Perla Online, Book Two: Shella (A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure)

by Shawn Wyatt

  He flashed a grin. “I’m a pirate, mate. A nice one, but still a pirate. Free is the best price.”

  The cry of birds caught my attention, and I looked toward an open market square with a messenger in the center. “Hold on. I’m going to check if Rune sent any more messages.”

  I walked up to the man tending the birds, and he flashed me a smile. “Ren, right? We’ve got a new message for you.”

  Almost the same phrase as last time, I thought. And the man looked identical to the one we spoke with in Fenua.

  I had to try something. “Have we met?” I asked.

  The attendant shook his head. “Not unless you’ve been to Napari before, no. But if you met the messengers on the other islands, then you’ve met my brothers! We’re a set of identical octuplets. People say we seem alike, but once you get to know us, we’re all completely different!” He handed me a letter, sealed with wax like the first. “Enjoy your time in the city!”

  I bit down on a laugh and thanked the man. 'Completely different' might be a stretch no matter how well I got to know them. The men had the same mannerisms, appearance, and speech patterns. Maybe it was just a case of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Or Tweedle Dee-times-eight.

  I glanced down at the letter. Like I expected, it was from Rune. I tore open the seal.

  Ren,

  Since it has become clear you no longer value our friendship, these letters will cease. I cannot continue sending my heart and soul out into the void and receiving nothing in return. I’m happy that you’ve moved on, but my heart still needs time to heal. Sincerely, Rune.

  Drops of liquid splattered on the paper. I raised the letter to my nose and sniffed it. Cautiously.

  Beer.

  The letter continued below.

  I’m just messing with you. Since you aren’t answering, something must be wrong with the messaging system. Things on Toris have settled down enough that I can leave things in P!xel’s very capable hands, so you should expect to see me soon. I’m on the way.

  R

  I shook my head and sighed. No way would Rune actually come to Shella. Would he? I handed the letter to Bastion and Evey. “Take a look at this.”

  Bastion glanced at the letter and howled with laughter, and Evey’s reaction mirrored mine. “Is he insane?” she asked.

  “You’ve met him.”

  “That’s true.” Her voice trailed off. “Well. Hopefully he doesn’t drown in the middle of the ocean like we almost did.”

  “Like we almost did,” Bastion clarified. “You rode Boris the whole time. You barely got wet.”

  Boris huffed and raised his head high, the pride coming off him in waves.

  “Maybe if you had made friends with a bear, you could ride him too.”

  “Stop arguing, you two,” Wish said. “Let’s go find something to eat. There has to be better food than what Sea Biscuit here has on his ship.” She directed the last comment to Quinn.

  The inn Napari had told us about was easy enough to find, and the man behind the counter expected us. I checked in, then met the rest of the party downstairs to do a bit of shopping. The city of Napari held huge marketplaces that begged to be explored.

  I tallied up the gold I had, but I doubted even all the party’s gold combined would be enough for some of the items. The Merchant Marines knew their stuff—much of the gear bore the mark of its creator, with stat bonuses geared toward specific play styles. Strength-heavy equipment catered to Berserkers and other close-combat play styles, while the equipment with huge Dexterity bonuses—mostly leather—would be the preference of Marauders and Beast Tamers.

  The best equipment had a level requirement of 30 or more, and as far as I knew, no players in the game had reached that yet.

  As I all but drooled over a set of pistols that put even Serpent’s Fang to shame, the lizard crawled out of my vest and onto my shoulder. “Where do you even hide?” I asked him. “I didn’t know you were in there.” I had actually thought I’d left him at the inn.

  He looked up at me and cocked his head to the side, his large black eyes questioning. “I suppose I should name you. What about Clint?” I tipped my hat. “With this Stetson on, a cowboy name seems appropriate.”

  Clint chirped and vanished back inside the vest. I had to figure out what his deal was. He emerged to help out at random times, but it seemed like his flames grew stronger each time. If the distance on them increased, they would be a decent replacement for Desert Bullets if I ever ran out.

  Someone shouted at the other end of the street, near the docks. A large crowd had gathered. Players and NPCs murmured to themselves, but I couldn’t see through the crowd to the source of the commotion. Whatever it was, I doubted it was good.

  I called the party over. “Let’s go find out what’s going on over there. If it’s more bounty hunters, we could be in trouble. I'd rather they not get the drop on us again.”

  “Didn’t Napari say he’d keep them away?” Quinn said.

  “He said he would keep the pirates away. Bounty hunters might not count.”

  We made our way through the crowd. The nearer we drew to the front, the louder the sounds of combat became—as did the sound of shouted curses.

  “Get away from me, you stupid bird!”

  A falcon plummeted from the sky in the blink of an eye and raked its talons across the plate mail helmet of the unfortunate soul that had attracted its attention. The player wore the armor of an Olympian Berserker. The way he twirled two single-handed axes spoke to his level of experience.

  But that experience didn’t make a shred of difference. The falcon avoided the axes with ease and landed blow after blow, although most of them glanced off the player’s armor. This fight could go on for a while. Either the player would collapse for exhaustion, or he would land a lucky blow and kill the falcon.

  “Should we help him?” I asked.

  “I could blast the bird out of the sky,” Wish said. “Wouldn’t be hard.”

  “Wait. Take a look at the size of that falcon.” Evey pointed at the bird. "It's huge."

  She had a point. I had never seen a bird as large as the one that attacked the player, and I could only wonder what he had done to draw its ire. “Give me a second.” Her eyes glazed over for a split second, then snapped back into focus. A wicked grin spread across her face. “Perfect. Now that I’m above level 20, I can take another animal companion. Would you care if I did that, big guy?”

  Boris growled and sat down on his haunches.

  “That’s all the permission I need. Would you guys mind standing back?” Evey asked. “And don’t heal me. It will cancel the process.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to tame it.” She strode toward the bird and the player, her bow slung across her back.

  I glanced at Bastion. “If she drops too low, hit her with a healing spell. I don’t care how pissed it makes her.”

  “You got it.” His face had grown uncharacteristically grim.

  Evey stepped in front of the Berserker and spread her arms wide. The crowd began to murmur even louder than before, their attention on the spectacle in front of them. Even I felt a shiver of excitement; I had never seen a Beast Tamer in action. But it didn’t counteract the worry I felt at the size of the falcon’s talons.

  The bird turned its attention to her and screeched a challenge. Evey didn’t flinch. She placed her bow on the ground in front of her and locked eyes with the falcon. It dove like a missile, gravity and its own aerodynamic shape carrying it on a collision course with her face.

  My hand dropped to my pistol. It took everything I had not to shoot the bird from the sky.

  It banked at the last possible second and avoided slamming into her, a game of chicken that would have resulted in one or both of their deaths. Evey’s lips twitched into a smirk, and the falcon screamed another challenge.

  It dove again. This time, it didn’t bank. It’s talons scored her cheek as it passed by. Evey did not move, even as blood bega
n to trickle down her face. I shot a glance at her HP bar. The attack had cost her about 7%.

  Again and again the falcon attacked, each pass leaving more bloody marks on Evey and knocking out more of her HP. The Berserker that had been the target of the creature’s attack sat where he had fallen, transfixed by the duel.

  When her HP fell below 50%, Evey extended an arm in front of her, crooked at the elbow. An invitation. The falcon flashed by her outstretched limb and tore away more flesh. Beside me, Boris stood and growled. Evey shook her head “no,” a motion so small I almost missed it. Boris sat back down, but the threat rumbled deep in his throat.

  Evey’s HP sat at 41%. Several of the falcon’s strikes had hit her armor. I shuddered to think how much damage she would have taken without it. If she had gone through this to tame Boris, I wondered how she managed to survive.

  The falcon soared higher into the sky, wheeling around as it gained altitude, before it dropped out of the sky. The wind whistled around its body as it pulled its wings in tight, falling so fast I could barely follow it.

  At the last moment, it spread its wings and sent up a swirl of dust, its talons outstretched toward Evey’s throat. She threw her arm up and intercepted the talons, the eight-inch long blades sinking deep into the flesh of her arm. The impact drove her back, but Evey swirled, her other hand clamping down on the falcon’s wings and pinning them to its body.

  She stared the bird in the eyes. “Be calm. You are safe.”

  The bird screeched and clenched its talons. More blood poured and puddled at her feet, but she did not blink. She did not flinch.

  After what felt like an eternity, the falcon relaxed and loosed its grip. Evey held its gaze for a moment longer, then sighed and flashed a weary thumbs-up at us.

  23% HP remaining.

  I cleared my throat. “Bastion."

  The healing spell hit her before I’d even finished speaking. Evey closed her eyes as the light settled around her, then nodded her thanks and extended her arm. The falcon took flight and settled on the roof of a nearby building. Its eyes swept the crowd, but always coming back to settle on her.

  “Are you insane?” I asked. “That thing nearly killed you.”

  “I was fine,” Evey said. She lifted her bow and shouldered it. “That’s how you tame companions. Boris couldn’t do much in the way of fighting onboard the ship, so I thought a companion with a bit of range might be a better option.” Boris had lumbered forward the second she gave the all-clear. She reached down and scratched Boris behind the ears. “Thanks for worrying about me, big guy.”

  He whined and shot the falcon a suspicious glare.

  The Berserker stood up and dusted his armor off. “Wow, that was something else! Guess this realm has been good for the four of you!”

  I raised an eyebrow. "Do we know you?"

  Rune pulled off his helmet and grinned.

  Chapter Eighteen: Old Friends

  I blinked.

  Rune flashed a lopsided grin and gave me a thumbs-up. “Surprised to see me?”

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  “What on earth are you doing here?" I asked, my voice strained at the edges.

  Rune’s eyes widened and jaw clenched. “What kind of way is that to talk to a friend, you jerk? I traveled all this way to see you.”

  “You traveled to an unexplored realm with no backup on a whim just to see us? Are you stupid?”

  “You four came here on your own!”

  “Yes! Us four. And we have a healer. Think, you blithering idiot. It’s a water planet. Fall in with that plate mail and you would sink to the bottom of the ocean.”

  Now Rune blinked, realization dawning on his face. “You have a point.” He chuckled, a bit of nervousness entering his voice. “I didn’t think about that.”

  “Clearly!” I took another deep breath. The first one had done precisely nothing.

  Evey stepped between us and held up her hands. “Calm down. Both of you. Rune, it’s good to see you. But Ren’s right.” She narrowed her eyes. “You are an idiot.”

  “Hey!”

  Evey winced, and I placed a hand on her arm. Bastion’s spell had stopped the bleeding, but her skin glowed an angry, fiery red from where the falcon’s talons had scored her. “You need to rest,” I said. “Let’s get to the inn. We can talk there.”

  Before we could move, Boris bowled Rune over and slobbered all over the Berserker’s face, the bear's weight pinning him down. Rune sputtered and laughed. “It’s good to see you too, Boris. Now would you move?”

  Boris whined and did not move.

  “Uh, Ren? The bear is sitting on me.”

  “Yeah, it’s hard to move in that plate armor, huh? Can’t get him off?”

  “I don’t think I could get him off even if I wasn’t in armor. He’s, well…he’s heavy.”

  Evey quirked a single eyebrow. “Did you just fat shame my bear?” She whistled, and Boris turned and walked toward her, his glare locked once more on the bird behind us.

  I held out a hand and pulled Rune to his feet. “Let’s go.”

  The gathered crowd parted to allow us through, several players shouting their congratulations and admiration to Evey for her new companion. She gave them a tired smile and a thumbs up. As we entered the main street, the falcon took flight and soared in lazy circles overhead.

  “How long will it take the falcon to become comfortable around us?” I asked.

  Evey shrugged. “I’m not sure. There’s a bonding period between Beast Tamer and pet. It went quickly with Boris, but that may just have been his personality. Only time will tell.”

  “At least you don’t have to worry about the falcon running off to eat honey whenever possible,” Bastion said. Boris whined and nudged the Prophet from behind.

  It didn’t take long to arrive at the inn. The innkeeper seemed concerned at Evey’s injuries, but she waved him off. “I’m fine,” she said. “Just part of life.”

  “Those injuries should have healed more from my spell,” Bastion said.

  Evey gestured to where her status screen would be. “Look. It’s a debuff. Healing isn’t as effective, and I’m more vulnerable to damage for the next two hours. My pet is supposed to keep me safe during that period. It’s a class effect.”

  Bastion eyeballed her status gauge. “Huh, you’re right. I’m glad we’re going to rest now.”

  “Yeah. It’s nothing that a bit of sleep and a soft bed won’t cure.” Evey yawned. “And on that note, I’m going to bed. Goodnight, everyone.”

  I watched her leave. When she was out of earshot, I turned to Bastion. He spoke before I could voice my thoughts. “We need someone to stand watch,” he said. “She’s too vulnerable like that. And something doesn’t feel right.”

  “You feel it too, huh?”

  All evening long, there had been a tension in the air—a sense of foreboding. I hadn’t noticed anyone watching us, but that didn’t mean a thing. Napari might have been able to keep the pirates away, but we had to be on guard in case any had already slipped into the city.

  “Yeah.”

  Rune sat down at the bar between Bastion and I. “If you two are whispering about something, you ought to include me in it.”

  “Aren’t you tired?” I asked.

  His armor jingled as he shook his head. “No, I’m fine. What’s going on?”

  I gestured to the air around me. “What’s the atmosphere like in here?”

  Rune closed his eyes for a moment, and his naturally goofy demeanor fell away. “Not great,” he said. “It feels like the calm before a storm.”

  “Right,” Bastion said. “We were discussing standing watch outside of our rooms. Especially Evey’s. She’s injured and needs to rest, but we can’t trust this inn to be completely safe.”

  “Does this have to do with those wanted posters I’ve seen around the city?”

  “You’ve seen them?” I asked.

  “Yeah. And I’ve ripped them down whenever they popped
up. What did you get into?”

  I laughed. That was just like him. Rune had always been an act-first-question-second kind of guy. “We ran afoul of the Pirate King of this realm.”

  “NPC?”

  “No. Player. She’s galvanized a lot of players to work with her, and somehow we became her enemy.”

  “Interesting.” Rune drummed his thumbs on the bar in thought. “Alright. Want me to take first watch?”

  “Are you up for it?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I’ll make sure she’s safe. And I’ll wake you after three hours.”

  “That works for me," I said. "I'm going to rest while I can.”

  I slept fitfully. When Rune knocked on my door to wake me for my shift, I was already awake. I slid out of bed and secured my gun belt. “My turn?”

  “Yeah. It’s been quiet so far. No one on the hall at all.”

  “There are at least ten rooms on this hall, and only five of us. And that was a busy room downstairs.”

  Rune grinned. “Seems a bit convenient, right? It’s entirely possible everyone has other accommodations and just comes here for the food.”

  “Maybe. But I wouldn’t trust that. Get some rest. You’ll know if there’s trouble. Just listen for gunshots.”

  The oil lanterns in the hallway had been turned down so the passageway was only dimly lit. Bastion’s door stood cracked, just enough so any abnormal sound would wake him.

  And in front of Wish’s door sat one of her Spirit Wolves. The ethereal creature raised its head and gave me a curious look when I stepped outside before it laid back down. She never summoned only one Wolf, which meant the other three were nearby.

  I pitied the soul that tried to sneak into that room.

  I leaned against the door frame outside Evey’s room. Boris did not fit in the inn, so he had made his bed in the courtyard outside the inn—another line of defense if anyone decided to target us. I couldn’t hear anything from inside except Evey’s soft breathing, so I relaxed, just a small amount.

  An hour passed that way, my eyes turned toward the stairs, ready for any assailant that might try to make their way up. The tense atmosphere had not faded, but I still had found no concrete reason for concern.