by Adam Drake
I paused at a strange-looking globe, its surface blighted and blackened.
“Looks like it was nuked,” said Mudhoof, looking over my shoulder. “No more loot to be found there.” It appeared that way. Where there once were continents and cities, now smudged outlines remained. Vast oceans had become deep, wide canyons and shattered rock.
I selected the world's name. Herronia.
“I wonder what happened to it,” I said.
“Destroyed. By the Demon King,” said a man who appeared from behind a towering bookcase.
I tensed for a fight, but immediately relaxed. Like the Temple, the Guild was a safezone.
The man approached carrying a bundle of map rolls under one arm. His name appeared above his head. Yibbet (Locators Guild Cartographer).
The mention of the Demon King, a recent enemy who nearly wiped out my whole party on a previous quest, caught my interest. “Destroyed it how?” I asked.
Yibbet shrugged a skinny frame from within billowy yellow robes. “No one has any facts as to how, exactly. Some have reported a thick white fog encompassed Herronia's entire surface which preventing anyone from seeing. Then when it dissipated the planet looked like that. But other reports claim asteroids were nudged from their nearby orbits and pummeled the surface.”
Examining the globe closer, I said, “Doesn't look like there are any impact craters.”
Another shrug. Yibbet said, “Although we at the Locators guild pride ourselves on accuracy, we don't always go the extra mile to map out utter destruction.” His neutral expression was replaced by a genial smile. “Are you here about a map of Herronia? I can provide one for a modest sum.”
Mudhoof barked a laugh. “Bet all your maps of the place are now heavily discounted.”
“No,” I said. “We're interested in your locating service.”
Yibbet brightened. “Very good. Please follow me.” He dropped the maps he was carrying on a table and led us deeper inside.
Atop a podium was a large open book, thick with weathered pages. Yibbet stood over it and brought out a beautiful blue quill pen, which looked expensive. As he dipped its tip in a squat ink bottle, I couldn't help myself and pulled up the statistics for the pen.
Item: Niqix Quill Feather (Rare), Weight 0.01 Units, Uses: Can be used in Alchemy, Cartography and Inscribing spells. Value: Unknown.
Do you wish to query for current auction house prices? Y/N
I selected Yes.
Querying. Item found. Current asking price range is 450 Gold Pieces to 620 Gold Pieces.
Impressive, I thought. Rare items that could be used across a broad range of skill sets were worth a lot.
“Person, place, or thing?” Yibbet asked. He stood with the Niqix Quill Feather poised above a blank sheet of the open book.
I dismissed the statistics screen from my view. Nosey gamer, me.
“Uh, place,” I said.
Yibbet carefully drew a symbol at the top of the page. Finished, he asked, “Name?”
“Uh,” I gave Mudhoof a glance who was trying to stifle a grin. “Wally's Womp.”
“Can you spell it, please?”
I did with a little uncertainty.
The Cartographer blinked. “Interesting,” he said, then wrote the name under the symbol. I didn't doubt he had heard untold names over his years of service, and each one would have been 'interesting'.
Finished, Yibbet stood back and watched the page expectantly. “Hmm,” he said after a few moments.
“What is it?” I said.
“According to the Locator's book there is no place named Wally's Womp,” he said.
“Maybe you spelt it wrong,” Mudhoof said.
“I'll try Wally with one 'l',” Yibbet said, but that did not produce a result either.
“Okay,” I said, getting worried. “Try 'Thing'.” Maybe Kragg had lied after all.
Yibbet turned over to a fresh blank page, drawing a different symbol at the top. Beneath, he wrote 'Wally's Womp'.
This time something happened. The symbol and name on the page moved about on their own, swirling and stretching. Then, a single word appeared replacing them. 'Masked'.
“Ah,” said Yibbet.
“Ah, what?” I said. That didn't sound good.
“Someone has paid a lot of money to negate the search for a thing named Wally's Womp,” Yibbet said. “I cannot attain its exact location, as a result.”
Mudhoof snorted. “Trite did it.”
I nodded. It made sense Ogden would use his vast resources to hide the access point to his guildhall. Many guilds did it as well. It wasn't a perfect solution; someone determined enough could do some detective work to eventually find them. But my time was short.
To Yibbet, I asked, “Is there any way to get around the Masking of a search? Perhaps pay an extra fee?” The last was said hopefully. I didn't have a lot of gold, but would spend it all for a shot at Trite.
The cartographer shook his head, “I am sorry, miss. Once a Masking is placed it will remain so for its duration.”
“Duration?”
“There is a thirty-day limit to a Masking, which can then be renewed.”
I frowned. Unless Ogden stopped paying his monthly bill, which was doubtful, I had no immediate way to get the location.
Mudhoof, showing his frustration, scoffed. He produced a large silver medallion from his inventory. The game brought up its identification. 'Sliver Of Knowledge'. He handed it to Yibbet. “Here,” he said. “This should take care of it.”
My eyes widened. “I didn't know you had one of those.” I was shocked. Sliver Of Knowledge medallions were the ultimate form of payment to any Locators Guild. All of their more privileged services would be available to someone with one. As a result, the medallions were incredibly rare, and very expensive.
“Are you sure you want to use that now?” I asked Mudhoof. “That's worth a ton of money.”
Mudhoof waved a hand. “Yeah, why not. It's what they're for. And I'm not in need of locating anything else at the moment.” He grinned.
“Thank you, Muddie,” I said, and patted his arm.
Yibbet's eyes grew big at the medallion in his hand and gave Mudhoof a respectful bow. “What is it you require, sir,” he said.
“Give us the location of the thing named Wally's Womp.”
“Alas, the Masking cannot be circumvented by any means, but with this Sliver Of Knowledge a can provide you with the closest known travel gate. Would that be sufficient?”
Mudhoof nodded. “Make it so, Number One.”
After another bow, Yibbet turned the book to new page. He drew the symbol and wrote the name.
Immediately the page swirled them about and this time a detailed map appeared.
“Bingo!” I said with delight.
“Walley's Womp is located near a travel gate in the Tormen Region on the planet Glidian,” Yibbish said. “I will give you a copy, and the most effective route to get there. Be advised, if you deviate from this route, the map will adjust accordingly.”
I was beyond happy with this result. Going from not having a clue where to find Ogden, to practically being served the exact location of his hiding spot put me over the moon.
Map in hand, I thanked Yibbish, and we went back out into the town square.
“This is great, Muddie,” I said. “Let's get to the nearest travel gate and-”.
“THERE SHE IS!” a voice boomed over the noise of the bustling crowds.
Mudhoof and I turned to look.
Walking toward us, from the direction of the Temple, was a heavily armed group of players. Their disposition indicated they were spoiling for a fight.
And standing in the middle of them, pointing a finger at me was a Shadow I recognized.
Perriwinkle.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Well, this sucks,” said Mudhoof.
Instantly, both Mudhoof and I had weapons in hand; I with my bow, and Muddie with his massive twin bladed battle axe.
I assessed
the opposing players. Two warriors, a stone mage, and Perriwinkle. All were at my level or just below. One on one, I was certain I could take each on, but as a group, even with Mudhoof by my side, it would be difficult.
“Vivian Valesh,” Perriwinkle said, grinning widely. “I knew you'd wash up here once I realized my poison didn't finish you off.” He made a tsk-tsk noise, then said. “At least now I get the pleasure of killing you face to face.”
“You're our bounty, FILTERED!” roared a warrior, a human viking. He wore a simple set of chain-mail armor, along with an iron cap helmet with a single horn sticking out to one side.
“Now, guys,” I said, “Maybe we can work out some sort of deal?” The Temple was behind them, and its safezone felt far away. There would be no going around this lot. We'd have to go through them.
“Hey, Pickle-winkle,” said Mudhoof. “Want some face-to-face time? Come closer.” He swirled his battle axe around and grinned.
“Enough discussion!” shouted the second warrior. He was a knight in all black armor from head to toe. I would bet a million gold pieces that the player behind him was a pimply faced thirteen year old skulking in his mother's basement.
When the black knight was shouting, I summoned a magma arrow into my empty quiver. With tremendous effort I did not look directly at my intended target.
The knight drew a pure black sword from his sheath with a flourish. “Time for killing!” he bellowed.
“Okay!” I said and use my new Quick Draw ability to fire the arrow.
The opposing group tensed but the arrow was almost home.
Rule number one of group PvP: Kill the magic users first.
At the last moment the stone mage's eyes widened in alarm. Then he made an upward sweeping motion with one hand, brown robes swirling about.
A thick slab of cobblestone suddenly jutted out of the ground directly in front of him. It could easily block any incoming volleys.
But not a magma arrow.
The red hot projectile shot straight through the cobblestone like it wasn't even there and the arrow then pierced the mage in the middle of his chest.
The stone mage tried to shout but instead of words, hot magma spewed from his mouth. His robes caught on fire and he collapsed to the ground in a red bubbling heap.
The combat log showed:
Vivian Valesh one-shot Rocky Ridgeway with a magma arrow. Rocky Ridgeway is dead. Vivian Valesh earns double PvP battle points for an instant kill.
The rest of the group, seasoned veterans of player versus player encounters, barely registered their companion's death. They were already on the move.
Perriwinkle pulled his gaze away from the dead stone mage and locked on me. He moved forward but with caution; a sword in one hand, the poisoned crystal dagger in the other.
Mudhoof roared. “First kill, ya FILTERing FILTEREDs!” He waved at the other two warriors, indicating they should come closer.
To my relief, both the viking and the knight obliged him. No doubt they knew Mudhoof was the greater threat and needed to be dealt with first.
Fine by me.
As Perriwinkle got within striking range, I switched my bow out for my sword. Although one handed, I gripped it with both, giving me greater control. We circled one another, sizing each other up.
“I owe you a stab in the back, buddy,” I said. But Perriwinkle didn't retort, only grinned.
Was he trying to draw me in, make me try a first strike? I didn't bite. Wait and see what he did seemed the most prudent tactic.
Behind me, I heard the mighty clash of steel against steel. All three warriors were shouting at each other, and practically every word was FILTERED. I knew Mudhoof would keep them engaged. Once I dispatched this sneaky bounty hunter I'd help him out.
But Perriwinkle refused to come any closer. In fact, he kept sidestepping away when I tried to shorten the distance between us.
Did he not want to fight? Or was he thinking the same as me: keep the Shadow busy until the warriors can come and take her out.
Then I saw it. The sun was behind me and cast a building's shadow onto the cobblestone square. From this shadow grew another smaller one. Then another.
Uh oh, I thought and whirled around.
Up on the roof of the closest building were two archers. Another was clamoring over the sloped roof on the next building over. From their vantage point the square below would make for the perfect killing ground.
As I took in this new threat, I regained my senses enough to invoke my Cloak of Shadow's invisibility and immediately rolled to my right.
Perriwinkle's sword swished bare inches above me.
Still close to engage him, I stood up and lunged with my sword causing my invisibility to negate.
Perriwinkle's eyes widened at my reappearance but countered my attack with a parry. But I had overextended myself and pulled back before his next swing.
An arrow zipped through the space my head had just occupied.
I gritted my teeth with frustration. Those ranged bastards tipped the balance in the other group's favor. They could kite me from above while Perriwinkle took his time choosing were to stab me.
It was only a matter of time before they riddled me like a pincushion.
I pushed toward Perriwinkle and increased my tempo of swings. The other Shadow reacted in kind, stepping backwards on the defensive.
An arrow struck my side, but did minimal damage.
Perriwinkle laughed, parrying my strikes. “I'm gonna love spending all your bounty money, baby girl,” he leered.
Changing tactics, I spun around and sprinted away.
“Hey!” Perriwinkle cried. “Chicken!”
Certain he was following me after a dozen long strides I switched to my bow, summoned another special arrow, and quickly whirled back to face Perriwinkle, then fired.
The other Shadow, who was in hot pursuit barely had time to react. His eyes widened in surprise and raised his sword to defend himself.
But this arrow wasn't meant to pierce armor or flesh.
The Dazzler arrow exploded right in front of his face. A spectacular burst of colored lights momentarily brightened the entire town square, like a newly born star, then winked out.
The effect was instant. Perriwinkle covered his eyes with one arm and swung wildly with is sword. He was blind.
An arrow struck me in the left shoulder, and my avatar grunted with pain. There would be no time to enjoy the results of my light show.
I made the tactical decision to go after the archers next.
I ran at full speed toward the building they were perched on and jumped up onto a fruit stall. The seller cried out in alarm as apples spilled everywhere. Using only a fraction of my Leap ability I sprung onto the roof.
One archer was a few feet from me, and he tried to notch another arrow while he aimed his bow. Even if he fired, he would most likely miss. The game heavily penalized ranged attacks shot from close quarters.
With a rapid flurry of quick sword swings the archer was killed. These hired NPCs (Non-Player Characters) appeared to have low hit points. Their purpose was meant for backing up a player, and general harassment.
Now I was doing the harassing.
A second archer stood on the furthest edge of the roof and fired at me.
I sprinted at him and dodged his incoming fire.
At the last moment this archer got wise and switched to a sword. But archers are not renowned for their sword play.
A few strokes of my sword and the archer was dead.
An arrow struck me in the lower back, and I turned in frustration toward my attacker.
On the roof of the opposite building the final archer grinned at me. He continued firing, and at a much rapid pace than I expected. No doubt he was the squad leader and had better abilities.
I sprinted at him, ignoring all the little red combat warning signs telling me my avatar could become incapacitated if I took more damage. Instead, I zigzagged across the roof making it tougher for the archer to
get a bead on me.
At the edge of the roof I jumped up and through the air. I even knocked away an arrow with my sword before I landed in a roll. As I came up, I jammed my sword through the archer's stomach and up into his body.
