Tournament Lord

by Felix Craft

  It opened a moment later, revealing a young woman with a steel great pixie cut and dark leathers. “Leesha! I'd heard you were in town, but I didn't expect …” Her words trailed off as she noticed me standing in the alley. A frowned settled on her face. “Who the fuck is this?”

  Me? Who the fuck was she? I mouthed, “Command: Analyze,” and was pleased to see it still worked to bring up her basic information.

  Name: Dixie_Chick_1

  Level: 16

  Profession: Pawnbroker

  Faction: —

  HP: 120/120

  SP: 240/240

  MP: —/100

  I had to hide a smirk. Not only was the name ridiculous, but who played a game like this to become a pawnbroker? Then I remembered how much money Vash was probably raking in, owning a castle and town and all that. It was possible not only to make a living in MythRune, but to get rich in the real world. Maybe Dixie Chick here was just another starry-eyed player hunting for gold.

  Leesha looked at me from the corner of her eyes and answered Dixie’s question. “My sidekick.”

  “Her companion,” I corrected. “We’re in a party together.”

  Dixie’s brow wrinkled. “Why? He’s Level 4.”

  “We’re on a mission,” Leesha said quickly. “And I need info from you.”

  “Oh, sure, drop in and take whatever you want,” the pawnbroker said sarcastically. But she stepped aside, and Leesha motioned for me to follow her as she entered the door. The pixie’s eyes followed me as I walked in, and even though she was a foot shorter, she wasn't any less intimidating. I ignored her, pretending to be perfectly at ease walking into a shady pawnbroker’s establishment when she was over three times my level.

  It was dark, and the furnishings were so threadbare I felt it was almost an insult to look at them for any length of time. As soon as Leesha and I were inside, Dixie shut the door behind us and stood between us and the exit, her arms crossed. When she spoke, the threat in her voice wasn’t masked in the slightest. “This is a breach of protocol, Leesha.”

  Leesha didn’t flinch. “Believe me, Dixie. This is in the faction’s best interest.”

  Dixie winced at the outright mention of their affiliation, but I’d already guessed as much. She was another of the Sisters of Evenfall. All the signs had been there — the sly, suspicious manner, the poor possessions, and the shady occupation. Not to mention an upfront, bitchy attitude, but I didn’t want to be bigoted and say that was all the Sisters. Just all the ones I knew.

  “We’ll see about that,” the pawnbroker said. “I, for one, never heard about this.”

  I doubted Leesha had actually had it cleared, considering the short time frame we’d been together, but I kept my mouth shut. Leesha was still my best bet for the tournament, so I could put up with some cultish faction bullshit for a bit if it meant ultimately logging out.

  Leesha didn’t back down. “I have a critical mission that you need to help me with.”

  Dixie’s lips curled. “And I need to help you before I check into your little sidekick? How interesting.”

  “Not her sidekick,” I chimed in half-heartedly.

  “Look,” Leesha said, dialing down the aggressive tone of her voice. “It’s totally fine if you check into it. We have to keep one another accountable. But the question I have is really simple and won’t take anything from you. Besides, we have an open information policy between the Sisters, remember?”

  Dixie scowled, but I could see that Leesha had hit on something. “Fine. If it’s a small ask, I’ll give you what you need to know. But I promise, I will check into this Zane.”

  Only then did it occur to me that I’d drawn attention to myself inadvertently. Cursing my bad luck in my head, I kept as straight a face I could. Hopefully it would amount to nothing, but who knew?

  Neither of them paid attention to me. “There’s a spy among Lady Vash’s Sparrows,” Leesha said, launching into our question. “A spy from Lord Loki.”

  Dixie, who’d started to pacing, stopped. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You want to know who the spy is?”

  “Yes,” Leesha said, her brow furrowing. “Why is that a problem?”

  “Because.” The pawnbroker’s eyes flitted to me. “You know.”

  It was pretty obvious to me then, but I had to make sure. “It’s another Sister of Evenfall, isn’t it?”

  Both of the women whirled on me.

  “Don’t say it aloud!” Dixie snarled.

  “Jesus, Zane,” Leesha snapped. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “What? It’s so secret we can’t even say its name?” I plastered on a smile. “Besides, we needed to know. How many mistakes happen from miscommunication?”

  Neither of the secret faction’s agents looked amused. Leesha sighed and looked at Dixie. “Who?”

  The pawnbroker pursed her lips. “It shouldn’t matter. I don’t care how urgent your task is. No way are you ousting another member of the faction.”

  “Of course not!” Leesha said quickly. “I wanted to know so we could avoid ousting her.”

  But Dixie still shook her head. “I don’t like this, Leesha. It’s still a no.”

  My companion sniffed. “Fine. We’re leaving. Come on, Z.”

  “Z,” the other Sister sneered. But she stepped aside as Leesha and I headed out the door.

  “Really nice to meet you,” I said with false cheeriness. “Very pleasant visit.”

  Her flat stare beneath the short, jagged bangs was the last thing I saw before Dixie slammed the door behind us.

  Leesha glanced at me. “Do you always have to be a jackass?”

  “Does your faction always have to fuck things up?” I countered.

  She didn’t snap back like I expected, though. She just sighed. “Often it does.”

  “Then why stick with it?” I pressed, keeping my voice low. “Does it actually give you any benefits?”

  She hesitated. “Yes.”

  I waited. “And?”

  “And what?”

  “What are these supposed benefits?”

  She snorted. “Like I would tell you.”

  “Fine. Don't tell me. Don't much care anyway. Point is, sounds like this faction is a real drag. Might be time to plant your flag elsewhere.”

  She looked sharply over at me, and suddenly I wondered if I'd gone too far. It was a fine line I had to walk here. I knew she still had loyalty to the Sisters for some reason, but I needed her to find out who that spy was, or there was no way we were getting a tournament token in time. And that meant turning in one of her own faction members.

  “What do you expect? I just abandon the faction I worked a year to get into, for a chance to win Lord MythRune’s tournament with a Level 4 noob?” Leesha shook her head. “That’s a far shot to ask for.”

  My mind spun. “Okay. What if you don’t turn them in. What if you just look to see who it is?”

  She watched me, her expression blank. “Why would I do that if I wasn't going to turn them in?”

  This time, no clever spins came to mind. “Just to know?”

  She shook her head, and I could see her mind was made up. “I’m not going to tempt fate. Nice try though, Z. You had me actually thinking about it for a second.” She glanced at the pawnbroker’s door only a dozen yards or so away, as if Dixie might overhear us.

  “Anyway,” she continued, “I’m about to lag here, so I’m logging off. I wouldn’t leave Nest if I were you.”

  I put on a smile. “Sure. Ill just wait here, your little sidekick.”

  Leesha's eyes narrowed, but she just nodded. “I’m boarding up at Pixie’s. I’ll see you here in … 10 hours.”

  I shrugged. “Fine.”

  But still she hesitated. “Look, Zane. I’m sorry we couldn’t turn in that spy.” Her voice was almost gentle as she broke the news of her decision. “But I promise you, when I log back on, we’ll find a way to get that token, and we’ll get into that tournament.”

  I shrugged, letting
show a bit of my frustration to make the act genuine. “I guess I’ll try and figure out how in the meantime.”

  “Okay. See you in ten.” She smiled slightly, then walked back down the alley to Pixie’s door.

  As soon as she stepped inside, I walked the other way. She’d made her decision. And I’d made mine.

  I turned onto Nest’s main street and headed for Lady Vash’s castle.

  20

  Behind Her Back

  Francois looked surprised to see me, at least as much as a hunk of metal could look surprised. He was willing enough to let me through to Vash, though, when I told him vaguely that I had “answers.” Soon I was walking out into Vash’s gardens again, toward where she once again sat in that chair on the balcony. I wondered if she ever moved or went anywhere else.

  “Zane,” she said as I stopped before her chair. This time, she didn’t rise. “I'm surprised to see you so soon, I must admit. Have you found the spy, then?”

  I steeled myself to what I was about to do and tried not to imagine Leesha’s expression when she found out. “In a sense.”

  One of the Sparrow Mistress’s eyebrows arched. “I hope in the very definite sense. I don’t take kindly to my time being wasted.”

  “Just wait a minute — hear me out.” My words started to knock against each other in their rush out. “I know exactly how you can get the name, as well as a bit more info about the spy. I just can’t do it myself.”

  Vash looked about me. “Curious that your companion isn’t here with you. Perhaps then you wouldn’t have to do it alone?”

  I swallowed. I just had to go for it, before she started growing more suspicious of my companion’s role in all of this. “She had to log off,” I said truthfully. “But I didn’t want to wait.”

  “How kind of you. Now say what you will and begone.”

  “Fine.” I was unable to keep the edge from my voice. “There’s a pawnbroker who lives in Nest who will be able to tell you the name of your spy. She goes by the name of Dixie.”

  “I have heard if this pawnbroker. But why would she be able to tell me?”

  “Because she's part of a secret faction called the Sisters of Evenfall, and so is your spy.” There. I’d said it. There was no going back now.

  Vash studied me carefully. “I believe you. Perhaps it is better this way. With the Sisters, I will want to proceed carefully.” She pursed her lips and seemed lost in thought for a moment.

  I cleared my throat. “Not to be rude, but … are we good on our deal?” If she didn’t go for it, I thought I might lose my cool, and who knew what stupid thing I’d do then.

  To my immense relief, she nodded. “Yes. We’re good. You may have my tournament token.” She paused, staring at me. “For whatever good it will do you.”

  Ignoring that last barb, I took what she offered. Looking at the tournament token, it was nothing to be too excited about. Just a wide, flat gold coin, with a depiction of a half-armored, half-enrobed man with shadowy features but for two burning eyes. “Lord MythRune’s Tournament” was emblazoned across the top, and on the bottom, “XVI Quarterly.”

  I put it in my inventory and watched it dissipate into the air. All that trouble for that token. I hoped I’d still have a companion to compete with after this.

  “Thanks,” I said to Vash, not managing to put much sincerity behind it.

  An eyebrow twitched, but her face remained composed. “You would have made a good Sparrow, Zane. I appreciate your loyalty throughout this. Perhaps after this tournament, you might return to Nest? I may have an offer for you.”

  I blinked. Not sure what to say, I muttered, “Sure thing.” Then I quickly made my excuses and hurried the hell out of there.

  21

  Band of Noobs

  The quest complete notification was waiting for me when I stepped out of the castle, and as I walked the main street of Nest, I pulled it up.

  You have completed a quest: Overthrowing the Overlord! +7000 XP

  Two other notifications quickly followed it.

  Congratulations, adventurer! You have reached Level 5! Tier 2 of the ability trees is now open to you. Boost your stats by 1 HP, 10 SP, or 10 MP and assign 2 AP (Tier 1) and 1 AP (Tier 2) within your ability trees.

  Congratulations, adventurer! You have reached Level 6! Boost your stats by 10 HP, 10 SP, or 10 MP and assign 2 AP (Tier 1) and 1 AP (Tier 2) within your ability trees.

  Tier 2 was now open? I was underwhelmed by the news as I glumly started sifting through my menus to assign my AP. Leveling up was nice and all, and getting closer to Level 10 was critical if I was to succeed in the tournament, but considering how I’d had to accomplish this, there was definitely a bitter edge to my victories. I couldn’t help imagining Leesha’s disappointed look when she logged back in. Hell, she’d probably be furious. I’d be lucky if she didn’t try killing me outright. She might torture me for days for this.

  I shook the gruesome image from my head. What was I thinking? Why was I worrying so much about someone I’d never even met? I had to keep my mind on the prize here. I had to get out of MythRune. It was getting inside my head, mixing up my priorities. Sure, I didn’t want to be a dick to Leesha. But staying out of jail — hell, staying alive — was definitely more of a priority.

  As I wandered the streets of Nest, I grew more and more concerned. Betraying Leesha presented a big problem. To enter the tournament, I needed a partner. And if I couldn’t get up to Level 10 — which doing so in the next two days seemed fairly impossible — I needed a partner who was above Level 10. Considering my glitch was the only thing that got Leesha on board in the first place, that meant I’d have to go around getting attention again. I grimaced. I at least wasn’t Level 2 like when Leesha had picked me up. Especially now that I’d snagged a token, maybe I stood a chance of a higher-level player taking notice of me.

  Concentrating on the task at hand, I first added 20 HP, bringing my total up to 140. Then I starting throwing AP into my skill trees. Sticking to the combat trees, I added one AP to battle-axe damage and swing speed, one to heavy armor effectiveness, and one to dodge. Then looking into the Tier 2 options, I saw a couple I liked. For battle-axe, there was Hook & Hack, which somehow helped me better hook people with the curved part of the axe head, then quickly swing at them while they were down. It sounded useful, so I shrugged and opted for it. I also put one AP into Disarm, a second tier Calisthenics skill, which helped me do just as it described — grab an opponent’s weapon and wrench it from his or her hands. I had my doubts about how well that would actually work, but I’d leave that to Danny and the mad rulers of MythRune.

  “Watch it!”

  “You watch it,” I muttered, narrowly avoiding collision with another player on the street. I dismissed my stats and aimed at the gates. I couldn’t just wait around for Leesha this time, not when she’d probably leave our party, anyway. I’d just have to hope I found another party along the way.

  But at the gates, I hesitated and glared and the road beyond. It was dangerous out there, and I had no desire to come near death again.

  “Hey!”

  I looked around to see a few players looking at me and waving, though I had no idea what for. I put up a hand. “Hey.”

  “You heading out?” the one who’d shouted at me asked. He had short sandy-blond hair that stuck up at odd angles and was swallowed inside the ill-fitting armor he wore.

  I stared distrustfully at them. “Maybe. What’s it to you?”

  The player waved me off with a laugh. “Don’t be so suspicious! I just saw you were a Level 6 and thought you might want some company.”

  “What, you mean like party up?”

  The sandy-blond cocked his head. “You haven't been here long, have you?”

  I approached closer so we wouldn’t have to yell. “Not exactly.”

  “Thought so. See, noobs like us — no offense, but anyone below Level 10 is a noob — tend to travel in an informal group rather than partying up, just for protection. It m
akes it easier for everyone involved.”

  That did sound convenient. A bit too much. “How do I know you won’t attack me as soon as we’re away from town?”

  The sandy-blond glanced at the two others with him. “He’s suspicious, isn’t he?”

  A silver-haired girl standing next to him shrugged. She wore leathers, and had a bow slung over her back. “He has better stuff than us.”

  “And he’s already in a party,” the last one said. He was a stocky, shirtless guy with a smattering of armor across himself and a huge, jagged club leaning against his leg.

  “Good points,” sandy-blond said. “Maybe you don’t need a noob band.”

  Except I did. It was time to swallow my distrust and take a leap. “No, I do. Sorry about that. It’s been a day.”

  The chick nodded sympathetically. “This game’s tough.”

  “But I think it just got a bit easier,” sandy-blond said with a smile. “We’re just about to set off. You ready?”

  I nodded. “Whenever you guys are.”

  The barbarian-looking dude raised his club to his shoulder. “Let’s crack some skulls!”

  The other two rolled their eyes, and we set off.

  We quickly grew comfortable with each other, especially as Garrett, the sandy-blond and the seeming leader of this pack, chattered amicably and put the rest of us at ease. Sylvia, the silver-haired archer, was the youngest of us, only sixteen, but her mind was as dirty as any of us boys, and her tongue was twice as sharp, especially compared to Bone, the last of our band. I let myself forget about Leesha for a bit and was glad for it.

  As luck would have it, they were all headed for Mythgard.

  “None of us have been yet,” Garrett said as we walked along the High Way. “But we’ve heard it’s awesome. Quests on every corner. Monsters in cellars and in the sewers. Loot to find —”

  “And steal!” Sylvia piped in.

  “And steal,” Garrett relented with a quirk of his lips, “so long as you don’t get caught. ’Course, it’s also dangerous. Muggers, unfriendly alien races, a thousand factions in conflict — not a place to bump into someone without apologizing.”