by K D Brand
“Daddy loves you,” he whispered to the nearest of the sweet breads.
A few seconds later, he was through the door and inside the shop and what amounted to autopilot. The shop wasn’t crowded, but there were enough customers perusing the shelves that the proprietor, Sully himself, barely glanced up and offered a wave as Ty came into the store, before going back to hustling about, serving another patron.
Ty sighed. While he thought of himself as a good person, he knew dang well what he’d come into the store for.
Maybe I am a thief like Amon said, he grunted in his head, disgusted with himself.
He’d have never contemplated this in real life, would have never even imagined it but, then again, Ty had never been starving in his life. His mom had always taken care of him, no matter what. She worked her butt off to make sure Ty and J had food on the table, and they’d never gone hungry, not once.
But she isn’t here now, is she?
You are hungry!!
Another gnawing gurgle clawed at his guts, and Ty bit back a snarl at its fierceness. He hated that feeling.
Just this once, he convinced himself. It’s only a game, right?
He furtively glanced around, making sure no one was watching him, and his trembling hand crept toward the nearest of the sweets in the window display. Ty’s heart thrummed so loud he was afraid everyone in the shop would hear it, but no one seemed to care. He swallowed hard as his fingers wrapped around the soft bread, and he tugged it toward him, holding his breath.
He’d just about cleared the frame of the window when the pile of treats he’d plucked his would-be prize from toppled over, a dozen fat muffins thumping to the floor in a pastry rain.
You don’t have any proficiency in shoplifting, but due to an unexpected display of beginner’s luck, you managed to bungle your way into something remotely resembling success. You have stolen a muffin, but maybe you should reconsider pursuing a career in thievery.
The collective breath of the customer’s sucked in at once, and Ty glanced over his shoulder to see everyone staring at him. Well, all but Sully, who’s look was probably more defined as a glare. He rose up, eyes gleaming like fires on a distant hilltop.
-2 RP!
Your reputation has taken a hit for your failed attempt at stealing from Sully! Shame on you! Shame!
“Guards!” the baker screamed. He started around the counter with a rolling pin held menacingly in his hand.
That was Ty’s cue to run.
He bolted for the door and skittered out across the porch, his feet slapping the dirt road a moment after that. Several long strides later, he’d started to think he’d gotten away when he heard the gruff shout behind him.
“Stop! Thief!”
A guard kicked up dust behind him, sword drawn and screaming. A knot in his throat, Ty ducked low and sprinted, terror setting his feet alight.
He ducked down a side street, then another, but the guard kept coming, closing on him.
“Stop!”
Ty gasped. He hadn’t run so hard since Willie had chased him down, threatening to break his legs and steal his iPad.
His lungs felt as if her were breathing napalm, and he wheezed, desperately trying to catch his breath. His legs burned.
At this rate, it’d only be another few seconds or so before the guard caught up to him. He’d already lost two reputation points for the theft, but if he were caught, he’d have to spend the night in jail, and he’d lose another five points before they released him back into Altunn in the morning. No one would trade with him then, even if he did find a way to make some money.
He snarled and pushed harder, wondering which way to go when he streaked past the half-orc still standing vigil outside the rogues’ den and an idea came to him.
Ty cast a furtive glance over his head to see if a shining light bulb had appeared. There was nothing there.
Hey, you never know, right?
He chuckled and skidded to a halt, reversing direction, then darted down the alley alongside the rouges’ den. The half-orc raised a bushy eyebrow and watched him fly past, but he didn’t say anything.
“Stop!” the guard cried out once more, but Ty ignored him. He knew where to go now.
Though he’d never played a thief character, Ty had explored the whole of the starter town way back in the day. He might not remember it all that clearly, time having taken its toll on his memory, and updates having altered some of the layout in the intervening years, but he recalled the Shadow Walk. It was a staple in the town.
He raced down the narrow alley and smiled when he spied the first of the crossroads leading into the Shadow Walk, an array of labyrinthine passageways used by the local rogues to avoid the town guards and fellow players. The alleyways shot off in nearly conceivable direction at random intervals, and each narrow corridor looked exactly the same as the last, a thick gloom settling over it to further confuse pursuit.
Huffing, he took a sharp left at the first split, then ran down about twenty feet, then took a right at the second, then another right at the third, running straight for several more before his fiery lungs forced him to stop, memorizing each turn he took so he could find his way out.
Finally, Ty stumbled to a halt and bent over at the waist, hands on his knees, drawing in great gulps of air, yet doing his best to do so quietly. He listened between gasps, projecting his focus back the way he’d come, but there was nothing indicating the guard had followed him into the Walk.
He’d escaped.
You have avoided capture by the constabulary. Good job…I guess.
Ty slumped to his butt at seeing the notification, still huffing, his chest rising like a bellows as another notification hit.
+1 to Fitness!
“Well, ain’t that something?” he muttered as the text glowed in his vision. “Who says crime doesn’t pay?” he laughed, though he couldn’t really find the humor in the situation. All he could imagine was his mom standing over him, hand on hips, giving him that look.
He sighed and let his head loll back and rest against the cold, brick wall of the passageway. Today had been a crappy day, but at least he’d managed to hold onto the muffin he’d stolen from Sully’s.
Ty raised his hand and opened his eyes, salivating at seeing the sweet treat, however mangled, still clutched in his fist. Bits of muffin poked out from between his fingers, but he didn’t care.
He went to take a bite when a darker shadow fell over him. A cold chill followed.
This can’t be good.
“I’ll take that,” a smooth, measured voice told him. “And everything else you’ve got on you, too.”
Ty glanced over his muffin to see a dark, cloaked figured looming before him. There wasn’t much detail to be had, the person’s face hidden in the deep folds of their hood, the person dressed entirely in black and fading into the background.
What was abundantly clear, however, was the glistening sheen of cold hard steel in the figure’s hand.
“Seriously?” Ty complained, glaring at the man robbing him.
It was obviously a player character as the glowing name tag above the figure’s head was a PC shade of blue rather than the green of NPCs, but the thief had used the Mask Identity skill to blur the name so that it couldn’t be read. Gibberish that shifted and morphed appeared in its place.
“Unless you want to be stabbed, I suggest you hand over your things,” the thief warned.
Ty climbed to his feet so the guy could get a better look at him. “Do I look like I have anything work ripping off to you?” he fired back, snarling as he shook his head. “And to be honest, you’re going to have to tear this muffin out of my cold, dead hands if you want it that badly.”
Ty took a huge, sloppy bite out of the muffin before the thief could even react. Two bright pinpoints of eyes gleamed inside the hood as Ty chewed, crumbs flying.
Your hunger has been assuaged!
Ty sighed through a mouthful of muffin and slumped against the wall, clutching to the
muffin remnants. It was delicious.
The thief took a half-step back and appraised Ty. He pulled his hood back, revealing a dark-skinned elf with sharp features. His thin, upper lip was peeled back in a WTF sneer, as though he’d only just realized how Ty was dressed.
“What the hell are you wearing, dude?” he asked. “You don’t even have a weapon.”
“I’d like to offer you a cape, Captain Obvious, but as you can tell, I’m all out right now,” Ty fired back, biting his tongue after the fact, wondering why he was antagonizing the guy.
Too much time behind the dang keyboard, he thought.
The thief laughed so hard his Mask Identity skill dropped off, and his name appeared in bright blue: Theolin.
“Looks like you’re having a seriously rough day,” Theolin said.
“You have no idea.” Ty grunted and took another bite of the muffin, his cheeks puffed up like a desperate squirrel. “Hope you weren’t really planning on stealing my muffin still,” he said, licking what remained.
Theolin raised his hands in defeat and grinned. “Not anymore…”
“Good,” Ty replied, stuffing the last of it in his mouth, “because I really wasn’t going to hand it over even if you did stab me.”
“You clearly need it way more than I do,” the thief chuckled. “What happened to all your gear? And how are you wearing RL clothing? I didn’t realize that was an option in the game.”
“It’s a long, confusing story that even I don’t believe,” he answered. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“Well, I don’t have time for all that, anyway. You know, people to rob, villages to pillage,” Theolin smiled and reached into cloak, sheathing his dagger. He pulled out something a moment later, clenched in his fist. “Here.”
He held his hand out to Ty. Unsure of what was inside the thief’s closed fist—he pictured a poisonous scorpion, a severed rat’s head (the assassins guild’s calling card), and even one of those joke devices that delivered a short electric shock—but he sure hadn’t expected what Theolin actually handed him.
It was a single gold coin.
“Wait!” Ty sputtered as the thick coin settled into his palm. “Seriously? Why would you…?”
“Because it’s clear someone has already robbed the hell out of you,” Theolin replied, eyes taking in Ty from head to toe. “If things are so bad that you’ll risk getting gutted for a muffin, I’m thinking you could use a little goodness in your life, you know?”
Ty swallowed hard and nodded at the thief’s kindness. “Thanks, man. I owe you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Theolin told him with a sly wink, backing away, slowly disappearing into the shadows. “Probably be best if you found someplace to lay low for a day or so, too. Tomorrow’s the full moon, and the horde will ride over the town.”
With that, the thief was gone.
Ty looked after him, but the darkness had swallowed him completely, as if he were nothing more than a figment of Ty’s imagination.
But the gold piece was real.
Ty stared at it, feeling its rigid stiffness in his hand. He had a chance at surviving this world now. He had money and, soon, he’d had some basic equipment. It wouldn’t be anything impressive, but something was better than nothing.
He grinned at the coin, still shocked Theolin had given it to him. The guy had thought him so pathetic that, instead of robbing Ty, he’d handed over gold to keep from feeling bad about it.
Ty wondered how that made him feel for a minute, then he shrugged.
“You know, I’m okay with it,” he told himself. “Pity cash still spends.”
Four
One Fit Shops All
MORNING FOUND TY lurking outside of the armorer’s shop, sitting on the step, tapping his foot in a fevered rhythm, impatiently waiting for the place to open.
He’d spent all night loping around the village, checking various places out and familiarizing himself with Altunn’s layout again, though he’d purposely avoided the darker, seedier parts of the town.
Ty had been excited to spend his gold and didn’t want to stumble across some less scrupulous thief than Theolin, who’d take his little windfall away from him. So, he essentially camped out on the armorer’s step once he felt comfortable navigating town. A guard was stationed just twenty feet away from the row of nearby shops, so he felt safe waiting out the business day there.
All night long, he’d played with the coin in his pocket, wondering what he’d buy. He knew the two reputation points he lost would bite him in the butt when he tried to haggle for a better price, not to mention his complete lack of anything resembling a haggling skill, but the gold Theolin had given him would still be enough to buy what Ty needed, and then some.
Then he could make more money on his own once he was equipped properly.
First thing I’ll do is go back and pay Sully for the muffin I stole, he thought, sighing.
As much as he understood he was in a game, it was clear it was so much more than that. If what Charice, Amon, and Deven had said was true, this was his world now. His actions here had consequences just as they did in the real one, and now he was a criminal.
The consequences might a little more apparent in this world, seeing how they popped up in a weird shade of blue text on the insides of his eyelids, but he figured they were just as far-reaching as those back in Chicago.
His heart sputtered as he thought of home.
His mom would just now be getting up to go to work, if he’d converted the weird difference between game and real time. Of course, she’d wait ‘til the very last minute, like she always did, her blaring alarm going off and barely giving her enough time to hop in the shower, grab a quick bite to eat, then yell at Ty and J about being good, her mouth still full, before she bolted out the door to catch the L and head off to the hospital.
She wouldn’t even know Ty was gone.
“That’s probably a good thing,” he whispered. For now. What happens when she does figure out I’m gone?
He swallowed back the tears that threatened to break loose, knowing he’d get stung by another MP drop if he kept thinking that way, and he didn’t need any more challenges. He’d racked up more than enough already since he’d been dragged into the game.
At last, after the sun had risen and hung in the sky for a while, the armorer leisurely made his way to the shop and unlocked the door, ignoring Ty, who still lurked on the step. The scruffy man didn’t so much as look Ty’s direction, but that was normal.
The NPCs had limited function in-game, specifically the shop owners and other background characters. Unless they had a quest to offer, or that were part of some greater story line that required interaction, they didn’t speak to PCs unless spoken to outside of their designated locations.
To them, Ty didn’t exist. Not until they thought he’d spend some money, at least.
He laughed, that in mind as he entered the shop behind the armorer.
And, true to form, the man was stationed behind his counter as if he’s been there all night rather than just having shown up.
“Greetings, traveler!” he called out, grinning from ear to ear.
Ty grinned back. Yeah, so now you see me, huh?
A mug of something warm sat on the counter beside the man, wisps of smoke rising into the air. Ty caught the scent of cinnamon, and it reminded him that he’d soon be hungry again. He’d have to do something to fend the hunger pangs off here soon.
Fortunately, he only needed to snack on something small in order to ward them off or, at least, that’s how it was in-game. The system wasn’t so finely calibrated that it knew what or how much a player ate, just that they had. As long as Ty stuffed a bite of something into his mouth, the hunger notification and, more importantly, the debilitating effects of not eating would be delayed until the next food bell.
“What can I do for you today?” the man, his glowing green nametag reading Oswald, asked. “I’ve some great deals on plate mail and brigandine,” he
announced.
Ty just laughed and glanced down at himself. Oswald, of course, was oblivious to his meaning.
Even if Ty was tall enough to wear either, and could afford them, either of those suits of armor would tax his encumbrance beyond its max. He wouldn’t be able to roll around, let alone walk in that stuff. Though he had no idea what his strength was in-game, he was pretty sure he’d be hard-pressed to even lift the armor, let alone wear the stuff.
“I was thinking of something…cheaper and in a smaller size, and maybe weighing a whole lot less than either of those,” Ty clarified.
For the first time, Oswald seemed to actually look at Ty, the older man examining him, sizing him up.
“I see,” he replied after a moment. “Well, we don’t carry much in children’s sizes, ‘fraid to say, but maybe I’ve got some dwarven leather you can try on. It’ll be used, mind you, though still hardy. That okay?”
Ty nodded. He’d expected as much. The stores in the starter towns didn’t stock brand-new gear, largely because the parade of noobs passing through couldn’t afford any of it.
The armorer smiled and slipped through the curtain at his back. He rustled around in the other room for a moment or two, seeming to search through his inventory for the aforementioned armor.
Ty laughed under his breath at the juxtaposition of what seemed to be happening and what he knew was really going on.
Oswald knew exactly where every piece of armor he had was stashed, and it wouldn’t have taken anywhere near the amount of time it had already for him to retrieve it. Yet, the game was designed to approximate the feeling of dealing with a real, live person in every aspect.
Ty knew if he peeked behind the curtain, he’d likely see Oswald standing there, doing nothing but staring off blankly into space while phantom noises rattled on around him until the system timer warned enough time had elapsed for Oswald to return to the front room with the chosen piece of armor.
Ty was half-tempted to peek in on him when Oswald reappeared, carrying the soft leather jerkin in his meaty hand.