Hero

by Paul Bellow

  I laughed, stopping when the foul Four Wizards stepped into view.

  “What are you four doing there?” I asked.

  They moved out of view without saying a word.

  “And they’re not the only ones helping,” Eddie said. “We gave you a chance, but you suck as a leader. If we want to get out of here, we need to kill you and drain your power.”

  “Try it!” I shouted then smashed the mirror with my fist.

  The glass cracked, bits of it falling to the stone floor.

  Blood dripped from my knuckles, but I didn’t care.

  Did they think they could kill me?

  As the oldest player in the game, I had powers they could only imagine. I stopped pacing. Would they really team up and come after me?

  I had to talk to Eric without the gamemaster AI hearing, but that could wait. As a noob player, he would die soon enough on his own.

  Eddie and the alliance of idiot wizards concerned me more. The undead needed to spread faster, and I didn’t need him spoiling my plans.

  I teleported back to the portal.

  9

  Random Encounter Resources

  Sarah

  Later that evening, we stopped to make camp for the night.

  “Can we trust these new people?” Charlotte asked in my mind.

  “We can trust Josh for sure. Keep an eye on the other two.”

  “I will, Sarah.”

  After stepping out of the wagon, I stretched my arms to the sky. My entire body hurt. Sleeping in a cell on the floor the night before hadn’t helped.

  “You okay?” Josh asked, putting his hand on the small of my back.

  I turned my head, nodded, and smiled.

  “Yeah. What about you?” I asked.

  “It’s been crazy,” he said.

  As the others unloaded supplies from the top and back of the wagon, Josh and I stood next to each other and watched. We’d been apart so long.

  “I’ve been looking for you this whole time,” he said. “I don’t remember everything, though. This game is so strange.”

  I nodded, wishing I had answers.

  Eric walked over, stopping in front of us.

  “I’ll scout around,” he said. “You want to come, Josh?”

  “Sure,” he said then leaned over and kissed me on the lips. “We’ll be back.”

  Eric looked away, not saying a word.

  “Be safe, you two,” I said.

  I watched as they walked away, hoping they weren’t talking about me.

  “Are you okay, Sarah?” Evan asked.

  I looked down at the brownie and smiled.

  “We need to have a little talk,” I said.

  He glanced down at the ground, still smiling.

  “I’m not mad, but you’ve got to learn not to blurt out information only our party should know, okay?”

  Ewen walked up, shaking his head.

  “What did you do now, bozo?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” Evan snapped.

  “Both of you are doing great,” I said. “But it’s going to get more dangerous. We all need to work together to get out of this.”

  I looked from Ewen to Evan.

  “Understood?” I asked.

  “Yes, Sarah,” they both said simultaneously.

  Had they been twins in the real world?

  “Sarah, we could use your help,” Bernard said.

  I turned then walked over to him and Omar. They were standing in front of all our equipment from the wagon.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  Bernard nodded his head to Omar.

  “Genius over there forgot to pack any food or water,” he said.

  “I told Rusty to pack it,” Omar said. “He must’ve forgot. We had a lot going on. My name is Sheldon, by the way.”

  He reached out his hand. I shook it, noting the firm grip.

  “I’m Sarah,” I said. “What do you know about the Tower of Gates?”

  His face went white as if all the blood had rushed from his brain at once.

  “I’ll tell the story to everyone later tonight,” Sheldon said. “Thanks for letting me in the party. We should get prepared before the sun goes down. There’s a lot of big cats and other creatures around.”

  “What about your friend?” I asked. “What’s his name?”

  “Rusty?” Sheldon sighed. “I’m not sure about him, to be honest. After being turned into an NPC, I got stuck in Esterhollow working for the racist brigade.”

  “Where’d Eric and Josh go?” Bernard asked.

  “Eric asked him to scout around with him,” I said. “They should’ve taken Evan since he’s such a good tracker.”

  “Do you think they’re going to fight or something?” Bernard asked. “I don’t know all the backstory between you three, but Josh seemed upset about dying back at the Chong Monastery.”

  I took a deep breath and frowned.

  They wouldn’t fight each other, would they? I wondered.

  And then I heard Eric scream in the distance.

  Ugh.

  I ran toward the sound. The others followed me. Across the field where we’d stopped, I saw Eric and Josh battling two living trees.

  “Hurry it up,” I said, running faster. “They need our help.”

  The closer I came to the battle, the more I realized we might be in for quite a fight. Both vegetation monsters stood over twenty-feet tall.

  One of them had wrapped a few of its branches around Josh, squeezing him. He yelled as Eric chopped and slashed at the other monster.

  I slowed to a stop away from the battle.

  “They’re moontrees,” Bernard said, stopping beside me.

  Rusty, Sheldon, and the brownies showed up a few seconds later.

  “Moontree?” I asked. “What should we do? How do we fight them?”

  “Same way we fight any other creature in this crazy game,” he said, drawing his mace.

  “Go help Josh,” I said. “Evan, come with me to help Eric.”

  I ran closer to the battle. A tree limb swept into Eric’s legs and knocked him to the ground. I stopped and cast four flaming discs for twenty mana.

  Your Flaming Discs of Lava WOUND the moontree for 17 damage.

  You have [68/138] mana remaining today.

  The tree burst into flames where the discs of lava hit it. Eric rolled then got to his feet. The moontree turned and reached for me as I prepared to cast.

  “Careful!” Josh shouted behind me. “You’re hurting me too.”

  “I’ve got to cut you out,” Bernard said.

  As Eric chopped at the limb reaching toward me and slicing it clear off, I cast another four lava discs at the thick, brown trunk of the tree.

  Your Flaming Discs of Lava WOUND the moontree for 15 damage.

  You have [48/138] mana remaining today.

  Acrid grey smoke rolled off the moontree, billowing upward.

  Eric yelled for us to be careful again.

  “We don’t want to give away our position!”

  Most of my offensive spells are fire based, I realized. I need to mix it up more on the next level.

  But all that could wait. The most important thing was to win the battle with no one dying.

  As Eric attacked the burning moontree, I turned to check on the others. Bernard, Ewen, Evan, and Rusty surrounded the tree, hacking away with their weapons.

  The moontree continued squeezing Josh.

  “Don’t kill him again!” I yelled as I ran over.

  Bernard dodged a tree limb.

  “We’re trying our best,” he said.

  I ran forward and cast Mystic Therapy for ten mana. As I touched Josh’s chest through the branches, he glowed briefly.

  “Watch out!” Bernard yelled.

  A tree limb swung down and hit me. I tumbled to the ground.

  “Die evil tree.” Evan said, sticking the trunk with his dagger.

  Bernard attacked the limb that had hit me as I scooted backward. I stood and thought
about how to spend my last thirty-eight mana without fire.

  Josh yelled and went into another rage.

  How many times a day can he do that?

  Like Hercules himself, he broke the branches restraining him.

  After breaking free, he rushed toward me, waving his arms with his eyes open wide and filled with pure, raw rage.

  I cast Freeze Person, and he stopped.

  I stared into his eyes, amazed at the rage displayed on his face.

  Evan screamed.

  I looked past the frozen barbarian. A willowy tree limb had pinned the brownie to the ground.

  “Help him!” I yelled.

  “Kind of busy right now,” Bernard said as he fought his own moontree. “I’ve got this,” Eric said behind me then rushed by.

  He pierced the trunk of the tree with his sword.

  Combat is Over!

  You get 9,600 xp divided by eight party members.

  You get 1,200 xp.

  You have 38,297 xp You need 14,703 xp for level 7 mage.

  Eric pulled his sword.

  “Is everyone okay?” he asked.

  “Check on Evan,” I said.

  “I’m fine, Sarah,” the brownie said as he stood. “Sorry about not doing better.”

  “You did fine,” I said, wondering if he’d been a child in the real world.

  He sure acted like one sometimes.

  “I got a splinter,” Ewen complained.

  “You’ll be fine.” I turned to Sheldon and Rusty. “What about you two?”

  “That was insane,” Rusty said. “I never knew adventuring would mean killing evil trees and running from the law…”

  His voice trailed off.

  “I’m having a splendid time,” Sheldon said. “I can’t wait to level and get new spells.”

  “Do you have any now?” I asked.

  “We can talk about that later,” Eric said. “We need to put out this fire before someone comes to investigate the smoke.”

  “I’m on it,” Bernard said. “Wish someone would’ve remembered to pack water.”

  Rusty frowned and shook his head.

  “You guys have been great,” he said. “But I’m going back. Adventuring is not for me.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “We haven’t talked about your life out of the game.”

  “That’s none of your business,” he said. “Let me out of this party. You guys are nuts.”

  “Fine,” I said, looking around at the others. “Anyone have a problem with him leaving?”

  Everyone shook their heads. We all unchecked him from our party.

  Rusty the human warrior has left the party.

  I watched as he walked through the field toward the road, shaking his head.

  “Evan, Ewen, go make sure he doesn’t take the wagon,” Eric said.

  “I’ve got most of the fire out,” Bernard said. “Don’t ask how I came up with liquid.”

  He snickered.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “We won’t.”

  Maybe Rusty is right, I thought. We’re a band of misfits, not a party ready to fight together to kill a black dragon. What chance do we have of finishing the quest?

  Eric walked over and put his hand on my shoulder.

  “We’ve got to talk to Josh about his barbarian rage,” he said. “That’ll bite us one of these days. We don’t need him attacking us during battles.”

  “I know,” I said, pulling away from him. “He didn’t do any damage yet.”

  “We should go,” Bernard said. “I want to ride a few more miles down the road before finding a place to camp for the night.”

  Sheldon rubbed his hands together.

  “This is all so exciting,” he said. “You don’t understand how long I’ve been waiting to get back into the game. This is incredible. I feel so alive.”

  “How long have you been in the Tower of Gates?” I asked.

  “Too long,” he said. “What about you guys?”

  “Over two months now,” I said. “Time in here is so weird.”

  “Right?” Sheldon shook his head. “I was stuck as an NPC forever.”

  “Well, you’re with us now,” Eric said.

  The spell on Josh ended. He turned and yelled.

  “Calm down,” I said. “You don’t want to go into another barbarian rage.”

  “Maybe I do,” he countered. “At least I didn’t die this time.”

  “Always a bright side,” Eric said then smirked.

  “We need a better battle leader,” Josh said, surprising me. “I volunteer.”

  “You’re still too low level.” Eric stepped toward him. “I’m the best fighter we have right now. End of story.”

  Josh puffed out his chest.

  “Oh, yeah?” he asked.

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  “Wait,” Sheldon said. “Aren’t we going to get branches and twigs from the moontree that isn’t burnt?”

  Everyone turned to him. He smiled sheepishly.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “You guys are new to the game, aren’t you?” He chuckled. “Most wands and staves in the game are made from the wood of the moontree.”

  “Do you know how to make wands or staves?” I asked.

  “No, no,” he said. “I’m too low-level and so are you, but even if we can’t make them ourselves right now, we can sell the wood somewhere.”

  “Good idea,” Bernard said. “I’m liking the new new-guy.”

  “Let’s get to work,” I said. “Any particular size we should make them?”

  Sheldon shook his head.

  “Nope,” he said. “Get what you can. The burnt tree won’t help, but the other one is fine.”

  He walked toward the fallen moontree then struggled to snap off a branch.

  Josh tossed his head to the left then right and flexed his muscles.

  “I got this,” he said.

  He and Eric walked over to the tree and broke off enough material for seven staves and eighteen wands according to Sheldon.

  After they finished, everyone stood around the pile of magic wood.

  “Hey, Sheldon, when will we be able to make our own magic items?” I asked.

  “Around level ten,” he said. “It’s been so long since I was that high level.”

  “What happened?” I asked. “What’s your story?”

  He bobbed his head back and forth as if he were considering something.

  “I’m going back to the wagon,” he said, ignoring my question. “We should find a better campsite for the evening.”

  “Agreed,” Bernard said. “Finally, someone else in the party with a bit of sense.”

  They both turned to leave.

  “We have to get out of this stupid game,” Josh said.

  “I know how,” Sheldon answered, saying it over his shoulder.

  I looked from Eric to Josh then followed Sheldon across the field.

  Back at the wagon, Evan sat up front, holding the reins.

  “We ready to go?” he asked, bouncing up and down on the wooden bench.

  “You’re not driving, bozo,” Ewen said. “Get down from there.”

  “I’ll drive,” Bernard said. “You guys can talk more in the back.”

  The rest of our party piled into the wagon. Eric and I sat toward the front with Evan between us. Josh and Sheldon were on the opposite bench with Ewen between them.

  “It’s too small in here,” Josh said, squirming on the bench.

  “You can ride up top,” Eric said and Evan laughed.

  I looked at Sheldon.

  “What were you saying about a way out of the game?” I asked.

  He took a deep breath, a frown forming on his face.

  I watched his head bob back and forth again.

  “Go on,” I said. “You can trust us.”

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you as much as I’m not sure about myself.”

  “Out with it,” Josh said.

  “Well,”
Sheldon said. “I’m one of the developers of the Tower of Gates.”

  “Big deal,” Josh said. “Eric’s dad is one of the high-ups in the company that built it.”

  Sheldon looked at Eric.

  “Really?” he asked.

  Eric nodded then said, “Yeah, but I don’t know anything about the game. Why does it have us trapped in here? Do you know how to get out?”

  “Trapping people in here was never part of the original idea,” Sheldon said. “This was supposed to be the coolest game.”

  He sighed then looked down at his feet.

  “It’s a neat game,” Eric said. “But not having a quit feature makes it a lot less cool.”

  “And the fact it’s actually a prison,” Bernard added.

  “It was never supposed to be this way,” Sheldon said. “They lied to me. People like your father.”

  “Hold on,” Eric said. “We don’t know that he’s involved in trapping people in the game. He never talked to me about the game in detail.”

  “And yet you brought us in here?” Josh asked.

  “How long have you been in the game?” Sheldon asked.

  “A couple months,” I said. “Remember I told you?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Sheldon said. “I’m trying to do the calculations, but it’s pointless. The time dilation changes all the time. It adapts to the system’s needs.”

  “The system?” I tilted my head to the left. “Needs?”

  “It’s complicated,” Sheldon said. “But basically, the game is run by three separate neural nets running on a hundred atom quantum computer cluster.”

  “That’s not much computing power,” Eric said.

  “Exactly,” Sheldon said. “We programmed this game to use elements from the real world to help power it. The idea worked great…at first.”

  He dropped his chin to his chest.

  “What are you talking about?” Eric asked.

  Sheldon sighed then looked up again.

  “To have enough processing power,” he said. “We borrowed processing cycles from The Internet of Things.”

  “Like refrigerators and digital scales?” Bernard asked.