Resurgence: The Rise of Resurgence Book 1 (50 page)

We encountered the Lich Prince two more times as well. He continued to drop Dark spells, which I planned to sell near the Citadel. They were Level 18 spells, so I knew I could sell them for 17 Gold each and make a nice profit. Every bit of Gold helped in the game, so getting a 3 Gold discount would make my spells tempting. The only issue was whether anyone in the Citadel would be level 18 yet.

Now the only thing left for us to do was to grind and get our level. Jason and Dan would get new spells at Level 20, and Wayne and I would get new Skills. It was still unclear what those would be, but it was something to keep working towards.

The only other thing of note to happen during this time was one of the AltCon messages we had been receiving on occasion. Unlike the games they offered to sell at a reduced price, this time they were offering the actual company! Each of my teammates received the same message that I had, offering players the unique opportunity to not only play the game, but be a part of the company as well by buying the stock at a reduced price. And it didn’t stop there. AltCon also offered the same deal to friends and family of the players. All they needed to do was provide a reference number provided in the message.

I thought the whole deal with the old games was a sham, but this actually seemed like a good deal. I wished I had some extra income lying around that I could put toward stock in AltCon, but at the moment my funds were depleted. I thought about maybe reaching out to some old acquaintances I knew from my college days or my professional gaming days and extending them the offer. However, I realized I hadn’t talked to any of them in at least a year and it would look really creepy if I contacted them out of the blue with the information. Yeah, I would end up looking like “that guy.”

The guys, as was the scenario last time we encountered this, were all ramped up to get some stock and contact their family. Jason wanted to take a break to get started on it, since many of his family lived in different time zones. But our desire to grind out weighed his, and there was more than enough time in the day to both play and reach out to family. So grind on we did.

* * *

October 7th, 2043

“BOOM!” Jason yelled out as he cast his Banish Undead and finished the mob we were fighting.

“Boom is right! Level 20! Finally!” Wayne yelled out and distributed high fives all around. We were all now at Level 20! First thing I did was have everyone tell me what their stats were now. I wanted to remember this moment!

Level 20

Alex (Alex)
–
22 (+7) Strength, 24 (+19) Constitution, 10 (+23) Agility, 45 (+31) Dexterity, 6 (+6) Wisdom, 1 (+6) Intelligence, 190 (+7) Chance

Wayne (Naugha)
–
35 (+37) Strength, 55 (+39) Constitution, 4 (+21) Agility, 25 (+21) Dexterity, 6 (+6) Wisdom, 2 (+6) Intelligence, 1 (+6) Chance

Dan (TheClaw)
–
19 (+32) Strength, 26 (+7) Constitution, 48 (+31) Agility, 3 (+21) Dexterity, 28 (+6) Wisdom, 1 (+6) Intelligence, 1 (+6) Chance

Jason (Allister)
–
17 (+7) Strength, 26 (+17) Constitution, 3 (+6) Agility, 1 (+6) Dexterity, 68 (+23) Wisdom, 10 (+11) Intelligence, 1 (+6) Chance

Jason, Dan, and I had already reached our Level 20 and Wayne was the last to get his level. But disappointment on top of disappointment had piled on as we each gained our level. Jason and Dan weren’t able to find anyone who sold the Level 20 spells in Port Town, and I wasn’t able to get my Skills from Port Town either. Our merchant friend informed us that he didn’t have the spells the guys wanted and that spells of such a high level could only be found in the Capitol. The bloody Capitol again! I was guessing it was the same for Wayne and I when it came to our new Skills.

But knowing that all of us would need to get to the Capitol to progress, made me think that with all of us at Level 20 we would finally get our ticket to the next domain.

Dan’s efforts and that of the Dwarves finally came to fruition as well as Dan now possessed hundreds of improved arrows sitting in the backpacks he carried in his inventory. These were a finite item though, so I told Dan to be very conservative with how he used them. Each slot in his backpack would allow him to carry up to 50 arrows, so there was no threat of him running out of room in his inventory.

And when it came to the backpacks, we had made out. All of the Fine Bear skins we had found during our grinding had significantly increased the Skill of the player merchant and we all had multiple backpacks of 8 or 10 slots sitting in our inventory. The player was so thankful that we had helped him to increase his Skill level, he sold us the backpacks at cost. I vowed that we would continue to help him level his Skill by giving him the skins whenever we found them. He was making a killing on the other players anyhow, and it was wise of him to hook up his benefactors.

The spells we collected from the Lich also had no problem selling in the Citadel. There weren’t many who had made it to Level 18, but many were close and they were happy to save a few Gold along the way. I had sold all 8 of the Level 18 spells I had, adding another 136 Gold to our total.

As we traveled back, I asked the guys if they had taken up AltCon’s recent offer to purchase stock in their company at a reduced rate. As I noted before, I didn’t have much in the way of disposable income, so I had passed. But it had been the focus of several conversations while we were leveling.

“I placed an order already,” Dan said, but didn’t have anything more to add.

“It’s actually been a topic of contention in my household,” Jason added. “I wanted to buy a bunch but my partner was against it. He controls the finances in our house, and it has led to more than a few arguments. He was none too pleased when I reached out to our friends and family telling them they should jump on this chance.”

“Jenny and I were talking about it too,” Wayne said. “We couldn’t convince any of our family, but we certainly tried. We are going to do so again tonight. What about you Alex?”

“Not really within my finances. Plus, outside of you guys, I don’t really have that many friends!” I said and we all laughed.

We settled in to make our way back to Port Town, talking here and there about whatever topics came to mind, including the stock deal on a few occasions. But foremost on our minds was what might come next. We had walked out of Port Town that first day as Level 1 newbies. Today, we would enter as the first in Port Town to achieve Level 20, and we would do it as a group.

* * *

Cheers went up amongst my friends as the golden glow of a quest surrounded us as we stood next to Sir Kenyon.

“Well met mighty adventurers! So few have answered the King’s call, and yet you have continued to stand by his Majesty time and again! I wish I could say you were no longer in need, but times are dire and your aid is needed now more than ever. You have done much to secure the area around Port Town, but the Kingdom is mighty and large, and so unrest continues throughout the land. If you truly wish to continue on this path, and wish to aid in the Kingdom’s safety, you will need to reach the Capitol. Take this writ of passage and show it to the guards at the mighty gate separating our lands. Take also this map and it will guide you to my comrades. They will tell you all you need know to continue in his Majesty’s defense. Travel well adventurers!”

“Oh man! Oh man! This is so balltastic! I can’t believe we get to see a new area!” Dan exclaimed while jumping around. Call it a sympathetic reaction, but Broham was jumping around too.

Who the hell was I kidding? Hell, we were all jumping around!

We had already spent most of the day fighting and leveling, and no one knew how long it would take us to get to the Capitol. On top of that, Wayne wanted to see Jenny and show her the Undead fort, explaining how that worked. Dan wanted to take one more look at the Elven tree to see if there was any more wood he could harvest safely, and I needed to see Stan. Jason was the only one without a plan. At least that’s what we thought.

“Celebration time!” Jason yelled out as he grabbed all of us and started heading to the Tavern.

“While I can’t believe I am saying this; I have to skip the Tavern Alliteration.”

“Dan, trust me when I say you will want to be there for this one.”

“I kinda want to go see Jenny too bro, you know, show her the Undead fort and all that before we skip town,” Wayne added.

“Oh stop being dullards and just have one drink with me!” Jason yelled out.

I wanted to go see Stan, but I was with Jason. We definitely needed to celebrate. So as a group we walked over to the Tavern for the first time.

“Congratulations!”

We looked around the Tavern and saw all of our teammates were already there! Jason had a smirk on his face when I looked at him, while Wayne ran over to give Jenny a mighty hug that took her off her feet.

“What are you guys doing here?” Wayne asked while holding Jenny close.

“Allister contacted us as soon as you guys started for Town. The first to reach Level 20, that definitely calls for a party!” Kaitlin yelled out. All the heads in the Tavern turned toward our group as she yelled this and then a mighty cheer went up throughout the establishment. People started coming over and congratulating Dan and Wayne, who were well known at the Tavern. There were a few thrown in there for Jason and I as well, but no one really knew who we were.

“You guys are the best,” I said to Kaitlin. “How’s it going?”

“Oh, we almost caught you guys! So close! We should hit level 19 tomorrow. So I expect to be right up there with you and your cohorts soon.”

“Good! And Wayne is going to show you guys a spot we found that is going to make that a whole lot easier. Jenny will love it too. After we have a couple of drinks, I expect those two to go riding off to see it. And for whatever,” I said with a wink at the end.

Kaitlin laughed along and then quickly turned her head toward the table. Dan was about to sit down in a chair to say something to Gary and Tim when Kaitlin said, “Sorry Dan, I already called dibs on that chair. You know what calling dibs is, don’t you Dan?”

Dan stood up suddenly and his face started going red. Kaitlin slowly approached him, with that little sway in her hips, and said, “I mean, sure, everyone knows what dibs is. It’s what you call when you want something. Like that chair, or a spell, or an item. All inanimate objects.”

Dan’s Adam’s Apple physically moved as he took a large swallow, backing up slightly as Kaitlin kept moving closer to him. “Can I call dibs on not getting my ass beat right now?”

Kaitlin and the rest of us laughed loudly. She got all the way up to Dan and then leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations assclown, well done.”

Dan’s face might have been red, but his smile was from ear to ear.

* * *

After the revelries had died down and we all went our separate ways, I headed for Stan’s house.

It was as if Stan knew I was coming and was already waiting for me at the outskirts of the clearing surrounding his home. He was dressed in his regular black garments and had a backpack over his shoulder.

“Heading out on a trip Stan?”

“Yup. Apparently some young lads from Port Town are all the talk right now. Heading to the Capitol I hear,” Stan said while winking at me.

“How could you know that?” I asked him.

“Are ya kidding me lad? That party at the Tavern has spilled out to most of Port Town. Everyone knows it!”

“Well that makes this easier. So I will find you in the Capitol when I arrive?”

“Aye son, just come to the Stinky Pit when you get there.”

“Is that a dungeon or something?”

“Aye, been many a lad that ended up calling that place a dungeon!” Stan exclaimed while laughing. “But no me boy, it ain’t like that. It’s an inn down in the seedier quarters of the Capitol. When you get there, just ask for Dhalean. Don’t many out past this grove know me true name. So I would thank ya to stop calling me Stan till we gets down to the Underground.”

“You got it! Thank you again for everything. I certainly wouldn’t be standing here today, ready to make my way to the Capitol, if it weren’t for your tutelage. You have been a great mentor and teacher.”

“Ah shut up with that nonsense, before you make this old Halfling tear up. Just get your butt to the Stinky Pit, and I’ll meet ya there. Safe travels!”

With nothing more to do on my part, I headed back to Port Town to log off. Then next day would see us saying goodbye to all we had known, at least for now.

CHAPTER 25

October 8th, 2043

Our first order of business was to get to the Capitol. We had the writ of passage from Sir Kenyon that would get us through the gates, and an icon of its location on my map illuminated when I highlighted the writ in my inventory by focusing on it. I had been tempted to acquire upgrades to our gear before we got on the road, but Jason suggested we waited until we got to the Capitol to see what kind of deals we might find there. Dan and Wayne were in agreement, so we held off on making any new purchases.

Since there was nothing left for us to do in Port Town, we summoned our horses and began the journey to the wall. Our trip only lasted an hour at most, and we recounted the numerous experiences we had been a part of over the last two months. Another great thing about Dan’s photographic memory was that he recalled all of the things we had said during our adventures. Although we knew for certain Dan was embellishing his role in many of our battles as we recounted them. He would just point at his head and tell us he was sure he was remembering it all clearly. We laughed quite a bit as we rode toward our next challenge.

The gate that blocked our passage, and the wall spreading to either side, were both massive. And there were numerous guards, all Red to us, manning the gate. One walked out as we approached, holding his hand out for us to halt. We did not want any trouble with these guards and quickly stopped our horses. Once I showed the guard our writ of passage though, he was more than happy to let us pass. He commented to the other guards that the writ was signed by Sir Kenyon himself, and the guards all saluted us.