by Arthur Stone
Chameleon was a fascinating ability. Cheater received it a long time ago but had not had much chance to master it.
However, he had not spent all of his down time in Rainbow just watching as March guzzled beer. There were more interesting things to do.
Rainbow had a library. Well, a cross between that and a store. It was located directly across from the “beer office,” so he had felt that visiting it was not much additional risk. Books could be rented or bought. It was an inexpensive place, with hardly any visitors. After his second visit, Cheater was recognized as a repeat customer—unlocking valuable advice during conversations with the establishment’s owner.
The player knew many interesting things, and he had occupied himself with books as a hobby or vocation in his past life. He even believed he had written books before, and that they had been successful, by the standards of his rather impoverished region of the world. They had earned him his living.
Old habits die hard.
Cheater’s craving for knowledge impressed the store owner. He met few readers besides those looking for action comics or hentai. So he directed Cheater to the books he wanted, and gave him information that no one had ever thought to record.
Including rare information on abilities. He had a sort of an ability catalog compiled by various players. Thousands and thousands of abilities were contained within. From unique to banal, from bizarre to commonplace. He even read about a class of players call Purgers. One of their abilities allowed the caster to project a diverging annular wave for several seconds, causing all sphincters for dozens of yards around to utterly relax. An anecdote was included of a cornered newcomer using it while fighting off hostile players—and taking advantage of the ensuing confusion to flee the scene. Two managed to chase him despite their newly soiled pants—and were promptly shot by other players who mistook them for infecteds.
Cheater might have made the same mistake. He almost took the player before him now for a runner, despite the lack of soiled apparel. Young runners routinely chased and bullied newbies, and helping a newbie was a sacred thing of honor.
Chameleon and similar skills had much written about them. Cheater had studied every detail intensely. He knew what the ability could and could not do, and came to learn things he would never have figured out from personal experience alone in six of more months.
This player Cheater was pursuing was moving along the city border. Ghouls seemed absent, but there might be any number looking on from within the city. He had seen them in the urban clusters. There was not so much shelter in this section, so the player was having difficulty. His intention seemed to be a thin strip of pine forest along the edge of the black cluster. That was probably his destination, and the forest was the safest and quickest path.
If Cheater moved as cautiously as the man, he would hardly be able to keep up, much less catch up.
But this man’s problems did not apply to him. With Chameleon active, he walked normally, almost as quickly as a person who had no fears in the world. The only extra precaution he took was to make sure that, from the vantage point of the infecteds’ abode, the green ridge was behind him. Against that massive homogeneous background, a person walking with Chameleon could only be detected from afar by some miracle. And only the most developed of infected would be able to do that.
His risk was minimal, and he reached the pines first. He moved unhurriedly through the undergrowth and chose a bottleneck that the player would be quite unlikely to avoid. Then, he set up between two thick bushes. All of the other ways through were much more open, so Cheater bet the man would pass this way.
He had to wait. The player was moving with extreme caution.
Five minutes later, he heard the crunch of the tiniest twig. Something could be seen amidst the branches. The player was making his way through almost silently. Considering how many twigs and obstacles there were, this was impressive.
He suddenly stopped, though, and sat on a tree stump right in front of Cheater’s position. Rolling up the leg of his pants, which were worn down to scarecrow quality, he revealed a shin wound up with a blood-drenched bandage. Plastic wrap was, in turn, wrapped on top of that. This was a common move for players trying to disguise the scent of a wound.
It apparently had not been done very well, in this case. Infecteds could detect the temptation from great distances. The man’s wince showed he knew this. He even swore silently as he worked.
“Hi, Beetle. Want a medkit?” Cheater asked politely.
The tankman jumped so high that he nearly slammed the top of his head into a dead branch.
Still in the air, he deftly pushed off to the side, holding out a submachine gun with a homemade silencer. He did not shoot—merely pointed at the place Cheater had just been standing. Then, he froze, unable to comprehend where the watcher had gone but realizing that making any moves was unwise.
Cheater had taken a five foot step away and was watching Beetle with interest, and without fear.
For a few seconds, nothing happened, and then the man spoke. “Cheater?”
From behind, Cheater grabbed him and held a knife to his throat, deactivating Chameleon and seizing the man’s forearm with his other hand. “That’s right. Don’t move.”
“I’m not moving. Jeez, you have a serious grip. Strength pumped?”
“A lot.”
“Take that knife away. I’m a friend.”
“I see you’ve abandoned your tank. Fancy yourself a spy now?”
“Spy? The hell are you talking about, Cheater? Chill out.”
“Oh, I’m chill.”
Beetle slowly placed his submachine gun on the ground. “I just wanted to warn you all. So, this way I ran. I don’t get why you’re still here. You should be at the edge of the Plateau by now.”
“Warn us? About what?”
“There’s an ambush. Waiting for you.”
Cheater pointed with a gesture of his head, toward the mysterious cliff. “There?”
“Yeah.”
“Who’s the ambush? Tell me everything.”
“Could you get that knife away? I won’t cause you any trouble. If you want, you can collect my pistol, too. Or even tie my hands. I’d rather have that than a knife at my throat. It’s scary.”
“What scares me is that you’re tailing us. Where’s your tank, Beetle?”
“Dammit, Cheater, I was just about to tell you the story. Now you’ll think I’m just saying it because you asked. My tank is gone.”
“Don’t pretend you sold it. I won’t believe that.”
Beetle was about to nod, then stopped himself at the reminder of the knife. “I’ll sum it up. My crew has this one guy with a fascinating ability. Well, we had him, anyway. It’s a rare Perception ability. He’s not a mentat or anything, but he can sometimes perceive what others are striving to keep hidden. So, now do you understand?”
“No.”
“You haven’t caught on yet?”
“Caught on to what?”
“Your party has three members who are not what they seem.”
“What do you mean?”
Beetle rolled his eyes. “Wow, so you didn’t even suspect. What three could I possibly be talking about?”
“You tell me,” Cheater pressed, although he could already guess.
It wouldn’t hurt to ask.
“Gangrene, Goblin, and Nipple. Those three. They’re not who they seem to be. Nearly every bit of information in their inspect windows is obfuscated or modified.”
“So who are they, really? Elite players, disguised?”
Beetle grinned. “No, ordinary players, nothing too special about them. But one of them has a disguising skill. Not the kind you just used to snag me, but the kind that can change your nickname and your appearance. Even your ID. Not every character in it, of course, but still, that’s a powerful ability. Rarely encountered. Now, these tricks don’t work against ghouls and bots, so they’re not valued as highly as you might think. But valuable use cases can be found. Such people often make
profitable deals with the moles. After all, if you deal with moles and then need to visit a civilized stable, you have to disguise yourself.”
“You’re telling me we have three moles in our party?”
“No, no. That was just exposition. There are no moles in this region except for just a few down south. They’ve never been able to get a foothold here—but we don’t go close to their lands anyway, since that would mean getting close to the Nolds. As a result, we practically have a peace treaty between us and them. An unspoken and unwritten one, of course.”
“Cut the political details,” Cheater demanded. “Who is ambushing us, and why? And why did you decide to warn us? These are the answers I need. Providing them is in your best interests.”
Cheater lightly pressed the knife into the man’s throat. The blade wasn’t very sharp, but it could still take him out cleanly.
Beetle’s voice grew more serious. “Calm down, I’ll tell you everything. Remember, I just wanted to help. I’m your biggest fan. But did you really have no idea about those three? I need to know, or otherwise it might take me too long to explain.”
“They were just some vagrants we randomly picked up on our last day in Rainbow,” Cheater replied. “We didn’t know about them until that moment.”
“So why did you take them? Your party was strong as it was. And people were lining up outside to join. Decent people.”
“I wouldn’t have taken them,” Cheater admitted, “but March makes those decisions. He decided a healer would come in handy, so we brought them along.”
“How did you find them?” Beetle pressed. “And where?”
“I’m the one interrogating here. Not you.”
“Alright, alright, calm down! You can keep your secrets. But if it’s not a secret, tell me and it’ll make my explanation easier.”
“It’s not a secret. Our sapper found them. Probably met the healer in some brothel. The cheapest one in town.”
“So you don’t know their real nicknames.”
“We know them as Gangrene, Goblin, and Nipple.”
“Haha! They’re so stupid they didn’t even disguise their names much. Especially Gang. Perhaps that’s the best they can do, though.”
“I need my answers now,” Cheater reminded. “Other thoughts can wait.”
“Their names are Gag, Bling, and Maple. Maple is a powerful healer. Intensely powerful—some regions have no one to equal her. The northerners took care of her, and she lived well up there—but not for long. I don’t know what happened, exactly, but it seems her friend Gang decided that the Devils could pay more. They were the main political force in this area, until recently. Gradually subjugating the entire region. Only in the North and the East did they still have less than full power. Gang brought Maple this way. Along the way, they picked up Bling—he’s the one with the disguise ability. They changed their appearance and their nicknames. But as they were getting close to the Devils, you happened. Suddenly, any and all Devils were radically unpopular in this area. Everything changed. The power landscape shifted. Now, the easterners and the northerners have to deal with each other. Or, perhaps, unite—since the NPCs are up to something we don’t yet understand. They have a strong grip on the western part of the region. So this trio of yours could no longer join the Devils, and their relationship with the northerners had been utterly ruined. Bridges burned. Nipple had been in some sort of contract with them. Now, she’s in violation. The northerners are now looking for all three intently. They’ve got a good bounty on their heads. So they hid in Rainbow and looked for options. You were a great one. A strong group, renowned and respected, and heading to a new region. On the Continent, moving to a new region is like moving to a new planet. Few bounties and search parties stretch across such borders.”
“Something here isn’t adding up,” Cheater started.
“I don’t know all the details,” Beetle hurried. “I’m not involved in these bounty hunts. My business is my tank, not hunting heads for rewards. I’m just relaying what I’ve heard. No inventions of mine in there.”
“No, I mean their hiding tactics were poor. A healer is a rare profession. Rare professionals attract attention. Why did she tell Nut what she was?”
“I don’t know that. Ask the sapper yourself. Perhaps they sought him out when they found out what you intended. It sounds like they had to entice you into taking them along somehow.”
“Perhaps,” Cheater admitted. “What else? Where’s your tank? Who’s after us? What’s their plan? Details.”
“My mechanic-slash-driver discovered them. He has that ability. He saw behind the disguise Goblin, er, Bling had put up. Got their IDs and real names. He’s a straightforward guy, but curious, and so he started wondering what they were hiding. So he asked a Rainbow security guy friend he knew about the three of them, over chat. That guy was aware of the bounty put out by the northerners. Decent money, plus an opportunity to get on the northerners’ good side, which is an attractive proposition nowadays. But instead of chasing the moles down, he rushed to our camp and started asking questions. I had to answer him, of course—I didn’t have a choice. And not only did I know where you were heading, the whole crew also knew. They’re untested. Mostly new. Since I haven’t even been here a month yet, they don’t really consider me one of them yet. Now, I don’t know the map of this region very well, but they were sure there was only one way you could go. The other paths, they said, you wouldn’t know about. Very few know those other ways. But the locals do. One of my guys also put a Mark on one of the trio. It’s got a perk that allows others to track it, not just the caster. That security guy I mentioned and his crew went around to cut your party off. They should be on your party’s route already, waiting for them. I think I know where.”
“So you abandoned your precious tank and ran on foot to come warn us. And you took another route—even though by your own admission you’re new to the area and don’t know the maps well.”
“I haven’t been near the border, right, but I know enough of the geography. Originally, you know, I basically thought I had no business being in the East. I didn’t like it here, and the prospects for growth are poor. Once the whole Devils affair happened, I decided to get out of here. I don’t think the easterners will hold out. Everything is culminating towards a quick defeat at the hands of the northerners. I hate the northerners. So I’d rather not wait for that to happen. Anyway, this opportunity turned up, and I really am a fan of yours. At first I thought this story about some guy crossing the whole Continent to reach his girlfriend was just bullshit. But then details kept pouring in. I couldn’t believe meeting you. I probably behaved like a fool then—and heck, I might be behaving like one now. But I’m just so nervous. I’ve never been in the presence of a legend before. Sorry to get sentimental, but that’s how it is. I’m not asking you to believe me. You can tie me up and go take a look at the place I tell you. If you see an ambush, you’ll know I was telling you the truth. Or kill me. If that’s what you will, then so be it. But if you are like the Cheater in the stories, you’ll regret it later.”
“How many people are after us?”
“I don’t know precisely, but I’d say ten at most.”
“Only ten?” Cheater frowned. “We’re supposed to be a tough group. Ten is easy.”
“Not ten children. Ten strong players. They don’t have to kill you all, either. The bounty only specifies that those three be killed. If they’re sent to respawn, the others can be left alone. As long as they immediately contact the northerners—I don’t know how, but somehow they’ll be waiting for them at respawn. If they fail that grab, that’s the northerners’ problem, not ours.”
“If these guys of yours are only intending to kill those three, well, I’m not sure I object,” Cheater revealed.
“They’re not my guys—I’m on my own now,” Beetle corrected him. “I wouldn’t let my guard down, if I were you. Not everyone reveres legends like I do. The group may not respect you. They might think it’s easier jus
t to kill everyone. After all, then they’ll collect your stuff and start tooting their own horns as the slayers of Cheater and March. I’ve heard many things about your friend. It seems he is incredible—but I doubt he can wipe out a team of tough players from hundreds of yards away. As long as our guys keep their distance, he won’t be able to hit them.”
“So where’s the ambush?” Cheater asked.
“I’ll show you on a map.”
“Have you considered that they’ll notice your departure? It seems like they’ll draw the correct conclusions pretty easily. So they could change their ambush location.”
“No,” Beetle shook his head. “Chat communications near the border don’t work well. Plus, I dumped the tank and the crew. So they can’t talk.”
“Dumped? How?” Cheater blinked.
“Well, it wasn’t actually my intention. I started trying to convince the guys that I needed to take my tank out to meet you. To warn you. To tell you that they were coming for you, and that in general things were tough out east. But the rat who had leaked the matter to the security guy got these glazed eyes immediately. I knew he had his chat window up, so I put a bullet right in his forehead. People don’t like to chat when shot in the forehead. The rest of them were confused by this, and a conflict broke out. I took them all down, but the tank caught fire in the process, dammit. I had to leave it, and so I went east on foot. When people find the tank, they won’t have any idea what happened. Or at least not immediately. So by the time those losers respawn and spill the story, we will have crossed the border already.”