370 days until the Arkon Shield falls

Jan Lin,

I am delighted by your report. Despite what your fellows may say, I knew I didn’t err in placing you in command of this venture. Continue to deliver such promising results, and soon you may find yourself in higher office. Dispatch a team to Jabbermuck immediately. I want the human found and captured.

—Queen Ionia Amyla.

“Get up,” I said, rising to my feet and withdrawing my senses from Ash. “They’re on their way back.”

“She did it?” Thursten asked, hope warring with disbelief on his face.

“She did.” Smiling, I filled him in on the conversation I’d overheard. The most dangerous part of the plan was done, and now all that was left was for us to close the noose. I could scarce believe it, but things seemed to be coming together, and almost perfectly too. “Let’s go make sure everything is ready on our end.”

Hurrying across the roof, we climbed down the ladder placed against the side of the building. There, Thursten paused to give the waiting messengers their final instructions. Leaving him behind, I limped to the tavern.

The next stage of our deception called for a bit of acting on my part. I would have to feign dying. I grinned. That shouldn’t be too hard. I had lots of near-death experiences to call upon, after all. Only a little longer, and Jhaven will face the Trials’ wrath.

Then there would be a reckoning.

✽✽✽

A few minutes later, I was stretched out along the tavern’s bar counter. But for me and the two scout sergeants pretending to be gang lieutenants, the room was empty. My face was covered in dirt, my hands clutched at a fake wound in my side, and I’d been spattered with blood, none of it mine.

Thursten and Arneson were in the kitchen, waiting for the signal to act. Both had insisted on being close for this part despite the increased danger. No other scouts or rebels were nearby. If things went badly, it would fall on us to remedy the situation.

But nothing will go wrong, I told myself firmly. The only way that might happen was if my assumptions about the Trials’ response were unfounded. And I was certain they weren’t.

Mostly.

The plan called for Arneson to claim the settlement once the shaman entered the room. Jhaven’s suspicions were sure to be roused the moment he entered the village hall, and we couldn’t delay acting any longer. Technically the trap could be activated when the shaman crossed the settlement’s boundary, but we felt it more prudent to wait until we had Jhaven contained in a building—just in case my assumptions were wrong, and Jhaven wasn’t killed outright or contained by the Trials.

I surveyed the room one last time. Everything was in place. Slipping my consciousness into Ash again, I monitored Tara and Jhaven’s approach. The pair had already crossed into the settlement, having made the trip from the orc camp to the village in silence.

“They’re almost here,” I hissed to the sergeants as I felt Ash’s sudden proximity. Closing my eyes, I readied myself.

A moment later, orc hunter and burning brightly triggered.

An orc has been detected within nine feet of you. A nearby orc has been notified of your presence.

Even through the closed door, Jhaven’s sharp intake of breath was audible. Not waiting for Tara to precede him, the shaman shoved open the tavern door and barged in. Watching through lidded eyes, I examined our foe.

Jhaven wore no armor and was cloaked in voluminous green robes from the neck down. In his right hand, he held a white-ash staff that topped his own nine-foot-height. The Focus was studded with emerald-colored gems, four of them.

Elemental crystals of earth.

By them alone, I judged Jhaven to be an earth mage. The shaman’s hair was as silver as his staff and tied back in a top-knot. His face was unmarred by wrinkles, though, and his tusks were polished to a high sheen. Jhaven’s pale yellow eyes, presently narrowed into slits, were fixed on me.

“Welcome, Shaman Jhaven,” one of the sergeants said loudly.

That was the signal. In the other room, I expected Arneson had begun claiming the settlement.

Jhaven didn’t deign to acknowledge the sergeant-in-disguise, nor did his gaze stray from me. I felt an analyze ripple over me.

“So you spoke truthfully, human,” Jhaven murmured. “You have him.”

Tara snorted. “Of course,” she said, sounding offended. “I do not lie.” She was staying in character, I noted.

Jhaven took a step forward. “What a strange Feat he has,” the shaman whispered, almost to himself. “To have gained Orcsbane so quickly, he must have done something remarkable.”

“What’s that?” Tara asked, frowning.

Jhaven ignored her. His eyes fixed on me, he took another step. “How many of my kind have you slaughtered, human?” the shaman asked rhetorically. “And how?”

What in hells is keeping Arneson?

Jhaven was less than a yard from me, and I was more than a little concerned with how close the orc was getting. Behind the orc’s looming form, I could see Tara shifting uncomfortably. She, too, was getting edgy.

“What does Orgtul want with you, I wonder?” Jhaven muttered, slipping closer still. The shaman was near enough now that I could see the fluttering of the skin on his neck as he breathed. Abruptly Jhaven’s eyes widened, and he spun about.

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Had he sensed something amiss?

“Where is Gorkin?” he demanded. Not waiting for a response, Jhaven lowered his staff.

Yep, the gig is definitely up. I had no idea why Arneson hadn’t acted yet, but the shaman was about to attack, and I couldn’t remain still any longer. Heaving myself upright, I summoned mana and prepared a spellcasting.

Jhaven’s head whipped back to me.

“What—”

Trial messages scrolled through my vision, and mid-motion, I froze.

Flash alert: To all residents and occupants of the settlement, Sanctuary. The village councilor, Arneson Holomak, has been unanimously elected as Sanctuary’s new mayor. This is a sanctioned transfer of power and, in terms of the existing village charter, is effective immediately.

Flash alert: To all players in the vicinity of the settlement, Sanctuary. The village mayor has accepted the Forerunners invitation to join the faction. Sanctuary is now part of the Forerunners! The faction has initiated a claim to the intervening territory between the capital, Sierra, and the village, Sanctuary. Estimated time to claim completion: 10 days. To interrupt this claim, destroy or gain control of either settlement’s core.

Flash alert: to residents and occupants of the settlement, Sanctuary. The village has repudiated humanity’s Patron! The Orcish Federation is barred from all territory owned by Sanctuary. This resolution will be enforced by the Trials until the Arkon Shield falls.

He’d done it! Arneson had done it!

My gaze flew to the shaman. He, too, had been momentarily stunned into inaction. As I watched, the color drained from Jhaven’s face leaving his skin a sickly yellow. A moment later, the shaman’s gaze turned outwards and latched onto me sitting upright. Realizing he had been deceived, Jhaven’s expression twisted into a snarl, and he swung his staff about in an arc.

I threw myself forward, barely evading the blow as the heavy stick crashed into the table, shattering it into splinters.

“Human dog,” Jhaven growled, all traces of sophistication vanished. “How dare you—”

He broke off as another Trials message dropped into our minds.

Trespass detected!

The presence of the player, Jhaven, in the human territory of Sanctuary is in violation of Trials Laws. The player’s free will has been shackled to prevent him from taking hostile action against any of the settlement’s occupants or structures while he remains within the village. The converse does not apply. Settlement occupants may freely act against the trespassing player.

I stared at the Trials message in surprise. It was at one time both more and less than I’d expected. The Trials had not killed Jhaven as I’d hoped but had left his fate for us to decide. It was an outcome that left me with mixed feelings, but I knew both Thursten and Arenson would be pleased.

Spinning on his heels, Jhaven raced for the door. Tara stepped smoothly in his way. The shaman skidded to a halt, constrained by the Trials from attacking her. Whirling about, Jhaven pinned me with a glare. “Kill me!” he demanded.

“Oh, I don’t think we will do that,” Arneson said, stepping out of the kitchen with Thursten by his side. Both settlement leaders had huge grins plastered on their faces.

Jhaven spun to face them. “So this was all a trick.”

“It was,” Thursten said, nodding agreeably. He glanced at the two sergeants standing nearby. ‘‘Take away his weapons, tie him up, and take him upstairs.”

Jhaven’s eyes narrowed to slits. “I will not go quietly.”

Thursten’s gaze turned wintry. “You have no choice. You will do as we ask, or you will not enjoy what happens next.”

The shaman scrutinized the old man’s face in silence, his own rebellious. Nonetheless, he remained docile as the sergeants took away his staff and retrieved my Focus from where Jhaven had slung it across his back. I took the item gratefully as the scout returned it.

“You would do better to kill me,” Jhaven said abruptly, his face smooth and unruffled once more.

The time it had taken for the sergeants to bind the orc’s hands had given Jhaven space to think, and he seemed to have recovered much of his lost equilibrium.

Arneson snorted. “Don’t kid yourself. That is still an option.” He jerked his head towards the sergeants. “Now, take him away.”

✽✽✽

After the orc was stowed upstairs, Arenson turned to face me. “Well done, Jamie. Your plan worked brilliantly.”

I glared at him. “It nearly didn’t. What took you so long?”

The rebel leader had the grace to look sheepish. “Ah about that,” he began. “When I took over leadership of the village, I saw a request waiting from Jolin Silbright. That’s your commander, isn’t it?”

I saw Tara start in shock, and I felt my own measure of surprise. “What did she want?”

“She informed me that her people were working to free my village, and she advised me to co-operate fully with your demands.” The rebel leader shook his head ruefully. “She then went on to request—no, demand—we join her faction.”

“But how could she message you?” Tara asked, looking confused. I was just as puzzled and waited to hear his answer.

Arneson chuckled and tapped the settlement core hanging off the necklace draped around his neck. “Through this,” he said. “Settlement leaders don’t need the temple messaging system to communicate with each other. Once she had my identity and the settlement’s name—” his gaze darted to me—“I suppose you gave her those?”

I nodded slowly. It seemed that my letter to Jolin had borne some unexpected fruits.

He shrugged. “Well, there you have it. After I claimed the settlement, it was easy for her to reach me with her request.”

I blinked. What Jolin and Arenson had done made me realize we had been under-utilizing the messaging system.

I knew from the letters I’d sent myself that the system didn’t rely on player names alone. Instead, the Trials scanned a sender’s memories to identify the intended recipients. Jolin, of course, had never met Arenson, nor did she know him personally. Yet, the combination of the rebel leader’s name and settlement location had been enough for the Trials to find him.

That opened up a world of possibilities.

The messaging system, I realized, was the perfect tool for contacting the domain’s far-flung settlements. I need to inform Marcus and Jolin about this. If we got trusted individuals to contact everyone they remembered from back on Earth, we could map out the domain.

Then, another more worrying thought occurred to me. Someone from Sanctuary, or even Sierra, may have already revealed my location to the orcs—inadvertently or deliberately. I can no longer assume my enemies don’t know where I am. My mouth twisted sourly at this realization.

Great, another complication I don’t need.

Still, it was a problem for another day. Dismissing my worry, I returned my attention to the conversation and heard Tara ask, “And that bit about the territorial expansion in the Trials message, will that happen with every settlement that joins the faction?”

Arneson looked doubtful. “I don’t think so. The Trials mentioned something about having to be within the capital’s radius of control.”

That made sense. It would limit the settlements that could be added to the faction until Sierra increased in rank. Still, it was a useful Trials’ dynamic and would make protecting our territory from the orcs easier—at least while the Akon Shield was up. It also made it all the more crucial that we convinced other nearby settlements to join our cause.

“Anyway, I apologize for the delay,” Arneson continued, getting back to my original question. He ducked his head. “It shames me to admit, but it took me longer than it should have to accept your commander’s proposal.”

Thursten clamped a hand down on his friend’s shoulder. “You made the right decision in the end, Arnie. We are stronger together.”

Tara looked from one rebel leader to the other. “The question now, though, is where do we go from here?”

Thursten rubbed his chin. “Let’s go talk to Jhaven before we decide.”

The others nodded in agreement and tramped up to the second floor.