Umbra Online- Halgor's Horde

by K D Brand

  “I found it!” he announced, wiping sweat from his brow. “One day, I’m gonna have to clean that mess back there or I’ll never be able to find anything.” He circled around the counter and came over to Ty, holding the jerkin up against Ty’s chest.

  It was painfully obvious to both of them that it was way too wide. While the length was perfect, he would swim in the jerkin, two and a half Tys able to fit side by side in it the way it was now.

  Oswald grunted, tugging at the sides to tighten the leather. “You know, I could take it in a bit,” he said. “Would take a couple days to resize it and add some longer straps to the sides. Of course, it’d cost a bit more, too.” He said the last with a sly grin.

  Ty sighed. “What are we looking at for all that?”

  Oswald offered a causal shrug and paused a moment, as if he were really contemplating the cost rather than simply accessing a pre-determined amount already programmed in as his answer. “I’d reckon, fifty silver, all told. Less’n you want a rush job. Then you’d be looking at eighty.”

  Ty stiffened at the amount, a sick feeling roiling in his stomach.

  Normally, he wouldn’t have blinked at such a price. To AzzKickerofTheGodz420, powerful warrior and ultimate sugar daddy, that was nothing, a grain of sand in the desert that was his wealth, but to Ty, tiny noob, that was half the cash he had, more so if he wanted the armor rushed, which he’d need if he had any hope of facing down the horde.

  “How much for the armor as is?” he asked, knowing he couldn’t invest all that in a single piece of equipment.

  “Seeing how it’s worn, got a few blemishes here and there, not that those will impact its defensive qualities…”

  Ty snorted at the obvious lie—never trust a used-armor salesman—but Oswald went on without pausing.

  “I could see me parting with it for ten silver,” the armorer finished.

  “You think maybe you could go…eight?” he hedged, offering up his best sad puppy face.

  Oswald grinned. “You know, normally I could see myself offering up a discount, but…” he looked hard at Ty, sizing him up, and Ty knew his failed effort at pastry smuggling had derailed his attempt at haggling, “I think given the circumstances, ten is the lowest I can go right now.”

  Ty nodded, biting back a sigh. He tried. “I guess can do that,” he replied. “Sold.”

  And the deal was struck.

  You have paid Oswald 10 silver in exchange for a used, dwarven leather jerkin. It will provide basic protection against most attacks, lowering your damage taken and increasing the difficulty of a foe landing a critical blow. More or less.

  “And how about some rope?”

  Oswald left the jerkin with Ty and moved behind the counter and shuffled about underneath before bringing out a short coil of Sisal rope, only a few frays showing. “This is all I’ve got at the moment, so hows about it?”

  The rope was a good bit thicker and bulkier than Ty had been hoping for, especially given what he planned to use it for, but he shrugged. It’d have to do. “I’ll take it.”

  Beggars can’t be choosers.

  You have purchased rope for 5 copper.

  “Now, all I need are some boots and a pair of leather leggings,” Ty continued. “Think you’ve got anything in my size for those?”

  Oswald examined him again and nodded. “The leggings might be a challenge, finding some to fit those twigs you call legs, but you’ve got huge feet for a little guy. Those, I can work with.”

  “Heyyyyy,” Ty whined as Oswald slipped behind the curtain again, the same rustling noises picking up where they’d left off the last time.

  While he was gone, Ty unraveled the rope and set to work. With one hand, he tucked the excess leather of the jerking under the rest of it and maneuvered it around until it laid somewhat flat across his back. Then, holding it in place, he wrapped the rope around his chest, pulling it tight until it held the armor in place, freeing his hand.

  He then tied a small knot to keep the rope in place, and then wrapped the rope around his torso again, this time positioning it closer to the bottom of his ribs. Another loop around him ended at his waist, and he pulled the rope as tight as he could without hampering his breathing, and then he tied it all off.

  He panted a little as he finished, the work awkward, and stretched side to side to adjust the grip of the rope so that it settled more comfortably around him.

  You have equipped—the word used loosely—dwarven leather jerkin. Your Armor Rating (AR) has improved slightly (+2). You are now ready to take the fight to your foes. Small, delicate ones, at least.

  Oswald walked out of the back room right then. He started to speak, but his mouth just kind of hung there, dangling open and silent as he spotted what Ty had done to secure the leather.

  Ty could only imagine what he looked like right then and offered up an embarrassed grin. “Sometimes a guy’s gotta make do with what’s available.”

  Oswald nodded. “Indeed.” It took him a moment, his eyes locked on the makeshift effort Ty had put in to keep the jerkin in place, before finally coming around the counter to offer up the other items Ty had asked for.

  “The boots will be a perfect fit, though the leggings, I’m afraid, might be a little loose on you,” he said. “We could, of course, find you some more rope…”

  An annoyed growl slipped loose of Ty’s mouth, but he forced a smile to cover it. “Do I amuse you enough to get a discount?” he fired back.

  Your attempt at Charm has failed! Sarcasm is not an appropriate bargaining tool.

  The heck it’s not!

  Oswald grinned but shook his head. “No, but nice try.”

  “What’s the damage then?”

  “It’ll be five silver for the leather leggings, and while they are sized for a small woman, they are new…”

  “Great selling point, Oswald,” Ty grumbled.

  “And the boots will run you two silver. They, however, are not so new, nor are they sized for a woman. They’re closer to half-ogre size, minus those ragged toe-claws they’re so proud of.”

  For a moment, Ty wondered what the hit to his reputation would be if he stabbed the old man in the throat.

  He decided against finding out, especially considering he didn’t even have a weapon. Besides, he wasn’t up for getting his butt kicked by a shopkeeper, then getting dragged off to jail.

  “Sold,” he finally spit out.

  You have purchased a pair of women’s leggings and a pair of huge boots for 7 silver coins.

  Ty groaned, realizing both of those wonderful descriptions would show up should anyone examine his equipped gear.

  As if people aren’t eyeballing me enough already, he thought, sighing. Now I’m going to be the BDSM freak with girl pants. Who needs friends, anyway?

  Still, it was better than nothing. He’d spent less than eighteen silver for everything, and while it was hardly top of the line gear, it’d keep him from dying if he stumbled into a rose bush, maybe even if he got stabbed a time or two.

  He slipped the loose pants on, tightening them with the waist clasp, all while doing his best to ignore Oswald’s amused chuckle. He then eased into the boots which, of course, fit him perfectly.

  You have equipped small ladies leather pants and noticeably large leather boots. Your Armor Rating (AR) has increased slightly (+1).

  If I ever get out of this place, I’m going to have a long talk with the programmers of this game, Ty vowed. All the trash talk was exactly how he pictured high school being. At least I’m not missing out on anything if I never get out of here.

  As he made to leave, he remembered something else her needed.

  “Hey! You have any backpacks lying around?” he asked.

  “Of course,” Oswald replied. He dug under the counter and pulled out a ratty pack that looked as it’d had better days. “Got one here you can have for free. Not even sure where I picked the thing up, to be honest. Juts been sitting here collecting dust for a while.”

  Gla
d to avoid having to dig into his already meager stash of cash, Ty nodded. “I’ll take it. Thanks.”

  “You got it, traveler. Use it well.”

  Ty slipped the straps over his shoulder and cinched them tight. He was as prepared as he could possibly be. So, ready to get out into the world and face the disapproving eyes of his peers and the neighborhood NPCs, Ty offered a backhanded wave to Oswald and headed for the door.

  “Thanks for your patronage,” Oswald called out to his back. “Be sure to tell your friends about us.”

  “Oh, you can be sure of that…” Ty muttered as he left. “Not.”

  Though, to be fair, he didn’t have any friends to tell, anyway.

  Outside the shop, the sun beat down on him. It was already mid-afternoon in game time, but he was surprised to realize how neutral the temperature was. Though the sun was shining, and it was technically summer in Emerhant, Ty felt quite comfortable despite the layers of armor—and rope—encasing him in dark leather.

  A great gong sounded then, and Ty grunted as a wave of hunger shuddered through him.

  You are hungry!

  “Yeah, yeah,” he griped, starting off at a brisk march.

  He’d spied several food stalls the night before, though they’d been closed, but he knew where to go to get some lower-priced food he could stave off hunger pangs with.

  Doing his best to ignore the grumbling pains in his gut, Ty took in the town in the daylight, watching all the people as they milled about, headed about their daily lives. There seemed to be more of them today than yesterday, both PC and NPC alike, and there was a kind of shrill tension in the air. He could feel it as he joined the crowd, a palpable sense of something…wrong, something looming.

  +1 to Perception.

  You have become more aware! It’s a shame people don’t look around more often.

  Ty caught the notifications and blinked them aside, though it was nice to know he’d been right after all. There was something different about Altunn today. He wasn’t sure what, but it hung in the air like storm clouds ready to unleash their load.

  He listened in on everyone as he walked toward the food stalls, angling for the thicker crowds, slowing in order to get a better feel for what was going on. It didn’t take long for him to be reminded that there would be a full moon tonight. It was all everyone was talking about.

  That’s when he remembered Theolin mentioning it during his aborted robbery, along with something about a horde. Charice, Amon, and Deven had brought it up, too. It was what they’d supposedly summoned him for, but outside of the obvious connotations of a horde, Ty didn’t know anything about it. Whatever was coming, the town was on edge.

  Ty stopped off at the nearest of the food stalls and ordered the cheapest meal they had, gulping it down without tasting it, just so he could avoid being hungry. He was glad to see the hunger notification subsiding, so he could focus on what was happening in Altunn.

  No memory of a horde from his time in the starter town way back when, he figured it was one of the newer quests the programmers had added into the game to keep things fresh. And while that was cool, no one wanting to run the same quests over and over, it left Ty at a distinct disadvantage of not knowing what was going on in his newly adoptive home…realm.

  He didn’t like it one bit.

  While he wasn’t one to obsess over game tutorials or YouTube videos of gameplay, watching other nerds play scenarios he’d yet to get to, he did, on occasion, Google the less obvious of quest mysteries so as to avoid dying and having to rush back and grab his death pile before someone else looted it.

  Ty wasn’t a big fan of surprises.

  You know, crap like being sucked into a game world out of nowhere. Had I known that was going to happen, I’d have dressed more appropriately. Riot gear would have been my choice, along with an AK-47 and a couple thousand rounds.

  Curious as to the nature of this coming horde, he left the food stall behind, already missing the scent of fresh meat cooking over an open fire, then made his way to the town gates.

  He’d only taken a quick look at the area last night, the neighborhood more than a bit shady even by his standards, and approached the guard stationed just inside. The gates sealed up tight, he couldn’t see anything beyond their wooden exterior.

  Ty paused for a few seconds when he got close to the guard, waiting to see if he was wanted for the Great Muffin Heist of 2019, but the soldier barely even glanced at Ty, and there wasn’t any indication he had landed on the Altunn Top Ten list.

  He let out a quiet sigh and went toward the gates.

  “Hold there!” the guard shouted, suddenly way more interested in Ty than he’d been seconds before. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Just wanted to take a quick outside, get some eyes on this horde everyone is talking about.”

  The guard looked him over, taking in every inch of Ty, then shook his head. “There’ll be none of that, traveler. You have not yet reached the required level of skill to survive in the world outside these protective gates. I cannot allow you to pass.”

  “Dang it,” Ty growled. He’d forgotten all about the limitations placed on exiting starter towns.

  Before the guards would open the gates to PCs, they had to first resolve all their debts. If they had any quests outstanding, or owed a shopkeeper money, they had to clear those debts or cancel the active quests. Then, on top of that, they had to be level 5, otherwise the guards would block their passage.

  Ty wondered for a second if he could dart past the guard and make it to the gate, but he dismissed that as a stupid idea. Unlike when he’d outrun the guard before, he’d had someplace to go, someplace to slip away, out of sight. Now, he doubted he’d even get the bar raised before the guard bashed Ty over the skull with his halberd.

  If that happened, then he’d have a twelve-hour timeout, and he’d miss the horde altogether.

  Then again…

  Ty contemplated doing just that, but what purpose would that serve?

  None, he figured.

  Having slowly put the pieces together, it was clear Charice and her buddies had thought he could help them with their horde problem. Mind you, they’d expected AzzKickerofTheGodz420, the destroyer of MMORPG worlds, not the guy clacking the keys behind the screen name.

  However, despite the lack of muscles and skills and real armor and courage and a kick-butt weapon, Ty might still be able to help.

  He eased back from the guard to keep from getting walloped, hands raised, and surveyed the area, looking for a way around the guard and his moratorium on the outside world.

  Not more than a moment later, he spotted what he was looking for.

  Just about ten yards off to the side of the guard’s position, he spotted a small shack built right up against the great stone wall that separated Altunn from the wilds the other side of the gate. The roof wasn’t more than ten feet from the ledge of the battlements. Sat alongside the shack were a variety of wooden crates.

  Ty examined the arrangement for a moment, then grinned. He went over to the shack, keeping an eye on the guard for a moment, until he realized the man didn’t give a dang as to what Ty was doing, and examined the crates up close.

  He nudged a smaller one with his toe, and it moved easily, scraping across the dirt. Ty glanced over his shoulder at the guard again, still oblivious to what Ty was contemplating.

  Must be a programming thing, he thought.

  Regardless, he planned to take advantage of the soldier’s inattentiveness.

  No longer worried about being interrupted, he piled the crates up into makeshift steps so that he could reach the top of the shack without much difficulty. Then he tossed a few of the smaller crates onto the shack, each landing with a loud thump.

  One last glance around to ensure no one was going to stop him, Ty clambered up the crates and onto the roof of the shack. Then he quickly arranged the crates there so he could climb onto the battlements.

  Not more than a moment later, he was t
here, standing on the narrow ledge that encircled the wall, providing a clear view of the open field just outside.

  He regretted his curiosity immediately.

  Five

  The Untoward Horde

  TY HADN’T KNOWN what to expect when he looked out over the wall, but he sure as heck hadn’t expected what he saw.

  Across the clear killing field beyond the wall, a massive gathering of monsters filled his vision as far as he could see. They sat at the edge of the field and ran what had to have been several miles back to the shadowy forest that stood behind them, the trees reaching up to the skies and casting ominous shadows down on the horde.

  This ain’t no horde. It’s a flapjacking army!

  A cold tremble ran though him as he watched the monsters mill about, their snarls and growls filling the air and wafting across the distance between them. The setting sunlight cast a red pall over the assemblage, reflecting off their bared weapons as if they’d already been about the work of spilling blood.

  Ty had never seen such a terrifying sight before.

  -1 MP!

  It’s easy to face a rumor. It’s much harder to stare down reality.

  Despite the fear rising in him, its bite gnawing at his confidence, Ty forced himself to take a closer look at the horde. He wouldn’t be cowed by the horrific show of force.

  It’s just a game, remember, he told himself, repeating the words over and over in his head until he almost believed it.

  The army was a mixed bag of goblins and orcs, both races easily identifiable as those he’d seen in his time playing Umbra Online. That didn’t make them any easier to stare down, though, he had to admit.

  In-game, Ty had always thought them cool-looking. Vicious and barbaric, they wore piecemeal armor, crafted out of chain and bits of leather woven together with thick ties, the only real color in all their assembly coming from the various bits of fur that had been added to the collection.

  Some showed off the reddish-brown of foxes, others the cloudy gray of wolves, while a few even had the darker hides of bear sewn into their outfit.