All Part of the Game

  All Part

  Of the

  Game

  Shawn Keys

  For more information about the Author

  Visit:

  https://authorshawnkeys.wixsite.com/website

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  Originally Published by Shawn Keys

  Copyright © October 2019

  ISBN: 978-1-9992853-2-6

  Quick Links to Chapters:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  The History of Eryis

  The History of Tallia

  The History of Naomi

  The Call to Pilgrimage

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 1

  “Get off me you ruffians!”

  Conner Elliot had his hoodie hunched up over his head, and was fixated on the sidewalk in front of his feet. No reason to get involved. Just mind your own business.

  A brusque male voice echoed out of the alley. “This joker has real gold on him! Look at this!” A scuffle ensued, and then a grunt as if someone had just gotten kicked.

  Another man spoke, “Roll ‘im! These are bloody antiques! Might have more in his jacket. It’s a hundred years old too!”

  Conner stopped. He closed his eyes, muttering to himself, Don’t do it, don’t do it. You’re gonna get yourself killed. But he didn’t have it in him to walk away. Not when some old guy was about to get knifed for his things.

  Not like he would fare all that much better! He was in decent shape from his fencing hobby, but all he had on him was a backpack and a couple of new ‘Swordmaster’ RPG books that he’d just picked up from the shop around the corner. This was so stupid.

  But he was committed. He stepped into the alley where three punks in leather jackets and jeans were laying into a heap of an old man in an equally old fashioned long-coat. The guy’s hands were up, fending them off as best he could. One thug was shaking him to keep him rattled, while another was rifling through his pockets. The last thug was goading them on.

  None of them saw Conner coming. He led with the books. Doubled up in his hands, he hauled off with the hard-cover tomes and smashed them heavily into the first jerk’s nose. He heard it crunch, and that was a good start.

  Conner carried on, grabbing the second one by the shirt and heaving him off the old man. Shoving as hard as he could, he shouldered the other one away. For a brief moment, the old man was free of them.

  It didn’t last. A punch hammered into his side, and Conner groaned. He hissed at the old man, “Stay down! Nothing’s worth dying over!” Conner threw an elbow at the one behind him, and thought he connected a little. But not enough. Two of them snatched hold of Conner and flung him against the nearest wall.

  One had a sharpened shiv-style spike in one hand. The thug jammed it at him. Conner got his books in the way. The steel pierced right through, but stopped short of cutting into him. What the hell! They’re gonna shank me over a little scuffle? The fear in his gut ratcheted higher. He expected to catch a beating for this stunt, but this was getting out of hand.

  The guy with the spike-knife yanked it back, then looked at the books he had impaled in disbelief. “A role-playing game? What, you think you’re some kind of hero? Hah!” He gestured at his two cronies. “Fuck ‘im up, boys! Show ‘im he’s wrong!”

  They didn’t waste time. One yanked on his shirt, kneeing him in the stomach. When he doubled over, the other hammered him in the back. That toppled him to the ground. Kicks followed, and Conner folded in on himself to protect his vitals.

  Eventually, the beating ended. He could feel the bruises on top of bruises. Damn, that’s gonna hurt later.

  One of the punks snorted and asked, “Gonna stick ‘im?”

  The leader of the three laughed harshly. “Nah. Fucking geek. Bet he suffers enough every day. Hear that, geek? You’re too pathetic to kill. You ain’t one of these buffed up wankers in your stupid little games. Stay outta business that ain’t yours, hear me?” He delivered one last sharp kick, then gestured to his crew. “Come on, we need to be across town before we pawn this shit. These coins are special. Police might come looking.” Laughing at their handiwork, they rambled off.

  Conner flopped onto his back and stared up into the sky between the buildings. Right. This was the downside to living in the city. He laughed at himself, but that hurt. He stopped laughing, but that hurt, too. Damn it, damn it, damn it. What the hell was I thinking?

  Summoning his strength against the pain, he rolled to his knees, and then fought up to his feet. Yup, that sucks. Come on, don’t hurl. Last thing the hero does is hurl after getting his ass handed to him. He shambled over to the old man still sunken in a heap against the wall. “Hey, mister, are you alright? I think they took your stuff, but are you alright?”

  The old man flinched at his first touch, an automatic reaction. When he realized it wasn’t another attack, he grouched out a huffy, “Urrgh, ahh, yeah, ummm, yeah lad, I’m fine. I think.” He started to piece himself together, struggling to rise.

  Not about to make him fight for it, Conner caught his elbow to help him and lean him against the brick wall behind him. “Think they took your stuff, man. They said something about coins.”

  Tipping his head back, the old man rested his head against the wall. His shaggy grey-and-white hair was covered with a floppy hat which further crumpled against the brick. The old man had a prodigious beard going which shook with his dark laugh. “Decoys. You came along at the right time, lad. If they’d dug too much deeper, they would have found the stuff of real value.”

  Conner scrunched up his face. “Just a sec. You were carrying around fake ancient coins?”

  The old man grunted back. “Old habit.”

  “What? From where?”

  The old man snorted. “That is a long, complicated story. Let’s not get into it.” He looked his savior up and down. “You alright, lad?”

  Conner brushed himself off and tried to work a kink from his shoulder. That just set off a whole new chain of aches. Did I pull something back there? “Guess I’ll survive,” he groaned. But then he summoned a friendly smile. “Really, I’ll be fine. Didn’t want to see you take crap from those idiots.”

  Stepping away from the wall, the stranger bent over on creaking knees. He plucked the two books off the ground. The leader had jerked his spike-knife out, so they were no longer stapled together. But the holes in them was jagged. The jerk had twisted and ripped the holes wider deliberately. The old man turned it over, and let out a mournful sort of sound. “Think this is ruined.”

  Conner glanced at it. “Yeah.” He cursed under his breath. “Damn things are expensive these days, too. ‘Swordmaster’ is supposed to the next level of cool, but that was all the spare cash I had for this week.” Shook his head.

  Just then, his phone binged. Well, at least that didn’t get shattered into a billion bits or mugged off me. He scrambled it out of his pocket, then laughed helplessly. “But I guess it doesn’t matter now.”

  The old man arched an eyebrow, curious in spite of himself. “Oh?”

  Conner waved away any real concern. “Text from my GM…err, sorry, my game master.”

  The old man returned a wry smile. “I know what it is. Played a bit in my time.”

  Conner gave a nod, pleasantly surprised. It let him open up a little more than if the old man had treated the hobby like it gave him leprosy. “Well, we got a weekly game going. Kevin… that’s the GM… he swore he was going to kick off a new game as long as we all picked up copies of this. H
e just messaged me to say he couldn’t make it.” He shook his head. “The hits just keep on coming.”

  The stranger paced over to a garbage can and dropped the ruined books inside. Then he strolled on stiff legs back over to Conner. “Name’s Tobias, by the way.” He held out a hand. When Conner reached for it, he grasped Conner’s forearm in a far more archaic way. “You’re a brave lad. Most people wouldn’t have stopped.”

  Conner wasn’t good at taking compliments. Never had been. He shrugged. “Maybe more than you think.”

  “Not in any world I’ve ever walked, lad.” He weighed a few more words before speaking again. “Would like to reward you a little for what you tried to do. I’d hate to see you shy away from helping someone else next time because of all those bruises.”

  Conner waved the idea away. “Really, mister…”

  “Tobias.”

  “Right, umm, see I don’t see how I saved you a whole lot of pain there. Not sure what you were still holding onto, but you still caught a beating.”

  Tobias huffed, “Those thugs have nothing on some of the things that have tossed me around over the years. Now look, I’m not talking about anything earth-shattering. But I figure you deserve to see things from a different perspective. One you might enjoy.” He shrugged. “Told you I’ve been into fantasy games in the past. Was a hell of a story-weaver in my time. Tell you what, since your table-captain needs the night off, why don’t I tag in? Show you young pups what a real adventure looks like.”

  Conner tried to decide if the guy was serious. “Don’t you have any place better to be? It’s Halloween tonight, you know. Even our GM bailed as soon as he had a better offer for where to be.” He loved his friends, but he had no illusions that they were playing RPGs tonight because other parties hadn’t materialized for them. Now, it was going to be even suckier if the game didn’t happen.

  Reading his thoughts, Tobias pressed, “No, as it happens. And even if I did, that’s what makes it a gift. You sacrificed for me. Let me spend a little of my time giving you a taste of something new.”

  This is stupid. Crazy and stupid. But he shrugged at himself inside. But what the hell, right? Conner tried to put up a buffer zone. “Gotta convince my friends. They might not want to chance it, especially if they got other plans.”

  “I understand. I won’t take it to heart if you tell me no. But ask them. I really am quite good at stories. I’ve been told so all my life. Kings have held their breath at my words.”

  Conner was sure the guy was mocking him now, though he didn’t notice the old man grinning. Guy is on a different level, but hey, that might kick some serious ass around a gaming table. He traced down a piece of paper in his pocket and pen from his dropped bag. He scribbled own the address. “Be there at six, I guess. You have a phone? I could call you and save you the time if my friends chicken out.”

  Tobias shook his head, his beard wobbling to and fro. “No. I’ve found my touch around such things tends to cause…challenges. Fear not. I’ll knock on the door, and you don’t even have to answer if you change your mind. Now, if you don’t mind… I’ve a story to dream up for you.” He was about to turn away, then paused. Turning back, he rummaged inside his long trench coat and pulled out a small flask. “And while you’re at it, why don’t you hold on to this for me?”

  Conner took it carefully, as if he was plucking a venomous snake from his grasp. “Uhh, what is it?”

  “Something I brewed myself a few days back. Insurance. Go on, give it a draft.”

  Conner chuckled. “Decoy coins and a flask for insurance? You have a weird vibe going, old man.” He popped the lid and sniffed the insides. He swore he detected a little rum, but the rest was uncertain. What was that old rule about not taking candy from strangers? Caution had already been thrown to the wind, so he tipped the flask back and swallowed a mouthful. There was rum, alright. The spices behind it were enough to make the eyes water a little, but it was rich and set his palette alive with honey and heat. Damn, that’s good! The pain of his bruises sank into the back of his mind.

  A smile tugged at Tobias’s mouth. “Go on. Keep it and have a few more swallows. Not too much, but feel free to keep the buzz going. I’ll see you near sunset.” He limped off down the alley.

  Conner watched him go, deciding this was just about the weirdest day he had ever had.

  Even for Halloweens, this one was shaping up to be a doozy.

  Chapter 2

  Conner checked his phone as the text alert sounded. It was coming in from Elaine, one of the group regulars. He had sent out a group chat not long after he had left the alley.

  Elaine || A random GM from off the street? We’re a tight group with a good thing going.

  Conner knew how she felt. They’d tried to let a few people into the group over the years, but it never seemed to work out. The last one had been all about the ‘murder hobo’ experience, and the one before that had never stopped laughing and mocking the whole thing. Fucking gaming tourists, not real players but just there to mock the people who want to treat it seriously. He didn’t mind people who didn’t get RPGs. But the people who took it upon themselves to treat his hobby like garbage deserved to die.

  But he had a different feeling about this. Conner wrote back:

  Conner || There’s a story behind it. Will tell you when we get there. Either this or nothing.

  Elaine || Fine, but I’m coming in costume. If it sucks, I’m out of there and off to cause mayhem.

  Conner’s mouth went dry. Well, damn, that put a whole new edge on the evening. Elaine and him had never hooked up, and he had honestly never really tried. He wasn’t sure what she would do. But she was a kick-ass role player, and the last thing he wanted to do was rip the group apart by making a play for her, then getting shot down or breaking up or some other thing like that.

  But that didn’t make her any less cute. Oh, maybe others wouldn’t call her conventionally hot, but he didn’t care. She was tough in the way varsity soccer players were, and her rounded face was bold with the best case of pouty-lip syndrome he’d ever seen. What was more, she took Cos-play seriously on Halloween. Didn’t matter if she was handing out candy at her parents’ place or hitting the night clubs, she did costumes for real.

  Which meant for the sake of their friendship, he’d be spending the rest of the night doing his best not to stare at her continuously with googly eyes popping out of his head. Ahh, well. Small price to pay.

  Conner’s apartment was an homage to someone who doesn’t have to account for his time or tastes to anyone else quite yet. A geek’s bachelor pad it was, and he loved it. He was running his hands over the various RPG books, wondering what system Tobias would launch them into. Would he take requests? Unsure, he picked a couple classics off the shelf, then added a few snacks to the bag. Colin was their usual host. He still lived with his parents, but his parents were both uber-geeks as well, and kept the whole basement as a gaming den. The rest of them might have their own pads, but that didn’t come with the money to outfit them like two grown-up professionals could do on their combined salaries. So normally, there were good snacks put out. But he had a few particular tastes, and he’d earned them today!

  Thinking of particular tastes, he took another swig of Tobias’s flask. It sizzled along his taste buds again in the best of ways. Energy resurged through him. He swore he felt twice as good as he should after the beating he had taken. He wasn’t even feeling stiff.

  His pocket binged again. He slid his phone out:

  Nathan || Not going to be there.

  Conner swore, “You fucking kidding me?” He typed quickly:

  Conner || First Kevin bails, and now you! Thought we were going to do the whole ‘losers Halloween’ thing together?

  Nathan || Isn’t like that, man. Cousin just took sick. Bad enough he’s in the hospital. Gotta drive the parents to go see him. I want to, too.

  Conner || S#i+, my fault. I’m just in a bad mood. Sorry for that.

  Nathan || Don’t s
weat it. Sorry I can’t be there. This new guy sounds wild. Who wouldn’t want to be part of an RPG led by some crazy old dude?

  Conner || Also going to make our group a little light. Three might be company, but four’s the charm.

  Nathan || Tell you what, I’ll offer my seat up to Tasha Boyd. You get along with her, right?

  Conner || Sure. Fellow Scot! Chatted with her all through senior year history class. Where’d she end up after graduation?

  Nathan || Still trying to make it as a singer. Does gigs in jazz bars all over town. She’s good. She’s been hinting at wanting to get back into gaming. Says she hasn’t played since middle school, but the bugs back. Give her a try? Already one newcomer there, right?

  Conner chewed on that. He was right. With a new guy leading the table, what was one more new face in the players’ seats? And if she ruined the whole thing, then nothing was lost. The group could re-assemble next week, laugh at the whole thing, and carry on.

  Conner || Won’t she be working tonight?

  Nathan || If she worked goth clubs, maybe. Apparently, the jazz scene is dead tonight. Doesn’t mix with the spooky stuff all that well.

  Conner || Fine, but tell her we’re going in costume. Elaine is, and I’ve decided to cut loose a little too. Call it a test to see if it weirds her out or she dives right in. Need to know if she’s our kind of strange.