A Player in the Greenwood: A LitRPG Novella

by Galen Wolf

  I had to think fast. If I went into the tavern that would allow me to mingle with the crowd but it would also confine me. Loki might guess I would go into the tavern and try to use his Unmask skill in there. Not a good place to go. I shook my head and my grey beard fluttered in the breeze. Then I looked at the dark pinewoods that covered the mountain slopes below the village of Kanchenjunga. These pinewoods were infested with werewolves, and the wolves were about Level 10. Normally I would never consider this area because I would almost certainly die when attacked by the werewolves, but I looked back. Loki was a dark speck hovering above the amphitheatre seeking for me in the crowd. If I stayed here, I was going to certainly die and what is worse, Loki would steal the egg before I had time to open it.

  I ran down the mountain road to the edge of the pinewoods still dressed as a priest of Kanchenjunga. I switched on my stealth skill, took a sip of invisibility potion and felt a little more secure. I was burning to know what was in the egg. I glanced back at the village. I shouldn't really stop to look. Then I shook my head - if he killed me, at least I would have seen what the egg contained, and if it was another riddle, I could save it in my journal.

  I took the egg out of my inventory and it glowed red and yellow as befitted an artifact associated with the Kanchenjunga fire festival. I tapped the egg and watched as it came open. I half expected a further riddle but instead of words, there was a fiery red key. A key. But to where?

  Then a werewolf howled close by.

  #

  Level 8

  105hp, 50 mana

  Saves: Dodge 13, Toughness 12, Willpower 0

  Stats with Items:

  STR 9, DEX 22 (base 20 + stat points awarded at Level 4 and Level 8), CON 16, Int 10, WIS 8, CHA 8.

  Skills:

  Poisons:

  Pan, causes weapon phobia and enemies throw down their weapons and cannot pick them up until they cure by smoking Licorice Root.

  Tinnis, causes deafness. Toughness saves.

  Stealth:

  Vanish. Complete invisibility and soundlessness for 1 second per level.

  Stone, disguise yourself as a Stone. Unspottable. Broken by movement.

  Ranger Skills:

  Animal Companion - wolf (summoned at same level as the Ranger)

  Call Ally - a whistle summons all pets and summonings from anywhere in the Greenwood.

  Survival:

  Animal Empathy - calm the aggression of hostile animals. Willpower saves.

  Skin Breathing: breath through your skin; you cannot be strangled or choked.

  #

  I looked over my shoulder to see Loki floating above the amphitheatre. The thief was a speck in a sky lit up by the remains of the fire festival. However, I knew that if Loki saw me, he would end my life. With a look to check my footing, I stepped off the made up roadway and into the forest. I slid down the bank, heels-first, my feet scraping furrows in the soft earth. I slid around ten feet and came to a halt. After the clattering of the stones had ceased all I could hear was my breathing.

  I was amongst the dark trunks of many tall pine trees. Through their branches, I could see the sky and the full moon gleamed down. I thought that was weird because there had been no full moon before I entered the forest. I knew the location was called the Haunted Werewolf Forest, and I guessed that when you entered this forest, it was always night and it was always the full moon. I gave a mirthless chuckle. The last thing I wanted to do was to get into any combat with werewolves. My plan was to run through the trees as quickly as possible and down the mountainside. I guessed that my route then would be to take the ferry back from the village of Ontario to the city of Keld, and into the Black Forest. From there, I could use my swing skill to get back into the Greenwood and the safety of the Rangers' Guildhouse.

  I picked myself up from the ground and checked around me. I had no sense of any creature nearby. That was good. I scrambled down the slope until I found a trodden path by the light of the moon. Following it, I hurried through the dark trees and heard leaves rustle in the slight breeze above me. After about a hundred yards, I saw a heap of stones in the middle of the path. It looked like it was man-made. I approached it cautiously, expecting some trap or magic. But there was nothing there, nothing moved.

  It was a deliberately placed cairn. Furthermore, on the cairn was a human skeleton dressed in rusted armor. One of its hands was flung out pointing. I guessed that this was a quest. I hadn't heard of any quests here, but there were bound to be some. A place with the name Haunted Werewolf Forest was clearly designed to attract player characters in search of adventure.

  I waggled my finger at the skeleton. Tempting, but I didn't want to take up any new quests. I was about to leave and make my way further along the path when the gleam of metal in the skeleton's other hand caught my eye. The light of the moon played on the moldering bones. I reached down to examine what the skeleton was holding; it was surely part of a quest I didn't want to take, but it had piqued my curiosity.

  The skeleton held a silver dagger. That made sense – a werewolf quest would need some kind of weapon to combat the werewolves. I knew that werewolves had damage reduction and silver was one of the methods of bypassing that DR. Maybe I would come back here when things were straighter and the feud with the Thieves Guild was over.

  I scurried down the forest path. All I wanted was to get to the other side of the forest and then rejoin the road as the going would be easier on a made-up roadway than through the tumbled rocks of the mountainside.

  A stick broke in the forest to my left.

  I twisted round to look, but the shadows were thick and I couldn't make out any figures. Even so, my heart beat faster and I picked up the pace.

  The last thing I needed now was combat. I kidded myself it was my imagination making me hear breaking sticks. Then I saw red eyes burning in the darkness of the Forest. At first, that was all I could see – the glittering red of animal eyes. Then I discerned the silhouette of a large figure. It looked to be over six feet tall and it was coming my way.

  If it didn't know I'd spotted it, I might be able to put some distance between it and me while it was cautious and going slow, and then I would break into a run and sprint out of the trees.

  I hurried along the path breathing rapidly. My walk soon became a jog and then a sprint. If the werewolf was Level 10, I doubted I could beat it. Just get out of the forest and all would be okay.

  I threw a look over my shoulder and saw the red eyes had now disappeared. But the creature was clearly somewhere behind. It didn't matter. Just hurry. I turned to face the way I was running and stopped short.

  Blocking the path was the huge figure of another werewolf with gleaming eyes and shining sharp fangs. It made no attempt to attack me – that would surely come, but this was clearly part of the routine to get my adrenaline going. I guessed that the developers had a sense of drama and had plotted this moment of suspense to make the encounters more gripping for the players. It sure worked.

  It was obvious now that the only way I was going to get through these werewolves was to reach the cairn and grab the silver dagger. I span round and sprinted back up the path.

  I got about halfway back to the cairn when the first werewolf barreled into me from the forest edge. It knocked me sideways off the path and into the trees. I rolled over in the dirt and dragged out my daggers. The creature rushed me but I managed to stab it and dodge with my high DEX rating. Both of my daggers make contact but any damage they did was cancelled by the werewolf's DR.

  The poisons I'd had daubed on my daggers made no impact on the werewolf, of course. The only option was to run. I saw the path pale in the moonlight to my right and ran for it. I didn't believe that I could out run the werewolf forever, but all I needed was to get to the cairn and grab the silver dagger before it attacked again.

  Then I thought of my new skill: Call Animal Companion. The werewolf was right on my heels but I looked up and thought the command. It took two seconds, then my wolf companion appear
ed beside me and I saw I had the option to name him. Maybe when I had more time. The werewolf snarled and the wolf jumped at it and sent it rolling backwards. I heard the snarls and growls of the fight, but ignored it and rushed up the path to the cairn.

  There were at least two werewolves: one that had blocked my way out of the forest and the bigger one that came at me from out the trees. That one had been the one behind me initially.

  I guessed my wolf companion wouldn't last long against two werewolves. I was sorry for its impending AI death, but I could re-summon it after an hour cool-down. I would name it then, pet it, and feed it scraps.

  I ran as fast as I could, my lungs bursting, and still running, sheathed my daggers because they were no further use to me. I saw the dark heap of the cairn about a hundred yards in front down the path. The werewolf was closing. It must have killed poor little wolfie. I only got another couple of yards before the creature's claws slashed my back. My leather armor deflected some of the blow but still my HUD flashed red to show damage.

  I hit Vanish and even the werewolf eyes or its keen sense of smell wouldn't be able to detect me for eight seconds.

  I redoubled my speed. I was close to the cairn now. Eight seconds ended, and I flicked back into visibility but the cairn was in sight. The werewolf roared and leapt. It hit me and raked both of its claws down my back. My HUD flashed red, and I was down to 65 HP. I sprinted and dived for the cairn. As my hand closed on the dagger, crushing the dried finger bones of the skeleton in my eagerness to take it, a message flashed up on my HUD: YOU HAVE BEGUN THE QUEST OF THE FORLORN TIGER.

  What had werewolves to do with tigers?

  But the werewolf was on me. It bore its mighty strength on my body, shoved me down, and tried to snap at my throat. I attempted to roll, but the creature had me pinned. Nevertheless the movement saved my vulnerable neck. I only lost a further seven HP from the glancing blow.

  With the silver dagger in my right hand, I stabbed the creature with all my strength. The werewolf howled in agony as the silver metal beat its damage reduction and struck home. As well as being able to bypass the damage reduction, it seemed silver was toxic to the werewolf in this game, as in all the best horror stories.

  The creature threw back its head and howled in pain. It stood, hands to the wound, and I was able to twist away to the right. I rolled to my feet, the silver dagger ready in my right hand, and I lunged again stabbing the beast in its stomach. The creature turned and fled in fright.

  I stood panting in the light of the moon. The second werewolf was somewhere out there watching warily.

  I thought, this was a pretty straightforward quest once you had the silver dagger. But I still didn't get why it was called the Quest of the Forlorn Tiger.

  Then a new message flashed across my HUD: FOLLOW THE BLOOD TRAIL.

  I shrugged. The blood trail went the way I needed to go. I jogged back down the path following the spatters of werewolf blood. I only got a few yards before the second werewolf attacked me from out of the forest shadows but I had the silver dagger ready and as the creature rushed me, I stabbed up into its chest. Once again, the silver did its work, and the werewolf shrieked in mortal agony. Without hesitating, I stabbed it again and the creature fell to the ground dead. The graphic effect was of the werewolf lapsing back into human form – the shape of a naked human female. Her long hair was unkempt and shaggy, and then the corpse vanished. This was normal after all deaths in the Greenwood; the bodies of the dead did not linger on the ground but simply disappeared.

  Now I had dealt with the second werewolf I was free to follow the blood trail wherever it would lead. After around fifty yards following spatters of blood, dark crimson in the moonlight, I saw they led off the path into the forest to the right. I tensed slightly thinking that this was perhaps another trap. Surely, the quest couldn't be so easy? In preparation, I took Hale Fruit from my pouch and crunched it. It tasted sweet and pleasant and it restored me to full health.

  I also made sure my pipes were burning just in case I needed to smoke any herbal cures. Then feeling as prepared as I could be, I shrugged and walked off the path between the trees. I switched on my stealth even though it slowed me down, and made my way cautiously forward.

  The cave loomed ahead in the moonlight and the blood predictably led into the darkened entrance. I entered the cave, silver dagger in my right hand. There in front of me, I saw the stricken shape of the werewolf. It did not move and appeared to be dead. it seemed the only function of this graphic was to lead me to the cave.

  The cave was full of the bones of the werewolf's former victims, and there were low-level items lying around. Once again, there were candles – I could never figure out why there were always candles in loot. Heaps of silver and copper coins were piled in the middle and a couple of magic scrolls nestled among the coins. I lacked the skills to read the scrolls, but I took them to sell to vendors. In the middle of the coin heap lurked a small chest.

  The chest was locked. I looked at the werewolf's corpse, which had not disappeared, and figured there was some clue in the fact it was still there. I examined the werewolf's paws (it had not regained human form). In the right paw was a small golden key. I extracted the key and went over to the chest and fitted the key in the lock. I turned it to its right and the lock clicked open. I opened the chest and there was an immediate explosion that caused me 50 health damage. I had forgotten about traps.

  It took a minute to crunch another Hale Fruit that restored my health. Then with trepidation, I looked into the chest. I had half expected that all the contents would be destroyed by the trap blast, but they weren't. The devs must have been feeling kind when they developed this quest. I pulled out a small gold figurine of a tiger, the stripes inlaid in an unknown black stone. The eyes of the tiger were of emerald. This explained the name of the quest – the statuette did look pretty forlorn. Also in the chest was a set of bracers for my forearms. I looked at them and saw that they were bracers of constitution +2. That would put my constitution to 12, which meant hp increased by 10 and toughness save from by 1 to 11.

  I took the tiger and put it in my inventory and wore the bracers, immediately feeling a surge of power. I felt better, a stronger wholly improved person. I had also got XP from the werewolf quest. My HUD flashed: YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE QUEST OF THE FORLORN TIGER.

  However, the XP gain had only put me a third of the way to Level 9. Though it had delayed me, I felt that the trip to the werewolf cave had been beneficial. In fact, the whole trip to Kanchenjunga had been very profitable.

  I made my way out of the cave and rejoined the path. Eventually I left the Haunted Werewolf Forest behind. I was sure that there were further quests in there and I had quite enjoyed myself so I vowed to return when things were quieter.

  Once I left the forest, the full moon disappeared, and I was clearly right in my assumption that the full moon had been part of the dungeon dressing for the Haunted Werewolf Forest instance.

  I stumbled my way across the broken ground until I saw the mountain road descending in front. Before I rejoined the road, I looked cautiously around and used all my skills and senses to try to detect whether there were any other players nearby. I couldn't see any and so, reassured, I began to walk down to Ontario.

  Once I got into the village of Ontario, I didn't have long to wait before I caught a southbound ferry towards the city of Keld. Once again, there were as many NPCs on the ferry as there had been during the day and I wondered what story reason they would have to be taking a boat at this time of night.

  As I sat there watching the water go by I had an urge to examine the Tiger Figurine. It had been a beautiful thing and I half wanted to keep it, though the sensible thing to do would be to sell it for its worth in gold. Then I could use that gold to buy something I really needed.

  I took the Tiger out and weighed it in my hands. It was about 6 inches long. The light from the torches on the ferry made its emerald eyes sparkle green. I was about to turn it over and examine the un
derneath when I fumbled and dropped it. I cursed quietly but at the instant the yiger model hit the deck, it transformed into a fully-grown tiger with flashing emerald eyes.

  I realized that the figurine of the Forlorn Tiger was in fact magic and whenever I needed an ally in a battle I could throw the Tiger down and I would have a pet to aid me.

  I patted the head of the watching tiger and it growled quietly. I guessed its dignity didn't allow it to be treated like a house cat. Luckily, there were no other player characters on the ferry and the NPCs didn't turn a hair when the tiger appeared. It took me several minutes before I figured out how to get the tiger back into its figurine shape. But in the end, all it was was a thought command: Dismiss Tiger. I leaned down, picked up the gold and black figurine from the boat deck, and placed it in my inventory.

  Perhaps the gods were finally smiling on me – they or the developers, which pretty much amounted to the same thing.

  6. Enemy Territory

  When I logged on the next day, I swung up to the Rangers Guildhouse to find that Ahn and Ajora were already there.

  "Where you been?" Ahn asked. "Did you get to the fire festival in Kanchenjunga?"

  I nodded and a big smile grew on my face.

  Ahn grinned. "I take it from your smile you were successful."

  "I had many adventures."

  Ajora said, "And one of them included Loki, didn't it?"

  I frowned. "How do you know?"

  "Well, I've just been to the Stone Cross and there was a note in parchment stuck on the peg people use for posting public notices."

  "And what's that got to do with me?" I asked.

  Ajora handed me the note. "Read it. It's about you."

  I read the note, and it immediately copied itself into my Journal. The note was from Loki: "To the Ranger worm known as Barcud: Be it known to the whole of the Greenwood that I will hunt you down and kill you every chance I get. And not only will I kill you, I will take all of your possessions each time. And I will drive you to despair so that your only option is to quit the Greenwood forever."