The Butcher of Gadobhra

Rat killing had been uneventful. The tavern keeper, Derek, had taken the group down to the basement where he brewed beer, and from there to an old door that led to a long narrow room filled with broken barrels, smashed tables, and chairs missing their legs. It looked like generations of tavern keepers had put things down here with the idea they'd get around to fixing things eventually.

Derek explained there were a lot of cracks in the walls. It was old construction the current tavern had been built on top of. Rats kept coming in through the cracks from somewhere to get at his malt and grain. The quest he offered them gave a smidgeon of experience, a few coins, and a flagon of ale and a meat pie each. And of course, his appreciation for a job well done. They took the quest and were finished a half hour later.

Coming up from the basement, Joseph hoisted up the brace of rodents by their tails, and Timmy yelled out, "Your rat problems are over, Derek; where shall we dispose of the evil vermin?" A couple of farmers were having a cold ale at a table. They barely looked up. Derek didn't seem to be around, but the girl behind the bar got Timmy's interest immediately. The girl was striking! The town of Sedgewick suddenly became much more interesting!

She came around the bar and looked at the rats intently. "My, my, but those do look fierce. Usually, I prefer flowers, but a bouquet of dead rodents is so sweet of you!" She smiled at Joseph who stood frozen, staring at her. "Oh my, the quiet type. Well, don't worry, we'll do some small talk when you come back in. Just take those rats out back and toss them over the fence into the pig trough. Those porkers eat anything." Joseph just nodded and headed out the door.

Timmy took a step forward and bowed. "Greetings, fair damsel. I am Sir Timothy of Aetheldurst. I am a fledgling Paladin seeking to do good in the land with the aid of my squire Joseph and my trusty men-at-arms, David, Hugh, and Louis. If you have need of me, please simply ask. I am at your service." Timmy had yet to meet the girl who could resist the combination of a Paladin in shiny armor and a high CHA score.

This one certainly swayed, but in a way that made Timmy forget what his next line was. She stepped close and allowed him to kiss her hand. "So polite and generous. I'm sure I have a service I need you to help me with." She batted her eyes at him and then looked demurely at the floor. "It's a very strenuous service, though. You'll need all your stamina. Are you sure you aren't tired after your heroic battle?"

David rolled his eyes, knowing where this was going. They'd seen it happen in three other towns. He grabbed Louis and Hugh and headed for the bar, joined by Joseph as he returned. The barmaid smiled at Timmy. "Glad to hear that; I'm anxious to get started if you know what I mean. How about I get your friends their beer, and then we spend some time downstairs?" She turned and hurried to the taps, pouring each man a large mug of dark ale and yelling for meat pies from the kitchen for them. She looked over at Timmy and he was surprised to get a quest message.

[Tavern Quest part 2 of 3: Suzette, the lonely Barmaid, is in need of help that only you can give her. Rewards are increased favor with Suzette along with other rewards based on performance of the 'services'. Accept Y/N?]

2nd of three parts? Oh, he saw where this was going. He'd have to make sure his 'services' were of the highest quality. She took his hand and led him downstairs and into the brewing area.

He went to sweep her off her feet, but she moved away from him in a swirl of skirts. "Ha, no time for that now, Sir Knight. You have to haul these kegs upstairs. So glad you could help." She indicated four kegs with the familiar label of Bludgeon Brew. "Bring these up to me at the bar, and I'll pour you a fresh Blud for your reward. Only the strongest and thirstiest of men can accomplish this quest." She went past him before he could think to stop her and lightly ran up the stairs.

The kegs were heavy! Timmy was glad of his extra STR. His companions wisely said nothing. By the time he was done, they'd finished their beers and were laughing with Suzette, and Joseph was telling the story about fighting the named hamster they'd found in the Thornewood. Suzette poured a beer from the new keg of Bludgeon Brew and set it down for him. "Here you go, my stalwart helper, first brew of the new batch. You can be my taste tester."

Timmy eyed the flagon suspiciously. Taste test Bludgeon Brew? It was always the same! That was the point: no matter where you were in the world, you could count on it being the 2nd rate, cheap swill that made it famous. But this beer had a dark color and more foam than usual. He took a sip, and his eyes opened wide. It was Blud for sure, but good Blud! And he could feel a kick to it. Usually, it took six to eight blud even to give him a buzz. This was at least twice as strong. He poured half the flagon down his throat and smiled. "Damn good, but you're sure this is Blud?"

Suzette smiled, glad the new recipe was appreciated. She poured a free flagon for the rest of Timmy's crew. "Oh, it's Bludgeon Brew. I use their special recipe that gives it that distinctive flavor." She looked around conspiratorially and lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "But I add a bit of local malt and a secret ingredient. I'm calling this brew 'Blud Dark'."

Timmy finished his flagon and brought out more coins. "Blud Dark it is then. Let's have another round."

His crew called it an early night. Joseph reminded him of their plan to lay low for a few days. Just as well - the lonely barmaid seemed to be not getting his rather direct hints. They retired to the inn for dinner and an early night.

Once alone in his room, he spent some time going over his character. To date, he'd been in on 29 boss kills for a total of 37 Enhancement points gained. Famco was spending a fortune buying information on bosses from every player guild and sending out their own scouting teams. Besides his personal crew, Timmy had a support group of another 20 adventurers doing various tasks. He and his crew ground out experience every day for hours. They tested skills, went over new builds, and more than once chucked it all and started over. He'd restarted his character twice, trying to get the right mix of skills for his 'Shining Paladin' build. The game allowed a player to take a starting class like Warrior, Apprentice Mage, or Rogue. Or, you could design your own class and choose your starting skills. Each had advantages and drawbacks.

The basic classes gave little flexibility, but Experience Point gain was faster, and you had more Enhancement options. His build gave him exactly the skills he wanted, but it was slow to move up levels, and he could only use the basic Enhancements, whereas a Warrior had a starting list and more options at the Warriors Guild. If he didn't have the backing of his family and a dedicated group to power-level him this far, it would have taken much longer to get to Level 5. With a little push, he would get to Level 6 and start climbing through the second Tier. Gaining Enhancement points was the toughest part of breaking into another Tier. The game didn't let you advance until you'd either done a large number of quests or killed enough bosses.

A casual player or crafter might not even encounter a boss. They took a lot of time to find, either following up on rumors or exploring new areas. Maybe when dungeons were found, it would be easier, but for now, the hunt for elusive bosses took a lot of time. Luckily, he had a lot of help from Grandmother. She had scout teams out, looking for bosses for him and his crew to kill. His team just had to travel around and then not die when facing off against them.

This didn't go over well with the other family members, but Timmy had long ago ceased to care what they thought. And the constant stream of 'advice' from his advisory team had long ago got tiring. Some days, he thought about chucking it all and just playing the game without all the help. Then he'd come to his senses. He hated grinding, liked being the center of attention, and liked his large salary that came from being part of his family and a stockholder in Famco. And, of course, if his group weren't getting their salaries, they wouldn't be following him around and making sure he skimmed the bulk of the experience points and fame from their encounters.

Hopefully, there was something to do in this town other than follow his grandmother's orders to' Cause ACME some trouble and scout the area.' He needed to find bigger things to kill and a way to earn his Oath of the Light. It was essential to gaining his first point of Radiance and a host of skills and spells that went with it. Another paladin had reported to their network that the ability was offered in the capital. Disappointingly, it wasn't available to him, only to players with the generic Paladin class. "Go do some great deed and earn your light!" Great deeds included killing very evil things like demons. Demons were scarce but his crew did manage to take care of a Warlock who was terrorizing a small village. His imp familiar also counted as a demon and that was enough to let him buy the skill: Demon Slaying. This also gave him his only points in Demon Slaying. Unfortunately, Imps were only worth 20 experience points, and killing one didn't count as a great deed. He was still Rank 0 and had earned no points in Radiance. He was sure the skill would come in handy in the long run. But demons weren't something you just found running around in the woods.

He became aware that something was wrong. His head began throbbing with an intense migraine, and it wasn't from the Blud Dark. Something wasn't right, no way should he be in this much pain in a game. He threw open his window to get some fresh air but choked on the horrid smell coming from outside. Some horrid stench assaulted him. What was going on?

Far, far away, he heard the pealing of a bell. A golden bell in a white tower. He saw it in his mind's eye. He saw the warriors in white and gold armor mount their warhorses and thunder out the gate. He wanted to go with them.

The Darkness Rises!

[Once again Dark Magic is loose in the world. As a <Shining Paladin> of the Light you are called upon to face the forces of Dark Magic when it rises in the world. Will you join the Crusade against the Dark? (Y/N)?]

He accepted, of course. Obviously, all his good deeds had put him over some threshold and triggered a new quest. Possibly even a quest to push him up to Tier 2. His headache was gone. He could still smell the stench, but he felt like he knew the direction it was coming from. Time to wake the crew and get moving. There was probably some boss out there roaming around the town that needed killing. Hopefully, it would be a challenge.

Suzette couldn't breathe; there was no air in the capsule and nothing coming in from the nutrient tubes. She'd been trapped in here for days. She pounded on the top cover, but it was latched shut. She hit the panic button and yelled the Safeword that should have alerted someone, but nothing worked. She screamed...

...and woke to Ozzy holding her, calling her name, and trying to wake her up. She was drenched in sweat and couldn't talk. It took several minutes until the dream faded. He held a glass of water to her mouth, and she drank.

"...sorry…"

"Not your fault, Suzy."

"No, but still - I woke you up. I didn't invite you to take half the room because I needed a nursemaid." She got up and started throwing on clothes.

"Bah. Sleep doesn't matter to me much anymore. Rolly and I have been staying up most nights doing stupid things to level up some skills. Two or three hours, and I'm good to go. Wasn't sleeping well anyway; feel edgy." Ozzy tossed on his own work clothes. He'd worn through too many pairs of pants and shirts made from the local cloth and now had some leggings and a sleeveless tunic made of sedge-beast hide. Ben had helped get that done with their leather workers. The thick pants resisted the wear and tear he put on clothing. Heavy leather gloves and his bloodstained apron completed the outfit. It was part of his daily routine now to clean and oil all his leather after each day's work.

"So then, what are we doing up so early?" Ozzy got his tools. It felt wrong not to have the two cleavers, the meat hook in the apron, and the hammer on his belt.

"I'm going to start some new kegs in the basement. How about you help by moving some of the finished kegs upstairs for me? I'll make us breakfast first, but you have to get the eggs."

Ozzy gave her a smile and went off to find the chickens. "Eggs it is. I feel like I could eat a dozen, and that means Rolly will want two dozen."

Descending to the tavern's first floor they heard voices outside. Through a window, they saw Sir Timothy run by, accompanied by his party of followers. All were outfitted for a fight. "I guess they can't sleep either." Suzette mused.

"I'm not sharing breakfast with them," replied Ozzy. "Bad enough, I have to brave a henhouse in the dark." Ozzy stepped out the back of the inn and crossed the courtyard towards the henhouse. It wasn't there. A few broken boards and bloody feathers were all that remained of it. The stench of rotting meat was suddenly overwhelming. He started to turn at a noise when he was hit hard enough to knock him through the air. He landed in the street next to Sir Timothy and his squire, Joseph.

[You have taken a heavy blow from a Charnel Daemon! You take 80 damage from the blow and another 20 from impact with the ground. Because of your mitigation, you take 50 damage from the blow and just leave a dent in the road.

You are stunned for 1 round.]

Ozzy shook his head to clear it. Timmy stepped over the top of him and advanced on the monster. Hugh dragged Ozzy out of the way so he wouldn't be in any of the video footage. Louis grumbled, " A meat monster and a butcher. Ten to one, he's been building it in a lab, and it got out of control. Told you it was the butcher."

Everyone received a quest notification.

[Something is Rotten in Sedgewick!

The Dark Magics have found a place of slaughter and infected the discarded pile of parts and pieces with the essence of an ancient deamon. The Charnel Daemon will devour all in its path to grow stronger. If not stopped, it will turn Sedgewick into a charnel pit and kill all within.

Defeating such a foe is a defining quest for a follower of the Light.]

Timmy tried to identify it and failed. "Oh shit. It's at least level 6. This is a Tier 2 Elite Boss."