Sword

by Byron Kings

He grinned, displaying horrifically disfigured teeth.

  “We need information too,” Morgana said, stepping forward. “What can you tell us about Xin Jang and the state of his kingdom?”

  I sighed, wishing she’d keep her mouth shut.

  “Why are you asking so many damn questions?” Shaman Sammy asked.

  “I need some healing salve for external use,” I said, not expanding.

  “Above the belt or below the belt?” the man asked then winked.

  “Below,” I muttered, not taking my eyes off his.

  He looked away, mumbling to himself.

  “We’ve got gold,” I said, pulling out a few coins.

  I tossed them on a nearby table. The man wobbled over to the far wall and picked up a clay jar from a shelf. He handed it to me.

  “Twice a day on the affected areas,” he said. “You’ll be fine, champ. Anything else?”

  “General healing potions,” I said. “What do you have in stock?”

  “Nothing at the moment,” Shaman Sammy said.

  “Why not?” Morgana asked.

  “The war efforts,” he replied. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got studying to do.”

  He picked up a fresh jug of wine then headed over to his stool near the fire. Outside, I confronted Morgana about acting so suspicious.

  “What are you doing?”

  “It’s better if he knows we’re coming,” she said. “Rulers with horn swords don’t like being surprised. Trust me.”

  “Oh, you know, do you?”

  She nodded. “I do.”

  “You’re probably right,” I admitted. “We do have good information if there’s a war coming.”

  North of the village, just over a hill, I heard an impressive explosion.

  “What the hell was that?” Newton asked.

  “Big bang,” Alondra said, pointing.

  “Let’s go check it out,” I said.

  The others followed as I headed toward the hill. Near the top, I slowed down, checking out the situation on the other side. Two groups of men battled; Xin Jang and King Gregor’s men. Has the battle between the two biggest powers in the badlands begun already?

  “Looks messy,” Morgana said next to me.

  “My blade’s thirsty for a battle. Even without its powers, the horn sword’s formidable. We should help Xin Jang. It’ll give us more pull when we go to talk with him.”

  “Good idea,” Morgana said.

  “Are you two done gabbing?” Harper asked. “I’m low on mana.”

  “We can mop up the remaining warriors,” I said, cresting the hill. “For honor!”

  I charged down, taking three men by surprise. One lost his right hand while the other got my steel in his gut. The third took off running, straight into Xin Jang’s warriors. My eyes met with one of them for a moment before we both looked to other opponents on the battlefield. Morgana fought by my side, taking out about as many men as me. A few minutes after the battle started, we had killed all but four of King Gregor’s men.

  “Get them!” I yelled as they ran in four different directions.

  Newton grabbed one, knifing him in the stomach, while Harper and Alondra cornered and killed another. Xin Jang’s men had the third which left the fourth for me. I drew one of my throwing daggers and flung it at the retreating man, hitting him in the back of the neck. He screamed and grabbed at the blade as he fell to the ground.

  << Battle complete! >>

  << You get 7,000 xp! >>

  << You have 12,346,000 xp >>

  << 254,000 xp needed to level.>>

  Once I had a horn sword and commanded a large army, I would begin to get even higher amounts of experience points, allowing me to reach the higher god-like levels. I looked over at who I suspected to be the captain of Xin Jang’s men. He wore a red bandanna on his head to signify his position in their society. I put away the horn sword and walked toward him with my hands raised. He bowed slightly then smiled as I approached.

  “Thanks for the assistance,” he said. “May I inquire your name?”

  “I’m Drake,” I said, offering my hand.

  He shook it with a firm grip. “Nice to meet you. Xin Jang will want to thank you.”

  “That’s where we’re headed,” I said, turning to my companions. “All of us.”

  “I’ll escort you the rest of the way,” he said. “All this talk of war in the air has everyone antsy. This attack on Xin Jang’s soil will not be tolerated.”

  “We appreciate your help,” I said, enjoying his civility.

  The way King Gregor ran his kingdom led to people bowing to their basest instincts. I liked Xin Jang because he tried to inject a little fucking culture into the game.

  “My name is Shingu,” the commander said. “Ride with us to the Forbidden City.”

  After retrieving our horses from the healer at the village, we rode north with the small band of warriors. I rode next to Morgana with Harper and Newton behind us. Alondra rode on the back of Newton’s horse, tightly clinging to him. I felt even closer to getting the horn sword charged and claiming my spot as a low-level ruler in the badlands.

  On the way, I got into an interesting conversation with Morgana. According to her, the founders of the game were thinking of closing the virtual world to new users.

  “That’s going to affect everything,” I said.

  She nodded. “Exactly. Some of us are starting to organize against it.”

  “I don’t know. Sounds like a shitty rumor to me.”

  “The shitty rumors are usually the true ones,” Harper said behind us.

  I didn’t bother turning around to look at her.

  “As long as the game doesn’t shut down before I die,” Newton said.

  “Don’t be so morbid, please,” Harper said.

  “He’s dying. Leave him alone,” I said over my shoulder.

  I noticed Shingu glancing back at us as we approached a wide, fast-flowing river that separated his core kingdom from that of King Gregor. The polluted water that ran north to south originated in Gristle, the city-state directly north of the badlands, a sort of transition zone from the badlands to the League of Twelve lands that occupied most of the continent.

  “The rumors aren’t true,” Shingu said.

  “Oh? You know for sure?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he said, not looking back. “The truth is much worse.”

  “What do you know?” I asked.

  “It’s not my place to talk about it,” he said. “Xin Jang will inform you if he thinks you need to know. Until then, I’ve taken an oath not to spread the information.”

  “Something’s afoot,” I said. “Figures it would happen right after I came into the game full time.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it,” Morgana said.

  She glanced over and smiled before looking away.

  “I’m not worried, but I like to know what’s happening,” I said.

  Shingu stopped at a flimsy wooden bridge spanning the gray, murky water.

  “We’ll be safer once we cross,” he said, glancing around.

  I nodded, knowing Xin Jang would be pleased with my information.

  “Doesn’t look safe to me,” Harper complained.

  “We’ll be fine,” I said, stepping onto the bridge. “See?”

  I crossed without incident, the others following me. When I turned around to watch the others cross the bridge, Alondra toppled over the side and fell in.

  “No!” Newton shouted.

  He leaped off his horse then jumped into the water, swimming after her as she got carried down river by the swiftly moving current. Fuck, I thought as I got down and ran along the bank.

  “I’m drowning!” Newton said. “Help!”

  “Here’s a rope,” Morgana said.

  I grabbed it and tossed one end into the water. Newton flailed about but managed to grab it.

  “Alondra!” he yelled.

  As I pulled on the rope, bringing him closer to shore, he let go and swam aft
er the female cuerno bobbing up and down in the water, wildly thrashing about. I started taking off my armor to go in after him, but he reached Alondra and helped her toward the shore. They climbed the bank, both sopping wet and breathing heavily.

  “Thank you so much,” Alondra said, sobbing.

  Newton clung to her, comforting as much as he could.

  “Everything okay?” Shingu asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “We’re coming.”

  He led us north, following a road that led to the Forbidden City. While I’d heard descriptions of it, I’d never seen the place myself. How cool was it if it was in the badlands? We rode in silence. I kept glancing over at Morgana, happy to have her around. Harper looked better, but I found myself attracted to Morgana’s mind. She intrigued me.

  ┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑

  CHAPTER 17

  ┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

  A Little Help from a New Friend

  We arrived at the walls around the Forbidden City without any further incidents. The massive double gate opened outward, allowing us entry. I noticed heavily armored guards every ten or twenty feet throughout the complex. They all stared straight ahead, ready to give their lives for their leader. I would have that kind of power with the horn sword charged.

  “You can clean and rest a bit before Xin Jang sees you,” Shingu said. “Follow me.”

  He dismounted then headed toward a boxy building near the walls. We followed him into the building. He talked to the woman in charge briefly then turned.

  “Miss Bhang will help you,” he said. “I’ll see you later this evening.”

  “Thanks,” I said, nodding my head.

  He bowed briefly then turned and left the building.

  “This way,” Miss Bhang said, waving for us to follow.

  We walked further into the building and came upon a room with a massive pool of heated water in the center. Several naked men and women bathed, not paying us any attention as we entered the room. Miss Bhang pointed toward a bench that hugged the wall all the way around the room. I noticed towels hanging from pegs on the wall.

  “You can wash here,” she said. “I’ll wash your clothes if you leave them in a pile. The cuerno trash needs to go back outside. She cannot wash here.”

  “Are you serious?” Newton asked. “That’s outrageous.”

  “It’s our way,” she said.

  “Alondra, can you wait outside?” I asked, hoping she understood.

  She nodded her oversized lizard head.

  “I’ll be right back out, baby,” Newton said.

  “She can clean out back with the animals,” Miss Bhang said without flinching.

  Damn. They’re a bit harsh on the horn-people.

  As the woman walked away, I headed over to an open spot on the bench and started stripping off my leather armor. Being able to wash would feel nice after so long. The others came over and started stripping too.

  “I don’t like how they’re treating Alondra,” Newton said.

  “Me either, but we’re guests here. I’ll treat her better once I have my kingdom.”

  “You say that now…” His voice trailed off.

  “I’m a man of my word,” I said.

  Naked, I walked over to the bathing pool and stepped down a few stairs and into the warm, clear water. After finding a seat on a stone bench running around the edge, I sat down in the water and stretched out. The others joined me, cleaning as good as we could. The warmth felt good on my aching muscles.

  “We need to get one of these,” Harper said then dipped her head under the water.

  She came up a moment later, water dripping down her hair and face before she wiped it away.

  “We’ll have this and a lot more,” I said then glanced back at the horn sword.

  I didn’t expect anyone in the bathhouse to steal it, but I liked to keep an eye on it. Miss Bhang returned a few minutes after we’d gotten in.

  “Xin Jang will see you now,” she said. “I have fresh clothes.”

  Three women behind her went over to the bench where we’d left our belongings and dropped off a clean white robe for each of us. I stood up and got out of the pool along with the others. After drying off and dressing, we followed Miss Bhang out of the bathhouse. The closer we got to the center of the Forbidden City, the more impressed I became.

  Xin Jang had a good thing going. I would hate for an asshole like King Gregor to mess it up for him. A tall, square tower stood at the center of the city. Several guards stood in front of the door. They moved aside as Miss Bang approached. None of them said anything as we walked inside the ornate and magnificent tower. I glanced around the room.

  “Wait here,” Miss Bhang said then walked over to a doorway.

  She disappeared through it, leaving the five of us to our own devices. Alondra picked up an expensive looking vase then raised it to her mouth.

  “Don’t,” I said.

  “Why not?” she asked, lowering it. “I’m thirsty.”

  “They’ll give us food and water soon enough,” I said. “Can you handle her, Newton?”

  He grinned and stepped toward her, putting his hand on her arm and talking to her in a soothing voice. I set my armor and sword down on the floor in front of me as we waited. The marble tiles gleamed along with the rest of the city. Everything looked brand-new.

  “This way,” Miss Bhang said from the door.

  She motioned for us to come over. I picked up my belongings then walked to the doorway. She turned and continued down a hallway. At a set of stairs, we climbed to the second floor of the tower. We didn’t stop until we reached the top floor — eight stories.

  Miss Bhang stopped before a thick curtain in the foyer at the top of the stairs then pulled it aside. I walked through, still holding onto all my stuff. Xin Jang, dressed in deep purple robes, stood near a window on the far side of the room. He turned and smiled as we entered.

  “They should’ve given you somewhere to store your stuff,” he said.

  “It’s okay,” I replied, setting my stuff, including the horn sword, on the polished wood floor.

  “Thank you for helping Shingu,” Xin Jang said.

  His well-groomed, jet-black goatee said a lot about him.

  “No problem,” I said. “We’ve got news for you too.”

  “Oh?” He stepped forward. “What is your news?”

  “King Gregor has dug a tunnel,” I said. “He’s planning on using it to attack you, I think.”

  Xin Jang laughed then shook his head.

  “That’s not news,” he said. “We’ve known about it for a while.”

  “Do you know he’s training cuernos females to cast spells for an assault?”

  “That I didn’t know about,” Xin Jang said. “Our last spy never returned.”

  “We just came from the boat brothel,” Morgana said. “We barely escaped.”

  “King Gregor is a pest that must finally be squashed,” Xin Jang said.

  “We’re willing to help you do it,” I said.

  The leader of the second largest kingdom in the badlands laughed again.

  “I have more than enough to defeat King Gregor whenever I choose,” he said.

  “Can you grant me a favor?” I asked.

  “Depends on what you want.”

  I stepped toward him and brought out the horn sword.

  “This needs charging,” I said. “Can you help?”

  “Ah,” Xin Jang said. “The new sword. I hadn’t heard someone found it.”

  “We got to it first,” I said.

  “And barely got away with it,” Harper added.

  “One of my high-level mages can charge it for you,” Xin Jang said.

  “Thanks. Your help is appreciated.”

  He smiled. “Wait. You haven’t heard the cost.”

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  As he opened his mouth, a system message appeared in a floating box in front of me. The rest of the game paus
ed because of the highest severity level.

  << Warning. >>

  << Message from real world not received. >>

  << Stay tuned for more. >>

  I dismissed it then turned to the others in my group.

  “Did everyone get that too?” I asked.

  “Troubling,” Xin Jang said.

  I remembered what Shingu had told us on the way up.

  “Do you know of something big happening? I asked.

  Xin Jang nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “This is very troubling…”

  “What the hell’s going on?” Harper asked.

  I wondered briefly where her tact had gone since I came into the game full time.

  “We’ll charge your sword first,” Xin Jang. “Only those with a horn sword can know what’s about to happen. Things are going to get weird.”

  “Great,” I said, bending to pick up the sword.

  “The ceremony to activate your sword will take twenty days,” Xin Jang said.

  “What? You’re kidding, right?” I shook my head.

  “No,” he said. “It’s not as easy as you might think. Those who wield the swords have tremendous power. Handing that out is not done piecemeal.”

  “Can we wait here in the city?” Newton asked.

  I turned and saw Alondra clinging to him.

  “She can’t stay in the Forbidden City,” Xin Jang said, nodding at the female cuerno. “The rest of you will be my honored guests until the ceremony for charging your sword is complete.”

  “Let’s get started,” I said. “Tell me where to go.”

  “Hold on,” Morgana said. “We need to keep Alondra safe.”

  “If she can’t stay here, I’m not staying here,” Newton said, puffing out his chest.

  “That’s fine with me,” Xin Jang said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

  “She’ll be fine,” I said. “You can stay with her.”

  Newton’s eyes widened. “You’re not coming with us?”

  “I need to charge the sword,” I said.

  “And I’m staying with him,” Harper said.

  Newton turned to Morgana. She stayed silent.

  “Fine,” he said. “Let me out of your damn group.”

  “Don’t be that way,” Harper said.

  Xin Jang walked back over to the window, ignoring us.