Exodus: Guns And Gore 22 Road Forward

He effortlessly glided over the dense forest, riding the thermals while enjoying the freedom of the skies. He had remained stealthed because of the stories he had read. Kurie had several flying predators that could cause anyone problems.

Quinn landed in a small clearing a few minutes outside of Southdale and then walked back to the main road. The beauty of this land was breathe taking; it made him consider using one of the three land grants he had attained over the years.

A tall wooden wall surrounded the city of Southdale. The trees they had used were ten feet in diameter and placed upright in the ground like an old frontier fort. Immediately it brought two questions to Quinn's mind. "How the h.e.l.l did they move those logs and what kind of engineer placed them so perfectly?" The walls were forty feet high, each log ended in a sharp looking point.

"State your business Sir." Two wood elf guards blocked his path as he tried to enter the city.

"Commerce, I'm here to make a deal with the Merchant company Hollow Tree." Quinn smiled pleasantly at the guards. "Do you not welcome visitors?"

"We welcome visitors sir, but we have to make sure to keep an eye on the criminal element." The smaller of the two wood elves stared him with suspicion.

Quinn laughed and walked past them. "Constant diligence, I like it!"

The Hollow Tree was a huge trading post. It had dozens of shops connected to it, Quinn headed for the center. The trading post was already quite crowded even though it was still mid-morning.

"May I help you, sir?" A blonde haired wood elf wearing blue robes approached him. She had a Hollow Tree symbol on her right shoulder.

"I'm looking for Kaeli." Quinn turned toward the woman, she barely came up to his chest.

"I'm sorry sir, Kaeli doesn't see regular customers. " The blonde haired woman smiled apologetically, "perhaps I may help you."

Quinn nodded, "perhaps you can, are you Linsi?"

The woman's brown eyes sharpened slightly. "Have we met sir?"

Quinn shook his head, "I"m here to see Lara's mother. My name is Q."

"Q? Duke Q? Y-Your my sister's boss?" The woman turned abruptly and walked away at a rapid pace, she skidded to a stop and turned around. "Excuse me sir, I will return with Kaeli."

A few minutes later Linsi returned with a surprisingly youthful looking wood elf woman with light brown hair. "Duke Q! I am Kaeli Sy."

Quinn bowed deeply, "Please, my given name is Quinn, we are one family. I apologize for not visiting sooner Mother."

"...." Linsi.

Kaeli smiled gently, "Quinn's a fine name. Would you join me for lunch?"

"I would like that, one moment please."

*Q has cast Summons* [Lara Sy]

A moment later a surprised Lara Sy greeted Quinn. "Commander! I am actually glad that..." She noticed the two women staring at her in shock. "Mom? Linsi?"

The two women nearly tackled Lara as they hugged her between them, Quinn smiled and looked away for a moment.

"Six years since your last visit?" Kaeli kissed her daughters face while scolding her. Lara's pretty brown eyes were wet with tears as she murmured apologies.

Linsi stepped away first, she was grinning widely. "Lara? Is that an engagement ring?" She had noticed the Raven Ring on her finger.

Lara made a face at her sister. "W-What are you.."

"Yes, it is." Quinn interrupted, causing all three women to freeze. "Shall we have lunch now?"

Lara's pale face was unreadable, "Commander?"

Quinn extended his hand, "are you against lunch Lara?"

Lara stared at his hand for a moment, then placed her hand in it. "Lunch sounds nice Sir."

***********

QJ found himself looking at the front gates of their Guild Base, all evidence of the previous evenings battle had been removed. The draw bridge was down, and two Dark Elves stood guard. He recognized them both right away, Ry and Eten Jol. They were brothers, Ry being the older by two years. "Younger brother QJ greets the Jol Clan."

Ry bowed politely, "greetings QJ. You may pa.s.s." They were looking at their hud's that were displaying all the One Problem members.

"Thank you, until further notice no one but Members are allowed in." QJ waited for Ringo to catch up and then walked into the courtyard together.

"Yes, sir." Ry turned back toward the group of people following and started checking them it. It would take a day or so before he recognized everyone.

The sun was pleasantly warm as the two walked into the main courtyard. Ringo was smiling at the condition of the Keep, it had been renovated as part of the server reset. She noticed a movement above and nudged QJ. A half dozen Ba'Avriel were flying overhead. "Dark Elves, Ba'Avriel. Robin is going all out."

QJ stared at the flyers, they were second generation Ba'Avriel and not part of Gryphon Flight. He turned toward the keep, noticing three people standing at the entrance. He couldn't stop the grin that pasted across his face, "Sweet Georgia, don't tell me you quit your cush Ravenwood job to rough it here!"

A lanky man in his mid-twenties with curly black hair returned the greeting. "I promised the Silverleaf Clan that I would keep you in line."

QJ laughed aloud, "Ringo, this is Jacob, he is the Stablemaster at Ravenwood. Also, one of my best friends."

Ringo raised an eyebrow, "so you know all the secrets? You are going to be quite popular. I'm Ringo, it's nice to meet you."

"Just call me Jake." He smiled shyly at QJ's teacher.

Robin stepped forward and pushed a small man ahead of her. He was less than five feet tall and quite muscular. "This is Blinky. He's an engineer."

QJ frowned, he knew who the gnome was of course. He had personally caught the bald scoundrel trying to peep on his sisters. Jali had held the gnome down with one paw while QJ beat him with a stick, the little b.a.s.t.a.r.d disappeared right after that. "You better toe the line Blinky, or I'll have a word with a certain Apple Princess."

Blinky's face paled noticeably. "I will be very professional sir!"

Robin hid her smile, she knew about the incident of course. She also knew that if any of Q's wives found out about it, Blinky would be removed from this world. "Second chances are good. Let me show the two of your around."

Robin walked pa.s.sed the entrance to the blacksmith shop. "We have an armorer that is currently working on Guild armor for the Guards. The back side of the shop is where are Tailor is. She said it would be a few days before she could finish uniforms."

The tailor and the blacksmith were both standing by during the introductions; they were both Freeborn.

QJ had forgotten about their underground friends. "Where are Bane and Dagmae?"

The tailor's pale face seemed out of place in the bright morning sun. "I'm Din and this is my husband Vesper. Bane and Dagmae have joined Princess Lillianna as part of her forces."

Ringo raised an eyebrow, "that is interesting. I'm sure they will do well."

Robin pulled QJ back up the steps to the main doors. The entry led to a large room with many tables and chairs. "I figured this would be the best place for your members to meet up."

Ringo nodded, it was perfect. It had a large table hud and enough comfortable chairs for everyone. "What about the bedroom's and offices upstairs?"

"I'm using the main office, the bedrooms will be occupied by staff." Robin would have left them empty, but she knew that heroes only slept in their own worlds. Well, except for Quinn.

The next stop was the kitchen, a very familiar face smiled before launching herself at QJ and hugging him. "Where have you been QJ?"

Ringo watched the interaction; they were obviously very close. She had never seen the dark-haired girl with beautiful curly hair.

QJ turned toward Ringo, "this is Felicia Fintree, the younger sister of Leah."

Felicia nodded, "you can call me Aunt Felicia, just like QJ."

QJ laughed and shook his head, "your dreaming. I've never called you Aunt Felicia."

Felicia sighed unhappily, "you are such a difficult nephew."

QJ nodded, "yep. I do my best." He was surprised to see her in the kitchen, but he also knew that she was an excellent cook. He waved as Robin pulled him away.

"Cya later QJ!" Felicia called after them.

The smile never left QJ's face as he walked away. "I noticed the guards out front, how many can we muster to defend the Keep?"

"We are still a bit understaffed; We have twenty Ba'Avriel that will patrol regularly. Additionally, Two hundred Dark Elves from the Jol Clan will be here within three days." Robin's first call after being hired was to Serli Jol. The Dark Elf Queen hadn't hesitated in a.s.signing troops to protect her grandson.

QJ nodded, "how many Silverleaf women?"

Robin gave him a knowing smile. "None of course, I wouldn't do that to you."

Ringo leaned forward slightly, "is there a story here?"

QJ shook his head while Robin nodded.

QJ stopped her from talking by grabbing her arm, "is the tour done?"

"Nope, the infirmary and then a quick trip to the office." Robin led them through another hallway to a long rectangular room lined with cots. A familiar dark elf was stocking the shelves with medicines.

"Finally, my brother shows up." Sara Riley smiled when QJ walked in, she was a talented cleric like her grandmother and hadn't hesitated to volunteer to join the Keep Staff.

QJ hugged his little sister, "nice to see you, Sara."

Sara extended her hand to Ringo, "are you my brother's current girlfriend?"

Ringo nodded, "yes... but just until tomorrow, then someone else takes over."

Sara laughed loudly, causing everyone to stare. "That's funny."

"Brat... this is your boss and Guild Leader Ringo." QJ wacked her on the head.

The young dark elf held her head with one hand while shaking her fist with the other. "Don't you bully me, Quinn James!"

Ringo laughed at their interaction, "I should have streamed this."

"Come with me to the main office; we've some important matters to discuss." Robin led the way up the steps and down the red-carpeted hall to the set of double doors.

"Hard to believe we stormed this place a few hours ago." Ringo followed close while QJ peeked into the second to last room. "Keep this room empty, I want it."

Robin nodded, "how did you enter the office during the a.s.sault."

"QJ stealthed and single pulled the Prince from the Balcony." Ringo didn't need to fake being impressed, the Wrangler cla.s.s's ability to pull could be a game changer.

"You can stealth QJ?" Robin paused and turned toward him. "Let me see."

*Fade*

You have faded from view.

The orange-hair songbird whistled. "A complete stealth, I can't see through it at all."

"It's just a Fade ring, but it is amplified with a tattoo." QJ opened his shirt to show the Draconian thief that seemed to continually fade in and out of view.

Robin kept a straight face while she looked at the tattoo. "Very nice, golden dragon blood right?"

QJ nodded, "how did you know that?"

She shrugged, "I'm the one who stole it for her."

Ringo took a seat in front of the desk. "Was there something else you wanted to discuss?"

"Yes, there are three private instances attached to this Keep." Robin used the desk to bring up the Keep hud.

[Ghost Dancer] Instance 5-10 People. Level Match [Difficulty: Routine, Arduous, Deadly]

[Defend the Keep] Instance 30+ People. Level Match [Difficulty: Routine, Arduous, Deadly]

[Lover's Embrace] Instance 2 People. Level Match [Difficulty: Unknown]

"s.h.i.t... I'm a.s.suming Level Match means it matches the partic.i.p.ants level." QJ glanced at his teacher. "You ever hear anything about Guild Keep's having Instances?"

Ringo shook her head, "this Keep has only been owned by Prince Morbin in the past."

"I took the liberty of asking Anna to look into it." Robin closed the hud and leaned back in her chair.

"Anna's good at information." QJ tried to keep a straight face, "okay, what the h.e.l.l is with that second Instance?"

Ringo laughed, "it's very suspicious."

"I agree, as Vice-Commander I will personally explore each of these options." QJ noticed that Robin was smiling at him.

"I think you should take me. There could be hidden dangers." Robin played with a strand of her hair, she was about to say more when her hud blinked.

Ry Jol's face appeared above the desk. "There's a visitor here for QJ, from the royal palace."

Robin nodded, "on our way."

The three made their way out of the keep into the Main Courtyard. There was a luxurious Coach parked at the bottom of the steps. Dagmae was standing in front of its door.

"Dagmae!" QJ shook the Freeborn Scout's hand. He was wearing black ornate armor, an emblem on his shoulder identified him as Palace Guard.

"Someone wishes to talk to you, please enter the carriage." Dagmae opened the door for QJ. He smiled apologetically at Robin and Ringo. "Sorry, only QJ."

"No worries," QJ stepped into the dark carriage, the door shutting behind him.

A veiled woman sat on the cushioned seat next to him. "You are an uncommon man, QJ."

"Annabelle?" The voice was the same, but the entire demeanor had changed.

The woman lowered her veil and smiled at QJ, surprisingly her hair was a deep auburn color. "Yes, is my real face different from Dixie Jones?"

"No, you are still quite lovely." QJ leaned back and exhaled, "what's with the secretive act?"

Annabelle laughed pleasantly, the sound of it made QJ's heart race. "I'm Princess Lilianna's Chief Operative, my mission in Laredo is now completed."

QJ didn't bother to hide his surprise, "you're her Spymaster? I didn't see that coming."

Annabelle nodded, "regardless of that, I am your friend."

QJ gave her a crooked smile, "isn't that what a Spymaster would say?"

"You have seen through me, I don't care about you at all." Anna moved closer, and grabbed his hand, "is that what you think ?"

"No, I'm not someone important enough for you to groom. I have no real power, nor do I possess anything you'd want." QJ squeezed her hand tightly, "I am your friend."

She smiled slightly and leaned forward until her lips brushed against the corner of his mouth. "I am your friend and someone you can count on." She reached inside a chest that was sitting on the floor. "These are for you and your friend."

System Message: The t.i.tle of Baron has been bestowed upon QJ

System Message: The t.i.tle of Baron has been bestowed upon Ringo.

QJ looked down at the two scrolls in his hand, "a royal t.i.tle from the Princess?"

Annabelle shook her head, "this comes from the King."

"What about Prince Morbin?"

Annabelle moved closer to him and lowered her voice. "He was executed this morning."

"Hmm, I didn't see that coming." QJ began to realize how impactful yesterday's events were. Morbin was a major power player in every active server.

"I've something else also, just for you." She handed him a plain looking silver ring with a letter A on it. "If you are ever in any trouble, this ring may come in handy.

Spymaster's Ring

Gifted to QJ

Night Vision.

Additional Effect: Wearer sees

through stealth.

QJ slipped it on his finger, "see through stealth? Can you do that?"

Annabelle nodded.

QJ raised one eyebrow. "Show me."

*Fade*

You have faded from view.

The Spymaster didn't bother to hide her shock. "How are you doing that?" She put out her hand and touched his arm, instantly stealth broke.

"I have an item that enhances stealth; it's quite powerful." QJ grinned and started unb.u.t.toning his shirt.

Annabelle leaned closer, "do we have time for that QJ?" She placed a hand on his knee, slowly moving it upward.

"Easy there... I'm only showing you the enhancement." He showed her the tattoo of the Draconian thief.

Annabelle's eyes widened slightly, "so beautiful." Her hand touched the gold surface, "I've never seen such a thing."

QJ moved away slightly and b.u.t.toned his shirt. "Do you need help with anything?"

She shook her head, "if something comes up I will let you know."

"Very well. Give the Princess my regards." QJ reached for the door only to be stopped by an arm hooking through his.

Annabelle leaned close, "save me a dance at the Star Crossed Ball." She pressed her soft lips against his cheek and then opened the door for him.

QJ nodded, "okay, but I can't dance at all." Her laughter followed as he exited and shut the door. Both Robin and Ringo were still waiting.

The coach and Dagmae left without saying anything further.

"I guess she didn't want to talk to me?" Ringo had tried to glance in the stage, but oddly enough the darkness was impenetrable.

"Nope, you have the t.i.tle now right?" QJ handed her the scroll he was given.

"Yes, my estate is called Evergreen. It sounds rather nice." Ringo peeked over his shoulder while he looked at his deed.

t.i.tles in GnG usually came with an estate attached. Depending on the rank given, sometimes they were quite large. "Let's see, mine is called Briar Rose." QJ pursed his lips, "I suppose I'll check it out later."

He caught sight of Lotte and Breeze coming toward them.

"QJ!" Lotte seemed out of breath, "do you have time to come over during lunch break?"

QJ scratched his chin as if giving it thought. "Are you going to feed me?"

Lotte nodded. "Of course."

"Then I will see you there."