by Jason Cheek
“I’m not about to go fight against Orcs with only Frost Magic.” Sara said primly. “I already went through that fun on the Wind Dancer.”
“Didn’t I just recently upgrade your Dark Magic and give you Enhanced Shadow Bolt?” I asked in confusion.
“That’s right,” Sara said, excitedly jumping to her feet. “Orcs are only highly resistant to elemental magic!” With that, she raced after the group of women getting ready to head out as I shot Thomas a grin, before turning to Ayda.
“I take it you’ll be assisting the Kayden Troopers again with your magic?” I asked the sexy bard, as her gray eyes watched the women splitting up into separate hunting groups with a sad smile. Once again, I was thankful to my earlier talk with Assault Leader Dell, since I didn’t want her to think I didn’t appreciate her contribution. “From what I hear, without your help the troopers wouldn’t be in nearly as good as shape as they’re in now.”
“Thank you, Lord Ironwolf,” Ayda said with a twinkle in her eyes. “It’s nice to know my efforts are appreciated.” I waved away her thanks with an embarrassed smile as Dell gave me a knowing look.
“The only thing I don’t understand is how you’re able to encompass the entire line of marching troopers with your music,” I continued, with a bemused look.
“My music doesn’t reach that far,” Ayda said, getting into her explanation excitedly. “My Song of Fortitude works similar to the Song of Vitality. It gives the same feeling of being awake and full of energy, while only boosting Spirit and Endurance. To ensure the effect reaches all of the marching troopers equally, Assault Leader Dell has me constantly moving up and down the lines.”
“As I explained earlier, it’s the only way to keep the troopers refreshed enough to keep up the extreme pace your setting,” Assault Leader Dell appreciatively added, as Ayda blushed at his praise.
“Just make sure you don’t exhaust yourself too much,” I said, thinking about how much endurance that must take. “Casting all day can’t be easy.”
“It’s definitely not,” Ayda tiredly agreed, “but I’ll let Assault Leader Dell know before I push myself too hard.”
“Make sure you do,” I said, giving them both a stern look. “I have a feeling we’re going to be needing a lot more of your help before all of this is over.”
“Yes, my lord,” they both replied, as I looked around the circle.
“Unless someone else has something to add,” I said, standing up. “I guess that means it’s time to get moving.”
Rising to his feet, Assault Leader Dell gave me a fist salute and headed off shouting orders as he went with Ayda a step behind him. Calls for forming up could be heard echoing around us as the Sub-Leaders ordered their Team-Leaders to get their troopers moving. While all of that was going on, Thomas walked over to me.
“I don’t know if you heard about my sister wanting to join your guild or not,” Thomas began. “But she can’t join the Devil Dogs and I thought you wouldn’t mind-“
“It’s not a problem,” I said, clapping the older man on the back. “I gave her permission to enter our lands, but I won’t be able to invite her until we hit a town.”
“Ugh, yeah, I forgot about that.” Thomas said, shaking his head in embarrassment. “Thanks for being willing to take her in, Star. That means a lot to me.”
“The House of Kayden all the way.” I said, holding my fist out for a bump. Shaking his head at my nerdiness, he bumped his fist to mine just as we both noticed Hefe waiting nearby to talk to me. “I’ll catch up with you once we head out.” Thomas nodded and headed out to collect the rest of his gear as Hefe silently slid up next to me.
Chapter One.Five
(Wednesday, May 7th / Day 17 of The World.)
“So, what did everyone decide?” Hefe nervously asked. Looking down at his feet, he self-consciously rocked from heel to toe not daring to look over at me. “Are we good?”
“You know you really fucked up, right?” I asked, in a tone that left all joking aside.
“Yeah, I got that,” Hefe admitted in a quiet voice. “Maybe for the first time ever.” Rubbing hard at his eyes, he continued in a more even tone. “Bonnie and I discussed the situation and I promise I won’t let everyone down again.”
“Good,” I said, a little more harshly than I’d intended as Hefe flinched at my tone. Squatting down to his level, I gripped the Gnome’s shoulders and made him look me square in the eyes. “That was a major boneheaded thing to do, but everyone has decided to give you another chance.” I continued before Hefe could celebrate. Honestly, with his current size, it made me really feel like I was scolding a child.
“No one wants to kick you out, but,” I said, shaking my head as I tried to get him to understand how close he’d come to being exiled from our group. “The shit you pulled with Julie has put all of us in a bad situation. On top of that, no one trusts you right now. Hell, dude, we don’t even know where her home base is. She, on the other hand, knows exactly where we are and what special professions we have.” I paused to make sure I had his complete attention. “I’m telling you now. If you fuck up like that again, you’re out. On this, we all agreed.”
For a second, we just stayed like that without saying a word as he took my words to heart. Instead of coming back with a snappy comment or shrugging off my words like they were nothing, Hefe’s voice cracked as he earnestly asked. “So, are we good Jay?”
“You’re going to have to earn everyone’s trust back,” I answered, feeling my own eyes watering. “But, yeah, we’re good.” On one level, it was heartbreaking seeing the relief flooding into Hefe’s face as we gave each other a brotherly hug. While I didn’t trust him not to fuck up, we were still friends and I cared about him. Even if, he was a big goof at times. Still, he had to learn from this mistake, or this could seriously ruin our friendship. Assault Leader’s Dell’s call for everyone to move out stopped our brotherly moment as I stood back up and clapped Hefe on the shoulder. Telling him that we’d talk again later, I took off at a jog for the head of the column as Hefe went in search of AJ, as Neysa and Helgath fell in next to me.
Chapter One.Six
(Wednesday, May 7th / Day 17 of The World.)
It was good to see that the men and women that had sworn to me were in good spirits. While they were clearly tired, there was an instant chorus of “Lord Ironwolf” and “For the House of Kayden” as I jogged past the marching lines of troopers. Many snapped a salute off, while others simply cheered. There were also comments about the famed Silver Dire Wolf running at my side and a few darker words said about the Half-Orc riding her back. Before I could decide if I wanted to stop and address those negative comments, I heard other soldiers scolding their brothers and sisters in arms, saying that Helgath had been essential in saving many of their lives in Darom and Telrain.
I didn’t have to look over at Helgath to feel the mixed emotions running through her heart, so I simply rested my hand on her thigh as she proudly rode Neysa beside me. The whole thing made me feel like I was in a scene out of Gladiator. You know, the part at the beginning of the movie, when Maximus Decimus Meridius was striding past his legionnaires. It was a heady feeling and one I had to remind myself not to let go to my head. One mistake and I could lose all of my forces. Keeping that in the back of my mind is what kept me sharp. Instead of following me all the way up to the front of the column, the girls said they were going to scout ahead and took off into the forest as I approached the front of the column. I was just greeting the rest of the boys when Krishna and Lyeneru came running up.
“Sorry about running late this morning,” Krishna called out excitedly. “I just finished getting everything planned for tonight. My people are ready to payback these assholes.” His giddy face lit up as he talked. “I swear, I’ve never seen the guild so excited before about learning combat skills.”
“Also, in case you were wondering.” Krishna continued in a lower voice. “Everyone is completely behind the alliance we’ve formed. I wasn’t sure if t
hey’d be worried about being targeted for being associated with the “Dark Side” of the game.” He said using air quotes for the Dark Side. Before I could comment on his choice of words, he continued on in a darker tone. “But all of us are through being ganked by these bullies.”
“I promise you this, we won’t be so easy to take out the next time those assholes come after us.” Krishna’s voice hardened as he took Lyeneru’s hand in his. “We’ll always remember those that were lost to teach us this lesson.” Wiping the moisture from his eyes, he looked over at me.
“A few of our people managed to drag some of our trainers with them into the dungeon when they were being imprisoned. They’re all hoping you’ll be able to resurrect them like Lyeneru-”
“I’d be happy to,” I said cutting him off as I gripped his shoulder in understanding. “I’ll raise everyone I can, that’s a promise.”
“Thanks, Star.” Krishna said, sagging in relief. “We’ll never forget this.” He gave me a weak grin. “Hell, everyone’s listening in on the conversation as we speak. Well, they will be as soon as it’s released.” Seeing my questioning look, he quickly explained. “Everyone has been listening in on your streams since you rescued Lyeneru and me from the dungeon in Darom.”
“Cool,” I said weakly, feeling somewhat self-conscious. “I can’t wait to get a chance to finally meet everyone in-game.”
After that, the conversation took a more normal turn as everyone began talking about strategies, fighting styles, and magic trees. While my friends were curious about the Nature Magic of the Uten Syn guild, no one seemed that interested in actually learning it besides Thompson. Honestly, he only became interested after hearing about the group heal that was down the tree. The disinterest was mainly due to the requirement of leveling up to level 5 with Zap before you could use anything that was even remotely useful. Even then, Healing Touch wasn’t anything to write home about, and it required another five levels of mediocre healing before you could cast anything remotely cool.
When I asked Krishna if there were any other Manifest creatures available. He said there was only a level ten Giant Squirrel, which he hadn’t thought I’d be interested in, since it was such a low level. I disabused him of that notion immediately. Not that it was a problem, he was glad to teach me the spell if I wanted it, and was intensely curious as to why I’d be interested in such a low level pet. Smiling happily, I accepted the new spell.
Manifest Giant Squirrel (100 Mana) – 60 sec cast – Manifest a level 10 giant squirrel to protect caster for a day or until creature is destroyed or dismissed. Requires Nature Magic skill level 10. Cooldown of 24 hours.
Our discussion was interrupted a moment later when Neristhana and Ulia came running back to us, leading the rest of my companions out of the dense forest. Their zombie pets all looked the worse for wear from fighting and were fanned out around them like a secret service detail. As soon as Yun, Tinyr, AJ, Hefe, and the remaining Devil Dogs saw that each of my ladies were covered in blood, they drew their weapons and started forward, only to have Ulia wave them away as Neristhana matched pace with me.
“Lord Stinky!” Neristhana said, clenching a fist to her chest in mock salute.
“Hey, Star,” Ulia simply gave me a wink as the rest of my companions fell in behind them. “We just wanted to swing by and let you know that we’re seeing a lot of Orc Scout groups in the area.”
“Ladies,” I said, flippantly returning the Gnomeling’s salute. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Hunting their own Orc Scout groups down, I’d assume.” Rayne replied unconcerned. “We’ve seen them hunting in the area, but there’s so many gray skins in the forests around us, it’s hard to keep track of everyone.”
“There’s too many,” Neristhana agreed, her tone sending a shiver down my spine. “Even with the Isolde Line down, this whole area shouldn’t have so many of the northern tribes moving about so freely. I fear it’s a sign that a great host is headed our way.”
“We’re also missing too many of them,” Brenna added. “Even now, they track us and report our position back to the main host.”
Once again, I was keenly aware of our lack of instant communications. Hopefully, with Krishna’s help we could change that, but that was only if my friends would stop being such prima donna’s about having to learn a new magic tree. Well that, and if my plan worked in the first place.
I swore in silent frustration. Why was it so hard for people to practice with low level spells when they weren’t busy doing anything else? But, that’s just how gamers were. Not everyone was interested in learning everything inside a game. Clearing the aggravating thoughts away from my mind, I focused on the current emergency.
“Look, do the best you can on getting rid of the scouts reporting on our movements.” I said, my mind working the new information into our strategic situation as I traded glances with Thomas and Assault Leader Dell. “If you can get the Shamans, you can stop the scouts from reporting our position.”
“You know, there’s no way we can get all of them, right?” Neristhana asked, as the rest of my companions nodded in agreement.
“Just do the best you can,” I said with a shrug. “It’s not like we have any other options open to us.” Seeing their nods of agreement, I clapped Neristhana on the shoulder. “Let me know if the current situation changes.” Giving me a serious nod, she went to head off with my companions in tow, when a voice called out.
“Maybe I can help with finding the Shamans.” Lyeneru said, squaring her shoulders as the other women looked at her in surprise. “If we’re close enough, I can feel them when they use their magic.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” Rayne called out excitedly, as she pulled the Moon Elf with her by the elbow. “We’ve got work to do.”
“I’ll be back later, Krish!” Lyeneru called out, as she disappeared into the forest with the rest of my female companions.
Before Krishna knew what was happening, he found himself alone like the rest of us. “Hmmm, shouldn’t we be going with them?” Krishna asked, unsure if he should follow after them or not.
“Naw, they’ll be good, Krish.” I said, clapping him on the back. “My companions will take good care of your girl. If the situation starts to get to hairy, they’ll know when to head back.” Rubbing my hands together excitedly, I gave him a grin. “Now, let’s discuss what you know about manifesting pets!”
That’s basically how the majority of the run went before we stopped for lunch. During that time, I quickly found out that Krishna, unfortunately, knew even less about the Manifest spells than I did. Yeah, it sounds kind of odd, since this was his profession and all. At least it did until he helped me to understand where he was coming from.
Up until The World, none of them had gamed, or for that matter seen an actual animal before. They had no practice at bending the rules of the game in the way that I’d done with my manifest pets. First the game showed them how birds, rabbits, squirrels, foxes, wolves, and bears looked, then it asked them to create their own manifest pets. So, instead of reimaging the creatures to be something new and different, they’d all just made the basic Giant Squirrel, Forest Wolf, and Cave Bear that they’d seen in the forest around them.
Krishna stepped to the side of the trail we were breaking and manifested his various pets. The creatures he summoned forth looked completely natural. Reddish Giant Squirrel the size of a medium dog, a large Gray Wolf, and a large brown Cave Bear took shape around us in three minutes. Their names were equally exciting … Squirrely, Wolfy, and Claws. I just shook my head as the Uten Syn guild leader turned to me with an embarrassed look.
“Look, I can understand the whole reasoning why they look like the animals they’re supposed to represent.” I said, looking over at him with a raised eyebrow as Squirrely raced over to him to nuzzle his cheek. “But there’s no excuse for you using Squirrely and Wolfy as names. These aren’t your stuffed animals.”
“What the hell man?” Krishna asked, looking at me in
outrage. “Are you picking on me because I’m visually impaired?”
“Nope, I’m just pulling your man card.” I said holding my hand out. “I mean, didn’t you ever have to read White Fang or something when you were in school?” Krishna’s anger seemed to dissipate as tears began welling up in his eyes. Seeing the distraught look on his face, I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
“Dude, I’m just fucking around with you. You can’t take me that as seriously,” I said, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him in for a brotherly hug. Letting him go, I ran a nervous hand through my hair feeling embarrassed. “Look, dude, that’s just how my friends and I usually joke around with one another.”
Krishna visibly calmed down at my words, acting as if the misunderstanding was some sort of cultural difference between us. Who knows, maybe it was, I thought, feeling like an insensitive asshole. All kinds of different people were playing the game from the United States and now from around the world. I was just trying to think if there was anything else I could say as an apology, when the Moon Elf suddenly broke into a grin.
“You’re so easy.” Krishna said, letting out a belly laugh. “Dude, you should have seen the look on your face when I acted like I was going to cry.” The Moon Elf doubled over howling in laughter. “Pull my man card … you’re such an asshole.” He continued on, wiping the tears from his eyes. “What? You think I can’t take a joke because I’m visually impaired or something?”
“Fuck you, man!” I said, shoving him away from me as he nearly fell over laughing. “You’re such a dick!”
