The Dragon's Wrath: Shadows in the Flame (48 page)

Head reeling from the anticipation, she managed to clip my right ear as I felt the sting and burn immediately. Directional hearing completely ruined, I could only rely on my eyes and instincts to guide me as I lost track of her movements. Doubling back proved fruitless as she quickly closed the gap and used another [Step & Slash] that cut across my wrist and disarmed me.

With only my right kukri left, I jumped back as far as I could and put three steps between us as I sized her up. I couldn’t beat her in fair combat and she would kill me in another succession of attacks.

It had to end here.

Gasping for breath as the intense duel had gone on for minutes beyond my expectation, the hurried pace had left me winded as every blow weakened me and the blood loss had severely impacted my stamina. Nearly woozy with plenty of mana, the next movement would be her end. She would have to be disabled or killed instantly. There was no chance to disarm her.

As she stared me down with focused eyes, completely consumed by the moment and in a state of heightened senses, she launched her final attack as she swung first with her left and then followed with her right, deflecting one of the longswords with my remaining kukri, I let go of the knife as soon as the blows connected.

Flash stepping immediately into her as I rematerialized with my foot in front of hers, she tripped from the sudden contact as I pulled two Ka-Bars from their sheaths on my chest and plunged one deeply into the open space of her iron armor, down by the neck and straight between the collarbones.

Switching the grip of my second Ka-Bar with a quick spin of the knife in my palm, I gripped it and plunged it down into the opposite space between her right collarbones as she collapsed to her knees. Blood freely flowing as her eyes widened with shock, she remained straight-up on her knees as both of her axillary arteries were cut through.

With less than a few minutes to live from the internal hemorrhaging that couldn’t be stopped with pressure, she was as good as dead. Losing the functionality of her arms as her shoulders drooped down and her swords fell to the floor, her soldiers stared in horror at the scene as the duel had been all but won seconds before. Mouths agape and eyes filled with terror, they couldn’t believe what had happened.

Standing behind her with knives still lodged inside her, I pulled them out and placed my hands on both of her shoulders. Checking my remaining stamina and health, I was at eighteen-percent remaining health and would bleed out in a little over half a minute. With plenty of mana to spare, I began to gather golden-white energy between my hands and with muted chant, five seconds passed us by before the golden beam shined down.

Engulfing the both of us with light, I didn’t feel the warmth despite my proximity as I began to cast again. Repeating three casts before the female in front of me began to stabilize, I finally stepped back and healed myself twice.

Bringing my health above the critical range, the confused faces of nearly thirty soldiers and the expressionless face of the Sword Instructor brought a smile to mind but I didn’t show it on my face. Keeping a straight face as I had healed the Sword Instructor back to a manageable level, I leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

“Your life was forfeit,” I said so only she could hear. “You died… now you are free of your current Oath.”

Stepping back and collecting my scattered weapons and the pieces of my broken axe, I looked at the stunned men and women once more before deciding to state my final line.

“If you return to Cleftside, you will all die by my hands or another’s,” I said loudly and clearly so as not to be misunderstood. “You are free to escape. If you are curious, they call me the First of the North. Find me when it’s over… that is if you wish to seek an answer to your questions.”

Turning my back to them, I headed towards the field of battle that appeared to be emptying with every step taken. The battle was essentially over but there was still work to be done, earless or not.

Chapter 117: Plausible Deniability

(Sunday, February 27th Game Day / Sunday, May 23rd Real Day)

* * *

“Em, you aren’t going to join the fight?” I asked as she appeared to be seething with her arms folded across her chest.

“He’s hiding something,” she blurted out as she turned to face me. “Don’t you think he’s hiding something? It’s all too coincidental. I don’t believe his excuses. This is all too fishy for me.”

“Em… what are you talking about?” I questioned as I had been caught unaware once again. The clues were there and it was most likely related to the same man that had been traveling and fighting with us but yet again I had been left out of the loop. It was a little tiresome being left out repeatedly.

“You know who,” she said quickly while uncrossing her arms and nodding in the direction of the battle. “He's out there right now, in the middle of it all. I know he was involved with the situation in Cleftside too, who else would go to such lengths? It had to be him.”

“If that’s true, why are you angry?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“I thought we were moving forward,” she said with a dejected tone that quickly turned back into anger as she continued. “No, instead he’s keeping secrets to himself and not involving us in his plans. He worries about miscommunication and misinformation but then doesn’t share with us?!”

Playing devil’s advocate, I was beginning to suspect the reason that he had declined to share the information with us was due largely in part to his worry over it leaking out and harming us. If my suspicions were proven true, then it was a matter of plausible deniability and the fewer people aware of the truth the better. He certainly was a calculating individual but he didn’t strike me as one who would lie simply to lie.

“Em… have you given thought to the possibility that he might not want to involve us for our sakes?” I stated quizzically with hope that she could see my point of view. “What happens to us if that information leaks out?”

“How would it leak out?” she snapped back, as if it was beyond obvious that she would never tell a soul.

“Are we not talking out loud right now?” I quipped.

“Uh what are you saying Val?”

“We’re discussing his involvement out loud right now… there are ears around us Em,” I mumbled as I moved closer, lowering my voice so others couldn’t hear us as well. “You’re already leaking information now.”

“Oh… uh, this doesn’t count,” she muttered.

Silence returning to us, I had started to wonder if maybe Emily had indeed spilled information without realizing it. Perhaps having a conversation with fellow coworkers or even with me and in turn someone overheard something that shouldn’t have been made public. It was unlikely but the possibility was there that she had flubbed before.

I was beginning to understand why he didn’t tell us.

“I believe you Em but I think it’s best if we don’t pry into this matter,” I said sternly with a hand on her shoulder. “If word gets out we will have much bigger problems on our hands than one single person being angry with us. I think we have nearly ten-thousand reasons to keep our noses out of this.”

“Eh? Ten-thousand?” she asked without thinking things through.

“
Triumvirate
,
aRIOT
, and all of the other small guilds and random players who are on the losing side now,” I explained with an internal sigh as her emotions were clouding her judgement.

“Oh, I see, yeah,” she mumbled while blushing slightly from embarrassment. “Sorry Val, I get it now.”

“Mm. So are we going to join?”

“Ah! I need to reply to him, I muted his conversation!” she nearly shouted as she jumped up slightly, much to my amusement. Standing by while she fiddled with her menu and communications, I looked out at the field of the battle that had devolved into a massacre.

The tides had truly changed to one favourable to our cause. The yellow side had nearly been wiped out as few if any remained standing while the purple side had fallen in numbers to such drastic depths that their chances of survival were in peril. For the battle to be won by the Blacktomb’s faction it would take a present-day miracle. Though I wondered if we had the numbers to press the advantage as Cleftside was reportedly quite the defensible structure.

“Ready?” asked Emily after a few seconds had passed.

“Mm.”

Time would tell.

* * *

Chapter 118: Cleansing the Rout

(Sunday, February 27th Game Day / Sunday, May 23rd Real Day)

As the battle had come to a close the enemy army was a remnant of its former self as both enemy factions suffered heavy losses that couldn’t be recovered from. The casualty list had soared beyond my wildest expectations as the reality had started to sink in.

We had defeated the player base and with more remaining Inhabitants and Adventurers, all that was left was to scale the walls of Cleftside and raze or conquer the castle-town. To force a peace treaty with two Houses in shambles and in the midst of a civil war was unlikely… and to raze the town would deny them half of their benefits and double our own.

What few stragglers were left would be cleansed from the field in due time, as eager adventurers chased them down. Far too damaged to join in the hunt, I found myself sitting on the field of battle waiting for the others to show. Claire had joined in the pursuit but Emily and Valerie were still on their way. In the end, they both missed the entire fight.

Left with plenty of time and nothing else to think of, I couldn’t help but go over the fight with the Sword Instructor as she beat me at every turn. She was far more powerful than me. I had the edge in Strength and possibly Vitality but she had me beat in Dexterity and Agility by far.

Her practical skills were beyond mine as well, as she was utilizing moves that belonged to the upper tiers. Proper counters and attacks that made me look the fool, if it weren’t for my Relic I would have died… and it wasn’t the first time I experienced difficulty in a melee.

My power level was declining.

My early game power spike was beginning to fade slightly as more and more players were pushing ahead on their singular tracks, outpacing me and my multiple proficiencies that took too much time to develop.

If I wanted to compete… I would have to dedicate myself to Lightning. There was no more room or time to play around with the hybrid styles and dual casting. My time spent practicing grappling and hand-to-hand combat would also need to take a step back. Lightning Magic already proved too powerful for the average player… it was time to fully take advantage of that.

I wanted to beat her squarely, without relying on my magic… to show her my worth as I did to Annalie. To improve my trust in a way that could have swayed her. Instead she beat me soundly. Forced to use my trump card, I only won because of a gimmick.

“Ah there you are,” said Emily from somewhere as I couldn’t pinpoint which direction her voice was coming from. Turning my head around until I saw her and Valerie approaching, the shock on Emily’s face at the sight of my mangled body was one worth capturing.

“Oh My God what happened to you!” she nearly screamed. “You’re a mess! Both ears!? How did you manage that?”

“This is what happens when you’re outmatched,” I replied with a shrug as I continued to stare at all of the corpses and the carrion-eaters that had recently arrived. “How ‘bout you? Where’ve you been?”

“Uh… caught up with… things,” she mumbled.

“She was a mardy one for a wee bit,” said Valerie uncharacteristically with a slight grin and a heavy accent that she didn’t usually use.

“Hah! You don’t say,” I said with a grin and a smile.

“Huh?” muttered Emily in response.

Not bothering to explain the slang, I helped myself up as I struggled to move with all of the deep wounds that were lingering. A [Holy Light] only healed the minor stuff so the majority of the damage would require a seasoned priest with a much higher proficiency in the Holy Arts than Valerie or any other player around these parts had.

“I need to head back to town,” I stated as I looked at the two women in front of me. “I know you just got here so, you heading out to chase?”

“No,” replied Valerie instantly as she began to walk in the direction of Wesstown. “I’m not interested in chasing down a routed army.”

Glancing at Emily, she shrugged her head and shoulders to the side and began to walk back as well. This was the end of the battle as far as we were concerned. There was little interest on my part in traveling back to Cleftside and if I wasn’t personally required, there was no need to go.
Accipe Hoc
had things under control now and they could finish it.

My work was done.

I also needed sleep… it had been a while.

Chapter 119: The End of a Call

(Thursday, March 3rd Game Day / Monday, May 23rd Real Day)

“It’s over Sigurd,” messaged Claire out of the blue as I was busy relaxing in an inn inside Wesstown. “Cleftside has been razed.”

“Congratulations on a well-earned territory Claire,” I replied sincerely with a smile that she couldn’t see. “You’ll have to tell me the details later.”

It wasn’t long though before the details began to flood in, as I watched the forums and kept track of the issues. I was especially concerned with news of my involvement in Cleftside and during the last battle. If others had discovered my subterfuge and shadow operations, the North was doomed. Dragon’s Breach would be wiped off the map by the wrath of thousands of players and numerous NPCs.

So far… no one had connected the dots. The cloaked priest that launched the first attack on the guild
Triumvirate
from
aRIOT
’s side was unnamed and unknown and most figured he was a disgruntled player. Guilds with hundreds of members meant not everyone was accounted for.

No one knew who the priest was.

The turmoil on the field of battle also spilled over into Cleftside, as guild members that had stayed behind heard news of the fighting and broke into a fight as well. The civil war started inside Cleftside and the forces were so preoccupied with killing each other that when Harmont’s forces and
Accipe Hoc
’s members showed up they simply walked in and killed the rest.

Burning the castle-town to the ground ruined the industry and left thousands homeless but the town had already been partially destroyed. It was a huge setback for the development of the settlement but the walls remained, the populace remained, and it would only take time to rebuild.

Claire and Jeane’s guild would be given that territory shortly.

They would become a powerful guild in time, so long as they didn’t squabble and fall apart from the inside. They were worth keeping tabs on… as they provided far more upside than Ellieby’s trade route. Further in distance and too far for regular trips, the main benefit was the sheer size and central location to resources that I found hard to acquire.

Cleftside had access to iron… somehow, somewhere, there was iron. The Sword Instructor disappeared into the trees and her merry band of soldiers weren’t seen or heard from but they all had iron-based equipment and that told me all I needed to know. If the NPCs were running around with excellent equipment then the resources were available.

The only other loose ends were the current situations of the two enemy guilds but so far lips had remained tightly sealed as they dealt with the issues internally. They may never figure out who was involved but if they truly dug for information… there was a chance that I could be found out.

Luckily, the House of Blacktomb was no longer as all remaining members had been killed in the crossfire during the civil war. There were no living connections outside of the Sword Instructor… and I had a feeling she wasn’t going to point the finger at me. She didn’t know I was involved anyways.

The rewards would come in time and I wasn’t worried about that.

And then as I was about to nod off, the Call to Arms officially ended.

[Congratulations! You have officially completed the Call to Arms-]

(End Volume 3)