His health was in the red, just as hers was after the heat wave.
Lunging forward with her staff Thana caught Runner completely unaware as he came in range. The wooden head to her staff drove into his gut even as he swung his sword around from the side to connect with her arm. A low note was heard between them and his screen flashed a single word, “Victory”.
His health was blinking at three percent, her own at one percent.
“Damn me my Lady, that was incredibly well fought. You had some moves I wasn’t expecting there,” Runner expressed with a smile, genuinely surprised.
Glowering up at him through her eyelashes she thumped the butt of her stave into the dirt.
“Clearly it wasn’t enough. I hadn’t expected the Silence. I should have,” she growled out.
“Hey, for someone who has very little actual combat experience, and a whole lot of book learning, that was impressive. Beyond impressive. If I’d hung around that wall for another second rather than ducking into my own spell, I’d be the one who lost. In fact, I’m so impressed, I’ll honor the bet even though you lost. Still gotta cook though when my turn comes.”
Snorting she gave her head a light shake, her dark hair fluttering back and forth.
“Acceptable, I appreciate the graciousness of your victory. Clearly you had some expectations going into this though. Mind sharing what you strategized for those two? Maybe I can benefit from your planning.”
Thana gestured to Katarina and Hannah, changing the subject. She was obviously sore that she lost and had been expecting to win. To be fair she came darn right close. Closer than she had any right to be for how little experience she had in fighting thinking creatures.
Allowing the change in subject he sheathed his sword and leisurely withdrew two beetles from his inventory. Handing one over to Thana he ate his own while gesturing at Hannah with his left hand.
“For her, the exact approach you took with me. Assume she’ll sneak and immediately position behind me. I really only have to withstand a Backstab once and keep eyes on her. She can’t Stealth if I can see her after all. She might use Distract in the exact way I did on you but at that point I’d use AOE since she’d be coming straight for me. Figure if I get a little distance I’d throw spells till she reengages than go toe to toe. She’d try to out skirmish me, attack, retreat, dodge. Her health isn’t built for long drawn out fights. Take bites out of that health bar whenever I was able to. Utilize spells that don’t allow for dodging when she tries to withdraw to make sure I come out ahead in trades. Wash, rinse, repeat till she drops. She’s a Rogue after all, her tools are powerful but limited. To win she has to engage. She’d tear me apart if I tried to fight directly on her own merits.”
Being able to own the fact that Hanna was the superior Rogue didn’t hurt, he’d accepted it a long time ago. With a shrug he watched the two combatants in the center. Katarina was chasing Hannah around doggedly, pushing the Rogue back. Over and over Hannah danced away only to reengage for a second and slip out again. They were both near the fifty percent mark for health. The fight had ground to a halt and looked more like a dance. It’d probably come down to if Katarina could land a strike on Hannah more often than Hannah could land a critical.
Thana nodded at his side, a hand held in front of her mouth as she ate. When she finished with the bug she glanced up at him.
“That was pretty much exactly as Nadine described.”
Runner pulled out another beetle and handed it over to her. Lifting his hand again he indicated Katarina now.
“For Katarina, I dunno. I think she’d beat me to a pulp regardless of what I did. I’d try to mitigate her damage, keep her at bay, work her down. I’d end up having to heal myself. That almost feels like cheating but there it is. She’s built to take punishment and deal out a normal amount of damage. Nothing to write home about, but it adds up. Now include the fact that she takes a real delight in beating me. She’s motivated to win. If I do beat her, she’ll just get that much more worked up over the next contest. Win or lose, I lose.”
Thana’s eyes crinkled up in a hidden smile, her mouth behind her hand as she ate the second beetle. Letting her hand drop she bowed her head in acknowledgment.
“They were right about the second beetle taking on an almost acquired flavor. As to your thoughts, astute observations. I came to a nearly similar conclusion. I plan on challenging Katarina next. Go speak to Nadine about supplying the party, I think we’ll all benefit from your work.”
Thana dismissed him, waving her petite hand at him she started walking to Katarina and Hannah.
With a smile he let out a sigh. He could only agree since she was right. Watching her depart he found himself watching her hips a touch too closely. Shaking his head before he could let that wild thought continue he made his way over to Nadine who was systematically working her way through her supply of crossbow bolts.
Glancing up from her work at his approach Nadine finished loading the bolt. Pulling the butt to her shoulder she let the quarrel fly as soon as she’d lined her target. With a solid thunk it embedded itself within an inner circle, but not quite the bullseye. Definitely a better shot since she first started.
“Certainly doing great with that new crossbow, have you been able to see any skill increases in the log?”
That’d been one of the harder aspects of their world to explain than he’d care to remember. The idea that their every action was chronicled, logged to a social window. Their very death even, only to be ultimately deleted.
“Yes. Th-th-though not as m-much as I’d wish. It also feels strange t-to be here practicing when-n we know th-they’re out there searching for us. Shouldn’t we be m-m-m-making a plan?,” She hesitantly replied, lowering the crossbow.
Shrugging his shoulders he came to a stop next to her, regarding the target ring.
“Any gain is better than where you were, which means all gains are good. Therefore, good work. As to a plan, I’ve already put together some thoughts and a rough outline. We’ll see what we can do to get it moving this afternoon,” Runner admitted, tilting his head to look at her.
Nodding her head in acceptance she shifted her weight around. Deftly she clipped the cranequin into the belt hook on her left side. Drawing her long sword fluidly in her left hand she held it out in front of her.
“Would you be willing t-to help me with t-this? Swinging at the dumm-m-my doesn’t count-t. You’re a dum-my t-too but it’d count-t.”
He laughed deeply as he put his hands on his hips. Taking the time to truly enjoy that terrible joke he laughing heartily. Finally he drew his sword and gave it a little waggle at her.
“As you will. After fencing practice I need you to come with me to go shopping. I wasn’t kidding about seeing what we could do this afternoon. Things to do and all. Seize the fish, tempus flytrap, time waits for nomads,”
Smiling brightly Nadine swung her sword down at his head without another word, having apparently decided his jokes would end if she removed his head.
“Hey, hey, calm down now, one bad pun deserves another.”
They spent half an hour going back and forth, working on her form and ability activations. Though half of combat was automated, one could really eek out the last bits of power and technique by working at it. Another half an hour flew by on reading up on the skills she’d be receiving as she continued to level up. Discussing them and how they’d be used in conjunction with her current abilities.
Runner really wasn’t sure where the rules between NPCs and Players lay anymore. They were significantly blurred now and crisscrossed haphazardly.
If practice gave her an insight on how to use the skills though it’d be worth it. As was usually the case with Nadine she dedicated herself to the lesson. That brilliant and honest disposition helped the cause as she took everything he said seriously and without ill intent.
He’d meant to apologize to Hannah, Katarina, and Thana for having to postpone their duels, but they were still holding mock combats b
etween themselves. Instead, he left them as they were and departed without a word, Nadine in tow. He figured Thana would be able to figure it out and thought no more of it.
Exiting the arena they strolled out into the sunshine. Directly across in an alley Runner caught a flash of movement. Turning to look down the street towards the merchant district another shimmer of movement darted down a side alley.
“Damn, I’m not sure who, but we’ve got a tail. Looks like we’ll be out for a bit longer than I anticipated, and that we’ll need to be leaving sooner than my original plans.”
“I see. N-n-nothing we can-n do about it. Let’s enjoy our walk at least.”
“Nadine, never change please,” Runner said, holding out his arm to her.
Linking her arm in his she started walking, giving him no chance to argue.
Taking their time they made a circulatory route to all the merchants. With no pressing need or a crunch for time they did their best to draw as little attention to themselves as possible while selling off the rest of the goods they’d earned through hunting and questing.
Offloading the last item the merchant handed the payment to Nadine. While Nadine thanked the shopkeeper Runner had left the building and stood beside the roadway in thought. They needed to figure out how to lose their tail and plan for escape.
He had a rudimentary plan to hopefully get out of the city without being noticed. Worst case they could get a few days head start. Maybe. If they could just break contact, lose their tail, remove themselves from the obvious places, and clear some ground it’d be ideal. They could probably lose everyone. Hopefully whoever tailed them now had just as little skill at tracking.
“T-t-that’s the last of it. Easy m-m-money,” Nadine said proudly, standing beside him.
Doing his best snooty noble impersonation he looked down his nose at Nadine, lidding his eyes.
“Book keeper, how much money do I have?” letting the joke go as she arched a brow at him. “No, no, sorry. In all seriousness, I have no idea what our actual finances are,” Runner admitted. Stepping into the road he oriented himself towards the wagon shop at the other end of the merchant quarter.
“Very well. With t-t-the sales of the daggers an-nd offloading t-the rest we’re sitting at n-mearly one hundred Gold.”
Runner couldn’t help but be impressed by that sum. It was already enough to purchase two mounts and enough left over to properly train up a crafting skill. Or maybe a cheap house.
“Solid work Nadine. You’re a real wizard with money. Please invest it all and conjure up more of that sexy merchant lady money magic. The wagon we can keep, so plan around that being in the equation. Set aside some money to purchase everyone a full set of armor up to their current level, as well as weaponry. Minus Kitten I suppose. Buy me sword parts for her instead. If you can find things that have multiple components for everyone else, the better. The more I can take it apart, the better I can make it. So if you found a sword with fractionally less damage but ten more parts, that’d be ideal.”
“Are you sure? T-t-that’s a lot of m-money to spend, especially the arm-m-mor.”
“Money can be replaced, you can’t. There is only one Nadine. Speaking of, purchase a set of health potions for everyone, at least six a piece.”
Nadine furrowed her brow at his growing list but nodded her head. The little merchant was probably already calculating everything down to the last copper.
“Our goal is to reach the border town of Crivel, everyone alive and accounted for. Best to work that route into everything else as well. I’ve been hearing noise that there’s an event going on up there, so expect change in pricing.”
“Food. Word is they’re st-t-ocking up on food,” Nadine supplied after a pause.
“Odd. Only reason people would stock foodstuffs is famine, war, or plague. Maybe it isn’t the time to head up that way. We could take a transport to the main continent but then we’d be under level for the area, which is a whole different can of worms,” scratching at his cheek Runner turned and entered into the vehicle shop.
Tossing an apathetic wave at the salesman Runner looked to Nadine. “I know the wagon is back at the Inn but sell the wagon contract to him. Rent one at the same time for twenty-four hours, it’s all we’ll need it for. Any purchases you make for our trip that’s too heavy to carry around in your inventory regularly you’ll need to come back and sell to him as well.”
Disallowing the inevitable questions Nadine would ask Runner stepped back outside.
Opening his map he traced a finger up along the road to Crivel. It rested nearly dead center on the border with the northern provinces of the large island they were on. If what Nadine said was true, it would seem the northern neighbors were more than likely on the move. Moving his attention further north he found the Commonwealth of the Sunless and the Barbarian tribes. Both were a loose collection of provinces ruled by noble families and their retainers in a feudal society that rolled up to one leader.
Grunting he closed his map and mentally shrugged. It was a risk, but it still presented them with the fastest method of possibly ending this whole ordeal. It had been over a month since he’d entered the game. Ten thousand dead crew mates rested on his shoulders. Every minute longer here put them at risk to lose more brothers and sisters in arms. That they were probably already in Earth space was also a very real possibility. Freeing themselves from the game would put them home instead of on a far off colony planet. It was tantalizing.
Trying to get this done while being ten levels under the recommended bracket is a death sentence. The main land is out.
Confirming his plan of action with that thought, he set a waypoint marker for Crivel. Those who made the game had prided themselves on making it real world relevant as far as distances and travel time went. At the moment Runner cursed them rather than share in their marvel of realism and level of immersion. It would take them the better part of a three to four weeks to get there by foot and wagon. Traveling in this manner wasn’t exactly ideal but it would provide them the greatest opportunity to lose their hunters too.
Nadine stepped in front of him, glaring at him. “Care t-t-to explain that n-now? You t-t-t-told me to plan around it and m-m-made me sell m-m-my wagon.”
“Certainly. First, there’s a buyback function that lasts for twenty-four hours. Everything you sell to the vehicle shop you can buy back at no extra cost, so long as it’s done within twenty-four hours. Second, typically, wagons and other vehicles are not left out when they’re not in use or empty. They’re stored in their inventory. Strange to store a wagon like that, but there it is. It’s the way video games work really.”
Closing the map he smiled at her and started back towards the heart of the commodities market.
“We’ll simply set up the rented wagon in the same spot as where the original was. We’ve already been in town for, what, a week? They’ll have resorted to watching the wagon at night by this point to determine if we’re leaving or still there. Well, probably. No guarantee on that but familiarity breeds contempt. In other words, the lack of subterfuge on our part has created a lack of awareness on their part.”
Nadine nodded her head after a flash of understanding. “I un-n-nderstand. Won’t they notice the wagon is missing right now?”
“Possible, but I doubt it. They’re all watching us or the arena right now. Could be wrong, but I doubt it. I figure the wagon switch will either lose them entirely, or set them into a panic when the rental vanishes tomorrow. They’ll assume we just took it out when they weren’t looking and start checking the gates. Exiting from the western gate, the same one we came in from, we circle around the town to the north. At the same time, I purchased a ticket for a wagon caravan to the south. The time just happens to coincide with our departure,” Runner paused to check the in game clock. “Five minutes after the wagon rental goes poof to be exact. With a bit of luck, they’ll assume we went out with that caravan. Considering it cost nearly nothing to volunteer to be part of a wagon caravan we’
ll be out nothing.”
“But t-t-the Naturals who sold the t-tickets aren’t awake. They’re n-n-normal. T-they wouldn’t know an-nything,” Nadine countered.
“No guarantee what our pursuers will or won’t do. I’d rather pay the minuscule fee on the off chance it works out, rather than regret that I didn’t. I also posted a bulletin in the jobs board asking for a guide to escort us to the southern coastal port for the portion of the trip that extends beyond the caravan destination.”
“T-t-that really seems like too m-much.”
“Meh. It also cost very little. I’d rather crush it with my wallet. Besides, if they work all that much harder at it, they’ll be more likely to trust it. Anything too easily obtained and they’ll disbelieve it.”
Nadine shook her head slowly, clearly not sold on the whole idea.
“Seriously, what’s the worst that happens? I lose a few coins? It’ll be fine,” Runner idly promised. Waving his arm in front of him at the market ahead he continued. “Now let’s make those purchases we talked about. I’d rather not make Lady Death angrier than I have to. Besides, it’s been a great day for a walk.”
Chapter 15 - Sardine Wagon -
2:51pm Sovereign Earth time
10/11/43
Nadine paused long enough to dump all of the purchases they made, including her current gear, in the corner on her way to her bed. Even before the sound of clattering gear could dissipate, Nadine was collapsing into the sheets with nothing but her small clothes on.
Runner went over to the mess and started sorting it out based on who the item would go to.
With a quiet chirp of surprise he was delighted to find the sword they’d purchased pointed North. Dropping his own short swords to test this he found they all indeed pointed north. It was a small thing but amusing none the less. At this point Runner would take any amusement he could muster up.
He picked out Nadine’s crossbow and decided to start there since it was current gear and would be used regardless of him upgrading it or not. In short order he had dismantled it and laid out on the dinning table like a grizzly autopsy. Planning the enchantments in his head to min-maxed the hell out of her weapon. Idly he rubbed his thumb against the wood grain of the stock.
Otherlife Dreams: The Selfless Hero Trilogy Page 22