The king, a young man in his twenties, sat in an ornately carved wooden chair behind a large mahogany table, maps and document strewn about its surface. Next to him, poring over the papers, was an elderly man, dressed in a deep green robe. As they entered, the king looked up at them, “Ah, yes, Tam,” he spoke wearily, “you wanted to see me ? If this is not important, can it not wait for another day, we seem to have the beginnings of an invasion happening by the Darklanders.”

Tam approached the table and bowed. “Yes, sire, it is important. Thanks to this citizen, “he indicated Gordo, “I have managed to find out that this plague of undead may not the machinations of the Darklands, but the actions of one of the citizens of these lands.”

The king looked at him sceptically. “What reason do you have to suspect this, Tam ? How do you know this citizen has not been suborned by the agents of the darkside, enlisted to their cause ? ”

“I don’t, sire.” Tam answered, head down. “I just assumed from the tale I was told that this was just a poor choice by a citizen, and didn’t consider it as a part of a plan by the darksiders. ”

“No matter, you have not been privy to the news I have received from the other kingdoms. This plague has been affecting all the kingdoms, causing much strife. If we do not destroy all the affected beings and creatures, it will continue to spread. I have instructed the cities militia to arms. I will be posting announcements tomorrow to all citizens to assist in this endeavor. Any citizen who brings me proof of a kill will be rewarded. I will also award a great reward to whomever brings the person responsible for spreading this foul plague within my kingdom, to me.” The king paused in his rant, looking to the mage next to him. “Alarant, I believe it is time to rebuild the Moon Gate.”

The mages eyes opened wide. “Are you sure, sire ? The gate was dismantled centuries ago, and its stones spread to throughout this continent, we no longer know where they lie.” Moon Gate, thought Gordo as he listened in on the conversation, now that sounds interesting, whatever it is.

“Yes, and the other kings agree with me. It is only a matter of time before there is a real invasion, and we must be prepared for it when it happens. I will be announcing a competition tomorrow, where any citizen can participate. Anyone who finds one of the Moon Gate stones will be rewarded with great wealth, a title and land.” He looked at Gordo, ”We do not need to hear this citizens tale, for I cannot see its contents being of any assistance. Before you leave, Tam, is there any news in regard to the task I originally set you ?”

“Nay, sire, I have yet to discover anything about the location of your lost ancestor, or the thing he possessed. I will depart early tomorrow and continue the search.”

“Curse that Lanbard. He was well named by whoever branded him the unwise. Your task has just become that much more urgent, Tam, for we now desperately need the thing he took with him. We need it before the Moon Gate is rebuilt.”

Gordo’s ears pricked up at hearing the familiar name. Not wanting to interrupt the king, who knew how this NPC would react, he tugged at the sleeve to Tams jerkin to gain his attention. Tam gave him an annoyed glance and pulled his sleeve away. As tams attention returned back to the king, Gordo gave it another tug. “What !” Tam hissed at him, the king blinking in surprise at Gordo’s antics, and interruption.

“Did the king just say Lanbard, as in Lanbard the Unwise ?” he whispered back, furtively sneaking a look at the kings darkening expression.

“Yes. He did. Why Is that of interest to you ?” Tam was puzzled by Gordo’s interest

“I know where Prince Lanbard is, I have been there.” Gordo whispered back.

“What!” exclaimed the king, somehow overhearing the whisper. “You claim to know the location of my lost ancestor ? Not only claim to know, but to also have been there. If you can not prove this claim, then your life will be forfeit, right here.” Gordo hadn’t realized that his whisper had been so loud, and now on the receiving end of the kings temper, wished he had waited to talk to Tam about this.

He bowed low towards the king, copying the ones that Tam had given earlier. “Yes, sire, I have been there. I stumbled on the location by accident.” He thought furiously on how he could prove this to the king. “I do not know how I can prove this to you, other than showing you an item I found with his body. He reached into his inventory and withdrew the unknown pendant out, placing it on the table in front of the king.

The king, who had been standing up to this point, suddenly sat down, his expression turning grave. Picking up the pendant, he studied it intently for a few moments, before looking back at Gordo. “Yes, this item bears his name, as well as the seal of the house of Ravenswood. This was his amulet.” He placed it back down onto the desk. “ This pendant was crafted for him by the greatest crafted this kingdom has ever known, Ethelbright. It is recorded that Prince Lanbard took this with him when he departed on his journey back to the families birthplace, but was ambushed and killed during his return back here, three hundred years ago. Now you have returned this pendant back to us, something we never thought we would ever see again.” The king bowed his head, and placed a hand on top of the pendant.

He stayed that way for a few minutes, everyone else in the room keeping silent so they didn’t interrupt whatever the king was thinking, then suddenly sat upright. “You, sir, shall be rewarded for this deed, for returning to us this this long lost family heirloom.” He clapped his hand.

You have been given 100 gold. You have received experience

You have gained 100 Reputation with the House of Ravenswood

Congratulations, you have gained a level, You are now Level Seven

You have one Attribute Point to allocate

His annoyance at losing the pendant to the whims of the king quickly evaporated with these announcements, considering them a fair exchange. “Thank you, sire, your generosity overwhelms me.” He said, buttering up the king, knowing it would be useful in the long run.

The king nodded regally at him. “Now, I beg you, could you please inform Tam here., of the location of the princes remains, so he can retrieve them to be reburied; in the family crypt.” He looked towards his chamberlain after this. “Please organize for some of the castle guards to assist Tam in this endeavor, making sure they bring back any items that may be with the body.”

“Oh, sire, I already have those items with me here.” Gordo interjected, pulling the remaining unidentified items out.

As Gordo placed them down onto the table, the kings eyes grew even wider. When the broken sword was deposited in front of him he jumped up in excitement. “The sword.” He yelled in triumph. “Finally, it had been located.”

You have completed a hidden quest.

Retrieve the lost family sword and return it to the King of Angelwood.

Reward : Increased reputation with the House of Ravenswood

Reward : Experience

Reward : 1000 gold

Congratulations, you have gained a level, You are now Level Eight

You have two Attribute Point to allocate

Gordo reeled back in surprise at the announcements, he had just made two levels in less than two minutes, and had also gained a massive increase in his financial situation. He watched the king examine the two sections of the sword, placing them together to see what they would have looked like when unbroken.

“Excuse me, sire,” Gordo asked, disturbing the kings concentration. When the king looked up at him, he continued “What about the other items ? Do you know what these are ?” He was hoping to gain a little more from the king for the other items, but the king shook his head dismissively at them, but his worlds stunned Gordo.

“Lanbard must have relinquished our ownership of the land, for this was the first settlement stone of the holding. See, here, you can see its level carved into its surface.” The king was pointing at the weird stone Gordo had found in the crypt. “This is now useless to me, as it is bound to you. This is now yours to keep.” Gordo saw the unidentified tag disappear, only be replaced with the words Settlement Stone One. Before he could see its description, his sight was obscured with an announcement.

Congratulations, you have made an achievement. You are the first player to find a Settlement Stone 1. Your rank position has improved.

Gordo. Level 8. Current standing : 11,653,819 / 31,382,426

Damn, he thought, and I have been carrying it with me for the last couple of days. At least I don’t need to worry about having it stolen, seeing bound to me. Not wanting to seem rude, he picked it up and put it away without taking a peek at its description, promising himself he would do this later.

The king picked up the scroll and examined it. “Now this is something interesting.” He unrolled it on the table top. “This is a map of the old holdings where he must have taken the stone from, but it doesn’t display where it is, or how anyone could reach it.” Gordo looked down at it, now able to see its contents. It showed a finely drawn map of a valley surrounded by mountains, symbols representing the placement of buildings drawn onto it. The map didn’t have any marks to allow anyone to determine the size of the valley, nor any entrance into the valley. The king rolled the scroll up, and handed it to Gordo. “The valley is not for my family anymore, we have found a better home here, in Angelwood. If you can find this place, it would make a good home for the Settlement Stone you now carry. ”

Tam coughed. “… and the sword, my lord, what shall we do about the sword. It is not of any use to you broken.”

The king again looked sadly at it. “Yes, we need to get this remade, but it can not be done here. It was forged with special ores from the mines of the Dark Dwarves in Vol Mahldir, so it must be repaired there as well.” His eyes brightened as an idea occurred to him. “The blades repair needs the deed to be performed by one of the house to whom the blade belongs.” He looked at Gordo. “You, I have a quest for you.”

You have received a quest

You have been asked to take the broken blade of the house of Ravenswood to its place of creation, to mine the ores necessary for its repair and to make it whole once again. Return it whole to the King of Angelwood for your reward. If you take this quest, you will instantly receive the title of Squire of the House of Ravenswood and ownership of a residence within Angelwood

Requirements : You must be a member of the House of Ravenswood, have a Crafting Skill Level of at least 20, Mining Skill Level 10 and Geologist Skill Level 10

Rewards: Knighthood, access to the Royal Library, Money, Experience

Penalties : Expulsion from the house of Ravenswood, Loss of reputation with the house of Ravenswood, Banishment from all lands controlled by the house of Ravenswood, Loss of all titles.

Time Requirement : You have until the start of the Solar Eclipse.

Will you accept this Quest ?

Yes No

Gordo was overcome with utter amazement at this quest offer. Not only would he gaining a noble title, he could also gain his own house here in the city. The requirements of the quest worried him a little, for it looks like he would need to spend a lot of time concentrating on skills that wouldn’t assist his combat capabilities. He wasn’t conversant with the general skills in the game, nor how to gain them. He thought about it, but not for long, the offer was just too good to refuse. He selected Yes.

Congratulations, you have made an achievement. You are the first player to receive a title. Your rank position has improved.

Gordo. Level 8. Current standing : 11,156,845 / 31,382,589

Congratulations, you have made an achievement. You are the first player to own a residence in Angelwood. Your rank position has improved.

Gordo. Level 8. Current standing : 10,725,845 / 31,382,595

Gordo’s grinned at this munificence that had landed in his lap. All he had to do now was work out how to gain the skills and find the dwarvern city of Vol Mahldir.

End of part one.

This is not the end of the book