War Aeternus: The Beginning

by Charles Dean

  Due to prolonged weaponless fighting, Unarmed Combat has been promoted to Initiate Level 2. This skill improves one’s reasoning and execution of unarmed abilities in combat.

  Due to improving Unarmed Combat, you have received +1 Intelligence. Current Intelligence: 29.

  “You’re a quick learner,” Ling said when they took a break. “I have never seen anyone take to weapons and fighting as fast as you do.”

  “Thanks.” Lee was abashed around her. “I do what I must, but you’re pretty good at this yourself.”

  “Well, I’ve been training for years. My father was always worried that something might happen to me if I wa . . .” Ling stopped talking, and her facade visibly cracked as her face fell. “Father thought I’d be able to defend myself if I was trained, that nothing would happen to me . . . that everything would be okay just because I could fight a little. Because of him . . . He told me over and over again that if I tried, and that if I trained, I’d be safe. So, I felt safe. I believed him . . .” Her eyes started turning red, but she continued. “I believed him, and I let myself feel like I could live a happy, normal life, where the worst I’d have to worry about is Weiser running out of the house in the morning.”

  “It’s okay now. You’re okay now,” Lee said softly. He had no idea how to comfort Ling, but he knew that those paltry words wouldn’t cut it.

  Squeak! Little Ethan began shouting at him telepathically. Squeak squeak! he called again, making sure that Lee was watching what he was seeing. Through the mouse's eyes, Lee watched as an old couple that he had bumped into while looking for Ling’s cat opened the door to Geoffrey’s house with a key and snuck inside. Lee followed their movements as they found Geoffrey’s corpse on the stairs, as they realized that Shannon wasn’t there, and as they fled the house, constantly looking over their shoulder to see if they were being watched. Unfortunately for them, they had no idea that the spy who caught their trail was a winged mouse, extending his gray, sculpted wings as he soared from roof to roof in pursuit of them.

  “I know you say it’s okay, but . . .”—Ling sniffed—“but I felt so helpless. I feel so helpless, and I hate this feeling. It's like, at any moment, someone is going to yank me to the ground, tie my hands, and do what they want with me. And there is nothing I can do about it. Do you know how terrifying that feels?”

  Ling was venting her frustrations and releasing pent-up emotion, but Lee only partly heard them. He was too busy trying to stay on top of Ethan’s movements as the mouse chased after the surprisingly-spry, geriatric-looking couple from one side of the town to the other.

  Do I know how it feels to feel helpless in a situation where some random entity kidnaps me and does what he wants? Lee blinked twice as his brain caught up to what Ling had been saying. Yeah, I think my experience with Augustus definitely counts as just that. But I can’t tell her that. Lee just decided that, since he was the Herald of a religion, he’d simply regurgitate stuff he had learned in Sunday school as a kid in the hopes that it might actually help.

  “We’ve all experienced the harsh reality that the world is greater than any one man,” he began. “No individual can ever hope to move or change the tides of fate or stop them from washing over them. No one can rely on the hearts of man to act in unity to aid them. That’s why, when I pray, I pray not just for the strength I need to change the world into a better place but also for the peace of mind to accept that there are some things I’ll never be able to change.”

  “Ah . . .” Ling just nodded at his words.

  “We’re not so great that we can defend against all evil, but we can be at least have the will to not shrink, cower or break when it besets us.” Lee rested a hand on her shoulder as he continued to play the role of the wise priest. This type of sermon wasn’t uncommon. He had heard it from a few different priests throughout the years, but he reckoned this type of thinking might actually be new to them since it was a world filled with so much violence and not a church in sight.

  Ling looked up at Lee, and her eyes were deadlier than Medusa’s. They seemed to see right through Lee’s feigned exterior for just a moment, but then she just nodded. “That’s right. Bad things will happen, and no one can stop that from being true, but we can at least stop them from destroying us. Thanks,” she said and smiled faintly.

  “It’s good you understand. Since that’s the case, I think it’s about time I go help the others.” Lee returned the pleasant expression as he handed her back the training sword he had been using while they sparred, and then he left. Ethan was hot on the trail of the two people soon to leave town, and he didn’t want to delay more than was needed.

  “Wait!” she called after him. “If you’re going to help the people, can I please come with you?”

  Lee turned around long enough to give her a half-hearted smile and said, “You’ve already helped people a lot today. Without you, we wouldn't have saved Shannon. Let me take care of this now.”

  He actually wished he could take her with him, but he had already decided that it would be too risky. It would certainly be helpful to have the extra firepower—she had proven herself competent with both the bow and the sword—but he also knew that this fight would probably get her killed if she couldn’t keep her emotions in check. She wasn’t Miller, who had dumb luck and brute strength on his side. So, after watching her accept his words with resignation, he turned back and headed into town to find his Firbolg companion.

  He checked in on a few shops on the way into town, hoping to find Miller in one of them, but he made it all the way to the tavern before he found his friend. There, he discovered Miller sitting at one of the tables, staring at what had to be the largest mug he had ever seen in his life. The cup was a light color of oak, and it appeared to have been treated with something similar to Tung oil and was easily capable of holding fifty to sixty ounces of beer. It was completely undecorated, and the cuts were far from uniform, but it was rather impressive, all things considered.

  “So, this is what you’ve been up to?” Lee asked, staring at the cup.

  “Yeah,” Miller answered with a nod. “I got to thinking . . . Since we’re serving the God of Alcohol and Crafts, perhaps he isn’t unhappy with our personal strength, just the strength that we can exhibit in celebrating the victories he gives us.”

  “Huh?” Lee stared blankly at the man. “You haven’t started drinking yet, have you?”

  “No, but when we get back after destroying those heathens and crushing those demons who treat people like dogs and farm animals, we’ll have the adequate tools to toast our triumph!” Miller said, slamming his mug on the table. “We shall not be unprepared!”

  “I see,” Lee sighed.

  “What? Are you unhappy with— Oh! You wanted one too! You were worried that you’d have to drink out of Ramon’s tiny mugs built for people who like to exercise while they drink, running back and forth to the bar!”

  “Hey!” Ramon shouted a protest at Miller’s dig on his mugs.

  “Well, don’t worry! I have you covered!” he said, bringing out a second mug. It was almost identical to the first except for a strange symbol carved on its front. Not recognizing the symbol at all, Lee just took it for a series of scratches that looked like a combination of a druidic symbol and a Norse rune.

  “Tell me if it isn’t amazing. We’re going to have so much fun tonight! I bet Augustus is so happy with our work that he’s already sent us the location of the camp.”

  “Wow, this is . . . This is amazing,” Lee said, fawning exaggeratedly for the sake of Miller’s feelings. “What’s this mean? It looks neat.”

  “It’s your name, Lee. I wrote it with the alphabet of my homeland,” Miller responded proudly.

  “Ah . . .” Lee nodded, certain that Miller wouldn’t be the type of guy to pull a prank or joke on someone. “Well, thanks man, I really appreciate this, but we need to go.”

  “Augustus told us where the base was?” Miller’s eyes popped open, his excitement mounting to even greater he
ights than when he was talking about their two beer mugs. “I knew it! I knew that as soon as I finished the second mug that Augustus would be so pleased he’d come down in person and have you drag me off to the battlefield so that I could earn the right to fill them. That’s why I came straight back to the tavern: so you could find me easier!”

  “And here I thought you were just being silly,” Ramon laughed, giving a light jab to Miller’s enthusiasm.

  “Whatever the reason, we do need to go,” Lee urged.

  “To battle!” Miller shouted emphatically.

  “Please rescue them,” Ramon pleaded, sincerity bleeding into his voice. “Far too many children have been taken in the last two months.”

  “You already gave us the quest, old man,” Lee chuckled. “You don’t have to ask me twice.” Just make sure that experience is ready for when I come back with the people.

  “Just for you, I’m going to go stab someone through the heart. And if any of those kidnapping cretins die before I quench my rage, I’m going to roast someone on an open fire and leave the remnants of their flesh as breakfast for the dogs and vultures of the lands!”

  Ramon just gave a nice smile and sent them on their way. “You do that for me,” he called after them as they left the tavern.

  As soon as they were outside, Lee set off walking as fast as he could without calling too much attention to himself or Miller. He didn’t want to call attention to them by running, but he didn’t want to delay any longer than he had to either. It was already a stroke of luck that the couple hadn’t lit out of town entirely with how long it had taken him to find Miller. Thankfully, with Ethan’s navigational assistance, he was able to practically mirror their movements as the duo took off after them.

  Due to prolonged attempts at stealth by your current telepathically-connected familiar, Sneak has been promoted to Initiate Level 3. This skill improves one’s ability to stay hidden, move silently and act undetected.

  Due to improving Sneak, you have received +1 Intelligence. Current Intelligence: 30.

  That’s new, Lee thought as he read out the boost. That’s also game-changing. Does this mean that, as long as I give Ethan a tiny little rapier to go around and fight insects with, I’ll also get better at using swords? Or if I give him a tiny bow and arrow, I can learn archery through him? He had hoped that the prompt would answer his questions, but nothing came up.

  “Hey, Lee.” Miller grabbed the back of Lee’s shirt, stopping him in place.

  “What? We don’t have time to lose. We have to go save those people before it gets dark out . . .” He was more than a little frustrated that he’d been stopped as they were just starting to really close the distance between them and the couple.

  “Lee, quiet for a moment. There’s someone following us,” Miller stated quietly.

  “Huh?” Lee surreptitiously glanced around, but he didn’t immediately see anyone. “Who could be after us? Who even knows where we’re going?”

  “I don’t know, but we’re being chased,” Miller said without a shred of doubt in his voice. “We need to prepare for battle. Get your weapon out.”

  “How do you—”

  “I heard them. It wasn’t much, but I heard them asking which way we were going. They’ll be here soon.”

  “Alright.” Lee closed his eyes for a moment as he collected his thoughts. How do I convince this pure and honest hero type to lay an ambush? “You know, since they are trying to sneak up on us and stab us in the back, we need to give them an adequate punishment.”

  “What do you mean?” Miller asked as he pulled out his spear and cracked his back, turning to face back in the direction they had come from.

  “Well, we need to make sure we stab them in the back first. We need to lay an ambush so that even they will understand the depth of their failures in death. We must teach them to know the pain of their methods first hand.”

  “Hmmm. Fine.” Miller agreed, nodding reluctantly. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “Well, let’s hunker down on the side of the road, hope they don’t have a dog, and then jump them when they pass us. Honestly, I don't really have anything better,” Lee chuckled.

  “No grand schemes this time?” Miller asked, clearly taken aback by the simplicity of Lee’s plan.

  “None.” Lee shrugged as he moved off the road and pressed back against one of the large trees. Unlike the woods back home, the trees here were massive enough that the plan just might work. The biggest tree he had ever seen back in his world was only as wide around as a man was from shoulder to shoulder. These, on the other hand, were so large that you could have comfortably driven a sedan through them. The plan wasn’t entirely without merit, but if whoever was following them had hunting dogs with them, it would go awry rather quickly.

  “Works for me. I’ll give your plan a go, but I hope they spot us so that we can do away with all this silly hiding and kill them like men,” Miller grumbled.

  “Shh.” Lee just put a finger to his mouth and gestured for his friend to stay quiet.

  It didn’t take more than half a minute before three bandits passed them. Two of them were Leprechauns, and one was Firbolg, and each of them was decked out in leather gear with daggers and bows. As soon as he could see their backs, Lee nodded to Miller and charged the closest bandit.

  “Ahh!” one of the Leprechauns screamed out in a mixture of shock and pain as Lee’s slash sank into him from behind.

  Lee had been hoping to split the man’s head off with a single attack, but he had gauged the distance between them incorrectly. His sword struck cleanly into the man’s neck, drawing blood, but didn’t do enough damage for it to even partially decapitate him as he had hoped. His momentum did, however, propel the Leprechaun down onto his knees and draw the attention of the other two bandits.

  The other Leprechaun screamed out as Miller’s spear stabbed into his back just as he turned around to face Lee.

  Lee was going to finish off the Leprechaun on the ground while he had the upper hand, but when he saw the Firbolg take the bow off of his back and pull out an arrow, he couldn’t help but panic a little. He remembered all too well how annoying and painful his last experience with an archer had been while trying to save Ling, so with that in mind, he immediately planted two swift kicks into the Leprechaun at his feet and charged the Firbolg.

  Lee rushed the bandit and struck out with his left-handed sword before the archer could nock the arrow. Just like the last bowman he had fought, the man parried his attack with the bow stave and shifted to the side. Having learned from his previous experience, Lee took advantage of his opponent’s full-body-shift and stored the bronze sword into his inventory. He knew that he wasn’t going to get anywhere in the fight unless he could control his enemy’s bow, and that wasn’t something he could do as well with a second blade in hand.

  The Firbolg brought his bow around in an overhanded counterattack aimed at smashing Lee’s head. Unable to completely dodge out of the way, Lee jerked his head to the side and took the blow on his shoulder instead. Pain shot up from his shoulder as the bow’s upper limb made contact, and he saw a message letting him know that he had taken four points of damage from the attack. Doing his best to ignore the stinging pain, Lee grabbed ahold of the bow before the archer could pull it back and yanked on it with all of his might.

  As soon as his fingers wrapped around the bow stave, it was clear that the Firbolg was stronger. There was no way he was going to be able to wrest control of a weapon away from a man using two hands when he was only using one, but his pull was still enough to yank his opponent off balance. The man stumbled forward as he tried to regain his footing, leaving his side completely open to an attack. Lee immediately took advantage of the opportunity and stabbed forward, desperately hoping to finish off the Firbolg before the Leprechaun was able to attack him from behind. Lee felt his sword stab into the archer’s side, but it didn’t seem to do much other than slide off of the man's stiff leather armor.

  The Firbolg stru
ggled, yanking even harder on his bow as he tried to regain control of his weapon, but Lee dug in his feet and did everything he could to leverage his weight and keep his balance while still attacking. He struck out with the sword in his free hand several more times, and he was certain that he could feel the blade biting into the man’s flesh.

  “I got him fixed. Get him!” the Firbolg yelled, wincing as Lee’s blade stabbed him for the fourth time.

  Crap, that must be the Leprechaun he’s talking to. Not sure what to do with his back exposed, Lee only knew he had to switch positions and move so he could see the Leprechaun somehow. Partially due to his panic, partially due to the fact he didn’t have enough muscle to do much, and partially due to the fact he really didn’t want to be where he was when the Leprechaun’s daggers came at him, Lee let the Firbolg win when he gave a hard tug on the bow, simultaneously allowing himself be pulled forward by the Firbolg’s strength and pushing off with his legs at the same time. His momentum carried him forward, and he used the extra force to aim a slash right into the Firbolg’s midsection. Before the archer could recover, Lee grabbed his arm, holding him in place, and stabbed him repeatedly.

  Your party has killed the player Lester. Your party has been awarded 98 copper, one oak bow and 125 Experience. Your share of this is 49 copper, one oak bow and 63 Experience.

  Once he knew that the Firbolg was dead, he turned his attention back to the Leprechaun. The Leprechaun looked confused. His knuckles turned white as he gripped his daggers, and his brow creased as he stared at Lee, obviously unsure of what to after having watched his friend be murdered. Lee could tell that he was trying to find an opening to attack, and he sealed off the possibility by continuously shifting the body of the Firbolg around in front of him like a shield.

  “You can’t win!” The Leprechaun resorted to taunting and gave up on being able to outmaneuver Lee. “Even if you kill me here, the Herald will have vengeance in my name.”