“Should we split up?” Alyssa asked.
“No, let's stay together this time,” Mitch replied, which Stephanie seconded.
They walked around for hours, exploring the side streets near the weaponsmith. Frustrated and tired, the friends were about to call it a night when they heard maniacal laughter coming from one of the side streets.
Quickly, they darted down the road, hoping what they heard was the woman they were looking for. Sure enough, it was.
“It's her!” Stephanie exclaimed.
“Okay, let's try this again,” Alyssa muttered under her breath, then spoke normally: “Hi there! May we ask you a few questions?”
“Questions,” the woman answered immediately, speaking quickly. “Everybody's got questions. Nobody's got answers.”
“She talks!” Stephanie said, hoping that someone would commend her for suggesting they come back at night. No one did.
Larilda, the crazy crat lady, was wearing a different sweater and holding a different crat once again. Unlike the previous two times they saw her, she was highly animated, swinging her arms around wildly. Though she didn't have a crat in her arms this time, she did have one on her shoulder.
“What can you tell us about the Orb of Displacement?” Alyssa asked.
The woman got quiet and just stared at the four friends.
“Not this no talking bullshit again,” Luke said.
His words were a bit premature. After standing there silently for a moment, Larilda flashed a fiendish yellow-toothed smile. Then, she started talking and they never thought she was gonna shut up.
“The Orb? The Orb of Displacement? You seek the Orb? The Orb? It's an evil thing, you know. That orb - the one that you seek - can be used for good or for evil. But it's never used for good. I mean, who in their right mind would want to be displaced? Everything's going good, you're just sitting there, doing your own thing and then - BAM! - you're in some far away land in a different body. Who would do such a thing? It's an evil orb, I tell you. An orb that powerful should...”
“Do you know where it is?” Alyssa asked interrupting Larilda, afraid she'd ramble on forever.
“Oh yes,” Larilda answered, picking the crat up off her shoulder, holding it in her arms, and petting it. She continued in a much slower, calmer tone: “The orb you seek can be found in a cave to the north. But she'll never let you have it. It's too powerful. You could use it to displace her, after all!”
“Who?” Mitch asked.
“The wicked witch of the north!” Larilda answered and started laughing like a maniac. Her laughter kept getting louder and more obnoxious, then stopped suddenly and she continued talking normally. “I'm kidding. That's a joke because she's a mean witch that lives north of Lakewind. It's like the Wicked Witch of the West but north because that's where she lives. It's from The Wizard Of... Never mind. You wouldn't understand.”
“What can you tell us about her? Where to the north?” Luke asked.
“She lives in a cave in the mountains. The mountains to the northwest, not the northeast. Esmeraldazela is her name. You follow the north road leading out of Lakewind. Take the third - not the second and definitely not the fourth - path on your left that you come across. There's a big rock there. You can't miss it. Follow that path. When you get to the mountains, walk along them, going west. You'll find the entrance to her cave in about a mile, maybe two.
“But beware! Esmeraldazela does not like company. You'd be wise to forget all about The Orb. She's an evil one, that witch. Cold. Cold as ice. Nothing can warm her icy heart. That's the source of her power, you know. Maybe if you warmed her heart, she'd help you. But she's cold. Don't say I didn't warn you. She might even turn you all into crazy crat ladies if you're not careful!”
Larilda once again erupted into another round of deranged laughter. Like before, it got louder and louder then stopped, suddenly. She, once again, just stood there in silence, petting her crat.
“Looks like we're heading north,” Luke said with enthusiasm.
“It's late,” Mitch replied. “Why don't we stay in Lakewind one more night. As soon as the sun's up, we'll buy all the gear we need and leave town.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Thank you,” Alyssa said to Larilda.
The crazy crat lady just stood in silence, petting the now-sleeping animal in her arms. The four friends turned away and walked back to the inn. They were all happy to at least now have a plan of action. Alyssa and Luke walked a bit ahead of the other two, discussing what supplies they'd need to buy in the morning. Stephanie and Mitch only spoke intermittently, spending most of the walk lost in their own thoughts.
“Great job, by the way,” Mitch said, breaking a few minutes of silence.
“With what?” Stephanie asked.
“Suggesting we go back to talk to the crat lady at night. If it wasn't for you, we'd still be totally lost with no idea where to find The Orb. I wouldn't have thought to try again at night and I doubt the others would've either. You did good, Steph.”
“Thank you,” she replied and smiled – a smile that stayed on Stephanie's face all the way back to the inn.
Chapter 7 - So That's Why They Call It Bloodfeast
The next morning, the four friends woke up at the crack of dawn, eager to start their quest. After having breakfast at the tavern and stocking up on supplies, they left Lakewind, traveling north. The north road was much straighter than the winding road south of the town. However, it did have a few twists and turns here and there. The road was surrounded mostly by forest, with the distant mountain ranges visible along some stretches.
It was a warm spring day with a gentle breeze coming off the mountains that kept everyone comfortable. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the well-rested adventurers were all in a good mood and feeling optimistic.
“This is gonna be fucking awesome,” Luke said, walking on point as usual. “All the best monsters are north of Lakewind.”
“Well, let's hope we don't encounter too many of them,” Mitch replied. “We've got an orb to find.”
The first couple hours of their journey were uneventful. They passed a few other groups of adventurers heading south, but no monsters. Most monsters stayed away from the main roads, which made it easier to travel long distances. The friends passed several paths leading off the main road, going in both directions. They'd already passed two branching off to the left, so they kept their eyes peeled for the third one.
“Look,” Alyssa said, pointing ahead. “That must be the rock the crat lady was talking about!”
It was. As the friends continued walking, they came across a large boulder on the left side of the road. Behind the rock was a thin trail leading off into the woods toward the western mountain range. They stopped at the rock for just a few minutes to rest and have a quick bite to eat. None of them had ever traveled down that path before and they were both eager and anxious to find out what lied ahead.
After their short break, the friends started walking up the path leading to the mountains. Luke remained in front, longsword in hand. Of the four of them, he cared the least about finding The Orb. As far as Luke was concerned, living inside Bloodfeast MMO was even better than living in the real world. There, he spent most of his free time chasing women and getting drunk. In Bloodfeast, he could chase women, get drunk, and kill monsters. Plus, his character in the game was even more muscular and masculine than he was in real life. He was loving it.
Five minutes into walking down the trail, Luke suddenly slowed down. He turned his head and looked at the others.
“Something's not right,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Mitch asked.
“I don't know. Something feels off. We should...”
Before Luke could finish his sentence, four monsters jumped out of the woods, two from each side. On the left were a female goblin and a large male orc, both wielding rusty swords. To the right stood their offspring, two adolescent goblork
ins with daggers.
The four friends, startled, snapped into action, raising their weapons and preparing for battle. Alyssa started casting a defensive spell from the book she paid to get repaired in Lakewind. As soon as the monsters jumped out, Mitch's heart rate tripled and he started shifting into a wolf. Stephanie knew that her bow would likely be useless at such close range, so she grabbed her book of black magic and started reading a short offensive spell. And lastly, Luke: He did what he does best.
“Die, motherfucker!” Luke screamed, his longsword crashing down on the male orc.
The orc swiftly raised its sword above its head, deflecting Luke's blow. It was a small sword and the mighty orc was able to swing it fast, slashing Luke's arm before he could defend himself.
“Son of a bitch!” Luke yelled, fire in his eyes.
As Alyssa was reading the final words of her defensive spell, the female goblin raised its rusty sword above its head. It came flying down at Alyssa, slicing her arm and for the second time, tearing her spell book in half.
Alyssa's eyes locked onto the goblin's and began to glow. Quickly, her body transformed into that of a half-human, half-lioness. While Mitch's transformations took a little while to unfold, Alyssa's happened almost instantly. Within seconds, she stood before the terrified goblin with the head and paws of a fierce lioness, though her feminine human body remained unchanged.
“Grrrrraaaaaa!” Alyssa roared, lunging at the female goblin.
With one ferocious swing of her paw, claws out, Alyssa smacked the sword out of its hand, slicing the goblin's wrist. The powerful lioness shifter tackled the defenseless goblin to the ground. Alyssa paused for a second and opened her mouth wide with the monster pinned underneath her. As the goblin took its last breath, saliva dripped out of Alyssa's mouth into its horror-filled eyes. Then, the lioness shifter's razor-sharp teeth tore through the goblin's flesh, killing it almost instantly. +56 Exp floated above the goblin, disappearing into thin air a few seconds later.
As Stephanie read the final words of her spell, she wasn't sure which monster to direct it toward. Luke was handling the orc and Alyssa had already killed the female goblin, who was supposed to be the target of the spell. The two goblorkins were clearly not adults yet and Stephanie didn't want to hurt them. Not until one of them stabbed Mitch in the leg with its rusty dagger, that is.
“Ahhh!” Mitch screamed, grabbing his thigh.
Stephanie slowly raised her arm as she finished reading the spell. With fire in her eyes, she pointed at the young goblorkin that stabbed her friend. From the tip of her finger, a small ball of fire shot out, striking the monster in the face. Then another. And another. And they kept on coming until the goblorkin fell to the ground holding its face, screaming in pain. After a few seconds, +45 Exp floated up from the deceased monster.
With the Fireball spell, you never knew how many you were going to shoot off. Sometimes you'd only launch one fireball. Other times, as many as twenty. It was totally random. Each individual fireball didn't do much damage. But if you got lucky and fired off a lot, you could do some serious damage. That plus the short casting time made it one of Stephanie's favorite spells.
Mitch was now in his wolven form and thirsty for blood. He let go of his bleeding thigh and turned his attention to the only surviving goblorkin. The teenage monster looked at Mitch with sheer terror in its eyes. As angry as it was, having just watched its mother and sister get killed, it was twice as scared. The young goblorkin dropped its dagger, turned around, and started to run.
For a moment, Mitch considered letting it go. He was starting to learn how to control the beast within himself. But his inner wolf had an unquenchable thirst for blood and eventually took over.
Like Alyssa, when Mitch shifted into his animal form, it was only his head and hands that visibly changed. Well, aside from a little extra body hair here and there - and there, too. But his insides also changed, allowing him to both walk upright and run on all fours like a wolf.
After unleashing a deafening howl, Mitch got on all fours and chased after the goblorkin. It ran fast down the trail, but Mitch ran faster. Even though it had a long head start, it only took the wolf shifter a few seconds to catch up to the terrified monster.
Mitch took a huge chunk out of the goblorkin's calf as it ran, biting it from behind. The monster fell to the ground and knew right then that it was done for. Mitch hovered over it for a moment, salivating. Then he tore through its neck, bite after bite. +45 Exp floated up from its corpse but Mitch didn't notice - he was too busy feasting.
Luke and the large male orc went at it, swinging away at each other. Blood trailed down Luke's arm, a few drops splashing the orc every time he swung his longsword. Luke was pleasantly surprised by how well the orc could fight – he liked a challenge. Most orcs were no match for him, but this one was bigger and more skilled than usual. Not skilled enough, though.
The orc stabbed at Luke, causing him to jump back. The tip of the rusty sword just barely touched Luke's chain mail armor, but didn't cause any damage. While the orc's arms were still extended, Luke swung his longsword as hard as he could. The freshly-sharpened blade sliced right through its neck, sending its head rolling down the path. The orc's body collapsed to the ground and +107 Exp floated out of it.
Luke looked at his bloody arm and then down at the deceased orc and said, “You fucker.”
Mitch was up the path a little bit, snacking on the goblorkin he killed. The fur on his face was bright red, covered in blood. Alyssa was also covered in the blood of the goblin she'd killed and was chomping away at its corpse. Luke looked at each of them, then down at the headless corpse at his feet. He shrugged his shoulders, got down on his hands and knees, and took a bite out of the dead orc.
“Alyssa's right,” Stephanie said, shaking her head. “You are disgusting.”
Luke looked up at her with blood all over his face and replied, “What? The game is called Bloodfeast, after all.”
Stephanie just closed her eyes and continued shaking her head.
* * *
“I can't believe that... What was it called? Goblorkin? I can't believe it tore my spell book in half again,” Alyssa said. “I just got it repaired in Lakewind.”
“Well, you tore it a new asshole, so I'd say you're even,” Luke replied. “And what the fuck is a goblorkin, anyway? If we run into any more of them, I'm gonna make one of them give me a goblumpkin.”
“What's that?” Stephanie asked.
“Believe me, you don't wanna know,” Mitch answered, then turned to Luke. “And I think it's obvious, isn't it? It's a half-orc, half-goblin. I'm pretty sure we just killed an entire family.”
“Goblorkins. Crats. Zebralligators,” Alyssa said. “Man, the Bloodfeast game designers really got lazy coming up with some of the monsters.”
“Yeah,” Mitch replied. “It's almost as if the writers rushed the game out to capitalize on the rising popularity of the genre.”
“Writers?” Alyssa asked. “You mean programmers?”
“Oh right,” Mitch answered. “Code-writing programmers.”
The friends searched the corpses, but didn't find much other than a few copper pieces. Mitch and Alyssa were full after feasting on the monsters. They used their white magic to heal each other. Luke refused treatment, choosing to let his wound heal naturally so it would leave a lasting battle scar. As soon as they were all healed, they continued walking up the trail.
“Aren't you gonna pee on the corpses of your enemies or whatever?” Stephanie asked Luke.
“I already took a bite out of the orc that I killed. I thought that was enough,” he replied. “But if you really want me to, I'll...”
“Please don't,” Alyssa interrupted.
Luke laughed as they started walking. The decapitated head of the orc he killed laid in the middle of the path ahead of them. He picked it up, gave it a long kiss on the the lips, then punted it into the woods.
“It's good!” Luke
yelled, holding his arms up. The others just shook their heads.
For the next hour or so, the friends traveled up the path without incident. Nothing but sunny blue skies, birds chirping in the woods, and a cool breeze coming from the north. The mountains were no longer way off in the distance – they were getting close.
They heard running water up ahead as they continued up the trail. The friends came to a long bridge going over a fast-moving river. It looked stable enough and they didn't think twice about going over it. But right before they got to the bridge, a troll came running out from under it.
“Ahhh, you wish to cross my bridge?” the troll asked, a wide grin on its face.
Inside Out Page 5