I opened up my map to check and see how much further we had to go. I noticed immediately that all of the land that was south of the mountains changed, it became a forest unhindered by any travelers or as if no one has ever been there before.
“Well, I’d say we are officially out of the tutorial zone now.” I said, more thinking out loud than speaking to anyone directly.
“Yeah, I’d say so.” Max said as he seemed to be within his menu as well.
The castle appeared to be another day's travel, so we set up a camp inside the cave, it seemed to be the safest place to set up and only one way in or out. Easily defensible, and we could stay out of any weather that may or may not come about.
“So, the trials… can we talk about what happened? you have been distracted since you got that weapon.” Trish said worriedly. We were alone in the back of the cave, away from the others.
“Well, that was rude! I am not ‘just’ a weapon.” Star huffed.
I chuckled inwardly at Star’s comment, then I looked up to Trish. “I don’t really know if the time to go over this is right now.” I said, trying to brush the question away.
“No, we are not going to do this James, you need to talk to me. Do not start closing yourself off from me again.” Trish responded sternly, with a look of anger on her face and worry in her eyes.
“I… ugh, you’re right. I’m sorry…” I sighed, a mix of frustration and reluctant admiration welling up inside me. The words felt heavy on my tongue, but a strange sense of relief washed over me at the same time.
I told her everything about the trials within the realm, tears welling up in my eyes. I held my composure until she looked me in the eyes with tears in hers. “Sweetie, you may never have apologized outright for it, but I knew. I could see it in the transformation; I felt it in the love you showed me. You were forgiven long ago for that. I love you.”
I dropped my defenses and cried in relief as I laid my head against her. She is my best friend, and the guilt I didn’t realize I had buried deep within me finally washed away, like rain pouring down. We held each other for a few minutes, and I looked up, gazing into her beautiful golden-brown eyes. I gently squeezed her hand with love. “I think I am going to take first watch. You get some sleep, love.”
She nodded sweetly after we kissed and laid down to sleep. I walked to the front of the cave, pulling my composure back together. As I reached the mouth of the cave, I whistled to get Max’s attention. He came down from wherever he was hiding.
“Hey man, I am going to take first watch. I don’t think I will be falling asleep anytime soon anyway,” I said, looking out into the distance.
Max put his hand on my shoulder as he passed me. In that moment, I knew he had heard the conversation. I looked back at him and nodded in thanks, and he nodded in return.
After an uneventful night, we packed our things and prepared to head out. We returned to the road and continued toward the castle. The closer we got to the castle the more we spotted others traveling along the roads as well.
Families traveled in floating wagons with no wheels, seemingly held aloft by magic. Their covers appeared to be made from the leaves of the surrounding forest. Lanterns with a blue-white glow were attached to the tops and sides of the wagons, casting an ethereal light.
The wagons were pulled by creatures called [Lepidomare], which resembled giant seahorses adorned with majestic, butterfly-like wings. When they whinnied, it sounded like wind chimes gently brushed by a breeze, mixed with the murmuring of a babbling brook. Their colors varied, with females typically being much larger than the males. The [Lepidomare] did not seem to actually fly off the ground; their wings merely guided their movement and helped them hover above the ground.
An oddity that I noticed is that the people we walked by did not have their names displayed above their heads, just their gender and what type of humanoid they were. I assumed that the only reason I could see Jero’s name, or the other villagers is because it was the tutorial town.
The castle came into view after we came to a break in the forest trees, we could not really see much of it from afar. Though, what really caught our eye was the tower that floated above the city. About fifteen minutes later we peaked the top of the hillside, and that is when the view took the breath from my lungs.
The castle had four towers that seemed to look over the walled city. A wall that was a pure pearl white spanning around a city had to be at least two miles in diameter, with the walls ending within the sides of the mountains. The towers were built neatly as close to the mountain face as they could be center and edge of the city. The towers had a strange black stone that shimmered with the sunlight hitting them, the tops of each tower had a green roof.
There were two other walls built within the main wall, I assumed it was a defensive measure. The road in and out of the city walls were bustling with life. People within walls seemed like ants moving around the tunnels of an ant farm, bringing so much life to the city.
“Well, we finally made it. Now we just need to find our way inside, turn in quests…”
Mel interrupted me with excitement, “and work on professions!”
I smiled at the excitement the group showed at that, well everyone except for Max. “You good bro” I asked him curiously.
“Yea, I’m just really hoping this hood actually works or I am shit out of luck with my Tinkering.” He responded with a tinge of dismay.
“There is only one way to find out if a ‘legendary’ hood will work or not.” I said sarcastically.
He shoved me in response to that with a light chuckle we kept moving towards the castle. Now approaching the massive castle gate which appeared to be made from the same purple reddish wood from the surrounding forest. The same type of iron that I had found within the vein I found on the mountain side seemed to be what outlined and strengthened the doors with an extravagant, yet elegant design.
The walls up close looked like obsidian, but it was a blood red tint as the light shown against it. It was also seamless, as if the wall grew from the ground, rather than being built. The guards at the gate pulled us to the side to ask us a couple of questions, out of the way of others trying to pass through the gates.
A massive [♂ Draconoi Lvl ??] with the features of a dragon, yet also bird like. His scales a pearlescent green and blue, with a red plumage of feathers surrounding his neck, and snakelike eyes that were a tie dye of red and green. His voice a deep rumbling raspy almost as if an earthquake erupted from deep within his chest, “What business do you have here?” he asked sternly.
I looked up at the man who even towered over Mel and responded, “we have come with the head of the [Titanic Rageshard], we would like to speak to your captain about the reward for killing this beast.” I said as I pulled the head from my inventory.
The guard nodded, though not seeming impressed. “Follow me then, if you cause any trouble” He said as his head whipped back around snapping his maw full of razor-sharp teeth in my face, “I will personally gut you and feast on your innards.”
I flinched back in reaction, the other guards around us roared in laughter as if it was the funniest thing they have ever seen. I clenched my jaw and cursed him inwardly, but outwardly I just smiled and said, “No problems here sir.”
He slowly turned his head back in the direction of the gates, we followed him into the walls of the city. There were a huge variety of different races bustling about the markets that were staged just inside the gates. Following along behind the massive [Draconoi] we rounded a few corners before reaching a huge wooden building, it was built from some wood I have not seen within the woods yet. A light grey ashen color, with stones presumably from the mountains, holding up the base of the building. [Ru’lique Keep] was written on a sign hanging over the door that led into the building.
We walked into the keep and were led to an office that was just to the left of the entrance, with a sign that said [Captain Tittles]. I chuckled out loud at the name and forced a cough immediately to cover the knee-jerk reaction up. The guard that led us there glared back at me, I just looked away as if I was checking out the oh so interesting wall next to me.
“I am too bloody busy to be taking any visitors right now. Tell them they can fuck off.” a small, yet chilling voice said before we even got in the door.
“Sir, they claim to have killed the Rageshard a few miles outside of the city.” the guard responded respectfully.
“You mean the same Rageshard that killed the five patrols I sent out? Bullshit.” Tittles responded dismissively.
I squeezed passed the guard, annoyed at this point and slamming the head down on the desk. “You mean this fucking Rageshard?” I said with exasperation.
The guards in the room stared at me shock written on their faces, while Tittles looked at the head. Every guard in the room seemed to be holding their breath, even my group seemed to be perfectly quiet and still. Slowly raising his eyes to face mine, his mouth parting to say something. And I lost it laughing, I never would have thought that I would see a pug humanoid. When I say pug, I mean he looked just like a pug except he was sitting upright in a chair, his fur the fawn and spotted black you would normally see on a pug. Big bulgy brown eyes, and his facial expression of irritation made me laugh even harder.
Then I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of his level [♂ Capt. Tittles, Canithal Lvl 68], and I slowly stopped myself from laughing the professional way, you know the ole coughing trick again. I just accepted whatever fate was about to bring me. Tittles stared at me intensely for a few moments, then he jumped down from his seat and walked around the desk, which all I could hear were the clanking of his boots. He walked upright and as he rounded the corner of his desk his forepaws were behind his back like a proper soldier would walk, his head held high.
I held back all but a small snicker that escaped my throat, my own body betraying me in that moment. “This one’s got a funny bone, maybe its best if we figure out which one is funny and shatter it. Or we shatter them all until we find the right one.” He said menacingly.
His small voice coming from that ugly, yet adorable face made it incredibly hard to take him seriously, yet that level meant he was serious business. and I fought with all I had to control my laughter. I had no idea why I had no control over my laughter, it was as if something was forcing me to laugh. Don’t get me wrong, I did find it funny, but I did not think a level sixty-eight that could obliterate me within a mere twitch of his wrist was funny.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Another thing I thought was odd was that I couldn’t speak anymore, as if I forgot how. Within a heartbeat the guard that followed us into the keep that was staged outside the main entrance was decapitated, head rolling on the ground and bumping into my leg. Finally feeling like I had control over myself.
“What the fuck was that!” I exclaimed with anger and fear intertwined.
“That my boy was an assassin trying to use you and your friends here to stir something up enough he could get close to me.” Tittles responded while walking back to his chair.
“How did you know, I didn’t even know I was being controlled.” I asked hesitantly.
“The Queen didn’t make me the captain of her guard for no reason.” He replied nonchalantly. “You, slamming a dead Rageshard’s head on my desk however, that took balls.” he added with what I was sure was a sly grin. I nodded in response to his assessment, mostly because I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.
“We came to retrieve the rewards for being rid of the beast that was slaying innocents and apparently five patrol squads as well.” I said after a few moments of silence.
“Clearly.” was all he said still looking over the head. After a few moments of inspecting it, he waved a guard to him, “go and grab Lieutenant Shnyde.” The guard nodded and left immediately; Tittles also waved the rest of the guards away. The [Draconoi] hesitated until Tittles glared in his direction.
“I had just sent Shnyde to put together a more capable group to attempt to hunt this beast down, I am glad to see it done. It is clear that he was much higher level than we had originally thought was possible in that area.” Tittles said while inspecting the maw of the head.
“He was level thirty-two, and he had a strange silver and gold outline around his nametag, none of us really understand what that meant,” I responded.
Tittles looked up at me and for the first time the rest of the group with admiration and shock, “You killed a fucking Mythar, granted there are five of you but, you’re all only level twenty-six. That is one hell of a feat.”
“Mythar? What exactly is a Mythar?” I questioned.
“You will only see beasts as Mythar, they are extraordinarily rare and far more powerful. Their stats are at the least, ten levels higher than what their levels show, with how rare they are though, it is hard to determine the differences.” He responded.
“With how rare they are, are you even certain that only beasts can be Mythar?” Max asked, his hood seemed to be helping him, no guards have been hateful towards him or anyone else we passed.
Tittles looked at Max then seemed to ponder on his question, long enough to make us all uncomfortable. “To be completely frank with you, no, I am not actually certain if that is the case.” He finally responded. “I am however certain that even with that hood of yours, does not work on me Drow. I am also certain that if you do not carry this with you in this city, it will not work on anyone that is ten levels or higher than your own.” he added while holding out what looked like a card.
I tensed for a brief moment before I realized that Tittles had no intension of hurting Max. Max seemed hesitant to reach for the card unmoving. Tittles gestured at him with the card to take it, “If I wanted you dead Drow I would have done so before you even entered this office. There is something about you that tells me you mean no harm to me or my people. And if you’re traveling with the rest of this group, you can’t be all bad, especially with how close all of you seem to be.”
Max looked in my direction, though his features were hard to read under the hood. I shrugged and nodded towards the card. Max resolved and walked closer to the desk and grabbed the card from Tittles. “This card puts an aura around you letting the people of this city know that you are trusted by me, though it will not protect you from the castle guard, you will have to earn one from them. You, Drow, are welcome anywhere within these first two city walls.”
“So, is that why the [Draconoi] guard was a bit surly with us?” I asked
“Oh, you mean Jerry? No, he’s just an asshole.” Tittles responded with laughter. “He is one of the best damn guards in these city walls, he takes his job very seriously. He seems a bit harsh, but he has a fair and gentle hand. Don’t let that bastard fool you, he lets the children run all over him and will always help someone in need, even if its an old lady crossing the street.” He added.
“Well, that is good to know. I thought he was going to kill me when I first met him,” I responded light heartedly. “Also, why is it that I was able to see your name and level when I walked in, but everyone else so far I can only see their race?” I added curiously.
“Did you read the sign outside my office?” Tittles asked, which in response I nodded. “That sign is there so there is pure clarity between me and whomever I meet. If you know a person’s name you can see it and their level displayed above them. I can’t see any of your names, but I can see your race and levels. Seeing your levels is a perk of being a captain of such prestigious city.”
“Wait if that is the case how do people not see my race, well other than you that is.” Max mused.
“With your hood it was trying to convince me that you were just a wood elf, though because of my level and because of the benefit of being within the city walls I am afforded some clarity. It is a defense mechanism of this city; it lets all those who reside here see the true nature of those who enter.” Tittles paused for a moment shuffling some stuff around on his desk seemingly working while still talking with us. “Before you ask, no I doubt anyone saw what you were on your way here because you did not directly approach them, and you seem like a cautious man. It is safe to assume that you kept your head down on the way through the streets.” Tittles looked at him while he spoke now. “That item I gave you as you seen yourself is called [Ru’Lique Urban Veilpass] It will not necessarily let the hood fool anyone as much as it will let others know you are trusted within these walls. Now I trust that you will not do anything to dissuade my trust, I feel I am being very generous here and going far out of my way to trust you.”
Max nodded, “Yes sir, I promise to treat everyone within these walls with the utmost respect.”
“Do the unde…”
“Sir, lieutenant Shnyde is approaching” A loud voice from outside shouted cutting me off.
“Ah, yes. Now we can get you your rewards and get you the hell out of my office so I can get some work done.” Tittles grumbled.
The lieutenant entered with a commanding stride, each step exuding a blend of elegance and authority. She was stunning and terrifying all at once, her skin a smooth, ashen tone that seemed almost ethereal in the dim light. Branches adorned with delicate leaves and vibrant flowers cascaded from her head like hair, swaying gently as she moved. Without sparing any of us a glance, she focused her piercing gaze solely on the captain, her presence alone demanding our silence.
“Sir, the patrol squad is almost ready.” She said her voice like a gentle breeze through the trees, yet as strong as a storm rolling over the land.
“No need, this group has brought us the head of the beast that was killing our people” Tittles responded gesturing at us without even looking.
[♀ Lt. Shnyde, Virdralis Lvl 63] looked back at us as if it was the first time noticing we were even in the room. No emotion was displayed on her face as she turned back toward Tittles, “Sir, respectfully, that beast kille...”
“Respectfully lieutenant, this group of Travelers brought me the head of the Mythra beast to prove it.” Tittles responded with a tone of annoyance.
For the first time Shnyde displayed emotion as she turned back to gaze at each of us with shock and confusion. Once she glanced back at the desk, she noticed the head of the beast sitting at the corner of the desk as if it was a paper weight.
Now, I am sure you are wondering how the head of this massive beast is just sitting on the captain's desk, or how I even pulled it out of or put it in my inventory. The truth is, the head of the Titanic Rageshard shrank in size, making it manageable to carry and store. But don't be fooled by its smaller appearance. Its aura still carries the weight of its true, monstrous form. Even now, as it sits on the desk, you can sense the immense power it once held, almost as if its full, terrifying size still lingers in the room.
She looked back towards us, “Seems there is more to you all then meets the eye.” she finally said.
“Yes, yes, yes, now please for the love of Jaq’Kuah. Get them to the quartermaster to collect their rewards, and out of my damned office.” Tittles growled waving his hand… or paw… in a shooing gesture.
As she strode past us gesturing for us to follow. We all said thank you to Tittles as he kept shooing us away trying to focus on papers that laid strewn about his desk. When we finally got outside a sense of relief washed over me, and tension I did not realize had built up, finally softening.
“Well, that was super intense.” Leo said looking as if he was shaking off tension as well, “I haven’t had a captain make me that nervous since I first joined the military” He chuckled.
Trish had a disgusted look on her face and mumbled something under her breath. I looked at her curiously, once realization hit me, I thought better of bringing up why the look was on her face. Mel’s face was a bit harder to read, but her eyes said it all, glistening with excitement. Her left hand was playing with the mace as she spun it in her hand. Taking time to admire the craftsmanship of the weapon, it was a deep dark greyish red color, rectangular in shape on one end with tapered edges on the other side of the head was another flat side but with spikes protruding outward from the face. An elegant design of a strange deep blue that seemed to create a web of waves covering the sides of the head. The handle is long enough to be wielded by her two massive hands, with a gorgeous black leather with a white strip spiraling towards the bottom of the curved spike pommel.
Mel looked at me realizing I was admiring the weapon, “Wanna hold it?” she asked with a wide grin.
I laughed, “the head of that thing is almost twice as big as my head, no thanks I choose life. I don’t think I even have enough strength to slide that beastly thing across the ground, let alone let you hand it to me without turning me into a cartoon character getting flattened to the ground with stars circling my head.”
Mel burst out laughing at the description. Leo chuckled then responded, “How high is your strength anyway Mel?”
“That is almost as rude as asking a lady her weight,” She retorted, her tone playful.
“Says the behemoth of a woman.” Max laughed while dodging a smack from Trish.
“Come on Mel, let's get away from these… Losers” she said haughtily with her face pointed upwards while pulling Mel along with her to walk closer to Shnyde. We all laughed as us guys followed along a few feet behind the three women.
“What was wrong with Trish back there? Max asked quietly.
“Yeah, she looked like she just found a roach in her cereal box.” Leo said with a quiet chuckle.
I snorted, covering my mouth so as not to catch anyone’s attention. “She absolutely despises pugs, she thinks they are the most hideous dogs, and she had to sit there and listen to one talking.”
“What?! That is what makes them so cute! They are so ugly they are adorable!” Leo whispered laughing.
“I know! I’ve always told her that. She wants nothing to ever do with them.” I snickered.
I glanced back toward the girls and caught Trish's eyes narrowing in our direction, her glare sharp enough to cut through steel. “You boys are whispering back there like a bunch of schoolgirls gossiping,” she snapped, her voice dripping with annoyance.
We couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Max, grinning mischievously, raised his fingers above his head, mimicking dog ears. The moment Trish realized what we were whispering about, her face flushed with anger. Her jaw tightened, and she spun on her heel, turning her back to us with a huff, which only made our laughter echo louder.
We fell silent for the next couple of blocks, and I admired the city around us as Trish fell back to me and put her arm in mine admiring the sites along with me. The streets were surprisingly well kept, the scent of foods cooking somewhere in the city wafted past my nose. Some of the buildings made from the normal grey stone quarried from the mountainside, some from the woods that surrounded the area. There were smaller buildings scattered around, maybe homes or storage buildings for the bigger buildings next to them. We had yet to see any stores, or any type of a workshop, smithy, guild hall, or anything of the sort. The contrast in colors and the intricate designs the stones created as they were seemingly random, yet a hint of a deliberate, almost artistic placement.
“We are here, please step inside. I will make the quartermaster aware of your presence. The captain has already sent note of your deed, so the quartermaster should already have your rewards set out.” Shnyde said as she gestured us into the building impatiently.
“You do not seem to like us.” I said, noticing the irritation on Shnyde’s face.
“You do not belong here.” She quickly said as she turned and walked towards a door, “Spyn, the party that the captain sent word of is here.” She glanced over to us one more time and strode out of the building.
“Well, she’s a right bloody cracker, ain’t she? Full of love and inspiration, that one,” Mel blurted out.
I snorted, Trish giggled, Leo chuckled as did Max. Another Canithal walked out of the doorway, this one looked like an albino German Shepherd [♂ QM. Spyn, Canithal Lvl 46]. “Yeah, she can be a bit of a sourpuss. Don’t mind her though, she’s not all bad, vicious, but not all bad.” He said his voice deep, resonant, and soothing with a gravelly texture. “She has been through a lot; she is also thought to be the last of her kind. Do try and give her some grace, she means well.”
I nodded, my eyes lingering on the door, she had just exited. “She… scares the crap out of me,” I admitted with a shudder, turning back to Spyn, who stood behind his counter. The room was a bland, almost sterile office, no warmth, no comfort, just functionality. The finely sanded shelves were arranged neatly along the walls, lined with books and trinkets that seemed more like placeholders than items of interest. There wasn’t even a chair to sit in, just a small space to stand, making the room feel more like a waiting area for bad news. Spyn leaned casually against the counter, his fingers with sharp, clawed tips clinking rhythmically against the wood, were unsettling. His hands, like Tittles’, were a strange mix of human and canine.