by Shawn Wyatt
Quinn shook his head. “Not a chance. I’ve never seen a quest given out sudden-like before. Always had an NPC give it me.”
“Someone wants us to get off this island,” I said.
I woke early the next morning. The first rays of the morning sun streaked through the window and painted the room in a soft light. I had gotten used to waking up at the break of dawn. Come to think of it, most of the journey on Toris had demanded it. Anyone that lingered too long in a camp usually wound up in battle.
Here, in the middle of a city, I could afford the luxury of watching the world come to life around me. Through my open window, I could smell fresh-baked bread. A wave of homesickness washed over me. The scent carried just a hint of cinnamon. My thoughts drifted to home and those lazy fall evenings when my mother would cook pancakes for dinner, and the whole house would smell like them for hours.
It had been a long time since those days, but the scent of cinnamon bread captured the feeling of that time.
My resolve settled around me, armor against whatever this world had to offer. I had to get home to my mother, to my sister. Those pancakes were her favorite food. Until now, every day in this world had one fight after another. There had not been much time to spare for thoughts of home.
Now that I had little more to do than sit and wait, the homesickness refused to be ignored.
But I ignored it anyway. Lingering on memories would do no good. I pulled myself out of bed, put on my clothes, and looked once more at the map. I hadn’t asked Quinn how long it would take to reach Fenua. I needed to find out.
Evey and Bastion already waited for me on the bottom floor of the inn. The rest of the party would join us before long. “Have you eaten already?” I asked.
Evey tossed me a pastry. “I thought you might like one of these,” she said.
I nibbled at the flaky crust and closed my eyes in pleasure as it crumbled in my mouth. Just the perfect combination of butter and fruit inside. “Thanks,” I said. “I want to explore the city today. Find out where that quest came from. Someone had to issue it, right? I’ve never heard of a quest being given at random.”
“Yeah,” Evey said. “And then we can find some hint about the Pirate King and how to find him.”
I loaded bullets into both pistols before we left the inn. Given what we had seen of the city so far, it seemed a good idea to be ready for a fight. Evey and Bastion agreed and kept a hand on their weapons. By the time we left, Wish and Quinn had caught up.
But the preparations proved useless. The pirates waited for us outside the inn. I was first through the door, but I didn’t notice the figures that lurked in the shadows. Bastion paused and drew his sword.
“Ren.” He spoke in a low voice and gestured to the road on either side.
A half-dozen men stepped from the shadows, led by a tall, skinny man in a black tricorn hat. He leveled a Blunderbuss at my face. “You were easy to find,” he said. “Turns out newcomers to Tarawi attract quite a bit of attention.”
I glanced behind me. Another half-dozen men had come from behind and surrounded us. Every man had a weapon drawn. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw more figures on the rooftops.
I pulled back the hammer of my pistol, but the barrel of his gun filled my view. “I wouldn’t do that,” the leader said, a mocking jeer on his face. “All of you, weapons on the ground. Now.”
A wave of heat washed over me as Bastion’s sword flared, but I shook my head. “He’s right,” I said. “There’s too many of them. Do as he says.”
I counted at least twenty men total. A bit overkill to take down a party of five, but then again, they didn’t know who we were. And we did out level them all by two or three levels.
“Are you serious?” Bastion growled. “You aren’t going to try to fight?”
I knelt and laid my pistols on the ground. “Look around,” I said. Townspeople watched from around corners. Two smaller children peeked from behind a box in an alleyway. “We can’t fight here, not when the townspeople might get hurt. We’ll go with them and listen to what they have to say.”
The man in the tricorn hat laughed. “You’ve got a lot of confidence for someone that blundered straight into a trap.”
I looked him up and down, then shrugged. “You camped outside our inn. I'm not sure even the most generous description makes that a trap. Besides, we've fought uglier enemies than you before."
He scowled and spit at my feet. “Take them.”
The other men surged forward and tied my hands behind my back. Boris roared in fury, but a look from Evey quieted him. The pirates placed a muzzle around his snout and manacles around his feet.
I narrowed my eyes. This group had exact equipment to take down our group, which meant someone had been watching us.
Two more men gathered our weapons from the ground. When one of them touched Bastion’s sword, the flames blazed. The man dropped the sword and cursed, his palm blackened from the fire. The pirate glared at Bastion, but the Prophet only grinned in return. “Don’t blame me. I’m not touching it, and I certainly don’t control it.”
The leader eyed us with a look that fell somewhere between disgust and disdain. “Take them to the Daedalus. Toss them on the lower level. The King will want to speak with them.”
Quinn’s eyes widened, but he said nothing.
The pirates jerked the chain around Boris’ neck and hauled him away. Fury flashed across Evey's face. “If you hurt even one hair on him, I will murder every last one of you.”
“Hurt him? Please. Look around you, darling. There are no bears in this realm. He’ll fetch a high price at auction.”
Evey lunged forward, but the pirate holding her ropes pulled back hard and she fell to her knees. Wish turned, and I caught a glimpse of her pouch of stones.
The pirates had missed it.
“Bring them,” the leader said. “We don’t have all day.”
The pirates marched us through the city in a procession. At the sight of the pirates, people fled. Windows slammed shut around us, but I saw the curious—and often sympathetic—glances from the townspeople.
No one tried to intervene. Other players glanced up from their tasks, but did not watch for long. I had the feeling this was not an usual sight in this town.
By the time we reached the prison ship called the Daedalus, the pirates had stripped the rest of our gear. They left us our clothing, but it protected little more than our modesty.
Any stat bonuses from our armor vanished. The men guided us onboard the Daedalus and directed us down the stairs. The ship was a converted cargo freighter that had seen better days. Inside the hull, iron bars separated the hold into individual, adjacent cells—which the pirates pushed us into. Except Quinn.
A different pirate arrived and pulled Quinn from the hold. “The captain would like a word with you,” he drawled.
Quinn said nothing, but shot an opaque look, tinged with a hint of terror, at the four of us.
After the pirates left, silence fell over the room, broken only by the creak of the hull and the steady thump of the vessel against the dock. “Well, this sucks,” Bastion said. “Why couldn’t we fight them again?”
“Shut up,” I said. “Let’s focus on getting out of here. Anyone have any ideas?”
Wish cleared her throat. “Are we opposed to killing NPCs?”
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“The guards that come down here carry keys to the doors. I can still summon my Spirit Wolves, but we would have to kill the guard. It’s the only way to guarantee they’ll stay silent.”
Evey sighed. “She’s right. And better an NPC than a player.”
“Our own lives at in danger, Ren,” Bastion said. “Now might be the time to evaluate whether a virtual life carries the same weight as a real one.”
I understood what my friends said, but I couldn't accept that option. “What about Cathbad? Bell? Any of the people we encountered on Toris?"
“I know,” Bastion said. “Bu
t this time it might be and us or them situation. We might not have a choice. Wouldn’t be the first time this game has upped the stakes.”
I leveled a glare at Bastion. “You drank with Cathbad. He has fears, aspirations, hopes and dreams, just like the rest of us. You’re right. These people probably don't exist outside of this world. Maybe it is just programming, but I refuse to say that a life is not a life.”
“Quiet,” Evey hissed. “Someone’s coming.”
A pirate sauntered down the hallway to our cells, a bored expression on his face. “Which one of you is Ren?”
“That’s me,” I said.
“Good. Got a few questions for you.” His eyes glazed over for a moment as he accessed a menu. “First, how did you reach this realm?”
“Wait a second,” I said. “You’re an actual player. Not an NPC. Why are you helping the pirates?”
“Gotta survive somehow in this world, right? Safety in numbers. Now answer the question. How did you reach this realm?”
I crossed my arms and stared at the man.
He shrugged. “Fine. How could someone reach the realm you came from?”
I still didn’t answer.
“I’ve got all day, you know,” the player said. “Not like I have any outstanding appointments to call me away from here.”
“And you think I do?” I asked.
The stalemate continued for several more minutes before the player shrugged and turned to leave. He paused at the door. “I was the welcoming committee. The next guy will just torture you for the information he wants.”
“Sounds like a real peach,” I said. When the player shut the door behind him, I turned back to the party. “Alright. We still need to get out of here.”
“I want my sword back,” Bastion said. “If they damage it, their heads are mine.”
“I want my bear back,’ Evey said.
“We don’t have the keys,” I said. “But I’m sure they’ll send guards in to check every so often. We wait for our chance. And when it comes…" I sighed. "Wish, use your wolves.”
Chapter Four: Clint Eastwood
Darkness clothed the interior of the prison hulk. Rendered almost invisible by her Forest Walk ability, Evey crouched in the dim light. She held no weapon, but remained ready to strike at the first opportunity.
Soft footsteps echoed up the hallway.
I pressed against the bars. With no weapon and a low STR score, an unarmed strike wouldn't do much damage, but it might be a good distraction.
A single beam of moonlight shone through the dirty porthole and glinted off metal. A dark figure knelt in the shadows, something in their hand. I narrowed my eyes. A dagger?
The figure stepped forward, and moonlight splashed across Quinn's face. I breathed a sigh of relief and whispered his name.
The Swashbuckler jerked back and cursed. “You scared me half to death! What were you planning to do, knock out the guard?”
I shrugged. “That’s exactly what I planned to do. Where did they take you?”
“Long story, mate. I'll explain once I get you all out of there.” Quinn slipped a lock pick into the lock. A few seconds later the door clicked open. “That’s one down. The rest of you, stay quiet while I work. I’ve got a boat tied right off the bow. We’ll sneak away in it.”
Quinn unlocked Bastion’s cell next, and then Evey’s. She deactivated Forest Walk and nodded. “Thanks,” she said.
He flashed her a grin. “Anything for a pretty lady.”
Quinn had slipping the pick into the final lock when the entry hatch banged open. A guard stumbled down the stairs, the smell of alcohol heavy on his clothes.
“That bloke is sussed,” Quinn whispered. “Shouldn't be a problem."
As he whispered the words, the guard caught sight of us, blinked, and shouted a warning.
“Maybe I spoke too soon,” Quinn muttered.
Wish uttered an incantation under her breath. The words were strange, in a language I had never heard. Blue light lit the walls of her cell as the four Spirit Wolves appeared. The beasts lunged at the startled guard without hesitation. One wolf knocked him to the floor, while the other three drowned out his screams with their bodies. Quinn raised an eyebrow and shot Wish an appreciative look.
“Never seen a summoner before,” he said.
“Get me out of this cell or you’ll see what else I can summon,” Wish hissed.
Quinn laughed and opened the cell. “There,” he said. “Now let’s go. I think it's safe to say our chance of a quiet getaway is gone."
Wish spoke another command in the strange language of summoners, and the wolves sprinted onto the deck. Shouts of surprise soon turned into screams of pain. "That will buy us some time," she said.
I looked around. Debris littered the floor, none of it useful. Bastion snatched up a broken piece of oar and gripped it like a blade. "It'll do," he said.
Evey snatched the dagger from the fallen guard’s belt and turned it over in her hands. "You'd think pirates would have decent weapons." She nudged the body and gasped. "He's still alive.
“I know,” Wish said. “I kept him that way for a reason. Unconscious, but alive. He won’t die.” Wish had no need of a weapon; she could cast her spells with or without a focus.
I shot her a look of thanks. A dead guard would be the safest bet, but I couldn't stomach the thought of outright murder. But if I didn't find a weapon, the only murder I would need to worry about was my own.
Someone had piled rocks in a corner. I reached for one, but snatched my hand back when a red-plumed lizard darted out. The creature turned jet-black eyes on me and belched a plume of flame.
I dove out of the way as the blast of fire sizzled against the wall behind me. I raised an eyebrow. The little creature stretched maybe four inches from head to tail. Its size posed no threat, but the fire breath could be useful.
I had an idea.
I scooped up the lizard, careful to keep my fingers away from its mouth. The creature screeched and writhed in my hand, but couldn't escape. I gave its stomach a gentle squeeze, and it belched flame once more.
Okay. So not quite a gun, but close.
I squeezed again, but the creature breathed nothing more than a soft pant. I could feel its breath against my fingers. I waited until its breathing slowed, then tried once more.
Flame spewed from its mouth.
About two seconds had passed. If I could make this little guy spit fire every two seconds, that would make a decent weapon. “Alright, you’re coming with me,” I said. “Don't worry. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The lizard turned a baleful eye on me, but stopped scrabbling to escape.
“Ren, you ready?” Bastion asked. The sound of fighting above the hold had grown louder. “They’ll be here any moment.”
“I’m ready,” I said. “Let’s go.”
Bastion led the way up the stairs and onto the deck. The Spirit Wolves had vanished, all defeated in combat, but a dozen men lay in pools of blood on the deck—but not one lay dead. One pirate had lost a hand, while another missed a large chunk of his leg. Still others floated in the water and struggled to climb up the slick hull of the ship.
Quinn let out a low whistle. “Those wolves are something else.”
“They were a gift," Wish said. "But their defeat means it will take some time before I can summon them again, so let’s get going.”
"I tied the boat over there.” Quinn pointed to the bow, where a few more pirates stood with weapons drawn. "Looks like it won't be easy."
Bastion strode forward, swung his oar, and knocked one of the pirates into the waves. The flash of Evey’s dagger made the rest back off. “Stay where you are, or you’ll end up like your friends,” Evey said.
Quinn’s boat floated two feet from the hull. I knew it would not be long before news of our escape spread and the Pirate King sent out reinforcements to find us.
One pirate produced a flintlock pistol and charged. I held the lizard in front of me. “Time to go
to work,” I said, and gave him a squeeze.
Flame belched from its mouth and slammed into the pirate. The tongues of fire ignited his clothing, and the man leapt into the water with a scream. Bastion shot a curious glance at the lizard. “That’s...” his voice trailed off. "Weird."
“It worked,” I said. “Now let’s go.”
Quinn climbed down into the waiting boat. The rest of the party followed him. I kept an eye on the deck. Only after everyone else had made it into the boat did I slide down the line. Evey waited till my feet touched the wood, and then slashed the rope.
Quinn and Bastion took up oars and two propelled us toward Tarawi, the outline of the Great Turtle a silhouette against the star-lit sky.
The sea grew choppy as we approached the shore, due at least in part to Tarawi’s massive flippers. Quinn caught hold of a dock line and tied it with the speed and skill of a champion bull rider. I scrambled onto the dock and shook water from my hair.
We had made it. The small lizard clung to my shirt and glared at me each time water droplets landed on it.
The moon burned bright overhead, but the cargo on the docks provided cover. I crouched against a crate and listened, but no shouts or footsteps rang out. It seemed the pirates in the city had not yet learned of our escape.
About halfway across the bay, light had bloomed over our heads as every person in the party leveled up. The game distributed experience through an algorithm I hadn’t figured out. I had winced at the time; that must have looked like fireworks from the shore. I hoped it hadn’t drawn too much attention.
Quinn climbed up on the dock, the last one out of the boat. “Looks clear,” I said. “But we can’t go back to that same inn. We need somewhere to lay low.”
“I know just the place,” Quinn said. “A tavern not far from here. The owner is not exactly what you’d call fond of the pirates, and she’ll put you up for a few days. Give you a place to hide.”
“We need to find Boris and get our weapons back,” Evey said.
Quinn held up his hands in a soothing motion. “Take a minute to breathe," he said. "You'll get your gear back. It's stored onboard the Pirate King’s flagship. All loot gathered in the city goes there for evaluation.”