by Galen Wolf
I’ve made sure that there is enough space within the palisade to allow us to build more farms and other functionary buildings. I want a blacksmith for one thing. A windmill would allow us to grind the barley to make our own bread. We can sell the extra barley for more than plain barley too. I want a barn to store the crops from the fields. I want a stud farm for us to breed our own horses. I’ve got lots of plans.
I’m planning to log off and grab some sleep when Bernard appears. “Gorrow,” he says. “Good morning! Did you sleep well?”
19
A Gift of Potions
Bernard and Luc are heading north to confront the evil army at Birdoswald. I decide to go with them at least to Camelot and I take a long backward glance at my palisaded settlement of Silver Drift. I see my soldiers on the ramparts and Thorvald, Armand and Jason wave goodbye to me as we take the road east. “I’ll be back soon,” I shout.
“We’ll take good care,” Jason says and then I turn to focus on the road ahead.
The heather is in bloom and ptarmigan and grouse flutter across the moorland as we come to the escarpment and begin our descent to Croglin. From up here, I see the broad valley of the river Idon as it runs to its estuary. Further north towards Scotia I see the dark clouds of war.
“You’ve got a nice little thing going there, Gorrow,” Bernard says.
“What? The village?” He nods. Truth be told, I was feeling that I hadn’t achieved much. Both Bernard and Luc are three levels above me and much better fighters.
As if reading my mind, Luc says, “Don’t worry, you’ll get your knighthood. There’ll be plenty of fighting soon.”
We get into Camelot and Luc and Bernard go to the Knights Tower to find Sir Duncan.
As we get to the door, the guards snap back smartly and salute Sir Luc. After all, he has the right to enter the Knights Tower now.
“Do you have your own chambers?” I ask.
Luc nods. He seems modest now, much less cocky than when we first met and I wonder if that was me putting that on him rather than him actually being cocky. “It’s not much,” he says. “I’m only a low level knight.”
Bernard says, “Still, you achieved that.” He flinches. “I’m not making any snide comments here, Gorrow. Your time will come.”
Luc says, “And you’ve got your place in the Alchemists’ Tower.”
I didn’t realise the alchemists would have their own tower in Camelot. I guess I haven’t spent much time in the city, but of course, it makes sense they would, I guess all professions have their base in the city.
“I need to log for a while. See you at the Alchemists Tower later, Bernard? I’ll PM you.”
Bernard nods and Luc vanishes in a shower of sparkling motes as he logs out.
“Want to come and see my place?” Bernard asks.
“Sure,” I need to join up with Sir Mercurius and carry on with my knightly training, but I have no particular time to do that. It will be fun to see the Alchemists Tower. Bernard rides his mule through the cobbled city streets, and I follow on Spirit down twisting lanes, past taverns, a bakery and the smoking door of a forge. The heat hits us as we trot past the open door.
“He’s good, old Kharza.” Bernard indicates the musclebound dwarf blacksmith hammering out a sword on his anvil.
The Alchemists Tower is as tall as the Knights Tower, but somehow more mysterious. Strange lights flash in the windows high above.
“Each Guild takes responsibility for its tower and their section of the City Wall. Anyway, we’re here.”
We dismount and I tie Spirit to the hitching rail outside the Tower.
Alchemists Guild guards bar the way but they allow Bernard passage with a salute, and because I’m with him, they let me by too.
I spell the chemicals as soon as I enter. There are laboratories off the main corridor and I smell sulphur and ammonia as well as the scent of wild roses. “I’m upstairs.” Bernard indicates the narrow spiral staircase.
The Tower is built of granite, which as I recall from my study gives it a strength 800 compared with my limestone of 100 or my wooden palisade at 50. “Why not obsidian?” I ask. “That’s tougher.”
Bernard taps his nose. “We’ve treated the granite. It’s three times as strong as ordinary granite. Besides, have you tried walking up an obsidian stairway? It’s slippery.”
We get to Bernard’s narrow room. There is an alchemy table there and rows of flasks and glass bottles line the shelves. Some are empty but most are filled with coloured liquids. He reaches up and takes down a bottle of blue potion. From the colour I guess it’s healing potion.
“Here,” he says. “It’s Health Potion 80”
“Wow! That’s really kind of you.”
“Hey man, if a guy can’t twink his friends, what use is he?”
I bow, but Bernard’s not finished.
He reaches a brown potion. I don’t know what it is, but I take it anyway. “It’s Damage +100. It lasts 10 minutes because I’m Level 10. Sip it before a battle and it’ll give you an advantage.”
It certainly will. I remember how I could hit the troll, but not damage him. This would have made all the difference.
“Listen,” Bernard says. “I’ve got to log for a while too. We need to quest together soon.”
He comes and gives me a hug and then he vanishes.
The guards don’t have a problem with letting me out. I guess Bernard must trust me to leave me in his guild tower unsupervised, but I’m worthy of that Trust.
I make my way over to the Knights Tower and tell the guards I’m looking for Sir Mercurius. He sends back a message to let me in. One day soon, I’ll come in here by right.
He’s in his chamber with Adele. They both stand to greet me. “Gorrow! Great to see you again.”
“Hey, Gorrow.” Adele hugs me too.
“Ready to quest?” Mercurius says.
I nod. “Sorry for the delay.”
He waves my concern away. “No, that’s fine. I had things to do. I can go anytime.”
“So we’re going to see St Gwynnan?”
“Yes, to get some holy damage on your sword. Have you got any skills in Divinity?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know what it is really.”
“It’s a skill that increases the power of saints blessings. I think the first level is 2% increase to holy blessings on your weapons.”
I frown. It sounds good but another skillset to spend points in when I don’t have enough points to spend on the core ones yet.
Adele is at the door.
“Are we going now?”
Adele smiles. “No time like the present.”
That suits me.
Sir Mercurius leads us out and I mount Spirit. Adele is on her mare and Sir Mercurius on his stallion. He gives me his lance and pennant to carry like a proper squire. It makes me feel good to be apprenticed to a powerful and admired knight.
We leave Camelot by the North Gate and are soon on the Great North Road.
Adele says, “Did you notice the atmosphere in the city?”
Now she mentions it, the players and NPCs seemed tense.
“Yeah, they know the Evil One’s Army is making progress towards Camelot.”
Mercurius says, “Don’t worry - the King is holding them at Birdoswald.”
I’m riding beside him. “Shouldn’t we go and join him?” That’s where Luc and Bernard have gone.
He smiles. “We will, young Gorrow. When you’re in better fighting shape.”
It’s all down to my lack of progress again. I grimace.
“You’ll get lots of XP from this trip. The way to Kirkgunzeon lies through enemy held territory.”
“Will St Gwynnan still be there then?”
“St Gwynnan is a powerful saint. They would have to throw a lot of forces against his chapel to take it down, and they’re currently concentrating their armies on Camelot.”
That’s the first time I’ve heard anyone say it in so many words. The Evil One isn’t
going to stop at Birdoswald or even Carwinley, his troops are going to drive down to Camelot and attempt to take it.
We cross into enemy territory as we go over an old stone bridge over the Border Esk river. We’re officially in Scotia now, but this part is covered with the black haze I now know so well. For a second I worry about Silver Drift, but the enemy isn’t going to throw lots of troops at my little village. They have more important targets.
We see a raiding party of six trolls ahead just where the road goes between a dark pine wood. “Lance please, Gorrow” I hand him his lance and see him couch it, the pennant with its silver and blue emblems flutters. Adele takes out her mace and I draw my sword that burns with fire and cold.
“Charge!” Mercurius spurs his stallion and I nudge Spirit forward. Spirit snorts in his eagerness for the fight.
The trolls see us and turn. They are big and ugly and they aren’t going to run. They must think they have a chance.
The ground hurtles by under Spirit’s hooves. I shout my battle cry and then remember to drink Bernard’s damage potion. I take a sip of the brown potion and then I see Mercurius smash through the trolls’ ranks. Adele goes through the breach he’s made, flailing her mace. A troll swings at me.
I swing back.
Spirit rears up and the troll swings and misses. I slash down at him again and then jab and he’s dead.
Luc kills most of them but I get another 600xp for my contribution.
That’s enough to level me to level 8. More skill points!
Adele sees the blue glow that shows I’ve levelled. “Gratz! Gorrow. See you’re creeping up those levels.”
As soon as I get the chance. I’m going to put the skills into smithing so I can upgrade my weapons and armour.
We go through the dark wood and see a burned forester’s cottage and a destroyed mill. The handiwork of the Evil Army. We come out of the wood and we can see the road ahead winding through bleak hills.
“That’s where we’re headed,” smiles Mercurius.
I see a group of characters dressed in black, mounted on black horses. More evil soldiers, but given I’ve just seen what Mercurius’ lance does to them, I’m not worried.
As we get closer we can make them out better. I say, “They look different to the normal NPCs”
Mercurius says, “That’s because they’re not NPCs. They’re players.”
“The Fangs of Koth,” Adele says.
The Fangs of Koth. And among them I recognise the traitor Gearhart.
Mercurius reins his stallion to a halt. “This could be tricky.”
20
The Fangs of Koth
An arrow flies and lands in the turf to my right. Spirit snorts and shuffles but it otherwise undisturbed. There are four black clad enemies mounted on black horses. One carries a flaming sword.
Mercurius points. “The one with the fire sword is Dariusz, their leader. I’ve fought him before.”
Another arrow arcs across the sky like a black spike against the grey sky.
“The ranger is Gearhart.”
Mercurius turns with a smile. “You know him?”
“He was one of us but he went bad.”
“Probably craving power,” Adele says.
“Or maybe he just likes hurting people.”
The arrow clatters uselessly off Mercurius’s armour. “Not me though.” He can’t hit him. He probably can hit me.
“Where are you both bound?” Mercurius asks.
“Camelot,” Adele replies.
“Croglin.”
“Croglin? You’ve got a long walk back. You should have bound closer.”
I nod. I know. Another lesson. Mercurius is considering that we might die.
“No point, sitting here chatting.” Mercurius clicks his tongue and touches his stallion with his heels and begins to trot. He’s given me his lance back since the trolls, now he wants it again. I hand it to him, keeping up on Spirit. Adele is on Mercurius’s left flank.
Mercurius takes the lance while another arrow bounces off him. It seems Gearhart still hasn’t learned. Stupid and evil, a lovely combination.
“Let’s go.” Mercurius urges his warhorse into the gallop. I lean low on Spirit and do the same. My sword is out. This time I sip Bernard’s damage potion in good time. The flames on my sword burn blue and yellow, cold and hot. I hear Adele shout out her battle cry and I shout mine. “For my God and King!”
I hear the returning cries from the Fangs of Koth, “Ai Satanus!”
Spirit’s going fast now, his hooves thumping over the ground.
Mercurius has broken ahead of us now so we form an arrowhead. His shield is up, visor down, the feather on his helmet flutters and bobs. Lance up, he’s going for their leader Dariusz with his flaming sword.
This is my first real experience of player versus player combat (other than being shot in the back) and I feel my anxiety. I tip my visor down and squint through the slits in the metal. I’m going for Gearhart. I see him in his leathers, nocking another arrow.
This time it’s for me.
The shaft thuds into my armoured leg.
<324/400>
That’s after my 5% fire damage reduction. I sip a Health 80 now so that it’s off cool down for when I next need it.
I’m close now. He’s off his horse. As a ranger he feels he fights better on foot. That’s fine. I can run him down.
He fires again.
My health potion is on cool-down. Then I hit him. A nice slash oblique to his leather armoured chest.
That’s nice. Even if we just trade blows, I’m going to win. He should have put more into Dodge so I couldn’t hit him at all. I feel myself smile beneath my iron mask. He sips a health potion and pulls out a rapier and a dagger. He’s going to fight two handed.
I hit him again.
His health potion will be on cool-down now.
I sip a Health potion
<350/400>
He doesn’t sip a heal potion, so it must still be on cool-down. As is mine.
This is all going very fast, his blades a whirl of steel as he takes me down to <246/400>
I hit him again and this time I get a crit.
He sips a health potion, but it will have to be a very powerful one to heal him up from that. It reminds me to heal so I sip and jab, beating him to the attack.
If he’s level 10 then he will be 600 health or so.
He gets me again and then, thank the Lord, I get another critical hit on him. He turns and runs. Big mistake. I’m on a horse. And his back is to me so, as the running man sprints and stumbles across the broken ground, Spirit thunders after him. With a downcut I get an autocrit on his back and he dies.
I can’t help but feel good with myself. I take another heal potion so I’m up to full health and turn Spirit just in time to see one of the Fangs of Koth cut down Adele. There are two of them left. Mercurius has killed Dariusz their leader. The names above their heads say the one who just slaughtered Adele is Alzaz and the one fighting Mercurius hand to hand now is Melchior. They are going to be high level.
Alzaz sights me, turns his black horse and readies his sword.
I am going to die here. I could run, but then I couldn’t. I’m a squire of King Arthur’s court.
I grit my tee
th and urge Spirit into the Gallop.
He roars and I see his black pig helmet as he charges.
I get the first cut, but it clatters off, I can’t even hit him.
Then he slashes me.
And that wasn’t even a crit.
I sip a health potion, as my armour goes up in a fire effect to show the damage he did me. If his next blow and I’m a goner. He raises his cleaver to chop me when I see an explosion of fire, and Melchior goes howling. Mercurius has hit him in the back with an autocrit from his fiery lance. Melchior turns to slash Mercurius and he connects but in his rage his forgotten to heal.
I’m a spectator here but Mercurius swaps his lance for his holy sword. The blade flashes with a white fire as he decapitates Melchior and the Fang of Koth dies. I’m glad Mercurius is on my side.
Then I see what he’s done. He left his fight with Alzaz to rescue me.
Alzaz is on him and Mercurius takes a mighty hit to the back. He sips a health potion. I kick Spirit’s flanks and my horse charges at Alzaz. I get the black armoured fiend with the edge of my blade. It doesn’t penetrate his lacquered armour, but it distracts Alzaz enough that he turns his back on Mercurius and Mercurius crits as he hits the black clad figure. The two fight: the black swathed minion of Satanus and the holy Paladin of King Arthur’s Court.
The battle seems evenly matched, but I see Mercurius is the more skilled. They are using high level skills that I don’t even know about. And then finally Mercurius gets the killing blow and Alzaz dies.
Mercurius tips up his visor. “I thought we wouldn’t make it there.”
I say, “We did, thanks to you. Your skills are amazing.”
He smiles. “You’ll be there one day.” Then he looks ruefully to where Adele died. “Not amazing enough to save Adele. I didn’t see she was struggling until it was too late. Good job on killing yours though.”