Mike was frozen to his desk. Did he really believe that an internet search would trigger a visit from some sort of magical swat team? What was that going to look like… orcs in tactical gear?
[G: Probably more like orcs in business suits. Go now, Mike.
Mike got up from his desk, his head spinning. “Uh, okay thanks B, I'll um… I'll go see what they want.”
It was a strange feeling, casually fleeing out of a perfectly normal office building during a perfectly normal work day. Mike looked suspiciously at every other perfectly normal looking office worker who passed him in the corridor. He didn't even know if he knew what an orc would look like. He knew what one should look like, but if they looked like that, how could they just be walking around town like everyone else?
[G: Disguise spell. You will know them when you see them now because we are soulbound. Before, you would not have known them. People see what they're expecting to see, remember?
Mike took the elevator down to the basement car parking lot. It stopped at the lobby to let a few workers out. Across near the concierge desk, Mike saw three hulking orcs dressed in tightly tailored black business suits. Their heads were big, bald, green and ugly. They had mean looking tusks and beady, red eyes. Their muscles bulged, stretching the seams of the suits they wore to their limits.
[ORC SHAMAN | LEVEL 15 | DEATH FLARE 12 | MIGHTY PUNCH 15 | AXE WIELDER 10 | KEVLAR BODY ARMOUR 8
[ORC WARRIOR | LEVEL 12 | MIGHTY PUNCH 12 | AXE WIELDER 10 | KEVLAR BODY ARMOUR 8
[ORC WARRIOR | LEVEL 12 | MIGHTY PUNCH 11 | AXE WIELDER 9 | KEVLAR BODY ARMOUR 8
Everyone in the lobby walked past them without a second glance.
Mike stepped back behind another worker on the elevator, but they must have sensed or been alerted to his presence somehow, because the biggest orc, the shaman, locked eyes with him as the doors were sliding closed.
Mike just had time to see a ripple of red light coalesce around the big orc's forearm, and a beam of what Mike could only assume was magical energy shoot towards the elevator.
It happened so fast. A thin stream of the light made it through the doors before they closed completely, and struck the worker Mike had stepped behind. He was an older man, the hair at his temples greying. He suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed to the floor, his face an agonized grimace of pain.
“Help!” he rasped, gaping at Mike through wide, bloodshot eyes and reaching for him helplessly with the last of his strength. But the eyes closed, and the man was gone.
Mike was in the elevator with a dead man. He started hyperventilating.
This guy's dead, this guy's dead, this guy's dead, he couldn't stop chanting it over and over in his mind, and then, This guy's dead… because of me… because of me, because of me, BECAUSE OF ME!
He couldn't breathe. He didn't know what he should do. He fell to his knees next to the man, crying, he placed his hands on the man's chest and pushed down, then pushed again, then again,
I can save him! I can save him!
[G: Mike, he's gone. There's nothing you can do.
[M: I CAN SAVE HIM, I CAN SAVE HIM.
Mike was crying, openly, he couldn't stop the compression he was attempting on the man's chest, and he couldn't stop the heaving sobs that were welling up out of him.
[G: Mike, this is real. You can fight to prevent more of this. You can save many. The stronger you are, the more people you can save. But you can't save everyone. You can't save him. He is already gone. I'm sorry, Mike.
The elevator dinged and the doors to the basement carpark slid open. The carpark was deserted. It was silent, and the silence was heavy. Mike wiped his eyes and sniffled as he stood up slowly, looking out the doors, afraid.
He had been stupid not to listen to Goblin in the first place. Goblin knew how this worked, and Mike had thought he'd known better. But he'd fallen into a world where he didn't know better. In fact, he was starting to realize he didn't know anything. He'd put people in danger. An innocent bystander had just died. Right in front of his eyes. He couldn't allow it to happen again. He'd make sure it didn't happen again.
He stepped out of the elevator, and the doors slid closed to return to the lobby, taking the dead body of the innocent office worker away with them.
[G: Covert op orc squads are always five. There were three in the lobby. Beware.
[M: Where can we go to escape them? Should I go home?
[G: No. Then they will know where you live. You should dive now, that is the only way to break their trace on you.
[M: Dive?
INVENTORY[-]
[HEALTH PILL MINOR 3
[HEALTH PILL EPIC 1
[LETTER FROM GRANDMA 1
[OLD BEER COASTER 1
Of course! Mike remembered. In her letter, Grandma said the map that Grandpa had scrawled on the back of the beer coaster would always lead him to the nearest rift.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
He pulled it out and examined it. It showed a few hand drawn box-like buildings, some dotted lines that might be roads, and an X.
He thought about the map. One of the boxes looked familiar for some reason and had a number scrawled next to it: 42st/portbus. He realized what that meant at the exact same moment he heard a fire door get kicked open and heavy footsteps pounding through the parking lot.
Mike ducked behind a car. The 42nd St Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station was only a few blocks from this building.
“We know you're in here, and we'll tear down this building to get to you.” The voice was low, dark and gravelly. Dangerous. Precise. Not like a movie orc. Mike couldn't see the creature directly, but he could see a reflection of a reflection from some of the more polished cars.
[G: I'm going to suggest something inordinately stupid.
[M: I'm open to any sort of suggestion right now.
[G: You can drive?
[M: I mean…
[G: Seriously Mike, what can you do?
[M: How hard can it be...
The two other orcs from the lobby had now emerged, and they had split up to systematically search for him.
[G: This could go bad. Okay, draw me out quietly and choose a car.
[M: Choose a car? How am I going to-
[G: Magic.
[M: But how is that-
[G: Magic.
[M: What about-
[G: Mike, shut up and choose a car. Choose a fast one.
The orcs weren't far away now. This was inordinately stupid. He couldn't actually drive. Not even a little bit. He didn't know how he'd even be able to get into any of the cars, let alone start and drive one. And stealing a car? That was a criminal offence. That was grand theft auto. He'd never committed a crime in his life. Well, nothing major at least. He was definitely going to die this time. He just wasn't sure whether by magical orc, or traffic accident, or incarceration leading to life sentence and a questionable end behind bars. He took a deep, steadying breath.
[M: I'm going to trust you on this one.
[G: I'm all you've got. That orc will kill you on the spot, don't you doubt it for a second. Now I need you to feed me a piece of the chosen car. Into one of my slots.
[M: Umm… how do I get a piece of car?
[G: Come on, Mike. This isn't a carry. Work it out. As soon as you do, you then need to plunge me into the engine bay. A hard stab, straight down into the bonnet. Hard. Got that? Then get in the car and be ready for everything.
Mike thought about it. How could he get a piece of car without making any sound… what was pliable enough he could cut quietly and small enough he could feed into a slot…
Tires! he thought.
He checked he was still covered and crept across two cars to a sleek, black sports car. It looked powerful, and it looked mean. Mike had no idea how he was going to handle a car like this, but if he was going to do it he'd be doing it in style. He ducked around the side of the car. Taking the edge of Goblin's blade, he sliced off an extremely thin strip of rubber from the tread. He fed it into one of Goblin’s slots.
[G/SLOT POPULATED SPORTS CAR TIRE SHRED
[G/+1GRADE
[M/SLOT POPULATED SPEED DEMON 5
[M/SLOT UPGRADED FEAR 2
The desire to be in the car suddenly permeated his being. He still didn't know how he'd be able to handle it, but he knew he wanted to!
[G: Okay. Good. Good choice. Now, plunge me into the engine. I suggest you utter a battle cry for additional power. Then get in. As fast as you can.
Mike's heart was pounding. He felt the adrenaline kick in. He gripped Goblin tightly in two hands, blade downwards. He stood. He raised Goblin above his head.
“Aaaaaarrrrgggggghhhh!” he yelled, as he plunged the rusty sword down with all his strength. The blade penetrated deep into the sleek black hood of the sportscar and lodged, hilt upwards, looking like some sort of caricatured gothic badge. Mike staggered backwards.
A lot of things happened.
[G/STATE 1:12
[G/+1FORCE
[G/LEVEL UP. GOBLIN IS NOW LEVEL 2.
[M/+1POWER
[GOBLIN | LEVEL 2 | STATE 1:15
[SOULBOUND SWORD | RUSTY THRUSTER
[FORCE 2:4 | GRADE 2:4
[WORMWOOD SPRIG | SPORTS CAR TIRE SHRED | SLOT | SLOT | SLOT
[MIKE | LEVEL 1 | HEALTH 78:120 | ENERGY 8:20
[SOULBOUND SWORD WIELDER | FIRST INHERITOR
[READ 1:5 | FIGHT 1:5 | POWER 3:5 | SPEED 2:5
[FEAR 2 | SPEED DEMON 5 | SLOT | SLOT | SLOT
[INVENTORY[-]
Goblin sparked and popped and crackled.
The orc shaman's head snapped around, his arm instantaneously rising in Mike's direction, ripples of energy gathering around it.
The other two orcs bellowed and charged towards the car, drawing battle axes from somewhere… inventory? thought Mike detachedly.
The car engine suddenly sputtered and roared to life. It was a deep throaty, powerful roar.
The door locks clicked open and Mike threw himself at the door handle, yanked the door wide and dove into the driver's seat head first.
“GOBLIN, REVERSE, REVERSE! GET US OUT OF HERE!” Mike screamed.
A bolt of powerful death flare energy seared past where he had just been standing.
The sports car's tires squealed, and the beast of a machine flung itself backwards out of it's parking space.
The first charging, bellowing orc was surprised by the speed of the car, and took the brunt of a brutal bumper smash to its legs. It fell backwards and was crushed under the full weight of the back half of the car clunking over it.
Mike gasped with shock. Had they just killed an orc warrior?
[M/+2READ
[M/+2FIGHT
[M/+2POWER
[M/+2SPEED
The second charging orc chopped down with massive force on the rear windshield, smashing the glass in. The battle axe lodged in the steel of the car's body.
“GO GOBLIN, DRIVE!”
The car wheels squealed again, throwing the car forwards, and Mike and Goblin took off, racing through the rows of parked cars. The orc clung to the axe, screaming in rage and pain as he was dragged along behind the speeding car.
Mike, who had been watching the orc out the back window, now turned to see a concrete wall at the end of the row of parked cars fast approaching.
“GOBLIN!” Mike yelled, “ THERE'S A CONCRETE WALL AHEAD! TURN, TURN RIGHT!”
The car accelerated…