by Edward Brody
“Well, aside from the lack of business, we’re out of health potions, bandages, and raw cloth. Hell, all of the cloth clothing we had in here was salvaged and used to make bandages as well. If there’s another attack like we had a couple days ago, we have no extra healing supplies here in the shop.”
I groaned and looked up to the sky. “Damnit… when it rains it pours, doesn’t it?”
“‘When it rains, it pours’,” Gerard repeated. He rubbed his chin. “I haven’t heard that before, but I like it. It’s an idiom for misfortune, correct?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I replied. It was nice to hear an NPC make an intelligent deduction like he had. I wondered if Gerard was unusually smart or if NPCs were getting smarter in general. I didn’t have much time to ponder it too deeply, as I needed to figure out how I was going to save our economy from going under.
I was pretty certain at that point that I’d need to move forward with Aaron’s idea to colonize Edgewood Village. If it worked, it would bring more stability to our income and help prevent the kind of financial hiccups we were encountering. But it would also take time to reap the benefits, as I couldn’t slam taxes down the elves’ throats right away.
Either way, we needed money soon. My mind scoured the ways I could bring in gold quickly, and my first thought was to go borrow more from the Guild Hall in Highcastle, but that was terribly risky since I was already in debt to them by 15,000 plus a small amount of interest. I’d need to go out and complete a quest or find some loot of value.
I wondered if we should form a squad and try to grind orcs in the Freelands, but judging by the loot the Scourge had dropped so far, we wouldn’t find much on them, and it might actually backfire and draw more unwanted attacks on Edgewood. I had to keep it open as a possibility if things got bad, though.
But there were a few other options…
“Unless you get busy or we have another attack, join us at the campfire tonight,” I said. “I’ll give everyone the details on what I’ve learned about the Scourge, and we’ll discuss our plans to rebuild, move forward, and bring money into the village. Hopefully, we’ll have some time to just relax and enjoy our time together as well.”
“Alright, I’ll do that,” Gerard said with a smile.
Chapter Twelve
2/18/0001
“All of them?” Jax asked. “I’m used to being around dark elves now, but remember that we’re not all Reborns, Gunnar. You’re putting us all in danger.”
Night had fallen, the whole guild had gathered around the campfire, and I had just finished explaining the colonization plans. There had been one additional Scourge attack that day—a single goblin—so it seemed like the worst of the overflow from the battling in the Freelands may have really been over.
“How do you feel about it, Gerard?” I asked.
Gerard crossed his arms and took a deep breath. “Well, it makes me a little uneasy, but I’m certain that most of the dark elves have visited our shop at some point. You’re right that it may help business.”
Keysia smiled widely. “You know how I feel. I think it’s a wonderful idea, and it’ll make me ever prouder to be a part of Unity.”
I stared at Keysia a moment but not too long. We still hadn’t had any one-on-one time since the day I kissed Adeelee on the hill, and since she never said anything about it, I was beginning to wonder if she, unlike Donovan, had seen it happen at all. Perhaps since then she’d been too preoccupied with defending the village and helping the refuge elves, or maybe she didn’t want to talk about it and was doing a good job of hiding her disappointment. It was hard to make any reads or judgements with so much going on.
“I’m down with it,” Jeremy said.
“Well, then, let’s do a quick vote,” I said. “Everyone in favor of colonizing Edgewood and inviting the dark elves to join our village, raise their hands.”
All of the Reborns immediately raised their hands. Keysia was right with them, while Rina and Gerard lagged a little but raised their hands as well.
At first, Jax kept his arms crossed, and it seemed like there wouldn’t be unanimous consensus, but when Rina looked at him with pouty lips and disappointed eyes, he uncrossed his arms and reluctantly lifted his hand as well.
“Then it’s settled,” I said. “When the mood is right, we’ll invite the elves to join us.”
“Hell, yeah,” Aaron said, slamming his fist into one of his palms. “This place is gonna be on and poppin’ in no time.”
“And we’re all going to live in the castle, you say?” Sung questioned.
“Yeah, so long as you all want to, and so long as we actually have a castle.” I turned to our one free-standing stone wall. “We need to get something built first.”
“That’ll require gold,” Gerard said. “Lots of it. You mentioned earlier that you had plans to bring gold into the village?”
I nodded. “Queen Faranni gave me a quest to escort a dark elf here from Galien. That’s 15,000 gold if I succeed, and while I’m there, I can start my search for a guy named Razza Jen. If I can find him and convince him to meet with the High Elves, I’ve been promised 150,000 gold.”
“Razza Jen?” Keysia questioned. “The Beastslayer?”
I nodded. “The elves aren’t pussyfooting around when it comes to the Ancient Beasts. They’re actually going to try to take them down before they’re unleashed. If they succeed, it’s a win for all of us. And if I find Razza Jen… well, we’ll be 150,000 gold richer.”
“Slow down,” Jax said, shaking his head back and forth. “15,000 gold is a good haul, but Galien is several days’ trek south. That’s not a quick and easy quest by any means.”
“If I ask around the Mages Guild, maybe I can find a rune. Maybe Eanos has one in his runebook.”
“If you’re lucky,” Jax said. “But even if you managed to recall there, you can’t recall back here with whoever you’re escorting. And there’s more than one high-level zone in between Addenfall and Galien. You’re looking at a bit of a challenge no matter how you swing it.”
“And Razza Jen,” Keyshia said. “He’s a vagabond. He could be anywhere in Eden’s Gate. Both of those quests are going to take some time.”
I sighed and crossed my arms, feeling deflated. “Well, the goblins haven’t been dropping much other than their cheap weapons and armor, so we’re not going to support our village that way. Any ideas?”
“We could send some of us out to grind,” Aaron said, “But if too many of us leave the village to search for gold, we leave what little we have left vulnerable.”
“Yeah, and loot is sparse unless we traverse past the war zone.” I hunched over and placed one hand on my forehead. “Oh, and I almost forgot... Ozzy, you need to report to the Fighters Guild. Highcastle needs you to help with the Scourge defense.”
“Yeah, I know,” he confirmed. “They sent a messenger here earlier. I’ll be leaving in the morning.”
“Jeremy,” I called. “Do you think you can ride Rarri to Thorpes to sell off our gems and whatever else you can carry?”
“Yeah, no problem,” Jeremy said. “I’m sure Rarri is fast enough to avoid the Scourge.”
“Okay, that’ll help.” I pursed my lips and took a deep breath as I considered my only other quest that had a clear path to completion. “I do have one other quest that can bring us in some quick gold. I wanted to wait until the Scourge was out of the Freelands, but I guess I’ll have to risk it.”
“What’s the plan?” Aaron asked.
I scanned the general area. “Has anyone seen Trynzen?”
“He’s sleeping,” Keysia answered.
“Good,” I said. I crossed my arms defiantly. “I think I’ll return him to Barbarosia tomorrow morning.”
“Whaaaaaat?” Jeremy whined. “Good ol’ Trynzadoo is leaving us?”
“Trynzadoo?” I asked.
Jeremy grinned. “It’s the nickname Aaron and I gave him.”
I turned to Aaron and raised an eyebrow. “Trynzadoo?”
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Aaron shrugged and smirked. “What can I say? I’m good with nicknames.”
I shook my head and turned back to face everyone. “But yeah, I’m going to take him back to his home. We need the gold.”
“Oh no… I’m going to miss him,” Keysia whined.
“Me too,” Rina agreed. “He was kind of frightening to me at first, but he’s just a little… um… different, I guess.”
“I was gettin’ kind of used to having him around,” Ozzy said. “He sure can fight too, I’ll tell ya that. When he’s got that claw on, he’s a straight beast!”
“Why not let him stay?” Jeremy asked.
I paused a moment to consider the question. “Besides the fact that he requires constant oversight and is driving the High Elves nuts, I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping him here, but I have a quest to get 20,000 gold for his return. I don’t think anyone can argue that we need the cash now more than ever.”
Jax whistled loudly. “20,000 just to return him? Shit, you can take Rina too for another 20.”
Rina’s eyes nearly fell out of her head, and her jaw went wide as she stared at Jax. “You asshole!” She raised a fist and threw a hard punch at him.
Jax chuckled and held his hands up in defense, cushioning the attack. “I was just joking! Just joking!”
Rina pointed a finger at him. “Next time you get yourself hurt, see who’s there to heal your ass!”
“Relax,” Jax said. He leaned over and placed his hand on her leg. “I was just playing with you.”
Rina pouted and crossed her arms.
Aaron and Jeremy were both laughing their asses off.
“Nice one, Jax!” Jeremy said. He stood up and took a few quick steps across the clearing to throw Jax a high-five. After the two slapped hands, he said, “Not like you to be so playful.”
Jax smirked shyly and shrugged a little. His eyes lit up as he stared at Rina’s face. “I guess she brings it out in me.”
Rina’s anger suddenly softened, and as she uncrossed her arms. Her cheeks turned a bright red, and she couldn’t hide her smile.
Keysia leaned forward and placed her hands between her knees. She was staring, smiling and fawning at the two like a teenager watching her favorite soap opera.
“Yeah, anyway,” I continued. “20,000 gold will help keep our village afloat.”
“Are you certain it’s safe to travel to Barbarosia now?” Sung asked.
I bobbed my head from side to side a little. “I’m not sure anything will be safe out there for a while. The Scourge have built camps all over the Freelands. In fact, they’ve taken Newich already.”
Ozzy leaned back on the log he was sitting on. “Whaaaaaaat? No way.”
“Yes way,” I said.
“Damn,” Jax cursed. “It’s more serious than I thought.”
“That’s where I bought my dog, Royce!” Ozzy said. “They’ve taken the whole town? What the fuck?”
I nodded. “Outer Highcastle took some substantial damage, but Inner Highcastle is fine. From the intel I received today, Edgewood was just getting hit with runoff from the battling. That’s why we’ve mostly been seeing goblins and no orcs. We’re not their real target.”
“Well, that’s good news,” Jeremy said. “If this is runoff, I’d hate to see what would’ve happened if we were their real target.”
“If what I’m told is right,” I agreed, “but I have no reason to doubt the information.”
“It all adds up,” Jax said. “We would’ve been crushed had orc legions stormed our village.”
“Do you think you can avoid the Scourge and make it to Barbarosia?” Sung asked.
“It might prove difficult,” I said. “That’s why I’ll be going alone. When I was looking down from the Mages Guild, there were orc camps everywhere, but Highcastle soldiers were doing their best to keep the roads clear. If I stick to the roads without drawing too much attention to myself, I might be able to make it to Barbarosia without a fight. If I draw aggro, Sora is fast.”
“What about worgs?” Jax said. “They have a lot of stamina, if they have a Great Worg, it might prove difficult for Sora to outrun it.”
“I know nothing about worgs,” I explained, “but Commander Eldrich specifically said he wasn’t seeing many in the Freelands yet. That’s even more reason for me to leave soon—before things get worse.”
“Oh, come on,” Jeremy said. “We can all go with you. It’ll be better for you to have a strong team in case you need to fight any Scourge.”
I shook my head. “We need maximum presence here in Edgewood. Today was good, and if it continues like this, I think everyone can eventually start coming and going as normal. But for now, it’s too risky. Sora is fast… If I run into trouble, I have the best chance of survival. And when I drop Trynzen off at Barbarosia, I can simply recall back to Edgewood. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am.”
Sung shook his head and held up his palm. “That’s not the best idea…”
“Why not?” I asked.
“It’s too risky to go out there alone, even if there’s a good chance you can outrun them,” he asserted. “If you happen to die, Trynzen might die too, right? That’s like losing 20,000 gold.”
I rubbed my chin. “At least with my plan, I’ll be the only guildmate who gets hurt. It’ll be rough, but I’ll respawn back at the Runestone.”
“Sora will die as well,” Sung continued. “If you go alone and both you and Sora die, it won’t matter if you can respawn. Think about it…. There’s a resurrection limit of two hours. Since you’ll be sitting in the void for 2 hours, essentially Sora will be guaranteed to die as well. 20,000 gold lost and a Great Beast.”
I looked slightly to the side and clenched my jaw at the thought. The idea of losing Sora was terrifying after Tsarra’s death and seeing the pain Adeelee was going through. “You’re right…Fuck, you’re right.”
“But if you take at least one of us with you, there may be a chance to form a resurrection plan in the event that there’s casualties,” Sung explained.
“I can go with you, Gunnar,” Rina volunteered.
“Me too,” Jax agreed.
I thumbed my chin. “I don’t like the idea, but I guess Sung is right. But if we go that route, I should take only one of you, so we can keep a low profile. The larger the group, the more aggro we’ll draw from the Scourge.”
“I’ll go,” Keysia said.
I shook my head again. “No, I definitely need to take a Reborn. I still have to consider the worst-case scenario, and I don’t want to shoulder the weight of a guildmate being dead permanently as well.” I scanned over all the Reborns sitting nearby.
I considered Jeremy, who had Rarri, but it seemed better to let him use his speed to make a run to sell our gems in Thorpes. Ozzy had an obligation to the Fighters Guild, and Aaron would only slow me down.
That left Sung. He was quick, quiet and strategically sound. I could count on him to not make mistakes when it mattered. And… Aaron had told me a while back that he was suspicious of him. I had spent the least amount of time with Sung out of all the guild members, so it would be nice for me to get to know him more and get a better judge of his character—me and him, one on one.
“Sung, do you want to go with me?” I asked.
Sung perked up and looked to the others before focusing back on me. “Um, yeah, sure,” he mumbled. “I can go with you to Barbarosia. Why not?” He didn’t seem as eager as the others, but he was always hard to read.
“Alright, then it’s settled,” I said. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll take Trynzen back to Barbarosia and hopefully, we’ll be back before the end of the day.”
“Not sure when I’ll be back,” Ozzy said, “but if I don’t see you tomorrow, good luck.”
“And I’ll run our gems to Thorpes,” Jeremy said.
“And everyone else, hang tight here in Edgewood,” I said. “We’ll get some gold, rebuild what we’ve lost, and colonize the elves. Times are rough, but we’ve got this.”
Hopefully, I thought.
“Unity!” Jeremy said as he stood up and slapped his hands together. “We’re not going to let this setback hold us down.”
“Unity…” some of the others echoed as they nodded and looked at one another. I could see in their eyes that everyone was tired—tired of being stuck in Edgewood, tired of our ashen surroundings, and the uncertainty of everything. But they were strong, resilient, and putting forth their best effort despite it all.
“One more thing,” I said, drawing everyone’s attention back to me. I reached inside my bag and drew out the sack of joojak I had purchased earlier. “I picked this up while I was out.”
“Oh, hell fuckin’ yeah!” Aaron yelled, jumping out of his seat. “Give me some of that!”
“Oh man…” Jeremy moaned, smiling from ear to ear. “That’s just what I need to relax.”
“You all need it,” I said. I scanned the area and could see our surrounding guards were all in position. “I think we’ve got enough protection to take a night off, right?”
Gerard licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. “I’m glad to be free this time around! I doubt the shop will get any customers tonight, so count me in.”
“Just stay on alert,” I warned. “Last thing we need is to get run over by Scourge while we’re on joojak. You know how it slows us down.”
“I’ll go find us a few leaves,” Aaron said as he nearly tripped over himself running back towards the undamaged portion of the forest.
Suddenly, the whole guild looked a lot more chipper.
Chapter Thirteen
2/18/0001
I strode up to Keysia from behind and placed my hand on her shoulder as everyone was heading to their beds to sleep for the night. “Everything okay?”
Keysia turned to me and eyed my hand. “Yes, of course.”
“You sure? We haven’t had a moment to talk recently.”
“We all just had a great time talking together.”
“I mean you and me alone.”
“What is there to say, Gunnar? I’m thrilled that you’re going to ask the dark elves to stay and join our village. And your plan to return Trynzen makes complete sense, given our situation. I’m sad to see him go, but I understand.”
