Cult Retribution
Free the kingdom of the cult influence. The Church of Askhan has taken hold of a large amount of power in the capitol. Rid the city of the cult and their followers.
Rank: D
Reward: Another item from the treasury
“I accept”
“Well that's fantastic. Thank you for offering your assistance to our kingdom. Oh and Captain Isaac, good work today. From now on you and your troops assist Jake in the quest.”
“Your highness are you sure you want to assign our only unit to Jake?”
“Its okay, Prime Minister. After all we have the elite royal guard.”
The Prime Minister immediately retreated to his corner. Having one of the Kingdom's highest secrets revealed so easily was no small matter. He would have to fix the kings blunder.
“Anyway, Captain Isaac, please escort Jake to the treasury.”
“Of course your highness.”
Jake an Cap. Isaac took this time to swiftly make their escape.
“So what does your unit consist of.”
“Two dozen conscripts”
“That's it? What about cavalry or mages”
“Their out on the borders, fighting the war. With the new king in place, the neighboring kingdoms think they can invade us but we will show them that we still pack a punch.”
The Captain had an uneasy expression. Like he was hiding something. Something that had been bothering the entire country since to coronation.
“Captain, what's been going on in this country?”
Isaac took an nervous look left and right as if to try to see invisible enemies.
“Promise not to tell anyone.”
Jake had a relatively high familiarity with the captain since he was the one who had stopped the riot.
“I promise.”
“The kingdom is dying. Rotting from the inside out. The king is weak and has zero influence on the kingdom. The one really in control is the prime minister and those nobles who support him. All they do all day is splurge their wealth and hoard the taxes. They starve the countryside dry. The military is out on the outskirts of town in a stalemate because the battlefield is better than the city. Quite the irony isn't it? When soldiers don't want to come home.”
“But the cult is evil as well. They trick people into giving their wealth. All they are is a bunch of crooks.”
“The lesser of two evils.”
With that the two continued wordlessly down the corridors until they arrived at a pair of giant ornate doors. They were made of the finest wood possible. Their glossy exterior was clearly made by an excellent craftsman. Unfortunately the look was ruined by the golden decorations just like the rest of the palace.
“The treasury was built by a woodsman who was a good friend of the first king.”
They opened the doors which moved on their hinges without a single creak. Inside was a view that caused Jake to almost feint. The inside of the treasury was empty.
“What happened!”
“Like I said, the prime minister took hold of power. They used all the wealth and this is the result.”
“So the one with the gaudy taste in lawn ornaments wasn't the king.”
“Yeah. So what will you do now. Are you going to take down the cult with just that shabby axe.”
“We'll find another way. Even though I don't get anything, this is still my first quest. Also my wolves are getting hungry. I should take them out on a test run. But first I'm taking what's rightfully mine.”
With that Jake swung his axe at the door of the armory. One of the pure gold dragons fell with a loud clang. The fine wooden door didn't even have a scratch.
“That is some fine wood you got there.”
------
As the sun set on the fifth of leaf-fall, the priests had once again organized the masses. They made a ring around the high priest, their saint. The one who made this all possible.
Lucius looked on at the crowd from their elevated platform. Again they got the crowd into a frenzy. This time some people had arrived from the country to replenish the injured mob. They were almost their. Almost at the point where they would listen to almost everything they said. All of a sudden their were screams. For the second time, someone dared to attack their cult.
Lucius called the fire mages up. They were all humans graced by Freya. All they were good for was cannon fodder. They had ridiculous names but they were powerful. This time they wouldn't be caught unprepared. He had even brought along their executioner and torturer.
The enemy used what looked like paper. But he didn't get a good look. Unfortunately for Lucius, Jake was prepared for such a situation.
The wolves weaved in and out of the crowd, spraying blood everywhere they went. The fireballs ceased raining down as the civilians began getting hit.
“What are you doing? Keep attacking!”
“We'll hit civilians. I for one don't want to become a murderer.”
“We're the church. We'll forgive you for killing a few peasants if you fight for the church.”
As contradictory as it was for a church to kill its own people, the fire magic began raining down again. Some of the wolves even caught on fire, but it was quickly extinguished by the rain of blood. After all, wet paper doesn't burn.
The only thing the fireballs did was cause more deaths and steam to rise. The steam of vaporized blood and dust kicked by the masses made the scene into complete chaos.
They made their way through the crowd continuing to wreck havoc. Lucius got tired of the failing mages and ordered the knights to charge. When they did, the enemy was prepared. Arrows started to pepper the armored knights one by one. Their shabby plate armor didn't stand a chance. The knight to the left of Lucius turned into a porcupine.
“Quick take the high priest inside!”
The ring of priests made a holy shield and as a group, retreated into their base of operations. The massive cathedral behind them was only a front. It was mostly empty. Only a few ill-furnished rooms made up most of the building. Except their treasury. The one room inside the massive structure was filled to the brim with donations that had been liquified into gold.
Right as Lucius was about to follow, a blade was held to his throat. What happened to his knights or the fire mages? Where did this knife come from? Lucius wouldn't find out as the knife passed and a red fountain sprayed the world dark.
Jake dragged the body into an alleyway. Luckily the NPC hadn't bled to death yet. Jake swiftly stripped the NPC of his priest robes while trying not to get too much blood on them. That in itself was hard as the NPC had a stream of blood coming from his throat.
When Jake finally extracted the body from the white robes, he hid the body and equipped the robes. Luckily in the confusion Isaac and his wolves caused no one noticed Jake swooping in on his crane and kidnapping a priest.
By now the forces had retreated while leaving the masses too crippled to riot. This wouldn't hold them back too much. Their was a steady stream of people coming in from the countryside.
Jake equipped various things such as a wig and makeup to make himself look respectable. When he was done he look like a plain faced priest. When he first attack the crowd he had shown his face. The priests where rather far away but others might recognize his face.
Jake crossed the bloody plaza. In one of the alleyways he saw the glowing red eyes of one of his minions. Jake walked up the steps of the cathedral and knocked on the door.
A voice called out, “Who's there.”
“I'm one of the priests. I was separated in the attack. Let me in.”
After a few moments the door opened to let Jake in. Jake gave a slight wave in the direction of the eyes. A sign of successful infiltration. The glowing eyes faded into the dark, completely unnoticed.
Jake walked past the guard and was completely shocked by the inside of the cathedral. It was just like walking into the palace treasury. Empty.
The usual cathedral would have pews, stained glass, vaulted arches but this one was just plain empty. The outside was very ornate but that was just a front. Medieval architecture has limits but this just ignores them by using cheap material to hold up the temporary fort. Well they wouldn't need this cathedral for long. They were going to take over the palace.
Even so the entire building was built so it could be easily deconstructed. The only part built to stand was the front and sides. The inside was just a bunch of shacks. The building didn't even have a proper roof. Some parts were broken already. Even the floor wasn't proper. It was just a plain dirt floor with straw covering it. The horses didn't even have a proper stable.This made Jake wonder why there were even horses in the first place.
The only proper part of the entire building was a room that was made stone. It was rather large and had a thick wooden door. Jake thought he caught a glimmer of something shiny behind it.
Jake was so surprised at the view that he didn't notice someone coming up next to him.
“Hello, I haven't seen you here before. Who might you be?”
“Umm...”
“Oh you must be one of the new initiates. Welcome to the operation. Were almost done but there is still work to do. Why don't you bring the high priest here dinner.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jake quickly scurried away while pulling his hood up. Getting caught behind enemy lines without his weapon would be a nightmare.
“Hey, where are you going? The kitchen is that way.”
Jake stopped in his tracks. Had his cover been blown.
“Are you sure your an initiate. Whats your name? Where are you from?”
“Isaac, I joined when the Church of Askhan was based in Shor”
“Hmm... I do recall picking up some new recruits their. What every go take the meal to the high priest. She doesn't like being kept waiting.”
As Jake walked in the direction of the kitchen, he swore he could hear the priest muttering under his breath, “Damn county kids.”
'Looks like the Captains information was true. He had said the church was briefly in the town of Shor before to pick up initiates before going to the capital.'
Jake walked around the encampment until he found a place roughly resembling a cooking area. The area could hardly be called a kitchen. The only tools present were the camp fire and some pots. Also there was no one their. Nor was their food.
'Looks like someone skipped out on their duties.'
Jake proceeded to cook some of the wolf meat stored away in his inventory.
'Since its the high priest I should make this the best meal I’ve ever made. Half-assing this will get me caught.'
Jake used extreme caution to cook his wolf meat. Also Jake found some rare spices in the kitchen area. Using these he cooked the meat like never before.
(I'm not good with food so I'll leave up to your discretion)
Tender Wolf Sirloin
Through the use of exotic cooking methods and spices, an expert craftsman tried to make a piece of meat into a work of art. Unfortunately the cook has not sense of taste at all and it is only passable.
Jake was thoroughly disappointed. All his cooking and paper making experience plus his agility had not been able to match his expectations. Taking the ill-prepared mean, Jake took a serving and prepared to search for the high priest. She was probably in the well built room. Making his way over, Jake noticed some people standing in front of the room.
“So, how much wealth have we accumulated so far?”
“Enough to live like kings for the rest of our lives.”
“I don't want to live like a king, I want to be a king. How am I supposed to do that when I keep getting my army ripped to shreds.”
“Sorry your grace, but it appears there is another player who had entered this game. Someone has been organizing those attacks and I don’t think the prime minister cares enough to do it himself.”
“Then find out who keeps sabotaging us and kill him. But first make him suffer.”
“What about the high priest?”
“What about her. We'll just throw her out when were done with her like the last one.”
As they talked they walked into the room and Jake got a glimpse at the contents. Inside was piles of gold. Stacks of gold bags as high as the cathedral and precious jewels littered the floor. The light of the setting sun shined through a crack and lit the entire chamber in a golden glow. Never had Jake seen so much wealth together.
'No wonder the room is so well guarded, its their treasury.'
One mystery was solved but it just lead to another.
'Where is the high priest?'
Jake continued to explore the bandit camp, as he called it. Eventually he found himself in a corner of the building. The cathedral was built with the floor plan of a cross in mind and this was the east wing. In this area he found a lone shack. This one was dilapidated and smaller than the rest.
Pondering what it was doing here Jake silently opened the door. Inside the shack was a simple straw mattress on which sat a lone girl looking into a single candle. The light of the candle danced on the girls face as she was mesmerized by its movements. Her pristine white robe reflected the light all over the room and it was only amplified by her stark white hair. Her luscious locks were pure white and lightly caressed her frail body.
Jake knocked on the door frame. The small figure immediately turned her head. Her face was rather cute but from a practical stand point she was just a small child.
“Who is it?”
“I'm Isaac. I was told to bring dinner to the high priest?”
The girl with a look of terror in her eyes as she curled into a ball. Jake looked at her in utter confusion.
'Why is she afraid?'
After a minute of standing around dumb-found the girl looked up at Jake.
“Please hurry.” she said with fear in her eyes. Fear that had taken residence in those eyes so long ago that they were permanently etched into her soul.
“What?”
“Aren't you going to hurt me like the other men?”
“No of course not.... What do you mean 'hurt you'?”
To that question the girl gave a long list of examples of domestic violence so outdated in today’s society that they had been forgotten in society. Now Jake understood why the priest had been in a ring around the high priest. They weren't protecting her, they were hiding her.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Jake felt his rage boiling away but eventually he was able to calm himself down. He couldn't let his cover be blown behind enemy lines. Jake gave her the wolf meat he had cooked. Although it had long gone cold, she wolfed it down like it was the best meal she had ever eaten.
After she finished she looked at Jake as if imploring him for more. Coincidentally the other priests were eating what was left of Jake's cooking at the same time. They feasted on the fine wolf meat like the kings they would soon become.
“So, why don't you tell me who you are and what you are doing here?” Jake asked.
“I am Alison. My mother was the previous high priest. She had the ability to slightly manipulate peoples feelings. She founded this cult to help people who were suffering from the depression but the other priest grew jealous. They were planning on using her as a martyr but when that failed they made me the next high priest because I inherited the ability.”
Taking a deep breath the girl continued.
“My mother was once a good friend of the late king, and she had me. But when the king passed away, and the prime minister took control, she fled his rein to the country side. She didn't want me to be used by the prime minister like Al (Aldnysche).”
“So, the country really is in peril. The cult's going to take over under religious reason and put you on the thrown because you are royalty.”
“Please help me escape.”
“Alright, I was planning on destroying the cult anyways. But this place is too heavily guarded. Also you shouldn't tell your life story to just anyone. You don't even now my name.”
The girls face drained of color.
“Its okay this time but make sure not to trust just anyone.”
“Okay” she replied in a meek voice.
Jake assured her that would be back and swiftly left the shack. Afterwords he continued to explore the enemy encampment. Unable to find anything new, Jake found a quiet corner gave the signal.
-----
The priests were in a circle talking about their plan for tomorrow when one of them looked up.
“Did you guys hear something?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I think it was a high pitch sound, like a bird cry”
“You must be hearing things. Your age is catching up to you.”
“Yeah it must be nothing.”
The priests continued their talk and failed to notice a small metallic object slowly float its way into a corner of the roofless cathedral.
-----
Early the next morning the priests started their daily ritual of chanting and calling for change. The people steadily streamed into the plaza as the sun rose past the peak of the cathedral. The light rays streaming through the stain glass windows gave the crowd a heavenly glow.
As the crowd gathered momentum they eventually became a mob. One with no direction but a sole purpose for destroying the corrupt force that oppressed them.
Before they began their rough stampede-style march, the opposition was in place. A group of shield wielding soldiers formed lines in from of the palace gates and prepared to receive the charge. To their misfortune, the cult ordered their elite cavalry to charge.
The heavily armored horsemen were the pride of the Church of Askhan. They had shining white armor with the bear paw painted in royal scarlet. Their armor did not have a single gap. Even their horses where heavily armored.
As the cavalry charged, the palace guards firmly planted their shields into the ground and replaced their single line formation with a double line defense. When the cavalry was to close to stop their charge, they drew spears from behind them and they skewered the horsemen with their own momentum.
To the cries of the men and horses the rest of the forces charged. The fervent followers were right behind the horsemen but they were also in for a surprise. The first of the glowing red eyes launched itself from the shadows. Blood flew everywhere as the iron-clad wolves tore the people apart. They ripped limb from limb with much greater violence then they had previously shown.
The wolves at this point had acquired plenty of buffs. They had spilled the blood of cultists on the first day and the second. They also ripped apart the delicate high level players. Along with the fact that they were well organized and well equipped, they were more than a match for the angry mob.
Suddenly the killing stopped. The wolves disappeared in the shadows of the alleys and when the dust had settled, the piles of bodies could be seen. The front lines of the mob had been cut down, like chopping the head off a snake. Although this did not stop the mob entirely it bought enough time. After all the mob had suffered wolf attacks twice now.
The soldiers who looked poorly prepared to intercept a mob now had a barricade up. A wall made from the bodies of fallen horses and their riders. The once glorious armor they had was now nothing but a red stained wall that blocked the flow of revolution.
The priest in the back shouted above the chaos.
“Let the sacrifice of your brothers and sisters not be a waste! Today we topple the tyranny of the evil empire!”
How such a frail man had such a powerful voice, no one knew but one thing for sure, the mob was up again. They charged at the hastily build wall. But heavy armor and horses don't move so easily. The wave of flesh crashed on the wall of armor and people were trampled and suffocated to death in the rioting. The bodies stacked and further added to the wall. The shield wielding spear man from before had dropped their heavy armaments and drew bows from nowhere. They started picking off the rioters one by one.
The situation seamed hopeless for the cult but they were far from finished. They had their trump card still.
The ring of priests separated and the young girl stepped forward. And she sang.
The lyric-less song flowed through the mad crowd, calming the people. They were soothed by the melody and lowered their guard. Just when they were most vulnerable the melody abruptly picked itself up. The song speed up and and reached a feverous tone. The song which had more power than the previous high priest and all the other priests combined echoed through the city.
Not a soul was exempt from the sound that echoed in their heads. Only the soldiers who had taken precautions where able to resists the effects.
Again the crowd surged. The people who had once been squished together started to rapidly climb the mountain not caring for their own lives. The ones in the from where stepped on and died but the ones behind them used the bodies as steps to get up the wall. The perfect strategy for a limitless mob.
The soldiers put away their bows and drew more close combat weapons. They hacked the people coming up but they would be overwhelmed soon. Just when all hope for them seemed lost, silver streaks of light appeared from the heavens and struck the front of the mob. The cranes Jake had folded stabbed the rioters and sent them tumbling away, knocking down the ones behind them.
The little cranes sacrificed their bodies and caused massive pierce wounds on the bodies of the unfortunate. The soldiers seemed to be able to hold and the wolves who had disappeared before had returned to flank the mob.
The priests where stunned at the turn of events. The royals had employed such a brilliant general to stop the crowd. Where he came from where he was now, only one person knew. That was the cult initiate who was standing a little behind the open ring of priests.
A small group of scarlet wolves pounced on the priests form behind and opened the protective ring. Before the remaining priest could erect barriers Jake removed their heads with his golden axe. The shining golden axe which had been given to him by the king and returned to him by his wolf. Before anyone could react Jake picked up the girl and hoisted her on to his shoulder. Before he could run off he was surrounded. The confused “knights” regained order and surrounded him and his wolf force, cutting off all exits, except one.
From the sky came a high whistling sound. Then came the blinding golden light like a falling star plummeting to Earth. The light hit right in front of Jake and when the dust settled the 'knights' saw a magnificent golden crane.
-----
Jake picked up the golden chunk that had fallen off the door. It was rather soft for a metal but it would suit his purposes. Jake cut a small portion off and gave it to Captain Isaac.
“This is a little token of my thanks. Also payment for future services. I know we won't get anything if we succeed in this quest but I feel you deserve this reward.”
“There no way I could accept this!”
“Just think of it as a payment to keep this a little secret. Now where is the blacksmith?”
Jake and Isaac made their way to the castle blacksmith. After paying a small chunk of gold to the blacksmith he had the man turn the ornate gold dragon into a thin sheet. Jake took the gold sheet and covered his axe to make it look more grand.
Ornate Golden Axe
A simple wood cutters axe covered in golden foil. May fool some people but it really is just a cheap axe.
Then he turned the rest of the gold into fine powder.
Removing a chunk of wood from his inventory Jake made some chips and cooked it into pulp. Then he sprinkled a small amount of gold powder into the mixture and it gained a fine golden glow. Jake continued his placed the mixture into a frame and let it dry.
Gold Foil Paper
A sheet of paper laced with gold powder. The paper was made by an expert paper manufacturer and the added gold powder gives it a regal look. No other purpose for the gold powder is known. The paper is very thin and strong as if it wasn't made for writing.
Paper Making has increased
Happy with his product Jake set to folding but before he made the most basic procreatory folds he remembered his last mistake. Jake set aside the paper and looked at the remaining gold chunk. The gold was once in the shape of a dragon but now it looked more like a two legged lizard. After being removed from the wall and turned into multiple things, there wasn't much design left. Jake looked at the material itself. The malleability, the luster, and even the fine texture which looked very artificial.
When Jake finally had a firm grasp on the metal a golden aura showed itself on the gold and his foil paper. Jake started folding.
In the forest Jake had the time to experiment with new designs but now he was in a hurry. There was no time to make a new figure so he made one he was already experienced in. The crane.
Golden Crane – Fine Piece
An Origami crane folded from Iron Bark paper laced with fine gold powder. The gold gives it a regal shine but the true purpose is unknown.
Properties:
Growth
Iron Bark
Golden Luster
Art Value: 200
Number of Fine Pieces: 3
Fame rises by 50 points
Art rises by 15 points
Endurance rises by 5 points
Unfortunately, Jake did not understand the full property of Gold so the property remained a mystery. By this time Isaac walked into the forge.
“Jake, the cult is on the move”
Jake sighed and watched as the crane slowly increased in size, absorbing the remaining gold and wood. He would have to investigate the property later.
-----
The golden crane landed on the platform which had been swept clean of everyone but Jake and Alison. Then Jake picked up the girl and placed it on the crane and told to fly with the others.
Just as it was about to flap its wings, arrows shot out of nowhere. They were blocked by the wolves who sacrificed their bodies for the mission but Jake was still hit. The crane swiftly took off leaving Jake alone on the platform with his nearest troops fighting with the soldiers. He saw as the golden fleck in the sky was joined by three silver flecks and they made their journey towards the Iron Bark Forest.
Left to take his final stand Jake ripped the foil off his axe and prepared for the oncoming assault. From the crowd appeared the priest from the other day. Lucius had his neck slit but he hadn't died. As persistent as a cockroach he had crawled out of the alley and managed to recruit mercenaries. Jake had not thought to completely loot the corpse.
Jake looked at the approaching mercenaries. From their equipment, Jake could guess they were high level but they could be delicate if they trained their characters improperly. However Jake had never faced this many opponents at the same time. Lost on what to do Jake swung his axe provocatively before the mercenaries charged.
Jake sat up and got out of the capsule. He had been attacked by way to many people at once. There was no way he could defend against a dozen swords at once. At least he had accomplished his objective. He had destroyed the cult. Jake had personally killed most of the leaders and without the high priest, they would have a hard time regaining support. Now that he thought about it, the crowd stated getting confused when Alison had left on the golden crane. Jake knew that the cult was finished and his quest was complete.
-----
Author's Note
So, I was wondering why chapter 2 had more view than any other chapter. What about the prologue and chapter 1. Please read my fan-fic in order. Otherwise it wouldn't make sense. If your going to read it start at the prologue. Also Kaiser look forward to a appearance in the next chapter.
Have I been spelling axe wrong this entire time. Is it axe or ax? I'm confused.