Rohan's Calling Online

by A. J. Chaudhury

  “It’s the statue we need,” I told the king, looking at him in the eye. The king shook his head.

  “Get off this volcano immediately,” the king said, “you really think you can take down so many of us Dinomen. There are only four of you. You were bluffing earlier.”

  “You don’t want to try us, believe me,” I said, making my voice sound as convincing as possible, and not letting my gaze at the king waver.

  The king shook his head.

  “Only once can anybody ever set foot on the island,” the king said, “and then the island would be destroyed. That is what my shamans say. They can talk with the gods and I have full faith in my shamans. Only I shall ever go to the sacred island and bring one of the flowers as my son requires it. I can never allow you to go to the island.”

  I had a sudden idea, one that would put an end to the opposition put up by the king.

  “I am sure it is very hard to go to the island,” I said. It was quite obvious that reaching the island would be fraught with dangers, “Why don’t you let me go there? I’ll get the statue and I will also bring the flower for your son. You are a king after all, you don’t want to put your life in danger. I am not saying that because you are afraid, but because you are a leader. And if you put your life in danger you are putting your entire village in danger.”

  These words sunk faster into the king’s head than I had myself anticipated. Perhaps that the king wouldn’t respawn if he died further helped my words to be sensible to him.

  “What if you don’t bring the flower?” the king asked me. I knew right then that no further argument would be had between the two of us.

  “If I don’t bring the flower and don’t keep the promise, you can do whatever you want to do with me once I return,” I told the king. The king nodded, he turned to my friends.

  “I am sure your friends are dear to you,” the king said, “if you do not return with the flower than my people would make sure that they suffer, not you.”

  “Fine,” I said, glancing at my friends. I wasn’t really worried. My friends could escape if such a situation arose, I knew their abilities well. Plus, how much would a flower weigh, after all? I would keep my promise to the king.

  “Then go,” the king said, “We’ll be waiting for you here. If too many people go near the mouth of the volcano then it might anger the volcano. Go fast.”

  I stepped towards my friends.

  “If I take too long find a way and escape,” I said to them in a whisper, careful that the Dinomen shouldn’t hear. “Go to a Monkey People village and seek shelter there.”

  “I hope we wouldn’t need to do that,” Mastermind said.

  “I hope so,” I said.

  Before leaving for the mouth of the volcano I kissed Lovebird on the cheek and whispered into her ears.

  “Everything will be fine,” I told her, “it’s not long before you will be able to log out.”

  “Be careful inside the volcano,” Lovebird said, running a hand through my hair.

  Chapter 23

  I went up the mountain as briskly as I could. My muscles screamed and I was sweating uncontrollably as I climbed higher, but I pushed on. Only a couple of times I looked at the scenery below of the great forest extending in all directions, of the sun setting in the horizon, it’s pinkish hue giving a very artistic shade to the clouds. The Dinomen and my friends were mere dots down below.

  I felt a great rush of achievement when I reached the very top of the volcano. It’s not over yet, I told myself. And then I climbed down into the inside of the volcano.

  As I made my way down, careful to watch my steps so that I do not fall into the depths of the volcano, I noticed that some way down suspended in mid-air was a great boulder. There was a humanoid form on the boulder and the boulder was also covered with some pinkish objects.

  It took me a moment to realise that this boulder was probably the very ‘island’ that had been mentioned in the quest and also the same that the Dinoman king had mentioned. The humanoid form was the statue of Ravana that I was after and the pinkish things were probably the flowers that the Dinoman king needed to heal his son.

  But how the heck would I get to the hovering boulder? An aerial island was way worse than an island that was surrounded by water. Damn it, in a situation like this one Pero would have really come useful. We could have just flown down on his back and taken the statue with ease.

  It was then that I realised that there was a bridge that linked to the island. I had missed it completely earlier because of the blackness of the depths of the volcano. Plus the sun had set and it was getting dark very fast. The bridge was a very flimsy one and was made of wood.

  A fear came over my heart. I didn’t want to use that bridge at all. I was sure that vertigo would hit me hard the moment I placed a foot on the bridge. Only a great balancing act would ever get me to the island if I used the bridge, and an even greater balancing act would be required to carry the statue back. My heart sank further as I imagined myself missing my footing and falling into the black depths of the volcano.

  I gulped, even as a shiver took hold of me.

  Calm yourself, I told myself. Getting shit scared is not helping you in anyway.

  I decided it would be best to do the worrying once I actually went down to the place where the bridge was. I gritted my teeth and made my way down. There were many instances when I would place a foot on a loose rock and nearly slip and fall. But I was lucky and quickly regained my balance by placing my foot on a more solid place. All the same those instances did make my heart beat soar.

  Finally, I reached the point where the bridge began.

  It looked even more frightening from this position than it had from up ahead. The bridge was held together by ancient ropes. I was sure that the bridge could never support any of my weight.

  And then I suddenly remembered something, which considerably raised my spirits and chased away my fears.

  I was in a game world.

  If the quest was to bring the statue, then it would be possible to make my way to the island using the bridge. Yes, the bridge looked like it would fall under the application of even the lightest weight, but in reality it would support my weight easily. The flimsiness of the bridge was probably just for show.

  As for the island itself, after coming to this place, I could see that it wasn’t really hovering. It was being supported by a very lean pile of stones that arose from the very depths of the volcano. Had it been the real world, such a thing wouldn’t have been possible at all. But this was a game world, and so it was possible.

  With these thoughts considerably having strengthened my mind, I placed my foot on the bridge. My heart still hammered in my chest, but I could retain some calmness due to the knowledge that the bridge was likely to support my weight.

  I took a few steps more. My mind began to whirl, seeing that there was just emptiness below the bridge. If I fell I would die for sure. I forced myself to look forward at the island instead and kept taking steps forward, one after the other. There were times when the bridge would shiver violently. But with extreme effort I maintained my calm, stopping all movement at such times so that the bridge could stop shivering.

  I didn’t know what length of time it took me to reach the island supported by the lean pile of stones. It might have been a long time, and it might have been a short while. It didn’t matter. The stars high up in the sky blinked down at me. I exhaled when I set foot on the boulder. I fell to my knees.

  Then I recalled my friends and the Dinomen. The Dinomen would be creating problems if I didn’t return soon.

  I pushed myself up. Ravana’s statue was at the very centre of the boulder. Ravana was of the same size as me. With some effort it should be possible to lift him onto my back.

  It took me a while to figure out how to exactly lift him up. Then I decided it would be best if I lifted Ravana by the waist. I held him around the waist and lifted him up. He was considerably light, even though I had imagined him to be qui
te heavy. It was a game world after all.

  I didn’t waste any time in leaving the island. I was confident that I wouldn’t fall off as I began to make my way back along the bridge.

  And then I remembered hard, so hard in fact that I felt like a brick had hit me on the face:

  I had forgotten to take one of the flowers.

  If I didn’t take one, the Dinomen would be furious. I had never seen the Dinoman prince, nor did I know exactly what kind of illness he was suffering from, but at the same time, I knew that if I didn’t take the flower then the prince would die. Mastermind had said that Dinomen didn’t respawn. That part was what made me feel particularly bad.

  I let out a grunt. What was I going to do?

  It was going to be very difficult to return to the boulder. But I had to do it.

  I exhaled. I decided it would be best if I didn’t turn around to get back to the island. It wouldn’t be easy. And what if the statue somehow fell off into the abyss? All the pains that I had taken to get to this place would be pointless.

  I began to step backwards. My breath was in my throat the entire while. It was hard enough crossing the bridge in a forward manner. Moving in a backward manner was something right out of a nightmare.

  It took me a good while, my heart beating like mad all the time. But then I finally felt the boulder beneath my feet. I let out a sigh and with a final effort I brought the statue onto the boulder too. The notification that followed made my heart sink, even as a shudder took over the boulder.

  Alert!

  You have brought Ravana back to his resting place!

  The boulder shall crumble in ten seconds!

  As if that wasn’t enough, another notification appeared.

  Alert!

  Ravana’s weight has increased 100x!

  I grabbed Ravana and tried to lift him. But he might have been a part of the boulder itself, so heavy he had become. There was no way I could carry him.

  Alert!

  You have five seconds left before the boulder crumbles!

  Shit! Why was time running so fast?

  Giving up all hopes on the statue, I quickly grabbed one of the flowers that were growing on the boulder, even as the shuddering of the boulder intensified, such that it was getting hard to maintain my balance.

  I patted the statue of Ravana, wishing if only things had not turned out as they did, and then I broke into a run along the bridge. It was amazing, but I was really moving so fast along the bridge, even though it was way less steady than it had been before, thanks to the boulder which was soon going to fall off into the abyss. My fear was propelling me.

  The other end of the bridge came closer and closer. A notification appeared in my vision.

  Alert!

  The boulder crumbles!

  Just a few metres were left between me and the other end of the boulder. As I felt the bridge give way below my feet, I leapt into the air.

  Time seemed to move in slow motion.

  My hand reached out to grab the cliff side. It failed. To my horror, I began to go down.

  I grabbed a rope of the bridge.

  I began to slide down it, even as I struggled to maintain a hold on the rope, by hands feeling as though they had been set on fire due to the friction. It was only after I had gone a considerable way down, very close to the end of the rope, did I finally manage to have a better hold.

  I exhaled, even as I thought of my situation. I looked back at the place where the boulder had stood, being supported by the smaller rocks. It was empty space there now. A second later, I heard a gigantic crash coming from the very bowels of the volcano and I knew it was the sound of the boulder crashing.

  Despite my precarious situation, I couldn’t help but be acutely aware of the fact that I had been extremely lucky. The ropes of the bridge could have snapped and gone down with the boulder, but only the poles to which the ropes of the bridge had been attached to the boulder had gone down.

  I looked up. I was a good way down from the cliff edge. Praying that the rope wouldn’t snap with my weight, I began to climb up, using the side of the cliff for footing. It was brutal work and it took a lot of effort. By the time I was half way up I was drenched in sweat.

  But I pushed on, not opting to rest for any minute. Resting would kill my progress. That my hands were already aching didn’t help.

  A few minutes later, I was finally able to haul myself over the cliff edge. For a moment I sat on the edge of the cliff and stared down at the abyss below. Tears swelled in my eyes. I wished so much that I had been able to bring the statue, but now we would have to wait for our next chance to get the statue and as Mastermind had said it would be probably even harder. It would also take more time, delaying Lovebird’s return to the real world and to her brother. I felt so guilty for my carelessness.

  I looked at my palms. They were bruised and were bleeding. They stung bad.

  I took out a health vial from my bag and drunk it. I watched as my palms healed and my health retuned to optimum. I gritted my teeth and got to my feet. Looking at the flower, I was happy that at least the prince wouldn’t die.

  Chapter 24

  It took me a good while to return to my friends and the Dinomen. The Dinomen had ignited torches and were waiting more or less patiently. The queen however ran to me when she saw me approaching. And so did my friends.

  “Have you brought it?” my friends and the queen asked together. I was not sure whom to reply first. Both my friends and the queen had the same expressions of intense anticipation on their faces.

  I turned to my friends first. The queen could wait.

  “I am sorry,” I said, meeting their eyes although it hurt, “the statue and the island fell into the bottom of the volcano.”

  Mastermind’s jaws dropped, so did Grimguy’s. Lovebird pursed her lips, her facial muscles contorting as she tried to fight the tears.

  The king of the Dinomen meanwhile ran up to me.

  “You didn’t bring the flower?” he asked, his tone somewhere between worry and anger.

  I held out the flower I had brought. It was a stark reminder to me of my own foolishness.

  The king wiped his eyes, which had swollen with tears.

  “Thank you!” he said, “You don’t know how much you have helped us.”

  “Just take it,” I said to the king, not interested in being thanked, my mind still stuck with Ravana’s statue.

  The king shook his head.

  “I cannot,” he said, “you must give the juice of the flower to my son yourself, since you brought it from the island.”

  I frowned at him.

  “Where is your son?” I asked. I was hoping to see some Dinoman bring a kid on a stretcher.

  “In the village.”

  Was he joking? I had important matters to deal with. Things like getting the statue and saving the world. I had done enough for the Dinomen.

  I turned at Mastermind.

  “Has anything new appeared in the book?” I asked him.

  He quickly took out the book of immortality from his bag, and flipped through the pages. He shook his head, dejected.

  I turned back at the king. I held out the flower again.

  “Look, you give this to your son yourself, all right? I am sorry, but I just don’t have the time for this. We are in a problem. I couldn’t get the statue I was after, you see.”

  The king shook his head. He looked almost furious.

  “No, you must give the flower to my son,” he said, “because only you can.”

  I grimaced. Just then I felt Lovebird’s arm around me. Even Mastermind came and patted me on the shoulder.

  “It’s okay,” Mastermind said to me, “we can go to the village and save his son. There is nothing we can do regarding the statue or the quest anyway, as of the moment.” Mastermind was more or less right. On top of that it would not be very safe to stay out in the open at night, considering we were in Dinoland. Instead of simply waiting for something new to appear in the book, we cou
ld at least save the son of the Dinoman king.

  I exhaled.

  “Fine,” I said to the king. “Take us to your village. I’ll save your son.”

  It took us nearly an hour to reach the village of the Dinomen. It was a village of considerable size, and most of the houses were huts. I saw that there were several houses, in front of which raptor dinosaurs were sleeping. Some of these animals had leashes tied around their necks, and they reminded me of dogs in the real world.

  The house of the king was at the centre of the village, and it was easily the largest one in the village. The king led us into the bedroom. A child Dinoman was lying on a bed, maids and servants sitting around the child. Once we arrived, the maids and servants left the room. The queen went and sat next to the child on the bed. She placed a hand on his forehead.

  “His forehead feels like it is on fire,” the queen said, “we must give him the juice of the flower fast.”

  “How am I supposed to give it to him?” I asked. The child was unconscious, and I couldn’t see how he would be able to drink the juice of the flower. Also, how was I supposed to extract the juice from the flower?

  “Just squeeze the flower between your palms and let the juice fall into the mouth of my son,” the king told me. I went and sat next to the child on the bed. The child sure had an impossibly high fever. I could feel the heat that was emanating from his body. The face of the child looked pale, even for a Dinoman. The queen parted the lips of her son and then I squeezed the flower as the king had instructed.

  It took some effort from my part, but soon the juice of the flower began to fall into the mouth of the prince one drop after the other. The result was almost immediate. I could feel the body of the prince cool. I continued to squeeze the flower until there was no more juice left in it.

  I placed a palm on the forehead of the prince. It was quite cool now.

  “I think he’s getting better,” I said.

  The mother lightly patted the scaly cheeks of the prince. And he began to stir. With a sob, the king came stumbling towards his son, realising he was conscious once more.