Chapter 72: For The Seven Banes

Name

Chase

Guild SevenBanes Class Hunter level 4 Marks 1

The NPCs have a story. Whether it was given to them in their programming by AION, or it is a genuine event which they all remember…is anyone’s guess. In the early days of Esem when there only existed Avalon, there was an NPC unlike the others. He was tied to no programming, was not a human player, and was named Gialetum. This NPC walked to and fro across the land and had immense powers. Though Gialetum did not use magic like the players, he had certain abilities which no other being had access too. He was able to change the fabric of reality itself. He was able to call up mountains and split rivers. Gialetum could tame the wild beasts of Avalon and even speak with the goblins in their guttural nonsense. The NPCs of today remember him as a kind of savior—one which they claim will come again. Unlike the NPCs, however, when he died he did not reset. According to legend, with his death he created the hub which ties all of Esem together, and by doing so the other realms followed into creation.

-The Book of Early Days and Nights, Dietrich the Historian, SD700

“No.”

“Yes.”

“I said no.”

“Why?”

“Because you heard Markon,” said Chase. “He will kill them if we ask her.”

“He will kill them anyway,” argued Brent furiously. “We have to ask her. Alex?”

They were in the stables, once again having an important decision about what to do. Only this time Chase was firm in what the proper course of action would be and would allow no vote to occur.

I’m the world’s biggest fool, thought Chase as he listened to Brent and Alex.

“Christie can help us, Chase,” said Alex levelly.

“She is OP,” insisted Brent. “She can probably get the others back without them even knowing.”

“Guys,” said Chase, shaking his head. “I know every single one of her abilities and none of them will stop Markon and Astor from knowing that she is helping us. We would be signing Thomas and Amelie’s death warrant.”

The two fighters threw their hands up in disgust. This was a hard thing for them to hear. Chase did not see an easy way out of this one. Meredith and her guild were still gone, and even if they were at The Royal it would be useless to enlist them. After the death of Daniel and what Markon had said they would only be a hindrance.

“Xemnara wants us to play her game, and so we must. I think we have a chance to get them back, we just have to play by her rules.”

“By walking into a trap?” Said Brent. “There must be a better way.”

“If there is I don’t see it,” said Chase. “Claire! Did you find any?”

Claire came into the stables. She looked the worse for wear after being attacked by Astor but the coldness in her eyes swept away any doubt Chase had of her resolve. She placed a sack onto the ground and it made a clinking sound.

“I was able to buy ten health potions, but the NPC demanded most of our gold. Seems his stock was really low.”

“Supply and demand,” muttered Alex.

“Drink up guys, said Chase. He opened the sack and handed three vials to Claire to distribute. He uncorked his own and swigged the contents. It tasted like fresh raspberries and left a minty taste in his mouth. He felt the cut on the side of his head knitting itself shut and the aches of his body disappeared where Astor and Markon had struck him.

“That’s better,” said Alex, smacking his lips. “Why can’t Marlon make these? His potions are always so disgusting.”

“Once he’s a higher level he can make these everyday,” said Chase. He had not thought much about their potion maker since leaving Lazerpail, and he wondered how the old man was faring alone at the fort. He also wondered what he would say about what had happened recently with the guild. Without even the AION Post or the Esem Monitor Marlon was entirely cut off from the world, and would receive no information until they returned.

“Yeah, they are great,” said Alex bitterly. “Now what are we gonna do?”

“I am going alone—,” began Chase.

The response was almost overwhelming.

“No way, Chase!”

“Forget that, man, you can’t just—.”

Brent nearly roared, “Try and stop me!”

“Relax,” said Chase, holding his hands up. “Fine, seeing as that would be impossible for me to enforce, here’s the real plan: we go to the outpost Markon mentioned and we do as they say.”

“They are going to kill us,” said Alex. “Even together we couldn’t take down Markon.”

“No one knows that better than me,” said Chase. “Markon is a Paladin, and only one in several thousand Warrior’s ever get the opportunity to sign for that Class. Most people think the Paladin is a broken class, as well. We could rally the entire town and still have trouble dealing with him.”

“That’s not good,” muttered Claire.

“No, it’s not,” said Chase. “And unfortunately Christie is a no go. I am sure Markon has spies in the town making sure we do as he says and alert no one else as to what has happened.”

Chase allowed that to sink in. He watched each of his fighters wrestle with the reality of their situation. Never before had he dealt with such a scenario. When he was Spade, the idea that someone would kidnap one of the Old Guard was unthinkable. To even attempt such a thing would have been the height of stupidity. Assassinate, sure, but kidnap? There were just too many variables to consider when dealing with such a high ranking guild. The Seven Banes had been easy pickings due to their low levels, and though Chase would never say it, he was beyond worried what would happen to his guild when they arrived at the outpost. Xemnara would likely not murder Thomas or Amelie outright—according to the principle of free will set down by AION she would be incapable of doing so. But what about Markon and Astor Briggs?

“Unchartered waters,” murmured Chase. None of the others seemed to hear him.

“What about Ghelion?” Said Alex suddenly. He had sat his large girth upon a stool. “Can we get a letter to him?”

“Even if Markon would not find out,” said Chase carefully. “What would you expect him to do?”

“I dunno, save the others?”

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Not possible,” said Chase, shaking his head. “Advisors have some powers, but they cannot interfere in things like this. Could Ghelion kill Markon? Perhaps, but only if Markon attacked him. For some guild squabble like this our advisor’s hands would be tied.”

“Too bad we don’t know anyone else,” said Claire bitterly. “We stayed in Lazerpail all summer and no nobody knows us.”

“SO?” Said Brent, angrily rounding on her. “We can’t ask anyone, remember? We could know Solomon himself or all the Deadly Solo’s and it wouldn’t make a lick of difference.”

“Chase,” said Alex. “Are we screwed?”

All three looked at him, and their faces nearly broke his heart. Alex and Brent appeared resolute yet wary, while Claire looked forlorn. However, the underlying emotion which was unmistakable upon each of their faces, which haunted their eyes and coated each of their questions, was fear. They were scared in a way that they never had been before. Hours before they had seen the Young Valorous guild deal with losing one of their guild mates, with no thoughts of such a thing happening to their own. Now the possibility that they could lose not one but two members was evident in their expressions. This was a foreign feeling to all three of them.

To myself as well, thought Chase, realizing that in his twenty years with the Old Guard they had never lost a member-but for him, of course.

“Not yet,” said Chase. He tried to sound confident and steady. He was the leader, after all, and if he revealed too much anxiety before them it would only serve to hurt Thomas and Amelie in the long run. “We need to go to the outpost. Xemnara cannot simply execute our friends. We will do as she asks—likely another insipid game-and then get them back.”

“She can’t,” said Alex. “But what about Markon?”

“Then we will deal with that when it comes to it,” said Chase. “No matter how powerful Markon is—his buffs and abilities-no player on earth can overcome an arrow in the eye. I did it to the Dark Lord fifteen years ago and I can do it again.”

“We’re going to die,” said Claire.

Alex sighed and Brent looked like he wanted to scream. Instead Brent just crossed his arms and huffed.

“So what? It’s a good way to die, defending your friends.”

“That’s not what I meant,” said Claire. She glanced at Chase, knowing the conversation they had had.

Maybe I should tell them, thought Chase. He did not want to make Claire feel bad, but it might inspire them more.

“I know what you mean, Claire,” said Chase softly. “Look, I think it’s about time to tell you guys what happened back in Xemnara. With Amelie and her.”

Alex’s eyes immediately widened.

“What?” Said Chase.

“Um, nothing,” said Alex quickly. He absentmindedly placed his hand on the pommel of his sword and his face flushed as he looked away.

Great, more secret guilt, thought Chase, but there was no time to delve into that.

“Amelie clearly hasn’t told you three what happened, and Alex didn’t see as he had been...captured, right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, that’s right,” said Alex quickly. “Xemnara put me in a sword or something. I don’t remember anything before that. I just woke up later with you guys.”

“I didn’t know that,” said Brent, looking around at Alex. He seemed to respect that Alex had suffered some at Xemnara’s hands.

“It happened,” said Alex, nodding. “Barely remember it, though. Think I have some amnesia about everything that led up to that.”

“Anyway,” interrupted Chase. “Xemnara gave Amelie a choice. Either we all die while she gets to live, or to kill herself and save us all.”

Brent gasped, Alex grew pale, and Claire buried her head in her hands. Chase knew this would not be easy for her to hear, but it had to be said.

“Xemnara wanted her to fall on the blade Alex was stuck inside of. She told Amelie that if she ended it then she would free us all. Guess what Amelie was about to do when I finally showed up?”

The three fighters were silent as they listened to his every word. They appeared in that moment mere children to Chase.

“She had the blade pointed to her stomach, about to do just as Xemnara said. She was ready to end her own life to save all of ours.”

“Incredible,” said Brent. He came to his feet, a fire in his eyes. For all the world he reminded Chase of Karkren in that moment, taken with a wild passion to do what was right and avenge the innocent. “We got to get her back! If she was willing to do that for all of us then the least we can do is try to do the same. And Thomas,” he added.

“That’s right,” said Alex, sounding hollow. He was staring at the ground and hadn’t looked up. “We got to save them. It’s only right.”

“Claire?” Said Brent. “Hey, uh...what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” said Claire. She wiped her eyes and sniffled some, but when she looked at Chase her eyes mirrored Brent’s own. She nodded at them both and even smiled. “Let’s get those two back. No matter the cost.”

“No matter the cost,” repeated Chase. “Alright, hands in the middle.”

When Thomas was around he would always say that what they were doing was lame, and secretly Chase agreed, but it only seemed right.

Chase put his hand in the middle and soon Claire, Alex, and Brent’s hands joined his, one stacked on top of another.

“For Amelie and Thomas,” said Chase.

“For Amelie and Thomas,” repeated the fighters.

“I promise to fight for them to the end.”

“I promise to fight for them to the end.”

“And if that means my life, then so be it.”

“And if that means my life, then so be it,” they said.

“This I swear,” finished Chase. “For the Seven Banes.”

“This I swear,” said the fighters. Now all of their eyes burned. Had Markon been standing there right then Chase had no doubt he would think twice about attacking them. “For the Seven Banes.”

“The Banes,” said Chase again. He removed his hand and nodded at the others. “What else do we need before we go? Any ideas?”

“We got the potions and our weapons,” said Alex. “Unless you can buy some magic stuff that would be helpful...”

“Maybe in the King City,” sighed Chase. He picked up his bow which he had leaned against Moonshine’s stall and patted the quiver that was around his back. “I’m afraid all we will have are our weapons for this one.”

“Well, maybe we can—,” began Claire.

Achoo!

Brent looked startled.

“Who was that? Claire?”

Claire shook her head.

“Chase!” Hissed Alex, pointing behind him.

Chase drew and arrows and knocked it in one smooth motion. He spun on his heel and knelt down, aiming down the shaft. He saw a desperate bit of motion at the far end of the stable where Daniel had died.

He let fly.

“Ah!” Someone screamed.

There was a muffled thump as something heavy dropped on the ground, and suddenly a small man was writhing on the floor. Chase immediately ran to his prey and knelt down, quickly placing a hand over the man’s mouth.

“Shut up, there’s more where that came from,” said Chase gravely.

“Who is it?” Said Brent. The others were gathered behind Chase, likely craning their necks to get a better look.

“See this?” Said Chase. He held up an arrow from his quiver before the man’s eye. “It you make a single sound or cry out for help all 20 inches are going into your eye, got it?”

The man nodded fervently, fear and pain in his eyes. Chase slowly released his grip.

“Argo!” Gasped Claire.

The little NPC who had always been at Markon’s side looked terrified beyond belief. His hair was mussed up and straw stuck to his clothes from where he had been spying on their meeting. He nervously licked his lips. Chase’s arrow was sticking out of his right calf, yet very little blood was coming out, as the shaft must have been stopping the injury from bleeding.

“What are you doing here?” Said Brent. “We’re you spying on us?”

“Are you working with Markon?” Demanded Alex, sounding furious.

The NPCs face was as white as milk, and his voice quivered as he spoke.

“I, I, I, I-.”

“Speak, Argo,” said Chase. He gently placed his free hand on Argo’s injury and made as though to squeeze.

“Ok, ok! Please,” he pleaded. “Markon told me to watch you four, and make sure you didn’t do anything stupid.”

“So, what, you’re working for Xem?” Said Claire.

“Don’t you dare call her...” His eyes widened as Chase applied some pressure to the wound. “Her name is Xemnara, not Xem, human. And you three are insane if you think you’re gonna be rescuing your friends, today.”

Chase silenced the fighters with a look, and when he turned back to face Argo there was sick panic in the NPC’s eyes.

“Argo, you’re opinion is irrelevant. If you don’t want your last moments to be the most excruciating pain you could ever imagine, you need to give us some information.”

“I would never—,” began Argo, but it was cut off as Chase placed his hand back around the NPCs mouth as he screamed. His palm muffled the screams but Chase managed to keep his grip firm. He finally released the wound and removed his hand from Argo’s mouth.

“How many players and NPC’s are at the outpost.”

“Five,” said Argo. He was sweating and breathing hard. “Lady forgive me! There are five including Markon. Now, please, don’t kill me I—.”

“What do they plan to do with Amelie and Thomas? Did Xemnara plan some sort of game?”

“Game?” Said Argo with confusion. “Heh, silly human you—AH-mrhppp- ok, ok! Stop it! No, there’s no plan for one of Xemnara’s trials, if that’s what you mean. The plan is two get you three away from Christie and then kill you all.”

The stable grew silent but for Argo’s labored breathing. Without turning around he knew his guilds reaction. No game? Just going to their deaths? This was not what they wanted to hear.

“What else can you tell us?”

“Nothing…Really!” Said Argo desperately. “I haven’t even been to the outpost. I’ve been in Birchtown running the tournament.”

“Very well,” said Chase. He put down his arrow and drew his knife. “Guess it’s time you reset yourself.”

Argo gasped pathetically and tried to grab the knife. Brent rushed over and quickly punched him in the face, once, twice, and then the NPC released Chase’s hand and sobbed.

“Please don’t, things aren’t like they were before...I won’t...” suddenly he raised his head. “I have one more thing I can tell you. Something that might mean the difference between you living or dying. Your whole guild! Please just don’t kill me...I don’t want to...reset.”

Chase sighed but returned his dagger back to it’s sheath.

“Speak,” he said.

“All of the players at the outpost...They have a weakness.”

“And?”

“It has to do with their new contracts, one’s they got from Lady Xemnara.”

“What?!” Said Chase. “New contracts? How is that even possible.”

“All things are possible with Lady Xemnara,” said Argo.

What he said next equally floored Chase, and filled him with the deepest sense of dread imaginable.