The Last Warrior of Unigaea: A LitRPG Trilogy Page 13

  I look east, towards Hashmonean, home of the vampiric mermaids. I’ve been to almost every location in Unigaea except this one. Players and NPCs alike know better than to approach the island, even those who have never actually seen one of these blood-sucking mermaids.

  I wonder at times if they aren’t just Unigaea’s version of the abominable snowman.

  I’ll check the place out eventually, but first I’ll need to rescue Tangka from the Tagvornin, regroup there, continue my quest to slay the Drachma Killers, and see what this Red Plague is all about.

  Easy said.

  I smirk at the voice in my head. I’d seen before what the Drachma Killers were capable of. They weren’t just Player Killers, they were Player Torturers who prided themselves on how long they could keep someone alive under extreme duress.

  But revenge will have to wait. I owe it to the old woman who gave me her life to drive the Tagvornins out and rebuild her town.

  Wolf bark-yelps at a fish that leaps out of the water and splashes back in.

  The two fishermen laugh until their faces are red and tears stream down their cheeks.

  (^_^)

  The waters around Stater are filled with large transport ships. We sail around these great vessels to a smaller harbor to the east. The two fishermen prove to be better company than I thought. As the Stater Water Authority moves out to us, the fishermen wave them down and speak to the two armed guards like old friends.

  The Stater guards inform me that Wolf won’t be able to enter the city proper, but he can stay behind at the docks.

  I take in the views as we approach the harbor. All the buildings in Stater must have strict zoning and height rules. The outer ring is made up of all one-story buildings. The second ring allows for two-story buildings and the third ring, where the governor lives, has three-story buildings. Since the city has been built upon an island that naturally slopes upwards to its center, the effect of their very planned cityscape is awe inspiring, especially at night, at which time the city looks like a burning mound on the horizon.

  “Any idea how I can reach the governor?” I ask Walrus Man as his counterpart ties off the boat.

  He scratches his chin for a moment. “The governor’s name is Florin Talonas – that’s all I can tell you. I figured you’d find a way. May I make a suggestion?”

  “Shoot.”

  “Rather than beating around the bush, just hack the bush down with your blade.”

  “Are you suggesting I just go to his house and see how far I get?”

  He weighs this idea for a moment. “That strategy worked the first time I got engaged. I had to kill her dad, though.”

  I eye him for a moment.

  He cracks up. “Joking, Player Killer, just joking. It wasn’t her dad, it was her uncle. And he had it coming.”

  “The name is Oric Rune,” I tell him.

  “Kroger Tiss and that’s Scar Cheek. What?” he asks as he sees a grin spread across my face.

  “Nothing, just, nothing.”

  It’s not often that I guess someone’s name, but I don’t really believe in luck as much as abstract circumstance, so I bid the two fishermen farewell and bend down to Wolf, who now rests on the dock, nervously watching the water.

  “Be a good boy while I’m gone,” I tell him as I smooth out the rough black hair on his neck. I glance down at his bandaged leg, which is really starting to look better. “Maybe I’ll come back with some food and if you’re lucky, a bath.” I use my finger to pull at a matted knot in his topcoat. “Damn, you really need a bath.”

  He starts to whine softly, so only I can hear him.

  “There’s not a lot of room on this island for camping, but if we have to stay here tonight, I’ll be sure to find a nice place.”

  With that, I take a series of stairs that lead to the first ring of the city. Men and women in the fish trade busy themselves all around me. Patrons move around several booths, buying fresh fish and other gooey items from the sea. I see an herb shop where I’d love to stop and peruse, especially because the herbalist is a beautiful elven woman, but I continue on.

  There will be time for flirting and buying herbs later.

  The thought reminds me I haven’t been with a woman since becoming a Player Killer. Predictable, really, and it’s not something I’ve dwelt upon considering the pace at which my life moves. A shower thought comes to me – if I start over with a new avatar and never have sex, am I technically a virgin?

  I shake the thought away with a smile on my face and continue to the second ring of the city.

  The second ring of Stater comes and goes in a flash. I’m too busy observing the citizens of the city and their fine clothing. Such a diverse place! I’ve passed everything from orcs to goblins to elven males holding hands with their half-giant girlfriends. There’s a peaceful inclusion here, not matched in the foreboding way the city locks up at night.

  Funny, that.

  After passing under a series of arches, I see a city guard and stop before him.

  “Move along,” he says without making eye contact with me.

  “The governor’s mansion. I’m supposed to meet a friend at a, um, coffee shop near there. Am I going in the right direction?”

  He looks up to me and considers the fact that I’m a Player Killer.

  “Not in cities,” I tell him.

  “That’s right, not in cities,” he growls. “You won’t like what we do to Player Killers around here.”

  “I’m sure I wouldn’t. Now, directions? Or should I ask someone more familiar with the city? You know, someone who has a basic understanding of the cardinal directions, north, east, south, and whatnot.”

  I’m not normally this snarky. The thought strikes me like a cobra in the toilet of an outhouse. It’s my added points in MIND!

  “What?” He practically takes a step back at what I’ve just said. “I … I know my way around the city.”

  “Good, then point me towards the governor’s mansion.”

  He clears his throat and rolls his shoulder back to adjust his armor. “Up this street, left at a pub called Horse Piss, continue along that road until you come to a fork. The governor’s mansion will be up that road, at the end of it. Practically in the city center. You can’t miss it if you go the way I just told you.”

  “Horse piss?”

  “They import beer from some place called Tritania. Never heard of it, but damn if it isn’t some good brew.”

  “Got it.”

  I follow the guard’s direction until I come to a large home surrounded by an impressive gate, which is surrounded by another, equally impressive gate. There are watch towers between the gates manned by soldiers in blue Stater armor, and other soldiers patrolling the grounds.

  I walk up to a check-in point at the first front gate and greet a soldier in full regalia. “I need to see Florin Talonas,” I tell the guard that steps out of his station to approach me. “I mean, ahem, Governor Talonas.”

  He’s a clean-cut soldier and an innocent look in his eyes tells me he hasn’t been in the troop for long. Nearly my height, he wears head-to-toe blue Stater armor that has recently been polished.

  His eyes twitch as he realizes what I’ve just asked him. “Come again?”

  “The governor, maybe you’ve heard of him. I’m here to meet with him.”

  Another guard comes out, older, more seasoned. He’s got a five o’clock shadow even though it’s still morning. The younger guard speaks with him for a moment, nods, acts very nonchalant about their discussion, and returns to his guard station.

  The gates open.

  “Well that was easy,” I say under my breath.

  More guards come out, these ones armed with tridents and pikes.

  Dammit.

  “Hands up, Player Killer!” the soldier with the stubbly beard says as he steps into position behind them.

  “I’m not here to kill Governor Talonas,” I tell them. “I’m here to deliver a message.”

  “A Player Killer
shows up fully armed at the gates of his home to deliver a message?” He scoffs.

  “Look, I have something to show him – to show you all.”

  I’ve yet to raise my hands and with one hand at my side, I scroll through my list and equip my Tagvornin armor.

  The intimidating black and red armor appears before me and falls to the ground. There are ways to equip it so it is immediately on my body, but I wanted to add some emphasis here to the point I’m trying to make.

  A few of the noob soldiers gasp; the more seasoned vets merely raise an eyebrow.

  “You’ve killed a Tagvornin!” one of them says.

  “Several,” I lie. “I only felt like carrying the armor of one. This was what I was planning to show Governor Talonas. You see, fellas, he and I share a common goal, to drive the Tagvornins out of the south and back to the Rune Lands. I’m sure your spies and sparrows have already relayed this, but the city of Tangka is under siege by Tagvornins.”

  The captain nods. The looks on the faces of some of the other soldiers tells me they haven’t been given this intel yet.

  “Lower your weapons,” he finally says. “I think this man’s story may be something Governor Talonas is interested in hearing.”

  Chapter Nineteen: Revenge is a Hungry Ghost

  I follow the group of soldiers into the first gate. The open space between the two gates is designed for battle, a battle that would be to the advantage of those guarding the second gate.

  As I approach, no less than a dozen archers keep their arrows trained on me. To my left are Stater soldiers in full armor on armed equestrians; to my right is a pair of griffins, also armed with soldiers on their backs.

  Griffins are a rare sight in Unigaea. Keeping to the Eastern Split Mountains, Griffins rarely come down from the highest peaks. Even in Ducat, which was a stone’s throw from the foothills of the Eastern Splits, never once did I have a griffin encounter.

  In fact, the only time I’ve ever seen one was avatars ago, when I was rogue, during a royal procession in Solidus. Come to think of it, it was a meeting of the governors of Solidus and Stater to sign an accord uniting them against the north.

  These are likely the same griffins.

  I keep my eyes on the magnificent creatures for another moment, their talons sharp, their wings magnificent and glistening, their eyes bright, suspicious of any sudden movement.

  “You’ve been cleared,” the guard nearest to me says.

  “Sorry, distracted by the griffins.”

  He grins. “They are a sight to see. I hate it when they fight, though. The sounds they make … ” He swallows hard. “Anyway, let’s move.”

  “Hold on a minute,” the stubbly guard says. “Disarm yourself.” A guard appears behind him with a large wicker basket.

  I unsheathe my sword and place it in the basket. From there, I equip my crossbow pistol and do the same. “That’s all I have,” I tell him.

  “Really?”

  “I have a hammer and a few smaller knives.”

  He raises an eyebrow at me and I hand those over as well.

  “Anything else?”

  “I have some magnolia-pine-cone smoke bombs.” Before he can tell me to, I go ahead and grab the three smoke bombs from my list. “That’s all, I swear.”

  He nods and I’m led into a lush courtyard with a small pond in the middle.

  The stepping stones at the center of the pond are surrounded by statues of mermaids, vampiric mermaids, which seem to be something the Pesata Keys are very interested in. There are other islands in the keys, Hashmonean being the other most famous, but Stater is the main hub.

  We go around the pond and through a side entrance. From there, it’s up a few flights of stairs until we come into a great banquet hall. Governor Florin Talonas sits at the center of a long table, his two closest advisors at his side.

  “Governor Talonas,” I say, not quite aware of the protocol.

  “Take a knee,” Stubble Beard hisses. He gives me a quick side kick to the back of the leg and I do as instructed.

  “It’s an honor to meet you.”

  Governor Talonas flat-out ignores me as he continues speaking with his advisors. I keep to my knee with my head slightly bowed.

  “Good,” Governor Talonas finally says. “You may rise, Player Killer.”

  “Oric Rune,” I say as I stand.

  “Right, Player Killer, I’ve been told that you’ve slain several Tagvornins.”

  Talonas is a tall man, muscular with long, blond hair that has been tied into a manbun. He wears a red cape held to his chest by two emblems I keep seeing around the city – an upside-down trident surrounded by two griffins on the front of a shield. One of his robed advisors, an older man with a braided beard, leans forward and whispers something in his ear.

  He listens, nods, and then signals for me to speak.

  “Yes,” I tell him, “I killed this one in Tangka. May I?”

  The guard nearest me nods. I equip the armor and again perform the dramatic move of dropping it before my feet.

  After speaking with his advisor for another moment, the governor asks, “Why is it you have come here, Player Killer?”

  (^_^)

  I quickly explain why it is I’ve come to the city of Stater.

  I start with my arrival in Tangka from Mohar on the morning of the Red Plague, and my rescue of the old woman. I lie and say I killed more than one Tagvornin, just to give my story a little flair, and from there I move on to the meteor strike in Solidus.

  He takes keen interest in this last part. “Do you believe the meteors have something to do with the Red Plague?” he asks.

  “Not my department,” I say with a wave of my hand. “From what I’ve heard, the red plague seems to be spreading. Slowly, though. As for the meteors, I don’t know if it was the work of a mage’s guild or something larger than that. I’ve seen some pretty powerful magical attacks, but nothing that large.”

  A female attendant in a robe accented with white lace steps into the room and fills their copper cups as Governor Talonas speaks with his two advisors. “Go on,” he finally tells me.

  I explain how a meteor almost hit me, how I was attacked by city guards after going back for a friend, and how my Tagvornin wolf took me back to Tangka, where I was nursed back to health by Tagvornin nurses.

  I never mention Deathdale by name, and he never asks me who my friend was.

  “Several questions come to mind,” he says after taking a sip from a silver tumbler. “First, how did you get a Tagvornin Wolf? From my knowledge, only people from Tagvornin can tame these animals.”

  I almost make a joke about going to the pet store, but I stop myself. Damn if my MIND attribute isn’t making itself known. I clear my throat instead and say, “In the Eastern Split Mountains. We happened upon each other and the rest is history.”

  “And how did you tame him?”

  “He tamed me,” I say with a grin.

  He smirks, clearly a pet owner himself. “And why did you allow the Tagvornins to help you once you arrived in Tangka? Did they not know you killed their men?”

  “They didn’t know, and I don’t remember arriving in Tangka. I just remember waking up in the infirmary. I escaped with my wolf as soon as I could. My guess is they were going to enslave me and force me to fight for them somehow.”

  “I see.” After more low whispers with his attendants, Governor Talonas says, “Now we arrive to my first question again.” He clears his throat. “Why is it that you’ve come here?”

  “The Tagvornins have my weapons and I don’t have enough men to retake the city of Tangka.”

  “And why is it that you want to retake Tangka?”

  I briefly tell him about how the old woman died for me. As I speak, I can tell I’m not convincing him, so I switch to a more patriotic reason. “The Tagvornins must never be allowed to settle in the south. Further, that would put them one step closer to the Pesata Keys, to Stater.”

  This gets his attention. He spea
ks for several minutes about why the Tags should stay to the north, to the Rune Lands, and how their aggressions continue to destroy the sovereignty of the various regions of Unigaea. Finally, he says, “If it is armor and weapons you want, I will give you what you need.”

  “Good.”

  “But men I cannot spare. To be frank with you, this is a suicide mission you are proposing. Armor I can have remade; men aren’t as easy. If they take Tangka, they’ll move south and become my problem. If you are unsuccessful, which you very well might be, I will need every soldier I can get to drive the Tagvornins out of the Pesata Keys. You said you had a Tagvornin wolf with you, correct?”

  “Yes, he’s at the docks.”

  The governor weighs this over for a moment. “I own oceanfront property to the east of the docks. Once you’re outfitted, I will have one of my soldiers lead you there.” His smile shatters. “You need a bath, Oric, desperately, and I’m guessing your wolf could use one as well.”

  I gulp. “It’s been a rough couple of days.”

  “It smells like it has been a rough couple of weeks,” he says with a disgusted look on his face.

  “That bad?” I glance to the soldier next to me and he nods.

  “I’ll let his gesture answer your question.”

  “It’s not easy being a Player Killer,” I finally tell those gathered. “Most people turn me away.”

  “You knew about this before you chose your class, did you not?” the governor asks.

  “I knew. I’ve been around the block.”

  “And why is it that you chose to become a Player Killer?”

  I glance over to him. The NPC icon over his head flashes green then blue. An RPC?

  Reborn Player Characters carry all the traits of the real-world people they were before they died, from personal tastes to behavioral patterns. They are literally digital replicas of their former selves.

  “Ever heard of Ducat?” I ask.

  “I have.”

  “I was the founder of that village, in … ” I glance to the guard next to me. “In another time. A guild of PKers known as the Drachma Killers destroyed my town and killed everyone.”

  “Did they kill you?”