Power Up, page 12
Jas looked back at the woman frantically milking the cow. “But she looks like a person.”
“Yeah, I’m quite surprised at how lifelike they are. DAS has certainly put in some effort, which isn’t like them at all. They must have bought a company that owned this tech and shoehorned it in. That’s the only logical explanation. Just wait, in five minutes we will be hit up for micro-transactions,” Carlos replied.
Jas glanced down at her bare stomach. “I’d actually be ok with that, if it means I can buy some decent clothes. I can’t keep walking around like this, it’s making me self-conscious.”
“I’ll come with you,” Sarah said. “I wouldn’t mind checking out the gear to see if I can get a few upgrades. Why don’t the rest of you try to find a blacksmith or armoury so we can get some decent weapons? Let’s meet back in this square in ten minutes.”
Everyone nodded, but Marcus lingered. He looked like he was about to say something to Sarah, but then he shook his head and left.
As soon as they were alone Jas blurted out, “Are you still attracted to Marcus?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, I’m not very good at girl talk. I mean, Carlos said you used to date, but don’t anymore. Seems as if you still like each other. Why did you guys break up?”
“It’s a long story.”
Jas stared expectantly, and Sarah sighed. “I had a fiancee, we had our entire lives planned out, and then he turned out to be a cheating bastard. My world got turned upside down. I promised myself I wouldn’t let myself get hurt like that again. I swore off men for a while, and then Marcus stumbled into my life. We went through a traumatic event together and bonded, but deep down, I couldn’t commit. I tried to make it work, but I’m not ready. I had to break it off.”
“Did you tell Marcus the reason?”
Sarah stared at the ground. “No. He’d keep trying to win me over, or worse yet, he’d wait for me. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. I couldn’t stand the thought of him pining over me, putting his life on hold. It was much better for both of us to end it. Sure, it stung for a while, but at least now he can move on.”
“And what about you? Do you get to move on?”
Sarah looked stunned by the question. She stumbled for an answer. “I’m super busy with work right now. There’s no time for a relationship. I don’t think about it.”
“I see. So how did Marcus end up at DAS last night?”
“Enough about me,” Sarah blurted out. “What about you? I hardly know anything about you. Is there a special someone in the real world that might raise the alarm when you don’t come home?”
“Afraid not. I haven’t had a date in months. I’ve been too busy with work.”
“What’s your type?” Sarah asked.
“He has to be extremely intelligent, well read, philosophical, confident, but not overly so, ambitious, but not overly so, and able to look after himself.”
Sarah laughed. “So basically, he’s imaginary? What does this dream man look like? A Greek god? A movie star, perhaps?”
“I don’t care about looks. I only care that he has a beautiful mind.”
Sarah laughed again. “You should ask the King to make you this guy, because you aren’t finding him in the real world!”
They both chuckled at the thought. Sarah said, “Seriously though, is there anyone that might miss you? Friends or family, perhaps?”
“No, my family all live back in Canada. The only people I see regularly are people from work. There’s nobody else, unless my cat Digit learns to dial 999. He might annoy the neighbours if he gets hungry enough, but I’m pretty sure he’s already being fed at half the houses on my street. Regardless, I doubt they’ll send the search party because of a disgruntled kitty.”
Silence hung between them. Jas was painfully aware of how tragic her life sounded. No friends, family, or boyfriend, only work. Sarah didn’t seem to have that problem. She was casually casting aside guys that clearly adored her. Perhaps if Jas asked the right questions, she might figure out how.
***
Marcus regarded his crappy wooden sword. “Sarah’s right. We need to find a blacksmith.”
“Can we stop at the general store on the way? I need health potions to avoid a repeat of that last fight,” said Carlos, his health bar finally full again after their period without combat.
“Sure, I wouldn’t mind a couple myself, just to be safe.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence!” Carlos said with a wink.
“Don’t be so sensitive. You died twice in the last battle. It won’t hurt to have a backup if I have to make it across the battlefield to revive you.”
Nutsack watched them bickering, like they always did. It must be a territorial thing. Perhaps the mouthy one was trying to steal his keeper’s mating partner. That was a constant threat in the squirrel world. Even your closest ally would happily betray you during mating season. It was nothing a savage biting wouldn’t fix. He took a step towards Carlos, happy to lend a hand, or some teeth.
“Looks like Nutsack’s keen to get moving,” declared Marcus, setting off towards a side street that showed promise.
As they started walking, Carlos said, “Are you doing ok? With the whole Sarah thing, I mean.”
Marcus slowed. “It’s a lot to process. She hasn’t spoken to me in months. Now we’re thrown together, and I’m supposed to act like everything’s fine. I’m going to have a chat with her, if we can get some alone time.”
“I think that’s a bad idea,” Carlos said, taking a step back in case he caught a wooden sword to the face.
“Why?” It was disguised as a question, but Marcus’ tone made it more of an accusation.
“What good can come of it? You’re both trapped in here. If she says she doesn’t love you, it’s going to open up old wounds. If she admits she made a mistake, it’s going to be a massive distraction. Either way, it’s bad for the team.”
“The team? Since when do you care about the team?”
“What? I always care about the team. You can’t win if the team sucks. It’s not my fault if most of the teams I’m in are full of idiots. Present company excepted.”
Nutsack leapt into a nearby bin and rummaged around for food scraps.
“Speaking of team mates, what do you think about Jas?” Carlos said, ignoring the foraging rogue.
“She seems nice.” Marcus eyed him suspiciously. “Why? Do you fancy her?”
“What? No! I’m still not convinced she’s fully on our team. This whole thing could be a trap. She works for DAS after all, and she said she was part of these experiments. Who knows what stuff she’s been involved with?”
“Sarah works at DAS too. Jas is stuck in here, same as us. There’s no reason to think she’s a villain.”
Carlos raised an eyebrow. “Trusting people got us into this mess.”
“Perhaps, but not trusting our teammates will get us killed. We need to be working together if we’re going to have any chance of getting out of here. Promise me you’ll drop this ridiculous double agent theory. We’re literally trapped in a world of their creation. You think they couldn’t mess with us in a million different ways? They can probably listen in on every conversation and see everything we do. Why would they need a mole?”
“Urgh, don’t say mole. If I never see another mole for the rest of my life, that’s fine with me,” replied Carlos with a shiver.
They reached the general store. It was exactly what its name suggested, with a wide variety of products on offer. Most of them were self explanatory. It was hard to gauge prices with nothing to compare them to, but Carlos bought five healing potions for 5 gold apiece to help keep himself alive. He popped them into his inventory. “That’s most of my money, but at least now I won’t be caught with my pants down.”
Marcus chuckled. “I hope you’re wearing pants under that robe.”
“Don’t you start. It’s bad enough with the girls teasing me.”
Marcus picked up a grey potion and examined it. He pulled up the description:
Potion of Caledwch (Weak) - 30 gold
+ 5 DEF for ten minutes. Does not stack.
He held it up for Carlos to see. “This would come in handy. Perhaps I should get one of these?”
Carlos shook his head. “Too expensive for a temporary boost. You’d be better off spending your money on gear that permanently improves your stats.”
Marcus reluctantly put the bottle back on the shelf. Nutsack watched him do so with confusion. It had seemed as if his keeper had wanted the bottle, but he didn’t take it. The rogue picked it up and had a strange urge to slip it under his robes. He did so, and a message appeared that he couldn’t read:
CHR check passed. Theft successful.
That seemed easy enough. He picked up a yellow potion:
Potion of Doethineb (Medium) - 60 gold
+ 10 WIS for ten minutes. Does not stack.
He tried slipping it into his robes again, but different squiggles appeared in his vision:
CHR check passed. Theft successful.
Warning: Inventory Full. Please discard items, or store them in a chest.
He did not know what it said, so he tried again:
CHR check failed. Theft detected.
Marcus jumped as the shopkeeper pulled a sword from under his counter and shouted, “Stop, thief!”
Marcus looked for the thief in question as the shopkeeper ran straight at Nutsack, who darted away, knocking down shelves of produce as he fled. He bolted out the door clutching a yellow vial, with the shopkeeper in hot pursuit.
“As if he wasn’t enough of a liability. Now he’s a shoplifter!” Marcus said, turning to Carlos in time to see him stuffing an orange potion into his robes. “What are you doing?”
Carlos shrugged. “Our reputation’s already shot. Might as well take advantage.” He tried to take another, but stopped. “Hmm, apparently if I steal another potion, our party’s reputation with the village will be permanently set to hostile. Not sure if the girls would appreciate that.” He gingerly put the potion back on the shelf.
Marcus ran outside in time to see several villagers holding Nutsack down as the shopkeeper stalked towards him with a sword. “We don’t tolerate thieves in these parts,” he snarled.
Nutsack squirmed but couldn’t break free. Marcus drew his own sword, the splinter-filled mess that it was, and shouted, “If you want to kill him, you’ll have to kill me too.”
Two large villagers broke away from the group and walked towards Marcus. Apparently, they had accepted his offer. They both shared the same description:
Farmer - Level 5
They each clutched a pitchfork coated in mud, but the prongs looked plenty sharp enough. Certainly sharper than his weapon.
Carlos appeared behind him. “What’s the situation?”
“Half the village wants to kill Nutsack, and these two large gentlemen would prefer it if I didn’t intervene.”
“Fair enough. I’ve got your back. This isn’t much use to me, anyway.” He tossed the orange potion to Marcus, who checked the details:
Potion of Cryfder (Weak)
+ 5 STR for ten minutes. Does not stack.
Marcus shook off the guilt of handling stolen goods as the first farmer lunged for him. He dodged out of the way, the pitchfork narrowly missing him. It effortlessly pierced deep into the ground. The farmer had made his point. All four of them.
Marcus chugged the potion and immediately felt stronger. Much stronger. He barrelled into the second farmer and smacked him with his wooden sword. It took off almost a quarter of the farmer’s HP in one swing. Marcus was still staring in amazement when he felt a jab in his back. It didn’t hurt, but his back vibrated to let him know he was being hit in a place he’d rather not. He had made a rookie error, turning his back on an opponent, and it had cost him 10% of his HP. Thankfully, it was a temporary setback. Carlos quickly brought him up to full health.
The farmer pulled back to attack again, and Marcus ran straight for him. The pitchfork was a ranged weapon. It was ineffective up close. As the farmer tried to back away, Marcus got in a flurry of quick hits, downing him. He was prepared for the backstab this time, and ducked accordingly as the other pitchfork sailed over his head. He span and slashed at the remaining farmer’s legs, which was enough to finish the job.
Marcus surveyed the scene. Nutsack was still writhing on the floor as the shopkeeper stabbed at him, with each hit doing decent damage. He couldn’t figure out how Nutsack was still alive until he saw Carlos standing in the background, healing him. The odds weren’t in his favour. There were at least ten villagers in the square, and all of them looked ready to fight if he engaged them. It occurred to Marcus that letting Nutsack die might reset the villagers, but it was equally likely the entire party was tarnished by Nutsack’s actions. He’d likely have to fight them one way or another. Might as well attempt to save his friend.
Before he could wade in, the nearest villager burst into flames and flew across the village square. Sarah strode out of a side alley in a shimmering red dress with a gold trim in the shape of flames. She looked stunning. Marcus took a moment to enjoy the sight. He’d gotten so used to only seeing her in his imagination, or by staring at old pictures, and here she was in the flesh. Well, almost.
He shook his head. Carlos was right. Sarah was a distraction. He needed to stay focused.
Jas was right behind her, now wearing a bronze-armoured chest plate with fur accents. It showed much less of her stomach, and the skirt looked a little longer too, although it still revealed a lot of leg. She reached for her swords and then hesitated. She searched the crowd and found Marcus. “Why are they trying to kill Nutsack?”
“He stole something from the store and got caught. It appears the punishment for theft around here is death.”
“So the villagers are justified in their actions?” said Jas.
“I suppose,” Marcus said, trying to hide his frustration. He had to remind himself that Jas had met Nutsack a couple of hours ago. She had no reason to jump to his aid. He tried to bring her around. “I don’t think he knows what he did was wrong. He’s obviously not familiar with the concept of paying for stuff. I’m sure if we could make him understand, he’d apologize.”
He watched as Jas weighed up the various moral issues at hand. After a few seconds, she pulled out her swords. “Forget it. There’s no right answer here. He’s a squirrel, and these people aren’t real. Ethics doesn’t even begin to cover a situation like this. Let’s save our teammate.”
Without further hesitation, Jas leapt into the fight, literally. She jumped at the nearest villager, killing him instantly. Another tried to attack her from behind, but she side-stepped and caught him with a vicious backslash, followed with three quick hits. He succumbed too. For the briefest of moments, it looked as if Jas was actually enjoying herself.
Sarah was also fully engaged in the skirmish. She rapidly unleashed fireballs into the angry mob, downing already-wounded fighters or intercepting those that tried to sneak up on Jas or Marcus. Between each fireball she checked her MP bar, but there was more to play with now. She glanced at the new ring on her finger. It would help too once she figured out how to use it.
As the villagers ran to attack this new threat, they left Nutsack one by one. When there were only two villagers left holding him down, he made his move, flipping back up onto his feet and pulling free of their grip. They’d taken his pointy stick, but luckily for him, his captors had weapons, and they moved slowly. As the nearest one attacked, he grabbed the weapon, which was a battered old chair leg. He twisted and pulled it free, ignoring the squiggles:
AGI check passed. Disarm successful.
He tried poking with it, but it wasn’t very effective. Swinging it was far more effective, as amply demonstrated when he hit the shopkeeper in the head. He tossed the stick aside and retrieved his pointy stick from the old man’s belt.
He still had the yellow vial in his other hand. This seemed to be what all the fuss was about. If everyone wanted this, it must be good. More to the point, if he drank it, they couldn’t take it back. He pulled the cork out with his teeth and downed the contents in one large gulp.
In an instant, Nutsack’s world turned upside down. He had words for all these new feelings, and words for other things, too. He looked at the pointy stick in his hand and knew it was a dagger. These weird things on his feet were shoes. He was currently wearing clothes. With some concentration, he even knew his own name. Something about that confused him, because it was also the name for something else. “Bollocks?” He hadn’t intended to say it out loud, but there it was, his first word.
The shopkeeper staggered back to his feet, clutching his head. He picked up the discarded chair leg and swung it with all his might. It was deflected by a wooden sword. Marcus roared, “Stay away from Nutsack!” It had sounded much more heroic in his head.
Nutsack burst out laughing. “My name, funny!”
“What? Since when do you speak?” Marcus said as he parried another attack from the shopkeeper.
“Since drink. Me much smart.” Nutsack spoke each word slowly, as if it took great effort.
It took Marcus a moment to realize Nutsack must have drank the stolen potion. They could use this to their advantage, but first he had to end this fight. He only had sixty seconds left on his own potion. It was time to put it to good use. He said, “Carlos, I’m about to need some healing.”
“Got it,” came the reply. Marcus stopped blocking and switched to attacking. The shopkeeper tried to defend himself, but the sheer number of attacks was too much for him and every one that landed did decent damage.
When the shopkeeper’s HP reached zero, he didn’t fall down like the others. He abruptly stopped attacking and made a bee-line back towards his store. As soon as he did, everyone else stopped fighting. The defeated villagers hopped back to their feet and went back to their routines, completely oblivious.
