Adam Drake - Blackout

As we neared the river’s edge I asked, “Does Sausage have a Leap ability?”

“Nope!” Mudhoof said.

“Do you?” I asked in alarm as the roiling water neared.

“Nope!” he said again.

When he reached the very edge of sandy bank Sausage made an effort to jump. And barely a third of the way across we dropped straight into the water.

For a few moments we sank like a stone, but to my relief we all popped back up to the surface. Sausage was more buoyant than he looked.

As water sloshed around us, we looked back. The sandy spot, and the archers on the cliffs above, slipped from view.

“This is good,” Mudhoof said, watching the landscape fly by on either side of us. “We’ll be at Ingot’s Perch in no time. How’s the poison situation?”

I looked at my health bar. What tiny gain the health boost had given me was gone, and the rest was slipping away. The edges of my view-screen distorted and blurred. “As bad as you’d expect.”

Despite his size and burden, Sausage excelled at swimming in the churning waters. Soon, a small town appeared by the river in the distance.

“There it is!” Mudhoof said.

My health bar was at eleven percent. Things were going dark.

As we reached Ingot’s Perch, Mudhoof steered Sausage’s massive bulk up onto a low part of the shoreline. A man, fishing rod in hand, stood nearby lost in contemplation about a potential meal. He fell back in shock as Sausage surged out of the water and stood dripping next to him.

“Where’s the Temple?” Mudhoof roared at the fisherman.

The man was wide eyed with shock and I could only imagine how we must appear to him: larger than life and terrifying.

“Wh-what?” he asked, confused.

“WHERE IS THE FILTERING TEMPLE!?” Mudhoof bellowed.

The man shrank back in fear, dropping his rod. “At the town square,” he said, pointing.

And we were gone, Mudhoof driving Sausage at high speed. Sausage’s large hooves clopped loudly on the cobblestone streets, as townsfolk scrambled to get out of the way.

We entered the square at a full gallop. Mudhoof yanked on the reigns to turn Sausage toward a large squat building, topped with a pyramid. At the pinnacle was a statue of a dove.

He drove Sausage up the Temple’s stairs and through the open entrance. I heard shrieks of alarm, and Mudhoof shouting orders, but now my simulation suit was locking off my hearing, and my vision was an opaque slate grey.

There was movement, and I had the sense my avatar was being carried. I heard the words, “FILTERing backstabbed with poison.” Mudhoof? I couldn’t tell.

I looked to my health bar, panic rising in my chest. One percent.

A message appeared.

You have been rendered unconscious.

Then my view-screen went black.

I watched my black screen with concern, but then my health bar shot upwards.

Much to my relief the screen brightened, and I could see again.

Mudhoof hovered over me, huge battle-axe in one hand, and the long shell shield in the other. Next to him was a small bald man with a white topknot of hair hanging down his back. The Temple’s healer.

“You okay now, Vee?” Mudhoof asked, his eyes darting around. He looked nervous.

I was about to answer when a system message appeared, floating in front of me.

Achievement Unlocked! ‘That Was A Close Call.’ You have been revived from having only 1 hit point remaining and lived to tell the tale. Bonus: +2% effectiveness from Health Boosts.

When I told Mudhoof this, he burst out laughing. “Really? You’re only getting that now after all these years with your character? Sheesh. I unlocked that achievement just twenty minutes into my very first play session in.” He laughed some more.

“I’m glad to be a late bloomer,” I said, standing. To the healer I asked, “I have you to thank from bringing be back from the brink of death?”

The little man offered a modest bow. “It is my duty, miss. Shale, the Goddess of Health, will not have any suffering while in her temple. Your friend should be thanked. Had you arrived but a few minutes later I’m afraid Shale would be most displeased right now.”

“Well, I thank you both,” I said and dropped Mudhoof a wink. The minotaur barely noticed, still casting anxious looks about the place.

“Allow me to offer you a gift for Shale’s wonderful services,” I said and placed fifty gold pieces in the healer’s hand.

“Shale is pleased,” he said.

To Mudhoof, I asked, “What’s got you spooked?”

He looked at me like I was nuts. “You kidding? That Pickle-winkle is around here, I know it.”

I gave the main chamber of the Temple a look. Several cots, like the one I’d used, filled the place, but there were no other patients present. Only a roaring fire in the hearth at one end, and various tapestries depicting a flying dove, Shale’s symbol. Few shadows for Perriwinkle to spring from.

Still, Mudhoof was right to be on guard. The would-be assassin jumped in the same river we did, and could have rode it down to Ingot’s Perch.

The healer spoke up. “None can harm another while they are under the pyramid of Shale,” he said.

“True enough,” I said, and patted Mudhoof on his massive arm. “You can ease up a little, my protector. That Shadow would have a tough time catching us off guard again, now we know he’s hunting me.”

Mudhoof snorted in irritation. “Still, it was a cheap shot. Stabbing someone in the back when they’re not looking? How cowardly can you…” his voice trailed off as he realized who he was talking to. He smiled sheepishly. “I’m excluding you, of course, Vee.”

“Of course,” I said with a playful rolling of the eyes. “But Perriwinkle is a symptom of my problem. It is the disease we need to cure once and for all. The sooner the better.”

I turned to the healer. “Where might we find the nearest Locators Guild here in town?”

“You will find one across the main square. They are beside the new clockworks shop. Can’t miss them.”

Thanking him, Mudhoof and I went to the Temple’s entrance. We stood in the wide open doorway and took in the sight of the town.

Typical medieval setting with cobblestone streets and stone-earth buildings wedged up against each other. Beggars begged and barkers barked. Occasionally, a player would pass our view and I tensed up if they looked in my direction.

“No worries, Vee,” Mudhoof said, tightening the grip on his battle axe. “I got your back.”

Any of these players could be a bounty hunter, biding their time for the right opportunity to strike once I left the safety of the Temple.

Casually, we descended the stairs and made our way across the town square. Many people milled about, townsfolk and players, and we did our best to keep some distance from all of them.

“This just underscores what I’ve been saying,” I said, keeping one hand on the pommel of the sword sheathed at my hip.

Mudhoof sneered at a woman carrying a basket of apples who got to close, causing her to give us a wide birth. “What’s that? That I’m awesome and wonderful and you can’t have a proper adventure without me?”

“Well, yes, that is all true, too. But I mean getting rid of this bounty. I’ll never have a moments rest until that happens. Questing is almost entirely out of the question. At least not open world quests.”

Mudhoof said, “You can still do instances with me and Thorm. No worries there.”

“Yes, but I can’t stay in an instance forever. And I’m not logging out and staying away from the game just because of it.”

Mudhoof scoffed. “Now that would be a fate worse than death.”

We reached the other side of the square unmolested, but our guard was still up. I spotted the Locators Guild sign with its stylized symbol of a compass, a few doors down.