The maps were of the cities and surrounding areas occupied by the Noble’s Alliance. The first city would be Northgate. The name was as unoriginal as the people who occupied its territory. The Noble’s Alliance, Shimmer sneered. Houses from multiple races who believed it was nobility that showed one’s worth, not race. As a high elf, Shimmer knew that this was not the case. Shimmer understood that every race, save her own, was full of fatal flaws. There were those who denied that this is the case, but you simply had to look at the fact that the face of Gravin Moon was predominantly ruled by high elves. They didn't control a majority of the moon, but they did control much more than any other single race. She had stacks of documents supporting her ideas. It was, for this reason, she had decided she didn't need to feel guilty about utterly destroying the Noble’s Alliance. She would not enjoy the slaughter, but sometimes the unpalatable was all that was available to eat. If one didn't eat, one would die. She would not allow her kingdom to become a footnote in history. She would fight south, taking all of the Noble’s Alliance and continue into the Kingdom of Dollmar. This would give all of her people room to live, and even grow her population.
One of her generals, Rayfall, looked intently at the defenses arrayed at Northgate. He was one of the queen's most powerful Fire Mages. Despite what many believed, when one was born with the seed of Fire Magic, it didn’t mean they would have red hair, nor a fiery disposition. Rayfall was as plain as high elves go, neither thin nor fat, neither beautiful nor ugly. If he had been born with a different set of magical abilities, he might have become a rogue. But along with his powerful ability with fire, he had a mind for strategy, the ability to see the big picture. Because of his natural talent, he was the first to take in the situation and speak his mind. He brought his pointer finger down, pointing at the city of Northgate.
“Your majesty, permission to speak freely,” Rayfall asked. The queen narrowed her eyes. His request was not unprecedented and she had asked for the council. However, in the presence of their queen, being allowed to drop the formality and speak as if they were talking to an equal was rarely done. The queen nodded for him to continue, but all were aware that, though he had been allowed to speak freely, he would need to walk a careful line, out of fear and respect.
“The city of Northgate is a problem. The Noble’s Alliance has placed half of their military might in that city. The nations to the east and the Kingdom of Dollmar to the south have never represented the threat that our armies have. In some ways, having their army concentrated in Northgate can be an advantage for us. But it will only be an advantage if we don't allow any of their military to retreat,” Rayfall said.
“If we attempt to cut off their retreat, they won't surrender. They will fight to the death. It will increase our casualty rate at least threefold. We will still take the city, but the cost would be so much higher. Why would we willingly sacrifice so many of our people in the first battle? We have always adhered to the rules of war, allowing surrender, retreat, and not torturing prisoners. In this way, our nation has prospered. Why would we change that now?” Shimmer asked.
“This war is different. We are not simply attempting to take some of their territory. We are taking all of it. My queen, this is genocide. Pretending that it is not, will only hurt our people. If we allow the armies of Northgate to retreat, then in the next city or village, they will fight us for every inch. But if we obliterate that army, then the roads of their inner territory are ours. Like rushing flood waters, our military will overtake and consume the vulnerable planes of the Noble’s Alliance. If we move quickly enough, all that will be left of their holdings will be Eastgate and Southgate. Losing so much territory, so quickly, will cause them to start betraying each other, doing our work for us. Yes, taking out the bulk of their army will raise our casualty rate in the short-term, but in the long-term, I believe it is our best option. I'm sure you've thought of this your majesty, but in order to accomplish this, we must arm every citizen that can carry a bow, staff, or sword. Once Northgate is taken, we will leave only citizen-soldiers to hold it. Our professional army must make double time to take the rest of the country. I believe, at that point, we will be better able to decide if taking Dollmar is feasible,” Rayfall said. Before the queen could reply, one of the doors to the throne room opened and a Portal Mage ran in, bumping into Rayfall. The Portal Mage dressed in green-brown camouflage, did not speak, but quickly bowed before the queen, silently holding out a black cylinder with a yellow-red pattern embroidered on it. The queen's eyes widened. The pattern indicated that the message contained inside was of the highest priority. Only the queen's most highly placed spies were authorized to send messages with such a pattern embroidered on it. The queen took the cylinder and dismissed the Portal Mage who quickly left, closing the door behind him. What none of the generals, nor the queen, had been able to see was the blue letters floating above the Portal Mage’s head.
NPC, Winblew
Elven Mage
The queen began to run her hand over the cylinder, whispering words of power.
“Your majesty, I recognize that pattern, would you like us to leave?” Rayfall asked. The queen did not answer him, but finished her confirmation spells that the message had not been tampered with or viewed. Twisting her hands, she concentrated on the contents of the cylinder. It contained truth, or at least what the sender believed to be truth. Before she tore it open, she said a few more words of power in order to confirm that the room was once again secured after the Portal Mage’s exit.
“The biggest secret in our kingdom has already been revealed to you four. This message is from my highest-placed spy in the Kingdom of Dollmar. Whatever the message is, my four highest generals will need to know, if only to have a better understanding of the politics involved in the Kingdom of Dollmar,” Shimmer said, then upended the cylinder. A small crystal fell into her open palm.
The queen took the purple crystal and set it on the center of the table, and then carefully began to feed it mana. At first, the crystal only glowed slightly, but as the light intensified, a small figure began to appear above the crystal. It was a gray-haired human woman. Shimmer knew this woman, but her generals did not.
“This woman's name is Cecilia. She is a powerful Truth Mage that has made her way all the way up to the King of Dollmar’s Small Council. Her family has been in our debt for generations. They have been a wonderful source of information on everything from troop movements of their kingdom to incredibly juicy gossip. They have never sent a message with this high of a priority level. I'm excited to see what it might be. Let's watch it together,” Shimmer said.
The small hologram-like figure of Cecilia began to speak.
“Your majesty, Queen Shimmer of the Third Elven Kingdom, my family has been in debt to you for longer than I care to say. In this magical world, debts must be paid. If there was any other way to cancel this debt, I would take it. My only solace is that this message is important enough and dire enough to fully settle our account,” Cecilia began.
“It must be some news, if she believes that to be true. I wish the gray-haired old bag would get on with it,” the queen murmured.
“A being of power, calling itself Rook, came to our Small Council to pay a debt,” Cecilia continued. Rayfall stiffened at the sound of the name. The queen noticed his reaction and made a note to ask him about it later.
“Rook laid twenty-five pounds of mithril on the table to pay part of the debt,” Cecilia stated and then paused, understanding in advance that her audience would need a moment to process this. The generals and the queen were not happy that such a quantity of mithril had fallen into the King of Dollmar’s hands. More than one sword could be made out of such a quantity of mithril, and there was no finer material for weapons.
“This did not cancel the debt between the king and Rook, so Rook asked that the information he was going to give be verified. Under the king’s direction, I did so. He truly believed all the information that he gave us. Here are the words that he spoke verb
atim: ‘The Third Elven Kingdom goes to war. The whole of their armies will be heading southeast. They will break through the city of Northgate and overtime completely purge the Noble’s Alliance of its current citizens. Its lakes will be taken and its people will be made refugees or corpses. Your current strength is not quite enough to stop the elves from over-running your kingdom, but if you immediately recall your armies in the east and your mercenaries in the north, your kingdom will withstand the elves. My debt is paid.’
“Your majesty,” Cecilia continued, “I do not know what the source of its knowledge was, but I could hear the truthfulness in its words. I wish that just relaying this information would be enough to cancel the debt between my family and yours, but I know that it is not. However, this next bit of news is enough. Rook went on to explain that the refugees fleeing your armies could overwhelm and weaken our defenses. This being of power offered a solution. In exchange for one third of the mithril that it had just given to the king, it would perpetrate a deception. The scale of this deception seemed utterly impossible to me, but once again, Rook allowed me to confirm the truth of his words. He would cause those in the Noble’s Alliance and any who went into the Wild Mountains, to believe there was a new Grand Place of Power there. Not only would they believe this Grand Place of Power existed, but they would believe that the land around it would be a sanctuary for them. A place of safety for all. It painted a disgusting picture of the cold mountains, filling up with deceived frozen corpses, never to decompose. The energy being said the deception would be so strong that all would believe it. The redirection of the masses would keep Dollmar safe. The being said that the only way for the deception to be removed would be if a large army invaded the Wild Mountains. In such a case, with the forces we have, we would be able to protect ourselves from that army. Either way, we would be able to defend ourselves. Needless to say, our king paid the mithril. So, I have no doubt you will soon be receiving reports that there is a new place of power in the Wild Mountains. The information I have just given you pays my family's debt in full,” Cecilia said with cold steel in her tone. The queen felt the truth in Cecilia's words, and she felt the magical debt between them disappear. Her highest-placed spy in the Kingdom of Dollmar was no longer hers. She felt fury begin to rise inside, but before she could speak, Cecilia began again.
“This next bit of information is free. When you bring your army southeast, stop with the Noble’s Alliance. If you haven't filled your belly by then, then you're going to go hungry. The Kingdom of Dollmar will be more than prepared to throw back your armies. As a Truth Mage, I have long known the placement of your other spies in my kingdom, and by the time this message has reached you, I will have already removed them and any proof that I was your spy. We will spare no expense in preparing for war, if you choose to test us, you will find we are made of a higher grade steel then you are prepared for. When your armies arrive, we will greet them with as much force as is required. This is the last communication you will receive from me,” said Cecilia, then the crystal shattered, destroying the evidence of her duplicity.
In a fury, the queen brought her hand high and slammed it down on the innately carved wooden table. Though the table was heavy and a full foot thick, the strength of the queen and her fury broke the table in half, scattering the maps that were on top of it.
“That insolent wench! How in the name of the Sacred Grove did that being of power know that we were going to attack south!? There were only two in this kingdom that could have told it and they are beyond suspicion,” Shimmer screamed. Every general in the room breathed a sigh of relief, as they realized they hadn't known about the attack until they had come into this room. The queen would not be blaming them. But the queen turned her eyes toward Rayfall.
“What do you know of this being of power who calls itself, Rook? Continue to speak freely,” the queen commanded, putting a dangerous emphasis on the word freely. The maps that had been thrown in the air by the force of her blow had, just at that moment, hit the ground and stilled.
“Your majesty, it is merely a family legend, I can't be sure it is the same individual, or relevant, but I will tell you all that I know. Many generations back, before the Emperor had formed his empire, one of my ancestors did a service for a god of contention, calling itself Rook. At first, my ancestor believed this service to be a small act. He was simply asked to give a public insult. This was something he had done regularly, so he didn't feel the being was asking for much. The next time he was at court, he let it slip that he had heard one of the earl's daughters was not actually his daughter. Quickly adding that he was sure it was just unfounded salacious gossip, my ancestor, not the wisest man, hadn't realized that the earl had just walked in. The room quieted, but the earl didn't respond. In fact, he just turned and left the room. The next day, it was discovered that the earl had strangled his wife and all of his daughters. The date of that day was 111 14 5030, ZE. As you know, that was the last day of that age. The next day was the beginning of the Civil War that eventually spread throughout the whole elven realm. The chaos of that time was only brought down by the strong hand of the first Illuminati Elven Emperor,” Rayfall finished. Though he wished to hide his face, having just revealed his family's ancient shame, he held his head high.
“If these beings are one and the same, then I would not be surprised if it was able to pull off its deception. I'm not going to waste an army in the Wild Mountains. However, maybe we can use this deception to help accomplish our own goals. If the Noble’s Alliance believes that it can leave its own domain and find a Grand Place of Power, we may not have to fight all of them to gain their territory,” the queen said, tilting her head, almost lost in thought.
Suddenly, Rayfall put his hand to his head and began to look around frantically, “My queen, something is happening. I don't know what! I don't know if it is an attack or if I'm simply going crazy,” Rayfall began.
The queen cut him off. She had her hand to her head also. “Be quiet! I see it. You have blue letters above your head saying that you're a player. I cannot sense where this magic is coming from, but it does not feel dangerous. I have received a message that I am a Major NPC and, as such, have limited access to a HUD. I don't understand what is happening, but I will!” said the queen, tightening both of her fists in determination.
Chapter 22 - Dirty Blood
The Wild Mountains.
The top floor of the Champion’s castle.
Day twelve, in the afternoon.
When Joe got to his place of power, he was surprised the top floor was completely empty. Jumping on top of the mithril-covered altar, his mana began to rise, and he quickly started buffing. As a journeyman in Life Magic, he now had access to a more powerful regeneration spell. Bork and Grork had been helpful the last time he fought the vampires. It would make sense to talk to them before he went out to face five of them at once. Considering his fallout with Spooky, Joe wasn't sure this would work, but he decided to give it a try anyway.
“Calling all goblins, calling all goblins. In an orderly manner, please make your way to the top floor of this castle,” Joe said in a loud voice and then waited. The room was silent, but in almost no time, he heard the goblins running up the stairs. Bork didn't stop running when he saw Joe, but only increased his speed. When the goblin came to the altar, he tried to quickly pull himself up on it, but unfortunately did not take into account how slippery the mirror-surfaced mithril could be. His hands tried to gain purchase of the shiny box, but he just fell back on his rump, lying down on the ground before the altar.
Joe held in his chuckle and jumped down to where the goblin had fallen. Joe reached his hand down and helped his friend up. Bork took the hand and used it to pull himself into an embrace. He hugged Joe and Joe, not quite sure what to do, gave him the manly three-pat hug. Not understanding that Joe was attempting to communicate he didn’t know Bork well enough for a prolonged hug, Bork lingered.
“Bork, it's good to see you, but let go, buddy,” Joe said, and the g
oblin quickly let go, backing away.
“Sorry. You were dead, I didn't know if you would return,” Bork said.
“As you can see, I'm good to go. Also, congrats on becoming players, I like the new translation that the UI is giving me,” Joe remarked.
“We like it too. Before, even though you spoke goblin, you used too many words. It sounded like you thought yourself too important. We like this much better,” Bork said, and Grork, who had just walked up, nodded his agreement.
“Good to see you, Grork. Unfortunately, I don't have much time for pleasantries right now. There's a group of vampires approaching the castle. I'm going to go out and meet them and free the slaves that they have with them. I'd like any advice you have before I go out,” Joe said.
“To kill a vampire, you need to pierce its heart. Unfortunately, their bodies are extremely tough. Our holy book gives us a formula for defeating vampires. First, you must weaken their fangs, and then remove them. When a vampire's fangs are removed, much of their power dissipates, leaving their heart vulnerable. However, you should never let a fangless vampire escape, because, over time, the fangs will re-grow. Here's some vials of acid to weaken the fangs with,” Bork explained as he reached into his pouch and handed them the vials, “The Blood Mist will incapacitate them, and I will have to make it on-site during the battle.” He straightened his uniform and pulled up his cold weather hood.
Joe wasn't sure about taking them, but they were players, so it made sense to use the resources available to him. Sitting back on his place of power, Joe began to buff the goblins with every spell that might be useful. Before he could finish applying all the buffs, four yetis all dressed in identical black military fatigues, came up the larger-sized stairs. Joe turned his attention to the newly arrived yetis. Joe was surprised to see that all four of them were players.
But Death is Not Forbidden Page 30