This, of course, started an avalanche of ‘applicants’ looking for a free meal. Alexander held up his hands.
“This is no joke! That offer is for serious applicants only. Any who come to waste my time, or simply seeking a free meal, will end up like Ceasar, here!” he roared. For emphasis, he shot a burst of light into Ceasar’s face. That quieted things down considerably. He waved over a young boy, maybe twelve years old. “You know where the Ogre is?” he asked.
The boy nodded his head emphatically and pointed in the correct direction. Alexander tossed him a gold coin. “Run and tell O’Malley that Alexander is bringing guests for an early meal. I’d like a room in which to have private discussions.”
The boy was already in motion as he caught the coin. He sped off through the crowd.
Chapter Six You Can’t Fix Stupid
By this time, Captain Redmond had appeared. When informed by his guard what Alexander suspected the screaming warrior of, he smiled. Hopping up onto the platform Alexander had made, he looked at the screaming man. Then he whispered to Alexander. “He is not an official member of PWP. But he might be in their employ. I can interrogate him. I know a spell that will alert me if he lies.”
Alexander thought for a moment. “When I signal with a nod, place him under arrest. I can only hold him about another two minutes before the duel ends, then you’ll have to detain him. As soon as he can speak, cast your spell, ask your questions.”
Alexander stood and looked down at Ceasar. He dispelled the wizard’s fire. Once the man had stopped his screaming, he asked “Do you concede the duel?”
“Fuck you!” the warrior screamed. His voice was ragged from a couple minutes of nonstop screaming.
Checking the man’s health bar, Alexander hit him in the face with a slightly strong burst of light. “You have no hope of winning. I could kill you now, but I’d rather talk to you. You’re just making a fool of yourself. This duel was over before it started. Concede.”
The man hurled an insult about Alexander’s mother. That was a mistake.
Alexander kicked the man in the teeth as hard as he could. Then he cast Wizard’s Fire directly into his screaming mouth. After ten seconds, he dispelled it again. Ceasar’s health bar was now down to about 10%.
“I’ll ask you again. Concede the duel.”
“No! Never!” the man screamed, causing blood and burnt tissue to spray from his mouth.
With a sigh, Alexander cast bolts of light into the man’s face until he reached 1% health, which signaled the official end of the duel.
Congratulations! You have won your first duel! Achievement earned: Scrapper!
Alexander liquefied the stone around Ceasar and raised him up. Then he solidified the stone again. He nodded to the Captain, who stepped forward. “In the name of King Charles, I arrest you on suspicion of espionage. You will now answer my questions truthfully, or suffer the consequences.” He cast a spell on the moaning warrior. To help things along, Alexander cast a heal on the man. Even the 2,000hp heal only took him back to 25%.
“Are you a member of PWP?” the Captain asked.
The warrior smirked at him. “No.”
“Are you here in the employ of, or on behalf of, PWP or any of its members?” Again, a ‘no’, but less certain this time. Ceasar clearly didn’t like the direction this was taking. The Captain, and many in the crowd, picked up on this as well as Alexander had.
The Captain spoke much louder this time, so all the crowd could hear. “Are you in the employ of, or working on behalf of, the ‘Dark One’ or his minions?”
Ceasar struggled to his feet, looking around as if for a path of escape. “No,” he said.
“That was a lie!” The Captain shouted in his face.
Instantly, the icon above Ceasar’s head turned an angry red. Seeing he was caught, the warrior leapt at the Captain, swinging his sword and yelling, “The Dark One will destroy you all!”
Captain Redmond’s sword whipped out of its sheath and across his body faster than Alexander could even follow. Ceasar’s sword arm separated from his body above the elbow, and landed in the crowd, still holding the sword. Alexander quickly cast another heal on the warrior, preventing him from bleeding out. When the Captain looked at him questioningly, he whispered, “I want this one imprisoned as he is. If you’d killed him, he’d have respawned with both arms.”
Ceasar was stripped of his weapons and armor, as well as his inventory bag of holding. All were given to Alexander to search. There was just over two thousand gold, good quality armor and weapons, several high-quality healing and stamina potions, and a ring with a dark stone. The rest of the inventory was mostly junk - Hides, mob loot like teeth or claws, poor quality weapons.
Alexander used analyze on the ring.
Ring of Communication
This ring allows the wearer to speak with its creator over long distances.
He handed the ring to the Captain, who inspected it himself. His eyebrows rose, and he turned back to the now subdued warrior. “Who gave you this ring? Who does it enable you to speak to?” he shouted.
The warrior just spat on the ground. Alexander stepped forward. Towering over the man, who was on his knees, he said very quietly, “Answer the man’s questions, and he might kill you and let you respawn in the dungeon with two arms.”
Ceasar looked up at him with absolute hatred in his eyes. “Simms was a friend of mine!” he growled.
Alexander was shocked. He stumbled back and sat on the block he’d raised. The Captain, looking worried, put a hand on his shoulder. “Alexander?” he asked.
What the hell? This guy’s a friend of Delbert Simms? One of the people who attacked Olympus? And he knows Simms is dead!
“EVERYBODY TO THE CENTRAL SQUARE! NOW! I’VE JUST FOUGHT A DUEL WITH A FRIEND OF DELBERT SIMMS. DROP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND GET HERE.” He sent the message out in guild chat. As an afterthought, he added ‘Equip your T-shirts’, so that his friends wouldn’t panic.
Suddenly Alexander felt a cold rage. He needed information from this man. He stood and stepped forward again. “You mean Delbert Simms?” His voice monotone.
Ceasar nodded. “Bet you didn’t expect him to come knocking on your door, did you?” he smirked.
Alexander leaned down to whisper in Ceasar’s ear. “Simms died screaming and begging, just like you did a minute ago. That little bitch accomplished nothing but his own painful death, and the death of his friends. He burned to death, slowly. You fuck with my family, the same will happen to you.”
Standing straight, he turned to the Captain. “Captain, are any of those who lost loved ones in the PWP raid on the city here today?”
The Captain looked around the crowd. He called out two names, and motioned them forward. When the man and woman he’d called reached the platform, they were helped up gently by the guards.
The Captain introduced the woman first. She was in her late 50s or early 60s, with a kind, if sad, face. “This is Edna. Her husband was the barkeep at a tavern where the PWP attacked. He was killed before others could take the bastards down.”
Alexander bowed deeply to the woman. “I’m so sorry,” was all he said.
The Captain then introduced the man. “This is Caleb. He is… he was a guard sergeant. His wife and daughter were murdered on the street near their home.
Alexander felt tears in his eyes as he bowed to the man. “I cannot imagine your loss. I’m sorry.”
He took the gold they’d just looted from Ceasar. His voice rough and quiet, he said, “This was just taken from this piece of shit here.” He motioned to the warrior, still on his knees. “There is just over two thousand gold here.” He brought out a small pouch and put half of the money in it. Then he handed a pouch to each of them. “The captain will sell the rest of this man’s gear, and make sure those funds reach you as well. I cannot bring back your loved ones, but I hope this will ease your burden going forward.”
Alexander shook Caleb’s hand, and hugged Edna.
&n
bsp; He needed to keep this show going. Hopefully his father had already tracked Ceasar’s information and sent the FBI to wherever he was logging in from. If he was really lucky, they’d find information that would help in the bombing investigation. But if Alexander let the captain take Ceasar away and lock him up, the man would likely log out and run.
He turned to the warrior. “I’ve just given away all your gear. Which you forfeited when you tried to kill the captain, here. That was just stupid. Your Dark One, he seems to prefer stupid. Everyone he’s sent against us has been a moron. Why is that?” he asked.
“Fuck you, Greystone. We know where you live. We know where your friends live. We’ll kill them all. Burn their houses to the ground. We won’t stop until you, your company, and the game are a smoking ruin.”
Alexander addressed the crowd. “THIS is what happens to those who serve the darkness! This man will now go to prison and be put to hard labor. I am personally going to request that he be assigned to cleaning latrines!” This brought a thundering cheer from the crowd.
Turning to Edna and Caleb, he said “Is there anything you wish to… express to this man on behalf of your loved ones?”
Without hesitation, Edna walked over and spat in Ceasar’s face. Then, with a little hop for momentum, she landed a 40-yard field goal kick to the man’s nut sack. The crowd erupted in cheers.
As Edna stepped back, sobbing, the captain gathered her in a hug. Caleb stepped toward the warrior, and smiled. Alexander shuddered. The malice behind that smile made the warrior quail. Caleb moved behind the man, and bent low, his head next to Ceasar’s. He said, “Your Dark One has made enemies today. Beginning with me. I hereby dedicate my life to avenge my girls by ending his life!” As the crowd roared, Caleb whispered something in the warrior’s ear that made his face go pale. He actually wet himself.
As Caleb whispered, cries of “SEEE YA!” began to erupt from the outer edges of the crowd. Looking up, Alexander saw Lainey rushing toward him, the crowd parting as the chant grew. Right behind Lainey were Sasha, Jules, and Lydia.
From another direction, Brick was steaming toward him with Max not far behind. All but Jules and Lydia were wearing their bright yellow T-shirts. Alexander equipped his as well. The cries of “SEEE YA!” doubled.
When the others had made their way up onto the platform, Alexander raised his hands. “Eight times now, PWP and the servants of the this so-called ‘Dark One’ have attacked the citizens of Stormforge. And each time, they have ended up dead, or imprisoned!” He paused for cheers of ‘SEEE YA’. “But too many times, they have managed to take away our friends and loved ones!” The crowd grew quiet at this, watching the still-crying Edna as Lydia and Sasha took over for the captain.
Alexander continued, “Greystone will fight this pretend god of darkness, and all his minions! We will fight until he is destroyed, or we are!” As the crowd roared, he stepped behind Ceasar. Grabbing the man’s hair, he tilted his head up.
“This scum has been walking around freely in the city. His job was to gather information about us. While he, and others like him, are here amongst all of you, they pose a danger to innocents. SO, I WILL MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM!” he screamed as loudly as he could. “YOU CAN FIND US AT DIRE KEEP! BRING ALL YOUR MINIONS, COWARD! FACE US! WE WILL BE WAITING!”
As he finished, he kneed the warrior in the back, causing him to fall face forward onto the stone.
His friends all raised weapons in the air, shouting, “Death to the Dark One!” The crowd picked up the chant.
Alexander slowly lowered the platform back to ground level. The show was over. But he still needed to keep Ceasar busy.
Rolling the man over on his back, he said, “I’ll offer again. Tell us all you know about this Dark One, and I’ll ask the Captain to restore your arm.” One of the guards, who had retrieved the arm from the crowd, waved it at the warrior.
Ceasar growled. “The Dark One ain’t no friggin’ NPC god you can vanquish. He’s real! He pays in hard cash. American dollars. His beef with Greystones goes way back, and he’s been planning for YEARS! He’ll destroy you all; destroy this world! And when it’s over, I’ll spit on your grave!” He looked at Sasha and Lainey, a sneer on his face. “Except for you two. My boys and I, we got plans for you hotties! We’re gonna pass you around like party favors till you can’t even scream anymore.”
Lainey snort-laughed. “Big talk from a little boy who pissed himself just cuz somebody whispered in his ear a little!” This caused a ripple of laughter from the surrounding guards.
Ceasar’s face turned bright red. “I did what you said, now kill me!”
Alexander shook his head. “All you’ve done is boast and threaten. I want real information. Where do you meet? Who else is involved?”
“I’ll not say another word. They’d kill me in my sleep. Now kill me so I can get my arm back.” He stood up and faced Alexander, then turned his head toward the west. “KILL ME!” he screamed.
The captain shook his head. “We don’t kill adventurers once we’ve taken them prisoner.” He smiled at Alexander. “No mercy.”
Alexander had a bad feeling. The warrior was too insistent on dying. Looking to the west, Alexander tried to follow the warrior’s line of sight. He was looking at a small building just off the main road leading into the square. The front door was ajar, but Alexander could not see in the building.
Quickly, he sent the captain a group invite. Then he pulled up his map, shared it with the group, and pinged the building.
In group chat, he said, “I think Ceasar’s got friends here. EVERYBODY LOOK AT CEASAR. Do NOT look at the building. He was looking that direction as he screamed ‘kill me’. The front door is ajar. Captain, can you get guards behind the building quickly? I’m going to put on a little show to distract them. The rest of you, take off your T-shirts, and separate. Move in that direction, and be ready to take out anyone leaving that building.”
“Make me group leader.” The captain replied.
Alexander did so, and the Captain instantly converted the group to a raid. He added in Lydia, and two dozen guards. Then he pinged the map again, and instructed half the guards to move in on the back of the building quietly.
His guildmates removed their T-shirts and drifted into the crowd. Jules and Max actually went into stealth mode. Alexander began his distraction.
Grabbing the warrior’s severed arm, he raised a smaller platform back into the air. It held just himself, Ceasar, and the captain. He wanted to give the man a good viewpoint from which to command the situation.
Waving the arm in the air, he cried out, “This piece of shit is begging for his arm! I think he expects we’ll sew it back on for him! What say you?”
Cries of “No!” and “Never!” rose up from the crowd. One voice, louder than the others, shouted, “Feed it to him!”
Alexander chuckled. Looking in the direction of the voice, he shouted, “I like the way you think!” He handed the arm to Ceasar, who cradled it with his good arm, looking slightly nauseous.
Monitoring progress in guild chat, he saw that the guards were nearly in place at the back of the building. There were two more squads of guards heading in from neighborhoods close by.
He threw his arms up and spun around, enabling him to look toward the building without seeming obvious. He saw his group taking positions around the corner from the front door. Taking the opportunity, he extended his earth magic to its limited, and softened the ground across the entire road in a patch between the building and the square.
“I wish to thank all of you, for your support and understanding. This will be no easy fight. Although, if all of this pretender’s minions are as stupid as the ones we’ve encountered so far, the fight may not be all THAT hard!” He grinned at the crowd.
Pointing to Ceasar, he shouted, “This moron’s friends attacked my family’s keep back in my homeland. They knew that I was here, but were on a mission to kill innocents, just to prove a point! The idiots blew themselves up, barely puttin
g a scratch on the gate!” The crowd laughed.
That did it. Ceasar roared in anger and frustration, “Attack! NOW! For the Dark One!”
Six players with red icons leaped out the front door of the building. They’d actually been stupid enough to group up before Ceasar challenged him, and remain grouped long enough to be tagged as enemies.
An archer stood up on the roof, and wasted his first shot on Ceasar, trying to kill his co-conspirator. The arrow fell a bit short, striking the warrior in the stomach. The archer never got a second shot, as Lainey hit him with a stun arrow, then she and Max hit him with two more arrows causing him to fall off the building. Luckily, he landed in the mud Alexander had created. He might live.
Of the six who were at ground level, there were four warriors, a caster, and a healer. The warriors had all charged toward the now screaming crowd. They hit the area of liquefied stone at the same time, and with momentum, actually made it half way across before sinking in. Seeing this, the caster and healer remained behind on solid ground. Alexander quickly solidified the stone around the warriors, taking them out of the fight.
The Greystone Chronicles Book Two: The Dire Lands Page 14