by Oliver Mayes
The squad was lined up in two rows and standing motionless. They’d attracted a fair few players, many of whom were pulling stupid poses in front of them as they took turns screenshotting each other. The Queen’s Guard seemed not to care, until one of the players strayed a little too close. The priest immediately cried out.
“Close ranks!”
The overstepping player was punted backward by an iron-clad shoulder. The front line dropped to one knee and their shields locked together in front, forming an impenetrable wall. The rangers behind drew their bows and filled the gaps, with the priest glaring over the top looking for signs of aggression. All present were suitably chastened.
“At ease!”
The group returned to their previous formation in the span of a second. This was all very interesting, but Damien only had one concern. Their names, and the names of all the players around them, were red. They were all hostiles. He did not want his first act as ‘Pride’ to be getting annihilated by player and non-player alike.
Daemien: I see your squad, my HUD displays them as enemies. Are you sure this is a good idea?
Lillian: Of course not, I’ve never done this before. I’ll tell them you’re here.
Not encouraging. Damien was still typing out his reply when the priest yelled over the heads of the crowd.
“Daemien, step forward!”
At least they knew he was there. That didn’t necessarily mean they wouldn’t murder him on sight. Damien was higher level than any of the players congregating around the squad, in most cases more than twenty levels higher. He picked his way around all but the lowest-level players, who he could get within arm’s length of without them even realizing he was there.
This gear bonus was incredibly useful. Still, it was not the same as true invisibility. He’d found a point of ingress through the crowd and was within ten meters when he and the priest locked eyes. The priest’s diplomacy needed work.
“Target—”
The front line of warriors ran toward him while Damien was still figuring out what to do. By the time he’d decided to run, the option had been removed. The five of them encircled him, their shields locking him in.
“—acquired. We’ve been instructed to bring you in for an audience with her majesty, Lillian the Immortal. Do not resist. Quick march!”
The shield wall shifted and Damien was pushed forward into a jog. They were bringing him through the gate. Their movement was completely synchronized, even with half of them running backward. The pace was not quite a sprint, especially not by Damien’s standards, but it was a fair bit faster than walking speed. The shield wall remained completely intact the whole time, with not so much as a chink appearing in the gaps.
This lot were even better coordinated than his own summons. Also quite a bit ruder, which was saying something with Noigel dragging the average up. On the one hand, Damien had never traveled more safely. On the other, he’d never traveled less efficiently or more uncomfortably. Trams during rush hour were roomy by comparison. Needless to say, he did not get a scenic view of Camelot on his way in.
Within a few minutes, which felt like far longer, the paved stone under his feet gave way to marble and they were walled in. They’d entered the castle proper. A minute later, the phalanx around him abruptly dispersed and took their places around the War Room.
The ‘squad’ that had picked Damien up was only one of five. There were fifty Queen’s Guard stood all around, all with the same group composition. Lillian had acquired an instant guild of completely loyal NPCs, along with the undisputed best guild headquarters in the Empire. There were significant perks to being queen, another of which she was availing herself of at that very moment.
She was standing at the other side of the Round Table, over which a holographic map of Tintagel was projected. There were insignias scattered all across it, hovering over fortified positions that were marked out on the map. Damien recognized a couple of them. They were guild emblems, each marking out a guild headquarters. Basic information for each guild was displayed in text boxes next to them as Damien focused on them.
On either side of Lillian was another player. As Damien’s escort dispersed, all three looked up from what they were doing. It was no surprise to see one of them was Andrew, but the second was Hammertime. Hadn’t Andrew said he’d betrayed Lillian’s party? The three of them were kitted out in new gear, very similar in style to what Lillian’s Queen’s Guard had equipped. Damien wasn’t the only one boasting significant upgrades.
Lillian’s basic information appeared over her head as she rounded the table toward him, leaving Hammertime and Andrew to themselves. It gave Damien quite a start when he spotted not only her newly added title along with her nickname and level 50, but also a golden skull. His HUD registered her as an epic boss. Lillian wasn’t just in control of the Empire. She was the Empire, courtesy of the impossible sword that hung unsheathed at her side.
It was a lot to take in for Damien’s first glimpse inside Camelot. More than he could manage before Lillian had closed in on him, her pace slowing and her brow furrowing as she drew closer.
“Long time no see! What happened to you? You’re bigger than before.”
She looked him up and down, grabbed him by the shoulders and examined him at arm’s length. Most of it was surely for show, since he’d started shorter than her and was now at least a head taller. She finished her inspection and nodded at him, grinning broadly.
“Yup, definitely bigger. When did that happen? Is it a new trait?”
Damien twitched at the memory. Nothing to see here. Move along.
“Something like that. I like your table. What are you up to? It looks like you’re planning a takeover.”
“Not if I can help it. I already had to throw King Bedi— former King Bedivere into the dungeon. He refused to accept he wasn’t king anymore, even after the NPCs saw Excalibur and stopped following his orders. We’re hoping to talk some sense into the guild leaders but we don’t think they’ll be any happier than Bedivere. They weren’t very kind to either of us in the last council meeting we had.”
Yeah, Damien could remember. One part stood out in particular. He couldn’t help feeling a little resentment, although he did his best to hide it in his tone if not with his chosen words.
“I think you’d be better off wiping them out and starting fresh. You shouldn’t have to save those idiots from themselves.”
Lillian raised her eyebrows and took a step back.
“Sorry, Damien, this requires a more delicate touch. We have a battle to fight this evening and battles need bodies. Living ones, to start with. I didn’t do this to start another civil war on top of the one we already have.”
“Are you sure? I’d happily pay the more obstinate council leaders a personal visit.”
Lillian stepped back in, very close, staring straight into his face. The clink of armor echoed around the room as her Queen’s Guard shifted.
“Damien? I forbid you to attack any Empire players today. I want everyone focused on the same goal. It’s well known you and I have been working together, if you run around...oh great, here we go again.”
Andrew was rounding the table to the pair of them, his eyes pinned to Hammertime as he traced his hands around the circumference of the best scrying table in the game.
“Gratz on your second Toutatis fight, Damien. Watching it almost made me gla—”
Andrew looked forward at who he was speaking to and stopped in his tracks.
“Is he bigger?”
“He’s bigger.”
“How did that happen?”
It seemed the change Damien had undergone was more obvious to everyone else than it was to him. He didn’t feel like airing out his own drama, it might make him look unstable and he was dealing with plenty already. Not least of all, the shock of seeing Lillian and Andrew cooperating. He knew they had been, in theory. It just hit different seeing it in person.
“It’s a long story, Andrew, I’ll tell you about it late
r. Why’s Hammertime here? I thought you said he was an enemy?”
At the mention of Hammertime, Lillian screwed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. Andrew glared back at the man under discussion, who steadfastly kept his attention glued to the table as the puny mage vented at him from the other side of it.
“He still is, as far as I’m concerned. Lillian gave him a second chance. Suited him up in Queen’s Guard gear, paid for a new weapon for him, full executive treatment. She’s even tipped him to be Camelot’s ‘Warmaster’. Apparently she’s adopted a policy of rewarding players who screw us over.”
Lillian kept her nose pinched and her eyes closed as she directed her commentary at Damien.
“He came with us on the quest, making him the only other guild leader who had the foresight to see Magnitude needed to be stopped immediately. He helped us past the wall and saved you, Damien, from Archimonde in the process. He has his own mind, unlike the rest of the echo chamber council, and isn’t completely incapable of changing it. Most importantly, he said he was sorry for what he did and got out of our way after I set him straight. If it’s good enough for me, it should be good enough for anyone else. I’ve already explained my reasoning umpteen times today, always to the same person. Who doesn’t seem to be interested.”
“If I’d been swayed the first time I wouldn’t bring it up umpteen times after. He’s a mistake waiting to happen.”
Lillian opened her eyes and turned on Andrew directly.
“Even if I didn’t want him here, he’s necessary. Not only is his guild the biggest since Rising Tide collapsed, we also had beef with him, which works in our favor now. It shows we’re willing to cooperate with old enemies and we’ll forgive the other guild leaders too, if they’re not too stupid to live. Until we pull Rising Tide back together, he represents the only guild leader whose support is guaranteed. Let it go!”
Andrew looked to Damien, who gave him nothing. No way was he getting involved in this domestic. It was already a shock to see Andrew and Lillian talking, arguing even, without the whole interaction falling apart. He felt a pang of something he didn’t immediately recognize, which heightened when Andrew turned away from him and gave his response to Lillian point blank.
“Fine. If the hammer you bought him ends up embedded in the back of your skull, I’ll be standing over your corpse screaming ‘I told you so’. Unless he kills me first, which seems likely. I’ll stand with your guard until you’re back, I’m not comfortable being with him alone.”
Lillian let out a huff as Andrew haughtily strode to the wall, standing between two of the heavily armored guards. Damien didn’t know Hammertime particularly well, so he couldn’t vouch for which one of them had this right. All he knew was that Lillian would never let him talk to her like that. Which is when he realized what the uncomfortable knot in his stomach was. Jealousy. Huh. Damien was both glad and not glad the two of them were back on speaking terms. He filed it away for later consideration as Lillian made Andrew’s excuses. Quietly, so Andrew wouldn’t hear them.
“Sorry about that, he’s had a pretty rough time of it.”
It almost seemed like a personal insult, as if Damien hadn’t had a “rough time” of it himself.
“Yeah, I’m sure. So, you were chewing me out for offering help stabilizing your kingdom?”
“I’ve got that under control. What I need from you is help negotiating with the occultists. Making a plea to them to cease player-killing activity today will make me appear weak and is more likely to encourage attacks, but I figure if you said the same thing it might work.”
“I’m not sure why you think that. I’m a whole lot stronger but I’m not leader of the occultists.”
“Maybe not, but you’re the next best thing. You won the streaming competition and everyone watched you hit level 50 and beat Toutatis. I’d think your words would hold some sway.”
Damien put a hand on the table and cupped the other under his chin. Would they? If he was telling them to coordinate an attack on a guild they’d probably all show up for the fun of it. Telling them not to attack was a different story. Although, he had an obvious starting point. He could work from there, but he’d need something to work with. Something a bit more tangible.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve got fifty occultists in the bag. I should be able to stop them from attacking for a day. If you give me some leverage I can do you one better: I might be able to bring them onside.”
Lillian shook her head, her face an inscrutable mask of calm.
“I don’t want them onside, I just want them to stand back until this is resolved. They already have motivation to do so: getting rid of Magnitude. He’s blocking their access to the Dark Tower. The Carlisle-Elite opened recruitment to all Empire players over level 40, I’m sure you saw it. It’s access to late-game content in exchange for leaving the Empire. That’s bad for occultists too, since their targets—”
Damien had put quite a bit of thought into this. Now he could finally put his rumination to good use. Better yet, he could employ it on Lillian, who’d recently taken to speaking to him as though he were a child and she knew everything.
“You’re not thinking like an occultist, and worse, you’re not thinking like Magnitude. What if he appeals to occultists with a better offer than nothing? As you say, they’ll all want past the wall now they’ve seen the Dark Tower. What if Magnitude gives it to them, as well as protection from Empire forces behind the wall, out of your reach? In exchange for killing Empire players, which is beneficial to occultists already?”
The smirk was fading from Lillian’s face as he spoke. This was novel. He’d stopped her in her tracks. He pressed on.
“Short term, he has a new group of devoted player-killers on his side, with a common goal of killing Empire players. Long term, you’re completely screwed. In a few days’ time, you’ll be dealing with packs of level 50 occultists, geared like me, roaming Empire space. I already did an online walkthrough for the Path of Deceit, so the best of the agility occultists could be done as soon as this evening. You need to stop ignoring us and hoping we won’t get involved, before Magnitude starts paying us attention.”
Lillian’s smirk had been pulled into a tight, thin line.
“What do you want?”
“I think occultists should be treated as allies by the Empire. You’re the Queen of Camelot, do you have the option of changing our ‘Enemy of the Realm’ status? That’s the kind of leverage I’m looking for.”
Lillian’s eyes flashed, then returned to an intense stare.
“I have that option, but no plans to use it. A big change like that will cause a lot of upset to all the Empire players, at a time when I’m trying to promote unity. Maybe if the occultists hadn’t been ganking Empire players left and right recently, I’d consider it. Not like this.”
“Why not funnel them toward the right Empire players? Camelot puts out bounties on people who break the law. You have a class that gains experience from killing their targets, but we can’t turn in bounties because being an occultist is (surprise!) against the law. Normal players kill each other all the time. It’s not about the killing. It’s about being an occultist. Even better, occultists don’t get to party up with anyone else and if they try to grind regular mobs for EXP they get targeted, just for having picked that class! If we had any other reasonable options, maybe we’d do things in a lawful way.”
“That’s naive, Damien. If I made occultists ‘legal’, most of them would go about killing people all over the place with no repercussions at all.”
“Lillian. You’re not hearing what I’m telling you. If you had rogue occultists who ran around killing other players, you could send your occultists to deal with them. At least this way you’d have access to some on your side. Like me, for instance. I’ve been pretty useful in a party, haven’t I? Worst-case scenario, you have exactly the same situation you started with.”
“No, Damien. Worst-case scenario I piss off all the regular human players, non
e of the occultists show up and I end up with no one to help fight Magnitude. It’s not as simple as you make it out to be.”
“It’s not as complicated as you make it out to be. Either you reach out to them, or Magnitude does. Which would you rather? You even have me as a buffer against public opinion, so you can blame me if it goes wrong. That’s why you invited me here, right?”
It was only as he stopped talking that he realized the room was completely silent, and that they’d been getting louder and louder. Damien’s words bounced off the walls, back onto him. The two of them stood there in silence, neither of them looking away. Lillian broke the stalemate.
“I’ll put something on my channel, confirming that anyone who contributes will be suitably rewarded. Conversely, there will also be suitable rewards for players manipulating this situation to their advantage. And this is a crucial time when we should be working together, not fighting amongst ourselves. If you could convey that to the occultists, while I’m focusing on the other 99% of human players, that might be useful. I’ll put Matthew’s squad under your control for the next fifteen minutes. They’ll escort you out of the city. You can leave.”
She was walking back to Hammertime when she paused mid-step and turned back to him.
“By the way. I agreed with everything you told the Round Table Council in that council meeting. I felt exactly the same way. It doesn’t mean venting your frustration at them made you look clever. Or considerate. We managed to fix that problem by the skin of our teeth. Don’t kill any Empire players today.”
She’d already turned her back on him before he could reply. Matthew’s squad promptly moved in to surround him. The priest’s nose was crinkled in obvious disgust.
“What would you have us do, Daemien the Low?”
Oh boy. Big mistake. Matthew had chosen a very poor time to hit the ‘Low’ button. Damien slowly turned his head to Matthew and fixed him with a glare.