Desert

by Caiden Walker

  He nodded. "In part anyway. There was also a girl."

  Ash snorted. "Cora, by any chance?"

  Blake blushed and turned away. "Believe me," he said over his shoulder. "She's a really good actress. She had me thinking she truly cared."

  Another snort. She just couldn't help herself. "A woman who truly cares about you asking you to woo and marry another woman? A beautiful and sexy other woman?" She actually laughed. "How did you honestly think that worked?"

  He shrugged, but wouldn't meet her eyes or answer her.

  "Anyway, I can't condone what you did to Nika or us, and I really don't like you any more than the others do," Ash said. "But as long as we're stuck in here, I figure I can at least treat you decently." She reached out and physically turned him to face her. Once she was sure she had his attention, she continued. "That only lasts as long as you continue to help us get through this. If you start becoming a problem, I'll find a way to end you. And it won't be as pleasant nor as quick as Nika's ax."

  Blake looked deep into her eyes and swallowed, then slowly nodded. "Not a problem," he said. "I need out of here just as badly as everyone else at this point. I'll do my part to help the team."

  She smiled and dropped her vise-like grip on his arm. "That's all I ask."

  Blake rubbed his arm where her hand had been and she had to turn to hide her smile. She might be treating him better than the others, but like she said, she didn't like him one bit. He was nothing like her. She had done distasteful things for money, yes, but it had been a matter of survival at the time.

  For Blake, she was pretty damn sure it had been nothing but greed. He was nothing like her. In fact, to her, he was just plain nothing.

  They moved their bedrolls over into the center of the clearing by the water to watch and wait. Ash was itching to try to capture one of the BirdTalkers, but she knew she would get distracted in the battle and didn't want to risk letting her friends down. All it would take would be a few nomads with bows and arrows.

  So, she watched and waited. Blake didn't try to strike up another conversation. Probably because he hadn't liked how his last effort had turned out. Whatever the reason, she was grateful. Minutes later when she felt his body sag to the ground, sound asleep, she didn't even try to wake him.

  When he was sleeping, he was much less annoying. And the time to complete her watch passed much more pleasantly.

  After a full two hours, she woke the others, starting with Blake. It had been her choice to let him sleep and his extra nap would be their secret. As he got up, stretching and bending to wake up fully before the others saw him, she moved on to the others.

  Once they were all awake and Nika and Evan had been filled in with the oasis critters’ behavior, they began to get ready to leave.

  "We are going to try again to capture a BirdTalker each, aren't we?" Ash asked, trying unsuccessfully to sound nonchalant about it.

  Nika smiled at her. She knew she didn't fool the Amazon one little bit.

  "Yes, but I'd say we should limit it to one more try each," Nika said. "We bought the store out of traps, but we are down to just a few each, and they have to last us until we hit the Outpost. It'd be rough using them here and then stumbling across, oh say another Munch, a little further on."

  Ash rubbed her cheek and nodded. She could understand that. Hopefully, the Outpost store would have a full stock of the traps. Hell, by the time they reached the town, they should be up to the next level of traps.

  When she thought of levels, she realized that she hadn't checked her current level after all the critter hunting they had done when they'd arrived. Pulling down her virtual screen, she gave a surprised little yelp.

  Nika whirled around. "What is it?"

  "Have you checked your stats since we battled with the oasis critters?" Ash asked. She watched as Nika followed her actions in pulling up her stats, then as the slow smile crept onto the Amazon's lips.

  "Holy shit," Nika said quietly.

  "Yeah, pretty much what I thought too," Ash said. She and Blake had been the last team to reach level ten, and now after just these little critters here, she was level eleven and halfway to twelve. Best of all, she now had Uber Heal, a powerful heal spell that would restore everyone in the party back to half-life. As in the whole party, all at once. That was an incredible bonus for hitting that level.

  She caught Nika giving her a strange look. "Obviously we must get experience points even if the Trial critter gets away, right?" Nika asked.

  Ash nodded, frowning. That was a simple question. Then she got it and grinned. "We don't have to use our traps to gain the experience."

  Nika nodded. "Yeah, we can split the monsters between our teams and after trying once more to catch a BirdTalker, we can just fight the others. And let the magnificent Gods of experience points rain down on us."

  So for the next half hour, that's exactly what they did. In the end, they each ended up gaining yet another level. Nika and Evan were now at thirteen, and everyone else was sitting at just over twelve. And Nika even had a nice fat BirdTalker in her inventory.

  "Now I feel a bit more confident about going forward," Dean said. "I have to admit I was worried there for a while." Then he turned to Evan. “I really feel a lot better knowing that if something does happen, we won't be sent all the way back to Waterton. That would have been a real bummer."

  "I agree," Nika said. "So any more of those hidden save points would be great to know about, Evan."

  He nodded. Good, now everyone was on the same page. Anything that would keep them moving forward, and hopefully at a faster pace, was fair game.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN: Second Oasis

  Nika felt something tickling the back of her mind. Something she thought might be important, but she just couldn't pull it forward. Pushing the thought further back so that it would quit annoying her, she concentrated more on the moment at hand.

  She had thought that with a four-hour layover for naps, it would be much closer to dark than it currently was. Of course, they were in the desert. There was nothing but a sandy floor behind, beside, and before them. Nothing for the sun to set behind. The sand dunes weren't that massive here.

  The good thing was that even though it wasn't dusk yet, it was a tad cooler than when they had arrived. The sun not being directly overhead made a huge difference in the temperature. She'd take it.

  Another good thing was that now they should be able to make the next oasis before hard dark. That would help them spot any enemies waiting for them there. She wasn't counting on getting lucky with Trials critters guarding the next one. Most likely that was a one-shot thing. One she was grateful for never the less.

  They were riding out from the oasis and Nika caught Ash's wistful look back. "Something we forgot?" Nika asked.

  Ash shook her head. "No. I know it's important that we keep moving and get to Gaia as fast as possible. It's just, well, I would have loved to see what nighttime critters showed up back there."

  "Yeah, that would have been nice. But maybe we'll get lucky and they will be the same ones that show up in the next oasis." Nika paused. "They do repeat sometimes from area to area, don't they?"

  "Sometimes," Ash said, brightening a little. "Especially if the environment is the same. You can't get any closer environments than two oasis clearings only miles apart, right?"

  "That's my hope, anyway," Nika said.

  "Okay, so don't take this as laziness or anything like that, because it's more just curiosity," Dean said, riding up to them. "Are we planning to camp at the next oasis or ride on?" He glanced back at the very slowly lowering sun. "I'd thought it would be night already, but I guess we're just making great time. Which is a good thing, I know, but it kind of ruins our whole ride through the night plan doesn't it?"

  "I'm thinking we might split our sleep up while we are in the desert," Nika said thoughtfully. "I like a full night's sleep as much as the next person, but it makes sense to ride in spurts out here. It'll help us take advantage of the cooler times of
day, and give the horses a much-needed break in between rides too."

  Dean smiled. "I take it that's a yes, right? We'll be making camp and getting a little more shuteye before heading on to the Outpost?"

  Nika laughed. "Yes, Dean, that's a yes. Once we get there, we'll set up camp and sleep until about three or so then head out. It's a straight shot from there to the Outpost and we can rest a little there while we check out the town and gather intel. Not to mention hit the market for new Trials goodies." She turned to Ash. "We should have better traps and potions by now, shouldn't we?"

  "Oh yeah," Ash said. "If we had more time, I'd love to take one of the better traps and go back for the BirdTalker." She sighed. "They probably won't be around on the next run through. I mean, they aren't really a part of Gaia's Rebirth, are they?"

  The Amazon lifted a shoulder. "I'm not so sure about that," she said. "I mean we didn't put them there. If VirTech was nice enough to add their code to ours free of charge and without our consent?" Another slight shrug. "That will be for the courts to decide."

  Louella grinned over at her. "You mean you might keep them as part of the game? Really?"

  It was good to see the pixie excited and happy again. "I think I will," Nika said. "Even if we don't get the rights to VirTech's code, we could always code in some collection monsters of our own. Maybe make them match the area a little better than the current ones do."

  Evan, running beside Nika's horse, grunted. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Koala bears aren't found in the desert."

  "Exactly," Nika said. "Maybe we should think about what kind of creatures we would add? It would give us something to do while we ride."

  The next few miles flew by, with all of them enrapt in their discussion of possible monsters to add to both the forest and desert area. The talks only stopped while they paused to deal with a few of Gaia's creatures who got between them and the trail ahead.

  The first such stop was a pack of a half dozen hyenas, and the second was a band of ten desert nomads intent on robbing them of their gold. Neither battle took long or much effort.

  Unfortunately, hyenas weren't known for carrying legendary items, so all they got from them was gold, potions, and a few hides. But once again, they hit pay dirt with the nomad thieves. Two legendary flares went up at the end of the battle. The first one leading them to a pair of Amazon wristbands that had the capability of not only adding a few stat points to her speed but also to deflect oncoming enemy arrows and blades. She didn't know what material they were supposed to be made of to enable them to do that, but then she didn't care either. They were a nice addition to her wardrobe.

  The second flare led to a staff. It was called Heaven's Blessings and was extremely rare to find within the game. Ash's eyes lit up when she caught sight of it. Then she literally jumped up and down.

  Ash.

  The normally very stoic mage that didn't let anything get to her, good or bad. It had the whole party laughing. Ash blushed but then she didn't really seem to mind either.

  Nika understood her excitement. Hell, she was damned glad to see the item appear too, even if it wasn't meant for an Amazon.

  Heaven's Blessings was a powerful staff that granted the user the power of Resurrection. That meant that any party member that died in battle could be resurrected right there on the spot. Pretty handy. If the mage was too busy to resurrect the team mate during the battle, she could also do the job afterward. However, then there was a penalty attached. Bringing a player back while the battle still raged meant they were still in the game with all their current stats, abilities, and levels gained. If they were brought back after the battle, they would have already hit the save point and while they would return to the team's current location, they would be back to where they were at their last save in terms of stats and levels.

  It made the job of mage pretty damn important and more than a little tricky. Ash certainly didn't seem to mind.

  The mage picked up the item and stored it in her inventory, then frowned. "I can't use it until I hit level thirteen, so don't anybody go dying until then, okay?"

  "We'll do our very best," Nika said, taking a minute to check her stats. Gaia's creatures just didn't hand out experience as fluidly as the little critters did. Even after two battles against much nastier creatures, she still had a long way to go to level fourteen. A quick check showed Ash still a solid level twelve too. Here was hoping there were several of the Trials critters at the next oasis. She'd love to have the Resurrection ability active as they rode further out.

  After the nomad battle, it wasn't long before the second oasis came into view. Pulling up the area map, Nika saw a dozen red dots grouped fairly close together at the back of the clearing. If she had to guess, she would say that the enemies were hiding in wait for them behind the trees of the oasis.

  This one was larger than the last. With not one, but two small pools of water within its boundaries. And many, many more trees and plants. All the better to hide with, she thought.

  No matter. If they weren't too much higher level than the last band they'd encountered, it shouldn't be a problem. She looked over to Evan.

  "Any hidden save point here?" she asked.

  He shook his head. "Too close to the last one.”

  It made sense, Nika thought. Still, it hadn't hurt to ask. "Okay, everyone, watch each other's backs and try not to get killed out here," she said looking over her team.

  Everyone nodded and drew out their weapons of choice.

  "You know," Dean said. "There is something I've always wanted to do. May I?"

  Nika didn't even ask him what it was, she just nodded. He may have started out a bit rocky, but he'd grown into a decent and valuable player.

  Grinning, he raised his bow to the sky and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Charge!" Then kicked his horse into high gear toward the oasis. The others alternated between yelling charge and laughing as they followed suit behind him.

  The bandits, even with the team's obvious warning that they knew they were there, waited until they were all inside the oasis boundaries before beginning their attack. While the team had ridden into place, the group of red dots, or enemies, had spread out so that once the group was in the clearing, they were pretty much surrounded on all sides.

  It wasn't until Nika saw the situation that she realized she hadn't even asked the group if they wanted to join together as one. They had been doing fine up until now, and she said a silent prayer that this battle would be no different.

  At first, it didn't appear to be. The first few bandits went down fairly easily and soon the odds were even. Just when Nika felt certain the battle would be a quick one, a last bandit arose from the water in the center of the oasis.

  This one had to have a blood elf relative and she was betting it was the silent giant from the caves back in Forest. He was just as huge and just as quiet. He rose from the water in one motion and stepped out onto the sand, water dripping off his jet black hair and bulging muscles alike.

  If she hadn't had her breath stolen at the sight of him, she might have been tempted to stop and admire the view. It was quite something as the only attire he had on was a tiny loincloth that he had obviously been using as a bathing suit.

  Dean never hesitated as he started raining arrows down on the hulking bandit. She noticed he was alternating between his DoubleShot and Flaming Arrow attacks. Good, solid game playing. He’d come far.

  As he seemed to be concentrating on the big one, she started plowing through the remaining smaller bandits as quickly as she could, Evan by her side. Their blades flashed furiously in the sun as one bandit quickly followed another into the glittering sands.

  Nika gave her WarCry and quickly followed with her Intimidation cast. Hopefully, the two together would give the team a bit of courage and help.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Louella call out her clone and fire an EarthQuake spell directed at the over-large bandit. Good, with her helping Dean and Ash, Nika and Evan could take down the others.
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br />   It wouldn't do for all of them to concentrate on the giant and give the smaller enemies the chance to form a surprise attack from behind. Now the nomad's maneuver of surrounding them made total sense. Not only were they blocking their escape, they were herding the party toward the lake and their leader as well.

  Finally, the last of the smaller ones fell and lit a bright, shining flare to the sky. Yet another legendary. Nika only hoped they would still be around to collect it as she turned to face the other battle still raging.

  Well, slightly raging, anyway. The rest of the team had done a hell of a good job knocking the Goliath down to size a bit. His health bar was at half-life and the party members were obviously faster than he was, which was making his attacks miss more than they hit.

  Which was a very good thing, because when they did hit, they were extremely powerful. As she watched, one of his massive blows landed on Dean, and the ranger almost died on the spot. If it hadn't been for the double Heal spells thrown by Ash and Louella, she was sure he would have.

  Without even having to look, she knew the girls must be running low on mana, so she threw each of them a potion before giving her WarCry once more and joining the fun.

  They had buried the giant blood elf back in Forest under tons of stone and rubble. That wasn't an option here. But they were more than a few levels stronger than they had been back then too. Even with the reset.

  Once the blades joined the party, the giant didn't last much longer. As they were congratulating each other on a battle well fought and turning to gather their well-earned loot, the unthinkable happened.

  Two more giant nomad bandits, twins to the first, rose from the water and stepped onto the sand.

  Oh, shit. Nika knew instantly that this was a by-product of having three separate teams. They were going to fight and defeat a mini-boss for each of the teams. They had gotten lucky that the first one had appeared solo. If they had all three appeared at the same time, they would have all died right then and there.