Somnium Online

Aftermath

“Ma’am, the area has been cleared of players, no sign of their leader has been found.”

Anne sighed and cursed under her breath. Not only had Eric been beaten soundly, whoever had done it was making their escape. Sure, capturing the leader of the anarchy guild wasn’t the point of this raid, but it would have made her job a hell of a lot easier.

“Get me Eric,” Anne muttered. “I want to hear his report.”

Eric arrived a few moments later, he looked thoroughly battered, but not seriously wounded. He gave a stiff salute, his face was calm, but his eyes were blazing with anger. He was seriously ticked off by whatever had happened down in the tunnels.

“What happened down there?!” Anne demanded.

Eric sighed. “Some guy called Shade claimed to be the guy in charge here, I couldn’t get a good look at his face though. I fought him, and for a few seconds it was pretty even, but this guy’s crafty. He can control insects, and he uses them as weapons. He brought the tunnel down on me, and tried to suffocate me with insects.”

Anne stomped her foot in frustration, causing the top floor of the now crumbling mansion to shudder under the force. “Damnit!” Eric hung his head. “The last thing we need now is a player strong enough to actually put up a fight. We need to find this guy and fast. Return to your post until you’re recovered, then find Shade.”

“Yes Ma’am” Eric saluted, then, with a gust of wind he disappeared.

Eric hurtled through the air, a bit of speed always helped him think. “Any Ideas N?” Eric asked.

“Well boss, if I were a crazy megalomaniac who could control insects, I’d hide somewhere where I’d be surrounded by them.”

“Like a forest or a swamp.” Eric mused. “Isn’t the capital surrounded by a forest though?”

“Yep, and it’s close enough to the capital that he’d still be able to cause trouble.” N agreed.

Eric sighed. “But there isn’t anywhere for him to house hundreds of bored players. The mansion compound was perfect because it gave his followers somewhere to hang out without quitting and going off to have fun. How’s he going to do that in a forest?”

“Good point. There aren’t any significant structures in the woods. Let me do some thinking.” N went silent, leaving Eric to his thoughts.

“That better have been part of your plan.”

Shade laughed. “Of course it was! Did you really think I’d just let my base of operations be destroyed for no reason? They’re making my job almost too easy. If all goes according to plan We’ll be the strongest political force in the kingdom.” Shade’s cloak hid his facial features, and beetles swarmed around his feet, giving him a sinister aura. A cloud of flies hovered around his head, forming a sort of dark halo.

“Well then, as long as you’re still on track, my guild will continue to extend its financial support.” 

Shade cackled. “The anarchy guild appreciates your generosity. You can rest assured that your competitors will find their shipping severely limited in the near future just as we discussed.” 

“To a long and fruitful partnership.”

Shade smirked. “Sure.”