by J P Carver
He followed me down the path until we neared the wooden steps. The front door opened to a pit of darkness, and Marcus moved beside me, his sword drawn. My hand dropped to my chakrams, and we waited.
"Keep your weapons in check, or you'll come no closer," a voice said from the open door.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" I called.
The face appeared as if breaking the surface of an inkwell, and a thin but heavily armored body followed. She didn't look quite as pale now that she didn't have the black as a backdrop. She stood almost as tall as Marcus and wore crimson armor with black accents. Her brown hair was tied into a tight bun behind her head, and her glare was locked onto me. "I could very well ask you the same questions."
I stepped in front of Marcus as the woman walked out onto the platform deck that surrounded the bottom of the mill. "You're not an NPC, so are you after the quest for this place?"
"No, I am not an NPC… and what quest?"
"So you just stumbled across this place?"
The woman glanced at the door then back at us, smiling. "Kinda. Was exploring and already looted the place, so you're gonna have to wait for the respawn."
"That's fine. We're not looking for loot." I started up the stairs.
She stepped up to block me and rested her hip on a post, arms crossed in front of her. "Then what are you here for?"
"We're looking for a witch. A quest pointed us here."
She narrowed her eyes at me then glanced at Marcus before giving us a brilliant grin. She stepped aside. "Really? You're doing a quest? Haven't you heard the reports? General Chat won't shut up about it."
"Yeah, which is why we're here. Do you know where she is or not?" I pushed my way past and heard Marcus follow behind me. "Because it feels like you're hiding something right now."
"Oh, does it? What if I am? What will you do? I'm quite a bit higher level than you two."
I sighed, opened a system window in front of me, and turned it around to her. In the window was the dead kid's info along with a picture of his avatar. "You know this guy?"
The woman studied the information and shook her head. "Should I?"
"Probably not. All right, I think we're done talking, then," I said, and Marcus and I started for the door, but the woman moved around us and blocked it. I looked her up and down, hoping it wouldn't turn into a fight, because she was right—she'd kick both our asses. "Something else you need?"
"I'm after the witch too. For the quest, I mean. She isn't here, though."
"No? Then we can take a quick look around to make sure for ourselves."
"Then let me join you."
"Sorry. He fills my quota of annoying." I sidestepped her, sure that she would draw her weapon, but she let me pass.
I stepped into the first room of the mill and looked around. Dust floated about like a see-through wall. I waved a hand through it and went into what looked like the remains of a kitchen. The roof sat low enough that even I had to duck under the wooden beams that crossed the ceiling. Knickknacks and dried foodstuff hung everywhere and sat on shelves that lined the cracked plaster walls. There were so many dolls that it felt as if no matter where I turned, something was watching me.
"And now it seems we have entered the place of horrors and nightmares," Marcus said. "If one of these bastards comes to life, I trust you won't tell anyone about my girlish screams, Doll."
"I'd post a recording of it. Now, stop worrying about the dolls and start looking for that… thing we're here for."
He sighed and disappeared into the next room as I bent to look into the fire pit. Embers still glowed, which meant that the quest had been finished not long before we arrived.
"I told you, no one is here."
I ignored the woman and continued to pick at the ashes with a piece of wood.
"I don't know what you expect to find. We should just head out."
I turned to look at her. "Well, no one is keeping you here. Why don't you just leave?"
"Because I'm at a wall." She took a step back and leaned against the table. "I hoped maybe you had something more."
"Why are you looking for the witch now? You already know what's going on with the VR stuff. Seems dumb for you to be here by yourself."
"Well, why are you here?" she asked, and I waved her off as I crossed the room to the shelves. A small gasp escaped me when I noticed a few of the doll heads turn to follow me as I passed. I stepped back, and the woman pushed off the table. "Fine, my… sister is affected by this VR crap, and I'm trying to find a way to help her."
"She's trapped?" I turned from the dolls but felt their eyes still on me. "What's your name?"
"Wistam. That's all you're getting."
"Okay, then you can call me Ragdoll. I have a friend too that—"
"Doll, you should get up here and see this," Marcus called from above us, and we both rushed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. At the top, we found a room filled with flickering darkness. Candles were bars of dripping wax on the bookshelves and tables, their flames almost guttering then coming back to life. The walls were painted with elaborate symbols in what looked like blood, but I wasn't keen on checking to see if that was the case.
Marcus stood off from the center of the room, just outside the circle painted in the same red as the walls. He glanced at me and then at Wistam before nodding toward the back wall. The podium there took up the space between the two windows, and the book on top of it was massive.
I traveled around the circle, giving it as much space as I could, because I'd played the game long enough by then to know that symbols were not something you messed around with. The entire magic system worked with them. I made it to the podium unharmed and looked over the book. Its model was the same as any other book in the game. I accessed the contents of it, and at first I just saw gibberish. Slowly, the gibberish changed into more symbols, some so intricate that they made my head hurt.
"It's a game-master object. I've seen those cloaked bastards carrying them around before." Wistam stopped next to me.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, and regular players usually can't access them, as they're basically a back door into the workings of the game… but I've heard there are those who have cracked their way into them in the past. Never actually been this close to one before."
"You're a wealth of information." I picked up the book and placed it in my inventory before turning to Marcus. "If it's a GM object, does that mean the witch isn't an NPC but a game master herself?"
"Or… they gave an NPC a GM object. Makes sense, doesn't it? It probably has to return here when the respawn happens. Whoever is using it has to come get it again." Marcus pointed at the drawings on the floor. "Bet these are traps, but they haven't been reset. I'm gonna get pictures of this and send it to Crow. She's probably the only one in this game who could make real sense of it."
"Good idea," I said.
He moved quickly, taking pictures of each symbol, then ran back to the stairs and looked at me.
I canted my head and narrowed my eyes at him as he squirmed. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
"You're such a baby. Fine, we'll go." I turned back to Wistam, but she was staring down at the drawings on the floor with a look similar to the one Marcus had. "Don't tell me you're spooked too. Why do I always get stuck with the chickens?"
A chill wind blew through the room and wrapped around us. It put the candles out in streams of smoke, leaving only the shafts of orange light from the windows to see by. I heard Marcus move from the stairs, and his hand found its way into mine.
Streams of color darted about the room in grand sweeps of shapes until a mirror image of the symbol on the floor appeared above us in red, yellow, and green flames.
"What the hell is going on?" Marcus yelled over the roar of flames. I stepped away from him and pulled my hand free. Something was starting to form in the flames.
Thou hast been found stout of mind and brave of heart. Thou searchest not for thyself
but for others, and for that, thou shalt know that time runs forever on. The Eve of Hallows approaches, and as per the norm, on its heels follows death.
"Why can't words made out of flames ever be cheery?" Marcus stood to the right of the symbol now, his hand on his sword. "I'm gonna regret asking this, but does that mean what I think it does?"
"It's been altered. This whole quest line has. Whoever did this had to alter the text too… or the text was built from what they're trying to do. My guess is it means we only have a few hours to save Winter." I swore. The more I uncovered, the less it felt like I knew anything.
"What are you two gonna do now?" Wistam took her sword and swung it through the flames, scattering the words. The flames parted and went back to their candles, and light returned to the room. "Because I don't see how this brings us any closer to getting our friends out."
"It's a deadline, Wistam… literally. That's something we didn't know before," Marcus said. His attempts at lightening the mood were starting to get on my nerves. "I'm logging out. I'll see you on the other side, Doll." He left the room, and I heard him teleport a few moments later.
Wistam stayed and watched me as I stared at the symbol on the ground. Something tickled at the back of my mind, pieces fitting together.
"You said you heard of people hacking GM objects before, didn't you?" I asked.
Wistam nodded slowly. "Yeah, but they were banned within hours of doing so. GMs can be dicks and will leave their books lying around to see what players will do with them, but I've never heard of anything like this. You really think they hacked the quest line? If that's true, then they should have been caught already."
"It's the only thing that makes sense, right?" I asked.
"I don't know. This is all too strange. Why do you think it's a hack?"
I almost told her about what Marcus and I had found, but that would have made her prone to doing something stupid. So I just shrugged and started down the steps.
Wistam followed closely behind. "What do you know that I don't, Ragdoll? Don't hold out on me."
"I'm not. It's all just speculation right now. I'm tired and stressed. I need time to think this stuff over and get my friend to look at the symbols we found." We stopped on the deck outside. Night had moved in, and the stars blinked from a maroon sky above us. I leaned against a post and faced Wistam. I couldn't put into words what made me so sure that the game itself had been cracked, but it just felt like the right answer. It was the only theory that clicked into most of the slots. I just needed to put the rest of it together. "I don't really know anything."
"Sure you don't," Wistam said.
"You should probably add me as a friend. I'll try to keep you updated on anything I find." A friend request appeared, and I accepted. "I'm logging off too. Just… do me a favor. If you see a demon with the tag Samhain, log the hell out."
"Why?"
"If you're half as smart as you seem, you'll take the advice." I teleported back to town before she could say any more.
At some point during the game, my head had fallen against Marcus's arm. When I opened my eyes, he grinned down at me, obviously pleased. It took a few minutes to get full feeling back in my limbs when I came out of VR. Headsets weren't as bad, as they just lightly suppressed movement, which a user had to be careful about. A neural was a bit more effective. I could still move, but it was really uncomfortable, so I settled on trying to glare his smile away.
"Now, that's a look." His smile widened.
"Just wait until all the tingling goes away. I'll give you more than a look."
"While that does sound like a lot of fun, don't you think we have more important things to do?" He got up, and I dropped my head back against the headrest and watched him. He had a thoughtful expression on his face, which I imagined didn't appear often. "What do you think of that girl?"
"You mean Wistam?"
"Yeah. You got a weird vibe off her too, right?"
I shrugged, glad that the tingling was finally gone. "Not that much, no. Her sister is trapped too, so I think that addresses any of the weirdness."
"I don't. Something about her just puts me off." He crossed his arms and looked toward the ceiling. "Where are we going from here? The witch is a bust, and I don't think we're going to crack into the GM in time to do anything. I had a friend who did it. Took him a month, and he couldn't log in with his main character while he was trying."
"I'm not sure yet. The demon and now this book—it all seems to fall back on that quest. I just don't get in what way. Maybe we should check the patch notes and see if the witch quest was even added by the dev." I shrugged. "Could also just be one big glitch."
"Nah, you don't believe that. There's something more here. Someone is pulling strings."
"Maybe, but that whole thing in the room says we have until midnight. That's only a few hours from now." I sat up and tossed his bag to him. "What I believe means nothing. We need proof, and we need to figure out what that book has to do with all of this."
He nodded and led the way out of the booth. The place was mostly empty save for a few surfers, who were steering clear of the VR headsets. On the screens, more news anchors reported about the ghost towns that all the VR games had become. There also hadn't been any reported change in those affected by the VR sickness. The fact that there was no new info just cemented my conviction that I would have to solve the problem if I wanted to save Winter.
It was early afternoon when we stepped outside, the air chilled with an icy breeze. The sun had started to dip, and its light shone from between the skyscrapers around us. As we walked, my stomach started to growl at the smell of food vendors on either side of the street. Embarrassed, I turned slightly from Marcus.
He had heard, of course, and gave a laugh. "I think that tiger you're hiding under your shirt is gonna maul someone soon."
"Yeah, well, I haven't eaten anything since last night. I haven't felt hungry until now."
"All right, then, come on. My treat." He turned off the sidewalk before I could protest. Annoyed but also a bit pleased at the idea of a free lunch, I followed him across the road. Food, even the greasy, half-baked food of robotic vendors, was appealing right then.
The sidewalk on the other side was packed with the end of the lunch crowd. The steam of food carts floated over us in a haze of warmth and smell. My stomach complained even louder as Marcus picked out a cart on the corner and pulled me along by my wrist.
We got in line, and I pulled my hand away while we waited for salarymen and -women to buy the cheapest items on the menu. They then trudged back to their respective buildings, looking almost like zombies. Watching them, I couldn't help but be glad I didn't have to turn to such soul-sucking jobs. Perhaps I'd be living a bit more comfortably, but I'd be mostly in an office and staring at the same four walls day after day. It would kill me.
"What ya want? Hotdogs all right with you?"
"Sure, but don't think this gets you on my good side or something," I said.
"Are you sure you even have one of those?"
"Funny. You'd better keep an eye on your bank account." I grinned at his worried expression. "Don't worry. You aren't worth getting kicked out of the Stars for."
"That's hurtful, Doll. Just hurtful and a small comfort," Marcus said with feigned sadness as we moved with the line.
I laughed at him but stopped when I noticed someone in the crowd who replaced my hunger with dread. Breaking through the drones was a man I had hoped never to see in person again. Detective Dougherty of Central Electronic Security stared right at me and was mere yards away. I gulped.
Marcus turned to say something to me, but I stomped on his foot. "Ow. What the hell was that for?"
"Sorry. That was my bad, sir." I stepped out of line and hoped Marcus would take the hint.
I didn't look back to make sure as Dougherty walked toward me, a good-natured smile on his lips. His dirty-blond hair was styled the same as it had been two months earlier when we'd met in interrogation. It was short an
d choppy, and he had started to grow a beard on his thin face. It made him look even more menacing. He wore jeans and a light-brown jacket that he zipped halfway. If I hadn't known him, it would have been easy to mistake him as just a normal guy looking for lunch.
"Well, if it isn't Miss Eisen. You can imagine my shock in meeting you out here. Small world, huh?" He stopped in front of me and nodded toward the cart. "Getting lunch? Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Here, I'll get us both something, and we can sit down and have a little chat."
"I've… suddenly lost my appetite. What do you want?"
"Well, I'm still hungry. Been busy all morning, and all I've had is a powdered doughnut. You can keep the smart comments to yourself." He went to the cart, flashed his ID, and cut the line. He ordered two hotdogs and two waters and came back to me.
I had considered running, but it would have been pointless. He knew I was there, and he'd been looking for me. It was best to find out why he was snooping. I took the hotdog and water and followed him over to a bench then sat down on the far end and looked down at the hotdog, still hungry. It seemed tainted somehow, having been bought with CES credits. "Thanks, I guess."
"Manners? Color me surprised." He bit into the hotdog and relaxed back against the bench with his foot resting on his knee. "Not as surprised as when I found out you were at the hospital last night and right when this whole VR sickness kicked into full swing. You either have really crappy luck, or you've got something to do with this." He took a swig of water and leaned toward me. "Guess which way I'm leaning. Nice scrubs, by the way. They look good on you."
"You're right—I do have something to do with this," I said. He perked up, brows raised. "My friend is in the hospital, trapped like everyone else." I took a bite of the hotdog, the urge too strong with it right in front of me.
"A friend? Who might they be?"
"Ain't none of your business, Dougherty."
He smiled and sat up. "You don't seem to understand that everything is my business, especially when it concerns you. After what happened in August, I've been very intrigued about what you've been up to, but you've been hiding your tracks pretty well. But here we have a big crisis going on, and you're right in the middle of it. You can see where my distrust comes from, can't you?"