Rogue Games

by Angie A Huxley

  Alejander snorted, backing up. “I won’t pay more than two gold for her. It’s just not worth it for me.”

  “Ten gold,” the man said, looking desperate. There were no other people around his stall, and Alejander could infer from his demeanor that he had no idea what he was doing. He was as much a novice at haggling as Alejander was with this whole game.

  “Five gold,” Alejander offered, “and maybe clean them up a bit. People won’t want to buy horses that look dirty and unkempt.”

  The man’s lip curled. “What’s it to you?”

  “If you wanna change to fighter,” Alejander said, inferring enough from the man’s pamphlet, from his desperation, and from the fact that Sardonya had said you could create another character, “you need money. You won’t get money for these horses when they look uncared for.”

  Something shifted on the man’s face and he sagged, leaning against the post. “I made the mistake of choosing seller at the beginning, thinking it would get me money quicker. I ended up having to find what I wanted to sell, raise it and make it sell worthy.”

  Alejander had little sympathy; you rarely got something for nothing, even when Matthew had been stealing for it. “Five gold,” he said again.

  “I’ll take it,” the man said, straightening back up. “Thanks for the advice.”

  “No problem,” Alejander said, rooting around in his pouch for the coin.

  You have relinquished: 5 gold

  Total Currency: 15 silver, 19 gold, 3 electrum

  Alejander waited for the man to unhitch the horse from the post, keeping a tight grip on the reins and guiding her out of the stall. The reins were passed over, and Alejander rubbed his hand over the horse's neck, pressing his face to her nose. “You’re beautiful.”

  You have acquired: Riding Horse

  Riding Ability requirement: 10

  Load Capacity: Medium

  Hit Points: 34

  Damage: 3 {kick}

  Reach: Close

  Quality: Good

  “See you around,” the man said, pocketing his money.

  Alejander led his mare down the street. She had reins, but no saddle and nothing else. Alejander was going to have to get her checked out and make sure she had everything she needed.

  By the time he and the blacksmith had finished hashing out a good agreement, Alejander’s mare had her feet and teeth checked over, and he had acquired a new saddle for her. The blacksmith had offered up stabling for her at 1 gold piece a week. It was a fair deal, and Alejander left her in the stable, aware of how quickly time was moving, and Matthew would be woken from the game soon.

  You have relinquished: 1 electrum, 4 gold

  Total Currency: 15 silver, 14 gold, 2 electrum

  Rubbing a hand over his face, Alejander took a seat outside of the stable. He was going to have to be more careful with his coin from now on. If he could keep hold of whatever money he had left and find some, either while out on the road, or putting his daggers to the test, he would have to do something. Besides, he thought, it would be a good test of whether he was cut out for this life or not.

  There was a shrill noise and it took Alejander a moment to realize that it was his alarm. Though he had things that he wanted to do, he sighed, shutting down the game. Had to keep to his self-imposed rules.

  LOGGING OUT…]

  Matthew grunted as the pain returned. He flexed his hands a couple of times, aching from maintaining the same position for hours. He stood up slowly, stretching out bones and muscles, and staring out of the window. His life was already richer from having the VR headset in his life. Though he wondered if it was richer, or he was just getting addicted to the feeling of a body that didn’t defy his wants.

  Chapter Four

  Matthew had enough cash to keep him in the hotel, and food for the next two weeks. After that, he would either have to get a job or work out how to make real dough through FEDERATION FUED. One thing was certain, though: the manual wasn’t helpful at all. It made no mention of being able to turn in-game currency into actual money. Even searching online for help yielded few results. A couple of people asking on the ‘Net had been laughed at and scorned for asking such a question online. Apparently, it was a well-kept secret that you either knew or you didn’t.

  It would make Matthew’s life a tad more difficult.

  Still, there were real-world matters he had to settle first. With the fridge set to charge him every time he took something from it, Matthew decided the best thing to do was invest in another that would allow him to keep food longer. After a quick chat with the owner – and imparting a little more of his money – he had permission to install the new appliance.

  Although he hoped for something a little more permanent, his leftover cash was nowhere enough to settle him anywhere more pleasant than the hotel room. If this FEDERATION FUED didn’t work out, Matthew’s pride would have to give way to working somewhere menial (though he couldn’t even clean floors with his bad hands.) But that would be a problem for later. For now, he was content to use up what was in his bank.

  There was also the option of messaging Ralph. Though his pride was responsible for his reluctance, Matthew would leave that as a last resort. Grabbing his phone from the bedside cabinet, Matthew figured that he would have to get used to carrying it around, but after so long in prison with few personal effects, it was going to be a hard habit to get into.

  As if summoned by Matthew’s thoughts of him, Ralph sent him a message. A simple: Have you played it yet?

  There was a part of Matthew that wanted to tell him how he was doing, the character he had created, and the things he planned to do. However, years of being secretive – and working with Ralph in particular – had taught him that the less he said, the better.

  Nah, haven’t tried it yet.

  A lie, but not one Matthew regretted. If anything came out of the game, anything long lasting and substantial, perhaps he would open up a little more. But if he was going to make something of himself in FEDERATION FUED, he wanted it to be on his terms alone.

  Matthew considered searching for an internet component for his VR headset, but the thought of using his headset for everything, the way he had seen some of the people doing when he had first left the prison was a little overwhelming – and though he wasn’t sure yet that he could stand the real world after his forays into the virtual world, he still had to exist, otherwise Alejander was useless.

  Thankfully, he found somewhere selling cheap fridges and set for it to be delivered to the hotel the following day. It would mean foraying outside of his home to get more short-term food, but Matthew had enough money for another day. Things were progressing in game slowly, so Matthew was determined to put in a good days’ gaming to see where it took him.

  Flicking through the manual had been helpful enough; the time in-game was set as the same as outside the game, so it should make it easier for Matthew to determine when it was good to cut off. There was also a section on how the game worked with the human side of him; anything consumed by and dealt to his avatar did not affect Matthew in any way. It would mean he would have to stop for food and drink, though he could see why there was a whole subset of the ‘Net that was calling for a boycott of the game based on people falling ill and even dying from lack of care.

  Matthew doubted that he would let himself get so wrapped up in that world that he would forget to take care of himself, but it sure had been addicting. Setting an alarm had worked for him before, so he would use it again and change methods if, for some reason, it stopped being useful.

  With the VR headset resting on the table, Matthew sat on the bed, determined to make his body as comfortable as possible while he was playing.

  [LOADING GAME….

  Alejander opened his eyes, the smells of the city washing through his consciousness. The noise was just as overwhelming as the first time; the bangs and yelling, the sparks flying across his vision from the ‘smithy and the patter of rain on the g
round.

  Cursing, realizing that he was still sat outside the stable, Alejander popped the hood of his cloak and ducked under the canopy the stable afforded. The smell of muck and sawdust was strong, and Alejander wrinkled his nose, taking in the sight of the stablemaster, saddle over one arm, making his way down the stalls. It took Alejander a moment to remember which stall he’d left his horse in.

  “’Scuse me,” he said, touching the elbow of the stablemaster.

  The human jumped, almost dropping the saddle in her surprise. Giving him the once over, she sighed. “Rogues and your stealth.”

  Alejander hadn’t thought to check over the stats for a start level rogue, but he made a mental note to do it as soon as he was on the road. “I’ve come to collect my horse.”

  “Alright.” The woman led him down the corridor and into a tack room. There were a few saddles, some reins, and a desk shoved haphazardly in the corner. Paperwork was strewn about the surface; it still amused Alejander – and Matthew – that a game run through VR prided itself on parchment and ink. Perhaps even a society with technology through the nose thought the old methods were still the best in a fantasy setting.

  The stablemaster grabbed a piece of parchment and raised her eyebrows. “Alejander?”

  Alejander nodded. “I have a mare.”

  “Right,” the stablemaster muttered, running her finger down the parchment. “Stall three. The next payment will be due in a month, otherwise, come and go as you will.”

  “Thank you, uh?”

  “Lilith,” the stablemaster said, lips quirking. “All the comments you could make I’ve already heard.”

  Alejander lifted his hands with a smirk on his face. “My wit isn’t as sharp as my daggers.”

  “Uh-huh.” Lilith gestured toward the back wall. “I have tack to clean, but everything you paid for will be over there.”

  Alejander ran his eyes over the tack hanging on the wall — each stall had its own section. A dull brown saddle was hanging on a hook with matching bridle and reins. Alejander grabbed both, the saddle a little heavier than he was expecting. Even without Matthew’s aches and pains, strength was still a bit of a problem.

  It was an interesting conundrum: construction of a character gave stats, but Alejander hadn’t bothered to check out his own. The stalls were running backwards, so by the time Alejander had made it to his own mare, his arms were aching. Thankfully, the horse was waiting, her head over the stall door, eyes watching him every step.

  She was patient as he slipped on the bridle and reins and hefted the saddle onto her back. He soothed her, running his hands over her shoulder and neck.

  “How about we get this party started?”

  The mare looked at him impassively. As long as she was fed, watered, and exercised, Alejander was sure she didn’t have an opinion either way. Still, a horse would make the journey towards MANGOON that much easier. Easing the mare out of the stall was simple enough; she wasn’t docile, but she was calm enough that he could turn his back on her to shut the stall door. He kept the reins in his hand – he wasn’t completely stupid – and decided now would be the time to figure out his skills.

  Turning his mind to his own stats, he was expecting the stats to start scrolling. The dissonance between what he was seeing and the text appearing across his vision was starting to fade.

  Acuity: 0

  Determines your charm, perception, and spell/ability reaction times.

  Constitution: 0

  Determines the strength of your defense, fortitude, and your tolerance levels.

  Deftness: 0

  Determines your dodge and attack speed, as well as your attack reaction times.

  Efficiency: 0

  Determines your accuracy during melee combat, your accuracy with ranged combat, and increases your critical hit percentage.

  Endurance: 0

  Determines your HP, Stamina, and your regeneration speed.

  Strength: 0

  Determines your strength during melee combat, your ability to lift heavy items, and your interaction with heavy weapons.

  YOU CURRENTLY HAVE 25 UNSPENT POINTS > Assign?

  This was clearly a menu he missed on the initial screen. Passing through to the assignment menu, Alejander considered the best application of the 25 points.

  If he was going to be as nimble and useful as he was back when he was cracking safes, he was going to need to be heavy on the deftness and endurance, as well as his efficiency and acuity. There wasn’t a lot he could do with only 25 points, so he would have to hope that there was a good increase.

  You have assigned:

  Acuity: 5

  Constitution: 4

  Deftness: 5

  Efficiency: 5

  Endurance: 5

  Strength: 1

  HP: 50/50

  Stamina: 25/25

  Skill Points: 40 + 6

  {Dagger +3

  Poisoned Dagger: +3)

  Existing skills: Riding {10}, Stealth {10}, Lockpicking {10}, Perception {10}.

  It was a lot of information to digest at once, and Alejander assumed that as the game progressed, he would start to understand it a little more. Leveling up would be the first task; if he was going to reach level 5 quickly, he would need to figure out the best way to get experience points enough to increase his skill points.

  At least he had enough skill in riding to use his horse. That was a start.

  “Think I’ll call you Greta,” Alejander said, as he placed his foot in the stirrup. Greta had been the name of his mother, and though it wasn’t the best use of her memory, this way he could keep a piece of home with him. It wouldn’t do to forget that this was merely a means to an end; Matthew was getting his life back, not trying to lose it in VR.

  Greta shifted on her hooves a little as he mounted, but settled as Alejander made himself comfortable, surprised by the ease with which he was doing everything. It had been while, yet he still knew exactly what to do – where to place his feet, his hands, how to get Greta to respond. Skills in the game really were fascinating. Or he was more gifted at riding than he ever thought so.

  Alejander’s pouch was the same way he left it. The avatars must exist in suspended animation on the ‘Net. Matthew had no head for computing or algorithms, and he doubted he would ever understand the mechanics that went into a game like this, but as long as he could figure out the intricacies of how things worked in-game, it didn’t much matter.

  Sardonya’s instructions fresh in his mind, Alejander set off through the city, Greta navigating the busy streets easily. Alejander wasn’t the only one moving by horseback. The horse seller was where Alejander had left him, thankfully having cleaned up some of the horses, though he had a long way to go. As Alejander passed by, the seller gave him a wave which Alejander returned after a brief hesitation. Though it was instinct to hide away, Alejander had already discovered that making friends went a long way to getting information that he needed.

  Greta’s ears flicked from different directions depending on where the loudest noise was coming from. Within the walls of Klister, it was difficult to tell; the signage was defaced and worn, but Alejander could make out some of them. Klister apparently contained a church, a market, a bank, and a trading post. Alejander filed those locations away, certain that he would need at least one of them in the future.

  There were two guards stationed at the entrance, both standing ramrod straight, a spear in one hand, shield in the other. They watched Alejander pass, but they did not try to stop him. He wondered how they could tell who could go and who couldn’t. The city was so busy, enough so that it took Alejander a good few minutes to work his way out onto the path, and though the map had told him to take the trail towards the crossroads, Alejander took one of the less travelled routes, content that he could find a way back into the main road.

  Away from the bustle and noise of the city, the forest seemed almost eerie in comparison. There was enough cloud cover in the sky to ma
ke it difficult to assuage what time it was. The rain was coming down hard, and there was wind enough to cause some of the trees to bend, for debris and detritus to blow across Greta’s path. Alejander was glad he had his hood up, though he would probably have to find shelter somewhere. He didn’t want Greta to catch a cold on his first trip out of the city (he figured animals/mounts also had to have some kind of stats, but he ignored how to check for it.)

  Even if the map gave no distances, Alejander could tell that this continent was vast. There was nothing on the horizon except for forest and trees, though the further he moved away from Klister the smaller it grew whenever he looked back over his shoulder. A few miles out, he walked Greta over onto the grass and halted her. Now that he had gone a good distance away from the city, he could see a tall spire jutting straight up out of the walls. It was clearly the church – or perhaps a cathedral – but the emblem was one he didn’t recognize. He didn’t care to learn, either, as it was doubtful that a rogue would need to bother himself with religion.

  There was smoke billowing over the top of the city, and birds congregating in flocks above various districts, low or high depending on where in the city they were. It really was a hub of activity, but Alejander was grateful to be out in the open. Or, he would have been, had it not been raining hard. The field stretched open before him, yet Alejander steered Greta towards the forest, hoping that it would at least give them both some cover.

  Alejander wasn’t the only traveller on the road. Occasionally, he would pass by carts and horses, or a lone traveller with a pack, giving Alejander a cautious look as he passed. He couldn’t tell if they were wary of him because of his class, or just wary of people in general. He supposed the more experience he gained, the more he would come to understand the demeanor and attitudes of some of the players.

  The forest itself was dark, and though Alejander had a torch, he didn’t think it would do much good in the rain. The cloud cover wasn’t total, so Alejander was grateful for the brief light filtering in through the trees, highlighting his path. Clutching the reins tightly, Alejander almost wanted to laugh at himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been afraid in a forest; couldn’t remember the last time he had been in a forest at all. Though Matthew had to remain surrounded by buildings and smog, Alejander had the freedom of the forest, and however artificial it seemed, the smells and the sounds were authentic enough to make it worthwhile.