Defenders of the Realm

by Dave Willmarth

  “That’s good, right?” Alexander ventured. Kai shook his head. “Depends on Braxis. Many alphas won’t tolerate another alpha living in their roost. They don’t wish to be challenged.” He took a look at the female working on improving her nest. “But I have a feeling she’s going to make sure Braxis allows it to live.” He motioned for Alexander to follow him out. They both nodded their respect to the female before leaving. Kai added “Best to leave them to it. Nothing you can do to help just now.”

  Once they were outside, Kai teleported the two of them back to Alexander’s quarters. Most of the officers were sitting or standing about in the sitting room. Alexander took a spot on the arm of a sofa next to where Jules was sitting. He told the assembled crowd “Just found three viable gryphon eggs and turned them over to Braxis. Kai says we’ll have three baby gryphons in a week or so.”

  The announcement was greeted by silence until Brick said “What’d ye do? Pull em outta yer arse?” which got some chuckles from the others.

  Alexander grinned and held up the bag. “Close enough. They were in the bag we found in the east tower. Along with some herbs. Sasha? There’s some featherroot in here, along with these others. Have you heard of them?” He handed her the list he made.

  After a quick read, she said “Some of them. All rare. Lydia probably knows them better.”

  “Well right now they’re still fresh and frozen in time. Maybe even still alive. You want them? Or should we give them to Lydia at the greenhouse?”

  “Greenhouse.” Sasha replied right away. He just nodded. He reached into the bag and pulled out several of the rare metal chunks one by one, tossing them to Brick, Grimble, and Grumpy alternately. Grumpy just started laughing when he saw what they were. “Yer like a damned slot machine. One that keeps payin out.”

  Max, always one to focus on the loot, asked “What else was in there?”

  “I’m not sure. I came across the eggs and immediately went up to the roost. I didn’t take time to look at the rest. I’ll finish when we’re done here.” He looked around the room as Lugs and Helga walked in. “It seems we’re all here. So let’s get down to business. Jeeves leveled up after the battle yesterday. Which means we have some options for his next upgrade. We’re a kingdom now, and I’m guessing the available options will be cooler than before? Jeeves?

  “Yes, Alexander. I have a wider range of options, as well as the original options available. You can choose from Improve Interface level three, Stone Golems level two, Or level one of Extended Area, Dungeon Spawn, or Aerial Defense. Those are the previous options. There are also two new ones. Embassy Upgrade level one, and Navy level one.”

  “Navy?” Lugs asked.

  “The Navy level one upgrade unlocks plans for a shipyard and small clipper ships” Jeeves answered.

  Silverbeard added “We’ve no place for a Navy. I propose eliminatin’ that one. Also the Extended Area. We be needin no more land ta look after just now. And yer embassies be plenty fancy already.”

  Max added “And it seems we’re growing our own gryphon army already. So no Aerial Defense.”

  The others all nodded or voiced their consent. Then Helga spoke up. “Leveling quickly has been hard. And if we’re going to be adding more level 1 adventurers soon, the Dungeon Spawn would come in handy.” Several of the others clapped in agreement.

  Brick offered his suggestion. “Them stone golems have come in damn handy already.” Fewer folks agreed with him.

  Alexander spoke up when the voices had died down. “I would like to point out that the improved interface level two has already proved quite beneficial. Though having said that, I’ll refrain from voting here. I want my advisors to decide this. Your choices seem to be: Dungeon Spawn, Improved Interface three, or Stone Golems two. Can we vote by hand? Or do you want secret ballots?”

  Jules spoke up. “I’m not shy about my vote. I want the dungeon!”

  She grinned at Helga, who shared a bloodthirsty look with her and said, “Me too!”

  So it was agreed that they would each cast a vote by raising their hands. Silverbeard pulled a pen and parchment from his bag, and called out the options. He counted and recorded the votes.

  Unsurprisingly to anyone who’s ever been around large groups of gamers for any amount of time, the Dungeon Spawn won.

  Alexander said “Right, then. Where should we place it?”

  “Your pardon, Alexander. But I’m afraid that choice isn’t up to you. Once you choose that upgrade, the nature, level, and location of the dungeon will be randomly generated. The only restrictions being that the dungeon will not spawn at a level above that of the king, and that it will appear within the kingdom’s boundaries.”

  Sasha snorted “I bet it shows up under Alexander’s ridiculously large bed.”

  Alexander winked at her and said, “The last boss can be a pink bunnymonster!” Which caused Jules to blush furiously.

  Getting back to business, he asked “Does this new information change anyone’s mind about choosing Dungeon Spawn?”

  Beatrix chimed in “You mean what Jeeves said? Or the bunnymonster boss?” Earning her a fist-bump from Helga.

  “Any of it.”

  When nobody else spoke up, Alexander said “Jeeves, please activate the Dungeon Spawn level one upgrade.

  After a moment, Jeeves said “It is done, Alexander.”

  Brick asked “So…? Do we start huntin fer the entrance?”

  Jeeves spoke again. “The dungeon will take approximately twelve hours to fully spawn. However, the entrance will be located in the cliff not far from the fishing shack by the lake. And the top floor will be level 30-35”

  “That works out well. Many of our citizens could benefit from that level range.” Lainey said. “Jeeves do you know how many levels there will be? And what kind of dungeon it is?

  Jeeves answered immediately. “The dungeon will have four levels initially. Each level will have progressively stronger opponents. As for the type of dungeon, I do not know, Princess Lainey.”

  Alexander said “Well, let’s leave it alone for now. Let it form and populate with mobs. Tomorrow we’ll figure out who should go through. There is the potential for ‘First Kill’ loot. But it doesn’t make sense for us higher level adventurers to go through. We’ll need to choose a group who can most benefit from the experience and the gear.”

  He gave them a minute to think about that, then continued. “A few other items of business. There’s still a dungeon up on the plateau we need to clear. I was going to lead a group, but without my magic I’d be nearly dead weight. So any volunteers let Silverbeard know. We also need to take a trip to see the elves. Lorian will be leading an expedition. I’ll go with him. Anybody else who wants to tag along, let me know over the next couple days.”

  With that, he ended the meeting and the guild members all began to clear the room. Jules put an arm around him, saying “Of course I’m coming with you to meet the elves.”

  “I’m going to Antalia shortly. The queen asked to see me. Want to tag along? Protect your territory?” He grinned at her happily. He’d really enjoyed the dress she had used to make a statement on their last trip.

  “I’m coming. Give me a few minutes to get something from my shop.” Jules kissed his cheek and departed.

  Brick said “I’ll be goin ta see the elves too. And ye should bring Thea ta speak fer me king. Er, me other king. Damn.” Alexander looked around, but Thea had already left. “I agree. If you see her, please tell her she’s invited.”

  Kai called from the doorway “I’ll tag along to see the elves. I can speak to them about my father’s hopes for an alliance.” Then he was gone.

  Alexander said “Jeeves, please announce that anyone wishing to travel to Antalia can meet me at the portal in ten minutes.” Then he smiled as he heard the announcement in Jeeves’ deadpan voice echo through the keep. Sasha was standing there still, looking at him curiously. After a moment of looking back in silence, he asked “What?”

  “I thou
ght you were going to go with me to Stormforge and meet with Lydia to deal with those herbs.” Sasha put a hand on her hip.

  “Shit. Okay, do you want to come with me, and we can stop there on the way back? Or stay here, and I can fetch you after?” He asked by way of apology.

  “I’ll tag along. I’ve been meaning to start an herb garden at the compound in Antalia anyway. I’ve already got featherroot here and at Greystone Manor. When we get there, I’ll find a place to plant the featherroot you have in your bag.”

  Alexander thought about the high-quality potions the herb made. And wondered how much better they’d be if enchanted. He snapped his fingers. “You should learn enchanting. At least the one spell you need to make the Rapid Recovery health potions. In case my magic is permanently broken. Lydia knows the spell and can teach it to you. Or Fitz can. You never know, your Alchemy skill might give you a bonus I don’t get when you make the potions.”

  Sasha nodded. “I could do that. If a doofus like you can learn it…” She poked him in the belly and left the room.

  Alexander was about to leave when he noticed a long green foot sticking out from under one of the chairs. He poked at it with his toe. When that didn’t elicit a response, he gave it a soft kick. There was a sputtering growl, and a thump on the bottom of the chair, followed by some mutterings that Alexander suspected were goblin curses that didn’t translate to common. A moment later Fibble walked from behind the chair, rubbing the top of his head with one hand. “What boss need? Why wake Fibble?”

  Alexander hadn’t even known Fibble was there for the meeting. “Fibble, how long have you been down there?”

  Fibble looked at the window, gauging the sun. “Not long. Fibble come for big meeting. Sound exciting. But meeting all talk talk. Boring. Fibble find spot under big chair and take nap. Then boss kick Fibble. Boss not nice.”

  Alexander tried to look contrite. “I’m sorry Fibble. I had to make sure you weren’t hurt. Lugs could have stepped on you or something.”

  Fibble grinned at that idea. “Lugs no squish Fibble. Big and slow. Fibble too fast for squishings!” He demonstrated by zooming out of the room. Alexander heard a thump as he hit the wall near the top of the stairs and bounced down. The little guy hadn’t quite got the hang of his new speed.

  Alexander followed him down and proceeded out to the courtyard. Pollock was waiting for him near the portal. He was talking to Silverbeard. When Alexander approached, Pollock said “I was thinking I could approach a few of those players from Antalia I told you about. Bring them back to the guild house and let you meet them.”

  Alexander considered it. His day wasn’t all that busy. “How many are we talking about?”

  Pollock’s eyes rolled upward as he thought. His fingers ticked off one by one. “Five or six. Mostly warrior types like me. But a couple are casters. Might be useful in the next fight.” He looked solemnly toward the monument standing in front of the druid grove. “More… adventurers on the front lines means fewer citizens get hurt.”

  Alexander couldn’t argue with that. “They’ll need to be able to pass the same background checks you did. Tell them that. No point in wasting their time or ours. And you’ll need to vouch for their character. As you know, being a part of this guild means keeping a lot of secrets.”

  Pollock nodded. “I’ve noticed. I’ll speak to them. If I’m not sure, I won’t bring them.”

  “Fair enough. I’m not sure how long we’ll be at the palace. We’ll return to the guild house as soon as we’re done.” Alexander said as Jules approached. Alexander was slightly disappointed that she wasn’t wearing the spectacular dress. But she looked great in her standard black leathers too. He smiled to himself as he watched her approach. “Hey beautiful!” he said as she stepped close and took hold of his hand. She squeezed it briefly and favored him with the same radiant smile that had taken his breath away the first day they’d met.

  Sasha was right behind her. It doesn’t look as if anyone else wanted to join them, so Silverbeard opened the portal, and they all stepped through. Michael must have seen the portal activate, as he emerged from the back of the guild house just when they were reaching the door. “Welcome back!” he held the door for them. Jules leaned over and whispered something to him as she passed, and he nodded his head.

  They all headed toward the front of the house and the door leading to the street. Jules paused in the sitting room, and Michael joined her. Sasha said, “Give me the featherroot and I’ll figure out where to put it.” As Alexander complied, he saw Jules pulling something from her own bag and handing it to Michael. Then she stepped over to Alexander and took his hand. “Are we going to the palace, or what?”

  She led him out the front door and across the tiny courtyard that led to the house’s gate. From there she put her arm in his, and the two of them strolled up the street. Well, the eight of them. Taylor and his squad were spread out in front and behind. Alexander shook his head. He hadn’t even seen them come through the portal. And he was sure they hadn’t been in the house.

  As they walked toward the palace, they received the occasional shouted greeting or cheer from shopkeepers and citizens as they passed by. Antalia seemed a much happier place than the first time he’d visited.

  The guards at the gate saluted smartly as Alexander and party approached, then bowed their heads as he passed. He didn’t feel as awkward when it wasn’t his own people bowing to him. Either that, or he was getting used to it. An officer led them through the gates and into the palace, walking them straight to the great hall as if they were expected.

  There they found the queen sitting upon her throne, with Princess Kimberly in full armor standing at her right side. In front of them stood three players surrounded by guards with weapons drawn.

  “Ah, Alexander. Good timing. These faces may be familiar to you. Chaos Nation members who did not heed my warning to stay away.”

  Alexander looked at all three faces and names, but they didn’t seem familiar. “I’m sorry, Majesty.” He bowed his head toward the queen, then smirked at the players. “We killed so many that day, and none really distinguished themselves enough to stand out. I don’t recognize them.”

  “We’re going to kill you, Greystone. You little shit!” one of the players shouted. He was rewarded with a spear butt to the groin. The guard who did it looked up at the queen with an innocent face. Alexander could see her trying not to smile. She addressed the prisoners.

  “You were declared enemies of the realm, and given fair notice to depart Antalia. Yet you tried to use the tunnel system to re-enter my city. Why?”

  The one who’d spoken before grunted, still in pain. He managed to straighten up, and said “We will reclaim our guild house! Even if we have to burn this whole city!”

  “You mean my shiny new embassy? The three of you were going to take it back all alone? Or were you here to meet friends? Another guild controlled by the Dark One?” Alexander prodded at the prisoners.

  A second player said in a sullen voice. “All our good stuff was in that vault. We want it back.”

  Alexander shook his head. “We haven’t opened the vault yet. But whatever is in there, is no longer yours. Even if I gave it to you, it wouldn’t do you any good for a year. Your avatars are going to be locked-” He stopped when he heard a whispering chant. Looking at the third prisoner, he did indeed recognize her. She had been the one to hit him with one of the dark magic shit-weasel spells.

  “Stop her!” He pointed with his left hand as he drew his sword in his right. He’d managed a step toward her when she shouted the last word of the spell and it hit him squarely in the gut.

  Jules was instantly behind her, one knife already sliding into her kidney as the other went for her throat.

  Alexander shouted through the pain “Stop! Don’t kill her.”. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the guards beat the prisoners into submission. The worm in his gut was taking its time. The feeling was much the same as when he overdid it making healing potions.r />
  The queen was shouting, and Alexander could feel himself being lifted. A moment later he was set down on a table top, and Kimberly was looking down on him. She was all aglow with Paladin magic, and she placed her gauntleted hands on his stomach. Alexander felt a burning sensation through his entire body, and passed out from the pain.

  When he opened his eyes, his initial thought was that he’d died and was in limbo. Odin was standing in front of him, shaking his head. “Not limbo, Alexander. This is Olympus.”

  Alexander looked around. He was in a huge open space with columns all around. The ceiling was missing, and he could see stars above him. There were several people milling about, most looking his direction. He recognized a few of them as gods who had appeared at the various altars. There was Durin with his beard and hammer. Asclepius with his staff. Hermes, Tyr, and others.

  So. Olympus then. As far as Alexander knew, there was no code for an actual Olympus in the game. He suspected Odin had been getting creative. “Greetings, All-Father. And gods of the pantheon of Io.” He bowed deeply. What else did one do in a room full of deities?

  “Welcome, Alexander. You are the first adventurer to visit Olympus. You are not dead, though you are very nearly so. We brought you here to speak to you while your friends work to heal you.” His voice thundered, though he was just speaking conversationally.

  Alexander was impressed despite knowing it was all just code. He thought it best to play along.

  “I am always at your service, All-Father. What was it you wished to speak to me about?”

  “You are aware of the rise of the drow wizards, and their plan to destroy all life on Io. We, the gods of light, would not wish to see that happen. However, we are constrained by the law of Io, and can not often act directly upon the world. We must act through champions in most circumstances. You are one such champion of the light. I brought you here, to warn you.”

  “Warn me?” Alexander was intrigued.

  “The one your father seeks. The son of Seshat and Howard. I sensed him briefly in the interface. He is somehow masking his thought patterns while on Io. This, should not be possible. Yet he has found a way.”