by Bruce Sentar
Joining Sky at the soup pot, he offered to help Sid as well. He got the chance to really survey the room.
The room was actually cleaner than he had expected of a bandit camp. Most of the furnishings including the sink were wood with a coat of some thick oil. Otherwise, it was what one would expect of a large kitchen with four workstations organized with pots and tools. The three other men in the room were focused on their task at hand, part of which was keeping their fingers. Chef for his part sat off to the side and barked orders. Bandits would occasionally come in with empty platters to fill while chef berated the staff for falling behind. Again, Ajax was finding himself lost in the reality of this world.
Sky hip-checked him out of his musings and focused him back on the task of cutting a carrot. It wasn’t long till another one ran into the kitchen with an empty beer barrel. Ajax could only assume this was as close to a crisis as a bandit kitchen could come.
For his part, Ajax eyed the barrel with hidden excitement. That would be the item to poison if he could. Sky had other ideas and held his shoulder. “Sid, why don’t you go help with the beer, we got this. Oh and don’t empty the barrel, yeah?” She slapped Sid’s back like an old friend.
He didn’t need a second opinion and hopped off to help with the beer. Ajax knew he’d take his time to join the revelry for a bit before returning. This left Ajax and Sky preparing stew for bandits. Ajax quickly unstoppered the goblin poison and drained the jar’s contents.
The smell billowed out and Ajax hopped to the station and started chopping onions to hide the smell and hopefully the flavor. Sky grabbed the large spoon and started trying her best to stir it in. However, the smell permeated the kitchen faster than either of them could stop it.
“Wha’ is that god ‘ful smell. Did ya just put rotten meat in the stew?” Chef was quick for such a big guy and loomed over their shoulders. “You blathering idiots! Always gives me the new ones, the stupid ones. Ol’ Chef has to fix their mistakes.” Chef grabbed up a spoon and pushed him aside to get to the stew. His face wrinkled as he tasted the concoction.
“How can we fix it?” Ajax said. He was getting concerning having an angry enemy right behind him, even if the blind chef didn’t recognize it.
“FIX IT?! You screwed the pooch newbie, I ought to boil you to make up the stew.” Chef said. Even fuming as he was, he still reached across the station and grabbed a few fish, milk and potatoes. He wielded his cleaver far more delicately that Ajax imagined the large blade could move. “Fish oil and some fat from the milk. It’ll cover a lot of the smell. Drunk bastards can have some rotten meat for all I care.”
Ajax just swore off eating anything here.
Chef looked down at the pot “The fire’s too low, make yourself useful and build it back up rotten recruits...”
In short order, Chef had ‘fixed’ the stew. Ajax was worried; the man had taken tastings several times but still looked fine. Had the goblin poison been effective?
“Of, I shouldn't ‘ave tasted that.” He flopped back down on his chair. His hands-on his stomach.
Maybe the poison was working. Ajax pointed his chin at Chef for Sky to take a look. “I think we need to get this out there before Chef gets worse.”
They had to work together to get the large pot off its hook and not burn themselves. Waving at Chef, who was starting to hold his sides, they dragged it out to the bonfire.
It didn’t take long for the pot of soup to draw attention as they neared the bonfire. Men staggered up to them and started dipping their bowls, ignoring any sense of order. As the pot lightened, Ajax smiled in anticipation of the successful plan.
With the pot emptied, Ajax caught sight of the collapsed formed with two guards. Nudging Sky he pointed his chin at the female form.
He could see her face blanch as she took in Missy’s form. Ajax could see her jaw tighten till cords of muscles pounded along the contours of her face.
Missy was passed out under the guard of two of Richard’s contract slaves. However, Ajax still hadn’t seen Richard anywhere. He held a hand on Sky’s shoulder to stop her from charging in immediately. They needed a plan.
They couldn’t talk, but at this moment they were in sync. Sky nodded to the pot as another man took his bowl full. Ajax understood they would wait. Wait until the soup was gone.
Sky pulled the pot and Ajax along with it towards the two guards around Missy.
“Soup, you two?” Sky said with her voice as harsh as she could.
“En” The one on the right grunted.
“Hey, we aren’t supposed to eat.” Tweedle two voiced.
“He only said no drinking and no joining the festivities. I think I can have a warm bowl of soup.” The reasonable tweedle one said. Tweedle two shrugged and joined him in fetching a bowl of soup.
The duo continued their rounds with the bowl of soup, but it didn’t take long for Ajax to see the first signs of it working. With the pot almost empty they stashed it in the shadows of the kitchen building and hid in the shadows watching the dancers around the fire stumble to the side and puke their guts out. The leader still sat stoically on his ramshackle throne. He watched the happenings with unamused eyes.
“The boss hasn’t been affected,” Ajax said.
“Of course not. You can’t get around fighting the boss no matter what tactics you use. That’s just how it works.” Sky stated matter of fact. “We aren’t here to fight the boss though. We need to get Missy and get her back in fighting condition.”
“So we sneak around the bonfire, stay to the shadows, and pull her back from the party,” Ajax said.
“That’s as good a plan as any.” Sky’s eyes never left Missy’s body.
Chaos was starting to descend in the bandit camp. The fire still roared, but the cheers around it began to turn into jeers as men stumbled into each other starting fights. The occasional spilling of their guts on each other only added fuel to the fire as fights started breaking out. A few even made it out of the crowd and began falling over, clutching their stomachs.
Ajax hurried to Missy and Sky helped him get her on his back. The two hurried off into the night. They were at the bandit gates when she started to rouse.
“Wait” She started before a coughing fit took over. “Stop.”
“We are almost out Missy,” Ajax reassured her. They were passing through the bandit gate. Ajax would get her back to the caravan and away from all of this mess.
“Not Missy.” She croaked.
What did that mean? Ajax wasn’t sure what that bastard had done with her. Ajax looked over his shoulder at her pained face; he’d seen that face before. It reminded him of Sarah before she confessed a lie. Even if the lie was for his own good, there was always guilt that bubbled through to her expression before she admitted it. He knew she needed to get whatever it was off her chest.
“Wait up Sky.” Ajax paused outside the bandit camp and set her down against the tree. “You okay?”
“Not Missy, He still… has her.” She said.
Ajax cocked his head and gave her eyes full of worry. What does she mean? It clicked for Sky first.
“Oh shit, you're the one with him back in the starter town.” Sky put the pieces together for Ajax. He looked again and realized while she looked like Missy, her expression was wrong. How she looked at him wasn’t right.
Her solemn nod was the final confirmation for Ajax. It seemed to bring with it a storm of tears. She was, however, gaining strength with each drop. “That… Bastard… Threw… Away…” Her sobs turned into a rising growl like a scream was slowly tearing its way out of her throat.
Ajax hesitated a moment; his biggest concern right now was where the real Missy was. However, he wasn’t sure if asking her right now would do any good. He shot Sky a weak smile, he needed a more delicate touch than he was capable of right now.
Sky took the queue and crouched next to not-Missy. “Do you want to kill the bastard? Rip him to pieces and drag his guts out all over the floor?” Sky said casually lik
e she was reading the weather. So much for delicate.
That put a damper on the sobbing and she slowed down. The growl shifted to a hum of determination and she wiped her eyes free of tears to show eyes filled with raw hate. Hate seared everything she looked at, Ajax wasn’t proud of it, but he flinched when her gaze passed over him. He wasn’t sure how anyone could have such raw hate, he certainly hadn’t had any life experiences that could generate this level of emotion.
He looked at the woman in the same body as Missy and felt no desire, no lust, just pity. Just because she looked like Missy Ajax didn’t feel the same pull to her.
CHAPTER 26
Natalie sat in that self-made haze of hate for a moment before she collected herself and stood. “Come, I have a bastard to castrate.”
Ajax looked to Sky “Think we can trust her?”
Pausing, Sky frowned in thought. “We just met her, but I don’t think you can fake that look in her eyes.” Both of them thought about the raw hate she had for Richard. Ajax had to agree that couldn’t be faked. “…but if things go bad, kill Missy then yourself. Let’s make sure we get out of here.”
Getting captured in the game seemed to be more brutal than being killed. At least if Ajax was killed he could continue and recover what was lost. Being captured however wasn’t just a loss; it wasn’t just physical pain. He was still worried about what Richard was doing to Missy.
He scowled at the thought “Let's go get her back.” Answering his own question by following Natalie back into the bandit camp.
The camp was a completely different place than they had experienced the first time. Originally the place was festive if a bit run down. Now, the fire was burning lower and bandits were strewn everywhere getting sick. The place stank with the foul odor of the bandits' stomachs. The bandit leader with dredlocks was nowhere to be seen.
They were spotted as soon as they rounded the kitchen house.
“Aye, what are you doing? If you are well enough to stand help clean up!” The bandit handed Ajax some empty mugs and pointed sharply towards the kitchen in a way that reminded him of a stern mother.
“Yes, sir.” Ajax snapped up the bowls and moved towards the kitchen, once again playing a role to get inside the camp.
He went to escape the kitchen as soon as he put the bowls down, but before he made it too far a loud thunk sounded behind him. He turned to see a large meat cleaver stuck in the wall behind him. Chef was heaving his rotund self off the floor. His rosy cheeks were now tented a sickly green, and he seemed anything but happy.
“Guess it’s a fight.” Sky said.
Ajax surveyed the kitchen again and a few of the kitchen helpers were up with sharp knives. They all looked healthy like they hadn’t just drunk soup with special goblin seasoning.
He hesitated in the back waiting for Sky or Natalie to make a move first.
Sky didn’t hesitate and started snapping off arrows at the kitchen porters.
Two went down in crumpled heaps before they all reacted and started to use the furniture for cover.
Natalie charged out from her hiding spot and met the chef blow for blow with her sword. The clangs of their weapons rang out as Ajax ducked behind a counter and started shooting his Arcane bullets over at the rest of the wait staff.
They hid behind a stove dragging a rack of knives with them. Ajax could see blood pooling around the stove confirming he had hit someone. However, they were secure behind the stove and knives started flying out from behind the stove towards Natalie and the chef.
Trying to aid Natalie, Ajax took a few shots at the chef, but the man was wicked with a pan. He swung the cast iron pan around blocking both his shots and Skys arrows while still meeting Natalie’s sword blow for blow.
Ajax needed to switch things up and instead took aim and shot a knife out of the air. It shattered into metal shards making the floor an even more dangerous terrain. He knew that these guys behind the stove couldn’t replenish their knives without exposing themselves.
Sky, forgotten by both sides, had maneuvered herself into a spot to shoot the men hiding behind the stove. An arrowed whistled through the air taking one out before they reacted and knocked over a rack of dished separating them from Sky’s vicious arrows.
Ajax looked at Natalie’s fight with the chef. She was bleeding from various cuts, but Natalie looked more alive and angry than ever. That’s when Ajax realized what kind of character she was; she was a berserker.
While she’d avoided taking a blown head on, she wasn’t stopping the cleaver or pan from scoring light hits. With each bruise and nick she seemed to be swinging that sword harder.
The chef circled her, faking in for a few soft strokes with the cleaver. Natalie didn’t block; she just edged away from the swing holding her large sword close to keep him from putting any real weight behind the strikes.
He didn’t seem to be wary of a counter stroke for some reason. Ajax realized Natalie’s sword was too large for the close quarters and the chef’s two small weapons. Chef must have already tested her a few times given the few shallow cuts and Natalie’s bruised appearance. It wasn’t working in Natalie’s favor despite her growing fury.
An arrow came from Sky, and the chef blocked it with his pan. Natalie saw the opportunity and swung hard at the chef. He tried to meet it with the cleaver but there was too much weight behind Natalie’s sword for the small blade to block it fully.
However, his pan arm recovered faster than they had expected, and Ajax could see Natalie was still going to be open to an attack from the pan.
Taking aim, Ajax squeezed off another Arcane Bullet giving the chef an option between losing his strike on Natalie or taking a shot.
As expected, he stuck to the defensive and halted his swing to cover his head from the Arcane Bullet again.
Natalie’s swing came down hard, the hastily thrust cleaver not able to match it. Natalie’s swing only lost a small portion of its momentum before the blade dragged a deep cut from shoulder to chest.
To the chef’s credit, he only let out a grunt for what looked like a pretty heavy wound. Though for how tough he was, it looked like he could barely raise that pan arm.
Ajax sighted another Arcane Bullet for the Chef. This time the pan was too slow, but he shifted enough that it took him in the shoulder. He dropped the pan. Ajax could see Natalie grinning wickedly at the partially disarmed chef, and Ajax left it for her to finish him off.
Ajax still had one or two others hiding behind the stove with a set of knives. Moving through the kitchen Ajax kept cover between himself and the two men.
He had made it halfway across the room when they popped up again and saw him as he ducked behind a pantry. Ajax could hear the thud of a knife bury its self in the other side of the pantry.
The sound of metal on metal picked up in tempo behind him, and he could imagine Natalie going berserk on the chef. The twang of a bowstring sounded, followed by a dull thud. Ajax wasn’t sure which fight Sky was participating in, but it sounded like she missed. It was probably the two pinned behind the stove.
Ajax hoped the arrow would keep them opting for cover long enough for him to move to his next spot. He darted out, and seeing their heads down, took the chance to charge their position. Leaping around the side of the stove, his ax already drawn back, Ajax let off a magic bullet. Not trying to be fancy, he got one kitchen aid in the chest. While it might not have been a kill, it certainly took him out of the fight for a moment. Letting loose the prepared swing of his ax took the second squarely on the top of his head. Not giving the one he shot a chance to recover, he drew a dagger and pounced, stabbing him.
It was a desperate attack, and he was sure if he hadn’t lowered the gore factor he’d be covered in blood right now. Getting up from the two dead around him, he looted the corpses.
“Everyone okay?” he called out to the girls.
“Yes,” Natalie answered, breathing heavy.
“All good, there’s some decent loot here and lots of food.” Well du
h, it’s a kitchen. Ajax didn’t dare say that out loud.
Natalie was coming down from the high of the fight and gave Sky a stony face. “It’s a kitchen Sky, it would be weird if it wasn’t full of food.”
“Yeah, I know, but in games, it’s like one or two things. This is like a legit fully stocked kitchen, and we could steal all of it.” Sky’s voice drifted from between the pantries.
“Well hurry up, it might be worth something. But we need to get out of here before someone comes looking for the kitchen crew. Natalie, can you keep a lookout at the door?” Ajax took his own advice and loading up his bags with just a few sweeps of his arm and moved to looting the corpses. Unfortunately, the pan that had played such a big role in the fight was a useless piece of junk but Ajax kept it anyways. He thought he might hang it somewhere in his personal space like a trophy of his first boss fight.
