by Edward Brody
I raised an eyebrow. “So, the Scourge are attacking Mist Vale as well? What about Addenfall?”
The elf shook his head. “Thankfully, the Scourge haven’t been senseless enough to cross the Crystal River, but we have legions stationed all across the banks, just in case. Had they crossed, I’m certain the Queen wouldn’t have ordered us here so quickly.”
I nodded. It was good news, but I also couldn’t make sense as to why the Scourge would enter Edgewood but not Addenfall. Did they know that Edgewood wasn’t properly defended, or did they know that they had no chance of survival south of the Freelands? Maybe they were just attacking the areas that were most accessible?
Shal scurried up to my flank, and I noticed the High Elves all take a step back and place their hands near their weapons.
I frowned before turning to him.
“We’ve been looting arrows as we go,” he explained, “but we’re running low. Most have been burned or broken.”
I nodded. “Keep looting. Since Aaron would rather hide, go see if he can make some more in his downtime. Also, check with Gerard to see if he has any more in the shop.”
Shal nodded, then his eyes locked onto the High Elf I had been talking to. He swallowed hard and glanced to me with a wrinkled brow and a look of confusion etched across his face.
“These are our new recruits,” I said, motioning my hand towards the High Elves. “The Queen sent them to join us.”
“Recruits?” The head High Elf smirked. “I’m not sure if I should be insulted by such talk. My men are highly skilled soldiers, hardly recruits.”
“No insult intended,” I explained. “It’s just that we’ve already established a guard presence in the village, so I just meant that you’ll be falling in with them. Shal here is our captain, so he should let you know how everything works.” I motioned my hand towards Shal.
The High Elf took a deep breath and raised his chin as he scanned Shal up and down. “I understood that we’d be assisting with the defense of Edgewood, but the Queen mentioned nothing about serving under a dark elf.”
“I will do no such thing!” one of the other High Elves barked loudly.
“Absurd!” another spat. “Staying here is already dangerous enough for us! Scourge at our front, dark elves at our back!”
I sighed and looked to Shal, whose eyes had lowered towards the ground. It seemed as if he were ashamed of himself.
I wanted to scold the High Elves for their unfounded contempt towards the dark elves, but we also needed their help. I didn’t want to come across too harsh and risk them abandoning us. But I also wasn’t about to dishonor Shal and the others who had already done so much to help our guild.
I cleared my throat. “So, what is it that you propose then?”
“What do I propose?” the High Elf repeated with wide eyes.
“The Queen ordered you to come here to help defend Edgewood, right?”
“That’s the case,” the High Elf confirmed.
“Then we need to figure out the logistics. We already have fifteen guards, fourteen if we’re not able to resurrect one—all dark elves—protecting our village. You do understand that dark elves live in Edgewood, don’t you? This forest is their home.”
“Of course, I understand, but that doesn’t mean—”
“I don’t believe I caught your name,” I interrupted.
“Arryl is my name.” The elf smirked and raised his chin. “You know, it’s customary to kneel to elves while in the forest…” He turned and scanned the devastated surroundings. “If this can even be considered a forest anymore.”
I returned a cocky smirk, bowed my head a bit, then bent down to one knee. I was willing to show the High Elves their respect, but I wasn’t going to be pushed around. “Of course,” I said as I rose quickly, “but don’t expect us to follow customs here all the time. I’m the leader of Unity—the guild we’ve established here—and if you’re here to help us, you’ll need to give everyone equal respect. Edgewood isn’t Mist Vale.”
Arryl squinted coldly at me but didn’t say anything.
“That includes any and all dark elf guards working with us,” I continued. “They will respect you if you respect them.”
One of the High Elves spit on the ground. “Until we find a dagger in our throat.”
“No such thing will happen,” I assured him. “The dark elves have shown us no harm since we’ve been here, and they won’t harm you either.” I looked over to Shal, who was still looking down in disgrace, before turning back to the High Elves. “But in the event that something does happen, you do have the right to defend yourself.”
“Of course we do, and of course, we will,” Arryl said coldly.
I took a step forward and lifted my chin. “You can defend yourself against a dark elf, can’t you? Surely the Queen’s soldiers would have no problem protecting themselves against someone deemed less than?”
Arryl gritted his teeth, and all the elves were looking back and forth at each other irritably, but this time, he said nothing.
“So, what do you propose?” I asked again. “Or do you wish to return to Mist Vale and explain to the Queen that you’ve willingly disobeyed her orders? I don’t suppose she would take that kindly.”
Arryl clenched his fists and wrinkled his nose. “I do not wish to be here in this—” He turned his head towards all the burnt and fallen trees. “—ashen hell hole, and neither do my men, but we will, without pleasure, follow our Queen’s orders. I’ll lead the guard in Edgewood, and I expect full compliance from the dark elves. They should keep their distance from me and my men, and if there’s even a hint that one of them is hostile towards us, they will die.”
“Shal is our guard leader,” I insisted. “He’s best suited to stay as such, since he knows Edgewood in and out. He’s familiar with—”
“Elves!” Arryl said loudly, cutting me off.
The High Elves all fell into a quick, militant line, straightened their backs, and looked away as if readying to march back towards Mist Vale.
Arryl inhaled hard and lowered his tone. “You are testing my patience, human.”
I sighed and tried to reason with him. “We need each other. We all need each other so long as these Scourge keep attacking.”
Arryl shook his head. “You’re mistaken, human. We do not need you.”
“My name is Gunnar.” I tensed my jaw in frustration but a second later shrugged as my mind suddenly switched gears. Reasoning hadn’t worked, but maybe the High Elf soldiers would respond to a different type of argument. “Look. Ten High Elves courageous enough to serve in Edgewood? Not many others can say that, can they? I imagine the Queen will be quite pleased at your honorable service when you return to the Vale.”
“If we manage to return alive…” one of the High Elves in the line muttered.
Arryl whipped his head sideways and scowled, shutting up the High Elf immediately.
“Surely, the other High Elves will look up to you,” I continued. “Sounds a lot better than returning to the Mist Vale without completing the task Faranni assigned. That would only bring you and your men dishonor.”
“Queen Faranni,” Arryl corrected.
“How about this?” I asked. “You’ll also be a guard leader with Shal. You can primarily issue orders to the High Elves, and Shal will primarily issue orders to the dark elves, but all elves must follow either of your directions.”
“Two guard leaders? A High Elf and a dark elf?” Arryl questioned, wrinkling his nose at the idea.
“As a trial,” I said. “If things don’t work out over the next week or so, I’ll dismiss you all and notify the Queen that your services are no longer needed. You’ll be off the hook for any sort of disobedience, so you’ll win all-around.”
It was a risk making such an offer, but I felt certain the dark elves wouldn’t cause any trouble. And if they did, maybe I’d see with my own eyes why the dark elves were so detested.
“A week?” Arryl asked, lightly licking his lips.
I nodded. “Did the Queen give you a timeline?”
“It’s an indefinite assignment,” Arryl answered.
I smiled. “So now you have my word that if this arrangement doesn’t work out for the week or so, you can go back to Mist Vale without fault. I’ll dismiss you from duty here.”
Arryl shifted his jaw a few times, then swiveled towards his men who were mumbling. They all whispered to each other for a moment and glanced at the destroyed trees several times. Edgewood was never as grandiose as Mist Vale, but I’m sure the fact that our forest was partially scorched made the idea of staying with us even worse.
“Fine,” Arryl finally said as he turned back to me. “We’ll see how this goes for a week. I’ll hold you to your word that if anything…” Arryl panned over to a distant dark elf. “…if anything at all goes wrong, you’ll dismiss us honorably.”
I nodded. “So long as you work with us honorably.”
Arryl smirked and tilted his head. “And so long as you pay us honorably. We do not work for free, of course.”
“Yeah, okay,” I agreed with a nod, though I hadn’t yet considered the fact that we’d have to pay them up until he mentioned it. The Queen had offered up the soldiers rather than us requesting them, but it made sense; it would’ve been pretty overpowered if our village had been assigned ten viable guards who were willing to defend us for free.
“Our rate is 30 gold per day, per guard,” Arryl said.
My eyes widened. “30 gold per day?”
He nodded again. “I’m level 20, and my men are between level 17 and 19. That’s a fair and standard amount for a full-time assignment of this kind. Occasional loot rights would be appreciated as well...”
We were paying all the dark elf guards only 20 gold per day, so 30 gold was a 50% increase for each guard… but the High Elves who had arrived were a slightly higher level. It would put more stress on the cash coming into the village, but at the end of the day, it was still a small price for the additional protection they were offering us during such dangerous times.
“Fine,” I agreed after a moment of consideration. “30 gold per day per elf so long as you’re here.”
Arryl grinned. “Then we’re ready to join your ranks.”
You’ve received a guild request:
10 High Elves have requested to serve as non-guilded military.
Do you accept this request? Accept/Decline
I willed an acceptance of the request.
Your non-guilded military strength has increased by 10!
“Welcome to Unity,” I said, reaching my hand out to shake Arryl’s.
“Let us pray this somehow works out for us all,” Arryl said as he grabbed my palm.
“I’m sure it will,” I replied.
Arryl released my hand and looked over my shoulder. “Where will we be lodging? I suspect the rest of your establishment is somewhere further in?”
I looked back to our little village, over the mud and ash-covered ground, the numerous bodies, and the few structures that were still standing. “Umm, well…”
Again, it wasn’t something I considered. Generally, Shal and the dark elf guards would return to where the dark elves stayed when they had downtime or slept. Since the High Elves had no homes in Edgewood, that presented a little bit of a problem.
“No lodging?” Arryl questioned.
I swallowed before finishing my answer. “This is a bit of a sudden change. Let me think of how this is going to all work out…” I waved my hand towards the destruction. “We’ve lost most of our village, so—”
“This is your village?!” Arryl asked. “We’re here to defend this?!”
I raised my eyebrows and sighed. “Yeah… It’s not much now, but we’ll rebuild what we’ve lost.”
“Tents,” Jax said, standing a few meters away, listening in. “Those of us who’ve lost our homes are staying in tents for the time being.”
Arryl huffed and shook his head. “No matter. I suppose we’ll just set up tents as well to sleep and rest, though if we find ourselves staying here longer than a week, we’ll need a more accommodating place to stay. We cannot sleep like war dogs forever.”
“I’ll work on it,” I said, though getting better shelter for the High Elves was the last thing on my mind. We had already spent quite a bit of time chatting, and at any moment, more Scourge could’ve shown up.
“A safe place for our beasts and horses?” Arryl asked.
I shrugged and smirked. “Our stable was destroyed. You can tie them off, but I’d recommend dismissing them until you need to use them.”
Arryl groaned and looked away.
I turned towards Shal and stepped closer to him. “Did you hear everything we discussed?” I asked quietly.
Shal nodded, but his eyes were huge. “Yes… I don’t know what to think. High Elves will be working with us? Here in Edgewood? It’s… it’s…” He shook his head.
“Relay the hierarchy to all of our guards,” I ordered. “These High Elves are now part of our team. It may take some adjusting, but we’ll make it work.”
Shal stared at me in astonishment but didn’t reply or move.
“We’ll make it work, right?” I queried, confused about his reaction.
Shal swallowed before taking a step forward and leaning close to my ear. “Um… about the pay. Some of our current guards have come to me requesting a higher salary. We’ve been leveling up slowly, especially with the recent attacks, and I’m afraid they may eventually step away to pursue other endeavors at their current levels if their salary isn’t increased. I know we’re just dark elves, but I was going to mention it even before the High Elves arrived.”
My heart sank at the idea of spending even more gold on guards, but I knew immediately how I would respond. Our old guards were almost the same level as the High Elves, and to me, they were just as valuable. Perhaps they had held off on asking for more pay just because they had a devalued self-worth? Whatever the case, they deserved to be paid the same as the High Elves if they were all going to be working together and completing the same tasks. I’d need to plan on pay increases in the future as our guards leveled up as well. I felt sure there was likely some hidden happiness gauge that was programmed into the game world in regard to guards and military, and I wanted to keep our non-guilded military content.
“I can dismiss our higher-level guards and look for lower-level recruits if it’s an issue,” Shal reasoned.
“No, don’t dismiss anyone,” I said. “You’ll all be paid 30 gold per day as well from now on. Please let them know.”
Shal smiled widely and huffed before bowing to me. “Thank you, Gunnar. It’s really quite an honor to serve you.”
“It’s an honor having you.”
Shal nodded furiously as he turned on his heel. “I’ll notify the others of all the details.”
I nodded once and turned back to the High Elves, who seemed like they were waiting for some sort of order. I motioned my hand to our still-standing buildings. “Everything left behind me is what we’re protecting, and we’d like to avoid any more destruction if possible. Work with the dark elves to form a perimeter and be prepared for more Scourge at any time. Arryl, work with Shal to introduce everyone. We’ll cover more details when things die down, but for now, assume all non-Scourge here are friendly—human, High Elf, dark elf, or Barbaros.”
“Barbaros?” Arryl questioned, tucking his chin back before quickly waving a dismissive hand. “Whatever. Very well.” He turned and flicked his fingers towards the other High Elves, and they all started to scatter. Before following behind his men, Arryl turned to me one last time. “One week, human… If any of them turn on us, they will die.”
I nodded.
I wasn’t sure how it would work out having High Elves in Edgewood, but I was thankful to have them for now. It was a step towards having Edgewood more protected, but also seemed like a small step closer to improving relations between the dark and High Elves—at least if things played o
ut well. There was a possibility it could damage relations as well if something went wrong.
Our new arrivals brought our total guard count up to 25. Combined with the core members of Unity, we now had a decent, but small, defense force. But at 30 gold a pop for each guard, that would set us out 750 gold per day, which added up to a huge chunk of our guild shop’s earnings. We’d need to figure out a way to bring in more gold if we wanted to have any hope of rebuilding and someday expanding the village.
I turned to stare at the one standing stone wall that looked so out of place amongst the devastated forest. I had known that procuring a castle in Eden’s Gate wouldn’t be easy when we started, but the goal line for that project had never seemed so far away.
Chapter Three
2/17/0001
“Gunnar…”
My head shifted as my mind replayed the images of Satorin and Maleena being killed by the Dark Hand. The vision morphed to a dead Tsarra lying bloodied on the ground, then to the fake Magi who were actually members of the Sparrows, the Dragon that killed me… twice.
“Gunnar…”
An exploding ship. Orcs attacking. Adeelee weeping. The sadness in Keysia’s eyes.
Had Keysia been sad or was that just a dream? How did Keysia feel about my kiss with Adeelee? I hadn’t even had time to process it all.
It all seemed like a far cry from the Eden’s Gate I remembered when I first entered the game. The maggots, simple skeletons, and running through Gramora had been demanding at the time, but things had grown more personal. There was so much more at stake than just my own personal pain or the built-in fear of death. I had friends to worry about who were like family—people I really cared about. And there were acquaintances whom I had gotten to know who had died, permanently.
And where was Rachel?