[AVALOR – ETERNA GUILD HALL]
[Hours Earlier]
"Nevariel, good you are connected. It looks like all the guild officers are online and connected."
"What was that? What happened? Is the game crashing?" A jumble of voices was heard as the guild officers frantically talked over one another.
"I don't really know, but NAVA has put out an official statement explaining that it was a bug with the game expansion. However, it looks like the bug has been fixed and the servers are coming back online." Vance Arion said in a calm voice.
"In addition, it appears that special quests have been released. It's probably related to the game expansion or perhaps a gesture of goodwill towards the players. In any case, there is an urgent A-rank mission north of Avalor to clear a band of orcs. The prize is a 5,000,000 Nanocoins."
WOW!
The guild officers looked at each other in amazement. The mission payout was easily 5x higher than usual A-rank missions.
Vance continued, "the coins is not the best part. The mission is also rewarding a unique S-rank belt. The "Black Knight Girdle." We can't allow a powerful relic like this fall into the hands of other guilds."
"I propose we send Nevariel Arden along with a squad of our best heroes to retrieve the belt and complete this quest before the other guilds get a chance."
The officers unanimously agreed. Within an hour, Nevariel and nine of Eterna's veteran players went marching north.
[...]
[RAY VILLAGE]
HORRAY!!!
Shouts of victory and celebration erupted from the village after the last orc was defeated. The battle was hard fought and well won. All 100 orcs were killed, none escaped. The village, on the other hand, suffered extensive damage to the palisade wall. The north side had been breached along with countless carvings along the eastern and western walls. The south gate suffered extensive damage but remained standing.
While the villagers celebrated and cheered, Arthos smiled proud of their joint victory…but remained alert. He knew this was only the beginning.
"Who is in charge here?" Arthos asked the cheering villagers.
Their cheers subsided as the village elder stepped forward through the crowd and addressed Arthos. He answered with a voice old and heavy with wisdom, "we have no leader here."
He continued, "we are a small village on the border of three nations. To the south is Avalor, to the north is Amalot, and this village is now part of Camarax…that has not always been the case. Many years ago, this village belonged to Avalor…then after the Great War it became property of Amalot briefly…twenty years ago it became property of Camarax…because of all the changes in ownership, the village has been treated like a military outpost rather than a village. For that reason, we have no leader…instead the Capital assigned a military commander to govern this land."
"Where is the commander now?" Arthos asked.
The villagers pointed at a dead corpse next to the wall.
"I have no idea if he was a good man or a bad one…but bury him with dignity. He last moment was spent defending this village, we will honor that memory." Arthos commanded.
Turing his body to address the village gathered around him, Arthos spoke loudly and with authority.
He said, "you all fought bravely and deserve to celebrate, to rest, and to recover. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time…the orcs we fought today were a scouting party. They will return…and there will be more."
A wave of panicked whispers erupted.
He continued, "we need to prepare for the next attack. Who here knows healing or recovery magic? Tend to the wounded…save as many as you can."
He scanned the group and spotted the dark-skinned archer. Based on his appearance he appeared to be a man in his mid-50s, his face was weathered, and deep lines framed his eyes. His dark hair and scruffy beard had streaks of gray like smoke from a battlefield. He had the eyes of a veteran…eyes molded by a lifetime of discipline, steadfastness, and alertness.
"Are you Kay?" he asked.
The archer nodded.
"Please take command of the village's security. Who here has training with a bow? Report to Kay, he will arrange for a guard rotation."
He continued, "you three collect the weapons and anything useful left behind by the orcs. You, gather a group and burn the orc corpses…do it before it gets dark. The rest of you, we need to repair and strengthen the walls and gate. In addition, we need to dig a trench around the external wall…"
Taking command of the village's defenses, Arthos quickly organized the villagers into groups to handle the various tasks. He made the rounds checking on the progress, stopping to help personally wherever he could.
[...]
"We finally have some time to talk. Thank you again for helping with the village's defenses. I came here looking for you." Arthos said as he stood on the palisade wall next to Kay.
Without shifting his focus on the distant landscape, Kay replied, "So, Gravin sent you here too? Doesn't surprise me…he knew this place was going to be ground zero of a possible war."
"Gravin?" Arthos asked puzzled.
"Oh, that right. You probably know him as the shopkeeper."
"Who is he really?" Arthos asked.
"A friend and ally…you can trust him. Gravin and I go way back, we fought in the Great War together…and the battles that came after. He is a good man…a loyal man…even now." Kay replied with a tired voice.
Arthos sensed there was a deeper meaning in those words. He wanted to press for more information but decided to pause the conversation and focus on the urgent matter before them.
"Well…I'm glad I got here…this is not my village, but I can't stand by and watch innocent people get hurt. Where do you think these orcs came from?"
"The Verdant Wall did much more than keep people out…it also kept dangerous monsters in. These orcs are not your typical run of the mill orcs…these are red orcs. They are far older and stronger and more dangerous. My guess is that they were trapped inside the Verdant Wall…and now they are free."
He continued, "there is a swamp west of here. It stretches far and was once connected to the Verdant Wall. If the orcs are traveling in a large group, my guess is that they are going around the swamp and are likely camped north-west of here."
"North-west…ok, at first light I will go there and scout. I could really use your help on this…but you are needed here to protect the village." Arthos said as he formulated his next move.
[...]