We had been waiting by the side of the mountain pass that led towards Millicent’s castle for the past four hours and I was beginning to second guess my plan.
The early afternoon light was overly hot and the woods that surrounded the high hill that overlooked the pass offered a welcome shade. This was the only route towards the mountain that his Castle sat upon and I had hoped that any minute the passing carriage carrying Killian would arrive. Killian, who volunteered as bait, went back into town and said every word on the bounty page with the hope that we would be breaking him out once the carriage carrying him came along but I was starting to worry that I had set my friend up for failure.
Silas crawled up towards me as I lay on my belly at the top of the hill overlooking the road, “Is Killian dead?” he asked in a hushed town and I gave him a disgusted look.
“No of course not, it says right on the bounty that they need to be taken alive.” I turned back to the road and grimaced nervously hoping Silas was wrong.
“Are we going to kill Millicent.”
The thought had crossed my mind. There were many options about how to play out the final confrontation and after I thought for a moment said, “I hope not, he’s got a pretty high wisdom score so I don’t think convincing him would be doable.” My mind started to race at the possibility of a TPK, or Total Party Kill as they called it in Dungeons and Dragons, and decided to change the subject, “Have you thought more on what I asked you?”
On our way to the overlook we now sat upon I had pulled Silas aside and asked for his in an out knowledge of the Castle. Mainly; where he would keep mom and dad, where Millicent himself would be and where the library portal could be safely cast. He pulled out a few pieces of parchment and laid them on the moss covered stone. On them were crudely drawn plans of the Castle and it’s under halls. He had been instrumental in building the Castle and final areas, so much of my interests were on the good sides of Dunn that Silas was undoubtedly the expert on the forthcoming mission and as he turned to me he said, “I think Mom and Dad would be in the jail below level four.” I nodded and pointed to a large X on the map near the library.
“What’s this?”
He studied it for a moment as if it were new and after a beat said, “Alder Arrow.”
I had completely forgotten about The Alder Arrow. With all the talk of not playing the game, I had forgotten one of the most important weapons I added to the game; an absolute beast of an arrow that did three times more damage than the strongest Warhammer. I eyed the map cautiously and said,
“If we need to kill Millicent that may be the only way.” Silas turned to me and just as he was about to say something the sound of creaking wheels and the soft trot of horses rounded the bend on the road below. I turned to him and with a nod, moved to my belly and slid back down the way we had come. The two of us moved down from our lookout; pulling up leaves and pine needles as we slid back down to the camp. At my return Kappa stood up eagerly and met my eyes, “Now?”
I nodded and she, Silas and I exited the thicket towards the road.
The carriage bounced along the winding dirt road towards us and slowed as the three of us walked out in front of it. It skidded to a stop just before us, sending a small cloud of dust billowing up behind it despite only going a slow speed.
“Move!”
The carriage driver had a loud booming voice and a thick, English accent and despite his small stature and with a wave of his hand he tried to cast us aside.
“Actually,” I said with a bit of a nervous smile and in an equally booming voice said, “We’d like to borrow your carriage.”
I watched his face as he studied mine and as it washed over him and through a stern face he said, “Okay.”
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He hopped down off the carriage and I smiled widely at him. I patted him on the back and with an open palm gestured for him to hand me the key, to which he kindly obliged. The others had been off to the right side of the road watching, ready for any resistance but as I moved towards the back I waved them out. The guard happily stood off to one side and watched us commandeer his vehicle as the others began to emerge out of the woods.
“That was easy,” Jessica said as Drew brushed some leaves out of his long, dark hair.
“Too easy,” he said and I smiled in confidence as I approached the caged portion of the prisoner transport. When I got to the key I noticed it was draped in a deep red clothe.
“Didn’t want to burn in the sun, Killian?” I said as I reached for the lock but before I could put the key in the cage door swung upon with a mighty kick and sent me reeling back, falling hard against the dirt road. My nose cracked and I could feel the warmth of my own blood pouring down over my chin as Ergon stepped out from the cage and onto the road. From behind I heard the gallop of horse hooves and I turned to see Hestle and a group of seven other riders approach. On the back of his horse was Killian; bound, gagged and struggling to free himself.
Kappa already had her bow drawn but seeing the others arrive she lightened her grip. Jessica and Drew followed suit, having also readied themselves for a fight but now seeing the number of their foe. I nodded to each of them and cupped my nose to stop some of the blood from pouring out and Ergon let out a low growl. I stayed on the ground; my head spinning and my vision blurred as I heard Hestle and his men climb off their horses and approach.
“Weapons down everyone,” he said, although most had already complied. I watched Jessica and Kappa drop their weapons and after a moment, Hestle leaned in to my view, a sly grin on his face and said, “You didn’t really think I’d be that dumb, did you?”
I tried my best to answer back, tried to keep my eyes from feeling dizzy but despite my efforts as the blood continued to pour and my eyes felt heavier and heavier I fell back unconscious. I mean, I assume I was. It’s really tough to tell in the moment, I just remember feeling woozy, hearing him talk to me like he was a Bond villain and then kaput.
Blackness.
Now there is probably an age old question about whether or not you dream when you pass out. Okay, it’s not really an age old question because ages are really, really, really, really old and people pass out pretty frequently; especially in a small town with cheap booze. But I did use the word probably so it’s not like I wasn’t aware that it wasn’t common. That is to say that I personally didn’t know the answer. It wasn’t something I was privy to in my life of bedroom world building and my extracurricular of “that-one-time-I-played-DnD.” If I had asked the question and thought of an answer I probably would’ve been wrong because in that blackness, in the nothingness so sleepless slumber; I did dream.
I was standing once again in the Gymnasium at school, however this time; the world was no longer frozen and I was no longer just Lester Dunn. I still looked like me but I was wearing my leather armor; holding my bow loosely in my hands and sporting a quiver on my back. The class watched as I stood there and laughed. Mr. Miller stood at the front of them and led them as they chuckled at my getup, at the way I held myself, at the opportunity to mock what I had shown them but in this dream, I didn’t care. My concern and fear felt fictitious, as fake as the scene before me felt. It wasn’t so much that I was just wearing armor to school that made me feel strong, it was because I felt like myself. I felt like I was carrying the confidence; decision making, leadership abilities and friends I had made here in Dunn, with me.
Somehow, knowingly, I turned to the bleachers and saw them; Killian, Kappa, Silas and Drew all sitting and watching me, eager to cheer me on. Even Jessica was there but she wore her armor instead of her gym outfit. I did a double take and glanced back at the class who was still laughing and Jessica was still there; a version of her from before with neatly combed hair and a soot-free face. I smiled at the class this time, understanding that they were laughing at me because I was different, because I didn’t fit in but somehow; knowing those on the bleachers were there for me, to support me, it felt okay. The bleachers were clapping and cheering wildly, Killian hollering in support of me and I laughed as Mr. Miller began to walk towards me.
At first I was nervous, I gripped my bow tighter and motioned for an arrow, but something about the way the approached made me second guess. His smile was less sinister, more pained and honest and when he arrived before me he turned to the bleachers, to my friends and then paused before looking back at me.
“I’m proud of you.” He said in a way that felt genuine and as he reached out to shake my hand the scene melted away to reveal the dim, grimy, torch lit walls of a dungeon.