by Eden Redd
“We need to be together,” Jayson said as a pain crawled into his heart. They had spent so much time together that Jayson couldn’t picture playing the game without him.
“We have to come up with another way,” Sonja said with determination in her eyes.
Lance stepped over to the blue knight and took her hands into his, “We had some fun. Now I can see what the next chapter holds for me.”
Jayson stepped close, “This can’t be how it ends?”
Lance looked to the handsome knight, “I never told you guys how deeply it affected me when Lorn was killed. I know he was an NPC but in the short time we spent together, it was amazing. I…I don’t think I ever really recovered from that. If I give up my character, then maybe his death wouldn’t have been in vain. My sacrifice will bring peace to Lukken. I can start over or……quit the game.”
Jayson and Sonja stared at the white knight as he continued, “I don’t know if I can keep playing a game where some of the inhabits are waking up. If they are a new kind of AI, I don’t know if I could risk killing one of them. If Lorn had survived, he may have awakened. I’ll never know now. I thought about breaking the news to you both but couldn’t find the right moment. Now we have to do something and I’m willing to do it for all of us.”
Sonja stepped forward, her arms sliding under his and hugging him close, “It won’t be the same.”
Lance held her close, “Life never is. After a break, I can come back as a new character. Think of it as reincarnation.”
Jayson stepped close and hugged them both, “This is crazy. There must be another way.”
Lance smiled, “There is no other way. It’s not as crazy as you might think. I knew if I didn’t say something, you would take the seat but then Oksuna would be without her lover.”
The party looked on as the three knights held each other. Jayson had grown so attached to his persona and his friends. They made him stronger than he ever thought he could be. The thought of playing without Lance filled him with a terrible sadness. It would never be the same, no matter what pretty lies the white knight said.
“The last year as been a blast but now we need to get this done, to bring peace. The quest will be over and then you both can help the NPC’s waking up,” Lance smiled and kissed Sonja on the forehead.
The white knight let go of the blue knight and turned to Jayson. The knight stood, his mind working but his expression painted with pain. Lance stepped closer and pressed his lips to his. The two knights let tongues slip and dance for a long moment before Lance pulled away.
“I love you Jayson Reed,” Lance smiled and turned to Sonja.
“I love you Blue Sonja,” The white knight said with a gentle tone.
Jayson looked away as his heart cracked. The knight’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as he watched Oksuna step closer to the Serpent Throne. Turning, the knight stepped closer, his heart thudding in his chest as Oksuna stood inches from the throne.
“Oksuna?” Jayson asked and his voice cracked.
The pink haired troll turned her head but stayed close to the throne, “My love,” She smiled.
“What….are you doing?” Jayson asked and stood a mere ten feet from her.
A tear appeared at the corner of her eye, “I’m taking my rightful place, to protect all of you.”
Jayson could feel his logic fall away as his heart pumped harder. Limbs trembled as he took a shaky step forward. Stomach turning, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and for the moment, his heart cracked in two.
“Your….you’re not a Player Character. It won’t accept you. Come back to me,” Jayson pleaded, unsure what would happen if she sat down.
The party stepped a little closer, all eyes on the beautiful troll as her hand touched the arm rest of the Serpent Throne. The Sormir watched as it all played out, their minds speaking as one and hearts soaring.
Oksuna put her back to the throne and looked down on her lord and lover, “I never felt like a prisoner in your arms. I wanted to be there. You didn’t treat me like a play thing. You treated me like an equal and for that; you will always be my true love.”
The troll inched back, “Now I must be there for you and take on this task. I feel like it has been my destiny all along.”
Jayson took another step forward, “Don’t do this……we can figure out another way!”
The troll looked down with a shy smile, tears rolling down her azure cheeks. Hands reached up and took hold of the pink heart necklace. Lifting it over her head, she held it before here, eyes amused and filled with wonder.
“You gave this to me so I could protect myself if you were not by my side. It is only fair I give it back so it can protect you when I am not at your side.”
Before Jayson could get a word in, the troll flicked her wrist and the heart stone amulet soared through the air. The knight lifted up a hand and caught it, bringing it down and gazing upon it before lifting his eyes to the beautiful troll.
“Oksuna….I love you….” Jayson said softly.
The troll gave him a whimsical smile amid tears, “I love you.”
Jayson and all the party members watched as the troll sat down on the Serpent Throne and leaned back. Light glowed around the base and the party watched with wide eyes. Jayson stared through his own tears as the energy bloomed. Oksuna leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Seconds passed before her eyes shot up, blazing with light. The energy around the base of the throne pulsed before it blazed light into the sky.
Jayson stepped forward the moment Oksuna began to scream. Arms curled around him, holding him back as he watched the pink haired troll writhe and scream to the heavens. The serpents let out long deep vibrations from their throats as they turned their massive heads skyward. Jayson tried to step forward but Lance and Thorrin held fast, taking in the spectacle.
Oksuna’s screams began to diminish as her mouth made a perfect O. Light surrounded her, firing into the sky and heavens beyond. The world seemed to stop as the light poured into the sky before it thinned and finally faded away. Energy pulsed and curled around the troll as she sat; eyes white and mouth closed.
The angel, Sil, smiled, “A player has taken the Serpent Throne!”
Jayson fell to his knees, gazing upon Oksuna as she sat. Lance and Thorrin stood by his side and the party stood behind them. They could feel his loss and guilt pour over their hearts.
“I am the Voice of the Sormir,” Oksuna said as her voice sent thick vibrations through the air.
Jayson looked to her, hoping there would be some recognition but there was nothing. The troll stared off, her body now a tool for the Sormir. Sonja fell to Jayson’s side and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her. The player felt numbness take hold as he tried to calm his broken heart.
“It would appear we arrived just in time,” boomed a voice in the distance.
Heads turned and everyone but Jayson looked to the cliffs. At the top by the path, a row of trolls stood. At the furthest outcropping of the cliffs, a large meaty troll stood with short black hair, behind him stood three shadowy cloaked figures against the stark blue sky.
The troll spoke again, his voice so loud that it could be heard for miles, “We’ve come to speak to the Sormir and bring peace to Lukken.”
Twenty
Wynter stared up at the cliffs, her heart skipping a beat. The necromancer could feel dread falling over her like ice water. Kai moved to her side, his grim eyes looking up at the troll master. The party looked on while Sonja and Lance knelt down to Jayson’s side. The knight remained on his knees, eyes on Oksuna as she sat on the Sormir throne.
“Kurss Darkwhisper,” Wynter said in a soft tone.
Renner turned his eyes to the necromancer, “The insane master that wants to enslave every race? I heard of him and what he did to all those players in the Harkkon dungeon raid.”
“We were there,” Kai said with a mask of indifference.
“Those who didn’t join his crusade were executed
. Myself and a fellow guild member were the only ones to escape,” Wynter said while never taking her eyes off the troll in the distance.
“The bounty on you is pretty high,” Vass said.
Wynter and Kai turned their attention to the dark-haired elf.
“Slytha offered us more to work together, plus it would have been rude,” Vass shrugged.
Kurss looked down from the cliff edge, his face as frozen as a winter lake but his eyes wide, drinking in the sight before him. The three cloaked figures moved behind him, hoods up and shadows covering their faces. The troll master flexed his thick shoulders before clasping his hands in front of him and bowing his head.
“Mighty Sormir! I humbly ask for a moment of your time,” Kurss spoke but his voice carried beyond normal means.
Jayson stared at Oksuna as her white eyes shifted up, “You dare come with an army at your back. Your request speaks of dark intent,” her voice as loud as his.
Kurss lifted his head and smirked, “This force? It is my travelling escorts. Their number is a paltry thousand, hardly enough to go to war.”
Oksuna returned the troll master’s smirk with her own, “Not that force, the one behind you.”
Kurss kept his smirk, “Ah yes, there are many of them but my allies insisted. I, being the generous spirit that I am, could never deny their request as I would hope you would not deny mine.”
The three figures stepped to the right and left of Kurss and drew back their hoods. One appeared as an old man with white hair. He had a blindfold covering his eyes and he appeared gaunt but his face held an almost gentle touch. To his right stood a black-haired man with long sideburns and a mad gleam in his eyes. To Kurss’s left, a man with feminine features stood, a sickly smile leering down.
Even at the distance, the party felt horror slip into their chests. Thorrin and Lyra could see the crazy features of Mad Morgan. The rest of the party stared up at Riktess Grimm but it was Wynter and Kai who felt a darkness trying to consume their tiny hope as they guessed who the blind man was. Wynter looked to her skull staff and the glowing eyes pulsed with supernatural power.
The blindfolded man stepped forward with a gentle smile, “Great and powerful Sormir, my ally only wishes for a moment of your time.”
Oksuna stared up with unblinking eyes. Jayson slowly stood to his feet, Lance and Sonja at his side. Turning, he drank in the sight of the cliffs as a line of trolls stared down. Waves crashed on the beach as the breeze caressed exposed skin and hair.
“Your actions speak of threats,” Oksuna bellowed.
Kurss stood at the blind man’s side, “You are mistaken. We only wish our equal time to explain what is happening in Lukken and dispel the lies of the criminals before you.”
Oksuna’s brow formed a hard V, “The Rose Seer has joined our hive mind. Her knowledge has added to our own. You seek to enslave and have fallen from the path of knowledge.”
“Nothing can be farther from the truth,” Kurss said with a calm demeanor. “We follow the true path of the Sormir. We masters have embraced your laws of knowledge, strength and wisdom. We know it can only be achieved by challenging one’s boundaries and surpassing them. What the dragons and humans would call war, we call a test, a test to separate the weak and foolish from their lives and the strong and knowledgeable to their rightful place of power. We have studied the old laws and agreed that the people of Lukken require such challenges or they will fall to the forever sleep of ancients.
“The dragons only seek to nurse the races of Lukken. Such an act will only bring about their extinction. They will never move beyond their baser needs. I have read the tales of your mighty race from my ancestor’s journals. We do not wish to enslave but uplift all races to the next level of their evolution.”
Renner shook his head, “This guy is a piece of work. I think he actually believes what he is saying.”
Kai tilted his head forward, “He does. He believes every word.”
Oksuna’s white eyes shifted to the side, knowledge and whispers pouring into her mind. Turning her gaze back to the cliffs, she looked on as the waves by the beach foamed. Lunatina was by the platform edge when she glanced over. Turning her whole body, she gripped the rail and began bouncing and pointing.
“Look!” the jester yelled.
Eyes turned to the beaches as thick green bodies rose up from the surf. Their webbed hands held weapons of every make from swords to tridents, axes to maces. Some wore long mossy colored hair while others were bald or contained a single braid. Male and females stalked out of the surf, lining each side of the beach as far as the eye could see. Pointed noses turned upward while muscled bodies glistened in the sunlight.
Oksuna turned her chin upwards and gave her own sardonic grin, “If you truly follow the old laws, then you are prepared to be tested?”
Kurss maintained his relaxed stance, “A test we would happily accept but we do follow the tenet of wisdom. Before testing our metal, should we not discuss before spilling blood?”
“What do you have to gain by speaking with us? If you follow the tenets of our ways, what brings a Master and three Dread Lords to this holy place,” Oksuna’s powerful voice spoke, ruffling Kurss’s short hair.
The troll master smiled broadly, “We only wish to do what your children first tried to do. We want the Sormir to mix with the races until all of our descendants become one. Until we all become…Sormir.”
Oksuna fell silent as she sat stiffly. The party looked to each other with disbelief.
Renner threw up his hands, “What….the…FUCK! He wants to breed out all the races until they become like the Sormir! That is some next level evil bullshit. He’s trying to eugenics the hell out of every race.”
“Yea, we got that,” Thorrin said with a hint of annoyance.
Renner shot him a glance, “I don’t think you do.”
The rogue pointed a finger at the troll as he kept his gaze on Thorrin, “That motherfucker is trying to Nazi up this world. In reality, I work in a nursing home and many of the residents told me stories of their relatives. Hell, some of them were actual soldiers in the war. If you knew half of what they went through, you would be just as fucking outraged and don’t give me that bullshit that it’s just a game.”
Jayson stepped forward, “We have to stop this evil from spreading.”
All eyes turned to the knight as he stood in the center of them, his brow calm.
“We can’t let the masters win this. There is too much at stake and we are at the tipping point. What happens today is doing to dictate the direction of the game.”
Jayson turned and looked to Oksuna as she stared at nothing, “Some of the people of Lukken are beginning to wake up. We can’t let them be taken just as they are starting their true lives.”
Jayson began telling the party everything he knew. He spoke of the meeting he had with a mysterious programmer. He talked of how some of the NPC’s are becoming self-aware. He calmly informed them that if they did not fight, the entire game could be shut down, killing every digital being.
When the words stopped, hearts weighed heavy as a silence blanketed the platform. Thorrin crossed his arms, part of him not wanting to believe but deep in his heart, he knew from the moment he met Emma. Lyra looked on, her own personal code to help others rising to the top and firming up her resolve. Wynter looked on with wide eyes as all the information was new to her. The necromancer felt reality bite into her as she knew that she didn’t want the strong to enslave the weak. Kai kept his head tilted forward, knowing his allies in the world could actually die and it did not sit well with his convictions.
Vass looked to the paladin and he returned her gaze. The power of family was stronger than any bond. With unspoken words, they knew they would fight. Renner cracked his knuckles and let out a small yell of frustration before becoming quiet. He lifted a fist up to the troll on the cliff and raised a middle finger.
The orc, Rekt stood up from leaning against a spire and drew his hammer from over his shoulde
r, “I’m ready to fuck them up.”
Jayson looked to Sonja and then Lance, “Till the end.”
“Till the end,” Sonja said with a sad smile.
“Till the end,” Lance said with a grim nod.
Energy and light blazed around Oksuna. The party turned to the pink haired troll as one hand hovered over the other. Energy swirled between her palms as she stared forward. The world seemed to stand still as the energy grew and focused.
“The Sormir have convened and we have come to an agreement. We support the laws of Strength, Knowledge and Wisdom; therefore, a proper test is required for all races to learn the path of enlightenment. The Sormir will lend our guidance but only to those who prove themselves worthy.”
The energy between Oksuna’s hands glowed and coalesced until a five-point shape appeared. The light whirled and soon solidified until the energy died. A green crystal star fish floated between the troll’s hands before fingers curled around it and took hold. Oksuna stood and lifted it up for all to see.
“Behold the Star of the Sormir! Any race which possesses this item will have our guidance and our ear. As with the old laws, only the strong, intelligent and wise of you can truly hold the star. Our guidance will sway to only those who possess it.”
Oksuna turned her white eyes down to Jayson and smiled, “Because you brought us from the depths and tamed our madness, Sir Reed shall first hold it until someone with strength, intelligence and wisdom wins it from him.”
The emerald star floated from Oksuna’s hands. Jayson looked up at the beautiful troll with hands up and fingers spread. The star landed in his hands, giving off a faint glow. The knight looked to the troll with wet eyes and held the star to his chest.
A loud clap filled the area and the party turned to Kurss as he stood, clapping his big hands together before letting his hands fall to his sides.
“Bravo Sir Reed, bravo. Your deeds and adventures have even reached my ears. To steal a Rose Seer and quest across Lukken to this point, truly you are a human to be admired. I pity you must take on such a burden to carry the star.”