Mage

by L. J. Swallow

  "Uh. Hello."

  He walks by, not responding.

  Maybe I woke too early as there are few people around. Three kids run in circles around the fountain in the town square, and it strikes me as odd that, apart from the inn, the town's occupants are all human.

  "Mornin'!" A voice mimics the fisherman, and Dean claps me on the back, catching me by surprise. I stumble forward and regain my footing. "You okay?"

  His blue eyes search mine, tired but filled with concern. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm okay. Confused still. You?"

  He wrinkles his nose. "Yeah. Met this shady dude who claimed to be from the Black Brotherhood and told me I need to train, but didn't exactly elaborate what skills they'll teach me. I hoped that would be the character creation screen and I might be able to change class. No such luck."

  "No. Same. I'm a mage, whether I want to be or not. At least they offered me a room to stay in.”

  Dean points at his face. “Same. I was happy to see I’m still the awesomely attractive guy I was.” He grins.

  “Big-headed much?” I ask with a wry smile. “I wouldn’t think assassins have mirrors in their quarters.”

  “No. Check your band.” He reaches out for my arm and takes my hand below my wrist.

  His touch is light and triggers a nervous fluttering in my stomach—because his touch confirms we’re both physically here. I tell myself this is not because I’m attracted to him. But I’m lying to myself—he’s an attractive guy who’s nice to me and those guys always win me over.

  Dean taps the screen on my band and my face appears. In all the rigmarole of the last few hours, what I look like hasn’t crossed my mind. I have two arms and two legs, was clearly human, and that’s all that matters. Apart from the useless armour.

  “Do you look the same as the real-life Eleanor?” He indicates the screen. I nod. “Are you sure?”

  “Why? What’s wrong with me?” I self-consciously touch my face.

  “Nothing. That’s the point. You’re cute.”

  I blink rapidly at his weird decision to flirt with me. “Um. Okay. Reuben told me about my character's past, but he didn't tell me why I was here.” He chuckles at my subject change. “How about you?"

  "Nope, the dude never told me. Sucks, hey?" He sits on the stone fountain edge, where the water trickles quietly beneath our conversation.

  "That's a slight understatement, Dean." I lower my voice. "What do you really think is happening?"

  "No clue. I take it you're a gamer too?" I nod. "What were you doing before you arrived?"

  "I was in bed and my laptop started going nuts."

  "Ooh!" Dean wiggles his fingers in the air. "Maybe we've been sucked into the interwebz?”

  I frown at his mock-horrified expression. "Funny. What were you doing?"

  He shrugs. "Don't remember. I was at home, sleeping, after a heavy night out."

  I lower my voice. "There was this guy following me last night, I think. Before I arrived here. And over the last week I received weird texts. Did you get those?"

  Dean rubs his nose. "Nope. The Brotherhood guy gave me a quest. Did yours?"

  I blink at his subject change. "I have to kill pigs."

  He laughs and stands. "Nice. I have to kill a wolf. Good luck."

  My insides punch a little. "Are you going on your own to quest?"

  "Uh. Think so. I'm trying to figure shit out..." He gestures at the uninterested people around us. "If we're level 2, I don't think we can do much apart from work through simple quests until we're high enough for something decent."

  "But it would be quicker together, right?" I offer him a friendly smile, but he shrugs.

  "I guess."

  Well, that was noncommittal.

  "Have you seen the others? Jay and Zara?" I ask him.

  "Zara left. Told me she had to find something, and I haven't seen... Ah." He points at a tall figure across the town square. "The man himself."

  Jay heads across the town square towards us. His shoulders are slumped and as he approaches, I see how pale he is. This isn't the cocky guy from yesterday.

  "Are you okay?" I ask.

  He looks up. "Do you mean after the zombie bite? Or okay with being stuck in whatever this hellhole is?"

  "Both," I say.

  Jay's exhaustion spreads to his eyes and he waves his arm at me. "My band tells me I’m suffering side effects, apparently. Six hours to go until the disease’s effect leaves."

  "Bad luck," says Dean, and Jay replies with a tired look.

  "We were talking about some people we met last night." I gesture at Dean. "Game characters. I met Reuben, who told me more about who I’m supposed to be, and they gave us quests. How about you?"

  "Oh. Yeah. This chick came out of nowhere last night, healed me up and then told me I’m a cleric. Like I didn’t already know," he grumbles. "She informed me I'm part of some holy order and then asked me to bring her a something."

  "I have to get Reuben some boar hearts. Yum."

  "Cooking quest?"

  "Um. I guess. I never thought about that." I pause. "What do you need?"

  He stares at his feet again. "A specific flower to give to the elf High Priestess and then she'll teach me more spells."

  Dean bites back a laugh. "Flower picking? Cute."

  "Yeah? And what are you doing?" he snaps. "I bet your quest is as shitty."

  "I need a wolf paw for a Brotherhood guy."

  "Your assassin trainer?"

  "S'pose. But get this—the name of the wolf whose paw I need?" He taps his wristband and reads the text. "Big Bad Wolf."

  I laugh at the ridiculousness, and even Jay has a chuckle, a welcome light moment in the dark we're in.

  Jay huffs out a long breath. "We need to level up and fight the hell out of here."

  "Then we keep going, and as fast as we can."

  Jay straightens and tips his chin. "I once levelled 1 to 50 in 24 hours."

  "I doubt that'll happen," I reply.

  "You think? Watch me."

  “Do we know what max level is? We’re levelling slowly. I hope it isn’t 50. Or 100.”

  Dean looks around, brow tugged into a frown. "Y'know what's odd? We haven't seen any other players, apart from Zara. There must be more than just us here."

  "Unless we all died, and this is some kind of purgatory?" I suggest with a light laugh.

  A flicker in Jay's eyes suggests he's considered this. "Sure."

  The thing is, I'm not entirely joking.

  No, this is something else. I'm certain.

  "Maybe see you guys later." Dean walks in the direction of the gates we came through last night.

  "I'm heading off too." Jay shrugs his backpack higher over a shoulder.

  My stomach twists. "How about safety in numbers?" I suggest.

  "I'll be back with my flower." He sneers the word. "I'm sure we can meet up again later."

  I bet Jay means he doesn't want somebody else around if he finds another treasure chest.

  I chew a nail as the two guys head in different directions. Too focused on his wristband map, Jay trips over one of the chickens wandering the street.

  "Hey!" yells a voice. An elderly man steps out of the door and straight up to Jay, finger pointing in his face. "That had better not be a deliberate kick!"

  "No," replies Jay with that perpetual sour look of his. "Nobody would be stupid enough to kick a chicken." He tramps off.

  I blow air into my cheeks as I check the map on my band. He's right, nobody in this town is likely to eat chicken soup.

  "Guys! Wait up," I call. "Please consider sticking together." Dean stops and turns to look at me. "Jay!"

  Jay pauses too, and I catch up to them. "Side quests are quicker if we do them together. Let's help each other out here. Look, none of us needs the same items, so that won't be an issue."

  Jay rubs a finger across his lips. "If we do group up, I keep the loot I find from anything I kill."

  "Unless the item can help
one of us and not you," puts in Dean. "Be fair."

  "Yeah, I meant I keep the gold and anything I can sell. You can have any armour that helps you."

  "I doubt boars carry much gold." A thick-set, bearded man walks past with a fishing rod and I double take. Didn't he pass me a few minutes ago?

  "Mornin'!" he calls over his shoulder.

  The one word prickles my scalp. If I stayed in this spot, how many times would the fisherman pass me?

  "When I played the Game, I always thought it was funny that pigs somehow carry plate armour. I mean, where would they store it?" Dean chuckles. "I guess this game has more reality."

  His words silence us again. Game.

  "Fine. Let's go. But nobody touches my flowers."

  As Jay stalks ahead, I exchange an amused glance with Dean. “I wouldn’t dare,” he whispers and winks.

  Chapter Ten

  I slump to the ground in exhaustion and pull out the skin filled with water I found discarded in the corner of a field, then drink heavily. Animal corpses surround me, and my stomach turns at the bloody mess we made of the boars.

  I lost count how many died after killing the twentieth, and I only have nine hearts. Boars with missing hearts who can walk and breathe? That's some mutation happening here.

  The boar hearts are folded into one of two tatty pieces of cloth I found. Animal anatomy isn't anything I've studied before, and if my wristband hadn't pinged to confirm this part of the animal is a heart, I'd have no clue which bloodied organ I have.

  Another boar wanders past me in blissful ignorance. I sigh and drag myself to my feet. I huff and cast my one spell, and my arm aches after the constant repetition. Please have a heart, boar.

  The boar dies and my wristband chimes.

  You have reached level 4!

  I'm pulled from my eye-glazing boredom. I've gained two levels from killing the bloody things, so I guess there's been some benefit to their heartlessness.

  Dean claps me on the back and I almost fall onto the boar's body. "Dude! Grats! Hey, Jay."

  We both look over to where Jay rests against a tree, pack beside him, face marred by boredom. "What?"

  "Eleanor levelled up!"

  "Yeah. Grats." He picks at the grass beside him and throws a handful.

  "Maybe if you'd helped more with the boars, you would've levelled too," suggests Dean.

  He's right. Jay's need to find a rare flower means he's been too busy searching to kill much, beside the occasional stray wolf that crossed his path. None of them owned paws suitable for Dean, who continues to look for the named one: Big Bad Wolf.

  "Jay's already level 5, though," I whisper to Dean. "He spent a while killing spiders before he met me, and I bet he went out killing more this morning."

  Dean blows air into his cheeks and shrugs. "He's a grumpy bastard, that's what he is."

  I snicker and look down at my wristband, hoping now I have a new ability.

  New ability: Fire Storm

  Conjures a storm cloud which rains fire on all enemies within five yards.

  Instant Cast.

  Fire from the sky? Cool. I jump to my feet and target a boar wandering too close to us. The familiar prickling travels along my aching arms as I hold them to the sunny sky. The sudden fire's ferocity and brightness knocks me backwards, and I blink as the boar squeals and keels over.

  Smoke drifts upwards from the scorched corpse, accompanied by a smell that's followed me around all morning. I ate bread for breakfast this morning but, with every kill, I smell and crave bacon. My stomach growls in agreement, until I pull out my knife. With a grimace, I stick the blade into the animal’s flesh and carve open the carcass.

  You receive Black Boar Heart.

  Total collected: 10

  Quest complete.

  Return to Reuben.

  "Thank fuck for that!" I call out and wave the heart above my head. "I'm done."

  Dean pulls a disgusted face. "But you're still going to help me find my wolf paw, right?"

  "Sure. And Jay's flower." Still buoyed by my triumph, I wave the heart at him. "I finished my quest! I can help you now."

  Jay tips his chin in acknowledgement but says nothing.

  "We need to find higher-level wolves," says Dean. "I bet the Big Bad Wolf will be with them. Come on. It's getting hot."

  "Sorry," I say to the boar as well as Dean, and I wipe the blood from my hands before picking up my backpack.

  The sun heats the day and I perspire heavily as we trudge back towards the path. No longer concentrating on my butchering activities, my mind drifts back to questions again. I morph between confusion and frustration as I grasp at the memories I'm missing. If I could piece together the hours before I woke here, that would help.

  Dean follows but Jay's wristband pings and the map illuminates to show his prized flower grows somewhere in Baker's Field, close to the large area we've wandered all morning killing pigs and wolves. I offer to help, but Jay insists he can do this quest alone.

  "As long as the field’s owner isn't a zombie," puts in Dean as he sheathes his daggers.

  "It's daylight and the field is big enough to see something approaching." Jay gestures at the tilled earth. "I'm sure I'll be okay. At least I know where I'm bloody going now."

  In his usual hurry, Jay strides away. I watch his figure trudge across the field for a few moments. Why won’t he cooperate more?

  “Where do you think Zara is?” I ask Dean.

  “Paladin quest, I guess. Maybe we’ll come across her?” He chews his lip. “Though we haven’t seen anybody all morning.”

  Keeping to the dirt path, Dean and I retrace our steps back towards the town and past a few dilapidated farm buildings dotted around the untilled fields. Following my encounter with Skip, I'm avoiding all houses, even if there could be a chest filled with loot inside. There could also be another Skip, and he was a little too bitey for my liking.

  The weirdest thing about my morning traipsing around fields on the outskirts of town is how few people are around. Dean's right. Where are the in-game characters? The side quests?

  Other players.

  A small figure emerges from the trees to my right, and ambles towards us. A boy, maybe six years old, dirty-faced with a mop of brown hair. He's dressed in simple but dirty clothes and his eyes shine with mischief. He stops as he sees me.

  Kyle

  Level 4

  Non-aggressive

  "Are you okay?" I ask him.

  "I got lost." His pale face turns pink as he scrunches his face in an attempt not to cry.

  Dean crouches down. "Hey, that's okay. Where do you live?"

  "I don't know. Back that way." He points towards the thick woods. "Can you help me?"

  My bracelet pings:

  Quest: Escort Kyle through the Dark Wood to his grandmother's house.

  Kyle lives with his grandmother by the lake. His grandmother is an older lady who is suspicious of newcomers and known to "dispense" with them. She's also lost her bonnet. Perhaps if you find and return her hat, she'll be friendlier. Check the wolves.

  Reward #1: 500 XP

  Reward #2: Grandma's Bonnet

  Mythical Item

  What it's lacking in style is made up for by power.

  + 2 Wisdom

  Use: Wearing this hat increases your experience gain by 100% and gathering abilities by 5.

  Double experience points means I’ll take half as much time to move up a level—but Mythical item means the wolves will be high difficulty. Dean stands, and I turn to him, so Kyle can't hear me. "What do you think?"

  He rubs his eyes. "There's no quest."

  "I have one. For a Mythical item." I stretch my arm out to show him, but the words no longer show on the small screen. "Didn't the quest to help Kyle show for you?"

  "No." He crosses his arms and darts a look around. For a horrible moment, I think he's about to leave me to tackle this alone. After a morning working with him and Jay, I'm less stressed about my situation. We've the beg
innings of a group, perhaps forced by the fact we're in this together, but at least we're helping each other.

  Instead, Dean looks down at me and gives me a smile that always seems to have a gooey effect on my stomach. "Sure. I'll help. I'll get plenty of experience points for killing Mythical creatures, right?"

  I nudge him with an elbow. "And because you want to help the awesome mage. I'll even cook you some boar hearts as a thank you."

  The look he returns suggests he's not prepared for that culinary delight. I chuckle and smile back at him. Dean could choose to leave to search for his wolf's paw, but the fact he chooses to stay with me warms me to him.

  Plus, he has sharp daggers.

  And he’s easy on the eye.

  Dean places a hand on the child's shoulder. "Sure, Kyle. Let's go."

  He narrows his eyes. "How do you know my name?"

  "Somebody told us you were lost," I put in.

  "I am. I don't like the wolves and saw some near my house. They chased me and there was a humongous one that nearly caught me."

  "Where was he?" asks Dean, straightening with interest.

  The boy points to the woods with a trembling finger. "By the stream leading to the lake."

  I shift my backpack onto my shoulder and grasp my staff. Dean pulls out his daggers and we ready ourselves for whatever might approach. My warm feelings towards Dean grow as I watch him chat to Kyle, the pair walking together in front of me. Of all of us, Dean appears to fit his role the best. His lithe figure and wiry physique lends itself to quick and quiet movement. Each of us are still dressed in the simple clothes we woke up in, and I absentmindedly picture him in the tight-fitting leather armour assassins wear in the Game.

  I’d happily help him in any quest for those.

  We pad across the leaf litter and stones in our thin shoes, and the woods thicken. The sunlight dapples through the boughs and casts beams across the floor, but there’s no birdsong. As we travel further, the air cools. The hairs on the back of my neck lift.

  “Which way do you think?” I ask Dean and almost trip over Kyle when he grinds to a halt.

  Kyle drops to his knees and sweeps his hands through the leaves.

  “Kyle,” I whisper. “Keep up.”