Somerset

by Aaron Oster

HIDDEN QUEST UPDATE

  Gnomes, and thugs, and corruption, oh my! You have heard some disturbing information about the guild from a merchant in town.

  After some research, you discovered that the guild had been taken over by an unknown entity. You have now confirmed that the crime boss, Sirus, is the one responsible. Oust Sirus and his gang from the city, to complete the quest.

  Difficulty: Extreme Rewards: 34,000 XP, 1 Legendary Item Set, 1 Legendary Weapon, 1 Spell Scroll, 20 Electrum Coins Time Remaining: D 4 : H 2 : M 16

  So, it looks like the cat’s out of the bag, Sam thought as he sprinted behind Emma on a winding path out of the city. The only real question now, was how he was going to complete the quest. They clearly had the guards either fooled or in their pockets, maybe even both.

  “Just got a quest update,” he said, as Emma dragged him into a side alley and pulled him towards the city exit.

  “Tell me about it after we’re free of the death trap!” Emma replied, dashing from the alley mouth and nearly bowling over a group of passing civilians.

  Sam’s anger had mostly run itself out by now, and he did his best to keep up with Emma. The only problem with that was that his Agility was crap and his Stamina was running out fast. He’d already gotten a notification, informing him that his Sprint skill had ranked up, not that it was doing much to mitigate his Stamina loss.

  SKILL RANK UP!

  Congratulations! Your Sprint skill has advanced from Novice to Beginner!

  Sprint: Run like the wind Level: Beginner 13 (76%) Effect: -15% to Stamina consumption while running or jogging, +5% Increased speed while running or jogging

  Sam panted for breath as they rounded a corner and the city gates came into view. His Stamina was nearly spent, and if he didn’t stop for a break within the next few seconds, he would be embracing the ground with open arms.

  “Emma… Stamina almost out… Need rest,” he panted as they drew up to the gates.

  Instead of stopping, Emma just reached into her pack and shoved something into his hand. It took Sam a few moments to register the glowing yellow leaf as a Stamina Herb, but once he did, he shoved it into his mouth, chewing quickly and watching his nearly empty bar refill itself.

  Immediately, his breathing eased up and the pressure that had been building up in his chest vanished in an instant.

  “Now comes the hard part. You ready for this?” Emma asked, as the gate guards saw them coming and moved to intercept them.

  Sam wasn’t sure if the guards knew who they were or not, but he had a pretty good idea of what would happen in they attempted to fight their way out.

  “Wait! Let me try and talk to them first,” he said, getting a flash of inspiration.

  He had his Mental Manipulation skill to lean on and from past experience, he knew Emma was a pretty good actress. If all went right, they’d be able to completely avoid fighting.

  “You sure?” she asked, already beginning to slow down to a normal pace.

  He nodded, and she finally released her iron grip on his arm. Gordon padded up next to him, looking quite excited as his tongue hung out and he panted for breath. The guards looked a bit confused as Sam grabbed Emma’s arm and pulled it into the crook of his elbow, then the three of them approached the gate at a normal pace.

  “Um, sir? Ma’am? Is everything alright?” the guard on the right asked, grinding the haft of his spear into the ground as he eyed his compatriot, who looked equally as confused.

  “You’ll have to forgive me, good sirs,” Sam said with an embarrassed smile. “You see, my wife and I just picked up our dog from a relative after our honeymoon, and he was so excited to see us that he began jumping all over us. Naturally, we had to burn off some of that energy- hence all the running.”

  The guard gave Sam a dubious look, but when Gordon looked up at him with those big eyes of his, his suspicion melted away.

  “A fine looking dog, he is,” the guard said, reaching down to scratch Gordon between the ears. “You folks have a nice day now and be careful out on those roads. I hear that there have been some sightings of bandits recently.”

  “We’ll keep that in mind,” Sam said, returning the smile. “Come along now, dear.”

  Sam had to conceal a wince, as he felt Emma pinch him in the crook of his elbow. He knew that the whole husband and wife thing was completely unnecessary, but he’d wanted to get her back for the prank she’d pulled earlier that day.

  Once they’d walked far enough outside the city that the guards could no longer see them, a sly grin spread across Emma’s face.

  “Hope your girlfriend won’t become too jealous when she finds out you have a wife.”

  Sam snorted, releasing her arm, then jumped when Emma slapped him on the ass.

  “The fuck was that?” Sam yelled.

  It hadn’t hurt, but it had been so unexpected that his heart had nearly come out of his mouth.

  “Just wanted to check if it was as firm as it looked,” she said innocently.

  “You have to be the strangest girl I have ever met,” Sam said, rubbing at his behind.

  “And don’t you forget it,” she said with a wink. “Now, unless you’d like to get caught, I suggest we pick up the pace. I doubt those guards will chase us too far, but we’re still fairly close to the city.”

  Sam blew out a breath, but nodded. Milly wouldn’t be happy when he wasn’t there tonight, but maybe that was for the best. He felt Emma’s fingers tighten around his wrist once again, and they took off running down the road, with Gordon following closely on their heels.

  ***

  They made it to Emma’s house in a quarter of the time it had taken them to travel the other way, just a few hours before. As soon as they stumbled inside, panting and out of breath, Baron Von Tweet began shrieking and flying around them. Apparently, he’d gotten angry at Emma, and flown back here once they’d separated, which answered Sam’s question of the foul beaked bird’s whereabouts when they had been fleeing the city.

  “Shut up, you annoying bird!” Emma yelled, swatting at him as he flew by overhead.

  Sam flopped down on the couch, letting out a long groan and rubbing at his head.

  This entire day had been a shit-show. From discovering that the majority of his money had been fake, to the realization that someone had been keeping careful tabs on him, since before he’d even entered the city.

  He no longer thought it was a coincidence that he just happened to discover Aoife being assaulted by the two men he’d had a run in with just that morning. His theory was further backed up by the fact that Aoife’s brother, the armorer Sirus, was the one secretly in charge of the guild.

  All of this led him to one conclusion, which he did not relish the thought of, but made the most sense. Only one person could have done all this without him suspecting a thing- the person who had led him to the city in the first place.

  “It’s Milly,” Sam said, instantly quieting the room and bringing him to the center of attention.

  “What do you mean?” Emma asked.

  Her fingers were currently clamped around Baron Von Tweet’s throat and the bird in question had his hooked beak sunk into the side of her hand. Gordon was sitting placidly in the corner, chewing on his stick.

  “I mean that I’ve been a target ever since I showed up in Farmer’s Rest, ” Sam said with a sigh.

  He then went on to explain his theory that Milly was working for Sirus all along and had been playing him from the start. It was no wonder his Mind Over Body skill had increased so quickly. It had absolutely nothing to do with resisting the woman’s charms, and everything to do with spotting deception.

  “I see,” Emma said, sitting down next to him and releasing the bird, who flew to perch on the other side of the room with an indignant shriek.

  “So what you’re saying, is that you were specifically targeted by this woman when you walked into the inn. The question is, why? It’s not like you had anything of particular value on you at the time. Why go through all tha
t trouble?”

  “I can’t be sure, but if my guess is correct, she somehow found out that I was the one responsible for killing a monster threatening the town. She’s probably been doing this for years, tricking men into escorting her to the city, then having her companions rob and/or kill them. I knew that she’d been messing with my head, but after I confronted her about it, she was so open about her skill set that I just assumed she was telling the truth.”

  Sam blew out another long breath, feeling like the biggest sucker in all of Somerset.

  “From the moment I’ve come here, nothing has been as it seemed, and for some reason, I just keep falling for it. I’ll have to reexamine the way I’ve been doing things until now. I’ve been way too nice and gone about things as I would if we were still back on Earth. But this isn’t Earth.”

  Emma looked a bit troubled by his statement, but nodded all the same.

  “I can understand what you’re talking about. We need to get your things back and, more importantly, you need to confront the people who have screwed you over so badly. So, how are we gonna do it?”

  “We?” Sam blinked, turning his attention to her.

  “Of course, silly!” Emma said, punching him lightly in the arm. “I won’t let a bunch of fantasy creatures fuck with you and get away with it!”

  Sam felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He hadn’t been expecting this at all and even though he didn’t want to ask the question, he forced himself to anyway.

  “Why help me, though? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about it or anything,” he was quick to add. “But we only just met the other day. It’s not like you owe me anything…” Sam trailed off lamely, not sure how to end the question.

  Emma however, didn’t seem to mind at all.

  “True. We did only just meet the other day, but there are several reasons I’d want to help you,” she said, tapping a finger against her lip. “For one, you’re in the same boat as I am. You’re trapped here against your will, and I think that we’ll have a much better chance at survival, and getting back home, if we stick together.”

  Sam nodded. He’d been thinking much the same thing and would have asked her to join him once he left the city.

  “And for another,” she said, lips now pulling up in a smirk. “Now that I know I’ve got no competition for that cute ass of yours, I’m a lot more inclined to help you take that elf bitch down.”

  Sam’s cheeks colored at that last one and he cleared his throat nervously to buy himself a moment to think.

  So, Emma was interested, after all? No! No time for that, he admonished himself.

  They needed a plan to take down Sirus’ organization within the next four days. Otherwise, they will have failed the quest, and who knew if he’d get such an opportunity again. Not to mention, he still wanted his shit back and revenge was a great motivator.

  “My cute ass aside,” Sam said, trying his best not to blush again. “How do you think we can manage to take their entire operation apart? I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  Emma grinned at that, tapping the side of her head the way he’d seen a lot of evil villains do before executing some brilliant plan.

  “Wasn’t there a gnome you needed to kill today?”

  Sam felt his lips turn up in a wicked grin of his own and he nodded as Emma began laying out her plan.

  33

  Sam crouched in the bushes just a few hundred yards from the city gates. It was already past seven, which meant that he had less than five hours to kill the gnome or be hit with a divine curse. Gordon was crouched near him, chewing on a stick, and likewise, watching the city gates for any sign of the gnome.

  Emma’s plan had been simple and straightforward. She wasn’t currently wanted by the city guards and hadn’t been seen by the gnome. So, all she had to do, was tell him she’d gotten wind of Sam and had decided to tell him, instead of the guards. She would then lead him out of the city, where they would jump, and question him. Once they were done, Sam would kill him and complete the day’s rule.

  The plan seemed simple enough, but there were a lot of risks involved. Emma didn’t think the gnome had seen her, but she could have been wrong. There had also been those two guards who had seen them together when they’d left and there was always the chance that Sirus had put the word out on the streets. He, unlike the gnome, had most definitely seen her when she’d come into his shop to get him.

  Sam had protested the plan at first, but had eventually caved when Emma had pressed him to present her with a better alternative. She had then told him that she was a big girl and could take care of herself, but that it was sweet of him to worry about her. That last bit had been said with the same smirk she had on when she commented on his ass, which made it sound a lot less like a compliment, and a lot more like flirting.

  Baron Von Tweet had decided to go with her and Emma was convinced that he would help sell her disguise. After all, who would connect the foul-beaked pet owner, with the girl who had helped a criminal flee from the city just a few hours before? Sam had thought that the nasty bird would make her stand out like a sore thumb, but strangely enough, Gordon had interceded on her behalf. He’d said that companion animals were very smart, and that having him around would give Emma a much better chance of making it out alive. Sam just hoped he was right.

  “How much longer do you think it’ll take her?” Sam asked in a low voice, his eyes still trained on the gates.

  Gordon shrugged noncommittally.

  “Who’s to say? They can be out at any second, or in an hour. It all depends on how long it takes her to find and convince the gnome to follow her.”

  Sam nodded, and after a few more moments of fidgeting, decided to check the new skill notification he’d shoved aside earlier. It had come as soon as they’d finished formulating their plan and he had to say, he was glad to have it.

  CONGRATULATIONS!

  Through your critical thinking and discovery of deception, your Mind Over Body skill has been improved!

  Mind Over All: You are stronger than your base urges and can spot deception a mile away Level: Advanced 36 (71%) Effect: +100% Resistance against psychic based attacks, +75% chance to spot deception, or deceptive actions, +50% chance to become aware of psychic based skills, +25% chance to completely ignore mental based skills

  Sam closed the window and looked back to the city gates. Still not spotting any signs of movement, he decided to test his new skill on Gordon to see if it would work.

  “Hey, Gordon? I’d like to test a skill of mine. Would you mind giving me some information on Somerset and throwing in a few lies as well?”

  “That is an odd request, but if that will help you, then so be it,” the dog replied.

  Sam listened to the dog talk for nearly twenty minutes. Every so often, he would get an odd itching sensation when he told him some piece of information.

  “So, how many lies did I catch?” Sam asked, turning his attention back to the city gates.

  He could finally see some movement, but it was still too far away for him to make out any details.

  “In the twenty minutes in which I spoke, I quoted fourteen falsehoods. Of the fourteen, you discovered eleven.”

  Sam grinned when he heard that number.

  It wasn’t perfect, and Gordon wasn’t a master of deception, but it was definitely an improvement.

  Turning his attention back to the city, Sam squinted his eyes in an attempt to make out the people approaching from that direction. He heard Gordon rustling the leaves nearby and turned to hush him, when he noticed that the dog was up on his feet, with his nose pointed toward the city.

  “Emma is approaching, but I am afraid that she is in the company of several individuals. I can recognize the gnome’s scent, but there are at least three others along with them.”

  Sam cursed silently under his breath. They could have easily taken the gnome alone, but if he had company there was the chance that one of them could get away and warn Sirus. Worse
, there was the chance that they would be too strong for them to take on, and they would become the hunted instead of the hunters.

  “What do you think our chances of success are?” Sam asked, keeping an eye on the slowly approaching figures.

  “We will either win or not,” Gordon replied, earning him a snort from Sam.

  Damn dog.

  “Fine. I guess we’ll be setting a trap for them, then,” he replied, looking around for a good area to set up an ambush.

  He and Emma had decided to try and lure the gnome off the road, so as to avoid drawing any attention to themselves, but she might have a problem convincing a group of people to come into the woods with her. To that end he needed another way to lure them off the path and Sam thought he had the perfect bait, himself.

  He and Gordon spent the next few minutes hauling several logs up into the trees, making sure to set them in as wide an area as possible to give them the best chance at success. After they’d completed this task, and Sam had gone back to peeping on the now much more visible group, he got a new notification.

  SKILL RANK UP!

  Congratulations! Your Stalker skill has advanced from Novice to Beginner!

  Stalker: By sneaking around, you spot things no one else does Level: Beginner 11 (26%) Effect: +20% Chance to spot hidden details, +10% Chance to go unnoticed when stalking someone

  Oh, come on! It was a great skill, but Sam hated that it sounded so creepy.

  Sam grumbled to himself as he closed the tab, and turned his gaze back to the group that was now only a few hundred yards out. He immediately started picking out details that he was sure he’d have missed before.

  Emma was walking at the center of the group, with the small, red-faced gnome by her side. Baron Von Tweet was perched on her shoulder, and they were both flanked on either side and behind by three hulking figures. Two were men with the same green skin as Sirus, but the third was a woman, with a slightly furred appearance, and two short horns poking from her forehead. As he focused on each of them, small, shimmering blue outlines became visible on their bodies and Sam could pick out an assortment of weaponry and items.