by Paul Bellow
“Yeah,” Sherlock added. “This is mighty suspicious.”
“It’s just a fantasy of mine,” I said. “Really.”
Thom kept on laughing while Ferris and Sherlock continued walking.
I needed some kind of distraction.
“She has a magic pineapple!” I shouted. “Get back. I think it’s a bomb.”
The Four Wizards all scattered, scrambling for cover. I turned and grabbed the book of maps. While my so-called owners hid, I flipped through the book. I pulled out the first map of the various city-states I came across, hoping it would help me.
“Never mind,” I said. “False alarm. It’s a real pineapple.”
As they stood, I slipped the map into the sack slung over my shoulder.
“Very funny,” Sherlock said. “No buff tomorrow.”
“Come on,” I said. “That’s not fair.”
I didn’t care about the lack of spells. Over the last few weeks, I realized needed to wean myself off their powerful magic if I ever wanted to escape.
“You’re grounded,” Sherlock said as they surrounded me.
After waving their hands, I found myself in my bedroom. They removed the new gem of spying around my neck then left, shutting and locking the door behind them.
I waited a moment before pulling out the single page I had been able to get. Would it have anything useful to help me? The map of level one-nine looked amazing.
Unfortunately, it only listed the other city-states and didn’t tell me anything I needed to know about them to choose one for my destination. However, something caught my eye.
On the right bottom corner, in tiny letters, I saw the words, “Map provided by True Selves LLC.” What’s all that about? I wondered as I stared at and studied the map. Escaping Midgaard wouldn’t be easy, but I wanted to get as far away from the Four Wizards as possible.
When I did manage to escape them, I would find sanctuary in other city. And if I was extremely lucky, I would find someone who could help me get back to the game’s lower levels.
Eric and Sarah were becoming more distant memories with each passing day. My anger toward the idiot who’d hacked us into the game had waned over time.
The longer the Four Wizards thought of me as nothing more than a brute, the easier it would be for me to put together a plan. But implementing it would be harder.
28
Memory is so Strange
Josh
Ten long months after spawning back into the game, I still found myself a prisoner of the Four Wizards. On the bright side, my plan for escape was coming along. The biggest development? Wiley would help me get out of the city for good.
One afternoon before another battle in the arena, I visited Wiley in the center of the city. As usual, throngs of adoring fans crowded around him. The wizards had replaced the collar that limited me to a ten-block radius of their towers.
Nothing they could do would stop me from trying to get away from them. As I stopped nearby Wiley in the courtyard, he noticed me and swung his head around.
“Hello, barbarian,” he said. “Ready to kill some monkeys?”
The fans around him burst into laughter. I smiled.
“Not today,” I said. “There’s something else you could help me with.”
He raised his left eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yeah,” I said as I nodded. “Can we talk somewhere...in private?”
“Get on my back. We can fly out of here and talk.”
“I can’t,” I said then pointed to the collar on my neck.
Wiley sighed, smoke pouring out of his nostrils.
“Can you hear me now?” he asked in my mind.
“Yeah,” I thought back, unsettled by his voice.
“Good,” he said. “What can I do for you?”
“I need help escaping. Are you interested in getting away from your owners?”
“They’re worse than what I remember of the Four Wizards,” he replied.
I stared up at him as the crowd hung around, waiting for him to do or say something.
“That’s why you should help me,” I said. “We can both escape our masters.”
“But how?” Wiley asked.
“At the arena,” I said, not mentioning my secret buffs. “When I’m fighting, they don’t have as close an eye on me. After we win a battle, I jump on your back and we fly out.”
He laughed out loud, startling some of the people around us.
“You don’t think I’ve considered that before?” he asked.
His massively intense eyes narrowed as he stared.
“I can help you. Working together, we can escape to another city-state.”
Wiley shook his head.
“Do you think they treat slaves any better in the other cities?” he asked.
“Are you saying all the city-states on Level One-Nine allow slavery?”
“Not all of them,” he said. “But the few that don’t are out of reach.”
“We can do it,” I insisted.
“The Four Wizards will chase you,” he said. “It won’t be pretty.”
“What do you remember about them?”
He moved his head back a bit.
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t remember being their prisoner on a lower level?”
He shook his head back and forth and said, “No.”
I saw a man of the City Guard stroll through the courtyard. He looked in our direction, but he didn’t stop or come over. I glanced back up at Wiley.
“What do you say? Ready for an adventure?”
The dragon laughed, puffs of smoke coming out of his mouth.
“I was born for adventure,” he said.
“Will your owners let you fight tonight?”
“If there’s money to be made…”
“Great,” I said.
“What’s the big hurry?”
“I want your help before something happens to either of us.”
“That’s morbid,” he said, his voice echoing in my mind.
“Are you in, or not?”
He nodded his scaled head up and down.
“I’m in,” he said. “I’ve not wanted to fly away on my own, but with your help, maybe we could lose whoever comes after us in the wastelands.”
While I should’ve told him I was training as an urban barbarian, I kept my mouth shut.
“Thank you,” I said, staring into his impossibly deep eyes. “We can do this.”
He lifted his head toward the sky and let off a blast of flames. The crowd around cheered, clapping, laughing, pointing, and yelling at the impressive dragon.
“I’ll see you at the arena in a few hours,” he said. “I need to talk to my masters. The Four Wizards have been trying to purchase me ever since we did so well in the arena together. I want to get out of here before they have a chance. While I don’t remember exactly why I hate them, there’s something that makes me want to blast them to smithereens.”
“Know what you mean…”
I nodded then turned to head for the coliseum. Why hadn’t I asked for his help earlier? The plan was so simple it might actually work. It better work.
* * * * *
Underneath the coliseum, I leaned against the wall in a dark corner with a few of the other fighters on the line-up for the night. A guard walked over.
“Yorg, there’s a switch-up tonight,” he said.
I tried to act surprised. “Oh?”
“Yeah,” he continued. “You’re fighting with Wiley. New foes.”
“What are we fighting?” I asked.
Tommy Two-Toes chuckled.
“Does it even matter?” he asked. “With that dragon, you’ll win. I don’t see how you’re doing so well at your level.”
“Just talented, I guess,” I shot back.
“That’s enough,” the guard said. “Your opponent is a surprise.”
I wasn’t too worried as he walked away. Whatever they threw at us would go down easy with my secret enhanceme
nts and Wiley’s raw dragon power.
As the others traded stories, I thought about my simple escape plan. While finding Monky and getting her help would’ve been nice, I didn’t have time to waste.
The dragon would be helpful for surviving the wastelands outside the city. I chuckled along with the others as Tommy Two-Toes told his story one more time.
When the time for my match arrived, I strode up the ramp like champion. The Tower of Gates tried to beat me down, but I had decided not to let it get to me.
All my adoring fans stood and cheered as I entered the arena.
What’s up with all this sand? Did they import it in?
I also noticed a new pole rising in the middle.
The glowing green gem on top stood a few hundred feet off the ground dead center in middle of the arena. What’s that all about? I wondered as I walked over.
When I reached the thick pole stretching for the sky, the announcer yelled Wiley’s name. The crowd went even crazier than they had for the mention of mine.
I looked up at the sky and saw him dive toward the arena. The green gem on the pole quit glowing as Wiley landed on the sand in the arena.
“Good to see you,” I said.
He lifted his head and shot fire at the sky.
“Are you ready for this?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said quietly then roared.
I gripped my sword and scanned the other side of the arena. When would we find out what we would be facing? Nothing moved from the other entrance.
“Bleak!” Wiley yelled.
I swung around and saw an immense black worm with red spots clamped onto the dragon’s right rear leg. As it flapped about, I walked over and swung.
Your slash MUTILATES the dark worm for 69 damage.
Your slash DISEMBOWELS the dark worm for 101 damage.
My slices chopped the worm in two. Instead of dying like a reasonable creature, both halves slithered toward me. I saw the inside of the worm was lined with sharp teeth.
I took a few steps backward, keeping my eyes on the worms. Would they keep splitting if I attacked? Did we need to burn them or something else? I looked to Wiley.
Free from the grasp of the worm, the mighty dragon leaped into the sky. He only got as high as the green gem before slamming into an invisible barrier above our heads.
The two half worms shot toward me as Wiley fell back to the ground with a thud. His landing sent sand flying into the air. The dark worms reached me and attacked.
The dark worm DECIMATES you for 40 damage.
The dark worm MAULS you for 24 damage.
You have [935/223] health remaining.
We would be able to defeat these weak creatures even without all the extra health the Four Wizards had secretly given me. Neither of the worms had latched on, so I attacked.
After hitting them both, they further split into four worms all slightly smaller but with the same razor-sharp teeth. I glanced over at Wiley and saw two other big ones.
He roared then shot flames at them. They burrowed into the sand before the flames did any serious damage.
Uh-oh. This might not be as easy as I thought.
I didn’t even think about how Wiley would escape the forcefield above us as I continued attacking the smaller dark worms. They had become harder to hit.
The dragon kept breathing flames at the worms, but they easily slithered under the sand. I concentrated on the dozen small worms in front of me.
A couple of them latched onto my arm. I swung it around, trying to get them off, but they kept sucking health points from me a few at a time. It added up.
“Can I get some help over here?” I shouted.
“Busy,” Wiley replied then ran across the arena.
“Roger that,” I said. “Same here.”
I sighed as most of the small worms around me crawled underneath the sand. How can we kill these stupid things? I kept my eyes on the sand.
A flash of inspiration struck me. I looked up at the pole in the center of the arena. Time to kill two worms with one stone. I dashed toward the pole.
When I reached it, I stopped and put away my sword. I saw Wiley breathing flames across the arena. How can I get him to hear me?
“Can you hear me, Wiley?” I asked in my mind.
“Yes, but I’m still busy,” he replied.
“Come burn this pole down,” I said. “Then we can just fly out of here and escape. We don’t need to mess with these crappy worms. I think they’re trying to kill us.”
Wiley bounded over to me. I stepped back to give him room. He let rip with his ferocious flames, catching the pole on fire. I ran forward and sliced at it with my sword.
“The worms!” Wiley shouted. “There’s so many of them!”
I kept chopping at the wooden pole, not caring about my sword. Before the fight, I had secreted some water and other items on my person. We would be fine.
“Timber!” I yelled as the pole fell on its side.
Wiley scurried away, barely escaping its path. The crowd went silent as the announcer begged everyone not to panic. I looked over at the dragon and smiled.
Before I could go over and climb onto his back, the Four Wizards appeared between us. Ferris and Sherlock, frowning, pointed at me. Aaron and Thom went toward the dragon. Wiley screamed then leaped into the air, flying away and leaving me.
I watched him climb higher, wondering if he would come back for me.
Ferris froze me with a spell while Sherlock put the familiar leather and metal collar around my neck. Neither of them looked happy about the situation.
“He got away,” Thom said.
“We can find him,” Aaron added. “This isn’t a problem.”
Ferris sighed and shook his head.
“Back to the towers,” he said.
I watched, frozen, as he waved his hands, teleporting me to the original room without doors or windows they had kept me in previously. They didn’t arrive.
Anger I hadn’t felt in a while rose inside me. I banged my fists against the stone wall. Hands bloodied and battered, I sunk to the floor.
Tears streamed down my face as I contemplated my future. Would the Four Wizards punish me? Could they make my life even worse somehow?
Why had Wiley left me behind? I cursed him and everything else until I fell asleep, alone, cold, and unsure of what the next day would bring.
29
The Scent of a Woman
Josh
A week after Wiley escaped, the Four Wizards had finally allowed me back in the arena. My absence only served to drive the audience even crazier when I showed up.
I easily won against a dozen other fighters from various races thanks to my captors’ secret magical buffs. Winning wasn’t as much fun with the deck stacked in your favor.
The Four Wizards stood waiting when I walked down the ramp from the arena. After Wiley took off without me, my resolve to escape had diminished. I hated my windowless room.
Losing my privileges to walk around the city wasn’t cool either. Would things have gone different for me in the game if I had found Eric and Sarah earlier and not messed around so much?
Or was I doomed to fail inside the Tower of Gates the moment that Eric hacked us into the game? I expected the wizards to teleport me back to my small stone cell, but they didn’t.
When I reappeared, I found myself in a luxurious bathing room about triple the size of my current living quarters. A half-dozen beautiful women stood around a huge marble tub.
They giggled as I looked around, expecting some sort of trap or practical joke. When nothing happened, I undressed and slipped into the warm water full of soapy bubbles.
As I lay back to relax my arms on the rim of the tub, the women scrambled over. I said nothing as they bathed me then dressed my wounds. Why they were pampering me didn’t matter.
The Four Wizards came in through a wooden door a few minutes after I got out of the bath. Two of the women had wrapped a soft, black robe over my body, covering me.
“You clean up nice,” Thom said then snickered.
I ignored him and looked at Ferris.
“This is nice,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank us yet,” Sherlock said.
I turned to him, hating his sour, wrinkled face.
“We’re auctioning you off to the highest bidder,” Ferris said. “We’ve made more than enough by owning you. You’re too high-profile for us.”
“Yeah,” Sherlock added. “We’ve worked our way back up the social ladder, and we don’t need you anymore. I think Wiley’s owner was interested in purchasing you.”
“No!” I said, straightening up.
The four women around me scattered, cowering in the corners.
“Excuse me?” Sherlock raised a wand. “What did you say?”
“Leave him alone,” Aaron said. “We don’t want to damage him before the sale.”
“Good point,” Sherlock muttered, backing away.
A woman with dark black hair walked up and waved her hand through the air. Everyone in the room turned their attention to her. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else.
“We need time alone,” she said in a firm, commanding tone.
“I left a pot of water boiling,” Thom said suddenly. “I’m sure of it.”
“You’re going to burn down your tower again,” Ferris snapped.
Aaron frowned while Sherlock grinned, egging them on.
“He’s an idiot,” the white-bearded wizard said.
Thom turned to Sherlock and pushed him. “You take that back,” he said.
“Alone,” the mysterious woman repeated.
The other women scrambled out of the door the wizards had come in through. I took a step in that direction, but she grabbed my hand.
“Stop,” she said in my mind. “It’s me, Monky.”
Had she spawned as a female character?
“Downstairs,” Ferris snapped. “We need to check the boiling water.”
I grinned as the Four Wizards whisked out of the bathing room.
She looked up at me and said, “There’s not a lot of time. Listen.”
I nodded even though I had more than a couple of questions.
