CHAPTER SEVEN.

That was intense, said Thorm. He held a hand over a dark blemish on the armor of one arm where the black vomit had touched it. The armor glowed, and the blemish vanished.

Thank you for your quick reaction, said Feign to Thorm. I shudder to think what the result would have been.

Not good, I said and satisfied they were okay, walked over to Mudhoof who stood next to the molten mound that had been the mayor. The lava had hardened, but was still lethally hot.

Mudhoof said, If this mayor idiot was our first fight, what are the rest going to be like? It was strange to hear doubt coming from him. We'd adventured together many times, and he'd never expressed this much concern over a quest.

I don't know, I said, shrugging and watched the molten mayor puddle cool. Probably worse, would be my guess. Quests usually get progressively difficult the further along you go. I'm under the impression we have our work cut out for us today.

That voice he used, Feign said. Someone was speaking through him. Taunting us. The final boss, perhaps? Nearly every big quest had a final bad guy to fight to gain access to the quest's greatest loot.

Guy had it out for us, that's for sure, said Mudhoof. He hefted his great ax onto one shoulder. Nice play with that arrow, Vee. We could have wiped right here. Just as we were starting. We would have been the laughingstock of the whole game. Not something I would have enjoyed.

I patted the minotaur on the elbow, the highest spot I could reach. The game caught us with our guard down, so to speak. But now we're armed with the special knowledge we didn't have before.

What's that? Mudhoof said.

That we need to treat every encounter as a possible wipe scenario. No getting lazy, or expecting an easy ride.

Thorm and Feign came to stand next to the rocky puddle. Phlixx threw pebbles into it and giggled at the hissing noise they made.

He didn't drop any loot, Mudhoof said. I figure after all that we deserve something more than this puddle of crud.

It hasn't cooled enough, yet. To Feign I asked, Perhaps you can speed things up a little?

The ice mage gave a small bow. Of course. Allow me. He leaned forward and blew out as if at a candle. A cold gust of icy air enveloped the hot rock. It crackled loudly, then turned from a hot red to black.

That should do it, Feign said.

Phlixx tossed another pebble and when it landed, the mass of black rock shattered and crumbled to dust. Soon it all faded away.

Okay, Mudhoof said. Where to next? The town? He was the mayor so that makes sense.

Stating the obvious was Mudhoof's way of dealing with his anger, so I didn't poke fun at him. At least not right now. That sounds like a plan. We'll go see what the mayor was ranting and raving about.

We continued down the trail, but now more on edge than ever. This game had proven it would throw in fatal encounters from the get-go and we needed to respect that. I kept Phlixx on snoop mode while Thorm had cast an aura of alertness over the entire group. That should boost our perception and limit any potential of a surprise.

Soon we reached a fork in the trail. A crooked sign pointing north said, 'Old Mine', while another said 'Ashbrook', pointing west.

Should we take a vote? I asked the group. It was common etiquette to ask for other members opinions when faced with a decision to make.

Mudhoof shrugged. It's your show, Vee. I'll follow you whichever direction you take us.

Yes, I believe you are our de facto leader, Feign said with a smile. It is your quest after all.

Lead the way, m'lady, said Thorm.

Phlixx crossed his arms and sneered at the men. That's right. You know who the boss is here.

I laughed. Okay, fine. Be that way, I said and looked at the signs. The mayor screamed about Ashbrook so we'll check that out first. But I think we'll find ourselves in the Old Mine soon enough.

We headed west.

The trail became a simple cobblestone road, but we didn't see any other travelers along the way. Mudhoof took this to be a bad sign stating the game was bottling up everything in one place. I begrudged him the point.

The strange black tower became more clear as we got closer yet just as confusing to look at. Was it an actual tower with beings inside or was something more sinister at work? Feign thought we'd probably end up there if we survived the journey.

The road turned out of the forest and we emerged right on the edge of Ashbrook. It looked like every typical medieval fantasy community the game likes to create. Stone-brick buildings wedged up against each other and crowding over a narrow road.

We paused, taking in the new environment.

No one is around to welcome us, Mudhoof said. There's always a greeter of some type or other. If not to give you a quest then to annoy you with a history of the place.

It was also silent. No crowd noises or wagons rolling over stone or hawkers trying to sell their wares. Nothing.

On a hunch I checked my quest tracker which logged our progress.

'After your encounter with the mayor you decide to investigate Ashbrook and what befell its inhabitants.'

I read this to the others.

Simple enough, said Thorm. But I'm not taking any chances. Keep your eyes peeled. He insisted on leading the way.

As we entered the town-proper the shadows of the buildings fell over us and I felt a chill. Normally, I welcomed the presence of shadows, but this was off. Something was very wrong.

Each building we passed appeared empty, even the shops.

Maybe we should break in to some of these places and loot them, suggested Mudhoof.

And how would that be helping the residents of the town? I countered.

Mudhoof shrugged. I should have rolled a thief. They get all the fun.

The further along the street we went the colder it got. Again, I resorted to adjusting my simulation suit's temperature controls.

Mudhoof shivered. I'm freezing off my bull-bits. Someone turn up the heat.

I said to Feign, You must be enjoying this.

The ice mage shrugged. Now you know what it's like to be me all the time. Still, this drop in temperature is an indication of bad magic. Demon magic, possibly.

This made us even more wary.

We passed by side streets and when I looked down them it was more of the same. Nothing. No people, no activity.

I think we're coming up on the town square, Thorm said.

Suddenly, above us someone hissed. What are you doing? Don't go there!

Everyone whirled around, ready for an attack.

A man peeked out from a second-story window. He wore a deep blue robe and was as bald as an egg. A bright white crystal hung from a necklace around his neck. Sweat glistened against his pink skin. You don't want to go to the square. It's too dangerous.

Who are you? I asked.

I'm Perrin, the town scribe, the bald man said. His eyes darted about nervously. But that doesn't matter. You need to get off the street. Now!

I glanced at the others.

Thorm shrugged. He might have information we can use. Let's pay him a visit.

To Perrin I said, We're coming in to talk. Don't worry we're friendly.

Friendly right up until he mutates into an acid spewing monster, Mudhoof said as we filed through the building's only door.

The inside was as quaint as the exterior. Simple furniture and knickknacks. Everything had the look of being hand crafted.

A stairwell led up and Perrin appeared at the top. He regarded us with obvious nervousness.

What business do you have being here? He asked, giving Mudhoof furtive glances. Probably had never seen a minotaur before.

We're, uh, adventurers looking to help out, I said. That was true enough. I could have told him we were human players logged into a game where he wasn't even real. But where was the fun in that?

Perrin mulled this over. Well, if you think you can help, it would be most welcome, but I don't know what good it would do.

What happened here? Thorm asked.

It all started with when that black tower appeared. It grew right out of the ground at the end of the valley. Then people started acting strangely. Getting angry. Fighting. But it got worse. Much worse. Everyone began to develop black veins in their skin.

Everyone? I asked and shot Mudhoof a meaningful glance. The minotaur frowned with concern.

Yes. Everyone except me. I don't know why. So I hid in the cellar here for several days, thinking it would all clear up on its own. He chuckled nervously. Foolish, I know, but where else was I to go? I only emerged this morning to see what had happened. Empty streets. No people. Then a few hours ago I heard the most horrid screams and shouts coming from the town square.

What happened there?

I don't know. I'm too craven to go look myself, but the screams stopped a short while ago. Terrifying.

Let's go check out the square, Mudhoof said. Beats hiding in here.

Perrin's eyes went wide. No! The noises alone were terrible. It sounded as if people were being eaten alive!

Mudhoof laughed. Now this I got to see for myself.

Before I could suggest a more cautious approach, Mudhoof went back out into the street. Thorm shrugged and followed. Feign looked to me.

Not the wisest approach, the ice mage said. But we best go after them. Safety in numbers.

As Feign and I left the building I said to Perrin, Stay put and don't go near the windows. We'll set things right soon enough. The game usually gave extra experience points if you treated the non-player characters like real people.

You poor fools, Perrin said, shaking his head sadly. You're going to your doom!

CHAPTER EIGHT.

Once back in the empty street we all filed in behind Mudhoof who made his way toward the center of town.

I hate skulking around, he said by way of explaining himself.

Then you'd make a lousy thief, Thorm said with a smile.

True enough, Mudhoof said. But I can't stand waiting for things to happen. Got to forge ahead. We still have that other group out here somewhere and I don't think they'd be spending their time stuck in a building talking to an egg-head.

Before anyone say anything else, Mudhoof held up his hand. We're here, he said.

We entered the town square. It was large and tiered down by several levels like a stadium. On the lowest level, at its center, sat a well. A strange set up by any medieval town's standards.

But that wasn't the strangest part of all.

There were people here. Hundreds of them. They looked to be townsfolk and all of them stood bunched together in a big crowd. But no one moved. Still as statues. And each were facing in one direction " toward the center, at the well.

What the heck? Muttered Thorm while he adjusted the grip on his great broadsword.

Not one person gave us so much as a glance. It was as if we didn't exist. Their entire focus was the well.

I looked at the people closest. They were dirty and their clothes disheveled as if they'd been fighting. But there was one detail that caused even greater concern other than their strange behavior.

They all had black veins marbled in their flesh.

Oh, dear, said Feign.

Told ya, Mudhoof said to me.

What? I asked, nervously surveying the huge rabble.

All bottled up, Mudhoof said. His confidence faltered a little at the sight of so many potential mutants. Each one could become as crazed and powerful as the mayor who nearly wiped us out all on his own.

I looked over the crowd, trying to guess their number. The game picked up on this and gave it to me: 1,006.

Maybe we should just turn around and... I said before the ground beneath our feet shook. The vibration was so hard the masonry of the nearby buildings cracked and windows shattered.