Chapter 53: Perfect Moments

“Claire,” said Brent after they had been walking for ten minutes in silence. He slashed at a low hanging branch with his sword and watched it fall to the ground. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” she said without looking at him. She was gazing at a tree that seemed to be not getting enough light as it was small and stunted. Her sword was still in its sheath and she had none of the energy Brent was accustomed to seeing from her whenever they were together.

Why are you acting so weird, thought Brent. Instead he asked her something else.

“What is a Deadly Solo? Hagden mentioned it back there but I can’t remember ever seeing the term.”

“A solo is a player who is not apart of a guild,” she said, glancing at him. “Most people choose a guild when they are able, because earning contract marks are easier to do. But some people never do, or do only rarely, and achieve their marks alone.”

“So what makes them so deadly?”

“Well,” she said, finally glancing at him. Her apprehension seemed to melt away as her focus turned to this bit of information. “Only players who become OP as solo’s are ever called ‘Deadly’. Remember Kars van Diet?”

Brent had read about him in the library on the training island. He had held a massive 15 contracts before he died over 200 years before Brent had spawned. He was known as Kars the Crazy for accepting quests alone that most guilds struggled to complete together. According to the book he had stood over 7 feet tall and wielded a hammer known as Flat Smasher.

“Of course,” said Brent. “So he was a Deadly Solo, then.”

“Yeah, and there are many others, too. Lady Bellamine is one of the most famous alive today. She must be close to 70 years old now. Also Pericles the Pleasant if you remember reading about him.”

“I saw a news article about Pericles,” said Brent. He glanced around the forest but there were no goblins in sight. He sheathed his sword and took a seat on the ground. “He had just got his 12th contract mark and became the oldest player to ever beat the Monster Hunter class.”

“It seems most of the Deadly Solo’s have that in common,” said Claire with a small laugh. “It takes them forever to become OP so they are always really old.”

“Makes sense, honestly,” said Brent. “I can’t imagine making a lot of progress by ourselves.”

“Giving up on this goblin?” Said Claire. She joined him on the ground and sat against a tree beside the stunted one she had been looking at earlier.

“We haven’t seen hide nor hair of one yet, and honestly I would probably just end up killing the bugger,” said Brent with a laugh. “Hey…what’s that?”

The sound of voices drifted though the woods, and were growing louder. They sounded irritated.

“…because I said so, Tommy. Do you know how many NPCs have saved my life before? It’s beyond rude to use that word.”

“So? I’ve heard you use it plenty of times. And since when did Spade the Thief become so delicate? You told me about hiring those NPCs to dress up for that costume party and then leaving them for a dragon to eat.”

“Thomas! I told you that in confidence.”

“Yeah, after we had stolen that pizza from Thaddeus.”

Chase and Thomas emerged from the trees, then froze when they saw Brent and Claire. Brent smiled and suppressed a laugh.

“No luck with the goblins, eh Chase?”

“Um,” Chase looked between he and Claire. “How much did you two hear?”

“Too much,” muttered Claire. She shook her head and sighed.

“It was a one time thing,” said Chase quickly. He looked at Thomas darkly who was smiling sheepishly. “You’re gonna get me in real trouble one day.”

“You do fine alone,” said Thomas. “Hey, do you know that Hagden guy?”

Chase looked around before answering.

“Yeah, I do,” he said quietly after making sure no one else was around. “Hagden was an old friend of mine, actually. I met him long before the Old Guard ever fought Oscuro. He was the one I was going to meet to talk to about…you know.”

“Are you worried he might recognize you?” Said Brent.

“I thought he was about to back there, actually.”

“He seems slightly neurotic,” said Brent.

“I know how he comes across, but Hagden is a good guy. And he was being modest about being a fighter. Before he changed his class to journalist he was quite the warrior, even could have become a top tier knight had he wanted to.”

“Why did he change to journalist?”

“A lot of reasons,” said Chase with a sigh. His eyes grew distant for a moment as he remembered his old life. Brent saw him do that a lot when they talked. “Most players who spawn here aren’t natural warriors. Hagden was good enough to get his third contract fighting, but he lost some friends and decided to put down the sword for good. He always blamed himself for their deaths and never looked back. Honestly before that he always talked about writing and working for one of the newspapers in Esem.”

“Chase,” said Claire. “Do you have any friends from your old life you have considered telling about…you know…respawning?”

Chase frowned, but he seemed to be thinking over her question.

“No,” he said. “Come on, let’s find Amelie and Alex. Maybe they have had better luck than us.”

Brent glanced at Claire but she was suddenly back to where she had been only twenty minutes before. She seemed to be consumed by something on her mind and Chase’s terse answer had barely registered. They both got off the ground and followed Chase and Thomas into the trees. It was not long before they heard Amelie and Alex in the distance and followed their voices to another clearing.

They found the pair struggling to subdue a terrified looking goblin. This one looked exactly as they ones they had fought all summer. It was small with leathery skin and wore animal skins over its body. The goblins eyes bulged and its little frame struggled uselessly against Alex’s muscles as he held the creature by the neck, pinning it against the ground. Amelie was leaning against a tree, clutching her shoulder with her left hand.

“Amelie,” said Chase, rushing over to her. “What happened?”

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“Oh,” she grimaced in pain. “The goblin ambushed us. Alex punched it so hard it dropped its weapon, but only after slicing my shoulder open.”

“It must have been in the tree,” said Alex. He looked ashamed that Amelie had been struck and his face was dark. He seemed to want to crush the goblins head in his hands instead of letting it live.

“Let me see,” said Chase calmly. “Oh, wow.”

Amelie removed her hand to reveal a deep cut in her shoulder. Blood leaked from the wound and was staining her shirt which now had a hole in it from the goblins strike.

“It’s alright,” said Amelie. “I am glad it happened to me instead of anyone else.”

A light appeared around her hand and she clasped her shoulder again. She held it there for a couple breaths and then removed her hand. Her shoulder was healed, with barely a mark to show that it had ever been cut, but for the drying blood on her arm and her shirt sleeve.

“Easier every time,” said Amelie with a smile.

“Not bad, Amelie,” said Thomas. He had gotten a stick and was poking the snarling goblin in the face. “See, Chase, she’s fine.”

Chase snatched the stick away from Thomas who protested as he tossed it into the woods.

“What did I tell you about messing with NPCs?”

“What?” Said Thomas, coming to his feet. “This isn’t an NPC. This is a monster. I can poke a monster.”

“It’s still an NPC,” said Chase, brushing his hands off.

“So we can kill it we just can’t mess with it?”

“That’s right,” said Chase. “It’s called respect for your enemies, Thomas. You need to learn that. Would you want another player doing that do you?”

Thomas crossed his arms and turned away. Brent chuckled which seemed to only make the boy even more mad, but he didn’t say anything.

“You’re such a kid, Thomas,” said Brent which made Thomas harumph. Sometimes he wondered why Thomas was even with them. It didn’t make much sense to have someone so young with them all.

Of course I’ve poked my fair share of goblins, too, thought Brent. What was it with the guild these last few days? Everyone seemed to be out of sorts ever since the Antagonista had captured them.

“Enough,” said Chase with a sigh. “Come on, guild. Let’s get back to Hagden. Amelie and Alex get the 20 gold. Well done, you two.”

They tramped through the woods in silence, everyone caught up in their own thoughts. For the first time Brent found himself missing Marlon. He always seemed to be able to break the tension with a joke, even if the rest of the time he was all but useless.

When they found Hagden again the man jumped up and welcomed them. He had to stop the two mercenary NPCs when they began to draw their swords after they saw the goblin.

“Stupid schlubs, put your swords away! These players did what you two were unable to,” he said as they began to rise, hands on their sword handles. “By AION next time I am telling the Post to just hire a couple players for a job like this.”

“What are you going to do with it?” Asked Amelie with concern as Hagden examined the squirming goblin. Alex’s arms were straining to hold the thing and despite his stoic attitude the big boy was tiring from the effort.

“Just a couple pictures, here,” he said, raising his camera. “I can make the dirty thing stop moving. Everyone cover your eyes for a moment.”

Chase told them to do as he said, and Brent looked away as there was a bright flash. The mercenary NPCs were back to idly standing around and Brent wondered whether they were actually offended by Hagden’s comments or they were not designed to understand anything other than fighting.

There was a bright flash, and the goblin ceased its moving. When Brent turned to look the goblin was now hanging limply in Alex’s broad arms, its feet dangling limply and its eyes were wide and frozen.

“One of the few abilities the Journalist class awards is Star Shock,” explained Hagden. He motioned for Alex to place the goblin on the ground. Alex did so, and the goblin continued standing. “I can freeze little schlubs like this for about twenty minutes. Not much use for a group but for those times I need a few pictures it comes in handy.”

“Interesting,” said Alex. He bent over to examine the goblin who was now drooling as it continued to stare blindly at the trees. “Could you freeze a larger monster?”

“Oh. Well,” said Hagden, clearly annoyed to be answering questions when he was preparing to take pictures of the goblin. “I’ve never really tried, but theoretically, I suppose I could. Would you all mind standing to the side? I don’t want a lot of extra legs in my shot.”

The guild gathered around the mercenary NPCs and waited as Hagden went about his business. He took pictures of the goblin from every angle, and at one time picked up a stick and began to poke to monster’s nose.

“Look, Thomas,” whispered Brent, bending low to reach Thomas’ ear. “Maybe you can be a journalist some day.”

Thomas sniggered despite himself.

“I’m pretty qualified, it seems.”

“That Star Shock ability does seem useful,” Brent admitted.

“Let’s hope Marlon doesn’t ever find out about it,” said Thomas wickedly. “I can only imagine what that dirty old man would use it for.”

Brent chuckled and then straightened up. Beside him was one of the NPCs. Now that he was closer Brent could see scars crisscrossing his face, and a pair of brown eyes not unlike his own.

“Are you two from Avalon?”

The NPC quickly glanced at him and then looked away.

“Yes, we are,” said the mercenary.

“Have you always been a mercenary?”

“Of course. AION designed us this way.”

“Do you like it?”

“Like it?” The mercenary frowned and stared at the ground. His partner looked at Brent for the first time with a curious expression. “I never thought about it, actually. I don’t think it really matters, though. It’s what I was made to do, so I do it.”

“Do you get hired often?”

“I, um,” the mercenary seemed either unequipped or too surprised that Brent was talking to him like this produce a response. His partner sighed and spoke for him.

“Yes, we do,” said the other. Now that Brent was next to him he saw that this one was slightly shorter and more stocky. His face was also scarred but his eyes were a dark blue. “Players who don’t fight hire us to get them to the Gates of Esem, usually when they need to go to the Hub.”

“So you’ve been to the Hub?” Said Brent. “What’s it like? I’ve heard it’s the only place in Esem that there are more players than NPCs.”

“We’ve never left Avalon,” said the mercenary. Behind him Hagden was laying the goblin on its back and arranging it’s limbs spread eagled on the ground. “We escort players to the Gates themselves and then return to the Kings City.”

“You’ve never left Avalon?”

“Correct.”

“What if someone hired you to travel with them to another area?”

“You’re gonna make him spaz,” muttered Thomas.

Brent ignored him. The NPC crossed his arms and thought about it for a moment.

“Others in our group have traveled to other areas. The better mercenaries, actually. Both of us have a one star rating, so players only hire us for short escort missions.”

Star ratings? Thought Brent. He had never heard of such a thing to describe an NPC as.

“NPCs are all given ratings,” explained the mercenary, seeing Brent’s confusion. “That goblin over there also has a one star rating. If you have a more dangerous mission, then you need a higher rated mercenary. Our company has a couple three star mercenaries that take those jobs. They are very expensive.”

“Every NPC has a rating, then?”

“Correct,” the mercenary said again. “Everyone from the farmers to the blacksmiths to the monsters all have a rating. I think the highest rated monster in Avalon is the Great Dragon, Eldarifrax. He is a ten star rated monster.”

“That’s incredible!” said Brent. He felt excitement building up inside of him. He wanted to be known for slaying a high rated monster. He turned around to seek out Claire, surely she would want to know about this. “Claire!”

She was sitting against a tree again, watching Hagden measuring the goblins teeth with a pencil. When she looked at him she appeared more shy than usual, and her lip quivered.

“Yes, Brent?”

“Monsters all have ratings! There’s a dragon that is a ten star! Can you believe it?”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

Feeling a bit deflated at her less than enthusiastic response, Brent shook his head and turned to talk with the mercenary more. He was cut off by Hagden.

“All done,” said the journalist. The man stood up, leaving the still enchanted goblin on the ground. “Ready for that picture? You two,” he pointed at the mercenaries, “get out of the shot, they don’t need you two schlubs ruining their picture.”

“Should we dispose of the goblin?” Said the one Brent had been talking to.

“Yes, yes,” said Hagden distractedly. He was fiddling with his camera. “Kill the thing over there, I don’t want any blood getting on my things.”

The mercenaries shuffled off to do as commanded, and Hagden told the guild to gather closer together. Brent and Alex stood behind Chase, Amelie, and Thomas as they were the tallest. Claire sullenly stood beside Amelie and was the last fall in with the guild.

“Lovely,” said Hagden. He positioned the camera and held it there for a bit. “Alright, big smiles, you lot. You just completed a job for a big time, award winning journalist. Look proud to come so close to fame.”

“Don’t accidentally stun us,” said Thomas through his teeth.

“What’s that, you little twerp?”

“What did you just call me?” Said Thomas angrily.

FLASH.

“Perfect,” said Hagden, a look of satisfaction crossing his face.

“Hey, I wasn’t ready,” said Thomas. “Take it again! You took it when I was talking.”

“Sorry,” said Hagden, “that was my last bit of film. I am sure you will look absolutely stunning when it develops.”

Chase chuckled and ruffled Thomas’ hair.

“There’s no such thing a perfect photograph, Tommy, only perfect moments.”

Hagden frowned at Chase’s words.

“I had a friend who used to say something similar,” said Hagden.

“Smart man,” said Chase quickly. “When can we have the photo?”

“You’ll have to pick it up in the King’s City. I’ll give you a receipt you can bring to the AION Post’s office there. Oh,” he rummaged in his pocket and then handed Chase some coins. “As agreed, twenty gold coins for your help.”

“Great,” said Chase, handing the shining gold to Alex. “Well, if you don’t need anything else, we will take our leave.”

“Very well, safe travels,” said Hagden. He summoned his journal and began scribbling in it, ignoring them as though they had disappeared.

“Same to you,” said Chase. “Seven Banes, roll out.”

They left the journalist and his mercenary NPCs in the clearing. Moonshine was still on the side of the road grazing when they found her.

“Next stop, Birchtown,” said Chase, hopping in the wagon.

Finally, thought Brent. The contract tournament.

He tightened his grip on his swords handle.

Time to show the world what I can do.