by Paul Bellow
“How about a buff? Can I get a small one tonight? I’m hurting bad.”
“You’ll live,” Ferris said.
While true, I missed the absolute high after they beefed up my abilities and stats.
“Come on,” I begged. “You said I’m doing a good job.”
“Tell you what,” Ferris said. “If you agree to wear a binding collar, we’ll let you explore the city and have some fun.”
“Binding collar?” I asked.
Thom nodded excitedly and said, “It’s my own design. Works great.”
“What’s it do?” I turned to Aaron. “Will it hurt me?”
“Only if you try to escape,” Ferris said. “We’re giving you a ten-block section to explore. You can find anything you need or want. If you go outside the area, the collar will heat up.”
“The farther you go outside the limits we’ve set, the more you’ll burn,” Thom said.
I could tell by the expression on his face he was proud of his accomplishment.
“Great,” I said. “Anything’s better than how you guys have been treating me.”
“Keep earning our trust, and the sky’s the limit,” Ferris said.
“Screw the sky,” Thom said. “We’ll conquer that too and get off this rock.”
Ferris lifted his arm, and I saw the leather and metal collar.
“What about the one that’s healing me?” I asked.
“This will keep you alive, too,” Thom said. “I rolled both features into one.”
“Okay,” I said as I kneeled. “Put it on me.”
Aaron removed the previous metal collar and replaced it with the new one.
“That doesn’t feel as bad,” I said, running my fingers under it.
“Don’t make us regret this,” Sherlock said.
I stood then cracked my neck.
“What about gold?” I asked. “Can I have something to spend?”
“All in good time,” Ferris said. “We’re taking this slow.”
I had wanted to see if I could buy some magic somewhere to help with my latest comedown period, but even getting out for a while would be nice.
“Can I go now?” I asked.
The Four Wizards all stepped aside, waving me through to an open door. I cautiously stepped forward, waiting for them to hit me with a spell and laugh. When nothing happened, I kept walking. At the end of a wooden hallway, I found another door.
After opening it, I stepped out and took a deep breath. While it wasn’t complete freedom, the Four Wizards were beginning to trust me more. That could help.
I had given up dwelling on escape too much, but I still entertained thoughts of getting away. Slavery being legal wouldn’t make it easy. Anyone who turned me in would get a reward if I tried to get away. Even worse, I had no idea where to go.
The Four Wizards’ towers sat near the center of the city—prime real estate. When I stepped into the cobblestone street, people noticed me and pointed. I smiled as I walked through the crowds. Maybe my new life isn’t so bad after all, I thought.
After so many months inside the Tower of Gates, basically on my own, I found it somewhat terrifying to think my life wasn’t so terrible. The surreal nature of my captivity hit me as I kept walking down the middle of a wide street.
On the left and right, opulent buildings with ancient Roman architecture caught my eye. I didn’t have any gold or platinum to purchase anything, but I had never minded a little window shopping. The act of stopping to peek in a store’s front window reminded me of Sarah.
I sighed them continued my pointless journey through the city. About ten blocks away from their towers, the collar around my neck heated up. I stopped immediately then backed up until it returned to a normal temperature. So, this is my limit, the invisible fence.
After glancing around to burn the location into my memory, I turned and headed back to the wizards’ towers. On the way, I noticed a man sitting near the entrance of a shop. His dirty clothes and general appearance told me he was somehow out of place.
I slowed down and crossed the less busy street. Many of the restaurants up and down the street were full of people happily having their dinner. The man noticed me walking over and stood. I stopped a few feet away from him not because I was afraid but because of his odor.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“I’m sorry,” he said, bowing slightly. “I’ll be on my way.”
“You don’t have to leave on my account,” I said then chuckled.
Somehow, seeing the destitute man made my situation seem more tenable.
“The gladiators always want to beat me up,” he said in a soft voice.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“I have no name,” he replied. “I can’t remember it. This stupid game…”
His voice trailed off into a deep sigh.
“You’re a player?” I asked.
He nodded and said, “Yes. Unfortunately.”
“What’s the problem?” I glanced around. “Someone hurting you?”
“There’s an evil plan afoot,” he said.
I tilted my head back, examining him with narrowed eyes.
“Tell me more,” I said.
“It’s the Four Wizards,” he said. “They can’t be trusted.”
Tell me something I don’t know.
“What about them?” I asked.
The man frowned then looked from the left to right.
“It’s not safe here,” he said. “I need to get going again.”
“Where are you going? Do you have somewhere to say?”
“Are you a bleaking town crier, or what?” he snapped.
“I’m new here,” I said, not wanting to give out more information. “Can you tell me more about the city? What’s outside the walls? Anything?”
“You are new here, aren’t you?” He shook his head. “The wastelands cover everything between here and the next city-state. It’s the same everywhere. All of the city-states will fall.”
“City-states?” I tilted my head to the left.
The nameless man nodded.
“You’re not familiar with Midgaard?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “What can you tell me about the other city-states?”
“Can you buy a man dinner?” he asked.
“I’m a slave myself,” I said. “Out on good behavior.”
“Okay,” he said. “You need to leave this place. Be prepared to travel for a few weeks to reach Asangard, the closest city-state worth visiting.”
I needed to get a map as soon as possible.
“Go on,” I said.
“I should go,” the man said. “I’ve got a long journey ahead. Do you want to come with me?”
“Yes, I do, but I can’t.” I pointed to my collar. “Magic is restraining me.”
“That’s too bad,” he said. “Maybe we’ll meet again. What’s your name?”
“Yorg the barbarian,” I said. “You still won’t tell me your name?”
“I don’t remember my real name,” he said. “How long have you been in here?”
“Too long,” I said.
“Your memory will get worse,” he said. “Memories of the real-world will fade with time. Hang on to all of them while you still can. Cherish them.”
He babbled on another minute or so before excusing himself and leaving. I watched him walk away, gradually getting lost in the crowd of people coming out of the restaurants. With a lot on my mind, I headed back to the wizards’ towers.
A couple of blocks away from my destination, I once again saw Monky in the crowd. She looked different without her orange and robes, but I was sure it was her. I took off after her the moment I saw her. She noticed and ran away from me.
I resisted the urge to yell her name without knowing the details of why she or Thero had ended up on such a high level in the game. She dodged between people about half a block ahead of me, and my size slowed me down as I maneuvered through the crowd.
Before I could c
atch up to her, my neck got hotter. I went another couple of steps before the pain got too uncomfortable. After backing up, I stood on the tips of my toes and looked for her in the crowd. Nothing. She was gone. Why wouldn’t she at least talk to me?
I wandered back to the Four Wizards’ towers, determined to figure out a way to find her. She might have answers about how to get back to the lower levels to find Eric and Sarah. If nothing else, I wanted to tell her I was sorry for leaving her for the Four Wizards.
The Tower of Gates had a nasty way of making even small mistakes turn into larger ones. I sometimes felt like the game was actively working against me. When I eventually found Eric, I planned on smashing his face in and making him experience game-death.
He deserved so much worse.
24
The Four Deadly Sins
Josh
Over the next few days, I scoured the streets for any sign of Monky, hoping she would have a way to get me away from the Four Wizards and to find Sarah. After my initial sightings, I saw no sign of her anywhere in my allowable radius around the wizards’ connected towers.
After my daily fight one afternoon, I continued my search, hoping for a break. I leaned against a wooden pole holding up the porch of one of the buildings near the busiest intersection within my allowable range. All sorts of people walked up and down the cobblestone street.
Under any other circumstances, Midgaard would’ve been a very interesting place to live inside the game—even better it Sarah was with me. I pushed thoughts of her out of my mind as I scanned the crowd for Monky. Tommy Two-Toes strutted toward me instead.
“Not now,” I muttered under my breath as I stood up straight.
He approached quickly despite missing all but two of his toes. I heard he lost them not in the arena but through the upset boyfriend of a woman he was messing around with. Every other fighter hated the man. I avoided him as much as possible.
“Yorg, wait up!” he shouted as I turned to leave.
I sighed them turned, knowing I would never get away when I stood taller than most of the city’s other inhabitants. He stopped in front of me, stroking his greasy black moustache.
“What’s going on?” I asked then added, “I can’t talk long.”
“This won’t take long,” he said. “I’ve got information for you.”
“What kind of information?”
“The good kind,” he replied then smiled.
“How much do you want for this information?” I asked.
“Nothing physical,” he said then lowered his voice and leaned closer. “I want you to throw a fight.”
I stepped back to avoid his foul-smelling breath.
“No thanks,” I said. “That’s against the rules of battle.”
“You’re already cheating,” he said flatly, studying my eyes.
I glanced around then lowered myself to his height.
“You best keep your mouth shut,” I said. “The Four Wizards will make short work of you.”
He pushed me away then brushed off the dingy leather armor covering his chest.
“I’m not throwing a fight,” I said.
Tommy Two-Toes frowned, his brow furrowing. As he opened his mouth to say something, I saw the Four Wizards stumbling toward us. This won’t be good.
“What are doing out here?” Thom yelled, drunkenly slurring his words.
“Nothing,” I said as they stopped around us.
Tommy Two-Toes glanced over his shoulder then looked at me.
“You leave our fighter alone,” Sherlock said, wagging his finger.
“I was just leaving,” the salty gladiator said.
He stepped in between Aaron and Ferris, walking away.
“What did he want?” Ferris demanded.
“Nothing,” I lied, wanting to take care of the situation myself.
“You better be telling the truth,” Aaron said, surprising me.
He’d always seemed to be the most level-headed of their group.
“Get on your knees,” Thom shouted.
I glanced over at the angry ginger and tilted my head back.
“What? Why?” I asked.
“You will respect my authority!” he shouted as he raised his hands.
I stepped back as he waved his hands to cast a spell. A noxious cloud formed around me. I coughed as I struggled to keep my meager breakfast in my stomach.
“On your knees,” he said.
I knelt on the cobblestone road. While I hadn’t seen them drunk before, I worried they would treat me even worse in their inebriated state.
“What are you doing out here?” Sherlock asked as he stumbled toward me.
“Nothing,” I said.
Thom walked up and slapped me across the face. I took a deep breath to control my anger as he laughed and struck me with his palm again.
“Cut it out,” I snapped then moved to get up.
Ferris mumbled a spell, freezing me. Thom slapped my face a few more times, giggling the entire time. Sherlock chuckled while Aaron shook his head then threw up.
Unable to move, I stared straight ahead, still attempting to keep my emotions in check. Ferris waved his hands again, unfreezing me. I stayed on my knees. Everyone else on the street had walked away, avoiding the scene. The Four Wizards had a bad reputation.
“Go back to the towers,” Sherlock said, pointing.
I moved to stand, but he put a hand on my shoulder.
“Crawl like the dog you are,” he said.
Thom cackled, his bright red hair bobbing up and down. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ferris hand Tommy Two-Toes a small pouch. Stupid, double-crossing rat, I thought as I crawled toward the Four Wizards’ towers. He’d pay for messing with me.
Did the wizards want me to lose a fight on purpose? Or was something else going on? Their actions made little sense to me. As I crawled down the middle of the street, I could hear the wizards talking quietly behind me. Some onlookers pointed and whispered amongst themselves.
I concentrated on a way to escape and find Sarah. Even Eric would be a welcome sight.
On the embarrassing journey back to my prison, I realized the Four Wizards represented four of the major sins. Ferris was pride, Thom was sloth, Aaron was envy, and Sherlock’s wrath wasn’t to be messed with on a good day. While not helpful right away, I filed the information away for later study. I needed all the help I could get if I wanted to escape them.
The other thing on my mind was getting revenge on Tommy Two-Toes without anyone knowing about it. Revenge against him would be sweet regardless, but I wanted to savor it even more by not even letting him know it was me behind his downfall.
I would need help, but I knew of a couple of gladiators who wanted him dead as much as I did. They would assist.
While I wasn’t sure exactly how I would take him down, the idea became even more important than escaping the Four Wizards. If I had a small victory against Tommy Two-Toes, I might be lucky enough to come up with a plan to get away from my captors. All the extra buffs they secretly hit me with before my battles in the arena had me doubting myself.
Back at their tower complex, they teleported me into the room with no windows or walls. I sat with my back against a rough wall, pondering my fate in the Tower of Gates. Sarah hit my thoughts once again. I struggled to picture her face. So much time had passed since I had seen her. I wanted to hug her so badly, but I needed to think.
My first step was to figure out a way to get back at Tommy Two-Toes without it being obvious that I would hurt him. The players I had met in the game took it seriously, and I needed to do the same. I leaned my head back and stared up, pushing Sarah out of my mind. With the preferred outcome for Tommy Two-Toes in mind, I needed a plan.
25
Brains of the Brute
Josh
Revenge was usually best served cold, but I didn’t have a lot of time. Tommy Two-Toes needed to pay in a big way before word got around that I was a chump. I wouldn’t put hurting me past the other gl
adiators if they thought they could gang up on me. Even the Four Wizards wouldn’t be able to help me if that happened.
I leaned against my preparation cage underneath the arena, ready to put my plan into motion. Like most of the other slaves who fought in the arena, Tommy Two-Toes would expect me to come at him physically. Instead, I had thought long and hard about ways to make him pay without resorting to physical violence—at least not directly.
“Hey, Treemore,” I said, lifting a hand in the air.
The weathered human warrior stopped and turned in my direction. I motioned him over with a nod of my head. As he approached, chest glistening with oil, I wondered if I was making the right choice. One miscalculation could get me in a lot of trouble. Treemore stopped in front of me and crossed his arms over his barrel chest.
“What’s up?” he asked in a gruff tone.
“I need your help,” I said then motioned him closer.
“Spit it out,” he snapped. “I’m about to go into the arena.”
“Did you hear about Tommy Two-Toes and Melinda?” I asked.
His eyes widened. “What?” he asked.
“She’s been cheating on you with him,” I said.
He furrowed his brow and dropped his arms to his sides.
“I’m gonna kill ‘em both,” he grumbled.
“Hold on,” I said. “There’s a better way to get him back.”
“Yeah?” Treemore tilted his head back. “Like what?”
I grinned, hoping my plan would actually work.
“Take him out in the arena,” I said.
“But I don’t fight him today,” Treemore said. “I want to kill him!”
“Keep your voice down,” I hissed. “You need to be smart about it, buddy.”
He furrowed his brow as he studied my face. I kept an even expression.
“You know I’m fighting him today, right? Go to the guards and tell them Tommy Two-Toes is going to throw the fight against me.”
“They’re not going to care,” Treemore said.
“Maybe not, but I think they will,” I said.
If I could get the dumb fighter to ask the guards to change up the matches, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything tying back to me personally. At the same time, I wouldn’t have to worry about Tommy Two-Toes trying to kill me by cheating. The Four Wizards hadn’t given me my normal buffs as a punishment.