Zorc was an ugly thing, but he was not stupid. In fact he thought himself rather smart.
Other Monster World people were clueless, but Zorc could feel the ebb and flow of the strange magic when it came. In the distant part of his brain, he could also sense the emotions of the Game Master himself. By paying attention to these feelings (the Master hated when players did well and delighted in their failures), Zorc knew when to strike and when to keep hiding out. He liked to swoop in when the adventurers were tired and sluggish- easy victory and easy EXP points.
But at the moment he was a bit confused.
Magic was moving through the board, but it was rather sluggish. Not enough for a game. It was possible that the Game Master had simply introduced a new NPC to the game. The Master's mood seemed to be neutral.
Either way, Zorc decided to play it safe. He stretched himself out on his stomach, in the shadow of the forest, and pretended to be dead.
No NPC ventured near the forest due to the monsters, so only those looking for trouble would stumble upon him. Then he could let them fuss over him, and would follow along behind, to gauge how strong they were and plan when to strike. Adventurers were so naive.
Zorc lay there for what seemed like hours, motionless but ears pricked. He was beginning to feel foolish when he heard it. Footsteps. He checked over himself quickly to make sure he looked convincing, and held his breath.
The footsteps approached slowly, warily. For a moment they almost stopped, but then they doubled in speed. Zorc almost grinned.
The stranger knelt beside him, and a hand rested gently on his shoulder.
"Are you all right?"
Zorc moved slightly. Slowly, he pushed himself up and looked around.
His 'rescuer' was, surprisingly, an NPC. His robes and staff marked him as a spellcaster of some kind, and stark white hair spilled out from under his wizards' hat. Vibrant green eyes had a hint of worry in them as Zorc stood.
They studied each other in silence for a moment.
The more Zorc stared, the more he felt like running away. The spellcaster was level 13, only two below himself. Furthermore, he looked like he used WHITE magic, a large advantage over his own BLACK variety. How could an NPC get so strong?
The spellcaster smiled.
"You seem to be fine. I'm the White Wizard Bakura, an NPC created by Ryo Bakura. Who are you?"
Zorc hesitated, then said, "I… I am Traveler Z. An NPC created by the Ghost Master."
A little more thought, and he decided to get rid of this wizard with the usual trick. It always worked on adventurers.
"Please help me! A monster attacked me in the forest and stole my treasure! I was on my way to give it to the hero of the village! That treasure is a holy sword! It's the only thing that can defeat Zorc!"
The wizard Bakura blinked bemusedly.
"Sorry, but I'm an NPC. I don't do quests anymore. Maybe you could ask the next group of adventurers. I'm sure they'd be happy to help," he said.
"Wait…" said Zorc, shoulders slumping. "So you're not out to defeat Zorc?"
"No. I was created to assist the players, nothing more," said Bakura.
"Oh…."
"Why, were you hoping for someone to fight Zorc?"
"Yes, I suppose. Without sending them on quests, I've nothing to do," said Zorc.
"Well, I'm not sure then the next group of players will arrive. You can stick wih me until then, if you have nothing," said Bakura.
Zorc was surprised. He'd never interacted much with other NPCs, and the ones he'd met before hadn't been nearly as polite (needless to say, they were monster chow). Hesitantly, he nodded his head.
"Right, then. Let's go back to the village, and…."
"No!" Zorc cried quickly. "No…" he repeated, at Bakura's surprised look. "There are a lot of people in the village who don't like me. There are some ex-players who might be angry at me for sending them into the forest."
"They shouldn't blame you. They're the ones who got themselves defeated, aren't they?" Bakura muttered.
Zorc shifted uncomfortably.
He'd led those players in, watched them use up their energy, then changed shape and blasted them away with 'Dark Catastrophe.' But he didn't need to tell the wizard that.
"Doesn't change the fact they hate me."
"They wouldn't dare attack you with me around," said Bakura.
"Maybe not attack, but…. But the look in their eyes… that hurts," said Zorc, and he was surprised when, deep down, he realized that had a grain of truth. Bakura's eyes softened.
"Well… the village and Castle Zorc aren't the only places of habitation in Monster World. Why don't we go to Dwarf Town?" he offered.
"Dwarf Town?" Zorc repeated.
"Yes, the Dwarf Town. Adventurers always seem to want to fight Zorc right away, so they never take the route through the mountains. You won't find any ex-players there," said Bakura.
"That sounds brilliant," said Zorc.
"Right, then! Let's go to the Dwarf Town!"
I always wanted to focus on Monster World... I have a faint idea of where I'm going with this story, but... any ideas to help me along?