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  Kyle crossed his arms. "It's a little late to turn around."

  "I'm not turning around. I wanna break off into the Pleasure Gardens."

  The slums, ironically, sat flush with the most extravagant landscape in Stronghold. The Pleasure Gardens were gaudy and green and perfectly manicured, with all the creature comforts any medieval king would kill for.

  "The Great Library," she stressed. "Trafford's book about sanctums."

  "You wanna get that now?" I asked sharply.

  "I just think it's another thing that could help. We don't know what Bishop Tannen's about. We don't know what he's doing or how powerful he is. And he has to be stronger than Cleric Vagram."

  I grimaced at the probable truth. Vagram's holy power had definitely been awe-inspiring. What kind of man would he serve?

  "We can't underestimate him, Talon. If we can use the sanctum to beat him—if there's even a possibility—we need to look into it. You said he wants the dragonspear for a reason. Maybe this is it." She clenched her jaw. "You know I like to kick ass, but I'm worthless here. My next favorite thing is brushing up on game lore. We're running into a lot of questions these days. I can find the answers. I just need the right access."

  I sighed. "You think you can just walk in and ask for it?"

  "I can get in, one way or another."

  "It's not a good idea to split up," interjected Kyle. "You said it yourself. We can't fight. That's why we need to stick with Talon."

  "It's too important," she countered. "Besides, we're connected on party chat again. I'll shout the second something goes south. It'll be fine."

  Kyle grumbled, still on the fence. I didn't like it either, but I trusted her.

  "She's right," I concluded. "We need to try. Kyle, you and I can get to Gladius by ourselves." I rested my hand on Izzy's shoulder and met her eyes. "You be careful, okay?"

  She smirked. "It's not like I have any more XP on the line."

  I chuckled. The pixie sprung to her feet and hopped the alley wall, making for the grounds of the Pleasure Gardens.

  "And then there were two," I said solemnly.

  "Don't be so dramatic," chided Kyle. "Eyes on the prize. Stay frosty."

  I grinned and weaved north through the side streets. The slums created the perfect cover. Conditions were bad and mostly filled with quest NPCs and such. Not a whole lot to police because the petty crime remained confined to the neighborhood. Tannen had luckily deprioritized cleaning up the worst streets in the city. The locals minded their own business and there were no crusaders in sight.

  After some creative pathfinding, we ducked behind a wagon across the road from the jail. Our good fortune continued. While there was moderate activity at the main entrance and the gated prisoner entrance, most of it involved everyday guards of the city watch. A single crusader did pop into the building to check on things, but once he left we didn't see a black tunic in sight.

  "What are we doing?" blubbered Kyle.

  I turned to him. "It's called recon. I thought you were an expert at military tactics."

  He shrugged. "You're the scout."

  "Damn right. I'm just getting an idea of who's moving in and out of the building, how often the crusaders swing by, and which entrances are best."

  Kyle jutted his lower lip out and watched the building. "Looks pretty straightforward to me. The whole point is to trust the city watch, right?"

  "Sure, but we can't just walk through the front door in broad daylight. If even a single guard is afraid to shirk orders, the alarm will be raised. Alarms don't give sympathetic soldiers many options."

  "You're probably right." He dug through his inventory and pulled out a couple of Slim Jims.

  "Two?" I asked.

  He bit into one meat stick and waved the other my way. "I know you want one."

  I grumbled. I really wanted to take the moral high ground on this one, but the rubbery meat won out. I snatched it from him with a nod of thanks and gave in to sweet spicy goodness. We chewed and continued our surveillance.

  "No way," said Kyle. He pointed to a newcomer to the prisoner gate. "They got Phil." Except for the minimal loincloth, the Hillside local wore nothing except for two pink socks.

  "Now they've crossed the line."

  Finished with our quick snack, I bade him follow and walked half a block past the jail. We found a good alcove in the entrance of a locked storage warehouse.

  "That's our way in." I pointed to the left side of the building. "The side door. It looks like a staff entrance. We'll bump into fewer people and be less public that way."

  Kyle nodded. After a few more minutes of watching I was satisfied with the plan. We'd sneak along the lumber yard beside the jail and approach the side entrance out of sight. We made sure the coast was clear and started across the street. A knight in white armor turned the near corner at the worst possible moment.

  "Talon!" exclaimed Lash, surprised. She halted suddenly, a few feet away from us.

  "Oh, hey, Lash," I said casually. "Don't sneak up on people like that."

  "You shouldn't be out here." She smoothed the white cross on her black tunic. No more sash, she'd gone full crusader now...

  I arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

  Lash's helmet surveyed the block. It paused on the jail. No way she thought we were here for the lumber yard. "Izzy with you dorks?"

  "Nah," said Kyle gruffly. "She had a thing."

  I swallowed. Izzy and Lash were kind-of-sort-of friends. I would've gone for a lie placing Izzy nearby. It would've been more likely to keep the white knight on friendly terms. I tried to read Lash's face through the full helm but it was in shadow.

  "You're level 8," noted Kyle. "How'd you swing that so fast?"

  "I told you to get in while the getting was good, didn't I?" She hissed. "You guys are real dumbasses, you know that? Didn't you get the message when the crusaders chased this dweeb home yesterday?"

  "What message?" asked the dweeb.

  "By order of Bishop Tannen, your party isn't welcome to wander the streets."

  I scoffed. "That's ridiculous. We live here. It's more our city than his."

  "Not anymore," she said. "This is crusader territory now, like Oakengard."

  "Stronghold is Stronghold," I assured her. "I'm the city's Protector."

  The helm nodded in acknowledgment. "That's true, but—"

  A block behind Lash, a crusader and a priestess strolled into view. I grabbed Kyle's breastplate and shoved him back into the storage alcove. Lash's hand went to her cleaver at the sudden motion, but she relaxed when she saw we weren't fighting. Besides, she was a player, not a guard. She couldn't have drawn her weapon if she'd wanted to. At least I thought so.

  "Lash," I said through gritted teeth, "you and I both know that decree is bullshit. I don't care what color cloak you have on, you can't give in to that bullshit order."

  The white knight turned to see who'd spooked me. A priestess with flowing blonde hair that could've been Vagram's female twin. The gold cross and white robe spelled out her fanaticism plainly. The crusader who escorted her looked like an average joe. He led a city watchman in shackles toward the jail. It was a path that would quickly intersect our position.

  0900 Jail Break

  Lash turned back to us. "Talk about unlucky," she chortled. "Listen, Talon, don't make a big deal about this."

  "You are not going to turn us in, Lash."

  "No?"

  "No," I said firmly. "No way. Not after what we've been through together."

  She snorted. "It's not like we're party members or anything."

  "Lash—"

  I pressed into the alcove as the priest and the crusader sauntered by. Lash spun and leaned on the wall, completely failing at being inconspicuous but somehow escaping the notice of the crusaders. Kyle and I watched paralyzed in shock until the group entered the prisoner gate of the jail yard.

  Kyle slapped his hand to his face. I breathed a sigh of relief. "We owe you one, Lash."

&n
bsp; "Owe me doesn't begin to cut it," she spat. "You know how much trouble I could get in if they find out what I did?"

  "Relax," urged Kyle. "We're the only ones who know and we'd never tell them."

  She forced his back to the wall. "Well I should have."

  I rested my hand on her shoulder. Considering I was 5'8" and she was almost seven feet tall, it was a reach. "It's over, Lash. They're gone. Let's just pretend we never saw each other, okay?"

  Kyle had sunk points into strength lately and used it to push back against her. The white knight may have reached impressive heights, but she was still only the fourth highest-level player in town. Still, she could be trouble if she wanted to be.

  "What's your problem?" barked Kyle. "What do you see in those brainless crusaders anyway?"

  "You kidding, frat boy? They're an army. After Stronghold's cleaned up and recruiting is over, we're gonna take back Shorehome too. That'll be all three of Haven's towns under our control."

  My face soured. Haven lore talked of nine fabled cities, but the Midlands was the only territory thus far released. Only three cities were currently on the map. The thought of Bishop Tannen in charge of the known world brought a shiver to my spine.

  "Shorehome doesn't need liberating," I told her. "The goblins and humans are living side by side. Don't believe everything they're telling you."

  She scoffed. "That's laughable."

  "I was there." She paused. "Send Izzy an email and ask her if you want. She saw it too. Everything Tannen says, he does to amass more power."

  Her heavy shoulder plates rose in a shrug. "Fine. Maybe that's true. But these guys are in charge of Haven right now. They trust me because I joined up way before they took over. If it comes down to it, I'm siding with them." She sighed heavily. "Look. I'll see what I can do. If I tell them what a good fighter you are, that and your rep should land you a good place in the army."

  "We don't wanna be in their army," scowled Kyle.

  "That's the best deal you're gonna get." Lash turned to check the jail-yard gate, obviously worried the priestess would emerge and catch her with us. "Don't be stupid. The only reason I'm letting you slide is so you have time to think it over."

  I wondered if it also had something to do with her being outnumbered two to one. I shook my head in silent disappointment.

  She smacked her lips. "Don't act like a sap. What did you think we were, BFFs? We respect each other, that's all. Besides, if we are friends, you're the ones putting me in a tight spot. Don't do it again." Before I could say anything, Lash stormed off and around the block.

  "What a bitch," said Kyle.

  "She's just covering her ass. She did let us go."

  "She won't do it again. You heard her."

  "Talking a big game is different from actually turning us in."

  "Yeah, right. I guarantee you, we're toast if she catches us again."

  I worked my jaw. The priestess and crusader exited the jail yard, and Kyle and I ducked deeper into the alcove. They took another route to wherever it was they were going and were quickly out of sight.

  "Okay," I said. "Every minute we stay out here is a risk. We'd better get this over with as soon as possible. Let's go."

  We hurried across the street and followed along the lumber yard. The side of the jail building was clear and we snuck up to the door without a problem.

  Well, a problem did present itself when we found the door locked.

  "Can you do anything about it?" I asked Kyle.

  He hefted the handle a few times. "Nope. I could get through it if I really wanted to, but it would make a big boom."

  Damn. Kyle was talking about a repeat of the grotto explosion. "Big bada-boom," I muttered.

  "What about the window?" he asked.

  The thing was two stories up. The good news was, at that height, it wasn't secured with bars. Unfortunately, it was too high to vault to. I searched for handholds to attempt to scale the wall, but the reinforced concrete structure was too smooth. I scowled and looked around. My frustration didn't last long.

  "Maybe it's time to finally test Haven's physics simulation."

  Kyle followed my eyes to the long beams of wood stacked in a neat pile. We hustled over and dragged one to the wall. It was heavier than it looked. "Okay," I told him, "just hold your end tight and press me against the wall. I'll do the rest."

  "The rest of what?" he asked. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

  "Of course. I saw this on YouTube once. I'm practically an expert."

  I braced myself against the opposite end of the pole and placed one foot on the wall. "Ready?" He nodded. "Push."

  Kyle forced the pole and me into the wall. I drove my back against the pressure, lifting my second foot off the ground and placing it higher on the wall. The two of us strained in the impossible position.

  Agility Check...

  Pass!

  I smiled and took a step up the wall. It worked and I took another. As I walked up the surface it became easier going, although the pole began to shake. More of the weight was on Kyle now. But we didn't have far to go, and he was putting his 22 strength to good use. As he moved toward the jail and I slid up, the pole straightened vertically and led me right to the window. I jumped in and released the wood beam.

  "Get out of sight," I called down. "I'll just be a minute."

  Kyle nodded, dragged the lumber back to the pile, and hid behind it. I turned to check my surroundings, ready to activate my sneak skill.

  The warden of the jail looked up from his plate of food, a fork frozen inches from his mouth.

  "Uh..." I stalled. "I can explain."

  "Oi!" He dropped the fork and jumped to his feet, sweeping the sword from its scabbard. I drew the dragonspear in a blink and readied a deadshot. Then the warden hugged his blade across his chest in salute.

  "The Protector of Stronghold," he said, exasperated.

  I blinked a few times before planting the butt of my weapon on the floor and standing tall. "It is I," I announced in a commanding voice.

  [Warden Jorah] shuffled nervously. "What's this all about, then?"

  I swallowed and scrunched my forehead. "Um, official Protector business." He didn't react. "Protecting," I added helpfully.

  Jorah lowered his sword. "This about jailing the city watch?"

  "How'd you know?"

  " 'Cause it's a right travesty, it is. Jailin' me own brothers."

  I eased my face in relief. "Tell me about it. I'm told you have Gladius in here."

  He nodded in shame.

  "I need to talk to him."

  "Well, it's about damn time," he snapped. "I've been waiting for someone to talk some sense around here. Follow me." He swung his door open and stepped down the hall. It took me a second to follow. I was still in disbelief over how easy this was.

  Jorah peeked down a flight of stairs and waved me down. We moved from the third floor to the second.

  "It's shameful," he complained. "A police force marchin' the city wearing black. What are they, a gang of cutthroats?" Jorah proudly lifted his head. "Give me the olive green of the city watch any day. Now that is a color that inspires confidence."

  As we walked, I made a mental map of the place, wondering if the cells were on the first floor or a basement, knowing the jail yard was on the other side of the building. I estimated the number of guards we might encounter on the way.

  The warden stopped at the first door, turned a heavy key, and presented me with Gladius.

  "The commander's a special guest, he is," said the warden with a touch of reverence. "Prisoner or no."

  Gladius sat in his "cell" enjoying the same roasted meat as Jorah. The head of the city watch smiled as I shuffled in.

  "I'll make sure you aren't interrupted," said Jorah. "When you're done, you can sneak out through my office. I'll be downstairs holding the fort."

  I gave him a quick nod. "Thanks." Jorah closed the door, but he didn't lock it.

  "Talon," said Gladius, standing and loc
king my arm in the traditional Roman greeting. "What brings you here?"

  "Even the warden knows what brings me here," I said. "Kyle's waiting outside for me. We should get you out as fast as possible."

  He tightened his jaw. "To what end?"

  "What do you mean? To kick Bishop Tannen out of Stronghold."

  Gladius sat and took the most solemn swig of ale I'd ever seen. "I agree with what needs to be done, but I can't help you do it."

  I stared at him like he was crazy. His stoicism faltered for a moment and he explained.

  "Talon, I have a duty to the legions of men under my command, just as they have a duty to me. I won't rally them against an unwinnable cause."

  "This isn't unwinnable. If we stand together nothing can stop us." He swallowed glumly. "Don't forget that we defeated a titan together."

  "You don't understand. Bishop Tannen is the de facto ruler of Stronghold at the moment. It is literally impossible for the watch to raise arms against him and his."

  "But he usurped the saints!" My tone revealed how ludicrous I thought that was.

  "And that would've been the time to fight him," he returned. "But the saints counseled otherwise. It was practically too late to stop him once I heard of them storming the Pantheon. And once control was ceded to him, once he had the artifact, we became powerless to do any more. Our job is to guard the city, its people, and its leadership. Our hands are tied."

  I cursed the arbitrary rules of the simulation. Some parts of Haven seemed so realistic, but other systems hadn't advanced much from their rudimentary MMO precursors from years before. The faction system in particular seemed to cause more trouble and chaos than it prevented. It fomented war and carnage. Maybe that was the point.

  "At least stand up and get out of here," I pleaded. "Talk to your people. Convince them who the real enemy is."

  "They already understand." Instead of standing, Gladius picked up his knife and fork and sliced another juicy morsel.

  I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. For a minute, I paced his gracious accommodations back and forth and rubbed my forehead. I tried working through the angles but couldn't find one. The exercise was calming, at least. When I finally spoke, I was placid. Measured.