“Evening, what’s the commotion in camp?” Kristof asked, looking at the mob.
“A reporter from GNN doing an interview with the townsfolk,” Dumadin replied before grinning. “You should go join Camelia. I’m sure you’ll help settle her nerves some.”
Kristof perked up, “She seemed nervous?”
“Well, I won't say I am a man that can read women, but she seemed a little nervous when I asked her.”
“Right, thanks and see you later,” Kristof hurried over to the group.
“Camelia was worried, really?” Kittish asked puzzled.
“Nope, I lied,” Dumadin smirked, “but it will get him there. It will be good to see a player and NPC in a relationship as well.”
“You’re a little fucked up, my friend,” Terets said shaking his head.
“I know, right,” Dumadin laughed and guided his friends out of the ring of wagons to make sure they weren't going to picked up by the game recording.
Almost four hours later Ashley was breaking up the interview and Dumadin was feeling an itch in his shoulders. Vengeance hadn't attacked at all, which had him on edge wondering if they were going to shift back to attacking during the morning hours.
When Ashley found them her face had the biggest smile on it. “Wow that was amazing guys. Thanks for setting it up.”
Amythyst excused herself and headed into the camp as Dumadin grabbed Ashley's attention. “It was a pleasure. Lucky one of the Devs approved it. Did that help straighten out what’s really been going on?”
Ashley had frowned as Amythyst walked away but returned her attention to Dumadin as he spoke. “Yeah. I don't know how Paval could have not had the correct information. I’m going to get out of here and get a rough report written up while I wait for the clip from the Devs.”
“You can always log out in one of the wagons. In case you want to be part of the event when you come back into the game.” Kittish said and pointed out Ivan's wagon to her as they were next to it.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that little trick.” She climbed into the wagon quickly and waved, “Thanks again.” With those last words she vanished as she logged out.
“That sounds like it went well,” Terets began to say as a scream came from the opposite side of the camp.
The trio began to run and drew weapons as they could see a mass of people pushing into the camp. The majority of the attackers wore Vengeance's crest. The others wore a crest that looked like a bear holding a hammer and sickle.
The fight waged through the middle of camp with the defenders doing their best to protect the NPCs. The next ten minutes was chaos and blood as the battle went on. Eventually the attackers were dead along with most of the defenders.
Dumadin groaned as he looked at the number of dead scattered on the ground. Ten NPCs had been killed despite their best efforts. Bjorn came over, his face haggard, “That was terrible.”
“I'm sorry, Bjorn. We were caught off guard and the other adventurers were still not back on station.” Dumadin said, looking at the few remaining defenders looting the bodies.
Dumadin knelt down next to Phobee's still form, a grave expression on his face, “I'm sorry Phobee.” His voice cracked at the end and tears formed in his eyes.
Phobee blinked and looked up at the crying dwarf over her, “Are they gone?”
Dumadin flung himself backwards screaming briefly, “What in the bloody hell!”
Phobee flinched as well, then laughed and sat up, “You’re not the only ones who have had an Elixir of Life you know. I just waited for a bit before letting it bring me back hoping they would be gone.”
Kittish ran over and tackled the woman, “You had us all thinking we had failed you.”
Terets shook his head as the other merchants came over, their faces still grim. “Have the rest of you been given the same elixir?”
Each of them nodded as they looked at the other nine dead townsfolk. “We all have yes, but the other townsfolk have not.” Weskit said softly as he moved off to close the eyes of some of the dead.
Dumadin got to his feet and brushed his eyes dry, his face hardening, “Well then we were caught unprepared. We won't let this happen again.” He walked off thinking of ways to ensure his words.
Bjorn watched him go and nodded once curtly, “He cares for all of us even if they are not crafters. Come, let us go comfort the ones who have lost loved ones tonight.” He gathered the other merchants and led them over to the other townsfolk.
Alvira gripped Kittish's hand briefly, “Will he be okay?”
Kittish nodded at her question, “In a few. He never takes loss well, go on with you for now. I'll take care of him tonight.”
Terets shook his head, “I'll go check with the surviving players.” Amythyst went with him as Kittish trailed after Dumadin.
She found him a few minutes later outside the wagons leaning against one. His face was a mixture of rage and sadness as he hit the wagon repeatedly. “Love?” Kittish called out softly.
Dumadin's head whipped to her and his anger melted, leaving just the ache behind. “We failed them tonight. All because of me getting the reporter here.”
Shaking her head, Kittish went to him and wrapped him in a hug, “We would have lost some regardless. It was more than just Vengeance tonight. You didn't fail anyone.”
Dumadin shook as the anger left his system completely, leaving just the ache of loss. “Who would possibly aid those fucking assholes?”
Kittish held up a scrap of cloth that had been loot from one of the bodies. “This is the guild emblem of the other attackers.” The red bear holding a hammer and sickle on a white background. “Any guesses?”
“Red Storm? PAVAL!” His teeth clenched as he felt the rage return to him. “That fucking asshole!”
Kittish hugged him tighter, “Stop. Yes it probably is, but that set of attackers all wore masks so we have nothing besides this emblem, which is different than the one they had at the Carnival.”
His breath was ragged as he tried to calm himself again. “Fine. We should ask Jazzy...” he cut off when Kittish bopped his head.
“Stop. We knew others might help them. It doesn't matter who it is right now. We will do our best to find out next time they attack. We need to think forward, not behind right now.” She wiped a few tears of her own away before he glanced up, seeing the same sadness in her.
“Okay love. For now, but if I get the chance I will make sure it’s known who is joining those assholes.”
“Just so, now come with me. We could both use some time to cuddle and rest. I’m sure we can also help console our other lover who knew the people who died longer than us.”
He linked arms with her and reentered camp to find Alvira and grieve with her. His heart was heavy, but his mind now focused on the plan going forward instead of being consumed by the loss.
Alive?
David kept a smile in place against the pain as he opened the door and welcomed Will and Lavender into the house. “Welcome over you two, thanks for coming.”
Will gently squeezed his friend’s shoulder as he stepped in and out of the way so Lavender could come in. “Glad to make it over for a nice dinner before we jump into the game. Miriam promised pulled pork, so of course we came.”
Stifling a laugh, Lavender shook her head, “He was all sorts of excited when Miriam called right after we logged off this morning.”
Will just shrugged, “It’s good food.”
David snorted and led them into the living room and got them drinks as Miriam came out of the kitchen to greet their friends. “I figured it would be good to see the interview that Ashley put together, as well.” Miriam said as she went back into the kitchen to drain the noodles for the mac and cheese.
David eased himself into his seat, “At least they didn’t attack again. I think we were all surprised when the ones helping us started showing back up. I didn’t think Vengeance and the other guild would start fighting like they did apparently.”
“With Bl
ade Master and Executioner in charge of Vengeance it should have been obvious. I bet they lipped off to the head of the other guild, who took offense to it and boom the fight kicked off.” Will chuckled, “Almost wish I had been there to see it.”
“Dinner,” Miriam called them to the table. She was setting the two big pots on the table as they took their seats. Before she sat she turned on the TV on the one wall and got it set to GNN. “Also, the interviews should be starting up soon.”
The friends started to eat and praise the chef while they waited. As the commercials came to an end they were greeted by Ashley Mason. “Welcome back to our continuing coverage of Last Horizon’s ground breaking event. I’m your reporter Ashley Mason, and tonight we have something special. I was allowed to do interviews with the NPCs of the Caravan and we were given the footage from those interviews by Developer Jasmine Tiacoma. I was at the camp for four hours talking with many of the key NPCs of the caravan. I can honestly say this game really does break new ground with the depth of personality behind these characters. This hour long broadcast will be highlights of my interviews with each of the major characters from Stoutbank.”
“Previously of Stoutbank, you mean,” David said around a mouthful of food before being shushed by the others.
“First let’s start with the leader of the caravan, Bjorn Tankardson. He was the innkeeper of the Lonely Wood Inn before the exodus started.” Ashley vanished and in game footage started up.
“Thank you for agreeing to talk with me, Bjorn,” Ashley said as she smiled at the dwarf.
“I was told it might help clear up some confusion about the events resulted in our moving.”
“That is what I hope, but also I am curious as to who you are and why most people think you are the leader here.” Ashley said, her eyes and voice eager for the story.
Bjorn blushed slightly, “Ha, that story would take a long time. The other merchants have put me in charge of this exodus to safety due to my past. I used to travel with two of my best friends doing things that adventurers do now. For years we traveled the world and poked and prodded at things. Eventually we stopped.” His eyes misted for a second and he coughed before going on, “After that I settled down to do what I wanted to do all my life, open a tavern and sell spirits.”
“What stopped you and your friends from adventuring?” Ashley asked, feeling a big story behind the dwarf’s words.
“Death,” Bjorn said simply, his eyes sad but his face hard. “I don’t care to dwell on it right now.”
Ashley paused, clearly torn between going after a story that she sensed would be big over getting the one she came for. “I would like to hear more about it later, if that is alright,” she said, her voice sympathetic.
Bjorn nodded once, briskly, “We shall see about that later, then.”
“Back the original topic then Bjorn, the caravan. How did all this start?”
“The events that led to this caravan started months ago. A group of people calling themselves Vengeance attacked a merchant of Stoutbank. They attacked her in her own shop and tried to keep others from interfering. Luckily, a group of kindhearted adventurers got there in time and stopped them from killing her. We banned them from town at that point, as they were obviously dangerous criminals.”
“So Vengeance randomly attacked a merchant in the town some time ago? Was there any indication as to why?”
“You would probably want to ask Alvira that, as she was the one attacked.” Bjorn said before continuing, “After that, it was mostly peaceful for a time but then a member of Vengeance, a rogue called Talia, tried to sneak in and attack Alvira again. We had town guards by then and they dealt with her.”
“So they have tried to attack Alvira multiple times. Is there any clue as to why?”
“That is her story to tell,” Bjorn stated. “Vengeance wasn’t done there, though. They built a keep situated right outside of Stoutbank and then raised the tax to the limit. The next day they came to the edge of town and made demands of us.” Bjorn paused, making sure Ashley was listening, “They wanted us to open the town back up to them and to hand over Alvira. We refused, of course, and a fight broke out between us. As we tried to figure out what to do Heroes came to us and asked what the problem was. We explained to them the situation and they promised to aid us to the best of their ability. When they returned they told us of a place where we could start over fresh without the ridiculous tax imposed on us. The merchants of Stoutbank discussed it privately for some time, then agreed to the plan. So now we travel north to a land of freedom and hope. Vengeance tried again to stop us as we left town, again demanding from us a friend. We refused and they attacked the caravan. Luckily we had the aid of many adventurers and were able to drive them off and continue on our way. We have been attacked multiple times a day since then as we flee persecution and seek safety.”
Ashley sat there for a moment as she took in the story, “Wow, so Vengeance drove you out with the high tax rate and demanding you turn over a merchant that they had tried to kill multiple times?”
“Aye, that is the way of it,” Bjorn nodded sagely before standing up and greeting the other merchants gathering around the reporter.
The screen cut back to Ashley in the studio, “So, as you can see from our first snippet of interview this event started because Vengeance was attacking the townsfolk and making unreasonable demands. When we come back, we’ll be speaking with other merchants in the caravan and seeing if they can shed any more light on the events prior to the caravan leaving. Stay tuned.” A commercial started up at that point.
“Well, that should help make it clear that they weren’t conned into leaving.” Lavender said as she got a little more pork onto her plate, “This is really good tonight Miriam.”
Miriam nodded as she swallowed before answering, “Thanks. I didn’t do anything different though.”
“I wonder what the others will say,” Will mused.
“It’s too bad their memories were wiped with launch. Imagine if Bjorn had talked about the attempted rape on the first day of beta or the constant attacks by Vengeance on other players during the first month of beta.” David said as he scooped a little more mac and cheese onto his plate.
“That would definitely paint them as the bad guys, all right,” Will said pushing his empty plate away. “So what might dessert be tonight?”
Miriam smiled and waved a finger at him, “After the interviews.”
Will grumbled and leaned forward to scoop some more pork onto his plate. “Well then, might as well have a little more dinner.” The others chuckled at that just as Ashley reappeared on the TV.
“Welcome back to our coverage of Last Horizon’s big Caravan event. The next clip we have are a few of the other merchants and their views on the events that led them to where they are today.” Ashley said with a smile. She vanished and the screen filled with her in a big circle of people.
The screen focused on Ashley being introduced to the other merchants first before they all took seats. “Thank you all for taking the time to speak with me,” Ashley said. “Bjorn was just telling me how Vengeance was the culprit behind the troubles you have had that forced you all to leave your homes.”
“Well, it wouldn’t do much good to fight back would it?” Karst said, his voice gravelly. “We don’t come back to life as you adventurers do. So staging a coup wouldn’t have done anything good for us.”
Ashley blinked, “You considered a rebellion of force?”
Weskit cut in, frowning at Karst, “We considered many options, and yes that was one of them. Karst has stated the biggest drawback of that plan though. The other main drawback would be that we would have to become killers to do it. Most of us are not fighters, we have devoted ourselves to our various crafts. Even the four guards would not have survived an all-out attack on their keep, much less us.”
“Most towns the size of Stoutbank don’t have guards. How did Stoutbank come to have four of them?” Ashley asked.
Phobee replied to h
er, “The Legends of Stoutbank funded them for us. Their generosity has known no bounds when it has come to aiding us.”
“Legends you say? I didn’t think anyone had reached such heights at this time.” Ashley said, her eyes boring into Phobee, who blushed deeply.
“I meant to say the Heroes of Stoutbank. I do not doubt they will be Legends in short order, though.” Phobee smiled, her cheeks still red.
David frowned at the exchange as his brain tried to nudge him on a few other things. He was distracted though by Camelia speaking up next.
“Yes, we held a big feast right after they helped us fund the guards. It was a good party with much merry making.” Camelia cut off as Kristof came over and touched her shoulder lightly. She reached up and covered his hand with hers. “Sit, Kristof and greet Ashley Mason.”
Last Horizon: Live Page 18