Chapter 27: The Noble Blade

The scene inside the Inn was tense, but Thomas was too busy reflecting on the image of Belek laying flat on his back in a pool of blood to pay much attention. As Arlo and the Innkeeper, Merl, muttered amongst themselves at the bar, sometimes casting withering looks in the direction of the guild, Chase and the others were tending to Amelie who looked as though she had just run 100 miles without taking a breath. Thomas absentmindedly watched as Chase wet a cloth and placed it against Amelie’s forehead, but his thoughts soon returned to Belek and his garbled final words:

“He is waiting in the wings of the infinite membrane of AION. His visage shadowed and sharp. He is coming to end the NPCs plight with fire and with freedom. Lord! Help this poor NPC…cough, cough…I can see him. He is waiting in the…wings…of…cough…he’s…just a…baby.”

Thomas couldn’t imagine what he had meant, and in all the excitement after Amelie cast a spell no one had bothered to ask about it either. The Guild seemed more concerned with their Mage. Except for Claire, Thomas realized, who was sitting at another table with her arms crossed and staring at the wall.

“Amelie, you could have killed yourself,” Chase was saying. He had ordered her some water and was making sure she slowly drank the entire cup. A plate of bread was sitting before her which he insisted was important to getting her energy back up. “Mages have to learn how to tap into the pool of mana you were granted when you signed your contract. Just performing any spell you see can cause you to overextend yourself and could even drain your life away.”

Eyes sunken, Amelie gave him a wan smile and a nod that she was listening. Everything about her seemed drained, even her usually curly auburn hair drooped and was slick with sweat.

“Never mind that,” said Brent. He was sitting across from Chase and beside Marlon who had somehow found a full mug of beer. “What she did was incredible! Shouldn’t you be praising her?”

“Trust me,” said Chase sternly. “No one better than me knows just how incredible that was. Amelie shouldn’t be able to perform any magic until at least a month of practice and failure. I’ve never heard of someone casting a spell only a few hours after leaving the island.”

“I was reading on the ship,” said Amelie wearily. “Found a useful spell and read all about it.”

Chase flexed the hand that was broken and it seemed to take him a moment to know what to say.

“Ok, but be more careful next time. You’re gonna feel like this for some time, I’m afraid.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “At least your hand is better.”

“Good point,” said Marlon, raising his mug. “Let’s look on the bright side, Chase. Your hand is healed, we have 100 coins in our purse we didn’t have before, and someone who is going to work out to be a tip top magician. We should be celebrating.”

Someone noisily cleared their throat at the bar.

“About that money,” said Arlo carefully. “Since you killed our Brute, which isn’t exactly what we agreed upon, we were thinking a discount may be in order.”

“Discount?” Said Alex, cutting off Chase. “What discount? We did as you asked and confronted Belek who attacked us and we had to respond in kind. It is his own fault he ended up dead.”

“No, no, no,” said Arlo, holding his hands up. “The request was that you “fulfilled the quest” he was designed to be apart of, not kill him.”

“Have other players killed him before?” Said Alex, narrowing his beady eyes.

“Well, of course, but generally—.”

“Then that is a known risk with this quest, correct?”

“Well,” Arlo pointed at Thomas. “The lad here threw a rock at Belek, that set him off, didn’t it? It was provoked.”

“So were the other kids,” said Alex bluntly. The more he argued the more assured he seemed to become. The entire guild including Chase watched impressively as he easily defended their position. “And didn’t you just say outside that a reset may even do him well? That when he respawns his mind might be fixed? If anything we should be charging more for the pain and suffering we all went through.”

“But…but-.”

“A deal’s a deal,” said Alex, settling back into his chair and looking pleased with himself. “Pay up.”

Thomas saw Marlon soundlessly clapping at the corner as though to say “well done.”

Arlo looked stunned and looked at Merl the Innkeeper. The innkeeper looked back and sighed.

“Fine, 100 gold was it?” Said the Innkeeper.

“Wait,” came a weak voice. All eyes turned to Amelie. She still looked exhausted but a bit of light had returned to her eyes.

“What is it?” Said Chase. He frowned and seemed to know what was coming. Thomas thought he also knew.

“They were only collecting the money to build Belek’s house back.”

“And?”

“We should let them have it,” she said. “That poor man lost a house and now he was killed. I think he deserves to respawn with a place to live in, don’t you?”

Silence reigned over the inn as everyone looked towards Chase. Their leader’s expression was a mixture of consternation and doubt. Thomas knew that they needed the money but there was something about a plea from a girl who had just suffered for something incredible which was giving them all pause. The Innkeeper was the first to break the silence.

“No,” he shook his head and came around the bar. He dropped a sack about the size of a couple fists onto the table. It clinked with the sound of metal. “A deal’s a deal. Here’s the gold.”

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Chase eyed Amelie who was beginning to nod off to sleep.

“It’s alright,” he finally said. “Our Mage is right—you need it more than we do.”

“Too bad,” said the Innkeeper as he returned to his bar. He picked a glass from the wall behind him and filled it at a cask which had a valve. “The money is yours.”

Arlo was looking dejected but accepted the drink from the Innkeeper and kept his peace. At that moment the door to the inn opened and a group of people entered. The innkeeper rushed to seat them and take their orders and soon the guild was left with a bag of money and a snoozing Amelie.

“What now?” Said Claire, finally breaking her gaze from the opposite wall now that Amelie was asleep.

Chase sighed, looking at Amelie.

“This one isn’t going anywhere for a while,” he said. “We need to find a shop and upgrade some weapons and buy supplies.”

“The money is enough?” Queried Brent.

“More than enough,” said Chase. “Claire and Marlon, can you watch over Amelie. I’ll take the boys and go to the shop. Thomas?”

Thomas looked at Chase unblinkingly.

“You stay here too. I think that fight just fried your brain and I don’t want you panicking if we encounter anything out there, okay?”

His words slid through Thomas’ brain like syrup and when he finally understood them he felt a slight indignation brewing.

“What? Panic? I won’t panic!”

“Look at your self,” said Chase casually. “All the blood has done a number on you. Just stay here with the others.”

“You do look rather pale,” laughed Brent.

Thomas knew that all of them had been shocked over the violence and Brent had no place to belittle him over his reaction. He had seen both Alex and Brent shakily clean their blades of Belek’s blood and become somber after the fight.

“Am not!” Said Thomas. “And if I look pale then you are a sheet of paper, Brent. I wanna come, Chase,” he added before Brent could respond.

Chase looked at him critically but then nodded his head.

“Fine. But it was your decision.”

The streets were empty but for a few NPCs who moved out of their way who clung to the shadows of the buildings, their eyes following them as they passed. Thomas was looking forward to leaving this dank little town and stretching his legs outside after they had acquired their necessary items.

“Is the shop close?” Asked Alexander after stepping in a mud puddle by accident. His shoe was caked in mud but he kept the annoyance out of his voice.

“Just a couple more blocks away,” said Chase. He pulled his island training clothes tighter around him. “We also need some new clothes before we leave. Seems that summer is still yet to come.”

“Chase?” Said Brent. “Did Claire seem upset to you back there?”

“Huh? Oh, maybe a little bit,” said Chase. “I probably should have said the fight was a job well done before we left. I guess Amelie got all the attention after she cast that spell. Good job with Belek, you two,” he added.

“I appreciate you saying that,” said Alex earnestly. He stood up straighter and forgot about his muddy shoe.

Thomas rolled his eyes behind the big boys back.

“She’s been acting more and more funny lately,” said Brent. He kept adjusting the sword sheath in his belt and seemed to be having trouble finding the proper position while he walked. “When we were just training she never got so moody all the time.”

Thomas couldn’t see Chase’s face as he responded but he sounded as though he were trying to suppress a smile.

“Well, Brent, it’s a small guild. And a bee hive has only one queen bee, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t,” said Brent with a shrug.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Chase with a laugh. He clasped Brent on the shoulder. “Here we are! The Noble Blade.”

They stopped outside a shop with dirty windows which had a sign bearing a pair of crossed swords. The part of town they were in seemed slightly more prosperous than where the inn was and people were milling around the streets. Thomas saw a man pushing a cart full of helmets and a woman who was sweeping the front stoop of her house. Overall, the street was tidy and seemed organize, which was a stark contrast to The Noble Blade.

“This place looks ancient,” muttered Alex, observing the cracks in the door and the rusted handle.

“The Noble Blade is famous place among players in Avalon,” said Chase warmly. He sounded as though he were talking about an old friend. “This is the place where everyone comes to purchase their first real weapon. It’s been servicing new players for, well, 984 years I suppose. Since the spawning of Esem herself.”

“Fascinating,” said Thomas feigning interest. “Can we go in already?”

“After you,” said Chase. He opened the door and the three of them piled inside.

The shop was much larger on the inside and also looked the part of a thousand year old weapons shop. Barrels of swords, spears, axes and hammers lined the shop and even more covered the walls. Thomas saw beautiful bows hung up on display and also crates of arrows. Despite the appearance on the outside the shop was very tidy and well organized.

“Welcome, adventures,” said a voice from the back. It came from an old woman who was sitting behind a counter. She was dressed in a smock embroidered with an identical pair of crossed swords as the one on the sign outside. Her white hair was in a bun and not a hair was out of place. She seemed to have been knitting before they came in as spools of thread and what looked like a small green shirt lay on the counter before her.

“We are looking for some weapons,” said Chase.

“Well you’ve come to the right place,” said the old women dryly. “What you got in mind?”

“We’ve got three standard training swords from the island,” began Chase. He removed his bag and, once it grew large enough for his hand, withdrew Claire’s blade and placed it on the table. “We need to trade them up for their steel counterparts.”

The old women barely glanced at the sword.

“Probably have five thousand of these. Got some gold, lad?”

“About 100 coins on me, yes.”

“I see,” said the old woman. She sighed. “Well, I can’t trade all three for 100 coins I am afraid. Best I can do is only one, and that’s a steep discount anyways.”

“Only one?” Said Chase incredulously. “These blades are fresh off the island. I know they aren’t high quality but I know the rates sword smiths pay to melt them down and reuse the metal.”

“Do you now?” Said the old women. She picked up her knitting and began sewing again. “Then why don’t you go to one of them instead of me?”

“How much is a steel sword?” Said Alex. Talk of money always got him curious.

“I charge 150 for a high quality steel blade,” she said. “You’re three training swords will get me only 45 at the smithy, so I am already losing 5 coins.”

“And what about for a lower quality?” Said Alex.

“I’ve got some old ones in a barrel over there,” she pointed to the corner of the shop near the door. “Their last owners must have been training on steel dummies because they hardly fit a scabbard any more. I usually charge 60 a apiece for ‘em.”

They probably aren’t planning on getting me a better knife, thought Thomas. He saw that Brent was browsing a selection of long swords that were behind a locked glass door and decided to wander over to him.

“What’s that?” Said Thomas, pointing at sword that Brent had been studying. Upon closer inspection it wasn’t a long sword but something much more thin and with large round haft that looked to protect the wielder’s hand.

“That’s a rapier,” Brent said. His dark eyes had a magnetic glint and he couldn’t tear his gaze from the blades which were obviously very expensive. “They don’t make them in Avalon I read. This one must have come all the way from Great Nexia.”

“Great Nexia? Never heard of it.”

Brent looked at him incredulously.

“Even you must have attended some of the classes back on the island. They taught us all about the seven areas of Esem.”

“Classes?” Grinned Thomas. “What are those?”

Brent didn’t seem impressed with his disregard for studies which surprised Thomas as he did not believe the young man really cared for books all that much to begin with.

Then again, he is always talking about stuff from books, he thought.

“I know I may not seem like the type but since spawning I have read quite a bit,” said Brent as though reading his mind. “It’s the best way to learn about this crazy world we are in, besides traveling everywhere, I guess.”

“Right, right,” said Thomas. He wanted to avoid a lecture if he could. “Yeah I think Great Mexia rings a bell.”

“Great Nexia,” said Brent with exasperation. “It’s one of the seven worlds. Avalon being another. You really should know these things. I mean, you’re a kid, but still.”

Thomas pfff’d and suddenly remembered how Brent had mocked him back at the inn. Instead of retorting he decided to examine a barrel of battle axes he spied near the entrance.

I got plenty of time to learn all these things, he thought as he touched the handle of a large iron axe with rust on his curved blade. One day he would have traveled all seven worlds of Esem and be a great fighter just like any of the Old Guard. When that day came Brent wouldn’t be able to laugh at him, he promised himself that.

The door was slightly opened beside him and he thought he heard a noise. Thomas moved closer to the door and peaked through the opening. Only an empty street stared back at him. He turned around and saw Chase and Alex still haggling with the old women who owned the shop. They wouldn’t miss him if he just took a look outside.

Slowly, Thomas edged the door open and slipped outside into the afternoon air. The noise had sounded like an animal scratching wood. He looked both way but, seeing nothing of interest, turned back around to go inside.

“Quiet, boy,” hissed a voice as a hand grasped his mouth from behind. He felt a sharp instrument poke his back. “One move and I’ll stick this knife so deep in ya you’ll be a popsicle.”