Chapter 172: 5: Four Lost

Danika narrowed her eyes, she could see why the person from the third division, tech support, had decided that everything was functioning normally. He'd fed a cursed harp blood and then agreed to take its test. It was a completely traditional story line. But being trapped in the game for hours still sounded like a real problem.

"It warned me that it would kill me if I was 'not worthy'," Brannigan admitted guiltily. He looked at the fallen surrounding him and added, "But it didn't warn me that it would kill everyone around me too! I think it's sucking their energy and feeding it to me, because my harp skill is slowly rising, but I've never run out of energy from playing."

Danika blinked and checked her energy. Aishin had done the same and agreed quietly when she looked up at him, "My energy is slowly dropping too. Whatever we do we probably shouldn't wait too long."

"It doesn't sound like it just forces anyone into playing it, try throwing me at him," Danika suggested again.

Aishin nodded and threw her toward the bard, but it was like a small tornado blew up suddenly and ZipZing was blown around the bard within the path marked by the fallen. Aishin saw that her idea had failed and threw two knives at the bard instead.

Danika half expected the knives to be blown away too, so she felt a little shocked when one sank into the bard's eye and the next took him in the throat. Two more followed, hitting his other eye and then his heart. Brannigan sagged away from the harp and fell to the ground.

"His health was already low," Aishin commented as the harp fell silent at last.

Brannigan's body vanished, showing that he'd revived.

Danika came to a halt beside Aishin and after a long silent moment she asked, "What should we do about the harp?"

The animals who'd been circling had begun to stagger away.

"Should we do anything about it?" Aishin questioned. "It sounds like it's pretty harmless unless someone actively starts its quest?"

Danika looked at the circle of bodies doubtfully. A few of them were beginning to stir, now that the influence of the harp was gone. The harp itself stood upright, looking beautiful and out of place. It looked like it belonged in a fancy room full of intricately carved furniture to match it, not like it should be standing on the ground outdoors.

A somewhat plump looking man sat up and groaned. Nearby a woman got to her hands and knees. Danika felt surprised to see that the woman was a player. The woman looked around and then looked at Aishin and asked, "Do you intend to claim the harp?"

Aishin shrugged and looked at ZipZing questioningly, the woman frowned and followed his gaze. A moment later she gasped and asked, "You're a player too?"

The plump man, who's information revealed him to be the innkeeper, staggered over to an elderly woman who hadn't moved.

Danika frowned and replied irritably, "You couldn't tell that from hearing us talk? I think we should help these people first."

A young girl, who was another NPC sat up, and looked at the plump man who was now shaking the shoulder of the elderly woman. She gasped and leapt to her feet, and exclaimed, "Grandmama!"

The old woman and three chickens were the only casualties in the end. The girl mourned briefly, but the innkeeper said something that calmed her. The other animals and two more people recovered slowly but surely. Danika felt bad for the NPC family, but the NPCs didn't seem to grieve as deeply as most people would have, and at least the harp hadn't killed as many people as it had appeared at first.

After things were sorted out a while later, it was revealed that the harp had belonged to an inn that was located just beyond a tall hedge of roses. They were actually at the edge of a village, and just hadn't realized it. Fortunately the inn had been isolated enough that the villagers hadn't been drawn in as well.

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The innkeeper explained that he'd known the harp was cursed not to make a sound, but had sold the beautiful instrument to the bard anyway. The bard had carried it away from the inn, saying he intended to take it to an enchanter. The innkeeper had been shocked to hear the music a few minutes after the man had left. He hadn't realized at first that the enchantment was drawing everyone who could hear the music toward it, because he had run toward it to find out how the bard had suddenly gotten it to play.

After hearing the whole story the other player, fittingly named Anoi U, said, "It sounds like these NPCs already sold it, so it shouldn't matter if one of us takes it. I was caught by it hours ago, so I think I should have the best claim."

Danika couldn't even explain why she found the other player annoying. She hadn't complained while they heard out the innkeeper's story, and although she seemed to disregard the NPCs, Danika couldn't claim that she never did the same. Maybe the woman's name just instilled the idea that she was annoying.

"Were you prevented from logging out too?" Danika asked with a frown. Anoi nodded with the quick exaggerated nod of an emote, and Danika added, "Did you file a bug report like Brannigan?"

Aishin chuckled and said softly, "Remember that this is our leisure time."

Anoi replied, "Why? It doesn't seem like it's bugged? I've run into lots of combat situations in this game that gave the same message. This one lasted longer than usual I guess, but it didn't require any input from me."

After a moment, Danika shrugged. Aishin was right and she wasn't at work. The player who'd been annoyed had apparently submitted multiple reports, and the other one hadn't felt bothered. "Okay."

Aishin asked Anoi, "Why do you even want it?"

Anoi used a shady expression and said, "That bard complained that he spent a lot of coin on it, so it's probably worth a lot even if it's cursed."

"You're not going to sell it to someone without telling them how dangerous it is are you?" Danika questioned.

Anoi rolled her eyes and asked, "What of it? You want to buy it and destroy it?"

Aishin said a little cooly, "If ZipZing wants it, she doesn't have to pay you for it."

Danika held up her little clawed hands and protested, "I just think you should explain the curse if you sell it, if you want to take it, it's fine."

Anoi walked over to the harp and tried to place it into her inventory. Nothing happened. "Hey!" she complained. "Now it's acting bugged! I can't pick it up!"

The innkeeper's daughter had lingered beside her grandmother's body when her father had gone off to the village to get the priest to read her final prayer, and she spoke up now, "Only a bard can move it. It'll just sit where it is until another bard comes." She looked at ZipZing and said earnestly, "Don't worry little dragon, I'll warn any bards who come."

Anoi pouted at the girl, but after a moment she said, "Oh well, that was a total waste of time then." She shrugged and walked off.

The little girl watched her leave, and Danika thought that she looked a little smug when she turned back to Aishin and asked sweetly, "Can my family offer you any reward for rescuing us from the harp?"

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