by Paul Bellow
“Good job,” I said. “We need to go.”
“Already ahead of you,” Benji said from the door of the tower.
“Thanks for the save,” Eric said.
“You’ll do the same for me if I need it,” I replied.
We both ran toward the door.
“That ramp ate up a lot of mana,” I said.
“I think I might’ve ticked off that mage,” Eric said.
“Benji told me his name is Magi Inyontoo,” I said.
We stopped in front of the door. Eric grinned.
“Oh, I might’ve left a bit of graffiti in his secret room,” he said. “It was pretty hilarious, actually. He has these…”
“We don’t have time,” I said. “They’re coming back down. We need to get into the basement and escape back to Snargao’s lair. It’s the only way down the mountain.”
“Only safe way down,” Benji corrected as he held the door.
Eric went through. I followed with Benji close behind. We left the door to the outside open, hoping it confused Magi Inyontoo.
None of us spoke as we can across the stone floor inside the tower. At the stairs, I grabbed the wooden rail and rushed down.
Benji and Eric kept up with me. When I hit the cavern at the bottom of the stairs, I ran toward the tunnel we’d come through originally.
Eric glanced over his shoulder.
“I don’t see them,” he said. “But they can’t be far behind. I almost started a fire in his secret room, but I didn’t have the time.”
Benji ran to the left of Eric and me.
“Over here,” he shouted. “That’s not the right tunnel.”
I slowed down to a jog, pretty sure about my judgement.
“Don’t’ think so,” I said. “We came in through this one.”
“I counted them,” Benji said. “This is the right one.”
He stopped, pointing at a tunnel leading away from the cavern.
“We don’t have time for this,” Eric said as he stopped.
“Benji is correct,” Charlotte said.
“Are you sure? This is a big deal.”
“I’m sure, Kali. You can trust me.”
“Benji’s right,” I said. “Follow him.”
We ran into the side tunnel. I remembered the narrow width as we struggled toward Snargao’s lair in a single file line. The maze of twisty passages didn’t give us as much trouble on the way back.
Eric led the way with me behind him.
“I don’t hear anyone,” Benji said behind me.
“Keep moving,” Eric said. “We’ve got the pendant.”
I smiled at the thought of completing our quest. Once we finished it, we could go back to the Tower of Gates. And maybe out of the game.
Well, after we found Josh. He flashed through my mind as I saw the end of the tunnel approaching. Eric stopped in Snargao’s room.
“I hate tunnels,” Benji said.
We both entered Snargao’s secret workspace.
“Let’s block the entrance to the tunnel,” Eric said. “Maybe it’ll slow them down.”
“Good idea, boss,” Benji said.
He walked up to the stone altar in the center of the room.
“This isn’t bolted to the ground,” he said.
Eric moved behind the big block of stone. As he and Benji pushed it toward the tunnel entrance, I glanced around.
“Burn the rest of it,” Eric said.
“What if there’s magic?” I asked.
He grunted as he continued moving the altar.
“Too bad,” he said. “We don’t have time.”
“He’s right, Kali,”Charlotte added.
I sighed then pulled out my flint.
“They want a fire,” I mumbled. “They’re gonna get a fire.”
I flicked the flint and sparks flew into a pile of scrolls. They burst into flames as if they’d been written with flammable ink.
“Hold on,” Eric shouted.
“Let’s go,” I said then walked out of the room.
The other two followed me for once. We entered another maze of twisty passages as we worked our way to the entrance.
“I don’t see any sign of Leroy or Thrukad,” Benji said as we walked.
“Good,” Eric said. “We never should’ve hired those two.”
I kept walking, wondering if we’d gotten away.
Could we destroy the cursed pendant?
“You got this,”Charlotte said.
I smiled, spurred on by my familiar.
When we emerged from the maze, the smell of flowers hit my nose.
“Hold on, a minute,” Eric said. “Maybe we should destroy the pendant now. Why wait and give him a chance to get it back?”
“Good idea,” I said, holding out my hand. “Where is it?”
Eric pulled a marvelous gold chain out of a pouch at his side. I lusted after the beauty as he handed it to me. A burst of energy shot through me when I touched the magic item.
“Maybe I should try it out myself.”
“Do not put that on, Kali.”
“Why not?”I asked.
“It will destroy your mind,”Charlotte answered.
“You didn’t put this on, did you, Drex?” I asked.
Eric nodded then said, “Yeah, why? For just a minute.”
“Ugh,” I sighed. “Don’t worry about it. We’re about to clear this level.”
OOC Penalty
-10% xp on your next encounter.
“Think I care?” I yelled as I set the pendant down on the stone floor. “Give me your mace, Benji.”
He handed it to me then stepped back. I dropped the pendant on the stone floor. When I slammed the mace onto it, the weapon ricocheted off.
“Need help?” Eric asked.
I turned, not liking his smug expression.
“Just so you know,” Benji said. “That’s my only mace, and I can’t afford a new one on my current salary.”
I handed the mace to Eric.
“You try, big guy,” I said.
He lifted the weapon in the air then brought it down.
Once again, the mace bounced off harmlessly.
“Maybe we need a magic weapon,” Eric said.
“That reminds me,” Benji said. “We found a new sword for you. I don’t think it’s magic, but it’s better than your dull one.”
“Sweet,” Eric said as Benji took it out. “Thanks, man.”
Benji beamed and handed him the sword; Eric weighed it in his hand.
I picked up the pendant.
“We should keep going,” I said. “They’re probably forming a posse to come get us. I bet he has magic to find us wherever we go. We can figure out how to destroy it later after we’re safe.”
“I say we go to Harrisburg,” Eric said. “I know a blacksmith who can melt it down for us. Shouldn’t cost a lot of gold.”
“That’s fine with me.” I tucked the pendant into my sack. “Lead the way, master tracker.”
Eric smiled then walked out of the cave. Benji and I followed.
“At least we smell good,” our priest said.
I chuckled, loving how he always looked at the bright side.
We quieted down as we approached the steep cliff. Our cart and mule on the bottom held all our supplies. I stopped at the edge.
Benji whistled and shook his head.
“Long way down,” he said.
I glanced behind us.
“Still nobody chasing us,” I said. “Maybe I should cancel the illusion spell. He might not even know it was us who stole the pendant.”
“Good thinking,” Eric said.
I dispelled the illusion.
“Would’ve been useful to have that permanently in my spell book,” I said. “But that scroll sure came in handy.”
“Can you cast that Dwarven Earth spell?” Benji asked.
“Not enough mana,” I said, staring over the side.
“Don’t worry,” Eric said. “I’ll climb down then tos
s up my ring. Just promise you’ll give it back when you get down to the bottom.”
“Settle down, Smeagol.” I grinned. “You’ll get your precious back.”
Benji giggled then turned away.
How would he know that reference?
I pushed the question aside as Eric easily scaled the cliff. Once at the bottom, he took off the Ring of Spider Climbing then tossed it up.
“You go first,” Benji said as the ring landed on the ground. “I’ll hang back and watch for anyone coming.”
“Fine with me,” I said as I bent to get the ring.
“I wonder what happened to Leroy and Thrukad,” Benji said.
“Not sure,” I said. “But I’m happy you stayed with us.”
He smiled as I slipped the ring on my finger.
I climbed down the sheer cliff easily, again marveling at the game. When I reached the bottom, I took off the ring.
“Want me to throw it up?” Eric asked.
“I’ve got it,” I said then threw the ring up and over the cliff.
“Got it,” Benji yelled.
Eric and I watched as he nimbly climbed down.
“Made it,” Benji said, jumping the last five feet.
“Ring?” Eric asked with his hand out.
“Here,” Benji said as he took it off.
Eric took the ring and smiled as he slipped it back on.
“What now?” I asked, looking down the trail.
“Back to the mule and cart,” Eric said. “We’ll go to my friend in Harrisburg and have him destroy the pendant.”
“Sounds too easy,” Benji said.
“Quiet,” I hissed. “This easy quest keeps getting harder.”
“We still have to worry about Magi Inyontoo following us too,” Benji said. “He’s not someone to fool around with.”
Eric snorted and shook his head.
“We stole the pendant from him,” he said. “Can’t be that powerful.”
“Let’s go,” I said. “We need to destroy this as quickly as possible.”
Exhausted, we followed the trail back to where we’d stashed the cart and mule. My heart sank as we approached and saw neither.
“Everything’s gone,” I said, looking around.
We stopped on the side of the trail.
“Leroy and Thrukad must’ve taken it,” Eric said.
“We’ll find them in Mednia,” Benji said. “And get it all back.”
“No.” I shook my head. “We don’t have time for side quests and revenge missions. I want to go destroy this pendant.”
“She’s right,” Eric said. “Let’s get walking.”
“All the way to Harrisburg?” Benji asked. “That’s a long way.”
Eric stepped back to the trail then stopped.
“You have a better idea?” he asked.
I glanced up at the sky.
“The sun is setting soon,” I said. “We should find somewhere to camp for the night. They took all our supplies too.”
“I can catch a rabbit or two for dinner,” Benji said. “If we go now.”
“Better than nothing,” Eric said.
We walked east toward the hills. It took two or three miles before we found a suitable spot out of the way for the night.
“This will have to do,” Eric grumbled.
“I’ll go get dinner,” Benji said. “Give me an hour.”
“Double wages if you get back sooner,” I teased.
Benji walked toward a group of trees nearby.
“Double my salary isn’t much,” he said over his shoulder. “But I’ll take it. You guys are the absolute best.”
Eric sat down on a log.
“We should start a fire,” I said.
He shook his head.
“Not yet. Give me a minute to think. We don’t want to give them our location. He’ll come after the cursed pendant, I’m sure of it.”
“Probably,” I said as I sat down next to him.
I wanted to talk OOC again, but I resisted the urge.
“Do you think they’ll follow us?” I asked. “We should probably let Benji in our group. He’s doing great. We don’t want to lose him.”
Eric sighed and frowned.
“I’m still not sure,” he said. “Remember the warnings.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But that was before we knew about other…knew about Gord-En, Rizzo the Red, and that Magi Inyontoo guy.”
Would he understand I meant other player characters?
Eric nodded. He wasn’t stupid—not most of the time.
“Can we please trust my gut on this one?” He turned and made eye contact. “I’ve played more games than you.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re better,” I said, not looking away.
“It’s good to be playing with you,” he said. “But I wish it was under better circumstances.”
“Yeah…”
My voice trailed off.
We both turned and looked out over the landscape.
Groups of trees dotted the rolling hills.
“I’ll trust your gut this time,” I said. “We just need to destroy this stupid pendant and save the realms or whatever.”
I thought about Josh, wishing he was okay.
“You want to take first watch?” I asked.
“That’s fine,” he said. “We need to eat first.”
“Do you think this Magi Inyontoo guy will find us?” I asked.
Eric shook his head.
“Nah,” he said. “We’re far off the beaten path. And most people would’ve headed to Mednia. He’s probably looking for us there.”
“I think you’re right,” I said, hoping he was correct.
We both stopped talking, enjoying the sunset in the virtual world. The longer we spent in the game, the more it all felt real.
I wished I could talk OOC without a penalty.
How much time had passed in the real world? Would his father find us soon?
The questions piled up—unanswered—as we waited for Benji.
When he returned, carrying two plump rabbits, I smiled.
Once again, the game drew me in even deeper. We started a small fire to quickly roast the meat then put out the flames.
Benji told stories of some of the crazy adventures he’d been on—quite a few for an NPC.
Were they all fake memories?
Or was he another player character?
I glanced at Eric and saw him smiling.
“Time for me to sleep,” I said. “Wake me for my shift.”
Benji raised his right hand.
“I’ve got first watch,” he said.
“Works for me,” Eric said. “I’m more tired than I thought.”
I found a somewhat comfortable spot under a tree. Eric sat next to me, both of us with our backs to its thick trunk.
My thoughts drifted after I closed my eyes. Dreams also made the experience in the game feel more realistic.
Would we ever escape?
20
At Least We Got the Pendant
ERIC
I slept for hours.
After Benji woke me for my guard shift, he settled down next to Sarah to sleep a few more himself. While they rested, I walked the perimeter of our makeshift camp while thinking of everything.
My thoughts centered on Sarah and getting us out of the game. I worried about Josh too but not as much. Benji also weighed on my mind.
Did any of us have a chance of escaping the game? Were we trapped?
As I made the rounds, I wondered if Sarah was right about letting him into the party. One little game warning had me paranoid about letting him in, but we’d found other players.
Was I wrong?
I also wondered if my father had lied about the game.
Why hadn’t he told me it was some kind of secret private prison?
The sun gradually rose, leading to another day in the game. Sarah found me walking around, searching for answers.
“You didn’t wake me,” she said. �
�Everything okay?”
I nodded then said, “Yeah. Just a lot on my mind. Did you sleep okay?”
She nodded then stretched while yawning.
“My back is killing me from last night,” she said.
“Walking around all morning wasn’t much better,” I said.
Sarah motioned for me to follow with a nod of her head.
“Come on,” she said. “I’ve got some trail bars stored away in my bag.”
“That’s better than nothing,” I said, following her back to the tree.
Benji sat at its base, snoring away.
“Time to get up,” I said, nudging his leg with my foot.
Benji sat up, startled with fear on his face.
“Up and at ‘em,” I said. “We’re eating breakfast on the way.”
“We have breakfast?” Benji asked as he stood. “I thought we ate all the rabbits last night.”
“Sarah had something saved away,” I said.
I watched as she took three granola bars out of her sack.
“This is all I have left,” she said as she handed them out. “Enjoy them while they last.”
“Where to?” Benji asked then bit into his.
“East then north,” I said. “To Harrisburg.”
“We need to get our own horses,” Sarah said. “We have the gold now.”
“Yeah, but we should stay away from Mednia,” I said. “At least for now. Can you identify a few other pendants and necklaces I took?”
“Sure,” Sarah said.
I emptied my backpack on the ground.
“This will take a while,” she said.
“Only two of ‘em are magic,” Benji said, pointing.
Sarah and I both turned to him. He grinned, lips pressed together.
“I’ve had a bit of practice recognizing fake magic items,” he said.
“Uh huh,” Sarah said. “Which ones are magic?”
Benji picked two pieces of jewelry out of the pile.
“I know that one raises strength,” I said.
“Let me cast Identify on the other one,” Sarah said.
She took it and mumbled a few arcane words while moving her hand.
“It’s extra mana for clerics,” she said then handed it toward Benji.
“Oh, great,” he said in a less than enthusiastic voice.
“Something you want to share with us?” Sarah asked.
He shook his head—not adding anymore sarcasm to the situation.
