Beyond the Pale by: Elsbeth A weekly RPG game has unexpected consequences

Chapter 4

Players:
Christian (M) /Isabelle (F) Pathfinder
Brett (M) /Owein (M) Paragon
Sandy (F) /Dacie (F) Corsair ; Sylph
Kathy (F) /Eric (M) Huscarl
Stephen (M) /Sayer (M) Incantist
Corey (M) /Elisa (F) Priestess

Isabelle took a step forward, blocking an overhand strike by slashing downward with her sword. The shadowy creature retreated slightly as the minor enchantment on her blade disrupted its hold on this plane. Although she wasn’t really hurting the creatures, it was at least for the time being keeping them at bay. The others weren’t doing as well, with Ilithar, the goddess of death aura dominating the crypt; Elisa couldn’t directly touch her own source of power. The small light she had created before entering the ruins wasn’t going to last much longer; when it vanished they were all going to be in serious trouble.

The buzz and loud pop of Owein’s arcane pistol went off again, its magical energy punching a hole through several of Ilithar’s minions. The shadows however kept pushing forward. Sayer let loose with another ray of light, burning another shadow, but they were too strong resisting most of the damage. Isabelle could tell by the Incantist pale face that he too was reaching his limit.

The silver haired Baroness shifted her feet backwards, trying to keep the shadows from breaking through. The rest of the party could only watch in frustration. Neither Dacie nor Eric had the ability to harm these creatures. If Isabelle hadn’t been a Pathfinder, being able to enchant her blade, then there would have been very little chance the party would have even reached the stairs to make their way out of the crypt.

Passing through a larger room, Owein wailed while willing his pistol to charge faster.

Isabelle ducked another razor sharp claw, forcing the creature back with a thrust towards its midsection; she had been clipped a couple of times, the claws cutting through her armor like it was butter. Their touch was slowly sapping her strength. Incredibly, the Captain of Dragoons hadn’t retreated with her. Reaching forward, the silver haired Baroness grabbed the back of his shirt with her right hand. “What in the hell are you doing?” She could see that the creatures were already spreading out; if the party didn’t move quickly they were going to be overwhelmed.

“It’s all Phillip’s fault.”

“Phillip?”

“He shouldn’t have written such a difficult dungeon for our level.”

“What?” Isabelle looked Owein; her longtime friend had a wild look in eyes, a look of complete and utter despair. Suddenly the Captain of Dragoons screamed as a shadowy claw punched through his cuirass.

“Brett!”

It was then when Ilithar children began to come through the walls.

48 Hours Earlier:

Isabelle sat on a high outcropping of rock overlooking a branch of the larger Black River. Down the slight incline behind her above the river, the party made camp, still too close to the swirling waters for her comfort. Day one on the march could have been a lot worse she mused, how she wasn’t exactly sure other than for one of them getting killed. The Wyrm had been the first of four different what would be called encounters the party ran across on their way up the river.

Isabelle knew that given the chance, the group could have easily evaded three of the four if she had been scouting ahead. What was worse, the growth around the river made it difficult to travel unless they actually traveled on its bank which also made it easier for creatures lurking underwater to attack them. Travelling through the center of the valley, the Pathfinder was positive the underbrush and trees would thin out, especially near the road. Now she wasn’t a Forester, far from it, however why not use her skills to get around most of the trouble.

Owein’s need to control everything was getting out of hand. He could be such a micro-manager, especially around the gaming table. Perhaps since coming to Mercia, it was more about the Baroness and the Captain’s personalities at odds. She didn’t know.

Frustrated, the silver haired Baroness pulled out her quiver and began to sort through the arrows. In the last four encounters she had shot nineteen arrows. Thankfully of the nineteen, nine were salvageable to be used again. However, at this rate her quiver would be empty long before the party ever reached the tower. At the gaming table, wear and tear of the party’s equipment tended to be overlooked, simplified or abstracted. Most MMORPG had some system where the player would have to get their character’s items repaired, but not so much with table top gaming, too much to keep track of, really. Even ammunition for the various party weapons hadn’t been tracked too closely. However this reality was totally different, everyone in the group needed something repaired or was running out of something. Getting into a fight now just because they could was totally counterproductive. Beyond the little issue that there was a good chance that eventually someone was going to wind up dead.

Eric brush with death had made that apparent at least to her. The party had no means to bring someone back from the dead, those spells out of reach except for the highest level characters. If one of her friends died, they would stay dead. Did that mean if someone died in this realm they would also be dead back home? Would Philip walk in and find the mangled corpse of one of his friends in the basement? She was also concerned for her friend. Philip’s absence for the most part went unnoticed, everyone was too busy dealing with their own issues. Isabelle hoped that he was safe at home.

“A chalkon for your thoughts.”

“That’s an obscure piece of coinage.” Isabelle smiled at Dacie as she took a seat.

“I know, but you’re worth it.” The Sylph giggled.

“So how are you and Sayer?” She had seen the two of them talking earlier. Hopefully whatever went on with them last night was settled. The Baroness didn’t have much hope for the party’s survival if they continued to be at each other throats.

Dacie made a contrite face. “I’m sorry about last night.”

Isabella leaned over and gave her a hug. “What were you two fighting about anyway?”

“Nothing, everything…it was my fault for yelling at him over things about my character’s background…her problems with the Imperium. Those feelings felt so real Izzy, I can get lost in them.”

“Izzy?”

Dacie giggled and leaned back. “I think these feelings are touching all of us, Elisa is the prime example. You too, you’re more, I don’t know, together less unsure of yourself. No that’s not right; I don’t know you’re just different.”

The silver haired Baroness sat back and laughed. “I guess so but really I don’t feel any different. I’m just me. Still, I think you’re right. Look at us, you’re Dacie and I’m Isabelle.”

The Sylph nodded, it was difficult to call each other by their former names. They had all fallen in the habit of using the character’s name only hours after first appearing. “We need to get out of here…Christian, or I’m afraid I will lose myself.”

The others must feel it as well. It had only been one day and already they were falling into their character roles. What surprised Isabelle the most was the martial skills everyone now portrayed. Sure, back home, Christian wasn’t in too terrible shape however the intricate sword and bow work she performed during the encounters was beyond amazing. Magic too, was instinctual. Those that had the ability didn’t seem to have any trouble casting spells.

“Perhaps this whole working with the Imperium wasn’t a good idea.”

Dacie laughed. “Yea.” Wiping a tear from her face, the Sylph looked down at the others. “I thought that Eric and Elisa were good?” The pair sat off near the fire, once again repairing the damage to their clothing and armor.

Isabella shook her head. “No, well they were for a little while but it didn’t last. Still its better than before, look how close they are sitting next to one another.”

“You’re much nicer about it than I would be.”

“Why.” The silver haired Baroness looked at her friend. “Oh well, they have their own problems. No need to complicate it with issues brought over from the other side.”

The Sylph leaned over and kissed Isabelle on the cheek. “As I said, you’re much nicer than I would be; anyway how are they otherwise?”

Isabelle looked down at the pair. “Elisa is actually surprisingly good; when we first appeared I could tell that she was close to losing it but since the encounter with the Wyrm things have changed.” Yesterday the whole going to the bathroom in the woods was bad, when Elisa had to do it as a girl she had a small melt down. “She seems much more comfortable with herself. I’m rather surprised.”

The Sylph made a face. “Since her afternoon prayers, I saw it as well.” They both left unsaid that there was a good chance Elisa’s goddess had her hand in making their friend more comfortable with her new gender.

“Eric on the other hand, every so often there is this haunted look in his eyes. To make the whole situation even more difficult there’s this whole protective thing with me that he is working out, which seems to also be annoying Elisa as well.”

The Sylph nodded, the Huscarl had started to become rather protective of Isabelle. “The whole gender thing with Eric is Karmic debt.”

The silver haired Baroness smiled. “No, that’s far too cruel. “ Suddenly tears were falling down her face. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” How could she accept the price of her happiness for someone else to feel the same pain she had experienced? No, she would never have wished for such a thing.

Eric sat on the ground, with half of his armor sitting on his lap. It took moments to discover in his mail a number of what Dacie joked as moth holes; unfortunately these moths had rather sharp teeth. Turning his head just a little, he watched as Elisa walked up the slope to join the other girls. How odd, two days ago the Huscarl was also one of the girls.

Now there were a few things Eric rather enjoyed about the gender change. The energy this new body had was amazing, the strength and stamina of long years of working with weapons made it more than fit. Even now, after getting into a few fights he wasn’t really fatigued. Going to the bathroom standing up, was on the plus side. The down side was that he was always angry. Over all, the whole male thing was different, but enough already. The one or two perks did not outweigh how wrong his body felt. Eric really wanted to go home spend a day at Kathy’s favorite spa, grab her boyfriend, lock themselves in a hotel room and not come out for a week.

“Do you mind if you take the first watch with the Baroness?”

Eric looked up as Owein approached. “Not at all.”

“So how do you think today went?”

“Good, I guess other than the almost getting killed thing.” The Huscarl laughed. “I’m not really the person to ask though. Her Excellency said that normally your group tends not to go out of their way to fight monsters.”

The Captain of Dragoons shrugged. “Depended on the adventure.”

“I see, well then as much as I want to keep an eye on her...” The Huscarl looked troubled at that thought. “Perhaps we should allow the Baroness to scout ahead.”

“I’ll think about it. We are moving a lot faster than if we walked through the forest.”

Eric frowned he wasn’t too sure about that. “Be nice if we ran into fewer monsters.”

The Captain of Dragoons appeared surprised. “Really, I would think that you would enjoy fighting, being a warrior.”

“I’m not…” Eric started to say.

“Anyway, this is better. More of a chance for us to earn some really good experience points don’t you think.” Owein smiled. “Anyway, thanks for switching watches. I am going to talk to the girls.”

Eric just sat their dumbfounded, what in the world was he talking about?

At the end Owein made a slight concession, as the company found themselves heading towards the center of the valley. Pathfinder magic had determined that there was some sort of ruins off to the east. Where there were ruins, there was the road. The forest had thinned out a lot more once they moved away from the abundant source of water. Everyone was now carrying extra water bags, but worst case, Elisa would ask her goddess for assistance. At least with the priestess around, water wouldn’t be an issue.

“I wonder what they taste like.” Sayer commented as a herd of strange antelope creatures noisily passed to the south.

“Probably chicken.” Dacie grinned; she was trying hard to get along with the Incantist.

Sayer looked surprised for a second, and then grinned as well.

“How far until we reach the ruins, Baroness?” Owein asked.

Isabelle frowned, she did have a name. “Well before dark.”

The Captain of the Dragoons made a face, he was sure that whatever time they had gained moving along the river was already lost. The rest of the party didn’t seem to mind, they had not run into a single creature that was intent on having them for a meal. Isabella’s prediction came true, well before dark they came across a wide stone road. It was little higher than the ground itself, with soft slopes. Elisa said it reminded her of the Roman roads that she had seen while in Europe.

“So Baroness, where are these ruins your magic hinted at?”

Dacie rolled her eyes, what was his problem. “You probably can’t see them, but they are right down the road.”

Everyone looked in the general direction, however only a Sylph’s superior eyesight allowed her to see the ruins.

“I think we should stop for the night.” Elisa nodded towards the west; the sun was getting close to disappearing over the horizon. It wouldn’t be safe to continue on through the night.

“I agree, we also need to move off the road.” The Huscarl felt exposed.

“Fine then, I’m sure the Baroness can come up with some quick camouflage to hide our campsite. Be a shame if we actually ran into more monsters.” With that the Captain of Dragoons headed towards a group of trees across from the other side of the road.

“Sayer, what’s up with your brother?” The Sylph asked.

“No idea.”

With the help of the others, in no time at all, the Pathfinder set up a passable lean-to providing cover from the elements and hopefully creatures. She didn’t even need to lean on her Mercian skills, remembering how the host of some survival show set one up in the Alaskan wilderness. True, if she was a Forester, not some profession with a smattering of skills she would have set up an expert camp, and probably have a large two horned Antoc roasting over the fire. No one seemed to mind, other than Owein who was still being moody. She knew he was the type of guy who hated not getting his way all the time.

“Why must men be so difficult?”

“What?” Owein looked up from cleaning his weapons.

“OK, spill…Brett… what’s your problem?”

The Captain of Dragoons looked shocked at Isabella using his real name. “You’re being too timid as usual.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” Taking a seat next to Owein, she asked. “Why take the chance of someone getting hurt.”

“Our group needs more experience fighting together.”

“I don’t disagree, however we shouldn’t be picking fights in the middle of nowhere. Let’s get back to civilization, get some more information on where we are headed. Better supplies would help as well.”

“Perhaps, but you also tend to over plan.”

Isabelle threw up her hands. “Really?”

“Come one on, sometimes it’s better just to charge forward and bust some heads.” The Captain of Dragoons grinned.

“Sure, and how many characters has Elisa run through?” The silver haired Baroness laughed. Corey’s priestess was his fifth character since he had started gaming with Christian.

“Plus we need the treasure.”

“Oh, I see. You expect monsters out here to perhaps drop some coin or maybe a blue or green item?” One of the things that Isabelle always found odd was no matter what creature you killed in a MMORPG it always tended to have coin. She was never sure where those boars outside Orgamar in World of Warcraft kept those coins.

Owein laughed. “It’s not what you think; when we do get back to the Imperium do you think anyone is going to talk to us unless we have some serious coin? The people we need to approach don’t work cheaply, even being granted an audience will require us to give them ‘gifts’. No I believe those ruins off in the distance will be our best bet.”

“We still need to be careful who knows what’s out there.”

Owein chided his friend. “Don’t be such a worry wart, we’ll be just fine.”

The ruins, at least to Owein’s standpoint had been a complete bust. Obviously in its day, the stone structure had been some sort of military fortification. The elements and ravages of time had destroyed most of it leaving only a ruined skeleton of its formal glory.

“They sort of have a Grecian feel to them, don’t they?” Eric commented while poking at some rocks with his javelin.

“They do, reminds me a little of the ruins around Crete and some of the other Greek islands.” Dacie commented; Kneeling down she poured water on a dirt encrusted bit of stone. “The masonry work is impressive.” The Sylph began to clear the debris around what she thought was a particularly decorative piece.

“Enough sightseeing, time to go.” The Captain of Dragoons shouted as he began to walk out through a ruined archway.

Dacie leaned over and whispered to Isabelle. “What’s with grumpy?”

Hiding a smile with her hands, she said. “No treasure.”

“Give me a handful of good workers and I bet I can find some interesting artifacts at this site.” Dacie had spent the last three summers uncovering artifacts in Israel at various archeological sites with her grandfather.

“No digging.” Owein screamed.

“Spoil sport.” The Sylph screamed back.

The company had made good distance travelling on the road, eating up the miles with each step. As they drew closer to their destination, they came across more ruins; however like the first they were empty. Beyond the lack of treasure, the absence of any encounters started to grate on the nerves of their party leader. Isabelle didn’t have the heart to tell him that the residual magic on the roads made travelling fairly safe. In the morning the party should easily reach the outskirts of the city, and the tower should be in the center of the city.

“One last look.”

As one the group moaned, they were all a little tired of the march and finding nothing but broken rocks.

“Come on, I promise. This last one and if there’s nothing, tomorrow we will go straight for the tower.”

Elisa looked up towards the ruins; unlike most it was relatively intact. “I don’t know about this, Captain. See how most of the ruins are undamaged. There must be some outside influence at work.”

“Do you sense anything?” Isabelle whispered to her friend.

“No, but I still don’t like it.”

Slowly the group worked its way up the small hill admiring the stone work that had somehow survived the ravages of time. Finally reaching the top of the hill, a pair of large statues guarded a long stone stair case. Before they proceeded up the staircase, Elisa raised her voice in prayer covering the company in a soft white light.

Startled the Captain of Dragoons turned to the priestess. “You think that’s necessary. We do have torches you know.”

“It’s necessary.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Owein drew his sword. “Ok folks, let’s go.”

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth