by Paul Bellow
“Nice,” Eric said. “It’ll be kind of sad to finish this quest and get out of the game. Do you ever wonder about who’s gotten furthest in the game?”
“Yeah…”
My voice trailed off. Would we ever escape?
Eric smiled. I felt another bad joke.
“I like everything in the game except the poison,” he said.
“You and your poison fixation.” I shook my head. “We need to find you a Ring of Remove Poison.”
He smiled and stood. “Come on, let’s go.”
I followed him out of the room, the game drawing me in.
After learning a ring to remove poison would cost twenty five thousand gold pieces, we laughed our way back to the inn. Benji and the other two stood by the cart as we walked up.
They stopped talking to each other and turned as we approached.
Leroy still looked drunk, but as long as he could fight, I didn’t care.
“Everything alright?” I asked.
“Fine, fine,” Benji said. “I was just getting to know our new crew.”
“We’re excited to be killing Snargao,” Leroy said. “He’s one of the foulest hobgoblins that ever lived.”
Thrukad lifted her battle-axe above her head.
“One less hobgoblin in the world is one less problem if you ask me,” she said.
“Not all goblins and hobgoblins are bad,” Eric said.
The silver haired NPC warrior stared at him in confusion.
“We should get going,” I said to change the subject. “We want to reach the base of the hills by evening.”
As the three of them climbed into the back of the cart, Eric and I walked around to the front. I climbed aboard and took the reins.
“Oh, wait, my bowstring,” I said then sighed. “Ugh. Never mind. I’ll get it fixed when we get back.”
“What kind of mage uses a bow, anyway?” Leroy gruffly asked from the back of the cart.
“She’s a powerful one,” Benji said, jumping to my defense. “Don’t underestimate my favorite elf in all the realms.”
As the cart rolled forward, I admired the beautiful architecture. Everything looked brand new.
“Mednia was built less than fifty years ago,” Charlotte said.
“Oh, that’s nice to know,” I said aloud.
Eric glanced over and said, “Huh?”
“Sorry,” I said. “Just daydreaming.”
Why hadn’t I told him more about my familiar? Simply staying in character or was there something more to it?
I grinned at the thought of needing time to become familiar with my familiar.
“Just so you know,” Leroy said as we reached the northern city gates a few minutes later. “If we run out of food, I know five good mule recipes I learned during the Great Wars.”
“Gross,” I said, scrunching up my face. “We’re not eating Muley.”
“You named your mule?” he asked.
I nodded, not bothering to look back at him.
Once again, Benji came to my rescue.
“They’re both strange,” he said. “But I trust them.”
Our talkative tank continued blathering like a blowhard and reminding me of Josh—my missing boyfriend.
“All I care about is killing that stupid mother-grabbing goblin and smashing his...”
“That’s enough,” I snapped. “Save your energy for the real thing.”
Leroy quit talking along with everyone else in the cart. My thoughts returned to the game as we rode north, away from the city.
Would we be successful in our quest? Could we get out?
And what about Josh?
We were higher levels, but we had less answers.
The landscape changed to hills as we approached the mountain range. If we ever got out of the game, I would consider coming back.
I called up my new spell list to figure out the best way to cast as many as possible with the mana I had available at my low level.
>> Stats Spells
* * *
Spells: Level One
* * *
>> Fish Slaying (1mp)
>> Golden Bolts (2mp per bolt up to 4+ lvl of caster)
>> Glorified Cloaks of Bronze (2mp per armor adjustment up to 4+ lvl of caster)
>> Ladder of Dwarven Earth (2mp per square foot) – Build an earthen ramp.
* * *
Spells: Level Two
* * *
>> Snares of Dust (3mp) – Clouds of dust particles rise, often rendering a person unable to do anything other than cough and stumble away.
* * *
Tip: At level four, you will gain one third level spell, one more second level spell and one more first level spell.
And how far to the next level?
You have 8,855 xp.
You need 5,145 xp for next level.
You have a -20% xp penalty next encounter.
Ugh. Stupid OOC rules.
Not being able to talk openly had slowed our progress in the game considerably.
Is that the point of the penalties? And why hadn’t we just found small encounters to minimize the penalty?
Escaping with our lives had taken some of the fun out of the game.
The road—as Tolkien wrote—went ever, ever on.
We stopped at the foothills that evening to camp for the night and rest up for our big assault. I watched from the cart as Eric ordered the others around.
His leadership qualities had impressed me from the moment we’d first met. Why he hadn’t applied to any colleges still escaped me. He would easily get a dream job—programming for some corporation or another.
After setting up for the night, I volunteered for the first guard shift. Too many thoughts bounced around my mind to sleep right away.
I sat on a boulder just outside the glow of our campfire.
“What do you know about this world, Charlotte?”
“Not much,”she answered. “You know more than me.”
“That’s depressing. What can you tell me about yourself? Do you have skills?”
“As we both progress in life, our bond will grow; opening up new possibilities.”
“Like what?”I asked, eager to learn more about my familiar.
“We’ll find out together,” Charlotte said.
She stayed silent as I stared out into the darkness surrounding our camp. The others slept, leaving me alone with my unfamiliar familiar.
I stood and walked around the perimeter of our camping spot. The cool night air had descended, and the movement helped warm me.
While walking, I sensed someone watching me.
“Charlotte, can you see anyone?”
I stopped, ready to cast a spell if necessary.
“Should I call for the others?”
Bright green moss on the ground caught my attention. I stepped forward, and my foot got stuck in the moss. Unable to lift it, I freaked out. When I opened my mouth to scream, nothing came out.
Panic overtook me.
A mage in red robes stepped out of the darkness. He stayed just outside the ring of neon-green moss surrounding me like some sick, natural noose.
I could barely make out a sick grin on his face.
“Charlotte, can you hear me?”
No answer.
The mage waved his hand.
“You can speak now, but in your quiet voice,” he said.
“How did you find us?” I asked, barely above a whisper.
“You’re asking a powerful wizard like me how I easily found a low level character like you on the first zone in the game?” He shook his head. “I thought you were the smart one of the bunch. Your boyfriend’s a real loser, by the way.”
“Where’s Josh?” I asked.
The mage laughed.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I need him around for now.”
“Why are you doing this to us?” I asked.
I glanced over at Charlotte on my shoulder.
“Your familiar is blocked,” he said.
“Nice choice, though.”
“I didn’t choose her,” I shouted. “Stop trying to change the subject.”
“You didn’t choose the spider?” He nodded slowly. “Interesting.”
“Are you going to kill me?” I asked, not afraid to die.
“My moss protects me from the likes of you,” he said. “I don’t need to get my dainty hands dirty doing that myself. After you’re dead, you’ll find out what’s going on.”
“Why are you fighting us?” I asked.
He laughed then turned and stalked away into the darkness. I looked down and saw the ring of moss slowly advancing toward me.
“Charlotte, can you hear me? Help me, please.
I screamed as loudly as possible, but no sound came out.
“Save your voice,” Charlotte said in my mind. “I’ve broken his spell.”
“That’s great! It’s so good to hear your voice. We just met, but I don’t want to lose you. Not yet.”
“I’ve got good news and bad news, she said. Which do you want first?”
“The bad news. Always start with the bad news.”
“I think the moss will reach and kill us both before the others wake up,” she said.
“And the good news?”
“I love you, Kali…”
“Sweet but useless. Can I burn the moss?”
“Don’t try it,” she said.
I struggled to move my feet. The moss continued creeping closer. I didn’t want to die from stupid moss—a low level spell.
Eric would never let me live it down.
16
A Maze of Twisty Little Passages
ERIC
I opened my eyes and sat up.
Why hadn’t Sarah woken me for my guard shift?
I glanced around, not seeing her anywhere nearby.
Benji and the other two hirelings were asleep around the fire. I stood, scanning the immediate area for any signs of her.
Nothing.
We’d spent a lot of time together in the game, but we hadn’t really talked to each other like we had in the past. I missed her.
Had she wandered off?
I stretched and yawned, amazed at how the act of sleeping in the game made it so much more real. I took a few steps to look behind our cart, wondering if she’d fallen asleep. When I still didn’t see her, I clapped my hands.
“Everyone up,” I said. “We’ve got a problem.”
Leroy grumbled. Benji sat up. Thrukad rolled over.
“What’s wrong?” our ever faithful priest asked.
“Sarah’s missing,” I said.
“I bet she walked off to take care of business,” Leroy said. “I need my sleep if you want me fighting at peak performance.”
“Without Sarah, there’s no mission and no pay.” I nudged him with my foot. “Up and at ‘em. We’ve got work to do.”
He shot up and shoved me. I stepped back as Benji scrambled to his feet and positioned himself between us.
“We’re all friends here,” he said. “Everyone calm down.”
“Do that again and see what happens,” I said.
Leroy sneered in my general direction.
“Everyone split up,” I said. “And yell if you find her.”
“I’m eating first,” Leroy said.
“A hundred gold to the first person who finds them,” I said.
“That’s more like it,” Leroy said.
“I’m coming too.” Thrukad stirred then stood. “I’m going to find her first. That gold will come in handy down the road.”
Everyone split up, heading off in the four cardinal directions.
My intuition led me north, heading deeper into the foothills. As I trudged up a steep hill, hoping to get a better view of the surrounding area, I once again marveled at my entire body. Everything hurt, but I didn’t care as my legs carried me to a lofty vantage point.
I gazed out as the morning sun broke over the horizon.
Off in the distance, I saw a thin female figure struggling on the ground.
Sarah?
I wished I had a magic item to see her more closely.
“She’s over here,” I yelled then took off down the hill without waiting for the others.
Bright, neon green moss covered the ground in a giant ring around her. The only way to reach her would be to go through it.
I ran forward, injured by the moss.
The moss wounds you for 4 damage.
You have [38/42] health remaining.
I kept running, not caring about the hits to my health. Glancing down, I saw the moss creeping up my leather boots.
Just a few more steps.
Sarah mumbled something as I reached the shrinking island of non-moss. I stopped and knelt beside her body.
“We need to go,” she said, struggling to stand. “That moss is creeping closer. Rizzo the Red attacked me.”
I wanted to know what had happened, but I kept my mouth shut. We had to concentrate on the ground cover slithering toward us.
“We’re both too weak to run through it,” I said. “But we’ve got a few minutes to come up with a plan.”
I took a deep breath, running through various scenarios in my mind.
“Hold on.” I dug into my sack for a flask of oil. “Maybe we can burn it.”
“That’s too dangerous,” she said.
“You’re right,” I said, putting away the oil.
“We could run over it,” she said.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “There’s too much now, and we’re both hurt. I don’t think you’d make it.”
She nodded. I saw Benji and the others approaching.
“Watch out!” I yelled.
They stopped then ran a few feet back.
“We need to get out of here,” I screamed.
Benji gesticulated wildly, but I couldn’t hear him.
“Killed by moss,” Sarah said. “What a way to go.”
I kept staring at the three companions.
Are they…No, they’re not that stupid, are they?
“Not fire!” I yelled but it was too late.
Leroy flung a flaming flask of oil into the middle of the moss. The fire spread quickly, consuming everything in its path.
The moss came toward us even faster. I dug out the flask of oil and tossed it into the rapidly expanding vegetation.
“No!” Sarah yelled.
“Do or die,” I said. “There is no try.”
The oil flask hit the flames, feeding the fire. While the moss couldn’t scream, I imagined it feeling the pain as it stopped spreading.
“We’ve got a problem,” she said.
I turned and saw the flames spreading around us.
Clouds of smoke rose as everything flammable nearby ignited.
“Stand back,” she said.
After moving her arms and chanting—an earthen ramp sprung into existence—spanning the flames.
“Come on,” she yelled then ran up.
I followed her, the flames licking up over the land-bridge. We narrowly escaped to the other side where Benji and the others waited.
“Thank you,” Sarah said.
“Why didn’t you cast that spell earlier?” I asked.
She shrugged and said, “it wouldn’t work.”
“Dark magic,” Leroy said, then spit on the ground.
“Let’s get back to the cart,” I said. “This isn’t over yet.”
“We can’t take Magi Inyontoo on,” Leroy said. “He’s too powerful.”
I lowered my head and shook it with a smirk on my face.
“Together, we’re more powerful than him,” I said, slowing raising my head. “As a team, we’ll kill Rizzo the Red, Snargao, and this Magi Inyontoo everyone is talking about.”
“We can do it,” Benji yelled, enthusiastically pumping his fist in the air.
Sarah smiled then walked back to our makeshift camp. I followed, keeping my eyes open for anyone ready to hurt us.
“Why didn’t he
kill you?” I asked.
“He’s cocky,” Sarah said. “He thinks he’s better than us.”
“That’s a weakness we can exploit,” I said.
“Exactly…”
Her voice trailed off as we trudged up a hill. The game was wearing me out. Could we survive let alone finish level one-one?
Back at camp, we packed out belongings in the cart. The mule then carried us into the hills at the base of the mountains.
I saw smoke from the fire we’d started rise and blow toward the mountain range in the distance.
One small victory.
After an hour long ride, we reached a sheer cliff wall. I stopped and stared up. Thrukad stood next to me, also looking at the obstacle.
“We’re close to the Cave of Fish Smells,” she said.
“Are you sure this is the only way?” I asked.
“Only one I know about.” The gnome turned to Leroy. “You know another way, old man?”
“Nope,” he said then spit on the ground again.
I took a deep breath, thinking of a way out.
“Stand back,” Sarah said, raising her arms in the air. “Time for some sweet Dwarven Earth magic.”
After waving her arms and mumbling arcane words, temporary dirt formed a steep ramp that would give us access to the top of the cliff.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” I said, wishing I’d played a wizard.
“Not bad,” Leroy admitted. “For an elven mage.”
“It’ll get us up to the cave,” Sarah said. “And that’s all that matters.”
One after another, we made our way up the magical earthen ramp. I wondered if we had a big enough party for our mission.
The easy nature of the quest scared me. Would we capture the cursed Pendant of Visions without any problems? Or die trying?
Near the top of the ramp, I prepared myself for an awful smell. Surprise hit me as a sweet floral scent filled my nostrils.
“Do we have the wrong cave?” I asked, still walking.
“Not sure,” Benji said behind me.
“Think about it,” Sarah said. “The awful name probably keeps people from even trying to reach it. And I bet that’s why it’s not guarded.”