by Brian Simons
“What are you doing to rebuild the temple?” Alua asked. The staff’s light dimmed and went dark.
“I collect offerings to finance construction supplies and the hiring of builders. I also provide small rewards to those who help unearth the remnants of the last temple. Much of the ancient tower remains buried by the sands of time, including the Sagman Crystals that belong atop the tower. Perhaps you could locate some and help Sagma reclaim his place among the pantheon?”
A quest box popped up for Coral.
New Quest: Can you dig it?
Vernagi needs you to dig up the Sagman Crystals near the ruins of Sagma’s temple.
Reward: Potion (health, mana, stamina, experience, or special)
An XP Potion would be a great reward. It would be worth digging around for a little while just to see if they could get one. Coral accepted the quest, as did Marco and Alua. This was the first time she had seen others take on the same quest as her.
“Take these,” Vernagi said, gesturing to a set of spades on a shelf. Coral, Alua, and Marco each took a small shovel and left the temple. Coral scanned the horizon, but she didn’t see anyone. As long as no PK’ers were nearby, they could afford to spend a little time on a side quest.
They walked over to where Chauncey sat, leaning his back against the outside of the rock mound. Now that noon was behind them, the ruins cast a small shadow over Chauncey.
“Any idea where to start digging?” Marco asked.
“Yes,” Coral said. “In the shade.” She walked into the shadow and got onto her knees.
Her spade sank easily into the sand. Digging a hole was a different story. Each shovelful of sand she tossed aside only invited the surrounding sand to cave in and fill up the depression she had made.
Working in the ruins’ shadow hardly made the heat less oppressive. Once she started digging in the sand, she was hit a debuff. The icon above her head looked like a sad face with drooping eyelids and an orange water droplet above it. It was Thirst, and as long as it lasted, she had a 15% penalty to action speed. The others had the same affliction.
She dug, slowly, while the sand undid her work, quickly. It felt fruitless. Alua and Marco dug away at holes of their own while Chauncey sat with his eyes closed.
“Thirsty,” he said. Coral ignored him. Of course he was thirsty, they all were, but if he wasn’t helping to dig, she didn’t want to hear it from him.
“I hit something!” Marco said. Alua and Coral crawled over to him. He lifted a small stone from the sand.
“It’s a rock,” Alua said, “but not a crystal.”
He tossed the rock aside and kept digging. Coral watched the orange droplet in her debuff icon darken until it was more red than orange. She continued to dig, and her debuff changed from Thirst to Dehydration. Her mouth was dryer than ever, she kept losing focus, and now her speed was reduced by 30%. She wondered how long it would take for that droplet to change color again and turn into some kind of death-by-desiccation countdown.
Eventually Alua pulled a crystal from the ground. It was the size of a tennis ball. At first it looked perfectly round, but when Coral leaned in for a closer look she saw that its surface was cut into more small, flat edges than she could count. In the right light, that gem would sparkle impressively.
Coral turned back toward her own hole to keep digging. She wiped the sweat off her face and onto her bare forearm. She wondered whether she could roll up her pant legs too.
“It’s hotter than a dragon’s tit out here,” Chauncey said.
“Charming,” Alua said.
“There are no dragons in Travail,” Marco said.
“That’s not entirely true,” Alua said. Marco cocked his head to one side. “There is one,” Alua said, “which the Regent has quarantined below the castle. The hill upon which the castle sits is an oubliette.”
“In other words,” Coral said, “a dragon prison? That’s terrible.” Why would the Regent keep a dragon hostage?
“Cedril used to think so too, but it’s not our place to second guess the Regent.”
“Cedril?” Marco asked. “Do you mean Father deCretum, Januar’s head priest? I didn’t realize you two were friends.”
“I haven’t spoken to him in some years,” Alua said. “He and I were more than friends, but my heart belongs to another man. Unrequited love is a story of hope and patience.”
They continued to dig in silence after that.
Coral hit something hard with her spade. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, figuring the desert was full of rocks and maybe even bones under its dry, lifeless surface.
She pulled a crystal shard from the ground. It was only two inches long, but it was the same deep red as the one Alua had found. Coral held it up to the sun and felt the glass warm up in her hand.
“Great,” Marco said, “so I’m the only one without a crystal.”
“We’re both still digging,” Coral said, pointing to Alua who was now elbow deep in sand. “Maybe we can find you one.”
Something moved in the corner of Coral’s eye, but when she turned her head there was nothing there. After a bit more digging it happened again, and again. Nothing was ever there, until she finally caught a glimpse of a snake. She jumped to her feet and readied her bow, aiming it at a now empty patch of sand.
“Seeing things?” Chauncey asked.
“There was a snake there, where did it go?” Coral asked.
Alua and Marco got to their feet, alarmed. Then they saw an apple roll along the ground a few feet. Of all the unlikely things. Was Coral starting to lose it or had everyone else seen that too?
Chauncey was on his feet now, and a dark green snake slithered out from between the chunks of granite he had just been sitting against. It was hooded, like a cobra, but it had two large eye spots and a dark curved line stretching across its hood and body, giving the appearance of a friendly smile. The snake darted forward, head-butted the apple, and then slithered away again.
Where did a snake get an apple from in the middle of the desert? Coral felt like this was symbolic of something, but her heat-soaked brain couldn’t think of what. It was too preoccupied with thinking about how juicy that apple would be. She was suffering under the harsh desert sun, but a ripe piece of fruit would help.
Coral’s HP was full. Her body was lying on a mattress, well enough hydrated. Yet, the sensation of in-game thirst was overwhelming. The snake darted forward, head-butted the apple closer to her, and then reared its head off the ground to give her another warm smile.
Then another snake showed up, also with an apple. Coral picked one up and looked at it skeptically.
“Well if you’re not going to eat it,” Chauncey said and snatched the apple out of Coral’s hand. She wasn’t sure that she wasn’t going to eat it, but she didn’t put up a fight.
Chauncey’s teeth pierced the red skin of the apple. Coral listened to the satisfying crunch of apple flesh against his teeth as his lips puckered against the fruit to prevent its juices from escaping his mouth.
Her mouth was so dry, her throat so parched. Her thirst only got stronger watching Chauncey slake his own.
Marco and Alua had their eyes trained on Chauncey too. He took another bite and let out a lascivious moan as he ate the fruit, nibbling the last morsels of sweet flesh off the core before tossing the spent apple aside.
“How do you feel?” Marco asked.
“So much better,” Chauncey said. He sat back down, the debuff icon vanishing from overhead. He seemed to have a renewed vigor on his face.
Coral was jealous. That apple had been in her hand. She had been so close. If she hadn’t hesitated, hadn’t stopped to inspect it, it could have been her with that satisfied look on her face.
Marco bent down to pick up the other apple. He took a small bite. Coral watched him chew, saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. He paused. She waited.
“It’s amazing,” he said, taking another bite.
Then four more apples rolled toward them, all proffered by smiley
snakes. They each rolled an apple toward the group, and then snuck away a few feet like they were afraid. When no one moved, they head-butted the apples again and then slithered away.
Marco reached down for another apple, Alua and Coral followed. Chauncey scrambled to get the fourth one.
These apples were a godsend. Coral decided that it would be strange for the game to put a sprawling empty desert here without any source of sustenance. This must be the game’s way of saying “take a break. It’s safe here.”
After two blissful bites, Coral’s head started to feel woozy. She tried to focus on keeping that apple clenched in her hand. She couldn’t get dizzy under the hot sun and drop the one thing that would revive her.
She took another bite. This apple was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. Her mouth wasn’t dry anymore, but it was a little numb. That would make eating the rest of this amazing apple more difficult. Her knees began to buckle. She made sure not to drop her fruit as she lowered herself to the ground. The ground which seemed to be moving. No, wait, that was just more friendly snakes. They came up to her, flashing that wonderful smile. Then large, thin wings flapped outward from their bodies.
Snakes with wings. Neat. Coral took another bite of her apple. Everyone else was eating theirs too, lying on the ground, paying the snakes no mind. Her skin felt tingly and a strange euphoria swept over her mind as her Dehydration debuff vanished.
A snake opened its mouth, revealing a pair of long, sharp fangs. It dug its teeth into the exposed flesh of Coral’s arm. She didn’t feel a thing.
>> You lose 2 XP.
Her little snake friend was draining XP from her. Dazed, Coral just wondered if there were any more apples.
>> You lose 2 XP.
There goes two more! Her mind was still searching for something from earlier. Some connection between this desert creature and the sweet, succulent fruit it offered her. Oh well, she thought, closing her eyes and falling into a warm inviting sleep.
6
The River Rove slammed into Daniel and knocked him onto his back. His heavy armor was like an anchor. His iron breastplate sank several inches into the river’s muddy bottom and took Daniel with it.
The next second he was pelted with something hard that slammed into his leg. Then something knocked into his arm. He reached up instinctively to block whatever was battering against him and he grasped onto the edge of a plank of wood. The fallen bridge was being swept away by the onrush of water. He held it, hoping the wood’s buoyancy would help counteract his excess weight.
He only had 90 Stamina Points at his level, and those would drain extra quickly with his heavy armor. He clung to the wooden slat and dug his heels into the mud to push himself up. The river, however, dragged him along with it.
He clung to that wooden plank like a boogie board. It kept him off the riverbed, but it wasn’t enough to float him to the top. He tried to kick his ironclad legs, but he wasn’t strong enough to overcome the river’s force. He was being washed away, and if he ran out of stamina, he’d drown.
Daniel heard the muffled yells of his friends, whose heads were above the waterline. He struggled to angle himself up but it was no use. Then he got an idea. He maneuvered the wooden plank between his legs and used it like a rudder, aiming it slightly to one side to spin his body toward the riverbank. He would stop fighting against the current and move with it, using his improvised rudder to veer gradually toward land. It was slow, but it worked. He managed to collide with the muddy rocks that walled off the river before his stamina ran out.
The real challenge was lifting himself out of the water. He had to lift not only himself, but also his armor, and all the water the iron suit had trapped. His chest burned with the need to inhale, but Daniel fought that urge. By the time he was able to breathe air again he thought he’d never be able to get enough into his lungs to be satisfied.
Ivan, one of Daniel’s hirelings, was already on dry ground. Daniel reached up for help and Ivan quickly grabbed Daniel’s arm, hoisting him onto the land that looked over the river. Sybil and Sal were pulling themselves out of the water too. Coral, Marco and the others were nowhere to be found.
“How far south did we get pushed?” Daniel asked.
“Far,” Ivan said. “We’re in the Sand Barrens now, and it’s just the four of us.”
That was bad news. The Sand Barrens were full of unscrupulous players who hunted down other players. Killing a player in a PK zone gave the victor a chance to loot the dead player and steal all their gold and whatever else they were carrying. He knew they’d end up here once they crossed the bridge, but he expected to be much further north and have far less of the Sand Barrens to traverse on their way to the Dour Scrub and then on to Diardenna. He also thought they’d all face this threat together.
In the distance, Daniel saw the faint outline of the Arena, a special tournament zone where players placed bets and fought against each other. He used to make enough money there to keep himself afloat. He longed for the day he’d be strong enough to do that again. Now, however, was not the time to pine for his lost levels.
Quest Update: Do or Diardenna
After the elves attacked Havenstock, they seem to have destroyed the western footbridge spanning the River Rove.
Pending report to the Regent:
(1) Bridges and other infrastructure may be compromised.
Reward: Dependent upon quality of information provided.
“We should head north along the river bank,” he said.
Sybil looked at him incredulously. “That’s where all the PK’ers hang out.”
“It’s also where Coral and Marco are going to wash up. They’re pretty light. I’m assuming they were able to get out of the water before they were washed too far off course.”
Sybil raised an eyebrow. “Are you calling me fat?” Daniel got nervous for a second before she tapped a hand against his cheek. “I’m kidding. Let’s go.”
They trudged along the river bank where the air was still temperate. A few minutes’ walk west would take them into the desert’s scorching heat. That’s the last place Daniel wanted to be in a full suit of iron armor.
“I was wondering,” Sal said, “if either of you knew someplace in Philly with low rent. Like, super low rent.”
“Where is Philly?” Ivan asked.
“It’s a faraway kingdom,” Daniel said. “Very far away.”
“I should like to see it one day,” Ivan said.
Daniel turned toward Sal. “I thought you already paid the lowest you could find.”
“Yeah, but I’m still having a hard time keeping up. I was three months behind until I sent off a rent check this morning. So, I’m not being evicted, hooray! But I’m also flat broke again.”
“What do you pay now?” Daniel asked.
“It’s $950 per month,” Sal replied.
Sybil laughed. “That’s nothing, try carrying a mortgage.”
“It’s not nothing to me,” Sal said.
“No, I’m commiserating,” Sybil said. “I’m barely making ends meet. Without my father around, I pay the mortgage when it comes in so Farah and I can stay in the house.”
“Well, my family wants me to move in with them in Ohio if I can’t figure out how to get ahead. I’m worried I may have to do that,” Sal said.
“No, Sal! You’d be on a different server,” Daniel said.
“Shh!” Sybil said, thrusting a hand out to stop them from walking. She froze in place, and they did the same.
“What do you hear?” Daniel moved his lips but barely breathed the words out loud.
Sybil didn’t answer. Her eyes scanned the horizon while her elf ears twitched in different directions. Daniel wondered if elves had better hearing than humans and ogres.
Without warning, Sybil was thrust to the ground, landing face first in the dry dirt not far from the river’s edge. Her double-ended spear rolled out of one outstretched hand.
Daniel scanned the area, but didn’t see anyone or an
ything. With the river to the right, and the flat, open Sand Barrens to their left, there was no place for a mob or a PK’er to hide.
Daniel bent down to help Sybil stand up. “What happened?” he asked. As if answering his question, a short blade pierced the spot between his neck and the collar of his iron breastplate. The blade screeched against the metal as the weapon retracted. Daniel’s vision went white with pain for a moment.
>> You’ve been Backstabbed! 940 Damage. [CRITICAL].
His HP bar blinked madly, a sure sign that his hit points were almost entirely gone. From just one hit!
“I could sing Yesterwind,” Sybil said, looking around frantically, “to send a sandstorm through here like you’ve never seen. It would slow them down and give us some cover.”