by Paul Bellow
Axelrod grinned then stroked his beard.
"Let's go inside and stock up on some buffs to help us get through the stone giant like a hot dagger through a loaf of dwarven pumpernickel."
"You're making me hungry," I said, only half-kidding.
"We'll eat later tonight then rest up for the next leg of our journey."
"You're the best leader we've had yet," I said.
Bernard, Josh and Eric all looked away in different directions.
"Flattery will get you everywhere," Axelrod said then walked to a door on the side of the massive stone building.
Inside, we followed him to an empty room. A grey-haired woman sat in a rocking chair, crocheting a blanket in her lap. She looked up as all eight of us entered.
"Axelrod? Is that you?"
She leaned forward in her chair, elbows on her knees.
"Looking good, Gertrude," Axelrod said.
Did everyone know him? Having him lead our party might be the smartest move we'd made since starting the game such a long time ago.
"What do you need?" Gertrude asked, leaning back and rocking gently. "You still after the dragon?"
Axelrod stepped back and looked us over.
"I've got a good group and a chance to do the right thing."
"You've done more than enough by helping us," she said.
"We need healing potions," Axelrod said. "Can you help?"
She nodded.
"But I don't have many. Are you paying or calling in a favor?"
"How bad do you need the money?" Axelrod asked.
Josh, Bernard and Sheldon left the room.
"We need all the help we can get," the woman said, still rocking.
"Give her the twelve crystal monkey skulls," Axelrod said.
"Hold on," Eric said. "That's a bit expensive for potions. How many are we getting?"
I looked from Eric to Gertrude.
"A dozen of my strongest," the old woman said.
"That's it?" Eric looked to Axelrod. "Will that be enough?"
Axelrod took a deep breath before answering.
"Probably not, but until we find a healer, it'll have to do."
"They're in storage," Gertrude said. "You'll need to fetch them."
"Not a problem. I wanted to say hello too."
Axelrod backed toward the door.
"Until next time," he said then turned and walked out.
Once again, everyone followed the dwarf, his mohawk bobbing in the wind as he walked, leading the way.
"I can bargain," Eric said, jogging to catch up to Axelrod. "We paid too much for so few potions."
"The game rewards friendships," Axelrod said without stopping. "Relationships are give and take. The people of Westwood will use the wealth wisely. You'll see in later levels."
"I remember the city being advanced on level one-one," I said.
"Exactly." Axelrod stopped in front of another door off the main open area on the first floor. "I want to keep it that way."
After retrieving a full crate of twelve potions that each healed one to fifty health, we left the warehouse. Our destination? A nearby Inn and Tavern a few streets over.
The long, narrow building made from bricks rose two-stories, breaking from the architecture of the other structures on the street.
"I'm famished," Josh said, rubbing his stomach.
"You four need to go practice at the arena in the center of the city," Axelrod said.
"What?" Eric asked. "You're kidding, right?"
"No. Your swordsmanship is okay, but you need to raise it before we take on the stone giant. I want you and Josh to work together. You both need practice."
"I'm about to hit advanced level on my sword," Eric said as he nodded his head. "Where's this arena?"
"Don't worry, I can find it," Evan said.
Axelrod shook his head as if he didn't believe the brownie.
"You're not going with them," he said.
Evan continued smiling. His curse as a brownie was making everyone around him uncomfortable.
"I'm just playing, little man. You go practice with that dagger I gave you."
Without any hesitation, Evan dashed after Eric, Josh, Bernard and Ewen as they walked toward the center of the city. Sheldon joined Axelrod and myself inside the tavern.
"Do you think we have a chance with the stone giant?" I asked after we sat down at a table in middle of the room.
"We'll be fine," he said, raising his hand to signal a barmaid. "It'll be a good test before we take on the black dragon. That's what we should be worried about."
I nodded, noticing a man wearing simple grey robes in the corner. He looked away when I glanced in his direction. Was he with the Black Guard or out to get us?
"What'll you lot have?" the barmaid asked with hands on her hips.
"A pitcher of beer for me," Axelrod said.
"I'm fine, thank you," I said, smiling politely.
The barmaid turned to Sheldon who'd been quiet.
"And you?"
"Beer's fine," he said.
Axelrod propped his arms on the table in front of him as the barmaid walked away.
"Time to relax before the big fight tomorrow. Why aren't you having anything?" he asked.
"I'm going to get a room and sleep," I said. "We've all got different ways to relax."
"Fine with me," Axelrod said. "I'll share how to create magic items with Sheldon."
He adjusted the Amulet of the Party around his neck.
"I'll stay awhile," I relented.
The dwarf grinned as the barmaid brought two pitchers of beer.
"Put it on our tab," Axelrod said. "We're going to need four rooms too."
"Are you sure you lot can afford four rooms and two pitchers of beer?" she asked.
He pulled out a few gold pieces and tossed them to her. She grabbed them in midair.
"What about creating magic items?" I asked.
Axelrod took a long drink from the pitcher then wiped the foam from his beard.
"That's good," he said. "Refreshing. Not real, but so great."
I guess some of the stereotypes about dwarves are true.
"We've got some Moontree limbs and branches to construct wands," Sheldon said.
"That's great," Axelrod said. "But you won't be able to start crafting your own items until you reach level one-eight."
"Level one-eight?" I asked, my face scrunching up. "That's an odd number."
Axelrod laughed.
"The whole game is odd, elf. You haven't noticed that yet?"
"I've noticed," I said as I pushed back my chair and stood up. "See you two in the morning."
Sheldon smiled and raised his hand, still ecstatic about not being stuck as an NPC. Axelrod took another drink, draining the last of the beer from the pitcher and ignoring me.
Do you think we should go check on Eric and Josh? I asked Charlotte in my mind as I walked to the bar to find out what rooms were ours.
"No," she said without speaking. "We need rest."
A spider after my own heart, I thought.
With all the weird dreams, I constantly found myself tired.
Sleep would do me good before our big stone giant battle. I also needed time alone to think about Ferris' request to secretly buy the land for the Four Towers on level one-one.
The game and reality merged even more tightly together – down to the molecular level.
()xxxx[:::: Chapter 12 ::::>
Mines of Oriam Entrance
SARAH
The next day, I sat in front of the wagon as it reached the edge of the forest path we'd followed all morning. Mountains rose in the distance, as menacing as the first time I saw them on level one-one. Were we ready for the stone giant?
It wasn't too difficult of a mob for a good group from what I knew. Maybe they were more powerful in Tower of Gates? I'd finally met my first black dwarf, a fantasy-game first for me.
Anything was possible in the game. The wagon continued until the path ended.
"Whoa," Bernard called as he pulled on the reins next to me.
Once the wagon stopped, the others climbed out and walked around.
"Still looks amazing," Eric said.
"It'll be even better when we're inside and under the mountain," Axelrod said. "Tie the wagon up. We've got a way to walk yet."
He took off down a wide path leading up. Josh took off after him, quickly catching up. After tying up the wagon, the rest of us walked toward them.
We had enough room to go two by two up the path and through the rock littered landscape. Josh and Axelrod, our strongest fighters, took the front two spots. Eric and Evan were behind him.
Sheldon and I came next with Ewen and Bernard in back.
"I've been here before," Axelrod said from the front of our line.
"When?" Eric asked.
We all continued walking.
"Years ago, when I lost my companions..." Axelrod's voice went quiet for a few seconds. "It was their fault. All of you better not be as dumb when we get inside the Mines of Oriam."
"We'll be fine," Eric said. "You're the leader now."
"Shut-up and march," Axelrod said.
No one talked as we climbed the rocky mountain path. To the left and right, stones and boulders littered the barren ground, grey islands in a sea of green.
I thought about the upcoming fight with the stone giant.
"We could reason with it," Charlotte said in my mind.
No. We need to take it out.
"You're so violent sometimes."
It's a game, Charlotte. Only a game.
"You've said that before, but I still don't understand."
Neither do I half the time. Welcome to my world.
I blocked her from my mind, concentrating on keeping my footing as the path became more treacherous the higher we climbed the difficult terrain.
A single stone giant wouldn't be a problem for our big party. I hoped the game didn't throw anything else at us. The Tower of Gates loved to torment us.
Toward the end of our second hour of uneventful walking, Axelrod held up his fist, signaling for us to stop.
"Are we there yet?" Evan asked in his outside voice.
"Quiet," Axelrod hissed as he stared ahead.
I glimpsed a cave a few hundred yards ahead.
"We'll sneak up on him," Axelrod said in a hushed tone.
After three steps, a ten-foot giant with grey skin stepped out of the cave and stretched.
"Oh," it said in common. "I wasn't expecting visitors. The Mines of Oriam are closed until further notice."
"Under whose orders?" Axelrod demanded as he lifted his axe.
"The owner of the mountains," the stone giant replied. "My name is Herb, by the way, if you have any complaints and want to leave a bad review."
I stepped forward to get line-of-sight if things got ugly. Maybe we could talk our way out of it after all?
"The mountain belongs to the dwarves," Axelrod said. "Of which I am one. Therefore, this mountain is mine, and you will let us pass."
"Yeah..." Herb the stone giant sighed, hands on his hips. "That's gonna be a problem. If you don't have the proper forms, the TPS report, you're not going into the mountain."
"We don't need no stinking TPS report," Axelrod said, hefting his battle-axe.
"I wouldn't recommend taking this to a physical level," Herb said.
The stone giant hefted a tree-sized club leaning against the cave entrance then lumbered forward. Each step he took shook the mountain itself – the ground beneath our feet.
"Now," Axelrod yelled.
He and Josh both drank an enlarge potion. As they grew to the size of the stone giant, it stopped in its tracks, almost toppling over in surprise for a second.
The grey-skinned giant wasted no time swinging the tree, slamming it into Josh. He screamed in pain.
Eric and the other mid-range fighters circled around, looking for moments of opportunity. Sheldon, still low-level, shot off as many golden bolts as he could muster.
I unleashed fiery fury with lava discs at maximum mana.
Your flaming discs of lava DECIMATE the stone giant for 32 damage.
The stone giant is on fire.
You have 168/198 mana remaining today.
"Nice job," Charlotte shouted in her tinny spider voice.
"The fight's not over yet," I said, examining the battlefield from a mage's perspective.
Axelrod and Josh, giant-sized, were giving the stone giant a run for its money. What little clothes it had on burnt off and fell to the ground. This made him even angrier.
"You're all about to die," Herb shouted then smacked Josh with his massive club again. "I tried to be cool and let you go, but you're making me angry."
I cast Divine Arrow of Energy on Josh then repeated the spell and hit Axelrod. They both continued battering the stone giant.
Eric circled around with Evan at his side. The stone giant dropped its club to the ground and staggered back and into their waiting blades.
It screamed and fell to the ground where Axelrod and Josh finished it.
Combat is over.
You get 4,800 xp divided by 8 party members
You get +600 xp.
You have 42,147 xp
You need 8853 for level 7 Wizard -> Warlock
"Everyone okay?" Axelrod asked, looking around.
"Fine," I said.
The others all muttered the same.
"Great job," Axelrod said. "But we still need to clear the cave."
As he spoke, the potion of enlargement wore off. He and Josh both shrunk to their normal sizes.
"Sweet battle, bros," Josh said, pumping his fist as adrenaline rushed through his body.
I smiled, remembering all the good times I'd had with him in the real world. No time for love now, I told myself as I prepared to go into the stone giant's cave with the others.
"Stay away from the entrance to the mines," Axelrod said before we left. "There's a lot of traps. I lost two people that way."
"We shouldn't get sidetracked now," I said. "We're getting closer to the dragon."
"Here's the plan." Axelrod motioned everyone in closer for huddle. "We'll clear the cave, take his loot, then head back to Westwood."
"We're not going into the mines?" Eric asked.
Axelrod shook his head.
"Not today. We may get lucky and the black dragon will come out on its own."
"And attack Westwood? That can't be good," I said.
"We'll see after we clear the cave."
As Axelrod stopped speaking, two giant-sized black bears meandered out of the cave entrance on all four legs. One rose on its two back feet and roared.
"Battle positions," Axelrod yelled. "There's probably more."
I cast Flaming Discs of Lava and sent three of them at the giant bear on the left.
Your Lava Discs WOUND the dire bear for 19 damage.
The dire bear is on fire.
You have 103/198 mana remaining today.
The other, possibly his mate, rushed forward and swung a paw at Axelrod. The dwarf tumbled to the ground as Josh yelled and brought down his new Club of Confusion.
Eric, Bernard and the others moved to the bear on fire. It had dropped to the ground and rolled the fire out. Was it a relative of Smokey the Bear or something?
"Do something, Sheldon," I snapped then cast a spell of my own.
As another six flaming discs of lava shot toward the bear on fire, he sent a volley of golden bolts to the same one. Everything hit at once.
Your Lava Discs DEVASTATE the dire bear for 42 damage.
The dire bear is on fire.
You have 73/198 mana remaining today.
Somehow, the bear lumbered forward and pounced on poor Ewen. I hoped his new armor would protect him as the others rushed to help.
I turned back to Josh as he battled the other dire bear. We've got this, I thought.
Then another two bears came out of the cave, roaring ferociously.
"We've got company," I shouted.
Better to get them blazing now to stack the damage over multiple rounds.
Your Lava Discs DECIMATE the dire bear for 39 damage.
The dire bear is on fire.
You have 43/198 mana remaining today.
Losing many so fast, but another bear is on fire and taking continuous damage.
"There's too many," Sheldon shouted as another pair of bears came out of the cave.
Can we handle all six? Is this the Clan of the Cave Bears or something?
"You got this," I said to Sheldon.
Josh and Axelrod formed a line with Bernard, Eric and Ewen. I didn't see Evan, but hopefully he wasn't doing anything stupid.
"I'm almost out of mana," Sheldon complained.
"Buckle up, Buttercap," I said.
Axelrod yelled, "Healing. Pair up and take them all down."
I cast Divine Arrow of Energy on Axelrod, causing him to redouble his efforts on the giant dire bear in front of him. A bear hit Ewen, sending him to the ground.
"Go heal him with a potion," I said to Sheldon, hoping he had it in him.
He was doing okay for someone who had been trapped as an attorney in the game.
I didn't have enough mana for a full volley that would help, so I grabbed my bow and notched an arrow. Sheldon ran toward Ewen, awkwardly holding the wand of healing.
"Eric, Ewen needs help," I yelled then shot an arrow at the bear.
Your arrow MISSES the dire bear.
Ugh. At least I didn't hit anyone else or break the string. I notched another arrow.
Eric had a bear of his own, but he rushed over to attack the one about to eat Ewen.
I shot another arrow.
Your arrow GRAZES the dire bear for 5 damage.
That's not gonna do it.
Josh delivered a final fatal blow to one of the bears. Axelrod finished his off at the same time. The battle was going our way. Only two bears remained.
Evan appeared behind one and leaped up on its back and slit its throat from behind with a killing slash. He held on tight as the huge bear collapsed to the ground.
Bernard dashed toward the last one and conked it on the head with his new mace, putting it to eternal rest. I glanced to the cave entrance, hoping no more came out.