Fate of Camlan

by A. T. Gilbert

  As soon as my hands are free, I equip my Bow of Eternal Rest and aim an arrow toward the River Trolls. They’re not paying any attention to me, and are close enough that I can get a pretty good shot. In profile, I’m able to aim for the neck and jugular of the Troll that stands between Balderdash13 and the river.

  As the arrow embeds in the creature’s neck, it claps a hand to the wound, and spins around, surprised at the attack. Its body blocks the other Trolls from getting to Balderdash13 and she runs a wide arc around them to further downstream.

  “Get to her,” I yell at the paddlers as I nock another arrow.

  Erinocalypse and I rain damage down on the Trolls, managing to kill off one of them in the short time it takes the Raft to float down to meet the tank.

  [+120 XP]

  Balderdash13 pulls herself up, and lies prone on the deck of the Raft, her legs still dangling in the water when I shout, “Go!”

  Erinocalypse and I both grab the exhausted tank by the arms and pull her farther on to the Raft as SteelFeather and TexBadass begin paddling as fast as they can upstream and away from the River Trolls.

  Chapter 27

  Paddling upstream is more difficult than I expect, especially with all five members of the party on the Raft. It takes both TexBadass and SteelFeather paddling with all their strength, while Erinocalypse helps the Raft’s progress with Surge of Air sent elegantly against the surface of the river to propel us forward. Balderdash13 doesn’t have any range weapons, so it’s left to me to send arrows after the River Trolls and ensure our escape.

  After a few harried moments, we’re finally out of the trolls’ range, and Balderdash13 has recovered enough to take a turn paddling. She takes over for TexBadass, which frees him up to give both paddlers strength buffs. As we struggle against the current, we encounter several more groups of River Trolls, but TexBadass is able to protect us behind another buff, his Curtain of Invisibility, long enough to slip past them.

  At times the Bors River widens and grows more shallow and calm. Without having to fight the current, our progress speeds up. Two different places when the current grows more rapid, we barely make it up past the flow. After the second time of having to struggle like that, I get the tanks to bring the Raft to shore so I can fashion two more Paddles out of driftwood. The next time we encounter such rapids, TexBadass and I each grab Paddles and between all five of us, propel the vessel up the hill, against the current, to the next calm stretch of river.

  “This is still faster than walking, right?” Balderdash13 pants after we once again power our Raft up a rough patch of water.

  I take that next moment of calm to pull out my map of Camlan to assess our progress. The game automatically zooms in on our location, a small dot in the middle of the vast Dyrnwood forest that stretches most of the western side of the realm. My heart sinks. We’re still not even halfway through the forest to Pendragon Mountains. It’s going to take us forever to get north to the Citadel.

  But then I consider where we have come from and how much distance we’ve already traversed. It hadn’t been on our map before, but since we “discovered” the stone Ruins of Trevena it is now marked. The distance from there to here is almost four times as the distance from Summerrun to the ruins.

  “I think it is,” I finally reply. “Bors River goes to Pendragon Mountains, but it’s not a straight shot. In another mile or so, we may want to leave the water and find a straighter path, instead of meandering all around the foothills.”

  “Maybe as soon as we spot a way out of this ravine,” Erinocalypse suggests.

  I nod, looking up at the towering rock face forty feet above us. Hopefully we can find an easy way out of this without having to go way out of our way.

  The group falls silent, vigilant, paddling and watching the terrain around us. We seem to have left the territory of the River Trolls behind, but that doesn’t mean we can let down our guard. There could be anything in Dyrnwood, waiting for us. And if Toterra Online is following us as closely as we suspect, the enemies could be originally coded into this forest, or added recently by Talbot’s developers, trying to throw us off our course.

  If Jargonaut can find us and bring a army of NPCs against us at Summerrun, probably anyone else at Toterra Online could too.

  While I have the map open, I look again at the yellow dot that marks Smeaton, where I can continue my alchemy training. There’s a part of me that itches for that knowledge. I’ve got that recipe for a speed potion just sitting in my inventory, unused. I’m not even sure what all alchemy can do in Camlan Realm, but more magic, more power, can never hurt. I try to gauge the distance and guess how long a detour would take us once we’re on the other side of Pendragon Mountains, but it seems too far to get the others to agree readily.

  That may be something I will bring up again when we get there, but for now I just have to get the group through the river, through the forest, through the mountains and to the King’s Road on the other side.

  We round another bend and I activate Power Perception to get a sense of how dangerous this section of the river must be.

  Attention: You have unlocked Active Skill: Power Perception Level 5

  Description: Your skill is now always activated. You are able to sense both friends and foes with no additional effort.

  Requirement: Initiative Level 2; Focus Level 2; Magic Level 25

  Reward: +150 XP

  That will be incredibly helpful. Once I wave the message away, I flinch upon seeing the bright green glow ahead of us. It’s brighter than I have ever seen in this game. The river widens and looks shallow enough that I can see the rocks on the bottom. While the river as a whole is a few hundred feet across, with Power Perception, I can see that there is a clear path, all the way to the right of the water, that beckons us with the welcoming green.

  “Give me a Paddle,” I say, elbowing Balderdash13 aside. “Let me guide it.”

  “What are you doing?” Erinocalypse asks, almost offended at my pushiness.

  “It’s green. There’s a path we need to take.”

  “But you don’t know where it leads.”

  “It’s green,” I repeat. “We’re supposed to go that way. Trust me.”

  SteelFeather has continued to paddle toward where I point, but watches warily between Erinocalypse and I. Once she shrugs with an implied ‘go ahead,’ he focuses again in propelling us forward.

  “To the right,” I say. “We’re closing in on it.”

  “You sure about this, son?” TexBadass says. “I’m looking, and there’s nothing on the map right here. How do we know it’s not a trap?”

  “Because that’s not the way this ability works. I’m sure.” I nod firmly.

  But, as we get closer, the space darkens, as though a heavy mist has descended just on that side of the river. Right before my eyes the mist then breaks, and a dark tunnel forms. I almost hesitate. The ominousness of the just-created-out-of-nothing tunnel almost outweighs the encouraging green glow from Power Perception, but I take a deep breath and continue forward. I’m the only one that sees the tunnel. It’s totally my call and I decide not to tell the others about my second thoughts.

  I curse the fact that I can’t both paddle and arm myself with my bow and arrow as we sail into the darkness and the unknown.

  Chapter 28

  The total darkness envelops us as our Raft passes into the tunnel. Though I am the only one who saw the green-lit path through where the Bors River widened, and the magical signals leading us this way, I know when the rest of my party begins sensing the same thing because I hear gasps and cursing around me. I keep alert, paying attention to what the Power Perception is telling me and willing something to appear before me. But all I see is black.

  We’ve just sailed into the complete unknown, upstream, into darkness without even an indication on the map to tell us the name of wherever this is. That’s what is the most unnerving. Literally every other thing in Camlan Realm is labeled, down to the Small Branches, but here is just da
rkness and mystery. I keep my tentative trust on the fact that the Power Perception indicated green, that we should go forward. That we’d be safe.

  I hope that’s right.

  “Where are we, Asher?” Erinocalypse demands in a fierce whisper. “Where did you lead us?”

  “I don’t know…” I admit.

  We don’t have to wait long in the darkness. The tunnel soon gives way to growing sunlight. I blink a couple of times, trying to get used to having vision again and to get a sense of what we are sailing into. The water is calm here and somehow we are no longer struggling to push against the current. The other two have stopped paddling, but we continue forward solely through our existing momentum. We float into a calm pool of water, and are pushed toward the shore by the faint current. As we continue forward, the river then narrows again between two rocky shores as it continues farther upstream.

  As I look around, getting my bearings, I realize we are floating straight toward two guards, one on either side of where the river narrows. They each look identical, in chain mail and livery of red and gray. Both have thick salt-and-pepper hair and stubbly beards; both are clearly NPCs assigned the same basic tasks. And both hold two spears aimed down toward our Raft. We can’t pass them and I am hesitant to try to fight them, but as we near the shore the one on the right shouts to us.

  “Who do you fight for?”

  My brain whirs. I can’t even respond. Are these two sent by Fountain Games to help now that we’ve gone off the original plan? Or are they some of Jargonaut’s army, sent to head us off before we can get to the King’s Road?

  “Guinevere,” Erinocalypse answers.

  The guard nods and all four spears are raised to let us by. Our Raft floats smoothly down the watery path carved into the rock, until it pools again about fifty feet on. Ferns and drooping flowers grow down on either side of the river, giving the whole entrance a soft, welcoming feel. Not much farther ahead, a wide rock platform, like a dock, is carved into the right side and we pull up along side it. There’s nowhere else to take our Raft, so we disembark and look around.

  Attention: You have discovered Bearguard

  Description: [None]

  Reward: [None]

  Huh.

  Well.

  That’s … weird? Ominous, really. Why would Camlan Realm not have any information about this town? I already thought it was weird that it doesn’t appear on the map, but this is a step beyond that, even.

  We climb the four stone steps from the dock up to the level that the town rests at, a small hamlet nestled between low foothills. I hear the low rumble of a waterfall nearby, but don’t see it. Instead, the pool is surrounded by about a dozen small cottages.

  The tanks have armed themselves, on guard against an enemy. They must have seen the mysterious message about Bearguard as well. I don’t know if we should trust it. Even being let through with the password isn’t enough to make me feel comfortable here.

  Maybe we should turn around. Maybe we should get back on the Raft and keep going.

  But, something keeps leading us forward. As I take in the whole scene, I’m surprised by how small Bearguard is. It seems as though I am looking at the entire town in one glance. Even the word ‘town’ seems generous; it’s almost more like a camp. Just a handful of buildings not even organized very well.

  As I am distracted, watching the smoke curl up out of a chimney from the building closest, I feel the sharp point of a spear in my back. “Who do you fight for?”

  “Guinevere,” I say. “Didn’t we just tell the last guard that?”

  “Well, yeah,” the familiar voice says from behind me, lowering the spear. “But just yesterday you tried to kill me, so I can’t be too careful.”

  I turn to see who my assailant is, surprised that I recognize him. MadMachine, the leader of the group of players who tried to take Castle Nennius, stands grinning before me.

  “You?” I never thought I’d see this guy again. I assumed he was just some eccentric gamer trying to conquer a castle just to say he did. We spent a good chunk of yesterday battling his group of gamers. But now he stands before me in a magically hidden village, asking for classified passwords we got from Guy Fountain himself.

  “Me,” he says, nodding with a smug smile on his face. “Good to see you came to your senses and are no longer a Toterra stooge.”

  I roll my eyes and don’t bother hiding it. “Yeah. Okay. Nice to see you too. What is all this? Where are we? Why isn’t there any information about it?” I gesture to the village around us.

  “This is Bearguard. It’s not on the map. We’ve only just coded it in, and it might need to be deleted once we leave, but at the moment it’s our secure headquarters.”

  “Headquarters for what?”

  MadMachine chuckles. “Well, you’re definitely not heading north are you, are you?”

  “We’re on our way,” I insist. His challenge makes me defensive.

  “Well, we were sent in to help get you back on track. You’ll never believe what happened since you got back in game.”

  “We?” I repeat.

  “What happened?” Erinocalypse asks.

  MadMachine grins. “Let’s go see the others.”

  Chapter 29

  The player MadMachine grins at me as he walks away. I can’t believe that of literally everyone in the world, Fountain Games sent this guy to help us on our quest. Just because we’re headed east instead of north—for the time being—doesn’t mean we need assistance. As I watch him go, my first instinct tells me I don’t want to follow him anywhere, but I know I have to get over that. He has the password. He has our safety. There’s not much else we can do.

  He leads us down a stone path that winds between the two largest buildings in the town. As we pass under the shadow of them, I notice we are heading toward a rectangular courtyard, with small buildings on each side.

  I’m highly attuned to the two guards following us, spears lightly carried and ready. If I were to run or even stop, they are only a short step away from impaling me.

  “Are you guys hungry?” MadMachine asks over his shoulder.

  I’m surprised by his hospitality. I kind of still want to drop boiling oil on his head.

  “You’ve been on the road for a while,” he continues.

  “I could eat,” SteelFeather says. Balderdash13 hits him lightly with the back of her hand. “What? I could.”

  MadMachine chuckles and nods to a kid waiting at the doorway of one of the buildings we pass. As we follow MadMachine past the doorway, the kid ducks inside to fulfill whatever unspoken command he just received. The tank leads us to a long wooden table in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded closely by trees. The beech trees grow so full around the table that it is almost as though they form the walls and room outdoors for it.

  “I still don’t understand,” I say. “Where are we?”

  “Bearguard,” MadMachine says as he offers Erinocalypse a chair. She frowns at him, but accepts. “I told you. It’s one of the few places in the game we can hide from Toterra. Well, most of Toterra.”

  “How does that work?”

  He has moved to the next chair down, to offer it to Balderdash13, who grins at him and mock curtsies before sitting. “The plant they have at Toterra that Mr. Fountain told you about? That person has access to the game code and dropped in this patch to create Bearguard. Once we all leave, I think the plan is to delete it again so there’s no record of anything here. This stretch of Dyrnwood is just supposed to be a wild forest full of creatures to battle and quest chains.”

  “How sure are we that we are secure here?” I ask. I take a seat in the middle at one side. There are chairs enough for twelve, and I wonder if we will fill it.

  MadMachine sits at the head of the table. “Well, I guess it just comes down to if you trust Mr. Fountain’s spy or not. He trusts this person, and I trust Fountain. That’s all there is to it.”

  Just after we sit, a team of three young women come bearing platters of foo
d. Fruit, nuts, roasted vegetables and a pot pie of some kind. Jugs of wine and water are displayed all along the length of the table. A fourth person brings us dishes and utensils.

  “Please, help yourselves,” MadMachine says as he pours himself a cup full of red wine. “We’ll pack up a lot of this to take with us for the next stretch of the journey, but eat as much as you like now.”

  Even though we don’t technically need the food to keep our health up or anything, it’s kind of nice to sit down to a meal after a long morning of adventuring. Maybe it’s psychological, but I feel like I need this respite. The group falls silent, apart from the clink of utensils and dishes. I grab a couple pieces of the roasted potato, as well as a big spoonful of the pot pie, return to my seat and close my eyes as I take the first bite. It tastes warm and comforting, like my grandmother used to make.

  “Oh my god.” I take another big bite. I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve had a good hearty meal. “What is this?”

  “Varg,” MadMachine says through a mouthful himself.

  I swallow hastily. “This is varg?” I ask. “Did someone hunt it in the forest around here?”

  MadMachine nods, his mouth full.

  “Wow.” I think this over. “So, if I level up my Cooking skill I could make something like this?”

  MadMachine grins. “Probably, but it was one of the NPCs that cooked all this for us. None of us are high enough in Cooking to do much.”

  “I don’t understand how there are NPCs here if it’s supposed to be all secure,” Erinocalypse says.

  “I don’t know all the details,” MadMachine says. “But it has something to do with repurposing coding and patching something existing. That’s supposed to be easier to hide than creating something all together new. All of these NPCs and buildings and all of it you can find elsewhere in Camlan.” He gestures to the town as a whole.

  “So, it’s like a copy and paste job?” SteelFeather asks.