by Cat Wilder
Jax was the only drow in the Guild, and I think the only reason Duke Corvan allowed him in was the drow mage was an alternate character. His original character got corrupted during an earlier glitch in the game, and he couldn't recreate that avatar until support figured it out. He was tall, white-haired, black-eyed, and extremely dark gray. On top of that, the mage wore all tight black leather. He was quite scary sexy.
"Heeeey," I said, not sure if I could run away or not. Their arrival knocked the wind out of my sails, so I just sighed and nodded. "Yeah. It's me. Artimus killed my avatar and stuck me in this stupid wench character." They just gawked at me. "Yep. He can do it. So, what are you guys doing this early?"
Isobelle broke out of her shocked daze and grinned. "Me!"
The visual of the three of them naked in bed together came unbidden. I had to admit, it was sexy. I've been with both Ogge and Jax at the last victory party, but not at the same time. For the briefest second I thought about asking if I could join them. That was the "easy virtue" of my avatar trying to influence me, I'm sure.
"Well then, you're in for a good time," I said, returning to my breakfast.
I hoped horniness, and my disinterest in talking, would get them headed to their room. Didn't work. All three of them joined me at the table. Ogge started picking food off my plate like we were living together or something. My look of shock didn't faze him.
"Love the outfit," Isobelle said. "I have one, too, in real life. But it looks out of place in Battle for Glory."
I vaguely remembered her saying she liked to cosplay. She lived in the same city as me, and wanted me to join her and cosplay, too. Apparently, she traveled all over the country going to conventions and earned a lot of money.
"Artimus trapped me in this Princess Leia character," I said, and then slapped Ogge's hand. "I don't have any money to buy more food, you big oaf."
"I'm not an oaf. I'm an ogre."
"Half-ogre," I corrected. "The other half is oaf."
They all laughed. I wasn't laughing, and ate faster. After I finished eating, I didn't feel so besieged and was able to relax.
"Listen, guys, I'm in trouble," I said. "Artimus is a friggin' troll-ass bastard and he somehow trapped me in this character and the game. I can't get out."
"Go to your alternate character," Jax said.
"I never created an alternate, and I don't have a way to exit the game," I said. "If I could exit the game, then I could create an alternate character to play." None of them seemed shocked, just confused. "Did you hear me? Artimus trapped me in the game. I can not exit the game."
"Bullshit," Isobelle said. "That's impossible. All you have to do is disconnect your body from the game, and you're out."
"I have to exit the game to do that," I said, barely managing to say it without shouting.
Isobelle looked a little huffy for a second, and then rolled her eyes. "Hold on a sec. I'll take care of it."
And just like that she winked out of existence.
"Oh man, Isobelle has left the game," Jax said. He gave me a dirty look. "She better come back after she gets you disconnected. I've never had her, and I want her so bad it hurts in real life." His voice dropped and he looked around nervously. "I've seen her cosplaying in real life. She actually looks exactly the same. Same face, hair, body, everything."
That was shocking. I didn't think anyone could be that gorgeous except in virtual reality. Ogge and Jax ordered breakfast, and I picked off their plates for the next hour or more. There were no clocks in the game, since the designers didn't think people of that age had them. But eventually Isobelle returned, and her expression set off all of my alarm bells.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I'm… Um, I'm sorry," she said. "All I had was your avatar's name, and since it was deleted, it took them a little while to find you. And then it got worse."
"Oh, Jesus," I whispered, lowering my head into my hands. "This doesn't sound like it's going to end well."
"Do they know who Artimus is?" Jax asked.
"Yes, they do."
"Then they can force him to reverse what he did," he continued.
"No, the way he deleted her from the system, and then added her new avatar has complicated things. Though, since he did it, there is a possibility he can reverse it," Isobelle said. "But he will be charged with premeditated murder if Carly dies."
"If I die?" I cried. "What kind of crap is that?"
Isobelle looked shocked and horrified for a second. "I'm screwing this all up."
The battle-maid took a deep breath, and explained everything she knew. First, the police had been called. They were waiting for Artimus to exit the game, and will then arrest him for attempted murder. Since Artimus is one of the game company's owner's alt-characters, and he created the game Battle for Glory, then he knows it better than anyone. They will use the attempted murder charge as leverage to force him to explain how to reverse everything he did. While they are waiting for that, the gaming company had everyone working on figuring a way to save me and ensure this never happened again.
"Why can't they just disconnect me from the game?"
She paused. "Well, they aren't sure what will happen if they do."
"My session will end. I was playing last week when there was a power failure, and all it did was kick me out of the game," I said. "Disconnecting me, or disconnecting the power to my gaming pod will do the same thing."
"Not necessarily," she said. "What Artimus did to you fundamentally changed the game. I can't say I really understand what they said well enough to explain it to you, but basically Artimus changed the game so that all of our full consciousness is now uploaded into the game, and if we're disconnected for any reason, then our bodies might be left in a vegetative state."
"We'll die?" Ogge asked.
"Kind of," she said. "They think our consciousness will survive in the game, as our avatar, but they aren't a hundred percent sure of any of it." Isobelle shrugged. "It's going to take someone dying while playing the game to determine that."
"I might be that one, too," I whispered.
"Yeah, I'm afraid so," she said. "Everyone is lawyering up right now, including your family. The company wants to disconnect you if a solution hasn't been found within seventy-two hours. Your family wants your body placed on life-support until they find a way to return you safely to your body."
"So I have seventy-two hours to find Artimus and force him to reset my character back, or I'm doomed and he's going to prison in real life," I said.
"Pretty much," she said. Isobelle flushed bright red, tears filling her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. As the game stands, if I'm killed I might be killed in real life. I have to exit and stay out until they fix the problem. I'm so sorry."
My blood ran cold. She was right. "You all have to exit the game right now. I'll be fine. Hell, I'm surprised they haven't forced everyone to exit already."
"They are trying to figure out a way to broadcast an exit order to everyone," Isobelle said. "Pretty soon it'll just be you, Artimus, and the NPCs."
"Oh joy," I muttered.
Chapter 4
The city of Ankor was on an island, in the middle of a great river. That river flowed through a wide forest between two parallel mountain ranges. One range was ruled by Clan MacConel. The other range, called the Razorback Mountains, was filled with castles, towers, and fortified towns, all fiercely independent and constantly at war. The Red Death Warrior's Guild was a mercenary company that hired out to the lords and kings of that range, and sometimes just raided them. Artimus was trying to conquer the Razorback Mountains and create an empire.
Duke Corvan was one of Artimus' first victims, forcing Corvan out of his castle before razing it to the ground. So the Duke formed the Guild to fight Artimus, mostly unsuccessfully. I was new, and wanted companions to fight with, so joined the Guild. That membership quickly instilled a deep hatred for the evil wizard.
Now I was vanquished, and all of my friends had to exit the game to
save their lives in the real world. I was alone against Artimus and his NPC horde. Yet, the city was still full of virtual life, so the missing players were hardly notable. Business in the brothels and taverns would drop, but most would continue on as if nothing happened.
Unless they pulled the plug on the whole game.
Scary.
My friends said Artimus escaped their assault on the tower, and probably retreated back to his personal kingdom. The Kingdom of Kali was a mountain valley in the middle of the Razorbacks. It was about a five day march for an army like the Red Death Warrior's Guild. As a lone elfmaid, I could cover that same distance much faster.
After Ogge, Jax, and Isobelle exited the game, I headed out. The streets were mostly dirt, and usually mud, lined with half-timbered buildings of one, two, and three stories. There were a few stone structures, and quite a few stone towers up to fix floors high. Two bridges, one on each side of the island city, connected it to the lands beyond. They were heavily fortified bridges, with massive gatehouses on both ends.
I normally passed through the streets without fuss, but in that sexy outfit I turned a lot of heads. I wasn't a hundred percent sure, but I thought Artimus had made my new avatar a bit curvier, with larger boobs. I actually was happy with the rock hard, well-defined abs he gave me. Despite drawing a lot of attention, no one messed with me after I called up the bracers' sword and shield a few times and threatened to chop off their most sensitive body parts.
I got out of the city as fast as possible. I was burning daylight, and didn't have that much time to begin with. Thankfully, the gate guards only cared about anyone entering the city.
Being an elf, I could run through the forest effortlessly. I covered a lot of ground, and reached the foothills of the Razorback Mountains shortly before noon. I was pleased with my speed.
The road to the Kingdom of Kali lay before me. At the rate I was going, I could get past the dark tower the Guild conquered before sunset. The tower guarded the fork in the road, one road going to Artimus' kingdom.
"I have sixty-eight hours left," I muttered. "Can't stop until I drop."
Checking my HUD, I scowled at my list of Skills.
Swordfighter (Lvl 2).
Sex (Lvl 18).
Foraging (Lvl 3).
Someone should've warned me that sex is a Skill, I thought.
I got all tingly and hot thinking about exactly how I leveled up so well and so fast. Hagar was insatiable. The bastard had an enchanted cock ring, and wore me out. I swear, I couldn't have gotten more than two hours sleep all night. Still, all that amazing sex left me a little weary, more than a little sore, but totally energized.
My HUD also showed my Stamina was down to 70 percent after running so far. Elfmaid or not, I would need sleep time to recover my stamina. Health was good, though, at 93 percent. My health and stamina was helped a little when I found some nuts and berries an hour earlier. If I could only catch a rabbit or something for meat, then I could gain the skill of Hunting, too. And, of course, the meat would help my health and stamina recover.
Heading up the road, I slowed my pace a little. The forest was mostly flat between the city and the pass, but for the rest of the way I'd be going up and down hills and mountains. I had to pace myself if I wanted to arrive fresh enough to fight Artimus.
Maybe along the way I'd figure out how a wench of easy virtue can defeat a Level 55 wizard. It would require stealth, cunning, and a superior strategy. Yeah, I was fucked, but I still had to try. Just lying down and dying wasn't part of my DNA.
I reached the tower midafternoon. The Guild didn't just capture the tower, but razed it. All that remained was half a burnt out husk, and smoke still drifted up from the ruins. The Guild members killed vanished, so only the dead NPCs remained. I didn't care for the fact that dead NPCs didn't fade away, but remained to rot and stink up the place. But I noticed three characters doing their part to clean the area up.
"Ugh. Pigmen," I whispered.
I'd heard about them, but those three were the first I'd seen in the game. They were all big, muscular and built for power. They were six feet tall and broad, big boned brutes, with heads that looked more like a hog than a pig. My first thought was "Gamorreans," but again that was the wrong game/universe. I'd been told their race's name but couldn't remember. Everyone called them "pigmen."
They wore leather loincloths, with mismatched armor strapped haphazardly on their bodies. It looked ridiculous, but I wasn't going to say anything. I got killed on my first day in the game my making a joke about a goblin's mismatched armor. He didn't find me funny, and promptly shoved a spear through my heart.
He and his goblin friends were laughing as I died, though.
Hiding in the forest shadows, I studied them. The pigmen were sitting around a good fire, but nothing was cooking over it. One of them was rubbing his distended belly, while the other two spoke too low for me to hear. Bones and bits of armor were scattered around them and the fire, which made bile scald my throat.
"They're eating the dead NPCs?" I whispered. "That is so disgusting."
The ruined tower sat upon a flat shelf of land above the fork in the road. It was a good fifty feet away from their campsite right in the middle of the fork. It would be easy enough to stay in the woods and move around and past them.
One of them looked my way, and pointed.
"Elf!" he shouted.
My jaw dropped. How did he see me? I was deep in the dark shadows of the forest. Elves were masters of hiding in the woods.
All three of them grabbed spears and dropped into fighting stances. They looked more afraid of me than I was of them. Odd. That, and my curiosity, made me step out of my hiding place and onto the road. They relaxed just a little.
"It's just a girl elf," one of them said. "Pretty little thing, too."
"Hey, elfmaids are just as fierce and dangerous as our men," I said. I extended my right hand, and a sword appeared. I didn't call up the shield, and wouldn't unless I needed it. "Show some respect, pigboy."
"Did you hear her sassy mouth? She demanded we show respect, and then called us pigboys," The middle pigman said.
I pulled up my HUD so I could study them better. Above their heads, all three showed the same thing.
Pigman warrior.
"I'm Carly," I said. I found people were friendlier to others they knew by name. That ploy didn't always work, but it was worth a try. "Elven warrior."
I could get away with that since they were just NPCs. They couldn't see the Human. Wench of easy virtue over my head. They gave me a doubtful look, though. Had to be the outfit. No one respected a chick dressed like me.
"You look more like a slave girl than a warrior, Carly."
"There's no collar around my neck, pigboy, and there is a sword in my hand," I replied rather hotly. "The next one to comment on my outfit gets a sword through his larynx."
I wasn't even sure where to find their larynxes, since they didn't seem to have necks. My threat didn't impress them. All three grinned and lowered their spears.
"Be nice, sweetheart," the middle pigman said. "I'm Croaker. These are my friends Bakker and Hoag."
It hurt me not to make a joke about a pigman named "Hoag." Hurt bad, but I needed to get past those guys without trouble. Word was they were a lot faster than they looked, and very tenacious when going after an enemy. I didn't want them dogging me the whole way.
"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, Croaker," I said. I pointedly looked up the road, and then smiled at them. "I'd love to stay and socialize, but I'm running out of time. I got to keep moving up the road. Maybe we can share a beer at the Drunken Dragon next time you visit Ankor."
"Sounds like fun, but we can't let you pass unless you pay the toll," Croaker said.
All three of them grinned. Actually, it was more of a leer. I could tell, because their beady little pig-eyes looked me up and down, over and over. And Hoag's loincloth was tented, and still rising.
"If I don't pay the toll?"
&n
bsp; Croaker swept his hand around to indicate the scattered armor and bones. I cringed. I thought they were eating the dead from the battle. No, they were killing "fresh" meat.
"I don't have any money."
"Good," Hoag said, his voice dropping into a husky bedroom voice. He pulled his loincloth off to reveal a humongous erection. It was long, thick, and was paired with the biggest, hairiest balls I'd ever seen. "There are better ways to pay than money."
My sword vanished. Heart hammering, I felt a flush of heat wash through my body. Part of me was disgusted, yet my loins were on fire. Hot and achy, my pussy started throbbing with need. Was that a result of Artimus' curse? Was my "easy virtue" about to take me down? Hell, even my mouth watered when I idly wondered what his cock tasted like.
"If your cocks taste like bacon, I'll do all three of you."
That just slipped out, and my face heated up. Was I losing it? I've been accused of being a little crazy, but I'd never said anything like that before. But, it didn't bother any of them. The pigmen tossed their weapons aside, stripped off their loincloths, and advanced on me. Oddly enough, they left their mismatched armor on. And I kind of liked it.
"Um… Um…" I gasped, looking all around. My brain was failing me big time. I wanted a way out of that predicament, yet my head just spun. I was surrounded by naked pigmen before I knew it, and their bold hands explored my body. "You… You better not eat me, or I'll come back and kill you dead."
"If we eat you, Carly, it'll be in a way you enjoy," Bakker replied, straight into my ear.
His hot breath tickled, and I melted a little more. Croaker unfastened my top, tossing it away, while Hoag dropped to his knees behind me and stuck his snout up into my butt crack. Before I could ask what he was doing, Bakker's hand slipped under the front skirt and started rubbing circles around my slippery wet pussy.
