by Jason Cheek
We fell into our separate groups as we snuck across the kill zone. Tinyr and his people stayed in place, keeping watch from the building we’d just used to scope the keep out. While it didn’t give them sight inside the grounds of the keep, it did give them a good overwatch view of the entire area. Neysa’s silvery fur made her nearly invisible against the snow whenever she stopped and lowered herself into a crouch.
Sarka’s group, on the other hand, took the lead, escorting us to the base of the keep’s outer wall. Along the way, Helgath fell in behind me as we passed Neysa’s position. Within a minute we were hunkered down in Stealth. Immediately, the rest of us threw grapples and skittered up the wall. The first of us were over the top in the blink of an eye without a shout of alarm being sounded. Dropping down into a crouch, we surveyed the inner courtyard looking for enemies while the rest of our teams followed after us.
I signaled the last in line to leave the grapples in place as everyone dropped down and got into position. During the run across the kill zone, I’d noted that the players only kept a short patrol around their fires, instead of pacing the entire length of the wall. Such shoddy behavior was the difference between a trained soldier and a newfar playing a game. It was an important difference to keep in mind as I searched for watchers.
The grounds in-between the walls and the keep were mostly gardens with meandering pathways. Not that there were actually any flowers or leaves since it was winter. Although, the bare branches of the bushes did offer some mediocre cover from any guards at ground level. I figured as long as we didn’t have any light to give away our position and no one was visible at the extent of my Dark Vision, then we were probably safe from detection.
Phoenix’s group hunkered down at the base of the wall in the crunching snow. They would guard our escape route and be an emergency back-up if things went to shit. Without a word, Kenzie, Darkhorse, and Zhou began Stealthing through the gardens as Rani, Neristhana, Helgath, and I fell in behind them. Slowly, the seven of us made it to the base of the keep. Kenzie and her group were here to guard our backs while we made the dangerous climb, since this would be when we were at our most vulnerable to discovery and attack.
Kneeling down about ten feet from the wall, I quickly ripped off my rucksack and pulled out the last of my climbing rope. Looking up, I slipped on my bag and tied the very end of the rope to my wrist, before picking up the grapple. Spinning it around, I looked up … and up … and up … until my vision turned black and still I couldn’t see the top of the keep. Frowning, I switched my vision back to normal. Straining in the clear night’s sky, I could barely make out the shadowy top edge of the keep. Mentally crossing my fingers, I sent the grapple soaring up with a mighty heave.
Almost immediately, I grimaced at my mistake. It was easy to see as the rope shot up and up. Not that there was anything I could do about it. Kenzie was the first to notice, which was shortly after the grapple and line came plummeting back down. It was the increasing pile of rope that gave the Devil Dog Rogue the head’s up. Her whispered cursing had just started up when the grapple landed a foot in front of me.
She gave me some very violent hand signals to express her unhappiness with my performance as I snatched the grapple up again. Grimacing, I ignored her silent harangue as I focused on my throw. This time I had the angle, unfortunately not the right one as the metal claws twanged against the stone and bounced away from the wall. I was hurriedly pulling the rope taut to bring the grapple back to me, when Kenzie violently punched me in the shoulder.
“What the fuck is wrong with you!” She hissed as I caught the grapple as it fell. “This isn’t rocket science!”
“Fuck off!” I hissed, popping her back. As she stumbled in surprise rubbing at her shoulder, I pointed towards the top of the keep. “Can you even see the top of the keep? Because, I sure as hell can’t!”
Kenzie’s face became thoughtful as she looked up trying to see if she could see the top. Silently, I hoped that the third time was the charm as I sent the clawed end sailing just above the starless edge above us. I heard Kenzie hiss to pull it taut as the rope at my feet began to run out. Using the wrist I’d tied the end to, I snapped my arm down. A couple yards of rope fell at my feet, before we both heard a soft clunk from above. Keeping constant pressure, I carefully tested whether the line could support my weight by carefully suspending myself above the ground and bouncing slightly. Muttering under her breath, Kenzie jogged out a little farther from the wall to keep watch above, as I nodded for my team to get moving.
We went up the rope without a problem. While the extra arm strength in-game made the process easy as hell, I still used the method of putting the rope in-between my feet. It worked something like a ladder, where you use your feet to capture the rope and push up with your legs. It wasn’t the manly man technique of hauling yourself up by using just your arms that you’d see in the movies, but a technique I’d picked up in the Explorers that offered a lot more control while climbing. So much control in fact that I could have easily used a bow or a rifle while using the technique.
For those that don’t know what the Explorers are, they’re a group that’s basically the next step up from Boy Scouts and just below ROTC. Kind of the next level of Eagle Scout. The poor man’s officer prep school for the corp. While I ended up not needing to join the service to support myself once I moved out, it was my backup plan if I’d failed to become a Pro-Gamer. Even though it was a lot of work that I’d ended up not needing, it gave me a good excuse to not be in my abusive household and ended up being an overall good experience.
Helgath clung to my back, while Neristhana went up the rope first fast like a monkey as Rani took-up the rear. Bracing on the rope and ledge like a trapeze artist, she managed to jimmy the window open with a long slim dagger. Sheathing the blade in her jacket, she sprang onto the windowsill, using it as a springboard to dive into the room. Leaping from my back, Helgath followed after the silent Trader as I hurriedly swung through the open window after them both.
Dropping into a crouch, I drew my Dark Blade of Lord Kayden in a flash as Neristhana tackled a blond haired man who was just swinging his feet off the bed. My Identify flashed over the man’s head, Prince Lekroth Isolde, level 30, Priest of Light. Immediately, I breathed a sigh of relief seeing our designated target. I could only hope that this meant the whole operation wasn’t a complicated ambush.
The tussle was short and sweet. Neristhana clocked the clean-faced man with the butt of her axe, before leaping on top of him like a striking snake. At the same time, Helgath dove to a corner of the room so she could easily cast if needed. By the time she was ready to go, Neristhana was already swinging behind the angry man’s back as he struggled to not face-plant. Once she was on his back, the fight was over. Positioning the bottom point of her bearded axe to rest against the Prince’s throat, the Gnomeling drew blood to let him know she meant business as she pulled him roughly against her small chest. Before he could call out in alarm, she threateningly hissed in his ear.
“Be silent or die!”
“I think you might want to listen to the young lady.” I said, giving him a rakish grin as I closed the distance. To emphasis my point, I rested the tip of my blade over his heart as Rani dove through the open window behind me. Rolling to her feet, she strode forward and gave the Prince a short bow to my utter surprise.
“It’s good to see you still yet live, my lord.” Investigator Rani said with a grim smile as if this had been part of the plan all along. Ignoring the questioning looks from Neristhana, Helgath, and me, she continued in an officious tone.
“Prince Lekroth, you have been charged by the Protectors of Norden for colluding with the newfar in the death of your Father, King Isolde, and the betrayal of Princess Reeva. Your crimes have resulted in the fall of the Isolde Line and the disbanding of the combined Royal Forces. If you have anything to say that could possibly negate these accusations, now is the time to plead your case. If not, I will carry out the sentence of death.”
The move caught Rani completely off guard. I don’t know what she expected me to do after saying something like that. During that moment of airtime, she tried her best to recover and shove herself away from me as I physically carried her the short distance across the room. Moving my forearm up under her chin as we fought for position, I smashed the Investigator into the wall, knocking the air out of her lungs. Keeping her suspended in midair, I angled the point of my blade under her chin.
“What betrayal is this?” I demanded, staring into her hazel eyes.
I’ll give the woman credit. She didn’t back down, but nor did she fight beyond that first instinctual reaction to being attacked. No blades were pulled or special abilities used to escape my hold. Instead, she simply waited for me to calm down as she carefully held her hands up in the universal sign of peace. That’s when I noticed the Prince’s panicked begging.
“Don’t let her kill me!” Prince Lekroth urgently babbled. “She promised that if she had to visit a second time, my life was forfeit.”
“I’m simply setting up the situation for you to get your answers.” Rani hissed back under her breath as the Prince blithered on anxiously.
“It’s not my fault. I’m a prisoner here as much as my sister!” The panicked man shrieked, before continuing on in despair. “I told Father I wanted nothing to do with Chaos Storm, but Cristiane had the old man twisted around her finger. Father demanded that I, Prince Lekroth, take that wanton harlot with me on the quest to clear the shipping lanes.”
“Why not tell me of your history with the Prince?” I demanded angrily, while doing my best to keep my voice low. “Why wait until now?”
“When the Sea Orcs showed up, Cristiane killed the captain in cold blood, while the rest of her newfar took over two thirds of the entire squadron. It was a complete bloodbath!” The Prince said in anguish. “I begged for her to spare my sister’s life, but she just laughed and said the Princess was part of the down payment.”
“Would you have taken me if I had?” Rani demanded in a hushed tone. “I needed someone with an open mind that was willing to understand the issues without simply putting him to death on sight.” She snapped, looking at me pointedly. “You heard the talk in the Smoking Red Dragon, would any of them have listened before passing judgement. You were my best bet to get to the truth about what’s really going on!”
Letting up the pressure on Rani’s windpipe, I let her feet touch the ground as my mind worked over the issue from her point of view. Even so, I didn’t completely release her as I weighed the options of letting her go. While I was willing to take her word for the moment, on a lot of different levels, she was dangerous. How much? I didn’t know without finding out more about her group, and that was true whether or not hearing my ex’s name had made me paranoid about everything. The Prince’s whining faded to the background as I held the Investigator’s eyes while contemplating the best course of action.
Who were these Protectors of Norden? Were they going to be a problem for me in the near future? Most importantly, what was their mission? Were they officially sponsored by the lords and the kings of the realms like many of the ninja clans in the old Samurai movies or were they some sort of weird subversive faction? Could they be trusted as allies or should I crush them whenever I had the chance? Hell, was it even possible to be allies with such a group? Protectors of Norden could mean anything. All of these factors I quickly weighed in my mind, before I stood up straight and released her.
“This will be my decision, not yours.” I stated in a no nonsense tone. Getting an affirmative from Rani, I turned away and took in the situation. Helgath had a direct connection to my mind, so nothing needed to be said to her, but Neristhana was a different story altogether. Luckily, a warning glance was all that was needed for the Gnomeling to acknowledge my concern with an imperceptible nod as I made my way over to the Prince whose blathering had become nearly incomprehensible by now. Neristhana had let the blubbering man crumple to the bed in a heap. Even so, she still kept her hand axe at the ready to use if necessary. It was about then that my subconsciousness pricked at something I’d heard earlier while I’d been contemplating over the Protectors of Norden and what that all meant.
“What do you mean they’re holding the citizens of Telrain hostage?” I demanded as the words came back to me. Seeing no reaction from the sniveling man, I sheathed my blade and picked the Prince up by his upper arms, forcing him to face me. Snot ran from the other man’s nose as he hiccupped through the tears running down his face, refusing to look at me. Unconsciously, a low growl came from my throat as I shook him until his bloodshot eyes helplessly focused on my angry face. “Tell me how Chaos Storm is holding Telrain hostage!”
He looked to be a little younger than me in real life, but looked pampered and emasculate, like he’d never missed a meal or experienced tragedy in his life until now. Unsurprising to a point, since he was a Prince and all. Soft living seemed to be a major part of that gig and he’d probably had an over protective mother or father that had handed life to him on a silver platter. How was a person supposed to grow and be prepared to face the harsh realities of life if they’ve lived in a bubble?
Honestly, it just made me respect Princess Reeva all the more. That woman was no delicate flower, to say the least, and I respected her for that immensely. At least, I did when she wasn’t being a deceitful bitch. Shaking the random thought away, I was just about to shake the Prince again, when the man finally got control of himself enough to speak coherently.
“When they assassinated Father, they found the last war scroll of my great grandfather’s. It was from the times of the Great War against the northern tribes.” He said, looking at me aghast as he forced the words from his mouth. “It’s a level two hundred spell, named Meteor Strike.”
It took a moment to settle everyone down and even longer to fully understand what was happening. Maybe, I should have been more empathetic to the other man’s plight. As I thought back over the story that the Prince had told, the man had been through a lot and, for the most part, it hadn’t been his fault. He’d lost his father, his sister, and everything he’d ever known in his life against someone much stronger and conniving than him.
On top of that, he was being blackmailed between the deaths of everyone in Telrain or life under the brutal rule of my heartless ex. Notice there was no Prince in either option. That was because his death was guaranteed either way. Either he’d be killed outright or he’d be blamed for the fall of the Isolde Line and beheaded just like his sister. God, my ex was a bitch. Suddenly, I felt a connection with the privileged man that I hadn’t had before. Sharing a crazy ex will do that to you, I thought with a humorless smile.
What, you didn’t catch that? Yeah, well part of that full disclosure by the Prince included the story of the two of them having relations. That was part of the reason for not wanting her to be part of the quest to clear the shipping lanes. The other part of that was because he’d found out she was sleeping with his father too. When he confronted her about it, she’d laughed in his face and told him about all of the newfar guild leaders she was sleeping with too. The poor man had been an emotional train wreck after that. I wished I didn’t understand what the Prince was feeling, but I’d been there myself with Julie and knew how that felt all too well.
After that, everyone calmed down. I didn’t even question the Prince’s story. He’d been too distraught and everything he’d said lined up with the facts that I’d managed to track down so fa
r. Could this be an elaborate trap by my ex? I didn’t think so. That wasn’t her style. While she was good at the political side of things, when it came down to actual fighting, she was an in your face and shove it down your throat kind of girl. So, instead of killing the guy, the four of us sat down and ironed out a plan.
Come to find out, there was nearly three thousand and five hundred nightmare newfar in the city. Those figures came from Investigator Rani. Even more disturbing, that didn’t cover the nine hundred plus Dread Pack members or the five hundred newfar attacking Domenic. That was scary on a lot of different levels that I didn’t particularly want to go into right now. Mostly because, Rani’s people had to have spies everywhere to have access to that kind of information. Hopefully, I hadn’t taken on a bunch of saboteurs when I swore in the people of Darom.
When it came right down to it, with the number of newfar stacked against us and the scroll of Meteor Strike, I didn’t see us saving this city. Don’t get me wrong, we’d put up a good fight, but in the end, all she had to do was cast her trump card and it was game over. That, in and of itself, changed the strategic situation.
More than anything else, I couldn’t let that scroll leave this city. Otherwise, she could use it to blackmail any ruler in the land. Even worse, my ex could use it as a trump card to obliterate the defenses I was building up to protect my people. With one scroll she could blow away one third of our entire defenses. That would allow her to ransack my lands. Perfect for a bunch of players that weren’t interested in waiting around doing nothing, or being de-leveled by attacking static defenses protected by the people of The World.
No matter what, my first objective was making sure that the threat of the scroll ended here. It didn’t matter if it was stolen, destroyed, or used here. I’d do my best to mitigate the fallout against the innocents, but there was no other acceptable alternatives. Having that scroll remain in her hands simply gave her too much power. I’d do whatever I needed to do to stop her.