The Dragon's Wrath: Shadows in the Flame

by Brent Roth

  My conscience was clean there.

  There’s a reason people tell you not to play with fire, in the case that you might get burned. Those life lessons would have done FWB a service if they paid heed to them. Especially when considering the fact that their guild members were refusing to hunt in their own forests out of fear unless they roamed in a large pack but even then, killing ten players when you had the drop on them wasn’t exactly the most difficult thing in the world. Especially with five highly trained NPCs working in unison with me.

  The lingering threat of player killings, alive and well.

  Five full days of roaming their forests, camping corpses as if it were a day job. Pitching my tent, stoking a fire, and cooking a good ole nutritious meal right in front of them. Word on the blogosphere was that they weren’t coming online as often while others had gone to a different area altogether. Abandoning their guild territory temporarily until the situation calmed down.

  They were waiting for it to wash over.

  Well they would have one week of freedom before I returned with my full force in the dead of night. They had one week to regather themselves and prepare. To calm down and believe the worst was over. The only things that were going to be washed over after all, were their soon to be burned out buildings.

  Grinning like a fool as I had been silently thinking to myself at the table for more than an hour, the quiet female in front of me had actually averted her eyes from the wall and was watching my every comical move. I had finally broken the barrier and held her attention. It only took some patience, good will, and a little crazy behavior to do it, too.

  “How was the mutton the other day?” I asked while meeting her cold gaze.

  “What is it that you want from me?” she quickly questioned out of turn.

  “Nothing really,” I replied sincerely. “I’m simply curious as to why someone would sit at an empty table for almost two months while running out of money.”

  “My affairs are not for you to concern yourself over,” she said curtly.

  “Judging by the size of your coin purse though,” I began to explain with a hushed voiced only she could hear. “You’ve less than a week’s room and board in there.”

  “I do not need your handouts and my financial situation is also none of your concern,” she replied harshly and seriously, with her demeanor quickly changing. “At no point did I ask for your assistance or meddling, if you are to be so kind, then leave me be.”

  Pausing only to think over my next response, any discourse at this point was good discourse. The silence had finally been broken and now was the time to push.

  “If I’ve insulted your honor then let me at least apologize,” I quickly replied while nodding at the barkeep to bring two orders of food and drink. “I do admit to being a bit of a meddler but it’s mostly out of good intention.”

  “Mostly you say, so then you do want something from me,” she said with her eyes locked with mine. A cold stare that attempted to burn a hole through me, I met and returned a cool, unfazed gaze right back.

  “Helping you helps me figure out one of the mysteries of this world,” I said with a soft smile. “There are a lot of questions and you happen to be one of them, it’s nothing nefarious but if you can be helped it’s a worthy endeavor for me.”

  “Bold words with little substance,” said the angered female as she spat on the ground. “Do not toy with me with your circular logic, out with what you want or leave.”

  The situation had deteriorated fairly quickly but I wasn’t too bothered by it, as every other player that had attempted to converse with her met the same fate. So far I was charting new territory with the simple amount of replies received.

  Everything after this was a plus.

  “I want to know why you’re sitting there,” I said with a straight face and a hard delivery. “Why would someone sit there, only to stare at a wall for a month and change? What drives a person to do something so damaging, who commits self-sabotage?”

  “It’s none of your business what I do!” she practically shouted.

  “It is my business,” I said while kicking my chair back and folding my arms. “Because I’m told that there are krakens roaming the area, preying on fishing vessels and there is no one out there willing to stop them.”

  “Humph, and what do you know of the krakens?”

  “I know they can be killed,” I answered with a steadfast gaze.

  “You? Kill them? HAH!” she shouted as she banged on the table with her fists. “YOU can kill a kraken? HAH! And who are you that is so mighty that he speaks of slaying monsters that only the Gods dare to involve themselves with?”

  Not bothering to pause and wait for my reply, she continued on as she had finally showed an emotional range after all the weeks of empty silence. Standing up and knocking her chair over as she placed both hands on the table, the imposing six-foot-four woman with broad muscular shoulders eyed me up and down as she shook her head in anger.

  “Do you take me for a fool? Approaching me with a fool’s errand as some braggart hoping to lead the overzealous to their watery graves? As if I would be convinced to join?”

  Leaning back in my chair with my legs crossed at the ankles and my arms folded across my chest, I tilted my head slightly as a look of sadness appeared on my face. Disappointed with her reaction, there wasn’t much left for me to do except to solidify my positon and then leave it at that.

  “If I am a fool then so be it,” I replied casually. “But when I lost a family member to raiders, I swore my revenge and enacted it when the time was ripe as any good Viking would. A Northerners’ Honor is built upon proper revenge. I believed you to be an honorable skjoldmø, an honorable shield girl. I only thought it right to extend the opportunity but I see it was foolish of me. I am certainly a fool.”

  She was angry and wanted to lash out but the stares of the crowd had made her wary as she reconsidered her position. The entire bar had gone quiet as the dozens of inhabitants watched and waited, eager with anticipation for what may or may not happen. A few had even nodded to themselves and whispered to each other, it is true, they said. These NPCs were the embodiment of the ancient customs after all.

  “You speak as a man who has practiced his tongue,” she said, tempering her anger with caution while returning to a state of normalcy. “I find it hard to believe otherwise but if others know of your deeds then let them speak now or call your bluff.”

  “It seems even my reputation is not enough to reach your ears,” I stated calmly. “If you do not believe in my words then you can believe in my past deeds, verifiable by any man in this town. I am not unknown to this world, perhaps, only unknown to you.”

  Having set the stage and with the audience fully engaged, all that was left was to sit back and let it unfold. The ball had been dropped and where it bounced was anybody’s guess but the chances were good that someone would speak up. I only needed one strong voice to sway her opinion and there were plenty to choose from here.

  And then as if on cue, one voice broke the silence.

  “Annalie,” said the old barkeep as he set our food down on the counter. The same old man that once referred to her as a lost soul, the very same one that told me not to bother. Taking his time as everyone looked his way, he relaxed his shoulders and began to explain the situation to the isolated young woman.

  “Annalie you have spent far too much time living in that wall rather than living in the present,” he said while shaking his head in pity. “He is a man of his word and is well known in the North. Sigurd is an Earl with his own territory, one of the largest we’ve been told. He is a warrior that fights on the front lines, a man that eats and drinks with the lowest of us all, one that has liberated a town from the clutches of a tyrant, and a savior to those facing starvation in the far North. And though he shows us all the respect we deserve as Freemen, not once has he asked any of us to bow to his title.”

  Pausing for what could only be seen as dramatic effect, the master of pe
rsuasion himself sighed and shook his head slightly once more before resuming his speech.

  “I had my suspicions as well but the stories are the same no matter the traveler, if one has spent time in the North then one is familiar. The lad’s reputation precedes him.”

  Bravo, bravo Mr. Barkeep! I thought to myself.

  Wanting to clap and hug the man for his speech, I could barely restrain myself as my straight face belied my internal excitement. It almost brought a tear to my eye as my chest swelled with a pride that I couldn’t contain. He had described me as if I were some hero, some living legend. I was neither but to hear praise always made one feel good. Cheering only in my mind, I waited patiently for her reply as thoughts on how this would continue swarmed about my head.

  “So it seems you are not all hot air and alcohol, I will apologize for my behavior,” she said rather quietly after a few seconds had passed. Taking a turn that I didn’t quite expect but was glad to have. With a calm returning to her face she waited again before speaking up, wanting to pick her words more carefully this time around.

  “But… I ask you again, do you believe… do you truly intend to kill the kraken?”

  “Do you wish revenge for your family?” I answered.

  “I do.”

  “Then our answers are one and the same,” I said.

  Cheers erupted around the bar as all of the onlookers began celebrating Annalie’s decision. Now that the solitary dark cloud that had been lurking in the corner finally brightened up, the celebration was well warranted. In a jovial mood myself, I paid for a round of drinks for everyone in the bar. Grabbing both plates of food that had been sitting, forgotten amidst the excitement, I carried both plates on my left arm with a drink in each hand as I returned to the table where Annalie had been standing silently.

  “Sit, eat, and find me at the docks when you are ready, we set sail at sunrise.”

  With nothing more to say on my part, I began to enjoy my rabbit stew and mead. A simple dish that wasn’t up to par with the mutton or lamb but a comforting one that relaxed the soul. The tension had put a strain on me and it was nice to finally relax.

  Life had been full of tension lately.

  “Do you intend to fight the kraken with the rising sun?” she asked after a few minutes had passed us by, having already finished her meal.

  “No, I only have two units with me and they are in need of rest,” I replied honestly. “We need to integrate you with our methods and will regroup with another ship and another compliment of troops.”

  “You mean to say, you don’t intend to attack the kraken for some time?” she asked, clearly agitated by the bait and switch tactics that I had seemingly used.

  “No, I’m returning in three weeks to raid an enemy village south of here. The kraken will come before or after that, depending on when it shows itself.”

  “Why not fight immediately?!” she nearly shouted.

  “You have waited how long?” I asked plainly. “I do not wish to lose anyone, we will move at my pace and when I deem we are ready. You are welcome to come along if you want, or you may opt to stay here and hear of the results in due time.”

  Taking a sip of my drink, I thought over our previous conversation and decided to reiterate a point that had been made earlier on. “I do not need nor want anything from you, I’m only offering a chance to participate,” I said after a short pause. “As I mentioned before, I have a bad habit of meddling, is all.”

  “You mean to say that you will ask nothing of me, before during or after?” she asked calmly while staring me in the eyes with hands folded together.

  “What you decide on is up to you,” I stated plainly. “I will not ask anything of you.”

  Content with my answer, the truth was that the situation had changed my original plan and opinion on the matter. Originally excited with the thought of gaining a new Companion, I set a plan into motion to attempt and figure out the parameters for her recruitment. It became evident early on that her predicament was tied to the rampaging krakens in the area. But over time, the thought of pursuing her as a Companion had slowly become less appealing.

  By the end of it, my interest in her being attached to me in the same fashion as Kate or Selene was nearly zero. There was truly no interest in having a moody, depressed shield-bearer attached to me at all times. We weren’t a fit on any measurable level and I was moody enough for the entirety of Dragon’s Breach.

  There was no need for another me.

  She was purely a case study at this point.

  Silence having returned to our small table as the rest of the bar grew increasingly louder, my discussion with the companion had come to an end as the system itself confirmed my assumptions.

  [Annalie has accepted your Quest.]

  Hm so that’s how it worked, I thought to myself over the strange message.

  She accepted my quest. Meaning, this entire situation had developed in such a way that I was able to issue a challenge and a quest to an NPC and in turn they were given the option to accept or decline… completely the opposite from Katherine’s quest to save Selene from the Earl of Andal.

  I was right after all.

  Annalie was an answer to one of the many questions I had.

  The only problem being that she posed more questions than answers. Well, that would have to do for now as my plans had been progressing smoothly and there was no room for complaints. There may have been a lot of tension and strife but there were just rewards at the end waiting for me.

  In due time, it would all be mine.

  Chapter 87: Adventures of Em and Val

  (Wednesday, December 22nd Game Day / Friday, April 30th Real Day)

  * * *

  “Em, what town are we heading to now?”

  “Hmm Havanger is the big one, though we could stop somewhere else along the way,” she replied with a carefree attitude. “Havanger can take us to Halstad and then from there, the last major port town would be Bergenheim. Would save us days of walking and the land between here and there is all identical. Or was there a place in mind that you wanted to check out? We could do something else instead.”

  “Oh no, don’t mind me,” I answered while thinking over our current plan.

  We had been taking the scenic route, starting from the edge of the northern territory on the western side while slowly making our way up along the coast by foot over the past few weeks. We had stopped at a few of the finer locales to adventure and explore, taking our time with no immediate goal in mind. Eventually we would tour the entirety of the North and then move on to the next location, ideally the eastern Elven side.

  We were more tourists than adventures in this programme, really.

  As I had finished my thought, a sudden swell caused the medium sized ship to roll ever so slightly as my body was sent forward then back. Attempting to regain myself while standing in the middle of the ship, I decided to move closer to the edge so as to have something to hold. I wasn’t so afraid of the waves or the splashing water as I was of the constant bumping and falling. The whole affair was rather unpleasant.

  “This being my first time on a ship, I have to wonder… is the ocean always so tempestuous?” I asked as I grabbed onto the hard wooden edge in order to brace myself. “It’s mm, how to put it, a bit disheartening is it?”

  Emily had been standing with feet planted firmly apart, immune to the influences of the ocean. As if the waves were nothing more than a faint breeze. The breeze itself of course, was quite salty and cold this time of the year.

  I had visited the beach before in real life, though there was nothing for me to do at that time. The ocean scared me a bit, what with the waves coming and crashing down on one without warning. You could hardly hear the waves coming.

  And it wasn’t as if I could see them.

  “It’s a little rough,” she said with a smile. “We can log out now though, the boat will take a few hours before it arrives at Havanger. Sure you don’t want to stop elsewhere?”

  �
�Positive,” I quickly replied as I wanted to log out as soon as possible. “The ocean isn’t quite for me, sorry to say.”

  “Hehe, it’s not for everyone,” said Emily with a smirk. “Dinner?”

  “Whereabouts?” I inquired curiously, as my stomach informed me of its interest.

  “There’s this hot new place I heard about, just opened up,” she began to explain with her voice rising in pitch slightly as she became more excited. “You’ll like it, trust me. I have to pass by your place too, I can pick you up on the way if you want?”

  “Mm, that would be lovely, not sure I have a ride available otherwise.”

  “Awesome, see you in an hour?” she said to confirm.

  “Mm.”

  Logging out of the game was a strange process as the images began to dim and were replaced with nothingness. The colourful rendition that had been displayed before me soon changed to a scene void of colour. There was nothing in this world.

  Some refer to it as seeing nothing but black.

  But black was something that had no meaning to me before the programme. There was nothing and therefore the names of colours meant little to me. They had no meaning until now. Now with the advances in technology giving me the gift of sight when inside the virtual world, everything was different. Everything had changed.

  Black was my world now.

  Returning to the real world meant a return to my sense of touch, sense of smell, and ability to hear as my primary senses. My spatial awareness had been formed primarily through those three senses and resulted in the mental map that I had created of the world. In combination with my sense of time and distance, there was little stopping me from carrying out my day to day life.

  Removing the attachments with ease as I placed them on the counter that had been positioned a full arm’s reach to my left immediately from the chair if one sits up straight and turns slightly, the next step involved swinging my legs over and standing while facing away from the chair. Two steps forward and to the right of my outstretched hand was my cane but it only served as peace of mind around the house.