Darkness Fallen

by Dave Willmarth

  He shook his head as he quickly changed into the new clothes. Checking himself in the mirror, he thought he looked quite kingly.

  He headed back downstairs, expecting to find Jules on the way. But he didn’t see her. As he exited the building, he got some wolf whistles and scattered applause from the gathered crowd. He accepted the good-natured ribbing for a few minutes. Brick, especially, made a show of checking him out from head to toe. He was about to say something when the courtyard went silent for a moment. The silence was quickly followed by even louder applause and more fervent whistles. Alexander turned to see Jules step into the courtyard.

  She was wearing a matching grey dress with silver and black highlights, and a dragon over the breast. The dress was extremely sleek and form-fitting, with a deep v cut neckline and a slit cut along the left leg high enough to expose a dagger strapped to her thigh. She walked through the admiring crowd, which parted for her. Reaching Alexander, she pushed closed his mouth, which had been hanging open, then kissed him.

  Sasha snorted loudly. “Very subtle. Not leaving any doubt as to who he belongs to, are you?” She smiled at Jules.

  Jules just smiled devilishly, and said, “Mine!”

  It took Alexander several seconds to begin thinking clearly again. “Right. Uhh… Okay. Everyone ready?” He passed out more of the captured PWP teleport scrolls. “We’ll go in groups of twelve this time. Remember to exit the room as soon as you arrive, to make room for the next group. Second group wait thirty seconds before you go.”

  Chapter 19

  Order Out of Chaos

  Alexander gathered the first group around him. It was himself and his group, Lorian, Fibble, and the four PWP officers. He activated the scroll, and with a flash, they were inside the Antalia guild house. They quickly filed out of the room, and Amelia led them to the sitting room, where they found Martin, Michael, and Tiny Sam.

  Martin stepped forward to shake Alexander’s hand. “I’m Martin. Thank you so much for all of this.”

  Alexander took the man’s hand, and said, “Thank you for not bowing or calling me ‘Majesty’. I’ve had about all I can take of that today.”

  Martin grinned. “I know. Amelia warned me. Guild chat.” He winked.

  Alexander laughed heartily. He liked Martin already. “I’ve come to formally return PWP’s guild house and property to you. Along with gear and gold we recovered from the times we killed Henry.”

  Martin looked at his guildmates, who all nodded. He said, “Yeah, about that. I’m afraid PWP is dead. Our name was hopelessly tarnished by Henry and his PK’s. They killed and tortured many here long before they reached you in Stormforge.” He paused.

  “And by the videos of us fighting them once they DID reach us,” Alexander added with a wry grin.

  Martin cleared his throat. “Yes, well. I was trying to be diplomatic. The point is, there is no point in us trying to rebuild a guild with that hanging over our heads. Besides, nobody but me liked the name in the first place.” Amelia nodded her head most emphatically at that.

  Alexander said, “Re-branding. I can understand that. It’s actually very smart thinking. Have you chosen a new name?”

  Amelia spoke up. “Actually, we’ve been talking it over. We were hoping you’d annex us into the Greystone Guild.”

  Martin added, “You know, seeing as how the deed is already in your name. Saves on paperwork.”

  Alexander wasn’t sure how to react. He looked at his officers briefly. Then at Martin and his people. His brain was going a mile a minute. Jules stepped forward, saying, “I’m afraid Alexander’s brain just locked up. Can you give us a minute to confer, maybe unlock it for him?” She gave Martin her sweetest smile. Which, combined with her dress, was effective in the extreme.

  “Of course. We’ll retire to the dining room while you folks talk. Just shout when you’re ready.” Martin and the others exited the room as Kai and the others entered.

  Alexander sat down and tuned everyone out as Max and Sasha explained to the others what had transpired. His thoughts raced.

  Martin and the other four are fine. Would be good additions. I don’t know how many others they still have, or who they are. A few could be spies for Howard. But he’s dead. They could still be spies for the drow, though. Or Matt, wherever he is. We’d have to make it clear that each one would have to get background checks and be cleared by Odin before joining. That’s doable. It would mean we keep the guild house. We could build a portal here. Have a presence in the city. Another city to recruit from? It would improve trade between the kingdoms. And make it easier to move armies if necessary. I was going to ask the queen for the same thing. There’s some risk, but if we take it slow…

  Alexander stood and looked around. Everyone in the room was looking at him. “Sorry, guys. I spaced out a minute. What does everybody think?”

  Nobody spoke for several seconds. Then Orville said, “More healers in the guild would be good.”

  Sasha simply said, “I like them.”

  Max cautioned, “We’ll need to know who they want to bring with them. There could be spies or worse.”

  Alexander nodded. “I thought of that. We’d have to make membership contingent on our security checks and an oath to Odin.”

  Lyra, who had logged back in some time that morning, but that Alexander hadn’t seen yet, raised her hand.

  “Welcome back, Lyra!” He smiled at her. “And Warren and Misty. Good to have you all back with us. Lyra you have something to add?”

  “Just that I think everyone deserves a second chance,” she replied. Several in the room nodded in agreement.

  “Thank you, Lyra. Anyone besides Max and myself have any concerns?”

  Grumpy spoke up, “Will ye be creatin’ new officer positions? I imagine Martin, at least, will be wantin’ some say-so in guild decisions.”

  “Very good point. I hadn’t considered that,” Alexander replied.

  Lugs spoke up. “If this place gets attacked, especially with just healers in the building, it might take us too long to get here. It’d be hard to defend.”

  Alexander nodded, “Thank you, Lugs. I had the same thought. We could build a portal here, just like in Stormforge. Give us fast access. Jeeves can always alert us of an attack. And with the improved interface, we can speak back and forth in real time. We could also use it to transport trade goods between the cities. And armies if we needed to.”

  Brick chimed in. “Ye see? That be why yer the king. Ye thinks of things ‘n’ makes things happen like nobody else I ever know’d.”

  Alexander grunted at his friend. “Thanks, buddy. Remind me to make you minister of something horrible like the fashion police, or foreign trade.”

  Brick winked at him. “Happy ta help!”

  “Anybody else? Opinions, good or bad?” When nobody spoke, he said, “Alright, first official council vote. Raise your hand if you vote we accept them into our guild with the aforementioned conditions.”

  Almost every hand in the room went up. Even Fibbles, though he only raised his after seeing everyone else’s go up. The only one who didn’t vote was Fitz.

  “Fitz, you have a concern?” Alexander asked.

  “No, no. I just didn’t feel it was my place to vote, not being a guild member.”

  “Alright. In the future, you always get a vote here.”

  Alexander took a deep breath. “Okay. you folks stay here, I’ll go talk to them about our conditions.” He made his way through the crowd and down the hall to the dining room. Knocking on the door, he waited for a call to enter, then stepped inside.

  Fibble entertained the group while they waited. Not intentionally. He’d climbed up on Lugs’ shoulders for a better view. While he was there, he exercised his duty as Minister of Cookies by withdrawing a cookie from his bag and nibbling on it. This drew the attention of Rufus, who emerged from Fitz’s hat and leapt across several feet to seize said cookie out of Fibble’s hand.

  A chase ensued, with Rufus jumping to the floor a
nd using people’s legs to hide behind as Fibble issued a battle-cry and dove after him. The pursuit lasted several minutes, with elements of hide-and-seek followed by frantic dashes and lunges. Rufus had just climbed Jules’ leg and hidden in her cleavage when Alexander emerged. Without saying a word, he sent guild invites to Martin and his officers, as well as Michael and Tiny Sam. As one after the other appeared on the group’s UI’s as new guild members, there was applause and much congratulating.

  As the group talked among themselves, Fitz pulled Alexander and Brick aside. “Let’s head out back and build that portal.”

  “Don’t we need to check with the queen first?” Alexander hesitated.

  “You can ask her when you see her. She’ll say yes. And she’ll never have to know when it was built.” He winked at them.

  The two followed Fitz outside, and they chose a spot on the back wall of the courtyard. Alexander pulled the stone from the earth with almost no effort. Brick quickly shaped it into the proper columns, and Fitz began to imbue the necessary magic. The whole thing was done in less than ten minutes.

  Alexander asked, “Can you also connect us to the Dragon Kingdom? Do they have a portal?”

  Fitz replied. “They do. I built it myself. The first one I ever built, actually. And I believe the Dragon King would welcome a portal connection. But I’ll need to speak with him first.”

  The three headed back inside to find that most of the group were looking out the now open front door. Out in the street were a line of twenty guards in brightly shining ceremonial armor. Behind them was a growing crowd of curious citizens. Alexander stepped through the door and out into the small courtyard. “Good afternoon.”

  The guards all snapped to attention and saluted smartly. And a cheer went up from the crowd. A captain stepped forward, bowing deeply. “Her Majesty Queen Margaret welcomes King Alexander of Elysia and his party. It would be our honor to escort you all to the palace.”

  Alexander nodded briefly, holding out his arm for Jules to join him. The two advanced through the gate as the guards formed up on either side of them, with the captain in the lead. The entire guild membership filed out in rows of three behind them. Once the procession was in place, the captain advanced.

  Citizens cheered as the procession made its way to the palace at a leisurely pace. The guild members smiled and waved as they passed. Fibble, back on Lugs’ shoulders, tossed cookies to children, and one to a hungry-looking dog. He quickly had a following of both children and dogs. He also reached down and handed one to a surprised guard, who chuckled before stuffing the cookie into his mouth and resuming his duties.

  Following Fibble’s lead, the guild members began casting heals on folks with visible cuts or injuries. Those without heals cast buffs, or tossed silver coins to those who looked less fortunate. Alexander noted a small boy jumping up and down in an attempt to see over the adults in front him. He cast levitate on the boy, lifting him into the air and setting his down atop a wagon. The crowd laughed and cheered at the antics.

  Chants of ‘Greystone!’ and ‘Elysia’ followed them along the street.

  Eventually, they reached the palace gates and left the crowds behind. The palace guards all saluted them as they passed. Jules smiled radiantly at them, winning hearts and breaking a few. Helga was much less refined, openly propositioning a couple guards she deemed worthy.

  The queen and princess awaited them on the palace steps. Standing behind them were Sir Jefferey, Lady Gina, and several nobles.

  The captain stepped to one side and said, “Queen Margaret of Antalia, may I present King Alexander of Elysia!”

  Alexander stopped before the queen. He bowed, and Jules curtseyed. The queen bowed her head in return, saying, “It is an honor to finally meet you, Your Majesty. And my congratulations!”

  Alexander replied “The honor is mine, Your Majesty. And please just call me Alexander. The title is new to me, and quite uncomfortable still.”

  The queen laughed prettily. “Then you must call me Margaret. I believe you already know my daughter, Kimberly. And who is this lovely lady?” She smiled at Jules.

  Alexander beamed. “This is Lady Jules, soon to be Queen of Elysia if I’m very lucky.”

  Laughing again, the queen said, “I’m pleased to meet you, Lady Jules. You are quite lovely!”

  Jules bowed. “As are you, Your Majesty.”

  Princess Kimberly added, “And deadly, too. She put an end to more than one of the traitors during the battle, mother.” She smiled at Jules, then looked meaningfully at the dagger strapped to the elf’s thigh.

  “Which reminds me!” the queen said. “I wish to thank you all for saving my life, and my kingdom. Let it be known from this day forward that all members of the Greystone Guild are declared Friends of the Kingdom of Antalia!

  Reputation Increase! You are now a Friend of the Kingdom of Antalia. Your reputation with the Queen of Antalia is now “Honored”. Your reputation with the citizens of Antalia is now “Honored”.

  Alexander bowed his head again. “It was our honor, and our duty, to serve however we could. King Charles would never have forgiven me if I had failed to render assistance in your time of need.”

  Sir Jeffrey cleared his throat meaningfully. The queen rolled her eyes, making Jules giggle. “Sir Jeffrey is not-so-subtly reminding me that I’ve kept you all standing out here in the sun. Please, join us inside.” She turned and climbed the stairs, one hand on Sir Jeffrey’s arm. Kimberly fell into step next to Jules and whispered “I just LOVE your dress! Beautiful and sexy and dangerous all at the same time!”

  Jules whispered back. “If you don’t tell anyone, I’ll make you one just like it!”

  Alexander tied not to trip on the stairs or do anything else unkinglike as they proceeded into the palace and down the corridor to the throne room. There were tables laid out with seating and food for a hundred people at least. The queen led Alexander and Jules to a half-round table up on the dais where the throne would normally be. She whispered to Kimberly, who in turn invited Fitz, Kai, Thea, and Lorian to join them. The others took the hint and found themselves seats at the various lower tables, guided by servants in smart livery.

  The queen stood behind a seat at the head of the table, the center of the curve. Alexander was seated to her right, and Kimberly to her left. Jules was seated next to Alexander, and Fitz next to her. Kai sat next to Kimberly, then Lorian and Thea. The queen greeted each of them by name and title as they stepped onto the dais and were brought in front of her.

  They made small talk as servers brought food. There were a few toasts made during dinner. Both groups saluting each other. Lugs made a surprisingly eloquent toast to the beauty of the queen. Kimberly toasted Brick’s courage and manly beard - Which drew a scowl from Thea.

  As soon as dinner was over, Kimberly demanded that Kai take her seat, and Fitz take Kai’s seat so that she could sit with Jules. The two women began to whisper unashamedly, heads close together. The queen rolled her eyes. “I suppose I was that young once.” She sighed.

  Alexander took the opportunity to say, “Margaret, is there a place where we can speak privately? Kai has some news from the Dragon King that he’d like to share with you.”

  “Of course. There’s a room right next door. Come with me.” The queen rose to her feet, and everyone in the room did so as well. Heads bowed as she stepped down from the dais and made for a side door, followed by Alexander, Kai, and Fitz.

  Once secured within the room, the queen sat in a comfortable chair and relaxed. She motioned for the others to sit as well.

  Alexander began the conversation. “First, you should know that PWP and Chaos Nation were both under the control of a being called the Dark One. He turned out to be a man from my world, a servant of the drow wizards who was using his power and influence to pursue a vendetta against my family and me. He is now dead. Killed yesterday when he attacked my lands. His minions within PWP have also been eliminated, as you know.”

  The queen nodded her
head. “That is good to hear. That he is dead, I mean. He held considerable influence within my city while Lucius still lived. We have been working to weed out his spies and servants since I woke from the effects of the poison. But what is this about drow wizards?”

  Kai took over, explaining the history of the previous war, just as he had explained it to Alexander. Fitz helped by adding bits about Alexander’s adventures and discoveries.

  The queen paled as the conversation continued. When they were done, she didn’t speak for some time. Finally, she said, “Armies of demons and undead. Magic for which we have no counter?”

  Fitz reassured her. “The dragons and the Mage’s Guild will be sharing magic that can help against the magic the drow are teaching their minions. We may have some time yet before they are ready for open confrontation. We’ll do all we can to make sure Antalia and the other nations of Io are prepared.”

  Alexander added, “And the gods of light are gathering to support us. Several have already blessed our people and structures with holy magic.”

  “We must cut these Chaos Nation servants of the dark from our city! Will you assist us?” The queen addressed all three of them.

  Quest Received: Order from Chaos!

  Clear and capture the Chaos Nation guild house, thus removing the minions of darkness’ foothold in Antalia.

  Alexander looked to Kai, then Fitz. Both nodded in agreement. “Yes, we will. In fact, we will take the lead. My adventurers and I can better afford the risk. I would not want any of your people lost in the fighting. If you could perhaps provide a perimeter force of guards, and archers and mages atop the roofs around the Chaos Nation house to pick off any who attempt escape?”

  The queen nodded, but said, “I’ll commit all I can. But I’m afraid the recent battle and the deaths of so many traitors, as well as those loyal to me, has limited my resources.”

  Fitz winked at Alexander. “Margaret, I’m afraid I must make a small confession.”