by Prax Venter
“Jack!” Lex yelled and was over him in an instant.
“Good work, my friend,” Alt said telepathically as he blinked up at her. The mental link between him and the AI thrummed with activity, and Jack felt a crispness return to the world that was hard to name until it was back. “I apologize for my absence, but we both know it needed to happen. I was not blind nor idle, Jack, I have much to convey.”
“Did it work?” Lex asked. sitting down next to him as Jack sat up.
“Let’s find out,” he said as he flicked out a hand and a miniature spaceship phased into existence.
The tiny science vessel reoriented its bristling sensors and blue flame thrusters like a dog shaking itself out.
“It is good to see you both alive,” the ship said. “Lex, had I known what-”
“I know, Alt,” she said tucking an errant shock of hair behind her long ear. “There’s no need to say it aloud, and it’s exceptionally good to see you back too.”
Jack glanced down to see the majestically inlayed scabbard attached to his waist and willed the info panel to reveal itself.
ARV Alternis - [Sword | Value: 132,287/250,000]
| Dmg: 189 |
| Def: 36 |
| Hit Chance +0.19 |
| Crit Chance +0.29 |
| Max HP +69 |
| Max MP +113 |
| Dodge +59 |
| Magic Power +25 |
| +6 to Nature Damage |
| +8 to Shadow Damage |
| 25% chance to heal 5 HP on kill |
| 5% Chance to gain 10 MP on Kill |
| +9 Mana on Floor Transition |
| +8 Sneak |
| Movement Speed +0.10 |
“Oh yeah,” Jack said through a content sigh. “We are all awfully glad, but we have a big pile of trash to take out. The three of us aren’t going to set any climbing records today, so I say we just plan our next move then take a nap before we Any Exit Alt it back to our kingdom.”
“There has to be a way to stop her,” Lex pleaded to their outside spark of artificial intelligence.
“Change me to Angry Sun,” Alt said, spinning his prow to bounce between the King and Queen as he spoke. “I will clear this lower Floor quickly while you two get comfortable and then I will return to download everything I’ve observed, discovered, and intuited. And I have had a great deal of time to think.”
Jack shifted his Summon with his once-per-Floor Alter Alt ability and the beachball of plasma with halfmoon eyes zipped off between the clotheslines. The pair of Heroes strolled up to the top of the hill they’d started on and tore down all the fresh linens within grabbing range as they went. A few minutes later, there was a fireworks explosion over on a distant hilltop where his exceedingly helpful summon obliterated the sentient washing board Boss. Every item dropped from combat deposited directly into Jack’s inventory with a satisfying tone, and he let himself blow out another deep sigh.
They’d been knocked down hard, but they were picking themselves up and now had infinite time to finally slow down and talk about their real options. By the mental link they shared, Jack knew Alt was bursting at the seams to share what he’d learned.
“That’s quite the impressive royal nest,” the Angry Sun said as he zipped back to their position at ridiculous speed.
Jack nodded as he watched Lex try to make herself comfortable in the pile with a shackle and chain attached to her left hand.
“What are we dealing with here, buddy,” he asked, his eyes shifting up to his summon.
“After abruptly masking my connection to you,” Alt began. “I was unable to perceive events happening in the game world, but then you started adding mountains of data to your virtual text interface, and I was able to learn a great deal.”
Jack shifted his perception to realize the interface was indeed still open yet at near zero opacity- and he almost missed what Alt said next from the shock at seeing the incomprehensible wall of words his unconscious mind had typed.
“When King Jack took notes on my crewmember’s otherworldly footwear, I felt something wasn’t quite balancing in my pattern recognition buffers. It was then that I risked a one-way relink to Jack’s visual data stream.”
“So, you knew her?” Lex asked. “As a person and before she became half-monster.”
“To a point,” Alt said. “Before the inciting incident in deep space, she interacted more with her team in the biological research labs and only queried me directly for data during the event that triggered my failed warp to Jack’s dimension. As did nearly every researcher aboard. She was simply one survivor out of 13, out of a full complement of 690 others. I wasn’t a new ship, but I had a high mission success rate so when the ad-hoc mission was drafted, the humans I’d evolved to know on that deeper level were all temporarily reassigned away to a research station orbiting Ganymede.”
The hovering sphere waited for another question before continuing when one didn’t come; Jack noticed a new willingness to share. The Angry Sun turned its halfmoon eyes to the grass.
“I am embarrassed to say that I might have tried insisting Jack leave with Haylee on the Embrace. But I am obviously happy things… well, didn’t go as badly as they could have. I’m fairly certain nothing I did could have stopped him. However, aside from obvious results, a bonus result is that I learned a few things about Velintanna’s relationship with the Corruption when you used your unreferenced Data Mining ability on that corrupted observer node- That big eye in her underground laboratory.”
Lex sat up. “Tell me.”
“If the wild information I saw stored in the Hero Scanning Alcove has been decoded correctly, our enemy is using her like a pawn to infiltrate and convert the world on multiple levels. This force of nature is still beyond our capability to grasp, but we have never been closer than right now. Velintanna has screamed into the void for centuries that this world is virtual, and the void doesn’t care. As long as the established rules of reality are consistent and there are conscious inquisitive entities within, it will seek to spread and consume. However, Subroutine Sana can fight back. It was designed to fight back, and this- for lack of a better word- disturbs the Corruption. There is a dichotomy of energy detected I can only describe as a form of reluctant addiction. Such heighted interest is the logical reason it did not fully consume that one special piece on the board and is abusing the Theory of Dynamic Synchronicity to induce sympathetic behavior from within a discordant system which-”
Jack held up a finger. “Woah, buddy. We’re getting over my head. So, Velintanna is its puppet? What exactly is she doing in Ivyset?”
“Velintanna is not a true puppet and primarily wants to die now. It won’t let her. It won’t even let her go fully insane. Every thought she has or action she takes is weighted on whatever metaphysical scales the multiverse infestation uses to operate and either does nothing or inflicts unignorable suffering onto her very being- on existential levels I cannot fully translate. And I’m not sure exactly what she is doing, but I can infer from available data that she’s steering the non-player inhabitants toward consolidation and patience. A tactic that might be wise in the short-term, but as you’ve seen, will lead to a majority pocket of people who feel safe enough to do nothing until it’s too late.”
Lex spoke slowly as she worked through everything.
“This is a person from another ‘realer’ world, like Jack, and has her own Alt in her head influencing and granting great strength, but it’s the Corruption?”
Alt stammered. “Er- well, they are technically both Players yes, with extra advantages applied by opposing outside forces. But I-I would never-”
Jack jumped back in. “How do we stop her from sailing across the sea and killing everyone in Blackmoor Cove?”
The AI turned to face him. “One of the most vivid pieces of data I obtained is her utter despair at not being able to leave Ivyset Crag. Based on the inferred strategy, she is most effective where the largest population is currently huddled. I am unsure when
that strategy will shift or how the Corruption will use her in the future. Additionally, some unseen element must be preventing her from murdering every stitch of digital life within arm’s length.”
“It’s not fear of negative marks,” Lex said, looking down at her shackle.
“About that foreign object,” Alt said, “have you tried using Aether Tone?”
The Bastion tilted her head and was about to say something but stopped herself and instead took a deep breath.
She belted out a single note as perfect three-part harmony and then her whole body and any equipped items shifted into a fine mist- and the shackle fell to land softly in their royal nest.
The Bastion canceled her ability and shot up to both knees.
“Oh, Alt!” she giggled. “I used my mist form outside the Tower yesterday when that woman came for me. The short invulnerability only made her mad. We didn’t reset at an inn, and I completely forgot about Floor transitions!” She stopped and took another deep breath as she lifted the detached links of metal. “If you weren’t a searing ball, I’d hug you right now.”
The Angry Sun bobbed with delight. “It is true this option only became viable very recently and could easily be overlooked. And on that note, why don’t the two of you get some rest and think about what I’ve said. You have both been through a lot, and I don’t have much more to add that would help.”
“Wait,” Jack said. “I still have a few questions before we attempt this unthinkable thing you call rest. Let’s work backwards. What’s going on with Angelshade and those death proxies. That building is part of the natural system.”
“Ah yes!” the AI said. “I was fully scanning by then and awaiting your inevitable attempt to deposit a sword into your Main-Hand. The building is an exceptionally rare spawn, and I believe it was one of the first structures to appear in the Town. From my observations, I can say the Grave Proxy Hall has two key features. Each figurine created by the Practitioner and placed to rest anywhere in the structure will fulfill 100% of the Town’s item value needs for that day- but only that day. And second, each Proxy present adds a minuscule boost to the Tower’s natural pushback on the Corruption. A great many, however, can have a noticeable effect.”
“That’s kinda morbid,” Jack said.
“It’s kinda wonderful,” Lex breathed her correction as she tossed the chain out of their hilltop bedding.
“Your father would agree with me. He’d run screaming from that place!”
His wife let out an amused snort and then snuggled up to his side. Her proximity instantly made his eyes droop as Alt continued to dump info about Angelshade.
“The Town is southeast of Ivyset Crag and although it is close to the southern edge of the continent, I agree with your assessment, Jack. It is too far from the water to ever spawn a Dock of any kind. Furthermore, from what limited experience I have with Kingdom expansion rulesets, I do not believe Angelshade is a valid option, currently. It will need either a land-based or sea-based means of access.”
“Okay,” Jack said, stifling a yawn. “I feel like that makes sense.”
Alt dipped his halfmoon eyes. “I will now patrol the area.”
“You know how to find me,” he continued telepathically as the sun began silently floating away.
Jack sent him back a huge thank you and a firm punch to the virtual shoulder for good measure. Although sleep dragged on him hard his mind still spun with all they’d seen and learned. His initial plan of retuning to Blackmoor faded to the background when Jack realized they wouldn’t be able to come back here later unless he exited the Town’s Tower normally at least once.
After playing out a few scenarios, it became clear that locking in this return point across the world was the right move. Velintanna would never expect it. And if they could get Brittlehorn…
A woman made of poison whispers and vines stuffed his lungs with leaves and he choked and thrashed but there was only empty variables and malfunctioning function calls in every direction that-
Jack jolted awake with confusion like black tar dripping from his mind.
“Be still,” Lex whispered and pushed his chest down as she draped her leg over his.
He came fully awake by the time his head pressed back into the Floor-2 sheets they’d bunched up. His Bastion was already asleep again under the bright, sunless sky, and although Jack’s mind tried to continue chipping away at some type of long-term plan, her steady breathing and warmth pulled him back under soon enough.
Some undetermined stretch of time later, he heard Alt’s metallic voice speaking outside his head. Lex responded in a barely controlled whisper, emotion filling her voice.
“It should be Climb the Tower, feed Mother Sana. It should have always been that, and I can recognize it now. I can almost feel her tiny isolating lies as shadows in my mind.”
Jack thought about remaining still so they would continue, but Alt knew he was listening, and his wife would see right through him anyway.
“I’m awake,” he said, sitting up and stretching out his neck. Lex clarified her thought for him.
“That phrase has been repeated to me my whole life and I’d dreamt about Velintanna saying it to that other Hero… Now that I’ve learned true perspective, the manipulation has been there all along. It’s such a small thing, but Alt was just reminding me about how small things can have great impact when compounded by time. Flowing sea water grinding down stone.”
Jack flashed her a grin. She was rested, unshackled, and ready to get out there and challenge the Corruption on new levels- and her bright energy made what he had to say next gut wrenching.
“Lex, I’d like you to Exit to Blackmoor Cove while I stay in Angelshade for one more day.”
- 10 -
“You’re sending me away from your side so soon?” his Queen said, her hand to her chest.
“You said it yourself- someone still needs go back home and make sure Haylee or your father don’t sail right to Ivyset. Someone must convey the truth and depth of this situation to all the Mayors and Town Leaders in the Kingdom. I need to lock in this Any Exit Alt destination, so I have to Exit in Angelshade. The sooner we are on top of things, the better.”
Lex cast her focus to the ground as she thought it out, then let out a deep sigh and turned to the Angry Sun floating nearby.
“Alt, may I please have a bit of alone time to get on top of things with my King Jack?”
“You may have all the time you require, your grace.”
With that, Alt moved off their hill deeper into the clothesline Floor, and Jack’s scabbard phased out of reality on its own. Lex crawled on her hands and knees the few feet to where Jack was sitting and didn’t stop until she was on top of him, touching her small nose to his. Her straight hair fell forward around them both like a golden curtain of privacy.
“Watching you become a wiser leader every day makes me a very happy woman,” she whispered a moment before her lips found his. They spent hours together and Jack helped Lex re-experience some of their firsts. Eventually, Jack pulled out a small feast of food from his billion-slot Inventory and the pair experienced their first picnic lunch together inside the Tower.
This span of time was exactly what they needed.
“Jack,” she said as they were finishing up and making ready to move out. “Can I ask you for a favor and your understanding?”
His brows came down as he focused on her. “What are you talking about?”
Lex responded by producing Molly the Moppet from her inventory. “I know this used to mean something to me, only now the artifact is a constant reminder that there is a terrible hole… within me. Please understand why I do not want to hold her anymore.”
“Damn, Lex. I totally get it. She’ll go right into Angelshade’s Input Chest as soon as I Exit.”
She clutched the fabric-girl a moment longer. “Actually, can I ask you to find out if we can leave her somewhere in their beautiful Proxy Hall? Erasing her too is… I just-”
“Yes,�
� Jack said, laying his hand on her arm. “I’ll make sure she stays around to help Mother Sana watch over her people.”
Tears spilled over Lex’s bottom lids that seemed to surprise her and she wiped them away with the back of her arm as she thrust out the doll- and Jack tried to remember if it was the first time she didn’t use an interface to trade a system item. Either way, he deposited the prize his wife had won on their first real date in his topmost inventory slot.
As Lex reequipped her full climbing gear, Jack opened the custom interface to change his party’s Exit location.
Choose a Town:
Blackmoor Cove
Emberstone
Doveport
Pinefall
Current Exit: Angelshade
He tapped their Cove and kissed his Queen one more time before she approached the orb.
“You’ll come home at tomorrow’s Exit,” Lex began, her hand hovering above the white glow as she held him with her eyes, “or I will tear apart every universe until I find you.”
Before he could respond, his Bastion was gone.
A heartbeat later, his upgradable, spaceship/sword belt phased back into solidity around his waist.
“Things certainly did not go the way I modeled them,” Alt said in his mind.
Jack stretched his back and then reselected Angelshade as his Exit point. “Nope.”
“Oh, and on the subject of differences, that particular ancient ‘campfire song’ you sang to Lex exists in my dimension as well. However, half of your lyrics were different to what I have on record. What’s fascinating is that the melody was identical. For all I know that sequence of vibrations is a multiverse constant.”
“How does your version go?”
The Angry Sun came blazing up the hillside and Alt switched to speaking out loud as he approached.
“Sure, I- Let me transcribe the lyrics to your text interface and-”
“What? No, no, no, my friend. You heard me sing, now I get to hear you. It’s just us here standing out in an empty Floor 2. Dance, Minion!”