"You seem rather relaxed for a King whose kingdom is going to get destroyed," Colton said.
"It's because I have faith in my subjects. They won't let this kingdom fall. We'll all die before Nefarius falls," Colby replied.
"How can we help?" Helen asked.
"We didn't say anything about helping you guys," Miles said.
"You can help defend the gates. Out on the front line. I'll be fighting there too," Colby said, getting up from the throne. He drank from one of the large jugs the helpers brought.
"Your highness!" A messenger said, running into the throne room. He took a while to catch his breath, and blurted "General Whitmore, and Queen Agnes has been captured." The messenger pulled out a paper with a seal on it, and handed it to Colby.
***The Letter***
"Dear King Colby.
It is with great sorrow that I write this letter. The Kingdom of Agnes has fallen, and Queen Agnes was killed by King Gunther. I was captured, alongside a few of the soldiers that were left after the battle. I managed to sneak this letter out, so if you don't hear from me, assume the worst.
Helen found the chosen one, and has departed on the quest to find the enchanted weapon. Gunther may come after the Kingdom of Nefarius next, as it is the only kingdom left. Be safe.
General Whitmore."
*******
"It's from your father. The queen was killed, and he has been captured," Colby said, handing the letter to Helen.
"No! How can mother be… dead?" Helen asked. A scout rushed into the room.
"King Colby. King Edmund is at the gates, he requests an audience with the king," the scout said.
"Why don't you accompany me?" Colby said, walking towards the doors. He stopped at the doors, and turned towards the team waiting for them. Helen walked towards Colby, and stood next to him too.
"What just happened?" Mia asked.
"Looks like it's part of the quest to help them out," Aiden said.
"What are we doing? Wasn't the mission to retrieve him?" Miles asked, pointing at Aiden.
"We're already here, so why not complete the quest too," Aiden replied. Miles turned to the captain.
"It's not like we can just log out whenever we want to," Mia said.
"The kid's right. We can't logout, so why not play along, and see how far we can get," the captain replied. The captain walked towards Colby and Helen.
"Looks like we might be going to war," Mia said, looking at Vicky, and followed the captain.
The team followed the captain. Miles sighed, and followed after the team. Colby led them to the gates of the castle. They climbed up on the wall, to communicate with King Edmund.
"KING COLBY, HOW NICE OF YOU TO JOIN US," King Edmund shouted from the other side of the wall.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT EDMUND?" Colby shouted back.
"WORD IS, KING GUNTHER CAPTURED THE KINGDOM OF QUEEN AGNES. THE QUEEN HERSELF IS DEAD. KING GUNTHER IS ON HIS WAY HERE, AS WE SPEAK. I SUGGEST YOU SURRENDER," King Edmund shouted.
"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT WE'LL SURRENDER TO YOU?" Colby shouted back.
"YOUR KINGDOM IS THE ONLY KINGDOM THAT KING GUNTHER HAS NOT CAPTURED… YET. SURRENDER NOW, AND WE MIGHT CONSIDER MAKING YOU ONE OF THE KING'S SUBJECTS," Edmund shouted.
"So you really think he'll let you be a subject?" Helen asked Colby.
"Gunther, make us… his subjects. He'll probably be dead if he even thought of that. He always wants justice, no way around it," Colby replied, turning towards Vicky, and asked "Do you have any ideas?"
"Can you hear what they're saying?" King Edmund asked one of the soldiers he was with.
"No sir," the soldier replied.
"COULD YOU GUYS SPEAK UP! WE CAN'T HEAR YOU!" King Edmund shouted.
"GIVE US A MINUTE. WE'RE HAVING A DISCUSSION!" Colby shouted back. He turned towards the team, and continued "Where were we?"
"I suggest we fight," Helen replied.
"Okay. I'll let them know where we stand," Colby said. He shouted back at King Edmund, saying that they were not going to surrender to the city. Colby and Helen walked off the wall. The team followed them.
"I'm tired," Aiden said, after they walked back into the throne room.
"How long have you been in the game?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know. I must have started like around midnight," Aiden replied.
"Why don't you get some rest. We'll need our strength tomorrow, for the battle," Colby said.
"Why tomorrow? Why not today?" Connor asked.
"King Gunther will take longer to arrive than you did. He has prisoners, and a large party with him. I doubt he'll be here by morning. I suggest we rest. We'll need our strength to fight in the battle," Colby said. He ordered one of the helpers to take the team to their quarters.
The castle was rather large. Each member of the team got a room for themselves.
Vicky walked into her room. The bed looked magnificent, and fit for a queen. Vicky lay down on the bed, and fell asleep. The next morning, she woke up startled, as Helen was in her room.
"How did you get in here?" Vicky asked, holding her karambit at Helen.
"The doors to the chambers are never locked," Helen replied.
"What? Why?" Vicky asked. She put her karambit back, and sat on the bed.
"It is easier for soldiers to rush in, when in a hurry. A locked door may aid an assassin," Helen replied.
"What are you doing here?" Vicky asked.
"I came to talk to you about something I found yesterday, while searching the archives. It's about the enchanted weapon. Here, have a look," Helen said, showing a book to Vicky.
"The quest of the enchanted weapon," Vicky read, and continued "The enchanted weapon is said to be hidden deep within the forests. No one has seen it, but it is said that such power can only be harnessed by a chosen few. No one knows what the weapon is, but the story says it's a sword. A sword that can only be tamed by the chosen ones. It is impossible for the unchosen to even hold the sword, as they'd turn to dust. This I learnt from a children's story, how far it holds the truth, I do not know."
"It's a journal of an old adventurer," Helen said.
"What does it mean that the weapon has to be tamed?" Vicky asked.
"I do not hold such knowledge. I shall try to find more in the archives," Helen said. She took the book from Vicky, and walked away.
Vicky was puzzled by what she read. She walked towards Connor's chambers, and knocked on the door. Connor walked to the door and opened it.
"You couldn't let me sleep longer could you?" Connor asked, allowing Vicky into the chambers.
"Dad! You literally woke me up, early in the morning, when I was sleeping. Because Aiden decided to follow the quest to the enchanted weapon. And not to mention all those times you woke me up for school," Vicky replied.
"Fair enough! What brings thou to thy father's chambers?" Connor asked dramatically.
"Dad! I'm not a kid anymore!" Vicky said, sitting on the bed.
"How have you grown up to be so serious?" Connor asked.
"Maybe I finally grew up," Vicky said.
"I'm sure you didn't come here to argue with me. So what's up?" Connor asked.
"Helen found something about the enchanted weapon," Vicky replied. Vicky explained about what the journal that Helen showed her said.
"Are you even sure that this weapon is a sword? Because swords can't be tamed, maybe it's some type of an animal or something," Connor said.
The bells in the city rang. The sound of soldiers running outside the chambers was heard. Helen rushed into the chambers.
"They are attacking us earlier than expected. We need to help Colby defend the city," Helen said. Vicky and Connor looked at each other, and followed Helen. They called the rest of the team, and arrived outside the castle. Colby was giving a speech to his soldiers.
"I know there's more of them than there are us. But this is our city. This is our kingdom. We rule here, not anyone else, and we are not afraid to defend this city till death. We will push back the greedy Gunther, and his greedy subjects, and show them who rightfully owns this city. This city, this kingdom is ours, and we will not back down without a fight. NOW WHO'S WITH ME!" Colby shouted, putting up his fist. The soldiers cheered, as they marched to the gate, with Colby leading them.
"Finally some fun," Mia said, taking out her war hammer.
"Wait! We need to discuss this before going out there," Miles said. Mia looked at Miles, and then at the captain.
"He might be your leader, but he's not mine," Mia said, following the soldiers.
"Looks like war, it is!" Vicky said, following Mia. The captain turned to the rest of the team.
"I'm not letting my kid go out there by herself," Connor said, taking off, after Vicky and Mia.
"This could be fun," Aiden said, and walked towards the soldiers.
"I suggest we play along with the game. It'll take us to the quest, and end by itself" Sarah said.
"We don't even know what's going on here. How can we take sides?" Miles asked.
"Miles! It's just a game," the captain said.
"I say we see where this is going, too," Colton said.
"We could use a fight, unless you're growing too old for fights," Kane said, looking directly at Miles.
"Have you ever fought with a sword and shield before?" Miles asked.
"This is why I told you to take that martial arts class with me back then," Kane said, taking out his sword.