Lady Mireille Beauvale Quest Line Part 4
Chapter XXI: Lady Mireille Beauvale Quest Line Part 4
The gates of the fort opened to reveal a scene straight out of Game of Thrones. I don't know if the creators of this game were fans, but if you've ever watched a scene where the focus was a castle courtyard, you had a pretty good idea of what I was seeing.
Though Mireille vouched for us, the first soldier called two people over one to escort Mireille to her uncle and the other to take us to a waiting room. This wasn't real, so there was no point in arguing, the system wouldn't budge, but this was bullshit. We went out of our way to save her, two of us got killed, and they couldn't show any gratitude?
To add insult to injury, we were brought to a cell. A holding cell. For prisoners. "This is a joke, right?"
The soldier turned away in shame. "Sorry. My commanding officer has ordered that you be placed here. It will only be for a short time. If you are Lady Mireille's saviors, you will wait in here."
Subtly saying if we aren't, we'd cause a fuss. Fort Lux was a safe zone, but I didn't want to test the soldiers and see if they could violate that rule.
Kanade took her seat on the hard stone bench and I followed her lead. It took them an hour. A literal HOUR for the guards to come and get us. By that time my ass was hurting (the only pain I've been able to feel so far in the game) and I exhausted every way of insulting the guards with Kanade. It was already five in the morning. We only had a few more hours left to play and we had to spend an hour waiting in a prison cell.
During the beta, I never met Alfred Beauvale, but I had heard about him. He and his brother Alphonse were the driving force behind a lot of quests and I wondered if this quest line was new to the official launch or if someone else had snagged it during the beta.
Alfred Beauvale was a huge man, easily even feet tall. He was built the same way the ancient Greeks built statues of Zeus: muscled to high heavens. Though his muscle was safely under the protection of his gleaming red armor. He had a head full of black hair and a matching beard and mustache combo covering his face.
The sword on his back was even bigger than Sir Calares, and I hoped we wouldn't have to face him in combat. With just Kanade and me? We would be screwed.
Next to her uncle, Mireille Beauvale stood high and proud. She smiled at us as we came in, so I was hopeful he wasn't here to sentence us to death.
"I hear you are my niece's saviors?" he grumbled in a very deep voice.
"Yes, we are."
"Then I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving my blood." The giant of a man bowed. "Please, allow me to thank you. If you are ever in need, do not hesitate to call on me."
A screen popped up: You have earned Alfred Beauvale's favor. He will grant you one request when you make it.
I dismissed the screen. Kanade looked at me but I shrugged. This will be helpful, but right now I just wanted to get the hell out of this fort.
"That said, I am afraid that I must make a request of my own."
I do not like the sound of that.
"My brother has asked me to keep Mireille here, under my protection. It seems that he has found a dungeon under his palace. He fears not for his life, but for his daughter. His son, Lord Apollo, is far to the east battling a wave of darkness, so he is safe from the dungeon. However, he cannot allow his daughter to live in the palace while that dungeon is open. He has asked for my advice. Would you would be so kind as to deliver my response?"
The dungeon under the Beauvale palace was unique. It was closer to a labyrinth than a dungeon, vanishing once it was beaten. I heard the characters that unlocked it would be allowed to enter the dungeon first. If this was the same as a beta, it would be open to everyone soon.
A screen popped up, asking if we would. I accepted. Alfred Beauvale walked behind his desk and pulled out a sealed scroll. When I grabbed it, the scroll was put in my inventory. According to the information, we had forty-eight hours to give it to the lord. After that, the whole quest line would reset.
It looks like we'll be pulling another all-nighter the day after tomorrow. I couldn't ask my friends to come back after school and do this all again. Not two days in a row.
"I ask you for this because I cannot spare any of my soldiers for this task. We are stretched thin enough as it stands."
I was fine with being an errand boy.
"Before you go, allow me to give you a gift. Not as the brother of Marquis Beauvale or the Commander of Fort Lux, but as a man. A man whose niece you saved."
Kanade was given access to better arrows and a promise that she could buy more in the bazaar.
I was given a much better prize, in my humble opinion. I was a sword guy, so I might be biased. Alfred Beauvale pulled a large box from a shelf and set it down on the table in front of us. When he opened it, there was a gleaming Sword.
"Please, take this as a gift. It once belonged to my son, but he has gone where the darkness cannot reach him."
A screen appeared
Azalea
Requirements: STR: 5. Lvl: 3
+5 STR
+3 SPD
+3 Darkness Damage
+1 Wind Damage
It was a hell of a lot better than my Short Sword.
"Thank you."
I opened my menu, exchanging the Short Sword for the Azalea Blade. I felt the sword appear on my back, the strap strung across my chest. I pulled the sword of out its sheath, staring at the gleaming blade. It was slightly longer than the Short Sword, the blade looked sharper, and the grip didn't feel as awkward.
I swung the sword a couple of times, just to test it out.
"Then please, allow me to offer you a room for the night."
I clicked the X. "Sorry. We have to return to Lutetia as soon as possible."
Alfred nodded. "Very well, heroes. Please, go in peace."
We weren't escorting Mireille Beauvale this time, so I hoped we would have an easier time going back, but we were still attacked by bandits. Endless attacks by the bandits that didn't seem to get the hint that Sir Calares was DEAD. Like the last time, they gave little exp and no other rewards. They were useless. As we fought our way through hordes and hordes of bandits, Kanade sent Euphie a message, telling them to meet us at the inn room we rented.
They stopped appearing as we got to the city gates, thankfully. By that time, I was still feeling the effects of pulling an all-nighter. As the Watch Captain let us back into the city, I looked at the time. 06:48.
Shit. School was going to start at 8:30. We had a little bit more than an hour. The inn room was locked, but Amos answered after one knock. "Hey. About time you guys get back."
"Shut up," Kanade said through a yawn. Yep, the all-nighter was starting to get to them.
"What happened?" Euphie asked, jumping off the bed.
I told them everything. They were annoyed that they didn't get any weapons from Alfred Beauvale, but they agreed that we shouldn't sell the gems just yet. They got their cut of the experience, but I wasn't going to give up my lyres. Call me a greedy bastard all you want.
"We have the room for a couple more days," I said as I put the gems in the chest. My old Short Sword as well. I should have gotten rid of it, but I was sentimental. Kanade had no problem with selling her old bow for half the price. "So we should be safe."
"What happens if we log back in after we lose the room?"
"That depends. The inn would take days' worth of lyres for the room. If we ran out of lyre, then we'd appear out front of the inn the next time we logged in. Without chest."
"Then we better log back in before we lose all our lyre."
"I have my own Neural Sphere at home. I'll log back in for us if I have to."
"Good. I don't know if I'll be able to log back on today."
"Me either," Amos said. "My parents are going to grill me when I get back home."
The clock struck 07:00.
I opened my menu and showed them where the log-out button was. Just in case they forgot.
Are you sure you want to log out? I clicked the O. My menus closed and the world around me faded to block. When my sight returned, I was staring at the ceiling of our room through the visor.
I pushed the visor up as I sat up. I hadn't moved for ten hours and my body was stiff. As I sat up, it wasn't just the stiffness hitting me: I had to go to the bathroom. Fast. I pulled the Neural Sphere off and ran out of the room as my friends were coming too.
On the way back to the room, I passed Amos and Kanade, coming out to do their business. "Don't need to hit the toilet?"
Euphie shook her head. "No. I went before we logged on. The only things I've eaten and drank were in the game."
"Right." I took my copy of Primal Vale out of the Neural Sphere and froze. I stared at the cartridge, wondering if I was perhaps a lot more tired than I felt. The name on the cartridge wasn't Primal Vale, it was Dynasty.
Dynasty? What? Had someone come and changed the writing on the cartridge? They'd have to take it out and if they did, I would have been booted out of the game.
"Euphie?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I see your Primal Vale cartridge?"
"... Primal Vale? What are you talking about?"
"The game cartridge. The game we were playing."
"You mean Dynasty? Sure."
When she handed it over, the word Dynasty was displayed in stylized text.
"What's Primal Vale?"
"The... The name of the game we were playing?"
"Dynasty. The name of the game is Dynasty. Are you feeling alright, Calixte?"
"I feel fine... I didn't hear anything about Stardust Studios changing the game's name."
"Changing the name? Calixte, it's always been Dynasty. They used Primal Vale as a placeholder name before it was announced, that's all."
I was not going crazy. It was called Primal Vale, but the name of the cartridge didn't think so. Neither did Euphie.
When Kanade and Amos got back, I asked them, but they were sure that it was called Dynasty. The only time Primal Vale was used was in the press conferences before the game's real name was announced.
I wasn't crazy. I knew that. So if I wasn't losing it, then this had to be caused by Athena and Set. Set had already gone back in time and made sure the titanic didn't sink, so he must have done something in the past again. Him or Athena.
If that were the case, then how come I could remember? Shouldn't my memories be affected too? Or was I somehow protected? I was contracted with Athena...
"Come on! Let's get going!" Amos yelled, throwing on his backpack. "I can't be late for school!"
***
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