Aaheli gave him a puzzled look and shook her head. “You do say some funny things sometimes. Come on, silly. Let’s go find the others.”
A wave of heat hit Argo square in the face as they entered the Inn’s common room. It was a long, dimly lit chamber with a stout wooden floor and a low beam ceiling. Humans and creatures of various races sat at tables and lined the bar, mostly players alongside a spattering of NPCs who had gone to the Inn to socialize or seek people to help them with any tasks or quests they might have. As Argo scanned the sea of faces, he suddenly spotted the rest of the Manticore Crew at their usual table in the far corner next to the huge stone fireplace. Henk, Kip and Brier were too deep in conversation to notice him watching them, but Sonia looked up and smiled. Her eyes flashed with pleasure as if she was genuinely pleased to see him.
“Hello Argo! Hello Aaheli!” she called out and waved at them both.
“Go and join them,” Aaheli said. “I’ll get us all fresh drinks. Honey mead for you?”
“Yes please,” said Argo, “but I’ll come and help you.”
Aaheli had her eyes fixed on the bar and the muscular grey skinned half-orc standing there. Argo recognized him as another player called Kurtz, who looked up and grinned when he saw Aaheli.
“That’s okay,” Aaheli said to Argo, returning Kurtz’s broad grin with her own shy smile. “I’ll get these. You go sit down and catch up.”
Argo nodded, knowing that Aaheli had something of a soft spot for Kurtz though they hadn’t got to know each other that well yet. He made his way through the crowded room and joined the others.
“Argo, where have you been?” Sonia asked when he had taken a seat. “It’s been ages.”
“Oh I’ve just been busy,” Argo said. “You know how it is.”
“It’s good to see you again,” Henk said, giving him a brief smile. “I hope you’re fully recovered from the Blight Cube quest. I was worried you were going to quit altogether over it.”
“Oh no, I’m fine about it,” Argo lied. “Though I’m still stewing over losing the Lute. I never thought I’d ever run into Duke Red, let alone get robbed by him.”
“We were so close as well,” Kip said, sipping at his mead. “If we’d completed that quest, I could have had enough experience to get my hands on that Meteor Shower Spell from the Fire Wizards of Noorn Island.”
“Well, we’ve got another potential quest to focus on now,” Henk said. “Something a little less ambitious, if you’re interested Argo.”
“Oh,” said Argo. “What is this new quest?”
“It’s escort duty for a merchant traveling through the Giantglint Mountains,” explained Brier, taking up the explanation enthusiastically. “He needs to get to the city of Korkas for business, and has to take the quickest route possible. The mountains are crawling with wild orcs and goblins as well as a few other high level beasties. We could clean up on experience orbs if we’re lucky.”
“Plus there’s the big fee the merchant is offering,” piped up Kip. “It’ll help start to rebuild the Crew’s finances.”
“It’ll be a pretty straightforward quest, Argo,” Henk said. “No nasty surprises like in Crystalweb Cavern. What do you say?”
“When are you going on it?” Argo asked.
“It’ll be in about a week or so,” Henk replied. “I’ve expressed my interest and the quest has been provisionally assigned to our company by the in-game admin, so no-one else can take it on. It’ll stay private for fourteen days and then go back to the public notice boards.”
Argo nodded. He doubted he would be around then to join them but he might as well go along with it. “Sure. I don’t mind coming.”
“Good,” said Henk. “You can start building up your character again. It’ll be a good chance for all of us to increase our stats as well.”
“Plus it’s a region we’ve not visited before,” said Sonia. “It’ll be good to get on the road again. I just hope Aaheli will be able to join us. She’s got a new role, hasn’t she? She messaged me earlier.”
“Yes,” said Argo, “for a film. She’s really excited. It could be a big break for her.”
“Shame,” said Kip, “then she’ll be too big and famous to mingle with the likes of us anymore.”
“I hope not,” Brier said. “She gives us a real advantage out in the field.”
“She says some pretty kind words about you too, Brier,” Sonia laughed. “She’s always remarking on the impressive size of your battle-axe.”
“What is this movie anyway?” asked Kip. “Is it a zombie movie? I love those.”
“You can ask her yourself,” said Sonia. “Here she comes.”
Aaheli, carrying a tray of fresh drinks, was heading towards them. Clearing a path for her through the throng of people was the burly Kurtz.
“Oh, and she’s bringing her boyfriend to see us too,” Sonia chuckled. “He’s not bad, not bad at all.”
“He’s not her boyfriend,” Kip said a little too quickly. “They barely know each other.”
“I think that’s something she intends to remedy by the way she’s smiling and chatting to him,” Brier said playfully. He gave the Mage a nudge. “Sorry pal. Looks like you missed your chance.”
Kip gave him an ugly look. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Hi guys,” Aaheli said as she reached the table. She set down the tray of drinks. “This is Kurtz. I said it would be okay for him to join us.”
“Hey,” Kurtz said, raising one large clawed hand in greeting.
“Well, we are talking company business,” Kip interjected. “You know that’s private.”
“Don’t be a dork, Kip,” Sonia said, flashing Kurtz a bright smile. “We’re not a secret society.”
“That’s okay,” said Kurtz in a deep voice. “I understand the need for privacy. I’ll leave you to it.”
“No, no,” said Henk, half-rising to his feet. “We can talk Crew stuff later. Come and have a seat.”
“Thanks man,” replied the half-orc and scooped up a vacant seat from the table nearby.
Argo had tensed up at the arrival of Kurtz, uncomfortable being around a stranger. He could no longer relax, and stewed inside that this one night was now going to be marred by the newcomer. What was worse was that Kurtz positioned himself between him and Aaheli, and Argo had to shuffle up to make room for the larger player, effectively getting wedged up against the wall.
“How you guys all doing?” Aaheli asked as they helped themselves to the drinks.
“We’re good thanks,” replied Henk. “Congratulations on getting that movie part by the way.”
“Oh thanks,” Aaheli said. “I’m so pleased.”
“I hope you’ll still be able to make time for quests though,” Brier said. “We need your skills if we’re going to build up our reputation levels.”
“Brier, don’t be so narrow-minded,” Sonia said chidingly. “There’s more to life than Drake Realm.”
Kip and Brier looked at her in surprise. “There is?” they said in unison.
The table erupted in laughter, with the exception of Argo. Kurtz’s voice was louder than the others and his powerful body shook next to his, making Argo feel even more uncomfortable. Argo retreated further against the wall and picked up his goblet of honey mead. He looked down at the dark liquid for a few moments before making a decision.
Aaheli was talking about the new role now while Kurtz and the others listened with interest. With nobody paying him any attention, Argo tapped the side of his goblet and a holographic strip of light appeared against its rough surface.
Adjust simulated alcohol levels?
*Warning: Astra-Corp will not be held liable for player actions while under the influence of simulated substances.
The strip was a light green at the bottom changing to yellow at its center and then becoming a deep red at its top. This indicated the potency level of the honey mead. All the alcoholic drinks in gam
e had a potency level with green at the bottom making the drink completely non-alcoholic and red at the top changing the drink’s composition so a player could experience its full alcoholic content.
For the most part, the Crew set their drinks at the top of the green or the bottom part of the yellow, and Argo always kept his on green no matter what. He never touched alcohol in the real world and that rule extended to here in the Drake Realm. Yet tonight, he wanted to break the rules. Everyone around him was enjoying themselves and the presence of Kurtz was making him feel inhibited.
Without hesitation, he pushed the marker all the way up to red and doubled tapped the strip to make it disappear. With that, he took a long deep swallow of the now-very potent honey mead.
“Yeah, I’ve been running with the Night Tuskers for almost five months now,” Kurtz was telling the group. “We mostly operate along the Mazaran Coast. We have a sweet smuggler’s grotto that we use as a headquarters and we’ve got a great little side-mission going with the elders of the nearby fishing villages to keep their boats safe from pirates and eel men raiding parties. It’s a lot of grinding, I grant you, but it’s a pretty easy way to build up experience and earn a healthy supply of sovereigns. You can also unlock a special subset of classes linked to the sea. I’m a level eight buccaneer.”
“That sounds really interesting,” said Kip. “I’ve never tried any ocean quests though I hear there’s some pretty tasty loot out in the waters.”
“You’re not kidding,” Kurtz said eagerly. “Check out this little beauty.”
He accessed his ghost pack and took out a magnificent jewel encrusted cutlass whose blade shimmered with a captivating purplish light. He placed it on the center of the table so that the Manticore Crew could get a good look.
“It’s awesome,” said Brier. “Is it enchanted?”
Kurtz nodded. “Oh yeah, man. This bad boy can do twenty five points of lightning damage and it has a durability level of four hundred. It’s called the Cutlass of Captain Mange. I picked it up inside a Shark Warrior garrison along with a load of other magical goodies.”
Kip’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. “You’ve been down into Shark Warrior territory? Can you breathe underwater?”
“No, but we got hold of a one-time enchantment from the Kelpie Market. We could only get to the outer regions of the Shark Empire, but we’re planning on another couple of expeditions to go deeper later in the year.”
“Good luck with that,” said Henk. “Quests against the Shark Warriors are brutal. As far as I know, only veteran players stand a chance of messing with those guys and standing a chance of winning.”
“Yeah,” said Brier. “Way I heard it, if a Shark Warrior kills you, you lose all of your stats in one go and end up back with a level 1 character. It makes sure only players who are really powerful or crazy ever attempt to go down there.”
“The garrison was only manned by one warrior and a dozen or so Seaweed Demons,” Kurtz admitted. “We made short work of the Demons and were able to trap the Warrior in one of the chambers before we split. That being said, I’ll not be lying when I say the Tuskers are really up and coming,” Kurtz said with confidence. “Our leader, Sobe, wants to make us the most powerful guild on the Nine Seas. The way we’re going, man, it looks like it’s going to be pretty soon in the future.”
Argo saw Aaheli giving Kurtz an admiring look and he bristled with anger. He had only taken two drinks from his alcoholic beverage and it had already gone to his head. This was supposed to be their night, his and the Crew; this outsider had no business being here. Even worse, he was the center of attention.
“Kurtz was saying at the bar that we and the Tuskers could team up for a quest sometime,” Aaheli said. “There’s an island off the coast of Korbana where there’s a Sea Djinn’s tomb. Nobody’s made an attempt on it yet. It could really help us get back on our feet again.”
Henk rubbed at his chin. “Sounds interesting.”
“It’ll be mostly on dry land, though there might be a couple of chambers underwater,” Kurtz said, “but we can help you get through those areas and there’s plenty of loot and monsters in there to go around.”
“We’ve never been out to the islands,” Kip said. “It’d be interesting to see what’s out there.”
“I thought we were going to help that merchant? That’s what you said, Henk!” Argo suddenly cut in. The honey mead had given him a sudden burst of confidence and he jabbed his finger aggressively at the Paladin.
The group looked at him in surprise. Henk blinked and offered Argo a wary smile. “There’s no rule to say we can’t do both, Arg.”
“Yeah buddy, don’t flip out,” said Kip.
“You said we were going to do the bodyguard quest,” Argo said sullenly. “Now you want to go off around the islands. I wish you’d just make your mind up, that’s all.”
He fell silent and the others exchanged looks. Kurtz broke the tension with a deep laugh. “Chill out little bro, like the boss man says, there’s no rule you can’t do both, and the Djinn quest is still in the planning stages.” He grinned amiably at Argo. “You’re the Bard, ain’t you? Argo, right?”
Argo glowered at him and said nothing. He took another deep slug of his mead.
“That’s Argo, yes,” Aaheli said, giving the boy a sharp look. “He’s being a little grumpy tonight, so please excuse him.”
“No worries,” replied Kurtz. “You were the one that got done over by Duke Red, right?”
Argo nodded but remained silent. Kurtz patted him on the shoulder. “That’s a tough break, man.”
“Yeah,” muttered Argo. “It was.”
“We were so close to destroying the Blight Cube,” Brier said mournfully. “That quest would have really put us on the map.”
“Yeah,” said Sonia, “we’d have been even bigger than the Night Tuskers,” she added, giving Kurtz a playful wink.
“You get kudos for getting to the great hall though,” said Kurtz. “Nobody in your level range got that far and lived to tell the tale.”
“We would have won the quest if I hadn’t screwed it up,” Argo said darkly. “It was all my fault.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” said Aaheli with a shake of her head. “None of us would stand a chance against Duke Red.”
“Yeah, it was pure bad luck. But look on the bright side, you met and got wasted by a genuine online legend,” said Kurtz. “You got to admit, that’s pretty cool.”
“He killed me too remember,” Sonia said cheerfully. “Doesn’t that count for something?”
“He humiliated me,” Argo said. “People think they can say and do whatever they want to me and it doesn’t matter. He took the Lute of Decimar off me and I let him! It’s not fair!”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get something decent to replace it,” said Henk. “Something stronger and better, you mark my words.”
Argo huffed and carried on drinking. Henk always came out with empty platitudes to make him feel better. Well it wasn’t working tonight. Only the honey mead was giving him any sense of relief from his problems right now, and it was starting to make him feel very woozy.
“How does the weapon handle, Kurtz?” Brier asked, eyeing the cutlass appreciatively. “Are you able to wield it effectively?”
“My strength level is a little too low to use it gracefully, but I got a bracer with a slight strength booster and added poise enhancement worked into it that compensates for my clumsy slash attack,” Kurtz explained, showing him the studded bracer on his right arm. He gave the gnoll an expansive smile. “You want to try it out for yourself?”
Brier’s eyes lit up. “Can I?”
“Sure,” Kurtz said. “You can all have a try. Shall we have a session on the training field out back?”
“Sounds like a great idea,” Aaheli said, rising to her feet.
Kurtz picked up the cutlass and offered it to Brier. The gnoll examined it as he and the others headed out of the
inn. Argo slunk morosely after them, clutching his half-empty tankard to his chest. His head was spinning now and he was a little wobbling on his legs, but he managed to walk in a straight line.
Heading out into the cool night air, the party made their way to the patch of open ground behind the Gargoyle Inn that served as a training area for players to hone their fighting skills. There were several straw dummies lining the edge of it and a row of archery targets on the opposite side. A number of torches burned brightly all around the training field, allowing people to train in the dark, and there was a stone pedestal in one corner with a holographic computer screen hovering in front of it.
Holding his tankard in one hand, Kurtz went over to the screen and perused the options. “What do you fancy fighting, Brier?”
Spy: Reborn Page 10