“He’s right, Mack. C’mon. Let’s do some mushroom picking.” Luke bumped his shoulder against Mack’s as the dwarf continued to grumble.
The four of them headed in the direction of the marker, leaving the clearing and sunlight behind for the leafy vastness of the forest. Luke was walking next to Alicia with Christopher directly behind them, and Cassie and Mack picking up the rear. They were soon well out of sight of the Temple of the Huntress. The forest surrounded them fully, and Luke could have believed that it went on forever. Thankfully, there was not the sense of hostility he’d experienced earlier though. Perhaps the Bow of the Huntress made them “friend” rather than “foe” to the woods.
“Your sword,” Alicia suddenly said, drowning out the sound of birdsong, but not speaking loud enough for Christopher to hear.
Luke’s hand went to the hilt of Dragon’s Claw. “Yeah, what about it?”
“It is a quest item, yes?”
He nodded.
“What quest, I wonder?” she mused, as if speaking more to herself than him.
“I’m not sure. I’m guessing that we haven’t received it yet.” Luke shrugged, and tried to seem nonchalant about it. But what his sword had done to the Windstalker and the reaction of his tattoos--even to this moment with that tingling sensation--wasn’t normal. He knew that. But he wasn’t saying anything about that either.
Was it the sword or tattoos before… or just me?
“Perhaps not. But I think--” And here she paused. Her large head swiveled towards the right and then the left. Evidently, assured that whatever she had heard or seen was nothing, she continued, “I think that your powers are different than the rest of ours.”
“I’m the only battle mage in our party. Maybe it’s a part of this class,” he responded, purposefully misunderstanding her.
She didn’t let it slide. Her black eyes bored into the side of his head. “No, I don’t mean different in that way. I mean different in the sense that they are different from all players.”
Luke met her gaze. “We don’t know that.”
“You think other battle mages can summon Asharoth?”
He swallowed and looked away. “Maybe not. But that doesn’t mean my being different is bad. I assure you that my father thinks I can’t survive Neverfall without him so he would hardly be giving me advantages in the game.”
“And yet, I believe he did,” she said. “Asharoth is the most powerful being in the game. He is your father’s pet, from what you described of seeing them together. And yet, Asharoth comes to save you at the very moment that you need him.”
“Marty was supposed to take me to my father. Killing him didn’t exactly accomplish that now, did it?” Luke pointed out.
“Marty had lost himself and would have killed you. Something your father would not have wanted,” Alicia reminded him.
Yeah, there was that.
Luke shook himself. “Maybe I do have different powers being the Dark Lord’s son, but we can use those to our advantage, can’t we? Why do you have to assume that things are bad all the time? You’re so suspicious! No matter what I say or do, you distrust me and--”
“This is not personal, Luke.” She put a hand on his arm. “You seem…” Her lips rolled together as if she were trying to keep in the words, but they snuck out anyways, “like a good person. But so were at least some of the Beta players before all of this. I do not want that to happen to you, especially when you have your friends’ lives in your hands.”
He let out a shuddery breath. “I don’t know what’s the deal with Dragon’s Claw. I don’t know about Asharoth either. And, you’re right, I likely have some abilities that might backfire on us. But I don’t see how I have any choice but to keep doing what I’m doing. Or maybe you have a better idea?”
She shook her head. “No, but I just want you to be watchful of yourself. Neverfall is insidious. I think it causes changes to us that we don’t even notice. Like Cassie with that bow. You saw her reaction to it. Was it in character for her to snatch it up like that without waiting for us to get prepared for battle?”
Luke opened his mouth to say, “Yeah, Cassie loves loot!” But he stopped himself. He had been bothered by that, too. In the games they played outside of Neverfall, she’d never have acted before they were ready. So he shook his head. “No, I was surprised by it. But maybe it was just the excitement of everything.”
“Maybe, but I think the races we chose, the classes we picked, all of it have more sway than I was led to believe on how we react in the game,” she said.
“So you mean like since Cassie’s a rogue, she’s weak to loot?” Luke’s eyebrows rose.
She nodded. “Would it be so strange for a thief to be greedy?”
“I suppose not. And what about you? Are you noticing anything out of the ordinary since you chose to be an orc?” he challenged, fully expecting her to say “no” and shut the discussion down, which would be very orcish. But he actually had no idea what her character was outside of the game so he wouldn’t know if it was different or not.
But she surprised him by nodding. “My temper. It is far shorter. I’ve always had one, but I learned to control it. But here, I find myself snapping and snarling more often than I would like.”
“You mean it’s not us that’s driving you crazy?” he teased her.
She actually gave him a rare smile. “Well, you’re a part of it.”
They both laughed. Luke actually felt a little lighter. He knew she was right on some level that weird things were happening to him. But it felt a little less lonely and singular to consider he wasn’t the only one. Not that he wanted his friends to be affected by his father’s game negatively.
“So how did you get involved in Neverfall? You’re former military right?” he asked.
“I am current military,” she corrected him.
His brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. Dr. Armitage told us you were Neverfall security.”
“We are protecting Neverfall personnel and its assets,” she explained.
“So the government has some interest in the game?” He looked at her with a half-joking smile.
But she gazed back at him steadily. “I only go where I’m told. I don’t know the reasons behind it. I’m a soldier.”
Luke thought back to what his mother had said about his father and Dr. Armitage being involved in some kind of secret government work. Had it extended into Neverfall? Christopher had thought it might. It looked like he was right.
“So the government knows that there’s a problem with the game?” Luke finally asked.
“Obviously, as we were assigned to go in,” she answered.
“Yeah, about that, I’m still not clear why they sent soldiers rather than gamers. I mean, there must be people in the company not trapped in the game with high-level characters that could have gone in with me,” Luke said.
“Like I said, I follow orders. I don’t question them.” The look she gave him had him dropping that subject for now.
“Do you think your fellow soldiers are okay?” he asked. “I mean they didn’t make it into the game--”
“We don’t know that,” her voice was quiet.
“The Party screen though showed that I could only have four companions so--”
“That is just your assumption. They could have died before you looked at it,” she interrupted him.
He studied her craggy countenance. “You think they’re dead. Like really dead. In-the-real-world-dead. Don’t you?”
“I think we should assume the worst,” she answered, and her lips pressed together again as if to keep more words in.
“Mack would totally say that you see the glass as half empty,” Luke tried to joke, but it fell flat, especially when Alicia took it seriously.
“I find it is better that way. You will not be disappointed,” she said.
He wondered what had happened to her to make her so distrustful of life.
Before he could ask, Alicia grunted, “No more talk. I mu
st concentrate. Go speak to the others.”
Luke nodded, not taking offense at her gruff tone or her ordering stance. He knew that she was getting emotional, and didn’t want him to see it. So he dropped back to walk beside Christopher. The cleric still had his Map open in front of him, despite the fact that he’d already set a marker that all of them could see on their HUDs. He was watching their progress intently though. Mack’s teasing must have really had him nervous about messing up.
“Would you agree that we are headed in the most efficient direction to the cave?” Christopher asked him as he pointed to the location on the Map where the cave was, and drew a line to their current position.
“It looks like you’ve got it handled,” Luke agreed with a friendly nod. “I trust you. Trust yourself.”
Christopher cast a quick glance back at Mack before turning around again, lips pressed in a thin line. “Yes, well, you may be the only one. But I shall succeed in this. I know navigation has not been my strongest skill in the past, but I wish to be of more use to the group than just… healer and creator of shields.” Seeing Luke’s confusion, he quickly added, “I still do not wish to kill anything, but considering all of the stakes…” He shook his head. “I need to be more valuable to you.”
“Your defense and healing magic is valuable. More than valuable considering we don’t even have the money for potions,” Luke assured him.
“Potions are always dear in the beginning of any game. Everything is too expensive. But that will change. I need to make sure that I am doing as much as I can,” Christopher answered him tightly.
Luke licked his lips. “I admit I’ve never understood why you even play the games you do when you don’t like the battling.”
Christopher’s forehead was the one to furrow then. “Because all of you were playing. I did not wish to be left out. I wanted… to be a companion in the party.”
Luke’s heart twisted a little. “You would have always been part of us, Christopher, even if you didn’t play the games.” Christopher nodded, but said nothing, and Luke wondered if he believed that. “Seriously. You have to believe me.”
“Well, I made my choice nonetheless and I do not regret it. Though perhaps you might since I can be a drag--”
“Stop listening to Mack,” Luke interrupted fiercely. “Your defense and healing spells are key for us. You’ve saved all of us more times than I can count. We would have been dead dozens of times over already in this game without you.”
Christopher nodded again. He finally looked at Luke instead of the map. “You’ve been… different since you met your father. I wanted to ask how you really are doing. I know this cannot be easy for you.”
Different? Again, that word! It’s like dying these days.
“Yeah, it’s sort of hard to accept my father is a crazed villain. I mean my mom had said he was bad, but I… I guess I secretly hoped differently.” He frowned. “I really did hope seeing me would snap him out of his delusions like Dr. Armitage said, but nothing I said or did mattered, Christopher.”
“I do not think it is as clear as you see it, Luke.” Christopher looked thoughtful. “He had a chance to harm you, but chose to convince you to come to his side instead. He treated you as a son, not an adversary. And, even now, though his methods are twisted, he still wishes to have you with him. He doesn’t wish to kill you.”
“You can only think that’s a good thing because you didn’t see him, Christopher. You didn’t experience the cold that just radiates off of him. You didn’t see him strangle Marty and watch Renard get beaten without a trace of any feeling whatsoever.” Luke gritted his teeth to stop the torrent of words that wanted to come out in an almost wail. “I don’t know who he is in real life, but if he’s anything like the Dark Lord, he’s… he’s a monster.”
Christopher’s brow furrowed in concern, but he didn’t object. He likely didn’t believe he had enough data to do so. It wasn’t that Christopher didn’t see the bad in people, but his default was to believe a person was good until proven otherwise.
“I appreciate you trying to play Devil’s Advocate about him, Christopher. I want...” Luke paused. What did he want? He wasn’t that little kid who had thrown a tantrum at not having his own father to take to father-son day at school any longer. But his mother’s illness had made the world seem terribly fragile. He had thought she was his only family left. Now what if he could have a father in his life, too? But then he thought of the Dark Lord, and he couldn’t quite believe that he would want someone like that in his life. “I don’t know what I wish.”
“That we save everyone and that your mother is well when you return? I think that is what you wish,” Christopher said.
Luke smiled. “Yeah, I guess that is true.”
Thinking of his mother though, brought a rush of worry mixed with hurt and anger. Was she all right? Were they taking good care of her? Was she scared for him? Of course she was. She knew Dr. Armitage and his lies better than anyone. Not that the doctor had perhaps lied to them, just perhaps hoped he had a solution before he really had one.
How could she have lied to me about all of this, though?
“I have learned a cool new spell,” Christopher suddenly said, his face brightening.
“What is it?” Luke asked, grateful to be taken out of his darkening thoughts.
“It’s Beast Pact. It seems similar to me to Animal Friendship,” Christopher explained. “I know that Cassie can earn an animal companion, or so she says.” He looked skeptical at this, almost as if he didn’t believe any animal would choose her over him. “Mack gave me some jerky to make it work.”
“Uhm, jerky?”
“Yes, you must lure the animal to you with food!” Christopher explained, his whole face lighting up with enthusiasm.
Luke’s mind offered him the vision of Christopher offering a slavering bear a piece of jerky only to see the bear take Christopher’s hand off with one bite. “Did you tell Mack why you wanted it?”
Christopher tugged unnecessarily down on the sleeves of his robe, which told Luke he had not. “I told him I was hungry after our battle.”
“Ah, and did he believe you?”
Christopher’s eyes narrowed. “He asked how I could be hungry when all I did was stand there during the battle.”
Luke grimaced. Mack’s teasing sometimes went a bit far, and now that he knew why Christopher really played the games--to spend time with them--he needed to talk to Mack about toning it down.
“I’ll talk to him,” Luke began.
“It’s all right!” Christopher assured him. “Once he sees how valuable this spell is, he will have to apologize.”
“Well, we should only have you try it when there’s one monster and--”
“Do not worry, Luke, I will gain us an ally!”
Luke just nodded and repeated that mantra that he had to let them do their thing in the game. He had to trust them to do it well.
“I’ll let you get back to the Map,” Luke said.
“Yes, I must continue to assure we are on the right track. Mack will be singing me a song,” Christopher muttered.
Luke rubbed the back of his neck as he dropped further back to walk with Cassie and Mack.
“What did Christopher and Alicia have to say?” Cassie asked.
“Alicia is still suspicious of me, but I’m more suspicious of her,” Luke said.
“Really? How so?” Cassie’s eyebrows rose.
“She’s active military,” he explained, as he watched Alicia’s broad back.
“So the government is behind Neverfall,” Cassie murmured.
Mack, who was chewing on some jerky, remarked, “I think Dr. Armitage lied to us a lot more than even I thought he did. Definite mad scientist and evil government goon.”
Luke’s forehead furrowed. “Yeah, let’s just hope he didn’t lie about how we can get out of the game.”
“He is trying to get us out, right?” Cassie asked. She rubbed her own arms. “Don’t answer that. We’ve
got to assume they are. Why would they keep us in here anyways?”
“Well,” Mack said after swallowing his jerky, “if I were a crazy mad scientist I’d keep us in here, too. Because, here’s the deal, let’s say they could let us out, but that would still leave the rest of the Beta players and your dad stuck as their characters and the developers locked out of the game. That puts them back where they were before they got us in here.”
“We’ll just go in again with the original plan intact,” Cassie said, as if that was not even a question that they would return to Neverfall. Luke wasn’t so sure.
Mack let out a laugh. “Cassie, our parents would never allow it. Luke’s mom would physically restrain him from going back. No, the moment that we’re out of the game, potentially the only way Neverfall, Xander Mallory, and the Beta players are saved is gone forever.”
Luke hadn’t considered that maybe they were being lied to about being locked in the game. He thought of that oddly corporate Chat Box message again and felt more unease than he had before.
“That’s likely all true, but let’s try not to be too paranoid,” Luke said. “Either way, there’s nothing we can do. Best not waste energy on worrying.”
These were the words his mother would often say. He normally would have been frustrated by them, but they were true in this situation.
“Hey, isn’t it weird that we haven’t had any random monster encounters?” Mack asked.
That, of course, was when the howls began.
11
ANIMAL FRIENDSHIP
Wolf
------
Monster Type: Medium Beast
Level: 7
Hit Points: 250
Habitat: Forests, Mountains
Strengths: Earth
Weaknesses: Fire
Special Attack: Howl
Experience Points: 125
Everyone froze as howls rose up on all sides of them. A trill of fear ran down Luke’s spine. That sound was utterly primal. His eyes scanned the spaces between the tree trunks. He was looking for movement. He was looking for something low and gray with slavering jaws and burning eyes.
Neverfall: The Dark Path (Book 2): A Gamelit Lit RPG Series Page 11