“We have not disappeared. As you can see, I am very much here in front of you.” Weed continued to lie.

“But why! Why did the elves retreat?” Another noble asked. This noble’s business interests had been hurt with the elves moving away. His entire fruit business collapsed.

“Our safety.” Weed replied. “Our lives were at risk.” His voice was solemn as ever.

“Those killings…would you like our help? We can stop it! We are the strongest guild in Lavias.” A tall man said as he approached Weed.

“Alas, I cannot speak for her Queen.”

“Then can we meet the Queen?” The man pressed on.

“I shall convey your regards to the Queen.” Weed walked a tightline. He had learnt his lesson of blatant lying from the past. He decided if he has to lie, he has to lie right. The art of lying was something truly worth mastering…

“There are dark times unfolding in this world, mighty hero…” Weed began, “Monsters are growing rampantly and the lands are dying. The elves are magical beings who have kept this world in balance between light and darkness. However, there have been some who have been tasked with upsetting this natural world order…”

“Are you talking about the Dark guilds?” the man asked.

The mention of the word dark guild’s sent shivers across the nobles. Dark guilds were player guilds whose players were dark natured. Since their quest required them to commit evil, their infamy was unbelievably high. Initially when RREV was still starting, ‘holy’ players (or light natured) hunted so called dark natured players. This drove the dark players to band together and form the Dark Guilds. Just like their counter parts (normal guilds), Dark guilds are undertake large missions and quests by enemy countries and kingdoms to upset regional power etc.

Weed nodded while looking down at the man’s feet; he was hiding his smile. Weed had been hoping that someone would ask this. He was pushing the guilds / player community to fight against other players while he pursued real quests. As long as they believed Weed the high elf lady was an NPC, they would go the complete wrong direction.

“Which one is it? The Decadant?” The man asked excitedly while his voice convey his sympathy and anger.

“Human chosen by his Grace, the light is strong in your heart.” Weed continued with the deception. “You must not hurry to conclusion. There are other concerns that will warrant your attention.”

The man frowned. “Like?”

“Within the walls of this city are a thousand eyes and mouths…whispers have reached my ears of what designs are in the works…”

The guild master frowned. He was one of the guild masters who was helping with the coup. Weed was only guessing so from his reaction when he saw Weed / a high elf walk in alongside the Lord of Lavias.

Before the man could ask more questions, the Lord of Lavias wisked Weed away by simply saying, “Please you must excuse her, she has had the most tiring journey!”

After that everyone broke for drinks, tea and dinner. Everyone still wanted to the meet the high elf and the Lord of Lavias but neither to be found. Richard had escaped off with Weed to the garden maze.

“I hope you don’t mind me taking you away from them.” Richard said as he took a stroll with Weed.

“No, not at all. It was rather a difficult position for me to be in.” Weed replied.

From a distance one could have almost mistaken the two of them to be flirting.

“I hope I can say that we succeeded in stopping the coup.” The Lord said as they walked past a fountain.

“…what do you think?” Weed asked.

“Only time will tell.”

“Do you know why are they against you?” Weed asked.

“Not really…after living this long I stopped caring about the petty reasons…” Richard replied.

“…” Weed didn’t know what to say.

“You really are a high elf..” Richard commented.

“I thought you said I wasn’t!”

“You must learn of your own origins elf. It is not my position to dictate whether you are of high or low birth. The difference between a high elf and a wooden elf is as thin as paper, yet the wooden elves lick the feet of the high elves. Do you know why?” Richard asked.

Weed nodded sideways; he had no clue what Richard was talking about.

“There is history beneath history and beneath that are stories and legends however right at the bottom lies the truth. The pure truth which will always remain buried away.” Richard replied.

Weed wasn’t sure what to make of the information. Was this another quest? Or the ramblings of an ‘old’ man.

“I thank you for trying to scare the nobles…but I do not think it was necessary…” Richard went on.

“But the coup?” Weed tried to justify himself.

“Elf there are times when we must step down for the greater good.” Richard replied.

“I don’t understand what you mean?” Weed asked with a frown. ‘Is he planning to just give up? After everything that I did for him???’

“I can see this talk is clearly upsetting you…” Richard said.

Weed tried to reply back but Richard cut him off.

“I am not going to resign my power without a fight. It is my birth right to rule over Lavias as I have done so for the last two hundred years. So don’t worry.”

Weed was still frowning. He didn’t know what the Lord was saying and what he meant. There was too much effort and relationship points at stake to have the senile lord throw it away. Weed was greedy and hungry for power and the Lord of Lavias was the fastest path available to him. Anyone who read the story of the golden goose knows how much it is worth. Weed wasn’t simply going to stand back and watch the Lord ruin all his plans…

“I think I shall take my leave the young lady hiding behind the bush has been eavesdropping ever since we left the crowds…” Richard said as he pointed at a small girl who had been tailing them. It was Emily and she wasn’t smiling.

“Weed! Here is one last gift for your efforts!” Richard called out aloud.

TRRRINGG!

You have received access to the Lord’s mansion!

You may now come and go as you please to the Lord’s Mansion in Lavias!

Before Weed could thank the Lord he felt shearing pain originating from his foot and making its way all the way up his limb.

TRRRINGG!

- You received 30 HP Damage!

- Chances of stun are up 5%!

- Chances of confusion are up 5%!

Weed groaned slightly as he stepped back slowly. Emily had just gone and stomped his foot. It was like déjà vu all over again.

“What?” Weed asked as he sat down on a bench. ‘Seriously how strong is she? Last time also she did about this much damage! What is she Hercules?’

“YOU!” She screamed out angrily.

“Me what?” Weed pretended to be completely ignorant.

“Have you been sent by his Grace?” She asked.

“Yes.” Weed lied. ‘Maybe she doesn’t know…’

“OUCH!!”

TRRRINGG!

- You received 30 HP Damage!

- Chances of stun are up 10%!

- Chances of confusion are up 10%!

“You LIAR! You are that man!” She said excitedly struggling to convey her words and emotions. “That I met at the Archery Ranch!”

“You have me mistaken for someone else, little girl.” Weed tried to continue lying.

“Is that why the Lord of Lavias called you Weed?” She asked with her eye brow raised.

Weed gulped, the stupid Lord got him into this mess.

“Ok you caught me.” Weed admitted. “So now what?”

“I want in on your quest.” She demanded with no hesitation.

“What?? You got to be kidding me. There is no way I am letting someone just steal my quest!” Weed snapped.

One of the features of RREV apart from missions were shared quests. Players could share quest’s that they had received from others as long as certain criteria’s were met. Only high level quests could be shared with players around one’s own level being one of the criteria.

“You know what you just did? Stupid Elf??” She ranted.

“Yeah, I stopped the coup.” Weed replied as he checked his heels. “Are you part of it?”

“Yes.”

“…” Weed was surprised. He didn’t think that she was going to be part of the coup.

There was a slightly long and awkward silence between the two.

Weed finally decided to break the silence. “You should back off and tell your friends too.”

“I am a guild master, I have no friends.”

Weed understood what she meant by when she said that. There were plenty of guilds with only one guild master. Since it is usually so difficult to make guilds in RREV, players join with under one party to begin with and advance till they can form their own separate guilds and then split. Sometimes, the split happens smoothly and sometimes it goes very bad; much like a break up with a girl. Weed didn’t care, he knew what it means to be alone but there was no room for sympathy when you are playing a game seriously.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Just back off, the Lord of Lavias is too powerful and he will crush you.” Weed replied.

Emily laughed a little. “Is that your way of showing that you care for me? I lead one of the larger guilds in Lavias, do you really think I am scared of some young brat of a lord who knows nothing of warfare?”

“You know nothing about the Lord. What do you really know about him?” Weed shot back.

“For one he doesn’t look after his people! Have you seen the state of Lavias? It is nearly bursting at its seams and the Lord has yet to do anything about it! There is corruption in every government office, new players are being charged to leave the city after three weeks, prices are sky rocketing and the lands are ridden with thieves!” Emily spoke in one go without taking a breath.

Weed remained silent. He was well aware of the problems of Lavias, it was all over the RREV community. NPCs which were taken for granted for their honesty were easy to corrupt with a small bribe. Similarly, once corrupted bad habits would persist and spread like an epidemic. It was a known fact that Lavias was the only starter city where players had to pay a newbie’s exit fees after three weeks of staking in the city and another entry fee if they wanted to get back in. Crime like robbery was sky rocketing in the city and there were several parts of the city prone to disease. The walls around the city which were meant to protect the city were in dire need of repair…the list was endless.

Nonetheless Weed decided to pair with the Lord of Lavias, even if it meant he sided with the bad side. ‘At least its not evil…’ Weed thought to himself.

“It will be taken care off.” Weed replied. “I shall talk to the Lord of Lavias about this.”

Emily snorted in skepticism. There was another long awkward silence.

This time Emily broke the silence. “So do you normally cross dress?”

“No…just part of the quest.” Weed replied as he opened his white hair.

“I thought so.” Emily said as the two of them quietly watch the stars and the moonlight.

“I was tasked with defusing the coup to a degree.” Weed explained.

“So he knows of our every move?” Emily curiously asked.

“…”

“He knows we are coming for him?”

“Yes and he is more than prepared.” Weed warned her.

Emily wore a grim smile. She tried to change the topic, “So Ms high elf, where are your brethren?” she asked with a sarcastic tone.

“Honestly, no idea.” Weed replied. He didn’t know why he told her the truth, maybe she was somehow connected to the old him before he had ‘changed’. It didn’t matter, he decided to tell her the truth. “I had stopped playing virtual reality games for nearly eight months, just got back.”

Emily looked at Weed in disbelief. “You just got back and you are working for the Lord of Lavias?”

“Yeah that’s how things worked out…”

“Don’t you find that the least bit suspicious?” She asked.

“You tell me, I checked their story out it seemed ok. I did hamper the coup didn’t I?”

“Still…”

Weed then narrated his story of how he was captured and taken to the Lord’s mansion. He left out the bits concerning the Lord’s story, his age and the dragon blades.

Emily stared at Weed in disbelief. “I have never met anyone as lucky as you…we have fight tooth and nail, to get even close to the Lord and you are telling me, he just happened to pick you up? How did he even know where to look for you? Do you have any idea how big Lavias is??”

Weed frowned, Emily was challenging his intellectual poweress; clearly she had no idea how smart Weed thought himself to be. Simply put, Weed took offense.

“It doesn’t matter what their intentions are…this is the side I chose.” Weed replied.

“Being a female elf? Cross dressing?” Emily scorned back.

“Let it be…” Weed said as he struggled to move around in the dress.

“How is the granny and old man?” Emily asked.

Weed looked at her in surprise. “Don’t you know? I thought of asking you the same.” Weed pretended to be completely unaware of the fact that Lisa and Rodriguez had both been killed in front of him. Just remembering the vivid scenes of that day sent shivers through him.

“So you don’t know either?” Emily looked at Weed suspiciously. Her women’s intuition said otherwise but she gave Weed the benefit of the doubt. “Last when I met them they were packing their bags and were off to Skyholm or something like that…”

“Skyholm…eh?” Weed pretended to be thinking. He knew exactly what day that was. It was the day they were probably packing so that they could see him take Theodore’s test. The memory pierced through Weed’s chest in pain. He felt anger and remorse for his own inability to do nothing but run that day.

“Yeah, around the time of the Light Fall. You know when Skyholm was ruined. Were you still playing RREV then or had already quit?” Emily asked as they continued to meander in the garden maze.

“No…I had left by then…” Weed lied again.

“Do you know about the fall of Skyholm?”

“Yeah…I saw the clips.” Weed replied. “Did they come back?”

“No, I think they were probably victims in the entire attack that happened. I visited the ranch several times since then since my advance level archery training needs to be completed, but they never came back. Their abandoned ranch was vandalized and the animals were stolen. I tried times to keep guard but gave up in three weeks.” Emily too felt sad thinking about those times. RREV had a way of making special places in ones heart for NPCs. Emily was especially close to Lisa who reminded her of her own late grandmother.

“I would like to believe they are okay.” Emily said softly.

“…”

“The neighbours say that a week after skyholm fell, they say the old man return to his ranch…they say many other creatures and dark beings have come and gones since then from there…” Emily added.

Weed listened with great interest. He was hooked on to her words from the moment she said old man.

“Did they say where the old man went?” He asked her hurriedly.

“No.”

Weed clenched his fist tight; there was still a chance Rodriguez could be alive. ‘I never really saw him fall…’ Weed was doubtful but somewhere in his heart hope blossomed; his smile was clearly visible.

“Anyways, the famous Geomchi’s have made it their training ground now. So that’s that…” Emily finished. “Weed join my guild and be part of the coup.”

Weed frowned, he thought this conversation had been finished. “You aren’t giving up I see.”

“I am only offering you this since I know you from way back. Think of it as a favour I am doing for the granny’s husband.”

“Then, I guess the next time we meet will be on the battlefield.” Weed replied as he turned around and began walking back. He had spent enough time reminiscing with the past; it was time to move on.

“The battle has already begun…” Emily whispered as she pulled out her sword out from the inventory.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Somewhere in the party, Sparrow and his comrades disappeared from their designated entertainment posts and began changing clothes. They were all dressed in black tight clothes with their faces covered; an attire of a ninja.

“Leave none alive.” Hummingbird instructed.

“The coup begins now.”

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Authors Note:

1. You maybe wondering at some point, how much has he written? Well....the truth is lots.

2. Happy Reading. Hope you liked the surprise!

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