Realms of Fantasy Chapter 8: Prison Break
Katt finishes her introductory quest in Realms...
"So Captain Jhan put you through some combat training while the guards rounded up any survivors, and then you were going to evacuate the prison, right?" Katt nodded in confirmation as I summed up what was supposed to happen. "Judging by how you came back alone, I imagine things didn't go quite as planned?"
"No, no it didn't..." Was she...crying? She rubbed her eyes before I could say for sure as she finished her story.
"What do you mean the carriage is gone?!" Jhan demanded. A half dozen guards(including Gerias, that jerk...) were standing before Jhan and I in the barracks. He'd just finished showing me how fighting works in Realms and supplied me with a set of metal claws as weapons. I was in the process of slipping them on when the guards reported back.
"Just that, sir! When I went to go secure the carriage for transport, it was nowhere to be found!" One of the guards reported.
"How could this be?! We've accounted for all the prisoners and other guards. They may be Corrupted or dead, but they're all still here." Another guard asked.
"That's just it." The first one responded. "When I was investigating, I noticed another set of tracks. They were from a carriage, yes, but the width of the tracks suggested it was from a vehicle much bigger than our own. Someone else must have snuck in and took it."
"Someone else? Who would come to a prison of their own free will if they didn't work there?!" The guards all looked equally baffled at Jhan's question. Well, most of them looked baffled; Gerias was starting to look pretty nervous. Of course; those men he bought for the auction! They must have stolen it when they left. If only this stupid Collar of Silence wasn't on; then I could tell them! All the dirty looks I could give him wouldn't amount to anything if I couldn't tell them the truth...
...Then again, maybe I can let my claws do the talking. If I remembered correctly, he put the money in a pouch and put it on his belt. Probably that one that looks like it's about to burst with how full it is. Gerias was too busy trying to look not guilty to notice me as I gently inched behind him and aimed my attack. I didn't want to hurt him...much. Just a quick little cut...
"HEY!" Gerias yelped as my claws nicked his side, turning and drawing his sword on me. "You crazy woman! That does it!"
"Both of you, stop! I know not why she attacked you, Gerias, but...but..." Jhan's voiced trailed off as he watched the coins falling out of the slit I made in Gerias' pouch. It looked like a slot machine payout out a jackpot with how fast and many coins were dropping onto the ground.
"So much money..." A cloud of suspicion seemed to be forming as the remaining guards started to draw their own weapons. Gerias looked downright terrified as one sword was pointed at him, then another.
"Does anyone else not find it strange that our fellow guard here is walking around with what looks like several month's pay?" Another guard asked as his sword joined the others pointed at Gerias. "Especially since there aren't exactly a lot of places to be spending your pay at a prison."
The rest of the guards, Jhan included, now had their weapons on him. It looked like Gerias was facing a wall of blades now, especially when I added one of my bladed hands toward him for added effect.
"I knew she had reservations about you, but to think she knew about this..." I may have been part tiger, but Jhan was the one practically growling now. "What have you done, you fool?!"
"I...I-I..." Gerias glanced around the weapons pointed at him, looking like a trapped rat in a cage. Unfortunately, this cage was wide open; his back was toward the open door of the barracks. Before anybody could react he bolted out into the hallway and out of sight.
"Let him go." Jhan said as one of the men started to follow him. "There's nowhere for him to run."
"But what shall we do now?" Another guard asked. "Crossing the desert back to the city without the carriage is impossible."
"The next change of guard will come in a few days. Our own water hasn't been tainted, and we have food enough to hold us for a fe-"
AHHHHHH!
Jhan's strategy discussion was interrupted by a blood curdling scream from outside. The guards and Jhan looked worried as they went out to the hallway to investigate. I hesitated a moment; did I REALLY want to go out there?...
"They're loose! Run!" My decision was made for me as I heard the guards start running back, back past the barracks door and continuing on. Jhan paused long enough to call into the room after me. "The Corrupted are loose! We need to move!"
That probably wasn't good, especially since the barracks only had the one door. I turned my head briefly toward the direction the guards had gone initially to see a half dozen Corrupted hounds barreling down the hallway toward us before running in the opposite direction as fast as possible. Jhan continued to fill me in as we ran in the other direction, following the path of his men.
"They got Gerias! I don't know how they got out, but we got there just in time to watch him get pounced by three of them, their jaws shredding his flesh, tearing him limb from limb..." Huh; so that's what Aerilla must have meant when she said Gerias would get his. I'm usually not one for watching such a morbid spectacle, but consider what he'd put me through I'd probably be able to stomach it.
We ran out into a room with several branching hallways. I could hear the other guards fighting in various directions, intermixed with howls and human cries of pain. Jhan led us down the one hallway that didn't seem to have any active fighting occurring.
"This way leads to The Hole." Jhan explained as we continued to run. "It's where we used to send prisoners who got out of line. It's just a small cell, barely big enough for a single man. It was before my time as captain, but one man would repeatedly get himself sent in there for infractions. He would be left alone in there for days at a time, with no contact with anyone. It was later discovered that he'd been digging a tunnel, using that isolation and some smuggled tools to cover his work. "
This seemed like an absolutely fascinating story, but I struggled to figure out how it was relevant to our current problem. The hallway ended in a small room with another door on the other end of the room. The slot in the otherwise sheer metal door suggested that this was The Hole Jhan mentioned. As soon as we were inside Jhan tried to push the door closed. One of the Corrupted hounds had gotten ahead of his pack and managed to squeeze through before Jhan could shut him out. Jhan started for his blade until the wooden door he'd just closed shook as it was struck with an intense force. Jhan threw himself against it as the hound turned toward me.
"I'm sorry, but you have to fight! If I don't hold this door, we'll be swarmed!" Jhan dug his heels in as the door shook again. "The tunnel is still there; take care of this Corrupted creature and you can escape!"
I didn't have time to argue even if I could speak as the hound leapt at me, its fangs lashing at my leg. From how Jhan explained it to me earlier, all humanoid creatures in this world have some sort of innate defensive magic to protect them. A brief light blue barrier covered my leg when the hound's fangs sank into it before the hound pulled back, ready to strike again. As a player, it'd felt like someone had grabbed my leg really firmly and then immediately released it; enough force was used to be uncomfortable, but not painful. Supposedly the barrier would shift from blue to purple to red if I continued to get hit before eventually shattering.
(Aerilla would later explain that this was how the game treated hit or life points for all players. If the barrier shattered, that meant the player was on death's door and needed to be healed with all haste. The hit point system apparently didn't convert to the real world, if her combat with the drake was any indication.)
"Remember that there is a rhythm to combat!" Juan reminded me as I swiped back at the hound. A small yelp escaped it as I managed to leave a nice gash across its muzzle and nose. "Getting hit is almost inevitable; it's about how you take them and respond in kind that matters. Taking a blow on a weapon or shield is best, and anywhere is better than getting hit in the head!"
Don't get hit in the head; that's pretty good life advice in general. The hound and I continued to trade blows, it getting a nip in there, me getting a slash in there. When I started combat training with Jhan, I'd gotten another message from the game directly informing me that this kind of automatic combat was how all players would start with. Later on I could switch to a more advanced combat system where I had more control, potentially dealing more damage and taking less if I did well, or the opposite if I did worse.
While most of the combat was automatic, I did still have at least one option I could activate manually. I learned Vault and Strike earlier, and apparently all I had to do was think about using it to make my body automatically do it. The attacks were also apparently context dependent; as I activated my ability, the Corrupted hound lunged in for a big bite. My body(I felt like my mind was technically just along for the ride) flipped back away from the attack, then pushed itself forward as soon as my hands hit the ground. The hound tried to pull away from my counter strike, but my arching backward leap still allowed my feet to find and land directly atop its head, smashing it into the ground. I then did an almost casual half turn atop its head before gently stepping down and sinking my claw deep into its neck while it was still stunned.
Gah! The attack was definitely effective, if the spray of purplish blood that spurted out was any indication. I recoiled a little from the geyser as it covered me in the monster's blood and nearly falling on my butt in the process. Luckily that last strike was a deathblow as the hound collapsed and started to disintegrate. I wiped some of the blood off my face as carefully as I could as Jhan directed me to go into The Hole and find the entrance, which wasn't hard to do with only a thin layer of dirt covering it. For a virtual reality game, the strain of hefting up the stone slab that covered it certainly felt real. After more than a little effort I managed to ease it aside, revealing the tunnel below.
Jhan, come on! I got it open!... Jhan? I can't speak, but you can clearly see me waving for you to come over. Why aren't you moving?
"...You truly don't know, do you?" Jhan? Why do you have such a sad looking smile?...
"The world is covered in Corruption. Even the very air and ground is tainted. The wards in the walls of the cities and buildings like this protect us, but if we set foot outside them we'll be Corrupted as well. And when I say we, I mean men. The Touched, all women blessed like you, are immune. You could have driven our warded carriage through the desert, but without it, you are the only one who can escape. The rest of us will die here."
No...no! Come on, Jhan! I ran over to him and tugged on his arm. There has to be something else we can do!
"Stop it! The tunnel was made in the days before the spread of Corruption and is not warded, and there's no cure for Corruption other than a swift death. Leave me!"
No! I'll stay here and fight, but I am not abandoning you! HEY! Put me down!
"This is the only way!" I thrashed and squirmed as Jhan grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. Without him to push back against it, the door began to buckle and break under the assault on the other side as he carried me to The Hole.
"I'm sorry about this!" I couldn't really grab at Jhan without hurting him as he half lowered, half threw me into the tunnel below. The fall was only about ten feet and probably hurt way less than a fall from that height should normally, but it still felt like the wind had been knocked out of my lungs as I landed on my back.
"I'm sorry..." Jhan apologized again as I slowly picked myself up off the ground. "I wish we could have met under different circumstances."
The sound of splintering wood was starting to be replaced by the growls of the Corrupted. I tried to climb up the wall toward him, but the soft earth crumbled apart in my hands.
"Please, do whatever makes you happy. Live; that's my only request of you."
Jhan! Don't you dare give me that sad smile! Stop putting that stone back; I'm coming up there! Jhan? Jhan?! JHAN!...
...Jhan...