My magic is a lot stronger now that I have Staff of the Water Ancients, but my mana pool isn’t big enough for me to cast more than five or six abilities per battle. When I have time to rest, it’s fine, but in the next stage of the tournament, it could cost me. I pick up the loot from the hill giant and add it to my inventory.
Currency: 5 gold
Item: Stone Club. +7 damage. “Grunt softly and carry a big club.”
Item: Benevolent Shield of Healing. +10% health. Unique ability: Double-edged shield. The next attack will be blocked and heal both attacker and defender for 5% health. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Not a bad haul. I’m still lacking in the defense department and a good shield will really help out. I’ll need to be careful with this one, though. If my opponent has more overall HP than me, I could put myself in quite the hole if I use it at the wrong time. The bonus health is a godsend, considering my lack of HP.
It’s been almost a week since the first quest of the tournament, which means we should be hearing about the second quest any day now. I’m both nervous and excited at the prospect. For the most part, I’ve put the thoughts about my vision with the aboleth in the back of my mind. I need my entire focus on the quest, not on what might have been. If there is any truth to what I saw, there will be time for that when the tournament is over.
More giants clamor over the nearest hill. Tinker takes the lead. His gray beard blows in the wind. Even though he is old, he still has that aura of dwarvish power. He raises his staff into the air towards the giants. The blue stone on the tip glows for a moment before he brings the staff down hard to the ground. The earth rumbles for a second and I can feel it shaking beneath my feet. Then a crack opens where the staff hit and shoots out towards the hill giants, ripping the earth apart. When the canyon reaches them, rocks shoot forth and sends the giants flying into the air, taking out a chunk of their health. Tinker gives a smirk to Ordin, who steps forward for the next attack.
Ordin strokes his red beard for a moment.
“Not bad,” he mumbles.
Ordin grips his warhammer tightly. The gash in the earth has sealed itself from Tinker’s attack and the hill giants roar and beat their chests, ready for revenge. Ordin’s warhammer catches the light and shimmers in his hand. For a moment, Ordin doesn’t move as the giants approach. He looks frozen in time. Then his warhammer glows, faint at first, then brighter until it is almost too bright to look at.
The giants are almost on him when he lifts his weapon over his head, ready to attack. The hill giant swings his club at the same time as Ordin and they meet in a violent clash of light and thunder. It’s hard to see anything other than the light of their impact. A thousand splinters rain down around us.
When the light clears and we can see again, Ordin is on one knee, his warhammer halfway sunken into the earth. The bodies of three hill giants lay lifeless around him.
“Meh,” scoffs Tinker. “I warmed them up for you.”
“Boys…” says Klink, rolling her eyes.
Tension is high for a moment until the princess laughs. Her melodic voice causes them both to smile. I wonder if there is added tension in the group since only Ordin and Klink made it through to the next round. I remember the first time I met the princess, there were nearly a dozen dwarves. Since the first quest though, I’ve only seen these four. Where have the others gone? I want to ask, but I don’t want to intrude.
“Where to next, Esil?” she asks me.
We’ve been using Merlin’s Flyby ability to find the best places for leveling. The five of them surround me, each facing a different direction to protect me from attack while I merge my perception with Merlin.
From high in the sky, I can see our bodies on the ground like small ants. Far to the west is the town square. The Mortican Mountains themselves lie to the north. Several fishermen sit along the banks of a nearby stream, fishing for their dinner or perhaps to sell at the market. A lone harpy waits under a tree for her next victim. A group of giants pull trees from the earth a mile from where we stand and take turns throwing them, testing their strength. They are all around level forty, easy enough for us to tackle as a group.
I return to my body and tell them where our next battle is waiting. Aleesia walks beside me along the way. She wears cream-colored pants and a flowy blue top. How many outfits does she have? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear the same thing twice. Considering how much my pants and tunic cost, her closet must be worth a small fortune.
“How’s your friend’s mom doing?” she asks. I’ve confided in her my real reason for entering the tournament. I’m not looking for pity or a handout, but the more time we’ve spent together, the easier it has become for me to talk to her.
“About the same, I suppose. She has medicine for the pain, but there is not much else she can do at the moment.”
I haven’t talked to Buzz much since moving out on my own. I get the occasional message telling me his thoughts on the tournament or any big happenings with the other contestants, but not much more than that. I know he spends a lot of time exploring worlds when he’s not working or researching. With getting settled in, grinding, and the quest with Grayson, there just hasn’t been much time for me to reach out. I need to make time for him soon. Maybe we can go smash some steam-powered robots or something.
The red dot in the side of my vision reminds me I’m being watched. Part of my sponsorship stipulates that I have to stream for at least an hour a day to be in good standing. I try not to talk much about Buzz’s mom or my reasons for entering the tournament while streaming. Occasionally, things slip out. I don’t think anyone knows that I’m a miner. Or was a miner, rather. It’s still hard for me to truly believe that this is my life now. I often get messages asking me how I attack so hard, but I don’t respond. I’ve been trying to get better with my spells so that they eventually even out with each other. My strength is a blessing, but Grayson is right. I can’t rely on it solely.
Below the red dot, there is a ticker that tells me how many people are watching my stream at any given time. I have several thousand fans that log in to watch me every time I play. They must like the quiet underdog I’ve been labeled as. The wolf head belt buckle I wear has some calling me The Lone Wolf. I supposed as far as nicknames go, it’s not so bad. I don’t talk a lot as I stream, usually letting my actions take the stage. There are a few trolls here and there that send me rude messages, but I try to ignore them and carry on as best I can. Sometimes viewers from rival streams will follow along and talk shit for the duration of my stream. Ryken has a particularly nasty brand of followers who like to give death threats. The princess even has a few who get jealous when we are together. For the most part, I carry along as I would normally.
I can see the outline of the giants in the distance when a system message pops across my vision.
Greetings, Esil! Congratulations on making it through the first round of the Developer’s Tournament. The fun is just getting started. The next quest will be taking place in one week. Here is a clue to help you on your way:
Faster, farther, further still.
Daunting, dangerous, blood can spill.
Tortoise, hare, whichever way;
Succeed and quest another day.
Best of luck and as always, never stop leveling!
-Pangea Online Developers
Moments after the message comes through, my viewers nearly triple. Everyone wants to know what my next move is.
“What do you think it means?” asks Aleesia. She doesn’t question if I received a message. The way Ordin, Klink, and I all stopped walking at the same time was the only signal she needed.
“Some kind of journey?” I’m not sure what to make of it. I’ll need to talk to Buzz as soon as I can. He has lived and breathed this tournament just as much as any of us still in it.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t give any clue as to the location. Does that mean they will tell us where it is? And how is this supposed to prepare us for what comes next? Do you have any
ideas?” she asks the dwarves.
I don’t know what it means, but it all has meaning. Every single word is a clue. Blood can spill, tortoise, hare. All of it means something. I need to logout and clear my head.
“I need to go. I need to think about this on my own for a bit. Do you want to meet up tomorrow and discuss whatever we find out?”
We agree to meet in the morning. I call Merlin back and clasp each of my companions around the forearm in turn before teleporting back to the town square.
Chapter Twenty-One
Buzz is talking so fast I can barely keep up with what he is saying. His hands move animatedly on the video screen in the top left corner of my vision. Merlin flies in quick circles around my home portal, all of the excitement making him antsy.
“‘Blood can spill,’ it has to mean it’s going to be PvP,” he says with a sigh. He knows as well as I that that would be bad news.
Player versus player is not something I’m looking forward to if that is how it goes down. I may have my strength bonus that no one else knows about, but I’m still way under-leveled in every other aspect of the game. At level twenty, I’m the lowest level by fifteen. Most of the other competitors are at least level fifty. PvP will be bad for me.
“But I don’t think it is just a battle,” he goes on. “It’s some kind of journey. It sounds like all you have to do is make it through to go to the next round. Maybe if you die, you’re out and if you complete it, you’re through. I don’t know. Could mean a hundred other things, but that’s what is jumping out to me. I need to research more on the tortoise and hare and see if there is any significance there.” He scratches his head, as if trying to remember some obsolete fact he learned long ago.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking too. It sounds like there might be some kind of bonus to completing it quicker than others, though.”
“How are you feeling about all of this? Grayson told me about your quest yesterday.”
“Oh, man. Grayson fights like a beast. He has these awesome gauntlets and just punches things till they die, but his outfit, he looks like he belongs on the cover of a romance novel.” We both laugh. I really miss hanging out with Buzz for hours on end in the mines. It was boring, monotonous work, but we had a good time. I have more freedom now, but I miss my friend. I guess there is a cost to everything. “I don’t really know what to tell you, Buzz. I’m nervous. I’m sure we all are since we don’t know what is coming next. I don’t care if I’m first or last, just as long as I make it through.”
“We’ll get you there.” He winks. “You’ve got two of the best minds in the game on your side.”
“I’ll be glad to finally meet them one day,” I tease.
“Yeah, yeah. See you later, bud.”
“See ya.” Buzz disappears from my vision and I’m left alone with Merlin in my drab, gray home portal. I should spruce the place up a bit, but what’s the point? I spend most of my time out in the game worlds. I can’t justify the money for something I don’t need.
“Maybe when this is all over,” I tell Merlin. He quits his erratic flying and lands on my shoulder. His soft hoots are the only sound I hear aside from my breathing.
I log out and decide to go for a walk. It only takes a minute for me to scarf down a few energy bars and vitamin drink. I put on the clothes my sponsor sent me: a pair of sweatpants, sneakers, and a hoodie with the VR Haptix logo on the chest. There’s no need to wear the contamination suit that I wore when I left The Boxes to take Buzz’s mom to the doctor. Out here, a filter mask is all I need. I strap it on and step into the entry room for my apartment. The door slides closed and steam hisses out, filling the room. A few seconds later, the door opens and I step outside.
It’s a nice evening out. The air is cool on my hands and the setting sun tints the edges of the gray sky with pink and yellow. I live in a busier part of Civic City, where people are always walking about. The strange thing is that no one ever talks. There is the shuffle of feet and the occasional blare of a car horn, but people don’t speak until they are inside the buildings and able to remove their masks.
The silence is very eerie at times.
My favorite place to walk to is a park a few blocks from my apartment. Several benches surround a small pond. A few bright orange fish swim underneath the water. It’s peaceful to watch them swim back and forth as the water gurgles from the makeshift waterfall that spills a constant stream into the pond. A turtle with two heads sits on a log floating in the middle.
The animals have paid the same price as everyone else.
I close my eyes and let the words of the quest run through my head over and over until they no longer sound real.
Faster, farther, further still.
Daunting, dangerous, blood can spill.
Tortoise, hare, whichever way;
Succeed and quest another day.
What does it mean by ‘tortoise, hare, whichever way?’ I don’t know why, but I feel like that is the key. They are both animals, but very different. Whatever connection they have, I’m not seeing it. One is a mammal, the other a reptile. One is fast, the other slow.
Wait! A memory reaches out from the back of my mind. It’s fuzzy at first, but slowly comes into focus. I’m lying in bed, but I’m not at the orphanage. Bright blue walls with clouds painted on them surround me. Soft, warm blankets cover me and a lamp glows from a table beside the bed. I cling tightly to a stuffed wolf. A woman comes in, the same woman from the vision with the aboleth. She carries a book with a turtle and rabbit on the cover. It’s ragged around the edges.
“My mother used to read this book to me all the time when I was your age,” she says. “It’s been in our family for a hundred years.” Her smile is warm and welcoming as she sits down on the bed next to me and opens the book.
More pieces slowly fall into place. I remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. Of how they had a race and the hare was so far ahead that he took a nap midway through it. The tortoise kept going, slow and steady, and eventually passed the hare and won the race.
I suddenly know what the next quest will be.
It’s going to be a race. And as long as I finish, I’ll be through to the next round. If I’m going to have a chance, I’ll need to find a mount.
I sit up from the bench so fast that a lady nearby screams. Right now, I don’t care if the memory is real or not. I need to get home.
My lungs burn and my breath fogs up the inside of my filtration mask as I run home as fast as I can. I need to tell Buzz and the others what I know.
It feels like a lifetime as I wait for the door to close and the steam to fill the room, flushing out the air from outside. When the door finally opens, I’m already naked and slip into my haptic suit faster than I ever have. I touch my fingers together, my vision goes black and then I’m in my portal.
I send Buzz a message while I simultaneously try to video chat with him. He doesn’t answer, which I expected. He probably had to power up his box or check on his mom.
Aleesia answers after a few seconds and her beautiful face smiles at me from the corner of my vision.
“It’s a race!” I blurt out.
“We know,” she says calmly.
“What do you mean, you know?” I ask. How could they have possibly figured it out so quick?
“If you would have stayed around for another five seconds, Tinker was able to puzzle it out. His mom used to read him a book called Aesop’s Fables every night before bed when he was a child. We think it’s going to be some kind of PvP race. Looks like we are all finally going to have get mounts. Well, I mean I guess you don’t have to, but it’ll be a heck of a long race if you’re on foot and everyone else is riding something.”
Damn. I thought I had made a breakthrough, but it turns out anyone with a halfway decent family probably heard that story a hundred times. All one hundred of us still in the tournament should have the riddle solved by now. What is the point of making it so easy? Do they think that by letting people know, it wi
ll make the race itself more competitive?
“Cheer up, buttercup.” She smiles at me. “You can come with us while we get our mounts. I’m going for a unicorn.”
“That’s kind of lame, don’t you think?” She doesn’t strike me as the girl who rides a unicorn with a rainbow tail.
“Typical. Everyone thinks that unicorns are so stupid because a bunch of little girls associate them with clouds and rainbows. Unicorns are badass. It’s a horse with horn coming out of its head. They are powerful, smart, and incredibly lucky. Just you wait. You’ll be impressed.”
I can’t help but smile at her enthusiasm.
“What about you? What kind of mount do you want?” she asks.
“Haven’t had much time to think about it. I don’t even know where to find one. Where are you going to get yours?”
“I’ll probably buy mine.” Her head drops a little. Is she ashamed to tell me? How much can a mount cost? “But if you can’t afford one, then there are always quests you can do to find what you want.”
I meet up with the princess, Ordin, and Klink. Glordin and Tinker have no immediate need for a mount so they decide not to come. Her merry band of dwarves grows smaller by the day.
We stand at an auction block in the Mortican Mountains town square. It’s a dual world auction, meaning that people in other gameworlds will be seeing the same items as they appear on the stage in front of us. A small gnome stands on a wooden block, attempting to gather everyone’s attention.
“Listen up! Listen up!” he yells to no avail. The marketplace is crowded. Apparently, word spread fast that mounts were in demand and all the local sellers showed up with their best wares.
A mist appears around the gnome and then suddenly his voice booms across the market.
“Attention!” The crowd hushes at his suddenly powerful voice. “Today is a special occasion. As most of you know, the clue for the second quest in the Developer’s Tournament went live earlier today. It didn’t take long for the clue to be deciphered. Due to the extraordinary circumstances, the Guild for the Sale and Development of Extraordinary Mounts and Vehicles has called a special auction to help those more well-endowed gain a foot up in the tournament.” His lips curl at the edge after he speaks. This is nothing more than a money grab. Rich merchants raising the prices of mounts while those of us with little money get left behind.
Pangea Online: The Complete Trilogy Page 15
