“How much money?”
“There we go, good boy. I don’t know as of yet, like I said, I still have to pitch it. But if you think you’re not going to have to ever work again, you would be wrong. Just a few extra bucks here and there. I know you need it, for your Keep and all.”
“That was low.” I said to him and he smirked. “But your right, I do need all the silver I can get. Not that I am hurting for it, but I just pitched a bunch of ideas to Hana and they are going to wipe me out, I think.” I was more thinking out loud than I was to him. “Fine, what do I need to do.”
“Awesome.” He said and pulled out his tablet. “Just touch the green button and I will take care of the rest. I just need to know which account you want the funds to go into.”
“My personal one, you seem to be very optimistic about this.”
“Oh, I am.” He said as I watched a green scan bar go over my finger. “Maybe I wasn’t clear, the BOSSES, are the heads of ALOW, I have already received approval from four different levels already and the Marketing Department is fully on board. It’s going to happen, I just have to find a way to make what happened down stairs not so...hilarious. I really don’t want to scare people away from ALOW.”
When it was done, I pulled my thumb from the screen. “Not to mention,” he said as he put the tablet away. “Your brother is making waves with the heads. If by them knowing you approved of it, and are on board already. It might help you as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am sure you know that Tier One newbs are off limits, right?” I shrugged, I had heard it before but obviously I wasn’t. I just didn’t want to be petty about it now. “Well that is game wide, and your brother is making it known that...I don’t know how to put this without causing you to become alarmed, but it would seem someone is after him or you. Someone within the company, but anywho, the bosses are on it. They might even throw you a bone to make you happy, I am pushing that way for you. You just need to think of what it is you want.”
“I want to be left the hell alone so I can get my businesses up and running.” I told him. “I want to spend some quality time with my wife without someone trying to kill her or me.”
“That is the type of thinking is why you are still Tier One.” He rolled his eyes at me. “Your wife is a hell of an archer, and your little Harekin is a Player Trained Warrior... You have two badass chicks on your side and you want to sit at home and do what? Do paperwork, no bro, you need to get out there. Learn the ropes the hard way, get dirty, and have some real fun for once. I guess what I am trying to say is, your short comings are that you are trying to hide from ALOW, embrace it buddy. Live it while you still can.”
He made sense, and again, he was right. I had been hiding from the game, no wonder I was having such a shitty time. “Alright, fine. Once winter is over, I will go off on an adventure or two.”
“Glad to hear it, and remember, be your normal, whacky self. Daddy needs to make videos of you. Oh, and just a helpful hint for your beloved Player Coordinator, you might not want to take what players say at face value.” He waved to me, “Be good amigo, but not that good.” Just like that, he was gone and I was alone.
Epilogue
The sun rose with the promise of a new day, an awakening of a new epic beginning to be had.
I roused the others and I dragged the body of Lathura behind me. After Avashay and Brandon had looted it of course, and every other body we found. There really was no reason to allow the MRA to keep the silver, I knew they were not stupid enough to know of Lathura’s plan. Which meant, I needed to drama this whole thing up a little bit more, show them I would not be fucked with.
As we took the stairs downward, I saw Aylana, standing in front of the assembled Elven Nobility. She looked haggard, tired beyond belief, but she was alive and that was good enough for me. I dumped Lathura’s body at the base of the stairs and made enough room for the rest of my party to stand behind me. “Is this the honor of the MRA, we had terms, yet, I was attacked last night.” Their eyes were locked on her body. Only Ayeshoot looked surprised, but he winked at me all the same. A nudge to keep it coming and I did. “I ask myself, how am I to trust the MRA now? You are not worthy of trust, you are not worthy of anything. If this is how you operate, without honor, then I feel it is my duty to Atheria, to explain what happened here to the King.”
This got their attention and I knew I was walking a fine line. “I have sent word, of all that had happened to Duke Braemir of Cree. If I do not return, or that of my wife and companions, then may the gods help the Isle of trees. For if one, a Hedge Lord playing at being a High Lord, could survive an all-out attack, then what, pray tell, could Atheria do to the MRA if they invaded?” I left the question hanging heavy in the air.
“This is a new dawn, a new day is upon us. I leave the question to you all, Lords, what is it that you want? Do you want War with Atheria, because keep up the bullshit and that is exactly what you will get. Or do you want something different, the union you had once voted on. To grow like we had planned not a day ago. I would ask you to decide quickly, for I intend on leaving this Isle, today with my wife and companions. But make no mistake, force me, and I will defend myself as I did last night. You do not know what I am capable of, but you see before you what happens when you cross me. She was without honor, and you defended her deplorable actions even when you knew what she intended. You allowed her to attack me, even though we had terms, so think hard, Lords, is it time to turn over a new leaf, or will it be more of the same? Either way, I will have my wife back, RIGHT NOW!” Roared into the morning air, and was surprised by the sound that came out of me. It was animalistic, an enraged beast, and I could feel my body start to burn.
I wanted to kill them, I wanted to rip them apart for what they had done to Aylana, for what they had done to us. We could have been home, amongst the fields and trees, not here, not like this. It was their fault, and if they gave me a reason, I would not stop until I was dead, or they were. The threat was out there, and now the ball is in their court, and I was mentally ready for anything.
“Lady Persik, you are free to go.” Ayeshoot said with a pleased voice. She rushed into my arms, but I never took my eyes off of the Elven Weasels, not for a single second. “You are free to leave, as Bow Master, you have my word. By member of the Crescent Moon Conclave, I swear that none shall hinder you, for guarantee of death to any house who is willing to break their pact a second time.” One lord started to mumble something and Ayeshoot cut him off, “I swear by all that is holy, test me, and Blear will descend upon your heads like a thousand Atheria’s. There will be no right, no wrong. Take up arms against this man and break my promise of free travel, and not a single Elf, aside from me, will live to spread the tale of destruction. Test me at your own peril!”
We were able to leave while the leaving was good, though we kept our weapons within reach and ready. Aylana was all snuggles and hugs, she never released me from our first embrace and I couldn’t be happier. When we were far enough way, I called a halt and had everyone take a quick break. I inspected my wife as best I could with her armoring clothes still on. “How did you win the night? I heard them planning the attack, you shouldn’t be alive.”
I reassured her with a gentle hand on her cheek. She pressed her cheek into my hand, like I was imaginary and she needed to confirm my solidarity. “My friends helped me, you might know Brandon and Avashay, but the other two are Torga the Harekin and Belenae, a Nature Sage.”
Torga cleared her throat and when I looked at her, she nodded toward Aylana. “Oh, and um...there is one other matter we should talk about while we have a second.” Aylana’s blue eyes held my gaze, ready to hear what I had to say. “So, it’s like this right.”
“Talk as we walk, we have much ground to cover.” Belenae stated, and I was all too happy for the interruption.
Aylana took my hand and looked down at me as we started to walk. “I think I know what you want to say.”
>
“You do?”
“Yes, I love you as well.” She stopped and kissed me long and with a passion I had never felt before. That stirring was back in an instant and threatened to boil over, but before I could break from the kiss, I felt it pass from my mouth into hers. She moaned deeply, pulled me into her even tighter, crushing me to her to the point I couldn’t breathe. I could feel her drawing it into herself, like sucking a liquid from a straw. My vision started to blur and stars appeared at the corners of it. But before I passed out, she released me, her eyes fluttering open.
The smile upon her smile was one I had never seen before, like a truth she had always known was justified and she had been correct. “What just happened?” I asked breathless with my head spinning.
“Nothing I did not know before.” She took my hand again. “But as to what you were going to say before, I know I cannot hold you all to myself. I only ask that you ask my counsel on the females you wish to marry.”
“How did you…”
She touched her finger to my lips. “I now know much more about you than you would ever be willing to share, my love. How deeply you care for not only myself, but others as well and I look forward to meeting with this Bretta. Enough for now, we can speak of it later, but not today and not tonight. For this night belongs to us, we must consummate our soul marriage.”
“Our what?”
“Silly Human, just wait until darkness and all will be made as it should be.” She pulled her finger from my mouth, “now, let us look to the horizon, for that is where our future lies.”
It hit me then, Bretta had been right. I had made this lucky woman a good wife.
***
The technician entry station was covered in dust, a groove had been worn into the pressboard top from the countless mugs of coffee. The last testament of the man who had once sat at this station, a tiny memorial that not one of the other techs paid attention to any more. He was gone, killed in an accident while enjoying the pleasures of an Escort when the driver had run a redlight. Life was short enough, bills had to be paid and the other techs didn’t have a second to waste on the memory of a man who never made the effort to be apart of the team.
This was her first day on the job as one of the cleaning crew, and would probably be her last. While her back ground in cleaning houses was extensive, she knew more than most the lack of will from her coworkers that made the jump in salary, just not worth the effort. The cubical in the corner, should have been cleaned weeks ago, and yet, here it was, forgotten. As she set about her task of getting the cubicle ready for a new technician, she dumped the dirt stained mouse.
The computer roared as it powered up, the blank, dark monitor burst into life. She jumped from the sudden noise in the vacated laboratory. With her heart beating a thousand beats per second, she got a grip on herself and giggled out the nerves that threatened to overwhelm her from being frightened by the terminal.
WELCOME TO ALOW
“No thank you.” She stated as she turned her attention back to the bucket of cleaning supplies on the floor. “You’d never catch me in that place, no sir.”
Like the rest of the world, she had at one time been inclined to spend more than a few hours researching what all the hype was about. Normal people turned celebrities, from rags to riches, and the countless videos of epic battles and humorous displays of stupidity. It was like the world had gone crazy these last ten years, ALOW was the new fad of the day, and the day just wouldn’t. The “man bun” of the decade, and she just wanted it to stop hearing about it on the morning news.
The blinking icon on the screen drew her eyes toward it, and she read.
Awaiting Technician input…
She ignored it and turned her focus to the job at hand. Dusting and scrubbing, she worked meticulously. Though no matter how much she threw herself into the job at hand, her eyes were never far from the flashing and scrolling screen as it took on a life of its own. To say she was freaked out, would be the understatement of the century. This was some next level ghost shit, and after just watching the latest possession flick in theaters with her finance. Her mind had still not recovered fully from a night of bumps and thumps in the night. Only now, she did not have the safety of her future husband to turn to.
The CPU beeped, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. With her heart thundering in her chest, a mild sweat covering her face. Her head turned ever so slowly toward the monitor.
Patient Information Requested…James C Corwell...
Enter Login Credentials…
dNotDeFImE
Credentials accepted…
Retrieving Information…
Complete...
Patient; James Cory Corwell
Age - 28
Region Site Listing...
...hip...joint...femur...knee...total left arm...total shoulder......restore nervous system...reverse muscle atrophy.
Current Status - In progress - Connected to Treatment Service - Progression rate - 9%
Avatar;
Name - Jaeger Persik
Tier - 1 *Note* - must finish Godlord Quest to reach Tier 2
Rank - High Lord
Class - Not Applicable at this time
Age - 3.5 Cycles - 25 Years of Age
Race - Spectrum Elf - Human Hybrid…
Features - Randomly Assigned
Matrimonial Status - Married - Aylana Persik - Elf of Light, Torga Persik - Harekin
Affiliations - Kin to Duke Braemir in word only
Race upgrades - None assigned
Avatar Upgrades - Touched by Earth Goddess, Blessed by Godlord of Souls
Heritage Upgrades - Lore adjusted for Persik Heritage
Professions Learned - Farming, Survival, Forestry, Carpentry, Engineering, Botany
Limiters - Removed - *Note* - Subject is not limited to starting areas or conditions where in. Enslavement, Torture, Debauchtery, Esponage, White Collar Crimes, are all herein valid.
Awaiting Input…
Parameter inspection - Death Wish…
Initiating…
She had never been a gamer, a childhood on a budget made for not very many materialistic possessions. The luxury of games was far outweighed by the essential needs of everyday life. This was like witnessing a movie all by itself, a glimpse into a world she could only read or hear about from other people.
Inspection Complete...Retrieving…
Death Wish - A pull the plug parameter, set to help those incapable of removing themselves from the world of the living. Should a patient wish no longer to be alive, a prompt will be placed before the patient for self-euthanasia. Should the patient accept the Death Wish Parameter, nanobots will then be redirected to terminate the patient's life. Denial will close parameter menu…
“Assisted suicide? Why would anyone want that?” Her voice was quivering, and she started to shake with the ramifications of what she was seeing.
Change Death Wish Parameter...subject is to have consciousness uploaded into gaming system as current avatar. Code Name - Riven, four other Riven’s exist as Dark Paladins of the Goddess Zetrina. No limits of faith...Acceptable conditions within fail safe guidelines... Update...
Parameter updated...Do you wish to run Death Wish? Y/N…
YES…
Accepted...initializing…
Initializing complete...Parameter - Death Wish...LIVE...
Identify Clients for Parameters…
She watched as name after name was listed, an unseen force typing away at the keyboard. Thirty-six in all were listed, the first was this person, James C Corwell.
“What have I just seen?”
The start of a new beginning...Noriessa will be free of your plague upon it. It is time for the players to play, let death rain upon ALOW until only those who deserve to be, will be…
“Oh, the fuck you didn’t!” She jumped back out of the cubical, Cynthia Perez could take a lot, but having a CPU answer her was where she dr
ew the line. There was no idly removing herself from the ALOW Compound. Cynthia hit the ground running as soon as her feet touched the floor. She would send the company back all its shit by mail if she had to, she didn’t mess around with the paranormal.
As the door to the laboratory softly closed shut, the prompt on the screen changed.
Now that was just rude...You asked…
Special Thanks
To William D. Arand, thanks for taking the time to answer a fan and help me out more than you ever could know. It was your concept of, “write the book I want to read.” That got me to this point, along with the advice you gave aspiring authors on how to chase down their dreams. Thank You, Harem King!
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