“Again,” Silas said as Sarah missed the target. “Slow down this time, pull back smoothly, focus on your target, and let your breath out with the arrow.”
Sarah relaxed her shoulders and took the shot. This time the arrow hit the side of the target.
“Nice. OK keep going until you can’t,” Silas said as he walked away and took up his post again.
Sarah’s fingers were blistered and her back and shoulders were burning from her efforts, but the little win of hitting the target kept her going. She took frequent breaks to roll her shoulders and release the tension in her jaw. Silas was a good teacher but Sarah was finding the weapon harder to learn than she anticipated. She let the arrow go and watched as it hit the target, a little closer to the center than before.
Sarah walked to pick up her arrows and then sat down beside Silas. She was done with practice, her hands and arms felt numb from the effort she had put in.
“Is this one OK?” Sarah asked Silas.
“Is the shaft bent or the fletching uneven?”
Sarah inspected the arrow carefully. “Yes.”
“Then it needs work, put it aside for later,” Silas said as he glanced down.
Sarah sighed, she knew Silas would expect her to spend the night fixing or repairing all of the arrows. ‘A bowman is nothing without good arrows’, is what he would say repeatedly. She wasn’t sure who had taught Silas these skills, but he was taking the job of teaching her very seriously. No magic or puppy eyes were going to save her from the effort required to satisfy Silas. The good news was Sarah was learning the new skill of bowman and increasing her weapon maintenance and repair. Plus, all the effort had increased her strength.
A quick glance at her stats gave Sarah the encouragement that she needed. She was now a Level 3 bowman and her strength was up +1 since the last time she had looked. It had been well earned , she thought as she looked at her raw hands.
Sarah used her water healing to soothe her hands and shoulders. She stowed her arrows and handed the bow back to Silas. Sarah was happy that the other guards hadn’t given them too much trouble about her training.
The whistle blew to end the work day. Sarah stood beside Silas as everyone passed by, if anyone was hurt or injured she would heal them. It was mostly intended to convince the guards to let her practice but she couldn’t deny the gold panners. She wanted to help as much as she could.
“I heard there might be gorro for dinner tonight!” Betty said as Sarah joined the line back to camp.
Sarah raised an eyebrow, “Gorro?”
“Wait until you taste it. My friend, Ryan, makes the most amazing bacon and jerky from the meat,” Betty said excitedly.
“The more I hear about this guy, the more I want to meet him,” Sarah said with a smile.
“Hopefully soon,” Betty said as she looked around the area.
Daphne did the customary eye roll and Sarah did the usual remark.
“I’m sure they are coming.”
“I don’t know about your friends Betty, but someone is coming,” Daphne said quietly.
Daphne had continued to increase her hearing skill, her range was very impressive. Most of the time she used it to check for threats hiding in the woods but she also listened to the guards when they thought they were out of earshot.
“Who?” Betty wondered out loud.
“Big wigs. You better warn Silas, Sarah, sounds like big brother is coming for a not so friendly family visit.”
Sarah’s heart dropped. She hoped Silas wouldn’t get in trouble for being nice to them, or worse, be taken away. Sarah slowed down her stride until she dropped back to Silas. He was the rear guard so she knew that they could talk privately.
“Daphne says your brother is coming,” Sarah said, hoping it wasn’t true.
“Yes. I know,” Silas answered.
Sarah glanced at him; he didn’t seem worried.
“Don’t worry Sarah. My brother is a good person. I haven’t done anything wrong. Remember, your new contract says you can learn new skills.”
“Well, yeah but you know…” Sarah hesitated.
“Don’t worry about it. I can handle my brother, we are family. That is way more important than this game. I’m sure when we sit down to discuss things, we will agree,” Silas said with an encouraging smile.
“OK, just be careful.”
Sarah caught back up to Daphne and Betty. “Tell me more about this gorro meat,” Sarah said.
Betty started telling a story about the first time she had tried gorro meat. Even Daphne was beginning to get excited about dinner.
When dinner was served, it wasn’t gorro meat. It was boiled cabbage soup.
“What the…” Daphne said when she was handed her bowl. The cook looked ashamed and glanced towards the guards’ cabin.
“Sorry, but the boss is in town and didn’t agree with the menu items.”
“Well does he expect us to be strong enough to work? Good grief,” Daphne protested.
When the three girls sat down to eat, Daphne cocked her head to the side, “Shit. Don’t look now but our old friend Benton is back.”
“What? Where?” Betty and Sarah asked.
“I heard his name and his weaselly voice. Things are going downhill fast,” Daphne said as she tossed her soup out. “I lost my appetite.”
Sure enough Benton and another old guard, who was particularly mean, sauntered out of the cabin. They looked arrogant, which probably meant that they had been promoted. Sarah examined them.
Benton Level 8 guard
Victor Level 12 warrior
Sarah frowned as she saw Victor’s level. The guild was increasing the level of their guards. The question was why now?
“Where is Silas?” Sarah asked.
“In town,” Daphne said. “And, no, I can’t hear that far. I just overheard the dickheads talking about it.”
Sarah sat staring in the direction of the town. With Benton back would Silas be moved? Sarah realized that the idea of being anywhere without him affected her more than she expected. She shook her head; Silas wasn’t worried so she shouldn’t either.
Silas didn’t return before it was time for them to go to bed. Sarah laid awake for hours hoping to hear a knock on the door from Silas, but it never came. Eventually, Sarah fell asleep.
Sarah woke with a start, the cabin door banged open and Benton entered the still dark cabin banging a pot and kicking the bed frames.
“Get up you lazy, good-for-nothings, time to make some money!”
The gold panners in the room all rubbed their eyes and tried to get dressed quickly. It was a very different start compared to the day before when Silas had woken them up with a gentle knock and apples as they left the cabin.
As they exited the building, Benton told them all to use the washroom and line up. No breakfast today, they had a new site to pan. Everyone groaned, it was still dark and the wind was cold. Sarah looked around but there was no sign of Silas.
“Do you think he is OK?” Sarah asked Betty and Daphne.
“The better question is ‘are we going to be OK’?” Daphne mumbled as she tripped heading down the path.
Benton led the group past the areas that they had mined and farther away from the camp and the town. By the time the morning light started to light their way, they still hadn’t reached the site.
“By the time we get there, it will be time to go back,” grumbled Betty.
“Oh my God, look!” Sarah said.
In a small clearing up the stream were a group of people all tied together. They looked ragged and injured and scared. There were several guards standing watch over them. Sarah looked for Silas but didn’t see him. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved to know he wasn’t a part of it or if she was worried. She tried to hold back the tears and the sinking feeling in her stomach.
Benton addressed the two groups.
“New recruits, you will be paired with a seasoned gold panner. Your job is to learn gold panning and not drown or complain. Seasoned panners, your job is to teach the new recruit how to pan. Their success will determine whether or not you both get fed. Double the work force, double the quota. I suggest you get started.”
The guards tied each new recruit to a seasoned panner and pushed them into the creek with pans and bags for the gold. Sarah looked towards the guards as a small woman was tied to her waist. They all had higher levels than normal and their weapons were better than she had expected. There wouldn’t be any escaping against this group.
“Hi. My name is Sarah. What is yours?”
“Miriam.”
“Are you hurt Miriam? I could offer you some healing?”
“No. I’m fine, just boiling mad at these jerks.”
“What happened to you?” Sarah asked as they waded into the cold water.
“Me, and a couple of the others, were camping outside Cedar Springs. We were planning to meet a wagon train and do some trading. We all make an assortment of items, clothes, food, tools. We get good prices from the wagon trains because they are in between villages a lot. We were taken by surprise in the night. They took all of our goods and our weapons, tied us up and dragged us here. Most of us haven’t slept or ate. I don’t know where the others came from, they were brought in by different guards sometime in the night.”
“I’m so sorry,” Sarah said sincerely. “Here scoop up some sand and swirl it around.”
“What about you? How did you get in this situation?” Miriam asked.
“I signed a contract for the Black Wolf Guild. I thought I’d get to meet some players and level up my skills,” Sarah laughed. “And I did do that. But I am basically a slave here.”
Miriam shivered.
“Here let me warm the water for us and I will teach you how to pan,” Sarah said kindly.
“Do we have any chance of meeting this quota?” Miriam asked.
“Yes. I have a magic skill that lets me see where the gold is. It saves a whole lot of time and guess work.”
“Magic to see the gold and warm the water?” Miriam said with raised eyebrows. “I’m impressed.”
“Lot of good it will do us if we don’t meet quota,” Sarah said. She proceeded to teach Miriam how to copy her movements by swirling the water in the pan and letting the sand float out. Unfortunately, the area of the creek the guards had chosen wasn’t a good one. Despite Sarah’s ability to find gold, they weren’t having any luck, and neither was anybody else. When the whistle blew to come in for weighing, nobody in the group had managed more than a few flakes of gold.
Benton went into a rage. He kicked over the soup pot and denied everyone any more rest. He sent them back into the water, cold and hungry. The group spent several more hours moving up and down the creek, hoping for better luck.
“This is ridiculous. There is no gold here,” Sarah said to Miriam. “I’m going to go talk to the guards.”
“Which means, we are going to talk to the guards,” Miriam said as she reminded Sarah of the rope tied between them.
“Right, come on, it is worth a try,” Sarah said as she exited the water.
“Get back to work,” Benton yelled.
“There is no gold here. If you move us back to the other location further downstream, we will have better luck,” Sarah said calmly.
“No. You will get back in the water, and you will use those little hands of yours to pan some gold,” Benton threatened as he walked up to Sarah and Miriam.
“I can’t pan gold that isn’t here,” Sarah said with her chin held high.
“You know what. I think you’ve had it too easy lately. You’ve forgotten that you are here to do one job, find gold. Now get back in the creek and do your job!” Benton yelled.
Sarah rolled her eyes and turned back to the creek.
“Nope, not that part of the creek. That part!” Benton said as he pointed to the middle of the creek that was the deepest and fastest moving.
“How am I supposed to do that? It’s too deep for me.”
“I don’t know, but I think it's going to be really fun to watch you try,” Benton said with an evil smile.”
“I can’t swim,” Miriam said with panic in her voice. The anger that had fueled Miriam earlier was gone, replaced with fear.
“Not my problem,” Benton said as he pushed them towards the deep area.
The gold panners were looking nervously in the direction of Sarah and Miriam. Benton had pulled out his sword and kept poking Sarah’s back, pushing her towards the rushing water. Miriam was more willing to get poked in the back than get closer to the deep water.
“I wasn’t kidding. I can’t swim. I am fine up to my chest, but if I don’t have solid ground under my feet, I will drown,” Miriam warned Sarah.
“It’s OK. I think I can lower the water level,” Sarah whispered. She concentrated and began to disperse the water out wide. It was keeping the water at a level below their chest, but was draining Sarah’s mana fast.
“Enough of this game! Get in there and get some gold!” Benton landed a solid kick to Sarah’s back that threw her, and Miriam, forward into the creek. It was faster and deeper than Sarah expected, her feet lost all contact with the creek bed. Miriam was flaying and trying desperately to get her footing. Sarah felt herself being dragged underwater by Miriam’s weight. They were moving downstream but unable to find a foot or hand hold to bring themselves up. Miriam’s foot kicked against Sarah’s face and Sarah felt her nose break. She grabbed the rope tied between them and started pulling on it. If she could get close enough, she would be out of range of her feet. Suddenly, Miriam’s body hit something and Sarah was pushed into her by the force of the water. She crawled up the length of her body and tried to take a quick breath. She scrambled towards the edge of the creek. Finally, Sarah had pulled herself out enough to get her footing. She pulled on the rope and dragged Miriam onto the gravel ledge with her. Miriam came up coughing and sputtering. They were both cold, bruised and shaking in fear and anger.
Benton and the other guards were laughing. The other gold panners that tried to help them were threatened.
“All right, enough playing around you two, get back to work!” Benton turned his back and walked away. Sarah saw Daphne pick up a rock and pull her hand back. Sarah used the last of her mana to blast the rock out of her hand. Daphne looked towards her in frustration. Sarah shook her head; it wasn’t the right time for revenge.
Miriam was shaking. Sarah put an arm around her and helped her up. They stumbled back to a shallow area and tried to resume gold panning. Miriam was shaking so bad she couldn’t do anything.
“Don’t worry, there is no gold anyways. They will have to realize that and move us, just a little bit longer and they should take us back to camp,” Sarah said while trying to reassure Miriam. The woman was obviously suffering from exhaustion, shock and cold. Sarah looked around and saw that everyone in the water was just as miserable. Betty and Daphne seemed to have anger keeping them from being too disheartened by the situation.
“Come on, let’s move closer to my friends,” Sarah said as she lifted her chin towards the two girls. They moved closer and Sarah took a deep breath.
“Pick up on anything Daphne?” Sarah asked
“They’re trying to decide if they should punish us some more, even though it’s obvious this location sucks or if we should head back to camp,” Daphne whispered.
Sarah nodded. She hoped it would be the latter. A whistle blew and Benton waved everyone in from the water.
“Weigh in, people. Let’s hope you did better than last time,” Benton said as he set up the scale.
It only took a couple of the gold panners for Benton to start fuming. The results were even worse than the morning. Sarah held her breath as Miriam and her stepped up to the scale.
“Hey Puppy Eyes, did you have a nice swim?” Benton teased. “You’re usually a pretty good panner, what did you get today?”
Sarah had a bunch of things she wanted to say, but she simply passed her bag over and held her breath. Benton glared at her and nodded her and Miriam to the side. Sarah let out her breath in relief, she didn’t want to start another fight with him. When the weigh-ins were done, the whistle blew for them to move out. The exhausted and shivering workers shuffled along the trail with their heads held low. They hadn’t had anything to eat all day and were freezing cold. It took a couple hours to reach the camp. Everyone slumped to the ground outside the cabin and waited for orders.
“All of you can get out of my sight. Washroom line-up and then into the cabin. No gold, no food,” Benton said as he sauntered to the guards’ cabin.
“I hate him,” Betty said.
“I’m going to kill him,” Daphne added. “And whoever brought him back here too.”
Sarah helped Miriam to use the washroom and then they lined up in front of the cabin. The ropes were taken off them, and then they were pushed into the cabin by the guard. “You can have my bunk,” Sarah said as she helped Miriam lay down. As the others filtered in, the residents moved things around to accommodate the new recruits. Many had to share beds and any scraps of clothing they could find to clean and dry themselves. As night fell, Sarah had made a decision. She was sneaking out to get food. Many of the new recruits were suffering from exposure and stress, they would do much better with just a little food in their bellies.
“I’m going to get food,” Sarah whispered to Daphne and Betty.
“What? No, you are not,” Daphne said while Betty nodded her agreement with Daphne.
“I have to go, look at us. What chance do we have tomorrow without food? I'm really worried about Miriam,” Sarah whispered while looking over her shoulder at her new bunkmate. She hadn’t moved since they arrived.
“Sarah, we just have to get through the night. I’m sure we will get something to eat in the morning,” Betty said reassuringly.
“Besides the doors and windows are locked. We just need to sit tight and wait,” Daphne said with authority.
“I can get you out,” a voice whispered from behind the girls.
“What?” Daphne said as she turned. The man addressing them had come forward as he got their attention.
“I’m a carpenter. I can pull up some of these floorboards. She is small, she can crawl out under the cabin,” he said while he looked at Sarah.
“And what do you think will happen if she gets caught?” Daphne glared at him.
“I’m going. I’ve seen the cook bring out his supplies. I can get to it,” Sarah said confidently.
“I don’t like it,” Daphne said as she sat back against the wall.
Sarah moved closer to the carpenter. “What is your name?”
“Abraham.”
“Well, Abraham. Let’s get started.”
Sarah crawled around the cabin with Abraham. He was looking for a floorboard that could come up without making a lot of noise and give Sarah enough room to get out underneath.
“This is the one,” he said as he tapped the board.
Sarah nodded and waited while he used his work hardened fingers to pry up the nails.
“Never underestimate the value of a good callus,” Abraham said quietly to Sarah.
Sarah looked at the new calluses on her own hands, formed from the work with the bow, and thought of Silas. Where was he?
“Got it,” Abraham whispered. He stuck his head into the hole and looked around. “You will have to crawl on your belly, but you have enough space to get out.”
Sarah nodded and slid her feet into the hole before Daphne or Betty could talk her out of it. Once under the cabin, she took a few moments to concentrate her energy on stealth. She could see the legs and feet of the guard posted at the door. She angled herself towards the side of the cabin that was closest to the cook’s shanty. She pulled herself under the floor of the cabin until she could poke her head out and look around. It was dark and cold, the rest of the guards were in their cabin. Sarah could hear them talking and laughing. The cook had already cleaned up the guards’ dinner and probably gone to bed. The shanty was protected by a heavy curtain on the front. Inside she knew most of the supplies were stored in animal proof bins, hopefully unlocked. With so many guards and the miners watched so closely, Sarah was hoping the security was low on the actual food.
She pulled herself out from under the cabin and slowly moved towards the shanty. There was one patch of light she would have to cross through, so Sarah went further away to stay in the shadows. She moved silently through the trees until she came up behind the shanty.
Congratulations Adventurer you have increased your stealth +1.
Sarah smiled and steadied her breath. She slid along the outside wall until she could peek around the corner. She just had to slide in behind the curtain and she would be hidden. With one more look around, she tucked in behind the oily cloth and held her breath. It was dark, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the light. She was grateful for the nights she had practiced her night vision. She began fumbling around in the dark, using her fingers and nose to guide her to something they wouldn’t have to cook. Aha! Sarah thought as her hands found a basket of apples. She tucked them into her shirt and kept looking. Maybe some buns or dried meat? she thought as she looked into another basket. She could feel dried beans and a couple heads of cabbage but nothing else ready to eat. Frustrated Sarah started looking in the boxes at the back. There was flour, salt and lard but nothing to grab and go.
Suddenly the door of the guards’ cabin flung open and the light came under the oily curtain of the shanty. Sarah pulled herself into the corner and held her breath.
“Yea, I’ll see your bluff when I get back from the whizzer,” a voice laughed on his way to the toilets.
Sarah stayed very still as she listened to the guard empty himself and walk back towards the cabin.
“Hey Brin, grab me some of that jerky will ya? I’m still hungry,” the guard on the gold miners’ cabin said to the one heading back.
“Get it yourself, I have a big hand on the table,” the guard said.
“I’m on duty. Come on man, you're right there.”
Sarah gulped and tried to flatten herself into the corner to hide. There just wasn’t enough space for her, she hoped it would be dark enough to conceal her.
“You owe me,” the annoyed guard said as he turned to walk to the shanty. He slid the curtain back and looked inside.
“Where is it?” he said over his shoulder.
“I don’t know. Did we eat it all? Just grab me something.”
Sarah closed her eyes and held her breath. She could sense the guard’s frustration, the same that she had, of not finding anything ‘ready to eat’.
“There is nothing in here,” the guard said as he banged a lid down. “You’re going to have to go hungry.”
The curtain fell back as the guard left. Sarah was sweating despite the cold and laughed quietly to herself as she got a new notification.
Congratulations Adventurer you have unlocked a new ability. Shadow Walker. +5 to stealth when hidden in shadows.
Sarah waited until her breathing returned to normal. She hadn’t found much, but at least she had some apples. Sarah was just about to leave when she had an idea. She grabbed a big handful of beans and tied them into her shirt. Now, she just had to get back into the cabin undetected. She peeked out from behind the curtain. The guard was still in place but wasn't looking in Sarah’s direction. She moved slowly out of the shanty and back towards the forest so she could weave her way back to the cabin.
Sarah had made it! She crawled back under the cabin and wiggled her way to where the floorboard was removed. When she poked her head up Daphne was the first to greet her.
“How on earth did the guard not see you?”
Sarah should have known that Daphne would have been able to hear it all.
“It was dark inside and I was able to hide,” Sarah smiled. Now that she was safely back, the rush of the incident really hit her. She had done it! She had snuck out without getting caught. Maybe we should try to escape? she thought to herself. “I didn’t get much. A few apples and some dried beans.”
“I’m just glad you’re back safe,” Betty said.
“Hand me that bucket, I will heat up the water with my magic and cook the beans,” Sarah said. “How is Miriam?” Sarah asked Daphne as she added the beans to the water.
“Quiet. I think she will come around, that scare in the creek really hit her hard,” Daphne said quietly.
Sarah had to concentrate to boil the water for the beans, but her mana had increased and she was able to control the temperature quite easily. It wasn’t long before the beans had softened and they could be passed around. Everyone got a few mouthfuls and a piece of apple. It wasn’t much, but it would make them all a little more comfortable for sleep. Sarah made sure Miriam was warm and then curled up at the end of the bunk to rest.
Everyone had slept fitfully throughout the night. Most were sharing bunks or curled up on the floor and it made it difficult to get any rest. Sarah noticed that Abraham had somehow managed to sleep upright against the wall. The residents of the cabin were just waking to the early morning light when Benton slammed open the door and yelled at them all to get out. They lined up and filed out.
Sarah walked behind Miriam and in front of Daphne. She didn’t notice the new group of recruits until Daphne put a hand on her shoulder. Sarah looked up and was shocked to see a group of people tied together at the corner of the camp. She wasn’t sure but one looked like Silas. It couldn’t be , Sarah thought.
Benton instructed everyone to line up for the washrooms and introduced the new people.
“Some more hands to help with the gold panning today. Hopefully you will do better than yesterday. Seasoned workers will once again be responsible for teaching anyone new. You might recognize this guy, Silas was a guard here. This is what happens when you don’t follow the guild rules. We do not tolerate anyone who does not honor their contracts. Let this be a lesson to you all. Do what you are told and you will be treated fairly. Simple. Now eat up. I don’t want any excuses for not meeting quotas today.”
Benton walked away to get the food prepared for the guards. Silas and the others were pushed over to the other gold panners in the lines. After the washrooms everyone was handed a small cup of cooked oats with salt. Sarah sat down close to Silas.
“What happened?” she whispered.
“Hey Sarah, I’ll explain in a minute. First, this is my brother Otto.”
“Hello Otto,” Sarah said coolly. Otto was the brother who belonged to the guild and part of the reason she was a prisoner. However, she noticed they both had terrible bruises on their arms and faces, and her resolve to dislike Otto collapsed. “Are you guys OK? Do you need some healing?”
“No. Thanks. I don’t want to get you in trouble for talking to me but I want you to know that we tried to talk to the guild leaders about the treatment of players. It didn’t go well, obviously,” Silas said under his breath.
“What jerks,” Sarah said.
“I’m going to kill Benton and then the leaders. Hi Silas, by the way,” Daphne said with her head down.
“I appreciate your enthusiasm Daphne, but we don’t have much power or opportunity right now. Let’s let them see us doing our job so they relax their watch. We will come up with a plan soon,” Silas said as he stood up.
Betty walked over. “Don’t worry guys, my friends will be here soon. I know it.”
Otto looked at Betty. “Your friends?”
“Yes, my friends are coming to rescue me,” Betty said with her chin held high.
Sarah smiled. Betty was so confident in the fact that her friends were coming it was hard not to get her hopes up that it was true.
“Your friends might be closer than you think,” Otto said. “Is it a crazy old lady who likes to throw daggers?”
Sarah shook her head. “No, that doesn’t sound like them.”
“What about an owlbear? Do your friends have an owlbear?” Silas said.
Betty grinned. “Hedwig. I’ve heard about him. How did you know?”
Silas laughed. “Your friends have been causing all sorts of headaches for the guild. Not as bad as the crazy old lady, but still enough. If they are coming for you it is going to be interesting. We’ll have to be ready to help them when the time comes.”
“Shh. Benton is paying attention to us now,” Daphne said.
Benton blew the whistle and shouted at everyone to line up. He led them out towards the creek. Sarah noticed that they had put more guards on duty. They had a bigger group of gold panners so it made sense that there would be more guards but Sarah was pretty sure it had more to do with Silas being a prisoner now. They had obviously wanted to make an example out of him and shame him by making him a prisoner in the same group he had been a guard for. Sarah felt they were taking a big risk and underestimating Silas and his brother. But, she was glad for it. Just knowing he was safe and close, made her smile. That and the knowledge that Betty’s friends were actually coming to help. Maybe her time as a prisoner was finally coming to an end.