Barlon didn’t reply. He walked off toward his gathering people. Mace looked around the clearing. There were more than a dozen dead among the centaurs. More dead than remained alive. And many of the living were wounded. They began to work in teams to carry their dead to a safe distance.
The ogre extended a hand down from atop the wall. Mace leapt up and grabbed it, the ogre easily lifting him up and over. “I’m so sorry.” Mace dropped to his knees. “So many dead because of me.”
“This is not your fault, Mace. They hunted you like an animal. Would you blame a wolf for biting its hunters?”
“I shouldn’t have stayed in town. I… I didn’t know it could go so badly so quickly.” Mace’s voice was a whisper.
“You were invited.” The captain said “We can talk about this later. There are fires to put out. You have more ice spells in you?”
Mace sprang to his feet. “Of course.” He jumped down from the wall and spent the next half hour helping to extinguish fires. Nearly half the buildings inside the walls had burned to some degree. Then he helped distribute health potions to the wounded. The dead were mostly civilians, including three children who’d been trapped in a fire. Their mother, who had been among the archers on the wall, sat holding the three of them, her face expressionless.
Mace was also sad to see, as he was making his rounds, that the building he’d been working on earlier had burned to the ground.
The gate was opened a short time later, and Barlon walked through with two older centaurs. The captain met them in a clear area just inside the gate. Mace moved to joined them, but hesitated. He was the reason for this tragedy. He doubted he was welcome. But Barlon spotted him, and motioned for him to join the conversation.
“Charles. My people owe you an apology. I questioned some of the others, and what the drow… what Mace claimed was true. Much to our shame.” He looked at Mace. “We owe you an apology as well.”
Mace waited for Charles to respond. The ogre took a ragged breath, and said “This has been a horrible misunderstanding. It has cost both of our peoples greatly. But it was no fault of yours. Beron has paid with his life. Let it be enough.”
Mace nodded as Charles spoke. When Barlon and Charles both looked at him, he said “There has been more than enough suffering. I regret my own decision to stay here, thus endangering these people. Better I had just let Beron kill me. So many have died…”
Barlon and the two elders both bowed their heads. Barlon said “You acted honorably, and in defense of your own life. None could expect you to do otherwise.”
Charles spoke quietly. “This place may not recover. We’ve lost so many, and don’t have the resources to rebuild. You have suffered losses as well. Many of your hunters and farmers are now gone. Maybe our people can work together. We’ll help feed you with fish from the lake and whatever we can scrounge or trade for. You cut timber and help us rebuild. We might survive the winter if we work together.”
Barlon looked to the two elders, who nodded their heads in unison. “It shall be as you say. Let us heal the wounds suffered between us, and salvage what we can.” Barlon reached out a hand, and Charles shook it. There was some ragged cheering from the gathered citizens. The centaurs outside were silent.
Over the next hour, the dead were gathered together and set upon a single massive funeral pyre built beside the lake by the centaurs, the guards, and the golem. Mace cast the spell to light the fire, and all stood by and watched it burn down. Prayers and remembrances were whispered, and many tears shed.
*****
The next morning when Shari headed to the kitchen for breakfast, she found Mace sitting at the counter, absently stirring pancake batter while staring at nothing. The look on his face was blank.
“Hey, deep thinker. You awake?” She asked playfully. When he didn’t respond, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Earth to Mace! I think I see smoke coming out of your ears!”
He started, blinking a few times. When he looked up at her, he didn’t smile. “Oh, hi. Sorry. Rough night in the game.” was all he said as he realized he was still holding the batter. He got up and moved to the stove, lighting two of the burners.
“What happened?” She asked, concerned by his manner.
“A centaur followed me to the town. Threatened to burn them out…” he told her the whole story as he cooked, then served the pancakes. She sat listening as he described all the damage, all the casualties. Tears ran down her cheeks as he talked about the dead children. Neither of them touched their cooling pancakes.
When he was done talking, she reached out and took his hand. She held it for a long while as he just looked down at the table. He said “I … I know they’re just NPCs. Just bits of code. My brain knows this. But my heart…”
Shari answered him. “I know. I feel the same. These people are… they’re all that’s left. They’re as real to me when I’m in the game as you are right here and now. What did you call it? Syncing? Convincing our minds that the game world is real? I think it’s working.”
She got up from her seat and moved to sit in his lap. She hugged his face to her chest, and said “I bonded with a dragon yesterday. Her name is Mion, and she’s the cutest little tiny dragon ever. I fell in love with her instantly. She can read my mind, and I can read hers. There’s nothing fake about what I feel for her.”
Mace wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly to him. His voice was slightly muffled as he buried his face against her breast. “Thank you. I’m glad you understand.” he said as she ran her fingers through his hair.
Shari sat back down in front of her plate, and the two of them ate their cold, soggy pancakes as she told him about her day, the bonding ritual, and the amazing training she’d received.
Both of them were anxious to get back into the game. Shari to continue her healer training, and Mace to help as much as he could in the settlement. Shari said she would ask the elves to send aid. Mace said he wanted to spend a few more days in the settlement, and asked if she would mind. She told him it was fine, it would give her more time to grow her skills and level a bit.
Before they got back in their pods, Mace followed Shari into her room. He pulled up the diagnostic and monitoring logs on her pod, and showed them to her. Her sync level had increased to 80%, up from the 65% it was during her first immersion, only a few days ago. She hugged him when she saw this. “So, maybe we really can upload ourselves, then?”
Mace nodded his head. “Maybe. We’ve got more work to do. Here, and in game. Need your sync to be as close to 100% as we can get it.”
He went to leave, and she pulled him back. She gave him a kiss, long and slow. When it was through, she said “For luck” before pushing him out and closing the door. He found himself smiling as he crossed the hall to his room. He checked his own sync level, and found it was 94%. He’d had months more time in the pod than Shari had. Still, they could last a few months here, if that was what it took to get them to their goal.
In the meantime, he had some things to take care of in-game.
*****
Mace appeared back in his room at the inn. He summoned Minx, and the two of them headed downstairs. Breakfast was being served in the tavern, so they grabbed a quick bite. As soon as they had gulped down some oatmeal and fruit, Mace headed out to find the captain. The big ogre was standing near the center of town, organizing repairs and coordinating with the two elder centaurs.
Mace approached and waved at the three. “Good morning. What can I do to help?”
Captain Charles looked up from a stack of papers he was holding. “Mace. Good. We’re going to be doing a lot of rebuilding today. The centaurs will be bringing in lumber. Find Verga and see where she can use you.”
Mace nodded and began to walk away. One of the centaurs cleared his throat. “Oh! Mace, wait.” Charles called. “I forgot. We’re going to need new cold storage. Our ice house was one of the buildings that burned. We’ll rebuild it, but for now, could you use that ice spell of yours and mak
e us a temporary one in the tavern cellar?”
“Of course. No problem.” Mace turned around and headed back into the tavern. He found the door leading downstairs, and descended to the cellar. It was a good-sized room, with basically the same footprint as the building above. All of the casks and kegs had been moved to the near end, and a temporary wall constructed to block off about a third of the room at the far end. Mace opened the door and found the room empty. He assumed this was where they wanted the ice.
Taking a deep breath, he held up his hands clasped together and pointed toward the middle of the floor. He uttered the trigger word “Frigis!” and a patch of ice began to form on the floor. He spread his hands apart slowly, channeling mana into the spell as the ice widened and thickened across the floor. Then it spread up the walls and across the ceiling. Mace moved his hands again, one atop the other. Large blocks of ice began to grow along the edges of the room. He continued to move his hands, stacking smaller and smaller rows of ice blocks around the perimeter until each wall had what looked like a set of ice stairs. These would serve as shelves for whatever the townsfolk wanted to store in here.
Mace tied off the spell, willing it to remain in place. It wasn’t permanent, but it would last several days. If necessary, he could always renew it.
Somewhat drained from the mana use, Mace closed the ice room door and took a seat atop a small crate near the stairs. He felt Minx leave his shoulder, and turned to see her poking around amidst the barrels and crates. He chuckled “Not likely to find much here, little thief.”
She turned to look at him, her eyes clearly expressing her disdain for his opinion. Then she turned her back and disappeared into the pile. He sat for a while, content to rest while he recharged. He already felt better for having been able to contribute to the rebuilding efforts. It would only take him a few minutes to recover his–
A ball of fur hit him in the chest as Minx wrapped her tail around his neck. “Danger! Behind!” She practically screamed into his mind. Mace was instantly on his feet, a dagger in each hand as Minx scrambled up onto his shoulder. A dark figure emerged from under the stairs as he turned. The face that appeared stunned him. It was the mother who had lost her children in the fire.
Mace couldn’t even move as she thrust a long knife into his chest. She screamed at him, her face inches from his. There were no words, just a wordless wail of pain and anger. She ripped the knife from his chest and plunged it in again. This time she struck his heart, and his health bar dropped to zero. He’d never raised a hand to defend himself.
You have died.
You may choose to respawn at your most recent bind point, or remain with your corpse, and resurrect it after a ten-minute wait period. Your resurrected avatar will have 50% health, and a two-hour debuff.
Respawn at your bind point? Yes/No
Mace didn’t select respawn right away. The shock of what had happened made his thinking sluggish. The dying wasn’t what got to him. Or the loss of another level. What bothered him were the thoughts that had paralyzed him as she took his life.
Yes. Go ahead and kill me. I deserve no less. What right have I to be alive when so many others died?
Mace wasn’t sure if he was talking about the game, or real life. The idea disturbed him.
Shaking it off, he hit the respawn button and returned to his room. He heard a commotion downstairs, and went to investigate. On his way down, he checked his logs. He’d dropped his off-hand dagger. That made sense, as it was in his hand when he died. Hopefully it would still be down there for him to recover.
When he reached the main room of the tavern, captain Charles and two other citizens stood above the woman who’d killed him. She was sitting in a chair, her hands bound. Her front was covered in Mace’s blood. She didn’t say a word, just stared into space as she’d been doing while holding her children the day before.
“Mace” the captain called to him. Mace realized he’d been standing there on the stairs just staring. “Mace? What would you like us to do about this?”
Mace looked around. There were maybe twenty people in the room, all looking at him. Several had fearful expressions on their faces. Others looked angry. Many clearly expected him to demand her execution. Or to do it himself..
“She needs help.” He said, kneeling in front of her and taking her bound hands in his. She squirmed slightly, but otherwise did not resist. “She has suffered unimaginable loss. More than I can understand, I think. Her mind has retreated, left her like this. Is there a healer here who can help her?”
One of two women sitting at a corner table spoke up. “Not here. But among the centaurs, there’s a wise woman. A healer and a psychic. She might help.”
Captain Charles took over. “Go fetch her.” He said to the woman. Then he nodded at her companion. “Take her up to a vacant room. Watch over her.” The woman got up and moved next to the grieving mother. She urged her to her feet and began to guide her gently toward the stairs. “Take a weapon.” Charles added quietly, handing a dagger to the woman.
When they had disappeared up the stairs, Charles said “Thank you, Mace. You had every right to demand her death. And maybe you would have been doing her a favor. I hope the healer can bring her back to us.”
You have gained +50 reputation with the settlement of Lakeside. Your reputation is now Friendly
Mace remained on his knees. He said “Her children are dead because of me. I would let her kill me again if it would help. I’ve already hurt her worse than any punishment could.”
The captain grabbed him by the back of his neck and lifted him off his knees. He turned Mace so that they were eye to eye. “Stop punishing yourself. This was no fault of yours. Shit happens. You cannot blame yourself. I don’t. I’m the one who invited you to stay. It was me who went out to speak with Beron. I failed to convince him to leave. I tried to appeal to his honor. That was MY mistake. But I cannot help my people if I dwell on those choices and berate myself all day; I will not look weak in front of those who need me to be strong.”
He set Mace on his feet and released him. “Move on, Mace. Move forward.” He pushed Mace gently toward the door leading outside. Mace took the hint and exited the tavern to find Verga.
He located her near where he’d been working the day before. She was organizing the stacking of lumber being brought in.
When she saw Mace, she said “Good. We’re working fast n dirty to construct some quick shelters. Nothing fancy. Not much you can do on the new buildings for now. Your skills are better used to repair some of the buildings that we can salvage. Replace burned boards, doors, or fix some furniture if you can do it quick.”
Mace nodded as she handed him a bag of tools. She pointed toward a nearby home with blackened windows and door, but that looked to still be sturdy. Mace went to investigate. It was someone’s home. It looked as if a fire arrow had struck the outside of the cabin, and the fire spread along the wall. The area inside the door and around the windows was scorched, but still roughly intact. Some of the furniture inside was burned, but Mace saw nothing he could repair there. It was basically firewood. So he went to work on another set of window casings and a door casing. He was finished in less than an hour.
From there he moved on to the next house, repairing a smashed door and a kitchen table that only needed a leg replaced. His replacement was rough, but functional. It was the first time he’d tried any kind of decorative work. The effort earned him a couple skill points.
You have earned a skill point: +1 to Builder. Current level: 5
You have earned a skill point: +1 to Woodcrafter. Current level: 6
Mace spent the morning going from house to house. A few of the residents were hesitant to let him in, either because he was a drow, or because they felt him responsible for all that happened. Mace was polite and friendly, and all but one decided to let him help.
The one who didn’t, a warty little goblin named Stuart, spat obscenities at him. “Friggin drow! Motherless slavers and murderers! You squod-b
oinking, kobold molesters ain’t gettin in my house! Take yer tools n shove em up yer faithless bunghole!” He shouted, and slammed his door. Mace just moved on.
He paused in a shady spot for lunch, pulling some travel rations from his bag. He’d been surprised to find that the smaller woodworking jobs still drained his stamina. Though not as quickly as if he were fighting. Or lifting heavy planks for structural work. It felt good to put some food and drink in his belly, and he watched his stamina bar recover.
When he was fully rested, he picked up his tools and got back to work. He found that the stables had taken some damage from the fires. One end was burned to a crisp. That would take some heavy planks and several sets of hands to repair. But he saw that several other areas were just charred. The wood looked strong enough. In fact, as he examined it he noticed that a few of the poles that separated the stalls actually seemed to be stronger than expected. As if they’d been tempered somehow. Thinking back, he thought he remembered a history program that showed primitive people using fire to harden the ends of their spears. He filed that knowledge away for when it might become useful.
While he was thinking, a centaur had passed by with several planks on each shoulder. It got Mace thinking about where the centaurs were sleeping. He figured they slept standing up like horses. Looking around the stables, he decided he could do something to make them more centaur-friendly. The first thing he did was cut and install some shelves on the back wall of each stall. One wide shelf at about Mace’s shoulder level that a centaur could comfortably use as an eating table. Or for writing, crafting, whatever. Then he installed several smaller shelves higher up for storing items.
Seeing a female centaur passing by unencumbered, he called out “Excuse me! Would you step in here a moment, please? I need to test something.”
The centaur looked at him like he was insane. Expecting her to step inside a dark stable alone with a drow that had just killed several of her people. She didn’t even stop walking.
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