Captain Holtz stood but didn’t bother to brush off the dirt and dust. He coughed and spit out a mouth full of blood. His body was covered in gouges and scrapes from his trip across the battlefield. Wiping his mouth, he grinned as the healing effect of the potion took over.
“You won’t be alive long enough to see.” The captain bolted forward, cracking the earth beneath him as he closed the distance.
The demon attempted to slice through the captain with its newly formed axe, but the captain dodged it and sent a wave of white fire at the demon’s chest. As it burned away the dark energy, the captain saw what he was looking for.
The hole in the demon's chest revealed a man with dark tentacles coursing out of his body and dark crystals clinging to his chest. The captain shot a single attack at the man but the energy reformed quickly enough that the attack missed.
“It seems I know your secret traveler,” the captain said between labored breaths.
“I will kill you!” The demon shot another barrage of shadow balls from his palms, this time using both hands and doubling the effectiveness.
The captain struggled to dodge them all but eventually collided with one. As it hit his body, it exploded and caused a chain reaction. All the shadow balls began to explode, creating a dust storm. As the dust cleared, the captain was on one knee, holding himself up with his rapier and laughing.
The demon took a step closer and was hovering above the guard captain. “What's so funny?”
The captain smiled. “I’m just a distraction.”
The demon turned on its heel but was too late. A wall of fire crashed into him and quickly ate away his shadow energy. The demon attempted to fly away, but the fire destroyed his wings. The phoenix then flew into the body of the demon.
The demon let out a torrent of curse words as it panicked, looking for a solution, looking for salvation. The flames continued to eat away at its body, revealing the screaming traveler inside. The dark energy tried to heal itself but was failing to keep up, the flames being too much for it.
As the fire faded, the phoenix faded with it, leaving the traveler standing there with black energy still coursing through his body.
The demon gasped and gulped down air. “You…” Gasp. “Failed…” The demon lifted both arms into the air and began forming a shadow ball. The energy started smaller than before but was quickly growing.
Captain Holtz wasn’t healing anymore. His time limit was up on the empowerment potion, leaving him significantly weakened. “Gods, I beseech you one last time. Please give me the strength I need to smite this wrongdoer.” A faint aura surrounded the captain. The aura quickly concentrated on his feet and he dashed forward.
The demon anticipated this and the shadow ball faded as he dropped one hand. The man’s hand shot outward and formed a large black spike. It impaled Captain Holtz as he drove his rapier through the traveler’s heart. The shadows covering the man melted away, and he returned to his normal shirtless form. Captain Holtz fell backwards, a visible hole in his stomach. Both sides of the conflict stood in awe. Horns were being blown, and the monsters began their retreat, having suffered major losses.
The human army didn’t pursue, instead, it stopped at Captain Holtz. A small form was bent over him pouring a variety of liquids on his wounds. The liquids were bubbling and oozing as they combined on the captain's chest. The captain's chest was smoking, but he still wasn’t moving. The figure tried force-feeding the captain healing potions, but he remained unresponsive.
Luke met up with his team and Nanoc helped him to the field.
“Rose?” Luke called out to the shop owner.
“He's… he's dead.” Rose stood and turned to him. Her eyes were watery and red.
“Can’t someone resurrect him? There has to be some form of resurrection spell!” Nanoc pleaded.
Rose shook her head slowly. “The gods limit resurrection to travelers only. We only get one life.”
The gravity of her words sunk in. Luke frowned and tilted his head down, partially in respect and partially to hide his own tears. Rose’s hands began to glow green as she placed them on the captain’s chest. “I will miss you, Rupert.” She wiped her brow as she took a few steps back and the energy surrounded the captain's lifeless form.
The ground started shaking and small roots began sprouting out of the captain and into the ground. The roots began to grow, getting larger and spreading out. The captain's body began to transform into wood as a tree trunk broke through the ground. The tree pulled the captain's body into its trunk as it grew.
The tree stopped growing after it was thirty feet tall and six feet wide. The side of the tree that faced the city began to shift and move as the bark formed the visage of Captain Holtz. It was a spitting image of him holding his rapier to the ground in a knightly pose.
Rose stepped forward and placed her glowing hands against the base of the tree. A square wood plaque formed under the image of Captain Holtz. The plaque read:
Here lies Captain Rupert Holtz, protector of the Phoenix Kingdom. Remember him as he lived, a knight of the highest caliber and an even better man.
She stepped away and bowed her head. Others joined in, and soon all members of the army were bowing their heads in respect. The new travelers, unsure who the captain really was, paid their respects. They all knew they were alive now because of him.
After a long moment of silence, the crowd broke up and began heading for the city as a new day's light began to dawn.
“Rose?” Luke approached the gnome and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We should head back now.”
Rose cleaned her face and took his hand. The pair walked slowly back into the city, heading straight to their shop to sleep away their sorrows. Luke made sure Rose was situated before heading for his own room. When he made it to his bed, he collapsed into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Aftermath
Luke’s door was thrown open and Penny walked in. “You aren’t up yet? We’ve been waiting for you.”
Luke covered his eyes, shielding them from the light that was flooding the room. Groaning, he asked, “What time is it?”
“Time for you to get up, clean up and get to the castle.”
“They destroyed the castle, didn’t they?” He responded.
“They rebuilt parts of it and they asked for all the noble guilds to be there, so let’s go.” She tried pushing him along, but he wasn’t having it. “Just get to the castle please.”
Luke waved her off. “Ok, ok, I’ll meet you there.”
Satisfied, she left, allowing him to wake up and get his bearings. He sat up in his bed and paused, still feeling sluggish from the major weakening debuff. The bottom of his view was blinking rapidly, so he pulled up his notifications but chose to see only the condensed version. It was too early to be bombarded with system notifications.
Multiple enemies slain. 2,675 party participation exp gained. Focus here to see a full breakdown.
Multiple skill increases. Focus here to see a full breakdown.
Area Event Complete: The Great Goblin War! Multiple stat increases, new title and 15,000 event exp rewarded. Focus here to see a full breakdown.
Phoenix Kingdom, New Status: Friends.
Congratulations, Level up x2!
Luke was shocked. How did he get that much experience? He focused on the area event.
Area Event Complete: The Great Goblin War! Congratulations, you ranked 3rd among travelers and have been rewarded 5,000 exp, 100 gold, and 100 Phoenix Kingdom reputation. Congratulations, your guild, Travelers 4 Hire, ranked 1st among guilds and all members have been awarded 10,000 exp, 150 gold, and 150 Phoenix Kingdom reputation. All members of the guild, Travelers 4 Hire, have also been awarded +1 to all attributes. You have also been awarded the title Defender of the Phoenix Kingdom. While this title is equipped, you will receive +25% reputation gain with the Phoenix Kingdom and receive a 10% discount in all Phoenix Kingdom shops.
That's an impressive haul, he
thought as he got to his feet. The pain of survivor's guilt hit him as he thought of his personal gains. Still feeling sluggish, he cast nature’s regrowth on himself to get a morning boost of energy.
Not bothering to equip his armor, he left his room and his focus turned to the closed door behind the counter. He considered waking Rose but decided against it and instead left for the castle.
It took him longer than normal to reach the castle, his mind running through last night's events over and over. His eyes became watery as he held back tears when his thoughts turned to Captain Holtz.
“Hey kid.” He looked up to see Ursa sitting on top of a nearby building. He waved, and she jumped to the ground. She also appeared to be holding back tears. “How is Rose?” Ursa pointed down the walkway in the direction Luke had come from.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. She wasn’t up when I left and I didn’t want to bother her.”
“And how are you?” She added.
Luke shrugged. “Not sure the full weight of things has hit me yet but I’m surviving, you? I was a little worried when you got tossed over the wall.”
Ursa thought he was deflecting, but she brushed it off, not wanting to push him on the topic. “Yeah, that wasn’t my proudest moment but I’m surviving.” She hesitated, unsure what to say next. “I think I might go check on Rose. Stop by later so we can talk, ok?”
He nodded and continued toward the castle. When he finally arrived, he saw that they had erected a small stone building outside the ruins and people were gathering outside it. Dozens of mages were making good progress on erecting a new castle. Crude barriers of rock were being summoned from the earth while other mages set about transmuting them to polished stone walls.
Luke was shocked to see Robert Xanders sitting behind a small counter, speaking with several travelers and handing out scrolls with different names written on them.
“Rob?” Luke questioned, not believing what his eyes were showing him.
“Luke!” Rob began shuffling through a crate and pulled a letter out with Luke’s full name written on it.
“What’s this?” Luke grabbed the letter confused.
“It’s a letter from your mother.”
It shocked Luke to see Rob, but he was downright bewildered at seeing a letter from his mother. The scroll had a wax seal on it and as he grabbed the seal, a system message popped up.
Identity confirmed.
The wax seal then burned away in blue flames, leaving the scroll undamaged and unraveling in his hand. He pulled it open and began to read.
Hello Lucas,
Didn’t you promise to call me after your first day at this job? You’re a little late kiddo.
I honestly don’t know what to say or how to share my concerns about this whole situation with you. Vortex Industries promised me that you’re ok and I guess I will have to cling to that.
I stopped by your apartment and packed up your things. I can’t really afford your rent, so Vortex Industries paid out your lease, and I stuck your things in your old room at the house.
They also said I could stop by their headquarters if I wanted to login to one of the “VR Stations” to see you. I don’t know what that all means but after you got stuck in there, I have no intention of trying it for myself. I want to see you, but someone has to pay the bills around here.
I miss you Lucas and I hope you're safe and well. Please write back soon and remember that I love you and, even though I’m not physically there with you, I’m always with you in spirit.
Love, Mom
After composing himself, Luke approached Rob again. “Thank you.” Rob nodded. “She asked me to write her back, is that possible?”
Rob nodded and pointed to the far end of the counter. There were stacks of paper with ink and quills next to them. There was also a small bowl of hot wax and several seals lying around.
Luke wrote several pages, explaining most of what had happened to him. He described meeting Rose and his guild, getting trained by Ursa, summoning Ringo and the late Captain Holtz. He left out most of the gruesome bits but tried to leave in all the important parts. He signed off the pages with love and rolled them together. Grabbing a seal, he dipped it in wax and pressed it against the paper’s fold.
Basic mana seal created. This document can not be opened by anyone other than the intended recipient.
Luke wondered how they could enforce that considering that the letter was being delivered outside of the game, but he wasn’t bothered by the thought of somebody else reading it. He wasn’t sharing any deep, dark secrets or anything.
“Can you deliver this to my mom, please?” Rob took the scroll and placed it in a box at his side. The letter burned up in blue flames and vanished.
“Don’t worry.” Rob saw the look of concern Luke was giving him. “The box sends it to the Vortex Industries mailing program and e-mails it to the designated recipient if there is one in the database. If there isn’t an email address for the person, then it will reject it. We have everyone’s family email address on file from when we explained the…” he hesitated, “current situation to them.”
“Speaking of which, what’s the deal? I mean, I assume all the new travelers are the ones you spoke about in your announcement, but what’s the news on getting us out of here?”
Rob grimaced a little. “Unfortunately, we don’t really have a time frame for that. The FBI is working the case the best they can. They have some leads but they haven’t filled us in on much of the day-to-day investigation. I know they are making it a big priority and treating it like a mass kidnapping.”
Luke opened his mouth to ask more questions, but Rob cut him off.
“Listen Luke, I would love to explain it more but I can’t right now. Just know that the top brass is working on getting you guys home but, for now, I can’t give you a timeline. To help bolster good relations we’re offering all family members of beta players free access to login and meet up with their family. We are also going to buy one of the local buildings near the castle and set it up as a customer relations building. If you have questions, you will have to speak with whoever they assign to that building. I’m only here today to hand out letters and connect people with their families as a sign of good faith from the company.” Rob gestured behind Luke at the large line that had formed behind him. “As you can see, everyone is trying to connect with their families at the moment, and I really can’t spend too much time with anyone in particular.” Rob gestured to Luke in a way that suggested he should move along.
Luke gazed around and saw a lot of players hugging kids and kissing what he assumed to be their spouses. Not wanting to get in the way of families being reunited, he stepped aside and made a mental note to come back and visit the customer relations building when it opened.
“Hey Luke!” Turning he saw Penny shouting and waving him down.
As he approached he noticed Shrapnel, Nanoc, Backstab and several other guild members gathering in front of a large red and orange tent with guards surrounding it.
“What’s going on?” Luke questioned.
Shrapnel slapped Luke’s back. “We did it! I’m assuming you read the system message about us ranking first during the Goblin War?” Shrapnel paused and after Luke realized he was waiting for a response, he nodded. “Good. Well, Princess Kira has asked for a meeting with our guild. I invited the officers,” he gestured around at various guild members, “and your party because you’ve met the King before and I also noticed you ranked third for personal contribution.”
Penny, Nanoc and Backstab all looked at him with wide eyes. “When were you going to tell us that little bit of information?” Nanoc asked.
Luke blushed and shrugged. “Didn’t want to seem like I was bragging or something. I assumed you all ranked high.” They all lowered their heads.
“I don’t know about them, but I placed second,” Shrapnel continued. “As I was saying, before someone interrupted me,” He shot them all a dirty look, “Princess Kira wants to meet with us. She h
as some news regarding the queen and a new guild quest!” He waved them all forward and approached the guards, informing them that Princess Kira was waiting for them.
“Hmm.” The guard wearing all plate armor was staring down Shrapnel. He lifted the tent's flap and an elderly man in orange robes stepped out.
“Hello travelers.” They all waved. “Let me get a good look at you.” He moved his fingers and hands into a complicated series of patterns and symbols as a small orb of orange light formed on his pointer fingers. He placed the fingers against his eyelids and when he reopened his eyes, they were solid orange and glowing.
He spent time looking at each of them, moving from one to another. After he was done, he returned to the front of the tent and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes they had returned to normal, and he held the tent flap open.
“Please go in, I sensed no ill intent from any of you. The princess has been expecting you.” He gestured with his free arm for them to enter.
The group entered the tent and took in their surroundings. The tent was incredibly elaborate with a variety of colored fabric strung from the ceiling. The floor was covered in decorative furs and rugs. The room was well lit with candelabras and floating orbs of light. In the center of the room was a woman lying in a long bed, surrounded by mages continuously casting spells on her. In front of the bed was an ornate chair raised up on a platform, holding a young woman who was sitting straight.
Luke’s group recognized the woman lying in the bed as the queen and the woman on the throne-like chair as the princess. When their group approached, they all went to one knee to show respect. The robed man followed them in and took a seat on a small simple chair next to the princess.
“Before we begin, the princess requires you all to take a mana binding oath of silence.” The man began but stopped when the travelers all gave him confused expressions. He raised an eyebrow before continuing. “I can see by your expressions that none of you know what that is. Please allow me to elaborate. When you make a mana binding oath or contract, you imbue your words with your mana. Your mana will hold you to your oath and if you break your agreement, it will kill you.”
Endless Fantasy Online Page 26