A quest prompt popped into my vision and the suddenness of it made me jump a bit. I saw that Grimy and Bataar were busy, meaning they had received it, too. It read:
Well, hello there, mighty adventurers! It is I! The great Muzuhlan! You are closer to me than you might think and I would fancy a visit from you three! From where you stand, there is a tiny hill not too far in the distance called Pally’s Refuge. I will be waiting there in a white gazebo. You’ll instantly recognize me for I will be wearing my best purple silk wardrobe! I’m sure the three of you have so many questions for me. Be warned, the answers will not be what you expect. Do you accept this quest?
Bataar had already accepted and was staring off into the distance, most likely thinking about his past mentor. Well, I guess I couldn’t really pretend to understand what he was thinking. We’d had no time to rest, escaping near death experience after near death experience. We were mentally exhausted.
I was just about to suggest we head that way when my chat lit up.
Inotep: I’m coming for you.
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I copied the chat message to Bataar and Grimy. We looked at each other, fear and exhaustion written into our faces. Then, we ran and we ran like mad. I opened my map and, trying my best not to trip on anything, discovered Pally’s Refuge which was very close to the capital city Titania.
Tharis: Follow me, guys. It’s this way.
It wasn’t a few seconds after I sent that message that I heard the whistling of some flying object headed towards me. I sprinted with all my might but it was no use. Something caught me by my ankles and spun themselves pulling my feet close together and forced me to bite the dust.
“Ah, damn!” cried Bataar, coming to a halt so fast that he had to dig his feet into the dirt to come to a complete stop.
I looked down and targeted the thing wrapped around my ankles. It was called a bola and looked to be a thick piece of string with a rocked tied to each end. I quickly used my fingers to try and unravel it but it was no use.
Grimy made it over to me first and was just about to bite at the bola when Bataar shoved him aside.
“Move, goblin!” commanded Bataar, who was just about to cut the string with his axe when another bola came out of nowhere and wrapped the greataxe tightly to his head. “Ah!” he cried, letting out a mouthful of flames. The bola caught on fire but was not burning the Archean’s face. He fell to the ground and put the flames out by rolling his head in the dirt.
Two figures stepped out from the foliage. I could see Inotep’s burning, blue eyes before anything. I turned and looked at the horizon and figured that this would be the last sunrise I would ever see. It was sad, but I’d never really gotten to enjoy all the smaller things because I had been too busy running for my life and frankly… I was sick of it.
“Take this off me and I’ll fight you fair and square,” I said, taking a knee and standing up carefully. The way the bola kept my feet so close together had me feeling like a complete idiot.
Inotep was snickering which meant he was probably thinking the same thing. That bastard.
I was done talking. I equipped my sword and was just about to snap the bola with its edge when Inotep’s shadow stepped in front of me and pushed me backward. I fell like a tree that had just been cut down. I held strongly to my sword with my right hand but flailed with my left. I was able to barely catch myself and was just about to try and stand up when Inotep gave me a nasty kick to the ribs.
“Oof!”
I was on my side now, dangerously close to the edge. I watched as Bataar charged Inotep like a bull, his head and greataxe parallel to the ground. Inotep sidestepped easily and tripped Bataar who also fell very close to the edge.
All the while, Tahshine watched this sad event play out, her face emotionless. I caught her eye and she quickly turned away from me.
Inotep bent low to me again. I tried to headbutt his face but he was too quick for me and pulled his head back with ease.
“Now, now, that was a cheap move,” he said, which was ironic for his fighting style. This guy was nothing but cheap tricks.
He rolled me over onto my back with his foot. “Before I show you my special ability, I want to answer your question. My answer is no. I will not unbind you and play your little game. You’re not the only legendary Beastheart titled player in this game and my time is best spent tracking the others down.”
I asked another question, trying to buy time. “What do you mean by game?”
Inotep’s eyebrows came together and his face was that of genuine confusion. Then, he shook off the question and stood up. “I know what you’re trying to do. I’m not just another handsome face,” he said, tossing a lock of his long, blue hair over his shoulder. “I know you’re probably contacting your guild for help. Well, I won’t have it! No, I’ll be long gone before your guildies arrive.”
Inotep equipped the glowing dagger and fiddled with it in his hand. His licked his lips and looked at me hungrily. He reversed his grip and took a low stance. “Feast your eyes on-”
The Bearheart had completely forgotten about Grimy, who lunged from the side and was now riding on the back of Inotep.
“What the… get off me you disgusting goblin!”
Grimy was biting down on the Half-Elf’s shoulder and a little dribble of blood ran down his black cloak. Inotep punched him in the face and Grimy fell onto his back but he was up within half a second.
“Tahshine! Take care of this beast, will you?”
Tahshine didn’t move but stood there holding her elbow with the opposite arm.
“Tahshine!” Still, she didn’t move. “Ahh, you’re worthless. I’ll take care of it myself.”
I hadn’t been looking at Grimy and didn’t notice him pull out a club almost double his size. Wait, that was Hondren’s club! He must have received it has part of his loot!
Grimy hoisted the club awkwardly and was just about to swing it at Inotep but he was far too slow. Inotep didn’t waste anymore time and had shadow-stepped behind the goblin, hoisting him up by his jerkin. He smiled at me before tossing the goblin over the edge.
“No!” I cried, watching as Grimy sailed over the top of me and over the edge.
A flash of red jumped over the cliff after Grimy. It was Bataar! His face was dead serious and his hands were in the form of a diver’s position. The last glimpse I got of him was his long, clawed hands grabbing on to Grimy’s arm.
Then, they were gone.
Anger pulsed through me. Inotep had his arms crossed across his chest and had been watching the entire scene with interest.
“Wow! Some friends you got here!”
Ignoring his words, I hopped to my feet while whistling out for Spartacus to come to my side. I had just enough time to cut the bola before the Bearheart’s shoulder slammed into my gut knocking me, once again, on my back. I pushed him off, rolled backwards, and stood beside my lion.
The adrenaline couldn’t mask all of the exhaustion, hunger, and pain I was feeling right about now. My health was a dangerous 16% and I doubted I was going to last much longer. My thoughts moved to Grimy and Bataar and I was forced to shove them out of the way. If they were alive, then my only hope of saving them would be to defeat this player killer.
“I have had enough!” exclaimed Inotep, his breath a little heavy. He pointed his dagger at me. “No more games! You’ve embarrassed me plenty in front of my apprentice as it is!”
I targeted him and readied myself.
Inotep’s Health: 96%
Inotep’s hands moved in a slow circular rhythm, his eyes closed, and he allowed his shoulders to join in on the same dance-like movement. Below his name, I could see the ability he was building up to.
Bear Maul
I didn’t know what that was but, judging by the small amount of shock in Tahshine’s eyes, it wasn’t going to be good.
Quickly, I equipped my shield and hid as much of my body behind it as I could. Spartacus was bent at the knees and pounced into the air just at the s
ame time Inotep finished casting his attack. I opened my mouth to dismiss Spartacus but I was too late.
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Inotep’s attack was still directed at me and not at Spartacus. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion as Inotep ran towards me, a giant lion soaring in the air in his direction.
It was Tahshine who stepped in the middle of the fray. Just as Spartacus landed on Inotep, the Trickster apprentice shoved her master and my mount over the edge of the cliff. However, this didn’t stop Inotep’s ability from triggering.
I watched in shock as he turned on the lion and stuck his blade in and out of the lion’s meat in rapid succession. In the corner of my eye, I saw Spartacus’ health hit 0% instantly.
I dropped to my knees, dropped my sword, dropped my shield, and roared at the top of my lungs. Inotep was out of sight now and plunging to his death.
Inotep: You bitch! You’ve ruined me! I’ll be back for you! I may even find you IRL!
Inotep was still targeted in my UI. His health was still 96% for a few more seconds until his mini-face was shadowed out and over his health was the word Deceased.
Bataar: Sorry about Spartacus, Tharis. We’ll get him back.
Grimy: Don’t worry, dude, I know a guy.
Bataar: You always know a guy…
I didn’t respond just yet in the chat but stood on two shaky legs and walked to the edge. Bataar was hanging on the side, four of his claws dug into the side of the cliff, his other hand still latched on to Grimy. They smiled up at me and I smiled back at them.
Tharis: Glad you guys are ok.
Bataar: Not for much longer!
I checked his stamina and cursed. I turned to Tahshine who was already making for the forest.
“You! We need to help them!”
She stopped a moment and I could actually feel her consider leaving just as she had always done. This was the first time I’d seen her do anything for anyone besides herself. Without a word, she walked back to me and opened a trade window with me. In her trade slot she placed a rope and I accepted it. She turned to leave again and I grabbed her shoulder.
“Come with us. We will have answers.”
She pushed my arm off of her. “We’re even now.” And she was gone.
I didn’t spend any time meditating on her words but ran back to the cliff. I equipped the rope and dropped it down to Bataar who grabbed on to it.
Being careful not to use all my stamina at once, I pulled them up inch by inch. Once Bataar had made it to the top, he rolled over its edge and he and Grimy laid there. Both of their stamina levels were near zero. I didn’t need to check it out on my screen because I could actually see their hearts beating through their chests.
“I want… a tavern… three mugs of ale… and a bed,” Bataar said through gasps of air.
“I… want… gold,” said Grimy.
I laid next to them and allowed my stamina to rejuvenate. My stomach growled and my health had dropped 2% from hunger. I looked over into the forest and saw a few mushrooms growing from the ground. That would be breakfast.
I couldn’t believe how much the three of us ate. I felt sorry for the forest because I was pretty sure we ate every single mushroom it had to offer.
Bataar was picking his teeth with one of his claws and Grimy was holding on to his bulging stomach.
“I never wanna see another damned mushroom for the rest of my life.”
“Stick around Tharis and me and you won’t have to worry about living that long.” Bataar winked at me.
My stomach was sick, too, but not from the mushrooms. I had just watched Spartacus get stabbed to death. I knew there were ways to get him back but, still, the thought of watching a friend killed resonated negatively in my head and it depressed me.
I looked around for any piece of the dead mount that I could find. After a few minutes of searching, I found one of his long claws embedded into the ground and picked it up. I would need this if I was ever going to see my friend again.
Bataar must have seen me staring at the claw because he asked, “Remember what I said, Tharis? Back at the cavern?”
I lifted my head and looked at him.
“This world is filled with players and beasts who are going to want to kill us. We have to take risks to get more powerful. Don’t worry about Spartacus, we will get him back.”
I nodded slowly and let my head drift back downward. I didn’t remember falling asleep but I do remember that being the first time I ever experienced a dream.
We had planned to figure out a way to grab Inotep’s loot bag but, by the time we’d rested up, the bag had disappeared. There was good news, however. Bataar was happy to announce that he’d received the Dauntless title for saving Grimy’s hide and now he wore it proudly. Grimy, on the other hand, didn’t look all too pleased about it.
We stood at the foot of Pally’s Refuge, each of us a bit nervous as to what answers we would find up there. Bataar took the first step.
“Hey, ugh, big guy,” said Grimy, rubbing the back of his head.
“What is it?” Bataar asked, turning to him.
“I ugh… wanted to say thanks, you know… for saving me.”
Bataar smiled. “Sure thing.”
“Good! Good… now, let’s forget I ever apologized, all right?”
“Nope! It’s in the memory bank now!”
They had some back and forth as we walked up the hill. I caught a glimpse of the top of the gazebo and my heart started to race faster and faster with every inch of white that became visible. One we’d reached the top, we stopped.
There was no wizard.
“What the hell!” cried Bataar. “He was supposed to be here!”
We ran to the gazebo and stepped inside of it. There was no wizard to be seen. There were no obstacles on this green hill which meant there was no place for him to be hiding. After some grumbling, we each took a seat on the benches that had been carved on the inside.
We didn’t speak to each other. The disappointment of getting our hopes up on possible answers was too much of a crashing blow.
Then, the world began to act strange. The gazebo we sat in disappeared and then reappeared. The grass turned to green numbers and then went back to normal. We were upside down at one point and Bataar had taken on a hue of blue rather than red.
Then, we were nowhere. The three of us and the gazebo floated in complete darkness.
“What’s going on?” demanded Bataar.
“Yeah, what gives?”
A figure appeared in the middle of us. The old human was nude at first, making all of us shield our eyes before a purple cloak drifted from the ceiling of the gazebo and fell over the shoulders of Muzuhlan.
“Welcome, friends.”
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I don’t think any of us knew what to say at this point. So many questions needed to be answered but where to start? Did we have a time limit? Was this truly Muzuhlan? Of course it was. Only he could turn our world upside down like this.
Grimy’s eyes were looking all around. He’d never seen his world so messed up before, not like Bataar and I had. This was all new to him. Life was new to him.
“Ok, I guess I will start,” said the wizard. He thought a moment. “Oh, damn! This is hard. Let’s see.” He snapped his fingers. “Ah, yes, I know! You’re all three in a game. How’s that for starters?”
Bataar and I exchanged glances and Grimy just stared at the purple-cloaked wizard who had been nude just a few moments ago. This must have been truly strange for the once NPC and I wondered what was going on in his head.
“Please, explain what you mean by game,” said Bataar. He was bent low, his claws in a triangle shape as he chose his words carefully.
Muzuhlan scratched his near-bald head. A wind that I could not feel tussled what was left of his white hair. “Oh my, where to begin? I guess I will just have to show you!”
The wizard snapped his fingers again and the darkness around us was bright instantly. We were in a room, a large room. There was
no sun in here but artificial lighting of some sort. Somehow, knowledge of what was going on made its way into my brain and I could understand what I was seeing.
“Yes! Yes! That’s it. You see those?” Muzuhlan asked, pointing to the human-sized cans. “Those are the players who have been controlling those around you! They’re humans. No orcs, elves, or fairies in their world. But that’s what they crave! They desire adventure! This VRMMORPG or Virtual Reality Mass Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game is probably the most popular form of entertainment to these humans.”
It all made sense now. I could actually feel the wizard pumping knowledge into my head and I somehow understood that I had been created by some person in another world for the sole purpose of amusement. I was a video game character.
“Here,” said Muzuhlan. “Here are your creators. I wasn’t planning on revealing them to you but, somehow, when I tried to divide you from them, you took a lot of their characteristics with you! I have henceforth added that to my process. Now, I believe it is better to copy bits and pieces of personality from the host.”
Normally, I would have asked what this meant but the wizard made it logical for me without me having to ask. The information was just there in my head.
My creator’s name was Chase. He played football for a school for kids at young ages. He was brave and had a crush on some girl. He was also curious, kind, and loved to read. The only time he’d ever been to detention was for beating up a bully. That was all the info the wizard gave me.
“Now, you two know enough about your creators. That’s all I’m willing to give you. You don’t need to know, really. You are your own people, now!”
Bataar shook his head. “No… we are nothing but codes. That’s all. Life is pointless.”
Muzuhlan swatted the Archean across the head and Bataar growled at him. “Ha! You felt that, didn’t you? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and accept that you have a right to live! Sure, you were once characters in a game. But now, that couldn’t be further from the truth!” The wizard lifted his hands into the air. “And just like those you come into contact with, I will grant life like I have done you two! And I’m not finished yet. You three aren’t even close to becoming real, but you will! Slowly, you will notice changes, changes that make you more and more alive.”
The Lionheart_a LitRPG Novel Page 20