The rest of the team arrived at the cottage on the mountain. They waited for a while until Vicky arrived.
"Why is she taking so long to come?" Mia asked, in frustration.
"Have you tried contacting her through comms?" Miles asked, looking at the captain.
"Comms don't work here. The only sound coming out of it is static," Sarah replied.
They waited a while longer. The sound of hooves reached the cottage, and then a neigh from a horse. Mia equipped herself with her war hammer, and stood near the entrance of the door.
"Greeting players!" a female voice said outside the door, and continued "My name is Elisa, I am here to aid you in the quest of finding the enchanted weapon."
"She's an NPC," Mia said, opening the door. A girl stood outside. She had a black horse next to her.
"I see you survived the first step of your quest. Follow me, we have a long way to go," the NPC said getting on her horse. The NPC had brought the exact amount of horses for the team.
"One of our friends got stranded in the forest," Mia said.
"Follow me, we have a long way to go," the NPC repeated, riding the horse away.
"We should probably follow her," Sarah said, getting on one of the horses.
"What about Icicle?" Mia asked.
"We'll see where the NPC takes us, maybe she's already there," the captain replied. Connor and Mia looked at each other's face, and followed the team.
Vicky woke up, her vision was blurred. She was looking at a wood ceiling. There was a fire lit in the room. Vicky was on the ground, on a small bed made of hay. Vicky looked around the room, and saw a girl cooking near the fireplace. Vicky stood up from the bed, and the girl turned to her.
"You're awake. My name is Helen. I found you in the woods. I brought you to this house. The cannibals were about to kill you. We were waiting for you to arrive. The Queen needs your help. Where are my manners? You must be hungry after the long journey here. Have a seat at the table" the girl said, and turned towards the pot on the fire.
Vicky walked towards the girl. She was trying to process what was happening.
"Where am I?" Vicky asked.
"This is the Kingdom of Queen Agnes. We are the smallest kingdom. We are at war with the Kingdom of King Gunther. Have a seat at the table." Helen replied. Vicky looked at the table. It had a few dishes on it, and three chairs.
"Where are my friends?" Vicky asked.
"Have a seat at the table. The food is almost ready," Helen replied.
"You're a NPC aren't you?" Vicky asked.
"Have a seat at the table. The food is almost ready," Helen repeated.
Vicky sighed, and walked over to the table. She looked at Helen, and sat at the table. Helen was dressed in metal armour from the past, she had a sword sheathed on her hip, and a metal shield on her back.
"The food is ready. Eat well. You'll need to regain your strength," Helen said bringing the pot to the table. She served Vicky some food. Vicky was about to eat the food, when a large bell rang.
"What's that?" Vicky asked.
"We're under attack. We must get you to the queen," Helen said, she sprang to her feet, and continued "Follow me!"
Helen walked out of the hut, Vicky followed close behind her. Once Vicky was out of the hut, a large burning boulder crashed into the hut, engulfing the hut in flames. Vicky and Helen were thrown to the ground because of an explosion.
Helen got on her feet, and helped Vicky up.
"What's going on?" Vicky asked.
"We are under attack by King Gunther. Queen Agnes must be protected at all costs," Helen replied.
The villages were running for their lives. Soldiers rushed to the gates of the city. Vicky looked at the destruction around her.
"The palace is this way," Helen said. Vicky looked at Helen, and followed her.
There were boulders crashing into the city. Some fell in front of Helen and Vicky, causing them to find alternative routes to the palace. Eventually the two arrived at the palace.
"Princess Helen! Queen Agnes had been worried about you," the castle guard said.
"Where is mother?" Helen asked.
"Queen Agnes is in the throne room," the castle guard replied.
"Come on we have to take you to mother," Helen said, taking Vicky to the throne room.
"Helen! You're alive. You had us worried," the queen said. Beside her was a man dressed in full, metal, body armour. Seven knights were in the room too.
"Mother! Father! I found the chosen one," Helen said, looking at the queen, and the armoured man next to her.
A scout ran into the throne room, covered in blood.
"General, King Gunther's army broke through the city gates," the scout said.
"Helen! You need to get her out of here," the queen said, and then turned to Vicky and continued "Promise me that you'll protect my daughter."
"No. I want to fight alongside you. To protect our kingdom," Helen replied.
"Helen. You have to leave," the general, the man beside the queen said.
"But father, I don't want to leave…" Helen retorted.
"You have to take her to the enchanted weapon. That's the only way you can protect this kingdom from Gunther. If she falls to the hands on Gunther, he'll find a way to use the enchanted weapon for himself, and destroy the whole world. Helen, the quest has fallen onto you, and the chosen one. Go now!" the queen said, urging Helen and Vicky to leave.
"I love you mother, father," Helen said. The general opened a hidden passage in the stone walls of the castle.
"We love you too," the general said, and continued "Go now! Before they find you."
Helen led Vicky into the hidden passage. She carried a fire torch, and the door to the passage closed behind them.
"Keep your voice down, this passage will take us out of the city," Helen whispered.
The two of them arrived outside the city. They snuck past King Gunther's soldiers and ran into the forest.
Meanwhile, the team was following Elisa, she led them into the forest.
"Where is she taking us?" Miles asked.
"I don't know," Mia replied.
They were led further into the forest. Elisa stopped suddenly, and put her hand in her mouth, and whistled. The same people, who attacked Vicky surrounded the team.
"An ambush," the captain said.
In seconds, the whole team was attacked by darts, and they fell unconscious. The cannibals dragged the team to their village. They put them inside cages. Aiden was in one of the cages too. Each member had a different cage.
The captain was the first to wake up. He quickly assessed the situation, and tried to escape the cage.
"It's not going to work," Aiden said, slumped inside the cage. The cages were too small for humans, and was stacked one over the other.
"You," the captain said. Aiden's cage was in front of the captain.
"There's no way to get out of here. They'll eat us alive," Aiden said, and continued "I should have listened to you guys."
"Eat us alive?" the captain asked.
"They're cannibals. The other players in the cages told me that they eat us," Aiden replied. The members of the team woke up one at a time. The captain and Aiden explained everything to them.
"Did Vicky get here?" Connor asked.
"Icicle! He means Icicle," Mia corrected Connor.
"No. Wasn't she with you?" Aiden asked.
"We were separated when we spawned," the captain replied.
"No one ever gets out of here. This is the furthest all players get. Some die in the forest," Aiden said.
"You think Icicle died in the forest?" Miles asked.
"That kid doesn't seem like the type to die that easily," Kane said.
"He's right. If anyone can survive this, it's Icicle," Mia replied.
Vicky, and Helen were running through the forest. Helen stopped, and pushed Vicky, and hid behind a bush.
"There's a cannibal camp here," Helen whispered, and continued "We could sneak around them, or attack the camp, and rescue whoever they've captured."
"I lost my friends, you think they might have gotten captured by the cannibals?" Vicky asked, whispering.
"If they were captured, they could be in any one of the camps. There's a lot to go through. I suggest searching through this camp first, but it would be much easier if we sneak past them," Helen said.
Vicky looked at the camp. They snuck closer, to get a better view of the camp. Vicky saw the team in the cages.
"My friends are there. We have to rescue them," Vicky said.
"I'll follow your lead," Helen replied.
Back in the plaza, a queue of players waited to get into the portal. The color of the portal turned darker, and players that walked through the portal bounced back from it. Claire was standing at the portal with Wyatt, while the scientists examined the new phenomenon of the portal.