by Paul Bellow
Would you like the name of the closest library in [FISHGUARD]?
> Yes
In Fishguard, the only library is a rundown shack on the edge of town – outside the city walls. Ruffians, bandits, and worse roamed the local wilderness. The nearest library of quality is to the West in Mednia.
Could be worse. Going to read a book will be worth whatever gains I make.
> Help skill points
On this level of the Tower of Gates, you learn skills by using them. Occasionally, as you're using a skill, you will improve. On rarer occasions, when you're trying something new, you may gain a new skill.
Ooh. I like.
The game drew me in with the dangerous, dark power of a black hole.
Eric rustled in his bed next to mine then sat up, breaking me out of my thoughts. Sunlight streamed in through the clear glass of our second-floor room.
"Good morning, sleepy-head."
"You been up long?" he asked.
"No."
I watched as he yawned and stretched.
"You should see your body."
"My body? Oh, my avatar. Yeah. How do I look?"
I giggled.
"Old."
"How old?"
"Ancient?"
"I don't feel that old."
"You look twenty-seven or twenty-eight at least."
Age is so relative.
He grinned then rolled out of his bed and stood.
Benji, near the window, snored away in bliss.
"Should we wake him or leave him here?" Eric asked.
"I like him. Don't be mean."
"He seems harmless enough, but there's something about him."
"You say that about everyone in every game we've ever played together."
"Well, it's true. You never know a person's real intentions...especially here."
I hoped he hadn't got an OOC penalty. When he didn't keep talking out of character, I figured we were lucky. While I had reached second level, we didn’t understand how to get back to the Tower of Gates. And even when we did, we couldn’t be sure we would escape.
Dread creeped into my mind, but I pushed it back and got out of bed. The bodily functions in the game only led to its authenticity. It would be so easy to forget the real world.
"Let's get ready for the day and let him sleep," Eric said.
"Fine with me."
"You can wash up first. I'll go find us some food and whatever passes for a morning beverage in this world."
"Are you saying I'm a stinking elf?"
He laughed and shook his head.
When he left the room, closing the sturdy wooden door behind him, I went to see if the world had invented indoor plumbing. Unfortunately, they hadn't.
Two days in the forest on adventures getting to Fishguard had left their toll. Maybe they had a bathhouse out in the city. I'll ask the innkeeper downstairs.
I glanced over at Benji, his belly lifting the blanket. Content snores filtered into the air rhythmically. Like the other NPCs I'd run into, he acted so genuine.
The details in the Tower of Gates game were amazing. I had to give props to that aspect even if I hated being trapped in the game.
Benji snorted then sat up, a look of terror on his face.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
He glanced around the room, eyes wide open, breaths coming fast and uneven.
The door to the room opened and Eric walked in.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Benji had a bad dream? That's so...odd?"
"Right?"
Eric shut the door and walked over to the nearest bed.
"This is the best I could find, a loaf of bread, some honey, and a pitcher of water."
"I'm so hungry," I admitted. "We need to buy so much today. How much gold do you have left? I gave so much to that stupid farmer who ran away."
"I'm okay, don't worry," Benji said as he got out of bed.
Eric tore off a piece of the bread and said, "Come eat with us. You must have had a bad dream."
"Yeah, that's it," he said.
I accepted a piece of the bread from Eric then dipped it into the bowl of honey. Would I be able to buy elven food in Fishguard? I doubted it. Maybe smoked herring? Yuck.
"We need a lot of equipment," Eric said to Benji as the cleric ate a piece of our loaf. "Including magical items. Will that be a problem?"
"Not at all, master."
"You don't have to call me master."
"Well, you won't let me join your party."
I wonder why he's so intent on joining our party.
"Maybe later," I said. "We need to pool our money first."
I dumped my pouch of gold on the bed.
"That's..."
"Eighty-five imperial gold coins of the finest quality," Benji said.
"How do you know?"
"Count them, but I have a lot of experience with gold coins."
"Yeah?" Eric asked, staring at him.
"For the coffers at the Church of the Order of Fish here in the city."
"That makes sense," I said. "How much do you two have?"
"Unfortunately, I'm low on funds currently."
"Don't they pay you?" Eric asked.
"They do, but...it's a long story. I'll not bore you."
"Good," Eric said.
I reached over and pushed his arm.
"Cut it out you two. How much gold, Eric?"
He tossed a pouch onto the bed.
"That's a hundred and eighty gold," Eric said. "Should be anyway."
Benji and him locked eyes.
"So, altogether, that's two-hundred and sixty-five gold. Do you need that armor as a rogue?"
"This is family armor," Eric said. "It's special, and I'm not selling it."
"Fine," I said, lifting my hands in the air. "Oh, that reminds me, I need to go to find a book outside of town to...um, increase my learning and take it to the next level."
Benji stared at me but said nothing.
"We can do that after we go shopping, right?"
"Sure," I said then finished my food.
A day of adventure in a new city awaited.
▧▨▧▨▧▨▧▨▧▨▧▨▧▨▧▨▧▨▧▨▧▨
Outside the inn, the city met us in all her miserable glory. Humans made of the bulk of people walking around, but I noted a few other elves, gnomes and even a nasty looking half-orc.
Josh? I wondered as the warrior passed.
"This way," Benji said. "We'll stop of Mystra's Magical Motion Potions."
Eric laughed.
"What was that name?" he asked.
"Try saying that three times fast," I said then smiled. "Show us the way, Benji."
Our new friend stepped into the street with Eric and I close behind. After the people, the smells of the city stood out the most, especially the fish. As a port-city, I saw seafood wherever I looked.
Why would the makers of the game go through so much trouble to make it real? Did they expect to win awards or something from the authentic fish smells? They would if they entered a competition.
"Right this way," Benji called over his shoulder.
I watched his white, grey and mud colored robes swing back and forth as he confidently navigated the city. Three blocks away, he stopped in front of a wooden shack in disrepair.
"This is the place?” I asked. “Can we trust it?"
"You don’t have a lot of coins, right? Unless you're holding out on me?"
"Fine," I said.
I walked past him and opened the flimsy door to the shack, almost pulling it off the hinges.
"Careful," I called out to the others as I stepped into the darkness.
Barely any light penetrated the inside. A woman with wild, frizzy hair sat on a high stool behind a counter. Vials, bottles and other mystical items adorned shelves on all the walls.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked, her voice scratchy and deep.
"Yes,” I said. “We’re in need of potions.”
&n
bsp; The woman ignored me completely.
"Benji," she called out when she noticed him. "Good to see you, old man."
"Good to see you," he said. "My friends here are on a budget, but they want protection for traveling outside the city walls."
"You know that's what I do best."
She cackled with laughter, her gray and white hair bouncing.
"Pick out what you want. I'll give you the usual discount."
"Hold on a minute," Eric said. "You two know each other?"
"What?" Benji asked, attempting to look innocent.
"You heard me. It wouldn’t be smart to try to rip us off."
I looked from Eric to Benji. The latter frowned, his chin dropping to his chest.
"All I want to do is join your party," he said.
"Why would we want a thieving cleric in our party of adventurers?" Eric asked.
"Calm down, Drex. No need to go crazy. Let's buy what we need and go on our way." I turned to the woman. "Do you have healing potions?"
"Of course," she said, not getting down off her stool.
"And something to cure poison,” Eric said.
"I can help you two too," Benji offered. "I'm a powerful cleric who can heal.”
While I couldn't determine his true class or level, I doubted he was high-level. The fact he wanted to join up with us told me everything I needed to know. Still, we needed help.
“You can come with us,” I said.
Eric glanced at me with a scowl.
"I'll get the potions," Benji said.
After he walked away, I stepped over to Eric.
"We shouldn't spend everything in here. Technically, I have more money than you. Or are we grouping our money?"
"Is there something you want to buy?" I asked.
"Maybe."
"Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know. We've not gone to any other shops yet."
"Here we go," Benji said, setting five vials down on the counter. "This should be enough healing to get us the thirty miles outside of town to get your stupid book."
"It's not a stupid book," I said.
"Most books are stupid," Eric said.
Why is he defending an NPC over me?
"And a remove poison too. Make it three," Benji said.
The woman plopped down from her stool and reached under the counter. She placed a big bottle down.
"Will one big potion work? I don't have smaller sizes."
"Fine," I said, wanting to get out of the city and away from its smells. "How much?"
"That will be three hundred gold."
"What? You're kidding, right?"
The woman flinched backward.
"We know they're worth a hundred gold at the most," Eric said, stepping forward. "We'll give you eighty, and you'll be happy about it."
"Ninety," the woman said.
"Seventy," Eric countered.
"We'll pay you eighty gold," I said, digging the coins out of a pouch at my side.
I wanted to get it over with and move on.
"No," Eric said.
I sighed.
"Let's pay it and go, okay?"
"Bargaining to save ten gold might save us later in the game."
"I'm sure we’ll find more gold. We are adventurers."
"We'd be a band of three if you allowed me to join your party," Benji said.
I continued staring at Eric.
“Will you trust me for once?” I asked. “Please?"
He raised his hands in the air and backed away from the counter. I turned to the woman.
"Thank you," I said. "Here's the eighty gold."
"Come again,” she said.
"Let's get out of here," Eric said, moving toward the door.
After scooping up the potions and placing them in a larger sack on my side, I followed him and Benji outside.
New Items!
You have added the following to your inventory:
Five [5] vials of Good Berserkers' Lotion - Heals 3 to 30 health
One [1] large bottle of Remove Poison - Removes poison from your body. Three doses.
The limited buffs would have to do until I leveled up and had a better idea of what we needed to survive in the game. At least until we quit. I hadn’t found the quit button, but it was okay.
"Where next?" I asked as we stood in front of the shack.
"The cartographer," Benji said.
"We definitely need a map," Eric added. "Lead the way."
Benji walked down the side-street back to the crowded main street. People gave him a wide berth as he passed. I wasn't sure if it was his stench or his reputation, but I told myself to keep an eye on him.
A few blocks over, toward the docks, Benji opened the door of a sturdy and clean brick building.
"Thank you," I said, walking past him and inside.
Maps covered all the walls inside, ranging from full-color affairs to black and white masterpieces. I glanced around in awe as the other two walked inside the shop.
"Can I help you?" a snooty man in fine clothes asked as he walked over. "Oh, it's you."
He turned up his nose at the sight of Benji.
Does the whole city know this guy? Is that good or bad?
"We need a map," Benji said. "I don't want any trouble."
"No one wants trouble, but it never has a problem finding you, does it?"
The man shook his head.
"Do you two know each other too?" Eric asked.
"Yes, we do,” the shopkeeper said. “But it's none of your concern, I'm sure."
"No need to get nasty,” Eric said.
"We want to buy a map," I said to the man. "How much for that one on the wall of the whole world?"
Even his laugh was haughty.
"You could never afford such a map. It's twenty-five hundred gold pieces."
"What? Are you insane?" Eric asked.
"I assure you I'm not insane."
"Do you have anything cheaper?" I asked.
"Well, we have free maps by a local artist, but the quality is questionable. Take as many maps as you want."
"Are they accurate?" Eric asked.
The man laughed again.
"You'll find them over there in a pile by the door. Please take one or all of them on your way out."
"Listen..." Eric said.
"We're leaving," I interrupted, putting my hand on his arm. "Let's go."
Our eyes met briefly. He backed down.
Benji stooped over near the door and picked up a few sheets of parchment.
"These will be fine," I said, trying to assure myself as much as Eric.
"I hope so. We're already off to such a bad start. I mean, we don't even know..." He paused. "Why we're here or what we're supposed to do."
"We're here to adventure," Benji said, opening the door.
The three of us walked outside into the sunshine. A bright new day awaited us. I hoped for adventure but not more than we could handle.
"Let's go get this book," I said. "Then we can decide what to do next."
Eric took a map from Benji. I did too.
"Shouldn't we buy more supplies?" Benji asked.
"I want to get the book first,” I said. “Maybe I'll learn something that can help us. Or we’ll find our friend."
“Your friend,” Eric said.
I rolled my eyes then waved my arm.
"Lead the way, Benji Bigelow.”
"With pleasure," our hireling cleric said.
He hadn't asked for any payment yet, but I expected it at any moment. Something in the back of my mind told me not to trust him completely. Not him or anything in the game. Instincts?
Only time would tell.
()xxxx[:::: Chapter 9 ::::>
Can we negotiate my payment now?
ERIC
I looked at my map then glanced at the one in Benji's hands.
"Guys, I see a problem."
"What?" Sarah asked.
"Look here."
I pointed to Fishguard on
Benji's version of the map.
"Yeah? So?"
"Look on my map. Fishguard is in an entirely different location."
"Oh, I see," she said.
Benji folded up his map and tucked it away somewhere inside his robes.
"Don't worry about it, guys. I know my way around the realms."
“That’s great,” I said as I put my map away. “We’ll pay you handsomely.”
"Oh, you’ll let me join your party?"
"No," Sarah said. "Quit asking."
"We haven't discussed my fee for being your hireling either."
"Can we get to that later?" I asked. "We need to find this book-seller outside of town."
"I know exactly where it is currently," Benji said.
"What do you mean currently?" Sarah asked.
"They move the books around because there are some forbidden texts among them."
"Like a medieval bookmobile?" I asked, chucking.
OOC Penalty: -10% xp next encounter
"Cut it out," Sarah snapped.
“Hold on Benji,” I said, motioning for Sarah to follow me.
I stepped away. She sighed but followed.
“What?”
"I wanted to go OOC on purpose, okay? We need to keep our eyes open. This game has been throwing a lot of trouble our way since the beginning, and it’s odd he keeps asking to join our party."
“Right? I thought it was me maybe, but it doesn’t seem natural.”
“Yeah, I noticed it too,” I said.
I put my hand on her arm.
“We’ll be okay if we stick together and don't go crazy,” I said. “We'll figure out our main quest soon and clear the level."
"But what if..."
Her voice trailed off.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing. Forget it."
"Tell me, Sarah. We don't have much OOC time left."
"I'm worried about Josh."
"We'll find him. I promise."
"Benji is looking at us strange,” she said, peering over my shoulder.
"He's a weird one. I keep getting feelings about him, but I'm not sure if they're good or bad."
"Are you two ready?" Benji called out.
"Yeah, hold on," I said then lowered my voice. "Are we good?"
"We're good," she said.
I squeezed her arm gently before letting go.