The Dragon's Wrath: Shadows in the Flame

by Brent Roth

  “Exactly!” she exclaimed with a jump for joy. “If we can somehow change the tides of the war as they’re the more powerful faction right now… if we can help the other side win? Oh would they be pissed! Hah! Genius!”

  “Sounds fun,” I said with a carefree laugh as my mind started to think in more diabolical terms. He had already started a cold war, if it was indeed him that pulled the strings. A cold war would see a lot of strings pulled… where a shadow war was one that didn’t exist. I wanted the direct action, without the noise of the public. The public didn’t need to know about this.

  “Yeah, sounds like a lot of fun…” I mumbled.

  “I also might be able to get some classified data from a friend,” she said after a few seconds of silence had passed. All the while beaming with pride over all the work she had done, I couldn’t help but want to say good job but a part of me didn’t want to congratulate her for sharing more information with someone who shouldn’t be hearing it.

  Yeah… it wouldn’t do to promote more secrets being shared.

  “Ah… no, stop there,” I said while raising my hand. “I know in the heat of the moment I said to use your insider knowledge to find out who was responsible… and I know this is selfish of me but I don’t want to you to do that. This might seem crazy but it’s a matter of principle and I don’t believe we should go down that road.”

  “What do you mean? It’s for a good cause,” she countered.

  “Yeah that’s what I mean though, it’s classified data and I don’t want you risking or abusing your authority to pull it,” I explained calmly. “I’m sure the guys who leaked my information out into the public domain from the meetings were thinking the same way. That it was for a good cause. It’s a different breach of confidentiality but it’s the idea that matters. A good cause is perspective-relative and yeah, on principle, I don’t want to put you up to it and I don’t want to use those tactics.”

  “Then how are we going to find out if he’s the one?” she asked, clearly disappointed with my response.

  “We’ll use regular channels and back channels if necessary,” I said with a hesitant shrug. “It’s not perfect but it will get the job done. A little old school eavesdropping. Conversations are the first place to start. Regular conversation in crowded areas. A lot of information can be gathered from listening.”

  “Oh my Gawwwwd,” she said with a huge drawn-out sigh at the end. Throwing her hands up in a sign of frustration, she plopped herself down on her chair with a hard thud as she let her shoulders droop. “That’s going to take forever….”

  “Leave that part to me then,” I interjected before she could continue. “You said it’ll start within a few days? Can you tell me where we’ll need to be?”

  “Wesstown,” she said bluntly.

  “I’ve got friends near there,” I mumbled while the corners of my mouth crept up in a devious fashion. “I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning then, at sunrise. We’ve got a few hours before the day ticks over and it’ll be a long journey. Will need to prepare.”

  “Oh, you’re leaving so soon?” she asked with a strange expression.

  “Why wouldn’t I? You said it yourself, it starts within a few days and it’ll take a full day or more to reach Wesstown, even by longship.”

  “Ah, I guess you’re right,” she whispered.

  Confused by her sudden change in demeanor, I couldn’t help but wonder if that meant she wasn’t coming along on the trip despite her enthusiasm to plan it all out. Valerie had been silent at the other end of the table and had yet to even make a single facial change. She was a stoic little stone over there… ah, these two kind of gave me a headache.

  “I take it you will be staying here,” I stated clearly. “It’s my war after all, I won’t ask you to come unless you want to participate, fighting and such… it’s what I’m good at. I’ll be fine even if I’m by myself.”

  Yeah this would be my shadow war, no one else needed to get involved but their assistance would always be welcome. If the war in the middle kingdoms was about to get much bigger in scale with NPC factions joining in and clashing, then my ticket to success was to sabotage the other side’s NPCs.

  If one wanted to destroy Dragon’s Breach, they would need to start with the NPCs. That line of thought carried over to any NPC faction in this game. NPCs were vulnerable, they were stronger than players but they didn’t respawn. A permanent death meant they could be overwhelmed and eventually removed.

  It was a weakness of the system but it was also the counterbalance to their strong growth and relative cost to acquire. If given time and with enough money, a player could amass an army so large he wouldn’t be able to be stopped. Even if the enemy players used suicide attacks to thin out the numbers if there were enough NPCs, then losses could be replaced under the right system. Everything was a gamble and a risk but it was worthwhile.

  Hundreds of warriors out hunting and providing an income would produce more than enough to cover the initial cost of recruitment. The only thing I would lose was time… but eventually, the system would take care of it. In time it would be self-sustaining.

  “Can you wait a day?” she asked out of the blue, as the conversation had long since died. “Sunday is my day off to play and since I work on Monday, I can’t play until late.”

  “I don’t mind waiting,” I answered genuinely with a faint, warm smile. She was more than welcome to come. Outside of our small fight… we did have a friendly relationship from the past, from all of the meetings where we interacted before and after. She held less of a grudge than I did in all honesty.

  She was a better person than me.

  “Room for one, or for two?” I asked, following up as I looked Valerie’s way, curious if she would ever part from Emily’s side.

  “Two,” she said while avoiding my gaze.

  Well, that answered that.

  Chapter 109: Preparing for a Trip

  (Sunday, February 6th Game Day / Sunday, May 16th Real Day)

  “I see you’re on early,” I said as I entered the dining area of the inn.

  “Mm,” she replied without bothering to look my way.

  “If you’re waiting for Emily she popped in earlier,” I whispered as I sat down at a table across from her. “She said she had something come up and would be on later tonight.”

  “I see, thank you,” she said rather coldly.

  Smiling to myself, her ears were truly exceptional. She appeared to be capable of hearing the slightest of noises from relatively long distances without any trouble. I could only imagine how good her sense of smell and touch were when considering her hearing.

  She was an interesting one.

  Nodding at the waitress for my usual meal, the daily special of generic stew with whatever game meat happened to be available was more than good enough for me. With nothing else to do while waiting, I decided to entertain myself a little at the girl’s expense. She wasn’t very friendly and it made sense as to why but Emily had shared a little bit of information with me before logging off.

  Valerie was social but generally kept to herself and Emily felt it would help if she was more open. After all the time she put into the game in the alpha and beta phases plus the four and a half months of the live phase, she only had one real friend in Emily. She simply didn’t care to befriend strangers that she didn’t know in person.

  Why Emily was trying so hard to make our friendships work was beyond me but she had apologized on a few occasions for her involvement and wanted to make it up to me. I apologized a few times for my actions too and now things were normal… though normal wasn’t really the right word. It was a strange situation that seemed a little fake at times.

  I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it all.

  “Have you eaten?” I asked as I turned to face her, wanting to start a conversation as she was the only real person in the area.

  “No, I have not,” she stated plainly.

  Standing up and walking over to the kitchen th
at was connected by a hallway, I grabbed two wooden bowls and filled them with stew as the waitress was busy helping some of the other NPCs. Heading back to the dining room, I set the bowls down on her table and decided to join Valerie for lunch whether she wanted me to or not.

  “Here you go,” I said as I placed a bowl in front of her.

  “What is this called?” she questioned immediately as she began to poke the meat that was protruding out of the stew.

  Hesitating for a second, the scene brought back memories of another strange incident inside a tavern by the Outcast Dungeon. One where a female in a hooded cloak poked her food and wondered what each ingredient was, going so far as to ask the man tending the bar to clarify her order. A situation where the female seemed familiar.

  “Ah, so you’re the girl from the bar,” I mumbled as I shook my head, upset with myself for forgetting another detail. “You’re right, we had met twice… though that time I couldn’t see your face or hear your voice. I’m not sure if that counts, does it?”

  “Is that so?” she said sarcastically.

  “Meh well that’s a chunk of dire wolf,” I explained as I pointed at it. “No clue if that’s what it tasted like thousands of years ago but I imagine its close enough to how a wolf tastes. Though these dire wolves are a bit bigger than historical records... so yeah, make of it what you will.”

  “I see, thank you.”

  As we both began to eat our generic stews, Roald and Kaia entered the room as they sat down a few tables away. Needing to have a short discussion with Roald, I excused myself from the meal and walked over. Joining the two at their table, I sat down quickly as I greeted them.

  “Good afternoon you two,” I said with a smile.

  “Hello Sigurd!” greeted Kaia with a friendly smile in return.

  “Ah… hello,” mumbled Roald as he knew work was coming his way.

  “Roald, I need you to head to the Northern Triangle while I’m away,” I said, having made up my mind days ago as his face showed his displeasure.

  “You can’t be serious,” he replied with a moan. “In the dead of winter?”

  “I could run there in less than two hours, if you’re a quarter as fast you’ll make it in a day,” I replied with a serious stare. “I know you’re a trade master by profession but I’ve been having you pull double duty as a diplomat for this very reason. This time I’ll need you to wear a diplomat’s hat and go out and seek an audience with the village elders of the Triangle.”

  “And will I let them know this time that they can come to us for trade as well?” he said sarcastically as my words had continued to exasperate him.

  “No, you’ll offer them the choice of receiving assistance from us,” I said clearly as his ears perked up in interest. “I wish to incorporate them into our territory. They will remain autonomous villages and retain complete freedom to do as they please but I wish to offer them protection and resources when requested or required. Simple terms.”

  “Ah-h, S-sir Sigurd, that’s a rather serious proposal,” he stuttered as he tried to wrap his head around the matter. “Are you sure you don’t want to think this over some more? What would we have to gain, er… what would you have to gain from doing this?”

  “Loyalty,” I said sternly.

  “Loyalty you say… what good is the loyalty of the penniless?” he asked in turn with disdain clearly showing on his face. “They can offer us nothing in return, they can’t even feed themselves.”

  “They cannot feed themselves because their environment works against them, they are ill-prepared and equipped to handle the situation they are in,” I quickly explained. “I will help provide for them, as they are our neighbors and when in a time of need, you lend a helping hand.”

  “Ah, I see,” he mumbled as he thought out the situation. “And you ask nothing in return, in a signed treaty?”

  “Hm, I want to know what they know,” I said somewhat confusingly. “If they hear talk on the seas, I want to know. If they hear whispers in the wind, I want to know. If the forests speak to them… I want to know. That is the only thing I will ask of them, that and their loyalty as a friendly neighbor.”

  “Oh, well aren’t you a clever one,” he snickered as he replied. “So you want to establish an information network at minimal cost. Though if you don’t mind me making a suggestion… Andal would be far better suited for that purpose.”

  “Andal comes after the Northern Triangle, work from the closest territory and then out,” I said calmly. “The North is changing and we need to stay a step ahead of the competition. There are powers in the other kingdoms that we cannot currently hope to match up against. A united front, a coalition of villages and towns will provide us with a fighting chance.”

  “I see, do you wish for me to head to Andal immediately after?” he asked as Kaia and Valerie listened in without so much as a peep escaping their mouths or a peep in my direction.

  “Let’s hold off on Andal until we see how it works with the Triangle,” I stated clearly as I began to stand up. “You have good judgment, if they are ready to sign a treaty then I leave the decision making to you. You can create the terms as you wish but whatever you do, make sure we aren’t seen as the ones taking advantage of them. We’re lending a hand, not exploiting.”

  “Finally a job worth doing,” he muttered and laughed. “Something of substance, I was beginning to think my life would amount to nothing more.”

  Leaving their table, I returned to my stew that was now lukewarm as the conversation had taken a few minutes longer than planned. The reality of the Triangle was that the developers created a situation where the inhabitants couldn’t survive without adventurers. This wasn’t a typical case where hard work would get you through and the laziness of the villagers was the only thing holding them back. The system artificially constrained them.

  “I don’t have much free time today but if you want a tour of the North, I can take you around in a little bit,” I said to Valerie as she finished her food.

  “Your assistance isn’t necessary,” she said sharply.

  “When would it ever be necessary?” I replied with a slight shake of my head. “It’s an offer if you would like to see some of the more interesting locales with the one person who happens to know the layout here better than any other individual in the game. I’m only offering to show you around, nothing more, nothing less.”

  “I’ll think about it,” she said as I finished my stew.

  Taking both of our bowls back to the kitchen, I dropped them in the large wooden sink that had been crafted with a barrel of water placed slightly above and to the side on an upright log.

  A functional source of running water with a small pluggable channel cut into the bottom, it only had to be filled with water from the moat or river when low and provided easy access for my NPCs that worked here. It was only one of many systems that would be set up eventually.

  The goal was to have a system of running water throughout the entire town. I was envisioning a water wheel that would help move it all along as my bath houses when finished would need a consistent source. Channels could be built around the town but if I could only rely on gravity then something needed to lift that water up.

  I wasn’t going to stand around with a bucket, that much was certain. There was so much work to be done and so little time as I left the inn and headed out into the center of the town. My trip to the Central Kingdoms would take me away from Dragon’s Breach for a week at the very least.

  A lot of tasks would need to be delegated.

  There was still a lot of preparation to be done.

  And the boat trip would be a long one.

  Chapter 110: Wesstown

  (Wednesday, Feb. 16th Game Day / Wednesday, May 19th Real Day)

  The raucous laughter of the crowd caught my attention as wooden mugs were slammed onto the counter top. An uproar followed as the dozens of patrons that littered my view celebrated something unbeknownst to me. The place was packed, shoulder to shoulder as
nothing but players lined the tables, walls, and counters in every direction.

  Pushing my way through the crowd, the dim interior lighting gave off a grungy feel that completely engulfed the entire place and reminded me of the dive bars back home. The interior wasn’t much better, rustic but modern and altogether completing a lousy viewing experience that hardly impressed. There was nothing pleasant about this place.

  This was a dirty pub in a dirty town… this was Wesstown.

  Situated on the western side of the central kingdoms in the middle of the continent, Wesstown was one of many towns and cities that lacked any redeeming features save for the crowds if one considered that a plus. Thousands upon thousands of players could be found roaming these forests, fields, and streets.

  Far too many for my tastes… far too many shoulders to bump into, bodies to shove past, faces to look at. This pub smelled, a rancorous smell of human odor coming from bodies too far removed from their last shower. Hot too, a stifling atmosphere as sweat dripped off the man in front of me, down into a puddle beneath his feet. His pants and shirt soaked, he stood there by the fire as he tried to cool down with another drink, the crowd having pushed him into the worst of locations.

  These weren’t my kind of people.

  I missed the North already.

  “Barik, Ethan!” I yelled as I spotted the two sitting at a crowded table in a corner of the massive pub. Waving to grab their attention as I made my way over with two females in tow, it was a fight to simply make our way through.

  Pushing and nearly shoving to clear a path, Emily had been holding onto the back of my shirt with her left hand as Valerie held her right. The place was large enough that one could easily get lost and with these crowds, one could barely hear. A sad situation in reality.