“I’m sorry if anyone was harmed,” I said with a bow.
“Oh no, the females were quite willing,” said the queen. “Though they must have been under some kind of spell.”
“A spell like the one you have tried to cast on our queen,” said Malleus, taking a defensive step in front of Lyra.
“I’m not the one who promised an alliance and lied,” I reminded him.
“I told you that the punishment for trespassing in the Great Wood was death,” said the queen, and the elves standing around me all moved in a bit closer. “I sent you on the fool’s quest against the Harbinger, thinking that he would easily carry out my sentence. But alas, you were victorious.”
“It must be the will of the gods,” I suggested.
“You sire demons,” Malleus spat. “The gods have no love for you.
“Does your dog always interrupt your conversations?” I asked the queen.
She smirked, but Malleus didn’t think that it was very funny.
“You have insulted me for the last time,” he said, drawing a long silver sword from its sheath.
I looked to the queen, but she, like the rest of them, seemed interested in seeing the fight.
“You don’t want to dance with me,” I warned Malleus.
He let out a war cry and swung for the cheap seats, bringing the sword up in an arc meant to cleave my chin in two. The elf was insanely fast, but I managed to jerk my head back in time to save my life. Rather than splitting my head in two, the sword grazed my chin, leaving hot pain in its wake. I spun away from the attack, knowing the follow-up attack would be coming, and summoned my fire shield. Malleus leapt into the air and came down hard with his sword, but my Fire Shield stopped the blow dead with a shower of sparks. I pushed off with all my might, and Malleus staggered backward, then I quickly summoned a Magic Bolt. The crackling spell hit him in the chest and took him off his feet. His back broke through the rail and he disappeared over the side.
I turned a circle, my eyes daring the elves to try something.
But it seemed that Malleus wasn’t finished yet. He suddenly came sailing over the balcony like a stunt double from a ninja movie and landed in a crouch ten feet in front of me. His chest was smoking, but his grin told me that he was just getting warmed up.
“Call off your dog!” I told the queen.
Malleus glanced at her, and I waited for her reply, ready to conjure another spell if need be.
“As I said,” the queen explained. “The punishment for trespassing in the Great Wood is death.”
That was all that Malleus needed to hear, and a heartbeat later, a spell was streaking for my head. I deflected it with my Fire Shield and quickly cast Hell Fire, but rather than go up in flames, Malleus caught the spell and flung it back at me. I deflected his attack and cast another spell, one that he wouldn’t be able to send back at me. Meteors rained down from above, and the gathered elves all screamed and frantically tried to avoid the explosions. Malleus ignored the fireballs slamming into the floor and unleashed a spell of his own. I leapt to the side and came up with Arcane Lightning crackling in my right hand, then I thrust it out toward the overzealous elf. The lightning surrounded him, and he froze, jerking and shaking as the electricity coursed through him. I took advantage of the chaotic moment and rushed toward the queen, who brought up a defensive barrier that shimmered and sparkled with magical energy. But she hadn’t been my target, instead, I grabbed the Everstone, sent it to my inventory, and then leapt over the balcony rail.
I fell about fifteen feet and landed on one of the staircases winding around the tree. Elven guards were racing up the stairs, and when they saw me, they all thrust long spears. I deflected the attacks with my shield and summoned my griffin, then I cast Scorched Earth as my mount grabbed me by the shoulders and lifted me into the air.
“Fly like the wind!” I told the griffin, and he answered with an enthusiastic squawk.
The elves weren’t going to let me go so easily. Already I could see them taking to the sky on translucent, magical wings. Enchanted arrows zipped through the sky, but the griffin dodged them all and flew higher. I covered our tail with Fire Storm, which forced the elves to fly around the area of the meteor shower. It slowed them down enough for us to make our escape, and I breathed a sigh of relief when they became specks in the sky behind me.
When I reached Haven shortly after sunrise, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the tower had been completely repaired, and the emerald energy dome the Queen Lyra had given me was activated.
I landed in front of the tower and my guild mates rushed out to meet me with wide smiles and hopeful expressions on their faces. But when they saw me, they must have seen something in my face that told them everything hadn’t gone as planned.
“Did you make a deal with the elves?” Trinity was the first to ask.
I dismounted and shook my head. “Nope, apparently she was just fucking with us. She sent us to kill the Harbinger as a joke.”
“A joke?” said Anna.
“Yup. She thought we would be killed by the demigod. When I returned with the Everstone, she was pretty surprised to see me.”
I told them everything else that had happened and retrieved the Everstone from my interface.
“Well,” said Kit, “At least we’ve got the Everstone…what does it do?”
“I have no idea,” I said, glancing at Cecilia.
She was already searching for lore on the stone and shaking her head. “It’s like before,” she said with growing frustration. “There’s nothing about it in any of the lore books.”
“Maybe Miramar knows something about it,” I suggested and summoned the wizard.
He appeared when I called his name and inspected the Everstone with great interest.
“It is a magnificent stone,” he said as he marveled. “I believe that I can add this to the tower…yes. If I reverse the polarity and change the frequency of the magical resonance, perhaps then it will harmonize with the tower’s negative magical aspect ratio, and—”
“Please,” I said, “Layman’s terms.”
“This stone holds great power, and I believe that I can harness it,” said Miramar.
“Excellent. Let me know as soon as that happens.”
“Of course, my liege. Ladies.” Miramar bowed before us all and disappeared.
“That crazy elf bitch is going to be coming for the stone,” said Tweak.
“Yeah, I know,” I said, glancing at the horizon and half expecting the winged elves to appear at any moment.
“Great,” said Trinity. “Now, not only do we have the barbarians and a bunch of butt hurt guilds gunning for us, but the elves of the Great Wood as well.”
“What are we going to do?” Stormy asked.
“Get our asses handed to us by the sound of it,” said Zoe.
“Never doubt Big Daddy,” said Kit. “When you think he’s dead, he’s alive, and when you think he’s done, he’s just getting started. You know what we’re going to do? We’re going to do what we’ve always done.”
“Screw our way to the top,” said Nanaya with a sly grin.
“No,” said Kit. “We’re going to fight like hell. We’re going to find an angle, an edge. We’re going to win!”
“I like your enthusiasm,” I told Kit. “But it’s easier said than done.”
“You guys are funny,” said Nanaya. “Need I remind you that you have an army of powerful demon children? Seems pretty simple to me.”
“I’m not having this conversation,” I told her. “The five that escaped to the surface world are already wreaking havoc. They’re screwing elven women and leveling their asses off. You know that I can’t control them.”
“Bullshit,” said Nanaya. “You’ve just got to be more assertive.”
I shook my head. “Anyone else have any ideas?”
“Well, we did lose a bunch of levels in that attack,” said Trinity. “I say we hit the sack. You look tired as hell Sam, and we could all use a leveling
.”
“Is that what you freaks call it?” Tweak asked with a laugh.
“Maybe you’re right,” I admitted. I was tired. Tired as hell to be exact, and the prospect of getting in a few hours and waking up fresh sounded like a hell of an idea. Leveling sounded even better.
The ladies and I retired to our bedroom in the newly rebuilt tower, and we made love on the plush carpet in front of the fireplace. The love making wasn’t as vigorous as usual, but rather tender and slow. We had all been through a hell of a battle, and the closeness that we felt together did us all a world of good.
Congratulations!
You have reached level 66
Fire Spirit returned to interface
As the notification flashed on my interface, I smiled and nodded off to sleep. But as pleasant as the lovemaking session was, the nightmares that followed me into sleep were equally as bad.
I dreamt that I was a jester in the elven queen’s court. My guild mates, on the other hand, had become the sexual playthings of the barbarians. No monsters haunted my dreams, no demons plagued me. Instead, my hell was created out of my helplessness; a feeling that I had known all too well after the accident that had left me paralyzed.
I woke up a few hours later in a cold sweat, with Kit shaking me gently.
“It was just a dream, Big Daddy,” she said with a sympathetic smile.
I rose weakly, and the memory of all my problems came crashing back to my mind. But in a moment of clarity, I realized what I had to do.
“I’ve got a plan,” I said aloud. More to myself than anyone else.
The women were all roused by my words, and they looked to me expectantly.
“We’re going to call a meeting with the leaders of Ozara…all of them.”
Chapter 14
“Miramar, I have another job for you,” I said as I emerged from the tower and joined him on the roof. The wizard lifted a finger that told me he needed a minute, and continued casting his incantation on the Everstone, which was now housed in the middle of the tower’s flat top.
“Now for the moment of truth,” he said as he backed away from the stone. He then rubbed his hands together, raised them to the sky, and bellowed, “Akren thall, diora fen terro mar!”
The Everstone suddenly burst with brilliant blue light, and I felt the hum of the tower in my feet. Then a notification appeared on my interface.
Congratulations!
The Tower of Samson has Merged with the Everstone!
+ 2,000,000 Defense to Samson Tower
+ 4,000,000 Power to Samson Tower
+ 20% Attribute boost to all inhabitants of Haven (While in Haven)
+ 100,000 Gold
Knights of the Everstone Acquired (Tap for more details)
“Holy shit, Miramar, this is great,” I said and eagerly tapped on the Knights of the Everstone.
The Knights of the Everstone is an ancient order. They are the spirits of Elven Knights who are soul bound to the Everstone and its owner. These spirits can take form on command and will fight for the bearer of the stone.
To summon, simply call upon the Knights of the Everstone
“What’s it say?” Kit asked eagerly. The rest of my guild mates were waiting to hear as well. I tapped on the notifications and sent them to my friends, and as they marveled, I grinned at Miramar.
“You’ve done a hell of a job,” I told him.
“Thank you, Sire,” he said with a deep nod of his bald head.
“What are you waiting for?” Trinity asked excitedly. “Summon the Knights.”
“Come on!” I said eagerly and raced down the stairs, through the tower, and out onto the promenade.
My guild mates stood by me as I turned to the tower and raised my arms skyward.
“Knights of the Everstone!” I bellowed. “Come to me!”
I glanced around expectantly, but nothing happened for many tense seconds. Then Kit suddenly cried out in surprise. I whirled around to see what the matter was, and that’s when I saw hundreds of ghosts flying out of the tower.
“Holy shit,” said Stormy as she beheld the beautiful elven spirits.
They numbered 227 in all, and they spread out before me, reaching all the way to the mote that had just been installed. One of them, the most decorated in his matte black and red armor, bowed before me.
“What is your bidding, my master?” he asked stoically.
“What is your name, Knight?” I asked.
“Heximus.”
“Cool name. I want you and your knights to help fortify the tower. Can you do that?”
“Of course, master.” He bowed before me, and the spirit army at his back followed suit. Then they flew back toward the tower.”
“Miramar!” I yelled.
“Right behind you, Sire.”
I jumped. “Jesus, man, can’t you appear in front of me for once?”
“I will try, Sire.”
“Alright, listen, I want you to spread the word to the citizens not to be afraid of the Knights. It looks like they rock ghost form most of the time, and that might freak some people out.”
“Of course, Sire. Is there anything else?”
“Yes,” I said. “I want you to send an invitation to the King of the Dwarves, The Queen of the Elves of the Great Wood, and the Barbarians who just attacked us.”
“An invitation Sire?”
I nodded. “Yes. Tomorrow morning on neutral ground.”
“Might I suggest the Enchanted Glade twenty miles due east of here,” said Miramar. “It is a magical place where no harm can come to anyone who inhabits it.”
“Seriously?” said Trinity. “Why the hell didn’t you tell us about this place sooner, like when we were under attack?”
“I am sorry, my Lady. King Samson instructed me to bring the civilians to Aeorock, and I am not inclined to argue with—”
“If you know a better way, then argue with me if you must,” I told the wizard.
“As you wish, my lord. When asked, what shall I tell our guests the purpose of this meeting is?”
“Tell them that I wish to speak with them about a matter of grave importance. Tell them that the wellbeing of their children is at stake. That should get their attention.”
Miramar bowed and disappeared, and I wondered if the elves, dwarves, and barbarians would even answer my invite. I needed everyone to show up, or at least the elves and dwarves. The barbarians would most likely tell me to fuck off anyway.
“I see the Everstone is working,” said Frisco. Some of his guild mates were with him, but most of them were helping with the fortifications.
“Yeah, and we got a ghost army to boot,” I said, indicating the Knights of the Everstone.
“That’ll help,” said the panther furry.
“Let’s hope so,” I said, and gathered all the players around. “Alright guys. We’ve got less than two days to prepare. I need everyone to pull every favor they’ve got coming to them. We need weapons, beasts, minions, health potions, mana talismans…whatever you can get your hands on. I want you to network. There are a lot of guilds out there that don’t want to see us eat shit and die, so let’s find them.”
“What do we offer them?” Cecilia asked.
“An alliance,” I told her. “We’ve got the first Kingdom in Rebirth Online. If I were them, I’d want to be any help I could. We’ll be powerful allies to have, and everyone knows it.”
“I’m friends with some of the Vancouver Vampires and the Minotaurs from Mars,” said Trinity. “I’m sure they’ll help out.”
“We’re pretty good friends with the members of Hiro Quest,” said Frisco. “I’m sure they’ll fight for us.”
“Awesome,” I said.
“Hey man, what about the Lion Zion Tribe?” said Tweak. “I’m tight with the Chief, and he might be convinced to help out.”
“Sure man. Can’t hurt to try,” I said.
“I’ll put the word out in Aeorock,” said Cecilia.
“This is going to spli
t the world of Rebirth Online into two factions,” said Ember.
“Whatever,” I told her. “As long as we’re in the winning faction, I don’t care.”
Everyone took portals back to Aeorock and other cities in Rebirth Online, and I stayed behind to oversee the reconstruction of the city. We didn’t have many resources, and the gnomes weren’t due to deliver the first shipment of goods for a few days, but we made do with what Miramar could conjure through the power of the tower. Now that the tower was connected to the Everstone, I knew that my wizard’s capacity would increase dramatically.
Aside from resources, however, we had manpower. With over a thousand villagers, two-hundred and twenty-seven Knights of the Everstone, twenty-five overzealous Guardians of Haven, and Zoe’s one-hundred orcs, we got a hell of a lot done in a day.
By the time the sun had set, the thirty-foot-wide mote was dug down to ten feet deep, connected to the nearby stream, and populated with monstrous alligators that had been conjured by Miramar. We had also managed to build a ten-foot-high wall with stones pulled from nearby fields. They had to be taken out of the future gardens anyway, and they were flat and wide, which made them perfect for a wall.
As nighttime fell upon Ozara, I stood leaning against the half wall at the top of the tower, watching the sun setting in the distance. From such high a perch, I could see the entirety of my small city, and I couldn’t help but smile when I heard the merriment coming from the beer tents below. The villagers were feasting and drinking below, and the sweet sound of string and wind instruments floated above the laughter.
“Hey, Loverboy,” came Trinity’s voice behind me.
“Hey sexy lady,” I said, offering her a smile.
She kissed me and snuggled up to my shoulder, and together we watched the villagers celebrating below.
“They seem so real,” she said as she watched them.
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