As the Hammer Falls Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  As the Hammer Falls

  TJ Reynolds

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  AS THE HAMMER FALLS First edition.

  December 18, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 TJ Reynolds.

  Written by TJ Reynolds.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “THUS, I HAD so long suffer’d, in this quest”

  ~Child of Gilead

  Relevant Progress of Katana Girl, the Foolhardy Huntress

  Status: Humble as a hobbit. Shaken and very well stirred.

  Class: Survivalist Rank… aptly not achieved.

  Items: Cloak, pockets included. Shiny Bow. No pet to speak of.

  To Do: Burn three hours. Wake up. Use the fleshy bit behind your eyes.

  My mind and body buzzed with the shadows and memories of pain. I stared at my shaking hands for a moment. “Elendil, some of that gamer juice please,” I croaked out feebly and threw my legs over the side of my pod.

  Grima came shortly and gave me the same toxic drink I’d had before. It burned my dry throat going down, but I it was gone in a second. My belch after offended the sensibilities of my AI friend. “Hana, I will choose to ignore such a base bodily expression. I would prefer to discuss your recent decisions made in Eternal Online. Can we begin with the obvious. What in the world possessed you to…”

  “To pet a vicious, wild animal with more teeth and claws than brain? I don’t know Elendil. Desperation?”

  “Well that seems a bit more like avoiding the answer entirely,” Elendil said. He had fully adopted the father role now it seemed.

  Though his voice was different, I still pictured my dad standing with one hand on his hip, trying not to look like he was scolding me. The last time had been because I’d traded some of the tech scrap I’d found for a gaming keyboard. He’d stood before me, hand on hip and eye brows knitted together in practiced fury. “Dahlia, that money could have been spent on something more valuable than video games. You haven’t had a proper health screening in months. Besides, there is college to consider.”

  I hadn’t meant to, but that was the only time I shouted in his face. “More important than gaming? And this coming from you? Give me a break dad. I’m here all day alone while you hide away in your favorite game. How is your warrior doing by the way? Have you mastered Eternal Online yet?” I’d stormed away, leaving him slack and gray in the face. Making up later helped alleviate the guilt, but I could still feel my stomach churning with the guilt of having yelled at him filled with the fire of a justified anger.

  I shook my head slowly, standing up and shaking out my limbs. “No Elendil, I am not avoiding a thing. Just let me unwind and we can recap all you want. Okay?”

  “Very well. I will be here when you need me.”

  Though his voice was gone, I could still feel his presence. It was nice.

  I soaked in the shower for awhile, letting the scalding hot water strip away the last of my shame. Wake up katana girl. Madi was a character all right. She had a point though. What was I doing? My plan was good, level my class up to Novice Hunter, get decent gear, then start going after more challenging creatures. If I did it all right, I could start converting my gold and items to YD in a couple weeks. But I couldn’t just sprint there without getting wiped more often than I could afford. With the six hour real world cooldown and the 12 in-game death penalty, it was too costly for me to die in Eternal.

  Food was next. I shuffled out to the bay, the aches in my body already fading. I tried a new vegetable this time, hoping for something real. Printing noodles and snap peas, I was disappointed again. I’d need to ask Elendil for a list of grown ingredients. Bits of spiced tofu and a sprinkle of furikake topped off my meal.

  I ate standing up and took my time scanning the nearly empty room. It was the middle of the night. I’d have liked to think that everyone was sleeping, but most were likely plugged into EO. There was a girl with ripped legs and abs that looked hangry sprinting on a treadmill in a clear workout room. I could see someone else lifting weights, only the shake and bob of dumbbells giving them away through the opaque glass.

  Then a bout of giggling caught my attention. Over in the lounge area, where the floor was sunken and filled with lounge furniture, I saw a small screen flickering. Two kids were playing a video game. Not anything new. Even at this distance, I could see it was an 8 bit game.

  I left my bowl and walked over, curious to see what they were up to. To my endless delight, I saw they were playing one of my all-time favorites: Destiny of an Emperor. The player had just convinced Zhao Yun, one of the five tigers, to join his army. Tucked away in massive armchairs, all I could see was a celebratory high five between two nerds that thought they were alone.

  And maybe it was because of my time in Eternal, or I was losing my touch with my anti-social behavior, but I spoke up. “Zhao Yun has some pretty awesome attacks, but Zhang Fei will always be my favorite. Such a gangster.”

  The chair swiveled and I was shocked to see Shin, the boy who’d I’d seen on my first day, smiling like a maniac. “Not Lu Bu? He has 255 strength to Zhang Fei’s 250.”

  Trying not to be intimidated, I replied casually, “Nope. Lu Bu is a jerk and I never trust a turn cloak. I always leave the lousy warlord behind. Chi Tu Ma, his steed, is worth nabbing though.”

  He laughed hard, and a second boy turned to see me as well. “Some seriously nerdy shite here guys. What are you even talking about?”

  Shin wasn’t fazed. “You should grab a chair and hang out. Shawn is right. That was some powerful otaku speak. Come on. What else do you have to do?”

  The offer was kind, but the other boy was looking at me too. His eyes were not cruel like Cassio’s, but curious. He was observing me, looking me up and down. A tingle of anxiety prickled in my belly, and I smiled and walked away. “Sorry but no. I’m super busy. Maybe another time,” I blurted out as I made for my room.

  Shin’s voice called back once more, “What is your name?”

  In another rare show of courage, I shouted from the hall, “Dahlia!”

  Sleep didn’t sound like a bad option, but Shin’s gaming sesh had sparked an old itch inside me. My father had introduced me to 8 bit games years ago, and they had held a special place in my heart since. I sat at my private desk and asked Elendil, “download and install NES ROM.”

  No more than five seconds passed when the AI responded, “The task is complete Hana. Is there a particular game you would like to play?”

  “Final Fantasy. 1987 version,” I said, my voice filled with confidence. “And Grima. Bring me a coffee. Hotter than the Gerudo desert and as black as Ganon’s rotten heart.

  I’d like to say that I was more productive with my time, that I went to work out, refine my skills, and get some much needed hours of sleep. Instead, I beat the first few stages of a game I hadn’t played in years. It was glorious.

  Eventually, I decided to save progress and shut down the desk computer. I spoke with Elendil for a time. Like any father, he needed to know that I hadn’t meant to be reckless, that next time I would practice what he termed “due caution and foresight.” Obviously, he had a point.

  I lay back in my pod and noted there was another thirty two minutes remaining on the cool down. I stretched out and waited. Madi came back to my thought then. How could caramel colored eyes be so angry, so sharp? I was not sure what the woman meant to me. What I did know was that I didn’t want to disappoint her again.
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  Then I passed out. Not casually. Nah. I was slammed by a giant’s fist of sleepiness, and I passed out.

  I woke hours later, one cheek slick with drool. I shook my head, realizing I had let more precious hours slip away. Another coffee sounded nice, but I didn’t have time. “Log me in Elendil. And next time, don’t let me nap so long!”

  * * *

  Materializing into EO again felt different then before. The world somehow looked dim and muted. I took a few minutes and surveyed my surroundings before it dawned on me. I checked a notification that had popped up, and my suspicions were confirmed.

  Status Effect: Resurrection Fatigue. Because you recently died, your character will suffer a death penalty status effect for a total of 6 hours. Logging off will cause the debuff clock to stop.

  Resurrection Fatigue: All racial bonuses are nullified. -10% to all attributes. -10% to XP gained.

  Yikes, that was going to slow me down. No wonder things seemed different. My sight and hearing had been reduced and I was generally more pathetic. Another fight right now was simply not an option.

  The sun had begun to fall. I kicked myself for napping. It would have been better to log in immediately after the lockout. I had wasted precious hours, and I needed to get moving.

  The mountain cat was still nearby. It’s head had been removed, but the body lay on the ground. That warrior, Madi, had tried to save my life! She didn’t take anything but the cat’s head as a reward. How sweet? How creepy? Then I remembered how she had berated me as I lay in a heap of pain. Her disappointment still stung, but she didn’t rob me when she could have. An odd variety perhaps, but I would still consider that friendship.

  I looked down at my hand and arm. Dried blood was everywhere, mine of course. My wounds had healed in most places, and I started in wonder at a new pinkie that had regrown itself. The sheer pain and the vibrant gore made it easy to forget this was a game. My HP had mostly recovered. I touched the new digit and flinched. It was sore, new skin still forming.

  I walked to the river and flopped down in the chilled water shamelessly. After soaking for a time, I scrubbed the blood from my body with pebbles and sand. It felt divine despite the lingering tenderness in many places. Then I drank until my stomach was tight.

  The day was swiftly dying, and I was far from camp. I had work to do if this day wasn’t going to be a total waste.

  I took out the kobold claw. The edge was sharp enough to draw blood, so I hoped it was good enough to skin this creature. Still, the claw only had a short piece toward the base that was not sharp. I couldn’t easily hold it.

  I cut away a thin piece of the leather flap on the ratkin’s bag. When I was done, I wrapped it around the base of the claw. I now had a crude skinning knife.

  Birds called in the trees around me. The rough leather handle I’d cut fill the palm of my hand. I sat on the ground next to the headless animal and sighed. This wasn’t a storming trout Dahlia! You can’t just cut it open and pull stuff out. I needed to do research.

  “Log off,” I said aloud, and in a flash, my body transported back to my pod. “Elendil, I need a favor.”

  “Anything Hana. How may I assist you?”

  “Can you do a quick search for any available information regarding the mountain cat species. Please see if there are any uploaded posts about the organs of the cat. I’m about to gut one and don’t want to trash anything worth decent coin,” I said in a rush.

  Almost immediately, the AI spoke again. “I have found thirteen posts with information regarding the mountain cat’s viscera. There are well over a hundred regarding the other components of the animal’s body as well as battle tactics and a great many complaints about deaths caused by this vicious animal. Though this last you seen already to have learned a lesson about.”

  “Ha. Yes, I hope I did. Can send me the list of those that discuss how to clean and harvest the organs?” I did not want to spend an hour pouring through information.

  “Of course. Here is a post that has managed to do exactly what you asked. Such information is not commonly allowed on the Eternal server, but it seems the mountain cat is a beginner creature, and the information is only helpful to low level players. In the future, you might consider asking an NPC hunter if they can teach you,” Elendil cautioned. He was right. I’d found very little on the plant life in the area, most likely to reduce rapid leveling of herbalism. Metagaming was always discouraged in large-scale MMOs like EO.

  The post popped up before me:

  Posted by: TurtleSavR53, Date: 15 Nov 2102.

  Just dropped a massive MCat with party. NPC expert hunter present, thank god! Turns out these guys have gold in their guts. Here is a list of what the hunter told us. The intestines are not listed as they fetch no price worth the ----y mess it takes to clean them. That said, apparently bow strings as well as crafting and surgical thread can be made from them. The cat’s bladder we kept and had a leatherworker cure for us as a water skin. Yum!

  CatGut Glory

  Heart, Lungs, Meat - Food. Tasty if cooked right. Sell or eat yourself.

  Liver - Sell to cook or healer for several silver depending on size.

  Gallbladder - nasty, stinky, green sac-like thing - egh - This is the gold nugget guys. Take to

  apothecary, healer/anyone who knows their medicinal shiz! Even a small one can fetch a serious

  price.

  Kidneys - food item. Bean shaped on either side of abdomen. Can’t say they make my mouth

  water, but we found an NPC to cook this up and it gave a stamina and dexterity boost for 4 hours!

  Reproductive Organs/junk/gonads - We didn’t have the guts to do the honor ourselves, but we

  took the carcass back to town and asked an expert to take what they could use. It was…

  enlightening to watch.

  Spleen is a white-speckled, dark red mass, oversized in the mountain cat species, and highly

  poisonous. DON’T EAT. Trash it immediately as it can spoil the rest if it leaks!!!

  Most other organs can be used in some way or another. Adrenals were tiny but apothecary bought

  them quick.

  Happy Hunting ya’ll! EO Forever!!! ;)

  The post was a few years old, but it was all I had to go on. I scanned a few images of theindividual online and learned that the organs spoil first. Those would need to be first. In a general info site for the Hunter class, a recommendation that the rotting process can be slowed in a stream if the water is cold enough. Last, the obvious came to mind. I had brought salt!

  Logging back in, I rolled the cat on its back, surprised at the weight of the thing. It was the size of the average dog, taller by a few inches, but even headless, it weighed a ton. I began at the belly, punching a hole just below the cat’s large ribcage. The kobold’s claw penetrated easily, but I had to use considerable strength to drag the blade downwards.

  The hide was thin, like Quinn had mentioned, but it was remarkably tough. It took me a few minutes of tiny jerks to finish the cut. I stepped back to review my work.

  I dragged the cat into creek. I needed to clean out the gut and most importantly, cool down the entire carcass as much as possible. I let the slow current carry away most of the blood, and run through the cat’s innards. I moved the body into an area that was still deep enough to submerge its bulk but not carry it away. Leaving the cat in the water, I gathered more mallorn leaves.

  The kitty back up onto the sand of the creek’s bank, the real work began. I stood over the animal counting my inhalations for a solid minute. Clear your mind Hana! That was the only way I could survive this. Holding my breath like a diver, I thrust both hands into the cavity, and dug into viscera. Much of the innards slid out without too much effort. The intestines spilled out easily enough, and other chunks and wads of meat came out after some firm cajoling. I’ll admit, I succeeded by not looking too closely.

  I caught the smell of something humid and musky. Rather than losing my lunch, I sped up and got a bit more aggressive
with my work. I had plenty of space, so I pulled the skin wide and carved away at the organs that resisted me. I found both ends of the intestines and cut them free, then tossed them in a heap in the shallows. They could wait for me there. I found the kidneys and took them out one at a time, the liver, and when I saw a mass of white speckled red, I slowed down and surgically removed the spleen. I threw this over in nearby bushes, and washed my hands thoroughly. Finally, I cut free the heart, the lungs, the stomach and found the precious green gallbladder. I washed each individually and set them on a stone nearby. When I was done pulling everything free, I washed the cavity in the stream once more and dragged my slightly lighter friend up to where my gear lay.

  Treating them like the trout I’d found, I gathered fresh mallorn leaves, rinsed them, and wrapped the organs one at a time after they’d all been washed and rubbed with salt. I placed everything in my pack.

  I stared back to the creek, and saw the pile of intestines waiting for me. Not worth it. Not this time at least. The sky was the bruised purple of dusk, and I decided to pack my beastie to town. The map showed I was three to four miles away.

  I picked up my bags and bow, then did something I never thought I’d do. I slung the empty carcass of a wild animal over my shoulders, like some pioneer chick who didn’t spend all her time playing video games, and began walking home.

  Thank the horse gods of Rohan, my stamina had increased some. The trek was brutal, and I nearly toppled into the brush more than once.

  As I crunched through the woods, keeping the stream in sight, I heard the distinct sounds of something following me. Once, the crack of a branch, perhaps one hundred feet behind me, echoed through the night. I didn’t call out, say hello to the darkness. Only the movies did that. I felt properly terrified though, and continued my march at a quicker pace. I was afraid something might be following me as I carried a load of freshly butchered meat. I had no intention of finding out what.