Heralds- The Proving Grounds, page 16
Jen shook her head. “Shouldn’t it? Do we want to win that way? Everyone is going to know how this event went down. Is that how the story should end?”
Bulorn chuckled. “Oh it will be a glorious battle, don’t worry about that. It will be spoken of for ages.”
Sam was tapping a finger against her chin.
Kail just shook his head. “I’ll be busy most of tomorrow. If he’s still alive when I get back, we’ll discuss further strategy.”
Bulorn shrugged. “Unnecessary, but sure.”
Jen held up a hand. “We should write to Poe.”
“We don’t need him.”
Sam pointed at Bulorn. “What he said.”
Jen glowered at them. “That’s not the issue. He’s young, alright? I talked to him. I’d be really surprised if he could vote. He didn’t ask for this and it blew up in his face while he was only trying to avoid being a problem. He could use some support. You never know, down the line we might need him for the next plan.”
Sam was sporting a “deer in the headlights” look. Bulorn openly wore disgust on his face.
Kail nodded. “Indeed. I, at least, shall do as you suggest.”
“Thank you.” She bowed her head to Kail and considered what she was going to say. A few things had popped into her head… but none of it sounded terribly reassuring. She’d need to work on it.
“Dear Poe,” Sam’s hands flung across the open air. “Grow a pair. Love, Sam. Send.”
Jen glared at her.
Bulorn chuckled. “Come to Freeport early tomorrow if you plan to take part. If not, been nice serving with you.” He turned on his heel and started toward the map room with a wave.
Sam watched him go. “Oh like hell.” She muttered under her breath.
Things were on the verge of falling apart. Thirst for blood was driving two of them and fear of screwing something up had driven off a third. There were only three Heralds focused on the mission… and Annabelle had no idea any of this had even happened.
Kail shrugged. “Well, I intend to work on leveling some before I call it a night. Best of luck in your future endeavors. I hope to be part of some of them, not that I am openly hoping Bulorn fails or anything…” He wore a small smile. “Good luck.”
Jen gave a short wave. “If you see Anna before we do, let her know about all this, yeah?”
“Of course.” He bowed low before turning for the map room.
A few moments later Jen and Sam were alone on the island. The rogue was absently spinning a dagger around a finger as she stared off into nothingness, her eyes twitching occasionally.
“I know that look.” Jen sat with her back to one of the walls. “You’re planning to undermine Bulorn.”
“Well, duh. Only one of us can be the Kingslayer. I don’t think you want it.”
“I do not.”
“Then it might as well be me, right?” She shrugged. “Bulorn is a jerk.”
“Flawless logic.”
“It really is.”
Bulorn and his Seven Eyes people were going to try soon. Jen would prefer they didn’t win. Granted, the Heralds were lacking in support from other sources… but the Seven Eyes being the ones to take Tobin down would just paint the event as evil overcoming a lesser evil. Hardly good for the greater narrative. The point of this event was to get people playing, not drive them away.
“Okay then.” Jen shrugged. “Out with it. Sell me on the plan.”
“Quite simple really. We don’t want Bulorn to win, so we need help to stop him. Turns out a lot of people are dead set against him.”
Jen stared at Sam with narrowed eyes. “You can’t possibly mean…”
“Oh, but I can, and I do. Before it was about infiltration. Now it’s about winning.”
“Hank probably wouldn’t like that. We’re not supposed to be working against each other, or undermining our own greater goal.”
“It’s only temporary.” She shrugged. “I still fully intend to knife Tobin, just… after this whole Seven Eyes thing is taken care of.”
Jen shook her head. “Fine, whatever. How do we do that?”
“I’ve gotten some feedback. A guy named Gorin has been yapping my ear off for like an hour. Apparently our levels are pretty attractive to them.”
“Our, huh?”
“Sweetened the deal. Two people at the bleeding edge of the leveling curve is better than one. Hard for them to argue.”
Maybe Sam should be studying psychology.
Sam inclined her head toward the map room. “But the Kingsmen are filling up in a hurry. Gorin says they set it to open admission, anyone can invite. Clever if you want a lot of bodies. They’re trying to have visible members walking around to counter the negative reputation they started with. Last bit is my interpretation, not something Gorin came up with. Honestly, I don’t think he’s clever enough to see it. He’s just after the rewards.”
Jen tilted her head. “Wait, rewards?”
“Word is everyone on their side gets a title if they win.”
“Huh.”
“Proverbial water is getting awfully murky… but that means I get a special title either way. Groovy.”
“Hmm.” Jen crossed her arms as they entered the map room. “Does this Gorin guy know anything about their Herald people? Immortals other than Tobin?”
“Nah. He thinks everyone is mortal, including Tobin. Clearly not in the loop. But that’s fine. We could use some degrees of separation to make us harder to find.”
Jen stared at the table without really seeing it as Sam moved the surface about.
Somehow, this seemed wrong. They were diametrically opposed to Tobin and his people. Sneaking in amongst them… wasn’t how they were supposed to go about this. It was meant to be big, visible. An event the whole of the game shared in. This… skulduggery didn’t really apply.
Then again, this might be what it took to keep Tobin alive tomorrow, even if Sam killed him later.
A choice of evils. Jen frowned.
“Hey, space-case, we need to get moving.”
Jen’s chin shot up. “Sorry.”
Sam shrugged. “It’s normal for you. I’m used to it. Time to go, though. We have a scrub with inviting privileges to meet.”
Jen stared at the table.
The map was centered on the ruins of Morblina. The enemy stronghold.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. They’re making a city out of it. Crazy, right? Anyway, that’s where Gorin is. And he’s expecting us, so…” Sam double tapped a small ways off into the woods, an area free from dots of any color. She vanished.
Jen stared at the map.
Fool. The one place, the one place that could put an end to their efforts entirely. Hell, Tobin could be there with his black sword. Even Hank had said it might lock them out for the rest of the event like anyone else. A coin flip. Bad odds. Terrible odds. And Sam just waltzed off and…
Jen sighed. There was nothing for it.
She double tapped on Sam’s dot on the map.
16
The woods were much as Jen remembered them, what she could see of them at this hour anyway.
Sam was a ways off, crouched low and staring. She was painted in light from the other side, a glow around her dark silhouette.
Jen had to shield her eyes from the drastic difference.
They had been busy.
The image of Morblina that greeted them was a far cry from what had been here only the day before. Hell, at the time it had really just been the ruined church and open ground. Now the church was the center of a small town. A ramshackle wooden town… but a town, nonetheless. And a busy one.
Sam nodded a few times. “Maybe we’ve been going about this all wrong. They seem to have a better plan.”
“Maybe… but somehow throwing bodies at the problem seems more, I don’t know… evil?”
“Seems reasonable to me.”
“That’s because you’re evil.”
“And yet ‘good’ people are always the ones to throw those words around so carelessly. So quick to judge others.” Sam shrugged. “I’m practical. I don’t worship Khorne, though I might throw a few skulls on the throne now and then if it serves my purposes. Seeing tomorrow is the important thing. If you don’t, you lost.”
Jen shook her head. A simplistic view centered entirely on the self. Pretty much exactly what she would expect of Samara Redblade.
The question, of course, was how much of that was what Sam really thought? How she really felt? Did she truly believe that and society kept her from acting on it, or was it an act in here where such rules had never applied?
Sam pointed. “Some guard looking types. Probably best to approach all peaceful like for this to work.”
“What a novel concept.”
“First time for everything.” Sam shrugged and worked her way through the underbrush towards the beaten dirt path leading to Morblina.
Jen followed. Why not? She’d come this far.
Weapons were raised when the guards standing at the edge of the buildings noticed them.
“Show me your hands.” An unfamiliar voice echoed slightly from one of the heavy helmets ahead. They wore matching sets of solid looking armor. Not fancy by any stretch of the imagination… but certainly functional.
There were not so many guards as there had been in Freeport, but they also weren’t trying to lure people in with schemes and rob them.
And it was getting kinda late.
Jen held up her empty hands as instructed. It took Sam a moment to do the same.
“State your business.” The same voice. It was difficult to tell which guard was talking. Two directly ahead, another three nearby and clearly watching the pair. More milling around the buildings.
“We’re all friends here.” Sam shrugged. “Been talking with Gorin. Not exactly the warm welcome we were promised.”
One of the guards visibly hung his head. “Gorin. Again. Fine, alright. Keep your weapons to yourselves or we’ll take them.”
Well… that wouldn’t do. Jen couldn’t give them hers away. “We won’t make any trouble.”
“That’s certainly the idea, miss.” The guard pointed. “Gorin is over there with his little army. Try to keep it down, eh? Some of use have real work to do.”
They stood aside and let Sam and Jen pass without so much as another glance. Lax security… which would mean no one of great importance was here at the moment. Nothing was at stake.
“Doesn’t sound like this Gorin guy is well liked.”
“He kinda talks a lot.” Sam shrugged. “As long as he can invite, I can listen to him yammer some. I’ve put up with worse to secure a vantage point.”
The notification that this was a PVP safe zone hit Jen shortly after they crossed the gates. Was the area growing? Was that a thing? Well, it was nice to know she was safe anyway.
“What’s with the PVP safe zone thing?” It seemed like the kind of thing Sam would know about. Intimately.
“Ugh.” She shook her head. “Cities tend to grow them. Has to do with the number of people around. Real people, not NPC people. Usually starts as a small spot. Think this one was just that church. But with so many people bustling around its grown quite a bit. Not a big fan.”
“I would think not.”
Sam turned her eyes to Jen. “Safety makes people complacent. Complacency makes people weak. They can’t stay here forever. It gives them a false sense of security.”
“And it makes it impossible for you to kill them.”
“It’s really annoying. People hide in them a lot. Fortunately they never get very big. This is the largest I’ve personally seen.”
There weren’t many people about. Those that were present seemed to be inside the buildings. A lot still had lit windows. Other people stuck close to fires in open areas where others had gathered. Everyone seemed nice enough. A few gave them polite nods or waves.
Gorin Stoneshield was amongst several others in one of the outdoor groups. He wasn’t much to look at, as far as warriors went. He kept a helmet on but Jen caught a few glimpses of his face. If he was older than her it wasn’t by much. He looked far to young to be trying to command anyone… but that was one of the draws of this world. Be what you want, what you can earn, without all of those old world things you didn’t get to pick weighing you down.
The idea probably said something about people like Jen who hung onto their outside appearance in here. She didn’t know what that would be, though. She hadn’t taken any psych classes.
He looked up at them when they arrived and moved away from the group with a polite nod. “So, the hopefuls. Took you long enough.”
Sam gave a small smile. “You’re kinda out of the way.”
“Fair enough. Not like we have any wagon trains running yet. We’re planning that out, actually. Well, not these people here.” He gestured vaguely to those assembled. “They’re working on getting more resources in. But we have a group working on trade routes.”
Jen let her eyes drift over the town. It didn’t look like much… but the groundwork was there for something more. “Sounds complicated… but worthwhile.”
Gorin nodded. “Has to be done. Not everyone is cut out to swing a sword, even if we all pick a character class at the start. Some simply find more use and joy in other things. Happy to let them when there’s building to be done. And there’s always building to be done.”
Sam glanced aside at Jen, her eyes making it clear the other woman was to remain quiet. Or at least only speak if spoken to.
As if Jen was going to be the one to start a fight.
Pfft.
Gorin’s eyes lingered on Sam. He’d targeted her, then. “Level nineteen. Impressive for two days.”
“We’ll try to pick up another level before the night is done. I dislike odd numbers.”
“And how did you manage that? Our leaders are on par with you and have been chasing events. Difficult and time consuming.”
“Just lucky, I guess.” Sam shrugged. “We’ve certainly had some dry spells, but other spots where there are plenty of mobs if you’re willing to put the work in. That, and we’ve caught a few events ourselves.”
Gorin nodded. He turned his eyes to Jen, but they didn’t stay nearly as long.
Good. His inspection of her had not been as thorough. She was only one really interested person away from word of a relic weapon spreading… not that there was any answer for that. She couldn’t unequip it short of dying.
“Well, I’m not going to lie. We’re running out of room, but we need all the competent help we can get. So…”
A guild invite popped up in front of Jen. Different than a group invite, which was just yes or no and the group leaders name. This was… much more formal. Swirly art around the edges and stuff.
She still wasn’t entirely on board with this idea… but she could drop the guild affiliation later if needs be.
She hit the accept button.
The only thing that changed was the color of the name Gorin Stoneshield over his head. It was green now. She glanced aside to see Sam’s name rendered in green as well.
Gorin gave them a nod. “Alright, good. We’re meeting up here tomorrow morning in the hopes of helping out the Alpha teams. They keep their own schedule, and seem much more organized than the rest of us rabble… but if we can help them, we’ll do it.”
Sam wiggled her eyebrows. “And if they happen to lead us to a few events to level, where’s the harm in that?”
Gorin nodded. “That’s about the long and short of fighting for them, yes. But there’s this work to be done, too.” He inclined his head back over his shoulder toward the buildings. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the army wouldn’t have gotten far without it either.”
“Of course.” Sam nodded. “Morning, got it.” She turned to Jen. “Up for hunting a few more mobs with me?”
“Absolutely.”
Gorin bowed his head. “You’ll get less hassle from the guards with the guild tag. Good luck. Don’t stay up too late. Looking at about 10 a.m.”
“10 a.m.” Sam turned and waved back. “Got it.”
Jen bowed politely and followed Sam. “That was… easy.”
“They need the help. And they need it worse than I thought. Not entirely sure they can stand up to Bulorn.”
“We could have warned them.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes, please allow us to give specific details about a threat tomorrow. That isn’t super suspicious or anything, even if they believed us. Or hell, it might convince them not to head out at all. Waste their time and ours.”
The guards barely gave a nod of acknowledgment as the pair passed on the way out. Less hassle indeed.
Hank had painted these people as the villains in the little drama the devs had going… but they weren’t exactly living up to the role. At least not in person. The ones she had safeguarded tonight had been pretty stand up people. These ones seemed normal enough. Maybe it was a public persona kind of thing. Hard to stay in character all the time, especially if no one is looking.
Once they made it back to the cover of the trees, Jen opened her menu.
Sam waved a hand in front of her face. “No teleporting.” She shook her head.
“Uhh… kay. Why?”
“Because if they have any sense they’re going to keep tabs on us for a bit. At least until something more threatening or interesting comes along, which isn’t likely tonight. Simple enough to just watch their guild roster and track our movements. Instantly appearing halfway across the world might seem a tad suspicious.”
“They’re… keeping tabs on us?”
“Not physically, no. That would almost certainly be a waste of time. But yeah, I would expect some eyes for awhile.” Sam shrugged. “Standard procedure.”
“I hate you, and I hate your line of work.” Jen sighed and closed the menu. “How the hell are we going to get out of here, then?”
“On foot until we find someplace decent to log out. We make a camp when we find something defensible. A cave, ruins, an abandoned farmhouse, or a sparsely populated one. That sort of thing. Then pop back on in a few hours, check the roster ourselves, and teleport as we please if we deem it safe.”
