Winds of Fate Read online

“It was that old woman, Gedran,” he said softly.

  Chapter Thirteen

  In which the hero figures out his plans for the near future.

  You completed a quest: Eyewitnesses

  To get your reward, talk to the könig.

  The quest was done, which was great, but I had no idea what was going on. Some kind of old lady…what old lady? I did know that I needed to take the toilet worker to the könig. Otherwise, I’d be stuck playing a game of whisper down the lane, or worse: running back and forth between them until the guy in front of me drank himself into a coma.

  “Let’s go, my friend,” I said to Flosy, who was sitting on his cot thinking God only knows what.

  “Where?” he asked with trepidation.

  His question surprised me. “To see the könig, where else?”

  “But I already told you everything!” he whined drearily.

  “No, my friend, you just started talking, and I have no desire to pull every other word out of you like this. You’ll tell me the whole story in front of the könig,” I informed him confidently.

  “I can tell you the whole story here,” Flosy said, continuing to moan.

  “Okay, don’t make me call the guards. The way you smell, they’ll probably drag you away so quickly you’ll hurt yourself.” I was turning up the fire under him.

  “Professions all have their smell. I smell like what I work with,” he replied, his feathers slightly ruffled, though he got up off the cot.

  I should take someone like him along with me when I ride the metro, I thought as we walked back to the palace. The toilet cleaner would have scared everyone out of the corridors and train, and I’d have been fine—I was somehow starting to get used to the smell. Sure, I could have talked some street beggar into doing the job, but that wouldn't have been quite so exotic.

  There was a duet coming from the hall where I’d left von Richter with the könig. They were singing loudly, and with all the heart and soul they could muster.

  Host of valkyries, why do you fly

  Above my he-e-ead so hi-i-igh?

  I will never be-e-e your prey,

  Host of valkyries, fly away!

  We walked into the hall to see an entirely predictable picture: a buzzed könig sitting next to a completely wasted von Richter. I realized that, no matter what the toilet worker said, our next trip would be postponed. Gunther was an NPC, not a player, and so he wouldn’t be sobering up until the next morning. And spending that night out in the North with a boozy knight… Well, that may be some girl’s fantasy, but I didn’t need that kind of adventure.

  “Hagen, are you out of your mind?” the könig asked indignantly. “Who did you bring into my chambers? Are you going to drag in the pigs and cows next?”

  “König, he saw who kidnapped your daughter,” I responded, ignoring what Harald had said.

  You completed a quest: Eyewitnesses

  Reward:

  700 experience

  +1 respect among the peoples of the North

  The next quest in the series

  “Well done,” the könig said as he got up from the table. “Very well done. I didn’t believe this tin warrior over here, but he was right on the money.”

  Gunther was about to object but didn’t, instead shaking an angry finger at Harald’s back.

  The könig walked unsteadily over to the wall and pulled an ax down from it. He then slung it over his shoulder and turned toward me.

  “Here,” he said, holding it out before I had a chance to feel nervous. “This ax belonged to my great-grandfather Sven, a great warrior. It’s yours; you deserve it.”

  He pounded my shoulder, returned to the table, and plopped down on his bench.

  “So tell us, who did this clown see?”

  You have a new quest offer: The Kidnapping

  This is the third in the Missing Daughter series of quests.

  Task: Find out the details of how the könig’s daughter was kidnapped.

  Reward:

  600 experience

  +1 respect among the peoples of the North

  The next quest in the series

  Warning: If you fail this quest, you will fail the entire quest series, and your reputation among the peoples of the North will suffer.

  Accept?

  Ah-ha, so I have to keep Flosy going until the quest is complete. Sorry, my friend, but you’re getting the executioner if it comes to that.

  “He still hasn’t really told me anything. All he said was something about an old woman named Gedran.” I gave them all the information I had and was shocked to see how it affected the inebriated pair.

  The könig coiled into a ball of muscle and started feeling around his waist for his sword, while Gunther about sobered up, his clouded eyes almost completely clear.

  I guess that Gedran isn’t just some old lady.

  “Talk!” ordered the könig, looking at Flosy, who frowned.

  “Talk, my good man,” I advised him paternally. “It’ll only be worse if you don’t. Didn’t we already figure this out?”

  “What’s there to say?” Flosy started gloomily. “I really didn’t see much.”

  The story finally eased its way out of him, though not without plenty of grunts, vagueries, and interjections.

  Three days before, Flosy had met the sunset as he usually did: wasted out of his mind and slowly heading in the direction of his shack. But that night, he was apparently the victim of a cosmic joke, as his weakened legs gave out on him a good two dozen strides from home.

  As a result, he fell asleep in the thick grass under an apple tree. But the North is certainly not the South, and up there it never gets that warm, even in the summer. The nights are flat-out cold, which was why he came to earlier than usual. He pried his eyelids open and started thinking about a trip to the well.

  Ten minutes later, he mustered the strength to pull himself up into a more or less stable position, and that’s when he saw the old woman with the cane standing next to a chariot that was hitched to two long-horned goats. There were also a bunch of skeletons carrying a large bundle to the chariot and a tall, bony monster with a horned helmet and gleaming red eyes.

  The skeletons loaded their bundle into the chariot, saluted the old woman with their swords, and dove head-first into the ground. The red-eyed giant continued talking with the woman, though Flosy was only able to catch a few of the details. Red-eyes (that had to be the Lord of the Burial Mounds) was asking the woman for his share, and he wanted a little blood in addition to what he’d been promised. The old woman refused and said the bracelet was more than enough. The blood was needed elsewhere, she said. The skeleton mumbled something else before taking something from her that glistened in the moonlight, telling her what an ugly woman she was, and also disappearing into the ground.

  The old woman climbed into the chariot with a second’s hesitation and spat out some kind of spell. The whole contraption took off into the night air.

  “She flew away?” asked the könig in surprise.

  “Well, yes, it’s Gedran. Flying is nothing to her!” Flosy flapped his arms. “The chariot lurched a few steps forward and then those goats just launched straight up into the air. I was terrified!”

  That was pretty much it. Flosy laid there a little while longer before he realized that he didn’t actually want any water and went to sleep. A couple hours later, he woke up again and crawled to his shack, where he spent two days demolishing the untouched supply of spirits he’d saved for just such an occasion when he was too scared to walk out his front door. He was nervous about telling anyone what he’d seen since he figured people wouldn’t believe him and would think he was just sick in the head. Right then, was the first he’d heard of the könig’s daughter going missing. If he’d known sooner, he would have come and told the whole story himself—that’s how much he respected the könig.

  “Okay, I didn’t understand any of that,” I admitted when he finished.

  “What do you mean?” The könig glanc
ed over at me grimly. “That old scum Gedran stole my Ulfrida and gave her bracelet to some undead. It’s simple.”

  You completed a quest: The Kidnapping

  Reward:

  600 experience

  +1 respect among the peoples of the North

  The next quest in the series

  “Who is Gedran?” I practically screamed. “Could someone please tell me?”

  Everyone in the hall stared at me in surprise.

  “Laird Hagen, I realize that you’re not from around here, but even I’ve heard of the evil witch of the North,” Gunther said. “And she doesn’t just stay up here; believe me. If blood is spilled and black magic is afoot, you can bet it was Gedran’s handiwork. Sure, she isn’t the greatest evil in the universe; she’s just a very malicious, infamous person. She may not even be a person, actually.”

  “And she’s immortal, too,” said Flosy with a shiver. “My grandmother told me about this one time she saw her. Gedran was an old witch back then, and my grandmother hadn’t even met my grandfather yet.”

  “I wonder who the one with the red eyes was,” the könig said thoughtfully. “And where can we find him?”

  “Maybe it would be a better idea to forget the red-eyed skeleton and focus on Ulfrida,” Gunther responded gently. “What does he matter to us?”

  “We can’t find one without the other,” muttered Harald. “Gedran gave Ulfrida’s bracelet to him.”

  “Then forget the bracelet,” von Richter replied, slapping his legs.

  “It’s not just a bracelet; it’s a magic item I gave her when she was born. You can always use it to tell if she’s alive and where she is. So before we go looking for her, we need to find her bracelet,” explained the könig.

  And that’s where I come in. Only I realized that I had to be careful in order to avoid missing a quest. There was one more left before the quest I already had for the bracelet.

  “That was the Lord of the Burial Mounds,” I announced. “I’m sure of it. He’s a big guy, looks like a skeleton, and his eyes are bright red. That’s how someone described him to me, at least.”

  “Interesting!” The könig grabbed his beard. “The description fits.”

  Gunther looked over at him. “Who is that?”

  “The Lord of the Burial Mounds, they say, has an enormous army of skeletons, and all I have here in the capital is fifty soldiers and thirty mercenaries. And where are my troops?”

  “Where?” Gunther and I asked in unison.

  “Out drilling in field camps. Ingvar convinced me to send them out. I didn’t want to do it; I could sense something was up. So, who are we supposed to take to the burial mounds now? It’s just you and me.” The könig stroked his beard and looked at me. Apparently, I was definitely going.

  You have a new quest offer: Allies

  This is the fourth in the Missing Daughter series of quests.

  Task: Find allies who will help you storm the burial mounds to capture the bracelet belonging to the könig’s daughter.

  Reward:

  800 experience

  +1 respect among the peoples of the North

  The next quest in the series

  Accept?

  I looked at Gunther. “You don’t think I’m coming?” the knight’s cheeks turned bright pink. “You, König Harald, and you, Laird Hagen? How could you? Of course, I and all the warriors of the Tearful Goddess Order are at your disposal. That’s at least fifty elite knights and three dozen archers.”

  “Nice!” I exclaimed suddenly. My army is growing.

  “I told you, Holmstag is home to one of the biggest missions in Fayroll,” von Richter said proudly.

  You completed a quest: Allies

  Reward:

  800 experience

  +1 respect among the peoples of the North

  The next quest in the series

  If only all quests were this easy. You get them and… Bang! Here’s your reward. No need to go running off who knows where…

  “So what are we waiting for?” roared the könig. “Muster your troops. My little girl is in trouble, and she’s being held by an evil witch!”

  “Patience, könig.” I held up my hands. “And quiet, please. Nobody’s going anywhere.”

  “And why is that?” Harald was so surprised that he actually did calm down.

  “There are two reasons,” I explained easily. “The first is that it’s getting dark, and we won’t get very far at night. Plus, a tired soldier is a weak soldier.”

  “Agreed,” said Gunther, who was starting to get his feet back under him. “We’ll leave in the morning when it’s still cold out. The evening shift is already done, so half of my brothers are sleeping, and the other half aren’t on duty. A few are standing guard.”

  “Exactly!” I raised a finger. “And the second reason is that we don’t have anywhere to go. I told you I came with news of your daughter, and that’s not all I came with.”

  I pulled out the bracelet and proudly showed it off.

  “What?” bellowed the könig.

  “Laird Hagen, you sure know how to keep people on their toes,” von Richter said, whistling.

  “You’re kidding me!” Flosy chimed in. “That’s the bracelet!”

  You completed a quest: Favorite Piece of Jewelry

  Reward:

  1000 experience

  1500 gold

  +5 respect among the peoples of the North

  The könig bounded over with the grace of a wild beast, showing me that there really was a powerful warrior and professional fighter under his girth. To be fair, though, wild people are the only ones who survive up North.

  “That’s it! By Gullinkambi’s talons, that’s it! My baby’s bracelet!” The könig grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me like a rag doll. Then he went back to the table, sat down, and bellowed to summon someone.

  “Aivar! Aivar! Where is that dirty pup?”

  A short young man I thought I remembered to be the keeper of the keys to the könig’s treasury walked into the room. Ingvar, who I still hadn’t met, handled receipts and the distribution of the könig’s funds, while the guy in front of us just took care of the door.

  “Go to the treasury and look for a big painted chest up against the northern wall. There’s a dagger in it that you can’t miss; it’s the only one in there. Bring it here immediately. Go, you lazy bum!”

  Aivar ran out, leaving the könig to turn toward me.

  “And now it’s your turn to talk. How did you find the bracelet?”

  I gave him a touching and entertaining story about how I’d wandered the Northern reaches with a group of friends until we reached the burial mounds. We killed everyone there, and I was the lucky one who got to keep the bracelet. When my friends kept going, I decided to go to Holmstag in order to figure out whose bracelet it was, since it was obviously old and valuable. Then Gunther told me about the könig’s problem, and the rest is history.

  The story was only so-so, of course, and it never would have flown with other players. But I was talking to NPCs, who were only too happy to look at me admiringly and clap me on the shoulder. Even Flosy smelled a little better over in his corner.

  “König, is this the dagger you wanted?” an unflappable Aivar ambled over to Harald.

  “Yes, that’s the one. Here, take it, Hagen. It’s an illustrious weapon my father got in Endinard, in the South, when he was down there chasing the black people through the forests. An Endinardian trophy is a serious gift, and I want you to have it.”

  I didn’t know what Endinard was or where in the South it was, but I took the dagger. While I didn’t need it, I didn’t want to offend the könig. I can just sell it later.

  “That’s all well and good, but what do we do now?” That was the question that was bothering me most of all. The distant future and the goals I had there were much clearer for me than the near future and its complete lack of goals. I got the bracelet, now what? It’s not a compass, there’s no arrow on it…

&
nbsp; “What now?” the könig mumbled. “Now, we have to go see Rina the vala.”

  Flosy was gurgling in the corner. He’d apparently found a pitcher of ale somewhere and was going to town on it. Suddenly, the gurgling stopped, and a voice called out. “But she’s a witch, too!”

  “Watch your mouth. And what are you even doing here?” the könig asked indignantly.

  “Drinking” came the imperturbable reply.

  “Fine, drink away,” the könig replied before turning back to us. “Whatever he is, he’s a good man. Let him drink. But anyway, Rina isn’t a witch; she’s a vala. Here in the North, most races are dark, so it’s hard to tell white from black.”

  “What’s the difference?” I asked.

  “There’s a huge difference.” Harald took a pull from his mug. “A vala is a soothsayer, a healer, a keeper of knowledge. They cast their fair share of spells, of course, but that comes with the territory. She doesn’t harm anyone; the things she does are always aimed at helping.”

  “How’s she going to help us?” Getting information from the könig was like pulling teeth.

  “How are you planning on using the bracelet to find out where my daughter is? Just gallop the plains and wait to see when it warms in your hands? You’ll drive yourself crazy with all the space we have up here.”

  “So, she’ll just tell us exactly where to go?” I asked a little sarcastically, knowing what the answer would be.

  “Just like that. She’s the one who placed the spell on the bracelet, after all.” The könig bit into a chunk of meat he never would have touched if he hadn’t been so excited.

  “Well, that sounds good enough,” I agreed. “In that case, where are we supposed to go?”

  The könig narrowed his eyes as he looked at me. “So, you’ll do it?”

  You have a new quest offer: Conversations with a Vala

  This is the sixth in the Missing Daughter series of quests.

  Task: Find Rina the vala and listen to her story.

  Reward:

  800 experience

  +1 respect among the peoples of the North

  Eivaz Rune

  The next quest in the series

  Accept?

  “What choice do I have?” It wasn’t even funny anymore. “After a night like this, I feel like we’re already family. So is this vala far?”