Merchant of Death

by Jared Mandani

  “Get them!” John heard Jodie yell. “They went into the fort!”

  John went over to one of the walls and pressed the concealed button set into the brickwork. A section of the wall slid open, revealing the secret passageway leading down to the tunnel complex. Just as it opened, Jodie and several of the Wheeljackers burst into the room.

  “Use the scroll!” John ordered to Mark.

  Mark looked at him in fright and then took out the Holy Seal scroll he had hidden on him. He opened it out and a menu flashed up with its stats.

  Item: Scroll of Mist Calling

  Minimum LVL: N/A

  Durability: N/A

  Faction Specific: No

  Soul-Bound Item: No

  Typically sold in alchemy shops in Holy Seal cities and large towns.

  When incantation is spoken aloud, creates a magical mist that confuses the senses of those caught in it. Lasts 60 seconds. Can only be used once.

  Mark read out the incantation and the scroll evaporated in a flash of light. A thick grey mist began to rise up from the floor and drifted over to engulf Jodie and the others. They began yelling in confusion, and John pushed Mark and Kate through the secret door, sealing it from the other side.

  They hurried down a flight of steps and passed a Tong security barrier before coming out into a wide passageway. It was made of stone and brightly lit, and three mechanical horses were waiting in a wooden corral.

  “The mist will give us enough time to get to Gargoyle Rock. We should be there before the Wheeljackers,” John said as Kate brought the three horses out of the pen.

  “How can you be so sure they’ll go there?” asked Mark.

  John flashed him a wolfish smile. “Because I posted on the guild’s private message board that a large group of low level Seven Paths and Holy Seal players are slugging it out down there and they’d be easy pickings for the Wheeljackers. I’ve studied their methods. The Wheeljackers like to prey on weaker players and steal as much useable loot from other people rather than buy it through vendors. I’m getting paid a nice big commission from a player they robbed blind a few months ago to teach them a lesson.”

  “What?” Kate exclaimed. “You didn’t tell us that.”

  “It was on a need to know basis,” replied John. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your percentage for helping me out today.”

  “I should think so,” huffed Kate as the three of them saddled up.

  “So this offer of retrieving their gear from the battlefield was a lie,” Mark said. “This whole meeting was a sham?”

  John shook his head. “Oh no. They will give us a contract to salvage for them on top of the money I get for teaching them a lesson. I have this all mapped out.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Kate said. “When the Wheeljackers get to Gargoyle Rock, they aren’t going to find what they are expecting, are they?”

  “No,” said John. “I have something else arranged for them. I don’t think Jodie’s going to like it though.”

  Kate gave him an evil grin. “Oh good. What is it?”

  “You’ll see,” John replied. “Let’s go.”

  He urged his mount forward and galloped along the passageway with Kate and Mark following. The slaves who had dug out the tunnels had also put in signposts directing to the secret entrances up to the surface. There was a hidden entrance near Gargoyle Rock, and John headed toward it as fast as he could. In just under half an hour, they came in sight of the station near the wooden staircase leading up to the Gargoyle Rock entrance. This was where equipment salvaged from above was stored before being transported back to John’s headquarters. A salvaging crew made up of Tong slaves were waiting, and they helped John, Kate and Mark dismount when they reached their destination.

  “Quick, let’s get up top,” John urged as he waited impatiently for his two friends to get down from their steeds. “I don’t want to miss this.”

  “Okay, okay, keep your hair on,” Kate griped. “We’re going as fast as we can.”

  John darted up the stairs to the landing above and pressed a secret mechanism that opened a trapdoor above him. He peered out at the landscape around him and saw the Wheeljackers surging across the plain. He smiled to himself and climbed out fully. The trapdoor was behind a cluster of rocks and he was not visible from the battlefield below. As he looked out at the scene, Kate and Mark climbed up to join him.

  “Okay, spill the beans,” said Kate, brushing herself down. “What’s happening?”

  John pointed over to the huge misshaped formation that was Gargoyle Rock. “Take a look for yourself.”

  The three watched as the Wheeljackers brought their mechanical horses to a halt beneath the beak-shaped formation that jutted from the center of Gargoyle Rock. There were no other players present and the group looked around in confusion and annoyance.

  “Okay so you got them here and they are pissed no-one’s here,” Mark said. “How does that help us?”

  “Wait and watch,” said John.

  Just as he spoke, a battle horn sounded. Suddenly, a war party of fifty Seven Paths sword warriors and archers jumped up from the ground. They were wearing wooded camouflage cloaks that allowed them to blend in with the landscape. The war party were mostly level eighty and upwards, and more than a match for the Wheeljackers. The Enlightened guild was taken completely by surprise and many of them were taken down by the wave of arrows that the archers unleashed, before the swordsmen rushed forward. Mana flashed and crackled as the energies of dozens of talismans hit the Wheeljackers like a tidal wave.

  “Pull back!” John heard Jodie yell. “Retreat! Retreat!”

  He watched as she galloped away from the battle, followed by as many of her followers who were still mounted. They got half a kilometer away from the rock when a battalion of Holy Seal swordsmen, billmen, archers and priests came thundering over a nearly range of hills, heading straight down on the Wheeljackers. Mark visibly flinched as Enlightened players were mowed down by broadswords, stallion hooves, spears and arrows.

  “I’m taking it this is the surprise you planned, John,” said Kate.

  John nodded. “A couple of anonymous messages to the right people that the Wheeljackers would be here and ripe for an ambush brought out more than enough Seven Paths and Holy Seal players to overwhelm the guild. We just wait for the battle to finish and for the other two factions to have a go at each other, and then we move down and collect the Wheeljackers’ gear and anything else of value we can carry. Nothing could be simpler.”

  Kate shook her head as she watched Jodie take down three billmen and a swordsman before a barrage of Holy Fire Arrows from a group of priests working together finally brought her down. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are one sly bastard, John?”

  “That’s why you love me,” John replied, giving her a wry smile.

  They continued to watch the battle and, before long, the Wheeljackers were completely wiped out. The surviving Holy Seal and Seven Paths factions then turned on each other. The tide quickly turned in favor of the Holy Seal players who started to push the Seven Paths back beyond Gargoyle Rock then gave chase as the remaining Seven Paths conducted a frantic retreat back to the nearest friendly city. As they went, it left the field clear to salvage equipment from the fallen Wheeljackers.

  “Okay! Get going!” John yelled down the trapdoor to the waiting slaves. “Get as much gear as you can! Go! Go! Go!”

  Thanks to John’s training, the slaves moved like a well-oiled military unit, rushing up out of the trapdoor and spreading out across the field. They moved with purpose and had genuine passion for their work. This was thanks to the many potions and narcotics Brother Cedric had been supplying to the Tong at a discounted price, using John as a go-between.

  After that first conversation with the old man in Heaven’s Shield about the daily grind that an average NPC experienced, John had begun to see the computer-generated characters in a new light. Certainly, when the slaves
began work on the tunnel complex, their misery was clear to see. They were also slow and inefficient, and the work was taking an age to complete. The Tong overseers beat, tortured and executed slaves to increase productivity, but John came up with another idea. He smuggled in a group of slaves to Cedric’s base of operations and had him train them to make simple potions of Vigil Boost while the alchemist himself produced more effective and pleasure inducing concoctions. Once the potions started to get into circulation amongst the slaves, there was a massive improvement in their work, and the tunnel complex began getting built a lot faster. Even better, the slaves were actually enjoying their work and carried out their duties with an enthusiasm the Tong had never witnessed before.

  Now the salvage team moved diligently down to the plain to collect the gear as instructed. John sharked towards Jodie, wanting to get hold of her equipment before her avatar faded. Kate and Mark hurried after him.

  “That sure is a cool-looking pistol,” Mark remarked, pointing to the weapon still clutched in her charred dead hand.

  “You’re not wrong,” replied John, prizing it from her fingers and examining the gun.

  Item: LVL 94 Elegant Slayer Pistol

  Currently Equipped: NONE

  Minimum LVL: 94

  Durability: 81%

  Faction Specific: The Enlightened

  Soul-Bound Item: Yes

  ↑ Attack + 670

  ↑ Defense + 544

  Current LVL: 09

  Speed: 220/220

  Attack: 180/180

  Defense: 130/130

  When equipped, Elegant Slayer Pistol has a 40% chance of instant kill if 3 live targets are hit within a 5 minute interval.

  Must be LVL 90 or higher and a member of The Enlightened to equip this item.

  You do not meet the requirements to equip this item.

  “That’s a nice little weapon,” Kate said as John stowed it away in his backpack. “She’s going to be real mad when she finds it’s gone.”

  “She can have it back whenever she likes,” John replied, “for a price.” He reached down and picked up the Stetson from Jodie’s head. Unlike the rest of her clothes, it had not sustained any damage from the Holy Fire Arrow attack. “Nice hat, too.”

  Item: LVL 78 Stetson of Resurgence

  Currently Equipped: NONE

  Minimum LVL: 78

  Durability: 36%

  Faction Specific: The Enlightened

  Soul-Bound Item: Yes

  ↑ Attack + 10

  ↑ Defense + 25

  Special Healing Regeneration Enchantment Bonus – regenerates health every 2 seconds

  Current LVL: 09

  Speed: 220/220

  Attack: 180/180

  Defense: 130/130

  Specialized headgear that provides a constant gradual regeneration of health points when equipped.

  You do not meet the requirements to equip this item.

  “That’ll look good on me,” Kate said, taking the hat and trying it on for size. “Perfect fit too.”

  “That’s not for you,” John said. “I plan to sell it back.”

  “Come on, there’s plenty of other good stuff here. Can’t I just have one little victory prize? I think I’ve earned it for helping you set all this up, and this hat totally suits me, don’t you think? I might start wearing it right now.”

  “You just want to rub Jodie’s nose in it when we meet her again,” John said, “and you accuse me of being sly.”

  “We’re just teaching her a lesson in humility, that’s all,” laughed Kate. “So, can I keep it?”

  John shrugged, knowing he was beat. “Okay, I don’t see why not, but I’d like to take a look at it later if you don’t mind. I want to see how the enchantment is worked into the clothing.”

  “Why?” Kate asked. “NPCs with magical ability make them.”

  “I know,” said John, “and I want to copy the process.”

  Kate gave him a bemused look but said nothing. She set about collecting the other gear left behind by the Wheeljackers. The rest of the salvage team worked quickly and efficiently, and they had retrieved quite a decent haul before the players’ avatar bodies started to fade away.

  “Okay,” John said to the slaves. “Get this stuff back to the storage chambers beneath my workshop double quick.”

  The slaves nodded and disappeared down the trap door with the collected gear, leaving John, Kate and Mark alone on the battlefield. John surveyed their surroundings. “Judging by all the disappearing avatars, I’m guessing most of the Wheeljackers have respawned again.”

  “Jodie’s gone as well,” Kate observed. “I’d love to see the look on her face right about now.”

  “You’ll get your wish,” said John. “We’re going back to Steamgrad to have another little talk with her.”

  “You think she’ll be more cooperative now?” asked Mark.

  “Hopefully, yes,” replied John. “The first sign of real wisdom is when you start to learn from your mistakes.”

  Kate barked a laugh. “Spoken like a true Zen Master.”

  Chapter 12

  As it happened, Jodie hadn’t learnt her lesson. She was seething with rage when she and the others logged back in at their guild lodge in Steamgrad. They had run headlong into a trap and it had been that upstart jerk John’s doing.

  “What the hell happened?” grumbled the mechanist. “I thought we were going to hit a load of low level newbies. Those guys were much higher.”

  “It was all a set up, you moron!” said Jodie. “That bastard John is behind all this.”

  “It was all a trap?” the mechanist said in surprise. “Why?”

  “So he could snatch all our gear!” Jodie roared. “Why else would he have arranged that meeting?”

  “Wait? Even our soul bound stuff?” the mechanist replied in alarm. “I left my flamethrower out there.”

  Jodie glared at him. She was painfully aware that her favorite pistol and Stetson were also missing. “We left all our good stuff out there!” she said. “We thought it was an easy hit, so we didn’t put our best pieces in Void Storage. Now it’s left out by Gargoyle Rock! Get everyone together and break out the weapons we have in the armory. We’re going back out there.”

  The mechanist frowned. “Why bother? All our soul bound stuff will respawn back with us in six hours’ time.”

  “It’ll be too late then!” Jodie bellowed. “Are you completely stupid? John and that little bitch Kate will have stolen all our gear by then! We have to get back as much as we can! Get it?”

  The mechanist considered this and then slowly nodded. “Oh yeah,” he said. “You got a point there.”

  Jodie screamed and stalked away.

  * * *

  It took around twenty minutes for her to organize her guild and get them saddled up with fresh mechanical horses, and ten more to get them mounted and through the gates of Steamgrad. By the time the Wheeljackers were out in open country, John, Kate and Mark were waiting for them.

  “What’s this?” John called out. “You going out for more punishment?”

  “They don’t seem to have learnt their lesson yet, John,” Kate said dryly, running her hand along the brim of the white Stetson. “If brains were dynamite, these guys wouldn’t have enough to blow their noses.”

  “That’s my hat!” Jodie said, staring at Kate in fury. “Give that back right now, you thieving bitch!”

  “Sorry Jodie, but it was just lying out on the battlefield for anyone to pick up,” Kate said, telling a little white lie. “You should have put it in Void Storage along with that cute little pistol of yours. If I’d lost them both, I’d be kicking myself.”

  “You have my Slayer Pistol too!” Jodie was beside herself with rage. “You’ll give them back to me now!”

  “We’ll gladly give them back Jodie, along with the rest of the Wheeljackers’ gear we’ve salvaged, once we’ve ne
gotiated a price.”

  “That’s blackmail!” said Jodie. “You can’t do this to me! Do you know who I am?”

  “Yup,” said Kate. “You’re the dumb bimbo without a hat and a fancy pistol.”

  Jodie pulled her gun and pointed it at John. “You’re gonna pay for this!”

  “No Jodie, you’re gonna pay for all the stuff we’ve salvaged. It’s the only way you’re going to get it back,” said John in a calm tone. “Do we have a deal?”

  “Wipe them out!” Jodie yelled to the rest of the Wheeljackers. She fired her gun at John, but he brought his mount to a sharp left and the bullet went wide of its mark.

  As the rest of the guild opened fire, Mark raised an Amulet of Sacred Protection and activated it. A glowing protective barrier covered the three of them, making them impervious to the bullets, and at the same time Kate hurled a Potion of Dark Creeper onto the ground at the hooves of Jodie’s mechanical horse.

  Instantly, the Heretic potion seeped into the barren earth and large black vines burst up out of the dirt and enveloped the guild leader and her lackeys. Confusion reigned as the Wheeljackers tried to fight free of the tangle of vines, and John, Kate and Mark made their escape down a nearby secret passage connecting to the tunnels without anyone noticing.

  “That Dark Creeper potion is really tearing into them,” Mark said as he peeped through the lid of the trapdoor when they were safely underground. “I’ve counted eight Wheeljackers have been taken down by it.”

  John was on the landing beneath the ladder that led up to the trapdoor and had called up the holographic screen that showed the in-game notice board. “Do you think the Creeper will wipe them all out?”

  Mark shook his head. “No, its time limit is almost up; it’s starting to disintegrate. Some of the Wheeljackers are heading away, including Jodie. Wow, she is pissed. You’ve really pushed her buttons.”