“It's inside his boot,” the red haired man in normal clothing mumbled.
“Inside his boot? How can I get that?”
“Just slip his boot off,” the guy dressed as a hamster replied.
Slip his boot off? Yea right. I could already see the end result of that scenario in my mind. The giant would squash me like a little beetle and then scrape me off his boot. Nope. That wasn't going to happen. Finally, my better senses kicked in. “Sorry, this just isn't going to work,” I replied while turning around.
“Wait! You are leaving us?” the hamster guy asked.
“I made a bad decision,” I replied while taking a step down the staircase.
“Please. I gotta get out of here. I'm not an NPC,” the red haired guy replied.
“What's that suppose to mean? That you are more important than an NPC? Is that what you mean?” the hamster guy asked.
“You're programmed to be here,” the red haired guy replied with a louder voice.
“Keep your voices down,” I replied. “Just keep them down. I will help you. Just let me think for a second.”
“Good because I will yell if you don't,” the hamster guy replied.
Shit. He wasn't bluffing. I could tell he wasn't. Truthfully, I had already decided to stay and help these two. I suppose I was starting to develop a curse. A curse where I had to help people who were in need. I guess it was a good thing, but it was also kinda annoying. I looked at the two figures and rolled my eyes. There was no way I could leave two seemingly intelligent people behind in a situation like this. “I'll get the key,” I replied.
I began to walk down the steps. My heart beat doubled as I got closer and closer to the giant. He was simply massive. It was hard to estimate his height since he was lying down, but I would have guessed he was easily sixty feet tall. Moments passed as I got closer to his black boot. Wow! His foot alone looked to be about the size of a car. Then, my body came to a stop. Shit, what was I doing? All of a sudden, there was a loud scream. “Master, Master! Wake up! Another one has come!”
My head spun around. Crap, the guy dressed as a hamster was working with him? That double crossing bastard! Suddenly, the earth seemed to move beneath my feet. The giant let out a nasty growl that was followed by the worst smell I had ever experienced. His hand flew towards me with intense speed. Before I knew it, I was in his grip. His hands were much softer than I would have expected though. And his grip, well, it was surprisingly gentle. I suppose he had a lot of experience in handling humans and knew not to squeeze too hard. That's all I could figure. I began to pull out my sword, but figured it would be too risky. Stabbing the great beast in his hand seemed like it would only anger him.
Then, For a brief second, I also considered biting into his finger like a crazed animal. But, that thought quickly went away as I realized he would probably just toss me into his mouth. I would probably just be like eating a raisin or something. Yea, I bet that's what I would taste like. What the hell? Why was I thinking about what I tasted like while being in the grip of a giant? I didn't know, but I quickly changed my thought process. Within seconds, my body went air born. I bounced up and down with each footstep he took as we got closer and closer to the wooden platform.
It was amazing, yet terrifying to be so high in the air. Truthfully, I didn't know this giant well and wasn't sure what he was capable of. The giant reached down and began to feel inside the side of his boot. Then, he pulled out a large silver key and stuck it into the key hole. The door creaked open and he tossed me on to the wooden platform. His large head went against the bars that contained us. “Entertain me,” he roared.
Suddenly, some music began to play. It was terrible music. A chipmunk sounding voice carried on about his glory days or some crap. The same lyrics looped over and over as the giant had a happy look on his face. The guy dressed as a hamster jumped into the air and tapped his ankles together. It wasn't a single tap though. He had managed to pull off a double tap. Damn, this giant had him in line. I had tried a double tap before, and it wasn't easy. In fact, I had never met someone who could actually pull it off. “Nice,” I said while watching him preform the trick over and over. The giant slid his uncut finger nails against the metal bars. It almost sounded like he was playing a song, but he wasn't. “Dance for me,” he roared while pointing at me.
Okay, this wasn't cool. The truth was, I wasn't really comfortable dancing for him. Not yet anyways. “Excuse me?” I asked with an unhealthy amount of confidence.
The giant didn't appear happy with my response. “Don't talk. Never ever talk. Only dance,” he growled.
I squinted my eyes and noticed that he had a large wart at the end of his nose. I wanted to say something, but figured he might be serious about his whole “no talking” rule. So, I began to jump up and down. The NPC in the hamster suit did some more tricks as the other guy began to dance beside me. Even the guy beside me had some pretty cool tricks. He did three sixty spins and several different cartwheel type moves. I had to admit, it was pretty impressive. As the giant continued watching us dance, he reached down and pulled out something from underneath the stage. What was it? I bounced up and down as I eagerly watched his hands. Then, they came up. “Put this on,” he commanded.
His black emotionless eyes tried to show some emotion, but they couldn't as he waited for my reply. But, I didn't say anything. He slid the clothing through the bars and they dropped next to my feet. I reached down and picked up one of the clothing pieces. I held it out in front of me. The guy next to me laughed. “It's the weasel suit. He must really see potential in you. He made me dress up as a rat the first time.”
“A weasel suit? He wants me to wear this?”
I looked at the other suit on the ground. What was wrong with this giant? And how had he created such believable animal suits? I had to admit, he had a real talent for knitting. It seemed odd though. Did he just sit under his cliff all day knitting animal suits? It just didn't seem to fit his look. The giant tapped the bars in front of me. “Put it on,” he demanded.
Crap. What the hell was this weirdo's problem? Did he really just sit under a cliff all day and get people to dress up as animals? Someone really needed to figure out the root cause of his emotional issues. Perhaps he had lost a weasel that was close to him? I didn't know, but I really didn't want to dress up like a weasel. So, I dropped the weasel suit beside me. Suddenly, the god awful chipmunk music stopped. The giant let out an awful sounding roar. The roar continued as he tried to put the key back into the keyhole. Shit, was he coming after me? I quickly picked up the weasel suit and slipped it on. “I'm a weasel,” I nervously yelled. “Nothing to see here except your standard weasel.”
The music started back up. I jumped into the air. But, I could tell the giant was growing bored with my tricks. I tried to do a cartwheel, but failed. The giant began to laugh. “Good. More of this,” he said while pounding on the bars.
I tried another one. Damn, this was almost like I was selling my soul or something. I had never felt like such an idiot in my life. In fact, it was down right degrading. If I had known this was how this quest was going to turn out, I would have never taken it in the first place. I tried my best to entertain the giant and noticed that he was pointing at the other suit near my feet. “Give it to him,” the giant said.
I reached down and picked up the other suit. I looked at the other guy and handed him the suit. He held it out in front of him. “Oh come on,” he said with a defeated tone. “You want me back as the rat? Do I really have to do this again?”
The giant roared and created a gust of wind that nearly knocked over the guy. He quickly slipped on the rat suit and began to crawl around. “Where's my cheese?” he asked with a squeaky voice.
“Good. That is good,” the giant said with a laugh.
This was messed up. Was this giant really getting pleasure from all of this? What was the purpose of dressing up his prisoners like animals? I couldn't figure it out. He must have just been one twisted dude or someth
ing. The giant reached to his side and pulled out a large brown container. He funneled some liquid down his throat and let out a loud burp. Crap, he was getting drunk. Then it hit me. I guess we were his drunk entertainment. I guess it made sense in a weird sort of way. He had nothing else to do but stare at a cliff. So one day, he probably came up with an idea. He probably thought “I will get some pets” and off he went with the idea. I guess it wasn't a terrible idea. But, I didn't like it. I didn't like being degraded.
The giant took another sip of his drink. I tried to do the double ankle tap, but had failed. Beside me, the hamster guy taunted me with a series of double ankle taps. The giant began to cough before he took another sip of his drink. All of us continued to dance for quite some time. Eventually, the giant drifted off to sleep from drinking too much. We all stopped dancing. “This is fucked up,” I said to the guy in the rat suit.
I took a moment to focus on his display name over his head:
StevieJackson00 – Level 11
Human - Warrior
Stevie? That named seemed to fit him well. I took a closer look at him. He had hunched over shoulders and looked like he hadn't eaten in days. He stood about five feet tall and had a narrow thin face. Red hair, brown eyes and front teeth that hung over his bottom lip. To be honest, I could see why the giant put him in the rat costume. It was sad, but Stevie did actually resemble a rat. He just had a natural ratty look to him. I wasn't trying to judge him, it was just something I had noticed when taking a closer look. “My name is Walker,” I said with one hand out.
Stevie began to twitch. He looked at my hand but appeared skeptical. “Did you come here just to save him?” he asked while pointing at the NPC in the hamster suit.
“I am on a quest. Yes, I came here to save the NPC'S brother. But, I will try and save you too.”
Suddenly, the giant flipped over to his belly. He let out one loud snore but then went back to sleeping in a more peaceful manner. I itched my nose and spoke with a soft voice. “if we want out of here, we all need to work together.”
I looked over at the NPC in the hamster suit. “What is your name?”
“They call me Johnson,” he replied with an abnormally proud look on his face.
I took a step closer to him. “Okay Johnson,” I said with one finger in his face. “Who's side are you on? The giants or ours?”
Johnson became nervous. “It gets lonely here. I don't want to be the only one that dances for him. Can't you just stay? Stevie has been here for many months and has learned to enjoy the lifestyle.”
“I'm not enjoying shit,” Stevie shouted with a restrained vocal tone. “This is a living nightmare. All because I accepted a quest that was too high level for me.”
My eyes rolled to Stevie and then back towards Johnson. “Don't be selfish. We didn't come to this game world to dance for a giant. Understand?”
“Well I didn't get a choice now did I?” Johnson asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. He was right. But, he was just an NPC. He wasn't real. Yet, he appeared so real. That was one of the most amazing things about the game. The NPCS seemed so real, that I would sometimes forget that they were not. I tilted my head and told Johnson why I was here. “I came here to save you. Your brother sent me on a quest. Don't you want to see your brother again?”
Johnson looked bothered. It looked like he wasn't sure what he wanted. “I don't know,” he stuttered. “After I was taken hostage, I hated it here. But now, I feel like this is where I belong. I have grown accustomed to entertaining my master.”
I blinked. Damn, what a depressing little life he was forced to live. He truly was a sad soul that was forced to dress up as a hamster. “You have been brainwashed,” I replied. “You don't belong here. You belong with your brother, he is the one who probably loves you.”
“That's not true,” Johnson replied with a burst of anger. “My master loves me more than my brother ever did. And, I won't let you leave. I will tell my master that you are planning to escape. Why don't you just stay with us? I want you to stay with me and Stevie. You will make a nice addition to our family.”
Wow. It was much worse than I once thought. This NPC was heavily brainwashed. He actually thought his life was good? Why the hell would I stay and become part of this dysfunctional family of his? The truth was, I wouldn't. But, I needed to convince the NPC not to alert the giant of my escape plans. That was the first thing I needed to do. After that, I would figure out what to do with Johnson. “I am going to escape from here. Can I have your word that you will not alert the giant?”
Johnson's eyes drifted towards the ground and he thought for a moment before replying. “If I let you leave, will you bring some new players back?”
“Of course,” I replied. “I will find some others who want to take this quest.”
Excitement covered Johnson's face, but then it quickly faded. “You can leave,” he said with quick words. “But, not Stevie. Stevie has been here for too long. Our relationship is too strong to break.”
“That's bullshit,” Stevie replied with a stomp on the platform. “Our relationship sucks. It's downright unhealthy.”
The two began to bicker back and forth. Both of my hands went into the air. “That's enough,” I said. “Just stop arguing. We will figure something out. I just need your word Johnson. Can I have your word?”
Johnson took a moment to think. He licked his lips and looked over at Stevie. “You know you love it here,” he mumbled before looking back at me. “Fine. I will let you leave if you promise to bring new exciting players back to me.”
My head flickered up and down. “Deal. You got yourself a deal.”
Suddenly, an alert popped up:
Congratulations!
Your Persuasion skill has increased by 1 point!
Persuasion level has increased to 4
Awesome! I was getting better at convincing people to do what I needed them to do. Pretty soon, I could get anyone to do anything. Or, that's what I hoped anyways. I turned my back to Johnson. It was good to know that I didn't have to worry about him alerting the giant again. One problem solved, but I still had bigger ones to figure out. I began to pace back and fourth on the stage. How was I going to escape and free Johnson at the same time? Okay, the giant was sleeping. He was drunk and in a deep sleep. I looked down at the wood beneath me. It didn't look like it was that sturdy. “Have you tried breaking a hole in the wood? That would work wouldn't it?”
Stevie walked closer to me. “Already tried. The bars go under the stage and into the ground. There is no way out. I have already looked everywhere.”
I looked around and examined the bars. They went straight up and over our head. There were no gaps big enough for me to fit through. We were literally in a big rat cage. “How long have you been in here?” I asked.
“I have no clue. It's been many months though. I thought I could complete the quest and rescue Johnson. But, everything was working against me. He doesn't even want to leave. I had no idea I would get stuck here for so long. And now with the glitch, I can't even log out. My life pretty much sucks now.”
“And the guards have not come to look for you?”
Stevie laughed. “They don't care. I'm stuck in the quest. Nobody cares if you get stuck in a quest unless you are very important to FlatFall.”
“There must be a way out. There is always a way out. What have you not tried?”
“I've tried digging and climbing,” he replied.
I sat down. “What about running out the door when the giant opens it?”
“He would probably kill you. It's too risky,” Stevie replied.
What else? What else could possibly work? There was no way I could kill the giant. That much I knew for sure. I needed to trick him somehow. Otherwise, I would be doomed to being a full time loser like my new friend Stevie. The last thing I wanted was a life of dancing in a weasel suit. Sure, being a prisoner at FlatFall kinda sucked, but this was a whole new level of sucking. At least in FlatFall, I had a chanc
e to become a Grand Champion. There was nothing to look forward to here, and I refused to pretend to be a weasel any longer. “I will find a way out,” I said while jumping to my feet.
“Really?” Stevie asked with a hopeful voice. “Will you take me too? Please. I want to leave so badly.”
“That wasn't part of the deal,” Johnson replied. “You belong with me Stevie. Why do you continue to deny this?”
“What is your deal man? I don't belong with you. The only reason I am here, is because I can't complete this stupid quest. Why can't you understand that?”
“Because it isn't true,” Johnson mumbled. “We have had rich conversations and bonded at a high level. Don't you feel the connection? You must feel it right?”
“I don't feel shit,” Stevie yelled back. Stevie walked towards me and leaned into my ear. “This NPC is delusional.”
BladeDust Online: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 1) Page 23