by Adam Drake
The gnoll dropped its spear and clutched at its wound. The cut had severed its fingers clean off.
As Rob attacked the spear gnoll, the sword gnoll charged forward and smashed its shield into Rob's exposed right side.
Rob grunted loudly, feeling ribs break as he was sent stumbling sideways. But he didn't fall. It hadn't been a Shield Bash attack. Rob knew now the gnoll didn't have the skill.
Wheezing against the pain in his side, Rob saw a chance and struck out at the second wounded spear gnoll, who has entirely focused on its hand. His axe blade hit it against the side of the head, and the creature pitched over to the ground.
The first spear gnoll, who lay sprawled on the ground, sudden sat up. Rob's Shield Bash had knocked it out cold, but it recovered.
Cursing, Rob parried several determined sword swings from the third gnoll. It wouldn't take long before the first gnoll grabbed a weapon and got back in the fight.
The sword gnoll was stronger than he was, Rob could feel it in the strikes he blocked. Each hit sent bone shaking vibrations up his arm and flared through his broken ribs. Also, Rob was having a hell of a time countering. The gnoll easily stopped all his attacks with its shield.
Without planning it, Rob found himself next to the first spear gnoll, who was trying to stand up on long wobbly legs. Its dog-like head was bent over as it tried to straighten up.
Seizing the opportunity, Rob turned from the sword gnoll and brought his axe down on the back of the neck of the spear gnoll. The axe cut through the exposed neck, crunching through vertebra. Although not a clean cut all the way through, the gnoll's head was nearly severed, and it crumpled to the ground.
Unable to enjoy this victory, Rob swung around just as sword gnoll charged into him again with its shield. The impact struck Rob on the same injured side and he gasped as the breath was literally knocked out of him. Momentarily stunned, he stumbled backward to land in the mud.
Sword gnoll's momentum kept it moving forward, and it lost its balance to land on top of Rob. Its sword pierced straight threw his left thigh until it came out the back.
Rob shrieked in agony, dropping his axe. He jammed his elbow against the gnoll's throat as the creature snapped at him with its jaws. It twisted the sword in his leg and the pain threatened to send him into unconsciousness.
Suddenly, an arrowhead popped out of the gnoll's eye, and it collapsed upon him. Dorrish appeared above and shoved the dead gnoll to the side.
Unbelievable agony shattered Rob's body, and he fumbled for his bag with the healing potions.
Dorrish placed a hand over his. “No, lad. This has to come out first.” He grabbed at the sword sticking out of Rob's thigh and pulled. At the same moment the Ranger cast a healing spell on him.
For Rob, the pain momentarily spiked but instantly subsided to a dull ache. Within moments it was gone. He blinked up at the Dorrish. “Are we okay? Are they all dead?”
“Yes, lad,” Dorrish said, helping Rob stand. “They have a lot of fight in them, that's for sure.”
Heart still pounding, Rob looked around the clearing. All the gnolls were dead, their bodies and weapons covering the muddy ground.
“Should we loot them?” Rob asked.
The Ranger chuckled. “If we had the time. But if there is one thing about gnolls, is that there are always more of the bloody bastards. We need to move on.”
As if to emphasis his statement the pathfinding orb hovered near them, orbiting their heads.
“Fine by me,” Rob said as he recovered his axe. As he bent over to pick it up, a loud hissing erupted deep in the fog from the direction they'd come from. It was followed by something huge crashing through the vegetation.
Rob and Dorrish froze, instinctively hoping the sound would go away. Although they couldn't see it they knew what it was. The Goliath Tarantula.
Dorrish held his hand up, waiting. If they moved now before it had a chance to leave, they'd attract its attention.
Rob felt his knees shake. They were out in the open with no room to hide in this time. Another encounter with that thing would mean being cocooned and slowly dissolved to be fed upon later.
The spider moved about as if searching.
Rob couldn't tell if it was approaching them or not.
Dorrish waved his hand and slowly stepped back, away from the sound. Rob did the same, eyes wide, scanning the fog.
The hissing sound began to move away from them, back in the direction of the creek. Rob hoped the thing would go back to its tower, far from here.
Hearing this, the Ranger nodded and dropped a wink. It was going to be okay.
Then, there was a shout and scream, followed by more hissing. Growling and snarling mixed into the cacophony. The spider had found something.
Before either of them could react, a gnoll burst from the fog, running for dear life.
Seeing them, the gnoll tried to stop and stumbled face first into the mud.
Leaping from out of the fog, the goliath tarantula fell upon the gnoll with the weight of a freight-car. The impact of the colossal arachnid sent mud and debris flying everywhere. Its massive fangs stabbed through the humanoid and the hapless being was dragged inwards to its hidden mouth.
Now seeing it with an unobstructed view, Rob could appreciate how truly terrifying it was. Massive, fast and powerful.
And hungry.
“Go!” Dorrish shouted, but Rob was already running. They turned away to sprint out of the clearing and into the fog. The pathfinding orb bobbed and weaved in front of them.
Behind them, the spider hissed and launched into pursuit. Rob could hear its massive form snapping trees as it bulled its way after them.
Dorrish made several half-turned bow shots, for what little good it did. Rob didn't even want to look. He could feel the thing getting closer, its hissing sound nearly deafening.
Ahead of them, the orb began to pulsate like a strobe-light.
“The exit!” Dorrish said, trying to shout over the noise. “It's up ahead!”
A feeling of elation helped Rob pick up the pace even more. But he was struck with a terrible realization.
“What about you? You can't pass through it!”
“Never mind me,” Dorrish said with a wide grin. “I'll be fine.” But the grin didn't reach the Ranger's eyes. Rob could see he was worried.
At a loss for what to do, Rob kept running.
Behind, the tarantula suddenly leapt toward them. Its airborne body snapped overhead branches as it arched through the air like a flying building.
Dorrish suddenly cackled like a mad man and yanked something out of one of his bags, tossing it behind them.
From the corner of his panicked vision, Rob saw the object hit the ground and instantly expand. It was a steel bear-trap almost comically large in size.
The next moment, the massive spider landed on it, and the huge trap snapped shut over several of its legs on one side of its body.
The tarantula freaked out, spinning and flipping on the ground trying to get loose. Its hissing sound sputtered with pain.
Amazed, Rob looked to Dorrish, branches and leaves whipping at their faces.
Dorrish said, “It's not the only thing with a nasty bite around here!” Then he pointed ahead. “There it is, lad! Home!”
The orb was several dozen paces ahead, its pulsating light now a solid green glow. Below it was a part in the thick fog, like a tear in a curtain. Through the tear was a dull gray light.
Behind them, the crashing resumed. The spider had somehow gotten free and was in pursuit again.
Without stopping, Dorrish waved to the exit. “Go! Don't worry about me!”
Rob focused on the opening, his legs carrying him as fast as they could manage. But his mind was at odds with itself. He would be leaving Dorrish alone with that monstrosity.
But before he could even reason himself out of escaping, he reached the opening. As he dove through he heard Dorrish shouting.
“Whatever you do, lad, don't come b-.”
Then Rob passed through to the other side.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Rob flew through the glowing space in the fog and tripped. He fell face first in the mud, his momentum causing him to skid along for several feet.
You have finished a quest: 'Escape the Annex Marsh'
You managed to get out alive. Stay away until you're of a higher level.
Reward: 500 experience points.
Stunned he twisted around, half expecting the tarantula to be falling onto him.
But only a wall of fog was there, wavering like a curtain in a breeze. Dorrish was gone, too.
Rob's surprised mind took several moments to realize he'd passed through back into Anika, safely. The spider couldn't follow him here, but neither could Dorrish.
His heart hammered in his chest and he gasped for air. He tilted his head back and let the rain wash over his face.
I'm back in the mud again, he thought.
Calmed and no longer in a mad panic, he took in his surroundings. Although it didn't look much different from the marsh he'd run through, the fog was almost completely gone here. Instead, it stayed as a billowy wall at the marsh's boundary.
Rob heaved himself up, realized he'd dropped his axe, and fished it out of the mud. He stared at the fog. There was nothing that would indicate an exit or entry point. It all looked the same to him.
Trying to keep his mind off of what could be happening to Dorrish at that very moment, Rob unrolled his map.
His indicator was no longer stuck at the Ruins of the Farmstead. Instead, it sat further south, within the swamp, along its eastern side. A round smudged area marked 'Marshes' was on the map next to the swamp.
He wanted to put a mark on the map where he stood, so he could find this spot again. He tapped at the map, but nothing happened. Was he supposed to use a pen or something? Frustrated he said, “Put a mark here labeled safe point.”
A dot appeared on the map on the edge of the Marsh's smudge, labeled Safe Point.
He sighed. If ever there was a need to return to that hellhole, he'd come to this spot. Once on the other side, he'd leave a physical trail of some kind. But this was just idle fantasy. He knew he'd never return.
Curious, he picked up a rock and tossed it at the fog. It vanished inside and he heard it land. Maybe it was only people that could pass over to the Marsh itself. He hated to imagine what new horrors would be waiting for him on the other side if he stepped through.
He could step over, look, then turn around and quickly come back. But he dismissed the thought as too risky.
Dorrish's last words to him, although cut off, were for Rob to not come back. Whether from cowardice or prudence, Rob decided to take his friend's advice.
Almost fully recovered from the intense drama he'd been subjected to, he gathered rocks and created a pile of them next to where he exited the fog. Then he ripped off a strip of his torn pant leg and tied it to a branch.
He examined his work. This could be either a warning marker for others dumb enough to come here or a cairn made in Dorrish's memory.
Okay, now what? Judging from the light it was some time in the afternoon. He could return to Castle Hill, but the conundrum was still the same. What for? There was nothing there for him. Everything he needed to deal with was out here. Questing was the name of the game and he had to return to it.
Other than escaping the marshes, he hadn't completed one yet, having failed the goblin quest.
He checked his map again. The Rat Lair was northwest of his position, so he'd try to find it this time.
With a look back at the fog and stone cairn, he trudged off through the swamp.
Within minutes the wall of fog vanished from view behind the trees, and he felt a little relieved. If he was going to level himself up, and the kingdom, it would be done out here. He was no Dorrish, not by a long shot.
The terrain of the swamp was similar to the marshes; ugly gnarled trees, muddy pools and clouds of insects. He sloshed along, the water sometimes coming up over his ankles. Being wet and muddy was his new normal.
As he climbed up a low rise, he saw a pond to his left. Something moved in its dark water and he paused.
The thing moved toward an embankment and suddenly heaved itself up on shore. Rob recognized what it was from watching a lot of documentaries.
Creature: Crocodile
Hit Points: 20, Mana: 0
Armor: 4, Speed:7
Abilities: Bite, Tail Swipe
As the creature settle itself, he saw several others along the edge of the water.
A message appeared.
You have found a quest. 'What a Croc'
The swamp's crocodile population has gotten out of control. Kill 5 crocodiles.
Reward: 300 experience points.
Rob snorted. Nope, not gonna do it. Messing with a crocodile just wasn't what he was up for. Little rats? Sure. Goblins, even? Okay. But crocodiles? Maybe if he could use a bow and strike them at range, he would.
He moved on. After referring to his map occasionally he came upon the spot with the red question mark. The area looked the same as everywhere else and nothing stood out to him as a rat lair, not that he knew what to look for.
Deciding to keep up the search, he moved slowly through the terrain, checking behind trees and peering into muddy holes.
He zigzagged over the entire place that the red question mark covered for well over an hour, but still no rat lair.
Frustrated, he decided to take a break. He sat on a log and checked some notifications.
You have advanced in Stealth! Skill has increased from 3% to 4%.
That was from when he and Dorrish were hiding from the gnolls.
You have advanced in Axes! Skill has increased from 2% to 3%
You have killed a Gnoll (Red Feather Clan). You have gained 300 experience points toward your next level.
You have advanced in Basic Shield! Skill has increased from 14% to 15%
You have advanced in Block! Skill has advanced from 15% to 16%
You have killed a Gnoll (Red Feather Clan). You have gained 300 experience points toward your next level.
Dorrish Shirrod has healed you for 86 hit points.
Well, that was the bullet point version of the gnoll fight. Three hundred experience points for each gnoll was nice, but earning it had been a pain. If he could have faced off with them one at time, he wouldn't have suffered all those wounds. Taking that kind of damage, even if you are healed after, could mess with a person's psyche.
Still, Shamblers were much easier and the experience points were almost the same. If there was another place here in the valley, outside the marsh, with a shambler spawn point, he'd camp it all day.
As he blinked away the last notification he was struck with a thought. Why was he seeing some and not others? Quest and leveling messages appeared before him, but not the skill increases or kill rewards. Shouldn't that be an option for him? Don't games have options that can be set?
On a hunch, Rob decided to try something. He cleared his throat and said in a loud voice, “I want to see all skill increase messages as they occur!”
He waited, not certain what would happen.
Suddenly a message appeared.
Preferences set.
Oh, damn! He had preferences!
“What are my preferences?”
No message appeared. He waited a few moments then said. “Okay, I want to see all kill messages as they occur!”
Preferences set.
“And have them only show for, say, two seconds before disappearing!”
Preferences set.
Nice! Now he wouldn't have to wade through stacks of notifications, nor miss anything important again. Then he realized something.
He stood up and shouted, “I want to log off!”
His voice echoed off the mist shrouded trees, and only a frog croaked in answer. But no message.
“I WANT TO LOG OFF, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”
His sudden excitement at
maybe finding a loop hole faded quickly when there wasn't a message or response. Perhaps there was a variation?
“I want to log out of this simulation!”
Nothing. Damn.
For want of anything better, he shouted different things, hoping one might catch.
“I want to turn this game off! I want to connect to the internet! I want to check my email! I want to surf for porn!”
