Change

by Tony Corden

  Leah knew she needed to keep in character, so she said, “Then I’m surprised you even know where you are half the time. Now if you’ve finished chatting why don’t you head in and do as you’ve been instructed?”

  Yurluk leant closer and said, “We are allies dwarf. I have an agreement, not an instruction. But why are you here? I thought you needed the girl to take the blame.”

  “I’m just making sure you don’t screw this up, now hurry.”

  The orc smirked at her and then led the force through the gate. As the last orc passed her, Leah turned to follow. She was surprised to see six orcs stop and begin closing the Forge gates. She said, “What are you doing? Go fight you oafs, I’ll close this.”

  The largest orc walked close, towering over her dwarven form and said, “We don’t take orders from dwarves. I have no idea how Yurluk puts up with you but I won’t. This is my task so get out of here before I return you to your mistress minus your head.”

  Leah took several steps down the tunnel when the timer Gèng had placed at the edge of her vision began flashing. She had less than sixty seconds before her Impersonation of Kandirma would end. She stopped and looked toward the orcs. As her body returned to its half-elf half-human form, she equipped her bow and shot two of the orcs before they noticed what was happening. Her next arrow was deflected by a shield. She cast chain lighting and waded into the remaining four orcs with her swords. She dispatched two while they were stunned and then received a blow to the side of the face from one of the remaining orcs.

  She flew to the side and lost her footing. She allowed her body to crumble and turned the movement into a painful tumble. Rising, she turned back to the fight only to be slammed backwards by a bolt from an orcan crossbow which pierced her abdomen. Her health plummeted and she looked up into the eyes of the orc walking slowly towards her. He said, “You didn’t smell like a dwarf. Die now, knowing you failed.”

  He was raising the crossbow to shoot when a Dwarven Battle Axe flew from the darkness and lodged in his skull. As he dropped, Leah saw the final orc fall from a crossbow bolt through the eye. She stared into the darkness and saw Korumak walking slowly toward her. He said, “I heard and saw what happened. Where is Kandirma?”

  “Dead.”

  “I must open the door and then I will return. You need to hide. Every dwarf will kill you on sight. My word will not be enough to overcome the words of a God.”

  Leah nodded. She took several deep breaths before using her Mist ability to remove the crossbow bolt from her lower abdomen. She took a restore potion and then stepped into the shadows as the large force of dwarves came through the gates to crash into the rear of the orcan force. After they passed, she saw Korumak walking carefully through the gates and looking around. She stepped into his view and they stared at each other.

  Leah said, “I did not betray you. I would not.”

  “I know. The more I thought on it, the more wrong it was. The damage is done though. You are the declared enemy of all dwarves. They will pass a dragon or orc to kill you. The word will spread faster than you can travel. What will you do?”

  “I don’t know. What I do know is I must go. Rana is waiting for me. Goodbye Korumak, thank you for my life.”

  “There is no need to thank me. From what I observed it is likely you saved the Forge from destruction and desecration. You also killed the ones responsible for the massacre of Clan Molven. Be assured that at least one Dwarf knows you are a person of honour.”

  “Thank you Korumak. Goodbye.”

  Leah had reached full health and she teleported to the mountain pass where Rana was waiting.

  Rana said, “Atherleah, I am confused. I do not understand what happened. The Goddess says you betrayed a whole clan and allowed the innocent to be killed. This does not match what I have observed of you. But the Goddess cannot lie. She was your friend and she says you are guilty. If you can deceive a God, then it would be easy to deceive me. I have decided to annul my bond of Companionship. As the Goddess has declared, so I declare. You have one hour and then I shall find you and kill you for the deception you have committed on me and my Father’s House.”

  Atherleah, an NPC of Dunyanin has annulled the companion bond.

  Rana, daughter of Namus, a Level 220 High Elf Vampire, has annulled the companion bond.

  Future Companion Bonds will be harder to form because of this annulment.

  You have one companion - Shēngmìng Zhī Huǒ

  Rana turned her back and disappeared from sight. Leah shook her head slowly, checked her mana and teleported to the top of the spire where she’d found the Disc to Merkize. On arrival, she stared at the mountains for a while and then logged out.

  Leah sat on the sofa and stared at the wall for several minutes before she said, “Gèng, is there anything in the Dunyanin terms and conditions that have been breached by the gameplay this morning?”

  “On the surface there does not appear to be a breach. I suspect that if it is proved one player manipulated the game AIs for profit or to restrict another player’s gameplay, then the answer would be a resounding ‘Yes’. The issue will be proving it.”

  “I’m surprised that the Developers haven’t picked it up already.”

  “Yes. I suggest you contact Sharon and get ahead of the media storm that is surely headed your way.”

  Leah had Gèng contact Sharon and request an urgent meeting. She also asked her to see if Stephen was available. Ten minutes later Sharon arrived followed immediately by Stephen. Leah introduced them and then gave an outline of her morning with small clips from the game to give them a better picture of what happened.

  When she was finished, Sharon said, “I will work on a strategy, but my first suggestion is you get back in the game right now and keep playing. You mustn’t allow this situation to show a weakness in your game. If you do, then it will be exploited. Take the game to your attackers. You need to exploit this for your benefit. The vampire thing will work for you, not against you. Internally, within the game, the knowledge might be damaging. Externally, in the wider multiverse, this will increase your standing. Dunyanin will be inundated with new Platinum level players all wanting to be vampires.”

  Stephen said, “The advice you’ve just received is good Leah. Leave it to us. I’ll get to work on the legal side and try to get a statement from Dunyanin. I may have to get some help on this, but I know you can afford it. Go, we have this.”

  Leah looked back and forth between the two for a moment then nodded. “Thank you. I’ll go. Gèng will contact me if you need me.”

  Moments later she was back on the needle. She sat down and began meditating. She had just over five hours left in the game. She needed to find somewhere to temper her blade, and she needed to get on with the game. She checked her maps and then after checking the various forums with Gèng’s help she decided on an area to the North-East of her position. She teleported to the top of the mountain overlooking the Forge and then released Mĕi. Equipping the saddle, she climbed aboard and directed Mĕi to head deeper into the mountain range. There was almost no information on the area she was flying over, nothing on the forums and nothing on her maps. This was unexplored inaccessible virgin territory.

  As Mĕi wended her way between mountain peaks, making use of the thermals and winds, Leah kept an eye on the ground and a lookout for anything unusual. Leah had asked Gèng to give her an icon for Mĕi, something to show when the Chimera was getting tired. Mĕi’s energy was just over fifty percent when Leah received a message

  You are entering an area of play where Player Level determines the attacking MOBs. This area is bounded by mountain ranges and covers an area of 45 square leagues. The highest level player calculates MOB level for groups. You can, therefore, expect to meet situations aimed at players with a level of 268. Please have an enjoyable day.

  Looking down Leah could see the walls of a steep valley enclosed by a ring of mountains. She tapped Mĕi’s left head and pointed to the valley below. Slowly Mĕi descended, a
nd finally landed on a mountain ledge overlooking the enclosed area. Several times during the descent Leah had received messages that she was either leaving an area or entering one. Leah dismounted and surveyed the area. It was covered with a deep forest, lush and green. She could see the path of several fast flowing rivers heading towards the centre of the valley.

  She turned to Mĕi and said, “You have grown quickly and are already at Level 42, but this is beyond you. It isn’t safe. Thank you for bringing me this far.”

  Leah changed Mĕi into a statue and then began picking her way down the slope and into the valley. As she scampered into the first row of trees, the message was again displayed, and she hoped it was for the last time. Slowly she made her way through the thick undergrowth. Leah’s attention constantly moved from the ground to the air and as many points in between as she could. She checked each plant, rock, flower and sound before taking the next step. After twenty minutes she found what she imagined was an animal trail meandering through the brush. She carefully checked both ways before stepping onto the small but well defined, path.

  Once on the path Leah made better time but still kept an eye on her surroundings. Her continued caution served her well this time, and she was quick to notice the intrusive sound of footsteps, or maybe it was hooves, coming along the path behind her. She quickly scuttled off the path and crouched low to the ground, hidden in the undergrowth but with a good view of the path. The noise slowly resolved itself into two independent separate sets of feet or hooves making their way along the trail. Leah could make out the sound of voices but wasn’t able to make sense of the sounds.

  Finally, two figures came into view, each was just over half Leah’s height, and they resembled elves more than anything. They had the same tapered ears and fine features, but in addition to fine hair, their heads each sported what looked like goat horns on their heads. They wore clothes, but instead of elven feet, their legs each ended in a cloven hoof. Each was carrying a bow and had a sword slung over a shoulder. Leah could see several knives tied to each belt.

  ELFAUN SCOUT (Level 281) 78961HP (14050EP)

  They passed Leah without noticing her, and she waited until the sound of their feet had begun to disappear before stepping back onto the path.

  “Gèng, any reference to Elfaun in the Bestiary?”

  “None! I should note that the Bestiary is clear that some animals and races will not become available in the compendium until they are discovered or reported.”

  Leah continued along the path, and while she remained careful, she began to move a little quicker as she noticed the two Elfaun traversed the path without obvious caution. She had travelled another four hundred or so paces when she heard a high pitched screech of agony from somewhere ahead of her. She increased her pace but remained watchful. The cries continued, and she suddenly came upon an open area where it looked like a battle was underway.

  The two Elfaun had swords out and were attacking a creature that looked like it had been created after the developer had a nightmare. It was the size of a large human, and its lower legs were jointed in the retrograde position. Its arms were long and when it moved it used them to help it balance. The skin was pasty white, hairless and translucent like that of a grub pulled from rotten wood. Prominent scars covered large sections of its body. The head was humanoid with bulging red eyes and a lipless jaw with large square teeth. Instead of a nose, it had two holes in the flesh through which Leah could see the bony skull. Blood dripped from numerous cuts.

  DRAGONBLOOD DRYAD LARVA (Level 127) 16129HP (6350EP)

  Suddenly one of the Elfauns darted forward and sliced a section of flesh from the flank of the creature. The creature howled in the high pitched screech Leah had heard before. The Elfaun grabbed the flesh and after taking a bite, threw the remainder onto a small pile of flesh behind it. Leah knew this was not a battle and after taking a second look she cast chain lightning at the nearest Elfaun.

  The lightning arched from the first and into the second Elfaun, and they both stumbled in stunned shock for several moments. The Dryad Larve glanced at Leah, and then slowly stepped toward the safety of the forest. The two Elfaun recovered quickly and turned toward Leah. She held Merdiven in one hand, and the other was empty.

  She said, “Sorry about that but I wasn’t sure how to get your attention. I have no problem with people hunting for food but I can’t abide people who are cruel. Slicing the flesh off a living creature to eat is cruel beyond belief.”

  The Elfaun had stood still at the sound of her voice, but as soon as she finished, they began to walk toward her. One said something in their language which Leah didn’t understand. Leah shrugged and said, “Sorry, I don’t understand.”

  “They are wondering what you taste like.” The Dryad Larva’s voice was wet and phlegmy.

  “Good to know. I don’t suppose you’d let them know that I’d prefer not to give them a sample. They should take my word for it; I’m tasteless and stringy.”

  The Dryad Larva said something to the Elfaun who smiled and spoke again. Each of them took another step toward Leah and then leapt toward her, swords flashing. Leah was ready and cast Circle of Sloth. She equipped her swords and deflected their blows before attacking the closest one with both weapons. She managed to open several wounds on its arms. The other attacked from Leah’s side and she had to leap aside to save herself from being skewered. She unequipped Adalet and used her left hand to cast Dragon Fire at the wounded Elfaun who raised its hands to fend off the fire and had them burnt to cinder. The second Elfaun stopped in shock and Leah killed it with a thrust through the heart before killing its horribly burnt companion.

  The Dryad Larva said, “They were amused that another of the lesser races sought to communicate. They suggested you should be left alive for some time to see what else they might use you for. Their suggestion was crude and I shall not repeat it.”

  Leah smiled and said, “Well, that makes their deaths a little more palatable. Do you need healing?”

  “Can a Dragon Mage of Fire also heal? I would appreciate it.”

  Leah cast Heal several times until the Dryad Larva’s wounds had all been healed. The Dryad Larva said, “Thank you. I have a question if you don’t mind?”

  “Ask away, I’ll just harvest these remains, and then you have my full attention.”

  Leah harvested the Elfauns, and besides their weapons and blood, she received two small moneybags with some copper and silver coins all minted with the image of an Elfin on one side and some text she couldn’t read.

  The Dryad Larva said, “Why did you stop them, and why did you save me? I know that my appearance is unsightly to humanoids and they have the appearance of beauty. They have the appearance of intelligence while I look to you like a monster.”

  “They were playing with their food. I don’t have any problem with carnivores killing to eat, but they were purposefully cruel. If you are their food, then they should just kill you and eat. If I had known you were sentient, I would have stepped in sooner. As to appearance, I’ve learned to look beyond that. Some of the most beautiful people I know are ugly, and some of the ugliest people are beautiful.”

  “Well, I thank you for my life and for the opportunity to move beyond this form.”

  “I don’t understand, what do you mean, ‘beyond this form’?”

  “This clearing is my birthplace, and to it I am bound. I was deposited in the ground as an egg by my mother decades ago. The egg produces a chemical which clears the ground of undergrowth and other foliage in preparation for the tree which will be my home. From the Dryad egg, I emerged as this Larva. In this form I roamed the forest to feed and grow, tasting of the forest plants and herbs, learning of life and having the freedom of movement. We, the Larvae, are also the protectors of our race.

  “When fully grown we return to the place of our birth and enter the pupal stage. Our bodies then change into fully formed Dryads. The Larva shell mixes with the remains of the egg to form my tree, a Dragonblood tree. To
enter the pupal stage, the Larva must be in full health. The Elfaun search the forest for Dryad circles and wait for the Larva to return. They cause us grievous wounds and return time and time again to harvest our flesh. Once returning to the circle in preparation for the Pupal stage, we can no longer leave the circle and remain within, trying to heal while slowly starving. I have been a wounded prisoner in this circle for over fifteen years. Now I can return to the earth and become what I was meant to be.”

  Leah was horrified at the story, “Are there others like you, Dryads caught in their circles and harvested for food?”

  “Indeed! Before the Elfauns came to this valley, we were a happy community with thousands of trees. They cut them down and planted this forest of deadwood instead. There are hundreds of larva like myself scattered throughout the valley.”

  “Do you know where others are?”

  “I know of two such circles I encountered in my travels, in the time before I returned to this circle.”

  “If you can give me an idea of where they are I shall visit them and see what I can do.”

  “Thank you, Lady. I’m sorry, but I do not know your name.”

  “Only because I have been rude and not introduced myself. My name is Atherleah. What might I call you?”

  “My name is revealed only at my emergence. For now, I am simply a Larva.”

  “You are not simply a Larva. You are a Larva, and name or not, you are valuable. Now, before I go is there any way that I might help you further?”

  “I need nothing, Lady Atherleah. Everything I need is in this body and the remains of the egg. Only a Dragon could add to this, and no dragon has been in the Valley for millennia.”

  “What help would a dragon be?”

  “Our race was formed by the great Life Dragon Y’sam Ejderhasi. He mixed his blood with that of the first seed and formed our race. Several millennia ago he abandoned us and stopped returning to share his blood. This was when we became weak and unable to defend the valley.”