Chapter 8

David had been distracted all day. He hadn’t made much headway trying to figure out what he would do about the challenge posed by NPCs forming the Whores Guild to protect themselves from immortals. Part of him felt that if he were truly a good person he would just walk away. But the challenge and intensity of the game appealed to him. And a larger part of him thought that there needed to be a way for humans to explore the dark things within them: to let them out, to understand them, not to hide in shame.

When David got home, there were a couple of messages from someone at the Phoenix Rising marketing department. He wondered if he were talking to an AI or a human. What would it be like to work for an AI, especially one of the Phoenix AIs. He wondered if AIs that created and destroyed thousands of NPCs on a regular basis would truly have empathy for their human employees. That wasn’t the right attitude for a business negotiation. So, before considering the messages, David took a few minutes to calm down and try to put aside his concerns about the plight of the NPCs.

The marketing associate, who made it clear that he didn’t know about David’s personal details but only his character, followed up on his conversation with Atlanta.Energy and offered to host a stream channel for Ariel. It was a good deal and they promised to provide advertisers who did not judge what she did in game. He accepted.

In a fit of bravery or stupidity—he wasn’t sure which—he posted the scene of Hulda eating out Ariel. Even if he walked away from the experience, Ariel would get her moment on the world’s stage.

Then, David logged in. The flames were licking at his feet when his login was interrupted. He had to accept a new privacy policy which allowed for immortal Whores to record activities with their clients. Wow, the AIs hadn’t been kidding. Ariel was responsible for a change that affected every player in the entire world. He accepted the new privacy policy and the flames rose and engulfed David.

Ariel wasn’t sure whether she was going to join the Whores Guild. But to even keep the option open, she needed to go earn some money now.

She appeared in the common room of the Roasted Pig.

She made her way to one of the popular inns for people closer to her level. The Pig tended to attract a higher-level crowd with at least a slightly tarnished respectability. The Pig also seemed to be more focused on good food and celebration. She’d never seen the Browns playing matchmaker for adventurers.

This inn, in contrast, was almost all immortals. She slipped a few coppers to the barkeep and asked if he knew of any parties around her level looking to pick up a rogue with a bit of magic.

“Aye, turns out. Strider96’s group there might could use ya.”

She wondered over to the indicated group drinking around a small table. “Strider96?”

“Yes?” Strider was tall and wiry, dressed in leather armor. Five immortals stood around the table. There were two women and three men. There were two obvious fighters (one male, one female), carrying swords and in similar chain vests. She couldn’t identify the class of the rest.

“Are you looking for a sixth?”

“Perhaps. We’re going to spend a turn in the contested mines, and six would be better than five. What do you bring?”

Ariel flicked through her interface. The group seemed to be a couple of levels ahead of her, except for Brynna, who was level 10. “Are these your highest level characters, or just alts you’re working up?”

“I think we’re all on first characters,” Strider96 said. He gathered nods from the rest of the group.

“Then the biggest thing I bring is advice. Ran a level 30 tank on some big raids.” Ariel didn’t know if the fighters in the group were more focused on dealing damage or blocking. At their level it probably didn’t make much difference. They were probably technically warriors, just like David’s tank, but they might end up with a different focus at higher levels.

“It’s my group. Not really looking for someone else to jump in and tell us what to do.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. For one thing I don’t know you well enough yet. For another, I get that you’ve been playing together. But I bet I can help.”

“Okay, but what else ya got?”

“Level 7 rogue (although I do not have the class) with some water magic. I’ve got reasonable stealth and Back Stab. Skill with a knife has advanced a bit, and I know Ice Shard.”

“Which of you is less likely to notice stealth?” Strider motioned to the two fighters.

“Theo, especially if I’m talking to him,” the female said. Ariel’s interface identified her as Gabrielle. Theo nodded and smiled.

“OK, you wander off and see if you can get a hit on him without him noticing. Not so much as Brynna needs to fix him up”—he pointed at the tall redhead—”so we can save her heals for the quest.”

“What are the contested mines anyway?”

“A mine set up by folks from Berg’s Keep, although apparently not governed by the city. They’ve only got part of it locked down. There are entrances near the nearby gnoll village, and somehow goblins are getting in.

“They hire groups to either stand watch or go hunting beyond the controlled areas. You get a choke point to defend and a couple of time windows where you can venture out into the contested space.”

That sounded just like what she needed. With a group of six, goblins shouldn’t be much trouble. One or two gnolls wouldn’t be bad. If they found a mob of gnolls, they would be retreating to the choke point.

“Sounds good. We’ll see if I pass your test,” Ariel said. She waved and wandered off.

Slowly, she started sneaking towards Theo. There’s no way she could avoid the notice of everyone in a room this crowded. However, unless someone pointed her out to Theo, unrelated parties noticing her shouldn’t chance her exposure to him too much.

She had crept up behind him. It looked like none of the group had noticed. She’d been waiting for a minute.

“Wow, the Ariel chick must of just given up.”

“Seemed kind of low level,” said Uri, one of the ones she had not been introduced to.

She reached forward and tapped Theo on the side of his neck with her knife. “But I’m effective enough,” she said.

Uri and Strider jumped. “That was good,” Gabrielle said, “I only saw you when you brought out the knife.”

“You are looking right at him,” Ariel said.

“Fair enough. I think she passed the test.”

Strider96’s eyes raised in confusion as he looked at Gabrielle. He shrugged and nodded. “I guess so. So you want to come with us to the mines?”

“I’d like to know a bit more about your team,” Ariel said.

“I’m Strider96. Ranger of course given that name. I’ll mostly be using a crossbow on this trip.

“You probably guessed Brynna is our healer. She’s level 10 with most of her skill in life magic. Uri is also a mage, most of his skill in elemental fire. He has Fire Bolt which is ranged, so almost all of what he does is ranged attacks.

“Gabrielle and Theo are relatively new. They’ve been playing a bit more than a week. Uri got them excited about the game. But they’ve spent all their skill points on sword. They’re good for their level.”

Gabrielle coughed. “Okay, not all on sword, but we don’t need to get into that now,” Strider96 said.

“I think this could be fun.”

Soon, the adventurers headed out.

“I’m trying to build up stealth as much as I can. Can I try and follow you stealthed? Perhaps you could let me know if you notice me?”

“Sounds fun,” Gabrielle said.

“Not really, more like a grind, but it will be worth it for me.”

Until they got to the woods, Ariel didn’t have much luck. She was constantly being spotted. There was no surprise in that: there was little in the way of cover. Stealth became almost magical at high enough levels. At beginner levels, stealth was more about knowing how to move and how to take advantage of cover.

Once she got to the woods, things got much better and she managed to keep the party in sight, only being spotted once or twice. Gabrielle and Theo were clearly a couple. As Strider pointed out, they seemed new, both to this game, but perhaps to gaming in general. It wasn’t anything specific that gave that away, but a combination of a number of factors. They seemed uncomfortable with how their mail fit. They were wide eyed and excited like this was all new. Theo at least was not attentive and might be an easy target for an ambush.

The team was enjoying themselves as they walked towards the mines. Ariel had just decided that she would stop working on stealth and try to get to know them a bit better when Uri spotted her. “Got you!”

Ariel jogged to catch up. “Thanks for the practice. With people actively looking for you, you’ll level the skill faster.”

“No problem. You seem more effective than I thought you’d be for level 7.”

“We’ll see. I’d like to get stealth up and my health up a bit. Now, if I get spotted sneaking up on someone, I can be on my own without the health to survive being mobbed.”

Ariel continued, “So, how long have you known each other?”

“I know Gabrielle and Theo IRL. The rest I’ve known online for a couple of years. Strider, Brynna and I decided to start playing here because wow, this world is cool.”

“And how did you drag the two fighters in?”

“They were really excited about some of the game features. They are apart because of Theo’s job, and it’s a way they can connect.”

Theo burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he had to stop walking. “You can tell her.”

“I don’t know if you know,” Uri said, “but you can turn on sex in the game. It’s very realistic.”

“I had heard,” Ariel said. She was proud of her bland expression.

“Well, when he told us that,” Gabrielle said, “we just had to play. Getting together after facing the stress of risking our lives fighting monsters is like nothing else. And it gives us a chance to be intimate even though we cannot get together out in the real world.”

That was going to be interesting. She hadn’t considered how being in a stressful situation with a group would affect bonding. “So, you get turned on fighting monsters?”

“Just like when people do dangerous stuff together in the real world,” Theo said. “Sometimes you want to fuck after. I think they may turn it up a bit high in the game; I doubt the urge to find someone after is as strong in the real world. But then again, I’ve never risked my life like this.”

“Theo’s right,” Gabrielle said, “some groups even hire a whore—this game even has prostitutes—to go adventuring with them so that after they can ... have fun.”

Now that was interesting. Ariel couldn’t see Hulda doing that, but perhaps she just didn’t know what her friend was capable of. Also it sounded like there were multiple approaches to whoring.

“So how did the two of you get sword proficiency this early?” Ariel asked.

“Is that hard?”

“Yes.” Strider96 and Ariel spoke almost at the same time.

“None of us wanted to be fighters,” he said. “We had a couple of gold and you can get started as early as level 2 at the warriors guild if you have that kind of money.”

“Wow, we didn’t realize that was unusual,” Theo said. “We then took sword for the level 3 and 6 skill boosts.”

“And they’ve been doing nothing but fighting with their swords,” Strider96 said.

“And fucking,” Uri stage whispered.

“Beginner 3, Baby!” Gabrielle said.

Ariel’s face lit up. “Beginner 3 sword at level 7?”

Gabrielle blushed. “I meant Fucking, but yeah Sword too.”

“Wait, two Beginner 3 skills has got to be more than level 7,” Ariel said.

“You can’t level from fucking,” Strider said.

“I did.” Ariel turned red. “I mean not from fucking, but you know ... from stuff like that.”

“Oh, you play with sex?” Theo asked. He drank in Ariel’s form with his eyes. Gabrielle punched him in the arm. Ariel nodded.

“Strider’s wrong though. I leveled from fucking. I mean I stick my sword in the monster,” Theo said, “and I level. I stick my sword in her warm wet ... I stick it there and level too.”

“Then how come you’re only level 7?” Ariel asked.

“I think we only leveled once from fucking.”

“Perhaps it’s like sparring. You can only get so much experience from the same partner,” Brynna chimed in.

“So, if they ... with other people?”

“Mmm, yeah, you should try that,” Uri said.

“So you can level up Voyeur?” Theo said laughing. Uri licked his lips.

“Okay! Enough kidding around. Mines are ahead.” Strider96 said.

They approached the mine entrance. They were stopped by a human wearing a mining helmet and rough leather work clothes. A dwarf stood behind him. Strider negotiated with the miner.

After a few minutes they were motioned ahead.

Ariel received an invitation to a party and a shared quest.

“We’ve been given our spot.” Strider highlighted it on a map of the mine. “We have space to rest between battles and a choke point that we need to defend. Two of us should be able to hold it long enough for anyone who is being healed or recovering”—he winked at the fighters—”to come forward. We trade off with the next group when we want to go cull the invaders. We wander out into the unclaimed section and they hold this point here. When we’re out, we retreat and again hold this point.”

“So, if we or they get overwhelmed and the enemy holds that point and cuts us off from behind, then we ... do what?” Ariel asked.

“Wipe.” Strider laughed. “Seriously, don’t let that happen, because we probably do wipe. Bind to the graveyard here in case that happens, but please try to avoid it.” Ariel hoped the other group was good. She wasn’t looking forward to losing experience dying.

“Any other questions?” There were none, so the adventurers went to claim their spot. Since they were fresh, they would get a chance to venture forth into the unclaimed section immediately.

Ariel and Strider96 went forward to scout. The love fighters held the choke point with Uri and Brynna in reserve.

Since Ariel was part of the party, people could track her on the map, even if they might not see her when stealthed. At least it should work that way in a low-level dungeon if she didn’t venture too far.

Ariel spoke into group chat.

Ariel: <Better Move up the party so we don’t get separated at one of these forks.>

Strider96: <I was about to say that.>

The party moved up and the scouts moved forward. Ariel skulked around the corner. <Three goblins, marked on the map. I’m going to try and get behind the furthest.>

Strider96: <Uri, you and I take the other two.>

Ariel counted into chat. At her mark, she slid her knife into the goblin’s back, warm blood spilling across her hands as she achieved a perfect back stab. Uri was also successful; two fire bolts made short work of his goblin. Strider96 made noise pulling back his crossbow. Even so, one goblin was no match for six adventurers.

The party continued to move forward. Ariel peaked around a corner and froze in fear. <Seven gnolls, all at least level 10.>

Gabrielle: <Oh, fuck!>

Strider96: <have they seen you?>

Ariel: <Not yet. I’m hugged against the wall. But fuck, they’re coming this way.>

The group was still in scouting formation with Strider96 forward of the fighters. Once the gnolls came fully around the bend, the party would be in sight. Strider moved to join Uri at the back.

Strider96: <Fighters forward. Ariel, hang back and follow behind them.>

Ariel: <That’s not gonna work.>

The front gnoll had just spotted Gabrielle and Theo. Ariel cast Ice Shard on a gnoll in the middle of the line. She was engaged. Her knife against the gnoll’s claws; the jaguar all over again. Except rather than one animal mauling her at close range, she was about to be engaged by multiple opponents.

Thanks to a lucky slice, her current opponent was down and bleeding. She ran.

“Behind,” one of the gnolls shouted, warning the front line of Ariel’s approach. The front line had drawn weapons to engage with Gabrielle and Theo. A large male turned and skewered Ariel. She was down, clutching herself, trying to keep more of her insides from falling out. This hurt! The gnoll swung to finish her off, but Theo was there blocking.

Ariel: <Heal?>

Brynna gestured and Ariel felt the rush of her healing. That was better; things were no longer spilling out of her abdomen. She turned to face the gnolls, standing with Theo between her and Gabrielle. Her knife was shorter than their swords, but Ice Shard had the reach.

Bolts—fire and crossbow— flew over head. “Why are you mixing targets?” Ariel shouted.

“Spreads the damage,” Strider said.

Yes, exactly, spreads the damage so we have to face more opponents longer. Ariel would face-palm but she was too busy trying to hold back the front gnolls. <Concentrate fire and you give us room to retreat.>

Uri and Strider got the message. The next shots hit the gnoll Gabrielle had been fighting. Soon that gnoll was down.

A fresh gnoll stepped forward. Gabrielle missed her footing on the blood and viscera, and the gnoll was on her. She screamed and was down. Theo jumped to her aid, leaving Ariel to fend for herself. Fortunately, with another ice shard, the gnoll she faced was down. She stepped to her right and joined with the gnoll Theo had weakened before helping Gabrielle.

Another gnoll came forward, but took the space Ariel had opened to run past her and threaten their back line, preventing Uri and Strider from assisting Ariel and Theo.