by Shawn Kass
Hearing a yell break through his self-recrimination, Sam opened his eyes and saw Torix launch an attack against the minotaur’s leg while Kat and Anna continued to fire arrow after arrow at the monster’s face. The barbarian looked to be giving it everything he had, swinging both his own axe as well as Mace’s battle axe simultaneously, and Sam suspected that he was tapping into his barbarian rage ability to do so.
Not knowing how long Torix could keep up the onslaught, Sam pushed himself to get up even as he heard the voice of Quinn alongside him telling him to stay where he was.
“Don’t get up. Stay down. You might have a neck or back injury.”
Shaking his head as he continued to stand, Sam understood that she was in paramedic mode and said, “It doesn’t work like that here, Quinn. It’s a game world which runs off of game logic instead of real world physics. If you have hit points, you can move.”
Having watched him play plenty of games, Quinn understood what he was talking about. Things never made sense in those video games of his. She still had trouble letting go of her training and said, “At least let me check you out first.”
“There’s no time,” he explained. Then pointing to the battle under way, he added, “They’re not going to be able to hold that thing back for long by themselves.”
Placing her invisible hands on his hands to check for pulse, motor, and sensory nerves, Quinn said, “That doesn’t mean you need to get yourself killed.”
Reaching out, Sam found her body just in front of him, and he brought her in for an embrace that he didn’t know how bad he needed until her arms were wrapped around him. Sighing at the feel of her, he closed his eyes and said, “God, I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
Feeling her hair brush his face, Sam opened his eyes and was surprised to see the silky strands of it in view. “I can see you,” he said as he pushed back to look her in the eyes.
“Yeah,” she said with a tear rolling down her cheek. “It looks like the spell wore off.”
Checking her out, he saw that she had built a character which, without the hood she had been wearing in the pub, looked almost exactly like her. The only difference was that her chest seemed to be larger in the game than in the real world and much more exposed in the armor she was wearing.
Catching where his eyes were, Quinn admitted, “Yeah, those turned out to be a bit bigger than I expected when I set up my character. I tell you, these games are made for fourteen year old boys.”
“I don’t disagree, but I have to say I’m not displeased with how they, I mean you, turned out either.”
Slapping his arm, Quinn said, “I’m serious, you know. You don’t need to get yourself killed out there. We can find another way.”
“No, I don’t think we can,” said Sam. “That’s what I was trying to tell you before. I think we have to beat the game to get home.”
“How do we do that? Beat the game, I mean.”
“To be honest, I’m not sure, but I think we have to conquer the Tower.”
Looking down, Quinn asked, “Is that even possible? The Reckoners said that no one has ever gotten past the first floor of this place.”
“Yeah, but they’re just NPCs,” explained Sam. “They’re not the ones who are supposed to win. We are. We’re the players here.”
Looking up, Quinn asked, “What happens if you go out there and something happens? What happens if our characters die? Do we go back to one of those save point things?”
Unable to look her in the eyes with this harsh truth, Sam said, “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. I haven’t seen anything that looked like a save point since I got here.” Then after taking a breath, he added, “I think this is a one shot deal.”
Ready to cry again but unwilling to let the tears out, Quinn swallowed hard and said, “So it’s all or nothing then? We either beat this game, or we die for real? That’s insane!”
“I know,” said Sam. “The whole thing is crazy, but I don’t know any other way it could be.”
Breaking into Sam’s thoughts, Tezukayoshi darted over and said, ‘Sam, they need you.’
As Sam looked up sharply towards the battle, Quinn asked, “What is it?”
“Tezukayoshi said they’re in trouble.”
“Tezuka-what?”
“My familiar,” explained Sam, pointing to the lizard who had suddenly appeared at his feet.
“You have a pet?” asked Quinn.
Wincing even as she asked the question, Sam said, “No, not exactly. If you were to ask him, he would probably tell you that I’m his pet.” Then casting his eyes back out to the fight, he was just in time to witness the last of Torix’s assault before the barbarian dropped Mace’s War Axe and went to work with more deliberate blows using his own two-handed axe.
Kneeling in front of Tezukayoshi, Quinn asked, “Can he understand me?”
Not looking down, Sam quickly made sure that Kat and Anna were both still firing their arrows and then he began searching the area for Casavir, Mace, and Hugo. Finding them a bit further away than he expected, Sam watched as Casavir and Hugo propped Mace up against the wall, and the two then began to scoot around the outside of the circle. Realizing that Casavir probably used up a good deal of his abilities with the block he had performed, Sam guessed that he had done all he could for Mace and was now preparing to re-enter the fray with Hugo at his side for a sneak attack. Curious to see if their tactic worked and if they might be able to take down the minotaur on their own, Sam kept an eye on the fight while he answered, “He can understand everything. In fact, he’s probably as smart as you and me, but he only talks to me through telepathy.”
“Telepathy?”
“Yeah,” admitted Sam. “I don’t know how, but it works.”
‘If you are done with your mate, human, we have to get back out there.’
“I know,” said Sam to Tezukayoshi. “I just don’t see a good way to kill it.”
“Wait, are you talking to him now?” asked Quinn. “What did he say?”
“Basically, we need to get out there and kill that thing before it starts picking us all off.”
“Do you have a plan?” asked Quinn seriously.
“Aside from hitting it and keep hitting it until it falls down? No,” admitted Sam as he still waited to see what would happen. “And on top of that, I’m betting that last hit cut my hit points down quite a bit.”
“Well, don’t you have some health potions or something? That’s what you usually use in these games, isn’t it?” asked Quinn.
“I wish,” responded Sam. “This game doesn’t seem to have any. The only thing I’ve found that helps me heal is food.”
“Food?” asked Quinn. “Does it have to be something specific, or can it be anything?”
Across the room, Casavir and Hugo launched their attack, but before they could get close enough, the minotaur hopped back and distanced himself so that he could face all three of his small attackers. Seeing that they could handle things for another minute or two, Sam shrugged and said, “Anything, I think. Why, do you have some?”
Reaching into a small bag on her hip, Quinn produced a package of familiar looking rations and said, “I got this from the store in town.”
“Perfect,” said Sam as he opened the package. “Let’s split it. About half should be enough to get my hit points back up a ways, and if you eat the rest, you should be able to regain some of your mana for spells.”
Pushing the rations back towards him, Quinn responded, “No, you take it all. My health is fine, and I should be able to cast one more spell in a minute. It will be my last for a while, but I'd rather make sure you're topped off.”
‘I wouldn’t mind some, too, you know,’ said Tezukayoshi.
Pouring a small handful out, Sam knelt down and placed a small sampling on the ground and said, “Sure, buddy,” before he popped the rest in his mouth and chewed.
“He eats rations?” asked Quinn.
Speaking throu
gh the mouthful of food, Sam said, “He eats anything and never seems to stop unless he's sleeping.” Then after swallowing the rations dry, he added, “I can't complain though. He’s already saved me a couple of times, and he keeps getting stronger.”
Kneeling down to pet the lizard, Quinn said to Tezukayoshi, “If that's the case, then you can have whatever you want just so long as you keep him safe.”
‘I like this one. You should keep her.’
Looking down at the pair of them, Sam said, “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“What did he say?” asked Quinn.
“That he likes you.”
Stroking Tezukayoshi’s multicolored scales one last time, Quinn said, “I like you, too,” before she stood and asked, “How long does it take for your food to heal you?”
“Not long. A few more seconds at most,” Sam admitted. Then launching into his plan, he said, “Look, I want you to cast your invisibility spell again and then find some place to hide.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Quinn.
“I have to go out there,” he repeated. “Somehow we have to either kill that thing or distract it long enough to get the key off its neck.”
“Sam, I saw what that thing did to Mace, and he’s a really big guy. Are you sure you can defeat it?”
Thinking about the last boss fight she had seen him play, Sam admitted, “Well, it's not like I can just get frustrated, toss the controller down, and walk away. There is no way to simply turn the game off or switch the channel and forget about it all. We are stuck here. As far as I know, there is no way to reload to a previous point in the game and spend some extra time leveling up. It’s now or never, and I have to beat this monster if we are going to get out of here.” Then looking out to the fight which was still waging on, Sam added, “I know Mace is strong, and it was scary as hell to see what the minotaur did to him, but Mace hasn't spent as much time in games as I have. He hasn't concentrated on leveling himself up like I have. Trust me, Quinn. We’re going to walk out of this room together, and we’re going to find our way home.”
Looking out at the fight, Quinn watched as the three men moved in for another round while Kat and Anna continued with their arrows from afar. Taking a breath, Quinn turned back to Sam, and after a brief pause said “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Sorry my gaming got us into this.”
“Just get us home safely.”
Lifting his sword to his shoulder, Sam said, “Promise,” and then took off towards the fight.
After watching the guys’ failed attempt at stealth, Sam decided to take the direct approach in the hopes of finishing the battle a bit faster with a coordinated frontal assault. He had watched the others enough to see where their strengths and weaknesses lay, and he had an inkling of a plan forming as he grew closer to the edge of the circle. The only question was whether or not he would be able to buy them enough time to explain things and get them into position. Unfortunately, the entire plan as well as the majority of his party was wiped out before he got the chance to explain anything.
Within the circle, the minotaur suffered under the brutal attacks of Torix, Hugo, and Casavir as well as the arrows which still poured in from Anna and Kat until Sam approached the line, but in a flash, everything changed. If Sam had been sitting at home on his couch, he certainly would have cursed at the TV, but here his words just came out like garbled nonsense as he watched the minotaur drop back onto all fours and paw the floor with its back left hoof. Sam knew what was coming. He had seen it before in the forest when Anna and he had faced the wild boars, but these Tower Tempters hadn’t been there and didn’t know the signs of what was coming. Worse than that, Sam had no way to warn them as they raced forward in pursuit of a monster that they thought was retreating, but in reality, was just preparing for a special attack.
Charging forward, the minotaur dug deep into its animal roots and unleashed a devastating attack on the three humans before it. It came in so fast there was no time for any of them to block, and as a result, they were all caught off guard as the minotaur’s massive head slammed into them and threw them clear across the room.
Stunned, Sam’s feet stopped him just within the circle as his eyes watched the scene unfold. He saw the remaining fighters as they plowed into the stone walls over thirty feet away to slump to the ground unmoving. He didn’t know if NPCs felt pain like he did, but considering how much more powerful that special attack looked than the one he had taken, he sure hoped not. Fact was, he didn’t think there were many in this world who could describe what it felt like to get hit by something like a minotaur, simply because there probably weren’t many around who survived to tell about it. Recalling his experience more clearly, Sam knew the pain came second after he realized something in his world had gone horribly wrong. It was like momentarily leaving his body only to return and find it had been in a wreck while he had been away. Looking up at the monster before him, the realization finally sunk in that Sam was going to have to go toe-to-toe with a walking earthquake.
Knowing full well that the circle no longer held the monster and that everyone was at risk, Sam cast a glance at Kat and Anna who had stopped firing arrows and yelled, “Do what you can for them!” Then to himself, he said, “It’s time for me to finish this.”
As if the creature understood him, it reached over and picked up its axe once more and then began stomping its way toward the downed fighters, intent on exacting its revenge to the fullest. Somehow it knew that it was close to finishing off their hit points, and it salivated at the idea of sending them to the digital beyond.
Not willing to give the creature the chance to harm them any more, Sam raced forward to put himself in the path between his new friends and the hulking beast which had them in its sights. Sam had no plan, no back up, and no extra lives, but as he skidded to a halt in front of it, he slashed out with his sword and cut a deep gouge into the beast’s ankle to draw all of its fury and rage onto himself.
“Mmmmrrroooooooaaarrr!”
“You like that?” taunted Sam. “Well, try one of these,” he added as he raised his free hand up and fired off a ball of burning scarlet which enveloped the minotaur’s chest.
Overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught, the creature backed up a step, but Sam kept firing fireballs in quick succession, covering its torso in sparks and flames. Sam knew that it wouldn’t be enough, and that his fire magic wasn’t going to reduce this monster to a pile of ash. So long as it backed away from his friends and chipped away at some of its hit points, Sam was willing to pour every last ounce of magic he had into it. Somewhere along the way he knew it he would run empty, but by that point, he hoped he could finish it with a few swings of his sword.
“Come on!”
Fireball.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Fireball.
“Here’s another!”
Fireball.
Hoping for a critical hit, Sam began pelting it in various locations. Some fireballs were launched at its face, and a few below the belt. Not wanting to miss a single shot, however, Sam concentrated most of the fireballs on one spot in the middle of the minotaur’s chest. Again and again Sam kept slamming the beast with globes of combustion, leaving it nowhere to go but backward as it blindly groped for safety and found nothing but more fire meeting it each step of the way. After a minute the fur on its chest was gone, and explosions of flames began to ignite the monster’s flesh. Having no idea how much magic he was capable of, he pulled the trigger again and again in his mind, not letting up until black smoke began to fill the ceiling above, and the minotaur’s head was completely covered from view. Only then did Sam pause to assess the situation and try to discern how close he was to finishing this beast.
Lowering his free arm a bit, Sam stepped forward to try to peer through the smoke, but before he could see anything, his ears were met by an unexpected concussive blast as the minotaur released a primal scream. Instinctively, his hands came up to try to cover his ears, bu
t as he did, he caught sight of the thing’s massive axe swinging through the smoke. Sam abandoned his eardrums in favor of using his sword to divert the oncoming attack. Somewhere in the back of his brain his gaming instincts did the math, and he knew he wouldn't successfully block it, but he had to try to protect himself from the sharp edge of the creature’s weapon the best he could.
Axe and sword met dead on, and the resulting shockwave of force tore through Sam’s body, sending him spinning through the air as if he were no more substantial than a rag doll. In contrast to the last brutal hit he'd received, Sam didn't lose consciousness this time, and so he saw the room spin around him four times before he finally hit the ground a few feet back and rolled to a stop.
Mentally kicking himself for not continuing his barrage of fire magic while he had the minotaur on the ropes, Sam scrambled to get back to his feet in the hopes that he could find his place again in this fight. Unfortunately, by the time he stood up, he found the monster had already covered the short distance of his flight, and Sam was knocked back once again before he could lift his sword to parry the blow. Had the hit been with the minotaur’s battle axe, Sam might very well have been killed, but instead, the creature had simply continued its stride and bulled him over with its cloven hoof as it circled around.
Getting up this time took Sam a bit longer, and he didn't know if it was due to his lowered hit points or because he had suffered some sort of status effect like stun or slow. Either way, it turned out to be more than enough for the creature to get into position for its next attack. Recognizing its position and distance from before, Sam knew it was about to use its special attack, the same one which had knocked the other three fighters out while their hit points were close to full.
Casting a quick look around for something to hide behind or for one of his teammates to be able to intervene, Sam was disappointed to find that he was not only alone but that he was in the exact center of the room. Understanding what was about to happen, Sam closed his eyes for a second and sent a prayer to the gaming gods. He knew he wasn't a paladin, nothing in his adventure had pointed him in that direction, and so there was no chance that he would be granted any sort of divine protection like Casavir, but he wasn't asking for himself. Instead, he whispered his prayer that somehow in his defeat the game might grant Quinn a way home. When he finished, he raised his sword toward the minotaur and gave it nod as if to say he was ready to finish this one way or another.