Visaria Online: Void
Visaria Online, Volume 2
Riley Morrison
Published by Riley Morrison, 2018.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Visaria Online: Void
MAP OF THE FALLEN EMPIRE OF PENDRAX
CHAPTER 1 | NO REST FOR THE WICKED
CHAPTER 2 | DUEL
CHAPTER 3 | TWO MEN ENTER, ONE MAN LEAVES
CHAPTER 4 | THE VOID
CHAPTER 5 | NO MORE PINEAPPLE
CHAPTER 6 | DRAGON PORN
CHAPTER 7 | OF NPCs AND MEN
CHAPTER 8 | SHOP SMART SHOP FLOORMART
CHAPTER 9 | GHOST IN THE MACHINE
CHAPTER 10 | THE WORST HANGOVER OF MY LIFE
CHAPTER 11 | CASSIUS BLACK
CHAPTER 12 | THE EYE OF DESTINY
CHAPTER 13 | SANCTUARY
CHAPTER 14 | THE DEPARTED
CHAPTER 15 | DIVIDE AND CONQUER
CHAPTER 16 | FLIGHT FROM THE DARK
CHAPTER 17 | CRASH LANDING 2.0
CHAPTER 18 | ATTACK OF THE BRAIN CLAW
CHAPTER 19 | LEVEL UP (FINALLY!!!!)
CHAPTER 20 | DARK SPIRIT OF THE SKY
CHAPTER 21 | DOG MEAT
CHAPTER 22 | MINECRAFT CLONE
CHAPTER 23 | BEAUTY AND THE VOID
CHAPTER 24 | VOID SWARM
CHAPTER 25 | THE ORACLE
EPILOGUE | THE VOID WALKER
SPECIAL OFFER
AUTHOR NOTES
GAME RECOMMENDATIONS
OTHER BOOKS BY RILEY
To my old English teacher back in high school, Mrs. Townsend. Thank you for reading some of my early terrible stories in even worse handwriting! Oh, and thanks for that merit award for creative writing!
Visit my website at rileymorrisonauthor.com
My Face Book Page: @rileymorrisonauthor
Where I will talk about book progress updates, more behind the scenes information and general discussion of things I like or talking to my fans!
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© 2018 Riley Morrison All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Edited By: Dana Lee www.lee-clarityconsulting.com
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read my book. Please consider leaving a review or telling your friends about it, to help me spread the word. Thank you for supporting my work.
MAP OF THE FALLEN EMPIRE OF PENDRAX
CHAPTER 1
NO REST FOR THE WICKED
WARNING
ID System Integrity Compromised
Item Id: #1139697 “Moldy broken pineapple” not recognized
An incident report has been automatically sent to system administration
You will hear back from our customer support team shortly
Enjoy your stay in Visaria Online!
Government mandated warning: Online gaming can be addictive. If you have spent a prolonged period of time in Visaria Online, we implore you to logout and spend a few hours exercising and engaging socially with others in the real world.
Ajax groaned as the doctor stitched up his wounded back, pain ripping at him like the teeth of a ravenous worg. What the hell does all that mean? He gripped the side of the hospital bed with clenched hands. Stay focused. He had to focus on something other than the pain.
Browsing his inventory panel again, he tried to bring up the stat information of the moldy broken pineapple, but again got the same warning message. Strange.
The young female NPC nurse leaned over him to speak in his ear. “The doctor is nearly done. Try to relax.”
Relax! Ajax wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He could feel the needle going into the burned flesh, patching up the deep shrapnel wounds. Why had the programmers made Visaria like this? Why did he have to feel excruciating pain?
This torment felt as real as it would have in the real world.
Trying to keep his mind off what the doctor was doing, he moved on to another item.
Cavalry Man’s Saber
He won’t be needing this anymore where he’s going
+15 AP
+ 5 damage when using slashing attacks
The weapon seemed fine. Why not the pineapple?
Just to play it safe, he opened his character panel and glanced over his stats to make sure everything was in order.
Ajax Stoneheart
Race: Human
Class: Spiritual Warrior
Skill Focus: Warrior Paladin
Level: 8
Player Kills: 3
Might: 16 (BASE: 7+9 Might from equipment) (1 Might increases AP by 5)
Dexterity: 1
Intellect: 3
Spirit: 12 (BASE: 5+7 Spirit from equipment) (1 Spirit increases healing by 10% and improves mana regeneration by 2%)
Luck: 1
HP: 282/327 (BASE: 235+12 BLS +80 from equipment)
MP: 230 (BASE: 190+40 from equipment)
AP: 210 (BASE: 150+15 from weapon + 45 from equipment)
DEF: 145 (BASE: 20+125 from equipment)
XP: 11467/15500
Everything seemed fine. He must have gotten 400 XP when the Steampunk Arla had died.
Ajax frowned. Why had the item ID system’s integrity been compromised? Was it the void’s doing?
“We’re done,” the nurse said, easing Ajax onto his back.
He gritted his teeth as his body weight pressed down on his wounds. The nurse put a red potion to Ajax’s lips. “Drink this, it will restore your health and ease the pain.”
Opening his mouth, he let her pour the liquid down his throat. The stuff tasted like medicine, but its effects on his hp and pain were almost instant.
HP: 327/327 (BASE: 235+12 BLS +80 from equipment)
Thank the One God.
With his pain eased, his thoughts turned to Lillus. “Can I get up and see my friend?”
The NPC doctor who busied himself with packing away his surgical implements shook his head. “I don’t believe they are done with her yet. You must wait...” his voice trailed off as the door to the operating room flew open. Talon burst in, his breath coming fast. “We need to leave.”
AJAX CARRIED LILLUS out of the hospital as she sucked down several health potions. Her skin was pale, but the doctors and nurses had done a good job in cleaning her up and treating her wounds. They hadn’t had the time to finish the job, before Ajax and Talon had interrupted them. She smiled up at him. “I think I like you carrying me like this.” She swooned. “My big strong hero, lifting me from the clutches of danger to carry me away to his bed. I can’t wait for the happy ending.”
Chuckling, Ajax said, “More likely I’m going to be bringing you from one danger into the next.”
Lillus continued to smile at him dreamily. Perhaps the effects of the health potions had gone to her head.
“Where are we going to go?” Ajax asked Talon, as they raced toward Firesoul who had hidden in a copse of trees some distance from the tiny village located somewhere in the Wild Lands.
Talon glanced at him over his shoulder. “We head north, deep into the Fallen Empire of Pendrax.”
“We need to go southwest,” Lillus said, tossing the empty potion vial on the ground.
They entered the trees and saw the dragon ahead. “We need to head outside of the Imperium and circle around. If we went south from here, we would be hunted first by the Imperium, and then by the Dernese.”
Lillus didn’t look happy, but she had to accept what the d
ragon rider said. Ithilda would stop at nothing to see them dead. All three were outlaws now, and a bounty had been placed on their heads by the Imperator herself. This would mean everyone in the entire Imperium would know them as criminals and be offered a reward for their heads. The quest would be universal.
Thankfully, the NPC doctors acted under the same Hippocratic Oath as their real life counterparts had. But that wouldn’t stop them later informing one of the Imperator's agents that they had treated Ajax and Lillus in their surgery.
As they emerged into the forest clearing, they found Firesoul ready to take flight. His wings flapped, and his muscles bulged. “Hurry up and climb on.”
The three companions climbed into the basket saddle. A moment later, Firesoul took flight. Ajax held Lillus’s hand as his stomach lurched. The Demon Mage still smiled at him, though her eyes were ringed with dark circles and she held herself stiffly. She must’ve been in a lot of pain.
“How many?” Talon shouted over the wind.
“Eight.” The dragon sped up. “My mate... has done something most ill-advised. She has left her rider behind to come and try to save me.”
“How did she—?” Ajax began.
“Her dragon powers. She speaks to me now, in my head, as I do in hers. She says that the riders are led by Supreme Commander Sejanus.”
Grimacing, Talon thumped his fist against the side of the saddle. “Great.”
“Who’s Sejanus?” Lillus asked. “I don’t recall hearing his name before. Then again, I’m not from around here.” She poked her tongue out at Ajax.
One day, you’re going to tell me everything there is to know about you, Ajax thought. Because, I’m going to keep bugging you until you do!
“He’s our leader, the Supreme Commander of the Elite Imperium Guard,” Talon replied. “The best fighter among us. And a downright—”
“Bastard.” Firesoul spat out a flicker of flame.
Talon laughed. “Dragons aren’t constrained with the ‘no swearing’ rules we are.”
“Really?” Ajax chuckled. “That’s weird.” Every time a player tried to swear in Visaria, something would always come along to interrupt them so they could never get the word out.
“Yea, this game used to have lots of kids playing it. But it seems the designers forgot to implement the language restrictions on the dragons. Back then, violence was alright, but swearing and sex weren’t.” Talon snickered. “Damn, our society was fu-”
A gust of wind cut off his words.
“They draw closer,” Firesoul hissed, increasing his pace. “They have two of the greens among them.”
“Joy.” Talon turned back to Ajax and Lillus. “The green dragons are smaller, faster, more agile mounts. It’s likely they will catch up to us, so prepare yourselves for a fight.”
Just as Talon finished speaking, two small dark specks appeared in the sky behind them.
Firesoul descended closer to the ground, flying a handful of feet above the dead trees. Ajax held onto Lillus tightly, as wind buffeted them. Talon seemed to have let the dragon take the reins and left it to the beast to decide how best to escape. “My mate won’t arrive in time to aid us,” Firesoul said.
“Knowing her, if we fall, she will try to avenge us.” Talon reached over the side of the saddle to place a hand on the back of the dragon’s neck. “Tell her to go back before—”
Firesoul grunted. “I have, but she won’t listen. All I can do is try to take down as many as I can before she has to face them.”
“How long will it take her to get here?” Ajax asked.
“Too long,” the dragon replied. “We could defeat the two greens, but the other six would be on us before we could escape. So sad that I’ve become hunted by my own brothers and sisters. We hatched together.” The grief in the dragon’s voice broke Ajax’s heart.
They heard the distant roar of one of the greens pursuing them. Ajax pictured their last fight with a dragon and its rider. He and Lillus had barely survived, and their dragon mount, Old Nel, had succumbed to her wounds. This time, there would be two enemy dragons, each bearing high-level riders, and after them—would come the other six.
How are we going to get out of this? Ajax thought as he glanced at their pursuers. They were no longer indistinct dots on the horizon, but were much closer. So close, he could see the riders on the dragon’s backs. “What are we going to do?” He turned to Lillus. “Can you use your game master powers again?”
The Demon Mage frowned as she stared at the oncoming dragons. “I will if I have to. But there are six other dragons out there, and if I spend myself on these two, I’ll be out of the fight.” She lowered her face. “And it’ll be days before I can do anything except sleep.”
Ajax glared back at the enemy. No doubt, they would begin attacking as soon as they were within range. If only he could speak to them and try to convince them he wasn’t a traitor and that the Imperator was no longer fit to rule. The void had her in its grip, and she no doubt did its bidding. His stomach lurched. Perhaps that’s why she had launched her massive invasion of the Republic of Dern, to weaken the Imperium by sending most of its army far from home.
His eyes widened. Maybe the leadership of the Republic was also under the influence of the void. Both sides had enacted simultaneous invasions of one another's lands, on a scale never seen before.
Did the void want to weaken humanity before their own armies arrived? By the time the invading forces of the Imperium and the Republic were deep inside each others territory, many players and NPCs would be dead, and huge swathes of land would be devastated.
Easy pickings for the world-consuming void wraiths.
One of the pursuing dragons let out a triumphant roar as they drew ever closer.
Dear, god. Ajax felt numb at the enormity of it all. We’re doomed.
CHAPTER 2
DUEL
THE TWO GREEN DRAGONS were upon them. One of their dragon riders put a white funnel to his mouth. It looked like a handheld megaphone. “Talon, it’s over. Land now, and hand them over. We have no wish to kill you or Firesoul.”
Lillus tugged on Ajax’s armored arm, her lips moving, but no words were coming out. She looked small and afraid, nothing like the woman he had first met all those weeks ago. The uncertain nature of their future had really shaken her. The Oracle had told her they would head east to end the Imperium’s invasion, but that had all changed when the Imperator had betrayed them.
“What do we do?” Ajax asked Talon who watched the other dragons over his shoulder. The dragon rider had yet to draw his sword, and Firesoul hadn’t shown any sign he meant to land.
Talon’s eyes were half closed, as if he were looking at someone’s stat information panel. Maybe his own, maybe the enemies, or perhaps... Ajax felt rising fear. Mine.
“Turn them over, Talon, and you and your mount will live. They mean nothing to you. Why lose your first life and have to start over again for them?”
Ajax drummed his fingers on his sword hilt. The man speaking on the megaphone spoke the truth. Lillus and Ajax meant nothing to Talon. Why should he die for them?
No, we mean everything to him. The whole human race is at stake, and if I really am the Chosen One who can save us, then I must live to see my destiny through.
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Ajax stood in the saddle. He cupped his hands around his mouth. The enemies eyes were on him now. What do I do?
Make a bluff, and buy some time. Perhaps they could prolong the confrontation long enough for Firesoul’s mate to arrive. Or...
A brilliant idea came to him. Get the enemies on the ground, and grouped up, then Lillus could blast the lot of them with her power. “I challenge your leader Sejanus to a duel. If he is as honorable as the legends make him out to be, he will accept my challenge. If I am victorious, you will let us go. If I fall—”
“Ajax!” Lillus hissed, clutching at him.
The enemy dragon riders laughed. “Why would he want to fight a traitor? You aren
’t worthy of dying by his blade.”
Ajax held his head high. “I’m no traitor. Though I have no wish to see Sejanus dead, I will fight him so that my companions and I can live.” Ajax squared his shoulders. “The true threat to the Imperium is far to the west. Its name is the void, and it means to destroy us all.”
The two dragon riders watched him, as their mounts moved to glide on either side of Firesoul. “Fine, if Talon lands, we will wait for Supreme Commander Sejanus and the rest of our brethren to arrive. Then we’ll see if he will defile himself to face you in battle.” The dragon rider pointed at him. “But be warned, when you fall, your Demon Mage consort will soon follow.”
Ajax nodded once, then glanced at Talon. The other man had paled, but he directed Firesoul toward the ground.
Dutifully, the dragon obeyed.
“WHY DID YOU OFFER HIM a duel?” Lillus cried, as she watched the six red dragons land in the dead tree forest clearing, their riders leaping to the ground. He and Lillus stood near Firesoul and Talon, both of whom were busy glaring at their brethren.
“Anything can happen.” Lillus sobbed. “You might die!”
Ajax watched the six riders approach. The other two who had ridden the green dragons stood beside their mounts, weapons drawn. The green dragons watched Firesoul warily, as if ready to unleash their fire breaths if the bigger dragon so much as moved.
“It was the only thing I could think of.” Ajax turned to her, his legs feeling like jelly. “When they’re all together, use your powers against them.”
Before she could say anything, Talon walked up to them. “None of us are getting out of this. The only reason we are still alive is because you demanded a duel.”
Ajax snapped his head around. “They said they’d let you live.”
“They say a lot of things. Sejanus has had it in for me for a long time. I’m... a free spirit. Always have been, and I don’t get on well with people telling me what to do.”
“But you’re a dragon rider, an elite of the elite.”
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