by Tim Johnson
Christian pushed through the crowd of men and women making merry to the bar.
He called over the bartender and was about to order a glass of water when he saw everyone else drinking ale so ordered that instead. Standing out in any way wouldn’t be wise. Christian sipped the frothy, warm beer and assessed his situation.
He was following his training. He had changed his appearance, made an ally and was in the process of melting into the general populace. If he needed, he could crash on Leon Podsworth’s floor for a few days while he sought information about his uncle. It had been an unpleasant trip back in time and he was ready to get out of here, rescue his uncle and get them both back to New London.
But what’s with all the writing I am seeing?
Perhaps it was a psychological side-effect from the time travel or the cyro-sleep? One thing at a time. Security first, then resources and then he could question why he was seeing things.
Certain elements of his misadventure kept blaring in his head like alarm bells.
Dark priesthoods. Giant beavers. Hobgoblins. Wanderer.
Something wasn’t right. There could well have been giant beavers at some point in history and given that they were such mean bastards, perhaps they got themselves hunted to extinction and no one bothered to remember them thereafter.
He sipped his ale. Things weren’t fitting together, and he didn’t like that.
The bartender was nearby cleaning tankards. “Rough day?”
“Had worse,” Christian muttered. “Haven’t heard of a James T. Lee passing through these parts, have you?” The bartender shook his head, but then stopped and seemed to perk up. He made Christian repeat the name again.
Hope flared and Christian described his uncle. The bartender gave Christian an odd look and said he must have been thinking of someone else.
He seemed to know something though.
That moment, Christian felt a vice-like grip on the back of his arm. He spun around, pulling the dagger out, ready to fight.
He was face-to-face with a woman. Specifically, the tall Asian woman he had seen earlier outside. With a crushing strength she guided his dagger hand away with ease. It seemed to Christian that she was impossibly strong. He was being swept aside like a child.
“Settle down,” she said through gritted teeth. With one smooth move, she plucked the dagger from his palm and shoved it into her own belt. She glanced sideways, but it seemed no-one had noticed the altercation.
“You grabbed me,” he said pointedly.
“How about we discuss it upstairs?”
Christian was about to protest when the woman pulled him to his feet, then across the bar towards the stairs that led up to the rooms.
“That’s enough,” Christian said trying to halt her at the stairs.
The woman didn’t stop. “Don’t be stupid, Christian, come on.”
Christian was so stunned she knew his name that all the fight went out of him. He let her pull him up the stairs by the hand, away from the hubbub of the pub, into a corridor.
“Hold up,” was all he managed to say.
The woman grabbed him by his shirt. “Are you totally crazy, blabbing your mouth down there?”
“What?” Christian said.
“Asking people about James Lee, you idiot!”
Christian looked into her eyes. Dark black hair tumbled over her shoulders, framing her frowning face. Her eyes seemed near-black with fury. He noticed a belt he hadn’t seen on her out in the darkness of the streets. On it were several glass bottles plugged with cork stoppers and filled with liquids of strange colors – a symbol of a skull on one. Poison.
Christian didn’t trust her as far as he could throw her, which given her impressive strength likely wasn’t far.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Has Sark turned you already?”
His lack of reply led her to draw her bow and notch and arrow with what seemed tendon-breaking speed.
“Put the bow down,” Christian growled.
He’d been shot once that night. He didn’t fancy another dose of it.
“Start talking,” she said. “You have three seconds.”
Damn this woman.
“Three, two…”
He decided to buy time with a dose of the truth.
“Listen, I’m going to say this in a way I hope you’ll understand. I’m not from this time or world or whatever it is. I found a… device that took me here. I arrived in a massive fortress, got killed, but I woke up afterwards. I don’t know how. I managed to escape. Then I got in a fight with some giant beavers, rescued a boy and came here.”
She lowered the bow very slightly, but it was now inconveniently aimed at his groin.
Christian gritted his teeth and continued. “I know this sounds crazy and this is going to be hard for you to understand, but... I’m from the future.”
To Christian’s surprise, she suddenly burst out laughing, flashing a mouth of straight white teeth. She looked at him incredulously.
“You think you’re from the future?”
When he didn’t say anything, she just shook her head, letting the bow down and taking a big sigh.
“He’s a total idiot,” she said to no-one in particular.
“Look, can we just start from the beginning here?” Christian said. “I’d say let’s start with names, but you already know mine.”
“Christian Lawson,” she said. “You’re a decorated but recently disgraced special forces soldier. You ballsed-up a mission in the Altai Mountains and they chucked you in cryo for it. Your uncle is Dr. James T. Lee, a gifted quantum computing engineer.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Because I am James’ colleague, Dr. Alexia Chen. Christian, I’ve got news for you. You’re not from the future, you’re trapped in the game-like world of Valeria and I’ve been waiting for your sorry ass to arrive for two years.”
Christian grunted. Game-like world? What was going on?
Alexia gave him a pitying look. “Let me say this in a way that you will understand. I’m here to rescue you and bring you to your uncle.”
6
Christian reeled from Alexia’s words. For a second, he couldn’t speak as he tried to put it together.
Rescue me? Game world?
Alexia read his expression. “There is a lot to explain, Christian. People like you and me, from other worlds, are called wanderers. We are hunted down, caught and used like animals by powerful leaders of Valeria. Knight Lord Sark has control of this region and he will be looking for you – so we need to go, now. I have a set of portal stones that will teleport us to your uncle.”
An object appeared in her hand. It was made from a constellation of small glowing stones. Collectively they were like a miniature solar system, pulsing a faint blue, floating in the air. Then they snapped together into an oblong ball, like a glowing blue ostrich egg.
“See? But we must be outside in the open to use it. Let’s go.”
She tried to pull Christian back down the stairs, but this time he expected her crazy strength and quickly stepped back to avoid her grasp.
“I’m not going anywhere until I know what is going on. How did we get here? What was that machine in my uncle’s house?”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. The short version: your uncle detected deep space signals; it was an ancient code bouncing around our galaxy. He realized it was the schematics for a machine. He built it and it brought him here, into a new dimension, a crazy world that operates on game mechanics. You know about—”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of games, thanks.”
“Well, if people from other worlds – they call us wanderers – come here we become like ‘players’. We have special abilities which make us powerful, valuable and dangerous. At first, your uncle thought we could help this place, learn from its people and share its resources. Boy, how wrong he was. The portal works both ways – so they can come to our world too. We weren’t the first to discover this p
lace. The people who did: their world is now gone.”
Alexia leant in.
“If Sark can get through our portal, he will destroy Earth. He’s always hunting wanderers and once news of our coming and goings reached him, he brought his armies here and captured the gateway. We couldn’t get back. Then Sark built that monstrous fortress around it to secure his position. If he figures out a way to open the gateway—” she choked, the thought too horrible to speak aloud. “Your uncle and I were trapped. We’ve been trying to find a way to fight him ever since.”
“And how did I get dragged into this?”
“Back when all this began you were all over the news, returning from the Altai Mountains massacre and going into cryo. James made his will, although I didn’t know it until recently. A safety measure. If he didn’t return in two years’ time, then his will would enact, and you could come and help us. Give us the edge we needed. We were scientists after all. Not soldiers.”
“Thanks for that.”
“He’s your uncle – don’t you want to help?”
Christian flexed his fingers. Just brought in as a tool for the job. Well, he was used to that. “So, let me get this straight. We take down this Sark and his armies and then we can go home?”
“We hope so. James received the gateway key when he first arrived – just appeared in his inventory—”
“Inven-what?”
“Later,” she said, waving a hand. “James has the key, okay. If we can all get through and have someone destroy it behind us it should mean Sark can’t ever get to our world.”
Christian pinched the bridge of his nose, his head swimming. “Can you please give me my damn dagger back?”
She handed it back and he placed it in his belt. Having a weapon again, even a small one, put him back on more solid footing. He considered the situation. Sark’s huge fortress appeared before him, enormous, unbreakable – it would need a colossal effort to storm.
“What resources do you have?”
“We’ve built up some support. James is known as the Artificer here and we’ve got a secret fortress and allies. Not every Valerian supports Sark’s goals. God knows how long it will take but once we amass enough power, we’ll overthrow Sark and save the world.”
A quest notification popped up in Christian’s vision:
Quest: Overthrow Knight Lord Sark.
He who wishes to rule your world, already has power yet untold. To beat him, you must be brave and bold, and build an army you can trust and mold.
“Wait,” Christian said. “Just because the writing is telling us we need an army, we don’t need to blindly follow it. I’m special forces. A solid strike team could kill this Sark asshole and be done with it. One head shot from that bow of yours ought to do the job.”
Alexia looked at him like he was nuts. “You have so much to learn. No, that’s not how things work here, Christian. Remember when I said game mechanics? It means levels, stats, powers and, oh god, I have so much to teach you. You’ve played video games before, right?”
Christian frowned. Although of course he had heard of them, he hadn’t been afforded the time to play the video games that filled stadiums and were blasted about on the news screens.
“Shit,” Alexia said, reading his expression and putting her hands to her temples. “Okay, fine. We have a lot to teach you and we need a safe place to do that, which is at your uncle’s fortress and not here. So,” she shook the glowing stone in his face, “let’s please get the hell out of here so I can use this.”
Everything she said still sounded insane, but she seemed to know what she was talking about. In any case, if she wanted him dead, he would be by now. He nodded and they turned to leave—
A bang sounded from downstairs. The music stopped. An authoritative voice boomed, vibrating up through the floor.
“We are seeking a man.” Christian had heard that voice before. The knight in the blue armor. Sulfur. “A wanderer. Who has seen a stranger in the town?”
Alexia ran to the window. “Sark’s men are already here.”
He joined her by the window. “Does the roof count as outside for your magic stones?”
Alexia hesitated for a moment, then a glimmer of respect sparked in her eye. “Get us out of here then, solider-boy.”
There was no way to open the window, so Christian kicked it in. Glass flew out into the night and Christian followed, balancing on the window ledge. The slate roof was just above them, an easy climb. He turned to hold his hand out for Alexia to follow.
She followed his lead, taking his hand to help. The portal stones still glowed in her free hand. Together they scaled up onto the roof of the inn.
Alexia held the portal stones in front of her and opened her mouth as though to speak some spell, when a beam of blue light burst through the slate. It struck Alexia clean in the chin, knocking her aside.
The roof caved in. Christian tumbled down through the roof beams and smashed onto the floor below. He rolled over, spitting dust and splinters of wood, lying exactly where he and Alexia had stood moments before.
Standing above him was Sulfur, whose sword shimmered blue before dimming to steel. Christian looked up to see Alexia still on the roof above him, the portal stones now burnt-out black shells in her hand.
“Go,” he shouted to her.
Sulfur looked up and Christian used the distraction, leaping to his feet and ramming his dagger into the knight’s thigh between the plates of his armor.
Thigh Stab
Damage dealt: 12
The knight kicked out, sending Christian flying until he slammed into the wall. It was like being kicked by a horse. Christian’s chest felt like it had been caved in, he could barely suck in a breath.
Damage: 90 HP
Christian’s Health: 10/100
After one kick?
With a grimace he placed a hand on the wall to pick himself up. He still had the dagger. Sulfur, however, seemed completely unfazed by the thigh stab.
He should be bleeding out. I hit an artery.
But instead, Sulfur moved towards him.
Christian had two choices. He could fight or throw himself out the window and hope he didn’t break his legs.
Alexia hadn’t fled. She was up on the roof, covering him. She notched an arrow and pulled her bowstring taut. Christian could hear the shouts of more men coming up the stairs.
“Alexia, get out of here!”
Her arm was drawn back, and her aim was on Sulfur.
Sulfur’s smile broadened, and he leveled his sword at Christian. Christian’s eyes flicked to the sides of the narrow room. In a confined space the dagger could be a damn good weapon. The knight wouldn’t be able to swing his sword as effectively. But his last attack had done so little. Above, Alexia let her arrow fly.
The knight lifted his sword and sent the arrow pinging away.
She’s fighting. So will I.
Christian could feel his fighting instincts roar, but then something else, like a cold, icy well inside of him opening. The rage and frustration he had bottled up erupted into a cold chain-reaction through his body and his arm felt charged with power.
“Come on then, wanderer,” Sulfur said. “Let’s see what you’ve got—”
Christian didn’t let him get out another word but threw himself forward. Sulfur reacted quick as a flash, but Christian was ready for him this time. He ducked and went to swing the dagger down into the knight’s chest.
His dagger was enveloped in an icy blaze and he struck Sulfur in the chest with a sound like a thunderclap.
Ice Strike I unlocked!
Your cold intentions have been brought forth by channeling your ice mana through your weapon.
+20% damage
Cost: 25 mana
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Damage dealt: 27
It was like Christian had stabbed a brick wall for all the good it did. Though for a second, Sulfur’s blue eyes were wide in shock. Then they narrowed and his big face crinkled into a
smile.
“Cute trick.”
Faster than humanly possible, Sulfur shoved Christian. Christian fell back, his dagger flew from his palm.
Above, Alexia screamed. Two black swords erupted from her middle. She dropped her bow and her head slumped to one side. Behind her was a man that seemed to be made more from shadow than human. He kicked her off his two short swords and then they scissored, catching her corpse and cutting it.
Her lifeless body slid into three parts and fell forward, dropping into the corridor. Her head bounced between Christian and the knight.
Christian was on his back and kicked himself back towards the window to try and escape.
Alexia’s head rolled, staring lifelessly at him.
The knight’s blue eyes blazed with the joy of battle. He stepped over Alexia’s torso and then quick as a cat he lunged forward with his sword. Christian managed to get his bare hands to the blade, but they could do nothing. He watched helplessly as the sword slid through his hands and pierced his chest.
Christian felt blood bubble up in his throat. He tried to take a breath but couldn’t.
He looked up to see the knight standing over him, his thick lips twisted up in a cruel smile. With a hard shove the knight pushed the sword further through Christian’s chest.
Damage: 200 HP
Christian’s Health: 0/100
As Christian’s vision faded to black, gold writing unfurled in front of him.
You have died.
7
Everything was black. I’m dead again, he realized.