Quest Failed

The Quest ‘Endangered Supply’ Lines has been failed.

Penalty: Titemore army morale has been decreased by 20%.

For all the warm sunlight and blissfully cool wind that graced the idyllic fields of green grass and blooming flowers of blue and yellow, Alden felt only dread.

Seated in the lavish carriage of one of Coalben’s most influential merchants, the only thing that came to mind were his failures. The quest, for one. The death of his men for another. Elric, especially. He supposed things could be worse. He could be dead. But he was not dead, and for that he should have been thankful. Should have been.

He flexed the muscles of his left hand again and again, testing the newly formed musculature. An unnecessary habit. It had been days since the trial by combat, and he had regrown his hand in a quarter the time it had taken him the first time, and with far less error as well.

It distracted him, however, and that was enough.

“Will he be joining me today?” he asked the man outside the carriage window.

The man looked at him, annoyed. He asked the man the same question nearly every day and received the same answer in return. Still, the man did as he was bid, urging his horse to the front of the line of the caravan of carriages and disappearing from sight. A minute later and the man rode back, twisted around, and rode beside Alden’s carriage once more.

“Alcuin will be joining you shortly.”

Alcuin was a man who valued the use of his time, and who was more than eager to make others wait on his behalf. A fact that Alden had learned first hand, first when attempting to leave the city with the merchant, and again now as he waited expectantly for what must have been near an hour before the portly man deigned to join him.

Yet all sense of anger slipped away as the merchant sat across from him, beaming a fresh and friendly smile.

“All is well I take it?” Alcuin asked, sounding sincere. The man always sounded sincere, even when Alden could tell he was not, and had a way of speaking that used his hands and body as much as his words.

“As well as can be expected,” Alden said. He tensed his left hand once more, suddenly aware that Alcuin had not seen him since he had lost it. If the man was at all surprised he did not show it.

“Good, good. I apologize for the scarcity of my presence these past few days, but there are numerous issues I find myself tied up in of late.”

“It is of no issue. You have been more than kind these past few days, and I am sure your worries require your attention.”

“Ah, but you have no interest in my worries, yes? You have worries of your own, after all. Your men, for one. I have it on good word that a number of them are still alive.”

Alden smiled faintly. A false smile. He already knew.

“Not enough, I see,” Alcuin said, catching his lack of surprise. “How about their location, then?”

Alden raised his head, interest piqued. “Where?”

Alcuin smiled, chuckled. “Fear not, lad, we’re heading their way now. They were spotted heading into the woods east of the city, no doubt to slow their pursuers. I imagine they were quite surprised to find that their pursuers did not continue the chase, but word is they moved deep into the forest regardless.”

“They weren’t chased?”

“No no. The Duke’s men had strict orders. Orders I don’t know about, officially. Unofficially, I know that they were ordered not to pursue anyone beyond the city’s walls, a fact I’m certain will send the Duke into a fit once he realizes his orders were disobeyed, even if only partially. I also know something pertaining to your personal circumstances. That being, of course, that Wardric was ordered to obey the results of the trial.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, my dear friend, that you’d likely be dead if Wardric had his way, trial or no. The man is iron to his enemies and soft fur to his friends. No doubt the death of the young Aethelwulf has upset him greatly.” Alcuin shifted in his seat, and Alden imagined the man was somehow sharing Wadric’s grief.

It should not have surprised him. Alcuin had been on speaking terms with Wardric and the Duke.

All the more reason for Alden to hold onto his suspicions.

“In any case,” the merchant continued, “what matters is that you are alive, for the moment, and will not come to harm any time soon. Not by the Duke’s men, at least.”

“How can you be so certain?”

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“You do not know the Duke as I do. Few do. Even his servants do not understand the reasoning behind his actions, but, regardless, are willing to follow for their own sake. Duke Harhold is a very successful man, after all. Among the richest nobles in the empire. Serving him is synonymous with riches.

“And while the promise of wealth holds his servants in check, there is a doubt hanging over the entire duchy. Duke Harhold, you see, is rather fond of strange magics. And in recent years he has become particularly fond of a magic unique to a single individual. An individual who hails from Hilva, no less.”

“The oracle?” Alden guessed. It was the obvious choice.

“Know of them, do you?” Alcuin asked.

“I heard rumors when I was a prisoner,” he replied. “So it’s true then? This oracle can see the future.”

Alcuin grinned deeply, cheeks bulging red. “The future and so much more, my boy. Duke Harhold was not the only one fond of the oracle’s magic. The oracle visited Coalben for the first time many years ago, before their powers were well known. I was the Duke’s master of horses, then. A good job for a lover of horses such as myself, but never enough. And so, when the oracle arrived, I beseeched the Duke to give me an audience with them, such that I would be able to pursue my dream of becoming the greatest of horse breeders in all the empire. He agreed, after speaking with the oracle of course, and in return sought exclusive business dealings. And so I spoke with this oracle from Hilva, hanging upon their every word and memorizing every detail.”

“And now you’re the richest merchant in Coalben,” Alden said.

Alcuin’s grin seemed to deepen further, if that were possible. “And now I’m the richest merchant in Coalben, yes. Richer than all the owners of the steel refineries, richer than all the mine owners, the shopkeepers, the inn owners, the tanners. All of them. And all I do is breed and sell horses.”

The merchant relaxed as he looked out the window, his eyes glazing over with a nostalgic glow as he reminisced.

“It was hard work, let me tell you. Even with the foreknowledge of my success. But, of course, I relied only on that one meeting with the oracle. The Duke forbade subsequent meetings; a paranoia of his, not ill-founded, but an annoyance nonetheless. Still, there were many occasions where I had my doubts. But, time and time again, I relied on the word of that oracle, and what was said came to pass.”

“All of it?”

“Every word of it.”

A complication, one Alden was finding himself increasingly frustrated with. A future-seer presented many possibilities, many of which he did not think benefited him.

“So the Duke relies on the words of a Hilvan oracle. He’s a traitor, then?”

The merchant shook his head. “Not in the strictest sense. Bring him before an imperial court with all evidence laid bare and he will hang, certainly, but he has become fooled into believing he serves some higher purpose. Hilva’s doing, of course. The oracle is of Highharrow, the holy city. What the oracle says is the word of the Gods, and the Duke is ever their servant.”

Alden flexed his fingers, thinking. He did not like this news, he decided. It left too much unknown to him, and there was, beneath it all, the sickly tension of knowing he very well may have been a pawn in the game of higher beings. He had had his fill of being at the mercy of others.

“What does this all mean?” he asked. “Where do I go from here? I cannot compete with someone who knows the future.”

Alcuin laughed. “There is no need to compete, lad. There is only the need to follow.”

“Follow what?”

“The word of the oracle. It just so happens that the oracle visited Coalben some months ago and, by their word, I was granted another audience. And it just so happens that the oracle spoke of you. Told me you would win, told me you would go on to achieve great things, with the proper push.”

The more Alden listened the less he liked.

“I made a fortune on your victory, lad, and trust me when I say that I have every intent on keeping you alive. I owe much to the oracle, and the oracle has promised much more wealth working with you. Much, much more. But only if you listen to me, and listen well.”

The merchant leaned forward, his voice a soft whisper, as if spies lurked just outside the carriage door. “You are to go to Licester and besiege its capital, Grensfield.”

“Besiege it?”

Alcuin nodded. “In a month's time, you and what remains of your men must go there. You must besiege the city and take it. The oracle will be there, waiting, and if you succeed the truth of this war will be revealed to you.”

“The truth of this war? What does that mean?”

The merchant shrugged and grinned without care. “I am merely the messenger, and the message has been delivered. And, as it just so happens, our journey together is complete, for the moment.”

Outside Alden saw the line of trees that marked the forest’s edge, tall and dark against the warm blue sky.

“Your men will be a ways in the woods,” Alcuin said. He opened the carriage door and stepped outside, arms outstretched, and yawned. The man seemed to find pleasure in every circumstance. “This will be goodbye, for the moment, though we shall meet again should you succeed.”

“The words of the oracle, I take it?”

Alcuin replied with a smile. “Take care now, sir, and be careful. The oracle’s words are merely guidance. It will take full effort to see that their vision becomes reality.”

Alden nodded and stared at the quest hovering before him.

Conquer Grensfield

Besiege and conquer Grensfield, the capital of Licester barony.

Tier 1 Requirements: Conquer the city with the aid of Commander Dhatri.

Rewards: 25,000xp, 10 bonus points to Charisma.

Tier 2 Requirements: Conquer the city with only your current soldiers.

Rewards: 35,000xp, 10 bonus points to Charisma, 20 bonus points to all Physical Stats.

Tier 3 Requirements: Conquer the city alone.

Rewards: 55,000xp, 20 bonus points to all Stats, creation of the Renown statistic, ???, ???, ???.