Battle Spire

by Michael R. Miller

  A disjointed, gargled female voice was speaking over it in static bursts before settling.

  “That was just rude,” Ellie said. “Ignore this. We need to get going.”

  I placed my hands on my hips. “I’d like to listen to what my captor has to say if it’s alright with you?”

  “Your overall health has dropped to seventy-nine percent since I last updated you. You don’t have time.”

  I looked to the floor as though scolded, clenching my shaking fist. I felt like I had all the spirit punched out of me.

  When Ellie next spoke, it was far softer. “Do you trust me, Zoran?”

  “Yeh, Ellie. I think I do.”

  Grunting, I puffed out my chest, trying to rally myself. Baby steps, I told myself. Then I made for the door.

  14

  “I want to show you the area I have in mind for an ambush,” Ellie said. “You should retrace your steps back to the throne room first. But remember the traps!”

  “How could I forget?”

  Now spurred with purpose, I navigated the dungeons quicker than before. I minimized the video being broadcast by Azrael so that I could keep one eye on it. He’d finally ended his overblown establishing shot and stood fully in frame, still wearing his paladin disguise.

  “I expected this,” he began. “Cybercrime agencies trying to oust me.” He tutted. “Like children screaming for attention you lack finesse. Take my advice and desist. And be assured that fighting me is futile.”

  He flashed a perfect pearly smile.

  “I warned that any interference would result in the deaths of some of my millions of hostages. But I am not here to kill. Not unless I must. What good would that do to my cause? I’ve decided to be benevolent. For now.”

  Ahead of me, I saw the bodies of the two terrorist players. I wondered if Azrael had discovered two of his men were missing yet. Those steely blue eyes of his gave little away.

  “You will be wondering what it is that motivates my friends and I into action. The answer is simple. Justice. Across the world, the real world, freedom fighters languish in captivity without trial nor jury. Their only crime is to refuse to accept the status quo which keeps so many nations and peoples under the booted heel of renewed Western imperialism.”

  “What the fuck?” I blurted out.

  “Keep focused,” Ellie told me. “Careful here, remember to—”

  “Jump, I know.”

  I leapt over the bodies without issue and started to ascend the winding stairs.

  “To bring a swift and peaceful end to this affair, we demand the release of our brothers in arms. Take careful notes. I won’t repeat myself.”

  Azrael cleared his throat and pulled out a roll of parchment. I couldn’t tell if there was anything written on it but that was probably beside the point. The roll unfurled, falling to the floor, and he smiled deviously again.

  “In Morocco, the twenty-seven members of the African Front. In Shanghai, the five leaders of the Yung-shi Triade. In Panama City, the thirty-two brothers and sisters of the New Latin Union.”

  Azrael droned on with his list for some time. So long in fact that he was still prattling on when I reached the top of the stairs. I lost focus on what he was saying as I took precautions to check on my map and make sure that he had no ‘friends’ nearby.

  “Coast is clear,” Ellie said. “Even those in the Spire are several levels above you.”

  “Gotch’ya,” I said, then burst out from the darkened dungeon stairwell.

  And Azrael was still at it.

  “Finally, in London, our ten Scottish comrades from the Celtic Blues. All of these incarcerated heroes are to be released forthwith. I would advise speed in this endeavor. So long as our demands remain unmet, we shall remain in control of this game. Until next time.”

  The feed cut off.

  Now entering the war room, I closed the window. The bodies had despawned by now. Marshal Highcross was gone as was the obvious opening to the safe room. Gaining my bearings, I pivoted around and made towards the throne room, as instructed. Azrael’s strange demands rankled with me.

  “What did you make of that then?” I asked.

  “His demands seem illogical,” Ellie said.

  “Well, I wasn’t expecting anything sane. And I’m hardly an expert on geopolitical terrorist groups but that last one he mentioned sounded fake.”

  “Without access to the internet at large, I cannot corroborate his facts.”

  “Seems like he’s just messing everyone around,” I said. “Pulling on the world’s collective pisser. But why?”

  “Does it matter?” Ellie’s tone had changed subtly again, always a curious sign.

  “Erm, I’d say it matters why this nut bag has taken over the game.”

  “It is highly improbable that his demands shall be met, so it seems irrelevant to waste processing power on them.”

  Now her voice had returned to its ultra-robotic mode. That made me think something was up, the way folk can get overly polite when they really don’t like you.

  “Millions of lives are endangered, Ellie. Surely, it’s worth considering what he actually wants. As if all those criminals and terrorists are just going to be let back into the wild. His demands are so unrealistic that he must be here for something else. Hey,” I said with a smacking realization, “Frostbyte got hacked before the scheduled main release date, didn’t it? Hundred Kingdoms was rumored to be the target. All hush-hush right, but most people guessed the hacker was trying to mess with the economic system to their own ends. Maybe this is what he’s doing. Trying to plant something into the system that would allow him to syphon off a crap ton of money on the down low?”

  I had only the slapping of my feet against the stone floor as an answer.

  “Ellie?” I asked nervously, worried again that she’d suddenly left me.

  “Your reasoning seems… logical. I too believe his motives are financially driven.”

  “Wonder why he doesn’t just ask for money like a good old bank hold up. You’d think that—”

  “Shall we leave this issue to one side,” Ellie said. “We are entering the throne room now. Whatever his motivations, time is still of the essence. And we have to stop him no matter what.”

  I stopped dead. “No matter what? Even my life?”

  “That’s not what I meant. I’m just so… strained. It’s getting harder each minute to stay connected to you. I just want to stay focused.”

  “Alright. We’re both under stress. It’s fine. No harm done.”

  Something about Ellie’s little outburst felt peculiar to me. She was incredibly intelligent, capable of handling vast amounts of information despite her claiming to be ‘slow’ right now. She was, after all, an AI. Yet she maybe wasn’t used to actual interactions with people directly on the raw visceral level we were on, just the artful performance of the NPCs of the game world. The mere fact that she acted oddly around the topic of what Azrael was telling, but the why was harder to fathom. I still trusted her though. Hell, I didn’t have much choice. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for her.

  “Any enemies on the move?” I asked.

  “Just the patrols moving in the grounds,” she said, her voice returning to her usual cool, calm tone. “I’ve been trying to analyze their routes, but I can find no discernible pattern. Perhaps they are moving randomly in an attempt to throw me off.”

  “Let’s hope you can keep up with them then,” I said. “So, are you gonna let me in on this plan of yours.”

  “Of course, I’ve highlighted a new area on your map. Can you see it? It’s on the second floor.”

  I toggled my map to show the floor above. Sure enough, a thin section was highlighted by a green bubble. It stretched over a U-bend corridor which could be entered from a set of stairs somewhere from the ground floor.

  “Looks like it’s right above us,” I said.

  I let my eye run along the area and saw the corridor lead out into another stretch that was marked as ‘gallery’.
There had been a gallery overlooking the throne room, close beside the throne itself. This gallery seemed to hit a dead end and go no further. I walked further inside the throne room and turned, looking up to find that very gallery right above me.

  “I think I know what you have planned. Let me try to guess first.”

  Ellie made a tittering laugh. “Sure.”

  I searched around for a doorway leading off behind the throne. There were, in fact, three routes leading away from the throne. The middle one was likely a passage for the Emperor himself. The other two, I reckoned, led to the galleries above.

  I took the one closest to me and found a flight of stairs leading to a U-bend corridor. An arched stain-glassed window greeted me at the beginning of the next corridor, a scene of two swans on a bright lake. A high-vaulted ceiling that was crisscrossed with thick connecting wooden beams stretched before me. Suits of armor stood proudly at intervals while statues leered down at me from above; some angelic, others demonic.

  This transitioned seamlessly to the gallery beyond, the left side was open to allow a view of the throne room. Rows of pews granted seats for a potential audience. It all ended in a solid white wall at the far end; there was no door and no other way in or out other than the entrance from the throne room itself.

  Running out onto the gallery proper, I had a clear view of the Emperor’s chair. Not only that, I had a clear shot.

  I raised my new crossbow, taking mock aim at an invisible emperor upon the throne.

  “That’s brilliant, Ellie.”

  “Oh?” she said playfully.

  “If I shoot one of the guards from up here, hell the Emperor himself, the NPCs will aggro onto me. The only way for them to reach me is by running through that one corridor. If the terrorists chase the NPCs, we can catch them all together.”

  “That’s the general idea,” Ellie said.

  “Just one thing,” I said, “How am I going to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. I’ll be boxed in like the rest of them up here. Any traps we lay out might be triggered by the NPCs or the initial waves of players but then I’d be in trouble.”

  “One solution would be to drop down from the gallery,” Ellie said. “At this height, I calculate you’d take around four-hundred and ten damage which would currently kill you.”

  “Let’s not do that.”

  “Indeed. I believe you should take shelter directly above, in the rafters.”

  I glanced up. It was dark and there would be ample space to hide.

  “And how do I get up there?”

  “The answer to that, as well as getting you better equipped, all lies in the armory. Return to the war room and I’ll direct you from there.”

  I stole a moment, picturing the impending carnage, the looks on the players faces as all shade of hell was dropped, fired or whacked into them.

  I smiled.

  “Ellie, I think this is going to be quite fun.”

  15

  Ellie guided me through the Spire hallways, back to the war room, taking a new turning deeper into the labyrinthine passageways. Every so often, she reassured me that Azrael’s men were still far away and I breathed easier for a few moments. This ambush had merits. If enough of them could be lured into it then Azrael’s plans could be seriously crippled.

  Yet what hope had recently flared inside me immediately extinguished when I reached the armory door.

  “It’s locked,” I said in dismay.

  “Not for you,” Ellie said. “I believe you have a key.”

  “No, I don’t. When did I get a — oh,” I trailed off in realization. I had looted a key recently, scavenged from the Emperor himself. I opened my inventory, scanning for it. Amongst the myriad of items in there, it was almost hidden, but I found it in the end: Aurelius’ key. I withdrew it, admiring its teal crystal body and fine serrated teeth.

  “That’s a skeleton key to every room in the Spire,” Ellie said. “Who needs lockpicking?”

  “Scavengers can get this?”

  “Not as useless as everyone thinks,” Ellie said.

  “I’m starting to come around to that idea,” I said. “A true jack of all trades. Sadly, master of none.”

  I didn’t complain much further on the point, as having access to every locked door in the Spire could be a literal lifesaver.

  Inserting Aurelius’ key into the lock, I turned it slowly and heard the delightful click. The great double doors pushed inwards.

  “Good thing you’re here, Ellie,” I said, then stepped inside.

  The armory was an Aladdin’s cave of deadly steel, a veritable shopping mall of weaponry. Four flours rose with the Spire itself, the topmost narrower than the first. A chandelier floated in the middle, using a collection of dancing living light rather than candles. What with the white marble of the Spire, smooth glistening columns, and the hoard of glinting swords, maces, halberds, axes and spears, I could barely keep my eyes open. Nearly blinded by the shine, I raised a hand to shield myself.

  “Wow,” I gasped. “Can I Breakdown all of this?”

  “If you can loot it,” Ellie said. “Although if the guards by the door were alive they wouldn’t let you just take anything you liked.”

  “Well, thank you, Azrael.”

  “Ranged equipment is on the second floor while the grappling hook I want you to use to climb into the rafters of the gallery is on the third floor.”

  A set of stairs ran the entire length of the right-hand wall, a soft incline to help those encumbered by heavy armor to move with confidence. Up I went, one hand securely gripping the thick stone bannister and emerged onto the second floor.

  I took stock of the ranged weapons available and dear lord this place was stacked. Longbows, composite bows, crossbows both normal sized and massive, almost like small artillery. Actual artillery too – ballista and catapults, though they all looked far too heavy for me to push on my own. A real shame. Quivers hung under the bows, and below the quivers was a series of crates which were full to the brim with arrows and crossbow bolts. I near enough skipped over to them.

  “Is there any difference between these?” I asked, casting my hand over the quivers. They all looked generic.

  “Not at low levels,” Ellie said. “There are some endgame quests for rangers that award special quivers or ammo pouches for them. This won’t be something you need to worry about.”

  “One less thing to think on is fine by me.”

  Remembering how Wylder had his quiver at his waist, I selected one appropriate for using a crossbow. I strapped it on, then turned my attention to the bolts. There was a far greater variety; in fact, wood of all types with different fletching. Some of the feathers looked nigh on tropical. The arrowheads ranged from razor thin to jagged barbs designed to lodge. It was like a pick and mix of candy. And I didn’t even have to pay.

  As expected, I couldn’t use most of the bolts for they required a higher level to equip. Looting them would only fill up what precious space I had left in my inventory. I picked up a bunch of the lowest level ones, the only ones I could use until I hit level ten.

  Dull Bolt

  Ammunition

  Quality: common

  Item level 5

  +4 damage per shot

  Out of instinct, I slotted a few into the quiver and a notification appeared.

  Do you wish to make ‘Dull Bolt’ your default ammunition?

  Yes or No

  Hitting yes didn’t seem to achieve much.

  “What has that done?” I asked.

  “It means that so long as you have more dull bolts in your inventory, you’ll be able to draw them from your quiver.”

  “Ah ha,” I said, before starting to loot as many bolts as I could from the crate. Once I hit about fifty, I stopped for a breather. That would probably do for now, and luckily the bolts stacked into one item slot in my inventory. I’d be able to carry loads if I wanted.

  Looking down at myself I decided I’d had enough of this garbage starting gear. My eyes roll
ed upwards to the floor above.

  “Will I find better armor up there?”

  “Yes, but if you are afraid to climb higher then don’t. I detect your heartbeat is at elevated levels already.”

  I rolled my shoulders and puffed out my chest. “I reckon my heartbeat will be at elevated levels from now on. Don’t worry. I’m not worried about falling to my death or anything.”

  “Don’t j-joke about these things.”

  “Are you okay? Was that a… stutter?”

  “I’m f-fine. Just h-hurry up.”

  I bit my lip. It didn’t sound like she was fine at all. Could she feel pain from what was happening to her? Was such a thing possible?

  “I’ll be as fast as I can.”

  Once on the third floor, more disciplined players than I would’ve been transfixed by the abundance of essentially free equipment. None of it was exactly mind-blowing stats wise, as Ellie had warned, but for someone like me who had nothing, this was a treasure of hoard.

  Unfortunately, my low level restricted me to the worst of the gear. I grabbed a full set of basic boiled leather armor. It looked so simple on, tough and brown, and itched in hard to reach places. It’s one saving grace was, as a full set, I got some extra bonuses from the otherwise plain gear.

  Traveler’s Worn Leather

  Set Bonuses

  +2 Constitution

  +3 Reflexes

  +2 Might

  Feeling slightly less squishy and armed with my crossbow and a quiver full of bolts, my chances of survival had increased by at least another half a percent.

  It was then I felt a pulsing, like a light headache.

  “Is that you, Ellie?”

  She didn’t answer?

  “Ellie?”

  The pulsing continued. As I moved towards the stairs, it ebbed away; stepping back it escalated. It was like there was a metal detector in my head. Moving around this floor the pulse quickened, as though I were drawing nearer to its source. And perhaps I was. It seemed to deepen as I neared the final flight leading to the fourth floor, where rows of crates sat unopened. Too curious to resist, I cracked one open.