I rushed to my feet and fell against the bar, still groggy from whatever the blasted woman had slipped into my drink. I stumbled toward the door, grabbing hold of every chair along the way. I stopped halfway and went back for Stella. She was still laying by her bowl.
“Wake up girl, we have to go.”
Stella shifted and after a moment came to. I helped her to her feet and together we made our way toward the door. Sob was standing right outside.
“Where is she?” I growled.
Sob snorted and pawed at the ground, clearly agitated.
“She took it all. We have to go after her.”
I picked up the still wonky Stella and placed her on the horse’s back. I climbed up after her, just barely recognizing that Sob wasn’t fighting me for once. I tugged on his mane, and we trotted off. I didn’t know which way to go but I was fueled by unbelievable rage. Hopefully, that would be enough. I opened my quest menu, hoping this was just some screwed-up part of the ‘a Laugh on High’ questline. The description hadn’t changed though and the marker hadn’t moved. What were the odds a quest would lead me into an ambush?
Something was going on here that I was missing. Argh! I’d been so excited to see another person, this was such bullshit. She hadn’t acted like an NPC but maybe she was a part of the game and not just another player.
A bellowing roar sounded not far away.
“Go Sob, go!” I shouted, digging in my heels.
Sob let out a resounded neigh and bolted toward the roar. We rounded a corner and there I found the thief in battle with one of the crocs. I smiled, this was just what she deserved. I sat on Sob by the corner of a building, feeling his flank rise and fall beneath me as I watched.
Sarah screamed and ran but the croc was faster, barrelling down on top of her. Just as the croc reached her she spun, a sickening smile on her face, and threw a bottle of something at the monster. A plumb of green smoke rose as the croc writhed and screamed. The health bar above its head dropped significantly from that one simple move.
Sarah laughed but this time it was different, it wasn’t gentle and inviting like it had been in the Cackle Shack, no, now it was vicious and evil like a villain in a cartoon. Any remaining soft feelings I’d had for her vanished at that moment.
With a twist of her hand, a bow appeared in her grip. She drew the string back to her ear and let loose an arrow. It slammed into the croc's chest and exploded. The croc roared and stumbled back its health dropping ridiculously low. It shook its head and stumbled toward her, blood dripping from its snout.
“Still not had enough you ugly bastard?” Sarah called.
She drew a second arrow and this time the croc dropped to the ground, its health bar flashing and vanishing as its corpse glowed. Sarah let out an excited whoop and ran to the beast, looting all the goodies it held.
Sob snorted and Sarah looked up, her eyes filled with a venom I’d never seen on anybody before. She smiled wickedly and waved.
“You heal fast Joe, I’m impressed.”
I glared at her. “Give it all back Sarah.”
She laughed again, something she clearly loved to do. “Seriously? Did you not just see how quickly I put down this monster? Why don’t you try to take them back, huh?”
“This isn’t funny. You’re leaving me for dead. Don’t you care at all?”
“Not all of us can live, Joe. Can’t you see that number counting down in our stats menu? Every single one of those numbers was a life. We all have to do whatever we can to survive. I’m just a simple woman on my own. Do you begrudge me for trying to survive?”
“Oh, you’re far from a ‘simple woman’, Sarah. None of the things I had were worth you taking. Give them back and we can go our separate ways,” I said.
She smiled and stood, sticking out a foot. “I don’t know, these boots are pretty wonderful. Don’t they suit me?”
“Sarah.”
She smiled and turned to leave. “Bye-bye Joe, maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”
Stella barked and squirmed. I grabbed her and leaned to the side, dropping her closer to the ground so she wouldn’t hurt herself. Sob screamed and stamped his foot, I could feel some sort of energy radiating from him.
“There one thing that’s different between you and me, Sarah,” I growled.
She turned back toward me, a frown on her once kind face. “Oh, and what’s that?”
“I’m not alone.”
I kicked my heels against Sob’s sides and he jolted forward, charging toward the woman. I watched as her eyes widened, she turned and ran. Sparks of blue lightning danced around Sob’s muzzle. Stella barked as she ran, her sharp teeth revealed by her raised lips.
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Sarah turned toward as, her bow back in hand, and shot an arrow at my chest. A bolt of lightning shot from Sob’s mouth, disintegrating the arrow before it could make the distance.
Rage seared through my veins. She wasn’t just another player in my eyes now, she was just another monster and she needed to be removed. To have her health drained and the light in her eyes go out. Then I’d loot her corpse just like I had the crocs and everything she had would be mine.
A bolt of lightning shot from Sob and burned a hole in the ground right at Sarah’s feet. She screamed and tumbled to the ground. She rolled and aimed her bow at us again letting loose another arrow. Stella howled and leaped forward, snatching the arrow from the air and snapping it two between her teeth. I stared in shock at that one. I wouldn’t have thought my sweet girl was capable of such a thing. Stella charged forward and stood over a shaking Sarah, growling viciously as drool dropped from her mouth.
“Please, I’m sorry,” Sarah begged. “I’ll give it all back. I’ll give it all back, just call off your beasts!”
“You should have listened to me,” I said, my voice deep and firm. “Not all of us can live, remember?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she shook with fear. “Please, I don’t want to die.”
I dropped off Sob’s back and stood over her, my hands curled into fists at my sides. “I can’t just let you go, Sarah. You drugged me, you drugged Stella, you robbed me, and you threatened me. Do you expect me just to forget that?”
“Please, I could have killed you back at the Cackle Shack, but I didn’t. I’m not a murderer.”
“You stole everything I had! If we hadn’t found you we would be as good as dead, don’t you get it?”
“But you’re not. You’re alive! And your pets are strong enough to take on a croc. You would have lived long enough to restock. Please, we’re both human. We make mistakes. That’s all this is. You have to let me go. I’ll… I’ll give you my bow. Some gold too. Just let me go.”
I faltered. The burning anger inside me cooled just a little. It was hard to think of her as a monster when she was cowering at my feet her eyes puffy from crying. Something deep inside me wanted to forgive her. I pushed it down and glowered.
“You’ll give me everything you have and I’ll let you live. It’s that, or you die here.”
The words came out, and I didn’t recognize myself in them. Now I was the one turning into a monster. My mind battled with itself. This game was changing me into something I wasn’t sure I liked.
“Alright, alright. Take it, have it all. Just please, leave me alone.”
She took off my bum bag from around her waist and handed it to me. I strapped it around my waist and hit my tattoo. My inventory opened up, much fuller than before.
Half-eaten Bag of Jerky
Croc skin boots
Buckley’s Mitts
Lockpick
Canteen
Iron dagger
Dragonfly Music box
Bluedart Brew
2 x Sacks of barley
Chestnut Bow
48 x Arrows of Fire Blast
Jam Tart
Well-used leather collar
11 x Croc Tooth
Amulet of Shadow
2 x Acid Flask
3 x Sleeping Draft
New Item Received: Chesnut Bow
Description: A fine bow crafted from chestnut wood.
Attack power: 198
New Item Received: Arrows of Fire Blast
Description: Arrow go boom!
Effects: 10-15 points of fire damage on strike
Attack power: 29
New Item Received: Amulet of Shadow
Description: An amulet of onyx crafted into the shape of a spider. When worn you can almost feel its little legs crawling all over you
Effect: You are 10% more difficult to detect. Perception +1
New Item Received: Acid Flask
Effect: 20-38 points burning damage on strike
New Item Received: Sleeping Draft
Effect: On consumption, the user will fall into a deep slumber
“Wow,” I said. “You had some good stuff.”
“I know.” Great, powerful sobs wracked her body as she broke down, her head dropping into her hands.
Dammit, I didn’t want to pity her, but for some reason I did. I reached into my bum bag and took out two items.
“Here,” I said, holding out my dagger and the jam tart. “You can keep these.”
She looked up at me and offered a small shaky smile as she took the items. “Thank you. No, really. Thank you.” She stuffed the tart into her pocket and wobbled to her knees. “You’ll let me go now?”
I shuffled my feet on the asphalt of the road. “Yes. We’re done.”
Her hands whipped out as she grabbed Stella, holding the dagger to the dog's throat. Stella struggled and Sarah pushed the dagger harder. A red stain spread around the white fur at her throat.
“Now that you’ve had a little look at my goods, give it back or your dog will die.”
Sob screamed, lightning sparking around his muzzle. Sarah pushed the dagger harder.
“Call off your horse.”
“Sob,” I cried. “Sob calm down.”
Stella whined and tried to escape but the woman held her tight. The anger rose back up as I looked at the vile woman. This was all my fault. This is what happened when I let the softness take over. Never again.
My fingers touched the strap of my bum bag as I made to unbuckle it. An ear-splitting roar sounded behind me. I spun and stared at the approaching croc and his equally enormous friend.
“Fuck,” Sarah cried as she dropped Stella and took off in the opposite direction.
I watched her go for half a second before swinging my head back around to face my new enemy.