A Slave in the Locked Lands

by Arthur Stone

  “There’s a certain risk—the item can become damaged irreparably, or only reparable by a high-level craftsman. Its quality could drop as well.”

  “Does that happen often?”

  “No, but it’s still possible.”

  “Pity. We should avoid taking that risk—there is nothing we could replace our equipment with.”

  “That’s why I only tinker with accessories. It isn’t as big a deal to lose them. Shall we keep on?”

  “Let’s go!” Danger Babe perked up.

  “Why don’t we stay here for a while?” Tangh suggested. “You said there were lots of resources here.”

  “Here[s the thing, Tangh. The sooner we complete our quest, the sooner I’ll be somewhere I have no desire to be—out in the open where I’m being hunted. So, I don’t want to be too hasty about ore production. But if you object, let’s mine a few pieces quickly. There’s a lot of gold here.”

  “I’ll pass, then. I’m not in any hurry, either. And I’m very interested in what we might find farther on. We should, however, get some scrum meat on our way back. Agythric said it was his gang’s favorite. Sounds like another hidden quest with no specific instructions given.”

  Ros nodded. “I agree. Danger Babe, will you be able to carry so much as a single carcass?”

  “I will, but the penalties will be high.”

  “In that case, you can place it in your bag once we get out. The penalties will not be so severe then.”

  “But why?”

  “Each of us will hand in a carcass, and we’ll all complete the quest. If it is indeed a quest.”

  “The leader of the party cannot complete it for everyone, you mean?”

  “Not sure. But why experiment if there are enough carcasses for everyone?”

  * * *

  They ran into two more scrum packs over the next four hours or so. Both battles were hard, but nowhere near as desperate as the first time. They had a well-equipped tank, a strong pet, heroic achievement bonuses, and experience, which counted for a lot. Only the pack leaders presented them with problems—the level 95 underlings were numerous, but died easily. And they didn’t hit too hard.

  Ros kept filling up his bags with pieces of ore that he would transform into bars whenever they would stop and rest. He didn’t work with gold, except occasionally, leaving most of it for crafting jewelry.

  Their trophies included another enhanced helmet with no outstanding stats, and a belt that gave a good bonus to Intellect and mana. Although the tank could do with some extra protection, they decided to give it to Danger Babe. The party’s buffer and healer in one could never have enough mana.

  They mined all the ore and minerals they could find in the second pack’s lair, and headed onwards. Ten minutes later, they suffered their first casualty.

  It all happened suddenly—an enormous moss shadowcrawler dropped right onto the girl’s head, taking off half her HP at once and applying a strong Bleeding effect. Ros cast Sleep, and the mob froze, but not before landing another blow. It was weaker than the first, but Danger Babe’s HP bar nearly vanished completely, and her icon turned grey almost instantly due to the HP-draining Bleeding debuff.

  “Hold him, Tangh! I’ll revive Danger Babe!” Ros shouted.

  Resurrection required a lot of mana, but managed to revive a player of a sufficiently high level. Noobs didn’t have a chance—their bodies would stay on the ground for less than a second, and then resurrect at the bind point.

  The spell had an unpleasant feature, though—it took ages to cast, especially at lower skill levels. It took Ros almost eleven and a half seconds. With luck, Sleep could immobilize the target for up to half a minute or more, but, unfortunately, it wasn’t the case this time.

  The shadowcrawler ignored Tangh’s attack, and did an incredible trick. It disappeared, and then reappeared right in front of Ros, interrupting his cast with a powerful blow.

  Ros cursed as he leaped away and shielded himself. The pet was pounding away at the aggressor’s back, but the latter ignored it, just like the leader of the first scrum pack. Finally, Tangh managed to draw the mob’s attention. And just in time, too—Ros had less than a third of his HP left.

  Without bothering to heal himself, Ros turned to Danger Babe again, then uttered a few choice expletives when her body vanished into thin air a second or two before he could finish casting Resurrection. He helped Tangh finish the shadowcrawler before grousing:

  “I nearly had her.”

  “Nearly had what?” Tangh looked puzzled.

  “Danger Babe got sent back to the bind point.”

  “Did she? I didn’t even notice.”

  Danger Babe’s icon started to flash red.

  “Someone’s attacking her! Right at the bind point!”

  Ros sent a hasty party chat message: “Who’s attacking you?” The answer came a minute later: “The same archer as before. I ran off to the wall and am sitting by the fire, so he doesn’t dare approach. The swine nearly killed me.”

  “Tangh, we need to head back. That little archer prick is back.”

  “But Danger Babe seems to be alive.”

  “After his demotion in levels courtesy of us, he wasn’t able to kill her right away—she managed to reach the campfire.”

  “I see. Let’s hurry, then.”

  Chapter 21

  Once Ros and Tangh came up from the crater, the tables turned at once. The archer hid by the fire, hurling invective of every sort, and the girl went to join her friends.

  “I’m sorry, Danger Babe. I tried to revive you in time, but the mob went rogue and interrupted the cast.”

  “You have Resurrection leveled up, too?”

  “How would I? I’ve never revived anyone before.”

  “I would have lost 2.5 percent XP less in that case. No big deal. It’s a pity you had to return. I wish our raid could have been more successful.”

  Ros shook his head.

  “We got five hundred pieces of gold ore all in all, and I don’t even know how many of all the other kinds. Besides, we have managed to equip Tangh a bit—and I reckon you’ll find the belt handy, too. It was a good raid, I think. The only pity is that it ended like this.”

  “With a party this epic, I’ll get my XP back with interest.” Danger Babe smiled. Then she asked: “Do you plan to head back there again? It’s almost evening.”

  “Do you need to leave?” Ros asked.

  “Well… I could play a bit more, but I’d rather not. I’d prefer to stay longer next time.”

  “Then go. I’ll drag you off to wherever’s safe.”

  “I’d rather go myself.”

  “Let’s head down the mine, then. I know a good place near the entrance where we could camp. There’s plenty of simple ore there, too. Tangh will mine for it, and I’ll be making rings and bracelets.”

  “Without me? What if the mobs hear you?”

  “My pet is guarding the entrance. Shadowcrawlers are superior to moss dwellers and igamuses. When it stands guard, it won’t let anyone through, and you can sleep safely. I’ve done it before.”

  “I need to distribute the meat,” Tangh reminded him.

  “Can you use your supplies? I’m not roasting anything tonight. I don’t want to approach this scumbag.”

  “Why don’t we make a fire of our own?”

  “The mobs are the only ones who have firewood.”

  “There’s plenty of coal near the furnaces.”

  “There is indeed. But we don’t know how the mobs will react if we steal it. A few lumps every now and then would probably be OK, but a whole pile could be a problem. Let’s hand the scrums in to Agythric. Maybe we’ll manage to wheedle something out of him afterwards. Come over here, Danger Babe. I need to place this carcass in your bag.”

  * * *

  “Delete your characters before it’s too late. You mothers are done for,” said HedTeSdjo with malicious glee as they approached the campfire.

  The little prick grinned as wide as he
could, considering himself absolutely safe. The mobs ignored skirmishes at bind points, but became a lot more agitated if someone fought in their immediate vicinity.

  The party of three ignored him completely as they approached Agythric. Ros greeted him respectfully.

  “Hello, Agythric.”

  “What do you need, meat? Have you brought my gold?”

  “You’ll get all of it very soon, every single piece. Didn’t you mention you were fond of scrum meat?”

  “How can anyone not like scrum meat? Even a complete idiot knows it’s delicious! Did you abandon your work just to tell me that?!”

  “Not quite.” Ros took a scrum carcass out of his bag. “Here, tell me what you think of this.”

  Agythric studied the carcass, scratching his chin, and asked him:

  “Have you found a dead one? How stinky is it?”

  Ros turned towards Danger Babe and Tangh.

  “Dump yours as well,” he said, turning back to Agythric. “Do you think it likely that we came across a whole pack of dead scrums?”

  The named mob looked confused. He smelled the carcasses, then said:

  “They’re fresh.”

  “As fresh as they get.”

  “You can roast your half, and give the other half to me.”

  “No, Agythric, scrums are not what we’re after. We would like to get something else instead.”

  “I could just take your meat.”

  “The only thing that’s yours here is the gold in our bags. The rest belongs to us,” said Ros randomly, hoping that some unknown law of the game’s mechanics would indeed prevent the mob from robbing them outright. “Also, they’ll start talking about you being unable to get so much as a single measly scrum, having to resort to confiscating your slaves’ kills. Is that really the reputation you’re after?”

  “You’re some cheeky meat,” said Agythric gruffly. “What is it you want?”

  Incensed about the nefarious archer’s dirty tricks, Ros pointed his finger at HedTeSdjo, who sat nearby eavesdropping.

  “I want this good-for-nothing piece of filth banned from the fire. He doesn’t deserve it. He hasn’t mined a single piece of ore, he steals other people’s food, and he interferes with our work.”

  Agythric waved his paw with a benevolent expression.

  “So be it. Everyone’s had enough of this stinker. Hey! You! Beat it at once! If I see you next to the fire again, you’ll suffer a horrible death!”

  HedTeSdjo’s eyes bulged in surprise, and he tried to say something, but two mobs approached and dragged him unceremoniously towards the bind point.

  The archer’s lot, which seemed relatively secure a mere ten seconds ago, suddenly appeared a great deal more precarious, with potential for massive XP loss.

  “I have more scrums,” Ros added. “But there’s something I want in return for them, too.”

  He produced a couple of carcasses.

  “What do you want?”

  “I need armor and boots for this girl,” Ros gestured at Danger Babe.

  “We don’t hand out weapons or armor to stupid meat.”

  “But boots aren’t armor.”

  “We have nothing her size.”

  “Well, anything you have, then, as long as it’s not too heavy.”

  “Two scrums for two pairs of boots?”

  “Agreed.”

  “Hidden quest completed: Scrum Meat Delivery. Quest success: 300%. Reward: 125,000 XP and two pairs of leather boots. You have exceeded the quest quota and receive a bonus: +50 to reputation among Locked Lands slaveowners. Attention! This is your first reputation increase with one of the game’s factions! You receive a reward: +5 to mana. Attention! You’ve unlocked your merit and reputation statistics journal. You’re a hero! You’re a legend! You’re the greatest hero! Your achievements earn you the following records in your merit and reputation statistics journal: +100,500 to reputation among all the Light factions of the Western Empire, +8200 to reputation among all the Light factions of the human lands, +4400 to reputation among all Second World powers.”

  “That was a silly wish,” said Danger Babe gruffly. “I could have asked for that myself.”

  “Ask for something else,” Ros smiled. “You have many needs.”

  The girl received a well-worn nondescript greyish cape from Agythric. Tangh asked for a leather jacket, but received a set of elixirs instead. He wasn’t too happy about it.

  Then Agythric said something unexpected.

  “You have brought us some scrums. You are good meat. But there is meat that I like most of all—the meat of their leader, Scrum Lord. I’ll reward you generously if you bring it to me.”

  “Attention! Agythric offers you to accept the quest: Scrum Lord. Quest type: hard. Reward: unknown. Attention! The Scrum Lord quest starts a chain of hidden quests. Completing the Scrum Lord quest will unlock the next quest in the chain.”

  “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Tangh asked.

  Ros and Danger Babe nodded simultaneously.

  “We should accept it.”

  “We accept your quest,” said Ros.

  “In that case, bring me one of its paws, and be quick about it.”

  “You receive a quest: Scrum Lord. Quest type: hard. Quest duration: 72 hours. Reward: varies. Attention! You cannot have any other players join your party for the duration of the quest. Attention: if the paw (or paws) of the Scrum Lord are obtained with other players’ help, the quest will only be considered partially completed with a corresponding reduction in reward.”

  Ros turned toward Danger Babe.

  “Will you be able to stay for another hour? Or, perhaps, a little while longer?”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’ll unload the gold, give it to you and Tangh, leave you at the entrance, and make a quick dash for it on my own.”

  “You should give the gold to me,” said Agythric in a booming voice.

  “I will, but not right away.”

  “Meat, you complain it’s too heavy for you to carry. You must be really stupid meat if you refuse to unload it.”

  Ros had a brainwave.

  “Let’s give you a hundred and fifty pieces each. We’ll bring more later.”

  Agythric nodded solemnly.

  “Danger Babe, Tangh, get over here. Here’s the ore, turn it in.”

  “Ros, I could log off, and then log back on in about an hour and a half, but just for a short while,” said Danger Babe.

  “Let’s do that, then. You’ll complete the quest, receive your reward, and then log back off.”

  “I have to think of what to ask for.”

  “You can ask for anything. Whether or not they will give it to you is another matter…”

  * * *

  Ros’ Speed was at 16, which may not have been quite on par with Speedy Gonzalez, but nonetheless allowed him to move much faster than the average player in combination with his other stats, and assuming no overloads. It took him around twenty-five minutes to cover the distance that took the party, encumbered by the sow norder, two hours. He used a nondescript steel knife to cut off all of the Scrum Lord’s paws, and made a dash for the next one as his greed got the better of him. And nearly paid for it dearly, running into two mobs of a previously unseen species, with praying mantis bodies and shark heads, that were feasting on the carcass.

  Once the creatures spotted Ros, they left the scrum alone and attacked—and if he didn’t have his pet with him, it would be lights out, escaping such nimble critters would never have worked. Fortunately, they didn’t use any tricks in battle or deal too much damage. Three minutes later, they were finished.

  “You kill the Shadow Scavenger Chahk. XP received: 9244. You gain a level. Points left until the next level: 417,484. Congratulations! You have destroyed a monster 110 or more levels above yours! Achievement earned: Crazy Loner, Part Seventeen. Achievement bonus: +1 to every primary base stat, +1 undistributed secondary stat point, +1 undistributed auxiliary stat point, +1% t
o XP received for killing enemies. Bonus effect: permanent. Achievement unlocked: Giant Slayer, Part Eighteen. Kill 50 monsters whose level exceeds yours by 100 or more without any help to complete the achievement. Achievement bonus: random. Attention! You have found a creature that has not yet been added to the world bestiary! You receive a reward: +1 to Essence of Things. You can receive the reward for discovering a new creature at the Academy of Magic.”