"Hey! Calm down," Killum commanded, standing up. He glowered at them, before shaking his head woefully. "That settles it. We've spent too long here in the Rowdy Rooster BSing. Let's go crush a dungeon."
You've been offered Quest to Conquer Deadman's Dungeon! Death and danger are assured, but the rewards are unknown. Do you accept this quest? Yes or No?
He looked to his left. Asha shrugged. They all had the same Game prompt before them. Tiana on his right nodded eagerly. Fergus and Rand just glared at each other. A smile flirted with the corners of Killum's mouth. They'd been playing together for two years, but the new FIVR was barely three months old. Fortunately, all five of them managed to scrape together enough money to upgrade and buy all of the equipment.
I'll never get out of my studio apartment if I don't stop spending all my cash on this game, he thought. But I'd be missing out on all this awesomeness.
Killum was the group's leader. He was a level 35 battle-mage in the Game, but only a bricklayer in real life. Upgrading cost as much as a small car, and wiped him out. Asha, their elven sorceress, never flinched when it came time to upgrade, so must be doing well. She claimed to be an Indian woman named Asha, working for the Indian delegation at the UN.
Fergus was the oldest of their group, being in his late thirties in RL. All of their avatars looked mid-twenties. Fergus was a grocery store manager, divorced, no children. He didn't like to talk about his RL, and Killum suspected he lived only to play the Game. He definitely spent more time playing than the others, and had gone through several different characters.
Tiana said she was an accountant by day, human thief by night in the Game. Other than that, she was mum on her RL. Rand was the exact opposite, telling way too much about his real world life. The college junior could be a little creepy at times, but a lot of fun in the game. And he loved, loved, loved to fight monsters.
Killum concentrated on YES for a second, noticing the others looking off into space at their prompts.
Congratulations! You've accepted Quest to Conquer Deadman's Dungeon. Fight to the death! No quarter given or received! Let the glory be yours and conquer!
Killum paused to check his status. He was back to 100% on health, strength, stamina, and mana. So he was as ready as he'd ever be to tackle a dungeon.
Current status
:
Name:
Killum
Race:
Human
Class:
Battle-mage
Leveclass="underline"
35 (87% to next level)
Alignment:
Neutral
Health:
100/100
Strength:
230/230
Stamina:
150/150
Agility:
80
Intellect:
95
Spirit:
75
Constitution:
100
Mana:
250
Inventory:
(Click to View/Hide)
Player Kills:
3
"I better win some new spells or talismans, Rand," Asha said. "Or I'm going to take it out of your butt."
The dwarf grabbed his crotch. "I got something for your – "
"Don't you dare finish that!" Tiana cried, pulling her dagger. "You little perv."
"Hey, stop calling me little," Rand cried, before he plopped his helmet back on. "I'm sensitive about my height." He pointed at the horns curving upward from the helm. "See. I'm compensating."
They laughed, drained their mugs, and started for the door. The Rowdy Rooster Pub was one of the larger, more popular hangouts in the City of Uhrs. It was usually crowded, but it was midmorning in that virtual world. Most of the players were out scoring loot and trying to level up.
Killum let the others lead the way to the door. A massive black hand grabbed his arm before he could take two steps. He followed that arm up to find Daphne's huge brown eyes staring down at him. She looked even more fierce up close and personal. The others all stopped, hands on weapons as the room tensed.
"Don't do it," Daphne said.
"Do what?"
"I overheard you talking about the dungeon that the elven ranger, Deidra, found in Deadman's Swamp," the minotaur said. Her whisper was like a normal person's regular voice. "And when's the last time you've seen hide or hair of her?"
"Impossible," Rand said, stalking forward with battle-axe in hand. "You heard nothing. I whispered." And then he shook his axe at her. "And stop eavesdropping, you big busybody."
"Sweetie, I'm deaf in real life," Daphne said. "So I read lips." She turned back to Killum. "Forget that dungeon. Players go in and don't come back. Ever."
"Thanks for the warning," he said, prying her hand off his arm with some difficulty. "But we're not your everyday kind of players."
"We have a lot of experience together, over several games," Asha said.
Killum moved back a step. He hated looking up at the towering minotaur like that. It made him feel small and insignificant. "I think we'll be okay, Daphne."
The minotaur shook her massive head, her horns almost touching the ceiling. "I tried. Fare thee well, Lords and Ladies." She turned back to her table, but slanted a look back at them. "And good luck. You're going to need it in spades."
Chapter 2
The midmorning sun was bright in a cloudless sky. The temperature was comfortably warm, but in Realm of Battle it was always cool enough to wear lots of leather and armor. Killum stopped just outside the Rowdy Rooster's front door, looking up and down the narrow, crowded street. Men and women of a dozen sentient races co-mingled. A centaur family was trotting by, and he saw orks, goblins, and even an ogre sitting with knights, wizards, and a Dark Priest at a nearby beer garden. Street urchin mobs raced between everyone, trying to steal purses or work out deals with players. Just seeing them made Killum wrap a hand around the purse hanging off his belt.
"I know Deidra," Asha said. Her brows furrowed. "I was wondering why she wasn't around anymore. Do you think the dungeon permanently killed her character?"
"Nobody really dies in this virtual world," Killum said. He waved for her to lead the way, and she turned and headed up the street. "She's probably just busy with real life. Don't worry, she'll be back."
Asha led the way toward the city gate that opened onto the road to Deadman's Swamp. The elven sorceress might act nonchalant most of the time, but Killum knew she loved fighting monsters more than any of them. He followed next in line, covertly watching the sway of her hips. She might be a fighter, but Asha liked to sex it up, too. Her black hair was pulled back into a thick braid, decorated with silver threads and golden bands. Her shapely body was barely covered by a purple and pale blue silk sari, but about halfway to the gate she spoke a spell and the silk transformed into soft brown leather: tight pants, boots, and bustier-like top under a short jacket.
She was now armed with a bejeweled, curved elven sword across her back and about a dozen matching curved knives on her belt. Various pouches with talismans also hung from her belt. Most of the gems sparkling at her ears, throat, and forearms were talismans as well. Asha was partial to any talismans that were fashioned as shiny, sparkly jewelry.