“Faster, we don’t have time for another break,” shouted Ka’tra angrily.

The leader of the small band was slowly becoming more and more vicious as the morning passed. Eric followed from a distance to be sure he was not spotted. He was thankful for the constant yelling since it helped him keep track of their direction. He could only assume the frustration was coming from the detour to return Clarke to the ‘council’ for judgment.

Eric was still at a loss of how to free Clarke from the creatures. It was impossible for him to battle all of them alone and after he spotted Clarke gagged and bound within the middle of the band it was clear a snatch and grab would also be difficult. He studied the mountainside carefully and hoped to discover a location that could be used to his advantage, but following behind the group was keeping his visibility limited, and he couldn’t rush ahead without risking detection.

Eric crossed his fingers their destination was far enough away that the night would come, and he could slip into their camp under the cloak of darkness. Unfortunately, the quick pace began to slow by early afternoon and suddenly all the loud voices and grunting of the creatures went quiet. He was immediately on high alert. He was only lightly breathing, but the sound felt overwhelming after the constant voices and activity. The only other sound came from the wind rustling the sparse trees overhead.

Eric held his breath instinctually for several moments waiting for a pin to drop in the silence, but minutes ticked by as he kneeled frozen behind a small boulder. He dared a peek around the edge of the rock. He carefully titled his head around the smoothed section to his right to get a look uphill toward the last position of his quarry. The moment his eyes cleared the edge his vision was immediately filled with the thick butt of a battle axe and then darkness overtook his senses.

“What kind of fool thought they could track us in our own land?” a thick voice grunted.

“One of the human scum. They will get their time with the council, and we can put an end to this disruption,” another voice snarled in response.

Eric’s eyes fluttered open. His head pounded with pain, and his health was dangerously low from the surprise attack. He realized he obviously wasn’t as sneaky as he thought. He was certainly no rogue or thief, and he had paid the price.

Eric took in his surroundings. He saw two long shadows moving away from him in a hazy and dimly lit cavern. He quickly discerned he was in some sort of prison. It consisted of a crude cell made of thick wood secured by tightly wrapped leather straps. He discovered Clarke in the cell directly next to him. Clarke was sitting with his back against the cell wall and still had his hands bound. Eric was fortunately free of restraints.

Clarke looked up after noticing Eric’s movement and said, “Took you long enough to find me. I can’t say this was exactly what I had in mind as a rescue though.”

At least imprisonment wasn’t getting Clarke’s spirits down, Eric thought. “Yea…This wasn’t my brightest plan I’ll admit,” Eric replied.

“Got the jump on you too huh?” he questioned.

“Yes, those bastards led me all the way here before sucker punching me. I don’t understand how this is even possible. What kind of game leaves players as helpless prisoners to NPCs?” Eric said.

“I have been pondering that question since I was captured. I think the evil spreading across the frontier is forcing the A.I. to create new, untested scenarios. The programming is responding to the mass devastation unpredictably. I have never heard or seen creatures like these. It might be an entirely new race yet to be discovered,” he said in a worried voice.

“It sounds like we may be finding out soon enough. Any idea what this ‘council’ is about?” Eric asked.

Clarke gave me a strange look and said, “Council. What are you talking about?”

Eric mentally face palmed remembering Clarke must be hearing these creatures talking gibberish without the interpret language skill. He blamed his lack of concentration on getting knocked out cold earlier. Eric shook his head lightly and started to explain, “Sorry, I forgot you couldn’t understand them. I heard them mention they were bringing you here to stand trial before the ‘council’ to decide your fate. It looks like they will have two fates to decide on now.”

“That doesn’t sound good. It must be their clan leaders or something. Probably a group of elders that make decisions and enforce whatever primitive laws they may have,” Clarke said grimly.

“My thoughts exactly,” Eric replied.

They suddenly heard voices echoing down the hallway where their previous captors had walked off. Clarke and Eric both exchanged worried glances then focused their attention to the hallway. Eric identified two figures approaching. His vision was much clearer after adjusting to the darkness of the cavern.

He immediately recognized the larger framed one as Ka’tra. The other figure wasn’t one he had seen as part of the band that captured them. Ka’tra casually walked up to Clarke’s cell and unlocked the door with a large black key. The only metal pieces of the contraption were on the door to hold it in place, but they were still crude and would be picked easily by any decent thief. It seemed Eric’s mission to save Clarke required more delicate skills than he possessed.

Ka’tra dragged open the heavy door and motioned for Clarke to step out with a grunt. Clarke gave Eric a worried look, but Eric nodded encouragingly. Sitting in cells was the last thing Eric wanted to do. They would eventually starve to death and respawn, but it would be unpleasant, and he wasn’t interested in going out like that. He had to at least try to take one of the big red bastards with him, and he couldn’t do that locked in a cage.

Clarke scuttled out and was directed to the far wall of the cavern. He was carefully watched by the second creature as Ka’tra made his way toward Eric’s cell. Ka’tra gave Eric a chilling smile as he unlocked the cell and motioned to him in the same way as Clarke. Eric swallowed his nervousness and walked out confidently even though his head was still pounding slightly and his health had only partially restored.

He joined Clarke along the wall, and they were prodded forward toward the hallway out of the room. They walked through the dimly lit hallway for a few minutes before it opened into a massive burrowed out hall. The giant space was ornately decorated with white granite. It was a true architectural beauty. It made Eric question everything about the brutal race that took them captive. They were clearly a more advanced society than he initially thought.

The hall branched off into a variety of additional rooms and floors. At the end of the hall, a large table rose from the floor. It took the group a few minutes to cross the distance to the table. It rose above Eric’s head and five of the creatures sat around the semi-circle staring down at him with suspicious gazes. He was certain the five individuals sitting before them were the council, and this was their domain.

Clarke and Eric were shoved onto a round black stone carved into the floor. They stood alone at the center of the stone in front of the gathered witnesses. The entire hall fell silent as they looked up to their judges. Eric analyzed the center creature and was surprised when an information box appeared.

Kleot Elder, Level: Unknown, Alignment: Unknown

The information provided was almost totally useless except for finding out Kleot was the name of the race of creatures they had been dealing with. Eric glanced back over to Clarke, and Clarke gave him a firm nod indicating it was up to him to negotiate their way out of the predicament. Eric swept his gaze across all five of the elders. They all had faces of wrinkles and scars, but their bodies were far from fragile. Eric released a deep breath and waited for the judgment to commence.

A few more moments passed and then the center elder rose from his elevated seat. He had a thick scar running down his cheek and wore a brown sash across his chest decorated with dozens of finger sized black scorch marks. He looked down at the two intruders and said, “These humans dared to intrude on our territory. They are likely scouts for a new threat to our lands and must be handled accordingly. I propose a vote to decide their fate.”

Eric was startled by the efficiency of the judgment. There was not even any discussion to explain their intrusion. He supposed the lack of a common language was likely the reason there was little to discuss with any interlopers. He almost chocked as he started to speak in their defense. He prayed the language interpretation would work without any additional input from him since he had only been listening up to that point.

“I wish to speak in our defense!” Eric exclaimed.

The entire room grew quiet again, and the leader glared at Eric harshly. The other elders wore puzzled looks at his sudden outburst.

“You speak our language, but that does not prove your innocence. There have been many before you that spun words to try and trick or manipulate this council, but we are no fools. Choose your words carefully intruder,” the leader said harshly.

Eric cringed slightly at the negative response to his language skill. At least the translation appeared to work properly. He tightened his stance and said, “I am not here for tricks or harm to you or your people. I am Eric, and this is my companion, Clarke. We have traveled from Dorenth seeking the Tarth to discover answers about the evil that has plagued the frontier.”

Eric’s words echoed across the hall, and the council members exchanged furrowed looks. The leader looked back at him and responded for the group, “What business do you have with the Tarth? They have never been friends to those of the East.”

“As I said, we seek answers. The frontier has been invaded by a profound evil causing an uprising and inciting attacks into the civilized lands not seen for many ages. The Tarth may be the key to preventing the spread of these attacks,” Eric replied steadily.

The council began exchanging more worried looks with one another after his response. They started mumbling in hushed side conversations. A couple minutes passed before the leader spoke up again, “The Galot Mountains have been our home for many centuries, and the frontier has always provided us with valuable hunting grounds and even allies when needed, but the monsters have become more aggressive and dangerous to our hunters. What do the Tarth have to do with these events?”

Eric was pleased the conversation was moving forward, but he feared once all their cards were out on the table the council would have little use for them. He looked around quickly and knew their fate was truly in the council’s hands. He wasn’t sure what Flynn would think of him sharing information, but he saw few options.

“We believe the Tarth have found a way to resist the magic causing the monster uprisings. There have been reports they have successfully defended their territory from the creature spreading the foul magic through the frontier,” he said.

“This evil creature you describe. What do you know of it?” the leader questioned.

Eric considered his question for a moment and decided it was all or nothing. “The creature is known to me as the Faceless Shadow. It has already caused irreparable damage to towns and cities full of innocent civilians. I urge you to let us continue our quest to find out more about this creature and how to defeat it,” Eric said passionately.

Another round of mumbling and some angered whispers filled the hall. Eric started getting fed up with waiting between every other exchange. The leader snapped at the other elder to his left then turned back to Eric and said, “We know of the Tarth, they live among the mountains deeper into the frontier. They were once friendly to the Kleot, but once the civilized lands pressed their influence into the Galot Mountains, they stopped venturing eastward into our lands. We will take a vote to decide your fate. This has always been our way of deciding such matters.”

Eric nodded solemnly and said, “Very well. I assure you our intentions are pure, and we only wish to preserve the balance.”

Eric words felt empty however, and he could feel his nerves building at the coming decision. He turned back to Clarke and tried to give him a reassuring smile, but based on Clarke’s reaction he saw right through the gesture.

The leader simply nodded and gave each elder a knowing look. “We have heard the words of these intruders, and now we must decide their fate,” he said decisively.

Each of the elders took a stone from the table in front of them and grasped it in their fists. The elder on the far end pulled out a thick leather bag that was worn around the edges. He placed his fist inside and opened his hand to release the stone inside. The bag made its way down the table, and each elder placed their stone within. The bag was passed back to the leader, and he stood to look back down at us.

“Each stone is marked with the vote of each council member. The verdict will decide if you are allowed to leave or meet your death at the hands of your captors,” he said flatly.

Eric felt his nerves hit in full force as the leader began picking the stones out of the bag one at a time. He noticed each stone had a symbol carved into it and the leader separated the stones in two piles based on the symbols depicted. One had four stones, and the other contained the remaining fifth stone. Eric held his breath waiting for the verdict.

The leader looked up with a slight smirk and said, “It looks like you were convincing enough. The Kleot will not impede your journey any further. This comes with one condition. You must return to our lands and share the knowledge you learn from the Tarth.”

Ting!

Secret Quest Complete: Kleot Ambassador

You have established relations with the rare Kleot race.

Standing with Kleot upgraded to Neutral

+250 Fame

+12,000 Experience

Ting!

Level up

Ting!

Quest Alert: Kleot Ambassador II

Return to the lands of the Kleot and provide them with any pertinent information you learn from the Tarth about the Faceless Shadow

Reward: Unknown

Failure: Decrease in standing with Kleot

Eric brushed away the notifications and glanced to Clarke. He had a smile and gave Eric a thumbs up. Eric turned back to the council and bowed deeply. “Thank you,” he said gratefully.

“Time will tell if this decision was a wise one. You may call me Ya’rax. I hope we meet again under better circumstances. Ka’tra, please provide these travelers with supplies and see them to our border to the west,” the leader replied curtly.