Hero

by Paul Bellow

  Your pierce MISSES the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor).

  Gilgor the troglodyte shaman leader is taking damage.

  The shaman laughed then launched a spell my way.

  Gilgor’s Burning Hands WOUND you for 18 damage.

  You have [107/125] health remaining.

  Two flaming discs hit the tough scales of the shaman and bounced off.

  He let loose another spell. I shrugged it off and attacked again.

  Gilgor’s Burning Hands MAUL you for 22 damage.

  You have [85/125] health remaining.

  Your slash INJURES the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor) for 12 damage.

  Your slash HITS the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor) for 10 damage.

  Gilgor is severely damaged.

  The shaman stumbled backward as Axelrod came in with a final swing of his battle-ax, finishing the last of the troglodytes. Or so I hoped.

  Combat is over!

  You get 10,000 xp divided by seven party members You get 1,429 xp You have 65,105 xp You need 9, 895 xp for level 9 Rogue --> Bounty Hunter

  I glanced around, hoping another wave of troglodytes wouldn’t appear.

  “Everyone okay?” Axelrod asked, walking around all the bodies.

  “I’m great,” Ryu said. “I’m about to level up.”

  “The Mines of Oriam always have something new brewing,” Axelrod said. “It’s almost a roguelike itself in some ways.”

  Ryu walked over and looked at Axelrod.

  “We should investigate this troglodyte appearance,” he said.

  “No,” Axelrod said. “We’ve got to keep on the main quest. It’s important to kill the black dragon and free the dwarves. Besides, there’s xp and more loot along the way.”

  “I’m down with that,” I said, sheathing my weapons after cleaning the blood off. “We need a weapon buff that cleans our weapons automatically.”

  Sarah turned to Ryu.

  “Did you get new spells?” she asked.

  Our healer nodded, not elaborating.

  What was it about him that gave me doubts? The game had turned party members against us before. Live players were so much more complex than the NPC mobs.

  “Let’s head out,” Axelrod yelled over his shoulder as he walked away.

  I followed him along with the others. At the other end of the cavern, we entered a dwarven tunnel and marched toward the chamber where we’d camped.

  As we walked, none of us talking, I kept thinking about how to get out of the game. Could we escape the Tower of Gates without losing our minds?

  Only time would tell.

  20

  That’s No Ordinary Tunnel

  Sarah

  “That was so scary, Charlotte,” I said as we walked.

  “I agree,” she replied.

  “At least I have mana. No telling what else we’ll come up against.”

  “We should have stayed above ground, Sarah.”

  “Don’t spiders like caves and damp, dark places?”

  “Not all of us…”

  Both of us stopped talking in our minds as the party returned to our last campsite.

  “Can we stop and rest?” Sheldon asked.

  “No,” Axelrod said. “We’re too close to get any further behind schedule.”

  “We’re on a schedule?” Eric asked. “That’s new to me.”

  “Me, too,” Josh added.

  I liked that the two of them were getting along better.

  “Tough tree-trolls,” Axelrod grumbled. “Follow me.”

  He opened a door on the far side of the room and shuffled through. The rest of us followed at a slower pace. On the other side of the door, yet another wide tunnel descended at a slight angle.

  I wondered what the dwarven kingdom was like with all its inhabitants still around. Did we have a chance of freeing the dwarves and allowing them back into level one-two? The quest had a certain meta feel to it.

  I looked over my left shoulder.

  “Thanks for saving me, by the way,” I said, slowing down.

  Eric smiled as we walked side by side at the rear of the line.

  “Not a problem,” he said. “I had help.”

  “Yeah,” I continued. “I know I set the party back in its main quest.”

  “We’ll need your magic for that dragon,” he said.

  “And your swords,” I countered.

  “Quiet in the back,” Axelrod shouted.

  I stayed at Eric’s side as we journeyed to the Pit of Doom. Even a young dragon would give us trouble unless we worked together as a cohesive team.

  Axelrod stopped and raised a fist for us to do the same.

  “What is it?” I asked. “Can you see anything?”

  “Zombies!” Josh yelled then rushed down the hall toward them.

  “No!” Axelrod shouted. “They’re dwarven zombies. My kin…”

  “This won’t go well,” Eric said then pushed his way to the front. “We have to kill them to move forward.”

  “Mutiny,” Axelrod shouted as the rest of us ran past him.

  Further down the wide, stone hall, eight bodies barely alive shambled forward. Josh had already bashed the skulls of two of them when I stopped next to Ryu and Sheldon.

  “Can’t you turn them?” I asked our priest.

  “No,” he said, offering no real explanation.

  I didn’t press the matter, turning my attention to the battle.

  “How are you on mana, Sheldon?” I asked.

  “Fine,” he said. “There’s no telling what’s further down the tunnel, so I’m holding off on casting. I’m getting bad vibes.”

  “Me, too,” I said, turning my attention back to the battle in front of us.

  Josh screamed as his sword came down on the last of the short dwarven zombies.

  Combat is over!

  You get 4800 xp divided by seven party members.

  You get 686 xp.

  You have 65,871 xp You need 11,129 xp for level eight Wizard-->Warlock

  “Nice job,” I said as Eric, Josh and the others walked over to us.

  “This is crazy,” Axelrod said, shaking his head. “They’re not supposed to turn player characters into zombies.”

  “Wait…” I turned to Axelrod. “Those were player characters? How do you know?”

  “Yeah,” Eric asked. “We didn’t get a penalty.”

  “Because I know,” Axelrod grumbled, still shaking his head.

  Anger replaced sadness in the flurry of emotions on his face.

  “They’ll pay for this,” he said.

  “Who?” I asked. “Magi Inyontoo.”

  Axelrod gripped his battle-ax with both hands. “Him and anyone else behind this craziness. Who’s with me?”

  “We’re all with you,” I said.

  “Yeah,” Eric added. “All of us.”

  “I’ll kill anything that comes at us,” Josh said.

  A piece of a brain dropped from his sword to the stone floor of the tunnel.

  “It makes me so mad,” Axelrod said. “There’s no reason to be prejudice in a game.”

  “This isn’t a normal game,” Ryu said.

  Everyone turned to glare at him. He raised his hands, palms out.

  “I’m just playing devil’s advocate,” he said. “Calm down.”

  “Not funny,” I said, shaking my head to shame him.

  He narrowed his eyes and stared into mine.

  “Are we near the Pit of Doom?” I asked.

  “This is the final tunnel,” Axelrod said. “We shouldn’t run into any other creatures or traps. Unless there are more zombies.”

  “Don’t zombies mean a necromancer’s nearby?” Sheldon asked.

  Axelrod frowned and shook his head.

  “You had to say it out loud, didn’t you?” he muttered.

  “Sorry,” Sheldon said softly then stepped back.

  “Let’s move out,” Axelrod said then continued down the tunnel.

  He walked deeper down t
he slightly sloping tunnel. The rest of us followed two abreast.

  “Where are my children?” a raspy voice asked.

  Everyone stopped in their tracks.

  “I’m scared, Sarah.”

  “We’ll be fine,” I said.

  “Show yourself!” Axelrod yelled into the darkness ahead.

  Out of the shadows, a glowing humanoid floated toward us, getting brighter.

  “Attack,” it hissed as it pointed a shrunken finger at our group.

  Two groups of zombies—this time human-sized—poured around the specter, protecting it from a frontal assault. Josh, Eric, and Axelrod all rushed forward.

  As they fought the zombies with steel and wood, the clatter and clash of their weapons striking ancient steel armor echoed up and down the tunnel.

  “We need your help, Bernard!” Eric yelled.

  I wondered if these zombies had been PCs before.

  No time to think it through now.

  As Bernard rushed to the others with his mace raised, I cast two Lances of Lightning, bouncing it off the ceiling to hit the specter behind enemy lines.

  Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS Utagawa Yoshiiku the Specter for 17 damage.

  Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS Utagawa Yoshiiku the Specter for 19 damage.

  You have [200/260] mana remaining.

  “Careful with that lightning!” Axelrod yelled.

  He continued attacking zombies.

  I ignored the dwarf and turned to Sheldon.

  “Can you bounce your Golden Bolts yet?” I asked.

  He shook his head. I sighed then turned to survey the battle.

  The specter had closed the gap. It stood less than five yards away as it raised its clawed hands.

  Can it cast spells?

  “Die, interloper,” it hissed then answered my question.

  Electricity shot out of its hands and arced toward me.

  I screamed as it hit me.

  Utagawa Yoshiiku’s Shocking Grasp INJURES you for 12 damage.

  You have [34/46] health remaining.

  “Careful, Sarah,” Charlotte said from my shoulder.

  Eric rushed over and slid his shorter blade into the specter’s side, causing it to hiss and turn toward him.

  I used the opportunity to yell, “Healing!”

  While I wasn’t even half down yet, I basically had no protection. How had the front line fallen so fast? I looked around as I stepped backward.

  Piles of rotting zombie-flesh littered the floor of the tunnel. With most of them out of commission, everyone concentrated on Utagawa Yoshiiku—the named specter.

  As the others surrounded him, the ghastly creature grabbed Eric by the neck, squeezing him tight with its gaunt, leathery hand. Eric dropped both his weapons.

  I rushed forward as they clanged onto the stone floor.

  Not on my watch.

  Before I could cast, the specter reached out and gripped my neck the same way.

  Utagawa Yoshiiku’s Death Grip WOUNDS you for 18 damage.

  You have [16/46] health remaining.

  You lose 5 intelligence.

  You gain +5 charisma.

  You lose 1,000 xp.

  You have 64,871 xp

  I struggled to break free of its grasp as I gasped for air. Josh brought down the Sword of Sands on top of the specter’s head. It dropped both Eric and me to the floor.

  The fall deals 4 damage.

  You have [12/46] health remaining.

  As soon as I hit the stone, I rolled away from the fracas.

  “Where’d it go?” Josh asked.

  “Over here,” the broken voice hissed.

  Axelrod and Sheldon both screamed as the specter grabbed each by the neck.

  Eric struggled to his feet after Bernard healed him with the Wand of Healing.

  “Spellcaster down!” I yelled, hoping to get his attention.

  “Kill the specter!” Eric screamed then rushed forward.

  Once again, Utagawa Yoshiiku dropped its victims to the cold, hard floor. Axelrod wriggled around before getting up, but Sheldon remained motionless…at first.

  “He’s turned,” Ryu said as he stepped even further away from the fight.

  I cast Divine Arrow of Energy on Eric and Josh, hoping they could kill the specter.

  Your Divine Arrow of Energy helps Yorg the Barbarian.

  You have [175/260] mana remaining.

  Your Divine Arrow of Energy helps Drex the Rogue.

  You have [150/260] mana remaining.

  I wished I could cast it on myself.

  “Watch out,” Charlotte said.

  I ducked as the specter appeared in front of me and grasped in my direction. On the floor, I rolled away and then stood, dizzy and about to fall.

  Eric and Josh ran over then both hit the specter at the same time. Sword of Sands hit first, followed by Eric’s two blades.

  The deadly Utagawa Yoshiiku screamed then blinked away again. Sheldon, his skin pulled together tightly, shambled forward.

  “You’re mine,” he hissed in a soft, raspy voice.

  Sheldon the specter grabbed Josh’s left forearm, causing him to scream.

  “Enough,” Axelrod said as he buried his battle-ax deep in Sheldon’s back.

  Sheldon hissed before spinning around. Eric and Josh both attacked at the same time again, sending the newbie specter to the ground.

  “Where’s the other one?” I asked, looking around.

  The specter appeared in front of me, hand reaching.

  Bernard crashed into the creature before it could deal a killing blow. I stepped back as the specter disappeared yet again.

  “Form a circle facing out!” Axelrod yelled.

  “There,” I said, pointing as the specter appeared ten feet away.

  Everyone rushed toward Utagawa Yoshiiku and finished him with a buffet of blows, stabs, pierces and strikes. The specter hissed as Eric’s main blade took off its head.

  Combat is Over!

  You get 13,600 xp divided by six party members You get 2,267 xp You have 67,138 xp You need 9,862 xp for level Eight Wizard --> Warlock

  “Everyone okay?” Axelrod asked as he looked around.

  “I’m fine,” Ryu said.

  “Sheldon’s gone,” I snapped. “And I’m almost dead. You going to heal us, or what?”

  He grinned, taking no offense at my harsh words.

  “Let’s not fight with each other,” Eric said. “Great battle except for Sheldon.”

  “He wasn’t right for our party.” Ryu shrugged. “Am I right?”

  I shook my head.

  “Are you going to heal us or not?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Ryu said, opening his black cloak as he walked over.

  My mana and health return as he put his hands on my arms.

  You feel refreshed.

  You have [260/260] mana remaining.

  You feel better.

  You have [46/46] health remaining.

  “Thanks,” I said as coldly as possible.

  “Don’t mention it.” Ryu grinned. “It’s been quieter without the brownies around.”

  “He’s trouble, Sarah,” Charlotte said.

  I didn’t disagree with her, but I kept my mouth shut.

  The stress of the battle and everything else overwhelmed me. While Ryu healed the others, I glanced down the tunnel and saw it change from smooth to rough.

  “Where are we, Axelrod?” I asked. “Near the Pit of Doom?”

  “Close,” Axelrod said, peering ahead into the darkness. “Just this last stretch of tunnel.”

  “It wasn’t made by the dwarves?” I asked. “More troglodytes?”

  “A purple worm hole,” he said, then added. “Don’t worry. They’re not around anymore. We killed the last of them a few years ago. They were too OP, so we hunted them all down. It’s not like they were sentient.”

  I nodded, an uneasy feeling spreading through my body.

  Two by two, we walked into the purple worm tunnel.


  Josh yelled, “The tunnel’s moving. Everyone stop!”

  I leaned to the left and peered ahead, unable to see anything.

  “That’s no tunnel,” Axelrod said. “It’s an undead purple worm.”

  Great.

  The floor, walls, and ceiling all shifted around us. A giant mouth closed, engulfing our party in an undead carcass that smelled worse than Bernard after two weeks of no baths.

  “This isn’t good,” Axelrod said.

  “No kidding,” Eric said.

  He sheathed his short blade then plugged his nose with his free hand.

  “Can we smash the teeth and break out of the mouth?”

  Thick, icky goo fell from the ceiling, burning wherever it touched.

  I looked up then dodged further down the undead purple worm.

  The deep purple worm’s acid INJURES you for 17 damage.

  You have [29/46] health remaining.

  “Keep going back,” Axelrod ordered then rushed past me in the dark.

  My elven eyes saw bones and rotting flesh lining the tunnel.

  “I can’t do this,” I screamed, stopping in terror.

  “Don’t stop now, Sarah,” Charlotte screamed out loud. “I’m hurt. Badly.”

  I glanced over and saw some of the acid had dripped onto her red and black body.

  “No…” I said, drawing out the sound.

  Eric placed his hand on my shoulder.

  “Take a deep breath,” he said. “We’ve got this. Come on.”

  He ran toward the others. I followed close behind, dodging the acid.

  “She’s stopping,” Axelrod said. “Everyone stop and be still.”

  I didn’t question his choice of personal pronoun as I stopped.

  “Are we safe?” I asked, glancing up and seeing no acid.

  “We’re deep in the creature,” Axelrod said.

  “In the butt,” Ryu said then laughed.

  “Are you being serious right now?” I asked.

  “It’ll be funny someday,” he said while staring at me.

  “Only if we don’t die,” I said then turned to Eric. “What should we do?”