The Quest

by Linton Bowers

  After a few seconds, the leopard cat-man ran up to his cell, unlocked and threw open the door, then ran off to the next cell.

  “Go,” Cane shouted. “Go you fool!”

  Actaeon sprang to his feet and ran. Ahead of him, slaves of all shapes and sizes sprinted down the corridor. He followed the line out onto the arena field. The slaves in front of him assembled in lines. Unsure of where to go Actaeon slowed.

  Hands grabbed the back of his tattered tunic and pulled. “This way, lad,” Cane said from behind. His friend stopped in line pulling Actaeon to stand next to him. Two ranks of slaves stood between them and a lone figure standing with his hands behind his back. He watched until the last slave stopped moving.

  The lone figure was an imposing man with broad shoulders and a thin waist. His chest and arms were thick with lean muscle. Sunlight glinted off his shaved brown head.

  “I expect you to move faster after a day of playing in the arena followed by a night’s rest. Do not disappoint me again,” the lone figure said. “you are all fortunate that I was entertained yesterday. Had that not been the case I would be taking my boredom out on your hides. As such, I chose to invest my time today into making you better so that I may be amused once again come next games.”

  The man began pacing back and forth in front of the assembly. “Before we begin I wish to evaluate our new recruit. While he did survive it was more from luck than any skill.” He stopped and faced the slaves. “Come stand before me!” He pulled a whip from his belt and cracked it once.

  “Go!” Cane hissed.

  Actaeon left his spot and ran to the man. He didn't think disobedience would serve him at that time. The bald man looked him up and down. Then for a split second, his eyes shown.

  “Welcome to my playground, newbie. I am the slave training master here,

  Leviticus. Should you live a long time then we will be working together for the duration of your miserable life. Should you die in the near future then you better do so in a spectacular fashion. No slave trainee of mine goes out in anything short of a blaze of glory. Am I correct in assuming that you were a mere level one before your debacle with the demon?” The bald man asked.

  “Yes,” Actaeon said. He made a point to meet the man’s eyes.

  The corner of his mouth twitched up. “From level one to five in one go. Impressive. You must know that from now on I expect nothing short of your best effort. Should that prove insufficient then you will give me more. Am I understood?”

  “Yeah.”

  The whip cracked. “You will respond with a simple yes or no. Your voice will be thick with respect when you address me. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes,” Actaeon replied.

  “Good. Now comes your next test.” He looked over Actaeon's right shoulder. “Tanveer, step forward and bring two practice swords.”

  The assembled slaves broke their silence with a chorus of murmurs. Tanveer's name could be heard mentioned in several conversations. Actaeon wondered how powerful this Tanveer must be to inspire that much attention.

  “Silence!” The whip wielding man shouted.

  A tall woman with green skin and two tusks sticking out of her mouth approached. Her slave rags were in much better shape than that of any other slave he had seen so far. She even sported a few bits of armor plating.

  “A half orc?” Actaeon asked. “There weren’t any orcs in the old game.” He couldn't help but stare at the anomaly.

  The half orc Tanveer tossed a practice sword at Actaeon. He almost didn't catch it.

  “I suggest you pay attention to the task at hand and stop leering human!” Her face flushed with anger as she spoke. I am not some sex object to be gawked at.”

  “No, I…”

  “Enough!” The whipman interrupted. “Now is the time to fight, not talk. Get to it!” He stepped back giving the combatants space.

  The slaves moved to encircle the pair but kept their distance from the slave master. The green skinned warrior stood still with her wooden sword held at her side pointing down. Actaeon was unsure if he should attack first. While he was used to killing female NPCs in the old game this felt different, and the fact that she was hot didn’t help either.

  He took a moment to drink in the warrior. He told himself he was sizing her up for battle and not checking out her figure. She was thick with muscle but not so much to be grotesque. She was well proportioned with a small waist, nice hips and an ample chest for a woman in such great shape.

  “If you do not stop gawking and start attacking I will attack you myself,” Leviticus said.

  “Ahh!” Actaeon charged with his sword held high. The woman didn't move until he was upon her. In one swift and fluid motion, she grabbed his wrist and spun. She used his momentum to flip him onto his back. Then she let go and backed off.

  You take 5% damage.

  Actaeon jumped to his feet. He ignored the pain in his head from landing skull first on the compact dirt. He spun to face Tanveer. She had moved back about five feet. Her sword lay on the ground at her feet and her hands were raised showing they were empty.

  Rage flooded his system at the insult. She thought she was so much better than him that she didn’t even need a weapon. He was going to show her how wrong she was.

  He closed the distance between them with slow steady steps. When he was within striking distance he swung his blade horizontally from left to right and back. Tanveer jumped back dodging both swings. He lunged trying to hit her with the point of his wooden blade.

  Tanveer smacked the flat of his blade with the back of her hand. The blade went wide. She stepped in close. Her fist connected with Actaeon’s jaw. Then another to his solar plexus knocking the wind out of him. As he reflexively bent forward she met his chin with an uppercut. Actaeon’s legs gave out and darkness took him.

  CHAPTER 11

  Cold water splashed over Actaeon’s face and chest. He sat up and inhaled a shocked breath.

  “You were taking too long to wake,” said a husky female voice.

  He looked to his right and saw Tanveer crouched down holding an empty wooden bucket. If the bucket wasn’t incriminating enough she wore a huge grin on her face. He wondered briefly how she managed to kiss anyone with those two-inch tusks sticking up from the sides of her lower lip.

  “That wasn’t nice,” Actaeon said. He coughed up some water that was in his throat.

  She dropped her smile and tilted her head to the side. “Which part?” Tanveer asked.

  “Should I make a list? How about the part where you dumped cold water on me. Or when you humiliated me by dropping your sword and opening a can of whoop ass on me? I’ll let you pick,” Actaeon snapped.

  “I had thought you a warrior. albeit untrained and weak warrior, but a warrior nonetheless. Now that I hear you whining like a child I have to rethink that. How did you manage to beat a demon lord?”

  “I had help,” Actaeon replied.

  “Yes, two others of yourself. It still doesn’t make much sense to me,” she replied.

  “Really just one other. Though the first clone dying did distract the demon enough to give us the time we needed.”

  Tanveer narrowed her eyes and nodded. “I suppose he did. Come,” she stood and offered a hand up. Actaeon took it and she helped pull him to his feet. “I have been given the task of training you.”

  “Really?” Actaeon couldn’t help but smile. He envisioned a training montage in which he grew stronger and and his relationship with Tanveer grew closer. He could picture them falling into each other's arms at the end of his montage and making sweet, sweet…

  The slap across his face ended the day dream. Actaeon rubbed his sore cheek and glared at the green woman.

  “You will stop dreaming and pay attention. From this moment on you will not do anything unless I will it. Understood?” Tanveer asked.

  After a few seconds, her hand lashed out striking his other cheek.

  “What the fuck?” Actaeon raised his fists to fight.


  Tanveer glared at him. “That is the last time you will raise your hands to strike me. Do it again and I will kill you.” The calm way in which she spoke was more frightening than the threat. But Cane’s warning about death being permanent did come in second.

  He had a thought. “Maybe you should kill me. That way I can roll a new character and maybe start somewhere else,” Actaeon said.

  Tanveer’s eye went wide. “You still think this is a game?” She smacked him again. The hit was hard enough to send a loud thwack echoing through the arena. “Did that feel like a game? Use what little brain cells you have and think,” she was shouting now. “What game developer would make a game that felt like this?” She smacked him again to bring home her point. “Players would log out immediately and demand a refund. This is not a game! Your mind was transported here and placed in a new body. Same as mine and that of every slave here. We are not non-player characters. We are all living breathing people, just like you.”

  Tanveer raised her hand to slap him again. Actaeon flinched and blinked away tears. A look that could only be pity crossed her face. Her hand lowered back to her side.

  “Take a few moments to collect yourself then come back here ready to begin,” she said. He watched her hips move from side to side as she walked away. The gentle rocking helped to focus his mind.

  Off to his left was a weapons rack that contained wooden and metal weapons. Next to the wood and steel stand were several buckets with long handles sticking up out of them. That had to be drinking water.

  Actaeon approached the buckets and saw a clear liquid in them. He pulled the handle free and brought the ladle to his face. A sniff revealed no scent so he put it to his lips and drank.

  The water was cool and refreshing. He dipped the ladle again and took another swig.

  You have drunk The Waters of Life. You become refreshed. Your stats increased by ten percent for twenty minutes. You gain a boost to experience points received by ten percent for one hour. Does not stack.

  “Wow!” Actaeon wiped his forearm across his mouth. The old game contained a multitude of stat boosting potions, but nothing like this. The buckets made him think the water came from a well or some sort of spring. What else came from nature in this place?

  “I would put that back if I were you.” Came an unfamiliar masculine voice.

  Actaeon looked over his shoulder at the speaker. A short guy covered from head to tail in scales looked up past his toothy snout. “The guards will usually give you a hard time from drinking more than once a day from that bucket. If you still require some drink you should move to those.”

  Actaeon saw the buckets in question. They were similar to the one he had drunk from except for one detail. Those had metal bands holding the wooden slats together. While the one he drank from had wooden bands.

  “The Water of Life is negatively affected by metal, or so we are told.”

  “Thanks for the info,” Actaeon said. “Forgive me for being forward, but are you…”

  “A Kobold,” he interrupted. “Yeah. Taken from my home via VR headgear same as you.”

  “I’m…”

  “Actaeon. I know. The slave pens are all a buzz about the new guy. Congrats on living through your first fight. That scenario is tough for seasoned fighters.”

  “Thanks for the advice.” The kobold's habit of finishing his sentences was getting old. Still, it was better to make friends than enemies. “What do I call you?”

  “The name is Oralcumester. But my friends call me Al. You can call me Al,” he said. His lips parted to reveal large sharp teeth that made Actaeon wonder if he was going to latch onto Actaeon’s leg and drag him into some brackish water and do a death roll.

  “It's a pleasure to meet you, Al.” Actaeon offered his hand to shake.

  “Ah, from a planet where the species greet by shaking hands. Here do this.” Al grabbed Actaeon's forearm in a way that put Actaeon’s open hand on Al’s forearm. Then the creature pumped up and down once. “That is how it is done in this world. If you plan on surviving it would be good to learn the local customs.”

  “When I said to collect yourself I did not think you would take that to mean socialize.”

  Actaeon turned and smiled at Tanveer. “Forgive me, Teacher. Al here was simply informing me about our beverage choices. It seems that I may have spent too much time enjoying The Waters of Life.” He hoped killing her with kindness would win enough brownie points to keep her from wrecking him. There was already enough evidence to presume that Tanveer may be a strict and demanding taskmaster.

  “Now that you have been informed it is time to become educated. Come.” She spun on her heels and marched away. That was when Actaeon noticed the two long spears she carried with wooden tips.

  “Good luck with her as your instructor,” Al said.

  “What does that mean?” Actaeon asked.

  Al’s response was to just laugh as he walked away. Actaeon let out a long sigh. He took a deep breath to steel himself then set out after Tanveer.

  CHAPTER 12

  Larion sat on a rock staring out over the sheep in his care.

  “Larion! Larion!” He turned to see Evelina running up the hill. He waved and smiled.

  “Hi, Larion,” she said. She reached him and took a seat next to him.

  The rock was barely big enough for him but somehow she managed to get herself seated and once again intrude on his personal space. Not that he minded. She was one of the most beautiful girls in the village. His only problem was that she insisted they were long lost siblings.

  “Hi Eve, what brings you up this way?” He asked.

  “Did you hear about the merchant?” She was so excited she seemed to vibrate.

  “No, what merchant? We're not due for a traveling merchant for at least a month or two.”

  “He is here now! His wagon pulled into the village this morning. He is staying at the inn to get some rest, but says he will be open for business first thing in the morning. I can’t wait to see what he has. Do you think he has books? I really need a new book. My copy of Big Adventures in a Small Village is falling apart.”

  “Do you require air like the rest of us?” Larion chuckled. “You just belted that out without stopping. You truly are amazing.”

  Eveline grew quiet and looked away. He had told her before his interests were more in line with a suitor than a pseudo sibling. Every time she reacted the same.

  “I didn't mean it that way,” Larion said. “ I was simple commenting on your ability to say a lot with one breath.”

  “I know,” she said. Her mind had already gone to the topic she wished to avoid. Larion found himself wishing she would have just agreed to court him and made both their lives easier.

  Larion’s heart sunk. “What makes this merchant so special that you had to run up here and inform me of him?”

  “Oh!” Eve looked up. “His wagon is what. It is the biggest merchant wagon I have ever seen. He must have so many wonderful things in there. I can not wait to see what he has, Larion.”

  “Ah, I see. That is exciting. I wonder if he has any alchemy reagents? I have used all I can find in the area to grow my skills as high as they can go. My current recipes will not yield any more experience. I need new recipes and reagents.” Larion rubbed his chin.

  “How can he not? He probably has a couple alchemy trainers hidden away in his wagon!”

  Larion laughed. “Ok, I will meet you in the village tomorrow morning. We will see what he has. Is that what you want to hear?” Larion asked.

  “Like you have to ask.” She landed a playful punch on his shoulder.

  “Hey! Oh crap.” Larion stood. “Patty! Get back here, patty.!” He looked down at Eve. “Sorry, Eve, but I have to go. This damn sheep is going to be the death of me.” Larion ran off in pursuit of his troublesome charge.

  CHAPTER 13

  Tanveer tossed one of her long spears at Actaeon when he was a few feet from her. He caught it by the shaft with the tip pointing up.

>   “This is my weapon of choice and for now it is your weapon of choice,” Tanveer said. “Training starts by unlocking the skill, then developing real techniques.”

  “Can’t we just level up my skill and make me strong that way?” Actaeon asked.

  “We could do that. But you will just be an idiot jabbing a pointed stick until you get enough tries to land a blow and do damage. This way you learn to fight and do not rely on chance to land a powerful strike. Enough talk for now. I appreciate questions as they sharpen the mind as much as the skill, but if we do not act all we manage to do is sharpen our tongues. Now, mirror my movements.”

  She started by stepping forward and thrusting her staff at an imaginary opponent. Her eyes shifted from the invisible assailant to Actaeon. One eyebrow rose.

  “Oh right,” he said.

  Actaeon stepped forward and thrust his spear in the same way she had, or so he thought. Her other eyebrow rose and both eyes opened wide. Then her mouth fell open.

  “What?” Actaeon asked. He felt heat in his cheeks from embarrassment.

  “How in the seven hells did you manage to survive your fight if you can not mimic basic movements?” She said.

  “What are you talking about? I did what you did.”

  She chuckled. “Remain still. I will show you just how wrong you are.” Tanveer stood erect and pointed the business end of her spear up. She circled Actaeon once looking at him like a hawk would stare down its prey as it dove for the kill.

  With ease, she tapped Actaeon on the shoulder. His precarious position gave way and he fell over. There was a moment when he tried to save himself. He wobbled back and forth as his muscles fired trying to stabilize his position. But they failed.

  Actaeon tumbled over. The spear rolled away as his shoulder hit the packed dirt. Tanveer remained silent for a moment. It wasn’t till he looked up at her that she lost it. Raucous laughter burst from her lips.

  “When exactly did you see me so unstable that I simply fell over when a breeze hit me?” Tanveer asked. “You did not see me in such a state.” She said without giving him a chance to respond. “Get up and I will show you.”