“That person briefly held us captive…” I begin.
“She forced you to come this way?”
“No, not at all… we discussed it. I agreed with them in the end. I’m not saying I trust them, but…”
“They were right about leaving more covertly,” she says, interrupting. “But does that mean that we should go wherever they say?” She pauses, and the others stop too. “Because we have a decision to make. Ahead there is a junction. The left branch leads towards the mountain pass, and the right will take us to a farm road and from there to the main highway south to Sefindarg City.”
“We will struggle to catch up with the others, Coruff,” says Garner. “Especially on foot.”
“That’s true, Garner,” she says. “But I can communicate with them to tell them our progress. We can follow them to Dathmir. It is vitally important that I unite with them, so that we can cast a protective enchantment on our new home.”
Garner sighs slightly, looking at me.
“We shouldn’t do anything that interferes with the safety of the coven,” I say slowly, “but it seems to me that this town of Katresburg is a good bet. If there is a revolt against the Empire, we have a chance to challenge the cruel law against magic users. And if not, well…”
“We can hide in the mountains,” says Lugg.
I nod. I hadn’t considered that option, but Lugg is right – the mountain range to our north is vast, and largely uncharted.
Coruff still looks unconvinced. She summons up one of her yellow bird messengers, and it circles around her hooded head, not departing. “Hiding away is possible, I suppose. Or we could find a safer port and sail back for Sefindarg on a different ship.”
This conversation is not going quite as I had intended.
“Let me explain,” I say. “the people I spoke to back there are sworn enemies of the Knights of Dawn and of the Emperor. They oppose the ban on magic users – they even had a sorcerer of their own…” I bite my lip; after the trouble on the ship, it might be best not to mention that this was another half-orc, or that he helped to capture us.
“Not all sorcerers are good people,” Coruff responds, “nor all magic users, either. Katresburg has a guild of healers called the Elemental Hand Guild. They have been spared any of the persecution experienced by monitors and witches on account of the fact that the Empire needs their skills for healing soldiers on their return from battle. They care nothing for fellow users of magic.”
I shrug, thinking hard. “Look, Coruff. I don’t really like it either. But I don’t think we can risk taking the road south. The Knights of Dawn or their mercs could easily ride us down. Why don’t we head through the mountains, stop at this city and then – if it seems right – move on to Dathmir from there?”
“It would be a quicker way to go,” add Garner. “I may not be familiar with this particular pass, but I think my skills are up to guiding you along the way.”
“What’s more,” I say, “a city with magic users in the open is going to be a better place to replace the supplies that we lost.”
Coruff ponders this, and then she nods. “Very well. Let’s go east.” And as she speaks, the yellow bird shoots off – presumably carrying a message to Maleki, Josa, and the others.
Soon we have taken the left side of the fork as Coruff described, and the path begins to climb. The trees become gradually more scarce as we continue, and the land around us rockier, less fertile, and colder. After about twenty minutes I pause, take a drink from my waterskin, and look back at Nimroth. It looks very small indeed, now, nestled on the coast. The others stop too, everyone catching their breath.
“You changed your mind about the folks that captured us, Daria,” says Lugg to me.
I nod, looking at my friend. “Maybe I’m an idiot, but in the end I think most of what they said is probably true.”
“So you trust this Zakira?”
“Yes. I suppose I do.”
On some level, I realize, I have missed having a real human connection in the game; however vivid and lifelike the NPCs have become, there is something about speaking to someone like myself, someone who understands the motivations of players, the desire to play the game, and the need to balance real-world demands.
Talking of which…
I toggle to semi-immersive mode as we continue to march through the trees, and the surroundings of the city library come into focus. And indeed, nobody is paying me any heed. If they saw me appearing half-asleep with the pile of books in front of me, that is probably nothing unusual.
After visiting the bathroom and eating some of my snacks, I am ready to resume play. But I can’t stay here for long.
* * *
There’s a message waiting for me from my Uncle Roy, telling me that another person has been asking for me at the house. I message back saying that it must be more of the people who have read about my case, and they should all be told I don’t live there any more.
Which brings me to a broader realisation. Until things are resolved with Shadow Kingdoms, I don’t think I can go back home safely. It would be a risk both to me, and worse, to my uncle and to Michael and Ada.
It may be time to see what Viperstar Games has to offer.
A day ago, I would never have considered throwing myself at the mercy of Connor Champion’s real world organisation. Now, however, I don’t want to risk further attention from the shadowy figures that were pursuing me at the college. And I certainly don’t want to lead them to where I live. Connor Champion might be my least-worst option right now.
And who knows, perhaps Viperstar Games can actually help my coding career. PreacherKorp are certainly becoming an increasingly unlikely destination for an internship.
I turn on my exit from the library, and slip into a backstreet that runs parallel to the main road towards town. The street is narrow, dark, and it smells as if someone has peed here recently. All the same, I pause by one side, checking the location of the office I am looking for. The Kjatari implant can easily overlay a map across my vision, labelling the streets as I go, but I don’t have that module installed – the downside of being focused just on games, I guess. I’m not sure if it would even work in tandem to my non-immersive game play. So I have to do this old style, bringing up a map, and then dismissing it and counting in my head the number of left and right turns…
As I start to move, two shadowy figures pass the end of the street behind, look in towards me, hesitate, and then walk on.
What was it that I said to my uncle? There are some weirdos who have read about me in the news. My own words come back to me as I pull my hood further down across my face and start to stride quickly down the tall, brick-sided alleyway.
And then there are the regular weirdos, too. This looks like the sort of street where people might be knifed on dark nights. Or even in broad daylight. It’s so narrow, you could barely squeeze a single car down it, and yet the walls on either side are at least five stories high.
I glance over my shoulder, but the two figures haven’t reappeared. I make a left, then a right, and then another right, finding myself on a wide shopping street. The natural light has almost gone now; it’s late in the afternoon, and the street lamps are blazing. Workers are beginning to hurry home or to cluster at bus stances, and some of the stores have already closed.
I close in on the turning that I have been aiming for. Ahead, a figure in a long black coat is hanging around close to where I want to go. He has straight hair of pure white, and… does he have pointed ears? No – it’s a figment of my imagination; he must have reminded me of the murderous elven mercenary Snagaras, and my mind is still half in the game. That villain is only in Shadow Kingdoms, and I left him behind in Dubasa. No doubt this is just a harmless city dweller.
All the same, there is something suspicious about the way the white-haired man is waiting near the entrance of the street where I want to go. I look one way and another on the other side, beginning to walk slowly away so as not to attract too much attention. And
then, I decide I’ll take the long way around.
The street I go down must be parallel to my destination; it’s again narrow, but much more lively; red brick back entrances have been converted into chic bars and specialist stores. A few locals stand outside of the bars with drinks in their hands. I hurry past.
At the far side is a busy traffic-lined street that connects to a highway; few pedestrians can be seen here. There is not even much of a sidewalk, but I am able to cut left, hoping that the area I have covered is more or less a rectangle, and thus takes me to the opposite end of my destination street.
Uncertain, I peer up at the next entrance. It is darker than the other streets; the lighting is mounted high up on the faces of the buildings on either side rather than on traditional street lights, and several of them are not working. It’s inauspicious, to say the least.
And then I see the sign. There is a pair of recessed doorways, and above one of them a simple black circle with the word “Viperstar” written in silver, inside a silver line. I hurry along, moving up to the doorway and looking at the small rectangular markers that indicate the offices located on the various levels of the building behind this main door, each with a press-button buzzer to ring the relevant office.
There it is. Number six. Viperstar.
I press the buzzer.
Chapter 25: Viperstar
I don’t know what I was expecting, but not this.
A voice rang out almost immediately on my pressing the buzzer, and when I say hesitatingly that I want to speak to Connor or Zakira there is no reply, but a buzzing noise indicated that the main door has been unlocked.
Now I push it open and walk into the hallway, realising as I go that my heart has been beating really fast. Before going any further I turn, pushing the main door closed behind me. And is that another man with a long black coat passing by?
Perhaps.
It could be nothing, I say to myself as the main door clicks shut.
The entranceway leads to a set of stairs that spiral up towards the higher levels, and there is an elevator in the middle which looks like it was added later.
Not wanting to risk the vulnerability of being inside the elevator, I take the stairs. Door six is on the third level, and I knock gently. This looks like the sort of entranceway I would expect from an apartment, but the door is opened by a security guard, a tall Asian man with muscular arms and a gun at his hip. “I’m here…” I begin, but he waves me in, peers outside, and then slams the door again.
There is a woman standing in front of a reception desk nearby. She is slim, of Pakistani appearance, and reminds me a little of my friend Kashif’s older sister. She smiles at me, and says, “Welcome, Lucy. You got here quickly. I wasn’t expecting that, but I’m so glad you took up my invitation.”
“Zakira?” I say.
She giggles. “I look a bit different in the flesh, right? Yeah – it’s me. Better known out of game as Asma.”
I nod and then look around. The area is fairly empty; as well as the desk there are a few chairs and couches along the walls, and several doors with glass in them.
“Asma.” I repeat.
“Yep, that’s right. Asma Ali. I decided to go to the other end of the alphabet with my avatar’s name. Zakira Zinx.”
“Very cool,” I say distractedly, still looking around. “And, um… Connor Champion works here?”
“He does, but don’t worry, nobody is going to lock you up. Listen, come on. Let’s take a seat somewhere more private. Like I said, you can log in safely here.”
“I saw some people outside,” I say, remembering. “They looked pretty shady.”
“We’re safe here, I promise.”
“All right.”
It occurs to me that perhaps the shady people work for Viperstar Games, rather than being threats.
“It’s good of you, thanks,” I add. “I’m grateful to see what sort of set up you guys have here. But at the same time, it’s pretty late. I’m… well, I worry about going home, so I don’t really know what to do.”
A new wave of desperation comes over me as I speak, and I realize that I am getting upset, or perhaps just scared and stressed.
Zakira puts a hand gently on my shoulder, patting it, and then guides me into a smaller, roughly triangular room. There are six couches in pairs, low tables between them. The tables are completely clear; otherwise it looks like a waiting room, or somewhere workers might go when on a break. There’s a further double door at the far end of the room.
“Grab a seat, Lucy,” she says. “And let’s think about options. You can come and go here as you wish. I can get us something to eat before you go anywhere, though. It’s fun to hang out here so soon after we spoke in-game. I’m so sorry again about that, by the way. It’s Connor, he’s very…direct, I guess. He has an idea and goes straight for it. A real problem solver, which is great for a designer. Not always so good for other things.”
She sits on one of the couches. “Shall we order some pizza?”
I smile, sitting down beside her with my backpack at my feet, and then laugh out loud at the prospect of something so mundane after all the stress and threats. “That sounds perfect.”
Before long we are tucking into delicious slices of hot pizza – Viperstar obviously knows where to get the best deliveries – and Asma/Zakira is telling me a bit about her upbringing. It turns out she is only a year older than me, and went to a nearby high school. I still haven’t seen Connor; indeed, nobody else has been through here at all. It’s late, I guess.
As I am finishing my last mouthful. I glance towards the door where I entered.
“I know,” she says, following my gaze. “You need to find somewhere safe to go. You’d be welcome to come back to my place, you know. But if you prefer, you can use one of our gaming pods. They’re safe, secure, and really comfortable. From one of those you can log onto any VRMMO you like for as long as you want. I mean, for days or even weeks if you wish.”
“Weeks?” I say. “How is that possible?”
She smiles. “Let’s just say that people have found ways of gaining a competitive advantage. Come on, I’ll show you.”
Leaving the pizza boxes open on the low table, I follow Asma through the double door at the far end of the room. This leads onto the end of a very long room, which has desks up one side. Some of these have papers and books strewn across them, and all have power ports. The right-hand side of the long room is clear, however, and there are multiple half-sized doors in two rows, like little cupboards. And on the far side is a further door leading out.
“Those are the gaming pods,” says Asma, pointing at the small doors to our right. “A bit like the sleeping pods you sometimes get on trains and suchlike. You just slide in, and you can…”
Just then I hear a man’s voice from behind us. “Ah. You came.”
I turn and see a thin and very tall man. He has balding dark hair, a stubbly chin and thin moustache, and is wearing a very crumpled-looking blue suit which appears to have its pockets stuffed full.
“I’m Connor,” he says, pointing his thumbs at his chest. “Ah-kay-ah Macron, the Black Knight of Dathmir. Good to meet you in the flesh at last, Lucy.”
I pause, looking him up and down.
Yes. Despite the physical differences (he isn’t half as handsome as his in-game avatar) there are certain similarities in his mannerisms and the way he speaks and looks around.
“I see you have a cool set-up here,” I say, nodding at him and then moving over to peer at the doors of the gaming pods. “But with the Kjatari implant, you don’t need any special equipment…”
“That’s true,” he says loudly, stepping forward and putting his hands on one of the small doors and swinging it open. Each has a number, I see, and they have a simple catch that closes them over from either side, as well as an air vent in the ceiling of the space within. “But at the same time, we still need to maintain certain biological functions, do we not? Introducing the Magrem blanket. It maintains yo
ur body safely and at a perfect temperature. You can stay there for as long as you need. The blanket ensures that your muscles stay in good condition, too. All you need to do is strap the mask with its feeding tube to your face using the headband, so that it stays in place. It will then provide nutrients and the smallest amount of water necessary, keeping you hydrated. Together with the lowered body temperature that it induces, you’ll be in a very comfortable hibernation, with no urgent need to stretch your legs or use the bathroom.”
“That certainly sounds convenient,” I say.
“And you are welcome to use one,” says Asma, smiling warmly, “like I told you. We can contact your uncle too, if you’d like, to let him know you’re safe.”
“But I have college tomorrow.”
“As I understand it,” says Connor, “you are on some kind of tech design course? Well, what better project is there for you than saving Shadow Kingdoms?”
Asma frowns but she stands quietly, her arms folded.
“And, well…” he continues, now turning around and waving his hands expansively towards the room we are in. “Isn’t this your ambition? As I say, we would love to have your help.” He looks at me again, smiling but also intent.
Like a predator staring at its prey, I think to myself.
The implication is clear: cooperate, and I can stay here safely, with the prospect of a role for me in Viperstar. Help Mr Champion and his people regain control of Shadow Kingdoms again, and become a dominant force in the industry.
He doesn’t need to spell it out for me in words of one syllable.
“Thanks. Really,” I say. “And I would love the chance to spend some time here and to fight for the game uninterrupted. But I guess I am still not sure why you’d offer a facility like this to me. I don’t work here, and you owe me nothing.”
“Let me be frank – I still need your help,” he replies. “Allow me to explain, but let’s take a seat first. Asma, can you fetch some water and ice?”
The Call of the Coven: A LitRPG novel (Shadow Kingdoms Book 2) Page 17