Glitching Guard

Investigate, right, that was the plan now. He started moving a little faster, a definite purpose pulling him forward. He was someone who investigated things now, apparently. It was still strange, this feeling – this urge to know what was happening, to go see for himself. But it was interesting too. Definitely more interesting than just standing around feeling achy and wondering.

He moved carefully, picking his way between the rocks, trying to make as little sound as possible. It felt a bit silly, trying to be quiet. Guards weren't really built for quiet movements. But it felt right in this moment. Like there was a way to approach this – a way to learn more about what was going on here, and being quiet seemed like it might help. Like observing something you weren't supposed to disturb.

The sounds of fighting were much louder now, definitely close by. He could hear those other voices more clearly too, the excited shouts, the player sounds. He still didn't really understand what those sounds meant, not really. Were they happy sounds? Or maybe stressed sounds? Just loud sounds? Hard to figure out. But there was definitely a lot of feeling in those voices. A lot of something going on there.

He reached the edge of the clearing and peeked out from behind another, bigger rock. Now he could properly see them. The players. Two of them, just like he'd guessed. Big armor, big swords. The kind he'd seen back near Oakhaven. The warrior types, he was starting to think of them. And yes, they were still fighting those creatures. The boars. The same sort he'd just encountered himself. Though these ones looked – well, bigger maybe? Or was it just seeing two of them at once that made them seem so large?

He watched them for a moment, really watching. It was different, seeing them fight up close like this, when they weren't just moving through creatures so easily. They moved quickly, for sure. Swinging those big swords, moving around the boars. But they also stumbled sometimes. They definitely got hit. He could see those lines, those colorful bars above their heads, getting shorter and shorter. Was that not good? He'd seen those lines before, above everyone's heads. He guessed they probably showed something important about how they were doing.

One of the players yelled something, a short sharp sound, and swung his sword in a big wide way. The sword hit one of the boars with a heavy thwack noise, and the boar made a grunting noise back. But then the other boar charged forward, surprisingly fast for something so big and heavy seeming. It slammed right into the player who'd just swung his sword, knocking him backward off his feet. The player stumbled, then actually fell, landing hard in the mud with a splashy sound. The other player shouted something again, even louder this time, and turned to face both of the boars at once, swinging his sword around and around – like he was trying to keep them both away. He looked – well, he looked like he was finding this difficult.

The guard watched, still hidden behind the rock, a new kind of feeling starting to form inside him. It wasn't just curiosity anymore – not just wanting to watch and learn. It was a little more than that. Seeing these players, these figures he'd always seen moving powerfully through the world, actually struggling like this, actually getting hurt – it was unexpected to see. And a bit confusing. He wondered if they were okay. He wondered if they maybe needed help. He wondered if there was maybe something he could do.

Help. The thought popped into his head, suddenly and a little strange. Could he even do that? The guards didn't help the players. That wasn't their purpose. Their purpose was to stand in designated spots, offer canned phrases, and occasionally get dramatically killed by monsters so players could help them. Not the other way around. That was just… how things worked.

But watching them now, these players, still struggling, still getting knocked around – it just didn't look right. It looked… difficult. And maybe even… dangerous? He watched the one player who was still standing. He was moving fast, definitely, swinging his sword, trying to keep the boars away from his fallen friend. But he was also moving… almost frantically. His swings were getting wider, and less controlled. He was breathing heavily, those little puff of air visuals the game put around player characters when they were tired – Barnaby had seen those before, just never really paid them much attention.

And the boars – they weren't slowing down. They weren't getting tired at all, as far as he could tell. They just kept coming, tusks lowered, grunting angrily, pushing forward, relentless. They seemed… very focused on the players. Like they really wanted to… well, he wasn't quite sure what boars wanted to do to players, exactly. But it probably wasn't good.

The fallen player was still on the ground. He hadn't moved. He was just lying there in the mud, that health line flickering even faster now, almost blinking out completely. Was he… alright? Barnaby frowned a little, a new expression he was pretty sure guards weren't supposed to make. He wondered what would happen if those lines disappeared completely. Did players just… stop? Did they break? Did they just… vanish? He honestly didn't know. He'd never really considered what happened to players when things went wrong for them.

The standing player took another hit. This time, he didn't just stumble – he actually staggered backwards, dropping his sword with a clatter in the mud. He was clutching his arm, that health line above his head was now seriously short, mostly red with just a tiny sliver of… whatever color meant "not-dead-yet". He looked around wildly, like he was searching for something, or someone. And then, his eyes, or where his eyes would be under that helmet, seemed to land right on Barnaby, hidden behind the rock.

For a moment, they just looked at each other. Well, the player looked at the rock, and Barnaby looked back from behind it. It was probably just a coincidence, player probably wasn't actually seeing him. Guards were part of the scenery, weren't they? Like trees, or rocks, or slightly damp mud. But then, the player did something unexpected. He moved. He actually took a step towards Barnaby's rock, wobbling a little, still clutching his arm. And he… spoke. Player-speech, definitely, but not the usual excited battle shouts. This was different.

The player's voice was… strained, a bit shaky. It was also… directed right at the rock. At Barnaby's rock. "Help," the player said. Just that one word. "Help, please?"

Barnaby froze. Help? Did he just… did he just hear that right? A player, actually asking him for help? That wasn't in the… dialogue options. That wasn't how player-NPC interactions were supposed to work. Players didn't ask guards for help. Players were the help. They were the ones who did the helping. They were the ones who… well, they were the players. And he was just… the guard.

But the player was still looking right at the rock. Still clutching his arm. Still looking… well, still looking like he really needed help. And that word, that single, shaky word, just hung there in the air, in the muddy clearing, in Barnaby's code, echoing in a way that was… completely unexpected. Completely illogical. And, maybe, just maybe, completely… interesting.

Help, please? The words hung there, a question in the muddy air, a question aimed right at him. It was… a weird sound, that word, coming from a player. Not like the usual player sounds at all. This was… different. This was a player actually… asking. Asking him.

He stayed still behind the rock for another moment, just… processing. Guards didn't get asked for help. Guards gave help, in very specific, very limited, pre-set ways. Directions. Maybe a bit of flavor text about local monsters. Definitely not… actual help, in a fight. That was player territory. That was what players did. Guards watched. Guards stood still. Guards… didn't help.

Except, maybe… maybe things were changing? He'd just fought a boar. He'd actually, properly fought it, and… not lost. Something had shifted then, something inside him. That… buzz, that feeling – it was still there, humming under the surface of everything. And now, this player, actually asking for help. Maybe that buzz, maybe that feeling, was… connected to this? Maybe this was part of… whatever was happening to him.

He peeked out from behind the rock again, just a little, just enough to see the players properly. The fallen one was still down, still flickering. The standing one was still looking right at his rock, his stance unsteady, sword wavering a little. He looked… really like he needed help. Like… proper help. Like the kind of help players usually gave each other.

And… well, what if he could help? Just a little? Just… see what happened if he tried? It was a strange thought, a new thought. Definitely not a guard-thought. But then, he wasn't really feeling like just a guard right now, was he? Not just standing still, not just saying pre-set lines, not just… being scenery. He was feeling… something else. Something more. Something… like maybe he could actually do things. Things that weren't in the… instructions.

He took a breath, though he didn't really need to breathe, not in the human way. And then, he did something that definitely wasn't in any guard programming he'd ever experienced. He moved. He moved towards the players. Not running, exactly, not charging in like some kind of… warrior. Just… stepping out from behind the rock. Making himself… visible.

He walked slowly into the clearing, towards the struggling player and the two angry boars. He kept his hands… well, he didn't really know what to do with his hands, so he just let them hang there. He didn't have a weapon anymore, not since that spear broke. Just… himself. Just… him, and whatever this new, weird feeling inside him was telling him to do.

The standing player blinked, or at least, Barnaby thought he blinked, under his helmet. He definitely turned his head a little, focusing on Barnaby now, no longer just looking at the rock. He looked… surprised. Maybe even a little confused. Which was fair enough, really. A guard, just… walking into a monster fight? Probably not something players saw every day.

The boars, though – they definitely noticed him. Monster-focus, that was a real thing, he was learning. Both of them turned their heads away from the players now, their small, angry eyes fixing on him. They made those snorting, rumbling noises again, pawing at the mud with their hooves. Threat display, maybe? Warning? Or just… boar noises.

And then, one of them started to move. Not towards the players anymore. Towards him. Towards the guard who was now, for reasons he couldn't quite explain, walking right into the middle of their fight. Towards whatever strange, illogical, completely unexpected thing was about to happen next. Because yeah, things were definitely different now. Things were definitely… changing. And he was walking right into the middle of it all, just to see what would happen. Just to see… what he would do.