causing Van to grimace. He couldn’t believe what she was about to try. “I believe there’s a merchant in that general area who has access to a special kind of food source. That will increase the growth speed of little Jet.”

  “Whoa!” Sahara said. “If we can get him to grow faster, everyone is going to want to join our mercenary company!”

  There was a general murmur of satisfaction from the rest of the group. They all seemed to believe Sang’s words, even though Van knew they were filthy, filthy lies. It wasn’t cool of her to so blatantly lie to them, either—especially considering the fact that there was no way for her to validate her lie. They would reach Bikorn and she’d be exposed quite easily. Then they’d never trust her again.

  “So, here’s what I’m thinking,” Sang said. “We can hang out here for another night and waste all of our time, or we can get moving and reach Bikhorn before Sleep Time.”

  “I dunno,” Bidane said, putting her hands on her hips. “We’re pretty damaged, and my magic points don’t recharge until some time around dusk.”

  “Hey, the sooner we get down there, the faster I can get that food,” Sang said. “Would be way better to have a dragon on our side.”

  “But why the rush?” Kylian asked. Van could see that the older man was beginning to think things through.

  “Because the vendor doesn’t stay in one place for too long!” Van interjected. “It’s a moving character and he randomly moves between locations every few weeks. It’s the end of this week, and he’ll be moving again.” This lie was perfect because all Van had to do was state that they hadn’t made it in time when they arrived in town.

  “Damn vendors,” Kylian grumbled. “I don’t know why they can’t stay in one place. Once had to chase down a sword all across the Volcanic Grounds of Ashtoth. Worst week of my life in this game.”

  “Right, so that’s why we’ve been hustling so hard,” Van said. “Sang wanted to keep the dragon secret so she could surprise you guys, but with that fight earlier, it’s kind of a pick-me-up.”

  “Well, I don’t mind rushing,” Sahara said. “I still have plenty of spell points to burn. If we sneak through the mountain pass, we can avoid the Trolls and other nasties.”

  “We do have a few invisibility scrolls,” Bidane said. “We can cast them on the less stealthy party members. Although, we’ll have to buy new ones when we’re in town.”

  “Perfect,” Sang said, “then it’s settled.” She took out a map and placed it on a small boulder. “I’ve figured out the best route to travel through. It’s not too dangerous and I’ve already used my Map skill to ensure the route will get us down the mountain 33% faster.”

  Kylian shot a look over at Van. He ambled over to Van and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away from the group.

  “She’s lying, isn’t she?” he asked. “And you’re covering for her.”

  Van gritted his teeth. Kylian was a tough guy and wasn’t a sucker. Van knew he couldn’t lie to the man, but he wasn’t sure what his options were at this point. If Kylian blew the whistle on Sang, they’d both be in a ton of trouble and the group cohesion would be shattered.

  “Look,” Van whispered, “I’m not gonna lie to you, man. How’d you figure it out?”

  “She just seemed extremely well prepared for moving out tonight. Plus, it seems a little odd for you guys to mention this so abruptly. I took a risk in telling you she was lying, but your reaction confirms it.”

  “We’re not up to anything sketchy; she’s just really impatient. She’s, uh… on a trial basis in this game,” Van said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, essentially, she’s playing this game because she’s being paid to. It’s for research for a company that’s interested in Draco and wants to learn more about the game. The only problem is that they don’t quite understand how things work, and they’re getting really frustrated with the speed at which things are going. So, she’s desperate to prove to them that her job is worth keeping.”

  Kylian frowned. “I don’t understand—why would someone pay her to investigate this game?”

  Van shifted a little. “Look, Kylian, I can’t really tell you a whole lot. She’s in this game because it’s a job for her. I’m being paid to assist her however I can.”

  “So, what is all of this talk about rallying up and building a team?” Kylian asked.

  “That’s still one hundred percent real,” Van said. “My goals are a little different than hers. At some point, she’s probably going to disconnect from this game and be gone for good. Me? This game is my home and I’m not going anywhere. So, I want us to have a veritable army by the time I’m done with my escort quest.”

  Kylian looked at Van long and hard. “I don’t really get what you’re up to,” he said, “but… if you make sure that Capella’s well taken care of, I really don’t care.”

  “What do you mean?” Van asked.

  “Eh, he’s been going through a rough time,” Kylian said. “He’s not as old as the rest of us; he’s sixteen, but likes to act like an adult. His parents are divorcing and it’s been hell on everyone in the family. I’m just trying to help him have a good time by letting him come along with me, but all he wants to do is stab anything he comes across. It’s been hard keeping him in check. So, I don’t care what you’re up to, as long as you make sure he isn’t kicked out of the group or anything like that.”

  “Okay, fine,” Van said, surprised at Kylian’s request. “I’ll make sure to watch out for him.”

  “Good,” Kylian said. “His mother will kill me if he gets kicked out of another group.”

  Van couldn’t believe his luck. Kylian had been his main concern when it came to motivating the group, but now the power was in his hands. With this kind of leverage, it meant that Kylian would be a very useful ally to him and Sang. He turned his attention to the rest of the crew, who had begun hastily packing everything up. The three ladies were very excited about the dragon and were talking about how they couldn’t wait to ride on its back. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be too disappointed when they reached Bikorn.

  “There it is!” Sang called out triumphantly as she stood at the edge of the forest. Van emerged from the trees to see a large stone castle a few miles in the distance. “That must be Castle Bikorn!”

  “Indeed, it is!” Dolly said as she turned off her Stealth mode. “Home to one of the most powerful kings in this land. King Bikorn is a fierce and savage king, but he’s been known to grant blessings to those who earn his approval.”

  “And we’re going to get that approval today!” Van said. He glanced at his in-game clock. They had been travelling for nearly three hours, and Sleep Time was about four hours away. They had made insanely good time.

  “I’m here; what’d I miss?” Capella asked as he walked up to the group. He was wearing only a burlap pair of pants and was covered in blood.

  “What happened to you?” Van asked as he handed Capella a satchel full of the warrior’s gear.

  “Ran into some players on the way over. Good thing I have hand-to-hand skills,” Capella said as he equipped with his armor and his dual axes. Van wanted to ask more questions about the reason why Capella had gotten into a fight with some players, but decided against it. Most likely, Capella had murdered some people for no reason whatsoever. That was going to be a problem, but as long as Capella wasn’t focusing his teenage rage on Van’s team, it wasn’t worth worrying about right now.

  “Okay, let’s hit the shops really quick,” Van said as he pointed to a small series of huts and market stands at the foot of the castle. “Get anything that
could help in the next quest. Gaining the king’s favor isn’t easy, so make sure you stock up on health potions and any consumables that can help. Get ready to give it your all!”

  “And don’t forget to find the vendor!” Bidane said as she and Sahara ran over to the scrolls and potions stand. “We need that dragon to be huge!”

  Van glanced over at Sang, who shrugged. They hadn’t talked about her lying yet, and while he wanted to contain his anger, he felt it boiling a little bit at the sudden reminder of her lie. It wasn’t going to be fair to have to lie to his entire team any more than he already had. The more he was commanding them, the more he grew to care about them. It was going to be painful to see them lose their trust in him when all of this eventually came to light, assuming it did.

  Sang slunk off toward the vendor stalls, too, acting as if she were looking for someone. Kylian grunted at the effort and followed after Dolly, who had entered Stealth mode again. She was probably going to try and steal some items from the stalls. Van just hoped that Dolly had the Stealth skills to not get caught. The last thing the party needed was for the entire town guard to be chasing after them.

  Van turned to see that Capella was staring at him. His gaunt, yellowish eyes were nearly bugged out of their head as he looked on, mouth agape. It was somewhat unnerving.

  “Can I help you?” Van asked.

  “My uncle said I have to talk to you,” Capella said, looking down at his feet. “Are you going to kick me out?”

  “No, I’m not kicking you out,” Van said. “But you are walking on some very thin ice with the rest of the party. No one appreciates you getting us involved in a fight like that. We were all hoping to resolve that situation back there peacefully, but instead, you decided to try and get a quick kill. You got yourself killed over it, and you could have gotten all of us murdered.”

  “I’m sorry, I just wasn’t paying attention; I like this game the best when we stop talking and start fighting,” Capella replied.

  “I get that, but you can’t be a murder-hobo in this game. You can get into plenty of fights and battle against anyone that’s trying to kill us, but you aren’t allowed to draw first blood; got it?”

  “Okay, that’s fair,” Capella said. “Thanks for not yelling at me.”

  Van smiled at the youth. “Don’t worry about it. Now come on, and let’s go take a look at their weapons and see what they have in stock.”

  As they walked toward the market stalls, Van felt the hairs on his neck stand up. He looked around and noticed that, off in the distance, there was a man standing by the trees that they had been navigating through. This man was dressed like a hunter of some sort. He wore leather armor, and had a large belt buckle and a crossbow at his side. He almost looked like a pilgrim, with the tri-corner hat that he was wearing. This stranger’s gaze never left Van. The man just stared intently, not making a sound or moving.

  Who was this guy? Van looked at his team, busy purchasing various goods, and then back at where the man had been standing. The stranger was gone now. That didn’t bode well, Van thought as he checked his mini-map. There were no indications of other players, except for his own team. He hoped this wouldn’t be problematic, but instinctively knew there was something wrong. That man was following Van, which meant he probably worked for Draco.

  “Hey, Sang,” Van said as he walked up beside her. She had been busy browsing for arrows at the weapons stand, away from the rest of the group.

  “What’s up?” she asked, turning to face him.

  “Just had some weirdo staring at us,” Van said, pointing to the trees. “Think he might have been following us.”

  “Bandit?” Sang asked.

  “A bandit wouldn’t follow a large band of heavily armed players. I’m thinking Draco,” Van replied.

  Sang’s expression brightened. “Hey, that might be just the break we need!”

  “Come again?” Van asked.

  “The CIA wants information; if this stalker is some Draco goon, then all we have to do is grab him and make him talk.”

  “Hey, that’s brilliant!” Van said, “But… I have no idea where he is.”

  “I’ve been putting enough points into the Tracking skill to where I shouldn’t have trouble finding him,” Sang said. “Tell you what—you take the crew to meet with the king, and I’ll see if I can get the drop on this guy.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be safe?” Van asked. “He seemed well armed. Crossbows are no joke in this game. They pack a real punch and treat armor like it’s nothing.”

  “I’ll be fine, Van,” she said as she grabbed some green paint out of her pack. She then began to quickly mark her face to help her blend in with the woodlands area.

  “Just shoot me a message when you find him,” Van said. “We’ll see if maybe we can lure him into some kind of an ambush.”

  “Perfect,” Sang said as Van turned again to face his allies.

  They had all finished their shopping and had gathered before the large steel gate to the castle. There was an air of anticipation surrounding Van’s team, and he could hear them all buzzing with excitement. “Alright, are you folks ready for the start of our big quest?” he asked as he approached them.

  Sahara nodded emphatically. “I don’t know about you, but I’m way more excited about the dragon growing,” she said, throwing her bright red hair over her shoulder.

  “Wait, there’s a dragon?” Capella asked.

  “Yes!” Bidane said. “And we’re going to be using it as our mount one of these days.”

  “So awesome! Uncle Ky, did you hear that?” Capella asked as he turned to his uncle. “We’re going to ride a dragon!”

  “That’s great, Capella,” Kylian said as he walked over to the steel gates preventing people from entering the castle. “But we’re not here to just talk about a dragon; we’re here to get that quest. No mount is going to be of any use to us if we can’t make ourselves a mercenary company.”

  “He’s right,” Van said as he grabbed the large rope that was hanging by the gate. It was attached to a bell, and ringing it would begin the quest for being granted the title of a mercenary company. “We’re going to go in, get the quest, and then emerge victoriously! No time to worry about Jet—we’ve got a job to do.”

  And with that, he rang the bell. The quest description appeared in front of him:

  King Bikorn’s Thorn in The Side

  King Bikorn has issued a call out to all able adventuring parties who are seeking fame: come see him and he will task you with a mission that will make your adventuring company a household name. He is currently residing within the castle and will accept visitors at any hour.

  Perfect, Van thought as he clicked Accept Quest. A bright yellow arrow appeared in front of him, pointing toward the entrance to the castle. The large, steel gate creaked as it opened up, granting the party entry.

  “Alright, people, let’s be polite with the king,” Van said. “He’s prone to be moody, so don’t say anything offensive.”

  “Isn’t he just an NPC?” Sahara asked.

  “Yeah, but royalty has the most advanced AI I’ve seen; he’ll probably be able to recognize thousands of words. So, let’s not take any chances,” Van replied as they all began to walk through the courtyard of the castle. The large stone structure was eerily quiet. Van didn’t see any other characters or players in the area. There was no staff, no guard... no one. The entire place seemed to be empty.

  Van hadn’t played this quest in almost five years, so he could barely remember what the mission was supposed to be. He could remember that there was something involving a weapon of some kind, but that was about it.

  The big wooden doors to the main castle opened up automatically as soon as the adventuring party got close. The interior of the castle was huge, almost cave-like in its size and space. The walls were adorned with many photographs of various dragons and adventuring parties. A red carpet led all the way into the throne room. Despite the size of the castle, though, it was almost eeri
e how quiet it was. Not a single NPC could be seen.

  They reached the main throne room where a twenty-foot-tall dragon was quietly resting. It was green and wore a huge golden crown atop its head. Hovering above the creature were the words King Bikorn Level 85. Unlike many of the other dragons that Van had seen, this one’s snout was exceptionally long. It was almost flute-like, jutting several feet away from the rest of the dragon’s body.

  As they approached, King Bikorn opened one eye.

  “Well, this got more interesting,” Bikhorn said as he stood to attention, stretching his wings. Despite the fact that they were indoors, there was plenty of room for Bikhorn to fully expand his wingspan. His razor-sharp jaws opened up as he yawned. “I didn’t expect to see you,” he said as he looked down at Van. Bikorn’s yellow eyes were almost piercing right through Van, and it felt odd to be scrutinized so heavily by the dragon.

  “No matter,” Bikhorn boomed as he lowered his head to ground level with the rest of the players. “I suppose, in these trying times, one might need the assistance of mercenaries. As you can see, adventurers, my castle is laid bare. What was once a place full of humble peasants working merrily, and guards protecting my land and their own homes, is now barren. This is not how a king should, live, don’t you agree?”

  “Of course,” Van said. The rest of the group chittered in agreement.

  “But, alas, it would seem that my own people have grown ungrateful toward me. This land was nothing more than a worthless thorn patch before I came a thousand years ago. I reshaped this land, fertilized it, gave it plants and crops so that the starving peasants here would be able to thrive on this land, and this is the thanks I get? They have all turned against me! My home is empty, for all those whom I once served so loyally have decided that my reign should come to an end. And so, they are gathering a powerful artifact that they believe will bring an end to my castle. If you are interested in providing me with aid, I can be a powerful ally.”

  “Of course, we can help,” Van said.