I memorized the spell scroll while the metal melted and threw it and the list of ingredients on the fire to destroy them. Creating the ring in this place gave me a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. I let the memories of Lesley teaching me flood through as I worked, reciting the spells I'd need for anti-theft and truth at every step of the process.
When I'd finished, the ring was exactly what I'd hoped. It was the dullest looking accessory I'd ever seen in this world, definitely not something someone would pay attention to or try to steal. All that was left was to test the ring. I placed the ring on my finger and spoke a lie out loud. The blue agate turned red. Then I told a truth and the stone was blue again.
I needed to get to Avenger Headquarters to give the ring to Aurora, but I wasn't ready to go just yet. If I was honest with myself, my experience with Jared and losing all the goblins had driven me slightly mad with vengeance for a short time, but it had also given me an idea that I couldn't carry out except in isolation. That was why I'd sent Bartholomew on ahead of me.
I walked over to the altar one more time, placed a scroll on it, forced some of my magical energy into the basin and hacked the system. I did this three times total. When I was finished, I'd created my greatest weapon, one I'd hoped I would never have to use. I dubbed them my Trinity Spells.
The use of these spells would get me expelled from the SRU for sure, but it would be worth it if it prevented another tragedy like the goblin massacre. I'm sure that Aurora was already reporting my creation of these spells to SimTech personnel. Even if she didn't want to, her programming would force her too. Come to think of it, her programming would have also made her inform them of my hacking the system at the dwarven kingdom. It seemed odd that there hadn't been any repercussions for my actions then.
The creation of the spell scrolls was nothing but a formality that locked the spells into the system's database. Once the spells were finished, I destroyed the scrolls. The spells had been created via hacking so there were no ingredients and the spells couldn't be duplicated by another person. After destroying the scrolls, I went and thanked Merissa for everything she'd done for me today and left for Avenger Headquarters.
There was a line outside of Avenger Headquarters for prospective Avengers, but the line wasn't moving. I had expected a smaller line of people wanting to be Avengers since the SRU had been opened for a little over five months now, but the lines were as long as they'd been that first day. Well, that was about to change.
Everyone in line was complaining, asking others if they knew why headquarters had been locked up and wasn't accepting new recruits at this time. My question was: why were they waiting in line if the building was locked up?
I got my answer when I approached the doors. There had been a sign posted on the door stating that headquarters was only closed for a few hours and would be opened to the public again shortly. When I reached the doors, they swung open for me.
I entered amidst whispers of, “That's Valkyrie, the White Avenger,” and, “Why did the doors open for her,” among many other comments, some rude. The door closed firmly behind me, shutting out the remaining noise and Aurora appeared.
She had a slightly agitated face and asked, “Are you sure about this?”
I knew she wasn't referring to the changes to the Avengers. She'd been completely on board with them.
“I'm sorry for causing you trouble,” I told her. Tears had begun to fall down my face as all the horror I'd witnessed today came to a head once more. I drew Aurora into a hug and whispered in her ear.
“I know it's unethical to hack your system and I'm sorry I did it, but I'm tired of seeing all this death before me and not being able to stop it. If the time comes when I'm kicked out of the SRU for my actions, I want you to promise me that you'll keep working with the Avengers to keep this world safe without me. Will you promise me that?”
“Of course,” Aurora put her arms around me, cradling my head, “but let's hope it doesn't come to that. The SimTech personnel are already on the verge of panic about your hacking. They thought it was impossible for anyone to hack into my system. They've been monitoring you very closely ever since through my ability to see everything that happens in the SRU. The only reason they haven't terminated your account yet is because you interest them. You could have been hacking the system to bolster your character, but you haven't. Their curiosity is the only reason you're still allowed to play. Take care with your actions. Please?”
I gave a slight chuckle, empty of emotion, and looked around the room. The building had changed drastically since I'd last been here. It looked as though the building had been stretched from inside. The outside still had the same dimensions, but inside it was twice as large.
There was a large waiting area with padded chairs for people who were here to use the lost and found, money center, armor and weapons center, or any of the other services we offered to people in need. The training arena had been enlarged and now contained an area for those hoping to be Avengers and a more advanced training area for Avengers. There was even a new booth with a sign that read Avenger Merchandise and a second booth reading Avenger Donations. Below the donations sign was a smaller one that read In Memory of Lesley Mintlock.
Aurora caught me looking and explained, “After you donated all of that jewelry to the Avengers the story spread like wildfire. Everyone who was present relayed the story to their friends and Merissa told all the merchants in Melodia.
“We had so many new Avengers that the jewelry you gave us was quickly running out. Merchants in Melodia who knew Lesley, and heard your story, decided that they could honor Lesley's name by continuing what you started. They spread the word to other cities and even to the other fantasy worlds. Soon a legacy of charity had been opened in Lesley's name. The merchants began to donate items to be given to new Avengers. Some donated items they'd made themselves while others donated commonplace item boxes containing spell scrolls, weapons, and armor.
“In the tradition you started, Avengers are given one custom made item when they join. They can choose among jewelry, armor, or a weapon. They can also opt to forgo the item and instead receive a spell scroll if they already know magic. In addition, if an Avenger needs a new weapon or armor because they were defeated and had their items stolen, they can get one for free from the donation center. They are just beginner weapons and armor, but they are there to help Avengers in their duties.
“The merchants donated commonplace item boxes of weapons and armor to help our efforts so that player-killer or thief victims who’d lost their money and items can come and get replacements for free. Of course, that is meant to be kept secret so don't tell anyone. None of the Avengers know about the commonplace item boxes in Avenger Headquarters. They are under the impression that all the items we have are limited supplies donated to us.
“The merchants did this out of the goodness of their hearts, but if everyone knew, people would try to trick us into thinking their items had been stolen instead of going to the merchants to buy new items under normal circumstances. After all the merchants have done to help our cause we can't hurt their business in return.”
We had been walking around so that I could tour the new facility while Aurora spoke. As we reached the booth reading Avenger Merchandise, I looked in and was startled. It looked like an airport gift shop. It was full of items to promote the Avengers. There were dishes with large A's on them, small story books that seemed to have been written by Aurora. They each contained individual adventures by different Avengers. I saw two stories with me as the heroine. One was the story of how I'd saved the goblins when I'd first arrived and created the Avengers and the other was about how I'd met Bartholomew.
Luckily, there weren't any stories about my later adventures. There were things I'd learned that couldn't be shared with the general public.
There were also Avenger flags, posters of different Avengers who'd made a name for themselves, and l
ittle life-like dolls that were billed to 'copy the current appearance of the Avenger.' There was a doll of me and it had my tattoo and pearl in its forehead too.
I turned to Aurora to ask, but she already knew my question and answered, “This station was created to help us fundraise. The Avengers have quickly become a worldwide name on all the fantasy worlds and this was one way in which the merchants decided to help. Those who couldn't make weapons, armor, or enchanted jewelry to help our cause figured they would start a memorabilia franchise to help us. Sixty percent of the profit goes to help the Avengers and those in need. The rest goes to the merchants.”
Although it seemed ridiculous to me how the Avengers were now like movie stars and musicians on Earth, I accepted it reluctantly. As long as the Avengers did their jobs correctly, all of this was superfluous and inconsequential.
After Aurora caught me up on the current events in the Avenger world, I handed her the ring I'd created and my declaration. Once the declaration and ring were in her hand, she produced a sheet of paper out of thin air and handed it to me. It was the new contract. I read it to make sure it was clear and that the changes I'd implemented were included. Everything was as it should be, so I signed the contract.
Aurora handed me back the ring.
“I've already made the ring into a commonplace item and placed an item box inside the recruitment booth where people who've completed their tests sign their contracts and become an Avenger. I thought it only right for you to have the original ring since you made it.”
She pressed her hand into the declaration letter and it multiplied into a large stack.
“I have to place this declaration on the front door and recruitment booth of every Avenger Headquarters and then I have to go to every Avenger and give them this declaration and their new contract to sign. I'll see you later.”
With that, she vanished, and the front double doors opened for me to pass through. When they closed behind me, I noticed that she'd placed one letter on each of the doors and one on each side of the doors so that four people at a time could read it.
I noticed all of the people in line staring at me and announced, “Headquarters is once again open to accept new Avengers, but I recommend you read the letter on the doors before making your decision to join. To those who still want to be Avengers after they've read it, I wish you good luck.”
I didn't feel like using my Shadow Arts to head back to town, so I walked at a normal pace. I'd had a long day and was mentally exhausted. The walk to town would calm my nerves. Once I arrived in town, I made my way toward the fountain and realized I still didn't know what the fountain looked like. I'd been so intent on Jared's punishment that I hadn't even looked at the fountain when I was here earlier today. I made myself look at it now.
The fountain was a marble structure with a statue of three musicians. There was a male playing a trumpet, a female playing a violin, and a small child with an androgynous face playing a drum. There was water flowing from the drumsticks, the tip of the violin’s neck and its bow, and a larger spout of water coming from the end of the trumpet. It was a pretty sight, but still not comparable to the elven fountain.
I stepped into the fountain, feeling the cool water caress me. This was the only way to teleport from city to city. The water was the gateway that led from one place to another. You could travel to any city on any planet that was connected to the transport system simply by stepping in the water and thinking of the city's name, or the city and planet if you were traveling between worlds. If it wasn't part of the network, you couldn't teleport there and would have to get there by other means. Places like the dwarven kingdom and Valanesia were not connected to the transport system. The only purpose those fountains served was as resurrection points if you died and they were the last city you'd been to.
It would be midmorning before Bartholomew reached the dark forest. I teleported to Rolanzo City and found the nearest hotel to stay at for one silver coin per night. I had no desire to tour the city after the day I'd had. Besides, night was falling on the city. Most of the shops were closed and streets were practically empty with only a few stragglers.
Once in my hotel room, I logged off to get away from the pain for a while. I would spend some time in the real world to calm my head and get back to the SRU in a little while. I got up and did my usual morning routine, took some aspirin for the intense headache I'd gotten, and decided to leave the house for a while. I spent a few hours at the library and went for a long walk, but after a while I decided I couldn't wait any longer. I had work to do back in Evanasia.
I rushed back home and put my SRU-visor on in active mode, lied down on my bed, and let myself be pulled back home.
Bartholomew's Heart
I checked out of my hotel and decided to tour Rolanzo City to calm my nerves. Bartholomew wouldn’t arrive for a few more hours. Night had come to an end and the city was alive again. Rolanzo City was enormous. It was almost like an empire condensed into one location. The dwarven kingdom and Valanesia couldn't compare in size, though they were without a doubt far superior in design.
Rolanzo City was designed like a giant circle where the rich lived in the center and the poor were forced into the outer edges. The homes in the poorer parts of the city were mostly clay houses with thatched roofing. The middle of the city where the fountain was housed buildings made of wood, brick, and finally marble.
The fountain in the city was rather repulsive and gaudy. For such a large city I was surprised. Even the fountain in such a small town as Melodia and the fountain in Tutorial Village had impressed me. This fountain was a monstrosity. The fountain appeared to be a statue of the city's king or mayor or whatever he was, a portly man with a scepter and a tuxedo. No crown. Unlike the other fountains which were made of ungarnished materials, this fountain was fully painted. The man’s tuxedo was bright purple with a red shirt and his scepter was black with a gold and silver orb on the end. Water poured from the scepter’s tip and the man's open mouth.
I was glad I hadn’t eaten breakfast. I might have turned the fountain into a toilet bowl. I swallowed hard to stop my stomach from heaving and moved on.
It had taken me a couple of hours to explore the city. The time to meet up with Bartholomew had arrived. He was going to meet me on the outskirts of the forest so that we could traverse it together. If I left now, I would meet up with him shortly before or after he arrived.
I made my way through the city toward the main gate. As I was coming upon the main gate, I heard something that stopped my heart.
“Did you hear?” A random player’s voice cut through the noise as he spoke to his companion. “They say a rampaging dragon who attacked a town yesterday was seen heading here. A large group of players have gone to meet it in hopes that they could slay it and become famous. I wish I could have joined them, but I know I'm no match for it.”
“I know.” The companion seemed eager and frustrated at the same time. “If only this game had skills and preprogrammed attacks we could use. I'm terrible at fighting. I've been killed almost a hundred times and only managed to kill two monsters.”
I took off like a bullet. It had to be Bartholomew they were talking about. He was the only dragon to have attacked a town yesterday, but he hadn't attacked the town. All he'd done was rip the roof off a single bar and kill a player. No other people or structures were harmed.
I couldn't let myself be late. I was too late to save the goblins, but I wouldn't fail again. I used my Shadow Step to get me to the forest outside the city as quickly as I could.
It took me less than a minute to make it to the forest and my body felt like it was on fire. I could barely twitch a muscle without intense pain, but I didn't care. Adrenaline was forcing my limbs to move. When I reached the outskirts of the forest, I almost threw up from the combined pain and sight before me.
Bartholomew was lying on the ground, not moving, and there were over a hundred play
ers surrounding him. I summoned Zephyra and began to rush the players. I couldn't use my Shadow Step any more. Once I'd stopped, the pain was too severe to start again. I ran as fast as I could. All I could think of was getting to Bartholomew. I could stop this if only I could get there.
“Zephyra! I want to incapacitate the attackers with a down burst. Do not make it strong enough to kill, not yet. Just stop their attacks.”
Zephyra's eyes were burning with a blue white I'd never seen before. That must be what her eyes looked like when angry. The words had barely escaped my lips before she was upon the enemy. She flew ahead of me, to Bartholomew's side, and I heard a scream of surprise and terror as the small army all fell to their knees. Many ended up lying on their stomachs. Others were on their backs and sides, unable to move except for a twitch or two.
I was at Bartholomew’s side a few seconds later. I ran to his head to see his face. He was still alive, but barely. His breathing was shallow, his eyes half-closed. There was blood pouring from wounds all over his body and his wings were torn with large holes. The depression he was in told me he'd been shot out of the sky and crashed here. I had no idea what wounds he had sustained internally.
“Oh Bartholomew,” I started to cry. My voice shook with a mix of horror, anger, and sorrow. “I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have sent you ahead without me. I swear I didn't expect this. Hold on. Stay with me.”
I reached for my magic and thrust more than was necessary into my spell, casting Divine Healing. The spell began with a reference to Aurora, who was for all intents and purposes this universe's goddess.
“Oh, mighty Goddess who governs all. Listen now and heed my call. Your servant calls your blessed power. Before me lies a wilted flower. Life and death are your domain. This life is tainted with Death's stain. Before me is a life in sway. Let me hold Death's grip at bay. Divine Healing let your power surge; pain and injury to purge. Bask us in your golden light. Help me set this tragedy right.”
Virtual Me- Valkyrie Page 21