Stone gave the signal and as one, he and the NPC guard on the other door pulled back the opposing bars, enabling the doors to open. They swung inward automatically, their usual status being open. Carla's eyes widened to see what was outside.
It looked like a horde of Scary People in their dark, light-eating cloaks. You couldn't see much more than the glint of their eyes within their hoods. They were slowly moving towards the guild, leaving behind the burnt, blackened ruins of the town.
Carla's heart hurt to hear the soft cries of dismay from the NPCs. She knew that most of them had little electronic families in the town. Still, there was also a hefty dose of fear in her heart. She'd seen what they'd done to the few defenders in town.
One of the Scary People seemed a bit bigger than the others. It walked in the lead, a few feet from the crowd that followed it. Its cloak seemed darker and more solid than the rest.
"We would parley," the leader said, coming to a stop a few feet away from doors.
Carla's heart sank as she heard a familiar 'ding.' When she looked around, she could see a few of the players present frowning. She pulled up her status screen and tabbed to the quest tab.
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Quest: For Defiance May Not Be an Answer
Your guild has been attacked by a mysterious force. Parley, and you may be able to avert disaster. Resist, and you may face certain destruction.
Rewards: Stay within your current Guild.
Learn more about the mysterious force.
Become Guildless.
Be rewarded by the kingdom.
Note: May gain more than one reward!
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Carla bit back the words that wanted to spout. She could tell that some of the players were more hesitant, and those were the ones who abandoned the mangonels loaded with Magdalene's special rocks.
She raced forward, blocking one of Magdalene's NPC assistants who had been yelling after a deserter.
"Cal, what do I do?" Carla asked, her eyes shifting over the siege weapon.
It was one of the special orders that hadn't been shipped out yet. It was for yet another gnome war. Carla wasn't sure what was going on with those little guys, but they always seemed to be ordering mangonels, siege towers, catapults and the like. Megan had gone on a delivery run and returned to tell her that the gnome towns were like little fortress cities, so there was that.
Cal turned his attention to her, a smile blossoming before being hastily stifled.
"I just need you to pull this," and Cal handed over a thick cord, "when Stone says to fire." Cal reached into his robe and pulled out a simple tapered wand. It was denuded of decorations and looked like a dowel that had been sanded down. "I have to help Master."
Carla nodded, anxiously twisting the cord around her hand. It was the width of two her fingers together and heavy. From what she could see, it wasn't the original cording which she knew had been spelled for lightness. That was one of the spells Magdalene was proudest of, not being in the original mage repertoire.
"Parley, you say?" Stone called back, stepping clear of the doors until he was in the center of the doorway. "Do those who parley destroy?"
"Only when the parley fails," the lead Scary Person replied. There was a rustle of noise behind him, a formless moan of sound.
"And what would you parley for?" Stone asked.
Carla could tell from his stance that Stone was angry. He'd probably heard about what happened with Rock and the others. Carla was hoping that whatever they wanted would be easy to give, but also that Stone wasn't going to give it up. Quest or no quest, she wasn't willing to bow to invaders of any sort.
"We would parley for a simple tome," the lead Scary Person said. Behind him, the others echoed, "a tome, a tome, a simple tome."
Carla shivered. She wasn't one for scary things, and these invaders made her want to log out and go walk in the sunshine and perhaps play with some kittens or puppies. She steeled her nerves, remembering Megan.
If she left, then who would be there to try to get her friend justice?
"A book? All this for a book?" Stone asked, his voice getting angrier by the second.
"You destroyed my guild for a book?" The nameless woman screamed, coming to her feet.
Carla blinked as the woman charged past Stone, drawing a glowing red sword. The cloaked figures flinched away from the sword, but once it came down, they acted. The woman was swarmed in an instant.
All that came after was a single scream. When the Scary People withdrew back behind their leader, all that was left was a black spot on the ground.
"What the—," Stone muttered, taking a step backwards.
"Give us the book. Give us the book, and all will be well," the lead Scary Person said. Behind him, the crowd of Scary People swayed as if blown by the wind.
Carla swallowed hard, glancing at Stone. His face resembled his name, but he was trembling just a little. She glanced to the side to see Nathan's angry face and Janelle's pale one. Behind them, Tobias had crouched down just a little as if hiding from the Scary People.
Somehow that made Carla just a little bit angry. Tobias and his little coterie of followers were happy-go-lucky and played pranks. They helped the older townspeople and were growing into fine young men. Now Tobias was cowering, and who knew where the rest of his little gang was?
Her attention was jerked away as Magdalene strode a few steps forward. Her assistants were hurriedly pulling more of the grey stones out of a couple of storage boxes that surely couldn't hold that many. Cal was tapping each rock with his wand before they were deposited next to a loaded mangonel.
"We don't have any books," Magdalene snarled, taking a step forward. Her eyes were burning with a ferocious anger. "You invaded and destroyed and killed over a book?"
"The book is important. Give us the book," the lead Scary Person said, his voice hollow and inhuman. It was like hearing the wind form words. "Give us the book, and we will give you harmony with this world."
"Harmony?" Magdalene smiled, and it was a grim, nasty thing. "Aren't you talking about Corrosion?"
"What is this 'Corrosion' of which you speak? There is only harmony gained and lost. We give the gift to all we encounter so that they, too, may enjoy the harmony of our souls," the lead Scary Person replied.
Carla felt her blood run cold. Was the Scary Person talking about what had happened to Megan? If so, she was more than unwilling to give them anything if the only outcome was that.
"Do you have it," she heard Janelle ask.
Looking over, she saw Nathan stuff something into the bag hanging from his belt. Her lips parted as she recognized that quick glimpse of a gilded corner. Nathan had the guild sigil! She hadn't been sure that you could pry those off the walls.
"Go grab as much of the workshops as you can," Nathan whispered to Janelle who nodded and darted back into the depths of the guild. Tobias was following after her.
"I can give you peace and harmony," Stone said. He took that final step back that put him among the mangonels. "Fire!"
Carla yanked on the cord in her hand, feeling mechanisms engage.