by J. R. Ford
“I’ll pay you through Indian Harvard, if it gets you to just shut up already.”
“And kiss your boots, too? Keep your money.” He checked the other orcs and looked disappointed they were all dead. He retrieved the archer’s longbow and tested its weight. It was nearly as tall as him and fashioned of a polished grey wood. “Ooh. I’ve been needing something a little stronger.” Then he began to strip the carcasses of their armor, grunting with the effort. “You going to help me?”
“We should find their camp first,” Ana said. “We can come back for them.”
Farrukh scowled, as if he grated at being given orders he agreed with. “Okay, but if we find more, I get some more of the kills! Fifty points a head…they don’t know what’s coming.”
“Can’t we rest for the night first?” Heather asked, looking at the waning sunlight. “We’re so close to the cabin.”
Ana shook her head. “We have to press our advantage. If there are more, we don’t want them to get a heads-up from their friends’ disappearance.” She began pushing through the underbrush, using the Lightning Blade to shove branches from her path.
Another distraction from our pursuit of the Knucklebones. My wrist ached. But I followed.
Farrukh disappeared into the forest. Heather and I stuck to Ana’s wake.
“How’s your mana?” I asked.
“Seventy of 100.” Staying in animal form drained her mana, but it restored at a rate of about 100 mana per fifteen minutes.
“Thanks for having my back,” I said. “I might’ve been Pavel ćevapi if not for you.”
“No problem,” she said.
“But,” I added, a bit indignant, “weren’t you saying just last night how we couldn’t always rely on each other?”
“Are you trying to rub the fact that I saved your life in my face?”
“I just want to do for you what you do for me.”
“And if you see me about to get skewered, please help. But don’t get in my way.” She stomped after Ana.
“Heather,” I said, hurrying after.
“I have the luxury of taking some blows,” she said. “I got stabbed for helping you. But I was a bear. If you’d done the same, in my position…”
“I’d need a potion, maybe, but I’d be all right. Your pain isn’t worth less than mine.” Her irritation brought mine sloshing to the surface. “And don’t treat me like an invalid.”
I was expecting a pitying look. Instead, I got one of such deep concern that my irritation evaporated. “You know that isn’t it. It’s just…tough, seeing Ana get shot. She’s always seemed so invincible.”
“That’s just because she’s afraid of looking weak. She’s not invincible, and neither are you.”
Maybe Ana overheard my trash talk, because she turned around and said, “Listen up. Those things were no pushovers, and spears are tough weapons to face. I should’ve drilled you both against them more.”
I shook my head. “What can we do?”
“Don’t bind against one with your rapier, they’ll have the leverage. But you can parry and riposte like normal. Watch your distance. Heather, maul the crap out of them.”
Heather shook her head. “Not unless you want me to run out of mana. Transforming into the same form costs more each time — I’d be better as a wolf.”
Farrukh rustled into view beside us. “The camp’s ahead. Empty.”
I breathed relief. I felt a lot better with my hand in Heather’s, rather than gripping a weapon.
The clearing contained two tents. We set to rummaging. They were outfitted like soldiers: rations, bedrolls, ointment that looked a lot like ours. Heather said, “Check this out!”
We emerged to find her holding a piece of parchment. She said, “Looks like they were mapping this area.”
Sure enough, the orcs had been in the process of mapping not just White Fir, but the terrain and roads all through the forests west of Bluehearth. The image sent shivers down my spine. “They were scouts.”
The implication hung heavy over us, except Farrukh, who laughed. “Bring them on! Fifty points each — I hope they bring an army!”
4
Sounds of the others rising woke me from deep slumber. The price of having roommates in a cabin studio. Or perhaps a boon, considering how familiarity told me it was already past noon.
Ana and Heather were changing behind the wooden screen. Farrukh was gone already, probably out praying, fishing, or practicing with his new bow.
Over a month of in-game archery had built his muscles to manage the orcish bow. Made me wonder why I never got any better at walking.
I cleaned my injuries with an old shirt that had been sliced into rags in a previous altercation. Getting cut was like walking: I never got used to it.
As I sponged myself, Heather leaned past the screen to ogle me in just my underwear. At first I cringed away, but the warmth on her face soothed my anxiety. I had to admit, all the fighting had me looking toned. When I died, I’d miss the gains, if not the scars.
In return, I could only see her face and shoulders. “No fair,” I said. “How come I don’t get to watch you strip?”
She blushed. “Because I do it behind the screen.”
“Right, as if you wouldn’t follow me if I tried.”
She feigned indignation, badly. “Not if you told me not to a couple times.”
“Be glad I respect Ana’s privacy,” I grumbled.
Ana laughed from behind the screen. “Don’t use me as your excuse! It’s not like you’ve never seen me in my underwear.”
Shock crossed Heather’s face. She jerked behind the screen, but I heard her ask, “What? When?”
Ana just laughed in response. Heather leaned back out, red-faced. “What happened?” she demanded.
“It was nothing,” I mumbled. “You remember that time you joined the Enlightened to get Edwin off our backs? You told me to run?”
I was downplaying her sacrifice, and the anger rising on her face told me she knew it. She’d fully intended to log off and never see us again as soon as Edwin was far enough away for me to get a head start.
“Well,” I continued. “There were so many springs around, and the water soothed Ana’s legs, so we figured we’d take a dip before we left.” I remembered the scene vividly, and not just because I got to see Ana in her bra. When she’d told me, in that pool, that Heather had fallen for me, it had nearly drowned me. I pulled my trousers up before Heather noticed anything that would make her angrier.
“I gave myself up so you could run, and instead you went swimming?”
“You don’t get it,” I said. “You weren’t there.”
“It was my idea,” Ana interjected, though I was pretty sure she was lying. “The water cooled my legs.” At that point, she’d been in the first stages of a painful transformation into a slug-like gastrolith.
Heather’s face lost some of its heat. “Well, I can understand that, I guess. And nothing happened between you?”
Ana laughed sharply enough to prick my pride. “Pav was nothing but a gentleman.” That one I knew was a lie, unless she considered leering a gentlemanly pastime. But I hadn’t made any move. Ever since she’d compared me to her little brother, the division had been scored into my mind: look, don’t touch. Not that I minded anymore.
Heather took a deep breath. “Okay.”
I slipped into one of my three — three! — spare shirts. Well, two now, until I could get the one from yesterday washed and mended. But raging blood urged me to push my luck. “You know,” I said, “there’s only one way for you to get even.”
“Piss off.” Worth a shot. She disappeared behind the screen again.
It was a ten-minute jaunt into White Fir. Farrukh kept scurrying off-trail to nab herbs required for his Health Potions, each time practically disappearing in his forest-green tunic and dark mantle. Ana’s auburn ponytail swished with every stride. Heather’s hair had grown even more voluminous in our time away from barbers. It bobbed up and down, t
hough I couldn’t stare at it as easily as Ana’s, what with Heather beside me and Ana ahead. I stole glances as often as I could.
Heather blushed. “What are you looking at?”
“You’re beautiful. I never get tired of looking at you. And it feels great to be able to say that out loud.”
She lowered her gaze, though a small smile snuck onto her lips. It only made her cuter. I pulled her close and buried my nose in her hair, savoring the sweet lilac scent while it was not yet embittered by heartbreak.
White Fir was a strip of wooden shops along the riverfront. Each of us had business in town, but me most of all.
We first stopped at the inn, a two-story building. The notice board posted outside was almost empty, thanks to the efforts of our party and the White Foresters, a group of newbies who’d spawned here last week.
Two new quests caught my eye. Some trollbats had cozied up in an abandoned tower to the north, and, more excitingly:
“A massive flying beast has been harassing livestock near the western mountains,” I read. “Could it be?”
Excitement rustled through our group. If this beast was the trollbat boss, we were only one quest away from a set of Sanguine Knucklebones.
“We shouldn’t get our hopes up until we know more,” Farrukh said. We all accepted both quests.
A couple of White Foresters were inside, eating lunch. Their faces brightened as we entered.
“Farrukh!” one said, then went for his bag. He offered 5 gold coins and the ingredients for a Health Potion.
“Luis. What happened?” Farrukh asked as he prepared the potion.
Luis was a middle-aged Hispanic man with short hair, weathered features, and a mild accent. “It was my fault. I convinced them, since we’ve been getting stronger, and with your group gone… We tried that new trollbat quest. But one of them got Maria bad, and now she has a fever,” he said. “We had to retreat. If my son is watching, he’s probably upset with me for even suggesting we try it… Thanks!” He rushed upstairs the instant Farrukh handed the cup over.
“’Receive 1 gold for sale of goods or services to other players: +1, x5’,” Farrukh quoted.
“Got any burek or ćevapi?” I asked the innkeeper, as always. He shook his head, as always. I was yet to find my two most-craved foods.
Oh well. I had more pressing matters. The remaining White Forester was a stocky white dude drinking the last of his soup. “Stuart, is Zhao about?”
“She’s at the forge. Has something for you.”
My spirit soared.
“Did you see the new quest outside?” Stuart asked. “Might be that boss you’re hunting.”
“Hope so,” I said.
“I know that boss is the only reason you’re out here. Good luck. If you kill it and move on, thanks for everything you’ve done for us.”
I’d actually grown quite attached to our new home. But we’d decide whether to leave this river once I had two hands.
Before we left, Ana added, “Be careful. We encountered some orcs out there. They might try to attack the town.”
“I’ve never heard of monsters attacking a settlement,” Stuart said.
We made for the smithy, not far from the inn. I practically skipped. Heather was grinning too. The forge stood open to the air beneath a shingled roof. Its heat was palpable.
When we’d made our home here, we’d been looking for a place out of Edwin’s reach. The newbies who’d spawned here day one had all left, but more had spawned a week ago. Now, a new party stayed at the inn: the White Foresters, consisting of Luis, Stuart, Maria, and Zhao. There had been quests aplenty. After the first wave had moved on, beasts both magical and mundane had re-infested everything — forests, mines, quarries, forts. As we and the Foresters had re-liberated areas, the local craftsmen had expanded their selection through some invisible correlation.
As far as I could tell, products here just kind of appeared, provided the areas that produced resources were monster-free. This meant the forge employees didn’t do any actual smithing, resulting in no custom projects. But Zhao, an old lady not much interested in slaying monsters, had found a book in the smithy detailing swordsmithing and had taken to the craft with vigor. Whenever the White Foresters were in town, odds were Zhao would be tinkering at the forge. I’d given her 10 gold and a mandate.
Zhao held the project out to me. It slipped over my stump perfectly, and a leather loop secured it at the bicep. My new gauntlet-dagger gleamed in the sunlight.
“It’s amazing,” I said. I worked my arm up and down, then tried some parries. The prosthetic didn’t impede my movement, and the dagger seemed sturdily forged.
I had my green cloak back on and a dagger in my hand, kind of. Pavel’s back, baby, looking good and feeling good.
My companions smiled with me. Zhao beamed with pride at her work, putting her thumbs in the belt of her apron.
Ana stepped close and drew my rapier from its wooden sheath. “Let’s try it out!”
She gave me a couple slow thrusts. The first, I diverted with a clockwise semicircle; the second, counterclockwise. It wasn’t as easy without a wrist to angle the blade properly, but I could practice. Ana delivered a cut, and the rapier clanged against the curved prongs harmlessly. The dagger didn’t budge an inch.
Now for the hard part: not stabbing myself. I unbuckled the leather strap around my bicep and slipped the gauntlet off. “Perfect. Thank you, Zhao.”
“My pleasure,” she said. “Someone in our party needs to make money, so my foolish friends can keep buying Health Potions. On that note, do any of you need anything else?”
“Not from you,” Ana said, eyeing the glittering mail of the armorer’s workshop just down the road.
“What can I get you?” the armor merchant asked.
Ana slung the loot sack onto the counter and started pulling out the orc gear. “Some of this is damaged, and it doesn’t fit us. Can you repair it and tailor it?”
“I can repair it, but not tailor it. If it doesn’t fit, just sell it to me and buy something new.”
Ana checked out the prices, looked at our purse, and did some math. Ever since torching Riyaasat, we’d pooled our money to spend on living expenses and equipment. The safer any of us were, the safer all of us were. And with orc loot and accumulated quest gold, we finally had some savings.
I sat back. We’d already spent a solid chunk on my dagger.
Heather stood by me, holding my hand, content with her sky-blue dress and gray trousers. Any armor we bought her would be wasted in animal form. It was a higher priority to outfit Ana and Farrukh, Ana especially. The fight yesterday had reminded us of that.
Ana reached her conclusion but didn’t speak it. Instead, she turned to the merchant and gestured at his boiled leather cuirasses. “If it weren’t for us, there wouldn’t be any pigs to make leather from. Surely you can give us a discount.”
He looked disgruntled. “If you hadn’t saved the pigs, there wouldn’t be any leather for you to buy. We both win. Now pay the prices.”
“Look, your job is to sell these, right? Who else are you going to sell them to? The others around here are too busy paying Farrukh for his potions.”
The merchant’s face flushed red. “And they need those potions because they don’t buy my armor! What’s worth more to you, your lives or your coin? There are no other armor vendors around.”
“We’re not far from Murray’s Ford,” I said. “And there aren’t many quests around here. Make a day trip of it?”
It was a gamble. My companions would likely take the bluff at face value, and that would mean several extra hours of walking. I’d been looking forward to a lazy day.
The merchant seemed to have fallen for it as well. “And risk being ambushed? That area is overrun with trollbats.”
His mention of trollbats might’ve caused my plan to backfire, but we were well experienced with the lies shopkeepers told to get their sales numbers up. “We cleared that place last week,” I said. “No way h
ave they respawned already. You’re just desperate for a sale.”
He scowled. “Fine. I can give you helmets for 3 gold each. Cuirasses for 8. But don’t get started on the chainmail!”
He and Ana haggled for a time, then she nodded and turned back to us. “We can get a chainmail hauberk, a couple of leather cuirasses, a pair of gauntlets, and helmets for all four of us.” Her eyes narrowed at Farrukh.
He waved his hand. “If we play it right, I won’t need the chainmail. It would be noisy anyway. Take it.”
“Good,” Ana said, and counted out some coins. “But,” she said, and the merchant groaned. “We get to try everything on first.”
The hauberk price included a quilted cap and jacket, available in rainbow hues — a testament to our efforts in clearing monsters from dye-ingredient territories. She picked maroon, the same color as her blouse.
She wriggled into the hauberk with difficulty. It draped her from shoulders to mid-thigh, with long sleeves. When she donned a visored helm and drew her Lightning Blade, she looked like a real knight out of a fairy tale. She tried some cuts. If she was slower beneath the weight of the steel, I couldn’t tell, and I doubted her enemies would either.
She raised the visor. “It’s tough to see in here. And breathe. Can I try one of those kettle helmets?”
She swapped the helmet for a chain coif that draped down her neck and onto her shoulders, topped with a wide-brimmed steel hat. “Much better,” she said, smiling broadly. She bashed at the helmet with her pommel, then, satisfied, removed it. When she tried to pull off the chain coif, however, she hesitated with the coif half-raised.
“Heather,” she said from behind a chain curtain, her voice unusually calm. “Help.”
Heather spent the next minutes trying to extract Ana’s auburn hair from where it had escaped the cap and gotten tangled in the chains. Meanwhile, the merchant strapped me and Farrukh into a couple of hard leather cuirasses and helmets reinforced around the brow with iron bands.
I rapped on the helmet. Solid enough, I hoped. The cuirass protected my torso and had an additional leather pauldron over my left shoulder. They were a rich earthy brown that complimented my forest cloak and sienna trousers.
