by Paul Bellow
“I’ve known her in the past,” he said. “Let’s leave it at that, okay?”
“Sure thing,” I said then leaned against the back of the booth.
As we waited for our drinks, I scanned the room. Nothing looked out of place for a deep dive next to the docks of a typical fantasy city.
“Reggie,” Benji shouted as he raised a hand. “Get over here, old dog.”
A man with ratty dreadlocks danced over, a smile on his face.
“You’re the dog,” he said then nodded to me. “Who’s this guy?”
“He’s looking for his friend,” Benji said. “A half-orc. You hear anything lately? There’s a reward involved.”
“Yeah,” Reggie said. “As a matter of fact, I did, but I won’t be telling you what I know.”
“Why not?” I asked. “We need to find my friend.”
“Benji here owes me money,” Reggie said.
I reached under the table and slipped a hand into my coin pouch.
“How much?” I asked.
“Two gold,” Reggie said.
“I don’t owe you that much.” Benji stood. “I owe you five silver. You’re a liar if you don’t agree with me.”
“You forgot to add the interest,” Reggie said.
He puffed out his chest as he stared at Benji.
“Settle down,” I said, tossing a couple gold coins on the table. “Here’s your gold. Both of you sit down before you attract any more attention.”
Benji sat and scooted over, leaving room for Reggie.
“Hanging out with rich people now, huh?” Reggie asked.
“Tell us what you know,” Benji said.
Reggie nodded his head.
“You want to hear about the half-orc, huh? That’s a bad guy.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He killed a bunch of knights the other day,” Reggie said. “Word’s just getting back to us now, but it was a bloodbath.”
“My friend wouldn’t do something like that,” I said.
Reggie shrugged then stood.
“That’s all I know,” he said. “A bad ass half-orc killed a bunch of men east of Shockly Forest. There’s a bounty on his head, so I doubt he’s still alive at this point.”
“What were humans doing in orc lands?” Benji asked.
“I don’t know,” Reggie said casually. “Life’s a party, you know.”
Benji turned his attention to me as Reggie wandered away.
“What do you think?” I asked. “Can we go find him?”
“It’s dangerous,” Benji said. “And I’m not sure I trust Reggie.”
“How do you know him?” I leaned forward and put my elbows on the dirty table. “This is probably one heck of a story.”
“It’s not a good one,” Benji said.
The waitress returned with our drinks. She set a glass pitcher of dark red ale on the table, followed by two smudged glasses.
“No tabs tonight, Benji,” she said, holding out a dainty hand.
“Can you break a gold?” I asked. “How much are the drink?”
“A gold with my tip and what Benji already owes me,” she said. “I’ll keep the drinks coming.”
“Pay her,” Benji said. “Relax. You’ve had a rough day.”
I pulled another gold coin out and tossed it in the air. She snatched it like a frog eating a fly to survive.
Benji poured us each a drink as she walked away.
“To paying off debts,” he said, raising his glass. “You can take all that gold out of my first payment as your hireling.”
“I plan on it,” I said, smiling and grabbing the dirty glass.
Two drinks in of the stout ale, I didn’t care about the cleanliness of the place. The alcohol hit me hard, temporarily lifting my spirits.
By our third pitcher, Benji and I were acting like we’d been friends for years. A beefy bouncer threw us out of the establishment. Laughing, I stumbled along the boardwalk next to Benji.
“You’re the best,” I said. “Thanks for this.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Just don’t hate me in the morning.”
“May the morning never come,” I shouted. “Hold on. That doesn’t make sense.”
Benji laughed as we continued walking through the dark city streets toward the inn.
What adventures would the new day bring?
8
Take as Many Maps as You Want
SARAH
When I opened my eyes the next morning, faint images of dreams slipped away to the hidden recesses of my mind. Before getting up to check on the others, I checked the help files for more information on leveling my mage character.
> Help trainers leveling
* * *
As a first level mage, advancing to second or third level is relatively easy.
You will need to go to a nearby library and read a book. The more levels you increase, the more difficult it will become to find an adequate trainer or source of information to get to the next level.
Leveling with a trainer is the fastest and most complete way to increase your levels in the game. Be sure to find the correct person to mentor you in your chosen field of study.
Trainers need to be within five levels (up or down) of your current level to train you. Trainers of a lower level will take considerably more time to train you than those of a higher level who teach you.
When trainers aren’t available at higher levels (above level three), you can acquire books to increase your level when you have enough experience points. This method of training takes more time than working with a trainer, but sometimes it might be all that’s available.
In Fishguard, the only library is a rundown shack outside the city walls. Ruffians, bandits, and worse roam the local wilderness. The nearest library of quality is to the West in Mednia. You will find a book to advance to the next level at either place.
Could be worse. Reading a book to increase my skills isn’t bad, but it sounds like finding an actual trainer is the way to go.
I continued searching the help files of the game.
> Help skill points
* * *
On level one-one of the Tower of Gates, you learn skills by using them. Occasionally, as you’re using a skill, the skill will improve. Very rarely, when trying something new, you may gain a new skill.
Ooh. I like it. My character can be whatever I choose to be.
Maybe being stuck wasn’t such a bad thing?
I recoiled at the thought and sat up in bed.
> Help Quitting
* * *
You do not have sufficient privileges to exit the Tower of Gates. Keep adventuring and working on yourself as a person.
That’s new. I took a deep breath. None of this makes any sense.
Eric rustled in the bed next to mine.
“Time to get up,” I said, throwing my covers back.
“Ugh,” he moaned. “Five more minutes…”
I sat on the edge of the bed.
“Are you up, Benji?” I asked.
“This is why I’m not married anymore,” he mumbled.
I smiled, walked over to the window and opened the thick cotton curtains as the bright sunshine filled the room.
Eric moaned. I turned and saw him rolling out of bed; his hair sticking up in every direction. He yawned and stretched.
“Good morning, sleepy head,” I said. “What time did you two come in last night?”
“I don’t know,” Eric said. “It was late. Have you been up long?”
“No,” I said. “Did you find out any information last night, or did you just drink?”
I smiled, almost regretful I hadn’t gone with them.
“We heard about a half-orc,” Benji said.
He sat up on the edge of his bed and frowned.
“You did?” I rushed over. “What did you hear?”
“It’s just a rumor,” Eric said. “From a known liar.”
Benji nodded with his lips pursed
together.
“We’ll hear more if the rumor is true,” he said. “It’s too dangerous to look for him in the orc badlands.”
“He’s right,” Eric said. “We’ll find him.”
“I’m going downstairs to take care of my morning constitutional,” Benji said then slid his feet toward the door.
“Too much information,” I groaned.
Eric chuckled as Benji left the room.
“I bet he’s mad we haven’t let him in our party,” I said.
“Do you think we should let him join?” Eric asked. “The game screen told us to be careful about who we let into your group, and we just met him.”
“I know, but he seems like a decent guy,” I said.
Eric raised an eyebrow.
“Maybe that’s what he wants us to think,” he said.
I rolled my eyes.
“You’re way too paranoid sometimes,” I said.
I wanted to talk OOC, but the penalty wasn’t worth it.
Benji burst back into the room, his face wet.
“They charge for baths in the basement, but there’s a bowl of water in the hall that’s mostly fresh,” he said.
“I’ll pass,” I said. “We should get breakfast.”
“Great idea,” Benji said. “I could eat a horse.”
Eric and I both turned to look at him.
“It’s a figure of speech,” he said. “But I’ve eaten horse twice. Good meat. Doesn’t taste at all like chicken.”
I shook my head. Another great NPC.
“Let’s go,” I said as I walked toward the door.
Benji and Eric followed me out. In the dining room downstairs, we sat at a table in the front corner. An old man sitting at the bar by himself was the only other patron.
A woman with long, red hair braided together walked over.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Bring us the special of the day,” I said. “Whatever’s included with the room we got for a week.”
She snorted then turned and left.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
Eric shrugged and said, “I don’t know, but we need to equip ourselves today. We need some potions at least.”
“There’s somewhere I need to go too,” I said. “To find a book for training. Do you know of a book seller outside of town, Benji?”
“Maybe,” he said.
The waitress returned with day-old bread and a pitcher of water.
“Enjoy,” she said as she tossed the bread on the table.
“Maybe we should buy some extra breakfast,” Benji said. “It’s gonna be a long day visiting all the shops and finding this book of yours.”
“We can eat more after shopping,” I said. “Maybe we’ll get something nice for lunch or dinner.”
“You guys want anything else?” the waitress asked.
“No, thanks,” I said, not looking up at her.
She wandered away. Benji broke off a piece of the bread.
“It’s better than nothing,” he said. “There’s been times I’ve had nothing. Even horse meat is better than nothing.”
As I ate the hard, crusty bread and washed it down with almost clear water, I thought about getting out of the game again. Strangely, my mind fought against the idea. I wanted to get back to the real world, but the desire lessened as time passed.
“We should pool our gold,” Eric said. “To see what we can purchase.”
“Best to do that back in the room,” I said. “We don’t want to be counting our gold out here in the open.”
“Good idea.” Eric stood. “We can bring the bread and water with us.”
“Do you smell that?” Benji asked.
He pushed back his chair and sniffed the air.
“Bacon,” he said. “Pig meat is the best meat.”
I stood and waved to waitress.
“Send some bacon to our room,” I said.
“That doesn’t come with your room,” she said.
I sighed and walked over, pulling out another gold coin.
“Here,” I said, setting it on top of the bar. “Bring us all the bacon.”
“You got it,” the waitress said, swiping up the coin. “Bacon coming right up.”
“I don’t get change?” I asked.
“No.” The waitress shook her head. “Bacon’s still in short supply after the Great Wars.”
I turned to Benji, and he grinned sheepishly.
“But it’s so good,” he said. “She’s getting it now. I can smell it.”
I shook my head as he sniffed the air like a puppy under the table. The waitress returned with a plate stacked high with crispy, delicious bacon.
Eric grabbed a thick piece off the top.
“Wait until we get to our room,” I said, taking the plate.
The other two followed close behind as I went back upstairs.
In our room, we tore into the bacon like we hadn’t eaten in days.
“So good,” Benji said while still chewing. “Hits the spot.”
Eric dumped his gold coins onto one of the beds.
“Add yours,” he said. “And I’ll count them up.”
I added my coins to his on the bed.
“Someone needs to count it,” I said, feeling lazy.
“It’s two hundred and sixty five imperial gold coins,” Benji blurted out.
Eric glanced at me before both of us turned to our hireling.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Oh,” he said with a chuckle. “I have experience with gold coins.”
“As a priest?” Eric asked.
“It makes sense,” I said. “Collection plates and everything.”
“That’s it,” Benji said. “At the Order of Fish temple here in the city, it takes a lot of gold to help people. We get a lot of donations, and I’ve always been good at counting it up quick.”
“More like the odor of fish,” Eric said.
I couldn’t resist giggling. Benji played it off—not getting upset.
We returned our gazes to the pile of gold coins on the bed.
“I wish we had more for potions,” I said, staring at our stash. “Do you really need that armor? Maybe we can sell it.”
“This is family armor,” Eric said. “It’s special, and I’m not selling it.”
“If we have enough to buy the book I need, I don’t care,” I said.
“The only people I know selling magic books are outside of the city,” Bernard said. “We should equip ourselves better before we go looking for it.”
“I agree,” Eric said.
“But we can’t spend all our money,” I added. “That book’s important.”
“We should finish eating first,” Benji said. “That’s something I know a bit about.”
He patted his pot belly while smiling and eating bacon with the other hand. I smiled, wondering if we should let him join our group.
Better to be safe than sorry, I thought, as I took another bite of bacon. The gold coins had no value in the real world, so trading them for good food made sense—as much as could be expected in such a strange game.
We ate the rest of the mountain of meat in silence.
Did Benji have his own thoughts?
He was the most real NPC I’d ever encountered in a game, and I’d played more than a few.
* * * * *
After breakfast, we walked downstairs and out of the inn. Fishguard welcomed us in all her miserable glory. The stench of fish hung in the air, ripe and thick as smog. I stopped on the side of the street.
Mostly humans walked back and forth, but I saw a few elves and a bald gnome dressed in golden plate mail that glimmered in the morning sun. This game keeps getting stranger.
When will it stop?
“Right this way,” Benji said. “We’ll stop of Mystra’s Magical Motion Potions first. She has great deals.”
Eric laughed.
“What was that name again?” he asked.
“Mystra’s M
agical Motion Potions,” Benji said.
“Try saying that three times fast,” I said.
Benji walked away from the inn while Eric and I followed close behind.
I marveled again at the vivid smells. They would win the game awards when it was released.
Was the reality of the simulation sucking me in?
Benji peered over his shoulder a few times as we walked. Had he been programmed specifically as an NPC or were his actions random?
Three blocks from the inn, Benji stopped in front of a dilapidated shack barely standing. It looked like it might collapse at any moment.
“How safe is this place?” I asked.
Benji turned and smiled charismatically.
“We’ll get more for our gold here,” he said. “The run down look is to keep the thieves away. I knew a guy…I mean, I helped a man with his sins once.”
I nodded, fascinated by the bits of information leaking out of the NPC.
We definitely needed to keep him around.
Eric walked up to the door and opened it. The fragrant odor of incense wafted out, mixing with the stench of fish. Benji walked in as Eric held the door open.
I followed, my eyes instantly adjusting to the dark interior.
The three of us barely fit into the shop. We stood in front of a long, glass display case filled with various potions. Even more concoctions filled the shelves that covered the walls.
I could sense magic all around me in the shop.
A woman with wild, frizzy hair sat on a stool behind the counter. She stared down at us, locking her eyes onto Benji.
I breathed a sigh of relief as a smile spread over her face.
“Benji, it’s good to see you,” she said.
“Good to see you, too,” Benji said. “My friends are on a budget, but they want protection for traveling outside the city walls. The basics.”
“That’s what I do best,” the woman said.
She cackled with laughter; her gray and white hair bouncing.
“Pick out what you want,” she said. “I’ll give you the usual discount.”
“You two know each other?” I asked.
Benji nodded. “Yeah. I get a kickback for bringing new customers, but it’s not much. The prices are still the best in town.”