1-Up

by Dean Smith

  ‘Let’s figure out our next step first and worry about those other bridges when we get to ‘em. Okay?’ Mordoom being the voice of reason made Valiant feel dizzy, but he was right. They had to keep moving forward and so Valiant opened his World Map to see what their options were.

  ‘The typical route would be through the Obsidian Stronghold to the Undying Forest and finally the Spirit Tower.’ Mordoom stated, pointing out each place in sequence. ‘We could go through Vilemire but there’s a secret portal in the Spirit Tower we can use to get to my castle. The only problem is that I don't know what we'll face along the way, before I awoke, I had only known Vilemire Castle.’ It was a solid plan but a long one with a lot of unknown variables, and so Valiant looked for other options.

  ‘There’s a direct path with no obstacles right here, it’ll take longer when we get to Vilemire but we’ll still be ahead of time.’ Mordoom pointed out the route but Valiant shook his head.

  ‘True but have you seen where that route begins?’ He pointed the city where it began, Dawn Lore City. Valiant waved his finger over it to summon a dialogue box to show Mordoom what the problem was.

  ‘LOCATION INACCESSIBLE. ADDITIONAL CONTENT NOT YET PURCHASED.’

  ‘Balls,’ Mordoom said under his breath. They had to go through the long way that Mordoom suggested originally and there was no time like the present to begin their journey.

  ‘Come, we’ve got three hellholes to go through before we get to Rita and who knows what’ll happen then. God help me if she’s messed with the Feng Shui of my throne room!’ Mordoom exclaimed.

  ‘I’m sure Rita is quaking at the thought...’

  They were on the edge of town where buildings of brick and mortar had become common, in the distance beyond the inevitable loading screen, they could make out the shape of the Obsidian Fortress dominating the skyline, it was an imposing building but one they would have to get through if they ever hoped to get to Vilemire and Rita.

  ‘Before we head out, let’s make sure we’re stocked up on items. It won’t be good for us if we’re caught wanting along the way- oof!’ A small figure bumped into Valiant and sped off without a word, thinking nothing of it, Valiant ventured to the item shop but found a nasty surprise waiting for him when he tried to purchase his items.

  ‘My money, it’s all gone! What the hell?’ He confirmed it using the main menu, he no longer had a single gold coin on him. He thought of that little figure bumping into him a few moments ago and it all made sense, whoever they were, they weren’t someone who innocently bumped into him, they were a thief and Valiant hated thieves. As he charged back outside, nostrils flaring with frustration, he saw the lithe cloaked figure from before. They were leaning against an alley wall, taunting him with his money. He gave chase, and they ran deeper into the alley. Mordoom tried to keep up but he soon fell behind but Valiant was determined to chase this thief to the ends of the earth. The alley ended with a dead end with a large wooden fence blocking off the thief’s only exit but they didn’t seem too worried. They didn’t look around fearfully for an exit, they didn’t try to scale the fence, they just waited for him and Mordoom to arrive and when they did, they tossed Valiant’s bag of money back to him.

  ‘Sorry for stealing your money, I only wanted your attention.’ A light feminine voice came underneath the hood and when it was removed, a pretty blonde elf girl with grey feline-esque eyes was revealed underneath.

  ‘What’s the meaning of this?’ Valiant asked, angry about what had happened but also curious, what kind of thief returns their stolen goods?

  ‘The name’s Nina, Nina Swifthands. Do you like it? I came up with it myself when I awakened, I think it rolls off the tongue easier than ‘ThiefEnemyTypeB’.’

  ‘It’s a bit on the nose, don’t you think?’ Asked Mordoom.

  ‘Oh? I suppose it is .... MORDOOM WINTERHEART.’

  Mordoom opened his mouth to respond before falling silent, he couldn’t argue with her on that point.

  ‘Yes, your name is lovely, but it doesn’t explain why you robbed me, how you know who we are and why you are treating me to your life story.’

  ‘I’m getting to it, Mr Hero. So impatient! As you can tell, I’m an enemy character, a thief and I’m sure I’m the only enemy character that has awoken thus far.' Mordoom scoffed but allowed her to continue. 'If you haven’t noticed, there’s like, no unawakened characters in this town but that’s not because everyone is awake...’ She let her words trail off, as though to swing the bait in Valiant and Mordoom’s faces.

  ‘Are you going to tell us before this game’s sequel comes out or...?’ Valiant felt uncharacteristically short on patience, this whole ordeal had put him in a bad mood, he just wanted to carry on with his quest, he wanted to get to Rita.

  ‘Goldharbour is ruled by the good Queen Bea but a lot of her affairs are handled by her advisor, Ferdinand.’ Nina’s face soured. ‘Ferdinand, for whatever reason unbeknownst to me, has been rounding up the unawakened NPCs in Goldharbour, which includes all my fellow thieves. I’ve tracked them down to a hidden prison beneath the church but I need help to free them. Since you’re a hero and all, can you help me rescue these people? It’s your job right?’ Nina was right, annoyingly so. Valiant couldn’t be the hero he claimed to be if he left people to their fate.

  ‘What’s in it for you?’ Asked Mordoom. ‘Is there treasure down there or something?’

  ‘Nothing so vulgar and conceited, I promise.’ Valiant was doubtful about that. ‘Waking up is the best thing to ever happen to me and I don’t want the unawakened to exist without knowing freedom. My people are down there along with any unlucky soul that hasn’t been awakened and they all deserve a chance to know the truth, to choose their own path. I don’t know what ol’ Ferdy’s got planned but I know it can’t be anything good. Time is of the essence, are you with me?’

  Valiant couldn’t say no but he glanced upwards at the empty space above her head where that hateful side quest sign would usually linger when faced with such a request. This wasn’t an official quest, it wasn’t written in the game’s code like the others. Ferdinand’s actions had resulted from his awakening which lead Valiant to believe that he was partly responsible for this situation. Venturis was changing in unexpected ways and it scared Valiant more than ever, not that he would ever voice those fears. Too many people relied on him, he couldn’t show fear or weakness to any of them, least of all to this thief, Nina, who was asking for his help.

  The situation with Rita was more pressing but it would have to wait, there were people to save and a villain to stop. A classic heroic situation and Valiant couldn’t turn down the opportunity to prove to himself what he was capable of without the game guiding his every move.

  'I'm with you, Show us the way.'

  ***

  As they drew closer to the church, Valiant considered the possibility that this was a trap or an ambush. Nina was a thief after all and just because she had awakened, it didn’t guarantee that she had changed her ways.

  The awakening had changed most people that had gone through it, Mordoom was more interested in eradicating stains than eradicating Venturis and Rita had become a different person since she came to know the truth of their world and the power that came with it. Considering them both, it wasn’t a stretch to think Nina had noble intentions but still, if Valiant believed that everyone could change so drastically then he wouldn’t be trying to reach Rita, to get through to her as deep down he knew that she was a good person. If that was the case then the inverse could be true as well. Nina could be every bit of the thief she always was, and it was only a matter of time before Mordoom reverted to who he was before. Valiant shook his head, such thoughts were not helpful. If he worried about their intentions, then that would impede the task at hand and risk the NPC’s lives. He had to trust that Nina was sincere, and that Mordoom had changed. If that wasn’t the case, Valiant would have to cross that bridge when he came to it.

  The church was well guarded as patrols of gu
ards travelled around the perimeter, changing their route upon every successful rotation of the grounds, the guards’ presence at such a place was suspicious and it gave Nina’s story some weight although Valiant kept a healthy scepticism about her. There could just as easily be treasure beneath the church that Nina wanted to steal and if that was the case then Valiant would have no choice but to stop her, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He wanted to believe that her intentions were altruistic.

  From behind a wall opposite the church which offered them a decent vantage point and cover, Nina detailed her plan.

  ‘The guards will change over in two minutes which will give us a window of opportunity to slip into the crypt beneath the church and find the hidden prison. We’re gonna have to be quick and careful because I don’t fancy fighting the guards, do you?’

  Valiant did not, defeating monsters and demons out in the field did not bother him but these guards and Ferdinand himself were awakened and Valiant was not sure if he could bring himself to hurt them if needed. He didn’t want to test out those limits so Nina’s stealthy approach seemed like the best course of action. Happy with the plan, they waited for the guard to change over and made their move.

  Nina effortlessly tore ahead and both Valiant and Mordoom followed her lead albeit slowly as Valiant was never one for stealth. Mordoom however was not one for any kind of fieldwork it seemed as he struggled to keep up. Knowing he was slowing them down and eager to ditch him until after they had rescued the NPCs, Valiant offered a solution.

  ‘Do you want to keep watch while we go on ahead? It looks like you’re struggling.’

  ‘No, I’m good. I want to do this, I’ll fight Ferdinand and his goons if I need to. I wanna rescue those people.’ Valiant wasn’t sure how Mordoom could do that. Without his magic, Mordoom was weak but Valiant appreciated his intent and if Mordoom had something to prove to himself, Valiant wouldn’t get in the way of it.

  They made it into the crypt with little fuss and, thankfully, the guards’ presence was all but non-existent until they had turned a corner and say two large guards posted outside of a door that seemed to be out of place with the rest of the crypt.

  ‘The NPCs are behind that door, we need to get past those guards to get in.’ Explained Nina. Valiant was afraid of this, he didn’t want to harm another human. Monsters, demons and beasts were fair game but people? Valiant didn’t want to cross the line that Rita had.

  Nina looked at him although she could read his mind.

  ‘Here.’ She said as she held out her hands. In them were several small round balls and a cloth mask. ‘I’ve got a feeling you aren’t comfortable hurting people and neither am I, so use these.’

  ‘OBTAINED Sleep Bomb x5!’

  ‘OBTAINED Protection Mask!’

  ‘The bombs have a small radius of effect but just in case, wear the mask and the sleep gas won’t affect you. I’ve got more masks for the NPCs if needed.’

  This was perfect, they could get rid of the guards without hurting them and Nina’s reluctance to hurt people adhered her to Valiant. Nina wasn’t a cut-throat that killed freely which meant that, if it wasn’t an act, that there was good in her and this whole endeavour wasn’t a trap or her deceiving them into stealing something.

  With his mind at some kind of ease, Valiant opened the main menu and selected the ‘Equipment’ option. He unequipped his helmet from the head slot and replaced it with the mask Nina had given him. It lacked the defensive stats of the helm but it offered him immunity to several ailments. Nina wasn’t lying about the masks either.

  ‘Ready?’ He nodded at her and she primed two sleep bombs, from their corner she tossed them at the guards’ heads and they watched as the balls exploded in a small poof of smoke that encased the guards, once the smoke cleared, the large guards were sleeping soundly in a tangle on the floor. With the guards out the way, it was time to rescue the NPCs.

  ‘Hopefully it’ll be easier from here on out, wouldn’t it be nice if there’re no guards behind this door? Just a bunch of terrified NPCs waiting to be rescued?’ Uttered Mordoom as they opened the large out-of-place door. Behind it was a cavernous room filled with cages full of NPCs.

  ‘It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?’

  ‘I’m so bored with patrolling this same route, I wish the captain would assign me a different duty.’

  ‘SPECIAL OFFER ON COCONUTS! Two for one gold piece! Only while stocks last!’

  Even though they had been taken off their routes and placed in cages, the unawakened NPCs still stuck to their assigned dialogue all of which merged into a loud cacophony which, while annoying, gave Valiant, Mordoom and Nina plenty of noise to cover their entrance, they dipped behind a nearby pillar and took stock of the situation. There was twelve cages, all filled to the brim with NPCs with guards stationed all around, it was fortuitous that the door to this impromptu prison was located within one corner which made it difficult for the guards to notice it had been opened. Valiant looked up and saw that there was a balcony to the room and standing there was a man in a long white robe.

  ‘Ferdinand.’ Nina grunted through gritted teeth. ‘Be careful around him, he’s a powerful magician.’

  Ferdinand was an older man, wizened by his advancing years. He had long white hair that was thinning out, deep winkles and large eyes which gave the impression he was in constant fear. He didn’t look like someone to be wary of but lately Valiant had learned that looks were deceiving. Powerful wizard or not, villain or not, Valiant didn’t want to hurt him or any of the guards. He gripped the sleep bombs as a plan formed in his mind.

  ‘Listen, I’m going to draw the attention of the guards. While I’m keeping them busy, I need you both to secure a set of keys and rescue the prisoners.’

  ‘Decent plan although it’s dumb, how are you going to keep so many guards busy?’ Nina asked with a gargantuan amount of scepticism.

  ‘Their dreams will keep them busy. Be quick though, that Ferdinand is a wildcard and if he’s as powerful as you made him out to be I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to hold him off.’ It wasn’t a great plan but it was all they had. Once Nina and Mordoom were in position, Valiant stepped out of the shadows and into plain sight and the guards surrounded him, Ferdinand, upon his perch, regarded him with a look of fearful interest.

  ‘Who are you?’

  ‘Sir Valiant Emberheart, Hero of Wingcrest, Slayer of Evil, Saviour of Princesses, Doer of side quests and in this moment, arse kicker of kidnappers.’ He shot Ferdinand a cocky grin as he paced the room.

  Ferdinand gripped the balcony.

  ‘THE Sir Valiant? Here? Why?’

  ‘I’ve come to admire the architecture of course, gotta love clandestine hidden prisons where people are unjustly locked away after all!’ Ferdinand growled at Valiant’s mockery of him. Valiant didn’t feel confident but he sure as hell would fake it if needed.

  ‘There is nothing unjust about this! They aren’t people! Not like us! That’s what she told me, only the awakened are alive and who knows what threat the NPCs pose to us? What if they haven’t awakened because it’s some sort of illness or disease preventing them from doing so? What if it’s contagious? What if we fall victim to it and lose our sentience? I can’t take that risk. Unawakened NPCS must be locked away, just to be safe.’

  Valiant tilted his head. He had noted Ferdinand's mention of a woman with a pang of worry and his words eerily echoed those of Rita’s. Could she be involved in this somehow? Did she stir the pot and prompt Ferdinand to action? Valiant couldn’t say for sure so he focused on the matter at hand and regained his composure.

  ‘Lots of what-ifs there but little in the way of logic. We get it, you’re crazy. Can we move past the monologue and get to the point where I beat you up and save the day?’ Although his words were hollow, Valiant felt powerful and confident, being heroic felt like a safety blanket to him, like home. He could trade barbs with villains all day.

  ‘As you wish, GUARDS! KILL HIM!’

  W
ith a violent whoosh, Valiant and the guards were pulled into a turn based battle and luckily enough, Valiant got to go first. He selected the item tab and the sleep bombs and threw them at his first target, putting him to sleep. He repeated this process whilst defending against the guards’ attacks between turns until they were all asleep. Through all the fighting he had done since the journey began, he had learned about the battle system and he understood that ailments like sleep or poison only lasted a few turns and he didn’t have enough bombs to put everyone back to sleep if they awoke. If that happened, he would be forced to fight them. The latest round of turns ended and a new one began, this would be the turn in which the guards would wake up. As Valiant’s turn came up, his assessed his options. He, like everyone else in battle had a bar floating above their heads that filled up when it was time for him to take his turn and it was only in this moment, looking at the enemy’s turn bars, that he came to a realisation. The enemy’s turn bars were frozen while Valiant’s turn was active and he realised the reverse was true as well. The guards couldn’t wake up until it was their turn but if Valiant did nothing, his turn would last as long as he remained inactive. He could keep the guards asleep for as long as it took for Nina and Mordoom to rescue the NPCs. He looked up at Ferdinand and waved at him as the battle came to a standstill.

  ‘Grrrr! Blast this game and its infernal battle system!’ Ferdinand wasn’t taking part in the battle and so he wasn’t beholden to its rules and Valiant could only watch as flames encased the old wizard’s hands. Valiant had bent the rules of the game to his advantage and Ferdinand was planning on doing the same and Valiant couldn’t defend against attacks from outside of his current battle. He was a sitting duck waiting to be cooked by Ferdinand’s fire.

  ‘No you don’t!’

  A cumbersome black shape collided with Ferdinand mid spell which caused a small explosion upon the balcony. When the smoke subsided, Valiant could see it was Mordoom that had attacked Ferdinand and he looked mightily pleased about it.