I have no idea where Mozter found these people, but damned if they are loyal to him, I thought as I watched the completely unarmed and unarmored group cross the bridge and form up behind him. But I’m sure they know that they wouldn’t be welcome, or necessarily even safe within Aldford anymore. Leaving quickly with Mozter is probably their best bet to stay together as a group before somebody tries to jump them with vengeance on their mind.
“I won’t forget this, Lyrian,” Mozter growled as he shifted his hate-filled glare from Dyre and onto me. “I’ll be back—”
“I’m sure you will, Mozter,” I interrupted the man with a dismissive wave of my hand. “I’ve heard the same thing from far better people, and let me tell you something.
“I’m still here.”
Spitting at my feet, Mozter scowled in anger before he and his party turned away from us, slowly walking out into the wild. The tension of the situation diminishing with every step that they took.
I replied to Amaranth, the urge of ordering him to kill the party nearly overpowering my better judgment.
“We will see,” I told the puma as he moved to stalk after the party without another word. “Be careful.”
Turning away from Mozter’s departing figure, I faced the crowd of gathered Adventurers, recognizing the majority of them from my duel with Mozter and his party. Their gaze landed on me immediately, causing me to pause for a moment, once again surprised to see how many had followed us during the altercation.
“They are looking to you for guidance,” Dyre whispered to me in a soft voice that made me doubt if he had even spoken at all. “What you say now will set the tone for any future incidents. Choose your words carefully.”
Eyes widening in surprise, I looked towards Dyre, only to see him already shifting away from me and walking back towards the heart of Aldford, circling the group of Adventurers without another word. I watched the Justicar thoughtfully for a moment before turning back towards the gathered Adventurers.
“Today, a man was murdered for the sole purpose of getting my attention,” I began, casting a glance at Alistair before looking out towards the crowd. “And as you all saw, he has been dealt with harshly. Stripped of all his gear and banished.”
I paused for a moment as I collected my thoughts.
“Aldford is young,” I said. “And all of us right now have the opportunity to shape it into the town, and one day I hope, the city that we want it to be. I for one want it to be a place where we can all let our guard down and enjoy the comforts of civilization without worry of being assaulted, killed, or challenged unjustly. Something that I know is not easily found close to here.”
A low rumble of agreement reached my ears, the newest arrivals to Aldford clearly sharing my sentiment of safety.
“With those words in mind, I have one promise and a warning to share with you all,” I continued, nodding in sync with the adventurers before me. “If anyone repeats Mozter’s actions, they will be dealt with just as harshly, if not even more, as our own laws develop and mature. It is up to us to set the standard as more Adventurers join our settlement, and it is my goal to make it one filled with honor and companionship, rather than one filled with distrust and conflict. Keep that in mind as we go forward in the coming days and weeks, for there will be no other warnings.”
It wasn’t my best speech by far, I knew without a doubt in my mind, but there was a low echo of approval from my statement as the Adventurers slowly began to disperse. Many of them heading towards the Arena with growing excitement in their voices. Scanning the crowd, I couldn’t help but note that there were several more Adventurers heading back to the recruitment grounds than I had seen originally, something I silently hoped translated into an even larger application pool for Virtus. As it was, we had more than enough work to go around and not enough bodies to handle it.
“Any reason why we shouldn’t restart the recruitment process?” Freya asked me, her smooth voice jarring me out of my thoughts.
“No,” I replied empathetically, meeting her eyes as I spoke. “If they can’t handle the sight of blood or something unexpected like this coming up, they aren’t what we’re looking for anyway.”
“Damn right,” Freya replied with a crooked smile before nodding her head towards the departing swarm of Adventurers. “We could use your help in getting everyone sorted though. Based on my rough count on everyone heading back towards the Arena, we’re going to need more help managing the applicants. And, given everything that just happened, it’s better that you’re seen with the guild as much as possible.”
“I’ll be there,” I told Freya. “Just give me a few minutes to fill Aldwin in. I’m not sure where he is, but he should definitely know what’s happened here, at least before he hears it second hand. If you see the others before I do, will you let them know what’s happened when they get back from hunting?”
“No problem Lyr, and it’s probably a good idea to fill Aldwin in,” Freya said. “I’m pretty surprised that he isn’t here already to be honest, all of this commotion hasn’t exactly been quiet.”
“I can cover in the meantime,” Sierra offered. “Aldwin was just in his office with ‘Ronia’ before Dyre and I left.”
The red-haired woman paused to shake her head before continuing to speak. “They have some sort of history between one another, and not all good from what I could tell. Aldwin may appreciate the rescue if nothing else.”
“Fantastic,” I replied with a weary tone, wondering what Stanton and the other Adventurers would think of everything that had just happened. There was no way that they could have missed Mozter’s challenge or the fight between us. “Let’s hope it’s something simple.”
“Ha!” Sierra commented with a snort as she and Freya moved to follow the group of departing Adventurers. “When was the last time something was simple for us?”
“Probably not since we logged on for the first time,” Freya said wistfully, giving me a wink as she left to follow the group of Adventurers.
Sighing silently, I found myself unable to disagree with either woman’s statement, wondering when the game had taken the turn from something fun to play with my friends, to being in charge of a budding virtual society with competing interests and personality conflicts.
This is a far cry away from my old life, I realized as I looked out towards the crowd, wondering just how many would end up making the cut to Virtus. But would I really want it back?
Shaking my head at the thought, I made to move forward and walk towards the Town Hall in search of Aldwin just as an unfamiliar voice called out to me.
“If this is how you handle all your problems, Lyrian, I think we’re going to get along perfectly.”
Caught off guard by the use of my name, I couldn’t help but flinch as I shifted my glance towards a nearby elf standing off to the side, leaning nonchalantly against a nearby building far away from where everyone else had been standing. Clad in dark leather with an ornate metal cuirass covering his chest, I was surprised that I hadn’t noticed him earlier. Judging by the quality of the gear that the man was wearing, he had to be somewhere close to my level, if not higher. Som
ething that I always made a point to keep an eye out for.
He’s not just an elf, I mentally corrected myself after staring at the bald, clean-shaven man for a moment, realizing that his figure was far too broad and muscular for a pure-bred elf. He has to be a mix of something else…maybe human or half-giant?
“What are you talking about?” I asked while watching the man carefully, wondering where he had just come from. It wasn’t exactly hard to find out what my name was after spending some time in Aldford, but I still found it rather unsettling not to know who I was talking to. “And how exactly do you think that we are going to be working together?”
The man let out a bitter chuckle while shaking his head at me. “I saw you talking to Stanton, and I’m sure he’s told you about the reason why he’s here.”
“And if he has?” I replied, slowly walking towards the man, my eyes scanning my surroundings. The day may have just started, but I’d already had far too many surprises for my liking.
“Then whatever he’s told you is a complete lie,” the man stated as he beckoned me closer, casting a wary glance at the departing Adventurers. “Or close enough to make no difference.”
“How would you know that?” I asked, indulging the man and closing the distance between us, coming to a stop a few feet away from him, my hand moving to rest on Razor’s hilt.
“He’s the reason why my friends and I are here,” man replied, taking no notice of my hand’s placement as an angry expression momentarily crossed his face before vanishing into a forced smile. “If I had it my way, we’d still be in Eberia. Not out here in the middle of nowhere.”
“Are you following him?” I cocked my head at the Adventurer, suddenly wondering where exactly this conversation was headed as I inspected him more intently.
“Ha!” The man snorted, shaking his head again. “No. Not voluntarily at least.”
“I am actually his prisoner, in a manner of speaking.”
“His…prisoner?” I repeated while frowning at the man’s unexpected reply. Staring at him for a moment in surprise, a thousand questions clamored for attention in my mind until I chose the easiest of them as I collected myself and tried to mask my astonishment.
“Just who exactly are you?”
“Here I thought you’d never ask,” the muscular elf replied, a wide grin forming on his face. “My name is Lazarus Cain.”
Chapter 12
Moving away from the bridge, I followed the strange elf as he led me behind the building that he had been leaning against and further into Aldford, silently replaying his last words in my head.
Stanton mentioned that the Adventurers he brought with him were uncooperative, I reminded myself, keeping my eyes focused on Lazarus’s back as he avoided the main road through the town, and careful of signs of betrayal despite noting that the man wasn’t carrying any visible weapons on his body. But he didn’t say anything about them being here against their will.
My spinning thoughts came to an abrupt end as two other male Adventurers came into view, the pair standing side by side as they waited nervously behind a house that had been built long before I arrived in Aldford. One was an olive-skinned human dressed in bright-red leather armor, the other a tall half-orc wearing a tight-fitting linen jacket with dark brown pants. They were clearly on edge as their attention immediately focused onto Lazarus and then onto myself as we approached.
“What took you so long, Lazarus?” the man dressed in the leather armor demanded the moment that we came into range, his long, dark hair swaying side to side as he looked between the muscular elf and me. “We’ve been waiting for ages! Someone is bound to realize that we’re missing by now! If Stanton finds out…”
“And what is he exactly going to do about it, Sawyer?” Lazarus replied indifferently. “Make our lives even more difficult than he already has? He can’t expect us to stay cooped up in the tent the entire day now that we’ve finally arrived.”
“We shouldn’t test him too much, Lazarus,” the half-orc spoke as he inclined his cleanly shaven head towards me in greeting, his bright hazel eyes inspecting my gear. “If we push him too far...”
“I’m well aware of the stakes we’re playing with, Ransom,” Lazarus replied harshly before his expression softened and he waved a hand in my direction. “Anyway, the reason why it took so long was that Lyrian here was busy putting the beat down on Mozter and his crew. Pretty damn well if I may say so myself.”
“That’s what all the commotion was?” Sawyer asked, his dark eyes shifting to look at me with approval. “What happened?”
“He killed one of the applicants to my guild,” I replied, feeling that the information would become common knowledge around Aldford within the hour. “He wanted to lure me into a ranked duel and to steal my weapons and armor. I turned the terms around on him and took his gear instead, before the Justicar banished him from Aldford.”
“Damn, that’s cold,” Ransom said with a smile on his face. “Couldn’t have happened to a better guy.”
“You knew Mozter and his group?” I couldn’t help but ask, realizing that they must have spent the last few days travelling with the man just as the words left my mouth.
“He tried challenging us back in Coldscar,” Sawyer explained with a nod. “Well, more specifically, that huge half-orc tried to challenge Lazarus. What was his name again? Thar, Thad, or something similar?”
“Thra,” Ransom replied with a shrug. “Regardless, it didn’t turn out too well for him in the end.”
“What happened?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“I found out where he was sleeping and fed him a brick,” Lazarus replied idly. “He got the message that I wasn’t interested after that.”
I paused for a moment as I considered Lazarus’s reply, realizing after a heartbeat that he wasn’t joking and had no qualms about brutalizing an opponent in order to make a point, something I knew all too well given my last interaction with Mozter and Graves before that.
Sometimes a vicious example just had to be made.
“Huh,” I grunted, breaking the momentary silence that had fallen around us. “Anyway, what was it that you wanted me for? Lazarus told me that you were all Stanton’s prisoners, but I find that hard to believe if you’re running free in town.”
“We aren’t exactly his prisoners… but we’re not exactly free either…more like indentured servants with a death sentence over our heads…” Sawyer answered as he cast an annoyed glance over towards Lazarus. “My name is Sawyer by the way. Since it doesn’t look like Lazarus is going to formally introduce us.”
“You’re all grown-ups. Introduce yourselves.” Lazarus grunted. “What am I? A nursemaid?”
“You’re something alright,” the half-orc muttered under his breath as he met my eyes. “I’m Ransom, and we’re all unfortunately stuck with him for the foreseeable future...”
“I see,” I said slowly, my tone indicating the exact opposite.
“You don’t, at least not yet,” Lazarus replied with a sigh. “The reason why I asked you here is that we wanted to cut through all of the bullshit that I bet Stanton just laid onto you, along with everything that’s happening in Eberia and this Æther business that caused the three of us to be dragged out here.”
“And how exactly do you know what sort of ‘bullshit’ Stanton might be telling us?” I asked, trying to mask the sudden increase in my heart rate and keep my expression even as I met Lazarus’s gaze. “According to him, you declined to even show up to the meeting.”
“Is that what he told you?” Lazarus asked with a scowl. “We didn’t decline to go to the meeting. We were barred from attending.”
“Barred?” I echoed with a note of disbelief, my eyes narrowing at the man. “Why?”
“Because for as much as he needs us, he doesn’t trust us,” Ransom answered softly. “And he knows we don’t trust him. I’m sure he was concerned that we’d contradict him in front of everyone and throw off whatever he’s planning.”
“That doesn’t really answer the question,” I said, letting a bit of annoyance color my voice. With how slow the conversation was unfolding, I was going to be here all day, and I didn’t have the time to waste.
“I know what he told you because I overheard him and Commander Tarius rehearsing their story while we were on the road,” Lazarus stated, while motioning to his elven ears. “I may be a half-giant as well as an elf, but these just aren’t for show, you know.”
“That’s easy to say and hard to prove,” I replied with a shrug, despite being silently happy to now know the other half of the man’s racial makeup. “Give me something specific.”
“Well, for one, they talked about their long-term plan to have Eberia annex Aldford once they have control over something called a Ley Line,” Lazarus said, refusing to be intimidated. “Then Stanton went on about House Denarius technically owning this settlement, then mentioned a disgraced knight named Fredric Aldwin being a bad political choice to remain in control of the region.”
“They want to annex Aldford?” The words leapt out of my mouth before I could regain my composure.
“Ah!” Lazarus’s eyes widened at my reaction. “I knew that would get your attention.”
“Don’t be crass, Lazarus,” Sawyer interjected as he cut a hand through the air and gave me an apologetic look. “We want—need, to work with Lyrian and his guild if we’re ever going to get back to Eberia in a decent timeframe, especially with The Ascendancy on its way.”
“Stanton mentioned that they tried to invade Eberia,” I said, feeling off balance as I shifted my glance towards the red-armored Eberian. “And that you three stopped it. Is that actually true?”
“In a manner of speaking…yes,” Ransom acknowledged as a pained expression crossed his face, and he looked over towards Lazarus. “But that is a rather complicated story.”
Legacy of the Fallen Page 14