Guardians of Camlan

by A. T. Gilbert

  My aim is off just enough to burn though a couple of connecting branches between here and the top. I duck and close my eyes as sharp pieces of tree rain down on me. But I’ve cleared a path, at least. I aim again, exhale slowly to steady myself, and cast Burning Smite at the crook of the branch at the top.

  It only takes about thirty seconds to cut all the way through the wood. As the last fiber is seared, the sixteen-inch-long stick falls down towards me. It gets stuck twice, tangled up in the branches and leaves in the intervening distance, but a quick shake loosens it. The final few feet it falls into my hands I hold my breath, but I catch the stick easily, quickly saving it into my inventory.

  Flame of Eavoth ingredients: 1 of 2 acquired

  “Wait, how’d y’all do that?” TexBadass asks with a bit of a whine in his voice. I hadn’t heard him climb up, but now I realize he’s got leaves on both of his shoulders, as well as around his feet on the branch he is standing on. He must have been trying to bend or break a branch like the way I started.

  “It’s a spell we learned back in Allynton,” I tell him. I quickly check my game interface, looking over the spells list and looking at the options. “I don’t see any way that the game will let me teach it to you, though. Sorry, man.”

  “Aw, hell,” he mutters.

  “Do you have any kind of effect or damage spell you could use?”

  “Naw. Not yet. Damn it. Guess I’ll just have to do this manually. Goddamn it.”

  Behind me, Erinocalypse giggles.

  “What?” TexBadass says, fixing her with a glare.

  “Nothing.” She shrugs. “Good luck.”

  “Can I help you?” I ask. “Give you a leg up or something?”

  He peers into the canopy above him and sighs heavily. “No. I think I can manage.”

  “Alright … I guess I’m going to head back down then.”

  “Fine fine.” He doesn’t even look at me but continues testing the strength of the branches against his weight. He has probably sixty or more pounds on me, and I wouldn’t risk what he seems to be about to do.

  Erinocalypse shrugs and begins her descent. I’m not far behind her, but slowly. Going down is a bit more difficult than going up was; because of the distance between steps, balance is harder to maintain while descending and I find myself totally focused on the next branch in front of me.

  It isn’t until I jump down to the ground that I notice the sounds that TexBadass is letting out above us. I look up and see some leaves raining down, but the healer is so high up I’ve lost sight of him altogether.

  “Do you think he’s okay?” Balderdash13 asks, also watching the shaking branches.

  “Who knows? He probably won’t die, though.”

  “How reassuring.”

  Before I can respond we hear a yelp and a crack in the tree above us. Instinctively, I back away from the tree, keeping my eyes on where the noise is coming from. A series of thuds, cracks and more yelps of pain get closer and I cringe at what I know is coming. In seconds, TexBadass falls like a ball in a pinball machine, knocking against nearly every branch he passes on the way down to the ground.

  He collapses in a groaning pile, bloody scratches marring every bit of visible skin.

  Balderdash13 and Callidus hurry to his side, the woman quickly casting a healing spell to keep TexBadass’s health points up. The older man rolls onto his back, groaning louder this time.

  I approach tentatively. “Can we do anything, Tex?”

  “I think I broke a rib,” he says through clenched teeth.

  Balderdash13 casts her healing spell again. TexBadass’s scratches fade away as the skin heals, but the drying blood still shows where he had been injured.

  “Did you get the branch?”

  He nods, wincing, and carefully pulls his hand out from where it had been pinned under him. He holds a single, foot-long branch with a blossom on the end.

  “Damn right I did.”

  Chapter 21

  It takes a few minutes for TexBadass to fully recover from his fall, giving the rest of just enough time to plan our next step. Callidus pulls out his map and starts listing off the locations of all the yellow dots that represent where we need to find more items for all the open quests.

  “So many threads to follow. Okay. Well, there’s one in the entrance by the front door. Looks like two in the kitchen, two down different side corridors off the entrance hall and another few outside the castle walls.”

  “The kitchen is where Daphne’s brother is, right?” I say. “And then probably also something there for the potion? Let’s go see what Ezra has been up to and why a banshee has recently appeared to disturb his sister’s sleep.”

  We leave the courtyard for now, again passing Private Moyer watching us while ostensibly keeping an eye on the castle itself. Once we reach the entrance and the great hall, Madam Avery is nowhere to be seen, but the captain of the guard hovers. He stands near his soldiers at the front door of the castle and watches us the entire time it takes us to cross the room.

  I open my list of open quests and items still to collect. We’ll need to come back here. There’s at least one potion ingredient somewhere nearby, but I don’t search for it under the eye of Crowhurst if possible.

  The dozens of guards in front of the castle door and throughout the hall eye us as we cross the room, but none dare to molest us. Just in case, I equip my Goblin Dagger. It’s small enough that it won’t draw the attention that my Bow of Elements would, but still weapon enough to keep me safe if needed.

  We stride past the long tables through the hall. At this time of day, early afternoon, there isn’t anyone still eating.

  There’s no door to the kitchen, just a wide doorframe where NPCs can hurry in and out of carrying platters full of food out or platters emptied of food back in. We only run into one serving girl on our way into the kitchen. Right now, the lull between meals, it seems to be mostly food preparation going on in the kitchen.

  We find Ezra near the back, chopping vegetables. Sliced carrots, potatoes, and onions sit in messy piles on the table top in front of him. He’s using the same wooden table as a cutting board and I wonder how many splinters get cooked into the food here.

  Name: Ezra

  Level: 27

  Description: One of the kitchen servants at Castle Nennius; can most often be found washing dishes or chopping vegetables.

  Balderdash13 reaches him first. “Um. Ezra? Excuse me.”

  “What?” he says sullenly, not looking up at us.

  “Your sister sent us to talk to you.”

  “My sister,” he echoes, and then snorts derisively. “My sister hasn’t thought about me in weeks.”

  “No, it’s true,” I jump in. “Daphne. We just saw her. Climbed all the way to her tower room, in fact. She’s losing sleep worrying about you.”

  “Oh, so you could climb all the way up there for someone you don’t know, but she can’t bother to come see me in the kitchen on the days that she’s already down here?”

  “Um …”

  “Look, Ezra.” TexBadass dispatches with the coddling tone. “Daphne has reason to believe your life is in danger. Whether you believe she cares or not is a different problem. What we want to know, son, is what have you been getting yourself into and how can we help you get out?”

  At that, Ezra finally looks up at us, surprised at the man’s forcefulness.

  “Nothing. There’s— There’s nothing dangerous.”

  TexBadass fixes the kid with a disbelieving look. “We’ll be the judge of that. What are you getting up to? And why haven’t you told your sister?”

  He shrugs. “I figured she didn’t care. It’s been so long since we’ve talked. And I know she didn’t consult with me before she decided to travel to Allynton last Yule.”

  “What is it you’ve decided to do?”

  “Captain Crowhurst has agreed to let me start training for the Queen’s Guard.”

  Quest Completed: In the Middle of the Night III
>
  Description: Daphne is afraid for her brother’s life, and for good reason. You’ve learned he has agreed to join the Queen’s Guard.

  Reward: +300 XP

  I let out a long sigh. “Yeah, that seems like what the banshee would be wailing about.”

  “What? A banshee?” Ezra looks from one of us to another, confused. “Whose banshee?”

  “Your sister has been visited by a banshee these last few nights,” Balderdash13 says gently. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

  Ezra shakes his head. “No. I mean, I’ve heard of a banshee before but … ”

  “A banshee foretells a death in the family,” she says. “And a banshee appeared to your sister.”

  “No. No!” Ezra backs away from his table, knife in hand, warding us off. “What are you going to do to me?”

  “We’re not going to do anything to you, dude,” I say, exasperated. We’re just trying to help the guy stay alive and we’re suspected? “We told you. We came down here to find out what you’re getting involved with and try to help save your life. It seems like maybe,” I don’t bother to keep the sarcasm from my voice, “joining an armed guard might be something that could result in your death? You think? I’m just guessing here.”

  “Oh.” He lowers his knife. “Oh, no. Oh, wow. You might be right.”

  I turn away so the kid can’t see me roll my eyes.

  “What do I do? How do I get out of it?”

  “Why don’t you just talk to the Captain?”

  Ezra’s eyes get wide. He shakes his head. “No. Huh-uh. That guy scares me. He’s just as likely to get me thrown out of the castle altogether as let me out of my promise. You have to help me. You told Daphne you would.”

  Quest Offered: Change His Mind

  Description: Ezra is having second thoughts about his promise to join the Queen’s Guard. Talk to Captain Crowhurst for him and get him out of it.

  Reward: +300 XP

  “Give us a minute, will you, son?” TexBadass says before turning to the rest of us, his back to the kitchen assistant.

  “Is this still our problem?” SteelFeather asks. “We took care of the quest Morgana originally set. Do we need to keep accepting the rest of this chain?”

  “I think we do,” I say. “The banshee is going to continue to appear until Ezra is out of his commitment or until he’s dead. Which means Daphne is going to continue to lose sleep, and while our quest may have technically been completed, we didn’t actually solve Morgana’s problem and she can use that to deny us access to the queen.”

  “Shoot,” SteelFeather says with a sigh. He shakes he head in frustration. “You’re right. How are we going to do this? Captain Crowhurst doesn’t really seem like the type to listen to reason.”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Doesn’t matter. We have so many other things to do first.” I check the list of quest items. “Let’s see how much we can get done for Professor Dove before we worry about Crowhurst. For all we know the two quests may intersect down the line anyway.”

  We break our huddle in the kitchen and return to the kid washing dishes.

  “Ezra, we’re happy to help you with this,” Erinocalypse begins.

  “Yeah and the XP doesn’t hurt,” SteelFeather jokes under his breath.

  Erinocalypse glares at the tank before continuing. “But there is a little something you can help us with, possibly.”

  “Yeah, okay,” he says.

  “Professor Dove has us collecting ingredients for him for a potion. You don’t happen to have any alcohol available, do you? We only need enough to fill these Small Bottles. Something that no one will miss.”

  He frowns and looks around the room. “Yeah. This should be fine. The soldiers drink so much that a little bit won’t be missed at all.”

  He gestures over his shoulder to the far wall and I quickly recognize the familiar golden glow of a quest object. I cross to the back of the room and open one of the bottles of clear, strong liquid. I make a mess all over my hands trying to pour it into the Small Bottle that Professor Dove gave me and I wonder how long I’ll smell like alcohol.

  Alithia Potion ingredients: 2 of 8 acquired

  “This is fantastic, Ezra. Exactly what we needed,” says Balderdash13.

  Chapter 22

  We exit the kitchen, a forlorn expression on Ezra’s face as he watches us leave.

  “We really do need to figure out how to get him out of that commitment, but I need time to think about it. Where are we going next?” I ask the scout.

  “There’s a few more quest items in the castle. I see a yellow dot on the map just off the entrance hall,” Callidus says, with his face in the map. “It might be … oh.”

  “What ‘oh’?” I ask.

  “It’s that corridor where all the ghost things came out of the portraits. You’ve got to collect the sample of smoke from those things.”

  “At least we know how to stop them this time, so TexBadass doesn’t have to hide again,” I tease.

  “Hey now!”

  SteelFeather’s raucous laugh surprises the guard we pass. “It’s true, man. Asher might be taller than you, but you weren’t totally hidden. On the sides. If you know what I mean.”

  Our banter lasts most of the walk across to where the next quest item is. It helps take my mind off the dozen or so armed guards who watch us walk across the Great Hall. I’m starting to get really annoyed by this. If Crowhurst wants to do something, he should, instead of just making us anxious all the time.

  There are no soldiers at the corridor where the paintings are, and I look around before we start down the stairs. No fewer than four men watch us intently.

  “Go,” I prod Callidus. “Let’s get out of their view.”

  The thick scarlet rug under our feet muffles the steps, and each member of the party goes quiet. We only have maybe ten or so steps down before we reach the first painting. The intricately carved frame, as wide as my hand, holds a five-foot tall portrait of an armored knight, his face hidden under the closed helmet. The frame glows a gentle gold, telling us we’re in the right place for a quest.

  I grab Callidus’s arm before he can walk too far. Last time the monsters were released from their portraits as we passed them. Would it work the same way in reverse?

  I whisper, calling for the tank. “SteelFeather, I need you to set off the first portrait, but no further.”

  “No problem. Don’t have to tell me twice. I’m not going any farther down there if I don’t have to.” He grins, crouching down as though he’s about to start a sprint. “You ready?”

  I nod. Erinocalypse and TexBadass wait just behind him and when SteelFeather steps forward into the path of the portraits, the healer follows.

  The smoke-like spirit energy pours forth from the painting, the armored knight materializing in the space in front of us. He sees us, identifying us as the enemy immediately. Before he even takes a step, he raises his mace above his head, ready to smash down on SteelFeather. The tank backs up as the knight starts climbing the stairs.

  “Whoa,” TexBadass says under his breath as he backs up a couple steps.

  “Hey!” SteelFeather yells at the creature. He swings his sword, but the weapon passes straight through the torso of the knight, through all his smoke-armor, and doesn’t cause any effect at all. “Hey! Look at me! Fight me!”

  The knight glances at the tank and uses one hand to effortlessly push him away. SteelFeather stumbles, trying to keep his balance, but has to move down three or four steps, setting off the painting of the giant below.

  “Damn it,” he says.

  “Do it, Tex,” I say.

  I’ve already got my spell ready. I cast Burning Smite, aiming my spell at the knight’s legs. My plan is to hold him in place so the other two can make their own attack.

  But the giant farther down the hallway has climbed out of his portrait and is stalking SteelFeather, who has no way to attack. He holds his shield in front of him, warding off the blows, but
he’s still taking hits.

  “Erinocalypse, can you—” I start to say.

  “I got it,” she calls at the same time.

  From the edge of the stair, she aims her own Burning Smite spell at the giant. He manages to knock SteelFeather to the floor with one swing of his enormous club before the sorceress stops him with the beam of magic. The thread of attack spell bores into the giant’s chest, burning away the smoke, disintegrating its shape and drawing its attention to her.

  As I hold the beam of Burning Smite steady on the knight, TexBadass approaches cautiously, his arms outstretched, Small Bottle held out in front of him, so the rest of him can stay as far away from the enemy as possible.

  “Do it, Tex,” I prod again.

  Down the stairs, the giant has zeroed in on Erinocalypse. In spite of her spell, he is lumbering the few steps to where she is. She stays facing him, bearing down and holding her spell steady.

  TexBadass still inches his way closer to the knight, arm outstretched, until he is able to scoop some of the smoky arm into his Small Bottle. I see his hands shake as he stoppers it, saving the magic inside. It’s a good thing TexBadass is a healer and doesn’t usually have to get close to the enemy.

  I keep casting Burning Smite, holding the knight at bay without destroying it completely. Glancing over at Erinocalypse, it looks like she’s almost defeated the giant. SteelFeather scrambles to his feet and carefully climbs back up the stairs so he doesn’t trigger any more enemies to come out of the paintings.

  “Okay, Erinocalypse. You ready?”

  She nods without looking at me but hasn’t yet finished off the giant. With a slow panning, she moves her burning spell straight across the torso of the monster, essentially slicing him in half. As the two parts fall, the smoke dissipates into the corridor, leaving us with only the knight.

  Erinocalypse has her Small Bottle in hand and marches up to the enemy, showing no fear whatsoever. She hesitates as it gets closer, but only to dodge a swing of its mace before deftly swiping at its arm from below.