Stunlocked

by Black, Shane Lochlann

  A level nine Cloak’s role in combat was therefore rather simple. His presence would most often be announced by the sound of a body hitting the floor with a knife protruding from its neck. Highwayman would then employ his relatively novice mind magic powers to confuse any remaining enemies and follow up with a second thrown blade or blades. Enemy parties of up to three equivalent-level monsters could be defeated without any of them even getting a chance to fight back.

  The other important reward awaiting him at level ten was the first phase of his quest to locate Javelin in the southern jungles. By level twelve, Jordan planned on being fully conversant with using masks to enhance his mind magic and being well on his way to locating the weaponsmith capable of training him to make his own throwing knives. In the space of perhaps three levels, it was at least theoretically possible Highwayman could become almost twice as formidable in combat. Jordan wanted that edge, because he knew the challenges facing him between level ten and level twenty were going to be far more dangerous than the relatively simple quests and battles he had faced so far. True, getting to Safekeep was a challenge, but Jordan had long since concluded Wyland had planned on getting out of Safekeep to be an even bigger one.

  Jordan texted Robb.

  “Anything new and interesting?”

  A pause.

  “Nope. Just sitting here watching your character watch a golden coffin full of platinum. A bug runs across the floor occasionally. They don’t grant any experience or drop anything, unfortunately. But I have a nice little pile of vanquished opponents for you.”

  “Swell.”

  Jordan put the phone down and snuggled up to Alyssa.

  “My darling wife, are you awake?”

  Alyssa sighed sweetly. “What is it, my lord husband?”

  “There’s a gigantic carnivorous insect gazing longingly at your backside. I think it’s hungry.”

  “Are you jealous?”

  “I will be until we get some breakfast.”

  “Oh that sounds lovely.” She sighed again. “Wake me up when coffee happens.”

  “What about the carnivorous insect?”

  “It won’t hurt me. I’m a pretty princess.”

  Jordan concluded Alyssa was going to be useless until at least 9AM, so he gingerly emerged from the comforter and wandered towards the shower.

  Chapter Seven

  Rich and Jason’s new characters looked like the medieval equivalent of a door-to-door sales team. They wore brown robes tied off with frayed rope and common sandals. Rich was already level two, but only because of several meticulous attempts to get the right combination of skills and lore arranged for the character he intended to become captain of Kings and Conquests’ newest “bounty team.”

  Both players had chosen the Neros race. Even though they were technically disavowed exiles from the more powerful Nereshi civilization, in KNC, the Neros option gave players expanded skill access and also retained many of their species’ greatest strengths, including tremendous resistance to magical cold, the ability to swim at nearly twice the speed of an average human and a bonus to trade diplomacy due to the legendary Nereshi network of trade agreements across the kingdoms. Simply put, a Neros merchant could “better deal” just about anyone and obtain raw materials for building projects at a considerable discount. This wasn’t all that useful at low levels, but properly developed, the Neros trade bonuses would give them the ability to buy and sell entire kingdoms in time.

  The Neros were also coincidentally much more adept at overland travel than their purer cousins. The renowned Nereshi strength in the water was somewhat offset by their limitations and weaknesses on dry land. This was one major reason players usually chose to level their newly rolled Nereshi characters in various sea zones in and around surface settlements, then graduate to land-based adventures when they were high enough level to overcome any weaknesses. The Neros faced similar difficulties, but they weren’t quite as formidable. After being exiled to land, the Neros had learned to adapt and had also vowed to return home one day to overthrow their cruel former masters.

  Because of these and other choices, Rich and Jason were on a mission. Because they would be unable to open a shop until at least one of them reached level eight, they had decided to spend their early levels treasure hunting.

  “We’ve got the repeatable merchant quest. Every time we do a turn-in or sell him anything, we will get a little bit better price advantage,” Rich said. The two players’ sat facing each other at a circular dining table in their newly rented apartment. There was nothing else in the unit except their luggage, a couple of sleeping bags and a router. No furniture. Not even a coffee maker. At least not yet.

  “These computers suck,” Jason replied.

  “Better gear is on the way. We don’t have time to wait.”

  “I’m going to take glassmaking,” Rich said. His character was standing at the supplier’s shack for the glassmaking profession.

  “You’ll just have to drop it when you get to a higher level. You can’t gain skill in more than three professions past level 10.”

  “In the meantime I can make a lot of money though. There’s still a demand for lenses. That’s about a level two recipe.”

  “Not in Yarshire there isn’t.”

  “The auction house here is accessible anywhere in the Hesan Kingdom.”

  “You mean like the crater–I mean ‘city’ of Rook?”

  “Rook will get rebuilt. NPC operated facilities can’t be destroyed permanently. They can be occupied and controlled by players, but based on what I’ve read at Orbit’s and other forums that’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

  “Well, there isn’t much point in having an auction house if it’s located in the middle of a blasted city with nobody in it but rat hunters.”

  “Rat hunter. That should be a class. I’d be the star of the next convention if I had a level 75 Rat Hunter. Okay, there we go. I have one skill point in glassmaking. Now we go to the beach.”

  “You’re level two. Yarshire quests start at level eight.”

  “We’re not going to fight anything on the beach. We’re just going to fish and scavenge.”

  “Thrilling.”

  “It’s no fun for the average player, but for the Neros race, it’s a gold mine.”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Watch and learn, my friend.”

  Peredone and Rhanis descended the gentle sandy grade that led from the edge of the fish market in Yarshire. They were roughly seventy yards from the water when both characters gained the “Creature of the Sea” bonus, which added five percent to their effective Might, Attack Power and Health. Jason noticed a new ability appear on Rhanis’ admittedly short skill list called “Treasure Sense.”

  “What the hell is ‘treasure sense?'"

  “Exactly. There’s stuff in this game nobody has even bothered to look at yet. Do you know what the Neros population is on this server?”

  “Two?”

  “No, there’s sixteen of us, but that represents only a tiny fraction of the overall player population. With only about a dozen people playing this race, nobody has bothered to learn how to play it very well yet. The Neros are the ultimate choice for a treasure team, and I’m about to show you why. Watch for targeting icons.”

  Jason turned his character this way and that, scanning the sand for anything out of the ordinary. A few little seaside creatures were crawling along nearby. They moved in random patterns and made the entire area look more alive. Finally a targeting icon appeared a few yards away.

  “Okay this pile of sand over here has an icon over it. I can loot it.”

  “Go.”

  Rare Sand - [Crafting Reagent]

  Rare Sand - [Crafting Reagent]

  “Two portions of ‘rare sand.’”

  “That’s the ticket, partner. Soon you’ll be surrounded by women on your brand new yacht.”

  “How is sand going to help us make money?”

  “Sand is the primary reagent for le
nses. Rare sand is the reagent for sparkling lenses. The former sells for about a silver each–” Peredone clicked a second location. This time the loot window appeared on his screen.

  Nymph’s Glory

  Rare Sand

  Smooth Driftwood

  “Nice! That’s three in a few seconds.”

  “Can’t anyone loot these? What happens when this part of the world is overrun with sand farmers?”

  “Only Nereshi and the Neros race can harvest rare sand without magical or mechanical assistance,” Rich replied. “This gives us a huge head start on glassmaking, because it gives us a way to fund our own production of vials, bottles, lenses, costume jewelry, flasks, fine crystal and so forth. It’s an obscure crafting category, so most people don’t pay any attention to it.”

  “Well there certainly isn’t anyone else around here.” Jason scanned the beach from north to south and back up the grade towards the village. There was nothing visible as far as the game engine could draw. A few NPCs and the odd player character ran past the buildings in the village, but they weren’t paying any attention to what was happening on the beach.

  “Then this will be pretty straightforward,” Rich said. “We’ll start putting these portions of rare sand up on the Yarshire Auction House as we find them. Once we’ve got enough saved up, we’ll buy out the rest of the auctions and kick the price up. From there it will only be a matter of time before we can level enough to start doing treasure bounties.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “It’s the only way to catch up with the highest level players at this point,” Rich continued. “We need something to even the playing field, and getting other players to give us gold to do challenging treasure gathering quests is how we’re going to buy ourselves back in.”

  Chapter Eight

  “We’re going to stay here two more days, then we’re checking out. The extra stay is on me,” Jordan announced. “And the reason we are staying is in Bungalow Six.”

  “You’re taking a chance Mr. Coogan was being a little too melodramatic about everyone knowing where to find us?” Dave asked.

  “Not entirely. Come on,” Jordan led the morning croissant meeting out of his own accommodations and down the winding bamboo path to one of their neighboring units. The grounds were resplendent with shades of light blue and pink this early in the morning. The pool in particular was serene to the point where it reminded Jordan of stories about early morning fishing trips.

  He unlocked the door to unit three. “Amy and Dave won’t mind re-locating for the duration I expect.” The floor plan for this unit was a little different. Instead of the small table made for cozy late dinners for two, there was a much larger circular table with comfortable looking chairs placed around it. In the center sat five brand-new Airship 17" gaming laptops with Kings and Conquests pre-installed and login screens at the ready.

  Robb’s next sentence consisted entirely of syllables that sounded something like “baw.” Dave and Amy just stared.

  Alyssa squeezed Jordan’s side. “I bet you had fun ordering all this,” she whispered. Jordan nodded.

  “Now I’ll move my laptop over here and we’ll get down to business and start knocking out some quests.”

  “Just like old times,” Amy said.

  “By the way, old friend,” Jordan added as he patted Robb on the shoulder. “You have an open tab at room service.”

  Robb still couldn’t make a sound that resembled human speech.

  “When our chariot arrives in two days, we’re headed for Vegas.”

  “Say again?” Marc asked as he ran his new machine through its paces.

  “I do think Mr. Coogan is being a little too melodramatic about our pursuers, but I’m not going to take any unnecessary risks. We’re taking this show on the road in 48 hours. First by land, then by sea. The night before we check out, we’re going to have a little soiree at the nice restaurant along the other side of the water.”

  Twenty minutes later, the croissant party had been relocated the fifteen yards between Bungalow Eight and Bungalow Six. The extra costs of breakfast for six and more nights at the Hacienda Beachcomber were effortlessly absorbed into Jordan’s Partner’s Club card, as were all the other expenses he had recently incurred. He just hadn’t announced the others yet.

  The next round of refreshments from the room service kitchen included a gigantic serving boat of sliced fruit. There was pineapple, oranges and chopped banana plus cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon scooped into spheres. Smaller serving trays each contained a different snack nut, including almonds, peanuts, cashews, shelled walnuts and candied pecans. Two coffee services arrived alongside a separate service for gourmet hot chocolate. Five minutes later, another plate the size of a tractor wheel arrived with its own stand. On it was the Beachcomber chef’s idea of a pastry selection.

  Arranged in an enormous spiral were almond cookies, banana nut and blueberry muffins, double-fudge-topped double-chocolate cakes, lemon puffs, toffee bars, sweet cheese macaroons, pecan-glazed oven buns, six different kinds of scones, macadamia pastries, frosted and sugared donuts and three small tureens containing whipped butter, gourmet peanut butter and cinnamon sugar.

  “I’m never leaving here,” Robb said as he beheld the breakfast equivalent of the Apollo landing.

  “Stations, me hearties,” Jordan said. “We’ve got a castle to build.”

  Jordan found Highwayman right where he had left him. Sitting quietly inside Safekeep, right next to the golden sarcophagus and the real-world treasure of treasures.

  “Okay, according to my continuous progression screen, I have four henchmen spawned at Shon Cloud, so I’ve got enough manpower to move the ingots as a unit,” Jordan said.

  “Alyssa’s Hope will dock in Yarshire in about fifteen minutes,” Dave said. Alyssa blushed. Jordan wondered if he had unwittingly condemned his new girlfriend to a gaming career consisting of nothing but being embarrassed because her overly-romantic new boyfriend named his flagship after her.

  “You know that moving the ingots is almost guaranteed to trigger an escort quest. Right?” Robb asked, looking intently at Jordan until he got his attention. “We’re going to get to Shon Cloud about the same time you do. Are you sure you don’t want to wait?”

  “The longer we leave this treasure here, the bigger the risk someone is going to lift it. We have to get somewhere we can protect it.”

  “You do remember those Niners are still out there waiting for their shot, right? I can’t think of a better time to attack than when their target is distracted with a timed quest, not to mention the possibility Highwayman won’t be at 100%.”

  “Your concern is noted,” Jordan said in his best reassuring voice. “I’ll be extra careful.” Based on the look on Alyssa’s face, he wasn’t entirely sure he sounded all that calm. “Okay, my henchmen are here. Is everyone ready? Any last minute delays?”

  Everyone around the table nodded or gave Jordan a thumbs-up sign. Alyssa was busy working with something when her turn came. Then she looked up and smiled.

  “Okay, I’m starting the quest.” Jordan selected one of the henchmen and scrolled through the list of possible options. One was “Recover Object or Treasure.” Highwayman indicated the sarcophagus and ingots. The group all gathered around and picked up the golden container. A quest pop-up appeared.

  “Shon Cloud Escort Mission: Return Highwayman’s Treasure to Base”

  “What did you do?” Amy asked quietly. Alyssa shrugged.

  “Are we in on this quest, boss?” Dave asked.

  Jordan shook his head. “No. It should just be me.”

  “Okay,” Amy continued. “Ciera just ‘discovered’ a quest, and it got automatically shared with the rest of us. It happened practically the exact moment you started the escort.”

  “Did you click on someone or something?” Dave asked urgently. Alyssa shook her head.

  “What’s the quest?” Marc asked.

  “Find the Untitled Book,” Alyssa sa
id.

  “Oh fuck,” Robb said.

  “What the hell is the ‘Untitled Book?'" Jordan snapped.

  “Long story,” Robb replied.

  “One thing at a time,” Dave added.

  By now Highwayman’s retinue of movers had just emerged into the sunlight. The cavern opened into a descending rocky path that wound its way to the base of Scythe Ridge. From there it was less than a mile to Shon Cloud. As escort quests went, at first this one seemed to be on the easy side.

  Then an arrow punched into the side of one of the NPCs carrying the golden sarcophagus. The heavy treasure thumped against the ground as one of the four henchmen fell back and narrowly avoided slipping over the edge of the treacherous path.

  “Shit!” Jordan shouted. Robb ran around the table to see. Attackers were advancing from three directions. Their levels were hidden, which meant they were from a completely unfamiliar faction. Highwayman’s mini-map displayed three red dots, meaning they were both visible and close enough to be targeted. They were humanoid, but by now the No-Name Guild had learned not to rely on initial appearance.

  “Alright, boss, let’s see some of that hot shit gamer stuff,” Robb said, holding Jordan’s chair as if he were co-piloting him through a nest of imaginary surface-to-air missile emplacements.

  Jordan keyed on the first advancing attacker. It was armed with a crossbow and advancing up the trail towards the party. Robb and Dave both thought it was likely the source of the initial attack. Highwayman entered combat with a ranged strike against the first crossbowman. A swipe of his gloved hand sent a nasty little knife directly into the creature’s unarmored chest. A stark white number 71 rose over the injured humanoid.

  The attacker returned fire, striking Highwayman squarely with a heavy crossbow quarrel. 39 points of damage registered, cutting Jordan’s character’s health by nearly a quarter.

  Jordan activated his combat stealth ability and closed with the attacker, running more on instinct than anything else. With its ranged advantage negated, the NPC fighter lunged with its common sword, trying to hit the blurred and indistinct form of its treacherous human-controlled enemy. Highwayman’s Quickness score kicked in, granting him a flawless sidestep and forcing the sword attack into a clean miss. The aspiring Cloak thrust two gloved hands forward. Knives plunged into the crossbowman, inflicting another 117 damage in total. The enemy fighter fell back, defeated. Highwayman was awarded 435 experience points as he retrieved his throwing knife.