Viridian Gate Online- Vindication

by N H Paxton

  “Eh, what did say? Hard to hear around egg.” I smiled at her as she chewed faster, then swallowed hard.

  “I said I just need to go to the Warden Chapterhouse in town and finish a trial. It’s simple.” She took a deep drag from her flagon of ale before shoveling another pile of potato and egg into her face.

  “Ah, is simple then, no? Should do yours first.” I nodded as I stuck a great wad of toast into my mouth and chewed loudly.

  “No, no, we will do yours first. I mean, there’s actually no telling how long it will take for mine to get done. It could be a vigil, which is something the wardens do from time to time where they watch a specific location for a full twenty-four hours without rest, food, or water. If that’s the case”—she poked her fork at me as if skewering the winning conversation piece—“then yours will be better to do first.” She nodded, and I opened my mouth to say something. She cut me off as she picked up one of her pieces of toast and shoved it into my now-empty mouth playfully. I bit the end off of it with a smile.

  “Okay, okay, we find tunnels. Eh, do we know where are Plague Tunnels?” I knew that there was a quest marker on my map that was quite literally in the center of Rowanheath, but there was a huge keep there, and my class quest specifically required me to go into the Plague Tunnels.

  “I don’t know, we’ll ask around.” Ina finished her breakfast and downed her ale. “Ahh, yes, full stomach, ready for a quest!” She was in rare form today, and I was all about it.

  “Will need strength. In old world, tunnels of plagued people existed too. Was terrible place, exiled other hum—er, exiled other people underground to die without spreading disease. Was bad practice, but got job done.” I shrugged a bit. Sometimes I found it hard to see black and white the way they were all the time. As I finished the statement, I considered the mistakes that were made in Russia a few years back. Exiling people to the underground rail system just because they had the plague seemed coldhearted, but it kept the disease from running rampant.

  “That sounds terrible.” She cringed and wrinkled her eyebrows, the things I spoke about regarding Earth always seemed to have that effect. I was beginning to find that it was a truly terrible place.

  We both stood from the bar and nodded to the barkeeper, who grunted his usual grunt and continued to clean a glass—was that the same glass he was cleaning the night before? There’s no way it was. As we headed out the door, a person decked out in black leathers from head-to-toe with a hood covering his face slipped outside just before us. There was an air of suspicion about him, but I chose to ignore it. He was, after all, just another inn patron.

  As Ina and I stepped out of the doorway, the man in the black leathers leaned against the wall. He’d taken down his hood, revealing deep raven hair and a Wode heritage.

  “Hey, I hear you guys are heading down into the sewers.” He nodded over to us as he flicked a coin into the air, catching it deftly. He did this a few times, not so much because it was impressive, but because the coin didn’t look like the silver that Ina had in her bag. It had a different mark on the front of it, and I couldn’t quite see what it was.

  “We are, actually, but that’s our own business, thanks.” Ina was a bit standoffish, which surprised me some. Previously she had been extremely open with people, but perhaps she was learning her lesson with the last time we were “helpful.”

  “Oh my, well, excuse me, pretty lady. But your friend there, he uh, looks a little out of place, doesn’t he?” He snatched the coin from the air and kicked off the wall, standing upright.

  “We’ll be fine, thanks very much.” Ina tried to walk past him, but he shifted his body and stood in our path.

  “Ah, see, here’s the deal. The sewers, they run every which way in this damned town, right? So, I just happen to be the best tour guide this side of the Imperial Fort over there.” He pointed at the overly large keep that dominated the middle of the town. It could literally be seen from everywhere in Rowanheath. “Now, lucky for you, I’m running a special. There’s only one entrance to the tunnels that will get you to the Exile Gate, which I imagine is where you’re heading, overhearing what you said about the Plague Tunnels just inside the inn there.” He tilted his head and gave us a smile that showed off several gold teeth and many more rotted ones.

  “Oh, I hadn’t considered that. Well, what’s your price, and your name? I’ll have both before I hire you.” Ina was a shrewd businesswoman on Earth, and it seemed as though my memory of her, what was mapped by the system anyway, translated that here as well.

  “I’m Dirk, and the price is ten silver.” He raised an eyebrow; it was fiendish to look at.

  “Well, Dirk, I don’t favor you, so I’ll say three silver and five copper, and that’ll be my standing.” Ina folded her arms. There was no getting by her when she stood her ground.

  “Ah, a shrewd one, are ya?” He looked around shiftily before scratching at his left forearm. He had a few open wounds there that reminded me of amphetamine abusers from Earth. He was an addict then. Good to know.

  “Well, judging by the way you’re covered head to toe in leathers, have shaky hands, and look a bit on the edgy side, I’d say you’re addicted to something. And I won’t feed an addict, so, come down on your price, or I won’t pay at all.”

  “Ack, how? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Look, I’ll do five silver, but that’s the least I can go, please. I need a fix; I’m going insane. I’ll get you there, no trouble.” His businessman-like demeanor immediately failed, and he started to look more and more desperate.

  “Alright, that works. But your word is your bond, or I will put this sword to use in your spine.” Ina patted the hilt of the longsword she had on her hip. Apparently I wasn’t needed at all in this situation. Ina could obviously handle herself.

  “Yeah, yeah, look, let’s get going eh?” He put his hand out, and Ina placed the five silvers into it. His hand snapped shut and he brought it closer to his eyes than he needed to. He counted them with his finger, sliding them against each other.

  When he was done, the coins disappeared into his sleeve. I was impressed. I had seen sleight of hand before, but his was on another level.

  “Now then, Dirk, shall we?” Ina raised an eyebrow, and her voice rose along with it.

  Dirk led us through crowded city streets that fed into alleyways. Before we knew it, the rising sun overhead was lost behind buildings crowding in on either side of the alley, giving the place a truly dark feeling. I kept my eyes open for trouble, as I imagined a rogue such as Dirk would have a nasty trick up his sleeve. However, we managed to make it through the majority of the city without incident. We did have a brief run-in with a small group of individuals who, at a glance, seemed fairly unassuming. However, once we were past them, I heard the unmistakable sound of knives being unsheathed.

  “No, hey, no. Guys, these Travelers are with me. We’re heading to the sewers, it’s fine.” Dirk’s words were quick and firm, as though he’d known it was going to happen.

  “Oh, sorry. We thought they were marks.” One of the individuals shrugged his shoulders as he put the knife back into a sheath hidden beneath his cloak.

  “Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue, but these are paying customers.” Dirk tilted his head in a strange way, but it seemed to mean something to the other two men who were standing about.

  “Alright, good luck. It’s crawling with giant rats this week. The Travelers haven’t been keeping up with cleaning it out.” The rogue who had spoken before hitched a thumb over his shoulder as he turned to walk away.

  “Thanks, Gant, I’ll keep an eye out.”

  That was the end of the conversation, and we were moving forward again.

  Another ten minutes or so of walking, and we arrived at the main entrance to the sewers. It was simple, unadorned bricks and stone with a rickety wooden staircase leading down to the entrance. It trickled rancid water that twisted and turned out of view in the distance. We stepped down the few old, wooden stairs that took us to the
mouth of the stone tunnel, and Dirk stopped.

  “So, here’s where the sewers start. Now, try to stay close, because it’s dark down here, and I only have the one torch.” He pulled a wooden stick from his bag that had been wrapped in cloth at the top. It stank of old meat, which I assumed was a kind of fat they used in Eldgard to keep torches burning.

  Dirk pulled a small set of flint and steel from his pocket, held the stick out with his knees, and sparked the old-world match. The flame caught, and the torch blazed to life. Dirk shifted, returning the flint and steel, and took up the torch.

  “How long will torch last?” I asked, unaccustomed to old-world torch light.

  “Long enough,” Dirk replied. There was something about his statement that made me cringe a little, but it may have been the stink of the torch. After he spoke, he plunged into the tunnels, Ina and I following after quickly.

  “This place is truly a labyrinth,” Ina said as we trudged deeper into the tunnels, the light of the sun fading well behind us as we turned a corner at a three-way intersection.

  “That’s the reason you need a good guide,” Dirk replied, his torch casting flickering red-and-orange light into the gloom ahead of us.

  A noise caused him to stop and draw a long dagger from his hip. He turned his head to the side and nodded. Ina drew her longsword, and I pulled my crossbow, not sure what to expect.

  “Noise sounded like squeak, not small though, not like rat.” My eyes darted in every direction, trying to find the creature that had made the sound.

  Next to the walkway we were on, there was a fetid flow, slowly creeping its way out into the open passageway we had come from. An excessively large rat, easily twenty times the size of an Earth rat, leapt from the stinking stream. I stumbled backward and landed on my backside with an oof. My eyes landed on it long enough for it to be registered in my vision as a [Plague Rat].

  “There’s the rat!” Dirk swung his torch at it, following it up with a quick sweep of his blade.

  Ina backpedaled efficiently, sliding her feet into a defensive stance. The rat landed mere centimeters from me, but I had dropped my crossbow when I fell, and it was too far out of reach.

  “Wait, what’s that sound?” Ina looked around as we were assailed by the sounds of several splashes. More rats leapt from the waterway, all covered in stinking water, several with eyes missing, and most with swollen, disgusting sores on their bodies.

  “Plague Rats!” Dirk was quick to strike one with his torch, setting the wet fur to sizzling. The smell it emitted was overpowering. I nearly vomited where I sat. I covered my face with my hand and used my free arm to bring myself to a crouching position. I tried to activate stealth, but received a notice for my efforts.

  <<<>>>

  Stealth has failed! Plague Rats can smell your presence, see in the dark, and you are in moderate lighting!

  <<<>>>

  Bah, so that wasn’t going to work. I scrambled for my crossbow as Ina shouted, and the ground around us vibrated as I saw a bright green icon appear in the corner of my vision.

  <<<>>>

  Buff Added

  You have been imbued with Bend Like the Reed, granting you enhanced dexterity. Dexterity increased by 5. Duration, 2 minutes.

  <<<>>>

  I noticed that I was moving around quite a bit quicker than I had been before, and I managed to get to the crossbow without too much effort. I took aim at the closest Plague Rat and fired a bolt. It struck hard, and the rat shrieked and turned its attention to me.

  “Nice shot,” Dirk shouted as he stabbed the rat in the spine, killing it instantly. It collapsed to the ground in a repulsive pile as Dirk spun, catching a leaping rat with his weapons. It scrambled at his defenses, mouth snapping and claws raking against his leather armor. The rat squealed, and a sword broke through the front of its skull, stopping just shy of Dirk’s face.

  “I got you,” Ina said as she ripped her blade free of the creature. The rat fell to the ground with a whomp. Ina twisted her body, whipping her sword around in a lightning-fast arc. It caught a pair of the rats as they scurried closer, sending them tumbling backward.

  “Only a couple more,” Dirk said as he lunged with his torch. The rat he had lunged at snapped its jaws around the wooden handle of the torch, and Dirk drove his knife into the side of its head. One more down, one to go.

  “Is running?” I reloaded my crossbow and took aim, hoping to score a pinning shot. I fired, and time slowed down as the bolt coursed through the air. I watched it fly, feeling almost as though I were the bolt. It struck the hind leg of the rat with enough force to drive the bolt’s head into the stone beneath. Had I just done that? Did I force my shot to connect, or was it sheer luck?

  “Great shot, Vlad!” Ina charged the rat and drove her longsword through the creature’s side, ending it quickly. She put her foot on the rat and slid her blade free, flicking the putrescent blood from the sword with a snap of her wrist. “Ewww, that stuff is just gross. My sword is going to need a good cleaning.”

  She sheathed the blade and came back to our group. I reloaded my crossbow, pulled the wire back, set the safety latch, and hooked it to my belt.

  “Alright, that was entertaining. You guys are pretty good.” Dirk smiled with half his mouth as he looked up to the ceiling, almost like he was listening for something. “We’ve got to get going though, so let’s hurry, eh?”

  He spun in place and took off at a quick walk down the tunnels. Ina and I carried on as well, making sure we kept an eye, and now an ear, out for any other creatures that might decide to waylay us.

  About thirty minutes into the sewers, Dirk picked up his pace without warning.

  “Hey, slow down!” Ina shouted after him, but he turned a corner and disappeared before we could follow. The light from his torch vanished as quickly as he had.

  “I’m sorry for this!” Dirk’s voice echoed back through the sewers as though he were everywhere at once, and for all we knew, he very well could have been.

  With nothing to light our way, Ina and I stood in place, waiting for our eyes to adjust to the dark. I cursed myself for not being better prepared. What had I expected, the sewers to be lighted like they were back on Earth? Stupid, idiotic Vlad.

  “Well, this is just awful.” Ina’s voice was unsure; I heard the tremble of fear in her words.

  “No, is okay. Will find our way.” I tried to be reassuring, but it didn’t work as well as I had hoped because I was just as concerned. I tried to remember the turns we had taken in the tunnels, and when I pulled my map up, there was an area that was colored, which must have been the path we followed.

  I was about to suggest that we simply backtrack, get a few torches at a general store, if those existed, and then come back, when there was a flicker of firelight down a tunnel.

  You can’t plan this...

  HOPE SOARED IN ME FOR just a moment when Ina called out into the darkness.

  “Dirk, is that you?” Her voice echoed in the tunnels for a moment before a shrill laugh came back, followed by a trio of bodies, all of whom were carrying torches and large weapons. Their gear looked new, expensive, and definitely menacing.

  “No, little love, it’s not. But that’s okay, because it won’t matter soon.”

  One of the trio, a large Risi carrying a heavy axe over one shoulder, pale skinned with scars crisscrossing his face, quickly advanced and slammed Ina in the gut with the haft of his axe. She crumpled to the ground, almost without a fight.

  “What is—” I reached for my crossbow just in time to be hit in the chest by a bolt of flame that burned my skin through my clothes like I was carrying a bag of hot coals under my shirt. I fell to the ground, the pain slowly receding, and I noticed my Health had dropped by half.

  I had a flashing red icon in my vision that had popped up unwarranted, and I dismissed it as soon as I skimmed it.

  <<<>>>

  Debuff added

  Burned: You are suffering from skin burns. Your fire resistance has been
reduced by 5%. Duration, 2 minutes.

  <<<>>>

  “This is, as you so stupidly asked, an ambush.” The Risi looked down at me, where I was clutching my chest on the ground. Ina was starting to stir, but he kicked her in the side, eliciting a muffled urgh as she rolled a little ways.

  “Why you do?” God dammit, even breathing hurt. How had I taken so much damage from a single blow? They must have been much higher level than we were, which was bad. “Is... is not okay.” I was angry, but I knew when I was beaten.

  “Why do we do it?” There was a Wode in the back who held a staff and had flames wreathing his body in a sphere. That must have been the mage who hit me with the fire bolt. “Because we can. And if it wasn’t intended to be okay, it wouldn’t have been built into the game, moron.” His face was smug, like he deserved to harm others, as though it was his divine fate.

  “To be fair, we were just bored, but we figured it couldn’t hurt to pick on a few lowbies!” A dark-skinned individual, likely a Murk Elf, stood in the back, a pair of long swords at his hips. He threw his head back and laughed.

  Ina stood, literally jumping up from the ground, and rushed the Wode mage. She struck his flaming shield with her sword, the tip forward in a piercing strike. The mage backpedaled as quickly as he could, but it was too late. The sphere of fire collapsed around him, and the blade bit into his chest.

  “How...?” The last words that left his lips before he collapsed to the ground begged a question Ina would never need to answer.

  She spun quickly to strike at the Murk Elf, but was caught by a heavy blow from the Risi, whose skin had developed a red tinge. The axe hit Ina in an upward sweep, picking her up off the ground and slamming her into the roof of the sewer. Ina screamed out as she hit the ceiling, the stone above her cracking from the force of the blow. She stayed there for half a second before falling unceremoniously to the ground, her body broken from the landing.

  The sound of cracking bone and snapping cartilage reached my ears as she landed, unmoving. Blood dribbled from her open mouth, and I had to really focus to see if she was still breathing; her chest rose and fell slowly, almost imperceptibly.