Desperate, Kaelen did what any honorable vassal would do—he waited for a Steam sale. A week later, for the price of a cheap flagon of ale, he officially joined the ranks of the Swadian knights. As he charged his first group of forest bandits, he realized that while the "free" path led to a digital plague, the honest path led to a kingdom of his own.
The year was 2010, and the digital taverns of the internet were buzzing. Kaelen, a gamer with a thirst for conquest but a light coin purse, spent his evening scouring forums for those four dangerous words: Mount & Blade: Warband Free Download
He finally found a link on a site that looked like it was held together by spit and prayer. The download bar crawled across the screen like a wounded looter. When it finished, he didn't get the rolling hills of Calradia; instead, his desktop icons began to dance, and a pop-up informed him he was the 1,000,000th visitor to a site for "Enchanted Enhancement Potions." Desperate, Kaelen did what any honorable vassal would