Chapter 4 - The City of Renadul

"Wow!" Taka exclaimed. "Now THAT is what I call a city."

We had both crested the last hill, and the city came into proper view, just under a mile away. I was impressed as well but kept my comments to myself. The city was nearly two miles across, with a four-meter wall that surrounded it on all sides. I could see a river that entered the city from out of sight, leading outward onto the plains that surrounded the walled city.

There was a large gate facing us, at the end of the long dirt road The gates were currently open, and a small crowd of people was crossing through it in either direction. Even from here, we could hear the low bustle of activity from the horde of people that lived within. I sighed quietly. I didn't really prefer crowds, especially noisy ones. And there was no doubt in my mind that that would be one of the noisiest crowds I'd ever encounter.

"Do you know anything about the city, Taka?" I turned to ask my red-haired companion.

His face twisted in deep thought, then he shook his head. "No. I've only been online for about an hour. I knew it existed from my conversations with a few traveling NPCs, but not much else."

"Do you at least know its name?"

"Yes." He explained. "It's called Renadul. The travelers said 'we need to reach Renadul by nightfall."

Renadul. I'd never heard the word before, even in my brief study of the game's spiritual predecessor, Trials of Ahya. Still, a large city likely had lots of quests and facilities within it, so we couldn't go wrong by visiting the metropolis.

"Well, let's get in and take a look around," I said. I sense, rather than saw, Taka, nodding in agreement.

Just then, the sound of galloping hooves made me whirl around, half-drawing my weapon from its sheath. A horse was charging up the path from behind us, it's strong legs carrying it forward at an incredible pace. The rider sat in its saddle rather uncertainly, as if he wasn't accustomed to the method of travel or break-neck pace he was taking. He drew back the reins as he came closer to us, just long enough to shout.

"What are you doing standing still!" He barked, in a typical soldier's commanding tone. "You'd best get inside the city before the night falls! You've only got a few minutes, now!"

Surprised by his abrupt command, I said nothing at first. He gave me no chance to reply in any event, driving his heels into the horse's flanks again, driving the animal forward once more. It lumbered ahead, slowly gathering speed until it was at a full gallop once again.

"I wonder what that means," Taka said, glancing back the way we had come. "But he's right. The sun is setting fast. We maybe have eight minutes until the sun sets completely."

"It's probably some kind of event," I said, already watching the horseman as he raced towards the city. The man was obviously an NPC or Non-Player Character, an entity generated and maintained by the game. "Still, we should get a move on. I'm very low level, so I probably don't want to be caught up in a raid."

Taka nodded in agreement, and we both started forward. At first, I just ran as hard as I could, but I noticed that speed outstripped Taka by a considerable margin, and fell back to keep pace with him. As we ran, I glanced over my shoulder to see the sun still dipping below the horizon. Eight minutes was too generous, I decided. It would be dusk in less than five minutes.

Something inside me told me that it was a really bad idea to be outside the city at night. Call it instinct, call it a vague hint from the game, it didn't matter. I had a slight feeling that this game would be hard-core, and if that were true, then it made sense to follow a safety-first approach, as we were so weak.

We were only a hundred yards or so from the gate when I noticed the first creature appear. It simply rose up out of the ground as the light around them dimmed. It was shaped like a human, but its legs and arms were longer, and instead of fingers, it had wickedly sharp looking claws. It had bright red eyes that glowed like tiny fires in its skull. Most concerning of all, however, was how far away it was when it turned suddenly, obviously noticing me and Taka. I knew at once that this was not a monster I could take alone.

"Hurry!" I shouted to Taka. He'd seen the strange creature too, and his eyes went wide with fear. He sped up a little, and we careened toward the city gates, no goal in mind but making it to the city in time.

We were nearly there. Just twenty yards left, and I saw the bridge that spanned the large moat surrounding the city start to lift up. We could make it in time, but so could the shadowy creature behind us. It was running with a shambled pace, stumbling often but catching itself with its arms and closing the distance with frightening speed.

"Shit!" I said aloud. I knew that we couldn't get over the bridge and avoid the creature at the same time. "Keep going, Taka!"

I did the only thing that made sense. I slid to a complete stop and drew the longsword from its scabbard at my waist. The blade reflected the first rays of light from the moon as it was pulled free, and I pushed off with my back foot, running at the monster. Just over my shoulder, I could see Taka jumping high and grabbing the rising bridge, pulling himself up into safety. Then I forgot him and focused on the charging monster.

It must have not expected me to turn around suddenly. Either that, or it couldn't have changed it's course quickly enough to avoid me. Either way, it didn't react quickly enough as my long sword, held in both hands, swung down to meet it as it charged at me. My sword smashed into it, not cutting it, but certainly checking its headlong rush. Still, the force of our collision knocked me back several feet, where I crashed to the ground, the impact driving the wind from my lungs. Should it be right for injuries in a virtual game to hurt this much? It wasn't as painful as it could be, but it had no business being this painful.

The monster had been knocked aside by the force of my attack, but it was already moving forward again, undaunted by my last attack. It wasn't until the creature was right on top of me, one arm reaching high to swipe at me, that I noticed the most terrifying thing about it. Nothing, not even its misshapen body, or its glowing evil eyes compared to the terror I felt as I saw the lines of text under its health bar.

Shade

Power Rank 80