by Dawn Chapman
His eyes glinted at the words, but he nodded, removing his hand from the egg.
Running off, I watched as a yellowing aura followed him. Then I turned back to the egg. I placed my other hand on the surface, feeling the tiny bumps and indentations of its colourful surface. “Hang in there, little one,” I said. “I’m here.”
That’s when I felt the tiny thump, thump of its heart and the ragged emotional trauma of separation. “Do not fear. Though your parents are far away, use me as your conduit to them.”
I couldn’t really express the emotions that crossed between us then—the heartache, of course—because she was also scared like her clutch mate, her brother. Reaching across to the silver egg, I placed my hand on him, waiting for the warmth to gather near. There I felt him and allowed the energy of them both to cross through me. I re-connected them.
Almost as if by instinct, I crisscrossed the energy over the tops of the eggs. In turn, this allowed the several strands of energies to mix at one central point. It felt like my job was done as they were re-introduced to each other as a family. When their parents left them, it broke their internal connections, leaving them alone and scared. Now, this small clutch was joined back together, and they could support each other.
I glanced up, seeing Steve re-enter with Candice and the others in tow. They glanced around the cave in awe, but they also noted me and what was swirling around me.
Candice approached with caution. “What’s going on in here?”
“The Tromoal are alone, trapped inside their eggs, the connections to their parents gone as they’re too far away. If I show you how to reconnect them with their clutch partners, will you try? We must repeat this process until all of them are re-connected. Without this, they’ll go insane, and their lives will be lost.”
Chapter 2
The others joined us as we stood around, and I found it hard to look them in the eyes. I think it was mostly because Steve had told them what was going on. I didn’t like having to instruct them.
I moved over to another clutch, instructing Steve to what the process was. He then translated it in their terms so they could easily understand what I meant. That was really something to listen to. He talked about using his internal mana to actually work with the energy inside the eggs, linking them.
I watched him copy me, making sure the souls inside the eggs felt more comfortable. I watched as the others attempted their first tries.
I thought these guys and gals were amazing fighters, and now I’d seen an entirely different side of them. The other two guys, including Chip, had tears in their eyes as they waited for me to make sure what they’d done got a thumbs-up.
Candice stopped me. “Can you get word to Josh? Ask him to send in refreshments. It will help with mana regeneration.”
In agreement, I nodded toward Abel, asking him to do so. I think he was the only other person I could trust to actually come inside with a horse or Ebolos loaded with equipment.
I smiled at Candice and nodded. “He’ll get it sorted so don’t worry.”
She looked around the cave. “Good. We’ve quite the job here to make sure all the clutches are linked again.”
I couldn’t agree more. The task was pretty huge. Including all the eggs around us, there were more than eighty clutches. If we spent an average of twenty minutes with each one, it was indeed going to take some time.
I turned my attention to the clutch at the centre of the cave. It called to me even though I had others needing my attention. I motioned to Candice. “You’ve got this. Carry on, and I’ll call a break in an hour or so.”
Of course, I wouldn’t stop anyone from taking a break. These tasks were emotionally and physically draining. The youngsters’ emotions were overwhelming, and that worried me. Were these humans able to take this kind of mental punishment?
Stepping towards Riezella’s clutch, I sucked in a breath. I hoped I’d be able to feel something different or new about Alex’s egg. From the outside, it looked like the others as it shimmered and glowed with a hint of white energy.
I stepped inside the nest’s protective edges and kneeled before them. Placing my hand on the surface of the egg, it felt cold. There was no warmth inside. Panic rushed through me. Was it dead? I worried his transference hadn’t worked. Then I felt it, a tiny heartbeat. The egg seemed to shiver, and then I felt the heat growing inside. I made a tiny squeal as I covered my mouth with the other hand.
I wanted to talk to him. To touch his mind, but I needed to wait. This had to come from him.
Then I heard a low gruff voice. Anyone there?
I waited to see if I recognised it, but I didn’t. It felt different. New. It might be Alex, but it also wasn’t Alex.
“I’m here,” I said, trying to stem my heartache from feeding into his mind. “Don’t fret.”
Where did they go? All the others?
“They’re still here. They’re with you, with us. But I need to re-connect you together. Can you hold on?”
I placed my hand on one of the other eggs, another male, and woke him too. With some twisting and turning, I called forth my energy and connected theirs back together. Then I worked to connect the other two. When all four were communicating, I was about to back away when something tugged at my mind carefully. Maddie, stay. A little longer.
My heart leapt from the words, but I wasn’t sure if the Tromoal had just asked because it now knew my name or if it remembered something else. Was it really Alex?
I placed my hand on its surface once more and then allowed my inner calm and love to seep through. The inner turmoil of these eggs was much stronger than the others. I wondered why, but then answered myself. Because they were the new clan leaders—well, they would be.
Thank you, the words resounded together. I had no choice then but to step away. Placing my hand on the nearest wall to try to stop myself from falling over, tears burst free. The sobs, however, wouldn’t abate, and I let my tears flow. I was sure Alex was no more. Instead, there was this new being. I tried to pretend it would all work out, that he was still in there, but my heart wasn’t listening, and the sobs came quicker.
It was Steve who placed his hand on my shoulder, and although I knew nothing of this man before me. When I turned, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in tight.
When my sobbing finally subsided, he wiped away my tears and smiled. “This here is more than I’d ever expected from this world. I’ve never been connected to another life before, but I feel them, all of them. Like my mana allowed them to know and feel each other, but it also allowed me a deeper look into how they work as a unit. A family. Maddie, I know you’re not an ordinary NPC, but do you mind if I look into who you are?”
I really didn’t understand what he meant, but I nodded.
“Please. Take a seat for me. I’ll have to try to touch your coding if that’s at all possible.”
“Why should I allow you to do that? I don’t know you or what you could do to me.”
“I just helped your friends. I want to help you. Please.” He motioned to the floor. “Sit for me.”
I crossed my legs on the floor and leaned against the wall for extra support. I could see Candice and the others still milling around the cave, and I looked at Steve. “Okay, I’ll let you. Just don’t try to change anything, I’m weird enough as it is without any re-programming.”
Steve laughed and sat before me. “That’s the weirdest thing anyone’s said to me, let alone someone inside a game.”
I wanted to laugh with him. I knew Riezella said there was something special about me, but knowing what that was. . . might make all the difference.
Steve took hold of my hands, and I felt a slight pinch, as though he were tugging at them. I could see he wasn’t, but then a yellowing light glowed about him, and he whispered something I didn’t understand. The energy from him started to cross over to me, and at first, I wanted to pull away.
Then, before my eyes, several screens popped up. And several sets of rules th
at flashed before me, there was no way I’d take in those right now. I gawped. I’d never seen this before. I wanted to, though. This was weird but amazing. To actually see what made me who I am, what also made me who I sometimes loathed.
Aspects - Advantages - Aptitudes - Affiliations
I clicked on Aspects, the numbers meaning nothing to me.
Body 1
Soul 1
Mind 1
There was a lot of things I could only stare at, not really understanding it at all, as it meant nothing to me.
I did notice the subtle differences that I thought made me strong. My body might have been lacking, but I was smart, and my soul made up for all of it.
Steve whistled as I clicked through to Advantages, we both stared at long list. There were many pluses and minuses. Too much for me to take in.
“Maddie, that’s a badass character sheet. I’ve seen advanced players with something like this in other games, but an NPC? No.”
I cringed at his term for us, NPC. I hated it. He noticed and then I watched as his jaw dropped. “What is it?”
Steve pointed to the screen and I saw the flickering box.
Appointed Karma 27 – Unassigned.
“What does that mean?” I asked, seeing his face pale even more.
“You’re twenty-seven years old, right?” On my nod, he continued, “It means the computer system hasn’t put your generated birthday Karma into slots or used it for something important.”
I let that news sink in for a moment. “But this system works on learning and developing.”
“Yes and no. When a Visitor picks a character’s age, they’re also allowed a certain set of Karma to assign to their character. Along with their Affiliations, it defines who they can be in the game. For an NPC, the computer is supposed to do this.” Pointing at the number 27, he added, “This shows the computer’s been glitching from the day you were created. All your skills are learned abilities. Nothing you’ve been given has been assigned. Which means…” his voice trailed off.
When he didn’t speak for over a minute, I pushed. “What? I don’t understand?”
“It means you’ve got some serious in-game decisions to make.”
I smiled, and tapped the screen, moving across to see my abilities and advantages.
Steve’s jaw dropped once more at the shared view. “Maddie, you’re really not an NPC at all, are you?”
The speculation had hit me before, but this confirmed it in a big way. “No, I guess I’m actually a Visitor, not an NPC at all.”
He swallowed. “But you’re not human, right?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m something else.”
Steve’s hands trembled in mine. “I won’t hurt you,” I said. “I’m discovering this, just as you are.”
He nodded and flicked the screen over to the next one.
This was a list of Aptitudes and was pages long. I quickly read the top skill sets I had and moved to the next page.
“Hey,” Steve said.
“You can study it all at a later date if you’d like.”
“All right, I really do want to go over all of this in-depth. It’s amazing.” He nodded, and I clicked through to Aptitudes.
Combat 1
Diplomacy 1
Endurance 0
Faith 0
Logic 2
Subterfuge 1
They each had their own page and more information: Combat – The art of pain. Diplomacy – All interaction. Endurance – Pain Hurts. Faith – Belief in all things. Logic – Knowledge or lack of is power, and lastly, Subterfuge – Body Manipulation.
I stared at Subterfuge for a while. Then I pointed…. “Steve, do you see that at the bottom?”
I waited while he found what I was looking at. “How strange.”
It read –
DATA ENTRY – 39TH ODEISTRA – 17:21
MADDIE VIES – DEAD
RESPAWN 17:22
DATA CORRUPT
RESPAWN INCOMPLETE
REBOOT INITIATED 17:25
DATA – PARTIALLY WIPED
MEMORY PARTIALLY WIPED
RESPAWN PARTIALLY COMPLETE 18:07
MADDIE VIES – DATA CORRUPT
COULD NOT RE-WRITE INJURIES
RESULT – DEBILITATING PAIN – REOCCURRING DEATH
POSSIBLE FIX – REINCARNATION
RESULT – MEMORY WIPE
DATA CORRUPT
39TH ODEISTRA – 00:12 – ZOFILEX SOUL INTEGRATION STARTED
ZOFILEX SOUL INTEGRATION – STATUS COMPLETE
ZOFILEX MEMORY SEGREGATED
ZOFILEX MEMORY STORED
APTITUDES UPDATED – SEVENTEEN
MEMORY RESTORED
DATA REWRITTEN
39TH ODEISTRA – 01:14 RESPAWN SUCCESSFUL
Steve let go of my hands, shaking his head. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. You said Dresel was the game’s programmer. I’d like to meet with him and see if he checked the code line by line before and after your respawn.”
“I’m sure he knows his job,” I said, pushing myself to stand. My hip was hurting more than ever at the moment. I tried to stretch it out, but it didn’t ease off. I needed some of my potions back in the Hog.
“If you’ll trust Candice and the others to catalogue things here, I’ll go with you back to town.”
“You really want the answer to that, don’t you?”
“Don’t you?”
I wasn’t sure, did I?
“Let’s get these eggs settled, then we should rest. I’ll sort out plans with Josh and the others for us to head back to town in the morning.”
Steve looked at Candice, and my eyes followed his. She was inside a clutch of seven eggs. I watched her for a while, then noticed how low her health bar was. “Steve!” I managed to croak out, but he was already rushing to his leader’s side. I followed just in time to help catch her.
“What were you thinking?” he said as he pushed a strand of hair away from her face.
There I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. “I couldn’t help it, I…”
I touched her arm and squeezed gently. Turning to see where the others were, I shouted out to them. “Re-group now, please. You all need a break, maybe for the night.” There were protests, so I added. “Now. No arguments. I don’t want you having to respawn because of this.”
HEALTH – 45%
Chip was the first to plonk down near us, his eyes red raw, his bravado gone. “We can’t leave them like this overnight. I’ll take a respawn if I have to.”
Rose and Amanda joined us next. Their hard exteriors gone. I also noted for the first time that they were holding hands. “We agree. This job needs to be completed tonight. They can’t wait. It’s not fair.”
I stared at the group around us, as Mark also joined us, sitting on the floor and then helping Candice to sit better. “I don’t know what to say,” and I really didn’t. They cared.
Steve seemed to pale, and he reported in. “With some food and a little rest, I don’t think any of our lives are in danger yet. We’re not even halfway through the cave. I think we should continue also.”
Glancing from one to the other, I noticed they were all solid. I couldn’t stop them even if I wanted. After all, it was their game life to risk. I sat with them while they recuperated, and then started to move off again.
Steve was the last one. “Don’t go killing yourself for an easy trip back to see Dresel.”
He laughed. “I don’t intend on dying. These pain settings aren’t nice, you know.”
I watched as he trundled off to start connecting the Tromoal clutches once more.
The Savage Angels worked slowly, methodically. I could only watch them as they went from clutch to clutch. I felt totally exhausted. My pain levels were through the roof, health bar not at all happy.
HEALTH – 30%
Laying my head back against the wall, I fell asleep. It wasn’t until I felt myself being lifted up and hoisted into the arms of Chip that I stir
red. “It’s all right, Maddie. I’ve got you.”
I’d no idea where he was taking me, and I didn’t really care. Exhaustion overwhelmed me as well as the pain. Pain? New pain. What was this? The world around me burned.
I heard Candice’s voice next to him and felt a warm hand on my face. “She needs a healer. I can’t do anything.”
“We should get her back to town, to Dresel.”
I didn’t know why my health was on the decline. Maybe I’d done too much, maybe there really was something else going on, but all I felt was lightheaded and weightless, or was that because Chip was still carrying me?
Most of the next few hours I don’t remember. Candice’s face was above me, dripping water into my mouth. It made my throat sting a little but did nothing to regenerate my health. “Who’s looking after the caves?” I tried to ask, but my words were just raspy bits of nothing. When she tried to drip in some of my potions from the Hog as well, my stomach wrenched, as if I didn’t want any of it. But if it took the pain away, I really couldn’t deny it.
Candice leaned over, whispered in my ear, “Whatever you’re doing, you’ve got to stop.”
I could sense it. I knew what it was, but I couldn’t stop it. They needed the energy. I was sure they did.
Candice gripped my shoulders, and her voice became more firm. No, this wasn’t Candice. This was. . . I was somewhere else. Where?
I tried to look around the room. The walls were white, the sounds around me were of clinking metal, whirring machines. I wasn’t back at the camp. I was deep below the town, in Dresel’s office. I squinted and could just make out that Steve and Dresel were hunched over a computer system and were discussing something. Me.
“Maddie, stop it, now.”
HEALTH – 28%
“Maddie!” It was Candice. I had no idea as to why Dresel had let them in. This was his sanctum, no?
Dresel moved to my bedside. “The computer systems and your actual programming are telling me your body’s shutting down. Maddie, you’re putting your energy into something you don’t need to. Stop it.”