Act IV - Faux Hero
[Canterlot | Guild of Horizon Dawn]
"I'm going to be blunt with you, my companion, duh fuck?" My hoof motioned to the contract in my menu, pushing the transparent screen to the side while pressing the 'Public' icon to display my disdain for what was shown before me and the leader of the Guild known as Horizon Dawn
[Request Pending]
|Inspection of Harmony Knights|
Dear, Artorias, I am sorry to spring this on you but I wanted to request your assistance with a matter that neither I nor Silver can accomplish ourselves at this present time. I am aware of your 'Request' system that has been instrumental in our efforts to gain new members, all claiming to have been aided by your hands, or hooves in this case, during the early stages of the game. If you accept, please report to me immediately.
[ ] Give a report of Harmony Knights
[Rewards]
7000 Bits | Ascendant Shard X4
Klaw put his... well claws, on the table, smiling modestly toward me. His Guild Hall was actually the old bar we first met in though now it was renovated and held a second floor for meetings, such as this one as I fumed in his face about this odd request. "I know this seems odd but please hear me out."
"Dude, I'm a frontline, Region clearing badass, why the hell do I have to play babysitter, again!?" Rain's enough as is. Rubbing my temples I glared at the other pony present. "You have alot of nerve bugging me with a job like this out of nowhere, Kid."
This 'Kid' happened to be the same brat I saved back before the first Region Boss, Sora. He seemed far less timid though that was still his exterior, he wore armor matching that of Klaw's, his guild's signature color scheme of silver and dark blue for the accents. He nervously cleared his throat to address my glare. "S-Sorry, Miss Artorias, b-but when Sir Klaw asked for recommendations I-I said you'd be perfect, o-or that other guy they call a Cheat-"
I turned fully, snorting once. "Call Skye, 'Cheater', and I'll bury you in a shallow grave," He zipped his mouth shut as I sighed. "This is too early, I haven't even had my morning coffee to be handling this..." I wish I just skipped this and went with Rain, hell, I'd take listening to Bombard's insensitive yelling over this absolute travesty. Oh, and I find it grating when people called Skye under that title, Black Swordsman totally suited him better, just like that guy from the Light Novel I read a few years back, he was cool, so was Skye... I'm getting off-topic
"Artorias," I glanced to Klaw, seeing him watch me curiously and with a hint of pleading in his eyes. "Sora here has only brought you to my attention because of your abilities, he said the way you instructed him, and have aided others is exactly what I need to investigate this new rising team in the hopes of gauging their abilities for the future Vaults, as we both know, they are nothing to scoff at." For once, I agreed with that serious look in the dragon's eyes
"Much as I love people recognizing my talents, and I do, there's a little trick to my madness," I put my hoof out to Sora. "Take string-bean over there, kid's shaking like a leaf, ever since I met him, yet he pushed to improve despite his fear of combat, to protect his girlfriend, right?" He peered to me with a deep blush on his cheeks, rubbing his mane
"I-I w-we're not, um, y-you got the wrong-" I chuckled at his bashful nature, smiling knowingly at how rigid he became
"Kid, she's totally into you, just be yourself and go get her, you'll see," Seeing my rather charismatic look his own smile grew a little
"Y-You really think so?" As if he needed me to see that, oh wait he did, whoops
"Kid, I may be a total narcissist but I'm still a chick, I know, shocker, I think I'd know the signs when I see 'em." Turning back I noticed Klaw's growing smile as I groaned, slamming my head into the table. "Fuck, fine! Okay, you win you classy jackass," This was going to bite me, I know it was
"Well, I suppose I should clarify this team in greater detail," Klaw held back a small chuckle as my brow twitched. He presented a material map on his desk, more specifically, a town up in the Canterlot mountains called 'Blackrock', interesting. "The team, Harmony Knights, have been noted by the MLPR Daily as a notorious band of players that have cleared three Regions in only a week, despite the levels of monsters on the mountains being far higher than those down here."
"Higher levels grant better publicity," It was a simple form of exposure. "Question is their motive and their method."
"Quite," Klaw seemed to agree, nodding slowly as he tapped his claw to a place just north of the town. "While their deeds were noted across the furthest settlements thus far, Blackrock's own Region Temple remains undiscovered, that is why I want you to meet with them, not to worry I have informed their leader of our Speaker of sorts, you in this case." His hand motioned to me. Man this feels like politics, but atleast Klaw's one of those rare 'honest' kind
"Soooo what's my goal here?" That I needed to know first and foremost
"I want you to evaluate their skills, cooperative abilities, and overall execution on the battlefield, if they step too far or endanger lives then you can make the call to inform me not to allow them to join us on future Region or Vault raids less we needlessly sacrifice lives," Klaw really seemed concerned, must be more to this than he's letting on
"...okay," I started off slow, raising my hoof. "Just for the record, if I warn them of their incompetence and they refuse to abide by my words then I'm done, if they want to die pointlessly then I won't bat an eye for the stupid," My moral code was twisted but compared to people like Sir Knight, and Wyoming and the countless others, those that recklessly die without any sense of commonsense don't deserve a second chance, just as I warned Bombard, you get one other chance, after that, you're on your own
He seemed to be mulling over my words, finally, he sighed and graced us with a smile. "Very well, I won't hold it against you, I merely hope it does not come to that." You and me both, bud
"However!" My hoof slammed the desk. "I'll do this but under one condition!" This was absolute
"Of course, name your price." He offered his hand to my hoof
[※•⁎·°•⁎․•°·•⁎※]
*Knock. Knock. Knock-Knock. Knock - Crash!*
My hoof went through the door as it swung open, a small apartment on the edge of Ponyville was rudely invaded by yours truly with Rain waiting by the doorway with a nervous smile. "Wakey-Wakey, fellow gamer, we got work to do!" My boisterous call brought the pony back from the dead on the sofa as he yelled from fright, staring up at me with a frightened expression, flopping to the floor
"What the hell, you just broke my door! What is wrong with you!?" Skye blurted in my face, waving his hoof angrily at the broken door where Rain waved with a sweatdrop
"I'll just wait outside..." She slipped out as I grinned, grabbing the Black Swordsman by the scruff of his black tunic
"We've got a rewarding quest to fulfill and I require your assistance on the matter, don't worry, Seraph already knows," I grinned, pointing to the number on the door of the small flat. "She told me where you live."
"She sold me out!?" He gawked but then I shrugged
"Nope, Gin did, Seraph was just having breakfast with her when I asked." I smiled cheekily while he paled, vibrating with fury
"DAMMIT, YOU RAT!!" If the Gods heard him, they'd tremble, good thing I wasn't listening as he bickered on behind me
[Blackrock Village]
After groaning from the inhumane brightness of the Teleportation system, my eyes soon adjusted atop the snowy mountaintop as I wore a winter variant of my Proxima Coat, the collar, sleeve holes, and tail all lined with white fur and had an added layer of cloth to keep the brittle breeze from freezing me through my fur. Rain and Skye both had the same style to their equipment for this job.
Blackrock's Teleport Rune sat overlooking the mountains from an old cobblestone tower refurbished into the small hub for the Rune. A wooden rampart curved down the wall, leading down beside its defensive wall overlooking the pathway cutting into the mountains. The village itself was very medieval in nature. Large buildings made of timber with stone as the walls and a thatch roof that was triangular in nature but narrow and dipped with an overhang to the front and back of the buildings.
Lanterns swung on masts with many varying levels of elevation across the village, some land reinforced with cobblestone walls while NPC and player alike wandered the streets now with the sun at its peak, though in our case the peak was a few hundred meters taller than us. Shivering in the cool temperature drop I turned to my two tagalongs. "Right, so my kidnapping of you does have a purpose, I do pride myself on logical reasoning."
"Among other things." Ignoring the jab from Rain I motioned to Skye
"I can't evaluate a group of idiots without... constructive feedback, I'll be honest, not many players can do what I can, and I very much doubt they could beat either of you," I clopped my hooves. "So, you'll be aiding in my evaluation, in exchange I have a few... rare materials I can toss aside if you'd like that form of compensation?"
Skye looked to give it some thought. "What kind?" He quickly replied, my sly grin stretching
"Ascendant Crystals," They were an enhancing material and very rare cause it takes five Shards to make one, and Shards only drop from high-level Region Bosses. His eyes looked to light up like fireworks
"You're serious, how many?" He blinked while I shrugged, already beginning to trot down the rampart
"How many ya want, Blackie?" His jaw promptly unhinged while Rain smiled knowingly, her reaction was just as his was, followed by a series of questions that left my head spinning. "Now then, shall we go meet these, 'Harmony Knig-', ugh God no, that's just the worst name ever, of all time." I couldn't fathom what five-year-old conjured such a bland and cheesy name, though I feel I was about to find out. "What are they, the Elements of Harmony?"
[※•⁎·°•⁎․•°·•⁎※]
"Wow, you were actually right!" Rain's assessment didn't stop my hoof from sliding down my muzzle at the swinging sign above a large building that was supposedly where the group was living for the moment. It was varnished planks strapped to two chains, the colors of the six elements in their primal crystal forms in front of a backdrop of that golden wheel they'd be fixed to.
"They seem odd but so are a few players on the frontlines," Skye offered a nudge, looking rather dismissive of the situation. "We're here to evaluate so a few quests ought to give us a good assessment of their skills," Now he was lost in thought, rubbing his chin. "Comparing them to the average frontline player would not only be an idea of their coordination and ability to communicate mid-fight but their equipment and stats, what roles they play and-"
"-and a general idea of their standing not just as players but as people, yes-yes, I too know the ins and outs of Raiding Rules and the like," His wealth of knowledge was impressive but feeding me textbook listings of Raids was mind-numbingly boring. "Dude, I wasted three hours of my life attempting to get a bunch of green players through the FIRST stage of a Raid way back," I shivered at the memory. "Three. Whole. Hours."
Skye smiled, chuffing softly. "Come on, let's just get this started, sooner we're done the sooner we get paid, right?" He was right
"It won't be so bad, you got us here too to suffer!" Rain nudged me with a giggle, that atleast kept me moving for the thick tarp that muffled the music and voices inside.
Pushing through we were greeted with what I assumed was a party. The building's large hall wasn't massive, pillars lined the center of the hall, leaving a gap to walk down between two strangely long tables were ponies in parties laughed and ate without woes. There was an upstairs with a balcony overlooking the ground floor, some sitting by the rafters at benches with drinks. It was quite loud compared to most bars and taverns I've seen.
"Haha, this looks like fun, wonder why they're celebrating?" Rain smiled curiously at the hall while I shrugged and tried to pinpoint where the leader would be among the rabble
"See him or her?" I spoke higher over the noise, Skye just shook his head
"No clue, could be in the back, maybe?" That was a good place to star-
"Ah, our allies from Canterlot have arrived, a fine day indeed!" What in the Anti-Christ was that thick, old-English accent? Spotting among the small groups of players I found what I can assume was the leader of this merry band of nobodies. He raised a hoof to us with a smile. "Well met, warriors!" Oh boy...
This unicorn with a whiter coat than me approached, standing a head taller than me. He was, by some public opinion, handsome, even had a cleft chin, a deep shade of emerald eyes, and a fine-combed blonde mane that looked far too perfect to be considered human, or pony. His outfit was very similar to that of the Royal Guard only it was far less damaged and battered, well-polished white metal with gold trimming. He had two pauldrons, the left was a straight gold-polish finish in the shape of a dragon's head. The vambraces were missing, replaced with full-arm gauntlets that gave him a more 'Knightly' appearance.
He old used a longsword housed within a white scabbard, a ruby fixed to the pommel with a gold grip and guard. Around his neck, however, was a gold amulet with a glistening, white gem fixed in the shape of a sword pointing down, two rubies applied to either side of the necklace. Then his name appeared, it wasn't humanly possible, but I could feel my brow rising from my head at this point, never before have I've felt so... insulted. <KnightofSilent>.
"If his name is what I think it is..." Klaw wasn't just going to get a report, It'll be a confession of murder. "You're the leader of the Harmony Knights?" Breathe in, breathe out
"Yes, fellow warriors, I am pleased to finally be making the acquaintance of some of Klaw's best," His hoof immediately shook Skye's, himself smiling nervously to keep the peace
"Right, yeah, good to meet you too," He didn't know how to digest this but he seemed to ease a bit. "I'm really only here as an assistant, Artor-"
"A pleasure, miss," Uh what? I was silent as he completely moved past Skye to myself and Rain, herself too busy observing the surroundings as he lifted my hoof tentatively for a shake. "Artorias, to have a beautiful lady such as you in our company is truly an honor." U-Um... I think I saw Skye's brow start to twitch himself
My brow furrowed a little, unable to formulate a response to 'beautiful', oh, I wasn't blushing, trust me, I just... couldn't get a read on this guy. "R-Right, um, thanks? So... where's the rest of your group?" Taking my hoof back I looked around the hall. "I'm assuming they're here?"
He smiled. "Ah, yes! Squad, sound off!" He boomed boisterously, many players standing back to allow three figures to jump into view
"JaggedEdge! Suckas!" The first, Jagged, proclaimed, hopping down from the rafters. He was wearing light armor, typically black leather with black plating for barding. He had charcoal fur, was a unicorn too, and had spiky, red hair, both his mane and tail jutting back like some Yu-Gi-Oh-lookin' protagonist, no offense to Yugi, he did it before it was edgy. Strapped to his hips were two broadswords. "Damn, who're the hotties?"
My brow's gonna be running marathons at this rate. Next up was a girl... a very, vibrant girl - she looks like someone smacked her with a paint can tied to a rope. Baby-blue fur for the, again, Unicorn, I'm sensing a racial uprising in the future. Her mane and tail were long and flowing into a curl, pink with a stripe of yellow through the middle, she had bright blue eyes too, surprise-surprise. With a bright smile, she moved rather close to Knight, practically magnetizing herself to his side. "Hehehe, I'm Radiant, the squads support!" She brought forth her naginata to emphasize how... nonmedical she seemed, what was she going to do, administer a concussion to save on painkillers?
The last of the four was, oh thank God a normal one! Much like Axel, this guy was a big pony, an Earth Pony to exact. He carried with him a large mace on his back... that's where the normal ends. He looked like the kind of guy that thinks with his fists and uses his head as a mallet. Red eyes and blue hair with a green fade, and not even complimenting colors, like basic blue and bright green, ugh, must not hurl. His fur wasn't any better, he was orange, what did he do, punch the randomization button upon character creation?
With a thick voice, he stomped his hoof, causing the floorboards under us to buckle. "I am Bruteshot! Our enemies will face the wall and I am the fucking wall!" Okay... I'll allow him that one, but I think I got the gist here
"Handsome one. Douchebag one. Fangirl one. Big-Tough-Stupid one. Talk about a four-of-a-kind," Keeping my internal summery aside, Knight put a hoof to his chest
"And I am their leader, KnightofSilent, noble warrior of the legendary SilentNigh-"
"I have returned," Behind us a new figure approached, head-to-toe in plate mail say for their light-blue tail that was brushed with a few odd ends sticking out. Her armor was midnight blue with a hint of purple for the trim, a sword, and a buckler strapped to her sides with her peach wings resting over them. Her head motioned to us, then back to Knight. "Oh, so Horizon Dawn's Speaker has arrived it seems?" She looked to me... I think she seemed to be the most normal out of them all
"Yeah, you're with them?" I asked that more as an insult. She nodding, sadly, lifting her hoof to me
"As you can see by my tag, my name is Silverwing, a pleasure," Formal too, I like her alot given the not-so-difficult bar to pass. "I apologize for my tardiness but the materials you required Knight have been obtained." She held up a large bag with a hoof
"Wonderful work as always, Silverwing!" Knight praised with a pat to her back, though I heard her cough while I felt an unnatural fire rising from the group, more particularly the bright and cheery Radiant. "Now my friends new and old, it is time we got down to discussing our next course of action!"
I, Rain, who was now paying attention, and Skye all looked among ourselves as I spoke for them. "What's that exactly?" I'm going to need a raise after this
"It is time for us to make our move on collecting valuable intel on the Region Boss!" Knight's declaration turned the hall into an orchestra of cheers and stomping, my only thought was of how I was talked into this
To Be Continued...