Otherlife Dreams: The Selfless Hero Trilogy (10 page)

“Yes, I did it. Tried to rape her. I broke his arms. Gave him to them when they came. Do it again. Do it to you, if you keep looking at me.”

“Be still my quivering heart. Such a sweet talker, I’m Runner, that’s Hannah, excited to meet you. No danger here then. Except to my sanity, though that’s debatable,” Runner said. Rotating the key he popped the lock open and swung it open and stood aside to let the two out.

“Hey, you promised one black eye only. Pay me later, things to do. Blood for the blood god, skulls for the skull throne. And you,” Runner said abruptly, looking to the Sunless woman. Rather than spending the time to Analyze her, figure out what was wrong, and then solve it, he’d just go straight to what he’d end up doing anyways.

Tapping his inventory screen open he pulled out two servings of salted pork. Handing it over to the dark eyed caster as she shuffled out of the cage. “Eat this before you collapse. Based on those pretty teeth of yours, I’d wager you line up more closely with a carnivore than us silly omnivores. Betting your hosts didn’t provide you with the right nutritional needs and you’re technically starving even though you’re full. I’d offer you some beetles but I’m saving those for me. Sorry. Actually, could you hold still for a second?”

Casting Cleanse on both the Sunless he followed it up with a Regeneration spell, in case one of the ailments had been hindering her health pool.

You use Persuade on Sorceress

Sorceress is Persuaded

You use Seduce on Sorceress

Sorceress is Seduced

Seriously? Can this not happen? They’re clearly not normal NPCs so I was hoping for maybe a reward. This is just ridiculous. I feel like I’m triggering flags for a dating game. Was this game made for lonely men sitting in bed at night? This is just getting obscene.

Runner turned with a grunt and made his way to the next cage. Belatedly he realized it was the last cage with actual living inhabitants. All of the other pens were filled with bundles of clothes, packs, grain, anything that an Orc wouldn’t actually want from those they captured. In his mad dash to and fro he hadn’t even noticed they weren’t people.

Unlatching the lock the last group of ten or so filed out. Most of them made themselves scarce as fast as possible, much like everyone did from the earlier cells. Only four of the prisoners remained, the nasty blonde haired man and an older companion. The Barbarian, and the Sunless.

Runner turned his back to Mr. Personality and congratulated Hannah instead.

“Nice work on that last one by the way, Hanners.”

Hannah sheepishly nodded her head and partly turned from his scrutiny.

Smiling he slapped her on the shoulder and then turned to address the foursome again.

“Clearly I’m not a tour guide, so I would think it best you make yourselves scarce. Shoo, be gone, off with you. Things to do, remember? Skulls and blood? No? If you head south along the road then west there’s a town. How about you bugger off in that direction?”

“You’re just like them. You consort with filth and allow it to run free. If I had my blade I’d-”

Mr. Personality put his hands to his throat as he started sputtering and gagging. Runner’s punch to his larynx had been swift and accurate.

“Please take him away from here, before I just kill him. Yes?” Runner addressed the older man. His title labeled him as a Priest, but it didn’t stop Runner from considering murdering both of them. Old priest nodded hurriedly.

“Good man, off with you.”

Runner spun the two men around and shoved them towards the exit.

No sooner than Runner cleared one obstacle then another had to present itself. As Runner turned back to the three women he made eye contact with the Barbarian. In that moment he felt she had just now decided to give him that black eye she promised, but only after robbing him.

“Runt,” the woman said, stepping up to him. Runner felt his skin prickle at being addressed as such. His patience, which was low to begin with, gave out. Her level was nineteen but she had no equipment. She wasn’t a threat to him in any way. Time to end this swiftly. “Hand over your pack, you can tell people Katarina, pr-iiiiaaeee!”

Growling Runner reached up and hooked his fingers into her hair, catching her in mid sentence, and yanked her head down. He smashed his forehead into hers and kept it there. He stared into her eyes from no more than an inch away, his nose pressing into hers. Before she could do anything more than meet his gaze, he did his best to pierce her bravado with his own. His intent was to intimidate her so there wouldn’t even be a challenge, only acceptance.

“Listen here Kitten. I don’t care. Seriously, I don’t. Just stay out of my way and everything will be fine. Not in the mood right now to beat you into the floor, just so you can give me some idiotic quest to go back to your home town. I don’t care if it’s to help you or your people, whatever. I’ve got green skins to kill and not a lot of time before something goes wrong. Something always goes wrong. So, consider me tempted, I mean you’re certainly pretty enough, when your face isn’t screwed up in a scowl, but right now is a terrible time for this.”

Sighing he released her hair and patted her cheek with a bit of force before pushing her shoulder, forcing her to stand up and away from him. With a little more time it might be interesting to investigate a population that was full of large able bodied women. There’d be men too but he’d put up with worse. After all he was on a ship full of the worst kind of people from all corners of the Sovereignty. NPC or not it never hurts to admire the scenery.

You use Persuade on Fighter

Fighter is not Persuaded

You use Intimidate on Fighter

Fighter is Intimidated

You use Seduce on Fighter

Fighter is Seduced

Great good Sovereign Seven. Could this just please stop? I just practically assaulted her and that’s persuasion and seduction? This really was made for a bunch of loners with cold empty beds.

Hannah was eying him quietly, her brows drawn down as he turned back to her. They needed to get moving soon if they wanted to clear the fort before nightfall.

Much like he’d cast a prophecy, it was in this moment that everything went wrong. Everyone turned to the far door as a shout was heard, one of courage, bravery and vigor. Such a thing could only be some type of Battle shout coming from outside of the stable. This was quickly replaced with the sound of a group of Orcs yelling in return from further a considerable distance. Mr. Personality came sprinting in through the open door and bolted past them. He came in wide of their position and exited out the other door.

Staring at the back door everyone stood dumbstruck as the door closed and the clank of a bar falling in place was heard. Mr. Personality was gone.

“Fuck me, we just got trained. That pack of greenies are going to path right through here as they follow his trail.”

Chapter 5 - Sword and Board -

07:58am Sovereign Earth time

09/06/43

“Right. You,” Runner said, pointing to the Sorceress. She’d just finished off the second piece of pork like a hungry wolf before everything went to hell.

“Thana, Thana Damalis,” she responded to the question.

“Thana? Like Thanatos? As in death? Cute. Lady Death then, got any spells that are a wall type? Preferably Earth or Ice? We’ve only got a little bit before those Orcs arrive and we need that entryway sealed.”

Runner gestured over his shoulder to accentuate his point.

“I’m unsure, I’ll inspect the area and ascertain what I can do,” she reported. Her voice was serene and measured, bordering on musical.

Nodding, Runner cast her from his mind and locked eyes with Hannah.

“Get on that door and see what you can do, he locked it on his way out. Keep in mind it might not be worth the trouble. If you can block it firmly from our side, it’ll keep them from flanking us as much as it’ll keep us from getting out.”

“Got it. On my way,” Hannah acknowledged.

Hannah moved off to carry out his orders. Crackling Ice came into being, demanding his attention to the entryway. It was a solid cloudy wall that stretched the width of the entry.

Runner really couldn’t gauge the thickness from here, but he could only assume it’d buy them a few minutes. The Ice began groaning ominously under it’s own weight. Eying the wall as it creaked he mentally willed it to remain solid. He needed this, needed this badly. Finally it settled itself and became quiet. Thana made her way back to him with a pleased look.

“Good work Lady Death, remind to never underestimate you in a critical situation. Next, next, next. Kitten, Lady, come stand in front of me please.”

Thana complied immediately though Katarina stared at him. Before it could become a standoff she did as instructed, breaking the eye contact with him. Thanking whatever AI decided it would be good for her to obey he moved to stand behind Katarina.

Placing his hands on Katarina’s hips he opened up the console with a thought. A single breath later he had completed and approved the party invite to Katarina.

“Ok. Hold up your hand,” Runner commanded. Once she held up her hand he wrapped his around it and held it. “Now, in your mind, focus on the words, ‘Yes, join the party’. When you feel like your will could crumble mountains under the sheer force of it, move your hand forward two inches. No more, no less. Ok?”

“Mmm.”

Taking her non-verbal response for acquiescence he waited patiently. Within a heartbeat of his instruction Katarina’s hand shot forward. Runner received the party acceptance notification, elation filling him. Nodding to himself he released her hand while patting her hip.

“Good show, that was quick. Some impressive mental fortitude. Ok, my Lady, your turn.”

Moving to stand behind Thana, who had been watching him the whole time, he smiled at her.

“Eyes forward little miss. Ok. Same thing. Hand up please,” Runner insisted, resting his hands on her hips.

Thana hesitated and then raised her right hand. Runner placed his hand over hers and leaned forward, then down, then forward again. Her diminutive height made it harder to judge the right placement for her fingers. Finally he felt fairly sure he had her hand in the right spot.

“Same instructions for you. ‘Yes, join the party.’, two inches, no more, no less.”

Silence dominated the area as Thana stood there, her hand held in the air. Trying to remain patient was a difficult thing for Runner, his mind tended to run into strange thoughts when he wasn’t keeping it busy.

Thana’s cool hand hung motionless in the air, his own hand keeping it steady. Swinging his head over to look at Katarina he paused midway. Without even straining his eyes Runner could see a vein at the side of Thana’s neck pounding away.

Frowning he stared at her neck, wondering why the game had decided to add such a minor detail. It was more than likely that it would be overlooked by ninety-nine percent of the player base. Watching it beat rapidly anyone could see she had an elevated heart rate. Why would an NPC even display such a characteristic in such a way? Let alone have a heart rate to begin with now that he put a thought to it.

Letting go of her hip with his left hand he brushed a finger tip over the pulsing skin and then pressed his finger into it. Feeling it throb under his fingertip he was more than a little surprised. In that touch he was able to confirm her heart rate was indeed racing and that she had a heartbeat.
Such a strange thing for an NPC. She’s little more than the most basic layer of coding for a game this size, yet this was put in.

Without warning Thana’s hand shot forward. Before he could even confirm the party invitation was accepted she was walking away from him. Glancing to Katarina who was just watching him, he shrugged, then checked the party window. Sure enough, Katarina Saden and Thana Damalis had joined the party.
More surnames, such a strange thing. I’ll need to check their status later. I bet they’ll have flags as well.

Taking a moment to confirm their levels Runner was pleasantly surprised. Katarina was sitting at level nineteen and Thana at twenty-two. In this situation that was an immeasurable blessing.

Thana had turned and was now glowering at him from under her dark brows, her hands clenched into a fists at either side. Ignoring her Runner continued on with the plan.

“Now that you’re in the party, that’ll make it easier to target you later. Ok, nex-” Runner started, and then stopped as he heard crunching noises from up near the ice block. “Ah, our party guests have arrived. We aren’t ready to receive them yet. No refreshments, the band isn’t here, and the waiters haven’t even prepared the glasses. We must freshen up a bit first,” Runner lamented sadly. Making his way over to the cages, and their tightly packed contents, he opened the closest one. Rummaging a bit through the pile of clothes he began sorting out various pieces he could use.

“I don’t think they’d store weapons of any sort in the place where they’re holding prisoners. Unless the writers of the game treated this like a horrible fanfic or really dodgy writing. That leaves what I’ve got on me, as far as weapons go at least. Let’s see then.”

Throwing open his inventory window he flipped through it rapidly. He had kept one type of each weapon but had sold all the extra armor. A regret to be sure, but how could have known he’d be supplying others with gear. Pulling out a shield from his inventory and then his own long sword from his character panel he set them on the ground. These two items were followed by a small oak wand and a focusing crystal sphere.