Maxwell

The noon day sun leaked through the forest canopy as I sat on a branch. It was time for the contract signers to arrive to head to the town. Almost thirty people had signed up, and so far only ten had shown up, all of them were of the goblin race. Unlike the NPC goblins that had very little variety, the player goblins were almost crazy in their physical features.

Every goblin I had seen so far had been green, but the players were grey, red, orange, and even purple. The purple goblin looked sick when compared to the other goblins, but I would keep that to myself. So far, I only knew of one person that wouldn’t be a goblin which was Agatha, however, there was a chance that she might not show since she had only been in Eblos for quests at the time.

Either way, If the players didn’t arrive by the set time, the deal was called off. Though, they still had almost three more hours. The players that had already arrived appeared to be in good spirits and getting along. I wasn’t too worried, at least in the short term. The players had all signed contracts that forbade them from harming my nation. Most were for six months, and hopefully that would allow me to get a good grasp of the players as individuals.

Two hours passed as I fought the urge to take a nap. A few more players had shown up during the time, but we were still missing over fifteen. Yawning, I was about to nod off when I heard the flapping of wings. I knew it wasn’t a bird since the sound was from a large creature. Glancing around to make sure that it wasn’t a monster attack, I spotted the angel from the battle a few days ago.

She landed near the goblins sticking out like a sore thumb. Not only did she tower over them, but she had gone the classic angel route and made her avatar very good looking. A sort of Greek beauty with blond hair and porcelain white skin that nearly caused the light to reflect off her skin. I had missed the wings during the fight the other day, it had all happened so fast.

Next, in an almost complete contrast to Agatha, a man emerged from the shadows under the trees near her. He was tall as well, with sleek black hair and black eyes. Two horns grew from his head with strange runes carved on them. A demon. I knew a few players played the race, but it was my first time seeing one. Though, to be fair, I hadn’t exactly played long enough to see many races.

Watching from my perch, it at least appeared that the pair were on good terms. Norrix also seemed to get along with the other players. Just because he was playing a demon didn’t make him evil. Though, I had to admit that I wanted to keep him away from Aurora. She seemed to have an evil vibe going.

After another hour passed, only four more people arrived. That put my total just under twenty. With one angel, one demon, fifteen goblins and two trolls, the total came to nineteen. It also looked like there was a mix of classes. I would have to sit with them all to learn what our group was gaining.

That was still a considerable force to be added to my little community. Taking a deep breath, I teleported to the edge of the clearing. Might as well make a good entrance. Those that were sitting down, jumped to their feet at my appearance. I waited to make sure no weapons were pulled on me before I approached them.

“Welcome to Alflona! I want to thank everyone here for accepting my offer and pulling out of the Punitive forces from the goblin nation.”

The purple goblin strode over to the front of the group. “No problem, mate! Most of us were ready to leave the goblin nation. Your offer came at the best possible time.” The man inside the goblin must have been from the United Kingdom. He had a strong British accent.

I glanced at his name. “Poixon, is it?” I asked, making sure I was pronouncing it right. He nodded with a grin. “I know none of us expected to be in this sort of situation. I was just a college student a few months ago. This world… Is our new home whether we like it or not. Let’s try to make it a good place since we’re going to be here for a long time.”

“I’m down!” Poixon replied with a fist to his chest. The rest of the players cheered.

“I’ve got the plots of land I promised ready for you all. We should be able to build you something to live in easily enough, but we’re still in development. Any help you can offer to resource gathering, crafting, or any services that you have would be appreciated. We’re slowly getting the economy off the ground, but I warn you that we’re pretty remote.”

“I’ll just be glad not to have to see a mounted head on a stick,” a goblin that I realized was a woman remarked. It was hard to tell.

“I don’t know,” the goblin next to her remarked. “I think not seeing feces on the streets might be nicer.”

“Why did you want to play as goblins in the first place, dear?” she asked with a sigh, though I had a feeling it was something that she said often to the man. He just rubbed his head with a small smile.

“We can talk all we want later,” Norrix said with a hushed voice. “I don’t care to stand around in the middle of the forest as we get to know each other.”

“Norrix!” Agatha hissed as she smacked him over the head. “Is that really necessary?”

“I’ve been camping out here for a week!” He shot back. “I want a bath!”

I laughed at the exchange. I felt like these people would add some color to my town. “Alright. Alright. We’ll get to know each other better at dinner tonight. We’re holding a feast to celebrate our victory and your arrival.” I rubbed my hands together. “Who’s ready to see their new home?”

With a quick teleport, that skill really was too handy, I delivered the new arrivals to my town. With a quick tour, I handed out the plots of land that I had set aside. There were a few debates about who wanted which ones, but most didn’t complain about getting a free plot of land. However, I decided I couldn’t offer a deal like this too often. You never realize how much land it was until you gave it away.

I let Sasha know that everyone had arrived before I went back to my own duties. I was about to enter the command center when Agatha appeared overhead. She waved then landed next to me. “Maxwell. Or should I address you as Lord Maxwell?”

“Just Maxwell is fine,” I replied waving her inside.

We settled down at my desk. “I wanted to thank you again for freeing me from the NPC that was controlling me. You have no idea what kind of nightmare it was to have most of your actions restricted. It was like I was stuck in a dream that I couldn’t wake up from.”

“Yikes. I don’t even want to imagine.” I would need to take precautions against mind-control spells and skills. “I honestly thought you were going back to your original lands. Something tells me you weren’t playing as an angel from the Eblos.”

Agatha laughed shaking her head. “I thought about it but decided against it. There are no doubt a lot of players in the Holy Empire.” She crossed her arms and stared off into the distance. “We both know that humans are cruel. It is only a matter of time before someone finds an exploit that makes life miserable for the rest of us. Finding a place separate from the masses affords some manner of protection.”

“Yes. That’s one of the many topics that we’ve had since this started. Players are more or less immortal. While age might come into play in a few years, that’s not an immediate concern.” While I was more concerned about just making a place to live comfortably while dealing with the trouble that seemed to find its way into my lap, I did lay awake at night thinking about the future.

“So tell me, Lord Maxwell,” Agatha said with a smirk, “What would you like me to do around here?”

“I don’t really have—” The door exploding off its hinges cut me off. Lapis strode in like she owned the place, one of the goblin player’s neck was grasped in her hand.

“Maxwell!” Lapis hissed, actually hissed at me. I felt like she was barely holding back from turning into a dragon.

“Lapis! What… What’s the matter?” I asked concerned. I just prayed that I wasn’t about to lose Alflona the very day I let the new players into my town.

“This man insulted me!” She easily lifted the goblin up into the air. “He called me a child!”

I rubbed my head. It really wasn’t goblin’s fault. Lapis looked like a child in her current state. “Let him go. I haven’t had a chance to warn them about you.”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but she dropped him all the same. Coughing painfully, the man backed away from Lapis like she was plague. “I was just worried! She was wondering the woods all on her own!” He said brokenly as his voice came back.

“Agatha, and,” I checked his name. “And Boned. Meet Lapis. She is our resident overpowered… individual. Don’t test her. She can level the entire area with ease.” I couldn’t exactly tell them she was a dragon. While they might run for their lives, they are just as likely to try and hunt her. While I didn’t care for her attitude most of the time, she was a nice trump card to have around in case of emergency.

“And don’t forget it!” Lapis growled as she stormed out of the office.