Sword and Claw

Book Two: Chapter 13

Sora climbed up a ladder toward the tallest tree in the village. Nancy was the first to reach the top, and she waited for the others to join her. "This way."

Around the tree, they appeared an opening through the tree, covered by a long brown cloth. Two bear guards stood side by near the entrance, holding up shields and axes. One of them stared at Nancy for her attention.

"We're here to see the boss," Nancy explained, "let us in!"

The guards nodded and pulled open the cloth. Inside was a dome-shaped chamber with an empty bonfire pit at the center. On the other side of the pit, a badger in a chain mail suit and a kilt sat on a tall wooden throne. He has more bear guards standing on both sides.

Barrisk

Thief Chief

Badger

Male

Level: 50

HP: 500/500

NPC

When the badger glanced at Maxor, his mouth dropped. "Maxor!"

The wolf held out his arms with a grin. "Buddy!"

"You son of a bitch!" Barrisk marched toward Maxor. Instead of hugging his friend, the badger punched Maxor's face.

He hit him so hard, Maxor fell to the floor. That must have had hurt.

"Where's the loot?" Barrisk shouted.

Maxor rose on all fours and rubbed his chin. "The loot is gone....."

The badger's face turned red. "You bastard!" He kicked Maxor, again and again. "I'll kill yah! I'll kill yah! I'll-"

"Stop!" Sora jumped in front of the badger. "Let him be!"

Barrisk glared at the fox girl. "And who the hell are you? His girlfriend?"

"We are looking for a hidden dungeon here. Maxor said you know where there is one."

Barrisk gruffed. "Ah don't freaking know one! This bastard is a liar and a traitor! He needs his ass kicked till death takes him to hell!"

"You're lying too!" Maxor shouted. "We always know a dungeon somewhere!"

"We haven't seen one in ages, traitor! You shouldn't have come back!"

"But he came back to repay us," Nancy explained.

Barrisk turned to Maxor. "Is that true?"

Maxor rose and brushed the sawdust off his pants. "Yes. I felt terrible about what I did, and I am sorry. On behalf of my life, I will pay you back."

Barrisk glared until he laughed and hugged Maxor. "Welcome back, buddy! I thought you will never come back!"

"Yeah..... Yeah."

Barrisk released Maxor and stared at the others. "Who are your new friends?"

Maxor pointed his thumb at them. "Sora and Garan. They helped me escape from a big pickle. Since Sora is very charming, I promised to help her in another pickle."

Barrisk blushed at Sora. "She sure is a fine lass."

Sora gulped. She had enough of men giving her unwanted attention since she almost became a sex slave at the arena. "So you don't know any dungeon?"

The badger held up his paws. "All the dungeons we knew vanished. Nothing left but woods and monsters. Sorry."

Sora sighed. Coming to the thief guild seemed like a waste of her time. Players were dying, and her body was probably dead now.

After the Lich King isolated the game world, the company couldn't build new dungeons to appear. Maybe there were some left, but it could take longer for Sora to find them. She should just complete quests and slay monsters like a casual player.

"Why don't you lot relax here for a bit while I figure out how Maxor will pay us back," Barrisk suggested.

"Okay." Sora might as well go on a quest to max up her level now.