Date: 2021-04-13T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; LitRPG
Description: Having defended Moon Wolf Citadel from the super guild, Ragnarok, and carved out a place for himself in Nova Terra, Thorn stands on top of the fantasy world. But Nova Terra is not as simple as it seemed and Thorn quickly discovers the political leaders in the capital of Northern Angoril turning jealous eyes on him. The young Titan is forced to take a step back, beset by complications on every side. With players flocking to Greymane Valley, the pressure of ruling the Wolfkin grows, not helped by Ragnarok’s unrelenting attempts to destroy his fledgling guild. Balancing the threats to Greymane Va
Publisher: Independently published

Nova Terra: Kingbreaker

SETH RING

Nova Terra: Kingbreaker

Copyright © 2019 by Seth Ring.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

1st Edition

Contents

Nova Terra: Kingbreaker

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

CHAPTER FORTY

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

CHAPTER FIFTY

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

CHAPTER SIXTY

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Afterword

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER ONE

Growing up as the wealthiest child in the world, Thorn had seen his share of ornate buildings. And yet, standing in the entryway to the Palace of the Shining Sun, his breath caught in his chest. The huge, gold covered double doors had promised ostentation from a distance, but they proved unable to adequately prepare Thorn for what lay beyond them in the entry hall.

Stopping dead in the middle of the doorway at the sight of the hall that stretched out for the next half a mile, Thorn’s sudden pause blocked the trickle of people trying to enter behind him. A foppishly dressed gentleman started to make a snide comment to his companion only to swallow it when his companion silently pointed to Thorn’s 8’ 9” figure dominating the doorway.

Paying no attention to the grumbling of the nobles behind him, Thorn only snapped out of his stunned wonder when he felt a sharp pinch at his waist. Looking down in time to catch Mina rolling her eyes, he simply smiled and resumed examining the gold-plated reliefs that covered the twenty-foot walls. Each wall showed part of the glorious history of the ancient empire of Angoril, stretching back to the time before the continent split in half.

Above them, delicately painted murals depicted the pantheon of the gods and the dragons that came after them. While the gods were portrayed as relatively benign, Thorn was unsurprised to see the dragons depicted as greedy and cruel despots. As they neared the other end of the hall, the mural changed as humans began to emerge, fighting the dragons. A human woman was pictured alongside a male Demonkin, leading them in driving all the dragons back into the earth. Eventually, the humans triumphed and established the empire of Angoril. At the very end of the mural, a human figure sat on a large, golden throne, a crown on his head.

Having arrived at the other end of the long hall, Thorn made a mental note to talk to Velin about what exactly had happened to the empire. As far as he knew the first emperor had been a half Demonkin, half human that married a human queen and that their children had split the continent into the northern human empire and the southern Demonkin empire. With each successive emperor being either more Demonkin or more human, and this led to mistrust and civil war. It was not until they came to an uneasy truce that the situation stabilized. Yet the mural depicted the first emperor as a human.

“Thorn, quit spacing out!” Mina’s concerned voice drifted through his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. “You look dumber than a doofus about to put his finger in an electrical socket!”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“We’re about to meet one of the three ministers! You need to pay attention when you talk to him. The nobles are all about following protocol, and if you don’t pay attention you might get into trouble.”

“Right. I’m paying attention.” Thorn smoothed a wrinkle from his shirt, catching sight of his smartly dressed form in the polished gold wall. When he had arrived at the human capital a few weeks ago, his aunt had rushed him to a well-known tailor to make a suit of court clothes.

Despite feeling slightly foolish dressing up, he had to admit that the tailor had done quite well in dressing his massive form in the span of a night. Thorn would rather have worn his armor, but apparently, that would be a massive faux pas. The nobles of the human empire took their clothing very seriously. Sighing to himself, Thorn took comfort in the fact that he would not be here long.

A month ago, Ouroboros had led an army against Moon Wolf Citadel, finally falling before its gate in single combat against Thorn. When Ouroboros died, Thorn recovered a [Nobility Upgrade Token] from his body that would allow him to increase his noble rank by a single level along with four legacy deeds that granted control of imperial property. Accompanied by Mina, Oberlin, and his aunt’s mercenary corps, Thorn had made his way to the capital of the human empire, leaving Velin back in the valley to take care of their fledgling guild. Athena had matters of her own to handle while Oberlin soon disappeared to work on some project, leaving Mina and Thorn to try and navigate the confusing bureaucracy.

The city itself was magnificent, built upon an island suspended in the air by powerful magic. Runes, thrumming with power, carved intricate paths along the gargantuan stone base of the city, holding it steady a hundred feet above a glistening lake. Water continually poured from the four gates of the city, thundering down into the lake below, creating an everlasting mist that shrouded the city in rainbows.

Standing on a curious half boat, half pagoda, Thorn and his friends rose through the air to the edge of the city, entering through a large gate. It was obvious that Thorn was the only one who had never experienced this before, and everyone found great amusement in his wide-eyed staring.

Progress had not been smooth, however, and after arriving at the floating city, they had done little besides wait. Though he expected some level of bureaucracy since it was the capital city of the human empire, he had to admit the endless forms and waiting rooms were really starting to grate on his nerves. Athena, Thorn’s aunt, had warned him to be prepared for some opposition from the other nobles, but so far it seemed as if the gears were just moving slowly.

Finally, they had been granted an audience with the Interior Minister, thus the reason for Thorn’s new wardrobe. After passing through the grand entrance of the imperial palace, they were directed by a guard through the winding gardens to a three-story building where the Interior Minister held his offices. At first, Thorn had assumed that his business would be handled at the Empire’s administrative center in the city, but upon seeing the token that he presented, the clerks had referred him to the offices of the Interior Minister.

Thankful that everything in the palace was built on a grand scale, Thorn was happy that he did not have to duck as he entered the Minister’s offices. Sadly, that scale did not extend to the furniture, so Thorn stood in the waiting room as the flustered secretary ran to tell the Minister that he had arrived.

“This should be it, right?” Mina was taking the wait even worse than Thorn, a fact she made no pains to hide.

“In theory.” Thorn’s deep voice easily filled the room, even when he tried to speak quietly. “The clerks at the administrative office said we have to talk to Sir Trishem, the Minister of the Interior, to redeem the legacy deeds. Hopefully, he can handle the token as well.”

“If he can’t handle it, does that mean that we are going to have to wait another week?”

“Who knows? Honestly, I’m not sure I understand this whole nobility thing anyway.”

Hearing the door open, Mina and Thorn both looked over, seeing the secretary had returned.

“Please follow me. His Excellency will see you now.”

Following her through a winding hallway and up a flight of stairs to the second floor, they entered a wood-paneled office dominated by a large set of bookshelves and a massive map of the northern empire. In the center of the room stood a small desk piled high with papers and ledgers. Numerous clerks entered and exited the room through two doors in the back, dropping off stacks of unsigned paper and taking signed stacks with them as they left. Sitting at the table, half-moon spectacles perched on his nose, Sir Trishem scanned and signed papers with uncanny speed.

No one paid attention to the secretary as she entered but Thorn was too large to miss, and at the sight of him walking through the double doors the clerks faltered and stared. The abrupt cessation of movement caused silence to fall over the room, and Sir Trishem looked up. Pushing his half-glasses up on his nose, he examined Thorn’s massive form. At a wave of his hand, the clerks exited the room and the secretary closed the double doors, leaving Thorn and Mina alone with Sir Trishem.

“They told me you were large, but I was not prepared for how large you actually are.” Sir Trishem adjusted his glasses as he examined Thorn. “Some sort of barbarian blood, no doubt. Mmhmm. I would invite you to sit, but we don’t have time for that. As busy as I am, I’ve carved out ten minutes for you, after that you will have to leave since I have much yet to do today. My clerk tells me that you have an inheritance token?”

“Yes, sir.” At first, Thorn was taken aback by the Minister’s brusk way of speaking, but a quick glance at the piles of paper on his desk showed that he was not just being rude. Stepping forward and carefully placing the [Nobility Upgrade Token] and the four legacy deeds down, Thorn stepped back to his former position to avoid looming over the seated minister.

“Mmhmm. It has been some time since I have seen one of these.” Picking the token up, Sir Trishem examined it closely. “See here, this shows that it is from one of the first mintings. A total of one hundred of these tokens were created in batches of ten. I would guess that this is from the second or third batch. Most likely when the empire was fighting against the Orcs of the southern deserts. All but three of them have been recovered, either here in the empire or in the cursed lands to the south. This will bring the count down to two tokens left.

“And I see that you have the accompanying deeds. Well, you certainly hit the jackpot, didn’t you? My records indicate that you are currently a baron, which, to be frank, barely qualifies you as a noble. In fact, your rank is so low that, technically, you are not allowed to use the deeds, since that would cause you to exceed your allowable resource points.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand.” Thorn’s brow furrowed when he heard Sir Trishem’s words.

“Ah, in the empire, every noble rank is limited in the number of resources they are allowed to possess. Every resource is worth a certain number of resource points, and the sum total of the resources attached to a noble title must be within that rank’s limit, otherwise the empire will consider the noble to be rebelling. It is an antiquated method, I admit, but it is the law of the land.

“The breakdown is relatively simple to remember. A baron is entitled two total points, and every noble rank above it doubles the number before it. Hereditary titles allow for an extra two points, military ranks contribute a point per rank and being a racial representative grants a flat three. Special status can also be considered on a case by case basis depending on how helpful it may be to the empire.

“Overall, considering you are a newly appointed baron, have no military rank, but represent the Wolfkin race, you have a resource point limit of five. This creates a bit of a problem for us as the valley you are currently residing in counts as six points due to the capital improvements you have made.”

“You mean the citadel?”

“Correct.” The corners of Sir Trishem’s mouth curled slightly in a mocking smile, and he leaned forward, waving a paper at Thorn. “To tell you the truth, I’ve already had two officially filed complaints accusing you of rebellion and demanding that you turn over control of the fortress to the empire.”

“Oh?” Thorn’s tone was bland, yet Sir Trishem’s smile abruptly fled and he sat back in his chair as Thorn’s eyes met his. “Good thing I have this [Nobility Upgrade Token], huh?”

“While that will certainly help, the reports of treason have been filed and an investigation has already started. Consider this warning a mark of good faith, Baron.”

“Thank you, sir. I will make a note of it. Now, I don’t want to take up more of your time than necessary, so I’d like to use this token and redeem these legacy deeds, if you don’t mind.”

Frowning, Sir Trishem took off his half-moon spectacles and placed them on his desk.

“Maybe I was not clear, Baron Greymane. You are in no position to be redeeming this token or the legacy deeds. Until this issue of treason is resolved, you would be well served to avoid drawing any more attention to yourself. The most I can do for you today is to begin the process of applying to have your rank upgraded. Until the charges are cleared, you will simply have to wait. Now, I must get back to my work.”

“If that is the case, it would be best if I held onto the token and the deeds, huh?” Stepping forward, Thorn held out his hand.

“Are you sure you don’t want to leave them with me? After all, if you are convicted, you will need someone on your side, won’t you? It would be wise for you to find a backer to help you weather this storm.”

“That’s alright, I think I’ll manage just fine.”

Annoyance flashing in his eyes, Sir Trishem hesitated for a moment. His hand tightened around the token as he stared at Thorn, who smiled blandly back at him. Just as the tension in the room grew unbearable, the minister smiled humorlessly and handed over the [Nobility Upgrade Token] and legacy deeds.

“Do be careful, Baron. The world of nobles is not an easy one to navigate. It can be a thorny path.” Sir Trishem’s tone was decidedly less friendly.

“Haha, don’t worry. I’m big enough to push my way through.” Thorn chuckled at his own joke as he put the token and deeds in his inventory. “Thank you for your time. Hopefully, the next time I visit, you will be able to help me.”

Obviously irritated by Thorn’s choice, the minister simply waved his hand, calling in the clerks who resumed their scramble. After Thorn and Mina had left, Sir Trishem stood and walked to a window that overlooked the building’s entrance. Watching Thorn’s large figure leave, he scowled and spoke to a clerk standing behind him.

“Tell the captain to proceed as planned. If the good baron is not willing to take the easy route, I don’t mind bringing some suffering to his life.”

“Yes, sir. How far should he take it?”

“Just enough to put some pressure on the baron. Let him spend a few days in jail.”

“What should we do about the Ironhold Duke, my Lord?”

“Hmm. If he cares to get involved, make up an excuse. I want the baron to spend at least three days in jail. It is unlikely that the duke will care about a new baron, especially one that is a traveler, but if he does for some reason, tell him that the baron is suspected of having ties to the Demonkin. After all, a greater devil was spotted at the valley.”

“It will be as you say, sir.” Bowing, the clerk left the office, making his way to a back room where he sat down at a table covered with runes. Using a special pen-shaped stick, he wrote a short message on the center of the table and, tapping on the runes in a particular order, watched as the words burned into ash, dispersing into the air.

CHAPTER TWO

“He was trying to extort you!” Mina was fuming as she and Thorn walked out of the palace. “How is that allowed? That token is yours.”

“Something strange is going on. There must be more to this than meets the eye.”

“Good. Do you think he will try anything fishy? After all, the minister’s office controls the appointment of nobles. What if he doesn’t approve your application?”

“That is what I find strange.” Thorn scratched his head as he looked around. “He did not specifically say that he would not approve the application. Instead, he just seems to be delaying things. Maybe he is trying to scare me? Speaking of…” Thorn’s voice trailed off as he caught sight of a squad of golden armored guards making their way toward him. Leading them was a smartly dressed captain with a deep-set arrogance in his walk. Fixing his eyes on Thorn, who stood head and shoulders above the crowd, his face twisted into a sneer.

“Looks like trouble is coming.” Thorn kept his voice low.

“Hmm? Trouble? What trouble?” Looking around in the crowd, Mina saw nothing but stomachs. “I don’t see anything.”

Cracking a grin, Thorn patted her shoulder. His eyes lost focus for a moment as he sent a quick message explaining the situation to his aunt.

“Mina, can you do me a favor? Meet up with Athena and ask to talk to the Ironhold Duke. I have a feeling I’m going to be tied up for the next couple days.” Without waiting for the short Ice Witch to respond, Thorn strode through the crowd, a path automatically opening up as he walked.

The approaching captain stopped in the middle of the road, the soldiers behind him coming to a halt. The bright sunlight gleamed from their armor, sending beams of light refracting back and forth across the square. Holding his hand up, the captain ordered Thorn to halt.

“Are you Thorn?” The captain barked, staring imperiously at Thorn.

“Excuse me? Are you speaking to me?”

“Are you deaf? Who else would I be speaking to?”

Now positive that the guards were here to make trouble for him, Thorn let a slow smile spread across his face. Taking a big step forward, he towered over the guard, his shadow completely blocking the sun.

“Who is asking?”

“I am Captain Joelep Nevin, and you are suspected to be a traitor, rebelling against the empire.” Purposefully amplifying his voice, the captain smirked as he heard the surrounding crowd break out into whispers. “You will come with us to be interrogated, or we will take you in by force.”

“You forget yourself, Captain. I am Baron Greymane, the Moon Wolf. Address me accordingly or suffer the consequences.” Thorn’s deep voice rumbled across the plaza, bringing pin-drop silence to the surroundings. Stopping directly in front of the captain, Thorn towered over him, casting a shadow over the whole group. His tone was light but firm, and he spoke at his own pace. “Do you, by chance, know what the consequences are for someone who falsely accuses a noble? Especially of a crime like rebellion?”

As if by magic, a book appeared in one of Thorn’s massive hands and, licking his thumb, he began to leaf through it. The only sound in the plaza was the rustling of the pages as the crowd stared with bated breath. Running his finger along a page, Thorn nodded and looked down at the captain and his squad.

“Section 12 of the rights of a noble. False accusations against a titled noble will be punished to the same degree as the crime that the accuser has leveled.” Thorn snapped the book shut, the crisp bang causing the soldiers to jump. “Be careful what you say, Captain. It would be a shame if you destroyed a promising career over something as foolish as a false accusation.”

“Enough nonsense! You either come quietly, or we’ll make you come!” Captain Nevin grasped the hilt of his sword, as if he was going to pull it out.

“Section 9. Drawing your sword on a noble without cause, punishable by thirty lashes.”

“What…” finally noticing that something was not right, Captain Nevin tried to step back and create some distance between himself and Thorn, but the giant matched his step, moving right with him.

“Section 41, subparagraph B: accosting a noble in the street with the intent of harming his reputation is cause for immediate dismissal and a fine of three months of pay. This punishment does not prevent the filing of a formal defamation suit against the perpetrator.” Continuing to loom over the captain, Thorn was no longer reading the book, but was quoting from memory. “Section 223, subparagraph E: A formal complaint against a noble of a landed rank must be signed by the garrison commander and must be delivered in a sealed envelope. Anyone who makes the contents of the complaint public before the accused has had the opportunity to read it will be charged with slander, punishable by thirty lashes.”

“Wha...What are you talking about?” Captain Nevin stuttered. “Charges have been filed against you...uh...Baron Greymane. I...We are going to need you to come with us.”

“Have they? I assume you have the documents with you? Or are you expecting me to take your word for it?”

In all his years as a member of the city guard, Captain Nevin had never been faced with a situation like this. The crowd was looking on with interest as he floundered, and as much as he wanted to yell at them to go about their business, the giant standing in front of him was taking up his attention. His squad showed none of their normal interest in backing him up and looking at the massive figure of the noble who was staring down at him, he could not find it in his heart to blame them.

“Ah, yes...uh, yes. Here it is.” Fumbling in his pocket, Captain Nevin produced a slightly wrinkled envelope that had been broken open. Smoothing it out he handed it to Thorn, his fluctuating expression revealing the nervousness he was trying to hide. Thorn, his eyebrows raised, took the envelope and opened it up.

“Hmm. This looks to be in order. Major Telmison is your commander? Please take me to see him. A false accusation is a very serious matter, and it needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. After all, my reputation is on the line, and I want to know who is falsely accusing me. Someone is going to have a lot to answer for.” Thorn’s expression changed abruptly as he finished speaking, and smiling down at the captain encouragingly, Thorn gestured for him to lead the way.

Thrown off by the sudden shift in Thorn’s demeanor, Captain Nevin floundered for a moment before smiling nervously and nodding his head respectfully as he led Thorn away. Something felt wrong with the situation, but Captain Nevin could not quite put his finger on what it was.

Hiding in the crowd, Mina had to stifle a laugh as she watched the exchange. Thorn had changed greatly since they first met, and she had witnessed him get better and better at manipulating the events around him. Undoubtedly, his class specialty had only improved his ability to command others, but it was also obvious that his confidence had grown by leaps and bounds. Watching until the confused captain had respectfully escorted Thorn out of sight, she hurried off in the other direction to find Athena.

Striding through the streets, Thorn did not restrain his walking speed, forcing Captain Nevin to practically run to stay in front of him. As big as he was, Thorn felt small compared to the buildings of the capital. The scale of the magical city was generous, making Thorn wonder if it had been built by a race larger than humans. The doorways, stairs, and streets of the city were all comfortable for him, leading him to believe that the humans who currently inhabited the city probably came later.

After walking for ten minutes, they arrived at a large building in the center of town that served as the city’s garrison. Steel armored soldiers passed through the building as they rotated their patrols, their bright armor shining in the sun. Noticing the difference between the golden armor of the patrol that had come to bring him in and the silver of the normal guards, Thorn turned to Captain Nevin.

“Captain, I noticed that your men stand out from the other guards. They not only look better trained, but their armor is a cut above the rest.”

“Ah, these men are my bodyguards,” the captain said quietly, taken aback by the praise. “As a captain of the royal guard, I am able to field my own squad.”

“Royal guard? I had assumed that you were part of the city watch. No wonder you all look so much sharper. That must be quite the expense though. I have a few soldiers myself, and I know how costly it can be to support a full squad. It is really impressive that you can finance a full squad. Especially a full squad of veterans.”

“It’s true, it’s true.” Thorn’s casual conversation helped Captain Nevin relax, and he allowed a small, proud smile to light up his face. Thorn’s warm tone held no mockery, encouraging the captain to puff out his chest. “These men accompanied me during my time on the southern front. They’ve seen their fair share of blood. I’ll tell you what, though, it wasn’t easy outfitting them.”

“You were on the southern front? I was under the impression that the southern front was peaceful?”

“Ah, this was years ago. Ancient history.” By now the captain had regained his proud tone and haughty demeanor. “It was about seven years ago, there were some skirmishes against the demonkin empire, and we were at the front of it. It was dangerous, but we pulled through.”

“I bet. War is no joke, and anyone who makes it through is worthy of respect. You said that you are the one who outfitted your guards? That isn’t a uniform? That gold armor looks really good. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt with the ladies, either. Not that a handsome captain like you needs any help.” Thorn chuckled as he patted the captain on the shoulder as they arrived at the garrison door. Turning to face him, Thorn nodded to the gold armored soldiers and snapped a salute to the captain. “Well, Captain, thank you very much for escorting me. I’ll go see the major now. Wouldn’t want to keep him waiting.”

“Of course, Baron Greymane.” Captain Nevin returned the salute and watched Thorn enter the building. Just as Thorn disappeared through the doorway, the captain’s face paled and his eyes widened. Swearing out loud, he started to run forward but stopped. Thorn was already in the garrison and there was no way for them to drag him out. Shaking his head bitterly, he swore again.

The message he received had instructed him to take the baron to the jail for questioning, not bring him to meet Major Telmison. However, nothing had gone according to plan. First, Thorn had immediately taken control of the encounter, totally breaking his rhythm. This was not the first time that he had participated in strong-arm tactics against a minor noble, yet he had been led by Thorn’s forceful command of the situation. Thinking back over the events that had just taken place, Captain Nevin could only groan. The minister would not be pleased. He would not be pleased at all.

Inside the garrison, Thorn quickly sent a message to his aunt and Mina. He had learned many things from watching Athena in the real world, and the little trick he had just used was one of them. A conversation was all about rhythm, and once the proper rhythm was grasped, it became very simple to steer the conversation. He could also feel his ability [Oration Proficiency] kicking in. It was a slightly strange feeling, but the skill brought the right words to his mind, as if they were naturally on the tip of his tongue. It also helped improve his pacing, allowing him to converse easily.

The game had not just improved his speech though. Thorn could feel himself thinking faster than he would in the real world. Athena had always placed great importance on having as much information as possible, so she encouraged him to read quite often. Yet in-game, when he read a book, it was as if the information was seared into his mind, allowing him to quote chapter and verse. While his memory in the real world was good, this was something else entirely, allowing Thorn to recall with vivid detail everything that had happened to him since his adventure in Nova Terra began.

Smiling at the gawking soldier behind the counter, Thorn flashed the envelope he had taken from Captain Nevin.

“I’m here to see Major Telmison. Please inform him that Baron Greymane would like a word.”

“Uh… Please wait here, sir. I’ll let the major know that you are here.” Hurrying out of the room, the soldier left Thorn waiting at the front desk. A few minutes later, Thorn found himself, once again, standing in front of a desk piled high with papers. This time, sitting behind the desk was an old, grey-whiskered soldier whose uniform stretched tightly over his pot-belly. Shifting in his seat, the major scratched his beard as he ran his eye over Thorn’s body.

“Huh, you really came.”

“Hello, major. I’m here to discuss the false charges being laid against me.” Unable to find a chair that looked like it would support his weight, Thorn retrieved a massive rock from his inventory. Ignoring the creaking floor when he put it down, Thorn sat on the rock comfortably and waved the envelope that held the warrant. Because of the weight reduction mechanics that Nova Terra employed, he had taken to carrying around the boulder with him in his inventory after realizing that the chairs in the game were simply not made for his weight.

“Is that… Never mind.” Tearing his eyes away from the boulder that had just been dropped on his floor, the major fixed his eyes on the paper in Thorn’s hand. “Ah, I see that Captain Nevin found you. But for some reason you are here in my office, and I do not see the captain. Did he not inform you that you were to report to the prison?”

“Captain Nevin did a wonderful job delivering the warrant, but I don’t believe he mentioned prison, no. Why would I need to report to the prison?”

Staring at the gently smiling giant across from him, the major opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it again. There was something about the inquisitive look in Thorn’s eyes that made Major Telmison slightly apprehensive.

CHAPTER THREE

“I believe that you are wanted for some questions. There were a few things that needed to be clarified regarding the accusations leveled against you.” Major Telmison rested his hands on his round belly as he leaned back in his chair, his face impassive.

Looking around at the major’s office, Thorn took his time responding. A thick, expensive-looking rug covered the floor and a glowing crystal statue dominated the corner. Behind the major, shelves stretched the length of the wall, each displaying a variety of expensive looking trinkets. Sighing to himself, Thorn realized that he was not going to be able to bully his way out of this situation.

“Baron Greymane, let’s be frank with one another. Charges like this can either be a big deal, or they can be a very small deal. It all depends on how you want it to go. I’m sure that you have spoken with Sir Trishem already and that you don’t need me to explain the sort of reach and influence that the Interior Minister possesses.” The major paused here and peered at Thorn over his half glasses.

“I understand that this situation has put you in an awkward position, but let me give you some advice. Sometimes it does not pay to take a hard stance. There is nothing wrong with bending with the times, especially when it includes the opportunity to tie yourself to an influential individual like the Interior Minister. Just imagine what your career might look like if you got on his good side?”

“His good side, huh?” Thorn gestured to the abundance of wealth in the room as he smiled mockingly.

Unperturbed by the jab, Major Telmison gave a self-satisfied smile and patted his belly. Walking over to the shelf behind his desk, he meticulously arranged a set of small figurines made of glowing orange stone.

“Precisely, Baron. His good side. This is kardium crystal, by the way. All three statues are made of perfectly matched kardium, made by Rangor Helsham himself. It is the only set in the world. One of a kind.” Turning back to face Thorn, the major gave a small smile and sat down at his desk again. “You have a wonderful opportunity, Baron. Don’t let it go to waste.”

In the silence, Thorn could hear the gentle ticking of an intricately carved grandfather clock. Athena had warned him that his situation was likely to become complicated, but Thorn had still not been prepared for how deep the waters of the capital were. What should have been a clear upgrade process had become a tangled web of influence and corruption. To make matters even stranger, Thorn had not received any quests associated with the tokens. Taking a moment to think over his options, Thorn finally made up his mind and sighed. Standing to his feet, he towered over the major.

“Well,” Thorn’s deep voice was mild, revealing none of his frustration. “You better put me in jail.”

“Good, I’m gla…” Reaching for a contract that lay on his desk, Major Telmison’s hand froze awkwardly, and he blinked a few times. “I’m sorry, did you just say…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t resist. Do you need to chain me up? I would recommend the largest chains you have. How about a black bag? I know my head is a little on the large size, so I don’t mind if you use a sack.”

“Baron…”

“No, no,” Thorn interrupted the major with a wave. “I insist. You signed the warrant, so, being a law abiding citizen, I will comply. You can drag me off to jail for interrogation. Does the torture hurt? Do you still use torture? I would imagine that a civilized nation like ours wouldn’t, but you never know, right? But never fear, I’ll go quietly. After all, that is my duty, right?”

The major opened and closed his mouth repeatedly as he struggled to find the right words. Silently cursing Thorn for being thick, he was about to try to explain that there was no need for the situation to get out of hand when Thorn abruptly turned and pulled open the door to the room. Grabbing one of the guards in the hall, Thorn pulled him into the room.

“You, go get chains and a black bag,” Thorn barked at the other guard and then slammed the door. Turning to the white faced guard that he had dragged into the room, Thorn took out the warrant he had taken from Captain Nevin and waved it in his face. “Look here. There is a warrant for my arrest. You’ll need at least a full squad to subdue me because I am exceedingly dangerous. Stop spacing out, there is a criminal for you to apprehend.”

Opening the door again, Thorn shoved the guard into the hall and closed the door in his face. Walking back over to the boulder he had been sitting on, he picked it up and put it away in his inventory before wandering to the shelves. Glancing over the various items on display, Thorn’s gaze finally settled on the set of small statues made of kardium crystal. Picking one up, he examined it carefully, pretending not to notice the major’s frantic look.

“Don’t worry, Major. I told the guards to get back-up. They’ll be here soon. In the meantime, I’m curious about this statue. You said it is made out of kardium? Tell me about that.”

Half an hour later, Major Telmison sat silently in his study, holding the statue that Thorn had handed him before the guards had dragged him away. Standing, he placed the statue back in its place and wiped his sweating palms on his vest. The baron had been nothing like the information had suggested, and his decisiveness in standing against the Interior Minister was entirely out of his expectation.

False accusations against a noble were a serious issue and the situation was not supposed to ever come to this point. If Baron Greymane had caved to the pressure, then everything could be swept under the rug properly. Yet the baron had deviated and practically forced himself into jail, creating a sensation that would be hard to hide. He had made such a big deal of it that paperwork would have to be filed, which meant a paper trail that led right back to the major.

After considering for another couple minutes, Major Telmison sat back down at his desk and retrieved a piece of paper. Very carefully, he wrote a few lines on the paper. Standing, he checked to make sure the door was locked and then moved to the shelves. Taking a box down, he opened it with a key from around his neck. Carefully, he took out a stamp and, dipping it in ink, stamped the paper.

Returning the stamp to the box, he took another sheet and wrote rapidly. Unlocking a drawer and pulling it out to reveal a magical symbol, the major dropped the paper into the drawer and shut it without waiting to see if it disintegrated. He had gotten involved in this mess on the understanding that it would not be a big deal, but anyone with half a brain could tell that the baron was not going to simply let it go. Still, the Interior Minister would be able to handle it. Casting it out of his mind, Major Telmison rang a bell to call for his secretary. It was time for his second lunch.

The guards escorting Thorn to prison were currently wishing that they were anywhere else. Not content to simply walk, Thorn had demanded chains and was now shuffling along, straight down the middle of the street, talking as loudly as he could. Sheepishly walking alongside him, their faces red, they all thought that it would be better if they had been deployed to the front lines to fight the Demonkin rather than having to walk the giant to jail.

“Who would have thought that a newly registered baron would be immediately accused of treachery and sent to rot in prison? Can you believe it?” Thorn nudged one of the guards, who looked away, pretending not to feel it. Nonplussed, Thorn continued to talk to himself. “All I did was come to register my mine. Hey, you don’t think someone is after my mine, do you? I doubt it, because how could the capital be corrupt, but I was arrested right after I went to register it.”

Finally unable to handle it, one of the guards burst out, “Sir, you are not being arrested!”

“No?” Thorn held up his massive hands that were bound by chains. “Right, right. Sorry, I forgot. I am being taken in for questioning.” Spotting a gawking merchant, Thorn waved his hands. “Don’t worry. I’m just being taken into the prison for questioning. I am absolutely not being arrested, despite the fact that they brought a warrant, and they can hold me indefinitely. Don’t worry, it is not an arrest.”

“What are you being arre… questioned about?” The merchant was well dressed, his fat fingers covered in shining rings. Ignoring the glares from the guards, he questioned Thorn, hungry for a bit of gossip.

“Someone has accused me of being a traitor! Can you believe it? It is a false and baseless accusation, but I wouldn’t give up my mine, so now I am being dragged off to prison for questioning. Me, a traitor? I demand a lawyer. I will press charges as soon as I get out of this indefinite jail stay for questioning.” By this point, Thorn was enjoying himself massively. He had never gotten the chance to be theatrical before, so he was doing his best to milk it for everything it was worth.

Murmurs broke out in the crowd, and the guards could only try to hurry Thorn along. Unfortunately for them, moving him without his cooperation was simply impossible. Every few steps he would stop and talk to the crowd, explaining the situation as if they had not just heard what was going on.

The jail was only six blocks from the garrison, but it took Thorn and the guards an hour and a half to walk that distance. At one point, Thorn had claimed he was tired and refused to move unless one of the guards brought him a drink, much to the delight of the growing crowd. Players and natives alike gathered around Thorn to watch, and by the time the guards finally turned Thorn over to the prison, almost everyone in the city was aware that an abnormally large baron was being taken in on charges of treason.

Rumors flew about, each one a bit more ridiculous than the last as people gossiped. After all, it wasn’t often that a nobleman was arrested. The common folk were content to gossip, but as the story made its way around the noble circles, it began to take on slightly outrageous tones. Fiercely protective of their standing, the nobles of the human empire were quite outraged that a nobleman had been taken in for questioning. Being arrested in the middle of the street in broad daylight was not just an affront to the baron, but to the very position itself.

Within a few hours, countless letters had arrived at the office of the interior minister, demanding that he stand out and condemn what the other nobles were calling a blatant disregard of the laws of the empire. Arresting a nobleman was not allowed without overwhelming evidence and even then, it should never be done in public.

Grinding his teeth in annoyance as he read the letters, Sir Trishem summoned his clerk to find out what had happened.

“Sir, I’m not sure how things got so out of control. Captain Nevin received the instructions, but it would seem that Baron Greymane pushed his way into the major’s office. According to reports from the major’s office, the Baron then forced the guards to put chains on him and take him to jail, where they turned him over. The guards responded that they were entirely helpless at dealing with the baron. He was the one that wrapped himself in chains that the guards could not get off. When he got to the jail, he broke out of them as if he were not chained up. Ah, and the guards have submitted this.”

Retrieving a small stack of paper from his pocket, the clerk put it in front of the minister respectfully. His frown deepening, Sir Trishem looked them over. It took a moment for him to realize that he was holding a stack of receipts for food and drink, purchased from various shops. Confused, he looked at his clerk, who coughed and looked down.

“The baron was hungry and requested that the guards provide some food for his sustenance.”

“And they just agreed and bought him food?” Sir Trishem’s was dangerously calm.

“Ah, yes, sir.” The clerk’s face was impassive. “The baron would seem to be quite persuasive, sir. He was the one that reminded them to get receipts so that they could claim compensation.”

“Oh, he did, did he?” After staring at the expressionless clerk for a full two minutes, the minister was about to place the stack of receipts on his desk when the double doors were slammed open.

“Trishem, you better have a really good explanation for this!” Striding into the room was a muscular man with a military haircut and a large handlebar mustache. Bursting with vitality, he stomped across the room and slapped his hand on the minister’s desk, overturning a pot of ink and earning himself a death glare from the incensed minister. Obviously a military man to the bone, Duke Carlton was not deterred by the stare in the least and glared back without fear. If not for the greying at his temples it would be hard to imagine that the duke was in his fifties.

“What is the meaning of this, Carlton?” Sir Trishem’s voice was as even as always despite the deadly stare he had fixed on the Ironhold Duke. It was only the receipts crumpled in his tightly clenched fist that gave away how angry he was.

“That is exactly what I want to know!” Duke Carlton slapped the table again, his twinkling eyes revealing how pleased he was to see Sir Trishem twitch when the ink pot rolled, spilling even more ink. “How dare you order a baron under me arrested!”

“I don’t know what you are talking about!”

“Oh you don’t, do you? Then what is this!”

Taking the paper that was thrust at him, Sir Trishem froze, and in the sudden silence, a faint grinding noise could be heard. Held in his hand was an arrest order for Baron Greymane directed to Major Telmison and stamped by his official stamp.

CHAPTER FOUR

The prison was fairly comfortable as far as Thorn was concerned. If anything, the furniture was a bit small, but three broken chairs later, the infuriated questioner allowed Thorn access to his inventory long enough to get his rock out. Despite Thorn walking into the prison with chains wrapped around his hands, they still had to treat him with the respect due to a nobleman.

“Comfortable?” The soldier questioning Thorn was normally a large and imposing man, but next to Thorn he looked rather small.

“Yes, you can get on with your questions.” Settling comfortably on his boulder, Thorn waved for the soldier to continue.

“You don’t seem to be taking this very seriously, Baron Greymane. If you are found to be harboring traitorous thoughts, you will face execution or exile.”

“I think I am treating this with as much seriousness as it deserves.” Unruffled, Thorn smiled placidly. “Besides, to face either of those outcomes, you will have to prove I have knowingly committed a traitorous action. Quite the burden of proof you have there. You were asking about the citadel I own, right? I told you that it was a gift from Hati to the Wolfkin. How am I to be responsible for what a god decides to grant their followers?”

“You expect us to believe that a god constructed it?” Scoffing openly, the soldier laughed. “If you are going to lie, at least come up with something believable.”

“I don’t expect you to believe anything. But your belief is not a prerequisite for it being true. If you have any shred of sense, you’ll stop this farce before it ruins your career.” Still smiling, Thorn leaned forward, meeting the soldier’s gaze. “There are forces fighting here that are above your pay grade. Frankly, they're above mine as well. We’re the disposable cannon fodder in a war that is not actually about us. Don’t dig a pit you cannot get out of, because I guarantee that no one will be interested in pulling you out when everything settles.”

The soldier was about to snap back when Thorn leaned back and looked at the door as it opened. A sharp looking officer came in and stared at Thorn, who looked back at him with a smile. Waving away the soldier’s salute, the officer pointed at Thorn.

“Send him to cell six.”

With a clang, the cell door shut behind Thorn, and he found himself in a large, stone-walled space. A single window set high up on the wall allowed weak sunlight to shine down on the scattered hay that covered the dirty floor. Two metal bunks were held to the wall with chains, providing a place for prisoners to lie down. A dark bundle of ragged blankets on the bottom bunk shifted as Thorn entered the cell, and a bleary looking elf poked his head out to look at Thorn.

*ding*

Hati’s Honor

You have found yourself in the company of Corvo, Avatar of Huginn, the All-Seeing Raven. Unimpressed by Huginn’s stupid tricks, Hati wants you, the Avatar of the Moon Wolf, to show the Great Raven who is boss. Hati’s favorite way to do that is to beat him up until he submits and admits that Hati is better.

This quest is your second [Avatar Challenge]. As you adventure around Nova Terra, it is your responsibility as the Avatar of Hati to represent Hati in challenging other Avatars to contests of strength and feats of valor. And, occasionally, petty acts of vandalism. A challenge will be generated when you come within a certain distance of another Avatar. For a challenge to be recognized as legitimate, it must be openly announced to the Avatars involved.

Reward: Increase Hati’s Favor

Failure: Decrease Hati’s Favor

*WHAM*

As Thorn looked at the notification he had received, the elf sat up suddenly, smacking his head on the metal upper bunk. With a groan, he fell back, clutching his head, only to roll right off of the bunk onto the floor where he writhed in pain.

“Uh, are you okay?”

Waving Thorn away, the elf struggled to sit up. As he looked closer, Thorn realized that what he had originally taken to be a pile of rags was actually the elf’s clothing. Producing a mirror from his ragged costume, the elf carefully examined his forehead. After seeing that there was no visible damage, he put the mirror away and sprang to his feet. Giving Thorn a sweeping bow, the elf flashed a wide smile, his perfect teeth glinting in the weak light.

“Well met, Moon Wolf. I am Corvo, the All-Seeing Raven.”

“You can just call me Thorn.”

“Thorn, huh? Good thing that this challenge is not a contest of strength.” Now that he had a chance to properly take in Thorn’s massive size, he could only sigh in relief. Fighting someone as large as Thorn would be difficult in any situation, but having to fight him in an enclosed cell would be a complete nightmare.

“Um, it is.”

“What?!”

“Hey, keep it down in there!” A guard outside banged on the bars.

“Yeah, it looks like I am supposed to show you who is boss. It says I need to beat you up until you admit that Hati is better.”

“Are you kidding?” Corvo’s face was white as a ghost as he edged backward.

“Nope, sorry.” Thorn shrugged.

“Oh, god, why do you do this to me?”

Ignoring Corvo’s moaning, Thorn walked over to the window. Set at Thorn’s eye height, it was much too high for most people to look out. Outside, Thorn could see the yard of the prison. After watching the guards for a while, Thorn turned to the metal beds stapled to the wall. They were too close together for Thorn to sit down, so he grabbed the top bunk and casually ripped it from the wall. With a terrible screech, the pins holding the bunk to the wall popped free, clattering across the stone floor.

Across the room, Corvo’s figure shuddered, and he began to whisper furiously to himself. In the hallway, the guard who had previously yelled at Corvo pointed and stammered, unable to process what had happened.

“Wha… What are you doing?!” Livid, the guard started to rush into the cell but stopped just as his hand reached the door. Thinking better about entering a cell with a giant who had just ripped a metal bed from a solid stone wall, he looked around wildly.

“My inventory doesn’t work and I need somewhere to sit,” Thorn said blandly, bending the metal frame into a stool. Gingerly sitting down on it, he nodded. The stool creaked under his weight but held fast. “If you’ve got something else to sit on, let me know. Until then, I’m going to use this.”

“You…” Speechless, the guard could only glare at Thorn. He would have cursed him out, but he had been reminded multiple times that Thorn was a baron, and they had to be careful how they treated him.

“Alright. Down to business.” Having settled his seating, Thorn turned his attention to Corvo, who was standing as far away as possible. “Do you want to admit that Hati is better or should we fight? I’m fine with either.”

“Hold on, hold on. Don’t you think this is an unfair challenge? How am I supposed to fight you? You are at least three times my size and neither of us has our abilities!”

“I don’t make the rules.” Thorn shrugged. “All you have to do is say that Hati is better, what’s the harm in that?”

“What’s the harm? Really? Just because you are bigger, doesn’t mean you should bully other people. That’s what this is, you know. Pure bullying.” Corvo cocked his head to the side, as if he was listening to something. “Huginn says that he agrees. Hati only knows how to bully others with his bigger size. Wolves are supposed to be cunning, but Hati knows that he can’t compete with Huginn when it comes to intelligence, so he just relies on force. Like god like avatar, huh?”

[Foolishness.]

Hati’s voice suddenly appeared in Thorn’s mind.

[That featherbrain has never once outwitted me. If he does not care for his pride, why should we spare him? We will play his game.]

*ding*

Hati’s Honor - Updated

You have found yourself in the company of Corvo, Avatar of Huginn, the All-Seeing Raven. Unimpressed by Huginn’s stupid tricks, Hati wants you, the Avatar of the Moon Wolf, to show the Great Raven what true cleverness looks like by beating him at his own game. Come up with a riddle that the opposing avatar cannot answer while answering their riddle.

This quest is your second [Avatar Challenge]. As you adventure around Nova Terra, it is your responsibility as the Avatar of Hati to represent Hati in challenging other Avatars to contests of strength and feats of valor. And, occasionally, petty acts of vandalism. A challenge will be generated when you come within a certain distance of another Avatar. For a challenge to be recognized as legitimate, it must be openly announced to the Avatars involved.

Reward: Increase Hati’s Favor

Failure: Decrease Hati’s Favor

“It would seem that Hati does not agree with you. Our contest has been changed to a riddle challenge?” Thorn re-read the notification. “There are no details regarding how we are to carry it out.”

Reading his own notification, Corvo sighed and wiped his forehead in relief.

“Whew, that is much better.” Regaining some of his poise, he walked over to sit on the lower bunk that was still suspended on the wall. “How about this. We will alternate, each asking the other person a riddle. One point for every properly answered riddle, zero points if you get it wrong or can’t answer. So, if you answer my riddle and I cannot answer yours, you win and vice versa.”

“Sure, that sounds fair.” Musing over the conditions that Corvo proposed, Thorn nodded.

“Oh, and let’s set some ground rules. No browsers or looking up the riddles on the internet. No contacting others. No, ‘what’s in my pocket’ riddles either.”

“And no asking for help,” Thorn added.

“Yeah. Purely me versus you. Excellent. Any other rules?” Seeing Thorn shake his head, Corvo smiled. “Would you like to go first? If not, I have a good one.”

“Go ahead.”

“Okay, here we go. A prisoner is brought in for questioning. The captain of the guard sits him down and says, ‘If you tell a lie, we will hang you. But if you tell the truth, we will cut your head off.’ What can the prisoner say to save himself?”

“That’s a good one.” Thorn nodded. “But I’ve heard a riddle similar to that. The prisoner says, ‘You will hang me.’ That way he is telling the truth, but if they try to cut off his head, then he will have lied.”

“Curses, I thought that might get you. Your turn.”

“Before I give you my riddle, do you mind if I ask you some other questions? I’m very curious about how you became an avatar.” Seeing Corvo’s face harden at the question, Thorn quickly continued. “Not the specifics or anything, I am just curious about how you got here. I’m new to Nova Terra, and I have only met one other avatar so far.”

“Oh? Who’d you meet?”

“Salliish’s avatar, Josephine. We fought a bit but ended the day on more-or-less friendly terms.”

“So you are saying that I was right to not try and fight you.” Corvo chuckled. “Josephine has some really powerful snake summons and her Naga form is nothing to sneer at.”

“You know her?”

“Mmhmm. Most of the avatars who have been playing for awhile have interacted a few times. The gods are quite fond of these challenges. We think that they are waiting for an avatar that can beat all the others.”

“That makes sense. Maybe they want to see who the chief god is? How many gods are there anyway? So far I have met two other avatars, but are there hundreds walking around?”

“Oh, no, no. There are a fair number of minor gods, like Mayordi, the god of merchants, or Ves, the god of thieves, but there are seven major gods who watch over natural domains. This is not counting Eve, of course. The AI rules everything. But as far as the gods who have avatars are concerned, there are three sets of gods and a seventh, stand-alone god.

“Day and night are the gods Skoll and Hati. Shadow is Salliish and light is Baldur. The god of the earth is Skadi, whose counterpart is Tyra, the god of the sky. The seventh is Huginn, the All-Seeing Raven, whom I serve. Huginn is the god of knowledge. Up until this point, there have been six avatars. You are the seventh. The last.”

“I met Salliish’s avatar a month or so ago and was a little confused by how closely their domain overlapped with mine. With seven major gods, why are two of the sets so similar?”

“Ah, you mean Salliish and Hati?”

“Yeah.” Thorn nodded. “And Baldur and Skoll. God of day seems really similar to god of light.”

“There are similarities, but night and shadow are quite different. Salliish is more the god of trickery and deceit, whereas Hati protects the world at night. According to the lore, the devils seek to devour the world every night, bringing darkness to the land. Hati, the Moon Wolf, fights them off, roaming the land to protect its people against the devils. During the day, Skoll takes over, fighting back the frost giants who seek to drown the world in an endless tide of undead. But Skoll is different from Baldur, who is called the god of light, but is really the god of truth and justice. Tyra oversees weather and travel while Skadi takes care of farming and production, and the home.”

“Okay, that makes more sense. Where does Huginn fit in all of this?”

“Huginn is a bit different from the rest as his job is to observe and make sure that everything is happening as it should. Huginn is responsible for communicating between the gods and for watching over the world.”

“That is a pretty big responsibility.”

“It is annoying, is what it is.” Sighing, Corvo rolled his eyes. “Constant running, here and there and everywhere. All I ever do is go here to meet this person or there to meet another. And everywhere I go I get into these stupid avatar challenges that always seem to feature someone beating my face in.”

“It can’t always be bad.” Thorn couldn’t help but smile at Corvo’s complaining. “If it was, you would not be playing anymore, right?”

“Ha, I guess that is true. There are a couple benefits to being an avatar. Though it often feels like I am nothing more than a gopher, I am quite interested in seeing how the world changes now that you are here.”

“What do you mean?”

“There have been six avatars for a long time now. I think the sixth joined in the second year of the game. For whatever reason, Hati did not pick an avatar until now. But, here you are. I must confess, I’m excited to see what is going to happen now that there are seven avatars.”

“If you find out, let me know.” Pausing, Thorn took a moment to consider everything he had just learned, before looking up. “Alright, my turn to give you a riddle.”

CHAPTER FIVE

The ringing of steel on stone announced the arrival of a squad of guards well before they turned the corner to the hallway in front of the cell that held Thorn and Corvo. With his highly attuned hearing, Thorn could pick out three sets of feet that stood out from among the guard’s jackboots. The sharp click of a pair of high heels mixed with a solid thud of a leather shoe. Both were joined by the nervous patter of a pair of boots, reminding Thorn of the captain of the guard who had locked him up.

“A promise.” Thorn grinned at Corvo. “A promise gets broken without being held.”

The avatar of the All-Seeing Raven dropped his head with an aggrieved sigh. For the last seven hours they had exchanged riddles back and forth, neither one able to gain an advantage. Shooting an accusing look at Thorn, Corvo sneered.

“You know? You are not nearly as dumb as you look.”

“Haha, thanks. Neither are you.” Thorn chuckled as he stood up and stretched. “I don’t quite understand why everyone assumes that I’m dumb, though.”

“Might be the fact that you are as big as a mountain. Most people who grow to your size don’t have the extra space for a brain.”

“See, that isn’t true. Just because some large people are not gifted mentally, doesn’t mean that we’re all stupid. Besides, being small doesn’t make you smart. It just makes you weak,” Thorn teased. Stepping over to the door of the cell, Thorn nodded to one of the guards. “Hey, any chance of getting some food? I’m starving.”

“Um…” Obviously intimidated by Thorn’s size and strength, the guard stammered for a while. Judging from the way that Thorn ripped the metal bed from the wall where it had been fastened, the bars at the front of the cell would not serve their purpose should Thorn decide to try and break through them.

“Hey, no pressure. Normally I carry my own food, but I can’t get into my inventory since you locked me up in here,” Thorn explained, taking a glance up the hallway. Seeing that the guards still had not arrived, he turned back to face Corvo. “Last one. Then I’ll be leaving. I have forests but no trees, mountains with no stones, lakes with no water. What am I?”

“Leaving? Are you breaking your way out of here?” Confused, Corvo stood up.

“No, someone is coming to get me out. How about you? You said you had been locked in here a month ago. When do you get out?”

“I… I’m not sure.” Corvo shrugged. “I don’t actually know why they brought me in. After meeting you, I would assume that the game was organizing a meeting between us. I mean, Huginn was organizing the meeting. You know what I mean.”

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, causing the two guards at the entrance to the cell to straighten up and stand at attention. Hearing the footsteps, Corvo’s eyes brightened and he jumped off the bed, coming to stand next to Thorn at the bars.

“Hey, you weren’t joking right? If you are getting out of here, you should bring me with you. Otherwise I’ll probably be stuck in this cell for another month.”

“Why should I bring you? You can’t even answer my riddle.”

“What? Oh, a map. A map has forests but no trees, mountains with no stones, and lakes with no water. I’m serious, you should get me out.” Seeing that Thorn was rolling his eyes, Corvo tried to sweeten the deal. “Listen, you have a guild, right? I can join your guild. Having two avatars in the same guild will be better than just having one, right?”

“I dunno. So far you don’t seem very strong. I don’t know that I want to clutter up my guild with inferior talent.” Thorn said with a smile and a shrug.

“Inferior talent? Are you serious? Sure, I might not be able to take you in a fight, but I could run circles around you when it comes to making plans.”

“Eh, we already have a strategist who can run circles around me. Plus, you couldn’t beat me at a riddle contest, so what makes you think that you’ll be any real use?”

“What about information gathering? I’m probably the best in the game when it comes to finding secrets.” The closer the footsteps came, the more desperate Corvo was becoming.

“We already have an intelligence officer. You probably know him. Oberlin? I’ve heard he is quite famous.”

“Oberlin is in your guild?” Corvo visibly deflated. “I know Oberlin. Look, if you can get me out, I promise I’ll be a big help to your guild. All you have to do is convince them to let me go.”

Thorn’s mind spun as he thought it over. Corvo had displayed formidable intelligence over the last seven hours, answering the riddles that Thorn posed with almost no pause. Thorn had taken far longer to come up with answers, and he knew that if the contest stretched on he was going to lose. However, Corvo was also an unknown factor. As an avatar it was highly likely that he had his own agenda, and Thorn did not like the idea of an unstable element in his guild.

Corvo, seeing Thorn’s frown, grimaced and shared a window.

*ding*

The All-Seeing Raven

Blessed of Huginn, you have been granted the title of the god of knowledge. Nothing can escape your formidable gaze. Three times per day you can call upon your title to examine a player, native, or object.

When you examine a player, native, or object you gain additional insight into their history and abilities. The greater your favor with Huginn, the more information you will gain.

“That seems overpowered.” Thorn’s eyes narrowed as he read the title’s description.

“Huh, like being able to bend steel with your bare hands isn’t overpowered.” Corvo pointed at the metal bed that Thorn had fashioned into a seat.

“Okay, that is a fair point.” Thorn shrugged. He was the last player who should be complaining about other players having advantages. “Tell you what. I can get you out of here if you are willing to come under contract. My guild, Nova Luna, is comprised of two parts. The professional team which is comprised of employees who are paid an annual contract, and the social guild, who accepts anyone that meets the requirements. If you want to get out, I can invite you to join the professional team, but you’ll need to sign a contract for at least a year of employment.”

“A year in game time?”

“No, real time. Seven years in Nova Terra. You’ll be playing for us during that time.”

“Are you serious?” It was Corvo’s turn to look at Thorn like he was crazy. “You want me to trade a few months in jail for seven years of working for you? Why on earth would I do that?”

“Don’t you want to see what the seventh avatar is going to do?” Thorn smiled again, but this time, his smile was filled with a boundless confidence that caused Corvo’s breath to catch. “What better way than walking by my side? After all, if the gods are arranging for all of us to meet for some reason, don’t you want to know why? Not only will you get to see what happens when I beat all of the other avatars, but you’ll get paid along the way.”

Thorn’s words oozed with confidence, but as much as Corvo wanted to refute his words, he couldn’t. What he had seen when he examined Thorn had left him stunned, and he had no doubt that Thorn could beat any two avatars combined in a physical confrontation. With a deep sigh, he shook his head.

“Let me take a look at the contract.”

Seeing the avatar of Huginn admit defeat, Thorn sent him the contract he had prepared. The conditions were generous and not overly restrictive, so Corvo signed it and sent it back. Forwarding it to his lawyer, Thorn held out a big hand.

“Welcome to the guild, Corvo. I’m sure you’ll have a great time. Oh, just one more thing. Your first job as a member of Nova Luna is to admit that Hati is better.”

Twitching, Corvo stared at Thorn’s face, unable to find even a smidge of duplicity in his smiling eyes. With a sigh, the elf’s shoulders slumped, and he mumbled something under his breath.

*ding*

Hati’s Honor

You have successfully beaten the Avatar of Huginn, the All-Seeing Raven at his own game, forcing him to admit that Hati is better than Huginn. Hati is pleased. It is about time someone put that stupid bird in his place.

Reward: Hati’s Favor

Feeling slightly bad, Thorn was about to speak when he noticed that Corvo’s face had perked up. Raising his eyebrows, he waited for the elf to speak.

“Ha, look at that. My favor went up. It looks like Huginn is pleased that I’m hanging out with you.” Corvo shared the notification he had received showing that, rather than lose favor, he had actually gained favor with his god.

[You do well to bring this one with you.] Hati’s warm voice filled Thorn’s head. [Despite his arrogance, Huginn is a valuable ally, and his avatar will aid you well.]

“Thorn!” A slightly worried voice rang through the corridor as a group of guards rounded the corner. Looking through the bars, Thorn could see Athena hurrying toward the cell, the others trying to keep up with her swift pace. “Hey, are you okay, kid? They didn’t do anything to you, did they?”

Sensing the worry in her voice, Thorn took his aunt’s hand in his, patting it reassuringly.

“I’m totally fine. Maybe a little hungry. But they didn’t do anything besides locking me in here. How are things on your side?”

“Let’s get you out of there, and then we’ll talk about it.” Athena’s face took on a frosty look, her anger at the situation evident. Turning to one of the guards, she snapped, “Hey, aren’t you going to open up the cell? We don’t have all day.”

Fumbling for his keys, the captain of the guard who had accompanied Athena stepped forward and opened the cell door. Thorn, ducking through, motioned for Corvo to follow him out.

“This is Corvo, he is part of my guild. I don’t know why he is in prison, but I want to get him out.”

“Hello, Corvo.” Athena’s brows furrowed slightly at the sight of the raggedly dressed elf before her eyes turned back to Thorn. “This is Markus, the lawyer who is handling your bail. Markus, see what you can do about our elven friend here.”

“Of course, Ms. Athena.” Giving a half bow, the pudgy lawyer looked at the captain of the guard, who sighed and nodded resignedly.

A few minutes later, Thorn found himself sitting on his boulder, a broken couch leaning awkwardly next to him. Corvo perched on the other end of the couch, still chuckling at the sight he had just seen. Athena was sitting across from him, drinking coffee and watching fondly as Thorn devoured piece after piece of fruit that he pulled from his inventory. Placing her cup on the table, Athena cleared her throat.

“You sure like prison, huh?”

“Mmm,” Thorn swallowed the banana he had just tossed in his mouth. “It’s not that I like it, per se. I think that Nova Terra just doesn’t like me.”

“Haha, sure, sure. While we wait for Markus, let me give you a rundown of what is going on.” Pausing slightly, her eyes flicked over to Corvo, who was watching Thorn in fascination.

“Corvo is a member of the professional team, so he has signed a non-disclosure agreement. You can speak freely.” Still tossing whole pieces of fruit in his mouth, Thorn noticed Athena’s glance.

“Alright. This is the situation. Sir Trishem, the Interior Minister, is still trying to delay your application of the [Nobility Upgrade Token], as well as your legacy deeds. We still are not one hundred percent sure why he is doing this. The best we can figure is that this is part of a power struggle between the empire and the dukes. The Ironhold Duke is currently the second most powerful duke in the empire, and the addition of a new viscount will edge him to the number one spot, since viscounts are allowed to raise an army of fifteen thousand. At the moment, as a baron, you are limited to 5000 infantry, with no specialist troops. Viscounts triple that and they are allowed to dedicate 3000 of those slots to specialist troops like cavalry.”

“Wouldn’t having more troops in the empire be good for everyone?”

“Yes and no. Yes if you only take the coming war with the south into consideration. No if you have to compete with the Ironhold Duke for merit. The duchies look peaceful, but there is quite a struggle going on underneath the surface. There is likely pressure by the other three dukes to try and force the Ironhold Duke into a passive position.”

“Okay, I can understand that.” Thorn scratched his head, biting an apple in half. “But why are they so concerned about fifteen thousand soldiers? That doesn’t seem like much.”

“They aren’t.” Corvo spoke up. “They are concerned that you will advance in rank. Fifteen thousand isn’t much, but what about fifty thousand? And what if they are players, not natives? Players can respawn. Players have better gear and learn skills faster. And as the leader of an entire race and a guild, you have a high likelihood of being able to recruit a force almost entirely comprised of players.”

“That is exactly right.” Athena nodded, taking another look at Corvo. “He nailed the problem on the head. They probably wouldn’t care if you were a native, but you are an immortal traveler, which means you will probably climb in noble rank. Currently, you are not a threat. But once you gain more authority, you will be a major thorn in their side.”

Rolling his eyes, Thorn ignored his aunt’s self satisfied grin at her pun. Wiping his hands off, he considered the problem that faced him. Taking up the position of baron had solved one problem by forcing Ragnarok to back off, but it had thrust him into the middle of a conflict that he wanted no part of. Still, the benefits of being a noble far outweighed the drawbacks, so he would have to figure out a way to forge ahead. So far it seemed like the duke of the Ironhold Duchy was supporting his position, but Thorn did not want to have to rely on external forces if he did not have to.

“I think I understand the situation.” Thorn glanced between Corvo and his aunt. “Time for you to show me your skill, Corvo. What are our options?”

CHAPTER SIX

“The problem is complicated. On the one hand, you have value, and not only as a baron. You have significant personal resources, and anyone with half a brain can see that you are a formidable combatant in your own right. You also possess personal wealth that will help whomever gets you under their banner. This is offset by the danger that you bring to the current balance of power in the empire. Three of the four dukes don’t want you to get stronger, and the Interior Minister is on their side.

“On your side, the Ironhold Duke wants you to succeed in growing, but only if you grow in such a way that doesn’t threaten him. We can’t assume that he’ll be friendly forever. An expansion of your power could destabilize his duchy. To put it succinctly, there are lots of sides who have power and want to keep power, but you’ve popped up in their way. They either have to use you for their ends or get rid of you before you get big enough to claim a slice of the pie.”

Sighing at the convoluted problem, Corvo stood up and walked to the window, distractedly biting one of his fingers. Behind him, Thorn and Athena exchanged glances. From the look in his aunt’s eyes, Thorn knew that she did not approve of him throwing the problem to someone that he had just met, and he really could not blame her. Smiling in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, Thorn looked at the raggedly dressed figure by the window.

Hati had said that Corvo would be a help to him, and the Moon Wolf had not led him astray so far, so Thorn was inclined to trust whatever plan Corvo came up with. Still, Thorn had asked the question as a test of Corvo’s abilities more than anything else. He had already explained the situation to Velin in a message and was confident that she was working on a plan already.

Staring out the window, Corvo pondered, his mind rapidly going over all of the information he had. Freezing for a split second, his eyes lit up and he spun around, his cloak rustling.

“I got it. The situation is complicated, so the first thing we do is simplify. What does each side want? The Interior Minister wants stability and resources. The three dukes want to keep the Ironhold Duke from getting stronger. The Ironhold Duke wants to get stronger. We cannot solve the problem fully until we can give everyone what they want or have enough power that they stop wanting it. What we can do is give everyone a little bit of what they want.”

“Sure, but the question is how do we do that.”

“Just listen.” Corvo held up his hand so Thorn wouldn’t interrupt him. “If we give everyone just enough, they’ll probably be willing to let it go. After all, making this issue big will disrupt the balance of the empire, which none of the sides want to see. Currently, the charges laid against you hinge on the fact that you do not have enough resource points to possess the citadel you built. Being a baron and the leader of a race, you have five points, right? So, the simple answer seems to be getting a military rank. However, if you get a rank under the banner of the Ironhold Duke, the other Dukes will do everything in their power to stop you.”

“Because of the player-filled army thing?”

“Yes. Who would want their competitor to have an army of semi-immortal soldiers who can fight for days at a time? Certainly not any of the dukes. But what if you took a different route? What if you applied for a position as a crusader?”

“A what?”

“Crusader.”

“You say that like I should know what it means.”

Corvo opened his mouth and then shut it, unsure of what to say. Turning to look at Athena, all he got was a shrug.

“Thorn just started playing six months ago. In-game time.” Athena hid her smile behind a cough.

“Ah. Right. You’re a noob. Got it.” Enlightenment dawned on Corvo’s face. “The last major world event was called the Crusades of Flame and Shadow. It introduced a bunch of different types of classes and a specialized battlefield where players could lead armies to battle against hordes of devils or angelic hosts. The players who allied themselves with the human empire fought against devils while the players who allied with the demonkin fought against angels.

“The position of crusader is technically a military position, and if the Empire goes to war, you can be called on to fight, but it puts you under the crusader military command, not the empire’s normal command. This means you would be part of the military, but the Ironhold Duke would not be able to command you unless the empire goes to war. This would satisfy the three dukes, which would give the minister the stability he wanted. On the other hand, the Ironhold Duke would be getting a powerful subordinate if war ever broke out, which should be enough.”

“Will that work?” Thorn frowned, looking at Athena, who was staring at Corvo in undisguised admiration.

“It will absolutely work.” Athena nodded slowly. “The Ironhold Duke doesn’t want you to grow big enough to challenge his power, but who could possibly resist the temptation of a player army under their command? That will be enough for him. As for the other dukes, they can’t block your application to become a crusader, so they will comfort themselves with the knowledge that their competitor is not going to be able to command you, either. As for the minister, he’ll just have to get over it.”

After thinking it over, Thorn nodded. “Alright. Let's do it. What is the procedure?” It was not a perfect solution, but it would certainly work for the time being.

“The crusaders in the human empire are called the Order of the Flame. They have a building here in the capital where you can sign up your guild.” Corvo pointed out the window to a tall building sticking up in the distance. Looking closely, Thorn could see a golden flame burning above the spire. “Once you have signed up, you can enter the battlefield with a small force of soldiers. As you do better, you’ll be able to bring more people in. The rank you have in the Order will transfer to the normal army, should the need ever arise.”

“What about the minister? How do we deal with him?” Athena looked at Corvo, who shrugged.

“I don’t know. It will depend how greedy he is. We can probably get him to back off for now, but I would guess that he will see the investigation through to the very end. Because of the big stink that Thorn made when he got arrested, it isn’t likely that they will try and keep you in jail. But I could see the investigation dragging out indefinitely. If he isn’t satisfied.”

“We will worry about that when the time comes. For now, let’s focus on registering as a crusader. After that, I should be free to travel back to the valley. We can plan what to do from there.” Thorn’s excellent hearing had picked up the sound of feet coming up the stairs toward their room, so he ended the conversation.

After dealing with the final paperwork, the lawyer that Athena had brought had Thorn and Corvo sign the release forms, and the guards escorted them out of the jail. Standing outside, Mina and Oberlin met them.

“Those guards looked almost happy to see you leave.” Mina giggled. “What, were you eating all their food? Or maybe you were sitting on their furniture.”

“Corvo?” Peering at the figure behind Thorn, Oberlin’s eyes widened. “How’s it going? I thought you were down south?”

“What? You can escape from the Ordo Serpentes, but I can’t?” The elf grinned, slapping hands with the thief.

“You got out? That is awesome. Yeah, Thorn helped me cut loose.” Oberlin jerked a thumb at the giant who was being teased by Mina. “What are you up to these days?”

“I got suckered into joining a guild.”

“Haha, really? Again? You just don’t have much luck, huh? Who is the lucky guild?”

Flipping over his hand, Corvo activated his guild symbol, causing a glowing, silver light to form over his palm. As the symbol materialized, Oberlin could clearly see the silhouette of a howling wolf set over a citadel, the full moon in the background. His eyes growing wide, the thief nearly choked. Sighing, Corvo nodded at his friend’s reaction.

“Yeah. Exactly. Don’t let anyone tell you that big guys are dumb. Biggest scam ever.”

“Haha, it’s not that bad.” Pleased, Oberlin patted the moping elf on the shoulder. “The contract conditions are really good. Plus, I have a good feeling about this guild.”

Rolling his eyes, Corvo hurried after Thorn, who had started to walk toward the Order of the Flame. The building the Order occupied rose majestically into the air, flying buttresses supporting thick stone walls and a tall, peaked roof with a sharp spire that could be seen from across the city. It reminded Thorn of a gothic building, and though it lacked the two large towers of Notre-Dame, he could see the influence that had bled into the game.

Standing rock still in front of the door to the building, two crusader guards stared imposingly at everyone who hurried by. Heavily armored, they held greatswords in front of them, the points resting on the ground. A brilliant red tabard, embroidered with a white and gold flame on the chest, set them apart from the crowd, showing their allegiance to the Order of the Flame. As Thorn and the others walked up the stairs to the door, one of the armored crusaders stepped forward, his hand out.

“What business do you have here?” The guard’s voice was cold, though Thorn did not detect any animosity in him.

“I’ve come to join the crusade.”

“Ah, as a commissioned knight.” Corvo hurried up to stand beside Thorn. “A commissioned knight. We are not enlisting.”

The eyes of the guard that lit up at Thorn’s answer dimmed slightly when he heard Corvo’s words. Stepping aside, he gestured to the door.

“Welcome, the Order of the Flame is open to you.”

“Thanks.” Nodding at the other guard, who looked on impassively, Thorn led his group through the large double doors into the gothic building. As they walked, he glanced down at Corvo. “What was that about?”

“Um. You have to be pretty specific about these things. Players can enlist in the Order, but if they do so, they are under the command of a native officer. We don’t want to do that. We want an independent command, or knighthood. As a commissioned knight, you can enlist other players to your force, bringing them with you to the battlefield.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

The entryway opened into a giant room with a massive, vaulted ceiling covered in murals depicting the Order’s fight against the devils. Scenes of terrible struggle, heroic moments, and even horrific defeat chronicled the history of the Order. In real life, the Order had only been around for a year and a half. Still, in the eleven years that passed in Nova Terra, much had occurred.

Athena led the way to a small alcove in the wall where an armored man stood, gazing at a broken shield. Stopping behind him, she gestured for Thorn and the others to wait quietly. A minute passed, and then two, and Mina, unable to stand still, wandered off to look at the rest of the large room, accompanied by Oberlin. After almost ten minutes of waiting, the man turned around, his face lighting up when he saw Athena.

“Athena! Welcome. What brings you to the temple today?”

“Hello, Glavius. I’m here to introduce my nephew to the Order for a position as a commissioned knight.”

“Oh? I take it that you will be his guarantor?”

“Correct.”

“Well, in that case, follow me.” Leading the way through a side door, he brought the three of them to an open yard where a number of soldiers were practicing with their greatswords. The soldiers, seeing Glavius enter the yard, stopped their practice and gathered along the side, holding their greatswords in front of them like the guards at the door. Glavius stopped in the center of the yard, turning to face Thorn and gesturing for the giant to stand in front of him.

“The basic requirements for joining the Order as a commissioned knight are as follows. The prospective knight must make a donation to the Order of five hundred gold. The prospective knight must demonstrate an aptitude for combat comparable to a veteran crusader. Finally, the prospective knight must vow to fight against the corrupting influence of the devils that seek to dominate our lands.”

“Sure. Sounds straightforward enough.” Thorn nodded.

“Excellent. I will take the donation and then we can begin with the combat assessment.” After collecting the payment from Thorn, Glavius called over one of the soldiers who had been practicing. “This is Kels. He will be assisting with the assessment. Kels is a veteran of hundreds of battles with the devils and will not be an easy opponent. All you have to do is avoid being defeated for five minutes against him. All weapons and armor are allowed, as are abilities. Any questions?”

“No, I think I get it.” Flexing his fingers, Thorn summoned his armor.

“Good, you may begin.”

At the side, Corvo looked on in appreciation, curious to see what sort of combat abilities his fellow avatar possessed. Next to him, Athena watched calmly.

Thorn’s silver armor glinted in the red evening light, adding a bloody tinge to the wolf motif around the helmet. Summoning his weapon, Thorn held it loosely in his hand, the sheer weight of it sending out a spider web of cracks as the end rested on the ground between him and Kels. The massive metal spike had changed greatly since his battle with Ouroboros at the gates of the citadel. During the time he spent waiting in the capital, Thorn had his impromptu weapon reforged into a terrifying-looking tetsubo. Flanged ribs covered the top half of the six foot spike, and the bottom had been converted into a comfortable gip.

Thorn lifted his gauntleted hand, gesturing for his opponent to begin. With a roar Kels dashed forward, his greatsword cutting down in an overhead chop. Lifting his tetsubo, Thorn blocked, allowing the incoming blade to deflect toward the ground. Moving with the momentum, Kels planted his right foot and twisted his body around, his large sword slashing toward Thorn’s side with vicious speed. Not underestimating the weight of the incoming blow, Thorn thrust his tetsubo forward, the spiked end shooting toward Kels like a spear.

A veteran combatant, Kels grunted and forcibly pushed his torso backward, practically lying down on his back. Quickly turning his dodge into a backward roll, Kels regained his feet easily, his sword out in front of him. Cautiously, he stared at Thorn, who had not moved from where he stood.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Watching his opponent carefully, Thorn stood still, his tetsubo held rock steady in front of him. At 8’ 9”, Thorn’s reach was massive, and adding on a six foot weapon made it that much harder for enemies to close the distance. Cautiously edging to the side, Kels switched his grip on his sword, positioning it between himself and the point of Thorn’s tetsubo, which followed him as he moved.

The soldier took a half-step to the right and suddenly reversed direction, dashing forward, his sword angled along his shoulder to guard against Thorn’s mace. Quickly closing the distance, he was about to unleash a swing when Thorn abruptly stepped forward, snapping a kick toward Kel’s chest. Once again, Kels’ flexibility saved him as he barely managed to twist his torso away from the blow.

Unperturbed, Thorn flicked his tetsubo, sending it whirling toward Kels’ head. Watching it come, Kels felt his blood run cold. The weight of the weapon was enough to crush him, and watching Thorn swing it with ease told him just how dangerous it would be to get hit. Just as he braced himself for impact, Thorn stopped the weapon short, and Kels fell on his backside, scrambling backward to get out of range.

With a single step forward, Thorn was again in range, and with a snap of his wrist, his weapon flew down again, smashing into the ground next to Kels. The soldier had raised his sword in an attempt to protect himself as much as possible, only to find that Thorn’s tetsubo landed on the ground next to him with a powerful thud that sent chips of stone flying through the air.

The sheer weight of the weapon was enough to crush stone despite Thorn barely putting any strength into the strike. Imagining what would have happened to him if it had hit, Kels looked at his commanding officer in horror, his face drained of any color. Not continuing to attack, Thorn stood silently, his eyes turning to Glavius. His opponent was not even bothering to try and continue the fight, so Thorn stopped as well.

“I think we can stop here.” Glavius stepped forward to stand between the two combatants. “Thank you, Kels. You may step down. Baron Greymane, it is obvious from the way you handle your mace that you are up to our standard. The last remaining procedure before you join the ranks of the Order of the Flame as a commissioned knight is the oath. The Order of the Flame holds three tenets. First, slay the devil wherever you find it. Second, protect the land from the spread of corruption. Third, rally to the aid of the empire in the hour of need. Do you swear to uphold the three tenets of the Order?”

“I do.”

*ding*

Title: [Commissioned Knight (Order of the Flame)]

You have been approved by Commander Glavius as a [Commissioned Knight] in the Order of the Flame. You are granted access to the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow so long as you abide by the tenets of the Order of the Flame. As a [Commissioned Knight] your party is restricted to five individuals.

To advance in rank, exchange 50 Valor tokens with an Order of the Flame commander.

Current Tokens: 0/50

“Excellent.” Glavius’ face broke into a wide grin. “Welcome to the Order of the Flame. I look forward to hearing about your exploits upon the field of battle. I’m sure that you’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”

The next evening, Thorn gathered with the rest of his team in the guild hall of the Society of Roses. Mina, Oberlin, and Corvo sat on couches in the meeting room while Thorn made do with his large boulder. They were waiting for Athena to return from meeting with the lawyer that had handled Thorn and Corvo’s release from jail.

Earlier in the day, Thorn had made social calls to the four dukes, explaining that he was going to be focusing his efforts on the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow. Though the Ironhold Duke was not entirely pleased, the other dukes were very supportive of Thorn’s attitude and choice. The Interior Minister, Sir Trishem, behaved just as Corvo said he would, sending one of his clerks to inform Thorn that the investigation was ongoing and that, while Thorn was free to return to his home, they may need him to come to the capital in the future.

The door opened and Athena strode in. Rising, Thorn grabbed a glass from the side table and poured her some wine. Throughout his childhood, he had greeted her like this countless times when she returned from work, and the motion was even more natural now. Smiling broadly, she took the glass from him and sat next to Mina.

“Everything should be good for your trip back to the valley. Having joined the Order of the Flame, you have two weeks to run your first crusade. By the time you get back to the valley, you’ll have a week to recruit and train your team. Most guilds have max rep at this point, so you shouldn’t face significant competition in the crusades. You’ll probably be competing against some of the smaller guilds and casual teams. Still, you’ll probably find some good players, so don’t slack off.”

“Sounds good. Velin mentioned in her last message that the valley is already starting to fill up with players. Recruitment has opened up for the guild, and we’re starting to process applications, as well. Thanks to the help of the Society of Roses, she has been able to get through them at a pretty good pace, and we’re close to having a raiding team. She wanted to wait till we get back to do the final tryouts, but we’ve had close to six thousand social applications and four hundred and fifty professional team applications from current pro-players.”

“That’s pretty good.” Corvo sat up. “How in the world did you get so many professional players to apply?”

“I’m not one hundred percent sure. Velin just mentioned the number.”

“Haha, I know.” Mina clapped her hands in delight. “Velin always kept a personal copy of Ragnarok’s database while we were there. It has a huge list of contact information for pro-players. I bet she invited them to apply.”

“That sounds super legal,” said Oberlin, smirking.

“That reminds me.” Ignoring him, Thorn turned to Corvo. “I never did ask you what class you have. Are you planning on joining us in the crusade?”

“I wasn’t, no. I think you would be better suited to run a full combat team. I have the Veiled Jester class. It gives me almost no advantage for combat. If you are taking Velin, you will have enough brains for strategy, and she can fight, so I thought I would hang out with Oberlin and learn the ropes. He was telling me about what you’re doing to set up an intelligence network, and I think it is pretty brilliant. I’d love to be involved there.”

“Intelligence network?” Athena raised her eyebrows. “Why haven’t I heard about this?”

“State secrets.” Thorn said, trying to keep his face straight. “Haha, actually, it isn’t anything solid yet. I met a really interesting individual who works for an organization in the south, and we’ve been working together to figure out how we can set up a network like Avalon’s. Once its operating, I’ll let you know.”

“That’s my boy. Who are you working with?”

“Josephine. She is a Shadow Priest that works for the Ordo Serpentes.”

“Whoa, you didn’t tell me you were working with Josephine.” Corvo looked at Oberlin accusingly. “You just said you were working with the Order. I’m surprised by that, most of the other Avatars are not quick to work with other people. How did you get connected with her?”

“Um. After we fought, when Oberlin got his soul statue thing back, she sent me a friend request.”

“You fought?” Athena looked at her nephew, a tinge of surprise flashing across her eyes. “Avatars are tough opponents.”

“Yeah. After she realized she couldn’t win, she let us take Oberlin’s soul.” Thorn’s eyes met Corvo’s, and he could see the wheels turning as the avatar of Huginn thought over what he had just said. “Anyway, she sent me a friend request, and I pitched the idea of an information exchange network. That is what Oberlin has been working on. But, since you are here, if Oberlin doesn’t mind, we can hand that off to you.” Thorn looked at the slim thief.

“That is fine by me,” Oberlin smiled, his relief showing clearly on his face. “I’d much rather go exploring and look for loot, or something, than handle all that paperwork. Besides,” the thief shuddered, “working with Snake Lady creeps me out.”

His head lowered, Corvo stared down at his feet as he bit on the end of his finger. The room was quiet for a few minutes as Thorn and the others let him think. Nodding to himself, Corvo smacked his fist into his palm and looked up with determination.

“I’ll do it. Josephine and I have a long history, so I think I’ll be able to work well with her. Is she part of the team yet? If not, can I offer her a contract? I think she would take it with the right conditions.”

“Can she be part of the guild without the Ordo Serpentes knowing?” Thorn asked, his brow furrowing. “It wouldn’t be good if she was outed and lost her status in the Order.”

“Don’t worry about that. Membership in a group like the Ordo Serpentes doesn’t block you from being in a guild. Plus, we can make her a secret member. Let me talk to her and figure out the best path.”

“Sure, that sounds good. We’d be happy to have her if you can make it work. Feel free to give her the same conditions as any other team member. As for running with our combat team, I’m sure we’ll have enough people for that. I’m thinking that between me, Mina, and Velin we have a solid core. We could probably use a scout and another pure damage dealer.”

“Um!” Jumping to her feet, Mina suddenly stopped as all eyes turned to her. Her excitement gave way to embarrassment, and she sat back down on the couch slowly.

“Do you have an idea?”

“Um…” Hesitating, Mina stammered for a while, before swallowing and blurting out, “what about Jorge?” As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she froze, watching carefully for Thorn’s reaction. Even though she and Velin had worked through their conflict with Thorn, Jorge was a different matter. After all, he had been the one to do the actual stabbing when their group betrayed Thorn, and Thorn had retaliated in kind when he and Jorge met again.

“What about Jorge?” Mina asked again. “I think he would be a strong addition to the team. He would make a good scout and his damage output is pretty high. I don’t have any issue if you want to reach out to him.”

“You should also try to find players that are familiar with the battlefield.” Finishing her wine, Athena put her glass on the side table. “There are probably a number of pro players that Velin recruited that have a lot of experience with the crusades. Actually, I would assume that anyone who has been part of a big guild has run their fair share of crusades. Mina, would you agree?”

“Yeah, we ran crusades for about six months. One of the other leaders of Ragnarok was responsible for grinding rep so, apart from Jorge, who was one of the scouts for the other team leader, we did not spend a whole lot of time on it. But the map does not change at all, so having someone who knows it is a great idea.”

“Exactly.” Nodding, Athena fixed her eyes on Thorn. “Having someone who is familiar with the map will give you an advantage. You also want someone who can walk you through the basics of the crusades since they are a little different from the regular game world.”

“Do you want to come? I would love it if you would come quest with us.”

“Aw, hun, I would really love to go with you, but I have way too much work to do here. I’m already stretching it as it is.” Seeing Thorn’s frown, Athena rose and walked over to where he sat on his boulder, putting her arms as far around him as she could. “I have a couple deals to work out, but I already told the board that I’ll be taking a long vacation in a couple weeks. I think I can manage three weeks off, so I will come and play with you then. Alright?”

“That would be really fun.” Thorn brightened up again at the thought of getting to spend time with his aunt. “That is almost six months. That will be really nice.”

Reaching up, Athena stood on her tiptoes to ruffle Thorn’s hair and gave him a kiss on his broad cheek. He was blooming into a fine young man, and the freedom and responsibility that Nova Terra brought to his life was doing wonders for him.

“It has been so good to see you. I’m really proud of you and everything you’ve achieved, Thorn. Keep me posted on how things are going, okay?”

“Thanks.” Smiling warmly at Athena, Thorn stood up and stretched, his fingers brushing the ceiling. “Is everyone else good to go? Anything you need to take care of before we head back?”

“Nope, I’m good,” Oberlin said, looking at Corvo and Mina, who both shook their heads.

“Okay, then let’s head back.” Giving Athena one last peck on the cheek, Thorn led the others out of the city, taking the floating pagoda down to the surface of the lake. The night was dark, but to Thorn it was as bright as the daytime, so he led the way back toward the valley. Players had the advantage of being able to stay up for days at a time, which allowed them to cover greater distances than if they only traveled during the day.

Beginning the long journey back, Thorn moderated his pace to match Mina’s speed. The short Ice Witch’s travel spell was surprisingly fast, considering she was a pure magic class. Creating a path of ice, she was able to slide along it as if she were wearing ice skates. Slower than her teleportation ability, it could be maintained much longer, allowing them to travel for three hours before she had to rest to recharge her mana.

Oberlin and Corvo, while not as fast as Thorn, had no trouble keeping up. Corvo’s cloak spread into the shape of wings, and in a flash of feathers, he transformed into a raven that flew above the party’s heads. Thorn could only assume that the ability came from Corvo’s avatar title, like Thorn’s armor. Oberlin was even stranger. Small golden flashes appeared under his feet as he walked, each step blinking him six feet forward.

With no special travel abilities since he was not near any other disciples, Thorn just ran, his long legs allowing him to keep pace. Together they traveled back to Fang Valley, reaching the pass into the valley after four days of rapid travel. Velin and Captain Del’har stood waiting for them at the entrance to the citadel.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Welcome back, my Lord.” Captain Del’har executed a neat bow, his fist over his heart. Behind him, Velin mimicked the bow, a small smile on her face. Gesturing for them to stand up straight, Thorn took in the Moon Wolf Citadel. The gates stood open, travelers and natives alike streaming in and out. Robed disciples stood by the gate, watching the people entering and exiting, their eyes peeled for anyone causing trouble.

[Master! Master! You came back!] Bounding across the wall, a small red blur dashed toward Thorn, launching itself through the air and landing on his shoulder. Bouncing up and down in excitement, Akira waved her tails. [You were gone for so long!]

“Hi, Akira. How are you doing? Were you able to invite your family?” Before Thorn left, Akira had mentioned going to find her family and bringing them back to the valley. Since she would just be unsummoned if she died, Thorn said that was fine and let her go off on her own.

[I did. I found my mom and dad and my first brother Sid and his wife Amil, and his wife Gella, and his wife Tem, and their kids, Mosha, Gel, Mille, Evera, Thirl, Vannes,...]

Continuing to list the names of her family one after the other, Akira was still going minutes later. After she had finished with her first brother, his three wives, their twenty-six kids, all of their uncles and the families of her first brother’s wives, Akira began to list her second brother’s family. Stunned, Thorn opened up his [Region Management Screen] and clicked on the population tab. Countless notifications jumped out at him, but sliding through them, he found the one he wanted.

Unique Race: Ailuridae

Leaders: Flemi, Shayer

Population: 388

Happiness: Great

Loyalty: Fair

Location: Fang Valley, Various

Three hundred and eighty-eight Ailuridae had followed Akira back to the valley, leaving their home to settle down in the forest outside the Moon Wolf Citadel. According to Akira, they would spread over the valley, providing an opportunity for players and natives alike to tame them. Royal Ailuridae were rare, since they required two Royal Ailuridae parents, but even the normal Ailuridae made good support type battle pets.

Pulling out a pastry from his inventory, Thorn gave it to Akira, distracting her from her recitation of her whole extended family. Excited, Akira grabbed the pastry and wolfed it down as Thorn stroked her fur. Handing her another after she had finished the first, Thorn pulled up the Population tab.

Statistics:

Total Population: 170,471

Travelers: 86%

Natives: 14%

Racial Breakdown:

Wolfkin: 83%

Human: 11%

Other (Assorted): 6%

Occupations:

Military: 36%

Economic: 21%

Production: 11%

Agricultural: 32%

Guilds:

Caldorian Chamber of Commerce

The Children of Avalon

Nova Luna

Silver Fist

The Society of Roses

His screen filled with information and it took awhile for Thorn to make sense of what he was looking at. The [RMS] not only showed the total population of the valley, but even broke down the significant racial groups, showed the distribution of occupations, and listed the guilds that had officially set up residence in the valley.

The Caldorian Chamber of Commerce, popularly referred to as 3C, was a guild of merchants that focused on making money. As soon as word of the citadel had spread, they sent a representative to ask for an office space. Happy to have them, Velin had arranged for them to rent one of the storefronts in the merchant quarter. Right behind them, a representative from Silver Fist arrived. Another merchant guild, Velin gave them the same treatment. Already goods were starting to arrive, and the merchant’s quarters were bustling.

The Children of Avalon had also arrived, even appearing before the two merchant guilds. Their representative had shown up the morning after Ouroboros was killed, knocking on the gates of the Moon Wolf Citadel. After taking a walk around the open parts of the citadel, he had asked for a place to rent and set up a little shop with a sign that simply read, “Avalon”.

Since Thorn had left, the population of the valley had exploded as players flooded in to play as Wolfkin. In the three weeks since the race had opened, over 170,000 players had spawned in the valley as Wolfkin. According to Velin, that number would likely have multiplied by ten if the system had not initiated a queue. Rather than dumping close to two million players in the same space, the game staggered their arrival to help improve player experience.

Even with the queue, Thorn was watching the number climb. The number of natives in the valley was also growing at an astonishing rate. To help deal with the massive influx of players, the system would spawn natives, adding a new native for every twenty-five players. This helped balance the user experience and prevented areas from being overwhelmed.

Flicking through the other tabs, Thorn saw that the valley’s economy was booming. There was a distinct lack of specialized mineral resources, forcing the smiths that had begun work to import metal at a great cost. Making a note to send someone to look for mines, Thorn walked through the large gates and into Moon Wolf Citadel.

As he entered, the Wolfkin guard snapped to attention at the sight of Captain Del’har. Looking around, Thorn did not see one face he recognized. The majority of the guards were disciples of the Temple of the Moon, but they had all joined since he had left the citadel for the capital. A large number of the players that spawned as Wolfkin had immediately joined the temple, taking on the role of disciples. These disciples were spread around the valley as they worked to improve their particular class.

Thorn had expected to see a large influx of players, but nothing had prepared him for just how many joined the temple. It wasn’t until Velin explained the lure of a class with a clear upgrade that he was able to wrap his head around the disciples flooding the valley. It was all quite overwhelming.

Making their way to the fortress, Thorn asked the captain to get Elder Havva and then sat down in the Wolf Throne with a satisfied sigh. He had been sitting on a giant boulder for most of the last three weeks and was quite glad to get to sit on an actual seat. Mina, Oberlin, Velin, and Corvo arranged themselves around the throne, waiting for the captain to come back.

“Velin, judging by the number of people who have chosen to play Wolfkin and the popularity of the Disciple class, we might need to rework our plan. Originally, the idea was to require that Night Walkers become members of our guild in order to get the advancement stone. I’m not so sure that is a good idea. I don’t think we can support a million players.”

“You are correct. It did not occur to me that the Disciple class has four nearly guaranteed advancement paths. We can’t prevent players from joining the Temple of the Moon, making putting a restriction on getting the class difficult. Additionally, it will be almost impossible for us to keep the advancement stones to ourselves since we don’t know if there are other sources in the mountains. Instead, I suggest we follow the example of the old Temple of the Moon.”

“Hm? What did they do?”

“Before the temple retreated from the valley, the Wolfkin had a significant population. Because almost all of the young Wolfkin went through the temple, a special category of Night Walker was created. The Night Walkers who stayed in the valley were called Moon Guardians, and they were responsible for protecting the valley and the temple. The rest of the Night Walkers were sent into the world, tasked with hunting down evil and cleansing the night.”

“I see. That would certainly work. Would we be able to add an oath that the Night Walkers would have to help protect the valley?”

“Possibly. You have to be careful with that sort of thing as few players enjoy being restricted like that.” Velin flipped open her notebook, reading over a few notes. “It might be more effective to create a loose organization instead, as players will see that as bringing them value.”

“Sort of like an inner sect, outer sect sort of thing?” Corvo, quite interested in the conversation, jumped in.

“Inner sect? Explain that, please?” Thorn looked between the two strategists.

“An inner sect would be the core organization. Tighter rules, better rewards. The outer sect is the opposite. Loose rules, fewer rewards.”

“Correct.” Velin tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. “We could use Nova Luna as the inner sect. All Moon Guardians are required to join as social players, with the potential to test into the professional team. This will encourage players who have ambitions of playing Nova Terra for a living while providing a path for those who just want to quest around the valley.”

“At the same time, we create a loose organization for the Night Walkers who will be leaving the valley. In fact, we can just call it the Night Walkers Association or something simple. Players who want to become a Night Walker will get a free upgrade stone, just like the Moon Guardians, but they will be free to leave the valley.” Corvo looked at Velin, who nodded for him to continue. “However, rather than just let them leave, we provide benefits. We are setting up an intelligence network, right? It wouldn’t be hard to connect it with the Night Walkers and allow them to benefit each other. We can also give Night Walkers discounted prices on goods, provide professional services at a reduced rate, all sorts of things.”

“So it will be more like a club than anything else?” Thorn cupped his chin in his palm, leaning on the armrest of the Wolf Throne.

“Correct.” Velin nodded, taking over the conversation. “But we can make the rules include coming to the defense of other Night Walkers. If we play it right, we’ll be able to mobilize groups of Night Walkers when we need to.”

“Hmm. Did you two talk about this before?”

Looking at each other, Corvo and Velin both smiled, the avatar of the All-Seeing Raven broadly, and the Elven War Priestess very slightly. Looking back at Thorn, they both spoke at the same time.

“No, it is just obvious.”

“Haha, okay, okay.” Thorn held up his hands in defeat as Oberlin murmured something about Elven telepathy. “Let’s do that. I’ll leave the details for the two of you to figure out. Velin, Oberlin asked to be released from his position as spymaster, so Corvo will be taking that over. He is also available if you need help with administrative stuff. Though it looks like you are handling everything really well.”

“The ladies from the Society of Roses have been a huge help in that regard.”

“Be that as it may, I think what you have done is incredibly impressive. There have been nearly no snags at all, despite the fact that almost 200,000 people flooded the valley this past couple weeks. Well done.”

“Thank you, Thorn.” Even though Velin’s face remained calm, her eyes sparkled with warmth.

“Anything else we need to deal with, planning wise?”

“I’ve got some boxes to open.” Oberlin raised his hand. “I have not had a spare moment to work on those six chests that we took from Angdrin, and I’m itching to give them a go. They’ll take a while to crack, but I have a good feeling about them.”

“What about the crusade?” Mina chimed in, her eagerness written clearly across her face. “I want to come. Velin, are you going to come, too?”

“I think I will pass. There is much to do here. Plus, it would be better to start working with the professional team we recruited for Nova Luna. There are a lot of great players that applied, so we should use them. I’m sure most of them know their way around the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow, as well.”

“Alright, that sounds good. We still need to do the final tests for the professional team, right?” Seeing Velin nod, Thorn sighed. “I also need to go start my training for my class. I’m a Disciple of the temple, so I shouldn’t skip out on training. Too much to do.”

“Better to be busy than bored.” Oberlin laughed. Standing, he waved and headed for the door. “Well, I’m off to get working on the locks. Call me if you need me.”

“I’m going to go with him. I’ve got some questions about the network.” Nodding to Thorn, Corvo followed the thief out.

“I’m going to get an Ailuridae!” yelled Mina as she dashed from the room, leaving Velin and Thorn staring at each other. As Mina ran out of the doors, she nearly bumped into Captain Del’har, who was bringing Elder Havva to the Throne Room. Shouting a quick apology, she ran down the hall and jumped down the stairs, calling for Akira to follow her. The furry Ailuridae climbed down from where she had perched on Thorn’s shoulder and scampered out of the throne room after the Ice Witch, nodding to Elder Havva as she passed him.

Making way for the little red creature, the two Wolfkin could not help but smile. Akira was a cute little thing, and her slightly stuck up ways just added to her charm. Entering the throne room, the captain saluted, while Elder Havva just waved as Thorn began to stand.

“Sit, sit. Lord Greymane, you must learn to behave as your position demands. It is not my place to correct your behavior, but I hope you will treat my words as those of a concerned elder. Your position is such that the only person you should rise for is a noble ranked above you. When we are in the temple, you can pay the proper respect as befits your identity as a disciple, but in your own hall you must maintain your dignity.”

“Thank you, Elder. I will take your words to heart.” Despite how much it bothered him to accept the respect of someone so much older than himself, Thorn knew that Elder Havva’s words were right. Growing up, he had been largely insulated from this sort of thing by his aunt, but she had warned him countless times that he could not avoid acting according to his position. Now, his position was that of the lord of the valley, and standing to greet Elder Havva was not acceptable.

“Good, I am glad to hear that. I must admit, I have been surprised to see how many of our people have returned home. Truly, the blessing of Hati has returned to this land. We failed as the Moon Guardians, yet you have restored the honor of the Wolfkin. Thank you.”

“It is my honor and duty, Elder. Now, to business. The great number of new disciples in the valley is certainly a blessing, but handled poorly, it could become a disaster. I’ll let Velin fill you in, but we have some ideas for how we could make sure that things do not get out of hand.”

CHAPTER NINE

After laying out their ideas and getting some feedback from Elder Havva, Thorn and Velin finalized their plans for the Wolfkin who were arriving in the valley. They decided to offer three different paths to new Wolfkin players. First, players were always free to play the game on their own, and to ensure that no bad feelings were built up, the Temple of the Moon would offer a quest for the shining silver moonstones used for advancing the Disciple class. The quest would serve as the typical advancement quest, allowing a player to build reputation with the temple, which would unlock the ability to purchase moon stones.

The other two paths would tie the player to the temple, automatically granting them the Disciple class and guaranteeing a free moon stone for advancing when they were ready. When they had completed their training, the players would be given the choice of becoming a member of the Night Walkers and leaving the valley, or staying as a Moon Guardian. As both groups were still tied to the Temple of the Moon, they would be able to build up the influence of the temple as more players joined.

It was not until he heard these plans being made that Thorn realized just how much of an advantage he had gained in becoming Lord Greymane. The Wolfkin race was a tremendous asset, and it would only continue to grow as players chose to play as Wolfkin. Thorn had initially expected some resistance from Elder Havva, but the Wolfkin elder had thrown his full support behind the idea, even making some suggestions that would tie the players to the temple even tighter.

“Oh, Elder Havva, I meant to ask. As I was on the way back from the capital, I realized that [Pack Travel] doesn’t work with other people in my guild. It only works on those with the disciple class. I was wondering because when we were on our way back from the old village to the valley it seemed like all of the Wolfkin had it. Is it a Wolfkin Racial ability?”

“No, it is an ability of the Dawn Court. As you advance in your Disciple class, your ability will grow, allowing you to grant the bonus to anyone in a group with you.” The elderly Wolfkin wagged his finger at Thorn. “You would know this if you trained your class properly.”

“Haha, yeah.” Embarrassed, Thorn scratched the back of his neck and changed the subject. “Velin, are there any other issues you see with our plan?”

“No, I think it is tight enough as it is. We can always adjust if any issues crop up.” Velin looked over her notes and shook her head. “I’m going to go deal with the second round of selection for the professional team. You should come down when you are done here.”

“Will do. Thanks.”

Velin left to gather the players who had passed the first rounds of selection for the guild’s professional team while Thorn talked to Elder Havva and Captain Del’har about the citadel. Saluting, the captain handed over a report and began to talk about everything that had happened over the last few weeks.

“My Lord, we have had no major incidents during the time you were gone. Thanks to the disciples of the Temple of the Moon, our security has been excellent, and we have been able to release the soldiers back to their previous occupations. As you instructed, we have established the Freemen as an independent patrol group in the valley and established a Town Watch in Greymane village. Elder Thomas has been doing a good job organizing the village, though it is quickly growing beyond the wall due to the influx of travelers and natives.

“He has also requested that a second town be constructed, or that the town be expanded substantially. Additionally, he has petitioned that some space in the valley be set aside for farming. It would undoubtedly be best if you met with him. We have also categorized the resources produced in the valley, which you can see in the report, and have begun setting up trading agreements with the merchants who have arrived. The merchants and guilds who have applied for residence in the citadel have been settled, and the non-combat guild members that Nova Luna has recruited have also been organized.”

“How has the non-combat part of the guild been organized?”

“The majority of the non-combat members of Nova Luna hold production or support classes, my Lord. They have been assigned space in the crafting quarter or the merchant quarter. Lady Velin organized them into groups and has assigned them a variety of tasks to help support the guild.”

“Thank you, Captain. You’ve done a good job. I’ll look over the report and get back to you if I have any special instructions.” Putting the report away, Thorn looked over at Elder Havva. “Elder, I will be reporting to morning training once I have settled the matters of the guild and will plan on coming to speak to you after that, if you will be available.”

“I’ll wait to see you then.” The elderly Wolfkin waved. After bidding goodbye to Thorn and the captain, he shuffled out of the room, leaving the two of them to continue their conversation. Thorn stood up and stretched out to his full height.

“Alright, we can leave everything else for later. Let’s go catch up with Velin. I could use your help with the tests.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Saluting again, the captain followed behind Thorn as they went to see what Velin was doing.

Outside, in one of the large yards, Velin stood in front of a group of 250 players.

“Thank you all for your application to Nova Luna.” Velin looked over the crowd of players that had passed through the initial professional team test. “Everyone here has passed the first round of the application process and is now officially a member of the professional team of the guild. As we discussed at the beginning of the process, we are now going to test for the two active teams. Initially, our active teams will be comprised of the top one hundred players in the professional team split into two groups. The top fifty players will form the First Raid Group, while the second fifty will belong to the Second Raid Group. We are also forming a special group, initially limited to twenty people, led by our guild leader, that anyone can apply to join. The rest of the players will form the reserve team.

“Every two weeks there will be a test, allowing for players on the reserve team to replace players on the active teams. Reserve members are eligible for spots on the Second Raid Group, while members of the Second Raid Group are eligible to compete for the fifty spots in the First Raid Group.” Taking a breath, Velin looked around, only to see that everyone’s attention was fixed on Thorn, who had just entered. With a sigh, she gestured toward him. “As you have noticed, our guild leader has arrived.

“This is Thorn. He is the guild leader of Nova Luna. He also holds the title of Baron Greymane, the Moon Wolf. In addition to the first and second raid groups, we will also be forming a special guard unit that will fall under the guild leader’s direct command and will be responsible for grinding crusade rep, among other things. There are currently ten slots in the guild leader’s guard, though that number will increase with time. Guild leader, would you like to say a few words?”

“Sure.” Unbothered by the eyes of over two hundred and fifty professional players fixed on him, Thorn walked to the front of the room. “Hello. As Velin said, my name is Thorn. We are very excited to have all of you here as we begin to build Nova Luna’s professional team. With such a strong group of players we are, without a doubt, fated for great things in Nova Terra. Our goal for the first few months is to get used to working together, and I hope you will put all your effort into that. We have a wonderful home that is full of resources and opportunities, and by combining our efforts, we will be able to grow beyond anything you can currently imagine.

“I’m sure you have all explored Moon Wolf Citadel over the last few days. This is our home base, and Fang Valley is where we will be focusing our initial efforts. There are ruins in the mountains to the east, on the other side of the valley, and plenty of interesting things to do in the valley itself. The development of our First Raid Group will focus on the ruins, while the Second Raid Group will focus on exploring the valley and clearing out the corrupted wolf dens.

“Our backer, Atlas Energy, is expecting big things from us and will be investing heavily to establish a stronghold in Nova Terra. We are the front line of that effort. The tip of the spear, if you will. Nova Luna’s plans are two-fold. First, we intend to focus a large part of our efforts on establishing trade using the citadel as our base. Part of that effort will include supporting merchants with escort squads that will act as guards for any merchant whose caravan passes through the citadel. Second, we will develop our professional team into a strong contender for dungeon records and competing on the various battlefields.

“As Velin mentioned, we will be forming three groups initially, and a reserve force. The First Raiding Group will be called the Deimos squad, while the second group will be called the Phobos squad. In the future, it is likely that we will expand the number of squads, but for now we are going to operate with just two. If you don’t make it into one of the squads in this first round, don’t worry. There will be plenty of opportunity moving forward.”

Taking a deep breath and pausing for a moment to let his words sink in, Thorn continued.

“The strength of Nova Luna will lie in unity. We are forging an elite but united group, focusing on adaptability and power. Our goal is to develop into a guild that no one will dream of crossing, establishing ourselves as the primary power in the Ironhold Duchy. From there we will expand across the continent, growing until we claim the spot of number one.

“I recognize that Nova Luna is a newcomer to the game, and many people doubt that we will be able to compete with the major guilds. Some players may even be laughing at us. They don’t think that a newly established guild will be able to handle the pressure. Maybe they think that we will not be able to hold on. We will prove them wrong, not using empty words, but with our actions.”

As Thorn spoke, his warm, rich voice bounced around the room, bringing a comfortable feeling to everyone who heard it. Players found themselves nodding along as he described his vision for the guild. Standing next to him, even Velin found herself moved by the image his words formed, as if a beautiful picture was being painted before her, drawing her in.

Realizing what was happening, Velin was reminded of the effect of Ouroboros’ aura. Yet Thorn’s words gave a different feeling than Ouroboros’ had. The Exalted Devil Blood Berserker’s words had an insidious effect, appearing at first glance to be gentle and considerate but carrying an underlying coldness that made the listener fearful. Thorn’s words were rougher, less polished, yet they held firm strength and a warmth that inspired. As Velin looked over the faces of the players that had made it through the first round of tests, it was obvious from their enraptured expressions how Thorn’s words had captured them.

As he finished speaking, the players talked quietly among themselves, their eyes shining with excitement for the future. None of them had ever experienced being part of a super guild in the top 10, so hearing Thorn’s plans to grow Nova Luna into a behemoth ignited their passion. When they had first received the invitation to apply to Nova Luna, many had been skeptical, but between seeing Moon Wolf Citadel and the conditions of the professional team contracts, they each were convinced to apply.

Energized by Thorn’s words, the players followed Velin’s direction and split into five groups of fifty that lined up to wait outside of the yard. Selecting five numbers at random, Velin called them out and five players, one from each group, reentered the yard, their combat gear equipped. Calling another group of five, she gestured for them to face off.

“The test is simple,” Velin said, standing in front of the five players, “you have sixty seconds to organize, and then you’ll be fighting against each other. We’ve already done the single combat assessments, so our goal here is to determine how you fight in a group. You will be rated on how you adapt to this situation. You may begin.”

Immediately both teams looked at each other in dismay. The first group panicked, drawing their weapons, but the second group was calmer. A bearded priest stepped back from the group, and called out in a low voice, “Sivir, Frost Priest, DPS and Control.”

Their eyes lighting up, the rest of the group quietly gave their names, classes and specialties, getting into formation according to their roles. A sharp eyed archer from the other team saw what they were doing and copied, prompting his team to do the same. Just as the last person finished announcing their class, Velin waved her hand.

“Start!”

Both teams immediately burst into action, the melee fighters dashing toward each other while the spellcasters began to chant their spells. One of the teams had a rogue who tried to fade from view, only to be highlighted in a glowing red light by the sharp-eyed archer. Just as the archer was about to shoot his bow at the rogue, a sense of danger came over him and he tumbled backward, barely avoiding being engulfed by a whirling globe of snow and sleet.

Freed from the marking effect, the rogue tossed a thankful look at the Frost Priest and vanished. Cursing, the archer yelled for his team to be careful and began releasing arrows at the other team. Watching from the side with fascination, Thorn tried to take in as much as possible. All ten of the combatants were elite players and were quite evenly matched. Eventually, the rogue managed to ambush one of the casters on the archer’s team, and the Frost Priest’s team squeezed out a victory.

Using the training yard’s controls to revive everyone and restore their health, Velin thanked the players and told them the results would come out the next afternoon after the third round of tests. After they left, she called in the next group and repeated the performance. Throughout the afternoon and evening, group after group came in and fought against each other. Thorn and Captain Del’har watched the fights closely, reporting their thoughts to Velin, who kept track of everything. Part way through the fights, Mina ran in with Akira, holding another Ailuridae that had agreed to contract with her.

Showing it off proudly to Thorn, she was about to leave when Velin grabbed her and made her assess the new members of the professional team. Grumbling, she took a clipboard and made notes while her Ailuridae played with Akira.

“Why are they all so bad?” Mina whined after the last team had fought.

“I don't think they were that bad.” Thorn patted her on the head. “Sure, they could use polishing, but at least their basics were solid.”

“Ha, I bet I could take on both teams any day of the week,” she boasted, swatting Thorn’s hand away.

“Mmmm. Good. That can be the next test.” Velin nodded, writing in her notebook.

“Wait? What?! No, no, we don’t need to do that.”

“You can help, as well.” Ignoring her friend, Velin looked at Thorn.

“Aww. Me and my big mouth,” Mina grumbled as Thorn chuckled on the side.

“This is so you can get used to fighting alongside Thorn. Being familiar with each other’s level of combat ability will help with cohesion. Thorn, you are responsible for determining the other three people you will take with you on your first crusade. Overall, you will be picking a squad of twenty, which will cover your first two advancements. Remember, the primary focus of your team is survivability, alright? The crusade is quite chaotic, and the most important thing is making it till the end.”

Nodding, Thorn could not help but smile. He had a feeling he was going to like the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow.

CHAPTER TEN

The next morning, the group of players gathered again, this time to decide if they wanted to apply for the guard squad that Thorn would manage. Once everyone had arrived, Thorn stepped out to address them.

“Good morning. Thanks to your excellent results yesterday, it was quite a chore to divide you into the three squads. As we mentioned yesterday, we are also forming a special Titan squad. The Titan squad will be under my direct command. Initially, there will be twenty slots in the squad, and we will be working on grinding crusade rep for the Order of the Flame. Unlike the other squads, this one will not have a rotating membership. Instead, if you are interested, you can volunteer to be part of it. Anyone who wants to try out can stay for testing. If not, no pressure. We will be announcing the squad lineups this afternoon.

“The two requirements for being part of the Titan squad are a level of familiarity with the crusade battlefields and being eligible for the professional team. Since you are still here, you fill the requirements. Unlike the two other squads and the reserve force, the Titan squad will be a purely combat squad. Don’t expect to explore ruins or dive dungeons regularly. Instead, you will also serve as the official enlisted force registered under Baron Greymane. In the future, this squad will be responsible for fighting as part of the Imperial Army, should there be a mustering call.”

For a couple moments the players were silent, looking at each other, until one person stepped forward, pushing through the crowd, all the while looking warily at Thorn. Recognizing the sharp-eyed archer from the day before, Thorn waited for him to speak.

“I don’t mean any disrespect, guild leader, but I think most of us would like to find out who we’ll be working with if we join this Titan squad.”

“Hmm? Ah, you mean you want to see me fight?”

“Yeah. We came because we know Velin and respect what she is capable of. Mina as well. And you certainly look like you hit like a truck. But we have our pride. Joining the raiding groups is fine, since we’ll be playing with others who are on our level, but if you are taking command of a squad, it would be nice if you could show us what you can do.” Despite any nervousness he felt, the archer faced Thorn directly, stating his opinion.

“Great idea.” Thorn’s lips curled slightly. “How about the same as yesterday? Form a team of five to fight. Your opponent will be me and Mina.”

“Um…”

Seeing awkward looks appearing on the faces of the players, Thorn looked down at Mina in confusion, only to see her grinning smugly.

“Mina could probably take any five of them by herself,” Velin said quietly, not looking up from her notebook where she was writing. Flipping the cover shut, she avoided looking at the already embarrassed players, instead fixing her gaze on Mina. “Despite her size and normal comportment, Mina is quite skilled in PvP.”

“Okay, then I can just face them myself?” Thorn scratched his head, still unable to wrap his head around someone being afraid of Mina.

“Hey, why don’t you fight me?” Annoyed that Thorn was underestimating her, Mina pulled out her wand and poked him in the side. “I’ll show you what real PvP looks like.”

“Um. I don’t know, I don’t want to hurt you,” said Thorn sheepishly.

In the stunned silence that followed, Thorn could almost see the ice forming around Mina’s feet as the temperature abruptly plummeted. Glaring at him, she marched over to one side of the yard and pointed her wand at him.

“Just don’t go crying to your aunt when I spank you.”

“Haha, okay, okay.” Laughing helplessly, Thorn faced her and summoned his armor. Flexing the claws on his left hand, he gripped his tetsubo in his right. “Careful Mina. I won’t be pulling punches.”

“That’s my line.” With a wave of her wand, three blue globes appeared, flying in orbit around her pointy hat.

Along the side of the yard, the players looked on, talking quietly to each other. Stepping forward, Sivir, the Frost Priest, stood next to the archer.

“How do you rate the guild leader’s chances?”

“Him? He’s big, but that just means he is going to get hit more. His armor is imposing, but Mina won’t care about that. I heard he is a single category disciple, too. So he is pretty much outgunned in every way.”

“I dunno, he seems pretty confident.” Sivir rubbed his chin. “And Velin doesn’t seem too worried, either.”

“Nah, that’s just her face. She’s always ice cold.”

Velin opened to a new page in her notebook and looked at Mina and Thorn to see if they were ready to fight. Lifting her hand, she slowly counted down.

“Three, two, one. Fight!”

As soon as the first sound of the word “fight” left her lips, Mina had already burst into action, her form blurring as she darted directly toward Thorn. One of the revolving blue orbs rose into the air and stopped in place, the moisture in the air around it compressing and twisting into razor sharp ice spikes. Sliding forward on a path of ice, Mina abruptly changed directions as the ice spikes shot forward toward Thorn, who spun his tetsubo to knock them away. Just as he was about to turn to his right to face her, Thorn noticed that the orb was creating more ice spikes.

Stepping to his left, Thorn was startled when the ice spikes rotated as well, aiming right at him. Just then, the second orb rose into the air, fixing in place on the other side of Thorn. Ice spikes began to manifest around that orb as well, sandwiching Thorn. Frowning under his helmet, Thorn was about to jump forward to try and knock one of the orbs down when he heard a voice behind him.

“[Sub Zero!]” While he had been distracted by the floating orbs, Mina slid around behind his back, surrounding him on three sides. As soon as he began to move one direction, she cast her spell, causing the temperature around him to instantly fall well below zero. The abrupt shift in temperature shocked his body, causing him to lose control of it for a moment.

Condition: Stunned

You have been stunned! You are unable to move.

Due to your racial trait [Titan’s Endurance], the duration of the condition has been reduced.

Seeing the warning flashing, Thorn didn’t need to turn around to know that he was about to get hit by an attack. Before the blinking indicator had disappeared, Mina cast her next spell.

“[Avalanche!]”

Above Thorn’s head, a runic circle appeared, summoning a ton of snow and slush to collapse down onto him.

Condition: Frozen

You have been Frozen! Your speed has been reduced.

Due to your racial trait [Titan’s Endurance], the duration of the condition has been reduced.

Peppered with ice spikes that glanced off of his chest, arms, and head, Thorn had never felt more grateful for the full body armor that his [Avatar of the Wolf] ability granted him. The spikes left dents and scratches on his silver armor, but Thorn was relieved that they did not make it to his skin. As the effect of [Sub Zero] wore off, Thorn started to struggle free from the effects of the [Avalanche] spell, when Mina’s voice sounded again.

“[Raging Blizzard!]” Instantly the wet and heavy snow that surrounded Thorn rose into the air, creating a raging maelstrom of razor-sharp ice. Encased in a bubble of deadly snow, Thorn had no way of seeing the ice spikes that continued to shoot toward him, putting him in a completely passive position.

Watching from the side, Sivir sighed. It was obvious that the guild leader had underestimated Mina and was now paying the price. Around him, players were starting to grumble quietly. After all, no professional player would be content working for someone who was weak. Stealing a glance, Sivir noticed that Velin’s expression had not changed one bit, and rather than writing in her notebook, she was looking dispassionately at the fight. Hearing gasps from the players around him, the Frost Priest turned his eyes back to the fight, only to be stunned by what he saw.

So far, Mina successfully held the initiative in the fight, forcing Thorn into a passive position. Yet, as her combo played out flawlessly, the Ice Witch could not shake a dangerous feeling. Her casts were executed perfectly with impeccable timing, each building on the last to what should have been devastating effect. At this point in the fight, Thorn should have been off balance and trapped by the whirling storm of ice and sleet.

About to release her final coup de grace, Mina lifted her wand when an abrupt feeling of danger flashed across her mind and she abandoned the spell, teleporting backward. Just as she was about to vanish, two red, glowing eyes appeared from the globe of swirling snow, fixed on her. Disappearing from where she stood and appearing twenty feet away, Mina gulped as she saw a massive metal club smashed into the ground where she had stood a split second before.

Moving so fast that it looked like he teleported, Thorn appeared, gripping the handle of his tetsubo. As soon as the stunned condition had worn off, Thorn had sensed the danger he was in and activated [Wolf's Rage], increasing his speed and strength. His hot breath curled up from his helmet, shrouding his glowing red eyes in mist. With a roar, he launched himself forward, his tetsubo smashing into the ground as Mina slid away. Despite dodging the blow, chunks of stone flew through the air, nearly knocking the petite witch down.

“[Ice Wall!]” Shouting out her defensive spell, Mina tried to create some space between herself and Thorn, only to see his form blur and pass through the walls as if they were not there. Bearing down on Mina like a freight train, Thorn’s tetsubo glowed with a red mist, and he stabbed it forward like a spear. Mina, dodging to the side, hurriedly cast [Sub Zero] again, trying to slow Thorn down.

The spell hit and Thorn froze solid, but just before he lost control of his movement, he flicked his wrist and his tetsubo whirled out, catching Mina off-guard. Despite her best effort to dodge out of the way, the edge of the weapon clipped her shoulder, throwing her from her feet. The red mist that had pulsed around the club shifted onto Mina’s shoulder and she could feel her health beginning to drain.

“[Clean as Ice.]” Gritting her teeth, Mina hurried to cast a spell to stop the bleeding effect that Thorn’s charging strike had applied to her. Unfortunately, doing so did not give her time to scramble back up from where she had fallen. With a gutteral snarl, Thorn’s eyes flashed bright red after less than a second of being unable to move, and he leaped forward, his clawed fingers burying themselves into the stone next to Mina’s head.

“Thorn wins!” Quickly declaring the victor, Velin ended the fight, restoring both Mina and Thorn to their perfect state.

Chuckling happily, Thorn helped Mina up as he dismissed his armor. Frustrated, she punched him as hard as she could, causing him to chuckle even louder.

“That is not fair! You must be cheating! [Sub Zero] is a five second stun. How do you have multiple stun breaks? That is totally unfair!” Complaining, Mina ran over to Velin, pointing back at Thorn. “Velin, he is cheating! I should be able to beat him. How can he ignore my spells like that?”

“Congratulations on your victory,” Velin nodded to Thorn as she ignored Mina. Turning to the silent crowd of players, who were looking at Thorn in various states of shock and fear, she raised her eyebrows. “Does anyone else need a demonstration? If so, please step out.” Waiting for a minute, and seeing that no one stepped forward, Velin looked at the archer who had first raised the issue. “How about you? Are you satisfied?”

“Ah, yes. Yes. No issues here.” Nearly choking on his words, the archer avoided looking at Thorn.

“Good. Since everyone is satisfied, we will open up applications for the Titan squad. If you are interested in applying, please line up along the right side.”

Immediately, half of the crowd surged forward, jostling to get a good place in the line. Becoming a soldier carried some restrictions that many professional players were not fond of, but that was easily offset by Thorn’s unbelievable combat ability. Watching him crush through some of the best crowd control in the game had convinced them that fighting beside Thorn would be profitable.

After the players settled down, Velin dismissed those that did not apply and began to conduct the interviews. This time the players who shared a role competed against each other. After discussing it, Thorn and Velin had decided to assign the twenty slots in the Titan squad to a balanced group that focused on survivability. Thorn could deal absurd amounts of damage, so the squad would largely revolve around supporting him in that roll.

Mina had reached out to Jorge to invite him back to the party after talking to Thorn about it, and the dwarf had agreed to give it a try. At the moment, Thorn’s lawyers were helping him go through the process of dissolving his contract with Ragnarok so he could join Nova Luna. With Thorn, Mina, and Jorge, the initial crusade team was missing two players.

Eventually, Velin decided on two support players who had played together as partners for over ten years. Seven Twisted Leaves was a Fae who looked like a human with tree bark for skin with the racial class Fae Druid, and Delmore was a Tigerkin Spirit Guide. Both classes were Support and Utility dual category classes that had high survivability but low damage output.

Once the other fifteen members of the Titan squad had been picked, Velin arranged the Deimos and the Phobos squads, placing the remaining players into the reserve group. Over the next two weeks, the squads would work together to practice their coordination and develop the rapport necessary to run the high difficulty dungeons. Every morning, they would join the disciples from the Temple of the Moon in their morning training before practicing their raiding formation. During this time, Velin would pay close attention to their performance and pick out the leaders of each squad.

For the first few days, the Titan squad also practiced with the other squads, but after the third day, they began to practice battle formations instead of the defensive focused raiding formations. Since all of the players in the Titan squad were elites, it did not take them long to grasp the battle formations, and they were soon able to swap between them smoothly. Seeing that the squad was working well together, Thorn decided it was time to join a crusade. But first, he had to meet Jorge.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Knowing full well that meeting Jorge again was going to be awkward, Thorn arranged for the Titan squad to do a training session against the Deimos squad. Unlike his conversation with Mina and Velin, he assumed that Jorge would rather just move past what had happened rather than belaboring the point. Thorn had already asked Mina to pass his apology along, and he felt that it would be better to give Jorge time to get back into the routine of being in the party together before addressing it.

When Mina and Jorge arrived, the dwarf looked around with barely contained shock. Mina had tried to describe Moon Wolf Citadel to him, but her words had not come close to doing it justice. Walking over to greet them, Thorn could tell that Jorge was still slightly uncomfortable, so he quickly introduced him to the rest of the members of the Titan squad.

“You got here just in time, Jorge. We are going to run one last scrimmage with the Deimos squad before we try our first crusade. Since we are limited to five people, we’ll be taking you, me, Mina, Leaves, and Delmore. You will be responsible for scouting and will act as supporting dps. Mina will be crowd control and dps. I’m going to tank. Leaves has some crowd control and healing. Delmore is a buffer and, he has healing as well.”

Nodding that he understood, Jorge waved hello to the Fae and Tigerkin, who were looking him over.

“Got it. Have you picked which crusade we are going to do?”

“No, not yet. I was waiting for you to arrive so we can talk about it. We can decide which we want to do after you see how the team works. Mina was saying that you have a lot of experience with the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow?”

“Yeah. I ran as a scout for the Silver Guard. Sylith and the Silver Guard were responsible for grinding crusade rep, but they are about as subtle as a ton of flaming bricks, so the other groups pitched in players to act as scouts. I ran with them off and on for about six years.”

“Awesome, then we’ll be relying on you to point us in the right direction.”

“I’ve got you. I know that battlefield like the back of my hand.”

Standing to the side, Mina listened to Thorn and Jorge talking, her expression getting stranger by the minute. As they lapsed into silence, she stared at each of them in turn. Finally, unable to hold it in, she exploded.

“Is that it?! You are just going to ignore the fact that you have not been talking for the last six months? Nothing? No sorry? No, I won’t stab you again?”

Startled by her outburst, Thorn looked down at Jorge, who shrugged.

“Uh. Yeah.” Thorn scratched his head.

“You…” Her finger quivering, Mina pointed at Thorn. “If you two idiots don’t care, then what was I worrying about all this time?!”

“I mean, it's not that we don’t care.”

“Yeah.” Jorge agreed. “It’s just, what is the point talking about it?” Seeing that Thorn was nodding, he continued. “I know what we did was stupid, and I’m not going to do it again.”

“Right, and I already said I forgive you all.”

“I… you… Oh, forget it.” Mina sighed in defeat, causing Jorge to chuckle.

Patting Mina on the shoulder, Thorn called Leaves and Delmore over. The two support players had proven themselves quite capable in the duels with the Deimos squad, and Thorn was confident that, with the addition of Jorge, their team of five would be more than strong enough to clear the initial crusades.

“One last test match before we start our first crusade. Jorge, coordinate with Mina on targets. Delmore is our shot caller for now. Let's do this.”

The fight was short but brutal as Mina and Jorge used their stuns to incapacitate two of their opponents, and Thorn smashed the enemy tank with a single hit. Putting up a valiant fight, the players from the Deimos squad managed to nearly kill Leaves by focusing everything they had on the Fae, but a well timed [Spirit Swap] by Delmore pulled Leaves out of range. The Tigerkin’s Spirit Guide class allowed him to summon supportive spirits whose auras and abilities affected the whole battlefield. By switching one of his spirits with Leaves, Delmore was able to keep him alive while the spirit who had been moved exploded into a poisonous mist.

With their support stun-locked by Mina and Jorge and no way to get rid of the poison, the Deimos team was losing health fast, and they could only resign themselves to their fate. After the last player on their team was taken down, and everything was reset, their team leader walked over to Thorn.

“Well, that was embarrassing.”

“Your name is Geliks, right?” Thorn extended his hand for a handshake. Taking it, the warrior nodded, marveling at the massive difference in the size of their hands. “Don’t be too down. You five just started working together while these four have more experience playing together.”

“That is true. Honestly, I don’t know that fighting us will be any help. Your team is pretty solid as your individual skill levels are high. Mina and Jorge are an absurd combination, and while Delmore and Leaves are not the best in the game, they are solid support.” Geliks rubbed his chin ruefully. “And I have no words for you. I don’t know what you hit me with, but if you can do it every time, then you will be fine. I think that time will help you improve your coordination, so from here it is just a matter of grinding out crusade missions.”

“That makes sense.” Thorn was a little disappointed that the fight had been so one-sided, but after hearing Geliks’ words, he had to admit that the warrior was right. Velin had intentionally tried to make sure that the best players ended up in the Titan squad by offering excellent conditions. “Thanks for helping out.”

“Sure thing. Let me know if you need anything else. Velin has us running some practice dungeons to try and work out the kinks, but you are the boss, so just tell us if you want us doing something else.”

“Haha, don’t let Velin hear you say that.” Thorn laughed as he waved his hands in protest.

“Hear what?” At some point, the cold-faced elf had appeared behind Thorn.

“Hmm? Oh, hey, Velin.” Thorn’s face was a picture of pleasant surprise as he turned. “You are here just in time. We’re done with our practice fights, and we are ready to start our first crusade. Jorge was saying he has done a lot of them over the years, so I was hoping the two of you could fill me in on what our options are.” Putting an arm around her shoulders, he gently led her away, paying no attention to her glare. “Might as well start at the beginning because I don’t know anything about the crusades.”

Gathering the Titan squad, Velin flipped open her notebook.

“In a moment, you will be starting the first mission. The first squad of five is going to be Thorn, Mina, Jorge, Seven Twisted Leaves, and Delmore. Currently, Thorn is a Commissioned Knight, limiting us to five players. Because our goal is to grind rep for the guild, we are not going to run multiple teams. However, while you are waiting for Thorn to upgrade his rank, you are welcome to form teams of five to run crusades yourselves. In fact, I recommend it. It will help you get back into the format of the missions, as I’m sure that most of you have not run missions for a couple years.

“Thorn, Jorge will explain more once you arrive, but remember that the goal is to gain 50 commendations so that you can rank up to an official Knight. That will increase the number of slots in your team to ten, which should allow you to make better progress. At 150 commendations, you will advance to Knight Captain, and we will be able to bring the whole team in. I’ll be joining you at that point. For now, just focus on running missions. Any questions?”

“No, I think I’ve got a handle on it.”

“Good. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Velin.” Flashing a smile at her, Thorn looked at the four members of the Titan squad that had joined him. Seeing that they were ready, Thorn opened up his menu and selected the crusade button, disappearing in a flash.

Thorn felt his surroundings warp slightly, and suddenly they were standing in the middle of a military camp. Wooden and stone buildings surrounded them, squads of soldiers bustling here and there. A few players could be seen hanging around, but the majority of people were natives. Smoke rose from a few of the buildings, drifting gently into the darkening sky.

The soldiers’ armor was dented and scratched from intense use, and the aura they gave off was as sharp as a blade. Everywhere Thorn looked he saw tough veterans who walked and stood with precision. Surprised by how highly trained they appeared, Thorn looked to the south where the faint clashing of metal could be heard.

“Let’s head to the board. I can explain how everything works on the way.” Jorge’s gruff voice brought Thorn back to the present. Continuing to look around, he followed the dwarf, who led the way to a large board where a collection of missions were posted.

“There are two categories of quests in the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow. The large, multi-step quests are called Crusades. They require a Knight Captain or higher officer to oversee them. However, we could join a crusade by fighting under another officer. Successfully completing a crusade should net you between five and twenty commendations, depending on how many steps you are part of. If you want to run our own quests, we can take a mission. They generally give between two and ten commendations depending on how hard they are.

“Missions could be anything from escorting supplies to guarding an important spot on the battlefield. Assaults, which happen just about every day, are also considered missions, though you get commendations based on the number of enemies you kill. There are also defensive missions where we guard the walls against assaults, which operate the same way.”

“Hmm. Any suggestions for our first mission?”

“Yeah, sure. I say that we look for an ambush mission. They are the most fun and have the highest potential reward. Not only do they give a fixed commendation reward, the enemies also tick up your kill count, which is worth commendations.”

“Ambush?” Mina scoffed. “Have you looked at Thorn recently? We’d have to disguise him as an elephant. You might as well try and sneak up on someone while carrying a whale.”

“Hey, I don’t stand out that much.”

Rolling her eyes at Thorn’s protests, Mina just jerked her thumb over her shoulder. Thorn turned his head and saw a whole crowd of soldiers staring at him.

“Alright, maybe I’m a bit more noticeable than most.”

“Hah, Thorn’s size is exactly why ambush is the best for us. He is a human freight train. If we ambush enemy squads, we can wipe them out before they can call reinforcements. We’ll just have to find the right places to have our ambushes. Leave ambushing to me. I’m a master.” Jorge patted his chest confidently.

“Um.” Delmore cleared his throat, his whiskers twitching. Nervous, he looked at his wooden faced companion, who nudged him encouragingly. “I can make us invisible.”

“Yeah, like that will help... wait. Did you say invisible?” Mina waved her hand dismissively until the Tigerkin’s words sunk in.

“Ah, yeah. I have a spirit that can cast concealment as long as we don’t move.”

“Oh, yeah. That should work.” Deflated, Mina looked at Jorge’s triumphant expression and hmphed to herself. Slightly concerned by her response, Thorn looked between her and Jorge, who smirked.

“She is just mad because I’m better at ambushing than she is. Defensive missions are the quests she likes to run because that is the only way she can top my kill counts.”

“Yeah right.” Mina stuck her tongue out at Jorge, who just laughed. “I can kill more devils than you any day of the week, no matter what sort of mission we are doing.”

“That reminds me. Who are we fighting?” Trying to distract Mina and Jorge, Thorn interrupted before the argument got worse. “I’ve heard people say that we are fighting devils?”

“Yup.” This time Seven Twisted Leaves answered. “They pretty much look like humans, but their skin is red and they have tails, horns, sharp teeth, sometimes multiple arms, or wings. I’ve seen some that walk on three legs. Now that I think about it, the only ones that look like humans are the really high level ones that have shape-shifted.

“The devils are invading the battlefield, and the Order of the Flame is resisting the invasion. Down south, the Demonkin fight against angels, but honestly, they are pretty much the same as the devils. They are not really angels. The high level ones look like angels, but only when they are transformed. Their real forms are the same as the devils. From what I understand, it is two races from the same place that are trying to wipe out all the other races on the battlefield.”

“Everyone keeps calling this place the battlefield. Is it in Nova Terra?”

“Eh, sort of.” Jorge scratched his chin. “The story is that this is a large portal that connects the world of the devils and angels to Nova Terra. The Order of the Flame and the Order of the Shadow both guard one of the entrances to Angoril. If either were to fall, then the devils or angels would flood over, and we would have to fight on the normal map.”

“Interesting. Well, let's pick a mission. The sooner we get some commendations the sooner we can bring the whole team in.” Thorn leafed through the available missions, finally settling on an ambush mission with Jorge’s help. “We need to stop by the commander’s tent to accept the mission. Is there anything else we need to do before we start?”

“Yeah, we should pick up supplies. We might be out in the wilds for a while, so food and camping gear are a must. The store also sells specialty items like ward stones, which will help hide us at night when we make camp and can also detect the presence of devils.”

“Why don’t you go and get what we need while I activate the mission? Leaves and Delmore can go with you to help.” Pulling a small sack of gold from his inventory, Thorn tossed it to Jorge. Snatching it from the air, the dwarf tossed it in his hand as he estimated the contents. “Is that going to be enough?”

“Should be.”

“Good. We’ll meet by the main gate when we’re done.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

The command center was a large building sitting on the top of a hill where it had a good view of the primary battlefield. The camp itself was situated near the top of a mountain, overlooking a large plain. Behind the mountain was the portal leading to Angoril, while a hundred miles away, facing the camp, was the devil’s camp. According to Mina, who had not stopped talking since they parted ways with the others, this battlefield was originally a piece of Angoril.

A hundred years ago, the portals from the devils’ world had been opened, and the devils and angels rushed through to attack Angoril. After a terrible fight, they were forced back to the land around their portals by a combined army of the native races. A powerful mage wove a world shaking spell, ripping part of the continent from the earth and binding it into its own space. In order to guard the battlefield, an order of humans and Demonkin was established.

However, when the empire fell and the continent was split, the battlefield was split as well, resulting in the Battlefield of Fire and the Battlefield of Shadow. Fourteen years ago, the Order of Flame found itself facing an unprecedented push from the devil army, forcing them to open up recruitment to the travelers that covered Angoril. Though the main battles had been fought and won, there was still plenty to do on the battlefield.

The guards at the door to the command center stopped Thorn warily as he approached. After finding out that he was there to activate a mission, one of the guards went inside to see if the commander was available, while the other gripped his sword and shield tightly, trying to appear as relaxed as possible.

Noticing the guard’s nervousness, Thorn tried to make some smalltalk, but that just served to unsettle the guard even more. Eventually, the guard who had stepped inside the building came back and invited Thorn and Mina inside. The majority of the command center was a large open room dominated by a massive table. Runic lines covered the sides of the table, showing a magical reproduction of the battlefield.

Five heavily armored knights stood around the edge of the room, their eyes fixed on Thorn and Mina as soon as they walked through the door. Bending over the table, two older men talked in low voices. The older one straightened as Thorn approached, brushing his hand gently over his greying mustache.

“You are Commissioned Knight Thorn? Which mission did you bring?” The commander’s voice was exceptionally loud, causing the windows to rattle slightly in their frames.

“Hello, Commander. I was thinking about taking an ambush mission.” Thorn handed over the paper he had taken from the board.

“Ambush, huh? Are you able to do that?” Running an appraising eye over Thorn’s huge form, the Commander turned his attention to the paper. “This is a triple star mission. A bit much for your first mission, don’t you think?”

“I’m confident in my team.” Thorn did not back down.

“You travelers have no regard for your lives anyway. Just don’t try coming to me for compensation when you die. If you do manage to clear this ambush by some miracle, come back, and I’ll reward you.” The commander handed the paper to the other officer by the table, who placed it in a slot on the table.

With a sudden jerk, the battlefield on the table shifted, zooming in to reveal a winding road. The west side of the road was forested while the east side stretched into a long, wide plain. Thorn could make out tiny devils marching forward on the road. From his quick glance, there seemed to be around a hundred of them escorting a strange, floating jar.

“The devils are trying to move the corruption forward. The Jar of Corrupted Spirits there, once planted, will suck the life out of a six mile radius, turning the land into the twisted nightmare that the devils love. Instead of waiting for the blasted thing to be planted, we want to destroy it before it can do any damage. Killing the devils should be counted as a bonus. The goal is to destroy the jar. I don’t care how many of them survive as long as the jar doesn’t make it. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Nodding, Thorn examined the group of devils. Of the hundred, there were three magic users, twenty bowmen, and two different groups that looked like melee fighters. One squad of ten walked upright like humans and carried massive, two handed war blades. The majority of the melee fighters skittered forward on four legs like animals, but the sharp blades on the ends of their feet looked dangerous.

“Normally, we suggest that a Knight Captain take this level of mission. Are you sure you’ll be alright with this?”

“We’re confident, sir. As you said, our goal is destroying the jar, not wiping out all of the devils. I’m pretty good at destroying things.” Thorn flashed a self-deprecating smile at the commander. Next to him, Mina snorted and looked away.

“If you are sure. Once you have destroyed the Jar of Corrupted Souls, you can come back, and we’ll reward you.” No longer bothering with them, the commander dismissed them with a wave, turning back to the projection of the battlefield that had zoomed back out.

*ding*

Quest Accepted - Ambush the Devil Army

As part of their effort to dominate the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow, the devil army is working on a plan to spread corruption. A force escorting a Jar of Corrupted Souls has been spotted advancing toward the Silver Pine Hills. Set up an ambush and destroy the Jar of Corrupted Souls. As an additional reward, you will gain commendations based on the number and type of devils you kill.

0/1 Jar of Corrupted Souls

Reward: 7 commendations

Additional Rewards: 1 commendation per 10 Lesser Devils killed, 1 commendation per 3 Devils killed, 1 commendation per Greater Devil killed, 5 commendations per Devil Commander killed, 10 commendations per Named Devil Commander killed

Leaving the command center, Thorn and Mina walked to the gate to wait for Jorge, Leaves, and Delmore. Wherever Thorn walked the soldiers stopped to stare, their eyes following his gargantuan form. Thorn was quite used to it, but the constant attention unsettled Mina a little bit. They had just arrived at the main gate when a voice called out from behind them.

“Hey, you’re Thorn, right?”

Turning around, Thorn saw a group of six people walking over. In front stood a large blonde man dressed in purple and gold armor, his ice blue eyes glimmering brightly. Feeling Mina edge behind him with a shiver, Thorn looked down.

“That is Sylith,” Mina said, her voice quiet, her enthusiasm gone.

“I thought I recognized you. After all, not many people are your size.” Sylith grinned broadly, his perfect teeth flashing in the sun. “Hello, Mina. It has been a little while.”

Ignoring him, Mina turned her head away, causing Sylith to chuckle. Turning his attention back to Thorn, he stepped forward.

“It is nice to meet you, Thorn. I heard you signed up for the crusades, so I thought I would come meet you. I guess I should thank you, shouldn’t I? Angdrin has been disgraced, thanks to you, and has barely been able to hang on to his position.”

“What about Ouroboros?”

“Ha, I don’t know exactly what you did to him, but he is no longer part of Ragnarok. After he lost to you, he got kicked out and is blocked from rejoining. Needless to say, he is pretty much ruined.”

“You are welcome.”

“Hmph.” Sylith’s smile slowly turned into a sneer. “I didn’t need your help clearing the chaff. And I’ve got a bone to pick with you. You made Ragnarok lose two competent generals, and you stole a region we wanted.”

“Whoa,” Thorn held a hand up to stop Sylith. “They brought it on themselves. If they had not tried to take what was mine, they would not have suffered. Are you here to try your hand? If so, I can guarantee you the same ending they experienced.”

“Oooh, I’m scared. I wouldn’t be so confident, if I were you. I heard that in the real world you are not quite as impressive as you are in-game. A bird told me that you are currently undergoing medical treatment at an undisclosed hospital in North America while experiencing full immersion into Nova Terra. No doubt you have quite the background to be able to afford that sort of treatment, but I would recommend that you proceed carefully. There is much more to this game than you realize, and no amount of money in the real world will save you if you persist in fighting against Ragnarok.”

It was Thorn’s turn to chuckle, though there was no mirth in his eyes.

“Jonathan Velks, 23 years old, 6’ 3”, 196 lbs., parents are Moren and Samantha Velks, no siblings. Considered a genius, started his first business at twelve using money his dad gave him, made his first million by thirteen. Currently worth half a billion. Lives in an upscale apartment building he owns in Chicago. Father is a member of the city council, but has ties to organized crime. Joined Ragnarok three years ago and has risen to the leadership through a variety of tactics, including blackmail, threats of violence, monopolizing resources, and the establishment of an independent faction called the Silver Guard.” Thorn’s voice remained calm as if he was reading from a card.

Sylith’s face paled, his sneer fading. Grim faced, he listened as Thorn spoke, his eyes flickering. Behind him, his Silver Guard started to draw their weapons but froze when he held up his hand.

“Do I need to continue?” Thorn stepped forward, towering above Sylith. He ignored the five Silver Guard players who had their weapons half drawn. “Do not think that you are the only one who can pull strings in the real world, Jonathan. Believe me when I say that the very last thing you want to do is mix this and reality. I’ll give you the same warning that I gave Ouroboros. If you mix the real world and Nova Terra, you will suffer for it.”

For a moment, the air was frozen, causing Mina to grasp the handle of her wand. Just as Thorn felt that the encounter was going to devolve into a fight, Sylith stiffened slightly, and then his whole demeanor relaxed as if the tension had never existed. Flashing a smile, he took a small step back.

“I’m glad we could have this talk, Thorn. I’m sure we’ll encounter each other quite a bit in the future, so let’s continue it then.”

Taken aback by Sylith’s abrupt change in attitude, Thorn’s brow furrowed. An enemy who could remain calm despite an implied threat was dangerous. As the Silver Guard turned away, Thorn noticed Leaves and Delmore standing behind them. Jorge was nowhere to be seen, but Thorn had no doubt he was lurking nearby. Sylith must have noticed them arrive and decided against a fight, since he was surrounded.

A small figure materialized next to Thorn, a worried look in his eyes. Glancing at Thorn, Jorge was about to say something but seemed to think better of it. Pretending he had not noticed Jorge’s conflicted hesitation, Thorn waved to Leaves and Delmore.

“What was that about?” Delmore walked over, his eyes following the retreating players.

“Nothing important.” Thorn waved his hand. “Let’s get going. We’ve got devils to ambush.”

According to the information contained in the quest, the devil force was moving toward a spot called the Silver Pine Hills. Due to the size of the force and the accompanying Jar of Corrupted Souls, they were traveling slowly, which gave Thorn and his team plenty of time to set up an ambush along the way. Looking at the map that Jorge had purchased, Thorn examined the potential ambush spots.

The Dwarven rogue identified three places along the path the devils were taking that could be used to stage an ambush. The first two were places where the road curved around a mountain while the last was a narrow pass between two hills. After talking it over, the party decided that the best spot for their ambush would be the first location. Running at full speed, they rushed toward the ambush spot, talking over their plan as they traveled.

Twisting around the edge of a mountain, the path had a cliff on one side and a forested slope on the other, making it ideal for catching a traveling force off guard. The narrow road ensured that the enemy would be spread out, which would allow the smaller team to prevent themselves from being swamped.

“Delmore, how does your invisibility field work?” Thorn asked the Spirit Guide as he examined the location of their ambush.

“As long as we are standing together and we don’t attack or use any abilities, we will be invisible. Once we break the concealment, it will renew itself if we don’t do anything for two minutes.”

“That sounds really convenient. Is there any way for the enemy to spot us?”

“Umm. Yeah, but they would have to have an ability that would allow them to break the invisibility field somehow. Some ranger type classes have that ability. Or mages. The one thing we need to be careful of is advanced senses like smell and hearing. Invisibility does not guard against those things. It just makes you impossible to see.”

“Alright. I know Mina has [Ice Wall] and [Blizzard] as area of effect crowd control. What else do we have?”

“Umm.” Seven Twisted Leaves scratched his head. “I have [Grasping Vines]. It is an area of effect binding ability. If we are in the forest, I can use [Living Trees], but the trees are better at damage than crowd control.”

“Okay, good. Jorge, how about you?”

“All of my stuff is single target.”

“I have [Wolf Lord’s Howl]. I think the base stun is three seconds for any enemy who can hear. Between us, we should be able to lock down most of the enemy while we focus on breaking the jar. There are a lot of enemies, but if we hit them hard and fast, we should be able to break through and escape. Jorge, you are responsible for tying up any devils or greater devils. Mina and Delmore, you keep the main body of troops occupied. Leaves, can your teleport work on me?”

“Yes. Any allied, willing target.”

“Excellent. You are responsible for getting me out once I destroy the Jar of Corrupted souls. You are also responsible for sounding the retreat. If you see things going wrong, let us know, and we will pull out.” Looking around at his team, Thorn chuckled at their serious expressions. “Relax everyone. The worst thing that will happen is we’ll fail. No need to stress over that. Jorge, we have about half an hour before they are supposed to pass this spot. Can you give us a heads up? We will need at least a four minute warning to get the invisibility field up.”

“No problem. I’ll head up the road to scout.” With a sloppy salute, Jorge faded away, leaving the rest of the team to set up their ambush.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Battlefield of Flame and Shadow felt surprisingly peaceful, though Thorn knew that it would not remain that way for long. A warm breeze sent the leaves in the trees dancing, filling the forest with a whispering rustle. Lounging by the side of the road, it was hard to imagine that the team was on an Ambush quest.

*ding*

Flicking open the notification, Thorn stood and nodded to the others.

“Time to get started. Jorge spotted them along the road.”

“Finally.” Mina rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why we have to do all this planning. We could probably just crush them in a straight up fight.”

“Possibly, but it never hurts to be cautious. If we win easily, we can adjust our strategy for the next one. Alright, let’s set up here. Delmore, you’re in charge of concealment. Leaves, drop your vines on the right side of the bend. You are responsible for tying up the right half. Mina, you’ll be responsible for the left half. Remember, we are going to hit them fast and then back out.”

Delmore, pulling out a strange dagger with a long handle, muttered to himself for a moment and then began to shake. Seven Twisted Leaves, paying no attention to his convulsing friend, murmured a spell of his own and tossed out four seeds that burrowed their way into the dirt of the path.

“[Spirit of Concealment]!” Shouting out the name of his spell, the Tigerkin stabbed his long handled dagger into the ground. Three feathers hanging from the end of the long handle began to glow with an eerie blue light and float, waving as if a breeze was blowing them. Little by little, everything in the surrounding area apart from the ground began to fade away. Retrieving his staff, Delmore pointed the end toward the waving feathers.

“Each feather gives us about ten minutes of concealment, making us invisible to anyone outside of a ten foot circle. Any ally that does not attack or use an offensive ability inside the circle will gain concealment after two minutes.”

“That will be enough. Jorge said the advanced force will be here in about six minutes. Let's get ready. Summon Akira.” An arcane pattern spread above Thorn’s outstretched hand, pulsing slightly as Akira appeared, frozen in the midst of trying to jam a large sticky bun in her mouth. Locking eyes with Thorn for a brief moment, she forced the last bit of the pastry into her cheeks and scampered up Thorn’s arm to sit on his shoulder.

[Mmphf mph mmm!]”

“What?” Glancing at his pet’s bulging cheeks, Thorn idly wondered why her words were muffled, considering that they communicated through their minds.

[Mmhph. Ehem. I said, where are we?]

“Battlefield of Flame and Shadow.”

[Oooh, that sounds exciting. But where is the fire?]

“You know, I was wondering that myself. I imagine we’ll see some soon, but I don’t know. We’ll be going into combat soon, can you heal me?”

[Of course I can, Master.] Akira jumped onto Thorn’s head, her tails fluttering in the breeze. [I have the best heals.]

“Thanks. Delmore, you can focus on healing Mina, Jorge, and Leaves, okay? Akira here will be able to cover me.” Once everyone was in their place, the team settled down to wait for the approaching devil force to appear. A few minutes later, Thorn spotted them winding their way up the road toward the point the team had picked for the ambush.

The devils came in all sorts of grotesque shapes, though the majority were short, crouching, ghoul-like creatures that swarmed along the road. Surrounding the ghoulish devils were a handful of upright devils in armor, wielding shimmering metal whips. Thorn watched as a devil standing on two feet lashed his whip at a group of ghouls who wandered from the path. Squealing in anger and pain, the creatures scrambled back into the group, hissing their displeasure the whole time.

Split into two groups, the Jar of Corrupted Souls floating serenely in the center, the army of devils was spread out into a long, thin line as they snaked along the road. Peering through the trees, Thorn kept his eyes fixed on the jar as it gently spun while bobbing along. The front half of the army consisted of the majority of the ghouls and a squad of muscular devils armed with large, jagged blades. After them came the Jar of Corrupted souls, accompanied by a few devils in shining armor or glimmering robes. Finally, another squad of Blade Devils and a group of three-legged devils holding short, spiky bows brought up the rear.

As the army moved closer and closer to the ambush point, Thorn could feel his companions tensing up next to him in anticipation of the coming fight. Even Akira, normally unable to sit still for a moment, crouched on his shoulder, her little claws holding tight to his armor, her bright eyes fixed on the advancing horde. Step by step the devils came closer. Thorn did his best to calm himself down, but the burning excitement rising in his chest was becoming hard to control.

A quick glance showed that Mina was standing completely motionless, her wand extended toward the devils, ready to unleash her first spell. The short Ice Witch continued to surprise Thorn with how serious she was when she entered combat, reminding him that he really couldn’t judge people by the way they looked. Leaves and Delmore both looked relaxed but ready and Jorge was nowhere in sight, so Thorn swung his gaze back to the devils. Another minute ticked by as the devils advanced up the road, the ghoul vanguard passing over the ambush point.

“Lets go.” Thorn’s whisper rumbled out through the visor of his helmet as he dropped into a half-crouch.

“[Grasping Vines]!”

“[Ice Wall]!”

The words falling from Mina and Leaves’ lips signaled the beginning of the chaos as the devil army found themselves split. Green shoots burst from the ground around the ghouls, growing at a tremendous rate, the tough rattan winding its way around the crouched figures as it grew. Each vine began to sprout with thorns, sending the sharp points into the ghouls that they trapped.

Behind the Jar of Corrupted Souls, the humanoid devils found themselves facing a large wall of ice that blocked off the whole road. Startled, the Blade devils dashed forward, slamming their jagged cleavers into the freezing wall. Chips of ice flew through the air, peppering the devils with shards of ice, yet the wall held.

The four Greater Devils around the floating Jar of Corrupted Souls jerked in surprise as the two spells landed. Two of the devils lifted their twisted staves into the air, the embroidered sleeves of their robes falling back to reveal arms covered in arcane tattoos At the same time, the other two Greater Devils drew large claymores from their backs. Yet, before any of the Greater Devils could begin to act, a massive silver blur came flying through the air, smashing down onto one of the Greater Blade Devils.

Stunned, the two Greater Spell Devils who had raised their arms to cast froze, their eyes fixed on the spot where the Greater Blade Devil stood a moment before. In its place, a menacing figure in gleaming silver armor rose, a massive metal mace held casually in a gauntleted hand. Reduced to a bloody mess by Thorn’s assault, the Greater Blade Devil had barely raised its sword when it was pulverized under the force of Thorn’s tetsubo. Corrosive blood slid off of Thorn’s armor without leaving so much as a mark and he raised his weapon, ready to engage the others.

The other Greater Blade Devil shrieked and lifted its jagged blade, spittle flying as it rushed toward Thorn. At the same time, both Greater Spell Devils changed their targets, pointing their staves at the silver threat in front of them. Arcane energy began to gather on the ends of their staves, coalescing into rolling balls of flame. Ignoring the three attacking Greater Devils, Thorn activated [Shadow Dash], shifting in and out of sight as he darted forward to smash his tetsubo down on the Jar of Corrupted Souls.

The Greater Blade Devil’s strike slipped through Thorn’s form as he charged past, causing the devil’s rage to erupt. Turning, the Greater Devil was about to chase after Thorn when its feet abruptly sank into the ground. Standing near the edge of the woods, Leaves finished casting [Earth Prison] and immediately began the chant for [Greater Earth Spear]. Large clumps of dirt and stone rose into the air, spinning tightly into iron hard spikes that stabbed into the trapped Greater Blade Devil, dyeing its armor in black ichor. Almost simultaneously, both Greater Spell Devils who were about to launch their spells at Thorn froze, their spells fizzling into nothing.

“[Sub Zero]!” A flash of cold air appeared above one of the Greater Spell Devils, freezing it in place. Without wasting a single moment, Mina turned her attention to the [Ice Wall] that was about to fall and chanted a short, arcane phrase. “[Blizzard]!” The shattering ice from the wall began to swirl together, forming a whirling ball of deadly ice that minced the first Blade Devils it touched.

Behind the other Greater Spell Devil, a short, shadowy figure slipped into view, his long daggers blurring as black blood splashed, sending corrosive smoke into the air as it landed. Neatly dodging through the acidic spray, Jorge slid past his first target to sink both daggers into the neck of the frozen Greater Spell Devil.

*WHHUUUUM!*

Thorn’s full-power strike landed on the Jar of Corrupted Souls, sending a loud resonant sound throughout the battlefield. Protected by a magical shield that absorbed over eighty percent of the damage, Thorn’s attack still sent hairline cracks running over the jar. Drawing back his tetsubo again, he unleashed another attack.

*WHHUUUUM!*

Again, the sound echoed between the mountain and the forest. The jar’s magical shield rippled and dimmed as the cracks widened. Spinning to help deal with the rebounding force, Thorn took a quick glance around. Mina was busy raining a nearly endless amount of ice spikes on the massive group of ghouls that were struggling their way free of Leaves’ [Grasping Vines] while Delmore did his best to keep the others topped up on mana. Jorge had shifted his focus and was engaged in a deadly dance with the Greater Blade Devil. Seven Twisted Leaves had called up three Treants from the side of the road and was doing his best to hold the Blade Devils and Arrow Devils back.

Taking in the situation, Thorn threw back his head and howled, activating [Wolf Lord’s Howl]. As the waves of sound rang over the devils, they faltered. Jorge, seizing on the Greater Blade Devil’s hesitation, blinked behind its back, his daggers flashing through the joints in its neck armor. At the same moment, Mina took advantage of the ghouls falling into a stupor to chant an arcane phrase, burying the ghouls in a thick blanket of snow.

“[Avalanche]!”

On the other side, seeing the Blade Devils and Arrow Devils fall into a stunned state, Leaves murmured a quick spell under his breath and threw out two seeds that immediately burst into thick vines, wrapping the devils in jagged vines.

*WHHUUUUM!*

*crack*

With a tiny shattering sound, the Jar of Corrupted Souls crumbled into shards as the magical shield collapsed.

*ding*

Quest Accepted - Ambush the Devil Army (Completed)

As part of their effort to dominate the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow, the devil army is working on a plan to spread corruption. A force escorting a Jar of Corrupted Souls has been spotted advancing toward the Silver Pine Hills. Set up an ambush and destroy the Jar of Corrupted Souls. As an additional reward, you will gain commendations based on the number and type of devils you kill.

1/1 Jar of Corrupted Souls

Reward: 7 commendations

Additional Rewards: 1 commendation per 10 Lesser devils killed, 1 commendation per 3 Devils killed, 1 commendation per Greater Devil killed, 5 commendations per Devil Commander killed, 10 commendations per Named Devil Commander killed

“Retreat!” Without bothering to read the quest completion notification, Thorn called for the team to pull back. With a twist of shadow, Jorge appeared next to Mina at the edge of the forest. Thorn rushed toward the team, completely ignoring the devils milling about in confusion behind him. A few arrows from the Arrow Devils glanced off of his armor, chipping away at his health, but Akira cast [Royal Grace] on him, filling his health back up.

As the party ran, Delmore pulled a few twigs from his pouch and swiftly wove a circular symbol. Tossing it to the ground, he pointed his long handled dagger at it and called out, “[Spirit’s Maze]!” A deep mist began to billow forth from the symbol, quickly filling the forest and making it almost impossible to see. Leading the way, he brought the team out of the fog. “That should keep them off our trail.”

“Excellent. Let’s head back to the fort.”

“That was awesome!” Now that the fight was over, Mina had reverted to her normally bubbly self. “I can’t believe you smashed that thing in three attacks. Did you see how many ghouls I killed? I probably killed forty or fifty of them! Hey Jorge, did you see that? How many devils did you kill? Like three?”

“Three Greater Devils? Yeah. Three. Ghouls are nothing but chaff.” Jorge sneered, his daggers flashing as he spun them in his hands.

“They might be chaff, but you couldn’t kill that many in a minute.” Mina rolled her eyes. “Plus, you had how much help?”

At the back of the group, Leaves and Delmore jogged next to each other, their eyes fixed on Thorn’s broad back. As if they were of one mind, the two friends glanced at each other before they looked at Thorn, who was feeding Akira as they ran.

“Three attacks. That was a full magic shield.” Leaves shook his head, his eyes betraying his unbelief at how smoothly the ambush had gone.

“That’s not all of it. You didn’t see him look around before he cast his area stun. He picked the optimal time. Not so early that it overlapped, early enough to cement the fight. He hits like a freight train and has great judgment.”

“What about the rest of the team?”

“Nothing needs to be said about Mina. She’s probably in the top 10 in the game, and she obviously respects the boss, so she won’t mess around. Jorge, I’m not sure about. He is hard to read. But he is good.”

“That is true. I agree. Add Velin in and we’ve got a ridiculously solid core team.”

The two friends fell quiet as they jogged along. Seeing Thorn look back to make sure that everyone was keeping up, Leaves glanced at Delmore.

“So you think we picked a good team to join?”

“Yeah.” The Tigerkin nodded, his lips lifting into a grin as he picked up the pace. “This is going to be fun.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“That makes twenty-seven,” Jorge reported gruffly, wiping the acidic black blood from his long dagger with a scrap of cloth. The first mission had netted the team sixteen commendations, and though the next few missions had given less, the team had quickly gathered more than half of the commendations they needed to bring more people into the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow. Looking up from where he was looting the battlefield, Thorn flashed a smile at the dwarf.

“Good. Let’s call it a day. Once we turn in these quests, we’ll head back to the citadel.” Standing up, Thorn stretched to his full height. The team had run two quests and fought three roaming bands of devils, and everyone apart from Thorn was starting to show their fatigue. Two of the roaming bands had been small squads of Blade Devils that were quickly cleared, but the last band had been made up of a large mob of ghouls and a full squad of Arrow Devils accompanying a high level Devil Commander.

“Ow ow ow. Hey, watch it.” Off to the side, Mina complained as Delmore held a fur-covered hand over a cut on her side.

“Maybe next time, don’t try to fight a Devil Commander by yourself.” The Tigerkin poked Mina in the side as he chanted in a low voice, sending waves of spectral energy into Mina’s side. Wiping his hands off once the cut had closed, he grinned, his whiskers twitching. “You’re all better. Just try to avoid doing it again today. I’m all out of juice.”

“Yeah, I got it. Thanks.” Mina stood up and twisted her waist, testing for pain. “Hey, Thorn. Are we still going? I’m probably only good for half a fight before I’m toast.”

“No, we’ll head back now. We’ve had enough close calls for today.” Sliding his helmet back on, Thorn called Akira over from where she sat on a pile of broken stones. “Let’s get going. Sooner we make it back to the fort, the sooner you can all go rest.”

“About time,” Leaves complained as he dragged himself up from where he had been lying on his back. Laughing, Thorn led the dragging group toward the entrance to the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow.

After turning in their quest and redeeming the extra commendations they received, the party split up. Leaves, Delmore, Jorge, and Mina all logged out to get some sleep while Thorn unsummoned his battle pet and teleported back to Moon Wolf Citadel. Striding through the halls of the fortress, Thorn checked over his [CMS]. The initial rush of new players spawning as Wolfkin had slowed down and was holding steady at around a hundred a day, which suited Thorn just fine. The valley was filled with players exploring the new race.

At first, Thorn had been worried that they would run out of room, but, despite how many had arrived in the first month, the valley had grown to accommodate them all. It was a strange feeling. Even though Thorn knew objectively that the valley had been smaller when he first arrived, it felt completely normal to him that it was now much larger. In addition to the size of the valley growing, Greymane Village had grown in area as well, becoming a large town whose edges reached the back gate of the citadel. Thorn would still have to manage both the valley and the town, but due to the number of people who had moved in, he had a lot more space to work with.

Flicking through the tabs, Thorn noticed that the Temple of the Moon was getting a steady supply of new disciples as players discovered the class path. Opening up his messenger, Thorn called Velin.

“Hello, Thorn.”

“Hey, where are you right now?”

“I’m in the office. Do you need me?” Velin stopped what she was doing and looked up.

“Yeah, but I’ll come to you.”

The fortress had gotten busier and busier ever since Nova Luna had opened up enrollment to the public. Even with the rigorous background checks Velin instituted, the guild quickly grew to thousands. To keep everything running smoothly, Velin organized a group that handled the administration of the guild. These players could be seen everywhere in the citadel, making sure that the guild operated like a well-oiled machine.

Entering the large throne room, Thorn walked to a door in the back, stepping into a study which had walls lined with shelves. A large stool sat in the corner for when Thorn was present, but the piece of furniture that truly dominated the room was a massive desk in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. It was from this desk that Velin kept the citadel, the guild, and the valley running.

“What do you need?” Velin put down the report she had been reading when Thorn entered the room and fixed her attention on him.

“I just had a couple questions.” Opening his [CMS], Thorn shared it with Velin. “Overall, profits are up, but our expenditures for the Deimos and Phobos squads are also way up. It looks like they are putting in for three times the amount of repairs than we anticipated.”

“Hmmm. I missed that. Sorry.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. We might have misjudged the projected cost.”

“True. I’ll make a note to look into it. How were your crusades today?”

“They went well. The team is really coming together. We had a really tough fight at the end, though. We were attacked by a whole squad of ghouls, which wouldn’t have been bad, except they had support from a bunch of Arrow Devils. Even that would have been doable, but when Mina went to tie them up, she got ambushed by a Devil Commander who was hiding in the back. If Jorge had not blinked over to pick up aggro, she would have died. Thankfully, he was able to tank it until I got there.”

“She mentioned that she was exhausted.”

“Yeah, it was a good day, but it was pretty long.”

“You look pretty spry.” Velin’s lips curled in a slight smile as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Eh, I don’t get tired.” Grinning, Thorn pulled the large stool over and sat down, looking out the window at the merchant quarter. Despite it being evening, the market was bustling. “Looks like the merchants have settled in nicely. Have we been having any trouble?”

“There was a little bit, but the disciples quashed it quickly. We do have an issue on the production side though.” Seeing Thorn’s frown, Velin leafed through the papers on her desk and handed Thorn a list. “These are players who have joined our production department. However, the six players at the top are all demanding better contract conditions. The leader is GoldHammer, a Master Blacksmith. He seems to have organized the other master crafters into a union of sorts and is encouraging a lot of the other crafters to hold out for better terms as well.”

“Is this normal?”

“Honestly? Yes.” Velin sighed, rubbing her forehead. “A steady supply of high level consumables and gear is vital to any guild that wants to be serious about running dungeons, so crafters tend to be able to pick their working conditions. We tried to only bring in unaffiliated crafters who would not be as picky, but he slipped through.”

“Hmmm.” Thorn looked back outside, watching as the lights in the market began to come on. “Set up a meeting for Corvo. I’d like to let him chat with Mr. Goldhammer first to see if he can get it worked out. If he can’t we’ll resort to more drastic measures. Don’t forget to tell Corvo that he can lean on my lawyers.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks. I’ve missed a couple days of training, so I’ll be down at the temple.” Waving, Thorn left the study and headed toward the training yard.

Ever since he had beaten Ouroboros, Thorn had been traveling almost non-stop, leaving him no time to practice his class. Unlike many games, Nova Terra did not have a leveling system. Instead, once a player showed the appropriate level of mastery, they would be eligible to move forward along their class path. Opening his status window, Thorn looked at his class.

Class - [Disciple]

You have been chosen as a disciple of the Temple of the Moon. Unlike ordinary monastic orders, the disciples of the Temple of the Moon are warrior monks who serve Hati, the god of Night. Tasked with destroying evil and holding back those who seek to disrupt the balance of the world, they work in the shadows as the counterpart to the Paladins of Skoll, the Sun God.

Your journey to martial mastery has just begun. Disciples practice one of the four martial forms of the Temple of the Moon and can use any basic monk weapon and any basic armor.

Disciple Abilities:

[Martial Form: Dawn]

[Basic Weapons Mastery]

[Pack Travel]

Mastery Ability:

[Form Mastery (locked)]

Since Nova Terra lacked a traditional leveling system, Thorn needed to improve his proficiency in order to master his class. The two areas he knew that he could polish were his [Martial Form] and [Basic Weapons Mastery]. The [Dawn Form] he had chosen had a leadership category focus and lacked a clear way for him to increase his proficiency, but the daily training offered by the temple gave him a clear path to follow for building his proficiency with the basic monk weapons.

Opening his [Martial Form], Thorn looked for clues about how he could build his proficiency. As he had grown more comfortable with Nova Terra, he quickly realized that the game hid countless secrets in plain sight, rewarding those who explored every option.

Dawn Form - Leadership

Disciples who learn the Dawn Form pursue the path of the commander. Inspiring their allies with speeches and issuing commands on the battlefield are only two of the many ways that Disciples of the Dawn lead their fellow disciples to victory. Disciples of the Dawn make the best diplomats, leaders, traders, and strategists.

Abilities gained:

[Oration Proficiency]

[Rallying Cry]

Mastery Path: Dawn Walker

Despite being described as a Martial Form, the [Dawn Form] had little to do with direct combat, instead focusing on leading others to triumph in martial conflict. Both of the abilities he had gained through the [Dawn Form] had been helpful, not only in his fight with Ouroboros, but even in his conflicts in the capital. From the looks of it, his current path leading a crusade team and overseeing the valley were the best ways for him to passively build toward mastering his class.

[Oration Proficiency]

The tongue has power beyond even the sharpest of swords if applied properly. A single word can calm a turbulent wind or ignite a firestorm. Empires have risen and fallen through the words of their rulers.

You are an Orator, a practiced, experienced speaker. You know how to parry the strongest of strikes, to turn aside the most dangerous attacks, to avoid the tightest traps, and to steer through the strongest verbal storms. Others are more likely to take what you say seriously and to agree with you. At the same time, you gain increased resistance to verbal persuasion.

Thorn had felt the power of his [Oration Proficiency] over the last few weeks. Even when he had faced off against Ouroboros, the increased resistance to verbal persuasion had ensured an even playing field.

[Rallying Cry]

Power and speed are the hallmark of the wolf, yet physical prowess is not the wolf’s greatest asset. The true strength of the wolf lies in its companions.

You gain the ability to rally your allies, granting them increased stamina and health regeneration and allowing for the use of the [Pack Travel] ability in combat. This ability can only be used when at least one ally is present.

After the fight, Thorn had asked Elder Havva about the amplifying effect that had appeared when the Wolfkin in the fortress had joined his [Rallying Cry]. The elder had mentioned that [Rallying Cry], like most of the other abilities that Wolfkin gained through the Disciple class, had an amplifying effect when used in concert with other members of the Temple of the Moon.

Deciding to use both abilities as often as he could, Thorn arrived at the yard where the temple disciples were practicing their forms. Scattered groups of Wolfkin practiced with various weapons, honing their skills against one another. Thanks to the advanced healing provided by the game, they could fight each other without pulling their punches, giving full focus to improving their practical combat ability.

“My Lord!” Running over, one of the Wolfkin instructors knelt before Thorn could stop him, causing the groups of Wolfkin to look over. The native disciples quickly greeted Thorn respectfully while the players looked on, curious. A few repeated the salute, fully immersed in their characters.

“Please, get up. When I am here you don’t need to treat me as Lord Greymane.”

“I’m sorry, sir, I cannot do that.” Rising, the instructor waved for the other disciples to continue with their practice. “And even if you are not treated as Lord Greymane, you are still the Inheriting Disciple of the Temple.”

“Okay, okay.” Waving his hands, Thorn gave in.

“Thank you, my Lord. Now, what can I do for you?” The instructor smiled, pleased with his small victory.

“I need some training. I’m looking for the Dawn Court trainer. Or anyone who can help me learn how to use the basic weapon set.”

“Of course. Please come this way.” Gesturing for Thorn to walk ahead, the instructor looked over his shoulder and shouted toward one of the groups of disciples practicing with rods. “Jemy! Run and get Deacon Errul from the Dawn Court. My Lord, Deacon Errul is the Dawn Court trainer. All of the disciples practice weapons training together, so you are welcome to join us at any time. The Dawn Court abilities are a little different though, so I thought it would be better if we called Deacon Errul over.”

“That makes sense.” As the instructor spoke, Thorn looked around, counting six different practicing groups.

“We train with six different basic weapons in the Temple of the Moon, my Lord. Fists, axes, maces, swords, polearms, and staves. We also have specialized weapons like the chain-whip, three-sectioned staff, butterfly swords, and kama, but those are part of the advanced weapon training. In order to be considered proficient in these weapons, you must complete the introductory form for each weapon and the journeyman form for at least two categories. Any weapons you are trained in already can count.”

“What about this?” Summoning his tetsubo from his inventory, Thorn balanced it in his hand.

“Ah, that could stand in for the mace, my Lord. You will need to be assessed by one of the Deacons, but having seen you use it before, I’m confident it would qualify. I imagine that your unarmed combat would qualify for at least the journeyman level as well, leaving axes, swords, polearms and staves. Learning the forms and gaining enough practice to use them in a fight is all that is needed for the introductory level, so I am sure you will get there quickly.”

“Sounds good. Why don’t we start with the sword forms?”

“Of course. Come this way. Do you have any experience with swords?”

“Yes. Mainly the straightsword. I’ve had some experience with sabers, as well.”

“Then you should pick this up fast. To begin, we use wooden swords. You can get one from the rack. Follow along as I demonstrate.”

Striding over to a rack of swords at the edge of the yard, Thorn selected the largest sword he could find. The six foot blade looked more like a short sword in his massive hand, but since there was nothing bigger, Thorn swung it a few times and took his place behind the instructor.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

*ding*

Sins of a Golden Dream - World Quest

A long forgotten empire, bound in stone, has woken from a bygone era. Driven by the greed of their master, they have turned their attention from the wealth hidden in the earth and are beginning to encroach on the surface. Implacable legions muster for war as their scouts burn paths from the subterranean world.

Seek out the fortresses hidden in the depths of the earth and the labyrinth at their center, destroying the stone heart. Scattered around the world are keys that will lead the way into the earth.

Straightening from where he crouched, Thorn wiped the sweat from his forehead, rereading the quest that just popped up. When he first started playing, he had been surprised to discover that many of the normal inconveniences of everyday life had been eliminated. However, contrary to what he initially thought, the game still included things like sweat, but only when it added to the player’s experience. As he stared at the notification, a beep let him know that he was getting a call.

“Thorn, you might want to come see this.” As soon as the call connected, Oberlin’s nervous face appeared. The thief’s eyes were bright with excitement, but his lips were twitching, betraying his conflicting feelings.

“Where are you?”

“I’m in my room, but I’ll meet you in the throne room.”

“Sure, I’ll be right there.”

Informing the deacon that he was leaving, Thorn put the wooden practice sword he had been using back on the rack and left the temple grounds, heading for the fortress. As soon as he stepped out of the training yard, his sweat disappeared and his clothing went back to normal, as if he had not spent the last three hours doing any strenuous activity. Climbing the stairs to the throne room for the second time, Thorn wondered idly about installing an elevator. It wasn’t that climbing the stairs tired him out, instead, it was the amount of time it took that bothered him.

Velin, Corvo, and Oberlin were all crowded around something in the center of the hall when Thorn opened the door. Staring at it so intently that they did not hear him come in, it wasn’t until Thorn loomed over them that they realized he was there. Jumping slightly, Oberlin slid to the side, revealing two metal spheres. Each was the size of a softball and rested on three spindly legs. The spheres were smooth on the top with a thick metal band around the middle that was covered in runes.

“What are these?” Unable to see anything special from his first, cursory look, Thorn raised his eyebrows and looked at the slim thief.

“Uh, I think they are keys,” Oberlin replied, scratching the back of his head. “I got them from those six boxes that we stole from Angdrin. Remember those? It took me quite a while to crack them, but when I did, these came out, along with some ancient Dwarven armor.”

“Keys? Why do you think they are keys? They look nothing like keys.”

“Maybe less keys, and more maps. Right after I got the second one out, that World Quest was announced. So these probably have something to do with that.”

“They are Dwarven earth maps,” Corvo said, running his fingers over the runes that ringed the spheres. Seeing the others look at him, he shrugged. “I don’t know any more than that. My ability lets me see information, but I can’t actually read the ancient Dwarven runes.”

Both Oberlin and Thorn immediately turned and looked at Velin.

“I don’t know ancient Dwarven, either. But we should get Jorge in here. He might have some idea.” Velin frowned as she flipped through her notebook. Not finding what she was looking for, she shrugged. “These runes are a bit different from modern Dwarven script, so I don’t know if Jorge will be any help, but it is worth a shot.”

“He logged out to sleep, so we’ll probably have to wait a bit. In the meantime, let’s see what we can figure out. If they are a map, we’ll probably need to activate them in some way.”

“We’ve been trying, but no luck so far.” It was Oberlin’s turn to shrug. “They don’t respond to anything we do.”

“What have you tried?”

“Everything. We’ve tried using magic, solving it like a puzzle, I even tried putting it in different conditions like water and fire to see if it would react. Nothing so far.”

“Well, let’s leave them for now. If they are related to the World Quest, something will turn up eventually. We should focus on figuring out how to find the fortress hidden in the earth that the quest mentioned. We know they are underground, so it is likely that a miner or someone diving in a subterranean dungeon will be the one who uncovers something.”

“I will send out a notification to the guild for everyone to be on the lookout.” Velin looked up from her book, her eyes resting on Thorn, who had stopped and was staring absently at the ceiling. “What is it?”

“We need to send someone to Embersplit mine. There is an ancient Dwarven ruin there. That is where Angdrin pulled out the chests. I wouldn’t be surprised if that ruin is one of the fortresses we are looking for. From the quest description, we know that there are multiple fortresses, so we should be on the lookout for some sort of incursion from underground. An attacking force. If we find something, we’ll probably find a fortress nearby.” Rubbing his chin, Thorn glanced over at Corvo, who was still examining the metal orbs. “Corvo, can you connect with Josephine and try to find out if she has any idea what is going on? Feel free to spend some money if you need to use Avalon.”

“I’m on it.” Flashing a grin, Corvo put down the earth map. With a nod to Velin and Oberlin, he ran to the edge of the throne room’s balcony and launched himself off, transforming into a raven in a burst of black smoke.

“Showoff,” Oberlin muttered, looking at the bird flying away.

“Should we contact the Society of Roses?” Velin’s attention was still fixed on Thorn, completely ignoring Corvo’s antics. “They have one of the best dungeon diving teams in Nova Terra.”

“It doesn’t hurt to send them a message.” Thorn scratched his chin. “I’ll get in touch with my aunt and ask what their plans are. Depending on the party sizes, we could possibly collaborate.”

“I think that is a good idea. We have a solid core of professional players, but we have not been working together long enough to make it into the top ranks. If we want to compete with the top guilds, we have a long way to go.”

“Hey, that reminds me.” Thorn walked over to the Wolf Throne and sat down. “I ran into Sylith in the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow. He was pretty aggressive. We haven’t heard a whole lot from Ragnarok, but from his attitude, it doesn’t seem like they’ll be letting things go.”

“You did deal quite a blow to their plans. Ragnarok has been fighting for years to increase their rank, and opening a new starter location would have gone a long way toward realizing that goal. Yet you snatched it from under their noses. Ragnarok and the Eastern Alliance have been locked in a fierce struggle for second place for years, and you entering the fight set Ragnarok back quite a bit.”

“What is so good about second place? What about Avalon? Why don’t Ragnarok and the Eastern Alliance challenge Avalon for number one?”

“Avalon is too difficult to fight. They are not a guild in the way we are a guild or Ragnarok is a guild.” Velin’s brow furrowed and she opened up her notebook, running her finger down the page. “They appeared a few years after the game opened, but they are not organized into a formal guild. Instead, they are a collection of players who are fiercely loyal to their boss, Avalon. Real name, David Conners, real world location unknown. It is suspected he lives in Fantasia or Nova Terra at all times.”

“You mean full immersion?” Thorn shifted into a more comfortable position, resting his chin on his palm. He knew that once Velin got started it might be a while.

“Yes. It is rare, but getting more common. What is unique about his situation is that he has shown the signs of a full immersion player from the first days that he appeared in the game, just days after Nova Terra opened. David started the group that holds his name as a loose collective of merchants. They now have fingers in almost every pie in both northern and southern Angoril.” Pointing in the direction of the market, Velin smiled without humor. “Case in point, they were one of the first to request an office space in the market quarter. However, they only use their network to buy and sell goods and information. Avalon has a strictly neutral stance. They sell to anyone who can afford their goods and never take sides.”

“That means we don’t have to worry about them ganging up on us? That is convenient. What about Eastern Alliance? Can we use them to help deter Ragnarok?”

“EA is a super guild made up of three smaller guilds that used to rank third, fourth, and fifth. They banded together to deal with aggression from the then number two guild, North Star. After the conflict, North Star fell to their current position at number seven. EA is tricky. They are very good at absorbing smaller guilds. While they are an excellent choice for suppressing Ragnarok, I would be cautious about letting them get involved.”

“Fair. How do we rank? I know we just started Nova Luna, but what are people saying about us?”

“Ambitious, aggressive, dangerous. Most people think we are an offshoot of the Society of Roses and are treating us as a branch guild.”

“Haha, that makes sense, I guess.” Thorn rose and stretched. “Alright, keep up the good work, Velin. Let me know if anyone finds anything. I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Thank you, Thorn. I will.” Hearing the undisguised appreciation in Thorn’s voice, Velin’s lips curled into a small, self-satisfied smile as she watched him leave. After the door shut, her gaze turned to the valley stretching into the darkness, her mind turning over all that had happened since she first met Thorn. The giant had brought a tumultuous storm with him, turning her ordered life into chaos that she was only now recovering from. Yet, for all that had happened, Velin found herself happier now than she had been.

After a good night's sleep, Thorn rose early to continue his weapons practice. The team had planned to continue grinding commendations in the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow, but because of the time dilation, he did not expect the others to log back in until the next day. At the rate they had been amassing commendations, Thorn estimated that it would only take another two days of quests before they had enough commendations for rank of Knight.

Since he had a firm grasp of the basic sword form that the temple taught, Thorn began to practice the basic unarmed form. Consisting of eight total movements, the form was designed to take advantage of the Wolfkin’s speed and agility and incorporated their natural claws. After a few hours of practice, once Thorn was comfortable with the movements, he switched to the next weapon. Half way through the day, the Deacon in charge of basic weapon training for the Dawn Court arrived, and Thorn began his combat tests, starting with the sword form.

“Afternoon, Lord Greymane. My name is Errul. I am a Deacon of the Dawn Court. I will be assisting with your basic weapon tests. From what I’ve been told, you have a strong grasp of the forms. Have you had much martial practice before?”

“Hello, Deacon.” Facing the silver furred Wolfkin, Thorn felt uncomfortable. “I’ve had quite a few years of training in martial arts, though the form I learned is not directly designed for combat.”

“You seem to have adapted it well, my Lord.” Deacon Errul pointed toward the rack of swords. “Please select your blade. The sword test requires that you perform the basic sword form three times. You will be judged based on a combination of the three attempts, so don’t worry if one of them is rough. There will also be a combat test where you will face off against another disciple. While you will get points for winning, the goal is to see you use the form during the fight.”

Picking up his sword, Thorn stood in the middle of the yard, taking a moment to center himself before looking at Deacon Errul. At the deacon’s nod, Thorn lowered his body into the basic stance, his mind rapidly running through the form. Feet shoulder width apart, one in front of the other. Lower center of gravity, relaxed shoulders, sword held at a thirty degree angle in the right hand, left hand up. Pausing for a moment in the basic stance, Thorn counted to three in his head before beginning his movements.

The form consisted of three blocks and five attacks, all designed around mobility. The blocks were all angled defenses, designed to redirect the enemy’s attacks, nullifying their energy. The attacks were the standard set of high slash, low slash, overhead chop, rising cut, and stab. Running through the eight motions three times with a few seconds pause between each set, Thorn stopped and looked over at Deacon Errul, who gave him a thumbs up.

“Perfect. For the next part of the test, you’ll be fighting one of the other disciples.” Looking around, his eyes fixed on a group of disciples that were standing at the edge of the yard, watching Thorn’s test. “Hey, you. Yeah, you. What’s your name? Eat More Pork? What kind of name is that? Anyway, come here. You’ll be fighting against Lord Greymane for your test.”

Dumbfounded, the player that Deacon Errul pointed to looked at his friends, who shrugged in sympathy but still pushed him forward. Stumbling into the middle of the yard, Eat More Pork drew his sword, standing nervously in front of Thorn.

Most Wolfkin were tall, standing at six feet or taller, and Eat More Pork was no exception. Despite his height, looking up at Thorn’s towering figure, the unlucky disciple could not help but shrink. Deacon Errul, looking at the quivering ‘volunteer’ unhappily, patted him on the back.

“Don’t worry, young one. You’ll do fine if you stick to the basics. Just remember what you’ve been taught and do your best. Remember, your goal is to give him a good fight, not win. The fight will be five minutes or until someone wins.”

As the Deacon spoke, Eat More Pork, who had been cowering in front of Thorn, started to straighten, a spark igniting in his eyes. By the time Deacon Errul’s words faded, Thorn felt as if he was facing an entirely different person. The deacon walked back to the edge of the training yard, tossing a wink at Thorn as he went.

“Start!”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

*ding*

[Basic Weapons Mastery] - complete

You have gained a proficiency with the six basic weapons used by the Temple of the Moon. To complete the basic weapons mastery, you must achieve Apprentice proficiency with all six weapons and Journeyman proficiency with at least two of the basic weapons. To advance further along your mastery path, you will need to achieve Journeyman proficiency with all six weapons.

[Unarmed] - Journeyman

[Axes] - Apprentice

[Maces] - Journeyman

[Swords] - Journeyman

[Polearms] - Apprentice

[Staves] - Apprentice

Thorn read over the notification that popped up as he finished the last test. Collapsed on the ground around him were countless disciples, all pretending to be knocked out in case he decided to continue practicing with them. The first few trial fights against Eat More Pork had been fine since Thorn was familiar with swords, maces, and unarmed combat, but in the next three fights, Thorn relied on his brute strength to overpower his opponents.

A few stood up to the first blow, but collapsed like everyone else at the second. Realizing that the tests proved little challenge for Thorn but were very difficult for the other disciples, Deacon Errul began to send them to fight the giant as fast as they fell. He even commanded those who rose to their feet after being beaten to go fight again, resulting in the large pile of players pretending to be knocked out.

“You’re well on your way to having a good grasp of all the basic weapons, my Lord. If you keep practicing, you’ll master them in no time. You can also find masters who provide training, which will allow you to master the weapons faster.”

“Thank you, Deacon.” Thorn clasped his hand to his chest in a traditional warrior’s salute. “I was also hoping that you would help me with training my speaking abilities. I was very impressed with how easily you encouraged the first fighter to face off against me. I would love to learn how to do that sort of thing.”

“Encouraging and inspiring others to acts of courage is part of the Dawn Court’s mission, and I would be happy to teach you. Why don’t you put the weapons away and then follow me to the Dawn Court to begin your training.”

His eyes lighting up, Thorn quickly organized the practice weapons that lay all over the ground and followed the deacon to the headquarters of the Dawn Court. Each of the four temple Courts had their own section where the dual category classes were taught. The Dawn Court’s area consisted of a large library, a few large buildings used for discussion and classes, a medical room, and an outdoor amphitheatre.

As they walked through the Dawn Court, Deacon Errul pointed out the various buildings and described their uses. Eventually they arrived at one of the classrooms, and Thorn ducked through the doorway as he followed Deacon Errul in. Looking around for a place to sit, he eventually sighed and got his rock chair out, taking a seat in the middle of the classroom.

“I will be going over a basic introduction today, my Lord, but you’ll have to join one of the classes to get advanced techniques. Classes normally run twice a week for an hour. The schedule is posted on the door.” Pausing when he saw Thorn raise a massive hand, Deacon Errul pointed to him. “Go ahead.”

“Are classes the only way for me to increase my [Oration Proficiency]?”

“No, no. Classes provide a bonus to increasing your proficiency, but at the end of the day, only practice will make you better at talking. The classes only provide a place for you to practice the various skills.”

“Got it. So I can increase my [Oration Proficiency] and [Rallying Cry] out in the field by using them regularly.”

“Correct. However, that is the slowest way to improve. Learning and practicing specific techniques and then using them is much better. Let me demonstrate.” Walking up to the board at the front of the class, Deacon Errul picked up a stick of chalk and wrote quickly. “Many people think that speaking to people is about your command of language, or your ability to convince other people of your opinion. Those are certainly facets of communication, but they are only small pieces of the whole.

“Communication is most effective when you keep three things in mind. First, your audience’s attitude will mirror your attitude, so if you are not positive and relaxed, your message will likely fall on deaf ears. Second, your audience’s time is important, so make sure you are being brief and clear. Third, stay away from complex language that takes specific knowledge to understand. Keeping these three things in mind is going to drastically improve both your casual conversation and your formal speeches. Let’s spend some time unpacking them.”

As Deacon Errul continued to teach, Thorn listened carefully, making notes. After the lesson was over, the deacon called in a few other disciples and let Thorn practice having conversations with them.

To help Thorn and the other disciples practice, Deacon Errul organized them into a rotation, having each spend a few minutes speaking on a topic that he proposed. At first, it was intimidating for Thorn to stand up at the front to speak to the crowd of disciples. However, as time went on, his words became smoother, flowing naturally from his tongue.

Deacon Errul set a variety of topics for them to talk about, and after a few rounds of practice, Thorn was able to take the stage without any nervousness. In between each disciple’s speech, the Deacon pointed out a few things that the disciple could do better the next round. Thorn found it as helpful to listen to other people speak as it allowed him to identify weaknesses of his own.

At first, Thorn was unsure how much public speaking he was going to have to do to increase his [Oration Proficiency] ability, but as he practiced, he began to feel his speaking proficiency improving at a measurable rate.

*ding*

[Oration Proficiency] - Apprentice

You have gained an apprentice level proficiency with speaking related abilities, making any ability that relies on speaking more effective. Continue to practice your oration to unlock Journeyman level [Journeyman Orator]

Ability Change:

[Oration Proficiency] to [Apprentice Orator]

After a few hours of practice, the class was called to a close and Thorn stood, putting his seat away. Saluting the other disciples and his teacher, Thorn could feel that his new ability [Apprentice Orator] had improved his abilities significantly over the last two hours. As he looked through his abilities to see what had changed, he noticed that his [Pack Travel] ability had gotten an upgrade.

[Pack Travel]

Wolves can travel extraordinary distances with little energy. When you travel with other members of your order, you only spend a tenth of the energy and can travel 50% faster, regardless of the terrain.

Due to your ability [Apprentice Orator], [Pack Travel] can be used on any party in which you are the leader.

Heading back to the throne room, Thorn saw Corvo hurrying toward him with Velin in tow. The two elves presented a pretty picture as they walked next to each other, talking quietly. Elves were a beautiful race with delicate features and brilliant eyes, and both Velin and Corvo were above average. Velin was dressed in a deep blue robe with golden stitching forming a large tree running up the right side from her waist to her shoulder. Her every movement was precise and contained an ethereal grace that made Thorn wonder about her background. Next to her, Corvo still wore the ragged cloak, presenting a sloppy look. Yet, despite the tattered state of his clothing, it only served to add some mystery to him.

“Did you find anything?” Without waiting for them to approach, Thorn strode over.

“Yes.” Corvo answered first. “I’ve connected with our network. There are stone dwarves appearing all over Angoril. They look like statues that you might find in a Dwarven ruin. They run in groups of three to ten, and they are very aggressive. They are strong too, with natural armor due to their stone skin. When they die, they freeze for a few hours and then melt back into the ground. Same thing happens when they get broken.”

His brow furrowing slightly, Thorn looked at Velin, who had her notebook out.

“We encountered three groups outside of Embersplit. Reports suggest that they are exiting the mine on a one hour interval and spreading out in all directions. I would guess that the mine has an entrance into the subterranean world, and that one of the fortresses is down there. We also ran into Ragnarok in the area.”

“Did they give you any trouble?” Thorn’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the enemy guild.

“Nothing more than traded insults. However, it is highly likely that they know as much or more than we do, so I suggest we move as quickly as possible.” Seeing Thorn’s confused look, Velin raised her eyebrows in question.

“Sorry, I’m just wondering what got into everyone. Why are we suddenly running around like chickens with our heads cut off just because of a quest? We have a lot to do to get the valley into shape.”

“Not just a quest.” Velin closed her notebook and looked squarely at Thorn. “This is World Quest. I forget that you have not been playing long enough to have experienced this before. World Quests are universal quests that everyone participates in. They only appear when a new region or map is about to open up. You might think of them like an expansion.”

“That explains why everyone is so excited, but what is the rush?”

“Simple. The new maps always have some sort of new race or faction that requires reputation to interact with. The last expansion, the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow, has the Order of Flame, and the Order of Shadow. If you want to play on or explore the battlefield, you need to grind reputation, a process that normally takes a really long time. The World Quests provide a shortcut. When the Battlefield first appeared, the guilds that completed the World Quest got a jump start by automatically gaining reputation. They also got bases in the Battlefield.”

“Oh, wow. Okay. Now I know why we are rushing.”

“Exactly, guild-wide reputation boosts and guild property are extremely valuable.”

“Let’s do it. Get a team together. It will take the team a few days to get there, so I’ll go on ahead first. I’ll wait for you at the entrance to the mine. Send me a message if you have anything else. Keep up the good work.” Smiling at his two advisors, Thorn sent a quick message to the members of the Titan squad, telling them to meet him at the gate as quickly as possible.

Within an hour, the players had all gathered, standing around Thorn. Mina was the last to arrive, as she had still been logged out when Thorn sent the message.

“What’s going on?” The short witch started to poke Thorn in the side, but thought better of it when she saw the rest of the team looking at her.

“We think we found an entrance for the World Quest. We are going to act as the vanguard and hold spots for the other two teams. Everyone ready to travel? Okay, let's go.”

Setting out from the fortress, the whole group began to jog toward Embersplit. After they left the pass, Thorn activated his [Pack Travel] ability. A faint silhouette of a running wolf covered each of the team members, and their speed immediately increased by fifty percent. Dashing forward, each step seemed to carry them farther than normal, allowing the group to cover distance at a tremendous rate.

The journey to Embersplit would normally take a few days of walking, but since the players could travel without resting, the journey was cut down to only a single night. As dawn broke over the misty forests, the rundown town of Embersplit came into focus. Without stopping, the Titan team pushed past the town and approached the Embersplit Mine. Once they got closer, they began to hear the sounds of weapons clashing.

“Hold.” Calling for everyone to stop, Thorn listened carefully. He could hear metal ringing on metal but also the grating of metal on stone. “Whoever is at the entrance is probably fighting those statues that were reported. Let's form up. Standard assault formation.”

Quickly reorganizing, the tanks stood out front while the ranged DPS and support stood behind them. Melee DPS stood on either side of the formation, ready to dash forward once the tanks had locked down the enemy. Standing at the head of the formation, Thorn glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the team.

“Let’s go.” His deep voice rumbling over the group, Thorn led the way forward. Soon the battlefield came into view. In the distance, Thorn could see three groups of players fighting against waves of grey stone figures. As Thorn got closer, he could make out the Nova Luna insignia on the smallest group of players, so he led his team straight toward them. The four scouts were nearly surrounded by a swarm of stone dwarves. Rushing forward, Thorn signaled the rest of the Titan squad to attack at will. Rushing into the battlefield, Thorn led the charge, smashing aside the short stone figures as he went.

Swinging his tetsubo in a wide arc, Thorn felt the impact of his attack reverberating through his hand. The thick stone armor of the dwarves made them all but impervious to sharp weapons, but it did little to protect them against brute force. Smashing into the mobs, Thorn focused on disrupting as many enemies as possible while he forged his way toward the team of scouts, putting into practice everything he had learned from Master Sun.

Mina was the next to arrive at the scouts, her ice magic in full force. Behind her, the rest of the Titan squad quickly got into the action, forcefully pushing their way toward the scouts. Pausing next to the leader of the scouts, Thorn glanced down.

“What is the situation?”

“These little buggers came out of nowhere about half an hour ago.” The ranger panted, glad to be given a moment of respite. “We were keeping watch on the entrance to the mine with the other two guilds when High Castle’s dungeon team arrived and some of them immediately entered. Their guild leader is over there. We thought about stopping them, but they had too many players. They were in the mine for about an hour when Aurum’s team arrived. Just as Aurum was about to enter the mine, a ton of these stone dwarves popped out of the entrance and began to attack us. It is a good thing you got here when you did; I don't know that we would have been able to hold on much longer.”

“Did the other group come out yet?” Thorn’s brow furrowed as he scanned the battlefield.

“No.” Shaking his head, the ranger pointed to the flood of dwarves streaming out of the mine entrance. “We have not seen anyone come out besides the mobs.”

“Good work. We will worry about the guilds later. For now, let's focus on getting rid of these mobs.”

An ever-increasing number of enemies were pouring out of the mine to surrounded them. The dwarves stomped forward, their stone weapons rising and chopping down with mechanical precision. So far, they had been held back because of their clumsy movements, but soon they would overrun the battle line that the tanks had established in front of Thorn’s position. Realizing that there was no way for them to survive without stemming the increasing number of dwarves entering the battlefield, Thorn stepped to the front line.

“Melee, push forward. Support, keep the tanks up. Flankers, don't get bogged down. We're moving into the mine entrance.” Activating [Wolf's Rage] Thorn flexed his fingers around the handle of his tetsubo as his eyes turned red. With a resounding, roar he burst forward, crushing his way through the enemies. The pulsing wave of sound from his [Wolf Lord’s Howl] rippled through the stone enemies and, taking advantage of the mobs’ stunned state, he called for the Titan squad to advance.

Pushing forward into the void left in Thorn’s wake, the tanks raced to keep up with their charging leader. The ranged support behind them fired as they advanced, keeping up a steady barrage of attacks on the enemy and heals on the tanks. Alongside the group, Rogues and Rangers wove through the enemy, doing their best to prevent them from slowing the charge. Thorn’s furious assault carried him straight to the entrance of the mine, where a few blows from his tetsubo cleared enough space for the tanks to set up.

“Hold this position.” His deep voice carried easily over the battlefield. “I'll clean up the mobs outside.” Turning to the other two Guilds who were still surrounded, Thorn blurred into action once again.

Master Sun’s training came in handy as Thorn spun his tetsubo. The sheer force of his attacks smashed the dwarves into pieces, cracking their armor and sending fractures through their bodies. Unwilling to waste the remaining minutes of his rage, Thorn grabbed one of the Dwarves by the head and started swinging him around like an impromptu club. Smashing stone Dwarves with the statue he was wielding in one hand, he struck with his tetsubo in the other quickly clearing a large area. When that dwarf broke off at the legs he discarded it and grabbed another. Within minutes the area outside the mine was completely clear, leaving the two guilds facing a raging giant.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Thanks for your help.” It took a moment, but eventually the leader of the Aurum dungeon team stepped forward to address Thorn.

“Mmhmm.” Thorn nodded casually, his eyes drifting over the two groups. A few of the players clustered up tighter as Thorn’s eyes passed by. Seeing the players' subtle retreat, Thorn’s lips twitched. Turning his head, he called back to the Titan squad in the mine’s entrance. “How are you guys doing?”

At the front of the squad, six tanks stood shoulder to shoulder, completely blocking the entrance. The narrow entrance made it impossible for more than eight dwarves to attack at once. With the support players behind them, the tanks had no problem defending themselves from the incoming horde, causing the stream of attacking enemies to pile up in the choke point.

“We could hold them here for a year if we needed to,” Mina said, casually blasting a stone dwarf apart with a giant ice spear. “You handle the negotiations, we got this.”

Striding over to the Aurum dungeon team, Thorn waved the High Castle team over. After some hesitation, three players made their way over, and Thorn introduced himself.

“Hello. My name is Thorn, the guild leader of Nova Luna.”

“I am Asher.” A dark robed player stepped out of Aurum’s team and held out his hand.

Grinning slightly, Thorn shook the proffered hand, his massive hand engulfing Asher's.

“Pleased to meet you, Asher.” Thorn glanced over at the three High Castle players who were approaching. “My scouts tell me that the High Castle team is already inside the dungeon. It looks like we are going to have to fight our way through if we want to catch up. Would you be interested in cooperating with us to push in?”

“Cooperating?” The magician’s face was calm, but his hands nervously tugging at the hem of his sleeve betrayed him.

“Yes. We have no interest in monopolizing this entrance. Rather, we’d love to work together with other local guilds to make sure we don’t get pushed out by larger guilds.”

“That sounds good, but what happens if there is one of those fortresses down there?” one of the players walking over asked, his voice sharp.

“If we find a fortress, we either take turns attempting to capture it, or we capture it together.” Unruffled, Thorn flashed a winning smile. “None of our guilds is big enough to stand against the super guilds, but working together, we are more than a match for them. No need to let them benefit from something in our backyard.”

“We would certainly be interested in cooperating with you.” Asher’s eyes lit up, and the magician glanced at the leader of the High Castle group. “What do you say, Cloudy? ”

“I'm WhiteCloud.” Waving to Thorn, the player that had just been addressed introduced himself. WhiteCloud was a short human dressed in leather armor who carried a shortbow on his back. “So long as everyone agrees to give us a fair shake at the fortress, we’re open to cooperation.”

“Good. Then we’re agreed.” Asher’s face broke into a smile. “Cloudy, you sent a team in already, right? Want to share what is going on?”

“Sure. We sent a team into the dungeon almost two hours ago, and we have not heard anything from them since. It seems there is a communication block of some sort. We are trying to work around it, but so far we don't have anything. If you want to try pushing into the dungeon, we are happy to help.”

*ding*

Just then Thorn got a message from Corvo.

Heads up. It looks like Ragnarok has a team en route to your location. We don't have a confirmation, but I would guess that it will be the Silver Guard, since they know you are nearby. They are contesting three other suspected entrances and have shown the desire to monopolize all of them. Our dungeon teams are still a day and a half away, so be careful. Velin is coming with them to help with on the spot decisions, and Oberlin has the Map Spheres.

It looks like the Interior Minister is going to start acting again, so you might want to be mentally prepared for that. We’re still digging into who is instigating him, but we don’t have enough info yet. I’ll keep you posted.

“Hey, Jorge.” Thorn called the dwarf over. “Corvo says that Ragnarok is on their way. Can you grab a couple other scouts and keep an eye out?”

“Ragnarok? Why are they coming?” WhiteCloud’s face paled as he heard Thorn’s word. “Why would they be coming here?”

“Probably on account of Nova Luna,” Asher said, tossing a glance at Thorn. “I heard through the grapevine that Nova Luna and Ragnarok are not on friendly terms.”

“That is because we are awesome and they suck,” Mina chimed in, earning herself an eye roll from everyone who heard her.

“It's true,” Thorn admitted, “not that we’re awesome and they suck, but we've had some conflict before. It wouldn't surprise me if they are sending a team specifically to try and disrupt us. According to the report, we should be expecting the Silver Guard to show up, but as long as they don't bring their full force, we should be fine.”

“Have you ever fought the Silver Guard?” WhiteCloud made no effort to hide his skepticism.

“No, but we’ve crushed the Blood Guard and Crimson Snakes.”

“Ha, those wannabes are not even in the same league.” The leader of the High Castle team scoffed. “The Silver Guard is the real deal. They are probably one of the strongest teams in Nova Terra.”

“Not probably, definitely.” Asher joined the conversation.

“What makes them so good? I’ve seen them around, but I don’t know anything about how they fight.”

“Their main advantage is in their class, Silver Guard. It is a heavy armor support and combat class with stupidly high magic resistance. On top of being really tanky, they get buffs from being around other Silver Guard, which means that when they get into formation they are nearly impossible to crack.”

“The real problem, though, is [Holy Strike]. Their one attack ability stacks, allowing a group to deal huge spike damage.” Mina joined the group, her face serious. “One [Holy Strike] is almost worthless if it isn’t being used against an undead or devil, but once you reach master level, there is a hidden trigger that allows multiple players to combine their [Holy Strike]. Two players working together will triple the damage, three players get six times the damage, and it only goes up from there. On top of that, when you hit five players it also applies a burning effect. They are gross when they team up.”

“Huh, that sounds really dangerous.” Thorn scratched his head. “If we go up against them, we will have to try and disrupt them. Anyway, no sense in worrying about that now. Let's talk about how we're going to enter the mine.”

Organizing all of the players in the three guilds into equal groups, WhiteCloud, Asher, and Thorn each took command of one group and entered the mine. Thorn and the Titan squad took point, pushing forward into the mine while the High Castle and Aurum groups followed behind. It took a while to grind their way through the tightly-packed dwarves at the entrance, but after an hour and a half of heavy fighting, they broke through to the other side.

Once they passed the mine's entrance, they found themselves in an area with branching tunnels. The mine tunnels were barely large enough for Thorn to stand up straight and not nearly wide enough for him to swing his tetsubo, so he swapped it out for his arbalest and joined the support players in the back. After looking around, a scout from the High Castle team reported that the High Castle dungeon team had marked the path that they traveled and led them down a tunnel to the left.

“We’ll take a turn up front,” WhiteCloud volunteered, earning himself a look of approval from Asher and Thorn.

Thorn signaled for the Titan squad to step back, and the High Castle team advanced to take their place. Due to their low numbers, the High Castle team was comprised of a mix of players from all three guilds. As they begin to clear the way forward, the Titan squad moved to the back of the group to rest.

The group advanced deeper into the earth. At times, the passage would narrow, forcing the group to move forward in single file. Occasionally, Thorn even had to pause to widen the path, due to his size. After they had traveled for two hours, the slow trickle of dwarves heading towards the surface stopped, and the High Castle team, which was currently at the front, called back that they could see an open space.

The narrow passageway opened into a huge cavern. Close to a quarter of a mile across, the ground was rough, and faintly glowing plants and fungi dotted the room. Large stalactites hung from the ceiling, looming over their heads like the teeth of a giant beast waiting to crunch shut. Spreading out as they entered the cavern, the three teams looked around. It was as if they had entered a massive, shadowy world. Mina poked Thorn in the side and spoke in a whisper.

“I don't like this place.”

“Yeah, it's not very cheery, is it?” In the low light provided by the glowing plants, Thorn could make out a well-worn path curving its way through the cavern.

*ding*

Yo. The Silver Guard arrived. 50 players. We are following in behind them, but we’ll have to keep our distance to avoid getting caught.

Replying quickly, Thorn dismissed Jorge’s message, his mind whirring. After a moment, he looked around, his expression unchanged.

“Let's push forward.”

Once again, the Titan squad took point, advancing across the cavern floor. Despite the size of the group, everyone was subdued. The only sound was their muffled footfalls. Halfway across the cavern, Mina heard a skittering sound and spotted a large insect with countless legs creeping behind some rocks.

Stifling a shriek with her hand, Mina thrust her wand out and cast a spell, dumping a ton of snow on the helpless creature’s head. All three teams, startled by the sudden attack, took defensive stances, looking around warily for enemies. No one was able to spot anything, and after a moment, Mina sheepishly admitted what had happened. Rolling his eyes, Thorn patted the short witch on the head.

“Please don't tell me that you are going to do that for every insect we come across down here.”

“No, no, I'm good.” Mina patted her chest in relief. “I was just startled.”

“Good. Keep it together,” Asher said as he walked over to Thorn. “Looks like it wasn't anything, so let's keep moving.”

“Yeah, she can get a little bit trigger-happy.” Thorn smirked as he waved to the group. “The path looks like it ends at the base of that pile of stones. Split up and see if you can find the exit.”

The three teams split up and began to comb through the cavern. With his height, Thorn had no trouble seeing over the plants and rock piles, and his night vision made the low light conditions a non-issue. Wandering around a large pile of rocks, Thorn was looking at a large pink and yellow mushroom that was puffing out jets of phosphorescent blue mist when he began to hear shouts from across the cavern.

“[Avalanche!]”

Standing up, Thorn looked over just in time to see Mina summon her three frozen orbs.

“Mina, what are you doing?”

“[Raging Blizzard!]” Not stopping to answer Thorn, Mina began casting ice spikes as fast as she could muster. Shards of ice ripped through the air, smashing into the ground and sending slivers of razor sharp ice flying. Mina accelerated backward, sliding over the ground and ramping off of a small bump. As she flew through the air, she spun around and pointed her wand. “[Sub Zero!]”

The spell had barely been released when she activated her blink, appearing fifteen feet away as scything mandibles cut through the air where she had been moments before. Realizing something serious was going on, Thorn’s voice boomed through the cavern, causing the stones on the floor to jump.

“Form up!”

“You heard him.” Without waiting to figure out what was going on, Asher yelled to his group, and began to sprint toward where Thorn stood. Across the cavern, WhiteCloud’s team looked to their leader, who hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting to a half hidden opening in the cavern wall.

*BOOM*

The loud sound drew his eyes back to Mina’s fleeing figure. Through the cloud of ice crystals, WhiteCloud could barely make out a huge armored figure weaving in the air, thousands of small legs wriggling in and out of sight. From what he could make out, a forty-foot monstrous centipede was chasing Mina back toward Thorn’s party.

“Are we going back to fight?” One of the scouts asked, his eyes fixed on the massive centipede that was pursuing Mina.

“No. Let them fight it. It should keep them tied up while we meet up with the rest of the team. They said they can see the fortress already. Let’s go.” Without another glance, WhiteCloud led his small team into the hidden cavern.

In the center of the cavern, Thorn focused on the giant centipede that was barreling toward them. Imposing armor plates covered the arthropod’s back and sides, creating a low grinding noise as it rushed after the fleeing witch. Lunging out of the cloud of ice, the centipede sent it’s scything mandibles snapping toward Mina, who blinked away again. His guildmates gathered up around him, Asher arrived next to the Titan squad, which had formed up in front of Thorn. Grimacing at the incoming monster, Asher commanded his group to join Thorn’s. Quickly getting into position, the tanks rushed forward to intercept the enraged insect.

Another blink brought Mina to safety behind the tank line, where she hid behind Thorn.

“Ugh, gross, gross, gross.”

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Ew, that thing is so disgusting.”

“What happened?” Looking at the monster, Thorn tried to figure out where it had come from.

“Ummm. I might have killed one of its kids or something,” Mina said, sheepishly.

“Hey, let’s deal with it before we all die, huh?” Exasperated, Asher pointed toward the tanks, who were being tossed all over by the rampaging beast.

“Haha, right. Support, keep the tanks up. Let’s do this,” Thorn called out, striding forward. Fixing his helmet on his head, he summoned his tetsubo and rushed toward the giant monster, Mina skating forward behind him.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Archers, target its weak points! Mages, do your best to slow it down! Make sure we keep those tanks at full health in case it has a rage ability.” Rather than follow Thorn and Mina forward into the heart of the fight, Asher took command of the back line, shouting out orders in rapid-fire succession. With a practiced eye, Asher began to assess the battlefield.

Smashing his way across the floor of the cavern, Thorn could feel the burning excitement taking hold of him. Roaring, he launched himself into the air, lifting his tetsubo over his head. But before he could strike, the giant centipede's tail appeared in front of him, lashing him out of the air. Thorn went tumbling, a grunt slipping from his lips as his large armored form smashed through piles of rocks and completely squashed a giant mushroom. Extricating himself from the sticky mess of glowing fungus, Thorn shook his head and stood up.

Standing among the support players, Asher called out orders to the tanks.

“Set up a taunt chain starting from the left and taunt on my order! DPS, rotate on my command until agro is established. Zeno, you are first!” Asher kept his eyes tightly fixed on the giant centipede. Seeing an opening, he shouted, “Taunt!”

Zeno, a barbarian dressed in fur-lined steel armor, slammed the butt of his double-sided axe into the ground, activating his crowd control ability. The shockwave from the strike flowed outward, sending glowing yellow chains shooting out of the ground to tie down the centipede. With a hiss, the centipede tried to retreat, but the flying chains were too fast, wrapping around it.

The ability infuriated the monster, drawing its attention for a second. The centipede locked its multitude of eyes on Zeno, making him gulp. The chains had barely finished wrapping around it when the centipede shook its body, shattering the chains and breaking free from the restraint. Asher's voice rang from the back line, and Zeno jumped backwards, barely evading a pincer strike from the centipede. Furious at having missed, the centipede reared back its head to strike again.

“Next tank, taunt!”

A tank to the right of Zeno smashed the pommel of his sword on his shield, producing a sharp *klang*. As if by magic, the centipede’s gaze swiveled to fix itself onto the offending shield, and without hesitating, it lunged forward. Just as it looked like the centipede’s giant mandibles were about to cut the tank in half, a translucent sphere of reverberating sound appeared in the air around the warrior's body, blocking the monster’s attack.

“DPS, on!” Asher called out, and all of the ranged attackers began to pepper the monster from afar with spells and arrows. The melee DPS dashed forward, swinging sharply at the centipede’s thick carapace. On the count of three, all of the DPS stopped attacking, and Asher called for the third tank to draw the centipede’s attention. In fascination, Thorn watched as Asher took hold of the tempo of the fight, perfectly timing his orders to keep the monster busy while creating opportunities for the damage dealers to strike.

Not wanting to throw off the rhythm that Asher had established, Thorn switched his tetsubo for his arbalest, joining the ranged attackers in sending bolts toward the centipede every time Asher called out for damage. Even though most of the tank’s abilities could only hold the monster’s attention for a few seconds, the rapid rotation of the crowd control abilities and taunts kept the giant centipede disoriented enough that it could never mount a large attack.

As they repeated the rotation, Thorn was drawn into the rhythm of the fight. A tank would taunt, pulling the giant centipede’s attention, and in the brief seconds before it reoriented itself, the DPS would strike. Wave after wave, the attacks hammered its carapace, chipping away at the monster’s impressive armor. It didn't take long before the mighty monster fell, worn down by the relentless damage.

Quite impressed with the way the fight had gone, Thorn slapped Asher on the back, nearly knocking him over.

“That was awesome. Really impressive control of the battlefield.”

“Uh, thanks? I guess?” Seeing Asher's confused look, Mina rolled her eyes.

“Pay no attention. Our boss is just a giant noob.” Now it was Thorn’s turn to be confused. “Thorn, that was just a standard dungeon battle. Probably not even a mini boss.” As realization dawned on Thorn’s face, Mina continued. “I forgot that you have never seen the way normal people fight. No one else in the game can just rush in and crush everything the way you do. We have to use tactics and strategy like the ones you saw here. Literally every elite player in the game knows this rotation. And this is only one of the standard rotations.”

“Well, anyway, I was impressed.” Unashamed of his lack of knowledge, Thorn gave Asher a thumbs up. “You will have to teach me about these rotations. I feel like it would be really helpful to understand how you know when to taunt and when to attack.”

“That just comes with time. You have to observe the monster and figure out their pattern. In this case, it only had two real attack vectors. Head and tail. Most monsters telegraph their moves, so if you can spot the sign that they are about to attack, you can taunt to interrupt them. The strategy we used here only works with multiple teams, because you need enough tanks to pull aggro for the constant interrupt. It was also easier since this monster wasn’t a boss and didn’t have a rage ability.”

Talking while they worked, Asher and Thorn gathered the group together after they had finished looting the giant centipede. Thorn pointed toward the side of the cavern where WhiteCloud and the High Castle team had disappeared.

“WhiteCloud was over there when the fight started. It is pretty safe to assume that he found the exit and is on his way to the fortress.” Everyone followed Thorn’s finger but did not see anything but a dark wall.

“How do you figure?” Asher asked.

“Well, first of all, WhiteCloud lied about not being able to send and receive messages. I would guess that means he probably knew that the giant centipede was here and was waiting for someone to stumble on it before making his escape. Second, if he was still in the cavern, he would have come out by now.”

“That makes sense.”

“Let’s concentrate our search near that wall. I’m sure we’ll find the passage there.”

After a brief rest, the two guilds made their way to the wall of the cavern where WhiteCloud and his men had disappeared, a quick search revealing the passage. The entrance to the tunnel was hidden behind a small outcropping of rock, and it was only when a player stood directly next to it that he could see it.

“Slimy...” Asher cursed under his breath. “I bet WhiteCloud knew which way to go all along. He is probably already at the fortress by now, trying to get a leg up.”

“Don't worry.” Thorn’s voice was slow and calm. “Even if High Castle got to the fortress already, I'm sure we'll be able to catch up. I know that the quest only says we need to find the fortress, but given that all the stone dwarves have been aggressive, I am willing to bet that we’ll have to conquer the fortress to advance. The chance of High Castle being able to take down a fortress of stone dwarves with just a dungeon team is slim to none.”

“But what about the Silver Guard?” Mina cast a worried glance to the entrance of the cavern.

“Since they're here, we might as well use them.” Thorn chuckled. “I told Jorge about the hidden entrance and asked him to try and lead them to us. Peacefully. Since they've come all this way, they might as well help us take down the fortress, right?”

“Do you really think they'll help us?”

“Sure, why not?” Thorn shrugged. “Either way, it won't hurt to ask. If we are going to fight, then we should just get it over with so we can get on with taking down the fortress.”

Asher looked skeptical, but he didn't say anything. Gathering their teams together, the Aurum team led the way into the earth.

Less than 20 minutes later, a well-ordered group of silver-armored players entered the cavern. Seeing the devastation wrought by the giant centipede, the Silver Guard stayed in formation, looking around carefully for any sign of an enemy. The cavern was silent, all the small creatures that inhabited it scared off by the fight against the giant centipede. Unable to spot anything out of the ordinary in the dim conditions, the leaders gathered to discuss what to do next.

“Oi, the exit is this way.” Instantly the Silver Guard were on high alert, spinning to face Jorge, who had just stepped out from behind a blue glowing mushroom, his hands resting on his daggers. Stretching one hand out, he activated his Guild insignia, the symbol for Nova Luna appearing above his palm. “My boss told me to wait for you, so I can show you the way down.”

The leader of the Silver Guard was an older man, his worn face a map of the vicissitudes of life. Stepping forward, he sized up Jorge carefully.

“Hello, Jorge. It's been awhile.”

“Well if it isn't Raeth.” Jorge's eyes never left the grizzled old man. “Fancy meeting you here. When did you get promoted?”

“Oh, a couple weeks ago.” Rather than looking at Jorge, the old man's eyes wandered the nearby landscape, watching carefully for any sign of an ambush. Raeth’s extreme caution made Jorge chuckle. Dropping his hands from his daggers, he held them out wide.

“No trickery here, old friend. The boss man wants to meet you in front of the fortress.”

“Does he? And who is your new boss now that you abandoned Ouroboros?”

“Get this straight, old man, I did not abandon anyone.” Jorge’s tone was hard. “Thorn. Guild leader of Nova Luna, Lord Greymane the Moon Wolf. Giant guy. Impossible to miss. Come on, you outnumber me 50 to 1, don’t tell me you are scared.”

“And you said Thorn wants to meet us? Why? Last time I checked, we were not on friendly terms.”

“Look, all he told me is that he wants to meet. Now, either you follow me, or you find the way yourself.”

Raeth scratched his chin, scrutinizing Jorge’s face for any sign of duplicity.

“All right, we’ll follow you and see what this Thorn has to say.”

“Haha good. You won't regret it.” Leading the way to the exit, Jorge headed straight down the tunnel, the well-ordered Silver Guard marching in step behind him.

Farther down the tunnel, one of Asher's Scouts reported having found the end of the tunnel up ahead. As they rounded a bend in the tunnel, Asher could see torchlight from what seemed to be another large cavern. Falling back to the center of the group, he approached Thorn to ask him what he thought about the situation.

“My guess is that High Castle has set up to ambush us when we exit the tunnel. That is assuming that they have not entered or attacked the fortress, of course.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Asher nodded, frowning grimly. “How do we want to handle this?”

“Well,” said Thorn, thinking out loud, “we don't have a way to go around it, which means we have to walk through the choke point. I think our only option is to bust through. How about this: I'll take point and try to disrupt them as much as possible. Everyone else can follow up after I charge.”

“I think you are right. Say when you're ready to charge, and we will buff you to help with damage mitigation.”

Grinning, Thorn quickly organized the Titan squad and walked to the front of the group. Dropping into a crouch, his eyes fixed on the end of the tunnel. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled and then nodded to Asher.

“Buff him up.”

Instantly, multiple magical glows landed on Thorn, filling him full of energy and making his body feel as if it could float off the ground. Under his helmet, Thorn’s grin grew wider.

[Wolf's Rage]

As the burning excitement in his chest spread to his limbs, Thorn took off. Each long step sent him hurtling down the tunnel, faster and faster. Each pounding footfall carved a divot into the floor, sending shards of stone and clumps of dirt flying. Following as closely as they could, the two squads raced to keep up.

Just before he got to the entrance to the cavern, Thorn focused his mind and summoned an extra burst of speed, the impact from his feet sending tremors through the earth. Lifting his arms to help block against attacks, Thorn sprinted out of the tunnel. As he blasted through the entrance like a cannonball, Thorn caught a brief glimpse of the horrified faces of High Castle players spread around the entrance.

A storm of attacks landed around Thorn, a few barely clipping him as he rushed through. Moving as fast as he was, Thorn was unable to change directions in time as a large stalagmite loomed in his path. Gritting his teeth, Thorn could only lower his shoulder and brace for impact.

*Boom*

The impact rumbled through the cavern as chunks of stone went flying, sending the members of High Castle scrambling for safety. Undeterred, Thorn continued his headlong rush, leaving the High Castle players behind, their mouths wide open. Pouring out of the tunnel, Mina and the Titan squad attacked immediately as Asher led his team in support. The entrance to the cavern was soon filled with the clang of steel and angry shouts as the three teams fell into battle.

It took Thorn a few seconds just to slow down. Planting his feet firmly as he came to a stop, he brushed shards of stone from his armor and launched himself back in the opposite direction. As he ran back, he spotted WhiteCloud standing at the back of the High Castle army, his short bow thrumming as he sent arrow after arrow arcing into the melee.

[Shadow Dash]

Appearing abruptly next to the short ranger, Thorn did not hold back. A sweeping blow with his tetsubo forced WhiteCloud out of the game instantly, and two quick strikes brought down his guildmates who were standing nearby. Set loose in the middle of the enemy, Thorn was like a bull in a china shop, smashing players into oblivion left and right. It was a moment before the High Castle team realized that their leader had fallen, but when they did, they panicked and began to flee.

After finishing off the last of the High Castle players, Thorn, Mina, and Asher began to look around the cavern. It did not take long for them to spot the fortress set back against one of the cavern walls.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The imposing fortress stood firm in the dim light, large towers piercing into the roof of the cavern like thick veins. Carved stone walls flanked a yawning entryway, the sharp teeth of a portcullis poking from the arch like a mouth about to snap shut. With his excellent eyesight, Thorn could faintly make out row after row of stone dwarves standing stiffly on the walls, holding spears. Despite the open gateway, the fortress gave off a gloomy feeling, as if it would swallow anyone who stepped inside.

“Do you think that is the fortress we are supposed to find?” Mina asked.

“The quest did say it was a fortress underground.” Thorn shrugged. Taking a few steps toward the fortress, a familiar sound rang in his ear.

*ding*

Sins of a Golden Dream - World Quest [Updated]

A long forgotten empire, bound in stone, has woken from a bygone era. Driven by the greed of their master, they have turned their attention from the wealth hidden in the earth and are beginning to encroach on the surface. Implacable legions muster for war as their scouts burn paths from the subterranean world.

Seek out the fortresses hidden in the depths of the earth and the labyrinth at their center, destroying the stone heart. Scattered around the world are keys that will lead the way into the earth.

You have found one of the fortresses hidden in the depths of the earth. Guarded by the Stone Legion, the fortress must be passed before you can access the great labyrinth city, Rakkam. To prevent the Stone Legion from returning, you must defeat Llamrik, the Oathbreaker, and seize the [Control Orb].

Stone Legion: 0/10,000

Stone Legion Captains: 0/50

Stone Legion General: 0/8

Llamrik, the Oathbreaker: 0/1

“There we go. What do you think?” Thorn looked toward Mina and Asher, who were reading over their own notifications.

“10,000 dwarves? Are they insane?” Asher muttered to himself as he read the quest description.

“It looks like we need to work together if we want to have any chance of completing this.” Thorn scratched his head, his eyes fixed on the looming fortress. “Our dungeon team is still about a day away, so I think we should rest here until they join us. Oh, and the Silver Guard can help out, as well. Jorge connected with them, and they should be here within 10 minutes.”

“I still can't believe you think that they are going to help us.” Asher shook his head

“Ha, not help us, help themselves. Not to boast, but we've got a pretty solid team here, and together, I'm positive we will be able to clear this fortress. Once we do, everyone who helps will get access to this labyrinth city or whatever. No matter what our differences are, I am sure Ragnarok will not turn down another shot at this dungeon.”

“Yeah, we'll see.” Shrugging, still unconvinced, Asher walked over to tell his guildmates what was going on.

Thorn kept an eye on the fortress while Mina watched the tunnel exit. Just as he was appreciating the size of the stones that made up the fortress’ wall, Mina called out in a low voice.

“Incoming.”

Turning to face the tunnel’s exit, Thorn stood together with the rest of the Titan squad. The sound of metal shod boots clanging against the stone floor soon became audible, and marching three abreast, the Silver Guard entered the cavern behind Jorge.

“See, I told you that you would not be able to miss him.” Chuckling, the dwarf gestured to Thorn. Waving his hand, the older Silver Guard captain marched up to Thorn, the ranks of Silver Guard behind him keeping up neatly.

“My name is Raeth, captain of the Silver Guard. I'm here to represent Ragnarok for this dungeon.” His eyes cold, the old man was clearly not impressed by Thorn’s size.

“Hello, Captain. I am Baron Thorn Greymane, the Moon Wolf. This is Asher, leader of Aurum. We are happy to have you here, as it looks like we will need all hands on deck if we want to complete this quest.”

“You have a quest?”

“Yes. Here.” Thorn shared the updated World Quest with the captain.

At first, Raeth's face was passive, but as he got to the end of the quest window, his brow furrowed, and he looked at Thorn, a grudging light in his eyes.

“Let me know when you are ready, and we can begin the assault.”

“I am afraid we will be waiting until tomorrow, as we still have team members who are on their way.”

“You expect us to wait until tomorrow?” Raeth scoffed, “I don't know about you, but some of us have important things to do. Maybe it's better if I took charge of this mission.”

“Pleasant as always, Raeth.” Mina's voice sounded from behind Thorn, and though her tone was pleasant, the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

“Hello, Mina. I see you found a new master,” the Ragnarok captain sneered.

Mina's response was to draw her wand, causing the Silver Guard behind Raeth to draw their swords all at once.

“Whoa there, hold up. No need for this to turn into a scuffle.” Thorn’s deep voice was soothing, immediately easing tensions. “We are all here for the same reasons - let's not lose sight of our goals. Tell you what. If you would like to take a crack at the fortress to see if you can complete the quest on your own, I have no problem with that. As for us, we are going to wait for the rest of our team.”

About to argue, Raeth felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. His eyes flickered as he noticed the razor sharp claws on Thorn's hand. A quick glance around showed that Jorge was nowhere to be seen.

“Fine. We’ll wait.” Turning away from Thorn abruptly, Raeth led his group to the side, allowing them to disperse. “Be back at oh nine hundred hours tomorrow.”

“What do you want to do while we wait?” Mina asked, watching as some of the Silver Guard players logged out and others stood together to talk.

“Anyone who wants to can log out till 9 a.m. tomorrow. Those that want to stay should help to sweep roaming mobs while we wait for the rest of the team to arrive. We need to prevent the number of stone dwarves from building up before we start the assault.”

All but three of the Titan squad decided to stay and help clear out the stone dwarves from the surrounding tunnels, so Thorn split the party into three groups and sent them in different directions along with the members of Aurum who were sticking around. It had been quite an eventful day, so Thorn found a good spot on the ground and sat down, leaning against a stalagmite as he waited for Velin to arrive.

The dark cavern was gloomy, and the pressure emitted by the fortress was heavy, but once he got over being stared at by a few thousand dwarves on the wall of the fortress, Thorn found the dim environment was actually quite peaceful. It had been a while since Thorn relaxed, so he took full advantage of the opportunity, stretching out and doing his best to sleep. The rest of the night passed quickly, and at 7 a.m. the next morning, Velin arrived with the rest of the professional players from Nova Luna. Excited to see her friend, Mina rushed over while Thorn and Jorge followed behind.

“Finally! You're here,” Mina whined, earning herself a slight smile from the beautiful elf.

“Welcome, Velin, Oberlin.” Thorn nodded to the two officers. “How tired is everyone? Do you need any rest before we begin the assault?”

“Hey, boss. Maybe just a couple minutes to get reorganized. We are pretty well rested, since Velin let us camp out for a while last night. She said we would be fighting right away today, so we are all ready.”

“Good.” Thorn patted Velin on her shoulder gently. “Great thinking, Velin. Oh, let me introduce you. This is Asher. He is heading up the Aurum team that we will be working with for the assault on the fortress. Asher, this is Velin and this is Oberlin, two of Nova Luna’s officers.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Asher flashed his brightest smile, his eyes fixed on Velin’s face. Responding with a slight smile and nod, the Elven War Priestess immediately resumed her cold expression, turning her head to talk to Thorn. Completely ignored, Oberlin wasn’t upset in the slightest, instead laughing at Asher’s enamoured look.

“Now that everyone is introduced, let's go see when our friends from Ragnarok will be ready.” Walking the short distance to where Raeth and a few of the other Silver Guard were talking quietly, Thorn approached the captain.

“Our gang is all here, and we are ready to go. How does it look on your side?”

“We are still waiting for the last few stragglers to login. What do you say we start at 9?” Raeth's face was impassive, not at all embarrassed by Thorn’s small jab.

“Haha, sure.” Thorn waved his hand and begin to head back to the others, saying over his shoulder as he went, “We will be having a tactical meeting in a couple minutes. Feel free to come and give your two cents, if you would like.”

A few minutes later, Raeth and Asher gathered with a few of their men, meeting Thorn and his team in front of the fortress.

“Thank you both for coming.” Thorn glanced back and forth between Raeth and Asher. At his side stood Velin, Jorge, Mina and Oberlin. “We have about half a day before WhiteCloud and the rest of the High Castle team respawn, so if we want to make progress on this quest, we need to get started. Does anyone have anything to say before we start planning?”

“Yes, I have something to say.” One of the Silver Guard players who had been standing behind Raeth stepped forward, his eyes sweeping the collected players.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Why are you in charge?” Silence fell over the group at his question and, emboldened, he continued. “I think Ragnarok is much better suited to be leading this mission then you are. Even Aurum has been around longer than Nova Luna, so why do you get to be in charge?”

“Okay, thanks for your feedback. Does anyone else have any comments or questions?”

Taken aback by Thorn’s passive response, the Silver Guard player was about to lash out when Thorn held up a large finger, making him pause. Thorn looked around at the rest of the group and, seeing that no one else stepped forward with a question, he smiled and turned his full attention to the Silver Guard.

“Your question is not out of line. It is reasonable to ask why I am in charge.” Taking a small step forward, Thorn straightened to his full height and looked down at the player, a slight smile on his face. “Simply put, I am leading this quest because I am the strongest person here. I am more than willing to cede the leadership role to anyone who is able to beat me. Would you like to give it a go?” The weight of Thorn’s gaze rested on the Silver Guard player who had stepped out, making it hard for him to breathe. “No? What about you, Captain Raeth? I am more than willing to entertain a duel if you are interested in giving the leadership role in this quest a shot.”

Silence reigned as Thorn’s words faded away. Asher and the few players he had brought from Aurum had stepped back slightly, their eyes fixed on Raeth. Mina, Velin, and Jorge watched as well, curious to see if Ragnarok was going to make an issue of this. His face impassive despite their scrutiny, the Ragnarok captain snorted.

“That will not be necessary. Vance, step back. We will follow Nova Luna’s lead in this.”

“Thank you. I will do my best not to betray your trust.” Thorn smiled briefly and then got down to business. “First, a quick recap. Our quest is sending us into the fortress to find the control point. Not only do we have to capture the control point, but we also have to destroy the legion of stone dwarves in the fortress. Jorge has been kind enough to scout the cavern outside of the fortress, giving us a good sense of the terrain we will be covering during our approach. However, we have no idea what the inside of the fortress looks like or where we will find the control point. Any thoughts on this?”

“That is a lot of Dwarves.” Mina said, shaking her head as she read over the quest again.

“It is a lot of Dwarves,” Velin agreed, “but destroying them shouldn't be a problem. It will just take time. Our more pressing issue is, how do we find the control point once we are inside the fortress, and who will take control of it?”

Both Asher and Raeth leaned forward slightly as Velin finished speaking. How to deal with the fortress once this portion of the quest was over was indeed the piece of information they were most interested in. Chuckling, Thorn look between them.

“I think the only fair thing to do is say that whoever finds it, keeps it. But what are your thoughts?”

“I agree.” Raeth's face was hard, a competitive light glistening in his eye as he stared at Thorn aggressively.

“Um.” Asher was not so sure, glancing back and forth between Thorn’s giant frame and the silver armored captain from Ragnarok.

“You can speak freely.” Thorn patted Asher on the shoulder to encourage him.

“What happens when only one guild can control the fortress? I don’t want to fight my way into the fortress only to be kicked out because my guild did not get the control point.”

“That is reasonable. None of us want to do all the work and get no reward. Captain, what do you think? How can we ensure that each guild gets a slice? How would you feel about an agreement that the guild that gains the control point will allow the other two guilds to proceed to the next step of the quest from here.”

“That should work.” After thinking it over for a moment, Raeth agreed, and Thorn sent each of the two other leaders a document.

“Take a look at it. Should be pretty straightforward. Main point covers a non-aggression agreement while we are engaged in the assault on the fortress. Second point covers the fact that no one will contest ownership of the control point with the guild who has it. Third through fifth points outline the agreement once we clear this stage of the quest. First, the owner of the control point guarantees the other two guilds free and clear access to the fortress in whatever capacity is necessary for the completion of the next steps of the World Quest. Second, agrees to give both of the other guilds a fair shake at completing the next stage of the World Quest. And, third, agrees to allow the other two guilds to keep any loot that they’ve acquired before the control point is captured.”

“Did you just have this in your back pocket?” Asher stared at the legally binding document, his confusion plainly written on his face.

“I’ve got fast lawyers.” Thorn smirked.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“In addition,” Thorn gestured to the document that Asher and Raeth were reading, “I think it is only fair to allow Aurum to pick which part of the fortress they want to search first. They will also get the first shot at the second stage, if the second stage of this quest is limited to a single group at a time.”

“Why would they get to choose first?” Raeth humphed, displeased that Thorn was making arbitrary decisions.

“Aurum is going to bear the brunt of the Dwarven army’s attacks once we are inside the fortress. If you want to replace them, feel free to volunteer. I’m sure they would be happy to switch with you.”

“Preposterous.” Raeth shook his head, completely ignoring Asher’s furious face. “That is too significant of an advantage.”

“It is not negotiable.” Thorn held up his hand to forestall Raeth’s argument. “If you wish to have the second choice, that’s fine, but you must also lead the assault to breach the gate.”

“You expect me to agree to that?”

“If you can’t agree, you can leave.”

“Don’t think you can just push Ragnarok around.” Raeth’s expression was stormy, his eyes burning with anger.

“No one is trying to push you around, but don’t think that you can get the benefit without putting in the work. What if I agree to stay back with the main team? I will not participate in hunting for the control point.”

Considering Thorn’s suggestion, Raeth glared at the giant. He wanted to protest, but Thorn was staring him down, a bland smile on his face.

“Fine.” The captain turned away, waving his hand dismissively.

“Thanks for sticking up for us.” Watching Raeth walk away, Asher grimaced. “Ragnarok is used to getting their way, so you should watch your back. They don’t like it when they don’t get the biggest portion.”

“No problem. We’re allies, so we need to watch out for each other. Besides, they already don’t like me. Let’s get this started.”

The gloomy underground world stretched out before the Titan squad as Thorn led the way toward the Dwarven fortress. Mina, Velin, Jorge, and Oberlin walked behind him with the rest of the Titan squad, while the Deimos and Phobos squads followed them. To the sides, the Silver Guard of Ragnarok and the Aurum team flanked Nova Luna’s force. Altogether, the three guilds boasted nearly 600 players, organized into twelve blocks of fifty.

Each block of 50 players was an independent raid team combining tanks, damage dealers, and support characters. Only Ragnarok's block was different, comprised entirely of the Silver Guard, led by Raeth. The scouts reported that the dwarves on the fortress wall would only react when the players approached within 100 feet, so Thorn stopped the army just outside of that range.

“Listen up. Execute just as we planned. This is a fast raid mission, so do everything you can to avoid being surrounded. We do have to wipe out the dwarves, but it will be much easier to do if we can seize the control point first. Each guild has an independent team that will hunt for the control point once we have breached the city, while the other 9 teams will be split up into groups of three. Each group will be responsible for pulling the Dwarven forces apart to make it easier for the three hunting squads to find the control point. Got it? Fighting will be fierce, so make sure you are bringing your A-game. Get everything ready, we will be starting in 5 minutes.”

As the players made their last minute preparations, Mina poked Thorn in the side.

“Isn't this guaranteeing that Ragnarok will get the control point?”

“What do you mean? Each guild has a team looking for the control point. Everyone has a fair shake at it.”

“How is it fair? Ragnarok only brought 50 players, so their entire contribution is tied up in their single squad that is looking for the control point. They don't have to spend any effort occupying the Dwarven army and, instead, can rush to find the control point. Plus, our best team has to stay to fight the dwarves.” Velin joined the conversation, looking up from her notebook where she had been writing down notes about the fortress.

“That is true,” Thorn admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “But we have more players, which will make searching for the control point much easier. It should be fairly balanced.”

“Not if we are surrounded by dwarves.” Mina muttered under her breath.

Grinning at the complaining witch, Thorn fixed his helmet in place and readied his tetsubo. After checking that everyone was ready, Thorn led the army of players right up to the 100 foot mark. Staring at the imposing fortress wall, a tense silence hung over the players. Standing at the very edge of the dwarves’ engagement range, Thorn’s eyes scanned the wall. Row after row of stone armored dwarves stood as still as statues, their weapons locked at their sides.

“Remember, don't allow yourself to get surrounded. Keep moving at all times, and try to coordinate between teams as much as possible. Raeth, your Silver Guard is taking point. We are relying on you to breach the gate quickly. Asher, you are taking the lead in commanding the rest of the army until we are inside,” Thorn reminded everyone one last time. After double-checking that the leaders were ready, Thorn turned to Raeth and nodded. The Silver Guard captain raised his hand, and immediately the team from Ragnarok surged forward, heading directly for the open gate.

“Alright, let's keep them covered!” Asher bellowed, commanding the Nova Luna and Aurum players to move forward. Atop the wall, the rows of stone defenders took a step forward with mechanical precision, raising crossbows and beginning to fire down at the advancing Silver Guard. “Archers and mages, target the walls. Tanks, shields up. Support, keep the Silver Guard standing. Let’s move!”

The 600 players were all elites and moved together. Rushing toward the wall alongside the Silver Guard, the tanks raised their shields, doing their best to protect the silver armored players from the crossbow bolts that had begun to rain down on them. Behind them, the ranged damage dealers began to throw a variety of spells and arrows at the dwarves along the edge of the wall. Arrows arched over the heads of the advancing tanks, smashing into the stone armored dwarves. The spellcasters coordinated with the archers, raining down ice, fire, and numerous other elements on the top of the wall.

Rushing forward into the open gate, the Silver Guard raised their shields, doing their best to ward off the stones and arrows that the gate’s defenders were raining down on them from the wall above. A large stone tumbled off the parapet onto the path below, coming down directly on top of a Silver Guard’s shield. Straining under the impact, the player struggled to push it to the side, finally heaving it off and onto the ground next to him. Gasping for breath, he saw another stone falling toward him. The first stone had dropped his health dangerously, low so it was with relief that he felt the warm glow of a healing spell.

Despite the ferocious barrage of bolts and debris, the Silver Guard pushed forward bravely, relying almost entirely on the other two guilds' healers to make progress. As they neared the gate, rows of stone dwarves appeared in the arched entryway. Covered in thick stone armor and wielding stone axes, the Dwarven defenders presented a formidable picture. Undeterred, Raeth gave his commands.

“[Holy Strike] on the center five enemies at my command. Ready? Strike!”

As soon as the words rolled from his lips, the Silver Guard burst into action. The first row of ten players raised their swords and cast [Holy Strike] on a single stone dwarf. Light flashed above the dwarf’s head, lancing down like a beam of sunlight. It quickly grew in intensity as the ten [Holy Strike] spells combined together, magnifying the damage and producing a burning effect.

At the same moment, the second row of Silver Guard targeted the next dwarf, casting [Holy Strike] together, burying the enemy in blinding light. Each of the five rows of Silver Guard followed suit, causing the fortress gateway to glow white hot for a moment.

“Press!” Raeth commanded as the bright glow began to fade, and with well-ordered precision, the Silver Guard pushed forward into the gate. “Strike!”

With each command, the Silver Guard smashed a row of dwarves and then pressed forward, their armor ringing out as they moved in tandem. Watching from behind, it was all Thorn could do to keep his amazement off of his face. Seeing where he was looking, Velin nodded her head.

“Impressive, huh? It isn't for nothing that Ragnarok’s Silver Guard have the reputation as the best organized group in the game. But that is what happens when someone gets a quad category class.”

“And they've been playing together for almost 30 years in-game. Ever since the game started,” Mina chimed in.

“That is a great point.” Thorn rubbed his chin as he watched them move through the gate. “That will be us someday, but even better.”

Nearby, Asher continued to give out commands, organizing the two guilds to cover for the Silver Guard as much as possible. Seeing that the team from Ragnarok had almost pushed the whole way into the fortress gate, Asher signaled for the rest of the army to move forward. Advancing with the army, he soon came to stand next to Thorn.

“Are you sure we can trust Ragnarok to hold the gate while we enter?”

“Who knows,” Thorn shrugged. Raeth had appeared quite compliant regarding the plan they had established, but Thorn was not about to forget the animosity the Silver Guard captain had displayed when he first arrived. “Either way, we should be fine. If they make a break for it, they'll attract the Dwarven army’s attention, and if they help us hold the gate, it will be easier for us to get in.

“Thorn! The gate!”

Mina's scream snapped Thorn’s attention back to the front of the fortress where he could see the metal teeth of the portcullis starting to lengthen. The Silver Guard were packed into the gate, a bit more than half of them on the inside, about to push into the city. Above them, the large metal gate was starting to drop down.

“Velin, I’m going in!” Thorn’s booming voice brought a slight pause to the battlefield as he exploded into action.

“I'm on it.” Giving a curt reply, Velin immediately started chanting, golden light beginning to coalesce around Thorn’s massive figure as he broke into a sprint.

“[Wolf's Rage]!”

Abruptly, his figure sped up and he bounded forward, covering the last 20 feet in two massive steps.

“Move,” he growled, the sound of his deep voice sending shockwaves through the Silver Guards standing under the falling portcullis, causing them to stagger to the sides. The massive portcullis began to drop even faster as gravity took hold of the weight. With bars that were five inches in diameter, the metal gate was incredibly heavy, and if it closed, it could take hours to break open.

Packed tightly in the gateway, almost thirty of the Silver Guard would be caught on the inside if it closed, trapped and at the mercy of the legions of stone dwarves inside the fortress. With a thunderous rattle, the portcullis fell, picking up speed as it went.

Now directly underneath it, Thorn lifted his hands and braced for impact.

With a shriek, the rattling sound of the falling portcullis cut off as the mass of iron smashed down on top of Thorn, driving his feet into the ground and sending dust billowing.

“Did he just try to catch that?” Asher asked Velin, his mouth hanging open in complete disbelief.

The War Priestess said nothing, her eyes tightly fixed on the gate. Coughing as they emerged from the cloud of dust, a few of the Silver Guard who had been under the portcullis as it began to fall crawled away. As the dust in the air settled, the red glowing eyes peering from Thorn’s helmet were the first part of him to appear. Half crouched like Atlas holding up the world, Thorn’s feet were spread apart and his arms were raised. The players watched in absolute awe as the Titan grunted and slowly, inch by inch, began to straighten up.

Groaning, the metal portcullis was shoved upward, the metal grinding against the stone walls. With one last heave, Thorn stood up straight, his massive arms raised over his head. Glancing from left to right, Thorn breathed out as he examined the portcullis. He couldn't let it go, or they would be trapped in the fortress, but he couldn't simply stand here and hold it up the whole time either.

Adrenaline coursing through his veins, Thorn pushed the portcullis as high as he could and then, taking a quick step backwards, he yanked on it with all his might. With a tremendous shriek, the metal twisted and popped. Stepping back once more, he pulled again, the crunch of crumbling stone adding to the noise.

Pausing for a moment, Thorn took a deep breath and adjusted his grip. With a mighty roar, he yanked one last time, bending the metal gate beyond recognition and forcing it out of its grooves. The players looked on wide-eyed as Thorn let go of the gate and stepped away, leaving the grid of twisted metal hanging in mid-air.

“He did not try to catch it. He did catch it.” Velin’s lips curled in a small smile. Mina was not nearly as subtle, whooping and cheering at Thorn’s incredible feat of strength. Jorge couldn't help but grin.

“The gate is open, all units charge.” Thorn’s voice once again carried over the battlefield, sending the players into frenzied action. With the Silver Guard leading the way, the three guilds charged forward with renewed vigor, smashing into the ranks of stone dwarves. Even Raeth couldn't help but be fired up after watching Thorn’s amazing performance.

Inside the gate, the guilds quickly established a perimeter, and the three leaders met in the center. The look in Raeth's eyes when he regarded Thorn had changed to grudging respect, and Asher couldn't seem to stop shaking his head in disbelief.

“Remind me to never get on your bad side,” Asher joked. Raeth said nothing, but he stood slightly farther away than he had.

“From here we will be splitting up.” As he spoke, Thorn continued to scan the battlefield. “Raeth, Ragnarok is pretty much on its own, but if you run into trouble, let us know. Asher, since you have the most people here, you will bear the brunt of the Dwarven assault while we are looking for the control point. As we agreed, you will get the first shot at the next stage of this quest, no matter who claims the control point in the end. You can also pick which direction you want your team to go first.”

“Alright, I will pick straight ahead."

“Great.” Thorn glanced at Ragnarok’s team leader. “Do you want left or right?”

The captain of the Silver Guard took a moment to look around before he answered.

“Right.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Watching Raeth lead the Silver Guard away, a slight smirk spread across Thorn’s face. The fighting had settled into a stable back and forth, so Thorn took his helmet off, allowing Velin to catch his changing expression.

“Do you want me to send out the Deimos squad?” The Aurum team had gone straight into the heart of the fortress city, while Ragnarok’s team had curved right along the fortress wall, leaving the left side of the city for Nova Luna.

“Huh? Oh, yes. You can tell them to move out.” With Asher having gone to search for the fortress control point, Thorn assumed command of the remaining players. Fixing his helmet back in place, he picked up his tetsubo and walked to the front line. “Listen up, we need to do as much as possible to keep the dwarves' attention here. Let’s go!”

Thorn's last words echoed out through the city. Infused with power from his ability [Rallying Cry], all of the players who heard it found themselves energized, their spirits lifted. Instinctively, their eyes turned to Thorn who, lifting his massive weapon, dove right into the middle of the stone dwarves, sending them flying.

With wide sweeping blows he knocked the dwarves back, clearing space around him. Filled with excitement, the players poured into the breach in the stone dwarves' line, hacking away at them with their weapons. Not content with simply crushing piles of dwarves near the gate, Thorn began to advance through the city, smashing apart the stone soldiers as he found them.

The fighting was fierce, but, due to their tight coordination, the players had little difficulty beating back the dwarves. Their simple weapons and mechanical movements made them easy targets for the players, and any damage the melee fighters took was quickly healed up by the support classes. Only a threat in large groups, as soon as the dwarves were scattered their formations fell apart, allowing the players to wipe them out.

Standing near the center of the group sending out healing spells, Velin frowned. Opening up her map to check out the city, she studied it for a few moments as the team pushed forward. Her frown deepened, and she called Thorn, who was ranging farther ahead.

*ding*

“Hey, what's up?” In the background, Velin could hear Thorn's mace crushing through the stone enemies.

“Something is wrong. This is too easy.”

“What do you mean too easy?”

“This fight is too easy.” Velin’s eyes flickered as she continued to study the map, occasionally waving her hand to send out a healing spell. “With the right team, anyone could easily take this fortress.”

“Sorry, I am not following. What is the problem?” Taking a step back to avoid four axes, Thorn lashed out with his claws, shattering one of the dwarves’ stone armor and digging deep furrows in the dwarf's stone skin underneath.

“The problem is that World Quests are never this easy. There have been six World Quests since the game launched. Each one marked the beginning of a new part of the game to explore. So far, they have all required the top guilds to work together to unlock each stage.”

“Okay, but isn’t that the case here? I mean, Aurum isn’t in the top ten, but they are still pretty good. And we make up the difference.”

“No, it is not the same. We could have done this on our own.”

Thorn’s forehead creased as he mulled over the situation. Backhanding a stone dwarf through the wall of one of the buildings that lined the street, Thorn turned and lashed out with his foot, blasting another stone dwarf into smithereens.

“So, do you think this is a trap? Or maybe we are on the wrong quest?”

“That is what I'm not sure about,” Velin responded. “If it is a trap, I am not sure what the enemy is waiting on. We are already in the city. Maybe they are waiting for us to relax our guard and disperse? It is possible that your theatrics with the gate put a crimp in their plans, too, since they can no longer trap us...That’s it. They are waiting for us to move away from the gate!”

“In that case, let’s group up and see if we can force them out.” Turning, Thorn strode back towards the center of the group, a struggling stone dwarf held casually in one hand. “Group up!”

The players who had spread out to fight the dwarves that continued to stream towards them from all over the city began to move back towards Thorn. Casually lobbing the stone dwarf he was holding through the second story wall of a nearby building, Thorn led the players back toward the gate.

“We need to gather more attention if we want the enemy to appear,” Velin said.

“Attention, huh?” Thorn looked around and then froze. With a low chuckle, Thorn walked toward a two-story building along the side of the road and waved back the players who were standing near it. “Back up,” he commanded, rolling his neck around.

Pulling in a deep breath, he hefted his tetsubo in his right hand, taking a firm grip with his left. Lashing out, Thorn smashed his tetsubo into the side of the stone building that flanked the street. With a tremendous crash, the wall he attacked caved in, bringing the rest of the building down. Silence reigned for a moment after the echoes of the falling stone faded away. Even the advancing stone dwarves paused.

“Did.. did he just knock over a building?” One of the players from Aurum asked another.

“Um, yes?”

“Velin, take charge,” Thorn ordered. “I am going to close as many of these side streets as I can.”

“Got it. All units, retreat towards the gate while maintaining your lines. Ranged attackers, focus on crowd control.” Barking out commands, Velin began to lead all of the players back toward the entrance to the fortress while Thorn looked over the buildings on either side of the street.

The main street that the player army had advanced along was close to 40 feet wide with streets branching off from it every 200 feet. As the players begin to retreat, quickly outdistancing the slow dwarves, Thorn began to go to work, taking down the buildings next to the side streets, doing his best to block off the main thoroughfare.

Seeing what he was doing, the stone dwarves surged forward, their axes raised menacingly. Yet Thorn was simply too quick and strong. Smashing into buildings, sending rock and stone tumbling into the streets, he quickly limited the dwarves’ angles of attack.

“Velin, how are we looking?”

“Good. We have reached the gate and have re-established our formation. How is it going on your end?”

“I have one more side street to close, and then we will only have the two right next to the gate to worry about.”

“Are we going to close those as well?”

“I was thinking of leaving them open so that the teams searching for the control point have a way to retreat, but what are your thoughts?”

“That sounds good. We are far enough back that we won't get pincered if the dwarves approach on all three sides.”

“Excellent.” With a loud rumble, the last stone building lapsed into the street. “I am on my way back.”

“Good, because I think you got their attention.” Velin’s voice had taken on a slightly higher pitch.

“Hmm?” Thorn closed the communication window as he jogged up to the player army. The Dwarven forces were marching up the street behind him, their boots sounding in lockstep. With a deep grinding sound, they stopped suddenly.

“The scouts are reporting a new enemy approaching,” Velin said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear as she stepped forward to watch the stone dwarves.

“What do they look like?”

“Just bigger and more dangerous.” Pausing long enough to renew a buff that had faded from one of the tanks, Velin sent a short video to Thorn. In the video Thorn could see a large group of dwarves advancing up the main street toward the player army at the gate. Significantly bigger and rougher looking than the ones they had been dealing with, these dwarves had ornate silver and gold armor, each wielding a single double-bladed battle axe. Rather than stone axes like the standard troops, their axes were made of gleaming metal.

As they advanced up the street, the tightly packed ranks of dwarves began to part, allowing the larger dwarves to move closer to the player army. Marching in the same lockstep that the rest of the Dwarven army displayed, the larger dwarves had noticeably more animation in their movements. Advancing in ten rows of ten, they moved to the front of the Dwarven army and stopped suddenly, the ringing of their armor lingering in the air.

“Velin, I’m going to test them out.” The sight of the new enemy made Thorn’s blood boil, and it was everything he could do to keep from rushing straight into the middle of their ranks. His desire to battle had been growing slowly with time, and the fight against the rank and file dwarves had done nothing to satiate it. His shining eyes focused on the gleaming armor of the elite dwarves as they reflected the fortress’ burning torches, Thorn couldn’t help but flex his claws.

“Thorn, at least take a squad with you.” The coldness in Velin’s voice and the feeling of her hand on his arm snapped Thorn’s attention back to the present situation. “This is not the time for you to show off, the situation is too delicate.”

“Ah, right. Haha, thanks.” Thorn was thankful that his helmet hid his blushing cheeks. “Titan squad, advance on me.”

Stepping out to meet this new force, Thorn led his team forward. The tanks flanked Thorn as he broke into a run, [Pack Travel] allowing everyone to keep up with his ground-eating strides. As the players rushed forward, a long horn blast sounded, and the battle axe wielding dwarves began to move as well, slowly picking up speed as they thundered forward.

“[Shadow Dash]!”

Turning into a dark blur, Thorn dashed forward, his weapon spinning. Dodging around the first dwarf in his path, Thorn spun, nailing the second dwarf in the chest with his tetsubo. With a screech of metal, the dwarf’s armor warped as he was launched through the air. Landing almost twenty feet away with a crash that knocked five stone dwarves from their feet, the statue twitched briefly and faded into thick yellow lights that rushed into the ground, leaving a deformed suit of armor and a large double-bladed battle axe on the cracked ground.

“[Wolf Lord’s Howl]!”

As the stunning effect fell on all the enemies in range, the rest of the Titan squad arrived, the tanks smashing through the front line of dwarves to join up with Thorn. The front ranks of the stone dwarves’ line quickly fell into a deadly melee as the tanks and melee classes jumped on the enemy. Blades flashing, they began to carve into the stone dwarves. Mina was especially impressive, using a spell that Thorn had never seen before to slow the stone enemies and turn their bodies brittle, allowing her teammates to smash them apart.

*WHUUUUM*

As the stone dwarves began to stir from their stunned state, another horn blast sounded, echoing over the fortress. The armored dwarves shivered and a red glow began to bloom in their eyes. Armored gauntlets tightened their grip on the large metal battle axes and the armored dwarves began to push forward aggressively. Speeding up, the dwarves began to lash out with their battle axes with deadly force.

The sudden increase in aggression by the armored dwarves caught a couple of the players off guard, allowing attacks to slip past their defenses. A few of the players sustained gashes from the battle axes, and one of the tanks was even knocked to the ground. The stone dwarf that had knocked him over stepped forward to deal a finishing blow when a puff of shadow exploded over his head and a leather boot landed on his face, causing the statue to stagger backward. Landing next to the knocked down player, Jorge grabbed him and pulled him back into the group of players, dropping him next to a female cleric.

“Careful there, bub,” Jorge growled to the thankful tank, disappearing in another flash of smoke.

“Whew, thanks,” the tank called after the Shadow Assassin.

“Rage state!” Delmore called out from his spot in the middle of the group where he was doing his best to heal Thorn. “We need to retreat!”

“Yeah, we are not going to be able to sustain this. Can you pull Thorn out?” Mina slid past the Tigerkin, stopping herself by grabbing his tail. “He looks like he lost it.”

“Uh, yeah. He does.” Delmore stared in amazement as the giant at the front of the team smashed his way through the oncoming ranks of raging dwarves. “[Spirit Displacement]!”

Something in the back of Thorn’s brain was telling him that he was in too deep, but his enjoyment of the fight made him push it down. It was only in the thick of melee fights that Thorn felt like he could fully employ his size and strength to his advantage. Putting away his tetsubo, Thorn began to lash out with kicks and punches, smashing the armored dwarves with abandon. Driving his claws into the chest of one dwarf, Thorn slapped a battle axe away with such force that the metal end broke off, spinning through another statue’s arm.

Hoisting the first dwarf into the air, Thorn snapped a side kick that sent five dwarves tumbling and then brought the dwarf in his fist down so hard that the flagstones under him cracked. A battle axe blade cut into the armor of his back, sending a sliver of pain lancing through him, but a backhand crushed the armored dwarf’s helmet. Counting on his teammates to heal him, Thorn fought with abandon, crushing anything that came into his reach.

Fighting with his hands and feet, Thorn could slowly feel his [Unarmed Proficiency] improving. It was a surreal feeling, as if his moves were becoming cleaner as he fought. It was subtle, but he could feel the experience slowly piling up. The idea of improving through combat was intoxicating, and slowly he began to push deeper into the stone dwarves’ ranks. Surrounded by the red-eyed, armored dwarves, Thorn was having the time of his life when his vision warped, and he found himself standing behind the Titan squad.

“We need to retreat!” Mina yelled at Thorn, who still had his fist raised. Glaring at him in annoyance as he slowly dropped his hand, she pointed her wand at the tanks who were struggling against the enraged dwarves. “You might be able to deal with them in their rage state, but we can’t.”

“Ah, sorry.” Embarrassed again by his lack of control, Thorn was about to pat Mina on the head but thought better of it. “Titan squad, fall back!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The Titan squad retreated quickly, the ranged players sending out any crowd control abilities they had to enable the tanks and melee DPS to disengage. Having borne the brunt of the enraged stone dwarves’ attacks, the tanks were in rough shape, despite the healing from the support players. Even Thorn had lost a fair amount of health under the onslaught. Rushing back toward the player army fortified at the fortress gate, the Titan squad was barely able to stay in front of the Dwarven horde.

“Mina, can you slow them down?” Thorn shouted, scooping the small Ice Witch up mid-stride and setting her on his shoulder.

“Eep!” Shrieking as she was suddenly sent airborne, Mina clamped her pointed hat to her head. “I can try!” Twisting her torso to face the armored dwarves hot on the Titan squad’s heels, Mina pointed her wand and began to chant. Three glowing blue orbs blossomed above her head, spinning in a slow orbit. “[Ice Wall], [Ice Wall], [Ice Wall]!” The three blue orbs shot forward as Mina cast her spell, splashing into the ground. Ice quickly grew from them, shooting up into the air to form thick walls. The three walls blocked most of the street, forcing the enraged stone dwarves into a chokepoint.

“[Avalanche]! [Blizzard]!” Throwing out her largest spells, Mina sagged, completely drained. “That is the last bit of juice I can manage, Thorn. I need to rest for a few moments.”

“It was great.” Thorn glanced over his shoulder at the red-eyed dwarves struggling through the swirling ball of ice and snow. Seconds later, the ice walls that Mina had erected collapsed into shards, angry stone dwarves cutting them apart with their battle axes. Still, the few seconds that Mina gained allowed the Titan squad to pull ahead of the stone dwarves. “Velin!”

“Tanks, get ready to charge! Second line get ready to off-tank. Ranged, CC on my command.” Snapping out orders, Velin stood in the midst of the player army. As the Titan squad reached the player army, the Elven War Priestess gave the order. “Crowd control!” At her words, all of the ranged players released their spells and attacks, peppering the advancing dwarves and slowing them down.

“Advance! Brace!”

Shouting out, the first row of tanks charged forward and planted themselves, meeting the slowed charge of the raging stone dwarves on their shields and armor. The ringing of steel echoed throughout the street as the two forces collided.

“Second line, rotate!” Velin’s voice carried over the battle. Taking a step forward, the second line of tanks switched places with the tanks that were in combat. Shoulder to shoulder, the tanks stood, blocking the raging enemy. After five seconds of frenzied fighting, Velin called out again, and a third line of tanks pushed forward to bear the burden of the combat. Every five to ten seconds the tanks switched, the injured tanks moving to the back to be healed. Despite how quickly the tanks rotated, a few unlucky players were cut down by the stone dwarves’ sharp battle axes, sent out of the game before they could be healed.

“It looks like they are starting to slow down,” Thorn said to Velin, releasing a bolt at an armored dwarf who was about to bring his battle axe down on a tank’s head. “The red in their eyes is beginning to fade. We should push forward once their rage is gone.”

“Relax. High end raids take time. We are not in a rush, so let’s make sure the situation is stable before we advance. Besides, if you look closely, you can see there are captains in there, waiting to counter attack.” Velin rolled her eyes at the giant beside her. Thorn was a curious mix of confident maturity and impulsive naivety. Because of his size, it was easy for her to forget how young Thorn was. “You need to remember that not everyone can keep up with you. You are leading other people now, so you can’t just think about what you want to do. If we rush in now, those captains could hurt us badly.”

“Ah. Right.” Thorn’s shoulders slumped. “You are right. Sometimes I get too caught up in the excitement of the moment.”

“It’s okay. Being excited is not a bad thing. Excitement is helpful for rallying everyone, something you do really well. We just have to make sure it doesn’t cause us to make mistakes. Especially since we are responsible for everyone else here. Excitement is no reason to make a bad decision.”

“And pushing forward into a dangerous enemy before we’ve stabilized is a bad decision.”

“Correct. Even if it would be fun.”

“Makes sense.” Glancing down at the Elven War Priestess, Thorn nodded. “Velin, thank you. I really appreciate that you are still taking time to teach me. It means a lot to me.”

“Ewww. You two are so cringy.” Mina’s voice drifted over from where she was sending freezing blasts toward the armored stone dwarves, having recovered her mana.

“I know. It's gross.” Jorge appeared next to the Ice Witch. “Lighten up, huh? This is just a game.”

“Oh? Do you think we should attack? I don’t mind giving you a hand, if you want to get over there quickly.” Thorn walked toward his two friends, flexing his fingers. Laughing, Mina slid away and Jorge disappeared in a puff of shadow, grinning widely. Watching Thorn’s broad back, Velin’s lips curled in a small smile.

Stepping onto the front line, Thorn pulled out his tetsubo, crushing any stone dwarf that got close to him. The armored dwarves were beginning to slow, the red glow in their eyes growing dimmer by the second. Noticing that they were not taking as much damage, the tanks stayed in their position a bit longer, weathering the last few seconds of the stone dwarves’ enraged state. Thorn could see the captains spread out among the raging dwarves, their tasseled helmets sticking up above the crowd.

“First rank, fall back. Second rank, hold! Ranged DPS, fire at will.”

Responding to Velin’s command, the tanks in the front row fell back behind the second row, creating some space between the two armies and allowing the healers to restore them to full health. The second rank of tanks held their position as spells and projectiles arched over their heads, impacting among the front ranks of the armored dwarves. As the enraged state faded, the stone dwarves lost a considerable amount of their defenses, and the ranged damage that they had previously shrugged off began to take its toll on their lines.

“Everyone heal up. We will begin our counter-attack in five minutes. Tanks, keep rotating, and watch out for spike damage from the stone captains. Healers, get your mana back up. DPS, keep up the pressure.” After giving the last command, Velin pulled a mana potion out of her inventory and gulped it down.

***

In another part of the fortress, Raeth brought his heel down, crushing the head of a stone dwarf under his foot. The other forty-nine Silver Guard surrounded him in a circle, cutting down any statues that approached. After leaving the main player army to search for the fortress’ control point, Raeth had led his forces through the waves of dwarves. After they had traveled halfway around the outer wall, the Silver Guard turned and began advancing on the center of the fortress, stopping in a large open courtyard and establishing a perimeter.

“Zemma, get started,” Raeth commanded. “We don’t have any time to waste. The boss is waiting.”

“Yes, sir.” One of the Silver Guard stepped out of the circle, joining Raeth in the center of the courtyard. A blue tipped wand appeared in his hand and he began to draw a complicated symbol on the cobblestones. Raeth watched him for a moment and then turned to another of the Silver Guard who was holding a large map of the fortress that was divided into a number of sections. Five of the eight sections had been greyed out, leaving three sections in full detail.

“Have you figured out where it is?”

“No, sir. But I do have it narrowed down.”

“Find it before the boss gets here.” Raeth’s voice was cold, sending a shiver down the back of everyone who heard him.

“Yes, sir.” Gulping, the Silver Guard examining the map redoubled his efforts.

In the center of the courtyard, the Silver Guard player who had been drawing the symbols on the cobblestones finished and called over four others. Each of the five players took out a black scroll and stood on one of the symbols that had been drawn on the ground. Beginning to chant, the scrolls lit up with a burning blue arcane symbol that matched the symbol they were standing on. As the chant grew in volume, the symbols grew brighter and brighter, until they burst into blue flame, burning themselves into the air in front of each player.

The symbols’ blue flame licked the air, wisps of flame flying from them to the center of the courtyard where they gathered into a swirling ball. Growing bigger as the arcane words continued to spill from the Silver Guard’s lips, the ball of blue fire writhed, beginning to take the shape of a sixth symbol. Around the edge of the courtyard, the Silver Guard continued to cut down any stone dwarves that got close while the spell built up power.

*CRACK*

With a splitting sound, the symbol, which was now as tall as Raeth, fractured, a large crack running down the center. The crack grew, arcane energy warping the air as it leaked from the center of the symbol.

*BANG*

Abruptly, the crack became a jagged doorway, flickering in and out of sight as arcane energy swirled above it. Continuing the chant, the five Silver Guard players continued to channel mana into the doorway, helping it stabilize. A few minutes later, the doorway stopped flickering, and Raeth stepped in front of it, bowing.

A purple and gold armored figure with a long black cloak stepped out of the doorway, his helmet tucked under his arm, his wavy blonde hair shifting as he turned his head to look around. Nodding to the Silver Guard captain, he strode over to Raeth. Behind him, silver armored figures began marching out of the doorway, two at a time.

“Welcome, my Lord.”

“How is the situation here?” Sylith asked, continuing to scan the surrounding buildings.

“We have narrowed down the location of the control point and are ready to move out at your command.” Raeth saluted again.

“And the other guilds? What are they doing?”

“Nova Luna and Aurum are occupying the main force of the stone dwarves while we try and find the control point.”

“Excellent. When everyone has arrived, we’ll move out. I want control of this fortress.”

“Yes, sir.” Raeth turned and began organizing the Silver Guard players who were marching through the aether gate. Soon the whole plaza was full, and the five players standing on the arcane symbols stopped channeling mana into the blue flames in front of them, causing the aether gate to collapse.

“Sir, I’ve located the control orb. It is seven blocks away in a tower.” The Silver Guard player with the map rushed over to show it to Sylith and Raeth. “There is a straight path if we go over one street.”

“Excellent. Let’s move out,” Sylith commanded. “Kill anyone who gets in the way.”

“For Ragnarok!”

Rushing out of the plaza, the Silver Guard, now 400 strong, cleared a path through the stone dwarves and pushed toward the tower that held the fortress’ control point. Behind them, a cloaked figure appeared from the deep shadows. Walking to the center of the plaza, the figure crouched and ran gloved fingers over the remains of the arcane symbols. Glancing at the backs of the Silver Guard, the figure sprang up and followed silently.

***

At the gate, the player army had just finished resting and was getting ready to push forward when Thorn received a message from Oberlin.

We’ve got a situation. Ragnarok opened up an Aether Gate and brought more people in. Sylith and the entire Silver Guard are here. They also had a map of some sort that they were looking at, and now they are making a beeline for a tower in the southeastern quadrant. It looks like they know where the control point is. I am following, but there are so many that I can’t get that close.

Annoyed, Thorn’s fists clenched, his gauntlets grinding under the strain of his grip.

“Is something wrong?” Velin heard the sound and glanced over.

“How sneaky.” Gritting his teeth, Thorn shared the message with Velin.

“We should have seen that coming.” Velin sighed. “I’m sorry, that was an oversight on my part.”

“What is an Aether Gate?”

“It is a teleportation portal that can be set up anywhere. It stays open as long as mana is being channeled into it. Most of the big guilds have one, but I completely forgot about it.”

“What is done is done. Don’t sweat it. What does this mean for us though?”

“It means we are in trouble. If Sylith brought his whole team, then we’re out of luck. Half of his team could probably wipe us out. All 400 of them mean that he will be able to dominate this portion of the quest. Especially if they have a way to find the fortress’ control point.”

“You mean that they will gain control of the fortress?”

“It is pretty much guaranteed at this point.” Velin’s face was downcast. “I’m sorry.”

“Haha, don’t worry about it.” Thorn patted the War Priestess on the shoulder. “We’ll do our best, and we’ll deal with the situation as it comes. We are not out of the fight yet.”

“But we might lose the fortress.”

“Sure, but we’ll just do the best we can. And if we lose this stage, we’ll try for the next stage. It’s alright, Velin.”

Velin froze for a moment at Thorn’s words, her body rigid. With a sigh she relaxed, smiling wryly.

“I guess this is just a game, huh?”

“Exactly. It is just a game. You win some, you lose some. But we have not lost the fight yet. And until we do, we’ll do our best.” Striding to the front of the army, Thorn stepped out in front of the line of tanks, casually slapping a stone dwarf away. “Follow me!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Thorn led the way, the players from Nova Luna and Aurum making good time as they pushed forward into the center of the fortress. The fighting was fierce, but once their enraged state faded, the stone dwarves were manageable. Even the armored battle axe wielding dwarves didn't take too long for the players to wear down. Yet, the deeper they pushed, the harder the fight seemed to get.

“Hey boss, something is wrong.” Jorge appeared on Thorn’s shoulder and scratched his bearded chin.

“Do you mean something is wrong besides the fact that Ragnarok is about to get the control point?” snapped Thorn, driving the butt of his tetsubo into the head of a stone dwarf, causing it to explode into shards.

“Yes. I have a feeling that the last of our worries is the control point.”

“What do you mean?”

Without saying a word, the Shadow Assassin pointed. Following his finger, Thorn beheld a sight that sent a shiver down his spine. The player army was approaching a large plaza with four giant statues of ancient Dwarven kings. Taking off his helmet, Thorn rubbed his eyes, hoping that he had not seen correctly.

But no matter how much he blinked, he could not change the fact that these statues were starting to move. With a loud groan, the closest statue turned its head to look at the invaders. At first the statue moved slowly, but as it moved it began to pick up speed, reminding Thorn of a ton of debris rolling down a hill. With another groan, the statue stepped down from its pedestal, a massive stone foot shattering the cobblestones beneath it and sending tremors through the earth.

“Woooo boy, you were not joking, were you?”

“Nah, they don't seem like something to joke about.”

By this time, the rest of the player army had spotted the four advancing giant statues and begun to get into position to receive them. Each statue stood 15 feet tall, towering over the players and dwarfing Thorn. The first of the statues was dressed in armor and a two-headed warhammer rested on its shoulder. The second was armed with a battle axe and spiked armor, while the third was armed with a flail, a massive spiked ball dangling from the stone chain. The last statue was dressed in a robe and carried a staff with a golden triangle on the end.

“Form up!” Thorn’s command echoed over the battlefield sending the shocked players into frenzied motion. Just about to charge in to engage the first statue, Thorn paused, his eyes flickering to the elf behind him. “Velin, you are in charge here. Tell me where to go.”

“Yes, sir.” The War Priestess snapped a mock salute before calling out rapid fire orders. “I want all the tanks in a single group. Tank 1, you'll take warhammer, 2 through 10 you are on rotation with him.11 through 20 on battle axe, 21 through 30 on flail, 31 through 40, pick up staff. 41 through 50 I want you in groups of two helping to control the mobs. Let's get them peeled! Thorn, focus on damage, starting with the staff. DPS, wherever Thorn goes you go.”

As Velin’s words rang out, the scrambling players quickly fell into order, tanks locking onto their declared targets and the DPS beginning to rain spells, arrows, and other abilities on the statue with the staff. Thorn smashed aside a few of the remaining armored dwarfs as he charged forward. His charge brought him past the first statue, which tried to squash Thorn with its warhammer, bringing it down with a thunderous crash.

The blow shook the ground, threatening to knock players from their feet, but right before the hammer landed, Thorn activated his [Shadow Dash] ability and wove through the statue’s legs. Dashing past the battle axe and flail statues, Thorn quickly arrived in front of the massive statue with the staff.

“Hah!” With a shout, Thorn swung his tetsubo around his head in a great arc, driving the metal weapon deep into the statue’s stomach. The sound of cracking stone cut the air as two large chunks of stone fell away from the statue’s robe. Slow to react, the statue let out a loud roar of rage, furious that Thorn had actually done damage to it. Lifting its hands, the statue tried to bring the end of its staff down on Thorn’s head.

Jumping back, Thorn grinned and threw himself forward again, this time swinging at the end of the staff. Seeing his weapon carve a chunk out of the stone staff that the monstrous statue had stuck in the ground, Thorn’s grin got even bigger, and he licked his lips in excitement. The tanks had done a good job pulling the other three statues' attention, leaving Thorn and the rest of the player army’s DPS to focus on the statue with the staff.

Velin stood at the back of the group, giving out directions, her eyes fixed on the statue with the staff. When she had first seen the symbol on the end of the staff, it had reminded her of Karr’Verum, the ancient Dwarven god of healing, which is why she had ordered the DPS to focus on taking down that statue first. Sure enough, as the damage began to pile up, the robed statue took a step back to distance itself from the pesky flies attacking it, and lifted its golden tipped staff into the air. Light began to bloom in the darkness of the subterranean world, wisps of golden arcane energy gathering around the end of the robed statue’s staff.

“Thorn! We need to disrupt that spell.”

“[Wolf Lord’s Howl]!” As the sound waves spread, Thorn could see them reflecting off of the statues, the stunning effect hardly giving any of the statues pause.

“Thorn!”

“Yeah, I’m on it.” Gripping his tetsubo tightly, Thorn dashed forward, his steps shaking the ground. The robed statue’s head turned slightly to look at him, its glowing eyes fixing on him. Thorn could almost see the gears turning in its head as it tried to decide if it should stop the spell to deal with him. After a little bit of a pause, the robed statue ignored him and continued with its spell.

“That was the wrong choice, big guy,” Thorn said as he dashed forward. Planting his feet, Thorn twisted his body and threw every ounce of his strength into his blow. The metal tetsubo cut through the air with a vicious hiss, leaving a trail of images in the air. Smashing into the robed statue’s left leg, the weapon began to cut through the stone as if it was nothing, carving out a gash almost a foot wide. Feeling his blow starting to slow down, Thorn gritted his teeth and took a small step forward, throwing his whole weight into it.

“[Wolf's Rage].” A low roar rumbled in Thorn’s chest as he activated his ability. Grinding into the statue, the weapon cut through three quarters of the robed statue’s leg before it stopped. With herculean effort, Thorn ripped the weapon out, smashing through the rest of the statue’s leg and sending it tumbling to the ground.

*CRASH*

The gathering wisps of golden energy faltered and fizzled out as the statue hit the ground, the fall causing cracks to run through its torso and head. Chips of stone and clouds of dust flew into the air, obscuring the whole fight. Backpedaling to avoid being crushed, the tanks and other melee DPS who had been fighting the robed statue scattered. Peering through the cloud of dust, Velin looked for Thorn’s figure. After a moment, she spotted him standing on top of the robed statue’s head, his massive spiked mace raised.

*WHUUMP*

Bringing it down with bone shaking force, Thorn lifted his weapon again and again, pounding into the statue’s head until a deep crack began to form. Almost completely caught up in his enraged state, it wasn’t until frost began to form over his feet that he realized that both Mina and Velin were yelling at him.

“Thorn, you need to disable the other statues before your rage wears off!” Velin had nearly shouted herself hoarse trying to get through to Thorn before Mina helped out by casting a slowing spell at Thorn’s feet.

Responding with a growl, Thorn jumped toward the next closest statue, which was wielding the flail. In mid-air he activated [Shadow Dash], dashing directly toward the statue’s chest. As if sensing the new threat, the statue’s eyes turned on Thorn like two spotlights. Though they appeared ponderous, the statues were capable of surprising speed. Lifting its flail, the statue sent the spiked ball on the end of the chain flying toward Thorn.

His form flickering in and out of the darkness, Thorn slipped past the spiked ball. Still in the air, he reached out and grabbed the chain of the flail, pulling himself forward and kicking out with both feet toward the statue’s chest. The force of the impact was enough to stagger the statue, sending it stumbling backwards. Thorn, landing on the ground, took full advantage of the statue’s state, smashing into its leg over and over again to keep it from regaining its balance.

“[Ice Field]!” Sliding up behind Thorn, Mina cast a spell at the ground around the statue’s feet. With a crackle, a thick sheet of mirror-smooth ice blanketed the cobblestones. Lashing out with another powerful strike, Thorn forced the statue to step back, and it slid on the ice, crashing to the ground.

Rather than smashing the head of the flail-wielding statue like he had done with the robed statue, Thorn sprinted for the next statue. On his way, he checked his rage timer. A little less than two minutes left.

***

On the other side of the fortress, the Silver Guard surrounded a four-story tower. Gazing up at it, Sylith smiled.

“That map is quite useful.” Glancing at the Silver Guard player who had activated it, Sylith pulled a token out of his inventory, flipping it into the air. “Such a contribution should be rewarded. You can retrieve one piece of gear from the guild bank.”

“Thank you, sir.” The player caught the token, his hands shaking so much he nearly dropped it. Like most players, he relied heavily on getting better gear to improve, and being allowed to take a piece of gear from Ragnarok’s storage would make him the envy of all of his friends.

“What did you say that ability came from?” Sylith asked Raeth as the player walked away, clutching the token tightly.

“It’s a small association called the Drifters. They specialize in finding treasure, sir.”

“Huh, see if you can find some other people that are part of that association. Quite a useful ability.” Sylith pulled his helmet from his inventory, buckling it on his head. “Now, let’s get ready to dig out this control point. I want everyone ready to move in two minutes.”

“Yes, sir!” Executing a crisp salute, Raeth spun on his heel and walked to a group of Silver Guard who were standing nearby, waiting for orders.

“Let's get to it. Split into groups of ten and spread out. We can’t let either of the other two guilds get close until we have the control point. I don’t want them anywhere near here, okay?” Pointing to a couple of the Silver Guard, Raeth called them forward out of the crowd. “We’ll bring five squads to get the control point, everyone else can lock down the area.”

It was obvious from the speed with which the Silver Guard reacted that they had extensive practice doing this sort of thing. 350 of them began to spread out in a large circle, expanding and clearing out stone dwarves as they went. The last fifty Silver Guard formed up in a block in front of the tower where the control point had been located.

“All set to go, sir.” Raeth saluted, his boots making a slight clink in the silence.

“Well done, as always.” Sylith smiled as he looked over his team. “I am always impressed with all of you. There is a reason we are the best. Let’s keep it that way.” Running his hand through his blonde hair, the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight smiled broadly at the Silver Guard, his pride evident on his face. “Let’s go get the control point.” With a shout, the Silver Guard rushed into the tower, Sylith leading the way, his gold and purple armor glinting in the flickering torchlight.

No sooner had they disappeared into the tower than a slight figure appeared in the now empty plaza. Looking around, Oberlin sent a quick message and dashed into the tower, his form flickering in and out of sight.

***

Standing in the ruins of the last of the giant statues, Thorn breathed out heavily. The fight had been tough. Tougher than anything they had faced so far. Looking over what remained of the player army, Thorn shook his head. The statues had killed almost one hundred players and nearly depleted the support characters' healing. The losses were mostly tanks who had borne the brunt of the statues' attacks. If there were going to be more fights like this one, Thorn was beginning to wonder if they would be able to succeed in this quest.

“It is not as bad as it looks.” Velin stood next to Thorn, a golden light coming from her hand as she healed the giant. “Though, I’ll admit that it isn’t good, either.”

*ding*

Reading a message from Oberlin, Thorn brightened.

“Oberlin found the control point. He is following Sylith and the Silver Guard into the tower where the control point is located. These are the coordinates.”

“Excellent, let’s go.”

With Oberlin’s direction, it did not take the player army long to find the Silver Guard. Led by Thorn, they advanced toward the tower that the thief had marked out. When they got close they found the streets blocked off by squads of Silver Guard players.

“Pardon us, but you may not come through here.” The squad of Silver Guard blocked the street off, preventing Thorn from advancing.

“Are you sure you want to try to stop me?” The giant asked, his massive metal weapon resting on his shoulder.

“No, sir.” One of the guards replied seriously. “But we were given strict instructions not to let anyone pass. I need to ask that you stay where you are and don’t advance any farther.”

“Sorry, no can do.”

“Listen, moron.” Another Silver Guard player stepped forward, his acidic tone of voice causing the first Silver Guard player Thorn had been addressing to pale. “Maybe you are too dumb to understand what we are saying. Ragnarok has claimed this area, which means that you are not allowed to be here. If you don’t want a world of trouble, you and your friends better move along.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Taken aback by the tirade, Thorn blinked in surprise. At close to nine feet tall, Thorn was not used to being on the receiving end of verbal abuse. Looking like he could squash someone with one hand generally made other people speak to him carefully. In fact, he had never encountered anyone so direct before. Judging from the growing horror on the faces of the Silver Guard around the player who was hurling abuse at Thorn, they were just as shocked.

“He has guts, I’ll give him that.” Mina looked at the Silver Guard player with a deathwish, amusement evident in her voice.

“He is probably one of the players who just arrived.” Velin shook her head, trying to rationalize why the Silver Guard player would be so glib around Thorn. “He probably hasn’t seen Thorn fight yet.”

Still listening to the Silver Guard player add insult to injury, Thorn removed his helmet and clipped it to his belt, revealing his pleasant looking face. A slight smile hovered on his lips as his warm eyes regarded the Silver Guard player. Cocking his head slightly, Thorn listened with interest. This was certainly a novel experience, so he was not particularly worried about ending it. After a few minutes, the Silver Guard player noticed the odd looks on everyone’s faces, and his tirade began to falter. Taking a look at the gentle giant in front of him, he began to notice some details that had previously escaped him.

The giant in front of him was wearing battered silver armor that showed the fierce fights he had just gone through. On the giant’s shoulder rested a massive spiked weapon that was almost as big as a regular person. Wickedly sharp claws glinted on the ends of massive hands, and suddenly, as the Silver Guard player looked, Thorn’s figure began to seem very large in the flickering torchlight.

Casually stepping forward, his face still holding the gentle smile, Thorn loomed above the Silver Guard player who had fallen silent.

“Why did you stop? Weren’t you just describing what would happen to me if I didn’t leave? You don’t need to be intimidated by my size. After all, Ragnarok is quite powerful.”

“I…I’m not…” Stuttering slightly as Thorn took up more and more of his field of view, the player tried to back up. “I’m not intimidated.”

“Oh, good.” Thorn’s gauntleted hand shot out, landing on the Silver Guard’s shoulder, locking him in place. “Too many people are scared of me because of my size. But just because I look imposing, that doesn’t mean I’m actually capable, right? After all, there are a lot of large mobs, but you cut them down pretty easily. However, you have a problem, because I don’t think Ragnarok is worth spit. It seems that all you know how to do is throw around your name, without any substance to back it up. You threatened me, not with what you are able to do, but based on the weight of your guild’s name. How lame.”

Thorn’s words caused the Silver Guard player’s face to pale with anger. The top ten guilds were considered to be all-powerful entities by most players, and it was rare to hear such blatant disregard. Furious, the Silver Guard pushed Thorn’s hand away and grasped his sword.

“Don’t think that you can get away with mocking Ragnarok.” The warrior glared up at Thorn, not cowed by his size. “We’re not afraid of you.”

“Oh? Easy to say, but it means nothing if you can’t back it up.”

“What is he doing?” Mina whispered to Velin, her confusion evident.

“Shhh. Just watch.” The Elven War Priestess put her finger to her lips, her eyes fixed on Thorn, who was looming over the player from Ragnarok.

“Well?” Thorn’s thick finger poked the Ragnarok player's breastplate, the razor sharp claw denting it. “Are you all talk or are you going to show me how amazing your guild is? Put up or shut up.”

Staggering backward from the force of Thorn’s poke, the Silver Guard growled in rage, his knuckles whitening on his sword’s handle. With a rasp, he began to draw his weapon when a voice cut through the tension.

“What are you doing?!” Raeth’s voice made the Silver Guard freeze, his sword halfway out of its sheath. The captain approached, glaring at his guild member. “Nova Luna is currently our ally. What on earth are you thinking trying to attack one of our allies?”

Listening to Raeth berate the Silver Guard, Thorn smiled ruefully. He had been sure that the Silver Guard player would attack him, which would have violated the agreement Nova Luna and Ragnarok had signed and allowed Thorn to go on the offensive. Annoyed by Raeth’s interference, Thorn turned and walked back to Velin and Mina, shrugging in the face of their weird looks.

“Eh, it was worth trying.” Thorn rubbed his nose, smiling innocently.

“Ah, you were baiting him,” Mina said, realization dawning on her face. “I was wondering why your whole personality suddenly changed.”

“I must say, you are trickier than you look.”

Hearing a new voice, Thorn looked up.

“Sylith.”

“Nice to see you too, big guy.” The Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight’s tone was light, and it was obvious that he was in a good mood. “It is no wonder that Ouroboros lost to you.”

“Angdrin lost as well.”

“Oh, he doesn't count.” Sylith waived dismissively. “He only has his position because of his family. He is pretty much useless except as a stumbling block for Ouroboros. Hah, listen to me prattle on. I'm not here to talk about the inner workings of my guild.”

“Then I assume you found the control point?”

“That I did.” With a broad smile, Sylith retrieved a glowing orb from his inventory. “It was conveniently located on our side of the fortress, so we were able to pick it up.”

“Interesting. I don’t remember you being part of the discussion when we established the agreement.”

“Raeth signed on behalf of Ragnarok, so I am included in the agreement, obviously.”

“Sure, but the agreement was that Ragnarok could look for the control point with a team of no more than fifty players. If my count is correct, you have four hundred. According to the agreement, any players outside of the fifty specified are required to help distract the main Dwarven army, under my command. If I felt like being nitpicky, I could say that you violated the agreement.”

“That seems like a bit of a stretch, doesn’t it?” Sylith's winning smile was beginning to slip.

“No, not a stretch at all, actually. This is further compounded by the fact that multiple members from Ragnarok stopped us from proceeding, even though they were not part of Ragnarok’s fifty person team. Technically, if I wanted to nitpick, I could say that the agreement is void since they actively obstructed our alliance’s efforts to retrieve the control point.”

“Hey, Thorn, what’s going on? I got your message and hurried…” Asher, leading fifty players from Aurum, ran over, pausing when he saw Sylith and all the players from Ragnarok. “Hello. Sylith, right?”

“Yes. You are?”

“I’m Asher, guild leader of Aurum.”

“He is the third party in our agreement that you violated,” Thorn added, trying to sound helpful.

“I see, pleased to meet you.” Sylith did not look pleased in the slightest. In fact, his face was quite sour.

“As I was saying, I’m not one to pick apart the tiniest details, but if I was going to do something like that, I would have to argue that you voided the agreement, meaning that the control point is fair game for anyone who wants it. Again, that is what I would do if I was nitpicking every little detail.” Thorn returned to the previous topic as if there had been no interruption by Asher’s fifty player group joining up with the player army standing behind Thorn.

“What are the chances we can win this?” Asher asked Velin quietly.

“No chance.” Mina was standing close enough to hear the question.

“Even with Thorn? He’s a monster in combat.”

Shaking her head, Velin pointed at Sylith.

“He has a quad category class. He might be able to beat most of us by himself. At the very least, he will tie Thorn up for a few minutes. In a one on one, Thorn might be able to win, but the Silver Guard will cut us apart.”

“Then what is Thorn doing antagonizing him?” Asher looked worried.

“Stalling.”

The Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight glared at the calm giant in front of him. The glowing control orb was in his hand, and there was no way he would just give it up without a fight. To completely take control of the fortress, the control orb had to be used in the throne room, but Thorn stood solidly in front of him, without any intention of moving.

“So, are you going to nitpick?” As annoyed as he was, Sylith was cautious about starting a fight with Thorn. He had seen a recording of the Titan’s fight with Ouroboros, and he was not confident that he could do any better than the Exalted Devil Blood Berserker had. The ferocity Thorn showed had sent a shiver down his spine, though he would never admit that to another person. Plus, even if he won, losing men would put him behind the other guilds in completing the quest, which was not acceptable. If he could resolve the situation without a fight, he would.

“That depends. Aurum has dibs on the first shot at the next stage of the quest, but I’m a little worried that you won’t honor that agreement. If Angdrin were here, he would say something lame like, ‘oh, that doesn’t happen because the allied parties didn’t get the control point, an independent group that happened to be from Ragnarok got it.’ And then I would have to crush him. Again.”

“I told you, I am not a loser like Angdrin.” Sylith smiled bleakly. “Raeth represented Ragnarok when he signed the agreement, therefore he represented me. I will honor the agreement.”

“Hmmm, okay. I will believe you. I won’t nitpick. For now.” His sharp hearing picking up a faint noise, Thorn raised his eyes, looking over the heads of the Silver Guard.

Wondering what he was looking at, Sylith followed his gaze, his eyes going wide in shock as he saw four massive statues bearing down on his forces from the rear. Just like the large statues that Thorn and the player army had fought previously, these statues stood at least fifteen feet tall and held large weapons. Thundering down the street, they chased the group of players from Nova Luna led by the sharp eyed archer Thorn had met during the entry tests.

From the corner of his eye, Sylith caught a sly smile on Thorn’s face and his stomach plunged.

“Silver Guard to the front. Intercept the enemy. I’ll take the staff wielding statue.” Thorn’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried well. Seeing the blank looks, he chuckled and shot a glance at Sylith, whose teeth were clenched. Obviously unwilling, Sylith glared at Thorn and then nodded reluctantly at Raeth whose face was grim.

“Nova Luna is in charge of the player army, obey his instructions. Take on the first three statues,” Raeth snapped, sending the Silver Guard into action. Rushing forward, the Silver Guard split into eight squads with fifty players in each group. The first group spread out to surround and protect Raeth and Sylith, who were still standing next to Thorn, while each of the other groups moved to engage one of the statues that held melee weapons.

“I’ll handle that one,” Thorn said to Raeth and Sylith, pointing a clawed finger at the statue with the robe and staff. “Don’t worry, I have experience fighting these things. Titan squad, let‘s go!”

Running forward, his guild mates hurrying after him, Thorn pulled out his tetsubo and launched himself at the robed statue. Slight differences in its form indicated that it was distinct from the last giant Dwarven statue that he had fought in the center of the fortress, but the weapon it wielded looked quite similar. Even the motions were the same as before, but this time when the statue raised its staff, brilliant orange fire gathered around the tip instead of golden light.

“It’s a fire mage! Scatter!” Not waiting to see if anyone heard him, Thorn smashed his weapon into the robed statue’s thigh and then jumped away. Moving as fast as he could, Thorn could feel the burning weight of the statue’s gaze landing on his back. In a flat out sprint, Thorn realized that he was headed directly for one of the squads of fifty Silver Guard. Yelling for them to get out of the way, Thorn barreled straight through their formation, not slowing down in the slightest as he sent a few of the Silver Guard who were unable to move out of his way tumbling.

“What are you doing?!” Furious, the Silver Guard stared at Thorn with hatred as he bolted away.

“Incoming,” Thorn called back casually as a firestorm landed where he had just been. Raging flames licked at his heels as he dove forward, not stopping for a moment. The Silver Guard were not so lucky. The burning spell landed in the middle of the disorganized Silver Guard, sending six of the silver armored warriors out of the game instantly and bowling over countless others. Struggling to their feet, the scattered Silver Guard tried to get back into formation when the giant statue wielding the flail that they had been fighting lashed out, killing another two players and scattering the half formed formation.

“He did that on purpose!” Watching the robed statue trying to blast Thorn and catching his team instead, Raeth’s eyes were burning as fiercely as the spell that had blasted them.

“Swap out.” Through gritted teeth, Sylith ordered the reserve group of Silver Guard to switch with the unfortunate squad being smacked around by the flail. Throwing a death stare at Mina, who was laughing so hard she could hardly breath, the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight stalked forward, equipping a kite shield and a lance.

The Silver Guard moved with him, rushing to intercept the flail-wielding statue while the disorganized Silver Guard who had been running from it gathered behind them. Smirking to himself, Thorn continued to run, dashing into alleyways and through doorways as the robed statue followed behind, launching fireballs and firestorms with abandon. The spells smashed through the buildings where Thorn took cover, destroying them utterly in explosions of brick and stone.

As he ran through the main street, ducking a fireball, Thorn glanced over in time to see Sylith catch a blow on his kite shield. The Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight’s actions reminded Thorn of Ouroboros, and when he blocked the large spiked flail without moving, Thorn couldn’t help but swallow. No wonder everyone feared him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

*ding*

I'm on my way.

The message from Oberlin was short and sweet and made Thorn grin. It also distracted him, causing him to slow down slightly. As a result, he was a bit too close when a large blast of flame landed on the building he had just run through. The explosion ripped through the stone and mortar, pelting his armor with rocks as the shockwave sent him tumbling head-over-heels.

Scrambling to his feet, Thorn laughed out loud and resumed his mad dash as he continued leading the robed statue on a merry chase through the streets. The rampaging statue crushed the remains of the building Thorn had been in with its huge stone feet, crimson energy gathering on the end of its staff as it got ready to launch another spell at its fleeing target.

The players fighting against the other statues could see the robed statue’s head above the buildings and hear the explosions as it launched attack after attack at Thorn. Sylith was firmly locked in combat with the flail-wielding statue, freeing up the Silver Guard to focus on the other two statues.

“What is he doing?” growled Sylith, never taking his eyes from the flail-wielding statue that he was fighting.

“It looks like he is kiting it, sir.”

“[Dragon Stomp]!” the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight yelled as he slammed his shield into the ground. A deep purple and gold scale pattern appeared on the ground, creating a tremor that interrupted the statue’s attack. The purple and golden scale pattern traveled up the statue’s body, creating a link between the statue and Sylith, allowing him to keep its aggro. As the statue was recovering its balance, Sylith called out, “[Holy Strike]!”

A brilliant flash of light illuminated the dark cavern. A pillar of light shrouded the statue, sending tiny cracks running through its armor. Watching closely, Sylith cursed under his breath. [Holy Strike] had a naturally low damage output, and the raw damage stacking from multiple casters did little against the massive stone statues who were immune to the burning and other secondary effects of the ability. Against most targets, the secondary effects added significant damage, but they were nearly useless here.

“Velin! Why aren't you helping?” Sylith bellowed at his former guildmate.

“We would love to help you, but we are under strict orders to act as the reserve force,” Mina replied for her Elven friend, sticking her tongue out at the golden-armored knight’s back.

“Mina is right. Thorn said that the remainder of the stone dwarf army is on the way to our location. We are going to have a tough fight on our hands very soon, so it would be helpful if you could do your job and clear out the statues quickly.” Velin’s reply was glacial.

“You…” The girls’ words left Sylith speechless, but before he could come up with a response he heard the tramp of stone feet approaching. The majority of the surrounding buildings were in ruins due to Thorn leading the robed statue on a rampage, but the approaching stone dwarves quickly became visible, climbing clumsily over the broken stone walls.

Ignoring the furious Knight, Velin began snapping out orders as she directed the player army to engage the approaching enemy. As the players rushed forward to meet the horde of stone dwarves, the fighting grew thick. Thankfully, despite their numbers, the stone dwarves were not a difficult enemy, and the player army was able to cut them down as fast as they came.

“Jorge, keep an eye out for any of those big dwarves. We have to carefully plan how we engage them,” Velin commanded, planting her staff and casting a healing spell on an injured tank.

“Fifty of them at two o’clock,” came the gruff reply.

“It's those armored buggers that rage?” Asher asked from where he was resting with his fifty man squad. “Give me a couple more tanks, and we’ll hold them off.”

“Are you sure?” Velin cast an appraising eye over the ranger, causing him to blush slightly.

“Just watch. We may not be one of the top ten guilds, but we are still professional players.” Gathering his players, Asher led them forward to engage with the incoming armored dwarves. Watching him go, Velin ordered a group of ten tanks to follow him before her eyes drifted to the robed statue’s head peeking over the buildings. Every minute or so, a cloud of dust and flame would shoot into the air, illuminating the cavern for a brief moment. Shaking her head, Velin concentrated on her own fight.

Thorn was having a great time, despite having to run for his life. It had been a while since he had felt the thrill of not knowing if he was going to be able to survive. His early days in Nova Terra had been full of that sort of nervousness, but as he grew as a player, he had felt the risk less and less. The spells that the staff-wielding statue was throwing at him were quite dangerous, but Thorn was just fast enough to slip away. Thankfully, the statue was not that fast, so Thorn was able to keep just ahead of it. Every few minutes, the robed statue would cast a giant firestorm, sending a swirling tornado of flame and debris spiraling into the air. Taking advantage of the momentary pause, Thorn would turn and shoot the statue with his arbalest, making sure that its attention was firmly fixed on him, before turning to continue fleeing.

Opening up his messenger as he ran, Thorn called Oberlin. The thief picked up the call, his heavy breathing making it obvious that he was currently running as well.

“Did you find him?”

“Yeah, I did. It looks like Ragnarok used some method to seal him so they could snag the control point.”

“Then how did you get him out?”

“Haha, really? I open locks, remember?”

“Oh, right. That was a stupid question. Where are you?” Thorn lifted his arms around his head to block some flying bricks as an explosion scorched his heels.

“Running down a street of what looks like banks, heading south. I am approaching an intersection, but I don't know if I'm going to make it. This shorty is scary fast.”

“I see it. Hang in there as best you can. I am headed in your direction.” Speeding up, Thorn stopped worrying about keeping the robed statue’s aggro. Going all out, Thorn left small craters in the street as the cobblestones pulverized under his boots, each step propelling him forward at a tremendous rate. “I’ll try to meet you at the intersection.”

“How does he move so quick on such short legs?” Oberlin squeezed the words out between pants.

Chuckling, Thorn spotted the thief running for his life up ahead. Behind him ran a stone dwarf in golden armor carrying a massive hammer. The stone dwarf’s ornate armor made it look like a statue cast in gold, from its boots that sent sparks flying each time they impacted the cobblestones to the majestic, full-face helmet. A spiky crown rested atop the stone dwarf’s head, marking this status as the leader of the fortress.

His eyes lighting up at the sight of the dwarf, Thorn immediately pegged the enemy as Llamrik, the Oathbreaker. This stage of the quest required that they wipe out an incredible number of stone dwarves, along with fifty captains and eight generals. If he was correct, the eight large statues were the generals and the captains had been scattered through the armored dwarves. The last enemy they had to beat was Llamrik, the Oathbreaker, so Thorn asked Oberlin to see if he could find him and lure him over to the player army.

Already moving incredibly fast, the giant angled his body and activated his last use of [Wolf's Rage] for the day. Crimson seeped into his vision, and his body shuddered slightly as his speed increased even more. Despite how quickly he was moving, the world slowed to a crawl and every detail jumped into focus.

The dim light flickered on the golden dwarf’s helmet as his head began to turn toward Thorn. Oberlin glanced over as well, palpable relief on his face. Distracted, the thief stumbled and began to fall forward, his relief turning into dismay.

*boom*

Thorn’s foot landed on the cobblestones, crushing them into powder in slow motion. A small part of his brain couldn’t help but laugh at the comical sight Oberlin presented, but the majority of his focus was rapidly weighing options as he approached Llamrik. Numerous calculations flashed through his mind in that moment as he considered how to attack. His target was so short that Thorn was momentarily unsure about the best option. In slow motion, the golden dwarf leader began to lift his large warhammer, getting ready to smash Thorn.

Thorn’s foot pushed off the ground as he subtly adjusted his stance so he could plant his next step solidly. Winding up, Thorn’s foot landed and his other leg lashed out, converting all of his forward momentum into a kick. Expressionless, the golden dwarf did not seem to notice the attack and continued to swing his hammer. In his raging state, Thorn was faster and his metal booted foot connected solidly with Llamrik’s chest.

*CRACK*

Blinking in surprise, Oberlin looked around for the golden dwarf who had been chasing him. One second the enemy had been there, and the next he was gone, a silver giant in his place. One by one, buildings began to collapse in a straight line heading north east. Like dominos, they swayed and then fell, the tumbling brick and stone sending clouds of dust into the air.

“ARRRGHHH!” A roar of rage echoed through the fortress. Over two blocks away, a golden figure climbed out of the rubble of a building, a pulsing yellow glow surrounding him.

“Shoot,” Thorn hissed, hopping up and down on one foot. The kick had been textbook, sending Llamrik flying, but the dwarf had been way harder than Thorn had anticipated. Shaking out his throbbing foot, Thorn grabbed Oberlin and began to run straight for the player army. Behind him, the robed statue was joined by a furious golden dwarf, whose short legs were moving so fast they were nothing but a blur.

“Hold on.” Slinging Oberlin onto his back, Thorn took advantage of the remaining time on his [Wolf's Rage] and made a beeline for the player army, crushing through anything in his way. Cutting a swath of destruction through the city, Thorn and Oberlin made it back to the player army in only a few minutes, the robed statue and Llamrik hot on their heels.

The player army had been able to hear the rumbling from where they fought the stone dwarves, and as the sounds grew closer, they began to look worried. Blasting through a building, Thorn landed on the street with the rest of the player army, crushing a few stone dwarves in the process. His rage had begun to fade, and looking around, he took in the scene. Sylith and the Silver Guard had successfully cut down two of the three giant statues with the Titan squad’s reluctant help. The players from Aurum and Nova Luna had decimated the armored dwarves under Asher’s leadership and begun to clear the remaining stone dwarves.

“Velin, big boss is incoming!” Thorn shouted to the War Priestess, who was overseeing the whole battle.

“Got it.” Velin looked over at the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight. “Sylith! It is time for you to show us how good you are.”

“And what have I been doing this whole time?” Sylith spat angrily. Velin had given the Silver Guard the bare minimum support they needed to deal with the statues, causing the Silver Guard’s number to dwindle down from 400 to 283. This was the first time in years that the Silver Guard had lost so many members. Despite his anger over this, there was little the leader from Ragnarok could do because of the agreement that Raeth had signed.

“This enemy is different. Llamrik the Oathbreaker is on the way here. The Silver Guard is responsible for stalling while Nova Luna clears the last two statues and Aurum mops up the rest of the stone dwarves.” Seeing the hesitation in Sylith’s eyes, Velin’s already frosty gaze got even colder. “Of course, if you want to give up the control point orb, Nova Luna wouldn’t mind replacing you to deal with the boss.”

“What?!” Sylith was clearly taken aback, shooting a glare at Raeth, who looked as confused as he did. Ragnarok had used an incredibly rare and expensive magic scroll to seal the boss so that they could grab the control point without having to beat him. They even had to sacrifice 11 Silver Guard to do it. The plan had been that they would take over the fortress and then make the other guilds fight the boss, yet nothing seemed to be going to plan. Thorn had drawn them into the middle of the fight before they could get to the altar in the center of the fortress, dumping the majority of the burden on them.

“No, we’ll do it.” It took a moment for Sylith to reply, but finally he nodded his head, directing his team to switch with the players from Nova Luna. Taking a moment to rest, Sylith continued to grind his teeth. The massive statues had been hard enough, and now Velin was telling him to deal with the boss? There was no doubt that Ragnarok would face more casualties before the fight was over.

Soon Llamrik the Oathbreaker’s golden figure appeared, followed closely by the robed statue. While they were waiting, Nova Luna’s forces had successfully burned down the few points of health remaining on the battle axe-wielding statue, leaving the robed statue and the golden dwarf.

“Hurry up and kill the robed statue,” Sylith growled at the War Priestess, who was healing Thorn. “We’ll hold the boss as long as we can, but these stupid statues are almost immune to our damage. If you want to clear this quest, you better play nice.”

“You want us to play nice?” Chuckling mirthlessly, Thorn stood up, stretching to his full height and towering over Sylith. “Who was it that tried to sneak more people in? Who was it that disobeyed orders? You do your job, and we’ll do ours.”

“Alright, both of you have work to do.” Velin pushed her way between the two men. “We don’t have time to fight. Llamrik is here, so get into position, Sylith. Thorn, I need you to take down the robed statue as fast as possible.”

“Hmph.” With a snort, the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight turned away, equipping his shield and lance. “Ragnarok, move out!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Watching the leader from Ragnarok walking away, Thorn tossed a wink at Velin. Thorn snorted even louder than Sylith had and pulled out his tetsubo, swaggering off exaggeratedly as he called for Nova Luna to gather. Asher, watching from the side, had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. Watching the giant walk off, Asher shook his head. Few players in Nova Terra were crazy enough to directly mock one of the leaders of the third strongest guild in the game, so it was refreshing to watch Thorn’s antics.

“Clearing the rest of the Dwarven army shouldn’t be an issue. Once you’re done, please assist Nova Luna, and then we’ll work together to fight the boss.” Velin tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes scanning the battlefield to make sure everyone was in place.

“Sure thing.” Asher nodded as he drew his bow. Looking over the remains of the Dwarven army, Asher called his guildmates. “Let’s finish this up.”

“Alright everyone, this is the last fight, then we’ll be able to rest.” The players’ fatigue had not escaped Velin’s sharp eyes. With a cheer, the players from Aurum and Nova Luna moved out to engage their targets. By now the players were very familiar with the stone dwarves and had no trouble crushing through them. Even the fight against the massive stone statue went smoothly as the players from Nova Luna piled on it.

Ragnarok was the only guild that was having trouble with their task. Luckily, they had already gone up against Llamrik the Oathbreaker in the tower and were at least a little familiar with the boss’ abilities. Still, by the time Nova Luna felled the large robed statue, the Silver Guard had lost 17 players to Llamrik’s hammer. Every time the warhammer, fell its strength was devastating, and despite their defensive abilities, a direct hit would instantly claim the life of a Silver Guard.

“What are you waiting for?!” Sylith yelled at Thorn when he saw the Titan watching them fight the boss. Nova Luna had just dropped the robed statue, and the players were catching their breath. Feeling vindictive, the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight threatened, “If you don’t come and help, we are abandoning the fight.”

“Relax. We’ll help you.” Calling all of the Nova Luna ranged damage forward, Thorn pointed to the boss as he drew his arbalest. “You heard him. Cut down the boss as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir!”

Spells, arrows, and other attacks began to fall on the golden statue, burying him under a torrent of flame, ice, thunder, and earth. The majority of the attacks simply glanced off of the boss’ shining armor, destroying the ground around him. Even though only a sliver of the damage was able to sneak through, the combined attacks still carved a chunk of health off of the boss, sending small cracks through his armor.

Llamrik’s chestplate already had a large dent from where Thorn had kicked him, and the attacks caused it to grow. Seeing that their attacks were having more of an effect than the Silver Guard’s [Holy Strike], the players from Nova Luna redoubled their efforts. It wasn’t too long before Aurum had cleaned up their task, as well, and their ranged DPS joined in. Both Nova Luna and Aurum were careful to stay out of the boss’ range, leaving the aggro to the Silver Guard, much to Sylith’s annoyance.

Within half an hour the players finally wore the golden dwarf statue down, leaving him with just a fraction of his health. Just as Thorn was about to release another bolt from his arbalest, he noticed Sylith stepping back. The golden armored knight lifted his lance and shield and yelled out, the tip of his lance pointing at the roof of the cavern. Silver energy gathered at the lance’s grip, arcing along its body.

*THRUMMM*

The body of Sylith’s lance began to blur as the silver energy coursed around it, warping the air with its power. With a low shout, the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight dashed forward, charging directly at the boss.

“[Heavenly Dragon Strike]!”

As he flashed forward, the energy around the lance morphed, transforming into a silver dragon. Sylith’s cape spread behind him like giant wings as the dragon’s head lunged toward the boss, its toothy maw stretching wide. With a bang, the dragon chomped down on the golden dwarf, immobilizing him for a brief moment. Still charging, Sylith took advantage of the boss’ frozen state to send half a dozen stabs into his chest. Each strike pierced into Llamrik’s golden breastplate, punching a hole straight through.

With one last strike, Sylith planted his weapon deep into the boss’ chest and jumped back, his shield up. The golden statue struggled for a moment and then collapsed to the ground, melting into the earth. Exultant at its victory, the silver dragon lifted its head and roared, causing dirt and rocks to dance in the shaking cavern. Sylith strode forward, grasping the handle of his lance and pulling it from the ground amid cheers from the Silver Guard.

The players from Aurum and Nova Luna were more subdued, but even they could not suppress the sighs of relief. It had been a long and grueling fight, and everyone was exhausted.

*ding*

Sins of a Golden Dream - World Quest [Updated]

A long forgotten empire, bound in stone, has woken from a bygone era. Driven by the greed of their master, they have turned their attention from the wealth hidden in the earth and are beginning to encroach on the surface. Implacable legions muster for war as their scouts burn paths from the subterranean world.

Seek out the fortresses hidden in the depths of the earth and the labyrinth at their center, destroying the stone heart. Scattered around the world are keys that will lead the way into the earth.

You have found one of the fortresses hidden in the depths of the earth. Guarded by the Stone Legion, the fortress must be passed before you can access the great labyrinth city, Rakkam. To prevent the Stone Legion from returning, you must defeat Llamrik, the Oathbreaker, and seize the [Control Orb].

Stone Legion: 10,000/10,000

Stone Legion Captains: 50/50

Stone Legion General: 8/8

Llamrik the Oathbreaker: 1/1

Llamrik the Oathbreaker has fallen, and the way to Rakkam, the labyrinth city, has been opened. Traverse its twisted passages and seek out the stone heart to end the curse of the stone dwarves.

Even Thorn was excited to sit down and rest. Physically he felt fine, but mentally he was drained from having to concentrate for so long. Still, it was not time to relax quite yet. With a glance at Sylith, Thorn gathered Velin, Mina, and Asher.

“Lets go talk to Sylith.”

“Do you think he will honor the agreement?” Asher wiped his hands on his leather armor nervously.

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t.” Thorn shrugged. “But we’ll have to see.”

The Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight looked up as the group approached, his face twitching. He had invested very heavily in this stage of the quest, and the Silver Guard had lost a significant number of players. In the last fight with Llamrik the Oathbreaker, twenty seven Silver Guard players had fallen, brining Ragnarok’s losses up to 144.

“That was an impressive attack.” Pretending they were friends, Thorn walked up to the leader of Ragnarok and slapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him from his feet. “I really liked the part with the wings. Very cool, very cool.” Ignoring the glare he got in response, Thorn smiled widely as he looked around the nearly ruined fortress. “Are you planning to claim the fortress? If you don’t want it, Nova Luna would be happy to trade you for it.”

The intense combat against the stone dwarves had left a trail of devastation across the fortress, and, apart from a few buildings around the edge of the walls, few structures were still in one piece. Between Thorn’s actions to lock down the main street and the explosive fire spells from the robed statue, countless buildings had been smashed, scattering brick and stone.

“We would be happy to bid for it, as well.” Fortifying himself, Asher stepped forward. “Aurum is interested in developing in the underground world.”

“So, what do you say? Want to avoid the headache of having to put the fortress back in order? It will take a lot of money, you know. And a lot of time. I know you are a busy guy, so why don’t you let us handle it for you. I can guarantee that you’ll have access to the labyrinth or whatever.” Thorn’s face was earnest, but Sylith couldn’t help but feel like the giant was being intentionally annoying.

“Thanks for your offer, but Ragnarok has more than enough resources.” Spinning on his heel, Sylith called for the Silver Guard to gather and marched toward the center of the fortress, the other guilds trailing behind them. As he walked, his eyes took in the sorry state of the buildings, and he could feel his eye starting to twitch. Everywhere Thorn had kited the robed statue was practically leveled. It was as if a bomb had gone off in the fortress.

The Silver Guard had taken over a number of towns and cities over the years and were not afraid of the investment, but this was shaping up to be a whole different beast. In his head, Sylith had started calculating the amount of money he would need in order to get the fortress back into working condition. As he walked through the ruined fortress, the amount continued to jump.

Chatting quietly with Velin, Thorn caught the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight glaring at him. Smiling broadly in response, Thorn made a point of looking around at the destruction that surrounded them.

“Hmph.” Not bothering to hide his annoyance, Sylith turned his head and continued toward the center of the fortress. It did not take long for him to arrive at the altar where he could activate the control point. Thorn’s fingers flexed as he watched Sylith walk up the steps toward the altar. Feeling Mina poke him in the side, Thorn looked down.

The Ice Witch had a questioning look on her face. Behind her, Thorn could see the rest of the players from Nova Luna watching the leader of the Silver Guard, their faces grim. For a second, his heart wavered, and Thorn came close to ordering them to attack. Closing his eyes, Thorn pushed the impulse down, firmly squashing the feeling. He had made an agreement, and even though Ragnarok had outmaneuvered them in this stage of the World Quest, that did not mean that they were too far behind.

With a click, the control orb landed on the top of the altar, illuminating Sylith with a blue glow. The blue light expanded and turned into a beam that shot through the street to the back of the fortress. Splashing against the back wall of the cavern, the blue glow spread out, revealing a large arched doorway. Slowly the door creaked open.

*ding*

Congratulations to the guild Ragnarok for gaining control of Oathbreaker Fortress. Sylith has been granted limited administration rights for the fortress’ [RMS].

Due to the ongoing World Quest, [Sins of a Golden Dream], the full rights of Oathbreaker Fortress are not available. Full administration rights will be made available upon completion of the World Quest.

Access to the labyrinth city, Rakkam, is now granted.

“Well, that isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Velin remarked, flipping open her notebook and beginning to jot down some notes. “At least we will not be locked out of the fortress.”

“True. What is our next step?”

“Resting. Everyone is exhausted. After that, we need to scout the labyrinth and figure out how we are supposed to find the stone heart. I would guess that the Dwarven earth maps are going to help. We have two of them, but until they are activated, we have no idea if they are complete. Judging by the way these World Quests normally go, the Dwarven earth maps will provide additional benefits.”

“What do you mean by additional benefits?”

“The goal is to find this stone heart and destroy it, right? While it is likely that the Dwarven earth maps will help with that in some way, I would guess that they will also reveal something else. An additional treasure or opportunity. Something that will make participating in the quest, even if not being the one to clear it, worthwhile. After all, the game cannot expect everyone to succeed, right?”

“True.” Thorn scratched his head. “I never thought of that. It makes sense to give out some goodies. Alright, let’s disband for now. We’ll pick back up tomorrow.”

After dismissing the other players, Thorn joined the group heading for the surface. According to the agreement that the three guilds had signed, Aurum had first access to the gate heading to the labyrinth, so Nova Luna planned to meet the next day to begin their exploring. Having cleared the giant centipede on the way down to the fortress, the trip back was quite smooth, and the guild made good time. Initially, Thorn had wanted to set up camp in the fortress underground, but Corvo had asked him to return to deal with some things.

Standing on the stairs of the altar, Sylith watched Thorn’s big figure disappear into the tunnels, his eyes hard. The Titan had proven to be significantly harder to deal with than he had anticipated. His few encounters with Thorn had not prepared him for how difficult it was to derail the leader of Nova Luna’s momentum.

“Raeth, are our people in position?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Tell them to begin the plan.”

“Are you sure that is a wise idea, sir?” The Silver Guard captain frowned, his forehead wrinkled with worry. “If we start the plan now, the impact will be limited.”

“I know.” Sylith sighed. “But if we don’t stop him, it will just get harder and harder. So we’ll crush him out of the gate. If his guild falls apart, he will not have time to develop.”

“Do you think this is going to work?”

“Who knows? But if it slows them down, it will be worth it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Thorn,

If you can spare the time, please come back to the valley. There is a lot going on over here, and all of it is above my paygrade. There is a native here from the capital saying that she has to meet with you as soon as possible regarding the charges that have been leveled against you. I think she is here to evaluate you, but I don’t know whose side she is on. It turns out that you are the first player to gain a landed noble title which has drawn a lot of attention to you, and we still don’t know if it is good. I have some thoughts so I hope we can talk before you meet her.

There are also two different groups angling for power. One is a merchant group, the other is a loose collection of Wolfkin players. Both have been stirring up issues because of the restrictions Nova Luna has in place. The merchants want a bigger piece of the trade in the valley, and I have no idea what the players want. So far they have just been grumbling and bad talking you.

Oh, and I have someone I want you to meet, an old friend of mine whom I think will be very helpful. Anyway, come back when you have a chance.

-Corvo

Rereading the message as he ran, Thorn grumbled to himself. Ever since he had taken over the valley, trouble seemed to follow him like a magnet. His ambitions to casually quest with his friends were constantly interrupted as his situation became more and more complicated. When he received the message from Corvo, Thorn could only sigh and begin the journey back to the valley.

He had been looking forward to exploring the labyrinth, but after talking over the situation with Velin, it was obvious that he was going to have to miss it for the present. Though he wasn’t pleased, Thorn understood that his position would not allow him to be wilful and selfish. After the other players logged out, Thorn took off running, heading toward the valley.

His [Pack Travel] ability did not work if he was not in a group, but Thorn’s endless stamina allowed him to make up for it. The trip to the mine had only taken him a single night, even with a few stops to allow others to rest. Even without [Pack Travel] Thorn was able to reach the valley in the same time. The quest had finished up around 4 o’clock in the morning, and by the time Thorn set out, the sun had begun to rise. After fighting all night, Thorn was starving, so he ate as he ran.

The trip afforded him plenty of time to think, and as he ran through the forests, Thorn could feel his mind clearing. His life before entering the game had never been complicated. He had lived within strict boundaries imposed by his physical condition and his aunt’s job. Wealth had afforded him incredible opportunity, but it had also brought with it an unbendable order. Everything he had experienced had been directed by others.

The freedom he experienced in Nova Terra had changed him, causing him to grow and mature as he was forced to make his own choices. Yet the number of options open to him was quickly becoming overwhelming. No one was telling him what to do or where to go. There was no one to establish his schedule or create a goal for him.

Taking over the valley and creating Nova Luna had seemed like natural things to do, but now that he had established the guild and taken up the position of Baron Greymane, Thorn was at a loss. To make it worse, the number of people relying on him was only growing. He had put little thought into the fact that other players were going to be counting on him when he started down this path, but it was beginning to weigh on him now that he was in the middle of it.

On top of that, Thorn was still not sure what he was aiming for. He had entered the game as a way to pass the time while his body was being worked on and had quickly fallen in love with the sense of freedom that Nova Terra afforded him. Yet he had no idea what he wanted for the future. Thorn had a sneaking suspicion that if he did not come up with a goal, the game was going to come up with one for him. That thought put him on edge.

It felt like everyone that he encountered had some sort of defined goal, something that they were striving toward, while Thorn felt like he was still just being dragged along by the current. With a million different things vying for his attention, Thorn was feeling overwhelmed. The fight for the underground fortress had been a nice distraction, even if he had lost it to Ragnarok, but as soon as he got out, he could feel all the different issues starting to weigh down on him again.

The pressure from the capital was starting to wear on Thorn’s nerves, and the thought of having to face an evaluation was disquieting. On top of that, the fact that players were causing trouble magnified his discomfort. But why should he face the game passively, accepting whatever came along? Thorn had fought for everything he had accomplished, and he was not about to let it be washed away.

As his distance-eating strides carried him over the hills, Thorn’s will became increasingly firm. The extraneous thoughts and concerns that had been weighing on him began to fade away, left in the dust kicked up by his pounding feet. If his experience underground had taught him anything, it was that the active person had the advantage. Rather than passively responding to what was happening around him, Thorn grew determined to take control of his life and future.

The day was well advanced when Thorn arrived at the gates of Moon Wolf Citadel. He had only been gone for a few days, but the sight of the bustling gate brought a smile to his face. Waving to the saluting guards, Thorn wove his way past the queued carts full of goods being transported into the valley. Shouting players mixed with the native merchants, creating a lively scene.

Heading directly for the fortress, Thorn responded to the greetings from members of Nova Luna that he passed, each smile and wave hardening his resolve. These people were counting on him, and he was not about to let them down. Pushing the double doors open, Thorn strode into the throne room, the sound of his boots bringing silence to the large room.

Standing below the throne, Captain Del’har was glaring at the two groups of people who had been complaining loudly just moments before. Behind the Wolfkin captain stood Corvo, his rag cloak wrapped tightly around him. As the door to the throne room opened, everyone’s heads turned, their gazes settling on the giant who had just entered.

Thorn walked toward the throne, openly examining the two groups of people who had been arguing with Captain Del’har. On the right stood a collection of natives and players dressed in fashionable clothing. From the jewelry adorning their figures, Thorn guessed that they were the merchants that Corvo had mentioned in his message. The group on the left was comprised of seven Wolfkin players with a variety of equipment. No doubt, this was the group of disgruntled players.

After looking over the two groups, Thorn walked past them to the raised dias. Nodding to Corvo and Del’har, who were both bowing, Thorn sat in the Wolf Throne, placing his helmet on one of the carved armrests. His eyes flickered as he silently watched the mix of players and natives standing below him.

“Captain, please remove everyone from the throne room and invite the representative from the capital to meet me.”

At Thorn’s command, a storm of protests erupted from the players and natives who crowded under the throne. In vain the captain tried to invite them to leave, but from their furious voices, it was obvious that they were not about to cooperate.

“Enough.” Even though he was not shouting, Thorn’s voice was heavy, weighing down on the crowd like a thick blanket. Using some of the tricks he had learned from his classes in the Dawn Court, Thorn silenced the shouts. “I will hear your complaints in due time. Your issues have been noted, and you will get time to present your cases. This is not the time. Speak to the captain, and he will let you know when it is your turn. Guards!” Raising his voice, Thorn called in the disciples from the Temple of the Moon that stood outside the throne room. Waving his hand for the guards to escort the crowd out, Thorn paid no more attention to them.

“Welcome back, Lord Greymane. It is wonderful to see you again.” Corvo saluted Thorn again, bowing slightly with his right hand over his heart.

“Is it? Seems like all sorts of problems cropped up while I was gone. What is that about?”

“Eh, something about you seems to attract issues. You know what they say about the tallest tree, right? You’ve risen to prominence in a very short time and, as a result, you’ve garnered a lot of attention. Unfortunately, that isn’t always a good thing. It would seem that the attention you’re receiving is mostly of the jealous kind.”

“It is not my fault I am such an easy target.” Shrugging, Thorn cracked a smile. “Can you give me a rundown on what is going on? Try to limit it to things that need immediate attention.”

“Sure. As I see it, there are four things going on that require your attention. Two are complaints, one is the woman who has arrived from the capital, and the last is the quest you are on. We can deal with them one at a time.” Taking a moment to organize his thoughts, Corvo rubbed the back of his head.

“First, the players are complaining about the fact that Nova Luna has a nearly complete hold over the Temple of the Moon and the means of advancing as Wolfkin. Most players don’t care about it at all because the method we are using is fairly common for natives. The fact that we are players is what is making them complain. They don’t think it is fair for other players to have so much control. They are also complaining about how advancement is so closely tied to the Night Walker organization. There are pretty harsh penalties for betraying the group, so once they are in, there is pretty much no going back. This grumbling only started a couple of days ago, but I can tell that something dangerous is growing. I think that the leaders of this complaining group are doing it to solidify their influence among the Wolfkin players. It smells like they are positioning themselves for a coup.”

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“It is the way they are acting, like they are bringing this issue up for the sake of righteousness. Any time people are doing something solely for the good of the group, it is suspect.”

“Interesting. What else do you have?” Cupping his chin in his palm, Thorn looked at Corvo attentively. The avatar of Huginn was speaking with certainty, and Thorn was inclined to believe him. He knew that disruptive elements would be trying to infiltrate the valley, but this seemed much faster than he expected.

“We haven’t confirmed it, but I think that one of the leaders of this group is from Ragnarok. Since you are now in direct competition with Ragnarok over the World Quest, I would watch for them to start actively trying to keep your attention here. Reports of grumbling and rumors have increased this morning, which coincides with you getting ready to enter the next stage of the quest. I know you have dealt with Ouroboros and his trickiness, but honestly, Sylith is a whole different bag of sly.

“He has been sparring with the other top guilds in this game for years, and his reach is significant. I would not be surprised if he was the one instigating everything. This issue is tricky because players don’t like being restricted by other players. They are pinning you as a tyrant trying to control everyone who wants to play as a Wolfkin. If you don’t deal with this properly, it could get out of control really quickly.”

“Hmm. Maybe we were hasty in trying to tie everything up,” Thorn mused.

“I don’t think so. Our idea was fundamentally fine. And overall, the players are responding really well. The idea of being part of a racial organization that will support them with cheap goods and intelligence as they adventure is really attractive. Let me be clear here, this could be a really small issue, if dealt with properly. But, if we don’t handle it well, it could blow up in our face.”

“Are people joining already? I assumed it would be a while before anyone was eligible.”

“There are already close to 10,000 disciples who have graduated into their dual category class. Don’t underestimate how intense people can be when playing this game. The Night Walkers Association has around seven thousand players, while the Moon Guardians have grown to twenty-seven hundred. All of the members of Nova Luna who are disciples are part of either the Night Walkers or the Moon Guardians, but there are close to four thousand players who are not affiliated with us that have joined. And more are joining every day as they complete their disciple training.”

“Impressive. Do we have a way for Wolfkin who are not disciples to join?”

“It is impressive. Currently we don’t have any way for non-disciples to join, which is where the complaints are coming from.” Corvo smirked. “Players will complain about anything, but in this case, their complaints are somewhat valid. The instigators are saying that you are not leaving a path for those who don’t want to join the temple.”

“How many people are stirring the pot? Is there any way to isolate them?”

“We’ve traced it back to three players. Two of them were here a moment ago, but the third stays behind the scenes. We don’t have any way of limiting who spawns as a Wolfkin, and we want to be really careful exerting more control than we need to, or we might actually justify their cause.”

“That makes sense. Let me think about it for a bit.” Thorn tapped the armrest of the Wolf Throne with his finger as he considered the situation. Knowing he would not be able to come up with a solution to such a complicated problem in a short time, Thorn turned his attention back to Corvo. “What else do we have to deal with?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The evening light was soft as it filtered through the large columns that lined the east side of the throne room. Magical lanterns sprang to life as the sunlight faded from the sky, bathing the room in a warm glow.

“Merchants.” Corvo’s face grew dark as he scowled. “Bunch of parasites. A coalition of merchants has gathered and demanded increased benefits.”

“Oh? What are they demanding?”

“They want exclusive access to the valley and a reduction in the taxes they pay. The bloodsuckers are demanding that you drop the tax rate to half a percent or they’ll pack up and leave. As you saw, a whole group of them have banded together to put forward these terms.”

“Do you know what is prompting this?”

“3C and Silver Fist are two merchant guilds that moved in almost as soon as the citadel was open. They are two of the larger merchant guilds in this duchy and, as far as we can figure, they are the ones pushing this agenda. Silver Fist has great sway among the native merchants, and they’ve used this tactic before in other places. If we are not mistaken, there is also someone else behind this as well.”

“Ragnarok?”

“That is what we think, but we have no conclusive proof. And even if we had conclusive proof, there isn’t actually anything we can do. There are no rules against asking for a bigger cut.”

“What percentage of trade will stop if they go through with their threats?”

“If all of the merchants involved in the coalition decide to cut off trade, we are looking at a nearly 80 percent reduction in available goods. The game’s system will continue to provide the entry level goods, but because this is a starter area, the goods are going to be pretty basic. The merchants also provide a lot of services like appraisal and the raw materials needed for enchanting, alchemy, and other fine crafts.”

“But what about the cash shop? Back when I bound Akira, I was able to use windowed mode to complete the transaction. Can’t people just purchase goods like that?”

“No, the cash shop doesn’t carry any of the goods that merchants stock. So you can buy things like pet cards, or schematics, but you cannot buy weapons, armor, material, you know, physical stuff you use as you play.”

“Oh, wow. So we really do rely on external merchants.”

“Correct.”

Rubbing his jaw lightly with his fingers, Thorn sighed. At first blush, this problem seemed easy to resolve, but the more he thought about it, the more complicated it became. If he did not give in to the merchant’s demands and they carried through with their threat, the valley stood to lose much more than their business. One of the reasons that so many of the players who chose to play as Wolfkin stuck around was the concentration of services and goods that they could find in Moon Wolf Citadel.

If those goods and services were to suddenly be reduced by 80 percent, most players would begin to drift away. Even if Thorn poured money into establishing the service through Nova Luna, it would be too late. Players would naturally gravitate toward locations where it was easier to play, and if the citadel lost the conveniences it currently offered, the number of players in the valley would drop.

On top of that, building a merchant network of their own was not as easy as it seemed. If the situation with the merchant guilds soured, they would, no doubt, do their best to prevent Nova Luna from expanding outside the valley, which would make it nearly impossible for Thorn to resolve the issues in the valley in a short amount of time.

“Can we invite other merchant groups to replace them?” Thorn asked Corvo,

“Yes. That is one possible solution. However, it is likely that we’ll have to pay more in order to convince a large enough group to expand here. Even though the merchant groups here are not that powerful overall, they are still too strong locally for it to be easy for any of the bigger groups to enter the market. As they say, even a strong dragon can’t repress a local snake.”

“What do they say?” Thorn was confused. “Who says that?”

“Uh. I don’t know. I just heard it somewhere, and I thought it was cool. It means that local advantage trumps external influence.”

“Huh. I see. I mean, it makes sense. A merchant group in the capital might be bigger, but they don’t have the connections that a local group has.”

“Exactly.” Corvo grinned. “At this point, we don’t have many options besides negotiating. The largest advantage we have is that the Wolfkin advancement resource is here in the valley. Our biggest disadvantage is that we don’t have any other resources to trade. Unless we can come up with some sort of specialty good, we have almost no leverage.”

“Ugh. What a mess. On the one hand, we have money hungry merchants taking advantage of the fact that we only have the moonstones as a resource, and on the other we have players pushing us to make the moonstones more easily available.”

“Haha, just wait. It gets better.” Despite the seriousness of the challenges, Corvo seemed to be enjoying how convoluted the situation was. “On top of those two things, someone has been dispatched from the capital to assess you and how effective your rule is. Lady Sere. She arrived a few days ago to look around, so there is no way we can hide the fact that the players and merchants are protesting.”

“Huh, that timing is awfully convenient.”

“Exactly. I suspect that the two groups are, in part, putting on a show to make it look like you are bad at your job.”

Rubbing the back of his head, Thorn looked up at the vaulted ceiling, his mind running through the laws of the empire that he had read on his trip to the capital. The law was extensive, and if he was remembering correctly, the examination criteria for a noble who was suspected of treason were highly specific. Without direct proof of Thorn betraying the empire, it would be very difficult for anyone to do more than embarrass him.

“If Ragnarok is behind all of this, do you think they could be planning to plant some evidence for the inspector from the capital to find?” Turning his attention back to Corvo, Thorn tried to think of the worst case scenario.

“Yes,” the avatar of the All-Seeing Raven responded bluntly. “I would absolutely expect them to do that. We need to be on our guard. Anything that might link us to the southern continent could turn into evidence that you are betraying the empire.”

“Alright. Let’s tell everyone to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior. I hate being in a passive position, but I honestly don’t know how we are supposed to guard against something like this.”

“It is certainly tricky. Keeping an eye out will be a good start. If I can make a recommendation, I would also suggest that you be as forthright as possible with the inspector. The more she sees up front, the harder it will be for any planted evidence to be effective. The other thing that we can do to help is to lock down important locations. This will not help much if there are spies inside Nova Luna, but it should help against random players. The most important locations are the two offices, as that is where we keep all our paperwork and the details for our information network.”

“Do you think that the inspector is trying to gauge how powerful we are?”

“Of course she is. There are a few different things going on here beyond checking if you are a traitor. That is just an excuse so that she can look around. Thorn, you have to understand that you are a major threat, and not just to the players. As the first player to become a noble, you have access to the laws of the empire in a way that others don’t. You have protections and rights that no one else has. On the other hand, when the natives look at you, they see an immortal traveler who now has the legal right to gather an army of other immortals. Who in their right mind would want an enemy with an immortal army? Imagine what will happen if you start contesting for power?

“Sure, they might be able to stop you the first couple times, but can they stop you forever? The only way they can do anything to you is to try and strip you of your power politically. Which is why the inspector is here. The four dukes and the interior minister are all looking for leverage. They are all looking for ways to control you and prevent you from gaining more power politically.”

“That is why they stalled my use of the [Nobility Upgrade Token], right? They are concerned that the higher my noble rank, the less controllable I will be.”

“Exactly.” Hearing a knock on the door, Corvo turned to look. “That will be the inspector from the capital. Remember, she is looking for weakness, but she is not necessarily your enemy.”

“So complicated,” Thorn muttered, his eyes fixed on the entrance to the throne room.

Captain Del’har opened the door, stepping aside as a tall woman swept into the throne room followed by two guards and a maid. A floor length dress in brilliant green swept behind her as she walked confidently forward, long sleeves covered with crimson embroidery floating elegantly by her side. Thorn looked her over carefully, trying to gain a clue about the upcoming conversation from her face. Stopping around ten feet away from the steps leading up to the Wolf Throne, she smiled coldly, her blue eyes glittering.

“Greetings, Baron Greymane.” Thorn’s sharp ears caught the faint disdain in her voice when she said his title. “I am Lady Esmeria Gavlof Sere. I have been dispatched by the empire to assess your capabilities and the capabilities of your people.”

“Hello, Lady Sere. I am Baron Greymane. You may call me Thorn.”

“Hmph.” This time the disdain was not nearly as faint. “Baron Greymane, you have been accused of crimes against the empire. The charges being brought against you are three-fold. First, you are condemned for insurrection. As per the Imperial Law, anyone who claims sovereign control of any land within the bounds of the empire is guilty of denying the rule of the Emperor and rebelling. Second, you are accused of owning resources outside your station. As a Baron and the leader of a native race, you are eligible to control five points worth of resources. You have exceeded that, making you guilty of rebellion.

“Last, you are being accused of conspiring with devils as a greater devil was witnessed directly outside the valley, and you were seen talking cordially with the greater devil on multiple occasions. These three charges have brought me here today to examine you and this valley. After my examination is done, I will be reporting back to the appropriate authorities so that your case can be judged. At that time, you will be required to attend the hearing. While I am present you are required to both answer my questions and voluntarily show me anything that might be of value to the investigation.

“Let me be clear, Baron. You are to heed my command while I am present if you wish for a favorable outcome to this case. Much rests on my report, and if you want to escape censure, you must not hide anything from me.” Lady Sere sniffed as she looked around her. “If there is any sign of resistance, you can be sure that my report will be most thorough.”

Thorn’s face held a pleasant smile at the beginning of Lady Sere’s short speech, but as it progressed, it faded. By the time she had finished speaking his eyes were cold, and the smile was nowhere to be seen. For a moment, he simply looked at her, giving no indication as to what he was thinking. At the side of the room Captain Del’har had gripped his sword, ready to draw it at Lady Sere’s disrespect only for Corvo to stop him.

“Captain, please show Lady Sere out of Moon Wolf Citadel.” Thorn’s voice sounded calm but everyone in the room could feel the anger rumbling under the surface. Saluting, the Wolfkin captain stepped forward to escort the noble out of the room.

“Baron, what is the meaning of this?” Lady Sere asked stiffly, taken aback by Thorn’s abrupt words.

“The meaning of this is simple.” Thorn leaned back in his chair lazily, cupping his cheek with a large hand. “You are not welcome here. You can go back where you came from, and I will wait for someone from the courts who affords me the respect I am due as a baron of the empire.”

“A small, little baron like you would dare deny the court’s appointed inspector?!” Grasping at the edge of her sleeves, Lady Sere glared at the indolent giant.

“First, I am anything but small. Second, you are standing on my land, and as per the laws of the empire, I am well within my rights to have you thrown off if you don’t grant me the respect I deserve. Captain?”

About to open her mouth to retort, Lady Sere hastily stepped back when a seven-and-a-half foot Wolfkin in smooth black armor appeared in front of her, his scarred face glaring down at her.

“My lady, please come this way.” Captain Del’har gestured to the door behind her.

Unable to believe that she was about to be thrown out, Lady Sere glanced back at her escort, the worry in her eyes evident. She had been tasked with coming to evaluate the empire’s newest noble and yet she was being stifled right out of the gate.

“What right do you have to ask me to leave, Baron Greymane?” The sight of her entourage seemed to strengthen her resolve.

“Are you joking with me, Lady Sere?” Thorn had not moved from his lounging position. “I am a landed noble of the empire, and you are on my land. Even if one of the princes of the empire were to be standing here, I could tell him to leave. You are only an inspector.”

At the side of the room, Corvo was watching everyone, his eyes bright. He had only known Thorn for a short time, but the Titan’s commanding presence never failed to impress him. At times, talking to Thorn was like talking to a young teenager, but when he got serious, his words carried an invisible pressure that made him hard to refute. It was in moments like this that Thorn demonstrated why he had been chosen as the avatar of Hati.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The atmosphere inside the throne room was tense. Night had fallen outside the citadel, and the moon was visible over the mountains, its silver glow casting shadows in the forested valley. Despite the blazing magical lights that chased the shadows from the throne room, Thorn’s words seemed to usher in the cold night air, chilling everyone in the room.

“This is blatant rebellion!” Lady Sere hissed, her eyes shooting daggers at the Titan lounging on the Wolf Throne.

“No, this is me exercising my rights,” came the lazy reply.

“You!”

Holding up his hand to stop the irate noble lady, Thorn’s eyes flickered as he looked around the room. An interesting private message from Corvo had confirmed his suspicion and caused him to change the way he had planned on dealing with the inspector.

“Enough of this farce. If you are not willing to talk to me, then I have no choice but to throw you out. And believe me, I will.” Thorn sat up as he spoke, his face growing harder with each word.

“Baron Greymane! If you think you can...” As Lady Sere was sputtering with rage, a small hand landed on her arm from behind, causing her to quiet instantly. Her face becoming neutral, she stepped to the side, sweeping her gown out of the way to make room for the figure standing behind her. Unassuming and slightly drab at first glance, the maid who had followed Lady Sere into the throne room looked solemnly at Thorn.

“Greetings, Baron Greymane.” Her voice soft, the maid gave a small curtsy. “I am Esmeria Sere, the imperial investigator. I apologize for the deception.”

“Welcome, Lady Sere.” The gentle smile had reappeared on Thorn’s face as the maid spoke, as if the previous tense conversation had never taken place. “We are going to be eating shortly, would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner? It will be the best chance to introduce you to some of my subordinates who will be helping you while you are staying with us. I’ll have the captain escort you to your chambers, as I’m sure you will want to change.”

“Lady Sere, if you would follow me.” Captain Del’har spoke smoothly, gesturing to the door as he began to escort the group out.

“Thank you, Baron.” After curtsying again, Lady Sere followed the captain out of the throne room, the subdued noble lady and her two guards walking behind her. As they left, one of the guards threw a hard glance at Thorn, who pretended not to see.

“That ability is pretty useful.” Thorn turned his attention to the avatar of Huginn after the door closed. Corvo had used his ability on the finely dressed noble lady after she entered, revealing that she was not who she claimed. Alerting Thorn to this fact, it did not take long to discern what was going on.

“It is.” Corvo was looking at Thorn strangely, causing Thorn to raise his eyebrows in question. “What made you so confident that you could talk to her that way? Even if you knew that she was pretending, shouldn’t you have been more cautious?”

“No, there was no danger.” Thorn shook his head. “The rules of the empire are quite strict, and some of the strictest deal with how a noble should be treated on their own land. Respect has to be given, even by superior ranks. When the fake Lady Sere entered, she did not greet me with the proper etiquette, which made me question what was going on. Your message confirmed that she was a fake, which means that it doesn’t matter if I throw her out. In fact, if the real Lady Sere had not stepped forward, I could have put all of them in jail. A baron is at the bottom of the noble ranks, but the position of any landed noble is much more powerful than a lord or lady.”

“How are you going to treat her now that she tried to trick you?”

“Eh, we’ll probably just pretend it didn’t happen.” Chuckling, Thorn waved his hand. “I saw my aunt do this sort of thing all the time. I won the first round by picking up on the deception and forcing a confrontation. But if I make a big deal about it, I’ll lose the next round. It’s sort of stupid, but that’s just how it works. Anyway, let's head down to dinner.”

Forty minutes later, Thorn and Corvo were waiting in one of the dining rooms discussing the merchant issue when the captain showed Lady Sere into the room. The inspector had changed out of her maid uniform into a light green empire waist gown with short, puffed sleeves. A thin circlet glittering with emeralds graced her brown curls, matching the pendant hanging on her neck.

Rising to his feet as she entered, Thorn matched her curtsy with a slight bow, his hand on his chest. For a moment both nobles looked at each other without speaking. Thorn had changed into one of the outfits that his Aunt had forced on him in the capital, and if it was not for his size, Lady Sere could imagine that she was facing a dandy on the cutting edge of fashion.

“Thank you, Baron Greymane.” Lady Sere took her place at the large dining table as servants began to stream into the room carrying dishes.

“It is my pleasure, Lady Sere.” Thorn smiled broadly. Sitting at the head of the table, he gestured to Corvo, who was just about to take his seat. “I don’t think I have introduced my advisor. This is Corvo. Corvo, Lady Sere.”

“Pleased to meet you, Lady Sere.” Hurriedly rising back to his feet, Corvo gave a half bow, getting a nod in return.

“My apologies for the deception earlier, Baron. Your ability to observe is part of what I am here to examine. Tell me, how did you know that Jane was not me?”

“I told you, you can call me Thorn. All this baron this and baron that gets old.”

“Very well, Thorn. You may call me Esmeria, or Esme.”

“Thank you, Esme, I feel like it's more friendly, you know? But you asked a question about how I knew that you were not your maid. Her name is Jane, right? At first it was a suspicion really. But as the conversation progressed it became obvious that, Jane was it? It became obvious that Jane was trying to antagonize me, which furthered my suspicion.”

“I see.” Pointing to four of the dishes, Lady Sere watched as one of the footmen served her before turning her gentle gaze back on Thorn, who was emptying a whole dish onto his plate. “But were you not afraid that antagonizing the inspector would give you a bad report? After all, much rests on this assessment.”

“I don’t mean any disrespect, Esme, but I have read the laws.” Thorn paused between bites to stare confidently into her brown eyes. “Your report is certainly influential, but if you were to make false claims, I can appeal the report and petition to have your family removed from the noble ranks. I highly doubt that an inspector as fair and intelligent as you would produce a false report even if you were interested in being antagonistic.”

Watching in fascination as Thorn resumed eating, Lady Sere almost forgot to respond. The Titan had cleared half of the dish he was eating in just a few bites, and from the servants still streaming into the room, it was obvious that he planned to continue eating for a while. Corvo, who was sitting on Thorn’s left, put his fork down to take a drink. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Thorn looked at Lady Sere with interest.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Lady Sere, I wonder how you got selected to be an inspector. From what I understand, most inspectors are slightly more… militant. You don’t strike me as a particularly martial individual.”

“My mother requested that I be given this case.” Esme’s voice was still soft and calm. “She assumed that the danger would be quite low, so it would be appropriate for me to come.”

“Are the requirements for being an inspector difficult to fulfill?” Thorn had moved on to the next dish, sliding a whole roast chicken onto his plate. Carefully removing one of the breasts, Thorn cut it in half and ate it in two bites.

“Not particularly. There are some tests to pass, but the most important thing is who you know.” Listening carefully, Thorn could faintly detect bitter undertones in Esme’s voice. “My mother is well connected, which is why I got this case.”

“Well, I’m pleased that you are here.” Thorn pushed the bones of the chicken he had just devoured to the side where they were whisked away by one of the servers. Pulling a quiche toward himself, he looked at Esme, his face serious. “Accusations of treason should be treated seriously. I have had enough of my name being smeared, so I am excited for you to examine my rule here. Though it has been short, my loyalty to the empire is self-evident, and I am confident that you will be able to see that. But enough about such heavy topics, why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself. Where is your family from?”

As the meal progressed, Thorn maintained light conversion, all the while sustaining a steady supply of food from the table to his mouth. Somehow, he managed to squeeze in huge bites as he talked, never once speaking with his mouth full. In the time Esme and Corvo had picked at four courses, Thorn had polished off enough food to feed a small army.

An entire walnut and strawberry salad, two and a half quiches, almost half a gallon of soup, four loaves of bread, a small tub of garlic cream penne and at least three whole roast chickens disappeared down his throat under Esme’s astonished gaze. Setting his plate to the side to be cleared, Thorn smiled and signaled to a server, who quietly left the room.

“Let’s talk about what you need to see while you are here, but before that, would you like some wine? We have sherry, muscat, port, madeira? There are also a variety of sparkling wines, chilled and unchilled.”

“I’ll take a bit of port, thank you.”

“Of course. Regular? I also have pear, apple, pomegranate, or grape?”

“I’ll try the pear, please.”

Walking over to the buffet, Thorn poured a glass of pear port and grabbed a bottle of Malbec and two extra glasses. Passing the port to Esme, he poured some of the red wine for Corvo and himself. Thorn lifted his glass.

“A toast to you, Lady Sere. May you find yourself always seeing clearly.”

Taking a sip of her drink, Esme heard the door open and glanced over in time to see ten servants enter carrying a variety of desserts. Pies and cakes, custards, truffles, pastries, chocolate fondue, fruit, and six different types of jellied candies soon covered the table. Already quite full from the multi-course meal they had just eaten, Esme watched in horror as Thorn ate an entire pie in six bites. Brushing the crumbs from his fingers, Thorn smiled at the stunned noblewoman.

“We have quite a bit going on at the moment, so I don’t know how available I will be to show you around. If you are able to let me know what you want to see, I’d be happy to assign someone to help you.”

“Thank you, Thorn.” Selecting a candied fruit, Esme smiled gently. “I will need to spend some time simply observing your daily activities. Otherwise, a simple tour of the valley and Moon Wolf Citadel would suffice. Per my instructions, you are welcome to bar me from any location, but I will be obligated to make a note of it.”

“No problem at all.” Thorn finished emptying a large bowl of pudding onto his plate and placed it to the side, wiping his fingers on his napkin. “You are welcome to go anywhere in the valley or fortress with the exception of Corvo and Velin’s offices. If you want to visit anyone’s private quarters, just ask them first.”

“I know Sir Corvo.” Nodding to the avatar of Huginn, Esme turned back to Thorn. “I don’t think I’ve met Velin.”

“She is one of my officers and the vice leader of Nova Luna. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon. In the meantime, feel free to go anywhere else. I’ll have Captain Del’har escort you.”

“That will not be necessary.” Esme shook her head, her brown curls bouncing. “If I need assistance I will ask, otherwise, you can just pretend I am not here.”

“If that is what you would like. Now, tell me. What is the point of all of this?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why send you all the way out here for charges that will ultimately be dismissed? If your maid was correct, the three charges are insurrection, owning resources outside my station, and conspiring with devils. All three are bogus and don’t stand up to even the slightest scrutiny. First, I never claimed ownership of this land before being made a noble. As this is the ancestral land of my people, the Wolfkin, we lived and built here, but we never claimed sovereignty over it.

“Second, Moon Wolf Citadel was and always has been the property of Nova Luna. I am currently occupying it with the agreement of the guild. Finally, while I did crush a greater devil outside the walls of the fortress, even a cursory examination will show that we were enemies. This just all seems like a colossal waste of time. In fact, it feels like there are a number of people who are trying to make an enemy of me.

“Don’t get me wrong, I understand that there is a certain order and balance to things, and I disrupt that balance. I certainly am not taking the normal approach and that, understandably, ruffles feathers. But unless there is a gross breach of Imperial Law, I will be cleared of these charges, and I will advance in rank. It seems that there is little to gain for anyone who is opposing me.”

A slight frown formed on Esme’s face as she thought through what Thorn had said. The calm giant had been marked as an easy target from the beginning, but the way he had played the system in the capital had proved him anything but. Now that Esme was seeing him in his home environment, it was even more obvious that he was not easily squeezed. As the conversations ranged far and wide over dinner, Esme had tried to take control of the conversation only to find Thorn gently yet firmly taking the initiative back. Now, seeing his calm smile as he asked his questions, Esme could feel herself beginning to panic.

CHAPTER THIRTY

The seconds ticked by in the quiet dining room, the only sound the soft click of Thorn’s silverware as he continued to eat. Seeing Lady Sere looking down at her wine glass, a slight wrinkle gracing her brows, Thorn put down his fork and waved his hand.

“Of course, if you cannot answer, don’t worry about it. I understand that it was not the most polite of questions. You have your own difficulties, no doubt. Truthfully, I prefer to be as forthright as possible, as it saves a lot of time, but I understand if you can’t say.”

“No.” Esme bit her lip hesitantly. “That is not it.” Who knows if it was the wine or the friendly atmosphere or Thorn’s soft brown eyes that seemed so trustworthy, but Esme suddenly felt a rush of emotion, prompting her to speak. “This really doesn’t have a whole lot to do with you. The charges being brought against you are spurious and everyone knows it. A certain guild asked for a favor, which is part of the reason I am here.”

“Part of the reason?” Thorn’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “I understand that you coming to the valley to do an investigation will slow the process down so it will take longer for the charges to clear, but what other reason could there be?”

Realizing that she had already said too much, Lady Sere blushed slightly and lowered her head, avoiding Thorn’s eyes guiltily. Seeing her response, Thorn leaned back and poured himself some more wine. Smiling gently, he quickly changed the subject, offering more port, which Lady Sere took gladly.

A few minutes later, as Thorn was polishing off the last few deserts on the table, the door opened, and Captain Del’har hurried in, his face grim.

“Is something the matter, Captain?” Thorn wiped his fingers off on his napkin.

“Yes, my Lord. A group of travelers have blocked the gate into the valley. They are refusing to let wagons through.”

“Oh? Is it the same group that was petitioning earlier?”

Lady Sere looked on with interest as the Wolfkin captain nodded his head.

“They have gathered a sizable crowd of Wolfkin and have built barricades that are preventing any traffic from moving. They are refusing to leave until you meet with them.”

“Is that so?” Thorn’s eyebrows rose. “And tell me, how did they build the barricades under the watch of the citadel’s guards?”

“I am not sure, my Lord.” Captain Del’har knelt, his face stiff. “I am still investigating that, sir.”

“No matter.” Thorn did not want to embarrass the captain any further, so he lifted him to his feet. “Shall we go see what they want? Esme, if you are interested in seeing how I govern, you are welcome to come. Corvo, can you please gather information on all those who are present?”

“Got it.” Corvo nodded and jumped into the air, turning into a jet-black raven that flew out of the window, disappearing into the night.

Thorn followed Captain Del’har toward the gate at the back of the citadel that led into the valley. A long line of carts carrying goods were tightly-packed in the courtyard waiting for the road to clear. Weaving their way through the crowd, Thorn and the captain soon arrived at the gate, followed closely by Lady Sere.

Around one hundred yards from the gate stood three large barricades. Rows of earth spikes grew from the ground with thick, thorny vines twisted between them. Almost six feet tall, the constructs completely blocked the path into the valley. Around the obstruction was a large crowd of Wolfkin players in a variety of types of armor. Looking over them closely, Thorn did not see any disciples. In the front of the group, Thorn spotted a few of the faces he had seen in the throne room earlier that day.

“It looks like you have quite the problem, Baron.” Lady Sere watched the milling crowd from Thorn’s side. The Titan just smiled and walked towards the barricade. Snapping out an order, Captain Del’har led a squad of disciples behind Thorn.

As they got closer, a few of the players noticed them and shouted out to alert the others. Clutching their weapons, the Wolfkin players stared cautiously at the approaching soldiers. Many of the players had never seen Thorn before, and their gazes were filled with curiosity as they watched a giant dressed in the latest fashion approach. Stopping when he was about 25 feet away, Thorn looked over the crowd.

“Who is in charge here?"

After a brief moment of silence, one of the players that Thorn had seen in the throne room stepped forward.

“No one is in charge, but I can speak for the group.” The player was dressed in leather and chainmail and carried a double headed axe on his back. A thick tuft of red hair rose from his head like a mohawk, continuing down his neck where he had braided it.

“Great. Hopefully you can tell me why you have blocked my road.”

“Your road?” The Wolfkin players behind Mohawk began to laugh, mocking Thorn.

“Yes. My road.” Thorn's voice was heavy, causing the players who were laughing to stop. One by one they began to step back as Thorn’s eyes raked over them.

“Who are you?” Mohawk’s tone was cautious.

“I am Baron Greymane, of course. This is my road. And you are currently blocking it. You have thirty seconds to tell me why you were foolish enough to erect these barriers before I command the guards to destroy the barricades and you along with them.”

Seeing the guards behind Thorn readying their weapons, the players began to murmur to each other nervously. In the wild, mobs and natives were rarely a threat to players unless they were encountered in overwhelming numbers. In cities and towns, however, natives became very dangerous. In order to allow the guards to keep order, the game boosted their strength and abilities so long as they were operating within the bounds of their town.

Even though there were only thirty guards facing them, the one hundred Wolfkin players were rightly nervous. If Thorn was truly able to command the guards, they had no hope of winning the coming fight. On top of that, if they began to fight with the guards, they would be attacked whenever they encountered a guard in this region. Currently, their spawn points were bound to the valley, meaning that if they died, they would simply spawn back in Greymane Village.

“Wait, wait. We can talk about this.” A skinny Wolfkin rushed out of the crowd waving his hands.

“Twenty-eight seconds.”

“You can’t defeat us!” Mohawk shouted. “Even if you beat us this time, we’ll be back. You are being a tyrant.”

“Twenty-five seconds.”

“Hey, chill out. Do you want to get us killed?” The skinny Wolfkin hissed at Mohawk, pushing him back into the crowd. “Baron Greymane, we only wanted to get your attention. We did not mean to cause any damage.”

“I believe you were told that you would be granted a chance to voice your concerns. Nineteen.”

“That is just an excuse! We know you are just pushing us off!” Mohawk was still trying to rile up the crowd, but the sight of the guards taking a step forward instantly dampened their enthusiasm.

“Sixteen seconds.” Thorn’s voice and expression were even but with every count, the guards took a step forward, closing the distance. The closer the guards came to the crowd, the more the Wolfkin players panicked. No one wanted to die, especially since they would simply respawn in the valley and be attacked again. The alternative of being arrested was almost worse as it would force them into weeks in prison. Besides, even if they were able to survive the fight, they would be hunted until they escaped the valley. Considering they would have to fight their way through Moon Wolf Citadel in order to escape, fighting the guards was the last thing they wanted to do.

“Can you guarantee to hear us out if we remove the barriers?” It was obvious from the skinny Wolfkin’s voice that he was getting slightly desperate.

“Fourteen seconds.”

“Okay, okay, just hold on, we’ll take it down.” In the face of Thorn’s unrelenting count, the skinny Wolfkin waved frantically to a few players in the crowd, who hurriedly canceled their spells. Rumbling, the stone pillars blocking the road started to sink into the ground, soon disappearing as if they were never there. Pulsing with a red light, the thorny vines started to turn brown, withering away as their vitality vanished.

“I will be expecting you tomorrow morning. You can talk to Captain Del’har regarding the specific appointment time. Now, clear the road. Anyone who continues to loiter will be considered a rabble-rouser and will be treated as such.” Without waiting for an answer, Thorn turned away from the crowd of Wolfkin players and walked back into the citadel. Instructing the captain on what to do, Thorn watched until the carts began moving again before he returned to the fortress.

Talking casually with Lady Sere, Thorn led the way to a sitting room. All of the rooms in the fortress had at least one piece of furniture that was built for his size, allowing him to sit comfortably wherever he went. Just as he settled into his seat, a large raven flew in through the window. A swirl of shadow surrounded the raven, revealing Corvo in his ragged cloak.

“How did it go?”

“Went well.” Corvo shot a glance at Lady Sere, who was sitting on a couch, listening attentively. Seeing Thorn motion for him to continue, he shrugged and sprawled out on a chair. “I got good pictures and details of everyone, so I should have IDs on most of them shortly.”

“Good work.” Thorn’s face still had that mild smile, but his eyes revealed his anger. “One hundred gold says it is Sylith trying to mess with us, but I don’t want to miss anyone who might be targeting us.” Thorn turned to the listening noblewoman. “Alright, time for me to go to bed. Esme, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you are interested in hearing the complaints tomorrow, I’ll be scheduling the hearing for ten in the morning in the throne room. You can just show up.”

“I look forward to it.” Rising to her feet, Lady Sere curtsied. “Thank you for your hospitality, Thorn. I look forward to learning more about you and your land.”

After seeing the inspector off, Thorn’s smile faded. His face grim, he glanced at Corvo, who felt an invisible pressure wash over him. Radiating a dangerous aura, Thorn walked to his seat and sat down. Corvo gulped, secretly glad that Thorn’s anger was not directed at him. There was something terrifying about watching the Titan when he was upset.

“I want to know who each and every one of those players are. I want to know who they play with and what ties they have to our enemies.”

“Not a problem, I’ll dig them up.”

“Good. If you need to, feel free to use Avalon.”

“We should not need to. Our network has gotten pretty extensive. Plus, I have lots of connections.” Corvo’s face broke into a smile as he threw Thorn a wink. “Remember, finding secrets is what I do.”

“Yeah, good point. I’ll leave it up to you, then.” Returning Corvo’s grin, Thorn’s tension eased. “Alright, I really need to go to bed. It has been a while since I slept last, and I feel like I am about to rip someone in half.”

“Why don’t you go to bed?” Remembering the unfortunate metal bed that Thorn had ripped from the cell wall when they first met, Corvo took a subtle step back.

“Alright, goodnight.”

“Oh, Thorn, wait.” Just as Thorn was about to leave the room, Corvo smacked his forehead and called out. “Can you give me like ten minutes? I have someone to introduce you to. I think it is really important that you meet him. He might be able to ease some of the issues with the World Quest while you are tied up.”

“I mean, I won’t turn down help.” Shrugging, Thorn returned to his seat.

“Great, wait just a second, I’ll go call him. You won’t regret this.” As Corvo hurried from the room, Thorn took the opportunity to write a message to Velin. Just as he was about to send it, he saw her come online and opened up a video call.

“Hi, you look tired.”

“Nice to see you, too.” The sight of the beautiful elf brought a smile to Thorn’s face, despite his fatigue. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Thorn sighed. “You know, when I decided to start all this stuff, no one mentioned how utterly exhausting it would be to deal with everything that comes along with leading a guild. Do other guilds go through this sort of thing?”

“No, but other guilds are not within striking range of the top ten as soon as they form.” Velin’s lips curled slightly at Thorn’s whining. “Nova Luna is threatening quite a few different powers all at the same time. Most guilds, even the big ones, try to focus on one enemy at a time.”

“Sheesh, it isn’t like I went around spitting on people. Why is everyone so upset?”

“I wonder, Baron Greymane, the Moon Wolf, avatar of Hati, Inheritor of the Temple of the Moon, leader of the Wolfkin, owner of Moon Wolf Citadel, and ruler of Fang Valley. You are only the first player to be a landed noble, and you happen to have taken the only known means of becoming a noble from the third strongest guild in the game.”

“Yeah, I guess that is a pretty good reason to be worried.”

“Pretty good? Thorn, if you were not a walking raid boss, they would have hunted you down to kill you until you quit playing Nova Terra. If I can be honest with you for a moment, I can only assume that you were born under a lucky star because I have never seen a bigger cheat in my life. And I have been playing this game since the day it opened.”

“Heh, I guess I am pretty strong.”

“Yes. You are pretty strong.”

For a moment, Thorn imagined that he heard sarcasm in Velin’s voice, but it was gone as soon as he noticed it.

“But seriously, I will probably be tied up here for at least a few more days, which means I won’t join you for almost a week. Are you going to be alright handling the next stage of the World Quest?”

“Yes, we can always use your strength, but this stage is manageable without you.”

“What does it look like? Have you gotten any details?”

“Yes.” Through the video chat, Thorn could see Velin opening her notebook. “Asher was kind enough to share his observations after Aurum’s first run.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Thorn stifled a yawn as he watched Velin tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Flipping through her notes, the Elven War Priestess got ready to discuss what she knew about the labyrinth stage of the World Quest.

“The next stage of the World Quest is probably the last. Normally World Quests have more than three stages, so if it truly is the last stage, I would anticipate that it will be quite a challenge. If you remember from the quest description, we are supposed to search the labyrinth city of Rakkam for some sort of stone heart so that we can destroy it. According to what Asher shared with us, this stage really is a giant labyrinth.

“Aurum’s first run took about eight hours before they retreated. According to what they reported, they only managed to map out around 4 miles of tunnel due to how complicated the terrain was. The gate we are using leads into a section of the labyrinth city that is filled with flames and magma. According to the rumors, there are at least four gates that all lead to a different section of the labyrinth city. Each section has a different environment based on what part of the city it was prior to becoming a labyrinth.

“So far, the entirety of the labyrinth is like a Dwarven city. The area where we landed appears to be the forges. From what I can figure, the different sections of the city are arranged in a circle. Each section stretches toward the center, and if you go too far right or left, you will enter a different environment. That means that as long as we keep going deeper in the forges we should come to the center of the labyrinth where we will presumably find the stone heart, whatever that is.

“However, Aurum reported a lot of traps, so I would anticipate that it will probably be slow going. The good news is that the two Dwarven earth maps have been showing more signs of activity, so I can only assume that when we enter Rakkam they will be able to lead us to some sort of treasure.”

“Are there any enemies? Or is it just traps?” Thorn stifled another yawn.

“Yes,” Velin flipped to a new page before looking up. “Asher mentioned that they faced off against a number of golems and fire elementals. There are no reports of dwarves, which is interesting. I can only assume that the enemy we face will be determined by the section of the city we enter through.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. When do you plan to go in?”

“We will be entering starting at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning. I will let you know what we see. You do look tired, though, so try to get some sleep. I will handle making progress on the next part of the World Quest, so you just focus on your responsibilities there. We have a good team, Thorn. You can trust us to do a good job.”

“Thank you, Velin.”

“Of course, my Lord. Remember, you don’t have to do everything yourself. Make sure to lean on Corvo. He has a good head on his shoulders and a lot of connections.”

“Will do. Say hi to Mina for me, alright? I’ll try to wrap things up here and join you as soon as possible.”

“That sounds good. Bye.” Waving to Thorn, Velin ended the call. Yawning, Thorn leaned his head back on his chair and closed his eyes as he waited for Corvo to return. Velin had a great point, but Thorn found it difficult to put into practice. Increasingly, Thorn was surrounded by highly competent players, yet he still found it a real challenge to entrust important things to them.

His life had always been controlled and predictable. Each day had been well ordered and largely uniform, and within those bounds Thorn had been able to control what went on. Since taking on the role of Lord Greymane, Thorn had experienced an unprecedented level of freedom. If he wanted to go somewhere new, no one could say anything. If he wanted to start a new endeavor or build his guild in a particular way, he could.

Yet, with this freedom came a lack of control that Thorn had not anticipated. Sure, he was free to climb whatever mountain he wanted, but he had no control over how challenging it would be, or if anyone else would try to stop him. He had thrown himself into building Nova Luna only to find that other people took exception to his progress, and rather than directly confront him, they erected barriers in his way.

Thorn had never anticipated how difficult it was to have freedom. When he had been locked away in the quarry, mining Fire Iron, life was easy. His choices were few, and everyone around him was similarly confined. Now, in the free and open world, his choices were endless, but so were the choices of everyone else.

At the end of the day, Velin was correct. He could not be everywhere at once, handling everything at once, no matter how much he wished otherwise. And micromanaging Nova Luna would prevent it from becoming the guild that he wanted it to become. If nothing else, the time Thorn spent with his aunt in the real world had taught him that for an organization to grow, the individual members had to have ownership, and the quickest way to kill that feeling of ownership was to micromanage.

“Hey, Thorn.” Corvo entered the room, accompanied by an old man. “This is Baxby. Baxby, this is Baron Greymane.”

“Thorn. Just call me Thorn.” Rising to his feet, Thorn towered over the slightly hunched old man, offering his large hand. Two different colored eyes stared back at him, one a deep brown, the other a muddy-green. Close-cropped white hair showed his advanced age, but as they shook hands, the old man’s strong grip made Thorn think he wasn’t quite as old as he appeared.

“Pleased to meet you, Thorn.” Shaking the offered hand, Baxby sized up the Titan.

“Baxby is a Drifter who specializes in hunting for treasure. He had expressed some interest in Rakkam, the labyrinth city in the world quest, and I thought we might be able to use the help since we don’t have anyone with his skillset. We are competing with Ragnarok, so I figured we could use every advantage we can get.”

“I agree.” Thorn tried to keep his fatigue out of his voice as he offered Baxby and Corvo seats. “Tell me a bit about yourself, Baxby. Corvo called you a drifter?”

“Yes. Though, these days, I feel a bit more like a hobo,” Baxby deadpanned.

“Sorry, I feel like I am missing something.” Thorn glanced at Corvo, and Baxby didn’t miss the confusion in his eyes. “Aren’t drifters and hobos the same thing?”

“The Drifters are an organization.” Baxby cocked his head slightly as he revealed a pin with a symbol that Thorn had never seen before. “We’re a loose association of players that work as treasure finders, explorers, map makers, and the like. However, recently most of the Drifters have drifted into one of the major guilds and are no longer offering their services to the public. There are only a few of us that are still unaffiliated, which has caused the organization to stagnate.”

“I assume you are still offering your services, right?”

“Oh, yes.” Baxby reached up to scratch his neck. “I’m the best there is when it comes to sniffing out treasure, and I guarantee that you will not regret hiring me. I don’t do fighting stuff, but I don’t need anyone to protect me either.”

“Talk me through how you can help. You talk about being a treasure finder. Can I assume that you have a class for it?”

“Lost Treasure Hunter. Still not sure if Lost refers to Treasure or Hunter, but either way I have a nose for being able to sniff out hidden and lost valuables. Especially the ancient ones.”

“That sounds like a very useful skill. Are you interested in joining a guild? Nova Luna would love to have you.”

“Nah.” Waving his wrinkled hand, Baxby slowly shook his head. “I’ve had more than my fill being under other people. Spent all my years before I started playing working for the man, so I’ll pass. I’m happy to work with you and your guild on a contract basis, but I’m only here for discovering new things.”

“No problem. If you are ever interested in joining up, let me know. I’ll let Corvo work out the details with you, but you’ll be heading down to join Velin and the Nova Luna team at a place called Embersplit Mine. We are competing with Ragnarok and Aurum in this stage of the World Quest, and your help is appreciated.”

After saying goodbye to Baxby and Corvo, Thorn dragged himself to bed, setting his alarm for six the next morning so he could join one of the morning training sessions at the temple. As tired as he was, that was no excuse for him to slack off in his training. By the time his alarm went off, Thorn was feeling rested, and it was with a spring in his step that he made his way to the training ground.

Falling in with the other disciples from the Dawn Court, Thorn began to practice his basic forms. Some standard body-weight exercises got them warmed up, followed by a bit of sparring between the courts. Normally, the support oriented Dawn Court came out on the bottom of these sparring sessions, but with Thorn around they stood firmly at the top.

After the morning training session had finished up, Thorn refreshed himself and hurried off to eat breakfast, a monstrous endeavor that carried on right up to ten o’clock when he was supposed to meet with the player representatives. Rising from the table, Thorn stretched his massive frame and strolled into the throne room.

Similar to his entrance the day before, the protesting Wolfkin players were clumped together in the middle of the room. Thorn’s sharp senses picked up the players’ nervous breathing as he strolled by. Suppressing a small smile that rose to his lips, Thorn ignored the players, walking directly past them to the Wolf Throne. Turning to face the room, Thorn’s eyes swept over the room before he sat down.

“Greetings, my Lord.” Captain Del’har saluted Thorn, dropping to one knee.

“Rise.” Even though Thorn was not a fan of the theatrics that came along with being a landed noble, he had to admit that it had its place. Intimidating players who were coming to try to squeeze benefits from him ranked at the top of his list of reasons to use theatrics.

“Thank you, my Lord. There are three things I would like to bring to your attention this morning. Greymane Village has reported a number of missing villagers and would like to issue a reward for anyone who can bring back information on this subject. The Mayor, Charles, has asked that you sign the reward to lend some weight to it.

“Second, we have increasing reports of giant wolves being sighted near the mountains at the end of the valley. The native Wolfkin hold them in high regard, but many of the travelers are hunting them, which is leading to friction. The third thing is the group of travelers you see here, my Lord. They have some complaints that they would like to bring to your attention.”

“Tell the mayor that I am happy to sign. Have him draft the request and give it to Corvo to stamp on my behalf. If the reward is not enough to help resolve the situation, you are free to send the disciples to assist. The Temple of the Moon will not sit idle while villagers go missing. As to the second issue, you should seek out Elder Havva for guidance. Find out what you can about the wolves and report back to me. In the meantime, warn the travelers that they are not to hunt the wolves. If they still do, just throw them in jail.”

Turning his eyes from the captain, Thorn took in the collection of players who had come to complain. It looked to be the same group that had stepped forward last night when Thorn had confronted them along the road. Much of their original bravado was gone, replaced by cautious trepidation.

“You may approach and state your concerns.” Thorn dropped his chin into his palm, leaning his elbow on the carved armrest of the Wolf Throne as he stared at the group of players.

“Uh...thanks...Baron.” It was quite obvious that the players were not used to addressing another player in a position of authority over them by the way the leader fumbled the greeting. Seeing Captain Del’har’s grip on his sword tighten, the thin Wolfkin player stepped forward nervously.

“Lord Baron, thank you for meeting with us. My name is Pierce, and I am representing the Brotherhood of the Wolf. We are a group of concerned players who have gathered to address a few of the injustices we see here in the valley. We...”

“Brotherhood of the Wolf? Do you not allow women in the group?” Thorn asked suddenly as he stared at Pierce in curiosity.

“Uh...no, I mean, we do.” Taken aback by the interruption, it took a second for Pierce to process Thorn’s question. “We… We represent all Wolfkin.”

“Surely not all Wolfkin. The captain, for example? You probably don’t represent him. What about the disciples from the Temple of the Moon? I’m pretty sure I would have heard about it if you represented them. And there seem to be a fair number of native Wolfkin who have not raised any concerns. Do you represent them?”

“Um…” Floundering, Pierce looked at the rest of his group only to find them avoiding his gaze. Growing frustrated, the thin Wolfkin sneered and turned back to face the Wolf Throne.

“I counted one hundred and three players last night.” Here Thorn’s voice took on a slight edge. “One hundred and three players blocking my road. Even if that is only a tenth of the players you represent, the final number is, no doubt, a tiny fraction of the total number of Wolfkin players in the valley. You might not know, but playing as a Wolfkin has become quite a popular option these days. The population of the valley has grown substantially and continues to bloom. And you expect me to believe that your group represents all of them?”

“Baron Greymane, we are here to present our grievances, not argue about our influence,” Pierce spat out in a frustrated voice.

“Oh, sure. Sure. I would just ask that you be accurate in how you represent yourselves. It does us no good if you blow your influence out of proportion.” A ghost of a smile floated on the Titan’s lips. “So, tell me. With what do you take issue?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

The morning light drifted through the pillars along the side of the throne room, covering the room in a warm blanket of golden light. Lounging on the Wolf Throne, his finger tapping on the armrest, Thorn kept his eyes fixed on the thin Wolfkin player standing before him. Pierce’s companions had abandoned the role of speaker to him, much to Pierce’s disgust.

“So? What do you have? Lay it on me.” Taking advantage of Pierce’s hesitation, Thorn prodded the thin Wolfkin to hurry. “I don’t have all day, so if you have a complaint, then spit it out.”

“Ye… Yes, Baron.” It was obvious from his body language that Pierce found Thorn to be intimidating, but he gathered his courage and, taking a small step forward, began to speak.

“Lord Greymane, I am here on behalf of the Brotherhood of the Wolf. The Brotherhood of the Wolf is…” Seeing the impatience beginning to blossom on Thorn’s face, Pierce choked and jumped ahead in his speech. “Uh, we have a number of smaller complaints and one major issue. I will present them in order from lesser to greater.

“First, many of the Wolfkin players who are not part of the Temple of the Moon are frustrated because the prices of goods are higher in the valley than elsewhere. Because we in the brotherhood are not associated with the temple, we don’t enjoy the discounts that the disciples get. This makes progression more difficult. We feel that this is an unnecessary burden. We would like to request that you make the discount available to all Wolfkin.

“Our second issue is on the matter of quests. Most of the quests seem to be tied to the temple, which is fine if you are a disciple, but it does not work well if you are taking an independent path. For example, I am a Hunter, which really limits the sorts of things I can do in the valley. Especially since the ban on hunting wolves was implemented this morning. It will only get harder for me to progress in the valley.”

“Hold on.” Thorn held up his hand to stop Pierce. “Why don’t we deal with these one at a time?”

“Uh… su… sure.”

“Alright, the first issue. You want a discount without being affiliated with the temple, right?”

“Yes.” Behind Pierce the rest of the gathered Wolfkin players nodded along.

“No. Not happening.” Thorn sat up and waved his hand dismissively. “If you want the discount, join the temple. If you want cheap goods, go somewhere else. There are plenty of places in Nova Terra for you to go. This is not a charity. Prices are set based on the cost of bringing goods into the valley, so unless that changes, prices will stay the same.”

“But…”

“Now, on to the second question.” Not giving Pierce the chance to argue, Thorn moved on. “Your second issue is that you are not getting enough quests?”

“Uh, ye… yes.” Pierce knew the conversation was starting to turn sour from Thorn’s skeptical expression.

“What does that have to do with me? I don’t generate quests, the game does.”

“We thought you might be able to help provide a few more non-temple specific quests…” Pierce’s voice trailed off as he listened to his own words.

“I don’t think I need to explain why that is a stupid complaint, right?” Thorn’s eyebrows rose as he stared at the thin Wolfkin and the other players behind him. “I’m not responsible for generating quests for you. You’ll have better luck taking that up with the creator of the game than complaining to me.”

“But all the quests are tied to the temple!”

“Ah, I wondered how long you could resist speaking.” Resting his chin in his palm, Thorn gazed steadily at the mohawk-sporting Wolfkin who had just burst out of the crowd. “Look, I did not make you choose to play as Wolfkin. I did not create the valley or the narrative setting surrounding the Wolfkin. I just oversee it. I did not force you to interact with the temple, and the consequences of not interacting with the temple are on you. If you want more quests, my only recommendation is that you search harder. From my understanding, if you look hard enough, you should be able to unearth something. And if that fails, you can always join in on the World Quest.”

“This...!”

Lifting his hand abruptly, Thorn caused Mohawk to choke on his words.

“Enough. There is no more to say on this subject. Now, what other complaints do you have? You still have fifteen minutes, so make good use of them.”

“Uh… Yes. There are a number of other complaints that we have been tasked with delivering to you, but many of them boil down to a single problem. Rather than waste our time on all the peripheral issues, let's cut to the chase and deal with the main problem.” The thin Wolfkin pushed Mohawk back into the crowd and faced Thorn squarely. If it were not for his fingers pinching the bottom of his shirt, Thorn would never have guessed that Pierce was filled with nervousness. “The most pressing issue for us, the players who have chosen the Wolfkin form but chosen not to bow to the temple, is the lack of moonstones.”

Seeing Thorn’s eyes narrow, Pierce felt emboldened. Straightening, he coughed to clear his throat and pointed at the figure on the Wolf Throne.

“Currently, the only way to gain a moonstone is by pledging to the temple and joining Nova Luna or one of the two associations; the Night Walkers or Moon Guardians. We are here to protest this. No one should be forced to join you in order to continue playing this game. Nova Terra is a game of freedom, not tyranny. But this valley is quickly becoming an example of the second and not the first!”

As Pierce’s impassioned words faded, the throne room fell silent. His face impassive, Captain Del’har stood at the foot of the stairs leading up to the Wolf Throne. Seated above, Thorn watched the crowd of Wolfkin players with calm eyes. The silence stretched out, causing Pierce’s confidence from a moment before to waver. Unable to help himself, he glanced back at the group behind him only to be met with shrugs and frowns.

One minute stretched into two minutes and then into four. Still, Thorn sat quietly, the look in his eyes unfathomable. Finally, unable to stand the silence, Mohawk stepped forward and opened his mouth, only to have Pierce grab him by the arm.

“Baron Greymane, don’t you think you should say something?”

“Oh? Was that it?” Thorn slowly sat up, his face showing his surprise. “I assumed there must be more to your speech.”

“More?”

“Yes, more.” Sighing, Thorn rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I assumed you would have a coherent, well thought out, persuasive argument that amounted to more than whining. I see I was mistaken.”

“What! You…”

“Enough.” Thorn’s voice was heavy, silencing Pierce’s protest. “Even if you don’t have anything better to do than complain about pointless things, I do. Either give me a good reason why I should listen to you or get out.”

“This...Baron, this is a serious issue.”

“Oh? Is it? The mass majority of players seem content to take up quests for the Temple of the Moon even if they don’t end up becoming disciples. Yet you come here and try to feed me a line about my rule being tyrannous? Captain, see them out.”

Before Captain Del’har could take a step forward, another figure pushed out from the middle of the crowd. At least two feet shorter than the seven and a half foot Wolfkin, the figure was dressed neatly. Gleaming black boots with a golden tassel matched his black vest. Intricate embroidery in gold thread climbed his vest, marking him as either a noble or a wealthy merchant. Flicking the lace at his wrists, the man bowed courteously to Thorn.

“My dear Baron, please allow me to speak. My friends here are plain and honest folk who lack an understanding of the particulars of court. Please excuse their lack of knowledge.”

“And you are?” Leaning back in his seat, Thorn looked down at this new figure through narrowed eyes. Despite his advanced senses, he had not noticed a human among the Wolfkin earlier and was taken aback when he appeared.

“Ah, how remiss of me, Baron. My name is Harris, my Lord. I am an...associate of this group.”

“Oh?” Thorn’s sharp gaze had not missed the relief that appeared in Pierce’s eyes when Harris stepped forward. “Then tell me, Harris, why should I not have my captain throw you out?”

Glancing at the tall Wolfkin captain in his gleaming black armor, caution flashed across Harris’ eyes. Turning back to Thorn, Harris had just flashed his most winning smile and opened his mouth when the door opened behind him and Lady Sere entered, her skirts rustling.

“Good morning, my Lord, I hope I am not interrupting anything.” Esme walked forward passed the group of players until she stood next to the well dressed human. Looking around with curiosity, she smiled prettily. “I can come back if you are occupied.”

“Good morning, Lady Sere.” Thorn waved casually from where he sat, his eyes still fixed on Harris. “You are not interrupting anything. Harris here was about to tell me why I should not have him and the others here forcibly removed from my throne room.”

“Ehem, yes, as I was about to say, it is not our desire to stir up trouble unnecessarily, Baron Greymane.” Slightly thrown off by Lady Sere’s entrance, Harris recovered quickly. “This situation, as you have no doubt already ascertained, has the potential to be both big and small. It could be, at your whim, as small as a molehill. However, it also has, if not dealt with, the potential to become a crushing mountain. As I have observed the valley, I have been quite impressed with your intelligence, Baron, so I know that you can understand what I am talking about.”

“Explain.” A slight frown gathered between Thorn’s brows as he watched Harris.

“Of course, of course.” With a flourish of his sleeves, Harris bowed again, repeating the motion toward Lady Sere. Like a performer about to give a monologue, he raised one of his hands, reminding Thorn of an ancient bullfighter. “The resurgence of the Wolfkin race is an occasion to be celebrated, as is their joining to the empire. The empire welcomes all of those who seek to work together for the betterment of the continent. Already, the Wolfkin race has shown itself to be a powerful force, and I have no doubt that trend will only continue.

“Baron, you are to be commended. Though you are not a member of the Wolfkin race, you have still gained their allegiance through the Temple of the Moon. I do not mean to question the ancient traditions, but I wonder if you have thought through this fully. Why don’t we take the moonstones, for example.”

A pale glow flashed in Harris’ hand causing Captain Del’har to step forward, his hand on his sword. With a flick of his wrist, Harris revealed a glowing moonstone. Smirking at the captain, who slowly relaxed, the human waved the moonstone at the large figure on the throne.

“Who would have thought that the Wolfkin’s power is tied to a physical object like this? Well, it is not that uncommon actually. Elves need special leaves, Dwarves need special rocks, even Demonkin need special material in order to fully unlock the power in their bodies. Now that I think about it, Humans are the only ones who don’t have the ability to increase their body’s power. Such a shame, really.

“Still, I must congratulate the Wolfkin for having a readily available source of moonstones. It is quite rare for a race to have such easy access to the resources they need in order to advance. This rare situation has allowed the Wolfkin to experience a tremendous period of growth, which is exciting, not only for the Wolfkin but for the empire as a whole as the strength of the citizens is the strength of the empire.” Throwing a sharp glance at Lady Sere, his grin grew wider.

“Conversely, anything that stands in the way of strengthening the empire must be carefully examined.” Here, Harris’ tone became somber as he stared up at the figure on the Wolf Throne. “As your people grow, Baron, they will require moonstones to fully explore their power. Yet you have locked this valuable resource behind allegiance to an ancient power of dubious origin. I need not tell you that the Empire will not look kindly on anyone who is hindering the growth of its people or demanding that they pledge their allegiance to another power.”

“Insolence.” Captain Del’har barked, his hand on his sword. “Do not profane our beliefs, human.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, my dear captain.” Harris didn’t bother to hide his sneer. “But know well your place.”

“Are you finished?” Thorn’s voice held a hint of boredom, causing Harris’ brow to wrinkle.

“As a matter of fact, no.” Regaining his smile so fast that Thorn thought he might have imagined the dandy’s frown, Harris flourished his hands again. “The issue of the empire is only the first problem, my dear Baron. Apart from the fact that you are dividing the allegiance of the Wolfkin, you are going to quickly run into another problem. As you are aware, the empire is a place of law and order. Specifically, reasonable laws. Each person granted basic rights and the ability to pursue happiness as they choose. The nobles, such as yourself, are vested with enormous power, but with that power comes the charge to care for the citizens under you and provide them with a path toward a happier life.

“Tell me, Baron Greymane. Can you do that? Can you lead your people toward happiness if you bind them with shackles of ancient rules? We are living in modern times, my Lord. Placing a stranglehold on their advancement by limiting the necessary resource to only an elite few will simply embitter them. And bitterness will no doubt fester, pushing them to grumbling and complaining, and ultimately, rebellion against your rule.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

“Rebellion?” A slight smile graced Thorn’s lips as his eyes widened. “Are you trying to tell me that not giving Wolfkin free access to moonstones will result in a rebellion? That seems like a pretty big jump.”

“Is it though?” Harris spread his hands, smirking. “Think about this logically. You are forcing those that want to grow stronger to pledge their allegiance to an ancient order that can provide them no real benefits in this age. If, and I say if, the Temple of the Moon was still as strong as it used to be, then maybe it would not be an issue. But the truth is that the Era of the Gods has passed. The Temple of the Moon is a relic of the past.”

“You…!” Growling, Captain Del’har started to draw his sword.

“Stand down, Captain.” Thorn’s voice was cool and brooked no argument. With a disgusted snarl, the black-armored Wolfkin dropped his hand from his sword’s hilt. Thorn’s finger tapped on his armrest as he stared into the air, considering what he had heard so far. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Lady Sere’s thoughtful expression. Shifting his gaze back to the well-dressed human, Thorn spoke in the same cool voice.

“What would you suggest?”

“My dear Baron, I would not presume to tell you what to do, but if I were to make a recommendation, it would be that you open up your reserves of moonstones to all Wolfkin. The more accessible the stones, the stronger the Wolfkin will be as a group. The higher the level of the Wolfkin race’s strength, the better the empire’s treatment of the Wolfkin will be. By elevating the whole race, you will be looked upon with favor. You will be seen as a wise and gracious leader rather than a tyrant.”

“Hmm.” Thorn rubbed his nose, his eyes still fixed on Harris. His expression unreadable, Thorn sat up on his throne. “Thank you all for bringing this matter to my attention. I need some time to think about this. Captain, please see them out.”

Stunned at the abrupt change in the conversation, the crowd of Wolfkin players looked at each other in dismay. They had thought that Harris’ argument was beginning to sway Thorn, but he had dismissed them out of the blue. From the confusion that Harris was displaying, he was obviously taken aback as well.

“Uh, Baron Greymane? Aren’t you going to talk about this?”

“We just did. You presented your argument, and I will think about it. The subject of an important resource like moonstones and their distribution needs to be considered at great length. It cannot be settled in a simple discussion. You have raised your concerns, and I will take them into consideration as I think about it.”

As dissatisfied as they were, what Thorn was saying was reasonable, and with a bit of grumbling they allowed Captain Del’har to usher them out of the throne room. The door shut, leaving Thorn and Esme alone. A small smile on her lips, Esme curtsied to Thorn again.

“I must admit that I enjoy seeing people like that put in their place.” Covering her mouth with her hand, Lady Sere giggled.

“It is quite satisfying.” Thorn’s face broke into a big grin. “Tell me, do you know many people like that?”

“Oh, too many to count. The capital is full of pretentious silver-tongued idiots like him.”

“Well, I am happy to be of service.” Thorn felt slightly awkward that he was sitting in the Wolf Throne while Lady Sere was standing below the dias looking up at him, but he suppressed the feeling. “Did you get a tour of Moon Wolf Citadel? What do you think?”

“Yes, the attendant that Captain Del’har assigned to me was able to show me around.” Esme’s eyes drifted to the balcony from which she could see the whole valley stretching out.

Following her eyes, Thorn stood, and the two of them walked out on the balcony together.

“Do you care to share your thoughts?” Thorn glanced at Esme.

“Impressive.” It took a moment for Esme to speak, but when she did the words seemed to tumble from her lips. “The citadel is astounding. I have never seen this style of architecture before, but it has a certain elegance hidden behind its strength. Not only is it set in a virtually unassailable position, but it is practically a city in its own right. And to think that behind its walls lies a forested paradise. The valley is beautiful, and it is obvious that the resources here are plentiful.

“The Wolfkin are lucky. To have such a land as their origin and for it to be so well protected is a boon that many races would give everything for. You may not realize it, Thorn, but for small races with limited numbers it can be very difficult to find a place to put down roots. The Wolfkin are quite fortunate to have this valley.”

“I didn’t realize that.” Across the valley, Thorn could pick out the grey roof of the ruins of Greymane Keep. “Tell me, Lady Sere, are you going to tell me the real reason you have come to the valley?”

“Please call me Esme, Thorn. Otherwise I’ll feel awkward.” Esme pouted slightly. “But what do you mean? I’m here to investigate to see if the charges that have been brought against you have any merit.”

Just as Thorn was about to reply, the door to the throne room opened, and one of the fortress’ servants entered to inform him that there was a group of merchants who were requesting an audience. With a sigh, Thorn walked back up to the Wolf Throne and plopped down in it, motioning for the servant to show them in. On the balcony, Esme glanced at him, biting her lip. Watching the door, Thorn missed the flash of relief in her eyes.

Once again, the doors to the throne room were opened, and a collection of well-dressed merchants walked in. Advancing until they were close to the dais, the merchants stood forward one at a time, introducing themselves. Three of the merchants were from guilds while the rest were from merchant organizations who had stores in the merchant quarter.

A Dwarven player from the guild Silver Fist who introduced herself as Jona Silverhand seemed to be the spokesman for the group of merchants, and soon Thorn found himself in a familiar situation. Advancing to the front of the group, Jona Silverhand prepared to speak while the rest of the merchants gathered behind her for moral support.

“Greetings, Baron Greymane.” Unlike the low, gravely voice that Thorn expected, Jona’s voice was high pitched and a little squeaky. “We bring greetings from the United League of Merchants.”

“Hm.” Thorn nodded to the short woman. “Corvo mentioned that you had some demands?”

“We would never bring demands, Baron.” Shaking her head furiously, Jona denied it.

“Oh? Then what brings the League of Merchants here?”

“We are here to propose an agreement that we feel will bring great benefit to both of us.” Revealing a scroll, Jona looked around for someone to hand it to. Thorn was sitting up on the Wolf Throne, and normally Captain Del’har would be there to bring things like this up to him, but he was still not back. Unsure what she should do, Jona looked at Thorn, who showed no signs of moving, so she just waved it in her hand.

“An agreement that will bring great benefit to both of us?” Thorn raised his eyebrows. “Let’s hear it.”

“The United League of Merchants is a coalition of twenty five merchants from different groups that all have the privilege of doing business here in Moon Wolf Citadel and the Fang Valley. We are comprised of the primary importers of food and wine, weapons, armor, clothing, luxuries, and alchemical goods. In addition, over 70 percent of the carts that come in and out of the citadel belong to one of us. We are proposing to increase our investment in the citadel through the quantity and variety of goods we import by an additional thirty percent over the next year. We will also buy goods produced in the valley at three percent above the current market value.”

“That sounds perfectly fine.” Thorn looked slightly confused. “Though I don’t know why you expanding your business requires that you have an audience with me.”

Smiling disarmingly, Jona rubbed her hands together, her sharp eyes running over Thorn.

“In return, we would like to be granted exclusive license to do business in the citadel and the surrounding areas in addition to being granted a small tax break.”

Pursing his lips, Thorn watched the merchants clumped together down below. Corvo had warned him what the merchants were looking for, but he pretended that this was the first time he was hearing about it.

“I’ll entertain the idea. What sort of license are you looking for? And what sort of tax break?”

“Nothing too grand, nothing too grand.” Jona waved her hands quickly. “We want the United League of Merchants to be recognized as the only legal merchant organization in the valley. In order to make up for any business that will be lost as a result of this deal, we are willing to pay half a percent in tax on every good we bring into the valley.

“You want exclusive rights to sell and buy goods in the valley, and you want to pay half a percent in taxes?”

“Correct.” Jora nodded. “But do not underestimate this tax. It sounds really low, but rather than paying a percentage of our profit, we will be giving you a cut of every single item that we sell. This half a percent cut will be paid by the merchant shipping the goods to the valley and the shop selling the good. This has the potential to be an incredible amount as the number of goods being sold here in the valley increases.”

“You are proposing a modified value added tax.” Rubbing his chin, Thorn leaned back, as if he was considering their offer seriously. The merchants standing down below smirked as they glanced at each other. A value added tax was a tax applied to the manufacturing, shipping, and handling of a particular good. This sort of tax would guarantee that tax revenue would be generated on every item that came into the valley, but at half a percent, it was such a small amount that it was negligible.

In addition, this sort of tax was always passed on to the customer, which would invariably cause prices to rise. Since the merchants would not be paying the tax out of their profits, the burden of this tax would be borne entirely by the players who were buying their goods, rather than the merchants themselves. Were it not for the first condition of the agreement, this sort of tax was not a bad idea.

However, the United League of Merchants also wanted to be the only recognized merchant group in the valley, which would effectively allow them to set the price. Value added tax relied on competition between different manufacturers, shipping companies, and sellers in order to keep costs affordable for consumers, but that competition would not exist if the agreement was signed as it had been presented.

Sitting up, Thorn pretended not to notice the mocking looks from the merchants behind Jora.

“I’ll need some time to talk to my advisors and to consider your offer.”

At Thorn’s words, Jora’s face fell. With a frown, she stared up at the Wolf Throne, her eyes meeting Thorn’s squarely.

“Baron Greymane, please understand that we are not here to negotiate. If you do not want to agree, then we will pack up our things and go. And if we go, it will only be a matter of days before your land falls into ruin. Did you know that almost 60 percent of the food you eat is imported? Just imagine what will happen when you don’t have the food to feed your subjects. This deal is non-negotiable. We are united in our thoughts on this, so you need to make a decision now. Will you take our deal or will you drive us out?”

“Ah, I wondered where the blade was.” Thorn’s smile was grim. “And here we were having such a friendly conversation. Tell me, what is to stop me from just inviting other merchants to come to the valley?”

“The United League of Merchants is much bigger than you can imagine, Baron.” Jora sneered, any vestige of respect gone. “If we say that no merchants will come to your valley, then no merchants will come to your valley. We have sway beyond anything you can fathom.”

“Sounds to me like it is your way or the highway, huh?”

“That is exactly what it is. Do yourself a favor and sign the agreement, Baron. If you don’t, I can guarantee that the next agreement will be much worse for you.”

“Do you really think you can get away with this?”

“Hahaha. Baron, are you really that naive? Of course we can get away with it. You might be a noble, but gold is the true medium of power in this world.” Behind Jora, the group of merchants burst out in mocking laughter. His face hardening, Thorn began to rise from his seat.

“Don’t think that you have a choice here, Baron.” Jora’s high pitched voice cut through the merchants' laughter, causing Thorn to sink back down in his seat. “Maybe I was not clear enough with you. The United League of Merchants includes six of the most powerful merchant guilds in Nova Terra and countless native merchant associations. If we decide that you will not do business, then you will not do business.

“We have the means of controlling the production of the goods your people will want to buy. We control the shipping routes that would be used to bring those goods into the valley, and we control the shops. We have already leased more than 80 percent of the shops in your merchant quarter, and if we are unable to come to an agreement, your merchant quarter will be mighty empty. Sure, you could break the leases, but then you’d have to pay us a market value estimate of what we would make during our remaining time.

“Even if you don’t want to deal with us, you don’t have much of a choice. If you choose not to sign the paper, right now, we’ll blacklist you and all of your subjects, making sure that you can’t buy anything in any of the shops that the United League of Merchants owns in this whole region.” Stepping forward, Jora drew herself up to her full height, somehow managing to look down her nose at Thorn, despite how much higher he was. “Sign the agreement or starve.”

“Hah.” Thorn breathed out a long sigh, his face helpless. Shaking his head, he stood up from the Wolf Throne and looked down at the merchants for a long moment. “I guess you leave me with no choice, huh?”

“I’m glad you see things clearly, Baron.”

“Oh, I do.” Thorn’s lips curled up in a smile. “Guards! Arrest them.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

The stunned silence was broken by the sound of the throne room doors slamming open as Captain Del’har charged in, leading a group of disciples from the Temple of the Moon to surround the stunned merchants. Encircled by the razor sharp spears the guards held, the merchants stepped back, jostling against each other to try and be the farthest away. Captain Del’har held his large black blade against Jora’s neck, causing the dwarf to stand as still as a statue.

“What are you…” Her eyes darting wildly, Jora started to yell when the black blade drew a thin line on her neck, a few drops of bright red blood squeezing out onto the blade. Feeling the stinging pain, Jora froze.

Slowly walking down the stairs leading to the Wolf Throne, Thorn’s eyes raked over the captured merchants. A few of them were armed, but the arrival of the guards had been so sudden that they did not even have time to draw their weapons.

“Captain, please escort these people to the dungeon.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Despite his salute, the blade Captain Del’har held against Jora’s neck never wavered. Grabbing Jora by the back of her dress, the captain casually lifted her into the air and began to stride toward the door. “Let’s go. Come along quietly, and you will not be harmed.”

“Wait!” Frantically calling out, Jora’s arms and legs waved in the air as the captain carried her from the throne room. “This is a mistake!”

“Oh?” Thorn signaled for Captain Del’har to wait. “Why do you think it is a mistake?”

“How can you arrest us? We have not committed any crimes. You can’t just have us arrested because you want to!”

“Interestingly enough, I can just have you arrested because I want to,” Thorn chuckled. “The law is quite clear that I can hold you for up to twenty-four hours if I suspect that you are fomenting rebellion, or if I believe that the safety of a noble is at risk. Though neither of those reasons is the case here, it can be done.”

Struggling against Captain Del’har, Jora tried twisting herself out of his grasp to no avail. The tall Wolfkin’s grip was like iron, locking her in place. Giving up, the dwarf hung in the air as she glared at Thorn.

“Then what did we do that warrants our arrest?” she hissed.

“You know, even if you did not ask, I would have sent someone to tell you.” Thorn held up two fingers. “The Imperial Law grants two cases in which a noble can be coerced into acting against their own interest. In the case of an invasion of the empire by a foreign power, landed nobles are required to provide soldiers according to their rank. In the case of a natural disaster, landed nobles are required to provide funds according to their rank. Any other instance of coercion is to be treated as an affront to the Imperial Throne and is punishable by jail time. After all, blackmail is a nasty business, and the empire does not look kindly upon it.

“Neither of those two situations is in play in this case, yet you threatened me with the collapse of my land’s economy if I do not capitulate. Textbook coercion. By walking in here and threatening me, you have violated the law, granting me the perfect excuse to have you arrested. So that is what I am doing. It wouldn’t have been possible if you had been less explicit with your threats, but, thankfully, you stated them quite clearly. Let me be clear: You and your associates are being arrested for attempted coercion of a noble. You will stay in jail until we have fully investigated this case and discovered who backs you. ”

“That will never stand up in court! You cannot prove anything!” Furious, Jora glared up at Thorn, matching him stare for stare. “It is your word against ours. Pure hearsay! And once the case is thrown out of court, you will wish you never started down this road with us!”

“Normally, I would agree with you. It would be pure hearsay unless we had an impartial, third-party witness.” Thorn’s smile was bland, yet it sent a chill down Jora’s back.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Not what, who. Jora Silverhand, let me introduce you to Lady Esmeria Gavlof Sere, officially appointed Imperial Investigator.”

Following Thorn’s pointing finger, the merchants all looked over toward the balcony and began to tremble. Stepping forward from where she had been standing on the balcony overlooking the valley while she listened to their conversation, Esme looked back at them coldly.

“I am sure that Lady Sere would be happy to include in the report that a landed noble is being blackmailed by a coalition of merchants. I’m even more certain that the empire would be interested in investigating how many other nobles have fallen into your United League of Merchant’s claws. We all know how the empire treats those who attempt to steal away its influence. Believe me when I say that you are much better off spending your days in my dungeon.”

“Wait…” Panic-stricken, Jora’s hands began to wave again, but Thorn cut her off, not wanting to waste any more time.

“Enough. Captain, have them taken to the dungeon. I will talk to them another time.”

“Yes, my Lord!” Saluting, Captain Del’har handed his struggling captive over to the guards who had gathered outside the throne room. After instructing them to take the merchants away, he returned to Thorn’s side.

“My Lord, what should we do about the shops and caravans?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Normally, if a merchant is arrested, their property is seized, as well,” Esme chimed in helpfully from the side.

“Right,” Thorn nodded. Closing his eyes, he recited. “Article 847c: Any material property belonging to a proven criminal belongs to the court of locale in which the criminal activity took place. During such a time as the crime has not been proven, the court is to hold their property until their guilt has been judged.”

“Do you want us to seize their assets, my Lord?” The captain nodded. “If we don’t, we might find others do so first.”

“Huh. I guess that makes sense. Might as well lock them down for now. I want someone to take an inventory of all of the stores, though. If this doesn’t devolve further, I don’t want to be accused of stealing their stuff.” Thorn sat back down in the Wolf Throne, rubbing his nose tiredly. “Keep a close watch on their shops and on their caravans. There were players mixed in with that group, so there is next to zero chance that their organizations don’t know what is happening. Watch the gates carefully as I am sure that they will send more people. Probably not the friendly sort of people, either.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Captain Del’har saluted again and strode from the room, barking orders to the guards as he went. Thorn and Esme were left alone in the throne room looking at each other. After a few minutes of silence, Thorn chuckled.

“I hope you don’t mind that I’ve used you as leverage, Esme. I had not planned for it, but it turned out to be quite convenient that you were present.”

“I don’t need an explanation, Thorn.” Esme’s face was hard to read. Her eyes scanned Thorn’s face as if searching for something, causing him to chuckle again.

“You may not need an explanation, but I do.” Thorn’s voice turned serious. “Why would you want an alliance with a small baron in an out of the way region of the continent? What are you angling for?”

Still staring at Thorn, Esme’s lips parted slightly as if she was about to speak before sinking back into silence. Undisturbed, Thorn continued to hold her gaze, letting the room fall quiet. For the last few days Lady Sere had been watching Thorn’s interactions, and he had no idea what her thoughts were. However, he was no longer willing to wait.

First the players stirring up trouble and then the merchants he had just thrown in the dungeon had made something very clear to Thorn. If he did not take the initiative, the game would simply sweep him away, forcing him into paths he had no desire to tread. His attempts to build a space for himself in Nova Terra had met obstacles at every turn, but that had not dampened his desire. Rather, the obstacles revealed that if he wanted to establish himself firmly, he had to work for it, facing his future with resolve.

Too many things were happening outside his control for his comfort, so Thorn decided to change that as much as he was able. His attempts to elevate his position using the [Nobility Upgrade Token] had thrown him into a whirlpool of court intrigue in which he was still struggling to find his bearings, while his conflict with Ragnarok had left him susceptible to underhanded attacks from players. Truthfully, all of this made Thorn tired, but he was not about to back down without a fight.

Seeing that Esme was still not willing to speak, Thorn sighed.

“Esme, my guild, Nova Luna, is engaged in the exploration of an ancient ruin, and I have to leave shortly to join them. I am happy to give you the freedom to continue looking into my territory, but I will not be here to assist you. You may enquire with Corvo regarding any of your needs. Is there anything else you wish to ask before I leave?”

Slightly startled, Esme blinked her eyes as her thoughts spun. Realizing that Thorn was quite serious about leaving and remembering how decisive he had been over the last few days, she seemed to struggle for a moment with her thoughts before visibly calming.

“Baron Greymane, do you know how the empire is divided?”

It was Thorn’s turn to be taken aback by the Imperial Inspector’s abrupt change in topic. Sensing that the conversation had only begun, Thorn stood up and led the way into one of the offices behind the throne. Gesturing for her to take a seat, Thorn pulled a few plates of pastries from his inventory along with a tea set. White steam curled up from the cups as Thorn carefully poured two cups. Once they were seated, Esme picked up her cup and took a dainty sip.

“If I am not mistaken, the empire is divided into four duchies and the capital. The dukes hold considerable power but are balanced by the three ministers that reside in the capital city. Over those seven is the Emperor himself.”

“You are somewhat correct.” Esme took another sip of her tea and set the cup down as she looked over the pastries. “What I am about to tell you must not go beyond these walls. You have shown yourself to be a careful man over the last few days, and I am trusting that you will continue to demonstrate that quality going forward. You know about the four dukes, three ministers, and one emperor. Truthfully, the balance of power is quite a bit more complicated than that, but it will suffice. What you need to know is that the emperor has three sons, each with a chance to inherit the throne.”

“You mean to say that there are three different groups vying for power?”

“Exactly.” Esme nodded appreciatively at how quickly Thorn had picked up on her drift. “The three princes are all men of great stature and standing, each with a minister and a duke that supports them. Their conflict, while not quite at the stage of full on war, has crept into nearly every part of the empire. Officially, the war for the throne will not start for another five years. Truthfully, it started when the second prince was born.

“The first prince is supported by the Interior Minister, whom you already met, as well as the Cloudwave Duke. While the first prince is the oldest, he is also the prince with the least strength, as he has suffered from a sickness his entire life. The second prince is supported by the Great Plains Duke and the Minister of the Left while the Dirgehold Duke and the Minister of the Right support the Third Prince.”

“But there are seven cabinet members. If each prince has a minister and a duke behind them, then that means that one of the dukes is neutral?”

“Correct, the Ironhold Duke is not currently supporting any candidates for the throne. I’m sure I do not need to stress how incredibly intense the competition between the princes can be, so any chance to pull the Ironhold Duke to their side will be fiercely contested.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with me?”

“It has everything to do with you, Baron. But before we get there, indulge me for a moment more. There are more factions at play than just the princes. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say it is a tangled web. Apart from the three princes, there are two other major influences in the empire that you need to worry about, as well as a few secondary influences that could possibly get involved.

“The first is a network of merchants called the Black Coin that stretches across the land and is always seeking to expand their influence. You’ve met with some of the fringe members of their group already. So far, their motivation seems to be lining their pockets, and I do not anticipate them trying to get involved in the fight for the throne. That said, if any group could increase their profits significantly, they would undoubtedly jump at the chance.

“The smaller influences are trickier to pin down, and we currently don’t know their motives. They are not a huge threat as none are big enough to affect the competition for the throne.” Frowning slightly, Esme paused to take a sip of her tea. “The only one that we are unsure of is an organization called Whispers of the Gods, or God’s Oracle, or something like that. It is a new organization that has only recently come to light, so we don’t have much information on it. We have no idea where it came from or what it is doing, but all the signs point to its rapid growth. Since we don’t know much about them, we have to put them to the side for right now.

“Finally, there are the noble houses, which I represent. We are looking to grow our influence, regaining some of the power that we had in years past. We are tired of being pushed around by the princes and would rather have some hand in choosing our destiny, so we are hoping to approach the Ironhold Duke through you.”

“Sure, that makes sense.” Thorn popped a pastry in his mouth as he waited for Esme to continue.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

“This brings us to you, Baron Greymane. I mentioned that the princes each have a duke and a minister on their side, and as you correctly pointed out, this means that whichever prince is able to receive the support of the Ironhold Duke will rise above the others. There are two primary reasons for this. First, the Ironhold Duke is the emperor’s brother-in-arms. They campaigned together for years, sharing rain and sun, blood and sweat, life and death.

“The Ironhold Duke wields immense personal power with the emperor. Anyone who can gain his recommendation will also be able to gain the emperor’s approval. The second reason is much simpler, but also more difficult to deal with. The Ironhold Duchy produces the majority of the weapons and armor that the Imperial army uses. In addition, he has the best soldiers and the loyalty of almost 80 percent of the officers. Suffice it to say that the Ironhold Duke has nearly complete control of the empire’s military strength.

“While he is technically no longer part of the military, the duke holds a lot of power. This makes him very attractive for all of the princes, and it is generally believed that whoever is able to gain his support will be first in line for the crown. Even though we do not currently support any of the princes, the nobles are interested in approaching the Ironhold Duke, as well.”

“Huh.” Thorn threw another pastry in his mouth, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched Esme. Seeing that her cup was empty, Thorn refilled it with tea. “You still have not told me how this has anything to do with me.”

“Yes, well.” Placing her cup down, Esme smoothed her skirt. “Up until this point the Ironhold duchy has proven resistant to any attempts by the nobles to get closer. The duke is not a simple man, and he recognizes the danger of being too close to any influence. You, however, are an opportunity. You possess something he wants, and you currently don’t belong to any of the existing powers.”

“You want me to cozy up to the Ironhold Duke? Why would he even give me the time of day?”

“Whether you realize it or not, you already have a number of connections with him.” Esme smiled, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Thorn. “You were only able to leave the capital city because of his interference, and you are a noble under him. These two things combined with what you have that he wants are more than enough to make us think that you can get close.”

Thorn scanned over the document and put it down on the table.

“You keep mentioning that I have something he wants. Are you talking about my army?”

“Correct. Your status as a traveler puts you in an advantageous position when it comes to recruiting other travelers. The duke wants your immortal army. Despite his old age, he is still rather battle mad, and the idea of an immortal army that can grind his enemies to dust is too tantalizing to pass up. Though he is unlikely to ever use it himself, the fact that you would be available to defend the empire against threats would be worth it to him.”

“Sure. Let’s say for a moment that I do get close to him.” Thorn leaned back in his chair, resting his chin in his palm. “What is it that you want me to accomplish? How does getting close to the duke help you?”

“While the nobles do not currently support any of the princes, we are interested in gaining bargaining power for when we do have to choose. If we can form an alliance with the last remaining neutral duke, the princes will have to be very careful how they treat us when the race for the throne begins. You may not realize it yet, but being a noble is a balancing act.

“We are constantly in a precarious position. As nobles, we guard the people against the tyranny of the emperor. At the same time, the royal family and the ministers reign us in. If we do not find a way to negotiate with the new emperor, we will continue to lose power until we are nothing more than puppets with empty titles.

“The emperor sits on the highest throne, but he does so because of us. Sadly, not all monarchs remember that. The current emperor knows who allowed him to take his seat, but the princes have no idea why they should allow us to continue existing. Unless we have the power to negotiate with them before they become emperor, the day the throne is passed is the day we die. You are a noble, so your fate is tied in with ours. We are not asking you to do anything unreasonable. We are only asking that you stand with us.”

“And if I agree?” Thorn’s face was unreadable, giving no indication to his thoughts. “What do I get if I join you in this?”

“We will clear the path for your rise.”

“Oh?” Thorn’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Can you do that?”

“Of course we can.” Sitting up straight, Esme looked imperiously at Thorn, her eyes displaying her pride. “Unless the Emperor himself stood in your way, we are able. From what I hear, the Interior Minister is the one that stood in your way when you tried to redeem the [Nobility Upgrade Token]? We will support you, and with our support, you have nothing to fear.”

Still leaning back in his chair, Thorn’s eyebrows jumped again.

“If I understand this right, you are offering me what is mine by right as compensation for joining you. That seems less than sincere.”

“Oh, no.” Giggling, Esme put down the cup she had just picked up. “That is just the start. You have the token already, and we will just put the right pressure in the right places to make sure you get your due. That is simply a gesture of our goodwill. We are willing to offer much more for your cooperation. The Ironhold Duke is too big of a fish for us to skimp out on. Your reward for joining us is tied in with our plan. If we succeed, you will gain a tremendous fortune. If we fail, you will not lose anything.”

“That sounds too good to be true.” Sitting up, Thorn leaned forward. “But you certainly piqued my interest.”

“I thought I would.” Esme smiled and leaned forward as well, her voice lowering. “The Ironhold Duke is getting older and has no heir. If you are willing to join us, we will do everything in our power to help you take that position.”

*ding*

Heir to the Ironhold

Advanced in age yet heirless, the Ironhold Duke is looking for someone to carry on his impressive legacy. After spending the prime years of his life fighting alongside the emperor, the Ironhold Duke was tasked with controlling the forges of the empire. Now ready to retire and live out his days in comfort, the duke wants an heir that can protect the empire from external and internal threats.

Requirements:

Meet the Ironhold Duke: 0/1

Impress the Ironhold Duke: 0/3

Become an Earl: 0/1

Prove your strength in battle: 0/1

Reward:

Title: Ironhold Duke

Area: Ironhold Duchy

His eyes going wide, Thorn could only stare in shock at the quest that popped up in front of him. Suppressing a laugh, he minimized the notification. According to Velin, quests that led to gaining territory were incredibly rare, yet Thorn had seen two since he started playing. For a moment, his mind wandered as he thought about what it would be like to be a duke. Already quite happy with his small piece of Nova Terra, Thorn could not help but swallow as he thought about gaining control of a whole duchy.

Snapping himself out of that train of thought, Thorn took a deep breath. He had plenty going on right now, and the last thing that he wanted was to get drawn further into the political intrigue of the empire. He was already struggling with the groups that had their eyes on his valley and he couldn’t imagine how much harder it would be when the political behemoths started breathing down his neck.

As if sensing his hesitation, Esme picked up the pot and filled up his teacup, her brown eyes meeting his.

“I know this is a lot to process, Thorn, but I want to assure you that we are very confident in you. You come highly recommended, and everything I have seen over the last few days confirms what we believed. Let’s at least talk this through before you reject me.”

“Recommended?” Thorn gave Esme a puzzled look as he picked up the tea she had just poured for him.

“Yes. You worked with the Society of Roses previously I believe? Both the Queen of Roses and Bluefire recommended you highly.”

Thorn had to resist the urge to laugh again causing his face to cramp.

“Oh, please don’t misunderstand.” Thinking that he was angry, Esme hurried to reassure him. “They did not share any specific details about you. My mother is one of the Society’s earliest supporters and asked some general questions when she heard that you had hired them.”

“I know Athena quite well.” Thorn had gotten his face back under control by this point. “Since she was the one who recommended me, I’m willing to talk this through.”

“Thank you, Thorn.” Esme bowed her head slightly and pulled out another document. “There are a few things that we need to do in order for you to be eligible to be the Ironhold Duke’s heir. First, you need to be known. Both the Ironhold Duke and the military must be impressed by you. I’m not talking just about your ability to fight. From what I understand, you are strong enough to go up against a greater devil, which is impressive, but we need something more. You need to be a competent general.

“You also will need to be an Earl. Once we clear the way for you to use your [Nobility Upgrade Token], you will be a Viscount, but that is not good enough. Viscounts and Barons are not eligible to have their own armies. That is to say, you cannot take your army outside of your land. Barons are allowed to have a personal force of up to five thousand soldiers, but they are not to take them out of their castle. Viscounts can have significantly more soldiers, but again, are not allowed to actually deploy them to battle outside of their land. Of course, both situations have exceptions, but your life will be made easier by becoming an Earl.

“Earls, the rank after Viscount, can have a personal army of eighteen thousand soldiers, and they are allowed to bring half of them with them when they leave their fief. Marquis can have a personal army of twenty-five thousand soldiers and, similar to an Earl, can bring half of them off their land. In order to catch the duke’s attention, you will need to be at least an Earl.”

“It is a shame that I don’t have another [Nobility Upgrade Token],” Thorn joked.

“No, it is quite good that you don’t.” Esme did not find the comment funny. “If you had more than one, you would have been assassinated already.”

“Hm.” Thorn’s reply was non-committal. After all the meetings he had just gone through, he would have much preferred the assassins. “How do I go from Viscount to Earl? The [Nobility Upgrade Token] can take me halfway there, but I have a feeling that the Interior Minister is not going to want to sign off on another upgrade.”

“He will not have a choice.” Once again, Esme’s tone revealed her pride. “We will arrange it so that your title is advanced to Viscount without the token, at which point the [Nobility Upgrade Token] will elevate you directly to the status of an Earl. This will allow us to begin our plan. All you need to do, if you agree to work with us, is to come to your hearing in a month. We will take care of everything else.”

“You can get me upgraded to a Viscount without the token? How? Don’t I have to have some sort of merit?”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Esme smiled primly. “We are very well connected, and though we will need to call in some favors, we should not have too many issues.”

“Alright. If you can actually get me to the rank of Earl, I will do my best to get close to the Ironhold Duke. I cannot guarantee anything, but I can certainly try. The chance to upgrade my rank sounds like a pretty good deal to me.” After thinking it over for a moment, Thorn opened up the quest notification and accepted the quest. “A month should give me enough time to handle the expedition and clean up some of the troublemakers in my territory. I believe we have a deal, Lady Sere.”

“Thank you, Baron Greymane.” Esme smiled and held out her hand. “I look forward to working alongside you.”

“Likewise.” Standing, Thorn shook her hand gently.

“I’m going to head back to the capital to make my report. We look forward to you joining us in a month.”

After seeing Esme out, Thorn sat back down in his chair and thought back over everything that had happened so far that morning. First came the Wolfkin with their complaints, and then the Merchants. Finally, Esme had dropped a bomb on him, dragging him deeper into the morass of the imperial power struggle. Or maybe he was wading in willingly. It was hard to tell, as there was a part of Thorn that loved the idea of competing for power.

“What do you think?” Thorn spoke to the empty room. With a snap of its wings, a raven that had been standing perfectly still on the top of a bookcase swooped down, transforming into Corvo. Pushing back his feathered cloak, Corvo sat down on the seat that Esme had just left, finishing off the tea left in her cup and filling it full from the teapot.

“I think that Mina was absolutely right.” Tossing back the tea, Corvo set the cup down with a bang and began hunting through the tray of pastries.

“Mina?” Thorn’s brow furrowed. “What did Mina say?”

“Mina said that you are an absolute cheat. That either you are the luckiest person in this game or Eve is your mom.” Finding a pastry that he liked the looks of, Corvo bit it in half angrily and glared at Thorn. “You got a quest, didn’t you? One for the duke thing she was talking about. No one gets quests that give them official status in Nova Terra, and you got two? What complete and utter…” So angry he couldn’t even finish his sentence, Corvo shoved the rest of the pastry in his mouth.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

“Haha.” Watching Corvo shoving pastries into his mouth as he fumed, Thorn did not hold back his laughter. Corvo was right, though, Thorn’s luck was absurd. But since there was nothing he could do about it, what was the use in worrying? Even if he could, who would trade this sort of luck? After enjoying a good laugh, Thorn sighed.

It was unfortunate that his luck did not help him with the problems plaguing him, though. With the pressure from the Wolfkin players who did not want to join the temple and the merchants he had just thrown into the dungeon, Thorn was feeling quite burdened. To add this new quest on top of that made Thorn feel like he was getting farther and farther from the freedom he was seeking.

“What do you think? Should I have turned it down?”

“Turned down the chance to become a duke? Are you insane?” Corvo gulped another cup of tea and stared incredulously at Thorn. “No way, this is an amazing opportunity for all of us. Can you imagine a guild with a duke’s backing? We would be unstoppable! No, this is too good to pass up. It’ll no doubt be an uphill battle, but it is doable.”

“Good, that is what I thought.”

“Hah, a duke. Can you imagine?” Corvo leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes as his mind whirled. “Still, you’ve got other problems that you have to deal with before you focus on getting close to the Ironhold Duke. We can’t start working on that quest for the next month, since you are still a baron, so our focus should be on dealing with the issues in the valley and clearing the World Quest.”

“Do you have any thoughts on the Wolfkin situation? I at least have leverage with the merchants since they are all in jail right now, but I’m at a loss when it comes to the players who don’t want to join the temple. I didn’t intend to restrict other players, and I thought that it was enough that players can get a moonstone by building up their reputation with the temple. Apparently that isn’t good enough.”

“Thorn, one thing you will need to learn is that you cannot please everyone. Remember, the mass majority of players are completely content with the way things are set up. Most likely, Ragnarok or some other guild is trying to stir up trouble, and they are blowing this up to try and grasp at a weakness. Honestly, if I were you, I would be more restrictive, not less. There is no real downside to tying the Wolfkin players to a race-based organization, as they are going to do what they want anyway.”

“You mean I should make it even harder to get moonstones?”

“Yeah, I mean, why not? They are yours. This whole valley is yours. It is not like you owe anyone the stones. You are already being generous.”

“But, isn’t that…” Thorn paused for a moment as he tried to come up with the right words.

“Tyrannical? Mean?” Corvo laughed. “Sure, some people will see it that way, but they would call you those names no matter what you do. Thorn, you built Moon Wolf Citadel, right? What if a bunch of players came to you and told you that it wasn’t fair for you to own it all by yourself? Would you give them part of it?”

“No way.”

“Exactly. This is the same. Regardless of the fairness of how you got control of the mines, they are now yours. If you want to give the stones away, you can. But if you don't want to, no one can fault you. You know, your wealth really shows in times like these."

"Really? What do you mean?"

"It is your complete disregard for stuff. Any other guild in existence would be charging a premium for the moonstones, and no one would be batting an eye. You are giving them away and still wondering if that is too mean. Sort of feels like you don’t have a good grasp of how valuable they are.”

“Ah, gotcha.” Leaning back in his chair, Thorn nodded. “I would say that is fair. You think I should be more restrictive, not less?”

“That is totally up to you. It is your call at the end of the day. One of the perks of being the boss.” Corvo chuckled, picking up another pastry.

“Sure, but you are my adviser. So advise.”

“If it were up to me, I would be more restrictive.” Corvo shrugged. “I would also create a back channel for players that want to try and avoid the temple. Offer the stones through a black market of sorts and tie people in that way.”

“Great!” Thorn stood up suddenly, startling Corvo. “Go ahead and do it. You have my full support. Let me know what you decide to do, but I’ll give you free reign to set the policy.”

“What? No, I didn’t...”

Thorn patted Corvo on the shoulder as he walked toward the door, forcibly interrupting him.

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll do great. I’ll tell the captain that if they come back, he should bring them to you to negotiate. If they give you any trouble, you can deal with it however you want.” The last few words were said over Thorn’s shoulder as he nearly ran out of the room, the closing door blocking Corvo’s curses.

Pleased to have dumped at least one of his responsibilities, Thorn ran down his mental checklist. The last thing he had to do before he was free to meet up with Velin and the rest of the Nova Luna team on the World Quest was deal with the merchants. That was going to be trickier.

Making his way to the Temple of the Moon, Thorn found Elder Havva in his courtyard. The old Wolfkin was watering his plants and enjoying the morning sun.

“Good morning, Baron Greymane. What brings you to my humble house today?”

“Morning, Elder Havva.” Thorn gave a disciple’s bow. “I hoped that you could help me with something. An issue has cropped up that potentially affects the whole valley, and I want to consult you about a possible solution.”

“Of course, please, come in.” Putting down his watering can, Elder Havva led Thorn into his house. The interior of the house was simple and only contained a bed, a mat with a small table, and a small chest of drawers. Elder Havva sat on the mat and gestured for Thorn to take a seat on the floor, as well. Once the giant had settled, Elder Havva poured some tea and offered it to Thorn.

“Thank you, Elder.”

“Of course, child. Tell me, what brings you to this old man’s house.”

In the throne room Elder Havva had insisted on the strictest adherence to decorum but, in his own home, being approached by a disciple for his insight and guidance, the Elder referred to Thorn with the familiar warmth of a mentor.

“I wanted to talk to you about the Night Walkers.” Thorn scratched his head, unsure how to phrase his question. Elder Havva sat across from him calmly blowing on his tea as he waited for Thorn to speak. “The Night Walkers have always been disciples of the Temple, but the population of Wolfkin has never been this high. I’m starting to hear complaints from Wolfkin who don’t want to join the temple, and I’d like to address them before they get blown out of proportion. There are a few hundred thousand members of the Wolfkin race now, and I am concerned that the temple is not big enough to handle all of them.”

“It certainly isn’t.” Elder Havva shook his head and placed his tea down on the floor. “Thorn, you can tell me what is on your mind. You are Lord Greymane, ruler of our people. You are the inheriting disciple of the Temple of the Moon and will one day be the Temple Head. The Wolfkin are bound to do as you think best, so you don’t need to be so hesitant.”

“Yeah.” Thorn let out a big sigh. “That is actually what is bothering me. Elder, I might be the leader of the Wolfkin, but I am not a Wolfkin. I am different. I’m giant, I’m not furry, I don’t have a tail.”

“You are worried because you are different? Child, your difference is why you can become our leader.” Elder Havva rose to his feet slowly and walked over to the chest of drawers, retrieving a scroll. Bringing it back, he spread it in front of Thorn.

“Child, look at this. This is the history of our leaders, tracing back to the point where Hati breathed life into us. Let me tell you a story.” Making himself comfortable while Thorn looked at the scroll, Elder Havva poured himself some more tea and, after taking a sip, began to speak.

“When the world was young, there was nothing but the endless sea surrounded by the void. From the sea rose Angoril and many other lands, each teeming with life. Yet the void was jealous of the sea’s life and began to devour the sea, eating away at it a little bit at a time. Seven beings rose to protect their lands from the corrupting void, yet none could stand in its way.

“Unable to stop the void individually, the seven great beings retreated to the last land, Angoril, where, working together, they held back the void. Angoril was home to a powerful race called Titans, unmatched in both battle and arts, and it was with their cooperation that the void was stopped. For many years the seven great beings lived among them, and they were happy. Yet the seven beings eventually grew lonely, missing the beings from their now destroyed homes.

“Determined to allow their memories to live once again, the seven great beings created the myriad races, all under the rule of the Titans. If you look at the earliest record of the Wolfkin, you will see a giant with the features of a human. That was our first king, the Titan Moa’Helik, the Moon Wolf. He was the sworn brother of Hati and the ruler of all Wolfkin. Since that time, the majority of the rulers of our people have not been Wolfkin, so you don’t need to worry about it, Thorn. Hati named you our leader, and our leader you shall stay.”

“A Titan? What happened to Moa’Helik?”

“The legends don’t say.” Elder Havva pointed to a scene in the scroll that showed a sky with a jagged cut. “All they say is that one day the sky was ripped apart and lightning fell, destroying much of Angoril. After the sky was sundered, the Titans vanished. Not just Moa’Helik, but all of the Titans. The Era of the Gods followed as the gods rebuilt Angoril and fought against each other.”

*ding*

Missing Titans

Before the Era of the Gods, Titans walked Angoril. Unmatched in both battle and arts, the Titans were masters of whatever they put their hands to, yet almost overnight they vanished, leaving nothing but giant ruins and dim records of their existence. According to the ancient myths of the Wolfkin, the Titans ruled over all creatures and were the gods’ contemporaries.

Discover what happened to the Titans and why they disappeared.

This quest cannot be turned down.

“Uh.” Thorn stared at the quest that had just popped up.

“Unfortunately, any other information has been lost in the mists of time.” Elder Havva shook his head sadly. “All that is left are a few ruins that are obviously made for larger creatures. Still, to return to the subject at hand, there is nothing wrong with you being our leader. You share many similarities with the Wolfkin’s original ruler, and that, combined with Hati’s blessing, is all you need.”

“Thank you, Elder.” Thorn cupped his fists in a disciple’s salute. “This has been weighing on me recently with everything going on. I have been having trouble thinking of solutions that do not require me to command the Wolfkin as a whole.”

“Of course, child. You should command us. That is your right, and your duty. Now, what is it that you wish for us to do? So long as it does not harm our people, I will support you.”

“Recently, a group of merchants has united against us. Well, against me, really.” Thorn paused as Elder Havva held up his hand.

“Thorn, you are Lord Greymane. Anyone or anything that sets themselves against you is setting themselves against the Wolfkin as a whole. Remember that. Continue.”

“I will remember that, Elder. So, a group of merchants has set themselves against us. They threatened me directly, so they are currently in jail, but I would guess that the result of this will be that the goods being imported into the valley will start to dry up. We’ve seized the resources from the merchants, which should last us a couple weeks, but after that we’ll be in trouble. All this to say, I want to start setting up Wolfkin merchants.

“The idea is to support between five and ten, maybe more, groups that will focus on importing goods into the valley. Over time, they can expand however they want, so long as they continue to supply the valley. In addition, I want to set up some mercenary groups that will provide services as guards for the merchants and take on other jobs. My goal is to have the valley be self-sufficient and well protected.

“What I am hoping is that you will help me do this, since you are very influential among the Wolfkin. Both travelers and natives will listen to you. I’m happy to provide the financing to get these groups started, and on top of providing loans, I want to open up the Night Walkers to any Wolfkin, so long as they belong to an organization that is tied in. My ambition is to help the Wolfkin grow into a single, cohesive unit.

“However, I realize that my original idea was a little naive. There are simply too many Wolfkin to absorb into the Temple of the Moon and Nova Luna. Instead, if we can offer enough benefits, I would like to forge a loose collection of organizations that all share a common core thread. Would you be willing to help me with this?”

Elder Havva did not respond for a moment, dropping his gaze to the cup in his hand. Thorn waited nervously, clenching his fist. The elder had incredible sway with the native Wolfkin because of how well he had led them in the past. Even the Wolkin players took what he said very seriously because he was a high level NPC. If Thorn could convince him to help, it would make everything much smoother. As Elder Havva’s eyes rose to meet Thorn’s, the giant found his breath catching.

“It would be my pleasure, Lord Greymane.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

“I have some conditions, however.” Elder Havva's voice was serious, and Thorn could tell that he had considered what he was about to say for a long time. The two sat in the elder’s sparsely furnished room, discussing what to do with the valley.

“What conditions? If I can grant them, I will,” Thorn hurried to assure Elder Havva. He almost said that he would agree to them, but years of listening to his aunt hedge her bets combined with the cautious attitude Thorn had learned from his early days in the game changed the words as they came out.

“My requests are three-fold.” Elder Havva sighed, his demeanor perking up. “First, I wish to remove the punishment for the disciples who have been touched by Karrandras. Many of the Temple of the Moon’s top disciples have been forced to meditate in isolation ever since the corrupting influence of the devil was discovered. Their absence has created numerous issues for the temple, and I hope to have them come back.” Elder Havva paused to pour himself some tea, glancing at Thorn to gauge his reaction.

Startled by the request, Thorn kept his face steady with his trademark pleasant smile. He had not thought about the corrupted Wolfkin since they got back to the valley, and had certainly not considered using them.

“Along those same lines, I hope that you can pass the title of Head Disciple back to Gelish. At one time, before your arrival, Gelish assisted me in taking care of the day to day tasks of the Temple of the Moon. Now that he has been cleansed of Karrandras’ influence, I would love to have him help me once again.”

This time it was impossible for Thorn to maintain his expression. Fighting Gelish was a memorable moment in Thorn’s quest to become Lord Greymane, so he had a very strong impression of the corrupted Wolfkin. The former Head Disciple had been the one to trigger the corruption in the other Wolfkin, and the idea that he could be given his old position threw Thorn off. Elder Havva’s dim eyes caught the change in Thorn’s face, and he quickly continued.

“The third condition is that the Dawn Court be permitted to preach.”

As Elder Havva’s words settled in, Thorn’s thought process was derailed completely. Taking a moment to compose his whirling thoughts, he scratched his chin.

“Why don’t we chat about these conditions one at a time?”

“Of course.” Elder Havva sipped his tea as he waited for Thorn to begin.

“Let’s take the last issue first. What do you mean by preaching? I did not realize that preaching was part of the Dawn Court’s duty.”

“Traditionally, it has not been.” Elder Havva sighed again. “The Temple of the Moon has always been the central force among the Wolfkin, each child raised with the knowledge of who Hati is and what we as a race owe to the god of night. This has now changed. You must realize that a few months ago our population was in the hundreds, Thorn. Thanks to the blessing of the Great Wolf, the Wolfkin who wandered Angoril have returned, allowing us to grow into the hundreds of thousands very quickly.

“Yet, we have discovered that even basic knowledge about Hati, the Moon Wolf, is unknown to the majority of these Wolfkin. What I wish is to give the order for the Dawn Court to begin teaching others about Hati. Even if they do not end up joining the Temple of the Moon, at least those who have returned will not anger the Great Wolf.”

“Huh.” Thorn scratched his chin again. “I never thought about that. It is true though, most Wolfkin have no idea who the gods are. Sure, I don’t see anything wrong with allowing the disciples from the Dawn Court to tell people about Hati. I don’t want to see this becoming a cult or pyramid scheme, though. It is enough to educate, they should not insist that anyone join the temple.”

“I’m familiar with cults, what is a pyramid scheme?” Elder Havva’s head cocked to the side slightly as he digested Thorn’s words.

“Ah, a pyramid scheme is a scam. Don’t worry about it.”

“Hmm. It sounds like we are agreed on the third condition. Now, let’s discuss the first two.”

Thorn exhaled as his eyes drifted up to the ceiling. Trying to think through all the possible ramifications of reinstating formerly corrupted Wolfkin, it was a long moment before Thorn was able to muster his voice. “Truthfully, I’m not very confident in allowing Wolfkin who have fallen to Karrandras to hold important positions.” Thorn shook his head, his gaze settling on Elder Havva again. “You’ll have to convince me that they are not going to cause more problems. Otherwise, I don’t think I can agree to either of the first two conditions.”

“Of course. Let me walk you through my thought process.” Elder Havva remained unperturbed in the face of Thorn’s refusal. “As you know, the corrupting influence of Karrandras, the Betrayer, was seated deep in the hearts of the Wolfkin who fell. Since you uncovered it, I have thought long and hard about this issue and examined myself thoroughly. I discovered a few things that shed some light on why those Wolfkin fell to corruption in the first place.

“There was a time in our history when the Wolfkin race was spread across the land. Apart from the valley, which held our ancestral home, we had another home, a city built in a secluded area to the east. That city was the primary home of the Wolfkin race and held the official temple of Hati. Due to the corrupting influence of Karrandras, the leader of the Wolfkin fell into madness, desecrating Hati’s temple.”

“That was Davyos, right?”

“Yes.” Elder Havva gave a heavy sigh. “Davyos was a wonderful leader, but his fall prompted the fall of the Wolfkin as a race. When Davyos desecrated the temple of Hati, a seed of corruption was planted in the hearts of the Wolfkin, a seed that grew in the dark corners. Your arrival caused that seed of corruption to bloom prematurely, which is why only some of the Wolfkin were changed.”

“Do you think that seed is gone now that everyone has been purified?”

“No, sadly, the corruption in our hearts can never be completely removed. But it has been made dormant, and now that we are aware of it, we can take precautions.” Elder Havva paused to take another sip of his tea before continuing. “But even with the seed of corruption in our hearts, our actions are still our own choice and responsibility. Everyone has the potential to betray others for their own benefit, just as they have the potential to sacrifice themselves for others.

“The lesson we learned when Gelish challenged you has fundamentally changed the Wolfkin disciples who fell, Gelish included. I am willing to act as their guarantor in this. They are an invaluable asset if you want to properly guide the Wolfkin race into a unified whole, and I am willing to bear the responsibility should they step out of line.”

“Oh, man.” Thorn sat back as his mind teemed with all the possible catastrophes that could come from letting the formerly corrupted Wolfkin retake their old positions. The thought of giving Karrandras a foothold in the valley was chilling. Just about to turn down Elder Havva, Thorn paused, his old sifu’s words springing to mind.

“The seeds of good and evil, mixed in everyone. What you feed, grows,” mumbled Thorn under his breath. “Alright. Let’s take the chance. I trust you, so I’ll trust that you know what you are doing, Elder Havva. However,” the tone of Thorn’s voice deepened, “if they create any trouble, please don’t blame me for being merciless.”

“Thank you, Thorn.” The aged Wolfkin gave a small bow, delight and relief flashing through his eyes. “You will not regret doing this.”

“That just leaves the first condition. Since I have agreed that the formerly corrupted Wolfkin can be reinstated, Gelish is obviously part of that. From what I remember, for him to take the position of Head Disciple, he has to beat me in a fight. I don’t mean to be overly proud, but the chances of that happening are zero.”

“I completely agree.” Elder Havva nodded, his posture relaxed. “Not many people would be able to best you in single combat. That means that, if we want to have him assume the position, the rules must change.”

“Can we do that? Is it alright to just change traditions like that?”

“Rules are dead, people are alive. You are the living embodiment of that saying, Thorn. Traditionally, there are four important positions among the Wolfkin, yet you currently hold three of them. You are the Inheriting Disciple, putting you in line for my position, you are the Greymane, elected by the Temple of the Moon as the secular representative. You hold the secular title of Lord Greymane, granted by the Empire. The only thing you are missing is my position.” Elder Havva chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true. So, what do you recommend we do?”

“Why don’t we restructure the Temple of the Moon’s leadership? In former times, there was a council formed by the four courts of the Temple of the Moon that governed the Night Walkers who left the valley and the Moon Guardians who remained. Why not reinstate that? I can step aside to handle other tasks, and with your permission, we can allow Gelish to assume my responsibilities as the leader of the temple. With my oversight, of course.” Elder Havva held up his hand to forestall the questions that Thorn was about to blurt out, causing the Titan to settle back into his seat.

“It has become increasingly clear that, in order for the Wolfkin to move forward without being fractured, we must grow and change. With your blessing, I would like to take up that challenge. As part of the restructuring, I think that we should expand not only the way the temple is governed, but the way the valley is governed. Instead of assuming all of the responsibility yourself, why not share the burden of ruling by forming a council?”

“Can you explain your idea a bit more? I’m certainly not opposed to spreading the work out.” Despite the small part of Thorn that did not like the idea of giving up some of his control, the last few days had been exhausting, and the idea of having others to share the burden was growing more and more appealing.

“My basic idea is simple. Form a council with six seats that will help you run the valley. The first and second seat will be held by your advisor, Corvo, and a representative from Nova Luna like Lady Velin. The third seat will be held by a representative from the Temple of the Moon. For the foreseeable future, I will hold that seat. The last three seats would be held by a representative from Greymane village, a representative from the new village, Spire, that has been established and a representative from the mercenary groups.

“This will grant the citizens of the valley a wide range of representation, allowing them to feel as if they have a vested interest in the ruling of the valley. It will also reduce your workload, as the council will be responsible for debating and implementing proposals that are brought forward for the valley. The council will submit recommendations to you for final approval and will carry out the ones that you agree to.”

“That sounds good to me.” Rising, Thorn saluted Elder Havva. “Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the valley. We are fortunate to have such a wise elder.”

“Thank you, Lord Greymane.” Elder Havva stood and returned the salute. “It is my pleasure to serve our people.”

Walking slowly, the old Wolfkin escorted Thorn to the gate of his courtyard, where they stood talking for a moment. Once they had smoothed out the final details, Elder Havva sent one of the disciples to call Gelish and the formerly corrupted Wolfkin over. The fallen disciples had been confined together and had spent their days meditating and reflecting on why they fell.

A couple of minutes later, a large group of Wolfkin disciples gathered in Elder Havva’s courtyard. At the front stood Gelish, the former Head Disciple of the Temple of the Moon. The last time Thorn had seen Gelish, he had almost killed him, but there was no resentment in the former Head Disciple’s eyes. Instead, the only emotions Thorn could see were respect and gratefulness.

“Thank you for coming. We are going to be instituting some changes over the next few weeks. Lord Greymane has a few words to say in that regard.” Elder Havva addressed the thirty-six Wolfkin who had gathered before him, gesturing to Thorn who stared at him blankly for a moment. Realizing that the elderly Wolfkin wanted him to announce the changes that were being made, Thorn sighed and faced the crowd, his eyes sweeping over them. It was obvious from their well-worn look that most of the Wolfkin present were veterans.

“As the esteemed elder mentioned, we are making a few changes. First and foremost, all of you are going to have your former status reinstated. Elder Havva has examined you carefully, and while the seed of corruption still exists, so long as you practice restraint, you shouldn’t have trouble repressing it. That said, if you do have issues, please let us know immediately. Elder Havva is taking responsibility for all of you, so don’t let him down.

“Next, as part of reinstating you all as disciples, you’ll be helping to manage the Temple of the Moon.” Hearing murmurs break out, Thorn held up his hand for quiet. “You are all veteran disciples, and we desperately need your knowledge and wisdom. You’ll be given a probationary period and will be expected to report to the Head Disciple. That position will be granted to Gelish.” This time the crowd went completely silent.

“The Temple Elder and I have talked this through, and we believe that the current times will no longer allow us to act as we have in the past. Together we have agreed that, not only will Gelish be the new Head Disciple, but he will take on the day-to-day operation of the temple. You will report to him, and he will report to Elder Havva. The Temple Elder will be taking up a position on the new Valley Council that is being set up.” Pausing slightly, Thorn glanced at Elder Havva and suddenly grinned. “If you have any questions or concerns, see the Temple Elder.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Thorn hurriedly saluted the old Wolfkin and ran out of the courtyard before he could say anything. Ignoring the shouts behind him, Thorn quickly left the Temple Quarter, heading toward the front gate. With the last item checked off his list, he was determined to leave before anyone or anything else could try to suck up his time. As he ran past the disciples guarding the gate, Thorn waved and took off.

“Status.”

Name: [Thorn]

Race: [Titan]

Health: [100%]

Mana: [100%]

Titles: [Battle Mad], [Wolfsbane], [Lord Greymane, the Moon Wolf], [Friend of the Earth], [Inheritor], [Commissioned Knight (Order of the Flame)]

Class: [Disciple]

Mastery: [None]

Allegiance: [Temple of the Moon]

Abilities: [Wolf Lord’s Howl], [Avatar of the Wolf], [Call the Pack], [Blessing of the Moon], [Presence of the Wolf Lord], [Martial Form: Dawn], [Basic Weapons Mastery], [Apprentice Orator], [Rallying Cry], [Pack Travel]

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

The entrance to the mine was just as dark and damp as Thorn remembered. On his way to meet the rest of the Nova Luna team, Thorn’s mind drifted back to his conversation with Elder Havva. The older Wolfkin had been willing to help Thorn, but the conditions he put forward, chief among them that Thorn allow Gelish, the disciple Thorn competed against, to resume the head disciple position, were still a bit worrying, but Thorn trusted Elder Havva.

Assured that things would be settled soon, Thorn was now hurrying to the mine to rejoin the team exploring the labyrinth. Over the last few days the teams had settled into a rhythm, spending six hours at a time pushing into the foundry district of the labyrinth city. Longer runs quickly became dangerous, as the temperature of the district grew hotter the longer a player stayed.

Thankfully, it soon became apparent that the initial portion of the labyrinth was an instanced dungeon. Rather than having to compete with each other directly in the labyrinth, the dungeon was duplicated every time a new group entered, saving their progress without interfering with the other group’s experience. This allowed the three guilds to explore at their own pace. So far, Nova Luna had explored a small part of the foundry district, mainly focusing their attention on understanding the labyrinth.

As he rushed through the mine, Thorn’s eyes caught a glint of dark metal in the walls of the tunnels, reminding him of a message Velin had sent the night before. Scouts had found numerous veins of ore around the fortress, including a large kardium crystal vein, increasing the value of the fortress immeasurably. Thorn was starting to regret that he had given up the fortress to Ragnarok.

Arriving at the guild’s camp outside the fortress, Thorn greeted the guards keeping watch and asked where Velin was; he was directed to the large tent in the center of the camp. As Thorn strolled through the camp, the players he came across all stopped what they were doing to greet him. A few months ago, this level of attention would have made Thorn feel very self conscious, but now he just returned their greetings with nods and waves.

Ducking into the tent, Thorn was pleasantly surprised to find that he could stand up to his full height. The expansive tent was dominated by a large table with a map of the labyrinth laid out on it. A highly detailed drawing of the portions that the guild had explored appeared in the corner of the paper, fading to blankness where they had yet to set foot. When Thorn entered, Baxby, the treasure hunter from the Drifters, was bent over the map carefully adding a hallway while Velin watched.

Hearing someone come in, Velin looked up, a smile lighting up her face at the sight of Thorn. She gestured for Thorn to come over before she resumed watching as Baxby added the last few lines. The old man straightened up as he looked over his work. Giving a satisfied nod, he noticed Thorn and grinned.

“Hey kid, finally got around to joining us, huh? Let me tell you, it is a good thing you hired me. You nearly left a fortune behind in the maze. There was a whole room of precious material and a treasure chest with some pretty cool gear. You all walked right passed it.”

“In our defense, both were behind secret doors.” Velin’s normally cold face had not stopped smiling since Thorn arrived. “Still, Baxby is right. He has done a great job already.”

“Heh. Just don’t forget my cut. If there are more treasures, I’ll sniff them out for you.”

“What’s this?” Thorn stepped over to the map, his eyes running over the carefully drawn lines.

“I told you that I am a map maker, right? Or did I forget to mention that?” Baxby cackled, scratching his white hair. “I forget who I tell what sometimes. One of the benefits of having lived forever, I guess.”

“This is what we’ve covered, right? Can you give me a rundown of how the exploration has gone so far?”

“Of course.” Thorn did not know if it was just habit, but as soon as Velin pulled out her notebook, her demeanor went back to her normal cool state. Scanning her notebook, she began to talk.

“As you can see, progress has been limited. We expect that we’ve covered less than a third of the dungeon over the last few days. Normally, there is a boss of some sort, but we have yet to discover anything. Our most common enemy so far has been a type of fire elemental formed from the flames that still burn in the forges. We have also encountered magma slugs, but they have been rare.

“Since we have Baxby’s assistance, we took the day yesterday to re-explore the areas we had already covered so that we could map it. The plan from here is to push forward and see what we can find that is new. Our goal is to hit the first boss by the end of the week. Since we are competing against other guilds, we’re trying to make as much progress as possible.”

“Have the Dwarven earth maps been helpful?”

“Not so far.” Velin shook her head with a small frown. “When we entered the labyrinth, they both activated, but we don’t understand them.”

“Uh, actually.” Baxby raised his hand, a lopsided grin plastered across his face. “I think I figured out what they are.”

“Wait, are you serious?” Thorn looked at the old man incredulously.

“Yeah, as I was drawing out the map, I had a thought. Can I see them?”

“Of course.” Velin quickly contacted Jorge, asking him to bring the Dwarven earth maps over to the central tent. A few minutes later the dwarf walked out of the shadows cast by a fold from the back of the tent.

“Hey, Thorn, glad you could join us. Maybe we’ll finally make some progress.” Jorge nodded at the Titan. Pulling out the two spheres from his inventory, the dwarf set them carefully on the table, balanced on their spindly legs. Muttering an arcane phrase, Jorge tapped the top of the spheres, causing a light to burst out of them.

The strange carved lines on the spheres lit up, casting peculiar shadows on the table. Each sphere emitted two different colored types of light. Still wearing his lopsided grin, Baxby grabbed the sphere that projected a soft red and light blue light on the table and began to slide it back and forth on the edge of the table.

“You can take the other one off.” Baxby gestured with his chin at the other Dwarven earth map that was projecting yellow and green light. Curious at what the treasure hunter was doing, Thorn picked up the other Dwarven earth map and tapped it. When nothing happened, he looked at Jorge, who smirked and showed him how to turn it off. Next to the table, Baxby was still working, so Thorn chatted quietly with the others until the old man suddenly cackled with delight.

“Haha, look at that! I knew it.”

Looking at the table, it took Thorn a moment to realize what Baxby was so excited about, but when he did, his eyes widened in surprise.

“No way.” Jorge could not believe it either.

By placing the Dwarven earth map at the right spot along the edge of the table, Baxby cast the soft red light over the map that he had drawn, the twisting lines of light projected by the Dwarven earth map matching his drawing perfectly.

“No way.” Jorge shook his head. “It can’t be that easy.”

“Hey, when you’ve seen what I’ve seen, nothing surprises you anymore. You youngsters are too rigid in your thinking. This is a fantasy world, kids. What can’t happen?”

“How in the world did you notice that?” Thorn was dumbfounded that Baxby had picked up clues from seeing the Dwarven earth maps for only a few days.

“Rule number five of treasure hunting, kid. Patterns matter. I noticed that the lines of light from this little trinket were the same as some of the spots I was drawing.”

“It is not complete.” Velin’s words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing the growing excitement in the tent.

“Sure.” Baxby rolled his eyes. “We’ve got half a map. I’m guessing that the blue side of this map is the water area next to us. We’re next to water and air, so there should be another earth map with fire and air to match this one.”

“So we just need to find out who has that other map and snag it, right?” Jorge’s fingers lightly touched the pommel of his curved dagger.

“Maybe we can trade the map we do not need,” Velin added, writing furiously in her notebook.

“Can someone explain what you mean by ‘next to water and air’? I have no idea where this conversation went.” Thorn was completely lost.

“Oh, yes. My apologies.” Velin finished her note and flipped through her notebook. “The dungeon we are in is called Rakkam, or the Labyrinth City. It is a giant, circular city comprised of five sections, arranged next to each other, like the spokes of a wheel. The center of the city is where the final boss resides. Each section of the city is based on a different element. Starting from our section and going clockwise, we have fire, wind, void, earth, and water. The fire section is sandwiched between the water section on the right and the wind section on the left.

“The sections are largely isolated, though there are spots that seem like they could be used to cross into another section. We have yet to try, as we are focusing on clearing this section. Additionally, we have no idea if we are going to need to clear each section. At this point, I don’t think so, as the entrances to each section are located in different places. More likely, we are racing to complete our section before anyone else completes theirs. That said, the dungeons are instanced, so our progress does not affect anyone else’s progress.”

“Got it, thanks, Velin,” Thorn breathed out, excitement growing in his chest. “That means that, if we can get the other half of the earth map for the fire section, we’ll have a huge advantage.”

“Correct.” Velin nodded, her eyes sparkling. “In all previous World Quests, the dungeons became a permanent fixture, so it is highly likely that this dungeon will remain accessible after the World Quest is finished. If we can finish it first, we’ll be able to maximize the benefits while still being able to explore the dungeon fully at a later date.”

“Alright, I’ll contact Corvo to see if he can dig up some information on who has the other half of the fire map. Jorge and Velin, can you see if any of your contacts in Ragnarok have any clues?” Thorn turned his head toward Baxby, who held up his hands.

“Don’t look at me, kid. The Drifters work on a strict code of confidentiality. It’s rule seven. Treasure that everyone knows about is no longer treasure.” A sly grin crossed the old man’s face. “But if I hear any rumblings, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you.” Thorn turned back to Velin. “I’d love to check out the dungeon. I could use the chance to blow off some steam, and I’m excited to get started. What does the schedule look like?”

“The Titan squad will be entering the dungeon in about two hours. The Deimos squad is currently in the dungeon, but they should be out any minute. Our rotation is every eight hours, though most groups are having trouble staying in the dungeon for more than six, due to the heat. According to our estimates, six hours should be sufficient to cross the dungeon to the heart of the labyrinth once we have mapped the route.

“Once they come out, they’ll share what they have learned, and the next group will study the map. Now that we have half of the fire map, our progress should speed up considerably. If we can get the second half of the fire map, we’ll be able to bypass the majority of the labyrinth.”

“Excellent.” Thorn got the boulder he used as a chair out of his inventory and sat down. “I’ll join the Titan squad for the next run.”

“Alright.” Velin nodded as she made a note in her notebook. “You can join the debriefing when the Deimos squad gets out of the dungeon. Having you join the Titan squad will work well, as there are a couple spots with a high concentration of fire elementals that we have skipped. Now that you are here, why don’t we plan on clearing them out?”

“That suits me just fine.” A big smile spread across Thorn’s face.

As they chatted, the flap of the tent opened, and one of the guild members stepped in. Pausing for half a second when he saw Thorn, the player stepped forward and saluted the seated Titan.

“Hey, boss, glad to see you made it back.”

“Thanks.” Thorn shot a glance at Velin, who stepped forward smoothly and spoke.

“Welcome back, Sivir. Thorn, Sivir is the leader of the Deimos squad. How was the run?” The Elven War Priestess gestured for Sivir to come to the table where Baxby was still working on the map.

“It was good.” Joining the others by the table, Sivir pulled a piece of parchment out of his inventory and handed it to Baxby. “We tried to be as comprehensive as possible, so the map should be really clear.”

“This is great.” Baxby nodded approvingly as he ran his eyes over the map that Sivir produced. With a practiced hand, he began to transfer the lines onto the large map on the table.

“Velin, don’t let me forget. We need to talk about taking over the fortress at some point.” Remembering what he wanted to talk to Velin about, Thorn looked over at her. “With the mineral veins you discovered and the entrance to the labyrinth, we can’t afford to let Ragnarok keep it. This means that we are going to have to figure out a way to kick them out. I’d like to do it without a fight, and without paying a fortune. Though I realize that might be a lot to ask.”

“That will be difficult.” Velin tucked her hair behind her ear, frowning slightly. “Let me think on it.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

“Thorn is going to be joining you for the next run.” Standing outside the large tent in the middle of their camp, Velin spoke to Mina, Jorge, Seven Twisted Leaves, and Delmore. “This is his first time in the dungeon, so make sure you remind him of everything he needs to know.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of the noob. Haha.” Mina was delighted to have Thorn back and poked his thigh with her elbow.

Ignoring the Ice Witch, Velin looked at the Fae Druid.

“Leaves, please focus this run on clearing the large rooms of elementals that we have not been able to touch so far. We need to find out if those rooms contain anything important.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The Fae saluted and then patted his Tigerkin partner on the shoulder. “Hear that, Delmore? We won’t have to run this time.”

“Hey, as long as I don’t have to get my fur singed again, I’m good.”

“Let's get a move on.” Jorge was gruff as always, but under his abrupt tone, Thorn could hear the Shadow Assassin’s excitement.

“Right you are, shorty. Titan squad. Form up!” Seven Twisted Leaves shouted the last few words, his voice carrying easily over the camp.

Within a few moments, the fifty members of the Titan squad had gathered, standing in neat rows before the large tent. Thorn could see the quality of the players from the practiced way that they assembled. Running his gaze over the group, the Fae Druid nodded to himself and turned to the Titan.

“Anything you want to say to the squad, boss?”

“Sure.” Thorn took an easy step forward, towering over the group. Speaking in his slow, calm voice, Thorn examined the players in front of him. “Thank you for all your hard work while I was away. Please bear with me as I get up to speed on this dungeon but expect that we will be working hard going forward. I enjoyed getting to fight alongside of you when we assaulted the fortress, and I’m looking forward to more of that as we conquer this dungeon. Leaves will continue to act as the team leader for this run, so give him your best.”

“Titan squad, move out.” Not wasting any time, Leaves commanded the group to follow him as he began to jog forward.

To get into the dungeon, the team had to go through the fortress to the large gate set in the back wall. As the group traveled, Thorn could see a few players from Ragnarok keeping watch at the gate of the underground fortress, the portcullis that Thorn had bent and twisted hovering above their heads. Mina, sitting comfortably on Thorn’s shoulder, saw where he was looking and chuckled.

“Ragnarok still has control over this fortress, but they have not had the time to fix it up. Half of the buildings are falling over, and the rest you smashed into the ground. It’ll cost them a fortune to fix the fortress up, and who knows if it will be worth it. Haha, you should have heard them complaining about it once they assessed the damage.”

“Why wouldn’t it be worth it? I thought that the dungeon will become a standard dungeon once the World Quest is over. Wouldn’t that mean that whoever controls the fortress controls the entrance to the dungeon?”

“Oh, sure, but there is no guarantee that it will be worth having control of. Plus, what if the end of the World Quest changes the dungeon into something worthless? Also, it is not like this is the only entrance. You can totally go from one section to the section nearby, so even if Ragnarok blocks off this entrance, you can access this section from the air and water sections.”

“Got it, that makes sense. So taking over the fortress was a gamble.”

“Yup. Since they own the fortress, it is on Ragnarok to pay for upkeep and do the repairs.” Taking off her pointy witch’s hat, Mina fixed her long, red hair. “Boy, am I glad you’re back. We’ve been having a heck of a time with these fire elementals.”

“What is so difficult about them?”

“They’re just annoying, is all. Especially when they are in large groups. Their special ability is that they regenerate health based on how hot their environment is. So a fire elemental in a fire regenerates faster than a troll.”

“How fast does a troll regenerate?” Thorn interrupted before Mina could continue.

“What a noob,” Mina muttered, rolling her eyes. “Really fast.”

“Ten percent of their health per second.” Jorge’s voice drifted up from near Thorn’s knees. “A fully grown troll can go from almost dead to full health in ten seconds. The only way to kill it is to deal high burst damage, DoT it until its regen can’t keep up, or use fire attacks, which deal unhealable damage to trolls.”

“DoT?”

“Damage over time.” This time it was Delmore who joined the conversation. “An effect that deals continuous damage for a specific period of time. Most of my curses are DoT effects.”

“As I was saying, the fire elementals only have that strong of a regen when they are standing in a fire. However, their bodies are made of fire, so they naturally increase the ambient temperature around them. This means that when they pack together, the area around them gets really hot, almost as hot as standing in a fire. It is like fighting a whole army of trolls.”

“That sounds frustrating. Can’t you just kill them one at a time? Wouldn’t that reduce the effective regen of all of them?”

“Sure, but that requires serious burst damage. Fire elementals are weak to earth-based attacks and physical damage. Unfortunately, there are not many high damage earth-based abilities, as earth focuses mainly on defense. My ice spells are at a disadvantage in this environment.”

“Ah.” Realizing why Mina was excited that he had arrived, Thorn chuckled. “So you are relying on me to smash them.”

“Exactly.” Mina beamed. “With you here, we can squash them all, since you have abnormally high resistances.”

By this time, the group had passed through the gates of the fortress and were walking down the ruined streets. The fortress was in exactly the same shape as it had been when Thorn left. The trails of destruction caused by the giant stone statues reminded Thorn of the pictures of old bombed out buildings in his history books.

Approaching the gate to the dungeon, Thorn could feel Mina tensing slightly. A quick glance at the rest of the Titan squad showed that everyone else was on guard, as well. Unsure why everyone was getting ready for a fight, Thorn poked Mina.

“What is going on?” he whispered, as quietly as he could.

“Those jerks from Ragnarok have been giving us a bit of trouble every time we come,” Mina said quietly, all traces of her normal joking gone. Thorn had only ever seen her like this in the middle of fights, so he could only assume that the guards from Ragnarok normally gave them more than a little bit of trouble.

The large set of doors that led into the dungeon were open, and through them Thorn could see what looked like a forge. A massive furnace spat glowing sparks from its mouth on the right side of the room. Next to it, a complicated bellows system that looked like it could be operated by a dwarf covered the entire wall. The center of the room was dominated by a large anvil made of refined iron, a half finished sword leaning against it.

In front of the gate a crowd of players was being held back by a squad of one hundred guards from Ragnarok. Decked out in black and silver armor, Thorn could see that each had a modified version of the Silver Guard symbol on their chests. Without needing to be prompted, Leaves pointed to them and spoke in a low voice.

“Those are the Silver Squires. They are one of the Silver Guard’s subordinate groups. They are made up of players trying to get into the Silver Guard. Every time we come, they get in our way. They have been causing trouble for Aurum, as well, so it isn’t just us.” Even though Seven Twisted Leaves was the leader of the Titan squad for the time being, he still looked at Thorn to see how the situation should be handled.

“Just proceed as normal,” Thorn said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the guards.

“Got it.” Leaves nodded. “Titan squad, follow me.”

The crowd of players milling about at the entrance to the dungeon moved aside as the Titan squad walked up to the gate. Even though each player had their own equipment, the way they walked together marked them as a professional squad. Thorn was especially eye-catching as he stood at least a foot taller than everyone else.

“Hold. What do you think you are doing?” One of the Silver Squires stepped out to stop Leaves, a deep scar on the guard’s mouth twisting his face into a permanent scowl.

“Give it a rest, Yaim.” Leaves did not back down in the slightest. “We have free access, so get out of the way.”

“Nah, not any more.” Yaim’s tone was gleeful. “The rules have been changed. Everyone who goes in has to pay now. This is Ragnarok’s entrance, and if you want to use it, you are going to have to pay up. If you don’t have the money, then go collect some. No amount of begging will get you through these gates today.”

“That was not part of the agreement.” Mina, unable to tolerate Yaim’s words, blinked forward, her wand drawn.

The Silver Squire’s face paled slightly at the sight of the Ice Witch, but he hardened his resolve when he thought about the fact that the guards from Ragnarok outnumbered the team from Nova Luna.

“Back up, Mina. There is no room for a traitor like you in this discussion.” Yaim rested his hand on his sword as he stepped forward. “The adults are talking.”

His eyes narrowing, Leaves rested his hand on Mina’s shoulder to keep her from ramming an icicle down Yaim’s throat. A quick glance around revealed that the other players gathered at the gate were watching with anticipation, obviously already aware of the change in the rules.

“The rules for entering the dungeon were settled between Sylith and Velin. If there is going to be a change, don’t you think you should consult them?”

Laughing scornfully, Yaim pointed his finger in Leaves’ face.

“I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them. If you want to get through the gate, you better pay up.”

“If Ragnarok is breaking the agreement, that means we can just wipe them all out and take over the dungeon, right?” Jorge nudged Thorn in the leg, his gravelly voice immediately ratcheting up the tension. The Titan squad players drew their weapons and readied their spells, immediately entering their combat ready mode. Standing in front of the gate to the dungeon, the players from Ragnarok were taken off guard and were a few beats slower.

The two groups stared at each other warily. Thorn just stood quietly behind Leaves and Mina, a small frown on his face. Absorbed in his thoughts, he paid no attention to the weapons aimed at him by the Silver Squires. He could not figure out why it benefited Ragnarok to break the agreement for a little bit of profit. Unless, of course, they had made significant progress in the dungeon and were trying to slow down the other guilds. Sending a quick message to Velin, Thorn’s attention returned to the standoff in front of him.

“If you don’t want this situation to devolve completely, you better back off.” Leaves’ face was hard to read, but his tone was even and unhurried. “I’m happy to let Lady Velin know that she needs to talk to your boss, but we are going to go into the dungeon one way or another. You can either move out of the way, or we’ll wipe you out as a warmup.”

As if their minds were connected, the entire fifty person group from Nova Luna took a step forward as Leaves spoke his last word, causing the pressure to instantly intensify. Even though they had more players, the Silver Squires began to look at each other nervously. Faced with an elite team of players, they were not confident that they would be able to survive the fight, let alone block them from going into the dungeon.

“Ha, if you want to dig a hole for yourself, be my guest.” Taking a small step back, Yaim spat on the ground. “I’m sure that someone from Ragnarok will be calling Velin. Don’t blame me when you get in trouble for not following the rules.”

“No problem.” Leaves waved him off curtly. “I’m sure Lady Velin will be interested in talking to your boss about why you are blocking us. Let’s go.”

Leading the way forward, Leaves walked past Yaim without another word, bringing the group into the dungeon. As he stepped in, Thorn glanced backward and was surprised to see that there was no sign of the entrance. Instead, a blank stone wall met his gaze. Seeing his surprise, Mina giggled.

“The only way to get out is by finding an exit or by using the token that the party leader gets when we enter.”

“Huh, interesting. Always learning something new.” Thorn’s eyes lit up. The longer he played Nova Terra and the more he learned, the more excited he got. The game was full of surprises and new things. Just then, Leaves walked up to Thorn, holding a red token in his hand.

“Hey, boss. You want to take over from here?”

“No way.” Thorn shook his head as he got out his tetsubo. “You are doing a fantastic job leading so far, so I’ll just follow along. Feel free to command me like I am a regular player. Velin put you in charge, and this is my first time here, so I’m relying on you to show me how to do this.”

“Sounds good.” Readying his own weapons, Leaves turned to the rest of the group. “Alright, this run is going to be standard, except we have added another off tank. Boss, I’ll explain what you should do as we go. Our plan is to take down the three big groups of fire elementals that we have not been able to clear in past runs to see if there is anything important in those rooms. Remember to watch your heat. If you get too hot, talk to Mina. Everyone ready? Good, let’s go.”

CHAPTER FORTY

Sweat dripped from Thorn’s forehead, cutting a streak through the ash on his face as it ran down his temple to his cheek. The air was stifling, the heat burning Thorn’s lungs, causing his breath to catch in his chest. It had not even been twenty minutes, and he was already dirty from the swirling ash and drenched in sweat underneath his armor. In the lower periphery of his vision, Thorn could see new notifications blinking past at regular intervals.

Overwhelming Heat

The labyrinth city of Rakkam fell silent in a by-gone era, yet the fires of the forges still burn hot. The overwhelming heat has created an inhospitable environment that drains you of your energy. Unless you find a way to cool down, your body will overheat, causing your death.

Racial Trait: Titan’s Endurance

Due to your natural resistance to physical conditions, the environmental effect [Overwhelming Heat] has been reduced.

Chuckling quietly to himself, Thorn dismissed the notifications and followed Leaves as he led the way forward. Jorge and nine other players had left to scout ahead while the rest of the Titan squad followed behind. The beginning area had been fully mapped, allowing Leaves to lead them around the traps while the scouts dealt with the small groups of enemies roaming nearby.

As they walked, Thorn examined the labyrinth city. Made entirely of stone, the hallways were broad, reminding Thorn of the wide streets in the empire’s floating capital. Massive pillars covered in intricate carvings stretched almost forty feet in the air, holding up the curved ceiling. The labyrinth gave the impression that it was better suited to giants than dwarves. Even the furnaces and forging tools looked like they were built on a larger than normal scale.

Pushing his curiosity to the back of his mind as they entered a large hallway, Thorn focused his attention on the fire elementals milling about. Around five feet tall, the fire elementals floated almost a foot off the ground. Roughly humanoid in shape, they were composed of an orange flame with a purplish-blue core. There were twenty-five fire elementals floating in the hallway, drifting back and forth in a seemingly random pattern.

“Watch closely,” Mina said, pointing her wand at one of the fire elementals floating near the edge of the group. “As that guy gets closer to the others, the temperature goes up. You can tell how warm it is by the color of the core.”

The fire elemental paused and then turned, drifting back toward the center of the group. As it moved, its core underwent a subtle change. The purplish-blue core slowly lost its purplish tint, becoming a deeper blue.

“Once it goes from purple to blue,” Leaves explained, pointing at the fire elemental who was slowly heating up, “they are at their highest state of regeneration. Plus, the heat is going to deal damage to whomever they clump around. So far our tactic has been luring a couple out at a time, but with these large groups, that is almost impossible. Twenty-five is still manageable, but when we get up to the groups of seventy-five to one hundred, we get burned alive before we can get them down to a reasonable number.

“Boss, we’re going to try something new this time. Rather than try and draw a couple of the fire elementals over, we’re going to stack you with defensive spells and send you into the middle of the group. Melee fighters will peel off enemies from the outside while our ranged DPS will focus on downing elementals near you. Tanks will protect the healers, who will focus 100 percent on you.”

“Sure, sounds good.” Grinning with anticipation, Thorn buckled on his helmet and hoisted his tetsubo. “Just say the word.”

“Okay, healers, I want all buffs on Thorn on the count of ten. Follow them up with as much healing as you have. Better to over heal during this first run than under heal. DPS, get ready to burst the elementals down as fast as possible. Alright, are we ready? Thorn, charge on two. Ready. Ten, nine...” As Leaves began the countdown, the healers stepped forward, waiting until it was time to begin casting their buffs. They started their chants when the count reached the right number, based on how long it took them to chant the spell, so that they would all finish when Seven Twisted Leaves called out one.

“Seven, six.”

Taking a deep breath, Thorn tightened his grip on his tetsubo as Leaves counted down.

“Four, three.”

Thorn’s body dropped into a crouch.

“Two.”

“[Shadow Dash]!” Charging forward, Thorn’s armored form blurred as he shifted in and out of sight. Covering close to fifty feet in a few steps, he drew back his tetsubo as he lowered his shoulder.

“One.” As Seven Twisted Leaves called out the final number, a deluge of buffs and healing spells fell on Thorn, completely covering him in a golden glow. Damage mitigation enchantments, heal over time spells, force field bubbles, armor strengthening spells, and many other abilities covered Thorn in an instant.

Shimmering back into view, Thorn’s shoulder smashed into a flame elemental, causing it to burst apart, sending flaming pieces of magma raining down around him. Focused on cutting down the elementals as fast as possible, Thorn unleashed his tetsubo strike, smashing through two fire elementals, sizzling pieces of flaming magma bouncing off of the shields that surrounded him. Spinning, he flicked out his weapon again, crushing two more elementals before they could respond.

With roars of rage, the flame elementals turned toward the Titan in their midst. Summoning balls of fire, they began charging toward him, causing the temperature where Thorn was standing to shoot up. Even through the layers of protective buffs and spells, Thorn began to sweat almost immediately.

The closer the fire elementals came to Thorn’s hulking figure, the hotter he got, and the faster his defensive buffs burned away. Soon, the only thing Thorn could see was a bright red glow as countless fireballs bombarded his shields.

*CRACK*

The last shield finally broke and a few remaining fireballs broke over his armor, burning his skin. The stinging from the attacks was fierce, but Thorn didn’t even blink. Nova Terra managed pain well, keeping it present but at reasonable levels so that players were not afraid of combat. Yet, compared to Thorn’s daily life before playing, it was less than an itch. As he felt the sensation from the fireballs, the excitement in Thorn’s chest began to burn hotter.

Laughing out loud, Thorn began to smash the fire elementals around him with wild abandon, completely releasing the frustrations he had accumulated over the past week. Ignoring his defense, Thorn blew through his enemies like they were paper, sending gouts of magma splashing across the floor with each kill.

“Holy…” One of the healers who was focusing on keeping Thorn’s health up was so shocked by the sight of Thorn’s rampage that her mouth fell open.

“I know, right?” Delmore was standing next to her, casting a regeneration spell at Thorn. “[Spirit of Life]! He is a total monster.”

“This should work.” Seven Twisted Leaves was watching the fight carefully. Less than a minute had passed and, already, half of the fire elementals had been killed. As he looked on, he saw Thorn punch out with his left hand, blowing another elemental into oblivion.

As the fire elementals fell, the remaining enemies began to weaken, allowing Thorn to finish them off even faster. The elementals at the edge of the group started to lose their high level regeneration ability as the temperature dropped and began to be picked off by the ranged DPS players. This set up a chain reaction, and within another minute the rest of the fire elementals were destroyed.

“That was awesome!” Cheering, Mina was about to run forward when Delmore grabbed her shoulder, his whiskers twitching. Confused, Mina followed his pointing finger and gulped, her face paling.

Thorn stood in the midst of the flaming carnage, his armor glowing with heat. Surrounding him was the burning magma from the deaths of the fire elementals, so hot that it caused the stone floor to liquefy. Even as he stood there, Thorn’s health was dropping rapidly, forcing the healers to be constantly pumping healing spells into him just to keep him alive.

With a casual leap, Thorn landed outside the molten circle, his armor popping as it rapidly cooled off. Taking off his helmet, Thorn frowned slightly as his eyes looked over the devastated floor.

“That was really awesome!” Mina made sure to keep her distance as she summoned some snowflakes to help Thorn cool down faster. “Do you think you will be able to do the same thing with a larger group?”

Standing nearby, Seven Twisted Leaves held his breath. This was the really important question. Nova Luna had been making good progress overall, but they were getting hung up on the large groups of fire elementals. While those big groups would stop most other guilds, Velin had let it slip that Ragnarok would not be phased by them at all. The Silver Guard were the strongest defensive team in Nova Terra, and even one hundred fire elementals would not be able to burn through their shields.

“It depends how much hotter it gets.” Thorn scratched his chin as he thought it over. “If there is an upper limit to how many times the ability stacks, I should be fine. However, if there is no upper limit, it will be really tough.”

“The ability stacks up to twenty times. At least, that is what we assume.” Mina sent a stat sheet to Thorn. “Velin ran a bunch of tests, and this is what she came up with. There seem to be some large fire elementals in the big groups that break that rule, but we don’t know if their boost effects all the little guys or if it just counts more of the little guys for their own buffs.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to see, huh?” Buckling his helmet back on, Thorn glanced at Seven Twisted Leaves. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Hey, don’t forget the loot.”

“Oh, right. Haha,” Thorn’s voice was sheepish. “Let me know if you need me to carry something. I still have a lot of room.”

“And never get it back?” Mina scoffed. “No way. We’re not putting anything into that bottomless pit of yours.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad. I remember what I put in my inventory.”

“Sure, Thorn. Sure you do.” Thorn could practically hear the eye roll in Mina’s words.

The fire elementals had a relatively low drop rate, but having killed twenty-five of them, there was still a small pile of loot on the ground. Thorn recognized a few pieces of Fire Iron glowing on the ground next to some shimmering red things that looked like flower petals.

“Oh, sweet, Fire Lotus Petals!” Seven Twisted Leaves was excited as he picked up the shimmering petals. “These are useful for all sorts of potions. They make a great fire resistance potion that will be helpful for clearing the later stages of this dungeon.”

Putting the ore and herbal ingredients away, Seven Twisted Leaves picked up a few pieces of gear that had dropped and shared their stats.

“Anyone want to roll for these? If not, they’ll go in the guild bank.”

A few players raised their hands after comparing the stats on the items to their current gear and walked to the front of the group. Thorn watched with interest as they each summoned a virtual die, rolling off to see who got the gear. Opening up his armor’s stats, Thorn compared it against the set of boots that Seven Twisted Leaves was holding.

Flaming Iron Boots - Heavy Armor

Forged in the elemental rich flames of Rakkam’s Hall of Smiths, these masterwork boots are unblemished even after being lost for hundreds of years. Once worn by dwarven soldiers, Flaming Iron Boots were standard equipment for the Legion of Stone.

With the correct command, Flaming Iron Boots will release a gout of flame, allowing the wearer to abruptly change direction.

Set Bonus:

[1 piece]: +Constitution

Blessed Armor of Hati - Heavy Armor

A standard set of masterwork armor that has been blessed by Hati, transforming into its current form.

To transfer this blessing to another set of armor, complete a Moon Vigil at one of Hati’s temples.

Set Bonus:

[2 pieces]: +Agility for every piece worn

[3 pieces]: +Duration of [Wolf's Rage] for every piece worn

[4 pieces]: +Defense of [Wolf Hide] for every piece worn

[5 pieces]: +Increased area of effect [Wolf Helm] for every piece worn

[6 pieces]: +Faster transformation into [Wolf Form] for every piece worn

There was nothing particularly special about the armor Thorn was wearing when Hati chose him to be an avatar, so Thorn was grateful that the blessing Hati gave was able to be transferred to a better set of armor once he found one. For a moment, the thought of competing with the other players for the Flaming Iron Boots crossed his mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

Thorn’s transformed armor had gained set-piece properties once it was blessed by Hati, making it better than collecting a hodge-podge set of armor. Unlike Asha’s set that he had picked up from Ouroboros, the set bonuses were based on having more of the pieces equipped, making it worth having a full set even though the last two set bonus were unusable as Thorn still had not unlocked the [Wolf Helm] and [Wolf Form] abilities.

A slim Elven archer won the roll off for the Flaming Iron Boots, causing Thorn to frown slightly.

“What’s up? Why the sour look?” Mina noticed that Thorn’s expression was off.

“Those boots are made for a Dwarf. How are they going to fit an Elf?”

“Are you serious? Are...” Mina’s mouth hung open, her words failing her. At her side, Jorge started laughing so loudly that the entire squad looked over at him.

“What?” Realizing that he had just embarrassed himself again, Thorn froze, his face blushing bright red under his helmet. Excited by her new gear, the Elven player equipped the boots, leaving Thorn wide-eyed as the thick, metal soled combat boots changed their shape into a slim-fitting pair of knee high boots with a slight heel. Only the runic symbols along the sides remained the same.

With a groan, Thorn dropped his head into his hands. All he could think about was the countless pieces of gear still sitting in his inventory because they were too small for his massive body. He had just assumed that a piece of gear that was sized for a regular person would not fit him, and no one had ever corrected that assumption. Seeing Thorn’s shoulders slump, Mina joined Jorge in his laughter, doubling over uncontrollably.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Thorn muttered gloomily, causing Mina, who was wiping the tears from her eyes, to erupt into giggles again.

“You really didn’t know that gear changes sizes to fit you when you equip it?”

Completely ignoring her, Thorn looked at Seven Twisted Leaves, who was handing the last piece of equipment, a short axe, to one of the tanks.

“Loot is all settled. Are you ready to take on a larger group? Our next target has about seventy-five fire elementals. I know it is a big jump, but we don’t have much choice, as there are no groups in between that we’ve found.” The Fae Druid walked over to Thorn.

“I’ll be fine as long as I’m healed.” Thorn was grateful for his helmet as his face was still bright red from his earlier embarrassment.

“Good, lets go.” Gathering up the rest of the Titan squad, Seven Twisted Leaves led them forward down the boulevard-like hallway. According to the map that Baxby drew, the large groups of fire elementals were guarding three large rooms spread evenly across the dungeon. The treasure hunter had identified the rooms as special but had not been able to do a close examination due to the number of fire elementals present.

After fighting their way through a few smaller groups, they arrived in the southeast corner of the dungeon where the first of the large groups was milling about. The large room looked like it had once been a feast hall and was dominated by a large, open fire pit with a massive spit going across it.

“Hey, look at that.” Jorge popped out of the shadows near Thorn, pointing to a large stone chair set in the wall.

“What about it?” Mina asked, furrowing her brow when she could not see anything special.

“That chair is Thorn-sized.”

“So? You know, I’ll never understand the Dwarven obsession with building things really big.” Mina smirked. “Maybe they are compensating for something.”

“No, that is what I am trying to say. It is abnormal. There are traces of something or someone Thorn-sized sitting on it for a long time. Look where the seat is worn away. No Dwarf could do that from sitting on it. I swear, you get denser every day.”

“Hey, what is that supposed to mean?” Mina was about to start fighting with Jorge, when Thorn held up his hand.

“Focus, you two. We’re about to go into combat. You can argue about butt marks later.” Thorn’s tone brooked no argument, and the two short players focused immediately.

“Thorn.” Seven Twisted Leaves called the Titan forward. “Do you see those three who are taller than normal? They are elite mobs.”

Looking at the dense sea of fire elementals in front of him, Thorn easily picked out the elite fire elementals. At least two feet taller than the normal fire elementals, the elite fire elementals had a bulkier build as well as weapons made of the same shimmering red flame that made up their bodies. Still unarmored, these fire elementals were vaguely humanoid but much more aggressive looking.

“We need to be especially careful of the elite fire elementals. They have an attack called [Fire Spear] that has significant piercing power and insane damage. If it hits you, you’ll be dead, so in order to block it, we will use a bubble. The problem is that with three of them, we won’t have enough bubbles to last. The cooldown on [Fire Spear] is too short, and we don’t have enough players who can bubble you.”

“Bubble?”

“[Globe of Invulnerability], [Shadow Fade], [Holy Shield], things like that. Anything that gives absolute damage reduction and can be cast on another person is called a bubble,” Jorge helpfully supplied.

“Got it. How long can they block?”

“Total? We can give any one player eighteen seconds of absolute damage reduction, but on a two hour cooldown. If we space them out and everyone hits their casts perfectly, we can block six [Fire Spear] casts. Unfortunately, the elite fire elementals can cast [Fire Spear] every two minutes. Best case, we can keep them from hitting you for five minutes and fifty-nine seconds. After that, you are on your own.”

“What if I kill them?”

“Sure, that lets us stretch it out. If you can take out one before they cast, we can extend it to eight minutes.”

“Alright.” Thorn’s eyes ran over the mass of fire elementals, carefully judging the spacing between the elite mobs. They were arranged in a rough triangle, around one hundred feet apart from each other, surrounded by a large number of regular fire elementals. “What is the range of their [Fire Spear] attack?”

“One hundred and twenty feet or so. It depends how long they charge it.”

“Hmm. This is going to be rough.” Thorn tapped his tetsubo on his shoulder as he thought. “We need to get them clumped up. If we can do that, then I can just smash them. Otherwise, I am going to be eating multiple spears every time I try and approach one of them.”

“Just be thankful that they don’t kite,” Seven Twisted Leaves grunted.

“I can get you near two of them.” Delmore spoke up. “My ability that lets me swap a spirit with one of my teammates can be used on an enemy with the right conditions. I should be able to drop one of them into melee range while you engage another one. That just leaves the one free.”

“Maybe we can have the other tanks focus on trying to hold its aggro?” Seven Twisted Leaves grimaced as he scratched his head. “We’ll have to split the healers and might end up losing some of the tanks, but it is better than nothing.”

“Pulling one should be good enough.” Thorn glanced at Delmore. “If you can pull one of the elite fire elementals over to me, I’ll deal with the others.”

“What? You’re going to take all three of them head on? Is that a good idea?”

“Honestly? I have no idea.” Thorn chuckled. “If this works, we should be able to clear them without a problem. At worst, I’ll just have to try something else tomorrow. Are we good to give it a try?”

“Your call, Thorn. I mean, you are the one running to your fiery death.” Seven Twisted Leaves shrugged.

“Haha, it’s true. Just make sure that you stand far enough back that you can run if this fails.” Resting his tetsubo against his leg, Thorn got his arbalest out of his inventory and loaded up one of the massive bolts. Once it was loaded, he picked his tetsubo back up and looked at Seven Twisted Leaves, a weapon in each hand.

“Leaves, can you pass me the leader position? I need it to use my [Pack Travel] ability.”

“Sure.”

“I am going to kill one of the elite fire elementals as fast as I possibly can, and then I’ll move to the next. At that point, Delmore, can you send the third elite elemental over to my location?”

“Yes.”

“Great. This will largely hinge on me killing the first target almost instantly, so if that doesn’t happen or there is a problem, get ready to run.”

“Good luck.” The Tigerkin patted Thorn on the shoulder with a furry hand. “I’m going to cast a spell on you that will let me move a spirit to you, so don’t resist.”

Chanting softly, Delmore waved his long-handled dagger around his head and then pointed at Thorn, who was doing his best to remain completely calm. A faintly menacing chill settled on Thorn, making him shiver. Seeing Delmore nod, Thorn checked to make sure everyone else was ready and then made his way toward the group of fire elementals. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down, focusing his attention on the closest elite fire elemental. Raising his tetsubo, he pointed.

“This one is my first target. After that, I am going to the right. Delmore, pull the guy on the left.”

“You got it, boss.”

Taking another deep breath, Thorn gripped his weapons tightly and dropped into a crouch. His eyes began to take on a hint of red as a heavy aura seeped from him.

“[Wolf’s Rage].”

Instantly, Thorn’s strength and agility shot up, filling his form with power. Not wanting to waste a single moment, Thorn launched himself forward, each step carrying him a dozen feet forward into the midst of the fire elementals. As he rushed forward, Thorn could feel the temperature rising, but he was moving so fast that the first fire elementals he passed did not have the chance to respond.

Sprinting toward his target, Thorn completely ignored everything else. Normally, in a fight like this, letting powerful enemies get into his blind spots was a recipe for death, but if he wanted to take the first elite fire elemental down quickly, he had no choice but to ignore the others. Since he had decided to trust the healers to keep him alive, Thorn spared no thought for defense, instead focusing on maximizing his offensive ability.

As he got closer to the elite elemental, Thorn could hear the chanting behind him grow louder as the healers readied themselves to block any incoming [Fire Spear] attacks. In front of him, the large shimmering fire elemental threw back its head and roared. Lifting the flaming spear in its hand, it drew back its arm, preparing to throw, and froze. At first, Thorn thought that there was something wrong, but then he noticed the glow around the elite fire elemental’s hand growing brighter.

Realizing that it was charging the attack, Thorn took two massive steps forward and threw back his head, a powerful wave of sound echoing from him as he howled.

“[Wolf Lord’s Howl]!”

The waves of sound buffeted the fire elementals surrounding him, causing them to pause and fall into a stupor. Even the elite fire elemental was shaken, causing its hand to drop back to its side. Yet the stunned state did not hold it for long, and after a second, its hand rose again. Still, that second allowed Thorn to take two more steps forward, getting close to his striking distance.

Drawing back his tetsubo for an overhead attack, Thorn felt the air grow blistering as two fiery spears entered his vision. Shooting through the air toward his chest, Thorn knew that if he continued moving forward, they would hit him, yet all he did was grit his teeth and push forward. Determined to hit his target, Thorn could only trust his defense to his teammates behind him.

The spears came closer, allowing Thorn to see the swirling flame that surrounded a burning blue core. The spears made a snapping sound as they traveled, the spiral flame on the outside devouring the air it passed through. Still, Thorn did not flinch, only tightening his grip on his tetsubo as he brought it over his head in a large arc.

Just as the first of the two [Fire Spears] was about to impact on his chest, a brilliant glow bloomed around him, covering his body from head to toe in a deep earthen yellow. The yellow energy started at his feet and flowed up his body, getting to his chest just in time to block the first [Fire Spear]. The swirling rod of flame hit the shield, causing it to ripple violently. Despite looking like it was about to shatter, the yellow shield held fast.

Pushing forward, Thorn’s strike had just begun to fall when the second [Fire Spear] stabbed into the shield. This time, Thorn felt the shield crack where the [Fire Spear] landed, and the tip of the spear nearly touched his armor. The heat from the spear instantly boiled the air around Thorn, beginning to heat up his armor. Without sparing a thought for the [Fire Spear] that had almost skewered him, Thorn smashed his weapon onto the head of the elite fire elemental in front of him.

*BOOM*

With a thunderous sound, the metal weapon ripped through the body of the elite fire elemental, crushing it to the ground. Burning magma splashed onto the stone floor, turning the area around the beaten down fire elemental into a burning hell. Ignoring the flames, Thorn jabbed down with his loaded arbalest, the tip of the siege crossbow coming to rest a few inches from the elite fire elemental’s head.

*TWANG*

*CRACK*

The sound of the massive bolt shooting through the elemental’s head and burying itself in the stone floor echoed from the pillared walls. Without waiting to see if having the majority of its head liquified had killed it, Thorn angled his body to the right, and not pausing for even a moment, Thorn threw back his head.

“[Rallying Cry]!” As the ability activated, Thorn could feel his injuries lightening as his natural health regen and his stamina increased. As soon as the buff took effect, [Pack Travel] kicked in, granting the whole team a boost to their speed. Thorn pushed off the ground powerfully as he activated his charge ability.

“[Shadow Dash]!”

As his form flickered and he shot forward, Thorn could feel the healer’s spells repairing the burning damage he took from stepping into the magma left behind by the elite fire elemental. As the pain in his feet eased, Thorn continued to dash forward, dodging through the crowd of fire elementals as best he could.

For every elemental that his ability allowed him to bypass, he crushed another, leaving a trail of burning stone as the magma they released when they died splattered across the floor. Gritting his teeth under his helmet, Thorn pushed himself to move as fast as he possibly could, trying not to let the mass of elementals slow him down.

Thanks to his [Rallying Cry] ability, [Pack Travel]’s 50% speed increase was able to be applied in combat, and combined with [Wolf’s Rage] he was moving at lightning speed. Unfortunately, Thorn could feel the buff from [Rallying Cry] starting to fade, heralding the end of his speed buff from [Pack Travel]. He had only traveled half the distance to the next elite fire elemental when his speed began to drop and the [Evasive] condition from his [Shadow Dash] ended.

His mind whirling furiously, Thorn realized that he did not have much choice but to try and muscle through. Grinning to himself, Thorn began to wield his tetsubo, striking out in sweeping arcs to clear the path in front of him. Focusing on moving the fire elementals away instead of killing them in one blow, Thorn pushed his way forward until he was only twenty feet away from his target, when a chill traveled down his spine.

Looking over the heads of the fire elementals in front of him, he spotted the elite fire emental’s raised arm, a growing glow surrounding its lifted [Fire Spear].

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

The feeling of being targeted settled in the back of Thorn’s mind, and he instinctively knew that he was about to be facing another two spears. Remembering the last two that nearly skewered him, Thorn couldn’t help but gulp. He had no confidence that his armor, as strong as it was, would protect him against the [Fire Spear].

Still, all he could do at this point was trust that the healers at his back would keep him alive. Forcefully pushing any thoughts about the incoming attacks out of his mind, Thorn focused on crossing the last twenty feet as fast as possible. The brilliant glow surrounding the closest elite fire elemental’s [Fire Spear] flickered, and its arm began to launch the weapon. At the same instant, a pearlescent orb of arcane energy popped into existence around Thorn.

*CRACK*

As soon as the [Globe of Invulnerability] appeared, it shattered into a million pieces as the fully charged [Fire Spear] smashed into it.

“Oh no!” The Arcane Mage who had just cast the [Globe of Invulnerability] was horrified to see the [Fire Spear] obliterate it instantly. Still, as a professional player, she knew exactly what had happened. The elite fire elemental had released a fully charged [Fire Spear], just like last time. The difference was that this time Thorn was much closer. The charged [Fire Spear] had no time to lose its momentum, instead hitting at full power.

“Got it!” The next guild member who was in line to cast a bubble was a Shadow Priest. He had been watching closely for any sign of an issue and reacted immediately. With another [Fire Spear] about to arrive, there was no time to cast his bubble spell normally and instead, the Shadow Priest swung his staff at the ground, shattering the black gem attached to the end.

With the next [Fire Spear] so close that he could reach out and touch it, Thorn felt his body become illusory again, like when he activated his [Shadow Dash]. This time, though, Thorn could tell that he had completely transformed into a spectre, unable to interact with the real world at all.

Seizing his chance, Thorn continued to sprint forward, passing directly through the fire elementals between him and the elite fire elemental. At the same time, the [Fire Spear] shot through his body, causing no damage as his form rippled, and impacted the ground on the other side. The attack dug into the stone, leaving a trail of molten stone as it landed, before exploding in a massive gout of flame and magma.

The Arcane Mage whose [Globe of Invulnerability] had been destroyed swallowed and looked thankfully at the Shadow Priest who had saved Thorn. It was her turn to block the spells, but no one had anticipated the [Fire Spear] being that strong at close range. Due to the Shadow Priest’s quick thinking and his willingness to sacrifice his weapon, the fight had not fallen apart.

Seven Twisted Leaves was not nearly as relieved, however. By using his bubble, the Shadow Priest had saved Thorn but, at the same time, shortened the time they could keep Thorn alive. Originally, they had determined that they could keep Thorn bubbled against four waves of attacks if he was able to take out one elite fire elemental before it cast [Fire Spear], which he had done.

However, with the Arcane Mage and the Shadow Priest doubling up against one attack, they were going to be hard pressed to deal with the next attack. The only hope was for Thorn to deal with two elite fire elementals in melee within two minutes. Still, there was not much choice except to try.

“Delmore!” Seven Twisted Leaves shouted for his partner to be ready.

“Chill, I got it.” The Tigerkin Spirit Guide waved his long handled dagger in the air, leaving a bizarre purplish-black line in the air wherever his dagger passed. As the symbol was completed, he spun around twice, chanting in a strange voice that seemed both high and low pitched at the same time. The symbol in the air pulsed twice, the purplish-black lines growing stronger until they threatened to tear the air itself apart. As if they shared the same mind, all of the members of the Titan squad nearby took a step backwards, sensing the danger of the floating symbol.

“What a creep,” Seven Twisted Leaves mumbled, not missing the chance to mock his friend regardless of the seriousness of the situation.

“Yeah, effective though,” Mina said from the side.

“[Greater Spirit Transfer]!”

As they watched, the symbol flashed out of sight, re-appearing directly between Thorn and the furthest elite fire elemental. Growing until it was almost twenty feet across, it pulsed again, causing two smaller copies of the symbol to appear next to Thorn and the elite fire elemental. Purple tentacles abruptly burst out of the smaller symbol next to the elite elemental.

Wrapping around it, the tentacles ignored the burning flames covering the elemental’s body. The elite fire elemental, not about to go without a fight, began to glow, its core rapidly turning from a deep blue to a sky blue as its temperature rose exponentially. The raging flames that surrounded the elemental burned the purple tentacles, charring them into black stubs in no time. Regenerating rapidly, the purple tentacles attacked again, only to be burnt away.

Growling, Delmore waved his dagger in the air in front of him. The blade of the dagger seemed to vanish from sight as he thrust it forward. At the same moment, from the center of the floating symbol next to the elite fire elemental, a spectral blade stabbed out, cutting through the flames surrounding the elemental. Freed from the brunt of the heat, the purple tentacles regenerated and lashed out, wrapping around the elite fire elemental’s burning figure.

Seeing that the tentacles had reached their target, Delmore spat another strange sounding phrase, and the tentacles abruptly withdrew into the floating symbol, bringing the struggling fiery figure with them. Sensing that the tentacles, which were still being burned, would not last long enough to get the elite fire elemental to the symbol, Delmore resolutely slashed his palm, splashing blood into the air in front of him.

Under Mina’s creeped out gaze, the blood appeared to land on something. As it dripped toward the ground, Mina could barely make out a large skull with purple tentacles writhing where its jaw should have been like a creepy octopus. The blood dripping over the skull and its waving tentacles disappeared, absorbed by the spectral figure, causing it to vanish into the void as if it had never existed.

“I take it back. A total creep.” Mina turned toward Seven Twisted Leaves. Whatever she had partially seen just then was enough to give anyone nightmares for weeks.

“I told you.” The Fae Druid shuddered. “And that is not even the worst of it. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and starts doing his weird dance. You should see some of the ‘friends’ that come to visit.”

Shooting his friends a dirty look, Delmore ignored them and concentrated on powering the floating symbol and its purple tentacles to draw in the elite fire elemental. The symbol pulsed again, a blood red color seeping out of the lines and dripping onto the purple tentacles. As the blood rolled down them, a bright red line surfaced, running down the center of each tentacle. The red lines shook, sending out tiny blood-red tendrils like a system of veins, causing the tentacles to grow and strengthen.

Regenerating even faster than before, they wrapped around the elite fire elemental, completely impervious to the shimmering fire that covered it. With a massive tug, the elite fire elemental was pulled into the symbol.

Next to Thorn, the other floating symbol pulsed and the purple tentacles burst out, dropping the elite fire elemental to the ground before retreating as fast as they could. As soon as the purple tentacles disappeared, the purplish-black symbol began to twist. The two small floating symbols were sucked back into the large, twenty-foot wide symbol where they merged together in the center.

The pulsing lines of the spell glowed brightly for a moment, getting thinner and thinner as they burned out. Just before the lines completely vanished, they collapsed into each other, sending out a shockwave that knocked the surrounding fire elementals away. His spell ending with a bang, Delmore shivered and dropped to the ground, his whiskers trembling. The whole spell, from beginning to end, had only lasted a few seconds, but the intensity of the struggle had drained Delmore of all his energy, leaving him gulping in big breaths of air.

“Are you okay?” Seven Twisted Leaves asked his friend, concern evident in his voice.

“Yeah,” the Tigerkin gasped, waving a hand feebly. “I’ll be fine. That contract just takes a lot out of me.”

“[Healing Seed].” Casting a healing spell on the Spirit Guide, Seven Twisted Leaves turned his eyes back to Thorn, who was now fighting in melee with the two large fire elementals. “How long will you need to recover?

“I’m going to be useless for the next day, probably.”

“Alright, rest up.”

“Do you think we should go help him?” Mina asked, pointing her wand toward the furious fight between Thorn and the two elite fire elementals.

“Do you think any of us could survive in there?”

Seeing the waves of heat radiating off of the elite fire elementals and the brightening glow as Thorn’s armor heated up, Mina bit her lip in frustration. So far, only Thorn’s abnormal resistance could stand up to the sheer heat of the elite fire elementals. Still, Mina was determined to help. Summoning her glowing ice orbs, she spoke to the Dwarf at her side.

“Jorge, get ready to pull me out.”

“Wait, what?” Startled, Jorge looked over just in time to see Mina slide forward. Reaching out to stop her, Jorge groaned and dropped his face into his palm. “Get ready to heal us,” he snapped toward Seven Twisted Leaves before chasing after Mina.

The Ice Witch skated forward on a trail of ice that appeared beneath her feet. As she got closer to the great mass of fire elementals, the air grew hotter, causing her ice trail to have trouble forming. As it was beginning to melt, Mina raised her wand and chanted to herself.

“[Ice Wall]!”

A massive block of ice shot up under her feet, sending her flying forty feet into the air. Combined with her forward speed, Mina flew over the fire elementals. With absolute focus, she pointed, directing her orbs to hover underneath her feet like a set of stairs. As her foot landed on the first orb, it showed signs of cracking, holding together just long enough for her to push off, leaping through the air to the next orb.

The three orbs allowed Mina to gain more height, and a quick [Blink] got her into position over Thorn and the two elite fire elementals. As she started to fall down toward them, Mina could feel the rising heat beginning to singe her hair. Her skin flushed red almost instantly, as if she had been outside in the sun all day.

A spike of fear stabbed through her as she saw the glow beneath her feet growing, and for a moment she regretted jumping out. Dropping into the fight between Thorn and the elite fire elementals was like diving into a pool of lava. Shaking off the paralyzing feeling, Mina began to cast her spells as fast as she could.

“[Sub Zero]! [Infinite Ice Spikes]! [Avalanche]! [Raging Blizzard]!” Anything that could lower the temperature of the inferno below her was thrown down at the fight, regardless of who was standing underneath her.

The hastily formed ice spells didn’t last more than a few seconds in the face of the elite fire elemental’s heat, but the arcane chill that they brought with them drastically cooled the surrounding air. The drop in temperature gave Thorn, whose armor had become bright orange, a chance to breathe. The ton of ice from Mina’s [Avalanche] spell turned into rain before it hit the ground, but the sudden increase in humidity sucked much of the heat from Thorn’s armor, granting him respite from the constant burning.

The healing spells from the Titan squad healers had never stopped, but due to the intense environmental effect that the elite fire elementals carried with them, Thorn’s health had slowly been decreasing as the healing spells failed to keep up with how much damage he was taking. Mina’s rain allowed Thorn’s health to shoot back up, buying him more time.

At the same time, the two elite fire elementals noticed that their heat was being suppressed, causing them to roar in rage. Furious at this new attacker’s interference, they abruptly changed targets. As if they were the same creature, they lifted their hands and summoned their [Fire Spear] attacks, aiming directly at the falling Ice Witch.

Mina, her vision obscured by the huge cloud of steam caused by the evaporating water, had no idea that the two elite fire elementals had locked onto her. She was not alone, however, and seeing their attention swing away from him, Thorn took the chance to go on the offensive. Gripping his tetsubo with two hands, he brought it down over his head in an arc, the jagged end ripping through the shoulder of one of the elite fire elementals.

The blow landed, crushing the fire elemental’s shoulder and arm, sending it tumbling to the ground, the [Fire Spear] it was charging falling to the ground where it burned the stone. Not bothering to finish it off, Thorn used the momentum of his strike to rotate his body and lunge forward, his weapon striking down at the other elite fire elemental.

As if sensing the incoming blow, the elite fire elemental’s arm jerked forward, releasing the [Fire Spear] before it was fully charged. The [Fire Spear] shot forward, snapping and crackling as the rain that was still falling sizzled away.

Less than twenty feet from the ground, Mina was beginning to pick up speed. Gritting her teeth in preparation for the impact, her body was suddenly jerked sideways as Jorge appeared on her left in a puff of shadow. Flying past her back, he hooked an arm around her waist, and together they disappeared in another puff as a [Fire Spear] brushed past, cutting through the air where Mina had just been.

“Ugh. How are you so heavy?” Jorge complained as he flopped onto the ground, completely spent. His [Shadow Blink]’s cost increased drastically when he brought other people along with him, and using it twice in rapid succession sucked all of his energy right out of him.

“Maybe you’re just weak.” Despite her words, Mina looked at Jorge gratefully, her disheveled red hair sticking to her flushed face. “Thanks. That was terrifying. I don’t think I’ll try that again.”

“You people are insane.” Seven Twisted Leaves shook his head. Still, inwardly he was somewhat envious. Mina’s creative use of her spells was the reason she was considered one of the most dangerous player-versus-player combatants in the game, and her crazy actions just now showed how well she could work outside the box.

“Hey, I’m just the rescuer. Don’t lump me in with her.” Jorge shook his head. “We can only hope that Ms. Suicide over here bought the boss some time.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

The falling rain sizzled against the molten floor, rapidly cooling it. As the heat evaporated the rain, the water drops turned into dense clouds of steam that shrouded Thorn and the elite fire elementals. The first one he had knocked down rose back to its feet with an anguished roar, dripping magma as it floated toward Thorn, who was standing over its companion.

Ignoring the incoming elite fire elemental, Thorn focused on destroying the elemental who had just thrown its [Fire Spear] at Mina. The thick steam kept Thorn from seeing if the [Fire Spear] hit, and imagining what might have happened caused Thorn’s fury to bubble up. Throwing back his head, he howled in rage, activating both [Wolf Lord’s Howl] and [Wolf’s Rage] at the same time.

Lifting his tetsubo, he brought it down again and again on the elite fire elemental at his feet until it stopped twitching, completely ignoring the burning hot magma splashing on him with each blow. The stabbing pain in his legs and arms as the droplets of flame landed on him simply drove his rage even hotter. Hearing a sound behind him, Thorn turned, his half melted armor creaking and groaning as the fused plates moved.

The elite fire elemental that had just shaken off the effect of [Wolf Lord’s Howl] paused slightly as it stared at the enraged Titan. Something in its tiny brain was warning it that taking another step forward was a sure path toward oblivion. Unfortunately, the warning came too late.

Stepping forward, Thorn smashed out with his tetsubo, completely crushing the elite fire elemental’s head. Dashing past it as it fell to the ground, Thorn began to lay waste to the regular fire elementals that had packed around. Without the intense heat generated by the elite fire elementals, the steam prevented the fire elementals from reaching their maximum temperature, allowing Thorn to smash them apart easily.

By the time [Wolf’s Rage] had ended, Thorn had destroyed the majority of the fire elementals in the cloud. Staggering slightly, he walked out of the dense steam, his armor giving off pops as it cooled down, only to see Seven Twisted Leaves, Mina, Jorge, Delmore, and the rest of the Titan squad staring at him in shock. Looking like they were watching a monster, the whole squad took a step back as he walked forward.

“Thorn? Are you okay?” Mina asked tentatively, her concerned gaze running over his massive figure.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Thorn’s voice was husky and dry.

“Um.” Lost for words, Mina summoned a large mirror of ice, reflecting Thorn’s figure so that he could see himself.

“Ah. Yeah. I’m good. A bit stiff.” Once he caught sight of himself, Thorn could see why he was being stared at. His once shiny silver armor was bent and twisted into an unrecognizable shape. The magma and intense heat put off by the elite fire elementals had begun to melt his armor until the drop in temperature from Mina’s ice spells cooled it down. Now partially fused together, it was only Thorn’s immense strength that allowed him to keep moving.

Reaching up with a creaking arm, Thorn unbuckled his helmet and pulled it off, revealing his smoldering hair. Large portions of his face were burnt bright red, lending him a rather terrifying look. Tossing the helmet to the ground, Thorn began to remove the rest of his armor. Unlike weapons, equipping armor required each piece to be put on manually, so Thorn eventually resorted to simply ripping his melted armor from his body.

Watching him casually rip fused chainmail off his arm, Jorge shuddered, reminded of his encounter with Thorn after they had left him for dead. Even Mina, who was quite used to Thorn’s absurd strength, was stunned.

Dropping the chainmail in a pile, Thorn grabbed his melted breastplate near his armpit and, with a sharp tug, snapped it apart. It was only after his melted greaves landed on the pile of scrap metal that Seven Twisted Leaves regained his presence of mind and directed the Titan squad to begin cleaning up the battlefield.

“So, let’s not do that again.” Once he was out of his armor, Thorn flopped down on the ground and stretched his arms out as he lay exhausted.

“I dunno, I thought it went quite well.” Jorge’s smirk was a mile wide.

“Then next time, you can be the one to walk into the inferno.”

“Yeah, I wanted to ask about that.” Mina poked Thorn’s shoulder lightly. “Are you well-done, or are you only medium-well?”

“Right now I feel way overdone. It was really hot in there.” Rolling his eyes, Thorn sat up with a groan.

“That is why no one volunteered to do it.”

“Do you think we can use this method to deal with the other two groups?” Seven Twisted Leaves asked, his eyes still fixed on the melted stone floor where Thorn had killed the last two elite fire elementals. “Obviously not today, since your armor has been scrapped and Delmore is on cooldown, but on our next run. Did it feel repeatable?”

“Sure, but we probably want better fire resistance. My traits make me decently fire resistant, but this was way beyond that. The only reason I was able to make it was the sudden cooldown from Mina’s spells. I felt like I was about to be cooked alive. Higher heat resistance would let me operate longer in case something went wrong.”

“So we need to artificially boost your fire resistance. That means we are looking at potions, armor, or trinkets.”

“There is a dagger with fire resistance, as well,” Jorge chimed in.

“Sounds like we have plenty of options.” Thorn opened up his messenger. “I’ll let Velin know to be on the lookout. Maybe she can find something on the auction house.”

“Let her know we are coming back, as well.” Seven Twisted Leaves gestured to the healers, who were all huddled in a group, trying to restore their mana. “We’re tapped out, so let's end it for today.”

Once the loot had been collected and distributed, Thorn found himself holding a stone token shaped like a tear with a strange jagged sun shape cut out of it. One of the players picking up loot had found it and brought it over, with no idea what it was. Assuming it was something important, they handed it over to Seven Twisted Leaves who, after examining it, gave it to Thorn with a shrug.

“We will have to get Baxby to take a look at it.” Thorn had no idea what it was either. Dropping the stone token into his inventory, he gathered with the rest of the Titan squad and activated the return stone, sending the team back to the entrance of the dungeon. The large crowd was still hanging out outside the dungeon, waiting to form teams to head inside, and the Silver Squire guards were grouped up along the side.

Yaim looked over as the team from Nova Luna appeared, his face ugly. Whispering to a silver-armored player who was standing next to him, he pointed toward the Titan squad.

“Incoming,” Jorge said in a low voice. With a small step backward, the Dwarf vanished into thin air. On the other side of Thorn, Mina took out her wand and held it by her side as she stepped behind Thorn. With a wave and a muttered phrase, she summoned her ice orbs, making them hover behind her back, out of sight. Staying half hidden behind Thorn, she stood quietly.

Seeing the immediate action from his two teammates, Thorn was once again reminded that they were entirely abnormal. He could only imagine the sorts of shenanigans that they must have gotten into with Ouroboros for these sorts of behaviors to be so firmly ingrained in their muscle memory. Without his armor, Thorn wanted to avoid fights if he could, but he still drew his tetsubo and leaned on it like it was a walking stick. He had to avoid putting too much pressure on it for fear of snapping it, but it was less obtrusive then holding it on his shoulder.

Yaim and the silver-armored player were approaching the Titan squad, backed by almost one hundred and fifty players. This time the Silver Squires seemed like they were ready for Nova Luna and came over with their weapons drawn. Seven Twisted Leaves started to step forward to speak, but Delmore, still shaky from the massive spell he had used to drag the elite fire elemental to Thorn’s side, grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

Thorn did not know what it was that he saw, but the Tigerkin waved his dagger, causing a flood of spirits to burst from the ground, blocking a lightning bolt that lanced through the air toward Seven Twisted Leaves. Furious, the Titan took a step forward, lifting his tetsubo and leveling it at the enemy.

“Ambush! Form up!” Without waiting for the rest of the Titan squad to react, Thorn jumped forward, activating [Shadow Dash]. As he blurred toward the Silver Squire line, Thorn activated his last instance of [Wolf’s Rage]. He had not expected any more trouble and had not bothered to equip any of the random pieces of armor in his inventory, a fact he now regretted.

Despite his lack of armor, Thorn hit the Silver Squire line like a freight train going full speed. Players were tossed into the air, scattering like bowling pins as his tetsubo carved a wide gouge in their ranks. A fully armored tank, seeing what happened to the player in front of him, lifted his shield and activated his taunt, causing Thorn’s next blow to be drawn toward him, only to find that the weight of the blow was too much to bear. Flicking his tetsubo to detangle the shield that had turned into scrap metal, Thorn punched out with his other hand, causing another player to burst into twinkling lights as they were sent out of the game.

At some point during his fights, Thorn had stumbled into the realization that as long as he kept moving, the majority of attacks would not hit him. Even if they did connect, so long as he never stopped, most would, at best, be glancing blows. It was only when he stood still and tried to tank that the damage began to pile up rapidly. Using the rapidly moving, momentum-conserving style that Master Sun had taught him, Thorn carved a devastating path through the enemy.

[Wolf’s Rage] kept his speed at maximum, allowing him to push forward even as he lashed out with his tetsubo and fists, blasting Silver Squire players into the aether. Suddenly, a large sword slashed out at him before he could react, catching him in the ribs. Gritting his teeth, Thorn spun and snapped out a low roundhouse kick, driving his attacker into the ground. With his spare hand, he grabbed the sword and began to swing it along with his tetsubo, crushing and cutting with abandon.

The pain in Thorn’s ribs suddenly eased as a healing spell landed on him from the Titan squad healers who had gathered up under Seven Twisted Leaves’ leadership. The Fae had reacted almost immediately after Thorn charged forward, taking control of the team and having them move forward to support their boss.

The tanks moved up as fast as they could, engaging with the Silver Squire’s front line while the healers focused on keeping Thorn up. Both the ranged and melee DPS went wild, cutting down the shaken up enemy as fast as they could. With only fifty players, it was imperative for Nova Luna to keep the Silver Squires on their back foot, since they were outnumbered three to one.

When the Silver Squires decided to ambush the Titan squad, they had done so under the impression that they would be returning from the dungeon exhausted, yet watching Nova Luna chop through their forces, Yaim and the silver-armored player could not help but glance at each other, confusion plain in their eyes.

“Why is it that they seem like they haven’t fought at all?” The silver-armored player muttered.

“I have no idea.” Yaim responded.

Drawing his sword, he began to push his way toward Thorn’s large figure. Yet, the closer he got, the lower his desire to advance became. In the middle of the crowd, Thorn was smashing through the Silver Squire players like they were twigs, his continuously moving tetsubo blasting apart the defenses of any player that came in range. In his other hand, the shattered remains of the sword he had picked up carved through metal and flesh, sending any player that got in reach out of the game.

Unable to survive in close proximity to the raging Titan, players scattered, pushing to get as far away from the whirling steel as possible. In their haste to get away, many players forgot to cast their spells or use their abilities, simply fleeing as fast as they possibly could, only to run into the players from Nova Luna, who were advancing under Seven Twisted Leaves’ orders.

Realizing that the fight was going poorly, the silver-armored player forced his way through the crowd, shoving the fleeing players out of his way. Making his way over to Yaim, he grabbed him by the shoulder and hissed in his ear.

“That giant is the key. We have to take him down, or we’re all dead!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Yaim snarled back, violently shrugging his shoulder to free it from the silver-armored player’s grasp. “But what are we supposed to do against that?!”

Both players’ eyes followed Yaim’s finger, only to see a scene of absolute carnage. Thorn had cleared a circle almost twelve feet wide, leaving the ground littered with broken armor and crushed weapons. A few players who had only taken glancing blows lay on the stone floor, groaning, but everyone else who had encountered Thorn’s oversized mace had been sent back to spawn.

As if sensing their gaze, Thorn’s head snapped around, his glowing red eyes locking on to Yaim and the silver-armored figure. With a low roar, Thorn sprang toward them, his tetsubo crushing through the players in the way as if they were made of paper.

“How is he…” The silver-armored player had no time to finish his sentence as he felt a sudden push on his back. Stumbling forward toward the approaching Titan, he saw Yaim retreating frantically from the corner of his eye. Despair filled his heart as the unstoppable tetsubo swung down, sending him out of the game.

“Get him! Get hi...umpfh!” Yaim, horrified by the destruction Thorn and the rest of the Titan squad had wrought in the ranks of his men, began screaming as he urged his men forward, only to suddenly find himself choking on a thick blanket of snow. From behind him, Mina’s voice rang out.

“[Blizzard]!”

Yaim had a sudden sinking feeling that today was going to be a bad day.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

The entrance to the dungeon, normally filled with players hanging out, forming groups, and chatting, was awash with chaos. The Titan squad stood solidly in front of the entrance to the dungeon as Seven Twisted Leaves directed them to cut down the panicking Silver Squire players, a command the Titan squad jumped to follow with surprising gusto. The strategy that Seven Twisted Leaves had devised of having Thorn solo tank the large groups of fire elementals had left the rest of the team fresh and ready for battle, as the Silver Squires were quickly learning.

Standing in the middle of the Titan squad, Leaves scanned the impromptu battlefield. The fight had happened so suddenly that he had nearly gotten killed. Only Delmore’s quick reaction had saved him from being incinerated by a lightning bolt. Still, the abruptness of the fight worried him. From what he had seen, Yaim and the silver-armored player had been leading their group over for the sake of posturing, not actually fighting.

The lightning bolt looked like it came from the large group of Silver Squires behind Yaim, but there were so many other players around that it was impossible to know if that was truly the case. Once the spell had been cast, Thorn had immediately attacked, completely removing any chance the Silver Squires had of claiming their innocence. Now, with the chaos growing, it would not be long before the other guilds arrived in full force.

With a sigh, Seven Twisted Leaves sent a quick message to Velin ,only to get a call immediately after.

“What is going on?” Velin’s tone was cold, and Seven Twisted Leaves could tell that she was currently running.

“We walked out of the dungeon and were ambushed. We are currently fighting with Silver Squires.”

Picking up on the discrepancy in his words, Velin’s brow furrowed.

“The Silver Squires are not the culprits?”

“Unconfirmed. But they are certainly paying the price. We are ripping them apart, thanks to Thorn and Mina.”

“Good, hold on till we get there. Jorge says that there are almost two hundred Silver Guard on route to your position. We’re coming, along with Aurum, but there is a high chance they will try and wipe you out before we get there. We will try to be there within five minutes.”

“Alright, thanks.” Closing the window, Seven Twisted Leaves glanced around again. The Titan squad had begun to spread out as they pursued the fleeing Silver Squire players who were rushing into the crowds surrounding the entrance.

“Titan squad, withdraw! Tanks, form a defensive line. Melee DPS, hold the flanks. I want the ranged DPS spread out to watch for incoming enemies. Mina, Thorn, get back here!” Barking out orders, Seven Twisted Leaves went into full blown commander mode. When Velin had recommended him to Thorn, it had been for precisely this reason. With considerable experience commanding teams in the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow, the Fae Druid knew exactly what to do.

Towering over the scattering Silver Squire players, Thorn paused to take a breath, his tetsubo resting on the ground. [Wolf’s Rage] was starting to fade, and the fatigue from fighting through the dungeon was beginning to make Thorn’s body drag. The lack of organization among the Silver Squire players had allowed Thorn to make it through the fight relatively unscathed and the healers from Nova Luna had made sure to keep his health topped up. Still, as Thorn walked back to the Titan squad, he couldn’t help but feel the fatigue.

The tanks that were lining up stepped aside respectfully as Thorn dragged his huge body into the middle of the group. Not bothering to summon his seat, Thorn sat down on the flagstones and flopped over on his back.

“Ugh, I don’t know if I’m good for any more.” Breathing heavily, Thorn looked up at Seven Twisted Leaves. “Unless you have some sort of magic potion that will give me energy, I am all tapped out.”

“No problem, boss.” Seven Twisted Leaves’ bark-like skin crinkled as he smiled. “The Silver Guard are on their way, but so are Velin and the rest of the guild. We should just be chatting from here on out.”

“Good. What was all this about, anyway? Is jumping a guild when they come out of a dungeon a common occurrence?”

“Only if you are at war.” The Fae Druid shook his head. “Something fishy is going on here.”

“Alright. Well, tell me if you need anything. I’ll be lying here.” Thorn lapsed into silence. The fortress itself was awash with light from the many torches along the walls, but the rest of the giant cavern that the fortress occupied was shrouded in darkness. Thanks to his night vision, Thorn did not have any issue seeing into the gloom, and as he lay on his back, his eyes idly wandered over the ceiling.

“Is something wrong with Thorn?” Mina whispered to Delmore, her eyes darting to Thorn’s massive stretched out form.

“Nah, he is just tired.”

“Oh, good. I mean, it makes sense, right? He just fought through a dungeon full of fire elementals. Still, I sorta wish he’d stand up. I have a feeling we’re in for a difficult fight.”

“Then it is time to showcase what we can do.” The Tigerkin had a serious expression on his face. “We’re not exactly pushovers ourselves.”

“Titans, cut the chatter. Tanks, keep your guard up, we have incoming.” Seven Twisted Leaves’ voice carried over the Titan squad, instantly silencing anyone who was talking. The tank line took a half step back, getting closer together as their eyes scanned for threats. Arrayed in a quarter circle with the melee DPS players split into two groups and standing on the flanks, they presented a formidable picture.

Within moments, the steady tramp of armored feet marching in perfect time became audible to the Titan squad.

“Nine o’clock,” Seven Twisted Leaves called out in a low voice. “Rotate to face them head on. Scouts, pay careful attention to our backs. Tank group two, fall to the rear and protect the healers.”

The Silver Guard entering the scene brought significant pressure to the Titan squad. The armor glistening under the torchlight seemed to produce an intangible aura that suppressed the other players in the area. Marching up to the Titan squad, the Silver Guard halted with a crash exactly forty-five feet from the Titan squad’s line. Just far enough away that they were not an easy target but close enough to increase the pressure that the Titan squad was feeling, it was obvious that whoever was leading the Silver Guard this time was an expert.

Seven Twisted Leaves, who had been about to order the Titan squad to engage when the Silver Guard reached the forty foot mark, slowly put his hand down, sweat trickling down his cheek. Having learned his lesson from the interaction with the Silver Squires, Seven Twisted Leaves did not step out to the front.

“What is the meaning of this?” The calmness of his voice did not betray even an ounce of the tension he was feeling as he stared over the heads of Nova Luna’s tanks at Raeth, who had appeared at the front of the Silver Guard. “Is Ragnarok breaking the agreement?”

Impassively, the captain of the Silver Guard examined the Titan squad, his eyes running over their formation. Seeing no readily apparent weakness, he frowned slightly. Nova Luna was turning out to be a harder nut to crack than he had anticipated. Next to him stood a player in red armor, staring with hatred at the group from Nova Luna. Glancing over at Raeth, he caught a slight nod from the captain and stepped forward.

“What do you think you are doing, attacking Ragnarok’s allies?” The red-armored player bellowed. From his position in the center of the crowd, Thorn heard the voice and frowned slightly. The voice sounded familiar, but Thorn could not immediately place it.

“Do you speak for the Silver Guard?” Refusing to fall into the red-armored player’s rhythm, Seven Twisted Leaves kept calm.

“You signed a nonaggression agreement with Ragnarok, and now you think it is okay to attack our allies out of the blue? Do you think that we’ll just stand idly by while you walk all over us?”

Peeking her head out from behind the tanks, Mina looked at the red-armored player and quickly returned to Thorn.

“That is Korith. I wonder what he is doing here?”

“Maybe Angdrin and Sylith are working together now?” Thorn shrugged his shoulders without getting up. Still lying down, he began to comb through his inventory for pieces of armor that he could equip. If Korith was in charge, it was likely that this encounter would devolve into a fight, and Thorn wanted to be as ready as possible.

“We had an agreement with Ragnarok. We did not have an agreement with the Silver Squires. It is our right to defend ourselves and since they attacked us, we acted within that right. If you want to attack us, get to it. You’re a top ten guild. You don’t need to build a moral case to get away with bullying smaller guilds.” Seven Twisted Leaves was determined to give as good as he got in this verbal exchange.

According to Velin’s message, the reinforcements she was bringing were currently being obstructed by the other two hundred Silver Guard and close to four hundred of Angdrin’s Crimson Snakes. Facing up against such a strong force, Nova Luna could not afford for the situation to devolve into a full blown war, so they had to tread carefully.

“Haha, yeah, right.” Korith sneered. “You say that they attacked you first, but how do we know if that is true?”

“There are plenty of witnesses to what happened.”

“Oh?” The Crimson Snake looked around in an exaggerated fashion at the groups of players standing nearby. “Do you think they’ll step forward on your behalf? As far as I am concerned, you are the ones that attacked first. Which means that you are the ones that are out of line.”

“Are you allowing him to speak for you?” Seven Twisted Leaves turned to look at Raeth, who did not respond.

“Hey, tree man, I am talking to you.” Korith’s eyes narrowed, and he took a step forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “You need to give us a good explanation for your actions, otherwise don’t blame us for cutting you down where you stand.”

Seven Twisted Leaves was at a loss. He was an excellent commander, but he was not the leader of Nova Luna or even of the Titan squad and had no idea how he should be responding to Korith’s aggressive stance. Unfortunately, Thorn seemed content to let him bear the brunt of Ragnarok’s aggression. With an annoyed glance back toward the spot where his giant boss was still sprawled out, he shook his head.

“Nova Luna has abided by the agreement we signed. I’m sure that Thorn will be very upset to hear that Ragnarok is breaching his trust. And believe me when I say that Lord Greymane, the Moon Wolf, is not someone you want upset.”

“Haha! If he is so good, where is he? I heard that he ran off back to his dog house with his tail between his legs after we took the fortress from under his nose.” Korith’s voice was grating. “Moon Wolf? More like toothless dog. The only reason he got anywhere is because that traitor Ouroboros handed it to him on a platter. Besides, the mangy wolf people and their lame wolf god weren’t worth the effort to Ragnarok, otherwise he would not have gotten within ten miles of the valley. We have no need of a flea bitten night wolf, either.”

Still staring up at the roof of the cavern when he heard the insult, Thorn’s eyebrows went up. With a sigh, he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. From where he sat, he could not see through the tightly grouped players, so he laboriously hauled himself to his feet, muttering something incomprehensible to himself. His head rose above the crowd like a growing tree until he towered over everyone there.

His hair disheveled and his face dirty, Thorn had yet to change out of the clothes he was wearing when he fought the three elite fire elementals. Torn, charred and dirty, the clothing he wore looked like it had been pulled from a dumpster. Combined with the exhausted look on his face, and his strange muttering, Thorn looked more like a giant hobo than a baron, a fact that Korith picked up on immediately.

“Ha, so the mangy dog is here.”

Unamused, Thorn stared down at Korith, who was unimpressed. The Crimson Snake sneered at Thorn, his hand caressing the hilt of the sword at his waist.

“What, are you going to come out and try to bite me? If you want to fight, lets fight!”

*WHUUM*

“Aaah!”

Before anyone could react, Korith let out a short, sharp scream, his figure disappearing into the aether in a cloud of twinkling lights. The space where he had stood a moment before was now occupied by a boulder, the same boulder that Thorn normally used for a seat.

Thorn, his arm still extended from his throw, slowly straightened up, his cold gaze running across the Silver Guard players. He was not particularly concerned about what people thought of him. Mocking his title, however, was the same as mocking Hati, which was something Thorn could not overlook.

[Well done, child.] Hati’s warm, rich voice echoed in Thorn’s heart, igniting the excitement in his chest that the fatigue had hidden. Waves of energy began to flow through him as his strength returned, the drained feeling vanishing. Lifting his head, Thorn’s cold gaze began to burn intensely.

*ding*

Favor of Hati gained

Taking two steps forward, Thorn arrived at the front line, the tanks moving to either side to allow him to stand in the middle of the line. Silver energy swirled around his figure, covering the hodge-podge armor that he had equipped, reshaping it with the [Blessing of Hati] into the familiar silver Moon Wolf armor that Thorn normally wore. As the spiraling energy cleared, a terrifying helmet shaped like a wolf’s head appeared, steam curling from the open mouth.

Seeing the silver-armored Titan taking another step forward, it was everything that most of the Silver Guard could do to not take a step backward as Thorn’s aura washed over them. The front line of Silver Guard were not so lucky, instinctively stumbling back under the full force of the pressure radiating from Thorn. They might have fallen over on the spot if Raeth had not taken a step forward, helping them block the aura by releasing his.

Wolf Helm Unlocked

The visage of the wolf is a sight that brings fear to its enemies in measure equal to the hope it brings its allies. The sight of the Alpha wolf, stalking through the battlefield, allows allies to shrug off mental effects and regain their energy faster.

While the [Wolf Helm] is being worn, all the buffs of the ability are granted to allies while all the debuffs are applied to enemies within fifty feet.

Buffs:

+Resistance to mental effects

+Regeneration

Debuffs:

+Aura of fear

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

“Move. Or I will move you.” Thorn’s words left no room for Raeth. Either the Silver Guard would move or Thorn would begin the fight. Despite feeling physically rejuvenated, Thorn was still mentally tired and in no mood to play at words.

“Are you threate…”

“No more word games.” Thorn summoned his tetsubo, leveling it at Raeth’s head. “You get out of our way or you break the agreement.”

“We are not the ones who just attacked.” Shooting a meaningful glance at the boulder that had crushed Korith. At the same time, he took a small step back to try and appear less aggressive, as it was obvious that Thorn was about to snap.

“That was a duel to restore Hati’s honor.” Under his helmet, Thorn smirked.

“Duel?”

“Yeah, didn’t you hear him challenge me? I accepted, naturally. It wouldn’t be good to turn down a duel. Besides, duels fall outside the terms of the agreement. It's in the fourth section, paragraph nine, about half way down the page. Why? Do you want to duel, as well? I’d be happy to send you on your way to join Korith.”

“Raeth! Stand down.”

Before Thorn could even finish his sentence, Sylith’s voice rang out, cutting the tension significantly. Turning his head slowly, Thorn saw the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight rushing over with Velin following behind him. His face lighting up in a big smile, Thorn ignored Sylith, who was whispering to Raeth, and walked over to greet the Elven War Priestess.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I heard that you were under fire, so I thought I would come check it out.” Giving a small smile, Velin looked him over carefully. “You look tired.”

“Haha, I don’t feel too bad. We just got out of the dungeon. It was really hot.” Taking off his helmet, Thorn rubbed the back of his head as he grinned. “Seriously though, what are you doing here? Didn’t you say that you had stuff to do?”

“Word on the street is that you are making a lot of progress. So I thought it would be a good idea to meet up. It is a bad neighborhood.”

Thorn glanced at Seven Twisted Leaves, who looked away casually. Regardless of why she had come to meet them, Thorn was just pleased that Velin was there. It felt better facing their enemies together. Excited to tell her about his experience in the dungeon, Thorn swallowed his words and put his helmet back on. First, he had to deal with Sylith.

“What’s going on with Ragnarok? Why is Sylith giving way? That doesn’t seem like him.”

“I’m actually not sure.” Velin frowned, her forehead wrinkling. “He is definitely up to something, and no doubt whatever it is will be bad for us. Our sources say that he is making better progress than us on getting through the labyrinth.”

“Sure, but has he cleared any of the large groups of fire elementals?”

“Are you serious? Did you…? How on earth did you do that?”

Thorn saw that Sylith was walking toward him, so he stepped forward to meet the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight after winking at the open-mouthed Elf. Sylith’s handsome face held a pleasant smile that faltered slightly as he got close to Thorn. Recovering his calm demeanor almost instantly, he greeted Thorn as if the standoff between their guilds had never happened.

“Hello, Baron. Nice to see you again. How has your progress in the dungeon been?”

Looking down at the proffered hand, Thorn’s head tilted to the side in confusion. Enveloping Sylith’s hand with his own, Thorn shook it lightly. He was having trouble with the good cop, bad cop routine that Sylith and Raeth seemed so committed to playing.

“Eh, we’ve been muddling along. We are probably not as far along as you are, though. I heard that you have some of the best dungeon teams around.”

“Hahaha, we do alright.” Still smiling, Sylith pulled his hand back from Thorn’s grip. “Anyway, I’m sorry about the trouble here. We realized too late that the Silver Squires were in the wrong. They shouldn’t have attacked you, and we shouldn’t have stopped you.”

“And Korith?”

“Ah, don’t worry about him. He shouldn’t have been shooting off his mouth. I’ll deal with him and with the Silver Squires. I want you to know that Ragnarok takes our agreement very seriously, Thorn. We are determined to honor it, and I will make sure that things like this don’t happen again. I hope that you can forgive Yaim and the Silver Squires. We asked them to help us guard the entrance, and it’s apparent that they got a bit overzealous.”

“Mmm.” Thorn’s reply was noncommittal, but Sylith did not seem to mind at all. After chatting for a few more minutes, he gathered his guild members and, only leaving fifty of the Silver Guard to watch the entrance to the dungeon, led the others away. Watching the silver-armored block of players leave, Thorn could not help but shake his head.

“I’d love to know what he is thinking. I totally thought that we would have a fight,” Mina complained.

“You and me both. He is one slippery guy.”

“Thorn, were you serious about clearing one of the large groups of fire elementals? Did you find anything?” Velin was still stuck on what Thorn had said before.

“Yeah, so what?” Thorn was only half paying attention to the question, his mind still mulling over Sylith’s abrupt change in attitude. “What is the big deal? Isn’t that normal?”

“No, it’s not normal!” Velin was so exasperated she dropped the pencil she had just gotten out. Picking it up, she flipped to a blank page in her notebook. “Tell me all about it. I want to know every detail.”

“Uh, you might have to ask Leaves, or maybe Mina. I was pretty busy smashing things.” Thorn chuckled, earning himself a glare from the Elf. Looking around, Thorn stifled a yawn. “Let’s head back to camp, we can talk there. Has anyone seen Jorge? Man, I really need a nap.”

“Sure, we can talk at camp, but you better not leave anything out.”

Seeing Velin this worked up amused Thorn as he led his guild back to the camp. Asher came out to see Thorn when they walked by his camp, checking to see if his giant friend was alright. He had originally brought his men with Velin, but turned around after they met Sylith. Once he was assured that Thorn had not come out of the encounter worse for wear, Asher waved goodbye, returning to his camp.

“Nice guy. So, are you going to tell me what happened with Sylith?” Thorn kept his eyes on Asher’s back as he spoke to Velin, who sighed.

“Honestly, I do not actually know. The best guess I can come up with is that he got information from somewhere that made him change his plans. He was ready to go to war when he stopped us. Swords drawn and everything. It was a seriously tense situation. Then, all of a sudden, he got a strange look on his face and stopped talking for two minutes. If I didn’t know him better, I would have thought that he logged out and someone else logged into his character, because, after that, he was all smiles and concern.”

“Huh.” Thorn scratched his chin as they walked into the large command tent. Seeing Baxby standing over the map, Thorn nodded to him before looking back at Velin. “Curious.”

“Quite. Now, stop stalling and tell me how you cleared the large group of fire elementals.” Velin took a seat, her notebook ready.

“Ha, sure. But you have to tell me why it is such a big deal after I’m done.”

“Deal.”

“Alright, so this is how it went down.” Thorn’s face was serious, his deep voice silencing all the noise in the tent. Staring off into the distance and taking a deep breath, he said, “I rushed in and beat them all up.”

Silence reigned in the tent for a moment, and then Velin shrieked and threw her notebook at Thorn’s head. Ducking to avoid the impromptu missile, Thorn laughed, holding up his big hands to ward off the Elven War Priestess’s punches. Mina, Seven Twisted Leaves, and Baxby all suppressed their laughter as they watched Velin trying to beat Thorn up.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop. I’ll stop.” Thorn was still chuckling to himself as he sat down in his big chair. “The truth is that Leaves had a great idea, which we tested on small groups of fire elementals before moving on to the big group. I was not joking when I said I solo-tanked them. Granted, it only worked because I had the full support of the healers, and even then there were a lot of close shaves.”

“You solo-tanked,” Velin muttered. “That shouldn’t work. The heat should wipe out your endurance even if your health is full.”

“What do you mean?” It was Thorn’s turn to be confused.

“Elemental damage has secondary effects. Cold slows processing speed and reaction time in addition to doing direct damage. Lightning, or shock damage, drains mana and deals direct damage. Fire damage drains stamina or endurance. Even if you can block the direct damage, you should have fainted from exhaustion.”

“Ah. No wonder I feel so tired.” Thorn slapped his chair’s armrest lightly. A bit unsure how to approach this subject, he looked around. “Well, my racial trait minimizes physical effects, so maybe that has something to do with it.”

“Maybe a little bit, but it doesn’t explain how you could stand in the middle of two elite fire elementals,” Seven Twisted Leaves chimed in.

“Yeah, what was that about, Thorn?” Even Mina was getting in on the chance to pry open Thorn’s secrets. “The damage from that level of heat should be enough to leave you drained almost instantly!”

“Uh.” Thorn looked down, a sheepish grin on his face as he muttered in a quiet voice. “I don’t get tired.”

“You what?” Everyone leaned in.

“I don’t get tired. I think I have nearly unlimited stamina.” Looking around after he repeated himself, it got quiet as the others just stared at him. Mina, not even bothering to respond, threw her hands in the air and walked out of the tent.

“Hey, it's true. I normally don’t get tired at all. This time I’m pretty beat, but I still feel like I could squeeze out another fight if I had to. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Velin sighed and put away her notebook after looking at Seven Twisted Leaves, who shrugged. The old treasure hunter, who had been listening from the side, walked over to Thorn and patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry about them, kid. Those of us who are different understand. Everyone has their advantages, just most are buried deep while yours are up near the surface. So, tell me, did you find anything interesting when you wiped out the big group?”

“We picked up lots of loot. Oh, and this.” Getting the tear-shaped stone token out of his inventory, he handed it to Baxby, who looked it over with interest. The old man took it with him as he walked back to the map, muttering the whole time. Placing it down on top of the map, Baxby poked it with his finger a few times.

“What is that?” Velin asked, walking over to the map and running her fingers lightly over the surface of the stone token. “Is it used with the Dwarven earth maps?”

“Looks more like a key.”

“A key?” Thorn, standing from his chair, made his way over, as well. “Doesn’t look like much of a key to me.”

“And that, kid, is because you lack imagination. This is a Dwarven key. It is probably part of a set that has been divided. My guess is that this is a hidden part of the quest, since clearing the large elemental teams is not something most teams will be able to complete. But yes, this is a key,” Baxby explained, tracing a finger around the outside.

“Normal keys have a set of ridges on them that push pins, right? This is the same, to an extent. If we flip it over, you can see those channels, right? The channels allow a magic circuit to be completed, unlocking the door or chest or whatever this opens. See how it has two shapes, one on the outside edge and one on the inside cut-out? Between those two shapes, we can have infinite variation. The shape on the outside tells you roughly where the key is from, the shape on the inside determines what it can open. If both shapes don’t fit, the key will not work.”

“That makes sense, I guess.” Looking at the stone token, Thorn blinked and scratched his head. “So that means we just need to clear the other two big groups of fire elementals, right?”

“Yes, we just need to clear the elementals.” Velin nodded, looking over at Seven Twisted Leaves, who perked up.

“I’ve got an idea for that. Since we can have Thorn tank, why not let him do that fully. We can swap out our balanced build specifically for taking out the large groups of fire elementals. Instead of running a full line of tanks and DPS, we can swap in more crowd control and healing. This way we can maximize Thorn’s survivability and have better ways to deal with the elite fire elementals. We barely scraped by this time, and Delmore is probably out of commission for a few days, as a result. If we can plan for it and bring the right people, we should be able to clear both fights in the same day.”

Looking at Velin and seeing her nod, Thorn agreed. “Good, let's do that. I’m a bit worried about Ragnarok, so the faster we do this, the better. Leaves, can you help Velin come up with a good team? I really need to sleep, but let’s plan on another run first thing tomorrow.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

“Have a good sleep, Thorn.” Velin smiled briefly at Thorn and then left the tent with the Fae Druid in tow, leaving Thorn and Baxby alone. The old man glanced at Thorn.

“I’m going to keep examining the map and the key. I want to see if I can figure out where the circuit connects, though my guess is that we will need to get the other half of the Dwarven earth map for that. Still, good job getting this key. I can smell the scent of something awesome locked away down here.”

“Oh? How exciting.” Stifling a yawn, Thorn smiled at Baxby, who just rolled his eyes. With a wave, Thorn headed over to one of the partitioned areas and collapsed into bed.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

For the first time since he had entered Nova Terra, Thorn slept fitfully. In his dreams he was tied to a spit and slowly cooked by a collection of different elementals. Below him, a massive fire elemental was chained just out of reach, thick waves of heat rolling over him as it strained against its bonds. The other elementals were quietly arguing over the best way to prepare a Titan when the large elemental surged forward with a roar, the sound of its chains snapping waking Thorn with a jolt.

Rubbing his eyes, Thorn looked around the tent. Through a crack in the curtain separating his sleeping area from the main room, Thorn could see Velin, Baxby, and Seven Twisted Leaves talking around the table. Rolling over in his comfortable bed, Thorn stared up at the roof of the tent, letting the low murmur of voices wash over him. Despite his strange dream, the system had done its job, and Thorn was feeling refreshed.

Getting up after a few minutes, he stretched and walked into the center room of the tent, nodding to the three people gathered around the map.

“Morning.”

“Good morning, Thorn,” Velin replied, her pencil never pausing as she wrote in her notebook. Seven Twisted Leaves saluted Thorn in greeting, but the old treasure hunter just grunted, his eyes fixed on the map.

“Any new developments?” Taking a quick glance at the map, Thorn saw that there were a couple spots filled that had not been when he went to bed the night before. The details in those areas were not quite as clear as the rest of the map, but the general shape of the passageways were there.

“Yeah, Asher shared some information from their run, which is how we were able to fill in these sections.” Velin finally gave her pencil a rest as she pointed toward the new spots on the map. “Oh, and Corvo sent a message over. I think the Dwarven earth map we want has been found. The Eastern Alliance has it, and from what he said, they are willing to trade.”

“Oh? That is great news.” Both Thorn and Baxby perked up at Velin’s words.

“It is. Though we’ll need to send a group to do the trade. World Quest items have some restrictions, and they are a guaranteed drop, so I’m a little concerned that if any other guilds have heard about it, we’ll be in for a fight.”

“By guaranteed drop, you mean that if I am carrying it and I die, it will drop for sure?”

“Yup, 100% drop rate. So we need to make sure you don’t die.”

“Alright, got it. Have we made arrangements to do the trade?” Thorn took his seat at the head of the table, his eyes running across the map.

“We have.” Flipping back a few pages in her notebook, Velin ran her finger down the page. “Tomorrow. We’ll be meeting them in the dungeon, at the entrance connecting the air and fire sections.”

“Wow, you guys move fast. I guess everyone is in a rush to get this finished as fast as possible.”

“We’re on a strict time limit, after all. The first group to make it through the labyrinth will have an advantage in the next part of the quest.”

“Guess that’s true.” Thorn’s finger tapped his armrest as he considered. A thought crossed his mind, making him look up. “Wait a second. You said that we’ll be meeting them in the dungeon? I thought it was instanced? Doesn’t that mean when we go in, we’re by ourselves?”

“Only when we’re running the dungeon,” Seven Twisted Leaves answered. “Dungeons have a few different modes. Exploration mode, which doesn’t count your progress and is not instanced, and Diving mode, which does track your progress.”

“This all seems unnecessarily complicated.” Thorn sighed, resting his cheek in his broad palm. “Why would we want two different modes?”

“Different kinds of players and different sorts of treasures.” This time it was Baxby who spoke up.

“What do you mean?”

“Can you imagine unaffiliated players having to compete with guilds? They’d get swatted. So, there are two different modes for the dungeons. The Diving mode is designed for big groups and has increased difficulty and rewards, making it ideal for guilds who have the people and the organization to clear the dungeon. Exploration, on the other hand, gives enough resources for a small group or individual, but not enough for a big group to split.

“Exploration is also the mode where you can find out more about the history of the dungeon, catch the lead on quests related to the dungeon, that sort of thing. However, the two modes are effectively different dungeons. So the pathing is not the same. Big guilds don’t care about the quests and that sort of stuff, instead just focusing on swallowing up as many resources as they possibly can, so Exploration mode isn’t used much except by us unaffiliated.”

“So, Exploration mode isn’t instanced? What stops players from attacking each other?”

“Ha, nothing. Exploration is even more dangerous than Diving for that very reason. You’ve got to be on your toes, because every player you meet could be your enemy.” Baxby’s eyes glowed with excitement as he spoke. “When you combine that with the fact that most groups that explore are smaller, it can get quite exciting.”

“Then, isn’t there a danger of a group trying to monopolize the Exploration mode?”

“Ha, some people try.” The old treasure hunter turned his head as if he was going to spit but was confronted with the plush carpet that covered the ground, and he just swallowed. “Every once in a while, someone tries, but the guilds are always looking to improve their reputations, so they’ll sweep out any group that tries to lock up a dungeon.”

“Interesting. Velin, what are your thoughts on the exchange? Is it possible that it is a trap?”

“We considered that.” The Elf brushed her hair back from her face. “Corvo and I had a long talk about this trade, and that is one of the things that came up. However, because of how the trade came about, I don’t think it is likely.”

“What do you mean?”

“Corvo said that the information came from your connection down in the south, Josephine. One of her agents from the Eastern Alliance passed on the intelligence to one of our agents, who passed it on to Corvo. Apparently, the Eastern Alliance is still not sure what to do with the maps they have. They got four of them, but none show the air section where they entered the dungeon.

“When Corvo reached out to them, they agreed to do the trade with the added condition that we show them how the earth maps work, as well as let them know if we figure out who has the other air map. There is a remote chance that it is a trap, but since Corvo was the one who reached out, we’re relatively confident that it is just a normal exchange.”

“Excellent. You all do really great work.” Thorn smiled appreciatively. “Then, are we sending the Titan squad to make the swap? I’m all rested up and ready to go.”

“Yes, you and the Titan squad will go, though this time I’m coming with you, as is Baxby.” Velin gestured to the treasure hunter, who grinned. “While we are in Exploring mode, I want to try and learn more about the labyrinth, just in case it can provide clues for the next section of the quest.”

“Alright. The exchange is tomorrow, right? What were your thoughts in the meantime? Should we clear another one of the large groups? Leaves, you were working on a better team composition for that, right?”

“Yes, sir.” The Fae Druid, who had been listening quietly, spread out a piece of paper with fifty names written on it. “I put together a list of players whom, I think, will make this very easy. Normally, a single healer can keep up with two tanks or a tank and two DPS, so our split is twelve tanks, twenty six DPS, and twelve healers or support. With our new method, we only need you as a tank, plus a couple more to protect the healers.

“For our next run we will be taking more crowd control, as well as more healers. We have a total of five tanks, including you, fifteen DPS, and thirty healers or support. This means we should be able to bubble you enough that we don’t need any crazy maneuvers, and you can just fight through the elite fire elementals. We also found some fire resistant gloves for you and a couple of trinkets which will hopefully be a help in mitigating the heat. They shouldn’t mess with your set bonus’ too much.”

“Good.” Despite his nonchalance, Thorn was secretly glad that they had done something about the heat. The feeling of being cooked was an unpleasant one, and even though he had come out fine, he was not excited to repeat the experience. Thorn opened his menu and pulled up the armor he currently had equipped.

Blessed Armor of Hati - Heavy Armor

A completely random mish-mash of armor that has been blessed by Hati, transforming into its current form.

To transfer this blessing to another set of armor, complete a Moon Vigil at one of Hati’s temples.

Abilities:

[Glowing Helm]: +Vision range in the dark

[Earthen Armor]: +8% defense

[Killer’s Gloves]: +0.5% critical hit rate

[Killer’s Gloves]: -10% defense

[Well Worn Greaves]: -25% item durability

Set Bonus:

[2 pieces]: +Agility for every piece worn

[3 pieces]: +Duration of [Wolf's Rage] for every piece worn

[4 pieces]: +Defense of [Wolf Hide] for every piece worn

[5 pieces]: +Increased area of effect of [Wolf Helm] for every piece worn

[6 pieces]: +Faster transformation into [Wolf Form] for every piece worn

Thorn had been startled when he realized that the armor he had hastily put on before his fight with Korith had been reshaped into the [Blessed Armor of Hati]. The armor he had been wearing during his fight with the elite fire elementals had been completely ruined, turned into a smoldering pile of scrap by the flaming attacks. Unsure why his new armor was reformed into the familiar silver shape, Thorn began to dig through his logs to try and figure out what was going on.

It took some searching, but eventually, from a clue hidden in his [Wolf Hide] ability, Thorn realized that the [Blessed Armor of Hati] was connected with gaining Hati’s favor. The first time his armor had changed was when he first became an avatar. Since then, each time he received Hati’s favor, there had been no change in his armor because it already had the [Blessing of Hati], so he had not noticed it. He had looked at his [Wolf Hide] ability before, but this time, he noticed an extra few lines at the end.

[Wolf Hide]

A cunning wolf chooses to avoid the strikes of its enemy. But when they must take a blow, they rely on their tough hide to minimize the damage.

[Wolf Hide] increases the defensive capabilities of any armor you wear.

The skin of the Moon Wolf is distinctive, shining like the bright silver moon, and can be activated through the [Blessing of Hati]. To activate the Blessing of Hati, the avatar must stand Vigil in the Temple of the Moon while wearing a set of heavy armor.

Unlike the set of masterwork armor that he had ruined in the dungeon, the random assortment of armor he was wearing had some special abilities, though a few were terrible. The chest piece he had equipped did boost his overall defense, but the gloves actually reduced it while giving him a miniscule buff to his critical hit rate. Even his greaves were old and had a permanently lower durability, meaning that they would break much faster.

Thankfully, the [Blessing of Hati] gave Thorn some buffs, increasing his agility and armor, along with buffs to [Wolf’s Rage] and the new [Wolf Helm] he had unlocked. Replacing his gloves would make him lose the [6 pieces] set bonus, but since he had not unlocked [Wolf Form] it really was not a big deal.

He would also have a slight decrease in the other buffs granted by the [Blessing of Hati], but the increased fire resistance would more than make up for it. Until Thorn was near the temple of Hati in Fang Valley, he was stuck with the mis-matched armor that he had put on before he threw the boulder at Korith.

A few hours later, Thorn was standing with part of the Titan squad in front of the dungeon entrance. With them were a number of support players from the other two squads who had been transferred over to try out Seven Twisted Leaves’ solo tanking strategy. An hour earlier the gloves and two accessories had been delivered, boosting Thorn’s fire resistance significantly, and Seven Twisted Leaves had reorganized the Titan squad temporarily.

Blacksmith Apprentice Gloves

These thick blacksmith apprentice's gloves allow the wearer to handle the burning hot material from a forge without getting burned.

Abilities:

+Fire Resistance

-Dexterity

Golden Sun Amulet

In the far north, the winters were deep and cold because of the tyrant Jaivisk the Ice Wyrm. The heroic Golden Sun bard, Imaig Torson, led a group of villagers to defeat the tyrant after he created these amulets to protect against the freezing winds brought about by Jaivisk the Ice Wyrm.

With the tyrant destroyed, the winters were no longer as harsh and the Golden Sun amulets were spread across the land, becoming popular as tools for blacksmiths because of their supplemental fire resistance.

Abilities:

+Sun’s Warmth: Allows the bearer to stay warm even in the coldest wind.

+Fire Resistance

Apprentice Fire Bender’s Bracelet

First created by the genius blacksmith, Oolia Shoop, these bracelets allowed her apprentices to practice their fire manipulation without fear of getting burned. Replicated throughout history, they have now become a staple in most smithies that train apprentices.

Abilities:

+Fire Resistance

Equipping the gloves, pendent, and bracelet, Thorn instantly felt cooler, as though separated from the hot wind blowing out of the dungeon by a thin barrier. The increased fire resistance did not prevent Thorn from knowing how hot it was. Instead, it just removed the impact of the heat on his body.

“Okay, is everyone good?” This time around, Thorn had taken over command from Seven Twisted Leaves. Having watched the Fae Druid lead the dungeon diving team the day before, the Titan was ready to give it a shot. Seeing the team signal that they were ready, Thorn took a deep breath to calm himself, and led the way into the labyrinth.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

The burning heat of the forge district was enough to cause spontaneous combustion, and Thorn knew that if his fire resistance was not as high as it was that his hair would have already caught on fire. Thankfully, the three pieces of equipment that Seven Twisted Leaves had found were working wonders, allowing Thorn to tank three elite fire elementals at the same time. Completely surrounded by hordes of fire elementals, Thorn spun his tetsubo around his body, warding off the flaming attacks as best he could.

Countless fireballs slipped through his defenses, splashing against his armor. The fireballs from the smaller fire elementals were not a huge issue, though the sheer quantity of them made them dangerous. It was the large, blue colored [Fire Spears] from the three elite fire elementals that made Thorn worry. Doing his best to dodge, Thorn found himself stepping on regular fire elementals who packed in around him like sardines.

The constant barrage of attacks was matched by an equally dense barrage of healing spells and bubbles as the large group of healers focused on keeping Thorn afloat in the sea of fire. Though there had been some close calls against the first large group of fire elementals that Nova Luna had faced this run, the fight against the second large group was going smoothly, reminding Thorn once more how lucky he was to be playing with skilled players.

“[Holy Shield]!” One of the priests called out, summoning the golden shield of light just in time to block two [Fire Spear] attacks.

“[Aegis of Time]!” Immediately after the golden shield shattered from the force of the stacked [Fire Spear] attacks, an arcane clock appeared in front of Thorn, dropping him into a special pocket of time. The third [Fire Spear] ripped through his chest like a stick poking through a reflection on the surface of a lake, continuing on until it impacted the wall with a loud boom. Burning magma splashed across the floor, heating up the packed fire elementals. Completely unharmed by the attack, Thorn’s figure rippled in the wake of the attack, slowly solidifying as the [Aegis of Time] faded.

During the first run, Thorn had only faced up against two elite fire elementals at a time, so the ambient heat generated by their passive ability had been manageable. But this time, the three fire elementals had been closer together, allowing Thorn to pull them all into combat without need to resort to any tricks. Still, Thorn was sweating uncomfortably as the waves of heat pushed against him.

“Clear the fire elementals on the left edge.” Thorn’s voice carried easily to the solid block of players standing forty feet behind him. From the center of the fight, Thorn was able to direct the flow of the battle, making it even easier to focus down the enemy. This was the third of the three large groups that had plagued so many guilds, and after the smaller fire elementals were thinned out, the elite fire elementals would fall.

“Focus on the elemental I mark.” Directing the DPS to coordinate with him, Thorn abruptly slammed forward with his tetsubo, knocking two of the elite fire elementals back. Spinning, he drew back his arm and pointed his weapon at the third elite fire elemental, holding out his other hand as a guide.

“Attack!” With a deep shout, he thrust forward, the jagged end of his tetsubo cutting into the flaming body of the elite fire elemental. The force of the thrust shattered the protective layer of fire that covered the elite fire elemental’s body, sinking into the burning blue core and causing it to halt, as if stunned. As his weapon connected, fifteen ranged attacks took advantage of the broken protective field as they fell on the elite fire elemental’s back, dealing huge amounts of damage. Unable to resist the attacks, the elite fire elemental gave a wail and dissipated in a flash of light, leaving behind a core and a few pieces of loot.

“Next target. Attack!” Without pausing, Thorn whirled toward his next target, bringing his tetsubo down in a vicious swing. Within a few minutes, the elite fire elementals had fallen and the regular fire elementals had been cleaned up, leaving a pile of loot for the players to dig through. Nova Luna had made remarkable progress, wiping out two of the large groups in a single day, thanks to Seven Twisted Leaves’ strategy and Thorn’s new gear.

“Here you go. This is the third one.” Jorge handed another of the stone keys over to Thorn. The first of the stone keys had been shaped like a teardrop and the second like a leaf, while this one was shaped like a crescent moon.

Taking it, Thorn examined it for a while, and seeing that it was made of the same material as the others, he put it away in his inventory. The rest of the loot was quickly split up amongst the party, with those who did not get gear receiving a bigger share of the resources that dropped. Thorn did not take anything for himself, instead opting to let the rest of the players get a larger share.

Loot had no particular attraction for Thorn, and he probably would have left most of the drops on the ground if it had been his decision. As it was, Mina made sure that everything of value was harvested, leaving the ground cleaner than when they arrived. Making full use of Thorn’s bottomless inventory, the Ice Witch directed him to take anything that looked like it might be of worth, and quite a few things that didn’t.

“Mina, I don’t think we need any more pillars.” Refusing to pull any more of the carved pillars from the wall, he waved his hand. “We can study the ones we have and come back if we need more.”

“But how do you know we’ll be able to find this place again? This stupid labyrinth is really confusing. The heat waves make it super disorienting. We need the whole set so we can study them properly. How are we supposed to decipher all of the secrets of the Dwarves if we don’t have a full set?”

“But we took a full set from the last room and these ones are exactly the same.”

“But…”

“No. No more. Unless you want to carry them yourself, we are done.” Thorn shook his head firmly. “Alright, are we ready to go out?”

Appearing in front of the entrance to the dungeon, Thorn scanned the area. His last encounter with the Silver Squires had made him wary of other guilds. The Silver Squires were back in force, many of their players having respawned after the fight against Nova Luna, but they turned away as Thorn and his teammates appeared. Many of the other players who were milling around the dungeon entrance hurried to clear the way, as well, the scene of the Titan squad ripping through the Silver Squires still fresh in their minds.

“Thank you all for your hard work.” Once they had arrived back at Nova Luna’s camp, Thorn addressed the team. “We made some good progress today. Tomorrow, some of you will be running with me again while others will be back to mapping the dungeon. Please see your group leaders to find out where you are assigned. You are dismissed.”

Entering the center tent, Thorn tossed the two stone keys to Baxby and plopped down in his chair. Despite having fought through two large groups of fire elementals and killing six elite fire elementals, he was significantly less tired than the day before.

“How are you holding up?” Velin finished making a note and flipped her notebook closed.

“I am doing well. These fights were not nearly as bad, thanks to the fire resistance. These things are pretty useful.” Thorn tapped a thick finger on the pendent around his neck.

“Quite. Resistance is one of the most sought-after abilities in the game because it allows you to go where other players cannot.”

“I can see that. Any further update on the exchange?”

“Nothing new. Eastern Alliance is asking that we arrive by noon, so we’ll set off first thing tomorrow morning. The Exploration mode labyrinth is not as hot as the Diving mode, so we can take the regular squad.”

“Alright, sounds good.” Thorn rubbed the back of his head and let out a sigh. “I need to call Corvo to figure out what is going on with the merchants we locked up. It has been a couple of days, so hopefully they’ve changed their tune. Ugh. I never imagined that becoming a noble would bring so many petty arguments.”

“Petty?” Velin’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“Okay, maybe not petty. I do understand the importance of them,” Thorn reassured the ruffled Elf with a smile. “I just don’t like the power games, and I wish I did not have to be involved.”

“An understandable position, if naive,” Velin scoffed. Shaking her head, she held up two fingers. “Thorn, only two people don’t have to play power games, the powerless, and the all-powerful. Everyone else is perpetually locked in a power game. That is all life is.” Velin’s expression was serious, and Thorn could see a touch of despair haunting in her eyes.

“Do you think so?” At first, Thorn was tempted to dismiss her words, but the flash of emotion that he spotted made him pause.

“Yes. The powerless are free because even though their lives are directed by the whims of others, they cannot play. The all-powerful are above the game and have no need to play. For the rest of us, we struggle against those below while trying to pull down those above, all in a vain effort to join the all-powerful while avoiding becoming the powerless.”

Velin’s impassioned words seemed to hang in the air even after she finished speaking. Seeing that Thorn was looking at her intently, she blushed slightly, as if embarrassed by her outburst. Opening her mouth as if to say more, Velin hesitated and finally said nothing, her eyes falling to the carpet. The mood in the tent was solemn as Thorn and Velin faced each other. At the table, Baxby watched quietly, his face inscrutable, his eyes strangely bright.

Finally, unable to bear the silence, Velin spoke again.

“Thorn, you grew up as one of the all-powerful. You have no idea how the real world works. Sickness, disease, poverty, all these things have been removed from society, but that never stopped people from trying to gain power over others. It's all I saw growing up. Everyone is always trying to maneuver so that they are over other people. Everyone does it. Even I do it.”

“What about Mina?”

“Ha, Mina is one of the powerless.”

“I don’t know that I would call her powerless,” Thorn protested lightly, his mind turning back to the sight of her dropping a snowstorm on Yaim.

“Sure, in the game, she is strong.” Velin seemed to know exactly what Thorn was thinking. “But that strength is useless if she cannot protect herself from being manipulated by other people. When I met her, she was being used by everyone around her, and she had no idea. Mina is one of the powerless, Thorn.”

“I understand.” Thorn nodded. “But do you really think that this is all there is to life?”

“No, of course not. The sun rises and sets, nature continues regardless of the petty games we play. I am just saying that those petty games have real consequences for our lives and the lives of others, and that while you might be able to ignore them, the rest of us can’t. We don’t have that privilege.”

Once again, the tent fell silent. It was evident that Velin was speaking from her heart, expressing a vulnerability that Thorn had never seen before. Growing up, he had witnessed these power games she spoke of first hand, though always from the detached position of a spectator. Even when they involved his aunt or his company, he had the privilege of having others play on his behalf.

He had never needed to struggle against others for advantage, never needed to defend himself. There were always others who jumped at the chance to do that work for him. As Thorn thought about it, he realized that those people were playing the game as well, though he had been blissfully unaware that there was a game going on. They rushed to gain his approval and favor, as a simple nod or quiet word from him could elevate their status above that of their coworkers and peers.

Hearing the quiet despair laced through Velin’s words, Thorn did not have to be a genius to realize just how deeply impacted she was. He had no idea what she had experienced as she grew, but it had obviously been difficult. Suffering had a way of carving a worldview into a person that no amount of reason could overcome.

As much as he wanted to refute her words by pointing to the relationship that they had, he couldn’t. Unless she experienced something drastically different, everything she saw would simply confirm her thoughts. Thinking back over everything they had experienced, what she said hit home. Ouroboros and the team’s betrayal had been a textbook example of what she was talking about, and even the situations they had faced together pointed toward her idea.

“Then let’s change the game.” The deep, low rumble of Thorn’s voice was comforting. “If, as you say, life’s natural state is a power struggle, then let’s change the natural order. We play Nova Terra for many reasons, but regardless of the reason, we should be able to play freely, without being tied to the struggle for power that others impose on us.

“If what you are saying is true, then, as someone with the power to ignore power games, it is my responsibility to make a place where no one has to worry about playing in the first place. Let's make a place where people can put down their burdens, where they don’t have to fight for power or struggle for a place of their own. Let’s make peace.”

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Rising from his seat, Thorn towered above Velin, his sheer physical presence taking up all of the space in the tent. The Titan smiled down at his friend, the warm, confident look on his face leaving her slightly choked up. Lifting his gaze, Thorn stared into the distance, as if he could see beyond the fabric wall of the tent. After a moment of silence, he sighed and grinned.

“It’s a nice idea anyway.” Turning toward the doorway, he sighed again. “I better get ahold of Corvo.”

“You can do it!” Velin blurted out suddenly, her eyes fixed on Thorn’s broad back. Her eyes met his, as he looked over his shoulder, startled by her abrupt outburst. The Elven War Priestess was just as startled as Thorn and blushed furiously, spinning around so he could not see her bright red face. Unfortunately, her long ears were also bright red, betraying her embarrassment. With a chuckle, Thorn walked out of the tent to spare her further panic, but in his heart he vowed at that moment to complete this new goal.

Back in the tent, Baxby was grinning, his smile stretching from ear to ear. Wiggling his eyebrows at the still blushing Elf, he teased her.

“Ah, to be young. Haha." He cackled as her face took on a deeper red. “But believe me, lass, there are worse people you could follow. You’ve made a good choice. I’ve seen enough in my lifetime to know that this kid is going places. You can trust yourself to him. Honestly, listening to him talk almost makes me want to do the same.”

“Why don’t you do the same, sir?” Velin asked, bringing her emotions back under control. “We could use someone with your incredible skill.”

“I told you, girl, cut it out with the sirs. I don’t get into that sort of thing. And thanks but no thanks. I don’t mind hanging out with you, but I’ve had enough of organized groups.”

“If you change your mind, you are always welcome.”

“Hah, thanks.” Uncomfortable with the way Velin was looking at him, Baxby changed the subject. “Now that we’ve picked up the three stone keys, my guess is that the second half of the Dwarven earth map is the last piece we need to figure out the labyrinth.”

“Barring any accidents, we should get it tomorrow.”

“Good. Once we do, I’ll need to come with you into the dungeon. Just remember that you’ll be down one combatant. I don’t fight, so you’ll have to carry my dead weight around.”

“No problem. You are not the only one in that position. Oberlin will be coming with us, as well, and he is completely useless in a direct fight.” More than happy the conversation had turned away from her embarrassing moment, Velin flipped open her notebook and began to grill Baxby on what he had learned about the three stone keys.

Outside the tent, Thorn sat on his new rock as he called Corvo. The conversation with Velin had started his mind whirring and thoughts were beginning to form, though they had not yet crystallized.

“Hey, boss. How is it going?” Corvo’s face appeared in the messenger window.

“Good, we’ve finished collecting the three stone keys we need and will be trading dwarven maps with the Eastern Alliance tomorrow. I just wanted to check in to see how Jora Silverhand and the rest of the merchants were doing. Any word from their organization?”

“You mean the ULM? Haha, sort of. For a United League of Merchants, they are not very united. We have gotten three different offers from small factions inside the league that want to cut a deal to work with us exclusively.”

“Are you serious? Won’t that harm their relationship with the rest of the league?”

“They all want to deal under the table.” Corvo grinned scornfully. “I did some research on Ms. Silverhand and figured out what is going on. She is running for a seat on the council of the league. To get voted on, she has to make a big move that brings a certain amount of business to the organization. Seems she is in a bit of a hurry, which is why she was trying to be so forceful.

“The groups contacting us are all competing factions within the league that don’t want to see her get the seat. However, I am happy to report that we have a better option than using the ULM. You know how you let Elder Havva oversee the valley? Well, we better pray that he doesn’t want your job, because he organized the Wolfkin and humans in Greymane village, and they have already sent out three caravans.”

“It’s only been three days.”

“Yeah. Like I said, pray he doesn’t want your job. The Wolfkin natives do everything he says without question, and he got players to act as guards by giving them a quest. Highly efficient.”

“Do you think they’ll bring in enough supplies for the time being?”

“For the short term? Yes. But long term, we need actual merchants who have good supply channels until we can build out the Night Walker’s merchant arm.”

“I see.” Thorn rubbed his forehead as he tried to get his head around the problem. “What are you estimating the time frame will look like? Are we talking two weeks? A few months?”

“A month if we rush it. Three if we want something solid.”

“Alright. See if you can rope Ms. Silverhand into the Night Walkers as a merchant to help head up that division.”

“Really? You hardly know her. In fact, your only interaction with her so far was her threatening you. Aren’t you afraid of being betrayed?” Corvo’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Thorn thoughtfully.

“I did some threatening of my own. Besides, you would have told me if there were any major red flags, right?” Thorn grinned. “She might have come to threaten us, but ultimately, she wants power, so let’s play her game. As long as we can give her the authority that she was looking for in the ULM council, why would she betray us? If we can leverage her knowledge, expertise, and connections, we should be able to cut down on how long it takes to set up our own merchant arm, right? And if she gets out of line, I’ll deal with it.”

“What happened?”

“What do you mean?” Thorn’s head tilted slightly as he looked at Corvo.

“Something changed. The way you are talking is way more decisive than normal. I know you were on a kick to be proactive, but this is different. More… scheming.”

“Is it bad?”

“Oh, no. It is great.” The avatar of Huginn shook his head and chuckled. “I’m all for scheming, and Josey will be happy about it, as well. It just took me by surprise.”

“It was something Velin said.” Thorn scratched the back of his head. “Something about responsibility.”

“And power plays?”

“How did you know?” Surprised, Thorn looked up, staring directly at Corvo’s image.

“All-Seeing Raven, remember? You are the protector, I know everything.” Corvo’s picture flashed with a self-satisfied grin as he signed off, leaving Thorn staring at a black screen.

“That little…” Thorn trailed off into a mumble. Shaking his head, he stood up and stretched, putting his boulder seat away. He had still not quite figured out his fellow avatars, but he had to admit that he was glad to have them as companions and not enemies.

The rest of the day passed quietly as Thorn repaired his armor and got in some physical training. The habits of his life before Nova Terra and the benefits training had on his class made him devote time each day to practice his martial arts. Increasingly, Thorn found himself gravitating towards a hybrid unarmed combat style that used his claws to their fullest extent. Still, he was loathe to give up the sheer power of his tetsubo, so he kept up his practice with it.

Early the next morning, the Titan squad gathered to enter the dungeon. Just like Diving mode, Exploration allowed a maximum of fifty people to enter as a team, so a few of the Titan squad members stayed behind so that Velin and Baxby could come along. Oberlin joined them, as well, just in case his talents would come in handy.

Once she arrived, Velin flipped open her notebook and pulled Thorn, Seven Twisted Leaves, and Baxby aside. Looking them over carefully to make sure they were properly geared up, she nodded.

“Okay, Thorn, you’ll be leading this team. Baxby will be our navigator, Leaves will be second in command. I am acting as advisor. Chain of command is Thorn, Leaves, me, and then the team leads.”

“What about Baxby?” Thorn looked at the treasure hunter, who grimaced.

“Thorn, don’t interrupt.” Velin shot a cold glance at the Titan before continuing. “Baxby is our pathfinder, so he cannot be part of the chain of command. As I was saying. Command will pass when the current commander is incapacitated.”

“So never,” Seven Twisted Leaves quipped, poking Thorn in the shoulder and earning himself a glacial stare. Quailing under Velin’s gaze, he put a hand over his mouth and mimed zipping it shut.

“Thank you. As I was saying.” Velin paused and looked at the three men. Seeing that they were all quiet, she nodded to herself and continued. “Our objective with this mission is to get to the location where the fire section and the air section connect. We will identify that as gate 1. There we will meet the Eastern Alliance. If everything goes to plan, we will make the trade for the dwarven earth map. From there, we will retreat. Yes, Thorn?”

“How do we know the map is the right one?” Thorn put down the hand that he had raised.

“That is where Baxby comes in. He will test the map for us and determine if it is the correct one. Once we have it in our hands, we will hopefully have a better idea of what the stone keys are used for.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Any other questions? No? Then we should be all set to start. Thorn, you may lead the way.”

“Great.” Clapping his massive hands together, Thorn called over the rest of the Titan squad and led them into the dungeon. Selecting the exploration option from the popup, Thorn found himself once again in the now familiar beginning room. This time there was a doorway behind him that led out of the dungeon. Unlike Diving mode, which gave the party leader a token to let them teleport the group out when they were done, Exploration mode required them to either walk out or respawn.

The labyrinth was not nearly as hot in Exploration mode, and taking care of the fire elementals along the way proved a simple matter, so they made good time as they headed for the meeting point. As they walked, Thorn had the opportunity to study the architecture in greater detail. He had noticed the strange discrepancy in the size of the rooms and decided to ask Baxby about it when he saw the treasure hunter looking at a faded mural.

“Do you know how old this city is?” Walking over to stand next to Baxby, Thorn examined the mural.

“Older than me, which is a miracle.” The old man chuckled. “I would guess that this labyrinth was built before the Era of the Gods. See here? It looks like paint has been added over top of an older mural. That reddish color you see underneath? That is found at some of the oldest sites in Nova Terra.”

“Oh? So wouldn’t that mean that the Dwarves came later?”

“Eh, it might. Some people think that the Dwarves were created by the gods, some people think that they were born from the earth. Who knows, really? It is almost impossible to figure out what happened such a long time ago unless Eve herself decides you should know.”

“Good point.” Looking around, Thorn gestured to the massive pillars running down the center of the hallway they were passing through. “Isn’t the scale strange, though? Why would Dwarves build something so out of scale?”

“Maybe they didn’t.” Tracing his wrinkled hand over the fading paint of the mural, Baxby glanced up at the vaulted ceiling. “Like I said, who knows why the ancients did what they did? Listen, kid. Just because something is one way now, doesn’t mean that it has always been that way. Things change over time, but you can’t always extrapolate backward. Culture and society shift, as does the natural world. It is best to keep an open mind if you want to dig into the secrets of history.”

“Sorry to interrupt your chat, but we need to keep going. We are on a schedule.” The rest of the group had stopped when they saw Thorn and Baxby chatting near the mural, so Velin walked over after a moment.

“Yes, ma’am.” Thorn chuckled and snapped a sloppy salute. Waving for the Titan squad to follow him, Thorn walked through the massive doorway at the end of the hall.

Over the next few hours, the group fought its way through small groups of fire elementals. The path they were taking was one that Baxby had drawn out, and it took them winding through countless rooms and corridors. Every once in a while the treasure hunter would stop the group and spend a few minutes searching around the room they had entered to, without fail, find a hidden chest.

Oberlin, proving once again that his fingers were nearly magic, would casually open the locked chests, revealing the jewels, materials, or other loot hidden inside. Thorn was surprised at first when Baxby kept revealing hidden chests, but he soon grew numb to the old man’s ability to sniff out a hidden treasure in a completely empty room. No matter how hard Thorn looked, there was never anything there, until Baxby moved a bit of stone or poked the shadow behind a pillar and the treasure chest popped into existence.

The loot they gained from the treasure chests was added to the loot they picked up from the fire elementals they killed and divided between the members of the team. Baxby, unsurprisingly, was not interested in any of the loot, only taking a few of the smaller gems at Velin’s insistence.

After four hours of travel, the team finally arrived at the location of the trade. Calling for them to stop, Thorn gave everyone ten minutes to rest before they entered the long hallway where the trade would take place and called Jorge.

“What’s up?” The gruff voice of the Dwarven Shadow Assassin sounded by Thorn’s hip.

“Can you help me out with something?”

“Of course. You’re the boss.”

“Thanks.” Sending Jorge a message, Thorn earned himself a quizzical look. Still, after reading over the message, the Dwarf nodded and disappeared in a puff of shadow.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

The hallway where the trade was going to take place looked like a strange meeting of two worlds. Dark stone walls with a reflected red tint stretched forward to the halfway mark where they were met by a white marble wall reflecting a wavy blue light that reminded Thorn of light shining into a pool. Standing at the edge of the blueish area was a group of fifty players, all dressed in high quality armor.

Though their armor was not uniform, each player wore a similar green tabard with the winged shield symbol of the Eastern Alliance guild. At the front of the group, three players in blue tabards stood together, talking quietly. Seeing how good they looked in their matching tabards, Thorn glanced back at the Titan squad, who were dressed in whatever caught their fancy. The two guilds, though similar in combat power, looked worlds apart.

Velin, noticing Thorn’s look, flipped open her notebook and made a note to work on a uniform for Nova Luna. The guild had its own symbol, but they had not developed any sort of dress code for their members, causing them to look more like a random group of players than an organized team. Wearing a similar uniform would help with group cohesion and identification.

As Thorn walked forward with Velin, Mina, and Baxby, the three blue tabarded players advanced to meet them. Walking in the center was a stunning human woman with jet-black hair and an olive complexion. Dressed in an impressive set of red armor with phoenix motifs on the pauldrons and carrying dual scimitars at her waist, she gave off a fiery impression. At six feet four inches, she was quite tall for a human, though still dwarfed by Thorn, and it was obvious from the proud look on her face that she was used to other player’s eyes.

Next to her was a mustached man with a staff and a shorter woman carrying a spear and a round shield. As they walked up to Thorn, all three of them had their eyes locked on his massive form. With his gleaming silver armor and his helm held under his arm, Thorn presented a striking picture.

“Hello. I’m Thorn, Baron Greymane, leader of Nova Luna. Are you BurningCloud?” Lifting his hand in a small wave, Thorn did his best to be as non-threatening as possible. He wanted to make sure this trade went well.

“Hi, Thorn. Yes, I’m BurningCloud, the president of the Eastern Alliance. This is LemonLia, my second-in-command, and Forthil, the Eastern Alliance security director.” Offering her hand for a handshake, BurningCloud gestured with her head to her companions. Looking them over now that they were closer, Thorn examined BurningCloud’s companions. Forthil was a robed mage with long black hair who carried a shiny silver staff. On the other side, the spear carrying LemonLia flipped her chestnut brown hair over her shoulder as she stared at Thorn.

“Nice to meet you all. This is Velin, my advisor, and Baxby, our treasure hunting expert.”

After introductions were complete, BurningCloud gestured for LemonLia to get out the dwarven earth map that they were going to trade. Taking the orb from her second-in-command, BurningCloud tossed it up and down in her hand. Her smiling face took on a cunning look as she watched the three players from Nova Luna track the metal orb with their eyes.

“According to what I’m told, this little piece of metal is worth a lot to you. Is that so?”

His eyes narrowing slightly, Thorn’s eyes swept the group of players from Eastern Alliance as he slowly straightened to his full height. A lazy smile crossed his face, and he shifted his impressive weight forward half an inch. Instantly his aura changed, going from relaxed and friendly to oppressive. Though he was still smiling, it was no longer the easy, open smile from before. Instead, all three of the players from Eastern Alliance felt like they had been targeted by a large predator.

As if sensing the change in his body language, Velin started to lift her hand even before Thorn moved, but paused when she saw Thorn’s smile. Without moving, Thorn suddenly seemed to be towering above BurningCloud, his deep blue eyes staring down at her.

“You are correct.” Thorn’s deep voice, so calm and soothing before, was suddenly heavy. “It is worth a lot to me.”

“Ah.” It took all of her mental strength for BurningCloud to stop herself from stepping backward under the weight of Thorn’s aura. As the leader of the second strongest guild in Nova Terra, she was not used to backing down for anyone, but she had also never encountered this level of presence in a player. As she did her best to resist the brunt of Thorn’s aura, the smile slid from her face.

Next to her, LemonLia was handling the pressure with composure, though her white knuckled grip on her long spear revealed the stress she was feeling. The black haired Forthil, on the other hand, was completely cowed by Thorn’s presence. Trembling slightly, the mage retreated a few steps, his chest heaving as he tried to breath.

The silence only lasted a brief moment, but to everyone standing there, except Thorn, it felt like it dragged on for an eternity.

“Well, I’m glad we can help you.” As if she suddenly came to a decision, BurningCloud flashed a bright smile at Thorn and took a trembling step forward with the dwarven earth map held out in front of her. Her smile lit up her face like a thousand flowers blooming, making her look like an angel in her red phoenix armor.

Bemused, Thorn could only stare down at her curiously. Nodding affably, the Titan retracted his aura so that BurningCloud could approach him. Once his overpowering presence disappeared, both LemonLia and Forthil breathed a secret sigh of relief, and BurningCloud laughed softly as she walked closer to Thorn.

“Oh, I’m happy you could help us, as well.” Thorn pulled the dwarven earth map they had agreed to trade from his inventory and rolled it around like a marble. As he was about to hand it over to the beautiful leader of Eastern Alliance, a cough came from behind him, and Velin stepped forward, plucking the dwarven earth map from his large hand.

“Ehem, excuse me.” Velin’s voice was polite, but Thorn knew her well enough to tell that she was annoyed for some reason. With her other hand, she gently pushed against Thorn’s chest, causing him to take a small step backward. Not short herself, Velin seemed to stand straighter than normal as she faced off against the beautiful leader of Eastern Alliance.

“Haha, now that is a pleasant sight, huh, kid?” Cackling, Baxby elbowed Thorn as he pointed toward the Elven War Priestess and BurningCloud. The two women did present a pretty image as they stood together, Velin’s cold elegance contrasting with BurningCloud’s passionate force.

Coming to a stop within half an arms length of Velin, BurningCloud examined her closely, running her eyes up and down the Elf’s slim figure. Velin matched her stare for stare, not giving an inch. The tension that had just drained from the scene reappeared as neither woman spoke. Finally, after looking thoughtfully between Thorn and Velin, BurningCloud’s smile grew even sweeter, and she giggled.

“Protective, aren’t we? Still, I can see why. What do you say, shall we trade?”

If Thorn had been looking very closely, he might have caught the hint of red that sprang to Velin’s cheeks at BurningCloud’s words, but as it was, he was too busy trying to figure out why the two women were standing so close together.

“Of course. That’s why we are here, after all. Here you go.” Velin’s tone was cold as she held out the dwarven earth map she had taken from Thorn’s hand. BurningCloud held out her hand as well, and both women simultaneously reached for the orb held by the other woman. Behind Velin, Thorn tensed slightly as he watched the exchange, ready to charge into action at a moment’s notice should he detect any sort of foul play.

It was not until Velin took a step back, the trade complete, that Thorn relaxed. He was about to take the dwarven earth map from her but the War Priestess handed it to Baxby first. Flipping it over a couple of times, Baxby examined it closely for a few minutes before nodding.

“It’s the real deal, alright. We got the right one.”

“Don’t you have to turn it on?” Thorn whispered, looking down at the inert chunk of metal.

“Nah, when you rotate the plates, it shows you what sections of the labyrinth it covers. Its those runic symbols down there.” Baxby pointed to a tiny row of incomprehensible symbols.

“Uh, sure. If you say so.” Thorn had no idea what the symbols meant, so he just shrugged and patted the treasure hunter on the shoulder. Velin and BurningCloud were still facing off, though they were no longer standing so close together now that the trade had been completed.

“So, what are these things, anyway?” BurningCloud tossed the orb Velin had just given her up and down in her hand. “We’ve done just about everything, but we cannot figure it out.”

Before speaking, Velin glanced at Thorn, who nodded. It had been part of the agreement to explain the Dwarven earth map’s function anyway, so there was little reason to conceal the information now.

“They are maps to the labyrinth. You have to get two of them in order to unlock the full map. We just traded you one of the air maps, but you will have to hunt for the other yourself. Each map activates when you bring it to the correct section, which is why you could not figure out what they were.”

“Oh, wow. Talk about bad luck.” BurningCloud smiled wryly. “I guess what you are saying is that we should have asked for more from you. Hey, relax. We already made the trade, and we won't take it back. Well, I hope it helps you.”

“Thank you.” Walking over to stand beside Velin, Thorn nodded to BurningCloud, his gentle smile back. “This will be a great help to us. Nova Luna will remember this favor.”

“Its nothing, so long as you remember it.” BurningCloud giggled again as her eyes slowly scanned Thorn. Covering her mouth with her hand, the guild leader of Eastern Alliance turned away and led her two companions back toward the Eastern Alliance team, leaving a puzzled Titan and a fuming Elf behind.

“Let’s go.” Under her cold expression, Thorn could tell that Velin was boiling. Or at least simmering. Shooting a curious glance at her as they walked back to the Titan squad, he considered asking if something was wrong. Eventually deciding to let her calm down first, Thorn ordered the Titan squad to move out, leading them back the way they had come.

Winding their way through the dungeon as they walked toward the entrance, everyone was in a good mood. Even Velin stifled whatever was bothering her and joined in the conversation. So far, it had been a smooth trip. Thorn had half expected to have to fight Eastern Alliance for the Dwarven earth map, but they had turned out to be much more compliant than he had anticipated.

*ding*

Friend Request: BurningCloud - Immortal Phoenix Warrior - Fiery Beauty

Accept

Reject

The friend request revealed BurningCloud’s class and her highest ranked title, giving Thorn even greater respect for her. Not only was she the second most powerful guild leader in Nova Terra, but she had a triple category class. On top of all of that, even the game recognized her good looks, an amazing feat considering that the system allowed for a 20 percent improvement.

Without knowing why, Thorn glanced at Velin out of the corner of his eye only to find her staring directly at him. Startled, he stopped walking and met her gaze. Behind them, the whole Titan squad stopped, looking around in confusion. After a moment of staring, Velin snapped out of her thoughts and continued walking as if the strange pause had never happened.

Looking after her, Thorn was about to open his mouth when he thought better of it again. Having lived with Athena for sixteen years before he began to play Nova Terra, he was well versed in dealing with mood swings and had learned that sometimes it was safer to just stay quiet. Resolving to talk to Velin later, he waved his confused guildmates forward and followed after Velin. The blinking friend request caught his attention once again, and he casually tapped the button to accept it.

After traveling for about half an hour, Baxby, who was walking in front of the group with Thorn, suddenly slowed down. The team was just about to enter a large room with a massive open furnace along one wall that spawned fire elementals at regular intervals when he brought everyone to a stop.

“Something the matter?”

“Shhhh.” Holding his finger to his lips, Baxby looked around at the room. A smattering of fire elementals had respawned since they passed by the first time, and looking over the room, Thorn could not spot any issues. Scratching his head, Thorn looked at Velin, who shrugged her shoulders.

“Did you find something?”

“If I did, it is nothing good.” Baxby peered around from under his thick eyebrows. “This room smells dangerous.”

“Uh. Like a trap or something? We cleared it without trouble on the way over here, so there shouldn’t be anything we haven’t seen.”

“No, this is different. Someone else has been here.”

“How can you tell?” Thorn examined the floor closely, looking for footprints. Unable to find anything, he looked at the old treasure hunter again. “I mean, it is not that I don’t believe you, but this is the way we get out of here.”

“I’m telling you, this is dangerous. My danger sense is tingling.”

“You have a sixth sense?”

“I don’t know about sixth, but it certainly is a sense.” Baxby, unable to actually spot any problems, started to take a step forward and then froze, slowly retracting his outstretched leg. “[Prescient Avoidance]. It has kept me alive more times than you can count. Perk of having gone through so many types of deadly danger in my life. This room is bad news.”

“Do we have another path?”

“Nah. Not if we want to leave from where we came in. This is a choke point. We could go around to the water section of the labyrinth, but that exit will drop us far away from the mine where we came in. No, our only real option is walking through.”

His face turning serious, Thorn buckled on his helmet when he heard Baxby’s words. If there was no way around the room, it meant cutting their way through whatever danger the treasure hunter was sensing.

“Suit up, folks. We might have trouble ahead.”

CHAPTER FIFTY

Behind him, the Titan squad straightened up, equipping their armor and readying their weapons. Cautiously, they followed Thorn as he advanced into the room, his tetsubo held ready. Not taking any chances, Thorn ordered three tanks to come with him, the four of them going out ahead of the group to tank the fire elementals. Soon the fire elementals fell to the ground, crushed by the focused attacks of the group, and the Titan squad was left standing in the middle of the room.

“Let’s move, folks. No reason to dawdle here.” The giant gaping furnace on the team’s right was making Thorn nervous.

“Uh oh.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Hearing Baxby’s voice, Thorn followed the old man’s gaze toward the doorway the team was headed for, coming to rest on twenty-five players with gleaming silver armor. Snapping his head around, Thorn could see more silver-armored players walking out of the doorway the team had just come from, trapping the Titan squad neatly in the middle.

“Uh oh is right.”

The flickering orange light cascading from the giant furnace cast a malevolent gleam on the silver armor of the approaching Silver Guard. Stretched across both entrances into the room, the team from Ragnarok had come prepared for war. Each Silver Guard held a tall kite shield in front of them, creating a solid wall of metal between the Titan squad and the exits.

Slowly the Silver Guard closed in, maintaining their perfect ranks, only stopping when they were forty feet away. With a shout, all of the Silver Guard lifted their shields and drove the pointed ends into the stone floor.

*CRACK*

With a loud sound, the shields sank a few inches into the floor, sending a cloud of dust and stone chips into the air. Tightly packed together in the center, the Titan squad shifted nervously as the dust blew over them. Standing head and shoulders above the rest of the team, Thorn stood like a solid mountain, unmoving as he scanned the Silver Guard, looking for Sylith.

As the dust cleared, the shields of the Silver Guard came into view, silver light coursing over them. Evenly spaced, the shields stuck into the stone floor pulsed with energy, creating an ephemeral wall of illusory kite shields that stretched the whole way across the room. Next to Thorn, Velin paled.

“Uh oh is right.” Mina unconsciously repeated Thorn’s words from moments before, her eyes wide as she stared at the barrier. “This is trouble.”

“I knew something was wrong.” Baxby spit on the stone, his saliva boiling as it hit the hot floor.

“What is that?” Thorn had drawn his tetsubo and pointed it at the shield.

“That, friend, is the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis].” From the entrance at Thorn’s back the familiar gold and purple armored figure of Sylith appeared. Walking casually forward until he was right behind the line of Silver Guard, he patted one of his men on the shoulder, the clanging ring of metal grating in the Titan squad’s ears.

“Invulnerable, huh?” Thorn’s voice was heavy as he turned around to face Sylith. About to take a step forward, he felt Velin’s hand on his arm.

“Don’t be hasty, Thorn.” The Elven War Priestess had a serious expression on her face.

“Yeah, Thorn. Don’t be hasty.” Sylith grinned mockingly. “Besides, now that we’re both here and you can’t go anywhere, how about we have a little chat?”

“What would we have to chat about, Sylith?” Taking a deep breath, Thorn forcibly calmed himself down, stifling the burning desire in his chest that was telling him to throw himself at the enemy with abandon.

“You know, I’ve always felt like we were never able to have a real, honest, man to man conversation before.” Oblivious to Thorn’s struggle, Sylith spoke casually. “Our discussions have been so rushed and under pressure. So I thought it would be nice to arrange some time to chat.”

“You could have just called.”

“Haha, funny. You know, that is what I like about you. Your humor. Oh, and your naive optimism. That is quite the endearing quality, as well. If only you could get rid of your annoying habits, you might even be pretty tolerable. What do you say we have a discussion, Thorn?”

“Huh. You trailed us into a dungeon and trapped us here to throw weak insults at me?” Thorn’s eyebrows rose under his helmet. “Even if you don’t have better things to do, Sylith, Nova Luna does. Please move aside.”

“See, that is what I am talking about.” Grimacing dramatically, Sylith shook a finger at Thorn. “This is one of your annoying habits. You don’t listen. No, I didn’t come here to ‘throw weak insults’. I came here to talk. But in a proper forum. See, after meeting you, I realized something. You’re used to being a bully, Thorn. You have strength and size, and you don’t hesitate to throw them around when you are faced with something, or someone, you don’t like. Just like a wild dog, snapping at everything around them.

“Tell me, Thorn, how do you go about dealing with a wild dog? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you.” Holding his hand up to keep Thorn from speaking, Sylith chuckled. “If you want to deal with a wild dog, you have to restrain it first. There is a reason humans invented collars and leashes, you know. If you don’t want to get bit, you start with a chain and maybe a beating or two. If that doesn’t work, you move on to a muzzle.”

“Done yet?”

“No, why would I be done?” Sylith cocked his head to the side. “I’ve got all the time in the world to chat with you now. The [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] is, as it is named, invulnerable, silver, and an aegis. You can see that it is silver, and as for being an aegis...”

“It’s a shield, I get it.”

Ignoring Thorn’s interruption, Sylith just grinned all the wider.

“An aegis, is a shield. That brings us to the last, but obviously most important point in this explanation, doesn’t it? The [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] is, at its core, invulnerable. That means that it cannot be broken. It is impervious to damage or harm. That is straight out of the dictionary, you know.”

“Is he normally this talkative?” Thorn leaned down to speak in Velin’s ear.

“No, something else is going on.”

“Alright, keep your eyes open.” Straightening back up, Thorn waited for Sylith, who was still prattling on about how impressive the wall of energy was, to take a breath. “I get it. The wall is tough. Get to the point, Sylith. What do you want?”

“What do I want? Why don’t we talk about what you have?”

“Here we go,” Mina muttered under her breath. “This the the Sylith we’re familiar with.”

“That is being a bit greedy, don’t you think?” Thorn tightened his grip on the handle of his tetsubo.

“No, I don’t think so.” Sylith shook his head. “I like to think of it as realistic. You and your team are going to die, from natural causes I might add, and I am going to be here to collect that map that you just traded from Eastern Alliance. If we can come to an agreement, you can walk free. You’ll have to leave the map, of course, but compared to losing the map and dying as well, I think it is the better deal.”

“How did you…”

“Find out about the map? Please, Thorn. You can’t be silly enough to think that you are the only one with an information network? Regardless of how we found out, here we are.”

The Silver Guard maintained their vigilant state, each of the silver-armored players holding their planted shield steadily. Even though they were taking no aggressive actions, the pressure they exuded just by standing there was starting to wear on the Titan squad. Thorn could sense the fidgeting behind him as his team tried to keep their composure. Realizing that the situation was starting to deteriorate, Thorn turned to Velin.

“What are the chances we can break out of here?”

“Next to none. The [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] is exactly what it sounds like. They can’t move, or attack, but it is impossible to get through from this side.”

“Have you tried before?”

“I haven’t, but I’ve seen other people try, and nothing can get through it.”

“Well,” Thorn drew his arbalest and leveled it at Sylith’s head. “Let's try it out.”

Sylith stood unmoving, a slight smile on his face as he stared at the massive bolt Thorn had pointed at him. With a whoosh, the bolt shot through the air, covering the forty feet almost instantly. Even with all their training, the two Silver Guard closest to the path of the bolt could not help but flinch as it approached.

Driving into the ethereal wall, the bolt’s metal head detonated, sending shards of steel and wood rebounding. The bolt had been moving with such a speed that it seemed to disintegrate in mid-air as it impacted on the wall. Sylith, watching the bolt hit, broke into a full grin.

“It’s a good try, but you’ll need more than that to break this shield.”

“Is it only me, or is his voice really annoying?” Thorn asked Velin as he tightened his grip on his tetsubo.

“It is really annoying.”

Even knowing that his attack was going to be useless, Thorn still had to try. LIfting his tetsubo, he walked forward, his heavy footsteps causing the ground to tremble. Soon he was standing in front of the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis], little more than an arm’s reach away from the Silver Guard.

Cracking his neck, Thorn took a deep breath and patted the barrier. Unlike what he expected, the barrier had no give whatsoever. Normally, the things he touched moved, even if only a little, but patting this thin pane of energy was like patting a mountain. Reconsidering, Thorn stood quietly for a moment as he tried to calculate how much force it would take to crack the barrier open. On the other side of the barrier, despite knowing that Thorn’s attack would never make it through, the Silver Guard player held his breath.

Finally, with a glance at Sylith, Thorn walked back over to the Titan squad and spoke to Velin in a low voice.

“You were right. Nothing is going through that.”

“At this point, there is not much we can do except wait.” Velin frowned. “The problem is, the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] doesn’t require that much energy, so it can last a long time.”

“Isn’t that completely overpowered? How can it be okay that they get such a broken ability?”

“Are you serious?” Velin rolled her eyes at Thorn, wiping a trickle of sweat from her forehead. “The shield is impervious, but only from one direction. It is extremely fragile from the other side. Any sort of disruption will bring it down. It also isn’t that big. It is only really effective in a choke point since the guard who activates it cannot move or it will collapse.”

“So we’re at an impasse? Whoever gets tired first?”

“Sort of. Attacks cannot pass through the aegis. Any attacks from that side will weaken it until the whole shield crumbles. They can’t attack us, but attacks are not the danger. The ability divides space. Anything in here cannot pass over there.”

“So what is the point of all of this? Why not just wipe us out? Aren’t the Silver Guard supposed to be really good at team fights?”

“They are. The Silver Guard are arguably the best team fighters in the game. Even more so when they have Sylith leading them. But if they attack us, they’ll be marked by the system and they will have broken the agreement that we made. So, instead, they’ll just use the environment to kill us. After all, if we die without them lifting a hand, they will be able to argue that it was not their fault.”

“Sorry, I’m not following.” It was obvious from Thorn’s tone of voice that he was completely lost.

Mutely, Velin simply raised her hand and pointed at the fiercely burning furnace that dominated one wall. Staring at it blankly for a minute, Thorn still didn’t get it until a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

“Uh oh.”

On the other side of the shimmering barrier of shields, Sylith saw Velin’s raised hand and laughed.

“Like I said, natural causes.” Rubbing his hands together, he grinned. “When we first started using this ability, we quickly realized that the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] has an interesting property. Temperature isolation. I am sure that this is designed to help defend against things like frost breath or fireballs. Not only does it block the pure force but the elemental affect, as well.

“Unfortunately for you, this means you’re between a rock and a hard place. Ha, maybe I should have said, a rock and a hot place. What a missed opportunity! Ah well, you probably don’t have time for appreciating jokes right now. Where was I? Oh, right. Complete immunity to elemental affects. For me, that means staying quite cool. Or, at least, as cool as I can be in this dungeon.

“For you, it means something different. Feel the sweat yet? I can tell that your friends do. I’m interested to see how long you’ll be able to last in there with the amount of heat being pumped out by that furnace.”

His mind racing furiously, Thorn stared at the flame-belching furnace. Heat was rolling out of the mouth of the furnace in waves, the temperature warping the air. Trapped between the two barriers, the constant infusion of heat was beginning to cause the ambient temperature to creep up steadily. Soon, Thorn felt like he was back in the Diving mode dungeon surrounded by crowds of fire elementals. As he was watching, a fiery figure materialized out of the flame, floating forward toward the team, burning fireballs resting in its hands.

“Incoming!”

“Fire elemental!”

Shouts broke out among the players from Nova Luna as they rushed to kill the floating fire elemental. Countless attacks hammered it into the ground almost as soon as it appeared. The fire elemental was crushed, releasing a small explosion of lava as it died, the molten rock splashing on the ground. Feeling the temperature jump noticeably, Thorn, Velin, and Mina all exchanged glances.

On top of pumping out heat, the furnace was releasing fire elementals every few minutes. Elite fire elementals only spawned when the temperature in the room rose to a specific point, which normally meant that a certain number of regular elementals would spawn before any elite fire elementals. Unfortunately, the area the Titan squad was standing in would soon reach the required temperature because of the two barriers trapping them.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

With Thorn’s words still echoing around the chamber, Velin closed her eyes as she took a breath of the burning air. For some reason, her normally even emotions had been jumping wildly recently, making it difficult for her to talk to Thorn. Gathering herself, she opened her eyes and looked squarely at Thorn without backing down an inch.

“I mean the dwarven earth maps are not worth dying over. It’ll take me a couple minutes to copy them out, and then we can just use that map. The only thing that will happen if we give away the orbs is they’ll be able to figure out the path faster. Ragnarok will still need to clear the big groups of elementals, which I doubt they’ve done. But if we die, we’re giving them a leg up. That is twenty-four hours that they are free to progress, while we have to wait.”

“But those maps are ours.” Even though Thorn was wearing a helmet, those close to him could hear his teeth grinding. “At the very least, we should make them pay.”

“What do you mean pay?” Baxby jumped in. “We can’t get out. We’re just going to sit here until we all die from exhaustion. Listen, kid, I know you are tough, but know when to take a step back. Sometimes you have to admit that you’ve been out-maneuvered and just go with the flow.”

“Baxby is right.” Velin’s voice was quiet, and she held her staff nervously in front of her. “We will gain more by letting this go. Besides, even if we can get out of here, can we take on a full squad of Silver Guard in a fight? You’ve seen Sylith in action. He might be annoying, but he is a quad category class holder. He isn’t to be taken lightly. Especially when he is with the Silver Guard.”

“No way.” Thorn’s voice was hard enough to sever iron. “He can take the map over my dead body.”

“This…” Velin looked at Mina for help, but before the Ice Witch could help persuade Thorn, the Titan’s voice sounded again.

“This is non-negotiable. We are not handing anything over.” Not bothering to keep his voice quiet, Thorn’s words carried around the room, causing everyone to freeze. “Ragnarok will not get a penny while we are still alive. No one takes what belongs to Nova Luna without a fight.”

“Haha, you sure about that?” Unbothered by Thorn’s hardline stance, Sylith’s tone was just as flippant as before.

“Yes. Titan squad, get ready to attack on my signal. Baxby, we’ll buy you some time. Use it to copy out the maps.” Thorn took two orbs out of his inventory and handed them over to the treasure hunter.

“Thorn…”

“I said get ready to attack.” Ignoring what Velin was trying to say, Thorn strode to the front of the group. Looking helplessly at his broad back, Velin wanted to speak but could not find the words. Drops of sweat beaded her forehead as the furnace continued to belch out heat. It was true that something had to be done, or they would fall prey to the rising temperature, but trying to fight against an unbreakable shield would only speed up their demise.

The players surrounding them slowly began to move to their positions, sweat trickling down their faces. The furnaces were beginning to get so hot that the group had to take a step back, distancing themselves from the rolling heat. Velin glanced around at the sweat-drenched players. Thorn was right in one regard. If nothing was done soon, the rising temperature would start claiming lives.

“Just do what he says, young lady.” Baxby patted her on the shoulder. Crouching down, he unrolled the large map of the dungeon and set up the two orbs on the sides. “When young people like him get something in their head, arguing with them is futile. He’ll have to learn the hard way. The only thing you can do at this point is support him.”

“But that will get us all killed!” Trying to whisper, Velin’s words came out as a hiss.

“Sure, you know that and I know that. We all know that, but he doesn’t. So what are you going to do? Disobey his orders so he can blame you for the loss later? Sorry, that ain’t helpful. Follow your orders, and you won’t get hosed later.” As he spoke, Baxby’s hands never stopped moving as he traced new lines on the map. “Besides, Mr. Miracle Maker over there might be able to pull something out. You never know.”

With another deep sigh, Velin took one last look at Thorn’s back before slowly taking her place with the other support players. Mina, who had been quiet this whole time, gave her a concerned look. Oblivious to the conversation behind him, Thorn stood facing Sylith, glaring at the Ragnarok leader as if his eyes could burn straight through him.

Behind Thorn, the Titan squad assembled into combat formation. The tanks took the front, standing behind Thorn, while the DPS classes split into two flanks, surrounding the healers and other support. Baxby stayed in the back, working on the map with Oberlin next to him. Once everyone had taken their place, Thorn ordered the whole group to move forward, heading toward the center of the Silver Guard line where Sylith stood.

The squad of Silver Guard behind the Titan squad could not move forward because, if they did, the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] they were supporting would collapse. This left only half of the Silver Guard facing Thorn and the Titan squad. Lifting his tetsubo, Thorn stared at the Silver Guard player who was standing seventh from the end of the line.

“We’ll break through there. On my command, throw all attacks at that spot. Melee, move up with me.” Thorn took his time arranging his team, since the Silver Guard could not move. Once everyone was in place, he looked over at the gloating Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight, who was watching. “You are going to regret this.”

“See, I don’t think I am. I think you will regret this. Persisting in this foolishness despite the good advice you’re getting will leave you with no one to blame but yourself. I mean, don’t kid yourself, we could wipe you out without needing to resort to this if we wanted to. I just don’t want to get my hands dirty.”

Turning his head slightly, Thorn glanced at Velin, who nodded mutely.

“He’s right, you know.” Seeing that Velin was not speaking, Mina chimed in. “The Silver Guard are, hands down, the toughest group in the game. In a straight fight, we will lose. I know that, Velin knows it, everyone here knows it except for you.”

Hearing the seriousness of Mina’s tone, Thorn’s heart wavered. He did not believe that the girls would lie to him, but for some reason, he felt unable to back down. Clenching his teeth under his helmet, he turned back and looked at the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] stretching out in front of him. He had just bragged that he was going to take down the Silver Guard and it stung that Velin and Mina lacked confidence in him. And it was not just them. Baxby and the rest of the team were obviously skeptical that they could win, as well.

As much as he did not want to admit it, maybe it would be better to just take a step back at this point. Reaching out, Thorn rested his fingers lightly on the barrier. Part of him wanted to open his mouth and back down, but the words kept getting stuck in his chest. It was as if there was a war in his heart, as if he was two different people, each fighting for control.

The girls were probably right, fighting was not the correct choice in this situation. Even though he had not seen the Silver Guard fight against other players, he had watched them clear the legions of stone dwarves when they were assaulting the fortress. Their discipline was top notch, and the collective ability of a group of Silver Guard was rather terrifying. It did not take a genius to see that the Titan squad would probably be outmatched in a fight.

Still, Thorn was not one to give up. The girls said they would lose, but they had thought that he died when they sacrificed him to Karrandras and left him for dead. They had underestimated him then, and he was sure they were underestimating him again. Why should he give up just because other people said so? Apart from the mistake when he fought Angdrin and his Crimson Snake goons at the entrance to the mine, Thorn had not lost a fight since coming to Nova Terra. Maybe his strength could carry the day here, as well.

Hardening his resolve, Thorn’s fingers tapped against the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis], making a sharp clicking sound as his metal claws hit the immovable wall. They would at least give it a try. Behind him, as if sensing his resolve, the Titan squad seemed to straighten up. The looks of concern and worry faded from their faces, replaced by unity of purpose. After all, the worst thing that could happen was that they would lose twenty-four hours of game time.

“We are going to attack here.” Thorn pointed to the Silver Guard player on the other side of the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis].

“Haha, can’t wait to see how that works out for you,” Sylith mocked from where he stood in the middle of the Silver Guard line.

“Basic attacks first. Attack on three.”

The players of the Titan squad gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes fixed on the spot where Thorn had pointed.

“One. Two. Three.”

As soon as the words slipped from Thorn’s lips, an overwhelming number of attacks flashed forward from the group as the whole squad swung their weapons. Bolts of energy mixed with arrows shot past Thorn, smashing into the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis]. At the same moment, the melee players stepped forward, driving their weapons into the wall with all their might.

Despite knowing that the shield was impossible for them to break, every member of the Titan squad threw everything into the attack, striking with as much strength as they could muster. Despite their best efforts, the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] held, the impact of all of the Titan squad’s weapons causing nothing more than a ripple on the energy wall that quickly died down.

“Hahaha!” As he watched Thorn count down, there had even been a brief moment when the leader of the Silver Guard was worried that the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] would buckle under the combined might of the Titan squad. That worry was quickly blown away when reality proved otherwise. Joining him in laughter, the Silver Guard relaxed slightly, joking among themselves.

Unperturbed, Thorn commanded another attack, and once again the Titan squad threw their attacks forward, hammering against the wall. This time, Thorn held back, his eyes watching the rippling effect the attacks caused on the shield. Around him, many players were panting as the heat began to take its toll. When they had not been doing anything, the heat had been bearable, but now that they were attacking, they could feel it draining their endurance much faster than at rest.

“Attack again.” Thorn’s words were short, and the squad mechanically swung their weapons. Again, their attacks hammered into the wall, only to disappear as if they had never existed. As focused as he was, Thorn could feel a slight tinge of helplessness settling on the players around him. It was not yet so strong that he would call it despair, but he knew that, with the combination of futile attacks and the searing heat, the little feeling of helplessness would soon turn into despair.

“Give up!”

“You’re going to die anyway, so why are you struggling?”

“Just give it a rest, and drop your gear already.”

The shouts from across the barrier did not help the situation, only lending to the sense of helplessness among the Titan squad. Normally, this level of trash talk, a common feature among competing guilds, would not affect the players of Nova Luna in the slightest. This time, though, combined with the draining heat and the ineffectual attacks Thorn was ordering, the words stung a bit more than normal.

“Thorn…” Looking at the Titan, Velin’s normally impassive face was creased with worry.

“Attack again. On three.”

As Thorn’s hard words echoed around the chamber, even Baxby sat up slightly, a deep frown on his face. The leader of Nova Luna enjoyed a good reputation among the members of the guild, and most of them followed him with perfect willingness, but he was beginning to enter dangerous territory. It did not take much for a leader to lose the respect of their subordinates, and when they did, it marked the end of whatever organization they led.

By repeatedly commanding his team to exhaust themselves with fruitless attacks, Thorn was treading on thin ice. Baxby’s experienced eyes could spot the signs of frustration starting to bloom among the members of the Titan squad. Not wanting to see Thorn throw away what he had worked so hard for, Baxby stood and was about to speak when his right eyelid twitched and he froze. Crouching back down, he began to work feverishly on the map.

“One.”

Sylith’s mocking smile grew wider as he spotted the cracks beginning to appear in the demeanor of the Titan squad’s players. As a guild leader, he was exceptionally sensitive to public opinion, and he could see it starting to swing against Thorn, which made him ecstatic. His goal today had originally been acquiring the dwarven earth maps from Nova Luna, but damaging the cohesion of his enemy’s strongest team was an enticing prospect. Wracking his brain, Sylith tried to think of ways he could increase the Titan squad’s dissatisfaction with their leader.

“Two.”

“Is this really necessary?” Sylith took a small step back, holding up his hands. “You know, I really did not have the desire to kill you. I just want the maps. There is no need for you to die. We could talk about this peacefully. You can live. In fact, you don’t even have to give me anything else. If you die, you’ll drop gear and lose proficiencies. Why don’t we talk about this?”

Thorn, unmoved by the murmurs and shifting feet behind him, slowly lifted his left hand and pointed, the burning light from the furnace glinting off of his silver claw.

“Three.”

*ting*

The sound wasn’t loud, but as Thorn pointed his finger, Sylith’s face froze, and a terrible premonition filled him. The attacks of the Titan squad had not even touched the barrier when, to the Silver Guard’s absolute horror, the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] fractured into a million pieces.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Obliterated instantly, the Silver Guard player who had been standing in front of Thorn had no time to respond to the shattering of the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] as the attacks from the Titan squad landed on him. Thorn had held his attack and, as soon as the barrier fell, launched it at one of the nearby Silver Guard. Despite the utter shock he was feeling, the Silver Guard player managed to raise his shield, decades of in-game training saving his life.

Thorn felt his tetsubo hit his enemy’s shield, but the force of the blow was dispersed, shooting out from the shield toward the shields of the other Silver Guard standing nearby. Still, the weight of the strike drove his enemy to the ground. A puff of shadow appeared next to the downed Silver Guard, and a quick slice sent him to join his companion out of the game.

Jorge turned his head, grinning at Sylith, who was apoplectic. The Shadow Assassin had struck at the worst possible time, taking down the barrier and allowing the Titan squad to eliminate two of the Silver Guard right off the bat.

“Hey, what’s up?” Jorge nodded at his former guild leader. Not bothering to wait for a response, the Dwarf vanished in a puff of shadow, leaving Sylith grinding his teeth.

“Charge!” Thorn’s voice echoed around the chamber, shocking the members of the Titan squad out of their stunned state. With a roar, they dashed forward, ignoring their fatigue as they attacked the Silver Guard. Very quickly, two more of the Silver Guard fell, leaving Sylith and twenty one Silver Guard facing off against Thorn and the forty nine players from Nova Luna.

On the other side of the room, Raeth ordered the Silver Guard to drop the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] and charge forward to join the fight. Seeing them coming, Mina shouted a warning, and a number of the DPS players rotated around to engage.

The fighting was fast and furious, with spells and arrows flying everywhere. Thorn pushed forward, his weapon smashing Silver Guard aside as he headed directly for Sylith. The Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight was the source of all of this, and Thorn was determined to put an end to it. Tossing another Silver Guard away, Thorn activated [Wolf’s Rage], increasing his speed immediately by an order of magnitude.

Undeterred by the sight of their companions being knocked around like bowling pins, two more Silver Guard stepped in Thorn’s path, their shields raised. Not bothering to swing his weapon, Thorn simply lowered his shoulder and drove himself forward. Both Silver Guard were sent reeling, but their firm stances had succeeded in reducing Thorn’s speed, allowing another two Silver Guard to get in his way.

His eyes narrowing, Thorn put away his tetsubo and dove forward, stretching his massive body out flat as he passed neatly over the heads of the two players in his way. Landing with his hands on the ground, he tucked his feet under his body and surged back to his feet, slapping another Silver Guard away as he came face to face with Sylith. Without a word, Thorn drew his tetsubo and attacked with a full power strike.

Sylith had drawn his glittering lance while Thorn charged over and held it ready to parry the blow he knew was coming. He had contemplated attacking as Thorn arrived, but he simply could not risk Thorn deciding to trade blows. Now, faced with Thorn’s attack, he skillfully stabbed forward with his lance, deflecting the incoming tetsubo into the ground.

*BOOM*

The stone floor next to Sylith exploded into shards as Thorn’s weapon landed. Seeing a glimmer through the dust and flying stone, Thorn jerked his head back, barely avoiding the razor sharp point of Sylith’s lance. Lashing out with a front kick, Thorn felt it glance off of Sylith’s armor, sending the knight sliding back.

As the cloud of dust cleared, Thorn saw Sylith standing fifteen feet away, his shield and lance at the ready. Around them, the Silver Guard had gathered into small groups and were skillfully blunting the Titan squad’s attacks. Straightening slightly, Sylith spit on the ground and gestured for Thorn to come forward with his chin.

“Come on, big boy. You wanted this, well you got it. Don’t chicken out now.”

A quick glance around revealed the messy state of the fighting to Thorn, as well as the rest of the Silver Guard approaching quickly.

“Thorn, we need to leave! Now!” Velin yelled at the Titan, sending a blast of white light from her staff toward one of the Silver Guard. “We can’t deal with all of them!”

“Oh, don’t tell me you are going to run away.” Seeing the hesitation in Thorn’s eyes, Sylith took a small step forward, his lance leveled at the Titan’s throat. “Though, a good dog always comes when their master calls, so I don’t want to keep you, if you need to go.”

Up until now, Thorn had been keeping his enraged state under tight control despite the chaos of the battlefield around him. As Sylith’s words filtered into his ears, Thorn felt that control slipping slightly, and his red eyes swung back to the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight. Still he hesitated. He knew that Velin was right, there was no way for the newly formed Titan squad to take on the Silver Guard, but something in him was screaming that he could do it.

With a supreme effort, Thorn quelled the burning in his chest and started to turn away, only to hear Sylith speak again.

“Hah, I guess I’ll have to add cowardly mongrel to your list of nicknames, Thorn. How disappointing.”

Instantly, all reason fled from Thorn’s mind and, with a roar or rage, Thorn launched himself at Sylith, his tetsubo smashing down toward the knight’s head.

“Idiot.” Sylith smirked as he saw Thorn attack. Lifting his shield, Sylith activated one of his abilities, an ethereal shield that looked like a small version of the [Invulnerable Silver Aegis] appearing over him.

*CRUNCH*

The metal tetsubo smashed into the the energy shield, sending cracks radiating through it. With a grunt, Thorn forced his weapon through, landing a solid hit on Sylith’s shield. The knight staggered slightly as he backpedaled, trying to disperse the force.

Winding up for another strike, Thorn saw his enemy’s lance was stabbing toward his leg but he ignored it, focusing on landing another hit. Sylith cursed under his breath and abandoned his attack, blocking another strike from the tetsubo. Realizing that there was no way for him to go toe to toe with Thorn, the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight jumped backward, trying to gain some space.

“[Radiant Wings]!”

With a ringing screech, a set of metallic wings burst from the Dragon Knight’s back, catching a draft in mid jump and sending him up into the air, out of Thorn’s range. Hovering in the air, Sylith drew back his lance and grabbed it with both hands, lining the razor sharp tip up with the middle of Thorn’s chest. A silver flash ran across the metallic feathers on his back, and he suddenly accelerated back toward the ground.

“[Diving Charge]!”

In his rage fueled state, Thorn saw Sylith flying up out of range of his tetsubo and snarled. Drawing back his arm, he hurled his metal weapon like a spear, sending it straight toward the hovering Dragon Knight just before he started his dive. Sylith dodged the incoming weapon with a neat twist, never slowing as he hurtled toward Thorn.

The tetsubo passed by Sylith, ripping through the air and burying itself into the ceiling behind him. With a loud boom, a chunk of stone plummeted to the ground, sending shards of rock whizzing through the air. Not even considering dodging, Thorn brandished his claws and jumped to meet the Dragon Knight. The two met in mid air, lance clashing against fist.

*TING*

The lance’s head glanced off of Thorn’s gauntlet, and slashed a deep gouge through the armor on the top of his shoulder. The blow did nothing to stop Thorn, whose claws cut an equally large gash in the front of Sylith’s shield. The force of the blow sent the Dragon Knight flying, his arm feeling like it had nearly been ripped off.

Both combatants landed on the ground and rushed toward each other, the players in their way scattering to avoid getting caught in the middle. Thorn sprinted forward, ignoring the blood splashing from the cut on his shoulder. Sylith activated one of his abilities, a golden glow covering his arm and healing the damage that Thorn’s attack had caused.

“Come on, big boy. I can do this all day.” Normally calm and collected, the fight had woken something wild in Sylith. A fanatical desire to battle shown through his eyes, and he ran toward Thorn eagerly.

Behind them, the rest of the battle raged on. Raeth and the other twenty-four Silver Guard had crossed the room and joined up with the rest of their group, trapping the players from Nova Luna. Dividing into groups of three, the Silver Guard began to push into the Titan squad’s formation, using their incredible defense to force it apart.

A human tank was the first to fall prey to the Silver Guard’s tactic as she was surrounded. Focused on fighting a group of three Silver Guard in front of her, she was caught by surprise when two other groups surged past her, completely ignoring the waves of attacks coming their way. Suddenly, all three groups turned to face her and, pointing toward her, called out at the same time.

“[Holy Strike]!”

A beam of scalding light fell from the ceiling, scorching her armor and turning her into a flicker of lights as she died. The three teams each stepped back, forming a solid wall of silver metal as they weathered the Titan squad’s attacks. All over the battlefield this was repeated, and within a couple minutes, Nova Luna had lost five of their frontline players.

“Thorn!” Starting to become desperate, Velin called out again, but the Titan was too busy exchanging blows with Sylith to respond. Seven Twisted Leaves was doing his best to organize the remaining players from the Titan squad into a defensive formation, but the Silver Guard had them surrounded and continued to pick them apart.

On the edge of the fight, Mina’s ice orbs were in full swing, sending steady streams of ice spikes at the enemies nearby. By focusing her aim at the Silver Guard’s heads, she bought enough time to cast one of her large, area of effect spells, but just as she was about to complete it, a sword darted toward her back, forcing her to blink away. Spinning to face Raeth, she leveled her wand at his chest.

“Hello, Mina.” Raeth held his sword out, watching the Ice Witch carefully.

“Get out of my way, Raeth. You know you can’t beat me in a fight.”

“That certainly used to be the case, but what about three of us? Besides, I don’t have to beat you.” Raeth shook his head, his expression serious. “So long as I tie you up, the rest will be able to do what they need to.”

As much as she hated to admit it, Mina knew the captain of the Silver Guard was right. Even if Raeth only delayed her, the rest of the Titan squad would get picked off one by one. With a grimace, she slid forward, determined to end the fight as quickly as possible.

Three Silver Guard had just finished casting [Holy Strike] when one of them noticed Baxby carefully rolling up the large map while the two Dwarven earth maps that Nova Luna had collected rolled around at his feet. Nudging his companions, he pointed with his head toward the treasure hunter, and all three Silver Guard began to close in on him.

Baxby quickly noticed the group of Silver Guard heading his way and ducked down to pick up the Dwarven earth maps. Grabbing the first, he reached for the second in a hurry and missed it, causing it to roll away from his hand. Quickly chasing after it, he stumbled forward, causing the triple stacked [Holy Strike] the Silver Guard had just cast to miss. Finally managing to snag the runaway sphere, Baxby broke into a run, only to come to a stop almost immediately as he came up against more Silver Guard.

On the other side of the general melee, Thorn was struggling against Sylith. When the Titan had fought Ouroboros, he had been able to keep pace by virtue of his immense strength, but Sylith was too skilled for that. The Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight had almost completely mastered his class and was extremely adept at diverting Thorn’s strength, keeping him from ever truly bringing it to bear.

Frustrated by his inability to land a solid hit, Thorn began to push himself to move faster, spurred on by the increasing casualty rate among his guildmates. Still, no matter how quickly he struck, Sylith’s lance seemed to get there before him, pushing his strikes off target. Sylith managed each attack perfectly, deflecting what he could and blocking what he couldn’t. He even had time to strike back, and soon Thorn was looking like a miserable wreck.

Having already used two of his instances of [Wolf’s Rage] in this fight, Thorn was loath to use his last charge, but as he took the opportunity to glance behind him, he realized that he did not have a choice. The Silver Guard had taken a few more casualties, thanks in large part to Mina, but they looked numerous compared to the few players from the Titan squad that remained.

At some point, the balance of the fight had shifted, and the Silver Guard were able to completely surround the Titan squad, taking them down one by one. When Thorn finally looked around, there were only five players left, stubbornly holding on in the middle. Velin stood in the center of the group, casting healing spells as fast as she could, Mina next to her. At some point Seven Twisted Leaves had fallen, as had Delmore.

Next to the girls, three other support players were doing their best to keep themselves alive, to no avail. As Thorn watched, two of them were hit with [Holy Strike], the secondary burning effect forcing the others to move away as they evaporated into the aether.

Ashen faced, Thorn stared at them. The others had warned him how disastrous it would be to try and go up against the Silver Guard directly, but he had not listened, confident in his ability to carry the day. Yet, the plain hard truth lay before him, stabbing into his heart like a dagger. In front of him, Sylith cast yet another healing spell as he lifted his lance and shield, ready for another round.

“I told you it wouldn’t turn out well for you.” Sylith grinned, the cut on his face left by one of Thorn’s claws healing at a visible rate. “Such a shame you did not listen, but that is how it goes. You know, they say that the bigger you are, the harder you will fall. Now get ready to die.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

The devastation caused to Nova Luna by the fight could not have been more evident. Gear was scattered across the scarred stone floor, reminding Thorn of each player that had fallen to the Silver Guard’s [Holy Strike] ability. Staring at the three remaining players, Thorn felt his chest tighten. He wasn’t sure if it was the disappointment or the burning air of the chamber that filled his lungs, that made it hard to breath.

“Thorn!” Velin’s shout snapped him out of his thoughts.

It was obvious that they were not going to get out of this situation alive, so Thorn abandoned all pretense. Flexing his claws, he dashed toward his teammates, activating his last instance of [Wolf’s Rage]. Behind him, Sylith saw that he was abandoning the fight and gave chase to try and slow him down.

Two Silver Guard stepped in front of him, but Thorn spun to the side as he dodged passed them. One of the silver armored players tried to bash Thorn in the ribs with his shield, only to feel Thorn’s spinning hand land on his back. With a screech, Thorn’s claws sank into the the Silver Guard’s armor, and he lifted him bodily from the ground.

Swinging his metal-clad enemy like a flail, Thorn battered away another two Silver Guard who were in his way, clearing a path toward his teammates. It only took a couple of seconds for Thorn to close the remaining distance, and as soon as he arrived, he held the captured Silver Guard player over Velin’s head, absorbing a fully stacked [Holy Strike] that fell from the ceiling. With a crackle, the unfortunate Silver Guard player evaporated under the intense light of his ally’s [Holy Strike].

Ignoring the swearing that erupted from the rest of the players from Ragnarok, Thorn took advantage of their shocked pause to strike out, laying out another Silver Guard with repeated blows. Thorn could accept that he could not beat Sylith in a fight; after all, the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight was one of the best players in the game. What really helped him understand that he had screwed up was that each Silver Guard took him multiple hits to take down.

Used to ripping through anything and anyone he came up against, the sheer toughness of the dual category Silver Guard class left Thorn shocked. Still, his attacks were effective, and in the chaotic melee that followed, Thorn managed to take down another three before Sylith arrived.

The Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight summoned his metal wings with his [Radiant Wings] ability and rapidly closed the distance, his lance aimed directly at Thorn’s heart.

Just before the lance reached its target, Mina waved her wand and called out.

“[Ice Wall]. [Ice Wall]. [Ice Wall].”

Rising abruptly from the ground, three large sheets of iron-hard ice pushed the Silver Guard aside, creating a solid wall between Sylith and Thorn. Without pausing, Mina began casting another spell as Sylith impacted the first wall. His lance thrust out, smashing the wall to pieces as if it were made of glass. Bashing through the first wall, Syltih hit the second, which shattered exactly like the first. The third [Ice Wall] lasted half a second longer before it too, was broken into shards of ice that spread through the air, pinging off Sylith’s golden armor.

“[Blizzard]!”

As the tip of his spear peeked out of the cloud of ice, Mina’s spell landed and all of the shards of ice began to spin rapidly, leeching the last bit of speed from Sylith’s charge. Seizing the opportunity, Thorn took two large steps forward and spun, his massive leg shooting out behind him at Sylith. Landing squarely on the Dragon Knight’s shield, the force of the kick sent Sylith flying backward like a rocket.

“Velin, we have to get out of here!” Mina shouted, dodging a sword thrust with a backward slide.

By now, the four players from Nova Luna were completely surrounded by Silver Guard and were being slowly squeezed together. Thorn was doing his best to keep Velin free of attacks, but there was no way he could stop so many enemy players. Looking around, he could not see Jorge or Baxby and could only hope that they had gotten away safely.

“Just give up, Thorn. This is a pointless fight.” Staggering up, his golden armor completely covered in dust, Sylith shook his head to try and clear it. Thorn’s kick had taken the air out of his lungs, so it took him a couple minutes to struggle to his feet. “Just give me those maps.”

“Maps? What maps?” Despite the ragged state of his armor, Thorn’s breathing was even. The heat of the dungeon was not nearly as bad in Exploration mode, so he was not having any problems with stamina yet.

“Don’t play around with me.” Sylith’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the Titan.

“Do you mean the maps that I sent away before the fight?” Thorn’s tone was innocent, even as he blocked a slash from a sword and backhanded a player across the room. Pouncing forward, he picked up another player in both hands, lifting him into the air.

“Get him!” Raeth, who was nearby, shouted out a command and charged toward Thorn, his sword held out. Two other Silver Guard attacked with him, their blades cutting toward Thorn’s waist.

The Titan ignored the incoming attacks, his face barely twitching as the three swords cut into him. Instead, heaving the Silver Guard player through the air, Thorn threw him into the furnace, where he disappeared with a terrified scream.

“Yo... You can do that?” Mina asked, incredulously as all of the Silver Guard players around Thorn scattered out of arm's reach.

Thorn, rather pleased with the effect, looked at Raeth, who was watching him nervously. Before Thorn could move, he heard a victorious shout from across the room, where three Silver Guard players had finally cornered Baxby.

The old treasure hunter had been running away from them for almost ten minutes but had finally been trapped by a fallen statue. His pursuers watched him like hawks, secretly terrified that he would slip away again. No matter how they had attacked, Baxby had either dodged or gotten lucky, causing the attacks to miss over and over again.

“Hey, can’t we talk about this?” Baxby held up his hands as he looked around. The three players cornering him said nothing, just waiting for [Holy Strike] to come off cool down.

“Sylith, let him go.” Thorn’s voice rumbled through the room, surprising everyone.

“No, no one leaves.” The Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight’s voice was grim.

“He isn’t part of our guild. Are you sure you want to antagonize the Drifters, as well?”

“Shut up.” Sylith was fuming, his eyes burning brightly as he stared at the shattered remains of his team. Despite reducing the Titan squad to only four players, Sylith was not pleased at all. There were only seventeen Silver Guard left after the grueling fight, the rest having fallen to Nova Luna’s blades.

“I think we’re passed that point, Thorn.” Velin’s voice came from behind Thorn, and he winced at how cold it was. Making no effort to hide her anger, Velin looked away from the Titan and started chanting under her breath.

Wracking his brain for a way out, Thorn was about to grab the girls and try to make a run for it when Sylith’s gaze swung to him.

“Let’s finish this.”

Without waiting for a response, Sylith charged forward, his wings rippling behind him. The silver head of his weapon glinted evilly in the light of the roaring furnace as it stabbed toward Thorn’s chest. Cursing under his breath, Thorn settled into a defensive stance as he prepared to meet the charge. In his rage-fueled state, he had thrown his tetsubo earlier, and now it was buried in the ceiling on the other side of the room.

The incoming lance darted forward, sliding through Thorn’s defenses and stabbing into his side where one of the Silver Guard had left a cut. Thorn grimaced at the pain and tried to wrap his massive hand around the lance, only to have it slip from his grasp. Not giving him any time to rest, Sylith spun on his heel and slammed his shield into Thorn’s shoulder.

Normally a blow like this would have staggered the target, but instead, it was Sylith who was sent backward. Bouncing off of Thorn from the force of the hit, Sylith used the distance that was created from the rebound to stab his lance forward again, landing another hit on Thorn’s side. Gritting his teeth in rage, Thorn aimed a kick at Sylith, who was still in the air, only for the Dragon Knight to vault over it after deflecting the force with his shield.

“Attack!” Seeing that Sylith had Thorn well in hand, Raeth commanded the last of the Silver Guard to deal with Velin, Mina, and the remaining Nova Luna player. Across the room, the three players who had Baxby cornered were getting ready to use [Holy Strike].

“Hah, reminds me of old times.” Mina sighed as she aimed her wand at the incoming enemy. “I’m about out of juice, so I’ll see you on the other side.”

“Me too. I probably have enough for one more spell. Buy me some time.”

“You got it.” Muttering a spell, Mina slid directly toward the Silver Guard, ducking under the sword of the first enemy and blinking past him into the thick of the charging players. Completely surrounded, she gathered all three of her ice orbs and commanded them to shatter, sending waves of freezing air pulsing over the Silver Guard.

“[Avalanche]!”

Above the group, snow and ice began to materialize, rushing down to bury them. Caught in the middle, Mina was swallowed by the snow, hidden from everyone’s vision.

“[Sub Zero]!” Her muffled voice sounding from underneath the piles of snow, Raeth felt the cold around him increase drastically. His armor frosted over and he suppressed the intense desire to start shivering uncontrollably. For half a second, he stopped moving completely, before shaking off the stunned effect. Yet that half second was enough, and as he began to move, his vision was filled with a blinding light as a laser beam shot into his chest, burning a neat hole right through it.

The beam of light only lasted for a moment and completely sapped the rest of Velin’s energy, but as she leaned heavily on her staff, a small smile flashed across her lips before disappearing like it had never been there.

In the center of the mass of iced-over Silver guard, Mina had just popped her head out when a beam of light fell from the ceiling. Gazing up at the approaching [Holy Strike], Mina sighed. They had done their best, but it had not been good enough. Before she had time to look back at Velin, the [Holy Strike] landed, sending her out of the game. Across the room, Velin leaned on her staff, not even bothering to move when another [Holy Strike] consumed her figure.

Seeing them go, Baxby grimaced. Dying was always a pain, but it was occasionally unavoidable, so he wouldn’t shrink from it. The three Silver Guard who had cornered him were watching him intently for any sign that he was going to try to escape, and when he lifted his hands, they took a small step back.

“If we can’t talk about this, then you can’t blame me, okay? You have to understand that this is all part of a game, right? So don’t come after me or anything.”

Confused, the Silver Guard glanced at each other. The player in the center shrugged and lifted his sword, getting ready to cast [Holy Strike]. As the other two players began to raise their swords, Baxby suddenly grinned. If he was going to go down, then he was going to make them regret it.

“Hey, Sylith!” Summoning the two dwarven earth maps from his inventory, the old treasure hunter waved them at the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight, who was busy fighting against Thorn. Taking a big step forward, Baxby launched them into the air, laughing maniacally as the two orbs arched over the combatants. A second later, he disappeared under the bright light of a stacked [Holy Strike].

“[Radiant Wings]!”

Seeing the Dwarven earth maps flying through the air, Sylith summoned his wings and shot up into the air to intercept them. As he rose from the ground, Thorn reached up and latched onto one of his legs, instantly stopping his ascent. Thorn’s massive hand wrapped all the way around his armored leg, and Sylith’s direction suddenly changed as the Titan threw him against the ground.

*BANG*

Hitting the ground so hard that the stone floor cracked, Sylith instantly rolled away, avoiding the giant foot that stomped down where his head had been a moment before. Cursing under his breath, Thorn watched as Sylith shot away across the floor, his wings carrying him out of Thorn’s range. Both players looked up for the Dwarven earth maps just in time to see them disappearing into the raging inferno of the furnace that dominated the side of the room.

Completely drowning out Thorn’s sigh of relief, Sylith gave a roar of rage and stabbed toward Thorn. Thorn slapped the lance to the side and punched forward, only to find himself once again facing the point of the lance. Gritting his teeth, Thorn abandoned his attack and blocked again, but the attacks started coming so fast and furious that he could not manage to avoid all of them. Sylith was an expert in controlling the flow of battle and his fury at losing the Dwarven earth maps put his combat ability on full display.

Despite his size and strength advantages, Thorn simply could not land a solid blow on the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight. At the same time, the incessant lance strikes were beginning to chop through Thorn’s armor, leaving gashes all over his body. Thorn could feel himself slowing down as his health drained.

The few remaining Silver Guard slowly dragged themselves over to surround Thorn, all the while making sure to keep a healthy distance from him. No matter how wounded he was, the sight of Thorn lobbing one of their teammates into the furnace was fresh in their minds.

The fight dragged on for a few more minutes, but Thorn had no chance of turning it around and finally fell, the victim of a vicious thrust to his throat. Slumping down on the stone floor, Thorn felt his eyelids turning heavy and managed to turn his head enough to take in the completely ruined room.

Broken armor and dropped loot covered the shattered floor, a testament to the absolute devastation of the fight. From the corner of his eye, he saw the handle of his tetsubo, still stuck in the ceiling. Closing his eyes, a part of Thorn was glad for the darkness and the reprieve it would bring from the sea of frustration and anger that filled his chest.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Outside of the tower, Fantasia’s sky shone with unearthly beauty, the colors of sunset melding softly like a painter’s palette. Soft reds and blues lightly touched Thorn’s face as he stood staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows in the massive building he shared with his aunt. The members of the Titan squad stood behind him, their eyes fixed on his broad back.

After coming to Fantasia, Thorn had called for a debrief, gathering the Titan squad in one of the larger meeting rooms in the middle of the building. Despite the beauty of the scene, the atmosphere was gloomy, each of the players occupied with their own thoughts. After a moment of silence, Thorn took a deep breath and began to speak quietly.

“I’m sorry.” Thorn turned to face the rest of the room, his eyes slowly scanning each of the people present. “I take full responsibility for this. I did not listen to the good advice that was presented, and I led us into a full team wipe. I was overconfident. Overconfident in my own abilities, as both a leader and as a fighter. Overconfident in our team’s ability to take on the enemy, even after I was told otherwise.

“I was selfish, thinking that my way was the best way. Honestly, I had no idea that other players could be so incredibly strong. Don’t take this as an excuse. I was told plainly by multiple people that the Silver Guard were an enemy that we could not beat, and I still chose to ignore that advice and do my own thing. I made a bad decision, and as a result, you have all lost proficiency and gear. I can’t compensate you directly for the proficiency loss, but you will all be compensated for your gear loss.

“I will deal with the legal ramifications of breaking our agreement with Ragnarok, so you don’t have to worry about that. Just be aware that we are now at odds with them. While neither guild has officially declared war, you can treat our states as such. I would anticipate conflict if you run into members of the Silver Guard. This also puts us behind on the World Quest. Ragnarok will have a leg up, so we need to be ready to move as fast as possible when we can log back in. In fact, if not for Baxby’s quick thinking, we would be further behind than we are, so a major thank you to him.”

Seeing the questioning looks from the rest of the room, the old treasure hunter shrugged.

“It was more spite than anything else. I don’t like people who attack me, so Ragnarok has made it to the top of my list.”

“Hah, well still. You throwing the dwarven earth maps into the furnace was brilliant.” Pausing for a moment as chuckles swept the room, Thorn held up his hand for quiet. “But, to be safe, we have to assume that Sylith will have a way of getting them out. If they do get their hands on the maps, they will quickly find out about the keys and will be within striking distance of the end of the quest. According to Velin’s analysis, the last piece of the quest is the boss fight, so let’s make sure we are ready for that in twenty-three hours when we can get back into the game.”

As the players filed out, Thorn gestured for Mina, Velin, Jorge, and Baxby to stay back.

“I owe you a more personal apology.” Thorn hung his head as he faced the small group. “I let my pride get in the way, and the result was terrible. I know it's not inspiring when the person you are trusting to lead you ignores your good advice and makes atrocious decisions. I would like to ask you to forgive me.”

“Of course, Thorn.” Mina patted her large friend on the arm. "Honestly, I'm more disappointed that we are behind the curve with the quest then I am that we died. Dying is par for the course in this game, especially when your opponent is one of the top guilds."

"Mina is right.” Velin chimed in, her face serious. “It was a terrible decision, but as Baxby said, you are our leader, and we need to trust the decisions you make. I do hope you will take our words more seriously next time.”

“I absolutely will. As I mentioned earlier, it boggles my mind that a team could be so strong, but I need to remember that there is a lot I don't know about this game.”

“What I really want to know is how Ragnarok snuck up on us.” Velin’s cold gaze landed on Jorge, who was sitting in a chair along the wall.

Holding up his hands to indicate his innocence, the Dwarf nodded his chin toward Thorn, causing Velin to turn back to the Titan.

“Yeah, that was my fault, as well.” Thorn stared out the window again, his voice glum. “Jorge reported that we were being followed pretty early on, but I told him to keep it to himself. I figured that Sylith was going to try something funny, but I thought we could take the Silver Guard in a straight fight. I certainly did not anticipate that they would trap us like that, but that is what Jorge was for. As it turned out, they honestly could have just attacked us, and they probably would have killed us faster.”

“You knew about them? Why on earth would you keep that to yourself?! If we had known, we could have come up with some sort of plan.”

“You are completely right. Looking back on my decision, I really don’t have any way of justifying myself, so I’m not even going to bother trying. Like I said, it was hubris on my part.” Seeing Mina’s confused look, Thorn explained, “Pride that led to my downfall. I tried to pull one over on Sylith and ended up getting creamed. I thought that between my ability and having Jorge in ambush, we could have beaten the Silver Guard. I guess I was wrong.”

The room fell into silence as everyone processed what had happened. The guild had been riding high after their trade with Eastern Alliance for the second Dwarven earth map and morale had been great. All of that was brought crashing to the ground only a few hours later as they lost the lead to Ragnarok.

“Speaking of your downfall, what happened after we died?” Mina asked, unable to bear the silence that filled the room.

“Sylith kicked my butt,” Thorn said frankly, rubbing the back of his head. “First of all, I'm an idiot, and I threw my weapon away at the beginning of the fight. But even if I had kept it, I'm sure he still would have ripped me apart. His use of the lance was absolutely masterful, in fact I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a weapon quite so well. Plus, I could hardly touch him, and when I did, he just shrugged it off with a self heal.”

“You know, there is a reason that quad category class holders are considered the best in the game,” Jorge said, half laughing.

“Yeah, I see that now. I thought Sylith would be more like Ouroboros. He had a quad category class, but he was not nearly as hard to fight.”

“Probably because he was not as accustomed to his class. He had only been playing it for a few months.”

“Good point. Sylith’s use of his weapons and abilities was absolutely flawless. In fact, I don't think he made a mistake the entire time. Well, maybe at the end when Baxby threw the orbs into the furnace. At that point, I got him on the ground, but he escaped before I could capitalize on it. After that, he was really mad and cut me to pieces.”

“Ugh. Well, at least Baxby made sure he did not get the Dwarven earth maps.” Mina took Velin’s hand in her own, trying to cheer up the frowning Elf.

“Well...about that.” For the first time in the conversation, Baxby spoke up. “Honestly, he probably already has them. Ragnarok is a pretty resourceful guild, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he figured out how to get them out of the furnace.”

“You don’t think they were destroyed?” Thorn asked, his brow furrowing.

“No, I don’t. The earth maps are quest items, so destroying them before the quest is over is highly unlikely. And while the furnace is superheated, there are a number of ways that I can think of to retrieve the dwarven earth map. At this point, we have to assume that they either have the maps or are close to getting them.”

“Well, that is disappointing. I guess my decisions were worse than I thought.”

“Eh, that’s what happens when you don’t listen to good advice.” Baxby shrugged, sparing no thought for Thorn’s feelings. “You end up making terrible choices from sheer ignorance. Just as a note going forward, don’t do that again.”

“Yeah.” Thorn lowered his head sheepishly. “I’ll try not to.”

“Alright, enough of that.” Velin patted Mina’s shoulder and stood up, her deep frown easing as the calm and cold expression came back to her face. “We need to figure out what we are doing from here. Our position is not good, but it isn’t impossible to think that we could complete the World Quest.”

“We got the map, right? So we know the path through the labyrinth?” Mina followed Velin to the large table.

“Yes. Baxby?”

“Yup. Here you go. One map of the labyrinth and the path to complete it.” The old treasure hunter pulled the large map of Rakkam’s fire section out of his inventory and unrolled it onto the table.

“And we also have the keys for the dungeon, right?” Thorn looked at Baxby, a sinking feeling growing in his chest. The keys were quest items like the two dwarven earth maps, which meant that they would have automatically dropped when Baxby died.

“What do you take me for? A noob?” Baxby snorted disdainfully when he saw Thorn’s panicked expression. “I stored them in my bank. The 22nd rule of the treasure hunter’s guide. Repeat after me: Never take quest items out of the bank until you need to use them. There are too many traps and other unexpected dangers when you go dungeon diving to carry important quest items on your person.”

“Whew.” Thorn breathed out in relief. “That scared me for a moment.”

“I’ll grab them before we enter the dungeon again.”

Running her finger lightly over the map, Velin let it hover over the three marked spots for a moment before continuing to follow the path that led to the dungeon’s exit. Her brow furrowed slightly as she compared it with the map she had.

“This map is different. What is going on here?”

“Well, it looks like the labyrinth changes.” Baxby scratched his chin and then pointed to one of the marked spots. “What you see in this first section is the same as the labyrinth that we’ve already experienced. This first marked location is where the first key goes. Once we fit it in, the labyrinth will change, which will open up this path to the second keyhole. That keyhole changes the path again, and then the third keyhole will open up the exit.”

“Alright.” Velin rubbed her head. “We have twenty-two hours until we can enter the dungeon. Thorn, you’ll be leading the Titan squad. Baxby, are you planning to join the team?”

“No, I’m not going to be any help at this point.”

“In that case, it will be the regular team, does that sound good?”

“Yes, that is fine.” Thorn nodded. “I might try to find another weapon between now and then because mine is still in the dungeon.”

“I can help with that.” Mina raised her hand. Taking Velin’s hand, she looked at her with concern. “Velin, you should go take a rest. You look pretty exhausted.”

“I might need to.” Rubbing her face with her hands, Velin frowned. “Thorn, I’m sorry, but I do think I need to sleep. It has been a while since I last logged out, and I’m starting to drag.”

“Sure, take the time you need. Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything is fine. I’m just exhausted, and I think it is starting to negatively affect my mood and decision making. I’ll be better after I rest.” Patting Mina on the shoulder, Velin said goodbye to Baxby and Jorge and waved to Thorn as she began to walk out.

Thorn watched her go with concerned eyes. Ever since she had opened up to him about her frustrations, she seemed a little off and his most recent failure had only made it worse. Just as he was about to go after her, he felt a hand on his stomach as Mina blocked his path. The Ice Witch shook her head at him, waiting until Velin had left the room to speak.

“Give her space, please. She really has been working too hard over the last week. I think she is going to need some time to get over this setback. Really, I think all of us need rest.”

“Man, I really messed up, didn’t I?” Thorn let out a heavy sigh.

“Yeah, you did. A lot of people have put a lot of effort into this quest, Thorn. And it is disappointing to see it thrown away like this. But everyone makes mistakes, so don’t beat yourself up too hard.” Patting Thorn’s side, Mina grinned up at him. “Definitely don’t do it again, though. Alright, let’s see about getting you a new weapon. I’m thinking a massive sword. Like really big.”

“I do better with maces.”

“Really? Because from what I’ve seen, you tend to resort to using your claws and feet a lot.” Jorge, who had been silent for the whole conversation jumped in now that the topic had switched.

“Yeah, I hit so hard that I just dull swords anyway.”

“What about a spear? Your reach is crazy, and you could carry a massive spear.”

“Have you tried using a bow? That could be cool. Not like your siege crossbow, but like a regular bow? Though finding something big enough for you might be a problem.”

“Thorn should really use a set of armored gauntlets.” Baxby cut in. “With his strength, it is a shame to waste him on ranged attacks.”

“Or maybe he should just throw boulders at people. Like a walking siege engine.” Mina laughed.

Listening to the others cheerfully discussing what sort of weapon would make him the most lethal as they left the room, some of the burden on his heart lightened. Taking one last look at the beautiful sky outside, Thorn strode after them, determined to do better.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” Corvo leaned back in his chair, one of his legs draped over the armrest. The thin Elf seemed to have the ability to make himself comfortable anywhere.

“There had to be bad news, huh? Alright. Hit me with it.” Thorn sighed and lowered the long metal staff that he was testing out.

“Alright, the good news is that we have more information about the final boss fight. The bad news is that Sylith and the Silver Guard are already there. They cleared the labyrinth roughly two hours ago. That is why I came over to Fantasia to talk to you instead of just sending a message.”

Groaning, Thorn looked at the countdown timer that still showed two hours before he could log back into Nova Terra. The Titan squad had gathered and was waiting to log in, so hearing that the Silver Guard had already moved to the next stage was disheartening.

“Well, that is terrible.”

“Not entirely.” Corvo shook his head briefly. “It looks like the final stage of the quest is the boss fight. But this boss is a monster. Probably the toughest enemy to appear in the game to date. According to our sources, he is the ancient king of the Dwarves, some sort of grandmaster mage. Crazy strong, lots of magic. The Silver Guard got wiped in less than an hour and are regrouping to go back in.

“The fight went so badly that Ragnarok released information about how to beat the labyrinth and details on the last fight so that other guilds can join them. My guess, based on what we’ve heard, is that the boss will be unbeatable until all of the sections are passed. But now that people know how to clear the labyrinth, the race is on.”

“Alright. So we have some time. Good.” Putting the metal staff down, Thorn picked up a sword and gave it a few experimental swings. With a blade that was two feet wide and a total length of seven feet, it looked more like a shield than a sword.

“Yup. We do. The battle appears to require multiple teams, so I wouldn’t stress about that too much, but it won’t hurt to hurry.” As Thorn dropped the sword to pick up an oversized warhammer, Corvo glanced around casually. “Where is Velin? I have a couple things to ask her.”

“She is still sleeping. She was pretty wiped out, so we are letting her rest.” The warhammer landed on the pile of oversized weapons with a tremendous clatter as Thorn tossed it aside. Even with the events of the last twenty-four hours, it wasn’t like Velin to miss something this important. Thorn couldn’t find it in himself to judge her for it though, as she had been so overtaxed in the last battle. Still, he was sure he’d keenly feel her absence in the coming fight.

Flexing his fingers, the Titan turned to Mina with a shrug. “I don’t really like any of them. I liked the tetsubo because it was a mace, so it smashed things well, but it could be used for ripping with the spikes. These all feel too flimsy. Like they will break when I hit something with them.”

“Well, you need something. You can’t just walk around bare handed. I mean,” Mina’s brow furrowed as she thought, “I guess you could just walk around bare handed. You have your claws.”

“This is what I keep trying to tell you! You should just fight with your hands. Armored gauntlets are the way to go.” Baxby was so excited that he was nearly hopping up and down. “You can just run up to people and punch them in the face! And then, if they try to block, just grab their weapon and hit them with it!”

Recoiling backward to avoid the spittle that Baxby’s exuberance sent flying through the air, Mina grimaced.

“But how does he deal with things that are out of his reach? We talked about this. If he is going up against Sylith’s lance, he is going to be in trouble because his arms are not long enough.”

“They look pretty long to me.” Jorge chuckled from the side where he was dragging over a huge flail. Dropping it with a bang, he sat down on the handle and patted it triumphantly. “Now this is the weapon he needs. Dangerous, unpredictable, gives him the extra range he needs. Look at those spikes on the end. Anything you hit with this will be obliterated. Hahaha.”

For a second, Thorn imagined himself with the flail, smashing his way through hordes of enemies. And then his blood ran cold as he imagined the massive spikes on the metal ball stabbing into him when he messed up a swing and accidently hit himself. Shivering slightly, Thorn shook his head.

“Look, Thorn, the real problem is that your fighting style is all over the place.” Mina tapped her wand as she talked, her eyes misted in thought. It was strange to see Mina in lecturing mode, but Thorn had to admit that she knew what she was talking about. Giving the Ice Witch his full attention, he waited for her to continue.

“There are two approaches to PvP. Either you play to your strengths, or you play around your opponent’s weaknesses. A perfect fighter does both. However, even a perfect fighter’s style will change depending on the strength of their enemy. Take me for example. My class is one of the better double category classes for PvP. I have great single target damage and a large pool of crowd control abilities, which makes me effective in both one on one and team fights.

“However, my strategy changes pretty drastically if I am facing a single opponent versus when I face multiple targets. With multiple targets, I focus on creating chaos, so I can take advantage of their mistakes, whittling the group down as they mess up. Against a single opponent, I just overwhelm them and burn through their defense as fast as possible. Against multiple people, I play to their weaknesses, like capitalizing on their lack of coordination and magnifying that weakness as much as possible. But with one target, I play to my strengths. I use stuns and high damage to keep the fights short.

“Laser focus is one of the biggest advantages a fighter can develop. If you can focus all of your actions around a singular objective, or even a few objectives, you become more efficient. And more efficiency means a higher success rate. You have a wide range of strengths, so you should be identifying them and really focusing on them every time you fight.

“Regardless of who I am facing, I have a specific style that I play, and I stick to it. This means I might come up against someone I can’t beat, but having a clear path to victory in 95% of my fights is better than having a hazy path in 100%. You are suffering from not having a cohesive style right now, so you stumble around in your fights, doing whatever comes to mind. Instead, you need to pick a plan and stick to it.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Thorn rubbed the back of his head as he thought. He often found himself focusing on hitting his target as hard as he possibly could, but as his fight with Sylith demonstrated, a skilled player could completely shut that down. “So, what do you suggest?”

“Let’s take a look at your advantages.” Mina pushed her wide brimmed witch’s hat back on her head and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. Licking the end of the pen, she began to make notes. “You have near infinite stamina. You are impossibly strong. You have reach. You are naturally tough. You have decent martial arts training. You have a rage ability. You have two area heals. Honestly, on paper, you should win every fight.

“Your problem is applying your strength. There are abilities that prevent you from being able to use your full strength by either blocking the damage or preventing you from hitting. So, to come up with a plan, we’ll want to try and cover for those two things by applying your strength in a particular way. I think focusing on your strengths in both one on one situations and in group fights makes a lot of sense. You don’t need to hunt for weaknesses.

“You know, the more I think about this, the more I think that Baxby’s method makes more sense. You are the ultimate one-hit KO machine. So long as you can get your hands on them, they are going to have next to no chance to recover.” Mina looked and pointed her pen at Thorn’s hands. “From what it sounds like, if you had kept hold of Sylith when you grabbed his leg, you probably could have killed him. I think your plan of attack should be to grab people and not let go until they’re dead.”

“Bit gruesome to rip people in half, isn’t it?”

“I mean, you don’t actually have to do that. You can stab them with your claws, or carry a short blade and chop at them. Besides, it's not like you’ll see blood. Players don’t bleed when they die, so if you kill them fast enough, it will be really clean.”

“Okay, I can get behind this. So the plan will just be to close the distance as quickly as possible and focus on downing a single target at a time?”

“Effectively. I’d carry some weapons just in case you need more reach. But if I were you, I'd use a short blade and try to get into close combat as much as possible.”

“Something like this?” Thorn rummaged through the pile, lifting out a two and a half foot long short sword with a heavy blade. It looked more like a dagger in his massive hands as he spun it.

“Perfect. And then maybe a club for targets that are immune to cutting or stabbing? I think getting another tetsubo is a good idea, but for now any club will do.”

Nodding, Thorn picked up the metal staff. As thick as Mina’s wrist and a full seven feet long, it was made out of a solid piece of iron, but Thorn bent it casually in half and began wrapping some leather around one end, leaving him with a thick metal club.

“Such a waste,” Baxby and Jorge both muttered at the exact same moment.

Ignoring them, Thorn turned back to Corvo, who was watching all of the commotion with interest.

“What else do we know about the final boss fight?”

“The boss is named Courdum the Stone King. Like I mentioned already, he is an ancient Dwarven king. He rules the labyrinth city of Rakkam and controls all of the stone Dwarves. The exact details are sketchy, but I think he made the Dwarves into the statues or something like that. He draws power from chained greater elementals, which makes him powerful enough to solo-wipe a full team of the Silver Guard.

“Each time a team clears one of the labyrinths, it frees one of the greater elementals, which reduces Courdum’s power. At least, that is what we think. When the Silver Guard got there, the greater fire elemental was missing, so we are assuming that is how it works. Each team that gets through the labyrinth gets assigned to fight a boss, with the first being assigned to fight Courdum. As for the actual fight, there is not much we know except that Courdum is a monster, and his guards are almost as strong.

“The fight takes place on these split up platforms with each team needing to deal with their boss. Chances are the bosses are going to have some triggers, but we won’t know until we get multiple teams in there to test it out. We do know that the longer the fight went, the harder that Courdum was to kill and the more damage he dealt, so it’s likely that all the bosses are the same way. That is as much as we know. For actual specifics, we’ll have to wait until we are there.”

“Fair enough. Thank you, Corvo.”

Having settled on the weapon he was going to use, Thorn spent the rest of his time before the countdown ended storing various extra weapons in his inventory. If he had learned anything from the last fight it was that having an extra option for hitting other people was a good idea. Once he had a good variety of weapons, Thorn asked Mina to gather the Titan squad, and soon the fifty players were standing together, getting ready to login. Returning to where Thorn was sitting while he waited for the group, the Ice Witch nudged him.

“You might want to try to do something, Thorn. Everyone is still pretty down about our loss.”

“What can I do?” The Titan frowned as he looked over the group. The players from Nova Luna were standing together, talking quietly, a sense of heaviness in the air.

“I don’t know. Say something. Or do a dance. The point is that you are the leader, so you need to get them fired up. Look, just because you messed up, doesn’t mean you can shirk your responsibilities. It means you need to do better and work harder, and that includes getting everyone excited for what we’re about to do.”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Thorn held up his hands in defeat. Mina was completely right, of course. There was no reason for him to shrink back from his duties as a leader. In fact, he knew that he should really be doing exactly the opposite. Now was the time to do a better job of leading his team forward. Clearing his throat, Thorn stood up and waited for the low murmur to die down.

“Is everyone ready to go?” A few scattered affirmations drifted from the crowd, causing Thorn’s heart to sink. The atmosphere was worse than he had thought. Keeping his face covered in a cheerful grin, Thorn let the silence return as he swept his eyes across the crowd.

“We’ve got an uphill battle coming. Let’s be real about our situation. We lost a major advantage to Ragnarok, an advantage that they have capitalized on. Our reports tell us that they were the first to break through to the final stage of the quest. This is going to give them an advantage in the fight that is coming up, as they’ll get to face off against the main boss. We can’t change what has happened, but we can do a better job than we have been, and finish this quest cleanly.

“We are going to be spawning in the underground fortress, which Ragnarok currently controls. The spawn point is about three blocks from the entrance to the dungeon, so we should be able to cover the distance quickly. However, we’ve thrown away any pretense of peace with Ragnarok, so expect both Ragnarok and their subordinate guilds to get in our way. We’ll be going in hot, so to speak. I would assume that we’ll be up against at least one hundred Silver Guard and five or six hundred of their henchmen. The last time we met, we couldn’t even survive against fifty, but now we’ll probably face twice that number, so prepare yourselves.

“I’ve asked a few of our allies for some help to ensure that we can get to the dungeon, but even if we do make it through the players standing in our way, the real challenge will start from there. Once we are in the labyrinth, we’ll be on a clock. We are racing against all of the major guilds in the game to try and be one of the first groups to make it through the labyrinth to the final fight. While this would have been a simple thing before, Ragnarok leaked the solution to the labyrinth, so all of the major guilds know the secret to beating it.

“Once we arrive in the final fight, we are going to have to cooperate with the other guilds, including Ragnarok, to take down the boss. Fighting alongside the other guilds against Courdum the Stone King, the boss of this World Quest, will require that we take on our boss while watching our backs, since I don’t trust Ragnarok to play clean. They have shown again and again that they are more than willing to play dirty tricks if they feel like it will benefit them.”

By this time, not a sound could be heard besides the slow, heavy rumble of Thorn’s voice. Mina stared at the Titan skeptically as she heard his words. If the atmosphere had been slightly down before, it had now sunk into complete depression.

“We are facing an uphill battle. But that isn’t a bad thing.” Thorn’s quiet tone suddenly gained an edge, and a fire sprang up in his eyes. “We are stronger than they know. Stronger than we know. The flame of adversity will sharpen our edge. The doubt we face will strengthen our resolve. Nothing will stand in our way. We will enter the dungeon. We will break through the labyrinth. And we will conquer whatever waits behind those doors, over the bodies of those who seek to stop us, if necessary.

“Excellence is the fruit of unrelenting focus and labor, and now it is time to prove it by our blood and sweat. Take up your weapons once more and follow me. Ragnarok thinks they have us beaten, thinks that they have us defeated. Let's show them how terribly wrong they are. Our swords will leave an impression on Ragnarok that will never be forgotten. We might have fallen once, covered by the cloud of defeat, but we are the new moon and our rise is inevitable.”

With his final word, Thorn’s voice was almost a whisper, the power of his statements vibrating in the chests of the gathered players. Eyes burning, one of the tanks unsheathed his sword and thrust it into the air, his teeth clenched with determination. Around him a sea of weapons rose silently, a testament to the determination Thorn had awoken in the hearts of the Titan squad. Lifting his gauntleted hand, Thorn slowly clenched it into a fist. The clock counting down the death penalty ticked down to single digits, the intensity slowly building as the number dropped. By the time the countdown reached three seconds, the atmosphere was electric.

“Let’s show them how we rise.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Thorn appeared in the broken down Dwarven temple of the underground fortress with a flash of light. Around him, the rest of the Titan squad popped into view as they entered the game. Accepting the re-spawn fee, Thorn checked his messages and walked out the large open door. The fortress was still in complete disrepair from the building-smashing fight against the stone legion and the giant stone statues that had allowed Ragnarok capture the fortress. Rather than putting money into fixing it, the super guild had let it continue to deteriorate, focusing entirely on the dungeon.

Outside of the temple, a silver band of players stood in neat rows. Around one hundred Silver Guard were in the front of the group with close to two hundred players from the Silver Squires behind them. Surrounding the silver armored block, a motley collection of players from other guilds milled around as they waited for the fireworks.

“Are you Thorn?”

The question caught Thorn off guard and his foot almost missed the step. Catching himself, he looked around. Not a single player in the area came up past his shoulder, giving him a clear view of the serious-faced Silver Guard who spoke.

“Yeah. I’m Thorn.”

“Greetings, Thorn. I am GildedShield, the acting captain of the Silver Guard.”

“Where is Raeth? I assumed he would have already respawned.”

“Sir Raeth has passed the honor of leading this engagement to me and joined Sir Sylith in the quest to topple the evil tyrant Courdum.” GildedShield stood up a little straighter as he explained the situation to Thorn. Behind him, the ranks of the Silver Guard stood straight, their swords in their hands and their shields held in front of their chests. Thorn could see a red band around GildedShield’s arm, marking him out as the highest ranked officer.

“Why is he talking funny?” Thorn leaned down and asked Mina in a whisper.

“RP. He is one of those role-players. Some people take this game really seriously and like to pretend that this is real life. They don’t treat it like a game.”

“With a name like GildedShield? Weird.” Straightening, Thorn pointed at the Silver Guard who were standing in their way. “Captain, we intend to pass through this road and enter the dungeon.”

“Acting Captain, not Captain,” GildedShield corrected, holding up a hand. “Due to the command of Sir Sylith, the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight, who has decreed that no one may use this fortress’ entrance to the dungeon, I have no choice but to deny your request. You....! Wai…!”

*BANG*

A massive chunk of stone that had once been a pillar attached to the temple smashed down on the front line of the Silver Guard, instantly crushing GildedShield and a dozen of the silver-armored players. His hand still extended from the throw, Thorn shook his head.

“It was not a request. All units, charge!”

From the surrounding darkness, a massive army of players rose up and charged forward, throwing off their dark cloaks as they attacked. In the flickering torchlight of the underground fortress, they had blended in almost perfectly with the ruined buildings, allowing their attack to come as a complete surprise. The abrupt assault threw the milling players and the Silver Squires into utter chaos as they scrambled to defend themselves. In the front of the group, the Silver Guard responded with the strict discipline they were famous for, gathering up into a solid block, their shields held high.

“Titan squad, follow me.” Thorn snapped out the command as he picked up another fallen pillar from where it rested on the steps. Holding it in front of him, he charged down the steps toward the Silver Guard, throwing back his head to howl as he went.

“[Rallying Cry]!”

As the Titan squad’s speed increased with [Pack Travel], Thorn led them at an angle, hitting the corner of the Silver Guard’s defensive formation. Sweeping the stone pillar across the Silver Guard, Thorn’s eyes caught the ripple of silver energy as the shields dispersed the force of the hit across the whole formation. Still, the weight of the strike caused the Silver Guard to shiver as each player tried to stop themselves from staggering backward.

Not even blinking as the pillar disintegrated into a mass of shards, Thorn grabbed two of the Silver Guard and threw them aside. Taking an abrupt turn, he faced the main body of the Silver Guard formation head on.

“Keep following Mina.” His loud voice carried easily over the din of the battlefield, and behind him, Mina led the rest of the Titan squad to charge forward, cutting past the Silver Guard at an angle.

Thorn pulled the oversized warhammer out of his inventory and began to pound down on the nearest Silver Guard, trying to buy time for all fifty of the Titan squad to get by. The area outside the temple had devolved into pure chaos as swarms of players poured out of the ruined buildings and rushed into battle. In the flickering torchlight visibility dropped to next to nothing as spells and missiles began to fly.

It was only Thorn, in his bright silver armor, who stood out, his warhammer smashing down on the Silver Guard’s shields. In the fury and bustle, his large form was easy to see, and he soon found himself the target of countless ranged attacks as the panicking players looked for a target. Feeling his health jump up and down as the support characters behind him threw heals at him to counteract the ranged attacks, Thorn did his best to continue smashing away on the Silver Guard.

“[Aegis of Time]!”

An arcane clock shimmered into existence above Thorn’s head, neatly intercepting the thick beam of light from the Silver Guard’s [Holy Strike]. As the clock melted away under the golden light, the last player from the Titan squad passed behind Thorn, and he threw back his head as if he was going to howl.

At the sight of his head going up, the Silver Guard tightened their formation, raising their shields to cover their faces. With plenty of experience fighting against Thorn, they had figured out many of his tells, and knew that [Wolf Lord’s Howl] was on its way.

Pleased to see their shields up, Thorn stayed silent, turning to dash after the Titan squad, who were quickly disappearing into the darkness. Tossing a dark cloak around his shoulders as he ran, Thorn drew it around him, doing his best to cover his silver armor. As his large stride carried him away, he spotted Asher standing on the roof of a ruined building nearby. The leader of Aurum was watching the chaos below with a critical eye and murmuring commands to a few players who stood next to him.

Giving Asher a short wave, Thorn sped off after the Titan squad, quickly catching up to the group. On the top of the building, Asher watched the Titan squad head toward the dungeon entrance. Once they had covered half the distance, he gave another command and the roiling mass of players shifted, flooding into the space left by the Titan squad’s charge.

The Silver Guard huddled together, waiting for a [Wolf Lord’s Howl] that never came. After a few seconds, a couple of the players started to lower their shields but then hesitated. Finally, one of them straightened and dropped his shield, only to find that Thorn had disappeared. Stunned, he looked around for the Titan, only finding darkness and chaos.

The crush of players rushing around suddenly turned and scattered, disappearing into the ruins of the fortress as fast as they had arrived, the dark cloaks they donned making them difficult targets in the gloom. Within minutes, the only players on the street were the tightly packed Silver Guard in their defensive formation and the beleaguered remnants of the Silver Squires.

Thorn and the Titan squad rushed down the last block before the dungeon entrance. A smattering of Silver Squires stood in front of it to try and keep other players away, but the Titan squad blew through them with little effort and entered the dungeon gate. Selecting Diving mode, Thorn brought the team inside, appearing in the now familiar forge room.

“Whew. That was exciting.” Thorn looked around with a grin as he put away his cloak. “We’ll pause for two minutes, and then we’re heading in. We are going to be moving fast, so prepare yourselves, alright?”

“Haha, that was fun.” Mina was beaming, even as her face began to take on a pink hue in the intense heat.

The two minute break went quickly, but the players in the Titan squad were professional and were back on their feet and ready to go with plenty of time to spare. Taking a tighter and more aggressive formation, they rushed forward, Thorn taking point. The labyrinth was burning hot, and fast movement made that heat all the more evident, but this was a race against the clock, so the Titan squad pushed on without regard.

Following the map that Baxby had given him, Thorn led the way forward. Fire elementals they came across were obliterated into puddles of molten stone by ranged attacks before the team even got close, and traps were walked around, thanks to the detailed map. After fifteen minutes of moving as quickly as they could, the team arrived at a set of double doors that hid the first lock.

“Take two, folks. Mina, any chance you can help everyone cool down a bit?” Completely fine himself, Thorn could see the clear lines of sweat drenching his companions.

“Sure thing. Everyone group up.” Summoning an avalanche of snow, Mina forcefully held it up in the air until the snow began to melt, and icy water dripped down like rain on the players below. The freezing water quickly evaporated, bringing a small measure of relief to the overheated team.

“Thanks. Let’s get this done.” Thorn straightened himself up to his full height and pushed on the doors, forcing them open with a long and loud creak. Dust fell from the ceiling as the doors scraped across the floor, clearing to reveal an elite fire elemental floating in front of a six foot tall pillar. A depression in the center of the pillar held the same shape as one of the stone keys, but the elite fire elemental was too close to be avoided.

As the elite fire elemental spotted them, Thorn burst into action. Ignoring the drawn back arm and the rapidly condensing [Fire Spear], Thorn burst forward with [Shadow Dash], flickering in and out out of sight as he closed the distance.

“Cover him!” Mina called out, readying her stun in case something went wrong. However, even before one of the supporting players could throw out a bubble, Thorn’s gauntleted hand was wrapped around the elite fire elemental’s arm. Forcefully pulling it down, Thorn angled the [Fire Spear] toward the floor and stabbed his other hand through the monster’s chest, causing it to explode into a shower of lava.

As soon as the elite fire elemental started to disintegrate, Thorn jumped backward, avoiding the molten rock. Turning to Mina as he patted his hands together to put out the residual flames from the elite fire elemental’s burning body, Thorn grinned.

“I think you are right. When I focus on eliminating enemies, instead of worrying about guarding against them, things go much smoother.”

“You are ridiculous.” Rolling her eyes, Mina ran over and took the stone key Thorn was pulling out of his inventory. Carefully stepping around the slowly cooling lava, she slotted the key into the impression in the pillar. With a flash of red light, the key merged with the pillar. A burning hiss sounded as the light ran around the edge of the key, causing it to become part of the pillar.

“Um, now what?” Not hearing or seeing anything else, Mina looked around.

“No idea.” Thorn shrugged and slapped the top of the pillar as he looked around. “We need to figure out how to activate this thing.”

*CREAK*

With a loud groan, the pillar sank into the ground, and the entire dungeon began to rumble. Walls began to slide apart and doorways disappeared into the ground as the walls rotated to reveal new passages. Under the Titan squad’s astonished eyes, the entire layout of the dungeon changed completely.

“Huh, no wonder no one could find their way through the labyrinth. How many of those keys do we have?” Mina asked, as she watched the labyrinth changing around them in wonder.

“Three. We’ve used the first.”

“Wow, it is like we have been trying to solve three different labyrinths at the same time, except you can’t see two of them.”

“Yeah, we’re lucky to have Oberlin, Corvo and Baxby, otherwise we probably wouldn’t have ever solved it.” Turning to the rest of the team, he held up his hand for their attention. “Alright, let’s keep moving. We’re on the clock, folks.”

Once again, Thorn led the charge through the new pathways of the labyrinth. The map that had made no sense before now showed a clear path to the next pillar they had to activate. This time, however, the fire elementals were more common and it took a bit more coordination to wipe them out.

The path to the second pillar led them through the familiar furnace room where they had been ambushed, and as soon as he stepped into it, feelings of guilt started to creep into Thorn’s chest. Even though the signs of the fight had been removed, Thorn couldn’t help but remember the scattered gear and the broken floor that had resulted from his whole team being wiped out. Seeing the look on his face, Mina stopped next to him and patted his arm.

“What is done is done. And you’re not going to do it again, so why worry about it?”

“Thanks.” His friend’s words brought Thorn’s mind back to the present. She was right, the past was gone, forever etched into reality by time’s firm tool. But he could do better in the future. And he would.

Without another glance at the furnace, Thorn rushed into the center of the room, crushing the last of the fire elementals that had not fallen to the team’s ranged attacks with a backhanded slap. Passing through the room, they continued to advance, soon arriving at the second pillar, where they found two elite fire elementals floating together.

“This is going to be a bit of a tighter fight, so get ready to bubble me. We’re going to handle this the same way we did for the big fights when we got the keys. Everyone ready?” As all of the support players nodded, Thorn rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath, leading the way forward.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

The last of the stone keys settled into its slot with a soft click, the familiar red light burning around its edge as it sealed itself into the pillar. Once the surface of the pillar was smooth, Thorn pushed it down into the ground and looked around in expectation. This time, instead of the whole labyrinth changing, the pillar’s descent only affected a single wall at the end of the room.

A loud rumble sounded as the wall rotated, revealing a large set of doors made from stone and covered in carvings. Thick and foreboding, the doors gave off a dangerous aura, as if they held back a ferocious beast. Still, the Titan squad faced them with excitement in their eyes. They had made it to the last of the three pillars and defeated the three elite fire elementals who guarded it without much struggle, and now, at the end of their dungeon run, they could not wait to see what was on the other side.

With one final shudder, the wall came to a stop, and the two doors began to creak open, a dense mist rolling from the crack. Little by little, the doors opened until they stood wide, revealing a darkness so deep it seemed to devour the flickering light. Taking a deep breath, Thorn glanced down at Mina.

“You ready for this?”

“Please, I’m always ready. I’ve never not been ready. The question is, are you ready?”

“I dunno. But I guess there is only one way to find out, huh?” Forcefully suppressing the nervousness in his chest, Thorn turned around to address the team. “Alright. This is it. Beyond those doors we will be facing our biggest challenge to date. Sylith and the Silver Guard are already over there, and who knows, we might find some of the other major guilds over there, as well. Either way, we will be competing against the best. I really don’t have much to say except, let's get in there and show them what we can do.”

Giving an excited yell, Mina led the way, rushing forward into the doorway, Thorn and the rest of the team following close behind. As Thorn plunged into the darkness, he felt himself slowing down slightly, as if space itself was thickening around him. With a slight popping sound, he appeared in a new space, light bursting around him.

*ding*

Sins of a Golden Dream - World Quest [Updated]

A long forgotten empire, bound in stone, has woken from a bygone era. Driven by the greed of their master, they have turned their attention from the wealth hidden in the earth and are beginning to encroach on the surface. Implacable legions muster for war as their scouts burn paths from the subterranean world.

You have broken the mystery of the labyrinth, finding your way to the throne room of Courdum, the Stone King. An ancient mage of inscrutable power, Courdum fell to corruption, lured from sanity by the promise of immortality. Driven by his insatiable greed, Courdum seeks to wipe away all other empires, uniting the world under the rule of his stone fist and turning the beings in it into his stone minions.

Defeat Courdum and his guardians before he can activate the Stone Heart.

To begin the fight, approach the Stone Heart.

Stone Guardians: 0/9

Courdum the Stone King: 0/1

The Titan squad found themselves on a wide platform, floating in a massive cavern. At the center of the cavern, a gigantic jar shaped like a huge heart rose into the air, a blackish mist dripping down from hundreds of openings. Around the stone heart floated large stone platforms, ascending like a colossal spiral staircase.

Each platform was close to three hundred feet in diameter, made of the same smooth stone as the floor of the labyrinth. With one edge only a few feet from the jar, the platforms floated above an endlessly dark pit, and Thorn’s heart chilled as he imagined falling off. The spiraled platforms, which looked like they had been ripped from the ground, appeared to be fixed in the air, giving Thorn a measure of relief. Looking toward the center of the room, he noticed a platform that was different from the rest.

Above the giant stone heart in the center of the cavern, a smaller platform hovered, supported by three massive greater elementals who floated above the opening at the top of the heart-shaped jar. Thick chains bound the greater elementals to the platform, coursing energy running across them as their strength was constantly drawn out and fed into the throne.

Two sets of chains dangled from the platform where the greater fire elemental and the greater air elemental had been bound, hanging empty over the jar’s opening. The top of the platform was dominated by a golden throne covered in strange runic motifs and, sitting on the oversized seat, was a robed dwarf with a tall, spiky crown holding a twisted staff that pulsed with a sickly green light.

Despite the distance, Thorn could make out nine large statues surrounding the throne. A quick examination revealed that there were ten floating platforms forming the spiral staircase, meaning that one group would not have to face one of the stone guards. The top position was held by Ragnarok and the Silver Guard, as evidenced by the gleam of polished silver armor. What surprised Thorn was that the second position was held by a team from Eastern Alliance in their matching tabards.

Nova Luna held the third platform, located about fifty feet below the top of the jar. The platforms below were all currently empty, waiting for teams to finish the labyrinth portion of the dungeon. Thorn was just settling in to wait when he got a notification.

*ding*

Opening up the video chat request, Thorn saw BurningCloud’s lovely face smiling at him.

“Hey Thorn, I’m starting a video chat for all of the team leaders so we can coordinate this fight. Give me a second.” Within a few seconds Sylith’s image appeared next to BurningCloud’s window.

“I see you made it.” Sylith grinned at Thorn, his words dripping with mockery.

“Yup. Didn’t even need to steal someone else’s accomplishments to do it.” Thorn kept his tone as neutral as possible.

“Hey, cut it out, you two,” BurningCloud interrupted before Sylith could get his response out. “I don’t care how you got here, save your feud until after we crush this boss.”

“Fine. As long as they don’t drag us down, I’ll keep it civil.”

“Thorn, what about you? Can Nova Luna work with us?” BurningCloud turned her eyes to Thorn.

“Of course.” Thorn nodded, his face serious. “You don’t have to worry, we are not into backstabbing our allies like some guilds.”

“Good. We’ll wait for the others to arrive, and then we’ll talk about the plan. Bye for now.”

Signing off, Thorn sat down next to Mina. The whole team had settled on the ground as comfortably as they could as they prepared to wait for ten teams to pass through the dungeon. After a few moments of silence, Mina couldn’t stand it anymore and turned to Thorn.

“Where is Akira? I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. She ran off into the valley, and I haven’t seen her since. I was going to try and summon her, but I figured she must be busy.”

“Aww, you’re so cute. You know, you are probably the only player in the whole game who treats your pets like they are people.”

“Well, her family is around, and she hasn’t seen them in a while, so I thought she might want to spend some time with them.”

“Haha, that is exactly what I’m talking about. Literally no one would care if their pet wanted to see their family, especially if their pet was as strong as Akira. Combat pets are rare enough, but combat pets with healing are even rarer. It is like getting a free extra player on your team, but you let her run off to see her family just because. Hey, I’m not saying it like it’s a bad thing. It is just funny.”

Listening to Mina chatting as they waited, Thorn did his best to relax. The massive jar in the center of the room with the black mist continually pouring out of it was making him quite nervous, but he did his best to focus on Mina’s casual conversation. Something about the mist reminded him of Karrandaras and the devils he fought in the Battlefield of Flame and Shadow, though he could not pinpoint exactly what it was.

Nearly three hours passed before the next team arrived, but once they did, it was like a sluice gate had opened, and the teams poured in, quickly filling the platforms. As the fourth group, a team from a guild called Mirage, entered from the water section of the labyrinth the greater water elemental gave a pleased roar, its chains falling away. With a swirl, it transformed into a single point of water that then vanished into the air. Without its support the platform with the throne dipped lower toward the massive jar’s opening.

By the time the tenth team arrived, all of the bound greater elementals had been freed. Giving off excited roars, the thick chains that restrained them fell limp and they disappeared. Up on the platform, Courdum could only watch in rage as the greater elementals vanished back to the planes they came from, causing the platform to drop down, getting ever closer to the mouth of the jar.

By the time the last greater elemental had disappeared, the platform had landed on the jar, sealing the top and connecting neatly with the first platform where Sylith and the Silver Guard stood. At first Courdum’s guards stirred, but sensing no movement from the Silver Guard, they soon settled back down.

*ding*

Opening up his chat, Thorn rejoined the group message that BurningCloud started. The chat was filled with leaders from the ten groups that made it through the labyrinth. Apart from Sylith, whose face held an unconcealed pride, and BurningCloud, whose demeanor gave off the impression that she was in charge of the group, the rest of the group leaders looked at each other with grudging respect.

Without the information that Ragnarok had shared, many of these guild leaders would not even have been able to make it through the first stages of the labyrinth. It was only after they learned about the dwarven earth maps and stone keys that they had been able to marshal their resources to complete the labyrinth.

As Thorn looked over them, he quickly realized that all of them had less than fifty players, a testament to the difficulty of the dungeon. It only highlighted for him how abnormal his gaming experience really was.

“Ehem. Looks like everyone is here.” BurningCloud cleared her throat for attention before speaking in a businesslike tone. “First of all, congratulations to everyone who made it this far. I’m sure there were a lot of other people aiming for your spots. I’d also like to say thank you to Ragnarok for sharing the information about the dungeon.”

His expression unchanging, Sylith nodded slightly as everyone else looked on enviously.

“And I would also like to personally thank Thorn and Nova Luna for being such a big help to me and my team.” This time BurningCloud flashed a wide smile at Thorn, causing a number of the other leaders to turn to the Titan, their eyes filled with jealousy. For some reason, as soon as Thorn saw the beautiful guild leader’s smile, Velin’s face immediately popped into his mind, causing him to blink.

“Let’s move on to the fight.” Sylith’s voice cut through Thorn’s thoughts, bringing him back to the present.

“Sure.” with an easy smile, BurningCloud swept her eyes across all of the team leaders. “As I said earlier, good job for making it here. The fact that you are here is a good indication that you and your teams are some of the strongest players in the game. Which is good, because we are going to need 100 percent of that strength for this boss battle. Sylith, would you explain what we are up against?”

“Mhm. This fight is a fairly straightforward one, though it is really tough. You can see that there are ten platforms, each platform will have to fight a boss guard statue. Once the fight starts, the guards will teleport to the filled platforms, which is why we had to wait until all the platforms were filled to start. Otherwise, the guards would double up on a platform. When we first came in, we started the fight without waiting and got to fight all of the guards plus Courdum himself.

“I’m sure that you heard that it did not go well. The guards are easily as tough as a world boss. Anyway, once a boss reaches fifty percent of their health, phase two starts. During phase two, all the bosses retreat back to the stone heart and drink the mist, which gives them a powerup. They gain regeneration and increased attack and strength, like a rage ability. Their defense will drop slightly during this time, but their regen evens it out.

“In addition, Courdum will begin to teleport the bosses around, allowing them to swap locations. There is an indicator as to which bosses are being swapped, so we’ll call that out when it is happening. Stage two will last until the first boss drops. Once the first boss is killed, that is when things get really dangerous, so we need to drop the bosses as fast as possible once the first one falls.

“Once stage three starts, Courdum will begin to cast some of his major elemental spells. If they are not interrupted, he will wipe out whole teams. From what we saw, there were four different spells. With all of them, all you have to do is deal enough damage to him, and he will teleport away, interrupting the spell. When he hits 25 percent health or after he casts his five elemental spells, he does his ultimate spell, which turns everyone to stone. Again, as long as we can deal enough damage to him, it won’t go off.”

“Thanks. Okay.” BurningCloud clapped her hands together. “The fight will start in a few minutes. A couple things to take note of: This is a cooperative fight, so anyone who sabotages the fight or another team will get blacklisted. We also need to make sure that we are keeping pace with each other so we don’t start stage two and three too early. If you burn down your boss a lot faster than the other teams, it will make the whole fight a lot more difficult.

“At the same time, if you cannot beat, or at least tie down, your boss, they will get the chance to double up on another team. So please make sure you at least keep them occupied. We don’t need this fight snowballing out of control. Ragnarok will be responsible for fighting Courdum himself, so pay attention when they call out his teleport locations. Alright, I think that about wraps it up. Sylith, you can go ahead and get it started.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

Unlike the labyrinth, the cavern was brightly lit by an artificial sun hanging at the top of the room. Under the brilliant illumination, Sylith’s golden armor gleamed as he motioned for one of his men to walk forward to begin the fight. On each of the floating platforms, the guilds waited quietly for the battle to begin. This moment was the fruit of their hard labor, and all of them were determined to see it through to the end.

As the Silver Guard player reached the edge of the first platform where it joined the platform with the throne, he paused slightly, his foot hanging. Then, decisively placing his foot on the central platform, he took a single step. As soon as his boot touched the ground, the figure on the golden throne stirred, his eyes opening wider to reveal a deep and strange madness. With a creak, all of the statues guarding the throne on the platform on top of the jar took a step forward. Climbing to his feet, Courdum the Stone King scanned the teams on the floating platforms before speaking.

[Foolish mortals, why have you come here? This land is mine, yet you have fought your way in, cutting down my subjects with impunity and stealing our resources. You have destroyed the elemental seal I took so many years to create. All for what? The promise of glittering gold? Ha, that is a vice I know too well. But why must you hasten your demise? The eternal legions of stone do not welcome you, yet you have persisted in your invasion of our land.]

Listening to the Stone King’s surprisingly loud voice echoing around the cavern, Thorn glanced back at his team to make sure they were ready. Firm gazes met his as the players from Nova Luna waited for their enemy to appear. Without knowing which of the bosses they were going to face, Thorn instructed them to stand in a defensive formation with the tanks in a half circle around the point they thought the stone guardian would appear. Spread out behind them were the DPS and support, their weapons drawn and ready to fire.

On the platform, Courdum the Stone King finally finished his speech.

[Fine. If you will not submit by choice, I shall force you to submit under the boot of the Stone Legion!]

Raising his staff slightly, Courdum tapped its polished end on the ground. A flash of light enveloped the large stone statues surrounding his throne. Each of the nine statues reappeared on one of the platforms, facing the dungeon teams. Only Ragnarok was spared, though Thorn was not so sure that they were lucky when he saw Courdum floating down from the throne toward their platform.

The loud thump of feet brought Thorn’s attention back to the boss on his platform. With a humanoid body that was only slightly larger than Thorn’s, the guard that Nova Luna was facing had three large snake-heads extending from its shoulders with a thick tail at its back. Each head was a different color; green, blue, and black scales shimmered in the bright light. The three heads, each at least as long again as its body, wove in the air as the boss walked forward. Three different hues of poison dripped from the snakeheads, scorching the stone below. The stone monstrosity held two whips in its hands, flicking them back and forth like giant snake tongues.

“Tanks, block it. Watch out for spitting attacks.” His eyes firmly fixed on the approaching boss, Thorn snapped out his order. Immediately the tanks sped into action, charging forward to intercept the stone guard. The first tank accelerated suddenly when he was only ten feet away, lowering his shoulder and smashing into the statue with his shield.

With a loud booming sound, the statue staggered a step back as one of the heads fixed its eyes on the tank who had just attacked. The other two heads were scanning the approaching group of tanks, looking for threats. Not seeing anything particularly dangerous, the two heads lifted to focus on the ranged attackers who were already beginning to to pepper it with arrows and fireballs.

“Swap to a three tank rotation. We need to keep all of the heads occupied.” Catching the change, Thorn called out for two more tanks to step forward. Unlike a normal boss, it wasn’t enough to rotate a line of solo tanks through. The three heads of the stone guardian whipped around, each attacking independently and forcing Nova Luna to send three tanks up at a time to make sure that all three heads were properly aggroed.

Leveling his arbalest, Thorn sent a bolt into the body of the stone statue. The metal head of the bolt slammed into the hard stone scales of the monster, leaving a gouge mark as it bounced away. The team's DPS was keeping up a steady stream of ranged attacks while the tanks rotated in groups of three, and within a few minutes the tanks firmly held the beast’s attention.

Mina waved her wand, sending out a barrage of icicles at the boss’s green malachite head, cracking the scales around its neck. Roaring with rage, the head started to turn toward her, but before it could, a tank with a round spiked shield slammed into its leg. Hissing, the malachite head shot down, its massive teeth snapping the air where the tank had stood a second before. Jumping up from his backward roll, the tank stepped forward again, slamming his shield into the top of the creature's malachite head.

“Thorn, aggro is stable.” Mina called out after watching the exchange. The tanks had worked themselves into a good rhythm that kept the boss completely occupied.

“Alright, let’s ramp up the damage.”

At Thorn’s words, the steady stream of attacks flying toward the boss suddenly increased from a trickle to a full blown torrent. Thorn began to shoot his arbalest as fast as he could, using one hand to pull back the string and load the bolt while he pulled the trigger with the other. Immediately, the strain on the tanks shot up as the increased damage from the team’s DPS began to erode their control of the boss’ movement.

“Leaves, how are the other teams doing?” Thorn reloaded his arbalest and sent another bolt smashing into the boss’ chest, earning himself an annoyed glance from the basalt head. Thankfully, the tanks chose that moment to rotate, and the new tank responsible for the basalt head activated her taunt ability, pulling the beast’s attention back.

“Everyone seems about the same.” The Fae Druid was keeping an eye on the other fights as he healed the Tanks. “Everyone is using the same tactic as we are, so our progress should be relatively even.”

“Good. It shouldn’t be long before we trigger the second stage.” Still firing his arbalest steadily, Thorn caught the flash of a Silver Guard’s armor as a figure fell from the central platform. Frowning, he looked over toward the first platform where the Silver Guard still stood in gleaming rows, now minus the Silver Guard who had started the fight.

Courdum the Stone King had floated from his seat to the edge of the central platform and paused there, a mere step away from the floating platform that the Silver Guard occupied. Sylith stood in front of the Silver Guard, giving Courdum plenty of space. Unlike the rest of the platforms where stone guards had been teleported, Courdum never crossed to the first platform, allowing the Silver Guard to pass this portion of the boss fight without actually fighting.

Grumbling to himself, Thorn shot another bolt at the three-headed boss. The first position should have been Nova Luna’s, and could have been if he had not been so overconfident. Instead, they were stuck fighting while Ragnarok stood by and watched, reaping the benefits with none of the effort. Clenching his teeth, Thorn had to forcefully restrain his anger. He wanted more than anything to jump forward and rip the stone guardian to pieces, but that would throw the fight off.

BurningCloud had been clear that they needed to make sure that all the bosses’ health fell at about the same rate to prevent the phases from triggering too fast, so Thorn had to hold back, contenting himself with shooting his siege crossbow. While holding a defensive posture and chipping away at the boss’s health was not the most exciting way to beat it, it was a safe way, so Thorn held himself in check.

“DPS, low rotation.” Thorn called out. Watching the boss carefully for any sign that the tanks were losing control over its aggro, he had seen two of the heads look away from their tank at the same time. As he spoke, a lightning bolt and a large fireball impacted the body of the boss right where its neck joined its body. The two elemental explosions sent small cracks running through the boss’ torso.

As it hissed in rage, the black and blue heads swung toward the two mages who had thrown the spells. Stretching out, the onyx head began to gather a thick black fog in its mouth that looked like the same stuff that was pouring out of the jar in the center of the cavern. At the same time, the basalt snakehead opened its mouth wide, a swirl of water gathering in front of it. The two heads aimed their attacks at the back line, but before they were able to release them, two tanks activated their abilities.

“[Enraging Cry]!”

“[Thunder Strike]!”

A wave of sound radiated from the first tank, a burly man dressed in rough iron and fur armor, smashing into the onyx snakehead. The vibration slammed into the snake’s lower jaw, forcing its head up and causing it to swallow the black mist. Small trails of mist dripped from its mouth as the head snapped around to glare at the burly tank.

Next to him, the other tank had just released a slash with her large sword, aimed at the gaping maw of the basalt snakehead. With a booming sound, a large bolt of purple energy manifested itself around the sword and shot toward the swirling water energy in front of the snake’s open mouth. Seeing the attack coming, the snake jerked its head around and released two pulses of water that met the bolt of purple energy in the air.

“Give the tanks time to get it back under control!” Thorn’s voice rang over the sounds of battle, and the DPS reacted instantly, dropping their attacks back to less than half of what they had been a moment before.

Continuing to watch carefully, Thorn waited until the tanks had control again and then commanded the team to intensify their attacks, increasing the rate at which the boss’s health dropped. Through this careful back and forth, the Titan squad slowly wore down the snake-headed boss. After nearly twenty-five minutes, the boss’s health was slowly falling, its body showing signs of the constant damage that the Titan Squad was putting out.

Just as Thorn thought they would be hitting the 50% mark, a scream of rage burst from the boss on the seventh platform. The stone guardian on the seventh platform was shaped like an armadillo with four large arms that stretched from its torso. Rising to its full height, the creature beat its thick fists on its chest like a gorilla.

“Here we go, folks. Stage two is about to start. Do your best to keep your bosses from getting to the black mist! But remember, we still need to kill them slowly.” BurningCloud’s voice rang out in the group chat that the leaders still had up.

[Foolish mortals, you are stronger than I gave you credit for! But no amount of mortal might can stand in the way of the strength granted by the Immortal Stone Elixir. Come, my guards! Drink deep of the waters of the Stone Heart! Drink deep and show your strength!]

On the central platform, Courdum the Stone King tapped his staff twice on the ground, a heavy booming sound filling the cavern as the heart shaped jar under his feet trembled. Up from its depths rose a tide of black mist, pouring out over the edge of the jar, rushing down the sides in deep streams. The thick mist looked almost like liquid as it fell, crashing into the endless pit below.

As one, the stone guards threw back their heads and roared with excitement before turning and running toward the jar.

“Stop them!”

“Use crowd control!”

“Quick, bind its feet!”

Shouts burst from the teams as they rushed to stop the stone guards from reaching the black mist pouring down. On the third platform, the snake-headed stone guardian turned toward the jar, its heads weaving back and forth. The malachite and onyx heads turned back toward the tanks and continued to attack even as the monster ran away.

“Mina, slow it down!”

“I’m on it! [Avalanche]! [Blizzard]!”

With Mina’s words, the air around the monster turned white, the swirling snow chilling the boss’s stone body. Pushing through the spell, the boss shot its blue head out of the sphere of icy blades. Opening its mouth, the basalt snakehead had its eyes fixed on the jar when it suddenly jerked to a stop, its head slamming into the ground.

*BOOM*

Crushing the flagstone floor, the snake-headed boss was stunned for a moment as the attacks from the Titan squad rained down its body. Trying to get out of the way of the incoming attacks, the monster scrambled forward, leaving deep gouges in the ground. Another wave of attacks hammered into its back, driving it back to the ground. Confused, the boss looked down, only to realize that it had not moved an inch. Curling around, its six eyes scanned down its tail to where a giant hand had grasped it.

“Where do you think you are going?” Thorn’s voice rumbled as he began to pull.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

Gripping the monster’s tail, Thorn heaved, his muscles bulging as he dragged it backward, leaving furrows in the stone. On the other platforms, the stone guards were nearing the torrents of black mist pouring from the heart shaped jar, despite each team’s best efforts.

“Thorn, can you keep it pinned down?”

“As long as you can keep me alive!”

Never letting go of the stone guard’s tail, Thorn pulled the creature back, his hands working their way up its body. The three heads were hissing wildly, twisting around to snap at his body. Ducking his head to avoid a bite, Thorn dug his claws into the stone guard’s back and punched down, stunning the boss momentarily as his fist drove its chest into the stone floor. Recovering from the shock, the boss began to struggle furiously, trying to dislodge Thorn from its back.

Thorn was about to let go so he could draw one of the weapons he had brought when he remembered his conversation with Mina. Tightening his grip, he brought his other hand down again, pounding down at the base of one of the stone guard’s twisting snake heads. The blow slammed into the stone scales, pulverising them into tiny shards of stone.

“Keep him alive! Thorn will solo tank for now. I want everyone else on DPS!” Since Thorn was tied up trying to keep the stone guardian on the ground, Mina took over, directing the support players to focus on keeping Thorn alive under the furious assault of the three snakeheads.

The whole Titan squad burst into motion. Heal after heal landed on Thorn, instantly bringing him back to full health and boosting his already impressive abilities. At the same time, countless crowd control spells showered down on the boss, preventing it from being able to struggle out from under Thorn’s incredible weight. The tanks turned their weapons on it, hacking down at every available inch of its body as they joined the DPS in burning through its health.

Kneeling in the middle of the boss’ back, Thorn focused his attacks on the center neck. Punch after punch rained down, sending shards of stone flying as his armored fist pounded through the stone scales. For the first few seconds, he had tried his best to dodge the incoming attacks from the other two heads, but once the support players started to heal him, he abandoned any attempts at defense and just attacked as fast as he could.

On the second platform, Eastern Alliance had succeeded in slowing down the boss they were fighting, delaying it from reaching the jar and the black mist. BurningCloud released a searing beam of light from her sword and took a moment to glance at the other platforms. Apart from Nova Luna, whose guild leader was literally sitting on the snake-headed boss, the rest of the guilds had not been able to stop their bosses from reaching the jar.

The stone guardian on the fourth platform was the first to reach the jar, sucking in a dense cloud of the black mist. Tendrils of the heavy darkness shot toward the boss, racing into the spiderweb of cracks that covered its shield. With an excited roar, the stone guardian swelled, jagged rocky growths bursting from its armor as it absorbed the mist. Lifting its mace, the armored stone guardian banged its weapon against its newly mended shield and began to charge into the team it had been fighting.

On most of the platforms, the same scene repeated as the stone guards reached the waterfall of black mist and drank it greedily. The mist not only repaired some of the damage that the stone guards had taken, but also boosted their abilities, making them even more of a challenge than they had already been. Within a few minutes most of the teams had been thrown into disarray as they tried to fight with the refreshed bosses.

On the second platform, BurningCloud grimaced. She had known that the fight was going to be difficult, but the other teams were struggling more than she had anticipated. A quick glance at the first platform revealed that Sylith and the Silver Guard were still in their original position, facing off against Courdum the Stone King. Her frown deepened.

Thorn was not paying attention to anything except the feeling of his fist crushing through the snake-headed boss’s defenses. His last punch sent a deep crack running through half of its neck, and sensing an opportunity, Thorn straightened his fingers, sending his claws into the crack. Throwing his head back, Thorn roared and pulled, his claws digging deep into the twisting stone of the onyx snake-head’s neck.

In desperation, the other two heads lunged for his shoulders, only to smash up against a golden barrier as one of the clerics behind Thorn waved his staff and chanted a prayer. Drawing his hand back, Thorn brought it down again, widening the crack even farther. Another bubble shimmered to life around him, preventing a spray of acid from eating into his armor.

His mind focused, Thorn paid no attention to the flailing attacks of the other heads and, with a final strike, broke the middle neck from the boss’ body. Ignoring the furious hisses from the other heads, Thorn threw the still-writhing snakehead off of the platform. Under his knee, the struggles of the stone guardian grew weaker as its already low health plunged to rock bottom.

At the same moment, up on the top platform, Courdum and Sylith were having a staring contest. The ancient Dwarven king floated four feet off the ground, looking down at the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight. Still on the central platform, he seemed to be waiting for Sylith to make a move. Yet Sylith stood like a statue, his shield held in front of his body and his lance pointed up in the air.

As they held the silent face off, Courdum’s eyes shifted slightly. Both the Dwarven king and the Silver Guard could clearly hear the shattering sound as Thorn ripped one of the snake heads from the stone guard’s body. His eyes widening imperceptibly, the sound reminded Sylith of the bruising fight he had experienced against the Titan two days earlier, and the memory almost made him flinch. Holding himself extra still, Sylith managed to restrain himself.

Courdum was not so restrained and lifted his staff slightly, waving it in a small circle. With a silent puff of black mist, Courdum’s entire body disintegrated into dust, crumbling away as if he was an ancient statue unable to stand the wear of time. Near his throne, his figure appeared again and, with a motion, he floated down to stand on top of it.

[You dare strike down my guards? Foolish mortals, your arrogance knows no bounds!]

The echo of his voice still ringing around the room, Courdum muttered an arcane phrase and traced a symbol in the air in front of him. With a few motions he traced out a rough looking heart surrounded by ten arcane symbols. The black mist from the jar below him surged suddenly as Courdum tapped the seventh and third symbols.

On the seventh platform, the multi-armed armadillo stone guardian had been the first to fall below 50 percent health, but the activation of the second phase had completely turned its situation around. The team fighting it had not been able to stop it from gulping down the black mist, repairing some of the damage it had taken and causing large stone bumps to grow from its thick armored back.

Curling itself into a ball, it was throwing itself forward with crushing force, scattering any players in its way. Using its four arms to control its direction, the stone guardian swung by the edge of the platform when a thick tendril of black mist reached out and pulled it up into the air. Under the relieved stares of the players on the seventh platform, it vanished, only to appear in the air above the third platform.

Silently, Sylith watched as Courdum completed his spell, teleporting the stone guardian from the seventh platform up to the third. The Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight had started to speak when Courdum began to cast his spell, but seeing that the stone guardian was being sent to Nova Luna’s platform, he held his tongue. The first indication that anyone from Nova Luna received that another stone guardian was about to arrive was the thunderous sound of the armadillo statue landing on the platform.

*BOOM*

The noise was so loud that it shook Thorn from his single-minded attempt to rip the second head off of the stone guardian trapped under his knee.

“Watch out!” As the new stone guardian started to roll toward the Titan squad, Mina shouted out and thrust her wand forward. “[Ice Wall]!”

From the ground burst thick walls of ice, their ends pointed toward the approaching boss to provide as much resistance as possible. Summoning more [Ice Wall]s, all stacked together at a slight angle, Mina hurried the team to run to the other side of the platform to avoid the armadillo’s charge. Within moments, the whole team had shifted, leaving Thorn, who was still pinning the snake-headed stone guardian to the ground, in the incoming boss’s path.

The armadillo stone guardian burst through the [Ice Wall] like it was paper, sending chunks of ice flying. Barely slowed by the barrier, it barreled toward Thorn. The four arms pushed off the ground, accelerating rapidly, as the thick stone growths ground apart the flagstones, shaking the whole platform.

“Thorn!”

Gritting his teeth, Thorn abandoned his attempt to rip the second snake head off of the stone guardian and grabbed it tightly. Throwing himself backwards, Thorn rolled onto his back, carrying the struggling snake-headed stone guardian with him. Digging his feet into the ground, he roared and braced for the impact.

*CRUNCH*

With a tremendous sound the armadillo’s spiky armor hit the snake-headed stone guardian dead on. Behind it, Thorn groaned under the weight of the armadillo’s strike, his feet cutting two deep furrows into the platform. The snake-headed stone guardian gave a choking cry and fell limp, its entire body crushed by the armadillo stone guard’s attack. Underneath its body, Thorn could feel blood streaming down his arms and legs. For a brief moment, his mind flashed back to his life in the real world, and he was shocked by how accurate the game had gotten the feeling of having your skin rip open.

“[Rallying Cry]! [Call the Pack]!” As heavy as the hit was, Thorn was still able to activate both of his area of effect support abilities, instantly increasing his regeneration. The long lacerations that the force of the attack had cut into his skin began to knit together, and he stood with a grunt, throwing aside the corpse of the snake-headed stone guardian.

“Heal him up!” Snapping out a command, Mina leveled her wand and unleashed a storm of ice around the armadillo, which had begun to uncurl in confusion.

“Watch out, phase three just started!” BurningCloud’s voice carried clearly around the cavern, startling all of the teams that were still fighting against stone guards. Standing on the second platform, she shot a glare at Sylith, who just snorted and looked away. His attempt to cause trouble for Nova Luna by not letting them know that Courdum was teleporting another boss had resulted in the third phase starting way sooner than it should.

The plan had been that they would clear all of the stone guards around the same time to make it easier to deal with Courdum when he teleported and began to cast a new spell. With the stone guards still having the majority of their health, the teams would not be able to focus on preventing Courdum from casting his spells. Cursing under her breath, BurningCloud commanded her team to burn down the boss they were facing as fast as possible.

Courdum the Stone King began to float up into the air from where he had landed on his wide throne after the second phase started. The symbol in front of him began to grow at his command, each arcane word that tumbled from his lips adding to the symbol’s complexity. Just as his toes left the seat of the golden throne, his staff tapped down.

*BOOM*

The jar in the center of the cavern shook again, and the black mist that had been tumbling down suddenly stopped moving. Slowly it began to reverse direction, climbing back up the sides of the jar and gathering in a tiny ball in the center of the heart symbol that Courdum had drawn. Even more mist came creeping through the cracks between the central platform and the jar’s opening, flowing over the edge to join the mist rushing up to the symbol. Slowly at first, but then faster and faster, the mist that had fallen into the pit crawled back up the jar, sending a shiver down the spines of the players watching it.

A sliver of black mist flowed from the eyes of one of the stone guards who had drunk it earlier, causing its body to shrink slightly. With a scream of pain, the stone guardian grabbed at its eye, only to find another slip of mist streaming from its ear. On every platform that still had a stone guardian the same thing began to happen, driving the stone guards into an unbridled fury. With enraged roars, they began to go crazy, launching attacks indiscriminately.

The black mist continued to gather, forced into the symbol of the heart as Courdum continued to chant. Waving his staff, the ancient Dwarven king’s words began to gain a guttural and alien tone. In between his words, a chorus of chittering voices could be heard echoing around the cavern.

“Sylith!” BurningCloud yelled, shocking the players out of their mad scramble to defend themselves against the enraged stone guards. Facing the armadillo stone guard, Thorn kicked aside the corpse of the snake-headed boss and lunged forward. Two arms were met with four as Thorn and the stone guardian rammed into each other and began wrestling back and forth.

On the first platform, Sylith took a slow step forward, his lance lowering to point at Courdum the Stone King. Behind him, the Silver Guard took a step forward, as well, their metal boots hitting the stone floor with a uniform crash. The sudden sound drew all attention to their silver figures. Poised to charge, Sylith looked around, his eyes sweeping over the teams still struggling with stone guards and eventually settling on Thorn, who was locked together with the four-armed armadillo. With a slight smile, he nodded at Thorn and then laughed, causing Thorn’s heart to fall into the pit of his stomach.

With a shimmer, the Silver Guard logged out.

CHAPTER SIXTY

It took the other groups a moment to register what had just happened, but even after they blinked for a bit the Silver Guard did not reappear. Still holding down the struggling Armadillo boss, Thorn’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the spot where Sylith’s figure had just been. Just as he was about to turn his head toward Mina, his eye caught the symbols in front of Courdum the Stone King. The ancient Dwarven king spun his staff in a strange pattern, the end glowing a brilliant orange, and thrust it toward the tenth symbol.

All at once, the tenth platform was consumed by an apocalyptic firestorm. Massive burning chunks of stone appeared above the platform, shooting down upon the players. At the same time, the stone cracked and broke as geysers of superheated gas erupted from the platform. The meteors that impacted the platform blasted players right and left, sending some flying off the edges and into the abyss below.

The other teams could only watch in horror as the tenth platform turned into a burning hellscape. Between the molten stone raining down and the volcanic eruptions rising to the surface, the temperature rose so high that the ninth platform seemed in danger of melting. On the central platform, Courdum pulled back his staff and continued to channel the black mist into the heart.

As suddenly as the spell had begun, it was over, the ground cooling with loud pops. Stunned, the other groups watched as the haze cleared, revealing the blistered and broken platform, not a single player on it. Almost as one, all eyes turned back to Courdum, who hovered over the central platform, the silvery energy gathering at the tip of his staff.

“Sylith!” Once again, BurningCloud’s voice echoed throughout the cavern, but this time it was inflamed with rage.

“That sneaky…” Mina ground her teeth. “I’m glad I left that guild!”

“Hah. They do have a knack for this sort of thing.” Feeling the armadillo stone guardian trying to struggle free, Thorn tightened his grip. “But right now we have to figure out what we’re going to do.”

“I’m hereby blacklisting Sylith and Ragnarok.” BurningCloud’s furious face appeared in the leaders’ group chat. Her glare raked over the remaining leaders. “And anyone else that tries to undermine us!”

Blanching, a few of the leaders who had considered logging out with their teams put the thought away and began to direct their teams to take down the stone guards on their platforms. The worst that would happen is that they would have a full team wipe. While dying was no small thing, it was nothing compared to being blacklisted by the Eastern Alliance, and with how angry BurningCloud was right now, no one was willing to risk it.

On the third platform, Thorn was struggling back and forth with the four-armed armadillo, which was trying to lift him from the ground. With a grunt, Thorn dropped his weight down into his hips and rotated his torso slightly, kicking out with one of his legs at the same moment. His metal-clad toe smashed into the statue’s leg, sending a massive crack through it. Grimacing as pain shot through his toes, Thorn planted his aching foot and heaved.

With a roar, Thorn lifted the stone guardian up in the air and then slammed it to the ground as hard as he possibly could. Shaking free of its four hands, Thorn’s eyes swept across his team. Mina, as if able to read his mind, grinned and winked.

“Better to die doing something, boss. Leave this guy to us.”

“Thanks.” Nodding to the Ice Witch, Thorn turned and began to sprint toward the edge of the platform. Mina brandished her wand and called the rest of the Titan squad to attention, summoning a deluge of snow over the armadillo boss.

“Tanks, lock it down!”

Reaching the edge of the platform, Thorn measured the distance with his eyes and bounded forward, launching himself into the air. For a moment his huge body hung in the air, and the immensity of the pit below washed over him. Pushing aside the rising panic, Thorn focused his eyes on the rapidly approaching wall of the massive jar. Black mist was still rising from the pit, thin tendrils reaching toward Thorn as he came closer.

Blasting through the mist, Thorn hit the side of the jar with a thump, nearly bouncing off. Incredibly focused, he slapped his hands on the side of the jar and dug his claws in. Catching his weight, he was stabilizing himself when his right hand suddenly slipped, the jar crumbling under his grip. For an agonizing moment he dangled over the pit, hanging by a single hand.

On the ninth platform a forest of stone spikes burst forth, stabbing into the players as Courdum lit up another symbol. Impossibly sharp, the stone spikes cut through armor as if it were made of dry leaves, sending dozens of players out of the game instantly. A few of the players who reacted fast enough activated their bubbles, keeping themselves alive as the stone spike pushed them into the air.

Before they could relax, the spikes suddenly branched out, growing large thorns that ripped through the bubbles and decimated the rest of the players. Courdum the Stone King withdrew his staff, the earthy yellow glow fading away from its tip. On the other platforms, many of the players were glancing at Thorn. A player on the sixth platform nudged his companion and pointed at Thorn’s figure.

“What on earth is he doing?”

“You’re asking me, who am I supposed to ask?” The mage shrugged. “Besides, will it even matter? Those spells are going to wipe us all out.”

Up above, on the second platform, BurningCloud shook her head, a reluctant grin slipping onto her face. Uncomfortable with the idea of giving up, she had forced everyone to stay and finish the fight, but truthfully, she had no real hope of winning. Once the initial flash of anger had worn off, BurningCloud was wracking her brain for a solution, all the while feeling less and less hope. Now, watching Thorn struggle to climb the jar, the hope which had nearly been extinguished was starting to rekindle. There was something about the Titan that inspired inexplicable confidence.

His legs swinging freely, Thorn pulled a sword from his inventory and stabbed it into the side of the jar, releasing a gush of black mist. Testing his weight on the sword, Thorn was worried that it was about to snap, so he pulled on it slightly, causing it to bend alarmingly. Quickly dropping it, Thorn shoved his fingers back into the jar, making sure he did not close his fist like the last time.

Pulling himself up, Thorn reached up and jammed his other hand into the jar, slowly beginning his climb up the side of the jar toward the platform where Courdum floated. The heart-shaped symbol pulsed in front of the ancient Dwarven king as it continued to absorb the black mist. On the end of Courdum’s staff the blue glow had reached a searing brilliance and with a flourish, he jammed it into the eighth symbol.

“Oh no.”

On the eighth platform a swirling storm materialized above the heads of the panic-stricken players. The leader of the team looked up toward BurningCloud, despair evident in his eyes. Massive drops of rain began to plummet toward the platform, splashing against the stone like grenades. Tiny drops of water shot into the air with the fall of each drop, knocking players from their feet.

One player, trying to get away from one raindrop, dove to the side, only to get hit on the back with another. Driven into the ground, they found themselves completely stunned, unable to respond as raindrops hammered into them. Faster and faster the rain poured down, knocking the players around like ragdolls.

Up on the second, platform BurningCloud bit her lip. As much as she wanted everyone to stay and fight, she couldn’t, in good conscience, force the other teams to stay just to die. The spells that Courdum the Stone King was releasing were exactly as Sylith had said. Each one was wiping out a team. Glancing at the central platform where the heart symbol was filling with black mist, she cursed the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight under her breath.

“Fine, I won’t pursue you for it if you log out.”

Hearing BurningCloud’s words, the players being battered around on the platform breathed a sigh of relief. The guild leader gave her a grateful nod and led the charge off the edge of the platform, throwing himself into the endless abyss. Just as he jumped, an enormous torrent of water burst from the platform, swirling into a massive whirlpool.

The water swept the last player to make it to the edge back into the center of the platform where the hammering rain soon sent them out of the game. Falling from the platform, the other players waited until they stopped taking damage from the fragmenting raindrops and then tried to log out. Falling into the endless abyss should have allowed them to break out of combat and log out, but the players watching were horrified to see that they did not actually disappear.

“Oh no.” BurningCloud quickly opened up her interface and selected the log out option.

*ding*

A mighty hero does not flee.

You have entered into combat with Courdum the Stone King. Logging out is not an available option until the fight is complete. Should you die during the fight, you will be logged out as normal.

Catching sight of what was happening out of the corner of his eye, Thorn continued his painstaking climb. Testing each hand-hold carefully, Thorn pulled himself up and jammed his claws into the jar. On the third platform, Mina was keeping an eye on his large figure even as she and the Titan squad continued to battle the armadillo stone guardian. The Eastern Alliance had finally killed the stone guardian they were fighting, as had most of the other groups, and it wasn’t long before a well-placed ice spike finished off the armadillo stone guardian.

Gripping the side of the jar carefully, Thorn had no idea how strange the battle had become. With no one on the first platform to disrupt Courdum’s spell casting, the boss fight settled into a bunch of teams watching from their various platforms as Thorn slowly climbed the side of the jar. Up on top of the jar, Courdum was in the middle of charging a light silver ball of energy on the top of his staff.

“What are we waiting for?” On the seventh platform a mage pulled on the guild leader’s sleeve. “We need to go, otherwise we’ll be next. That wind spell is coming for us, believe me.”

“Go? What do you mean, go?” The leader’s face was white. “Have you tried logging out? We’re stuck here until the fight is over.”

Blanching, the mage tried to log out. With a dreadful sigh, his shoulders slumped.

“Sometimes I hate this game.”

“Yeah, me too. It looks like it is either jump off or eat the next spell. It is a bummer, though. I kinda want to see what that huge dude is planning to do when he gets to the top of the platform.”

“Isn’t he a guild leader or something?”

“Yeah, he runs Nova Luna. Thorn, I think.”

“Well, unless he speeds up, I don’t think we’ll make it.” The mage shrugged, throwing a glance at Courdum’s glowing staff.

Similar conversations were happening on each platform as the players watched Thorn crawl up the side of the jar. By this time he had made it up to the same level as the second platform and only had twenty-five feet left to go before the top of the jar. From his position he couldn’t see the glow on the end of Courdum’s staff, but judging by the resigned look on the faces of the players on the seventh platform, the next spell was about to go off.

Gritting his teeth, Thorn tried to activate [Wolf’s Rage], expecting the familiar burning in his chest, only to feel nothing. Confused, he flipped open his notifications and spotted a blinking status effect.

Corrupted Stone Heart Mist - Stone Curse

The corrupted mist of the stone heart drains the energy of the world and has numbed your body and spirit.

Prolonged exposure to the mist will lead to petrification, granting the [Living Statue] title and making the stone curse permanent.

While affected by the mist your abilities are locked.

While affected by the mist your voice has been silenced.

Gritting his teeth, he lunged, his claws carving a deep furrow into the side of the jar as he propelled himself up. Quickly climbing the side of the jar, Thorn ignored the small part of his mind that was screaming about how bad of an idea this was. Within a few moments, the edge of the central platform was within reach, and Thorn’s massive hand reached for it.

Just as his fingers were about to grip the edge of the platform, his left hand suddenly ripped through the crumbing side of the jug, sending a blast of black mist that knocked him back into the air. With his body hanging over the abyss and the edge of the platform now just out of his reach, Thorn was about to plunge down when he felt something hard slap into his back. Slammed forward into the side of the jar, Thorn grabbed the edge of the platform and pulled himself up.

With a groan, he rolled over, looking back at the large barbarian standing next to BurningCloud who had just thrown an axe at him. Flashing a somewhat strained smile, the beautiful guild leader gave him a wink and a thumbs up. Raising his hand weakly in thanks, Thorn rose to his feet, his eyes sweeping over Courdum just as the boss thrust his staff into the seventh symbol.

“Thorn! Stop!”

Just about to jump forward and attack, Thorn was pulled up short by Mina’s yell. The players on the seventh platform had all jumped down to their deaths, abandoning the fight before the apocalyptic windstorm ripped through the air above their platform. Massive wind blades mixed with cyclones, carving deep fissures into the platform where they had just stood.

“Thorn, you can’t attack.” It was nearly impossible for Thorn to hear Mina’s voice over the sound of the windstorm, so she opened up a direct channel.

“What do you mean? How else are we going to stop him?”

“If you attack, you’ll hit the threshold too fast, and he is going to teleport. Then what are we going to do? It is fine if he teleports to one of the platforms with a team on it, but most of the teams are nearly dead anyway, and three of them are empty. If he leaves that platform, we are hosed.”

“Are you kidding? I climbed up here for nothing?” His eyes fixed on Courdum, Thorn had to forcefully restrain himself from rushing toward the ancient Dwarven king.

“No, there has to be a way, I just need to think.” Mina bit the end of her finger in frustration. “We never should have left Velin behind!”

“Yeah, she would be a big help right about now.” Thorn struggled to keep himself in check, his fingers squeezing into tight fists.

“Um. I have an idea.”

“Hm?” Hearing a voice from Mina’s side of the call, Thorn was surprised to see Delmore’s striped face appear in the chat.

“No way, that is crazy.” After listening to the Tigerkin’s idea Thorn shook his head.

“Come on, Thorn. This will work. We got this.” Mina’s face lit up. “Trust us.”

A few seconds later a wide grin broke across Thorn’s face and he nodded resolutely.

“Let’s do it.”

On the third platform a flurry of activity broke out as the Titan squad began to prepare. Thorn watched them for a second before he turned back toward Courdum the Stone King. Still floating in the air, the boss had completed his attack on the seventh platform and was beginning to charge his spell to attack the sixth. For a few breathless moments, Thorn stood as still as stone, watching the growing glow on the end of Courdum’s staff.

“Mina, are you ready yet?”

“Just hang on a moment. This would be a lot easier if you were down here.”

“Sure, but this spell is about to go off.”

“Done! We’re ready to go. Alright, let's do this thing,” Mina’s out of breath voice came over the channel.

With one last glance at the rapidly filling heart symbol in the center of the platform, Thorn took a deep breath and stepped backward off of the platform.

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Plunging down into the abyss, Thorn almost forgot to breathe out. The endless black expanse stretched below him, rapidly engulfing his vision. Flipping onto his back, he pulled a dagger out of his inventory and launched it up into the air, aiming for the roof of the cavern. Turning back over, he saw BurningCloud’s beautiful face flash by, her mouth hanging open in shock as he dropped. Within a split second, Thorn had rushed by the second platform and was rapidly approaching the third platform where the Titan squad stood behind a massive chunk of rock.

They had rolled the stone corpse of the armadillo guardian over to the edge of the platform and balanced it carefully on the edge, waiting for Thorn to pass by in his freefall. Watching Thorn come flying down, Mina calculated carefully.

“Now!” With her yell, twenty members of the Titan squad who were standing behind the huge stone, heaved, tipping it over the edge. At the same moment, the support players standing nearby threw every buffing spell they had at Thorn, causing him to light up like a beacon.

Thorn had turned his body flat, spreading his arms out as he fell. Just as the body of the stone guardian tipped over, he grabbed it, pulling it the rest of the way off of the platform. Gripping the stone plates of the armadillo guardian’s back armor, arcane energy and holy light from the buffs streaming off of him, Thorn plunged toward the darkness.

On the central platform, Courdum the Stone King had already charged his staff again and summoned a void storm over the sixth platform. Jagged cracks appeared in the air, sucking in the dust and stone that broke from the platform. One particularly long crack lanced through the air, catching the foot of the corpse of the stone guardian the players had defeated. With a snapping sound the stone statue’s entire leg broke into pieces and the shards shot into the crack, disappearing into the void in an instant.

Gulping, the players who remained on the other platforms turned their eyes away from the devastation caused by the void storm spell and looked at Thorn’s figure plummeting rapidly down into the endless pit below them.

“What on earth is he doing?”

“I… I don’t know.” BurningCloud shook her head and shrugged. “In any case, we are all dead, so it doesn’t particularly matter. I mean, jumping off is probably a better way to go than getting caught up in one of these spells.”

“Fair point.”

“Delmore!” Watching Thorn’s figure disappear with the corpse of the armadillo stone guardian held above his head, Mina suddenly panicked.

“Chill.” His face as inscrutable as ever, the Tigerkin Spirit Guide thrust his long handled dagger forward and began to spin the blade. Cutting through the air, the purplish-black lines emerged wherever his dagger passed. Once the symbol solidified, he spun and thrust his dagger forward again. “[Greater Spirit Transfer]!”

The purplish-black spell symbol blinked, appearing over the void as it began to grow. Pulsing, a smaller copy of the symbol appeared underneath Thorn as he fell. The purple tentacles shot out of the symbol to wrap around him, but he was traveling so fast that he crushed through them, splattering himself with blackish ichor.

“[Spirit Swap]!”

On the third platform Delmore gulped as the spell encountered the weight of the Titan and his massive stone burden. His whiskers trembling, Delmore flicked his dagger around. The strange layered voices poured from his mouth as he gestured toward a spirit he had summoned earlier. With a flash of light, the spirit disappeared, the dagger that Thorn had thrown toward the roof of the cavern appearing in its place.

Not wasting a moment, Delmore flicked the point of his dagger again, and the large purple symbol hanging over the endless abyss pulsed. Next to the ceiling of the cavern, the spirit that Delmore had transferred with the dagger was about to plummet back down toward the platforms. Shivering, it opened its mouth in a silent roar, and with a warping sound, the purple symbol from the [Greater Spirit Transfer] flashed into existence in front of it.

Falling into the symbol with a squelching sound, Thorn and the body of the armadillo stone guardian disappeared, only to reappear up at the ceiling, ripping their way through the hanging purple symbol. Already traveling near terminal velocity when they hit the spell symbol, Thorn was barely slowed at all and began to freefall at a tremendous rate.

Plummeting toward Courdum, the armadillo stone guardian held over his head like a meteor, Thorn only had time for one breath before he was nearly on top of the Stone King. [Wolf’s Rage] activated, and Thorn poured all of his prodigious strength into swinging the massive chunk of stone in his hands down onto the central platform.

“Get bubbles on him!” Mina screamed, her heart hammering. Around her, the support players whose spells could reach Thorn cast their invulnerability shield spells, wreathing him in numerous arcane energies.

Courdum had finished his void spell and was muttering an incantation as he pointed at the black heart symbol that was almost completely filled with mist. Sensing that something was not right, he looked up, his stone eyes widening with surprise as the corpse of the stone guardian filled his vision.

*BOOOOOM*

The wave of sound echoed, the sound coming first and the force generated by the strike hitting them a moment later. Mina was afraid that the platform they stood on was going to crumble. The impact was so loud that its sound waves threatened to rip apart the very stone under their feet. Many of the players were forced backward, a few unlucky ones even tumbling from the platforms.

“[Ice Wall]!” Summoning a glistening wall of ice, Mina huddled behind it as the ripples of sound battered against the other side. Beside her, Delmore crouched down, the hand that was gripping his long-handled knife trembling as he got ready to throw up a defensive spell as soon as the [Ice Wall] went down.

*CRACK*

Following directly on the heels of the shockwave, an even louder cracking sound echoed through the cavern. Feeling the trembling subside, Mina peeked her head out from around the side of the [Ice Wall] only to dive backward as a blast of black mist shot toward her face. The thick black mist roiled madly as it burst from a massive crack in the jar. As soon as the mist rolled around the wall, Delmore gasped, looking in horror at his dagger. Previously covered in a purple glow, the blade had dimmed down to a slight sheen.

“My skills are locked!” Delmore shouted, his voice barely making a sound. Panicking, he pushed at Mina who had not heard him despite being only a few feet away. Scrambling over until he was right next to her, Delmore shouted again. “The mist is blocking my skills!”

“What?” Quickly trying to cast an [Ice Spike], Mina felt a choking sensation in her chest as the mana she had gathered was sucked away by the heavy black mist. “Oh no. Oh, no.” Opening up her chat window Mina tried to call Thorn, only to realize that her messaging options were greyed out.

As the cloud of crushed stone and black mist cleared from the top of the central platform, Thorn’s sprawled figure was revealed. His armor in pieces, he lay bleeding in a crater near the shattered remains of the golden throne. Coughing violently, he staggered to his feet, swaying like a drunk as he looked around.

Still in an enraged state, his body froze when he saw Courdum the Stone King crawling out of the pit he had been smashed into. The armadillo stone guardian was no more, the only remnant a piece of scale gripped in Thorn’s claws. Tossing the shard of stone to the side, Thorn staggered forward. The weight of the stone guardian had blasted apart Courdum’s defenses, driving him into the stone platform, but apart from some cracks in his robes, the ancient Dwarven king was still standing.

“[Wolf Lord’s Howl]!” Throwing back his head, Thorn’s voice failed to come out but he was so disoriented he did not realize that his skill had failed as he leapt forward. Taking advantage of the boss’s lack of motion, Thorn reached out with his left hand, closing his claws around Courdum’s shoulder. Drawing back his right hand, Thorn balled his fist and let loose with the hardest punch he had ever thrown.

*SNAP*

As the newest sound rang out, Mina jumped slightly, hunkering down again in preparation for whatever was coming. When nothing happened, her head popped out of cover once again. On the top of the platform, Thorn stood frozen, a headless body in his hand as he watched Courdum’s head roll along the uneven ground. With a gentle tink, Courdum’s crown slipped from his head, rolling to a stop at the foot of the remains of the golden throne where it leaned crookedly.

*ding*

Title: Kingbreaker

Courdum the Stone King has fallen. Your blow has felled more than a king, it has ended a kingdom. Just as the aura of the ruler surrounds a king, reinforcing their position over their subjects, the aura of one who ends kingdoms surrounds you.

As a result of your actions, you have gained a measure of immunity to the ruler’s aura. The aura of those who hold a higher position will not affect you as strongly. On the other hand, those who hold a higher position than you will be affected by your aura and will feel a natural wariness.

With a massive sigh, Thorn slumped down to his knees, Courdum’s body falling from his hand. As soon as it touched the ground, thousands of tiny cracks spidered across, and it shattered into a million pieces. Staring at the cracked head that was half facing him, Thorn realized that his first blow had done significantly more damage than he realized, sending countless cracks through Courdum’s body. The Stone King had kept his body together, but only barely, and Thorn’s last punch had been too much.

Down below, Mina looked around wildly. The cloud of mist that covered the platforms was still being drawn up toward the top of the jar where the heart symbol had nearly filled. The updraft pulled the mist from the lower platforms and a crazy thought flashed in Mina’s head. Starting to run toward the edge of the platform, she felt a thick hand grab her arm and turned her head.

Jorge flashed past her, his short legs a blur as he took her place. Turning his head, he gave her a wide grin and a wink, gesturing that he would do it. Without waiting for a response, the Shadow Assassin launched himself from the edge of the platform, falling down and out of the mist. As soon as he had cleared the bottom edge of the mist, Jorge turned into a puff of smoke, appearing on the sixth platform.

Just as he appeared a crackling void tear materialized, cutting straight through the air toward his neck. Cursing, he tumbled backward to try and avoid losing his head. Hitting the ground on his back, Jorge pushed off with his legs, throwing himself into a back handspring. Another void crack ripped through the ground he had just occupied. Reaching up, his hand came away from his face bloody.

A faint sound intruded on Thorn’s thoughts, and he looked up, trying to figure out where it was coming from. The impact had left his ears ringing, and it took him a moment to focus on it. After a moment, he realized the sound was coming from his messaging system. Bemused, he rolled over to take a look. Opening up the call, he saw Jorge who was bleeding from numerous cuts all over his body. Despite a rather significant cut on his face, the Shadow Assassin was yelling something.

Still slightly out of it, Thorn waved back, but quickly realized that the look on Jorge’s face was not a happy one. Frowning, Thorn shook his head to try and clear the fog and concentrated.

“Thorn, the heart!”

The words filtered in through Thorn’s ears, causing his brow to furrow as he tried to make sense of them.

“The heart! The stone spell! The black mist locks all our abilities!” Jorge tried to dodge another void tear as he yelled but was unable to get out of the way fast enough. Crumpling to the ground, he cursed, rolling over and over as he lost the use of his right leg.

Thorn’s head snapped around, his widening eyes locking onto the floating heart symbol that was still sucking up the heavy black mist. Even though Courdum the Stone King had been beaten, the spell that he had started was still active. Around the almost completely darkened symbol floated the ten symbols that represented the various platforms, five of them burned out from Courdum’s apocalyptic spells.

Sylith’s words flashed through his head as he examined the heart symbol. According to what the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight had said, after the fifth spell that Courdum cast, the next one would be a petrification spell. Up until now, the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight’s abandonment of the fight had made no sense, but now the pieces were starting to fall into place.

The black mist was what Courdum used to create his immortal stone army, and Thorn had no doubt that the petrification spell was part of that process. If the black mist also locked a player’s abilities, it was highly likely that the petrification spell would, as well, and given the way Sylith worked, it was probably permanent. His mind working furiously, Thorn tried to stand up, only to find the power gone from his limbs.

Even his immense endurance could not stand up to the damage he had taken after falling from the sky. Only the stacked spells from the Titan squad had kept him alive, but the last of his strength had been spent on his final punch. Gritting his teeth, Thorn took a deep breath and forced himself up onto one knee. Pausing, he gasped for breath, a tearing pain in ribs reminding him what a terrible state he was in.

“Thorn, the spell is about to go off!” Desperate, Mina tried to call out, but the choking black mist stilled the words in her throat. Trying to find a support player who could cast a spell, her heart plummeted as she was met with nothing but helpless shrugs.

Up on the central platform, Thorn’s ragged breath caught as he got his second knee under him. Pulling the massive warhammer out of his inventory, Thorn let the heavy end fall to the ground in front of him. The hammer bounced, nearly causing him to lose his grip on it. Taking another stabbing breath, he gripped the end as tightly as he could and heaved with every once of his remaining strength. Slowly he pushed himself upward. First one foot, then the other, settled on the uneven stone as he dragged himself to his feet.

Keeping his eyes fixed on the heart symbol, Thorn saw the last remaining empty portion fill up with black mist. The symbol blinked with an evil light and then suddenly spun, transforming before his eyes into a glistening black stone heart with thin pulsing green veins. Knowing that he was too late, Thorn instinctively fell forward, his arm reaching out and his massive hand closing over the stone heart. Seeing the black and green light glowing stronger and stronger through his fingers, Thorn panicked.

Shoving the heart in his mouth, he swallowed.

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

*ding*

Countless windows flashed across Thorn’s vision, but before he could focus on any of them, his vision went black.

After an indeterminable amount of time, Thorn found himself lying on his back in the white in-between world. His senses were still hazy, but he caught snippets of conversation as he faded in and out. Myst’s voice, normally upbeat, came across laden with worry, but before Thorn could open his mouth to reassure her, he heard a deep, warm voice answering. Hati’s tone enveloped his mind, bringing with it comfort and a measure of clarity.

Unfortunately, the clarity slipped away again as Hati stopped speaking, and Thorn was unable to catch the next words. He had never heard the speaker’s voice before, but based on Hati’s silence, he assumed they were pretty important. Once again his world faded into darkness and Thorn fell unconscious.

With a start, his eyes abruptly snapped open. Sitting up, it took him a moment to realize that he was on his bed in Fantasia. Around him, the comfortable environment practiced its influence on his mind, causing him to calm down rapidly. Taking a deep breath, Thorn flopped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling as his thoughts whirred over the events of the fight.

What on earth had possessed him to eat the stone heart, Thorn had no idea, but his last memory was shoving it into his mouth and swallowing it down. The stone heart slid down his throat like it belonged in his stomach, but he had fallen unconscious almost immediately and had no idea how the rest of the fight had turned out. Sighing, Thorn opened his mouth.

“---.”

Startled, Thorn closed his lips. The words felt like they were coming out of his mouth, but he had not heard a sound. Coughing, Thorn grabbed a glass from his nightstand and filled it with water in the bathroom, gulping it down. Opening his mouth he tried again.

“---.”

A feeling of helplessness washing over him, Thorn sat down on the toilet seat, staring blankly at himself in the mirror. It was a full minute before he was able to focus his mind, and after a moment, he repeated the command in his mind.

‘Status.’

Name: [Thorn]

Race: [Titan]

Health: [100%]

Mana: [100%]

Titles: [Battle Mad], [Wolfsbane], [Lord Greymane, the Moon Wolf], [Friend of the Earth], [Inheritor], [Commissioned Knight (Order of the Flame)], [Kingbreaker], [Hero], [Bearer of the Stone Heart (Corrupted)], [Living Statue]

Class: [Disciple]

Mastery: [None]

Allegiance: [Temple of the Moon]

Abilities: [Wolf Lord’s Howl], [Avatar of the Wolf], [Call the Pack], [Blessing of the Moon], [Presence of the Wolf Lord], [Martial Form: Dawn], [Basic Weapons Mastery], [Apprentice Orator], [Rallying Cry], [Pack Travel], [Earth Sense], [Armor of the Earth ], [Heart of the Earth (Locked)], [Call the Stone Legion (Locked)]

Every single one of his abilities was greyed out, appearing to have been turned to stone. The black mist had locked the abilities of anyone who was caught in it, and Thorn could only assume that swallowing the stone heart had the same effect. After all, it was made of the black mist. Shaking his head, Thorn was about to go and find the others when he caught sight of something in the mirror.

Standing, he looked closer. His skin had taken on a slightly greyish tone and under the surface were tiny green veins running the length of his body. As he examined himself in the mirror, Thorn realized his skin had taken on a marble-like hue. Another effect of the stone heart, no doubt. Returning to his bed and opening up his menu, Thorn began to scroll through the notifications he had missed after he swallowed the stone heart.

Sins of a Golden Dream - Completed

A long forgotten empire, bound in stone, has woken from a bygone era. Driven by the greed of their master, they have turned their attention from the wealth hidden in the earth and are beginning to encroach on the surface. Implacable legions muster for war as their scouts burn paths from the subterranean world.

You have broken the mystery of the labyrinth, finding your way to the throne room of Courdum, the Stone King. An ancient mage of inscrutable power, Courdum fell to corruption, lured from sanity by the promise of immortality. Driven by his insatiable greed, Courdum seeks to wipe away all other empires, uniting the world under the rule of his stone fist and turning the beings in it into his stone minions.

Courdum the Stone King has fallen, brought down by the combined might of the heroes of the land. No longer will his stone minions surge forth, no longer will the world tremble in the face of his corrupting power.

Stone Guardians: 9/9

Courdum the Stone King: 1/1

Rewards:

Title: Hero

Gold: 2,536

Equipment: Dwarven Gear Token (Rakkam - Master) x3

Team Rewards:

Rakkam City Access Token (Guild)

The first popup that Thorn had missed was the announcement of the World Quest’s completion. Swallowing the stone heart had prevented the spell from petrifying the remaining players and had ended the fight, though not before it took Thorn out of the game. Apart from some gold and the [Hero] title, which granted him a slight increase in his reputation for having cleared a World Quest, killing Courdum had granted Thorn a few items.

Dwarven Gear Token (Rakkam - Master)

An ancient token that can be traded to the Master Smiths in the Dwarven city of Rakkam for a piece of customized gear. The more tokens you exchange, the better the gear you will receive.

Exchange Rate:

1x Token: Weapon or Piece of Armor that boosts a random stat

2x Token: Weapon or Piece of Armor that boosts a specified stat

3x Token: Weapon or Piece of Armor that is part of a set with a random stat boost

4x Token: Weapon or Piece of Armor that is part of a set with a specified stat boost

Rakkam City Access Token (Guild)

Reclusive by nature, the Dwarves of the labyrinth city do not suffer strangers easily. Access to their city is only granted to those they trust. This token can be used to grant everyone in your guild access to Rakkam.

Players belonging to your guild will automatically be treated as friendly by the Dwarves in Rakkam.

When Thorn checked his [RMS], he saw that the [Rakkam City Access Token] effect had already been applied, marking Nova Luna as friendly with the Stone Dwarf faction. Looking over the [RMS], he was surprised to see a tab marked [Flamespire Fortress] that he had never seen before. Opening it, he poked around for a few moments and then dug into his notifications again, eventually coming across a jaw-dropping set of announcements.

Stone Dwarves Race

An ancient race of Dwarves has been freed from the [Living Statue] curse that has plagued them for eons. With Courdum the Stone King defeated, they have woken from their cursed lives and taken back their city.

Based in the labyrinth city Rakkam at the heart of the Deepworld, the Stone Dwarves are a new non-playable race known for their dislike of outsiders and masterful smithing. Reputation quests are available for increasing your reputation with the Stone Dwarf race.

The Deepworld

Hidden under the earth for a millennia, the Deepworld is an entire world comprised of massive caverns and crawling tunnels. Inhabited by strange and magical creatures, the Deepworld is an endless mystery waiting for adventurers.

The Deepworld can now be accessed from countless locations around Angoril.

Flamespire Fortress

Congratulations to the guild Nova Luna for gaining control of Oathbreaker Fortress. Baron Greymane, the Moon Wolf, has been granted full administration rights for the fortress’ [RMS].

Due to the completion of the World Quest, [Sins of a Golden Dream], the full rights of Oathbreaker Fortress are available. Additionally, Oathbreaker Fortress has been renamed Flamespire Fortress.

His mouth hanging open, it took Thorn a moment to gather his wits. The first two announcements were not that surprising, matching up with what Velin had told him when they started the World Quest. The third announcement, however, came as a huge surprise. He had intended to do what he could to wrestle control of the underground fortress away from Ragnarok, but the game had just done it for him. Resolving to ask Velin what had happened, he opened up his status again and examined the new titles he had earned.

Title: Living Statue

The corrupted mist of the stone heart drains the energy of the world and has numbed your body and spirit.

You have suffered from prolonged exposure to the mist and have been petrified, gaining the stone curse permanently.

Your abilities are locked.

Your voice has been silenced.

Title: Bearer of the Stone Heart (Corrupted)

You have somehow ingested the source of the Dwarves connection with the earth, the Heart of Stone. The stone heart holds unimaginable power, granting the one who wields it a unique connection to the earth. Sadly, the Heart of Stone has been corrupted by the evil influence of the greater devil, Balashimir, sealing some of its power.

+Strength

+Constitution

+Endurance

-Dexterity

Abilities:

Earth Sense

Armor of the Earth

Heart of the Earth (Locked)

Call the Stone Legion (Locked)

Just as Thorn was about to open the new abilities granted by his [Bearer of the Stone Heart] title, the door to his room opened a crack, and his aunt poked her head in. Seeing that he was awake, she opened the door fully. Velin, Mina, Jorge, Corvo, Oberlin, and Baxby followed Athena into the room. Feeling slightly awkward from the intense stares being leveled at him, Thorn smiled weakly and waved.

“How are you feeling, bud?” Athena sat down next to him, taking his massive hand in hers. “You’ve been out for a couple of days, but Eve said you were going to be fine.”

Opening his mouth, Thorn remembered that he could no longer speak and his shoulders slumped. Mina, assuming that he was feeling bad, patted him on the shoulder.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. You did great. That crazy attack killed the boss, and we beat the dungeon! We got some really nice rewards, too. Everyone got gear and tokens. Some people even got a master level token, which is nuts. It was scary for a moment, but you really pulled us through.”

“Scary doesn’t cover the half of it.” Jorge shuddered, remembering the void tears on the sixth platform.

“You did great, too.” Mina flashed a smile at the Dwarf. His willingness to risk himself for her had made her really happy.

Athena, who was watching Thorn carefully, saw that he was still looking a bit off, so after a few minutes she herded everyone out of the room, leaving Velin and Thorn facing each other. Just as Corvo was about to exit, Velin called him back.

“Can you wait a second, Corvo?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Sure.” Walking back over, Corvo flopped down in one of Thorn’s extra large chairs. Taking the seat next to him, Velin looked at Thorn seriously.

“Thorn, what is wrong?”

“---.” Opening his mouth and speaking with no sound, Thorn pointed to his mouth. Unable to hear anything, Velin frowned and Corvo leaned forward, his eyes narrowing.

“Mina said that you grabbed the stone heart, which disrupted the spell?”

Nodding, Thorn pantomimed eating it and swallowing. At first, Velin did not understand what he was trying to communicate, but once Corvo erupted into laughter it dawned on her what Thorn meant and her eyes widened.

“You ate it?!”

“Hahaha.” Corvo nearly fell from his chair as he laughed.

Thorn rubbed his nose and glanced at his fellow avatar in annoyance. Catching Velin’s incredulous look, his expression morphed into sheepishness. Shrugging, he began to share his notification windows, allowing both Corvo and Velin to catch up on what was going on with him.

“Wow. That is crazy. I’ve seen a lot of things, but this is entirely new.” Corvo leaned back in his chair, a speculative look on his face. “I’ve seen quests that give some pretty serious disadvantages until you can clear them, but I have never seen anything this bad. No talking? Sheesh. Well, that’s what you get for eating a cursed stone heart.” It was obvious that Corvo felt no sympathy. “I mean, it was the central target of a World Quest. What on earth made you think that you could eat it? You know what, never mind. I don’t want to know.”

“Hey, cut it out. Thorn saved everyone. If he hadn’t eaten the heart, the whole Titan squad would be cursed.” Velin glared at Corvo.

“Haha, I know, it is just really funny.” The avatar held up his hands in surrender.

“Quiet, you are not helping. Thorn, you did a great job with this quest. There is no way we would have won without you. Even eating the stone heart. It certainly was effective, though I don’t know that I’d recommend it as a normal strategy. Now we just need to solve this curse. Tell me, can you use your messaging application?”

Shaking his head, Thorn gestured to Velin, made the calling hand gesture, and pointed to himself.

“We can call you? Interesting. Let’s try that.” Picking up on what Thorn was trying to get across, Corvo called Thorn through the messaging application.

Hearing the ring, Thorn answered the message, but was still unable to talk. After a few more tests, it was determined that Thorn could still get messages but was unable to respond to them in any way. The only option that Thorn could think of was to get a pen and paper and write out his questions and answers.

Holding up the piece of paper he had just written on, Thorn looked questioningly at Velin.

“What happened? Oh, you mean after the fight?” Velin straightened up and cleared her throat. Corvo looked at Thorn and rolled his eyes, earning himself a dirty look. “To get the full picture, we need to go back to the first fight that Ragnarok had with Courdum. From our sources, we learned that Sylith was not actually part of the group that entered the first time. Instead, it was Raeth who led the initial group.

“We should have expected this, as it is standard practice for Ragnarok to send a scouting party into every boss fight. They do this so they can get a sense for the fight and sniff out any surprises. Anyway, they had to fight all nine of the Stone Guardians by themselves which killed most of them. Raeth fell in the second phase, which is why he wasn’t part of the group that Sylith led, and only three Silver Guard were still alive when the stone heart spell went off.

“When they came out of the fight, they had the same curse that you do. All abilities locked. Though, they can still talk.” Velin shot Thorn a glance. “Presumably because they did not eat the stone heart. Regardless, Sylith must have figured out that they could avoid the fight if they waited for the platforms to fill up. We’re still not entirely sure how they avoided getting dragged into the fight, but they were able to log out after it started.”

His eyes lighting up, Thorn remembered the silver flash he had seen falling from the central platform. Now that Velin was mentioning it the pieces fell into place. Using his fingers to try and illustrate what had happened, he soon got frustrated and just wrote out a brief description. “Ragnarok only sent one member of their team forward to start the fight,” he wrote, “keeping everyone else out of combat. Then, before Courdum the Stone King could make it onto their platform, that player jumped off the platform to his death. This kept everyone else out of combat until the third phase started and Courdum started to cast, allowing them to log out.”

“What a nasty plan.” Corvo grimaced. “Honestly, though, this is already the best possible outcome. If you had not, uh, disposed of the stone heart, the whole Titan squad would be cursed. Along with the teams from Eastern Alliance, Mirage, and the Tower of Immortals. Can you imagine that? Four of the best teams from top guilds suddenly becoming next to useless because their abilities are completely locked? Ragnarok would have gained a huge advantage. Especially since they could come in and actually try to beat the quest once you all died. Nasty.”

“Thankfully, you did something about it.” Velin allowed a small smile to curl the edges of her lips as she thought about it. “Think about how upset Sylith must be right now. On top of losing the rewards from the quest, Ragnarok has been blacklisted by Eastern Alliance and some of the other top guilds. They probably have a war on their hands.”

There was no doubt that the Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight must be livid. Things had really seemed to be going his way only for his plan to be thwarted at the last pass. Thorn could not deny that he was happy to have finally gotten one over on the leader of Ragnarok. Scribbling another question, he looked at Velin curiously.

“That is the best part. So, you know how the announcement for the Stone Dwarves said that they dislike outsiders? Well, it turns out that is not even close. They are really distrustful. As soon as Courdum died and you ate the heart, we got a bunch of notifications announcing all of these changes. One of them was that the Dwarves were turning over the fortresses to the guilds who were part of the final boss fight.

“Since Ragnarok left before the fight, they currently have zero reputation with the Stone Dwarves, and were kicked out of the fortress. We were the only other guild who made it through the forge district, and we are considered friendly thanks to you dropping a rock on Courdum’s head, so they gave the fortress to us. They don’t want to have to deal with outsiders, so they are leaving that to us.”

“Sylith is in major trouble.” Corvo could not help but jump in. “He not only lost the World Quest, but he lost the fortress as well. This means that Ragnarok has no base in the Deepworld and that every member of their guild has to grind their own reputation up to friendly before the Stone Dwarves will give them the time of day. Add to that the guild war that will probably erupt soon, and Ragnarok is in a really rough place.”

Grinning, Thorn nodded. Things really could not have turned out better. Still, reality quickly pulled him back to the ground. No matter how happy he was that Sylith had lost this round, he was still stuck with no voice and no abilities.

Corvo, ever observant, caught the change in his expression and brought the conversation back around.

“So, you don’t have access to any of your abilities? Nothing? No passives or anything?”

Thorn nodded. While his titles seemed to still be active, anything that was deemed an ability was completely locked down.

“Whew, that is an annoying curse. And it locks down your ability to communicate. Crazy. You might want to find a way to break that soon.”

Her eyes flickering, Velin pulled out her notebook and began to flip through the pages. Finding the spot she was looking for, she flipped the book around and pointed to a drawing of a large tree. Underneath it were copious notes, and the more Thorn read, the higher his eyebrows rose. Finishing the page, Thorn looked up to meet Velin’s golden eyes. For the first time in a while, Thorn saw a full blown smile spread across her face as she spoke.

“I have a plan.”

End

Afterword

I really appreciate the time you have spent with me in Nova Terra. I am working on Book Five right now and cannot wait to share it with you. Before I tell you how to get a peek at what that looks like, please spend a few moments and leave me a review. Reviews are so important to indie writers, like me. Knowing that you are out there, reading and thinking about Nova Terra, is what keeps me writing.

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Acknowledgments

A huge thank you to my friends and family who encouraged and supported me on this wonderful journey.

Thank you to my Patrons, who make my writing possible.

A special thank you to the following Patrons who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in funding this story:

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