Power Quest

Chapter 4: Shiraz

"Well? How much longer will it take? The guards will be here any moment now!"

Shiraz had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from uttering a very creative curse. Instead, she stopped what she was doing and slowly looked up at the other woman. "I am a level one nobody, and I am trying to pick that lock with a goddamned hairpin. It. Takes. Time. And it's not helping that you're breathing down my neck the whole time. Capish?"

The other woman gave her a disgusted look. "It is you who said she could do it. If you're not up to the task - "

"I said I could try," said Shiraz. She forced herself to take a deep breath. "Maybe you could, I don't know, stand guard while I'm at it?"

Her cellmate hissed. "Not that it would do us any good," she said as she turned away from Shiraz. "If I had my rod or magic components I could think of something, but Raxlon left us with nothing."

Other than my hairpin, thought Shiraz with a small smile. She removed a strand of scarlet hair from her eyes and tried to focus on the task at hand. The lock wasn't overly complicated, but knowing it was so didn't prevent the feeling of confusion as she concentrated on picking it. It was how the game worked - it didn't help that she was a legendary rogue in other VD games; here she was a noob and the system wouldn't let her obtain skills that she didn't work hard for. She really hoped that Raxlon's reputation would justify itself - otherwise she was just wasting her time.

Several long moments passed before Shiraz admitted that the lock was simply beyond her current capabilities. She cursed as she withdrew the pin and saw that it was crooked and nearly ruined, and cursed even louder when no notification came to announce a skill increase. She was hoping to at least get the first level in lock picking, but it appeared things weren't as easy here as in other games she'd been to. Or maybe she shouldn't aim for the rogue this time? There were a couple of other classes she wanted to try. Maybe sorceress like Milenna? Raxlon was known to think highly of magic-users.

Shiraz shook her head as she stood up and turned to address the other woman. "Sorry Milenna, I can't do it. Maybe we should - "

"Hsst!" Milenna raised her hand and gestured toward the hallway. "It doesn't matter anymore. See? They're coming."

Shiraz heard the guards' heavy footsteps a second before the pair came into the light of the cell's single oil lamp. She was amazed that she couldn't hear them up until that moment - another reminder that she wasn't an esteemed rogue anymore - but there was nothing to be done about it now. She had time only to step away from the cell's door and hide the ruined pin in her flowing hair, and then the guards came into view in all their glory.

"Ah. I like this mission already," said the lead guard in a drooling tone. He was the embodiment of everything a corrupt prison guard should look and sound like: a round, pockmarked face. Greasy hair, small eyes, short beard, a tongue that licked fat lips and a fat neck that must be quite itchy by the way he was scratching it all the time. His Sonadin uniforms and leather armor were stretched tightly over his big belly and while he had a short sword on his belt, Shiraz wondered how easy it would be for him to reach for it with all that excess fat. Good job with this one, Raxlon, she thought in true appreciation. It looked like her new DM took great care with his NPCs, and she liked it.

As the guard stepped closer and grabbed the bars, an unmistakable odor of ale drifted into the cell and Shiraz felt her hopes rising. If these two were drunk, then their chances to escape just got a little better.

"Ain't it something, Jarod?", continued the drunken guard. "Two - hic! - beautiful lasses waiting just for us two." He chuckled to himself, scratching his neck with dirty fingers and looking at the prisoners expectantly.