by A Uscila
Their host - the orc leader scratched his cheek to that, eyes lowered towards the ground for a few seconds - “Well…first of all you’d have at least a hundred of armed bandits to do your bidding. People who would die for the honor of serving you” - His eyes now rose and met Wail’s, persuasive prowess stretched to its’ maximum. He really wanted Wail to be the new leader for some reason - “You’ll have a place you can call home. Heck, if you don’t want to stay in one place - everyone here would gladly follow you wherever” - The orc said, while extending his arms to the sides, shrugging his shoulders with a metallic screech as the shoulder-plates rubbed against each other - “Though I’d say this spot is way too good to abandon. We have a number of barely guarded villages at the very outskirts of the forest. Onnion highway runs right nearby, which is full of traffic and easy targets. Heck, we even have a mine under our command, with quite the yield. Not only that, but considering your renown, women and men would flock to you from all over the…” - a heated tale to be sure, as the orc even raised his high-pitched voice to new heights, while trying to persuade Wail.
“Wait. What mine?” - And it seems he succeeded, as Wail leaned towards the orc with deep interest, a greedy sparkle in his eye.
“Well, we took over this mine up-west, near the mountain range. For now all we’re digging up is iron ore” - With a slightly surprised look, the leader replied. Seems like he did not expect the notorious mage to get hooked on that exact point of his speech.
Neither did Willow. “Oh come on, who cares!” - She objected almost angrily - “Are you seriously getting hooked on something like that? Let’s just move on. I don’t want to get stuck in a fort filled with a hundred female-hungry bandits” - She continued on.
“On the contrary, quite a few are married and we do a little pillaging and raping on the side, so you will be quite fine...” - The orc replied to that, though he was interrupted again by none other than Wail.
“Shush both of you! The mine. What’s the yield? What’s done with the iron ore?” - He pushed on, digging deeper and deeper into the issue.
Yet again, the orc stared back at the mage in surprise - “Well…last month we managed to dig up six tons and we sell it to a nice traveling merchant who visits us often. It’s rare for people to trade with us after all” - He replied, a smile covering his sharp features - twisting his face into a horrific display of orcish beauty.
Wail rubbed his chin while being deep in thought, seems like the issue interested him quite a bit.
“Hey! Are you seriously considering staying?” - Willow then asked directly, with clear dissatisfaction in her tone.
“Are you?!” - Bob then suddenly intervened, his joy barely contained within the confines of his voice. A childish sparkle clearly visible in the eyes.
Yet it seems Wail chose to ignore his minion’s childish display of barely containable joy and looked Willow straight into the eye - “Look. We have stuff we need to sell, and traveling from one place to the other isn’t always the best option. We can turn this place into a proper stronghold, train this rabble and really get into the negative reputation spirit. Truth be told - burning that previous settlement down really gave me the chills” - He explained, a certain edge in his voice - as he seriously considered their options - “And I mean the pleasant kind”
“It was a freakin’ accident!” - The ranged replied to that, throwing her hands up into the air in desperation. She really didn’t want to stay it seems. Maybe she was bad with groups?
“Fine. I’ll lead your sorry excuse of a gathering” - Was Wail’s reply though, as he suddenly turned to the orc.
Congratulations! You have become Bandit lord!
+10 Leadership
+50 Fame
-100 Reputation
New title received: Bandit lord
Bandit lord
*+20% performance and experience gain for all bandits under your rule.
*+10% loyalty from all bandit underlings
*Will be wanted by the law and will have a bounty of varying size placed upon your head. Preferably without the body.
*Bounty hunters will miraculously hunt you, seemingly appearing out of nowhere and striking when least expected.
With a sound that resembled a squeal, the former leader jumped into the air in excitement - “Great! I promise, you won’t regret it!” - He then said, after grabbing Wail’s hand and shaking it with excess force. Bob expressed his emotions in a similar fashion as he started jogging in one place with a silly look on the face. Willow, on the other hand, sighed heavily and hid behind her hand- leaning on it in an exhausted fashion.
“Ok, I need a break” - She then suddenly proclaimed and vanished without any explanation. As willful as ever.
Dumbfounded Wail stared off at the blank spot where once his companion stood. Sooner, rather than later he made a decision. He sighed heavily and turned to Bob “Stay here, get to know those around. You’ll be second in command so take care of stuff while I’m away. Got it?” - With an overly-serious expression he directed, visibly putting more trust into his subordinate than he should.
“Yeah, no problem. Leave it to me” - Bob replied with a wide smile. Oh he was up to something indeed. Like a child left home alone. Wail could only wonder what kind of mischief he’d cause during his absence.
Oh well. One last glance at the system messages, a shrug, a wave at the speechless orc and Wail was gone as well.
*******
Rays of light seeped into the room though the curtains slits - providing an unpleasant environment for a night-dweller like Luke. He passed the room while narrowing his vision every now and again - the light constantly attacking his sight.
With visible laziness, Luke stretched his body as to wake up sleeping muscles - what meager amount of them he had. Without any visible haste - he rummaged through a nearby-drawer and picked out some proper attire, considering he was still walking around in his small-clothes. Once readied up, without even brushing his hair - which might have been a lost cause either way, Luke left his apartment.
Surprisingly - he did not go far. One door apart from his own - he stopped and knocked. Once. Twice. No answer. Luke looked around - seemingly, expecting such an outcome from the get go and was about to turn and leave. Yet - before he could do so - the doors suddenly opened up, almost knocking him of his feet. Luckily enough - the surprise made him step backwards and avoid the unexpected development. On the other side? Seems like the female neighbor was the owner of that domain. Poorly dressed - with barely any clothes to cover her body she stood there - one eyebrow visibly raised. Lips twisted into a crooked smile.
Willow’s messy, yet still lovely hair rested on her shoulders. She wore a short-sleeved t-short one size too large - that reached down to her thighs. No jeans, no nothing. Luke seemed to be distressed over such an appearance of hers.
“You could have put on something slightly more…concealing before coming out” - He complained, glaring at her attire with a frown. Eyes visibly unsettled on where to look.
“Stop sounding like a virgin” – Willow shot back, only to continue with a tug at the corner of her lips – “Or are you perhaps, exactly that?” – She leaned on the doorframe as the words left her mouth.
What followed was an obvious over-reaction as Luke started to applaud loudly - slamming his hands together in a slow, exaggerated manner. His head leaning back, eyes rolled to the side as if to mock.
“Wow. What an observation miss obvious. How much brain-power did you need to sacrifice to make that deduction I wonder?” - Luke replied bitterly, with over-done hand movements and a glare that never seemed to end - “I wonder. Did my looks take a part in your grandiose assessment? Might it have been the balding head? The almost pre-death bodily structure? Maybe my dental situation? Or maybe the overly defensive attitude? Morbid like thought-process?” - He continued on, completely dumbfounding Willow as her smile quickly faded - jaw barely open - “Of course I’m a virgin! And I’m quite sick of hearing how lame
that is” - At the very end of his sudden outburst, he visibly calmed down - finishing it in his usual calm and gathered manner.
Be it as it may - a silence followed after that, since Willow did need to gather her thoughts after something of that caliber. Seems she struck a chord, to put it mildly.
“Well then, would you like me to help you with your…predicament?” - Willow than asked in a peculiar tone, smiling ever so slightly, giving Luke a weird and uncomfortable look.
A tempting proposition, to be sure. Yet this was Luke we’re talking about. A man too lost down the road of solitude, sadness and self-pity. A lost cause to be sure.
“What? You expected I’d agree? Who the fuck do you think I am? I might be a poor excuse for a person, but I do have a certain degree of pride. I don’t need your pity and I don’t need your help. We’re done here” - Luke seemed angry as he practically spat out all of that in one breath. Glaring, placing too much strength in each of his steps - he quickly turned and left for his own domain. It’s amazing how he didn’t even consider that the suggestion might have been a joke.
Quickly, Luke took out his keys and started unlocking the doorway to solitude. Who locks the door when you’re a few steps away from it?
“How can you look at me and refuse this!?” - Willow shouted in reply outrage in her voice, a delicate hand sliding over her figure as if to indicate what Luke was missing out on. Emphasizing her own deduction on the caliber of her beauty. Truth be told, her narcissism was not misplaced. Still - Luke ignored her comments and after finally defeating the locks - hid inside his apartment.
With a frustrated click of the tongue, the temptress slammed shut her own door. Quite the finale to be sure.
Luke? Once inside his own home and blood giving way to logic inside his head - he lightly slammed his forehead against the wall.
“God damn it, I forgot to ask her when she’s logging back in…”
Chapter 25
Bright red light illuminated the hut for a brief moment, its' beams revealing every detail, every cobweb in every corner. As the deep black was pushed back - a certain ear-numbing noise tore throughout the vicinity, taking part in the fun spirit of change that visited this humble abode.
“Devil fucking damn it!” - It screeched, joyously announcing its’ presence to the lonely wooden hut - “Would you freakin’ stop summoning me? I was in the middle of a poker game, and I had a full house!” - With an annoyed voice it continued to complain. Oh the joy. Wail - who sat across the room, leaning on his hand while slumping in the chair - sure seemed to be excited. A tired frown, barely any reaction towards the little creature in front - as it appeared from the shimmering disk of bright red flame. Oh yes, seems like Wail had the gall to summon his new little minion once more - that scrawny little bobble-head. A little trim was in desperate need for that irritable apparition.
“I’ll summon you as many times as it takes” - Wail replied, almost articulating the words - so exhausted he seemed to be. Might be that this little show went on for a while now. A number of empty bottles of exotic shapes lying on the table near the mage. Understandable - one does need to stay hydrated at all times.
“As it takes to do what?” - The creature snarled back, narrowing its’ fiery glare while observing Wail. Practically wishing the mage to burn by the looks of it. Not the most pleasant exchange - “You think I’ll serve you? You think that just by annoying me you’ll get yourself a new little pet!?” - It went on with increasing heat in its voice - as fiery sparks left the ends of the plentiful mane.
"You think I'm annoying you to receive obedience?" - Wail asked in a mocking tone, an eyebrow risen high enough to be spotted by someone half-blind - "Oh no. All of that was for pleasure. For the sheer fun of it. I do have plenty of stress to vent after all. That and you do need to be taught a little lesson" - He continued on, waving his free hand dismissively - as if he was waving away boredom by talking about the weather - "I'm not planning on wasting a single second on your recruitment. You see...you never had a choice to begin with" - Wail said, as he stared off behind the little creature - as the light that illuminated the hut slowly shrunk away. Until the inside returned to its' previous gloomy atmosphere - the only light coming through the gateway to the outside. A muddy, cracked window.
Wail’s conversation buddy quickly turned behind only to notice the only escape from this hellhole of a world disappear. One could imagine the horror that took place within its' over-sized head.
"God damn it! If you could do that, why didn't you do so from the get go!?" - It cried out in frustration, incapable of coming to terms with the current situation.
"Didn't I answer that question already?" - Wail asked, his lifted eyebrow returning for a much awaited encore, as he stood up from his modest throne - "Allow me to clarify. I will make you bleed. For every second lost to your noncompliant attitude. For every second that I could have spent gaining experience or making money. You won't even have a peaceful hour in your own world - as I'll keep on summoning you as long as I have mana. And when you'll get used to the idea of staying here? I'll have Bob beat some sense into you and then I'll send you back. Only to summon you back an hour later" - Wail finished, with an exceedingly grim tone, his voice tempo bringing winter into the cabin with each gasping sound. He walked closer to the trembling creature during his moment of glory - staring at its’ ragged body with a piercing glare. A glare filled with contempt, overblown arrogance and simmering anger.
Finally - Wail found someone he managed to intimidate after the first impression faded. Quite the glorious moment in his history inside Alternative Reality. Or so he thought. Obviously - the game had no intention of allowing him to have his way.
As Wail finished up his monologue - the little creature continued to tremble – its’ skin tone visibly turning towards a brighter red. Great pits of swirling fury peering through all the fur that covered its' head. A few seconds passed and with an ear-numbing howl the creature jumped at Wail - attaching itself to his leg in a truly doggy manner. Though instead of humping it - it started biting.
You have received 145 physical damage
You have received 152 physical damage
You have received 127 physical damage
Caught off guard Wail could only stare down at the little show that went on below. With a look of a landlord - who found a teenage orgy taking place in his front yard while taking out the trash.
Soon enough though - he starting beating the little annoyance in a fit of fury, pummeling it with his bare hands.
You have dealt 10 physical damage
You have received 136 physical damage
You have dealt 7 physical damage
You have received 111 physical damage
Which wasn't going too well. Wail started running around the hut - yelling out a myriad of colorful phrases and threats. All of which did not seem to have any effect. Eventually - though not soon enough - minion number one busted into the hut. Without a second of delay – the reanimated charged at the little creature, swirling that broken-down blade in a flurry. What the minion didn‘t consider though - was that by attacking the creature, it’d be attacking Wail as well. Since it was attached to the mage’s leg after all.
Thus what followed might come as expected.
You have received 123 physical damage
You have received 465 physical damage
...
Wail roared in pain as minion number one sliced through his right leg - with no attacker in sight. A wide sneer glued to the face - the little prick stood a few meters away. It looked upon the groaning Wail with visible pleasure - clearly satisfied over the successful payback.
Yet it did not calculate how determined minion number one was. Ignoring its’ master’s cries and swears - it continued the advance. As minion number one’s uncharacteristic speed caught the little creature off guard - a short exchange of blows, groans, whimpers and blood splatters unfolded. Which ended up in a much awaited victory for team Wail.
“T
hat little prick…” - Wail could only mumble, after sitting back in his previous position - blood still spilling from the leg. Did not seem like the mage minded it too much - as he sat there lost in thought. Wail placed his elbow on the nearby table - leaning on it in an awkward motion. Using the palm to cover his face. Talk about efficient usage. Three functions with one arm.
Things seemed to finally calm down, and Wail began to gather his thoughts while staring at the confused minion - who seemed lost as to what comes next. Walking around in circles with a confused stare – its’ function already being fulfilled. Though things never do seem to actually settle down with Wail.
You have received a new quest!
An unexpected commotion in bandit heaven
Description: A sudden commotion within the bandit camp is causing your underlings to act in an unruly fashion. If remained unchecked, it has a high chance of spreading. Possible loss in authority imminent.
Difficulty: E
Reward: Increase in loyalty fear/respect of all under your command.
Penalty due to failure: Loss of loyalty and fear/respect of all under your command.