58 Another Kingslayer

"This is where QJ got the Kingslayer Title?" The baby-face Wrangler scanned the entrance to the cavern. Bees and ants were visible everywhere, the usually mortal enemies living side-by-side without a hint of aggression.

Jigsaw nodded. "I got the intel from my roommate." She didn't mention that this was before it became a level 50 raid into Arachni City. "All we have to do is introduce ourselves to the Spider Queen."

Jigsaw pushed a strand of purple hair behind one ear and entered the cavern. The stone immediately gave way to black marble. She gave a soft whistle.

Dover followed behind, his dark eyes darting toward six giant spiders on raised platforms. "They won't aggro?"

Jigsaw shook her head as she walked by them. "It's like Doubler Canyon, don't hit anything, and you'll be fine."

Dover stared at the silver spiders etched into the black marble floor. "What else do I need to know about the Spider Queen?"

"They call her the Scholar Queen. I hope you brought a book." Jigsaw held a finger to her lips. "No more talking."

[Group: Dover] A book? You didn't say anything about a book.

"Come closer," a voice steeped in power spoke from the darkness. Brilliant green eyes glowed, and the torches around the throne lit up an instant later. The Spider Queen stared at the new arrivals. Her brown-furred carapace rested on her throne while her legs draped over it.

[Group: Jigsaw] Don't worry. I know what to do.

The purple-haired wrangler approached the throne and took a knee. "Greetings, Angel. We have come to claim partial credit in the death of Circa, the Ant King."

"I see," the Spider Queen replied. "You were part of the group that weakened him before my arrival?"

Jigsaw nodded. "We were."

Angel leaned back on her throne, her nails strumming on the smooth marble surface. "Then I must thank you properly. Make an offering, and I will award you the Kingslayer title."

Jigsaw moved forward with her head bowed and placed her notebook before the throne. Before she could retreat, a web shot out and snatched it away.

Angel smiled pleasantly. "Thank you, this will suffice." She turned her emerald gaze toward the other human. "And you... What do you offer?"

Dover knelt and placed his notebook in front of Angel. Before he could move, the Spider Queen held it in her hands.

Angel opened the notebook casually, paging through it until she found a torn page. She removed an object from her inventory and placed it in the notebook for comparison; the torn page matched exactly, as did the writing. "I see... elegant cursive..."

Angel stood suddenly, startling both Wranglers. "You there. What are you called?"

"Dover." He kept his gaze on the floor. The Spider Queen gave off the pressure of an end-game mob.

"Do you know where you are, Dover?"

Dover nodded. "Arachni City, part of your territory."

"And you wish the Kingslayer title?" Angel asked.

"Yes," Dover answered.

"Then you shall have it. By my authority as the Sovereign of this territory, I place you under arrest for the murder of King Quilyn of Maelstrom. Congratulations, Kingslayer." Angel waved her hand, and Dover was bound in webbing an instant later.

[Group: Jigsaw] Boom... there it is.

Angel changed into her human form, clad in black armor; she approached the bound wrangler. "You were streaming the whole time, Nina?"

"Yep," Jigsaw nodded. "He left the group and logged off." She watched Dover for a moment. "QJ was right! We got him; this is a placeholder."

Angel moved closer, touching a sharp nail to Dover's forehead hard enough to make a small cut.

"What are you doing?" Nina asked.

Angel inhaled slowly. "The scent matches the bloodstain from the balcony." She opened the notebook that Dover had given her and showed Nina.

Nina smiled at the perfect match. "I love catching bastards!"

"Bastard catching?" Angel pursed her lips slightly. "I enjoy that too."

QJ and Ringo entered Anrachni City a few minutes later. Unlike QJ, the OP Guild Leader hadn't seen the territory since Angel took over.

"This is amazing," Ringo exclaimed, her green eyes taking everything in.

When the duo arrived before the throne a moment later, Angel, Jigsaw, and a bound Dover were waiting for them.

QJ laughed when she saw the third year. "Dessi isn't going to be happy."

Ringo's expression turned somber. "If she doesn't already know."

QJ nodded. The moment Dover logged off, he would have notified whoever else was involved. QJ opened his hud and contacted Annabelle.

Annabelle was sitting in a comfortable chair; her casual attire had been replaced with visible weapons and armor. She frowned at the image of the stranger in front of her. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Hey, Dixie, it's me," QJ waited to see if the Spymaster would figure it out.

Annabelle's serious expression softened considerably. "That's a good disguise. Had you not used that name, I might have disconnected."

"I have the King's killer in custody." QJ grinned when the operative's face showed surprise. "Also, I have an eyewitness to the murder."

Annabelle leaned closer. "Reliable witness?"

"Chancellor Ivy, she was being brought to the chopping block when I intervened."

[Quest Updated]

Annabelle glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice. "I'll have the Princess summon the House of Lords. Don't come to the Palace before we're ready.

QJ nodded and cut comm. "Display quest log for [Mysterious Note]."

[Mysterious Note]

[Objective one] Reach the target and question her.

[Result] The target was silenced before you could find her.

[Objective two] Escape the Palace with the incriminating note.

[Result] You were arrested, and the note was confiscated.

[Mysterious Note] Updated

[Update] You've regained possession of the note and escaped custody.

[Objective] Gather enough clues to bring the King's murderer to justice.

1) You've found evidence linking the killer to the note.

Ringo leaned over and read QJ's hud. "Do we need more evidence? Seems like it should have updated again."

QJ sent a query to Chancellor Ivy, and a moment later, her face appeared in front of them. She was wearing a bathrobe, and her blonde hair was wet and combed straight back.

"QJ! I didn't know Briar Rose had a Spa. I hope you don't mind me using it." Ivy's face was still swollen, but someone had administered medical care.

"You're my guest," QJ reversed the viewpoint on his hud, pointing it at the bound Dover. "Does this guy look familiar?"

Ivy's blue eye widened; the damaged one was still swollen shut. "That's him! I witnessed him heading upstairs during the ball. When I tried to find him, he had disappeared. After the alarm sounded, I discovered him climbing into one of the rooms from the outside ledge."

[Quest Updated]

[Mysterious Note]

[Objective] Gather enough clues to bring the King's murderer to justice.

1) You found evidence linking the suspect to the note.

2) You have a witness who places the suspect at the scene of the murder.

[Present your findings to the House of Lords.]

[Guild Quest: Main Event (Part One)]

Objective: Your investigation into the King's Murder has drawn the attention of those behind the act. They wish to silence you and erase your existence from the Berg Continent. Defend the Keep!

Information: This Quest may be initiated at 0800 hours, anytime within the next 72 hours. Allies taking part must be notified 24 hours before the quest begins.

[OP: Ringo] Major Guild Event quest coming up, mandatory participation. We'll brief everyone at morning roll call. We won't start the quest for at least another day.

[Group: QJ] Want to join us for some socializing?

[Group: Ringo] Of course, the Songbird?

[Group: QJ] Nope, at our new place. I'll send you a virtual invite. Bring your swimsuit; it's a pool party.

[OP: QJ] Heading out for the night! Good hunting, everyone.

[OP: Breeze] No! Come grind levels with me...

[OP: QJ] Stay and grind if you like. Real-life/LAI pool and hot tub mixer at our place.

[OP: Breeze] Crap... Okay, I'm coming.

[OP: Sato] Me too.

[OP: Lotte] Same.

QJ logged off after sending virtual invitations to a few LAI friends and family. The he took a few minutes to take an ice-cold shower, and by the time he put his blue floral swimsuit on, he was shivering.

"You attending virtually?" Lotte's voice carried through the closed door of her bedroom.

"I wouldn't have bothered taking a cold shower if I was going virtually," QJ replied.

"Why would you take a cold shower," Lotte asked.

"Because the hot tub feels awesome when you're cold!" QJ answered.

"You're a bit of an odd duck, QJ," Lotte's voice was humorous. "I'm going virtually; easier for me to get around if we're going to party. Although, I might switch when the power goes out." She had gone conservative, knee-length swimming tights with a full-sleeve top.

"Thanks for reminding me. We have two hours of juice before the Real-Time-Mapper (RTM) is shut down."

By the time QJ and Lotte exited their rooms, Sato, Nina, and Breeze were waiting for them.

"Woah... Going to call you two the bikini twins!" QJ grinned at his roommates; much to their surprise, Nina and Breeze were both wearing the same blue two-piece.

Breeze wiggled her eyebrows. Her tanned athletic body looked fantastic. "Which do you like better?"

QJ glanced at Nina; who was pale and petite. She didn't wear it with the same confidence that Breeze had. "Gonna say, Nina."

Sato fist-bumped QJ while holding the door open for everyone. "Who did you invite, QJ?" The freckled redhead wore bright orange trunks with a yellow swim shirt.

When they exited, they immediately noticed their visitors. Robin, Ringo, Jacob, and Felicia were talking amongst themselves.

"Big Jake!" QJ grinned at his childhood buddy. "Welcome, everyone." He knelt beside the control panel and flipped on the pool and hot tub lights before activating the RTM. "Thanks for coming!"

Robin approached, her lips curved in a smile. "This is the first time I touched the real you." She hugged him tight.

QJ tried not to laugh; he couldn't feel anything. "The effect will be much better when the apartment complex is finished. I have a few ideas to improve things for both sides.

QJ entered the hot tub, joined by Ringo, Robin, and Jake.

"Nice to see you again, Ringo," Jake smiled politely. They had met at the Songbird after OP beat Doubler Canyon the first time and then again when he became the Stablemaster for the Keep.

"Damn... Sorry, Jake. I didn't even think to ask if you were planning on using the stables on the west wall," QJ apologized. "Have you met Morgan?"

Jake nodded. "I may have had use for them eventually, but they would have remained an auxiliary location at best. That Romani woman is going to teach me about Liraraptors."

QJ eased into the hot water until only his chin was visible. "I bet she is..."

Robin threw an arm around QJ's shoulders and leaned back against the side of the hot tub. She wore a modest orange, one-piece swimsuit that matched the hair that fell loose over her shoulders. "Any idea how big a force they'll send at the Keep?"

Ringo was sitting next to Jake, directly across from them. "No idea. We should prepare for anything from a few dozen to an entire army. I plan on bringing in all our allies for this. If we lose this quest, I'm guessing our Keep will belong to someone else."

"Along with our titles and assets," QJ added. "Our current alliances include; Arachni City forces, the Gypsy community, and the forces of the Sandhealer Faction. Those numbers are going to be relatively small."

Ringo smiled at her second in command. Her Ace was responsible for most of their allied strength. "Is the Sandhealer faction strong? They must have used a powerful summons to bring you there and back."

QJ shrugged slightly. "The Sandhealer faction is relatively weak, which is why they summoned me to start with. Unfortunately, most of them were wiped out in a raid a few years back. So don't count on them to add much, if anything."

"We'll see," Ringo replied. "Their icon showed up under our alliances, and since you're listed as their leader, maybe they'll surprise us.

Robin waited until Jake and Ringo started a conversation before whispering in QJ's ear. "You know... Since you can't feel anything, I could be taking advantage of you now."

QJ grinned at the mischievous look on the Songbird's face. He couldn't see her free hand through the bubbles, but he wouldn't put anything past her.

Robin kissed his cheek. "Next time, it's just you and me."

"I can swing that," QJ agreed.