by Domino Finn
I had to be better than that. The pain was Tad Lonnerman's problem. I had to be tougher than that. I had to be Talon, a level 4 scout. There was nothing to do but suck it up.
I rose to my feet and hurried past the training yard. Half an entire field had been obliterated by dragon acid. Players wandered the destruction, looting, salvaging, trying to help. I marched by and tried not to blame myself.
Back in Hillside, things were more settled. Lines of dutiful players returned to their homes, disappearing to their drama-free confines. The city watch was present and kept the curfew a civil affair. I passed Lash's stocky barbarian companion. Just my luck it wasn't the healer, but I supposed it was better than running into the white knight herself. As I reached my block, I passed a few more familiar faces. I didn't really know them, but they were supposed to be there and that was comforting. I was almost home free.
I ducked behind a parked wagon when I spied the two watchmen standing outside my front door.
So much for comforting. There was a chance the men were randomly posted but, really, it was miniscule. They were standing beside my door. Of all the homes, why that one? Maybe I wasn't Haven's most wanted quite yet, but I had to be under suspicion.
I opened party chat.
Talon: Kyle, you at the house? Two city watchmen are camping our doorway. Any idea what that's about?
After a moment:
Kyle: I'm here. I saw them asking a few players questions. They asked me if everybody was home when I came in.
Talon: They ask about me?
Kyle: Not by name.
Talon: What did you tell them?
Kyle: The truth. It was just me. They didn't seem concerned. But listen: They're looking for anyone and anything out of the ordinary. You'll be interrogated because you're new.
I frowned.
Talon: Did you manage to hit the shops before they closed?
Kyle: Totally. Glassworking as we speak, bro. I got a bunch of adventuring supplies too.
Talon: Health potions?
Kyle: I'm not an idiot.
Talon: Okay, I need one bad. But I can't go in there. You need to come outside.
Kyle: Uh, Talon, have you been paying attention to what's going on around you? I'm not allowed to go outside, dude.
He was right, of course. And any action on his part counter to the proper rules would only increase suspicion. With them already camped at our door, it was a huge risk.
Talon: Just be ready. I'll take care of the guards and let you know when it's clear.
I backtracked down the road and racked my brain for a way to take them on. Civil unrest was a harder sell here. Most players were peacefully returning home. Anybody fighting the power was doing that away from the resident neighborhoods, in the public spaces.
As soon as my gaze fell on a lightly clothed man, I knew I was in luck.
"Hey, Phil," I said. "Wanna make some silver?"
A few minutes later, the watchmen outside my house were taken off guard by a ragged man wearing nothing but a loincloth, a scraggly beard, and two bright pink wool socks. The neighborhood oaf strolled right up to the guards and kissed one of them on the cheek. He turned around and mimed mooning them—apparently the loincloths weren't removable in public—before screaming and hopping away.
The stunned guards traded an empty glance. Then they drew their weapons and took chase.
Talon: Now, Kyle! Go, go, go!
My roommate was out of the house in a blink. I waved him across the street and we took off down the hillside.
"This is crazy, Talon. What are we doing?"
"You taking this seriously yet?" I joked.
I waved him onward. I didn't have time to explain until we got to safety. We avoided heading back to the Foot because that was halfway closer to the Forum. Instead I led Kyle west to the river. On the far side, Dragonperch reached into the sky, worn and crumbling, but only cosmetically. The structure itself was tall and strong. At its rooftop, the smashed statue of the dragon knight reflected the state of the town.
I wasn't much for poetry and symbolism. What I saw was an abandoned tower without city watch patrols. The problem was, the only bridges across the river were north of the shops. The Oldtown crossing had suffered more than minimal damage and had long ago fallen into the water. Dragonperch itself had a drawbridge that spanned the river, but it was raised.
"We have to swim," I said.
We dove into the wash. The cold water stung my arm but the current wasn't a danger. We forded across easily enough. The river was part of the aqueduct system and lined with deep stone walls. The base of Dragonperch sported some narrow alcoves that we climbed onto. Tucked into the side wall and hidden from view across the river was a rusted portcullis barring entry into a cave. The passageway immediately turned inward so we couldn't see further inside.
"Check this out," said Kyle confidently. He produced a large glass vial of corrosive and applied it to the old lock on the gate. Several bangs with a hammer from his inventory snapped the lock into pieces like his ruined sword. We were granted access.
I stared at him, impressed.
"What?" he said. "If I don't learn from bonehead mistakes, then I'm a bonehead. Right?"
I nodded with a smile and stepped inside. We were in a brick-lined grotto, a man-made cave with passages and statues and pools of water. "This is the base of the tower," I said.
"You mean we broke in, just like that?"
"I think so."
He grabbed my shoulder to stop me from proceeding. "Not cool, Talon. There are supposed to be, like, really hard mobs in here. I don't think now's a good time to go adventuring."
I grimaced. "You might be right. You got my potion?"
He spent abominably long digging through his inventory. When he presented me with the item offer, I saw why. Kyle had put a bunch of supplies in there for me. I accepted the items without checking them over and immediately used a health potion. My arm closed up. The pain subsided instantly. I melted to the floor in relief.
"You're crazy," said my roommate. "You were only missing a tiny bit of health. That was a waste of an expensive potion."
I shrugged. By the numbers, Kyle was absolutely right. I couldn't put a price on the nagging pain, however.
0340 Breakout
Kyle paced back and forth in the small grotto passage. His leather armor was bolstered by the mail vest, but he sported some upgrades too. Shoulder plates, shin guards, steel vambraces. He'd started to take to his defensive loadout. That was more than learning how to crack an old lock.
I sat against the wall, peeking at the Everchat interface. As I'd suspected, I couldn't access it here. This was a global world zone; Everchat could only be accessed in private. In my home. Surrounded by guards.
"What's your plan?" he asked.
The question hit me like a brick. I didn't really have a plan. Which was unlike me. I'd just been running, really.
"Umm," I said, failing to hide the obvious. I closed my menu.
"Bro, are you serious? We violated curfew and broke into Dragonperch for no reason?"
I rested my forehead on my knees. "I can't let them catch me."
"You sure they know about you?"
"No, but it's like you said. I'm new. I'm suspicious. I don't think they linked me to Lucifer, but if they do I'm a dead man. They might delete me."
His jaw tightened.
I pulled the gold cartridge from my inventory. "I need to get rid of this before it kills me."
Kyle snatched the bit key from my hand and followed the passage around a bend. I crawled around the corner just in time to see him stash the cartridge in an alcove behind the bust of a regal woman. "There," he said.
I sat again. Hiding the bit key was probably for the best.
"Maybe you're wrong," said Kyle. "Maybe we should sneak back into our house and sit tight. Deny everything."
I closed my eyes and rested, thinking clearly for the first time since everything had gone down. I was wearing a stranger
's cowl. It kept me somewhat off the radar of the various authorities, but it didn't hide my identity from anyone face to face. With the confusion in the streets, the theft at the Pantheon, and Lucifer still at large, he had to be public enemy number one. I wasn't more than a footnote. Kyle's plan to lie low wasn't an awful one. And it would give me access to Everchat.
But waiting at home ignored the interrogations. While we could figure out a way to sneak into the house unnoticed, all suspicious residents were going to be followed up with. Hell, maybe everyone in Stronghold would be questioned. Did I really want to sit tight for that? Put myself at their mercy?
So I thought over my options. Lucifer had angels chasing him and still managed to hide. Should I seek help from him? At the very least, I could camp out in the wild. Stay clear of Stronghold. That was just another way of lying low. Kyle and I could skip town and go out adventuring. Spend a few days out there until everything calmed down and play dumb upon our return. Oh, sorry, we were out questing. We didn't have anything to do with the theft of the Eye.
Yeah, I was starting to see the value in getting out of Dodge.
"Whoa," said Kyle reverently. "Check this out."
By now he was further into the darkened grotto. I climbed to my feet and followed the walls deeper. The tunnels twisted in different directions but were relatively contained. This wasn't exactly a network of sewers. It was more like a man-made bunker, filled with old art and supplies. I passed a weapon rack but everything on it was old and rusted. I found Kyle at the end of the largest hallway.
"I thought you didn't want to go exploring in the tower?"
"We're not in the tower," he said. He stood at an oak door carved with twisted sigils. "It's locked."
I was starting to get it. These catacombs were more like a patio cave, hidden access from the river. The gate Kyle had broken into gave us access to the property, but not to the building itself.
"Imagine that," he said. "This door blocks access to unnamed loot and quests. There are even rumors of an ancient library for that lore you love so much."
"It's a great place to hide at least," I said.
He crossed his arms. "That's what you wanna do then? Hide out here?"
I shook my head firmly. "No. I'm leaving Stronghold. I need to get away from this mess for a little bit."
"The gates will be heavily manned," he warned. "A freaking dragon just attacked us."
"But the curfew should be taking most of their man power."
"Maybe, but containing the town, locking the gates, that is the curfew. It's a suicide mission."
"We'll figure it out," I said.
"I don't think I can come. Lash is right about me. I'll just drag you down."
"Come on. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you."
He sighed. "Look, Talon, I appreciate everything you've done for me, but you're asking me to risk permanent deletion for— What is this all about, anyway? What are you running from?"
I bit down and dropped my head. "I'm not dead, Kyle. I looked up my resident file and I'm not fucking dead. That fact alone puts a special flag on my record. That's why the watch is posted at our doorstep. They don't know I was involved at the Pantheon, but I'll be under close scrutiny."
I took in a slow breath and saw Kyle's viewpoint. "Look, you're my friend. I understand if you don't want to go. I don't blame you. The last thing I want is for you to get into trouble over my problem."
He chewed his lip a moment. "Are we really friends?" he asked.
"What?" I gave him a strange look. "Why would you think otherwise?"
"I don't know. I just... I'm used to disappointing people."
I shook my head. "Don't worry about that. I'm not disappointed. I understand why I need to do this alone." I moved to the grotto's entrance and peeked outside. The coast was clear. I could maneuver up the riverbank wall to ground level without getting wet.
Kyle joined me. "Friends don't do things alone. I'm coming."
I turned to him to talk him out of it, but he wore a look of smug certainty on his face. "You sure?" was all I asked.
"Don't mention it, buddy. I'll see you through this."
I chuckled, a little more than relieved. "Okay, then." We headed into Oldtown.
The west side of the river was a smallish bubble of land. The original city. Now Oldtown was just the outskirts of Stronghold between the water and the west wall. We walked along the battlements, isolated from the city proper. No point crossing back over the river when we could follow the wall to the west gate. The land narrowed where the river pinched close to the city's border. After that the water snaked eastward along Front Street. We were back on the main thoroughfare leading to the gate, uncomfortably close to the entrance of the Forum.
The two small outpost stations within the gate were manned by only a single guard. The large wooden doors were mostly closed but not fully. Stronghold wasn't under attack or fully secured. A person at a time could still pass in and out, given they were granted access. I was sure the gate could be locked at a moment's notice but, for whatever reason, the city watch hadn't deemed it necessary yet.
"This might actually be possible," I said.
Further working in our favor was the good-sized crowd on the main road. It wasn't a thick force of trouble-making miscreants, but there were several higher-level players spouting grievances at watchmen posted on the street. I wasn't the only player who wanted out. Lash scoffed in the faces of the guards. Their annoyed looks told me they were trying to obey orders without inciting violence. I pulled my hood low and walked by without the white knight noticing us. Small blessings.
We strolled past the south entry to the Circus, stadium walls skirting the track inside. The games were closed, of course. A single watchmen stood at the doorway, blocking access. He eyed us as we passed but I hurried along.
Only fifty feet from the gate now, most of the players were cleared out. We were in a buffer between the people and the gate. That made it harder to blend in. Izzy was there, arguing with the gate guard. With any luck she would keep him distracted while we slipped out.
I made sure my cowl was in place and said, "Walk confidently, Kyle. Don't draw attention to yourself." He nodded and followed suit.
Sometimes things are hard, sometimes things are easy, and sometimes they're too easy. The plan was going swimmingly until a centurion atop the gate tower sharply blew a whistle. The gate guard spun to attention. Another emerged from the second outpost office. They drew their swords and faced us.
I widened my stance, stuck in a moment of fight or flight, when our odds grew exceedingly worse. Centurions stormed in from outside the gate. Two. Four. They were followed by a whole contingent of legionnaires, who were like watchmen with better equipment. Less leather and straw, more chain and plate.
I whirled around. Centurions and watchmen spilled from the entrance of the Circus. Our empty buffer area was quickly flooded with soldiers on both sides.
All this coordinated effort wasn't a response to a routine whistle. This was an ambush. The units had been posted out of sight just waiting for someone suspicious to try the gates. And we'd sprung the trap.
Kyle and I pressed our backs together as the soldiers of Stronghold circled us in tight formation. The players in the area all paused their complaints to watch the new show. Izzy arched a curious eyebrow. Our captors were too numerous for me to see what Lash was doing.
"Kyle and Talon," called out a centurion. His steel plate hung in heavy bands around his torso and arms, which were further protected by a body shield painted bright red and yellow. A steel helmet wrapped around his crown and chin, leaving his hard face bare. A tuft of red hair jutted out ornamentally like a Mohawk in traditional Roman style.
The head centurion, [Gladius], broke the ranks of the circle and approached. "You have been deemed persons of interest to the state and will be detained." His hand rested on the golden sword looped into his belt.
I backed away. "I can't let you do that."
He sneered at me, almost an invitation to try anything. "You have no choice." He moved in.
I didn't think. I didn't plan. With deft precision, the blacksteel spear appeared in my grip. The centurion only had time to widen his eyes as I simultaneously triggered dash and deadshot. None of it should've been possible in town, but I fired forward, speeding along the ground in a supercharged lunge. The tip of my spear shot past his shield and slammed right into his heart.
The sound of impact jolted everyone nearby. My weapon punched a hole between his bands of armor and struck true. The centurion flew backward ten feet, clearing a hole in his crowd of soldiers before crumpling to the ground.
Combo!
Surprise!
Stun!
You dealt 52 damage to [Gladius]
"Come on!" I yelled, pulling Kyle forward through the crack in their ranks.
The legionnaires weren't defenseless—they were probably better than me—but with their leader on the ground they hesitated to take action. Hesitated just long enough for us to escape the kill zone.
Gladius struggled to his hands and knees. Subordinate centurions barked orders. Soldiers brandished weapons. I batted the half-hearted attacks away with my spear as we charged past. The NPCs reared away defensively, still shocked by the sudden and impossible threat.
As I held them off, Kyle rushed between the wooden doors ahead. I hoped there weren't more soldiers waiting outside.
"Shut the gate!" ordered Gladius, still on the ground, spittle on his chin.
Guards on the wall heaved chains that pulled the heavy doors. They began to close, faster than I could make it. I tried to use dash but had too much time left on the cooldown timer. I wasn't gonna make it.
Ten feet in front of me, a solid block of ice the size of a mailbox lodged between the closing doors. The gate lurched and paused. The ice crunched. I charged forward as more watchmen added their might to the chains. The frozen block groaned under the pressure and cracked, but I was close enough. I slammed my spear into the ground and triggered vault, jumping up high and over the obstruction. I rolled sideways in the air to squeeze through the wooden doors. The gate slammed shut and I landed hard on the ground beyond.