by Cat Wilder
"Now!"
We grabbed hold, and it felt like I became weightless. Meike propelled us up and over the wall, while pigmen shouted in frustration. I might have laughed. Then we hit the ground, in pitch darkness, and tumbled downhill.
"Oh, man, I think that hurt my soul," I groaned out. Spears and arrows started raining down around us. I clawed my way to my feet. "Run!"
Chapter 16
Cormac
"They're here," I whispered.
We snuggled together under a pile of hay, way in back of the loft. Smokey had insisted her enchanted cat's head would hide us, would keep Yank and company from even suspecting the village. Their arrival proved her wrong.
I watched them approach the village through the forest, taking the same path we took.
"Who has that kind of tracking skill?" I asked.
"Yank is a master tracker. Furman might be able to sniff us out," she said. "And Jrac has some tracking spells."
I felt like a fool for believing in her enchanted item. Worse, I followed her to a spot that pretty much trapped me in that loft. I started to stand, but she placed a hand on my chest.
"They haven't found us."
Her confidence rattled mine. I considered us good as found, and all they needed to do was zero in on us. The village was small, so it wouldn't take long to find us. Hell, the first place I'd look would be a hayloft.
I watched their approach a little longer. The bounty hunters slowly entered the far side of village, and started going to each round hut. Shouts of alarm and anger filled the night. Children cried, dogs barked.
Feelings of helplessness and vulnerability washed over me. The first thing Yank did when they collared me, even before we left the inn back in Zoss Ford, was order me to empty my inventory. I still didn't have a weapon. How was I going to fight them?
And then all four red dots suddenly rushed toward the stables.
"They know we're here!" I said, surging to my feet. I hauled Smokey up, as well. "We'll split up. They'll come after me, so you can escape."
"No. I'll protect you," she insisted, a sword appearing in her hand.
We didn't have time to argue. The bounty hunters were almost to the stables. Using her sword, I cut a hole through the thatch and pushed Smokey up through it first. Then she helped me crawl up. I kept the short, curved sword. I spotted our pursuit the second my head poked up.
Yank sent Jrac through the corral in back to guard the back door. He ordered Hoss to guard the front. He then led Furman into the stables, alarming the horses inside.
"Furman will be able to smell us," Smokey whispered. "Let's drop down on Jrac. He's a greater threat to us than Hoss."
I agreed. Jrac had magic, while Hoss was a magic-compelled slave. I personally would rather fight the smaller half-goblin, magic or not. Centaurs were as strong as horses, and ten times meaner.
I eased over the roof's peak, followed by Smokey. I thought my passage over the dried thatch loud, but neither Hoss nor Jrac called out the alarm. Smokey moved like a ghost, hard to see and soundless. Once on the other side, we just propelled ourselves and slid down.
We hit the ground to either side of the half-goblin. He jumped and gawked, eyes darting back and forth. I attacked first, as soon as flames engulfed his hands. Smokey pounced with a frightening, "Yeow!"
I thrust at his heart, more to distract him from the catgirl. She landed on his back, sharp claws ripping at him, shredding his skin. The half-goblin screamed in rage and pain, and then Smokey ripped half his throat away with a single bite. I slammed into them and we all went to the ground, but Jrac didn't have much fight left. I stabbed him twice, and watched the life bleeding out of his surprised eyes.
"Run," Smokey cried. "Stay close to me."
I hesitated. "Not until he's dead."
"He can't survive that," she growled.
"He's a caster, so he might," I said. I tossed her sword back. "Besides, he inventoried all of my stuff. I want it back."
Smokey cursed under her breath. I didn't blame her. We could hear Yank and Furman inside the stables, trying to open the door to us in the dark. It wouldn't take them more than a few seconds to get outside. And that stupid half-goblin was taking his time dying.
So I snapped his neck.
Being a mob, Jrac's body wouldn't fade away. But a few seconds after his death, the little bastard finally surrendered his inventory. The stable door started sliding open, but I took the time to inventory everything he dropped, except for the Sword Ring of Kiantor. That went onto my right ring finger.
"You stupid, greedy son of a bitch," Smokey snarled. "I hope you're happy. You just got us both killed."
"She's right," Yank sneered, striding towards us with a sword in each hand. "Enjoy your loot, player. You aren't going to keep it long."
My sword ring transformed into a sword. An Epic sword that glowed blue, and made an eerie whoosh sound when swung. You know Yank came to a stop, eyeing my weapon warily.
"A magic sword?"
"Lord Quinton didn't warn you? Funny," I said. "This blade's magic is particularly insidious to players, since it kills men like you and Furball back to level 1 noobs."
Smokey gasped. Yank and Furman shared a look, part concerned, part covetous. Yeah, they both wanted it. If I lost the fight, those two might fight to the death over the dropped Sword Ring.
The angry murmur of the villagers in the background rose. I heard screams. I checked my map, and four more angry red dots had entered the village. Rival bounty hunters? Soldiers? I had a bad feeling I'd find out soon enough, and wouldn't like it.
Yet, I might do better in a three-sided melee.
"You two don't stand a chance against us, Epic sword or not," Yank said. "Level trumps magic items."
"Not always," I said. "I like my chances in a fight."
And then I saw them. Four black leather clad women. My breath caught, and I gawked. Worse, the assassins were killing all of the villagers! Shooting men, women, and children dead with their crossbows. And then one of them started shooting at us.
"Assassins! Run, Smokey!"
Yank and Furman spun to face the killer nuns. I didn't know if they knew about the Order of Sacred Death or not, but everyone feared assassins. I doubted they'd survive the fight with that evil sisterhood, but both were players and would respawn. And then they'd be back on my trail, dogging me forever.
Smokey cried out, and leapt up onto the roof again. That distracted all three of us, as we all paused to look up at her scrambling manically toward the peak. Seeing my opportunity, I lunged and thrust the glowing blue blade through Yank's black heart. He looked shocked.
"Bye-bye, you stupid level 1 noob," I sneered, yanked the sword out and promptly took off his head.
A crossbow bolt missed my face by inches, but caught the catman in the shoulder as he lunged at me. That gave me the time to parry his thrust. I spun around him, and then whacked off his left leg above the knee. He screamed as he fell, which I ended abruptly by thrusting through his heart.
No time to celebrate, or even look to see what those two players dropped. I raced into the open stable door, and slammed it shut. Was Smokey still on the roof? I didn't hear her. My map couldn't find her, either. But I spotted the four Sacred Death assassins circle the stables. Two waited outside the street door, two guarded the back door into the corral. So I went up into the loft, and found the hole I'd cut out earlier. Was it just a few minutes ago?
I failed to find Smokey up there, but I heard the assassins whispering at the door. With nothing to lose, I slid down the roof and hit the ground behind them.
"Evil bitches!" I screamed, and swung my sword.
I caught one across the belly, spilling her innards. She went down with a groan of misery, while the other tried to shoot me with her crossbow. I ducked, then juked to force her to fire and miss. I charged the assassin as she dropped the crossbow and pulled a curved sword out of inventory. My mind paused just a fraction of a second to process what fighting style she'd
have with that weapon, and then slammed into her.
Body slamming her against the door, I swung at her neck. She ducked and tried to disembowel me. I received a shallow cut across the belly, and then she followed up with a kick to the midsection. I fell to my back, and she had her sword at my throat before I recovered my wits.
"Yield!"
I willed the sword back into a ring. Her eyes darted to my hand when the sword vanished. I grabbed a handful of dirt with my left, and threw it into her face. The assassin jumped back, swinging her blade in a figure-eight to defend herself. I rolled to my feet, called up the sword, and attacked. Our swords clashed loudly in the night, before I saw an opening and kneed her in the ribs. My sword sliced her throat to the backbone, and she fell face-first to the ground.
No rest for the weary. I heard the other two Sacred Death assassins coming around the stables. I looked around for Smokey, but she'd heeded my call to run away. I doubted I'd ever see her again, and I already missed her.
I rushed into the stables, closing the door behind me. Running to the back, I opened that door, before darting into the shadows deep inside the stables. As hoped, the two assassins followed me inside, and raced toward the open back door while cursing.
Lunging, I thrust into the closest assassin's side. She sounded like Smokey when she cried out. I ignored her. That was a mortal wound. I went after the other assassin. We pounded at each other's defenses, trying to find an opening. I was twice the size of that little blonde, and yet she stood toe-to-toe with me. I had the greater strength and reach, but that bitch was fast!
I barked a laugh in victory when I smashed her sword out of her hands, but the devious bitch pulled two knives and continued to fight. It so surprised me, she managed to bury one in my right thigh.
"Ha! You're good as dead," she sneered. "The honor of the kill goes to Red Faction."
"You mean the dishonor of failure," I said, yanked the knife out and threw it at her.
The look of disbelief on her face was priceless. I kind of liked the way the knife looked in her throat, cutting off her air passage.
"I bet that hurts," I said, and thrust my sword through her heart. "You're welcome for the coup de grace."
The Sacred Death assassins all dropped purses, weapons, and lots of healing potions. I drank one, and discovered they had extra potent healing potions. So I collected them all. I also collected Yank's and Furman's purses and healing potions. Neither of them had any magical items, and all the weapons would just weigh me down. Someone else would get the coin for them.
I pulled up my map, zoomed out until it showed Zoss Ford at the edge. I determined my best route, and headed off to find and rescue my women. The knife wound in my thigh healed faster than normal, but I still limped with the pain. But it wouldn't be long before I was good as new. And then I spotted the first bloody villager.
I stared at a young woman, with a child in her arms. Both mother and child were dead from red crossbow bolts. I wandered through the village, eyes burning, while the Order of Sacred Death's true evil was revealed. They slaughtered an entire village of innocents. Why? To cover up their crimes?
"They're going to keep coming after me," I whispered. "They are going to murder more innocents doing so." I glared up at the heavens. Who thought having such an evil religious order was good for the game? What kind of sociopaths created Battle for Glory? "I have to take the fight to them. I have to kill them all."
Chapter 17
Cormac
I alternated between jogging and walking all night. Even though two healing potions returned my health – HP 100 – it didn't take long before my legs grew heavy, my feet ached, and I got a stitch in my side. I kept my energy up by eating some of the jerky I got off the bounty hunters.
Every time I thought of the bounty hunters, I grinned. I wished I could've been there to see Yank's and Furman's faces when they respawned to find I really did knock them back down to PL 1. Since skill levels couldn't be above the player level that meant all of their hard fought for Skills were back to level 1, too.
"I love my Sword of Kiantor," I said, glancing at the ring.
Normally, I wouldn't want to do such a despicable thing to another player, but those men deserved no less. Even better, during our long trek the previous day, I'd learned that both Yank and Furman were trapped players like me and Elky. They had to live with what I'd done to them, and it would be a long road back to their former levels. Who knew, Furman might level up faster and end up bossing Yank around.
I worried about what happened to Smokey, and to a lesser extent, what happened to Hoss. The big centaur wasn't friendly, and I suspected he was just as evil as the bounty hunters, but I still didn't think he did anything to me to deserve death. Hopefully, he escaped and was free again. I didn't see his body anywhere. Then again, Smokey might've ridden him away.
"Surviving is what Smokey does best," I muttered, more to reassure myself than anything.
Reaching the edge of the forest surrounding Zoss Ford, I stopped in my tracks. Despite being pre-dawn, the town was lit up by torchlight, the gate stood open, and people swarmed all over the place. I hesitated. That place looked like boiling trouble. Worse, my map didn't show any of my women in town.
"Why are they all off to the west?"
I couldn't find them on the map, so they'd traveled many miles. I only had the magic pull from Kahlan's tagging. She'd tagged all four of us, giving each of us the ability to find all of the others. My map would only designate friends and foes a few miles out, after that sentient beings were just a yellow dot. As some point, all dots vanished as well. I had no way of knowing how far away my women had gone.
"What's keeping them from coming to me?"
And that brought me back to them being sold into slavery. I assumed their captors sold them to slavers, who took them away to be sold in another city. Hopefully, they stayed together long enough for me to catch up.
"I'm not going to catch up on foot," I said. "Been there, done that. Don't want to do it again."
I needed to go into Zoss Ford, but the chances I'd be recognized and killed looked bad. So I circled around to the trade road west of town, and designated a new respawn site. I emptied my inventory there, concealing it, so I wouldn't drop anything if killed. I inventoried my shaggy fur loincloth, and pulled up blue pants and a gray shirt. I wore my regular sword belt. Then I headed for the gate. I arrived a few minutes before sunrise.
The gate guards all leveled their spears at me, hostile looks on their grim piggish faces.
"Greetings," I called. "I'm just a traveler, not an invading army."
"Declare yourself, stranger."
"I am… MacBrocc," I said. Best to give a different name, just in case. Besides, that wasn't a lie. I truly was the son of Brocc. Actually, my father's name was Brock. "I just need to pass through your fair town and pick up some supplies, and then I'll be on my way without any trouble."
"You look familiar."
"I have a common, plain face," I said with a shrug.
They grudgingly allowed me to pass through. First thing, I went to the stables and bought a good horse. At least I hoped it was a good horse. The brown gelding looked healthy and strong to me. The stable owner showed me his selection of used saddles, and indicated the ones best for that horse. How he knew that, I'd never know. I picked the most comfortable looking one. After saddling my new mount, I visited the bakery and bought six fresh loaves, and then purchased two dozen hot, sizzling sausages from another shop. The bread was long and thin, closer to a baguette than a normal loaf. I broke off a piece of bread, wrapped it around a sausage, and had breakfast.
"This town sure gets up and busy early," I said while buying the sausage.
"Not really," he replied, looking agitated. "Some slaves escaped last night, and almost killed the Lord Mayor and some of our leading citizens."
"A slave revolt?" I asked. "Did the Lord Mayor's household slave attack him?"
"No, some newly enslaved Amazon at the Cat
house escaped, nearly killed half the town, and then rescued her friends," he said.
"Females?" I cried, as if shocked. Really, I was trying to hide my grin. "I'd never expect that from women. Were they female orcs or something?"
"I said she was an Amazon," he snapped. "I don't know anything about the other two."
My questions agitated him, so I thanked him and departed. I collected my horse and led him out of the gate. Looking west, I smiled grimly. My women waited for me out there. I prayed they would hole up somewhere safe and wait for me to catch up. But it didn't feel right. I'd be ready for trouble.
Chapter 18
Elky
"You're going the wrong way!" Kahlan said.
I stopped and slanted a steely eyed gaze back at her. I didn't like her tone. The healer didn't pick up on my displeasure, glaring at me as she panted, face flushed. She pointed to our left.
"Can't you feel him?" she asked. "Why did you bypass that road going his way?"
We'd just passed through a crossroads. The other road only half the size of the trade road. I did check my map, but that road petered out after only a few miles. But I could see the road all the way back to Zoss Ford, too. And just in the last fifteen minutes or so, one of the little yellow dots turned green.
"First of all," I said, careful to keep my tone neutral. It wasn't easy. My feet hurt, my empty stomach gurgled, and I had the beginnings of a headache. After twelve hours, we'd only traveled twenty-five to thirty miles. "I have the map. I can see where all roads lead, and that one is a dead end. Secondly, Cormac is behind us."
"No, he's that way," she insisted, pointing into the woods.
"What direction is that?"
"East."
"What direction have we been heading?"
"West."
It dawned on her before I could respond further.
"That's right, the road twists and turns, but we are still basically heading west," I said. I looked around. "But, we don't need to continue onward. I don't see the pursuit anymore, so let's wait for him to catch up."
