Heralds- The Proving Grounds, page 24
Sam just shook her head. “I don’t like this.”
Anna was still looking where Hank had been. “Bit of a ‘tude all of a sudden.”
Jen shook her head. “Like it or not, it’s the mission for now. We’ll keep tabs on Tobin,” she gestured to herself and Sam before turning her attention to Anna. “They can’t track us. You should keep up your work elsewhere. This won’t be the status quo forever.”
Anna shrugged. “Suits me. I don’t have a guild tag or stealth. I’d just be in the way.”
Sam was glaring at the ground.
Jen ignored her. “You hear anything from Kail?”
The blond woman nodded. “Yup. Some last night. He’s making inroads with a few small guilds, hoping to ally them together. I don’t know how long that’s supposed to take. Still think the Seven Eyes is the better bet, myself.”
“The devil you know… alright, I guess we’re heading out.”
“Good luck. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Sam scoffed. “Everything I do is something you wouldn’t.”
Jen stood waiting beside the same old rock in the frigid mountains outside Freeport. Her guild tag wasn’t going to win her any friends here, so she waited out of sight.
Sam had “borrowed” all the money they could drag up. She needed better gear and wasn’t going to get it in Morblina. With Anna in tow she was welcome to get fleeced in Freeport like everyone else.
There was a lot of activity though… and not the way it was before. Seven Eyes were humming around the place, coming and going… they were up to something. Unfortunately the bird that had landed on the rock Jen was hiding behind didn’t know anything, or was being tight beaked about it.
“And dead.”
Jen rolled her eyes as she turned to face Sam. Well, her old gear was certainly gone. Her new armor was stained black and a ninja looking hood hid everything but her eyes.
“What, they didn’t have anything in pastels?”
“I think black is technically an earth tone? I dunno. And I don’t care. I look rad.”
“Well, you look like a rogue at least. Like every rogue the Seven Eyes threw out onto that field yesterday.”
“That really shouldn’t be surprising. Same shop.” She shrugged. “I got mad street cred around here, by the way. People know I made an attempt on Tobin and ‘got away’ when his cronies showed up. Less about the whole death thing. People bought it because I’m still here.”
“I guess that is pretty strong evidence at the moment.” Jen checked all her gear over with a glance. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t going to grow any levels either. “We ready then?”
“I guess. You wearing that?”
“It’s what I have. So… yes.”
Sam shrugged. “Okay. But I’ll have to explain recon to you some time. The idea is to not be seen.”
“The best place to hide is in plain sight.” Jen wiggled her eyebrows. “I’ve gotten a few guild and alliance wide tells. They’re out in force scouting for experience and events to keep Tobin’s people leveling. If anyone is going to stick out it’s going to be you, Sauske.”
It was a quick jaunt back to the island. Anna stayed behind in Freeport for now. Kail and Bulorn were still MIA. Jen hadn’t mentioned that she had seen Poe the night before.
Blue dots were all over the map in the target area. They spread out as they got further from the center. It seemed the table didn’t make a distinction for guilds. Just blue and red, unless one was also a Herald. Or maybe in a group?
“Yeesh.” Sam raised an eyebrow at the map. “Like ants.”
“Kinda, yeah. They have a shared goal. Our side doesn’t.”
“Sure we do. One dead Tobin Ironblood.”
“And one person gets the reward.” Jen shook her head.
“Everyone else gets to respawn and play the game normally.” Sam shrugged.
“That’s less a reward and more removing punishment. This whole thing is… weird.”
“It looks like we can drop here without too much trouble…” Sam had zoomed the map in pretty close. A few blue dots were in the area, but it wasn’t as thick with them.
“You’re just going to ignore how weird all of this is?”
“I can’t change it.” Sam shrugged. “What I can do is keep Tobin Ironblood in sight and wait for a solid opportunity to strike.”
“You mean wait for the okay to go after him again.”
“Sure, that.” Sam double tapped the map.
Jen sighed and double tapped on the new green dot.
The muffled cries of a dying man were the first sounds that greeted her.
Sam was behind the guy with a hand over his mouth. Her other hand held a dagger she had jabbed into his side. She gently lowered him to the ground. “Shh…”
Jen stammered as she stared at the scene. “What the shit, Charlie Manson?”
“Shh!” Sam chided as she let go of the dead man. He lay still. “He was a problem.”
“Did he see you?”
“He was going to see me. See us. Especially you.”
Jen glared at her. “Even if he was, now there’s a hole in their net. You think they won’t notice that?”
Sam shook her head. “We’ll be gone by the time anyone else comes to check.”
“Does it not phase you at all that you just killed a guy?”
Sam sighed. “When this is done he’ll respawn like everyone else. No harm, no foul.”
Jen shook her head. Idiot. She frowned when she looked down at the dead man. Poor guy. Wrong place, wrong time.
Oh. Well that was a problem.
He was Taragon Belano of the Kingsmen Reserve Corps.
“That…” Jen pointed at the dead guy, “was the guild leader of the Reserve Corps guild.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what? He is? Shit.”
“Of all the random people…” Jen shook her head. “You think nobody’s gunna notice that?”
“I didn’t know!” Sam spread her hands helplessly. “It’s too late now. We’ll hide him and move out.”
“Ugh. How do things keep getting so screwed up?”
Sam was busy dragging the corpse into the underbrush. It might at least keep people from stumbling upon it. “Well I blame Bulorn.”
Nothing much happened for a few hours. Even Jen was getting annoyed with all the waiting.
Sam… Sam was pretty much bordering on livid.
Tobin and his raid group were wandering around slaughtering mobs in the wake of countless scattered members of the Kingsmen and Reserve Corps that were looking high and low for decent experience.
So far there was no major chatter on the guild front. People just called out locations when they found things and then went silent again. Taragon was not the only member to go silent or missing, but the Kingsmen and Reserve Corps both seemed willing to brave the risks.
Jen had been sending notes to Hank. Short bits about Taragon, and then where they were moving. She had no idea if he got them, read them, or even cared… but she was going to do the job. He had seemed pretty distracted the last time he had appeared. Something major must be up. Jesse had said something similar. It seemed like things were barely holding together.
Sam was keeping them out of sight most of the time. It was rare that someone would get the drop on them, and easy enough for Jen to say she was scouting too. Sam was never visible anyway. Someone would have to be several levels higher than her to see through her stealth, which was unlikely as the leveling groups here were only just now catching up to them. Sam moved slower while stealthed but no one was running a footrace anyway.
Jen could see her. She supposed it was the semi group-guild thing from being a Herald. Sam was spinning a dagger around her finger as she stared at Tobin’s group. They had added a mage to fill the spot of the rogue. Tobin was the only melee DPS now. Sam was trying to figure out how to make use of that. Jen had had to remind her of the new mission parameters a few times now.
Time drug on. They followed and remained out of sight. Close enough to observe, far enough to not draw attention.
Hank had not gotten back to her. No word from Anna or Kail.
Stakeouts are boring.
24
Jen sat with her back to a tree. The group was out killing bandits. “Where does that black armor come from?”
“I bought it.”
“Not yours, theirs. Yours is leather and like… super dark gray. Theirs is all either plate or cloth and it’s black. Like, not reflective black.”
“Oh. That’s the PVP armor.” Sam shrugged. “It’s… okay, I guess. Kinda bad stat assignment. Almost entirely weighted toward stamina. Makes fights take forever.”
“I suppose someone who knifes people in the back prefers short fights.”
“Yes, miss snark, I do. Besides, that stuff all requires blood of the innocent which only drops when you kill a blue name. It’s for people who gank. A lot.”
Jen frowned as she looked out at the black armored people fighting. “Well that isn’t very nice.”
“No. It lacks professionalism. I only kill my targets. Collateral damage is for amateurs and losers.”
“At least you have standards.”
“Damn straight.” She was spinning her dagger again. Green dripping from it all the while. She was almost drawing in the air with it. “Oh ho?” She sheathed the dagger and squinted toward the group.
Jen hopped up and turned to see what had gotten her attention. It looked like they were… splitting up? Why would they do that? There weren’t many bandits left and they all seemed to be at the fringes of the area. It appeared they were going for a clean sweep and felt safe enough to take a few risks with an army of friendlies surrounding them. It wasn’t like the bandits were much of a threat.
“Time to do our job, I guess.” Jen turned her neck a bit. It popped. “Who do we follow? I guess Tobin is the obvious option.”
There was no response. She turned to Sam and…
No one was there.
Of course.
“Oh you did not… god damn it.”
This was bad. This was very bad. The chances that she was just keeping an eye on him? Terribly low. But what could she do about it? She couldn’t hope to stop Sam from killing someone.
But Hank could.
She opened up the social menu she had been using to send him reports and typed as quickly as he fingers would allow.
To Hank: Sam is missing. Tobin’s party broke up for some reason and I think she’s planning to kill him while he’s vulnerable. I can’t stop her on my own.
She stood a moment, waiting. She typed. “MAYDAY” and sent it a few times as well so the message would ping repeatedly. It was all she could think of to get his attention.
Jen could see Tobin and his cleric away from the rest of the group.
Come on…
“You don’t need to yell. I’ve been more watchful of you since Bulorn went off script. Where did she go?”
Jen turned to see Hank standing there. He was still arranging his headset and gloves in the real world. It looked quite odd in here. Like he was trying to swat a fly.
She pointed at Tobin. “That way. After she knifed the head Reserve Corps guy I’ve been trying to keep her away from the rest of them.”
He looked the way she was pointing. “I see. Wait, she killed who now?”
“Taragon Belano, the guild leader of the Kingsmen Reserve Corps. He was nearby when we teleported here and Sam dropped him before I even loaded in.”
Hank’s hand waved in the air in front of him as he paged through something. “I see. She always seemed like a bit of a loose cannon. I had hopes they wouldn’t let Tobin become so exposed. Foolish.”
“Why… If I may ask… why are we guarding him? Sam is kind of only doing what you told her the first time.”
He shook his head. “I don’t have time to explain, and it doesn’t matter anyway.” His eyes shifted to her. “You’re wearing their guild tag.”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Lets me move around closer. I can’t stealth.”
“Hmm. Clever…” His hands shifted through the open air, and a moment later his image shifted.
He looked like Taragon Belano. Head to toe. Name, guild tag, and all. “A friend of Tobin’s, as I have observed from watching and reading tells.” His voice shifted as he spoke. It started out sounding like his own but shifted higher and lower until it ended up distinctly different. “Pitch adjustment shouldn’t take long…”
That was… a lot of reconnaissance. And sort of intrusive. Very intrusive. Jen frowned. That level of observation seemed excessive for an event in a game.
He turned toward where Tobin and the cleric were fighting. “Alright, good work. I don’t blame you for her actions.” He move forward faster than she could have thought possible, running at least two or three times as fast as she could. He drew Taragon’s bow as he moved closer. Could he see Sam from here?
Well, he was a GM after all. Of course he could.
Tobin and the cleric leveled up as they finished off the last of the bandits around them.
Sam had chosen that moment to strike. She stood between them… gloating?
Same old Sam…
An arrow struck her but she managed to swing on Tobin anyway.
She got in a solid hit but it wasn’t enough to kill him. Before she could swing again she ended up with a face full of dirt as she was tackled to the ground.
Jen started that way. The ruckus was reason enough for a random Kingsmen member to close in. Solidarity and all that.
She could see Tobin and the cleric jolt to life a few moments later. So Sam had used some of her patented poisons on them. If not for Hank she probably would have succeeded this time.
Well, if not for Jen telling Hank.
She wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about that… was it a betrayal of her friend or had her friend betraying orders justified her actions?
She didn’t have an answer.
Jen arrived at the scene as a few other Kingsmen and Reserve Corps came in from other directions. Paul, the paladin leading the Kingsmen, sent out an alliance wide message indicating they were pulling the net in for now and calling a break before heading for an event.
An event Taragon had found.
As people moved out toward a set of ruins on the horizon, Jen glanced aside at Sam.
Well, it was supposed to be Sam. The name read Salma Dreadblade. Jen tilted her head, confused… and caught Hank giving her a nod.
He’d done it. He’d changed the name to something similar enough that someone could have seen her real name and yet assumed they read it wrong. And because Samara Redblade had already tried to kill Tobin and “died” for it. He was covering her tracks. His tracks.
A few minutes later she was seated in the hall outside the room Tobin Ironblood was secured in. There were guild members up and down the hallway and only one way into the room. Everyone was taking breaks in shifts.
There was a knock on her door before she had her headset off.
Sam didn’t appear amused when Jen opened it.
“Hank killed me.”
“You did sort of go against the orders.”
Sam pushed Jen aside as she let herself in. “The whole purpose of this thing is to take him out. I had a window. A rare window. Wasted. What a dickhead.” She shook her head and collapsed into Jen’s office chair.
Given what he had been saying… Jen was having a hard time disagreeing. “He said he was watching us closer now, since the Bulorn incident.”
“Pfft. No wonder he stopped me.”
Probably best not to mention she had alerted him. It had seemed like the thing to do at the time. Some things he had said had given her pause though.
“I’m not… incredibly sure what we’re doing anymore.” Jen sat on the edge of the bed. “Everything is screwy. Hank is kind of being a jerk. A little scary, honestly. He said he was monitoring Tobin’s tells and watching them.”
Sam leaned back in the chair and raised an eyebrow. “That is sort of creeptastic. So, what, you want to sit it out like Poe? Pretty clear I’m not getting the title.”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I just don’t know.”
“Mmm.” Sam nodded and spun the chair around a few times. “Huh. You know… we could go the other way.”
“Eh?”
“I’m not getting the ‘Kingslayer’ title, but I hear there’s another one on the table.”
Jen raised an eyebrow. “You want to swap sides? For real?”
“Not officially… yet.” She shrugged. “But right now I’d be delighted to kick Hank in the junk. I don’t know any of the other devs on our side. If he’s the best they’ve got for us to work with, that’s kind of telling.”
“I like Jesse. She’s a dev on the other side.”
Sam sat up straight. “Wait, you know another dev?”
“Yep. She’s part of Tobin’s group.”
“Wow, that doesn’t seem fair. Ours never helps. Hell, he said he wasn’t supposed to. And he just anti-helped. Dickhead.”
“The longer this goes on, the less sure I am of anything.” Jen lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
“I’m not even sure I’ll be able to log in again. It wasn’t Hank that killed me last time.”
“True.” She frowned. “Oh god, that doesn’t mean you’ll be here all the time bugging me does it?”
“You better hope I can get back in. Otherwise I’m your Alfred.”
“Ugh.”
The computer beeped and the sound of the office chair spinning stopped. “Hey, Anna is bugging you.”
“Yeah, I kinda only went AFK by taking my headset off. Technically still sitting in that hallway… and thinking about food.”
“Well you can eat later. She says the Seven Eyes are trying to pick up and move out of Freeport and she could use a hand.”
Jen sat up. “Umm… kinda busy?”
“Well I can’t do it. I’m dead. Again. Hopefully temporarily.”
She sighed as she stood up and stretched. “Then you’re going after food.”
“Eh… I’ve probably got a few minutes. Sure.”
It took a moment to get all the stuff back on straight. When the image inside the headset swapped back to the world she was right back in the hallway… surrounded by Kingsmen and Reserve Corps. Most of them were talking, others playing some built in games with cards or dice. Some appeared asleep, slumped back against the wall with chins resting on their chests.
