Sword

by Byron Kings

  “Let him go if he wants to go,” I said. “He can stick up for his NPC lover all he wants, but we need to be near the sword.”

  “I agree,” Morgana said.

  << Your group has decreased! >>

  << -1 male - Newton, human rogue / bard / alchemist >>

  << -10 sexual energy! >>

  “I’m out of here,” Newton said, walking away. “Stop me now or I’m gone.”

  He took a few steps, holding onto Alondra’s hand.

  “About to leave for good,” he said.

  I turned my back to him and crossed my arms over my chest. Morgana sighed as she watched him and Alondra walk out of the throne room.

  “You can be so childish sometimes,” she said.

  “He’s the one being childish.”

  “You’re just proving my point.” She shook her head. “He needed us.”

  “Then he shouldn’t have gone away,” I said.

  Xin Jang cleared his throat.

  “Have you worked out your problems yet?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said, noticing an old woman in black, velvet robes walking into the room.

  “Good,” Xin Jang said. “Give me your sword. Esther will begin the charging process.”

  “It will take until morning,” she said.

  As Xin Jang watched, I handed the sword over to her.

  “We can talk more in the morning,” he said. “I’ve got things to do. Miss Bhang will take you to your rooms for the night.”

  He turned and followed his mage out of the room. Miss Bhang led us down two floors and to a bedroom with four full-sized bunk beds against the walls.

  “A man will be outside if you need anything,” Miss Bhang said.

  I looked past her and saw an armed guard standing in the hallway.

  “Thanks,” Morgana said. “We’re fine for now.”

  After Miss Bhang left, shutting the door behind her, I turned to Harper.

  “What do you think about Xin Jang?”

  “Something weird is going on,” she said.

  Morgana nodded. “I agree. That system message was the highest priority.”

  “I’m surprised we haven’t heard anything else about it yet.”

  “We can check during our in-game sleep tonight,” Morgana said.

  I nodded. “Good idea. Someone has to have heard something.”

  “Anyone want to fuck?” Harper asked.

  I turned and saw she’d stripped naked.

  “To be honest, I’m beat. Let’s sleep, okay? We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

  Harper’s head snapped back in disbelief. “Wow, okay, I guess…”

  “Don’t you want to see what’s happening to the game?” Morgana asked.

  “Not really,” Harper said, shrugging.

  I crawled onto one of the lower mattresses and stretched out, hands behind my head. Eyes closed, I quickly drifted off to what passed for sleep in the game. I checked my email and saw another notification about an impending announcement. Checking the message boards for the game, I didn’t see anyone talking about the matter. Strange.

  After digging around for a while and not finding anyone talking about anything publicly, I hit up a few people in the real world I knew played the game. None of them answered my calls or messages right away, so I decided to slip into true-sleep. I needed to rest and heal up for my character in the game. The system would let us know eventually.

  ┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑

  CHAPTER 18

  ┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

  Meaning of the Word Change

  The next morning, I woke to Miss Bhang clapping loudly.

  “Wake up, Xin Jang is here,” she said.

  I glanced over at the door and saw the purple-clad man walk in.

  “Good morning,” he said. “I hope you slept well.”

  “Fine enough,” I said, sitting up. “What’s so important you have to come see us before we’ve had a chance to wake up.”

  “I’m taking a few companies of men south toward Yusgood, but I need your help.”

  “We’re not siege specialists,” I said. “Sorry.”

  “That’s perfect,” he said. “I need someone to clear the boat brothel and tunnels underneath it. Can you handle distracting him while I send my main forces at his city?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good plan,” Morgana said.

  “Silence your woman,” Xin Jang said, not looking at her.

  “Hold on,” I said. “She’s got a mind of her own.”

  “If you clear the boat brothel and tunnels for me, you can have the land above and below the earth to form your own kingdom between mine and King Gregor’s.”

  “That’s nice, but I had some other ideas for real estate to settle on.”

  Xin Jang laughed. “You seem to think I was asking.”

  “It’s not a bad deal,” Harper said.

  “How can I trust you?” I asked.

  “We’ll sign a contract,” Xin Jang said. “The League of Twelve will uphold a binding contract between us if I try to pull anything on you.”

  I tilted my head back, examining his eyes.

  “Why are you being so helpful?” I asked.

  “And not just taking your sword as my own?” He grinned. “The thought crossed my mind, but with what’s coming, another kingdom will be needed in the badlands. I plan to attack Gristle and take my rightful place in the League of Twelve.”

  “That’s ambitious,” I said.

  “When you have your horn sword activated, you’ll understand.” Xin Jang turned to Miss Bhang. “Give them the contract, please.”

  She stepped over and handed me a scroll. I unfurled it and scanned the text.

  “Here’s a quill,” Xin Jang said. “Sign there.”

  I pressed the paper against my thigh and started to sign.

  “Hold on,” Morgana said. “Did you read the whole thing?”

  “It’s just a standard agreement,” I said, looking up at Xin Jang. “Right?”

  “Of course,” he said, smiling.

  I signed my in-game name then handed him the scroll.

  “Perfect,” Xin Jang said. “Tomorrow, we battle King Gregor.”

  “We should go now,” I said. “They’re preparing.”

  “I doubt they know we’re coming,” Xin Jang said. “Unless your small friend would tell them?”

  “No, Newton wouldn’t do that to us,” I insisted.

  I felt a little bad about not at least asking him to stick around. He would’ve come in handy.

  “Enjoy the city,” Xin Jang said. “Tomorrow, I claim King Gregor’s lands for myself.”

  “What about my sword?” I asked.

  Xin Jang walked toward the door.

  “There’s been some complications,” he said. “You’ll have it later this afternoon.”

  I better, I thought, keeping the sentiment to myself.

  “Can we trust him?” Morgana asked after he left, mirroring my thoughts.

  “We don’t have much choice at this point,” I said. “King Gregor would never charge it for me. I think we made the right decision.”

  “Unless we found a crazy cuerno woman that could’ve charged it,” Harper said then laughed.

  “That might’ve worked,” Morgana said, coming to my defense. “Truthfully, I don’t trust Xin Jang or agree with how he’s running his kingdom. I hope ours will be different.”

  “We will be,” I said. “Can you imagine having the first underground kingdom in the game?”

  “Surely someone else has done it by now,” Harper said, killing my excitement.

  “Maybe, but it’s still cool.”

  “If you get your sword back. We still don’t know anything about that system message. I searched in my game sleep last night and couldn’t find anyone willing to tell me any concrete facts about what’s supposed to happen.”

  “We’ll find out eventually,” I said. “We shouldn’t worry about it.�
�

  Harper and Morgana helped me relax. After making love, we laid around and planned our underground kingdom the rest of the day. Miss Bhang brought us everything we needed or wanted, including great food and drink. During sleep, I searched for any news about Battle Empire but came up with nothing. I switched off my consciousness and drifted into dreams that mimicked what humans did less than a century before. The mix of images, metaphors, sights, sounds, and smells kept my mind going while my consciousness rested up.

  * * * * *

  I woke before Harper and Morgana in the morning. On the way back from the washroom, I saw a red robed mage standing outside the door to our room. He held my sword in one hand.

  “You’re done?” I asked, walking toward him.

  He nodded and handed me the sword, hilt first, as Morgana opened the door and stepped into the hallway. I grabbed the horn sword and felt a slight shock.

  “You need to use it over the next twenty-one days for it to bond with you,” he said.

  “That sounds about right,” Morgana said.

  “You’ve had a horn sword before, have you?” I joked.

  She smiled but said nothing.

  “Make sure you kill something at least once a day,” the mage said. “It’s important.”

  “With what we have to do, that’s not going to be a problem.”

  “Any questions?” the mage asked.

  “Not right now,” I said. “Seems simple enough.”

  “The sword will give you more information once it wakes up.”

  I’d heard rumors horn swords forged a psychic link with their owners, but I never really believed them before. Were they true after all? I only needed to wait another twenty-one days to find out. Soon, I would have my own kingdom under the earth. Xin Jang would be even bigger if he defeated King Gregor, but with his sights on the League of Twelve, I wouldn’t have to worry about him too much. At least I hoped I didn’t.

  The mage wandered away without offering any other information. I held the sword in the hallway, still feeling a slight tingling coming from the hilt. The buzz ran up my arms, making me feel stronger as I gripped the leather-wrap.

  “Are you going to play with your sword all morning, or can we get ready for today?”

  I grinned. “Harper up yet?”

  “You’re kidding, right?” she quipped.

  “Get her up. I’ll go find us some breakfast and find out the plan for the day.”

  She leaned forward and kissed me unexpectedly on the lips.

  “Love you,” she said then slipped into the room and closed the door behind her.

  I walked down the hall toward the stairs, hoping Xin Jang was in his throne room to talk. He’d gone over the basics of his plan the day before, but I needed more details. Even if Newton hadn’t told him anything, the fact we escaped from the massive tunnel would lead King Gregor to flood it with more men.

  “You’re up!” Xin Jang said in an animated tone as I walked in the throne room.

  “I had some questions,” I said, stopping near where he sat.

  He leaned forward. “Are you wanting to back out of your commitment?”

  “No, but King Gregor’s likely restocked the tunnel with more warriors and mages,” I said. “With Newton gone, it’s just Harper, Morgana, and me. I need help.”

  Xin Jang smiled and waved his hand through the air, dismissing my request.

  “You’ll have two dozen of my best men,” he said. “A normal specialist squad. Once you’re in the main tunnel, they’ll have explosives to collapse the tunnel and shut-off access to Yusgood.”

  “Whoa,” I said. “You never told me about that part of the plan.”

  “This way you’ll be able to stop King Gregor from bringing more troops to retake the rooms they’ve dug and the boat whorehouse above ground in the swamp.”

  “Maybe, but…”

  I let my voice trail off as I went over everything that could go wrong in my mind.

  “But what? Speak up.”

  “King Gregor’s not a fool,” I said. “Without knowing everything, I can’t say.”

  “All I have is rumors too,” he said. “You’re talking about the game announcement, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I need your focus on the battle today. King Gregor is going down, and you’re going to be part of it. That’s the type of action someone with a horn sword takes. You’re going to be one of us.”

  “I’m my own man,” I said.

  “Fair enough.” Xin Jang stood and walked over. “Do you need more men?”

  “No, we should be fine with two-dozen of your best. You’re sending us spellcasters among them, right?”

  “Of course,” Xin Jang said. “You need to learn to trust someone in the game.”

  “I’m trusting you do something that’s untrustworthy,” I said.

  He smiled as he stopped in front of me. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. My team will meet you downstairs. We need to get moving. As you attack the whorehouse and take out the tunnel, I’ll take my main army south, splitting it before we reach Yusgood.”

  “Do you have enough men and artillery?” I asked.

  “You underestimate my power too?” he asked.

  I was starting to hate his cockiness.

  “No,” I lied.

  “Good,” he said. “If I happen to fall, you can still start your kingdom underground in twenty-one days if you stick to the script. That almost got me when I received and activated my horn sword years ago.”

  “You’ll have to tell me the story someday.”

  He patted me on the shoulder. “Maybe.”

  I left him and went to get Harper and Morgana.

  * * * * *

  A little while later, Harper, Morgana, and I stood at the gates of the Forbidden City. Long lines of men and tall siege towers lined the road in two massive rows. A group of twenty-four warriors and mages had positioned themselves nearby, waiting for my orders.

  “You’ve got this,” Xin Jang said. “Tonight, we feast!”

  I grinned and nodded. He turned and rode toward the main army.

  “Let’s head west then south to the swamp,” I said. “We need to be quick and stealthy.”

  I split a few of the two dozen men under my command to go ahead and scout. The rest of us walked in a single file line. With Harper on my left and Morgana on my right, I felt invincible. A little luck would help us win the encounter. I still wasn’t sure whether I wanted to start my kingdom underground, but I had time to think about it.

  “We’ll let them do the bulk of the fighting,” I said in a low voice.

  Morgana nodded. “I agree. We should stay in back.”

  “After clearing out everything above ground, we’ll send a small team below. I wish we had some magic to get down the pit easier.”

  “Maybe one of the spellcasters Xin Jang gave us will have something,” Harper said.

  “Good idea.”

  We rode in silence the rest of the way, stopping at the edge of the swamp. I went over my plan with the two dozen men. They went along with everything without complaint. I could only hope to have such a good group when I founded my own kingdom.

  “Let’s do this,” I said, clapping my hands.

  Leaving the horses tied up, we stealthily marched into the swamp. Crossbow bolts took out the single guard standing on the deck of the big, wooden boat. After he went down, some of the group started climbing the rope ladder. One by one, they boarded, spreading out. I stopped on the deck with Harper and Morgana beside me. A few men screamed inside as we walked up the stairs to the second floor.

  I kept expecting Newton to pop out at any moment, but he didn’t appear. The other men had cleared the entire building by the time we reached the wide hole leading down.

  “Any magic to get us down all at once?” I asked.

  Two mages, both in dark red robes, peered at each other then turned to me.

  “We have something, but it
will take a lot of mana,” the shorter one said.

  “Save it. We’ll go down one at a time.” I peered down the pit, unable to see the bottom. “We should still have the benefit of surprise. Xin Jang and his frontal assault should keep them too busy to worry about the tunnel.”

  “Unless they’re using it to send troops this way now,” Morgana said.

  She had a point.

  “We still need to go down and set the explosives.” I turned to the commander of Xin Jang’s unit. “Can you put together a group to go down and do it while the rest of us stay up here? It’ll be a hell of a lot easier to stop them from the top of this massive pit than on the bottom.”

  The man nodded. “I’ll need at least three men to set all the charges.”

  “Bring six,” I said. “The others can back you up in case you run into trouble. Can you handle invisibility for six of them, Harper?”

  She frowned. “No, but I can do three of them and have just enough mana left to feel safe.”

  “Do it,” I said. “Being invisible, they should have an easier time setting the explosives further down the tunnel. You know where to set it, right?”

  The man nodded. “We’ll blow it about a half mile down. Does that work?”

  “Yeah,” I said, imagining how an underground kingdom would work.

  Harper cast invisibility on the three men. I ordered the rest to position themselves around the building in case we were attacked from above or had to fight King Gregor’s men coming up from below. Harper, Morgana, and I stayed in the room with the pit, watching and listening for any indications that something went wrong.

  I gripped the hilt of my horn sword. While it had seen action when clearing the building, I wanted to use it again. A fortnight was too long to wait to gain its true powers. Having Xin Jang help with founding my kingdom would be helpful, but I was thinking long-term. The time dilation in the game means I could rule and expand my empire for hundreds of years.

  “Something’s wrong,” Morgana said, peering down.

  “I don’t hear anything,” I said.

  “Exactly.” She straightened up. “They should’ve blown the tunnel by now.”