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  “Yeah,” I said. “Paralyzed.”

  “Here, drink this,” she said, putting a glass bottle to my lips.

  You’re healed.

  You have [101/104] health remaining.

  “Thank you,” I said, sitting up.

  “I need help too,” Josh said.

  He walked over, his neck bleeding.

  “I lost fifteen constitution and ten dexterity,” he said. “Is that bad?”

  “You’ll live,” I said. “Everyone else okay?”

  “I lost number points too,” Ewen said. “And I’m hurt.”

  “Bernard, can you help heal them with your wand?” I asked.

  “I’m out of charges,” he said then frowned.

  “Why haven’t you been charging it with Sarah’s staff?”

  “I’ve been busy,” he snapped. “We’ve got more potions.”

  “Here,” Sarah said as she stood. “I’ve got the other potions in my bag.”

  She opened her eyes wider as she patted the bag.

  “They’re not here,” she said.

  “You used the last potion on Eric?” Josh asked. “That ape bit a piece out of my neck.”

  “I know,” she said. “I thought I had them all.”

  “We’ll be okay,” I said. “All we need to do is get back to the rangers’ station. Can everyone make it that far?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Josh said as he tied a sack around his neck to stop the bleeding.

  “Everyone else?” I glanced around at the battered members of our party. “We didn’t find the dwarf or the sword, but at least we’re still alive.”

  “Maybe someone else needs to be in charge,” Josh said.

  “We’ll talk about it later,” Sarah said. “I’m drained too, and we still have to make it out of the forest.”

  A familiar wailing from the tops of the trees hit my ears. I looked up and saw an entire tribe of tree trolls swinging from one tree to another, getting closer.

  “I hate tree trolls,” Bernard said, shaking his head. “Maybe we should run.”

  Three of them dropped to the path, blocking us.

  I took a deep breath, wondering how we would get out alive.

  11

  Can’t Keep a Good Dwarf Down

  Eric

  I stood, wondering how to handle the situation., A dark-skinned dwarf with a bushy white mohawk barreled out of the woods.

  “Into the shrine!” he yelled. “Everyone into the shrine!”

  He whizzed past, a blur of fur and golden glitter.

  “What the…”

  Josh looked from the dwarf over to me then back to the shrine. The bulky and muscular dwarf stood in the entrance, motioning for us with his left hand.

  “Follow him,” I said then ran toward the shrine.

  The tree trolls shrieked and wailed. Another dozen or two dropped from the trees and ran toward us. I reached the shrine and ran inside after the others.

  We barely fit into the cramped space.

  I turned to the dwarf.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “Give it a minute,” he said.

  Outside the shrine, dozens of tree trolls paced back and forth in front of the opening. As the dwarf stood with his left hand holding the doorway, he turned.

  “Quick, let me join your party,” he said. “We may need to fight our way out of this.”

  I glanced from Sarah to Bernard and they both nodded their heads.

  “Everyone agreed?” I asked.

  “Can he heal or help us?” Josh asked while holding the blood-soaked sack over his wounded shoulder.

  “Hurry,” the dwarf said.

  Everyone accepted him into our group.

  [PC] Axelrod the dwarven fighter has joined your party.

  He smiled then ran a hand over the top of his mohawk.

  “Let’s get the Sword of Sands then get out of here before they call in some magical help to flush us from the shrine,” he said.

  “What sword?” I looked around the interior of the stone shrine. “There’s nothing here.”

  Axelrod pushed his way through to the back wall then pressed on a stone.

  “Watch out,” he said.

  Something clicked beneath us before the stones on the ground in the middle of the shrine rearranged themselves. I stared in amazement as a tunnel opened.

  “Climb down,” he said, smiling. “The sword and a few other baubles are on the bottom.”

  “We came looking for you,” I said.

  “Get down there,” Axelrod said. “I’ll explain more once we’re safe.”

  Evan went down the hole first. He yelled up that it was all clear after he made it. I waited for the others to climb down before following.

  The wailing tree trolls faded into the background as I climbed down at least a hundred feet under the forest floor. Axelrod followed me.

  When I reached the bottom, I glanced around at the well hewn cavern.

  “Did you make this place?” I asked as Axelrod got off the ladder.

  “Yes,” he said, smiling. “You dig it?”

  I nodded, still taking it in. Several tunnels led off into the darkness.

  Axelrod walked across the cavern to a pair of wooden bookcases. I followed, marveling at all the equipment on the shelves. He picked up a glowing sword and turned with it in his hand.

  “Are you willing to help me if I give this to you?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Josh said. “Eric’s already got a bitching sword.”

  Axelrod smiled.

  “Very well,” he said, handing it to Josh. “I’ve got other stuff to help us now that we’re in a group together. We’ll defeat the dragon easily.”

  As Josh accepted the sword, a notification popped up.

  Side Quest: Find the Sword of Sands Complete You get 10,000 xp divided by eight party members.

  You get 1,250 xp You have 41,634 xp You need 9,366 xp for level 8 Rogue

  “Our group’s getting big,” Sarah said.

  “We need to take on tougher mobs,” Bernard said.

  Axelrod nodded. “Like dragons.”

  He smiled then turned to the shelves of equipment.

  “I wasn’t sure if anyone would ever come, so I’ve been stocking up on a little bit of everything,” he added.

  “Can you identify this sword for me, Sarah?” Josh asked “Yeah,” she said. “Give it to me.”

  Ewen groaned then said, “Can we do this quickly? I’m not feeling well.”

  Axelrod frowned. “Don’t you guys carry healing magic with you?” he asked.

  “We ran out,” I said, “And Bernard forgot to charge his wand.”

  Axelrod snorted then shook his head.

  “Typical newbies,” he said. “The three of you are the new players, right?”

  I kept eye contact with him.

  “Yeah,” I said. “And we’re the ones getting out of this game.”

  The dwarf laughed again then ran a hand through his white mohawk.

  “We’ve got to defeat this black dragon first,” he said.

  “So many people think they’re getting out of here, but we’re stuck. Time to make the best of it. With the loot I’ve carefully prepared while waiting for you three to show up, we’ll make quick work of the black dragon and free all the dwarves. Once the dragon is defeated, all the dwarves will be able to repopulate the first few levels. The game will change when that happens. I guarantee it.”

  “How long have you been in the game?” Sarah asked.

  “Too long,” Axelrod said. “Time’s…gotten away from me.”

  “I know what you mean,” Bernard said.

  Axelrod nodded then continued speaking.

  “When Magi Inyontoo decided to erase dwarves from the game completely as a joke, I took it to heart. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to stop him.”

  “Just humans would make this game worse,” Sarah said. “It takes all kinds.”

  “Like brownies,” Evan said. “We spice it up in h
ere.”

  I smiled..

  “Do you remember how you got into the game?” Sheldon asked.

  “Prison,” Axelrod said. “Like most of the other players.”

  “Not me,” Sheldon said. “I’m one of the developers of the game.”

  “Do you know how to get out?” Axelrod asked.

  Our wizard and former attorney shook his head.

  “No,” Sheldon said. “Not yet anyway.”

  “We need to get back to the rangers’ station and heal everyone,” I said.

  Sarah nodded.

  “Finally,” Josh grumbled.

  “Not until we pack up all this loot,” Axelrod said. “It’ll help us on the way.”

  I turned to the bookshelves, wondering how we’d carry it all.

  “Don’t worry,” Axelrod said. “I’ve got a Sack of Stuff to carry it all. We need to load it, though. Anyone want to help?”

  “Ooh, me, pick me!” Evan said while jumping up and down.

  “Fine with me,” Axelrod said.

  Josh turned to Sarah.

  “Can you give me stats on the sword now, please?” he asked.

  She nodded with a smile. After waving her hands while still holding the sword, she took a deep breath then said, “Wow. This is powerful.”

  Evan grabbed a brown, wooden box off a shelf. Axelrod glanced over from where he was showing Evan how to properly pack the Sack of Stuff.

  “Thanks,” the dwarf said. “Took me forever to craft it up on level one-eight.”

  “What’s on level one-eight?” I asked.

  Everyone turned to the dwarf.

  “The main dwarven kingdom,” he said. “My home inside the game. I’ve been down here waiting for someone to help me kill this black dragon.”

  “Killing a dragon sounds fun,” Josh said as he took the sword from Sarah.

  “It won’t be easy.” Axelrod sighed. “We’ll need all the help we can get.”

  “Whoa,” Evan said, holding a glass globe.

  “Be careful, bozo!” Ewen yelled then rushed over.

  He toppled into his companion, sending the globe flying.

  Axelrod lunged for it, but he was too slow. It fell to the floor of the cave and shattered. Glass sprayed the area, some of it hitting Sheldon.

  “White wizard is about to die,” he said.

  “You have any healing, Axelrod?” I asked.

  “If these two bumbling brownies don’t break it first,” Axelrod grumbled.

  “Sorry,” Evan said, smiling and blinking his eyes.

  Axelrod pulled a set of antlers off a shelf.

  “It’s only got four charges left,” he said. “But that’s enough to heal everyone up before we get going.”

  “About time,” Josh said. “You don’t have to poke us with those, do you?”

  “Don’t be a baby,” Axelrod said.“That’s elf-talk.”

  Josh pulled the sack off his wound.

  “Gross,” Sarah said then turned her head away.

  Axelrod walked over to Josh and touched the tip of an antler to his wound. The spot glowed blue for a second before it magically healed. Josh smiled, nodding his head.

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” he said.

  While the dwarf healed Ewen and Sheldon, I turned to Sarah.

  “Josh’s new sword?” I asked. “Just curious.”

  “It’s plus five to damage with a plus twenty-five percent chance to hit,” she said. “When you get a critical strike, you slow your opponent for one to twenty minutes.”

  “Not bad,” I said.

  I didn’t have the heart to tell Josh that the FAST sword the Four Wizards had given me was much more powerful. He walked over to Sarah who handed him the sword.

  She gave me a knowing look as Josh examined his shiny new instrument of death, but she said nothing. I put my hand on the hilt of the powerful FAST sword.

  We didn’t know a lot about the Four Wizards, but they seemed harmless enough for high-level characters.

  Should I stop using their evil magic weapon?

  “Time to go,” Axelrod said. “I’ve got everything we’ll need in the Sack of Stuff.”

  “Can I carry it?” Evan begged. “Please?”

  “Leave him alone,” Sarah said. “Don’t be a whiner.”

  “Aw, man,” Evan said.

  I turned to Axelrod and said, “Lead the way.”

  He marched toward one of the tunnels leading out of the carefully carved cavern under the forest. I noticed strange glowing algae everywhere as I followed.

  After what seemed like an impossibly short amount of time, Axelrod stopped next to a rope ladder leading up. He smiled as if loving our surprised reaction.

  “We’re here already?” I asked.

  The dwarf nodded.

  “Magic,” he said. “We’ll heal up and leave for Westwood in the morning.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I said. “Maybe you should lead our party.”

  “I second it,” Josh said before I could laugh and play it off.

  “Wait, I didn’t mean…”

  “Good idea,” Bernard added.

  “I vote yes too,” Sarah said.

  “Great,” Axelrod said. “The last thing I wanted to do, lead a bunch of newbies into battle. I guess it’s for the best. Dwarves make excellent leaders.”

  “Brownies rule!” Evan shouted then stabbed the air.

  “It’s settled,” Sarah said. “We have a new leader.”

  “Our first mission is to kill the black dragon and free the rest of the dwarves,” Axelrod said. “You can decide what you want to do after we finish.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry about it,” the dwarf said and looked up. “Who’s first? The rope is magic. Don’t worry about it breaking.”

  “Hold on,” Bernard said. “What about the other magic items?”

  Axelrod cocked his head to the left. “What about them?”

  “Um,” Bernard said. “Can we have them now? Just in case?”

  Axelrod sighed.

  “Sure, sure,” he said then set the Sack of Stuff down.

  Everyone crowded around as he opened his bag of treats.

  “I’ve been planning this big move for a while,” he said. “I didn’t know who would show up, so I’ve been stocking items for any normal adventuring party.”

  “Did you craft all the items?” Sarah asked.

  Axelrod reached deep into the interdimensional bag.

  “Not all of them,” he said. “Only the cool ones.”

  He glanced up and winked at Sarah.

  “Aren’t you a warrior?” I asked.

  “You don’t know about multi-classing yet?” Axelrod shook his head. “They’re getting sloppy letting people into the game.”

  “We snuck in,” Josh said.

  Axelrod stopped rummaging around.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “It’s a long story,” I said. “My father helped develop the game. We snuck in to test it out and play around for a few minutes. I had no idea Tower of Gates is a prison.”

  “Wow…” Axelrod exhaled slowly. “That’s a lot to take in.”

  “Is that a mace?” Bernard asked.

  The dwarf smiled as he pulled out a shiny new mace made from black metal.

  “Yes,” he said. “It’s made of mythreal, the hardest known substance in the game—at least for now. The players on level one-nine are always creating new stuff.”

  He handed the mace to Bernard.

  “Is it magic?” Bernard held it up. “Feels light.”

  “Not magic, but it’s better than that piece of crap you had,” Axelrod said. “No offense.”

  Bernard smiled.

  “None taken,” he said.

  “What else?” Sarah asked. “Anything for me?”

  “The elven wizard,” Axelrod said. “Hold on a minute.”

  After digging in the sack, he pulled out a thick, oak staff.


  “My Staff of the Caverns will give you an additional ten mana for each of your character levels.” Axelrod smiled. “It’s stackable too.”

  “Nice,” Sarah said as she took it. “This will come in handy.”

  “We’ve got a black dragon to kill,” Axelrod said.

  “Can I have something?” Evan asked.

  “Sorry, little one,” Axelrod said. “No daggers.”

  “Aw, man,” Evan said then swiped his fist through the air.

  “Will all this be enough to kill a dragon?” Josh asked.

  I looked from the half-orc to the dwarf.

  “The dragon’s tough, but we’ve got a fighting chance,” Axelrod said. “We need to have a plan. I’ve only fought one dragon before and that was a while ago.”

  “Any other healing magic items?” I asked.

  “This and that,” Axelrod said. “We should get going.”

  “I’m first,” Evan yelled then dashed toward the rope ladder.

  He scrambled up, followed closely by Ewen who complained all the way.

  The rest of us climbed, one at a time, until we all stood above ground.

  “How did we get back to the edge of the forest so soon?” Evan asked.

  Axelrod smiled and winked again. “Magic, little one, dwarven magic. The best kind.”

  “Dragon magic is better,” Evan said. “I’m going to kill this dragon.”

  “We haven’t found it yet,” Sarah said.

  “I found it!” Evan shouted as he pointed up.

  He ran out of the woods and across the grass.

  “Wait,” Sarah yelled then chased after him.

  “That can’t be the black dragon,” Axelrod said, glancing up. “Only one way to find out.”

  I followed the others into the field north of the rangers’ station. High above, a dragon circled, blocking out the sun.

  Would our new magic items be enough to kill it?

  Or would we face certain death in battle?

  I took a deep breath, ready for anything.

  12

  Formerly Known as the Four

  Sarah

  I stared up at the sky as Eric and the others drew their weapons and prepared for a possible battle. I wondered if we could defeat such a powerful creature on our own. Were we ready?