by Dale Britton
"Too bad we didn't plan any inns, or villages, or anything else around here," Ollie said. "It would make things a lot easier."
"This part of The Map is totally empty," Johnny said. "We're pretty close to the edge. I was thinking we'd have to add another table soon."
"We're going to have to stop for the night soon," Ollie said. "I won't be able to navigate in the dark."
"And we don't want to be out in the open at night," George said. "That's when the really bad monsters come out."
"Worse than the ones we've already seen?" Sarah asked. "I don't want to think about it."
"Well, let's keep an eye out for some kind of shelter," Ollie said.
"Like what?" Ian said. "There's only trees here."
"I don't know," Ollie said. "Just something that's not out in the open."
About half an hour later, as the sun was beginning to set, the party came to a small bridge that spanned a shallow ravine.
"How about under the bridge?" Sarah asked.
"No," Ollie said. "Not a good idea. Under a bridge is one of the worst possible places to be at night."
"Wait," Johnny said. "I think I see something."
He turned off the trail and led his horse down the side of the ravine. It was not very steep at all, and the horse was easily able to manage the incline. Water had once flowed at the bottom, but now the ground was dry.
"Be careful," Jordan called down.
"There's a wider section with a bit of an overhang a little way down," Johnny said. "I think it might work for a campsite."
"Let's go check it out," Ollie said.
Half an hour later, the group made their camp. Johnny's site was just about the best they could hope for. They had a solid rock wall at their back which tilted over them, mostly hiding the group from view from above. There were small trees where they could tether the horses, and if they had to run, they could take off in either direction down the gulch.
"Good eye, Johnny," Ollie approved.
"Should we make a fire?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Ollie said. "Some things might be attracted to a fire."
"But a lot of things are afraid of it, too," George said. "It could keep some of the monsters away."
After a brief debate, it was decided that a fire would be more beneficial than harmful. A search of the area provided a large pile of firewood.
"Anyone know how to start a fire?" Ian asked. "I didn't bring any matches."
"Ollie can," Sarah said. "Show them, Ollie."
"Well, I'll try," Ollie said reluctantly. "I haven't had time to prepare..."
"You can do it," Sarah said. "I know you can."
"Do what?" Johnny asked.
"Just watch," Sarah said.
Ollie piled up some wood, then took a deep breath and concentrated. The formula came easily into his mind this time. He began to chant, pulling the energy of the forest to combine with his own. It came to him, and a ball of fire formed above his hand. He pushed the fire into the pile of wood, and almost instantly the wood caught. Soon the fire was blazing merrily.
"Wow, Ollie," George said. "You're a wizard for real!"
"Well, I figured out one spell," Ollie said. "And I don't know it very well."
"Are you kidding?" Johnny said. "That was freaking amazing!"
Ollie felt a little unsteady from the effort of casting the spell, but not as much as last time. Maybe he was getting better at this. "Let's go to sleep," he said. "It would probably be good to start as early as possible tomorrow."
"We need to keep a watch," George said. "Keep an eye out for danger, and keep the fire going."
"I'll go first," Jordan said. "I'm not tired."
"All right," Ollie said. "But wake us up if you even think something's wrong. You know what this place is like. It's a world designed to create encounters with monsters."
"I'll be fine," Jordan promised. "I'm very familiar with monsters."
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ollie had the third watch. He woke with a start when Johnny shook him, stifling a scream.
"Sorry," Johnny said. "It's your turn."
Ollie shook his head to clear the cobwebs. "Any trouble?" he asked.
"Not really," Johnny said. "I'm pretty sure there are things out there, but I don't think they want to get too close to us."
Ollie could see what Johnny meant. There was a distinct feeling that something was waiting just beyond the light of their fire, watching them and thirsting for their blood. It was an unpleasant sensation.
"Ollie?" Johnny said hesitantly. "Could I ask you something?"
"Um, sure, Johnny." Ollie could tell Johnny was nervous about something. Maybe the monsters? Or their quest? Or if Ollie thought they would ever make it back home? Maybe he wanted to learn about magic.
Actually, it was just about the last thing he expected. "What's the deal with Jordan?" Johnny asked.
"What do you mean? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing like that. It's just, well, she's so quiet. She never talks about herself. I tried to talk to her when she woke me up for my watch, but she ignored me. What do you know about her?"
"We've been playing the game together for almost five years, and you're just now wondering about her?"
"I know. It's pathetic. But I want to understand her. She seems so... so angry. Do you know why?"
Ollie shook his head. "Not exactly. I know she never knew her parents. They died in an accident when she was really little. She's been in and out of foster homes all her life. I don't know for sure, but I think she had a bad experience with at one of them, or maybe more than one. She won't talk about it."
"Not even with you?"
"I haven't pushed her. I just try to be her friend."
"How did that even happen?" Johnny asked. "I just remember her always being in the group."
Ollie smiled. "I'm not really sure. It was in junior high. I think you were still in elementary school. I just remember her always sitting by herself in the corner, looking like she was mad at everyone. I could tell she needed a friend. I knew what it was like to not be very popular, you know." Johnny nodded. They all knew what that was like, even Ian.
"So, I started saying 'Hi' to her. Asked her name. Eventually, I sat with her sometimes. We didn't talk much, at least at first. And when we all started playing the game at the end of the year, I invited her to play with us. I half expected her to say no, but she didn't."
Johnny sighed. "I wish she would talk to me."
"Well, just be patient. It takes time to build a relationship. And it takes work."
There was a scrabbling sound from the nearby bushes, but no creature emerged. Still, it was a reminder of their dangerous situation. And it ended their conversation.
Johnny left Ollie to his watch and lay down on his blankets on the hard ground. Ollie was really smart, but he could be blind sometimes too. He had no idea how Jordan felt about him, and how hurt she was that Sarah was here. Well, Johnny wasn't going to say anything to Ollie about that. That was up to Jordan if she wanted him to know.
For his part, he would try to be Jordan's friend. She might need one now more than ever. And he wasn't doing it just because she was cute, even though she was. With her dark hair, always pulled back in a ponytail, and her bright, fierce, light brown eyes, it almost seemed like she didn't want people to think she was pretty.
Maybe someday she would look at him the way she looked at Ollie.
Johnny fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming of monsters and princesses.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ollie passed the time by experimenting with his fire spell. He found that by altering the formula slightly, he could change the ratio of energy in the spell so that he used less of his own strength and more energy from the world around him. This allowed him to make the spell last longer, and also to increase the size of his ball of flame. He felt like a mad scientist.
By the end of his watch, he had figured out how to split the flame into sma
ller pieces. He tried to see how many he could control at once. Three was pretty easy, four was harder, and five was almost impossible. He could send the balls of flame along currents of energy, making them dance in the air.
It was just about time to wake up Sarah for her turn to watch when he heard a rustling in the grass a short distance down the ravine from where they were camped. On impulse, Ollie sent his fireballs flying toward the noise.
The light of his fire revealed a hideous creature, something halfway between a rat and a hyena, but totally black in color. It had vicious fangs and yellow eyes that were filled with malice. It hissed at being discovered and quickly darted back down the ravine to escape the light of the fire. Ollie listened carefully for a full minute, but the creature didn't return.
Ollie waited for his heartbeat to return to normal, then walked over to where Sarah was sleeping. He hated to wake her up, but he needed to rest. His spellcasting had tired him more than he had realized, and the encounter with the animal hadn't helped much either.
"Sarah," he whispered, shaking her gently. "It's your turn to watch."
Sarah opened her eyes. She was so beautiful, even half asleep and with her hair all messed up. Ollie could not believe that a girl like Sarah would have anything to do with him. Sure, she had asked him for help with her math, but that was totally understandable. Everyone knew that Ollie was really good at school– in fact, he was number one in their class. He hadn't thought twice when Sarah had asked for tutoring. But actually like him? A girl like Sarah? That was impossible. He could believe in magic, but not that.
"Already?" she asked. "Seems like I just laid down."
"Afraid so."
Sarah crawled out of her blankets and rose to her feet. "Anything exciting happening?"
"There are some animals out there," Ollie said. "But they're afraid of the fire. If you keep it going, we should be fine. Just wake everyone up if there's any trouble."
"All right. I can do that."
"And remember, you have the ring. You can move really fast if you need to."
"Right." She hesitated before speaking again. "Ollie? I'm scared."
"I know. I am too. Do you want me to stay up with you? I'm not really that tired."
She shook her head and smiled. "You're lying. You can hardly stand up. Go get some sleep. I'll be alright." She looked out into the darkness and shivered.
"Are you sure?" Ollie asked. He hated seeing her like this, so vulnerable.
Sarah straightened herself up, putting on a determined look. "Yes. I'm fine. Go get some rest."
Ollie reluctantly started back toward his blankets.
"Ollie?"
He turned back to her. "Yeah?"
"You're a lot different than I thought you were."
"What do you mean?" Ollie felt a surge of terror that had nothing at all to do with the monsters that were hiding nearby.
"Well, everyone knows how smart you are. And you're kind of shy. You're nice and pretty harmless. At least, that's what I thought."
"Okay. So..." Where was she going with this?
"Well, there's a lot more to you than that. Have you noticed how everyone follows your lead? I mean, with everything that's happened to us we should be totally insane with panic. You've kept everyone together. Without you, we'd be falling apart. Or maybe dead."
"If anyone's the leader of the group, it's Ian, not me."
"No, Ollie. Ian's a good guy and all, but you're the one that everyone looks up to. When Ian was panicking, you kept your cool. And you know what?"
"What?"
"I believe you're going to get us out of this."
"Well, for what it's worth, you're not exactly what I thought you were either."
Sarah laughed. "What does that mean?"
"Well, you know. You're a cheerleader, the girl every guy has a crush on. Probably the most beautiful girl in the school."
"You're making me blush."
"But you're a lot more than that. You really are nice. You care about people." He smiled. "Even fictional people. You really changed the game."
"They're not so fictional anymore, are they?"
"Yeah. Not so much." A thought occurred to him. "Hm. I wonder..."
"What?"
"Oh. It's nothing. I'd better go lie down. You'll be alright?"
"Sure. Just keep the fire going. Wake everyone up if there's trouble. No problem."
She gave Ollie a hug that sent lightning through his blood. "Goodnight. See you in the morning."
Ollie lay in his blankets. Before falling asleep he thought about what he had said to Sarah. She really cared about the characters. She had changed the game. An idea flickered in his mind and he wanted to think about it some more, but he was just too tired. All his thoughts flew away and he drifted to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
George had the last watch. Ian had woken him up and given him the magic sword to carry during his turn. George appreciated the gesture, but he doubted that it would do much good if something actually attacked before morning. He'd probably just fall down like he had when the bugs had come after the group. He'd been a real hero, all right.
It had been so exciting, finding himself in Valoria. How many times had he dreamed of this? Magical creatures. Fantastic lands. Elves. How amazing would that be?
But now he was here, and it hadn't turned out like he'd imagined. He wasn't a hero at all. Ian had killed a giant bug with a magic sword. Jordan had fought one off on her own. Ollie had figured out how to cast spells. Even Sarah had done well, charming the blink dogs and making them allies. What had George done? He'd fallen on his butt. What a loser.
He walked over to where the horses were tethered. The animals were uneasy, but that was to be expected. According to Ian, there were animals watching them. George listened carefully, and he thought he could hear things moving out there, just beyond the light of the fire. What would he do if the monsters showed themselves? Probably scream like a little girl. At least that would wake everyone else up.
If only there was some way that he could help his friends. He'd spent his entire life hiding from bullies if he was lucky or getting beat up by them if he wasn't. Well, the monsters in this world were a hundred times worse than the ones in his own. He wouldn't be able to do anything against them. He was just a liability here. Worthless.
His watch passed slowly. He was careful to keep the fire burning. The flickering flames made weird shadows on the surrounding brush and on the wall of the ravine. Twice, he was almost sure that he could see yellow eyes watching him from the darkness, but when he looked closer, they disappeared. Once he heard a quiet snuffling sound. He gripped the sword so tightly that his arm started to feel numb, but nothing moved into the light of the fire.
It was a great relief when the sky finally began to lighten. Birds started to wake and sing their morning songs. Color returned to the world. His friends began to awaken. Ollie was the first one up.
"Any trouble?" Ollie asked.
"Nope," George said. "All quiet."
"Well, we should only need to camp one more time before we get to the elves' settlement."
The elves. George had almost forgotten where they were heading. He might not be very heroic, but at least he was going to see actual real live elves.
If he didn't get himself killed on the way.
Chapter Forty
"Why did we make these stupid places so far apart?" Johnny complained. "My butt hurts. And I'm getting sick of all these trees."
"You never really think about travel time when you're playing the game," Ollie said. "If we were walking, this would be a seven-day journey, at least."
"How long would it take to get to the Capitol from here?" Ian asked.
Ollie did some quick calculating. "About two and a half months on horseback, I'd say."
"No wonder nobody's come to help the people here," Sarah said. "They really are in the middle of nowhere."
"More like the edge of nowhere," George said. "This is as far as
we've mapped in this direction."
It was close to noon when the razor birds attacked. It was a small flock, maybe six or seven of the creatures. The birds dove out of the sky and spiraled in on the party.
"Quick–under the trees," Ollie yelled. "We need cover."
They turned the horses toward the forest. The animals fought against them, crying in fear and pulling against the reins. The first bird zeroed in on the packhorse, clawing at its back and tearing into its flesh with its three razor-sharp beaks. The poor horse screamed in pain and terror.
"Johnny!" Ollie shouted. "Your bow!"
Johnny reached for his bow, which was attached to the side of his saddle, but his horse jerked just as he released it, and the bow slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground. "Crap! I dropped it!"
George's horse reared up suddenly, and George lost his grip on the reins. He flew off of the horse and landed in a heap under a tree, his glasses falling to the ground beside him. His horse bolted, galloping off down the trail. Two of the birds oriented on this new target and chased after it.
"George!" Ian yelled. He drew his sword and started to turn his horse around. Jordan was doing the same.
"Grab my reins," Sarah shouted, handing them to Ollie.
"What are you doing?" Ollie asked.
"Just watch."
And suddenly, she was gone. It took Ollie a few seconds to realize what was happening. She was using the ring, of course.
He saw a blur as Sarah raced to the fallen bow.
"Catch, Johnny," she yelled, and tossed it up to him. Johnny managed to grab it with one hand while gripping the reins with the other. Barely.
Sarah next ran to the packhorse. The poor animal was screaming in pain as one of the razor birds repeatedly dove at its back. Sarah had drawn her dagger and sliced off two of the bird's heads before it even saw her. The creature spun into the ground with a sickening thud.
