by Wade Adrian
Tom let out a disappointed sigh. "I see." He nodded a few times, his fingers moving just a bit...
It was one of the lowest level spells he had. In the set from level one. It did zero damage, and it had short range.
Fortunately everyone was in nice and close.
He swept his hands wide, a bright flash like an exploding phosphorous bulb throwing shadows like midday behind the bandits, only for the shadows to dwindle to nothing as the light burned them away.
They let out a cacophony of yells as they backed away, grasping to cover their eyes.
Tom was uninterested in their suffering.
Did that make him a bad priest?
Maybe.
He didn't really care.
He bolted for the open gate.
His hands latched onto the handle on the inside. It weighted a ton, but some mechanism helped as he lugged the gate shut behind him and threw three waiting metal bars across to brace it.
"Hold it!" A voice squeaked behind him.
Tom held up his hands, turning slowly.
The smallest bandit he had yet seen stood with a crossbow pointed at the cleric.
A black shape from above enveloped the poor kid.
Max stood over the unconscious bandit. "Twenty one, I guess. Looks like the runt of the litter. Too scared to go out."
Voices raised outside the gate. Metal clanged against wood fortifications.
Tom grinned. "It worked. It actually worked."
"Great." Max shrugged. "We have a fort. Now what? They probably know better ways in than we do."
"Honestly? I don't know. I didn't exactly think this would work. I have several plan Bs lying around but not really how to continue this one."
"Awesome." Max swept his gaze over the little courtyard. "Was that light burst?"
Tom nodded. "Yup."
"I didn't know you had that."
"Level one spell."
"Pfft. I got it at ten."
"And that is why paladins suck."
"Ranger spell tables are no better."
"Worse, in fact. That is why rangers suck. Fortunately they make up for it in other areas." Tom dragged the little unconscious man toward the gate... only to find there were no stairs, but a ladder. "Well, he isn't going out over the top." Tom hefted his mace.
Max grabbed it and shook his head. "We'll dump him in a barrel or something." Max drew his daggers as he stepped away from Tom, approaching one of the two buildings. He glanced in the window. "Quarters." He pointed at the other building with a dagger. "Makes that storage." He started for it, still ready for a fight.
There wasn't much inside the walls aside from the two buildings and an open empty stable.
Each building had a roof that extended beyond the walls, providing a bit more space free of snow. Fire wood, crates, and barrels lined the buildings. The far end of the fort had another gate. It really did seem to be a narrow spot in the road they had taken over.
Tom poked around in the closest set of barrels and crates, just opening the tops and glancing in.
Some food stuffs, which he took. A bit of coin. Lots of junk. Nothing to write home about.
He ducked into the sleeping quarters. Unmade beds, mostly.
Savages.
There were a few chests and drawers to pick through. He wasn't trying to be thorough. They'd find a way in sooner or later, even if they had to make a human ladder.
He paused to warm his hands by a stove for a moment before he walked out with almost a hundred more coins, some bottles of wine in case water ran short, and a few blankets added to his inventory, as well as a set of metal shoulders he was already equipping when he crossed back out into the cold air.
Another day or two of this and he might actually end up with respectable gear.
Most of what was in there was leather junk, shoes, and the like. It wasn't any better than what he already had and he didn't care to lug it around. They had yet to run across a shop.
Max wandered out of the other building. "Yup, storage. Most of it is either useless or stuff we can't transport."
"Delightful."
"I did find these, though." He held out a bag to Tom.
It clinked.
One thousand, four hundred and sixteen gold pieces.
Huh.
Tom tucked the gold into his inventory. "That'll teach them to be nicer to priests."
Max nodded. "Indeed. These might have more value in the short term, though." He held out a rolled up piece of paper and a little wooden box. "You see, to we non-rangers getting around can be a bit of a hassle. So we tend to keep things like maps," he held up the paper, "and compasses." He handed over both. "I didn't see your shrine on it, but it has the passes mapped out, at least roughly, so it should give us a good idea."
Tom looked it over. It was crude... but it matched up to the map he had been uncovering... at a pace to make most glaciers jealous.
He tucked both away into his inventory.
Max raised an eyebrow. "You know I can carry some stuff."
"No you can't."
The sound of metal on wood was getting louder and... higher.
Tom hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "What are we going to do about that?"
"My suggestion would be that." He pointed at the other gate. "We can't hold this place against all of its inhabitants for long. Not unless they attack one at a time like movie ninjas."
"Probably not so lucky. We already pressed our luck trusting in them to have self preservation. Fighting alone goes against that."
"Well..." Max rubbed at his chin as he eyed the ladder. "Lets get the largest window we can." He started up to the top of the wall.
Tom waited below. It looked cold up there.
Once Max got to the top he wandered to the middle, just over the gate. The sword he carried around for no real reason appeared in his hands as he lifted his scarf to hide most of his face. "What happened guys?"
"Damn priest blinded us and locked the gate."
It seemed like they bought it. He was basically dressed in things taken from these louts.
"Right." Max made a show of wandering away from the edge for a moment before returning. "Looks like it's wedged shut. You should use the other way in."
"It will take hours to get around to the back gate, idiot! Help us climb."
Max tilted his head. "Rude. Thanks for confirming there's no special way in, though." He held the sword high. "Fair warning, I'm going to start swinging at fingers. If you want to keep 'em I'd advise dropping."
"Bite me, traitor."
"Tsk, tsk." The sword swept down.
The cry of pain was still going when the collection of thumps sounded outside the gate.
Wails and cursing followed.
Max chuckled as he put the sword away and slid down the ladder. "Gives us a few minutes at least. Let's get gone before they try more cheerleader tower nonsense."
Tom picked up the crossbow the littlest bandit had dropped. "We could take potshots at them."
"We could, yes..." Max nodded slowly. "But I'm not sure how many of those shots it would take to drop one, we don't have a lot of bolts, and we've got a limited window before they get back to the top. Better to be gone."
He didn't want to hurt them needlessly.
Still a paladin, no matter how he looked.
He wasn't wrong, though. Time was a factor.
"Right, lets get going then." Tom tossed the crossbow aside. Heavy.
They dumped the kid in one of the barrels, Max insisted it have a hole in it for air despite there being no evidence NPCs breathed, and put another barrel on top of it. It took both of them to lift it, so it was unlikely Scrawny McBadlifechoices could do it on his own.
They also wedged the second gate shut on the way out, cramming a few of the spare weapons in from the outside. It would probably buy a few more minutes of confusion.
Tom pulled out the map to give it a once over as they started away from the little fort. "We have to be nearing the top of
those people's shit list."
"Maybe." Max nodded, but pointed at the map. "Maybe not. They made notes about other bandit spots. None of them are flattering."
"In-fighting?"
"Or competing groups."
"Huh."
The notations were indeed less than flattering. The head counts of rivals were useful, though. This was actually one of the larger local groups, by their estimate anyway.
He held up the map in front of him, letting his interface map overlap it, moving the digital map about and zooming it while also trying to move the physical map back and forth until it lined up properly.
"There might be more bandits on the way. Place seems lousy with them. But it looks like we can get to the shrine without running into them. No more roads blocked off."
"Cool."
Tom shrugged. "Always up for XP."
"And yet we are two. I'm sure the lowest bandit group is four or five times that. If they really are getting smarter they won't spend a lot of time splitting up, so we'll have to think of better ways to approach them."
"I thought the last plan was clever."
"It certainly got us through in one piece. What it didn't do was provide experience."
"Details." Tom shrugged. "We could hunt them in the night, like you did. Just find them sleeping and go all Psycho shower scene on them."
"I... would rather not."
"Of course." Tom shook his head. "Them or us, man."
"I have compelling evidence that isn't exactly the case." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the dwindling fort in the distance. "However, you may rest assured that when it comes to fighting, I'll fight."
"You know, this paladin stuff is really unbecoming in a rogue."
"Maybe I'll start a trend."
"Pfft."
Oddly enough, it turns out when you rob a group of bandits they seem to take it rather personally.
Assuming something like that might happen, Tom had worked out an alternate route to take while he sent Max along the more visible northern path. Once he made it far enough to leave a different trail to follow he was to stealth back to a crossroad and meet up with Tom again.
Tom, meanwhile, was taking the scenic route. Lots of trees, which meant less snow on the ground and less of a trail left even with his lead feet.
The game had made him a cleric. He chose to be a ranger... at least as much as he could.
No doubt the game took offense. The path was lined with plants he dared not touch. Not after the night before.
Redroot. Nightbulb. Greenleaf. Staples, all of them, but... he couldn't trust them.
And then there was a patch of whitecaps.
He scowled at them. "You're not fooling me. You're bad whitecaps. I dub thee naughtcaps, betrayers of trust."
There was an unexpected sound... soft, melodious...
Giggling?
He turned to find a woman wandering up the road behind him. She had dark hair that hid much of her face, her body decked in green robes trimmed with gold. She walked with a staff that had a few fresh leaves sprouting from it, like a tree that had walked away from its trunk. Her other hand held the handle of a small basket. "Snowcaps."
"What?"
"Those are snowcaps." She nodded sagely.
She was... quite pretty. Older than he usually went for. Late twenties if not already thirty but... that wasn't a deal breaker. Not the way she looked.
"Snowcaps? I've never seen one."
"Yes, you have." She smiled a bit, pointing at the mushrooms. "Easy to mistake for whitecaps, you're right. The differences are subtle." She knelt for a moment, plucking one from its place. "But snowcaps have these gray spots on the underside, see?" She held it out.
She had beautiful hands... delicate, but strong. Youthful. None of that veiny thing people tend to pick up later in life.
After a few moments of staring, he did notice gray spots. They weren't dark, easily mistaken for a bit of dirt, but there they were.
"Well," He took it from her gently. "I can tell you not to eat them."
She laughed, not a giggle but a full hearty laugh. "Oh my, no."
He frowned a bit as he looked at the plants nearby and pointed. "Redroot?"
The woman shook her head slightly. "Crimson vine. It's a weed." She tilted her head a bit, one slender finger tapping against her chin. "You have a strange interest in plants for a cleric."
"I, uh... used to be a ranger. Foraging food was an every day occurrence. Been less than reliable of late."
"Whitecap and redroot are quite rare in these parts. They are far more common to the south and west."
"Yeah. Kinda where I came from."
She leaned on her staff. "Oh? What are you doing all the way out here?"
"Oh, you know... walking? Got a quest to find a shrine up here."
"That should be simple, there are several."
"Unfortunately it's a specific one, and there's like a bandit turf war kind of thing going on. And it's cold." He... wasn't quite sure if he trusted this lady. She had come out of nowhere after all. "What brings you up here? Ski vacation?"
She smiled.
It made him feel funny.
Rather than answer, the woman knelt beside the patch of snowcaps, plucked several, and placed them in her basket. It was already laden with other plants.
He felt... a bit stupid. "Right, sorry. Just... been a rough few days."
She nodded. "Being trapped in here will do that."
Tom stared at her for a moment. "Wait... you're a player."
Her eyes cut back and forth. "Yes?"
He knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
She seemed... a little confused. "Are you okay?"
"You're the only other person I've seen. Well, other than Max. Just NPCs up here. Crazy ones."
The woman frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"What- I mean, can you- no. Umm." He let go, sitting on his feet.
There was a wariness behind her eyes as she watched him.
"Can you... log out?"
She shook her head. "No. Like I said, trapped. We all are."
"But... why? What happened?"
"I haven't met anyone yet who knows. There's talk in the west, and hope remains that someone may get us out. In the meantime..." She plucked a few more snowcaps. "We make the best of it."
He let out a long sigh. "Yeah... I guess. How many people are stuck in here?"
"I can't say. Lots. Maybe everyone."
Finding someone else hadn't gotten rid of Yar's usefulness. If anything it was more important to help her. It wasn't just him and Max on the line.
She stood up, her hands moving through her interface. "I should get back. Don't need people worrying."
"Wait wait wait." Tom waved his hands as he stood up. "Can we... be friends? My friends list got messed up. I'd like to maybe talk sometime. You know, stay sane?"
She smiled. "Of course."
He got a message.
Giana had requested to be added to his friends list.
He almost sprained his wrist hitting the accept button as quickly as he could move his hand.
She went back to moving about her spell list.
"If you don't mind... what are you doing?"
"Heading home."
"You can teleport? Oh, druid, duh. Just yourself this early though."
She smiled slightly.
"Do, uh... do you have a boyfriend?"
Giana's eyes turned to him, one eyebrow raised.
"Because if you do... that's okay. I can share. I'm not the jealous type."
"Wow." She sounded disappointed... but she was still smiling.
In a flash of green light she was gone, a few leaves falling to the ground where her footprints stopped.
Tom stared at them for a moment. Then stooped to pick one up and add it to his inventory.
"Snowcaps. Crimson vine. Hmm. Interesting."
It... kind of felt like he was forgetting something, bu
t he couldn't imagine what it could be.
Oh.
Shrine.
Yar.
Max.
Bandits.
"Right. That."
10
Tom reached the crossroads a few minutes late. Okay, maybe half an hour late. Tops. He hadn't been keeping track.
The place was empty.
He looked around. No footprints... no one had been here.
"Shit."
They'd found him. They'd caught up. Max was in trouble because he had stopped to...
No. Max wasn't a great rogue but he also wasn't incompetent. "Ha ha, very funny."
"I thought so." Max appeared less than five feet away, seated under a tree growing beside the path. "What was the holdup? They follow you, too?"
"Uh, no." Tom opened his map and dug out the compass. It was a lot more reliable than his sense of direction. "I ran into another player."
Max leaned forward. "Really?"
"Uh-huh. You want the good news or the bad news?"
"Well, I like to think I'm an optimist so... bad news?"
"We're trapped in here. It's a thing thats happening. She didn't know why either."
"Damn." Max shook his head. "You said there was good news?"
"We're not stuck in here alone. There are other players and they're working on it too."
"That's... not good news." Max leaned back against the tree. "I'm sorry they're stuck."
"It would be worse if it was just us."
"For us, sure."
Tom rolled his eyes.
Silly paladin nonsense.
He pointed up the road leading north. "It turns west after awhile."
"Are we going to make it before dark?"
"Kinda doubt it."
"Then that begs the question. Do we look for camp sites when it starts to get dark, or do we press on?"
Tom tucked the map and compass away. "I don't know. Theres nothing to say the shrine will be a place worth stopping for the night. If its out in the open we'll be inviting people to find us, as we'll need a fire to, you know, see stuff and not freeze to death."
Max nodded. "We don't have to decide now. We've got time. Let's see how long before there are no signs we're being followed."
Tom looked around. "Seems like that's done."