Ana

CH 13

Tiger, his character, was standing near a large fountain in the center of the trade district of Kingfield. He moved his avatar along the cobbled street and gradually let his mind flow into the imaginary world, leaving all heavy thoughts behind. His peace was interrupted by a distress call from one of his friends. Apparently, he got jumped by another player and killed. That happened a lot in this kind of game but his friend wasn’t able to get the gear off his dead body because the rogue that killed him was camping his body. Tom told him that he was on his way to help and had his character jump on a bird transport to the flight path closest to area his body was.

Ten minutes later, Tiger rode up in time to see the rogue wave at him and vanish. Being invisible is a rogue’s main weapon, that and stunning their victims while they stabbed repeatedly with poisoned daggers. The dead body of his friend lay on the ground and there was also a giant snake nearby that could be a problem. But he wasn’t going to let this guy come in here, kill his friend and then waltz away laughing about it.

He jumped off his horse and quickly drank a poison resistance potion and put on a trinket that could be used to break stuns. He suspected the rogue would stay invisible next to the giant snake thinking he was safe there but that was a mistake.

The real world was dimming away as it always did when he played these games and now that he was about to engage in player versus player combat, he became completely immersed into the virtual world. Tom’s immersion had become deeper and deeper over the past year to the point that he was no longer pushing buttons on a keyboard. He was Tiger, a warrior of no match in this world, one that had never been beaten in single combat.

Tiger drew his huge sword and did what the rogue least expected. He ran toward the giant snake and gave a battle shout that shook the very ground. The force of the shout stunned the snake and caused the rogue to become visible. The shout’s effect also caused the rogue to flee in fear against his will.

Tiger quickly cut the snake in a way that would slow its movement for a time then he charged the fleeing rogue and slashed him deep enough to make him bleed. Bleeding would prevent him from becoming invisible again once the fear effect wore off. Tiger quickly found out this rogue was no newbie as he turned suddenly and stunned Tiger, but only for a moment as the magic of his trinket protected him.

They exchanged a quick series of blows that did little harm to either as the snake was slowly closing the distance to them. Then Tiger managed to turn a lunge into a roll on the ground that brought him up slightly behind the rogue. Tiger brought his blade up in an arch that cut deeply into his opponent’s leg. The rogue reacted with a mixture of hate and disgust as he realized he was now hurt badly and was unable to move quickly.

Right before the snake reached them, Tiger once again gave his terrible battle shout, this time directed at the rogue so that the snake fled in fear and the rogue was stunned. Then, he brought his sword high over his head, the sun glinting off the blood stained edge. The final blow was devastating as the special power residing in his sword produced a bolt of lightning that ripped into his doomed adversary. The rogue lay dead on the ground as Tiger turned to face the snake. Suffice to say that the snake did not live much longer.

On the way back to town, he came upon a curious man in a monk’s robe sitting at the edge of a stream.  What got his attention was the tiger that sat next to the man. The monk was stroking the tiger’s thick white coat like one would a pet. Tom had named his character Tiger because he had a deep respect for their power, grace, and cunning and this one was magnificent. It must measure twelve feet from its nose to the tip of its tail.

Tom road up to him and said, “Hi. How are you?”

“I am well and how are you today,” the man replied without turning from the flowing water.