Sarah watched as Silas and Otto were led away with some of the other captives. They were being taken to the mine. Silas turned around to look at her and Sarah gave a little wave as tears rolled down her face.
“Jesus Sarah, your eyes are so big and pathetic, I can hardly stand to look at you,” Daphne said as she gave her a nudge.
“I’m sorry. I am just so sad. He just got back and now he is gone again,” Sarah said as she wiped the tears away.
“Well, we have a plan. And you won’t be any good to us if you aren’t focused. So dry your tears and get your head in the game. Silas is counting on you,” Daphne said as she handed Sarah her bag.
“Right. I know, thanks,” Sarah said as she smiled at Betty and Daphne. Miriam stood behind them waiting patiently. They were still on the gold panning crew. It had been a hard time. The guards were mean and the food was terrible and scarce. The only thing keeping everyone going was the info that Silas had told them. Two groups were out to take down or at least weaken the Black Wolf Guild and if or when they showed up, they would be ready to fight.
Sarah lined up with the others and followed the lead guard to the creek. At least they had been moved back to where she could meet quotas. She made sure that she and her friends could keep the weigh-in guards satisfied. It didn’t earn them any special privileges but at least they weren’t being punished.
Their nights had been spent planning weapons for the gold panners. Daphne made sure that her and a couple other gold panners, who had good arms, had piles of rocks nearby. Betty and her panners had sticks and logs stashed in various locations for fighting back. Sarah was planning to use her water attacks and heal those around her so they could keep fighting when injured. Betty had also been teaching the gold panners martial arts moves to get weapons away from an attacker. Some had experience with weapons and they would try to find an attacker that they could unarm and then fight. It wasn’t a perfect plan and Sarah wished she could have access to the elven bow that Silas had trained her with, but unfortunately all of his weapons had been taken from him when he was made a prisoner. They didn’t have much to work with but Sarah was happy that at least they weren’t alone. All of the prisoners were desperate to escape. Since Silas’s return there had been more and more guild members in camp. Daphne had heard them talking about the players losing levels because of the attacks on them. It wasn’t much, but the weaker the players got, the better chance the prisoners had of defending themselves.
Sarah sighed. It was a matter of waiting for an opportunity now. She waded into the water and started using her hand signals to tell everyone where the best gold was. Then she covered for Daphne and Betty as they made sure their weapon stashes were in place.
Once everyone had settled into their tasks, Sarah looked around. There were twenty gold panners in the water. Sarah mentally checked off their names and what weapons they preferred or had experience with. Then she looked to the shore. She was familiar with a few of the guards, like Benton, but most had only arrived recently. She used her Examine Skill and counted 5 guards that were Level 10 or higher, 4 that were Level 7 and higher and only another 5 that were low enough to take any damage from her or the other prisoners. Sarah sighed. They didn’t have much of a chance unless they could get their hands on some weapons. Sarah took inventory of the weapons she could see. There were at least two bows that looked small enough for her to use, but the rest were way too big. Abraham had confirmed that if he could get his hands on axes or swords, he had three other prisoners who could use them proficiently. Sarah was happy to see that a couple of the lower-level guards had those weapons. Good, she thought. Daphne and Betty would target them first in an attempt to give Abraham a chance at the weapons.
The morning passed slowly and as much as Sarah knew she needed to stay vigilant, she found herself wondering how Silas was doing in the mine. She shivered at the thought of him and the other miners stuck in the dark, under the weight of the mountain. She was glad she was outside in the fresh air. She moved herself farther upstream to where she had a good spot for panning. She wanted to make sure they had enough to share amongst the group before weighing in time.
Daphne threw a rock to get Sarah’s attention. She turned and saw Daphne cocking her head to the forest with her eyebrows raised. Sarah didn’t know what she was hearing but saw the tension in Daphne’s body and knew something was about to happen. Daphne gave the signal to move towards their weapons just as something burst out of the forest. Sarah heard the guards shout as they moved into a defensive position. Sarah strained to see over the bank but she was too far upstream to have a clear view of the area. She looked to Daphne and Betty but they had raced to their weapons and were handing them out to the gold panners. Sarah knew her role was to stay out of sight until she was needed so she could use her magic and healing, but she was curious as to what was causing all the chaos. She could hear the screams and shouts of the guards. A body flew into the air and landed not far from Sarah. Whatever was down there was big and strong. Sarah stayed down and watched as Daphne and her crew threw rocks. Sarah could hear the rocks making contact with their targets. Abraham rushed forward out to the creek. Sarah stayed close to the tall bank and crept downstream towards the fighting. She peeked around a bush and saw that Abraham had been right. He had taken a sword off a fallen guard and was using it to fight the lower-level guards. Yes! Sarah thought as the guard went down. Abraham grabbed his sword and the axe off his belt and tossed them at the gold panners waiting in the creek. Betty and her crew were also out of the water and fighting against swords. Sarah cringed as one of the girls took a slash to the leg. Sarah’s first instinct was to heal her, but they had all agreed to save her magic for mortal wounds only.
The fighting shifted and Sarah got her first glimpse of the creature. It was a combination of an owl and a bear. It stood as tall as some of the biggest guards. It seemed to be drawing most of the fire from the guards but not taking much damage. Sarah used Examine on the creature.
Wherever this creature had come from, Sarah was glad of it. The beast was allowing the gold panners enough time to get some weapons and find a defensive position. Sarah surveyed the scene in front of her. Several of the guards had been wounded and at least one was down and not moving. Out of the forest came more guards, being chased by a strange collection of players. Sarah stayed down and watched as two elven players came forward, the purple woman had a bow and was targeting guards. The elven man was firing off spears into the guards with shocking accuracy. To the left was a smaller elven boy dressed in rags and using a strange whip and stick to battle. Sarah shook her head in wonder. She heard Betty yell in her excitement of their arrival.
“Yes! I knew you would come!”
Sarah realized that finally Betty’s friends had arrived but who were these other people? An older woman dressed in leathers and covered in bandoliers with knives came flying out of the woods and was looking around in desperation. Sarah stood up in shock, “Grandma Jean?”
…
Jean had been impatiently waiting for their group to move out. The sun had been up for a couple hours and she didn’t like the delay. They had been asked to wait for Ryan to scout the mine.
“Here they come,” Randy said.
“Bout time,” Jean muttered.
Ryan, Dawn and Hedwig approached Jean, Randy and Elm.
“The prisoners were taken to the mine. There are at least fifteen guards on the gold panners and four scouts in the trees. We need to take them out first before we move into the mine. We believe the mine has at least thirty prisoners and about half that as guards. We will be outnumbered but I think we have a good chance. The villagers have offered to help, but they are mostly NPC’s and I don’t feel comfortable with them risking their lives. Is everyone in agreement to go in without them?” Ryan asked.
Jean was impressed. As much as she hadn’t liked the delay, the intel was solid and Jean liked the fact that they didn’t want to risk lives. She glanced at Elm and raised her eyebrows.
“If I get my mine claim back, it will be worth it,” he said quietly.
She nodded. She would do her best to keep him safe. She patted her bag of holding, reassured by the new vials of healing potion Randy and her had made early that morning.
“Hedwig will be our tank. He will go in to draw fire. Dawn will use her long-range attacks and then we go in to clean up. One forest guard for each of us before we arrive at the creek battle area. After that we will regroup before taking on the mine. Agreed?” Ryan asked with a smile.
“Agreed,” Randy and Jean said at the same time.
“Jinx,” Randy said to Jean.
She rolled her eyes and gave him a slap to the back of the head. Randy chuckled and followed Dawn and Ryan towards the mine.
They spread out, letting Hedwig move silently through the woods and past the scouts. Jean was very impressed how the large creature could be so quiet and well blended into the forest. She moved as quietly as possible until she caught sight of the scout. Jesus, she thought to herself as she sized up the man. He was easily seven feet tall with armor covering him from head to toe. Jean looked carefully for a spot that she could target but all she could find was his eyes. Eyes it is then , Jean thought as she brought her smallest throwing knife up. She snapped a branch to make him look in her direction and then let her knife fly. Bullseye! Jean followed the throw with a torpedo to his armpit as he raised his hand in defense. The torpedo knife found the opening in the armor and sank deeply into the man’s under arm. Jean winced, after experiencing the arrow in her back, she could only imagine the feeling she was inflicting on the unsuspecting scout. But Jean didn’t have time to worry about it. She was moments away from finding Sarah and she wouldn’t let anything stop her. She pulled her knives out of the scout, wiped off the blood and took off through the woods. Ryan had told them all to wait for Hedwig to draw their attention before they showed themselves. Jean had not worked with Hedwig before but she had witnessed what he could do, the beast was an impressive ally in battle. She could see the clearing up ahead, it looked like Hedwig was already there throwing bodies into the air and causing all kinds of chaos. Jean scanned the creek and saw a variety of races and genders but nobody who matched Sarah’s character. Jean saw some of the gold panners taking advantage of the distraction Hedwig was causing. Some were throwing rocks and others were using sticks to defend themselves and trying to get weapons. Jean was impressed, they must have had enough time and foresight to prepare themselves.
Arrows started raining down on the guards letting Jean know that Dawn must have arrived and found a good position. She looked farther down to make sure Randy had got past his scout OK and was happy to see him pulling his whip out and getting the attention of one of the smaller guards. Hedwig, Ryan and Dawn were targeting the higher-level players leaving the middle level for Jean and Randy. As Ryan’s spears started flying into the mix, Jean stepped out into the open and with a frantic look around for Sarah she started letting her knives fly. She had a feeling Sarah would be close to the water so she headed towards the creek. Every time she thought she had a clear path, another attacker would be on her. She was running out of knives and would need to recover some of them. She ran to her nearest victim, pulled out the two knives and then ran towards the creek, dodging arrows and slashes of swords. She launched herself over a rise and into the creek. She landed with a thud and a splash. Jean groaned as her backside hit a large rock.
“Grandma Jean?” she heard from beside her.
“Sarah?” Jean questioned as she looked at the petite girl with large eyes. The girl nodded and then pulled Jean closer. She had moved just in time to avoid a flying arrow. Jean nodded her thanks.
“Are you OK?” Jean said as she looked her over.
“Yeah. What are you doing here?” Sarah asked while crouching down low.
“Rescuing you!” Jean smiled.
“Did you bring them with you?” Sarah asked nodding to the others.
“Yes and no, let’s talk later. Right now, I need to get some knives back,” Jean said as she scanned the area for her weapons.
“I can help,” Sarah said as she used her magic to spray back a guard, leaving an opening for Jean to grab a knife.
“Wow, you know magic?” Jean said just before dashing out to grab the weapon. She nodded to Sarah so she could clear another path to Jean’s torpedoes and knives. When Jean was fully armed again, she went to work helping to bring down the higher-level players. She was proud to watch as Sarah used her water blasts to help the gold panners fighting.
The fight was almost over. Ryan was battling the last of the high-level players and Dawn was moving in and out of the forest and clearing, tracking down any deserters. Sarah had switched to using her magic to heal everyone. Randy and Jean, free from attackers, had also started distributing healing potions. Jean watched Ryan out of the corner of her eye and was very impressed with his skills. A good leader and a good fighter , she thought. Hedwig was working with Dawn to secure the area. It was over. The gold panners cheered and thanked everyone for helping them.
Sarah came to stand beside Jean.
“I didn’t know you were such a bad ass with knives Grandma, did you learn that in the game?”
“I had some skills from real life to build on,” she said with a smile. She wrapped her arms around Sarah and squeezed her tight. “You have been very brave. Resourceful too, how did you learn those skills while being a slave?”
“Opportunities are everywhere Grandma Jean,” Sarah said with a big grin. She was so happy and proud of herself and her grandma.
“We have to help the miners. My friend is in there,” Sarah said, suddenly serious.
“Yes, that is the plan,” Jean said as she looked around.
Elm stepped out of the tree line and came running over.
“Sarah, this is my friend Elm, he has been scouting the mine. Everything ready for us?” Jean said to Elm as he ran up.
“Yes, I took out my scout as planned and once I saw that you all had things under control, I made my way to the mine. They only have scouts at the entrance so they have no idea what happened here. We will be able to surprise them,” Elm said as he caught his breath.
“Good, anyone who can use a weapon and wants to join us, loot the bodies and let’s move out. We don’t want to lose the element of surprise,” Ryan said as he checked to make sure everyone had topped up their health and gathered weapons.
Sarah ran over to grab the small elven bow from a guard. She tossed the quiver over her back and ran around looking for arrows. Then she looted a bigger bow and picked up arrows for it as well. When she came back to the group Jean had her eyebrows raised.
“My friend, the one in the mine, taught me how to use his bow,” Sarah explained.
“His?” Jean questioned.
“Grandma! It isn’t like that. He is a good friend. When we find him, he will have a weapon to help us. Come on!” Sarah said as she walked over to the rest of the group.
Jean shook her head. She had been so worried about Sarah but maybe Elton had been right, she needed her a little less than she had thought.
Ryan set Hedwig ahead and motioned for everyone to spread out. When they got close to the main entrance, they stopped.
“There is only one way in but once inside there are several tunnels. The miners are working the center tunnel today but I think they interconnect once underground. When we get in we will split up. Dawn, me and Hedwig will take the main tunnel. Jean and Sarah can take the left and Randy and Elm take the right. Anybody else from the group can spread out around the exit.
“I’m coming in too,” Daphne said.
“You don’t have a weapon,” Ryan said kindly.
“My weapon is my hearing,” she said proudly. “Plus, I can throw things and I imagine there will be lots of rocks in there to throw.”
“OK then, anybody else?” Ryan asked the group of gold panners.
Several of the ones who had picked up weapons stepped up too. The others who were less confident or were unsure of being in the dark mine, moved to guard the exit.
“Alright, Hedwig will be the tank and we will pick off the guards as they come out. Once we are clear, we enter the tunnels and split up,” Ryan confirmed.
Jean nodded her agreement and looked down at Sarah. She liked how Ryan was always clear with his intentions and checking on the comfort level of those who followed him. “He is a good leader,” Jean said to Sarah.
“Yes. I agree. I like him. Silas is a good leader too,” Sarah said as she watched Hedwig sneak attack the guards.
“Silas huh?” Jean said.
“You should see him with his bow,” Sarah smiled.
“I want you to be careful in there, Sarah. I just found you and I don’t want us to get separated,” Jean said as they watched Ryan and Dawn fire on the guards coming out of the mine entrance.
“Don’t worry Grandma. I have been working on my night vision. I have an advantage,” Sarah said. “Just stay close to me.”
Jean almost laughed. It was a skill she didn’t have but would have to develop if she stayed in the game. It would be fun, and scary, to go into battle with her granddaughter.
“Ready?” Jean said as they watched Ryan and Dawn follow Hedwig into the mine.
“Yes!” Sarah said as she ran towards the opening. Jean followed, patting her potions and knives to reassure herself she had what she needed to protect Sarah.
The beginning of the mine was well lit but as they got further in, it got darker and darker. Jean and Sarah had entered their tunnel and were proceeding slowly. The tunnel curved back and forth forcing them to be cautious as they went deeper into the mountain.
“I don’t hear anything,” Sarah whispered over her shoulder.
“The rock is thick and the others could be above or below us,” Jean replied.
“Can you see OK?” Sarah asked.
“No, can you?” Jean answered honestly.
“Yes, but we should have brought a torch. How are you supposed to fight what you can’t see?” Sarah murmured.
Jean had been thinking the same thing. She relied on her vision to throw her knives.
“Keep an eye out on the walls, I am sure they must have some torches along here,” Jean said to Sarah. “They will be up high on the walls.”
“Oh, I think I see one! You were right Grandma, I just didn’t notice them because they are so much taller than me.”
“Good. Guide me in the direction and I will try to reach it,” Jean said as she put a hand on Sarah’s shoulder.
“Yes, just a little higher,” Sarah said as she watched Jean pull herself up the rock wall to grab the torch.
“Got it.”
“Do we have any way to light it?” Sarah asked.
“Yes, we do. Can you look in my bag of holding?” Jean said.
“Sure, wow you got a lot of neat stuff in here,” Sarah said. “Where did you get all the camping supplies?”
“I have a friend who owns a general store,” Jean answered. “He helped me with a quest.”
“He?” Sarah said with a questioning lilt to her voice.
“It isn’t like that. He is a friend,” Jean said. Both Jean and Sarah laughed at the copycat line.
“Well, after we rescue my friend, maybe we will go visit your friend,” Sarah said with a laugh.
“Maybe. Come on, now that we have light, let’s keep going. If we hear anything we stop and light it but only if I need to see to fight, otherwise let's stay hidden,” Jean instructed. “And remember it could be our friends that come towards us, no friendly fire.”
“What?” Sarah asked.
“No friendly fire. It is when you hit your own men in battle,” Jean explained.
“God. Can you imagine?” Sarah asked.
Jean could. She had defended a cop who had shot his own partner. It happens.
Sarah suddenly stopped. “Did you hear that?”
Jean strained her ears and then shook her head. “No.”
“It is coming closer,” Sarah said as she reached a hand back to push Jean against the wall. Jean was itching to light the torch, she didn’t like the feeling of being blind. Jean could hear it now, it was an animal coming towards them.
“Oh my,” Sarah said as Jean heard it getting closer.
“It is a donkey,” Sarah said confused. “Its eyes are covered.”
Jean sighed, she could add cruelty to animals to her list of offences for the Black Wolf Guild.
“Is it pulling anything?” Jean asked.
“No, but it has a harness dragging behind it. What do we do?” Sarah asked.
“Leave it. Miners rely on them to know the passages, they blind them to force the animals to memorize the tunnels. Depending on how long it has been down here, its eyes will have lost the ability to see light. The poor thing,” Jean said as it walked past them.
Fueled by her anger for the donkey, Sarah set out at a faster pace. Jean held onto her shoulder to stay close. This time it was Jean who stopped Sarah.
“I see flashes of light,” Jean said as she stared ahead.
“Yes, and I can hear voices. We are close, should we light the torch?” Sarah asked.
“No, let's go forward. Ryan is right, a surprise attack is always an advantage,” Jean said as she nudged Sarah forward.
As they rounded the next few corners, it got brighter. Jean could make out the outline of the tunnel and could see that ahead of them was a cavern. It must be where the tunnels meet.
Jean saw a small flat ledge that overlooked the cavern. She pointed it out to Sarah and they climbed up. It was perfect. They could see several miners below them using pickaxes with guards standing nearby. The other two tunnels were in their sight lines so they would know when their friends arrived. Jean arranged herself so she could have the best position to throw knives and Sarah found a hidden spot that she could use her bow from. Now to wait. Jean gave Sarah a smile and thumbs up. She was very happy to have found a safe place for Sarah to participate without being too vulnerable.
They watched the miners and saw as another group was led in. The cavern was lit by torches but it was still dark. The miners all looked dirty and miserable. Jean heard Sarah suck in her breath and followed her line of sight. She must have seen her friend. Jean looked and saw a tall elf boy with decent muscles and a kind face despite the scar running down the side. Not bad , Jean thought. She could see why Sarah liked him. Even as a prisoner she could see that he was a leader, the other miners’ eyes checked in on him often. If she was right, he would have a plan for when the others arrived.
A strange noise was coming down the main tunnel. Hedwig, thought Jean. Here we go! The strange beast burst into the cavern and took a swipe at the first guard and then a big bite out of the second. He was working his way around the cavern wounding as many guards as he could on his first round. He was taking hits from the guards but most bounced off him. He had very thick skin. Not wanting to wait any longer, Jean threw a knife at the closest guard and caught him in the back of the neck. It was instant death for the poor guy. Jean was proud of that shot, she must have severed his spinal cord.
She saw an arrow fly from Sarah’s hiding spot but it didn’t find a target. She hoped Sarah would take her time, and not risk someone spotting her hideout. The noise level had escalated, between the noises coming out of Hedwig as he attacked and the cries of the wounded guards, the walls were vibrating. Dawn and Ryan had entered the cavern now and arrows and spears were flying. Jean saw that Silas had moved the miners to safety and he was battling a guard with his pickaxe.
“Grandma Jean, get him this bow!” Sarah said as she tossed the weapon and quiver down and pointed to Silas.
Jean nodded. She assessed her position and threw two knives at the guards standing between her and Silas. They were wounded but not down. She jumped from the ledge to the tunnel and hit the one guard with a kick to the back. He flew forward. While he was off balance and falling, Jean let another knife fly to the wounded guard. It was a killing blow. With her hatchet in hand, she killed the other guard with a solid hit to the back of his head. She landed close to Silas who was still fighting a guard off with just the axe. Jean threw her knife and caught the guard in the eye. Starting to be my specialty , Jean thought. As the guard fell backwards, Jean tossed Silas the bow.
“Sarah thought you would need this,” she said as she turned to kick another guard. Silas looked shocked but wasted no time grabbing the weapon and finding some cover. Jean realized she had picked a guard who was a much higher level than her. She wouldn’t be taking him down with a few kicks and slashes of her weapons. The guard lunged at her and lashed out with his Warhammer. Jean leaned back in a John Wick style move, but the hammer still connected with her chin. Her head ripped sideways making her eyes spin. She stumbled back and tripped over a boulder. The guard stepped forward with his hammer raised above his head, ready to deliver the final blow. Jean grimaced and anticipated the pain, but it didn’t come. Hedwig had appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the guard around the torso and started swinging him back in forth. Jean had to turn her head, the sight was gruesome. It was chaos in the cavern. Rocks, arrows, spears and knives were flying. The guards were fighting back hard but they were no match for the others. Jean made her way to the miners and protected them with the few knives she had left. When she could, she passed a healing potion for them to share.
Suddenly, it was over. The noise was now just the sounds of people catching their breath and checking in with the wounded. Jean was happy to see Sarah climbing down from her ledge to help with the healing. Her quiver was empty on her back, and from the proud look on her face, she must have found some targets. Jean was relieved. They were together and safe and from what she had seen, Sarah had developed some valuable skills, not only in the game but for life.
Silas gave Sarah a brotherly hug and congratulated her on her shooting. Sarah beamed as she told him what she had learned and remembered from his lessons. Randy walked over to Jean and handed her a few of her knives.
“Thanks Randy,” she said with a smile.
“No problem. Did you see the damage Hedwig did here? I need a pet,” he said as he admired the strange beast.
“Did you have any pets in real life?” Jean asked as she wiped her blades off.
“No. My mom has allergies. How hard can it be?” Randy said with a smile.
“I don’t know anything about how it works in this game, but in real life they are like children. They are expensive and require a great deal of sacrifice.”
“Grandma!” Sarah said.
“You didn’t let me finish. They are also the most rewarding thing you will ever have,” Jean said as she smiled at Sarah.
“That’s better,” Sarah said with a smug smile.
“Well. I want one,” Randy said. “Think Ryan will help me?”
“Only one way to find out,” Jean said as she pulled another knife out of a guard.
They looted the guards and helped the miners out of the cave, everyone deciding to deal with notifications and gains later. The sun was shining brightly when they exited the mine.
“Now what?” Sarah asked.
“Now we get you out of here,” Jean said with confidence.