Last Horizon: Live

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “Good. Dinner is ready. I’ll let her in,” Miriam said wiping her hands dry as she walked to the door. She greeted Elizabeth with a hug before bringing her in and shutting the door. “Dinner is ready, everyone have a seat in the living room. We’ll be eating in there tonight.”

  Liz stared at her brother, shaking her head slightly, her shoulders drooping. “You asshole.” The words were whispered as she moved over to her brother, towering over his seated form. “YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” This time she shouted right at him as the tears spilled from her eyes. “I thought maybe you had good news.”

  David met the eyes full of rage and grief looking down at him. “Yes, I am. Please Liz, sit and we’ll talk. I won’t blame you for hating me, but let me say my piece after dinner. Every condemned man is allowed a final meal and last words, after all.” He wiped the tears from his own eyes and gestured at the spot next to Ann.

  Miriam came out carrying two plates, pausing as she waited for Liz to make up her mind. As Liz sat Miriam handed her and Ann plates of pasta before getting one for her and David. Aside from Ann thanking Miriam for the meal, it was eaten in silence, emotions boiling through the room. After a few bites David set his plate aside as he had no appetite. Liz put her own plate aside, her emotions running too high to let her enjoy the meal. Ann and Miriam ate at a steady pace, not setting their plates aside, hoping the longer wait might let Liz reign in her emotions some. When they finally finished Ann and Miriam took the dishes to the kitchen before sitting back down in the living room. Ann sat next to her distraught sister and Miriam settled in next to David.

  “Liz…” David began and stopped, having to clear his throat. “Liz, I am sorry. I’m going to be gone in a week or less. The last two weeks I’ve had multiple heart attacks, one of which had me in the hospital for a few days. I didn’t tell you and for that I am sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you any more than I could help. I knew, though, that if I didn’t tell you first before I die, you would probably never forgive me.”

  Liz began to sob and Ann drew her into a hug, stroking her hair. “Why? Why didn’t you try to fight? Why didn’t you want to stay with us longer? What did I do to make you hate me?”

  David grunted as if he had been shot, “I have never hated you, dear sister. The last few months I have experienced constant pain as my bones have been eaten away by this cancer. I’ve broken hand and foot bones, bruised my ribs and now my heart is failing. Nothing would change this, it might only slow it, which would mean I would be in pain even longer. Would you want me to suffer even more for a few more days?”

  Liz shook her head as she continued to cry into Ann’s shoulder, not looking at her brother. Ann, with her own tears flowing tried to comfort their younger sibling. “Liz, he was trying to spare those he loves, which is us, from seeing him in pain even more than he already is. Remember when Dad held on for as long as he did, slowly dying day by day? Do you want to remember David that same way, as a pale shadow of what he always was?” Ann spoke softly as she tried to help her sister understand.

  “But maybe there was something that could have helped. He could have tried, he should have tried.” Her voice was that of a lost little girl, not the strong woman they knew her to be. “I hate him,” those last three words were just barely a whisper.

  “No you don’t. You didn’t hate him when he beat up that bully for you in the third grade. You didn’t hate him when he cleaned up after your parties during high school, helping you through your hangovers. You didn’t hate him when he took care of mom and dad’s funerals. You don’t hate him now either, what you hate is him dying.”

  “I don’t want him to go, I hate him for leaving us. He promised he would always be there for me.” She lunged at David grabbing him into a tight hug, sobbing into his chest. “Don’t leave me!”

  David winced as he felt his ribs ache under the pressure, but said nothing as he returned the embrace. “I won’t leave you. I will never be gone as long as you hold me in your heart, Liz. Just keep me close and I will always be with you. I have always done what I could to protect and care for you, my darling little sister.”

  Ann walked over to them both and gently embraced them. “He’ll always be with us like mom and dad are. He loves us and you know that, we can grieve the fact he won’t be here for us physically any more, but he will always be with us.”

  Miriam sat quietly by, her own tears falling freely. She gently stroked Liz’s hair, the two of them got along but had never been the best of friends. “He only wanted to spare us the pain of watching him fade piece by piece, Liz. I’ve come to terms with it and accepted it, even though it’s breaking my heart into pieces.”

  Liz reached out and pulled Miriam into the hug, nodding, “I’m sorry. I’m a selfish bitch, I don’t want him to leave us.”

  David laughed through his tears, “Our entire family is selfish in our own ways. Even so, we’ve always loved each other. Just don’t hate me is all I ask.”

  The tears fell and the words finally stopped as David’s sisters came to terms with the fact their brother was not going to be with them much longer. In time the tears dried up and they separated. Not long after that Liz made an excuse and left. Miriam walked her to her car as Ann stayed behind a moment longer.

  “I’ll help her through the next month, brother. Tonight helped her though, she’ll forgive you.” Ann gave him a gentle hug before kissing his cheek. “I’ll keep you in my heart along with mom and dad. I’ll check in on Miriam once you pass to make sure she’s okay, too.”

  “The duty of the eldest, keeping us youngsters going even in darkness. Thank you, sis,” he got slowly to his feet and walked her out as Liz’s car drove away down the street. He stayed outside with Miriam as Ann left as well.

  “Are you okay?” Miriam asked him, taking his hand.

  “Physically, I think she might have cracked a rib. Emotionally I’m a wreck. I only hope she’ll be okay.” David replied as they went back inside.

  Miriam led him to bed and got him settled in before crawling in beside him and curling up. “I’ll be here with you love, until the end.” She didn’t cry as she held him as he let more tears spill onto his pillow. Once he had lapsed into sleep Miriam got up to clean up before joining him again for sleep.

  The next day was almost a duplicate of the day before as they waited for Will and Lavender to show up. When they did show up around five that evening, David smiled wanly. “Hello, sorry for dropping out on you guys again.”

  Will shook his head, “Shut it. Miriam filled us in and we passed the word along. Alvira seemed confident you’ll be there tomorrow after they reach the summit. Bjorn said they would be fine for the night and not to worry. How did your sisters take the news?”

  David winced, “Liz cracked a rib I think.” He gently rubbed his tender rib, “I think she’ll be able to handle it. Ann said she would keep an eye on her.”

  “Felton, Garthur and their wives will be on tomorrow for the end of the event.” Will informed him as they all settled in the living room. Miriam brought out drinks for them.

  “Also, you might want to turn on GNN,” Lavender cut in.

  Wondering why, David did as she instructed only to find a commercial playing. “Do I have timing or what?” he joked and winced as his rib sent a stab of pain that cut through his pain meds for a second.

  The commercial ended and the screen cleared to show Ashley looking into the camera. “Welcome back to our continued coverage of Last Horizon. We have been informed today that tomorrow will see the end of the Caravan event. It seems the Caravan has been traveling to the castle set up by the Bananas all this time. We’ve been trying to contact the leader of the guild, Dumadin Shieldbreaker, for comment. Our repeated attempts went unanswered until today. Today we learned that his health is deteriorating, preventing him from responding. It is unknown if he will be able to witness the end of the historic event he helped make possible. Dumadin Shieldbreaker has already been memorialized in Last Horizon for his efforts in Beta, even
while diagnosed with terminal cancer.”

  David sat there with his mouth open, stunned. Miriam cleared her throat, “I told her. I also told her to be on tomorrow for the end of the event and set up with Jazzy for Ashley to be able to live stream the event.”

  “But why?” David said his voice soft.

  “Dolt,” Will sighed, “you’ve dumped the last year of your life into this game, basically. You have pushed and striven to make the most of it. Did you think we wouldn’t make sure that your efforts were recognized for what they were? They’ll be airing recordings of interviews with me, Lavender, Felton, G, Emilia and Miriam tonight. Ashley wanted the low down on why you did what you’ve done over the course of the game. We gave it to her, no punches pulled at all, the good and the bad. We laid it all out, including why Vengeance had a real hard on for us. Jazzy was kind enough to give them clips of related events, too.”

  The trio smiled at his stunned expression, “But…”

  Miriam hugged him, “We wanted others to know you as we do, love.”

  David returned his attention to the television, “Okay, I give up. Not sure it will be worth watching, though.”

  “I think we should at least catch the commentary about Vengeance,” Lavender said.

  “First up, why was Vengeance so set on stopping the Caravan? We’ll explore what caused the conflict with the people of Stoutbank and Dumadin Shieldbreaker. Right after this small break,” Ashley smiled as the screen cut to a commercial.

  One commercial later, Ashley began to explain the interactions of the two groups dating back to the first day of Beta. The video clips were interspaced with commentary from those who were there and Ashley's own opinion on the matter. The review of Vengeance took half an hour, and finished with Ashley looking sternly into the camera.

  “That is the story told by those who were there for the events and also shown via clips from the game. Groping players, attempting rape, attacking the defenders, attacking other players out of spite, attacking the townsfolk of Stoutbank and more. None of their actions make them out to be good, but we leave the final verdict up to you, our viewers. When we come back from our next break we will delve into the story of Dumadin Shieldbreaker, the leader of the Bananas. Stay tuned.” Ashley had a pleasant smile on her face as the screen cut to another commercial.

  “I don't think we need to watch a show on me,” David said reaching for the remote.

  Miriam snagged it away from him, “I like hearing about you, myself.”

  “Don't know, it might cause his ego to swell a bit much,” Will chuckled.

  “It would be interesting to watch his reactions to what people say about him.” Lavender said before continuing, “However, he doesn't want to and we should accept that.”

  Miriam nodded at Lavender's words, “Fair point. I need to check on food anyway, dinner should be ready shortly.” With that she turned the TV off and went into the kitchen.

  Will eyed his friend for a moment, “It doesn't hurt to hear praise from your friends.”

  David shook his head, “Not my thing. Let's play a round of cribbage while we wait for food instead.”

  The rest of the night was spent playing games with his friends and eating. Each of them knew this kind of night was almost gone forever and wanted to hold onto it as long as they could. When midnight finally came around though, Will and Lavender bid them goodnight. David and Miriam watched them go from the porch.

  “I’m going to miss nights like tonight,” David said, softly squeezing Miriam’s hand.

  “We all will,” she replied. “We have a big day of surprises ahead of us tomorrow. Let’s turn in for the night so we can see Alvira bright and early, shall we?”

  David pulled her in for a kiss before they went inside to fall asleep in each other’s arms. His last thoughts before sleep claimed him were how tomorrow could very well cost him his life when they logged out and another heart attack hit him.

  SURPRISE!

  Dumadin blinked and started to stretch, only to find Alvira plastered against him and her lips passionately kissing him. Wrapping his arms around the woman clinging to him, he let the kiss linger even as Kittish giggled seeing them as she logged in.

  “If you’re back here, who’s driving the wagon Alvira?” Kittish asked.

  Breaking the kiss slowly Alvira pulled back and turned her head to face Kittish. “Oh, one of the dwarven guards, forget his name at the moment. Bjorn was kind enough to agree to it when I asked. I was expecting you both sooner than this.”

  “Yeah, we waited for the Caravan to get at least halfway up the trail. This way we can spend the extra hour with you once we get to the top and get everyone settled in.” Dumadin said, releasing Alvira with one arm and snagging Kittish with his now free hand, pulling her into the embrace.

  Kittish hugged her two lovers as warmly as they embraced her back. “I don't think we should get carried away. After all, the poor man driving might get distracted and we are on a cliff.” Kittish said with evident amusement.

  Alvira mock pouted, “Fine. I will settle with soft kisses and hugs for now, I need them. You both were gone again for a few days.”

  Dumadin's face clouded at her words, “Yeah, my heart is about shot. If I had risked coming in before now I might not have survived to come back again. Terets was supposed to tell you...”

  Gently placing a finger on his lips Alvira spoke, “I know. It doesn't change the fact that I miss you when you are not here. I know you tell me you will be gone soon, but I have hopes and dreams. So please, no more talk about you leaving me for now.”

  Kittish wiped at her eyes and pulled Alvira to her, kissing her softly, “No matter what Alvira, I will be here with you as much as I can.”

  When the kiss broke Alvira met her eyes and asked only a single thing, “Promise?”

  Kittish smiled the best she could, but it was half pain and half joy, “To the best of my ability, yes, I promise.”

  Alvira's smile was bright but had an edge to it neither of the other two could place. “That is more than I should be able to ask for. Would you stay with me always too, Dumadin, if you could?”

  Dumadin's smile was bittersweet, “If I could Alvira, yes. I want nothing more than to be able to live with the two women who bring me the greatest joy I've ever known.”

  Alvira's head tilted forward causing her long hair to obscure her face but the sound of small sobs was clearly audible. “Thank you both. You have no idea how much that means to me. To go from being a non-entity to being loved by you both and being able to return that love to you.”

  The duo wrapped her up, forming an Alvira sandwich as the wagon rolled on up the trail. Small words of endearment and love were exchanged for a while as they cuddled.

  After some time Alvira finally spoke again, her voice soft. “Bjorn wants to stop at the shrine you had made first. He wants to be sure that the Messengers and other adventurers see it. He thinks they will probably all leave once we reach the castle.”

  Dumadin shrugged, “That’s fine with me, the canyon has enough room for all the wagons.”

  The trio of lovers made small talk about the Caravan’s progress over the last few days, until the guard told them the last gate was in sight. Alvira went out the front to take over driving and the other two joined her as the dwarven guard got down to rejoin his fellow guards.

  Not long after, the caravan rolled through the last gate and into the box canyon where the small lake was. Dumadin smiled looking at the entryway to the castle proper and the smaller arch that led to the memorial.

  As the wagons came to a halt at Bjorn's call, Dumadin jumped down and walked towards the lead wagon with Alvira and Kittish trailing him. Trailing behind the trio came the other members of the Bananas.

  “Good, you made it,” Bjorn greeted Dumadin shaking his hand firmly. “I take it Alvira passed my request along to you?”

  “Yes, she did Bjorn,” Dumadin replied, “shall we?”

  Turning to the crowd of NPCs and playe
rs, Bjorn announced in a loud clear voice easily heard by all those present. “Friends, Family and Adventurers. We have arrived at the Stronghold of the Bananas. We thank all of you who have traveled with us over the last two weeks and helped to bring us safely to our new home.”

  A boisterous cheer went up as he paused, bolstered by the notification appearing to all the players.

  Quest completed: Defend the Townsfolk

  Receive: Gold or reputation per day spent defending the townsfolk. Speak with Bjorn tomorrow to collect your reward.

  Once the cheer died back down Bjorn continued speaking. “This place is our new home and we will have all the shops open by tomorrow for you. However, before we even get there...”

  A bright flash of light interrupted him as the three Devs appeared, floating gently above the crowd. As they landed Bjorn eyed Jazzy with a crooked grin.