Chapter 28: Round the lake we go

  There was a path leading north from the cliff edge which they followed until they came to a large lake. The edges of the lake were a mixture of rock and sand. To the east and west Billy could see two small villages.

  “Well, what do you think?” he asked.

  “I think that we need to investigate one of the villages,” Lorna said.

  “It could be dangerous,” Billy replied. “There is not any cover.”

  “Well, we could just stand here for a few days I guess.”

  Billy pointed to the east village. “Okay, let’s try the east village. Weapons at the ready.”

  The moved around the lake, sticking close to the edge. As they moved closer, Billy could see what looked like fish-people. He hesitated to call them merpeople because they were not attractive at all - more creature from the blue lagoon than little mermaid. Soon the fish-people started to take notice of their arrival.

  Billy was close enough now to use [analyse creature] on the closest creature.

  [Yuren sentry level 6. Strength: constitution. Weakness: Fire. Favourite food: scallops sauteed in butter.]

  Soon a group of about ten fishpeople had gathered, all carrying short spears. The group of yuren did not look happy.

  “I think we should back off,” Billy said.

  “Behind us!” Trevor said in a whisper.

  Billy looked back to see more yuren emerging from the lake. There were at least eight of them. Their retreat was cut off.

  “Forward, attack!” Billy said. He started running towards the group at the village, hoping others would follow. He was counting on an element of surprise and he would rather they take out this group first before engaging with the ones still coming out the lake.

  Spear points bristled outwards and the yuren in front hissed at each other. Two yuren stepped forward. Billy knocked aside the two spears with his hammer and then barged them out of the way. He trust to the others to deal with them.

  This close he could see they were smaller than even Yuki and quite light. The two yuren went flying and Billy was now upon the large group. His hammer smashed into the skull of the closest creature. The impact felt rubbery but the creature still fell to the ground clutching its head.

  A spear flashed towards him. He tried to evade the blow but it pierced his side. Billy ignored the notification. Now was not the time for counting lost hit points. He went full out on his attack hitting out left and right. More pain lanced into his body but he ignored it and concentrated on dealing blows. And then there was no one left in front of him.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  He turned to see that the others had dealt with the rest of the large group and were holding off the attack from the group from the lake.

  Billy sucked up the pain and moved forwards. He saw Su Li duck beneath a spear. As the shaft missed her by a fraction Billy grasped it in his free hand and pulled. The lighter yuren stumbled off balance,e allowing Su Li to stab it in the neck. A few moments later and it was dead.

  Billy saw that Trevor and Lorna were doing well. Their armour offered decent protection against the wooden weapons. Lorna’s spear was longer than the yuren’s and clearly a better made weapon. Trevor was bashing aside the spears and then attacking with his mace. His usual reticence was gone replaced by a reckless abandon that almost resembled Billy’s style. Fortunately, Lorna was there to help him or Billy was sure that even with his armour he would bleeding out by now.

  Yuki was playing defense, using her staff to keep two Yuren busy.

  Su Li and Billy moved together to free up Yuki. They took out the two yuren from either side of her. And then it was just a matter of time before all of the yuren were dead.

  <18 yuren killed. Xp gained 544. You have now reached level 4.>

  He looked at the party menu to see that Lorna and Su Li had also reached level 4. The other two were a little short.

  Billy sat down exhausted. His stat sheet showed that he was down to only 30 hit points, even with the levelling boost. Again, he had been close to dying. He settled into a meditation position relying on the others to guard them for a while. He was the only one seriously injured.

  As he meditated, he vaguely heard a murmured conversation between the others.

  ###

  Billy roused from his meditation once his hit points were over 80. It was shy of the full 100 mark he now had but it was good enough.

  He opened his eyes to see the others looking at him expectantly.

  “What did we say about being the hero?” Lorna said.

  “Trevor no longer has his shield and I wanted them to be surprised.”

  “We were all surprised. Billy you have to work with us. You did that at the end and no one got hurt. These are higher-level creatures. Luckily, they were quite weak at fighting or you would have died.”

  Billy nodded. She was right. He had been stupid again.

  “I know. I need more control and less panic.”

  She looked him in the eye and then nodded.

  “Shall we explore the village?” he asked.

  “Already done,” Su Li said brightly. “All we found was some stinky fish heads and this.”

  She held up a large green key and two silver pieces.

  Billy thought back to his days playing the old school RPG games. “What are the odds there is second key in the other village?”

  Trevor laughed. “You have to ask?”

  Billy smiled. Trevor seemed to have regained some confidence. It must have been a little humiliating for him during the island hopping.

  Billy stood up and brushed himself down. “Okay together this time. I have an idea that might work.”

  ###

  The others lay flat against the rock and sand while Su Li walked toward the lake. They were not exactly hidden by the rocks but they would be difficult for any creatures in the lake to spot.

  As she neared the lake the first of the creatures appeared. A knife flew from her hand and pierced the creature’s leg. It cried out in pain. Another and another appeared out of the water. Su Li let her other knife fly out which grazed the cheek of one of the yuren. With one practiced move she whipped bother knives back into her hand. She now started moving backwards drawing them out of the lake.

  Ten yuren came out of the lake this time. They surged towards Su Li who turned and ran.

  The battle this time was smoother and cleaner. The yuren, focused on the fleeing Su Li, were quickly mowed down by the rest of the group.

  <10 yuren killed. Xp gained 544. You have now reached level 4.>

  Billy grinned. They were all level 4 now. The higher level yuren were providing great XP for the group. They were perfect training fodder – high levels with poor weapons and coordination.

  The group did not need long to recover as the only injury was a shallow wound on Lorna’s leg. It was not long before they were onto raiding the village and finishing off the last of the yuren.