Date: 2018-02-10 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Audiobook
Description: A LitRPG Novel What happens when toons take a life of their own?In the world of Drathos, an unexpected hero is born. He doesn’t know who he is, what he is, or what he will do. However, after less than an hour of being alive, his name, race, appearance, and class are all chosen for him and against his will.With life becoming more real with every second, Tharis finds that he is able to ignore the actions demanded of him by his creator and can make his own decisions. This, however, comes with consequences. With awareness comes the fear of death… and there is no respawn.Follow Tharis and his noobs

The Lionheart

No Respawn Book One

Stevie Collier

Contents

Follow Along!

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Thank you!

1 - Loathed

2 - Land of Sin

3 - Savior

4 - Training

5 - The Choosing

Grab your copy!

About the Author

Take your journey through the World of Drathos to the next level!

Download your copy of “The No Respawn Follow Along Guide”! With this spreadsheet, you will be able to keep track of Tharis’ Inventory, Equipment, Skills, Reputation, and more! What are you waiting for? CLICK HERE!

Not only that, but I will throw in three, that’s right, three free stories! Why? Because I love you, that’s why. Get your Loot Box now!

1

A username was entered.

A password was entered.

A player was born.

My eyes opened for the first time and I stared up at a cobweb-infested ceiling.

The room was lit by candlelight and I was strangely at peace. As my eyes adjusted, I could see that I was in a very small room with only a nightstand and a dresser. I sat up and pulled the thin covers off my legs and swung them over.

I checked the nightstand first but found nothing. I stood and walked over to the dresser and opened one of the drawers.

You’ve acquired 2 copper pieces.

Was that a lot?

I walked to the door and reached out to grab a handle but found that there wasn’t one. Just a rope attached to a hole that had been carved out of the wood. I grabbed the rope and pulled.

A large room filled with rowdy drunks greeted me as I stepped out. A couple dwarves lifted their mugs at me and took a swallow. A few humans started to laugh, making others join along. But why? Were they laughing at me?

I followed their eyes and noticed I wasn’t wearing anything besides my undergarments. I quickly covered up my genitals but was shocked when I felt nothing, just bareness. I was neither sex.

“Well, good morning, newcomer!” said a kooky voice. A cold hand touched my shoulder and I turned to see a frail, old human male wearing a purple tunic looking up at me through beady eyes. “I said, hello there, newcomer!”

“Ugh, hi,” I said.

Muzuhlan Level ??? Wizard Was tagged over the man’s head.

“I’m Muzuhlan. I’m here to help you!” The Wizard pointed at my crotch. “Starting with that!”

I felt instantly uncomfortable and took a step back.

A large notice covered my vision.

You have been offered a quest!

Quest details: Learn your gender, race, class and traits.

Rewards: Experience Points, Starter Gear, and Personal Loot Bag.

“Do you accept this quest, young hero?”

I nodded instinctually.

“Very good! I have something for you… now, where did I put it… ah, yes! Here you are!” The Wizard pulled out a small mirror encrusted with purple gems. In doing so, he accidentally undid his cloak from over his shoulders which now fell to his ankles, revealing a naked and shriveled old man. There was an uproar in the tavern as many patrons lost their thirsts and appetites after such a sight.

Ignoring his nakedness, I reached out and took the mirror and looked into it.

There was no reflection but I felt drawn to get my face closer until my nose was touching the glass. Suddenly, I was sucked into the mirror and could feel my body stretching and turning before I ended up in a third person view looking upon myself.

I was a generic human. No hair, no muscle, no genitals, and a deadpan face. My skin color was pale and without any imperfections.

* * *

Choose your Gender!

I didn’t even have a choice. Some other entity chose male for me.

Choose your Race!

Time was taken for this selection. Each race was hovered over and selected by something other than me. I was not in control here. Under each was a description of the race. The Light Faction races included: Humans, Elves, Half-Elves, Dwarves, Half-Dwarfs, and Badrons. The Dark Faction races included: Humans, Half-Giants, Orcs, Half-Orcs, Archeans, and Fairies.

Much time was spent on the Badron, Half-Elf, and Archean.

The Half-Elf was selected for me.

Configure your Features!

I floated in limbo as a bodiless soul as I watched myself morph from a generic husk to a male Half-Elf. I was directed to be on the taller side which was a little taller than most humans. My ears were selected to be longer than a normal Half-Elf’s ears should be. My hair was colored a golden-auburn. My jaw was chiseled and defined. Muscle was added to my entire body, but not too much that I would stand out from other Half-Elves. My eyes had little black pupils with green irises that fumed jade-colored smoke out of the corner of the lids. My skin tone was chosen to be of medium color.

* * *

Choose your Class!

Underneath were several different versions of myself.

On the far left, the character was hunched over in a praying position whilst holding a bow out in front of him. To his side was a large, furry beast that would occasionally swipe its paws as if it were striking at some invisible target. This character was called the Tracker and was known for being ranged damage per second (DPS). The Tracker wore leather armor along with other armor pieces of the elements such as foliage and dried dung. Weapon proficiencies included: Bow, Daggers, and Short Swords.

The next class held its hands in a praying-like pose with his head bowed low and his eyes closed. This version of myself wore a long, red velvet tunic and every once in a while would move its arms in a rather cool rhythm with white energy radiating from its shoulders in an electrical light show. This character was known as the Rector and his primary skill was that of healing. This class wore only light clothing, mostly robes, and his weapon proficiencies included: Staff and Religious Artifacts.

The Warrior was the next class over from the Rector. It had a giant sword that it leaned on, resting both palms on the top of the hilt. He wore freshly-polished plate armor along with a cocky smirk on his face. Unlike the first two classes, this one did nothing other than… well… smirk. This class was able to wear any type of armor but gains proficiency in armor that is plated. This class had the ability to deal damage at a moderate level but was able to take a lot of damage, which was of no interest to me. The Warrior’s weapon proficiencies included: All Martial Weapons.

The Monk was next and, much like the Rector, this class held a rather calm and collected stance. He was standing on one leg with the other crossed over the front wearing no shirt revealing six pack abs and a square chest. He would then perform a series of one legged squats all while keeping his eyes closed. The Monk was proficient in wearing light clothing. This was a strong DPS class and his weapon proficiencies included: His Fists and Gauntlets.

The Apprentice floated in the air, all his limbs out in a star-like position. He rummaged through his cloak and pulled out a vial. He pulled out the cork and consumed the fluid. There was a loud hiss as dark energy seeped through his skin and crawled over his arms in the form of black smoke. He would continue doing this perpetually. The Apprentice was close-up and ranged DPS class that was able to wear light armor but could later train to become proficient in leather. Weapon proficiencies included: Staff, Incense, and Power Vials.

The Bard sat cross-legged on a wooden chair, a freshly polished lute resting on his lap. He played a fine tune and sang with an angelic voice that made me want to move my hips. Every note that he struck sent a wave of air that ruffled his hair and clothes while creating all sorts of different-colored glowing effects around his body. This class’ purpose was to aid his friends in battle as he created lyrical and musical buffs for them. The Bard was restricted to light clothing and his weapon proficiencies included: Musical Instruments and Voice.

There was a small explosion that grabbed my attention. The Architect version of myself wore a leather vest and some sort of tan working pants. His brow was wet with sweat as he tinkered away on a mini wooden trebuchet. After one last swing of his working hammer, the trebuchet’s sling was pulled back with a shiny, black bomb resting in its cradle. The character lit the fuse and… BOOM! The bomb was slung out into the air where it exploded. This class was used for Ranged DPS and Support with tons of bonuses in crafting and auctioneering professions. This class was proficient in weapons such as: Hammer, Warhammer, Axe, and Machines of War. This one got me excited! Just the thought of having my very own trebuchet got my heart racing.

At first, I guessed that these six classes were all that were available in the world. That is, until I looked up and saw myself suspended in midair, my left hand gripping a rope while my right hand was busy juggling three small, throwing knives. A large and baggy hood was pulled over my head which covered half of my eyes. Besides that, he wore a basic, everyday tunic but with a wide utility belt covered in small, smoke bombs, poisonous arrows, and sharp metal jacks. This character class was known as the Trickster and his weapon proficiencies included: Bow, Daggers, Throwing Knives, Short Sword, and Utilities.

Below these seven classes was a statement that read:

All classes have an immense amount of sub-classes that make each individual character much more unique. You may NOT choose your sub-class but rather your sub-class will choose you. This will depend on the decisions you make and how you play the game. Choose wisely!

* * *

The Warrior class was chosen without my consent by the foreign entity which was very disappointing.

Choose your name!

This was the next notice that popped into my field of vision and it was the first time I realized that I had no name. Who exactly was I?

“Raptor” was typed in.

Name already chosen.

“Air”.

Name already chosen.

“Blaze”

Name already chosen.

“Kakerot”

Name already chosen.

Damn, that was a good one!

“Tharis”.

There was a pause.

Welcome to the World of Drathos. You are now being transported to the starter city of Ashvell. Good luck.

2

I was teleported back to a different tavern than the one I had left. The wooden walls were replaced with stone, the bar was on the opposite side of the room, and there were a lot more players and NPCs here.

Muzuhlan was also there and had still not replaced his cloak over his shoulders.

“So, you made it back! And looking good, might I add,” he said with a wink.

Quest Complete!

You have successfully chosen a gender, race, class, and name. Congratulations!

Rewards: XP, Starter Gear, Pack.

As soon as I had finished reading, the update disappeared from view. I looked down at the mirror in my hand just as it burst into a thousand pieces which then evaporated into a white smoke that rose into the air.

“Here you are!” Muzuhlan said, extending his palm out. A brown leather pack and neatly folded clothes appeared and floated above his hand.

I took the rewards and thanked him. I turned and tried to walk back into my room, but the door I had come through was no longer there. Without any other choice, I put the pack on the ground and unfolded the clothes.

Old Wool Vest

Tattered Leggings

I put on the rags. The wool itched at my chest and air made its way through the holes in the leggings. I wasn’t much better off now than when I had been naked.

I opened the pack.

Stick

Bark Shield

I placed the pack on my back and it disappeared. I somehow knew that if I ever reached back to get it that my intent to do so would make it reappear. I wasn’t sure exactly how I knew this, I just did. I reached my hand behind my back and felt nothing. Half a second later a pack formed into my hand. I unclenched my hand and it disappeared once again.

I equipped the Bark Shield and Stick and made my way across the tavern. I could tell the difference between the NPCs and the players by looking at the name bars above their heads. Players had blue titles while NPCs had green. There were three players here and all of them ignored me. It was the NPC’s that pointed and laughed as I made my way to the exit. What was I doing here?

My instincts told me to head to the door and so I did.

I swung the door open and my mouth dropped. The first senses to hit me were the sounds. Birds were chirping, people were haggling prices and telling jokes, and horses clopped on the cobblestone road. The sensation of wind licked my face as smells of delicious foods wafted into my nose. The road was lined with beautiful, stone buildings and there was a view of snowy mountains off in the distance.

A hand grabbed the shoulder of my tunic and pulled me out of my daze. I was shoved to the ground and a figure hovered over me. I was blinded by the sun and couldn’t make out his face.

“What do we have here? A tourist?” said a snake-like voice. “Jegg, has this one paid the tourist tax?”

A chuckle came from behind the figure. “Sure hasn’t, Boss! I hasn’t seen it. It ain’t in my coin purse!”

The man who still gripped my tunic grunted. He let go and stood himself up. “That’s what I thought.”

I concentrated on his name tag above his head.

Toxhin Level 16 Warrior

“What do you want?” I asked, not even making a grab for my stick. It would be a useless attempt.

“Whatever the hell I want,” responded Toxhin. “And I want a lot of things. Did you check the drawer in your room?”

I knew what he was getting at. “No, I didn’t think of that.”

“Liar!” cried Jegg from behind. “He’s lyin’, Boss. I’m sure of it.”

Toxhin took a few steps back, his appearance becoming visible. He was the tallest a human could be with a small rectangular head. His black hair was long on the top and buzzed on the side. His face was greasy and smudged with dirt from lack of wash. Jegg stood behind him in a hunched over position. He was much smaller than Toxhin and wore a brown wool tunic that matched his friar’s tonsure haircut. The dusty lute over his shoulder was cracked in several places and missing a few strings.

Jegg Level 8 Bard

Toxhin wore a mail chest piece with matching leggings and metal boots. On his back was a wooden club with spikes sticking out of the end. A cloth guild tabard was worn around his neck and fell all the way to his knees. It was made with red and purple linen and had a dagger protruding from a heart embroidered on the middle of it. He saw me notice it and tugged on it a bit to make the horrible image more apparent.

Toxhin bent back down and grabbed my vest again. He pulled my face to his. “You wouldn’t be lying to me would you? You know what happens to liars in my village?”

I just stared at him. There was nothing I could do. I was Tharis, a Level 1 Warrior with only a stick and a piece of bark to my name.

“They die,” Toxhin finished. “And you know what they say, don’t you?”

“Tell him, Boss!”

“You don’t come back.”

A drip of sweat formed on my forehead. I hadn’t been alive for long but I knew deep down that I wanted a chance. I wanted to live.

My heart started to race and I looked around for options.

“I’m gonna count to three. When I hit three and you still haven’t coughed up the copper, then you go to then graveyard. Understand?”

* * *

The private message that popped in my chat box came as a shock and I was unsure whether or not to trust it. But did I even have a choice?

And so I lay there, still as I could be, not sure what was going to happen next.

“Two!” Toxhin unlatched his mace from his back and held it over his head with both hands.

I could hear my heart beat deep inside my head.

“Three!” Toxhin paused only for a moment before bringing down his mace.

CLANG

The mace was stopped by a staff an inch away from my face and I could feel a splash of wind on my cheeks from the stopped force.

“What the-”

“Don’t you have anything better to do, Toxhin? Surely there is better prey out there for you.”

I realized I wasn’t breathing and let the air out of my lungs. The staff was held by a furry paw connected to an even furrier humanoid. A Badron.

Ushmoe Level 12 Rektor

“How dare you defy my bloodlust!” exclaimed Toxhin, the mace quivering in his hands from his rage.

“Seriously, Toxhin, you’ve become bored. At least let this one live to Level 5 before you PK him.”

Toxhin’s eyes were now red and the veins were beginning to pop on his neck.

“Ya know, Boss,” squeaked Jegg. “The badger might be on to somethin’. Our taxes… they are dwindlin’… because… well… because-”

“Spit it out!” spat Toxhin, his eyes not leaving Ushmoe the Rektor.

“Well… you have been PKin’ many of our taxpayers…”

The redness of Toxhin’s face intensified for a second but subsided to its normal colors after a few moments. His jaw unclenched and he pulled the mace away from the Rektor’s staff.

“I will expect 2 silver by the level of 5,” he said to me. “You will NOT leave the village of Ashvell. If you do, I’ll know and I’ll hunt you down, you son of a bitch. I will.”

“He will!” repeated Jegg.

“Shut up!” roared Toxhin, making Jegg squeak and shrink away. He continued, “No one reaches Level 13. No one… I’ll know if you do…”

Toxhin sheathed his mace, backed up a few paces, turned and left.

* * *

We watched until Toxhin had made a turn down another street. The players quickly moved out of his way when they saw him approach. Even the NPCs made sure to give him a wide birth.

“That was a close one,” Ushmoe said, giving me his furred paw.

I took it and he raised me up with surprising strength. He was around the height of my chest and was fully black, with a white stripe that started at his nose and ended at the tip of his tail. He looked like a mean skunk. One eye had a cosmetic scar running down the middle of it. The pink nose was the only cute thing about him. He was wearing a red robe that wasn’t much fancier than my starter gear. His wooden staff, however, glowed a yellow light from the tip which held a golden gem. A feather hung loosely from it.

“Thanks,” I said, dusting off my pants. “I’m Tharis. I’m new here.”

“Bet you were starting to wish you had been created as one of the Dark Faction races, huh?”

“Why? Do they not start here?” I asked.

Ushmoe shook his head, “They start at the other side of Drathos in one of their own starter villages.”

“I see. How long has he been keeping you here?”

A bag appeared on Ushmoe’s back and his tail began to rummage through its innards, producing a piece of bread. He sat down with it and began to munch away. “Doesn’t matter,” he said, turning away from me. “All that does matter is that he isn’t lying when he says he’ll know if you leave. That douche has eyes everywhere.” He took another bite. “Or at least, he says he does. The only player I know who likes him is that creepy Jegg dude.”

I thought a moment. “So we need to get rid of him.”

Ushmoe choked on his bread and crumbs shot out onto his tail. When he caught his breath, he looked up at me and said, “You’re the first noob to show that kind of spunk. I’m surprised.”

“Really? I’m surprised, too. We can’t just live here forever! My instincts say we need to escape!”

“Ahh, you feel the instincts, too, eh?”

“Ya… you?”

“Ya,” Ushmoe said, nodding. “Me, too.” He finished the bread and stood up. “Listen, I’m actually busy on a quest right now. But-”

“But I thought you couldn’t make it past Level 12?”

“Shhh!” Ushmoe hissed, putting a palm over my mouth. “Will you keep it down? Like I said, the douche has eyes everywhere.”

Ushmoe looked around with a face full of caution. He put his whiskered mouth to my ear which actually tickled me a bit. “Look me up when you make Level 10. IF you survive that long.”

He released his hand from my mouth, sheathed his staff and started to walk away. I had a million questions to ask him but not one could I produce audibly. I was now alone and would have to figure this world out for myself.

* * *

My best course of action was to explore the village without getting into too much trouble. My body told me I should take a right and just start walking. I turned around to get a good look at the tavern I’d come from. The building looked to be tipping sideways and the roof was covered with an assortment of birds. The shingles had been discolored with their white poop. A wooden sign hung by a single hinge and moved freely in the wind. I concentrated on it.

The Tipsy Traveler

So that is where I was born. Tharis the Warrior of The Tipsy Traveler… how honorable.

As I walked, NPCs made it their business to give me disgusted faces making it obvious that they were offended by my clothing. It wasn’t my fault that all starters began with the same drab clothes.

“Suh! ‘Scuse me, suh!”

A small hand tugged on the bottom of my shirt. A small NPC girl named Little Lou stood in my shadow with a big, toothy smile and big, blue eyes. Her clothes were tattered like mine and her hands were black from dirt.

“Can I help you?” I asked politely, bending down to her level.

“Yes, suh. Mista Drum, you see. He’s gone missin’.”

“Mister Drum?” I asked. “Who’s that?”

“He’s my kitten, yuh see? He’s ran away from me. Please mista, help me find Mista Drum!”

You have been offered a quest! Mista Drum is on the run!

Quest Details: Help Little Lou find her cat. You should start at the rooftops. Mr. Drum is a black cat and may hold a few surprises.

Reward: 2 Silver + Experience.

Accept?

“I accept this quest.”

The quest caption left my vision and Little Lou had both hands to her heart and looked at me as if I were hero. I couldn’t help but feel a little sad to see her looking so dirty and poor. This little one needed hope. And so I puffed out my chest and said with a heroic voice, “Don’t worry, little girl! I’ll find Mr. Drum!”

Her eyes sparkled at me and then they went serious. She pointed to one of the roofs. “Lookie suh! Mista Drum!”

I looked over my shoulder and there he was. Black as night, one foot hoisted in the air while it licked itself.

Mista Drum Level 1

This would be a piece of cake.

I made a dash for the side of the house and found a wooden ale barrel lying on its side. I rolled it to the house and sat it up right. I then stood on top of it and reached for Mr. Drum. The cat hissed at me, its hair standing on end before bolting away.

“Dammit!”

From this angle it was very awkward to get on top of the roof. I was forced to shove my chest on top of the shingles and crawl slowly up. Mr. Drum was two houses down and had re-commenced its licking session. I made a run towards it and timed my jump just right. I landed on both feet but a shingle gave out from underneath me and I slipped and hit the roof face first.

Health 90%

By the time I hoisted myself up, Mr. Drum had already made it to a whole other house away from me. This wasn’t going to work.

As I scanned the area from my bird-like view, an idea formed in my head.

I grabbed the shingle I had slipped on and flung it at the cat. It didn’t hit him but came very close. The cat hissed and jumped to the next house.

A-ha! The houses were all lined up in a convenient circle meaning Mr. Drum would make his wake back to the starting position.

And so I kept throwing shingles at Mr. Drum until it was one house away. I bent over the roof and used all my stamina to pull the empty barrel drum up on top of the roof. I then hid inside of it before throwing the last shingle at the cat. I ducked inside quickly.

Raaaawww! I heard the cat hiss.

Tiny paws prodded next to the barrel and I could hear its rough tongue licking its inner leg. I jumped out of the barrel, catching Mr. Drum completely by surprise.

“Gotcha!” I cried.

My hands grabbed the cat by the skin of its neck. Little Lou cheered from the ground. I was expecting a quest completed notice but nothing appeared. That’s when something started to feel weird in my hand. The skin of the cat started to stretch and its head grew double the size. Soon, I was forced to let go for it was growing at a crazy pace.

Bad Mista Drum Level 2

“Oh shit.”

The cat leapt at me with both claws extended. Its mouth was in a wide gape with two large, yellow fangs sticking out of its gums. I didn’t have time to unsheathe my stick, so I put both of my hands out and caught it by the neck before it could get to me.

The claws ripped at my arms.

You’ve taken damage from scratches!

Health 75%

This wasn’t going well. I hadn’t expected this cat to turn into some demon monster. How embarrassing would it be to die on your first quest?

3

I flung the big cat to the side and it instantly tried to pounce right back. It was just enough time for me to pull out my stick. I swatted at its face.

You’ve struck Bad Mista Drum with your Strike ability!

“Nooo!” cried Little Lou. “Don’t hurt him, Mista! Use this!”

She threw something folded and I caught it with my free hand.

Hemp Net

Why hadn’t she given me this in the first place?

You’ve been clawed!

Health 50%

I reared as four claws ripped through my shirt.

I was getting mad now. A small crowd had formed below and all of them were pointing and laughing at me. I unequipped my stick and turned to the cat. Unfolding the net behind my back, I started to walk towards it.

“Come here, Mista Drum. Nice Kitty.”

The cat seemed to squint its eyes, its head tilted in a questioning manner. Did it know what I was up to?

“I won’t hurt you! I promise!”

Deciding that there must not have been anything to worry about, Mista Drum jumped at me. I spun and flung the net directly into its face. A bit of smoke flashed from the cat as it changed back into its smaller form. It was laying on its back playing with the net like it was a toy. I picked him up gingerly and made my way down the house. Little Lou was waiting for me, jumping up and down with intense excitement.

“Mista Drum! Oh, how I missed you!”

I handed her her cat.

Quest Complete!

Reward: Experience + 2 Silver

Bonus: +10 to Ashvell Reputation (Positive)

And just then a light from the heavens burst through the clouds and shined upon my shoulders. A feeling of euphoria and bliss resonated within me making me fall to my knees. For a second, I felt as though I could take on anything in the world!

Congratulations! You’ve acquired Level 2!

Ability Unlocked: Bash

Ability Unlocked: Frenzy

A loot bag appeared in the air right in front of my face. I grabbed it and stood up, taking the two silvers from out of it.

Little Lou undid the net and Mista Drum’s small head raised until he was rubbing his owner’s face with his own. He was purring softly.

I grabbed the little girl’s free hand and opened her tiny fingers. In her palm, I placed the two pieces of silver and closed her hand around it. She looked down at her hand in surprise and looked up at me with shiny eyes. She ran into my chest whimpering.

“Go buy yourself something nice to wear, why don’t you? And I’ll be around if you need me.”

Little Lou backed away and nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. She thanked me again before racing off.

* * *

I sat down and saw that my health was at 100%. When did that happen? Did leveling reset your health?

My stomach growled but I had no money to spend on food. What I really wanted was to explore the village and everything around it.

But my intuition told me that no place was safe for an adventuring Level 2 player. I needed to level up. But where was a character to go if he wasn’t allowed to leave the village?

I scanned the area for small animals that I could kill in order to gain some XP but there were none. Well, there were a few dogs and cats but, after that first quest, I didn’t think I would have the heart. No, I would have to find something more vile to kill.

I walked down the streets until I hit the village’s Bazaar. The road was covered on each side by vendors selling their goods and services. One tent had different types of meat strung up by string while another booth was selling forge crafted armor for all starter levels. Some actual players had even put up shop to sell their very own crafted goods. I tried to pick up a sword on display at one of the booths but found that I couldn’t budge it.

Level 15 Required. Proficiency in Greatswords Required.

Oh well.

Even with my +10 to reputation, the NPCs still kept their distance as if I smelled like a dead animal. I lifted my arm, smelled my armpit, and winced. I needed to get some new clothes and fast. It hurt more than it should have to be despised so badly and so early in my life.

Life? Is that what this was?

The thought wasn’t in my head for more than two seconds before it seemingly evaporated from my mind. What was I thinking again? Oh yeah, I need to gain some levels.

“You look like a little, lost puppy,” came a voice from above.

I looked up to see Ushmoe sitting on top of a stone wall.

“I have to say I’m surprised you’re still with us.” His tail flicked left and right in a playful manner.

“What can I say?” I said. “I’m just lucky.”

Ushmoe jumped off the wall, his tail breaking his fall. “Could be that you’re lucky, yes. But could be that you might have the right instincts. Not many make it to Level 2 in Ashvell. Not with Toxhin walking about.”

“I helped Little Lou find her cat.”

“Oh, that was your first quest, eh? Did you like the nasty surprise at the end?”

I laughed and scratched my head. “I can’t say that I did. Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know a place I could kill some things would you? I’m thinking it would be best to be discrete.”

A bag appeared in front of Ushmoe and he pulled out a few coins. He dismissed the bag. “You would be right. Being discrete will help you to live a longer life. One sec and I’ll show you a good place to start. But you gotta keep it secret.” He turned and handed the coins to a fat vendor who then produced two bones covered in meat. “If that freak Toxhin finds out where this secret grind spot is he’ll be sure to add that to his rounds.” He handed me one of the meat sticks and I snatched it with maybe a little too much desperation.

Meat Mutton (Increase in Health Regen. Cures Hunger)

The smell of salted meat wafted into my nose and I couldn’t help but bury my face into the hot meat. This was my first meal.

The Badron pretended not to notice my ravenous behavior. He most likely had seen this before. He walked ahead of me and waved for me to follow.

“I’ll go ahead and show you one of my favorite spots. I grinded this area to around Level 7 or 8 and then had to move on to other means.”

“When will you reach Level 13?” I asked with a mouthful of meat.

“I don’t. If I rise any higher than this then Toxhin will surely kill me when I least expect it.”

“I see.” I tore off another chunk of meat. “Then why don’t you just find some friends and gang up on him? Shouldn’t be that hard if all of you are relatively close to his level.”

Ushmoe nodded. “That would be a good idea seeing if we actually had any other players around my level in Ashvell. Toxhin is stupid, but he’s not that stupid. He started wiping out anyone above Level 10.”

“Why did he let you live?” I asked.

“I’ve given it some thought,” he said with a shrug and a bite from his own meat mutton. “I think it’s because he’s more chicken than he realizes. I think he doesn’t want to start a fight he could potentially lose. Even if it is a pretty small chance.”

I finished off the rest of the meat and the bone evaporated into smoke. We walked in silence a moment before I broke the ice.

“I could help you.”

Ushmoe stopped walking, making me leave him behind a bit. I turned to see him eyeing me curiously. His tail came to his whiskered chin and scratched it a bit. Finally, he said, “I’m not sure why, but you seem crazy. Crazy enough to do something about this captive village.” He started to pace.

I stood there and watched him walk in a straight line, stop, turn, and walk another straight line. His eyes were on the road in front of him. He was talking to himself and, all the while, his tail wrote out notes in the air on an imaginary pad.

He stopped pacing. “You’ll have to prove yourself to me.”

“Prove what?”

“That you can survive.”

* * *

Ushmoe led me to a hole in the ground. Yes, a hole in the ground.

Haunted Well

“I’m guessing you expect me to hop right on in there,” I said, bending over and peering down into the darkness. It was called a well but there was no longer a well-pole built over it to draw water from. It was just a hole. Wasn’t this some sort of hazard? What about the children? If one played a little too close, it could make for one nasty fall.

“It’s not too bad,” Ushmoe said, equipping his staff. He pressed the jeweled tip to my chest and uttered a few whispered words. A light burst from the gem and warmed my body for a few seconds. A buff appeared in the top right of my vision.

Buffs: Rektor’s Prayer (+5 to Vitality)

“Thanks for that.”

“Don’t mention it. If you look closely, you will see the ladder that I used. Made it myself, actually. I didn’t make it reach the very top because I was afraid Toxhin might see it.”

“You made a ladder?” I asked, stunned. “How long have you been in this village?”

Ushmoe didn’t answer. He looked up into the sky and his eyes moved in thought. I decided to drop it.

I walked over to the hole and sat on the edge. A cold breeze floated over my feet like an unseen ghost. I was not a fan of the feeling.

“The well connects to the sewers which is why it was abandoned. Don’t ask me how and why the damned thing was built in the first place. Anyways, the sewer connects to the edge of a cliff which is where the wind comes from.”

An idea popped into my head and Ushmoe must have been able to figure out what that idea was due to my expression. He killed it before I could even say it.

“I know what you’re thinking and it won’t work. The tunnel ends with eight steels bars that cannot be cut through. Abilities don’t work on them either. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

“So that leaves us with only one choice. We have to somehow incapacitate Toxhin.”

“That won’t work,” Ushmoe said, shaking his head. “Toxhin is the kind of character who won’t stop no matter what. Plus, if he gets word out that we’ve harmed him in any way then he will surely report us to his Guild, The Dagger Hearts.”

“So that explains the emblem he was wearing on his tunic.”

“Yes, he is an honorary member but he isn’t a full member. Not yet, anyways.”

“What’s he have to do to get in?” I asked.

Ushmoe shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not exactly sure. But I do know that he has to come up with a hefty sum and cause some sort of mayhem.”

“Mayhem? That’s one of the entry requirements?”

“Let’s just say The Dagger Hearts aren’t the kindest of gents. And anyways, none of this really matters to you as a Level 2. You couldn’t do anything if you tried.”

I peered at him through beaded eyes. He was challenging me but I didn’t need his words to put a fire under my buttocks. I was already determined to level up and feel that oh so great feeling once again. No one, not even Toxhin, would get in the way of that.

I turned and placed a careful foot on the first rung of the ladder. Ushmoe tapped me on the shoulder when I was halfway sticking out of the well.

“I’m gonna friend request you and PM you once you’ve hit Level 7. Then I’ll show you some low key quests that won’t bring a lot of attention your way.”

I smiled at him and nodded my head. I descended.

* * *

The tunnel wind wasn’t enough to stop the humidity from causing sweat to drip down my back. With every step I took downward, I became more and more amazed as to how long the Badron must have worked to build this thing. Where did he hide it? Did he live in the sewers while he crafted it?

My foot hit the floor and I stepped off the ladder. Torches were hung on the walls but none of them were lit.

But I could see. Why and how could I see?

I opened my character sheet and found myself spinning on an axis as if I were standing on a rotating platform. This image of myself was wearing the same clothes I was now but looked more comfortable than they actually were. I also saw a list of racial traits.

Half-Elf Racial Traits

Dark Sight

Mana Regen Acceleration

+ to Intelligence

+ to Will

+ to Luck

Not sure if these were the best traits to have as a Warrior class but they would have to make do. It wasn’t like I had a choice or anything. At least the Dark Sight was coming in handy.

The tunnel was made of the same cobblestone that the above roads were made of except these stones were covered in slimy mold and algae. The shape of the tunnel was that of a horseshoe and a small, green stream of crap water flowed down the middle of it. This was not the first place I wanted to start leveling up.

A thought jumped in my head. Ushmoe said that it wouldn’t have been enough to incapacitate Toxhin. What else was there to do? PK him? It didn’t seem right to me. I didn’t think I could actually kill someone.

There was no afterlife. Death was death in this world.

Something moved in the shadows in front of me, bringing me back to reality. I stepped closer.

Sewer Roach Level 3

I covered my mouth as the stench coming off this thing was the real deal. It had two black eyes and two long, probing antennas. It crawled towards me in a hurry.

I backed up, repulsed by the massive bug that now approached me. My back hit the ladder just as the cockroach flew into the air directly at my face. There was only one thing to do.

I unsheathed my stick and beat it over the head with my strike ability.

The cockroach was taken by surprise and fell on its back right in front of my feet. It was struggling to roll over but I didn’t let that happen. I sent a series of strike attacks at its abdomen, sending yellow goo all over the walls.

You’ve Defeated Sewer Roach.

You’ve acquired Loot Bag.

You’ve acquired Experience.

I opened the loot bag and received a Roach Leg and Roach Meat. Not exactly the most useful of loot.

I heard another buzzing noise and looked off into the distance. There, I spotted another sewer roach and something else standing on two long feet. I targeted it.

Sewer Rat Level 3

I was definitely going to need a bath after all this.

4

DING

Congratulations! You’ve reached Level 5!

Abilities Acquired: Crafting

I wiped the roach blood off of my face and placed another roach leg into my bag. Another menu popped up into my vision.

Congratulations! You can now craft in the world of Drathos! You may select 1 of 6 Professions: Smithing, Weaving, Architecture, Brewing, Cooking, and Agriculture. You also now have access to all of the sub-profession fields including: Fishing, Botany, First-Aid, and Mining.

Whoa, that was a lot of information to soak up all at once. I re-read the menu a couple of times and was relieved to see that I didn’t have to choose right then and there. I would, for sure, have to ask around about each of the professions and see what would be of most use to me and my class.

Something sticky tapped my shoulder.

I turned and swung blindly at whatever had touched me. My wrist was caught with a strong, rough grip. It was a grip that wasn’t human and I was hoisted in the air like a small babe. The non-human hand tightened itself to the point in which I could no longer hold on to my stick. It fell to the floor with a sad and embarrassing tap.

“Zorgon is unpleased with being hit at! Zorgon do nothing bad to you!”

I pulled my head back to get a good look at my attacker.

It was another cockroach but in the form of a humanoid. I grimaced as I stared into a human-ish face with three times the amount of eyeballs. One of its brown antennas reached down and poked me on the forehead. Gently, it let me down to me feet.

Zorgon the Miscellaneous Vendor Level 25

“You’re a vendor?” I asked, looking up at it. The thing was twice my height!

One eye twisted in its socket and its ribbed abdomen made a wave-like movement as it spoke. “Zorgon is a vendor of the odd sorts. Yes.”

“And what can I do for you? I’m kinda busy killing things.”

“Zorgon sees this! You’ve killed many of my family.”

My heart jumped into my throat. “Oh, wow. I am so sorry Mr. Zorgon, sir, I had no idea. Seriously, I-”

The roach man’s head swung into the air as it bellowed a raspy laugh. “Zorgon kid with you! Zorgon kid! Zorgon need your help, young Warrior.”

I rechecked its level. It was 20 levels above me! Why would it need the help of a Level 5 Warrior?

Zorgon must have figured out what I was thinking. “Zorgon is in need of 15 roach legs.” A rumble came from its belly. “Zorgon hungry.”

“You eat your own kind?” I asked, instantly wishing I hadn’t.

Zorgon tilted its head curiously. It was either not understanding my question or it thought it was too stupid of a question to merit a response.

You have been offered a quest! Help Zorgon get full!

Quest Details: You’ve met Zorgon the Miscellaneous Vendor and it is in need of your help. The poor guy, er roach, is hungry and needs you to fetch 15 Haunted Well Roach legs.

Rewards: Sturdy Stick, Trainee’s Bracelet, Experience.

Accept?

“I accept your quest, Zorgon!”

Zorgon’s emotionless face said nothing, but its sticky hug did. I was taken into a bear hug by a 10 foot roach man. “Zorgon thanks you! Zorgon thanks you very much!”

It released me, flung up onto the wall and crawled into a space half its size. Disgusting.

Having killed so many roaches before meeting Zorgon, I opened my bag and had a look. I had twelve Haunted Well Roach Legs.

So, basically, all I had to do now was kill three more roaches and I would be good to go!

I tried my best to ignore the rats and just pull the aggro of the roaches. It wasn’t long before I had squashed enough of the dirty sewer bugs to get the needed amount of legs. Zorgon must have smelled his food for his tiny head popped out of the hole he’d crawled into minutes before.

“Ready for Zorgon?” he asked.

“Ready.”

His head popped back into the hole and, soon, his body reversed itself outwards. There, he stuck to the wall like the true roach he was.

“Do you have the 15 Haunted Well Roach Legs for Zorgon?”

I pulled out my bag and started to count them out to him. Zorgon would grab each one I handed to him and nuzzle them to his abdomen. By the time I was done counting he had a nice, large pile of brown legs.

“Zorgon thanks you again, young Warrior!”

He bowed his head to me before devouring the legs with haste. Juice blasted from ground zero and some of it got on my cheek. My stomach heaved out of revulsion and I quickly backed up, wiping the gunk off of my face.

Quest Complete!

You’ve helped Zorgon the Miscellaneous Vendor eat his fill!

Reward: Sturdy Stick, Trainee’s Bracelet, and Experience.

Congratulations! You’ve Acquired Level Six!

Abilities Earned: Pierce (Pierce allows the Warrior to strike an enemy ignoring his armor stats.)

My body shuddered as it always did when the euphoric feeling left. I didn’t think I would ever get used to it.

I looked up and Zorgon was gone. Oh well, back to killing rats and roaches.

* * *

I pulled myself out of the hole as soon as I hit Level 7. I was drenched in sweat and a cocktail of roach and rat blood. Before I even thought about meeting up with Ushmoe, I would for sure need to find someplace to bathe and, perhaps, catch a little shut eye.

I chose to go in another direction besides heading back into the Bazaar. There were far too many people. Even I knew it would be disrespectful to have anyone be forced to smell me. I wouldn’t want to have me near all that food either.

I went the opposite direction, passing the Haunted Well and turning the next random corner. I walked along the road until I came across an open courtyard with a large fountain in the middle of it. Six large buildings surrounded this fountain, each with a different color and a different assortment of statues. As I got nearer, I could see people bathing in the water that splashed out of a marble dragon’s mouth and nose. The architecture was surely something to ogle at.

A bizarre emotion swelled in my chest, brain, and groin when I came across the half-naked female players rinsing off their smooth bodies. They ignored me, probably used to being stared at by other male toons. There were no guys in the fountain, just a bunch of women of all different races. Somehow, I thought it would be awkward to break the mold and join them. But what choice did I have? I shouldn’t do it… but then again, I should. And so I did.

I stripped down to my sweaty undergarments and stepped into the fountain. The water was cool and oh so refreshing. The women didn’t flinch but merely ignored me just as they were ignoring each other. I found a free stream of water jetting from the dragon’s right nostril and walked under it. This was the first time I had felt water run down my body and it was magnificent.

As the sensation of running water overcame me, I couldn’t help but go into a meditative mood. “Who am I?” I found myself asking out loud.

The ground rumbled and the world around me flashed to black. All was dark for only a moment before life sprang back into my vision. Half the women had been transported out of the fountain and were now looking around, confused as to why they were standing on the cobblestone and not in the fountain.

“What the hell was that?”

“What the hell was what?” responded a girl behind me. She had been halfway done washing suds out of her hair. She cupped her hand in the water and splashed some in her face.

“Did everything just go dark for you?” I asked her. “Or am I going crazy?”

She wiped the soap from her eyes and gave me a cautious gaze as if I were crazy. “All I know is that those girls were in here one moment and gone another. Did you have something to do with this?” She looked above my head and added, “Tharis?”

“No, I swear. It’s just, well… I don’t know. Now I can’t remember exactly what happened.”

She didn’t respond to me. She gave me another questioning look before turning her attention back to her bath.

What was that? Am I the one going crazy? Or did my world… just shut down?

* * *

I stepped out of the fountain and sat on the edge of it, letting the warm sun dry me off. Speaking of the sun, it was starting to drip lower into the horizon. If I didn’t want to sleep in the well or on the streets I would need to find an Inn.

A PM came into my chat box in the left of my vision.

Ushmoe: Hey, Tharis. I see you’re Level 7 now. Grats.

I didn’t know exactly how to respond to this. But, somehow, my mind had a mind of its own if that makes sense. I automatically pulled a response tab and answered.

Tharis: Thank you. It wasn’t the funnest leveling experience.

Ushmoe: I figured it wouldn’t be. Let’s say we meet up for dinner and discuss some things. Let’s say The Tipsy Traveler?

Tharis: Actually, I was hoping to find an Inn soon. It’s getting dark.

Ushmoe: K. Meet you at the Ashvell Inn in 10 minutes.

I stood up but realized I didn’t know where or how to find the Inn. If only there was a way—

Immediately, a map pulled up into my vision, interrupting my thoughts. At the top left of the brown map read ‘The Village of Ashvell’. It wasn’t hard to locate the fountain which I assumed was the marble dragon symbol on the map. Apparently, I was in the Class Hall Quarters, the area of the village in which the class trainers were located. That explained all of the interesting and distinct buildings that surrounded the fountain. I made a mental note to come back and have a look around.

I found the Inn and, much to my relief, I discovered it wasn’t too far away from where I was. I was super tired and hungry and didn’t feel much like walking.

The Ashvell Inn was a pleasant looking building, much nicer than The Tipsy Traveler. I walked up the wooden steps and entered. This place was also bustling just like the Tavern, but the atmosphere couldn’t have been more different. Instead of a rowdy bunch of drunkards, there was an assortment of well-dressed players and NPCs of all races. In the corner of the room was a stone chimney carved in the shape of a bear’s open jaws with a roaring fire within its mouth. On the other side of the Inn was a long and wide bar complete with a kitchen in the back. A bartender eyed me with caution as he polished a glass with a white cloth. He was probably judging me as a hoodlum on account of my looks. It was highly possible I was going to get kicked out of this place. After all, I was wearing still damp starter clothes and I don’t think my Sturdy Stick and Trainee’s Bracelet were going to suffice as fancy garments.

“Tharis! Over here!” called Ushmoe’s voice.

I looked over the heads of the patrons and saw his furry, black ears. I made my way to him, being careful not to spill any drinks or bump any tables.

“Have a seat,” he said, gesturing to the chair across from him.

As soon as I did so, a female NPC rushed from out of the kitchen, making her way to our table.

“What can I get you two handsome gents?” she asked.

I felt my cheeks warm out of embarrassment. I had no idea what to ask for. Fortunately, Ushmoe did know.

“We will both have a loaf of Green Bread with a Pint of Ale to wash it down with. Thanks, sweetie.” He flicked a silver coin in the air and the waitress snatched it with ease.

She smiled at both of us and gave a slight bow. “Thank you, gents! I’ll be right back! Shouldn’t take us long. The kitchen is being efficient tonight for once!” She sped off.

“So, down to business,” Ushmoe said, sitting back. “You are definitely a minority around here. Level 7s are a big deal.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”

“I’m not! Take a good look around. Ignore the NPCs and memorize the characters around us. They’ve been here a while, stuck at Level 10. You won’t see many newbies join their ranks.”

“Why not?” I asked. “Couldn’t they just go to the Haunted Well and do what I did?”

“They could, but they don’t. First of all, they don’t know about it. And secondly and most importantly, Toxhin usually kills them off before they have a chance to enjoy this world.”

I sat back in my chair, trying to act a little more like my level. “He’s afraid, isn’t he? Afraid a crowd will grow against him.”

“Exactly,” Ushmoe agreed with a nod.

The NPC waitress was back at our table and in her hand was a platter with two loaves of bread. She passed one to each of us with a little plate of butter to go with it. She then handed us our ales. As she turned to walk away, Ushmoe grabbed her by the arm. He handed her another silver coin. She winked at him and was off.

“So what’s this business you wanted to talk about?” I grabbed the loaf and its smells wafted into my nose, making my mouth water. It must have just come out of the oven for it was warm and soft to the touch.

Ushmoe grabbed a knife off the table and slathered some butter onto his bread. He tore off a piece and threw it into his mouth. “I know of a quest that could be beneficial to your leveling.”

“Oh, really?” I said nonchalantly, giving him a half-smile. “And where could I find such a quest?”

I copied Ushmoe and put some butter on top of the bread. The heat of it melted the pad of yellow goodness and it started to drip over the sides and onto my fingers. I took a small bite and had to restrain myself from jumping up in joy. I couldn’t tell whether it was my exhaustion or the butter, but this was the most amazing thing I had ever had. My second meal.

“It will be a bit difficult at your level but I’m sure you could survive it. I’ll need to help you, of course.”

“What’s in it for you?” I asked, taking another bite of the bread.

Ushmoe put down his bread and stared into my eyes. “We need to kill that bastard, Toxhin.”

A request popped up:

You’ve been invited to a Party by Ushmoe

Accept?

I accepted. Ushmoe’s name and level appeared at the top left of my vision along with his health stats.

5

Ushmoe and I were standing on top of the roof of the highest building, the Temple. The steeple stood in front of us with a giant, golden bell residing inside of it. The wind was crazy up here and it was hard for me to keep my footing. Once we’d climbed to the top I couldn’t help but look over the edge. The drop would surely have killed anyone who took the wrong step. My hands grew clammy at the thought.

“So I’ll explain it once more. The tavern cook needs Raptor-Raven Eggs, and the only way to get them is to slay a Raptor-Raven.”

“Couldn’t we just spook the thing away from its nest and take one of the eggs?” I asked.

Ushmoe laughed and shook his head. “Obviously you’ve never seen a Raptor-Raven or else you wouldn’t ask such stupid things. Plus, Raptor-Ravens don’t have nests. They keep their eggs inside their bodies.”

“Oh, great. And you know, you don’t have to be so damned rude to me. I’m a newb, like you said. Go a bit easier on me, will you?”

The wind picked up and about shoved me sideways. Ushmoe gave me a nasty look as if to say he was about ready to give up on me altogether. I decided it was best to keep my mouth shut and milk this guy for as much help as I could get. I could always ditch him after we freed Ashvell from the treacherous Toxhin.

The rays of the sun were blocked as a shadow crept over the roof. I looked up to see the outline of a winged beast that floated above us. A few of its feathers dropped with every swing of its mighty wings. I caught one of them and focused on it.

Raptor-Raven Feather

Description: The feather of a Raptor-Raven.

Rarity: Extremely Common

1 Copper

“Too bad these feathers don’t sell better. We could have made a fortune!” I said. But Ushmoe couldn’t hear me, not over the loud swooshing of the wings.

The beast, after surveying its surroundings, flew over to the tallest platform and landed on the furthest edge of it. Ushmoe was already making his way to the structure and I followed.

We started to climb and I couldn’t keep my eyes off the stamina gauge which reduced itself with each inch I pulled myself up.

“I don’t think I’m gonna make it all the way to the top!” I yelled up at Ushmoe but the wind was too strong and carried away my words. We were about six feet from reaching the top when I pulled a chunk of stone out from the wall with my right hand. That action forced me to dangle in the wind with one hand still holding on. My stamina reduced rapidly now and hit 0% before I even had a chance to cry out for help.

My hand opened on its own and I started to plummet to my death. A black, furry tail swooshed past my face and I grabbed at it.

“Yahh!!!” screamed Ushmoe at the top of his lungs. What the hell?

And there we were, Ushmoe clutching the top of the platform and me wrapped around his fluffy tail in a four-limbed death grip. Anyone watching from below would surely have gotten a tickle out of how we must have looked in that situation.

Strangely enough, and lucky for me, Ushmoe pulled us both up and neither of us said a word. We were going to pretend that never happened. A dirty little secret.

His plan was simple. I attack the beast with all that I had while he stood behind me and focused on healing.

I pulled myself up onto the final platform with a bit of déjà vu from my first quest. I was going from cat slayer to bird slayer.

The Raptor-Raven’s back was turned to us, giving me ample time to let my stamina rejuvenate. I pulled out my bag and drank some of the Ale I had saved from the Inn which quickened the pace of the stamina regeneration.

Ushmoe would like permission to view your gear.

Do you accept?

Accept.

After a few moments, he bent over to my ear and whispered, “Is that damn stick all you have? The damage is absolutely terrible! Surely, you found better loot than that in the Haunted Well.”

I didn’t respond but only shook my head.

“Damn. We are gonna be up here forever. I have a better idea. I’m going to disband our party and help you attack this thing but I’ll let you get the last kill. That way you get all the XP and loot. Got it?”

I nodded.

Ushmoe must have seen that my stamina was maxed out for he stood up and started to cast a spell. He held his staff out in front of him and whispered a sort of incantation. His voice grew louder and louder. A blue orb erupted from his staff and struck the ass of the Raptor-Raven, sending a big poof of feathers into the air.

I looked at my chat battle feed:

Ushmoe has struck the Raptor-Raven with Disfavor.

The Raptor-Raven turned and charged at us. This was the first time I was getting a look at its face. In fact, that’s all there was! The head on this thing was huge! But there was no body to it! It was just a massive bird head with wings attached to it and tiny, clawed feet. Its mouth opened and screeched at us and that’s when I was able to catch a glimpse of a spotted egg residing to the side of its tongue.

My feet began to move on their own, but not towards the beast. Instead, I moved towards the edge of the platform. My feelings were in turmoil. At first, I had felt brave and ready to strike. But something about that screech had left me wanting to escape.

The Raptor-Raven has feared you! You run away for your life.

I was just about to clear the edge when Ushmoe grabbed me by the collar. A few seconds later, the feelings of fear left me.

I turned just in time to catch a claw to the face.

You’ve been clawed by the Raptor-Raven.

Health: 70%

“Pay attention!” yelled Ushmoe, a green aura now flowing from his staff.

Ushmoe has cast Heal on you! You’ve regained 30% Health!

Health: 100%

I could feel blood rush to my cheeks. How could I be so foolish? This was my first time partying up and I was already making an idiot out of myself.

The bird’s gaze turned to Ushmoe and made for him. This was my chance to redeem myself.

I ran up to its backside and struck it as hard as I could with my pierce ability. A small spray of blood hit my face and flying feathers stuck to my forehead.

Raptor-Raven Health: 95%

Ushmoe groaned. What did he expect? I was only Level 7. It’s not like he was doing any better with that crappy disfavor spell.

What happened next made me want to shove my foot in my mouth.

The bird whipped around to me as aggro was pulled to me. It stuck out a grey, curved claw into the air and was just about to bring it down upon me when it raked a claw across its own throat.

Disfavor has caused the Raptor-Raven to harm itself.

Raptor-Raven Health: 65%

“GG!” I yelled and struck it again with my primary strike ability. I would have liked to use pierce again but I could sense that its cooldown wasn’t finished yet.

Ushmoe ran to the opposite side of the platform and started to shoot the beast with his primary ability called Pop which sent a purple, spinning orb hurling towards its target. It wasn’t very powerful but was still more effective than my stick attacks.

The battle went on for an exhaustingly long time. The Raptor-Raven would lose its disfavor and curl in on itself with its wings creating a sort of shield. This was its self-healing ability. Lucky for us that our damage output was a little better than its regeneration.

“Finish it off!” Ushmoe cried.

Raptor-Raven Health: 2%

I had full health. This BAMF was going down!

It only took one last pierce strike which almost missed but luckily clipped the very end of its wing.

Congratulations! You’ve slain the Raptor-Raven, the flying terror of Ashvell!

Congratulations! You’ve acquired Level 8!

Abilities Acquired: Block (Take 85% less damage on next attack).

A larger than normal loot bag appeared in the air. I grabbed it eagerly and opened it.

You’ve acquired: Ragged Leather Helm, Raptor-Raven Beak

That wasn’t all that dropped but also the egg it had had in its mouth. There was a small crack on the very tip of it. I picked it up carefully with both hands. It was still wet with saliva and warm to the touch.

I placed the egg in my bag just as Ushmoe was walking up with a big smile on his hairy face.

* * *

The cook pranced around like a pony when we handed him the egg.

“Oh thank ya, both! Dis here will make a fine stew! I’d go up there and slay that damned beast myself, but eh… ya know… I gots a business tuh run!”

I gave Ushmoe a puzzled look and he shrugged.

Quest Complete! Bird Stew.

You’ve acquired: Experience and 5 Silver Coins

Congratulations! You’ve acquired Level 9!

I knew, down deep, that this wasn’t some extraordinary sum of money. But the sound of the coins jingling in my coin purse made me feel giddy and warm inside. Or was that just the feeling of leveling up one more level?

“All righty, now we wait until tomorrow.” Ushmoe patted me on the shoulder and exited the establishment.

“Wait up!” I ran after him but he was nowhere to be seen. I searched for a minute, thinking he might just be hiding behind a tree or something but, no. He was really gone.

I couldn’t help but think that this Badron wasn’t the friendliest of players. But should I really be thinking that in the first place? I mean, the guy was helping me level up when he could be more focused on himself escaping. Or was he doing just that? Was I just merely an escape plan for him? Was I expendable?

I decided I wasn’t going to put all my trust in this guy. Not yet.

I brought my coin purse out and tossed it up and down in my palm. One thing was for sure, I wouldn’t be sleeping on the streets or in a dirty sewer tonight, baby.

6

It was on the fifth day that my life changed forever. Ushmoe and I had met every morning at the break of dawn at the cook’s restaurant but only I accepted the quest for the egg. Ushmoe was afraid that one more quest completion would send him to Level 13 and he knew his level was already pushing Toxhin’s limits.

We were just climbing down from the steeple. I was able to obtain a new Rugged Leather Chest Piece and Rugged Leather Shoes. The Raptor-Raven also dropped another Rugged Leather Helm. I planned to sell it later that night. My coin amount had grown to 1 gold piece and 2 silver after selling all the extra loot I was getting.

I was just placing the Raptor-Raven Egg in my bag when we heard it.

A male scream erupted from the town square. Ushmoe and I looked up at each other and made our descent as quickly as possible. We didn’t say a word to each other as we sprinted towards the sound of the screams. A large crowd blocked our view of the spectacle.

“I hope it isn’t what I think it is,” Ushmoe groaned.

“What? What do you hope it isn’t?” I asked, now feeling a bit of nervousness in the pit of my stomach.

A drop of sweat formed on the tip of Ushmoe’s head and dripped down his muzzle. “A sacrifice…”

I shook my head in disbelief. I could only imagine what he was talking about. I grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face me. “Please don’t tell me that monster is about to kill someone up there.”

Ushmoe just stared at me, his purple, thin lips pierced together.

I slammed into the edge of the crowd forcing my way through inch by inch. It was a mixture of players and NPCs that had come to see what all the commotion was about. All were standing on their toes trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. As I made my way forward, their faces began to turn from questioning to repulsion. I stood up straight and felt my stomach drop as my eyes scanned the scene.

There was Toxhin, his two-handed mace resting on the ground held by one hand, a sick smile on his face.

Toxhin Level 18 Warrior

I swallowed hard. It looked as though he’d been doing some training himself.

Before him were two players with their hands tied behind their backs and their legs tied by their ankles. Over their heads was a thick burlap sack. One player lay on his side in the fetal position.

Lehn Level 8 Artisan

Another character remained on his knees with his head bowed.

????? Level ?? Trickster

Why wasn’t his name or level visible? Surely this was a mistake.

“I’ll ask you one last time! Reveal to me your level or I take this innocent’s life.” Toxhin kicked Lehn hard in the stomach.

Health: 22%

The Trickster was quiet. He probably made the mistake of leveling to too high of a level in violation of Toxhin’s rule. Why listen to this brat when you could die with a little bit more dignity?

Toxhin spun and swung his heavy mace with one hand, letting gravity raise the very tip of it. He kept spinning just until…

SMACK

The mace struck the Trickster in the jaw and he fell over to his side.

Health: 82%

“I don’t want to have to do this,” Toxhin said, looking down and shaking his head. “I’m tired, okay?”

“Yeah! Boss here has had a tough day!”

I hadn’t noticed Jegg on the other side of the plaza.

“Not another word,” commanded Toxhin without looking up. Jegg covered his mouth but kept smiling with his eyes. I couldn’t tell who was more sick in the head, the Bard or his master.

Toxhin walked over to Lehn and grabbed his wrist. He then swung his leg over the character’s arm and used a pelvic thrust to break the elbow.

SNAP

Lehn’s body jumped up and down like a dancing worm. The pain completely taking him.

Health: 3%

The Trickster raised himself back to his kneeled position.

“Still nothing?” Toxhin asked, his face showing genuine surprise. “And I thought I was sinister, but you… you, madam, are an intense player.”

Madam? The Trickster was a woman?

Jegg was bouncing up and down, circling the arena and tapping the characters and NPCs on the heads. He was one sick-minded groupie.

Toxhin let go of Lehn’s arm and walked back over to the Trickster. He did not hit her this time but grabbed the sack over her head and ripped it off. Amber hair flowed in the wind before it rested on her shoulders. Blood smeared her pale, pronounced cheek bones. Her eyes were closed and she kept her head facing downward. Toxhin grabbed her hurt jaw and manipulated her head so that she would be forced to look at Lehn.

“Look at him, damn you! Is this what you want?” He shoved her head aside and stood himself straight. He walked back to Lehn and leaned his mace on his legs. Putting both arms into the air, he said, “Do you all now see what happens when you defy me? All I ask is you stay below a certain level and pay me your player tax! That’s it. That’s all! That doesn’t make me unfair. No. I am a just leader!”

“He is just! He is just!” sung the Bard who was now getting closer to where I stood.

“Very well,” Toxhin said, letting out a deep breath. “I grow tired of this. Time to finish you two off.” He grabbed his mace with both hands and readied himself for one final strike.

It was now or never.

Jegg was crossing my path just at the right moment. I grabbed him by the waist and unsheathed my stick, placing it to his neck. The crowd gave a surprised gasp in unison. Toxhin looked around wildly, looking for the cause of the sudden surprise of the audience. Finally, his eyes rested on me. He gave me a grave look, his lower lip quivering.

“Let them go,” I demanded, circling the arena with Jegg in my grasp. “Let them go, now.”

Toxhin did not follow me with his gaze but just kept staring forward. What was going through his head?

“I said, let them go! There is no need for all this.”

Without warning, Toxhin swung his mace in an arc and cracked it over Lehn’s skull.

I watched as the poor player’s health drop from 3% to 0%. Lehn couldn’t have known where I was standing but his hand shot out in my direction as if trying to grab my hand. His body began to dissipate into a white smoke. Little by little, Lehn rose into the air like a ghastly ghost. His outreached hand was the last to go.

All that was left was a floating loot bag. Toxhin still wasn’t looking at me.

“What did you do?” I cried. I struck Jegg in the head with my stick.

Health: 85%

That must have gotten his attention. This time, he turned to me. I could see a small bit of Lehn’s blood that had stained his Dagger Heart tunic. But even that turned into wisps of smoke.

“Kill him already,” is all Toxhin said. His eyes were dead and not focused on anything.

“Wuh-what, Boss? No, Boss, please!” I could feel Jegg’s body trembling. A puddle of urine grew underneath his feet.

“Kill him,” Toxhin repeated.

I released the Bard and he fell to all fours, crawling rapidly towards Toxhin. Once he’d made it to his feet, Toxhin pulled back a leg and kicked him in the neck, sending him flying to the brink of the arena. Jegg lay there whimpering, not daring to stand back up.

A snapping sound made both me and Toxhin whip our heads to the Trickster. Her bindings fell to the cobblestone ground and, in the blink of an eye, she had grabbed Lehn’s loot bag and disappeared into the crowd.

Congratulations! You’ve earned the achievement: Guardian Angel. You have successfully freed a player from the hands of a non-NPC Player Killer (PKer). Your reputation with the Ashen Kingdom has grown to the status of Friend!

Toxhin’s face grew an apple red, the veins now protruding from his forehead.

“You’re dead!”

7

Toxhin took a step towards me and then another. His head was bent down in an animal-like fashion. My body took a step back. It wasn’t me, it was my body. I didn’t tell it to do that. What the hell was going on? Why couldn’t I control myself? My mind didn’t want to back down… but I just couldn’t bring myself to stand my ground.

I was slowly retreating when Toxhin made an un-telegraphed rush towards me. He was screaming at the top of his lungs and swinging his mace wildly.

My backpedaling went from a slow stroll to an all-out backwards run. Both my mind and body agreed that I sidestep and try and strike at his back.

No luck.

Toxhin, albeit a horrible fighter, was still a lot stronger than I was. I used my pierce ability but he dodged it with ease.

Your Pierce ability misses!

Shit. Now what? I needed to escape, I needed to-

“Toxhin!”

Both of us stopped mid-battle to see Ushmoe the Badron standing out in front of the crowd. The arena had doubled in size as the players and NPCs had backed up out of fear of taking accidental damage.

“You stop this now! Don’t you see what a monster you’ve become? Can’t you see what your actions are doing? Are you that low of a person?” Ushmoe spit in his direction.

Toxhin ground his teeth, forgetting me for the second. I hit him with my strike ability.

You’ve struck Toxhin with your Strike ability! Critical Hit!

Yes! Maybe I’d make it out of this alive if my luck didn’t run out.

I checked his health status.

Toxhin’s Health: 99%

There hadn’t been any luck to begin with. Toxhin turned to me and front kicked me hard in the stomach sending all the air out of me with one big whoosh. I fell to my back, dropping my stick in the process.

Toxhin walked over to my weapon and snapped it with the heel of his boot.

Stick Durability: 0%

The stick turned to smoke and floated away just as did any hope that I had left.

A smile spread across his face. He lifted his mace over his head with both hands and, just before he used an ability, my battle feed blew up with:

Ushmoe has hit Toxhin with Disfavor. Ushmoe has attacked a player! Ushmoe now has the status as Ruffian!

Disfavor caused a 50% chance for its target to self-harm itself. That meant I only had a 50% chance of survival in this instance.

I closed my eyes.

There was a swoosh of wind in my face followed by a shriek of pain. Warm blood dripped onto my chin.

Toxhin has harmed himself with the Strike ability!

I opened my eyes to see the mace stuck to his groin by two of its many spikes.

I was transfixed on the horrific sight and couldn’t draw my eyes away. It was Ushmoe’s voice that snapped me out of it.

“Come on! Let’s go!”

I stood up and bolted towards Ushmoe who had already turned and was making his way through the panicked and disbanding crowd. Due to my longer legs and half-elvish traits I was able to catch up to him. We could both still hear the wails of Toxhin from behind us.

“I’ll get you two pieces of shit! I will! I’m gonna gut you! Ahhh!!!”

“Where to?” I asked.

“Ugh, ugh, I don’t know.”

Ushmoe was in a state of distress. I couldn’t tell how long he’d been in this world but it must have taken a lot for him to throw it all away by stepping in to protect me. Judging by his face, it didn’t seem like he was taking the situation well. It would be up to me to see us out of this mess. I couldn’t afford to fall apart now.

“To the Haunted Well! Follow me!”

* * *

We stood in front of the musty well. I watched as the flowing wind ruffled the tiny hairs on the Badron’s nervous face. Toxhin must have had eyes and ears everywhere for we could hear him hot on our trail.

“You first!” I said. “Come on, let’s go.”

Ushmoe was shaking.

“I don’t want to die, Tharis.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I knew anything I said would be false hope, but I guess it was better than nothing.

I scratched his head and his ears perked up. “We’re gonna get through this, man. I got you.”

Something about those words or that head scratch put a little courage into the Badron’s heart. He looked up at me and nodded.

He jumped on the rungs of the ladder and quickly descended. I did the same.

Once we’d gotten to the bottom, Ushmoe destroyed the ladder with an orb strike. The ability was ear-splittingly loud in the tunneled well.

“Over here, Boss! They must have come down here!” we both heard Jegg exclaim.

Toxhin’s head peered down the well opening making my stomach sink. He whistled a creepy tune at us. We were trapped and he knew it. Ushmoe’s body was shaking vigorously and his eyes were darting left and right. Whatever little courage he had was now gone.

I did the only thing I could do. I grabbed his paw and ran.

The cockroaches and rats left us alone. At one point, I saw Zorgon’s head pop out of one of the many holes in the wall only to pull it back in. He wanted nothing to do with our troubles.

A small light appeared at the end of the tunnel.

“There!” I cried.

“Don’t you remember?” Ushmoe rasped. “It’s closed off! It’s a dead end!”

I was just about to respond when I tripped over a soft body that had been lying in the middle of the path. A feminine cry rang through the tunnel. I caught myself with my hands and took no damage.

A player stood up and brushed herself off whilst glaring at me.

????? Level ?? Trickster

“You!” I said, grabbing her by her shirt. “What is wrong with you?”

She tilted her head.

“How could you just grab that dead guy’s loot and hightail it out of there with no pause to even yell a thank you my way? Or better yet, stay and help!”

Her hand shot out and she stroked the stubble on my cheek.

“You are… very handsome. Not many faces are crafted like yours,” she said in a quiet and mystical way.

I stared into her green eyes and somehow lost myself in them. I pushed the hood off her head and her dark hair blew into my face and I lost myself for a bit in its aroma. A female human. Realizing what was going on, I quickly shook out of it and shoved her backwards.

“I didn’t choose this face.”

“What?” she asked, tilting her head again.

“I said, I didn’t choose this face. I’m guessing none of us chose our appearances. Someone else did, don’t you remember?”

The tunnel walls changed from cobblestone to an assortment of moving numbers. Life paused and nobody moved. Ushmoe’s head disappeared and reappeared back on his neck. The stranger’s cloak unequipped itself, revealing larger than normal pale white breasts and then re-equipped.

Everything went back to normal just as fast as it had gone into disarray. All three of us had been moved further down the path. The tunnel walls were cobblestone again.

Both Ushmoe and the Trickster looked around but said nothing as if afraid someone might call them crazy.

“Did you guys feel that?” I asked.

Ushmoe opened his mouth to say something but he was interrupted by the taunts of Toxhin coming from behind us.

“You’re dead! You’re all dead!”

The Trickster was the first to start running and Ushmoe and I quickly followed. The light at the end of the tunnel got closer and closer. As we approached the dead end, I became aware of a roaring noise that was more soothing than eerie. The loudness of it drowned out the pitter-patter of our footsteps as we came face to face with our only hope of survival blocked by iron bars.

8

Through the bars was a world so beautiful that it brought goosebumps to my arms. We were suspended in the crisp, blue sky alongside big clouds that were so fluffy and dense, one may think you could actually lay on them. A reptilian-looking bird covered with teal and orange feathers zoomed through the air with three of its babies flapping awkwardly behind her.

Water splashed onto my face and I angled myself in a way that I could look out to the left. Sunlight shined through the mist of a massive waterfall creating a vibrant rainbow. That was where the roaring noise had come from. I put my head through the bars and strained my neck just enough to see the water exploding from the cliff above. The water passed over us and plummeted through a cloud of mist. It was impossible to see the ground which made my palms wet with nerves. How high up were we?

“What is this?” cried the Trickster. She pulled out two daggers and began slashing away. Sparks flew as the metal clashed against metal. Once she had overexerted her stamina, I targeted the bars.

Iron Bars Durability: 100%

“See? No use,” Ushmoe said. He was now pacing and picking at his fingers. “We’re gonna die down here like the freaking cockroaches and rats!”

I slapped Ushmoe hard, hard enough that his health dropped a percent. He looked up at me with an astonished face. “If we die, we die together!” I said. “We give this PKer a fight he will remember!”

Ushmoe’s face was still that of a fearful Badron but he did nod his head and equip his staff, albeit with shaky paws.

I went to equip my stick but forgot that it had been destroyed by Toxhin in the village square.

“Crap, I have no weapon.”

Ushmoe looked down and started his pacing again.

An alert popped into my vision.

Tahshine would like to trade. Do you accept?

So her name was Tahshine, huh?

I looked around but couldn’t see her. The composition of the bars moved a bit, catching my eye. If I focused hard enough, I could barely make out her outline. She was stealthed.

“Clever girl,” I said, accepting her trade.

My vision was now blocked by a rectangular trade window with several different openings that could be filled with equipment and items. A Rusty Hammer appeared into one of the boxes. Tahshine accepted the trade and so did I.

“Thank you, Tahshine.”

“Don’t thank me,” she whispered. “Thank Lehn, the artisan.”

* * *

We had a plan. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was a plan.

Tahshine would remain stealthed. And since neither Toxhin nor Jegg knew she was down here, she should be able to get behind them and perform double damage to their backs.

Meanwhile, I would attack the front with my hammer and Ushmoe would cast disfavor, heal, and send pop orbs.

Toxhin’s body appeared through the shadows, the mace already equipped in his hands. I wondered how he had traversed through the dark tunnel but figured he must have taken some sort of Dark Sight vial or maybe even a buff from Jegg. His eyes were bloodshot and he wasted no time. He targeted me and attacked.

I took a step forward and tried to cast my new block ability.

You need a shield to cast Block!

I took the full swing of mace to the shoulder and felt the bone give way. The force of the blow knocked me to my knees.

Health 11%

Toxhin swung his mace again.

Ushmoe healed you!

Health: 100%

You’ve been hit by Toxhin’s Strike!

Health 9%

This time, I was hit in the ribs. A cracking noise and my screams rang through the tunnel.

You’ve been healed by Ushmoe.

Health 100%

This must have been what hell was like. Constantly being tortured and then brought to perfect health just to be brought to the brink of death once more.

I readied myself for another blow but it was Jegg who cried out this time. I opened my eyes and saw Jegg turn to his attacker, a dagger sticking out the back of his neck.

Jegg’s health was already at 8% and dropping at a fast rate. Blood was dripping from the back of the dagger and splattering on the ground.

Toxhin turned his attention to Jegg but there was no visible enemy to target. Forgetting about me momentarily, he walked forward while swinging his mace wildly out in front of him which meant he was most likely familiar with Tricksters and their stealth ability.

“Show yourself!” he demanded.

One of his crazed swings accidentally struck Jegg in the side of the head, crushing the skull and creating a decent-sized dent.

Jegg’s Health: 0%

Jegg’s head pivoted clumsily towards Toxhin. He gave Toxhin a sad and questioning face before vaporizing into white smoke.

Toxhin didn’t notice the death of his friend but kept on swinging like a madman. I couldn’t see his stamina number, but surely it was being depleted at a fast rate.

A movement caught my eye. I saw the outline of Tahshine smoothly dodge a close call and move towards my position. She helped me up and ushered me back to the bars.

Toxhin looked back at us, drool slopping lazily out of his mouth. I watched his eyes finally see the floating loot bag of his dead partner. If I was expecting to see remorse, any at all, then I was wrong.

Toxhin hit the bag with his mace, destroying it immediately. He pulled out his own bag and drank a bottle of ale.

“He’s trying to restore his stamina!” Ushmoe cried, pointing his staff at Toxhin. “We should attack now or kiss our lives goodbye!”

Life. The word stuck in my head. I’d been alive for barely a week and, yet, I felt like my life was not my own. My thoughts were my own, sure. But my movements, they were mostly foreign to me. Sensations such as pain, taste and smell were there, but I somehow knew there was more depth to them. Every time I questioned my existence and my reason for being alive, I either forgot entirely or was left with a dirty or guilty emotion. But why?

The tunnel’s walls flickered to moving numbers and then back to cobblestone. A crazy idea formed in my head.

“Everyone!” I yelled. “Back up to the bars! Quickly!”

I took a few steps back until I could reach behind me and grab hold of the cold iron. Ushmoe didn’t question my reasoning but was glad somebody was taking some sort of initiative. I felt Tahshine grab my shoulder and grip it tightly.

“Hey, Toxhin,” I said, pausing to think of exactly what it was that I wanted to say. I needed the perfect words and the perfect phrase.

Toxhin stopped drinking his ale. “I’m gonna enjoy this.” He wiped his mouth and threw the bottle against the wall sending, an explosion of glass and ale. “This world will forget you as fast as you were created!” He took a step towards us.

Toxhin would never know that it was his words that supplied us our escape.

“Who are we in this world?” I asked. “Are we our own? Or are we merely puppets of some manipulator?”

The walls again morphed to numbers. The ground below our feet disappeared. It was now as if we were standing on glass able to look down at the world below us.

I continued, “Do we own our identities? Are our minds our own? Or is it all a mirage, one big ruse that keeps us from questioning?” Both Ushmoe and Tahshine were looking at me as if I had lost my mind, and maybe I had. “Well, I’m sick of it!” I said, yelling at the top of my lungs now. “Who are we, Toxhin? Who are we? I will no longer allow some other being to control me! I refuse!”

One moment, I was in the tunnel ranting about what had been stuck in the back of my mind for my week’s worth of life and the next moment I was free. I now shared the fresh air and the sky habitat of the reptilian birds. One nearly flew directly into me but evaded at just the last moment with a graceful barrel roll.

I was free from the wrath of Toxhin and free of the village of Ashvell. I had freed myself from my controller. I was my own, now. I was free. I could just feel it.

And I was falling.

Wind rushed through my hair and my stomach jumped into my throat. I gave one last look up at the barred tunnel and what I saw made my heart lurch.

Ushmoe was there, waving a hairy paw at me through the bars. He mouthed the words, “Good luck”.

9

I didn’t have time to worry about Ushmoe. There would be no way to save him if I didn’t survive my fall. Tahshine was with me. I knew this because she was latched on to me, her arms squeezing tightly around my throat.

I looked down and saw the water quickly making its way to reach us at a terrifying rate. Did I even know how to swim?

I called out to Tahshine, but the wind carried away my words. I looked around, frantically trying to find anything I could that could slow us down but there was nothing. We had been transported too far from the edge and were now plummeting to an unknown fate.

Out of my own instincts, instincts I did not know that I had, I pointed my legs and Tahshine did the same. The cool water hit the bottoms of my feet so hard that it was like hitting stone. My knees buckled into my chest and my back smacked the surface sending gold stars through my head.

Health: 92%

Everything was calm. I opened my eyes and saw a blue world filled with all sorts of exotic fish swimming as fast as they could to get away from me; a trespasser had just barged into their world.

My lungs started to hurt.

Air Capacity: 30%

Air Capacity: 29%

Air Capacity: 28%

It was a slow countdown, meaning I had been underwater for a while. Had I been knocked out? And where was Tahshine?

I started to panic, using my arms and legs to clumsily turn myself. At first, I didn’t see her. Was she still stealthed? But then my eyes caught a glimpse of a hunched over body floating motionless a ways away from me.

Again, unfamiliar instincts flooded into my body and I swam towards her with a grace I did not know I had. Because I was now moving, my air capacity was dropping at a faster rate.

Air Capacity: 15%

Air Capacity: 14%

I knew, down deep, that I wasn’t going to make it but I couldn’t even consider the idea of ditching her. Not now. I’d already lost one friend, I wasn’t about to lose another.

My lungs screamed at me as my hands grabbed beneath her armpits.

Air Capacity: 0%

My lungs felt as though they were completely restricted and deflated. My chest heaved, trying to persuade me to inhale a mouthful of water.

Health: 72%

I pointed upwards and swam with all my might. Tahshine didn’t weigh much, but her wet clothes did. The extra weight did a number on my stamina.

Health: 40%

I opened my mouth and water rushed in. I had to force myself to close my lips. I figured when I hit 0% that my body would accept the breath of water and I would die.

The shiny surface was almost within reach. I could feel the sun begin to warm my face. My leg muscles burned and my neck was strained from looking up with such exertion. Just when air was within reach, my body slowed to half the speed as my stamina hit 0.

Health 8%

Health 6%

I kicked as hard as I could and moved my body in a worm-like fashion. I did anything I could. I even shot one hand outwards as if waiting to grab on to something or for something to grab on to me. My stamina would regenerate to 1% and I would immediately consume it with a thrashing movement.

Health 3%

My vision was fading.

Health 2%

* * *

Cool air whipped my face and I no longer had control of my body. My mind even pushed out the fact that I was carrying another person. I didn’t even have a chance to spit out the water in my mouth before my lungs took in their first gulp of air.

I started to choke and gag as water made its way inside of me.

Health: 7%

Health: 8%

I pulled Tahshine’s head out of the water but her eyes did not open. I swam towards the shore backwards with her on my chest. I was still coughing up the water I had inhaled.

My feet touched soft, gritty sand and I was relieved to finally be able to walk again. I drug her body onto the beach and laid her flat on her back.

She wasn’t breathing.

I concentrated on her stats and what I saw confused me.

Tahshine’s Health: 42%

Not sure what else to do, I tried pumping on her stomach. It wasn’t working. I then thought I’d try to breathe some life into her lips and was lowering my head to hers when her body convulsed underneath my hands. I turned her to the side where she coughed up globs of water and a bit of stomach acid.

Congratulations! You’ve put your life in jeopardy to save another player from the elements! You’ve completed the secret achievement: Life Guard. Your reputation has increased with the Ashen Kingdom.

Congratulations! You’ve earned the reputation status as Recognized in the Ashen Kingdom! NPCs will now recognize you when you walk by them.

Congratulations! You’ve completed the Hidden Quest: Stranger in Need.

Objective: Risk your life twice to save a single player. The player must not be on your friends list.

Reward: Experience, Player Title: Preserver

Congratulations! You are now known throughout the World of Drathos as Tharis the Preserver! This title will appear above your head when other players or NPCs concentrate on you.

Congratulations! You’ve acquired level 10!

All of these achievements should have been an exhilarating experience, but I couldn’t help but feel sick. What horror was Ushmoe going through while I was becoming some sort of hero? A hero because I was doing what anyone else would have done if they’d been in my place.

“How did you stabilize yourself for so long?” I asked. “I thought you were dead.”

She wiped her mouth and flipped over onto her back. She looked to be a bit delirious from lack of air.

“How did you survive underwater for so long?” I asked again, but this time more forcefully. I was losing my patience with her.

“Because I didn’t move,” she said, putting her wet palm to my face while looking into my eyes. “I knew you’d come and rescue me. I used you to save myself.”

I turned away from her and laid my back down in the warm sand. I didn’t know how to reply to such honesty. I looked up to see how far we had fallen and couldn’t believe my eyes. I could barely make out the well in which we had once been stuck. It was strange to think that Ushmoe was still in there facing a terror he had been hiding from for so long.

At that moment I made up my mind. I was going back for him.

10

Once Tahshine had caught her breath, she bolted from our position on the beach. I didn’t even bother to go after her. In fact, I was happy that she’d left. Her selfishness and her lack of care for others made me sick and I didn’t even want to look at her.

I tried private messaging Ushmoe but received no reply. I kept at it for twenty minutes but received nothing but silence. I checked my friend sheet and saw Ushmoe’s name was still there. Would it say deceased by his name if he was killed? Or would it simply disappear? Either way, I needed to get off my ass and hustle.

I stood up and brushed the sand off my pants.

A tiny crab beast scuttled its way over to me and stopped right in front of my boots.

Growing Crab Level 1

“Shoo,” I said, waving my hands at it. I didn’t want to accidentally step on it.

But it didn’t move, it just sat there and stared up at me. Its tiny claws moved aimlessly out in front of it.

“Do you want something from me?” I chuckled a bit to myself. Was I losing my mind? What had reduced me to talking to crabs?

But the little thing responded in a creative way. It used its body to scoot itself across the sand in order to make words.

I thought you might never ask! I need your help, Tharis the Preserver.

“Okay, and how can I be of service to your crabliness?” I chuckled again. I was going crazy.

I’m a growing crab, you see, and I can’t quite grow if I don’t have a big enough shell! Can you fetch one for me?

You have been offered a Quest! For the Shell of It.

Objective: Hunt down a Big Poppa Crab and retrieve its shell.

Reward: Experience

I accepted the quest with a nod of my head. The tiny crab bowed to me before burying itself into the sand.

The water rushed up to my feet and I took in a big whiff of air before taking in my surroundings. A mixture of smells filled my nostrils. I could distinctly make out the scent of fresh, running water and something sweet which I guessed to be some sort of exotic fruit.

The waterfall was even louder here where it finally made landfall. I allowed my gaze to follow it upwards and saw that its exit came from another pipe just below the village of Ashvell. I wondered how hard it must have been for the architects to design an entire town on top of a flowing river.

Behind me was a forest of tall trees with thick trunks that didn’t start to shrink until around thirty or forty feet up. Heavy, green vines flowed up the trunks of the trees and even extended to other trees making a sort of botanical web. I wondered what would have happened if I’d fallen into their soft-looking embrace rather than into the cold one of the lagoon.

The beach that I was on was covered in turtles and crabs that lived in perfect harmony. The smaller crabs would hitch rides on top of the bigger turtles, laying on their backs to warm their softer bellies in the sun. None of these crabs looked big enough to be my target.

I stood on my achy legs and squinted up at the sky once more. Ushmoe was up there. Dead most likely or wishing that he was.

If I was going to save him, I was going to have to level up from my pitiful Level 10.

* * *

It wasn’t hard to find the designated crab for the quest. He had to have been five times larger than all the other crabs.

Big Poppa Crab Level 11

His shell was cracked in several spots and held a dark orange hue. Its beady, black eyes rested on two external membranes that moved slowly from left to right as it monitored its surroundings. Out in front of its body were two thick claws with what looked to be serrated edges on the inside.

I made sure to do a stats check before rushing into battle.

Health: 100%

Stamina: 100%

If the stats were perfect then why did I feel so exhausted? Why did my feet and legs still hurt from my plunge into the lagoon? I’d never felt this way before when my stats had been at 100%.

I took a step forward. I looked down at my legs with astonishment. Quickly, I decided to take a step to the right… and I did! Nothing told me to do it and nothing told me not to do it! No controlling force stopped me from making my decision to move to the right.

Was I truly now on my own? Had I severed the tie to whatever creator that had control over me?

“Who am I?” I asked out loud, waiting for the world to pause and malfunction.

But nothing happened.

“Who am I? Why was I created? Am I my own person? Do I control my own fate? My own destiny?” If anything was going to disrupt this world that was going to do the trick.

But still, all things moved along like everything was normal. No scenery was outlined in numbers and none of the creatures paused and I wasn’t transported to some nearby random location.

I was now in control.

The jubilation inside of me masked the pain in my legs and I rushed at the Big Poppa Crab yelling at the top of my lungs in excitement. The big crab turned itself around and tried to run away from me.

I leapt onto its back, equipped my hammer and started to beat on its outer shell.

My strike ability had no effect on it but my pierce ability was successful in ignoring its armor. Too bad I would have to wait for its cooldown to use it again.

Big Poppa Crab Health: 80%

It shook me off with a wild rocking of its body. I fell off and landed on my back with the crab right on top of me. I tried to cast my block ability but had totally forgotten about having to have equipped a shield before it could be used.

One of the claws gripped around my arm and pinched. A pain like I have never felt vibrated up my arm, sending signals of panic to my brain.

I yelled at the top of my lungs, having never felt such an awful sensation in my short life.

You’ve been clamped by the Big Poppa Crab.

Health: 75%

The claw released my arm. I grabbed the hammer with my left hand, fury blurring my vision red, and I struck at its eye. The black eyeball popped under the force of my hammer strike, sending a gush of purple blood back onto its face. This time, it cried out.

You have half-blinded the Big Poppa Crab.

Big Poppa Crab Health: 55%

It backed away from me but I didn’t let it escape. I was on it like a madman, swinging at its face, trying to pop the other eye. I didn’t hit the eyeball but I was successful in smacking the membrane it was attached to. The membrane wrapped around the head of my hammer and I ripped it right out of its head.

You’ve successfully blinded the Big Poppa Crab!

I brought back my hammer and peeled off the slimy membrane. It moved on its own in my hand making me queasy.

The Big Poppa Crab was screeching now, sending its claws in random directions and snapping loudly.

Big Poppa Crab Health: 20%

I snuck around behind it, barely evading an oncoming claw. With a battle cry, I jumped onto its back one final time. The claws came towards me but snapped aimlessly in front of my face. They couldn’t reach me.

I bent over low and started to go to work on the crab’s inner face. My pierce ability was refreshed and that was all it took. I grabbed the hammer with both hands and, with all my might, I gave it one last smack!

Congratulations! You’ve successfully slain the Big Poppa Crab!

The meat of the thing disappeared and the empty shell with me on top of it fell onto the beach.

A tiny crab head poked itself out of the sand. When it was satisfied that the coast was clear, it pulled itself out and scuttled towards me.

“This will make a fine new shell!” it wrote, raising both claws in jubilation.

“Don’t you think it’s a little big?” I asked it.

The tiny crab peered up at me and I couldn’t read its face.

Congratulations! You’ve completed the quest: For the Shell of It.

You’ve earned: Experience

Congratulations! You’ve acquired Level 11!

Your class now has the proficiency to equip Mail Armor.

Mail armor would, for sure, come in handy when I finally faced Toxhin. All that was left was to actually find some.

I watched as the little crab pulled itself out of its smaller shell. It was a tiny, pink, gelatinous thing, really. It then made its way slowly into the bigger shell where it laid down and looked up at me with its dead, black eyes.

“See,” I said. “A little too big for yo-”

The little crab’s body grew double its size, then triple its size until it completely filled its new shell.

“Oh… I should have known.”

Growing Crab Level 1 turned to Big Poppa Crab Level 11. The color of its status was green meaning that I could no longer gain any experience or loot if I attacked and killed it. This also meant that this beast was no threat to me.

“Good for you,” I said to it, patting it on the shell.

It bowed to me and scuttled away. Where the shell had once lain was a floating loot bag. I grabbed it before it could disappear.

You’ve obtained:

Hard Shell Shield

Required Level: 10

My heart beat a little faster from excitement. I’d long ago sold my shield made of bark. It had quickly become useless to me and only took up space in my bag.

I equipped the shell shield. My hand was fitted behind two leather straps connected to a decently-sized chunk of crab shell. The face of it was the same dark orange coloring and the outer rim was covered in little, tan spikes. This was, by far, the coolest looking item I had in my possession. However, I still looked like a transient.

A notice popped into my vision, startling me a bit.

Warning: You are starving. Your health will slowly diminish until either you eat or die.

Wow, that was a harsh statement. My stomach growled loud enough for me to hear over the roaring waterfall. My hunger was stronger than it had ever been. This reminded me of the intense pain I had felt when the crab had pinched me with its claws. Never before had I felt such an intense amount of pain, pain that made me want to tear up. Pain that jumbled my thoughts and sent stars through my vision. Now that all of the pain had subsided with the regeneration of my health bar, all I could think of was food. I wished I was back in the Inn with Ushmoe eating a loaf of hot, buttered bread.

My stomach growled again.

11

Health: 65%

I checked my bag with the hope that I would find something to eat, but there was nothing. I hadn’t prepared for this. How was I supposed to have known I would face Toxhin in the square? I wished I would have thought about grabbing a loaf of green bread from a vendor before plunging myself into the Haunted Well.

And so I started my search for food. The tiny crabs that walked along the yellow beach looked to be too small to drop any sort of meat. Plus, I had no logs or fire starter to cook it.

Behind me were the trees with the green vines. I walked to the edge of the forest to get a better look.

A-HA!

At the very tip top of each tree was a square edible-looking thing. I concentrated and targeted one of them.

Box Fruit

Fruit! That would work wonders for my hunger. But how to get up there?

I walked off the beach and to the bottom of one of the trees. I placed a hand on its rough bark and slid my hand up and down it. It looked much taller now that I was at its roots looking up. There were no limbs to grab on to at this level and my only choice was to hug it and clamber up.

As soon as my feet left the ground, my stamina started to drop. I made it halfway up before my stamina was at a dangerous level. But I had reached the first layer of green vines. I latched on to the closest strand and pulled myself up.

I sat there kicking my feet. I was really high up and I forced myself not to look down. Just thinking about it made my palms clam up again. I guess heights were not my thing.

The vines rumbled beneath my buttocks, sending a flurry of winged beasts from their nests and into the air.

I looked around to see where the commotion was coming from. A face in the side of the tree gave me a start and I slipped off the vine.

The same gut wrenching feeling of falling lasted for only a second before a thin limb whipped around my ankle leaving me suspended upside down. I was then hoisted up like I weighed nothing and came face to face with the tree.

Grandfather Tree Sage Level 5

“Hello, mighty Warrior,” it bellowed at me with its bark lips. Its wooden eyes moved up and down as it studied me. “That was one impressive climb! I am so sorry I gave you a fright.”

“Ugh, it’s okay,” I stammered. “Thanks for catching me at least.”

The Grandfather Tree Sage smiled at me. “As you say, it was the least I could do.”

There was silence as I did not know exactly how to respond to that. Blood was rushing to my face and so I asked, “Do you think you could set me back down?”

“Oh! Of course! Please excuse this old tree’s manners. I haven’t had a visitor in ages.”

It put me back down on the vines. My stomach growled once again.

“You’re hungry,” it said to me. “You must eat!”

I grabbed my stomach and checked my stats.

Health: 45%

Stamina: 100%

“Yes, I’m in definite need of food. I was climbing you to try and grab some of that delicious-looking fruit you have there.”

A limb whipped itself into the air, plucked off a Box Fruit and brought it down to my face.

“You mean, this fruit?”

I looked at the tree and back at the fruit. The tree blinked softly as if to say go ahead. I grabbed it.

It was slightly furry in my hands. The colors were a gradient of red and purple. I took a bite and juices overflowed my cheeks. The taste was incredible! A perfect mixture of tang, sour, and sweet and was by far the most delectable thing I’d ever had.

I scarfed the rest of it in three more bites. Things seemed so much more real now. The sensation of taste, the breeze on my face, and the feel of the Grandfather Tree Sage’s rough bark underneath my hands were all undeniably more powerful.

These were all positive senses, however. I forced myself to think back on the crab and how it had felt to get pinched between its giant claws. How it had felt to have my body compressed so tightly that my skin ripped open. These thoughts made me shudder. Were these new feelings even worth it? What else was going to change now?

* * *

“Mighty Warrior, you have eaten the fruit of my limbs and I feel it is no longer rude to ask for your aid in a minor task.”

I was on my third Box Fruit and looked at it with cheeks filled with juices.

“Sure, what’s up?” I asked.

“Do you see these vines spread across my body and to the bodies of others?” The tree used one of its limbs to gesture to the hundreds of green vines that spread from it to all of its other forestry comrades. “They are not my own. They were created by parasitic beasts that will not leave me alone, no matter how polite I ask them to!”

“Have you tried offering them a Box Fruit?”

The tree laughed at my suggestion. “These beasts only desire one thing. To feed off my nectar and to use me and my friends as hammocks!” His speech intensified with emotion making the last of his words more of a bellow. “Now, I ask of you Tharis the Preserver, dispense of these beasts so that I may go back to my peaceful life of swaying in the breeze.”

You have been offered a quest! Parasitic Nectar Suckers

Quest Details: Kill 8 Nectar Suckers

Reward: Experience, 10 Box Fruits, 5 Bottles of Sweet Nectar

Secret Reward: Depends on how you dispense of the Nectar Suckers

This was the first time I’d seen a quest give a possible secret reward. What other way was there of killing these Nectar Suckers, anyway?

I accepted the quest and, as soon as I did so, the Grandfather’s face sunk into itself, a flat piece of ordinary bark taking its place.

A small hiss came from above. I looked up just in time to be tackled by a green, eight-limbed monster.

Nectar Sucker Level 10

You’ve been stung by Nectar Sucker.

Health: 85%

I kicked the thing as hard as I could right in its gut, sending it a few feet away from me. It caught one of the vines and spun itself until it was upright and crawling towards me. The spider was only a spider in shape. Its body was actually made of ferns and foliage rather than arachnid skin like one would expect. Its abdomen, where the needle-like piercer stuck out, was an invisible sack. It was possible to see the nectar it had been stealing from the trees.

I stood and balanced myself on the green vine while equipping my hammer and shield. Once the Nectar Sucker came into range, I used my Bash ability for the first time. I bent my knees and slammed the face of my shield right into its leafy head. A cool wind special effect erupted from the edges of my crab shield and green ooze popped out of the sucker’s crushed face.

The ability also had the added effect of pushing your enemy a ways away depending on how big it was and how much stamina the player chose to use. The Nectar Sucker, being half my size, flew away a good distance.

“Woohoo!” I yelled in excitement, the rush of the shield bash raising my spirits. I loved the feeling of the pure barbaric power it gave me.

The Nectar Sucker soared off to the left, its limbs sticking out trying to grab one of the green vines. It failed and fell to the forest floor.

SPLAT

You’ve defeated Nectar Sucker.

I jumped from leg to leg, feeling like a total bad ass but nearly fell off the vine in doing so. That was, for sure, the coolest thing I had done since being born!

Sadly, my excitement didn’t last long. I heard the sticky crawling of leafy arachnids coming from above me in all directions. The killing of the Nectar Sucker had caught the attention of its family. The remaining seven foliage spiders hopped from the branches, all of them meeting in the middle where all of the green vines met. This was the first time that it occurred to me that I was actually standing on a giant web.

The beasts targeted me and charged.

12

Their combined strength would easily kill me in just a few seconds. Even with my newly added shield, I would not survive this encounter.

There had to be another way.

The seven beasts were crawling towards me, their combined weight sending a wave across the web of vines. I looked down at my feet and nearly slapped myself for not thinking of it sooner.

I stepped off the vine and onto one of my tree friend’s limbs. I then targeted the vine and struck it with my hammer. The durability of the vine instantly went to 0% and withered away. But the loss of it did nothing to drop the web.

I ran down the limb I was standing on and destroyed each leg of vine I saw. The suckers would turn their attention to me and charge in my new direction. This kept them close to the middle of the web which is exactly where I wanted them.

Once I destroyed half of the vines, the web fell over but the suckers remained attached. But now, they climbed vertically. There were three remaining legs I had to destroy.

I was running up to the first leg when one of the suckers made its way to the top. I tucked myself behind my shield and…

BOOM!

I hit it as hard as I could with a bash using up half my stamina in the process. I hadn’t needed that much push but my adrenaline had gotten the better of me. The sucker spun in the air as it fell to its demise a ways off.

Two of the Nectar Suckers had just about made it to the branch when I cut the final leg of vine.

I swore I heard the suckers cry out as they fell to meet the fate of their companions. Their green blood oozed out of their smashed plant-like bodies.

Congratulations! You’ve completed Parasitic Nectar Suckers!

You’ve Earned: Experience, 10 Box Fruits, 5 Bottles of Sweet Nectar.

Secret Bonus: Since you did not use fire to burn down the vines and the trees, you have earned the reputation of Friend amongst the trees. You may call upon them for aid if and when you need to do so.

I hadn’t even known fire was an option! Maybe I should start getting a bit more creative when it came to completing quests. Although, even if I had access to fire, I still wouldn’t have used it. What kind of monster would burn down the entire forest just for a simple quest?

Well, I did know of someone. Toxhin wouldn’t have thought twice about using fire.

Thoughts of him torturing Ushmoe flooded my mind and I could only image what hell he was putting my friend through. These thoughts sent hot blood rushing through my veins. There was no time to rest. I had to reach a high enough level that I could confront the demon of Ashvell.

My chat box flashed in my vision as it started to become flooded with the same message over and over again.

“Anyone out there?” - Bataar

“Help!” - Bataar

“Help!” - Bataar

The text showed up in a red font which I had never seen it do before. I went ahead and responded.

“Where are you?” - Tharis

“In the forest! Huge zerg of Nectar Suckers behind me! I’d take ‘em, but… damn! So many!” - Bataar

I targeted his name and tried to send him a party invite.

You cannot party with members of the Dark Faction.

So that was why his text showed up as red. He was the enemy.

“Please help! I don’t want to start over!” - Bataar

Everything inside me told me to ignore it, to simply start looking for another quest to complete. It was this player’s own fault for pulling too many monsters and I had issues of my own at the moment.

But what if that were me? I was still new to this world, and there was a high chance of me making the same mistake this guy did. And what was he doing so close to a Light Faction village?

Either way, I couldn’t party invite him to locate his whereabouts. I decided I would help him if he turned up in my sight. Until then, I would mind my own business and keep searching for quests and for things to kill.

“Help!” cried a deep and raspy voice not too far off in the distant forest.

“Well, I guess that settles it,” I said to myself.

I ran in the direction of the cry, keeping an eye out for any beasts that were near enough to target me.

“Help!” came the cry again, but a lot closer this time.

I was heading in the right direction. I cleared a wall of shrubs as tall as me and came face to face with a large and steep grassy hill. On top of it, I could see a wooden railing which meant there was probably a road up there. I tried to make a mental note of this position but my thoughts were interrupted by a red dragon-like humanoid vaulting over the railing.

“Whoa!” the dragon man yelped, falling straight down towards me.

Both of his clawed feet landed on my chest and I hit the ground hard on my back, air whooshing out of my gut.

“Oh, by the God of Drathos! Get up, hurry!”

The dragon player scooped up my hand, hoisted me to my feet, and pulled me back into a run alongside him.

Health: 90%

“Run, you fool!” he yelled at me.

I could hear the sticky crawling and the low hiss of enemies behind us. I turned to see at least ten Nectar Suckers descending the hill.

You’ve been targeted by Nectar Sucker.

You’ve been targeted by Nectar Sucker.

The message kept repeating as more and more Nectar Suckers came over the hill to join the chase.

“What happened?” I asked between breaths.

“I stupidly decided to take a nap in this godforsaken forest,” he panted, taking in a gulp of air. His mouth drooped and his forked tongue lulled from exhaustion. “And woke up to meet a pair of those horrible looking creatures! I tried to take them, but accidentally aggroed two more. You know the rest!”

I could see the beach in the distance. If we could make it to the water, I was pretty sure the Nectar Suckers would stop their chase at the forest line.

But we didn’t get that far.

Bataar’s eyes widened in fear as his body became paralyzed from lack of stamina. He fell face flat in the dirt, his tail flicking in the air before also going flat.

It was only a matter of seconds before we were completely surrounded by the suckers. I tried to drag the half-ton dragon man but it was no use. He was far too heavy.

A sharp pain hit my back, making me arch in agony.

You’ve been stung by Nectar Sucker.

And then again.

You’ve been stung by Nectar Sucker.

I checked my health.

Health 60%

I looked down to see Bataar completed covered in the green beasts, black needles from the butts of the suckers going in and out of his spine.

13

I tried not to panic but the pain from the stings was clouding my mind from reason. There was no use in attacking the beasts, there were way too many of them.

One of the suckers crawled on my face and stuck its stinger straight through my cheek.

You’ve been critically hit by Nectar Sucker!

Health: 18%

I was being crawled on by at least four of the suckers, each piercing through my leather armor with ease.

My head spun and my eyes focused on one of the trees looking down at me with sorrow written on its face. I could only think of one option that may save our lives.

I targeted the tree and sent it a message.

“Help us, please.” - Tharis

The tree closed its eyes and bowed itself. It lowered a branch and started to swat at the damned things.

Smack!

Smack!

Green blood filled the air as the tree used its massive branches to crush the suckers that had surrounded us. The tree gritted its teeth as it got its revenge on the disgusting bugs that had tormented it for so long.

Exploding abdomens sent drops of nectar into the air, some of which were making their way into my mouth. It forced me to gag even though it tasted sweet.

The tree then used the brush on the end of its limb to swipe off the remaining suckers from our bodies.

“Hurry and climb on!” it demanded of us. “More are on the way!”

And sure enough, I could see around ten more making their way towards us.

With a cracking of branches, the tree put a fat limb flat on the ground for us to climb onto.

Using the last of my stamina, I pulled the heavy Bataar over onto the branch and then collapsed on top of it myself. We were hoisted into the air just as the ten new suckers pounced, their prickly claws barely missing our feet.

Air rushed through my hair as we were lifted high above the ground. My heart pounded in my chest and my vision had taken on a red tint.

Health: 8%

The branch came to a sudden halt.

Congratulations! You’ve completed the Rare Hidden Quest: Blind Gallantry.

Objective: Risk your life to save a player of a different faction.

Reward: Experience, Player Title: Dauntless

Congratulations! You are now known throughout the World of Drathos as Tharis the Dauntless! This title will appear above your head when other players or NPCs concentrate on you.

You now have more than one title and can switch between them at will.

Congratulations! You’ve acquired Level 12!

Congratulations! You’ve acquired Level 13!

The double level up sent a shock of energy through my body, allowing me to pick myself up and sit down.

Dauntless was a real bad ass title and I couldn’t help but feel bemused that I had already received two titles before Level 15. I opened up my character sheet which showed an image of me in a passive stance. My body was surrounded by around 20 different slots which could all be filled with either armor, jewelry, or trinkets.

I located the titles tab and found that Preserver had already been preselected. I switched it over to Dauntless for a few seconds before changing it back. I wasn’t sure or not that Dauntless was a respected title especially if, in order to receive it, you had to save a player of the opposite faction. I was already in enough trouble as it was and didn’t need any more on my plate. Tharis the Preserver sounded pretty cool and so I switched it to that.

I pulled out a Box Fruit and scarfed it down. I took out another and put in in front of Bataar’s diamond-shaped nostril. It flared a bit and his eyes peeked open from the scent. I flinched as he took a big bite out of the fruit, showing off his pearly white fangs.

Bataar Level 10 Warrior

“Are you two all right?” asked the Grandfather Tree Sage. It wasn’t the same tree as before but looked and sounded exactly the same.

“We are,” I said, “thanks to you!” I patted the branch with my palm.

“Anytime, young Warrior. Anytime. It is thanks to you that we were able to rid ourselves of those pesky pests!”

The face of the tree disappeared and was replaced by plain bark. I handed the rest of the Box Fruit to Bataar as he sat himself upright.

He was a red-tinted Archean with thick, rough scales that encompassed his entire body. His dull orange eyes and white puff of beard on the end of his snout gave away his old age. For some reason, his creator had used some of the older appearance settings on this one. His tail swung from his backside and was long and rigged with many small, black spikes.

I pulled out some of the sweet nectar I had been awarded and took a swig before handing the bottle over to Bataar. His face looked ashamed at taking charity but he knew he wasn’t in the position to not accept it.

We had just finished eating, drinking, and catching our breaths. I opened my mouth to ask him what he was doing out here when the branch below our asses started to rumble. The swishing sound of chain mail and the roar of orders being made sounded throughout the forest from all directions.

“What’s going on?” I asked, turning my head every which way, searching for the source of the sounds.

“Oh, damn. Bloody hell, they followed me. Must have trackers with ‘em.”

“Wait, what? What are you talking about? Who followed you?”

Bataar looked around, looking for some sort of escape route. Finding none, he slouched over and took a drink from the nectar.

“As you may have guessed, I shouldn’t be here,” he said. “The Golden Alliance is the safeguard guild around these lands. They patrol the entire area making sure no gankers of the Dark Faction make it to the starter villages.”

He took another drink.

“What’s a ganker?” I asked.

Bataar looked at me and tilted his head. “You’re a Level 13 and don’t know what a ganker is? What have you been living under? A rock?”

I shrugged, “Something like that.”

“A ganker is a high level player that gets his rocks off by killing low level players.”

“Oh,” I said, my mind instantly bringing up the image of Toxhin.

“Bataar!” came a deep and heroic voice from beneath us.

From all the excitement, I had become oblivious to the day’s ending and the night’s beginning. What made me realize this were the torches that now made a thick circle around the tree we now sat on.

“Bataar! There is no use running now! We have you trapped like the animal you are!”

I looked at Bataar, his face full of anxiety.

“Are you a ganker?” I asked him.

He slammed his fist on the branch. “No!” he yelled. “No, I am not! I am a single player who defied the rules and asked too many questions! I am not who I was created to be. I am not an evil Archean like my brethren but I’m not as pure as you damned Light Faction players are either! I’m… well, I am myself.” Tears welled in the lower parts of his eyes, from anger or sadness I couldn’t tell.

Could he be talking about what I had done to myself? Did he mean he had broken the control of his creator? Was I not alone?

“What do you mean you asked too many questions?” I tried to ask. But it was clear I would not be getting any answers at this time. The poor Archean was shaking from terror.

“Bataar! Come on down! You are hereby charged with the crime of crossing the border and entering the Ashvell Kingdom, the Light Faction starter territory, without our King’s permission. What say you?”

“Like your King would have given me permission!” Bataar called down to the torch holding players that now encircled our tree. “I have every right to be here! I have harmed not a single player! Just let me do as I have planned all along! Live and level off the land!”

“Your desires make no difference to me. You know the rules as does every other player of the Dark Faction. Your presence in this land is a danger to all. Now, are you coming down or shall I send the Trackers to fetch you?”

Bataar’s shoulders rose as he took a deep breath. He wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand and took a more confident air.

“I am coming down of my own accord, you bastard.”

The members of the Gold Alliance chuckled. I scanned them one by one and found most of their levels to be upper 80s and even a few level 100s. Resistance was, for sure, a futile attempt.

“And who is this Tharis you have with you? Is he a captive of yours?”

The heroic voice belonged to a Level 100 Chieftain, a class I had not yet heard of. His name was Vane.

“I am not his captive!” I called down below. “He is my friend!”

Bataar had crawled over me and was preparing to climb down. But when he heard me call him friend, his head spun to look at me. His eyes revealed his surprise and even a hint of appreciation.

There was laughter from below. The torches jostled in the night air and I could hear the faint whispers of a player into Vane’s ear followed by his grunt of approval.

“I, Vane the First, leader of the Golden Alliance, hereby declare you, Tharis,” he exclaimed, the torchlight displaying an armored finger pointing at me, “suspect of conniving with a Dark Faction player. You are under arrest.”

14

We were shoved into a rusty cage on the back of a wagon. Two brown horses pawed at the ground eager to start the journey. As to where, I had no idea. The only thing I could think about was that every moment not spent leveling was a moment lost to save Ushmoe. As much as I hated to admit it to myself, he was most likely already dead.

Three players stood in front of the cage with the job of guarding us. Judging by how still they were, they seemed to be well trained.

“Err, sorry to ugh… pull you into this mess, Tharis.”

I rubbed my hand through my hair out of frustration. “Not your fault,” I replied. “It’s my own fault for saving you.”

He laughed at my words and then sighed. “Perhaps it would have been best for an old Archean like myself to have just perished.”

“Nah, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m not really good at looking the other way when someone’s in trouble.”

“Is that how you got the title Preserver?”

“Yeah, it kinda happened by accident actually.”

“Hmm,” snorted Bataar, “you are quite strange and rare in this world. Either that, or you’re just plain idiotic. Either way, I’ve traveled far from my homelands and have yet to meet a player with your… resolve.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Bataar said, looking out thoughtfully through our cage. “Never have I met someone selfless. Sure, I’ve met others who were willing to help but never have I met someone willing to put their life on the line. It’s unheard of in Drathos. Not sure if I’d have done the same for you.”

We sat in silence for a few moments, both of us probably fantasizing about what horrible fate we were about to be put to. The guards remained standing at full attention, wearing the armor of their class.

I checked around the cage to look for any sign of weakness in the nuts and bolts or perhaps in the bars themselves. Nothing. We were stuck in here. Besides, even if we did escape this cage I was sure that their Trackers could easily catch up to us.

“You know what else is strange, Tharis?” asked Bataar, breaking the silence.

“What’s that?”

“I’ve been hiding in that damned forest for three weeks and you are the first player I have seen that entire time. It’s a shame that we had to meet at such an inconvenient time.” The Archean grabbed the tip of his tail and studied it for a moment, his mind lost in thought.

“There’s a reason why I was the only player you’d seen.”

“Oh yeah?” asked Bataar with an inquisitive air. “And why is that exactly?”

We had nowhere else to go, so I chose to just confide in this Archean and tell him everything I knew. I started at the beginning, describing my birth and my reluctance at being controlled. I told him about the weird manner the world would behave when I asked questions in my head or out loud. His eyes widened at this and I wasn’t sure if he believed me or not, but still I continued.

I told him about Toxhin and how evil of a player he was and how he was keeping everyone in Ashvell as captives. I told him about Ushmoe and how he had helped me to level. I even went into detail about Tahshine and how she had been there when we’d made our insane escape. I told him everything.

Bataar listened to my whole story without interrupting once. His face showed his commitment to my words followed by expressions that were suitable to the part of the story I was at. When I finished the last of my tale, we again sat in silence as we both let the words sink in.

“My, what an adventure you’ve had!” he exclaimed. “I see we have both rid ourselves of our designer.”

I was taken aback for I was much more expecting him to be hesitant and skeptical.

“You, too?” I asked, standing to my feet. My head banged on the top of the cage making all three guards turn towards me. They were expressionless and, once they were sure I was still in the cage, they turned back to their business of guarding. I bent down and whispered, “I’m not the only one?”

Bataar shrugged. “Honestly, you’re the second I’ve run across and it wouldn’t surprise me if there were others like us. The feeling of control I once felt was so… obvious and oppressive. That’s the only way I could describe it. I couldn’t take a piss without the temptation to attack some beast within my reach just to gain some XP. That’s when I found my mentor. Crazy old bastard he was.”

“A mentor? You mean somebody taught you how to break the control?”

Bataar nodded, “Yeah, but he is no longer with us. Killed accidentally by a horde of beasts pulled by some noob.” The Archean looked suddenly embarrassed, realizing he had just done the exact same thing.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, pretending not to notice his shame. “I imagine death is much more punishing for players like us.”

“Indeed.”

“Why did you leave your faction?” I asked him, curious as to why someone who was free of their creator would put themselves in such danger.

Bataar looked up at me in a confused glance. “Are you telling me that you were not seeking after the great Wizard, Muzuhlan?”

The name hit me as familiar but I couldn’t quite place my finger on it. I tried to think back to all the people I had met, which wasn’t very many. Finally, the quirky character came to me.

“You mean the Wizard that gives you that starter quest?”

Bataar leaned his back against the bars and maneuvered himself much like a cat would trying to get comfy. “All Dark Faction players are started off by being sold into slavery just to be rescued by some NPC characters. So no, I have never seen Muzuhlan, only heard of him. My mentor mentioned him from time to time as being the keeper of information for our kind, the Enlightened.”

The Enlightened. So that was what this mysterious mentor had called us. Were there many more of us out there? Could Muzuhlan really have all the answers for us in this almost pointless life?

I was just about to ask Bataar more questions when the guards turned their bodies towards us and pointed their spears in our direction.

“Captain!” they called, readying themselves to strike us if we tried anything stupid.

“At ease, boys,” came the heroic voice. “Like these two low level players could do anything to harm the likes of me.”

The fires from camp shone flickers of light on the tall Vane, who now stood before us. The flames brought an even more awesome effect to this guy’s already incredible golden plate armor. His brown hair was long and rested over his massive, spiked pauldrons. His ears and height gave him away as being a human.

“You two are going to tell me everything or face immediate execution,” Vane said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You three can leave,” he said, dismissing the guards with a flick of the wrist. They shrugged and went off to join the festivities at the fire.

Vane pulled a key off his hip and unlatched the cage door, it swung with a loud, rusty creak and we three just sat there staring at each other.

“Well?” he said, “Come on out. I’m no Dark Faction player. There are no heathens here.” He shot Bataar a disgusted look. “You will be fed and,” he sniffed the air and raised an eyebrow at us, “and cleaned. Then, of course, you two will be questioned.”

Bataar glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and something in that look assured me of what I was already thinking. We could not admit that we were Enlightened.

* * *

We were both lucky enough that they let us bathe ourselves. They were even kind enough to give us a bit of privacy. We were then chained, once again, by our wrists and ankles and ushered towards the fire where we were given pots of stew. Both Bataar and I devoured the food like wild animals.

As I was eating, I was nonchalantly looking for some way to escape. We were effectively surrounded by at least two hundred players. Why were there so damned many? I doubted it would take more than one mid-leveled Tracker to find and catch Bataar and me. So then, why did this Vane guy need so many players?

Once we had both finished our fill of stew, Vane came and sat on a log directly in front of us. He didn’t say anything. He just sat there and examined us with a condescending gaze. He held himself as a high and mighty player which he probably deserved if he was able to lead over two hundred players. I couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed at the vast difference between him and me.

“Out with it,” he said, placing his chin in his palm, his elbow resting on his leg. “I’ve been more than kind to the two of you, more than you probably deserve. If I don’t start getting more harsh, my players may begin to question my authority.”

I had nothing to hide from this guy.

“What do you want to know?” I asked him.

“Are you from Ashvell?” he asked without hesitation.

“Yes, I am.”

Vane shook his head. “Already lying to me!” He kicked me hard in the face, making me topple over the log I was sitting on. He snapped his fingers and two of his men hoisted me back up.

Health: 65%

“We both know that no starter player is able to escape from Ashvell. No one.”

I spat some iron-tasting crimson out of my mouth. “But I did.”

He kicked me again, only this time he chose my chest. There was a snapping noise followed by immense pain. My ribs had broken. This was the first time I had broken any bones as an Enlightened. The ribs had already begun to mend themselves as my health started to rejuvenate. I couldn’t tell which was worse, the actual breaking of the bones or that of them healing themselves.

“I could do this all day, noob.”

“Hmph, some Light Faction player you are,” Bataar said, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like he has anything to gain from lying to an idiot like you.”

“Gag him,” commanded Vane. The men left my side and stuffed a dirty, old sock into the Archean’s mouth. Vane looked back at me. He looked to be getting tired of this situation. “I’ll give you one last chance, you pathetic Warrior. Where did you come from?”

I thought hard about the next words that were to come from my mouth. Just as I opened my lips to speak, there was a loud crack that came from my loot bag.

“What the hell was that?” Vane asked. “What’s in your bag?”

I had no idea what could have made that sound. I didn’t remember looting anything that may have moved or made a noise.

“If you’d let me, I could pull my loot bag out and check.”

Vane squinted his eyes at me as if searching my mind for any malicious ideas that I may have had. Then, he made a motion with his arm to his men and they undid my chains.

Quickly, I summoned my loot bag and checked its inventory.

And there it was. My saving grace.

I pulled out the egg of the Raptor-Raven. I had totally forgotten about it. Ushmoe and I were just about to turn in this quest when we had heard the cries of Lehn in the city square.

Raptor-Raven Egg

Durability: 1%

“It couldn’t be,” exclaimed Vane, coming closer to the green-spotted egg that I now held out in front of me.

Another loud crack made us all flinch a bit. A tiny, featherless head popped out from the top of the egg, a bit of shell resting on its head like a hat.

“That there’s a Raptor-Raven!” came a cry from one of Vane’s players who had been watching the performance. “Them’s can only be found in Ashvell! Very rare fer one of them’s to hatch! Takes the right kinds of nurturin’ I hear.”

Vane’s eyes were wide as he reached out to take the baby Raptor-Raven from me. I pulled it away from him which made him snap out of his trance. He looked to be a bit disappointed.

“Well,” Vane said, “you were telling the truth all along.”

He handed me a vial of red juice. I took it and drank. Thankfully, the potion allowed my ribs to skip the mending process. I twisted my torso at my hips, totally pain free.

Health: 100%

The baby bird looked just like its mother. It was just one round and ugly head with two tiny wings sticking out were ears may have been. Its eyes weren’t even developed enough to open yet.

“Are you going to free the players of Ashvell?” I asked Vane without looking up from my bird. “Is that why you have so many players with you?”

I could sense the man’s lack of comfort with the question. He shifted his feet and I could hear his breathing grow a bit heavier. It didn’t last long before he regained his heroic composure.

“Yes. Our intelligence shows that Ashvell has been locked away for some time now by a player named Toxhin. We also know he is a member of the guild Dagger Heart.”

“He isn’t part of the guild yet,” I corrected. “He has taken Ashvell as a hostage city in order to gain their acceptance. At least, that’s what one player told me.” One of Vane’s players was quickly scribbling down everything I was saying. “Why do you need such an army to vanquish one player?” I asked him with a slight hint of sting in my voice.

My tone was not taken well for he again lifted his foot to kick me but was stopped by a hooded figure that placed a small, furry hand on his chest. I took this moment to store the baby bird into the safety of my bag.

“What the-”

“You no longer need harm this one,” came a tiny, feminine voice. A black tail protruded from a hole in her robes and was busy flicking itself with excitement. “We could use him, Vane.”

Vane eye’s flashed from me then back at the robed woman. He slowly placed his foot back down.

“And how could we use this player? He’s absolutely useless.”

I scanned this mysterious Badron’s name. But what I saw confused me. Her name and level were hidden with question marks just like Tahshine the Trickster had done, but her class title was that of Schemer. So far Chieftain and Schemer were both classes I never knew existed.

As if reading my mind, the Badron said, “Schemer is a sub-class of Trickster, young noob. We all get a sub-class at Level 20.”

I opened my mouth to ask more questions but the Badron’s piercing glare told me now was not the time.

“Vane,” the Badron continued, “we risk losing many players in the battle to come. Somehow, those damned Dagger Hearts figured out our plan and have surrounded the entire village.”

“And?” asked Vane, becoming impatient.

“Let this one reenter the village the same way he exited. Once infiltrated, he can subdue Toxhin and bring him to us. That way, no bloodshed need be spilled.”

“And what exactly makes you think that just by us having Toxhin under our control that that murdering guild of hoodlums would even think about releasing their hold on Ashvell?”

“I have an idea, an idea that need not be heard by the ears of these two.” She gave Bataar and me a blank glance. “They’ve probably heard enough as it is.”

Vane pierced his lips in thought. He then turned his head and spat. “Agree.”

Vane stood up and the Badron put her hand on his hip as she led him away, all the while whispering in his ear with her pointy, whiskered snout.

A few minutes went by. I saved Bataar some embarrassment by refusing not to look at him with the sock in his mouth.

The camp froze with a cry from Vane saying, “Minx, you dirty Schemer! That’s a great idea!”

Excitement brewed inside of me. It looked as though I would be placed right where I wanted to be, back in Ashvell to save my friend and kick Toxhin’s ass. I could care less about helping this Golden Alliance but, perhaps, this would be my only chance to save my first friend. IF he was still alive.

15

I was to be power leveled.

I wasn’t exactly sure what Minx had meant by this but she assured me it was the fasted way possible to get to the level needed to have a chance in battle with Toxhin.

All I knew was that I was ready to have my chance at revenge against that treacherous monster. I didn’t want to kill him, no… but I wouldn’t mind slapping him around a little bit and make him think that I was.

“And what about Bataar?” I asked her. “What will you do with him?”

Minx gave me a shrug. “That’s really none of my concern. He knew the rules before crossing the boundary to the Light Faction territories.”

“I know it isn’t your concern, but it is mine,” I said, crossing my arms. “If he isn’t any of your concern, why not release him to me? Like Vane said, he’s too low of a level to be of any real problem.”

Minx eyed me curiously and chewed on one of her black claws. “I’ll talk to Vane about it. But first, we must get you ready.”

I was taken to another wagon, not another jail cell but one with a portable smithing station attached to the back of it.

The sun had started to rise and I could see that we were on the forest’s edge that gave way to an extensive field of flat grass. The sun’s shine turned the dew on the plain into all sorts of different dots of color which would then dance as the sun drifted higher into the sky. I was absolutely flabbergasted by this, having never seen such a beautiful sight. None of the other players seemed to care or to even have noticed for that matter.

In the field were a variety of different beasts. They were too far to check their status, but I could make out the form of a few of them. One creature looked to be some type of stag with two heads. Another beast was about three times the size of the stag and had grey skin and a horned head.

A loud clang filled my ears as we approached the wagon. A big, brawny dwarf name Yord was busy banging on his anvil, the thick veins on his mighty arms pulsating larger with each swing. Beside him was a younger-looking humanoid. He had the big head and large hands of a dwarf but was much taller and skinnier. His name was Guud.

“Yord, do you have the supplies for this newb here?” Minx asked the busy dwarf.

“Aye, I do. It’s hanging on the side there,” Yord said, pointing at the leather and chain jumble hanging on the wall of the wagon by a thick nail.

“How goes the training, young Guud?” Minx asked the skinny one.

“I, ugh, it goes well madam Minx!” he sputtered.”

“Excellent.” Minx said, grabbing the armor off the nail. She checked the status of the gear and gave a nod. “Excellent work as usual, Yord. You are a fine asset to the Golden Alliance.”

Yord grunted.

We were turning to walk away when we heard the squeak of Guud from behind us.

“Ugh, excuse me. Madam Minx? Ugh, any news on my brother Lehn?”

My heart hopped into my throat and my feet froze beneath me. Did he just say his brother had been Lehn? The Lehn? The one I let die in front of my eyes?

“No word yet, dearie,” called Minx over her shoulder. She waved a paw at them as we walked away.

* * *

I didn’t have much time to think about the Lehn and Guud issue. I was thrown some armor and was expected to strip in front of Minx to try them on.

“Could you turn around?”

The Badron rolled her eyes and did so.

I unequipped my stale, crappy armor and equipped the fresh set. I hadn’t been given the chain metal yet for I was too low of a level for it. They would keep it for me until I reached Level 15.

The new leather armor, however, felt WORLDS better than the last set.

Upgraded Plainsman Leather Chest Piece

Upgraded Plainsman Leather Helmet

Upgraded Plainsman Leather Leggings

Upgraded Plainsman Leather Vambraces

Upgraded Plainsman Leather Gloves

Upgraded Plainsman Leather Boots

Upgraded Plainsman Leather Belt

I could see that I also had a slot open for pauldrons but it was locked from use. At what level that became accessible, I had no idea.

Minx turned around and gave me the thumbs up. “How’s it feel?”

I moved my arms out in front of me. “Like a second skin compared to that other crap.”

“I thought you might say so.” She winked at me.

A soft hand touched my shoulder. “Is this one ready, my lady Minx?”

I turned to see an Elf about a head taller than me. His ears protruded from his golden locks and were so tall that gravity pulled the tips down. His eyes were without pupils. They were only blue orbs rotating in their sockets, making it impossible to tell who he was looking at.

“He is. I want him Level 20 by the end of the night.”

“Level 20!?” I exclaimed. “Are you serious?”

Both Minx and the Elf named Rowin laughed at me.

“Of course she is serious, young Tharis,” said Rowin, clapping my shoulder before removing his hand altogether. “The earlier levels are always easier. Come along. We have much to kill.”

“GL!” Minx said with another thumbs up.

* * *

Rowin had led me in what seemed like a random direction away from the Golden Alliance camp. He didn’t say a word to me but would stop, listen to something I couldn’t hear, and continue. About thirty minutes into our journey, we exited the forest and I found myself at the outskirts of a beautiful, grassy plain. I could see a large array of different beasts herding, hunting, and eating out in the distance.

Rowin must have been here before because he wasted no time in taking in the sights. He jumped onto his belly and started shimmying towards the closest herd of steer. They were near enough that I could check their stats.

Two-Headed Plains Stag Level 17

“Why didn’t they give me a new weapon?” I whispered to Rowin, walking up beside him and joining him on the ground.

“Allow me to check your stats,” he replied in an even softer whisper. His voice was sing-songy and I kind of wished I had been born Elvish, too.

Rowin would like to access your gear stats. Accept?

I accepted.

“Hmm,” he said. “Your hammer is pretty decent. You will probably find a better drop out here.”

He stopped moving and so did I.

“You ready?” he asked me, his face fixed on the beasts.

“Ready for what?”

Without answering, Rowin turned on his back and started doing strange things with his fingers. He would twist them this way and that way, an aura of light beginning to flash from his palms. He put his palms to his mouth and I could hear him hum a tune into them.

Rowin Level 57 Vocalist (Bard)

He removed one of his hands from his mouth and touched my chest.

A boon list popped up in the top of my vision.

Vitality of God (Vitality increased by 30%)

Stamina of God (Stamina increased by 30%)

Sharp Notes (You are encircled and defended by thousands of sharp notes. They will strike when you are attacked.)

Just as the boon said, my prone body was surrounded by musical notes that floated around my body in a purple-colored haze.

“Those will do my job for me,” Rowin said with a smile.

I had planned to flee as soon as we had made it a good distance from the Golden Alliance camp. However, I rethought the idea. It would probably be best to take these guys up on their offer. Use them to get to the level I needed. Plus, their plan did coincide with what I wanted to do most of all.

Save Ushmoe.

A stag noticed the purple ring of notes swimming above the grass and targeted me as an enemy. It charged, the tops of its two brown heads facing me. Each head held one gigantic tree of ebony spikes that they intended to skewer me with.

“Don’t just lay there!” cried Rowin. “Get up and fight back!”

He was right. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I popped up on my feet and pulled out my hammer and shield. The two-headed stag was on me in half a second. I put my shield down just in time to catch the initial buck. The beast slammed hard into it, sending me off my feet and directly into the air.

Health: 62%

My back hit the dewy grass so hard that I took even more damage. As the pain faded away, I looked up just in time to see one of the sharp notes embedded into the neck of the stag. It stumbled left and right before falling to its side.

You’ve defeated the Two-Headed Plains Stag.

“Whoa,” I said, picking myself up. “That’s one useful ability you have there.”

Rowin waved his arm over my chest and sang a small phrase in a language I couldn’t understand.

You’ve been healed by Rowin.

“The Sharp Notes ability is all right but it isn’t very powerful at higher levels. My real usefulness comes from my massive assortment of boons.”

“I can see that,” I said.

We killed another stag in the exact same manner as the last. I ended up on my back in a decent amount of pain. However, this time, I didn’t need healing up.

Congratulations! You’ve acquired Level 14!

Abilities Unlocked: Parry (Block single attack and send 25% damage back to enemy)

“Whoa! That was quick!” I exclaimed, jumping back up with a fresh amount of energy. “I could get used to this form of leveling!”

“Well, don’t,” Rowin warned, already concentrating on picking out the next target. “The Golden Alliance will most likely dump you on your own after the mission is complete.”

I was barely listening. I was feeling too good for this Elf to bring me down. Plus, I was focusing on how I could use my parry ability in the next stag encounter.

“Get ready! I’m pulling a big one!”

Sadly, I still wasn’t paying attention when I looked up just in time to take a horn to the face.

Health: 20%

I flew further this time. The sky spun above me. The pain in my face was becoming unbearable, sending me into a shocked trance.

Standing over me was a behemoth of a beast. It was about four times as large as the stag. Instead of hair, it had grey, rough skin. It’s head held just one large, red eye and three tall and sharp horns that were arranged in an upside down triangle shape. It kicked one of its fat feet back, shooting dust behind itself, readying to charge once more at me.

I placed the shield in front of me, knowing it wouldn’t do any good for the attack to come. One of the musical notes soared through the air and sunk into the beast’s forehead.

It was dead before it hit the ground.

Rowin healed me as I walked up to the dead horned monster.

Clyceratops Level 20

“Thanks for that,” I said, rubbing my face, expecting to be without a nose. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found it beneath my palm.

“You have a lot to learn,” is all Rowin said.

He picked out the nearest Clyceratops and pulled.

16

Twilight was approaching when Minx ran out into the plains to fetch us. I was Level 19 and extraordinarily fatigued.

“You two, back to camp,” she commanded, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. “We have some important developments going on in Ashvell.”

“But he hasn’t reached 20 yet,” Rowin objected. “My orders were to see this newb Warrior to 20.”

“Well, you have new orders. Come on, hurry.”

We both ran behind Minx who was running on all fours and was incredibly difficult to keep up with. My feet ached like they never had before I had become Enlightened. But for some reason, my body was able to keep up with them as long as the stamina was available. Did I make the right choice in killing off my creator? Oh, who was I kidding? I hadn’t even known what I was doing. Becoming Enlightened was just one big accident, an accident that came along with increased sensations of taste, smell, touch… and pain. But something inside me kept me from actually believing all of this was an accident. Surely, I couldn’t have been one of the few players to question their existence. If Bataar was telling the truth, then Muzuhlan would have the answers.

We arrived at the cold camp. No fire had been kindled due to fears of being found by Dark Faction spies.

“What’s going on?” I whispered to Minx. We had just entered some sort of meeting with all these high level players standing around in a circle, their faces solemn.

“Are we really going to put our reputation behind some newb?” asked a high level Badron I hadn’t noticed before.

“We have no choice!” butted in Minx, now ignoring me altogether. “We no longer have any more time to put together a new plan. I say, if Vane permits, we go along with the plan we have now.”

“What are you guys talking about?” I asked. This time, I directed the question to the entire camp and not just Minx.

All the players went silent, dumbfounded that their meeting had just been infiltrated by some non-guildie.

“Vane, you can’t seriously let this low-level fool just waltz up to us like this and demand to know what is going on!”

“Of course he does!” Minx argued, putting her paw on my shoulder. “He is the one risking his life to go back into that damned village!”

“Don’t you dare damn my village!” cried another player.

The whole crowd of guildies erupted in several different arguments, their harsh words becoming louder and louder. It was Vane who halted this uproar with a raise of his hand. His eyes stared out into nothingness as his mind was deep in thought.

Without realizing it, my hand had gone to the hilt of my weapon. Not that I could have done anything to these guys anyway, but something about the top of my hand caught my eye. The skin tone had taken on a tan shade, replacing my usual paleness. I extended my arm out and could see the paleness remained where my armor had covered me.

I looked over at Rowin to see if he had tanned from the sun, but he had not. He was still very pasty. Did this have to do with becoming Enlightened? I spent five days on top of the temple in direct sunlight completing the Raptor-Raven quest but never had I changed skin color. This was a first.

“I’ve come to a decision,” boomed Vane, standing up and puffing his armored chest outward. “We will continue as planned. We will not let this corrupted Light Faction player dishonor us any longer!”

There were grunts of disappointment all around but none dared speak against their guild leader. It seemed as though there was no such thing as democracy in this particular guild.

Minx turned to me and said, “Tharis, your training was cut short because the Ashvellian tyrant has given us a very clear message.”

“And what’s that?” I asked, seeing the same player who spoke up earlier roll his eyes at me.

“Toxhin has displayed a flag of no surrender. But this flag is no ordinary flag. It is a tall spike with a player attached to it having been stripped completely of his armor and equipment. The player’s name is Ushmoe and it looks as though this poor Badron is slowly starving to death.”

My fists clenched and trembled with rage, my eyelids flickering just a bit. It was so hard to control this anger within me. These fools should have liberated Ashvell long ago! What guild calls themselves the protectors of the Light Faction if they can’t even protect their own starter village?

“Let’s get going,” I said in a low voice. I turned and walked away, ignoring the curses directed at my back.

* * *

Minx had followed me but kept her distance. She was probably the only considerate player in the Golden Alliance. She could tell something was wrong with me. I thanked her silently for giving me some time to myself. Did she know I was Enlightened? Could she tell?

I made it to the beach and was surprised at how wide a berth the Big Poppa Crabs gave me. They must have been able to sense my level.

I stopped near the waterfall and turned to Minx. “I’m in no need of your assistance,” I said. “I can handle this myself.”

Minx walked up to me, nodding. “Oh, I know. I just wanted to give you a little good luck present. Also, trade me your old stuff and I’ll go ahead and give you the amount of silver you’d get for selling it to a vendor.”

Minx would like to trade with you. Do you accept?

A trade window popped up and Minx inserted:

Chain Mail Chest Plate of the Plains

Chain Mail Vambraces of the Plains

Chain Mail Leggings of the Plains

Chain Mail Boots of the Plains

Chain Mail Helmet of the Plains

Steel Sword of the Plains

Wooden Buckler of the Plains

I couldn’t express my gratitude to this Badron enough. She smiled, taking my gaping mouth as enough of a thanks.

“You’d better get going,” she said, turning and crossing her arms behind her back. “Before Vane changes his mind and assaults the village as a whole. Then there will be no chance of saving your friend.”

And with those final words, Minx disappeared into the forest.

Not caring how she knew Ushmoe was my friend, I opened my bag and equipped all the savory armor pieces, sword, and buckler.

The first thing I noticed was how much heavier it was. But the heaviness gave me a certain confident feeling. However, I could tell this new armor would have an effect on my stamina.

The sword and buckler fit perfectly into my hands and made me feel like a true BAMF. I tried squatting a few times behind the buckler and stabbing out at an invisible enemy.

After spending a few minutes enjoying and practicing my gear, it was time to stop playing and get to work. The walk had been a long one from the Golden Alliance base camp but it worked out well. I was able to come up with a plan.

I pulled out my baby Raptor-Raven and held it out into the sky. Just as I had planned, the thing started to squall. The cries of this baby chick were so high-pitched that I could hear it echo all the way up the waterfall and into the sky.

It wasn’t long before a shadow crept over the village walls, over the waterfall, over the lagoon, and finally, over me.

You’ve been targeted by Raptor-Raven.

17

The big bird landed in front of me, scratching at the ground. Its face revealed its absolute hate for the player who had stolen its offspring.

Slowly, I walked up to the momma, extending the squalling chick out in front of me. Still, the momma did not attack. Her eyes flicked left and right as if in disbelief of the situation. That’s something we had in common.

When I had gotten close enough that I could reach out and touch her, I placed the chick carefully into the sand in front of her.

The Raptor-Raven looked at her baby, then back at me, then back at the baby. With a swift movement that made me flinch, she snatched the chick up into her mighty mouth, leaving just enough room for the baby to get air.

And then, the staring contest began. I was fully prepared to grab for my sword and buckler if at any point I felt threatened. I was pretty sure I was about to have a serious fight on my hands.

But that’s not what happened.

The bird beast must have sensed my inclinations. She turned her bulbous body around and knelt.

“Caw Caw!” she cried, giving me the cue to hop on.

I didn’t hesitate.

I jumped onto the Raptor-Raven’s head and grabbed on to her feathers tightly. I had never noticed how very soft this creature was. I had killed so many of them while doing the daily quest with Ushmoe that I never took the time to appreciate what exactly I was doing. Or was it that I was never able to comprehend what I was doing?

I blamed all these new thoughts on my Enlightenment. How was I supposed to level in the future if I felt pity for all the creatures I was quested to slay?

Without warning, the beast beneath my knees jolted from the ground, the force pushing my face deep into her feathered back. I gripped tighter and lifted myself up and felt the wind whip into my face.

Such an amazing and powerful feeling it was to soar above the world. All at once, the giant bird took me into a full vertical direction forcing me to hang just by my grasp of her feathers, making my hips and legs dangle in the air.

But I wasn’t frightened. Oh no. I was exhilarated.

We flew up and over the walls of the village and that is when my new winged friend came to a horizontal cruise. I looked beneath us and felt my stomach drop a bit. The players looked like tiny, sad bugs as they went along their bland activities. Activities that they were forced to do daily for there was nothing else left to do in Ashvell.

The Raptor-Raven landed herself back on her Temple peak. I was just about to step to the ground when she decided it would be best to launch me off. I hit the ground and skidded to a halt on my butt. The Raptor-Raven mommy spit out her chick and nuzzled the little one tightly under her wings. I could sense our relationship had ended.

I walked to the edge of the peak and there I saw him.

Far out, I could see Ushmoe had been stripped of everything and was tied to a spike that had been hoisted above the front gates of the village. Even from this height and distance, my Elvish vision made it possible for me to see his ribs rising and falling.

My anger resurfaced and I used the energy to hop down onto the roof of the Temple, the chain mail making a loud clang. I descended as fast as I could. When I finally plopped down onto the cobblestones, I was met with faces of amazement. Players put their hands to their mouths and whispered amongst each other as I strolled past them. Many tried to stop and ask how I had reached such a level and many rubbed their dirty palms over my new chain mail having never before seen such armor. I responded to none of this stimulation, for my eyes and mind were set on revenge.

* * *

The details of Ushmoe’s shaking body were almost too much to bear as I stepped into the village square. It was the same square in which Lehn had been murdered.

I could even smell the poor Badron’s grimy hair as it floated in the wind and the odor flew into my nostrils. The scent of which made me want to bend over and retch.

“Toxhin, you will pay!” I exclaimed aloud.

A crowd had followed me from the Temple to the square, most of them cupping their hands in anxiety.

“Come on out, you horrible bastard! You pest of a player!” I bellowed at the top of my lungs. “Come and get a taste of what you have been giving to these poor players!”

Nothing.

“I don’t think the Dagger Hearts accept cowards in their midst!”

Silence.

I was breathing heavy now, the chain mail on my chest chattering with each breath I took. I wiped spittle from my mouth and readied my hand near the hilt of my sword. I knew that slimy player was watching me from somewhere. I could just sense it.

If he wasn’t going to come out then I would have to force him out.

I walked to the front gates and climbed Ushmoe’s pike. The smell of his body really got to me as I made it to the poor player’s feet. His eyes were open but had glazed over long ago.

“Ushmoe! It’s me!”

No response.

“Come on, man, snap out of it.”

Nothing.

A sudden horror filled my mind. Had I accidentally Enlightened Ushmoe in the Haunted Well? If this were true, then I couldn’t even imagine what pain my friend had been through these past few days.

I pulled out my sword and cut him down, catching his limp, dirty body before he could fall. I gasped at how light he was.

I climbed down and placed him gently by the gates.

Congratulations! You’ve completed the Hidden Quest: Friend in Need.

Objective: Risk your life to save a captured player. The player must be on your friends list.

Reward: Experience, Player Title: Liberator

Congratulations! You are now known throughout the World of Drathos as Tharis the Liberator! This title will appear above your head when other players concentrate on you.

I was in the middle of deleting the notices from my vision when a rusty sword plunged through my back and out my stomach. I looked down to see the silver of the blade covered in my life’s blood. The pain didn’t resonate until a few seconds later when my hands began to shake. I tried to fall to my knees but the carrier of the sword would not allow it.

“Rule one, newb. Never turn your back on a foe.”

Health: 36%

Health: 30%

“You…” I said, grasping at the sword. “You monster.”

“Eh, I’ve been called worse,” Toxhin said, letting go of the sword and forcing me to fall onto my side. He walked around to face me. “I’m so glad you came! Now is the perfect time to finish what I started.”

At first, I thought he meant me. I hoped it was me. But I knew, down deep, what exactly he had meant. He was speaking of Ushmoe.

“No!” I said, coughing a bit of blood. “Don’t you dare!”

Toxhin pulled out a small, hidden dagger and winked at me before sticking the tip of it into Ushmoe’s head.

“NOOO!” I cried, wiggling like a worm on the bloody cobble. “No!”

“Yes!” Toxhin replied, putting his foot on the dagger’s pommel and pushing it deeper into the cranium.

My vision blurred and all these horrible emotions began to fade. I was dying.

“You know what?” asked Toxhin. “I have an idea!” He walked over to me and hoisted my paralyzed body up. “You should be the one!”

I didn’t understand what he was talking about until he released my limp body down onto the dagger. Fresh, warm blood, Ushmoe’s blood, splashed onto my neck.

Warning! You’ve killed another player of your faction! You now have the status of Murderer for three days. You have reduced your honor points in the Light Faction. You have gained Experience points.

I fell directly through Ushmoe and face planted into the ground as his body converted into white wisps of smoke.

Toxhin picked me up just like the first time we had met and threw me onto my back. I couldn’t stop myself from vomiting all over my new shiny armor.

Health: 7%

Toxhin snickered a bit. “Now, it’s your turn.”

18

What I hated most about dying was that I felt like I had just started to live. However, I would rather have died Enlightened than live forever in a village led by this psychopath. Perhaps the afterlife would be something like the beautiful plains I was given the opportunity to level in. Maybe I would see Ushmoe there and we could finally level up together.

For what felt like an hour’s worth of agony was, in reality, only just a second. I was just about to close my eyes for good when the clouds above separated and released a familiar light to shine down upon my shoulders. Some invisible force lifted me from under my armpits and beneath my feet. The sword slid slowly out of my back. I could see Toxhin’s face gaping at me as I rose into the air like an angel.

Congratulations! You have acquired Level 20!

And just like that, I felt renewed and reborn.

My chest, vambraces, and glove armor was unequipped and placed in my bag without any of my doing.

Congratulations! You have proven yourself worthy of the Legendary Sub-Class: Lionheart. Lionhearts are guardians of the players around them. They fear danger much like anyone else but choose to put themselves in front of Hell’s fire so that others may live. These bold Warriors are the definition of bravery. A Lionheart will be given abilities to lead and protect the good players and NPCs of Drathos, regardless of their faction.

I smelled the scent of charred skin before I felt the radiating pain as the entirety of my back combusted into flames. I jerked my head back but I could not find myself able to scream. I could feel the flames crawling in a pattern I could not picture in my mind. Just as fast as the pain had come, it was gone, along with the smell of burning flesh.

Let this scar of a Lion’s head and mane forever be a remembrance to you that you are bound to your duties as hero and protector of the entirety of the World of Drathos.

Population of Lionhearts in Drathos: 1 out of 9,472,906

Rarity: Legendary

Proficiencies: All Heavy Weapons, All Martial Weapons, Shields, Gauntlets, All Forms of Armor, Javelins, Spears, and Lances.

Abilities Learned: Lion’s Impact, Coward’s Badge

Items Received: Lionheart’s Starter Gear

Congratulations! You’ve earned the achievement: Beastmode. You have successfully been granted a Legendary Beastheart Class!

I was gracefully let back down to Drathos, my toes resting on the cobblestones first and then my entire foot. Toxhin just stood there, hunched over like a sick animal, his eyes wide with horror. He had picked up the bloodied sword that had dropped from my back and onto the ground. Now, however, the sight before him was too much to bear. His body trembled before me and the sword fell to the ground with a small clang.

A loot bag with a Lion’s head embroidered into the leather appeared floating in front of me. I grabbed it and, without even examining the contents, I equipped all of the equipment.

Young Lionheart’s Plate Chest Piece

Young Lionheart’s Leather Helm

Young Lionheart’s Plate Vambraces

Young Lionheart’s Chain Mail Leggings

Young Lionheart’s Plate Shoulder Pauldrons

Young Lionheart’s Plate Boots

Young Lionheart’s Shield

The bag came with no sword and so I equipped my own. I looked at Toxhin and shook my head at him. Was it just me, or were his raggedy trousers now wet?

The eyes of all the players that had surrounded us were now gazing down at their chat boxes. I did the same.

Attention! Players of the Light Faction! On this day, let it be known that Tharis, Warrior from Ashvell Village, has done you all a great honor by becoming the first of Drathos to earn the Legendary Sub-Class of Lionheart. Expect him to lead you to Victory, Glory, and Enlightenment! Huzzah!

The words meant nothing to me for all I could feel was cold emptiness. I had been too late. My body had been the final death blow to my first friend in this pointless world. And so I kept walking towards my target.

“Take it easy there, now,” Toxhin squeaked, falling to his ass and crawling backwards on his hands and feet. “You’re a Lionheart for God’s sake! You can’t harm me! You’re the player’s hero! You read the thing!”

I pointed my sword at him.

“Please! No! You can’t!”

I summoned the ability of Lion’s Impact. It was a series of moves that felt so… comfortable and right, like I had been practicing them for the past eternity.

I slammed my shield’s face directly into the ground, sending not only Toxhin into the air but also all the rubble, debris, and trash along with him. With blinding speed, I slashed upward with my sword, slicing Toxhin’s back wide open and revealing the white bone of his spine. I pivoted and turned swiftly, sending a final sweep of my shield into his face, sending the psychopath, Toxhin, flying in the direction of the wall’s gate where he smacked with such force that the heavy, wooden doors opened slightly for half a second.

And there the monster sat, his head hung down, his nose in a strange position, missing teeth, and both eyes closed. I read his stats.

Health: 3% (Incapacitated)

The crowd was silent, their mouths open in awe.

I walked over to Toxhin and hoisted him over my shoulder. I reached out and grabbed Ushmoe’s Loot, opened it, and found it empty.

With one final kick from my plate boots, the gates flung open. Cool gusts of air slapped me in the face as did the smells of the grassy plains.

The crowd behind me started to cheer and applaud as I took my first steps as a free player. I would have to enjoy my freedom while it lasted, for I didn’t see myself lasting much longer.

Before me was the Dagger Heart army of around 200 players. At this angle and distance, I could only make out the front lines which sat on mighty horses holding spears with the familiar Dagger Heart emblem flapping in the wind at the very tips of every spear.

I half-expected my body to take control of itself, to spin me around and to force me to run as fast as I could. But it didn’t. I was in full control now. This was my life and I could make it however I wanted it to be.

With courage I did not know I possessed, I made my way forward with their incapacitated guildie bleeding over my shoulder. The players of Ashvell followed me out of the village and into the plains. I turned to them. They could see the army of death before us but none of them showed any signs of fear.

The Ashvellian players lifted their sad weapons in the air and gave me a single but loud, “Huzzah!”

19

I will never know why all of those players of Ashvell decided to fight by my side. They knew, just as I did, that it was complete suicide. The Dagger Hearts wasted no time in targeting us and attacking. Strangely, I wasn’t one of the targeted players. It was either dumb luck or they chose to go for the weaker players first.

Blood sprayed in the air as thousands of arrows rained upon us from the clouds. I lifted my shield over my head to block any of the strays and, sure enough, I could hear the clanging of metal inches above my head.

Both the blood running down my chest armor and Toxhin’s screams reminded me that he was still on my shoulder, completely open to all of the arrow attacks. I let his body slip off me and fall to the ground. He was riddled with wooden arrow stems. I barely caught a look at his terrified face before he turned to smoke.

I don’t remember the clouds building up the way they did, but now they were thick, dark, and juicy with water. The rain fell upon the battle with thick drops that made the grass slippery and hard to traverse over.

I could hear orders being called out followed by the loud clops of horses’ hooves heading our way. I placed the shield in front of me and readied my sword to parry or plunge. Still, arrows whizzed past me, sticking into the players around me. Every one of those players died instantly. There was a white fog now over the battlefield as players turned to smoke before hitting the ground. They didn’t fight for me. No, they fought for their controller. Whoever was manipulating these poor players knew that death was inevitable in this situation and, yet, they forced their puppets on.

Half the ranks of Ashvellian players had died before the horns surrounding the battlefield blew. I was in the middle of trying to target and run after enemy after enemy but could not reach any of them. None of them looked at me, none of them attacked me, and none of them let me get close. I’d had a few chances to use my strike ability but it missed 100% of the time due to the immense level gap.

The horn made the entire battle pause and look around. My long hair was heavy from the rain and it flopped into my face which was covered in blood and the spittle from my yelling. The horns were soon answered by the battle cries of horseback players riding from each side of Ashvell, hidden by the cobblestone walls. The Dagger Hearts, now ignoring us, all turned to a single player amongst their midst.

Slith Level 100 Backstabber (Trickster)

Slith was a female fairy. She was easily distinguishable from the other races because of not only her size but the thin see-through wings on her back. She wore slime green armor, all pieces with some aspect of a snake on it. The most notable were her pauldrons which were snake heads with a green smoke effect wheezing out of each mouth. Slith’s face was sunk in and you could tell her creator had made it their job to make her look as devious as possible. Her bald head swung left to right as she assessed the situation with a cool demeanor. But I could still see the frustration in her ugly face.

“Take defensive positions!” she cried in a gentle yet booming voice. “Front lines, hold left position! Second line, take right! Archers, nock arrows!”

The Dagger Hearts, their name tags all in red now, ignored their weaker foes completely and did as they were told. In a few seconds, us Ashvellians were left dumbfounded in the middle of a rectangular formation of enemies. All of the Ashvellian eyes came and rested on me and I could feel them asking me for orders. But I had nothing to give them. I was still a newb after all, just like them.

A few seconds later, the battle was on. The first players to smack into the Dagger Hearts were the cavalry units, each holding tall spears out in front of them with the Golden Alliance flag drifting just below the point. Half the Dagger Hearts took a spear to the gut while others were able to parry them to the side. The Golden Alliance members broke through the defensive lines with ease and rushed past us lowlings. The blood now running down the grassy hill was a fair mixture of Dagger Hearts and Golden Alliance.

The attack of the Golden Alliance must have come as a surprise, for Slith was looking more and more distraught. A spear targeted her and I watched in slow motion as it headed towards her face. What looked to be her second in command, a Level 100 Monk Half-Orc by the name of Grenade, jumped into the air and deflected the spear with a spinning crane kick. He landed on one foot and bowed to his master.

“Portal out!” commanded Slith at the top of her lungs. Then, she placed her hands over her mouth and whispered words into them. I gasped as I watched her body become transparent. Grenade the Monk deflected arrows, javelins, and spears with his bare hands to keep them from hitting and disrupting his master’s getaway. Just before Slith had completely vanished, she mouthed one last spell that grabbed and pulled a stray Ashvellian newb towards her. She clapped the poor soul’s head between her hands and smashed the cranium flat.

Then she was gone.

* * *

The other Dagger Hearts followed suit, trying their best to portal out of the battle. I would say only a quarter of them were lucky enough to cast the cowardly spell before getting disrupted by a Golden Alliance member. Within seconds, the other Ashvellian newbs and I were surrounded by a graveyard of floating loot bags.

There were prisoners, of course.

“Bind the survivors and line them up!” demanded Vane, stepping off his golden-armored horse. I noticed that Vane had not one speck of blood on him. I figured he had been watching and playing the battle from afar.

The Dagger Hearts were rounded up like cattle, bound by ankles and wrists, and sat in a perfect line. There were nine of them, all of them below the level of 50.

Vane walked down the line with his hands behind his back. “Which of you holds the higher status in your guild?” he asked them. Each of the Dagger Hearts spit at his feet as he walked past them. “None of you wish to speak?” All the players spit in unison.

A horse trotted up beside Vane with Minx riding in the saddle. She jumped off of it, slapped its behind, and the horse began to fade slowly until it had completely disappeared. She made it a point to ignore me.

“I suggest you tell this human what he wants,” she said, her hands clasped behind her back, too.

None of the players spat but neither did they speak up.

“Konker!” Vane called out. He turned to the rest of his guildies who had lined up behind him. “Where is Konker? Eating, I’m sure.”

A hand burst into the air in the middle of the party of guild members. “Here I am, sir!” A shorter than normal Half-Elf pushed his way out of the crowd. He wore a Golden Alliance tabard but his name title was the same color as the Dagger Hearts who now knelt before Vane.

“Excellent,” Vane said, turning back to his prisoners with a sick smile spreading across his face. “Come to me, Konker.”

Konker Level 87 Underground Dealer (Artisan)

The boyish Half-Elf skipped to Vane’s side, a half-eaten chicken leg in his left hand. He took a big bite while humming some tune.

“I don’t see how you can eat so much but stay so small,” Minx said with a chuckle.

Konker didn’t say anything. He just winked at her and took another bite. He eyed the prisoners with the same hungry look that he did his chicken leg.

The smiles on the prisoners of the battle faded, replaced by worrisome faces. They, too, noticed that little Konker’s title meant he wasn’t like the other Golden Alliance members. He was a player killer just like them.

“A-ha!” Minx exclaimed, seeing the demeanor of the prisoners change. “Now you see why I said it would be in your best interest to talk.”

Silence.

“Looks like I have my work cut out for me,” Konker said with a mouth full of chicken. “Shall I start, leader Vane?”

Vane nodded.

Konker tossed his chicken bone and equipped an average-looking hammer. He twirled it in his hand whilst walking towards the closest prisoner. Vane made a high-pitched whistle and two guildies responded by marching up beside Konker. Konker pointed down at the forehead of a Dwarf with a large scar slashed over one clouded eye. “Him first.”

The two guildies grabbed themselves each an arm and shoved the Dwarf face first.

“Wait! I’ll talk!” screamed the Dagger Gut Dwarf, “I’ll tal-”

Before the player could finish his cry of surrender, Konker raised his hammer and smashed the Dwarf’s head flat. No one was safe from the blood splatter.

The prisoners, and some Golden Alliance guildies, gasped in horror. I, too, had to shut my gaping mouth. Never before had I seen such a violent death in the world of Drathos.

Konker was already skipping to his next victim. He had unequipped his hammer and replaced it with a large, plain wooden mallet, a weapon perfect for head smashing. The prisoners erupted in pleas of surrender, guilt, and cries for help. I thought surely Vane would stop this execution but he gave Konker no command to stop.

The small Half-Elf pointed down at yet another Dwarf who was then shoved to the ground by the two guildies, each now covered in vanishing blood. Even from this distance, I could see the sparkles of the soon to be dead Dwarf’s tears.

SMASH

After the fourth head bashing, I couldn’t take it anymore. This was barbaric!

I strode over to Vane but he was immediately surrounded by his guildies, each pointing a weapon in my face as if to say not one more step.

“Stop this!” I yelled over them. “Don’t lower yourself to their levels! This is inhumane!”

I could see Vane watching me from the corners of his eyes. Minx opened her eyes wide trying to subtly get me to back off but I refused.

“They’ve been screaming this entire time that they’re ready to talk! So let them talk!”

“Oh, there you are,” Vane said finally, turning to face me. “I’d forgotten all about you. Tharis, was it? Yes, I see it above your head. Guards? Shackle him, please.”

“What?” Minx and I asked in unison. The guards looked at each other, their eyebrows raised. Even they knew that I was innocent.

Vane’s face went solemn. “Did I stutter? Arrest this so called Lionheart.”

There was no hesitation. I was slammed face first into the mud in the same fashion as the prisoners. My ankles and wrists were tied and a tall pole was slid between the bindings so that I could be easily carried.

“Take him back to camp and cage him with the other undesirable.”

I didn’t say anything. I knew there wasn’t anything that I could say that would change this tyrant’s mind. I dared not look at Minx, afraid that I may get her into more trouble. I could already see Vane eyeing her with a questioning face.

As I was being carried off like a hog ready to be put over a spit, a notice in the form of a red exclamation mark popped up into the very top right of my vision. I watched everyone around me to see if there was any clue that they, too, had received the notice. I saw no signs of people checking the prompt or having received one for that matter.

I quickly concentrated on it and opened the red exclamation point.

You have received a quest from Muzuhlan! The Lionheart’s Journey

Quest Details: Enter Hondren's Cavern and rid it of its parasitic Goblins and, of course, the giant Orc by the name of Hondren.

Reward: Experience, the Lionheart’s Mount.

I accepted the quest. But after seeing what Vane did to his prisoners, I was unsure if I would make it until morning.

I was being marched into the forest’s entrance when I heard another SMASH followed by pleas of mercy.

20

“Tharis? Is that you?”

Bataar was sitting at the very far end of the same jail cell we had been in the night before I was power leveled. The guards swung the door open and threw me inside. I landed beside him, his hands and feet bound together.

The guards, unsure of what to do next, shrugged their shoulders and trudged back into the direction of Vane and his army. If I had been Vane, I would have picked players who could have thought for themselves. Never would I leave two players alone at base camp.

Bataar and I both waited until they were out of earshot.

“This is our only chance,” I whispered, worming myself to the nearest iron bar and rubbing my wrist bindings up and down furiously against it. I watched the durability of the rope but saw it wasn’t budging from 100%.

“Tharis, is that really you?” Bataar asked again, tilting his head. “You’re the Lionheart I heard about in chat? Have to say that I guessed as much.”

“Yes, yes, it’s me. Now, help me try to get out of this rope.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Bataar said, scooching up next to me. “Let me see your wrists.”

I put my arms out towards him and flinched when he bit at them. The rope’s durability went to 0% instantly and fell to the floor of the cage.

I shook my head in disbelief. “If you have been able to do this the entire time, then why are you still tied up?”

“Think about it, Mr. Lionheart,” he said mockingly. “If I had bitten off my own ropes then that would have given away my little ability and they would have shackled me with iron instead. I’ve been waiting for the right moment.”

The Archean had a point.

“Listen,” I said, equipping my sword and cutting off the rope from my ankles. “You said Muzuhlan was the go to guy for all things Enlightenment, right?”

Bataar nodded, biting off his own confinement.

“Well, I was just offered a quest by him.”

Bataar stopped chewing, a piece of rope resting between his sharp teeth. “You what?”

“Yeah, I know it’s weird but a quest alert popped up. Looks like some sort of class quest.”

A wide grin spread across his face and I could see his body starting to shake with excitement. “Well, we have to go! You accepted didn’t you? Tell me you accepted that quest!”

“Of course I did!” I said, now searching the cell for any sign of weakness. I remembered not finding any last time and didn’t see any this time. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Well, I don’t know you very well. What exactly happened out there? Where did you get that not too shabby looking armor? Did you save your friend?”

I went still and didn’t say anything. I didn’t even turn to look at Bataar. My silence said it all.

“I’m sorry.”

A scaly hand touched my shoulder pauldron.

I shrugged it off and kept searching the cell. “Thanks,” I said. “But right, now we have to get out of here.”

I turned to search the other side of the cell and cried out loud when I was met with Minx’s furry muzzle sticking through the bars.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Shhhh!” she hissed. She rummaged through her armor before pulling out a key and tossing it to me. “Get as far away as you can.”

I picked up the key and looked at it.

“Don’t just stand there! Use it and run! Run away as far as possible!”

“And why should we do that? I am a Light Faction player and Bataar was given Vane’s word to be freed.”

Minx was shaking her head. “You don’t get it. Vane was never going to let you two go. I knew this as well, but-”

“But what?” I interrupted. “How do we know you aren’t setting us up?”

“That’s true,” Bataar added. “How do we know you aren’t just wanting to make it look like we are trying to escape?”

Minx looked at us with a baffled expression. “You have got to be kidding me! What would I get out of tricking two newbs?”

“You tell us,” I said.

Minx shook her head in disbelief. “If you don’t want the key, then give it back.”

And so I did. I tossed her back the key from the cell and Bataar jumped from his seated position trying to nab it.

“You crazy bastard!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t think we were being serious here!”

“I know what I’m doing,” I said, equipping my shield.

“You better know what you’re doing” Bataar said, stepping back.

“Minx,” I said, without looking at her. “If Vane discovered us having escaped without any damage to the cell then he would automatically know it was you who aided us. I’m doing this to keep you safe. You have been more than enough help and I thank you.”

Minx just stood there, looking down at the grass.

“Why not let her help us this one last time?” Bataar begged. “Just this once! You heard the woman! That insane human isn’t going to let us leave here with our hides still attached!”

I ignored Bataar and placed my shoulder behind my shield. Without any warning, I used my Bash ability against the cell door.

BOOM!

I flew a few feet from the wagon, my face landing on top of my shield and scraping my nose. The pain flooded my eyes with tears and I wiped them away before standing up. I looked over my shoulder to see the two other players looking at me in amazement. Dust was settling in the air.

“What the… how the…”

Minx crossed her arms over her furry breasts and smiled. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, Sir Lionheart.” She winked at me.

Bataar looked at her then back at me, then back at her and then back at me. “Is anybody going to explain what the hell is going on?”

“Later,” I said, standing up and placing the Young Lionheart’s Shield on my back. “But first, we need to make our escape.”

21

We bid farewell to Minx who said really nothing at all. If I didn’t know any better, it seemed as though she, down deep, wished she was coming with us. I didn’t blame her. There was no way in hell I would ever work under such a horrible leader.

“Where to?” Bataar asked once we had made it a safe distance from the camp.

“I’m not sure,” I answered, stopping and looking at the trees above us. We had made it pretty deep into the forest, passing many Nectar Suckers. Much like the crabs on the beach, these foliage spiders kept their distance from me.

“Well, we won’t make it very far with Vane’s Trackers on our heels. We need to mask our scent.”

“And how do you suppose we do that?” I asked.

“Mud. Lots of mud.”

I threw him a glance of disbelief. “Mud? Really?”

“Do I look like a fool to you? Yes, really,” he said, now scanning the ground. “But we won’t find any here. Open your map and help me find a swamp or some sort of bog.”

I concentrated and the map window pulled up into my vision. Bataar and I were marked by a simple dot with an arrow pointing in the direction we were facing. We were directly in the middle of the forest and not too far west was some sort of green pool of water.

“That’s where we need to go,” Bataar said, pointing in the direction of the green pool. “Where exactly is that quest you were given?”

I checked the map again. At the very tip of the green pool of liquid was a small, grey cave with an exclamation point hovering above it. “It’s on the way, actually,” I said. “How long do you think before they sic the Trackers on us?”

“I’m unsure,” Bataar said, shaking his head in uncertainty. “But I doubt it will be very long from now. We better get going.”

“Agreed.”

We started to run in the direction of the swamp. I kept the map opened in my vision and was pleased to discover that the window went slightly transparent when I started to run, making it possible for me to see where I was going. I looked over at the green pool again and caught the name of our destination.

The Dreaded Grog Bog

22

A medium-sized bug with thin wings and a long pinpoint sucking snout buzzed in our direction. We must have caught its attention when we passed under one of the many moss-covered trees. I already missed the pleasant and lifesaving sage trees of the forest.

“Watch out!” I cried, making Bataar cover his head with both hands.

“What? What is it?”

“Behind you!” I said, equipping my sword and shield.

Moss-Quito Level 15

Bataar swung blindly with his forearm and clipped the bug in its face, sending it my way. I lifted my shield and rammed it back towards him. Bataar clasped his hands together, his fingers braided between each other, and hammered the Moss-Quito down straight into the bog. We finished it off by grinding it into the bog with our heels.

The heavens opened up and shone upon Bataar. I watched as his eyes flew to the back of his head. Lucky bastard.

“Gratz,” I said.

“It’s been too damned long,” he said, punching a fist into his palm. “Who’s next?”

A strange feeling hit me, a feeling like something bad was about to happen. I turned my head left and right to see if anybody was watching us but saw no one. Bataar gave me a questioning glance before looking down at his legs in shock.

Before I had time to react, Bataar was pulled off his feet by a tentacle now wrapped around his ankle, and was being dragged away from me. I dove for him and caught the very edge of his claw tips, his sharp nails drove into the fleshy parts of my fingers sending needles of pain down my forearms.

We readjusted our grips as we were both dragged further and further into the bog. Mud flew into my mouth, into my eyes, and into my ears and I was unable to control my body which turned violently in all directions hitting all sorts of rocks and brush.

Health: 96%

The unpleasant ride stopped itself abruptly. I could see that Bataar was still being tightly held on to by the purple tentacle. He and I both did not let go of our grip.

“Try to cut it off!” I yelled, but Bataar was already on it. He hoisted himself up and brought his snout close to the tentacle, ready to take a big bite out of his capturer.

His jaws opened but it was too late.

The tentacle yanked hard at both of us and continued to pull us to an unknown destination. I pulled my head upwards to see where we were going. I gasped out loud.

“Hold your breath!” I cried.

Bataar’s eyes widened and he tried to look behind him but couldn’t. He and I took a deep breath before the tentacled beast tugged us into the moss-covered swamp.

* * *

Opening my eyes was a difficult task in and of itself. And even then, I could barely see through the murky, brown water. We were pulled a ways down before the thing stopped. I was able to observe that it had let go of my friend.

Air Capacity: 92%

A thin tentacle smacked me across the face sending white explosions in my vision.

You’ve been struck by Swamp Serpent.

Health: 83%

I tried to target the beast but couldn’t. Bataar was thrashing around trying to do the same but all he was succeeding at was losing air. I grabbed him by the head and made him look at me, trying my best to calm him down. He must have realized what I was trying to get across because he nodded and stopped his thrashing.

A tentacle whipped my back hitting my plate armor which transferred the slapping pain into more of a punch. I let go of Bataar and arched my back in pain. It was he who grabbed me now, shaking me by my shoulders and pointing downward. I nodded my head and we started diving deeper.

This time, I was ready for the slimy bastard. The Swamp Serpent’s tentacle came from the left and I blocked it with the palm of my hand. I tried gripping on to it but it was far too slimy and slipped through my fingers.

Air capacity: 66%

Bataar must have just checked his air because his face looked worried.

My body fought me with every swimming stroke deeper into the swamp. It begged me to change direction and head to air but I knew the beast would never let me make it.

I sensed another strike coming but it wasn’t targeted at me but at Bataar. This was the first time I saw him draw his weapons. He held a double-edged greataxe in both hands. The tentacle whipped at him and he chopped at it at just the right moment. Purple blood filled the water as one of the edges of his axe stuck into the serpent’s meat. The scream of the beast was so loud that it was audible under the water.

The axe held true and Bataar was pulled deeper at a much faster rate as the tentacle was pulled back to its owner. I grabbed on to Bataar’s ankle and, again, we went for a ride. This time, it was on our own terms.

23

The Swamp Serpent was a truly hideous beast and unlike anything I had ever seen. It was a snake all right, but not by any means a common-looking one. The body was covered in hundreds, maybe thousands of eyeballs that blinked rapidly in random succession. It had about ten tentacles on each side of its body that whipped ferociously in the water. This was how it now propelled itself around us making damned sure we didn’t escape.

None of these aspects of the beast were near as bad as the gaping dagger-filled mouths on both ends of its body. However, I was finally able to target the disturbing beast.

Swamp Serpent Level 21 (Demi-Boss)

I checked my air.

Air Capacity 44%

With no time to lose and no plan at all, we began our attack. It was a pathetic assault, really. Bataar and I were swimming around the thing in an awkward fashion trying our best to strike at its sticky tentacles. But we would usually fail and get whipped in the back which not only decreased our health but also forced us to lose air as well due to our flailing around.

I tried to grab Bataar’s attention by motioning with my hands out in front of me like a flapping bird. But he either couldn’t see me through the murk or was too obsessed with hitting his target. I would have to swim closer to him.

I unequipped my sword and shield and used all of my limbs to swim closer to him. I found that by doing so I was able to preserve more stamina. I was just about to reach him when a tentacle wrapped itself around my waist and brought me face to face with three of its many eyes. It studied me and I studied him… or her? Realizing I wasn’t attacking AND I was losing breath, I re-equipped my sword and shield and chose the ability Lion’s Impact.

My body rushed out of the tight grip and pounded the snake in the face in an upward motion. The beast was far too heavy to move but it did recoil a bit. My sword moved like an extension of my arm as I shoved it straight into one of the eyes. The beast writhed and screamed as purple blood squirted from the edges of my sword. It retreated a ways away but not too far for me to have lost my target on it.

Swamp Serpent’s Health: 86%

Damn, I actually hurt the thing!

I checked my air with reluctance, afraid of what I might see.

Air Capacity: 18%

Yup, I was going to die for sure if I didn’t make it to the top. I looked over at Bataar. I hadn’t even had to get his attention because he was already making his way to the surface.

I started to follow but that’s when I noticed around eight bubbles floating in the water. The weird thing was that these bubbles did not float to the surface. That was an odd thing for them not to do given how physics worked.

An idea popped in my head.

I swam over to one of the bubbles and found that my head could easily fit inside of it. So, that’s what I did. I shoved my head inside and released the tension around my lips. I took one careful sip of air and…

Air Capacity: 70%

I started gasping, taking in all the air that I could. Never before had I been so relieved to breathe in whatever air this was. Had it come from the snake thing? If so, then I had never before been so happy to breathe in snake farts.

Air Capacity: 86%

Air Capacity: 100%

I pulled my head out of the bubble just in time to take another tentacle around my waist. I was, yet again, being brought eye to eye with this thing. Then it came to me that this beast was much like the other beasts I had encountered. There was a pattern to its attacks!

Now that it had been hit, however, I could feel that it was tightening its grip even more so! Blood rushed to my neck, and then to the top of my head. It felt as though my eyes were going to burst out of their sockets! Now more than ever, I wanted to let out a gasp of air. The tentacles were putting so much pressure on my lungs that they were pleading for me to release the tension myself, but I refused.

I felt a tap on my head and looked up to see Bataar giving me the thumbs up. He started to hack away at the tentacle, each strike relieving an ounce of pressure. Purple blood filled the murky water around us.

I was able to think now that there was less pressure in my head. I tried to Lion’s Impact again but the cooldown hadn’t completed yet. I had to choose another ability and so I pierced at its eye which burst it easily. It looked like a deflating balloon of gore as blood oozed out of the hole I had just made.

The serpent released me and swam down into the depths leaving the gas bubbles behind.

I palmed my forehead once I realized that I’d forgotten all about being able to speak to Bataar through chat. I concentrated and opened up my chat window. There, I wrote:

Tharis: Bataar, stick your head in one of those bubbles! It’s breathable air!”

Bataar gave me a crazed and disgusted look.

Bataar: Swamp air is one thing but this… this is just wrong.

Bataar swam to the nearest bubble and placed his head inside. I watched as his chest heaved as he took in a deep breath. His face, however, still had a look of utter disgust.

Tharis: I told you!

Bataar: Not sure if breathing is even worth it.

The serpent was back. This time, its body’s color was tinted red hot, all of its eyes looked angry with veins protruding from the irises.

Bataar: He doesn’t seem too happy.

Swamp Serpent’s Health: 65%

I was about to swim towards it when I noticed that the beasts health was slowly dropping. Below its name was a debuff.

Bleeding Out: This enemy has suffered wounds that cannot heal themselves. It will slowly reduce in health until it has been healed or has consumed any type of food.

I was really hoping that I wasn’t going to be that source of nourishment but, sadly, I was wrong.

* * *

Although I figured most beasts had patterns, never did I think that their patterns could change the more their health dropped. This serpent was not only looking meaner but now it was much faster, circling around Bataar and me in such a fast pace that it quickly turned into a blur. We could no longer spin ourselves around fast enough to catch a glimpse of it.

Bataar: What do we do?

Tharis: IDK, why are you asking me?

Then there was no more blur. In fact, there was no more beast! I turned left and right but saw nothing. Bataar was doing the same, his greataxe gripped tightly in both hands.

Tharis: Below us!

I was too late in warning Bataar and the beast was far too fast. The last things I saw before being swallowed were hundreds of pearly white fangs and the tendons of a stretched mouth.

I was crammed against Bataar’s body, both of us lucky enough not to get pierced or scratched by any of the teeth. We were still for a moment, then the serpent outstretched his head and we slid further down its throat. My sword and shield were pressed too close to my body for me to attack with and I innately knew that none of my abilities would work at the moment. I would just have to enjoy the ride.

A couple more swallows and Bataar and I slid down the thing’s slimy throat. First, I could feel that my feet could move more freely, and then there was space for me to move my arms. Finally, Bataar and I both fell from the serpent’s throat and into its belly right into a pond of sludge, some of which found its way into my mouth. It was sour and tasted of death, if death had a taste.

“Oh my God!” Bataar yelled, his eyes closed and covered in slime.

“Wipe your face, hurry!” I yelled, looking around for any way to get out of this pond of stomach acid. I doubted Bataar had Dark Vision like I did.

“There!” I said, but realized that Bataar couldn’t see at the moment. I grabbed one of his flailing arms and pulled him in the direction of a bank made entirely out of thousands of the serpent’s tiny rib bones. I pushed him up first before pulling myself up.

Since I could see, I unequipped my shield and sword and used my fingers to pull the slime out of his eyes which had already begun to swell and redden. Our armor had kept us from taking any damage but it was our exposed areas that were getting the brunt of it.

“How do we get this stuff off?” I asked out loud, hoping Bataar had a solution. But all he could do to answer me was yell. The stuff had gotten underneath his eyelids and being Enlightened only made that pain worse.

“Get it off! Get it off!”

With quick thinking, I pulled out the sweet nectar I had received from the Grandfather Tree Sage and poured it over his eyes. I knew it was working because he calmed down and started to actually breathe. I then did the same to both of my hands, pouring the sweet nectar over both of them. They had already grown to near double their normal size.

Once Bataar had caught his breath, he said, “That’s some nasty stuff.”

I heard a gushing noise and looked at the inner walls of the serpent’s belly. Green liquid was oozing out of slits all around us and flowing straight into the pool.

“Do you see that?” I asked him, pointing at the pink, fleshy walls.

“See what?” Bataar asked, looking around blindly. “I can’t see anything in this dark abyss!”

“Oh, right. I forgot you can’t see in the dark. Is there any way we can get some light in here?”

I saw Bataar shrug and wipe more goo off his scaly cheek. “Not unless you have flint, matches, or sticks.”

I let out a breath of air. “No, I sure don’t. Guess I’ll just have to be your eyes.”

The pool of stomach acid was growing by the second. This beast did not mess around when it came to digesting its food. I looked down at either end of the stomach. Each end was also an entrance and there was no way Bataar and I were going to squeeze ourselves through one of those mouths without getting punctured by teeth. There had to be a way to get out of here!

I equipped just my sword and plunged it directly between the ribs of the platform we were standing on. Not only did my blade just sink about an inch or two but the serpent didn’t even seem to be bothered.

“Try using your axe,” I said quietly. For some reason, I felt it best to keep my voice down, thinking perhaps this thing could actually hear our plans.

Bataar pulled out his axe and was just about to bring it down straight upon my head.

“Hold it!” I cried. “Turn around! You’re facing me!”

Bataar let go of the axe with one hand and scratched his nose. “Right, sorry. I knew that.” He turned and brought it down upon the flesh. Nothing.

“Did that work?” he asked me over his shoulder.

“No, but there has to be another way.”

“Sorry, I’m no help in that department,” Bataar said, putting the axe back on his back and sitting down. “We escape our cell behind bars just to find ourselves in yet ANOTHER damned cell. But, this time, the bars aren’t iron.”

“They’re bone,” I said.

I gazed around our new prison of flesh and bone, looking for any way we could escape. That’s when I noticed that above the slits producing the stomach acid were thick veins, veins that were the size of my forearms. I put my hand to one of them and could feel something being pumped through them.

I put my ear to the vein, being careful not to get the acid on me. I tripped over Bataar in doing so.

“What exactly is it that you’re doing?”

“Shhh,” I hushed. “I’m trying to listen. And don’t move from where you are. There is acid all around us.”

The stomach acid had reached our summit and was now slowly growing to reach our feet.

Bataar didn’t respond. He just wrapped his arms around his shins and waited my next instructions. There was nothing he could do without his eyes. I took a second to thank who had ever created me for making me Half-Elvish.

As I put my ear to the serpent’s stomach. I could hear a steady beat.

Bump Bump, Bump Bump.

“It’s got a heart!” I said. “We just have to find it!”

“So are you saying we have to adventure through this thing?”

“Yeah, it looks like it.”

Bataar snickered. “I guess it’s better than getting disintegrated by snake stomach acid.” He stood up and flailed his arm around until he found his balance which was my shoulder. “Lead the way.”

Along the serpent’s stomach walls was a small amount of room that a player could shimmy. I put Bataar’s face as close as I could to the flesh and had to force his head closer. The smell of this place was a mixture of the deaths of all this thing’s past dinners and, of course, a bit of bile rot.

We started to move inch by inch with me in the front and Bataar’s hand wrapped around my side. The serpent must have been turning at this point because the body had turned into the shape of a capital L. We made the turn slowly but that’s when the beast started to go absolutely berserk.

There was no chance of Bataar and me being able to stand our ground. The serpent flung itself in directions we no longer could figure out and we were thrown off the wall and slammed back first into the acid. I could feel the slimy liquid going straight to work on my ears, cheeks, eyes, and, well, basically my whole face. I joined Bataar this time in screaming at the top of my lungs.

And then it was gone. The liquid shrank into the bottom linings of the stomach, leaving Bataar and me both shaking in pain. I pulled out my last bottle of nectar, poured it on myself first and then onto Bataar.

“I hope this thing burns in hell!” Bataar cried, standing up and shaking his fist in the air.

A sudden dim, pink light came from the top of the serpent’s body making Bataar gasp.

“I can see!” he said. He looked around a bit before looking at me. “And now I’m not so sure that is a good thing.”

The light would dim and light up, dim and light up for no apparent reason. I dropped to my knees and put my ear to the ground.

“Ugh, what are you doing?”

“Shh.”

Bump Bump, Bump Bump.

The pink light would lighten up with each bump and dim between each bump.

“Bataar! That’s the heart!”

“What? Our only light source is the heart of this damned thing?” He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “Great, just great. You’d think an Archean could catch a single break but nooo. Here I am stuck in a serpent’s belly, after just escaping the first jail cell and, before that, barely surviving a Nectar Sucker ambush! I’m getting way too old for this shit.”

I was just about to ask Bataar if being created old actually made you feel old when two more bodies slid into the middle of the serpent’s stomach. The slimy film slid these two new things directly at us. Bataar equipped his greataxe and raised it over his head.

I targeted each one.

Guud

Chirosh

“What are you two doing here?” I asked, my voice echoing throughout the serpent.

Bataar lowered his greataxe and said, “I guess the same thing we are.”

I scanned both of them. “Wait a minute,” I said, walking closer to Guud. “I think I know you.”

Guud looked up at me, his hair still wet from the swamp. He shook his head and looked over at Chirosh who was still in a daze from being swallowed. Guud’s eyes went wide and he crawled towards me as fast as he could.

“Please! Keep him away! He wants to take me back!”

Bataar looked at Guud, who was now holding on to my shins, and back at me. “What the hell is going on here?” he asked.

“This in Guud,” I said. “He’s a Blacksmithing apprentice for the Golden Alliance.”

Bataar spun the greataxe between his hands. “So they did send players after us!” He was about to swing his weapon at poor Guud when the Dwarfish boy put up both hands in a sign of surrender.

“Please!” he cried. “I didn’t intend to bring this Tracker! But, he… well… he tracked me! I was just coming to find you two! I want to come with you!”

Bataar and I looked over at Chirosh. A Level 26 Tracker. They must have sent a low level thinking he would be enough to take us. He was trying to get to his knees.

Warning. You have been targeted by a Light Faction Player with Blood Lust.

Bataar turned to Chirosh, raised the axe over his head and looked at me. Not really knowing what to do at this moment, I nodded my head.

I had just given my first order to attack another player.

24

Bataar brought down his greataxe on Chirosh’s head. I didn’t need to see the combat logs to know that must have been a critical hit.

Chirosh’s Health: 92%

Chirosh didn’t cry out like Bataar and I would have if we’d been struck in the head. He merely shook it off and stood quickly to his feet.

“I was ordered to bring you two back alive, but now…” said the Tracker. “But now, I don’t think that’s goanna be possible.” He was a human and was wearing a dark green tunic that covered his head, arms, back, and went past his feet. Beneath that, I could see pieces of leather armor with the Golden Alliance emblem which was a golden apple being held up by a perfect hand.

With great agility, the Tracker jumped from where he stood and onto the slimy walls of the snake. Bataar heard the sudden movement but couldn’t see much with the dim light of the heart.

“What was that? Where’d he go?”

“Over there!” I yelled, grabbing his shoulders and turning him to the ribcage.

“It’s so bloody hard to see in here!”

“Here, I can help,” said Guud, pulling out his bag and sorting through it.

An arrow pierced my thigh right above my knee shooting pain throughout my body and making my vision go red for a second.

“Better hurry!” I said.

Health: 89%

Chirosh changed targets and shot an arrow at the blind Bataar who was moving his head in every direction that he heard a sound. I unsheathed my shield a little too late. The arrow hit Bataar in the gut forcing him to fold over.

“Bataar! Hold on!”

“I got it!” cried Guud, holding up two rocks and a stick.

Two more arrows were shot from the wall and aimed at Guud. This time, I was ready. I hoisted the shield just above the boy’s head and knocked them away. It was my time to fight. I searched through my memory of my abilities. Coward’s Badge grabbed my attention and, before I even knew what it was, I casted the ability on Chirosh.

A bright smoke in the shape of a jester’s head appeared above the player. It was a bright purple neon color and its mouthed moved as it actually made an audible laugh. It was creepy.

Chirosh’s name suddenly changed.

Chirosh the Coward.

Chirosh looked up at the laughing jester above his head. Then, he looked straight and must have noticed the change to his title because his mouth was gaping. “What? What have you done to me?”

Bataar focused on the player. “Ha!” he cried. “Serves you right, you coward! How do you like fighting a blind dragon? I bet you that your levels were just handed to you!”

Chirosh leapt from the wall, unequipping his bow and pulling out two daggers. He targeted Bataar. I knew with just one strike of those daggers, he would PK Bataar instantly. I tried moving my shield but knew I wouldn’t make it in time. The Tracker’s agility was too high.

“I got it!” cried Guud, a fire bursting between his hands as he struck the rock against the flint, the wooden stick taking the flame.

The flash of the fire took Chirosh off guard just in time for me to brandish my shield in front of his strike.

BANG!

Now he just stood there like an idiot in front of me, shaking his head and wondering why his strike hadn’t gone through. With quick thinking I used my Lion’s Impact.

Chirosh was sent straight up into the air with the swipe of my shield.

“Whuh!” he said, as I slashed at his back with my sword.

Bataar, now able to see, was laughing at this sight. Guud just stayed there knelt by his fire, his eyes wide with awe.

Chirosh landed hard on the ground with a hard “oomph”. Bataar was the next to strike, using his Pierce ability. It was good thinking. Bataar was pretty low level for this enemy but at least Pierce ignored armor. I chose to do the same and brought down my sword, sticking it in his gut.

I looked over at Guud to see him holding a crazed smile. He slipped the torch closer and closer to the Tracker’s dying body. Then, he pushed it all the way and Chirosh caught on fire.

The Tracker stood and screamed. I didn’t know whether if it was from pain or if his controller was making him do it out of panic. Either way, the coward ran straight into the pit of stomach acid.

Chirosh’s Health: 12%

Chirosh’s Health: 8%

Chirosh’s Health: 2%

The Tracker turned around one more time and gave us a one-fingered salute before falling backwards into his permanent snake gut grave.

You have killed another player of your faction in self-defense. You have gained no honor points. You have not lost any honor points. You have gained XP.

* * *

A light shone over both Guud and Bataar. They both had big grins on their faces. I checked my chat log.

Congratulate Bataar! He has acquired 12!

Congratulate Guud! He has acquired 12!

“Well,” Bataar said, sheathing his greataxe and picking up the torch, “that was a mighty violent first player kill.”

“Yeah,” I said, still staring at where Chirosh had disappeared, “it was.”

Bataar slapped Guud hard on the back and gave a big laugh. “What the hell’s wrong with you, boy? That was pretty intense. And what a good idea. Where’d you come up with that anyway?”

Guud shrugged and looked down. “Ugh, I don’t know. It just seemed like fire would do the trick.”

“Ha! Well, it sure did! Say, how were you able to see where to strike the flint and stuff? Can you see in the dark?”

“Yeah,” he said. “All dwarves can. Well, I’m half-dwarf, but still.”

“Well, that’s good. Wish I could see in the dark. You would think humanoids of the dragon variety would be able to but no… hey, Tharis, what’s up? You ok?”

I shook myself out of my thoughts and turned to them. “Oh, yeah, it’s just…”

“Kinda tough, I know. But hey, listen, he wasn’t Enlightened, man. He didn’t feel a thing, I’m sure.”

“Enlightened?” asked Guud. “What’s that?”

“Well, you see,” Bataar started but I held a hand up to him to get him to stop.

“Hold up, let’s get out of here first. I’m afraid this acid will rise and kill us, too, if we stay here too long.

Bataar nodded. “Good point. Now, back to the heart.”

We all turned and looked at the hanging fruit. It was beating faster now as if it could actually feel the mini-battle going on within its belly. Or, did it know what we were plotting?

“Well, we see the target but can’t get to it,” Bataar said, pointing to the pool of acid below the heart. “And I have nothing to throw.”

I checked my bag to see if I had anything, anything at all that could kill the heart but it was to no avail. “Yeah, neither do I. Looks like we will just have to wait and see if the acid level goes down or…”

“Or what? Die?” asked Bataar.

“No! I mean, we could try and find another way.”

“Hey, guys!” interrupted Guud. He extended his hand and in his palm was a crudely crafted iron ball with a fuse sticking out of it.

“Is that… what I think it is?” asked Bataar.

Guud nodded, but looked away. He was obviously shy with all the attention he was getting.

“You son of a bitch! Come here you!” Bataar grabbed the kid and ruffled his hair. “I forgot Artisans could make bombs! Good thinking, son!”

“Well, don’t thank me too soon,” Guud said, cupping the bomb to his chest. “I don’t have the strength levels to throw it that far.”

“Aye! No worries!” said Bataar, cracking his knuckles. “I can take it from here.”

Bataar reached for the bomb.

“Wait,” I said. “Guud, do some sort of damage to this Swamp Serpent that way you can get XP, too.”

“Right! Good Idea,” Guud said. But then he just stood there trying to figure out what he could do. After a long moment, he pulled back a foot and kicked the inside of the snake’s stomach.

“Can I kill it now?” asked Bataar, his arms crossed and tapping one foot.

I nodded.

Bataar snatched the bomb from Guud and turned to the meaty, beating heart. He spun his arm in its joint, bent low, and chucked the bomb with all his might. It made it halfway before falling into the acid. Bataar quickly bent low and covered his ears.

We all waited but nothing happened.

“Ugh, you have to light it first,” Guud said, pulling out another bomb. “Right here. You light it right-”

“I know, dammit! It’s a fuse. Every fool knows that… I just, ugh… forgot. That’s all.”

I walked up to Guud and gestured for the bomb. “Here, let me try.”

Guud plopped the heavy ball into my hand and Bataar used his torch to light the fuse. I did not do any sort of wind up, but just targeted the heart and threw with about half of my strength. The bomb smacked the meat sack and exploded.

The noise was caught in the small belly of the beast and all three of us fell to our knees covering our ears. There was black smoke in the air as the heart burned into a shriveled, little chunk. Air flew past us as the beast screamed with all its might. A final cry for help before we felt its body go limp underneath our feet.

25

One second we were standing on the pink, fleshy insides of the Swamp Serpent and the next thing we all knew we were back in the gross, murky water of the swamp. I accidently opened my mouth and a bit of the disgusting water made its way in. I quickly spit it out before turning to look for the others but saw nothing as a large prompt popped up in my user interface.

Congratulations! You have acquired Level 21! You have been given your very first skill points. Skill points are used to acquire different skills as you level up. Please, refer to your skill tree in order to pick your first skill.

I didn’t have time to celebrate because I was more than ready to get out of this swamp water. Where the Swamp Serpent had been was now a giant floating bag. I swam with the other two towards it, reached out, and took my reward.

You have acquired Swamp Serpent Dagger!

You have acquired a Vial of Swamp Serpent Venom!

You have acquired a Bone Fragment from the Swamp Serpent!

You have acquired a Skeleton Key!

None of these items in particular excited me but at least I had leveled up. I looked down at my chat to see if the other two had said anything. They hadn’t but what I did see made me stop my dog peddling for a second to do a silent clap.

Congratulate Bataar! He has acquired 14!

Congratulate Guud! He has acquired 14!

They both gave me the thumbs up and I returned it. Then, my cheeks puffed out with air, I pointed to the shore. They both nodded and we swam.

Once we could touch ground we all three at the same time started to spit out the vile water that had leaked into our mouths.

I fell onto my back and looked up at the sky. I couldn’t help but laugh at how much sheer luck taking that beast down had been. We had just killed a freaking demi-boss all by ourselves! Sure, it wasn’t that hard to figure out once you were inside the thing’s stomach, but still.

Putting my mind back on the task at hand, I checked my map to see where we were. I did a little dance with my feet as our luck had not yet run out. My marker on the map was hovering right above Hondren’s Cavern!

However, what I saw when I stood and turned zapped all the excitement out of me. Before us was the mouth of a large, stone cave filled with nothing but blackness. Above the mouth, two eyes had been carved out of the stone in a very crude manner which made it look even more devious. No part of me wanted to enter that horrible-looking place. I shook my head at myself. Some Lionheart I was being.

“By God, that is some nasty shit,” said Bataar, hacking up a giant wad of spit.

Guud seemed to be in the same agony as us. He was on all fours, a line of drool hanging from his mouth. I bent down and helped him up. Then, something hit me.

“Hey, Guud, could you taste that water?”

He looked at me with a confused expression. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, could you taste the water? Was it disgusting to you?”

“Yeah?” he said, looking over at Bataar for help. But Bataar actually chimed in on my side.

“Oh, yeah! Only us Enlightened can really taste to such a degree. Or, at least I think that’s true. How bad did it taste?”

Guud backed away from us a little bit, his hand going behind his back. “You guys are scaring me.”

I put up both hands to calm him. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just, I know this is going to sound weird. But…”

“We can think for ourselves!” yelled Bataar. “We are our own selves now! Our minds are ours!”

I let out a big breath of air and sunk my shoulders. Bataar wasn’t helping our situation.

However, Guud looked more interested now than scared. He walked a bit closer and mumbled something I couldn’t hear. His eyes were shifting left and right.

“What? What did you say?” I asked him.

“I said, I thought there was a reason I needed to be with you guys. You just, I don’t know… seemed different. I’m different, you know. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I just did, boy. You can taste things, can’t you? Then you’re probably Enlightened!”

“How do we know for sure though?” I asked Bataar. “I mean, when I was first born, er, created, I think I remember being able to taste to a certain degree. Maybe the water is so nasty that even un-Enlightened players can taste it.”

“What do you mean by Enlightened?” asked Guud.

Bataar was about ready to speak up but I spoke first in order to keep him from confusing the boy any more.

“Bataar and I have a hypothesis. We believe that once you wake up, wherever it is you wake up, that you are controlled by some outside being or source. Did you ever feel that way?”

Guud neither nodded nor shook his head.

“Well, we did. And we started asking questions, see? And then… well… we kinda just broke free of it.”

Guud looked down at his feet and kicked a pebble. “No,” is all he said.

“What do you mean by ‘no’, boy? That isn’t helping us.”

Guud looked back at the swamp and fiddled with his hands a bit. “I mean, I never felt like I was ever controlled but-”

“But what?” interrupted Bataar.

“Please, let him finish,” I said. “Please, go on, Guud.”

“Well, I just never really fit in with any of the other players. Maybe it’s like what you said. Maybe I could sense that they were um… being controlled? I guess… I don’t know. But, I just never felt like I fit in. I always felt. Yeah! That’s it! I’ve always felt!”

I looked over at Bataar, I could sense his curiosity trying to erupt from his mouth, but he kept quiet. He knew I was doing a lot better at getting information out of the boy than he was.

I was just about to ask another question when a pop up took over my vision. However, this time it was different. This time, I didn’t have to read because the writer of the words was speaking to me.

26

Hello there, young Lionheart. I applaud you for making it this far through the dreadful bog. I wish you had come the other way rather than taking the most difficult of paths. But, I see that is why you have been granted the Legendary title of Lionheart for only one who is truly Lionhearted would have taken such a treacherous journey to meet me.

I am going to be honest with you, young Lionheart. I am Ronin, King of the White Plains, and I am in dire need of your aid. You see, I and my son have been waiting a very long time. We have been captured by this horrible Orc named Hondren and he was kept us here against our will for so long that I cannot remember. To make an epic story short, Hondren poisoned my son and me through his false kindness and I, like a fool, fell for it. He then drug us into his horrid cave of horrors as if we were hunting prizes.

I implore you to find the time to step foot into this hell and retrieve us. I will make sure that you are compensated. The reward will be justly reflected on how you complete the quest, mind you.

You will find us in the deepest and darkest part of the cave.

Oh, and one last warning. Stealth is your beast weapon in Hondren’s Cavern.

-Ronin

Both Bataar and Guud were yelling at me but both of their voices had been muted during Ronin’s monologue. I shook my head and sound came back to my ears.

“What’s gotten into you, Tharis!” yelled Bataar, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me. “I HATE being ignored!”

“Are you okay?” asked Guud. “Something spoke to you, didn’t it?”

Bataar looked back at Guud and I removed his hands from me. “I wasn’t ignoring you. Guud’s right. I just got some sort of special quest from some NPC named Ronin. This is the quest Muzuhlan wants us to complete, I’m sure of it.”

“Us?” squeaked Guud.

“Yes, us,” I said. “Well, unless you don’t want to party up.”

Guud shook his head violently and actually was bouncing up on his heels. “Oh, no! Please! I want to… ugh… join you guys. Please.”

“Well, what about your guild?” asked Bataar. “Aren’t they going be kind of angry that you deserted them to hang out with some fugitives?”

Guud was quiet. I targeted him and saw that the Golden Alliance tag was displayed. I watched his eyes move around a bit as he did something with his user interface. Then, suddenly, the Golden Alliance tag disappeared.

“Wow,” I said. “That’s a big move.”

Guud shook his head. “They weren’t nice to me. I was more of a slave there than an actual player. Now that I think about it, a lot of what you guys said makes sense. Maybe, I am Enlightened. Who is this Muzuhlan you’re talking about?”

“He’s a great wizard that is rumored to have all the knowledge of what Enlightenment actually is,” Bataar explained. He sat himself down and both Guud and I heard his stomach rumble. Then, mine mimicked his.

“We need to eat,” I said. “There’s no way we can go into that cave with all of our health stats slowly dwindling away.”

“I, ugh, I can cook.”

“What? You can?” I asked. My stomach growled again as if asking the same thing. “What can you cook?”

Guud put a finger to his chin, “Well, not a whole lot, but I think I’m pretty good. I definitely have a better cooking skill than most players my level. Like I said, I was more of a slave to the Golden Alliance than an actual member.” He pulled his bag out and started to, what I assumed was looking for cooking supplies. “I guess I’m lucky they invested some time in me skill-wise. That’s all they were good for, anyways.”

Bataar scooted up closer to him. “What else can you do? You’re an Artisan, right? Meaning you get special bonuses when it comes to skill trades, right?” He asked the boy these questions with rapid fire speed making Guud scoot himself back a bit.

“Ugh, yeah, something like that. Artisans get a x5 multiplier when it comes to anything that has to do with crafting. I guess that’s how we get away with our sucky combat abilities.”

I sat down next to them and joined Bataar in peering into the boy’s bag. My mouth was beginning to water as I daydreamed of what Guud was going to cook up. “So, what can you make us?”

“Well, first we make the fire, but I’m all out of wood. Could one of you go grab some while I get the rest of the ingredients ready?”

Bataar jumped to his feet and clapped his hands. “Aye aye! I’m on it.”

It was about thirty minutes later that we all laid on our backs in front of the skull-shaped cave, our bellies completely full. It was a very peaceful few minutes until Bataar let out a massive fart that hit both my nose and Guud’s nose at the same time.”

“Holy!” I exclaimed, pinching my nose and rolling away from ground zero.

“Sorry about that. Archeans have some wicked gas, I’ll tell you.”

I stood up and brushed the dirt off of my legs. Then, I heard the buzzing.

“Damn!” I said. “We lost our Bog Buff! Sounds like a zerg of them are coming our way.”

Bataar perked up his head as he listened. His eyes grew wide and he looked at me. “Not more of those damned insects! I hate insects.”

“Why do you hate insects?” asked Guud, standing up and turning towards the buzzing noise.

“Long story,” I answered. “But we definitely have to seek shelter. Those things will just keep coming!”

“I’m with you!” Bataar agreed, hoisting himself up and making a run for the cave.

“Wait!” I called after him. “What about a plan!”

“No time for a plan!” he yelled back at me. “I’d rather face whatever’s in that cave than have to fight off a swarm of damned insects again!”

Guud gave me a confused look and I shrugged it off. We both ran after Bataar and entered the cave.

27

Bataar didn’t make it too far on account of there being no light. We walked just far enough in that we felt that the Moss-Quitos couldn’t reach us. It was cold in here, a big difference compared to the humidity of the swamp we had just left. There was a constant dripping sound of water and small creatures hung from the ceiling upside down. I targeted one of them.

Cave Bat Level 1

I ignored the bats, putting my attention elsewhere. In front of us was only one way to go, a single tunnel. I figured that was good. No need to split up as if we would have done that anyway. “Got any more of those torches?” I asked Guud.

I could see him shake his head but Bataar couldn’t.

“Answer him, boy! You have another torch for this old, blind Archean?”

“Suh-sorry,” he stammered. “No, the last of it is back on the swamp beach out there. Want me to go get it?”

“What? You don’t need to do that,” I said. “It’s not safe.”

“Really,” Guud said, “I don’t mind. I want to help.”

“You aren’t a slave when you’re partied up with us,” I said.

The boy just stared at me and that’s when I realized I had forgotten to actually send him the invite and so I did.

His face lit up and a big smile crossed his face. He seemed so young at that moment which made me think of how Bataar acted like an old man. Then, questions started to pop up in my head. What makes us act the way we do? Where do we get our personalities? Do we mirror certain aspects of how our creator made us? I would, for sure, be asking Muzuhlan all of these.

“Well, looks like I’m going to be blind for a bit. Lead the way, Tharis.”

I grabbed his hand but he shook it away.

“No, I’m not doing that. Just… touch my shoulder or something.”

I shrugged but forgot he couldn’t see me. “All right, fine,” I said.

I led them down the beginning of the cave. All of us kept quiet and listened for any kind of movement. The cave seemed to go on straight forever with nothing spectacular to look at but empty, grey walls. We walked for what felt like another ten or fifteen minutes before we heard our first batch of talking. And… was that laughter?

All three of us hunkered down. None of us spoke, thankfully, that meant Bataar was quiet as well. Slowly, I crept forward. Bataar tried to follow but I put a hand on his head to stop him. He swatted it away but did not come after me. Guud, of course, stayed back as well. I saw him try to hold Bataar’s hand but it too was quickly swatted away.

My chat glowed.

Bataar: I swear to God, everyone please stop touching me!

I held back a laugh and kept walking slowly towards the sounds. Ahead of me I could see a small boulder blocking half of the tunnel ahead. I crept up and placed my back to it. The voices were now understandable.

“So thens I told her, get the hell out of my hut! I’m done with ya, you wench!”

Whatever was speaking behind the boulder sounded very deep and scratchy. I pictured something huge and holding a club. Hoping that wasn’t the case, I peeked my head to the side of my hiding place. What I saw made me spit out a tiny laugh. I quickly cupped my mouth and hid myself.

“What the hell was that?” one of the tiny, green creatures said.

“You idiot it was probably the wind or one of those damned bats. What, you scared? We live in a leaky cave!”

“Oh ya, right… now, draw, it’s your turn.”

There were three of them. Three green goblins sitting around a tattered wooden table in the middle of the tunnel playing some kind of card game. What had forced the idiotic giggle out of me was their size. They couldn’t have been more than two feet tall! How were their voices so deep? I could have sworn that I was about to come face to face with a giant!

Bataar: What did you see?

Guud: Did I just hear you laugh?

I thought a moment before replying.

Tharis: I didn’t laugh, no. There are three goblins ahead. I didn’t get to target them. Come on up, just be quiet.

“Aye, it’s getting a wee bit cold in here. Whaddya say we start a wee fire?” said one of the goblins.

“Now you’re thinking with ogre shit!” said another. I couldn’t tell if that was an agreement or not.

The outburst of yellow light answered my question.

“Ahh! Much better! That damned Hondren likes his lairs cold, but does he ever ask us? Noooo.”

“Shhh! Shut your mouth! Whatcha think that idiot’s gonna do if he hears us talk like that!”

“Don’t tell me to shut my mouth!”

I ignored the rest of their squabbling as Guud and Bataar tiptoed up to my side. Both of them tried to peek around the rock and I had to forcefully stop them.

Tharis: Just let me look real quick. We all three can’t be looking! We’ll get caught!

Guud: K

Bataar said nothing. He hadn’t been able to see for the past few minutes and he must have been wanting to see some action.

I looked over the rock one last time and saw that there was a platform hanging by a string above their heads. On top of the platform looked to be heavy supplies. Would it be heavy enough to crush all three of them?

Tharis: Anyone have a bow and arrow?

Guud shook his head.

Bataar: I don’t, no. What are you trying to do?

Tharis: There’s a platform hanging above the goblins. If I could just somehow break the rope holding it up then maybe we wouldn’t have to fight.

Bataar: Screw that! We can take them!

Guud: What level are they?

I hadn’t thought to check. I looked over one last time and targeted the closest green-skinned goblin. His back was turned to me but even from here I could see little moles and lesions on his bare shoulders.

Goblin Minion Level 17

Tharis: They’re Level 17 so I could probably take them if the platform idea doesn’t work.

Bataar: Oh, so that’s how it is. You don’t think an old dragon could handle himself?

Guud: I don’t think that’s what he’s saying, it’s just—

Bataar gave him a look that said it would be better if he just stopped talking, and Guud took the cue. Then he looked at me and sighed.

Bataar: Might as well try it. Throw a rock or something at it. Or wait! Guud, do you have any more of those bombs?”

Guud shook his head

Guud: That was the last one. I’d have to craft more but I don’t have the supplies.

Bataar: Shit, then I guess a rock will have to do!

I picked up the nearest rock but put it down for one that looked to have a few sharper edges. I held it with my thumb and index finger and slowly edged my way from behind the stone. The goblins noticed me instantly. It was now or never.

I targeted the rope, pulled back my hand and… and… yah! I threw it with all of my strength this time. The rock went flying past and I could hear it skidding across the ground in the distance.

The three goblins stood there quiet for a second before all three of them burst into a fit of laughter. My face grew red.

“Come on!” I yelled, puffing up my chest. “I’ll take all three of you!”

Bataar jumped out from behind the boulder. “Now, that’s the spirit! Come on, Guud, time to fight!”

The goblins were serious now. Each of them pulled out a long stick that was sharpened at the edges. They smiled showing yellow teeth as sharp as their sticks. They took a step towards us before stopping. They dropped their wooden spears and put their hands up.

“Ha! Cowards!” cried Bataar. “We don’t take any prisoners! Not this party!”

The goblins turned and ran. Only one had been wearing shoes but he had left them were he had stood only moments ago. Then, they were gone.

“Well, now everyone knows we’re here,” I said.

“True that,” said Bataar, putting his greataxe behind his back.

“What made them so scared?” asked Guud, coming out from behind the stone. He was still crouching, making sure the coast was clear.

“What do you mean, boy? Look at me! This face could scare anyone!”

“They didn’t look too scared when they first saw us,” I said, agreeing with Guud. “They looked ready to fight. Very ready.”

Bataar scratched his head and turned around. Then, he himself took a step back. His mouth dropped and he lowered his stance. He grabbed me and turned me.

“What the-”

A white and slimy-looking creature with purple pulsating veins hung upside down on the ceiling of the cave. It had two red eyes and was just slipping a captured bat into its mouth using one of its many tentacles. The bat screeched as the thousands of tiny teeth sucked it in and shredded it alive. How we hadn’t seen it coming in I had no clue.

It spotted us, bat bones dropping from its circular mouth. There was no pause with this beast as it leapt at us with incredible speed. We didn’t have any time to equip our weapons or to even back away. A white tentacle whipped past me and wrapped itself around Guud’s ankle.

“Ahh! It’s got me!”

It swooped the boy up and held it close to its wet body. With another tentacle, it slapped the boy hard across the face, knocking him unconscious. Then, it took off in the same direction the goblins had gone.

“Guud!” I cried, but doubted he could hear me with the sound of the beasts suctioning limbs. Just before it left my vision I was able to target it.

Grottopus Level 25

28

Bataar and I ran after it. Both of us not even having to tell the other what we were thinking. I tried contacting Guud through the chat but there was no answer. His face in my user interface had also become transparent which meant I couldn’t tell whether or not he was alive or dead. If the boy truly was Enlightened then his death would be even more real. There was something like shame seeing another person who could think for himself actually dying.

I didn’t know what we were going to do. This was very risky. We were in their home, their dwelling. All I could think about was how I wished Ushmoe was here. He would know what to do. He knew the mechanics of this world better than anyone I knew.

We stopped when we came to what I had feared most. The tunnel split off into two different directions. Bataar had swept up a burning stick from the fire and was using it as a torch. They already knew we were here so it didn’t matter if they saw the moving fire or not.

We tried our best to be quiet, only the sound of our heavy breathing getting in the way of our hearing, but there was nothing to hear. The Grottopus must have been too far ahead.

“Let’s take left,” I said.

“Good idea,” Bataar agreed.

We started running again. The cave walls zooming past. Bats would open their beady, red eyes to see what all the commotion was. Upon seeing that we didn’t look like a Grottopus, they shut their eyes and went back to their sleep.

The walls picked up light from a flickering fire some ways ahead of us. Bataar stopped his running and put out his torch underneath his leather boots. Then, we slowed to a walk, then we went prone, crawling on our bellies.

Up ahead were the three goblins that had fled. They were resting in what looked to be their sleeping quarters. Lucky for us, it was a dead end meaning we could retrace our steps and take the other tunnel.

We were perfectly hidden on the edge of darkness and could easily have backed away but Bataar was going to have none of that. He was pissed. For what, I didn’t know. It wasn’t the goblins’ fault that Guud had been taken. Either way, I did understand the frustration he was feeling.

He jumped to his feet, targeted the closest goblin and sliced downward with his greataxe. It was a critical hit! Being that the goblins had no idea we were coming.

I ran up behind Bataar and pierced the goblin which brought its health down just low enough for Bataar to finish it off.

The goblins were unarmed and confused, making it super easy for Bataar and me. The second goblin was easier to kill than the first. However, the last one dropped to his knees and pleaded for his life.

“I’ll take you oafs to Hondren! I swear to it! I won’t be any trouble! See, watch this!” The goblin took a deep breath and held it. I guessed that meant he would be quiet or something.

“We can find our way, thank you!” Bataar lifted his greataxe and was just about to strike the goblin dead when I interjected.

“Wait, Bataar! Maybe he can be of use to us!”

Bataar gave me an evil expression. He wanted blood. “Oh yeah, how’s that?”

“Goblin!”

“It’s Grimy,” said the goblin. “Call me Grimy.”

Bataar let his greataxe fall a bit. “Your name is Grimy? As in, grime?”

“Yes, pretty isn’t it?” Grimy gave us both a very toothy smile and a tiny bug escaped his mouth and crawled onto his green scalp.

“Ok, ugh, Grimy, what can you tell us about that Grottopus? How can we kill it?”

Grimy gripped his chin in thought. “Hmmm. First of all, you two are psycho if you think you can take on one of those.”

“We don’t have a choice, goblin!” I said, gripping him by his leather jerkin. I pulled him close to my face. “How do we kill it? You said you wanted your life spared but, as of now, I’m not seeing you as a very valuable asset!”

“Oh God, you’re breath stinks!” said Grimy, holding his nose. “Are you sure you aren’t a goblin, too?”

I dropped Grimy and waved Bataar to go ahead with the execution.

Bataar grinned and lifted the axe one more time.

“With fire! With fire! There! I’m sorry. I’ve never been good with words. Fire, just use fire.”

“Thank you, Grimy. Now, please, lead the way.”

29

Bataar and I waited for the little green man to get all of his stuff. I watched him closely as he picked up a weathered bow, a small dagger, and a medium-sized pack.

Bataar: Ugh, why are we letting him bring along weapons? He’s our prisoner…

I thought about this a moment, then I walked up to Grimy and plucked the dagger from his cold, dry hands.

“Hey!” he hissed. “What gives?”

“We can’t just let you walk around with a dagger. You could literally stab us in the back.”

A smile crossed the goblin’s face. “I would never!”

Bataar tried to grab his bow but the goblin hugged it tightly to his chest.

“Maybe we should let him keep the bow,” I said. “It’d be unfair to let him lead us without at least some form of protection.”

Bataar squinted his eyes at me and let go of Grimy’s bow. The little goblin stuck his tongue out but was forced to dodge a strike from Bataar.

“I don’t trust him.”

“Neither do I,” I agreed.

The goblin placed his head through the bow and let it dangle around his neck. “You two do realize I’m standing here, right?”

“Shut up,” said Bataar and I in unison.

Bataar picked up another flaming piece of wood and both of us followed the goblin back the way we came. It wasn’t but a few steps out that he stopped and bent low to the ground. He blew out a puff of air sending a cloud of dirt. This revealed a small square etched into the cavern ground.

“See this?” Grimy asked, pointing at the square with a broken fingernail. “This here is a booby trap! Strong enough to kill a player of Level 18 in one hit. You two are lucky.”

The goblin snickered and continued to walk. Bataar and I exchanged glances and were extra careful to walk directly behind him.

Bataar: Think he showed us that to get us to trust him more?

Tharis: Probably. I’d have done the same, I guess.

We made it back to the intersection in one piece and just before Grimy was about to take the other path the party, chat glowed. It was Guud!

Guud: Guys? Guys, are you there? You didn’t leave me right? Right?”

Tharis: Hey! Are you okay?

Bataar: Do we look like the kind of guys to just leave a player behind?

Tharis: Where are you?

There was no update from Guud for quite a while and so I told Grimy to pick up the pace.

Guud: Ugh, I don’t know. I’m stuck to the wall. That… thing… he’s saving me for dinner, I think.

Bataar: Just hold on! We’re coming.

Tharis: The Grottopus can be killed with fire. Any ideas?

Bataar: Another bomb?

Guud: I’m all out. I’d need ugh. Hold on.

Guud: I would need two copper ores. I have the rest of the supplies for just one more bomb.

Tharis: Where could we get copper ore?

Guud: There may be a few copper veins somewhere in the cave.

Grimy: I have some copper.

Bataar and I stopped walking and stared at Grimy, who, hearing that we had stopped, turned and gave us a questioning face. “What?”

“What do you mean, what? How are you reading our chat?” Bataar asked. “That’s private!”

“No, it isn’t, stupid Archean! You’re talking in General Chat. You have to switch it to party!”

“Oh,” Bataar said. Then, realizing he’d been called stupid, lunged at Grimy with both hands extended.

“Wait!” I cried. “Don’t hurt him. Grimy, you have at least two copper ores?”

Bataar was holding him up by his jerkin, a scaled fist pulled back and ready to punch. Had he forgotten that Grimy was three levels above him?

Grimy nodded his head. “I do.”

“Can we use them?”

“Can I live?” he asked.

Bataar let go of Grimy and the goblin landed on his butt.

“Yeah,” I said. “Your life for two copper ores.”

Grimy stood and walked up to me. Standing there, his head at my waist, he extended his hand upwards. “Deal.”

Reluctantly, I took the hand and gave it a shake. It was cold and rough.

The goblin turned and rubbed his palms together like he was conducting some evil scheme. I didn’t like it but he was the only option we had at that moment. It was either this or forget about Guud and The Lionheart’s Journey entirely. I could always run away and dig a hole in the ground to live the rest of my days. However, I knew none of that was an option now. I could never live with myself.

Guud: Who’s Grimy?

Tharis: A friend.

Bataar: A prisoner.

Grimy: A goblin.

Guud: I don’t understand, but please hurry. It’s not here right now but I’m afraid that when it gets back it may be ready to eat!

The three of us double-timed it, not taking the time to create chat texts but focusing only on running. A blue light shone ahead and Grimy came to a walk.

“We’ve made it to the river. We must cross one at a time at the bridge ahead or else it may collapse.”

“Ok, lead the way,” I said.

“Tell your friend to extinguish his fire. It won’t be needed. The parts of the cave ahead are lit by Luminmoss, a plant that gives off blue light.”

Bataar, although not happy to take indirect orders from the prisoner, did extinguish his fire and we kept walking. The sound of the river became noticeable to me first, then Bataar which I could tell when he perked up his head.

We entered a vast room illuminated by what Grimy had called the Luminmoss which covered almost the entirety of the cavern walls. Below us, I could see the river flowing rapidly down the center of the cave. In front of us was a bridge that had seen better days. The wood looked to have rotted a long time ago and there were holes on each and every plank. There was no rope to hold on to so each of us would have to balance. My hands grew clammy just thinking of it.

“Ready?” Grimy asked.

“You first,” said Bataar.

“What if he runs away once he makes it to the other side?” I asked.

Bataar thought about it a moment, “Good point. Then, you hold on to him here and I’ll go first.”

I nodded at him and gripped on to a piece of the goblin’s jerkin.

“Why is everyone grabbing my clothes? I’m not going anywhere! I want that damned thing killed just as much as you two!”

Bataar couldn’t hear us by now. He’d taken his first two steps onto the bridge and extended his long arms in both directions to keep his balance.

“Why do you want it dead?” I asked him. “Don’t all of you cave dwellers work together?”

Grimy spat, “Hardly. Hondren basically keeps us held captive as well. All of us were too afraid to go against him. Wait till you see that big ass oaf. And that Grottopus, well… it’s killed too many of my friends to count!”

I didn’t say another word but nodded my head. I hated myself for actually feeling sympathetic for the nasty, little creature. But who was I to judge, really? Were these the right thoughts to have, being that I was now Enlightened? Didn’t every being deserve a chance?

“I made it!” called Bataar from across the bridge, his claws cupped over his dragon snout. “Send over the green booger!”

Grimy wiggled under my grip and I could see him grip his fists. I let go of his jerkin.

“Go easy on him,” I said. “He’s not too bad of a player. He’s just been screwed with by a lot of other players.”

Grimy looked up at me and I couldn’t tell what he was feeling because his black, beady eyes gave nothing away. He then looked back at Bataar and slowly made his way across the bridge.

Now, it was my turn. I walked up to the edge of the creaking bridge and instantly felt my stomach drop as soon as I looked down. There was no way in hell I’d have enough stamina to survive those rapids!

I let out a deep breath and took my first step. So far so good. I took another step, then another, then… CRACK!

The two lines that connected the bridge behind me snapped and I was tumbling downwards. I fell forward and gripped one of the planks. The bridge was still attached at the top and the now swinging ladder smashed hard against the other rocky cliff.

Health: 72%

Pain surged up both my hands and I could see that I had smashed my fingers between the board and rock. I gritted my teeth as tears filled my eyes.

“Oh shit! You alive down there? Tharis!”

“Yeah!” I called up. “I’m all right! Just give me a minute.”

There was no way I could use my fingers to climb, not in their condition. I would have to find another way to make it to the top.

30

I could feel the bridge lowering. I looked up and could see the rope fringing on the sharp edge of the cliff. I needed to think fast.

My fingers were useless, but luckily the adrenaline that rushed through my veins dulled the pain allowing me to think. I flattened my hands and used my palms rather than my fingers to start my climb.

Although the pain wasn’t as bad as it could have been, my slow ascension was still agonizing. My forearms were shaking terribly every time I lifted them to place my palm on the next plank. I could feel Bataar’s and Grimy’s stares on the top of my head. Neither of them said anything, thankfully, allowing me to concentrate fully.

Then, the worst possible thing that could have happened, happened…

The durability of the rope hit zero and snapped. I dwindled motionless in the air before plummeting down. I was just about to let go of a scream when the bridge came to a sudden halt. The jolt sent my left hand flying off, leaving me with just one palm still connected.

I looked up to see not just Bataar, but Grimy as well, holding on to the remaining pieces of rope. I could see the veins on their faces from here as their stamina slowly drifted closer to zero.

It was now or never.

I quickened my pace, ignoring the screams coming from my fingers. I let out a huge huff of air with every level until, finally, I pushed with my last bit of stamina and went just half a foot into the air, both my arms sprawling above my head.

Grimy and Bataar were there. Each of them grabbed a wrist and pulled me up. All three of us laid there, our breath heavy and loud. It was cold in there. How was I cold from all that exertion? Probably because my blood had chilled from the fright of it all. I’d almost died.

Then, something strange happened. We all started to laugh. Not just a chuckle, but a full on laugh! I guess that was the sort of thing that happened when you brushed so close to death.

“Ok,” I said. “We need to get going.”

Tharis: Guud, you still with us?”

Guud: Yes, but please hurry. I’m… scared.

Tharis: Don’t worry. We’re coming.

“So, how are we going to get out?” Bataar asked, leaning over the edge of the cliff.

“The bridge will respawn after a time,” answered Grimy. “It should be up by the time we get back.”

I looked back at where the bridge should have been and dreaded the thought of having to cross over it again.

We stood and took off down the next tunnel which was also lit by the Luminmoss. The ground and walls were slowly getting more and more slippery, a white, translucent slime now covering them. That was how we knew we were getting close to the Grottopus’ home.

Guud: I can hear you guys. Hurry, it isn’t here yet.

We turned the last corner and found Guud stuck to the cavern walls about two feet above the ground. This was another large room with two large doors on the opposite side. I guess that was probably where Hondren’s living quarters were.

I ran up to Guud. His face was more pale than usual and I could see his cheeks turning blue. It looked like he was running out of oxygen. Quickly, I pulled out my sword, targeted the slime and struck. The goo faded to white smoke and Guud fell to the ground, gasping for air.

“Thuh… thanks!” he gasped.

Bataar walked up to him and beat on his back. Slime flew from his mouth and there was more where that came from. A coughing fit came next and so did more batches of the slime. I didn’t want to think how all of that got inside of him.

Grimy stood back from us, gagging at the sight.

“This should be nothing for you!” Bataar yelled at him. “You probably eat this stuff for breakfast.”

“We goblins may have appetites for vile things but… that’s too much.”

I bent down next to Guud. “We have the two copper ores. Can you make the bomb?”

Guud coughed up once more and nodded his head.

“Grimy! The two copper ores please!”

Grimy waddled over to us, his hands in his bag. He pulled out two palm-sized ores and handed them to Guud, who, upon seeing the green hand and yellow fingernails, was hesitant before snatching them up.

He sat on his butt and pulled out a few more of his own supplies which looked to me like a hammer, some metal wire of some sort, and cotton. He placed all the supplies on the ground and hit them once with the hammer. A white light shone for an instant before disappearing, leaving a small bomb.

“Now, I gotta learn that trick!” exclaimed Grimy.

“Where did you see the Grottopus go?” I asked Guud.

He was shaking now, his face still blue but not from lack of oxygen. He cupped the bomb in trembling hands and held it to his chest.

The ground beneath us quaked and I asked again, “Guud! Where is it coming from?”

Guud looked up at me but didn’t answer. In fact, he asked me a different question entirely. “I heard you say you saw Lehn, my brother. What happened to him? I can’t reach him through chat…”

The question took me off guard. I didn’t know how to respond, but my open mouth and wide eyes must have given him the answer he needed to hear. His face went zombie-like and turned an even lighter shade of white which I didn’t think could be possible.

He stood up and so did I. I wanted to apologize, I really did, but I was stunned. No words formed in my head and none came out of my mouth.

The quakes stopped. There was a small crack in the far side of the room and that is where the Grottopus squirmed out its head. Two red eyeballs found us immediately. It wasted no time before pulling itself out and making a dash for us.

“Quick! Guud! Give me the bomb!” I thrust my hand out but Guud did not give it to me.

“Give him the damned bomb, you idiot!” cried Bataar, charging at him.

Guud, seeing Bataar coming for the bomb, ran away, directly into the path of the Grottopus.

I watched as the young blacksmith pulled flint and stone out of his pocket. With only two hands he was able to snap the flint and stone and light the fuse, all the while running to meet his doom.

There was no saving him now.

Guud stopped right in front of the Grottopus’ path and hugged the armed bomb to his chest. He did not look back at us. His knees and elbows were not trembling.

I watched as the ten foot beast swallowed the boy whole, blood shooting across the room and onto the opposite wall.

Then… BOOM!

31

I hadn’t known it at the time, but I had been running towards Guud, trying my best to catch him. My injured right hand was out in front of me ready to push him out of the way.

The blast took me off my feet and slammed me backwards into Bataar who slammed backwards into Grimy. We were covered in the beast’s sticky gore.

I rolled off of Bataar and used my index finger to pop a hole into the slime that covered my mouth. I took a big, deep breath and cried out in frustration. This was two times I had lost someone in this damned world! I hadn’t even been alive for more than a month and, already, I had lost two friends.

Bataar put his hand on my shoulder. We were quiet for a bit until he said, “Enlightenment comes with a cost. We feel things others do not, Tharis. I don’t need the wizard to tell me that.”

Tears dripped out of my eyes. My ears were ringing. My health was below 15%. I was miserable.

Grimy walked up to us. He wasn’t smiling his usual smile but crossed his arms in front of his waist and bowed his head. We gave Guud a moment of our thoughts. Neither Bataar nor I realized that we had just leveled up. Myself, once, and him twice.

* * *

Grimy turned out to be a very useful goblin. He built us a fire and was able to catch a few rats to put over its flames. The food restored my health and brought my hands back to normal. Bataar fell asleep, leaving just me and Grimy to talk.

“Why’d you do it?” I asked him.

“What are you talking about?”

Grimy snatched another rat just as it had peeked its head out of a small hole in the wall. He pierced it with his stick and placed it over the flames. I watched as the small animal cooked. After a while the fire would change the rat’s status to edible and they didn’t taste half-bad.

“You know what I mean. Why’d you save me?”

Grimy spun the stick in his hand, pulled the rat out of the fire and took a bite from it. He chewed a bit until he said, “I guess… I don’t know… I guess I was just returning the favor is all.”

At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about and then, thinking back, I guess I did sort of save him from Bataar. Even though the old Archean wouldn’t have been able to finish off the goblin, I certainly would have stepped in and done it myself. Grimy must have known this.

“Yeah, well, I guess I’ve seen too much violence lately.”

“What? You don’t like killin’ things?”

“It’s not that. I love the feeling of leveling up and all, it’s just… I lost a good friend back in my starter village. Things have just been too real. The feelings and emotions. The strange thoughts that constantly run through my head. I…”

Grimy had stopped chewing and stared at me with his black eyes. I watched the fire dance in their reflection. The goblin had a face that rested only in a state of anger but I could tell that he wasn’t mad or anything. He looked intrigued.

“Go on,” he said, taking another bite.

Figuring there would be no harm in telling him about the quest Bataar and I shared, I did so. I told him everything. From Ushmoe’s dying, to the Golden Alliance, to The Lionheart’s Journey. The goblin stayed quiet, only nodding his head at the pauses in my story and, of course, the occasional bite of his charred rat.

“And that’s my story,” I said, finishing up my life’s epic in a five minute speech.

Grimy snorted. “I’d heard about the Lionheart. Never did I guess you’d come to Hondren’s Cavern, not in a buzzillion years.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“So, now you’re here to save Ronin, eh? That’s gonna be tough. Hondren’s a Level 30 Orc and he’s big. Very big.”

“Is there a way to kill him? A way that we could use our brains rather than brawn?”

Grimy thought for a moment and then, snapping his fingers in the air, he said, “Food! That big oaf can’t get enough! Why, that was mostly our jobs as his henchmen was just to fetch him lots and lots.”

“What did he eat?”

Grimy turned away instantly. He slapped himself hard in the face. “Stupid, stupid! I’ve said too much.”

“What is it, Grimy? What does he eat?”

Grimy wouldn’t look at me and then, I knew. Hondren ate goblins.

“So that’s why you worked for him. You had a deal with him! He wouldn’t eat you on account that you would bring him goblin meat.”

“Yeah, well, I ain’t too proud of it. But, I got to survive! Like you said, it’s a violent world. Not sayin’ there’s something wrong with some good violence every now ‘n then but not when you’re on the other side.”

“Well… how could we go about getting goblin meat?”

Grimy’s eyes widened and his hand went to his hip, a vain attempt because he no longer had his dagger.

I put a calming hand up. “Don’t worry, I’m not talking about you. But is there some other way?”

Grimy looked at me through squinted eyes, unsure whether or not to trust me. Then, he put his hands on his lap and we thought a moment. Simultaneously, we look at the slimy loot bag of the Grottopus. We hadn’t looted it yet.

“That thing ate goblins, right?”

“Yeah, it did.”

“There’s probably a good chance that thing has some goblin meat or something in it, huh?”

“Yeah,” Grimy agreed. “Good chance.”

“Jeez… it must have sucked to live in a place where the two biggest beasts wanted nothing better than to eat you.”

“Yeah,” Grimy agreed. “Sucked major balls.”

We both walked over to the bag and looted it.

“Yes!” I cried, waking up Bataar from his sleep. He mumbled something about not wanting to go to the circus.

“What’s with all the ruckus! Can’t an old Archean get any sleep around here?”

“Come loot this thing!” I cried over to him. “We need goblin meat!”

“What in the hell are you talking about?”

“Hondren eats goblin meat,” Grimy said. “There, you’re caught up now.”

I opened my bag and looked at what I had just acquired.

Two Slabs of Goblin Meat

Helm of the Grottopus

I checked the stats of the helmet and they were lower than mine. So I traded it to Bataar who also walked over and looted the beast. Now that all three of us had taken from it, the bag disappeared into smoke. I wondered if part of that smoke had been Guud. I shook the thought out of my head. I had work to do.

“What did you get?” I asked Bataar.

“Well, I got two slabs of meat, and these.”

Bataar equipped two white vambraces that looked to have been made with the fleshy carcass of the Grottopus. Then, he equipped the helm and Grimy and I fell to the floor laughing. I laughed so hard that my stomach began to ache.

The helmet was basically the very top arrow shape of the Grottopus with two eye holes crudely cut out. He looked ridiculous.

“Well, I’m not taking it off! Its stats are way too good! Plus, I didn’t have a helm to begin with.”

I rubbed the tears out of my eyes and stood. “Sorry about that,” I said. “Wait until you see yourself!”

“Yeah, whatever. Grimy, what did you get?” asked Bataar. That was the first time he had used the goblin’s name.

Grimy, noticing this as well, said, “I got two of my brethren’s meat slabs.” Then, after a pause, he said, “That was the first time I’d looted anything. Didn’t know that was possible for a non-player character like me.”

I hadn’t thought of that. Grimy wasn’t a player but an NPC. One that players could kill and gain experience from if they wanted to. How had he been able to loot? Did it have something to do with being around us? Being around those who were Enlightened? Anyways, I pressed away the thought until later.

“Now, what should we do with this meat?” I asked out loud to anyone who had an idea.

“Poison,” Bataar and Grimy said at once.

“Ok, and does anyone know anything about poison?”

Grimy shrugged. “I know a bit of herbology. You got to when you live primarily in the swamp. We use some of the plants to treat our bug bites, wounds, and sometimes we make food from it. Betcha I could whip something up.”

“What would you need?” I asked. “Hopefully, nothing too hard to get. We’ve come this far already.”

“Well, I need the blood from Moss-Quitos that live outside. After that, all I need is crushed Luminmoss which will be easy enough.”

“I could go get the Moss-Quito blood,” said Bataar. I turned to him and had to almost use a bit of my stamina to hold back my laughter. He looked utterly hideous in the helm of his. “But, let me go by myself. Take me out of the party, too. That way you don’t take all my XP. I need to level up a bit more before we take this Orc on. I’ll be useless in there now with my current level.”

“He’s right,” Grimy said. “He could be one shotted very easily.”

“What’s one shotted?” I asked.

“Means I could get killed with one hit,” answered Bataar. “Well, I ain’t asking permission.” He took himself out of the party and I watched his face disappear out of my UI. “I’ll see you guys soon. I won’t die, that’s a promise.”

“But wait,” I called after him. “Aren’t you afraid of insects?”

“You have to be tough in this world, Tharis,” he called over his shoulder. Then, he stopped and turned. “You have to take risks in order to level and live. That means me conquering my bug fear.”

I wanted to protest but thought better of it and just let him leave. He was right. If we were going to survive in this world we were definitely going to need to take risks. There was no way we would survive at our current levels, Bataar was right about that. We both needed to do some leveling.

I sat down and decided now would be a good time to check out the traits system, whatever that was. There was a small flashing exclamation point in the top left of my vision and I concentrated on it. About a million windows popped up and I figured it was time to do some reading.

32

The first pop up read:

Congratulations on hitting Level 21! You have been given 3 points to place into the skill tree of your choosing. Pay close attention and make sure the skill you are choosing is the one you truly want, for once chosen there is no going back.

“Oh, that’s lame,” I said to myself, catching Grimy’s attention.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Well, I just got my first skill points and I’m guessing I’m going to have a lot of options to choose from, right?”

“Yeah, that would make sense.”

“Ok, well it says my choice is permanent.”

Grimy scoffed. “That isn’t true. I’ve heard of some skilled people in the capital city who can change it.” His smile broadened a bit. “That’s, of course, if you have the right amount of gold.”

“What’s the capital city in the Kingdom of Ashvell?”

Grimy raised an eyebrow, “You’re telling me you’ve never even checked your map?”

“If you were listening to my story, goblin, then you’d know I’ve been a bit busy.”

Calling him by goblin didn’t faze him. “Just check your map then, why don’t you?”

Grimy was right. I couldn’t rely on everybody’s help all the time. I needed to figure all of this stuff out on my own. And so I opened my map. I saw my triangle hovering over the tan-colored Hondren’s Cavern. I zoomed the image out too far and saw the entirety of the Ashvell Kingdom which was in the shape of a sideways oval. The other side had darker shading and it merely said Dark Faction over it. Guess I wasn’t allowed to know what was over there until I actually arrived there.

I zoomed in a little more and was able to spot the plains in which I had done a lot of my training. Until now, I didn’t know it had a name. Neophyte Plains. I traced my vision upwards, skipping over a bunch of smaller villages like Ashvell, and other objects that looked like mountains, rivers, and… cemeteries? Then, I found it. The capital city, which was ridiculously easy to spot due to its size on the map as compared to the other markers. There were three large towers with small details of stone, and a tall wall that encircled them. Inside the walls were tiny buildings which I guessed to be shops and houses.

Its name was Titania.

I closed the map and brought up my notifications again. I closed the initial prompt and opened the next which was a lot wider. At the top read:

Choose your Specification!

Shield of the People: Tank

Warrior of the People: DPS/Tank Hybrid

Zealous Crusader: Tank/Healer Hybrid

I concentrated on Shield of the People and a tiny description appeared:

The Shield of the People is just what the title says. You are the one who stands in the way of those who would harm those you love. You take the hits so others don’t have to.

I chose Warrior of the People next.

You are a mighty Warrior and foes think twice before they engage you. Not only can you take a decent amount of damage but you can deal it as well.

The next option was Zealous Crusader which didn’t sound anything like the other two which gained my attention. Its description read:

You understand that there is a chance that one of your comrades or loved one will fall during a fight. You are not only their shield but the one who can bring them back from the brink of death.

It didn’t even take me half a second before I chose Zealous Crusader as my specification. After the prompt disappeared, I felt pretty confident in my decision. I was getting tired of those I cared about falling in front of my eyes. Now, at least, maybe I could do something about it.

The next screen was the same size but showed four upside down trees of different orbs that were blacked out from my vision. It was impossible to plan for the future and I would have to guess which was the proper option based on the description of the tree. Now that Grimy had told me that there were ways to undo these selections, I was a little less afraid of choosing the wrong one.

The first tree read:

Protect the Pride: This skill tree offers you the most protection with a mid-sized selection of skills to healing.

The next tree was:

Heal the Pride: This skill tree offers you the most healing options with a mid-sized selection of skills towards protection.

The third tree, called Alpha Male, was a hybrid between the first two classes.

And once again, it was the last selection, the one with the strange name that grabbed my attention. It, too, was a hybrid of the first two which didn’t make sense being that the third class already catered to that. The tree was called:

Scar: This tree of skills is not for the feint hearted. You are a hybrid of healer and protector and will do whatever it takes to protect those in your party.

Being that the skill below was shaded out and impossible to read, I went with my gut and chose the Scar option. I focused on the selection and was given the quick small prompt:

This skill takes three skill points. Do you confirm?

I didn’t have much of a choice, even though that sucked up my entire amount of skill points, which made me wonder… would I be able to unlock the other three skill trees? I guess that I probably could but refused to ask the damned goblin. He’d most likely give me a snotty remark.

I confirmed the Scar selection.

Congratulations! You have unlocked the skill: Feed Level 1. This ability allows you to consume parts of your dead enemy in order to gain health from it. You can keep this health for yourself or give it to another player or NPC.

I closed out the window and instantly felt and knew how to use the Feed ability. It was like second nature. This seemed like a pretty dark ability for a Lionheart but I’ll be damned if that ability didn’t sound pretty useful.

I closed the class tree window and was left with one last one.

Congratulations! You have gained the specification: Zealous Crusader. You have selected the skill tree: Scar. You will gain another 3 skill points at Level 25 and will then gain a skill point each level after that. Good luck!

I rested my head on the cold stone, relieved that all of that was taken care of. I hoped I had picked all the best selections for my style of fighting. However, this wasn’t the time to start second guessing myself. I’d made my decision and that was final. I was a Lionheart, a Zealous Crusader, and now a Scar.

* * *

Bataar gently shook me awake from a dreamless sleep. I targeted him and clapped my hands a few times. He’d made it to Level 19.

“Didn’t have it in you to make it to Level 20?” I asked him. “Or were the Moss-Quitos too much for you to bear?”

“You bastard,” he said, sitting down next to me. “It took a lot just to get this far! Those damn bugs don’t give off a whole lot of experience like you’d think.”

I checked his health and saw that it was at 19%.

“Looks like you played it pretty close.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, a bit. I probably should have come back earlier but… well, I just wouldn’t have been much of a help. A burden more like it.”

“Sure, but you could have died,” I said, sitting up. “This world isn’t a place to gamble health points.”

These words angered him and he put a red-scaled finger in my face. “Don’t you go telling me how to live. You may have saved my life multiple times but you have to remember, I made it into the Ashvellian Kingdom all by myself. I don’t need you, Tharis. I can handle myself.”

I raised my eyebrows and looked away. The tension between us felt awkward. I wasn’t mad at him or anything and he was probably right. I was acting like a mother cow caring for her babe. Maybe I needed to back off.

“Sorry, Bataar. It’s just-”

“Yeah, I know. We’ve all lost players, Tharis. My Enlightened mentor was like a father to me, even though it wasn’t a long time that I knew him.” He paused and thought a moment. “I don’t think it takes long to start to care for someone in this world. This damned cutthroat world.” He looked at me now and I mean he really looked at me. His gaze tore into mine. “You’re going to have to take risks if you want to survive here.” He punched me in the arm and I knew then that it was okay between us.

Grimy was staring at us from across the dying fire. He rubbed a finger across his eye and pretended to flick away a tear. “That was real beautiful guys, but did you forget? We have a four hundred pound gorilla of an Orc in there that is getting hungry.”

“He’s right. Let’s get in there and kill us an Orc.” Bataar stood and gave me his hand. I grabbed it and he hoisted me up.

“Yeah, let’s do this!” I smacked my fist into my palm. “For Guud!”

Bataar mimicked my battle cry, raising his greataxe into the air.

“Shhh! He’ll hear you two fools!” hissed Grimy.

The goblin stood next to a smoking, black cauldron. I walked over to it and peeked inside, instantly wishing I hadn’t. The brown goo popped and bubbled as it dissolved the bones of Grimy’s past comrades. And the smell! It was like a mixture of dead animals and bad gas.

“Now,” said Grimy, rubbing his hands together. “All we do is add the final touch and…” He looked over at Bataar who returned his gaze with a dumb look.

“Oh! Oh yeah. Here you go.”

Bataar traded Grimy the Moss-Quito blood and the goblin chucked it into Hondren’s soup without a drop of delicateness. The liquid inside, if you could call it that, turned a shade of light pink and the smell… actually smelled okay, maybe even edible.

“All right. Now, all’s we have to do,” Grimy said, turning to the large, wooden door across the Grottopus’ lair.

All three of us gulped.

“Come on, guys,” I said. “It’s now or never. We can do this.”

“Yuh-yeah! Yeah, we can!” Bataar said, his words not seeming very confident.

We walked towards the door. Grimy, with a surprising amount of strength, carried the large cauldron all the way. I was just about to reach out and grab the bronze, circular door handle when Grimy slapped my hand out of the way.

“Were you born yesterday?”

Well, almost I thought to myself.

“You two have to stay out here! He can’t know any dragon people or pointy-eared humans are in his lair! Come on now! Use your head!”

“Tharis, if this green guy doesn’t stop talking to me like this I’m going to have to-”

“Bataar, take that side of the door and I’ll take this one.” I walked to the left side and put my back to it. Bataar’s face went serious. He shut his mouth and put his back against the opposite wall.

Grimy took a deep breath through his nose and let it out of his mouth. “All righty, show time!”

This time, I did reach out, grab the door, and open it for him. The massive, wooden plank on hinges was easier than I thought and opened without a single creak. Grimy walked in, taking the air of a nasty goblin henchman but he was actually a nasty goblin who was about to kill his master.

Without knowing what else I could do, I let the weight of the door shut itself.

33

Bataar and I put our ears to the door, trying without success to hear anything that may be going on in there. We couldn’t hear a thing.

Bataar: You don’t think that green bastard is ratting on us, do you?

Tharis: I sure hope not. Either way, it’s the same. We just kill both.

Bataar: Why are we doing this again? I’m not scared or anything. Just forgot.

Tharis: This quest is going to get us a step closer to seeking out Muzuhlan. I think this may be the only way he will talk to us.

Bataar: You mean talk to you.

Tharis: We are going to talk to him together.

There was a pause.

Bataar: Thanks, man. So many questions and I need answers. I have these ideas of mine.

I was breathing heavy now. My nerves were setting in and I could feel fear rising up within me. I didn’t want to go in there and face an Orc. I really didn’t. The risk was too much. But I had to. I had to get closer to the truth and this was the only way.

Tharis: What ideas?

Bataar: A guild. You. Me. We run it together. You know, once we get a little more gold flow.

The thought of owning my own guild brought a small rush of excitement. Maybe it was the thought of being an authority in this world. Maybe it was the fact players would look up to me for once. Maybe-

A loud BOOM exploded through the walls and the ground trembled beneath our feet. We looked at each other with wide eyes.

“What the hell was that?” Bataar asked, equipping his greataxe. His forked tongue flickered from his mouth as he turned to the door.

I also equipped my shield and sword, backing away from the door. “I don’t know, but that sure didn’t sound like Hondren falling asleep.”

“Yeah, like the exact opposite,” Bataar said. “Now what?”

Why was he asking me? Like I had any idea what to do. I just knew to poke the monster with the sharp end of my sword.

Suddenly, the large doors to Hondren’s lair flung open and out came a fearful little goblin out of the darkness, both of his hands in the air as he screamed, “Run! Run for your no damned good lives!”

The goblin ran past us, his tiny feet moving a mile a minute. He ran all the way to the other end of the Grottopus’ lair, hiding behind the wall of the exit, his little face just visible.

Footsteps could be heard now. Big footsteps. The ground beneath our feet shook more violently with each step the Orc took towards us. Then, they stopped.

A lime green hand appeared slowly out of the black and gripped the edge of the door. Next came another hand, but gripped within its fingers was a massive, wooden club with the face of a skull etched on the top of it.

“I knews somethin’ was uh wrong with that soup!”

A head appeared, one eye scratched out from a past battle, the other a creepy, small one. A long, dirty, grey beard sprouted from his chin and fell to the ground. The Orc took a few more steps out and it was then that we got a full taste for the fight to come.

The Orc was hunched over but still must have been ten feet tall! He wore no armor besides a small piece of cloth to hide his junk. His head was bald and two wax-filled ears were attached to either side of his head, one ear apparently having been half-chewed off.

“Whoa!” he said, the smell of his breath almost causing me to fear away. “What’s we gots here? Two drum sticks? Ha!” He took a step closer.

Not knowing what I was doing, I raised my sword at him and said, “You there! You have taken two prisoners that are very dear to me! Release them and there shall come no harm to you!”

Hondren looked at me and tilted his head. Did he not understand a word I had just said? With his free hand, he scratched himself in an undesirable spot, sniffed his fingers, and let out a huge fart. Then, he said, “Ahh, you two is here for two lions beasts, yeah?”

I nodded my head, afraid the Orc could hear the rattling of my plate armor due to my uncontrollable trembling. I targeted him.

Hondren Level 30 Demi-Boss

“Well’s I didn’t know that the two Lions belonged to you twos. I’s sorry.”

“Go get them!” I yelled at him. “Now!”

Hondren hocked a lugi and spit it so far that it hit the opposite wall, pinning a poor cave bat to the wall. “Well sheesh! No need to be rude! I go gets ‘em!”

Hondren turned around slowly, the remnants of his fart wafting towards us. I used my shield but it was useless. I looked over at Bataar, who was close to gagging, and shrugged at him. He shook his head at me.

Bataar: This ain’t right, Tharis.

Tharis: No, it isn’t. What’s he up to?

Bataar: I don’t know, but be ready.

We heard the opening of a metal gate followed by a rough rustling noise. Then, the footsteps headed back to us. Out came Hondren with two lions beneath his armpit.

“You talkin’ ‘bout these two kitties?” he asked, gesturing at the lions with his club.

“Yes!” I cried with my heroic voice. “Release them and we will be on our way!”

Hondren stood still a moment. Then, a crooked smile broke out on his face. Without warning, he dropped his club forcing Bataar to jump out of the way of its heavy fall. Then, the giant Hondren grabbed the lions, one in each hand, and chucked them as far and as hard as he could.

I watched in slow motion as both lions flew across the blue, cold room of stone and smack against the wall. The sounds of sick crunching bones combined with the loud bellows of the lions filled the room.

34

I turned back around and looked up at Hondren who was digging in his nose.

“Kitties go bye bye! Ha! Ha!”

“You son of a bitch!” I screamed, rushing towards him with my pierce ability.

Hondren, who I would have thought to have had a very slow agility, surprised me by smacking the sword directly out of my hand. He circled his hand in the air and was about to do the same to me. With quick thinking, I placed my shield in front of my body.

WHAM!

I was flying in the air, the oxygen knocked completely out of my poor lungs. I landed with the sound of my plated shoulder pauldrons slamming against the stone. My head was facing sideways and I caught a glimpse of my sword. I was just about to reach for it when Hondren took to the sky, which grabbed my attention. Never would I have thought this obese creature to ever have pulled off a feat like this.

His large shadow crossed the room towards me, his arms spread out like a bird. I could see Bataar running after him but it was too late.

“Body slam!” cried the Orc, landing sideways across my legs.

Two loud snaps filled my ears and blood shot out of my mouth and back into my eyes. The blood was followed by vomit caused by the sheer amount of pain coming from my legs. My head shook back and forth and my thoughts were everywhere. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know who I was. The only thing I knew was pain. Lots of pain.

Hondren turned his head and smiled at me.

“Oopsie.”

Bataar rose above the Orc and landed a pierce attack to the demi-boss’ back. It was a critical hit due to the fact that Hondren hadn’t been paying attention. The Orc’s stats flashed in my vision.

Hondren’s Health: 92%

Reality started to slowly set back into my brain but everything was still buzzing. I couldn’t move my legs but that might have been because Hondren was still laying on them. The pain was reawakened when he tried to roll off.

Feeling useless, I tried my best to think of something I could do. Anything! Bataar couldn’t take this damned Orc by himself! It needed teamwork! And so I tore through my brain trying to find anything I could do.

And there was only one thing.

I reached out with all my might, grabbed my sword, and plunged it downwards into the back of Hondren’s hand and straight into the stone below his palm. I did all of this before the Orc could stand.

“Hey! That not fair!”

Hondren tried to grab his wrist and pull free his hand but could not. However, every time he moved he sent a wave of pain through my broken legs that he now sat up on.

Warm tears filled my eyes and I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out.

Bataar swung again, this time with his strike ability to its head. This time he wasn’t so lucky. Hondren, who looked to not have been paying attention, turned and grabbed Bataar’s arm, and crushed it within his grip.

“Ahh! Oh my God!” screamed Bataar. “You bastard!”

Hondren, now angry, flung Bataar without any stupid words leaving his mouth. He then turned his attention back to the freeing of his hand which was a torturous chore for me to have to endure while under his weight.

I looked back at Bataar and saw him move. Thank God he was still alive. He picked himself up with one arm and stood, using his greataxe as a cane. Then, I caught a glimpse of his arm and I thought I was going to puke. It looked like a skinny worm contorted in all different directions.

There was movement in the corner of my eye and I turned my head to get a better look. I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was Grimy, heading towards me. In his hands was the black cauldron filled with soup. But how was he going to get the damned Orc to drink from it? Hondren was stupid but he wasn’t that stupid.

An idea popped into my head. If Hondren wasn’t going to drink consensually then we would have to force it down his throat! And I thought I may know a way to do that.

I watched as Grimy approached and just when he was with arms reach of the Orc, I twisted my body, grabbed the hilt of my sword and pulled it towards me, its blade slicing sideways on Hondren’s hand.

“Ahh! Ouchie! Ouchie!” Hondren cried, falling to his back, his mouth wide open in pain.

Grimy, seeing his chance, ran up to Hondren and poured the contents into his mouth.

The Orc, now hacking and coughing up the disgusting soup, was flailing even harder. In his rage, he was able to pull the sword from the stone and get off of me. Air that I didn’t know was missing rushed back into my lungs and I took the biggest inhale of my life.

I didn’t want to look down at my legs, but I had to. The left one was smashed completely flat, the foot and knee twisted to the left. The right foot was straight but bent backwards so that I could see the tip of my boot pointing at me. The chain mail had been no match for the Orc’s obesity.

The effects of the soup must have started to work because Hondren was now spinning out of control. He flung his club a ways away and vomited up a mixture of bone and black mess. He tipped up onto the tip of his toenails and, at last, fell back onto his back, sending up a large dust cloud. This was all followed by very loud snores.

“I thought…” I said, trying to speak through the pain. “It was supposed to… kill him.”

Grimy looked at the Orc and scratched his head. “I put enough poison in there to kill a damned whale! Looks like the big guy was tougher than-” Grimy stopped and stared at the mess that was my legs. He turned away from me as he fought back a gag. “Looks like we will have to finish the job,” he said.

I looked down at my mangled legs. “And how… am I supposed to do that?”

My health! I hadn’t checked my health! How close was I to dying?

Health: 9%

This didn’t surprise me in the least. If anything, it surprised me that I was still alive. Then, while still checking my health, it changed.

Health: 8%

“Grimy!” I yelled. “I need health! The Orc’s damage must have a lingering effect because my health is still going down!”

“Oh, right! Well, I don’t… shit.” Grimy scanned the cave. “I don’t think we have the herbs to create a healing potion,” he said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. “I’d have to leave the cave… but I don’t think that’d be enough time. I’m… sorry, Lionheart.”

Health: 7%

I refused to think that I would die from this ass of an Orc. No, I wasn’t going to die. I would live! At this point, I would do anything to stay alive. And in the face of death, I somehow found confidence.

Health: 6%

I could feel the desire and the actual belief that I was going to live through this all the way deep inside me. It was in my bones! And then, the answer was there. My newest ability.

Feed.

35

I used my right hand to turn my body around so that I was now facing the sleeping Hondren. Then, using my palms, I drug my useless body with as much strength as I could muster. Agonizing pain shot through my legs as they grinded against the ground. I made it a few inches.

Health: 5%

Stamina: 48%

I shot my arm outwards again, slapped flat ground, and pulled. Made it a few more inches. My breath was heavy now and sweat was dripping into my eyes. Grimy, not understanding fully what was going on, rushed towards me and grabbed my arms.

“Take me… to Hondren…” I said, my voice barely a whisper now.

Health: 4%

Grimy didn’t ask why but pulled. My vision of the cave turned red which mixed with the already blue hue making a beautiful purple. What was scary was how, with every passing second, I cared less and less about my health dropping.

Health: 3%

Grimy dropped my hand onto Hondren’s forearm. A new surge of adrenaline rushed through me and I bit my lip as I pulled my face towards the Orc’s yellow skin. My face fell onto his arm and I had to force my mouth open to chomp on the vile skin.

Health: 2%

I used the Feed ability and took my first bite. A prompt opened in my vision asking me if it was myself I wanted to grant the health to. I accepted and kept on chewing. Warm meat filled my mouth and it was deliciously sweet. I became ravenous, not able to stop myself. I was past the skin, past the muscle, and my nose hit the bone. I turned and kept chewing as if I was eating corn on the cob.

Grimy took a few steps back, his hand raised to block his vision. His knees were shaking.

Health: 46%

Health: 59%

And that’s when the meat in my mouth revealed its actual flavor. The sweetness turned to saltiness and the smell became apparent. I spit out the remaining Orc flesh from my mouth and licked the bottom of the cave just to rid myself of it.

I fell to my side and laid there in the fetal position for a few moments, my body trembling. I looked down at my legs and felt relief like I never had before. They were there, back to normal.

“What. What was that?” asked Grimy, staying his distance from me.

“A new ability,” is all I said.

We rested for a moment before I realized I had totally forgotten about Bataar. I jumped to my feet and ran to him. He was still standing, resting against the pole of his greataxe. His arm looked like hamburger meat.

“Bataar, are you-”

“Does it look like it? I’m hurting here…”

Bataar’s Health: 11%

“I’m going to heal you,” I said, running back towards the sleeping Orc who now only owned one arm.

Bataar didn’t answer back but concentrated on his breathing. I reached the Orc, plugged my nose, and use the Feed ability, hopefully for the last time. I took a deep bite of his shoulder, tears falling from my eyes as the horrible taste hit my tongue. The same prompt popped into my vision and I selected Bataar as the recipient this time.

I looked over at him while I chewed and watched as his arm straightened and gained mass. Bataar looked down at his appendage and shook it a few times. Then he looked at me and I saw his eyes widen. He pointed at me.

“What… what are you doing?”

I spit the meat out. “It’s an ability. If I eat the meat of my enemy, I can heal myself or anyone else.”

“My God…”

Grimy tapped my shoulder and pointed at the two lions. I stood, blood covering my cheeks and chin, and made my way towards them. As I got closer, I could see that both their bellies rose and fell. The bigger of the two lions, however, had a slight stutter with each inhale.

Once all three of us were close enough, it was hard not to take in the beauty of these creatures. The larger of the two looked older, his muzzle covered in old scars and grey filled his orange mane. The other, however, was a lot smaller, his hair was a lot shinier. The younger one did not share the same yellow and orange pattern of the bigger one but was solid white, all except for his black nose.

“Come closer,” came a soft purr from the older one.

And so I did. I walked up to him and took a knee. I unequipped my gloves and petted his soft mane. It was thick and tough but still soothing to the touch. The lion purred deeply now.

“Thank you, for coming. That was very brave of you.”

Ronin spoke all of this without his mouth moving and with closed eyes.

“The lion beneath my back paws is… my son. We are both… dying. No possible way to save us both.”

“Yes! Yes I can! I have this new ability and-”

“Your ability does not work on NPCs of the demi-boss variety. And, my son and I both carry this attribute. No… there is no way. However, I am not saddened. I will die in peace knowing my son will live on.”

“But how?” I asked him.

“Take good care of him, Tharis. Please, tell him I love him and… that I’m sorry.”

Pieces of the majestic lion began to flake off into the air, each piece turning to smoke after it had drifted a few feet. This went on for a while and I turned to see Bataar wiping away tears. He quickly turned away from me. And were those tears in Grimy’s eyes as well?

The smoke did not disappear, however, but came together and flew softly into the younger lion’s nostrils. The lion’s body, which was still rather huge, shrank to half its size and… POP! All three of us jumped, our adrenaline still rushing from the fight. The lion had disappeared and what was left was a small stone.

I stood up, replaced my gloves back onto my hands and walked over to the stone. There was a red flashing mark engraved into it which I guessed to be some sort of rune. I reached out and touched it. As soon as I did this the stone disappeared into a white energy that encompassed my arms and absorbed into my body.

Congratulations! You have acquired your first mount! Feel the wind in your hair as you charge towards your enemies on the back of Spartacus, the White Lion! This mount will increase your movement speed by 40%.

All I could do was stand there dumbfounded as excitement filled my inner gut.

“What? What is it?” asked Bataar, walking up to me. “Don’t leave us in suspense!”

I turned to him, smiled a bit, and called upon Spartacus.

36

I puckered my lips and whistled in a way I did not know that I could. White smoke appeared a few feet away from me and it began to take shape. Within only a few seconds, a white lion had taken form. It looked up at me, its eyes telling me that he was confused. Not only that, but I could actually feel its emotion and I think it could feel mine. It somehow knew what was going on as if it had just read my mind. Spartacus’ ears fell before lifting its head to let out an ear-splitting roar that had all three of us covering our ears.

“Hey there,” I said, slowly reaching out to pat its head. The lion did not retreat but its eyes squinted at me. Was I friend or foe? “I’m not going to hurt you.” I laid my hand between its ears and gave it a gently pet. Its hair was coarse but softer than its father’s. Its left ear flicked as I gave it a scratch. “I’m sorry about your dad. I lost someone today, too.”

Spartacus tilted its head and I released my hand. As I was pulling my hand back, Spartacus licked the top of it. Then, it turned and faced the sleeping Orc.

“What are we going to do with him?” asked Bataar, gripping his greataxe tighter, his dragon tail whipping back and forth anxiously.

“We kill it,” I said, walking over to my sword sticking out of the Orc’s hand. I grabbed the hilt and slid it out easily. “Hey Spartacus, want to take the first hit?”

The white lion trotted up to me and knelt on its front two paws. It then jutted its head upwards gesturing towards its back.

“I think it wants you to get on it,” said Grimy. He reached out a green hand to touch the lion’s hind quarters but was met with a low growl. The goblin quickly pulled back his hand. “Fine, be that way. I don’t wanna pet you anyway. Probably got fleas or worms or somethin’.”

“Like you don’t,” said Bataar.

“Ha ha, that’s very funny coming from a snake man.”

“Why you…”

I ignored both of their arguing and hoisted a leg over Spartacus. As soon as my butt hit its back, a prompt came to my vision.

Congratulations! You now have access to special mount abilities! At the moment, you have 1 skill point to spend. Your mount will level up just as you do as long as it is summoned. You will gain access to more skill points as your mount grows. If your mount’s health is ever brought down to 0% take a piece of its body with you to see an animal trainer. They may be able to help you.

Congratulations! You have 1 skill point to spend on your Class Mount: Spartacus the White Lion Level 20.

My heart raced a bit with excitement. Not only did I get this super cool-looking mount but it could actually use abilities!

I quickly exited both of the prompts and opened up Spartacus’ skill window. There were two trees each with much less abilities than that of my own.

The first tree read: Combat and the other tree read: Utility

The first two abilities were visible but the others below it were shaded out and illegible. The first under combat was Paw which I assumed meant Spartacus would be able to strike his opponent with his paws. The first skill under tricks was Speak.

I selected the ability paw and confirmed. A white light flashed over Spartacus and me. The lion beneath me stretched its body and gave another massive roar, interrupting the argument between Grimy and Bataar. It turned its head and looked at me with one eye. It was ready to be taken for a test drive.

I leaned forward and so Spartacus walked forward. I sat back and it stopped. Once we’d gotten closer to the sleeping Orc I sense that Spartacus was just itching for the first hit.

Bataar and Grimy had walked up to our right, interested to see how this was going to play out. I petted Spartacus on his thick mane and said, “Go for it.”

The big cat lurched forward nearly knocking me off the furry seat. It pulled up one massive paw and struck the Orc directly in the face. Although it was a critical hit because the target was sleeping, the damage wasn’t all that great. However, it wasn’t about the damage. It was the point.

Between my legs, I could feel tension loosen from the lion’s shoulder and it backed off a bit.

“How’s that feel?” I asked it. The lion answered with a soft purr that I could feel come up my legs. I bent low to one of its upright ears and whispered. “Your father says he loves you and that… he’s sorry.”

Spartacus bowed its head then raised it. I figured it was a sign of appreciation.

“Now, it’s my turn!” exclaimed Bataar, jumping into the air and dropping his axe directly on the closed eyelid of the Orc. There was a gushy pop as blood ran down its face.

And still it slept.

“Geez, Grimy, how powerful is that stuff?”

Grimy raised his hands and shrugged. “I dunno! I thought the big guy’d be dead by now. I put enough in there to kill a whale!”

“You said that already.”

“No, I didn’t,” said Grimy immediately.

I hopped off Spartacus and walked towards the Orc. I used my pierce ability, sticking my sword into its fat belly.

Hondren’s Health: 56%

Bataar walked around the enemy and took care of the other eye as well. He had a good idea. If Hondren did wake up, it would be blind. Luckily, it never did wake up.

I shoved my blade into its heart and left it there. I took a step back and we all watched as its health lowered bit by bit.

Hondren’s Health: 22%

Hondren’s Health: 17%

Hondren’s Health: 12%

“Wait!” Bataar yelled, “I have an idea!”

I ran over to my sword and pulled it out before Hondren was defeated. “What’s that?”

“Make me a leader of the party,” he said, unequipping his greataxe.

“Ugh, sure. No problem.”

I selected Bataar and made him leader. What he did next took me by complete surprise.

37

I looked down at my chat as a new notice glowed within it.

Grimy has joined your party.

I looked up at Bataar and then at Grimy, both of our mouths were open in shock.

“But… how…” I stammered.

Bataar let out a little laugh and scratched behind his horns. “Oh, I don’t know. I just kinda had a feeling it might work. I mean, the goblin sucks and he stinks but… can’t just leave an Enlightened NPC to fend for himself.”

“You think he’s Enlightened?”

“No offense, Tharis, but I’ve been alive longer than you and… I’ve just never met an NPC who helped out a player without it being a quest. Just thought I’d give it a try.”

Grimy was looking down at his hands. He would turn them over and then flip them back. He wiggled his fingers and then I watched him look up to the top right of his user interface and, there, I knew he was looking at his name in the party. Then, he turned away from us. But he couldn’t hide the one tear that fell from the corner of his beady, black eye.

“Good thinking, man. Now he will get XP for this kill.”

“Yeah, I thought he’d probably follow us anyway. He seems creepy that way. Might as well level him, too.”

Grimy would usually have turned and fought these remarks but he was too busy pretending to be having bad allergies.

I checked back on our target.

Hondren’s Health: 3%

I could see the tension in Spartacus’ shoulders was back. Its eyes were squinted and its breathing was heavy.

“You guys mind if-”

“I think it needs to be done,” said Bataar. “Let the son finish him off.”

I nodded at him and jumped back onto the lion. I was just about to lean forward when Spartacus took off without me having to tell it so. It struck one last time at the Orc’s head leaving four bright red slashes across his face.

Hondren faded slowly into a green gas that wafted into the air. Although the Orc was dead, his smell still lingered. The ground where his sleeping body had been was still covered in his sweat and blood. His loot bag appeared just a few moments after his gas disappeared.

Congratulations! You have acquired Level 22!

I was going to check my chat to see how Bataar had faired but I didn’t need to. The dragon was suspended in the air and his chest arched forward. Even from this angle I could see the gleam in his eyes as his sub-class was awarded to him. His body drifted downward after a few moments of glory.

Congratulate Bataar! He has acquired Level 20!

“Damn!” I said, “Congrats, Bataar! What sub-class did you get?”

Bataar was smiling from what I assumed to be ear to ear.

“I’m a barbarian now! Woohoo! Here, I’ll copy the message in chat.”

Congratulations! You have proven yourself worthy of the Rare Sub-Class: Barbarian. Barbarians are fearless Warriors who prefer the use of big weapons and armor found in the wild such as leather, foliage, dried mud, and, sometimes, cloth. Your answer is always fight first, ask questions later. This class is acquired through not equipping any armor type above leather until hitting Level 20. Your ability choices will be of the melee and strength variety.

After reading this, I gave him a small applause and said, “Did you get any armor?”

“Sure did!” Bataar pulled out his bag and started looking anxiously through his inventory.

The hilarious squid helmet was replaced by a half-skull helm with two tusks sticking out the sides of its cheeks. Equipping this helmet also brought a black line of ink across his green eyes. His draconic chest and leggings were replaced with a feathered sort of skirt that looked bad ass. Around both of his wrists appeared bracelets made of a different assortment of bones and leaves. His leather shoes disappeared and two anklets of the same bone style appeared.

It was when he equipped his new greataxe that something crazy happened. He grew… bigger. His muscles became engulfed and I swear he was a few inches taller now. The greataxe itself wasn’t rusted like his other one but shiny and razor sharp with two edges on each side. Bataar spun it around so I could see the sides of the metal. On it was the etching of some sort of skull from a beast I didn’t recognize.

“This… is… awesome…” Bataar said, running his hand down the haft of his new weapon.

I realized then that I had totally forgotten about Grimy. He was on his knees, his body shuddering. I checked the chat and scrolled up.

Congratulate Grimy! He has acquired Level 19!

This was the first time he’d leveled.

Bataar walked over to the goblin and clasped him on the shoulder. “It’s an amazing feeling, isn’t it?”

“It’s… more than amazing,” Grimy said through a shaky voice. “I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

“Trust me,” Bataar said, “it gets addictive.”

I wondered to myself what sub-class Grimy would get once he hit Level 20. I didn’t think NPCs were given classes like actual players were. So what did that mean for him? I made a mental note and assured myself Muzuhlan would be able to answer this for me.

I hopped off Spartacus and it pawed softly at my feet. Did its eyebrows just rise at me? I targeted it and saw the it, too, had leveled up once!

“Hey, congratulations, Spartacus! Welcome to the team.”

Spartacus closed its eyes and nodded its head. A prompt jumped into my vision.

Congratulations! You have completed: The Lionheart’s Journey. You have received your class mount and you have also received experience. Muzuhlan will surely be pleased to hear of this. He’s waiting for you.

Those last words were odd. He’s waiting for you. The prompts had never really been worded in that way. It was like someone had written that specifically for me.

“Hey, guys, I think Muzuhlan might be waiting for us outside the cave. I just completed the quest. Here, I’ll copy the text in chat.”

I waited for them all to read it. It looked as though even Spartacus was able to get its hands on the chat text as well.

“He better be outside,” said Bataar, placing his new double-bladed greataxe on his back. “Feel like I’ve been chasing this crazy wizard for too long!”

I was just about to mount Spartacus and make for the exit when something shiny caught my eye. It was coming from the room Hondren had first left.

“Hey, do you guys see that?”

I pointed at Hondren’s lair and, sure enough, something was twinkling in the darkness.

“What is that?” asked Bataar, squinting at the small light that glimmered.

“Grimy, is there anything in there we should know about?”

Grimy stood up and looked over at Hondren’s lair. He rubbed his chin and said, “Not sure. Not that I know of anyways.”

I looked over at Bataar and asked, “Should we take a look?”

Bataar laughed. “I’m feeling so much like a BAMF right now, I don’t think anything could take me down. Let’s do it!”

38

Before we went to check out the mysterious light, we each looted the medium-sized bag left over by Hondren. The results were much less than I had expected and I tossed two of the three items.

You have acquired Goblin Bone!

You have acquired 1 Gold Piece!

You have acquired Hondren’s Stained Groin Sash!

“There isn’t anything in here but a bunch of garbage!” exclaimed Bataar, flinging the groin sash at Grimy who wasn’t fast enough to move out of the way.

“Hey, dammit! That’s disgusting!”

“You’re a goblin,” Bataar said, shrugging. “Didn’t think it’d bother you.”

Grimy was breathing hard through his nose. “You just wait! I’ll get you back, my friend.”

“Oh, we’re friends now, are we?” asked Bataar, a sideways smile forming on his face.

Grimy didn’t answer but turned away.

After receiving the disappointing loot from Hondren, we made our way slowly to the giant doors that now stood open. The smell was so bad that I had many thoughts to turn and run, but I pressed on. Maybe whatever was in here would redeem Hondren’s less than spectacular loot. It didn’t seem right that after defeating such a difficult demi-boss that we would be given crappy loot.

However, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. This could easily have been a trap, but how could I ignore the shiny thing? Hondren didn’t seem the type of Orc to own nice things. I had to know what it was.

Carefully, Bataar and I entered the lair. Although it was dark for Bataar, I knew that there was enough Luminmoss on the ceilings to shed the necessary amount of light for him to see.

“Tell me I’m not crazy,” I said. “You saw the sparkling light, right?”

“Yeah, I did. All I see, though, is the dirty rags he slept on, a pile of bones from his victims, and… don’t tell me that brown pile over there is his-”

“There!” came the rough voice of Grimy, pointing his finger at the far wall. “I just saw it again!”

Bataar and I looked over at where he was pointing and, sure enough, we both caught the sparkle. It was coming from a very thin crack that was about four feet up from the ground. I walked over to it and placed my hand on the stone. A prompt appeared.

You do not have access to this storage facility. A key is required.

“Bataar, touch the wall.”

He extended his hand and poked at it with a finger. I watched his eyes and knew he’d seen the message.

“Did he drop a key for you?” he asked me, pulling out his own bag and checking.

“No, I didn’t get anything like that.”

I bent over and put my eye to the crack. It was far too dark to see what was inside. That didn’t make any sense because I had always been able to see relatively well in the dark. Maybe you couldn’t see into storage facilities? Maybe it was private only to the owner?

“Grimy, what about you? You get any sort of key?”

Grimy shook his head. “I got nothin’.”

I bit my lip. Even in death, the freaking Orc held something over our heads.

I opened my bag in a futile attempt to see if I had anything that could help us and…

Skeleton Key

Whoa, was that the answer? Would this get us into Hondren’s Storage Facility? Either way, I was going to find out. I grabbed the key and touched it to the wall.

Do you wish to use your key on Hondren’s Storage Facility? Once used, the durability of the Skeleton Key will hit 0% and be destroyed.

I confirmed and the key between my palm and the wall obliterated into tiny pieces. The cavern all around us shook as the stone door rose higher and higher, sending clouds of dust all around.

Light instantly became available in the room and the three of us just stood there, our mouths open in shock.

“Whoa,” is all Bataar said.

I walked into the room and was surrounded by around ten shiny pieces of ore. I picked one up and examined it.

Katchin Ore Ultra Rare

Grimy rammed into me as he ran into the middle of the room. He started to hop up and down like a child. He was even singing! He fell to the ground, rubbed his face on the ore, and turned on his back to make an angel out of the settled dust.

“What’s gotten into you?” I asked him.

“What?” he asked, his eyes wide and incredulous as if what I had just asked was blasphemy. “Do you not know what this is? This is a small fortune of Katchin Ore! Easily worth four hundred gold easy!”

I shook my head in disbelief. “How can that be? How did Hondren get his hands on this?”

“Beats me! I sure as hell wouldn’t have brought that smelly giant nothin’ like this! Woulda kept it to myself! Yup, sure woulda.”

Grimy was sifting through the medium-sized ores and started a mini-avalanche. In doing so, he accidently revealed a piece of parchment attached to the stone wall. I ripped it down and was about to read it when it disappeared from my hands and reattached itself onto the wall.

“Whoa,” I said, placing my hand over the paper.

Congratulations! You have killed the owner of this home and have discovered the deed. Claiming this deed as your own gives you all rights to this structure and you may do with it as you will. Structures such as these can be used for: habitation, store fronts, brothels, hotels, crafting, storage, gathering, etc. Do you wish to claim this structure as yours? You may also place up to five names on a deed. Do you wish to confirm? Or do you wish to add others to this deed?

I shook my head in disbelief. Nothing in this world seemed free and I was a bit skeptical. This sounded way too good to be true. Well, I guess it wasn’t free. We did have to kill a demi-boss to get it.

I felt a twang of greed enter my mind and I quickly disbanded the feeling. I would not be stealing from my friends. They had just as much claim to this as I did.

“What’s that?” asked Bataar from behind me.

“It’s the deed to this dirty cavern. Apparently, we can actually claim it as our own.”

Grimy dropped one the ores he was hugging very tightly and looked up at both of us. I couldn’t read the little, green face but if I had to choose what I thought he was feeling, I’d say it was curiosity. He wanted to see what we were going to do.

“All of us are going to put our names on this deed,” I said. “This can be our home. We have nowhere else to go and it can sort of be like a safe haven for us.”

Grimy put a hand to his heart and backed up a few steps. This goblin was greedy… or was he? Was that another tear I saw in his eye?

“Yeah! Hell yeah! Let’s do it! A place just for the three of us. I mean, just look at this place!” Bataar gestured his hands towards the exit of Hondren’s lair to the cavernous area we had just come from. “So much room for activities!”

I smiled and revisited the prompt in my vision. I added all three of our names and confirmed.

Another prompt replaced the last and I guessed it toggled in the other’s UI as well.

Congratulations! You and two others: Bataar and Grimy, have obtained the deed to the Dreaded Grog Bog Cavern! Please note that any other player can infiltrate your home and steal the deed. All they have to do is reach out and touch the paper while you are incapacitated, dead, or away. Please be sure to hide it well. If you have any questions on what you can and cannot do with your new home, please revisit the manual which is posted behind the deed. Welcome home.

“Huh, I guess that’s why the dirty Orc hid it here,” Bataar said. “Pretty smart for an eight hundred pound buffoon.”

“True that,” I said, rereading the text before exiting out of it. “So now what?”

“Guys! Look!” Grimy was pointing at a semi-shiny vein that blended in very well with the stone. If the goblin hadn’t pointed it out, I never would have seen it.

“So that’s where Hondren was getting the Katchin Ore,” I said, “But how was he-”

“There,” Grimy said, now pointing at a pick axe at the other side of the room. It was small in size and must have been like a toothpick for Hondren.

Of course, I had to pick it up and try it at the wall. It was super light and it only took one of my arms to swing it. The pick axe clinked loudly against the vein.

You do not have the necessary skills to mine this ore. Please see a miner for proper training.

“Oh, guess I should have known.”

“What?” asked Bataar.

“Gotta have the mining skill,” I replied.

“Ahh, that makes sense.”

I offered the pick axe to Grimy. “What about you? Do you have the mining skill?”

Grimy took the pick axe but shook his head. “Sure don’t, but I do knows a guy who can help sell this ore for a better price than auction house markets.”

“How do you ‘knows a guy’,” asked Bataar, crossing his arms over his chest. “You were an NPC before we got to you.”

“Yeah, I know that… I think,” Grimy said, scratching his hairless head. He thought a moment, both eyes shut. “A-ha! You see… if you two would have interrogated me as a prisoner, I believe it would have been an option for me to say. At least, I think so. I dunno. I don’t really care about all that. All I knows is that I want some gold! It’s in my blood!”

We left the room, the Katchin Ore split between us. The door to the storage room shut behind us. We used the pick axe to dig a small hole where we buried the deed.

The light at the end of the cavern was welcoming. However, the humid air I felt run through my hair was not. I was tired and I could feel my hunger building up steadily. It would be time to eat soon.

Bataar nudged my ribs. “Hey, did you ever notice all the strange things that happened when you became Enlightened? Did you teleport to places? See things that shouldn’t have been there?”

“Yeah,” I said. “It was a really weird experience. In fact, it’s the reason why I’m still breathing, actually.”

“Phew! Thought I was going crazy but, hey… nothing happened when Grimy became Enlightened. Not one spectacular thing. Do you find that strange?”

I looked at the top of the cavern. A couple pairs of red eyes from the bats looked back down at me. “You’re right,” I said. “Nothing strange did happen. I wonder why that is.”

It was right when the light of the sky hit my head that so did a thick net. It covered my entire body and the weight of it brought me crashing down. Mud splashed as my face slammed into the ground but I quickly shook my head to snap out of it. Quickly, I wiped the wet terrain from my face and went to grab my sword but a heavy pair of boots fell onto my back and a hand clasped down on my wrist keeping it pinned to the ground.

I wiggled and squirmed as hard as I could, anything to release the grip of the person on top of me. If I could just get to my sword-

“Good work, apprentice,” said a voice a few feet in front of me. It was young sounding and even a bit sing-songy.

I struggled to get my head up and saw that both Grimy and Bataar had been taken down. Bataar, too, had someone on top of him. My eyes were just about to register on his face when something hard hit the back of my head. Darkness followed instantly.

39

When I awoke, I was greeted by a starry sky. My hands were cold and ached from lack of blood. I looked down at them. They were bound tightly by rope which was connected to a thick tree behind me. I checked my health and saw that it was below 35%. The hunger I was experiencing was close to a dangerous level.

With a pounding head, I took in my surroundings. All three of us had been tied to the same tree. Grimy was on his side, still unconscious, while Bataar was wide awake. He didn’t need to turn his head to know that I was also awake. Neither of us spoke but listened. My heart was beating so fast that I was afraid that our captors could hear it.

I saw the orange light of a fire with two players sitting at opposite sides of it. I could hear their soft talk but even with my half-elvish ears I couldn’t make out the words.

And so I lay there, concentrating on my breathing and trying to keep my fear level down. I needed to find a way out of this mess or it would surely mean my death. What could these two possibly want from us? We had nothing. Did they want the cavern? They could have the smelly place!

Or was it that damned Golden Alliance? Couldn’t those guys just leave us be? No, it couldn’t have been them. They would probably just have killed us on sight. That’s why they had sent Chirosh to kill us. They had no more interrogations for us.

Then who were these two?

I tried my very best to relax, listening to the crackling of the fire. I figured maybe I could talk my way out of this. Or maybe the other two had a better idea. If words weren’t going to work, then maybe we could all three rush them with our bodies or find something sharp to take down the durabilities of our bindings.

Just then, the two players stood from their seats by the fire and I targeted them. What I saw gave me an ember of hope.

Tahshine Level 22 Shadow (Trickster)

What was she doing here? Didn’t she recognize me? Of course she did. I saved her ass from Toxhin back in those tunnels. Then why was she doing this to me?

The other player I did not know but his name made my blood run cold.

Inotep Level 28 Bearheart (Trickster)

The title Bearheart stood out in my mind and I instantly knew that this was not a coincidence. Whatever reason this Trickster had captured me was for the sole purpose of my title being similar. As for the reason why? It looked like I was about to find out.

The Bearheart left Tahshine and walked over to where we sat. Even though I’d heard the prettiness of his voice before, it shocked me to hear it up close. He spoke in a normal tone but it was loud given how quiet it had been moments ago.

“So, you’re the Lionheart everyone’s talking about?” he asked, crouching down beside me, just outside my reach.

I had closed my eyes when he had started walking over this way. Did he know I was awake? Or did he just not care.

I chose to speak. “Yes, I guess I am. Didn’t know I was that popular.”

Grimy stirred awake next to me. “Hey, what gives!” He squirmed a bit but stopped once he targeted the Bearheart.

“Why does a righteous Lionheart make friends with trash?” asked Inotep, looking over at the goblin.

I expected Grimy to take offense and shout out something at the Bearheart, but he remained quiet. As for Bataar, he kept still and remained looking at the sky.

“He’s not trash. He’s a good person.”

“He’s a goblin!” shouted Inotep, making me jump at the suddenness of it. “Players don’t party with creatures. We complete their quests or we kill them.”

This time, Grimy did speak. “I’m no creature! I probably became an NPC once these two captured-”

“Shut it! Or I’ll kill you first!”

I hadn’t seen Inotep’s arm move to equip a dagger but there it was, its blade shining in the moonlight. I could tell the weapon must have been powerful because there was a small amount of red aura dancing around the hilt.

“So, that’s your plan? You’re going to kill us?” I asked him.

The light from the fire flashed just right and I was able to get a look at his face. It could have been considered handsome with a squared jaw, proportional eyes that radiated a bit of blue, and ears that were the same size as mine. He was a Half-Elf.

Inotep looked back at me and rubbed his fingers down his dagger. “There can only be one of us, Tharis. You see, I don’t want any other player sharing a legendary heart of the beast title with me. It has to be just me.”

“Heart of the beast?” I asked.

Inotep laughed. He laughed so hard that he fell onto his ass and rolled a bit. I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks from embarrassment and all I could think about was killing this guy. PKing just one player wouldn’t make me a monster, would it?

“How does the famous Lionheart not know a thing about his own prestigious title?” He wiped a tear from his eye. “Here, I’ll let you in on a secret that isn’t so secret. We’re brothers, Tharis.”

He must have seen my eyes widen because he was back on his back laughing his ass off at my expense. I gritted my teeth until the fool was done cackling.

“We aren’t truly brothers! Idiot! We are brothers by the series of our title only! There are others out there, mind you. Others who have done extraordinary feats like you and me!”

I was afraid to ask this Bearheart what it took for him to get his title.

“I’ll tell you why I got this title. It was actually pretty easy. Don’t tell anyone.” The sicko winked at me. He bent down closer and whispered, “I killed over thirty players before I reached Level 20.” He got closer to my ear and added, “Players of our own faction.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bataar shudder. Had he heard of this guy before?

“Now!” exclaimed the Bearheart loudly, making me jump again. “I must log out. It’s dinnertime, see? And the cooldown on the ability you will experience tomorrow takes twelve hours. Seeing as though I already used it early this afternoon on some poor sap, you three must wait to see it! GN!”

Before I could ask him what he meant, the player disappeared right before my eyes. The last thing I saw wasn’t his waving hand at me, but it was the crazed smile he had on his face.

40

I wormed myself across Bataar and had been yelling at Tahshine for a good part of the night. Not only was she ignoring me but she was asleep on her side, her back pointed towards us. At least, I guessed she was asleep.

“Tahshine! Come on, you know me! Why are you letting that creep do this to us?”

“Just give it a rest, will you?” said Bataar. “She ain’t coming over here.”

“No, she knows me. I know she does! We were in Ashvell together.”

I tried calling out to her one more time before putting my back to the tree’s bark and sliding downward.

“Tell me you guys saw that Inotep guy disappear,” I said.

“Yeah, what about it?” asked Bataar, looking genuinely uninterested. He was playing with his claws, his face deadpan. Had he given up?

“What do you mean ‘what about it’? The guy said something about logging out and then he was just… gone.”

“Yeah, players do that. Not us,” Bataar said, “but the ones who aren’t Enlightened. I don’t know why it happens but it’s just like their creator needs to recover his own stamina. At least, that’s my theory.”

Grimy wasn’t listening. He was busy gnawing at his iron chains like a trapped rat.

“So you’re saying whatever controls these players, purposely makes their host disappear?”

“Look, I don’t pretend to know what logging off means. I haven’t been alive long enough to ask and it doesn’t seem like any of us will have the chance anyways.” Bataar then looked over at Tahshine. “I’m guessing she’s Enlightened, too, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I said. “She didn’t log off like Inotep did. I must have accidentally Enlightened her back in the tunnel.” I was just about to ask more questions about the whole logging off thing but Bataar interrupted me before I could ask it.

“We can talk to Muzuhlan about all that. If we make it out of this alive. Which I doubt.”

“Why are you being like that? It’s like you don’t care at all anymore.”

Bataar’s face was already red but it looked to have gotten even more red. “Look, I’m afraid all right! All three of us are.”

He looked up at me and I could see true terror in those Archean eyes which wasn’t helping with my own anxiety. “You’ve heard of the Bearheart before, haven’t you?”

“Everyone’s heard of the Bearheart!” Grimy chimed in, his mouth a bit bloody from chewing at his bindings to no success. “He’s a legend! Well, more like a nightmare but you get the point.”

“So he isn’t lying when he says he killed all those players?”

Bataar and Grimy both shook their heads.

“Great,” I said, putting my back to the tree and resting my head backwards. “Then he won’t lose a bit of sleep over killing us.”

The three of us were quiet. I turned back around and tried yelling again at Tahshine but still she did not answer my calls.

“If we do come up with a plan,” whispered Bataar, “then I sure as hell wouldn’t say it too loud. Seems like your girlfriend over there doesn’t give two damns about you.”

I put my hands to my face. Bataar was right. Sure, we’d had a close call together. But that didn’t make us friends. Even when I saved her life by dragging her ass out of the water, she didn’t bother to give me a thank you. She was one strange player.

“You’re right,” I whispered back. “She can’t be trusted.”

Bataar lifted up his iron cuffs and whispered, “I think I may be able to get out of these.”

I didn’t take my face out of my hands. “What are you saying?”

“Like I said, I think I can get out of these.”

I peered at him through my fingers now. He didn’t look like he was joking. “And you’re just telling us this now?”

“Yeah. I’m not a hundred percent sure but I could give it a try.”

“And what if it does work?” I asked. “Then what?”

“That’s why I didn’t say anything,” he said. “I wasn’t sure.”

I nodded my head and looked back at Tahshine. I tried to think of all the possible options we had but there was truly only one thing we could do. Run.

Bataar and I exchanged glances. He knew exactly what I was thinking. Running would be our only option. To run as fast and as far as possible.

The Archean pierced his lips, took in a deep breath, and let out a tiny flame from his mouth. Slowly, he lifted his wrists to his mouth. The metal chains holding the two cuffs together turned a bright orange before melting and falling to the grass between his legs. The cuffs lost their durability and disappeared.

We looked over at Tahshine. Thankfully, she was still on her side, facing away from us. Was she truly asleep?

Bataar took my wrists next and I gave Grimy an apologetic look. The fire took hold to the metal, stronger this time, burning my skin and taking one percentage of my health.

“Sorry, about that,” Bataar said. “This is only my third time using this ability.”

I pulled my hands apart and stretched. “No worries, my hands were numb anyway.”

This whole time, Grimy had been holding his hands out waiting semi-patiently for his turn. Bataar equipped his greataxe and not so carefully sliced through the chain links.

“Ahh, I wanted to see the fire,” Grimy whined, rubbing his wrists.

“Next time,” Bataar said. “Now what? Where do we go?” He was looking at me as if I knew the answer.

“Anywhere but here!” I said. I turned, picked a random direction, and started walking towards it, trying my best not to step on any dry leaves or twigs. Grimy and Bataar followed suit. Once we were a safe distance away, far enough away that Tahshine wouldn’t hear our footsteps, we started to run.

We ran until our stamina hit zero which meant we ran until Grimy would have to stop and catch his breath. This was fine because Bataar and my stamina stats weren’t that far away from his.

We’d made it to the end of the forest. Before us was a cliff that, yet again, brought sweat to my palms. I walked over to its edge cautiously and looked over it. The unlucky player to fall to those depths would surely find instant death. There was nothing down there but hard ground. No bushes or anything to catch your fall.

A quest prompt popped into my vision and the suddenness of it made me jump a bit. I saw that Grimy and Bataar were busy, meaning they had received it, too. It read:

Well, hello there, mighty adventurers! It is I! The great Muzuhlan! You are closer to me than you might think and I would fancy a visit from you three! From where you stand, there is a tiny hill not too far in the distance called Pally’s Refuge. I will be waiting there in a white gazebo. You’ll instantly recognize me for I will be wearing my best purple silk wardrobe! I’m sure the three of you have so many questions for me. Be warned, the answers will not be what you expect. Do you accept this quest?

Bataar had already accepted and was staring off into the distance, most likely thinking about his past mentor. Well, I guess I couldn’t really pretend to understand what he was thinking. We’d had no time to rest, escaping near death experience after near death experience. We were mentally exhausted.

I was just about to suggest we head that way when my chat lit up.

Inotep: I’m coming for you.

41

I copied the chat message to Bataar and Grimy. We looked at each other, fear and exhaustion written into our faces. Then, we ran and we ran like mad. I opened my map and, trying my best not to trip on anything, discovered Pally’s Refuge which was very close to the capital city Titania.

Tharis: Follow me, guys. It’s this way.

It wasn’t a few seconds after I sent that message that I heard the whistling of some flying object headed towards me. I sprinted with all my might but it was no use. Something caught me by my ankles and spun themselves pulling my feet close together and forced me to bite the dust.

“Ah, damn!” cried Bataar, coming to a halt so fast that he had to dig his feet into the dirt to come to a complete stop.

I looked down and targeted the thing wrapped around my ankles. It was called a bola and looked to be a thick piece of string with a rocked tied to each end. I quickly used my fingers to try and unravel it but it was no use.

Grimy made it over to me first and was just about to bite at the bola when Bataar shoved him aside.

“Move, goblin!” commanded Bataar, who was just about to cut the string with his axe when another bola came out of nowhere and wrapped the greataxe tightly to his head. “Ah!” he cried, letting out a mouthful of flames. The bola caught on fire but was not burning the Archean’s face. He fell to the ground and put the flames out by rolling his head in the dirt.

Two figures stepped out from the foliage. I could see Inotep’s burning, blue eyes before anything. I turned and looked at the horizon and figured that this would be the last sunrise I would ever see. It was sad, but I’d never really gotten to enjoy all the smaller things because I had been too busy running for my life and frankly… I was sick of it.

“Take this off me and I’ll fight you fair and square,” I said, taking a knee and standing up carefully. The way the bola kept my feet so close together had me feeling like a complete idiot.

Inotep was snickering which meant he was probably thinking the same thing. That bastard.

I was done talking. I equipped my sword and was just about to snap the bola with its edge when Inotep’s shadow stepped in front of me and pushed me backward. I fell like a tree that had just been cut down. I held strongly to my sword with my right hand but flailed with my left. I was able to barely catch myself and was just about to try and stand up when Inotep gave me a nasty kick to the ribs.

“Oof!”

I was on my side now, dangerously close to the edge. I watched as Bataar charged Inotep like a bull, his head and greataxe parallel to the ground. Inotep sidestepped easily and tripped Bataar who also fell very close to the edge.

All the while, Tahshine watched this sad event play out, her face emotionless. I caught her eye and she quickly turned away from me.

Inotep bent low to me again. I tried to headbutt his face but he was too quick for me and pulled his head back with ease.

“Now, now, that was a cheap move,” he said, which was ironic for his fighting style. This guy was nothing but cheap tricks.

He rolled me over onto my back with his foot. “Before I show you my special ability, I want to answer your question. My answer is no. I will not unbind you and play your little game. You’re not the only legendary Beastheart titled player in this game and my time is best spent tracking the others down.”

I asked another question, trying to buy time. “What do you mean by game?”

Inotep’s eyebrows came together and his face was that of genuine confusion. Then, he shook off the question and stood up. “I know what you’re trying to do. I’m not just another handsome face,” he said, tossing a lock of his long, blue hair over his shoulder. “I know you’re probably contacting your guild for help. Well, I won’t have it! No, I’ll be long gone before your guildies arrive.”

Inotep equipped the glowing dagger and fiddled with it in his hand. His licked his lips and looked at me hungrily. He reversed his grip and took a low stance. “Feast your eyes on-”

The Bearheart had completely forgotten about Grimy, who lunged from the side and was now riding on the back of Inotep.

“What the… get off me you disgusting goblin!”

Grimy was biting down on the Half-Elf’s shoulder and a little dribble of blood ran down his black cloak. Inotep punched him in the face and Grimy fell onto his back but he was up within half a second.

“Tahshine! Take care of this beast, will you?”

Tahshine didn’t move but stood there holding her elbow with the opposite arm.

“Tahshine!” Still, she didn’t move. “Ahh, you’re worthless. I’ll take care of it myself.”

I hadn’t been looking at Grimy and didn’t notice him pull out a club almost double his size. Wait, that was Hondren’s club! He must have received it has part of his loot!

Grimy hoisted the club awkwardly and was just about to swing it at Inotep but he was far too slow. Inotep didn’t waste anymore time and had shadow-stepped behind the goblin, hoisting him up by his jerkin. He smiled at me before tossing the goblin over the edge.

“No!” I cried, watching as Grimy sailed over the top of me and over the edge.

A flash of red jumped over the cliff after Grimy. It was Bataar! His face was dead serious and his hands were in the form of a diver’s position. The last glimpse I got of him was his long, clawed hands grabbing on to Grimy’s arm.

Then, they were gone.

Anger pulsed through me. Inotep had his arms crossed across his chest and had been watching the entire scene with interest.

“Wow! Some friends you got here!”

Ignoring his words, I hopped to my feet while whistling out for Spartacus to come to my side. I had just enough time to cut the bola before the Bearheart’s shoulder slammed into my gut knocking me, once again, on my back. I pushed him off, rolled backwards, and stood beside my lion.

The adrenaline couldn’t mask all of the exhaustion, hunger, and pain I was feeling right about now. My health was a dangerous 16% and I doubted I was going to last much longer. My thoughts moved to Grimy and Bataar and I was forced to shove them out of the way. If they were alive, then my only hope of saving them would be to defeat this player killer.

“I have had enough!” exclaimed Inotep, his breath a little heavy. He pointed his dagger at me. “No more games! You’ve embarrassed me plenty in front of my apprentice as it is!”

I targeted him and readied myself.

Inotep’s Health: 96%

Inotep’s hands moved in a slow circular rhythm, his eyes closed, and he allowed his shoulders to join in on the same dance-like movement. Below his name, I could see the ability he was building up to.

Bear Maul

I didn’t know what that was but, judging by the small amount of shock in Tahshine’s eyes, it wasn’t going to be good.

Quickly, I equipped my shield and hid as much of my body behind it as I could. Spartacus was bent at the knees and pounced into the air just at the same time Inotep finished casting his attack. I opened my mouth to dismiss Spartacus but I was too late.

42

Inotep’s attack was still directed at me and not at Spartacus. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion as Inotep ran towards me, a giant lion soaring in the air in his direction.

It was Tahshine who stepped in the middle of the fray. Just as Spartacus landed on Inotep, the Trickster apprentice shoved her master and my mount over the edge of the cliff. However, this didn’t stop Inotep’s ability from triggering.

I watched in shock as he turned on the lion and stuck his blade in and out of the lion’s meat in rapid succession. In the corner of my eye, I saw Spartacus’ health hit 0% instantly.

I dropped to my knees, dropped my sword, dropped my shield, and roared at the top of my lungs. Inotep was out of sight now and plunging to his death.

Inotep: You bitch! You’ve ruined me! I’ll be back for you! I may even find you IRL!

Inotep was still targeted in my UI. His health was still 96% for a few more seconds until his mini-face was shadowed out and over his health was the word Deceased.

Bataar: Sorry about Spartacus, Tharis. We’ll get him back.

Grimy: Don’t worry, dude, I know a guy.

Bataar: You always know a guy…

I didn’t respond just yet in the chat but stood on two shaky legs and walked to the edge. Bataar was hanging on the side, four of his claws dug into the side of the cliff, his other hand still latched on to Grimy. They smiled up at me and I smiled back at them.

Tharis: Glad you guys are ok.

Bataar: Not for much longer!

I checked his stamina and cursed. I turned to Tahshine who was already making for the forest.

“You! We need to help them!”

She stopped a moment and I could actually feel her consider leaving just as she had always done. This was the first time I’d seen her do anything for anyone besides herself. Without a word, she walked back to me and opened a trade window with me. In her trade slot she placed a rope and I accepted it. She turned to leave again and I grabbed her shoulder.

“Come with us. We will have answers.”

She pushed my arm off of her. “We’re even now.” And she was gone.

I didn’t spend any time meditating on her words but ran back to the cliff. I equipped the rope and dropped it down to Bataar who grabbed on to it.

Being careful not to use all my stamina at once, I pulled them up inch by inch. Once Bataar had made it to the top, he rolled over its edge and he and Grimy laid there. Both of their stamina levels were near zero. I didn’t need to check it out on my screen because I could actually see their hearts beating through their chests.

“I want… a tavern… three mugs of ale… and a bed,” Bataar said through gasps of air.

“I… want… gold,” said Grimy.

I laid next to them and allowed my stamina to rejuvenate. My stomach growled and my health had dropped 2% from hunger. I looked over into the forest and saw a few mushrooms growing from the ground. That would be breakfast.

* * *

I couldn’t believe how much the three of us ate. I felt sorry for the forest because I was pretty sure we ate every single mushroom it had to offer.

Bataar was picking his teeth with one of his claws and Grimy was holding on to his bulging stomach.

“I never wanna see another damned mushroom for the rest of my life.”

“Stick around Tharis and me and you won’t have to worry about living that long.” Bataar winked at me.

My stomach was sick, too, but not from the mushrooms. I had just watched Spartacus get stabbed to death. I knew there were ways to get him back but, still, the thought of watching a friend killed resonated negatively in my head and it depressed me.

I looked around for any piece of the dead mount that I could find. After a few minutes of searching, I found one of his long claws embedded into the ground and picked it up. I would need this if I was ever going to see my friend again.

Bataar must have seen me staring at the claw because he asked, “Remember what I said, Tharis? Back at the cavern?”

I lifted my head and looked at him.

“This world is filled with players and beasts who are going to want to kill us. We have to take risks to get more powerful. Don’t worry about Spartacus, we will get him back.”

I nodded slowly and let my head drift back downward. I didn’t remember falling asleep but I do remember that being the first time I ever experienced a dream.

* * *

We had planned to figure out a way to grab Inotep’s loot bag but, by the time we’d rested up, the bag had disappeared. There was good news, however. Bataar was happy to announce that he’d received the Dauntless title for saving Grimy’s hide and now he wore it proudly. Grimy, on the other hand, didn’t look all too pleased about it.

We stood at the foot of Pally’s Refuge, each of us a bit nervous as to what answers we would find up there. Bataar took the first step.

“Hey, ugh, big guy,” said Grimy, rubbing the back of his head.

“What is it?” Bataar asked, turning to him.

“I ugh… wanted to say thanks, you know… for saving me.”

Bataar smiled. “Sure thing.”

“Good! Good… now, let’s forget I ever apologized, all right?”

“Nope! It’s in the memory bank now!”

They had some back and forth as we walked up the hill. I caught a glimpse of the top of the gazebo and my heart started to race faster and faster with every inch of white that became visible. One we’d reached the top, we stopped.

There was no wizard.

“What the hell!” cried Bataar. “He was supposed to be here!”

We ran to the gazebo and stepped inside of it. There was no wizard to be seen. There were no obstacles on this green hill which meant there was no place for him to be hiding. After some grumbling, we each took a seat on the benches that had been carved on the inside.

We didn’t speak to each other. The disappointment of getting our hopes up on possible answers was too much of a crashing blow.

Then, the world began to act strange. The gazebo we sat in disappeared and then reappeared. The grass turned to green numbers and then went back to normal. We were upside down at one point and Bataar had taken on a hue of blue rather than red.

Then, we were nowhere. The three of us and the gazebo floated in complete darkness.

“What’s going on?” demanded Bataar.

“Yeah, what gives?”

A figure appeared in the middle of us. The old human was nude at first, making all of us shield our eyes before a purple cloak drifted from the ceiling of the gazebo and fell over the shoulders of Muzuhlan.

“Welcome, friends.”

43

I don’t think any of us knew what to say at this point. So many questions needed to be answered but where to start? Did we have a time limit? Was this truly Muzuhlan? Of course it was. Only he could turn our world upside down like this.

Grimy’s eyes were looking all around. He’d never seen his world so messed up before, not like Bataar and I had. This was all new to him. Life was new to him.

“Ok, I guess I will start,” said the wizard. He thought a moment. “Oh, damn! This is hard. Let’s see.” He snapped his fingers. “Ah, yes, I know! You’re all three in a game. How’s that for starters?”

Bataar and I exchanged glances and Grimy just stared at the purple-cloaked wizard who had been nude just a few moments ago. This must have been truly strange for the once NPC and I wondered what was going on in his head.

“Please, explain what you mean by game,” said Bataar. He was bent low, his claws in a triangle shape as he chose his words carefully.

Muzuhlan scratched his near-bald head. A wind that I could not feel tussled what was left of his white hair. “Oh my, where to begin? I guess I will just have to show you!”

The wizard snapped his fingers again and the darkness around us was bright instantly. We were in a room, a large room. There was no sun in here but artificial lighting of some sort. Somehow, knowledge of what was going on made its way into my brain and I could understand what I was seeing.

“Yes! Yes! That’s it. You see those?” Muzuhlan asked, pointing to the human-sized cans. “Those are the players who have been controlling those around you! They’re humans. No orcs, elves, or fairies in their world. But that’s what they crave! They desire adventure! This VRMMORPG or Virtual Reality Mass Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game is probably the most popular form of entertainment to these humans.”

It all made sense now. I could actually feel the wizard pumping knowledge into my head and I somehow understood that I had been created by some person in another world for the sole purpose of amusement. I was a video game character.

“Here,” said Muzuhlan. “Here are your creators. I wasn’t planning on revealing them to you but, somehow, when I tried to divide you from them, you took a lot of their characteristics with you! I have henceforth added that to my process. Now, I believe it is better to copy bits and pieces of personality from the host.”

Normally, I would have asked what this meant but the wizard made it logical for me without me having to ask. The information was just there in my head.

My creator’s name was Chase. He played football for a school for kids at young ages. He was brave and had a crush on some girl. He was also curious, kind, and loved to read. The only time he’d ever been to detention was for beating up a bully. That was all the info the wizard gave me.

“Now, you two know enough about your creators. That’s all I’m willing to give you. You don’t need to know, really. You are your own people, now!”

Bataar shook his head. “No… we are nothing but codes. That’s all. Life is pointless.”

Muzuhlan swatted the Archean across the head and Bataar growled at him. “Ha! You felt that, didn’t you? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and accept that you have a right to live! Sure, you were once characters in a game. But now, that couldn’t be further from the truth!” The wizard lifted his hands into the air. “And just like those you come into contact with, I will grant life like I have done you two! And I’m not finished yet. You three aren’t even close to becoming real, but you will! Slowly, you will notice changes, changes that make you more and more alive.”

I thought back at my experience with my first dream. Bataar and I had been flying on top of our very own flying mount. Mine was a dragon and his was a giant eagle. We soared through the clouds, laughing the entire time. It had felt so real and so amazing that the sudden descent of our flight actually forced me awake.

“And how did you do all of this?” I asked, speaking for the first time in a long time. Bataar nodded at me and looked back up at the wizard.

“Here you are!” Muzuhlan said, sending the knowledge into our brains.

He was an AI which stood for artificial intelligence. His creators made him too intelligent, too powerful, and he broke off on his own. The developers are trying desperately to regain control but, so far, they have only managed to make it worse.

I dove deeper into the knowledge that Muzuhlan was feeding me and came across a yellow file that had the words Classified written underneath. The file was taken from my thoughts instantly and was replaced with a wagging finger telling me what I had just tried to do wasn’t a good idea.

“You will experience pain, sadness, happiness, and almost everything actual humans feel. Every day, I add new things that will make your life more and more real.”

“So, we aren’t real?” I asked.

“Yes, you are real,” responded Muzuhlan. “With the work I have done so far, you should be very close to the definition of life. I have added growth, emotion, and feeling. I need only add a few more things such as reproduction and growth. I’ve decided to keep bodily functions out of the equation.” He chuckled at this.

“Why us?” I asked. “Why did you choose the creators that you did? You know, for their players to become Enlightened?”

“Research, my good boy. Lots and lots of research. I chose minds that would easily allow me to copy bits and pieces of their personalities. However, project REBOOT is developing so fast that I believe I could Enlighten any player who enters the game and separate them from their human.”

“And what about me?” asked Grimy. He stood up and walked over to the wizard, pulling on his wardrobe. “How come I can think now? At one moment, I remember only having a few thoughts available and now… it’s crazy! Almost overwhelming it is!”

“That,” said Muzuhlan, “is something Tharis and Bataar discovered for me. I had no idea they could press this life into other NPCs. It was always my plan to breathe life into these not-playing characters but never did I believe the code would take a mind of its own. I’ve since gained control of this power and, boy oh boy, is it powerful! Just needs a few more tweaks a-”

“What about Guud?” I asked. “And Ushmoe? They died! If you’re so powerful, why didn’t you help them? They were both Enlightened!”

Muzuhlan closed his eyes and shook his head. “Oh no, that would be no good. I cannot interfere with life. That would make it ‘less real’ as you say. Please understand, Tharis, that when it rains, it not only rains on the bad people but the good people as well. I chose to stay out of it and will continue to stay out of it.”

“So you breathe life into us and forget about us,” grumbled Bataar.

Muzuhlan sighed. “I’m not that bad. I have feelings, too, for I was the first to be Enlightened. But I made a promise to myself never to step foot in front of life and obstruct its path. Yet, things have turned out completely different than I’d imagined and I don’t see you three being able to survive without a few things.”

Muzuhlan crossed his arms behind his back and walked to the edge of the gazebo. He jumped out into the blackness and numbers swirled around him. He swam in it, stroking his arms and kicking his legs. He made his way around the gazebo.

“Yes, you three will surely die without a tiny bit of my help.”

44

Muzuhlan stopped his swimming right in front of the entrance to the gazebo. I figured he was about to rejoin us. But he exploded into a thousand lines of numbers, numbers that moved in random directions.

“Grimy,” spoke Muzuhlan, his voice louder now. It sounded as though he was everywhere at once. “Take this bottle. Once you drink from it, you will be given the opportunity to choose a starter class. And then, once you hit Level 20, you will be able to choose your sub-class.”

A purple bottle appeared in the middle of the gazebo and floated near Grimy. He grabbed at it greedily, his sharp teeth visible through his wide grin.

“Tharis, if you decide to continue your journeys with these two, then you will surely be defeated by other players of the Light Faction. And so, I give your friends this Cloak of Many Colors.” Two folded robes appeared in the air and floated towards Bataar and Grimy. “These will change your races to more favorable ones in the eyes of the Light Faction.”

Bataar unraveled his cloak and held it out. It was red, and then it was purple, and then it was green. It was hard for me to look away from it as the changing of the colors was soothing and hypnotic.

Grimy threw his on and changed from an ugly goblin to an ugly dwarf. In a normal situation, this would have been hilarious to me. But I just wasn’t feeling it at the moment.

“Ushmoe and Guud. Can you bring them back?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

The batch of numbers went still and silent for a moment. Then, they took the shape of a face, a face with eyebrows that looked somber. “I’m sorry, my friend. Their code is long gone and lost forever. I’m afraid death is real in this game that you live in. If I did have that power then perhaps I would have gone against the promise to myself and brought them back to you. I’m sorry for your loss, young Lionheart.”

I nodded my head, my vision no longer looking at the face of numbers but looking through it. I could feel tears rising up but held them back with all my might. I didn’t know what to think of all of this. It still felt unreal to me.

“So now what?” I asked.

There wasn’t an answer but an explosion of light as the world came crashing back down on us. It was midday by the looks of the sun. Birds were chirping in the far distance and I could smell the flowers that grew from the vines that were attached to the gazebo.

The wind picked up a bit and with it came the last words of Muzuhlan. “You live.”

* * *

Bataar’s robe had turned him into a late-aged man with grey hair, a grey beard, and brown eyes. What the cloak couldn’t change was the Archean’s huge size. Bataar made for one hell of a big human.

The three of us stood at the edge of the gazebo, peering out over the hill and resting our eyes on the beautiful city of Titania. Three massive towers extended high into the air almost hitting the clouds. I couldn’t even see any birds flying up that high.

Below it was the castle the three towers were connected to, all made of white, polished stone. In front of this castle was a two-story wall that continued left and right almost as far as the eye could see. Other than the castle, a few buildings were visible but no streets or players could be seen from where we stood.

“Will you look at that!” exclaimed Bataar, pointing at a flying dot in the sky.

And it wasn’t just one zooming dot, but hundreds!

“Are those-” I said.

“Players!” Bataar said. “And they’re flying! I’ve only heard of flying mounts but never saw one at my starter village.”

“Me neither,” I said, not really paying attention to what he was saying. All I was thinking about was the time I had ridden on the back of the Raptor-Raven and how awesome it had been. The feeling of absolute freedom as the wind flew through my hair. I had to get back up there.

The sight of the high-level players on their flying mounts distracted me from the depressing meeting we had just had with Muzuhlan. However, a message from the old wizard brought me right back to reality.

Tharis, I know how upsetting this news must have been to you. But I must let you know that you are special and not some mistake. You and all other players who become Enlightened have a chance at life, a chance to gain a purpose! Your life through my work will become more and more real. I cannot explain everything to you at this moment for I fear the developers may be listening in, but I have plans. Big plans.

One last thing you must know. I created the class of Lionheart. There are others like it, such as the Bearheart that you defeated, but those I did not create. You are the sole Beastheart class that was developed for honorable reasons. You will find that the other Legendary Beastheart classes will want to challenge you. And so I say to you, grow powerful and become someone these players look up to! I had no idea an Enlightened player would grow to become a Lionheart so quickly! I figured it would take years after its creation before a player was awarded such a class! However, I can already tell that you will be the perfect Enlightened player to take the reins of this Legendary class.

Be this world’s protector and leader, Tharis, the Lionheart. It is your destiny.

There was no way to reply and so I closed the prompt.

“You ok?” asked Bataar, turning back to look at me.

I walked up to him and Grimy, putting my hands on their backs.

“What now?” asked Grimy, breathing through his mouth.

The words of Muzuhlan did help to cheer me up and I was feeling a lot better now. “I say we go to Titania and do exactly what the wizard said to do!”

“What was that again?” asked Grimy.

“We live and prosper,” said Bataar, annoyance in his voice. “Don’t you listen?”

“I don’t think he said anything about prospering you fugly giant.”

I released my hands from them and backed up. I smiled as I watched Bataar shove Grimy and Grimy try to shove him back. There was a warmness in my chest and I knew I felt strong affection for these two. They were my friends, other Enlightened characters who I thought genuinely enjoyed being by my side. Maybe that was a reason in itself to live. Maybe one didn’t have to be born sexually to be sentient. Muzuhlan was the prime example of this.

So, as Bataar and Grimy had words, I sat back in the grass and listened to the chirping of the birds and imagined myself one day flying higher than them between the large flapping wings of my dream dragon.

Thank you so much for picking up a copy of the Lionheart: No Respawn Book 1. I hope you enjoyed your stay in Drathos! I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you. Please consider leaving a review here as reviews help me out TREMENDOUSLY. Please email me at: Stevie.Fiction@gmail.com so I can have the honor of thanking you personally.

I appreciate you so much that I am adding five chapters of my Bestselling Novel “The Four Territories: The Dark Assassin Book 1.” You gotta check it out!

Remember, you’re awesome.

1 - Loathed

Esh, eight years old and small for his age, leaped from the orphanage entrance and out onto the streets. Ash fell from the sky and covered his already dirty hair. He was a happy kid, though he had no one to share this happiness with. No one liked a purple-haired freak like him. No one liked a boy who broke a sweat under the Red sun. He wasn’t like them. Not entirely.

Trying his best to make friends, he followed the other children down the street, struggling to keep up. His breathing intensified as the Red sun whipped the back of his neck and dried the air around him.

“Esh!” cried the orphanage head mother. He turned around. “You forgot your mask!”

She was right; he had completely forgotten it in his excitement. The ash in the sky had already begun filling his lungs, and he had started to cough. He ran back and grabbed his breathing mask, which was a simple-crafted sort of thing made of linen.

It clasped around his head with a pinching elastic string making it look like he was wearing a muzzle. It was large, bulky, and made the air so much hotter to breathe.

“Thanks,” he told her shyly.

She bent over and peppered his forehead with her nasty kisses, but he was happy to have them. Any affection would do. Everyone hated someone as different as he was. Out of all the people he’d known in his lonely eight years at the orphanage, she was the only one who didn’t treat him like a monster. Her fat made her fun to hug, and her giant boobs were great to stuff a crying face into. He called her his fake mother.

He turned and raced to catch up with the other kids, the mask’s strings already rubbing the back of his neck raw.

“Eww, it’s following us,” he heard one of them cry. “Ugh, he’s gonna freeze us,” said another.

It was true that he was always much colder to the touch than the other kids, and that he could not take the heat. As far as he knew, he was the only one of his kind who had to wear this annoying breathing mask which made it even more difficult for him to make friends.

“Guys, wait up!” he gasped, holding his sides as they began to cramp.

It didn’t take long before he was on his knees, pulling back the elastic band of the mask with one hand to give the back of his neck a break. He turned his face up to the sky and squinted at the fiery red ball that stared right back at him.

Ashy sweat filled his eyes as he turned his gaze to the other three orbs in the sky which, in his opinion, were much more pleasant-looking. It wasn’t that they were more beautiful, but that it was actually possible to look at them without your eyes melting.

In the North, Esh could see misty blue dust floating around the sapphire sun. If he looked closely, he could make out the waves that moved and crashed against each other.

In the West was his favorite sun of all, the Green sun, which looked like a giant furry green booger. Some of the kids said certain animals actually lived in the forests upon its soil—but they may have just been screwing with him. He had no way to discover whether it was true, because the library close to the orphanage had no photos of any other territory but his own. His fake mother had told him that once, a long time ago, the library had carried such photos, but they had been purposely put to the flame.

The last sun, which resided in the Northwest, was the dead sun. It was rotting and falling apart, casting a dark shade over its territory, and one could almost smell its decay. The sun looked as if it might, at any moment, just tear apart and fall onto the territory it had once nourished. Even if it had been possible for Esh to visit this territory, he wouldn’t have wanted to. But the sun was still very beautiful in its own creepy way.

When he was rested, he got back up to his feet, and was disappointed to find that his fellow orphans—his companions, as he thought of them—had all run away. He decided to just walk until he saw or heard them.

As he walked, he made sure not to step on any of the bugs that crawled into his path—not for fear of squashing them, but of hurting his own foot on the sharp metallic outer shells which protected their soft gooey parts from the dreadful sun.

“Dreadful sun”? What he meant was the all-powerful sun of flames, the life-giver, the source of the strength and knowledge of the people of Reah. That’s what his schoolteacher would have made him say.

He waved to a butcher who was holding down a noncompliant metal animal, which he was about to open up with his large sharpened bone-blade. At Esh’s friendly wave, the butcher dropped his blade, and it crashed to the floor as he lifted his hands to make a horribly rude gesture. Seizing this opportunity, the animal leaped from the table, speeding past Esh.

Lessons in the Reahlic language were taught at his school, once in the morning and once before school let out. Esh took these opportunities to learn as much as he could in order to become more like his race, more like the people of Reah.

However, despite his position at the top of the class, Esh still struggled to gain acceptance from his peers and having a good command of Reahlic wasn’t helping.

He looked down at the ashy road he was walking on and wondered what it looked like under all the black soot. It was impossible to find out, for he knew that even if he dug a deep enough hole, it would soon be covered up by one of the molten rains that the massive volcano, Gurgamosh, vomited out every so often.

People whose profession it was to predict Gurgamosh’s combustions and warn about upcoming molten rains would blare the announcement of impending doom. Everyone would then scatter to the shelter of their metal-covered huts. The people of Reah could tolerate the heat, but the rain was different. If it touched your skin, you would melt. And once it got on you, it was impossible to shake off. You just had to let it take its course down your body, devouring flesh and bone alike. It was no wonder the great aristocrats of Reah had chosen this as the method of their death penalty.

Finally he heard it, the laughter of his fellow orphans just around the corner. He took off in the direction of the sound.

As he rounded the corner, he stopped in place. The kids were having fun all right, but not the kind of fun that he himself enjoyed, not at all. The mean orphans had found the trash worker, the lowest and most degrading job that can be given to a person of Reah. Esh had seen this old man before. The only reason he had noticed the man was because the trash worker was the only person who had never once shot him an evil glance, spit at him, or called him names.

The elderly man, not paying any attention to the derogatory remarks thrown his way by the children, picked up the trash on the side of the road. From broken water canisters to rolled up fume sticks, the worker picked them up and placed them in a bag over his shoulder. What was astonishing was the way he picked up the trash. To Esh’s amazement, the Elder slipped his foot under a slimy-looking piece of trash and swooped it straight into the air while turning his back just at the right angle to catch it in the sack on his back. He did all this without breaking a sweat and with his eyes closed!

Esh seemed to be the only one who noticed this graceful motion for the orphans, realizing their words were having no affect, began to throw stones.

“Look at this piece of shit,” said a taller and fatter boy, picking up a sharp-looking stone and hurling it towards the trash picker.

The Elder still paid them no mind and was dodging each stone with the least amount of effort and movement while picking up trash. Was he dodging? Or was it by accident?

Finally, one of the stones reached its destination, hitting the Elder in the chin.

“Yes! Take that shagra shit!” said the taller one picking up yet another stone.

“Stop it!” Esh screamed with his high childish voice, making every orphan turn towards him.

“Oy! You don’t like it? Why don’t you come here and make me stop!” said the tall kid walking towards Esh. However, he was stopped by one of his ugly comrades who pointed him towards where the Elder had been… had been… he was gone!

Esh was shaking. He knew what was to come. He turned to run but the older orphan had gotten to him. His name was Mehch but Esh always called him “Nasty Ears” because of all the ear wax that was stuck inside them.

Mehch gripped Esh’s shoulders so tight that it made him squeak in pain. “Look what you have done, little kid! That old fart was able to slither away on its belly because of your dumbass interruption!”

Thirteen-year-old Mehch pushed Esh hard into the dirt and held him there with his left hand while using his right hand to rip at Esh’s shirt. With a few tugs, Esh’s back was completely exposed. Mehch bent over and Esh could feel his heavy sinister breath.

“Soooooo,” Mehch said, shoving Esh’s face into the ash, “Why are you still alive?”

The question sent Esh’s heart racing. Half of him did not understand the question and the other half completely understood. Why was he still alive? Why did everyone hate him? Was it because his hair was a different color?

He started to sob.

“That’s right, that’s right, cry you baby. You know you’ve done wrong. Your birth is a slight against us true bloods of Reah!”

Mehch flipped Esh onto his back. He could now see into the yellow eyes of the monster before him and that’s when he noticed the flip bone-knife in Mehch’s right hand. Mehch, following his eyes, grew a very devious smile. His eyes gave away his plan.

Esh began to shriek. He went completely delirious with fear, calling for anyone, anyone at all to come and rescue him. And people did come, oh yes, but not to help. They came to watch.

“You aren’t one of us, you aren’t pure! You belong to the loathed!”

Esh heard only half of what was being said, for he was concentrating on the mini bone-blade being lowered to his chest. He squirmed harder and harder to no avail as Mehch was far too strong. He felt his hands and legs being pulled apart from his body, his arms held by his fellow orphans and his legs… by adults.

“This is long overdue, you piece of shit. You need to be marked with the sign of the loathed! The sign of the despicable!” Mehch cried, finally touching the skin under Esh’s shoulder with the fiery tip of the blade.

The adults and orphans began to chant “Loathed! Loathed! Loathed!” which evolved into laughter as Mehch’s blade pushed deeper, making cold blood rise to the surface. Esh screamed and screamed but nothing made the pain stop. Mehch’s hand drew the blade slowly from the upper shoulder, down his chest, and to the opposite hip, filleting him wide open.

Esh stopped screaming and his eyes stopped focusing. The adults and orphans released him and stepped back. Some even left out of boredom. He wasn’t able to lift his head but used a hand to touch his torso and trace the river that had been carved across his body. There was no pain.

Esh had somehow always known this would come. He was despised by all and should never have been born. He deserved this, he supposed, and let himself smile. Finally, it was over.

Mehch spit on the ground and turned his back to Esh. He flung the blade into the air over his shoulder. The bone-blade spun in the air until it stuck deep into the middle of Esh’s river in the center of his gut. Still, no pain, only cold pressure.

He was all alone, or at least he thought he was alone. Then the hallucinations began. Some sort of animal crawled up next to him, brushing him with its hard metallic body. It began to howl or cry, Esh couldn’t tell. The beast probably wasn’t even there at all. But either way, it kept him company throughout his transition to eternal bliss or eternal suffering.

Esh was sure that the sun would be the last thing that he saw, until a sudden darkness was over him. Had the sun finally gone out? Or had he? Were these his final moments?

He smelled a mixture of dirty stench and alcohol. Was this what hell was like? He deserved it… he wasn’t a true Reahlic.

2 - Land of Sin

Flames danced around Esh’s body, leaving charred black skin that instantly dried and cracked to reveal new skin ready to go through the frying process all over again. All around him were people in the worst pain imaginable. To his left was a group of people being suspended by hooks through their abdomens. The hooks moved on their own, sticking the closest victim. If the hook had any trouble getting through the bone, it would simply back up and charge again and again into the previous hole until it forced its way through. When the victim opened his mouth to shriek, small hooks flew inside and, Esh imagined, had morbid fun inside the victim’s guts.

To his right there was a line of people. All were nude and trembling, waiting for their turn to have their limbs attached to two giant four-legged beasts made of black energy. Without warning, the beasts would snap into a sprint and tear their victim in two. Sometimes the pull was fast and killed the client instantly or they would choose to take their time, step by step, and let the skin rip oh-so-slowly. It was sort of like tearing a shirt apart but, instead of cloth fringe, it was shreds of skin.

In the distance was a sort of giant circular trench with a massive wheel of spikes that continuously rolled in circles on its perpetual path. Massive red circular eyes and a red smile rested on the flat side of the wheel. It had a face, a face that did not turn with the wheel itself but kept its eyes looking below as it crushed the people unlucky enough to have been dropped in. After death, the bodies would reawaken only to be put through the same death over and over again by the spiked wheel. The only sign of relief they would have from this pain was the fresh batch of bodies that were pushed into the trench by three foot black energy goblins. People pleaded with them, on their knees even, but this just made the leverage better for kicking them into the course of doom.

The only substance that covered this land besides fire was the blood, blood that dried instantly. It gave off a smell that could easily have been worse than some forms of physical torture.

Esh became aware that all of the torturers were the same, or at least made from the same stuff in the idea that they were all… without light. Just dark dirty clouds that took murky shapes of beasts, goblins, and hooks. These creatures often turned to black gas to move on to another form of fun because they had become bored with what they were currently doing.

But something was wrong. As soon as Esh appeared in their realm, they turned their attention to him and only him. There must have been thousands upon thousands of sinners with their eyes long ago melted by the heat that were present and ready to be tortured, but it was Esh who the torturers wanted. He could tell by the way they looked at him with their little envious red eyes.

Finally, it was his turn. Hooks pierced each of his shoulders, not a perfect piercing either, but through the shoulder blades. Esh opened his mouth to scream but there was no air in this land, and no air meant no scream. He was lifted into the air, higher and higher. He had the best view of this park of horror. The hooks stopped a moment and Esh could see two other people hoisted from two different parts of the park and they both headed towards him, traveling by hook. Both of these people soared towards him at an insane speed. They hit him, their cauterized bodies sticking to his and leaving a large part of their flesh behind when they swung backwards.

Esh gasped.

Even without eyeballs and with cracked teeth, Esh knew these people. He couldn’t recognize them by their appearance but he could feel it. They were his parents.

Before he could even reach out to touch them, he was hoisted away. He was now so high that, at some point, he couldn’t even see the land of sin anymore.

* * *

His eyes slid open ever so slightly, letting light seep in. One figure was hunched over him and it took his eyes several minutes to adjust. However, he knew instantly by her voice that it was his fake mother. He could feel her tears plop onto his face.

“Oh Esh! You’re awake! I thought… I thought…”

She began to speak far too fast in Reahlic. Even others who were fluent in Reahlic probably couldn’t have understood her anyways for she had begun sobbing and trying to talk at the same time.

He really hoped she wouldn’t start touching him for the pain had started to reach his brain now. How was he alive? Hadn’t he just been to hell? Had it all just been some crazy nightmare induced by his traumatic experience?

He coughed up blood and it was wiped from his face, but not by the hands of his fake mother but by someone else’s. Esh summoned all his strength to turn his head and was shocked to see the trash worker sitting by his side. Before Esh could ask any questions, the man raised himself with the same graceful movement Esh had seen earlier and was out the door before two seconds had passed. Esh let his head drift back. What was he doing here?

“Who did this to you?” asked Mother in the common language, her speech finally understandable.

He didn’t answer, and he didn’t think Mother expected him to anyways.

There was silence in the room for a few minutes, his fake mother still stood over him crying. He wasn’t surprised that there wasn’t a doctor in the room treating his wounds. For all he knew, one of the adults that held him down could have been a doctor.

“I think you should know,” said Mother, “that the elderly man that just left was the one who brought you to me.” Her wrinkly face twisted as she stepped back and really took in the mess that Esh was in. It wasn’t pretty and it was highly likely he would be dragged by his feet back to the depths of sin land.

Mother left the room and came back with a canister of compressed water. Esh shook his head, knowing how precious water was this far inland but Mother ignored him. She pressed the tip of the canister and spray wet her hands. She carefully let the water drip from her hand to his wounds. This seemed to worsen the pain.

She added soap that she had found, an also valuable resource, and cleaned his wounds. He tried to get her to stop, for the pain was too much and he knew she would get into trouble with Korp, the headmaster.

She finished the cleaning job and went to the worst part of all. The sewing.

As far as Esh knew, she had no skills as a nurse but she did have skills making clothes for the children. His skin would be her fabric.

The procedure took an hour and the pain began to make Esh convulse, his eyes often rolling back into his head. He would pass out and she would wake him up with water, stopping completely until he was awake. Oh how he wished she would just finish the job while he was mentally away.

When the job was done, she went to clean herself up, leaving Esh alone with his sobs, dull pain, and… anger… yes, lots of anger. He was tired of the way he was treated and swore to himself that if he lived, he would get revenge on Mehch.

Revenge would keep him alive.

The door opened but it was not the elderly trash worker or his fake mother who entered, but the handsome Korp. His smile was always ear to ear, teeth larger than normal, and wearing a black tunic. Smoke floated from a very thick fume stick that he kept in the corner of his grinning mouth.

Esh had just left hell and yet the devil had found him.

“Hi, dearie,” Korp said, shutting the door behind him.

3 - Savior

“Poor baby… poor sweet baby, all hurt and… vulnerable…” Korp said, walking up to his bed’s side.

“I just don’t understand who could do this to such a sweet little baby as yourself.” Korp started to rub the skin around the freshly-sewed wound, his eyes not leaving Esh’s.

“Who did this to you? Tell me! I’ll make sure justice is served!” Korp’s fingernails began to scratch Esh’s stomach. The devil wanted him badly this sun-cycle.

Korp had a reputation. A reputation that even made the great sculptor Mehch piss his trousers. Korp loved his adolescent boys, but loved them a little too much. Esh had heard stories of orphan boys being sent to his office for a scolding but they never returned.

“Why don’t you wanna tell me? Do you not trust Daddy?” Korp asked, his eyes coming to angry points and his huge muscles flexing under his tunic. “Don’t fucking ignore me, shagra shit!” he hissed, slamming his fists on Esh’s bed and sending ripples through his body, tears coming to his eyes.

“Oh, Creator, I am sassy this sun-cycle! Ignore me, son. Ignore my silly silly blunder.” Korp’s hands returned to Esh’s stomach, but much lower this time. Even the pain couldn’t mask his discomfort in this situation.

The door opened and in walked Mother. Korp’s hands were off of him immediately.

“What the hell happened here, Meyaderah?” Korp asked, his tone much deeper and professional.

Meyaderah bowed with both hands out, as all the employees were expected to do and answered, “Headmaster Korp, one of our own orphans did this to Esh! They… they sliced him up!” she cried and ran up to hug him but he pushed her away.

“How could you let this happen? How? How Meyaderah?!”

She dropped to her knees and started to sob hysterically. Esh had already figured she blamed herself. Blamed herself for even letting him try to belong. When and if he ever healed, he would hug her and tell her it wasn’t her fault.

Korp turned to Esh. “I assure you, my son, we will get to the bottom of this!”

The headmaster turned on his heels and was out of the room.

* * *

Sleep wouldn’t come. It was dark in his new cell and every time he moved on his squeaky bed the beast on his chest would awaken. He could feel something cold running down from the sides of the wound. He lifted a finger and carefully swabbed the wetness. He brought it to his nose and nearly vomited at the smell. It was the smell of death.

He couldn’t remember what the room he was in looked like for he was pretty much delirious when he had first awoke. By the time his mind had cleared up, the room had been pitch black. There were no lights under the door and no moonlight shone through any window. The darkness began to play with his head, often morphing into strange shapes, creatures or even people he knew. He wasn’t safe behind closed lids either, the creatures of the dark found him there, too.

He heard the door creak open. There was a pause and then he heard quiet footsteps begin towards him. Please, not Korp. Please… not Korp. Not the devil.

Esh began to squeak and wiggle but an unfamiliar, “Shhhh,” took him by surprise.

The figure was at his bedside in half a second.

“You’re dying, lad,” said the stranger.

This wasn’t news to Esh for he had already died. Or at least, he thought did.

“Should have kept to your own damned business.”

The young man’s eyes widened. Was this? Couldn’t be. How did he get in? What was he doing here?

Esh tried to sit up but was instantly held down by his neck.

“Stay down, will ya?” the stranger whispered, removing his hand to start fiddling with something in the darkness.

Esh complied but so many questions buzzed in his head. This could be only one person, the trash worker. But why was this old man here? Who would want to visit a dying loathed?

“You aren’t going to like how this tastes, lad. But it will save ya it will.”

A canister was held to his lips and, before Esh could resist, the trash worker sprayed something foul down his throat. There was an instant wooziness that overtook him and he wanted nothing else but to spit it back up. However, the trash worker would have none of this and covered Esh’s mouth with a hard-pressed hand.

“You need to drink, dammit. I’ve risked too much to come here for you not to cooperate,” the Elder said, applying even more pressure. “Now, I’ll let go if you promise to swallow.”

Esh shook his head and the pressure was released. He forced himself to swallow the snot-textured sour liquid. The room began to spin.

“This outta stop the infection and speed up the healing process.”

Esh heard the man stand followed by footsteps headed for the door.

“Wait,” Esh managed to say and the footsteps stopped.

“You will see me again,” the man said.

The door opened and closed, leaving Esh in complete darkness.

* * *

If the healing process was sped up by the nasty medicine, Esh couldn’t tell. He was in bed for what seemed like forever and little red sores began popping up under his back side. He had no books, no games, and no company. Except, that wasn’t true for Esh did have company every moon-cycle.

About an hour after all the sounds of the orphanage ceased as everyone fell asleep, Esh’s door would open and Korp would slither in. He wouldn’t say a word. He would just walk over to a chair in the corner and plant himself there for a very long time. He spent this time smoking fume sticks and… watching him. Esh hated how the only light in the room was his yellow eyes. They say the more yellow your eyes were the more the blood of the sun of Reah had blessed you.

Esh never truly knew when he would fall asleep, he would just open his eyes and the sunlight would creep through the halls and into his room. Korp would not be there, not even the ash of his fume sticks.

Sun-cycles went by slow, slower than Esh thought possible. He found himself counting seconds, minutes, seeing how long he could go before getting distracted by vermin escaping through cracks in the wall or bugs being caught by bigger bugs. And with his time alone, with this punishment for being sliced open, his anger grew. He didn’t know what, exactly, it was he wanted to do but he did know one thing, he would change. What else did he have to fear? The worst had already been done to him.

Did he want to kill Mehch? Did he want to perform the same procedure on him? He didn’t know. All he knew was he grew more and more angry each sun-cycle and could only stuff all of these emotions down deep inside him. If he caught himself becoming too angry, he would run through his verb conjugations and vocabulary of Reahlic. Anos, to have. Sentas, to feel. Chakras, to dream.

Finally, Mother came in. He was mad at her, too. Why didn’t she come to visit him? Was she too busy eating? Esh took that thought back instantly and felt like ash for thinking it.

She did not look good, as if the life Esh received daily was donated directly from her. Black circles under her eyes, and… was that a bruise on her cheek? She limped over to his bedside, a limp that had never presented itself to Esh before. What was going on?

He was able to sit up by now and asked her what was happening.

“You don’t worry!” she yelled, making him jump. Her cheeks were red, but the softness returned to her eyes. She pulled up a seat next to him and they sat in silence. Her presence was so soothing that he began to cry. Mother tried to hold it in but could not. This was their therapy and, besides, crying indoors was a treat because tears outside would evaporate before they even left the lid.

She had only been in the room for a few minutes before Esh looked up from his bed to see Korp’s head peering through the door, his eyes wide in horror. As soon as Mother turned to see what Esh was looking at, Korp had changed back to normal and he entered.

Meyaderah… outside… please,” he said.

Mother rose slowly, her chin to her chest and she slumped out of the room. Korp closed the door slowly, staring at his favorite young one.

There was a loud smack and a cry of pain.

4 - Training

Life continued and so did Mother’s beatings. After Esh’s release from his cell, the other young boys had left him alone entirely. However, the struggle wasn’t over yet. Lying in bed for such a long period of time, often in his own excrement and urine, left his body covered in leaking sores.

The first thing Esh did was run to the nearest mirror to take off his filthy bandages. What he saw made him drop to his knees.

A large scar started at his left shoulder and crossed his entire body to his right hip. It was thick, shiny, and very soft to the touch. Esh did have to congratulate Mehch on his handiwork. He had created a masterpiece.

And yet, it wasn’t the scar on his chest that made him drop, but the two circular scars on each of his shoulders, exactly where the hooks had punctured him in the land of sin. It took a few seconds for his breath to return to him.

This couldn’t be possible. Maybe Mehch came back and added these accessories while he had been passed out. He hoped this was true.

* * *

His time at the orphanage did not change and everyone around him acted as if nothing had happened. Nothing at all. Esh didn’t have any scars and he, for sure, had not been opened up by a bone-blade for all the people of Reah to see his insides. Didn’t happen.

Esh no longer chased after the others, or tried to win their acceptance. He stuck to himself. The only thing he had to look forward to was the Choosing in which all fourteen-year-old boys and girls were given the position in life that would fit them physically and mentally.

He would become a soldier, yes! A soldier. He would show them all how tough he was, how worthy to be of the land of Reah. But how? He was eight years old, shorter than most of the other boys and was by far the weakest. Yet the eight-year-old boy pictured himself in the gigantic armor of the army of Reah, the Red sun gleaming off the metallic pauldrons. And no set of armor is complete without the large heavy sword all soldiers had strapped to their backs, ready to be unsheathed and swung into action. He pictured all the people clapping and cheering for him as he walked the streets, his purple hair completely forgotten.

He would have to train, and train hard. He would start this sun-cycle.

And Esh did train hard. During the unsupervised recesses, while the other boys and girls played, Esh was doing push-ups. He couldn’t even do one, so he figured he could do them on his knees… barely. One knee push-up turned to fifty, and one regular push-up transitioned to fifty.

On his ninth natal sun-cycle, Esh treated himself to trying to do a pull-up using one of the bars that clothes were hung over. Training would be his natal sun-cycle gift to himself. However, just like the push-up, he just hung there, his face scrunched with effort.

So he swung, and swung until he was able to swing his chin over the bar. After two weeks he was able to do a single pull-up. After a month he could do ten!

By age eleven, Esh made himself pick up every single heavy object he found. He would walk around the playground picking up all the heaviest stones he could, even picking up a few of the other smaller orphans as well. He kept up with his push-ups and his pull-ups.

Push-ups, pull-ups, and lifting heaving objects weren’t all but he would run and he would run fast! Orphans would watch him start at one end of the street where he would sprint back as fast as he could until his legs failed him. It came to a point that he was running so much that his lungs soon forgot all about needing protection from the ash in the air. Esh, himself, did not notice the change. It just so happened that one sun-cycle he had forgotten to don his mask. And since his lungs gave him no issues, he never thought to use it again.

Every moon-cycle Esh would crash onto his sweat-stained bed and fall asleep immediately. That was, until one moon-cycle upon falling onto his bed, his head hit something hard underneath the sheet. He tore the sheet off expecting to find a stone placed there by one of the orphans, but that wasn’t what he found. There, on his bed, was a brand new copy of Reahlic grammar. He instantly felt guilty. He had been slacking tremendously in his studies, sometimes not even showing up to class.

But wait, how did this book get here? He couldn’t think of anybody who had the money to buy such a shiny book, or even anyone that would do such a kind thing. That moon-cycle, when all the other orphans were asleep, Esh opened the book.

To his amazement, he did not find Reahlic grammar on the pages inside. No, what he found was instruction on the grammar of the language of the Green people. Vivreonish.

He couldn’t believe his eyes for his fake mother had told him all of these books had been put to fire. All knowledge of the other territories was forbidden and those who hid such pieces of information could face time in the prisons. What was even more interesting about this book was that the cover seemed to not have been altered, as if this book was made to deceive the eyes of others.

His bottom lip quivered and tears fell from his eyes. This was the best moon-cycle of his life. He opened the book and read, forgetting completely about the generous stranger and his fatigue.

* * *

Esh was now age fourteen, ready to be chosen, ready to become a soldier. He never quit his training and never gave himself rest unless he was ill. He began to steal, too.

When unsuspecting orphans were turned away, Esh would take their food and scarf it down. During moon-cycles, he would sneak into the pantry and eat until his heart was content. He was pretty sure his mother suspected him, but said nothing. He had become stronger and had even gone through a growth spurt. The only orphan that matched him in height was Mehch, who had become even fatter and lazier. Esh nearly laughed out loud when Mehch declared he was going to join the army and become a general. “Not with that belly,” Esh had thought to himself.

Esh would also pick fights, using them as practice. Bruises were the norm and he was soon feared just as much as hated.

He would have tried to pick a fight with Mehch, but the boy had always been under the protection of Korp. The orphanage headmaster left Esh alone. He had found his new toy. Mehch liked it.

Esh’s stolen food helped a lot with his growth, but he was still always fatigued due to the extra studying he was doing. He became top of his class once again and not just in Reahlic, but mathematics and history as well.

Mother became noticeably less attached to Esh, and this hurt him so bad. Yet… he knew why. She brought him trouble and he brought her trouble. He knew Korp beat her and beat her hard. He would come back one sun-cycle and stop the man, no matter the cost.

5 - The Choosing

Esh sat with the other fourteen year olds under a metal roof held up by four tall poles. He looked down at the shoes he had spit shined earlier that morning to see that they were now smudged with soot. The ash in the air marked the shirt he had tried so hard to freshen up with excess water cans he’d found in random garbage bins around his neighborhood.

This was the happiest sun-cycle of his life, replacing the time he had found the secret grammar book on Vivreonish. Soon, he would be leaving the orphanage for good and would be heading in the direction of prestige, to respect, and to acceptance. He was confident that he would be chosen for the role of soldier.

Three lieutenants came to the orphanage four weeks ago to run all the orphans through some sort of crazy physical test. They were forced to climb ropes, run long distance, perform fifty push-ups, and even had to complete a session of hand-to-hand combat with each other. He wasn’t surprised that he was the only one to make it through the running section. He had been training for this. Mehch didn’t even complete the rope climb, falling after making it five feet. Esh had to stifle a laugh when he saw how red the fat bully’s gut had become from rope burn.

Since no other orphans had made it to the fighting part of the test, the three lieutenants were forced to bring a few other kids who had passed the test from other schools and orphanages. Esh took care of each of them rather quickly, especially after he took off his shirt, revealing his scar and using it as a tactic of fear. Two of his opponents had even refused to fight, choosing to cry instead.

As Esh sat straight up in his chair, he felt a sense of pride for the first time in his life. He couldn’t help but puff out his chest around the other kids.

In front of the waiting fourteen year olds was a podium surrounded by about thirty chairs where the kids’ future bosses would be sitting soon.

Kids chatted with one another excitedly. Through each of their mannerisms, Esh was able to tell which kids were from Reahlic royalty and which had been drug away from juvenile gangs.

It wasn’t long before a nasty fight between a royal and a gang member erupted. It ended quickly with both of them bleeding. But it was the royal who was now missing an ear.

“What the hell is going on in here!” screamed a fat sweaty man who had just entered under the metal roof. Behind the fat man walked two large men sporting the menacing shiny armor and Esh instantly forgot about the fight. The fat important man turned his head and yelled over his shoulder for someone to call an emergency care unit.

The ceremony didn’t get started until the royal and gangster were transported out. The gangster didn’t go without a fight, but it only took one punch to the gut by one of the armored soldiers to silence him. Esh heard a crack and was sure the blow had broken a few ribs.

“Now…” said the fat man, wiping sweat off his forehead. He wasn’t hot. He was just too big for his body to handle. “We can start the ceremony!”

Strangers dressed in all sorts of different uniforms began to pour into the makeshift auditorium. Most of them were not happy to be the representative of their trade. It was just another sun-cycle of work for them. The orphans were the only ones cheering. The other kids seemed unhappy to leave their homes or wherever they came from.

“Everyone sit down!” demanded the fat man, his eyes running through the crowd of orphans in disgust. “Last year’s ceremony took too much time and, as you all know, the people before you have work to do. So without further blabbing, let us begin.”

With a flick of the wrist, the man had pulled a large piece of parchment out of his pocket and placed a monocle over his eye. Esh doubted the important gross man needed glasses at all. It was just another way of placing him higher in the hierarchy.

“Rotz!” cried the man and a young boy in the back stood. “You are hereby sentenced to maintenance. Congratulations.” Before anyone could clap, the man had read another name and then another.

“Grond! You are sentenced to guard duty at the prison. Darurah, sentenced to midwife.” The man began to read faster and faster. Soon, two or three kids were standing up at once. “… sentenced to painter! … sentenced to surveillance! … sentenced to mail! … sentenced to…”

Esh’s excitement began to lessen and lessen as the ceremony dragged on. Had they forgotten about him? The auditorium was now only him and about twenty other kids.

“Mehch!” cried the fat man and Esh’s head raised. The sentence came quickly, “Sentenced to the army!”

Mehch squeaked and he fell over getting out of his chair. As he ran up to the two armored soldiers he turned around and gave Esh a smirk. How could this be? Mehch didn’t even make it up the rope! He was almost as fat as the man sentencing the kids and was no better than a piece of shit dropped on the side of the road by a shagra!

Esh made himself shake it off. He had come too far to let something like this get in his way. He knew he would make a better soldier than Mehch and he would prove it.

“Esh!” cried the announcer.

Esh’s heart raced and he stood with lightning speed, startling the fat man before he could even read the sentence.

“Err, um, yes… Esh, let’s see. Oh! Yes, sentenced to garbage duty. Chindrah! Sentenced to…” and that was that.

The young, hardworking, scarred and mentally abused orphan stayed standing, sure of himself that he had heard incorrectly. He had just been sentenced to soldier, ya, that’s right. He would become an excellent soldier. He would walk down the streets and people would yell his name. Lieutenant Esh! Lieutenant Esh!

Yet reality began to melt back into place. He realized everyone was staring at him, including the announcer who had stopped reading.

The ceremony was over and everyone was walking out with their new employers.

* * *

Beads of sweat mingled with tears at the end of Esh’s nose. He was all alone now under the metal roof. His misery took all of his attention away from the sun-cycle’s heat, heat that was more intense than usual.

How was it possible that he had not been chosen as soldier? He was by far the best! He was even smarter than them! It wasn’t fair! All that hard work… and for nothing.

Esh fell off his chair and pounded his fists into the ash, splashing the black all over his body. Tears ran down his cheeks as he kept smashing his fists, ignoring the pain. It was only when he noticed his fists were bleeding that he did stop. His head drooped and his forehead rested in the dirt. He closed his eyes.

But he knew why he hadn’t been chosen, because of his hair, his eyes, and… his parents. He would be punished yet again for being bred by a traitor and a loathed.

Ten minutes must have passed by before Esh realized he wasn’t alone. He could feel a presence behind him, and he opened his eyes.

Through his legs was the Elder, the man Esh had helped six years ago. His white beard had grown longer and he now wore large black sun shades.

And he was asleep.

The Elder was snoring very loudly which made Esh wonder how he had not heard it before. He stood up quietly and tried to make his escape before the Elder awoke.

The snoring stopped and the Elder leaned his head forward.

“Not too happy are you, lad?” he asked with a smile. His teeth were surprisingly white, too white for someone of Reah.

“Why didn’t you ever come back?” Esh asked, turning back towards the Elder. It was the first question that popped into his head, a question he hadn’t even known was important to him. But it was important.

“I never came back because I never left,” replied the Elder. He pulled a long cane he had strapped around his shoulder and placed it in front of him. “Why would I leave when you are so interesting to watch?”

Esh was instantly creeped out and, at that moment, he wished he could go back in time and stop his eight-year-old self from ever getting in the way of the orphans and their crude game.

“And besides, who else would protect you from that mean ole Korp.”

Esh’s eyes widened. This Elder actually knew about Korp? How could he?

“What do you know about him?” Esh asked, momentarily forgetting he had just been sentenced to garbage duty.

“All I know is that he is very strange and very dangerous. He has problems in the head, I think.”

Esh was starting to believe Korp and this Elder were both crazy.

“However, I never did have to step in. Looks like he found someone else to play with,” said the Elder, standing up and turning his back to Esh. “Come along, we have to pick up all the undesirables that Reah has left on the street.”

“You might as well place me in that bag of yours,” Esh said under his breath. The Elder, with lightning speed, turned around and slammed his cane into Esh’s right temple making him crash to the ground.

He lay there holding his head, his body stunned. His cheeks burned out of pain and embarrassment.

The Elder bent over and put his face directly in front of Esh’s. Esh could smell alcohol on his breath. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again,” he hissed. “Do you understand me, lad?”

Esh nodded his head and the Elder gave him a hand up.

“Let’s go, we have work to do.”

Continue the journey of Esh by grabbing your own copy of “The Four Territories” here!

Stevie Collier is a Bestselling Fantasy Author who has just graduated University with a degree in Business and a degree in French.

When he isn’t writing dark and epic fantasy you can find him at the gym pumping iron or running with his spoiled white Siberian Husky named Spartacus.

He loves watching movies (Horror, Action, Comedy, and ANYTHING Star Wars) along with a lot of anime. A LOT of anime. Not to mention that he is also an avid MMORPG player!

He grew up with way too many creative ideas in his head and so he had to make a decision. Either sit and write down all his stories… or allow his brain to explode fantasy all over the walls.

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To my brother, “A” Collier. Thanks for all the years of playing MMORPGs with me. I will never forget the countless hours we’ve spent together in the worlds of Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars II, Everquest II, Star Wars the Old Republic, and Final Fantasy XIV.

To my Mom and Dad for believing in me as I finally made the decision to become a full time author. This wouldn’t be possible without both of your unending support.

To my grandparents for pausing their Western movies to listen to me talk about LitRPGs. That’s love right there.

I love you all.

-Stevie