The Greystone Chronicles: Book One: Io Online Page 19

  “Good,” Richard nodded. “You know Michael and I both dislike PK’s, and especially NPC killers. I just wanted to make sure you were actually thinking things through, not just acting out of anger. I want to show you something. Alfred, could you play the game clip that Odin sent you?”

  “Of course, Sir.” Alfred’s holo projector whirred to life, and a 3D image of a dungeon cell appeared in the middle of the room. There was a GM avatar standing in the corridor outside the cell, talking to the PWP warrior they’d shot in the balls so often. The warrior was complaining.

  “They restrained me and tortured me! I want them banned!”

  “I have reviewed the recordings going all the way back to when you stopped them on the bridge. Before they kicked your asses. They did hold you with a vine trap as you tried to run from combat, but no harm was done to you while you were held down. You were in fact shot in the nuts when you got back up. And you were still holding your weapon. Then shortly after that, a player decapitated you with one quick swing. A more merciful death than a PK deserves, if you ask me.”

  “And what about later when they shot me in the nuts again?” the warrior was getting angry.

  “At no point during that hour were you, or any of your guild mates, restrained in any way. Were you spawn camped? Certainly. But you all had the PK mark on you, not to mention a capture/kill quest target on you for killing NPC’s. So any player had the right to kill you any time they encountered you, with no penalty. Where their arrows hit you is of no concern to us, though that must have really hurt. As I recall, it was you who told them where your bind point was, enabling them to find it and cut you down as you spawned.”

  “Because they tortured me, you asshole!” the warrior was screaming now.

  “I will further note for the record that you and your guildmates meekly followed them for more than 2 miles as you marched to town, with no physical restraint whatsoever. Even though, again, as targets of a capture/kill quest for the murder of NPC’s, they had every right to bind you.”

  The warrior snapped. “God dammit! They tortured me and you’re taking their side? When I get out of here I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll find out where you live and kill you in real life! You AND your dog!” he slobbered as he screamed.

  “Duly noted.” The GM smiled. “Delbert Simms. For threatening a Jupiter Tech representative, and his dog, your account is hereby banned. You will be logged off in ten seconds. Per the terms of your player agreement, no other account will be issued to you.” The GM waved both hands at the shocked player as the seconds ticked down to zero. “Seeee ya!” The holo projection faded away.

  Both ladies were snort-laughing. “Delbert!” Lainey managed.

  “That GM deserves a raise!” Sasha gasped.

  Richard smiled, “I agree.” He looked at Alexander. “We’re all behind you. No Mercy.”

  The next morning Alexander’s avatar awoke in the bed in the guest suite he’d chosen. A glance out the window told him it was early morning. Forty eight hours. He had big plans for the next two days.

  The team was waiting for him in the lounge area downstairs. “Ok folks, let’s talk about what we should do today. First, we’ve all hit level 10. So we should go to our respective trainers and choose a specialty, or at least learn whatever spells are available to us. Each of you draw 50 gold from the guild bank. That should cover any training costs at this level.” Alexander told them. “And speaking of levels, we need to level up as quickly as we can. The PWP assholes could be here as early as today. I’m sure they’re sending higher level players to deal with us. We’re fine as long as we stay in the city, but as soon as we leave they’ll be hunting us. We could do a bunch of fetch and deliver quests, but for all 5 of us that could take forever, and they won’t be much xp. I think our best bet is to run the dungeon in the sewers. It’s a little bit high level for us, but with all of us, and our gear, I think we can handle it. If nothing else, we can just run the first floor or two until we’re strong enough to go farther. Any objections? Questions?” Everyone just shook their heads. “Okay, I know Sasha and Lainey planned to see Lydia this morning, and we’ve all got errands to run. How about we meet back here at noon?”

  With that, the others were off. Alexander headed to the mages guild to find a trainer. Being a new mage, he’d only a rough idea of what types of magic there were, and was excited to find out what he could do. Especially if he could find a way to modify spells. He wanted to learn some ranged offensive spells. Like fireballs! Every boy wants to shoot stuff with fire! And some defensive spells as well. Once PWP caught up with them, he was likely to need those. As he walked, he smiled to himself.

  He had intended to put together a video of the PKs and their pathetic loss, but his father had beat him to it. He’d had their marketing guys put together a professional grade video of first the confrontation at the bridge, and the PKs being stupid enough to come back for their gear. It was followed by the spawn camp, the embarrassing march through town, the events at the square, and the clip of Delbert getting himself banned. Then they’d “leaked” it to one of the forum sites, and within an hour it was all over the holo networks. While Alexander and company were getting their checkups, a novelty company in China was already printing and marketing bright yellow t-shirts that said “SEEE YA PWP!” above two waving hands. Richard had ordered one for every employee of Jupiter Technologies and its subsidiaries in case the message of the holo clip wasn’t clear enough.

  Approaching the mage’s guild, Alexander stared up at the humongous tower rising up behind the main building. It was similar sized to the four corner towers at Olympus. Six storeys above ground, and who knew how many below, the tower was wide enough to hold three large classrooms per floor. Or several labs or mage’s quarters. The upper floors were in fact residences of the master mages who called the guild home. It was said there were no stairs in the tower, only portals keyed to individuals with proper authorization, much like the medallions gifted to his guild by the king. While he was here, he intended to ask after that mage to make another request, but first, training.

  Alexander stepped through the front door of the guild house and approached the reception desk. There was a very old wizard sitting behind the desk, snoring quite loudly. Alexander looked around, hoping to catch someone else walking about so that he didn’t have to wake the wizard. Besides being rude, it seemed a generally bad idea to poke a sleeping wizard, so to speak. Finding no one around, he turned to a bench near the door, intending to wait. Just then a jet black squirrel flung itself from the rafter above the wizard, landing on his hat and waking him with a start. “Dammit Rufus! How many times have I told you not to…” he paused as the squirrel stood on the brim of his hat, then looked down at him (head upside down) and started chittering. “Oh,” the wizard turned his gaze to Alexander. “Yes, well, I wasn’t asleep! I was just testing you, young mage. You’ve demonstrated respect for your elders, and no small bit of wisdom in not waking me.” He held out his hand as Alexander approached. “My name’s Fitzbindulum. Master Wizard and former Guild Master. Retired now. Too much paperwork. And you are?”

  “Alexander. Guild Leader of the Greystone Guild,” he introduced himself, shaking the wizard’s hand. “I’m honored to meet you Master Fitzbindulum.”

  “Fitz. Just call me Fitz. Everybody does. Saves time. So what can I do for you today, Alexander?”

  “I am a low level mage, having just reached level 10. I’m afraid I don’t know much about magic, and I’ve come hoping to learn what possibilities are open to me. Also, though I don’t know his name, I’m seeking a mage who was the king’s mentor. He visited our guild house last evening and cast some enchantments. I wanted to thank him, and ask him if it were possible to modify one of them a bit.”

  “Well!” Fitz hopped up, causing Rufus to hold onto the hat for dear life, chattering angrily. “Second things first then. You’re quite welcome. It was I who created that medallion you’re wearing. Did I miss an entry or something? What modificat
ion do you need? As for the first thing, the only limits to the magic you can learn are your own imagination, intellect, and work ethic. Come! Let us walk while we talk. You can show me what you’d like to change in your protective spells, and we’ll discuss your training.”

  Surprised, Alexander began to follow the wizard back toward home. As they walked down the street, the wizard began, “First, the formalities. Do you wish to join the mages guild? Of course you do! That’ll be five gold per year, payable in advance!” he held out his hand. Alexander handed a gold coin with a 5 on it, which the wizard immediately tossed straight up into the air. Rufus caught the coin in one nimble-clawed paw, and tucked it snugly into a pouch on his stomach. “Good! You’re now an official member! Now, tell me, why was the king so concerned about protecting your guild house? Which was, I believe, an embassy? Are you royalty of some kind?” Alexander told him about their encounter with the PWP, and the expected trouble with the guild’s leader.

  “Bah! Holston made the best pastries in the city. Those bastards! Tell me how I can help you kill them in painful and embarrassing ways!” the wizard shouted, scaring several passers-by.

  As they were just reaching the guild house, Alexander pointed and answered, “It might be simpler if I show you?”

  They approached the main gate of the compound, and Alexander asked, “I’m sorry, how do I give you permission to enter?”

  The wizard strolled through the gate, “Hah! As if I need permission to enter my own wards!”

  Smiling, Alexander joined him in the bailey tunnel. He stopped to point back at the gate. First he asked, “What happens to someone who enters without permission?”

  The wizard laughed. “Well, I designed it so there are two choices. You can set it so they simply drop dead where they stand. Or you can set it so that they are teleported to a dungeon cell where they will be arrested and charged with trespassing.”

  Alexander smiled. This is perfect! “Great! So here’s the thought I had as I passed through this morning. Let’s say a gang of them are attacking. After the few first die or disappear, they’ll learn to stay back. If they are stuck out in the street, we’d have to find a way to keep them interested until the guards arrived. Even then, we risk the lives of the guards, which I absolutely do not want to do!”

  “Good lad. I like how you think. No wonder the king calls you friend,” Ftiz commented.

  “Thank you, sir. So, I was wondering, is there a way we can switch off the ward at the outer gate, letting them into the tunnel, then switch it on behind them, at the same time, making the ward at the inner gate a simple force field that will hold back the leaders until they’re all in the tunnel. Then convert to the same as the other wards, either killing them or teleporting them? Then we have them bottled up in the tunnel, and we can either kill them, make them disarm and surrender-”

  The wizard broke in, “Or find creative ways to taunt and torture them! YES!” Fitz cackled with glee. “I can add moving walls that crush them, or flames that shoot up from the ground! Or… or… oh this is going to be more fun than I’ve had in years!” Rufus chittered in agreement.

  I’m really starting to like this wizard!

  “I need some paper, boy! I want to draw this out.”

  “I’m sure we have a quill and ink in the house somewhere, please come inside.” They entered the house and Alexander led Fitz into the study. The wizard plopped down in an overstuffed chair and began mumbling to himself while Alexander searched for paper. In the top drawer of a desk he found a blank notebook and what looked like a modern fountain pen. Looking up, he saw that the wizard was somehow over at the bar, helping himself to a light colored spirit of some kind.

  “Here you go, sir.” He set the book and pen on the table next to the wizard’s chosen chair.

  “Stop calling me sir. Its Fitz! Fitz I say!” the wizard gulped down the last of his drink and brought the bottle back with him to sit down. He immediately began drawing in the notebook.

  Not wanting to interrupt, Alexander simply sat across from the wizard and watched Rufus explore the room. The little rodent was sniffing and poking at everything, sometimes chittering thoughtfully. He wondered just how smart Rufus was. Pulling some nuts from the travel rations Lydia had given them, he said, “Are you hungry, Rufus?” and held them out on the flat of his hand. The squirrel dashed across the room, hopped up onto the chair, then walked out along Alexander’s arm, where he sat and began grabbing the nuts one at a time and nibbling.

  “That rat’s not the only one,” Fitz mumbled, eyeing the nuts jealously.

  “Oh, I’m sorry Fitz, I’m terrible host. I’m afraid all I have on me is travel rations. Some boar jerky and cheese. But Sasha will be back in about an hour, and she’d be happy to cook you some real food. She’s been taking lessons from Lady Redmond, who has sort of adopted us.”

  “Lydia! Yes, yes. Her shop is indeed close. Best cook in the city, that woman is. Does some kind of magic with herbs and spices. But an hour’s just too long! One moment.” Fitz set down the notebook and pulled out a small mirror. He made a simple hand gesture and waited a moment, then shouted, “Lydia!”

  A surprised yelp could be heard coming from the mirror, then Lydia’s voice, “You old coot! You nearly made me drop a whole tray of potions! Why are you even awake? It’s not yet noon!”

  The wizard smiled into the mirror, “Your young Alexander roused me from my peaceful slumber and put me to work on his castle! But I’m nearly dying of starvation. Would you be so kind as to make me some breakfast? Some eggs, and bacon and sausage, and toast, and some of that wondrous jam? Oh! And-”

  “Enough! I know what you like. I’ll bring enough for both of you, and Rufus too. Is there anyone else there?”

  Alexander shook his head at the wizard’s inquisitive glance. “No, but he tells me there will be around noon. Somebody named Sasha? And possibly others. So maybe it’s better if you just come here and cook? But bring food! There’s nothing here!”

  “You get more and more demanding in your old age, wizard. I’ll be there shortly.” Fitz smiled again and put the mirror away.

  “Fitz, my apologies. I truly did not mean to wake you this morning. I was just going to wait, and then Rufus jumped on your head, and-”

  “Yes, yes. I know. Stupid squirrel tries to scare me to death. I know you wouldn’t have wakened me. But Lydia doesn’t!” Fitz waggled his eyebrows at Alexander, who couldn’t help but laugh. “That lass was one of my favorites when she was a wee thing. Used to sit on my lap in the garden and pull on my beard till I agreed to show her some magic. Her brother at least had a bit more sense!”

  “Her brother?” Alexander asked.

  “The king!” Fitz looked surprised. “You did not know Lydia is the king’s younger sibling?”

  “I did not. Here we have been calling her Lydia and hugging her left and right! I must apologize to her”.

  “You’ll do no such thing! It would hurt her feelings. If she has brought you into her little circle, which she clearly has, then you are family! Just keep acting as you have been.” Fitz opened the notebook and began mumbling to himself again, effectively ending the conversation.

  Alexander left to go see if he could help Lydia carry anything, and met her at the outer gate. She had baskets full of food on each arm, and the captain was behind her carrying even more. Alexander took up her burden, apologizing for the wizard’s demands. Lydia only laughed as he led them into the house. Passing Fitz as they headed for the kitchen, Lydia grabbed a hunk of cheese and tossed it at him. He caught it in one hand without even looking. “Here, you ancient pain in the arse. That should hold you until I have lunch ready!” Fitz just chuckled and kept drawing.

  Once in the kitchen, the captain unloaded his burden onto one of the countertops. Alexander placed the baskets there as well. “Is there anything I can do to help with lunch, Lydia?” he asked.

  “Don’t be silly. Get out of this kitchen and go keep that old wizard from blowing something up!” sh
e pushed them both back through the door.

  Both men went back to the study and took seats. After watching the wizard for a few moments, the captain asked, “What’s he up to?”

  Alexander explained what he’d asked Fitz to do, the captain nodding along as he spoke. As he finished, he added, “And Fitz seems to have become inspired. He is designing several ways, to… how did he put it?”

  “Find creative ways to taunt and torture them!” Fitz gleefully supplied.

  “I’ll alert the fire brigade and mason’s guild. You’re likely to need both before he’s through,” the captain teased.

  “Bah! I’m a damned earth mage, among other things. I’ll fix any damaged walls. And I’ve never caused a fire I couldn’t extinguish on my own!”

  Just then, Brick joined them in the study, carrying a suspiciously shaped bag. “Thought I heard voices in here!”

  “Brick, meet Fitz. Or rather, Master Wizard Fitzbindulum. Former head of the Mages’ Guild. Fitz, this is Brick. Our King’s trade emissary to the Broken Mountain, our guild’s tank, and bane of fuzzy bunnies everywhere!”

  Brick shook the wizard’s hand as he shot Alexander a dirty look. “Any chance there’s food in that bag, master dwarf?” Fitz asked. “Lydia’s being a bit slow with our lunch!”

  Brick, clearly confused but just going with it, reached into the bag as he said, “Well, that would depend on how hungry ye be!” He pulled out the freshly mounted head of Sr’Vok.