“No, thank you.” I waved my arms. “I’m too lazy, for starters, and I’ll get dirty. I just won’t, basically.”
The skeleton lowered his arms. “What do you mean, you won’t? By what right?”
“No right in particular,” I said. “I just don’t want to.”
The skeleton tramped in place, as the situation was clearly not one his creators had designed him for. I highly doubted that any other players had knelt down as he ordered, but figured that they’d all probably just run at him waving their weapons instead. That’s what he was coded to deal with. But conversations were not in his arsenal.
“How are you doing, by the way?” I decided to finish the job. “How are things? Your joints, they don’t creak too much? Does the weather bother you?”
The skeleton stopped tramping and looked at me again. “Maybe you can just kneel down?” he said tentatively. “It’s the way things are done…”
“What way are you talking about?” I asked. “I’m a citizen of a different country, so I’m not under your jurisdiction. Your complaints are completely unfounded.”
“But, did you pick the flower?” the skeleton asked litigiously. “It grows in my lands!”
“Where is that written?”
“It doesn’t need to be written anywhere; everyone knows that!” The skeleton threw up his arms.
“Right, so all of Fayroll knows that the sovereign of a pile of stones and one flower is a skeleton.”
“Landlord Drauh!” he clarified grumpily.
You unlocked Names of Evil, Level 1.
To get it, convince 9 more representatives of Evil to tell you their names voluntarily.
Reward:
Seeker, a passive ability, Level 1: 0.5% to your chances of unlocking hidden quests by understanding the importance of objects
Title: Unmasker
To see similar messages, go to the Action section of the attribute window.
“Okay then, Landlord Drauh,” I said, very pleased with myself. Getting an action out of nowhere was always nice. It was like finding 100 rubles—it isn’t much, but for the rest of the day you’re in a great mood.
This really is pretty funny, I thought. A person standing here arguing about something with a skeleton. If I happened across this situation, I’d definitely think about drinking less. Seriously…
“Fine!” The skeleton assumed a battle stance. “I’ll ask you for the last time, will you accept my harsh, if fair, judgment of your own free will?”
“I’d rather not,” I said, slinging my shield onto my arm and pulling out my sword. “I question its competence and impartiality. Though, I don’t doubt there will be a sentencing.”
“Correct.” The skeleton ground forward and brought his sword down on me from above. I caught it with my own sword. At the same time, he tried to get under my shield with his dagger but failed there as well.
I knocked his sword away and took a couple steps backward. The dead landlord stuck his sword and dagger out in front of him and inched toward me.
“You, Comrade Landlord, are as petty as you are vindictive,” I said, keeping my eye fixed on him.
“Well, I have to keep an eye on you living folk constantly. Turn your back for a second, and you’ll tear up anything—flowers, stones—that isn’t nailed down.”
“Oh, come on. Why do you need all this? You’re dead!”
“So? It’s still mine. A-a-ah!”
He sprang at me again. This time he wasn’t so lucky, as I pricked his right side with the point of my sword after knocking away his blow. Or was it his bone? Anyway, I got his right side, also taking the time to shout “In Passing!” The strike went straight through, though I couldn’t tell if the ability added force. One way or another, it didn’t look like his health dropped by that much.
We traded a few more blows, though this time, I missed my chance and he grazed me with his dagger. Then, after another series of attacks, I broke through his defense with Bloodletting. I thought that was odd. What blood did a skeleton have to let? We kept fighting.
“That’s it, mortal, I’m tired of you! It’s time for you to die!” He tried once more to break down my defenses with the same move he’d been using. This time, I caught his sword with my sword, as usual, but I brought my shield down on his dagger. My trick was successful, and the dagger clattered out of his hand. I immediately brought my shield back up to crunch against his jaw, landing blow after blow to push him back from where the dagger was laying. The skeleton tried to parry my strikes, but a few still landed. Then I saw my opening.
“Sword of Retribution!” I thrust straight through his ribcage.
The skeleton’s health dropped lower than low; I couldn’t even see the red. I decided to strike while the iron was hot and raised my sword to finish him off.
“Wait, mortal,” the skeleton mumbled. “Maybe we could come to an agreement?”
“About what?”
“Well, I could tell you where I hid my treasure. Or share a secret with you!”
“What secret?” I was intrigued and let me sword drop.
“I didn’t become this way on my own. I was made undead by a powerful witch named…”
The skeleton’s jaw dropped away from his skull. His bones collapsed in a pile. Damn it. Bloodletting killed him! Apparently, the bony fellow had a quest, and probably a big one. Damn.
I rummaged through the landlord’s temporal remains to find a few gold coins, some bones, a rusty sword that wasn’t even blue, and… What is that?”
Dead Landlord’s Crown
Quest item
It cannot be stolen, lost, or broken.
It can be sold or given away.
It is not lost when the owner dies.
Huh. So, the crown has a quest, too. What a doubly interesting undead fellow. It’s a shame I didn’t get anything good from him. Where’s the kneepad? The belt? At least I have the crown—maybe somebody will give me a quest for it, or I’ll come across it later.
I pulled up my map and looked to see how far it was to the pirates’ lair. It turned out to be less than a ten-minute stroll away by my estimation, so I set off briskly in that direction.
My stride was steady, I wasn’t afraid of anything, and I didn’t even stop to take more care when I heard voices up ahead. I was king of the world.
“Well, look at this, brothers, who do we have here?” A bearded pirate stepped out from behind some bushes to my right.
“Probably some idiot from the Royal Guard,” said a second pirate, this one pushing out of the bushes on my left.
“Oh, stop it, Gromio,” said a half-elf with a bow on his shoulder who slid down out of a tree right in front of me. “What Royal Guard? Didn’t you hear him traipsing through the forest? How did you miss the crashing and cracking? He’s just an idiot in the wrong place at the wrong time. And it’ll cost him his life.”
That was a lesson for me—no more thinking I was king of the world. I did have one option left, and I hoped it would work.
The pirates with their knives circled me on either side. The half-elf started taking his bow off his shoulder.
“You have thirty seconds at most,” I said to myself before turning around and sprinting back in the direction I’d come from. I didn’t get very far before the eighth arrow killed me; not more than 500 meters. The half-elf fired quickly and accurately.
The world around me spun in circles, and I found myself back in Mettan—in my underwear. There was some kind of person sitting next to the headstone. He was smoking and apparently contemplating eternity.
“PKers?” he asked me philosophically as he looked me up and down.
“Bots,” I answered succinctly.
“It happens.” The soulless smoker continued smoking his pipe.
I quickly ran over to the hotel more than in a hurry. The girl behind the counter jumped and stared at me when I dashed in. What would you have done if someone in their underwear ran in yelling something?
I barked an order. “Gi
ve me the key!”
“Here, room number nine,” stammered the brown-haired beauty named…What was it? Jacqueline!
“Thanks!” And off I ran up the stairs.
Once in my room, I grabbed one of the sets of clothing and a mace Fat Willie gave me way back when then sprinted back down the stairs.
“You’re leaving already?” The squeak in Jacqueline’s voice told me that she was really scared by this time.
“Things to do, my dear!” I yelled back over my shoulder.
I flew out the city gates and dashed along a path I’d come to know so well, just at a speed I was less accustomed to. I ran without caring about the branches lashing my face. Did I have a choice? I had to get there before some adventurer did, or all my beautiful possessions would be crying hot tears of anguish without me. Not all of them, of course, as I still had the ring with me, but everything else…
If I’d tried to run that far in real life, I’d have probably died. In the game, however, I was fine. Not far from my destination, I stopped and crept forward more cautiously. I moved from tree to tree, getting closer to where I figured my things were laying.
When I saw the half-elf just before I died, I realized immediately that I was screwed. If they killed me right there, what I had with me would probably be lost. The NPCs wouldn’t take them, but sooner or later some other player would come, kill the trio, and get what I’d left. I decided to run as far as I could, realizing that I’d have a chance to come back when the gang went back to their camp. I didn’t get far, but still…
My things were laying on the grass. Oddly enough, that was the first time I’d seen what the remains of a dead player looked like. There was a transparent cocoon with all my possessions inside it like some kind of suitcase. I laid prone on the grass and crawled forward, doing my best to not make a sound and expecting to be hit with an arrow at any second.
When I got to the cocoon, I poked it with my finger and saw my things fall out on the grass—noiselessly, thank God. I quickly and quietly stuffed it all in my sack before crawling back where I came from. Five hundred meters later, I crouched and continued on just as quietly until I got to the ruins at Ainville, where I changed, sat down behind a rock, and thought about what to do next. I certainly didn’t want to give up on the quest, since I wouldn’t get the cutlass if I did. And, judging by the fact that it was a tough quest, I figured the cutlass would be pretty good or at least unusual. But I also didn’t want to just keep dying time after time.
I opened my map, scrolled over to the red area, and took a closer look at it. On one side, I noticed a marsh.
“Oh, that’s good,” I said aloud. “That’s very good. Well, it’s wet, dirty, and putrid, but it’s also good.”
I figured the devious pirates probably set guards on all the roads, but they very well may not have had anyone watching the marsh. Maybe that was the way to go? I certainly didn’t want to, but I was beyond that at that point. First, however, I had to finish things up with the herbalist. I checked to see what else I needed to find and set out to look for it.
A half-hour later, I was knocking on Marion’s door.
“Oh, wanderer,” she said with an odd smile. “Did you find the plants?”
“Sure did,” I said. “Here they are.”
Surprise flashed across the herbalist’s eyes. “And the black crabon?”
“That, too. It wasn’t easy, as I came across someone there, but we hammered out our differences, and he gave me the plant.”
“You fought the landlord?” Marion asked incredulously.
I nodded. “And killed him.”
“Wow. Well, give me the herbs.” She reached out her hand.
You completed a quest: Herbs for Marion.
Task: Collect herbs for Marion.
Reward:
500 experience
+10% to your reputation with Marion
“That reward is too small for someone who killed the landlord,” the herbalist said. “I’d like to give you one of my most powerful potions, though you need to decide which one you want. Let’s take a walk around the house.”
Yet another choice; I went along behind her to see what she’d offer.
We walked over to a sideboard standing in the corner, and Marion pulled out a sling equipped to hold five beakers already in their holders and a lone flask with a bright scarlet-colored liquid in it.
“See for yourself, warrior. Here,” she said, giving the belt a shake, “are five strength potions. They give you another quarter of your normal strength for an hour when you drink them.”
“And the sling?” I asked.
Marion nodded and continued, showing me a flask with a blue liquid.
“This is a potion, also for strength, only it gives you a permanent boost. Unfortunately, I don’t know how much the boost is. I’m sorry. It could double your strength, or it could barely move the needle. Pick which one you want.”
I didn’t even need to take time to think.
“The one that’s permanent, of course.”
Marion raised her eyebrows. “If you don’t mind me asking, why is that?”
“It’s not a secret. I’ll go through five potions quickly, no matter how good they are. This one, however, will stay with me forever. Even if it gives me just one point, I can keep that point. You have lots of strength over there, but it’s borrowed.”
“Good choice, warrior. I think you’re right. Here.”
The herbalist handed me the flask, and I quickly drank it.
You drank Strong as a Bear, a rare potion, and gained 8 strength.
“Well, happy?” Marion smiled at me.
“Thank you,” I said with a bow. “That wasn’t a potion; it was a dream come true. Oh, don’t forget that you promised to tell me about the captain.”
“Everyone who wanders off into the forest without their memory sooner or later finds themselves in the marsh with the vilas. Look for your friends there.”
“Vilas?”
“The materialized souls of girls unlucky enough to die of true love. They aren’t aggressive, but be very careful about making them angry.”
“I’m already afraid of them. Are you talking about the marsh over there?” I waved in the direction of the marsh I was headed to next.
Marion nodded her head. “Yes.”
“Got it. All right, I’m off. Thank you.”
“And thank you, too. Mm…wanderer. Oh, wait!”
I turned. “What?”
“Did you find anything when you killed the landlord? Maybe a symbol of power?” There was a strange ring to her voice.
“His crown. Why?”
“Nothing, don’t worry about it. Take care of yourself.”
Marion, clearly turning something over in her mind, went back inside and closed the door.
“Interesting…weird.” I shook my head, checked the map, and walked off toward the marsh.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Vilas
There wasn’t really anything to say about the marsh. A marsh is a marsh. Some kind of annoying insect buzzed around incessantly, gasses bubbled and stank, and snakes occasionally slithered by, drawing lines in the muddy water. A nasty place.
I pulled up my map every minute or two to make sure I didn’t miss the place I figured the pirates’ camp would be. At the same time, I kept my head on a swivel looking for the vilas whose voluptuousness took out Captain Gul and his sailors. I wondered what they looked like…
A few seconds later, my question was answered. A slender womanly figure with blonde curls, flowing clothes, and wings on her back sprang out from under my feet.
“Whoa!” I lost my footing and fell backward into the water.
Laughter rang out as the flying beauty soared over the top of me. “You’re so fu-u-unny!” Her sonorous voice giggled, and her wings flapped, drawing out the sound.
“I’m wet and dirty,” I muttered. “And all thanks to you. What did you have to jump up from under me like that for?”
“It’s fun!” The hovering girl’s nose scrunched up. “Where are you going?”
“I’m looking for some friends of mine,” I said. “A brave captain and three sailors. Have you seen them?”
“A captain and three sailors? Well…what if I have?” The adorable girl again scrunched up her nose.
“Would you mind telling me where?” I asked smoothly.
“What’s in it for me?”
“What would you like?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” The vila thoughtfully twirled one of her curls. “Maybe you’ll marry me?”
“Doubtful,” I said with a cough.
“Why? Am I ugly?” A change came over the vila’s eyes. While they were blue, to begin with, crimson flashed across them.
I started before responding with complete sincerity. “No, of course not! You’re incredibly beautiful. It’s me, not you.”
“What’s wrong with you?” The crimson faded from her eyes and the happy tone returned to her voice. “Are you sick?”
“Yes,” I confirmed hurriedly. “I was cursed. Not completely, but there.”
“Where?”
“Well, there.” I glanced down with my eyes.
“Completely cursed?” The vila’s eyes filled with tears. Her full lips quivered.
Come on, girl, what an idiot you are, I thought. Just listen to the tale I’m about to spin for you. Get ready for the waterworks.
“Completely. I once loved a girl, and she loved me, too. But you know how it goes, A powerful wizard took a liking to her. He needed to get rid of me, so he put a curse on me so I wouldn’t be able to, you know…” I sadly shook my head as if in disappointment at my poor luck.
“You po-o-or thing.” The vila flew down and took me by the hand. “Who would do such a thing… And what about the girl?”
“What about her? She said she didn’t need someone ‘unproductive’ like me.”
“Someone what?” The vila obviously didn’t know the word.
“Unable to reproduce, put it that way…”
“I understand. What a horrid creature!”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I said. “And now my only hope is to find Captain Gul.”
More Than a Game Page 29
