The Grind

by Dante Doom

  “Nice work!” giggled the blurry being as it continued to move around. It was hard for Savannah to tell, but it looked somewhat like a tiny woman, maybe less than four feet tall. Despite her height, the wispy creature was dealing plenty of damage to the Binders.

  “Help!” Timon shouted. Savannah glanced over to see that he had taken almost one hundred points of damage already. Fortunately, he had plenty of armor left, but replacing it would be expensive. He was surrounded by three of the Binders.

  “Use your Swap power!” Savannah said, crouching down and hurriedly reloading her Flak Cannon. In an instant, she was standing where Timon had been. Without hesitation, she fired at the enemy Virals at point blank range, cutting through two of them. A bolt struck her on the back and the phrase 50 damage hovered over her. She had significantly less armor than Timon, as armor would slow her down too much, so her health dropped down to 150.

  “Stupid Virals,” she grumbled as she spun around and fired another round at the Viral who’d hit her. Lethal Blow showed up above the being as it faded into nothingness. She glanced up then to find that the wispy ghost creature had killed the rest of the Binders. Orbs went soaring to Timon and 7,000/1,500,000 points hovered above his head.

  “We did it!” Timon shouted triumphantly as he raised his rifle high.

  “Yeah, but we got lucky,” Savannah replied as she made her way to her ally. A few items were floating on the ground where one of the Binders had been. She reached over to touch the item cube.

  You’ve Acquired a Potion of Healing!

  Savannah grinned. This was a rare find, indeed. It would bring anyone back up to one hundred percent health immediately. She pocketed it, storing it in her inventory system.

  “What happened?” Timon asked as he looked around. “Someone shot at them before we could attack.”

  “I did!’ said the shimmering shadow. It had slowly formed into the clear shape of a woman, translucent and yellow. It was an Aspect.

  “Why’d you do that?” Savannah demanded. She knew that wild Aspects, those who were outside of the Med Centers and shops, were dangerous and untrustworthy beings. No one quite knew what or who they were, but they would show up from time to time, causing trouble for people or giving blessings. Normally, they did both at the same time.

  “I wanted to see what you would do!” the Aspect said with a girlish giggle. “My name is Kireen!”

  Savannah had her own history with wild Aspects. She had made the mistake of trusting one once, a long time ago, and it had almost cost her everything. She would never make the same mistake again. She shifted her eyes and looked at the being.

  “What do you want from us?” Savannah asked. She felt a strange sensation pushing against her mind. It was the Aspect, she realized. Aspects had some kind of Telepathic power, and they weren’t shy about using their abilities when necessary. Savannah tried to resist, for fear that it was going to do something dangerous to her, but her pitiful attempts were warded off and Savannah felt a surge of troubling emotions rush through her. She felt fear, anxiety, and above all a sense that danger was lurking everywhere. The Grind, she sensed, was in some sort of trouble, or at least, that was what the Aspect was trying to tell her.

  “Whoa!” Timon said as Savannah sank to her knees, clutching her stomach. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” Savannah managed to whisper, “I’m fine. I think something’s… wrong.”

  “Wrong?” Timon asked. A real sense of panic crept up in his voice as he added, “What do you mean something’s wrong? With you? Are you hurt?”

  “No, with the Grind,” Savannah said as she looked up. The Aspect, Kireen, was gone. “I think it was trying to tell me something.”

  “Are Aspects intelligent? I always thought they were AI,” Timon asked.

  “No one knows. They act a little too smart to be artificially intelligent, but then again, who knows?” Savannah asked as she took Timon’s hand and pulled herself back up. “But she seemed to be worried about something.”

  In the back of Savannah’s mind, the question of her father began to spring up. Was this somehow connected to her father being in trouble? Aspects were telepathic, so maybe it knew something she didn’t. Then again, Savannah knew that dealing with an Aspect was far worse than dealing with the Devil, because in the stories, the Devil would usually live up to his end of the bargain. The strange appearance was unsettling. Of all the people for a wild Aspect to pick on, why her?

  “Well, Kireen certainly ruined a perfectly good plan,” Timon said as he tightened his gloves a little more. “But the good news is that my Dodge ability went up a few points while I was scrambling for my life.”

  “Yeah, that one normally maxes out quickly,” Savannah said as she tried to catch her bearings.

  “Do you see that large cavern over there, in between the mountains?” Savannah asked as she pointed at the destination. “That’s the portal to the Krecius Caverns, one of the more advanced areas of the game. We’re headed that way.”

  “Okay,” Timon said easily, and Savannah smiled. Working with such a complete novice meant she would get no questions about where she took him. As long as they killed Virals and scored points in the game, he would be fine. In a lot of ways, Timon was better than other clients she’d had. The others had often questioned her methods or tried to tell her the best areas that they should visit, relying on third-hand information from some hacking “expert” in the real world. She knew what she was doing, though, and she was glad Timon was confident in her.

  The two traveled quietly through the fields of wheat. Neither said a word to the other. Savannah wasn’t much for small talk with her clients, and most of them were usually curt with her, as well. Grinders weren’t looked fondly upon by those on the outside, even though their services were often used. And besides that… she didn’t know what to say.

  “So…” Timon started as they made their way to the caves. “You seem really fascinated with nobility. Splitting three million points would turn you into a Lady of the High Court. I’m assuming that’s your goal? Or are you aiming for something higher?”

  “Hah, the only thing higher is Queen, and I don’t have the stomach for that,” Savannah said. “Too much responsibility. When you think about it, responsibility can be as enslaving as a Baron. I’d rather find myself high up the chain—with a little bit of responsibility, but mostly privilege.”

  “Well said,” Timon laughed. “So, why? What makes a Grinder crave being a Noble?”

  Savannah grinned sheepishly. “I’ve always wanted to be a Noble. I mean, what’s not to like? They have land, they get paid by the state of Verre, and they have servants and estates. Big families, too. They can have anything they want.”

  “You sure are glamorizing the life of the High Court. There’s a lot of work involved. Administration, leadership, and dealing with crises. They aren’t there for show,” Timon said.

  “I know that,” Savannah replied. “But I’m not worried about the work part. I don’t mind doing a hard day’s work. I mind the fact that the fruit of my labor is always being stolen from under me. Look at my mom. She runs that bar night and day, working twelve-hour shifts, and then tending to the garden that she grows to feed us. She busts her butt and then the Baron tells her that she needs to pay more taxes. Every damn dime from that tavern goes to him and he still wants more. Do Nobles pay taxes?”

  Timon was silent at that question.

  “No, they collect them, don’t they?” Savannah asked. “They collect taxes, and tell the Barons what to do. Look, you probably have no idea what it means to be in the lower class, Timon. You might be tired or unimpressed with living the life of a Noble, but you also live inside the center of the city. You get to go past the second wall, into a safe, warm place where there’s always food.”

  “We collect taxes to pay people to maintain the walls, guard the city, watch for outsiders, and prevent raids from the desperate who live outside,” Timon said. “We’re not doing it because we’re
greedy.”

  “Look, I’m not saying it’s a bad system,” Savannah said. “I just find it incredibly unfair for a lot of people. Or, at least, it would be if there were no way up the ladder. The Grind is the ultimate level playing field. You wanted to know why I want to be a Noble? It’s because I’d rather be served than serve.”

  “That’s an awfully selfish point of view,” Timon said.

  “Is it? Because that’s the way the world works. You’re either the master or the slave. The prince or the pauper. Who in this world wants to be a slave?”

  Timon shrugged. “There’s more to life than that. A good Noble is the servant of the people. They keep their eyes open to protect others and focus on giving of themselves completely so that Verre can be safe.”

  “Hah, you mean so the second walls are safe. You know, I’ve only seen a Noble one time in my life,” Savannah said. “Well, outside of the Executors who come down on Grind day.”

  “Really?” Timon asked. “It wasn’t one of my family, I hope.”

  “I don’t know. She was beautiful, though. Curly long hair, pristine skin. Hands as soft and smooth as an opal. She was taking her horse out for a ride to see the wall up close. She stopped by our inn,” Savannah explained. “She was so out of touch that she offered us a silvar brick for some bread and wine. She had no idea how much things cost. I’ll never forget that, though. The way she so effortlessly took out a brick of silvar and asked, ‘Is this enough?’”

  Savannah paused, her mind darting back to the memory. She could remember the red, curved smile of that Noble as if it had only happened hours ago.

  “What happened?” Timon asked.

  Savannah scowled. “Eh, same thing that always happens. My dad laughed at her and didn’t charge her for the meal. I was furious! I asked, why didn’t we take the money, and he told me that it wasn’t honest. She was entirely out of her element and would probably realize later that she’d been taken advantage of, and then we could be in trouble. So, she thanked my dad and was on her way. I never saw that Noble again. I’ll never forget the way she didn’t even blink at giving such a large amount of money away for some bread and wine. Like it was nothing to her! It was probably pocket change, something she threw in her bag in case she needed lunch. But to us? It would have paid for the year’s taxes without a problem.”

  Timon nodded. “Money doesn’t have much value to members of the High Court. Less so to their children.”

  “Yeah. I remember my dad being flogged the next week for not having the quarterly taxes paid,” Savannah said as she shook her head. “You want to know why I want to be a Noble? Because I’m not a sucker.”

  “You think your dad was a sucker for being honest?” Timon asked.

  “I think he was a sucker for hoping that his kindness would be repaid. All he got in return were scars across his back. And we never saw that woman again…”

  Savannah trailed off, deep in thought. Dreams and fantasies of what she would do with her wealth came to her mind. She would buy the Baron out immediately, and her parents would no longer be required to run the tavern day and night. She would put them in her big house and shower them with endless gifts. She’d buy all of the land owned by the wretched Baron Hauss, in fact. She’d put good people in charge of the hovels and make the farmlands livable and comfortable. If she was skilled at intrigue, she might even be able to find a way to get Hauss thrown out of Verre. It was a silly fantasy, but she lingered on it. Why not? Why not dream about saving her family from squalor and defeating the villain?

  Chapter Four

  Savannah deftly moved underneath the swinging limbs of the Tree Viral. It was fixed in place at its base, but had thousands of branches whipping and snapping at her. She blasted into the trunk of the yellow-green tree, but the words Damage Resistance 100% hovered above it.

  “I can’t seem to hurt this thing!” Timon called out, blasting into the tree with his own weapon. “It’s immobile—we should leave it alone.”

  “These things are like walnuts,” Savannah replied. “You gotta find the right way to crack them open. Then you get the prize inside.”

  “How is a nut a prize? It’s food,” Timon yelled back, dodging the branches.

  “I love walnuts,” Savannah grunted as she felt a branch smack her across the face. The damage was negligible, only 5 points’ worth, but there were enough limbs that if she stopped for even a second, she would take a flurry of blows. She began to climb up the tree, leaping from limb to limb. As she landed on one of the branches, the announcement Your Jumping Rank has Increased floated above her. That was good! If she trained that skill up enough, she could probably get to a six-foot vertical leap. Jumping was probably the most boring skill to increase because all that was required was simply jumping up and down. For hours. She was in no rush to rank it up any higher for that reason alone—it was just too mind-numbing to worry about it.

  As she scrambled along the branches of the Tree Viral, she looked for any opportunity to kill it, but saw none. It was too powerful. She felt embarrassed because she had worked so hard to convince Timon that it would be worth the effort. He had seen that it was a purple-colored enemy and balked, but she’d been positive she could break its damage resistance. However, she was apparently very wrong, and so now she could only desperately search for some way to deal real damage.

  Hem always avoided Tree Virals, but he’d never said why. She’d often scoffed at her dad’s caution and attempts to teach her strategy. At this moment, though, she really wished she’d listened. Now, she felt like an idiot for wanting to take it on when it was clear that they were losing. If she could only find the key…

  “I think this is a boss! We should come back with a full party,” Timon shouted up to her as he shot another useless blast of blue energy into the tree trunk. The words Damage Resistance 100% still hovered above the monster.

  “Look, if I can find a weak spot–” Savannah’s words were cut off as an especially large tree branch nailed her in the back of her head, causing her to plummet to the ground. She crashed hard, and then watched as her health bar dropped from 150 to 110.

  “Errrgh,” Savannah groaned. She felt a pair of hands grab her by the boots and begin to drag her away from the tree.

  “Savannah, I don’t think that was a good idea,” Timon said as he pulled her away.

  “I’m trying to figure out some way to exploit the boss. He can’t move, so we should be able to figure something out,” Savannah replied as she stood up, now out of reach of the tree. “I’ve figured out ways around bosses before. I only have to find a weakness.”

  “I appreciate the effort, but you’ve been at this for almost thirty minutes,” Timon replied as he helped her up. “I think enough is enough.”

  Savannah glanced back at the tree. If she had figured out some way to kill that thing, it would have been worth a good 30,000 points, easily. And since it was a solo battle due to her ghosting, Timon would have soaked up all of it. “I guess…”

  “Well, you tried,” Timon said as he chuckled. “I gotta admit, I like the fact that you go for it. It’s… refreshing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Eh, when you’re in a big house full of caretakers and doting parents, all you’re told is to be careful and cautious. Don’t touch that, don’t run in the house, don’t play with your father’s musket. All those rules and worries. It’s different in here,” Timon replied. “And you certainly don’t spend a lot of time wondering if you should do something. You just do.”

  Savannah smiled at that. Normally, her clients would be having an aneurism at this point, but Timon appreciated her. He was significantly different from the caliber of person she normally interacted with. Maybe this was how all Nobles were. Kind and aloof. She liked it.

  “Well, we tried, right?” Savannah offered as she pointed to the cave entrance. It wasn’t too far now. “Let’s get moving.”

  “Hear, hear!” Timon said. They walked alongside each other until they reach
ed the swirling portal at the opening of the cave.

  “So, I’ll tell you this now. Every level has its own theme and its own rules,” Savannah said. “The Imaren Fields are pretty simple; they’ve got Machina that go Aggro quickly if you touch them. Other than that, nothing. The Krecius Caverns are a little different.”

  “How so?” Timon asked.

  “Weak gravity.” Savannah said. “Don’t jump too hard, or you might not come back.”

  “Really?” Timon asked with a big smile.

  “Not really, but close enough—you’ll come back down, but not fast, so you have to make sure you account for that. If you’re floating slowly through the air as you fall, you make for a bigger target, so don’t go jumping around if you’re in trouble. You’ll fall too slowly to throw off anyone’s aim,” Savannah said as she reached out to touch the portal. “You ready?”

  Timon reached out and grabbed her hand. “Yes!” She blushed for a moment, but then realized he was holding her hand because he thought he needed to in order to go through the portal. She didn’t tell him otherwise.

  The world around them shifted as she touched the portal until the beautiful fields of golden wheat were replaced with a rocky, yellow terrain. There were mountains and craters everywhere. At the base of one of the craters was a sign that said Krecius Caverns and pointed straight down into a mineshaft.

  “Whoa!” Timon said as he glanced up at the sky. “What are those?” He pointed to the shimmering lights high up in the outer darkness.

  Savannah looked up and got lost for a moment in the majesty of the heavens. “They’re called stars,” she said.

  “I’ve never seen such a thing…” Timon said. “Millions of them. Millions of them, Savannah.”

  “Yeah. I ran into a guy once who told me that you used to be able to see the stars in the World Before. That all you had to do was look up at night,” Savannah said, still staring.

  “Really? Sounds like a legend to me,” Timon said. “I never see anything when I look up at the night sky in Verre. Nothing.”