Bridge Quest

by Pdmac

  “A monk?” Conrad spat. “What do we want some religious nut with us, always telling us what evil sinners we are?”

  “A mage I can understand,” Raquel said. “But like Conrad says, why do we need a monk?”

  “I’m not saying it has to be a monk,” Karl relied. “We don’t know what to expect in the future. I believe it would be wise to find someone who could provide skills that the rest of us don’t have, someone who can fit in with this group, the essential part being a team member. It doesn’t mean we have to start with someone here in Marbeck. If no one is suitable, we wait until we find the right person.”

  Annabeth shrugged and grinned. “Makes sense to me. I’m feeling pretty good about the future already.”

  Conrad nodded agreement then smiled a saintly grin. “So now that the business part of the meeting is down, what about flashing those beautiful boobs at me?”

  Annabeth stood up and stretched then leaned over and looked Conrad straight in the eye. “If I did, it would only end up giving you wet dreams.”

  Standing outside the city gate, Karl listened as Raquel explained their method.

  “Gnolls tend to be nocturnal. We’ve got another hour or two before nightfall. That gives us a chance to set up an ambush. What we’ve noticed is that gnolls travel in the same direction in the same spot all the time unless something disturbs the pattern. So once we conduct an ambush, we can do it again two more times before they change their patterns. Tonight’s ambush is day two so it will be easy.”

  The other three stood close by, scanning the area.

  “Tell him about the mist,” Annabeth said.

  “The mist arrives every night at midnight. It’s so thick that you can’t see two feet in front of you. That means we need to conduct our ambush and hightail it back here before midnight. Otherwise, it’s a painful night of trying to evade gnolls and other things that go bump in the night, and they are unforgiving creatures if they catch you.”

  “Has anyone not made it back in time?”

  “You’ll notice we’re the only ones out right now,” Conrad grimly chuckled.

  “Just about everyone you saw in the Widow’s place made the mistake of not listening to the sound advice of their betters,” Wendell added. “So intent of getting leveled up, they forgot the first rule of self-preservation.”

  “Which is?” Karl asked.

  “Don’t do stupid stuff,” Wendell answered.

  “Sound advice. So, where and how do you set up your ambush?”

  “It’s not far from here,” Raquel said, leading the way.

  The road leading out from the gate went along the side of the city wall, essentially acting as a border between the wall and the precipice that fell down to the sea below. A none-too-sturdy wooden fence lined the side by the sea.

  Curious, Karl started to take a detour to look over the edge when Conrad stopped him.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I was you. I think the fence is there more for decoration than a barrier. I saw one townie get too close and disappear over the edge. It’s a long fall to the rocky bottom.”

  “Advice accepted,” Karl said with a nod of thanks.

  Once around the corner, Karl noticed the land spread out into farm fields dotted with numerous cottages. Smoke curled from the chimneys of every home.

  “I thought it was dangerous to live outside the city walls,” Karl remarked.

  “It is,” Annabeth replied. “Every cottage you see here is a solid building with iron doors that are tightly locked once night falls. No one gets in or out once the door is closed. Doesn’t matter who you are or what’s going on.”

  “Some of the players who were caught outside in the mist,” Raquel added, “made their way to a home only to be refused admittance and left outside to the attacks of the gnolls and killed. In a way, I understand it. Why sacrifice your family for some fool too stupid to heed warnings. On the other hand, if I was one of the ‘too stupid’ people, I’d certainly hold a grudge against the house than refused me sanctuary.”

  “That’s why you’ll see some animosity between the players and the farmers,” Annabeth explained. “Those who have been killed and respawned want nothing to do with the farmers and vice versa. The problems happen when a player discovers the family who refused him sanctuary is now selling fruits and vegetables in the merchants’ area. A couple of players felt it was their right to exact vengeance. They’re now locked away in prison with little hope of release.”

  “Their own damned fault,” Conrad said, offering no sympathy. “Think about it though, to spend the rest of your days chained inside a foul smelling dungeon, until someone discovers your cure and you get sent back.”

  “Or you escape,” Wendell added.

  “Doesn’t sound like fun,” Karl blandly commented.

  The road leading away from the city was lined on both sides with a low stone wall about waist high. Outside one cottage, a farmer was putting away his scythe and rakes when he saw the group approaching. Pausing, he stared at them with unfriendly eyes until he recognized Raquel and Annabeth.

  “Ah,” he smiled. “Good evening to you, gnoll-hunters. Out for another cleansing.”

  “Yes, my friend,” Raquel answered with a wave and a warm smile. “We’ll be setting up down the road a piece. Hopefully the noise won’t bother you and your family.”

  “A gnoll’s death cries are a welcome sound,” the farmer asserted. “I see you’ve brought a Viking with you. Hopefully you will kill many of them tonight.”

  “We’ll do our best.”

  “Good hunting to you, my friends. Be sure to stop by my stand in the city. I sell the best apples around.”

  “We will,” Raquel answered with a friendly wave.

  Ten minutes later, she stopped at an intersection and announced, “We’re here.”

  “Here?” Karl said, aghast, for ‘here’ was in the middle of a wide expanse of smaller field sections all bordered by the low stone wall. There were no trees to hide behind, no buildings to hunker down in, nothing to provide protection.

  “I know it may look crazy, but trust me. We’ve been doing this for a month now. We know their patterns and what to expect.”

  “But… but,” Karl hesitated, growing doubt with the chances of their success.

  Raquel placed a gentle hand on his arm. “I know you’re a proven warrior, but I ask you to trust me. If you know a better way or place, I’m willing to listen.”

  Karl stared at her, immediately realizing he was clueless as to how things went around here. Back in the real world this would have been a stupid place to set up an ambush. But this wasn’t the real world.

  “Sorry. We’ll do it your way.”

  Raquel lifted her head and took stock of the wind direction. “Gnolls have a heightened sense of smell, like bloodhounds,” she explained to Karl. “We need to ensure we’re downwind.”

  She positioned the two dwarves on the opposite side of the road then sent Annabeth a little farther down and across the road. She then led Karl a short ways up to hide behind the opposite wall.

  “You and I will be the confronting force while the others will attack from the rear.”

  “How will we know when they come through?” he asked, trying to figure out how they would signal when they couldn’t even see each other.

  “You’ll see. By the time they come through, the moon will be full and it will be almost like daylight.”

  “Until midnight,” Karl added.

  “Exactly. One more thing,” she said, her voice low. “The gnolls patrolling out here are usually Level 3 with an occasional Level 4 along. They are strong and tough fighters. We will have surprise on our side, but be warned, they are tough. A simple sword thrust through the heart will not kill them. You have to make sure you eliminate all their life points. You’re gonna have to just about cut off their heads to finish them off.”

  “Appreciate the head’s up.”

  Karl and Raquel hunkered down behind the stone wall and waited. Ju
st like Raquel said, by the time night had fallen, a brilliant moon had risen and flooded the land with brilliant moonlight. They waited patiently until they heard an owl’s hoot and Karl knew it was Annabeth signaling their quarry was on the way.

  What surprised Karl was that he swore he could hear voices and then realized what he heard was an argument. He strained to listen and understand but all he heard were modulated grunts and low whines until one of the voices spoke, his voice low and raspy.

  “I ain’t understood a word you said fer the past half hour. Speak common tongue.”

  “You don’t understand because you ain’t smart enough to understand.”

  “You sayin’ I’m stupid?”

  “I’m ain’t saying it. You are.”

  “Will you two shut up,” another voice snapped. “It’s no wonder we never catch anything with you two yapping all the time. I ain’t had human meat in more’n a month. You two keep it up and I might just find out what gnoll tastes like.”

  “He said I was stupid,” the first gnoll complained.

  “Well you are,” the second snorted.

  “I’ve a mind to show you how stupid I am,” the first gnoll snarled.

  The third gnoll let out an exasperated ‘Not again,’ as the sounds of a scuffle ensued.

  “Now,” Raquel commanded and leaped out from behind the wall.

  Karl followed and was immediately surprised at how large they were, far larger than he had imagined and his marvelous plan of a crushing hit and run suddenly didn’t seem such a good one, and the vision of a tall half-man, half hyena was a bit disconcerting. However, with the one gnoll watching his two companions wail on each other, Karl attacked, leaping high and swinging his blade so hard that it nearly decapitated the gnoll who wavered and turned, weakly struggling to lift his arm.

  Debilitating head wound: the gnoll has sustained 16 points damage

  Karl wasted no time and thrust his sword into the gnoll’s heart.

  Death wound delivered: the gnoll has sustained 8 damage points and is eliminated.

  Congratulations: You’ve defeated a Level 3 opponent.

  You’ve received: 6 Strength points.

  You’ve received: 4 Health points.

  You’ve received: 6 Mana points.

  You’ve received: 8 Combat points.

  You’ve received: Experience.

  Reward: Battleax: Common, Damage: 8-15, Durability: 85/100.

  Irritated at the inopportune distraction, Karl jammed his thumb on the ‘X’ icon and his screen disappeared and he focused his attention on the other gnolls who were now aware of their imminent danger, for they were now fighting for their lives against the five players. Deciding they had the situation under control, he did a quick sweep of the area, determining there were no more gnolls.

  By the time he returned, the remaining gnolls were dead.

  Raquel looked at him with questioning eyes.

  “Nothing else around,” he replied.

  “Of course not,” she responded.

  “How do you know?”

  “They only travel in small groups,” she explained, relaxing then bent down to cut off the left ear of one of the gnolls while Annabeth did the same to the other.

  “What are you doing?” Karl questioned.

  “We can’t just say we killed some gnolls when we go back. We have to have evidence, a left ear. For each gnoll we kill, we are paid five gold, which we split among us.”

  Without a word, Karl returned to the gnoll he killed and sliced off the left ear.

  “Don’t forget to check them for coins and things,” Raquel reminded to him, “and keep their weapons, too. If you don’t want them, there are those in town who will pay handsomely for them.

  Karl bent down and rifled through the creature’s pockets, pulling out coins and a small vial then picked up the battle ax. It was then he realized that the main gate to the city was closed tight and wouldn’t open until tomorrow morning, that none of the houses around here would offer them sanctuary, and in an hour or two a thick mist would descend, leaving them in dire straits.

  “Now what?” he asked, hiding his apprehension.

  “We head back home,” Annabeth cheerily answered.

  “But the gate is locked,” he pointed out.

  “The front gate is locked,” she replied. “The back door is always open to adventurers. You’ll see.”

  “Stand back,” Raquel warned.

  Karl stepped back in time to avoid the fizzle and pop as the bodies of the gnolls disappeared.

  “It’s not that it’s dangerous,” Raquel said. “It’s like sticking your finger in an electric socket. It won’t kill you, but it’ll remind you not to do it again. Ready?”

  “And no more gnoll patrols will appear?” Karl asked.

  “They will after the mist descends,” Annabeth answered. “They always send out one patrol during the moonlight to scout the area. Then they wait for the mist to come and use their sense of smell to track down victims.”

  “And how’d you figure that out?” Wendell challenged.

  “I know how to read,” she lightly replied. “You should try it.”

  “Too damned much to figure out,” he grumbled.

  As they headed back, their trophies and spoils in hand, Karl glanced down at Conrad. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

  “Being out here in the dark like this always weirds me out. I’d rather be in a tavern somewhere safe, drinking and chasing skirts.”

  “A commendable preference,” Karl admitted. As they silently walked back to the city, Karl’s screen popped up.

  Strength: 16 points

  Speech: 8 points

  Magic: 4 points (locked)

  Health: 14 points

  Mana: 16 points

  Combat: 20 points

  You’ve received: Experience

  “How do you turn these damn things off?” he fussed, jabbing his finger at the ‘X’ icon causing the screen to disappear. “The stupid screen popped up in the middle of the ambush.”

  “They’re there to keep track of your progress,” Annabeth explained.

  “Jumping up in front of my face when I’m in the middle of a fight is not helping me keep track of my progress. Thank God I wasn’t fighting more than one gnoll at a time.”

  “The notifications usually wait until the appropriate time,” she said, “though I do agree that they can be pretty annoying.”

  “Still don’t see the sense to them,” he grumbled, wondering if being in charge was such a good idea. Yes, he had combat experience, but this world was so unlike what he was used to. Raquel seemed to have been the leader of the group before he arrived. Why was she so willing to yield that role?

  He could make out the city in the distance and wondered where the back door might be when Raquel made an abrupt turn and headed towards a cottage in the middle of a small farm plot. Pushing the door open, she marched across the floor to the fireplace, reaching a hand inside the hearth. A moment later, the entire fireplace swung open, revealing a dimly lit set of stone stairs set in a descending spiral.

  “Watch your step,” she cautioned, reaching into her bag and withdrawing a thin vial that she shook, causing a green glow to emerge. “Last one through, be sure to close the fireplace.” Single file, they followed her into the gap. As Wendell was last, he pulled a metal lever by the gap and the fireplace scraped shut.

  Holding up the weak light, she led the way to the bottom of the stairs, which ended at a thick iron barred door. She knocked twice on the door then three times then twice again, repeating the pattern.

  The door slid to the side and they faced a towering corpulent man standing behind an iron portcullis. A meat cleaver rested on his shoulder. He wore leggings and a butcher’s apron spattered with dried blood. A single torch placed in a wall sconce provided dim flickering light.

  “Good evening, Lady Ranger,” the man said, placing the meat cleaver against the wall. Reaching down, he grunted and lifted the portcullis high
enough for the group to walk through. Except for the two dwarves, the others had to bend over, careful not to scrape against the pointed ends of the bars.

  “Was it a good hunting?” The man lowered the portcullis and pulled a lever on the wall to close the door.

  “We took out three,” Raquel replied, “an entire patrol.”

  “Excellent,” he nodded with a grim smile. Taking the torch, he motioned for them to follow him down the short hallway, carved out of the rock.

  The hallway dead-ended into another hallway and they followed the man, turning left. From then on, it was turns and twists into other hallways before finally emerging into a wide room where a sleepy merchant sat behind a table. A ledger, ink well and feather pen, and two small boxes were neatly arranged on top. Wall sconces jammed with torches circled the room, giving it more than ample light.

  The merchant looked up, recognized Raquel and smiled. “Good evening, Lady Ranger. I trust your venture tonight was profitable.”

  “Up late, aren’t you, Sigurt?” she grinned.

  “It was my turn tonight,” he sighed. “I’m glad you’re back so I can get you paid and go back home to bed. So what’re the damages?”

  “Three dead,” she replied, placing the ears on the table.

  “Ah,” he grinned with satisfaction, “three less to worry about.” He collected the ears and placed them in one box then opened the other, a money box, and counted out fifteen gold coins, stacking them in plies of five coins. Scooping them up, he deposited the coins into Raquel’s waiting hand.

  “Ya know,” he said. “Whenever you go out on a mission, you and your team always come back with no scrapes or bruises. Other teams go out and they come back with one or two of them missing and the others bleeding and hurt with maybe one ear among them. You? You always wipe out the entire patrol.” He glanced down at the ledger. “I also can’t help but notice that of all the gnolls killed, you are responsible for almost 90% of the kills.”

  Raquel shrugged. “We have a good team.”

  Karl noted the response. It wasn’t ‘I’ have a good team.’ Small wonder the others trusted her. She was a gifted leader and a team player.