Dex Warrior (Libertas Online)

22: Gormsay

"GUYS! YOU AREN'T GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!"

I jump out of my chair, heart pounding as Felix comes racing into the Wizard's Den, garnering the attention of almost every other bar patron as he does. Resting his weight on the table we're sitting at with both hands, he's panting heavily as he tries to speak and catch his breath at the same time.

"Hang on there, Jethro," Rubble says with a raised brow. "You ain't speaking clearly."

Felix arcs his back and takes one long gulp of air and lets it out slowly before beginning again. "Guys. This is crazy. Come on."

I make eye contact with Rin and Rubble, who both seem as confused and skeptical as I feel. With a shrug, we get up from our seats and follow our eccentric bishop out the saloon doors and on to the streets outside. Felix kicks up the pace; taking off on a jog and leaving us with little choice but to match his speed. He weaves through Birch Castle and leads us to the outer walls. Before we know it, we're outside the city and running along the dirt road through the country side.

"Where are we going?" Rin asks, exasperated. "Can we just slow down and talk?"

"No time!" Felix yells, craning his neck behind him. "We gotta go fast before reinforcements arrive!"

"Reinforcements?" I ask.

"I'll explain when we get there. Just run!"

A groan escapes all three of us as we following him. It would help if we just knew why we were running, but I guess that it must be some kind of surprise. At least the mountain and ocean-side scenery is nice and the weather is cool.

As we crest onto the top of a hill, the surprise becomes clear. I was so focused on keeping pace and watching my feet for tripping hazards I hadn't realized that we were zeroing in on Bandit's Pinch. Or what's left of it. Our party pulls to a stop to see the thorpe of a village nestled between the hills is in complete disarray. A column of smoke rises into the sky from the burning tavern, and splintered logs lays scattered all over the roadside.

"Come on," Felix says with a motion of his arms. "No one is there."

Luckily for the rest of us, he takes off at a brisk walking pace instead of running again. As we enter the husk of what used to be a wretched hive of scum and villainy, I can't help but feel somewhat dismayed that I wasn't the one to smash this place to pieces. Not a single building escaped unscathed from whatever, or whoever, attacked this village.

"What happened here?" I ask, stooping over to examine a busted-up wagon. "How did you find out about this?"

Felix smiles. "Well, I was just about to leave Gormsay to head your way when I heard that there was a high-level assassin in the area. I can't remember his name, but he apparently came here all the way from Yastren on the other side of Libertas for something. Rumors are saying that he did this. The assassin tried to pass through here but the River Raiders, in their high-and-mighty ways, tried to extort some gold out of him. Obviously, justice was served. I just wish I would have been here to see it."

With a raised brow, I say, "I find it hard to believe that one dude did all this. When you say high-level, exactly how high do you mean?"

With a shrug, Felix says, "Mid forties, at least. And assassins are any magic-user's bane. It's just too bad we aren't level 20 already so we could step in and lay claim on Bandit's Pinch since the village is in contested status without any River Raiders here."

Rubble purses his lips together and blows a raspberry. "Come on, man. I don't think we want our brand-new guild associated with the shadiness of the River Raiders. Besides, they would probably come try to take it back."