Tales Of Gridarnia

The King

The King and Draconis continued to watch the screen even after the demon was defeated and the beacon was activated. Liam sat there willing himself to speak, to say anything but he was in absolute shock from the view of it all. He zoomed in on the white chess piece tattoo, which was no longer pulsating as it once did. The man known as Ray was being lifted up by his comrades and carried back to town. The teams were ever vigilant in case another of the black courts came forward. They do not know. Liam thought to himself. That the black court always ventures in twos. Never more. Never less. How could they know? Those secrets were buried deep long ago.

“Sire, What does this mean?” Draconis said, turning to face the king. “If he is back, what does this mean? What do we do?”

The King did not move for a long time. He sat there and thought about everything that had occurred today. He withdrew a small six sided die and twirled it in his fingers.

“Draconis, We must act on this with the utmost care. Speak of this to absolutely no one. We must summon the six immediately.” He said tossing the die to his assistant

“We also need Fredrickson O’Connell of the Holy Church. He should be somewhere in the south of the city. More than likely attending his garden. Quickly but quietly, send word for him to come here. Cancel everything else for the day.” The king said, getting up and moving towards the exit. “I will be in Chamber number four downstairs. Come as soon as they have all arrived.”

Draconis immediately began inputting data into his small tablet and calling for pages and servants to come to him so that he could issue orders. The King exited the room, walked down the hall and down into the deepest parts of the dungeon. He passed by three closed and locked rooms before opening the fourth and entering inside.

Collin

3 weeks later

“Alright everyone settle down. Yes, another damn council meeting. Don’t act surprised, you knew this was coming.” Colin said to the room. “We have more shit to talk about today then I think we have ever had to talk about. Adam, Please give us an update on the village affairs and what has occurred while we have been away.”

Adam went through the village numbers for the quarter. The village stores were steady, The money was slightly above what was needed to get through the summer, and the day to day life of the villagers was normal. The class of younglings; Magic adept, and non magics were all running smoothly, even with Collin and Ray being gone. They discussed the upcoming midterm exams and planned out who was going to do what. The issue with the water supply had been corrected and more protections were put in place to make sure Mace wouldn’t unintentionally contaminate it again. The mines were showing steady finds and the rail system was almost complete. Contracts with Scuttlefly and the other minor villages along the way went by rather smoothly thanks to Ray’s assistance in defeating the sea beast. Ships were finally starting to show into the harbor again. Unlike with the Boar canyons, all of the loot from the monster did not magically teleport to Golden leaf village. Instead, it was dispersed evenly to all of the smaller villages in Ray’s control. This made things much easier as Ray was able to delegate the use of said items to their respective village leaders who were more than happy about the added surplus of meats, cloth, and other items. The magical beast had a tremendous amount of thick armored skin and every smith in the region was hard at work trying to turn it into something usable. Ray and Collin sat in their respective chairs and listened patiently as Adam finished his report and the heads of each guild went into their summary reports.

All and all, everything was fine. The last guild head finished his report and it was finally Ray’s turn to explain what occurred in the Harbor. Collin was sad to hear that Simpy’s Bonded squirrel had attempted to stop the knight figure when he had attacked her and had ultimately perished. Simpy loved that squirrel and upon returning, left the village to go obtain another one. The rest of Team one elected to travel with her and they were currently somewhere to the south east near the desert looking for a new bond. Ray explained to the room about activating the beacon and that they now controlled forty-seven percent of Region XI. He did not go into detail about his new abilities and powers. He was saving that for the private meeting that would occur afterwards. It was then Collin’s turn and he went over the trial and explained the wager that was brought forth. The room discussed possible options and went through the many preparations that would need to be completed to host the King who may or may not be coming by. Everyone grew very anxious at the thought of the King coming to the Village, and Collin did his best to ease their concerns. The meeting was concluded and all but Collin, Adam and Ray exited the room. Mace was not present for any of this. He was apparently in his bed at home and in no mood to be bothered.

“Alright, let's see it.” Collin said pulling up all the Region XI maps and all of the status screens.

Beacon #2 successfully activated!

Beacon Teleported to the Golden leaf Village

+15% Control of Gridarnia Region XI (Total Regional Control 47%)

Poorman's Harbor Unlocked

Surrounding Villages unlocked

Poorman Harbor Teleportation Portal unlocked

Shattered Key Piece 2 of 5

Lord Ray Maximum Rewards:

Lord Level 3

Skills Unlocked:

Telepathy (Kingdom Only)

Teleportation Poorman's Harbor (Region only)

Terrain Manipulation level 1

Regional Mana manipulation level 1

Dungeon Creation level 1

Dungeon Core Creation level 1

Dungeon Authority level 1

Vice Lord Collin Chintzy Rewards:

Vice Lord Level 3

Skills Unlocked:

Access to Armory

Teleportation Golden Leaf Village, Boar Canyon, Boar Mines, and Poorman's Harbor (Region only)

Access to Lord System (Kingdom Only)

Previous Vice Lord’s Personal Inventory

Name: Ray Maximum Age: 31 Weight: 225 lbs. Height 5’ 11”

Citizenship: Affirmative Military Status: Retired/Reserve Military Rank: Captain -Locked

Adventurer Status: Active Adventurer Rank: Master - Teacher

Health: 100% Health Rank: S Health Recovery: 15%/ Min

Mana: 100% Mana Rank: A Mana Recovery: 10%/ Min

Class: Master Elementalist, Berserker Level 2, Others- Locked

Weapon Proficiency:

Swords, Bow and Arrow, Daggers, Throwing Knives, Hammers, Buckler, Shields

Magic Affinities

Water: S Earth: S Fire : S Air : S Void/ Dark: B Holy/ Light: B Lightning: A Ice: A Plant: A

Lava: A Sand: E Metal: E

Matrix -Max 0/1 - Removed (All associated Class, skill, and abilities locked)

Titles:

Lord of Goldenleaf Village

Description on next page

Goblin Assassin

Description: + 5 Damage +10 Health and Physical Resistance +20% when battling Humanoid Creatures : Goblins, Orcs, Uruks, Gnomes, etc

Others - Locked

Bond (1/1)

Name: Mace Age: 7 Weight: 12 lbs, Type: Canine Beast

Title: Berserker Kings Beast Level 2

Form: Pup (Base), Lambda (Wolf), Gamma (Armored Wolf)

Abilities: Teleportation, Roar, Scratch, Wolf Sense, Armor Manifestation, Sword Manifestation

Lord of Goldenleaf Village Total Control 47%

Regions XI controlled: Golden Leaf Village, Boar Canyon, Boar Canyon mine, Poorman's Harbor

Lord Skills:

Telepathy (Kingdom only)

Access to Lord System (Kingdom Only)

Teleportation Golden Leaf Village, Boer Canyon, Boar Canyon Mines, Poorman's Harbor (region only)

Lord Pocket Inventory

Terrain Manipulation level 1

Regional Mana manipulation level 1

Dungeon Creation level 1

Dungeon Core Creation level 1

Dungeon Authority level 1

Skills:

1) Elemental Smash Level 4 (Progression to level 5: 30%)

Imbue your weapon with an elemental orb to deliver the specified elemental damage to an effective area.

Up to 3 elements per attack

2) Goblin’s Roar Level 1 (Progression to level 2: 0.00%)

Create a shockwave of sound which causes enemies to be stunned and unable to move. Duration: 3 seconds Cooldown: 5 seconds

3) Mana Manipulation Level 5 MAX

4) Elemental Manipulation Level 5 MAX

5) Sub Elemental Manipulation Level 3

6) Others - locked

Berserker Level 2

Description: The Berserker King known as Curaidh Von Cu Chulainn, has granted you his power and abilities. Progression to higher levels will unlock more Skills, items and abilities. Berserker has been integrated into the Lord system. Progression in the Lord System will have a positive impact on the Berserker Level.

Skills

Berserker King’s Armory Level 2

Berserker King’s Authority Level 0 - Locked

Berserker King’s Elemental Control Level 2

Berserker King’s Army 0/8 - Locked

Berserker King’s Mount Level 2

Berserker King’s Beast Level 2

Berserker King’s Transformation Level 2

Berserker King’s Court 0/6 - Locked

Stats

Health Reservoir Increase + 30%

Health Recovery Increase + 20%

Mana Reservoir increase + 50%

Mana Recovery Increase +20%

Name: Collin Chintzy Age: 28 Weight: 200 lbs Height 6’ 0”

Citizenship: Affirmative Military Status: Retired/Reserve Military Rank: Captain -Locked

Adventurer Status: Active Adventurer Rank: Master - Teacher

Health: 100% Health Rank: A Health Recovery: 10%/ Min

Mana: 100% Mana Rank: A Mana Recovery: 8%/ Min

Class:

Duel Elemental Mage

Other - Locked

Weapon Proficiency:

Swords, Bow and Arrow, Daggers, Throwing Knives,

Magic Affinities

Water: E Earth: E Fire : A Air : A Void/ Dark: S (Locked) Holy/ Light: E Lightning: E

Ice: E Plant: E Lava: E Sand: E Metal: E

Matrix - Trixie (0/1) - Removed (All associated Class, skill, and abilities locked)

Titles:

Vice Lord of Goldenleaf Village,

Prince #2 of Gridarnia,

Red Wagering Chain (temporary title)

Other - Locked

Bond (0/1)

Please Perform a bond ritual in order to obtain bonded familiar. Stats and information displayed here

Skills:

1. Elemental Smash Level 2

Imbue your weapon with an elemental orb to deliver the specified elemental damage to an effective area.

Up to 3 elements per attack

2. Mana Manipulation Level 4

3. Elemental Manipulation level 2

4. Others- Locked

“I miss Trixie” Collin said.

“I know what you mean. I spent years grinding dungeons for titles with Max. I miss those perks.” Ray agreed

“Didn’t you have a title called Great Mouse Detective?” Collin asked, laughing out loud.

“Yeah, that was a fun one. I received it for helping this girl’s familiar find the stash of cheese that they had lost. It gave me plus twenty-five percent in perception, and plus fifty percent in Resistance to Trap based attacks.” Ray confirmed.

“You boys never talk about your time away. This is the first time I am hearing of this.” Adam stated.

“This system reminds me a lot of the Matrices we used to have. I guess it brings back old memories.” Ray said. Collin nodded his head in agreement.

“Hey Collin, I transferred all of your dad’s possessions to your inventory.” Ray said, skimming through the inventory list." It didn’t allow me access until I reached level two. I guess at level one I was allowed to use it and put my own inventory in it, but selecting and using prior Lord’s was locked.

“You didn’t have to do that. Collin said switching his screen to the Vice Lord Inventory.

“It looks to be mostly your family's stuff anyway. I guess when the village was destroyed, what could be saved was placed here by default.” Ray explained. “Your step mom’s jewelry, Some of your and Kono’s old toys, and your dads personal armory and other effects.

“Thank you. So do you want to address this duel we have in a couple of months?” Collin asked

“Is it two vs two or two one vs one battles?” Ray asked, switching his display off and pulling up Simpson lake on the Table.

“If I recall correctly, It will be two vs two, but it could very easily become a two vs one if someone is not careful. Arthur and Wristbane will be sure to try and pick you off one at a time. Adam explained

“The Duke’s name is Arthur?” Collin asked. Everyone just called him the Duke so it was not common knowledge as to his full name

“Arthur Baldric Aramis, The Duke of Manchester and Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Army. Aka the Brawling Duke.” Adam stated. “He has about ten years on you two and from what I understand, He is absolutely ruthless. He once ripped a man’s jaw off of his face with his bare hands.” Adam said "He was utterly ruthless."

Ray pulled up Arthur and Wristbane’s Photo and Stats which were hardwired into the lord system. Ray imagined that they would be capable of pulling their info also.

Name: Arthur Baldric Aramis

Age: 43

Weight: 250 lbs

Height 6’ 0”

Citizenship: Affirmative

Military Status: Active

Military Rank: Lieutenant Colonel

Title: Duke of Manchester, Brutal Brawler, Beast Champion, Griffin Slayer, Demon Killer, The Bareknuckle King

Health: 100%

Health Rank: S

Mana: 100%

Mana Rank: B

Class:

HIDDEN

Weapon Proficiency:

Swords, Hammers, Axes, unarmed, Gauntlets

Magic Affinities

Hidden

Matrix - 2/2 - 30 Years

Name: Wristband Montigue

Age: 28

Weight: 200 lbs

Height 5’10

Citizenship: Affirmative

Military Status; N/A

Title: Vice Duke of Manchester, Prince #13 of Gridarnia, Duelist Finalist of Gridarnia Festival of Champions - 3 years consecutive, Duelist Champion of Gridarnia Festival of Champions, Blue Wagering Chain (temporary title)

Health: 100%

Health Rank: A

Mana: 100%

Mana Rank: S

Class:

HIDDEN

Weapon Proficiency:

Sword and Buckler, Whips, Throwing Knives

Magic Affinities

Hidden

Matrix - 1/1 - 15 Years

“It looks like they have the class, skills and magic affinities Hidden.” Collin stated. “ They may not know about your Berserker power.”

“Are there any recordings of these Festival of Champion Matches? The Vice Duke has about four years of competitions we could watch.” Ray stated.

“Yup, I have them all here. They will have a disadvantage in that you and I have never competed in any public setting where we would be recorded.” Collin stated. “The problem is the Duke, I cannot find any recordings of him.”

“It's okay. I have seen him fight before.” Ray said. “He was a Captain in the Regalian War”

“What was he like?” Collin asked not remembering ever seeing him fight.

“Pretty straight forward. He reached a class called Brawler. It is a stage four class combining the Stage three Boxer with a tank class. He is very strong. Dad, you are not lying about the ripping a jaw out thing. He didn’t fight with weapons back then. Just gauntlets. He has a blood frenzy ability that activates when he takes a certain percentage of damage. He rages out with increased speed and strength. He has a taunt that forced you to attack him, The Regalians had no chance.” Ray explained “He has no distance however. He is strictly a Short to mid range fighter.”

“How are you going to counter that? Your Berserker ability has a time limit doesn’t it” Adam asked concern beginning to show on his face.

“I am not sure. We never reached stage four. I managed to reach stage three in Tank and Mage but that is not the same. Ray said.

“Yeah, I hit stage three in Rogue and Mage. We should have gotten there but the King needed glider operators. It doesn’t matter though, without our Matrices, we cannot access that power.

There was a knock on the door. “Lord Ray, Vice Lord Collin, We have a bit of a problem at the gate. Can y'all come down?” a pledge stated on the other side of the door.

“What kind of problem?” Asked Collin

“The gnomes are here and they want to talk to Ray and not just a few sir. There are about a hundred of them standing outside the gate demanding to see you.” the pledge stated

“Did you ever go speak to the Gnome Elder like you were supposed to? Collin asked, looking at Ray and narrowing his eyes.

“I may have forgotten.” Ray said getting up and heading out the door.

They exited the building and made their way to the village gates. People were gathered around trying to get a look at the little humanoids who were dancing and singing and hopping around in the most peculiar manner. Ray arrived at the gate and asked the Guard which one he was supposed to talk to.

“I think the one sitting over there on the rocks sir. He seems to be the elder.” the guard answered

Ray made his way up through the crowd of hundreds of gnomes. They all stopped what they were doing and watched as he walked toward who he assumed was the gnome elder. Taking a knee so he would be eye level with them he bowed slightly before looking up.

“Sir Elder, My deepest apologies for not coming to see you. I have no excuse to give. It is my understanding that you would like to speak to me. Is this about the mines? I do apologize for our young adventurers stumbling in on you during our exploration. We do not want to cause any harm.” Ray said and then waited for the Gnome to speak. He did not. In fact he just stared at Ray.

“Is there anything that I can do to set things right sir?” Ray asked. Looking around for someone to say something so he would know what to do.

The elder looked at Ray and then poked him in the forehead before disappearing. Ray watched as all of the gnomes around them also suddenly disappeared. When the last one had left the area, Ray heard a pop and he was gone also.

‘What the hell?” Collin said, looking around the area. “System, show me Ray.” The system popped up in front of him showing a map and a crimson dot about 20 miles to the south west inside the Boar Canyon Mines.

“I don’t have time for this. Master William, send a team to the Mines. Make sure the Lord isn’t Dead. I am going back to work. Pledges, Get your asses up to the training room.” Collin yelled as he turned and walked back up to the main building. “Gnomes? Like what is life right now that we have Gnomes. I need a drink.”

In the distance, on top of the building laid a small bonded black puppy completely asleep and unaware of anything that had just occurred.