Broken Heart, Brokenthorn

[Taskmienster]

Collin walked into the offices of GramVR, a smile on his face, his eyes bright. The usual dark rims of insomnia’s hold were clearing slowly, shrinking and lightening. Since he had been handed the new ‘project’ nothing had been going wrong for him, including lack of sleep… or sex. He nodded to the heads of the company as they watched him take off his side pack, remove the small video phone from his pocket, and head for one of the pods lining the walls. “Good morning, sirs.” He said with a chipper tone, laughing as he sipped at coffee. The black, bitter liquid had a tinge of hazelnut, but mixed with the lingering taste of cigarettes it lost some of its original flavor. “Lots of progress to make today, gotta start looking into the codes and fiddle around with the populace.”

“Do as you will,” Mr. Heartcliff said with a smirk and a wink, sipping at his oversized mug of coffee. His accomplice, the financial advisor for the company, Mr. McBride was busy toying with the latest advancement in virtual reality projection in their office. “You know we are backing whatever you want to do. As such, we have a little favor to ask.”

“Anything.”

“Well, your character is going to be caught if you do not start blending in. Try not to toy with the coding to allot yourself extra gold, food unless created by the server, and the like. Anything further out of the ordinary besides you and your little skills till you can become accustomed to the world will single you out like a black dot on a blank page.” Little did they know the travesty that he had already created when he had hacked the system, plunged his way through the firewall. The coding abilities that he had at his command were limited, small attribute and ‘spell’ like hacks were all he had left. Even if he had wanted too he wouldn’t have been able to create any form of money, much less food or water. If he had continued his mastering of the coding through the firewall, he would have already fixed his weapons, given himself unlimited ammo, and been sitting pretty in some pent-house suite.

“Understood,” he said with a tone of finality, though belying his tone with the childish glee that lit his face. “That will not be an issue. I have to reconfigure all the codes I already knew anyway.”


~X~

Olme was a nice town, quiet and peaceful. People were generally happy and moved to and fro with little worry. The civil disputes and warmongering of the other countries had all but missed the small island, only affecting the imports it usually gained. As far as Ethan could tell, it was the most peaceful of the lands, the easiest to blend into and hide, and the best place not to get caught up too early with a moderator or administrator that might already be hunting him. Luckily for him, he had also crash landed in the island… that was four days ago. The hacker, or rogue scavenger pirate as is assumed identity was, had found his way to the little town on the outskirts of a large forest known as Brokenthorn. It was there he would start his misadventures on Althanas.

“’Scuse me,” he said politely as he tapped the shoulder of a still guard. The man turned to him with a brutish smile, the only thing bright about his worn and haggard face. Cliché scars played across his face, one to the left of his chapped lips, another on his right brow just peeking out from under the metal cap. “I am new here; you wouldn’t know a place I could get some work would you? Anything really, so long as I don’t get in trouble with the law.”

The guard laughed a good natured chuckle and offered a broader smile. He let his hands fall to either side of his body, one atop the club at his side as if its natural position. Lars, as his nickname was, took note of the quiet shifting of steel rings beneath the uniform. The simple brown uniform was split down the middle with a solid black stripe; a badge of trees going into the distance surrounded by a red halo was sewn into the top left side. “You know, yern’t the firs’ ta ask. If yer lookin’ fer work go ta The Guard Lori tavern on ta oth’r sidea town. They tell theres’a wom’n askin’ fer s’m ‘elp.”

“Thank you,” Lars said with a smile towards the man. If he had been a moderator or admin he would have assuredly attacked already, or at the very least attempted to arrest him. However, the placid face of the man was a welcome relief. He knew at the very least his identity wasn’t known yet, and the hunt hadn’t begun. “Karla Sombers,” mumbled to himself as he turned away, the guard had called the name after him. “At least it’s something to do.”

[Adventurers Board #1, taking it over. Mod permission granted. Open to one more besides A Nony Mouse, but PM me to join in.]

[A Nony Mouse]

Ardinne swam lazy circles on the surface of the water, splashing about playfully as Travis played some upbeat tunes on his ocarina. The two enjoyed the time they were able to spend together with their two traveling companions occupied. If nothing else, it allowed the two to strengthen their bond and relax. And the Brokenthorn Forest was a beautiful place to do it. Tall trees grew far enough apart that the sunlight easily made its way to the ground-growing plants. Cattails and rushes grew along the banks and Ardinne patted at them playfully as Travis looked on. The river otter snapped to attention as a loud snap sounded through the wood and Travis looked in the direction from which it came. Through the low brush came their friend Vana’driel, the half-gigas and both relaxed visibly. Travis had met the giant man in the wastelands of Fallien some time ago and immediately had taken a liking to him. He could be slow at times, and his Common was hard to understand, but he had proven himself to be a loyal companion.

“Van,” Travis greeted his companion, slipping his ocarina into one of the many pouches at his belt. “How fares the hunt for firewood?” Ardinne slipped below the water, likely to hunt a fish for her own supper. Van lumbered over to where Travis reclined against a tree and lowered himself to the ground.

“Found down trees,” the half-gigas replied. “Driz and me haul some back. They over by camp.” Drizaghar Maena’triel, or Driz as they had taken to calling him, was a drow that Travis and Van had met on their way from Fallien. He was cold toward everyone, but that didn’t stop him from lending his magic to the party in battle. Travis trusted the brooding dark elf simply because he had given them no reason not to. He only hoped this trust didn’t come back to haunt him.

Travis pushed himself up from under the tree and motioned to the campsite not far away. “C’mon,” he said to Van, “Let’s start cooking.” He faced the river as the gigas slowly stood and scanned its surface for his familiar. “Ardinne!” he called in a loud voice. Immediately the otter surfaced on the bank, two fish tight in her jaws. “Dinner’s here,” he commented to Van, who smiled at the river otter’s antics.

Back in the campsite, Driz had built a fine fire; not big enough to be noticed from any great distance, but large enough to cook their meals and warm their bodies. As they roasted Ardinne’s catch, Travis reviewed the next day’s events. “We should rise early so that we can reach Olme by noon. Then we split up for a few days and meet back up on the banks of Valeena Lake.” Driz nodded absently as he stared into the fire, clearly lost in his thoughts. Travis looked over to Van to make sure he understood.

“I maybe just go to Valeena,” Van contemplated. “Towns no like me.” It was a sad fact of life; half breeds were rarely welcome in civilized places. Travis checked the fish, saw that they were done, and divided them between the three adventurers.

“Here Ardinne,” Travis said as he offered the otter a large portion of his share of the fish. She wolfed it down and then crept back to the stream where she would spend the night. Chewing slowly on his remaining fish, Travis thought about what awaited him in Olme. I guess we’ll have to just wait and see.

[Taskmienster]

The suns supple rays were soft, despite its position nearly at the apex of its turn. It was almost noon and hardly a drop of sweat from the hacker, what luck he thought. Scara Brae was as peaceful environmentally as it was socially. Lars stopped in the middle of the slow street, putting flattened hand to brow. He could see shops, people wandering from them to another, and multiple inns, but no tavern. His gray-blue, yellow streaked eyes wandered seemingly aimlessly, falling from fair lass to hanging inn signs. He smiled when others smiled at him, nodded to the men that gave him curious looks. Olme was small, but somehow the establishment he was looking for eluded him.

“Whatev,” he sighed, and continued walking. His appearance was obviously attracting the attention of any in the vicinity, much less the wayward glance. Whereas the general populace of the town was garbed in simplistic attire, he wore what he loved. A pair of girl jeans covering the tops of his combat boots, a studded leather belt complete with heavy belt buckle was just the beginning of the oddities that he assumed. His leather, fur lined jacket was open, catching a small draft as the cool wind wrapped itself around him. If they looked hard enough those watching him walk would occasionally see the handle of the broken 12mm pistol that rested under one of his arms.

“Ah, about time.” He rounded a corner and the sign came to view. It was plain oak, painted with the same symbol that the guard’s uniform patch had shown. What it meant was beyond the hacker, probably something of a unit or county identification. He wasted little time in pondering over the swinging sign and pushed aside the door. What met him was something far less encouraging.

The tavern was lit with soft lights, dimmed since the daylight was seeping through the segmented windows. Tables were arranged in rows, people scattered about them. No, not people, guards and soldiers. There were a lot of them too. “Shite,” he pushed through gritted teeth, a fake grin finding its way across his face. Lars let a hand pass through his hair, toying with it as he was prone to do when nervous. “This is fuckin’ stupid.”

But none of them moved to arrest him, just as the first one hadn’t. Hell, none of them even barely turned to give him the time of day. Ethan “Lars” Calhoun, a hacker of Althanas, was hardly more than a drifting traveler looking for good mead – or some bullshit like that. He sighed and looked around for the woman that he was supposed to find. “Karla? Karla Sombers?”

One woman responded. Her hair was nearly black and streaked with gray, much like his was, but hers from stress and age. Spider web like veins throbbed against the back of her frail hands, her long fingernails stained yellow. She was a smoker; her face was as haggard as any aged smokers would be. Her response wasn’t vocal, but a mere attempt to rise from her stool to greet Lars. Instead she plopped back down with a heavy, worn sigh. Her hands wrapped around and interlocked to either side of the ale in front of her, her head downcast allowing her auburn eyes to look into the empty cup.

“Bartender, innkeeper, whatever you are… you wouldn’t mind a couple of ales for me and the lady would you?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten piece coin, lying on the counter. The fat man smiled and picked it up, biting its edge with his rotting teeth. “That not valid or something?”

“Nah, it’s good. Juss get a few here and there that aren’t real, ya know? Olme doesn’ see ‘em a whole lot. I might not have change for this in anything bigger than normal coins, that suit your fancy?” The big man’s second and third chins wobbled with his words. Lars noted that it wasn’t just greed for money, but food too, that spurred him. He wanted to respond in a rude manner, as he was accustomed to doing. The man obviously needed any coin he could get, the food it would take to feed him would be pricy, not to mention if he had a family to support too. “I can add it a tab for you, if you’d like.”

“Sure,” the hacker said slyly through a smirk. He picked up the two room temperature mugs, blew a bit of unappealing foam from their brims, and took a seat across from the poor, poor Ms. Sombers. “Here you go love. There there, I’m here to help with whatever’s troublin’ you. Mind indulging me?” He reached into one of the front pockets of his leather coat, pulling out a pack of Marlboro Reds. Careful hands packed it tight, tore off the seal, and popped out two cigarettes. The first went behind his ear, the second spun on the tips of his fingers before stopping before her. “You don’t smoke do you?”

[A Nony Mouse]

The forest town of Olme bustled contently with the early afternoon traffic of shoppers, schoolchildren, and young couples enjoying the beautiful day. Travis, Van, and Driz stood near a low, unassuming building with nothing but a wooden sign to mark its purpose. “Well, gentleman,” Travis said to his companions. “Here we part ways for a time. Good luck.” He tipped his head to them both and crossed the street to a small kiosk where a pretty young girl stood. He waited in line as Driz slinked into an alley and Van continued down the road. Take care of yourselves, he silently thought after them. Over the past few weeks, he had grown rather accustomed to having the two around. We’ll be at Valeena soon enough, he reminded himself. And then on to Scara Brae proper.

When it was his turn at the kiosk, Travis pointed to the building across the way and asked the guide, “What does that sign mean?” The picture on the sign was that of a red circle enclosing several trees.

“That’s the City Watch’s tavern,” the young girl answered matter-of-factly. “The soldiers stationed in Olme oftentimes relax there between their shifts. The symbol on the sign is the crest of the Olme Division. Is there anything else I can assist you with this afternoon?” The girl looked eagerly at Travis with her innocent blue eyes.

“Thank you,” he answered her, “but that’s all I needed to know.” As the next person stepped up in line, Travis made his way across the street and into the tavern. Soldiers lined the tables in the middle of the room and they hardly glanced up as the traveler walked by them to the counter.

“Barkeep,” he called to the portly man behind the counter. “An ale please.” The man nodded and fetched the drink, sliding it down the bar and looking rather pleased with himself.

“Always wanted to do that,” the man confessed as he came over to collect Travis’ coin. Fishing in his coin purse, Travis procured a ten piece coin and handed it over. “Whadda ya know?” the barkeep said incredulously. “I almost ne’er seen one of these in here before and now I get two in the span of ten minutes! Whadder the odds!?” He quickly pocketed the coin and Travis looked at him quizzically.

“What do you mean?” he questioned the man.

“Oh, that one o’er there with the lady paid with a ten piece too,” he answered. “Just a funny coincidence.” And with that the man lumbered off to tend to his other customers. Intrigued, Travis glanced over to the side where two figures seemed deep in conversation. One, a slight man with a fur-lined coat, consoled the other, an older woman who didn’t seem too concerned about her appearance. Travis slid off his stool and walked over, wondering what such an adventurer was doing here. As he neared, he noticed the woman was sobbing. Strange, he thought. I wonder what’s wrong?

“Hello sir, ma’am,” Travis greeted them both when he was close enough. “Is everything alright?”

[Taskmienster]

The woman was an emotional wreck, a ticking time bomb of tears. Her head lifted and he could see the telltale signs of nights spent sleepless and restless, her eyes deep set and wrapped in a thin layer of tears just waiting to fall. Her hands quivered as he released her grasp of the empty mug, taking the cigarette from Lars’ outstretched hand. She put it on the edge of her thin lips and searched her haggard clothing for a match. The hacker twirled his zippo out from a different pocket, putting flame to tip and letting her drag in deeply. He followed suit just as quickly, letting the tip light like an ember before expelling the smoke.

He took a big gulp from the ale, turning his head dramatically emphasizing the pungent taste of the warm brew. Karla gave him a feeble smile and coughed as the rough, acrid smoke caught her lungs. “I’ve had a couple people ask to help before, but none of them seemed to care… you’d be the first.”

“Well hell, you seem to be in need, and I need some sort of money from helping for sure. You have a job, I need one, we’re a good match.” Ethan gave her an assuring smile, but only got a slow sob. Those tears were being loosed, flowing freely from the edges of her eyes and running down her shallow cheeks. “Now now, what’s the issue?”

She took a big swig of the ale, a three gulp I’m-about-to-say-something-you-won’t-like drink. Her face contorted as if barely restraining a dangerously close vomit. “I don’t have money; I don’t have anything to give you… just my appreciation. I know it doesn’t mean much, but you could get something, maybe the guards would help, I don’t know…”

Lars sat back, pondering. He was a hacker, a pirate of sorts, wanted some form of compensation for anything and everything he did. There looked to be no monetary gains from the business at hand, no physical gains, just the comfort of knowing he did something good for someone. Rubbish, he would have normally thought, but he was still new and needed something to do. At the worst, if what she needed would reap no possible advantage, he could give her his word and be the knight in shining armor… then get the fuck out and find something worth bothering with. Before he could respond though, another sidled up to the table.

“Hey there,” he responded through a sideways grin. The man looked like a good natured young man of the old country, mother Ireland. His hair was a reddish color, his eyes bright green and welcoming. If anything, Lars figured he could have a good night drinking his time away with another like him. “Something’s wrong, but the hell if I know what yet. She’s been near tears since I came in, just started spillin’ them when I asked her to help. My name’s Ethan, most call me Lars, and this is Karla Sombers… please, have a seat, maybe we can do something for her.”

At the very least he could pawn her off on the newcomer if it came to that. “So here’s what we’ve got so far,” Lars began while the frail woman collected herself and wiped away tears. “Karla Sombers, as I was told by a most upstanding and caring of Olme’s finest…” his emphasis was put on the words as if mocking the fellow guards around him, none took notice. “…is in need of help. She hasn’t said what yet, other than that she can’t pay anything for the help. Continue if you can, I’m sure something can be worked out.”

Karla nodded and took another quick sip. “I was widowed over five years ago, my husband worked a few months out of the year out of the port in DuBoue. We put all we had into a ship, hoping that it would solve our problems here. Olme isn’t the best for work. Anyway, he died at sea on his fishing boat, what happened is still unknown. What I do know is that we lost all our money, leaving me with our five year old son, Chase as the only family I have left. He… he wandered to Brokenthorn three days ago… he hasn’t… hasn’t come out yet…”

The woman was a sob story for the heartfelt hero. Her words were cut off by the uncontrolled loss of tears and haphazardly rough inhale and exhale of shallow breaths. Lars pulled at a small napkin on the table, letting the knife and fork spill against the table in a loud clatter. If she wasn’t making a scene enough the noise was bound to. She took it, blew her nose loudly, and attempted to hand it back. Hell no, he thought as he tugged at the cigarette and took a sip of his warm ale. “Whatcha think?” he asked the other guy, “You wanna go look for some kid in the forest? I don’t know anything about the place though, so hell… it might be interesting at the very least.”

[A Nony Mouse]

Chase Sombers, a ten-year old boy, had wandered into the Brokenthorn Forest by himself three days earlier. The chances that he was still alive were slim indeed. But Travis felt that he had to at least try. The woman’s tale was heart-wrenching, and he was only a little dismayed to hear that she couldn’t offer them a reward of any kind. I have time to kill until I need to meet the others, he reasoned. Why not help her? He glances across the table at the other traveler, “I just traveled through the Brokenthorn, actually,” he told him. “It didn’t seem too unfriendly, but then I was traveling with a half-gigas. Not too much bothers him.” Lars chuckled and took a long, slow drag from his cigarette.

“Aw, what the hell; let’s do this!” he said emphatically, flashing another sideways grin as he snuffed the cigarette on the tabletop. The two adventurers rose from the table; their quest had begun. Lars offered the woman a few final words of encouragement as Travis approached a nearby table of soldiers.

“Excuse me,” he said, interrupting a joke being told. “I was hoping that someone had information about this Chase Sombers who disappeared?”

“From what I heard,” the nearest guard began explaining, “He was playing near a stream on the edge of the forest. His ma checks on him every now and again, seems to be doing fine. Then, all of a sudden, he’s not there no more! Well, the mother, she ventures into the forest,” he continues, looking at the other soldiers for confirmation, “and she searches for him high and low. But the kid ain’t nowhere to be seen! Right gone and vanished, he has!” The soldiers all nod solemnly and the storyteller turns back to Travis. “I reckon ye best start at that stream,” he offered.

“You’ve been very helpful,” Travis thanked him as he returned to his table. “Lars,” he called. The man walked over, just out of Karla’s hearing. “Apparently the kid was playing by the stream when he disappeared. That’s the direction I came into town; I can take us there. Do you need anything before we head out?”

[Taskmienster]

The cigarette butt was snubbed on the table, quickly torn apart by the hacker’s already fucked lungs, the ashes spread out on the worn wood. He toyed with the end of it, making streaks with the black ash and spreading himself out a strange picture. It was another habit; his mind enjoyed the time to wander. It was time to move though. The Irishman with the staff wandered to a table of guards and chatted with them while Lars stood up and made his way to follow after him. Before he could escape the sobbing woman, however, he felt the edge of his coat pull. Her frail hand was wrapped around the loose strap. He let his blue-gray eyes fall to her brown, glistening eyes. “Please, please help…”

“We’ll do our best, I promise.” Fuck, why had he said that? He wanted to punch a wall, or her, whatever would hurt less. Her face brightened with his reassurance, and in turn his attitude dropped. He hated that word, promise. It meant that he would have to be a man of his word, be it a stupid game or otherwise. Instead of milling over the words he shrugged and offered the best grin he could. “No worries love,” he said as he grabbed her cold hand and held it for a second, more trying to get it off of his jacket than anything. “If we don’t find anything, we’ll try our best. But I see this ending well…”

With that he moved, following the other man towards the door to the tavern. The guards were watching them, many ears perked at the prospect of two actually doing what many before had swore to follow through on. Admiration? Respect? He couldn’t place it, but Ethan saw the same thing in the few faces that looked towards himself and his partner. “Nah man, let’s jet.”

Before leaving he called to the innkeeper to let the woman use the remaining gold on his tab, and add whatever his companion had gotten. Had he known that Travis too had paid with a ten piece he would have demanded back his coin, at the very least. But the knowledge went unknown, and he walked out the door behind his partner, hoping that their heroic venture wouldn’t be fraught with stupid bullshit drama.

“By the way, what’s your name?”


~X~

Travis, as his name turned out to be, was a reliable guy. Whether he was much for talking didn’t matter to Lars, because he wasn’t really in the mood to speak all too much. There were a lot of thoughts to dwindle on, what would come of the task and the like. A hacker/programmer at heart, he wondered what he would discover with the boy and what complications would arise that he might be able to work around. The chance to finally use what he knew best, codes and hacking, it was more exciting than the piddle work they had accepted.

“This it?” The two had made it to the forest edge quickly, the village being on the outskirts of it. It was a fearsome sight to any who thought it real. Luckily, Lars didn’t believe in the reality of the trees, their shadowed depths, or what might lurk within that would cause the boy to be lost. He knew it for what it really was, just a game. The awareness did nothing to still the caution that toyed with his conscious. “There’s the stream,” Ethan said pointing towards the small river. “Seems to run deep, let’s just follow that for a bit and look around. If we can pick up any clues to where the kid went we’ll run with it… otherwise we’ll spend a little bit going a ways in. Sound good to you?”

[A Nony Mouse]

They had made their way to the edge of the Brokenthorn well before the sun began to set. Still a few solid hours of daylight left, Travis observed. He enjoyed Lars’ company; the man didn’t mince words nor did he flatter people. Travis appreciated someone who could tell it like it was without fear of the repercussions.

“Let’s just follow the stream for a bit,” Lars was saying to Travis. “Sound good to you?” Ignoring the words for a moment, Travis produced his ocarina from one of the many pouches on his belt. Playing the simple tune that called Ardinne to him, he waited. Lars shifted uneasily, probably wondering what his traveling companion was doing. He thinks I’m crazy, Travis concluded. Just then, his river otter familiar poked her head out of the stream. “Whoa,” Lars said, “Did you do that?”

Travis chuckled as he replaced the ocarina. “Lars, this is Ardinne; she’s my familiar. Ardinne, this is Lars; I’m helping him with a quest. We need to find a boy who wandered in here a few days ago, can you help us?” The otter seemed to nod before diving back into the stream. Lars was staring strangely at Travis, so he felt compelled to explain. “She enhances my sense,” he offered as explanation. “I should be able to figure out how long he followed the stream.” Lars seemed placated by this response and the two set out into the forest.

Hours passed and the companions spoke little; they didn’t need to. With the help of Ardinne, they traveled quickly through the forest. She barked when she found something of interest and Travis would go and investigate. Even Lars began picking up on her signals and would look around when she stopped. “I think she found something,” Travis stated as the river otter disappeared around a bend in the stream.” The two adventurers caught up with the familiar and saw a makeshift dam in the middle of the stream. Logs diverted the natural flow of the water, but for what purpose it was unclear. “This is odd,” Travis commented. “Ardinne can’t find a trace of the boy anywhere. It’s like he just disappeared.” Travis pondered what this could mean and turned to get his partner’s opinion.

Lars stood close to the dam looking downstream, intently focused on something. Not knowing what had captured the man’s attention so, Travis waited silently, tense with anticipation.

[Taskmienster]

A motherfuckin’ otter, who would have guessed? Lars found the little creature funny, docile compared to the rumors he had heard of them. Vicious little twits, they were renowned for protecting their domain, food, or children. To Ethan, that seemed to encompass everything within their tiny mindsets, meaning an attack would come at anytime around one. Ardinne was a simple little creature though, tied to the music of the horn flute thing that Travis carried, and to the man. It was an interesting little relationship they had, one that caught the hacker’s attention due to the coding that was used to summon it. That, however, would have to wait for a later time to explore.

Hours passed, monotonous hours of tree after tree. The realm of Brokenthorn was little more than strong evergreens for miles in all directions. Every so often the call of a hawk, or some bird of prey (Ethan wasn’t good with birds) called through the forest. The chatter of squirrels and flutter of birds was prevalent foremost though, for the two travelers were intruders in their domain. Had he been more fluent in the ways of nature he would have been able to catch the subtle intricate clues that hinted at previous encounters with humans. He was, though, hardly the woodsman and simply took note of the chatter with a bit of annoyance.

When the dam came to sight the two stopped. The otter was swimming in circles, its beady black eyes looking back and forth between the two men. What little Lars could assume from watching the water mammal he could conclude that the trail was lost. Travis toned in, putting word to what the hacker had already assumed. It wasn’t of interest though, he had already figured out why the trail was lost and had gained a clue as to where the dam had come from.

Over a small cliff like decline the water poured, slowed by the wooden dam. At the bottom, instead of a large pool was a wooden water wheel spinning end over end with the constant fall. He traced lines coming from it, above ground. The led from the muted waterfall to a number of buildings, most half erect with men milling about them. Construction was being put into the small scene. Instantly Lars cursed his boredom and curiosity. “Please put on your seatbelts, the captain has put on the sign, we’re about to run into some melodramatic bullshit…” he muttered to himself with a chuckle.

“Looks like we have one hell of a problem,” he said turning to his companion. The man was tense, he could tell, and there was plenty of reason for it. “That kid’s trail stops here you said? No wonder, there’s one hell of a complex of building’s bein’ built down there. Probably not legally either. I don’t know what’s what in Scara Brae, but I know that if some kid snooped accidentally into my little illicit area I’d sure as hell keep his mouth shut.”

He sighed and checked either arm for his weapons. A dagger was up either sleeve, ready and waiting to be shot down his arm by the mechanics that trigged the movement. On the side of his right boot he could feel the weight of the knife that rested in its sheath, if he concentrated on it. It was in its place, a piece of him in all rights, and felt as comfortable as his clothes if he did not think about it. “Let’s chill here, wait for darkness and then head in for a look. Be on the lookout though, I figure if they caught the kid up here then they probably roam through often. Wouldn’t want to be caught before we even get to fuck around down there, would we?”

Lars laughed as he looked around. He saw a few trees with lower boughs, one of which offered himself a good place at the center of the trunk. The long arms of the tree had grown away from the trunk, leaving an open space, good for cover, good for looking out for anything roaming around. If he needed too he could climb up it and see a further distance too. “I’m gonna go chill in that tree, act as a lookout if you will… need anything just call out, I’ll come down.”

[A Nony Mouse]

Lars climbed up into the tree as Travis slowly crept to the edge of the dam. “Call me if you need me,” he said as he disappeared among the branches. Travis nodded absently and peered over the edge of the small cliff. Buildings of varying sizes dotted the landscape and men wandered between them. Definitely something shady, Travis concluded. But what, I wonder? Not wanting to get caught, he pulled away from the edge and decided to take a look at their surroundings. Most of the trees in the Brokenthorn Forest were evergreens, but here and there grew trees of different varieties. Since he had to do something to pass the time, he decided to scout them out a bit.

Ardinne slipped off into the water again, not doubt hunting something for a snack. Travis wasn’t worried because he could summon her regardless of where she was. He ventured away from the dam and toward a tall thick tree that he spied through the evergreen boughs around him. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the tree was a Rywan, known for their rigidity and strength. Intrigued at what such a tree was doing in the middle of the Brokenthorn, he circled its base to search for clues. On the far side of the tree lay a short branch that had snapped of, possibly during a heavy rainstorm. Travis picked it up, judging its weight. Maybe I’ll whittle to pass the time, he decided. Taking the branch back to the dam with him, he rested underneath an evergreen and began carving.

Hours passed as the sun made its slow journey across the sky. As the shadows lengthened, Travis reasoned that it might be about time to start heading down into the camp below them. He admired his handiwork; a new hand-carved Rywan wood ocarina. Shavings littering the ground around him stirred in the breeze as he slipped the instrument into a pouch at his belt. He’d have to transfer Ardinne’s summon when he got to Valeena Lake, now really wasn’t the time. He approached the bottom of the tree that Lars had climbed into and called in a low voice, “Lars, should we head out? The sun is setting now, should be dark soon. You ready?”

[Taskmienster]

Night was slow coming, time passed almost as slowly in the virtual world as it did in the real world, leaving the tree climbing hacker bored. His companion, and the little otter, was wandering around below him. Lars didn’t know what they were up to, but didn’t care either. The stupid kid had gone and got himself kidnapped; it was the only thing he was worried about. From in the tree he could see roving patrols, but they were far off, nowhere near the dam area. Further down were people cutting and sawing, hammering large blocks of unfinished lumber into makeshift buildings.

His interest quickly dwindled though, and with its loss he decided to take a nap. Napping for a character that was little more than a player’s puppet meant only one thing, he was going to be on standby. Ethan gave a last look around the quiet forests and peeked over the heavy branch he was straddling. Below him Travis was whittling away at a piece of wood. Shavings were slowly being launched into the air all around him. Not too busy, Lars trusted that he’d be able to keep a good watch in the meantime.

Hibernate…

Hibernating complete…

To the world of Althanas, it would seem like little more than him catching a quick nap. A big black screen appeared before him as soon as it completed hibernation. There was a picture of his character goofily hanging onto a branch, sleeping like the dead, and his companion cutting at a piece of wood below him. Another hour and he’d come back, in the meantime he needed a cigarette and some coffee; the program would take up a good majority of his time. Collin stepped out of the pod, left the lights whirling around and the buzz of the machine running, and ventured off to the break area of the offices of GramVR.

“Oh shit,” Collin said with a laugh as he put down his coffee and rushed off. “Sorry doll, we’ll keep talking after this, tonight.” A message had appeared on his small video phone, a reminder that time had passed and an alert at speech between himself and Travis. Dealings with his girlfriend would have to wait for another time, besides, all she wanted to do was bitch about being lost somewhere on Althanas thanks to him.

Rebooting…

Welcome back…

Stirring from his slumber-like state the hacker smiled. Just in time. The man was calling for him, the shadows were growing longer and longer. He sat up and looked around from his elevated perch. Nothing to be seen. “Yeah,” he responded with a smile as he hopped out of the tree. “Let’s get this show on the road. We’re gonna have to go around the drop, probably a little ways that away—“

There was a snap of a branch, the crinkle of leaves, and suddenly he felt uneasy. It wasn’t the otter wandering through the forests. Quickly he slid his right arm against his side, releasing a dagger into his hand. “We’re not alone,” he whispered as he put his back against a tree. “Something’s moving towards us, probably a scout or lookout or whatever. If we’re caught we’re fucked, but we need answers too… so let’s not kill him.”

[A Nony Mouse]

A branch snapped close to their position. Lars dropped silently out of the tree, dagger in hand. “We’re not alone,” he whispered as he pressed his back up to the tree. Travis listened carefully, not daring to move lest he tip off the scout moving toward them. Lars motioned that he would circle around so that they could effectively trap the threat and Travis nodded. Ardinne, he thought, hoping the otter was close, I need you. He waited as his partner moved into position and then he slowly moved closer to the sound of rustling leaves. His familiar must have been nearby, because he could see fine despite the darkness closing in. Pole at the ready, the adventurer prepared for the worst.

Footsteps closed in on his position behind the tree and Travis lashed out immediately with his pole. As a figure came into view, emerging from the bushes nearby, the cypress pole caught him in the kneecap. This particular scout must not have been expecting trouble because the attack caught him totally off guard. He fell to a knee, his curses shattering the silence of the cool evening air. The man pulled an axe from its place on his back and pushed himself back up to his feet. An evil grimace twisted his face as he moved toward Travis. Where’s Lars? he thought as the brutish man closed in. The axe swung and Travis ducked out of the way easily, the man was slow. Still, the blade clanged against the metal of Travis’ brigandine, telling him that it had been close. The scout’s attack had left him vulnerable and Travis wasted no time in returning to the offensive. His pole slammed into the back of the man’s kneecap and he went down again. Same knee, Travis observed as the man roared in pain. However, it seemed to anger him more than immobilize him. He reached out and grabbed a tree branch, hauling himself up once more.

A dagger whistled through the air and stuck right through the man’s hand. It had power behind it, the blade bite through flesh and lodged into the bark of the branch. The man jerked his hand to release it from the branch, but the small dagger held fast. Becoming more anxious, the man dropped his axe and pulled at the branch with his free hand. Glad to have such a golden opportunity, Travis laid into the scout. His pole cracked the side of the same knee it had connected with twice before. This final blow was too much; the man buckled as it gave out. With his hand stuck high above his head and his leg bent at an awkward angle, the scout was in no place to threaten them any longer.

Lars stepped out of the shadows and picked up the brute’s axe from where it lay on the ground. “Now tell me,” he deliberated, “What the hell are you doing down there?” The man groaned in pain, ignoring Lars’ question. In a flash, Lars was upon him, axe ready at his throat. “I don’t have time for games,” he growled. “Where the hell is the boy!?”

Travis watched as his partner tried to extract any information from their captive scout. However, the man was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid because he continued to ignore Lars’ questions. Leaving the other adventurer to interrogate their prisoner, Travis crept back over to the dam. Looking down on the buildings below, the scene before him seemed unchanged. No one stirred from the wooden structures besides the still-steady stream of meandering workers. No alarms, no worried guards; all was well. I wonder how far Lars would go to get information out of this guy? he pondered as another scream came from their direction.

[Taskmienster]

A lucky throw had the man pinned, stuck to the tree with little room to wiggle free. His hand was bleeding profusely, the throwing dagger pierced through the center. Had it been inches lower it would have slit open his wrist, inches higher and Lars would have missed completely. Instead of being able to defend he was put low by the overwhelming strikes of Travis. Damned scout, Ethan thought as he put the blade of the dropped axe to his throat, “Where the hell is the boy?!”

No answer, just groaning from pain. “Stupid fuck,” the hacker said with a sly smirk crossing his face. “Answer my questions or this is going to be far more painful than it already is…” Again the man refused to answer. His legs were awkwardly bent; his body slumped against the tree. Lars moved the axe away from his throat and stood back for a moment, pondering over what to do next. He had fucked with people in the past and gotten information when he wanted it to, even in less advantageous situations than the one that had been provided. Other games he had played on were less… benign as the general setting and tone of Althanas was, and the ruthless nature was locked away behind weak barriers.

“See anything?” He asked Travis over his shoulder. The man was peering over the side of the dam, looking into the campsite below. If the metal clashes, the man’s groaning, or the wooden thunk of Travis’ staff had been heard they would need to hurry. “No, everything’s the way it was earlier. The people are still working; nobody is looking up here or moving towards us. We have some time,” the staff wielding adventurer responded.

“So, looks like it’s just us then, eh?” Lars squatted down in front of the scout, looking into his downcast eyes. In the skirmish his face had not been hit, the bruises were hidden beneath his clothing. The hacker doubted that there wasn’t at least one bone possibly broken or without a minor fracture. “So, how about we get some answers while we have time? Your name, what is going on down there, and where’s the child that was wandering around here?”

Before the man could respond, even if he was going to, Ethan struck him hard across the face. The punch caught the side of his eye, splitting open the corner of his brow. It wasn’t a hard hit, or one meant to do a lot of damage. Blood gushed from the wound. The brow was the most useful place to strike in a fight, easily cut, bled a lot, and sent a lot of the blood into the eye of the wounded person. Lars wanted the man to see his blood, not just feel pain. Psychological damage was far easier to perform and produced results much quicker.

The scout muttered curses under his breath as he raised his free hand to wipe the blood. When his hand fell to his folded legs another dagger popped out the other sleeve of Lars’ jacket. He plunged it without remorse or a flutter of his eyes into the hand. The dagger went through the center of the scout’s hand, into his thigh, tapping the bone in his leg. The hacker could feel it stop, and not because he had stopped pushing either. “By the bloody Thayne, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Another fist across his face, this time jarring his jaw and snapping his head into the tree, the other brow split just as easily as the first one did. “I’m Jaece,” he finally admitted. “Please stop, this isn’t worth it… I’m only here for the money to be had.”

“What money? Who’s providin’ it? What is the operation?”

“We took the kid, he was snooping around… couldn’t let him get back to Olme and have his mother spread what he told her… we’d be ruined.” Some information, enough so far, but the questions he had asked were not being answered. Lars reached into the side sheath along his boot and pulled out his knife. “Fuck, we’re part of the Brokenthorn Lumber inc, we’re not supposed to be setting up yet. There’s a debate about cutting down part of the forests, about the profit we’d make opposed to the loss of the woods. We’re not supposed to be here. The kid found us, we had to catch him… if word got out we’d be in trouble for sure. We kept the boy safe, till we could get the contract to go through, then we were going to let him go…”

“Where is he?” Ethan rocked back on his heels, letting the man have a little room to breathe and think. He told them the building, on the far west side of the camp, back down the slope he had come up. Chase Sombers was safe, and being cared for. Lars had gotten all the information he needed from the man, but leaving alone wasn’t safe. If he got the daggers out, which the hacker wanted back anyway, he’d be able to call the rest and warn them. With a quick, effortless swipe his knife opened the man’s throat and left him to bleed to death, choking on his own blood and gurgling words. “Let me clean my blades, cover this piece of shit up with some leaves, and then we’ll go look for that kid.”

[A Nony Mouse]

Travis wasn’t squeamish; he’d seen plenty of animals butchered in the meat shops of his home town. But ruthlessly killing another just to silence him seemed gratuitous. “Cover this piece of shit up with some leaves so we can go look for that kid,” Lars instructed his partner, wiping his blades clean. Well, Travis rationalized, At least we’ll be able to save that little boy. He grabbed the man by the shoulder and drug him into the woods. His deadweight was heavy, but Travis managed to get him well hidden. He returned to the dam where Lars was washing and drying his daggers before replacing them in a curious contraption on his arms. He saw Travis coming and straightened up.

“Let’s go,” he stated. The two quickly jogged the way that the scout had come, eager to rescue the boy and be done. When they reached the edge of the lumberjack camp, they slowed their pace so they wouldn’t be caught. The last thing they needed was to battle their way out of the forest.

“Lars,” Travis whispered. “Where did he say the boy was?” His traveling companion looked back from his place in front and motioned to the next building over. Two burly guards stood at the only entrance; Travis wasn’t sure what his partner had in mind. They made their way to the building where Chase Sombers was being held hostage by sticking close to the cliff way on the edge of the camp. Men passed by a few feet from them, but the intruders went unnoticed. When they finally neared the building, Travis took stock of the guards. They seemed like ordinary lumberjacks at first, but upon closer inspection, Travis sensed that there was something odd about them. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what bothered him; just an uneasy feeling.

They crept closer, hoping to pick up snatches of the conversation; “ - when I saw Knives coming for me,” one of the men was saying. “I’ll tell you, I turned right around and hightailed it outta there!” The two men shared a laugh at this story and continued joking with one another. After a few minutes, a dark-clad stranger walked over to the building. “Sir!” the two guards snapped to attention and saluted by clapping their fists over their hearts. The wiry newcomer merely nodded and let himself in the building. The strange man’s arrival had silenced the guards and so Travis and Lars crept back out of their hearing range to converse.

“Well, that’s no help,” Travis whispered, frustration evident in his voice. “Who was that man?”

Lars looked at him with a look of incredulity, “Are you kidding? Knives? Burner? Shadow? I don't know any of those names… but I know sure as hell they're part of something criminally inclined.” Travis shook his head, wondering what Lars was getting at. “This place isn’t being run by the Brokenthorn Lumber, Inc., that’s just a front!” Lars looked genuinely upset by this latest news, but Travis was still trying to figure out what it all meant.

“So this crime syndicate used a lumber company as a front to do what exactly?” Travis questioned his partner.

“I don’t know yet,” Lars answered. “That’s what we need to find out. A conspiracy this big could land us a ton of cash. But first we need to get the kid out and that could be a problem... 'Sir' and salutes mean that guy's a big wig...”

Travis groaned quietly, “So what’s the plan?”

[Taskmienster]

Plan… plan… it always came to him thinking of something to do. What was the situation? Two guards, big guys who were part of some crime group guarding the door to their little captive. A guy who was saluted and respected amongst criminals was always dangerous, Lars knew that because he used to be that guy. A conspiracy was present, hidden by the face of the Brokenthorn Lumber Inc. but what was the profit coming out of it? Criminal groups on Althanas, hell any group on Althanas was still new information to the hacker, but the right questions to the right people could bring about answers.

“Either we wait for that frail fuck to leave and kill the guards, take the boy and run… or we try and get all three. If they are important, than by god we could make a killing off all this shit; if they aren’t than we’ll make at least a little off what we’ve found out. The lumber camp itself is illegal; by the word of that scout we know that. But if there is something more behind it than just the forest clearing…” Lars let his words linger as he thought. Taking two men out with only three daggers wasn’t impossible, but it sure as hell wasn’t going to be easy or quiet. They needed to distract the guys, get them away from the building or find some way to get into it without them noticing them.

“Here’s how it’s going down. I’m going to use a little bit of my… magic. I can slip around the back, see what’s going on. But if there’s no way in, we’re still fucked and going to be forced to use the front door. Wait here till I return. If I don’t, or I give you a signal go ahead and do something to pull their attention away. Throw a rock, whistle, whatever it takes to get their attention away from the door.” The hacker turned his attention to his hands and let the virtual reality keypad appear at the tips of his fingers. It was invisible to anyone besides him, allowed him to use his hacks which were almost all already programmed into hotkeys. “Ready?”

Travis nodded, his face was still unsure but not voicing any opinions of his own. At the very least he wouldn’t do what they needed, leaving Lars with the dirty work. If it came down to that, though, he knew he could rely on himself more than anyone. He sighed and nodded to the man, tapping a series of buttons on the keypad. Within a second the very reality of his personal appearance was dispersed. He would look like a ghost to any who could see him from an outside perspective. Lars could see the code of his character unravel just a bit though.

As soon as the hack was complete he moved forward as quickly as his tight jeans would allow. There wasn’t much time afforded by the spell, if he kept the code to his character purposely pieced for too long he would destroy himself. Five minutes, he reminded himself, and stepped as cautiously as he could over patches of heavy leaves and around broken sticks. It took him half the time to reach the rear of the building.

It was an average shoddily created log cabin. There were small slots left open for windows, but no glass blocking them. Small black drape like curtains were tacked to the upper edges of the openings and blocking his vision inside. He could hear, however, just fine. “This is your fault you know,” the sickly voice of the saluted man was saying. “If you had just stayed in that stupid little town you would have been with your mom the past few days instead of having to spend time with me. Believe me; you don’t like it as much as I don’t…”

The conversation was one sided. Chase was quiet, but Lars could hear the scrape of steel on steel and the crunching sound of eating. He was being fed, but for what? Logically it was unacceptable to keep the kid alive. Even if the charter for the logging company went through when the boy was released he would talk for sure and ruin their already ill reputation. If they kept him they’d probably just sell him into slavery, if it was really a company run by criminals… or kill him. Ethan knew that if he was on the other side, he would have already gotten rid of him, sold him as a slave since that was always good money.

The hacker released his hold on the manipulated code, letting his full person return. He leaned close to the edge of the building, his hands holding onto the corner of the unfinished and unrefined wood. Small splinters were bound to edge their way into his hands, but he didn’t care. Blue gray eyes of the hacker peered through ever growing shadows, pretty soon the night would fall and he would be next to completely useless. With a quick wave of his hand he tried to signal for Travis to start the diversion, or do anything to pull the attention of the guards and hopefully the man inside the building away. If the guards and him left, Lars would be ecstatic, if only the guards there was bound to be a fight on his hands when he slipped through one of the windows…

[A Nony Mouse]

As he waited for the signal to move, Travis’ mind wandered to other things. How did I involved in this? he kept asking himself. Sleuthing had never been one of his interests, yet here he was knee-deep in a conspiracy involving a crime syndicate, a lumber company, and a young boy. Travis sighed, momentarily wishing he were anywhere else. He wondered what Driz and Van were up to; whether or not they had made it to Valeena Lake.

Lars signaled from next to the building, how long has he been waving? Travis hoped that his momentary lapse in attentiveness hadn’t jeopardized either of them. Now it was time to cook up a distraction. Leaning his pole up against the face of the cliff, Travis palmed one of his carving knives and stepped towards the guards.

“Excuse me, gentleman,” he greeted them. Both heads instantly snapped to where he stood and out of the corner of his eye, Travis saw Lars’ head sink in despair. Bad move? Travis wondered. It was too late to change tactics now. “I was trying to get to the fair city of Olme, but I seem to have lost my way. Could you guide me?” The closest guard eyed Travis suspiciously, but stepped forward nonetheless.

“Yeah, you want to go down this road and –,” the guard stepped within an armslength of Travis and the adventurer lashed out suddenly. The slight blade of the carving knife slashed across the man’s throat and his eyes widened in pain and shock as he fell to the ground. Travis unsheathed the man’s short sword as he fell, a fine blade forged from dehlar and balanced nicely. Lars was right, he thought in passing. They’ve gotten be important.

Knowing that he had almost given Lars the opening he needed, Travis quickly turned and sprinted back to where his pole waited for him. The other guard gave chase, leaving the building unattended. As Travis snatched up his weapon, he prayed that his partner would be able to save the kid in time. Best of luck to you, Lars.

[Taskmienster]

“Walk up and ask them where Olme is? Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” He hung his head in despair, everything was fucked. The guards were bound to jump him and put him with the kid. Lars thought though, maybe that wasn’t so bad an idea. If he could get close to the kid and inside the building without having to fight, he could just fight his way out. His interest peaked; he looked around the side of the building again only to see a bloody guard on the ground and the other chasing Travis. Whatever the hell had happened, it was enough to allow for Lars the time he needed to get in.

Instead of going through a window and being vulnerable to an attack while disoriented he walked to the front door. Without the guards he could just walk in, surprise the man. In either hand he shot out a dagger, letting them rest and wait in his open palms. Before he could push the door aside though, it began to open. On the other side was the face of the dark figured man, his eyes cold and calculating. Fear struck the hacker for half a second before he reacted. His speed was slightly augmented due to coding he had held onto, and with that advantage he threw aside the door and stomped his way through.

The sickly thin man was tossed aside. His black robes were tossed about wildly as his arms reached out to catch the wall before he collided with it. Lars let his eyes slip from his opponent to the boy. Chase jumped to his feet with an open mouth but said nothing. Instead he darted past the distracted criminal and his would be hero. “So much for thanks you little twit,” Lars called after him, but never took his full attention off the other man. “’Sir’ I assume? I have quite a few questions for you, you know… questions that need to be answered so I can fill my pocket.”

“You want your pocket filled?” His voice was raspy and dry. “Then you’ve gone to the wrong side. That kid was going to be out of here in a few days, taken to the coast and sold over to Salvar as a slave… instead you let him go. Not only that but you have mistakenly stumbled upon the Scara Scourge, and we do not take well to damned troublemakers...”

With speed close to the hacker’s own, the sly man tossed his black cloak upwards and around him. The flurry of movement caught Lars off guard, and when he concentrated it was difficult to tell if the man was standing, sitting, or halfway between. When the dagger streaked through the darkness Lars was completely defenseless. It caught his shoulder and lodged in deep. He screamed in pain, the game was nothing like he had ever messed with before. Normally it was a quick flash, this time it took quite some time before he could concentrate on the lack of a real wound.

Right behind the weapon was the black cloaked man, another dagger in hand. Lars feigned left and pushed right, his dagger flashing in a quick arch. The blade caught the outside of the closest arm, a heavy cut slicing through the sleeve and spilling blood. His opponent was unfazed. He turned against Lars and lunged again. The two exchanged blows back and forth, leaving both bloodied and cut up. The hacker knew if he had retained any of the powers he had before the crash through the firewall into Althanas he would have destroyed the man without a single wound. Without them, and with what limited abilities he had, he was nearly defenseless.

The two continued, voicing their anger through mere grunts of pain and anger. It was seemingly minutes before the bladed combat ended. The dark man swinging high, Lars ducking, sweeping his opponents legs out from under him. Ethan wasted no time in jumping the man and plunging his dagger deep into his chest. As soon as the deed was finished, he rolled onto his back and let his drained arms rest on the rough floor.

“Fuckin’ kid,” he murmured, he still needed to go find him, and find Travis. But his chest had been torn up bad, his jacket sliced up here and there, and his jeans with more than a single bloody cut. Lars sat up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He cleaned his dagger on his dead opponent, left the one lodged in his shoulder for a medic to remove, and picked up his opponent’s blade. It’s make, its shape, none of it was easy to identify in the darkness, but he had felt it and knew it was worth keeping at the very least. “Where the hell’d everyone go?”

[A Nony Mouse]

Travis didn’t know the Brokenthorn Forest very well at all, but he was used to running through the woods with someone chasing him. All those games of tag, he remembered. Finally coming in useful. The guard was a bigger man and Travis hoped to simply run until he caused the other man to tire. Used to physical labor from working with his father, Travis knew he could last longer than the lumberjack… criminal… whatever he was.

Ardinne had long since left the scene, her powers no longer needed. There was no sense in endangering her now, so Travis didn’t pull out the ocarina. No, he’d just rely on his own cunning for this one. His flight had taken him it the opposite direction of Olme and thus deeper into the woods. The moon was full in the sky and Travis could see well enough to avoid the trees in his path. Slowing his run until he heard the guard close the distance between them, Travis waited until the man was almost upon him. Then, he stopped suddenly, turned, and dove past the man.

Taken unaware, the guard took several steps before registering that his target had moved. He turned as fast as his weight would let him and peered into the darkness for his prey. The cypress pole smacked him across the face and Travis turned and fled once again. Howling in indignation more than pain, the guard gave chase with a renewed burst of speed. They wound their way between the trees of the Brokenthorn Forest and Travis heard the man’s breathing become ragged. As the sound of footsteps became less and less frequent, Travis smiled and kept right on going. His distraction had given Lars nearly a half of an hour to rescue Chase, he hoped it was enough. He doubled back in the direction of the camp after a while and wondered if Lars had been successful. What a day, he thought to himself, slowing to a light jog. The sword he had stolen from the dead guard was pushed through his belt and lay awkwardly against his thigh. As long as things turned out alright, this had been a very eventful night.

Minutes later he broke into the clearing near the camp and began circling to the western edge. Lars should still be near the kid’s building, he reasoned. Careful to tread lightly lest he wake the rest of the slumbering lumberjacks, Travis made his way to where he had last seen his traveling companion.

[Taskmienster]

Apparently a lot of time had been wasted fighting the fallen ‘Scara Scourge’. How much? Lars couldn’t tell. The nearly full moon had risen on the edge of the horizon, spilling its cool milk white light across the camp. Torches were lit randomly along the buildings and spread areas of light, but left plenty of darkness. Blue-gray eyes of the hacker searched listlessly about for where the boy had run off too, but he could not see anything out of the ordinary. If he had been recaptured or noticed they would have sent others to chase him and help fight whatever had come. Since no other scourge members or lumberjacks had come to the building Lars assumed that he was in the clear.

He moved to the opposite side of the building and rested against it. The dagger he stole he tucked into his belt and with his freed hand he wrapped his fingers around the edge of the blade sticking out of his shoulder. It hadn’t punctured too deeply, but hurt like a bitch. He winced when he moved the handle a bit, the pain making his skin crawl. Before he could do much else though, a noise caught his attention. In front of him something was coming, and fast.

“Oh my god, you scared the shit out of me,” he sighed when Travis’ face was the only one to show. He was alone though, flushed from exercise and excitement. “Where’s the kid? You didn’t see him did you?”

“I thought he was with you?” The man responded. The twist of his face showed that he had just noticed the lodged dagger and the multitude of cuts. “What happened with you!? Are you alright?”

“Fucker cut me, cut me bad… but I figured out a little of what the hell’s going down here. Something called the Scara Scourge, that’s all I got out of the guy. He’s dead in there, we need to take him with us as proof but I can’t lift him with my arm fucked like this.” Lars reached into the pouch on his leather jacket and removed a pack of cigarettes. With only one hand he tapped out the small cancer stick and put it to his lips before putting the pack back. His lighter flicked to life at the tip before being snapped shut and put away. “And we need to find that fuckin’ kid, unless he just followed the river back home. If that’s all he did he’ll get there late, but the guards will be forced to do something if he came back without us and he told them the story… right?”

He puffed out a cloud of smoke, exhausted. He hoped the guards would be called, or at the very least someone that could take the blade out of his shoulder without messing it up worse.

[A Nony Mouse]

Travis stared at the dagger protruding from his companion’s shoulder, a souvenir from his encounter with the Scara Scourge. After assessing the damage, he rummaged around in a few of his belt pouches before producing the components he was looking for. “This is gonna hurt,” he warned Lars as he gripped the handle of the dagger. With one deliberate motion, he swiftly removed the blade from his flesh and covered it with a few healing agents. To his credit, Lars merely gritted his teeth with the pain and took another drag from his cigarette. “Keep pressure on that,” Travis instructed him. “I’ll go get the body.” Seems like we’re racking up a lot of these tonight. He entered the building and looked around at the signs of battle written in blood all over the room. Shaking his head he knelt down and picked up the corpse’s arms. Inching his way under the bulk of the man’s weight, he lifted and shifted the body so that it rose easily across his shoulders.

“Come on, Lars,” he whispered as he exited the building, “They’ll be around soon and we need to find Chase.” Lars grimaced and rose to his feet, wincing as he put pressure on his shoulder. The two made their way back to the slope and through the woods to the dam once again. Both men moved at about the same pace, Lars inhibited by the pain in his shoulder and Travis burdened by the corpse.

When then reached the dam, Travis laid the man he carried on the ground. As Lars rested under a nearby tree, Travis summoned Ardinne with the wooden ocarina. They heard a faint splash as she hopped out of the water and made her way over to her master. “Ardinne,” he asked the river otter, “can you sense Chase near here?” After turning in a slow circle, the otter barked and slipped back into the stream to check upriver.

“She says that he didn’t come through here,” Travis told Lars. “We should get you two,” here he motioned to the Scourge member, “back to Olme first. If we don’t see Chase on the way, I’ll come back out and search for him on my own. Otherwise, you might get seriously injured… and this guy’s gonna start to smell. Alright?”

[Taskmienster]

The wound was throbbing, the dagger sitting next to the other along his belt. At the very least he could see those and make some sort of profit. But that wasn’t even the thoughts he had close. Travis had done him a favor he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to repay. Would he have even done it for the other man? The question was debatable, couple with so many relative to what was going on’s following close behind. He would, at the very least, have helped the other out of a tight jam if he had asked for it. When he turned to look at the man his arm shot pain all the way to his fingertips.

“Sounds like a kick ass plan to me,” Lars responded with a smile. Travis shifted a bit to even the deadweight of the man, and began to walk along the stream. The hacker followed behind a bit. The boy had run out the door as soon as his capture had been compromised. If he hadn’t run up the embankment and back to town where had he gone? What a waste of time, and blood for that matter. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to be doing anything after all this is over, would ja?”

“In a way, yes,” the man responded with a grunt. “Why?”

“Nothing really, just figures that this is going to lead to another task and another,” Lars mentioned with a half shrug to the darkness. He looked at the frail figure being lugged by Travis and shook his head. There would be repercussions, either for him or for the city of Olme for sure. Either way he felt responsible for them, and if asked he’d more than likely jump at any means of more monetary or other gains available. “You know how things are, karma’s a bitch and sure to follow soon. If this is some big conspiracy like they made it out to be, we’re probably going to be the pivotal points that it all revolves around… might as well ride it through to the end and get what we can. Can’t hurt much more than that fuckin’ dagger did.”

“Good point.” Travis chuckled. “We’ll see what comes of it.”

The two continued on in silence for the rest of the way. It would be a few hours till they found the edge of town again, and the moonlit silence would be a good way to ignore the pain in his shoulder. He only hoped, though, that he’d have the man’s help with whatever came next. Lars respected him. Travis wasn’t just another wanna-be hero, fighting injustices across Althanas, or seemingly played by some small kid with an ego. It was by far the most welcome relief the hacker had come to find so far.

Plus he still had a lot to do personally. His ship was crashed somewhere in the mountains of Scara Brae. His crew was scattered, if they were even still playing. His girlfriend’s character was lost somewhere too, and god knew that if they didn’t reunite there’d be hell till they did. Lots to do, so much time to do it in, yet he felt rushed. Being asked to go on secondary adventures with the Irishman would be a good stress relief till he figured out what exactly he needed to do and how to do it…

[A Nony Mouse]

The Scara Scourge’s corpse was getting heavy when Travis finally spotted the guardtower near Olme. Mustering a reserve of strength, the adventurer walked into the small forest town and collapsed in front of the guards’ tavern. Raucous laughter and music could be heard from the other side of the wall, but Travis was too tired to move. “Lars,” he confessed. “I don’t know about this.” His companion gave him a questioning glance and he explained, “Walking in there with a dead body? This is gonna have some consequences.” Lars sighed and shook his head.

“Fuck if I care,” he said wearily. “Let’s just get this over with.” He pushed through the door to the tavern and walked to the nearest table. “Look pal,” he greeted one of the soldiers. “The Scourge is building a lumber mill in the middle of the forest.” The guards began laughing at the outlandish story and Lars slammed his fist down on the table. “Dammit,” he yelled as pain coursed through his arm. “Travis, bring him in.”

Travis hefted the body one last time and navigated his way to the table were the guards waited in anticipation. The music stopped as the adventurer dropped the corpse on the tavern table. All eyes in the tavern turned to the two travelers, waiting for an explanation.

[Taskmienster]

“Alright, see… fuckin’ dead body. Now don’t laugh at me when I’m trying to spill what happened.” The guard looked from the cold eyes of the hacker to the body on the table. Two others at the table had half risen when Travis had walked in; when he dropped the body they were on their feet. Both had their hands on their clubs and were eyeing the two suspiciously. The one still at the table who had laughed the loudest was waiting for an explanation. “Here’s what we still need, and I need some help with it. Get some guys together, go with Travis if he wants to still go, I’ll explain what happened while they’re out.”

“Where’s my child? Where’s my baby?!” From the corner of the room the frantic mother charged towards Lars. The would-be hero caught one of her arms and nearly cried out when her head hit him square in the wound on his shoulder. Tears budded in his eyes. He was no tough guy, he was in fuckin’ pain. “What happened to him? Why is he not with you?”

“That’s the thing, he escaped but we don’t know where he went. I think he’s just lost in the forest, its dark and a big fuckin’ place.” Lars turned to Travis and nodded, then turned back to the guards. “As I was saying, I want people with him to go look for the kid. When I found him in one of the buildings he darted out before I could say much… I got pretty fucked up by this guy,” the hacker poked the dead body with the end of his long finger.

The two standing guardsmen looked to the seated one for directions. The man nodded towards them and commanded them to follow Travis. If they couldn’t find the kid they’d undoubtedly search throughout the night. “I’ll be back Lars, tell them what happened while were gone.”

“You go it, good luck.” The three men hurried out the door. Lars pulled up a chair with his unwounded arm and sat down; finally letting his feet have some rest. “Alright, here’s the deal,” he started. “We searched the woods a bit; following the stream since that’s the last place she said she had seen Chase. We followed it the better part of the day till we came to what looked like a cliff. The stream had been dammed so we stopped and looked over. Over the edge was a collection of buildings and a lot of people… figured they were some logging company?”

“Brokenthorn Lumber Inc., they aren’t supposed to be working down there… at all. We have a petition in Scara Brae with the Parliament and our great queen to keep them out.” The heavyset innkeeper placed a mug in front of the hacker without a bit of foam on its lip. He smiled and laughed about not charging. Better not, you already got a good amount of gold from me the other day he thought as he sipped at it. Before he continued he flared up a new cigarette and took a deep drag. How amazing the fresh nicotine felt after all the stress he could not even begin to describe.

“Well I got some shit for you to send quickly. That lumber company’s under the control of something called Scara Scourge?” A number of men stood up when the name was given. Guards were angry; men with faces of steel were showing pure rage. “Well, it seems you know of ‘em. This guy’s some big wig from the group, a couple of guards on the building the kid was being kept in called him ‘sir’ so I figured we’d bring him back and see if you knew who he was slash for evidence.”

“The scourge is the number one criminal group on the island… they’re dwindling with the overwhelming help we’ve been getting from citizens and warriors coming to help get rid of them, but they’re still a problem.” Lars took a heavy pull from the mug and let the alcoholic liquid cool his throat. “Go on, what happened.”

“Well he said,” smoke seeping from between his thin lips as he spoke. “We get in, the kid darts, this fucker attacks me and stabs me in the shoulder. The dagger was deep, and hurt like a bitch, but Travis got it out before we continued. Here,” from the side of his belt he worked out the two daggers and placed them on the table. The one that he had fought against had a small symbol on the hilt he hadn’t seen till then. “That’s the one that went into my shoulder, which I still need stitches or something to close. And it’d be cool if I could get my clothes fixed or new ones just like them…”

Unfortunately the code to reprogram his clothing was too lost when he stumbled into Althanas. However, the guards were more than willing to help. “Of course, of course. We’ll get a medic in here right away. Till then we’ll wait for the three to come back, hopefully with your boy Ms. Sombers. As for the dagger, that symbol there is the Scourge's symbol, it'll be enough to get you a good reward and proof enough of what you told us.”

Amazing, once the deed for her was done they suddenly had respect. When he had come to her to offer help she had been sobbing, and not a single eye had turned to her… now they all cared. Hypocrites, but useful ones at least.


Spoils:
I have the two daggers, but didn't disclose what materials they were... so whatever's felt appropriate. One is a common throwing dagger, the other is a longer knife the symbol of the Scara Scourge on it. The second is the better knife, so any better material would be sweet, but not necessary. Thanks.

[A Nony Mouse]

Travis strode quickly down the path back toward the Brokenthorn Forest, not caring if the two guards kept up or fell behind. He hadn’t slept in over 30 hours and now he had to go search for the kid… again. Travis felt as if this day would never end. They had better be able to get us some kind of reward, he silently seethed. Realizing that he was irritable because of the lack of sleep, Travis focused his thought on other things.

The time passed quickly and it wasn’t too long before they had reached the spot where the stream entered the forest. “You two stay here,” he commanded the Olme Guards. They nodded and took up defensive positions on either side of the path. Stupid, but they follow directions well. Entering the woods once again, Travis readied himself to track down the boy.

The rising sun warmed Travis’ back as he searched the bank of the stream for clues. He had summoned Ardinne to help, but so far they’d had no luck. A loud rumble from the adventurer’s stomach reminded him that it had been almost a day since his last decent meal. “I need to find this kid,” he mumbled under his breath. Just then, his river otter familiar barked up ahead and he switched to defensive mode. His fatigue and hunger were forgotten as he prepared himself for what lay ahead. As he pushed past the brush, he saw Chase Sombers hanging from a low branch of an evergreen tree. Below him was a wolf, snapping at his heels.

Travis drew the sword he had liberated from the guard earlier and brandished it at the canine. Rather than frighten it away, the sword seemed to catch the thing’s attention. It stopped trying to bite Chase and turned its attention toward its new foe. Travis sighed, Why can’t things be easy for once? As the wolf lunged toward him, Travis awkwardly thrust with the short sword. It clipped the wolf’s ear, but did nothing to halt its attack. Fangs closed around Travis’ arm, bent on tearing into his flesh. Luckily, his bracers offered enough protection and the teeth did little damage. Raising the sword above his head, Travis brought the gleaming blade down hard, cleaving it into the beast’s back. The creature twitched away, tearing the sword from the adventurer’s hands. As it turned tail and ran away, Chase dropped from his branch and ran over to Travis.

The wolf’s days of hunting were over; the sword wound caused it to stumble and then slowly fall to the ground. Cautiously approaching it, wary of a trick, Travis pulled the sword free. That pelt might fetch a nice sum, he thought. But I’m so tired of carrying things… Making the decision to leave it for the other woodland creatures, he returned to Chase.

“Where did you go when you left the building you were in?” Travis asked, eager to solve this mystery. But the boy said nothing. “Hello Chase?” Nothing. Sighing, Travis picked the boy up, set him on his shoulders, and started back to where the guards waited. The ride thrilled the young boy and when they arrived at the path, he was laughing and seemed to be enjoying himself. “He won’t talk to me,” Travis told the guards.

“Oh yeah,” one of them said. “He don’t talk much, ‘cept to his ma. Want me to carry him?” Travis gave the man a look of complete gratitude and the four started back to the town of Olme.

Spoils:
Rywan Wood Ocarina- this ocarina will replace the oak one that he currently has. When Travis levels up, this ocarina will allow the abilities of his familiar to level up as well.
Dehlar Short Sword- taken from a Scara Scourge Guard, this sword is still in good condition. Travis will use it to train in swordfighting, therefore raising his ability level when he levels up.

[Skie and Avery]

Quest Judging
Broken Heart, Brokenthorn

STORY

Continuity ~ 6/10. I had most problems with Taskmienster's posts here. Why is there a hacking program into Althanas? It took me reading your intro twice before I was completely sure that Colin and Lars/Ethan were the same people. These were things I'd know if I read your profile, yes, but you always want to make sure to put enough into your writing that a new reader can start your story with any thread and still get the basic idea into every single scene, piece of dialogue, etc. The scene at the beginning with nothing linking Ethan and Lars together in the very first post, really threw me through a loop. Nony, While I understand the base of how the traveling companions came to be together, why exactly are they going to Scara Brae? What kind of pull would bring a human, Drow and a gigas all along the same path? I know these are small things in the face of the main story, but considering it took you guys until post 7 to get out of the damn tavern, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect these questions to be answered.
Setting ~ 7/10. A fine job here, though while you guys used the setting well, I sometimes feel that there was a lack of the rich descriptions to really make it come alive.
Pacing ~ 6/10. At first, it was just awful, though once the mission got on it's feet and started, you guys improved a lot. The ending was a little rushed, I felt, but it's something that happens to the best of us. In the old days of Althanas, the rubric had specific categories for the Opening post and the Closure. While that's been long abandoned, try to condition your mind to see that added weight of importance on the last post. After all, it's the very last thing your reader sees, and the thing that makes them either walk away from the storyline or be pulled even tighter to the character's web.

CHARACTER

Dialogue ~ 7/10. A qualm I had here was that Lars tended to use a bit of slang in his speech. At one point, he mentioned he thought they should "chill" where they were. Travis took it in stride. It seemed to me something that an Althanian would be confused at, wondering why he thought they should catch a cold. I didn't take points from it, but how your character reacts to specific words could really help dialogue shine in a thread. It doesn't necessarily have to be modern slang, either. Rather than forcing an NPC into a story, where your character could be confused by L. Gilly the Funk Master Fresh (Old Skool from L-URIEEEAND! Yo, busta, recognize!) he could just simply overhear in the tavern a roughly half-orcish character grumble about "Flowers in the Blood" and not realize that he was bitching about the elven waitress. A positive thing I'd like to note, I liked how you guys combined commentary in posts to help the pacing. That was a lifesaver in a couple categories for you.
Action ~ 5/10. I was a little confused here. Travis thought Lars' slitting of the guards throat to keep him from telling everyone else about their intentions to save the boy was gratuitous, but when he had to create a diversion, he chose to... slit a guards throat. Far more unnecessary than Lars' actions, and he didn't even seem to show any guilt or remorse at having done it. It didn't fit at all with what I'd been seeing of the character.
Persona ~ 7/10. Lars came across as really strong here, while Travis slipped a bit into the background. Sometimes you gave me a good showing with him, as in his interactions with the otter, but most of the time you allowed him to be background. There's nothing wrong with a supporting character, and there were times when you carried that place well. But just because your character isn't the ringleader, it doesn't mean they can't shine.

WRITING STYLE

Technique ~ 6/10. One thing Santh used to say all the time, and has been repeated over and over by countless mods and players here on Althanas is show, don't tell. There was a lot of telling in this story. One example is in Nony's last post. You told about how when the wolf bit down on your bracer, it was strong enough to protect from the bite. One detail you left out was what it was made of. Looking at your profile I see they're made out of leather. Being bitten by a wolf is a terrifying moment, one that would hold a lot of weight with your character. Pressure tests have put an adult grey wolf's bite force at about 1500 lbs. They would experience it very intensely, with adrenaline coursing through their system. Force that importance on the reader. Don't just say your bracer got bit. SHOW me the moment when the teeth come down, and you can feel their edge through the leather, though it keeps them from puncturing. The jaws clamp, squeezing your arm, making the bone ache. The beast's breath is hot and wet, saliva dripping down your hand. Are you shaking? Can you feel your stomach try and crawl out your throat? Are your knees turning a little to jelly before you raise that sword and bring it down on the wolf's back? Did you hear the backbone snap, feel it stop the momentum of your swing cold? Force the reader to see through your character's eyes, feel the world through their fingertips. How about smelling pine while you were whittling that ocarina? (Most) Characters have five senses to make the world real, use them to your advantage.
Mechanics ~ 8/10. Very few mistakes, all could be caught by careful proofreading. If you're in a quest with someone and notice they've misspelled something or have some funky grammar going on that isn't part of dialogue and supposed to be like that, let them know. There's no shame in editing.
Clarity ~ 9/10. The confusion that came with continuity problems kept this from being a 10.

MISCELLANEOUS

Wild Card ~ 7/10. I hope the comments here have helped you guys, good luck with wherever this takes you.

TOTAL ~ 68/100. <commentary here>

Rewards
Taskmienster gains 762 EXP and 245 GP
A Nony Mouse gains 762 EXP and 245 GP

Other Rewards
Taskmienster gains 2 daggers. The first is a throwing dagger with a 3 inch blade. It is made of steel, of good quality and forging. The second is a long knife, bearing the seal of the Scara Scourge. It is made of Delyn.

A Nony Mouse gains a Rywan Ocarina, and a Dehlar short sword. Keep in mind your short sword is made from an exceptionally dense metal. It will weigh much heavier than a normal short sword, thus handicapping current swordsmanship skills in comparison to use of a lighter short sword. Of course, an enchantment or ability that grants excess strength will lift this handicap.

[Witchblade]

EXP and GP added!