I was lounging around the bar nursing another ale when the door of the inn banged open and the smith I’d bought my hammer from entered the bar with a stout dark-haired woman in tow. “Sten we heard about Gerta what’s going on? Tess told Helen that there was some lad in town and him and Hanna were carrying Gerta this way.”  

“That would be young Noob Slayer over here Branford. He helped me and Henry with some rats yesterday. Gerta got attacked and they brought her here. She’s upstairs with Hanna.” The inn-keep responded.

I spoke up. “There’s a big cave that’s full of rats. I bet there’s more people in town with the same problem. I’m gonna go take care of the ones in Gerta’s house tomorrow. Think I’ll ask around and see if there’s anyone else who needs help.” It seemed the right thing to say. Not to mention the possibility there might be more some money in it.

I heard footsteps on the stairs and Hanna spoke up as he came down. “That’s not gonna do anyone any good. There’s already been someone nearly killed. This whole thing is getting out of hand. You need to go into the cave and destroy the nest. Otherwise the town won't survive the winter.” She explained.

Blurp

I had a feeling I knew what that sound meant. Where the hell was the ‘You can’t go down there it’s too dangerous’ she was preaching this morning. The moment someone she actually cared about was in danger she was willing to send me into that death trap.

The memories of that horrible place assaulted me, and a phantom pain shot through my leg as my mind replayed the rat biting my leg and shaking its horrible head. I was not going back down there. I didn’t give a damn what these people said.

“There’s no way I can fight those things. I almost died against one. I’m willing to clear your cellars, but I won't be ready to take on their nest for weeks. If you give me a while, then maybe.” I conceded, mostly to pacify them.  

Ba-Ding

Great…. I just accepted a quest on accident.

I opened my log to see the details.

Tomb Of The Rat King

The people of valor’s crossing are under siege by rats from the Tomb of the Rat King. Delve the depths of the Tomb, Defeat the Rat King and restore peace to the village, before the rats destroy too much of their winter stores.

Recommended Level: 15

Difficulty: Dungeon

Rewards: ???

“So you’ll Help us then Noob Slayer?” The smith asked his eyes hopeful.

No… I wont

I thought as I looked around the tavern and noticed every eye in the place was on me. The stares so full of hope, fear, and expectation. I didn’t need this. I didn’t want this. I was stuck here. In some game world and now these people wanted me to risk my life for them? Who the hell were they, and why should I care? They were NPC’s for Christ sake. They weren’t even people. Shaking my head I walked for the door.

“Noob Slayer! Wait!” I turned to see Hanna running out of the Froliking Foal behind me. “Stop a second. What was that about? Why’d you just run out of there?” She asked coming to a stop next to me.

“Why’d I just run out of there? Because you're all willing to send the new guy off to get himself murdered over some damn rats!” I said furious. That fight had left deeper scars than I thought and Hanna had just pulled off the scab.

“So you're gonna run?” Her voice filled with sudden contempt. Something much sharper than her normal angry tones. He eyes blazed and I saw disgust in her eyes for the first time.

“Oh, so now I’m a coward?” I said incredulously.  “You’ve got a whole village full of people yet I’m the one that has to fix things. Why don’t you crawl down that tunnel. Look into one of those monsters eyes while they're taking a chunk out of you. Then you can come back here and tell me I’m a coward. ” It was a pretty nonsensical situation.  This was exactly what a quest was supposed to be about. Saving the people, basking in their thanks and happiness. Watching as the town comes back to live, making money, getting the girl. It was everything a great RPG quest should be.

Funny that, It was easy to act the hero when you had nothing to risk. If you died in a game you came back to life a few seconds later. Hell, in most modern MMO’s they didn’t even have death penalties. You could just pop back up and be on your way.

Maybe I could pop back up and be on my way. I didn’t know. Maybe I could just plow my way through every rat, die twenty or thirty times, and nothing bad would happen at all. I somehow doubted it. To be honest I was scared. That dire rat had rattled me. It was horrible, and terrifying, and the pain…. I couldn’t go back there, down into the dark again. Not now, maybe not ever.

“I just can’t. Not now, Give me a month.” I said defeated my anger bleeding away.

“We don’t have a month. These people need you.” She said looking at me with her honey-brown eyes.

I snapped. My anger returning to burn hotter than ever. “YOU'RE NOT PEOPLE!” I shouted. The sound echoed off the nearby houses and Hanna flinched away from me like I’d struck her. She looked at me for a moment with the most heartbreaking eyes before turning and storming back into the Inn. I ran both hands through my hair then stalked off into town. I was done with this place but I had an errand to run.

**********************************************************

I banged on the door of the small shop. It was getting late and the store had closed hours ago.It was a quaint little place filled with to the brim with various clothes and packs. I knocked again harder.

“Common open up. I have gold.” Well I had silver anyway but this wasn’t the time for semantics. A few moments later some loud stomping from inside silenced me.

“Stop that racket already! Were closed dammit! What the hell do you want?” A tall skinny man opened the door with a thunderous scowl on his face. His eye’s were small black beads and a hawk-like nose protruded from his face.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“I’m sorry to disturb you so late, but I’m heading out of town and I need a traveling pack.“ I said amiably jingling my coin purse. The man’s scowl deepened further.

“Fine come in, but you're paying extra!” He waved me inside. I glanced through the various piles of cloth looking for something in my price range. I found it a few moments later. A simple pack with a square wood frame. It had a few straps to hold it on my back but It was a long way from a  modern sport pack from the real world. It would have to do for now.

“I’ll take this one. How much?” I showed the man the back I wanted and he scowled at it’s cheapness.

“You woke me up for that? Two Eagles at least.” He narrowed his eyes and crossed his bony arms.

“Two Eagles for that? It’s barely worth five silver.” I replied in disbelief. The man’s scowl darkened.

“You came to my shop in the middle of the night. Two eagles or get the hell out.” He scowled pointing toward the door.

I grimaced. He had a point. “I only have fifteen bulls.” I said looking apologetic. That was all of my money from selling the teeth and killing all the rats. The man’s face grew dark and he pointed toward the door.

“Common, I need it. Wait , Wait…... Rats! You got Rats I bet. In your cellar, eating up your fabric, crapping all over the place. I’ll kill them for you and give you all my silver.”

The man scowled deeper. I was beginning to think his face was going to get stuck that way. He looked into my eyes for a moment and must have seen something he approved of. He nodded.

Ba-Ding Blip!

“Log” I said confused. I had no idea what the latest sound was.

The man looked confused and asked. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” I relied quickly scanning the info as it appeared between us.

Log Default Filter

* Diplomacy has increased to Novice II

* Bartering has increased to Novice II

* User Has Unlocked Merchant Class!

Merchant eh? That’s interesting. Could even be fun. Although Personally I think a fighting class would work better. Especially since I still didn’t know what the death penalties were. Which why I was in this mess to begin with. Too many uncertainties and I needed to get away to clear my head.

“Show me to the cellar. I’ll get started.” I said shouldering my maul.  The man walked me to a door in the back and pointed. I opened the door, grabbed a candle nearby, and descended into the darkness.

The cellar was as cramped as the shop upstairs. Tables filled the space piled high with fabrics of various colors and cuts. A faint skittering came to my ears and I sat the candle down and hefted my maul.

I crouched down and scanned the room looking for movement. It didn’t take long. They came from under the tables, leaping from the stacks of cloth, and dropping from the ceiling. A wave of brown fur and sharp teeth hit me from every angle, at least a dozen of them. Blood flew from me and I screamed as I flailed around. I crashed into a table and fell rolling on the ground as I tried to knock them off me. I ran into more table legs knocking bolts of fabric to the ground and trying to get my feet back under me.

Coming to a knee I lashed out with my hammer swinging in wide arcs to try and keep the rats at bay. It was a terrible weapon for fighting such small and fast creatures. Although it’s reach and damage were excellent it was simply too big to use effectively against their small bodies in such a cramped space. My crappy old dagger would have served me better if I still had it. Instead I shortened my grip on the haft and swung it into a rat that leapt at me from the side. The blow landed square and the rat went flying against the wall.

I struck out with the haft as more rats snapped at me. Knocking them aside but doing little real damage. The rats kept swarming and the damage kept adding up. Wounds piled up on my calves, legs, and back as I frantically tried to to create some space. I kicked out at the nearby tables, pushing them together and creating a wider space for myself where I could wield my hammer. I put my back against the wall and struck at anything that got close.

The fight fell into a pattern with me leaning back against the wall and playing whack-a-rat. I managed to kill about half of them but the damage getting to me. My legs were torn to shreds and I collapsed to the ground. Screw this place. Screw these people, and damn all rats to hell.

I tossed my hammer aside. It was of little use sitting on the ground anyway, as I had no leverage to swing it. I was furious, at this game, at myself, and this whole fucked up situation. I had plenty of anger to vent.

The rats came on and a grabbed the first by the scruff of the neck and simply smashed it into the wall behind me. I roared as two more lunged at me. I punched one away, but the other made it in clawing at my chest. The familiar sound of my heartbeat started pounding in my ears as my vision started to darken. I grabbed the rat on my chest with one hand and another as it launched at me from the side. This time I just squeezed using my new rank in wrestling and my level three stat boost. I felt bones break and their struggles stopped. I flung their broken bodies into the rest of the swarm. They collided, but the motion sent me falling forward on my hands and knees. I knelt there panting, covered in wounds, and filled with fury. I was sick of this game. Sick to death of it. The rest of the rats apparently weren't willing to risk it with me in this state and I heard them skitter away back into their holes.

Ba-Ding

I pulled myself back to my feet and limped slowly up the stairs. My legs were a mess. I could barely stand but I willed myself up the steps. I threw my shoulder against the door and it opened revealing the shopkeeper. I must have looked the hell itself because the man stayed silent as he looked at me with terrified eyes. I fumbled at my belt and threw my coins into his chest before grabbing the pack and limping out the door.

The town was empty this late and there was no one to see me as I left Valor’s Crossing. The night was clear when I left but soon after I started a light drizzle started to fall. I looked up at the sky as the rain hit my face and and laughed in sheer bitter misery. The rain was cold and I shivered as I trudged through the softening earth. I was still barefoot and the mud began to suck at my feet as I walked further into the forest. I had no fire, no boots, no shelter, and nearly no hope. After a few miles I found two tall trees that leaned against each other. I threw my maul down and huddled up under the boughs, shivering in the cold and the rain while I waited for the sun to rise.