Dungeon Stock, Part Two
Dungeon Stock, Part Two
A couple of hours later and the goblin beside me is weeping but trying to be quiet about it because the hunters are approaching.
I can tell from the cadence of the sobs that the goblin is probably my friend Singh, so I hazard a guess by whispering the name to him. The goblin looks up. "How...?" A few gulps to get some control. "How did you know it was me? Who are you?"
I nod at him. "Its Graeme. You know, spelled without the "h"." I grin, or at least try to grin; being a goblin, smiling isn't exactly something one is predisposed.
"Graeme! Oh, but it is so good to talk to someone I know! You think we can find a place to hide for awhile?" Singh starts rubbing his eyes to clear the tears. "Sorry about that... it's just... I get frazzled... "
"I know. We all do. Let's go." Sounds of footsteps getting louder echoed up from the stone hallway. "Let's really go now. I have a thirty minute pass I can share, wanna take a break?"
It was like I was offering a priest a chance to kiss Jesus' feet, Singh was so appreciative. "Yes! By God, yes, any moment away from here is blessed relief!"
"Okay. Hang on." I break the card and hand one piece to Singh. After a few seconds, each card piece glows a brilliant blue and the cold wet stone hallway around us disappears and is replaced by the bland grey of the game server's breakroom.
Only a few others are in the large area filled with cafeteria tables, so Singh and I grab a seat near the food dispensers. After getting the requisite cups of coffee and snacks, we sit down. Now we're wearing our normal human forms and Singh is right, it is a blessed relief.
I take a sip of my coffee; I take it triple-triple, maybe not very manly, but there you go. One benefit is, in the game the coffee tastes great. "So tell me about it? Bad day?"
Singh is holding his cup with both hands and I notice they're trembling. "Bad, yes, Graeme. Five."
"Ouch. Jesus Christ." I wince. All anyone has to say in this goddamn place is the number, the number of times they're been killed in the day. "Five. Couldn't you find any good places to hide?"
Singh nodded. "I tried all the good places, but today there were a lot of veterans on, I guess they know all the places. First three times was by sword, which hurt like hell of course, forth one was a quick beheading which wasn't that bad considering, but the fifth was a damn fireball, and you know fire is the worse here."
"Yeah. The bastards. They made fire hurt the worse. They sure got pain right in this goddamn game."
Singh barks a bitter laugh. "Game. Nothing that has so much pain in it can be called a game, my friend." He looks up at me with dark, hopeless eyes. "I think they're making the pain worse. Have you noticed anything like that?"
I'm afraid to agree with Singh, because I think he is right.