The trio basked in the warmth under the shade of the tree. While Ludo lay on his back with his eyes closed and arms folded behind his head, the girls ate their food. It was a simple meal of bread and cheese, but they seemed happy to have it. Ludo cracked one eye open as he felt someone staring at him. Of course, it was Lusa.
“What do you do?” Lusa asked with a mouth full of bread when she caught him looking at her.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, people pray to Fortunia for luck, and the other gods for things like a good harvest. But you don’t seem busy. What do they pray to you for?”
Ludo fake-clutched his heart as if he’d been seriously wounded. Eliciting a burst of laughter from the sisters. Then, he sat up and leaned his back against the tree. “To be honest, not much. Usually for help to win at a game.”
“That doesn’t sound very important.” Lusa stated as she tilted her head.
“You’re right. But sometimes, very good people need that help.” He cast a knowing glance at Teffania.
Lusa chewed on his answer almost as enthusiastically as she chewed on her bread. Meanwhile, Teffania was staring out at the road. Ludo followed her gaze, but there was nobody else on it.
“Do you have a family?” Lusa asked, drawing his attention back to her. “Like a wife, or kids?”
“No, I don’t.” Ludo smiled at her.
He was pretty sure he didn’t even have that in his past life. Honestly it seemed like he had a rather lonely life before from what he could piece together.
“So you’re really all alone.”
Ludo looked at her. She wasn’t being cruel. No. She was just stating things the way kids had a tendency to do. “I’m not alone. I have you and Teffania now.”
Lusa grinned at that while Teffy absent-mindedly tucked her hair behind her ear. Ludo was about to say something when he saw it. Teffania’s expression became tense as she abruptly stood up. Ludo followed her gaze, and there, just down the road, was a cloud of dust being kicked up.
“Riders,” Teffania said.
There were four of them, and they were moving fast. Teffania’s hand found Lusa’s shoulder and pulled her to her feet. “Stay behind me.”
Lusa hid behind her sister without asking why. She knew Teffy was serious by the tone of her voice. Their meal sat forgotten on the grass as they watched the riders.
It didn’t take long for the group to close the distance. Ludo watched them curiously as they came closer.
Is she worried about bandits?
From the little he’d seen of the world it was a reasonable concern. However, he became more serious as the scarred man leading the group pointed at them and led the rest toward them.
The three behind him fanned out as the scarred man reined in his horse several steps away from the trio. He stared at Teffy for a bit, then at Lusa who peeked out from behind her. Then, he cocked an eyebrow as he glanced at Ludo.
Oh? This wasn’t a chance meeting on the road then.
Ludo’s eyes narrowed as he stared back.
“You left the village in quite a hurry, Teffania,” he said, almost lazily.
Teffania just kept staring at the man without saying anything.
“Groman sends his regards. He’d like you to return. Said you had a conversation that needs finishing.”
“I’m not going back, Haroll.”
Ah, so that’s his name.
Haroll smiled. “That’s what he thought you’d say. He told me to be… persuasive.”
His gaze moved over Teffania slowly. Then, Teffy shivered as he licked his lips. When he spoke again, his voice became much quieter. “We don’t mind playing with you for a while.”
Despite the situation, Ludo couldn’t help but grin at them.
Oh, you fucked up.
“Friends, come now,” Ludo called out with a fake smile as he spread his arms. “The lady is quite tired. And I don’t mean to brag, but I’m quite good at games myself.”
“What?” Haroll asked as he glared at Ludo. Not only him, but the others with him were all looking in Ludo’s direction.
“Ah, slow on the uptake, huh?” Ludo chuckled as he kept fiddling with his interface. “What I’m saying is… I’ll play with you.”
Haroll frowned as he glanced back at the other cronies. However, while they all shrugged and started laughing, Teffania’s eyes were wide. She’d made the same realisation as Ludo. These guys were followers of his!
At that moment, Teffy shivered when she saw Ludo’s grin turn sadistic. Then, he said it. “Let’s Play, Hide and Seek!”
A few moments ago, when Haroll said he’d ‘play’ with Teffy.
Your follower, Haroll Skiem, has challenged your group to a game.
You currently have no suitable Miracles to serve as a Divine Game.
Creating New Miracle, please focus on the Divine Game you would like to create.
Congratulations! You have created: Let’s Play, Hide and Seek.
Miracle: Let’s Play, Hide and Seek
Description: Establish a divine game between two or more players. The ‘Hiders’ must complete their objective before being caught by a ‘Seeker’. The game ends when all designated Hiders are either caught or complete their objective.
Haroll’s group immediately stopped laughing as something unbelievable happened. One by one, everyone stared at the sky. A golden orb of light was falling toward them.
Everyone but Ludo tried to run, but nobody could move. The orb crashed into the ground without making a sound, but what happened next left everyone breathless. Thin golden lines spread out from where the orb had landed. They crossed the road and hills, ran through bushes and trees, and Ludo grinned as he realised what they formed.
Haha, they’re making the squares of a gameboard.
Then, golden letters appeared emblazoned against the blue sky.
HIDE AND SEEK
HIDERS: 3
SEEKERS: 4
GAME: ACTIVE
“Sis, look!” Lusa squealed in delight as she pointed at the writing in the sky. A moment later, the letters burst like golden fireworks. The sparks took the shape of what Ludo recognised to be game pieces like from chess and other things.
“What the
hell
did you do?” Haroll practically screamed at Ludo with bulging eyes.
“What? I thought you wanted to
play
with us? I just went ahead and set it up for us.” Ludo chuckled while shaking his head. Then, he smirked as he stared at Haroll, straight in his eyes. “But there’s one other thing I have to say.”
“Don’t! Don’t say anything else! Get him before he…”
“Too late. House Rule, Fog of War!”
Ludo wheezed as he felt his energy plummet. He honestly felt like he’d just ran a marathon as his stored Faith massively dropped in those few moments.
Worth it!
The entire field created by Let’s Play, Hide and Seek was now covered in dense purple-tinged golden fog.
“Run!”
He grabbed Teffy and Lusa by their hands and dragged them behind him. Of course, he didn’t run in a straight line for the boundary. That would probably be the first direction the Seekers ran off to. Instead, he made a ninety degree turn and bolted for the eastern edge. With a bit of luck, the men would pass them by without ever noticing them.
“Hey! Haroll, something’s glowing over there!”
What?
Ludo grit his teeth as he glanced over his shoulder. Every step each of them took left golden ripples on the ground that lingered for a while.
Oh, come on!
“Wait,” Ludo whispered as he paused. He took a single slow step forward, and no ripples appeared. “Damn, we have to be slow and careful about this.”
The girls nodded as Ludo led them onwards again, albeit much slower this time. Meanwhile, Ludo changed direction again, assuming the men would follow their footsteps from when they ran.
Okay, let’s think about this. Clearly I can’t just cheese this with Fog of War. That trail must be a hidden effect of Hide and Seek. Why, though?
He couldn’t figure out if it was a natural effect of Hide and Seek, or if it was caused by some weird interaction between both of his Miracles. Ludo had been careless, and if whatever-his-name-is hadn’t shouted so loudly, it could’ve led to them getting caught.
No, I need to think about how to get out of this.
That was when he spotted it. A little rocky outcrop poked out from the hillside a short distance away. The fog had hidden it before, but the rocks and the few bent trees would be excellent cover. Ludo grabbed Teffania’s sleeve and pointed to it while pressing a finger against his lips. Teffy nodded once and tugged on Lusa’s hand, guiding her to it.
It took them longer than Ludo would’ve liked to get there. Mainly because they had to move so slowly so as not to give themselves away. Ludo pressed his back against the largest stone as he crouched down behind it. He rubbed his legs with a deep frown to ease the ache he felt.
Then it dawned on him. If Faith was essentially the amount of health and energy he had, then wasn’t he hurting himself to create Miracles? No wonder he felt so tired and sore.
“They’re still coming,” Teffania whispered as she peered around the edge of a boulder at the sound of voices.
“Look, the ripples,” Lusa whispered while pointing into the fog. “They’re fading.”
Ludo turned, and sure enough, she was right. That was another thing he’d need to consider in the future, since Fog of War didn’t seem to affect the trail they left behind. As Ludo watched them dim and disappear, a slow grin spread across his face.
“That’s it,” he hissed. “That’s how we win.”
“What?” Teffania blinked as she looked at him.
“That trail we leave behind if we move too fast, it doesn’t last forever.” He pushed himself upright as he studied what he could see of the playing field. “If we can make them follow a false trail for long enough.”
“They’ll lose us.” Teffania’s mouth curved upwards.
“Exactly.”
Lusa bounced up and down on her heels in excitement. “So we’re going to trick them?”
“That’s right,” Ludo chuckled as he tussled her hair. But then he realised a slight flaw in his plan.
“What’s wrong?” Teffy asked as she saw him grimace.
“I just realised,” Ludo swallowed. “One of us will have to act as bait to set the false trail. If they notice it too quickly, there might not be enough time to double-back.”
Silence fell between them as they weighed their options. But the voices were getting closer. Teffy opened her mouth to say something, but…
“Ah, I’ll do it,” Ludo groaned as he rubbed his head. “I doubt they can do anything to me even if they catch me. But you’ve got Lusa to look after. Okay, let’s do this.”