Fiction | Drabble | LitRPG

Tooth and Claw

A series of 5 LitRPG drabbles

I recently challenged several Medium authors to write a drabble — a story of exactly 100 words, no more, no less, including the title.

Fellow author FJCMontenegro then decided to level things up by asking for a series of linked drabbles. My responses to this challenge are below. It’s worth noting from the outset that these five pieces are LitRPG stories – possibly the world’s first LitRPG drabble series..? 😆

They are based around my web-novel on Royal Road, The Tooth and Claw Guild. And so, the story doesn’t end with these drabbles!

1. The Camp

Ricky staggered blinking to his feet, memory in tatters, and found himself being ushered through a gate. Soon, a train was taking him and other ragged souls through muddy fields.

“What is this place?”

“Refugee camp,” said a bald man alongside. “Everyone wants to get into the city of New Baravia.”

Ricky: “But how?”

“By day, work. By night, we enter the pods.”

“Pods?”

“Play the game, win, become a citizen. You’ll see.”

And Ricky did see. A guard handed him a headset. He crawled in, pulled it over his face, and saw:

Welcome to the Dark Framework.

2. Welcome

Ricky found himself in a stone room with a bunk and a wooden door. He could move around, but his body was ethereal.

A translucent box appeared across his vision:

Greetings from the world’s most immersive game! Prepare to experience mysterious adventures and domains. You have entered the level known as Dark Framework: Portalis. Good luck!

© Cerberus Games.

Ricky heard a voice in his head. “Hi! I am your guide. You can move in any direction, and collect items. Beware of threats, though. Do you understand?”

“I… I guess so.”

“Great! Now it’s time to roll your character.”

3. Character Creation

“Character?”

“Yes,” said the Guide, ”to explore and interact.”

“Okay.”

“Also, speak to me inside your mind.”

Right.

It felt strange.

“First, species.”

I don’t want to be an elf or anything.

“Human, then. Next, statistics”.

Prioritizing physical qualities, Ricky chose:

Speed: 2
Nimbleness: 4
Strength: 8
Endurance: 6
Mana: 0
Hit points: 18

Ricky selected an avatar with dark hair and beard, tan skin, and basic clothing.

“Character creation is complete, Ricky.”

But wait… do I get some equipment?

“No. You find things in the game world.”

That’s… bullshit, Ricky thought.

But he nodded, and stepped outside.

4. Exploring

Beyond was a stairway; stone blocks with doors. Ricky descended; it felt unlikely that a key to New Baravia would be nearby.

Ground level. He stepped across the floor, then heard a snapping sound. Something struck his leg.

“Argh!”.

*Achievement: You survived a trap. +10XP
*Damage report: -3 hit points (15 remain).

Ricky proceeded more cautiously to the entrance, then heard a growling outside.

He saw:

*Quest 001: Evade the monster of Barrowdale Village.

He held his breath, straining to listen.

The growling diminished…

After around five minutes Ricky turned the door handle, and took his first step outside.

5. Barrowdale

Daytime. The street was deserted. Tall, buildings of stone and wood; little glass and no concrete. Like a town from fairytale books.

But dirt and dung coated the street.

Ricky sniffed.

So this was Barrowdale Village?

He felt sure that the creature had moved off to the left, so turned right and began to walk. Presumably he’d need to find an inn, and a way of earning some coins. Labor for a local farmer, perhaps?

Ricky continued along the street, then turned the corner, only to see a huge, two-headed beast rearing up in front of him.

“Oh, fuck.”

As I mentioned at the start, these drabbles are based on my web-novel The Tooth and Claw Guild. The drabbles rework the events of the first two chapters, cutting almost 5000 words in the process, but (I think) still retaining the most crucial elements.

If you want to read on, you can… the novel is complete and can be accessed for free via the link below, which picks things straight after the point where drabble five ends (beginning of chapter 3 of the novel).

Also, if you’re new to Medium and considering signing up, why not support my writing and that of thousands of other authors by signing up for a membership with this link. Many thanks!! 🌟