by Adam Drake
“Okay,” he said, looking at the map. “The first gate is just north of here.”
We both mounted and rode out of the keep's entrance. The soldiers there cheered. By completing the commander's quest Thorm had raised his reputation with this group fairly high.
“I'm a rock star!” Thorm said.
Past dead bodies of orcs and humans, we rode away from the keep and its carnage and into the forest. Within a few minutes we found a narrow dirt road and followed it north.
“Any word from Mudhoof?” Thorm asked as we thundered along. His snow-leopard ran with a strange loping motion.
“None,” I said. “I'll try him again.”
I sent the chat request and waited, bidding my time by watching the forest pass by. It soon became apparent Mudhoof was still unavailable or just didn't want to answer. I canceled the request.
Part of me felt Mudhoof was angry, but I tried not to let it bother me. Or maybe I was just making a big deal out of nothing.
The terrain changed, and the trees thinned out to the point we were running across a grassy plain. Far in the distance I could see the circular outline of a travel gate.
Thorm turned to say something when he looked past me. “Look over there.”
I did.
Close by, a river meandered its way through the plains. At its edge were a group of adventurers who looked to have recently slain some orcs. Orc bodies were everywhere, and the victors were busy looting them. But what gave Thorm concern were a few of these players were looking in our direction with intense interest.
A group that size wouldn't be threatened by a pair of players riding by.
Then it hit me. Maybe we were being assessed. If they happened to be bounty hunters, things would get interesting fast.
As we moved on past, the players who watched us turned to speak to the others. Soon all of them had stopped looting and stared. Even over this great a distance they could pull up our information.
And my character's information prominently displayed its bounty status.
“Not good,” I said, and glanced at the distant gate. Still far.
“Yup,” Thorm said. “And here they come!” The other group had all summoned mounts and began to ride straight at us.
“Maybe they just want to use the travel gate, too,” I said, but couldn't convince myself. About twenty players were now coming after us at full speed.
“You certainly have a large fan base, Miss Valesh,” Thorm said.
“Everyone wants an autograph,” I said with a forced laugh. This was annoying. All because of Ogden Trite.
It became apparent we'd reach the gate well before the group would catch up with us. They shouted. Some even tried firing arrows at us but came up short.
We focused on pushing our mounts to their maximum speed. The travel gate sat on a patch of barren earth surrounded by tall grass.
“Once we're through, we'll make a b-line straight to the next gate. Eventually they'll get bored or we'll lose them,” Thorm said.
I nodded as we charged up to the circular travel gate, its silver surface shimmering like water.
The moment before we jumped through the gate I glanced back to find some of our pursuers alarming close. Their expressions were intense.
These guys weren't going to stop. What the heck was I going to do?
Then we crossed over the gate's terminus and the world changed.
CHAPTER NINE
Thorm and I emerged at a seaside port at the edge of a large city.
A myriad of ships were docked here, loading and unloading goods. Stacks of crates and boxes formed a mountain range down the wharf. There were people everywhere, mostly workers.
A small group of players were next to the gate, about to use it.
Without slowing we ran right past them, and I nearly knocked over a sorceress in a black robe.
“Hey, watch it you FILTERED!” she shouted after me.
“She's not a fan I take it?” Thorm said as we raced off the dock onto a cobblestone street. The next gate was at the other side of the city.
“I'm not feeling appreciated,” I said.
There was a commotion somewhere behind us, but I didn't turn around to see. I knew what it was. The other group had crossed over the gate and were chasing after us.
But this city was big, and its labyrinthine streets gave us a good chance to lose them. Soon, we would break their line of sight and our chances of slipping away would be greater.
We barrelled through the city, sometimes careening around turns to bounce off walls or knock over carts.
“Sorry!” I yelled out to a group of children whom I narrowly trampled.
“Thank the gods for auto-pathing,” Thorm said with a grin. The wind mashed his thick mustache against his face.
I agreed. Without it, Running through this confusing jumble of buildings and streets would have driven me crazy. Simply select the next destination on the map, and our mounts took over. They would get us there eventually, but it was our job not to run over or kill anyone along the way.
When we found ourselves on a long street, I looked back.
There were players on their mounts far behind us, still in hot pursuit. Their numbers were thinning from what I could tell, but they still came. The front-runner wore a bright white cloak which flapped behind him. As long as he kept us in view he could relay our location to the others.
Thankfully, our pursuers were having the same problems as us navigating the streets.
We burst into another open square, this time with three travel gates.
“That one,” I said, but with annoyance. The gate was in direct line of sight of the street we had run down.
As we jumped through I didn't bother to check to see if we were being followed. They had to have seen the gate we entered.
We appeared on a rocky beach along a roiling ocean. Rain assailed us as a storm approached. Lightning flashed with deep rumbles of thunder.
Down the beach we rode, our mounts kicking up mud and sand. Behind us the first of the pursuing group, the white cloak, emerged from the gate and followed.
Another travel gate appeared, this one a solitary sentry against a rocky cliff. We went through.
Finally, to my great relief, we appeared within a large assembly of travel gates placed close together. A blighted desert stretched out in every direction. Shimmers of heat warped the flat horizon. Two orange suns seemed to bake our shadows into the dry ground.
“Quick!” I said and led Thorm to one of the many gates to the right.
Through that we came out within some ancient ruins in a jungle. Thick greenery enveloped the rubble of stones placed by a long forgotten people.
Six gates presented themselves.
Without hesitation we went through the next one. Then the next, and the next and the next. Each time a different setting, a different town or city, a new place.
After the twentieth gate we arrived in a little fishing village located next to a huge lake.
Thorm said, “I think we lost them, Miss Valesh.” His avatar's face was flush from the chase.
I agreed and consulted the map. “The next gate is the last one listed.”
“And after that, Wally's Womp?” asked Thorm.
A shrug was my only answer. At least it was honest.
We trotted our mounts away from the village and along the lake's shoreline. A travel gate sat upon a mound of giant rocks as if waiting for us.
Thorm stopped at the gate's base and gave me a pensive look. “I have a suggestion you will not like.”
I hadn't even heard what it was and already I didn't like it. “Suggestion?”
“I should go through first, in case there is a welcoming committee on the other side.”
“Why, do you think there might be one?”
“How do we know those guys chasing us didn't send word to Ogden that we were coming? One of them might have realized our intent from the path of gates.”
As much as I hated to admit it, he wa
s right. If this happened to be the only gate that led to Ogden's hideout then it would most likely be guarded, or watched at the very least.
But sending Thorm into a potential ambush on his own didn't sit well with me at all. Not after Mudhoof's sacrifice. I didn't want to have another friend end up in the newbie zone because I couldn't go through a gate.
Thorm sensed what I was thinking. “It will only take a moment. Once on the other side I'll send you a chat with a situation report.”
“A situation report?” I said with a rueful smile. “A girl doesn't get many of those now a days.”
Thorm waited for my response. He could have gone anyway without my blessing but he was just too darn honorable. Part of why I liked him so much. And didn't want to get him killed.
“We'll take another approach to this,” I said, and dismounted Smoke who nickered in protest.
“And that is?”
I dismissed Smoke, and the horse vanished. “I'll go with you.”
“Without your mount?” Thorm looked confused. “You will still be seen if someone is there.”
I unsheathed my sword and slipped into Shadow which, thanks to my Legendary Cloak, made me invisible.
“Don't worry. No one will see me,” I said, and jumped up onto Snowflake behind Thorm.
“Ah,” Thorm said. “That will work.”
“Just a solo Holy Knight looking for the next marker of a quest chain.”
“And if there is trouble?”
“Then we fight,” I said with determination.
“Very well,” Thorm said.
And we went through the last gate.
CHAPTER TEN
Immediately upon crossing to the other side, Thorm pulled Snowflake to a stop.
A dark marshy swamp surrounded us. Thick fog cocooned the small patch of muddy ground the gate stood upon.
Blighted trees and dead brambles appeared as murky shadows through the fog. Strange animal noises and cries undulated from all directions.
Despite the dire looking scenery, I found myself relieved.
No one was here waiting for us. We appeared to be alone.
After a few moments, Thorm quietly said, “So far so good.” He had his long kite shield pressed up against one side of us while holding Snowflake's reigns in his other hand.
The giant cat mount warbled with distress.
“Snowflake doesn't like it here. Maybe we should take that as a sign,” I whispered.
“Shall we continue?”
“Yeah, we came this far. Why not?”
Thorm guided Snowflake away from the gate platform and a short distance across the muddy grass. Then he paused.
“Problem?” I asked quickly scanning around.
“Yes, which direction do we go?”
“No idea. The route on the map ends at this gate.”
Thorm looked about at the grimness of the place. “This is Wally's Womp?”
“I guess. Well, I don't know. The cartographer at the Locators Guild couldn't really specify. He only said that this gate was one of the closest to Wally's Womp.”
“There may be other gates nearby?”
“I suppose. Why?”
“Then we may have other avenues of escape when it becomes necessary.”
There wasn't a path leading from the gate to follow. I pointed to the south, then realized, even as an ally, Thorm could not see my invisible form. “Head south and see what we can see.”
Thorm nudged Snowflake forward, and we cautiously entered the marsh. Within moments the gate vanished into the fog behind us. Only the gloomy outline of trees could be seen around.
Whether it was the potential for an ambush, or the thick fog that limited our vision, we became very jumpy. Several times we stopped and did nothing but listen. Once it became apparent we would not be immediately attacked or were being followed I dropped my invisibility.
I was about to ask Thorm to stop so I could summon Smoke when we pulled up short.
“What's this?” Thorm asked, concern tinging his voice.
Ahead of us, the fog thinned enough so details of the topography could be seen. A massive hill appeared. I noticed it was oddly shaped; wide, and rounded along its top. Almost as if we were looking at a cathedral dropped in the middle of the marsh to obstruct our progress.
As the fog dissipated more, a large path could be seen leading away from the strange hill and vanished to the west.
“Guildhall?” I whispered.
Thorm shook his head. “Doubt it. We're looking for the guildhall's gate. Aren't we?” Suddenly, Snowflake tensed up beneath us and let out a low growl.
Mounted figures emerged from the west, following the path approaching the hill.
We were far enough away, and within a thicket of bushes and dead trees, that we were not spotted right away.
I slid off Snowflake as did Thorm. Our eyes never leaving the passing forms. As we hunkered down behind the cover of a fallen tree, Thorm dismissed Snowflake with a gesture. He was too big to try to hide, even in this fog. If we were spotted, though, we could bring our mounts out in an instant.
None of the figures, numbering about a dozen, seemed to look in our direction.
“Who are they?” Thorm asked.
I tried to assess them, but came up with character information screens with blank statistics. The fog, or even magic, masked these individuals from prying eyes.
A pair of horses pulled a small wagon. Lashed to the top of the wagon sat a black statue of what looked to be a woman. One arm stretched out in front of her with a finger pointing ahead.
The group stopped directly in front of us and looked toward the odd hill. Their outlines were various, indicating a wide range of races and classes.
But one near the front caught my attention. Its form was sloping and had what looked like wings grasping at the reins of its horse mount.
Then it struck me. I knew exactly who it was.
Just then the figure turned its rounded head to speak with another rider, and I saw a small beak instead of a mouth.
Ogden Trite!
With an avatar of a huge gray owl, Ogden Trite was recognizable even at this distance. This was the individual who had tried to double cross me over the Cloak of Shadows and spitefully put the bounty on my head.
Anger blinded me and I rose up, sword in hand.
Thorm grabbed at my wrist and pulled me down. It took everything I had not to strike out at him, but did not resist.
“There are too many, Vivian,” he said, tone firm. “No need to commit suicide when we now have the advantage.”
“Advantage?” I hissed. “How do you figure we have that?” Getting my anger under control was difficult considering my tormentor was a short sprint away.
Thorm released my arm, and calmly said, “We know we're in the right place, now. Before it was just speculation. Let us bide our time, at least for a little while longer, and try to learn more.”
The rational part of my brain wrestled with the animal aggression which howled for revenge. But Thorm was correct. We had Ogden now. There would be no more hiding. If I wanted to end this once and for all, it wouldn't be gained from rushing at him here. But I wanted to. Badly.
I glared at Ogden from the safety of our hiding spot. There was small satisfaction to be gained knowing he was unaware of our presence, and that I could kill him now. But it would be both suicidal and, most likely, unsuccessful.
Ogden had surrounded himself with a large cadre of guards. No doubt, because he knew I would be out to get him. Another small bit of satisfaction.
Still, he only had me to be concerned about, while I, on the other hand, had a blood-thirsty subset of the server's population out to get me.
“What is he waiting for?” I asked.
Thorm shrugged. “That hill is strange, maybe-.” Before he could finish, Ogden stopped speaking to his companion and raised a wing above his head. A signal.
Suddenly, the hill before us moved.
The vast object heaved upwa
rds as if forced from below by tectonic forces. The sound of cracking rock and earth filled the air, blotting out the natural noises of the marsh.
