A short distance down the corridor the entire structure of the maze began to change. Stone block walls stopped ahead of a large circular chamber with sand spread out on the floor and fiery braziers hanging from the stone ceiling above.

The unnamed stood for a moment staring out at the stand his heart galloping as memories of his time in the Blood Pits returned. Could he still remember the ward mark if he needed to defend himself? Had he learnt anything in his short time at the Guild which could help defend him against...

He took a deep breath and reached up to touch the edge of the collar around his neck, reminding himself that this wasn't the Blood Pits and that he had already proven the collar worked. Whatever dangers awaited him in this sandy chamber he could face them safe in the knowledge that he would return to the start of the Rat Run regardless of the outcome.

He stepped forward, boots crunching against the sand as the firelight from above caused strange shadows to dance across the walls and floor. A tall figure stood at the center of the chamber, roughly twice the unnamed’s height and standing perfectly still. The unnamed moved slightly to the left and then to the right confirming that the figure didn’t adjust its stance to follow him.

As he drew closer he saw that the figure was a stone statue rather than a living enemy. Unlike the spider fountain, however, this statue was fashioned from bronze or some similar metal. The figure was humanoid in appearance but for the horns curling up from the sides of his head and scaly skin which covered its body like a serpent. Twin golden gems sat nestled within the statue’s eyes and it held aloft a short scepter with a similar golden gem at its tip.

The unnamed walked around the statue but found no markings or other features that could be explored. He turned around to look around and confirmed that there was in fact no way out of the chamber, no corridor leading out on the opposite side from where he had entered. Instinctively he guessed that the only way out of this chamber was to defeat whatever challenge or enemy would present itself. Given the nature of the statue standing at the center of the chamber he guessed that the enemies in the room would likely be serpentine in nature. Or perhaps serpents with horns.

He guessed wrong.

He wasn't sure exactly what triggered the enemy to emerge from the sand. But several moments after reaching the statue, dark creatures began to crawl their way up out of the floor. Rather than serpents, oversized scorpions drove their bodies up through the earth and onto the surface of the chamber, pincers clacking, and tails held high as they skittered towards the unnamed.

“Eggs and fritters!” he hissed, realizing too late that he hadn’t bothered to bring any weapons into the maze this time, leaving him with only his bare hands to defend himself.

The scorpions moved quickly, the closest of them lashing out with its tail towards the unnamed and very nearly piercing him through the chest as he dove to one side and rolled in the sand, narrowly avoiding snapping pincers as he got to his feet and started running. More of the scorpions lashed out at him as he jumped and ran, heading for the outside of the arena under the delusion that it might provide some safety.

The sand ahead of him erupted and a large scorpion emerged out of the ground. While the smaller beasts were about the size of a terrier, this brute was closer in size to a rottweiler. It lashed out at the unnamed a moment after emerging from the sand, its spear-like tail spearing though his chest and driving him off his feet.

The pain was immediate and intense as the unnamed was tossed aside, the venom from the oversized scorpion coursing through his body like a ravenous fire. He only partially felt it as his body hit the sand and he rolled onto his back, arms and legs flailing. Three scorpions were on him before he’d finished moving, stabbing their tails and driving yet more venom into his body as darkness smothered him and he fell from consciousness.

** CONGRATULATIONS! **

You’ve just received the Pin Cushion achievement for being stuck through by more than five scorpion tails at once! Those scorpions really don’t like you. They REALLY don’t like you!

Achievement Bonus: +1 Venom Resistance

It won’t help with the stabbing, but maybe with a little less venom in your system, you’ll think more clearly and not go into a room filled with scorpions!

Having dismissed yet another announcement, the unnamed headed to the sparring room to pick up a wooden practice sword and shield. He then reentered the Rat Run and moved as quickly as possible toward the scorpion chamber.

Feeling a little more prepared with a weapon and shield to hand, it quickly became apparent to the unnamed that wooden practice gear only went so far against a naturally armored enemy with a spear-like tail that could strike with lightning speed.

It was easy enough to fend off the smaller scorpions, but the larger specimens struck with enough force to drive their tail tips right through the shield or knock it away from his body with sufficient force that they could then drive their attacks past his defenses. The sword proved equally ineffective, functioning more like a club than a cutting blade, to the point where the unnamed was forced to swing it like a bat to knock aside their attacks.

This latter approach proved more fruitful than attempting to use the sword as a sword and, when the unnamed inevitably died again, he returned to the scorpion chamber with two wooden clubs, rather than the sword and shield. He found that battering the smaller scorpions with a cudgel was a much more effective way of defending himself. Even if he wasn’t able to kill the scorpions right away he could do enough damage to immobilize them at least.

The larger scorpions still proved too problematic to kill. In each combat round which lasted longer than a few seconds, two of the brutes appeared. The unnamed reasoned that it would be necessary to kill all the enemies in order to progress, even though he had no way to prove the supposition, but he was unable to defeat them all, given their numbers and the strength of the larger scorpions.

He came to the conclusion that his failure didn’t so much come down to a lack of knowledge as it did his lack of fighting prowess. If he were stronger and faster, able to fight better, he’d eventually be able to clear the room of enemies and, more than likely, the exit would appear. As it was, no amount of time would help him clear the chamber.

There was also the very real possibility that killing every enemy in the room wouldn’t actually open up an exit. Unfortunately, there was no way to test that notion, not without someone like Tusk by his side.

It was a disappointing end to his session for the day, but he made what notes he could and returned to the sparring room in time for the other initiates to arrive. Once more, Tusk and Vella queried where he had been and shot him suspicious looks when he attempted to fob off their questions.

After an hour spent completing the required hand-do-hand combat exercises, Leo led the group to the weapons room where they all picked out a sword and round shield.

“We’ve worked with swords before,” the veteran said, “but today I want to focus on fighting with a sword and shield. If done right, this is a formidable combination, but you need to know the proper technique not only for using both sword and shield, but for using them in unison.”

He instructed them on the basics of thrusting and deflecting enemy attacks, using the shield in combination with deft stabs and strikes to defend and then advance. Once the techniques had been adequately demonstrated, he then had them run drills for the next hour.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Not surprisingly, Tusk demonstrated an immediate affinity for the weapon combination. The burly half-orc was still leading the initiate scoreboard and, by the looks of how easily he wielded sword and shield, he was going to further extend his lead by the end of the day. The unnamed grinned as he caught sight of Tusk thrusting and spinning, then battering his shield into his sparring partner, a thick-limbed dwarf who gave almost as good as he got.

“Hey!”

The unnamed turned his attention back to Hob. The halfling was standing there hunkered down behind his shield.

“You’re supposed to be attacking me, not lollygagging.”

The unnamed frowned at that. Not for the first time he wondered how old the little halfling actually was, in real human years. It was difficult to tell age in Havenspire given that most people wore an ageless body. Some appeared older than others, of course, but the age of your avatar was something you chose when entering the afterlife simulation and had no connection to your actual age at the time you were uploaded.

The word lollygagging was just one among a group of odd words and phrases the halfling had used, in the rare moments when he wasn’t just scowling silently. It made him seem ancient, like maybe an eighty-year-old who had been uploaded into the pint-sized body.

“Sorry,” the unnamed offered, returning to the thrusts and swipes he had been taught while Hob deflected each blow.

“You need to concentrate,” the little halfling went on as they continued sparring. “You’re at the bottom of the list, lad. Need to focus and put the work in, otherwise you’ll never make it.”

Once more, the unnamed wondered just how old, a question that was soon to be answered as the grim halfling continued.

“It doesn’t matter how big and strong you are. Whether you succeed or fail will come down to the work. You gotta put the work in, focus on the task at hand. A man’s only as good as his word and you’ve already said you want to be a brawlers. Well, alright then, now you need to prove it.”

“Can I ask,” the unnamed said, “how long have you been in Havenspire?”

Hob held up a single finger.

“One year.”

The unnamed nodded. “And, how old were you when you were uploaded.”

Curiously, the little halfling’s lips twisted into a grin, the first the unnamed had ever seen on Hob’s face. The gesture didn’t seem to reach his eyes, however.

“A hundred and two years old, lad. Third oldest every to be uploaded into this simulator, if you can believe it.”

The unnamed nodded. He could definitely believe it. A hundred and two years old? Hob was practically ancient. He’d been around before mobile phones, computers, the internet, maybe even the wheel.

Hob tapped his chest, his scowl returning.

“I got a century of experience, lad, and this miraculous chance at a new life, so I plan to make the best of it.”

He prodded a finger toward the unnamed.

“You should do the same.”

The unnamed nodded and continued to thrust half-heartedly. Under normal circumstances, Hob would be right. He should be putting everything he had into learning these new fighting techniques, practicing day and night until he perfected them. But the truth was, the basics of fighting wouldn’t prepare him adequately for the Rat Run. His daily ventures into the maze could prove incredibly valuable, however. That was where his efforts needed to be focused and that was where his mind returned to again and again throughout the day.

The fact was, once he finally made it into the guild, he could devote himself to learning how to fight. He just needed to pass the Rat Run with more than five-thousand points and then he could focus more on his combat skills. Two weeks wouldn’t make an expert fighter out of him, no matter how hard he trained, but his forays into the Rat Run could be the difference between success and failure. He needed to focus his efforts on what was most important, not on the appearance of success.

Let Tusk handle the fighting, and Vella take care of the traps. He’d offer The Knowledge.

“Concentrate!” Hob hissed. “Strike harder, for goodness sakes.”

The unnamed realized that he was grinning. He did as the halfling asked, driving his sword forward again and again in the way that Leo had taught him. He tried to twist his torso in the right way, to hold the sword correctly and demonstrate the right technique. His adventures in the Rat Run weren’t an excuse to slack off, and he would still do his best to learn everything he could during the two weeks of preparation.

Within limits, that was. No point working himself to the bone for no reason.

As the practice wore on, he found it more and more difficult to connect with the sword. It was too short, too heavy, and there were no bristles at the end, so it was completely useless for sweeping.

Sweeping?

The odd, invasive thought took him back a little. One minute he’d been sparring with Hob and the next he was pining for a broom. Once more, he became overwhelmed by a peculiar desire to clean the floor of the sparring chamber. It felt to the unnamed like, if he could just get his hands on a sturdy broom, a cleaning rag and some polish, he’d have the place spick and span in no time.

“Hey?!” Hob barked. “Focus!”

The unnamed pushed back thoughts of sweeping, gritting his teeth and concentrating on the task at hand. Was this how it was going to be from now on, constantly struggling with this bizarre impulse to clean everything?

He put all his effort into the sparring, focusing on everything he’d seen so far and driving all the frustration he was feeling into the maneuver. There would be times, in the Rat Run, when he’d have to fight. Times where there was no clever puzzle to unravel or where speed and cunning weren’t enough to triumph. He might not be able to rival someone like Tusk with martial prowess, but he could certainly learn how to kill a scorpion or two.

Just not those big ones. He’d leave those to the half-orc.

They continued sparring until it was time to swap and the unnamed practiced defending the halfling’s attacks. The little figure was deceptively quick and strong, but the unnamed was able to deflect most of the thrusts and swipes with only a little difficulty, using the technique Leo had taught them. He couldn’t help but think that there was much more he should be learning here, though, skills that could actually help him progress in the maze.

He caught sight of Leo as the veteran passed by and stepped away from Hob, to ask a question.

“What if we were facing multiple enemies?” the unnamed asked. “I mean, if there’s a swarm of creatures or something like that. It doesn’t seem like thrusting with the sword would do much good.”

Leo turned to face him.

“Thrusting still has its place. A sword has a point for a reason, you know. It’s the point at which the most force can be applied, a cutting edge that, when used properly, can prove devastating in combat.”

“Yeah, but if there are a bunch of enemies all attacking at once it would take too much time to try and stab them all, wouldn’t it?”

Leo’s eyes narrowed, the corner of his mouth showing the hint of a smile.

“What kind of creatures, exactly? Flying, crawling?”

“Crawling mostly, but with claws and…spears I guess.”

“Spears?”

The unnamed shrugged, hoping that Leo didn’t press the question. He wasn’t exactly ashamed of his efforts in the Rat Run and he knew that he wasn’t doing anything wrong or against guild rules, but he still didn’t want everyone to know what he was doing each morning.

He could practically feel Vella’s eyes on his back.

“Well,” Leo said, “if you’re facing multiple enemies with claws and…” he raised his eyebrows at the unnamed, “…spears, then I’d suggest finding yourself a wall as fast as you can. Get your back against a wall and then at least you’ll only have a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree angle to cover. The downside with this, of course, is that you’ll be limiting your retreat options, but it’s very difficult to fight an enemy that is surrounding you on all sides. Much easier if you can narrow their range of attack.”

He plucked the sword from the unnamed’s hand and crouched low to the floor as he went on.

“If you don’t have a wall nearby, the key is going to be speed. You’ll need to keep your enemy off guard, and that means a lot of rapid sweeps. The point is to give you space, so you don’t need to make contact with them all, just sweep your sword in an arc like this to keep them at bay. If any get too close, you can either kick them back or take them down. Try to push them into one another and use the wounded or dead to form a barrier between you and the rest of the enemy.”

He kicked out with one foot and followed up with a wide slash of his sword.

“Use the extra reach the sword provides to cut into the enemy ranks and use the strength of your legs to push back any that get too close. Again, try to push the enemy into one another. If you do it right, the stronger enemies will end up helping you thin the herd by killing their own kind to get to you. If not, then their dead will form a barrier that you can use to give yourself some space and…”

He stood up, returning the sword to the unnamed and clearing his throat.

“And that’s a lesson for another day. For now, let’s continue with the basics of attack and defense. Keep working on the thrust and we can do some sweeping a little later in the day.”

The veteran was smiling as he walked away, as though he knew exactly why the unnamed had asked the question. No one else seemed to notice, except for Tusk and Vella. The former was nodding appreciatively from across the room, modeling the same kind of sweeping stroke Leo had just shown them and winking at the unnamed.

** CONGRATULATIONS! **

You just received the Wink Wink Nudge Nudge achievement for surreptitiously garnering information from an instructor whilst keeping the reason for that knowledge a secret.

It wasn’t exactly subtle, but somehow your dumb dumb companions missed the real reason for the exchange. Well done, you have demonstrated the capacity for subtext.

What a hero!

Achievement Bonus: +1 Secrecy

Whispered secrets are a little less likely to be overheard. Subtext between you and another person is less likely to be picked up by others.

As he closed the announcement, the unnamed suspected that not everyone had missed the intent behind his question to Leo. Vella, for one, was eying him with obvious suspicion. When they saw one another, she pointed two fingers at her eyes and then towards him while wearing a wry grin.