Arthe had been out of the dungeon for a day now and in that time he had been working almost exclusively on raising his repair skill. Thanks to his efforts it was now at Intermediate 2 24%. When it had hit intermediate he had immediately gone to see Mathis and asked to learn Blacksmithing, Mathis had jumped at the chance to demonstrate his superior abilities and had taught Arthe the basics of the skill. However Arthe had neither the time or the inclination to raise the skill just yet, instead he had spent the remainder of his time getting to know his new sword skills more intimately as well as regularly going to the Temple of Freya to pray.
Of course this wasn't because he had suddenly become religious, no it was because he wanted to raise his faith stat as much as possible before the Grand melee. This way when he was asked to join the ranks of the Paladins of Freya he would have more than enough faith to garner the respect of the other paladins around him. He was determined to be the most respected paladin of the lot as well as the strongest, the latter would take some time to achieve but with increased respect would come more lucrative quest opportunities. Thanks to his repeated praying his faith stat was now in excess of 400, along with this he had learned a basic healing spell.
Fortifying Aura [1]:
This holy aura heals the body and bolsters the spirit of the caster and nearby allies.
+20hp per second.
+10 stamina per second.
A.O.E- 5 yards.
Range and amount increases as the skill levels.
cost: 20 Mana per second.
This skill would come in very handy during the Grand Melee as he could heal himself and restore his stamina during the fight without having to stop, at least for as long as his Mana held out. Of course if he persisted in using his sword skills repeatedly then he wouldn't be able to use it, but with his Analytical Blade skill as well as his buffs he was fairly sure that he would not have to use his sword abilities that often.
Arthe had just 1 day till the Melee began and in that time he wanted to level up at least twice more so that he could use the level 50 gear he had found in the dungeon, to this end he went to see Mathis for help. When he arrived at his house Cassis was also there eating breakfast, both he and Mathis seemed to be having a fairly serious conversation so Arthe waited at the doorway.
"Well something has to be done, we can't just leave those Lizard-men out there preying on the villagers. Just because we're busy with the Melee preparations doesn't mean we can't do our duty." Cassis was saying.
"I know that and I also know that there aren't any soldiers to spare just now. Most of them are already out on punitive expeditions and the rest are either wounded or busy guarding the palace. Maybe we could ask one of the adventurers in town, perhaps Cadfael would be willing." Mathis responded.
"No I already asked him, he said he has been summoned to Somren to go on an expedition to the north so he has no time to help. And the other adventurers don't seem to be willing as the number of Lizard-men is too few to provide much in the way of experience or rewards. Greedy lot they were too, wanted a lot of gold just for killing 7 lizard-men. Honestly can you believe it."
Arthe decided now was a good time to interrupt so he pushed open the door and coughed loudly as he did.
"Hey Mathis, Hi Cassis. i couldn't help but overhear that you have a small monster problem. Is there anything I could do to help?"
Mathis looked at him then at Cassis, both of them grinned and then smacked themselves on the forehead.
"Freya! we're both idiots. We could send Arthe, why didn't we think of that sooner." Mathis said, then he got up and beckoned Arthe over to a map on one of the worktops.
"Now then we've had reports of a small group of Lizard-men preying on merchant carts about 2 hours from the city, their numbers have been accurately verified as only 7 so it's not a big problem. Having said that the merchants guild has been complaining incessantly to the city guard about getting rid of them. If you could go and sort them out it would be a big help, don't worry about missing the Melee as Cassis here will lend you a fast horse so that you can get there and back in quick time. So how about it?"
"Ding"
Quest received.
Slay the Lizard-men bandits.
Kill the monsters harrying the merchant caravans outside the city.
Quest difficulty: E
Quest rewards: Increased reputation with merchant guild and city guard.
"I accept." Arthe said immediately.
"Excellent, now then take this map and you'll find Cassis' horse round back in the yard. Shouldn't take you more than 5 hours to get there, kill the beasts and come back. so I'll see you soon."
Arthe headed out the back where he found a large grey stallion tied to the railing, he mounted it (after a couple of tries anyway) and headed down towards the city gate.
An 1 1/2 hours later he had come across the remains of a merchants cart at the side of the road. He looked for some sign to tell him which direction the marauders had come from and spotted a trail of clawed footprints heading into the forest. Before heading in after them he tied the horse to one of the trees and used his blessings on himself.
He had not traveled more than 50 yards into the woods when he heard the sound of voices, sneaking closer he began to tell the voices apart. Some of them spoke clearly in scared tones and the others had words interspersed with hisses. It seemed that he had come across the Lizard-men and whatever captives they had taken from the caravan. Realizing that he had to act quickly he drew his sword and stepped out from his hiding place, looking at the makeshift camp he saw humans tied together on one side with the lizard-men grouped around their ill-gotten gains on the other.
He ran towards the captives hoping to cut them free before he was noticed, unfortunately one of the Lizard-men picked exactly the wrong time to turn around and spotted him.
"Hss it'sss a human! Ssslay him!"
Arthe then stood between the monsters and the captives readying himself for the coming battle, the beasts charged at him all at once but got in each others way in the process. This allowed one of the creatures to pull ahead of the others, it ran at Arthe spear held high to strike but Arthe sidestepped the thrust and brought his blade down sharply on the fiends neck. His sword swept its head from its shoulders and Arthe stepped back into position. By this point the other Lizard-men had sorted themselves out and came at Arthe a bit more cautiously, as they drew near they attacked him in unison but he managed to fend off their spear tips with his shield then he stepped into their unguarded midst and activated his Blade dance skill. When it had completed two of the remaining 6 were dead and another 2 severely wounded, the last two went absolutely wild at this and attacked furiously. Arthe fended off hit after hit before reciprocating with a Shield bash to one enemy and a sharp thrust to the other, his thrust went straight into the abdomen of its target ending its life instantly.
Now faced with 2 injured enemies and one stunned one Arthe made short work of finishing them off, with decapitating strikes to the two wounded he then proceeded to sever the last enemy in two at the waist with a colossal swing of his sword. As it died the captives let out a massive cheer and Arthe was gifted with a system message telling him the news he was waiting for.
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
He was not expecting to gain two levels but then he realized that he had gained bonus experience for defeating the Lizard-men in a forest, where they had a 50% increase in strength. Still it was a nice surprise because when he looked at the amount of experience needed to level again he saw that only 23% was left. That meant he would probably level again when he turned in the quest.
Arthe then cut the captives free and guided them out of the forest, luckily no one had come along and stolen his horse in the meantime. He had not been looking forward to telling Cassis if it had, the merchants were extremely grateful and each told him that he would eternally receive a 25% discount from whatever he bought off them in the future. Saying that they began to gather the remnants of their belongings from the smashed cart and then make their way towards the city. Arthe stayed with them until the city gates came in sight, then he bid them farewell and headed back to Mathis' house.
He arrived just as Mathis was locking up and told him that the Lizard-men had been wiped out and that he had freed some merchants that were held captive. Mathis grinned at him and congratulated him on a job well done.
"Ding"
Quest completed:
The monsters are dead and you have saved a group of merchants, they will forever be in your debt and you will be hailed as a hero in the merchants guild.
You have leveled up!
You have gained 100 contribution points for the Kingdom of Baldur.
You have increased your reputation with the merchants guild. You are now an Honored Customer.
"Excellent, a level, some reputation and best of all contribution points to spend at the Palace armory. Maybe i should look for a new breastplate before the battle tomorrow. No not a lot of point, my current armor is still pretty awesome and I haven't really got enough points to buy anything decent. Meh might as well go and get a good night's rest before the start of the Grand Melee." Arthe mused whilst walking with Mathis up the hill towards the Castle.
"So lad, you feeling prepared for tomorrows battle royale? or are you nervous and shaking in those boats you call shoes?" Mathis asked with a grin.
"I'm feeling pretty confident actually old man, I've got my level up nicely and my equipment is some of the best stuff you've ever seen. Just wait I'll show you tomorrow, you'll be proud that you helped me my first day here i swear it." Saying this Arthe waved goodbye and entered a nearby inn.
"You already made me proud when you came out of the mausoleum alive boy." Mathis said quietly before heading up to the Castle silently.
The Day of The Melee.
Arthe and about 20 other people, both players and NPC's, sat in the barracks waiting for the call to head out to the tournament field. Arthe had taken this opportunity to examine the equipment and weaponry of his opponents, most of them were using full plate armor with 2 handed swords but there were 3 who were different. The tallest one was using two scimitars and was wearing chainmail over leather and another was wearing only leather while wielding a single rapier, it was the third that peaked Arthe's interest though. She was wielding an Epee in one hand and a long Stiletto dagger in the other, she was also wearing a leather cuirass but hers was longer than most. It dropped down to her knees and Arthe was very interested to note that she wore no leg armor save for a pair of knee high boots, mainly he was interested in the tantalizing glimpses of thigh on show. (What just because he's a chivalrous knight he's not allowed to admire a girls legs?)
All of the contestants except for Arthe and the girl were showing off their various sword skills and posing in their armor, at the same time there were many envious glances directed at Arthe. This was because he had now equipped the Shield and Gauntlets of Freya as well as the Icy longsword of the Ancient Protector, this meant that he was dressed in glossy black armor for the most part with golden gloves and a gold shield. This unusual look seemed to suit Arthe's barbarian like body, even the girl was staring at him. Well he thought she was, she had a full helm on so her face was hidden but he hoped she was admiring him and not thinking he looked like a prat.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
After about 5 minutes a trumpet sounded from outside and the participants were ushered onto the tournament grounds, at the far end was the royal box. Apparently the king and his daughter, the princess Frith, were attending and the winner would be granted a private audience. Arthe was pretty interested in meeting the princess as rumor had it that she was quite a beauty, he was fully aware that she was an NPC but still a pretty girl is a pretty girl.
The participants bowed to the royal box and then separated, some stayed together in pairs or trios and the rest stood alone. The entire crowd went silent in anticipation, then the King stood up and threw a spear down into the arena. This was the signal to begin, at once the majority of the solo competitors charged at each other. With much shouting and skill activation the Melee got underway, Arthe was keeping an eye on the opponents who were in groups but at the same time he found himself an enemy to engage.
His first opponent was a large bloke in half plate who swung his greatsword with surprising speed, surprising but not in a good way. It was so slow that Arthe had more than enough time to duck under it and thrust his own blade into his opponents leg. The guy fell and immediately declared his capitulation, obviously the Grand Melee wasn't a fight to the death but a test of martial skill. With one enemy down Arthe decided to try his luck against one of the groups of three, by this time roughly 6 of the participants had already surrendered and those that remained were warily picking their next opponent.
The female fighter was facing off against the scimitar wielder and had lightly pricked him in various places, the guy had obviously lost his temper and was flailing about with his blades without any semblance of skill at all. Eventually he was stabbed hard in the upper arm and dropped one of his swords, immediately a marshal declared him out and he shuffled to the arena wall dejectedly. He wasn't alone though, many of the other competitors were also sat there and they appeared to be taking bets as to who would win.
Arthe, meanwhile, was in the midst of battling a trio of 2 handed sword users. He had managed to wound all 3 of them slightly but had taken an injury himself in the thigh. As it was a minor wound he hadn't been disqualified but it was slowing him down. He decided to activate both his Benevolence of the Goddess skill as well as his Fortifying Aura, when he did so his wound closed up in about 5 seconds and he felt faster and stronger.
He used Shield Bash to drive one opponent backwards and then he used Targeted Thrust to drive his sword right through another mans leg, as he recovered he saw an overhead slash coming his way and rolled sideways just in time.
As he got up he swung his sword hard at the feet of the nearest enemy, forcing them to jump, then he followed up on that swing with a shoulder height slash. The hit connected and knocked his target into the guys partner, forcing them both to the ground, Arthe then proceeded to stab one in the upper arm before holding his sword tip at the others throat.
"Do you yield?"
"I surrender to your skill." Replied the warrior with a sigh and a smile, before he picked up his mate and walked them both over to the side wall.
The crowd let out a massive cheer at this display of martial prowess and Arthe bowed briefly to them before turning back to find a new opponent.
There were only 7 warriors left by this time (including Arthe) and the melee had degenerated into something of a brawl, the one on one duels had stopped and now it was a free for all. Participants would strike at all those who came in range whether they had been partners before or not, many of them seemed to be determined not to allow the female contestant to win and were surrounding her. Arthe couldn't believe that the so called honorable contestants were acting like this and leaped to her aid, (honestly it wasn't because he liked her legs or anything I swear) he swung his sword fiercely at all the enemies in sight forcing them to step back then he activated Blade Dance.
The flurry of strikes hit every single one of the enemies surrounding the girl, not one of them missed and none of the opponents could block them in time. By the time the skill finished 5 enemies were on the floor groaning in pain and the arena was so silent you could hear a pin drop, all of a sudden a giant wave of applause and cheering echoed from the stands. Every member of the audience was on their feet applauding this brave Knight who had jumped straight to the woman's defense, even the King was applauding gently. Arthe then turned to his last remaining opponent, bowed, then raised his sword and shield for the final battle of the contest.
The woman stood silent for a moment and then spoke to him;
"Thank you for the assistance but I will not hold back when facing you despite my gratitude"
Arthe thought her voice sounded like moonbeams hitting water, (urgh gush, maybe i should have words with the author. Oh wait...)
then he removed his helmet and responded.
"I expect nothing less than your full capabilities and will reciprocate in kind. Honor demands we fight using our full strength, may holy Freya guide our swords." Admittedly he did get a bit carried away with his role playing but he thought it was justified especially if it made him seem more chivalrous and heroic to the watching princess. He then replaced his helm and took up arms once more.
After exchanging these words the two of them saluted each other and the royal box and engaged in combat once more, Arthe blocked the girl's stiletto time and again with his shield, while at the same time parrying her Epee with his sword and looking for openings.
Eventually he saw a slight weakness in her footing and took advantage of it, using Shield Bash to knock her off balance, he disarmed her Epee hand with his blade then pushed her over. Swiftly he knelt on her Stiletto arm and held the edge of his sword against her throat. The match was done.
"Do you yield?"
"I yield."
Arthe then got up and held out his hand to help the girl stand, following this action he turned to the king and saluted with his sword. He was then confronted with a round of applause from all those present in the arena, even those who had been defeated in the tournament were standing and cheering.
A marshal then guided both Arthe and the unknown girl to the front of the royal box where they both knelt and lowered their heads. The King made his way down to them followed by the princess and a large knight in shining plate armor.
"Congratulations to you brave Knights for showing such prowess on this field of battle, seldom have we seen such might with our own eyes. raise your heads that i might look upon those who have achieved victory here today."
Arthe removed his helm and spotted the girl out of the corner of his eye doing the same. There was a large cry from the audience and a gasp from the king. Arthe dared to look up and saw one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen but that wasn't what had caused the outcry.
"Why have you done this my daughter and who is this that has been by my side throughout this tournament?" The King cried, as he did the veil on the princess was raised and the wearer knelt at the king's feet.
"Forgive her father I had forced her into acting this role so that I may prove mine own skill at arms to thee. I had hoped to win this tournament and so persuade you into allowing me to venture out into the world and make my own mark however i have failed." This response came from the girl at Arthe's side and he could only listen in shock and then terror.
Terror because he had unknowingly struck down the princess and caused her harm during the melee, the King could very well order his banishment or even his death because of such an act. Arthe was imagining all sorts of horrible fates in store for him but fortunately the King did not seem to be too upset with him, more with his daughter.
"What if you had been grievously wounded, what of those men who may have hurt you and in the process condemned themselves, did you not think of these when you were considering such an action. Have i not told you that we royalty cannot act without contemplating the effects our actions may have on those who serve us?" The king wasn't actually that angry, he had seen his daughter fight with both skill and bravery and was very proud of her but he could not allow her to take such dangerous actions without thinking them through.
"Enough father it is done now and there is little to be done about it, instead you should be praising this brave warrior who won the battle and won it so honorably as well." Came the response from the , quite obviously used to these lectures , princess.
"Indeed but we shall discuss this later. Forgive me brave Knight, tell me what is your name?"
"My name is Arthedain sire, until recently squire to Sir Cassis and student of Mathis." Arthe replied with as much formality and respect as he could manage.
"Ah I have heard of you, did you not also clear the Monster Mausoleum not 2 days hence. Also was it not you who saved those merchants upon the road yesterday?" The king asked with equal parts respect and admiration in his voice.
"Indeed it was me my lord king, but those were but trials granted to me by Holy Freya as a test to prove my readiness to venture into the world and aid the innocent."
"Well spoken Sir Arthedain, as a token of our appreciation and a reward for winning this tournament I wish to present you with this Helm." The King beckoned to a servant carrying a red cushion, on it was a magnificent full plate helm of shining gold.
"Kneel Sir Arthedain and receive your just rewards." The King intoned.
Arthe knelt and as he did so the king placed the helm upon his head. Arthe very quietly said Identify and looked at the stats of the helmet.
Helmet of the Loyal Retainer:
Durability:150/150
Defense: 70
This helm was presented to the most Loyal of the Kingdom of Numenors Knights. Once left to rust it has been fully restored over a long period of time by an extremely skilled Blacksmith
Equip:
+30 STR
+30 VIT
+200 Honor
+20% to all resistances
+2% experience gain
Requirements:
Must have Honor Stat
Must have won the Grand Melee
STR +60
Honor +100
The king then made Arthe stand before congratulating him again and walking away gesturing for his daughter to follow. Before she left she came over to Arthe.
"I thank you for an Honorable fight. I promise you that we shall meet again in vastly different circumstances." As she said those last words she turned and left.
Arthe gulped visibly and wondered to himself what those, "vastly different circumstances", would be.....