by Quinn Dallas
“What happened?” I asked.
“The dwarves dug too deep and awakened the Rattari.” he shivered. “Nasty beasts who worship a crazy Rat King named Grogh.”
“That sounds fun,” Yvir smiled wide and punched her fist into her palm.
“That monster is both powerful and ancient.” The Gnome continued. “But he guards the Phoenix Gem.”
“Right,” I leaned forward. “And if we get the gem before another party does. We can take it back to the Quest Master.”
“As long as I get what I want,” Rolf scratched his chin.
“Yes,” I nodded. “There’s something in there you want?”
“The Dwarf King’s diamond,” his eyes glittered. “It’s worth an entire casket of gold!”
Leonidas lifted his mug, “Let’s drink on it!”
We all lifted our mugs of ale high and then clanked them together in a toast. “To our success!” I called out.
More mugs of ale arrived, as well as a fat slab of ham with bread and cheese. “We didn’t order all this,” I told the rather busty serving wench.
“Aye,” she said. “It’s on the house brave ones.” She winked. “We’re hoping you will rid us of those rat-men!”
“So they can work the mine again,” Rolf shook his head. “Not much else here in this dried-up town.”
Stonehaven was indeed an oasis in the wasteland. Rolf had explained earlier, it sat over an enchanted spring, which granted endless water to the inhabitants. But that’s about all it had. The land was poor for growing crops. Losing the mine and the associated riches must have hit the town hard.
I scanned the tavern, an assortment of men and dwarves were drinking and talking loudly. I wondered if they’d come out to spy the foolish adventurers.
“Perhaps it’s our last meal,” Leonidas shoveled a hunk of meat into his mouth. Then he washed it down with a large gulp of his ale.
“At least the cheese is good,” Shauna cut a sliver from the block and placed it on a piece of brown bread.
Feeling brave I sat next to her and whispered, “Did it bother you that… I mean about Shregun”
“What?” The cleric’s eyes widened with confusion. “Oh, you thought I was…” then she laughed.
“Well, weren’t’ you?” I continued. “I mean it seemed like you were.”
“Oh wow,” she covered her mouth with her hand. “You really don’t know do you?”
“Know what?” I honestly was clueless.
“Uhm,” she paused. “Yvir and I are close.”
“I know that,” I said. “You guys are great friends IRL right?”
“Well it’s a more than that,” she took a nervous sip from her tankard.
“You two are together!” I stumbled over my words.
“That’s right.” she winked at me. “I thought you knew.”
“Of course I did,” I folded my arms and frowned. “I’m not stupid.”
“You totally didn’t know,” she laughed. “You thought I was jealous… Admit it!”
The truth was I had hoped she was jealous. But now that I knew she and Yvir were lovers, I just felt foolish. How did something so obvious escape me? I decided the best option would be to back out of this entire conversation gracefully.
“Can we-uhm-just start over here?” I pleaded.
“Already forgotten,” Shauna smiled and held out her hand.
“Good,” we shook hands and then both erupted into laughter.
“What’s up with you two?” Yvir interrupted us.
“Nothing,” Shauna said. “She just tells the most awful jokes!”
“I see,” the barbarian leaned over and kissed Shauna on the cheek.”
“If we’re up early tomorrow,” I yawned. “Then it’s bed time for me.”
“True,” Yvir nodded. “Despite all the fun we’re having.”
“It might be best to rest up,” Shauna stood up.
“You guys calling it a night?” Leonidas called over his shoulder. “But the party's just getting started.”
“You are the worst Paladin ever,” Yvir pointed at him. “I thought you guys were supposed to be prudish.”
“I am very staunch pagan,” he laughed and then picked the serving wench up by her waist. The woman giggled and made a half-hearted attempt to break free.
“Well then it’s time to rest for me,” I headed towards the tavern’s staircase. “I’m sure Leo will be well taken care of.
“Woo hooo..” he yelled. “I just gained the Party Animal achievement!”
* * *
The fact that we could sleep and dream in VRMMO would never ceased to amaze me. I mean, weren’t we already technically sleeping in real life? And the whole concept of having a dream within a dream made my head spin. Things in VR were just a little weird.
So when I awoke and found the innkeeper standing over my bed, clutching a butcher knife, I wasn’t entirely surprised. The fact that his eyes were glowing an eerie green didn’t help matters much.
“You will not gain the gem!” he hissed and then brought the knife down.
Lucky for me, standard NPC stats suck. I rolled out the way and landed on the opposite side of the bed. My feet hit the floor with a thud and I sprung into a fighting position.
“Grymme?” I muttered out loud.
“Die!” the possessed man screamed before he lunged.
The blade cut into my shoulder but didn’t do much damage to my overall HP. I brought the side of my open hand down hard into the back of my chubby attackers neck. It was a K.O. blow and didn’t kill him. The NPC fell to the ground and didn’t move. That’s when I heard the sound of a pitched battle outside my door.
I bounded into the hall and peered over the railway, Leonidas was surrounded by a mob of possessed tavern goers.
The plump tavern wench held two knives in her hands. She was swinging them in expert arcs in front of her. Leonidas was doing a good job of avoiding her attacks. I pulled my HUD and analyzed the combatants.
The NPC’s had all received significant combat upgrades. More than likely thanks to Grymme. Also, they all seemed to have a new buff on them: Dark Corruption. I read the buffs description and cringed.
BUFF NAME: DARK CORRUPTION
DESCRIPTION: THIS NPC’S ATTACKS NOW APPLY POISON. THE NPC IS ALSO MORE RESISTANT TO DAMAGE FROM ALL ATTACK TYPES.
“Well, that’s new,” I mumbled as I leapt over the railing. I went invisible before I hit the ground. Leonidas was now backed into a corner.
He held up a chair as a shield and was fending off his attackers. The tavern wench had received a boss level upgrade. So it was important to take her out first.
I snuck up behind her and charged up my Shadow Strike attack. Without taking any longer than necessary, I pulled back my arms and thrust my blades forward.
CRITICAL STRIKE SUCCESSFUL
It was a direct hit and the woman erupted into a shower of pixels. I hated to do it, but she’d been completely corrupted. It was her or Leo.
“Thanks for the save,” Leonidas punched an attacking NPC in the jaw.
“She’d been upgraded to boss level,” I said. “Where are your weapons?”
“In my room,” he said.
“The others are upstairs too,” I called out as I kicked an attacker in the stomach.
“Then we fight our way up and save them!” before he could finish his sentence a body crashed to the ground from above. We both heard a familiar battle cry.
“Yvir,” I whispered as I glanced upward. The red-haired Barbarian fought a pitched battle on the balcony. She swung her war hammer hard into another attacker. Her weapon connected with a thud and sent the possessed NPC flying.
“Enough of this!” Shauna stood behind her and gestured, “BANISHMENT!” A bright light spread out from her outstretched hands and filled the room.
I shielded my eyes and then opened them. All of the NPC’s had vanished. �
�Well that’s a handy spell,” I called out.
“One time use!” she replied. “I wish I could’ve saved it. It’s valuable against the possessed or the undead.”
“What about Rolf and Cairngorm?” Yvir slung her war hammer over her shoulder.
“Right here,” Cairngorm emerged from the other end of the hall. Two skeletal warriors followed him, with Rolf walking quickly behind.
“I should’ve known you could take care of yourself,” Leonidas cracked his knuckles.
“What in the hell just happened?” the dark mage pushed stray hair from his face.
“Grymme,” I said. “He hijacked the Tavern NPC’s”
“Holy shit,” Cairngorm seemed shocked. “He can do that?”
“Apparently he can.” I said. “But I’m guessing that it’s a limited move. Or he would’ve pulled it back in King’s City.”
“Well the city is well protected by a large number of protocols.” Shauna stroked her chin. “My guess is that there was exploit in these guy's AI that he exploited.”
“I don't’ know what gibberish you’re on about,” Rolf huffed. “But you might want to think about something.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“If he possessed all these folk,” he pointed at me. “Then what about the rest of the town?”
“Oh crap,” I bit my lip. “He couldn’t possibly have?”
“Uhm guys,” Leonidas peered out the window. “Take a look.”
I pulled back the window curtain to see what had Leonidas so alarmed. Outside a large crowd of NPCs had gathered. All of them with glowing green eyes.
“We’re screwed!” Leonidas stepped back.
“No we’re not,” Shauna said. “You’re a Paladin and I’m a Cleric.” Then she gestured to Cairngorm “And we got Grimdark here!”
“What are you on about?” Cairngorm questioned her.
“We got buffs galore and good weapons,” she continued. “If we stick close and don’t take on any unnecessary fights we can make it to the mines.”
“Getting my weapons,’ Leonidas bounded up the stairs.
“I understand,” I put my hand her shoulder. “We get Leonidas to tank and shield.”
“Cairngorm can back up heal and summon pets as needed.” She continued. “While I main heal”
“And we sneak out back,” Yvir nodded. “Avoiding the populated streets.”
“I can stealth scout ahead” I cracked my knuckles.
“We really have no other choice.” Cairngorm gestured and dismissed his skeletal servants.
“Then let’s do it,” she said. “We'll head to the underground mine, while taking the least dangerous routes.”
CHAPTER 22
“Do you see anything?” Leonidas was mere steps behind me. I kept my focus directly ahead. Staying sharp was my primary objective. The dark alley held a number of hidden alcoves from which hostiles could ambush.
I pressed my fingers to my lips, “Shhh!”
Leonidas nodded and readied his sword. We had made it from the inn with little resistance. There were a few low-levels we encountered. But they had been dispatched easily. Grymme’s possession had been all but complete. The great dragon had managed to corrupt the entire NPC populace of Stonehaven against us. I peered around a corner into the open street. It was quiet. The dry desert air tickled my nose, scented with the acrid smell of cooking fires. I motioned for the group to follow me. Our band moved silently but quickly. We ducked behind an abandoned hay cart.
“The mine is over there!” the gnome pointed ahead towards a rocky hill. The wind stirred up swirling dust devils and a tumbleweed rolled by.
“Looks easy enough,” Yvir gripped her weapon's hilt.
“Let’s go for it,” Cairngorm pulled his dark wizard's hood over his head.
“Now or never,” I responded creeping from behind the cart and towards the hill. Moving swiftly we left the gates of the town and headed towards the hilly range. The mountainous area was actually much further away that I’d thought at first. A million stars blinked in the dusky sky over our heads.
“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?” Shauna took a moment to admire our surroundings. “Sometimes I forget all of this isn’t real.”
Leonidas strode across the desert sands looking like a dark god. His thick black braids blew in the wind and his square jaw jutted forward heroically. “We need to keep moving.”
“I know,” Shauna nodded. “It’s just sometimes the beauty of this place takes me off guard.”
“Here,” the gnome thief picked up his pace. “Follow me and stay close.”
I narrowed my eyes, thankful for my enhanced vision attribute, and kept pace with the swift moving little man. He stopped when he reached a wooden framed entrance, carved into the side of a large hill.
“We made it!” he huffed. “Should be a piece a cake from here, as long as we don’t rile up the Rattari.”
Yvir cracked her knuckles. “Those rat-headed bastards best steer clear of us.”
“Don’t underestimate ‘em,” Rolf wagged his finger. “They have sharp teeth and claws. Not to mention an acute sense of smell.”
“The Rat-Men will have an advantage over us in these dark caves,” Cairngorm twisted the silver ring on his finger.
“We’ve come too far to stop now,” Shauna pulled her cloak around here.
“She’s right,” I pulled out my poison dagger. “We must keep going.”
“So our plan is what, exactly?” Leonidas asked.
“We sneak in,” Rolf said. “It’s nearing dawn and Rattari sleep during the day.”
“So we sneak past them and go into the Rat King's lair.” Shauna replied.
“And then grab the gem,” I finished her sentence.
“Don’t forget my diamond,” the Gnome rogue pointed at me. “I’m not leaving without it! ”
“And Rolf’s diamond,” Leonidas slapped the little man on the back. “We won’t forget.”
I bit my lower lip, the truth was I had serious misgivings about this entire adventure. Things had gone well. Too well in fact, this could very well be a carefully laid trap by Grymme. The rogue dragon knew what we were after. He had tried to stop us by corrupting an entire town full of NPC’s. So no doubt he’d lay traps in this Rattari filled mine.
“I hope we’re doing the right thing,” I said aloud.
“Chances are Grymme has a surprise in store for us,” Yvir grunted.
“But there are rules,” Cairngorm shook his head. “If Grymme wanted to, he could’ve tipped the game in his favor long ago.”
“But he hasn’t,” Leonidas interrupted.
“Because he can’t,” Shauna completed the Paladin’s thought. “He has to play by the rules of the quest.”
“That may be,” I stroked my chin. “But we can’t be entirely sure of that.”
“Are you lot going to yap all day?” Rolf stomped his foot. “Or are we going to get going?”
“Lead the way,” I responded. The Gnome grunted and then walked into the mine. I followed close behind. A blast of cool air swept over me as we entered the mine shaft. Hints of silver glinted along the rock walls, catching the light of our torches.
“Stick close to me,” Rolf said, his face cloaked in both light and shadow. I held my torch out and kept my eyes peeled for any type of danger.
“So far so good,” Yvir waved her torch left-and-right.
“You just jinxed us,” Shauna whispered.
“Don’t’ be so negative! ” Yvir grumbled.
“Oh shit!” Rolf interrupted with distress. Ahead of us was a group of sleeping Rattari warriors. The rat-men lay huddled together in a pile, blocking the narrow passageway.
“Shhh...” Rolf pressed his finger to his lips and continued forward. He stepped lightly over one sleeping Rattari after the other. I followed closely behind, thankful for my high dexterity and stealth.
Next, followed Shauna with Yvir in tow. The two women carefully stepping into the spaces between the sleeping Rat-Men. Cairngorm placed a hand on Leonidas’ shoulder and then made a gesture. The two of them vanished. There was a slight disturbance of the air and suddenly the pair re-appeared next to me. My eyes widened but I didn’t say anything. Out of fear I might awaken the Rattari. Plus, I was thankful for the dark wizard’s quick thinking. As a tank, Leonidas was anything but stealthy. There was too big a chance he’d fail a dexterity check and waken our foes. Rolf motioned for us to keep moving. I glanced at Leonidas who seemed a bit disoriented by his recent teleportation. I prayed he didn’t hurl as we moved quickly to keep up with the fast moving Gnome. That’s when I made my mistake. I hadn’t noticed the skeletal remains on the floor. Scattered around were the bones of previous adventurers. I stumbled over the helmeted skull of one such unlucky soul and kicked his metal helmet. The helmet skidded across the floor and hit the cave wall with a loud CLANK.
“Crap!” I said aloud as my eyes widened with fear. The Rattari stirred and groaned. Awakening swiftly at the sound.
“Dammit!” Leonidas drew his sword and readied his shield.”
“So much for stealth!” Yvir swung her halberd into a ready position.
“Well isn't’ this just great,” the sarcastic Gnome touched his invisibility ring and vanished from view. Holding both my daggers in a firm grip, I activated my stealth power. A dagger spin attack from stealth should do enough DPS to take out the trash mobs.
Which might make up for my blunder. One of the rat-faced men let out a guttural howl! Which roused the rest of his comrades. The pack of Rat-Men were all awake now and sniffing the air. Then suddenly a large group of them rushed towards us. I inhaled and readied myself. When the first group reached me, I launched my spinning AOEattack. Since I attacked from stealth it landed an automatic critical hit.
The DPS numbers spun around me. I had managed to shave off over seventy-five percent of my attackers hit points. But I needed to follow-up. I made a swift stab to the Rattari attacking me head on. My dual daggers striking the beast in the chest.The rat-headed monster howled and erupted into a shower of pixels. One down!
