The Land: Predators

by Aleron Kong

  Gah! He shook his head. He could get lost down that rabbit hole forever. There was only one way to really know if the item was a trap and that was to pick it up. He wouldn’t have someone else pick it up for him though. He started to wave Caulder over, but then had another thought, “Make him pick it up,” Richter ordered quietly, pointing at Heman. “And make him fire it into the ground.”

  The sergeant nodded and walked over to Heman. Caulder paused for a moment, then handed over the wand. After repeating the instructions, the man looked off into the mist, searching. Richter realized that Heman suspected he was near. The half-gnome did as he was ordered though. He held the wand out and discharged it. A glow built in the crystal for two seconds before a green ball of light shot forward. When it struck the ground to the man’s right, it expanded for fifteen feet in every direction. The verdant glow hung in the air for a second before disappearing. Nothing else occurred.

  Richter used his Talent again and saw that the single use had consumed twenty-eight charges. Not overly surprising for an AoE spell that quartered an enemy’s attributes. This truly was a princely gift. It had to be worth hundreds of gold. He couldn’t help but wonder how a freed slave had gotten hold of such a powerful wand. He waved both Terrod and Caulder over.

  “There is something about this guy,” Richter said quietly. “I’m not sure what it is, but it makes me feel something. The only other time I experience it, is when I get close to the Dungeon.” Terrod’s eyes widened. There was a great deal he didn’t know about that latest addition to the village, but he did know Dungeons were dangerous. If his lord thought this man was similar in some way, then he took the possible threat seriously. Caulder also picked up on his lord’s intensity, but he was the perfect sergeant. He didn’t speak unless he had something helpful to add. That being said, he was ready to kill as soon as his lord gave the word.

  “Is this a problem I need to deal with, my lord?” Terrod asked. His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.

  Richter sighed, “I don’t know. Have you ever heard of Dungeons… becoming people or something like that?”

  Terrod shook his head and then looked over at Heman in consternation. The captain had seen many things in his life, and more often than not, the unknown brought danger. Part of him wanted to kill this man and be done with it, but he knew Richter would not approve. He loved that his lord cared for the “right” of things, but it also made it damnably hard to keep him safe.

  The three of them stood there for another minute, until Caulder broke the silence, “Though I plan on having serious words with Teyin, I do know the man well. He and I served together for years in Leaf’s Crossing before we both came to join the village. I still plan to make him run in full armor until he throws up, but Teyin has a level head. For him to speak up for this man, means something, at least in my book, my lord. I also… have a good feeling about this Heman. Perhaps it is worth at least speaking to him before you make a decision.”

  Richter looked at him in surprise. When he had first met Caulder, he had shaken Richter down for a few coins with a smile on his face. Despite that, the guard had been very helpful. Since coming to the village, Richter had seen another side of him: a no-nonsense, badass, tough-as-nails sergeant. Hearing him advise restraint, after already having chewed out Teyin no less, was surprising. “You think we should give this guy a chance? Before Sumiko can test his intentions?”

  A look of confusion crossed over Caulder’s face for a moment, but then the indecision passed and he nodded, “I cannot say exactly why, my lord, but I have a good feeling about this man. Also, you are surrounded by your guards. If he shows any hostility, we can end his life in a moment.”

  Richter looked at Terrod and, after a few moments, the captain nodded in agreement. That was good enough for him. The chaos seed turned his gaze back to Heman and focused. The mists pulled back in a corridor between himself and the half-gnome. Richter walked forward with his sergeant and captain walking right behind him. When he was in front of Heman, he held his hand out flat.

  Heman smiled broadly at being able to see more of the world around him and handed the wand over. Richter placed it in his bag. Reaching out a hand again, he said formally, “Well met, Heman. My name is Richter and I am the lord of this village. This is truly a wonderful gift, and I accept it in the same sentiment in which it was given.”

  Heman face took on a slightly pained expression, but he also reached out and clasped Richter’s wrist. “Thank you, Lord Richter. I mean no offense, but my name, it’s pronounced, ‘he-man.’”

  Richter blinked. When he had just greeted the man, he’d pronounced it “him-in,” and the whole time he’d been thinking, this guy’s name sounds like “hymen.” What really made him pause though, was the fact that Heman had used a contraction. He’d said “it’s.” Almost no one did that. The only ones who did, in fact, were Richter’s own friends who had begun adopting some of his own manners of speech. When you added that to the man’s name…

  Carefully, Richter asked, “Where is your name from? I have not heard it before.”

  Heman gave an easy laugh, “Yes. I come from quite far away. You could say I am named after a mighty warrior.”

  “Far away,” Richter repeated nodding, “but where exactly?” Everyone noticed the intensity of his question, Heman included. While the man was confused, he also grew still when he saw Caulder and Terrod look at him with menacing intent.

  “Ahh,” he began, “I do not think you would believe me, my lord, but I will answer. I come from a planet called Earth.”

  The world came to a standstill as soon as Richter heard that word. Terrod looked at him askance, wondering what his lord wanted him to do. Caulder’s eyes just remained glued to Heman. Whatever initial positive feeling he had had about the man wouldn’t stop him from taking his head if Richter ordered it.

  For long heartbeats, they all stood there. A single droplet of sweat beaded on Heman’s brow before rolling down the side of his face. He didn’t know what he had done, but he was fairly certain this forest lord was about to order his death.

  But then, Richter smiled, “Let me welcome you again, Heman. I’m always happy to meet a master of the universe.”

  The man’s eyes widened in shock and comprehension, as he realized the man he owed his freedom to was a chaos seed as well. With awe in his voice, he whispered, “By the Power of Grayskull!”

  CHAPTER 53 – Day 143 – Kuborn 33, 0 AoC

  Richter’s mind was racing. He was looking at another chaos seed! Questions swirled in his head like a hurricane. Where was he from? Was the man a gamer that had played The Land? Had he even come from Earth? Had he died back on Earth? Had he died here in The Land? Was the experience the same as what Richter went through? Could he trust him? Should he even risk it? Why hadn’t his Analyze skill shown his race as “Chaos Seed?” Richter checked again, but he still just saw half-gnome/half-human. Did that mean his skill couldn’t detect other people from Earth? That thought made his blood run cold. Did that mean he might have already met other chaos seeds and didn’t even know it?

  The man was a chaos seed. A chaos seed! Richter led Heman through the mists to a table where they sat and talked for the next several hours. Despite feeling more at ease than he had expected to, Richter was still hesitant to share too much. Even more than his mind being flooded with questions, he felt overwhelmed by the tumult of emotions rising up inside of him.

  There was excitement at having finally found another member of his race. Also, an almost painful curiosity to find out what this man knew. He felt pity that this Heman had been forced into slavery. Above all else though, he felt caution. Richter knew what his people were capable of doing when push came to shove. He’d thought many times on what coming to The Land would do to humans. What the brutal planet might drive them to do. Or worse, what dark impulses The Land might let them express. Richter psychically called out to Alma, but she was hunting and out of range. He kept his expression neutral, but prepared himsel
f for anything.

  He talked of his early days in The Land, but avoided too many specifics about his travels. Heman felt no such compunction.

  The first thing he explained was his name.

  “When I got here, I woke up in a pitch-black tunnel. I had been playing The Land and had found this new dungeon. When I went inside, everything went dark and I must have lost consciousness. When I came to I remember calling out, ‘Where am I?’ It must have triggered something because a prompt appeared asking my name.”

  The half-gnome sighed heavily, “I didn’t even think about it when I responded with my gamer handle, ‘He-man20$7,’ the same tag I had always used when I gamed. It got shortened to ‘Heman,’ and there was no way for me to change it. Which reminds me, how did you know my name before I told you?”

  “I have a skill that allows me to know people’s names.” Richter responded simply.

  “I wish I had been so fortunate,” Heman said ruefully.

  “You still thought it was a game when you woke up?” Richter prompted, getting the conversation back on track.

  “Didn’t you?”

  “At first,” Richter equivocated. He didn’t elaborate that ‘at first’ had only lasted about three minutes. That was when a flying imp had kicked him in the eye and made it clear that The Land was not a game. The bastard had even enunciated every word to make sure that Richter got the point. “What happened next?”

  A look of pain and deep-seated anger crossed Heman’s face, “What happened next is that I died. Again and again. Four times in total… I think.” His voice grew haunted and he looked off into the distance as he relived those early days. “There was no light. I had to just pick a direction at random and start walking. After running into a low-hanging stalactite and losing an eye,” Richter’s mouth dropped open and Heman just nodded gravely before continuing, “it became painfully clear that this wasn’t a game anymore. I had heard rumors on the message boards of people disappearing, but I thought it was just a digital myth.”

  He laughed without humor. “After that, I began to crawl. I went for hours before I started hearing it. The clacking.” His voice dropped even lower, “It started as a low buzz, but Clack-clack. Clack-clack.” One finger started tapping on the table that they were sitting at. It didn’t appear that he was aware of it. “They get louder when they’re getting closer to making a kill, you see.” He said it faster this time, “Clack-clack, clack-clack, clack-clack-clack-clack.” Heman started shuddering, and he looked at Richter with pain in his eyes, “They ate me. I never found out exactly what they were. From what I felt as I tried to fight them off, I know they were bugs of some kind. I know their bodies had three segments and six legs. I remember the way it felt to have those sharp legs crawl over me. Sharp little legs like daggers, but it’s their mouths that I remember. That clacking was the sound of their pincers snapping together. They were as large as my leg, but their mouths had to be small. They bit me again and again and again. They ate me piece by small piece.” He looked off into the distance, lost in the horrible remembrance.

  Heman stopped talking and just sat there. Richter didn’t know what to say. He had been through his own horrible deaths. Being eaten by wolves had been emotionally scarring. From what he was hearing though, Heman had had it worse. There was no real point in comparing the two experiences. There were some things that were just so awful, there were no “right” words to say and make it better. Experiences like that were proof that death could be a blessing, a release from a pain that could not be endured. Richter had often wondered if the fact that he could be reborn would one day become a curse.

  They just sat there for a minute before Heman continued, “When I was reborn, I just laid on the stone, sobbing in the dark. I don’t know how long. Part of me just wanted to give up, but ultimately, hunger and thirst made me start moving again. I don’t know if I respawned in the same place. You have no idea the fear I felt when I started making my way through the tunnels again. Every scrape of rock sounded like that horrifying clack-clack.”

  Heman forced a false smile onto his face. “The good news is, I didn’t run into the clack monsters again.” He sighed heavily, “This time, I lost my footing on a graveled slope and fell off a cliff. Not very far. Just far enough to break both of my ankles. Have you ever died from dehydration?” Richter shook his head in sympathy. “It wasn’t all bad. I learned new things. Did you know that banging your head against a rock is an extremely inefficient way to kill yourself? You just pass out and then wake up with a horrible headache. I’m fairly certain a fever set in before the end. My body felt like it was on fire, but at least it hastened my death.” Heman’s tone was distant, analytical.

  The man gave another deep sigh and visibly shook himself to dispel his dark mood. He plastered another fake smile on his face. “When I was born again, at least this time I had a direction. Before I had left during my second life, I had arranged rocks into an arrow shape. I didn’t know if I would come back to the same location, but I figured it was worth a shot. Have you died?” he asked.

  Richter nodded, understanding the man’s pain.

  “Did you come back to the same place?”

  “In the forest,” Richter said nodding again.

  An expression that Richter couldn’t read passed over Heman’s face, there and gone in an instant. Then the man chuckled, “Your Luck stat must be off the charts. I used to dream of the sun. Hmph. I am happy that you were not condemned to a lightless hell as I was.” Richter placed a hand on Heman’s shoulder. The man looked at him gratefully. “As I was saying, I had a direction now. I chose to travel the same way and resolved to not to fall this time. At least it was away from the bugs.

  “It took what felt like forever, but I retraced my steps and made it down the slope. I kept walking, no food, no water, no hope, but then I saw it. The most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was light. The light of a single torch.” His face grew pensive at that point, “I was near death at that point, I think. I tried to call out, but my throat was too dry. I’m pretty sure I collapsed.”

  “When I finally came to, I was in a cage. There were others with me. It turns out that I had been captured by a small tribe of gnolls.” He chuckled fatalistically. “I’d never been happier.”

  “They saved you? Gnolls?” Richter asked. He hadn’t come across any of the hyena humanoids yet, but Terrod had said they were a vicious species.

  “They had caught us for food,” Heman responded.

  This guy’s story was insanely depressing. Richter almost didn’t want to ask more questions but couldn’t help himself, “They killed you?”

  “No,” Heman told him, shaking his head. “The gnolls butchered one prisoner a day, but only a week later, they were attacked by a powerful goblin clan.”

  “The Ash Stalker clan?” Richter asked. They were the same goblin nation he’d stolen the Bloodstone and liberated Heman and the other slaves from.

  “Yes,” Heman confirmed. “They killed the gnolls easily. In the confusion, I got free and made my way into the gnoll chief’s hut. That’s where I found the wand I gave you. I concealed it and was captured soon afterwards. Over the next several months, the goblins moved me to various locations. The message was the same in each place, however. Work or die. I chose to work. It turned out that I had quite a knack for mining, and I advanced my skill quickly. It is amazing how good you can get at something when it’s all you do every day, except for the four hours allotted for sleep.”

  This guy was seriously depressing him. Richter tried to keep the story moving, “How did you hide the wand from the goblins? I’m sure they would have taken such a powerful magic item.”

  “Ahhhh, I would rather not discuss that, Lord Richter.”

  Richter looked at Heman in curiosity, then his face took on a sympathetic cant. He keistered it, the Enchanter realized. He resisted the impulse to sniff his hand, but resolved to wash up soon. As his granddaddy used to say, never trust money from a prison wallet. For now, he had
another question, “How did you advance your personal level to seven if you’ve been a slave the whole time?”

  “I received six thousand Experience Points from leveling my Mining skill. The goblin overseers had the capability to monitor the skills of others. Most likely similar to your own skill, Lord Richter. They began taking me on hunting expeditions with them to increase my personal level and make me a more efficient worker. They had special goblin leaders that could give me a portion of everyone’s experience. Each time I leveled, they carefully monitored where I allocated my points. That is why so many points went into my Strength attribute.”

  Richter nodded, processing what he had been told. While he felt sympathy for Heman’s sad story, what really occupied his mind was the fact that the goblins had enough war leaders that they could power level slaves. That was not something he had wanted to hear. A strong war leader could increase the power of the troops he led by a massive amount. The fact that he might have just picked a fight with the Ash Stalker clan, a kingdom that numbered in the tens or even hundreds of thousands, weighed heavily upon him.

  Another thought was bothering Richter. Maybe Heman hadn’t been power leveled just because he was a valuable worker. Had he missed another collaborator? Had Heman’s anger at the fourteen men and women Richter had judged just been an act? He had to know. “You got along well with the goblins then?” Richter asked lightly.

  Heman’s face grew sorrowful. “I know what they did to my fellow prisoners. I’m not blind. I asked myself many times if I should have stood up for the abused.” He looked ashamed, “You may call me a coward, but I was just another slave. I was just trying to survive, by working hard. I couldn’t risk dying and going back… into the dark.”

  Richter watched Heman for a second, then he realized he couldn’t judge this man for having done what he had to do. Dying was no small matter, even if you were reborn. Richter also hadn’t factored in that the other chaos seed hadn’t been able to change his respawn point. Richter had only been able to change his own because he’d become Master of a Place of Power. He had no idea what the rules were for changing spawning points. It just wasn’t his place to judge Heman for what he’d had to do to survive.