"Help!" Rand cried. "Cute little dwarf in trouble!"
That made both muggers pause. Then an arrow thunked into Pakal's neck. The hobgoblin looked shocked, and then embarrassed. Before Pakal even began to collapse, another arrow pierced Chuk's heart. The cutthroat tried to pull the arrow out, but his eyes crossed and he fell straight back. Rand looked down at Pakal, and then Chuk, before turning to look up the street.
Fergus and Tiana each stood over a dead goblin, captured bows in hand.
"Thanks," he said. He looked at Tiana. "I knew Fergie could shoot, but well done, Red."
"If you call me 'Fergie' again, I swear I'll put an arrow through your liver."
Tiana, though, winked. "I like it when people call me Red."
Congratulations! You've earned enough experience points to move up one level. You are now a Level 13 warrior!
Rand waited for the prompts to tell him about his weapons, but they never appeared. He frowned. Apparently some things didn't rate a congrats from the Game, but it really was mediocre stuff. Nothing magical that he could see, not even off the witch.
"Here comes the Watch!" someone shouted.
Rand turned his attention to the three dead players. He quickly collected their cudgels, knives, daggers, and purses. By that time he could hear the stamp and jangle of running men-at-arms, so it was time to go. They ran up to a much narrower side street, which he assumed was Wilber's Alley. And then they ran for all they were worth, turning left or right at each opportunity. By the time they were too exhausted to run any more, they were safe and completely lost. So he checked his stats.
Current status
:
Name:
Rand
Race:
Mountain Dwarf
Class:
Warrior
Leveclass="underline"
13 (8% to next level)
Alignment:
Neutral
Health:
92/100
Strength:
9/10
Endurance:
8/10
Agility:
10
Mana:
N/A
Skills:
(Click to View/Hide)
Fighting:
Hand-to-Hand (Lvl 2).
Possessions:
(Click to View/Hide)
Weapons:
Goblin belt knife
Dagger (2)
Cudgel (2)
Armor:
N/A
Money/shekels:
0 gold, 0 silver, 17 copper shekels
Wardrobe:
Spawn tunic (Cotton)
Mountain Dwarf Warrior furs and boots.
Player Kills:
1
Deaths:
0
"What? That's all the money they had?" he said.
Tiana stopped a woman walking with two children. They were mobs and looked very poor.
"Excuse me, but do you know of a shop some down on their luck travelers could sell a few personal effects, like knives and cudgels?"
The woman looked them over warily, keeping her kids behind her. She shook her head, but then pointed up the street. "Two streets up, turn left. Two doors down is Ole Sleepy-eye. He's buys and sells things, but he won't give you much."
"Thank you, very much," Tiana said, backing away. Then in a whisper to Rand, "Do I look that dangerous?"
"No, but I do."
"If I bought you some humility, would you use it?"
"Never!" Fergus said. "That runt is full of himself."
"In his defense, there isn't that much to fill up," she replied and both burst out laughing.
"Ha-ha, not funny," Rand said. It was really hard not to grin, though. "Let's go sell our shit."
"Don't call it that," Tiana said. "You know I don't like that word."
They followed the woman's directions, but found the shop closed and locked up tight. Rand pounded on the door until an ancient dwarf appeared. Ole Sleepy-eye was a graybeard, with his left eye half-closed. He only had one arm.
"I'm closed, you morons," he shouted. "Go away."
"We've got stuff to sell," Rand said.
"I figured that out on my own, dummy. Get."
"Aww, don't be mean," Tiana said all soft and sexy. "Rand's just a little rough around the edges. He doesn't mean anything by it." She bit her lip, sliding into a sexy stance. "Can't we at least come inside and show you what we have to sell?"
Ole Sleepy-eye might've been a mob, but he looked her over and swallowed hard. Then he nodded and backed inside. Tiana wagged her brows at Rand.
"You get more flies with honey than with vinegar," she whispered as she passed by him.
Fergus grinned at him as he passed through the door. Rand looked at the heavens and shook his head. "Chicks get away with too much."
They dumped their meager loot on a trestle table. Rand kept a belt knife. Fergus added the claymore to the loot to sell, but kept the goblin bow, arrows, and a belt knife. Tiana also kept her goblin bow and arrows and a fancy looking elven belt knife, which was long and curved with a single-edge.
Ole Sleepy-eye looked surprised, and then gave them a dirty look. "You disturbed me for this?"
"We're desperate, good sir," Tiana said. "We need enough money to get room and board for the night."
The dwarf thought about it a moment, mostly while staring at Tiana's chest, and then shrugged. "You caught me already into my cups, so I'll give you fifteen shekels for the lot. And I'll regret it in the morning, mind you, but that's enough for room and board for a night for each of you."
"Deal, and I thank you kindly," Tiana said, and kissed him on the corner of the mouth.
Rand's jaw dropped. She never kissed him, and he'd hit on her a hundred times just in the last month.
Women! he thought. He looked Ole Sleepy-eye over critically. And I'm taller and younger than him, too.
Tiana collected their payment. She divided up the money, and even let them keep the purses she gave them to get through the gate. So with what he got off the witch, Tiana's gift purse, and the five shekels, he had a grand total of… Twenty-two shekels, all copper.
"I hope I have enough to get drunk," Rand muttered. "Let's find the inn closest to the main gate. If Asha's here, that'll be where she'll be waiting."
Chapter 14
Morning came early. The breeze coming in the open window was chilly, but the mouth-watering smell of baking bread rode the wind. Asha sat up and stretched, yawning wide. After knuckling sleep from her eyes, she swung her legs over the side and contemplated another half hour of shuteye.
Then she remembered the warning that Rudolf would be back at sunrise, as soon as the gate opened for the day. The drowsy elfmaid checked her HUD, but there was no clock. She scowled in the dark, before standing up and looking around.
"I'll have to ask Tilly where I can get a bath," she muttered, staring at the jug of cold water on the table. "I wonder if that water is safe to drink?"
She decided better safe than sorry, so pulled up her stats. The sorceress opened Possessions, and then Wardrobe. Asha slept in what the wardrobe referred to as her "spawn tunic." It was skimpier than her RL pajamas, but better than sleeping nude. So she concentrated on her "elven sorceress dress" and felt a change against her skin.