I never saw it coming. The blow was fierce and wickedly fast, and I had just the faintest awareness of my HP plummeting down another 10 before darkness took me.
___
When I opened my eyes again, it was to blink against the flickering of flames.
The next thing was the smell. Imagine a perfect storm of rotten meat, horrid unwashed bodies drenched in sweat, and the spicy chill of an autumn night. The bile rose in my throat and I choked, coughing awake.
All around me they danced, crooning, grunting, growling. Some wore bits of cloth around their waists, most were naked. All were gnarled, unkempt humanoids. I grimaced and tried to back away, only to find I was now tied, hands and feet, to an upright pole. I gasped and hyperventilated, my heart threatening to burst from my chest.
I was surrounded by the mongrels.
“Hey!” I called out. “HEY!” I peered through the gloom, trying to see past the fire, but it was blinding. And all around me, the fanged, bestial faces grinned and contorted, making me want to squeeze my eyes shut to make them disappear. As if that would get me out of this broken, messed up failure of a game. “Great.”
I could access my inventory to scroll through my empty slots, but I couldn’t arm my slingshot or do anything with my hands. Neither were the rusty machetes going to be of any use. Now, if one of them was already out and I could find a way to bring the ropes around my hands or feet to bear against the blade, that would be a different story. If only…
“Worth a shot,” I mumbled, selecting one of the machetes and willing it to “drop” rather than to “equip.” It slipped into existence and thunked uselessly on the ground at my feet, just out of reach.
Damn.
One of the mongrels watched, its eyes glinting in the fire, and snarled at me as I tried, vainly, to reach the blade. A few others noticed and abandoned their dance to begin closing in on me. I watched as the drool pooled in their mouths and oozed out onto the grass underfoot, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
One more shot.
This time I contorted my body as much as my bindings would allow, trying to arch my back down and thrust my chest up at the night sky before dropping my last machete. The ground seemed soft enough, so if I could just get the angle right, maybe it would…
Yes!
The rusty blade slid down and sank an inch or two into the ground, leaving a bit of its edge exposed and within reach of my feet. Now we’re talking.
Not a second too soon, either. I had just enough time to position my feet against the blade and saw vigorously with my legs a few times before the mongrels closed. I winced as a few more HP trickled away, the blade knicking my skin, but it was so worth it. A moment later my legs flopped free, and I got a new notification:
Passive Skill Leveled Up: Outside the Box
Congratulations, you have gained a level in the skill Outside the Box! This is a passive skill that can only be leveled with use. It is a sister skill to Strategy and Battle Planning, both of which can be leveled with attribution points.
Skill: Outside the Box
Type: Passive
Sister Skill: Strategy, Battle Planning
Level: 2 (scalable)
Effect: 7% increase in likelihood for plans to succeed
I smiled in spite of everything at the reminder that this was, after all, a game. I’d all but forgotten. Then I swiped the notification away with a thought and raised my feet to kick. I made contact with the first mongrel just in time, feeling the heat and slick sweat-drenched fur of his chest beneath my feet, and kicked for all I was worth. My strength may have been low, but I was a jumper, remember? Same skill, essentially. The mongrel grunted and flopped back, falling to the ground. Another dove toward me and I kicked up with both feet again, finding its jaw. A thwack, a dog-like simper, and the beast-man backed away, shaking its head.
My feet were instantly drenched. I gritted my teeth and waited for the pain and HP notification, thinking it must be my blood I was feeling, it was so warm and viscous. But when no notification came, I realized it must all be drool.
Nasty.
By the time the third mongrel closed, the other two had recovered. I may have had a decent kick, but I wasn’t exactly doling out crits. Neither could I reach the blade with my hands to untie them. The third attacker came at me head-on and I went with my only current tactic, but this time there was a problem. Two, actually; the other two mongrels.
“Gaahhh!” I cried out in pain as a pair of bestial jaws closed around my upper left arm like a vice, the teeth sinking deep into my flesh. This time the pop-up flashed red:
Damage Taken
-10HP
You have been bitten by a mongrel.
Effect: 50% chance of infection with each bite. Infection yields -10HP every hour.
Not good. I’d already taken a little beating in my first few minutes in the game, and though my HP seemed to regenerate gradually on its own, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with a 10% loss for every bite. And though I didn’t see the game telling me I was infected yet, it was sure to happen eventually if they kept taking bites.
The mongrel pulled back, the insanity gleaming freshly in its eyes, and gazed morbidly at me as it chewed. As it chewed me, I realized, my stomach lurching. That thing had taken a chunk out of me, and was eating it now. My eyes flickered over its’ blood-drenched form, and a notification appeared, telling me the mongrel was a Real Player.
WTF???
“Dude!” I yelled in its face. “I’m real, too! Don’t eat me! My pain is up all the way and I can’t log out. NOT COOL, man!”
If the player understood me at all, I couldn’t tell. It just kept mindlessly chewing. Meanwhile, the distraction kept me from guarding my right flank.
“OUCH!” Another mongrel clamped down for a juicy bite of Gideon steak, and I lost another pound of flesh along with another 10HP. This time the damage notification was more sinister still:
Damage Taken
-10HP
You have been bitten by a mongrel.
Effect: 50% chance of infection with each bite. Infection yields -10HP every hour.
You Have Been Infected!
-10HP immediately, and every hour until you die or until you are healed. Infection will not heal on its own. Seek a healer or an antidote!
Useful, thanks. At least I would die with the knowledge of what to do the next time the game dropped me in the middle of an over-leveled area and I got captured and tied up by a PvP and eaten alive by a pack of mongrels. Yeah. Useful.
Another bite, another -10HP, and my health bar flashed an angry red. I was under 50%, and fading fast.
“Stop it!” I yelled, but they kept coming. I got my feet up for another good kick, this time, jamming my heel into the eye of my attacker.
You Scored a Critical Hit!
-25HP from your enemy.
Something flashed by about gaining a stat point in strength, too, and I would have given myself a mental high-five if it hadn’t been for the next five mongrels coming at me like ravenous zombies. One of them shifted fully into the form of a wolf and came toward me at a run, leaping over the heads of the others and sinking its teeth into my neck. I gasped for air as blood spurted from the wound, and I watched my HP plummet to 10%. The mongrel-wolf had scored a crit of its own.
The pain began to numb and my sight began to darken, I was so close to dead.
Then the wolf shuddered and fell to the ground, dead, an arrow sticking from its side. I heard voices from the other side of the fire.
“Got one!”
“Nice!”
More arrows came flying from the darkness, and more mongrels fell dead. Others, growling, began to run off into the night. I stood slumped against the post, glumly reading a “You are bleeding” notification, waiting to die.
“I got you, bud,” a calm male voice said from beside me. I tried to look, but could barely lift my head. I was dimly aware of someone taking my arms and cutting the ropes from my wrists. I fell, sli
ding down the pole, watching another HP tick off. “Drink this.” A capsule met my lips. It tasted… how to describe this? Imagine the sweetest, most over-blown cotton-candy flavored bubblegum, but with the sort of depth and richness you expect in a fine wine. It was amazing.
It was bringing my HP back up.
“More,” I gasped when the phial ran out. I was sitting at 40HP.
The guy holding it chuckled. “That’s all for now, bud. But don’t worry. Got plenty more back home. We’ll take care of you, get you all fixed up.”
I nodded, beginning to understand what was going on. Other figures stalked around the campfire, checking to make sure the mongrels were dead and looting those that were. I was being rescued by some sort of group—maybe a guild or clan, I wondered?—and they’d brought me back from the brink of death with a health potion.
I rose to my feet, wincing. 40HP still didn’t feel great. Felt a heck of a lot better than 3HP had, though. That had been too close.
“This way, bud. Got some people I want you to meet.” The guy who’d given me the potion started to head toward the treeline, away from the fire. I shrugged and followed, eager to get away from the mongrel corpses. It hadn’t been long enough since those rotten teeth had been inches deep in my flesh.
“Hey Tommy,” a woman called. The guy—Tommy, apparently—paused to listen. “I got the elf too, I think. Check the drop for me, would ya?”
“Will do.”
I recognized the body of the woodland elf as soon as we left the clearing. She was laying in a patch of blackened grass and leaves, a thick wooden arrow protruding from directly between her shoulder blades. My guide, Tommy, whistled. “Helluva shot, she is.”
“Hey, um…” I faltered, not knowing how to introduce myself. “Tommy? Are you a player?”
He glanced my way and nodded. “Yeah boss. But don’t go repeating that around just anybody, you know? Tends to mostly just confuse the NPCs, but we’re waiting for some sort of sea-change. You know, the classic ‘Travelers are the enemy’ trope. Bound to happen sooner or later.” He spit into the undergrowth and knelt down to loot the body.
“Oh, right. Ok. Thanks. And are… I mean, are you guys all—”
“Yeah. All players here.” He nodded back to the clearing. “Oh, sweet!” He lifted a shortblade, the shimmer of metal glinting in the moonlight. “Nice. Was worried for a minute she didn’t have anything good on her. Speaking of which…” He frowned, casting his gaze around at the ground surrounding the body. “Maybe she dropped things as she ran. I suppose she could have made it a few steps. Hey, bud, c’mere. Hands and knees, huh? Like this.” He got down on all fours and began padding the ground with flat, open palms. “See if you can find anything. Loot goes to Jess, though. She made the shot.” He winked and lowered his voice. “Unless it’s something a little extra special, if you know what I mean. Then maybe you and I split a little something on the side.”
“Ah, haha.” I feigned a smile as I joined him on the ground. Ugh. All I found at first with my hands was bloodied leaves, bloodied grass. This game was way too gory for my taste.
As I felt the ground in a circle, I took the opportunity to try to read Tommy’s stats:
Real Player
Level: ???
Race: ???
Class: ???
Occupation: ???
HP: ???
Armed: ???
“Whoa,” I muttered.
“Heh.” He turned over his shoulder. “Tried to read up on me, didn’t ya?”
I shook my head. “What’s with all the mystery, dude?”
“No mysteries here. Just enjoy protecting a little privacy. Word to the wise, player. You find a way to hide your stats, your items, your freakin’ face if you want to? Take it. No questions. Grab that baby and go. Because there’s one thing about being a player in Hero Online.” He looked up at the moon, a faint look of pain passing over his face. “Since you can never die… you can always die. Anonymity, if you can get it, is the first, last, best defense.”
“Noted.”
“Now get back at it.” He smirked. “Name’s Tommy, by the way. Though I guess you heard that. And you are?”
I thought about lying for a moment, given the advice he’d just given, but then I realized he could read my stats anyway, and probably already had. Whatever fancy privacy tool he was employing, I didn’t have it. He was just asking as a formality. Or maybe a test.
“Gideon,” I said.
He nodded, removed a glove, and stuck a hand out. I took it and shook it.
“Pleasure,” he said, then grimaced at the blood I’d left on his hand. “Ah, well. We got baths back home, too.”
“Where’s home?”
“Ah, ah. First, a couple of questions.” He bent back to the ground to continue searching. “How long you been in the game, Gideon?”
“Uh… I’m not sure, I guess maybe about fifteen minutes? That seems right.”
He nodded again. “Uh huh. What’ve you been up to in fifteen minutes that got you tied up for mongrel bait?”
I rose to my knees and held my hands up. “Dude, not my fault!”
“Yeah, yeah. Let me guess. You spawned in the woods, you met this lovely lady here, she tied you up, next thing you know you’re puppy chow. Sound about right?”
“Uh… does this happen often?”
He snorted. “Yup.” He gestured toward the dead elf. “This here’s Amber. She’s been camping noobs’ first drops and tieing them up for mongrel bate for weeks. Collects the bounties, you see, once she’s taken a few pelts. Doesn’t always go so well for the bait though. So I guess you could say you’re a pretty lucky noob tonight.”
“I guess so,” I said, though what I thought was that I’d have been a lot luckier if I’d just spawned in a normal place for my first drop and avoided this whole sordid situation to begin with. “Hey, Tommy? You guys find any other new players out here tonight?”
He stopped and looked at me with a question in his eyes. “Maybe. Looking for someone, are we?”
“My sister, Angie. She and I were supposed to make the drop together. Seems like Sophia screwed something up, though.”
“Sophia?” He wrinkled his brow.
“Uh, the game. She didn’t call herself that to you?”
He shrugged. “Must be different for everyone. My tutorial was led by a burly dwarven mage named Khantak. But anyway, I digress. Not sure about your sister, but if she’s around here, my people can find her.”
Something about Tommy up til this point had put me on my guard a bit. I know he’d saved my life, and it was pretty cool to finally be talking to someone who wasn’t trying to kill or capture me, but… I don’t know. I just wasn’t feeling very trusting. But when he said he could find her—that his people could find her—something clicked. I was on board.
Until my fingers brushed leather.
“Ah, got another one,” he said, lifting up a dagger and grinning. While he read the stats on the blade, I clasped the leather and pulled it to myself to have a look. I saw nothing in my hands; nothing at all. Huh? I tried to read the invisible item. My inventory popped up.
New Item: Shadow Bag
Keep your friends close, but your loot closer. A shadow bag is an undetectable supplemental inventory. Be careful where you set it down—it’s totally invisible!
Would you like to add this item to your inventory?
Uh, yes! What had Tommy just told me? Anytime you have the opportunity to hide your stuff, take it! And this thing sounded like it fit the bill. Reminded me of a bag of holding, but invisible. Undetectable—did that mean no one else would be able to see or know or get to anything I put in it? Because that was, like, some serious OP loot for a noob like me. I equipped the shadow bag and immediately the feel of leather left my hand. In the corner of my regular inventory, the item blinked, then faded to nothing.
Huh.
How was I supposed to access it?
“You doing ok back there, Gideon?” Tommy’s voi
ce shook me from my thoughts and I swiped my inventory away with a thought.
“Uh, yeah man. Just reading the stats on my slingshot.”
Tommy snorted. “Slingshot, huh? We gots to get you a proper weapon. Here.” He held out one of the daggers. “Have a look at the stats on this beauty.”
Weapon: Sunset Blade
Class: Third Tier
Range: Close Proximity
Attacks: Slap, Slash, Stab. Can be thrown with requisite skill.
Damage: 15HP; 25HP with Power-up
It was my turn to let out a low whistle. That was quite the step up from those lousy Machetes. And I’d lost both of those, anyway. I reached for the dagger, greed on my mind.
“Ah, ah, ah.” He swiped it away. “This goes to Jess, remember? But don’t worry. We’ve got a little armory back home. We’ll get you something.”
I nodded. “So you guys are, what, a guild, then?”
Tommy stood up, stretching his back, and smiled. “That’s right. Well, on our way to being. It’s actually sort of difficult to found a guild in-game, unless you have some sort of land-deed or prior setup from the admins. You have to scrape and claw your way up a bit, I’m afraid. So we’re sort of a guild-to-be. More of a really big raid party working together on really small raids for now, pooling our resources until we’re ready to go whole hog and spring for a license. You interested in joining?”
“Me?” I stood, bewildered. Everything about my first night in-game was bewildering so far. “I don’t really know. I mean, all I’m really here for is to hang out with Angie, maybe do a little light adventuring together.”
“Your sister, right? Well, join up with us and we’ll find her a lot faster than you will on your own. And anyway, she’s welcome to stick around too.”
Party Invite
Tommy has invited you to join the party “Taco Tuesday.” Do you accept?
Quest for Vengeance Page 4