by Jeff Sproul
Riley swallowed. It had been a good three months or so since he was last here. All he knew was that this was the usual hangout spot for, “Warcry,” he said. “Isn’t this where she hangs out and operates out of?” he asked, hoping the guy might know of her.
“Yeah, this is her place,” the guy replied. “What makes you think you can just come on in, though?”
Riley blinked several times, his lips parted. He was at a loss for words. “Um...is there a reason I can’t just walk in?” he asked.
“Rook Den is our guild hall!” the guy said. “No entry without permission.”
“How do I get permission, then?” Riley asked.
“Warcry or one of the officer’s has to vouch for you.”
Riley looked at the green haired guy, and then over to the other person who had bright blue hair down to her shoulders. Her arms were crossed against her chest as she eyed Riley.
“Can I speak to Warcry then? So that she’ll vouch for me?”
“And who the hell are ya?” asked the green-haired guy. His voice becoming louder with each sentence he spoke.
Riley took a small glance around, noticing the group of three at the bottom of the stairs was now facing them, their eyes upon him.
“I used to be Radiance. I grouped with Warcry all the time. I haven’t seen her in a month though. I just wanted to talk to her. If that’s cool?”
The blue-haired woman laughed. “We’ve got another Radiance come by to mooch off Warcry.”
The green-haired guy laughed and shook his head. “Suit yourself, ‘Radiance,’” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm when he said ‘Radiance.’
“Go see if Warcry wants to deal with him,” said the guy.
“Sure thing. This is usually fun to watch,” said the woman. She turned and went to the door, as the guy eased Riley away from it, with a grip on his arm.
“Wait here,” said the guy. “She’ll be back in a minute.”
Riley watched as the woman disappeared into the darkened interior of the place. This whole situation was...weird, to say the least. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do. What the hell was Warcry up to?
Several minutes later, the blue-haired woman came back out and stood in front of the door. She looked at Riley for several long seconds and then said. “She says she doesn’t have time for another imposter. Go on and get out of here.”
Riley’s jaw lowered. He looked at the woman and then to the guy. “Are...you serious?” he asked.
The woman nodded. “Yup. Get out. Or we’ll remove you.”
Riley swallowed, his anxiety rising. He took a slow breath and took a step back. He turned halfway around, then stopped. He stared down at the stone floor for a few moments, before he looked back to the door. He’d known Warcry a long time. He knew her personality. He knew her habits.
He then spoke,“I’ll never forget how she demolished me in that duel on Bastille Street, on the first day of the game’s release. She took the first ten credits I ever made. I was really pissed, but we ended up grouping up to hunt some low-level creatures in the sewers nearby. We didn’t have powers or anything, we just punched things.” He then paused, the look on both of their faces reeked of annoyance with him. The green-haired guy took a step toward him.
Riley took another step back. “But I guess if the two of us aren’t friends anymore, I don’t need to keep that promise about not telling anyone her name. You guys know it, right?”
The guy stopped mid-stride and looked back to the blue-haired woman, whose eyes were raised.
“Like hell,” said the woman. “No one knows her name. I doubt an imposter like you knows what—”
The wooden door burst open, causing the blue-haired woman to jump back, startled.
A female figure stepped out of the darkness from the Rook Den. She wore a pair of black cargo pants, black boots, and a red t-shirt. The same outfit she’d always worn since the day she hit tier-two and decided to change her clothes. Her arms were still wrapped with red tribal tattoos. Her red hair came down to one side, but was shaved on the other.
She lifted a hand and pointed at Riley. “You. Inside. Now.” She turned to the side, lowering her hand and lifting the other to point into the Rook Den.
Riley knew he was physically unrecognizable to the woman known as Warcry. But apparently his words had gotten her attention. She was a little predictable, after all. Well...except for the mess surrounding why he wasn’t let in.
He stepped forward, walking past the two that had barred his entry. He passed by Warcry and into the Rook Den. From the outside, the inside looked dark, but upon walking through the doorway, he was able to see soft candlelight all around. There were banners and pillars. Wooden desks and goblets. It looked much like a medieval tavern. The sort you’d find in old fantasy games. He noticed that some of the furniture had changed, as well as the banners. There were more people sitting around than he ever remembered seeing before. It was then that he realized the five people that had been outside, had all been wearing similar clothing. Dark clothing, of brown, black and gray. Everyone inside was similarly dressed in dark clothing as well.
A hand pressed to his back as he heard the heavy wooden doors shut. He looked up as Warcry pushed him along. She was easily the taller of the two of them by about five inches. “This way,” she said as she led him to a nearby room. She produced a key and unlocked a wooden door next to the wall. At this point, the smell of cooked meats and alcohol assailed his nostrils. Was this what a medieval tavern would’ve smelled like?
Warcry pulled him into the side-room, where he found several candles burning on candelabras. There was a wooden desk on the opposite side. Warcry walked over to it and then turned around. “Close the door, turn the lock,” she said.
Without hesitation, Riley turned and did as she said. Once finished, he turned to face the woman again. He had to say, his anxiety was still running rampant. He wasn’t used to Warcry acting like this around him.
“What’s my name?” she asked. “If you get it wrong, I hope you're prepared to reroll another character.”
Riley went to take a step towards her, but found his right foot was stuck to the floor. He looked down, and noticed he was now standing on a red rug. He tried moving his left leg, but it was stuck as well. “Uh…” He said at first, then looked over to Warcry. He thought her hand had been resting on the desk, but actually it was overtop a round red gem.
“You have five seconds,” said Warcry. Her blue eyes staring into his.
“You going to take my ten credits again, Wendy?” he asked.
Warcry stood there for several seconds. Her lips curled as her fingers slid off the gem. She walked back over to him and wrapped her arms around him, lifting him into the air. “You’re back!” she said, her voice taking a drastic shift towards happiness. She set him down a few moments later after giving him the intense hug. She took a step back and looked at him. “Where the hell you been?” she asked, her arms then crossing, her brow furrowed.
Riley’s eyebrows lifted. “Well, I um…” he trailed off a moment as he scratched at the side of his head. “I don’t have a lot of money, and Rook Den isn’t exactly next door. I’ve been scraping by as a tier-zero, just trying to build myself up. I didn’t want to take the risk of coming here.”
“Well that hurts,” said Warcry. “I almost fell for the first imposter that showed up here.”
Riley’s head tilted to the side. “Yeah, what’s that all about? Things seem really different here.”
Warcry uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips. “A lot’s happened since you died,” she said. She exhaled and walked over to sit on the edge of her desk. She faced him again and looked over to the wall. “An imposter showed up here after you died. I think it was two days later. He seemed convincing enough, but then he slipped up. I almost gave him some items and money. After that, I became more cautious. I think seven people have tried impersonating you, to get stuff from me. I’ve killed the last five.”
Riley’s eyes wi
dened. “Damn. I didn’t realize people...would even do that!”
Warcry nodded. “Yeah, I guess we were popular enough to warrant that kind of attention. I’m sure it happens all the time. Players trying to profit off people that way.”
Riley nodded a little before sinking his hands into his pockets. “Sorry it took me so long to come by,” he said. “Dying really put me in a weird place, you know? I mean...I had Radiance for a couple years. All I wanted to do was rebuild what I had. I found out that Radiance didn’t have the ‘amazing’ reputation I thought he did...which...I guess, is because I was pretty selfish. Looking back, it makes sense. I even fell back into the same pattern when I made a new character.” He bit his lower lip and looked up to Warcry. “So I just wanted to say sorry for that, too.”
Warcry lifted her hand and waved it dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. I think us original players have a different mindset than most. I always felt you were a little selfish...egotistical...greedy,” she then smirked, ending on that last one. “But I dealt with it, cause we were friends. Besides, you never really treated me badly. So I have no room to complain. If anything, I benefited from how you acted. I didn’t really do anything to dissuade how things were, so...don’t feel bad. At least, not about that.”
“So, what’s going on with the Rook Den?” Riley asked, as the question had been nagging at him ever since his arrival. “It’s a guild hall now?”
“Yeah…” Warcry sighed. “I kinda...well, I sorta formed a guild. You see, after you died, the rest of us fled the fight. But after we were safe, I asked who picked up your bracelets so I could hold onto them for you. Blue got out of the chamber first, but Glasser and Shadow both passed by where you died. I told them to give me your gear, cause obviously they would’ve had time to of snatched them up, but both of them denied grabbing them. So...I buffed myself, slugged Glasser and Witch, since...I have this stupid amount of extra strength, and Blue pulled me away and...well, long story short, we all sorta split up. Well, more like...Glasser and Shadow ran from me and Blue kept me from chasing them. I was in far better shape health-wise than they were. I know one of them took your gear. I saw both the bracelets on the ground after you were killed. I couldn’t grab them myself.”
Riley listened to Warcry’s explanation of the events that transpired after his death. “So...I mean, that sucks that they grabbed my stuff. I really doubt either of them have any intention of returning my gear. But what’s that have to do with the Rook Den?”
“Right, about that,” said Warcry. “So, after that incident where I essentially punch them both, a video popped up online. I guess Blue uploaded the video of me attacking them and scaring them off. It made the two of them look like real douchebags in light of what had just happened. So a bunch of players started finding me at the Rook Den and saying they supported me and respected me. It’s not every day a support character floors a damage-dealer and a tank. So my popularity kinda got out of hand...and one thing led to another. I ended up crowd-sourcing some funds from my fans and ended up buying the Rook Den. My fans became my guildmates and now I run the guild. Which, I decided to call ‘The Rooks of War.’ So I call them my ‘rooks.’”
“You manage a whole guild now? There were tons of people out there in the lobby. How many is there? I never knew you wanted to run a guild!” said Riley, a bit surprised by this turn of events.
“Well, I didn’t realize I’d be any good at it,” she said, “These guys follow me without question. I do my best to do right by them. I’ve got those group-buff shouts that work well on groups larger than five. So I take a lot of them out on raids and we take down large bosses and spread the loot around, or sometimes the credits.”
“Are they tier ones, or twos?” asked Riley.
Warcry shook her head. “They’re mostly all tier zeroes. Only a handful are tier ones,” she said. “I guess we’re a little over a hundred strong right now. Initially, it was a group of about ten tier zeroes that said they wanted to group with me. They had some decent weapons, but no powers. So I grouped with them, and then I grouped with more and more from the Rook Den. As I said, things kinda propelled out of hand until I was taking a couple dozen people out on raids and leading them. So...yeah. I’m a guild leader now,” she said with a meager smile on her lips. “A lot of them have no problem with risking death, since they’re tier-zero anyway. With the weapons and gear we’ve collected up, it’s easy to re-outfit them and they gain good experience towards leveling, due to the high levels of the bosses we fight.”
“That’s amazing,” Riley said with a chuckle. “I never expected this. But I guess things can change pretty quickly, huh?”
Warcry nodded. “Yeah, it seems that they can. So what are you here for?” she asked. “Not that I’m like...upset about you stopping by or anything. You know I’m just itching to help you out with whatever you need. Unfortunately, we just recently bought the Rook Den, so our coffers are a little empty as far as credits go.”
“Well, I was hoping you still had that bracelet I lent you a while back.”
Warcry gave him a strange look. “What bracelet?”
Riley gestured to his wrist. “The diamond one...what was it called…”
“Oh, the Diamond Piercer Clasp?” Warcry asked.
“Yeah! That’s it. You still have it? We agreed to keep it around if either of us ever died and needed to do damage as a tier zero. Of course, the game was a little more different back then in the original days.”
Warcry looked away. “Are you sure I have it?” she asked. “I thought you had it last?”
Riley’s brows lifted. “At first I thought I had it too, and that it got deleted when I died, but then I remembered I got powers before you did, remember? You were the last one to use it, and I told you to keep it. Supports aren’t usually targeted all that often in boss fights. So you had the higher chance of survival and possibility of keeping it around between the two of us.”
“Hmm,” Warcry murmured. She eased off the table and walked behind the desk. She placed her hand on a stone and pushed it in. Upon doing so, a section of the wall slid away to reveal another room. She stepped over and went into the room. “I’ll be just a sec,” she said.
“Alright,” Riley replied as he stood there. He tilted his head and looked into the room. He spotted a bed, a dresser, various furnishings and paintings. Warcry’s room was far nicer than what he had even as Radiance. Warcry knelt next to a storage chest and swiped her hand in the air. A minute later, she tapped the space above the chest. A bracelet with a diamond clasp appeared in her hand. She stood and walked back into the office room and pressed her hand back to the stone she’d pushed to open the room. Upon touching it, the stone pulled back out into place and the wall slid shut, once again concealing the room. She walked around the desk and handed the clasp to Riley.
“All yours,” she said. “I forgot I had it. I was thinking you’d taken it for some reason. The stats are pretty high on it. I could’ve used it for one of my guild mates, but it was literally on a separate page in my storage chest, so I never bothered to look at it. I haven’t touched my personal storage much lately.”
“Thanks, that’ll help me out a bunch,” he said.
“So you’re going to be using it?” Warcry asked.
Riley shook his head. “It’s not for me. It’s for a friend.”
Warcry lifted a brow. “Friends already, huh? I guess I’m not the only one who’s changed,” she said. “So if you’re not using it, does that mean you already hit tier one?”
Riley slowly smiled. He then told Warcry all about what had happened. That he was out in the amber caves with Seth’s group, and that they’d been attacked by the three cloaked figures. He told her about Seth’s death and how he himself had gotten eaten by a rare monster. He then described how he was freed from the beast and explained how his powers worked.
Warcry had sat back down on her desk as she listened to the story. When Riley told her about his new powers, she grinned. “You’
re more like me now!” she claimed. “I guess that also makes you a healer still, huh? No matter. I think support powers will work out really well for you. How do you like them so far? They sound pretty cool.”
“Yeah, they’re really fun to use,” he admitted. “I’m really excited to get back out to hunting things. I only came by to see if I could get the clasp off you. I need to go meet my friends back at the market in Gargantuan.”
“So that’s where you’re staying?” she asked.
“Yeah, back to good-ol Bunker Seven, actually.”
“Wow, that’s a bit of nostalgia right there,” she said. “Are any of the people we used to adventure with, back there?”
Riley shook his head. “No, I actually went there hoping to find some of them. But none of them are around anymore. I think that’s probably for the best. I should let Radiance fade away and embrace my new persona.”
“Well, we were friends long before you became Radiance,” said Warcry with a smirk. “So don’t you go letting me fade away either.”
“I won't,” Riley said, matching her smirk.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked. “You can’t be making a lot of money...I wish I could help you with some credits. Most of the gear we acquire is already divided evenly amongst the guildies. I don’t think I have any old support gear for you, since I’ve sold a lot of things that I don’t need.”
Riley shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I just recently got my powers, so I’m sure I can turn things around. I won’t be making as much as I did as Radiance, but I’ll manage. If I can think of anything, I’ll definitely let you know.”
“We have a couple cars,” said Warcry. “I’ll have one of my people drive you back to where you want to go. I’ll make sure that you’re welcome here any time.”
“Thanks, I’d really appreciate it,” said Riley. “Guess I better get going then. Don’t want the others waiting for me.” He turned around and took a couple steps to the door.
“I…” Warcry spoke up, but then bit her lower lip.
Riley glanced back to her.