Overlord: The Exiled
Disclaimer and Author Notes
Here we are again. I do hope that those reading this chapter enjoy it.
Please note everyone. I did want to get this chapter out sooner . . . yet one thing occurred.
GOD EATER 3.
'Nuff Said.
If you are a God Eater fan, then you know where we stand on this . . .
To avoid potential confusion for any readers who skipped the Intermission II chapter before this. Go Back and Read it. It prefaces everything at the beginning of this chapter.
Sorry for any confusion.
Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 33: Village Problem
The group of Foresight arrived at the East Gate of Arwintar to find Lucia and Draconis waiting for them as promised. Oddly enough, the crimson haired knight seemed a bit pale and unnerved while Lucia held a dark grin of mirth. Deciding as a group to not step on that trapped panel, they kept their silence and curiosity as to the reason to themselves.
Lucia greeted them instead of Draconis, who was muttering something under his breath while holding what looked like a chalk tablet with a tonne of numbers scrawled upon it. What caught Arche's eye about it was how with swipes of his fingers, the numbers would move and shift or disappear completely and present a different equation altogether. She vaguely caught a few of his mumbled words as he absently nodded when Lucia told them they were departing.
"So the precious metal ratio to crude impurities leads to lowered intrinsic coin value. Judging from the overall value of our currency to that of the Empire and other nations in the surrounding areas . . . oh how could I have made such a grievous error . . . Todd really let me have it when I told him and the others to change a portion of our coinage . . ."
Draconis let a cringe and pained whimper escape his throat. Lucia shrugged smugly, but those of Foresight glanced back and forth at each other in concern and paranoia. Whatever made a man like that whimper . . . they did not want to face whatever that had been.
Cringing at the expression of absolute self depreciation, Arche could not help but feel a bit amused at the sight of bags under his eyes. He had appeared so much more energetic merely hours before hand. What happened?
Earlier . . .
The Lair . . .
Draconis appeared in the halls of The Lair via [Greater, Teleportation]. Briskly striding down the myriad halls and tunnels of his sanctuary, he nodded and waved to those of his home's inhabitants he came across but did not stop to chat. Down three floors of the labyrinth like sanctuary, he entered into the Item and Equipment Creation section of the stronghold. He normally did not approach this section unless he truly had a specific item in mind.
Throwing open the doors to the chambers with a plaque reading, "Alchemy Labs", he glanced about for a brief moment, looking for his chief Alchemist, Schwarzer Todd. His assistants acknowledged the superior of their administrator before going back to their works and research. A small, spherical automaton rolled up to him and bobbled back and forth in greeting before releasing a magical projection of a man in a white lab coat smattered with chemical stains.
"Yes Lord Brightblade? How may we be of assistance today? It is rare to see you personally grace us with your presence."
Draconis nodded as he continued to look about. "Yes indeed. Is Todd here or helping his peers in the Dragon Kingdom?"
"The master is currently having lunch with Commander Samael and the Queen of the Dragon Kingdom."
"I see. Thank you."
The image of a man the orb projected bowed before deactivating and trundled away. A stray spray of some kind of experiment splashed over it and it shrieked before fizzling out and smoking for a second before popping and going to pieces. The alchemist responsible gasped and knelt to pick up the now broken spherical messenger.
"Oh dear. I did not think that the [Displacer Oil] was quite THAT caustic . . . to think it could melt through adamantite that fast . . . oh dear."
Draconis did recognize that substance. The lore for [Displacer Oil] was that the Level 70 acidic saliva of a [Displacer Beast] could melt through Adamantite, but not through Prismatic Ores, or anything of Level 75 valued ore or higher. Fortunately, none of his equipment was under level 75 anymore. He had a few lower level pieces as a part of a nostalgic collection, but not useable.
Activating [Message], he thought of Todd and the mage alchemist answered immediately.
"Yes Lord Brightblade?"
"Todd, I am at the labs. I need to speak with you posthaste. It is of utmost importance. I know you are enjoying a respite, but it is urgent."
"Not a problem Sire. I will be there momentarily."
Draconis cringed a bit at the "Sire" part. Though he was Artorias's husband – thus technically making him King Consort – he openly denied any claim to any throne.
Todd, true to his word, appeared in the center of the labs with a glass of what looked like fruit infused tea. The Lair had a strict rule: No alcohol while on the job. Nevermind that the liquor within the storage units contained a few brews that could literally kill anyone of lesser fortitude . . . damn those dwarven brewers!
That was a wholly different form of item creation . . .
Todd gave a bow with his drink held aloft. Draconis could smell the sweet herbal leaf he was burning in his long pipe. Said pipe was quickly snuffed out due to the risk of embers ignited some poor unfortunate researcher's experiment, or worse, detonating it.
Murmurs of "Welcome back" and "Good day professor" echoed softly across the chambers.
"Indeed everyone. Please continue as you were." He turned to Draconis with a frown. "What was urgent Sire? I believed you to be parlaying with the Baharuth Empire to the north for additional support."
Draconis half sighed, half groaned as he nodded in affirmation. "Indeed I was Todd. And I still am. However, I seem to have made a bit of a . . . grand oversight."
Todd gave his liege lord a flat look of disbelief. Though he knew better than some of his fellow peers that their leader was not at all perfect, that did not mean he was downright careless. Bracing himself, he motioned for his liege to continue.
"Todd, have you handled any of this New World's currency? Have any of our own done so?"
Todd thought long and hard. Circling about in place as he ran his mind over any and all logistics that he had been placed in charge of.
"No Sire. I have not, nor has anyone else. Your orders and tenants were to not demand payment, nor coerce the people. We have not done so. All provisions used have been our own and we have taken no payments in return. A few of the citizenry have offered meals, but no currency."
Draconis let a harsh breath go out of his nostrils. The action made Todd grit his teeth on one side of his jaw. The Dragon Ascendant only did that in times of personal frustration over something he did.
"Sire? What is going on?"
Draconis reached into a pocket and withdrew a few gold, silver, and copper pieces that Lucia had let him take with him from her purse. The coins were rough, bent, dirtied, and worn. The engravings and molds were misshapen and primitive. Not only that but the gold piece was even smaller than the YGGDRASIL currency.
"I made a foolish promise. The Emperor of the Baharuth Empire has promised one of his knight orders so long as I pay the tribute long missed by Queen Draudillon. When I asked him how badly in debt her nation was, I agreed to his price without hesitation, nor bartering. I had planned to pay utilizing my own wealth, but . . ." He nodded harshly at the coins in his palm.
Todd immediately recognized the issue. These coins were crude, nothing like YGGDRASIL coinage. The quality difference was staggering, and Todd winced at the implications. At the same time, an odd sense of irritation also filled his chest.
"And pray tell how much does the Kingdom owe the Empire?"
Draconis groaned and shook his head. His voice was hardly heard, as it was barely a mumble. Todd frowned and leaned forward to try to hear better.
"Sire . . . how . . . much did they owe?"
The silent tension in the room was only interrupted by the clicking and clinking of beakers, flasks, and implements coupled with the burbling and bubbling of liquids.
"Eighty thousand gold."
Todd gave his liege a flat stare. His voice had also gone monotone.
"Eighty thousand and you just agreed . . . Her Majesty Artorias would rake you over coals."
Draconis shuddered at the thought. Artorias would indeed.
"Don't . . . don't remind me Todd." The Grand Alchemist leaned to the side as he eyeballed Draconis with a maddening smile of juuuuust slightly unhinged nature.
"Sire . . . do not tell me you called upon my division to produce this tribute within a limited time frame."
Draconis grimaced and set his jaw as he braced for Todd's reaction. Having written and memorized Todd's personality and tendencies . . . he was not looking forward to the backlash. His words were spoken true, but through clenched teeth.
"A day and a half."
A veritable miasma of ill intent hovered around Todd and seemed to engulf everyone present, including Draconis. The craftsmen and alchemists all froze and warily glanced their direction as spells of protection and barriers began erecting themselves around their projects.
Draconis huffed in defeat. Through the miasma, he could see Todd with blank eyes and a twisted clown grin, but nothing else . . . one of the man's hands was upheld with a flame of black fire held in the palm.
Here it comes . . . three . . . two . . . one . . .
The explosion rocked the upper floors of The Lair and the members of the Clearwater Scripture who were beginning to learn about the history of place they were now . . . "guests" of . . . panicked as they glanced around, fearing something coming to get them for doing something else wrong.
From its place, The Bunny stood up on its hind quarters and sniffed the air. Its whiskers twitched as long ears swiveled back and forth to listen for any orders or sounds of distress. Faintly, it could hear a groan from their liege, but since there was no combat notice, it went back to munching on the greens on its plate.
A smoking scorch mark and a coughing Draconis later, Todd growled at his liege in annoyance. As chief alchemist and the primary logistical headmaster of The Lair, suddenly having to produce . . . lesser . . . quality coinage from the wealth of the stronghold chaffed his pride to no end. Nevermind the added complication of doing so in less than forty-eight hours.
Draconis, immune as he was to fire damage as a part of dragon blood, was still coated in soot from head to toe. He had chosen to take the brunt of Todd's spell as a kind of penance and symbol of remorse for such an overlook. Now, looking like a charcoal sculpture, he was rather glad he was immune to fire. A good portion of his mind knew that normally, he would be covered in burns and in absolute agony. Now he imagined that he looked rather comedic to those around them given the circumstances.
Akame and Kurome rose from his shadow with slight frowns at Todd as they began dusting Draconis off like a piece of furniture with cleaning feathers and warm, moist towels. As they worked, Draconis sighed and gave Todd an apologetic look. The mage still half glared at him with fists resting on his waist.
"I know what I ask of you is inconsiderate and a very serious oversight on my part Todd, but for the sake of those we are aiding, it needs to be done."
Todd took the currency clenched in his liege's fist into his own hands and practically growled at the offensive, slipshod minted coins.
"Sire, the copper coins are brass lined with a veneer of copper! Surely you cannot propose that we do the same rough shod workmanship?"
Draconis kept his eyes shut as Akame stood on tip toes to clean his face with a towel.
"No." He paused in his answer so Akame could finish up before he opened his eyes. "I do not. Merely gold for the sake of transportation. I leave the organization of the coinage and the containers to you. Just nothing overblown. Well crafted chests with sturdy, mercantile locks will suffice."
Todd reluctantly nodded. "To think that even a pocket portion of your hard earned wealth would be reduced to such pitiable quality . . . part of me dies this day."
Draconis hung his head in acknowledgment. "I understand Todd. Please, just get it done in time."
Todd nodded firmly. Despite whatever gripes he had about this job in general, the job would be done with time to spare and in the right quantity.
"I shall Sire. However, I must insist you learn the specifics of this New World's economy from what I have gleaned from Queen Draudillon."
Todd presented a scribe's chalk tablet. A magic item that acted like a touch pad tablet from Earth. Draconis took the item in hand with a bit of apprehension. Sliding his fingers over the opening text that appeared, he felt his gut drop at the table of contents provided.
Four hundred eighty-seven pages?! I'm in hell aren't I?
Draconis looked at Todd with an utterly flat expression.
"I get it already Todd, you are displeased with me . . . I'll read it."
Todd pinched his nose in frustration at the new task on such short notice.
"See to it that you do Sire. As our leader, it would behoove you to understand all the nuances to better lead us. Worry not about the money, we will have it done posthaste."
A knot or two popped up in Draconis's mindscape at the slight jab, but he merely nodded in acceptance.
Dammit all he's right . . .
Nodding heavily, Draconis bid farewell and teleported out and back to Arwintar.
Baharuth Empire
Current . . .
Draconis and Lucia rode at the head of their group. Foresight followed close behind in the horse drawn cart they had rented out. The cart was open and had plenty of room for the small Worker group. They noticed that the Martial Lord had put away his tablet, muttering something like, "Don't read and drive." Whatever the hells that meant. He pinched his nose with a wince and shook himself before proceeding to take in the surroundings as they traveled.
Both riders were wearing the same armor they first meet Foresight in, the armored coat tails of Draconis's equipment jangled lightly on either side of the horse he rode. Arche decided this was the best time as ever to ask him a few things since they would not arrive at their destination for a while.
"Draconis."
The man looked her direction upon hearing his name and nodded to let her know he was listening, though he kept his eyes on the trail and on his surroundings.
"You are a Knight of Avalon yes?"
Draconis brought a hand to his chin in thought and kept it there even as he spoke to her. The rest of the group listened intently.
"I am of Avalon, yet not. Many of those who serve under my banner call Avalon home. I also know the Queen quite well in addition to her strongest knights. My title was gifted to me by the Queen in gratitude and as such, I took a mantle of Guardianship as a protector when they require aide."
That was interesting information to know, but Imina and Hekkeran only began to think of new questions.
"How large is Avalon?"
They watched as the man closed his eyes in thought. Eventually he spoke again.
"I suppose the main keep and its fortifications are the size of Arwintar. The rest of the city proper is around two times that."
Foresight gawked. Hekkeran and the rest of his team huddled in close. There voices were a fevered whisper, but Lucia and Draconis could hear them just fine. The wagon driver merely focused on the road ahead despite his look of disbelief.
"The main castle is the size of the capital?" Imina shivered at the thought. The group cast nervous glances about each other .
"What kind of army could a nation like that muster if they have commanders like him?!"
Arche thought back to what Miranda had spoken days ago. With the tiny reveal of the kind of coin he had, enchanted to resist weapon strikes and grim. Even resisting a Martial Art! What kind of place was Avalon? If a man like him pledged himself to this Queen, then what kind of person was she? She did not miss the fond affection which his eyes displayed for the briefest of moments when he mentioned her.
Casting a glance over her shoulder at him, he yawned slightly at the monotony of the trip thus far. He covered his open mouth with his hand . . . a hand which displayed a wedding band upon his ring finger. The declaration of absolute love and devotion for his wife two days ago rang in her ears.
The two telltale signs connected the dots in her mind and she paled before swiftly turning her attention back to the huddle. She said nothing, but her mind was racing like no other.
Oh . . . oh GODS! He can't be . . . the Queen of Avalon is his . . . ? No! Nononono! But what if it . . . oh no. That would make him . . .
"Hey Arche, what happened to you? You look pale."
The young magic caster started and glanced about her teammates for a moment like a startled deer. Imina gave her a concerned look as Hekkeran and Roberdyck merely stared at her in confusion.
"It's nothing. Just a sudden chill." It was not a complete lie. It was nearly harvest season. The temperature around the empire had dropped steadily the past several days.
The rest of Foresight looked uneasily at each other. None of them were fooled by her behavior. Something was deeply bothering the young girl. Yet they could do little force anything out of her if she really did not want to share. Breaking from their huddle, Hekkeran asked the next question.
"You mentioned that your forces are fighting to help the Dragon Kingdom, are your troops from Avalon? Are they anything like the Empires Knight Orders?"
The man looked to Hekkeran with an apologetic expression on his features.
"You'll have to forgive my return question, but how are they structured? My force composition may very well be greatly different in their makeup and structure than the Empire."
Hekkeran looked to the others help him fill the blanks in the explanation for the organization of the Orders within the Empire. The man nodded as he patiently listened to them explain everything. A single knight order was comprised of twenty thousand men. It was an impressive number. With eight orders to call upon, no one could truly sneeze at a force of 160,000 fighting soldiers. That did not include the Air Guard or the Imperial Earth Guard or Royal Guard.
Hekkeran noticed that the Draconis was very attentive, his personal experience could see a man making mental notes and comparisons to what he knew his own forces possessed. Yet throughout it all, Hekkeran never once saw the man's eyes widen or dilate in surprise or fear. There was nothing but calculating measures and deep thought.
This man must have a lifetime of battle hardened warriors at his command. Most people would be impressed or awed at the very least. Yet he's not showing any sign of being worried. I mean, sure, he could probably wipe our a large portion of an order with his Martial Arts, but he is only one man. Spells are a problem, but only until the masses are upon him. What does he know?
"Hekkeran, you say that the orders are made up of career soldiers. Yet for all I have heard and seen they have never truly fought a true, total war. That is troublesome."
The Worker group frowned as a whole. Total war? What did he mean by that?
"I told the Emperor such when we met. What he does to the Re-Estize kingdom to the east is his own business, but it is not a war. It is a border skirmish for a single moment of the year. He has not experienced total war."
Roberdyck could see a haunted look in the man's eyes as he spoke the words 'total war'. Something about the words told him that if such a thing were to be unleashed upon the Empire, it would not survive. Yet he felt compelled to ask regardless.
"What encompasses your meaning? The words total war?"
His answer was as chilling as his tone. "A war in which allows the unrestricted use on any and all forms of weaponry, in addition to having no limitations on territories or combatants be they holy grounds to children and women or elderly. No objective is sacred, no rules of war are enforced. Everything is a lie and all is permitted."
They could see him grit his teeth as he finished the explanation. There was an obvious anger to the concept as the words lips his lips through clenched teeth. Arche thought of her sisters and shuddered. It sounded like a nation encompassing bandit raid from anyone involved. Imina and Hekkeran were not enjoying the thoughts of any weapon being made use of without a care. Some of them were downright evil in design and intent. Roberdyck was horrified at the thoughts of sacred grounds being desecrated and not a single person would care. Even the most ruthless of generals obeyed the unwritten laws of warfare. To just completely ignore them all?
Before any of them could say anything, Lucia spoke up from her position ahead of them.
"We're approaching the village. I can see what might be the elder waving at us."
Lucia turned to them and motioned for the wagon driver to continue as she slowed her horse to allow Draconis to come up alongside her.
"Continue into the village and speak with th elder. I have something to discuss with Draconis."
The man nodded and as distance grew between them, Foresight noticed Lucia gesturing to the left and right of the village.
"They're probably discussing how to set up watches. Let's deal with the elder and get some details. I heavily doubt that they will just leave us out here."
The group nodded as they came up on the village's outer fence. Crude as it was, it was a far cry better than no boundaries at all. The aging representative greeted them with a tired smile. It was obvious that he had gone for more than a night or two without adequate rest. Heavy bags rested under his eyes.
"Greetings Workers. I was hoping someone would take our request. I honestly did not expect such a swift response."
Hekkeran took the lead as the spokesman. Shaking the man's hand firmly, he nodded.
"Indeed. Though the greater details were not mentioned in the forms. Do you have a room that we can talk about things more in depth?"
The elder nodded and motioned to a home that seemed no larger than any of the others, but had a simple placard upon the door frame. They took that as a sign that represented the chief's home. As they began to follow him to his house, the man glanced back over his shoulder at Lucia and Draconis who remained on horseback just outside the outskirts. Both of them seemed to be debating over something as the crimson haired man shook his head before gesturing to the east.
"Will your associates not be joining us?"
Hekkeran looked back at them and saw Draconis take notice of them. The man waved them on before guiding his horse on a circuit that told them that he was making a patrol of the area before joining them.
"Not immediately by the looks of it. They're probably scouting the area to get a better lay of the land while we speak with you. It saves time this way."
Hekkeran could respect that dividing up of tasks. It would indeed save a great deal of time.
They entered the elder's home and sat around the table. The older man began with little preamble.
"It started around six months ago. The children would go out to the fields and when they would return, they would have a trinket or two. Nothing terribly noticeable. A fresh set of sandals or mended clothes. Most of use were merely thankful for not having to mend their clothes themselves. Yet recently, some of the children have not returned. Some of the older ones who set out to fetch them have not come home either. Then a week ago, one of them did return, but he looked so different that his parents were frightened by the change."
Imina and the rest of them frowned. Arche leaned forward with a curious expression.
"Elder, what manner of changes were present?"
The village chief tapped the floor with his walking cane and the side door opened up. The young man that stepped forward could not have been older than sixteen. His clothes were clean. Not just that, but they were made from exceptional fabric akin to something an affluent merchant would be able to purchase. He wore boots of well cured leathers and the most startling was the short sword at his side.
It was of immaculate quality that they had only seen in the top shelves of weapon merchants or commanding officers in the Knight Orders. The youth's eyes held an intelligence and sharp edge to them that Arche had seen in well learned professors. The youth bowed with his right hand crossing his heart.
"Greetings. I take it you are here about the disappearances of my fellow villagers. Please do not worry yourselves. None of them are hurt."
The older man turned to them with a tired expression.
"Young Michael here swears he was not harmed and only has been treated well by who ever it is taking the children, but he was not like this before. He even shows impressive skill with that sword by his side. He is adamant about not giving it up. His parents believe him the victim of some kind of devil."
The young man grit his teeth and clenched his fists but said nothing before sighing dejectedly. He shook his head sadly and began to leave the room when Hekkeran spoke up.
"Wait. Michael was it? I want to hear your side of things. If anything, recently I've learned that not everything is what it seems. Please, tell us your side of the story."
A spark of hope filled the youth's brown eyes. Nodding firmly, he stood in front of them with a kind of easy attention that bespoke some kind of rigorous training regiment. Imina was not quite comfortable with the youth displaying a degree of military like training and gestured to the remaining chair.
"You can take a seat you know."
Roberdyck motioned to the elder with a placating gesture. "It will be okay elder. We will get to the root of this, but just dismissing his words out of hand actually will make this harder than it needs to be. Let us hear him out and we'll make our own decisions on what we hear."
It was clear to them that the elder was not fully on board with the idea, but he nodded for the sake of figuring out what was going on. Michael took a seat at the table.
"Thank you for this. I owe you for giving me the opportunity to address this issue. I know what it can look like, but I can promise you it is anything but. I left to find my younger siblings after they disappeared a little over two weeks ago and had not returned. Certainly, they had gone out before and returned with mended clothing as the elder mentioned, but when they did not come home, I ventured out."
The group nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"After nightfall, a pale light like that of a lantern guided me to an ironclad gate that closed off a stone wall. I did not recognize the writing upon the plaque, but the others from the village and even some not of our village were within the walls. Some were playing happily while others were before a pair of Lady Knights taking martial lessons. When I entered upon seeing my siblings, I was asked if I wanted to join them."
Roberdyck nodded quietly as he followed along. "Who asked you this? The Lady Knights you mentioned?"
The youth shook his head negatively.
"No sir. It was the Lord of the establishment. Lord Irving stated that we could remain if we wished to improve ourselves. It was the only condition for staying with them; to always improve. So I asked for lessons and permission to become a squire."
Arche and the others frowned a bit. Even if what Michael said was true, there was no way that he would have refined his speech and the way he carried himself so dramatically within a mere two weeks. Arche smelled magic, and powerful magic to make such a change happen.
Hekkeran frowned as he spoke for his team.
"Two weeks? I am sorry, but that is impossible. I don't know what kind of tutelage he gave you but even the most basic of sword techniques takes months or even years to fully grasp, much less master."
The youth frowned and stared dead into Hekkeran's eyes. The older man saw a clear, determined expression in the young squire's eyes. His mind thought back to a time when he also held the same kind of determination when he had first set out to make his fortunes in the world. Yet there was something else there as well. Something he felt that he had not possessed those years back.
He could not place it though.
"Oh? One of the village youths I presume." Draconis's voice made them turn to see the man with Lucia close behind at the door.
They nodded as they approached the table. As there were not enough chairs, the two dragons remained standing. The elder nodded to them, confirming the suspicion. He had seen them with Foresight and assumed them to be part of the help sent, but upon closer inspection, he wondered who these two were. They were so much better outfitted than foresight. Not that the Worker group was insufficient, not in the least, but the quality of the equipment of the two groups was staggeringly disjointed.
The youth eyed the two with wide, surprised eyes before becoming rather quiet and introspective. Both groups noticed the change in the youth but said nothing. Hekkeran took note that he was receiving a look of respect from Draconis for noticing yet remaining silent on the matter.
Let's not tip our hands. Was the unspoken message between the two men.
Hekkeran decided to keep fishing for information as Draconis had not engaged with the youth. As the team leader of Foresight, he figured if they were going to get the reward for the job, might as well put in the work for it too. Having Draconis and Lucia around was just a security blanket at this point.
"Would you be willing to take us to that place? I am sure that if they're truly only helping you all the village would be less worried and paranoid."
He shook his head negatively. "I am sorry sir, but I cannot. I swore my word."
When Hekkeran tried to push further, a firm hand laid itself on his shoulder. The group looked up to see Draconis shake his head patiently.
"If he is a squire as he says, then his word is his bond. Do not make him break it. If we are to find this location, when must do so under our own merit. Such is the ways of knighthood."
Foresight as a whole frowned at him as he gave the boy a quiet nod and excused himself. Lucia shrugged her shoulders in confusion before following the man out of the house. As the door creaked loudly shut, the youth clenched his jaw and stared hard at the table.
"Please excuse me. I have nothing more to say at this time."
Hekkeran and the others could not say anything. No words would come to mind. This was all so bizarre to them. His speaking and tone, the mannerisms were too polished and refined despite the simple message. There was no way a village youth from a farming village could have changed so much in such a short time. The elder sighed heavily before tapping his cane on the floor. A different door opened to admit a woman and man frought with worry.
"Thank you so much for coming." The woman's voice was laced with gratefulness and concern even as her voice wavered from the stress of the situation. "We are his parents. I just fear he has fallen victim to the influence on an enemy of the Empire. The Bloody Emperor has actually done much good for us by rooting out those not worthy of their posts, but he is still strict about enemies of the empire."
They all nodded, Arche did so with particular fervor. She knew exactly what these concern parents were speaking of all too well. If you were not useful you were stripped of your position for those that would. It made sense, yet it was also cold hearted. If they reported this back to anyone, the news of some person teaching and taking on squires and training them in swordsmanship could be taken as a threat to the Empire and that would bring the sword of one of the Knight Orders down on the village. This mess was something that they already had their foot in, there was no way out.
Draconis had been right, this had been too suspicious . . . but it was too late to back out now.
Outside the Elder's Home
"Why did you leave them in there. Obviously something else is going on with that boy."
"Indeed." Draconis's reply was both short and dry as they marched away from the house and back to their horses. "Yet that boy's reaction to you and me was more than just surprise. I saw recognition in his eyes. He knew me . . ."
That stopped Lucia in her tracks. Draconis merely continued to march up to his horse. Pulling himself up and into the saddle, he honestly was grateful that the steed was both patient and comfortable with him. All the other horses were skittish around the two of them. The beasts were smart, and their instincts told them that Lucia and he were not human at all. The fact that they had not panicked and tried to bolt from them said a lot for their natures.
"Lucia, I'm going to set up camp outside the perimeter of the village. I smell someone like us behind all these disappearances, and I want answers."
She glared at him even as she understood where he was coming from.
"Someone like us?!" She gestured madly tried to get him to stopping being so enigmatic.
As he turned the horse around to make off in the direction of the town's outer fence, he glanced over his shoulder with a hard look in his eyes. There was a veiled coldness that made her shiver and loudly swallow her words.
"A player from YGGDRASIL."
The [Message] surprised her as she wondered what he meant to convey by telling her his suspicions over magical communication instead of aloud, but a scent wafted by her nose.
It was a group of scents that did not match any that Foresight gave off. The smells of oils, metals other than steel or even mythril. Orichalcum and even a hint of adamantite. Her dragon senses spoke to her; letting her know that valuable equipment and magic items were nearby. Items far more valuable than anything a farming village would ever purchase much less see on the normal day.
Her nose then told her something else, people close by, and one of them was not human. Scents of others. Six of them.
Not wanting to tip off whoever these newcomers were, she huffed and shook her head at Draconis as he rode off. If he had noticed them earlier then why had he only dropped the not so subtle hint earlier?
Walking up to her own mount, she stroked its neck lovingly as she spoke to it.
"What's going on with him? Ugh, I know you can't answer me. Damn it all. Come on, let's set up camp too."
Scattered Around the Village
The Adamantite Team from the Argland Council State had broken into groups to track the Worker team and the two outliers. Two to keep tabs and listen in on the group known now to them as Foresight. Three others each tracked the lavender haired woman and the scarlet haired Knight of Avalon. Among them were two magic casters, a ranger, a healer, and two melee specialists. Their ranger was the only non human among them, but they trusted him with their lives. The man's fur stood on end the entire time after they had moved to be downwind of them during their trip due to the sensitive nature of horses.
He was a Rabbit Man that hailed from the Karnassus City-State, but called the Argland Council State his real home. He was quiet natured, but honest with his opinions and quick to point out errors and mistakes.
"Well? What were they talking about Vinny?"
Vinny motioned for silence. Damn Arene! The human mage was young for his rank, but meant well enough. Yet he was the biggest skeptic and chatterbox Vinny had ever had the misfortune of teaming up with. Thank the gods he kept he voice down to a bare whisper!
"The boy they were talking to was one of those villagers that went missing. He's oddly refined now in a short time that would be impossible. Something about becoming a knight's squire. It makes no sense." Vinny whispered in quiet tones that a person could barely make out.
At one of the stables, another pair of their team watched as Lucia spoke with her horse in frustration. They were one of the melee specialists and their healer. Watching her, they were intrigued by her lavender hair. When they had heard the reports, and assignment, they had assumed that the Lavender Spearwoman had been for her garb, but to see her hair that color had been a huge surprise. The two targets of their mission spoke more candidly than most partners. They had seen the ring on the Scarlet Swordsman's finger, but did not see a matching one on hers. Was she some kind of trusted confidant?
All they knew was that the Scarlet Swordsman was the new Martial Lord and claimed to be of Avalon's Knighthood in some form or fashion. They had not been ready for how tall the man was. He towered above their tallest member who was tracking him now. He was almost six feet. Huge for a human, but this man was even taller. Both of them heeded Vinny's warning, but remained skeptical.
"Do you really think that they're both not human? Vinny may say they don't smell human, but what does he mean by 'smelling human' anyway?" The young woman mage frowned, her cinnamon brown locks swayed with her motions. She shifted back and forth on her heels to keep her legs from cramping as she squatted behind a barrel.
"Probably like how a wolf smells different than we do. He is a rabbit man. I'll trust him on that, but they haven't noticed us yet I don't think." Their healer opined softly. He was one of the team's founding members with their leader. His dark black eyes squinted at their target. "Vanessa, I think she's moving. We should follow."
Vanessa made a negative grunt.
Due to their [Cloaks of Invisibility] they could not see each other. The Dark Puppeteer Dragon Lord had been generous enough, but to ask for items to let them see each other through their cloaks was asking too much. Going invisible to the eye was powerful, but being able to see the invisible was mythical. Only a sparse few on the continent could claim such a thing and they were normally under the employ of the extremely influential or powerful.
Thus they were having to make subtle signs to each other about their locations from time to time. Now that their scout feared that their targets were not even human, there was no telling what kinds of abilities or tricks the two might have. It did not help at all that neither of their mages could detect anything about them. It was like they were voids among the sea of energies and powers. Did they both have the same Talent? To have an artifact or magic item that blocked them from any sort of magical detection or analysis was just flat out impossible.
Having come to the collective consensus that they both had powerful Talents, they all agreed to be even more cautious than normal. This whole scenario screamed at them to run from this job with these mysteries piling up on one another, but how where they supposed to report back to one of the Dragon Councilors and tell them they ran from the job he personally gave them?
"Stop Victor. What if they have noticed us and are bluffing? See that? She's going in the complete opposite direction of that Scarlet Swordsman. If they have noticed us, it divides us completely up. No, we regroup first. Let's head toward Vinny and Arene."
Victor frowned and paled a bit with her logic. Vanessa had always been the brains of the operation. Helped when she was an affluent merchant's daughter and decently educated.
"Okay, you make a valid point. Let's head back over to that elder's home. Remember the sign?"
"Yes, the crow call whistle."
The whistle was not magical, merely a well made wooden whistle made by Vinny to imitate a crows caw. It was their sign to let others in their group know they were near whenever they all got separated. It was perfect for this situation. Crows were everywhere in the world. So hearing one would draw little attention compared to other bird calls. Especially when they were not a common avian to the area.
The two carefully made their way back to the elder's house, watching their steps. As it was still daylight out, suddenly appearing footsteps in the soft dirt would tip off those around them paying enough attention to the surroundings. Approaching the house, Vanessa took out her whistle and gave it two quick calls followed by a slightly longer one. The signal was to say "two" and "approaching" to let them know it was two of their own closing it.
They stood by the west side of the house as they had all agreed upon before parting ways. Eventually, the group of Workers filed out of the house, the blond man with twin blades nodded to the couple that followed them outside with the elder.
"I understand. We will be looking into the incident and report back to you what we find if anything malicious is going on."
"Thank you so much. We pray for your success."
The group departed to their wagon, probably to discuss their plan of action. The elder turned to the couple with a thoughtful expression. His voice carried a bit more than he probably intended. They could make out his tone.
"Hmm. They seem like decent Workers character wise. However, the two with them seem so much higher ranked than them. Perhaps they were observers? Bah, I'm getting too old for this. Rest easy, we'll have an answer soon enough. Return to your home."
The couple nodded and left the elder to return to the interior of his home. A moment after the door shut, they heard the quiet shuffle of grass to their left. Vinny's voice met their ears, though he still kept his voice down.
"Okay, let's get back together with the remainder of the team and talk. This got potentially complicated."
They all quietly agreed and Vanessa pointed out the direction which direction their leader had gone. Slinking off in that direction, the group found their leader a surprising distance away from the outer perimeter fences of the village behind a set of hedgerows and trees. Their second magic caster was with them but both of them were no longer invisible. It was strange. The cloaks did not have a time table.
As they all began to close in on the pair, Vinny tweeted the crow signal four times in a paired sequence. When he finished, the leader turned to the direction of the noise and motioned for them to take a wide arc toward the overgrowth of plantlife. Not questioning why, they all did so and soon found the reason.
Vinny suddenly popped into view about twenty feet from their leader. The rest of them were purged of the invisibility as well. Quickly rushing as silently as they could to cover, they all looked to each other in shock. What happened?
"Leader? What in the world?"
"Keep your voices down, he's thirty feet away on the other side of these hedgerows."
They peered through the leaves and underbrush from below the hedges to see that Draconis was indeed just thirty feet away. He had shed his armor, or at least the main body portion and his armguards. They did not see it laying around and assumed it was inside the tent he had put up. Though it was less of a tent and more of a full sized ger.
The sheer size and well crafted fabrics spoke of master craftsmanship and the little embellishments were not something a common soldier or even knight would possess. This man was a commander of knights. Someone of clearly high standing. Nobility? High nobility?
The outside of the ger at the main entrance flap was a banner with a symbol none of them would forget. The sword and dragon combination signifying Draconis's Coat of Arms. Beside it was a pendragon blue banner with a golden dragon head roaring to the skies. Artorias's personal banner and the banner of Avalon. The group made particular note of that.
"Well, damn. Looks like the reports were right. He really is affiliated with the Queendom that merfolk announced. He is a long way from home."
"Indeed? Then why not come out from hiding and talk with me if I am the object of your attention and not Foresight."
The team nearly leaped out of their skins at the man's voice addressing them. He had not even turned to look in their direction. For a time, they all held their breaths, waiting for him to make a move, yet he merely sat with his back turned to them. He was reading something . . . a tome?
After a long, awkward silence, he spoke again, and this time the timbre in his voice held one of thinning patience.
"I am no stranger the the cloak and dagger of espionage. I know that there are six of you. One of you is not human. Lucia may have only recently detected your presence but I have known about you since we arrived here at this village. You must have remained downwind a good distance for me not to notice you sooner. Out of respect for your tracking experience I will not make any moves to harm you, but I will defend myself if I feel the necessity."
The team looked to Vinny and the rabbit man shook his head in resignation. The leader spoke up from his crouched location.
"You have us. We may trust your word? You will not harm us if we do not try to harm you in turn?"
"You already have it."
He nodded firmly and stood up. Arene stood as well, but had an incredulous expression writ large upon his face.
"Are you maddened?"
"We are already found out Arene. Still your tongue and we may yet live to tell this tale. No aggressive moves." his voice held authority and his team nodded in agreement. One by one, they filed out from behind the hedges to come around the front of the man of their mission. The man sat on a small camp stool placed upon a large spread outdoor rug. It was large enough for them all to sit on without getting grass stains. None of them recognized the materials it was woven from, but they could not imagine the loom that would have been needed nor how many weavers it would have taken to make such a thing.
It was a dark violet with silver embellishments. Yet as they sat, the magic casters and healer of their teams felt very unnerved. It was like they were within a void. As if reading their unease, the man on the stool chuckled.
Now that they got a closer look at him, he was actually rather handsome. Yet his eyes drew their attention. Prismatic swirls made them wonder just who this man was. This detail had not been in the report. Taking a glance into the ger, they did not see his armor plate. There was a large, comfortable looking bed and a trunk at its foot. Yet other than that there was little to see. Yet where the hells had the bed come from?
"So, you are an Adventurer team . . . I guess you are a bit better mannered than the leader of Cyrstal Tear of the Dragon Kingdom. Damn pedophile." He cursed the last part darkly. The admission made them all darken a bit.
They all had heard about his disdain for Adventurers. They had also heard he had bested the Fierce Flash in a one-on-one duel. This shed a lot of light upon the man's fierce dislike of Adventurers. The leader of their group bit back his own curse. Despite his obvious bitterness with the Guild, he was still giving them a civilized chance instead of just dismissing them out of hand or merely attacking them.
"Forgive the cloak and dagger but we are on assignment. Your victory over the Martial Lord Go Gin has reached the ears of many in a short amount of time and our client found you worth investigating."
Draconis nodded slowly though he looked as if he swallowed bitter medicinal herbs.
Was it possible that he did not truly realize the scope of beating Go Gin in single combat signified?
"I see. If your client is seeking to hire me, then you can tell him that is not up for debate. My services are being rendered to the Dragon Kingdom due to their plight and of my own volition. Only my Queen can make any demands of me and have me answer to them immediately. One of you mentioned that I was far from home. Where exactly has my Queen found herself?"
The group glared at Arene as a collective whole at the same instant and he held his hands up in a weak attempt to defend himself from their glares. Their leader sighed forcefully in resignation and began to answer.
"Our information tells of merfolk reporting that your Queen and her people are off the coast of the Holy Roble Kindgom's west coast. On the other side of this continent. The Dragon Kingdom to the south lies east of the Slane Theocracy and the Abelion Planes. Beyond the Planes to the west lies the Great Wall which makes up the eastern border of the Northern and Southern portions of the Holy Roble Kingdom."
The knight of Avalon bobbed his head up and down thoughtfully.
"Then I truly am a great distance from my Queen. I suppose a trade is in order then. You are here to observe me. Why? I wish to return to her and her people once I finish helping the Dragon Kingdom. I do not render aide only to suddenly back out before the work is completed. Tell me what I would like to know and I will provide you all with information in turn, know however that not all information is at liberty to be given."
His voice was firm by the end of his offer. Their leader knew another leader when he saw one. This man was not one of those that chose to hang back at his home and send orders from afar. No, before them was a field commander. A man who bellowed his orders in the thick of combat and fought with those he lead. One of a rare breed of higher ups that lead by example and not just through words. The swords by his side were not ones of station, but of battle if he was to make any judgments.
There was a definite feeling of power and authority even with the man dressed down and merely sitting before them with a tome in his hands. He had not a single doubt that should this man take up the sword against them, the majority of them would die before they could kill him. Something about this Scarlet Swordsman spoke of not just a Knight of Avalon, but something more.
He possessed a Talent. One that he called [Recognition of Authority] that allowed him to see who possessed true leadership qualities and who was not worthy of their posts. It was one of the reasons he managed to always snag quality jobs and tell what clients were offering worthwhile paying jobs. It was not perfect, but it did help immensely. Right now, this man eclipsed anything he had felt other than Dark Puppeteer Dragon Lord. In fact they were neck and neck. This man was an equal to a Dragon Lord?
This is not a man I want to make an enemy of. Far better would it be to remain on his good graces. If a man like this is so dedicated to his Queen, what does that mean of Avalon?
"I am Bartholomy, the leader of Adamantite Team: Pioneer." he introduced himself and his team quickly, with business like tone. Draconis seemed to nod at the move.
Bartholomy had once been a Knight General under King Ramposa III of Re-Estize before the political bickering and corruption of the nobility finally pushed his patience too far. Resigning from his post, he took his family northwest to the Argland Council States and became an Adventurer to make up for the loss in income. He did well for his family. Though the work worried his wife to no end. He knew the games of nobles, yet this man played it differently.
"You already know a bit of who I am, but introductions are important at junctures like this one." His posture straightened on his seat. "I am Draconis Brightblade. The title of Knight Most Heavenly was bestowed to me by my Queen."
He relaxed his posture and smirked at them. "You are already on better footing than Crystal Tear was at our first meeting. I have a sneaking suspicion that you cannot tell me who your client is in specific, so I won't ask. Are you here confirming rumors? Or here for more than that?"
Vanessa glanced at Bartholomy. The older man nodded and she scooted forward a slight bit. As Draconis's eyes fell on her, she tensed all over. It wasn't the look of a man running his eyes over her body, but a kind of analytical gaze that seemed to both acknowledge and gauge her strengths, her weaknesses. This was the look of a commander of soldiers.
"Mostly confirming rumors ser knight. Yet the more we see and hear the more I admit be intrigued. Why are you helping the Dragon Kingdom?"
Shutting his tome with a hard snap. He set the tome aside.
"Should it not be natural to help those in need? I have known despair, hard as that might be to believe. No man or beast is not incapable of feeling this. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar, or has lead an exceedingly sheltered life. Innocent lives are being snuffed out without care. Should that not be enough?"
Lucia's Campsite
Lucia had her parade tent assembled and set. She sat just inside upon a plush cushion and reclined. She had received a [Message] from Draconis only a short moment after he had set up his own camp opposite of hers on the far side of the village perimeter as they had discussed earlier while Foresight spoke with the elder of the village. They both agreed that by doing so, they would be able to intercept whoever or whatever was taking the children when it appeared regardless of where.
Providing that they were being kidnapped by something entering the village itself. The possibility remained that it was either an underground route, in which they had no way of finding out. Between the two of them, what detection magic they could bring to bear was limited. It was why they both had specialized caster NPCs back at their homes; Phantasmagoria's All the World's Stage for her. The Lair for Draconis.
She had brought up the possibility according to the young boy, that it was less a kidnapping and more of a lure. Something naturally beckoning them. Of course Draconis pointed out that if the lure was set intentionally then it was still kidnapping. She had belted him in the shoulder hard for that comment. Though he was not technically wrong. It still chaffed her how observant he could be all on his own.
"Still though, now that I think about it, I did offer my own assistance." She frowned and removed a disc like object from a trunk by her side. "He is working hard to attain more help in a battle he's sure will spiral out of control. Don't know why, the beastmen aren't strong enough to conquer his forces let alone mine. Yet, I cannot say the same for the Dragon Kingdom itself."
Groaning, she turned and twisted in frustration.
"Damn it all." She willed the magical device on and woman with striking violet hair with a single streak of emerald green through it on the left side of her bangs answered her call.
"Yes Mistress Lucia? You've rarely called like this."
Lucia nodded. "Awaken the Herald and assemble the Auspices of War. We go to the aide of a friend."
The woman nodded a few times before Lucia's words truly sank in. Her nods came to a bone crunching halt and her face drained of color as she gawked at her mistress.
"M-Milady?" Lucia growled lowly, the sound making the young woman on the other end of the line shoot ramrod straight before practically shouting over the connection. "Ma'am! As you command Mistress Lucia!"
The woman cut the connection as she knew that the Auspices of War . . . Phantasmagoria's PoP army would begin rallying around The Herald. Her personal NPC. If she offered her help, she was not going to back out of it. To her it had nothing to do with honor, though she could respect Draconis for keeping to his code. No, her word was a matter of personal pride more than honor. Damn her if she didn't keep it.
"Question is . . . how many to send?"
That was the real issue. Being the Rank 4 guild during YGGDRASIL's lifespan was not just for show. They had possessed a full 100 man roster and ninety percent of them had been level 90 and above. Their lowest level member had been level 85. Together, the group had racked up impressive feats and their armies had crushed many a guild in the Guild Wars. Save for one.
Avalon.
Artorias Pendragon's guild had been one of the few to rebuff them during a guild war. That alone rocketed them to the spotlight. The Rank 4 Guild rebuffed by a guild that wasn't even in the top 50. Why had they gone under the radar? Their member size. To think that a fifteen man guild could erect defenses so nightmarishly difficult to breach that even they had never won a guild war when the guild was on the defensive.
Sure, they had beaten them when the guild was forced to attack instead of defend during the Guild Wars, but offense and defense were drastically different in their execution. Even then, the guild of Avalon had pierced their own defenses far enough before defeat to warrant a serious change in their own strategies. After many of them had gone digging and found out that nearly all of the members of Avalon were former military wardogs of the Arcology War . . . well . . . that bit of info remained locked and sealed within the membership of Phantasmagoria. It certainly explained the ruthlessness of their offense and defense during the Wars.
During the Dragonsong War, Phantasmagoria had fought on the human side of the conflict. What members they did have participate had been shocked by the revelation that Avalon had sided with the dragons. Avalon had been ridiculed as kiss ups to the developers due to the obvious love developers had for dragons. Yet as the war dragged on and she herself was a dragon player, she began to realize why. They had fewer numbers. The dragons, not the humans, were the underdogs.
Sure, dragons were insanely powerful, but waves upon waves of human assaults by players and NPCs alike overran them. She knew every member of Avalon fought to the death to defend dragons, especially if one of the First Brood had been there. The losses encurred from the players of one side compared to the players of the other were horrible. Those fighting with the dragons made sure to lay waste to as many opponents as possible.
The judgment of the game concerning the tides of war stated that several victories the human side of the war had gained were naught but pyrrhic wins. The losses were so devastating to the humans that it was tantamount to a crippling defeat. Fights against parties made up of Avalon's Knights of the Round were particularly devastating. One recorded fight between an even party of six vs six showed that the fighters of Avalon anything but conventional when it got dire. Knee strikes, headbutts, and throat strikes had lashed out at surprising times. Eye gouging during blade locks and hidden blades to stab at feet or wrists. Dirty fighting. Even biting had not been left off the table. Not that any of these did tremendous damage to anyone's HP bar, but the psycological damage to player's not used to such savagery were normally stunned enough to suddenly find themselves getting killed starting with their healers and leadership. The group nearly always ganged up on one target if the chance provided itself.
Yet the scariest thing about that recording, was that none of them called out any of their weapon skills or magic spells during those fights. Friendly fire was a thing during that war. It could not be toggled on and off like it normally could. "The Chaos of War" was the setting. Yet they rarely ever caught themselves in each others attacks despite not having the audio prompt or warning from their allies.
It was during this situation that the courtesy of calling out your spell or attack to keep your allies aware of what you were doing became a weakness rather than a strength. The Knights of the Round were uncannily informed of spells and what they did despite having only a smattering of spellcasting ability.
That was the fault of Grand Mage Merlin of Avalon. The man knew a ludicrous number of spells and he was actually the man in charge of "The Spellmaster's Compendium". A forum site that recorded and cataloged every spell seen and used in PvP and PvE content. The man also had a secret weapon that she had found out the hard way. His trump card.
He had called it the "Archmage's Incantation". It allowed him to, "Cast a Super Tier spell instantly twice a day and reduce all my MP costs by 75%."
He had said that to her after he had blasted the area with the Super Tier spell [Big Bang] and wiped her surviving teammates off the map with it during an encounter with him and his party.
She remembered that fight well. After all, it had been the fight that made her switch sides during that event, much to her guild mate's surprise and indignation.
? Years Ago . . . YGGDRASIL
Dragonsong War
Location Unknown
A proverbial no man's land. That's what it was meant to be. Beautiful. Fertile. A land filled with green and trees of many differing kinds. Fruits and wildlife teemed in abundance. More than enough to share and be shared. Scattered among the boughs of trees and rivers were villages and towns with mixed races living in peace . . .
. . . not anymore . . .
Now the land was a smoldering wasteland of embers and death. Blood of all races ran deep as dragons waged their bloodthirsty revenge against the humankind that had betrayed their sacred pact. A blood sister of the First Brood, slain by the hands of men greedy for power not meant for their kith and kin. Slain in cold blood. Blood drawn from a dragoness with no intent to ever harm mankind.
The song of dragons rose to the skies and into the aether itself. Crying bloody murder. All dragon kind heard her death scream. Her cry of betrayal. Her brother Nidhogg answered the call with the dragon song of murder, of revenge. A full seventh of the entire world's population of dragon kind answered his earth shaking roar of fury. This was the 1007th year of that bloodsoaked campaign . . .
Dragons according to the lore, were beings of pure magic. Truly powerful dragons could change their forms to whatever they desired, thus the dragon race players ability to look humanoid. It was also the reason they progressed as magic casters regardless of whatever levels they gained otherwise.
However, the betrayers of dragon kind and the pact made with mankind eons ago had developed the [Dragon Slayer] class of armaments to place mankind on equal footing. It was with these dreadful weapons that they slew a daughter of Midgardsomer. With these weapons cursed mankind to an over millennium long war.
Despite some misgivings about the reward for the quest they had been on by the Archbishop of the Ishgardian Orthodox Church to hunt heretics who would "betray" mankind by imbibing the blood of dragons and becoming wild, berserk dragons of Nidhogg, she and her party came across a village being evacuated. The soldiers from the Church began to cut down those fleeing and dragons rushed to the innocent's defenses less out of protective natures and more from hatred.
As the fighting began and they were about to close on some of the fleeing villagers themselves, three knights walked past the fleeing people with stead strides straight for them. Her group tensed as did she. They had appeared from nothing. Invisibility obviously.
Two of their members were newer but held lots of promise. Seeing only three men stand before them, even obviously as players, they mocked them openly.
"Ha! Three against six? You guys are history."
The leader of their party silenced the new guy.
"Quiet! Those are Knights of Avalon. Shit!"
"Is that Draconis Brightblade? The PPK'er. Ah shit."
It was true. Draconis held the middle position. The blond knight to the left of him frowned darkly. In contrast, the man to the right laughed openly, a humored LolZ Emoji hovered over his head.
"Looks like you're known by sight alone now Draconis." Draconis shook his head ruefully.
"I guess that means something. You six, begone from this place. You are not welcomed here. They wished to live in peace and the Church brings nothing but death."
The second new player in her party had laughed and put up a mocking face emoji.
"Like we care. What is your quest giving you? Probably a whole lot of nothing!"
Battle Music of Awesome
Ace Combat 5 Track 50/92: Grabacr
. . . Play?
Draconis drew steel and set for battle, his shield glared brilliantly at them and they all receive notifications that only he could be attack for the next thirty seconds. Even their own tank gawked at the timer.
"Thirty seconds? What the fu . . ." The man never finished the phrase as their healer, one of two, screamed as the whinny of a steed smashed down upon their group. The second healer also screamed, but stumbled away, not outright killed like his friend.
Gareth had dive bombed the poor cleric from on high. The attack was pre-emptive and dealt bonus damage, enough to one shot their healer, who had an ultra squishy build. Their second healer had been attacked by the Guild of Avalon's leader, Artorias Pendragon herself.
Recorded footage later would reveal that she dove from the skies as well, probably riding with Gareth. The activation of his forced aggro targeting ability had been the signal to strike. However, as Gareth rode past and scooped up Artorias, they could do nothing, their focus forced on Draconis as his partners rushed their melee fighters.
Down a healer at the start of combat and with the second one having to heal himself already, they were at a serious disadvantage. She jumped into the skies diving in on Draconis as he fended off both of their melee fighters with shield and sword work. Closing fast, she felt something was off and canceled her dive with her [Sky Dancer] ability. Gareth blazed past her previous location with a diving charge that would have caught her in the back before she got to her target.
Thinking she was in the clear, she was startled by the war yell of Artorias rushing for her. Cursing her own forgetfulness, she shifted, suffering a glancing blow as the Queen of Knights dove past. She had lunged from the saddle of Gareth's alicorn! Twisting and turning in the air, Lucia was the only flight capable member of their party in a fight. She saw Gareth fly past Artorias before she began to lose more altitude and scooped her back onto the saddle.
"Jesus, they're literally dancing in the air without [Fly]! They're insane!"
Glancing down, she saw that the two others with Draconis had bypassed their melee fighters and were gunning for the remaining healer. The timer at the edge of her vision glared an angry timer at her.
Thirteen seconds left! Damn it!
Then she realized it. Where was their sixth party member? Why was their magic caster not casting spells?!
Down below, the remaining healer was trying, and failing to avoid the two knights with death in their eyes. He had activated his [Sacred Shroud] to avoid all damage for fifteen seconds in the hopes that their magic caster would save him, but realized that he too was under the effect of Draconis's forced aggro ability. Still, the magic caster in their party could cast magic that could target everyone in the enemy party, so why wasn't he?
Said magic caster cursed under his breath every time he casted. The spells would conjure, but immediately fizzle out. He was not in an anti-magic area so what was going on?! A wry chuckle mad him spin around to come face to face with one of the fiercest magic casters of YGGDRASIL. Merlin, the Grand Mage.
"Oho! Naughty boy! Not even noticing me until I gave myself away."
The Phantasmagoria magic caster cursed aloud and waved his hand in the air from down low to up on high before slashing down with his hand.
"Damn you! [Reality Slash]!" The spell was one of the fastest and strongest spells in the whole game. Against other magic casters its power was ridiculous.
Merlin caught the transparent spell of power with his bare hand and the spell shattered before it even hit him.
"[Master Arcanum], [Supreme Dispel Magic]. Congratulations on knowing that spell, but it won't work on me. It's too mainstream."
The lilting laugh from Merlin shook the magic caster to his core. Catching a Tier X spell and negating it? Without a staff or wand?
A series of laughs came from the melee fighting with Draconis. Both of the melee fighters looked to have him on the ropes, both warriors unleashing weapon skill after weapon skill on the man as he backed to keep a wall behind him. He was pretty beaten up, his Hp draining slowly but steadily despite his regeneration.
Something was wrong though. Lucia knew Draconis well enough through the dragon player forums. He was not one to just take tons of damage without reason. She knew he had healing spells, why wasn't he using them?
It was when she looked past him that she saw it. He was backed against a wall. He was at a hole in the wall and keeping their attacks from getting to a NPC shaking in terror behind him. He was using his healing spells on an NPC to keep the NPC alive. It had to be an objective for his party's quest.
What a vicious quest. Damn devs! Making players keep NPCs alive from other players . . . that's just crazy!
Draconis roared in fury and shoved his shield into the face of his primary assailant, using the chance to stake his foot to the ground by shoving his sword through the top of his boot. Letting go of his sword, he cracked his second assailant across the face with a mean backhand, the damage did not do much, but the effect was what he was going for.
Since the entire game was played from first person perspective and you felt everything, getting backhanded by anyone who was not a monk or martial artist class was just flat out insulting. Especially from melee classes.
"You basta-URGHHKKk!" He gagged and dropped his weapons as he clutched his throat from getting shield pummeled in the jugular with the edge of the shield. That was the reason many magic casters did not like melee combat, the nervous system feedback from the Dive System made certain blows just not pleasant. It was why nut shots against anyone regardless of gender was an massive unspoken taboo.
"That was dirty you punk ass PKK-blehgh!" His voice was cut off as the shield smashed into his face before getting pommel smashed in the gut as Draconis retrieved his sword from the man's foot. Adding insult to injury, he grabbed him by the hair and smashed him into a knee strike combined with the effect of [Stunning Strike] making him immobile for three seconds.
"Go, run!" Draconis yelled and the NPC. The villager nodded and scampered off.
While all of that was going on, Merlin was toying with their magic caster. Counter-Spelling was a mechanic in the game that was hard to do, but anyone who could with any sort of frequency was feared and respected all the same. You had to cast the exact same spell at the same instant or before it struck the target and have your spell collide with theirs, their magical energies canceling each other out. At least, that was the theory anyway.
Actually doing it in the heat of combat was another thing entirely. The only safe way to counter-spell effectively no matter what was the use of [Dispel Magic] and its stronger versions. But when the spell only revealed itself as a Tier IV and its stronger versions were Tier VII and Tier X respectively coupled with insane MP costs per cast . . .
Yet Merlin was having little care in the world and continued to Counter-Spell with either the spells their man knew or the [Dispel Magic] series.
She knew that their Seeker was about to strike and dove on Merlin this time. Not caring that Gareth was targeting her to keep control of the skies, she ignored the hit she took from the knight as she dove on Merlin. Their Seeker lunged up from the shadow of the Grand Mage going for a lethal strike when she saw it.
Artorias smashed into him from above with [Spiral Descent], pegging him to the ground with her panoply just moments before she hit Merlin. The mage grunted at the hit and lunged back. Artorias slashed at her, forcing her to back away. Something collided with her from behind. It wasn't an attack though and she looked to see one of the fighters in combat with Draconis had bumped into her.
"Damn it, I thought we were getting close to wiping him out, but that damn dragon power! Lucia!"
She glanced over to her other teammate to find not Draconis in his human form, but a burnished gold dragon the size of a two story house swatting their other fighter toward them with a tail slap. A pair of golden leathery wing spread wide and the aura of his [Frightful Presence] shadowed them all.
At that time, Draconis had not yet gained the Dragon Ascendant Class. She had not either. Only to gain it after the Dragonsong War's end. She knew that to fight Draconis on even footing, she would need to transform as well, but there was a major hitch.
The Ishgardian Church NPCs were zealots. If she transformed now, they would all turn on her. It was a system warning that she got whenever she got the urge to use her dragon form. Draconis was under no such yoke by siding with the dragons, he was one of them.
"I can't!"
"What?!" Her party leader looked at her incredulously. Dragon NPCs were a challenge, but a dragon PC with player support? "Damn it Lucia, he can kill us with just dragon breath attacks."
"We'll be expunged from the Dragonsong War as an ally of the Church if I transform!"
It was then that she saw it . . .
A little girl NPC no older than ten was trying to help a wyrmling dragon that had its tail caught under rubble. A Ishgardian soldier ran her through from behind, killing her and the dragonling. He heard his words clearly.
"Heretic scum."
Something broke inside her. She knew that this was a game. Yet that struck a chord in her. A fury.
Letting loose a blood curdling scream, she transformed. The action drawing the aggro of every Ishgardian NPC in the area.
She was an enemy now . . . and she no longer cared. She noted in the haze of anger that her quest parameters had changed. Instead of hunting heretics . . . it read, "Defend the Outcasts of Ishgard".
We've been hunting Ishgardians? Oh my god.
She saw Draconis's lumbering form rip the Ishgardian soldier in half with a bite attack and crouch in front of the dead little girl and dragonling. She could feel high tier healing magic. [Reserrection] for an NPC? Vaguely she noticed the target counter for her new mission.
"Do Not Let Villagers Die 8/10. Time Remaining: 00:40."
She roasted five Ishgardian soldiers with her breath weapon. The counter changed in the corner of her eye.
"Do Not Let Villagers Die 6/10. Time Remaining: 00: 20."
He had raised not just the girl, but the dragonling as well? The dragonling was a villager . . . It sent a chill down her spine.
"Lucia, what the hell are you doing?!" She looked back at the party she had been with. They were all enemies now. The party that Draconis and Artorias were a part of were allies. What a cruel quest line.
God damned devs . . .
It was then that Merlin appeared overhead and raised his hands to the air. The runes of a Super Tier spell shined like the sun. All NPCs not of the village froze at the sight. Yet none of them had time to try and stop him as they pulsed and a mote of fire descended upon them all. She vaguely noticed that all of Artorias's party gathered under Draconis's huddled wings and he glowed with the sigil of a Tank Role's ultimate skill. [Hallowed Ground], rendering himself utterly invincible for ten seconds. He was using his body to cover them all under his bulk. She dispelled her dragon form. Friendly Fire was on.
Diving for the safety of his wings, he let her under and pressed his wings down air tight to the ground as the spell went off. The blistering roar of an inferno, the screams of the dying and her own former party met their ears. Ten seconds went by and the sounds of destruction slowly ebbed away.
"Merlin, was that level of destruction really needed? We managed to complete the quest. The majority of the villagers made it."
Draconis's voice rumbled through the air. He did not let his wings up. They could not see the land behind his body shield. Merlin's cold voice met their ears.
"Yes, due to the presence of players. I can [Mass, Greater Teleport] everyone including our dragon friend here, back to the Dravanian homeland."
There was a harsh grunt of agreement from Draconis.
"Please do."
Lucia had railed against it, but the others shook their heads. She could see them all clearly with her vision despite the lack of light. Before she could ask why, she heard Draconis speak with a heavy heart.
"It looks like the Arcology War out here now. Nothing but charred bodies and ash."
As Merlin teleported everyone away, she caught a glimpse of the surroundings as Draconis's body was transported a fraction of a second before she was and she choked back a sob.
" . . . it looks like Earth . . ."
On that depressing bombshell . . .
Reader Reviews!
Rmarcano321: Enthusiasm?
17konbro: I endeavor to flesh out as much as possible without slogging down the story line.
Guest Number 1: You're welcome!
Guest Number 2: I know right? A character that can't be given a challenge can get boring real quick.
MadDan90: Was this enough Lucia screen time?
PervySageChuck: Ew, gross. No amount of Lysol is changing that . . .
Awayuki: Indeed . . . though one could say not living to see the events of the future may be a mercy . . . twisted as that thought may be . . .
Dimension Distorter: Oh when Draconis finds out about Esdeath, well . . . you'll all see . . .
GenerationZero: Oh the Elven King arc I have planned? Muahahahahaha! Cough. Hrm. YES! Yes I do have plans for that.