The night had set in full swing. I was glad for that. In the darkness I could see some obscure shapes moving. The players were coming towards us. They might not be coming for us, but I suspected a confrontation with them was bound to happen.

I crouched low behind the bushes. The shapes drew closer. Only two players. I heaved a sigh. But the danger had not fully subsided. A man and a rather tall woman with pointy ears. Was she an elf? I focused on the duo.

General Information:

Name: Killerguy

Affinity/Inclination: Player

Level: 1

Health/Strength: 89/100

Weapons: knife

Stamina: 90/100

Mana: 70/100

General Information:

Name: Roxy

Affinity/Inclination: Helper. Bonded to player Killerguy

Level: 7

Health/Strength:3323/3500

Weapons: swords, daggers, bow and arrows

Stamina:1221/1500

Mana:1145/1500

I wasn’t sure what ‘bonded’ exactly meant. Was the elf girl like a wife to the thief?

But she was powerful, even though Killerguy was of a low level and presumably not quite the ‘killer’ that his name suggested. It was clear that only because of her companionship that Killerguy had the guts to be in the forest this late into the night. Roxy was thoroughly armed with swords, daggers and bow and arrows to easily deal with a platoon of monsters on her own and protect him.

I held my breath anxiously as the two of them drew closer, my heart drumming in anticipation.

As Killerguy and his protector were passing by Bono, I dared to hope that the stars had aligned for an uneventful night. But then Killerguy let out a shriek.

“O!O!” he said. His tone had the excitement of some hormonal teenage girl.

Had he seen me? Bono looked just like any normal boulder in the dark so it was unlikely that Killerguy had noticed him.

“What is it?” Roxy said, casting watchful eyes around the site. Thankfully I was so still that she gazed in my direction but she did not see me. She grabbed the thief’s hand as a mother would grab her child’s in times of danger.

“It’s a quest!” Killerguy answered.

“What does it say?’ Roxy asked.

“That there is a very precious stone nearby,” Killerguy said. “But I can’t really understand the message. It says, ‘there is a stone of power near you, inside someone’s head. If you can retrieve the stone then you will be able to go to a place where all the loot in the world of Dharti awaits you’.”

“That sounds like big fish,” the elf girl said. “But whose head is it talking about?”

Roxyand Killerguy began to look around them. I remained unmoving in my hidden spot. Beads of sweat were worming down all over my back. My crouched position was an uncomfortable one. An ache caught hold of my shoulder. I had to be careful not to grunt unintentionally.

“That stone looks weird,” Roxy said. She was talking about Bono’s head.

“You know what?” Killerguy said, even as he squatted next to Bono, “You are right.” He poked with a finger. “This looks like a nose, doesn’t it, darling?’

“It sure does,” the elf girl said. She sat on her haunches and ran her fingers over Bono’s face. I could well imagine Bono holding on to the edge of patience to keep quiet. “And these look like nostrils,” Roxy said. She inserted her fingers into Bono’s nose.

Bono couldn’t help it any more. He sneezed.

I was confused whether it was the force of the sneeze (which was nothing short of an explosion), or if it was the surprise that made Roxy and Killerguy jump and fall on their buttocks many meters away.

“That is a really rude thing to do,” Bono snarled. He seemed to have decided it was no use concealing his identity any more, regardless of whatever consequence it might trigger. “You shouldn’t insert your fingers up someone else’s nostrils. It’s extremely rude. Would you like it if I did the same to you, eh?”

“It talks!” Killerguy exclaimed as he and Roxy helped each other up.

“Of course, I can,” Bono said.

“I feel the precious stone is inside the head,” Roxy said. She was talking to her partner.

“Believe me all I got in my head is brains,” Bono said.

“But how do we break it?” Killerguy asked the elf girl, entirely ignoring Bono.

Roxy pulled out her sword.

“My sword can slice through quite a few things,” she said. “Why break when we can slice?”

“What if your sword slices the magic stone into two?” Killerguy said. This threw Roxy into a dilemma, and there was silence for a few heart beats as she tried to find a solution to the problem. She would never do anything to displease her bonded player.

Roxy looked intently between Bono’s head and the massive boulder that I had put over the entrance to the cave where the sage resided. She let out a triumphant squeal.

“I can try smashing the head on that boulder,” Roxy said.

“That definitely looks like a better idea to me,” Killerguy answered. “Do it, my sweetheart!”

“Look, people, I can assure you I have nothing inside my head. Absolutely nothing. Not even brains!” Bono said fretfully, alarmed.

Roxy hefted Bono’s head effortlessly with her lean arms.

“Please don’t do this to me!” Bono wailed. “Please! I need to meet Bui! Destroy me after I meet her!”

But the elf girl paid no heed. She took Bono closer to the boulder so as to be able to smash his head effectively. My heart was rocking in my chest. I obviously couldn’t let her smash Bono to bits.

But what could I do? It was beyond me to tackle the elf girl. She was way too powerful. But the thief… Could I do something to him? Was there really a way to save Bono? I swallowed, making up my mind. I was about to make a huge bet in the next few moments.

With a burst of energy, which I knew would be gone in seconds, I jumped out of my hiding place. Both the elf girl as well as her bonded player had their backs facing me. I grabbed Killerguy from behind, taking him completely by surprise. The two of us tumbled down. His knife fell a few inches within my reach, the blade glinting in the darkness. I quickly picked it up and put the knife against his neck.