by Charles Dean
Your party has killed the player Robert. Your party has been awarded 25 copper, one oak bow and 110 Experience. Your share of this is 12 copper and 55 Experience.
“What?” Although Lee was happy to see the prompt that let him know he wouldn’t have to square off against this dagger-wielding maniac alone, he was still taken aback by the bandit’s words. I thought people kept calling me the Herald. What is he talking about?
“Your death is the true god’s will!” the Leprechaun shouted again before charging at Lee.
What the heck is he talking about? Lee wondered for a split second before his instincts kicked in, and he went straight into defensive mode. He pushed the corpse forward as hard as he could and stalled the man mid-attack, forcing the Leprechaun to throw up both hands and catch the body to prevent the dead Firbolg from knocking him to the ground.
Lee took advantage of this second opening as the Leprechaun flung his slaughtered comrade to the side and stabbed him in the gut. As soon as he had drawn his sword back, Lee slammed into the stunned man and tackled him to the ground. The Leprechaun struggled to throw Lee off, but he pushed him back down and used his weight to hold him in place, even though he lost his grip on his sword in the process.
“He’s mine!” Miller shouted. “Roll off the bastard now!”
“The Herald will avenge me!” the Leprechaun shouted again as Lee rolled off him.
“There is but one god, and he will toast with your fermented blood tonight,” Miller shouted as he stabbed his spear straight into the Leprechaun’s chest. It didn’t pierce through the downed man’s armor, but it was obvious that the three combined blows he had suffered were taking their toll. Miller pulled his spear back and slammed the heel of his boot down onto the Leprechaun’s chest, pinning him with his back against the ground. “Hold his arms.”
“Okay?” Lee did his best to grab ahold of the man’s flailing arms and prevent him from either attacking Miller or pushing him off. He finally managed to pin the man’s arms and looked up to see Miller ripping the top part of the Leprechaun’s armor off. “What are you doing? We don’t have time for that type of play. We still have to—” catch up to the old couple Ethan is following. No, I can’t say that. “We still have to rescue the others.”
“There is time for this much.” Miller grinned in a devilish fashion that deeply disturbed Lee. “Justice demands vengeance, and those on the side of good must become the swift arms of righteousness lest the wicked walk over us!” he declared. He reached down, and his fingers slowly dug under the Leprechaun’s clavicles. Lee heard a snap a moment later as the man’s collar bones broke, the shattered fragments piercing through skin as Miller kept tugging on them. The Leprechaun screamed in agony as his body was drug apart from the inside.
“I’m sorry, friend,” Miller said to the Leprechaun as one last pull with his massive strength finally wrenched two pieces of the collar bones free. “But your wickedness was great, and I must keep my promises.”
“Please . . . Please stop! Please stop!” the Leprechaun howled through mouthfuls of gurgled blood in a barely intelligible fashion. Lee let go of the man’s arms, their movements pitiful and weak, no longer even needing to be suppressed.
“You people shouldn’t have done that to Shannon,” Miller shouted loudly enough for the entire forest to hear. Even before the last word left his mouth, the Firbolg stabbed down, jamming the two pieces of freshly broken bone straight into the Leprechaun’s eyes.
Your party has killed the player Cornwallace. Your party has been awarded 57 copper, one bronze dagger and 125 Experience. Your share of this is 28 copper, one bronze dagger and 62 Experience.
“There, now I’m done. Now I feel better,” Miller said, his foot crushing the Leprechaun’s rib cage as he stood up.
“Can we go now?” Lee asked, his eyes still transfixed on the victim of Miller’s rage. He shot a glance over at Miller’s first kill, only to see that the man had been stabbed repeatedly through the gut with a spear. It wasn’t as gruesome or destructive as what he had done to the Leprechaun, but it was a gruesome death nonetheless.
“I think we’ve wasted enough time here,” Lee reiterated. They were fighting the clock, and he couldn’t stress the need for them to hurry enough. There was also the fact that he wanted to leave the scene before the gruesome sight of the bodies upset his stomach. He had found out, since coming to this world, that he could handle the sight of death and violence, but that didn’t mean that certain things like what Miller had done to Geoffrey and this poor sap with clavicles in his eyes didn’t still make him a bit queasy, even if he thought the man deserved it.
“Then lead the way. I’m sure we’ve done enough to honor Augustus with blood here.” Miller just grinned wickedly, a broad smile plastered on his face.
Even if you’re more familiar with this game than me, how can you be so comfortable with what you’ve done at a gut level? Is my first convert secretly a sociopath? Lee suppressed an urge to shudder, not wanting his emotions to be seen.
——-
After leaving the three bodies behind, the two continued on their chase. It took a lot longer than Lee expected, and the latter half of the journey became more difficult as the flat land slowly inclined and they began climbing what Lee could only imagine was the base of a mountain.
“Hey, Miller,” Lee asked as they continued their climb through the woods. “I’ve been wondering, was there another Herald before me?”
“Huh? You mean did I meet another holy guy in the town before I met you? No, of course not. How can there be another Herald when Augustus has already picked you?”
“Oh.” Lee sighed. Then what was that mad Leprechaun on about? He was clearly talking about another Herald. From his ranting, it sounded like there was another one, but that can’t be, can it? Lee was starting to wonder. Miller only showed up shortly before I did, so if another guy came by a few months ago, weeks, or even days before I did, then Miller wouldn’t know anything about it. He’d be as oblivious as I am. That means I need to ask someone like Ramon about it if I want the real answer. “Well, never mind then.”
“It’s okay. We’ll get a drink soon.” Miller’s grin seemed to grow, seemingly undeterred by the distance they’d traveled as the two pressed on.
By that, you mean you’re going to kill enough people that it justifies having a drink, Lee thought, interpreting his words.
When they were finally close to catching the couple, Lee forced Miller to slow down. He considered just being quiet and stealthy, but after thinking about how he didn’t actually have an argument good enough to compel the loud war beast of a man into quiet and inconspicuous behaviors, he decided to just zigzag the path to slow their ascent so they would always be equidistant to the couple. He was worried that Miller would catch onto what he was doing, but fortunately enough, it wasn’t long before the couple arrived at the destination.
“Hold up,” Lee said, stopping Miller. “We’re here, but let me figure out where here is first before we go charging in.”
“Right! Then we—” Miller began, his voice was so loud that Lee had to hush him right away.
“Shh!”
Lee took in the situation as best as he could through Ethan’s rodent eyes as the mouse feverishly worked his way around the encampment. The couple had disappeared inside, though he didn’t know exactly where yet. From what he could tell based on a single quick survey, there were a few wooden structures next to a hole in the mountain, probably a cave, that extended farther than even Ethan could see. A mining shaft. This is a mining camp, Lee concluded as he began to recognize the features.
The building closest to the mine shaft was the largest and obviously the sleeping quarters for the workers—most likely the people taken from the village who had been forced into slavery. He knew it was a slave quarters just from the smell, but the lack of sanitation facilities and the fact that everyone in their cot was shivering and covered in dirt confirmed it. It was obvious that they weren’t used to working
in mines, and the blisters on their hands showed it. They had been worked so hard and abused so badly that not an inch of their body was unmarred. There was also fear. The pungent smell was unmistakable to Ethan, even with the horrendous bodily odors, and two guards stationed inside.
The slaves didn’t even so much as look at one another or bother to say a single word. It’s the attitude of beaten dogs. They’re too afraid to move for fear of another beating. Lee glanced over at Miller. He knew that, if Miller could see what he did, his patience would end immediately. The Firbolg would charge the camp and fight until either every slaver in the place was dead or he was. He’d probably do something a lot worse than what he did to that Leprechaun too. Lee shuddered at the thought.
Next to the building with the slaves, separated by at least twenty feet, was another smaller building. After getting a peek inside of it, Lee realized it was the barracks. Around forty people were currently asleep inside, save for a single guard watching the door. There were also two guards outside the building with weapons drawn. The guard on the inside didn’t seem to have his weapon on him and instead had a strange green book open in front of him. It seemed less like he was trying to protect someone and more like he was checking people in and out.
The last remaining building was about fifteen feet directly across from the main barracks. It was a storage facility filled with mining carts, torches, and food rations. Unlike the other two buildings, which had metal in their frames and metal-reinforced wooden doors that swung outward, this building had a solid wooden double door that was the same color as Miller’s treated mugs. This entrance was large and designed so that the slaves wouldn’t have trouble moving the mining carts in and out. The most noteworthy thing about this building, as far as Lee was concerned, was that it was entirely deserted. It didn’t hold any weapons or anything of great value that might be easily looted, so it made sense that they didn’t bother keeping it defended. There was also the fact that the guards posted outside of the barracks would be able to defend both facilities without a problem and keep note of who was going in and out of the emptied storage facility.
On Lee’s command, Ethan did his best to find a way into the supply warehouse; and, sure enough, there was a weak spot in one of the walls. The rodent snuck around and used his teeth to gnaw through the weak point, leaving an opening wide enough for Lee and Miller to pull off a few boards and get inside.
“Miller, I’ve just communed with Augustus, and he’s a little upset with you,” Lee began, spinning his lies to get Miller to behave. He had an idea, one that he was mostly stealing from books he’d read and movies he had watched, but it was still a decent idea.
Miller was flabbergasted at the possibility that he could have possibly committed a sin.
“What? Why is he upset with me? I’ve done nothing but deliver his wrath to the doubters of the land!”
“He says you stabbed someone through the heart, and you fulfilled your other promise to him with the collar bones, but . . .” Lee trailed off, giving time for Miller to realize what he’d forgotten.
“I didn’t burn them! I didn’t torch their corpses and leave their cooked flesh for dogs and vultures to feast on!” Miller had a look of guilt and shock written across his face. “You’re right! I’ve sinned! I had the chance. There were bodies there, but I was in a rush to follow you, so I forgot what to do!”
“But it’s okay.” Lee put a hand on Miller’s shoulder. “It’s okay, big guy. Augustus says you can appease him now, but you’ll need to burn a lot more than one or two people.”
“How many must I kill and burn?”
“Well, actually . . .” Lee grinned. “He wants you to burn some people alive.”
Miller’s eyes, which were already wide open from shock at his transgression, managed to open up even further. “Truly the God of Alcohol and Crafts is a twisted and creative deity of destruction for such an act to be the only way to appease him.” Miller seemed at odds with himself, his eyes turning about continuously in his head. “But how do I burn people alive? Should we knock them out first? Is that how we should do this?”
“No, no, no,” Lee answered patiently, shaking his head. “Just follow me, and do as I say. You’ll need to kill a few people without burning them, but if all goes well, Augustus will be very pleased with you. By the time we’re done, you’ll have earned the right to drink great gallons of beer and wine in his name.”
“Okay, show me the way,” Miller replied feverishly. The two of them snuck around the camp toward the back of the storage shed, and by the time they reached it, Ethan was spying on the old couple, who seemed to be arguing with the man holding the green book.
Lee and Miller quietly ripped open the hole, removed the boards and slipped into the storage room without a problem.
“Well, what do we do here?” Miller whispered.
Lee thought about his plan. He knew that all the best-laid plans of mice and men, or Ethan and himself as it was in this case, often would go awry, so he kept it as simple as possible. He went over each point two or three times with Miller so that he wouldn’t be confused when the battle broke out, stressing that he needed to achieve the goal first before going on a murderous rampage. Once everything was set, he sent Ethan to scout ahead and report back for the best possible moment to make their move. Lee was nervous, but if things went well, he’d be climbing levels and enjoying a good barbecue bloodbath. Then again, if things went poorly, he’d be dead—and dead here was dead for good.
Chapter 6
Name: Lee
Race: Human
Class: Herald - None
Level: 5
Health: 150/150
EXP: 248/750
Primary Stats:
Power 15
Toughness 15
Spirit 15
Secondary Stats:
Charisma 5
Courage 5
Deceit 1
Intelligence 30
Honor 1
Faith 3
Skills:
Unarmed Combat: Initiate Level 2
Swordplay: Initiate Level 3
Sneak: Initiate Level 3
Cooking: Initiate Level 1
Divine Skills:
Golem Sculpting: Initiate Level 5
Appreciative Drunk: Initiate Level 2
“You ready?” Lee asked in a whisper. He felt like he was asking himself as much as he was Miller. Despite the fact that they had already survived one fight that day, he was still terrified of what was about to happen.
“Left or right?” Miller asked, staring at the cart.
If I put him on the left, then he’s more likely to be attacked . . . but if I put him on the right, then I have more control over the plan, so it’s more likely to succeed. But . . . I’d much rather that he died before I did. He felt bad admitting this, but given that Miller wasn’t going to suffer a permanent death, it just seemed logical. Before he could tell Miller to take the left side, however, Miller spoke up and answered his own question.
“I’m a right-hand guy. I’m going right,” Miller answered resolutely.
“That’s fine.” Lee sighed and braced himself behind the big metal cart on the left side. They had piled a ton of crap that they had found lying around in the shed into the metal cart, and despite the fact that it was designed to haul heavy loads, getting it started moving wasn’t going to be easy.
“Actually”—Lee looked at the cart—“can you push that thing without me?”
Miller gave it a nudge and then pushed on it. “Yeah, I can. You got my back with support?”
“Of course,” Lee said, pulling out a bow. They had found a storage of arrows in the shed along with everything else, and he had decided that it would be great to get some use out of the oak bow he had just obtained. No matter how much he tried, he still didn’t have the ability to calm his nerves to the point where he was comfortable regarding the whole ‘let’s go in and raid a camp while vastly outnumbered’ thing.
He lit a small pile
of trash on fire just inside the door and stuck several arrows with oil-soaked torch wrappings tied to them next to it. Finally, after running out of excuses to stall with, he gave Miller a pat on the back to signal that it was time. The massive Firbolg leaned into the cart with all of his strength and strained against the load, but a moment later, the cart lurched forward and burst through the shed door.
Lee crouched down behind the mine cart and used it for cover until it was completely out of the shed and then made his way up into the doorway, an arrow nocked and ready. He popped up long enough to loose his first shot at the guard on Miller’s left, and the arrow whizzed through the air and struck the man’s shoulder, causing him to scream out in a strange combination of shock and pain. Crap, crap, hurry! Lee nocked another arrow as quickly as he could and fired it at the man again. The second arrow flew past the guard and stuck into the door.
Having realized what was going on, the injured guard drew a sword and charged toward Lee. There wasn't much of a distance between the two buildings, and Lee knew that the guard would clear the span in a short moment, injured or not. Giving up on killing the guard for a moment, he grabbed one of the prepared arrows, lit the torch wrappings on the small fire he had lit, and shot it onto the roof of the barracks. As soon as he saw the arrow hit his target, he began repeating the process.
Somewhere between the second and third arrows, Miller slammed the mine cart into the guard barracks, and with herculean strength, he heaved the cart onto its side so that it was wedged against the wooden door. It was an awkward, rushed attempt, and not without consequences. The second guard took advantage of the busy Firbolg and used the opportunity to lash out with a short sword, stabbing into Miller’s chest several times before he finished his work. Once his job was completed, however, Miller jumped back and turned to face the guard, blood streaming down his chest.