by Brent Roth
It was a cyclical nature, and one that couldn't really be explained.
What made something popular was often random, and once it was engrained in current thought, breaking the mold could prove difficult if not disastrous.
The developers wanted to figure out how to sway public opinion, to advertise the remaining open territories in the game, to popularize areas that weren't favorites.
I thought it was all a waste of time.
Those who appreciate it, will find it.
It may take some time, but given the right circumstances, it will happen.
Attempting to figure it all out was truly pointless.
Oh well, there wasn't much I could do about it here and now. I had my territory, that small village… all alone up there that everyone now knew of. They might not have known the owner was the lone guy sitting at the bar, eating some potato stew and drinking a dark beer, but they knew my village.
What bothered me, was that these random people had heard, no, read about this information on a blog. Releasing information within the meeting was one thing, but there were rules on confidentiality and not reporting it to the general public. Leaks always happened though. Some individual sharing everything for the good of the people, breaking rules and regulations so as to get popular while pretending to be Robin Hood.
Truth was, he or she wouldn't get punished for it. The offense wasn't that bad, at least not to the company.
Having nearly finished my meal, I started to think about my plans going forward. I had my cattle in tow, a couple of kittens too, and my dungeon questing was nearly complete. The only thing left, was to return home… to see Selene and Katherine again.
As I was thinking of the girls, a woman entered the tavern wearing a heavy robe that covered her from head to toe. All I could see were the black leather boots and the tips of her dark brown hair poking out from the hood covering her face.
Normally, I wouldn't bother looking.
Well, I might glance… once or twice.
Something was off though, with her walk.
And that's when I noticed that she had a cane, though she didn't seem to be relying on it much. A cane was a bit peculiar, but if she was a caster it was a suitable weapon if not a bit rare and out of place at the moment. Most casters didn't bother with weapons as it slowed them down, especially since enchanted weaponry wasn't really available yet. Yeah, she was odd… odd enough to catch my eye.
Continuing to eat what little was left on my plate, I could see out of my peripheral vision that she was looking for a place to sit. She ended up settling on the bar a few stools away, at the end far from the rest of us. A few minutes had passed, as I played with my food and wondered if there was anything interesting to do while waiting for Barik and the others. The girl ordered some food, but I stopped paying attention after that.
She was interesting for a minute.
After a few seconds though, it was creepy on my part.
That was, until I heard some laughter coming from her direction. The table behind her got me to turn my head, only to witness what was possibly the oddest thing I had ever seen when it came to someone eating at a bar. The girl was touching her food, hovering her hand over the plate and gently feeling each ingredient with the tip of her index finger, as if she had no clue as to what she was looking at.
She was interesting again.
"Mm. Excuse me," she called out to the barkeep with a voice that sounded awfully familiar. After he came over, she pointed at the food in front of her and politely asked, "could you tell me what this is?"
I couldn't see her face, but the expression of the barkeep was easily visible.
"It's what you ordered miss, are you unhappy with the quality?"
She seemed a little taken aback as her head moved slightly and her voice wavered ever so slightly, "Ah. No, everything is quite alright. Sorry for the confusion."
The barkeep was confused and shook his head as he walked away. I didn't quite blame him even if I felt he misunderstood. She asked a weird question and if I hadn't seen her poking her food a second ago, I probably would have responded in the same way. The way she was handling herself, the only thought that had crossed my mind, was that of a child who had never seen that type of food before.
My guess, was she honestly wanted to know what type of food it was.
I was tempted to answer the question for her.
Yeah, why not… there was nothing to lose.
"That's an aebleskiver right there," I said with a slightly raised voiced to catch her attention while pointing at the donut-like pancake. "It's more of a breakfast item the way it's served, usually it comes with jam and powdered sugar though."
"Oh, I see," she replied with only a quick glance in my direction before turning back to face her food. "I've never had it before, it seemed interesting. Perhaps I should not have ordered it for dinner, then." As she said that, she poked it once more which almost made me laugh out loud. She had an innocence to her that was somewhat charming. She didn't make eye contact, but she seemed friendly enough.
"It doubles as a dessert," I replied lightly with a laugh. "I think you're good."
"Is that so?" she countered with a cheerful voice of her own.
My mind was slow on the uptake but even despite that, I knew she was too familiar to be a stranger. I couldn't place it. Her mannerisms weren't new to me, even if they were slightly strange. The way she responded as well, was making me question my memory a bit. I was missing something. Ah, it did sound like she had an accent though, but with the noise from the tavern it was hard to hear.
If I could see her face, it might change everything.
"You wouldn't happen to-" I started to ask before being rudely interrupted.
"Can I help you?" she asked bluntly but passively.
She wasn't talking to me though.
During our conversation, the four men that had been blocking the doorway earlier had made their way over to the bar. Now, the four of them stood around her, surrounding her essentially on all sides.
"Hey, you're a healer aren't ya?" asked one of the guys that had crowded behind her.
I was a bit surprised that she could sense them, as she never turned around and her head was still covered by her hood. She either had exceptional hearing or a skill that alerted her to people approaching.
It was a bit strange.
"I am," she replied curtly while continuing to stare at her food.
"We're headed to the dungeon, come heal for us," continued the same man.
"I have to decline, I already have prior arrangements," she stated with a matter-of-fact tone of voice as she started to eat the meal in front of her.
Normally, this is where most people would leave.
Of course, these guys couldn't take a hint.
"Eh don't be like that, we'll take good care of you," said another man as he leaned in next to her. At the same time the other guy relaxed his arms on the counter on the opposite side, crowding her even more. They were a bit too close… but I wasn't going to jump in and cause a scene. I almost started a fight earlier when they were blocking the doorway, only for them to walk off.
Maybe they were slow to react.
"Come on, I'll buy you some real food, better than that slop you're eating."
Following up on his buddy's sales pitch, the man that was currently leaning in to her lowered his voice, to the point where I could barely hear it.
"Yeah, if it's money you're after we've got deep pockets babe."
"I'm not interested," she replied rather bluntly and somewhat harshly as she set her hands down on the counter. I could sense the agitation in her voice, as her patience had started to dry up. Well, I had stopped eating when they made their way over and interrupted, but I was nearly finished anyway.
"Hey come on, don't be like that," growled the number two guy, as he reached out and grabbed her arm. She reactively flinched as she tried to distance herself but had nowhere to go as the men had completely surrounded her.
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br /> Yeah, I had seen enough.
"Hey, give the girl her space," I interjected roughly. "She isn't interested."
The two men in the back that had yet to speak up were the first to glance over, followed by the other two. The girl continued to stare at her food, keeping her head down. Their faces were a sight to behold though, disdain clearly showing. They didn't seem to like me butting in while they were in the middle of their coercion tactic.
"What the girl and I are doing is none of your business, hear me?" threatened the ring-leader as he closed his fist on the counter. He wanted to impose his will, unfortunately I was too tired of arguing with gamers.
"Nah, I'm not hearing you," I retorted, with my hands still resting off my pant pockets. I had an unassuming stance, each thumb in a pocket with arms relaxed and elbows slightly out. Taking a few steps forward and standing in the middle of the group of the four, it was my turn to have some fun.
"My patience is short, fellas."
"Yeah?" asked the ring-leader while standing up and turning to gesture towards his friends. "What are you going to do about it, you, against us?"
The penalty for fighting inside town was severe, and I didn't really care too much but the loss of reputation would be hard to recover. As much as I wanted to strike them down where they stood, with everyone else in close proximity a bar fight could unravel in short order. Yeah, I needed to get them outside.
"Waddle on home little ducklings, you don't know what you're getting into," I snickered while waving my hand in a half-assed shooing motion.
"What the fuck, you're calling us ducks?" one of the other guys questioned. "That doesn't even make sense, the fuck are you on about."
They didn't know what to make of the insult, hell, even I didn't know what to make of it. They just resembled a bunch of ugly ducklings to me and seemed so out of place.
"No, I called you a duckling, a baby duck," I said seriously. "But, I realize the error of my ways, it was a momentary lapse in judgment, an insult to ducklings everywhere."
"This kid, he thinks he's funny," laughed out one of the guys.
"Think you're tough, guy?" asked another. "Step outside, I dare you."
"Yeah, let's see you run your mouth when you aren't protected by the town NPCs," said the third man. "Come on, don't back out now, hero boy."
A grin crossed my face as my objective had been completed.
"Sure!" I exclaimed with enthusiasm. "I'll lead the way, I know a great spot."
It was the stupidest insult I probably ever could have thought of, but these guys were all too eager to prove themselves. Baiting them to their deaths seemed cruel, well they asked for it. I felt no shame or remorse in doing so.
I didn't even have to get vulgar or insult them on a deeper level.
Superficial childish insult for the win, I thought to myself.
Grabbing my gear bag that was on the floor next to my barstool, I continued to walk out of the tavern and past the town boundary, stopping once I had reached a neutral zone with a small clearing. No one had followed us, surprisingly.
Well, maybe it wasn't that unusual.
We didn't really make much of a scene as no one had been yelling, if the other tenants weren't paying attention, they probably wouldn't have noticed anything going on. That was better for me, since I didn't want anyone to really see what I was about to do. I had recently picked up a new spell… one that I had been grinding for, for quite some time. It was about time to give it a whirl.
"Bet you regret trying to play the hero now, don'cha?" asked one of the guys with a smirk. Ignoring him, I decided to check out the gear that they were all wearing. They were all melee types, four warriors essentially based on the two-handed weapons three of them had and the one-handed sword plus shield of the fourth. A horrible composition really, they would always be fighting for the same gear and in groups they were entirely one-dimensional. Well, they hadn't really showed any capability of making the right decisions so far, so it wasn't unexpected that they would all run the same class-type.
"Let's get this over with already," I plainly stated. "I've got places to be."
"Next time, you should mind your own damn business," threatened one of the guys.
"Yeah, right," I replied. "Heard that the first time, any last words?"
"Fuck this asshole," yelled out another guy as he grasped his weapon.
Two men leveled their spears and began to charge with a hoarse battle cry, closing the distance between us in a matter of seconds. Kicking back to create space, the wet grass provided lousy footing as I struggled to get into position. In an instant, both men used a [Lunge] and thrust their spears out with one arm, hoping to land a first strike.
A quick draw of my one-handed axe from its sling and a deft swing easily deflected both spearheads as the third man with a two-handed sword, stepped forth and dropped a [Heavy Swing] on me. Reacting as quickly as I could, I brought my shield to bear the brunt of the impact and took the hit that sent me sliding back in the light mud. A drizzle had started to fall as I took a step back and watched the three regain their composure.
They weren't entirely suicidal or brainless, after all.
The fourth man with the shield, the ring leader, circled around me as he watched the fight unfold. Four to one, he was waiting for a moment to strike, to hit me from behind as I deflected and defended myself from the onslaught of the three before me.
That was his plan, most likely.
Not a bad one, but it wouldn't work… it would only serve to play into my hands.
Keeping my eyes on the three in front of me while trying to maintain the shadow of the fourth, I shifted my feet as I stole a glance at my shield. It had cracked slightly during a sub-boss fight and wasn't at full-strength… if that claymore hit the right spot, there was a good chance my shield would shatter.
I needed to be careful.
A foot shifted, and then in an instant one of the spearmen dashed forward with another [Lunge] as he aimed at my torso. Stepping into the lunge, I tucked my shield into my side as I twisted and contorted my body to let the spear slide through the gap, locking my shield arm down on the shaft of the spear and hooking the man with my axe.
Grasping the handle and ripping back as hard as I could, the axe cut through the man's neck as blood began to pour. Screams followed but before I could react, a [Quick Thrust] came from my left as the other spearmen went for a light pinpoint attack. The spear clipped my shield and grazed my shoulder, slicing through the leather but not deep enough to pierce my skin.
In that moment, a blur caught my attention out of my peripheral vision as I tucked and rolled into the second spearman, just in time as the claymore cut through the air where I had been but a split-second ago. Crashing into the dirt, the large sword sent clumps of grass and soil flying up and around me, obscuring my vision in the slight rain.
Then the expected followed, as the shadow made its appearance with a [Shield Bash] from behind, but I was ready for it, I was waiting for it.
On my knees, tangled up with the two spearmen and the other two within arm's reach, I brought both of my arms into my chest as I gathered an enormous amount of energy and began to shake as electricity wrapped around my body. Still on the ground, curled up nearly in a ball, the electricity that had surrounded me began to expand rapidly as a shell formed around me, and then, it exploded.
A one-second cast from start to finish, it all happened in a flash.
A literal flash, an explosion of light, of thunder cracking the air, of balled up energy no longer containable, spreading and disrupting the entire area around me. The four men that had been within an arm's reach were instantaneously and simultaneously thrown back, knocked outwards an easy ten feet as they fell to the ground, stunned from the impact as they tried to understand what had happened.
Lying on their backs, grasping their heads and clutching their weapons, they were momentarily incapable of defending themselves.
Without bothering to stand up, I raised bo
th arms and initiated a [Chain Lightning] without a chanted verse. Even though the cast time was short, there was plenty of time for them to gather themselves.
Three men were getting back to their feet in front of me, cursing at me, muttering under their breaths, bitching and moaning that I had pulled a fast one.
"Chain lightning," I mumbled with a sinister grin appearing across my face.
Another flash, another crack, and the intertwined bolts of lightning cut through the air and rain only to impact, spread, and dissipate faster than I could exhale. The three struggled to move as their health had fallen to below half and the paralyzing after-effects kept them down, but I wasn't done.
Not yet, there was more to the magic show.
Gathering myself mentally, I focused on a spot behind the man with the claymore as he was the first to get up. With one knee still on the ground, all I had to do, was think of the next words, Flash Step.
An exhilarating feeling followed, one that left me holding my breath as if it would suck the air out of my lungs if I didn't. My body had dematerialized faster than I could register as I shot through the air, and by the time I realized where I was, my axe had been raised. My mind finally catching up to my body, I eyed the bastard-swordsman kneeling before me, as I hacked once into the base of his skull from behind.
The sound of a skull shattering was rather silent, but the feeling was real enough. Like hacking into a coconut, the thud could be felt through my hand and forearm, and once it broke through the hard outer shell, the mushy interior was reaved into two. His body limp, my axe stuck, I let go as I eyed the two spearmen next to me.
An arm outstretched, a connection between us was made.
Lightning fluctuated, ebbed and flowed, surged and waned.
In three seconds the man had ceased his movements as the other two had backed away, watching in horror. They weren't aware of my secret, they had no clue.
The truth was, that I was a bully.
They had brought this on themselves.
Bringing both palms together and taking a lowered stance, with legs spread shoulder-width apart, I bent at the knees and began to cast a [Lightning Bolt]. It was all I had left mana wise… two more [Lightning Bolts] and I would be empty, gassed of mana and with only my shield and bow left.