We followed Leomorn and took us back to the room where we had met with the King the day before. It seemed to be the King’s war room. The large map was still on the table and I took note of some of its features, hills, rivers, valleys, green low-lying areas, and snow-covered mountains. I could see some areas that were clearly small villages and a few large cities spread throughout. It was a big world.

All of the same men were there that had been there the night before including Morivant and Erick. They both sneered when we walked in. Everyone was covered in the dust from the bones of the skeletons.

The King was in the middle of giving orders to his men. “Take our northern army and support Ridgeport,” he told one man. “Take our southern army and support the Elves in Olyenora,” he told another.

He finished and they all turned and headed out of the room. Morivant and Erick stayed behind.

“What are they doing here?” Morivant barked. The King raised an eyebrow that let Morivant know he was dangerously close to crossing a line. I saw Morivant swallow, but he didn’t back down. “They’re criminals, your majesty.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” the King said. “They’re here to help us.”

Morivant scoffed. “Help us? How could they possibly help us?”

The King looked at me with a curious expression. “Maybe they can’t but this war will be won not by singular heroes but by every person doing what they can. I have something I need this young man to do.”

Great. Send me on a quest so I can get the hell out of here.

Morivant and Erick the asshole both looked like they would argue with the King when the door burst open, and the Brienna flew in. She had a way with dramatic entrances. She had the bone dust all over her and was wearing a blue long sleeve shirt, or tunic, as they called it, with a leather corset around her waist and midsection that I’m sure, was meant to provide some protection but really only drew my attention to the curves underneath it.

“Father why are they attacking?” she exclaimed.

“Brienna!” Erick the asshole said, his face turning red. “You have no right to enter into the war council!”

She turned on him. “Shut up, Erick! This is my father’s chamber, and he is the King.”

Erick moved and grabbed her by the shoulders. “And you are my betrothed and you will listen to me and do what I say.”

The princess jerked her arm free and slapped Erick across the face.

Score one for the good guys.

Erick cocked his arm like he was going to hit her and before I could think I grabbed it and jerked him around. Suddenly he was staring right into my face, his eyes filled with anger, spittle on his lips.

I had no idea why I’d done that. It was all part of the game, right? I braced for the impact of his fist into my face, but the King’s voice filled the room.

“Enough!”

We all stopped and looked down at our feet.

The King looked both impatient and embarrassed. “Morivant, will you and Erick excuse us.”

Morivant didn’t like that idea. “I think we need to discuss our preparations further before we return to Redding.”

The King gave him a weary look. “Yes, after I’ve had a word with my daughter.” I took that to mean he would scold her for yelling at Erick. Morivant approved of that.

Morivant looked at Varris and me like we were cockroaches on his shoe, and he’d like nothing better than to stomp on us. Erick looked at me like he would kill me in my sleep later. I needed to get out of here. They nodded to the King and left.

It was just us now. The princess, Leomorn, the King, Varris, and me.

The King went to his daughter. “Are you alright?”

She was as tall as he was, proud and beautiful. She nodded. “The first time he hits me will be his last.”

The King looked disappointed, then proud. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. Something passed between them that wasn’t for me to notice. A father’s love for his daughter.

The King released her and turned to me. “You shouldn’t have done that. But I thank you. Erick is impetuous and rash.”

I shrugged. I had just reacted.

Varris elbowed me and grinned at me. “He’s going to try and pay you back for that.”

“Morivant is the Duke of Redding. Erick is his heir,” the King said. “This marriage will unite our kingdoms and end our constant bickering.”

Brienna spoke. “We can unite behind something else, Father.”

The King gave her a look that said, “We’ve talked about this a million times and I know you don’t want to marry that asshole, but you have to because it’s what’s best for everyone.” Or at least that’s how I interpreted it.

The King sighed heavily. “Leomorn tells me you can read the book. Are you aware of what that means?”

Sure. That Dennis stuck me in here and I needed to play along with all this bullshit until I could find a way out of here.

I nodded.

“So, you are aware that you are an ancestor of the Mages, the last one, and that you and you only can defeat the dragons and the Priests of the Dragons.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I was aware that that was the storyline, that I needed to finish the main quest and get out of here quickly.

“Good,” he said. “Then Leomorn will outfit you with equipment and you will go and find the Orb and put these dragons back where they belong.”

He made it sound so simple.

“Leomorn will accompany you and Varris and help you in this. Varris is a good man to have in a tight spot. I hear he his almost as good at killing as he is seducing other men’s wives.”

Varris smiled. Clearly, he thought that was a compliment.

All of that sounded good to me. The more the merrier, right? The more people I had watching my back the least likely I was to do. Or did it matter? Did every player have these guys helping them?

Brienna spoke up. “Father, I will go as well.”

The King was shaking his head before she could finish. “No. You are safer here.”

“Safe? Father the whole kingdom and the world are in danger. I’m not safe anywhere. No one is.”

He kept shaking his head. “You aren’t ready for something like this.”

She pointed a finger at me. “And he is? Look at him. He’s skinny and weak and if he’s the Mage’s heir than I’m Asena’s daughter.”

I didn’t know who she was talking about, but she had a point.

“I need you here, to help with our people,” the King said.

She wasn’t buying that either. “Mother can help, I’ll just be in the way. We need someone to make sure this fool boy doesn’t get killed.”

“She can go in my place,” Varris said. Brienna and the King told him to shut up in unison.

“That’s enough, Brienna,” the King said with impatience. “I won’t lose another child.” The room got quiet, and I think Brienna knew when a good time to stop talking was.

Brienna was embarrassed so I wanted to change the subject. And find out what to do next.

“So where did those skeletons come from?” I asked.

“Dark magic has returned,” Leomorn said, which seemed convenient since I was here. Maybe like those two things went together like a hand in a glove. “Only dark magic can summon the undead. Someone knows you’re here, someone capable of using dark magic. Magic that hasn’t been used for a long time.”

Yeah, someone named Dennis who wrote the script for this game and I was willing to bet every player had faced off with the skeletons so far.

“Oh, so you don’t train kids with skeleton warriors?”

“No.” He looked shocked I would suggest such a thing. “We don’t summon undead warriors.”

“Whoever gave you that stupid idea?” Brianna asked.

Yeah, I wonder.

The King said, “Whatever, or whoever raised the dragons also raised that army of undead. You need to find out who it was. Dragons are attacking all over the kingdom. You need to find out who is using the dragons, find the orb and stop them.”

Seemed simple enough. Not dying would be the hard part.

The King said, “Leomorn, outfit yourselves and get going.” Leomorn nodded and we headed for the door. “One more thing,” he said as we got to the door. “This kingdom is depending on you.”

I mean no pressure, right.