by Tamryn Tamer
“Fine!” Jinx stomped. “But you’re all going to be punished! Brats! Wretches!”
“Promise?” Kadra joked while taking the frontline. The silver-haired woman was in the best position to tank for the group. While she wasn’t wearing plate, she was wearing chainmail while the other wolves were wearing leather. Jinx was the least armored in her black cloth.
“We’re not trying to kill them all,” Jinx growled. “We’re just going to get Sirun! Runts! Weaklings!”
“How we going to do that without killing them,” Avara asked as Kadra targeted the group approaching from the left. Kadra dashed forward with her spear grabbing the attention of the tank. The others sensed the movement and all reacted accordingly.
Rela instantly unleashed a volley of arrows on the rear supporting unit while Jinx and Avara trapped the attackers in a perfectly coordinated pincer maneuver. While the other groups needed to communicate with words, their spirits informed the others of their intentions.
“Just dive in and grab her and we’ll fight our way out!” Jinx said angrily as she finished off the plate wearer with a punch to the back of the head. If they intended to save Sirun they needed to do it quickly before they got tired, “We can’t do this all day! Pups. Whelps.”
“Got it,” Kadra said turning to the direction they sensed Sirun. “Let’s go!”
The four grouped up close as Kadra dashed forward while parrying projectiles with her spear. Anything she couldn’t parry the others masterfully dodged. Rather than engage the cells of enemies they used feints to get the groups to stop and take defensive formations allowing them to pass through.
“Jinx!” Sirun yelled excitedly as the group arrived and merged their spirit with hers. Avara quickly sliced through the chains holding Sirun down and the others circled her.
“Close in!” Loki yelled while barraging the group with arrows. The red-cloaked ranger was the guild master of Phoenix and enemy of her master. Jinx fought the compulsion to rush him and instead focused on their escape.
The path they’d taken in had been closed off as other tanks rushed to fill it. They were completely surrounded and it wouldn’t be long before the spears, chains, and arrows barraging them became unavoidable.
“When I say run all four of you run,” Jinx said authoritatively. “Find Jericho and tell the idiot I’m furious with him for taking so long. Dregs. Mongrels.”
“We’re not leaving you,” Kadra said while parrying a spear.
“You will run,” Jinx growled. “That’s an order. If you disobey it, I’ll kill you myself. Lowlife. Ingrate.”
“But…” Avara was silenced with a glance from Jinx. “Fine. We’ll find Jericho.”
“And come back,” Kadra said as Rela and Sirun nodded.
It was now doubtless that her master’s stupidity was contagious. She focused on their spirits, stealing everything she could while leaving enough for them to escape and pulled it into herself. She started condensing her spirit and everything vanished as her dispersed spirit gathered on the small group of beasts.
“Three,” Jinx said calmly while compressing and shaping the spirit as it spiraled around them.
“Get them already!” Loki roared while unleashing more arrows. Jinx didn’t bother dodging as two struck her left leg.
“Two,” Jinx growled as paralysis poison spread up her thigh. The spiraling spirit energy started to flatten as Jinx further condensed it. It started to resemble a spinning hoop, circling all five of them.
“Got you now!” A warrior said stabbing Jinx’s shoulder with a spear.
“Jinx!” Kadra yelled. Jinx shot her a furious glance commanding her to ignore it. The pain and damage didn’t matter to Jinx, she was finished anyway. The only thing she could do was create an opening for the pack to escape.
“One,” Jinx’s form converted to that of an enormous spectral blue tiger causing the surrounding soldiers to step back. The halo of spirit energy surrounding them stopped moving and Jinx released a powerful roar. The ring shot through the surrounding troops like a shockwave.
“Go!” Kadra yelled while leading the others over the momentarily stunned enemies. Jinx released another roar as the wolves vanished from sight. She needed to ensure they had time to escape.
Jinx released another powerful roar as the halo surrounding her became weaker. She bellowed again sending out another shockwave. Then another and another until her roars slowly devolved into the feeble meowing of a spectral kitten.
“Don’t worry about the others,” Loki laughed as he approached Jinx. She wanted to rip out his throat, she meowed again and anemically swatted his foot as he grabbed her by the back of the neck and lifted her up. “This one will be plenty. That stupid fucker will suck my cock every day for a year to get her back.”
“Fool,” Jinx squeaked out uproarious laughter. She looked to the surrounding troops with pity. They had no idea what was coming for them, “Remember this moment, you’ve done this to yourself. Corpses! Carrion!”
Loki smashed her against the ground and she blacked out.
Chapter 7
A Mage's Hatred
“Jericho!” Kadra, Avara, Sirun, and Rela said almost simultaneously as he emerged from the dark gate. Their armor was beaten up and torn. Additionally, their spirits were only a fraction of their normal strength.
“Where’s Jinx and Freya?” Jericho asked looking at the four. Their expressions varied from furious to one word away from breaking out in tears.
“Anger, fear, sadness, pain,” Sable said emerging from the portal, protected by Theia. She glanced up at Jericho haughtily, “I’m shocked. You promise happiness and deliver pain.”
“You’re forgetting about hope,” Theia said. “Perseverance, integrity, courage, and love.”
“Quiet,” Jericho said. He looked at Kadra who seemed to be the most collected. “Kadra, what happened?”
“Jinx said she’s furious at you for taking so long,” Kadra said struggling to keep herself together. “Jinx was taken by the red cloaks, she saved us.”
“Phoenix. What about Freya?” Jericho asked through clenched teeth as frost swirled around him. Just the thought of Jinx being captured by Loki filled him with unbridled hatred.
“Hate,” Sable said. “Powerlessness, wrath, bloodlust. Do you wish to end our bet now?”
“Sable!” Jericho snapped at the smirking sorceress. He turned back to the wolves, “What about Freya?”
“She broke through and went back to the manor to get help,” Kadra answered. “We need to hurry, maybe we can…”
“We’re going after them,” Jericho said pulling up his map. “They’ll head back to Kar Mograth. Where did they attack from?”
“The north…” Avara answered.
“Fuck!” Jericho snapped closing his map. He released pillars of ice and earth from his overflowing elemental pathways. They would already be in a safe zone, if they were in the safe zone, he couldn’t kill them and take her. At best he could steal her but that’d take time to organize a heist, “Fuck!”
“Should I go back in my prison and we’ll try again tomorrow?” Sable said smugly.
“Goddammit!” Jericho snapped unable to focus on anything but Jinx. He shouldn’t have taken so long, he knew they were in enemy territory and decided to fuck around anyway. Jinx being captured was his mistake and he needed remedy it, “Fuck it. We’re going to Kar Mograth.”
“But it has the blessing of peace,” Theia said. “There is nothing we can…”
“We can negotiate,” Jericho said. “We’ll find out what Loki wants and give it to him.”
“No!” Kadra objected. “Jinx wouldn’t want that!”
“We need to rescue her,” Sirun cried. “It’s my fault she was captured.”
“Which is why I’ll negotiate her release as quickly as possible,” Jericho said. “If he won’t release her after a quick negotiation, we’ll make Phoenix’s life so hard that everybody turns on him. Let’s go.”
“Oh,” Sable sai
d as Jericho dragged her along. “So forceful.”
While running to the portal Jericho started doing internal accounting on what he had to offer. He had a few dozen legendary items, about two hundred thousand gold, the businesses in Dayrose which generate the gold, the manor, and information. Since he was technically the sole owner of the manor, he could unilaterally sell it even though it’d likely upset Terra.
Beyond that, there were recipes for potions and food that were unknown to the majority of the players which would also hold value. Loki wouldn’t know he has these so they could be used as an extra bargaining chip to sweeten the pot.
He had enough, no matter how he looked at it he had enough to get Jinx back and then he could focus on rebuilding and repaying Terra for whatever damage they were about to cause. He should have been smarter, he should have planned better.
“Portal’s up ahead,” Kadra announced from the front of the group. Since Jericho and Sable were both mages their speed was holding everybody back but it also provided him time to think.
“Kar Mograth,” Jericho said waving his hand in front of the portal. The wolves jumped in immediately followed by Theia.
“I don’t like portals,” Sable grumbled as Jericho pushed her through and followed behind. As they arrived on the other side of the portal Sable almost fell over. Jericho caught the dark sorceress. “Another thing the world could do without.”
Jericho looked around and Tiamat was already screaming at members of Phoenix. Additionally, even members of Endgame seemed to be wandering the area. That worried Jericho more because he wondered what Loki had done to get their attention so quickly.
“Right,” Jericho said. Phoenix must have made a show of capturing his familiar in front of them causing some uproar. He looked around and saw a Tiamat officer, “Diana, where is she?”
“Jericho,” the officer said. “Diana went to Loki’s manor.”
“Thanks,” Jericho said turning toward the manor. The officer grabbed his arm. “What?”
“You shouldn’t go. Let Diana handle it.”
“Why?” Jericho asked. The officer pulled their hand away as the frost reached his fingers. He could only think of a few reasons why he wouldn’t be wanted at the negotiation and none of them were good for Jinx. “What is he doing.”
“It’ll be better if…”
“What is he doing,” Kadra snapped as her and the other three women surrounded the officer. “Tell us! Now!”
“Back off!” The officer snapped back at the women. He looked at Jericho, “Loki’s trying to show everybody how big and scary he is. He’s using your familiar to do that. There are no rules on how players have to treat followers, but we’ve always adhered by some standards of decency. Treat them like prisoners of war. Loki’s not. Either way, there’s nothing you can do. You should meet with Raven…”
“I’m going,” Jericho interrupted rushing past the officer and up the main streets. Several members of Phoenix blurted insults, catcalls, and made jokes as they passed. A few of them tried to intimidate Theia, Sable, and the four wolf women indicating that they were next.
“Such a disgusting world,” Sable sighed. “Somehow it’s become even more disgusting since I’ve been locked away. Even less worthy of redemption. I’m afraid that you’re failing to prove your case.”
“I know,” Jericho said coldly. He looked at the wolves and Theia, “Remember every one of these faces and names. After this is all over, we’ll be hunting every single one of them down along with any guild who offers them shelter.”
“Already doing it,” Rela said as the other three women agreed.
“You shouldn’t let your hate control you,” Theia said reassuringly. “We are supposed to be setting an example for…”
“Theia,” Jericho interrupted. “Now is not the time.”
“Yes master,” Theia said somberly. “I understand.”
They arrived at the Phoenix manor to see the doors already wide open and members of Phoenix coming and going. The players parted and laughed as Jericho walked through the doorway. As soon as he entered the main hall, he saw the attraction.
“Loki!” Jericho roared at the sight of Jinx in her spectral kitten form hanging from the ceiling by a chain. Players from Phoenix were throwing beer bottles and food at the dangling kitten. A powerful wave of frost erupted from him but was immediately silenced by the blessing of peace before it could cause damage.
“Shit,” Diana grumbled. She turned to face Jericho, “Leave. I’ll handle…”
“Really?” Jericho looked around the room at all of the half-drunk members of Phoenix. “You’re all fucking disgusting.”
“Idiot…jerk…” Jinx whispered half passed out.
“That doesn’t sound like somebody coming to negotiate,” Loki laughed while throwing a half-full beer bottle at Jinx striking her in the head. “Fun isn’t it? Safe zones. You can’t kill or steal from player homes but you can get in as many bar fights as you want. And when we really want to have fun with our prisoner, we can just head on over to Raycastle. Those guys can’t wait for their turn.”
“You’re dealing with those disgusting fucks,” Jericho could barely believe what he’d just heard. A leader of a major guild had aligned himself with a bunch of players that got their jollies off torturing magical creatures. “You think that’s just going to go unnoticed.”
“None of anybody’s business who I sell your familiar to once I’m done with her,” Loki laughed. “I’m just waiting until she has enough and reverts to human form so I can have some really good times with her, you know?”
“What the fuck do you want?” Jericho asked angrily. “You know what I have. Name your price.”
“No,” Loki laughed contemptuously. “You think you have anything I want? I don’t need your gold, I don’t care about magic, I don’t care about your pathetic village house. I am the fucking leader of one of the largest fucking guilds in Forbidden Arcana! The idea that you have anything I want is fucking insulting! You know what I want? I want you gone from this game! And if you won’t quit, I want you fucking miserable. Bonus points if I can make you so miserable you kill yourself. How’s that?”
“And that’s what all of you want?” Jericho asked looking around the guild. “You don’t want my gold? My businesses? My legendary items? My manor?”
“Loki,” one of the officers chimed in. “We should at least…”
“Shut up!” Loki screamed. “If any of you want to negotiate with this piece of shit you can get the fuck out of my guild. You can go join Diana like all the other losers. How’s your big strong alliance feeling now Diana? You think you can do better than me you fucking cunt?”
“Really?” Diana said glancing around the room. “Seriously? You need to be on medication. As for being welcome in my guild, I’m pretty sure nobody in the game is going to be welcoming anybody from your guild after this. You’re no different than Raycastle psychopaths.”
“They don’t need another guild,” Loki grinned. “We have a base in one of the largest cities in the game and can do what we want. And if people like your friend Jericho don’t fall in line, we’ll make examples of them.”
“Jericho,” Sable said with a look of disgust on her face. “This is why I preferred my room.”
“I preferred it too,” Jericho said patting her head. “But shit happens.”
“But,” Loki grinned. “I’m not without a heart. I’ll allow you visitation. Today was free but from now on if you want to see your familiar, you’ll need to bring offerings. I think those legendary items would be a good start. Maybe fifty thousand gold per visit? And before I let you see her, you’ll need to drop to your knees and suck my cock.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Diana asked in shock.
“Jericho,” Theia said somberly. “I think we should leave and come up with a plan.”
“We can’t leave until we have Jinx,” Kadra said angrily.
“Oh,” Loki laughed at the four spectral wolf women,
“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be joining her soon enough. We have people everywhere watching for you and as soon as they report it to us, we’ll be there. Just like they saw you coming out of that portal and heading south.”
“I’m reporting this to Sapphire,” Diana said. “She’s not going to stay allied with a psychopath.”
“I don’t care,” Loki said. “If Ambrosia and Grim want to break our alliance, that’s fine by me. We’re untouchable here and we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing until they break just like I’m going to break you and your pathetic friend. You fuckers like to pretend there are rules but you fucked with somebody who doesn’t give a fuck about your little rules! So tough fucking luck.”
“Fucking nutcase,” Jericho ran through all of his options. Loki was having a mental breakdown and somewhere along the line, he fixated on Jericho as the cause of his problems. He could probably bribe somebody in Phoenix to break Jinx out but Loki would likely keep her locked up personally. Or he could buy information and hope they move her around so he could steal her back during transport. But as long as they were in Kar Mograth, there was nothing they could do.
“Loki,” a member of Phoenix came rushing through the doors. “Kar Mograth! It’s being sieged!”
“What?” Loki laughed. “Who are they after?”
“Uh,” the player scratched their head looking at Jericho and Diana then back at Loki. “You.”
Chapter 8
The Queen's Wrath
“And some for you,” Ariel said happily while feeding a plot of plants in the rooftop garden. “Oh! Look at you! You’re growing so big and strong! I love you so much, Primal Rose.”
“Strange,” Mai said coldly from beside Mirage.
“You are just too adorable,” Mirage laughed as Ariel complimented each plant in the garden. “Is this really the big secret to fairy gardening?”
“It helps!” Ariel insisted. Her five-step system was perfect which was why Jericho put her in charge of the rooftop gardening. It was true that plants would grow as long as you fed and water them, but so would people. As long as you give a person food, water, and shelter, they’d certainly grow up. But what would they become? That’s why her system was better.