The Call of Warlords (III)

Zero's group shuffled behind the line of people. In the long hallways were banners of different famous guilds' names plastered against the walls like trophies. Upon exiting the hall, they walked up the cold stone steps, which were hand carved and jagged from the wear and tear of the weather. As they finally reached the open air of the stadium, they stood back with jaws agape.

Stretched out before them were rows upon rows of stone benches symmetrically laid out perfectly between one another. In the center of all the benches was a wide open field where the grass was neatly trimmed. In the middle of the field was a grand round table with twelve chairs equally spaced out around it. It reminded him of a football stadium, just without the white lines and poles.

In each of the different entrances of the stadium, different guild lords walked in with their banners trailing behind them with large groups of their guild members. Their fans almost equally divided right behind them seated in the stadium. The twelve famous guild lords arrived one by one. They were WaterRose Guild, DeepDrive Guild, Grand Legion Guild, Zenith Guild, Soulkal Guild, Black Turret Guild, Rangerz Guild, Zoulz Guild, KillemAll Guild, TemperMint Guild, KrissKross Guild, and the last Hercules Guild.

"Is that WaterRose Guild?" gawked Agnis. "It is Liliac! Zero, it's Liliac!" She shook Zero so hard that he got dizzy.

"Okay. Okay. Stop. That hurts." Agnis let go of Zero and strained to look over other people to see Liliac off in the distance.

"You know she is the number one most powerful female guild leader of Noriene." Agnis's eyes stuck to the guild lord Liliac like glue.

Out of all twelve of the guilds, Hercules was the least powerful. WaterRose guild rivaled the number one spot with Grand Legion. As he watched Liliac off in the distance, he could see her armor was blue and draped down in a metal skirt that shimmered like water underneath the stadium lights. Her curly brown hair flowed behind her like seaweed, while her skirt fluttered and showed off her stunning legs. Trailing behind her like a blazing fire was her second in command Ten. His scarlet armor blazed like the hot sun. His jet-black hair and black eyes accentuated the bright armor with a dark gleam. His black sword emphasized his intimidating look.

Right next to Liliac, a black panther walked intimidatingly by her side. It snarled with its pearl-white fangs and snapped at anyone who came too close to her other than Ten. A couple of the nearby players moved back with alarm and went back into formation. Its powerful sleek muscles glistened underneath the light, highlighting its fierceness.

One by one, the leaders of each guild sat in one of the twelve chairs with their second-in-command standing behind them. The crowd became silent as they watched with anticipation. A shimmering magical light appeared before the people as a large live holographic image played over the leaders. As each leader's face was shown, loud explosions of applause and cheers erupted.

Zero took out one of his O.M.s. He had a feeling that this meeting would be well worth recording.

Aldran pushed back his chair and stood up first before the other guild leaders. He straightened his back and cleared his throat.

"I would like to thank all of you for coming out here today. This is truly a momentous occasion," stated Aldran with glee.

"Yeah, yeah. Get on with it," a troll guild leader, Kyo of KillemAll guild, replied rudely in annoyance. The tall, ugly troll in evil-looking dark green armor pounded his fist against the table. "We don't got all day."

"Why I ought to—" snarled Gullifer as he reached over for his sword. Kyo's second in command, a female troll named Fielian, responded with an angry snarl as spit escaped her lips. Her brows scrunched forward with anger and her chest puffed up in size. She also reached for her bloody-looking club, ready for combat.

Aldran held up his hand and stopped Gullifer from jumping down Kyo's throat.

"Fielian. Gullifer. Put down your weapon now!" Aldran shouted with a stern voice. "Call off your warrior, Kyo. We did not come here to start a bloodbath. Do you wish to start a war here and now where everyone can see?" He glared at Kyo with annoyance.

Kyo sat back and considered the dilemma in front of him. When he gave a swift flick of his hands, Fielian put away her club.

"Now back to what we were talking about. As you all know, the Seed Shard quest has been completed. This is true, but the after effect of the quest is underway. It is not a quest. I repeat. Not a quest."

"Then why did you send out messages to the announcers that it is continuing? Then wouldn't what you said be wrong?" Kyo asked with irritation.

"Would you have come if I merely stated something is going to happen or would you come when there is a possibility to join in on a Seed Shard quest?" Aldran stared back, waiting for an answer. Kyo did not reply.

An explosion of talking between the guild leaders erupted, each one louder than the other.

"Not a quest?"

"Then what can it be if it's not a quest?"

"How strange."

As the disgruntled voices intensified, a sweet voice cut through the ruckus.

"What do you mean?" said Liliac as she stood up. "Are you stating that even if these Seed Shard quests are completed, there will always be some kind of aftermath? Wouldn't that be considered not truly completed? Pray tell what did you do in this quest to have such a strong effect on this world?"

Silence followed after as the people leaned over to hear the answer.

"First off, there are only nine Seed Shards in existence."

"How do you know this? There could be more," Liliac asked as she folded her arms.

"No. It specifically has a number of available Seed Shards written on the status menu for the seed. I received the first ever known Seed Shard quest. The stage was called Growth's Seed: Dispersal, and like the announcement stated, the second stage of Growth had gone into effect. What this second stage is going to be about, we do not know; nor do we know where to find more Seed Shards or the name of the other quests."

Aldran stood up and began to slowly walk around the table.

"We have scoured through hell and back to complete the quest. It was worth every bit of it. The roars of high level monsters, the exhilarating and heart thumping fights, and the best part of it all, the rewards." Aldran reminisced on the past glories. A couple of the other guild leaders looked upon him with envy. He snapped back to reality.

"Now what we need to worry about is the aftermath of the next stage. That is what all of you guys are here for."

The guild leaders inched closer to listen to his words.

"Aldran, is it wise to tell them?" Gullifer said with concern.

"It's fine. They need to know the truth. I am not an immortal man. I will fail, but that does not mean I will give up." His voice rose with power. "My guild has failed to stop the oncoming swarms of the undead land sharks."

A gasp escaped the lips of the listeners, and they whispered quietly amongst each other.

"These undead land sharks are not like any other undead that we have ever faced. They cannot be stopped with holy magic nor with any other known magic. It just bypasses them as if it's nothing."

"You've got to be kidding me. You're saying that holy magic doesn't affect the undead like it used to? What sense does that make?" said Kyo in disbelief. "What has your priest been doing? Sleeping on the job?" he snickered as he lazily waved his hands. "If I knew better, I would think your guild is not competent enough to take on this problem. Leave it to our guild and we will wipe them all away in one blow." He pounded his hands on his chest.

"You're getting on my nerves," Gullifer said and inched forward.

"You're quick to anger as usual, Gullifer. This is why I have fun being around you." Kyo goaded Gullifer even further.

A muscular human man with a goatee, named Jergorien, who wore heavy armor sat across from Kyo. "Are you saying your guild can take them on? The last that I heard, your guild had been wiped out in a dungeon exploration not too long ago. Are you sure you're up for this?" Jergorien replied with a chuckle. He leaned forward towards Kyo with a smile. His giant crusader shield was strapped onto his back. He was the leader of the Grand Legion guild who rivaled number one with the WaterRose guild. A stout dwarf with heavy brown armor stood behind him. His second in command, Reiwin, chuckled.

"Jergorien, who told you that? All that is lies. We have not failed," Kyo replied with anger as he looked upon Jergorien and Reiwin. "It must be that lazy dwarf behind you that told you those lies." He glared angrily towards Reiwin. Reiwin shifted his weight in unease.

"Just because you have bad blood with Reiwin, doesn't mean you need to go accusing people of your failure," Jergorien replied, laughing at Kyo's outrageous remarks. "And don't think that your guild is the only one whose problems we know about." He individually glanced upon each guild leader's eyes. Power and tension rose dramatically as most of the guild leaders looked back unnerved.

"Guys. Guys. Our problem is not with each other. I know each of you have all come here from different cities to hear this out, but the whole Fire Continent will be under attack. These undead land sharks are coming from the eastern side of the Fire Continent, from the Electric Continent."

"You kidding, right? Don't you know that the barrier that protects the Continent is in effect?" Kyo replied as his eyes scrunched up with disbelief. "How are they supposed to cross through that protection?"

"The barrier around the continent might not be working anymore. Somehow, the completion of the Seed Shard quest triggered a shutdown. My scouts report that the guardian statues at the edge of the continent are not glowing anymore."

A young elf leader of Zenith guild named Acemith interjected with concern, "Are you sure it's not recharging or something? This could spell trouble throughout the Fire Continent. Aren't Light, Dark, Wind, and Ether Continent monsters able to come in as well?"

This realization made all the squabbling leaders fall into a stunned silence.

"This could truly spell disaster. We don't know how strong the monsters are in any one of those continents, nor could we be able to protect ourselves from them without any further information about them," Acemith continued.

"Then does that mean we could settle down on the other continents as well, or are they still blocked off?" Jergorien asked. He slowly clasped his hands and rested his head on them.

"We can't be sure till we go try it out. All we know is that the Electric Continent is open for settlement, and that is a definite," stated Aldran and paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "There are many problems out there that need our attention, but our main concern is the land sharks that are coming this way. If we fail to defeat them, not only will the City of Diadem be overrun with monsters, but the City of Elements will be attacked at the same time. When these two cities fall, the other cities are next, and we would literally be out of a place to live in safety. We need to band together to solve this problem as quickly as possible."

"How long before they arrive?" asked Acemith as he drummed his fingers against the table.

"They're going to be here two days around sunset."

"What!" Acemith stated in complete shock. "So soon?"

Aldran nodded his head. A burst of heated arguments erupted into chaos.

"We need to send forces right now!" Kyo stood up as he pointed to the leaders. "What are we waiting for? We don't have time to be dawdling here. Who's with me?"

A couple of the leaders shouted while the others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yes, but that is not the wise way to tackle this situation. We need a plan to counter them. How are we supposed to fight an undead without being able to harm them? Our warriors will be as defenseless as lambs led to slaughter," stated Jergorien. He leaned back as he folded his hands. "If we all die, what we had meticulously earned till now will be completely gone. What would you do next then?" With one raised eyebrow he looked upon Kyo for an answer.

"Hmph. We don't need a plan; our way is that we get things done in seconds. This is how we've always done things and it always has come out with the best results," Kyo grunted.

"Then what about this? Half of us will stay here and the other half will go to the City of Elements. Then one guild out of the six will search for any information about how to kill these new pests, while the other five guilds will lead all other smaller guilds to get the city ready for tomorrow." Liliac's words cut through the conversation like a blade. Throughout the whole time she was carefully listening to their conversations. "Whatever this new problem is, we need information about it fast. We cannot go blindfolded into a problem and hope everything will be alright. Tell us more about these creatures. We need to know what you have seen to understand how they are able to pass the light magic." Liliac sat back down. Aldran was already halfway around the table.

"She has a valid point. What can you tell us?" Jergorien asked.

Aldran stopped moving for a moment to ponder. "What they do is take over a dead host and use it to attack us. Even trying to get rid of the body won't do much good. They move into the next carcass as quickly as they appear. If there are no monster carcasses left, they take over the dead player's body. Priests can barely hold them back. Any light magic that is thrown at them is buffered by some kind of grayish aura. I have never seen such magic before."

A young boy with indigo blue clothes chimed in. "Have you tried destroying them while they transition between hosts?" His grayish eyes glowed with curiosity at the answer Aldran was going to give. He bolted upright onto the chair with elation as his hood fell backwards, showing his young round face.

"Remix. You're the guild leader of Deep Drive. Please sit down and compose yourself. It's unsightly of you," chastised an elf maiden wearing all green with glasses perched on the tip of her nose. Her golden hair flowed naturally behind her. Her high cheekbones and sharp jaw accentuated her pretty face.

"Aw, come on, Eternal. You're like my mom. Give me a break. This is way too interesting to hear," whined Remix. He flopped back down onto his chair and pulled his hood back on.

"Kekeke. She is like your mom, Remix. I don't understand how you of all people became a guild leader," leered Kyo.

"Excuse me. Keep your opinions to yourself. Do you always need to pick a fight with everyone?" Eternal snapped back.

"Calm down. Eternal. Let him be. It doesn't bother me. Just ignore him." Remix smiled softly towards Eternal. He rested his hands on hers.

"As you wish," she said with disappointment. A soft click of metal was heard as it was stashed away into her sleeves.

"I have already tried that," Aldran replied. "That is what we did, but that is specifically when the weird aura-like barrier appears around them and phases them out of harm's way. I don't understand how they are doing this."

"Is that all?" asked Liliac.

"Yes."

"I suppose it is better than nothing. We need to split up and deal with this problem as soon as possible."

"We should divide ourselves equally. We do not want to be imbalanced when we tackle this problem," said Jergorien.

"I'll work with DeepDrive, Zenith, Soulkal, TemperMint, and KrissKross," stated Liliac without a second thought. "I know their specialties better than you. We will take the City of Elements as well." She challenged Jergorien. Jergorien did not waver.

"You're asking for a lot, aren't you, Liliac. Are you going to ask next for the keys to my house?" joked Jergorien. He smiled at her, but Liliac glared back.

"Fine. Black Turret, Rangerz, Zoulz, KillemAll, Zenith, and Hercules will come with me," Liliac replied.

"What? Why do you get to choose? Shouldn't we choose who we want to work with? And who made you the boss?" Kyo said angrily.

"Nobody did," Liliac replied. "But I have personally worked with each of you, so I understand your guild's specialties. Not all of you have worked with one another more than once. Wouldn't it be better for someone to quickly go through the small details and move on to the more important things?"

Kyo fell silent.

"Does anyone disagree?"

No one answered.

"Well then, if no one has a disagreement with the plan, we will split ways and head over to our locations now." Jergorien pushed back his chair as he stood up. "With that being the case, we will all hold a separate meeting to go over the details of what exactly we need to do." He turned around to the viewers in the stadium. He cleared his throat.

"As you all heard about the predicament that has fallen to our continent, we will set up a special event quest for the players who want to join us in facing this problem. Truthfully, there is no grand reward to offer, but to protect the place of our homes is your reward. Do not take advantage of our place to live. You must not take these cities for granted. We could be out mauling through a chaotic street barely able to survive. This game has become our second home, our second place to live in a reality where magic is real."

The crowd held onto each of his words as if they were their own.

"Come and join the crusade towards our liberation, and conquer the world together!" Jergorien raised his silver sword into the air. A burst of powerful thunder magic erupted from the sky. A bolt of lightning struck down onto the tip of his sword and lit it up with electric sparks, giving off a golden-emerald color. A heavy static energy filled the air, and people's hair stood on edge from the electricity. A pulsating wave of power rushed outwards towards the people and brushed past them with no harm. Silence filled the air as the crowd watched with awe.

As the electricity quelled down, silence followed after. Then a burst of chants began.

"I love you, Jergorien!" screamed the female players in glee.

"Marry me!" yelled another.

"Grand Legion! Grand Legion! Grand Legion!" shouted the players and NPCs in an ongoing chant. A thunderous stomping of feet against the ground was heard throughout the stadium. Wild screams and cheers erupted as players threw confetti, hats, and items up in the air.

An eerie gust of green smoke appeared around the stadium, silencing the crowd. An unearthly terrifying shriek echoed throughout the arena. A cold blast of wind blew across the people as they coughed and glanced around in bewilderment.

An alarming message appeared on the screens of all the players and guild members.

You have been cursed. All status attributes will decrease over time. Every six hours all status points will go down by 1. There is no cure for this ailment until the source has been eradicated.