Lila looked worried “This is a human settlement?”
Mace shook his head. “I saw a few humans. Also orcs, a minotaur, kobolds, beastkin, a goblin…” his voice trailed off when he saw them nodding. “It is a place where all seem to be accepted. They even allowed a drow through the gate!”
Brahm chuckled at that. “They are either truly good people, or too stupid to live. They will need us to protect them.”
With that settled, Lila began to organize them all. There was a wagon near the cages, which the slavers had used to bring in the prisoners. Lila had them all search the entire mine, gathering anything useful. Brahm detailed three of the minotaurs to load some of the iron rail sections onto the wagon as well. When Mace asked him why, he said “Iron for weapons. For strengthening the gates.” Mace was nodding his head as the timer ran out.
You have taken possession of the stronghold!
You are now the owner of the Black Flame stronghold in the Darkstone Mine. You can view the stronghold’s status in the Property tab of your UI. Would you like to change the name of your property?
Yes/No
There was no way Mace was going to pass this up! Getting to name a stronghold in a game was something only the top players ever get to do. Mace clicked the [yes] button, then thought about names while the others gathered supplies.
Let’s see… Maceland? Macetropolis? Maybe something cool sounding. Helm’s Deep? How bout Mist Village? Stop it! Those are taken. The Cave? The Hole in the Ground? Minetopia? Why is this so hard? Look, it’s already called Darkstone Mine. Darkstone is cool. How bout…”
Mace used his eyes to focus on the letters and type in the name: Darkstone Loch.
Satisfied with the obscure name, he followed the others as they made their way back to the exit. The minotaurs had rigged a harness that allowed two of them to pull the wagon. They seemed to do so with ease, walking upright and barely leaning into the harness. When they reached the ice, Mace dismissed the spell and it dissipated. Once everyone had left, he re-cast the spell, closing it off.
Brahm watched him for a moment, then asked. “The ice, how long will it last?”
Mace replied “About a week. Then I’m afraid someone else will claim the stronghold.”
Brahm cleared his throat. “I have both the smithing and mining skills. As do two others here. If you like, we could return before the week is out and construct a proper door. One that will keep out intruders or looters. In return I would ask that you allow us to mine iron for weapons from time to time. If we find unwelcome guests, we will deal with them.” His voice took on an ominous tone for that last bit. Mace didn’t even need to think about it. He stuck out his hand, which was then engulfed in Brahm’s massive paw. “You have a deal. And feel free to take the rest of those iron rails. Unless you want them for building a track. Improve the place as you see fit.”
That settled, the first two minotaurs began to pull the wagon in the general direction of Lakeside, and the others followed behind. The minotaurs began at a quick pace, but as they reached the forest and began having to navigate around the trees, the progress slowed. It was going to be late in the day before they reached the settlement.
*****
Shari and the caravan continued on their way for the remainder of the day without any serious mishaps. At one point, Snuffles got bored and demanded to be let down so he could run alongside the wagons. He immediately ran off and began poking through the brush on either side of the road, snuffling around for berries, nuts, and tasty roots. The elves were greatly amused when Mion elected to perch on his back and ride around sharing his adventure. She was quite the hit with their elven escorts. Each time they stopped to water or rest the horses, a few of them would approach to scratch her belly or offer her food. Shari’s pocket held quite the collection of leftover grubs and insects for Mion’s snacks. At one point, Snuffles startled a mouse out from under a bush, and it darted through the grass toward the road. Mion instantly took to the air, swooping down upon the terrified rodent. Snatching it in her hind claws like a bird of prey, she continued to a private spot behind one of the wagons. A short squeak signaled the mouse’s demise.
When they reached the place where the road ended and the lake began, it was maybe an hour before sunset. Shari stood on the dock that jutted out from the shore and gazed across. The lake was too large for her to see the opposite shore. She pulled up her UI and sent Mace a message that simply said “We’re here at the lake.”
The elves lit a signal fire, which sent a column of bright red smoke into the air. Then they went about setting up camp. As usual, Layne was strumming on her lute, humming to herself. Occasionally she would whisper a few words. When Shari sat down next to her, she said “I’m writing a song about Mion and Snuffles. Their antics when they play. It should make a good traveling song, and be a delight to children.” She grinned as she continued to play.
The other elves settled around a small fire, except for the two rangers who were on watch. They were hidden somewhere in the trees. They shared a meal of fresh caught fish and vegetables in a sort of stir-fry that Shari declared delicious. Layne took up her lute, and a few other elves brought out instruments of their own. They played songs and danced, laughing and generally enjoying themselves until well into the night. Shari was tired when she crawled into her tent and logged out.
Chapter 20
Deep and Dark
Mace logged out in time to meet Shari for dinner that evening. He found her in the kitchen already heating a couple of cans of chicken and dumplings. “I thought I’d make something you can’t put syrup on.” She said as he leaned in to sniff at the pot.
“Wanna bet? I can put syrup on anything!” he said as he tried to steal the spoon she was using to stir the pot. She slapped his hand. “No! Go grab a couple bowls and spoons and sit down.”
Mace did as instructed. He was hungry after a full day in-game. That was one of the drawbacks of long immersions. You could eat food in the game, and the brain would feel satisfied. It was easy to forget you were skipping meals in the real world. It had been more than twelve hours since breakfast. And what he really wanted was a steak.
He asked Shari “If you manage to find a cure, or an antidote, or whatever… does that mean we’ll be able to eat real meat again? Like, carve a steak off a cow and grill it up?”
Shari looked at him, eyes wide. “THAT’s the first thing you want to do with the antidote? Cure a cow so you can eat it? What about, I dunno, saving other humans?”
“I can’t eat other humans. My belly wants a steak!” he grinned at her. Then added. “I suppose I technically could eat other humans. Maybe with a lil syrup…” Shari smacked him in the back of the head with her free hand as she brought the pot of chicken and dumplings over. She neatly poured half into each bowl, using her wooden spoon to coax the last bits out. Wasting food was a crime.
They ate slowly, Mace sharing his adventure in the mine. When he quietly told her about Lila and the abuse she’d suffered, Shari was moved nearly to tears. She cheered when he got to the part about Lila killing the orc guard with her ninja moves. “I want to meet this hobbit!” she shouted.
“Halfling.” Mace corrected her. “I was thinking I might invite her to travel with us. Her father is dead, and she’s damn good with those knives.” Shari nodded, saying “I was going to say the same about Layne. The bard. She’s just awesome.”
Mace rolled his eyes. “So it’ll just be me and the pig with five of you ladies? I’m feeling outnumbered!” Shari got up from her seat and moved to sit in his lap. She played with his hair a bit, and kissed him softly. When he responded by doing a little exploring with his hands, she broke away. Standing up, she said “You were outnumbered the moment we met, dork. I’m going to bed. You can clean up.” She smiled sweetly at him as she walked away.
Mace watched her go, smiling despite the brutal rejection. He wasn’t in a hurry. Well, maybe a little bit of a hurry. But he was enjoying the back and forth with her.
&
nbsp; He cleaned up the kitchen and put everything away. It was late, and he was tired. His group of freed prisoners, slowed by the wagon, hadn’t quite made it back to the settlement before dark. They’d elected to make camp and continue in the morning. He was going to have to be up early again.
He walked back to his room, closed and locked the door, and crawled into bed. As he fell asleep, he caught himself reaching up toward his shoulder to scratch Minx’s belly.
*****
Shari awoke before dawn and went to the kitchen. There was a note from Mace reminding her he had to be in game early to be able to make the boat. She shook her head, her lips fighting not to smile. “He drew a smiley face. Dork.”
After a quick breakfast of powdered eggs and dried fruit, she returned to her pod and logged into the game inside her tent. She summoned her companions and crawled outside to find the elves packing up the camp. The sun was up, and there was a speck of a sail barely visible on the horizon. Layne handed her a bowl of fruit. “The boat should be here in an hour or so.”
“Thank you, Layne. I was wondering something. Once we’ve delivered the supplies to the settlement, Mace and I will be moving on. We’re going to Graf first to fulfil a quest, but we’ll be traveling extensively in search of other outworlders. Would you like to join us? I’m sure there will be some song-worthy adventures along the way.”
Layne pulled a small silver flute from somewhere inside her coat and began to twirl it between her fingers. “I was actually going to ask if I could accompany you. I’d like to spend a few days at the settlement, to get the story of the battle there from as many folks as possible. Part of being a bard is getting to the truth of an event, not just repeating the remembrances of one or two if we can help it. If you and Mace don’t mind waiting a couple of days…”
Shari smiled “I think he’s got some business of his own to take care of. And we may have a few other traveling companions. Have you ever met a green bunny?” The two of them chatted and played with Shari’s pets while they waited. Shari used the fruit in the bowl as bribes to try to teach Snuffles some tricks. She tried ‘sit’… which he understood quickly. Not so much with ‘roll over’ and ‘play dead’.
They had a good laugh when Mion figured out ‘play dead’ and tried to demonstrate for Snuffles. She squeaked and rolled off Shari’s shoulder, falling to her back on the ground with her tongue hanging out. Snuffles panicked at the apparent death of his friend, sniffing at her ‘dead’ body, then running to Shari and squealing at her as if demanding she heal his dragon. When Mion popped up and nipped at his tail, he squealed and lunged to hide behind Shari.
“Such a brave piggy-tank!” Shari giggled at his antics. Snuffles peered out from behind her to see Mion grinning at him, showing her tiny dragon teeth. Forgetting his fear, he bounded back out to tackle her, commencing an epic romp. Layne played a lively little tune on her flute to accompany the action. Thus, they passed the time until the boat arrived.
*****
Mace had set his alarm for 4am. When it went off, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and quickly took care of business in the bathroom. He stopped at his desk to write a quick note, then went to the kitchen, nuked himself some oatmeal, grabbed the syrup and brought both back to his room. He ate as he walked, then wolfed down what was left sitting at his desk. After rinsing out the bowl, he climbed into his pod and logged in.
He’d left his body tied to a branch high in a tree above the prisoner’s campsite. Looking down as he untied himself, he saw breakfast was already being prepared. He dropped from branch to branch, then down to the ground. He approached Brahm, who was speaking with Lila. “Good morning. I see you’re early risers.” He waved to them both.
“Aye, that we are.” Brahm confirmed, then spared an amused glance at Lila, who still looked groggy and more than a little grumpy. She had her hands on her daggers. “Though some of us rise earlier than others.”
Lila grunted something rude under her breath. Mace chuckled and ruffled her hair a bit, causing her to actually grip her daggers and glare at him, too. He said “I need to get to the settlement by dawn. Can you guide our friends to Lakeside okay?” He waited for his words to sink in, and for Lila to grunt in a positive-sounding response. Looking to Brahm, he said “I’ll let them know you’re coming. I won’t be there when you arrive, so ask for captain Charles. He’s a good man. Good ogre. Whatever.”
With a wave, he took off. Quickly climbing back into the same tree he’d slept in, he began to run from branch to branch. It took him less than an hour to reach the settlement. The sun wasn’t up yet, but the gate was open, and a group of townspeople and centaurs were loading their meager goods into the boat. Mace found the captain near the gate, as usual.
“Mace! Welcome back. I’m told you went to hunt a slaver. Did you find your prey?”
Mace gave his best evil drow smile. “I am a drow. What do you think?”
The captain laughed. “I thought you’d promised to bring his head back for decoration?” he pointed to a stake driven into the ground near the gate. Mace shook his head. “I got distracted. You see…”
He told the captain the whole story as they watched the boat being loaded. When he reached the part about freeing the prisoners, he said “The kobolds took off. But in a few hours a wagon will arrive. There are six halflings and eight minotaurs, along with a supply of iron. The minotaurs have my permission to go back and mine more iron. Any of your folks who wish to do the same have my permission as well. In fact, I encourage you to consider Darkstone as a fallback position. If you face an enemy against whom you can’t hold the town, retreat there. Take as much food and water as you can. A few guards with shields could hold that entrance for a week.”
The captain clapped him on the back. “Thank you, Mace. For all of it. For the new recruits, the resources, and the offer of shelter. But mostly for looking out for our people. You’ve done much more than was needed. We are in your debt.”
The two of them walked out onto the dock as the last of the trade goods was loaded. Mace was introduced to Jorin, the captain of the boat, a half-elf with the silver hair of an elder. Being half-elven, he wasn’t immortal. But he might be a few thousand years old. “Pleasure to meet you, captain Jorin. And thank you for making this trip.”
Jorin shook his hand. “My pleasure, boy. It is what I do, after all. I sail my lady here from one side of the lake to the other, then back again. These are my people, on both sides of the water.” He motioned for Mace to take a seat on a crate near the helm.
Within a few minutes the crew had efficiently tied down the cargo, released the mooring lines and raised the sail. They caught the wind, and the boat began to move eastward across the lake just as the sun rose over the horizon. The captain stood at the wheel, guiding the boat in a series of turns. Not knowing much at all about sailing, Mace asked “Is that what they call ‘tacking’? Moving side to side to keep the wind in the sail?”
Jorin looked sideways at Mace, suppressing a grin. “The wind is at our backs, son. No need to tack. I’m moving to avoid the leviathans.”
Mace was suddenly not at all sure he wanted to be on the boat. “Leviathans? As in, giant water monsters that eat boats and sailors?” his gut seemed to flop. The captain nodded his head. “Those would be the very ones. Though not in the way you think. There is indeed a leviathan in this lake. I’ve seen it myself. Might even be more than one. But they are deep dwellers that don’t like light. They rise to hunt at night, which is why we only sail in daylight. But the ‘leviathans’ I’m dodging now are rocks and dead trees. It’s an old joke on this lake. Some fool captain goes and gets his boat bashed on a rock or petrified tree sticking up under the surface, and blames the leviathan. Better to have your boat taken by a monster than your own carelessness. Another reason we sail in daylight. Need to be able to see the boat-killers in the water.”
Mace was now peering over the rails and down into the water, searching for tentacles or a giant eyeball staring up at him. The captain add
ed “Aye, good idea boy. Help keep a lookout. Shout out if you see any tentacles. Or pink elephants. Green bunnies.”
Mace snorted. “Actually…”
They sailed on for the next two hours, chatting amiably about sailing, monsters, Mace’s quest to Graf, the search for outworlders, and assorted other topics. Mace was surprised when he was telling the story of the Black Flame stronghold, and Jorin spat on the deck. “Don’t much like those people.”
“You know them?” Mace asked, hoping for some juicy details on the organization. Jorin stared at the horizon for a moment, then answered. “I ran some cargo for them a few months back. Up the river from Port Bjurstrom to a spot here on the lake north of Lakeside. Likely they were headed to your stronghold. Insisted on sailing after dark. Drew weapons and threatened to cut our throats if we took her ashore for the night. I’m glad you took down that Justin. He deserved every bit of it.”
“Is it a big organization? I mean, I was told he was a lieutenant. Seems he had to have some bosses somewhere.” Mace asked. Jorin shrugged. “I know they’re based in Graf. Slavers, thieves, weapons and black market dealers. Heard they once killed everyone on one of the southern isles just so their big boss could have a private party. Take them all down, you’d be doing the world a favor!” he grumbled.
Mace saw an opportunity and seized it. “That sounds like a quest, captain Jorin.” He held his breath as the captain eyed him.
“Aye, alright lad. Why not! If you can take down the Black Flame, you’d be renowned throughout the lands, despite being a drow. And I know more than a few nobles and merchants who’d pay a tidy sum to be rid of them.”
Quest received: Flame Out!
Difficulty Level: Impossible
Eliminate the Black Flame organization by any means necessary.
Reward: Increased reputation; 1,000 gold; experience and bonus rewards variable.
Pleased with himself, Mace sat back down on his crate and closed his eyes. He was a little short on sleep, and a nap wouldn’t hurt.
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