Exile

by Riley Morrison

  CHAPTER 16

  ITHILDA

  The Imperator watched them approach, casually stroking the heads of her dragons. It was said that she herself could turn into a dragon, and lay with them.

  Ajax lowered his head in reverence and knelt before his ruler. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lillus do the same and silently thanked her for obeying the guard’s orders. The guard herself knelt and lowered her head. “Oh great lady, Ithilda. I bring before you a servant who has dire news.”

  A long silence passed, and then Ajax heard a soft voice. “Stand, noble Paladin Ajax.”

  He took a quick breath. The Imperator herself had addressed him. Standing, he made sure to keep his gaze respectfully lowered to the floor.

  “I would prefer not to have to search your very being to find what has brought you here. So tell me, my loyal Ajax, what news do you bring?”

  Clearing his throat, he told the Imperator everything that had happened on their journey to York, the capture of the city, of finding Valeria, the vast army descending on the town and then of Captain Cynthia and the other conscripts’ noble sacrifice. The only part he left out was the part about the void and the threat it posed. He would get to that shortly.

  “They are brave to stand firm against our enemies,” Ithilda said, her voice soft. So soft, it put his nerves at ease. “I will find out the names of these conscripts, and make sure they’re honored. As to Captain Cynthia, I know of that one.” There was a brief pause. “I am glad she found her honor in the end, though it saddens me it has no doubt ended in her demise.”

  “The Dernese army means to invade the Imperium,” Ajax said, making a fist. “On our journey north through the mountains in the border region, we discovered a cache of equipment. I think there are many such caches hidden through the mountain passes.”

  “I will send several of my Dragon Riders to scout these mountains for this army. Strange that my agents never warned me of this. My attention has been on our own invasion in the east.”

  Personal Quest Complete

  Objective: Tell Imperator Ithilda of Cynthia’s and the rest of the Sinjharians’ sacrifice at York and about its inevitable fall.

  Rewards: 250xp.

  Quest Complete

  Continue with the plan to report to the Imperator about the threat of the void and the Dernese invasion. Tell her everything you have seen here.

  Rewards: 1000Xp. Once you are gone, you will never be asked to pick the dirt out from under Captain Cynthia’s toenails again. You got to journey with two beautiful women, and an equally beautiful succubus, though sadly, two of them are no longer with us. A Tier-2 magical item of your choosing. 5 gold. Reputation with the Sinjharian Imperium +500. Reputation with the Imperial Army +500. Reputation with the Republic of Dern -55, 394.

  An exclamation mark flashed in Ajax’s mind’s eye. He had leveled up to level 5! Once his briefing with the Imperator was over, he would get all his rewardy goodness. Talents, items, and gold. The XP and reputation would be added passively.

  XP: 4505/5500

  He focused back in on the Imperator as she spoke. “Tell me, what happened to this Spirit Mage? Other than bringing her here to serve, why else would you be ordered to bring her to me?”

  “I can answer that,” Lillus said from beside him.

  The Imperator was silent for a long moment. “Lillus Pwnfire. I do not know of you.”

  “I’m not from around here, your majesty.”

  “Then tell me, black mage who hides behind her talisman. What happened to this Valeria?”

  Ajax shared his quest to report about the void to the Imperator so she would know it was real. Then he kept his head lowered as Lillus related Valeria’s story about this new threat, the voices in her head and later her abduction by the void wraiths. “But the Spirit Mage wasn’t the only one who has seen this void.” Lillus shifted her weight, her cloak rustling. Ajax noticed how silent it had become in the great hall, as if both dragon and human alike listened with great intensity. “I have seen it too.”

  “You are half elven, so you have traveled far beyond our realm into regions even my dragons have not ventured.” The Imperator was silent a moment. “But this had to have been on a previous life, for you cannot transform into an elf. You are too low level to have ventured far in this current life, and you will not remember what transpired in your previous incarnation.”

  Lillus stood, and Ajax had to tilt his head to the side to be able to watch her without laying eyes on the face of the Imperator. “This is my first life.”

  A murmur erupted from behind them. No doubt the dragon riders had gathered to listen.

  “How is that possible?” Ithilda demanded. One of her dragons must have lifted its head, as a shadow fell across Ajax.

  “I was never part of this human realm, though in the real world, I am as human as all of you. After having fled the surface when the darkness came, I entered my stasis chamber just like all of you. But unlike you, I was not given any options of who I would be when I entered this world, beyond being able to choose my class.” Lillus took a step forward.

  What are you doing? Ajax wanted to reach out and pull her back. She was meant to kneel before the Imperator, not get up and start moving toward her!

  “When I spawned, I found myself far to the south of here in a great concrete sarcophagus deep under a mountain. Hovering before me was a huge black cube—the digital representation of the orbital computer arrays that harbor this world.”

  “What?” The Imperator must have stood herself, as Lillus retreated a few steps.

  “The cube spoke to me, and called itself the Oracle. Then it showed me the void and how the gray nothingness is eating away at this world, and told me how it works. At first, the void spread slowly, but as time has gone on, it has gained in momentum, its legions of void wraiths and void wyrms spreading its cancer across Visaria. Already, vast regions, whole continents filled with NPC creatures and societies never seen by human eyes, have fallen to the void.”

  “I don’t believe her,” someone said from behind them.

  “Sounds like a load of crap to me as well,” another voice said.

  The Imperator took a harsh breath. “What else did this Oracle do?”

  Lillus placed a hand on Ajax’s head. “She sent me to Dernmore, the center of human civilization in Visaria, to find this man.”

  “Him?” The Imperator sounded incredulous.

  Ajax wanted to curl up somewhere and hide. Ithilda was going to become enraged and feed them both to her dragons!

  “He is the Chosen One. For whatever reason, the systems governing this world chose Ajax Stoneheart to be this Visaria’s champion. The Oracle sent me here to find him and make sure he follows the path before him.”

  The Imperator’s foot came into view. The ruler loomed right over him. “Follows the path?”

  “Yes.” Lillus stepped to the side.

  Ajax glanced at the gathering of dragon riders behind them. He counted dozens of the elite warriors and several dragons watching him and Lillus. “Ajax must grow in power, discover his unique chosen-one abilities, unite the lands and then lead the war against the void. The coming conflict is not only vital for the future of Visaria—unless the void is defeated, the Oracle will not be able to revive us in the real world once the surface is habitable again.” Lillus blew out her breath. “The future of humanity lives and dies with Visaria. There will be no respawning once the void has won, there will be no returning to the confines of your own mind to wait out the exile. The computers controlling everything will no longer function. The void is a virus in the code that is slowly spreading its corruption.”

  “Dear god,” someone cried.

  The power of Lillus’s voice, and her words, seemed to have sent a shock through everyone, as the silence that followed was deafening.

  Ajax’s heart pounded in his ears. His hands started shaking. Why me? Why me? How can I be at the center of this? I’m a nobody; I just want to blend into the backgr
ound.

  Finally, the Imperator spoke. “I don’t believe you, black mage.”

  Ajax winced, glancing up at the Imperator’s face and cringing from it. There was great rage on their leader’s face, and madness in her eyes. She looked much like a normal woman, with a stern face, slightly large nose, and blue eyes. But the proportions were wrong, being that she stood over twenty feet tall.

  To Ajax’s horror, Lillus let out a bitter laugh. “It won’t matter what you believe, your majesty. Or should I call you Rhonda, the middle-aged and lonely office clerk with an ulcer on her left leg and a string of ex-husbands? That’s who you were before—”

  “How dare you!” The voice of the Imperator shook the ground. She started to reach for Lillus.

  Ajax started crawling away, not caring how pitiful it looked. Get me out of here. I want out. I want no part in any of this.

  He fell onto his back and covered his eyes as a blinding light exploded before him. When it faded, he saw Lillus standing there with a golden aura around her. From her back grew great incandescent wings, like the angels of the One God’s bible. “Stay back from me, your majesty,” Lillus said, her voice icy cold. “I may be governed by the same laws as all of you in my Demon Mage form, but unlike you, I have been granted powers outside the norm. Try to touch me, and I will end your existence!”

  The Imperator hesitated. “You would need an army to defeat me.”

  Lillus pointed a finger at the Imperator and the ruler bent over and clasped her head between her hands. “What are you doing to me? The pain.”

  “As I said, I have powers all of you lack.”

  Some of the dragon riders drew their swords and started forward, but Lillus raised her other hand and they all stopped dead in their tracks, as if they had been frozen. “You must all listen, for the future of everything is at stake. Ajax must be allowed to grow in power. He must unite your Imperium, the Dernese, the Independent City-States and perhaps all manner of other creatures that call Visaria Online home. Everyone and everything will be needed for the coming war, for it will spread, and no matter what you say, do, or believe, it will touch all of us in some way.” Lillus reached out for Ajax. “Come here, my brave friend.”

  He slowly stood, compelled by her command. As he walked over to the Demon Mage, every eye followed him. When he reached her, she pulled his arm around her and whispered, “Hold me up.”

  Now that he was right beside her, he saw sweat pouring down her face. Her muscles were tense, her teeth gritted. Perhaps the power she was displaying here was taxing her. How long could she maintain it?

  “I have listened. Now what do you want from me?” The Imperator backed away, still holding her head. “Please let this pain end.”

  “I want you to stand down and order your guards to as well.”

  The Imperator waved, and moments later, the dragon warriors slumped to their knees, as if they had just exerted themselves. “Now what?”

  Lillus leaned heavily on Ajax now. “Ajax and I will need a few days’ rest, so we can grind some XP in your training camp. We will also need some new level-appropriate equipment. Then we will need a dragon, for we must fly to the front lines in the east and try and stop your invasion before it can penetrate deep into the Republic.”

  “Stop the invasion?” The Imperator lowered her hands, her teeth bared. “I will never do that.”

  “You will, and you must. The conflict between your empire and the Republic is a legacy conflict from before Visaria became our homes. It must end, and your armies must march under one banner.”

  “No.”

  Lillus tensed. “If you are not willing to do it...”

  The Imperator screamed, falling to her knees, her fingernails digging into her skull. “Stop, please.”

  Her dragons roared, and one opened its mouth and craned its neck toward Lillus. Ajax braced himself to be eaten.

  Ithilda reached out and grabbed her pet by the neck and pulled it back. “I will do as you say, black mage. You will have everything you want.”

  Quest

  Once you are ready, you need to go east to speak to the generals of the Imperial Army and end the invasion of the Republic. How you go about this task is left to your discretion.

  Hint: Let Lillus sort out the details.

  Warning: Failure to comply with these orders will result in the void consuming everything, thus condemning the human race to extinction in both Visaria and the real world.

  Rewards: You will begin the journey to saving two worlds, the real and the digital. But if that isn’t enough, then you will also receive 5,000xp, 10gold, but you will lose 50,000 reputation with the Sinjharian Imperium because the Imperator feels she has been forced into giving you this quest.

  Added warning: Watch your back.

  Lillus nodded once, and must have ended her spell as the Imperator lowered her arms, breathing heavily, and watched Lillus warily. “You can have the spare room in my own bedchamber. Then I will have my advisers get you a willing dragon mount and a selection of items from the armory.”

  “I’m glad you have seen reason,” Lillus replied.

  The Imperator had the female guard who had led them from the gates escort them to their chambers. The woman kept her distance from them, and never said a word. When they got to the chambers, she almost ran back the way she’d come.

  As soon as Ajax and Lillus were alone in the room, the Demon Mage collapsed in his arms.

  CHAPTER 17

  SCARS

  As Ajax guarded Lillus as she slept, sitting next to her bed, watching her chest rise and fall, he opened and closed his character stats and inventory panel to pass the time (and to focus on something other than his worry for her, and for the idea that he would be the one expected to head east to the Imperial Army to stop their invasion of the Republic). He refused to leave her side until she woke—assuming she ever did.

  First he glanced at the new item and the Augment he had received from completing the quest to report to the Imperator.

  Padded Leather Boots of the Hardy

  +1 Might

  +15hp

  +10def

  Tier-1 Augment

  +20hp

  Ajax bound the Augment to his new boots, assuming they would be the least likely bit of equipment he would upgrade any time soon.

  With that done, he went through his inventory.

  Equipment

  Cavalry Man’s Saber (+15ap +5 damage slashing attacks)

  Shield of the Arrow (+15def) (special: +5def when facing ranged attacks)

  Standard Chainmail

  Padded Leather Boots of the Hardy (+1 Might +15hp +10def) (AUG +20hp)

  Infantry Helmet (+10def)

  Leather Girdle (+5def)

  Army-Issued Trinket (+10mp) (worn around neck)

  Amulet of Spirit (+2 Spirit)

  Ring of Defense (+10def)

  Backpack

  1x vegetable soup ration

  water

  4 x iron ore chunk

  6 x copper ingot

  3 x iron ingot

  iron pickaxe

  whetstone

  dusty broken pineapple

  Coin Purse

  11 gold, 54 silver coins

  Ajax put his talent point from leveling into the Paladin tree and spent his stat point on Might. One more level in Might and he would then focus on Spirit so that when he joined the army he could do so as a competent healer. He sighed wearily. At least, that had been his plan. Now with everything that had happened, he doubted he would ever be accepted into the army as a recruit.

  Who knew where his path would take him now. Life used to be so simple. Why did this have to be forced onto me?

  Ajax Stoneheart

  Race: Human

  Class: Spiritual Warrior

  Skill Focus: Warrior Paladin

  Level: 5

  Player Kills: 3

  Might: 8 (BASE: 7 +1 from equipment) (1 Might increases AP by 5)

  Dexterity: 1

  Intelle
ct: 2

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

  Luck: 1

  HP: 250 (BASE: 205 +10 BLS +35 from equipment)

  MP: 160 (BASE: 150 +10 from equipment)

  AP: 155 (BASE: 135 +15 from weapon +5 from equipment)

  DEF: 100 (BASE: 20 +80 from equipment)

  XP: 4505/5500

  His Blessing of the Lost Sun (BLS) now gave him +10hp rather than +9. Not much of a bonus, but as he gained in health, the number would only climb.

  Once Lillus was up, he would take her with him to the training yard and they would grind some monsters together and level up. He had no idea what level she wanted him to be before they left to go into the east, but she’d said they’d only stay here a handful of days, so there wouldn’t be time to grind for long.

  Plus, he had Cynthia’s quest to complete. Pass on her message to a captain named Shawn.

  Ajax returned his attention to Lillus. Her face was pale, her cheeks sunken. Whatever power she had used against the Imperator had really drained her. What use would there be for such extreme power if it made one so weak afterwards? He’d expected the Imperator to have sent the guards into their room to kill them by now. The servants who dropped off their food and water knew Lillus was sick, so news must have reached Ithilda by now.

  Perhaps it had been years since the Imperator had felt pain. With Lillus being able to hurt her, maybe it had terrified Ithilda enough that she would leave them be. But how long would that fear last? No doubt, the Imperator would want revenge.

  A loud knock on the door made him almost jump out of his seat in fright.

  Climbing to his feet, Ajax drew his sword and crept over to the door and listened. He heard nothing outside, so waited to see what would happen.

  The knock came again. Definitely not the servants, for they had a key and never knocked.

  “Who is it?” he demanded.

  After a short silence, a voice answered, “Captain Shawn of the Imperial Army.”