Unforeseen path, p.44
Unforeseen Path, page 44
“That’s only because you’re too low of a level to be able to ride,” Töten assured the pair as I saw one of the guards take off at a run inside the gate.
‘That’s not anything to be concerned about,’ I mentally grunted to the Half-Orc in my arms as I began refreshing everyone’s battle buffs.
‘Do you think we’re gonna have any problems entering the city?’ Helgath asked as she automatically joined me in buffing everyone.
‘Let’s hope not,’ I replied, trying to shake away the lethargy that weighed down my limbs as the Priestess tried to dismount.
For some reason, Laura decided to lay down across the horse’s rump on her chest to slide off onto the ground. It was obvious that she didn’t have any clue how horses or riding worked, I incredulously thought as she haphazardly let go. The move just sent her sprawling across the cobblestones on her ass as several players passing through the gate busted out laughing. It was funny as hell. A glance towards the alert guards let me know they were snickering in good nature too.
“Gah,” Laura indignantly squawked as she quickly popped back to her feet and started rubbing her tailbone, “Fuck, that was my tailbone!”
“Aa-ah!” Alan screamed next as he somehow flopped onto the ground on his stomach.
“That’s gonna leave a mark,” Töten commented under his breath.
“Have you guys never been on a horse before?” Phoenix asked not even trying to hold back her laughter.
“Give me a break,” Laura defensively said still hopping around in pain, “I’m a city girl from Detroit!”
“New Jersey here,” Alan groaned as he painfully climbed to his feet, “and never seen a real horse before in my life.”
“It’s not like wearing a dress helps any,” Zeven innocently said as Nahimana busted out laughing behind him.
“It’s not a dress,” Alan irritably snapped, “it’s my mage robes.”
“If anything, it looks more like one of those nineteen-sixty moo moos than anything,” Phoenix gasped out between guffaws.
“I was actually talking to Laura,” Zeven countered while trying not to openly laugh as I covered my mouth and looked away.
Those robes really did look like moo moos, I thought, even with his equipment belt.
“Not funny, man,” Alan grumbled as the Priestess cocked her head to the side to look at her friend.
“Now that you say it-” Laura began as the Fire mage immediately cut her off.
“Don’t you dare say it,” Alan warned, huffingly putting his hands on both hips as Zeven and Laura busted out laughing.
That’s when I realized Alan was just hamming it up for the group. It really was pretty funny. Seeing that he could take a joke raised my opinion about his character too. Before I could rib him that the mage robes weren’t necessary to cast magic, the Priestess spoke up.
“Thanks again for the escort, loot, and level boost,” Laura said, coming to stand beside the Fire mage, “but I think I’m gonna call it a night.”
“Me too,” Alan said, turning serious once again, “like she said, thanks for being cool.”
“Right back at you,” I said, stifling a yawn as they both left the group.
As everyone else started wishing them a good night, a commotion at the gate interrupted our parting. Turning around, I saw a platoon of twenty guards forming up to either side of the entrance. A sinking feeling began growing in my stomach when an officious-looking guardsman came marching up to the backend of the formation. As I hurriedly cast an Identify, the man came to a stop in the middle of the gate with the name Jack Wilson, level 40 Duelist, Gate Guard Leader of Lodenburg.
“Guards, ten-hut!” Guard Leader Wilson bellowed as the entire platoon snapped to attention with their polearms held before them at the ready. I saw several players nervously stepping away from us in confusion as the man continued, “Present arms to the Protector of the Kingdom of Kader!” As one, every guard present turned towards me and snapped their fist across their chest in a salute.
“The hell is going on?” I heard a player whisper to his friends in confusion.
“Who is the Protector of the Kingdom of Kader?” another player asked.
“This must be some sort of event,” a woman hissed to her teammates behind us.
“Are these guys here for you?” Laura hissed as Alan looked back and forth between the guards and our group with wide eyes.
“It’s for Star,” Phoenix whispered back, rolling her eyes dramatically as I dismounted with Helgath and Neristhana a step behind me.
Not having a clue what was expected of me, I simply walked within five steps of the first guard in the formation and came to attention or at least my best resemblance of what the guards were doing. Facing Guard Leader Wilson across the distance, I brought my fist to my chest in salute like I’d do with General Dell. I was still debating whether or not I should say something back when Neristhana gave me a discreet pop in the thigh.
“Thank you for your respect and honor, guards of Lodenburg,” I said with more confidence than I felt.
“It’s our pleasure,” Guard Leader Wilson said as he and his platoon dropped the salute. The officer quickly made his way over to me as he hurriedly spoke, “If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll send a runner to the keep to officially announce your arrival to Lady Perlar. I’m sure she will want to greet you in person even at this late hour.”
“If you don’t mind holding your runner, Guard Leader Wilson,” I said, dropping my voice low enough so that the players watching the small ceremony couldn’t hear what I was saying, “I’m on a secret mission to acquire supplies and unique gear in preparation for breaking the horde’s siege of Palnisdale and would rather keep my presence in the south on the down-low if you know what I mean.” My voice dropped to a whisper that was just loud enough for his ears only.
“No sense having any newfar spies who might be in collusion with the horde knowing of my plans or presence in the south.” I raised my voice back to a more normal tone again as I joked. “Besides I’m sure Lady Perlar would rather not be disturbed at such a late hour.”
“There’s more truth to your words than not, Protector,” Guard Leader Wilson conceded with a respectful nod. “If you would like to keep your presence unannounced, I can have Squad-Leader Brawn quietly take you to the Thirsty Troll Inn for the night, or at least, what’s left of it.” His voice lowered to a whisper that only I could hear. “There’s also a strong off-duty guard presence on most evenings which should make it difficult for any newfar colluders to interfere with your mission. It’s also near a guard post that I’ll put on alert about your presence in case there’s any trouble this evening.”
“That’s perfect, Guard Leader,” I said, offering my sincere thanks to the man as we gripped wrists, “I appreciate your understanding of the delicate nature of my mission.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Guard Leader Wilson assured me, before raising his voice, “Squad-Leader Brawn!” A tall Human guardswoman came hurrying over to us. As she snapped to attention, I cast a quick Identify on the guardswoman.
“Guard Leader,” the guardswoman sharply said with a fist salute as the name, Terry Brawn, level 38 Expert-At-Arms, Guard Squad-Leader of Lodenburg appeared over her head.
“Please take your squad and escort the Protector and his party to the Thirsty Troll,” Guard Leader Wilson said out loud, before dropping his voice so that only the two of us could hear his next words, “And inform Team-Leader Pulver to be on alert for any trouble tonight.”
“Trouble?” Squad-Leader Brawn asked as a wary look came to her pretty face.
“The Protector is concerned there might be newfar who are colluding with the horde in the city that might cause him and his people some trouble if they discover his whereabouts.”
“I’ll make sure to pass the word on to Team-Leader Pulver and the other guard posts nearby,” Squad-Leader Brawn promised in a no-nonsense tone as her eyes curiously swept over my companions. To my surprise, I didn’t see any disrespect reflected in her eyes for our Halfling group.
“Excellent,” Guard Leader Wilson replied, before giving me a respectful nod, “If you’ll mount up with your companions, Squad-Leader Brawn will get you squared away tonight.”
With a final polite nod to the Guard Leader, I turned around to see that Neysa was already patiently waiting behind me. Ignoring the gaggle of players gathered around us taking screenshots of our group, I nodded for Helgath to mount up first. With one last scan of the players around us, I leaped up behind the Half-Orc as my friends formed up behind us.
“That was different,” Töten quietly said in group chat.
“What’s up with all that stuff about possible newfar colluders with the horde and being on a secret mission?” Zeven asked, his ears twitching as we followed behind Squad-Leader Brawn and her squad who’d headed off at a fast jog through the main gate.
“Dude, you really said that?” Töten asked in alarm. “If a noble or officer catches you in a lie like that, you can lose reputation points big time.”
“Eh, it’s not really a lie,” I said with a shrug as both of them gave me unbelievable looks. “The Chaos Storm Alliance was actually colluding with the horde to take over the Kingdom of Kader and one of their alliance members could be here in the city.”
“Or some pissed-off players from the forums out to get you for being the bad guy on the server,” Phoenix helpfully added as I nodded in agreement.
“That too,” I said with a shit-eating grin.
“I guess that’s believable to a point,” Töten grudgingly admitted. Giving me a pointed look, the big guy did air quotes, “And this secret mission down south?”
“Well, isn’t that what this basically is?” I innocently asked, “I’m heading to the Kingdom of Cadarea to get a bunch of needed supplies for my people while picking up my Class.” As Töten and Zeven gave me incredulous looks, Phoenix just chuckled.
“I forgot you hadn’t picked up a Class yet.”
“Both of which are essential for ultimately breaking the siege of Palnisdale,” I said, wrapping up my reasoning nicely as Töten let out a loud snort.
“Isn’t most of that going to be for stopping the Hobgoblin invasion?” Phoenix pointed out, deciding to play devil’s advocate.
“Same thing,” I disagreed still smiling, “without stopping the Hobgoblin invasion, there’s no breaking the siege of Palnisdale. Also, the same weapons and armor being prepared for the first battle will be reused in the second. So, again, nothing but the truth. Right, closed beta man?”
“It’s your story,” Töten grunted in amusement as we rode through the twisting streets of the town, “Who am I to disagree?”
“Exactly,” I agreed as my friends traded amused looks behind my back.
“All that I can say is that this is the first time that I’ve ever entered a non-Beast Kin city without any problems,” Zeven said, changing subjects, “so no complaints here.” An eager grin came to his furry face. “I’m actually looking forward to washing up with warm water for a change and sleeping in an actual bed.”
“That’s something I think we can all agree on,” Töten said with a tired sigh, before adding under his breath, “now that I have my stronghold back.”
Maybe it was bad of me, but I really hadn’t been paying too much attention to the city itself as we rode. Mostly that was because I was tired and simply wanted to log out, especially since we’d been close to logging out when we’d gotten stuck inside the special dungeon. Though, from what I could see as we were led down the main street deeper into the city, the design of the city wasn’t all that much different from Darom, I silently thought as Squad-Leader Brawn came to a stop in front of a large inn. The sign out front of the stairs that led up to the double doors had the painting of an ugly troll holding up a large stein of ale with the words, The Thirsty Troll in faded red script.
“Here we are, Protector,” Squad-Leader Brawn announced as her squad came to a stop, “If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to send a messenger to the front gate.”
“Thank you, Squad-Leader Brawn,” I politely replied, after dismounting with Helgath, “I appreciate your professionalism and assistance tonight.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Squad-Leader Brawn said without batting an eye, “I’ll inform Team-Leader Pulver to be on alert for any issues.” She pointed towards a sturdy brick building about five houses further down the street where a squad of guards stood on duty. “The main guard post and barracks for the outer defensive ring are just down the street.” With that, she snapped to attention with her squad, giving a fist salute.
“Excellent,” I said, returning their salute with one of my own, “when you and your squad are finished with your duty tonight, please swing by so I can buy you a round of ale.”
“I doubt you’ll still be awake, Protector,” Squad-Leader Brawn said as a grin cracked her stern visage, “Our duty doesn’t end until first light.”
“Then, I’ll leave a few silvers with the barkeep under your name for when your squad comes off duty,” I countered as the rest of the squad traded grins with each other at my words.
“That would be most appreciated,” Squad-Leader Brawn said in a much friendlier tone as she headed off with her squad for the guard post.
“What was up with that?” Zeven asked as he dismounted with Nahimana and watched the guards trot away.
“I think you have some brown shit on your nose,” Töten joked as everyone dismissed their mounts, except for Bright Claw and Neysa.
“Star is always kissing up to the guards wherever we go,” Phoenix sarcastically explained.
“Eh, being nice is a small thing to promote a little goodwill,” I said not minding their teasing. As my friends scoffed at me, Zeven cleared his throat.
“It never hurts in my experience either.”
“Ah, come on, Zeven,” Phoenix complained, “We’re supposed to be picking on Star not defending him.”
“I need an ale, food, and bed,” Töten said, opening the inn’s front door, “in that order.”
“Word,” I agreed climbing the steps with Helgath and Neristhana to either side of me.
As we piled in behind the big guy, I saw that we were in a large foyer. From the heavy oak wood paneling and subdued lighting, it was obvious that this was a step above what I’d been in before. Not that The White Unicorn inn in an out-of-the-way frontier town like Delonshire was all that special of a place. The main room was a short way up ahead and nearly packed full of eating and drinking patrons, while off to either side of the foyer, there was a male and female washroom for travelers to clean up in.
“I’ll meet you at the table,” Zeven suddenly said as we headed for the main room, “I wanna wash up first.”
“Should I bathe too?” Bright Claw asked in a Chewbacca voice.
“I’m too tired to wash you tonight,” Zeven said to the Grizhawk.
“Actually, that sounds like a good idea,” I said, looking down at my dirty armor. Even though none of the gore remained, it was still sticky and smelled from the night’s activities.
“I was trying not to say anything about that, Lord Stinky,” Neristhana said with a smile, “but that would definitely make dinner more pleasant.”
“Agreed,” Nahimana said under her breath a little bit too loudly.
“Yeah, count me in on that too,” Töten grunted, after taking a sniff of his underarms.
“Cool, we’ll grab a table and order while you guys are doing that,” Phoenix said still walking towards the main room as Nahimana and Neristhana followed.
‘War Leader?’ Helgath asked in alarm.
‘It’s fine,’ I assured the Half-Orc, ‘just keep a watch on Neysa so she doesn’t get into any trouble.’
“Um, yeah,” Zeven grunted uncomfortably as he headed for the nearest door, “this reminds me of a bunch of girls going to the bathroom together.”
“Yeah, no,” Töten said as he gave the Badger kin an odd look, “Dude, wrong door.”
“What, can Beast kin not read common?” I asked as Zeven froze with his clawed palm on the door.
“I can read common,” Zeven unhappily snapped, “I’m just tired.”
“Whatever,” Töten indifferently said as we headed into the room.
Looking around, I unhappily grunted at the small space. The room was surprisingly small. There was a trough of water like you’d use for domesticated animals and places for five people to stand if they were more my size. With Zeven and Töten, it was standing shoulder to shoulder at a too-tight trough urinal.
“I guess this place isn’t really set up for large people,” Töten grumbled as he removed his helm.
“Sure, it is,” I said, removing my own helm.
Turning the spigot on, I ducked my face under the icy cold water to wet down my face and hair. Not that there was any kind of water pressure, I thought, standing up and shaking the water from my hair and face. That was probably because the water was coming from some large barrels of water on the roof. Using one of the available rags, I began to scrub the worst of the stickiness from my armor, when I noticed that Zeven was just standing next to us not doing anything.
“Are you okay?” I asked with a frown coming to my lips.
“Uh, yeah,” Zeven muttered as he began copying us, “I just wished there was something more like a private hot bath available.”
“You won’t see anything like that in most of these big cities,” Töten said, doing his best to clean the worst of the stank off his armor. It made me think of Big Bird from Sesame Street trying to take a sponge bath in a normal-sized bird bath. “Best you’ll get is some male and female group bath houses in each ring of the city.”
“Wonderful,” Zeven grunted as he ducked his furry head under the spigot.
“Just think of it like being in the changing room at a gym,” I said with a shrug. As the Badger kin started washing down his armor, I glanced over at the big guy, “Ring of the city?”
“Yeah, Lodenburg is a big city with three defensive walls before the main keep,” Töten explained as he ducked his head under the water again for a final rinse, “usually referred to as the inner, middle, and outer rings.”
