Nick had thousands of personal messages to trawl through. His hate mail was starting to dwindle. It seemed he had connected with the common man and become some kind of people’s hero. He kept his eyes peeled for a message from Emily - nothing. Feeling vaguely depressed, he was just about to check his bank balance when a message popped up:
LEADORA HILL: That was hardcore, right?
Nick frowned. He didn’t know a “Leadora”.
NICK STANNERS: Do I know you?
LEADORA HILL: You do now, dumbass.
Probably just a crazy loon who’d just seen Nick on Oakshield Junction. He raised a finger to shut the conversation down …
LEADORA HILL: You gonna let me in?
His blood ran cold. She was probably bluffing, but he checked the front door just in case. Sure enough, a petite figure in black leather was sitting against the opposite wall, head in her arms. An empty whiskey bottle had been tossed down the hallway. Nick glanced at Petyr, the Slovakian security guard further down the way.
“She’s hot,” he said with a hideous smile, making an obscene gesture.
“Killers come in all sizes,” Nick replied, kneeling next to his unexpected visitor. He had a feeling he knew who it was.
“Raven?” he asked hesitantly. The young woman looked up with bleary eyes - she looked very much like her Oakshield character theblueraven. Slight, waifish, fine-featured. Short, boyish black hair. Two nose rings and the hint of a tattoo across her shoulder blades.
All up, a beguiling package. Just the kind of “edgy art student” type he’d never had the courage to ask out. Right now, she stank to high heaven. Alcohol and stale sweat. Those leathers hadn’t been washed in days.
“Give the man a prize,” she drawled, on the verge of passing out. “You gonna fucking let me in?”
“Of course,” Nick stammered, helping her to her feet. “How did you find me?”
“A tedious question,” she said, stumbling through the front door. “Everyone have a hacker in their circle of friends.”
Nick certainly didn’t. Gideon Popov might have become a friend in time, but …
“Take a seat,” Nick said, but his inebriated visitor was already stretching herself across his sofa.
“So,” Nick said, feeling awkward all of a sudden. “Leadora, huh?”
She fixed a bloodshot eye on him.
“Stanners, if you wanna live, don’t say that again.”
“Then what do I call you?”
“Lee will do,” she sighed.
Silence. Nick wondered if she was going to vomit.
“I came here to thank you,” she said eventually.
“Me? For what?”
“For not being a fucking douche,” she said. “Most runners’ heads are up their own asses.”
That was true enough, but Nick didn’t know how to respond. He’d been comfortable enough with theblueraven in Oakshield Junction, but the real world was a different matter altogether.
“You happy being Bonded, Stanners?” she asked, yawning deeply. “If not, open your mouth now, or forever hold your peace.”
She cackled with laughter, as if she’d said the funniest thing in the world.
“I’m cool,” Nick said.
“’You’re cool’,” Lee echoed, making Nick feel he was anything but. “Yeah. You’ll do.”
Nick wasn’t aware he needed to audition, but kept his mouth shut. Instead he found a blanket and draped it over the strange girl, who had begun snoring. Something about her rhythmic breathing made him yawn, so he padded off to bed. Lee’s appearance had somehow cleared his head, and he drifted away within minutes.
A figure shambled through the bedroom at dawn, heading straight into the en suite bathroom to run a shower. It took Nick a few moments to remember he had a guest. He pretended to be asleep until Leadora was gone, joining her at the kitchen table twenty minutes later. She was happily hoovering up a stack of strawberry flapjacks.
“You want flapjack, boy?” Mike asked from the kitchen. “You had rough night eh?”
“This dirty old man seemed to think we fucked last night,” Lee said between mouthfuls. “It seemed easier to agree with him.”
“You do realize he understands English?” Nick asked, horrified. The bodyguard looked at Lee for a moment before bursting into laughter. He was still chuckling as he headed back to the kitchen.
“I like him,” Lee said.
“I’m glad,” Nick said, finding the whole situation a little surreal.
“Now I remember why I came over,” Lee said.
“It wasn’t to thank me?” Nick asked.
A wry smile flashed across Lee’s face.
“That was just me flappin’ my mouth,” she said, glancing at Mike. “Do you trust your bodyguard?”
“With my life,” Nick said truthfully.
“A reliable source tells me that Vanen is actually Yul Sanford,” she said.
Nick couldn’t quite get his head around that.
“The founder of Neutron Syndicate?”
“Bingo.”
“Why would he step into his own game?”
Lee gave Nick a look that suggested he was the dimmest of imbeciles.
“Because they’re worried about you,” she said. “Their superstar pixel runners are supposed to gush about how great the games are - not blow the whistle on the use of human NPCs.”
Nick supposed that was true. Immersion gaming was a ten billion dollar industry. A lot rode on each season of Oakshield Junction. Nick must’ve represented the ultimate paradox to the Syndicate. On one hand, he was skillful enough to attract millions of viewers. On the other, his anti-corporate sensibilities generated a ton of bad publicity the Syndicate didn’t need.
If the company had its time again, they would never have given Nick a chance. It seemed insane for Yul Sanford, the reclusive founder of the largest games company in the world, to step down from his lofty perch and deal with Nick personally. Nick didn’t know whether to feel humbled or panicked. In the end he felt a nauseous mixture of both.
“Can’t be true,” was all he could say.
“You believe what you want,” Lee said, licking the maple syrup from her plate and making to leave. “We’re gonna need our A-game today. When we spawn, I want you to stand behind me. Use that fucking bow of yours. Baron.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Nick said, feeling like a dork.
Lee flashed that smile of hers, a sizzling, genuine smile.
“See you on the other side,” she purred before leaving.
Nick didn’t know what to make of Leadora Hill. Things were moving too quickly! All he knew was that he didn’t have to face the game alone anymore. That was a wonderful feeling in itself. The trials and tribulations of Oakshield Junction were so harrowing that it made sense to share the mental and physical load with someone else.
It was also a bonus that Lee lived somewhere on the west coast - they could meet to discuss tactics and strategies. The idea of seeing her again made Nick’s stomach flutter. Of course, he wouldn’t be plain old Nick Stanners - he’d be BaronFuckAss, Oakshield champion. Man, he wished he could change his name.
Mike served up another round of pancakes as Nick pondered the day ahead.
“What do you know about Yul Sanford?” he asked his bodyguard.
“Asshole,” came the succinct reply.
Nick didn’t doubt it, but he needed more information. Sanford’s official Nex page offered all the usual spin - from urchin boy to self-made billionaire, Sanford was a misunderstood visionary who simply liked to see people transported to the worlds of their dreams.
It didn’t seem fair that the founder of the Syndicate be allowed to enter Oakshield Junction as an overpowered NPC. What the fuck were they playing at? Nick had been playing RPGs all his life, priding himself on beating them fair and square. He hated cheap bosses or areas that frustrated more than challenged.
It made Nick’s blood boil to think that the Great Dragon Vanen was Yul Sanford. He felt an
incredibly strong urge to break the game. Why should he treat Oakshield Junction with respect if the runners weren’t afforded any?
Nick took a brisk walk after breakfast to clear his head. Mike’s security team followed him through the artificial gardens at the base of Clementine Towers. The local residents were harmless enough, but the world at large couldn’t be trusted.
By the time he returned, the Syndicate technician had arrived to prepare the Immersion tank. Nick felt his usual pre-game nerves as he gazed at the pale yellow gel.
“Be sharp,” Mike said, slapping Nick hard in the face. “Battle is near.”
His touch may have been clumsy, but the Slovakian was right. Nick was about to be dropped straight into the heart of battle with a Great Dragon. He wondered if retreating back down the Tower of Old was an option.
The presence of other runners complicated matters. How many of them would attack Nick on sight? He probably still had a bounty on his head, but he had saved several of his rivals in yesterday’s session, which surely counted for something. Still, it was foolish to trust pixel runners.
The only thing left to do was strip down and enter the tank.
“Ten seconds,” Joe mumbled as Nick climbed the ladder. “Trust no one, Stanners.”
Nick nodded, surprised to hear a Syndicate technician say something like that. He let himself drift to the bottom of the tank, forcing his body to relax. It occurred to him that Leadora would be doing exactly the same thing right now, except she was probably down at the Neutron studio. He didn’t like that one bit. To be at the mercy of those people, especially when she was Bonded to him now, seemed extremely dangerous. He resolved to organize a second tank as soon as he completed the day’s mission. He could certainly afford it.
Everything went dark and a title appeared - THE HAMMERHORST MOUNTAINS.
The siege of Durandor continues. Thousands of common folk remain trapped in the cellars under the castle. The kobold army waits patiently, set to become the first every invading army to successfully break the human Kingdom. Rumors abound that the dog-like enemy is merely a front for a far more sinister force.
Further east, King Alain’s crack force of mercenaries have successfully released the Great Mage Picello, but as the Kingdom’s last hope struggles from his prison, Vanen, last of the Old Dragons, chooses the perfect moment to attack …
Nick materialized in the circular hall atop the Tower of Old and immediately looked for Lee. She was by the wall ten yards to his right. He rolled twice in order to reach her, arrows narrowly missing him along the way.
“Get behind me,” Lee snarled, twin scimitars at the ready.
No fewer than four pixel runners were sprinting toward them, seemingly intent on collecting their bounty after all. Nick was nocking his first arrow when the far wall exploded in gouts of ragged flame. Everyone was flattened. Nick shielded his face from the fierce, blistering heat. Lee hauled him to his feet.
“Vanen’s overpowered,” she said. “We can’t do anything here but die.”
“I agree,” said a deep voice somewhere to their right. A short man in a white robe edged with shimmering blue stumbled toward them through the chaos. Andor Picello. The Great Mage seemed weak and unsteady. The runners took an arm each, guiding him across the hall. The beat of enormous wings could be heard just outside the tower.
“Hurry!” Nick urged, supporting Picello down the ramp to the lower levels. Tense silence reigned, but Nick knew it couldn’t last.
“Brace yourselves!” Picello shouted just as the outer wall collapsed. Nick and Lee were swept off their feet by a concussive force. Only Picello remained standing, his arms moving in fluid motion. A bubble of electric blue surrounded the three of them as a scaly snout thrust itself through the gap in the wall.
Nick recoiled in horror as Vanen hovered over them. The runner was frozen, transfixed by an eye of fathomless black before sheets of flame came scorching over the bubble. Picello’s protective shield saved them from instant incineration. Howling with rage, Vanen reared back and slammed himself into the side of the tower, bringing the ancient building crashing down.
The next few seconds were a sickening collection of tumbles and collisions. Nick was amazed to discover that he was still alive at the end of it. Picello and Lee climbed slowly to their feet. The protective bubble was flickering and fading, but the dragon was nowhere to be seen.
Nick was sprawled across a pile of rubble and the air was thick with dust. Gradually it cleared, revealing an azure sky, a bright mid-afternoon sun and a massive dragon silhouetted across its face.
“He hasn’t seen us yet,” Picello said, helping Nick up. “Vanen will move on if we can find cover.”
The trio stumbled across loose stones and broken wooden beams, finding a small hollow in which they could hide. Nick flinched when he noticed a severed arm wedged in the rock, but this was no time to be choosy. Vanen soared low over the remains of the Tower of Old, scouring the rubble with long gouts of flame.
“Quick!” Picello said as the dragon’s howl faded. He dragged the pixel runners through the rubble to where the huge bell had fallen. They all huddled inside the thick brass as Vanen passed over again. A torrent of flame struck the bell and for a moment Nick thought it was going to melt. He needn’t have worried. Once the heat of Vanen’s deadly breath had receded, the fugitives emerged from their unlikely cover. Picello laid a hand on the bell, which had been disfigured by the flame.
“Built to last,” he murmured, pale from his exertions. “Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my acolytes.”
Picello seemed deeply saddened, and Nick didn’t know what to say. The man had overseen Lavora High Temple for three centuries. It would have been devastating to see his life’s work destroyed so completely.
“Your acolytes were charmed,” Lee said. “After Lang was killed they entered a fugue state.”
“As good as dead,” Picello said grimly. “They’re minds have been ruined.”
“What now?” Nick asked, wondering if any other runners had survived.
“Who goes there?” a voice boomed from somewhere behind all the wreckage.
Following Lee, Nick readied his bow. She gave a signal to stand down - the newcomers weren’t hostiles. A wagon train was visible beyond the devastation, and a squad of royal soldiers advanced across the rubble. Nick could see captured Ember mages being herded into the backs of the wagons. A bearded soldier wearing the red cape of an officer hailed them.
“Great Mage Picello?”
Picello gripped the man’s hand.
“Your arrival is timely, Sergeant. I would like to question my acolytes personally. At a safe location, of course.”
“We ride for the Winter Palace,” the Sergeant replied, regarding the surrounding towers with grave suspicion. “I don’t have the men for a complete search.”
“I understand,” Picello said, turning to Nick and Lee. “I must take my leave. I thank you both for your valor in battle.”
“The debt is ours,” Nick said. “You saved our lives.”
“Did you not ring the Winter Bells?” Picello asked with a warm smile. “At the very least we’re even.”
“We could travel with you,” Lee said. “King Alain will have another mission for us.”
“So he does,” the Sergeant said gruffly. “All surviving mercenaries are to head further east - into the Hammerhorst range. Your mission is twofold. First, help the Grymdor Mine garrison evacuate workers and assets. Second, make your way to Ulferd, the dwarven city. There you will seek an audience with King Rolfic. The evacuation of Grymdor Mine is our gift to the dwarves. In return we request their assistance against the kobolds at Durandor Castle.”
The Sergeant’s face became grim.
“King Alain is counting on your success. Do not bother returning without Dwarven reinforcements.”
Nick chose to ignore the thinly-veiled threat. He and theblueraven had clear mission parameters and it was best to get moving as soon as possible.
> “What’s the best route to the mine?” he asked.
“Northeast of here, through Nine Mile Pass,” the Sergeant replied, pointing to a rocky outcrop beyond the temple grounds. “Any of the trails spilling from that bluff will take you there.”
“Let’s go, Nick,” Lee said. Nick followed her gaze - a group of runners were picking their way through the rubble to the south. He and Lee weren’t the only runners to survive Vanen’s attack.
“We’ll have a head start,” Nick said. “Those guys don’t have their mission yet.”
The Bonded pair took their leave of the Great Mage, glad he was in safe hands. Hopefully they made it to the Winter Palace unchallenged - there, Picello could begin planning his assault on the kobold host at Durandor.
Nick followed Lee through the quiet towers, carefully avoiding the Ember mages they came across. The grey-robed figures seemed lost and unfocused, but that didn’t mean they were completely harmless. At length the pair reached the outcrop the Sergeant had mentioned and located a narrow trail on the other side. The path wound its way into a steep-sided valley.
The pair walked in silence. Lee didn’t seem like one for small talk, which suited Nick just fine. Instead, he pondered how he could develop his DEX build this time round. He suspected today’s mission would feature underground tunnels and cramped spaces, rendering his ranged attacks fairly impotent. If he could get his hands on a melee weapon he’d feel a lot more comfortable. Evidently Lee was thinking along the same lines.
“Any gear we find goes to you first,” she said. “We might need to fight back-to-back down in that mine.”
“Agreed,” Nick said. “I could use one of your scimitars.”
Lee smiled at him as if he was joking.
“I suppose not,” he said quickly, sorry he asked. He suspected that dual-wielding conferred bonus damage with each successive hit. It was a nice perk that only DEX builds could enjoy. Even so, Nick felt he was better suited to a light, maneuverable shield and a sharp, one-handed blade. Was he good enough to roll and evade his way through a boss fight?
The sun was low in the sky by the time they began a steep climb that would see them into Nine Mile Pass. It took them well over an hour to reach the top, but the view was spectacular. Crisscrossed with purple bogs and fens, a desolately beautiful plateau spread to the east. The sun was lending the Hammerhorst peaks an ethereal orange glow.
Dexterity Build: A LitRPG Saga (The Complete Dexterity Build Cycle) Page 6