The director turned on his computer screen and spent a few minutes checking something, scrolling through text on his monitor. Then he sat back in his leather armchair and looked at me with a smirk:
“Timothy, you have no idea what you're talking about. That black river you're leading your orcs to is called the Styx. It's also known as the river of death, because it contains water that is dead and completely unfit to drink. What's more, the river has overgrown swampy banks, with infectious bloodsucking animals, and that's an easy way to catch an untreatable disease. The biggest draw of those areas is the abundance of high-level dangerous creatures. What's more, further upstream, the monsters get deadlier, and have bigger, sharper fangs.”
“There is a constant law in game worlds: the further you get from easily reachable places, the harder the conditions, the more dangerous the beasts, but also the more valuable the loot,” I noted in an even tone, although this new information put me on high alert.
“That is true,” the director agreed. “And the upper reaches of the Styx hide a great many interesting locations with unique trophies. But taking them is extremely difficult. I found some curious information, saying that twenty-six big expeditions have already been organized, and by quite serious clans at that. And as for how many lone travelers or small groups have tried to find the upper reaches of the Styx, I can't even count. None of them have made it. They all turned back sooner or later. Now you want to tell me that you hope to make it where much higher-level and better-prepared players got clobbered?!”
I didn't give an unambiguous answer to the director. I just promised to think as seriously as possible before this evening, then tell him my decision in this very office at eight PM. On the one hand I was, of course, not glad to hear that the river I had seen from VIXEN's back, was the legendary and ghastly Styx. On the other, I had a flying wyvern at my disposal, which made it significantly easier to reach remote locations.
My boss, then, was left none-too-satisfied with my cautiousness, and began to openly goad me into agreeing:
“Timothy, if you can complete this mission, I'll take back all my insults about your worthless Goblin Herbalist! What's more, in that this mission is directed at exploring Boundless Realm and will be useful to all players, I will try to get the leadership to give you a valuable reward, appropriate to the difficulty level.”
But I just repeated my promise to seriously think about it, said goodbye and left the office. Despite the obvious difficulty of the mission, I was in no rush to refuse. The perspective of Amra’s video clips falling in popularity after the end of the great hunt gave me an unexpected shock. You get used to popularity and glory quite fast. They're like a drug. And after having millions of people waiting with bated breath for your video clips each day, suddenly becoming an unknown loser... would be unbearably painful.
I was prepared to participate in this resounding and dangerous adventure, if it could help restore viewer interest in the adventures of my big-eared goblin. But such important decisions needed to be discussed in advance with my little sister. No matter how I looked at it, we played as a team, and I would never drag Val to such gloomy and unwelcoming places without her agreement.
* * *
Just after waking up, I rushed to my computer to see how many viewers had watched my new clip about the orcs’ journey through the Great Desert and my riding the wyvern. Two thousand one hundred four people. Not so very long ago, that number would have made me jump up to the ceiling in joy but, after getting millions of views, it looked pitiful and didn't make me happy at all...
No matter what you say, my boss was right today. My Goblin Herbalist's glory was fleeting. With that sad thought in mind, I went out into the hall... and stopped short.
Kira was sleeping on the sofa, covered with a light blanket. Her glamorous red hair was spread out on the pillows and she was squeezing a huge plush rabbit. Precisely when my girlfriend had come into the apartment I did not know, because I had been sleeping like a rock for half a day, making up for my active night. But now, I didn't even know how to behave. Probably, for a start, I should at least get dressed so I wouldn’t be wandering around the apartment in nothing but my underwear. Trying not to be too loud, I tip-toed back into the bedroom. But my girlfriend woke up nevertheless:
“What time is it?” Kira mumbled drowsily, not peeling back an eyelid.
“Seven PM.”
She responded with a dismayed bleating:
“Damn, seven already. Time to get up. But my head is just humming... Timothy, do I have to go to work today?”
I smiled at the strange question and answered with a happy chuckle that I personally had nothing against giving my girl a day off but, as it happened, Kira was my boss somewhere high up in the corporate hierarchy, and maybe even the president of the Boundless Realm Corporation so, technically, it would be subversive for me to tell her what to do.
Kira opened her eyes and threw the comforter aside, revealing that she was wearing nothing but a semi-transparent nighty. She sat up on the edge of the sofa and said:
“You're funny, Timothy... How long have you been working as a tester for the company? A month? Are you seriously saying that, in all that time, you never bothered to find out who is in charge of the Boundless Realm Corporation?”
I grew embarrassed, lowered my gaze and shrugged my shoulders. Yes, I was just a senior tester, and my job was to play a flap-eared Goblin Herbalist in Boundless Realm. All these appointments and changes of directors, stock payouts to beneficiaries and other lofty topics were not quite in my sphere. Kira shook her head in reproach and, looking me shamelessly right in the eyes, brought me up to speed:
“The President of our corporation is named Thomas Heywood. He's a tall, stately dark-haired man with singular charisma, excellent education and a surprisingly broad perspective. I feel like he knows everything on earth! And on every floor of the company skyscraper, there are portraits and quotes from his speeches! How could you not have noticed?! Anyway, as it turns out, I personally know Thomas very well. Once upon a time, my grandmother Inessa did her best to marry me off to him. Thomas and I even dated for a while, but we had a mutual break up after not too long. I was of no interest to him as a woman, he needed a tool to influence the Board of Directors, and a convenient stepping stool to reach the heights of power. All that said, we remain good friends and periodically cross paths at private company parties and various get-togethers for city elites.”
I don't think Kira was purposely trying to make me feel low but, in the end, that is exactly what she did. The beautiful redhead had never before allowed herself to point out the bottomless pit that separated our social standing. All around, it was a very painful slap to the face, although it was honest. Yes, my girlfriend was an elite and, although she didn't advertise it on every corner, a financial bigwig of the metropolis. The chic lady only allowed me to be near her out of a fleeting whim, tired of rich admirers from her circle and people searching for unusual distractions.
No, I didn't say anything to Kira and didn't show that her words had hurt me in any way. But it was precisely at that moment that I decided once and for all: I needed to find the upper reaches of the Styx! Even if my sister refused to accompany me. I headed to the kitchen and put some coffee on for me and Kira, reached for the mugs, but my phone rang, stopping me. The ringtone was unusual, and also the number was unknown... strange. Nevertheless, I accepted.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Amra! When will you be back in Boundless Realm? I've started to miss you and am horribly tired after this never-ending day. This red-hot desert has simply finished us all off. Even the orcs with the highest endurance are staggering. No matter where I look, there are nothing but scorching hot dunes...”
Taisha?! What the hell?! I shook my head and even gave myself a hard pinch to make sure I wasn't dreaming or losing my mind. I had just gotten a call in the real world from an NPC from a game! This was just not possible! Probably, it was just a friend playing a trick on me!
I asked the suspicious voice a few questions to check, knowing that only my NPC bride could have the answers. And she did! All my doubts passed. This was definitely Taisha, a computer character from a virtual game!
“How did you find out my number, and how did you manage to call the world of the undying?”
The green-skinned beauty cracked up laughing, clearly satisfied at the effect she'd produced:
“Amra, you're the one who showed me how to do it! You even said your number in front of me, when you called the ambulance. Did you forget?”
No, such things could not be forgotten... I remembered the ghastliest moment in my life perfectly. My frightened big-eared goblin was holding his unconscious forest nymph sister in despair, as Valeria died in the real world... I had called right from the game and told my address to the emergency phone operator, also giving my telephone number. But the last thing on my mind at that moment was that my NPC bride might memorize that information and use it to call me in the real world.
But I had to answer Taisha somehow. I tried to reassure and perk up the NPC thief by promising to come into the game as soon as the sun set, when my Goblin Vampire would no longer be threatened by its glaring rays. I also asked Taisha to pass along an order to First Mate Ziabash Hardy to keep up the march. They needed to make it through the Great Desert no matter how hard it was to travel over the red-hot sands. Taisha promised to transmit the order and hung up. I lowered my hand with the phone.
“Timothy, who was the girl that just called you, and what language were you speaking?” Kira asked in agitation, standing in the kitchen door, having found the energy to get off the couch and come figure out who I was speaking to.
“What do you mean 'what language?'“ I answered with a smile... And sharply froze. She was right! I was not speaking my usual native language but... what even was that? Goblin tongue? I couldn't find any other explanation, and answered just that to the owner of the apartment. I also told her the call was from an NPC thief by the name of Taisha, a computer character from the game Boundless Realm.
“Are you mocking me?! Do you think I'm the kind of naive fool who would buy such a tall tale?! Tell me the truth right now, or I'll be very angry at you!” Kira shouted, boiling over.
But I stayed firm, repeating again and again that I had said the whole truth. I had really just been called by a computer character asking when I would come into the game. My redheaded girlfriend started hissing like an enraged cat, and said through tightly clenched teeth:
“I, of course, will give you a chance and check your story with corporate specialists, even though it sounds like obvious crap. But if it all turns out to be a lie, and you make me look like a fool in front of serious people, I... I...”
Kira didn't finish her sentence, just turned sharply and went into the other room, slamming the door loudly as a grand finale. I still didn't know what exactly the redheaded fury was planning to do, if the NPC thief's call had not been detected by any corporate workers. Would she break up with me? Kick me out of the apartment? Complain about me to her influential grandmother? And if it wasn't any of those things, I could be sure that would lead to something nasty.
When I came back into the room a few minutes later with two mugs of aromatic freshly-brewed coffee in hand, Kira had already left the apartment...
* * *
When I got to the hospital, Val wasn’t in her room. Her wheelchair wasn't there either. Had she just popped out for a minute and would be right back? But a nurse walking down the hallway told me she had seen my sister in on a lower floor talking with the other kids. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. My shy and unsociable Valeria had taken it on herself to go on a walk and talk with peers? Until I saw it with my own eyes, I'd never believe it!
But the nurse was not wrong. Even from the stairs, I could hear happy childish laughter and cries of joy, Val’s voice included. I stopped sharply. For a girl who had tried to kill herself just a few days earlier because the “real world is unbearably gray and boring,” positive emotions were as vital as oxygen. So, it certainly would not be a good idea to pull my sister out of the common room away from her active playtime and burden her with my problems.
So, I didn't interrupt the children's game and returned to my sister's hospital bed. Time was pressing, and I needed to go to work very soon, so I just left a bag of fruits and a gift for Val on the bed, leaving a short note on the table:
“I talked with the new director. I'm supposed to raise my Herbalism. When you have the time, look up how I could raise it by thirty levels in a week. I'll see you in the game at nine tonight.”
This morning, I had promised the new director I’d give him my final decision about the expedition to the upper Styx at precisely eight tonight. It was already near eight, and I was really afraid of being late to a meeting I’d set myself. That would be extremely irresponsible and a sign of disrespect to my superior. So, in a lather, I flew up the building steps, ran to the elevator and, at seven fifty-five, was standing at the door with the plaque reading: “Max Tohner. Director of Special Projects.”
But the door was locked... Had the director not waited for me?! Then my phone gave a beep. It was my friend Max Sochnier, the Naiad Trader.
“Hello, Timothy. Have you already talked with the new director?”
I could sense a certain subtext in that seemingly normal question so, before answering, I asked my friend why he wanted to know.
“Well, I just left his office ten minutes ago. And now I'm just awash with despair... If he hadn't been called to some kind of emergency meeting, I'm afraid he would have bit my head off. Leon is sitting next to me at the table. He's all pale, his arms are shaking and he's smoking inside.”
I could hear the former builder's shaken-up voice:
“Yeah, they really got me worked up. If I get fired for smoking, then to hell with this job! It took me a lot not to break that old bastard's jaw with an uppercut!”
I admitted that, this morning, I had about the same feelings when talking with Max Tohner. I was not used to having someone shout at me so flagrantly. And I didn’t know whether or not to be glad about the fact that I was standing in front of the locked door of his office and the second half of that difficult conversation would be put off.
“Yep, I get that!” Max Sochnier smiled. “Anyway, come down here to the tester floor. Leon and I are sitting in a nook by the vending machines waiting for you. There's a lot to discuss.”
Precisely three minutes later, I left the elevator on the tester floor and headed over to my friends. Both Leon and Max Sochnier stood up when they saw me, and we greeted each other warmly.
“Guys, the new director is a wild animal,” said the former music teacher, raising the relevant topic. “He shouted at me and threatened damn near prison time just because I withdrew money from my character's game account. I really did convert thirty thousand in-game coins into three thousand credits. I was planning to trade in my old electromobile for a more modern model.”
“Was there something criminal in that?” I asked. “I mean, you're an employee and, if your contract allows it, you absolutely have the right to withdraw money.”
“That's what I thought!” Max Sochnier flared up. “But apparently, it wasn't so simple! The finance department complained to the director about me. Apparently, since my character is holding lots of loans and client money, our boss had to figure out the situation and calm the financiers down. Instead of that, he started shouting at me, saying that a person in my position withdrawing money from Boundless Realm could be accused of embezzlement, which breaks corporate rules, and tax law in general. It's totally surreal. I cannot get my own salary without the agreement of an auditor appointed specially by the corporation, who will check the legality of every withdrawal! I'm a trader, and I will always have some money that technically is an advance from someone. Why should that mean I sit here without a salary?!”
“Yeah, that's total nonsense,” I agreed. “And what if you change your contract t
o a fixed salary?”
Max Sochnier gave a glum chuckle and said that was exactly what the new director had tried to force him into today. But in that case, his salary would be four times lower...
After that, Leon told the story of his talk with the new boss. He tried to use only appropriate words, but my straightforward friend didn't always manage. The director was unhappy with absolutely everything: the Ogre Fortifier's low level, the lack of a sensible game-plan, the sharp drop-off in progress, and even his romantic relationship with a tester employee. It was all used to make the former construction worker feel guilty.
I also shared my experience with our new boss, after which my friends got totally sad and hung their heads. Seeing their gloomy state, I steeled my nerves and told them my plan: we would go together to a place where nary a foot had fallen, and not just human, but of any player of any race. The upper reaches of the Styx!
“And how will that help us?” Leon asked sullenly.
“Popularity, unique trophies, and not only that,” I chuckled. “The department head will be forced to treat us with respect, if we announce for all to hear that we are corporate employees carrying out a special, extremely risky mission for the good of all Boundless Realm. We could even name our boss and say he was officially instructed by the corporation to give us this mission!”
Max Sochnier and Leon exchanged glances and both snickered, imagining our boss’s face after getting that kind of news.
“He'll definitely come at us for that...” the cautious Frenchman noted.
“He won't. First off, he was egging me on to take this adventurous journey, so it's the pure truth. Second, I'll try really hard to get a bunch of players watching our campaign, I've got a couple trump cards up my sleeve. We could even stop doing the short daily video clips, and switch to live streams without any cutting, showing all the problems, dangers and deaths. But the most important thing for us is to present the situation in such a way that all viewers will associate us not with the private initiative of a small group of players, but with a project organized by the Boundless Realm Corporation. We need to make it so that our success or failure will be seen as the company’s success or failure.”
A Trap for the Potentate Page 2