Maxwell

It took seventeen more jumps, but I finally reached the end of the Great Forest. Plains and hills went on for there. From the mountain, I was able to make out a few settlements. I could tell that most of them had to be player run since they were often either crazily efficient in their design, or crazy in general.

I decided against meeting any of the Lords in this area. I would have to get more information before I played with fire here. Instead, I continued to teleport until I reached the city that Rowena had spoken about. There was just a bit of a problem. The city was on fire.

Teleporting around the city’s border, I found that some sort of militia had been formed to siege the city. Most of the people were flying colors of different Lords. My guess was that the lords from around here had either been abused and had rose up against the Tyrant, or vice versa, there was a wannabe Tyrant that wanted the city for themselves.

“Now then, what to do about this situation?” I muttered to myself once I had teleported to a safe place to oberseve the battle. Here and there I saw player skills fly into the miltia ranks. The spells were quickly returned. As I studied the fight, I spotted what looked like the command tent of the sieging army. “Guess I can go make some friends.”

Using my Long-Sight spell, I got a good look inside the tent through the opening. I teleported inside. Funnily enough, no one noticed me at first. Things were considerably hectic. I glanced around the room and found the person that looked to me least busy of the group. I walked over and tapped them on the shoulder.

“What is it!?” the man shouted. “I’m incredibly busy!” He turned then paused as he registered my face. “Who the fuck are you?!” He reached down and drew his sword.

“Hey! Hey! I’m just a traveler. I was wondering what was going on here,” I said quickly as I threw my hands up in the air to show I was harmless. Of course, I was ready with a number of skills if it got ugly.

He continued to glare at me as the rest of the tent noticed the confrontation. A player dressed in shiny plate armor with a massive two-handed sword on his back walked over. He wasn’t just well-equipped, but he was tall as well. He towered over me by nearly a meter. “An elf, a dark elf at that. What are you doing here?” I couldn’t place his accent, but it had to be American.

“Maxwell’s the name. I was just traveling to the city that is currently on fire outside. I wanted to find out if I should find somewhere else to… travel to,” I replied.

He snorted. “Sounds exactly like what a spy might say.”

“Please, humor me,” I said twirling my hand much like a jester might. I was already starting to dislike this guy. He had been staring down at me the entire time, and I wasn’t just talking about his height.

“Fine. I’m laying claim to the City of Black Tail. If I’m going to be stuck in this blasted game for the rest of my life, however the fuck long that is, then I’m going to claim everything.”

I ran my hand through my hair. “Sounds like something a tyrant might say,” I remarked, unable to help myself.

“Sure, call it what you will. I will not have Glistening Dawn in charge of me!”

I glanced at the first guy that I had talked to. I teleported next to him and put my arm around his shoulders. “I’m guessing that’s the guy that’s in charge of the city,” I said good-naturedly like you would to a friend.

He jerked away from me. “Glistening Dawn is the real tyrant!” The first man hissed.

“I see. And you are?” I asked the tall man.

“ReilArch. Commander of the Combined Settlements Force.”

“Interesting, interesting,” I said nodding along. “I think I’ve got what I need, I’ll talk you to if you win the city.” I envisioned the clearing that I was observing the battle from early and teleported away.

I opened my friend’s list and called Rowena. “Hey. Just thought you should know that the city you wanted me to locate is on fire and under siege.”

“Really?!” There was a pause. “Can you do anything about it?”

“I have enough enemies as it is, I’m not sure I should be getting in the middle of this,” I replied. If I got any more enemies, I would have to start counting with both hands.

“Please, if the city falls, the city might lose its trainers and masters. Those types of NPCs don’t often stick around to start working for the people that conquered them.”

I sighed as I looked back to the city. Before I chose a side, I had to find out about the leader of the city. I explained as much to Rowena before I closed the call. Focusing on the castle roof, I teleported. It was harder, but my Transcendent Teleportation cut through the defensive spells with ease. I was happy to learn that I could do that at all. I would have to thank the goddess next time I visited the altar.

From the roof, I teleported down to the balcony next to the throne room. From there, I teleported inside the castle. I had burned through three-fourths of my mana, but a quick potion fixed that. “HALT! Intruder!”

I held up my hands. “I am here to speak with your king!” I called out before I was skewered with a spear. Thankfully, the guards that had surrounded me slid to a stop. They looked over to the back of the room, and I followed their gaze. A group of people surrounded a woman. She had on a crown and sat in the center chair. “I mean queen.”

The woman, a player that was using a beastkin race that might have been related to a deer. Antlers must be optional for both genders of the species since she had a ten point rack on her head. I was getting strong shaman or druid vibes from her. “What do you want? Actually, who are you?”

I gave her a gentlemanly bow. “I am Maxwell. Lord of a quaint little town in the middle of the Great Forest, not that distance means much to me. One of my companions had sought to use the masters located in your city, but I found said city burning.”

“I am City-Lord Glistening Dawn. You’re a dark elf?” She asked looking me over.

“Something like that,” I replied. Void elves were hated in some areas. I’d rather not risk mentioning it with the NPCs in the room. Not that the Dark Elf label helped. I hadn’t noticed, but there were a few surface elves in the room. They were giving me such a look of hatred that even I was taken back.

“I wish I could help you, but as you can see, we’re under siege. The prospect of immortality has gone to some people’s heads, while it has turned others into a shell of themselves.”

“And your opponent?” I asked.

She furrowed her eyebrows and let out a long breath. “ReilArch. A real piece of work. There had been rumors that he’d planned to do this even before the whole Takening event.”

“If you defeat him here, what do you plan to do going forward?”

“I would like to do nothing. He controls a settlement on the coast. Even if I wanted to strip him of being a lord, there are rumors that he controls an island settlement.” Glistening Dawn dropped onto her throne. “Honestly, I have no idea what to do. He’s a player. Even if we managed to kill him, he’d just respawn and return with a stronger force.”

“That’s a real dilemma.” And I thought having Aurora next door was a headache. While the idea of player wars was an issue that I knew would crop up in the future, I was tucked away nice and snug in the forest. Few people were out there that could cause me trouble. Aurora might be a hassle, but something told me that she was playing her own game and cared little about my city other than the fact that it had popped up next to her.

Glistening Dawn rubbed her temple as I came out of my thoughts. “You’re telling me. I knew a lot of the NPCs out there fighting. Unlike the players, this is their world! They die once and for all.”

“Does this… Does this game have player jails?” I asked as I thougth about the problem.

“Of course, but most people just log out until their sentence is over…” Glistenign Dawn jumped out of her seat. “OF course! Why did it slip from my mind until now?!”

“These jails, do they suppress skills and spells?”

“There are a lot of rules and regulations. A player stuck in jail has all of their abilities sealed until their sentence is up. As a lord, I am able to sentence people, but I can’t sentence a lord to jail in the middle of a war. Even if I do sentence him, we have to get him into the cell before it takes effect.”

I rubbed my hands together with a mischievous grin. “I hadn’t planned to get involved, but this little experiment is required for the good of the world going forward.” I would rather test it here rather than in my own town. “What would you say to a bit of partnership?”

“If it saves my city, I’m willing to listen to anything. Just don’t ask for my soul.”

I laughed and waved the statement off. “I’m not the devil.”

~~

Glistening Dawn gestured at the cell. It was impressive. The bars glowed brightly, reminding me more of laser beams than steel bars. I could see that there were dozens of enchantments on the walls, ceilings, floors covering just about every centimeter of the cell.

“Here it is,” she remarked with a sigh. “I had this built literally two days before the Takening. Crime is always an issue on the border cities. You have no idea how much gold it costs to train a guard to the point where they can take on players.”

“I must have been lucky so far then. I had a war with the goblin nation of Eblos, well, not so much war, but conflict. Anyway, the NPCs managed to fight decently enough.”

“But were still no match for players,” Glistening Dawn retorted.

I nodded slowly. “True enough.” Crig’s group probably would have steamrolled through my army.

“This was the starter continent before the event. Most players on this landmass are barely in the fifties. A few here and there might be nearing seventy or eighty. I just pray none of the players return from the Tempest. That continent was the higher level stuff.”

“What about endgame?”

“Unlike other games, the endgame is sort of whatever you make it out to be. I know of a few people that pushed their levels constantly. One of the more famous players was FDX. He was nearly one-fifty last I heard.” I was with Glistening Dawn on this. I didn’t want anything to do with those players. Just thinking of the power that might be at their fingertips was nightmare inducing.

“Can I add you to my friend’s list?” I asked holding out my hand. “I had barely been in the game for a few hours before all this started. I barely even had a chance to look at the forums. Never thought I would regret hoping to try out a game with a unhindered take.”

“Wow. Who doesn’t look at the forums before playing a game?!” Glistening Dawn asked with some fake shock. She took my hand though as well as accepted my friend request. “Sure. I have a feeling that having friends will be for the best in the long run.”

The castle shook as something hit the walls. “I guess that’s my que.”

“I hate to drop this on you,” Glistening Dawn said with real concern in her eyes. I was almost taken by surprise. I guess that’s what happened when you spent all your time around individuals like Lapis, Aurora, and the others. They were more of the self-reliance types of women.

“Think nothing of it,” I replied with a grin.

I topped up my mana then downed a mana booster to increase my mana pool by a few hundred points before I teleported out to the clearing from earlier. I took a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear. Checking the command tent, I found that ReilArch was still inside. A few of the people from before had left though, leaving the tent mostly empty.

Taking a deep breath, I tensed myself up before I teleported back into the tent. I opened my mouth and used Void Discourse. The men and women screamed as they lunged at each other. Blood splattered freely as those with close range weapons went to town on the casters. I rushed ReilArch, grabbing him around the waist then teleported back to the prison. Glistening Dawn was quick, pulling the struggling warrior into the cell and slamming the doors shut.

The crazed man screamed as the effects of the Void were still on him. It took close to three minutes for it to clear. “What is the meaning of this!?” ReilArch yelled as he beat his hands against the bars. “Glistening! How dare you?!”

“How dare I?! How dare I?!” Glistening Dawn’s face twisted into pure rage. “You! You killed some many! Forced so many to their deaths! And for what?! To be some sort of king?! To have more lands?!” Mana danced around her as her emotions made themselves known. “NO! Its you that are in the wrong. As lord of Black Tail, I charge you with treason! I charge you with inhumane treatment of citizens of the Southern Nations! As well as looting, pillaging, raping, murder and whatever else I can level against you! You are sentenced to life in prison!”

“My followers won’t sit quietly and do nothing!”

I leaned against the bars. “Oh no?” I asked with a grin. “I think they will hesitate before trying to think up a rescue plan. I did appear from thin air and make you vanish.”

ReilArch glared at me. “You have made an enemy this day.”

“That is so clique.” I tapped the bars with my knuckles. “If it makes you feel any better, I made a friend today as well, so the provincial scales of fate are balanced.”

You have sworn a mortal enemy of ReilArch, Lord of Burning Coast Town.

It was too bad that I couldn’t take a screenshot of the message. Soon, I would have enough to make a nice montage of them. Glistening Dawn and I left ReilArch to rot and made our way out of the prison. “Maxwell. I thank you again for your aid today.”

“It wasn’t a big deal. I hope we can open relations toward trading and other issues in the future.”

“Of course, once I have calmed things down here. I will be sure to visit your town.”

The thought of a trade partner that wasn’t reliant on a magic portal was nice to hear. Though, I remembered which direction Glistening Dawn’s territory was. “The journey would be quite long. Plus, I have a nasty neighbor that likes to jump travelers.”

“I see. Well, I have a war to end, so we’ll have to make some time to take at a later date.” I nodded and Glistening Dawn left. I rubbed my head watching her go. She was one of the nicest women I had met so far in this game. Shaking my head, I quickly teleported back up to the mountains. Time to head home for the day.