Light Online Book Three: Leader

by Tom Larcombe

  “When can we do it?” she asked.

  “How about late tomorrow morning? I've abbreviated my workload just so I can do things like adventure and this sounds like an awesome tryout for the first day of my new schedule. Shall we meet up at the temple at around ten tomorrow morning?”

  Becky nodded, beaming.

  “I'll go let everyone else know and make sure they can be here too,” she said, turning and dashing towards the road.

  Tiana grinned at Eddie, shaking her head.

  “I think someone has a crush on you,” she said. “What is it with you in this world? I thought you said you weren't so great with women in the real world.”

  “No way, Becky doesn't think of me that way. She just feels guilty about what she did with Lucky. As for the other, I never said that. I just said that I didn't have a girlfriend when I came into the game. I'd had girlfriends before that, you know? It's just that they all seemed to disappear whenever my finances dipped, which I'll admit was often. So to answer your first question, it must be because I'm wealthy in this world, or at least as much as anyone else in this area is.”

  “Oh, so now I'm a gold-digger?” Tiana asked, smiling.

  Eddie grinned at her.

  “Oh no, you were with me when I was only barely successful here. So you couldn't possibly be a gold-digger. Maybe you were simply smitten by my dashing good looks?”

  He broadened his grin to the point where it was a caricature of his normal smile and thrust his chest out.

  Tiana burst out in laughter as she headed for the road herself. A quick whistle brought Lucky to Eddie's side, although she twisted her head to glance back towards the pond for a moment before joining Eddie as he followed Tiana towards the road.

  ~ ~ ~

  When Karl came into the inn that evening Eddie immediately started laughing.

  “Going scribe now?” Eddie asked, gesturing towards Karl's fingers.

  Karl glanced down at his hands. The fingers were all stained with ink, not to mention the smear of it on his cheek.

  “By the way,” Eddie said, rubbing his cheek to mirror where Karl's was ink-stained. “You missed some more there.”

  Karl growled and plopped down into a chair.

  “Fell asleep at my desk, that's how my cheek got stained. Then I tried to fix the map I ruined when I fell asleep on it and stained my fingers too. I've got to drink a little less at night so I get more and better sleep. Either that or cut down on the number of maps I'm trying to make,” Karl replied. “This crap is all dry now too, so it'll take a hell of a lot of effort to get it out.”

  “Or you can just wait until midnight,” Eddie offered.

  “Why do you think I showed up in your inn looking like this. I gave up and decided to wait it out until then.”

  Eddie settled back into his chair and let his control go. Karl glared at him spitefully as Eddie chuckled. Karl's glare, combined with his ink-stained face set Eddie off even harder and before long the chuckle had grown to a full-throated laugh. Allie walked into the inn about then, saw the two of them sitting together with Eddie laughing his ass off. She smirked, then quickly wiped it off her face before coming over and joining them at the table.

  “Told you so,” she said to Karl.

  “Told him what?” Eddie asked.

  “That you wouldn't just let the ink stains slide. I told him you would comment on it and maybe even chuckle, I didn't expect a full out laughing fit though.”

  “I would've stopped with just the chuckle, but when he glared at me it made it look like he had this massive black eye,” Eddie replied.

  Karl glared at him again. This time Eddie managed to keep a straight face, but Allie started snickering.

  “You're right, it does. Everyone's going to think I've been beating him,” she said.

  She thrust the back of her hand to her forehead.

  “Woe is me, I'll have such a reputation after this,” she said.

  Then she couldn't take it any more and went back to snickering. Karl just shook his head.

  “Maybe I should just go hide until tomorrow morning.”

  “Nah, I'll lay off,” Allie said. “Becky was talking to us Eddie, did she talk to you too?”

  “Yeah, she wants to try it late tomorrow morning. Does that work for the two of you?”

  The two of them nodded.

  “Just one thing, do you guys have any rope? I've got some, but not as much as I need. I agreed with her plan, except for the raft part. I'm thinking a really long rope, some bloody meat, and we can draw them in to the shore. How's that sound to you?”

  “Fine, but it'll sound better to Jern. He was with us when she related her plan and I swear he turned green when she talked about fighting from the raft,” Allie said.

  “I was kind of with him on that,” Karl added. “I don't know how to swim real well, not even out of game, so I sure as hell wasn't looking forward to that fight.”

  “Well, if I'm right and the bait idea works, we won't have to fight from the raft at all, or if we do there'll be a minimum of it,” Eddie said.

  “That's good, but yeah tomorrow morning works. Late morning anyhow,” Karl said.

  “Hey, you asked me to remind you to drink less at night,” Eddie said. “So you shouldn't sleep in so much any more if you do. Heck, if you want, I can ask the bar staff to cut you off at a certain time or number of drinks.”

  Karl hastily raised his hands.

  “Wait a second, let's not go overboard here, okay?”

  ~ ~ ~

  In the morning Eddie went down to the crossroads and set a pair of new blueprints. Tiana and Jern were there also and they started working on the initial stonework parts of the new blueprints, along with some of the refugees they were training in masonry. While they did that, Eddie went back and shared the blueprints with his team, then forced himself to just step back and watch.

  Griff took charge quickly when he realized Eddie was following his advice and letting the teams work without him. The five man team split up the duties and before long Griff and one other man were working on placing planks. Two men were hauling planks, one to each of the houses they planned on finishing today, and the final one was starting in on the second house. It took Eddie a moment to realize why they were working that way.

  Oh yeah, there's only one guy on the second house because they need to finish the floor before multiple sections are available and they can have more than one person working on it. The floor of the other house we're doing today is already completed and each wall is a separate section of the blueprint so they can both be working on it, on different sections, without screwing things up, he thought.

  He stayed and watched for a bit and was even more impressed when after a while Griff called out a change-up and the haulers swapped places with the other builders.

  Good, he took to heart the fact that I want more people with a higher skill in carpentry. Although I notice that he didn't swap himself out, but still, maybe he will later, or maybe not. If he's in charge it's more of a 'rank hath its privileges' type of thing, which I suppose is okay if the others don't have a problem with it.

  When Eddie was positive things were going just fine, he went back to the temple. Everyone was there except for Karl and Allie, who hadn't even gotten to the common room of the inn for breakfast by the time he'd left.

  When they finally showed up it was about ten minutes later than the time they'd set.

  “Really Karl? Can't even make it for ten?” Eddie asked.

  “Hey, don't blame me, blame Liv. She had eggs available for breakfast so I wanted to take my time with them. You know, we really need to find some pig equivalents in game and get bacon somehow,” Karl said.

  Eddie groaned.

  “Really? We don't even have the beef yet and now you want to hunt pigs? At least I've got a plan for getting beef on a regular basis, a tentative one at least.”

  “Mmm,” Karl said, “bacon cheeseburgers. If you get those cows we'll have cheese too, right?�
�

  “I think so, I'm not sure though because I don't actually have them yet,” Eddie replied.

  Tiana was shaking her head while Allie was trying hard not to laugh out loud.

  “Bacon cheeseburger?” Jern asked.

  “You tried one of Eddie's burgers, right?”

  The dwarf nodded, a smile on his face.

  “Now picture one with melted cheese on it, and a couple of slices of bacon,” Karl said.

  “The cheese I can imagine. I've heard of bacon, but never had any though,” Jern said.

  Karl's eyes flew open wide.

  “Never tried bacon? Now I've got a mission. Find pigs and create bacon for Jern to try, and for me too I suppose,” he said dramatically.

  “If we're done here?” Becky asked. “Maybe we can go work on this quest we all have?”

  Karl had the grace to look a little embarrassed, but it didn't change his mood in the slightest.

  “I wonder what else we could make here,” he muttered out loud. “Maybe chocolate? I bet that's around somewhere here, no-one would make a world without chocolate, would they?”

  As Allie heard his mutters, her own eyes lit up with an eager look and Eddie realized that he'd be putting in some research time trying to track down things for the rest of his group. His own interest had been sparked by Karl's suggestions and while he might not have gone out of his way just for that, the mention of chocolate had also put a twinkle in Tiana's eyes. That was enough for him to add it to his mental to-do list.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Three

  Terrod and Sombra walked down the dirt track that was considered a road in this area. They'd intercepted it beyond the Meadowlands so they wouldn't run into any of the players from there. It had taken Terrod an entire day to convince Sombra that they needed to leave the Meadowlands and the Forest of Fools, that they needed to go somewhere else where they weren't known, and form another group. Eventually Sombra had caved to Terrod's urging and, as a result, they were walking on foot towards Brightport.

  Sombra was going on and on about how they were going to get to level twenty and then start PVPing in an appropriate zone. About how much they'd make looting the other players.

  Has he always been like that and I just never noticed? Terrod thought. Really, doesn't he know that PVP is a zero sum game unless we're some of the highest level players in the game? Sooner or later either we'll find someone we can't beat or maybe a bunch of lower players will get together and hire a higher level to come find us. Why did I keep listening to him for so long?

  “Or,” Sombra said, stopping his current babbling about PVP, “we could become highwaymen instead.”

  Terrod's head snapped up. That was new, Sombra had never mentioned anything like that before. He followed the thief's gaze and saw the train of five wagons headed south along the road, right towards them.

  “You distract them and I'll take out their leader,” Sombra said, slipping into a small stand of growth at the side of the road.

  The thief disappeared quickly.

  I've got to admit, Sombra really has his skills down, it's just his attitude that's the problem. His attitude and that he thinks he's a master strategist when really he's not very good with strategy, Terrod thought.

  Meanwhile his mind was racing, trying to find a good, non-suspicious reason to get the wagon train stopped.

  As the wagons grew closer he noticed the man walking along the lead wagon first. He was huge and covered in hair. His head swiveled from side to side as he walked, a sure sign that he was keeping an eye out for problems. Terrod stood along the side of the road and the man's gaze lingered on him as the wagons approached.

  “Hey there,” Terrod called out. “I wonder if you could help me?”

  The large man raised his hand and the wagons halted. He leaned against the side of his wagon and considered Terrod for a moment.

  “What can I do for you?” he said after a few moments.

  “I seem to have misjudged how much food I was going to need for my journey,” Terrod said, thinking that the possibility of a sale might intrigue the man and keep him off-guard. “Would you happen to have any extra rations I can purchase from you?”

  “I might at that,” the man said. “What are you looking for more specifically?”

  “Any food that'll keep well for a few days while I finish my trip,” Terrod said.

  He wasn't looking directly at the spot Sombra had disappeared, but he was keeping it in the corner of his vision, ready to react when the thief made his appearance.

  “I can do that for you, give me a moment here.”

  The large man leaned over into the wagon and Terrod saw Sombra appear out of stealth, a pair of daggers in his hands. The thief stepped towards the large man only to be met with a massive club, one that looked to made of an entire tree stump, as the large man whirled faster than Terrod would've thought possible for someone that size.

  Sombra took the hit and Terrod was sure the thief had lost a massive amount of health. Not only that, but the thief was also knocked backwards off his feet. Terrod drew his own sword and pulled his shield around in front of him, barely in time to intercept the club that was now swinging in his direction.

  The rest of the men in the wagon train, alerted to potential trouble by the specific signal that was given for them to stop, launched arrows from the bows they'd had ready, peppering Sombra as he tried to stagger to his feet. Terrod was still staggering back, the blow he'd blocked nearly knocking him over just as it had Sombra. He quickly evaluated the man, wishing he'd thought to do so earlier on.

  Bjorn

  Human Male (NPC)

  Level: 19

  Class: Hauler

  Health: ???

  Mana: ???

  Stamina: ???

  You are currently unable to obtain more information about Bjorn with Evaluate. I do believe you've made a serious mistake here.

  “Oh shit!” Terrod cried out. “Sombra, run! We can't take him.”

  Sombra looked like he would've loved to take Terrod's advice, but his health was dropping rapidly and when he turned to try to dart back into the undergrowth he'd hidden in, Bjorn took advantage of it, swinging his club straight into the thief's back and sending him flying into a not-so-slender sapling. The thief sprang forward off the tree as it bent and straightened again. When he hit the ground, he lay still.

  Terrod started scrambling back along the road, trying to keep his shield interposed between him and Bjorn. It didn't help much though. As he moved his shield, trying to intercept the barrage of arrows that were now focused on him, Bjorn stepped out to his side. With the choice between blocking the arrows and blocking Bjorn's club, Terrod chose to defend against Bjorn.

  Arrows started striking home as Bjorn swung his club again. This time when he hit the shield, Terrod's knees buckled from the impact and he found himself falling backwards. He knew the fight was over as he fell to his back. Bjorn's club raised and came slamming down again and again, Terrod unable to regain his feet due to the repeated blows. Before blackness took him, he heard Bjorn mutter.

  “Damned stupid travelers. Some of them seem to think that just because they have a skill they're unstoppable. What kind of hauler would I be if I didn't have a way to spot ambushes?”

  ~ ~ ~

  As the group approached the lake Eddie stopped and stared for a moment. In what had previously been an open field, there was now a tree with a lot of other growth around it. It was obvious to him that someone, most likely Becky, had been working on it with Accelerated Plant Growth. There was no way it had grown that much since he'd last been here without help, not even with the speed things grew in the game.

  The tree had a spreading crown and there were vines dangling down from the branches. In places the vines had been woven together to form solid surfaces. He glanced over at Becky and she had a satisfied grin on her face when she caught him looking at her.

  “Yup, I took a lesson from you and Tiana. I might not be able to use you
r Conjunction, but I found a tree that supports some supple vines. I've been weaving them together by hand, then using plant growth on them so they grow thicker and fill any gaps. It's not done yet, but that's going to be my own house.”

  “What kind of tree is that?” Eddie asked, having not seen one like it yet in game.

  “I don't know, but it grows naturally in Rat Woods.”

  “Rat Woods?”

  “I don't know the real name for the forest north of the lake, but since it's Rat Lake, and the rats live in those woods, that's just what I call it,” she said. “There are lots of different types of trees in there.”

  Eddie's eyes lit up since he still hadn't found a decent wood to make arrow shafts from. The few shafts he'd brought back from when he'd found Lucky would do, but they'd make better bows when he got around to it. Now he was even more eager to finish this quest since completing it would take him through the edge of Rat Woods and he could see what trees were there and if any would work for his purposes.

  “Shall we?” Becky said, a hint of pride in her voice.

  She walked down to the shore of the lake and stared out at the water. Eddie pulled out the length of rope he'd spliced together from several long lengths. He also pulled out the corpse of a bunny Lucky had brought him earlier today. He'd already looted it, but now he butchered it, the bloody meat getting tied to the end of the rope.

  “Jern, how far a throw do you think you can get with this?” Eddie asked, holding up the bloody meat tied to the rope.

  “Don't know, might be better with the big lass throwing it. She's taller so she can get a decent length spin on it before release. I wouldn't get as far with my shorter length spin.”

  Jern sounded vaguely bitter admitting that his lack of height might make someone else better at a task. Eddie turned to Allie, who grinned at him and nodded her head towards Jern. The dwarf had unlimbered his hammer and took his shield in hand. He was standing at the edge of the water staring out over the lake.