Sky Realms Online- Grayhold

by Troy Osgood

  “Two rooms,” Hall answered. “Meals for three.”

  “We’re pretty busy today,” she replied, nodding toward the crowded room. “Only got one room but it’s got four beds. 1 silver a night, food is 5 copper.”

  “That’ll work,” Hall said and pulled the coins out of his pouch, placing them on the counter. “Just for the night, meal now and again at dinner.”

  The coins swiftly disappeared into the bartender’s apron. She walked to the far end, reaching down below the counter, and returned with a small brass key.

  “Room Two, first door on the right. There’s no tables so I’ll have the food brought here. Three?”

  “Yes, thank you. Two ales as well.” Hall thought about ordering a third for Leigh but wasn’t sure what her drink of choice was. He looked down at Roxhard, who had pulled a stool over and was working to get on it. The kid was only a teen but Hall didn’t feel weird getting the Dwarf a drink. Most likely, he had drunk the game’s drinks as often as possible, and the rules and laws were different here anyway. Probably no law about a couple-hundred-year-old Dwarf that was really only fourteen not allowed to have a drink.

  “Thanks,” Roxhard said when the bartender set two pewter pints down in front of them. Foam spilled over the edge and down the sides. He took a deep swig of the ale. “Good stuff.”

  Hall agreed as he drank his. He’d never bothered with the alcoholic drinks in the game. He enjoyed his beers, a fan of small brew craft, but it had seemed silly while playing the game to drink in the game. But now? Why not.

  And the ale was good. Patterned after a German style, which were his favorites.

  A few minutes later, Leigh pushed up against the bar, nudging Hall to the side to make room. Once he shifted, she didn’t move away. He could feel her against his side.

  “They only had one room,” Hall told her. “Four beds.”

  “That’s fine,” she said, still not moving away from touching him.

  She ordered an ale.

  The meal for lunch consisted of chunks of cheese, a thin slice of meat and some bread. They all ate it quickly, each having another drink.

  Hall had asked for directions to find Watchman Kelly. The bartender had told him that Kelly would be found in the barracks at this time of day, working in the office. It was a short walk from the Inn to the guard barracks. Leigh had stayed behind to check in on Angus. She said she’d meet them for dinner later or see them in the room.

  The barracks door was open, leading to a small lobby. An open door on the right led to the office, a closed door on the left to a storeroom. A stair next to the office led to the second floor. Ahead of them was an open arch that led to a long room with rows of beds spaced apart evenly. Stone fireplaces lined the wall at intervals, and large trunks were at the end of each bed.

  Stepping inside, Hall and Roxhard turned to the office. Inside the small space – just large enough for a desk and two chairs in front of it, a cast iron stove in the corner – sat a guard. She was bent over, using a quill to write on a piece of parchment. Long black hair held in a ponytail. Leather armor with a tabard bearing Essec’s symbol.

  “Excuse me,” Hall said, and she looked up. A face that could have been pretty if it hadn’t been scowling with jet black eyes. She looked annoyed at being interrupted. “We’re looking for Watchman Kelly?”

  “You’re looking at her. Who are you and why are you here?”

  Not what he had been expecting, Hall quickly recovered.

  “Guard Captain Henry in Grayhold asked us to deliver some Letters.”

  He reached into his pouch, pulling the Letters out and handing them over to Kelly’s outstretched hand. She took the letters and set them on the desk, still looking at Hall.

  “Anything else?”

  QUEST COMPLETE!

  You have delivered Guard Captain Henry’s letters to Watchman Kelly.

  SPECIAL DELIVERY

  Reward: +100 Essec Reputation, +100 Alliance with Guard Captain Henry, +25 Experience

  “No,” Hall said and turned to go.

  “Wait,” Kelly said as she untied the string that held the letters together. She quickly read through them, a couple of times. Setting the letters down, she leaned back and looked at Hall and Roxhard. She studied them for a long time. Hall started to feel uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

  “You didn’t read them,” she asked, finally pointing at the letters.

  By her tone of voice and intense stare, Hall knew there was only one acceptable answer. He hadn’t read them, hadn’t even thought to, so he was comfortable answering.

  “Of course not,” he replied with just a trace of annoyance that she would bother asking.

  Kelly studied the two of them again, fingers of one hand tapping on the desk. She sat forward quickly, finally coming to a decision.

  “Henry apparently trusts you,” she said. “Not sure why, but you’ll need to prove yourself to me if you want in on this,” she added, tapping the letters.

  In on what? Hall wondered but didn’t ask. He had suspected there was more to the letters from Henry than everyday guard notices. Now, Hall knew his suspicions were correct. He just wasn’t sure what was going on. There was only one way to find out.

  “Prove ourselves how?”

  Kelly sighed, looking like she wasn’t that thrilled with the idea and had been hoping they’d leave.

  “Give me your map,” she said, holding out her hand. This was a woman not used to being kept waiting, used to people anticipating what she would want.

  Hall did so, pulling it out of his pouch and handing it over. Kelly spread it out on the desk. She pointed to an area an hour or so east of River’s Side.

  “There’s a small gang of smugglers camped just past the river,” she explained. “They need to be,” she paused and looked up at Hall with her intense stare, “removed. The gang’s leader has a ledger book. I want that.”

  HELPING KELLY

  Watchman Kelly at River’s Side wants a gang of smugglers removed. The leader has a ledger book that she requires.

  Smugglers 0/8

  Smuggler Chief 0/1

  Recovered Ledger 0/1

  Reward: +200 Alliance with Guard Captain Henry, +500 Alliance with Watchman Kelly,

  +50 Experience

  ACCEPT QUEST?

  Hall quickly accepted the quest under Kelly’s intent and impatient stare. She looked down at Roxhard, back at Hall, and nodded. He was surprised that the quest reward was Alliance points with her as well as Henry. That was not how the old system had worked. Were all of his actions now giving or removing Alliance with the various people he met? Did each have their own reputation and how would that ultimately affect him and their interactions?

  Kelly was still staring at them, waiting.

  Without a word they left the barracks.

  “Eight plus the leader is not a small gang,” Roxhard muttered once out of Kelly’s hearing.

  “I’m wondering why she needed us to eliminate them and not the guards,” Hall said, looking at the guards patrolling the walls.

  They had seen a large number at River’s Side. It was an outpost in the middle of a wild forest with the ogre territories to the east. Having a lot of guards was a necessity but surely some of them could have been spared to take out the smugglers.

  ‘Get in on this,’ she had said.

  Hall was beginning to have an idea of what Henry and Kelly were involved in. He wasn’t sure it was something they should get mixed up in, but it was too late it seemed. They were already committed.

  “Let’s get Leigh,” he said. “We’ll need her help.”

  “Why did I let you talk me into this?” Leigh asked as they crossed the bridge over the raging Green Flow. “I could be at the bar with ale in hand, or even better, taking a nap in a nice comfy bed.”

  Hall laughed.

  “You don’t sound much like a Druid,” he chuckled. “Aren’t you supposed to like being outside?”

  She shrugged.

  “I
do,” she admitted. “But what’s wrong with wanting a nice bed and cold ale now and then?”

  “Not a thing,” he said with another chuckle.

  No one had questioned why they were heading across the bridge, no shouts from the watchtower above. The path was overgrown, not well maintained, indicating that it was not well used. As long as the ogres and other creatures in this part of the forest kept to themselves, there was no need for the Essec guards to cross the river. No villages or anything else in this section of the Green Flow Forest, so no reason for anyone to cross the river.

  But they were.

  Pike soared through the trees above, and Angus trotted along behind them. His hooves made a clopping noise on the wood of the bridge. Roxhard walked next to the cow, Hall and Leigh in the front, side by side.

  The trees were cleared for twenty feet or so past the edge of the river. Grass and flowers, signs of stumps now overgrown. At one time the trees had been cleared to provide clear space between the tree line and river. Well within bow shot, Hall figured looking over his shoulder at the watchtower. But now, they were letting it start to grow back.

  Once they entered the forest, they slowed and went on guard. Instead of side by side, they went single file and some space between. The area Kelly had indicated was an hour’s walk from the bridge, but they had to assume the smugglers would post watch.

  Hall took the lead with Roxhard behind. Leigh and Angus were in the rear. A standard party alignment. The scout or puller, tank next, and healing in the rear.

  Classes in Sky Realms were set up to fill roles in the party. Each could adventure, and more importantly, survive solo, but they excelled as part of a team. The three main classes – Warden, Shaman, and Druid – were the tank, magical and ranged damage, and healing parts of a party. After that was the support classes – Skirmisher, Duelist, Skald, and Witch, the same name for both male and female characters. Each support class would bring additional damage, or buffing and debuffing, into the mix. Together, any mix of the main three and two support classes, one damage and one buffing, would create a well-rounded party that could handle any of the dungeons or castle raids in the game. Of course, there were the min/maxers that had the ‘perfect’ builds and party mixes, which there was some truth to, but overall, any combination would work.

  Hall wondered if the same rules applied. Currently they without a true tank, magic damage, and a buffer/debuffing class.

  Each class had a set of abilities that defined that class. From there, the player could tailor the skills to build their character as they wanted. A Warden could be a thief or swashbuckler, knight or assassin, even an archer; but they would still always be somewhat of a tank, designed to take hits and give them.

  The forest was made up of oaks, maples, and birches with a scattering of pines. This part of the forest was less dense, more space between the trees and gaps in the leafy canopy that let in the sun. It was a pleasant stretch of woods, but Hall knew how dangerous it really was.

  As they got deeper into the woods, closer to the smuggler’s camp, Hall’s Tracking ability started giving him gains. He saw animal tracks, but now noticed boot prints. Not recent, heading the way they were going. Checking his map periodically to make sure they were still on course was giving him Cartography gains as well.

  He glanced up at the sun, trying to see how far through the sky it had progressed since the start of the quest. He couldn’t tell, and without it, there was no way to keep time. Hall started to check the map more often, using that as a guide for their progress.

  The boot tracks started to multiple, a couple different sets, moving back and forth. Fresher.

  They were getting close.

  Hall stopped and glanced into the sky, looking for Pike. The dragonhawk circled over them a couple of times and then headed north, the direction they had been heading. He flew low, eyes scanning the trees. The sharp eyes found the camp. Erected alongside a small brook, a couple of tents could barely be seen through the treetops.

  Moving slower, even Angus the cow being mindful to not step on any loose branches, they closed the last couple hundred feet. Hall brought them more to the east, wanting to approach the camp from that side, which he hoped would be the most unexpected side for the smugglers. They would think anyone coming from River’s Side would come from the south or west.

  Hall debated scouting ahead, getting an idea of how the camp was arranged and where the smugglers were. The tactic had worked good against the Goblins. He really wanted to have Pike do a fly over but the trees were too dense. The dragonhawk was on a low branch nearby, waiting to fly into the camp. Instead, Hall opted for a straight-ahead approach.

  Through a gap in the trees, Hall could see the camp. The brook was behind the tents, five of them scattered in a small clearing surrounded by trees. Made from hides, the tents were held up by wooden poles, openings in the front and back. The remains of a fire sat in the middle of the rough circle of tents. A pile of crates and bags were between two of the tents.

  Three smugglers sat on logs around the ashes, talking and polishing weapons. Each wore leather armor and carried various weapons, swords and an axe. A fourth smuggler was down by the brook. All four were Human and male. Of the leader and the other four, there was no sign.

  They had not seen any sign of the other smugglers, which would mean they were not in the camp and would return at any time. They had gotten lucky that all nine were not there. But they had to deal with the four quickly.

  Hall glanced up at where Pike was nestled in the trees. With a thought, he gave the dragonhawk the command. Pike screeched and chirped, a sequence that was loud through the quiet woods.

  The signal.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The smugglers looked into the woods and then back to what they were doing. Bird calls, even one like Pike had done, were common in the forest.

  They weren’t ready for what came next.

  Roxhard charged out of the woods. Short and compact, strong as stone, the Dwarf was a speeding battering ram. He had chosen his path well, coming in from the north and into the back of the startled smugglers. Axe leading, Roxhard slammed into one of the seated smugglers. The man yelled out, twisting awkwardly and falling with the Dwarf on top of him.

  The others jumped up, weapons in hand. The one down by the river stood, looking on in confusion. A javelin caught a smuggler in the shoulder, a glancing blow, the shaft sliding by and cutting into a tent. The man staggered, twisting in pain. The last of the smugglers around the ashes tried to move but could not. Grass and roots twisted around his ankles

  Caught, unable to move, the smuggler sliced down with his sword trying to cut the vines. He shifted his feet, trying to dislodge them. He never heard the strange noise coming his way. Angus crashed through the trees, the small cow's hooves churning up dirt. Mooing, the shaggy cow slammed into the smuggler. One horn pierced the smuggler’s armor, the cow’s weight pushing the man off-balance. He fell.

  Hall burst from the trees, his target the one he had missed with the javelin. Bleeding from his shoulder, holding that arm awkwardly, the smuggler turned to face the running Skirmisher. Hall leveled his spear, knowing it gave him the reach over the smuggler. Only feet away, he stumbled, staggered as something pushed back against him.

  He felt the pain in his shoulder, looking to see an arrow shaft sticking out, blood leaking out of the hole in his armor. He stopped, his momentum gone. The smuggler smiled, moving forward and stepping to the side. Beyond, Hall saw the last smuggler down by the brook armed with a bow. The man was reaching for another arrow.

  Pike screeched down, darting past the smuggler, distracting him.

  With a grunt of pain, Hall jumped into the air. He leaped over the head of the nearest smuggler, landing ten feet from where he started. Still too far from the archer. He leaped again, watching his Energy bar all but disappear. He landed about five feet in front of the startled archer and jabbed out with his spear.

  The weapon’s tip slammed into the archer�
��s stomach, not enough force to pierce the armor but it made the smuggler drop the bow. Hall pressed his advantage, stepping forward. He pulled the spear back, reversing his grip with his left hand. Swinging the butt end of the spear in an arc, he caught the smuggler in the shoulder.

  Dropping the spear, he drew his short sword. As it pulled from the scabbard, he sliced it across the smuggler’s chest. The sharp edge sliced through the leather, drawing blood. The smuggler punched forward trying to hit Hall’s bleeding shoulder. Hall twisted to the side, rotating around the surprised smuggler.

  Skirmishers counted on their high agility for their leaps and jumps, but it also aided them in close quarter fighting along with the Evade Ability, making them hard to hit. They were deadly with their spears, but almost equally so with swords in close. Where Wardens most often relied on brute strength or technical skill with their weapons, and Duelists used their dual-wielding and speed to block and attack constantly, Skirmishers were all about speed on offense, darting in and out to attack.

  Hall’s boots splashed in the water's edge as he turned. His back was to the smuggler’s back, and then he completed the turn, facing the smuggler but on the man’s other side. Hall stabbed out with his sword, using the twists momentum and positioning. The weapon, in Hall’s right hand, was now flying straight into the smuggler’s chest. The man grunted in pain, body arching as the weapon pierced armor and flesh. Hall kicked out, and the smuggler fell back into the water with a splash, red blood flowing down the brook. He didn’t get up.

  Hearing boots against the ground, Hall turned, raising his sword. He barely got it up in time, deflecting the blow that would have cut him in half. The blade sliced along his arm, drawing blood and making him growl in pain. The smuggler he had grazed with the javelin pulled his sword back to swing again.

  Stuck at an awkward angle, Hall could do nothing but block the smugglers attacks. He needed breathing room.