[CAMARAX KINGDOM – CASTLE CAMARAX]
[3 Days Prior]
Castle Camarax was unusually busy.
The Great Hall had been transformed from its usual stern and court-like bureaucratic feel to a royal banquet hall.
Hundreds of workers were hired to clean, prepare, and adorn the Great Hall.
The army of workers hung hundreds of lanterns from the vaulted ceiling casting a warm teal-color haze on the marble floor.
Dozens of newly wooven banners were placed along the walls, casting beautiful shades of silver and teal as light shimmered from the banners.
The air itself held a promise of future goodness soon to be enjoyed.
It smelled of roasted pheasant, freshly baked bread, honeyed mead, and crushed rose petals scattered by the servants.
The King spared no expense to make this event truly historic and memorable.
A royal ceremony was about to take place, forging an alliance between Camarax and the Scavengers guild.
[…]
After the fall of the Verdant Wall and the successful defense of Ray village, news about Arthos, the Verdant Knight, and the Scavengers guild spread like wildfire on AvalorStream, thousands of channels, posts, streams, and media outlets.
This new and relatively obscure guild had managed to clear the “Unbeatable B” Elderwood Grove dungeon, conquered the Verdant Wall, and completed the first ever “rescue village” unique mission.
News about the famed Nevariel Arden quitting Eterna to join Scavengers further fueled speculation and countless theories.
“I heard Eterna is finished.”
“I heard they are swimming in debt and are unable to pay their members.”
“I heard there is too much politics in that guild and that top players are feed up with it.
They are leaving to join more friendly guilds like Scavengers.”
The online community and official forms were quick to point out game inconsistencies connected with the game expansion.
For example, they noted that Avalor’s map was greatly expanded beyond the old “Verdant Wall” and now had access to new biomes such as grasslands, deserts, swaps, red forests, etc.
However, the community quickly noticed that all dungeon raids in territories beyond Avalor were “off-limits”.
In addition, they pointed out that NPC’s in the new territory “Amalot” were immediately hostile to all players.
Numerous tickets were submitted to the IT department requesting clarification on how to access and engage with the new Kingdom.
Furthermore, the online community quickly took note of another new kingdom east of Avalor, known as “Camarax,” filled with NPCs including a beautiful princess.
Within days, hundreds of fan pages popped up all over the internet filled with die-hard fans idolizing the princess.
The top 3 questions related to the Princess of Camarax were:
“How do you get a quest to meet her?”
“She is smoking hot!
Is she single?”
“Can we marry her?”
Rumors are weightless but somehow carry momentum…often impossible to stop after they gain sufficient speed.
It wasn’t long before players noticed a trend, they noticed that all dungeon raids inside Camarax’s territory were off limits unless you were a member of the Scavengers guild.
Oddly, they seemed to have an exclusive monopoly over the succulent new game content taking place in the new territory called “Camarax.” Furthermore, officers and high-ranking players within Scavengers guild had the highest chance of interacting with the beautiful princess.
All these factors catapulted the relatively new and obscure Scavengers guild into an overnight sensation with millions of players submitting applications to join.
Within weeks, the Scavengers guild grew from seven members to 70, quickly filling up the Scavengers guild hall.
To handle the increased demand, Arthos, Wain, and Neva handled recruitment.
Kristan, Kay, and Percy handled training of all new recruits.
After months of flirting, Hector finally agreed to date Lily, the waitress from the Rose Diner.
The relationship quickly matured and developed into a serious relationship.
After four months of dating, the two decided to buy a house near the diner and move in together.
Lily, it turns out, was Rose’s daughter.
As a small business owner, Lily took a keen interest in Avalor and the opportunities it held for non-combatants.
She joined the Scavengers guild as a keeper and quickly found her niche by running a restaurant next to the Scavengers guild.
The restaurant swiftly earned the reputation as the best country-style diner in Avalor and was the favorite spot for all Scavenger guild members.
Hector scaled back on combat and missions with the Scavengers guild to help Lily run and operate Lily’s Diner in Avalor.
Eterna, Paragon, and other major guilds required character references (typical name dropping and ‘who do you know’ social standing) along with letters of recommendation to be admitted.
The Scavengers guild was completely different.
The only two requirements were skill and character.
If an initiate or hero proved to be skilled and of good character, they were admitted regardless of social standing, background, race, gender, etc.
As a result, the guild was quickly nicknamed “the people’s guild.”
Among the many new members to join the Scavengers guild were skilled assassins.
Most guilds looked down on the assassin class as being “deadweight”.
In typical dungeon parties, tanks minimized the risk to other players, while warriors, archers, and mages dealt damage.
Assassins often lacked the raw strength to generate damage output compared to the other classes.
As a result, they were typically mistreated and ignored.
With few options left, most assassins became hired hitmen, thieves, or PKers…adding further to the mistrust and negative perception most guilds had.
The Scavengers guild, however, had a unique and pressing need for skilled assassins.
Under the command of Percy, they were commissioned by Camarax to secure the border from incursions.
Furthermore, Percy along with his elite team of “shadows” (they preferred the title of “shadow” over “assassin”) spent significant time in Castle Camarax as personal guards to Princess Elencia.
The Crown’s appreciation for the shadow guards quickly grew as they successfully managed to stop four assassination attempts during the last six months.
[…]
“Are you sure about this?” Arthos asked somewhat surprised after hearing Percy’s bold plan.
“You will be leaving the King and Princess exposed…like bait.
Are you sure you want to take that risk?
I know what she means to you.” Kristan added in a serious tone.
Over the last few months, Kristan had grown into a leadership role.
It was uncomfortable at first, but the more she worked with the new guild members, the more she appreciated the importance of her role.
Most new members were struggling outcasts, unable to join a decent guild because of their low social standing.
Some were orphans, others were working class individuals wanting to get ahead in life through honest hard work, others were dreamers, and a few were simply tired of guild politics.
“No harm will come to the King or Princess.
I stake my life on that.” Percy said firmly as if swearing an oath.
“You are that confident on the intel?
The royal ceremony will take place in five days…why risk the King and Princess like this?” Wain asked.
“I’m certain our intel is correct.
We have been investigating the assassination attempts for months now.
The mastermind has been extremely careful to cover his tracks.
I’m certain an assassination attempt will be made during the ceremony.
Given the number of guests and people, it will be very hard to stop.
This new plan will ensure we catch the mastermind during the act.” Percy said with confidence.
“Ok then.
I will speak to the king and request the treaty signing ceremony be moved forward.
I will tell him to notify his top advisors and counselors that we will be having a private signing ceremony in three days, followed by a public ceremony purely for spectacle.” Arthos said in agreement with Percy’s plan.
Wain sighed and said, “I hope this works.”