Rogue Games

by Angie A Huxley

  The trees started to thin out, clearings opening up alongside both directions of the path. There was the sound of running water, and as Alejander looked to his left, he could see a river winding its way through the forest.

  Digging the water bottle out of his pouch, still empty, he dismounted Greta, leading her through the trees and over to the river. He would have to make a fire before he drank it, sterilizing it enough to make it safe. Yes, it was fresh water, but he didn’t know how far the programmers had gone in their desire to make this world as truthful as possible, and he didn’t want to run the risk of drinking contaminated water.

  The bottle full, Alejander stood, grateful that the trees were thick enough that, though it was a tight squeeze, Greta was somewhat protected from the rain. He debated the map once again, trying to determine the best route to take to get back on track. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly on the map where he was, but it was easy enough to work out the next route he should take.

  Distracted as he was by the map, he didn’t notice Greta dancing away from him, or the crashes of trunks and bushes… until something burst through the trees next to him. It was small and green, fanged teeth and clawed hands with a hooded cloak and a knife in his hand.

  Immediately, Alejander’s display initiated.

  Forest Goblin

  Level: 1

  Description: Green and cunning, expert with a dagger and devious to a fault!

  Hit Points: {unknown}

  Damage: ? {knife}

  Reach: Close

  The level was good enough, even if Alejander had no idea what he was doing or how to use his weapons and skills to the best of his ability. He immediately drew the dagger from his belt, turning it around in his hand.

  The goblin’s mouth twisted into a sneer and launched itself at Alejander. Having to drop the reins, Alejander hoped that Greta wouldn’t run, and darted out of the way, the knife just missing his face. Greta let out a whinny and reared, coming down hard before the goblin could move. With a grunt, the goblin tried to roll away but one of Greta’s hooves clipped him on the leg.

  Alejander – with the nimbleness and reflexes that came both with being younger in game, and the stats Alejander possessed – managed to dart in quickly, dagger drawn, and plunged it into the chest of the goblin. With a horrible shriek, the goblin reacted swiftly, his own knife slashing at Alejander’s stomach. There was a sting of pain, and Alejander immediately backed up, readying himself to stave off another attack.

  You have taken 5 damage.

  The goblin was staring at him, teeth clenched and green blood trickling from his mouth before he sprawled backwards, a gurgle bubbling in the back of his throat.

  Forest Goblin (lv 1) has died

  You have earned 75 experience points. Congratulations!

  You have used 5 stamina

  Checking his wound, Alejander was relieved to see that it wasn’t deep. Greta was prancing nervously a few feet away and when Alejander tried to step closer, she whinnied and took another step back. Alejander didn’t have enough practice with horses to be able to decipher their frame of mind, but he could tell when she was still skittish. She hadn’t run yet, so that was a bonus.

  Keeping her in the periphery of his vision, he knelt at the river, determined to clean the wound as best he could. He didn’t have any bandages, but he could make do. Kneeling over the dead body of the goblin, he tugged the dagger from its chest and made a face at the green blood slicking the blade.

  “Now this needs a clean,” he muttered. There was enough trim at the bottom of his cloak to tear a strip off to use for makeshift bandages. Using the river to clean off both his dagger and, once torn, the cloth, he separated each into a rough bandage shape.

  You have acquired: Rudimentary Cloth Bandages

  Durability: 1 day

  Usage: 5

  Quality: Poor

  With his wound taken care of, Alejander wrinkled his nose as he looked at the goblin’s body. It was the first time he had ever seen one – and the pictures on the game box did not do it justice. It was about the size of a small child, more muscular and lither, and one ear and its nose were pierced. They looked tarnished and worn. Rooting through the goblin’s clothes, he found a few coins, a bottle of something blue, and a red gem that fit neatly into the palm of his hand.

  You have acquired: 1 Healing Potion

  Replenishment: 10HP or 10 stamina

  Quality: Poor

  You have acquired: 1 gemstone

  Quality: Good

  You have acquired: Coin

  Inventory: 15 silver, 2 electrum

  Total Currency: 30 silver, 25 gold, 5 electrum

  Not a bad haul. Alejander pocketed the coins and the gem. Next time he found himself in a town or city, he could work out how much the gem would net him. The healing potion would definitely work out if he was going to be up against other creatures like the goblin. Though he hadn’t known what to expect, even injured Alejander had found the fight thrilling. If this was what he had to look forward to with the rest of the game, the idea of going deeper into the forest didn’t seem so daunting.

  Pushing himself to his feet, there was another sting of pain in his stomach, but it didn’t seem as bad. Thankfully Greta had come further into the clearing, munching on the green grass. Alejander approached slowly, making a soft noise in the back of his throat and holding up a hand.

  Greta’s ears were turned towards him, but she made no move to run as he leaned in, running a hand over her neck. Taking up the reins, Alejander let her eat for a little while longer, taking a breather. Exhilarating at it had been, his body was tired, muscles aching from that simple lunge. Perhaps the higher his skills, the better off he would be coming out of a fight, even one as small as that.

  “Come on, girl,” he said, scratching under Greta’s chin. She raised her head dutifully, accepting the nose rub with aplomb. “Let’s get moving.”

  The rain had settled into a drizzle; it was enough to keep both Alejander and Greta wet, but the cover of the trees saved them from getting drenched. Alejander walked alongside Greta, trying to get his aching muscles back into working order. From the small field of vision he had through the trees, Alejander could see the sun setting, spilling a low orange hue through the branches.

  Whether the awe came from Alejander, or from Matthew, it was there all the same. Being outside, sleeping under the stars, would certainly be an experience. Though Alejander mused, he would have to find better shelter than the open air if he didn’t want to wake up soggy and freezing. He didn’t quite know how well a healing potion would work on a cold and, only just acquiring it, he certainly didn’t want to have to use it so quickly (life in prison had also taught him to value his possessions.)

  There was no path discernible through the trees, but eventually the muddy track turned into a well-worn path and Alejander could see why. In a clearing about fifty yards away, there was a plastic tarpaulin – though Alejander couldn’t tell what material it was made out of – hanging from the branches of a couple of strong oak trees. Hanging from branches about twenty feet up from the ground, and the sides meeting the floor easily, it was a rudimentary shelter that someone had obviously constructed and abandoned but would work well enough in keeping both Alejander and Greta dry.

  Giving Greta a pat to her neck, he twisted the reins around his hand and drew both daggers. The goblin had surprised him, and even if he ignored how player interaction worked within the game out in the wild, Alejander wasn’t willing to take any chances.

  He approached slowly – no matter if his stealth skills were low, if he was going to utilise his abilities for the rest of this game, he had to start somewhere.

  There didn’t seem to be any noise coming from the shelter, and as Alejander peered slowly and quietly around the edge, he found the inside was empty. Blowing out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding, Alejander led Greta under the tarpaulin. She shook out her mane a little and then settled for ea
ting what small patches of grass remained. There had been activity here before; the ground was patchy where other animals had been eating, and there was a little detritus from bandages, food, and a couple of rusty metal plates. There was a makeshift log pile that Alejander assumed was for a fire, and along one side of the shelter, there was a dirty blanket. It didn’t look appealing as a place to stay, but it was still drizzling outside, so Alejander would take it.

  Getting a fire going was the obvious priority, and though Alejander would need sleep, there were a couple of things he needed to be certain of before he did so. Clean water was one, checking on his wounds another, and making sure he was adequately protected was the most important. He didn’t want to sleep and have someone attack him while he was dozing off.

  He didn’t have a lot to work with, but by tying the rope around the shelter, and hanging the plates between the two ends, he hoped that if someone hit the rope, the plates would make enough noise to wake him. It wasn’t the best plan, but having faced this problem once, tomorrow he could figure out a better alarm system.

  Greta settled on the ground, tail flicking lazily as Alejander joined her, combing his hands through her mane. They snagged a couple of times, but it was soothing work dealing with her matted hair. Eventually, lulled by the patter of rain on the tarp and Greta’s rhythmic breathing against his back, Alejander managed to find sleep.

  LOGGING OUT…

  Before the game closed down completely, another menu popped up.

  Would you like to set up in-game alerts during downtime? If you would like to know when an action occurs upon your character or would like to know when a task you have set up within the game has finished, please follow the instructions to come.]

  Matthew did so, though he expected he would have to be wearing the headset for the alerts to work. As he made the necessary adjustments – wanting to be alerted if he was attacked, Greta was attacked, or an interesting event was taking place, he shut down the headset. His stomach rumbled, and he cursed himself; though he had been adamant he would take care of himself, he hadn’t paused during lunch. Still, there was enough food to satisfy his hunger, and tomorrow his fridge would arrive.

  Slow progress but Matthew was happy playing the game in a way he hadn’t been for a long time.

  Chapter Five

  Matthew was woken by his alarm. Grabbing for his VR headset, it was only once he was fumbling to put it on, that he realized it was his phone vibrating across the cabinet and not the headset.

  Shutting off the phone, Matthew pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes and let out a curse, dropping his head back to the pillow.

  “When your first thought is the game,” Matthew groused, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “you’ve got a problem, Matthew.”

  Even though he was annoyed, he still wanted to don the VR headset and get back into the game. His stomach rumbled, and he sighed, rolling carefully out of bed. He needed a shower, and he had to wait for his fridge to arrive. As eager as he was to get back to Alejander, he actually had to function outside of the game for an hour or so. He had set the delivery for the morning, but he knew delivery companies weren’t always known for their swift deliveries; though he hoped that had changed over the last twenty years – as much as everything else had changed anyway.

  It was as he was getting dressed that his VR headset started to vibrate, and Matthew grabbed it quickly, donning it even though his hair was still wet.

  [ALERT: Trap triggered in-game. Log on?]

  Matthew cursed under his breath. He initiated the game screen.

  [LOGGING ON…

  Alejander was immediately awake, eyes snapping open to see a deer jerking and writhing just in front of him, antlers snagged on the rope. Greta was already on her feet, prancing away from the deer, but she couldn’t get far, her reins tied to one of the trees.

  You have recovered: 5 HP

  5 Stamina

  Current HP: 50/50

  Current Stamina: 25/25

  Alejander immediately grabbed his dagger, though he had no idea what he was going to do with it. He pushed up into a crouch, eyeing the deer with trepidation. It didn’t seem to have seen him yet, hooves scrambling against the dirt in an attempt to get away. The plates were causing a racket, and if Alejander didn’t get it free – or do something else – others would be alerted to his position.

  Stag

  Level: 2

  Description: A well-known denizen of the forest, will protect its territory from intruders!

  Hit Points: {unknown}

  Damage: ? {kick} ? {gore}

  Reach: Close

  Though efficiency was one of Alejander’s better stats, he didn’t know how that would translate to throwing a dagger accurately at a creature with a higher level than him, but also writhing and trying to free itself.

  “Dammit,” Alejander cursed.

  There was a branch of one of the trees on the floor next to the shelter and he inched closer, keeping his breathing quiet, and trying to make as little noise as possible. The stag didn’t seem to notice, though it was either tired or just losing hope at freeing himself, because the plates weren’t clanking quite so much, and it was shuffling from foot to foot instead of wrestling hard with the rope.

  As his fingers closed around the branch, he realized that even wielding it as a weapon, there was no guarantee that he would come out of this fight in one piece. Still, he had to try; if he wanted to level up, he was going to have to deal with killing animals of certain kinds, even though it turned his stomach.

  Now that the stag was calmer, Alejander decided to test out his efficiency skills. Side on to the stag, he brought out the poisoned dagger. He judged the distance, and though he wasn’t altogether sure where a stag’s heart was, he put as much force behind the throw of his dagger as he could, letting out a soft, “Yes!” as the dagger landed square in the side of the stag’s chest. It let out a horrific noise, higher and more stomach-rolling than that of the goblin, but it staggered against the rope, the plates clanking together, before huffing out puffs of air. Alejander could see them in the early morning mist, curling away from the stag’s mouth. It shook its head, finally looking at Alejander and reared up, getting caught in the rope and struggling down to its knees.

  It was so much noise that Alejander was convinced someone was going to find him if he didn’t kill it quickly. The poison had to have helped, but he stepped closer to the stag, throwing the dagger he had left into the stag’s head. There was no noise this time, and though the stag’s eyes were open, Alejander could see it was dead.

  Stag (level 2) has been killed

  You have earned 150 experience points. Congratulations!

  You have leveled up to Level 2!

  You have earned 2 stat points, 5 base HP and 10 points to any skill(s).

  You have lost 2 stamina.

  Current HP: 60/60

  Current Stamina: 23/25

  Alejander immediately put a stat point on strength – he was going to need it, whatever he decided to do with the stag – and the other on efficiency. He was clearly fine with range fighting, yet accuracy would improve with each efficiency point. The 10 points in skills could be worked out later.

  Greta was standing as far away from the stag as she could get, eyes wide and ears flat. Alejander would have to see to her in a moment; that was twice in two days that she had been startled by Alejander getting attacked.

  Alejander took a moment to himself, listening hard for noises in the forest that seemed out of place. There was the usual breeze through the branches, the calls and shrills of birds, but nothing that promised attack any time soon.

  Crouching over the body of the stag, he gripped the antlers in one hand, the hilt of his dagger in the other. Pulling it out took a little more effort, though easier than it had with the goblin; his extra strength point helping already. The poison dagger was harder to work out of the stag’s chest. There was green ooze around the wound, and it was difficul
t to avoid. Alejander assumed that the dagger would no longer be poisoned, but it was still a weapon of damage. Perhaps there would be somewhere he could acquire poison.

  Alejander had no idea what to do with the body now that he had killed it. He could take the antlers – hopefully, there would be someone who would barter with him for them – and he could take some of the meat. Cooking it over a fire should make it safe, and he could always semi-dry others out to make it last longer.

  You have acquired: Stag antlers

  Durability: 5 {unprepared}, 10 {prepared}

  Usage: Many applied

  Quality: Poor/Good

  You have acquired: Stag meat

  Replenishment: ?{uncooked}, 2HP or 2 stamina {cooked, each}

  Usage: 10

  Quality: Poor/Good

  “We’re going to eat well this morning,” Alejander told Greta as he turned away from the dead stag. The creek was still running alongside their location, but their clearing was set a little way back from it. The best thing he could do for Greta was to leave her in the clearing to calm down, though he couldn’t shift the stag out of her line of sight. It had taken him what little strength he possessed just to cut the antlers and some meat from the body.

  Bloody and sweaty from his exertions, Alejander took his time at the river, washing off his body, daggers, and the meat. He kept an eye on Greta and the camp, the daggers in reach just in case. It had been an interesting morning, not least because of the stag, but also because of his growing skills. Leveling up had been a surprise, but he had gone up against a creature over his own level. If it hadn’t been for the rope incapacitating the stag, Alejander doubted he would have been able to bring it down.