Chapter 271: Intercept
“This is insane…” Mikael said with wide eyes, standing atop the stone walls of a small keep. Several days had passed since he’d arrived in Puagas, and a battle was unfolding before him. Tall pine and fir trees surrounded them, but a small clearing stood between their large gray brick Keep and the tree line. What had his eyes wide was the black mass of reapers soaring towards them in the distance.
“Do we open the gate?” Mightymira asked from across the wall. Hundreds of NPC guards stood amongst them, armed with bows, crossbows, and spears. Their weapons were readied and aimed at the approaching mass. The keep itself was simple, with a fortified wall built in a pentagonal shape around the central castle-like building, basic crafting stations, and resting areas in the space between the wall and the structure. Aside from the walls being manned, no additional soldiers were waiting in the wings behind the walls.
“No. He said don’t open the gates until he gives the command.” Mikael replied, and she nodded back anxiously. The trees began to rustle and teeter violently with the approaching winds caused by the mass of reapers. An ominous, gusting silence fell over the keep, broken only by the movement of NPC soldiers as they adjusted their poses slightly.
Knowing it was just a game didn’t help Mikael calm his nerves. He knew he was seconds away from a battle with an extremely deadly foe—truthfully, though, excitement was his dominant emotion.
Then, a stampede of hoofs could be heard in the distance. A small dirt road leading out of the treeline towards the Keep’s main gate was suddenly alive with movement. Many horses galloped out of the forest and towards the keep, with Renault leading the charge. Mikael recognized the others on horseback immediately - some were NPCs wearing the same yellow Puagas symbolism as the ones on the walls alongside him, but most were his missing guild mates and the other fallen players that had arrived on the airship with them.
“That kid really did it. He got them all out of the corpse camping nightmare!” Mightymira cheered excitedly as she saw this.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Mikael smirked.
“OPEN THE GATE!” Renault shouted as he led the charge. Mightymira didn’t hesitate; she quickly shouted, and the NPCs complied by pulling a wheel mechanism beside the gate to lift the iron portcullis while the doors swung open slowly.
As if timed perfectly, the horseback players and NPCs slipped under the rising portcullis and into the Keep, spreading out around the interior. Once inside, they all quickly began to dismount, and Renault watched the gate tensely for the last horse to get through.