The Lionheart

by Stevie Collier

  15

  I was to be power leveled.

  I wasn’t exactly sure what Minx had meant by this but she assured me it was the fasted way possible to get to the level needed to have a chance in battle with Toxhin.

  All I knew was that I was ready to have my chance at revenge against that treacherous monster. I didn’t want to kill him, no… but I wouldn’t mind slapping him around a little bit and make him think that I was.

  “And what about Bataar?” I asked her. “What will you do with him?”

  Minx gave me a shrug. “That’s really none of my concern. He knew the rules before crossing the boundary to the Light Faction territories.”

  “I know it isn’t your concern, but it is mine,” I said, crossing my arms. “If he isn’t any of your concern, why not release him to me? Like Vane said, he’s too low of a level to be of any real problem.”

  Minx eyed me curiously and chewed on one of her black claws. “I’ll talk to Vane about it. But first, we must get you ready.”

  I was taken to another wagon, not another jail cell but one with a portable smithing station attached to the back of it.

  The sun had started to rise and I could see that we were on the forest’s edge that gave way to an extensive field of flat grass. The sun’s shine turned the dew on the plain into all sorts of different dots of color which would then dance as the sun drifted higher into the sky. I was absolutely flabbergasted by this, having never seen such a beautiful sight. None of the other players seemed to care or to even have noticed for that matter.

  In the field were a variety of different beasts. They were too far to check their status, but I could make out the form of a few of them. One creature looked to be some type of stag with two heads. Another beast was about three times the size of the stag and had grey skin and a horned head.

  A loud clang filled my ears as we approached the wagon. A big, brawny dwarf name Yord was busy banging on his anvil, the thick veins on his mighty arms pulsating larger with each swing. Beside him was a younger-looking humanoid. He had the big head and large hands of a dwarf but was much taller and skinnier. His name was Guud.

  “Yord, do you have the supplies for this newb here?” Minx asked the busy dwarf.

  “Aye, I do. It’s hanging on the side there,” Yord said, pointing at the leather and chain jumble hanging on the wall of the wagon by a thick nail.

  “How goes the training, young Guud?” Minx asked the skinny one.

  “I, ugh, it goes well madam Minx!” he sputtered.”

  “Excellent.” Minx said, grabbing the armor off the nail. She checked the status of the gear and gave a nod. “Excellent work as usual, Yord. You are a fine asset to the Golden Alliance.”

  Yord grunted.

  We were turning to walk away when we heard the squeak of Guud from behind us.

  “Ugh, excuse me. Madam Minx? Ugh, any news on my brother Lehn?”

  My heart hopped into my throat and my feet froze beneath me. Did he just say his brother had been Lehn? The Lehn? The one I let die in front of my eyes?

  “No word yet, dearie,” called Minx over her shoulder. She waved a paw at them as we walked away.

  I didn’t have much time to think about the Lehn and Guud issue. I was thrown some armor and was expected to strip in front of Minx to try them on.

  “Could you turn around?”

  The Badron rolled her eyes and did so.

  I unequipped my stale, crappy armor and equipped the fresh set. I hadn’t been given the chain metal yet for I was too low of a level for it. They would keep it for me until I reached Level 15.

  The new leather armor, however, felt WORLDS better than the last set.

  Upgraded Plainsman Leather Chest Piece

  Upgraded Plainsman Leather Helmet

  Upgraded Plainsman Leather Leggings

  Upgraded Plainsman Leather Vambraces

  Upgraded Plainsman Leather Gloves

  Upgraded Plainsman Leather Boots

  Upgraded Plainsman Leather Belt

  I could see that I also had a slot open for pauldrons but it was locked from use. At what level that became accessible, I had no idea.

  Minx turned around and gave me the thumbs up. “How’s it feel?”

  I moved my arms out in front of me. “Like a second skin compared to that other crap.”

  “I thought you might say so.” She winked at me.

  A soft hand touched my shoulder. “Is this one ready, my lady Minx?”

  I turned to see an Elf about a head taller than me. His ears protruded from his golden locks and were so tall that gravity pulled the tips down. His eyes were without pupils. They were only blue orbs rotating in their sockets, making it impossible to tell who he was looking at.

  “He is. I want him Level 20 by the end of the night.”

  “Level 20!?” I exclaimed. “Are you serious?”

  Both Minx and the Elf named Rowin laughed at me.

  “Of course she is serious, young Tharis,” said Rowin, clapping my shoulder before removing his hand altogether. “The earlier levels are always easier. Come along. We have much to kill.”

  “GL!” Minx said with another thumbs up.

  Rowin had led me in what seemed like a random direction away from the Golden Alliance camp. He didn’t say a word to me but would stop, listen to something I couldn’t hear, and continue. About thirty minutes into our journey, we exited the forest and I found myself at the outskirts of a beautiful, grassy plain. I could see a large array of different beasts herding, hunting, and eating out in the distance.

  Rowin must have been here before because he wasted no time in taking in the sights. He jumped onto his belly and started shimmying towards the closest herd of steer. They were near enough that I could check their stats.

  Two-Headed Plains Stag Level 17

  “Why didn’t they give me a new weapon?” I whispered to Rowin, walking up beside him and joining him on the ground.

  “Allow me to check your stats,” he replied in an even softer whisper. His voice was sing-songy and I kind of wished I had been born Elvish, too.

  Rowin would like to access your gear stats. Accept?

  I accepted.

  “Hmm,” he said. “Your hammer is pretty decent. You will probably find a better drop out here.”

  He stopped moving and so did I.

  “You ready?” he asked me, his face fixed on the beasts.

  “Ready for what?”

  Without answering, Rowin turned on his back and started doing strange things with his fingers. He would twist them this way and that way, an aura of light beginning to flash from his palms. He put his palms to his mouth and I could hear him hum a tune into them.

  Rowin Level 57 Vocalist (Bard)

  He removed one of his hands from his mouth and touched my chest.

  A boon list popped up in the top of my vision.

  Vitality of God (Vitality increased by 30%)

  Stamina of God (Stamina increased by 30%)

  Sharp Notes (You are encircled and defended by thousands of sharp notes. They will strike when you are attacked.)

  Just as the boon said, my prone body was surrounded by musical notes that floated around my body in a purple-colored haze.

  “Those will do my job for me,” Rowin said with a smile.

  I had planned to flee as soon as we had made it a good distance from the Golden Alliance camp. However, I rethought the idea. It would probably be best to take these guys up on their offer. Use them to get to the level I needed. Plus, their plan did coincide with what I wanted to do most of all.

  Save Ushmoe.

  A stag noticed the purple ring of notes swimming above the grass and targeted me as an enemy. It charged, the tops of its two brown heads facing me. Each head held one gigantic tree of ebony spikes that they intended to skewer me with.

  “Don’t just lay there!” cried Rowin. “Get up and fight back!”

  He was right. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I popped up on my feet and pulled
out my hammer and shield. The two-headed stag was on me in half a second. I put my shield down just in time to catch the initial buck. The beast slammed hard into it, sending me off my feet and directly into the air.

  Health: 62%

  My back hit the dewy grass so hard that I took even more damage. As the pain faded away, I looked up just in time to see one of the sharp notes embedded into the neck of the stag. It stumbled left and right before falling to its side.

  You’ve defeated the Two-Headed Plains Stag.

  “Whoa,” I said, picking myself up. “That’s one useful ability you have there.”

  Rowin waved his arm over my chest and sang a small phrase in a language I couldn’t understand.

  You’ve been healed by Rowin.

  “The Sharp Notes ability is all right but it isn’t very powerful at higher levels. My real usefulness comes from my massive assortment of boons.”

  “I can see that,” I said.

  We killed another stag in the exact same manner as the last. I ended up on my back in a decent amount of pain. However, this time, I didn’t need healing up.

  Congratulations! You’ve acquired Level 14!

  Abilities Unlocked: Parry (Block single attack and send 25% damage back to enemy)

  “Whoa! That was quick!” I exclaimed, jumping back up with a fresh amount of energy. “I could get used to this form of leveling!”

  “Well, don’t,” Rowin warned, already concentrating on picking out the next target. “The Golden Alliance will most likely dump you on your own after the mission is complete.”

  I was barely listening. I was feeling too good for this Elf to bring me down. Plus, I was focusing on how I could use my parry ability in the next stag encounter.

  “Get ready! I’m pulling a big one!”

  Sadly, I still wasn’t paying attention when I looked up just in time to take a horn to the face.

  Health: 20%

  I flew further this time. The sky spun above me. The pain in my face was becoming unbearable, sending me into a shocked trance.

  Standing over me was a behemoth of a beast. It was about four times as large as the stag. Instead of hair, it had grey, rough skin. It’s head held just one large, red eye and three tall and sharp horns that were arranged in an upside down triangle shape. It kicked one of its fat feet back, shooting dust behind itself, readying to charge once more at me.

  I placed the shield in front of me, knowing it wouldn’t do any good for the attack to come. One of the musical notes soared through the air and sunk into the beast’s forehead.

  It was dead before it hit the ground.

  Rowin healed me as I walked up to the dead horned monster.

  Clyceratops Level 20

  “Thanks for that,” I said, rubbing my face, expecting to be without a nose. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found it beneath my palm.

  “You have a lot to learn,” is all Rowin said.

  He picked out the nearest Clyceratops and pulled.

  16

  Twilight was approaching when Minx ran out into the plains to fetch us. I was Level 19 and extraordinarily fatigued.

  “You two, back to camp,” she commanded, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. “We have some important developments going on in Ashvell.”

  “But he hasn’t reached 20 yet,” Rowin objected. “My orders were to see this newb Warrior to 20.”

  “Well, you have new orders. Come on, hurry.”

  We both ran behind Minx who was running on all fours and was incredibly difficult to keep up with. My feet ached like they never had before I had become Enlightened. But for some reason, my body was able to keep up with them as long as the stamina was available. Did I make the right choice in killing off my creator? Oh, who was I kidding? I hadn’t even known what I was doing. Becoming Enlightened was just one big accident, an accident that came along with increased sensations of taste, smell, touch… and pain. But something inside me kept me from actually believing all of this was an accident. Surely, I couldn’t have been one of the few players to question their existence. If Bataar was telling the truth, then Muzuhlan would have the answers.

  We arrived at the cold camp. No fire had been kindled due to fears of being found by Dark Faction spies.

  “What’s going on?” I whispered to Minx. We had just entered some sort of meeting with all these high level players standing around in a circle, their faces solemn.

  “Are we really going to put our reputation behind some newb?” asked a high level Badron I hadn’t noticed before.

  “We have no choice!” butted in Minx, now ignoring me altogether. “We no longer have any more time to put together a new plan. I say, if Vane permits, we go along with the plan we have now.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” I asked. This time, I directed the question to the entire camp and not just Minx.

  All the players went silent, dumbfounded that their meeting had just been infiltrated by some non-guildie.

  “Vane, you can’t seriously let this low-level fool just waltz up to us like this and demand to know what is going on!”

  “Of course he does!” Minx argued, putting her paw on my shoulder. “He is the one risking his life to go back into that damned village!”

  “Don’t you dare damn my village!” cried another player.

  The whole crowd of guildies erupted in several different arguments, their harsh words becoming louder and louder. It was Vane who halted this uproar with a raise of his hand. His eyes stared out into nothingness as his mind was deep in thought.

  Without realizing it, my hand had gone to the hilt of my weapon. Not that I could have done anything to these guys anyway, but something about the top of my hand caught my eye. The skin tone had taken on a tan shade, replacing my usual paleness. I extended my arm out and could see the paleness remained where my armor had covered me.

  I looked over at Rowin to see if he had tanned from the sun, but he had not. He was still very pasty. Did this have to do with becoming Enlightened? I spent five days on top of the temple in direct sunlight completing the Raptor-Raven quest but never had I changed skin color. This was a first.

  “I’ve come to a decision,” boomed Vane, standing up and puffing his armored chest outward. “We will continue as planned. We will not let this corrupted Light Faction player dishonor us any longer!”

  There were grunts of disappointment all around but none dared speak against their guild leader. It seemed as though there was no such thing as democracy in this particular guild.

  Minx turned to me and said, “Tharis, your training was cut short because the Ashvellian tyrant has given us a very clear message.”

  “And what’s that?” I asked, seeing the same player who spoke up earlier roll his eyes at me.

  “Toxhin has displayed a flag of no surrender. But this flag is no ordinary flag. It is a tall spike with a player attached to it having been stripped completely of his armor and equipment. The player’s name is Ushmoe and it looks as though this poor Badron is slowly starving to death.”

  My fists clenched and trembled with rage, my eyelids flickering just a bit. It was so hard to control this anger within me. These fools should have liberated Ashvell long ago! What guild calls themselves the protectors of the Light Faction if they can’t even protect their own starter village?

  “Let’s get going,” I said in a low voice. I turned and walked away, ignoring the curses directed at my back.

  Minx had followed me but kept her distance. She was probably the only considerate player in the Golden Alliance. She could tell something was wrong with me. I thanked her silently for giving me some time to myself. Did she know I was Enlightened? Could she tell?

  I made it to the beach and was surprised at how wide a berth the Big Poppa Crabs gave me. They must have been able to sense my level.

  I stopped near the waterfall and turned to Minx. “I’m in no need of your assistance,” I said. “I can handle this myself.”

  Minx walked up to me, nodding. “Oh, I k
now. I just wanted to give you a little good luck present. Also, trade me your old stuff and I’ll go ahead and give you the amount of silver you’d get for selling it to a vendor.”

  Minx would like to trade with you. Do you accept?

  A trade window popped up and Minx inserted:

  Chain Mail Chest Plate of the Plains

  Chain Mail Vambraces of the Plains

  Chain Mail Leggings of the Plains

  Chain Mail Boots of the Plains

  Chain Mail Helmet of the Plains

  Steel Sword of the Plains

  Wooden Buckler of the Plains

  I couldn’t express my gratitude to this Badron enough. She smiled, taking my gaping mouth as enough of a thanks.

  “You’d better get going,” she said, turning and crossing her arms behind her back. “Before Vane changes his mind and assaults the village as a whole. Then there will be no chance of saving your friend.”

  And with those final words, Minx disappeared into the forest.

  Not caring how she knew Ushmoe was my friend, I opened my bag and equipped all the savory armor pieces, sword, and buckler.

  The first thing I noticed was how much heavier it was. But the heaviness gave me a certain confident feeling. However, I could tell this new armor would have an effect on my stamina.

  The sword and buckler fit perfectly into my hands and made me feel like a true BAMF. I tried squatting a few times behind the buckler and stabbing out at an invisible enemy.

  After spending a few minutes enjoying and practicing my gear, it was time to stop playing and get to work. The walk had been a long one from the Golden Alliance base camp but it worked out well. I was able to come up with a plan.

  I pulled out my baby Raptor-Raven and held it out into the sky. Just as I had planned, the thing started to squall. The cries of this baby chick were so high-pitched that I could hear it echo all the way up the waterfall and into the sky.

  It wasn’t long before a shadow crept over the village walls, over the waterfall, over the lagoon, and finally, over me.

  You’ve been targeted by Raptor-Raven.