by Anthea Sharp
Still, she didn’t want Tam to risk himself, just to see if he could.
“You’re on,” Roy said. “Give us some room, blondie.”
He hefted his blade and gave Tam a toothy grin.
“It’s all right,” Tam said to her. “I’ll be careful.”
She knew better—he’d be his usual drastically heroic self. If he let his arm get cut off, she would never forgive him.
She stepped away, heading to where Zeg and Spark stood. Her dad, oblivious, was still trying to pick the flowers.
“Tam knows what he’s doing,” Zeg said. He didn’t sound worried—but then, he didn’t know what this game could really be like.
“I’ve always thought PVP was the best way to learn your character’s abilities,” Spark said. “Playing directly against another person, as opposed to the computer, always pushes the limits.” She smiled at Jennet, an open, honest grin. “Hey, when the boys are finished, want to show them how it’s done?”
Jennet glanced at her mage staff. The crystal at the end shone blue-white.
“I’ve played a Spellcaster in-game before,” she warned.
Spark’s eyes brightened. “I love a challenge.”
“Okay then.” She grinned back at the magenta-haired girl.
“Yaa!” Roy’s yell cut through the air.
Jennet looked up in time to see him rush at Tam, his broadsword raised overhead. Tam had his sword drawn, his shield strapped to his left arm. He caught Roy’s blade on the edge of the shield and diverted it, nimbly stepping out of the way, then thrust in with a counterattack. Metal clanged on metal as Roy swept Tam’s sword out of the way.
“They’re pretty well matched,” Spark said.
“Both of them have seen serious combat in-game,” Jennet said.
There must have been something in her voice, because Spark shot her a look, pink eyebrows raised. “All three of you have played the proto-version of Feyland?”
“Yeah.”
Sort of. If getting sucked into the Realm of Faerie counted as the proto-version.
Another clash rang out as Roy and Tam connected, and Jennet turned her attention back to the duel. Spark was a smart one. Already it seemed the gamer-girl suspected there were things going on below the surface.
And, depending where the game took them, she might be in for more than she could imagine.
Roy gave a victorious shout as Tam dropped his guard, holding his shield way too low and not even pressing the attack.
“Tam,” Jennet said under her breath. “What are you doing?”
Roy rushed forward, thrusting with the tip of his blade. Jennet’s breath tightened. At the last second, Tam shifted to the left. Instead of Roy’s sword puncturing his chest, the blade connected with Tam’s upper arm. He dropped his sword, and she couldn’t tell if it was because he’d truly been injured or not.
“Got you!” Roy cried.
Tam nodded. “You win. Good fight.”
He didn’t sound hurt, but Jennet couldn’t stop herself from running to his side.
“You all right?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He rubbed at his arm. “The game disarmed me when Roy got that hit in.”
“Your armor looks okay.”
The silver plate was unmarred—no big hole with Tam’s blood seeping out. She released the breath she’d been holding, and reached for him. A flash of orange caught her attention as her dad came over. Those robes were way too bright. On the other hand, she’d always be able to keep track of him. Hastily, she dropped her arms and hoped her dad hadn’t noticed the almost-hug.
“You guys were fighting?” he asked. “Is that part of the game?”
“Characters can choose to duel one another,” Jennet said.
“For fun?”
Tam nodded.
“I’ll have to try that some time,” her dad said.
Great. “Not with Roy,” she hurriedly said.
The last thing she wanted to see was her dad suffer immediate defeat at Roy’s hands.
“I’d be honored to duel you, Mr. Carter,” Tam said, sounding a little stiff.
The air in front of them blurred and Coranne Smith appeared, a black blot against the meadow.
“PVP can wait,” she said in her usual, dry tone. “The quest should be fixed. Let’s move on.”
“Hey,” Zeg called. He held up a purple flower. “It works.”
“Good,” Coranne said. “Everyone gather blossoms, please.”
“How will we know when we have enough?” Zeg asked.
“They will cease being interactive,” Ms. Smith said.
Seeing the puzzlement on her dad’s face, Jennet added, “They’ll stop glowing.”
“Ah.” He reached and picked a nearby bloom.
The rest of the party spread out. Soon everyone held one or two of the purple flowers. Jennet was reaching for her third when the light surrounding it faded. Another ding chimed through the air. They must have gathered enough of the blossoms.
“All right,” Roy called. “We’re done. Everyone meet back at the cottage.”
On the heels of his words, a tremendous bellow shook the meadow. Tam thrust his flowers at Jennet, then pulled his sword and stepped to the front of the party.
Dark shadows gathered at the far edge of the meadow. Heavy thudding shook the ground, followed by the crash of breaking branches. The pine trees thrashed wildly, and a hideous ogre pushed his way out of the forest.
The ogre stood four times Tam’s height, and his long, jagged teeth were filed into sharp points. He carried a spiked cudgel the size of a grav-car in his clawed hands, and his arms and legs bunched with muscle. The brown tunic he wore was covered with blotches and stains Jennet didn’t even want to try to identify. His beady black eyes scanned the meadow and fastened upon their party. With another air-shuddering cry, the ogre lunged toward them.
CHAPTER FOUR - THE TWILIGHT KINGDOM
Tam gripped his sword tightly as the ogre hurtled forward. The monstrous creature lifted his cudgel, and Tam shifted. One good hit from that thing, and he’d be flattened. He’d have to take it down at the legs, try to even the height advantage. From the corner of his eye he saw Lassiter moving up. Coranne Smith flickered out of sight behind him. Good, the melee fighters were moving into position. He hoped Jennet could keep her dad back, although the monks were supposed to specialize in hand-to-hand combat.
As the ogre got close, Tam waved his sword. He wanted the enemy’s attention firmly on him. Since his character was the tank—the one with the best armor—it was his job to take the brunt of the enemy’s attack. Then the rest of the party could pour on the damage, hopefully without being pounded on themselves.
Quicker than he expected, the ogre brought his spiked weapon down in a blurring blow. Air whistled past Tam’s left ear as he flung himself out of the way. The cudgel just brushed his side, then hit the dirt with a thud, spraying soil and uprooted grasses.
Yellow light flashed across his vision—the sign he’d been injured. He got to his feet, bracing himself for the pain that didn’t come, and backed up a couple paces. An emerald glow surrounded him, and the flashing yellow light faded.
“Thanks for the heal,” he called over to Zeg.
“Any time,” the priest said. “I like keeping busy.”
Lassiter moved in and swiped at the ogre’s pillar-like leg. He connected, and thick green blood oozed from the cut. The ogre growled and tried to bash Lassiter, who jumped nimbly out of the way.
“First blood,” he said, smirking at Tam.
An arrow sped from behind them and struck the ogre’s shoulder, quickly followed by a bolt of arcane power—Spark and Jennet getting their hits in. Their enemy shook his head, searching for the source of this new aggravation, but before he attacked the less-armored members of their band, Tam surged forward. He plunged the tip of his sword into the ogre’s thigh, as high as he could reach. Damn, the creature was tall.
Lassiter hit the ogre from the other side, and a flicke
r of black cloth behind their enemy revealed Coranne, plunging one of her daggers behind its knee.
“Raghr!” the ogre cried.
He stumbled and went down on one knee, swinging his mace in vicious sweeps. Tam leaped out of the way, but Lassiter got tagged and went down with a strangled oof.
A second later, healing green light covered the Mercenary, and he bounded to his feet. Good thing Zeg had rolled a healer—they’d be in rough shape now if he hadn’t. Without his help, both Tam and Lassiter would be out of commission, leaving the rest of the party too vulnerable.
Arrows and spell-bolts rained down on the ogre. Coranne darted in and out, pricking at the ogre’s sides and staying away from that evil cudgel. Tam narrowed his eyes, judging the distance to the creature’s leg. The timing would be tricky, but if he could run up onto the ogre’s bent thigh, he’d be within striking range of its heart.
“Cover me,” Tam called to Lassiter. “I’m going in, left.”
For once, Lassiter didn’t argue. He moved to the ogre’s right side, swinging his two-handed sword in big, flashy arcs. While their enemy was distracted, Tam pelted forward, blade at the ready. His momentum carried him onto the ogre’s leg, the flesh rubbery and unstable beneath his boots. Before he lost his balance, Tam struck, aiming between the creature’s ribs.
“Look out!” Jennet called.
No time to pull his sword free. As the ogre bellowed and thrashed, Tam jumped clear. An instant later, the cudgel whooshed through the air where he’d just been standing. The force of the ogre’s swing twisted the creature and, still making a deep racket, their enemy toppled.
“Yeah!” Jennet’s dad rushed over. “Look, we won!”
He kicked at the downed ogre’s side.
The creature’s closed eyes slitted open, black malice gleaming in its gaze.
“Mr. Carter, watch out!” Tam shouted as he lunged forward.
Too late. A last flick of the spiked weapon, and the ogre caught Jennet’s dad squarely on the side. Orange robes fluttered as he flew through the air and landed in a crumpled heap.
“Dad!” Jennet rushed to his side and went to her knees. “Zeg, quick.”
Silver light flared over the slumped figure of the fighting monk, but nothing happened. Mr. Carter lay unmoving.
The ogre let out a low groan, and Tam glanced over to see that Coranne had plunged a long, thin blade into its heart. No more unexpected cudgel-swipes—but the damage had been done.
“Dad—answer me.” Jennet shook the monk’s shoulder, a rising note of panic in her voice. “Dad?”
“I’m right here.” Mr. Carter’s voice came through the sim helmet.
Jennet’s character sat down abruptly. “Where?”
“Uh, I’m in the mushroom circle where we entered the game—but things look strange. All washed-out and shimmery. I guess I died?”
“Yeah,” Tam said. “Zeg, got a rez?”
Most healers had the capability of resurrecting a character who had died in combat. At least, they did in the normal games Tam had played. In Feyland the rules could get skewed. They were lucky there was no hint of fey magic around, or Jennet’s dad would have been toast.
“How do I get un-dead?” Mr. Carter asked.
“If you were playing solo,” Jennet said, “you’d have to run back to where your body was, and re-animate there. But Zeg should be able to catch you.”
“Yep,” Zeg said.
He raised his hands, forming a ball of light between his palms. The silvery glow floated over to the huddle of orange robes, and a moment later Jennet’s dad sat up.
“Great,” he said. “So, did we win?”
Tam glanced at the still form of the ogre lying on the trampled grasses, the hilt of his blade sticking out of the creature’s chest. He strode over and wrenched the blade free. Slimy green blood marred the steel, and with a grimace he wiped it clean on the grass.
“Not the most elegant fight,” Spark said, resettling her bow and quiver onto her back, “but we won.”
“Dad, you have to be careful,” Jennet said.
“How will I learn anything, if I’m careful? So—what now?”
“We turn in the quest and see what our next task is,” Lassiter said.
Coranne Smith collected her own blade from the dead ogre’s body. “It’s time to break and fill out our reports.”
“Can’t we turn in the quest first?” Spark asked. “That way we can make sure this whole cycle is working, and get a feel for the game arc.”
Tam smiled, inside where no one could see. Sure, Spark sounded all pro and casual, but he caught the glint in her eyes. She was hooked, and like any true gamer was longing to see where Feyland would take them next.
“Very well.” Coranne said. “We can complete the quest.”
“Let’s go,” Lassiter said, turning and heading back toward the cottage.
“What happened to the flowers we picked?” Spark asked. “Mine disappeared when the fight started.”
“They probably went into our inventory,” Jennet’s dad said.
Spark tilted her head. “How do we access it?”
“In the lower-left corner of your interface, you’ll see the letter I,” Coranne Smith said. “Select it, and it will show you the items in your possession.”
“I guess you’ve made some changes to the game,” Jennet said.
“We are constantly refining the interface,” Coranne said. “Don’t assume you know how anything works, even if you’re familiar with previous versions of Feyland.”
“Right,” Tam said, trading a glance with Jennet.
“Hey!” Roy Lassiter waved at them from the top of a nearby rise. “Are you guys coming or what?”
The others headed back through the meadow, but Tam lagged behind. As he’d hoped, so did Jennet.
“Do you think we can still summon stuff?” she asked him.
“One way to find out.” He paused and held up his hand. “Cookies,” he said, imagining the most delicious, mouth-watering chocolate chip cookies in the world.
Nothing happened.
“Hm,” Jennet said.
She lifted her arm, her lips pressed together. Concentration made her blue eyes sparkle even more brightly, and then she shook her head.
“I guess being able to summon items had more to do with the Realm of Faerie than game mechanics.”
“Makes sense,” Tam said. “Remember how it would drain our energy when we summoned things in-game? That’s pretty magical.”
“You’re right. But it changes things.”
“Into a regular game, you mean.” He frowned. He didn’t like the uncomfortable prickling thought that he actually missed the magical elements of Feyland.
“I know.” Jennet’s voice was a little wistful. “But that’s what we want, right? A regular game, without deadly faeries trying to break through into our world.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Come on, let’s catch up.”
The rest of the party was waiting in front of the cottage, where the creature with lime-green hair stood, grinning, on the stoop.
Lassiter frowned at them. “What an honor to have you finally join us.”
Tam didn’t bother to respond, though he saw Jennet’s dad give them the eye, too. Seriously, they hadn’t lagged behind long enough to even get a kiss in.
“Everyone ready?” Spark stepped up to face the little creature, who blinked at them with its placid, wide eyes. “Greetings,” she said.
“Brave adventurers,” the quest-giver said. “You have completed the task I set you. I shall collect the twenty-four Roundel Blossoms now.”
The same soft ding filled the air, accompanied by a flash of golden light. Tam made a quick check of his inventory and saw that the blue flowers were gone. In their place was a curled scroll of parchment.
“You have each been given a summons to the City of Stronghold,” the creature said. “Beware the dangers along the road. Once you reach the city, you will have the opportunity to gain new skil
ls and embark upon many more adventures. Good luck!”
“Stronghold?” Lassiter said. “Couldn’t they get more creative?”
“It is a perfectly appropriate name,” Coranne said stiffly.
Tam leaned closer to Jennet. “New content. Do you think this is Chon’s work?”
They’d never seen a city in Feyland before, only a scattering of villages, groups of standing stones, and a few solitary huts. And once, the caverns of the Goblin King. A shiver prickled his skin. He and Jennet had barely gotten out of there without becoming the goblins’ lunch.
“Probably Chon and his group added it,” she said. “Standard world building.”
Tam nodded. Most large multi-player games had at least one big gathering place where characters could re-supply, get new quests, meet up with others, and upgrade their skills.
“All right, everyone,” Coranne said. “Please exit game and fill out your reports.”
“Hold on.” Lassiter held up one hand. “When we log back in, where will our characters be? ’Cause we used to have to complete an entire level before logging, or we’d be back at the beginning again.”
Coranne Smith wrinkled her nose. “You’ll find that a number of major bugs have been dealt with. You’ll return to wherever you left your characters. In this case, the beginning of the road.”
“What road?” Jennet’s dad asked.
“That one,” Zeg said, pointing.
Where there had been empty meadow, now a wide cobbled road led past the forest and disappeared over the rolling hills. In the distance the sky held a golden hue, and the wind riffled the tall grasses.
Tam and Jennet took a step forward, Spark and Lassiter right beside them. Something about that road called to them.
“Not yet,” Zeg said in his deep voice. “The road will wait.”
“Is X still the command to exit?” Mr. Carter asked.
“Yes,” Coranne said.
Mr. Carter’s character blinked out, leaving only air where he had been standing. Zeg followed, then Spark.
“Fine,” Lassiter said. A second later, he was gone.
