By the time I found Stella and Sob by the side of a small manmade pond, I was ready to drop. Nighttime was still hours away but I felt as though I could sleep through the night right that second. I suppose being terrified for hours on end would do that to a man.

I wondered for a moment what had happened to Frank. I’d thought I’d find him with Sob but he didn’t seem to be here. I guess the wolf had been too much for him. Maybe he’d found another player to scream at. I hoped so anyway, I’d hate to think of him out there on his own.

I’d learned one very important thing from my time at the brewery though. The next time I wanted to grab a beer, I better be a whole lot stronger. That was my mission now. The world had changed, that was something I had to accept. There was no going back now. So, if I wanted to survive, I needed to commit and become the strongest version of myself. Whatever it took. In a game that meant grinding. Now I just had to figure out how to do that.

Wait! I’d leveled up, which meant I had a point to spend!

I opened my menu and looked again at my attributes. Last time I’d chosen strength. That had been a good pick. This time though, it was about being a better version of myself. That meant working on my thieving ability. That left me with three possible choices; charisma, agility, and perception. It would be helpful if the game had given me a description of what they all meant but it wasn’t the helpful kind of game.

Sneaking was not my strongest ability, even with my stats the way they were. Sweet-talking people though was something I could do. I gave the point to my charisma attribute lifting it to level seven.

The choice made, I closed the window and patted Stella. She dropped another stick at my feet. I tossed it and turned to Sob.

“You know, if we’re going to travel together, the least you could do is help when we’re all in danger.”

The horse lifted its head. Neon blue goop covered his snout again. I guess he’d found another one of those weird fruits. Sob shook out his mane and turned away from me and that’s when I saw it. Carefully I approached the midnight black beast, well, he was midnight black. Now some of the long strands of his mane had turned the same brilliant blue as the fruits he liked to eat. If Gordon ever saw this, he’d kill me faster than any toilet croc could.

No time to ponder that one. No time for sleep either, I have important stuff to do. I opened my quest menu and had a look at the ones I had left. It still seemed like a waste to go see the blacksmith. Based on Red’s prices I knew the small amount I’d gotten for completing the beer quest would not get me far. Going to find a child-eating witch didn’t tickle my fancy either so that left me with two. A comedy shack, and a manor house mystery.

I don’t know about you but I could go for a laugh right about now. Would help to banish some of the fear I’d been dealing with.

I focused on the quest and reread the description.

New quest: A Laugh on High

Description: Up for a day of outstanding comedy? Well here’s your chance. Go visit the Cackle Shack in Stanthorpe. You’ll only be mildly disappointed.

Well, I was just outside Stanthorpe now so at least I didn’t have to go far. I fingered the rounded pommel on my iron dagger as I looked toward the village. This part of the world was so flat I could make out some of the buildings even from this distance. Maybe a few hours of walking and I’d be there. I opened my minimap and inspected the quest icon. Yep, that’s where I had to go, pretty deep into the village too.

The Toilet Master had warned me that more densely populated areas meant more crocs and this place was bigger than Deepwater. I’d have to be ready.

“Sob, I know you like to stay behind but this time, I want you to stay close. There’s going to be a lot of danger in there and we need a quick exit strategy.”

Sob continued to chomp on green grass near the pond edge, uninterested in what I had to say. Well, at least I had something to bribe him with now.

I dug my hand into my bum bag and pulled out one of the small sacks of barley. All it took was to pull a thread for the burlap sack to open. Sob lifted his head and stared at me. I held the sack close to my chest.

“I’m going to give this to you, and then I want you to behave, alright?”

Sob snorted and stepped closer. I placed the sack on the ground, opened it wide, and stepped away. Sob charged up and shoved his nose into it, eating greedily. When he was done, I’d had time to empty my bladder and chew on a strip of jerky. Stella whined until I gave her a piece as well. The bag of spicy deliciousness was getting a little low now.

We took off for Stanthorpe, only slowly and moving carefully when we got close to the buildings. The sun was getting a little low in the sky but I still had some light to navigate by. We weaved through the streets, keeping to the shadows as much as a man, a horse, and a dog could. Three times we came across a group of crocs. Every time I saw them we changed direction, finding another way to get where we needed to go. I had no interest in taking on so many of them at once. If we came across a lone one I might think about it, so long as it was the smaller kind. I wanted to level up but not if it meant death.

Eventually, after a couple of hours of navigating we found the shack. It was nestled in between an abandoned coffee shop and what looked like a boutique bar. I couldn’t help but lift a brow at the fancy pants bar. It seemed out of place for some reason. What was wrong with a good old-fashioned pub?

The Cackle Shack was painted a gaudy shade of red and had a metal sign of what looked like a kookaburra swinging in the breeze by the door. I guess that made sense. Kookaburras loved to laugh, especially at poor farmhands who’d drawn the short straw and were forced to clean out the stable stalls. I was still salty about that one.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

I pushed through the door, glad there wasn’t a bell in sight, and marched into a room full of tables. On the other side of the room was a small stage with a microphone still set in place. There was a bar on the right-hand wall. A small host stand stood right beside me near the front door with schedules of upcoming performances on display.

The place was empty but there was a stench in the air that told me something had died here, even if I couldn’t see a body. Sob stuck his head through the door but otherwise, he stood outside. Stella however followed me.

“Keep watch, okay?” I said to the horse. “If you see a croc coming, let us know.”

I opened my minimap to confirm I was in the right place. I was. Now I just had to find something to get the quest moving. There didn’t seem to be anything obvious around thought. Nothing glowed gold and there were no enormous talking wolves here.

I cleared my throat and called out, “hello, is there anyone here?”

The smash of broken glass made me jump. A shadow appeared behind the bar, rushing toward me. I drew my dagger and braced for an attack. Stella growled and spread her feet.

“Oh thank god,” the woman said. “I thought I was the only one left alive.”

I blinked. The woman standing in front of me was as real as could be. Not at all like the woman I’d found in the middle of nowhere. She had a mass of brown curls tied into a lopsided bun atop her round head and smeared mascara on her cheeks from crying. I wanted to reach out and touch her face but I forced myself not to.

“You’re… real?” I asked.

She smiled and let out a wet bubble of laughter. “Yes, yes I am! And you are too, this is incredible!”

“I can hardly believe it.”

She reached out and grabbed my hand. I sucked in a sharp breath at the warmth of her hold. “Come with me.”

Stella growled and lunged at the woman’s feet. The woman screamed and stumbled back. I grabbed Stella by her collar and shoved her behind me.

“Stella, what the hell is wrong with you? Bad girl!” I turned my eyes back to the woman. “I’m so sorry, she’d not normally like that. Are you okay?”

The woman held a hand against her chest. “Yes, I’m fine. She just surprised me, that’s all. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you like that. I’m just so excited.”

“No, don’t apologize. I know exactly how you feel.”

Sob neighed loudly from the door. The woman paled a little and looked around me, her intense blue eyes widening. “Is that a horse?”

“Yeah, that’s Sob. Don’t get too close to him, he’s not a nice beast.”

“Al… Alright,” she said taking a cautionary step back toward the bar.

“My name’s Joe, what’s yours?” I asked, trying to calm her down.

“Sarah.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sarah,” I said.

She smiled again and it softened her face immensely. “You too. I don’t know about you, but I really need a drink right now. I hope you don’t mind.”

She turned and hurried back to the bar where she grabbed a bottle of beer, twisted off the cap, and took a long swallow. I smiled, she was my kind of woman.

“Got one of those for me?” I asked.

She fished around beneath the bar and snagged another bottle, twisting off the cap for me before pushing it in my direction. “The more the merrier.”

I rushed up and grabbed the beer, not even minding that it was warm. I chugged half the bottle in one go before dropping my hand and dragging the sleeve of my shirt across my lips.

Sarah chuckled and filled a small bowl with water before sliding it in Stella’s direction. “Here you go girl, drink up.”

Stella stalked up to the bowl and started lapping at the water. I’d never seen her so standoffish before. Maybe it had been too long since she’d seen a person who wasn’t me.

“How are you coping with all of this?” I asked.

Sarah took another long drink before she answered. “I still haven’t figured it out to tell you the truth. One moment I was getting ready to open for the night and the next the town was overrun by those… those monsters. I saw them kill so many people. I know it's cowardly, but I hid. I’d probably still be hiding if you hadn’t walked in the door.”

“Don’t feel bad about hiding. I did that myself before I ran for it.”

“What class did they give you?” she asked.

My cheeks heated and for a moment I considered lying. “Thief.”

She snorted and drank some more. “Me too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why, I’ve never stolen a thing in my life. Maybe it's because I was hiding and not trying to fight,” she said.

“Huh, I didn’t think of that. It makes sense.”

I finished the last of my beer and dropped the empty bottle on the bar with a hearty sigh. “Damn that was good.”

“I’m glad you like it, it’s one of my favorites but I’m running low.”

A strong yawn caught me off guard. I stretched and rubbed at my eyes. Damn, I was tired. I dropped my hand and looked at Sarah but her face was a little foggy.

“Are you alright?” she asked, her voice sounding very far away.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. “I’m just… a little… tired.”

“It’s okay if you want to lie down,” she said. “You look like you’ve had a really big day.”

I nodded and groaned, the bobbing of my head making a sharp pain stab my skull. Oh, I didn’t feel well at all. I tried to sit on a stall but missed and ended up flat on my back on the sticky floor. I turned my head sluggishly, Stella was laying beside her bowl of water, her tongue hanging out as she snored.

“I don’t… feel… I don’t…”

“It’s okay, Joe. Just get some rest. It will all be okay.”

Darkness rushed up and swallowed me whole. I floated in the dark place for a long, relaxing moment before I rushed back to myself and woke up with a violent jolt. My head ached something fierce. I groaned as I sat up, shivering as a cool breeze tickled my toes.

My toes? I blinked through the fog and stared at my bare feet. Where were my boots?

“Stella?” I called. “Sarah?”

Stella whined and shifted not far away, still sprawled beside her water bowl. Her collar was gone. No. No, no, no! I slapped the tattoo on my wrist and opened my inventory. It was gone. All gone. Even my bum bag.

“No!”

She was a thief. A blasted, good-for-nothing thief!