Team Newb

by M Helbig

  Decrona pulled up a map overlay in front of her for us to see. “If we follow the path indicated here by swigging farther west for a bit to get around the village, and then head northeast, we should be able to get back to the quest NPC in about an hour. It should take us another half hour to get back to the inn, which would put us eating dinner by 6:15, only fifteen minutes later than I predicted. Not bad, if I do say so myself.”

  Alizia walked through the map overlay and crossed her arms. “Does this calculation include the five seconds it’ll take to give me my headdress?”

  Decrona began walking forward. “That can come when we’re out of danger.”

  Alizia grabbed Decrona’s shoulder and pulled her back. “Ohhhh, no. We’re not going to be in any more danger in the five seconds it takes you to give it to me. Now hand it over.”

  “Technically the Vice-Shaman won, and since he’s not in the group, the item should be put on the auction house with the proceeds divided among the group.”

  Olaf moved in between them. “Honor dictates—”

  Alizia summoned a piece of paper and looked it over; however, she quickly put it away when a deafening howl echoed across the plateau. The lone howl became a chorus, and with each new repetition the sound seemed to get closer. Alizia and Decrona quickly agreed to a wordless truce, as a trio of Uni-Jackals bounded in. They weren’t terribly difficult—as long as you made sure to avoid their horn charge—and we made short work of them.

  Unfortunately, their truce ended when the last jackal fell. With the added distraction of Alizia’s arguments, Decrona repeatedly led us into pack after pack of Uni-Jackals and winged eyeballs called Eye Flies. The trip, which had only taken us fifteen minutes before, took nearly two hours. After a particularly hairy fight where Alizia missed dodging an Eye Fly’s “Eye Gaze” stun ability and nearly died, she stomped forward and looked like she was going to finally take her frustration out on Decrona, but before she could bring her club down, she found a shimmering sword blade touching her neck.

  “Attacking a defenseless groupmate can get you killed where I’m from, giantess,” the paladin said.

  “But we’re not in some paladin’s hall,” Alizia said weakly. “And she’s not defenseless; her weapon is false words and smug jerkiness.”

  The paladin raised her visor. “A matter for the courts to settle, not for clubs and fist.”

  Alizia’s club faded in a puff. “Not a bad idea. I think I saw one of those near the palace. We’ll go there tomorrow, and I’ll sue Deccy’s pants off.”

  “That’s hardly necessary, Alizia,” Decrona said. “We can talk about this after we both have a belly full of stew at the inn. I find a full belly always leads to calmer heads.”

  “Sue your pants off and then your shoes.”

  “Later. Right now, we’ve more important things.” The puff of smoke in Decrona’s hand faded to reveal the Ring of Love.

  The paladin sheathed her sword and dropped to her knees in one smooth motion. A flood of tears poured out. “You found it! Now I can finally be reunited with my beloved.”

  Alizia’s hardened face melted, and she held her hand over her heart. “Oh, her beloved! How did you meet? What’s he like? Does he have any brothers? Are they cute?”

  “They look like NPCs,” Olaf said flatly.

  Decrona pulled the ring just out of the paladin’s reach. “Do you have something for us?”

  The paladin wiped the tears from her eyes. “Of course. My apologies.” She unstrapped her shield and handed it to Decrona in exchange for the ring.

  Quest: It’s Not Your Preciousssssss, but It Is Shiny and a Ring

  Description: You have returned the lost engagement ring to the fallen paladin, Velfantine, after “borrowing” it from its most recent owner, the very dead Ssssteve. As reward, she has given you her shield. You might want to wipe her tears of joy off it first before using it, though.

  Completion Objective: Find Velfantine’s ring and return it to her.

  Reward: Battered Shield, 8,000 EXP, 1 gold, 5 silver

  You have gained 8,000 Experience Points and a new Level!

  Welcome to Level 5! 656/25,000 to next level.

  You have received 2 stat points on leveling!

  You have gained 17 Hit Points on leveling! 85/85 HP Total.

  You have gained 4 Magic Points on leveling! 20/20 MP Total.

  You have gained 8 Action Points on leveling! 40/40 AP Total.

  You have received 1 gold and 5 silver.

  You have received the loot: Battered Shield.

  Decrona has received the loot: Battered Shield.

  Alizia has received the loot: Battered Shield.

  Olaf has received the loot: Battered Shield.

  You have received +50 Faction with Highwall. +250 Highwall (Cordial).

  Item: Battered Shield

  Restrictions: Block Skill Required

  Slot: Off-Hand

  Rarity: Unusual

  AC: 6

  Stat Bonus: +2 STA

  Weight: 10 Pebbles

  Description: It’s seen some use, but it also hasn’t ever broken—an important feature in a thing you’re counting on to keep that angry troll or angrier ex (probably not the same person?) from doing you harm.

  Decrona glowed from leveling as well. Alizia and Olaf offered their congratulations. As excited as I was to gain a new level, I was more excited about my new shield.

  Since I evidently couldn’t equip a weapon in my left hand, I immediately tried to strap it on. With the amount of damage I’d been taking since joining the group, I really needed more Armor Class. I tried to slide my arm under the strap, but as soon as it got halfway, it was like I hit some sort of invisible barrier. After my third unsuccessful attempt, I looked at the item description again and noticed “Block Skill Required.” I wasn’t sure how to get that skill unless I was supposed to keep hitting the invisible barrier on a bunch of different shields until it unlocked.

  “No, no,” Decrona said. “You can’t use it until you hit level five and pick a class with that skill.”

  My face momentarily reddened until I realized she was talking to Olaf. He stared at the ground in embarrassment as the shield poofed into his inventory. I did the same with mine. The paladin abruptly climbed the large rock again and resumed staring off into the distance. Her shield reappeared on her arm a few seconds later.

  As the rest of the group started walking away, Olaf saw the questioning look on my face and laughed. “She stays here for a set amount of time so that other people can also complete her quest. Once that time elapses, she’ll go off and be reunited with her love. So, happy ending for all—both her and all the players on the quest.”

  Decrona turned to the group. “Now that we’re done here, I will need complete silence to navigate us back safely through the dangerous animals in this area. Don’t worry, I promise to address Alizia’s grievance later, after we’ve all had supper back at the inn. Agreed?”

  Alizia’s only response was to scowl at Decrona which she took as agreement. Decrona summoned her map overlay and turned around. We made our way through the plateau without incident. Amazingly, Alizia left Decrona alone to guide us through the dangerous plateau.

  I assumed she’d given up on getting the headdress, but as soon as the last Uni-Jackal faded in the distance, she immediately resumed her assault. Decrona responded much like my mom did when I was a kid and being extra bratty by completely ignoring her—quite the feat, considering Alizia was being so loud that the guards at the city’s gate drew their blades as soon as we got within earshot. Fortunately, they put their weapons back in their sheaths when we got closer (though that was likely so they could free their hands to cover their ears). I was quite confident that Alizia would’ve continued all the way back to the inn and through dinner, but she stopped when I shouted in alarm.

  We Fight for Some of the Marbles

  Ten feet away, I was faced with a balding head bordered with a sprinkling of red hair. Every fiber of my
being screamed “Nyytro.” My confidence faded considerably when most of the people in the crowded outdoor marketplace turned to stare at me, doubly so when my group members joined in. My target did not, as he was too absorbed in haggling with a fat merchant. Before I could find out if I was right, two extremely well-armed guards pushed through the crowd toward me.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” the taller guard said.

  I pointed at the bald head. “That man killed my dad.”

  “You’re an adventurer,” the taller guard said, “which can only mean your pa is also one and will come back to life when he dies. I fail to see what the big deal is.”

  I was about to blurt out how the murder had occurred in the real world, when it occurred to me that they probably wouldn’t be able to understand what I was talking about. To them, they and the other NPCs were the real people, and we players were some sort of magic, unkillable beings like minor gods. As I tried and failed several times to formulate some way of explaining in terms they’d understand, Olaf intervened.

  “That man killed his father while in a place where our deaths are permanent.” Olaf put his hand over his mouth to whisper in my ear. “Are you sure that is him? I do not have Inspect.”

  After the fight with the Rare and then the one with the High Shaman, I had finally begun feeling like someone who knew what he was doing in the game, but as this encounter with the guards unfolded, I was back to feeling like an idiot newb. I focused Inspect on the back of the balding man as he exchanged his goods with the merchant. He quickly turned around and his face came into full view. I knew the results of the ability before the notification even finished populating. Nyytro.

  Nyytro’s eyes narrowed and another tingle washed over my body.

  The taller guard exchanged a look with his partner and then turned back. “While that is terrible, it doesn’t break any laws here. If it happened within the city limits and you could prove it, though . . . As such, we ask you to keep any acts of vengeance outside of the city limits or within the designated dueling areas, else we will have to arrest you.”

  Nyytro’s brow crinkled in confusion for a moment as he stared at me. Eventually, he switched to staring at the guards before finally bolting to the left.

  “Hey, someone stop that guy,” Alizia said. “He—what was it he did again? Sorry, I was too busy fuming over Deccy to listen. I mean, it’s not like the bald guy could’ve possibly done anything worse than that.”

  “He killed my dad,” I said as I twisted around the guards to give chase.

  “Ohhhh—that’s like twice as bad,” Alizia said from behind me.

  I could hear my groupmates joining in the chase even through the clamor of the busy marketplace. Nyytro suddenly cut to the right and weaved his way through one of the stalls, knocking items everywhere. A blue smoke spread from one of the baskets in front of me, but I pushed through it, losing sight for a split second and narrowly avoiding a collision with a building. Nyytro had gained a few dozen feet on me and was edging toward an alley.

  I wasn’t sure how close my friends were, but I didn’t have time to look back as I redoubled my pace. The notification for unlocking Sprint appeared a second later, and I thanked every higher being I could think of before sputtering out a too excited, “Learn Sprint.” With the sudden burst of speed, I barely managed to correct my course to prevent crashing into a pole. He was only a house length away, and I was gaining. There was a four-way intersection coming up and my only concern was that I’d fail to make the turn if he decided to go left or right.

  He cut right, but my curse turned into a prayer of thanks as he immediately bounced off something around the turn. I leapt at him as he skidded backward on his butt. Unfortunately, I was going too fast and sailed over him, landing on my chest in a cloud of dust.

  My body tensed in surprise as I was lifted off the ground by my shoulder, but relaxed when I saw the bright red fingernail polish on the green fingers that held me. Alizia rubbed off the dust as she set me back on my feet. As Nyytro backpedaled furiously, Olaf quickly maneuvered behind him to intercept. Nyytro countered by adjusting his course to the only open alley left. It led to a plaza, but Decrona was at the other end.

  Alizia offered Decrona the helpful hint of, “Stop him!” in case there was any doubt of what to do, but Decrona just stood there like a statue and Nyytro easily passed her. As I went by, I quickly checked the status bar over her head, but she was not affected by Stunned or any other debuffs that could’ve explained her inaction; she’d simply frozen.

  My prayer was partially answered as the plaza turned out to have a wall of people straight ahead. Nyytro tried to push his way through, but the crowd refused to cooperate, probably because there was no room for them to surrender. His failure gave me time to catch up—I was now only ten feet away—but he finally realized the futility of his attempts and darted to his right, directly toward the towering round building at the end of the plaza.

  As we pursued him through the massive archway, my Action Points finally ran out and Sprint faded. I lost him soon after. Still, there was only one way for him to go: a second large archway guarded by two women dressed as centurions. Surprisingly, neither of them made any motion to stop me as I lumbered past, but I quickly understood why. I was in a massive open field, surrounded by a ten-foot wall built in an oval shape. Atop the walls were stands that were thankfully only a tenth of the way full.

  If I had any doubts as to where I was, the smears of blood in the dirt and the broken, discarded weapons to my left cleared them. Nyytro had led me into what appeared to be an arena. Whether by design or happy accident, it didn’t matter. A gate I hadn’t noticed slammed shut behind me.

  Nyytro purposefully walked toward me, and a puff of smoke appeared over his right hand to reveal a thin blade. “What do you want from me? I don’t know who you are, but you’ve obviously mistaken me for someone else. Someone who’s obviously incredibly handsome.” He gave his patented weaselly laugh that I could barely hear over the murmurs of the crowd. “Anyway, I’ve made a point to not interact with anyone since I came in here a few days ago, so you can’t be looking for me.”

  My face twisted in rage. “I’m not here for what you did in the game, but what you did before you came in—as in right before, Carl.”

  Doubt creased his face, and he stumbled as he backed away. A tingle of Inspect washed over me as he scanned me again. “Who . . . who are you?”

  My sword appeared in my hand. “My name is Lucas, and you killed my father!”

  I put all the force and menace I could muster into that, but it must have only sounded intimidating in my head. Nyytro shook his head and laughed in response. “All that planning. We figured we thought of everything, but then you showed up. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Screwing up is kind of your thing. Just lie down and die, kiddo, so the big person can get on with his big boy work.”

  I barely managed to twist left as his blade flashed forward. He caught me on the edge of the shoulder for a 5. I was about to curse his luck getting such a high damage number for what amounted to a glancing blow when I caught the faint bluish glow of his dagger. That has to be magic. It probably cost more than my car. As a matter of fact, everything he’s wearing looks like it’s magic. I was so overawed by his equipment that I forgot to attack. My next dodge attempt was clumsy, and he again caught me on the shoulder for 6.

  The metal gate rattled behind me, and I could see my group on the other side.

  “Do not worry, Horus,” Olaf said. “We shall find a way in.” Olaf stuck his arm through the bars and swung his dagger at Nyytro, but it bounced harmlessly off an invisible barrier.

  Nyytro nearly choked on his laugh. “No cheating. A duel is a sacred thing, or whatever the equivalent of sacred is where money’s concerned. They patched that little exploit out in the first week after some spirited entrepreneurs bet all their money on someone then jumped in from the stands to take out his opponent. Not a thing you can do to help besides pray.”
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br />   He effortlessly caught me in the ribs for 9. I was already down to 48%, and I hadn’t even scratched him. Worse yet, his weapon made my skin turn red and begin to itch. A red 2 floated from the spot, and then 2 more a few seconds later. It was a DoT (damage over time) effect and according to interface, would last another thirty seconds. I roared more out of frustration than to intimidate him, but it still gave him pause.

  That hesitation was all I needed as I finally remembered I could fight back. My swing missed by a mile as he easily danced to the side, but my points in Dexterity must have paid off when I managed a quick backswing that caught him under the armpit. Getting that first hit in took away my nerves even though I’d only done 2 against his thick, well-crafted armor. The unexpected blow knocked him just enough off-balance that his next strike sailed over my head.

  I knew normal attacks wouldn’t be enough due to his higher Armor Class and my lower-quality weapon. I’d have to do something different. To reinforce that, another 2 points from the DoT ticked off as I aimed my next strike at the blue vein in his neck for a Vital Strike. He tried to step back out of the way, but with the unexpected change of fortune he’d forgotten where he was. He collided with the wall behind him and bounced into my blow instead of away from it. A 23! accompanied the spurt of blood. My arm quickly shot out again, and I landed a nearly identical blow. He let out a scream as the 22! floated up.

  “You’ve got him, Horus!” Alizia said.

  “Remember your father,” Olaf said.

  My Inspect wasn't high enough to see Nyytro’s exact HPs; I could only see a percentage: 37%. With the damage I’d done so far, I figured he had to be around 30 HPs left. I was finally above him at 42—no, 40 HPs—as the DoT ticked off again. No time for waiting. One or two more of these.