by Quinn Dallas
Leonidas let out an obnoxious wolf-whistle. “Holy crap, you girls look hot!”
“I'd prefer my leathers and dagger,” I fidgeted with my ill fitting corset.
“I don't like going unarmed either,” Leo responded. “But I trust Varick.”
“Let's just get this part of the quest done quickly,” Shauna placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“Agreed!” Yvir pushed open the door. “Stay frosty guys.”
Leonidas followed her into the kitchen, “Let's do this!”
With great reservation I joined my comrades. I wasn't sure what would happen next. But I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
CHAPTER 9
Leonidas and I entered the hall carrying large trays piled high with roasted meat and vegetables. The metallic plates were hot and burned my fingers. I’d never worked so hard in my life. We ran back and forth between the kitchen and the great dining hall.
“Wench!” a bloated red-faced lord screamed at me. “Bring me more ale!”
I placed the platter on the table and grabbed the pitcher of dark liquid. Then I poured the a huge mug of ale for the rude nobleman.
“My lord,” I spoke through gritted teeth. The drunken idiot didn’t seem to notice my contempt for him as he grabbed the tankard. He lifted it to his lips and downed the beverage in one big slurp.
“More,” he slammed the mug on the table. I had no choice but to oblige him. But, I wanted nothing more than to stab the idiot in the chest with a serving fork.
“Girl, come here please,” a rather jolly noblewoman called out to me.
“Yes, ma’am, ” I replied as I headed in her direction.
“Dunkirk is so uncouth,” she whispered. “I’ll send you on an errand so you can have some peace from him!” She was dressed more richly than the other women and I noticed the raven pendant she wore. She must be the queen- Gwendolyn!
“Thank you lady,” I bowed.
“Go and fetch my special vintage of wine from the cellar.” She smiled. “Griselda knows where it is, if you can’t find it.”
“Right away,” I said. Relieved to be away from the table, I spied Leonidas over my shoulder. It looked like Dunkirk had found a new victim.
The dark-skinned Paladin grimaced as the fat nobleman barked orders at him. I silently wished him good luck as I made my way out of the dining hall.
The kitchen bustled with activity and I found Griselda cooling a baking rack of meat pies. “The Queen has sent me for her special casket of wine!”
“I see,” the chubby cook nodded. “Go round back and look for a large door with a Raven's head crest.” she replied. “It should be unlocked. The Queen’s wine will be labeled. Can ye’ read?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Then don’t dawdle, get moving!” Griselda smiled. “You are doing a fine job tonight! Much better than I expected.”
“Thank you,” I called over my shoulder as I headed to the hallway. Most of the night had been both tiring and uneventful. Serving royalty wasn’t much fun at all. But I knew the three of us had a much bigger duty- the protection of the King. I couldn't hep but wonder what would special assignment Varick had given Cairngorm.
Before long, I reached the wooden door. The Raven's head crest was obvious. I pushed open the door and went inside.
Shelves lined with wine bottles stood against the wall. I read through the bottles until I found one with an ornate script written on it.
ELVEN WINE
QUEEN GWENDOLYN.
Was the queen an Elf? It had never occurred to me but now I thought about her appearance. Her fair coloring and high-cheekbones could indeed have marked her of her Elvish blood.
More than likely a high-Elf. The most regal of Elf-kind.
I opened the door with the wine bottle in hand when I heard a scuffle.
“If it isn’t Alaric’s half-Elf bastard” a cruel voice spoke.
“Let me pass Nazyr!” a younger, softer voice spoke.
Something was wrong. I peered around the corner to discover three royal young men. Two of the boys were older. One quite smaller. They all wore the royal colors of House Tiberius.
“Let’s give him a good beating!” The largest boy punched his fist into his palm.
“Father won’t be pleased if you do!” the younger boy held up his chin.
“You won’t tell him a thing,” the dark haired lad spoke.
I couldn’t sit by and let this happen.
“Pardon me good lords,” I spoke. The trio turned and faced me. “But perhaps you would find better entertainment in the hall.”
“Who asked you to speak servant wench?" The dark haired teen spat.
“I just thought you wouldn’t want to miss the dancing girls!” I replied. “They are barely wearing a stitch!”
“Dancing girls?” he raised his eyebrow.
“Perhaps we should go see them Prince Nazyr,” his gangly accomplice replied.
Both teens pushed rudely past me.
“I’ll forgive you this time!” Nazyr poked my chest with his finger. “But speak out of turn again and a thrashing will be waiting for you!”
Soon they both rounded the corner and were gone.
“Thank you!” the younger boy said. He was about thirteen with blonde hair and fair skin. His ears were slightly pointed and his resemblance to Queen Gwendolyn was undeniable.
“Think nothing of it young Prince,' I bowed. "Besides, I can't stand bullies.
"I suspect if Nazyr laid a hand on you, he'd live to regret it." The young Prince smirked.
"Perhaps," I retuned his smile. "But I shoul return to my duties."
"Wait!," the apple cheeked boy said.“My name is Corbin!” he held out his hand.
Without thinking I took his hand and gave it a firm shake.
“I’m Kira,” I answered. “And am very pleased to meet you.”
"You have a firm grip," he responded. "Like someone used to handling a weapon."
I panicked. Had I blown my cover too easily?
"My old weapons master was a woman," he continued. "She was relentless with her sword drills. You remind me of her."
"She sounds like an impressive woman," I replied. "Perhaps I'll meet her some day."
"Perhaps," Corbin smiled wide. "But know that I am in your debt friend Kira!"
Abruptly, I saw a message float in front of me.
SIDE QUEST COMPLETED.
YOU HAVE BEFRIENDED THE ROYAL HEIR!
CONTACT UNLOCKED: CORBIN TIBERIUS.
Damn! A moral side quest and I managed to pass it! That was a lucky break. Plus, I gained a powerful ally within the palace and a royal one at that.
This would definitely help in gaining experience and power to defeat Grymme.
"Who was that jerk giving you a hard time?" I asked.
“That was my half brother Nazyr and his cousin Abel.” He continued, “They don’t like me because I’m a half-Elf.”
“Then your mother-” I gasped.
“Is a full blood high-born Elf.” He answered.
Highborn Elves were extremely rare in the game. Players could unlock them as a playable race with a series of hidden side quests.
Had I somehow managed to do so? I couldn’t be bothered with an alt right now. My main priority must be completing the tasks needed to defeat Grymme and escape the game world.
The young man bowed low again and then headed off. “I do hope to see more of you Miss Kira!”
“I’m sure you will, my lord,” I spoke. So, I’d managed to learn a bit of lore and complete a side quest. Not bad. I made my way back to the hall. The lady Gwendolyn wasn’t where she’d been sitting before.
Frustrated, I found Leonidas. “Where did the queen go?”
He gestured towards the end of the hall. “Up there, sitting with the King!’
I scanned the room until I found them. They sat on two golden thrones near the end of the hall. A long retinue of courtiers waited to greet them.
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Perhaps a spot of wine is just what they needed. Of course, this would also grant me a better chance to keep my eye on the king.
“Come with me and grab some goblets” I told Leonidas. “We can use this as a chance to keep a better eye on the Royals.”
Leo followed me as we made our way towards the seated couple. No one seemed to notice as we headed towards the throne platform.
We set the cups down and poured the wine. All the while keeping an eye out for would be assassins.
“Notice anything?" I whispered to Leonidas.
“Just pompous jack-asses sucking up to the king,” he said. “Did you check the wine?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I rolled a poison check, it’s clear.”
“Maybe this Tolan Gath won't’ be attacking!” He said.
“I have sinking feeling he’s here,” I answered. My eyes scanned the room. The lower floor seemed clear, then I glanced upwards. The upper level had two curtained balconies. The red velvet curtain on the second facing balcony fluttered slightly.
“Stay with the King,” I told Leonidas. “I have a weird feeling,”
“Want me to come along?” he asked.
“No, you’re a tank.” I said. “If something goes down you are best equipped to keep him safe.”
Leonidas nodded, “Stay frosty Kira.”
“I will,” I replied. With that I made my way down and through the crowd. I searched for an exit to the furthest hallway and found it.
“I swear I’m going to punch that fat bastard!” Yvir and Shauna were standing in the hallway. Shauna was obviously trying to keep her companion calm.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“That Count Dunkirk is a pig!” Yvir shouted her face red and angry.
“He’s got more arms than an octopus!” Shauna put her hands on her hips. “And is twice as grabby!”
“I noticed,” I sympathized. Suddenly I was more than thankful, that the Queen had sent me on an errand.
“What are you up to?” Yvir eyed me with suspicion.
“I saw something weird up on the second floor.” I replied. “Going to check it out.”
“Where’s Leonidas?" Shauna asked.
“I left him with the King!"
“That makes sense,” she said. “But it’s dangerous to go off alone.”
“We’re coming with you!” Yvir punched her fist into her palm. “I got some aggression to work out.”
“OK,” I told them. “But this is a stealth mission, guard the way out.”
“Gotcha” they said in unison.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but all of my senses were screaming danger. The three of us climbed the stairwell and walked down the narrow hall.
Torches lit the way and their flickering light cast eerie shadows. We heard the noise of the crowd below.
“I’m going in to check the balcony.” I concentrated and faded into invisibility.
“That’s so freaky,” Shauna shook her head.
“Yeah, I can never get used to it!” Yvir responded.
“Keep an eye out ladies,” I whispered over my shoulder. Without any equipment buffing my stealth ranking, my cloaking was far from perfect. An opponent armed with stealth sight would spot me instantly. I wasn’t quite sure what or who I’d find. But I knew that it was important to check the balcony. Any danger to King Alaric must be avoided. Otherwise, we’d never get out of this game!
CHAPTER 10
I approached the curtained balcony with great caution. Yvir and Shauna were guarding the exit at the end of the hallway. Perhaps there was nothing wrong, but the nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right wouldn’t leave me.
I pulled back the crimson drape and at first saw nothing. Then I peered carefully to the my right. Standing there was another servant. He was dressed in the palace livery. My first instinct was relief and then panic.There was no reason for a servant to be up here. That’s when I saw the crossbow. He strung it quickly with an arrow and pulled back. My eyes followed his line of sight to the intended target. King Alaric was plainly in danger. I’d found the assassin.
There was no choice but to act quickly. Still cloaked by invisibility I approached him. I would have one chance to strike from stealth and take him out.
Without hesitation, I readied my small poison dagger and gripped it tightly. A single strike from stealth should have an excellent chance to crit roll.
A successful critical would effectively double my damage and boost any extra damage granted from stealth. I was now dangerously close to the assassin. I readied my attack and then struck. My attempt caught him by surprise, but the arrow was launched. I could only pray I’d thrown him off target. He whipped around to face me. While my attack should have shaved off a hefty amount of his hit points, the assassin still stood. He’d somehow managed to resist most of the damage.
I was stunned, how was that even possible?
His reaction was immediate, he launched a series of open hand melee strikes. His moves were fast and I knew immediately that he must be levels above me. Still, I managed to avoid the most severe blows. This seemed to frustrate him.
Not willing to give in I pressed my advantage. I jabbed and struck with my trusty dagger. He nimbly dodged my much weaker attacks and then grinned wickedly. In his hand, he now held a Shuriken. The assassin threw it and I made a dodge attempt. Unfortunately, I failed. The Shuriken struck and a sharp pain went through me. Damn! I’d been hit.
My hand covered the wound and I pulled it away to find my palms stained with blood. My HUD display warned me of a rapid loss of hit points. There was also something else, I was taking a ton of mounting DOT damage. I’d been poisoned.
The assassin took off when he realized that he had successfully wounded me. I followed after and yelled loudly: ASSASSIN! Soon, I rounded the corner to find both Yvir and Shauna taking on the ruthless killer.
Yvir was trading blows with him. Much like me she was outmatched. But even unarmed the barbarian was no pushover. She landed a nasty sucker-punch to his stomach. He fell backwards and clutched his midsection.
Seemingly surprised by how hard she'd hit, the killer stepped backwards. Then he suddenly leapt forward. He spun and landed a neat round house kick to Yvir’s jaw. She fell and hit the ground.
“Yvir!” Shauna screamed. The young cleric made a series of gestures. A ball of glowing light floated between her open palms and then she thrust her hands forward. The glowing ball zoomed from her hands and struck the assassin.
He flew backwards with surprising force and struck the wall. Clutching my tiny blade I went back into invisibility. If I could land a Shadow Strike while he was disabled, then we could possibly catch the bastard.
I crept behind and readied myself. Somehow he managed to sense my presence and before my blow could land he dodged. Moving faster than my eyes could follow.
Then his hands snapped out and grabbed me by the throat. He was so freaking strong! I struggled for air as he tried to crush my windpipe.
But before he could finish me off, dark tendrils of energy wrapped around his wrist and pulled him backwards. Struggling to remain conscious, I lifted my head and discovered Cairngorm had joined the fight.
The Dark Mage was richly dressed in noblemen's robes. Apparently, he'd been concealed amongst the royal guests. So that is what Varick had done with him! The assassin struggled against the dark energy manacles that held him securely.
Then Varick appeared. The mighty wizard lifted up his hands and muttered a forceful incantation. Our infiltrator now understood that his time was up.
He reached into his tunic and pulled out a purple crystal. He held it firmly in has hand muttered something unintelligible. Soon there was a flash of intense light and he vanished.
“Damn it to hell!” Varick lamented. “He had an emergency teleportation crystal.”
Shauna had made her way to me and cradled my head in her hands. “Kira’s been poisoned!”
The others came and I s
truggled to keep my eyes open. If not treated the deadly poison would slowly eat away at my hit points until I died.
Since the respawn points were now disabled, we all assumed any death in the game would be permanent. It just couldn’t end this way! I refused to die like this.
“She’s putting up quite the struggle,” Varick said. “Perhaps there is still time.”
I tried to talk but couldn’t muster the strength. Then I felt a warm glowing light pass over my body. Was someone trying to heal me?
“I won’t let her die!” Shauna declared. I opened my eyes and watched the young cleric kneeling over me. She held glowing light in her hands, her eyes closed in concentration.
“That’s it young healer,” Varick encouraged her. “Reach deep within yourself and call upon all your divine power!”
Shauna mouthed a heartfelt prayer and waved her hands over my body. I wanted to tell her that it didn’t matter if she couldn’t save me. But I was unable to speak at all.
Warm healing light crept up my legs and spread through my core. Soon I floated on a cushion of light and air. All the pain seemed to pass from me. My hit point bar miraculously replenished.
“It’s working,” Varick said. “Keep going Shauna!”
She prayed hard over me. Passing her hands back and forth. Soon a sense of returning strength filled me.
I opened my mouth and mouthed “Thank you”.
“She’s alive,” Yvir shouted.
“Thank the gods,” I heard Leonidas say.
“We must take her to the infirmary quickly,” Varick commanded. Yvir and Leonidas lifted me to my feet and carried me between them. I leaned on the two strong warriors shoulders.
“I’m sorry I didn’t stop him,” I whispered to Varick.
“Nonsense,” he said. “That was Tolan Gath, a supreme rogue assassin. There are very few who battle him and live to tell the tale. You all performed admirably
“But he got away,” Shauna said. “We almost had him!”
“We will live to fight another day Cleric,” the old wizard spoke with assurance. “For now let’s get your comrade to the infirmary.”