Congratulation! You have completed the Quest: Liberate Stormwall

You gain 300,000 XP!

You gain +1000 Favor with Stormwall Citizens!

You gain Administrator Access: Stormwall Castle

I look at the notification glowing on my HUD and the nostalgia of the quest’s name takes me back in time to when I first accepted it. If feels like almost years ago now, having grown so much since then, but really it’s been less than a few months. Still I remember the person who gave me that quest and I glance behind me to see Lady Diana standing there and looking as if a huge burden has been lifted from her shoulders.

I feel it too and as I sheath my pistol, the guards and soldiers around me all drop to one knee, starting with General Lyons. The stoic, sharped-eyed war veteran gives me a slight nod before he speaks in a loud voice: “I General Lyons, commander of the army of Stormwall, pledge my allegiance to the new and rightful king. Long live, King Reece!”

The soldiers, who were but moments ago my enemies, suddenly raise their voices in salute. “Long live the king!”

My friends join me along with Lady Diana who takes the knee before me, next to General Lyons.

“I, Lady Diana, of the Royal Praetorian Guard, pledge my loyalty, life and allegiance to the new and rightful king. Long live King Reece!”

Is almost embarrassing to hear Lady Diana subject herself to my authority like that and I feel a familiar discomfort of being thrust into the spotlight again, much like when I was crowned High King back in New London. But it feels a little different this time. Back there, it was clear who the true ruler needed to be. And while I had no real skill or interest to become a full time Ruler like Braxus or ruling over others in general, what I did need was the authority to pull this team and army together to fight the real enemy that lay ahead.

“General Lyons,” I say. “Rise.”

The veteran soldier, a man old enough to be my grandfather, responds to my command promptly. “Your majesty.”

“General, you have a new objective. Defend this village against the Goblin Queen’s horde and drive it back into the mines.” I then looked to Lady Diana. “Lady Diana, I appoint you head of the Praetorian Guard and Chief Strategist and liaison to the army. General Lyons, consider any order from her as one from myself.”

Skill up! Your Oratory increase by 0.4!

“Understood my king. Lady Diana?”

Lady Diana smiles at me like a proud aunt and gives me a nod. “General. Send all able forces to repel the assault on the Western Wall. The rear guard can assume a defensive posture within the village and see to the wounded.”

“Yes, my lady,” General Lyons says before turning to his troops and echoing the commands in twice the details and three times the ferocity. The entire army mobilizes and I stand semi-mesmerized by my own accomplishment as I see the thousands of soldiers march forward to engage with the nether trolls. It was just an idea at first, a long shot, but we managed to turn the army of Stormwall to our side and use them to fight the Goblin Queen.

My friends finally surround me as the army moves away and they all erupt into cheers of victory.

“You did it Reece!” Gilly says tackling me with the biggest hug ever.

Val Helena and Maxis embrace each other as well and Black Top raises his handaxe with a powerful yell.

“Damn right, he did,” he shouts and then laughs. “Damn. I can’t believe we actually won, to be honest!”

I cup Gilly’s face within my hands. “It was all her, guys. Gilly, what you pulled off was amazing!”

She laughs and just blushes some more.

“I’d say we all pretty much pulled off the impossible,” Aiko says with a wry tone. “But I don’t think we have time to celebrate. The fight doesn’t look done yet.”

“I hear that,” Blacktop says, switching his handaxe out for his flamethrower. “We still got a lot of trolls to kill to save this village.”

“And not to mention the villagers we still need to save inside the mines,” Gilly adds.

I nod to her, thankful for her keeping us on track. “Okay, tonight we celebrate, but for now, we beat back those trolls to the mines and finish saving this village!”

Val Helena and Maxis both nod to me.

“Spoken like a true king, little bro,” my brother says slapping me a little too hard on the back, making me wince. “But don’t expect me to start actually calling you that anytime soon.”

We all laugh at that and enjoy a well needed break in the stress and tension we’ve been under. Val Helena gives my wink and sends me a message.

Val Helena: You’ve come a long way since needing a corpse retrieval in Silvertooth mines, little guy. I’m so proud of you, “King” Reece. ;)

Her message rocks me back on my heels with nostalgia and I smile back at the half-giantess as the special bond between us grows. In a way, her mission was the start to all of this and the fates somehow brought us together to see us to this very moment. A moment where we were now closer to reaching our goal than ever before.

The Goblin Queen in the only thing standing between us and reaching Citadel.

And now we have an army to fight her.

“Let’s roll out!” I say to my team. “We’ve got some trolls to kill.”

* * *

Even with the Army of Stormwall with us, the battle to push back the Goblin Queen’s horde is not an easy one. The goblins in terms of sheer number are even more than I imagined and I wonder if the Goblin Queen has bolstered her own forces somehow. Still, we have strength on our side and after several hours we first beat back the trolls and goblins from off the walls of Brookrun and slowly chase them across the battlefield.

It’s close to late afternoon by the time we get them into a full retreat and are chasing them towards the mines. When we finally reach the barren foothills of the mine entrance it’s close to twilight.

My body is covered in black goblin blood by that time, as are all of my friends. The army itself, still around seven thousand strong all look in the same condition. It was a hard push and it’s not lost on me that our numbers are notably lower than when we started.

General Lyons approaches me accompanied by Lady Diana.

“They’re in full retreat now,” Lyons announces. “Disappearing into the mines. I don’t think we need to push any further than this.”

“No way!” Gilly pipes up from amongst our crew. “We have them on the run now. Why stop? The mines are right there. We can push through for a victory right now, can’t we?”

That causes us all to share glances of uncertainty and all eyes suddenly fall on me. I suddenly realize that I’m the one in position to make the decision. I’m busted and so are the men, but what Gilly says is true. “We’ve decimated the Goblin Queen’s forces and it will take time for her to make more Nether Trolls. So they could be in a position of weakness right now, like Gilly says.” I look to General Lyons. “General, you’re the most experienced here. What are your thoughts?”

Lyons wipes some goblin blood from his bald head as he contemplates a response. “We’ve forced marched several days already just to get here. The men are tired, but we do have momentum on our side. I don’t know what lies within those mines, but if the forces are no more than what we encountered on the field, we might have a chance to eradicate them.”

Gilly smiles at that. “See?”

“On the other hand,” the general continues. “If there are reinforcements inside there, and likely there are, then we could find ourselves in a trap and retreating with severe losses. Not knowing the layout also adds risk.”

“So it’s a gamble if we go for broke,” Maxis says. “But it might just pay off?”

“I’ve seen what’s in the mines,” Aiko says. “The layout isn’t complex and we’re strong now. Stronger than we’ve ever been before. Plus I don’t think there were many more of them in there than what we’ve seen already. I say we go for it.”

Both Gilly and Aiko nod at one another.

“Hey,” Gilly says looking up at me. “We’ve always had good luck in mines, haven’t we?”

I break into a light chuckle at the throw back to our humble beginnings as miners within the Crystal Shards. And she was right about the luck too. That luck made me find the scroll of Shadow Copy, which led me to becoming a Dodge Tank, which led me to finding the truth about the surface. It led me to reunite with my brother, to save Becky, to save New London and now to save what was left of this entire world.

Could that luck still be with me now?

I look into the twilight darkness and the foreboding looking hills. I then glance back at the several thousand strong army at my command. Could we really overwhelm the Goblin Queen if we pushed now? I thought back to the miners stuck in those cages, no doubt what’s on Gilly’s mind too. They’d no doubt be sacrificed even more quickly now to replenish the ranks of Nether Trolls we’ve already killed. The heroic thing to do would be to press on and try to save them, but was it the wisest thing at the moment?

We could press on and lose it all.

My question is suddenly answered by a cold shiver that runs up my spine. I get the sense I’m being watched and as I peer closer at the hills my breath catches. Towering in the distance is a figure silhouetted against a bloody twilight sky.

The soldiers see it too, and murmurs arise from amongst the troops.

“What’s going on?” Gilly asks, looking about.

I frown as I feel--more than see--the Goblin Queen herself staring right at me. “I think we forgot one critical piece to this equation,” I say. “The Boss.”

General Lyon squints into the darkness at the Goblin Queen.

From where we are, all we can make out is her is her shapely figure and spiked crown, but in her hand, the head of her staff pierces the darkness with an ominous purple glow.

“Now that changes the odds very quickly,” Lyons says. “If it were just the army we’d have a chance, but facing that thing as well?” He shakes his head. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”

Gilly frowns. “So close…so what do we do then? Go back to Brookrun?”

“That would be giving up a lot of ground,” Lyons says. “The push we made today could all go to waste if we return to the village.”

“Then we make a camp here then,” I say. “We reverse the siege. We can do that, right?”

General Lyons smiles at me. “It was going to be my next suggestion. We can build camp and hold this position and defend it from whatever that monster has in store for us. But defending and breaking through their own defenses won’t be easy. We’ll need time to get reinforcements from Stormwall.”

“Which means she’ll have time to reinforce her army as well,” I say bitterly. I think about what Lyon’s said about momentum. “Or we can just go for broke now like Gilly says. Attack now while they are weak. Maybe with this new gear we’d be strong enough to pull it off.”

General Lyons wobbles his head from side to side considering it. “Making such a decision is never easy. There’s merit to what you say, but you’ll be facing something unknown.”

It’s not unknown to me though. I’ve felt the sinister presence lying just beyond the Goblin Queen’s form. Even now I can almost see it, hovering over her like a puppet. I check my load out again. 300 Agility. Gilly and most of my friends are in level 95 gear now too. If my Kono Zemsu form was off cooldown, I’d feel more confident risking it. But do we have the strength to go now?

“My king,” Lady Diana says, resting a hand on my forearm. “I can see the conflict in your eyes. If I may, all things considered, I’d counsel that we hold this position and reinforce. I’ve seen far too many battles lost due to haste. In this case, victory will be a matter of logistics not might. If we strengthen faster than the Goblin Queen then we can still attack while she is weak.”

That gets a solid nod from General Lyon and it makes sense to me too. “Alright then. I’ll go with your advice, Lady Diana. Thank you. We set up a siege camp here. I’ll see to what resources we can bring from Brookrun too.”

“I guess we’re in for another rough night in the wild,” Aiko says.

“Not necessarily,” Lady Diana says. “The troops here are more than capable of setting up camp and defending. But for the new king and all of you, there are other duties that we can attend to tonight.”

“Other duties?” I ask.

“You’ve just become our new king and an entire populace is yet to meet you, Reece. It would do well for us to travel to Stormwall tonight to officiate your rule with a coronation. It will also allow us to rally more volunteers for the reinforcements.”

That did make sense. “But I can’t go back there while all these soldiers who fought so hard for us are hunkered down like this in the wild.”

Lyons laughs. “Please, my king. These are battle hardened professionals, not school children. This is their job and they know it well. I will see to this small matter. It’s why I’m the general and you’re the king. And I must agree with Lady Diana that your duties as king will do far more good for this war effort than you staying here and babysitting us.”

He chuckles and I chuckle with him. “Very well, general.” I then turn to my friends. “I guess we’re spending the night in Stormwall, guys.”

Aiko lets out a cackle laugh. “No complaints here.”

“Well I don’t like that we couldn’t push through,” Gilly says with a subtle smile. “But I guess this is the smart thing to do. Plus a hot bath wouldn’t hurt either.”

We all laugh at than and Lyons gives Gilly a wink. “No need to rub it in, lass. I haven’t had a decent bath in weeks.”

“Well no time like the present to get one,” Lady Diana says and sends us each a party invite. “We’ll all need a good clean up for the coronation ceremony. Gilly, would you mind doing the honors?”

“My pleasure.” Gilly smiles and begins casting Teleport.

We say our goodbyes to General Lyons and he slowly begins to fade as we disappear from existence. I take one last glance back towards the Goblin Queen. She’s still just standing there gawking as us, but I feel that same tingling chill from her, like she looking directly at me.

I swear I almost hear her say something to me too, before she turns towards the mines and then vanishes from sight as we all disappear.

* * *

Xantheus, Third Claw of the 2nd Echelon, detached himself from the primordial vessel and retreated to the darkness just behind the veil. The lumbering construct he had usurped, regained some of its own cognizance and began retreating faster into the mines and he could sense its alarm at finding itself inexplicably outside its normal domain.

Such witless things these are, he cursed it. Not much better than the thralls that seeded the lower depths, but at least this one possessed strength. Xantheus followed it to its brood chamber, where it began manipulating the ether using the power of the construct, exploiting its law breaking rules to form new matter and life from death and decay.

It was still an offence to Xantheus to witness such blasphemy. Such power should form naturally through the will of the cosmos--seeping slowly through absorption over a millennia of cycles, or devoured through strength. This…manipulation…was more like trickery. A short cut. It was no wonder this purchase was considered cursed by many of his kind. What meat would create such a vile offense to the cosmos?

Still he let it be. His vessel would need time to regain its strength.

And it would need all of it--of that Xantheus was certain.

High Imperator Xuba had been correct. The Kono Zemsu of this realm was indeed strong. Using the primordial vessel, Xantheus had been able to witness the Kono Zemsu with his own eyes and he was glad he had taken the risk to do so.

Its strength was enough to stir his own hunger. Such raw power even within the primordial plane. He could only imagine its power were it released into the limitless spheres of the void. No…he didn’t need to imagine it. He had seen it for himself. That same Kono Zemsu had reduced his Lord, High Imperator Xuba to a mere grub.

Such power… he thought.

But he would need to overcome that same power in this realm to sever its primordial ties to the firmament and send it through the Apex where it could then be enslaved and controlled. Lord Xuba was indeed wise to have sent him. His talent to control the wretched spawns of the construct would give him the advantage to achieve his goal. He sensed it when the Kono Zemsu stared back at the vessel he inhabited.

It wanted to destroy his vessel.

And in doing so, Xantheus would take his chance to destroy the Kono Zemsu’s primordial vessel as well. He foresaw the future delight of witnessing the Kono Zemsu descending through the Apex. The Thralls would go mad with hunger at the faintest scent of such power.

That thought made Xanthues consider something else. He needed to safeguard its passage through the Apex. It would be a sin worthy of a thousand eternities of damnation for a lowly thrall to even sample a taste of such exquisite meat.

Xantheus summoned his essence and traversed the planes, travelling through the dimensions of time and space to arrive instantly at the entrance to the firmament. Below him the sea of mindless thralls roared and bellowed with endless hunger and rage, their throats of fire illuminating the darkness like the light from a thousand dying stars.

As he approached the Apex to fortify its integrity he sensed a new capture there, seemingly just released from the Apex itself. He thought little of it at first and was simply about to ignore it as the thralls fed endlessly on its puny form, but then a strange but familiar scent caught his senses. Xantheus scattered the thralls, and looked at the tiny figure that was now wailing with pungent agony.

The meat was indeed fresh and Xantheus sensed the sweet savor of fear and pain from it, which was to be expected. But there was another scent as well. Hatred? A rare spice to find seasoned within meat indeed, especially meat that had been consumed more than once already. What meat could harbor such a delicate flavor through both horror and pain? But even more peculiar was that the hatred had an accent to it as well, a fragrant note that smelled like…

… the Kono Zemsu?

Xanteus’ interest piqued as he looked at the morsel more closely. It was gibbering away in its primitive guttural tongue, but Xantheus could comprehend with clarity what it was communicating. It was attempting to barter with him. Xantheus had heard tell of such meat before. Even now, one such meat bartered for the remnant, which the Elders sought to ration to no end.

But if Lord Xuba’s plan was successful, then there would be no need to barter. The second Kono Zemsu would see them traversing the stars once again. Xantheus peered curiously at the writhing meat as it begged pathetically for its life, offering all its worthless knowledge and power in exchange for mercy. Xantheus had no interest in what it offered, but it indeed possessed something of value to him.

It knew of the Kono Zemsu…and hated it.