Exile

by Riley Morrison

  Rather than run straight into battle, he should have waited for Cynthia to order the charge. He had no support, no one guarding his back.

  Or maybe he did.

  A whip took one of the attackers around the neck, stopping the man in his tracks. Ajax caught sight of Yana. With bared teeth, the demon had snared one of Ajax’s attackers and bought him time to try and turn the tide of the battle.

  A giant blow stunned him, as the largest of the Martial Warriors hammered his shield with his two-handed great sword.

  -42hp (Crushing attack)

  Ajax cowered back. This warrior far out-leveled him, and Ajax lacked the defense level for such a high-level engagement—every hit the other player got in would do extra damage as a crushing attack.

  The man lifted his massive sword over his head and brought it down. Ajax barely managed to dodge to the side to avoid being chopped in two. He tried to get a quick slash in, but the enemy warrior kicked him in the stomach, winding him, and sending him reeling back a few paces. Luckily, Ajax managed to hold his balance and not topple over, but the blow had certainly sloshed his insides around.

  -28hp

  The Martial Warrior laughed, and came at Ajax again. Beside him came the rat-faced Rogue, whose twin daggers dripped with poison. Ajax would be doomed if he didn’t do something. They were making him back further away from the rest of the Sinjharian army.

  Taking a quick breath, Ajax recklessly charged right at the Rogue and managed to skewer the man with his sword.

  Inflicted 39 damage

  The Rogue screamed, but managed to slash at Ajax with one of his weapons. Luckily, Ajax’s chain armor prevented the poisoned blade from doing any damage. Ajax dodged to the side and was thankful he did, as the Martial Warrior brought down his great sword precisely where Ajax had just been. Instead of hitting Ajax, the warrior caved in the head of the Rogue, killing him instantly.

  Shared Kill +75xp

  The warrior roared a vile curse at Ajax, his eyes blazing with murderous hate. He came on fast and Ajax backed away, only to trip over a severed limb. He held his shield up and screamed, watching the warrior raise his weapon, the blade reflecting the glow of the torches burning nearby. No time to think of healing, no time for anything. All he could do was wait until the weapon came down and ended his life.

  Suddenly, the warrior dropped his sword and glanced down at his stomach. A blade protruded from his chest. “No...” he gasped, and fell to his knees.

  Appearing over his shoulder came Lillus’s grinning face. It was covered in dirt and splotches of blood, but she looked more beautiful than ever. She placed a hand to the side of the warrior’s head, and purple-black fire engulfed his face. His horrified screams made Ajax want to wretch. Amongst the flames, he saw the man’s eyeballs melt, his skin blacken, and his teeth show between his burning cheeks.

  Lillus pushed the man to the side as his terrible screams died away.

  She reached down to Ajax. “It’s over. We’ve won.” She glanced down at the smoldering corpse and licked her lips. “Now where did I put my marshmallows?”

  CHAPTER 7

  THE SPOILS OF WAR

  Two days later, Ajax took his share of the spoils. The town had fallen, its defenders were dead or had fled, its public officials prisoners, and its people hiding in their homes, peeking out from between their curtains.

  Quest Complete

  Primary Objective: Attack York, a garrisoned town on the border between the Republic of Dern and the Imperium, and take it from our enemies.

  Secondary Objective: Annihilate all resistance, and interrogate then execute all prisoners. Capture local administrators alive. Do not harm the local population.

  Rewards: A Tier-2 magical item of your choosing. 800xp. 4 gold, 50 silver. Reputation with the Sinjharian Imperium increased by 500. Reputation with the Imperial Army increased by 500.

  But as to the spoils looted from the town barracks, Ajax did a quick account of them (and admired them on his character panel).

  Cavalry Man’s Saber

  He won’t be needing it anymore where he’s going.

  +15ap

  +5 damage when using slashing attacks

  Infantry Iron Helmet

  A solid helmet of simple design.

  + 10def

  Leather Girdle

  You wear it around your waist. Nuff said.

  +5def

  3x vegetable soup ration

  1 gold, 26 silver

  For his completed quest to capture the town, Ajax had chosen a magical amulet as his Tier-2 reward.

  Amulet of Spirit

  A pretty piece of jewelry with a sapphire stone.

  +2 Spirit

  The extra Spirit allowed him to focus more on building up his Might to increase his melee damage. Once he leveled high enough to join the army, he would focus more on building his Spirit so he could be a better healer. But at low level, and needing to be largely self-sufficient, damage was more important than the extra healing more Spirit would provide.

  Ajax also happily received his 800xp, the 4 gold, 50 silver and the subsequent reputation gains. He had leveled up too, and spent his stat point on Might, and placed his talent point in the Paladin tree. This granted him...

  Medium Heal

  Heals 16-30 HP. Cost: -15mp. 2-second cooldown

  Shield of the Lost Sun

  Reduces all incoming damage by 90% for 30 seconds for the Paladin or a companion. 1-hour cooldown

  Coin Purse

  6 gold 54 silver

  Taking a look at his stats, he nodded in satisfaction.

  Ajax Stoneheart

  Race: Human

  Class: Spiritual Warrior

  Skill Focus: Warrior Paladin

  Level: 4

  Player Kills: 3

  Might: 6 (1 Might increases AP by 5)

  Dexterity: 1

  Intellect: 2

  Spirit: 5 (BASE: 3 +2 from equipment) (1 Spirit increases healing by 10% and improves mana regeneration by 2%)

  Luck: 1

  HP: 204 (BASE: 195 +9 BLS)

  MP: 150 (BASE: 140 +10 from equipment)

  AP: 140 (BASE:125 +15 from weapon)

  DEF: 90 (BASE: 20 +70 from equipment)

  XP: 2755/3500

  Finally, he felt like he was getting somewhere. He was a long way from getting anything with his reputation, but that was fine. Once it had gotten high enough with the requisite faction, he could go to their central place of power and purchase unique rewards. Right now, he was happy with what he had. So happy that when he found Lillus looting the town mayor’s library, he was almost skipping along.

  Yana grinned as he entered. “You owe me, mortal. I saved your life out there.”

  Lillus put a book in her bag and studied him through narrowed eyes.

  He stopped in his tracks. “What is it?”

  The Demon Mage shook her head, as if to clear it. “Nothing. Just don’t put yourself at risk like that again. You’re lucky the local doctors were willing to heal you.”

  He fell heavily into a wooden chair. They only had a short time to rest before they had to go out and help the unwounded fortify the town wall, so he might as well make the most of his R&R. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

  Yana fluttered her wings, glancing at Lillus. The two shared a look.

  “Come on. What is it? Why are you both acting like you know something I don’t?”

  The succubus smirked. “We know plenty you don’t.” She watched Lillus out of the corner of her eye. The Demon Mage shook her head. Yana sighed. “Just don’t be so stupid again. My mistress and I would be lost without you.”

  Ajax took off his helmet and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m touched you both care so deeply about me. But I don’t see what I’ve done to deserve it.”

  “Oh, you’ve done plenty,” Lillus said. She slipped a bright red apple out of one of her bags and took a big bite out of it. Now she seemed more her normal self.

  What was going on? />
  “I got lots of nice stuff out of this little endeavor,” the Demon Mage said. “Take a look. I got new shoes.” She lifted her cloak so Ajax could see them.

  He chuckled. “They look like an old woman’s slippers.”

  “Slippers?” Lillus waved him away. “Men. These ‘slippers’ give me +1 Intellect, +1 Spirit, and better yet, they look nice and contrast well with my black cloak and black hair.”

  “And your black eyeliner,” Yana added.

  “If you say so.” Ajax thought they looked ridiculous, but then he had never had an eye for fashion. Well, according to his one and only girlfriend from before the end. She had once remarked that he had as much fashion sense as a doorknob.

  “Oh, and I got this.” Lillus held up her hand and pulled back her sleeve. Around her wrist was a shiny silver bracelet.

  When she didn’t explain what it was, he brought up the details himself in his mind’s eye. “Wait... I don’t see anything special about it.”

  Lillus rolled her eyes. “You see, Yana? Men think so differently from us women. He sees a useless bauble—I see a pretty bracelet.” She covered it up again. “Not everything has to serve some material purpose; some things can be beautiful merely for the sake of being beautiful.”

  “So true, mistress.” Yana blew Ajax a sultry kiss. “But I will forgive him for his lack of appreciation for the finer things in life.” The demon flapped her wings and elevated several feet off the floor. “I am here permanently now, Ajax, my dear, and oh, are we going to have some fun together in the days ahead.”

  Lillus laughed. “On that note, I also placed my talent point in the Demonic Skill Tree and acquired the Demon Heal skill.”

  “Which I’m most grateful for, Mistress.”

  “I also got some gold, some reputation, and...” Lillus glanced around at the cluttered shelves running along the right-hand wall. “I got to loot this library for some books.”

  “What books?” Ajax asked.

  “A Fifty Shades of Grey novel for Yana—she’s really into the kinky stuff.”

  The demon landed back on the floor and cracked her whip while eying Ajax hungrily, her forked tongue wetting her pink lips. Ajax hurriedly backed away a step.

  Lillus went on, “And for me, a collection of riveting essays on the nature of Visaria and the inner workings of the code flowing through us all. My favorite essay is the one on the dichotomy of our existence. Is this place the real world? Or is what we think of as the real world actually the simulation?”

  Thinking of that dichotomy made Ajax’s brain hurt.

  -10hp

  No wonder he had flunked philosophy at school. “Changing the subject. How do you make such powerful potions? You’re no low-level alchemist, are you?”

  She brushed her hair back over her pointed ears and had just started to answer when the door flew open and Captain Cynthia burst in. “You two...” She saw Yana and her lip curled. “I want you both to head over to the barracks and go down to the dungeon. There is someone there I want you to interrogate.”

  Ajax slipped his helmet on and stood. “Who?”

  “I don’t know. She seems to be a crazy woman, and it’s hard to make sense of what she is saying. But she is level 16, so not someone to dismiss lightly.”

  “Why us?” Lillus asked.

  Cynthia started to head toward the door. “Because I need to see to the defense of the town. It won’t be long before the Dernese try to take back what was theirs.”

  With that, the captain was gone.

  A quest notice appeared in Ajax’s mind’s eye.

  Quest

  Proceed to the local barracks and find and interrogate the prisoner. Report your findings to Captain Cynthia.

  Warning: Failure to comply with these orders will result in a public hanging. Failure to extract useful information from the prisoner will result in—

  He skimmed to the rewards.

  Rewards: 200xp. Avoid Captain Cynthia’s ire for one hour. Maybe two, if she is busy.

  Ajax accepted the quest. It beat carrying stones and timber to shore up the town’s defenses.

  THEY FOUND THE WOMAN in the last cell on the left. She was dirty and disheveled, and the cell smelled of week-old filth.

  Valeria the Saint

  Race: Best guess, Human (It’s hard to tell under all the dirt.)

  Class: Spirit Mage

  Level: 16

  Allegiance: Republic of Dern

  Player Kills: 16

  Might: 1

  Dexterity: 1

  Intellect: 8

  Spirit: 12

  Luck: 3

  HP: 190/280

  MP: 310/310

  AP: 145

  DEF: 20

  Active abilities

  None

  Equipment

  Dirty Standard Cloak

  Filthy Undergarments

  Valeria must have been a great healer once, and could be still if she wasn’t stuck in this prison cell. But why would the Dernese imprison one of their own? Especially one of such rare power? Few lived long enough to attain her level.

  Ajax glanced at Lillus, who was intently studying the woman, as if two minutes earlier she hadn’t been complaining about being forced into this quest. Yana stood protectively beside her, the claws of her right hand digging into the hilt of her whip.

  The prisoner looked up and squinted in the light of their torch. Ajax put the torch in a sconce next to the cell, then came to stand at the bars. “Hello, my name is Ajax. According to your player panel, your name is Valeria.”

  Her eyes glittered in the torchlight as she studied him, then Lillus, then Yana. He waited for her to say something, but she remained silent. Eventually, he cleared his throat and asked, “Why are you here?”

  A long silence went by, and no answer was forthcoming. Great. If I can’t get her to speak, the captain is going to eat me for breakfast. “Please, talk to me. What happened to you? Why are you here?”

  Still no answer.

  Lillus put her hand through the bars, as if reaching out to the other woman. “You saw it, didn’t you?”

  Valeria’s breath hissed. But that was the only sign she had heard what the Demon Mage had said.

  “I saw it too.” Lillus reached deeper into the cell.

  That got Valeria to respond. Ajax had no idea what Lillus was talking about. All he cared about was completing the quest, but he was happy to see the healer get to her feet and move a few steps closer to them. “Where did you see it, black mage?”

  Lillus continued to hold her hand out. The Dernese Spirit Mage studied it a long moment, then reached out and touched it. Instantly, both women went rigid, their eyes snapping shut.

  Ajax went to pull Lillus away, but Yana grabbed him and dragged him away. “No, leave them.” She held Ajax from behind, her soft, voluptuous body pressed up against him, her warm breath in his ear.

  “What’s happening to them?”

  Yana gently wrapped her wings around him. “Shush. I hear your heart beating faster, and feel your life blood flowing.” She smothered him with her arms and wings. “It is hard for me to resist you, for my kind isn’t known for having much in the way of self-control. We take what we desire, or we destroy it.”

  Her closeness, and the feel of her woman bits pressed against him sent a pleasant feeling through Ajax. All he wanted to do was turn around and shove his tongue in her mouth, and hold her close. Remember your duty, fool, this is no time for fraternization. You have orders to carry out.

  Then it occurred to him the demon might be trying to distract him from what was happening to the two mages. “I order you to tell me what they are doing.” He could hardly see the two women now that Yana’s wings were in the way.

  “Oh, I like dominant men who tell me what to do.” She rubbed her firm breasts against him. “I can play the submissive, if you like.”

  “Enough with the games. Tell me what is going on.” He fought to break free of the demon’s embrace, but the succubus ref
used to let go. Ajax considered drawing his sword and trying to stab Yana, but decided to restrain himself. Who knew what Lillus would do once she saw that he had killed her pet. It might take Lillus a few levels to gain the ability, but she would eventually revive Yana, and would no doubt be furious Ajax had harmed her demon. The two of them, mage and demon, were closely linked, and what hurt one hurt the other.

  And the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Lillus. He grit his teeth. How the hell has she made me care about her so much? I hardly know her.

  Finally, he heard Lillus speak again. “I will get you out of here.”

  “And take me where?” Valeria said with a mocking sneer. “I am welcome nowhere, and care not for anything anymore.”

  Yana let Ajax go, but kept her clawed hands gripping his arms. “Let them speak, my pet,” she cooed into Ajax’s ear, her soft lips pressed to his ear.

  Lillus crossed her arms, her face beading with sweat, eyes ringed by dark circles. Perhaps whatever they had just done had fatigued her. “We need to go north to meet the Imperator. She must be convinced—”

  “The Imperator won’t listen to me.” Valeria retreated deeper into the cell. “I was ranked high among the healers of the Republic once, years ago, before I journeyed into the unexplored far west.”

  “What are you talking about?” Ajax demanded, but Yana put a hand over his mouth and encircled him with her wings again. “I will discipline you if you speak again. And, oh, how I will enjoy it. I can play the master as well as the submissive. Now, let them speak, and ask your questions later.”

  “The Imperator will have to listen, for everything is in peril.” Lillus gripped the bars so hard, her fingers had gone white.

  Valeria shook her head. “And if she doesn’t? Then what, black mage?”

  Lillus glanced at Ajax. “We head to Drandus and speak to the Hanseatic Council and convince them instead.”

  “Whff! Nehff.” Ajax tried to voice his disapproval, but the demon’s hand over his mouth muffled his words. What are they talking about? The Dernese are our enemy. We can’t go to them. “Gorf, fuff, umf.”

  “Oh, stop that.” Yana playfully nipped at Ajax’s neck with her sharp teeth.

  The indignity of being held like this by a flirtatious succubus when something important was going on made Ajax want to punch something!