by G. R. Cooper
“Why?” said Wulfgar and Lauren simultaneously.
“Because that’s better than if I hurt someone else on my way out. When I’d lose my temper, I was gone, man. Gone. It was like I was shrunk into a little ball in the middle of my brain and had no control over my body anymore. I’d literally see red. The veins in my head would throb, and a red wash would cover everything. I’d go crazy, punching, spitting, screaming, and all the while I’m sitting in this little ball in the middle of my brain unable to understand why the fuck I was going nuts and being unable to do anything about it. I was along for the ride, man.”
He laughed.
“I can tell you, the first time I used Berserkergang in this world, it freaked me the fuck out, because that’s exactly what it feels like. You lose control of yourself and just hit, hit, hit, until you feel like every ounce of energy has been drained,” he smiled, “I damn near changed religion after that.”
“Why didn’t you?” asked Rydra.
“Because at least here I can choose when it happens. Back then, I never had any idea when it would come. I never knew what my mood was going to be like on any given day. I could wake up just fine and some little thing would set me off. Or nothing. Sometimes, my mood would just start falling. It was like my brain was riding on a sine wave. I’d go up for a while, then go back down for a while, then back up. Sometimes the peaks and troughs would last for a day or two, sometimes months. There were times I just didn’t want to get out of bed for weeks and weeks at a time. Then there were times when I got so much shit done on so little sleep that I thought I was a god. Those times were pretty damn good, actually.”
“But,” he shrugged, “that was only when I was off the meds. When I was on them, everything was an easy, level, kind of meh feeling. Not to be recommended, any of the above. I never felt like I had any control over my life whatsoever.”
Snorri stood, turned, and dropped back down, looking forward with his legs dangling off either side of the bow as the ship moved through the harbor arch. He looked up as they went underneath the lighthouse, then pumped his arms wide as the wind blew past him.
“But here,” he said, then shouted, “I’m the King of the WORLD!”
Wulfgar stood at the stern, watching the lights of Edonis in the distance cut through the night’s fall. He, like the others, had donned their gear as the sun dipped below the mountain range to the west and the temperatures began to fall, hours before. Lauren, clad in her quilted under-suit, stood next to him.
“It’s going to take me a while to get used to the slower pace of this world,” he nodded toward the city maybe thirty kilometers in the distance, a speck of light on the otherwise darkened mountain range, “half a day away and we’re still in sight of the city. More or less.”
She smiled and leaned forward on the fantail, looking down into the wake, “You just gotta go with the flow, man, but, yeah, it takes a little getting used to.”
“I’m not complaining,” he laughed, “it feels kind of great, not to have to worry about all of the bullshit. No more tax forms, for one.” It was nearing April fifteenth back in Virginia. “All things considered,” he continued, “I’d much rather be standing here at midnight with you.”
She nodded, looking up and back at him, then she looked past him.
“They’re waving for us,” she straightened, then began walking toward the bow of the ship. Wulfgar followed.
“What is it?” she asked as they rejoined the group.
“A mist,” said Bael, pointing eastward, “has risen.” The ship would soon enter a darkened cloud, floating on the calm surface of the sea.
“So?” countered Wulfgar.
Bael looked up at him and frowned.
“So, maybe nothing,” he looked back forward, “maybe something,” he added softly.
“Best,” continued Tane, “arm yourselves,” he drew his small sword, as did his brother.
Rydra pulled his two daggers out of his cloak as Snorri unlimbered his axe. Bear and Prince moved into either side of Doe, keeping her in the middle of the group, as Wulfgar pulled his blade.
“Shit,” said Lauren as the fog enveloped them, “I don’t have mine, I need to get below,” she started looking about frantically, they could no longer see the forward mast of the ship, mere meters behind them, much less the stern beyond that. They heard the captain bellowing to his crew, but couldn’t make out the exact words.
“Forget that,” said Rydra handing her one of his curved daggers, “take this.”
She nodded thanks.
“Remember, Lauren,” growled Snorri, “you’re not a tank. At least not now. You’re wearing a puffy, marshmallow suit.”
She nodded again, grimly this time.
They heard more shouting from the stern. Higher, louder this time.
Then they heard screams.
Chapter 5
The screams from the rear of the ship continued, increasing in volume and intensity. Wulfgar looked to the rest of the group, and Rydra looked up at him.
“Have you used Stealth within the last ten minutes?” the little thief asked him.
“Nope, I’m ready,” Wulfgar answered.
“OK,” Rydra turned to the rest of the group, “we’ll go ahead, Stealthed, and try to get the drop on whatever is coming. The rest of you be ready to haul ass to pull our asses out of the fire as soon as you hear it get nasty.” Another scream ripped the night. “Well, as soon as it gets nastier.”
He looked back up to Wulfgar, “Those gloves give you seventh level, that should give you just over a minute of Stealth. Plenty of time to get aft and pick your target. I’ve got over two minutes, so I’ll let you make the first play. You take whatever we come across first, and I’ll hit the next one in line,” he paused, “unless there’s only one bad guy, then I’ll hit him on the far side and you hit him on this side.” He looked down at his knife, then back to Wulfgar.
“Ready?”
Wulfgar just smiled and activated Stealth. He watched as Rydra did likewise, and saw the man shimmer as he became translucent, then became a indistinct spot, only distinguishable as a wave, a movement within the thick fog. As Wulfgar reached the mainmast, centrally located on the small ship, he leaned against it, trying to peer back through the soup to the stern. Nothing resolved.
“You have been gifted with Faerie’s Kiss by Bael!”
“You have been gifted with Serpent’s Sting by Tane!”
“What the hell?” muttered Wulfgar. He didn’t know what those gifts were, but they sounded great. With a renewed sense of purpose and power, he continued following along the path that Rydra had taken before him. As he reached the short stairway that led up to the rear deck, he began to crouch, holding his blade in front of him.
Cresting the top of the stairs, he was met with a scene of horror.
The crew, many of them bleeding, were prone on the deck, none of them moving, while monstrosities surrounded the captain at his wheel. Humanoid, but like caricatures of humans. They stood about chest high to Wulfgar, and looked like nothing more than water logged corpses. Their flesh, a sickening gray, was ridged like pruny fingers too long submerged in bathwater, and their faces hung off their skulls like melted masks. Seaweed, also gray and dead, draped their twisted and stunted bodies. The only color about them that wasn’t a deathly pallid wash was the red that dripped from their talons and teeth.
Wulfgar scanned the rear railing, trying to glean some indication of Rydra, some confirmation that he was in place and ready for Wulfgar’s attack, but he couldn’t spare the time to ensure that the man was set. The captain, his eyes screwed shut in terror, was pulled into a choke hold by one of the zombies behind him, and was falling to his knees, his struggles lessening by the second. There was no more time.
Stifling a growl, Wulfgar strode in on the three that were standing on his side of the wheel, their backs to him as they watched their comrade subdue the captain. He chose the one on the right and moved in behind it. The smell, the wet, slimy sten
ch of long rotten death, gagged him as he closed on it. Wulfgar grabbed the abomination by its left collarbone while thrusting forward and up with his right arm, aiming to skewer the beast just below its well defined rib cage, just to the right of the spine that traced down the creature’s back. He took a deep breath and thrust forward, with all of his strength.
Wulfgar exulted as his blade went through the sickly soft and malleable flesh.
“4 points of damage!”
“13 points of damage, Hidden Stab!”
“Faerie’s Kiss! Target is stunned!”
“Serpent’s Sting! Target is bleeding!”
“Congratulations! You have gained a level in Small Blade!”
“Congratulations! You have earned the Small Blade skill Blade Wind!”
Wulfgar ripped his sword out of the thing’s back as it sank to its knees and pitched forward onto the deck, stunned and bleeding but alive. As he tried to process the rapid flood of messages he was receiving, he moved a step to his left and targeted the second of the creatures. As he did, he saw the head of the monster that gripped the captain snap back forcefully as Rydra appeared behind its left shoulder, his own small curved blade pulling across its throat as a stream of gray goo erupted from the horror’s throat and mouth. Then Wulfgar was brought back to his own fight as his new opponent turned to face him.
“Time to find out what this whole Blade Wind thing is,” he thought as he activated the skill.
As if of its own volition, his body spun quickly to the right, his arm flung out by the force of the movement. As he completed a full circle, his blade cut through the nightmare’s throat, just as Wulfgar made eye contact with it and felt his knees give way beneath him.
“3 points of damage!”
“Faerie’s Kiss! Target is stunned!”
“Serpent’s Sting! Target is bleeding!”
“The Eyes of the Abyss envelop you!”
Then he knew nothing.
Wulfgar opened his eyes, and his view resolved into a magnificent star field. Two thoughts rushed into his head. First, he could recognize Orion. That meant, his muddled head concluded, that this world - wherever it was - was close enough to earth that the Milky Way’s patterns were recognizable. The second thing he noticed was the sliver of a moon that just edged into his field of view. He turned his head and focused on it. He couldn’t see much of it, but he could see enough to recognize that it wasn’t Luna, Earth’s moon. It was either closer or larger, and he could make out a number of bodies that looked like moonlets in close orbit with it.
He shook off those thoughts and realized that he was laying on the deck of the Piraeus, his head on Lauren’s lap. She ran her fingers through his hair as she smiled down at him.
“Have a good nap?” she asked lightly.
“I kinda did, actually,” he chuckled, enjoying both the feeling and the view as her face broke into a larger smile, laughing.
“Then get on your feet, sailor!” said Lauren in mock seriousness, “Now that we’ve cleaned up your mess!”
Wulfgar sat up, looking around. The fog had cleared, and the night was crisp. The stars flooded his entire view like nothing he’d ever seen and as he leaned back against the ship’s railing, he noted that there was no easy way to discern the horizon as the stars reflected off of the glassy surface of the sea like a mirror. It was like the little ship was frozen inside a motionless snow-globe, and the beauty of it was inspiring.
He looked back to the deck. The rest of his party was moving through the crew, helping them where they could. Doe walked among the injured, cleaning and binding wounds, Bear standing over her protectively. Wulfgar smiled. The captain, leaning against the wheel, looked to Wulfgar.
“My thanks, sir.”
Wulfgar nodded, then looked to Rydra, “What were those things?”
The thief just smiled ruefully and shrugged, “Not good, man. Whatever they were, they were not good.”
“Revenant,” added Bael as he approached, “seeking new slaves for their Lich lord.”
“Lich?”
“A powerful …” continued Bael.
“Very powerful,” added Tane.
“ … undead wizard. Likely one that reigns in the abyssal plain below,” said Bael. “The revenant seek new followers to be dragged below and enslaved to the Lich.” The little creature shuddered, “They’ve taken Aos Si before. The revenant’s power, the Eyes of the Abyss, will reduce anyone who succumbs,” Bael nodded toward Wulfgar, “to helplessness. Then they are taken to their new master, who adds their life-force to his power and drains all that made them alive, leaving nothing more than a husk whose sole purpose is to seek new minions for their lord.” He shuddered again.
Rydra spoke, “Thanks for the enchantments, Bael, Tane,” he bowed. “Faerie’s Kiss and Serpent’s Sting. They helped.”
Wulfgar nodded, “Yeah, thanks! I’m not sure if we could have done as well without them.”
“Temporary, I’m afraid,” said Bael, “but you’re welcome.”
“We’ll need to wait,” added Tane, “a while before we can grant them again.” He looked up at the stars, “It will probably be midday before we’re able.”
“Coming up on one healthy and two stunned and bleeding revenant was much better than three healthy ones,” snorted Snorri, standing at the rear of the deck with his hands on his hips, “much better. Once Prince dove in on that last healthy one, we,” he nodded toward Lauren “were able to quickly bring him down while the Aos Si and Bear took care of the wounded.” He smiled and looked to Rydra, “I think our sneaky friend here is the only one that managed to take out one of them all by his lonesome.”
Rydra bowed, “Ain’t no thang,” he chuckled. “Wulfgar will be able to bring that kind of power to bear in just a few more levels. The attacks out of Stealth can do some wicked damage up front. It’s when the fight gets normal, though, that we start to rapidly get outclassed.”
Wulfgar nodded, then asked, “Hey, was there any kind of loot?”
Snorri bellowed in laughter, “I like this guy! A man after my own greed!” Then the big man shook his head, “Afraid not. Nothing to speak of. We just finished dumping the corpses when you woke up.”
“Nothing tangible for most,” countered Bael, “but my brother and I each have two Hearts of the Revenant. We can use them for powerful spells.”
Tane added, “Are there any of you who’ve studied the magic arts?”
While the rest of the party each shook their head, Lauren piped up, “I have, but just the beginning. Only for some practical light spells, and I have no plans to take it further.”
The Aos Si nodded, “Then we will keep the hearts. They may become invaluable in our quest.”
Shaking off the last of the effects of the Eyes of the Abyss, Wulfgar stood and walked to the center of the deck, where he stooped and picked up his blade. Ensuring that it was first clean, he sheathed it then reached down to pull up the captain who had held his hand up to Wulfgar.
“Thanks again,” mumbled the captain, as he set about moving through his crew, asking after their health. All seemed to be mostly well, and those who’d had scratches or bites from the revenant looked to have recovered after Doe’s ministrations.
“One thing though,” said Wulfgar turning to Rydra, “yesterday,” he thought for a second, “or the day before, I attacked a kobold. Killed it from behind. It, well, kind of sickened me. Tonight, though …” he paused, looking for words that had described the joy he’d felt attacking the revenant.
Rydra smiled, “You liked it, didn’t you?” He tilted his head, “That’s a game mechanic. Kobold’s are neutral. You’re neutral. You have a connection, however weird, with them.” He looked back down to the bloodstains on the deck, “These things, though. They’re just evil. Pure evil.”
He laughed, “And by attacking them, you’ve gained in Alignment. You’ve become other than pure neutral. Do that enough, and you’ll rise up the ladder. You’ll become good. Do enough bad things, and you
’ll go down, or,” he shrugged, “like me, you’ll just kind of float in the middle.”
“Like you?”
Rydra smiled, shrugged, “I steal. I’m a thief. Now, I have my own set of values. I only steal from NPC’s. I never steal from players. The system, however, doesn’t see the difference, and it makes it very hard to go up on the Alignment scale, but very easy to go down. If I added killing good guys to my repertoire, my Alignment would sink into the darkness so fast it’d make your head spin. Pretty soon babies would spit on me and kittens would shun me,” he laughed. “As it is, my profession seems like it’s going to limit me to pure neutral. And that’s fine. I still get a kick out of killin’ evil.”
“But I haven’t really changed, I’m still neutral too.”
“It takes a lot more than backstabbing a couple of revenant to get you into the good. Keep it up, though, and it will happen.”
Wulfgar nodded, but knew there was more to it than that. More to his reaction than what was caused by the game. He knew that his feeling was fed by the knowledge that the NPC’s in this world might be more than they seemed, on the surface - and he wasn’t at all sure how death in this world really effected them.
The humans again spent the late morning and afternoon napping and lounging on the foredeck. Again, they lay naked, but this time they kept their gear close at hand. Just in case. The rats and faerie seemed content with their own company and declined the invitation to join the rest of the party, returning instead belowdecks after the Aos Si had given the captain specific directions around Baile to where the home of the Baen Si lay - the small island of Ma’Keis. The gruff old man, recovered from the night’s ordeal and once again the stern taskmaster, chomped on his pipe and predicted that they’d reach the island after nightfall.
“Is it just me,” asked Wulfgar, “or do the NPC’s seem a bit, I dunno, standoffish?”
“They are,” confirmed Lauren. “They play their role, and they play it well. Seamlessly, really. But they’re not much for small talk or chit chat.”
