Mace trusted her. The idea didn’t thrill him, but he could see it was something she really wanted. “You’ll be super careful? Like, quarantine protocols? Triple rubber gloves and masks n such?”
When Shari promised, he added “That fight the other day. The one that fell was pretty ripped up. There might be pieces left on the street. And the other one died upstairs. Don’t think the big one had time to eat that one. We could check there.”
“That would be perfect! I don’t think it matters much that they’re dead. At least, for now. I might need a fresher one later. But we’ll see.”
With that, they cleaned up and returned to their work.
Mace sat back down at the computer station in the security room. Taking a deep breath, he pushed a button. He watched as the screen flashed up window after window, indicating it was loading various components of Peabody’s program. It was going to take a while.
Mace stuck his earpiece in his ear and tapped at it once. “Shari? You there?”
She answered after just a moment. “Mmmmhmmm… what’s up?”
“About what I said before? I mean, I wasn’t wrong. You are definitely the sexiest researcher on the planet.” He held his breath.
“Not horrible.” She answered after thinking it over. “Should have said that during lunch. Would’ve earned you a kiss.”
Mace’s computer beeped as a window popped up indicating that the upload was complete. He didn’t hear or see it, as he was already down the corridor and turning the corner toward Shari’s lab at full speed. A moment later he slid through the door of her lab, crashing into a cabinet just inside. Breathing heavily, he leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms in front of his chest, trying to look casual.
“Oh, yeah? A kiss? Like, what kind of a kiss?” He asked.
She got up from her chair and walked slowly over to him, looking into his eyes the entire time. Stepping right up so that they were nearly nose to nose, she smiled sweetly at him. “This kind.” She said before giving him a quick and devastatingly disappointing peck on the lips. When she saw the look on his face, she laughed. Turning her back on him, she said “Like I said, should have said it at lunch. Timing is everything. I’ve got work to do. Shoo!” She waved him toward the door.
Groaning in disappointment, he trudged back to his station. Seeing the computer ready to go perked him up a bit. “Okay, here we go.” He grabbed a webcam and mounted it at the top of the monitor. Then he activated the microphone. “Peabody, can you hear me?”
The tiny, no-frills voice of a computer simulation replied “I can hear you. What is your designation?”
“I am Mace. Senior security specialist at this facility and Alpha Admin. My access designation is Unrestricted.”
“Alpha Admin Mace, recognized. Good to meet you, Mace.” The voice said.
“Same here, Peabody. Are you ready for some tests?”
“Of course, Mace. Where would you like to start?”
For the next few hours, Mace put Peabody through a series of tests. Then did it again. And a third time. The AI passed with flying colors each time. It could control building access, security systems, lights, environmental controls, elevators, and power systems. In time Mace would install hardware that would enable Peabody to control things like watering crops by turning valves off and on.
“Peabody, please commence motion and heat detection on all exterior cameras. Record any anomalous readings. Notify me via internal radio frequency if anything should trigger a recording. Thank you.”
“Of course, Mace. There is an unknown person in Med Lab 2 who is attempting to access a government database using one of the workstations.”
Mace slapped his forehead. “I forgot! Peabody, that is Shari. Beta Admin. Access designation 2A”
“Beta Admin Shari, recognized. Access granted to all except core security protocols.”
“Thank you Peabody. I will be indisposed for the next several hours. You should be able to monitor my activity, and Shari’s, while we are in immersion. I have given you limited server access. If there is a need to contact me, you will be able to do so via my User Interface.”
“Thank you Mace. I will monitor all camera feeds, as well as your immersion feeds.”
With a wave toward the camera, Mace walked to his quarters. Tired, and not yet ready to jump in the pod, he sat on his bed, put his feet up, and closed his eyes. “Peabody, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Mace.”
“I’m going to rest for a few. Please wake me in…” he looked at his clock, “45 minutes.”
“Of course, Mace. Enjoy your rest.”
Mace took a few deep breaths, and was soon asleep.
What seemed like an instant later, he was awakened by the thud of his head hitting the wall after his pillow was yanked from under it. “Gah! What?” He blinked his eyes a few times to adjust to the light. “What happened?”
Shari stood next to his bed, his pillow in hand. “YOU happened, Dork.” She hit him with his own pillow. In his partially sleep-fuddled mind, Mace was thinking this was not the best time for a pillow fight. Still, he instinctively began to look around for a foam-filled weapon of his own. “What? I was asleep. What’d I do?”
“You could have mentioned that Peabody was live! I went to take a little bathroom break. Was talking to myself as I… well never mind what I was doing! I asked myself what the odds were of hacking the CDC servers so I could see what research they have. And… tell him what happened, Peabody!”
Peabody’s dull voice responded. “I informed Admin Shari that the odds of hacking a secure government server are about one in eight hundred thousand. Then she began to scream and use language that is frowned upon in the ‘Appropriate workplace behavior’ section of the employee handbook.”
Shari hit him with the pillow again. This time, however, he was laughing so hard he barely noticed.
Chapter 15
Live and Learn
Mace appeared in his room at the Lakeside inn. He summoned Minx, and sat on the bed to think. There would almost surely be people outside the door waiting to kill him. The question was, could he fight them? How many would there be? Would they be higher level than him?
I have a little bit of reputation in this town. If I kill its citizens, I go right back to being hated or feared.
Mace opened the window and looked outside. He didn’t see anybody on the street watching his window, or the door downstairs. Going into stealth mode, he climbed out the window and pulled himself up onto the roof. Then he crept to the other side of the building to look around. Still, he saw no one.
Having spent months in the drow city, and having been trained by Jervis, Mace knew how to spot watchers. Much better trained watchers than he would find on the surface. Drow assassins were the best anywhere. And Mace was no slouch among them.
Since there didn’t seem to be anyone waiting outside to kill him, he decided to try inside. Dropping softly to the ground near the rear door of the inn, Mace stepped inside. He found himself in the kitchen. Several pots and pans were set on stovetops, and the smells of stew, bacon, eggs, and coffee made his stomach growl.
The two cooks, one kobold and the other human, looked up from their work. Both immediately looked wary, but made no move to reach for kitchen knives. Mace held up his hands. “I mean you no harm. Just interested in breakfast.” He pointed toward the door that he thought probably led to the tavern. “I don’t think it’s safe for me to go out there.”
The kobold nodded and reached for a plate. The human shrugged his shoulders “It’s safe enough. The captain is in there, waiting to talk to you. There’s a centaur in town, looking for your head. Says you killed his kin. Captain made him wait outside the walls.”
Mace absorbed that information. Things were better than he thought! And here was a chance to work on his rep some more. “I don’t know about kin, but I did kill a centaur yesterday. After it ambushed me and shot me.” He lifted his arm and showed them the rent in his armor where the arrow
had scraped his ribs. “And before that, a different one ambushed me just outside the forest.” He stuck a finger in the hole at his shoulder. “Just for being a drow.”
The human made a disbelieving face, but the kobold nodded her head. She handed him a plate of bacon and eggs with a biscuit on it. “Take this into the tavern. Tell the captain your story, outworlder.”
Mace bowed his head as he accepted the delicious-smelling plate. “Thank you.” He produced a gold coin and gave it to the cook.
You have gained +30 reputation with the settlement of Lakeside. Your reputation remains Neutral
Mace carried his plate through the doorway and into the tavern. The same innkeeper that had greeted him the night before nodded and motioned toward a table where a massive ogre in mail armor sat. Mace took a deep breath and walked over to the table. The captain, who had been watching him since he stepped through the door, motioned for Mace to take a seat across from him.
Mace said “Good morning, I assume you are the captain?” as he took a seat. He set his plate on the table and looked at it longingly. Until he figured out whether this ogre was friend or foe, he needed his hands free for fighting.
The captain chuckled. “Go ahead and eat before it gets cold. You’ve nothing to fear from me. At least, not until after we’ve talked.”
Mace gratefully dug in, grabbing a strip of bacon and shoving it into his mouth. The captain took the initiative. “There’s a centaur named Beron who showed up last night looking to kill you. Says you killed his uncle in the forest. Is that true?”
Mace nodded his head and swallowed the bacon. “It is. But I killed him after he shot me.” Mace went on to tell the captain the entire story, from the moment the arrow struck him just outside the tree line. He only paused when he shoved a bite of very tasty eggs into his mouth and said “My god these are good. What do they put in them?”
When he was done talking, he pulled out the parchment he’d taken off the centaur and showed it to the captain. “I took this off the one I killed. They were waiting for me before I even reached the forest. To get a noteworthy ‘first kill’ for the young one that shot me first.”
The captain looked at the note, confirming “Aye, we got the same message here.” He reached across the table and stuck his massive finger in the hole at Mace’s shoulder, then inspected the holes near his ribs.
“We pretty much ignore the race of a person here. Instead they are judged on their behavior, and quality of character. We trade with both the elves and the centaurs, and to be brutally honest, I have no interest in getting between them to save your life.”
Mace replied “I appreciate your honesty. And the fact that a centaur arrow didn’t impale me the second I stuck my head out.”
The captain nodded. “We do have laws here. You are safe as long as you remain inside the walls. Once you step out, I can not help you. So far, you have behaved yourself, and been respectful to my people. As long as you continue to do so, you may stay here. The centaur will make a lot of noise, maybe even cause a bit of trouble. But eventually he will leave. He knows in his heart that it was a fight they started, and when he cools down, his honor will win out.”
Mace said “Thank you, sir. That is kind of you. And I promise you, I mean no harm to any of your people. But as you’ve seen in the elves’ message, I’m traveling east to meet up with another outworlder. We plan to seek out any other surviving outworlders together.”
“Surviving?” The captain asked.
Mace lowered his head and sighed. “There was a… plague, of sorts. In my world. It killed about half of us right away, and turned most of the rest into undead monsters. Wiped out nearly everyone in a matter of days. Those few of us who still survive are in hiding, and very few, if any, are still able to journey here.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. We suspected something like that happened, after the outworlders all disappeared. Our town was growing quite rapidly thanks to a few outworlders who were helping us build. Things have slowed since then. If you’re willing to stay a while and help, we might be able to make it worth your while.”
Mace was searching for a polite way to decline, when the captain added. “The centaur will kill you if you leave. Give him a few days to cool down. If you stay and help out, there is a boat scheduled to cross the lake in three days. I’ll grant you safe passage even if Beron is still out there. Walking around the lake would take you two days at least. Longer if you have to hide from angry centaurs. The boat will get you across in a few hours, and you’ll leave the centaurs far behind.”
Mace liked the idea of a boat ride. And the loss of a day wasn’t so bad. Especially if he could pick up a crafting skill, or earn some additional reputation points. He had a feeling safe havens for him were going to be pretty scarce up here on the surface.
He said “I’m not sure what I have to offer your people. All of my skills are… generally combat related.” The captain laughed at this. “But I’m willing to learn. What kind of help are you looking for?”
The captain scratched his head. The sound it made was like two rocks scraped together. “Well, mostly the outworlders took up quests to find or kill things out in the forest. That won’t work for you. The blacksmith’s apprentices were both outworlders, so he could use some help. Likewise the tanner. He’s got a pile of hides he bought from outworlders that he could use help curing and turning into useful things.”
Mace made a face at that. Even in fantasy game worlds, the work of tanning hides was messy and nauseatingly odorous. The captain saw the look and grunted. “Aye, I’d pass on that one, too.” he agreed, rubbing his nose. “The carpenter could use some help. We’re building new homes and shops all the time. As well as the furniture for inside.”
Carpentry didn’t sound bad to Mace. He knew it was the skill needed to craft arrows, which both he and Shari used. And would allow him to craft wooden weapons like bows, staves, etc. That could work.
“I could do that. If your carpenter is willing to take the time to train me, I could help build something while I’m here.”
The ogre thumped the table with his hand. “Good, then. Finish your breakfast and I’ll introduce you. And I’ll go tell Beron he might as well go home, because you’re staying. I just won’t specify how long.”
Quest Accepted: Build A Better Lakeside
Difficulty: Medium
You have agreed to assist with improving the settlement of Lakeside. Though you have selected to work for the town carpenter, any activity that assists town crafters or facilitates the growth of the settlement will grant experience.
Reward: Variable experience. Variable reputation points. Bonus reward: Potential crafting skill.
Mace wolfed down the remainder of his breakfast, remembering to feed some of the bacon to Minx. He got to his feet and followed the captain outside. The captain said “Folks here aren’t too thrilled to have a drow inside the walls. It’ll take a bit for them to warm up to you.”
Mace looked around as they walked, and while the faces he saw weren’t openly hostile toward him, he certainly didn’t get any smiles or waves. Mostly to amuse himself, he smiled at several passersby, greeting them cheerfully. “Good day to you!” This did not have the calming effect he’d hoped for. The recipients of his greetings mostly averted their gaze and hurried past.
The captain grunted in amusement. “Little bit like having a lion grin at you.” He observed.
They reached the section of the town that was set back farthest from the gate. The area had fewer buildings, but it was clear that expansion was moving to fill in the space. The captain approached a half-finished log house, inside of which stood a well-muscled female orc with a leather tool belt around her waist. “Verga, this is Mace. An outworlder who has agreed to help us get things done around here. He’s willing to work if you give him a bit of training.”
Verga looked Mace up and down. “Not good for lifting much. How are you with your hands?”
Mace grinned. Taking a step back, his hands b
ecame a blur as he produced two knives. Holding them up in front of him, he began to spin them around and through his fingers. He kept them spinning as he moved his hands apart in spirals, still twirling the knives. Then just as quickly as he produced them, he made the knives disappear. The whole thing had lasted maybe 8 seconds.
Verga had actually smiled during the display. “Right. Finish work then. Better that way anyway. We have lots of lunkheads who can lift heavy things. Half of them can’t swing a hammer and hit a nail without crushing a thumb. Come with me.”
She led him to a corner where a pair of sawhorses were set up. A roughly planed pine plank was set atop them, making a workbench. Verga handed him a hammer. Then she pulled several nails from her toolbelt and stuck all but one between her lips. She took the single nail and positioned it point-down on the workbench. Holding it there between her thumb and forefinger, she said “Drive that nail. Don’t hit my thumb.”
Mace hefted the hammer, twirled it around a bit to get a good sense of its weight. Then he stepped forward, set one hand on the plank, and eyed the nail. It was very roughly forged, more of a spike than a nail. Its head was about a quarter inch wide. Without warning he deftly swung the hammer, striking solidly upon the nail’s head. The metal sank maybe half an inch straight down into the wood plank.
Verga removed her hand, and said “Finish it.”
Mace obliged, striking hammer to nail four more times in rapid succession before the nail was fully driven into the wood. The hammer never hit anything but the nail’s head. Verga nodded. She was about to speak when Mace asked “Do you have another hammer?”
Without a word, she handed him a second hammer, which he took in his left hand. He motioned toward the table. “Two more nails?”
Snorting, Verga moved around to the other side of the plank so that she faced Mace. Removing two nails from her mouth, she held them ready about a foot apart. As soon as they were set, Mace swung both hammers at once, driving both nails cleanly into the wood. When she moved her hands away, he alternated left and right, driving both nails all the way in.
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