by Paul Bellow
“Come on,” he said. “Stick with me.”
We teleported to a desert. A sun a hundred times hotter than the one we’d left behind beat down on us. We were surrounded by sand dunes and out in the open.
“Incoming!” Harvey shouted.
Thero and Sylvar ran forward with their swords drawn. I looked past them and saw a swarm of twisted insect-mammals. They had the body of a spider and the torso and head of a bear.
“Is this for real?” I asked. “Where are we?”
“Shut up!” Rizzo shouted then cast a spell.
Golden bolts of energy shot out of his hands and hit the oncoming swarm of foot-high creatures. Shrill screams filled the air as even more of them appeared.
“Double swarm,” Harvey shouted. “Twelve o’clock.”
I twisted around and saw another blanket of bearbugs heading toward us. Time to show my worth. I screamed to get my blood pumping as I ran toward the second swarm.
“No!” Monky yelled from behind me.
I stopped as the bearbugs approached, wondering if I had bitten off more than I could chew. Monky ran by, his orange and red robes rippling in the wind like he was in an old kung-fu movie.
He leaped into the air and dove onto the foul creatures.
A belly flop? What’s this all about?
Over a dozen bearbugs came at me. I swung my sword, killing a dozen of them quickly.
After dispatching them, I glanced over at Monky. Now completely covered in bearbugs, he shouted. The sound pierced the air like an ancient gong, a definitely inhuman noise.
When it ended, a heat wave pushed all the bearbugs off his body, frying them. The wave rippled wider and took out quite a few of the other buggers.
I grinned as he leaped to his feet and surveyed the scene. The bearbugs, now scattered, took a moment to refocus into a large group. I ran forward, attacking with my sword.
A loud explosion behind me caught my attention. I glanced over and saw a huge fireball go off a second time. The other swarm had grown in size compared to ours.
“Save the wand!” Rizzo shouted. “Don’t be a bleaking idiot.”
“Don’t get distracted,” Monky said as he whizzed by me.
A wave of bearbugs followed him, darkening the sand.
Sweat rolled down my face and chest as some of them bit me. I killed a few more before a notification appeared.
Combat is Over!
You get 12,000 xp divided by six party members.
You get 2,000 xp
You have 3,200 xp
Level Up!
Welcome to Level 2 Barbarian
You only need 100 xp for level 3 Barbarian.
Bonus Stat Increase!
You get +16 Charisma!
Monky walked over. “What’d you get?” he asked.
“Charisma, but it’s not enough to make a difference,” I said.
The others joined us. Harvey looked beat up and close to dying.
“Not bad overall,” Rizzo said. “We need to work better together, though.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll kill those other new players all on my own.” Sylvar turned to me. “Especially that elf girl.”
Why did he always insist on clicking my rage button? I took a deep breath to calm myself as Rizzo stepped over to the white teleportation circle on the ground.
“Back to the temple,” he said. “We need to talk.”
As Harvey, Sylvar, and Thero followed him, Monky grabbed my arm.
“Hold on,” he said. “I need to tell you something.”
“What?” I asked as the others teleported away.
Monky took a deep breath. Was he paranoid about me giving away his secret ring?
“It’s about...why I’m in here,” he said. “I was a prisoner, but I’m not a bad person. Someone stole my identity and used it to commit fraud. I couldn’t prove my innocence, so they locked me up.”
“That’s what all prisoners say, isn’t it?” I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
Monky frowned and glanced around. “There’s something else, but you have to promise not to tell the others,” he said.
I stared down at the shorter man.
“Promise?” he pressed.
“Yeah,” I said. “You can trust me.”
“There’s a reason I follow Magi Inyontoo,” he said. “I don’t know what my life would be like without him. He’s crazy sometimes, especially lately, but he’s not all bad.”
I nodded while closely watching his face. “Did he do something to help you?” I asked.
Monky nodded.
“In the real world,” he began then took a deep breath, “I’m a woman.”
He looked up at me as if hungry for my reaction.
“Oh,” I said, taken off guard. “That’s cool.”
“You don’t understand,” she said. “Most prisoners must play as their gender in the real world. I had problems with some other players, and Magi Inyontoo helped me. When he changed me to a male character in here, it made all the difference.”
“This is...a lot to take in,” I said.
She (with the face of a man) nodded.
“I’ve been having second thoughts about Magi Inyontoo, but I can’t forget what he did for me, you know?”
“Yeah,” I said. “He might really have a way out of this game.”
“We should go before the others get suspicious,” Monky said. “I’m trusting you. Please don’t betray me.”
I nodded. She turned and walked over to the white circle.
My mind tried to fathom why she would tell me such personal information. We’d only known each other for a short time, but she was trusting me. Could I trust her? I stepped into the circle to teleport back to the others.
* * * * *
Later that evening, after helping place tiles on the roof of the temple all afternoon, I walked back inside for something to eat. Voices in the kitchen caught my attention.
Sneaking as quietly as a huge half-orc can, I crept toward the closed door. Harvey yelled something I couldn’t make out. Sylvar replied, then it was followed by laughter.
Are they discussing something without me? I thought we were a group.
Curious, I pressed my left ear against the wooden door, trying to hear more.
When it flew open unexpectedly, I almost stumbled. Thero stood on the other side, laughing along with Sylvar and Harvey. Rizzo stepped over.
“What do you want?” he asked in an annoyed tone.
“Is this a group meeting, or what?” I asked.
“Go oil your biceps or something,” Sylvar said.
With practice and self-discipline, I was finding it easier to control my emotions around him.
“Enough,” Rizzo said then pulled out a wand.
After he waved it through the air, I could see their mouths moving, but I couldn’t hear any words. Monky frowned before I turned and walked out of the forsaken Temple of Magictology.
Outside, I sauntered toward the city center, taking in all the wonders of the game. While I hated the Tower of Gates, I had to give it up to the designers for the realism.
Instead of taking me out of the game, the statistics and game notifications enhanced the experience. The smell of barbecued meat hit my nose, almost pulling me off course, but I kept walking toward my destination. A certain sword at the market had my name on it.
I’d been thinking about it ever since I first saw it about a week earlier. Almost a level three barbarian, I deserved a better weapon, especially with our gruesome task of killing mass mobs to be turned into zombies. The death in the game surprised me.
Why would they lock prisoners in a game that rewarded violence? No answers came to me as I continued walking down the middle of the street. Both men and women moved as I approached, giving me as much room as I needed. I liked being a half-orc.
Thoughts of Sarah hit me. Could I kill Eric and her? The more I thought about everything, the less I trusted Magi Inyontoo. And Monky’s confession had thrown me fo
r a loop, too.
Why had she shared that information with me? Maybe she was lying about being a woman in the real world? But why?
I reached the edge of the market and stopped. Dozens of stalls had been crammed into the limited space in the center of the city. They had everything for sale. All other thoughts drifted from my mind as the game pulled me in deeper.
There she is, I thought as I walked toward a booth with weapons on display.
“Are you buying or selling?” a wrinkled man asked from behind a wooden table.
He sat on the top of a barrel, arms crossed over his chest.
“I’m here to buy that one,” I said, nodding behind him.
“The Reaper? Good choice.”
He hopped down from the barrel before grabbing the sword.
“Good price too,” he said as he handed it to me.
The balanced blade felt good in my hands.
“How much?” I asked.
“A hundred gold.”
I snorted. “Too much.”
“Well,” the man began, “you’re helping build that new temple, aren’t you? I’ve heard talk of you around the city. You’ve got plenty of gold.”
I tilted my head back, still holding the sword. “What have you heard about me?” I asked.
The man smiled and took a step back.
“Nothing bad,” he said. “Magictology for the Fishes, or whatever it is you guys say.”
I held the sword up with a single hand while my other reached for my coin pouch.
“Here’s seventy-five gold,” I said, tossing the leather pouch on the table. “That’s all I have right now. Do you accept it?”
“Never say no to a half-orc barbarian, my mother always told me,” the man said. “Enjoy your sword and have a nice day.”
I grinned then turned and headed back to the temple with my new sword strapped to my back. A month after spawning as my second character in the game, I was settling into my new life. The effects of my retail therapy wore off as I walked down the middle of the city’s main road.
I hoped the rest of the year would go by quickly. Could I somehow speed up time or get around my one-year penalty somehow? Maybe Monky would know.
My thoughts returned to her as I approached the almost completed Temple of Magictology. A lot of my blood, sweat, and tears had gone into building it even if I was in a virtual world.
I searched the first two floors for Monky, but I didn’t find any of them. Not too concerned, I headed to my room for a quick nap or some thinking—after I checked my stats.
> stats
Name: Yorg Race: Half-Orc Class: Barbarian
Level: 2 XP: 3,200 (100 for next level)
Alignment: +0 (Uncertain) HEALTH: 57 (57)
MANA: 0 (0)
Strength: 99 (+35%) (+10 Damage)
Dexterity: 66 (+5%)
Constitution: 95 (+35%) (+10 Health)
Intelligence: 43 (+0%)
Wisdom: 53 (+0%)
Charisma: 32 (-5%)
5
Can We Work Together?
Josh
Two weeks later, I reached level three barbarian and almost had enough experience points for level four. With seventy-three health points, I felt invincible as I stared across the dining room at Monky. She sat with her chair tilted up on two legs and her back against the wall.
We’d grown closer after spending even more time together. I wondered why she stuck with the others in our group. Was it a loyalty to Magi Inyontoo, or was something else at play? She caught me staring and smiled.
I had gotten accustomed to seeing her as a man.
“Being a barbarian sucks,” I declared to break up the silence in the room.
Monky plopped her chair back on all four legs and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I’m tired of being the brute. Why can’t I learn magic or something?”
“Technically, you can,” Monky said. “But Rizzo won’t allow it.”
I kept my mutinous thoughts to myself and nodded.
“You’re too stupid,” Sylvar said from the doorway across the room.
I glanced over, wondering how long he’d been spying on us.
“You two are growing quite close,” he said as he walked over.
“So?” I asked.
The more powerful I became, the less he worried me.
“You can’t trust everyone in this game,” the elven ranger said.
I glanced over at Monky. As usual, she had on a passive expression.
When the bell at the top of the temple rang, I stood and went for my sword.
“Hold on, big guy,” Sylvar said. “We have to wait for the…”
The words were barely out of his mouth when several other bells began ringing throughout the city.
“Something’s wrong,” Monky said as she stood.
Harvey, without a shirt, stuck his head in the room.
“Come on,” he said. “A few goblins got out again.”
Sylvar turned and walked out of the dining room. Monky and I followed suit. We met the others outside in front of the temple. A group of people ran by, some of them screaming.
“The goblins are here!” a woman yelled, her voice shrill, as she hightailed it to the city center.
“We should let the barbarian handle it,” Sylvar said.
I pulled my brand new sword, ready to do the work. Killing goblins or bearbugs in safely confined zones had never seemed fair to me anyway.
“Follow me,” Monky said then walked away from the temple.
I jogged to catch up, amazed at her long strides. Without a way to prove she was a woman outside the game, I had to trust her.
Ever since my own father had betrayed my trust, I found it difficult to let my guard down long enough for anyone to know the real me inside. With Monky, I found myself opening up and trusting her. I shook the thoughts out of my mind as I reached the edge of the market.
The others caught up as I stopped next to Monky. Someone in the sea of people screamed, causing a panic. I expected someone to get crushed to death as men, women, and children attempted to flee the marketplace.
“We need to control this mob,” Rizzo said. “I think Riggardo will show up for this.”
“Screw that guy,” Sylvar said.
I kept my mouth shut, listening.
“Dirty, stinking, inhuman goblins!” someone in the crowd yelled.
A “Kill the gobs, kill the gobs” refrain started up soon after.
The thunderous noise of the people overwhelmed me. Was hating the goblins a way to play out their racist fantasies? The fact a lot of players were prisoners supported my theory.
“We should let them blow off their steam,” Monky said. “I doubt any goblins escaped.”
Rizzo frowned. I could see the burden of leadership in his sad eyes, even though I wasn’t impressed with him as our leader.
“We need to sweep the city at least once,” he said. “You know how they breed. If we let a few of them hide, we’re going to be infested within weeks.”
“Screw the gobs!” Thero shouted then raised his fist.
His enthusiasm failed to surprise me. I disliked him immensely.
Monky tapped me on the arm then motioned with her head for me to follow. As she wandered into the crowd, I followed close behind. The people parted as I approached due to my size and the fact I held my sword in both hands.
While tired of being a barbarian, I had to admit my reputation had its advantages sometimes. Monky continued walking and left the market on the opposite side. She waved for me to follow her behind one of the wood and cloth booths.
“I have another secret,” she said in a low voice when I came around the corner.
“What?” I asked.
“I told you about my Ring of Teleportation, and you didn’t say anything. Then I revealed my other secret, and again you said nothing. I’ve got another secret for you. Please keep it for me.”
“What is it?” I asked.
She pursed her lips
together.
“Go on,” I said. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
“I’ve been helping the goblins,” she said, staring into my eyes.
“You’re going against Magi Inyontoo?” I asked, surprised at the revelation.
“We can talk about it later, but I wanted to let you know.” She glanced back at the market. “This game is messed up, and I don’t want to add to the misery. Some of the goblins are trapped players, and we’re making their lives worse.”
“Do you really think there are goblins in the city?” I asked.
She turned, nodded, and said, “Yeah. Somewhere. They’re probably scared.”
“Let’s look for them.” I glanced over her shoulder. “Maybe we’ll find them first.”
“I hope so,” she said.
Her muscular yet lithe male body walked down an alley. I followed her. Even after so long in the game, the Tower of Gates still managed to surprise me at time.
“I think I might know where they’ll go,” she said over her shoulder. “It’s a hiding place.”
She continued down the deserted alley. I glanced over my shoulder a few times to make sure we weren’t being followed. At the next cross street, she stopped.
“It’s close by,” she said. “Up by the docks on the north side of town.”
“Lead the way,” I said.
She smiled, the gesture emphasizing her masculine facial features. A few weeks after her startling revelation, I had decided to take her word for it. Until I found out otherwise, I would believe her.
A few blocks away, we reached the edge of a boardwalk. She stopped again, glancing around as if looking for something or someone.
“There,” she said, pointing to a ship tied to one of the piers stretching into the water.
“What?” I asked, looking but not seeing anything out of the ordinary.
“That flag,” she said. “It’s a signal. They’re safe on the ship.”
She took off across the boardwalk, deftly moving in between men and women as they walked. Not as agile, I simply walked forward. The other people got out of my way.
We traveled the length of the pier then stopped near a rope ladder on the side of a sizable sailing ship. She grabbed onto the rope then nimbly climbed up to the deck.
