Jace stood with 49 other characters staring through a translucent curtain with a castle wall over half a mile in the distance. It was similar to the boundaries he had experimented with outside Olympus, but this one didn’t allow anyone through, at least not yet. Spaced evenly every twenty feet, a countdown clock was projected onto the curtain, so it looked like the numbers hung magically in the air. At least half the characters there were NPCs, and none of them seemed concerned with the digital intrusion into their reality that told them the game would start in about two minutes.
Jace looked over at Esther and saw her talking with Sylvester. He didn’t like the arrangement but didn’t know of a better way. Access to the goblin required two teams acting in unison. One had to transverse a long, underground tunnel filled with trolls so they could unlock a gate, and the other group needed to pass through that gate into a secret alcove and then let the first person in. Esther was going to go with Sylvester to find the tunnel. Fighting the trolls was an option, especially if you had a fire mage with you, and Draya would make short work of them. Although, right now, the young mage didn’t look like she was good for anything. She had cleaned up a bit since the tavern and profusely apologized to Snowy, on whom she had puked. She was still hungover, despite Jace dumping healing mana into her every few rounds since they had entered this buffer zone.
The best way to get past the trolls was to sneak in the shadows. Fighting them took time, but a rogue with Shadow Step could run past them. Jace wouldn’t be able to accompany the two women if they tried to use stealth to get past the monsters; he was a noisy orc. As much as he didn’t like the idea of Esther going with Drescher’s former informant, he liked the idea of Draya going with them even less. Wallace and Sylvester both told him there was no way to sneak through the above-ground route, and they would need battle-hardy characters to help them. Draya would be more valuable in assaulting the castle, and Esther could handle herself alone. Trixna and Draya had worked on filling several rubies with dragon fire, and Esther could deal with a few trolls if they caught her in the shadows.
Gracie had also explained what she knew about Sylvester. They didn’t have a last name to work with yet, and there were several players with that name in ROI, but only one fit his level and class. You could hide your class and race in the game like Jace did, but Sylvester made his public, probably as an offer of good faith to those he traded secrets with. He was a level 11 tracker, a ranger specializing in stealth and survival. He would have exceptional perception skill, allowing him to track prey and prevent people from sneaking up on him. He had enough magic to disable or protect himself from fighters and proficient combat skills to fight off any mages or priests he would encounter.
But he wasn’t designed for battle. He was a supporting character who always made it out alive to tell the tale to anyone willing to pay. Jace questioned his level, but Gracie explained it was perfect for someone in his line of work. Once you reached level 12, you were worth a million experience points and had a target on your back. Level 13+ characters were worth 2 million to anyone over 20 levels, but if you were under 20, a million experience was the most you could get for killing a PC, so there was no reason to pick a fight with anyone over 12. At the same time, you needed to be level 10 to enter PVP zones, and most level 10 characters were considered noobs. A level 11 character had twice as much experience as a 10, literally and figuratively, and they were treated more respectfully. It was easy enough to exist in the game without getting experience if all you did was swindle other players and trade secrets. The informant had probably been at 11 for a while.
Sylvester had offered an alliance with Esther, and Jace was notified that she had accepted. It wasn’t the same as joining someone’s party, but it allowed them to share senses, chat, and see each other when they hid in the shadows. It gave Jace a sense of assurance that Sylvester wouldn’t stab her in the back. However, Gracie dispelled that security by letting him know that Sylvester was no match for Esther, even if he were at level 15. He knew that, so if he planned harm for the woman, he would have other plans than taking her on one-on-one.
“We need to go,” Sylvester said to Esther, but loud enough for Jace to hear. The timer was under 90 seconds, and the other players were prepping their weapons and equipping any armor they had neglected while in the tavern. Not many people cast spells on themselves, as Gracie had told Jace that they would permanently be in combat mode once they passed through the curtain, and any time-based spell would only last one minute. You needed time your boon to go into effect right before combat.
Jace ensured he had a crit protection loaded into his necklace and each of his companions’ armor. Esther had her rapiers filled with a Heavy Weapon spell, and she still had the diamond that gave her an Athletic boon if needed.
Jace looked at her with concern, as if he were sending his only daughter off to college. “Be safe,” he said.
“You know me,” Esther replied. “Sly has more to worry about than I do.”
Jace eyed up the devious informant, who shifted his glance constantly. Jace had allowed his illusion spell to expire, so he appeared as an orc. Most people present already knew that he was one from his public fight with Drescher, so they didn’t pay much attention to it, but it made it harder for Sylvester to return his look. Jace had already paid the man half his 3,000 gold fee, and both Gracie and Wallace impressed upon him that the tracker would want the rest, so he wouldn’t backstab them until they made it to Gromphy. That didn’t give the shaman much assurance. People had already offered way more than 1,500 for access to the alluring vampire, but he didn’t have much choice and watched them run off to the right.
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Esther and Sylvester stayed behind the long line of characters pressing against the curtain, hacking at the impenetrable barrier with their weapons and riling themselves up for battle. The castle walls were barely visible in the distance, and they had a long run to work themselves up for. Despite her celebrity status, most players were more concerned with the fight than checking out what Esther was doing, and the pair didn’t get much notice as they ran, even less once they dropped into the shadows. The battle setting was at dusk, with the light level at ten or below in most places, so the two characters didn’t need any magical assistance to disappear.
Once the barrier dropped and the hoard of characters rushed forward in a battle cry, Esther and Sylvester slipped into the woods on the far right of the map. The tracker led them on a winding route, and Esther was sure he doubled back a few times. They traveled through the thick forest traversing deep gullies and climbing over rocky ledges. They heard battle cries off in the distance and got several prompts and updates from the action to let them know how their team was doing.
After nearly five minutes, Esther was about to say something. She understood Sylvester was showing her a secret path, but there must have been a more direct way to get where they were going. Even if they had just run along the tree line behind the attacking force and ducked into the woods half a mile closer to the castle, she was sure they would have saved time. She tried to ignore Jace’s concern that Sylvester would double-cross them and that maybe an impassible cliff or barrier prevented them from taking a more direct route. But she knew something was up when her guide led her into a clearing where six other characters were waiting for them.
The game instinctively let her know that all these characters were part of her team, the attacking force. This meant they had been allowed through the barrier when Esther had, and Sylvester had needed to take her on a winding path to give these players a chance to get here first. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked, her hands on the hilts of her weapons.
“Do not be alarmed,” a large half-orc said. He wore only a loin cloth and stood beside a campfire that lit a circular area fifty feet across. A female halfling stood beside him wearing priestly robes. “I mean you no harm. I only desire a chance to prove myself to you.”
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Esther didn’t answer but turned again to Sylvester. “Jace paid you to take me to the secret entrance. I don’t have time for this.”
“The tunnel is 100 feet in that direction,” the tracker pointed beyond the fire and the characters who stood in the way. “I am sorry these players beat us to it.”
Esther didn’t buy the story for a second but figured she might as well get this encounter over with. Jace had told her that no one they met in this game would be as powerful as the enemies they regularly faced and defeated. Drescher, undead mages, and frost giants were all far more potent than any level 15 character they might run into here. So whatever this trap was, she didn’t fear for her safety.
She and Sylvester had left the shadows shortly after entering the woods, and as she took a few steps toward the fire, she saw that there would be no hiding in its circle. The magical flames gave off more than heat and light.
“What do you want?” Esther asked, standing just outside the ring of illumination.
“My name is Asandru. I desire a test between you and me, Esther Xerxes. A test to regain my honor.”
Esther heard a slight chuckle from three players off to her left. She was focused on the half-orc but turned to these people now. A barbarian half-elf had laughed. He was flanked by a surly-looking dwarf with a hammer and shield and an elegant woman who was either a mage or priestess.
“It figures,” the barbarian said. “You would have initials that spell out EASY.”
Esther looked confused for a moment, but then the woman corrected him. “Xerxes starts with an X, dear, not a Z.”
The half-elf took the correction in stride. “Whatever. She will make a good ‘EX’ too. Better than most of my others.”
Now the woman punched him in the arm, and Esther ignored their antics and stepped into the light to address the half-orc. He stood perfectly still, letting her see he had no weapons or armor of any kind. Esther was willing to bet he was a monk. “What dishonor have I brought you?” she asked.
“The way you dispatched my brothers outside Ironfel has led many to doubt my abilities and that I would not last five seconds against you.”
Likely this player had boasted he could take out Esther one-on-one after what she had done to Drescher’s guards had gotten out. Esther would have difficulty taking this encounter seriously if it were just a ploy to win a bet. “Those were your brothers?” she asked, only pretending confusion. She understood he only meant it figuratively. “Your mother must have been busy.”
“Your insolent wit will not save you here, child. Only your strength of arm.”
Esther looked down at her skinny limbs, barely thicker than this monk’s thumbs. To an outsider, it would be foolish to think she had a chance, but she also understood she had unique abilities and skills. However, if this half-orc were a monk, he would be trained in hand-to-hand combat, and her insane grappling skill would not give her as supreme an advantage.
“So we fight, and then I can go? What about the rest of these people?” She looked over at the three characters on her left and then at the lone archer on her right, who hadn’t spoken yet. “Are they just here to watch?”
“Their presence is . . .” Asandru hesitated, “unfortunate. When I made arrangements for this meeting . . .” his eyes now searched over Esther’s shoulder for Sylvester, who had likely hidden in the shadows to watch, “I didn’t realize the invitation had gone to others. Their involvement now is unavoidable.”
Esther turned to the barbarian. “What do you want?”
“You don’t remember me?” he asked, stepping just into the light.
Esther had a good memory of all the people she had been with; this half-elf wasn’t one. However, the longer she looked at him, the more his face resembled someone she knew. “Jules Pancratz,” she said, slowly testing out the name as the memory returned to her. Something in his eyes and cheekbones remained the same. “You were a bard. You fancied yourself a lover too, but you weren’t.”
The woman beside him stifled a laugh, and the barbarian nearly raged at her. “It was the limitations of my character, Christine! I needed to spread myself thin to accommodate all my skills.”
“You were a little too thin,” Esther mocked. “And I don’t remember any skill.”
Christine laughed out loud, and the man grew red in the face. “You killed me!” he cried. “I was told it was the easiest experience in the game, and, even though you weren’t VR compatible, you were the best lay in the realms. And you killed me. I lost everything.”
“I couldn’t pass you on to my mistress,” Esther said. “She had standards.”
The other woman was beside herself with laughter now, and there was a moment when the barbarian looked like he might draw his axe and charge Esther, but a sudden calm passed through him. “Well, I had to start over, and I didn’t spread myself thin this time. My name is Junther now. I am nothing like my old self.” He struck a pose, and Esther had to admit his new look was vastly improved. The combination of human, elf, and barbarian created a lean physique with chiseled muscles visible under an open blue vest. Esther suddenly wanted to see him without his clothes but then reigned in her desire. She didn’t have time for that.
“And now you want a second opportunity to impress?” she asked.
“I was two days from going to Portsmith when your boss did whatever he did and wrecked everyone’s copy. I thought I had lost my chance, but fortune favors the bold.”
“There is nothing bold about what you are doing,” the half-orc interrupted. “This is cowardice, taking advantage of a woman in this situation.”
“And you are no coward?” Esther asked. “Standing in my way when you know I must get somewhere quickly? Forcing me into combat that you know I would prefer to avoid?”
“I offer you a fair fight,” Asandru said. “We wrestle. I win. And then Junther and you can settle this old grudge. I have no interest in it.”
“But you would pin me to the ground and leave me Helpless for this coward?” Esther asked, hoping the monk would have more honor than that.
“It is an unfortunate requirement of our arraignment,” his head was low. Likely Sylvester had made the monk promise to help Junther, or he wouldn’t give the half-orc this location. He was honorable, but it was to keep his word to the tracker.
“And if I beat you,” Esther replied. “Who will hold me down for him? I doubt he is capable of it himself.”
“That is what Clint Lawton is for,” the barbarian spoke up.
Esther turned to the archer, assuming this was his introduction to the gathering. “What? The Psycho-wanna-be?”
The archer bristled at the comparison and tightened an arrow on his bow but stayed silent.
“He’s promised me he can pin you to the ground from 100 feet,” Junther said. “He better not be lying. I paid him enough.”
“And the dwarf?” Esther asked, looking back to her left.
“I smash and bash!” the NPC said, banging his hammer against his shield, producing a spray of sparks.
“Don’t worry about him,” Junther said, a bit embarrassed by the mindless companion.
Esther turned to the woman, trying to figure out their relationship. “You’re okay with all this?” she asked her. “Most wives don’t like what I do to their husbands.”
Christine laughed. “I’m not his wife. I’m well on my way to being one of his exes. But he’s got a little fun left in him. He’s promised we’ll go to your old humping grounds after this. The Gilded Swan is under new management, now catering to a broader clientele. They have a druid working there who can change parts of his body into a snake. Besides the obvious benefits that would provide, I hear he can do this thing with his forked tongue that will make a woman . . .” her body shivered at whatever thought raced through her mind. Esther could only guess, but she was interrupted.
[Dragon Fire detected.]
The alert was a new thing for Esther, and she looked around and saw the other characters reacting to the prompt as well.
“Someone brought a dragon?” Christine asked incredulously. “How is that possible?”
Esther smiled, knowing who it was, and realized she had to finish this as soon as possible. She was needed elsewhere. She turned back to the monk.
“If we are going to fight, we better get started. I have places to be. Though, I must tell you. When I fought your brothers, they had all their equipment, and it still wasn’t a fair fight. You have put yourself at a considerable disadvantage by your current . . . uh . . . attire.” Esther knew monks trained their bodies to be weapons, and this was likely how he usually fought.
“No,” Asandru said, “you are the one who is improperly dressed. We will fight without equipment and mana. We shall fight with only what the gods have blessed us.” After a slight tug at his waist, the loin cloth disappeared, and the half-orc stood there in all his glory.
Esther heard Christine whistle in appreciation. “The gods have certainly blessed him.”
“Hush,” Junther said. “Let them do this.” He turned back to the show before him and saw Esther looking at them. “Go on,” he told her. “Take off that armor. It’s not like half the realms haven’t seen you naked already.”
But that was the old me, Esther thought. She turned back to her potential wrestling opponent and smiled. Beside him, his halfling companion raised her hands, poised to dispel any magic Esther might try to cast.
[Sylvester Par has canceled your Alliance.]
I’m on my own now. “Well then,” she said with her hands away from her weapons. “I guess that’s the way it’s going to be. Allow me to remove my hat first.”
Esther reached up to the brim, tugged on it, and disappeared.