by Paul Bellow
You have [25/31] health remaining.
This is it. Do or die.
I screamed and swung my sword with all my might.
Your slash SCRATCHES the gnoll scout for 2 damage.
Aargh. That won’t do it.
I dodged as the gnoll swung again.
The gnoll scout MISSES YOU.
I slashed again, hoping the others were okay.
Your slash HITS the gnoll for 9 damage.
A little better, but...
“Watch out!” Sarah yelled.
I dodged at the last moment as three energy bolts shot by.
The gnoll screamed and went down to the ground.
Combat is Over!
You get 1200xp divided by two party members.
You get 600xp
You have 2,805 xp
You need 2,195 xp for level three rogue.
“Everyone okay?” I asked, scanning the battlefield.
“Fine here,” Sarah said.
“I’ll be fine,” Benji said in a strained voice.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, walking over.
“One of the hyenas bit me,” he said.
“Use one of the healing ointments,” I said.
“You would do that for me?” he asked.
“Give him a healing potion, Sarah.”
She walked over to Benji and handed him a vial. He took off the cork and downed it all. Immediately, his bleeding stopped.
“That feels better,” he said then grinned.
I glanced around.
“How’s the boy?” I asked. “We should get back to the city for the night and plan on how to best tackle the gnoll encampment.”
“I’ll go check on the boy,” Sarah said. “He’s cowering by our cart.”
While Benji went to check the gnoll for any loot, I followed Sarah. We found the boy huddled under a pile of straw in the back.
“Are you okay?” Sarah asked.
The boy sat up, eyes wide open.
“Are they gone?” he asked.
His head whipped back and forth.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “We killed them.”
“Thank you so much.” The boy relaxed.
After scooting to the edge of the cart, he hopped down.
“Do you need a ride back to the city?” Sarah asked.
The boy turned to examine our ride.
“Will we be safe in this cart?” he asked.
“We’ll be fine,” Benji said as he walked up.
“Did you find anything of value on the gnolls?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said.
“Okay,” Sarah said. “Everyone in the cart. We need to get back to the city before we run into anything else.”
The boy scrambled back onto the cart, sitting in the back with his legs dangling over the edge.
While Sarah took a seat next to him, I walked around to the front of the cart with Benji.
“Mission successful,” he said as we took our seats.
“We got her book,” I said. “But we still haven’t found our friend.”
I picked up the reins and got the mule in motion.
Thankfully, the ride back to Fishguard went quietly.
We reached the gates of the city at dusk. Two guards watched as we rode by, our cart about to fall apart.
Back at the Half-Full Inn, we went to our room. The boy curled up on one of the beds, hiding under a blanket. I closed the door then turned around.
“We should get a fresh start in the morning.” I looked at Benji. “Can you take the cart to get fixed in the morning?”
“Sure thing, boss,” he said, as eager as ever.
“I need to go find a book of my own,” I said.
“Tonight?” Sarah asked. “Can’t it wait?”
“It’s important like your book,” I said, not wanting to go OOC.
“Oh…” She nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Benji shifted his weight from one leg to another.
“I can help,” he mumbled.
“Thanks, but a priest can’t help someone like me train,” I said.
“I have a Rogue Training Manual.” He dug into his sack and pulled out a thin, leather-bound book. “You’re welcome to use it.”
“How come you have a Rogue Training Manual?” Sarah asked.
“Someone donated it to the parish, and I kept it because...I thought it looked nice, and I might sell it someday.”
I glanced over at Sarah then back to Benji.
“Something fishy,” I said.
Benji emphatically shook his head.
“Not at all,” he said. “Unless you meant the Order of the Fish, the parish where I worked before you found me?”
I stepped toward him then took the leather book. Flipping through the first few pages, I saw instructions for leveling.
How did an NPC have access to a Rogue Training Manual for player characters? I glanced up and said, “Looks legit.”
Benji smiled nervously as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
“I need to go see a man about a horse,” he said. “Or a drink. I’ll be back later tonight. See you two later.”
As Benji turned and left the room, I stared down at the book in my hands.
How long will it take to level?
“I’m going to bed,” Sarah said. “Don’t stay up too late.”
“Huh?” I glanced from the book to her. “Oh, yeah. I won’t.”
She smiled, knowing the excitement of achieving a new level. We were trapped in the game, but it didn’t matter as much.
Later that night, after finishing the first chapter, I pulled up my character sheet to look at the new numbers.
>> Stats
* * *
Name: Drexmao (“Drex”)
Race: Human (Special)
Class: Rogue
Level: 2
Experience Points: 2805
XP for Next Level: 2195
Alignment: +85 (Quite Good)
Health: 31(31)
Strength: 75 (+10%)
Dexterity: 75 (+10%)
Constitution: 75 (+10%)
Intelligence: 75 (+10%)
Wisdom: 55 (+0%)
Charisma: 44 (+0%)
Not bad. Could be better. I need to buff up my stats before I level again.
Looks like I get 20 hit points each level with a bonus?
The hidden game mechanics intrigued me. I wanted to min-max my way to greatness—at least until we got out of the game. I had to keep reminding myself we were trapped and needed to get out. We still hadn’t found Josh either.
I took a deep breath.
Sitting on a chair near the window, I leaned back on two legs. When my eyes closed, I drifted off to sleep right away.
Once again, my dreams combined real world memories with memories from inside the game.
Both haunted me.
10
Monster Hunting We Will Gnoll
SARAH
As I opened my eyes and realized we were still in the game, I sighed. Would we ever get out? I sat up in bed and looked around the room.
The boy we’d rescued had taken off sometime during the night. I got up to check my sack for our potions and gold. Both were safe.
“We almost got robbed,” Benji said, startling me.
I looked toward the window where he stood.
“You scared me,” I said. “Where’s the boy?”
“He tried to rob us, but I scared him off.”
“Did you hurt him?” I asked.
“No,” Benji said in a hurt tone. “Of course not.”
Eric snored from a chair near the other window, and I smiled.
“Let him sleep a bit more,” I said. “Are you going to fix the cart?”
“Yeah, sure,” Benji said in the most non-NPC voice I’d ever heard.
“Thanks,” I said.
He mumbled something then left the room.
As Eric slept, I checked my level two stats.
>>Stats
* * *
Name: Kali Tracaryn
Race: Elf
Class: Mage
Level: 2
XP: 4695
XP for Next LeveL: 2805
Alignment: +75 (Very Good)
HEALTH: 12 (12)
MANA: 48 (48)
Strength: 72 (+10% To Hit Melee, +2 melee damage)
Dexterity: 96 (+35% To Hit Ranged,+35 Armor Class)
Constitution: 52 (+0%)
Intelligence: 93 (+30% INT saves, +6 mp every level)
Wisdom: 43 (+0%)
Charisma: 44 (+0%)
Any new spells?
>> Stats Spells
* * *
Spells: Level One
* * *
>> Fish Slaying (1mp) Slay fish in ten foot radius.
>> Golden Bolts (2mp per bolt up to 4+ lvl of caster) Golden bolts of energy shoot out of your palms.
>> Glorified Cloaks of Bronze (2mp per armor adjustment up to 4+ lvl of caster) Golden energy surrounds the target of the spell, improving their defense by 10%
The game also offered me a new spell to learn.
Choose one new first level spell from the following list:
* * *
>> Ritual of Clean Helms
>> Conjure Bronze
>> Illusion of Earth
>> Negate Speaking
>> Ladder of Dwarven Earth
>> Identify
* * *
Tip: At level three, you will gain one second level spell and one more first level spell.
Sweet. No second level spell yet, but a few useful first level ones. Negate Speaking is so tempting, but I’ll go with Identify.
Eric snorted and shook. As his chair fell back on all four legs with a thud, he leaped up, fists raised for a fight.
“Calm down,” I said, laughing. “Everything’s okay. You overslept.”
He reached his arms above his head, yawning and stretching.
“Feel good to have the use of your legs?” I asked.
“So nice,” he said. “Where’s Benji?”
“He went to fix the cart. Did you sleep okay?”
“Not really,” he said. “Dreams are so weird in-game.”
I nodded, agreeing with him.
“While we’re waiting on Benji to get back, I’m going downstairs to check on that bath,” I said.
“I’ll stay here for now,” he said. “I’ve got more reading to do.”
“Don’t fall back asleep.” I walked toward the door. “We have a lot to do today. Things aren’t getting easier.”
“Sure thing, mom,” he replied.
I smiled as I walked out of the room. On my way downstairs, I thought about all the good times Eric and I had shared over the years.
When I reached the dining room, I saw the innkeeper seated behind the long, rustic bar.
“Good morning,” I said in a cheerful voice as I approached.
He glanced up, not enthused.
“Morning,” he said. “You missed breakfast, but I can make something special for an additional cost. The waitress didn’t show up for work this morning. You know anything about that?”
“No,” I said. “But I want to use the bath in the basement. How much?”
He perked up, straightening his posture on the stool.
“Name’s Basil,” he said. “Sorry for my foul mood. I wasn’t expecting to work today. The heated bath is only a silver coin, but for you, the first is free. Such a fine looking elf shouldn’t be soiled by dirt and grime.”
He grinned, displaying yellowed, worn teeth.
I smiled, not showing my true emotions.
Yet another NPC with real world emotions and goals in life? So strange.
“All I have is gold coins,” I said.
“Not a problem,” he said, hopping off the stool behind the bar.
I dropped a coin on the weathered wood. He swiped it up.
“How many baths does that give us?” I asked.
“Twenty one,” he said without missing a beat. “Including the free one.”
“Keep it,” I said. “We’ll be here on and off for a week or more.”
“That’s wonderful,” he said. “The realms need more adventuring folk like you. Anything else I can do to help, just let me know.”
I smiled then said, “Thanks. Is everything ready downstairs?”
“Yup,” he said, nodding his head. “I fired the boiler this morning myself. Water’s fresh and warm.”
“Can’t wait,” I said.
He kept smiling as I waved, then walked away to find the bath in the basement. I thought about the training manual I’d gotten.
Was Eric’s training book the same? I needed to go OOC and ask him. I stopped at the top of the stone stairs leading into the basement.
A few torches cast a dim light; just a quick dip. I stepped down, holding onto the right wall for support as I went downward.
With my luck, it would turn out to be a rusty tub full of dirty water. I grinned, amazed at how I kept forgetting the real world.
On the bottom of the stairs, I saw a short hallway with an open door at the end. The smell of soap wafted through the air. I stepped toward the doorway, anxious to see what I was working with.
My eyes widened as I reached an immense room. The marble walls and floor were offset by a wooden ceiling. A tub big enough for half a dozen sat against the far wall.
I rushed over, anxious to clean my virtual body. The game’s realism was getting on my nerves in a big way.
Steam rose from the water as I approached.
A few clean towels sat on a nearby ledge along with glass bottles. I stripped off my clothes, admiring my elven body. The realism of the game was good in some respects, I admitted.
As I stepped into the warm water to take a seat, panic hit me.
I remembered the real world.
We were trapped.
The anxiety slipped away as I sat down, my arms resting on the smooth marble surrounding the pool of water. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back.
Stress magically floated away. The game captivated me once again.
A sudden wave of paranoia washed over me.
Was someone watching?
I opened my eyes and scanned the room.
“Who’s there?” I asked.
Nobody answered.
“This isn’t funny,” I said.
Still nothing. What’s going on?
My heart beat faster as I stood. Once out of the water, I grabbed a towel to cover my nakedness. No one gets a free show.
Was it Benji? Maybe Basil? Someone else?
Or something else?
I kept my eyes open as I dried off then quickly got dressed.
Back upstairs, I saw Basil the innkeeper sitting behind the bar.
He nodded his head and smiled as I walked by.
Maybe I’d just imagined someone in the basement with me? I’d pushed the incident aside when I returned to our room.
I saw Eric standing next to the window, looking at the street below.
Was he the one spying on me in the basement? There’s no way. He couldn’t have gotten back up to our room so quickly. Right?
He turned and smiled.
“You all cleaned up?” he teased.
I nodded, not mentioning what had happened.
“We have twenty more uses of the bath if we need it,” I said.
“That’s nice,” he said. “But we’re about to head to the forest.”
“Who knows how long we’ll be here…in the realms,” I said.
I wanted to go OOC to yell at him, but I resisted the urge.
To survive, we needed to level up. And for that, we needed xp.
“Where’s Benji?” I asked.
After mentioning his name, the door opened, and he walked in.
“My ears were burning,” he said. “Were you talking about me?”
He grinned and walked over as if he owned the place.
“Just wo
ndering where you were,” I said.
Had he been spying on me?
“Good bath?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” I stepped toward him, anger overwhelming me. “Were you spying on me?”
Benji’s face scrunched up.
“No,” he said. “Of course not.”
“Was someone spying on you?” Eric stepped over. “I’ll kill them.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Did you get the cart fixed, Benji?”
“As much as I could for ten gold,” he said.
My eyes opened wider.
“Ten gold?” I asked.
“I took the gold out of your bag this morning,” he said. “Was I supposed to ask first? How else was I supposed to pay for it?”
“You’re fine,” I said.
We’d find more gold and magic items.
“Go get the cart ready,” I said. “Eric and I will be down in a minute.”
“You got it, boss...”
Benji left the room, closing the door behind him.
I turned to Eric and said, “We need to find Josh and get out of this game.”
OOC Penalty
-10% experience points next encounter
“What are you doing?” Eric asked, shaking his head.
“I need to talk with you,” I said. “This game is driving me crazy.”
He nodded—always a good listener.
“Go on,” he said.
“You haven’t noticed the way it’s more difficult to remember the real world the longer we’re in here?”
He nodded then put a hand on my arm.
“We’ll figure a way out,” he said. “After we find Josh. I’ve already got a few ideas. We need to clear this first level and get back to the tower.”
“How can you be sure?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “But we’re both smart gamers. We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.”
“But what if we’re trapped in here forever?” I asked, recalling a nightmare from the night before.
“We’ll get out,” he said then put his finger to his lips.
I cocked my head to the side and scrunched up my eyes. He tiptoed toward the door then flung it open. Benji stumbled into the room, almost falling.
