The MMRPG Apocalypse

“Is everything going to be okay?” I asked the guards. If there was any sign of unease or nervousness on their faces I was prepared to bail on the mission. There were still many unknowns here and we could be about to get into a lot of trouble by bringing a gnoll Shaman into the city. According to my Sixth Sense there was no obvious danger. The skill wasn’t perfect though and it only worked for my own safety, not necessarily that of my party.

The cart came to a crawl as we reached the eastern gate. You could cut the air with a knife the atmosphere was so thick. We were breaking the law, and looking around I could see that each and every one of us knew it. I gave one last look at the guards before deciding to stay in the carriage.

Their calm and relaxed demeanor gave me a bit of courage. One of them even cracked a joke at the other, “You ran like granny Rhees tried to get in your bed again!” He slapped his leg. “I’ve never seen a face like that in all my years.”

The other opened his mouth but the only thing that came out was a laugh. In fact, he started laughing his ass off along with his companion. “You’d run too if you heard the words that came out her mouth that night!”

The cart came to a slow as did their laughing and then we all had to wait patiently for two guards to come out and inspect the goods. My heart was in my throat even though Sixth Sense wasn’t giving me any warnings. “Special goods for Lazemus!” The front guard said, which caused an immediate change in the approaching guards’ faces.

“Understood, carry on.” The two guards that had come up to us didn’t even bat an eye at the cart. They clearly had no intention of inspecting it and the gate rumbled as it opened before us. We passed through at a steady pace and were just about to disembark on the other side when a voice echoed down the street.

“HALT!” Two guards with an insignia on their breastplate that I’d never seen before stepped out from beside a building. Their faces were anything but friendly.

“What’s the meaning of this?” said our driver. Our escort and watchmen came forward to stand between the newcomers and the cart. Their cheerful mood was gone and instead replaced with a threatening anger. The veins of our escort’s arm bulged as he squeezed his spear.

“We’ve been commanded to inspect this cart for contraband goods!” One of the new arrivals yelled and then made to force his way forward despite the response they had gotten.

“YOU DARE?” The second guard finally couldn’t hold it anymore. He jumped off the carriage and pulled the spear from across his back without hesitation. “On whose orders?” I was anxiously, hoping our guard could restrain himself from attacking and causing a headache for sure.

“Marquis Edward,” said the newcomer flatly. That name meant nothing to me, but the faces of our guards turned even more hostile.

“This is a shipment for Marquis Lazemus,” our driver said. “You dare to seize what belongs to him?”

The two scoffed and the nearest said, “We would search even if Lazemus was here in person.” Whoever Marquis Edward was, it was clear that his relationship to Lazemus was unfriendly. It looked like there would be bloodshed at any moment. Even we on the carriage prepared for a fight. Turning over this gnoll shaman would implicate us.

“Is that so?” A familiar voice sounded as Lazemus himself walked out of the storing facility near the gate. “I could have your head for that comment.” He spoke matter-of-factly.

Edward’s guards turned ashen, but there was nothing they could say in return.

“In fact, the king would probably give me a medal for it, too.” The roles had been reversed in a single moment, and presumably without Edward himself being here, we were in the clear. “So? Are you going to try and seize my things?”

The guard nearest us had a big mouth and he bared gritted teeth and a frown as he forced out the words, “We would never dare! This was a misunderstanding!” They gave a half-ass salute and then rushed away with their tail between their legs.

“Shouldn’t you stop them?” I asked, jumping down onto the road near Lazemus.

“No need. I knew they would be coming,” he shrugged, “this is just a warning.” Lazemus peered into the cart a moment later and recognized the gnoll shaman. When its eyes opened up and showed it was alive, his diffident demeanor changed to one of respect. “You caught it alive?”

“We did, but only the one,” I said.

Lazemus paused in contemplation for only a moment, “Right. I forgot to mention they are very protective of their shamans. If one goes missing, they kick up a fuss.” He detached a bag from his waist band, “The gold you were promised.”

I took it without hesitation and then passed it to Lucas. Jessica jumped out of the cart and approached Lazemus, “How did you know?”

“Those men were coming?” Lazemus asked but didn’t wait for an answer, “Edward has had spies in my regiment for a long time. What he didn’t know until now is that I already knew each and every single one of them.”

“After this, won’t Edward realize you must be on to him, though?” Lucas asked, leaning from the cart. “You might have given up the valuable ability to be able to feed an enemy the information you want them to know.”

“Well, it’s a warning. I know all of the spies in my regiment, but Edward definitely has secrets even I don’t know. All I did was scare him a bit, which may make him second guess the plans he’s set in place. If it makes him pull back a card I didn’t know about, that may sway things in my favor and in the favor of the Red Prince.”

I was starting to feel a headache come on. The rank of Marquis meant that Edward and Lazemus were not low-ranking officials. In fact, they were extremely high. Two of them battling it out while including us in their duel was dangerous for us and it probably meant there was a power struggle happening, one that affected the rule of the city itself.

It wasn’t only me thinking this, “So you’re supporting a prince then?” Thomas asked.

“That’s right. The Red Prince.”

“And Edward is backing another?” Thomas continued.

“And how many are there?” Lucas asked.

“Just two, but that isn’t currently important right now,” Lazemus said. “Edward is quite a vengeful and underhanded man, so I’ll have a few guards keep close watch on you all. You will need to be a bit more careful after today.”

“Compensation,” Maria suddenly said. “COMPENSATION,” spoke even louder. “You can’t put us in the crossfire of your rivalry with Edwards for free.” And this was one of the few times I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with Maria.

Using us to a degree was okay, but putting our lives in danger to potentially throw his rival off a little bit was out of the question. “I agree,” I said, “we expect to be compensated for being obliged to take your side in this feud.” I didn’t leave any room for discussion. “I suggest you speak with your guard and get a report of what happened in the woods, then come speak with us.” I left it at that and then beckoned everyone to follow. We left in the direction of the barracks, keeping a slow and watchful pace.

I wasn’t worried about Lazemus’s response. Once the guard that had been in the forest with us had spoken of our battle prowess, Lazemus would come running back. Power was king when it came to becoming the… king. It was true, regardless of how funny it sounded.

We weren’t to be toyed with or messed with, and this would show that to him now. Lazemus didn’t put up a fuss with our quick departure and left it at that. There was something brewing beneath the surface that left me feeling uneasy.

“This might go way over our heads.” Lucas said after we walked two blocks more, away from our escort. “Monsters… I’m not so scared of,” he paused, “but humans… I don’t want to die from poison or in my sleep.”

“Agreed.” Jessica said. “Lazemus paid us, but now I feel there’s a level of untrustworthiness about him. It’s more than just the gnoll shamans. We are his chess pieces.”

“I understand where everyone is coming from.” I said. “but how else can we attain the gear and skills we want?” I looked at every worried face. “Time is not on our side, and I think this power struggle might be part of this dungeon clear requirement, or at least part of it. Not to say I don’t agree with all of you, but we have to see where this goes.”

Although it was dangerous, at least staying by Lazemus put us in a position of knowledge. We would hopefully have some heads up if something bad was coming our way, instead of being completely blindsided.

“I agree with Mike on this,” Thomas said. He was a man of few words, “We’re already in it whether we want to be or not. Those guards saw our faces, and Edward will make quick work of finding out our identity.”

“I fear Lazemus already thought about this, and this is part of his plan.” Anna chimed in.

“So we’ve already been stripped of our choice?” Maria groaned. “The payment better be a good one.” She harrumphed in anger and then stared daggers straight ahead.

Somehow the jubilant mood when we had received the five gold disappeared just like that, and no one was much in the mood for talking on the way back. Jessica assured us when we made it back to the barracks that no one had followed us.

It was an early night for everyone. Physically we hadn’t been pushed too far, but the stress of the struggle we were coiled up in left everyone feeling lethargic. Our understanding of the power structure of Rigar was too small, and tomorrow I hoped to find out more.