Chương 44: The Name of the King

The palace complex was a monumental work of architecture in the heart of the city, at the base of the hill for the acropolis. It was expansive, two stories of pillars and colonnades, a hypostyle reception hall, a grand throne room, and various amenities and business rooms throughout the building. The king's personal quarters were also on site.

I gasped as we approached the grand building. It was larger than any building I had ever entered and decorated elaborately with Greek statuary and marble fountains. Vines wound their way around the columns, the flowers and vegetation growing around the building. It was breathtaking.

"This way, please." Niles said as he led the way through the entry foyer. Many stopped to look at us and bowed their heads as we passed. I noticed it was a mix of players and blue NPC's. This was the first level we had actually seen players employed and viewed the virtual life part of this world. Players working jobs in game, to support their playstyle or livelihoods here.

We wound through various rooms and hallways of the palace, I tried to take a mental note of our turns in case of need to navigate later. I felt Vane's warm presence at my back, and I could hear Axel shuffling behind him. Vane placed a hand at the center of my back briefly, and I felt comforted by the small touch. Finally, we turned into a large throne room. A vast hall empty except for players visiting the king, they lined up before him waiting their turn to air their grievances.

The king was younger than I'd expected, a man appearing in his early 30's. He had thick wavy black hair, brushed away from his face, held in place by a large gold crown. He had the light shadow of a beard on his face, which highlighted the sharpness of his emerald green eyes. He was stocky in build, not overly tall. He had the body of a warrior. A large silver sword leaned against the base of the throne.

The king sat on his throne appearing bored, his head rested in the palm of his hand, leaning to the side. He straightened as we approached, a slow smile spread across his lips. He raised a hand in greeting. The guards that accompanied us stopped and bowed. Vane, Axel, and I stayed standing. We didn't know who this king was, to bow to him.

"Welcome, adventurers." The king spoke clearly in a deep baritone. "I have been waiting to see you since I heard of your arrival." Niles stalked forward and kneeled before the king.

"Sire, I have brought for you Axel of the Scythes, Vane of Vale and Fayre of the Lost Souls." I gasped; he knew my status. The king nodded.

"Thank you, Niles. Ah, yes. The Lost Soul, your streams have been quite popular out in the real world. You have quite a few fans." He smiled. I shuddered, the vibe pouring off of this man was malice and deception, his voice was honeyed like a snake. I shrugged my shoulders and answered carefully.

"I wasn't aware of my fame in the real world, having no access." I answered. The king lowered his head in a nod. He rubbed his chin with his hands.

"And Vane, the pariah of Hyperion studios. Lost his administrative privileges, became a beta player." He mused, looking between the two of us. Finally, his gaze drifted and rested on Axel, who was standing firmly, staring the king straight in the eye.

"Axel, creator of the Scythes. Employee of Hyperion, master of lies." He addressed Axel formally. I snorted at "master of lies.", this man had clearly done research on all of us before this meeting. He was expecting us.

"What can we do for you, Sire?" Vane laced his voice with a sweet tone, showing no resistance. The king leaned back in his seat and rested his hands on the armrests of his throne. He then reached up to straighten his crown thoughtlessly.

"We have a ward of the neighboring kingdom, Ravenia, in our care. She has been living in the palace, and I'm afraid we have a security risk." The king began his speech. He stood from his throne and began pacing back and forth on the raised dais.

"You see, the problem I am facing seems quite unbelievable, when I try to explain it." The king said almost sheepishly, he ran his fingers through his hair and shot us a shy smile. Axel stepped forward and raised his voice.

"Perhaps if you try us, you'll be surprised what we have seen." Axel said slowly. I nodded. The king sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"We have been receiving reports of a faction group performing cult activities on the outskirts of the city. These demons they have been summoning, we think they are after our ward. She has been seeing things about the castle, shadows appearing in her room. The other night, she awoke with a figure above her bed with a knife, when she screamed and the guards came running, the figure disappeared out the balcony window." He said. I crossed my arms over my chest in turn, lost in thought.

"And how can we help you?" I asked thoughtfully. The king smiled and stood tall before us, pausing in his pacing.

"Many of the nobles in the city are not happy about the sudden influx of players. They have been rather…uneasy. You don't want to have the nobles of this city against you, I'm sure if you and your cohorts were to assist us in some matters around the city, you would find more doors open to you? All we need from you is to investigate this matter for us, deal with those after our ward." His face was in a grim line. I froze. He didn't leave us with much choice, if we wanted to have access to this city and its amenities, we needed to be on the good side of the king. A quest marker appeared in front of us.

QUEST: INVESTIGATE THE CULT

REWARD: +25,000 EXP. +3 CITY REPUTATION

ACCEPT: YES/NO?

I looked at Vane and sighed, he nodded in my direction. We both hit accept on the quest prompt. The king smiled and threw his hands in the air.

"Excellent! Welcome to Argos."