by E. M. Hardy
“You didn’t tell him?” I said to Elia.
She shook her head. “I was waiting for you.”
I then looked at Ohren and explained, “We’re from the Silver Blades. Apparently, the Ascendants want you dead and we’re here to extract whatever it is you know about them.”
The dwarf was about to speak when, suddenly, we heard the door crash wide open. And half a dozen soldiers flooded inside, all of them with their swords bared open. I didn’t even have a chance to arm myself with my bow when I saw Elia rush into the fray.
She whacked the first soldier in the head with her mace. I watched as she then slammed her shield against the enemy flanking her other side before she shoved her weapon forward to parry and strike an incoming slash.
I was out of MP and special abilities, but I still had a bunch of arrows that might help. I quickly began to fire shot after shot, aiming for the enemies who were on Elia’s blind side. Everything was quite a blur to the point that I didn’t even notice the numbers floating by. At this point, it all just seemed too real.
One soldier managed to slip by her defenses and charged right at me. I panicked for a second as I knew I couldn’t unsheathe my dagger in time to counter his attack. Fortunately, I could pick up my bearings and resorted to stepping just a little to the side and then knocking him off balance with my bow. It didn’t do much damage but it did make him stumble before he could face me and aim to strike again. By that time, I had my arrow in my hand and I stabbed him right through the neck, piercing him right through the coif. Blood spat out of his wound until he fell to his knees and then to a slow, painful death on the wooden floor.
I looked up and saw Elia walking up towards me, her hands reaching out as she casted her healing spell. I quickly recovered 13 points of health. I was now standing at 15 HP which was a clear improvement. My broken bones and aches were also suddenly gone. It was all video game logic, to be sure, but I was relieved I didn’t have to limp through town anymore.
“That’s why I didn’t leave the game just yet,” I told her. “Imagine how this battle would have played out if it was just you protecting him.”
“Well, let’s get the most out of it then,” she told me as she headed back to help Ohren up on his feet. “Let’s get him to the Silver Blades and finish this damn contract.”
I nodded to that and we left the house in haste.
Chapter Twenty
“You all did a fine job out there,” Lord Commander Vahn told us once we had a few moments to rest.
The headquarters was on full alert as he expected some guards to come in and investigate. It was a pleasant surprise to discover he had a secret office built underneath the main foyer, and this was where we were hiding at the moment.
It was just him and Rembrandt for now. The latter was busy attending to Ohren’s physical condition, applying some advanced healing kit on the poor battered dwarf.
“This should be proof enough of our commitment,” I said. “We’re worthy of joining your ranks.”
Elia then added in, “You did say so yourself; you would have hired us on the spot before. We did as you asked. What more do you want from us?”
She was getting a little impatient and so was I. It was a little refreshing to see she was the one losing her cool instead of me this time though. It was like watching a cute little Chihuahua bark ferociously at a grizzly bear, except I knew this Chihuahua really did have a crazy mean bite.
“Yes, I did say that,” Vahn answered. “The task is now complete. When we head back topside, I’ll let you speak with Valentine to record your information and officially sign you in as members of the Silver Blades.”
As soon as he acknowledged we had fulfilled the contract, the mark on our hands disappeared. Neither Elia nor I wasted any time to marvel at this fact. Instead, we turned our attention to Rembrandt and Ohren. For a second, I listened for any noise upstairs, but it didn’t sound like any soldiers had come knocking on the headquarters’ doors just yet.
“So, what can he tell us?” I asked.
Ohren waved Rembrandt off and spoke, “I can speak for myself. First of all, thank you for saving my skin. Secondly, you should have just told me you were Silver Blades. A lot of people in the court know the Silver Blades are fighting the Ascendants. Which puts you and I on the same side.”
Vahn scoffed but then urged Ohren to continue.
“Look, the Ascendants aren’t idiots,” the dwarf said. “They never let any of their actual members interact with anybody. It’s always through some sort of intermediary. Another thing is they have their hands on everything. They have soldiers and guard captains in their pockets, but they also control the city mobs and criminal syndicates. It’s all a game to them, and they’re controlling the economy like we’re all puppets on strings.”
It was so depressing to hear him speak this way. He had no idea he really was just a dummy in a game.
“We need to know how they operate, where they operate, and what we can do to stop them,” Rembrandt then pointed out. He adjusted his mage hat a bit and then asked, “Can you tell us anything about their whereabouts or who the actual members are?”
Ohren nodded and nervously said, “I do know some tidbits. I know that every order they give goes down a chain of command and is spread through different channels. This is why some guys get their orders from orphans and others get them from letters. But that chain has to start somewhere, right? I had a friend who had a friend who said that chain begins somewhere in the palace courts.”
Lord Vahn instantly perked up. “Wait, you mean to say a member of the Ascendants is within the royal courts?”
“Is that even possible?” Elia asked. “All of the royal members, including Ritorio, are NPCs. The Ascendants are all players, so they can’t possibly be members of the royal family.”
“That narrows it down a bit,” Rembrandt stated. “If they cannot belong to the royal circle, they must be nobles who inherited their titles through other means. They could be court members who gained nobility through heroic achievement, knighthood or from taking that title from a family.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean they could have taken the title?”
Ohren explained, “The Ascendants could be people who overtook a family’s inheritance and power. It could be for a number of reasons: maybe a family was destroyed and they were the only ones around to take hold of their legacy. Maybe they killed all the members of that family and bestowed the riches on themselves. It happens all the time, especially if the Grand Duke seals the transition.”
“This would make sense, given the enormous power and influence the Ascendants have,” Elia said, “but wouldn’t it be too easy? Even I suspected that they had someone in the courts.”
Vahn rubbed his chin. “This is all very suspicious. It’s all also very intriguing. I want to know more, but the only way we’ll get in is if we can gain access to the castle. None of us have that privilege.”
Elia and I looked at each other and then both cried out, “We do!”
I produced the badge Ritorio had given us. “Remember? He invited us the day we got here in Cael’vron.”
“I think he suspects someone in the court as well,” Elia suggested. “We won’t know until we get to speak with him directly.”
Vahn looked at Rembrandt and then back at us. “I don’t know. You’re both very impressive but also very green. Neither of you have played this game long enough to know all the intricacies. Neither of you have leveled up high enough to even stand a chance in case a battle breaks loose in the castle courtyards. General Karyn Rose is a player and she’s a Level 25 Warrior, and it definitely shows. She managed to kill a White Dragon entirely on her own. If you had to face her for whatever reason, you’d re-spawn outside the castle and we’d never be able to get you back inside to continue the investigation.”
“Well, it would be better for us to have this one shot than to never have it all,” I pointed out. “Let Elia and I
go in. We can talk to Ritorio and formulate some kind of plan.”
“What do you want with the Ascendants, anyway?” Ohren asked. “I know they’re all buggers and the sort, but you folks here seem to have something against the bastards. Something personal.”
Elia made a fist and answered, “We do. I want to see them crumble to the ground. I want to see them burn until nothing remains of their empire.”
I could feel the passion in her voice. It reminded me of my brother yet again.
“Let us in,” I said to Vahn. “We’ll find out who the inside man is within the castle court and trace them back to the main Ascendants’ headquarters. We’re going to unravel every little detail about that forsaken group and tear them apart. You’ve got my word.”
Vahn smiled. He clapped his hands as he said, “Now you’re official members of the Silver Blades. You’re definitely talking like one, like someone who takes the initiative.”
“We’re going to cripple their operation here in Cael’vron,” Elia said. “That’ll be a good start.”
I took a step forward, feeling the urgency of the moment boil in my blood. “Let’s not waste time then. I’m pretty sure everything is going crazy in the castle right now. They’re all panicking. I think I went a little overboard by blowing up the bank.”
“We can use that chaos to our advantage,” Vahn stated. “What if we slip you into the castle, posing as officials of the bank?”
Rembrandt replied, “We could do that. They know Ritorio, so perhaps we can convince him to play along just long enough to help them get in. More importantly, it’ll get them close to the Grand Duke and his court.”
“We can take it from there,” I said. “I just need to get in a room with all those people to find out who their representative is. Trust me on this. My uh, occupation in the real world allows me to read people better than most.”
Ohren raised a hand. “What do you plan to do once you’ve found the guy working in the Ascendants? You can’t just kill ‘em.”
I smirked and said, “I’m going to squeeze every bit of information from him.”
Elia held my arm and asked, “If it’s a player, won’t he have the option of just logging out right when you’re going to torture him? How are you going to lock him in the game to get anything out of him?”
“That’s the thing – I’m not going to touch him,” I answered. “I’ll slip in and follow him. I’ll make sure to listen in on every conversation that person has. I’ll investigate his room. I’ll follow the paper trail of every transaction he has. There’s bound to be something that leads me from him to the rest of the group.”
“What should I do then?” Elia asked. “You know, I don’t have those kinds of investigative skills.”
I pulled her in closer and comforted her. “You are going to stick with Ritorio. I have my plan and he might have one of his own. Together, we might be able to blow this thing up. More importantly, I think you’re the one who can convince the Grand Duke we’re from the bank.”
“That raises another concern,” Rembrandt said. “What if a representative from the bank does indeed drop by? Their cover will be exposed.”
Vahn smiled. “I’ll take care of that. I’m not going to let them go in there naked. I know someone in the Golden Dragon. Give me a day and I’ll be able to forge some documents to make you two valid employees.”
“What do we do until then?” Elia asked. “Just kill time?”
Vahn waved it off mindlessly. “Do whatever you want, as long as you get back here in about twenty-four hours. That’s an hour and twenty minutes in the real world, in case you wondered. Prepare, get some coffee, visit a brothel, take a nap… I don’t care.”
“I need to stock up on arrows,” I said. “After that, I might log out for a bit. I need to take a break for a moment. I just blew up an entire building and crashed down from a tower to break nearly every bone in my body. I think I could use some rest.”
“I’m staying logged in,” Elia said. “I’m going to get acquainted with the folks at the bank and try to learn as much as I can. We can’t just stroll into the castle posing as bank employees without knowing a damn thing they do.”
I looked at her with concern. “You sure you don’t want to relax a bit?”
“I’m not the one who fought half a dozen soldiers with a battered body,” she pointed out. “I got this, don’t worry.”
“All right then,” I said. I then looked over at Vahn. “Oh, by the way, I was hoping you could help a brother out. I took those barrels of rum on credit at the Drunken Stallion. And I’m kind of broke at the moment, if you see what I mean…”
Lord Vahn chuckled but, thankfully, nodded. “All right. I know the barkeep there. Sweetness is a good friend of ours. I’ll send someone today to pay her back. One more thing, if you need to resupply, you can head upstairs to our quartermaster, Varkas. He’ll get you what you need and he’ll upgrade your gear if he can, depending on what we carry at the moment.”
“Thanks,” I said. “What do we do about him? I mean, we can’t let Ohren just walk around the building. Soldiers could come in at any time.”
Ohren looked up. “Yeah, what do you plan to do with me?”
“We need all the information you can give us,” Vahn answered. “I’m going to let Rembrandt stay here with you and write down all the transaction details you remember about the Ascendants. Where do they get their supplies? What days do they conduct business? Who are their known associates? I want to know all that and more. Once we’re done, I’ll send some of my other men to escort you to the Obelisk Gallant. Captain Klarg can get you out of the city safely.”
“I doubt that,” Ohren said. “Once we’re in the air, we’ll be sitting ducks. The Ascendants could strike even in the air. They have an entire fleet of soldiers.”
“Oh we know,” Vahn answered. “But the Obelisk Gallant already defeated them once. As a matter of fact, the two Silver Blades that rescued you from that execution were aboard the skyship when the Ascendants attacked. They boarded the ship and blew it out of the sky.”
Ohren looked at Elia and then me. His mouth was open and he had this expression of surprise all over his face.
“Why do you think we sent them to go after you?” Rembrandt asked the dwarf. “The Lord Commander has a lot of high ranking soldiers and any of them could have rescued you without a hitch.”
“Why did you send us instead of the higher level members?” I asked Vahn.
The man shrugged. “You blew up an Ascendants ship. That’s an achievement even some of my higher ranking members can’t boast of, and you did it at such low levels. You know you’re not that powerful, so you two tend to use creative thinking instead of rushing in with swords bared. That’s the level of strategy we’re looking for.”
“I have to ask,” Elia then cut in. “That skyship was manned by player characters but none of them seemed strong enough to be members of the Ascendants. Who were they?”
“Recruits, just like you,” Vahn replied. “The Ascendants are one of the top guilds in Vatenkeist Online, second only to the Horde. A lot of people want to join them, so they use that opportunity to enlist hundreds of recruits at a time to do their bidding.”
That raised another question that I had to ask, “Just how many members can a guild have?”
“Fifteen,” Vahn answered. “The Ascendants have twelve, but they haven’t officially recruited anyone to fill in the coveted remaining three slots in years. No one knows why but it’s become something of a popular gimmick these days to try. Whoever gets one of those open slots is bound to become a legend.”
“Only fifteen?” Elia found this just as surprising as I did. “How many members do we have?”
Rembrandt answered, “The Silver Blades currently has nine members and that includes you two. You’ve met Null and Valentine. You encountered Mikaela back in Strovport. Varkas, Valentine and Moira are upstairs. I’m sending Valentine out to Idolia and loo
k for a few potential recruits there. We do have about thirty-two hired soldiers working for us, but they’re all NPCs.”
I took Elia by the hand and told her, “Well, I’m heading upstairs. I doubt any of the guards could really identify us. We killed the ones that saw our face. I’m taking my chance either way”
“I am too,” Elia answered. “Come on, let’s get this done.”
She and I left Rembrandt and Vahn to continue their interrogation with Ohren. The dwarf seemed pretty happy to answer any questions as long they kept him safe and away from the Ascendants and their spies. We took a long, dark tunnel that led us to the stairs back up to the main foyer. When we got topside, we had to go through a secret door hidden behind a bookshelf.
Up here on the ground floor, there were five guards roaming about. Two more were posted by the main door. That was when we saw the other members of the Silver Blades as they were all busy huddling about and around Vahn’s desk.
Varkas turned out to be an elven pugilist. In some ways, he reminded me of Parnax from Strovport, but Varkas was a completely different beast. He just looked far more menacing – he was a little short but his body was built like a tank. Slim, lean but muscular and rough, he looked like he could smash through walls with just his fists. In short, the perfect juggernaut.
Moira was a mage, but she wasn’t the typical wizard, and her appearance definitely made it clear. Whereas Rembrandt was the kind of wizard one would expect from a fantasy world, Moira was a Venaris and her specialty of magic had darker origins. She was a warlock. She didn’t get her magic from studying spell scrolls. She got hers from a pact with an unknown, unseen being only she could communicate with.
“This all sounds very complicated,” Moira said, once we had explained our plan. “I’m Level 12 and even I would think twice about going undercover in the Grand Duke’s castle.”
Varkas nodded. “She’s right, you know? This is a risky move for everyone.”