The Siege of Prontera

Altair was comfortably tucked in soft blankets that night. The gentle moonlight passed through the linen curtains of his window and illuminated his sleeping face. Any nightmares or demons did not trouble him. His was a peaceful, restful sleep, complete with fresh clothes, a soft bed, fluffy pillows and a warm blanket. Everything was perfect; even the whole of Prontera was in a hush.

Or so it is.

Deep violet eyes snapped open, the eyeballs white in the darkness of the room. Altair was wide awake, his hearing sharp as a needle. There was somebodyor somethingin his room. Light footsteps against the wooden floorboards confirmed an Assassin. Altair was sure Sibyl would never frighten him like this. It was an Assassin aiming to kill him.

The footfalls stopped. Altair carefully slid his hand under his pillow, where a dagger was hidden. His hands tightened on the handle. His heart was hammering wildly in his chest.

The Assassin licked his lips before bringing down his katar into Altairs body.

"What the?" he said when the lights suddenly came to life.

"TAKE THIS, BUTTHEAD!"

Shocked, the Assassin turned and met Altairs spin kick full in the face. He bounced back, winded. Altair screamed and fed him a powerful right-hook punch, followed by a knee into his stomach. Blood spurted from the Assassins mouth.

Altair was fast. Hed pick up the katar and fitted it over his right hand. Now he had the advantage. The Assassin eyed the weapon in his hand.

"You cant use a katar, boy." The intruder said in a rusty voice. "Its only for Assassins like me."

"Oh yeah?" Altair scowled. "Watch and learn, bozo!"

Altair performed several thrusts, each delivered like the wind. The Assassin received deep cuts all around his body before Altair finished him off with an uppercut. The damned intruder was out cold with five missing teeth.

Altair nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a loud noise from Theodorics room.

"Oh, bugger, theyve got Theodoric too!" he said frantically and dashed outside to help his friend.

"THEODORIC!" he screamed as he banged on the door. "THEODORIC OPEN UP!"

The door creaked and Theodoric came out, wearing nothing but his pants. He had two unconscious Assassins held up by their necks. The Knight yawned deeply and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair like nothing happened.

"Whassamatter?" he asked sleepily.

"Bugger, I thought" said Altair.

Theodoric dropped the Assassins on the floor with a loud thud as if they were nothing but a bunch of bin bags waiting for the garbage trucks. "Nah, do you think this guys can even scratch me?"

A door opened and Signy emerged from her room, still in her nightgown. She brought out two more Assassins, each with an arrow in their foreheads.

"Impressive." Theodoric said with a smile. "Headshot, huh?"

"I was sleeping and one of them tried to see my panties." Signy said savagely, eyeing the corpses with the utmost loathing. "Thatll be the last thing they did on earth. What a bunch of cowards; they cant even fight you in broad daylight."

"Bugger, lets see the others!" Altair said hysterically.

"Therell be no need for that." Sibyl said as she joined them. "I gave mine a well-deserved gut punch and Grimtooth. I think theyve learned their lessons well to never sneak upon a fellow Lurker."

"What about Wealthow and Nerva?" said Altair.

"I gave the idiots some Knucklehead Shampoo." Nerva said nonchalantly as he leaned on the wall, arms folded across his chest.

Wealthow was the last to emerge. "I gave mine some Mace spikes. Their faces wont be fixed with just Heal, mark my words."

"Whewmy heart, really" Altair said in relief.

But just then, a bloodcurdling scream echoed in the night. The tolling of the Sanctuary's massive Iron Bells followed it. All around them, Prontera came to life. Lights flickered from the thousands of windows in the capital city. The Bells warning cries echoed throughout the night, bidding everyone to wake up.

"Danger!" said Wealthow. "Prontera is under siege!"

Without any second thoughts, the six of them rushed downstairs. All around them, the other occupants of the inn started to wake. Many poked their heads out of their doors, wondering what the fuss was about. But many of the people were starting to dress. A few already had their weapons out.

"Hurry! Get all the help we can!"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hurry up and get dressed! There is danger!"

"Whats the matter?"

"Why did the Bells toll?"

"Hurry up! Call the knights!"

"Eiliza, hurry up and wake the others! Go! Wake them up!"

"Gather the children and the aged! Gather them!"

The cold night air greeted Wealthows face as they went outside. Her eyes widened with horror.



About a hundred Golems were in Prontera. The monsters were smashing buildings with their huge, stone bodies. Their horrible growls mingled the Bells ominous tolls. Fires were starting to spread. People were screaming hysterically, fleeing their homes and shouting for loved ones. The bewildered Pronteran cavalry were no match for the Golems. Novices, Mages, Acolytes, Thieves, Archers, Swordsmen, Merchants, Wizards, Priests, Assassins, Hunters, Knights and Blacksmiths were trying to suppress the monsters and stop the fire.

"HURRY UP AND HELP! GO!" Wealthow shouted before she vanished into the rampaging crowd.

Firnheild separated ways. Nerva rushed to aid the crowd of fighters trying to subdue the nearest Golem. Signy went to help the Novices putting out the fire in a nearby bakery. Theodoric went back inside the inn to get his lance and wear his armor. Altair went to help evacuate the children to a safer place while Sibyl joined the cavalry.

Even the people in the castle were alarmed. The Royal Vanguard was preparing to evacuate the King.

"Highness, please hurry up. We have to secure your safety."

"What is going on out there?" King Tristriam asked the captain. "Are my people all right? Help them, not me! Go help them first!"

"Highness, please follow us. We shall secure you to the underground shelter right now."

But Tristriam refused to move from where he was standing, still in his pajamas. "I will not leave! Help my people! I shall fight and protect Prontera! Leave me alone! If you want to do good then help the people, not me!"

"But highness"

"Shut up! I will fight alongside the people! And YOU are not stopping me! Get out of my way! You, give me your sword!"

The captain gave the king a quick punch in the stomach. Tristriam lost consciousness at once. The captain ordered for three of his men to carry the King.

"I shall lead the way. Unit 1 will secure the Queen, the Prince and the Princess. Unit 2 will go with me and protect the king. Let us leave."

The Royal Vanguard slipped from the castle amid the hysteria among its other inhabitants. Outside, things were worsening. A horde of Argos, Wanderers and Savages appeared out of nowhere and increased the ongoing siege. Fires grew bigger and spread in doubled speed. The confused people and unprepared warriors were having a hard time fighting. Prontera was in danger of being burned to the ground.

Wounded people increased by the second. Hundreds have already been rushed to the Sanctuary, keeping the Acolytes and Priests busy. Due to lack of space, the archbishop was forced to keep the coming batches of people outside. Acolytes and Priests ran from place to place, trying their best to heal everybody. Anyone who could perform even the simplest Healing spell was required to move.

Knights, Assassins and Wizards were the fore who fought against the high-level Argos, Wanderers and Savages. A few Swordsmen, Thieves and Mages who were nearing the 2nd job promotion also assisted in the hard fight. Archers, Hunters, Merchants and Blacksmiths took care of the rampaging Golems. The noises of the Wizards' spells were worsening the tumult.

"COME ON, MOVE!"

"HELP! BACK ME UP!"

"SOUL STRIKE!"

"SPEAR BOOMERANG!"

"OY! I NEED BACK UP!"

"BASH!"

"METEOR STORM!"

"GRIMTOOTH!"

"HURRY UP! FIGHT!"

"MAGNUM BREAK!"

"FIRE BOLT!"

"FROST DRIVER!"

"HEY! CALL A PRIEST, QUICK! SOMEBODY CALL A PRIEST!"

"NO TIME FOR THAT! VENOM DUST!"

"CALL A PRIEST! THIS ONES BITTEN BY AN ARGOS! WHO HAS SLOW POISON?!? GREEN HERB, ANYONE! HURRY UP!"

"ICE WALL! HEY! MOVE!"

"HEAVENS DRIVE!"

"OUCH, HEY! ENVENOM!"

The Knight standing beside Nerva was struck by a Golems arm. The woman fell from her Peco-peco and crashed to the ground; the sound of her right arm breaking reached Nervas ears. Nerva cancelled his spell and ripped off a large chunk of his shirt. He used it to tie the womans arm tightly. Afterward he returned to the enemy.

"LIGHTNING BOLT!"

Combined with an Assassins Grimtooth, Nervas spell managed to kill the Argos. The group charged the rampaging horde of Wanderers and rescued a whimpering Novice from the fountain.

Signy was at the top of the Sanctuary, loading arrows onto her bow. Aided by her strategic location, she was able to fend off the attackers of the Sanctuary together with the Priests and Acolytes.

Wealthow was inside the Sanctuary doing her duty: healing people. Her white nightdress was already red with dried blood. Even her hands were bloodstained. Her hair was wildly across her face but there was no time for fixing it now.

"Please heal my son! Please heal him!"

"No! Heal me first! Ive already lost my hand!"

"Help me! I cant see a thing! Help me!"

"Priestess, over here! This Novice was crushed by a Golem! Hurry up and save his legs!"

"Help me!"

"Please Heal me, please!"

"Help!"

"Heal my father! Anyone, please Heal my father!"

Wealthow couldnt bear the fatigue. She lost her balance and nearly fainted when an Acolyte caught her just in time and helped her onto a chair.

"Please drink the tea and rest for a while." The boy said. "We will need your power, so please save it."

"Thank you." Wealthow said weakly. "Ill do my best."



"COME ON GUYS! ONE LAST PUSH!" Altair screamed.

The Novices put their strengths together and pushed. A little while earlier Altair trapped the Golem under a post by using his hammer. Now he was letting the Novices finish off the job, for the youngsters insisted on helping. They were trying to bury the Golem alive under a massive chunk of stone.

Their efforts bore fruit. The wall fell off and crashed onto the Golem, killing it in a snuff. They all jumped for joy.

"All right people!" Altair cheered. "Lets go and kick some more ass!"

Under his lead, the Novices ran to help the Knights.



Sibyl was having the time of her life. There were lotsa monsters, all of them high-levels and not just common and weak like Pickies, Drops, Porings, Chon Chons, Roda Frogs and Condors. She was wondering why the hell the people were running; didnt they know that these beauties provided a huge chunk of Experience points?

Even though she was a woman she was the one leading the cavalry tonight. Under her orders the men attacked and protected themselves against the monsters. She would have made a good leader, one of the men said. Nah, she had no intention of leaving Firnheild.

Together, Sibyl and the cavalry finished off twenty Golems and an Argos. From here the monsters were fast decreasing in number. Their victory was at hand if the Knights, Wizards and the others kept up their effort and never surrender.

"EVERYONE, LOOK! LOOK!" a female Novice of fourteen shrieked.

Their heads turned. All around Prontera, Warp Portals were popping out of nowhere. Reinforcements from Alberta, Payon, Izlude, Morroc and Geffen were emerging from the portals, along with a dozen more Acolytes and Priests. Unlike them the reinforcements were all fully dressed and well prepared.

"Hurry up and help! Knights follow me and help slay the high-level monsters! The Wizards will go use their Water Ball to stop the fire! Move, hurry up!"

"More Acolytes and Priests are needed in the Sanctuary! Go there! Leave the fighting to us!"

The reinforcements quickly went to their designated areas. Dawn was fast approaching across the horizon. Fires were stopped and prevented to do more damages. The night seemed like eternity to the people; an eternal darkness that would never end. But when the last Golem fell under the first rays of sunlight, not one person was cheering with joy. Half of Prontera was in ruins, but the people knew they could start again. Nobody died, thanks to the quick action of the Priests and Acolytes.



"Ooh, bugger, my backs killing me" Altair groaned as he collapsed onto the dusty street. The shadows under his eyes were very big. "I never thought the mess would be over"

Theodoric, who was in full armor, sat down beside the Blacksmith. "You didnt saw me take on that Argos alone, didnt you? I thought Id die therethe huge insect knocked me down and lifted me off the ground with its pedipalps. But I was lucky a Priest saw me and helped. Now thats a hell lot messier."

Signy, Sibyl and Wealthow joined the group. Theodoric looked stupidly at the three, because they were still in their nightgowns and the beautiful contours of their bodies were exposed.

"Wow" Theodoric said dumbly, his eyes unfocused. "Wow, I must be deadIm in heaven already"

"Shut up or Ill rip your eye out." Signy snapped as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Do you know who sent for the reinforcements?" Wealthow asked. "Because whoever it is sure saved the whole capital city."

"I dunno." Altair shrugged.

"Yeahyeah, I dunno" Theodoric mumbled like a caveman.

"But we must find him or her somehow and thank him." Sibyl yawned. "I think the king would give a reward as welland maybe Ill bully it if it were a Novice. Id get all the reward money for myself."

"Always the Big Bullying Assassin, arent you?" Altair smiled.

Sibyl grinned widely. Then her smile faded. "Wheres Nerva?"

Theodoric twisted around. "Oh yeah, wheres that guy? I havent seen him anywhere ever since we separated at the inndyou think hes okay?"

"Im over here." Nerva said as he joined them.

"Where were you? Bugger, we were worrieddont disappear like that!" Altair interjected.

Nerva didnt answer. He looked like a mess. His usual shiny red hair was covered in dirt, he had dried blood at the corner of his lips and his shirt was torn to bits. Sibyl was eyeing him interestedly, taking on his chest and arms.

"Do you know who sent for the reinforcements?" Wealthow inquired.

"I did." Nerva replied. "I knew we cannot match the monsters on our own. I sent an Incubus to the proper authorities, and they obliged."

They looked at him in amazement.

"All right! Now youre a hero!" said Signy.

Nerva frowned a bit. "I dont need any reward. I just did that because it cant be helped."

Theodoric stood up and had an arm around the Wizard. "Look at our dear Nervy, always acting modest! Now, you could do with a bit of good impression, you know. This will definitely give you a boost for the peoples eyes!"

Nerva gave a hollow laugh. "You think shallowly, my friend. What the people would say about me is that it was I who summoned those monsters here."

"Summoned?" Wealthow repeated. "Those monsters were summoned?"

"Summoning Cards." Nerva said as he took out a hundred cards from his pocket. "Every monster left one. They were summoned here when the assassination plot against Firnheild failed. Plan B, perhaps."

A stony silence hung around their group as Wealthow took the cards in her hands.

"I dont want to anger you, Nerva, but I have my reasons to suspect you." said Signy. "Youre a great Wizard, we all know that. You can summon high-level creatures in the blink of an eye. What if you did that even before those dirty assassins were sent? Planned it, didnt you?"

"Why dont you just tell me that because Im a criminal?" Nerva countered. "I accept your opinion, Signy, Ive never been a popular dinner guest. But rest assured I have no part in this. Its up to you to believe me or not. Anyway, I dont care. All Im doing here is to stop that Shadow from taking more lives."

Signy smiled. Nerva grinned back at her.

"I reckon we should tell the king." Sibyl joined in. "This is the work of somebody who might have opposed him in something. Wanted to get back, perhaps."

"Or maybe," said Altair, his eyes going round. "Or maybe its the work of someone who doesnt want Firnheild to find out anything about the Shadow! Its obviously done to try and stop us!"

Comprehension dawned on their faces.

"But who?" Theodoric whispered. "Who could possibly?"

"The vassals look suspicious enough." Signy suggested. "Ive never trusted Rand yll Dinn myself. Hes a fishy guy, if you know what I mean."

"Well, our caliph might be dorky, you know, but" Sibyl scratched her nose. "Hes too stupid to think of a brilliant plan like this."

Nerva and Wealthow caught each others eye. They were thinking on the same lines. But it was too early to conclude.

"The least we can do is to piss them off." Theodoric straightened up. "Wed just have to push on with our task. Do our best and bring more things to light. That way theyd super hate us theyll make a rash moveand POOF! You have the traitors exposing their faces in no time."

"All right, bugger, you DO have a brain!" Altair said happily.

"Then the earlier we leave the better." Wealthow told them all. "Lets go to Al de Baran as soon as we possibly can!"