by Dale Britton
The group stuck to the main trails as closely as possible. Eventually, however, they were forced to leave the larger way and head farther west on a smaller path that was much less traveled. The trees crowded close and the path gradually narrowed. Sarah walked side by side with Ollie at the front of the line, and part of Ollie's mind became obsessed with how close their hands were to each other. At one point, Sarah's hand brushed against his, and he felt a thrill rush through him.
Concentrate, you idiot!
Meanwhile, Jordan had fallen to the back of the group, where she studiously avoided looking anywhere near the pair that was at the front. She swung her mace back and forth as she walked as if she were looking for something that she could smash with it.
When Johnny saw that Jordan was lagging a little behind, he decided to slow down until she caught up with him.
"Hey, Jordan. Are you doing all right?"
"What do you care?"
Johnny sighed inwardly. "We're friends, right? I can tell something's bothering you."
"I'm fine." Jordan spoke through clenched teeth. "Just a little tired."
Johnny didn't have a lot of experience with girls, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew Jordan was lying. And he was pretty sure he knew what was bothering her, too. It was obvious that Ollie was practically in love with Sarah. It was also pretty obvious that Ian had been right about Jordan.
"Jordan," he said carefully, "I know this has to be hard. I know how you feel..."
"You have no idea how I feel," Jordan hissed. "Just shut up and leave me alone."
Johnny recoiled from Jordan's anger. For a second, he could imagine the mace in her hands flying at his head. He knew Jordan had issues, but she had never directed her rage at him before. It wasn't a pleasant experience.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, backing farther away. "I was just trying to help."
"If you want to help, just mind your own business."
Johnny hurried to catch up to Ian again, leaving Jordan alone.
"What was that all about?" Ian asked.
"I made the mistake of asking Jordan if she was all right."
"And you're still alive? I'd call that a win."
Chapter Twenty-Four
The sun was directly overhead when the path reached the base of a large hill. Ollie called for a stop, and the group gathered together.
"We're really close," Ollie said, peering at the map. "I think it's just a little way around this hill. Let's take a break, have something to eat, and talk this through."
Nobody seemed to find it strange that Ollie was the one who had taken the lead on their excursion. It was like they were playing the game, where Ollie was usually the one who directed them. It was almost natural that he would do the same thing now.
Father Peter had packed some apples, bread, and cheese for the group. They were all hungry after the long hike, and the lunch was delicious. For George, in particular, it had been hard to keep up with the others. He wasn't used to this much physical exertion. His exercise mostly consisted of playing football on his Xbox.
"All right," George said, still slightly out of breath. "Let's list off the level three monsters again. What are we likely to see here?"
"Well," Johnny said, "we already mentioned the bears and the giant scorpions. And zombie warriors. There's also low-level dark mages, centaurs, minor trolls, orc captains, harpies, gelatinous cubes..."
"What the heck is a gelatinous cube?" Sarah asked.
"You don't want to know." Ollie shook his head. "There are just too many possibilities. There's no way to plan when we don't have any idea what we're facing."
"Let's get closer," George suggested. "If we can get a look at the cave, we might be able to see what's guarding it."
"All right, " Ollie said, "but be quiet."
The group edged their way around the side of the hill, trying to make as little noise as possible, and trying to keep out of view of anything that might be waiting ahead. After fifteen incredibly tense minutes, Ollie raised his hand, signaling a stop. Just ahead, barely visible through the branches of a growth of small trees, a dark patch could be seen on the side of the hill.
"I see the cave," Ollie whispered.
"Do you see any monsters?" George whispered back.
"No. Wait–something's moving. I can't tell what it is. Some kind of animal, I think."
Sarah moved carefully up beside him. "Where?" she asked. Ollie pointed. "I see it," she whispered. "It's a dog!"
"What kind of dog?" George asked. "A wolf? A giant poodle? Hellhound?"
"It's kind of like a wolf," Sarah said, "but yellow-brown. Oh! It just disappeared. Wait, there it is. It's on the other side of the cave now."
Ollie and George looked at each other. "Blink dog," they said together.
Ollie gestured, and everyone backed away from the cave.
"All right," Ollie said. "We need to get past at least one blink dog. What do we know about them?"
"They're very intelligent," Johnny said. "They have their own language. Usually travel in packs."
"Stronger than a wolf," Ian said. "Fangs, claws. Nasty."
"And, of course, they blink," George said.
"What does that mean?" Sarah asked.
"They can teleport short distances," Ollie said. "They use the ability to surround their prey or to get away if they're overmatched. Makes them very hard to fight."
"So, what should we do?" Johnny asked. "I don't think we can beat it in a fight. Could we scare it away?"
"Maybe," Ollie said. "If we ran at it and made a lot of noise, it might be scared."
"Not if there's more than one," Ian said. "For all we know, there's a whole pack inside that cave."
"You said they're intelligent," Sarah said. "How intelligent? Can they understand human speech?"
"Maybe," Ollie said. "Why?"
"Because if they can," Sarah said, "maybe we could reason with them. I'll bet they would help us if they knew about the danger."
"There are stories of blink dogs allying themselves with humans," George said. "Most of the time, they're considered to be good creatures."
"See?" Sarah said. "We should totally try to talk to them."
"And when they bite your head off?" Jordan asked. "What then?"
"I just think it's better to make friends than to just attack everything you see," Sarah said.
"Yeah, but things are different here. In our world, usually when someone doesn't want to be your friend, they don't try to kill you," Ian said. "We've fought these things in the game before. They can be really vicious."
"Let's take a vote," Ollie said. "Who wants to try to parlay with the blink dog? If it doesn't go well, we could always try to climb a tree."
The vote was four to two for approaching the dog, with Ian and Jordan voting against.
"I'll try," Sarah said. "Animals like me."
Johnny leaned over and whispered to Ian. "Everyone likes her."
The group quietly moved closer to the cave again. Sarah looked through the branches until she spotted the yellow-brown fur of the dog. "I see him," she whispered. "He doesn't really look too scary. He's kind of cute. I'm going in."
"I'm coming with you," Ollie said, moving up to Sarah's side. He could see the dog now.
"Are you guys sure you want to do this?" Johnny asked. "If it decides that it doesn't like you..."
"Just stay hidden until we say it's safe to come out," Ollie said.
As Sarah and Ollie moved slowly out of the trees, the blink dog's head snapped in their direction, tracking their movement with eyes that seemed to shine with their own yellow light. Sarah gasped. The blink dog didn't look quite so cute anymore.
The dog growled, and suddenly where only one dog had stood, another four materialized as if out of thin air. Each one was larger than a wolf. One was as big as a lion.
The five animals spread out and advanced, their fangs bared and their eyes menacing.
Ollie's voice shook. "This may have been a mistake."
Chapter Twenty-Five
"Just stay calm,” Sarah said. "Don't give them a reason to attack."
She held her hands out in front of her, showing the dogs they were empty. Ollie felt like fainting in terror, but instead followed Sarah's example. His hands were shaking noticeably.
"Hello," Sarah called out in a calm and steady voice. "It's all right. We don't want to hurt you. We need your help."
There was a flicker, and suddenly the dogs were surrounding the couple, snarling at them and watching them closely with their strange yellow eyes. The big one stood directly in front of the two teens, growling menacingly. Ollie took him to be the leader.
"Blinking, huh? That's a neat trick," Sarah whispered. "How do they do that?"
"Let's admire them later," Ollie whispered back. "After we convince them not to eat us."
Sarah nodded and turned her attention to the leader. "I bring a peace offering," she said. She slowly reached into her bag, careful not to make any sudden moves, and took out some dried meat. She showed it to the lead dog, then carefully laid it on the ground in front of him. The dog's ears pricked up. He sniffed at the meat and, apparently deciding that it was acceptable, snapped it into his mouth in one huge bite.
"My, what big teeth you have," Ollie whispered. Sarah shushed him.
The dogs didn't break their circle, but the snarling sounds stopped. The attitude of the animals shifted somewhat from menace to curiosity. Ollie began to hope they might survive. The leader watched Sarah patiently as if waiting to see what she might say.
Sarah smiled at him. "There is a great evil in the north. My friends and I have been sent to fight against it. We have come here because there are items in your cave that can help us defeat the great evil."
"Please," Ollie said, "Let us search for this treasure. If the demon lord..."
At these words, the lead dog suddenly let out a howl that chilled Ollie to the bones. The other dogs joined him. The sound echoed off of the hills. It was the eeriest thing he had ever heard.
"You see the danger," Sarah said when the sound of their howls had died down. "We need help if we are going to face him."
The lead dog studied Sarah and Ollie with eyes much too wise to belong to an animal. After a moment, he seemed to come to a conclusion. He made a strange series of yipping and barking sounds, and the dogs backed away from the two humans. The lead dog looked at Sarah, then turned to look at the cave. It was clearly an invitation.
"May our other friends join us?" Sarah asked. "I promise they won't try to hurt you."
The dog bowed his head, which Sarah took for permission.
"Come on out," she called out to where the others were hidden. "It's safe now. Just leave your weapons behind."
Ian, Johnny, George, and Jordan emerged from the woods and cautiously made their way to join them.
"That was amazing," Ollie said as their friends approached. "I've never seen anything like it."
"I volunteer at the animal shelter a lot," Sarah said. "I've dealt with animals who feel threatened before. Mostly, they just want to know they're safe, and that you want to be their friend."
"The blink dogs have given us permission to search their cave," Ollie said when the others reached them.
"What was all the howling about?" Johnny said. "We thought you guys were dead."
"I'm not sure," Ollie said. "I think it was because I told them who our enemy was. I don't think they like demons very much."
"Common enemy," George said. "That's great."
As the group moved toward the cave, there was a flicker and one of the dogs appeared at Sarah's side. It whined and put its paw on her bag.
Sarah laughed, reached into the travel bag and pulled out another piece of dried meat.
"Here you go, " she said, holding it out for the animal. The dog snapped it up, then licked Sarah's hand. She reached out to pet it, but there was another flicker and her hand touched empty air.
"That is so cool," George said. "How do they do that?"
Chapter Twenty-Six
The cave was much larger than Ollie expected. The light that poured in through the small opening wasn't bright enough to reach the back walls. The blink dogs had made a nest out of grass and leaves in a small recess. The remains of their last meal were also visible. It looked like they had eaten a deer or something of a similar size.
"Where is it?" Ollie asked.
"I don't know," Ian said. "You know how the game works. You just have to search until you find it."
"Let's spread out," Johnny suggested. "It has to be here somewhere."
"Unless this is the wrong cave," Jordan said.
"No, this has to be right," Ollie said. "Blink dogs are level three monsters. That would be way too much of a coincidence if this were the wrong place. Everyone look at the walls. It's usually a hidden compartment."
The six teens split up and started going over the wall inch by inch. It was very tedious and incredibly boring. After nearly an hour, most of them were ready to give up. The only things they had found were spiders and dried bones. If there was a treasure hidden, it was hidden too well for them to find.
But finally, they had some luck.
"I think I found it," George called. "The wall right here feels hollow. There might be a hidden compartment here."
Ollie examined the place George was indicating. It did seem a little different from the rest of the cave. After a moment, he found a small recess in the wall. He reached up to press it.
"Wait!" Ian yelled. "Don't push that!"
Ollie pulled his hand away. A shudder ran through his body as he realized what he had almost done. He had to start thinking like the game.
"Trap?"
"Yeah," Ian said. "Poison darts."
Ollie examined the wall again, and he could see the little holes now. There were about ten of them. There was no way to tell at what angle the darts would come out.
"Everyone out of the cave," he said. "I don't want anyone to get hurt when I open this. And stay away from the opening."
The other five humans and the two dogs who had joined them during their search filed out of the little cavern. Ollie waited until everyone was safely out, then picked up one of the longer bones from the floor and pressed himself against the wall to the side of the little holes. He extended the bone out until it was over the small recess, making sure that his arm was nowhere near the holes.
"All right," he shouted. "Stay away from the opening."
He pushed the bone against the recess and heard a click. A small swarm of darts shot out of the wall, flew through the air, and landed at the far side of the cave. Some stuck in the wall, some hit the floor, and a couple made it through the opening to the outside. Nobody screamed, so Ollie guessed everything was all right.
A panel slid open in the wall.
"Come back in," Ollie called. "It's safe. Just don't step on the darts. Let's see what we got."
In the game, it was always exciting to find treasure. This was a hundred times better. Ollie reached into the compartment and pulled out a bag of coins. A very heavy bag of coins. He could barely lift it. He pulled a coin out of the bag.
"Gold," he said. "This is real gold." He passed the bag to George to hold while he reached into the hole again. This time he pulled out a small wooden box. He handed it to Sarah.
"Here," he said. "You got us here. You deserve the honor."
Sarah solemnly opened the box. "It's a ring," she announced. She held up a simple gold ring for the others to see.
"Cursed?" Ollie asked.
"No," Ian said. "I didn't do any cursed items."
"Should I try it on?" Sarah asked. "It's not dangerous, is it?"
"Go for it," George said. "If it's not cursed, it's safe."
"All right," she said. "Here goes."
Sarah slipped the ring on her finger... and nothing happened.
"Well, that's a letdown," Johnny said.
"I feel... something," Sarah said. "It's weird."
"It's not al
ways obvious what magic rings do," Ollie said. "Just keep it on for a while. Maybe we'll figure it out."
Ollie also found a silver bow and some arrows in a quiver and a short sword. Ian couldn't tell them for sure if the weapons were magical, but he figured the chances were good. They would have to test them. Ollie gave the bow and the arrows to Johnny. He was the only one in the group who had ever done archery before, though only at scout camp. Ian took the sword. As an afterthought, Ollie gathered up the darts, being careful not get any of the poison on his skin.
"Goodbye, noble hounds," Sarah said to the blink dogs when they were ready to leave. "We thank you for your aid." The lead dog bowed his head in response.
It was late afternoon when the group set out to return to the outpost.
"I want a blink dog," George said as the animals flickered one by one and disappeared from view.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The group was in high spirits on the trek back to the outpost. George divided the gold coins and spread them among the party members. They were too heavy for any one person to carry. They counted exactly two hundred pieces of pure gold. Ollie estimated they would be worth over four hundred thousand dollars in their own world at current gold prices.
"What now?" Johnny asked once they had returned to the main path.
"Let's go back to the church," Ollie said. "We can spend the night, and maybe figure out if any of our items are magical." It was kind of strange to talk about magic as if it were ordinary instead of miraculous, but after seeing the blink dogs in action nothing seemed impossible right now.
"And after that?" Sarah asked.
"I think we should visit the elves," George said. This suggestion didn't surprise anyone. They all knew how George felt about elves. Of course, that didn't mean it was a bad idea.
