Page 2 of The Glass Unicorn, Part 1 (Quest Wars #1)

I shielded my eyes as the flame blade spell hit the Trogger.

Unlike when we were sitting around the table rolling dice, here, light really could blind you.

Fire could burn. And a sword could end your life.

And if your cleric wasn’t high enough level to resurrect you, you’d end up out of the game for good—both the world of Abarria and the game of life.

The waivers we’d signed were air-tight. Our families couldn’t sue if we were killed, and we couldn’t sue if we were hurt.

The Trogger turned toward Reggie, and strode toward him. Reggie let out a squeak and jumped aside—he was nimble for a mage. I trained my bow on the monster and let an arrow fly. Even though I had never lifted a bow in my life, my body here knew what to do.

The bolt lodged itself in the left back shoulder of the creature, and he bellowed.

My pulse racing, I nocked another arrow, ready to shoot again.

I hadn’t been this scared since I almost drowned in the bay, four years ago when a dangerous riptide caught hold of me.

Luckily, Thornhold had been there and he had managed to swim out and drag me back, before the tide pulled me too far out.

Brynn carried both a sword and a big-assed hammer. She darted in, raising the hammer and whirling it over her head as though she were about to throw a discus. I watched her, mesmerized. She truly looked the part of a Valkyrie.

The hammer slammed against the Trogger’s stomach, knocking him back. A glimmer of light shimmered around her hammer, and Brynn cheered.

“Critical hit!” she said. “We have to finish him off while he’s stunned!”

Thornhold dove in with his double-bladed axe.

He brought it down across the Trogger’s neck, slicing through the thick, leathery skin.

As it fountained blood, I grimaced, but I managed to shoot again.

This time, my arrow lodged in the Trogger’s heart—that is, if the creature’s heart was in the same place as the human heart.

Brynn swung her hammer again, this time managing to smash his head. As he fell, a chime sounded.

The sound of experience points adding up.

I stared at the mess of brains on the ground and promptly felt sick to my stomach, turning to the side. I waited, expecting to throw up, but I hadn’t eaten in awhile. Another moment, and I let out a long breath and turned back.

“What are you thinking?” Thornhold asked, looking concerned.

I swallowed, hard. “Killing someone in a game is easy. But killing someone in the flesh is a lot harder,” I said, staring at the prone monster.

Thornhold caught my gaze and held it, nodding gently. I could see the same feeling reflected in his eyes. He reached out and patted my arm.

“It’s okay, Erenye. Remember, the world’s full of harsh realities.

Both the one at home and this one. We knew that when we signed up.

” He tugged on the neck of his tunic. “The Trogger would have killed us if we hadn’t killed him.

And these are Syms, they aren’t real in the sense that you and I are. ”

I ducked my head. Thornhold was right. I’d signed up for this, and if we hadn’t attacked the Trogger, he wouldn’t have hesitated to attack us. But I still wondered if this was going to desensitize us to taking life.

“Yeah, I know. Thanks, for understanding.”

As Thornhold had said, the monsters and characters in Abarria were Syms—generated in the laboratory.

Oh, they were full flesh and blood, but they hadn’t been born, they’d been created, solely for this purpose.

They were programmed to react and to speak…

The Game-Guides promised they had no real feeling. Still, it seemed terribly real.

Brynn was searching through the creature’s clothes. “I found a coin purse, and he also had this on him.” She tossed a long club on the ground. She seemed to have no trouble with beating the crap out of the Trogger.

I tried to pick up the club, but it was far too heavy. And I was stronger here than out in the real world. “I can barely lift it. You are strong , lady.”

“You know shieldmaidens. Strength is our highest stat. I’m stronger than I ever dreamed possible.

” She grinned. “This sure beats sitting in my office, staring at the computer screen.” She poked the Trogger again and then opened the purse, pouring out a handful of silver coins, along with two rings.

One had a ruby in it, the other—an emerald.

“What are those? Are they just jewelry or are they magical?” I asked.

Reggie held out his hand. “Let me see them. I have an Identify Magic spell.”

Brynn handed them to him. Reggie held them in his right hand, and waved his left hand over them, closing his eyes and whispering an incantation. The rings glimmered, sparkling as though the sunlight had hit them directly.

“Oh that’s so cool! I know what they are,” he said.

“The emerald is a ring of health—it adds to your hit points. The ruby, a ring of power—it strengthens your swings with a blade or a hammer.” He looked at us.

“We could either sell these—they’d fetch a pretty penny—or we can use them. There are no curses on them.”

Everybody looked at me. I was the tacit leader of the party, given it had been my idea to come here.

“What do you want to do?” Ray asked.

“Who has the least hit points?” I asked.

Reggie raised his hand. “Wizards and mages always seem to. Mine are pretty pathetic.”

“Then you take the emerald ring. Either Thornhold or Brynn should take the ruby ring.” I glanced at both of them. “Who wants it?”

Thornhold cleared his throat. “It would be fun to have, but Brynn struck the final blow. She’s a tank. Go ahead and take it.”

Brynn smiled at him. “Thanks. All right.” She slid the ruby ring on her finger and it conformed to her ring finger. The same happened with Reggie and the emerald ring.

“We got experience points for that, so we’re on the way to leveling up,” Ray said. He grumbled. “I want a new robe. This thing feels like burlap.”

“Don’t you think we should wait and spend our money on food and supplies, instead? We’re here for two weeks,” I said. We’d signed up for the two week package, and except in cases of emergency, we were in here for the duration.

“Well, let’s make the most of this,” Ray said, glancing at the sky. “It’s closing in on midday. If we’re going to head into the woods, we should get a move on. It’s quite a hike down the hillside.

“Remember, the forests are swarming with all sorts of critters.” I spotted a well to one side.

“Over there—we should make certain our water bottles are full.” I led the way, using the water already in my bottle to rinse the taste of puke out of my mouth, spitting several times until all I could taste was clear water.

We filled our bottles. Then, after a moment to pause and appreciate what we were about to do, we headed toward the path leading to the forest.

The sky overhead was clear, the sun beating down on us warm, but not hot. The Game-Guide had told us that we’d be entering Abarria during early autumn. It was early September in the real world, and apparently the seasons here matched those outside.

The hill was steep, but not so much so that it was dangerous. I did, however, regret that we’d gone on the cheap. It would be so much easier if we’d sprung for horses. But it was too late for that, and we were stuck going on foot.

All around, the droning of insects filled the breeze.

To either side of the path—which was large enough for a wagon to traverse with horsemen alongside—the knee-high grass rustled in the wind.

The distance between us and the woodland were clear of any signs of habitation, though I knew there was a small village somewhere near the forest. There were copses along the way—small thickets, but the massive forest was unmistakable.

Miles of whispering grassland separated its borders from us.

“How far to the forest?” Ray asked.

I stared at the road, and was suddenly aware that I actually knew the answer. “Fifteen miles. I hope you’ve all built up your stamina.”

But we could manage it. Our change in physiques weren’t only in looks, but we were road worthy warriors, meant for the nomadic life.

It still felt odd to be in a body unlike my own, but somehow, Abarria Game-Guides had managed to engineer the shift so that there wasn’t a huge disconnect.

I wasn’t sure what would happen if I were to look in a mirror.

Would I even recognize myself? But that I had chosen this helped.

As did the fact that this was for a limited time.

Though I already planned on signing up for a gym when I got home, and maybe even for archery classes.

“Why aren’t we going to the village first? I forget,” Reggie said.

“Because…I guess we got sidetracked by the Trogger, I said. “Though you know that trouble always starts in villages like Dusmaria—” I stopped as the breeze picked up. My senses felt overloaded. The air was thick with moisture and rain was on the way. “Great, we’re due for rain. Let’s get moving.”

“All the better to go to the village,” Brynn argued. “We don’t stand a chance of reaching the forest before the storm hits.”

I didn’t want to go to the village, but the others were giving me looks that said I could either override them and listen to them complain when the rain hit, or we could turn around and head for the village, and make them happy.

I debated a few moments longer but finally decided to give in. A good leader knew how to compromise.

“Fine, we turn around and head for Dusmaria. But once we’re there, keep your guard up.

If years of playing the game has taught us anything, it’s that villages are rife with dangers.

Everyone from pickpockets to slavers roam the streets.

We’ll get a room at the inn for the night.

Then, tomorrow at first light, we hit the road, rain or not.

Happy now?” I knew I sounded sarcastic, but the others knew me well enough and they cheerfully began to discuss what they thought the village would be like.

What the hell, I decided. What could one night in the village hurt?

Against my better judgement, we returned to our starting point and, skirting the landing pad area where it looked like yet another party of adventurers—this time three elves—were preparing for their quest—we headed toward the stinky village.

As we headed for the village, I decided to squelch my fears and go whichever way the wind was blowing. That optimism lasted until we hit the gates of Dusmaria.