Rise of the Grandmaster

by Bradford Bates

  Tim smiled back sheepishly. “I might also need some work on my aim.”

  The man wrapped an arm around his shoulders and started steering him toward his friends. “I’m Dean, by the way, and this is Matt.”

  At least he wasn’t the only one using a normal name. “I’m Tim.”

  Dean let him go and moved to stand by Matt.

  Matt slapped Dean in the chest. “I wish they’d get moving. I have a serious thirst.”

  Smiling at his friend, Dean dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I bet you do.” He winked. “It’s that tavern wench from the brochure, isn’t it?”

  “I didn’t pay to upgrade my room for no reason,” Matt said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

  Dean laughed as he turned toward Tim. “So, where are you staying?”

  Tim looked down at his feet before answering, wondering if he’d made the right choice. “In the slums.”

  Slapping Tim on the shoulder like they were old friends, Matt grinned incredulously. “Get a look at the balls on this guy!”

  Dean shuddered. “If you ever want to see how the better half lives, come find us.”

  Tim accepted both their friend requests as their group leader Jeremy tried to get everyone’s attention.

  Jeremy smiled at the assembled players and started shouting. “All right, let’s get this shitshow moving.”

  Tim wasn’t sure why, but he kind of liked the guy. Sure, he was burly, and kind of in your face, but there was a friendliness to him, too. He was the kind of guy Tim wanted on his side in a scrap.

  Jeremy walked them out of the courtyard and into a larger cobbled square. “We’re going to take a small tour, and I’ll be pointing out the inns. When we reach your inn, feel free to leave the group and get settled in your room. Work starts in the morning for everyone.”

  After moving into the center of the square, Jeremy paused, letting everyone orient themselves. Their guide made sure everyone was paying attention, then started his speech. “To the north, you will find the nobles and the castle. Those of you staying at the Gilded Heart Inn can head that way now.”

  A few people, including Dean and Matt, headed in a northerly direction. It must have been a trick of the programming, but the northern side of the city seemed to sparkle in the light.

  Tim shook his head. It must just be his imagination.

  Jeremy cleared his throat. “To the south, you’ll find most of our middle-class and merchant families. Those of you headed to the Plushy Pillow Inn, follow the road south. If you don’t know what direction south is, pull up your map.”

  A map? Of course, he had a fucking map. Tim almost face-palmed. Why hadn’t he looked for it earlier? He pulled up his user interface and scrolled through the tabs until he found the map.

  He was in the city of Promethia. The entire city was laid out in perfect detail. He could even zoom in and look at the storefronts. The square they were in had roads leading off in the four cardinal directions.

  The one thing Tim couldn’t do was look outside the city. There was a gate along the southern wall of Promethia labeled Level Ten. Could they not leave the city until level ten?

  Tim spun in a slow circle, wondering what hidden secrets there were to explore. He couldn’t gain ten levels by killing rats, so there had to be a quest chain hidden around here somewhere.

  He even loved the name of the city. Promethia made a certain kind of sense. It was a new beginning, the dawn of man in an age of machines. Would the players be the champions of this world or its tormentors? Tim smiled as he scanned the map of the city. Finding out was going to be so much fun.

  Tim put his map away as Jeremy continued talking. “Those of you who weren’t ogling your maps might have noticed that to the east of us is the sea. You’re going to find all your crafting trainers in that direction. It’s also the only place in the city you can access the global market.”

  Jeremy looked around to make sure everyone was paying attention. “So, if you want to buy and sell stuff,” He pointed toward the ocean and the piers. “You go that way.”

  Jeremy grinned as he looked over the group, which had shrunken by a third. “Come on, we’ve got a couple more stops to make.” He headed west into the heart of the city. After about half a mile, Jeremy stopped in front of a sign hanging over a door.

  Pointing to the picture of a pig tucked into a bed, Jeremy continued. “This is the Snoring Snout. They have good food and comfortable beds.”

  A man came out of the door, his stained leather apron billowing out around him. “Come on, folks, let’s get you settled inside. I’ve got buttered rum on the burner and stew warming above the fire.” The innkeeper held the door open. “Don’t be shy.”

  If this was the regular package, maybe Tim shouldn’t have taken the extra money. Staying here looked like a good choice. The Innkeeper was friendly, and it wasn’t too far away from anything he might need in the city.

  When the door closed, Jeremy turned around and looked almost shocked at the ten players standing around him. “Oh, my. Let’s keep it moving, shall we?” He strode forward, searching his pockets.

  Tim wondered if Jeremy had lost his notes and was now officially winging it. Not that he could knock him. Every college student had thrown a few reports together at the last second, so he was familiar with the process. Put on a brave face and hope no one noticed.

  As they walked deeper into the city, Tim noticed that some of the cobbles in the street were cracked. The buildings here were also starting to show signs of wear. It wasn’t too bad. He’d seen worse back home.

  Jeremy came to a stop once again. “Welcome to the Blushing Pony. You pretty much get what you pay for.”

  The players milled about waiting for the innkeeper to come out and greet them like the one from the Snoring Snout, but no one emerged from the inn. Noticing that his remaining players weren’t going to enter the inn on their own, Jeremy opened the door and motioned for those staying there to go inside.

  Jeremy closed the door and mumbled, “Like I said, you get what you pay for.” He turned around and started to head back to where they had started.

  “What about me?” Tim called.

  Jeremy spun, looking startled. “Oh, yes. I almost forgot.” He smiled warmly at Tim, but his eyes sparkled mischievously. “The world takes all kinds, doesn’t it?” He pulled a small flask from inside of his robe and took a quick nip. “Come on, then.”

  Tim tried not to laugh as Jeremy slipped the flask back inside his robes. He might not have been the ideal employee, but he couldn’t deny his guide had a certain flourish to him. He got the feeling their tour might have been accelerated a bit due to their guide’s hurry to get back to his own inn.

  Looking at the sky, Tim felt like it was getting darker. Jeremy was picking up the pace, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the horizon.

  Were those fucking rain clouds?

  They passed another inn, but Jeremy didn’t slow. Cracked cobbles quickly became the norm instead of the exception. Just how bad were the slums going to be?

  Jeremy stopped just outside an archway. The two guards stationed on either side-eyed him suspiciously as he pointed through the arch into a section of the city that was darker than where they were now. “You’ll find the Blue Dagger Inn down there.” He waved cheerily and started to turn away. “Good luck.”

  Tim looked at the two guards. He couldn’t decide if the two men were there to keep people out or to keep them from coming in. Was his new residence really that bad?

  Not wanting to keep Jeremy from his drinking, but also not wanting to let the chance of making a friend with an inside track on the game go, Tim shouted at Jeremy, “Thanks for walking me all the way down here.”

  “Eat a fish,” Jeremy delivered with a deadpan expression.

  What the fuck? He couldn’t have heard him right. It must have been some kind of error with the sound. “What did you just say?”

  Jeremy pulled Tim in close and whispered to him in a consp
iratorial fashion, “It’ll catch on if enough people say it.”

  Smiling reflexively, Tim tried to wrap his head around Jeremy’s new catchphrase. “I’m sure you’re onto something.”

  The guide released him and gave him one last casual wave as he walked away. “Just remember, next time someone pisses you off, tell them to eat a fish.” Jeremy chuckled. “You’ll thank me later.”

  Tim probably wouldn’t be using Jeremy’s new catchphrase any time soon. “Eat a fish.” He could just imagine the confused look on someone’s face right before the fight broke out. Jeremy might have been a fun guide, but his new phrase could use a little work.

  The guards’ clenched their spears tighter as Tim peered through the archway. He tried to ignore them as he took in the lay of the land. The slums didn’t even have cobbles. The road in front of him was just packed dirt.

  This place was going to suck if it rained.

  As if on cue, the heavens above the slums opened up. Tim turned and looked north and south.

  Nothing but fucking sunshine.

  Even the bay to the east was cloud-free; the only place it was raining was the slums. Fuck it. It didn’t matter where he slept, or if his feet got muddy. It had been the right choice to pick the Blue Dagger Inn.

  Now he just had to prove it.

  Chapter Eleven

  “What the fuck was that?” Tim cried as something other than mud squelched up between his toes.

  New players should really be given some kind of footwear. Come to think of it, he’d seen a few people with boots. Maybe some kind of recruitment perk, or an upgrade? If Tim ever had the chance to enter another game, he was going to have to spend more time going over the details. It seemed that Christine had left a lot out during their initial meeting.

  Tim trudged through the muddy streets toward the inn. He hoped some of the puddles would clean the worst of the muck from his feet. At least there was a torch burning outside the inn. Most of the other buildings looked abandoned, or maybe they just couldn’t afford torches.

  The lone torch was enough to highlight the wooden sign over the door, which swayed gently in the breeze. When the light caught it just right, Tim could make out a drawing of a fist holding a blue dagger.

  The front door of the inn was cracked. Tim peered through the gaps in the wooden slats, but the light coming from inside was too muted for him to see anything. Fuck it. Tim shrugged and stepped through the door.

  At least it will get me out of the rain.

  Tim closed the door behind him. There wasn’t anything to wipe his feet on, so he left muddy footprints on his way to the counter.

  Beyond the entryway was a large room with tables and chairs scattered around a giant fireplace. Five men were having a conversation at one of the tables, but otherwise, the inn was empty.

  A balding, middle-aged man with rotted teeth tapped the counter to draw Tim’s attention away from the men gathered around the table. “Greetings, traveler.” The innkeeper smiled. “I’m afraid to tell you this is a private establishment. We don’t have any rooms for rent.”

  Tim looked around the inn, noting the peeling paint and the stained floorboards. “Maybe you should rent more rooms.” Just like in the real world, his mouth still had a habit of running away with itself. Still, this was a game, and Christine had sold him a room here. He wasn’t leaving until he got one.

  “I believe you know where the door is,” the older man snarled at him before casting a look into the main room. Several chairs scratched the wooden floor as they were pushed back from the tables.

  Why did he always find himself in these situations? He might not be able to fix the innkeeper’s perception of him, but he wasn’t going to sleep in the fucking rain. “I’ve got a reservation.” Tim tapped the counter. “The name’s Tim.”

  A brutish man with scars on his cheeks stepped forward. “Hey, Ernie. This asshole giving you trouble?”

  Ernie sneered. “He says he has a reservation.”

  The other man started to laugh. “We haven’t had one of those in years.” His look was ice-cold when he turned his eyes on Tim. “We prefer to keep our business to ourselves.”

  Ernie pulled out a dusty ledger covered in cobwebs.

  Tim’s heart dropped. If the reservation book had cobwebs on it, his name couldn’t be inside.

  Dust flew from the pages when Ernie flipped the book open. Coughing to clear his throat, the innkeeper flipped to the last page with writing. His eyes went wide. “Will you look at that? The kid actually does have a reservation.”

  Tim let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding.

  The brute shoved Ernie out of the way. “Let me see that.” He looked from the name to Tim. “The boys aren’t going to like it.”

  “The boys don’t own this place.” Ernie snatched the book from the brute’s hands. “The boss said if anyone’s in the book, we have to let them stay.” Ernie took a key from the rack and tossed it to Tim. “Second floor, fourth door on your right.”

  The brute stepped in front of Tim. “Just remember, eyes, ears, and mouth shut.” He locked eyes with Tim like a mongoose facing a cobra. “Got it?”

  This wasn’t the time to pick a fight or figure out what they were trying to hide. All Tim wanted to do was get cleaned up and track down Sierra. He reached up and patted the much larger man’s chest. “Whatever you say, Chief.”

  There was his big mouth again. What was it about being in the game that gave him the confidence to be so brazen?

  The man smiled and moved out of the way so Tim could pass. He looked at Ernie. “’Chief,’ huh? I kinda like that.”

  “Praise the lady, kid! Did you really have to do that?” Ernie said, looking back at Tim. “Now we’re never going to get him to stop calling himself ‘Chief.’”

  Tim smiled as Ernie started to laugh. “Oh, I’m sure I can come up with something much more disparaging if you give me a few minutes.”

  “Just get out of here before you get yourself in trouble.” Ernie slapped his thigh and laughed harder. “Chief! Can you imagine?”

  Chief might not have been very smart, but he was also the last person Tim wanted to tangle with. Granted, this was a game, so maybe he shouldn’t base his opinion on looks alone. Maybe there was a way to scan players and NPCs.

  Tim looked at the man he’d called Chief and tried to find out anything else he could about him.

  Gaston The Sneaky: Level ??? assassin.

  Yep, he’d turn Tim into another bloody stain on the floorboards.

  Maybe he should just go to his room, then figure out what to do next. Tim left the two men in conversation and walked around the corner and up the stairs to the second floor.

  When he reached the second floor, he received a quest prompt.

  A den of thieves: The inn is clearly being used for something other than hosting weary travelers. Get to the bottom of the mystery.

  Reward for completion variable upon results.

  Well, that didn’t give him much to go on. The reward could be anything. The entire quest might just be a colossal waste of time. Still, he hadn’t received any other quests yet, or even a general direction to go in.

  He accepted the quest. “Maybe I’ll get a pair of boots?”

  Tim opened the door to his room and peered inside. He reached through the doorway and tried to flip a switch, but the wall was flat. Of course, there wasn’t a light switch. What was he thinking? Tim grabbed the small lantern hanging beside his door and stepped into the room.

  With the door closed behind him, Tim felt a little bit safer. He walked around his small room and lit a few more lanterns. A knock on the door stopped him from seeing how soft the bed was. It also made him jump, and he pulled out his scepter. Maybe the brute from downstairs had decided Chief wasn’t a nickname he actually liked.

  A young girl shouldered her way past him with a bundle of logs. Her much younger brother trailed behind her with a small handheld wagon.

  Tim jumped out of the way.
The kids clearly weren’t in the mood for small talk.

  After the rain, a fire seemed like the perfect thing. Maybe he’d be able to find some candy or something to tip them. It was the least he could do if they tended to his fire and chamber pot every day.

  The girl lit the fire like an expert and then unloaded the rest of the wood from her brother’s cart. When the young man didn’t start moving right away, she slapped him across the back of the head. “Get moving, Dudley.”

  Maybe less candy for her.

  Tim would have laughed, but it reminded him too much of his own childhood. Both children exited the room, then the girl reappeared with a pitcher of water and a towel.

  She glared at Tim’s muddy feet. “Get a pair of boots.” She stomped out the door and slammed it shut behind her.

  At least he wasn’t the only one who thought new players should get boots. Tim took a seat on the chair by the fire and started cleaning his feet. It was a losing battle. The only way to get this much crap off his feet would be to take a bath. If baths were extra here, then he didn’t have the money for one just yet.

  Which brought him to the question. “What in the fuck do I do next?”

  Tim brought up his user interface and saw that he already had a message from Sierra.

  “I’m at the class trainer now and loving it. Maybe we can hook up tomorrow instead?”

  He wanted to be angry, but Tim was kind of feeling the same way. He had a quest to complete and boots to find, after all. Plus, he had to stay in front of the curve to meet his goals. It didn’t matter which curve it was: leveling, crafting, or healing. He couldn’t afford to fall behind.

  It was time to get to work.

  The first thing Tim did was pull out his map. After fiddling with options on the side, he found the two places he was looking for. The healing and mage trainers were both on the north side of town. He selected the temple on his map and set a waypoint. From the looks of the building, it would be hard to miss, but why take the chance?

  He opened the door and bounded down the stairs. Rushing past Ernie, he shouted. “I’ll be back later.”