Stygian blackness everywhere, lit faintly by flashes of blood red. Nightmarish faces bared their teeth and shouted at him. Killum screamed and thrashed about as brutal hands clutched at his body. Monsters that could only be demons clawed at him, tearing his flesh in a dozen places. The pain was beyond comprehension. And then a huge red, winged demon grabbed him, and sank its fangs deep into Killum's throat…
"Nooo!" Killum screamed, sitting up. He fell off the stone bed, looking all around with wild eyes for an attack. It took a long moment to calm down and realize he was back at his Spawn Site. "Getting killed in this realm sucks!"
Chapter 9
Killum slowly crumbled to the ground. Fergus looked at the troll, now with a sword thrust through his throat. The fact the mob survived the rock to the head was worrisome.
"Are the monsters harder to kill in this realm?" Fergus asked.
Rand shrugged. "I killed a wolf with my bare hands, but then I am a powerful dwarf warrior after all."
The ranger looked over Rand's head at Tiana, who returned his gaze with amused eyes. She shrugged, and he shook his head woefully. Rand was a character. Maybe it wasn't an act. Maybe the dwarf really believed it. Fergus looked around, and found everything very believable.
"I'll take the sword, since I'm the only one large enough to wield it," Fergus said.
They all stopped and watched Killum's body fade away. His "club" was all that remained. Rand quickly snatched it up as his own.
"I get his purse," Tiana cried, darting forward.
Fergus didn't see a purse. Besides, where would any of them get a coin purse so quickly? But then she moved past the battle-mage's death spot, and climbed up onto the troll's body.
"Be careful, girl. That mob probably has virtual flees and lice," Fergus said. "He's smells rancid."
"Oh my god, you're right! I can actually smell him," Tiana turned delighted eyes back at him. "This realm is amazing." The thief waved her hand before her screwed up face. "He smells worse that one of Rand's battle farts." She reached down to the dead mob's waist and pulled away a leather coin purse. Tiana poured the contents out in her palm. "Yes! Twenty-one copper shekels, and two silvers! I'm rich!"
That was interesting. This realm had trolls interacting with other races similar to how it went down in their previous realm. In cities trolls traded with others, but killed and ate them in the countryside. So it was another lawless realm.
Fergus grinned. This is going to be so much fun.
"Do you think Killum will return to this spot?" Rand asked. "Or go to Oxenbur… I mean Oxenbluff."
"He might come back here, since it's on the way to the town," Fergus said. "But I'm not going to wait. We'll just be wasting our time here if he goes straight to Oxenbluff."
"I agree," Tiana said. "I'm eager to reach any town so I can start leveling up and working on my skills." She turned to Rand. "So, have you or Killum seen Asha?"
"No. She came over first, so might already be in Oxenbluff."
Fergus couldn't argue that point. Her Spawn Site might even be close to that town, or on the other side of the town. After all, his Admin just said everyone was spawned in this valley, not where.
The ranger led the way back into the forest. He quickly found a game trail, making it easier to travel. As best he could tell, he was the only one who looked for game trails. The others just smashed through the forest like barbarians, making a god-awful amount of noise. Only Asha, a fellow elf, seemed able to traverse forests effortlessly. He assumed she was still an elven sorceress in this new realm, so really could already be in Oxenbluff.
I'd already be there if I didn't have first Tiana, and now Rand, holding me back.
The game trail didn't follow the river, but drew close at different points. It was going in the right direction, so Fergus stuck to it. He set a brutal pace for poor Rand, and soon had the dwarf huffing and puffing. Tiana fared a little better.
"Let's take a break next to this creek," Rand called. The creek ran through the middle of a small clearing where a mighty oak had fallen. The remnants of the ancient tree could just be made out in the knee high grass, but it left a nice opening high enough to see for many miles. "Tiana looks tired."
The thief didn't correct him, so Fergus stopped. They all took their fill of the cool, sweet water. Then they sat on the rotting trunk, Tiana in the middle, and studied the land to the west. Hazy purple mountains were off in the distance, with rolling hills as far as the eye could see. They couldn't see the river, but there were a lot of birds of prey gliding above it.
And then he saw it.
Dragon (Lvl 26). Neutral.
"Is that really a dragon?" Fergus asked, rising to his feet. He studied the tiny figure flying in the distance. "That's amazing. And I think there's a rider upon it."
"You're eyes are better than mine," Tiana said. "I can see the dragon, but it's too far away to make out anyone riding it."
"Killum and I came across a giant nest atop a hill," Rand said. "We heard something inside it, so didn't check it out. But it was big enough to be a dragon's nest."
"Do dragons make nests?" Tiana asked.
Fergus shrugged. "The game designers can have them do anything they want, but it does seem odd to have dragons nest like birds."
"Well, maybe so," Rand said. "Killum also said he spotted some guys on a flying carpet following the river northward."
"Wow. We seem to have more than one option to fly in his realm," Fergus said. "Personally, I'd prefer the flying carpet."
"I know. A dragon might eat you," Tiana replied.
"Naw, Fergus is such a sourpuss he would upset the dragon's stomach," Rand said. He winked at Tiana. His eyes looked her up and down, lingering on her breasts. "But I bet you'd be delicious."
"I'll poke an eyeball out if you keep leering at me like that," she said.
"But I think we can actually do it in this realm," Rand said. He scooted a little closer, which made Tiana slide away a bit. "Our bodies are perfectly formed, and capable of doing anything here that we can do in real life."
"That sucks for you," Tiana said. "Because I wouldn't sleep with you in the real world, either."
Rand and Fergus chuckled. Tiana gave them both dirty looks.
"I admire your tenacity, dwarf, but one of these days you're going to go too far and Tiana or Asha is going to slay you," Fergus said. "I hope I'm there to witness it."
"At least I'm man enough to try."
"You're not a man," the ranger said. "You are a dwarf."
"Screw you."
"Just like Tiana, I won't sleep with your either," Fergus said. He started laughing, "But thanks for the love."
Tiana burst out laughing. Rand scowled at them, but soon even he couldn't keep from laughing. Then the dwarf lifted a leg and ripped out a loud fart. That sent the other two rushing upwind. Fergus veered back to the game trail, waving for them to follow. They weren't going to reach Oxenbluff before dark by sitting on their butts.