“You’ve returned,” Lord Ryden said cheerfully. “Have your adventures been successful?”
Jake fought the sadness that swelled in his chest. Some part of him had hoped Ryden would remember. He managed an unenthusiastic reply. “Yes, Lord Ryden. We have triumphed.” He laughed humorlessly. “Although, I think we owe a certain Flightmaster and his yellow dragon some money.”
The mage nodded slowly, not sure what to make of that. Jake supposed, since Xaloria had been reset, that none of that had even happened. Certainly, the “Imperial Marks” had been replaced by the original gold coins. He was trying to get it all straight in his head when Ryden spoke up again.
“I have an urgent matter to discuss with you. Will you join me in my study?”
“A quest,” Des said, laughing. “We should’ve known.”
The friends followed Lord Ryden to his private room. Once inside, he dismissed his servants and leaned against the edge of his desk.
“How is it?” Lord Ryden asked eagerly. “Did the reset fix everything?”
Jake, Des and Kari stared at him in alarm.
“Oh no,” Kari gasped.
“It’s alright,” Ryden assured her. “As far as I can tell, the reset eliminated all of the changes I’d made. There are no New Ones, no Path to the Next, and no symbols appearing anywhere.”
“But…you’re still alive,” Jake said. Joy warred with a hint of fear inside of him.
“I am alive. I thought I would be destroyed…that I would die when the program reset.”
“Log out!” Des shouted suddenly. He disappeared.
Ryden grinned sheepishly. “I haven’t done anything to it, and I won’t. I promise. Go ahead, Jake. Launch your toolkit.”
“Display Development Interface,” Jake ordered. The familiar box of options appeared.
Des strolled back into the room, trying his best to appear nonchalant. “I had to reload at the spawn point.”
Jake canceled the tool screen and looked at Ryden steadily. “Everything seems okay, but…how did you survive?”
“I don’t know,” Ryden admitted. “Maybe it’s because I was already conscious before I started changing the program? Maybe because I completed the Path and became a real person? I just don’t know. I never meant for this to happen.”
As Ryden said the words Jake had repeated so many times, Jake’s joy won out over fear. He grabbed the unsuspecting mage and gave him a hug.
“I’m just glad you’re still alive,” he told his friend.
“So am I,” Ryden said, returning the hug. “But I’ve learned something; I’m not ready for the Next. It’s best if I stay in Xaloria. This is where I belong.”
“Are you sure?” Kari asked. “You’ve tried so hard to leave this place.”
“I’m sure,” Ryden assured her. “But I hope you’ll still be my Interpreter. There are so many things I still don’t understand about being alive.”
“I’d be honored,” she told him.
Ryden patted Jake’s shoulder as he led the way to a table containing a strange looking artifact shaped like a toothed ring.
“So,” he said. “A crazy old man stopped by and left this unknown object with me. He said if you take it to a cave with blue crystals around the mouth about a day’s ride to the south, it would open some kind of magical door with a bunch of treasure behind it. There’s a long, mystical-sounding script I could recite if you’d rather have the official story, but that’s the gist of it. Feel like an adventure?”
Jake and Kari grinned, but it was Des who replied.
“Sure! We’re always up for adventure.”
***
Thank you for reading! Click the link below to get a free book by Trip...
http://tripellington.com/beta/
View the next page for links to any sequels or related books you may enjoy.
THE END
***
Check Out This New Fantasy Bundle by Trip Ellington:
EverMage: The Complete Series
As a wizard's apprentice, Mithris always seems to feel like a duck out of water. Clumsy, awkward, naive, and frequently a nuisance to his mentor wizard, it was hard for Mithris to believe he'll ever become a great and powerful wielder of magic...
But everything changes for the young apprentice one day when vicious and foul creatures attacked his master's tower, killing his mentor, and driving Mithris into exile in the wild world outside.
Alone and left to care for himself for the first time in his life, Mithris must find the strength and courage to become the very thing he never expected he could be...a powerful wizard.
And he must do it in time to stop the monsters, avenge his master's death, and save the world from the clutches of a power-hungry wizard.
***
A Personal Appeal from the Author, Trip Ellington
My name is Trip Ellington and I have an offer that I think you will find very favorable.
In my continued efforts to improve the quality of my works, I have created a group referred to as my ‘Beta Readers.’ I rely on my Beta Readers to read my as-yet-unreleased stories and provide me with much needed feedback and I keep them informed of my latest releases. There is no charge to become a Beta Reader.
For those of you who would like to help me in this cause and become a Beta Reader, I will send you a digital copy of any of my published stories for free.
To apply for the Beta Reader group, simply click or navigate to this link:
==> http://tripellington.com/beta/
Thank you for being a loyal reader and supporting an independent author.
Sincerely,
Trip
***
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Game Alive: A Science Fiction Adventure Novel Page 19