“Sorry, guys, I didn’t know when it was going to happen, but hints kept popping up as prompts.”
“Eh, don’t sweat it,” Jimmy mumbled through a mouthful of fries. “Guess you’re a demon player now, huh?’
“Yeah, but it was really fun playing with you guys while I did,” she beamed. “Thanks!”
Harrison waved at her as she ducked into the other lab. “You know,” Jimmy said, swallowing down, “there’s quite a few of us in the guild that could turn like that.”
“Yeah, guess so, but I haven’t seen any hints that pointed in that direction yet. Have you? You’re an exorcist, too.”
“Nope, nothing. I’d be more worried about all you half-demons,” he teased.
Harrison pondered on that as Tyler hooked him up again. Was that what all of Tavin’s warnings were about? Heeding her words and being on a dangerous road? Here he was thinking it had something to do with what was happening in real life, but in reality she was simply throwing him warnings for not turning down the wrong path in the game. When he was back in game, he would have to ask Benji and the other half-demons if she said the same lines to them, or if Bishop was the only one they needed to worry about.
He lay back on the table and Tyler slipped the headgear on. Harrison closed his eyes and waited to open them again in the world he was quickly wishing he could stay in permanently.
***
Bishop checked over his gear to be sure everything was repaired before leaving the crafting hall. He set his fast travel ability for Weston and waited outside for the rest of the members to be ready to go.
Their plan was to reach the first crossroads within the hour and see what quests were offered there before making a more thorough plan for leveling. Going by the map, the first crossroads were not outside the next town but near the High Ridge Sanctuary Bronson told Bishop about. Hillside was beyond those two points, so he doubted he would see Tavin again today.
“I am loving this new spear,” Maverick said, as she spun it around and around, leaving the crafting hall. “It’s so damn light, yet the damage is incredible. Might actually get me to play with a weapon more than my claws. Hope all the dungeons have drops like this.”
“I have a feeling they will. We’ll have to pick up more members before we do the next one, though.”
“Yeah, well we have time. Still have to find the door.”
“Where do you think it’ll be? At another outpost?”
“I don’t think he would make it that predictable,” Maverick argued. “Are we going to stick to the main road?”
Bishop glanced at the map. The only points plotted on it past the eastern most reach of Weston were the Sanctuary, Crossroads, and Hillside, two of which were off the main road.
“I think the best idea would be to hit the crossroads first unless we see something on the way, and then go from there. If we have time, we might reach the Sanctuary today and log out there. Looks like there’s an inn and an Auction House.”
“Right, I’ll go check on the others real quick so we can get a move on.”
Bishop studied the map and zoomed out so he could see all of Samar. The mountains were on the complete opposite end of the map and, between them, unexplored territories with eight more dungeons to discover and eight more Demon Lords lurking in their depths.
“What do you think, boy?” he asked Willy, showing the map to the wolf. “Which way?”
Willy glanced at it then yipped excitedly.
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too,” Bishop said, and he closed out the map, scratching Willy behind the ears. The rest of the guild emerged, repaired and ready to go. Only a few of them had mounts so they settled for walking out the eastern gates of Weston and following the main road towards the first crossroad. They passed several other players, most of them busy getting ready to party up and take on the Demon Lord Azriel. Bishop hoped they would have more luck than his group did, but his chest still swelled with pride knowing they made it on the first try and they all still trusted him to be their leader.
The road turned muddy not long after they left Weston behind and the sky darkened. Lightning flashed overhead as thunder shook the ground beneath their feet.
Bishop’s hand kept a tight hold on his bow in case they were walking into some sort of trap. The only baddies they encountered, though, were a few random packs of orcs hiding out in the trees and demon tainted bears. His feet wanted to wander into the trees, but they had a plan and he couldn’t simply wander off on his own if he was trying to be the leader. With the sky so overcast, he wasn’t sure if they would reach the crossroad in time to meet with one of the King’s advisors. Thankfully, as the stone columns came into view, they saw a man in noble garb with a two guard escort climb out of a black and gold carriage.
“Think he’s the advisor,” Bishop mentioned. “Everyone sees him, right?”
“I think we’re good to proceed,” Jimmy announced and he went to talk to the advisor. The quest tracker updated for all of them as the advisor pointed them towards the north where an estate lay, overrun with imps and other demonic beings. “Sweet, who wants to go kill some imps?”
Maverick growled as she shifted into beast mode, scratching at the ground with her claws.
“I’d say Maverick’s ready to go.”
Bishop told Jimmy to lead the way, and the group turned north, taking another road leading through the trees and running alongside a creek. The estate appeared in the distance, the high peaks of the mansion overrun with imps of all sizes along with several demon hounds stalking the perimeter.
“Giles, I think it’s time for some target practice,” Bishop mused, pulling his bow over his body. “What do you say to picking off the imps?”
“It would be my pleasure.”
As the two hunters set off into the trees to find a good place to attack from, the rest of the group waited near the road, ready to draw out the first few demon hounds to kill. Everything ranged between levels eleven and thirteen, so it would be good XP for the group.
Bishop and Giles easily picked off the imps, Bishop using his Fiery Arrow more and Giles getting a chance to try out some of his trapping shots for his spec. The others made their way around the estate, killing demon hounds and picking up several bounty quests for imp teeth and demon claws along the way.
As the group moved, Bishop and Giles shifted through the trees with them, keeping up a steady cover fire for the group. After the dungeon that morning, clearing the grounds of the estate was easy and, soon enough, the last imp disintegrated into a pile of ash at Maverick’s feet.
“Well, that’s a nice chunk of change for us all,” Jimmy mused, as the coins clinked into their bags. “And two quests to turn in when we reach Hillside. Not bad so far.”
Bishop agreed, glancing past the estate up the path that disappeared into the trees. Several tall hills blocked the horizon and a quick look at his map showed him the Sanctuary was that direction. He was about to point it out to the others when a high pitched ringing filled his ears. He clapped his hands over them, trying to tune it out when everything suddenly went dark.
Harrison opened his eyes, cursing at the roiling in his gut from being yanked out of the game.
“Sorry about that,” Tyler said, quickly lifting off the headgear. “There was a glitch in the programming, pulled everyone out. Sit up slowly, nice even breaths.”
Harrison closed his eyes, hoping it would help the spinning, but it only made it worse. “Shit, what type of glitch was that?”
“Bad one, bug was detected inside the system.”
“Think I’m gonna hurl,” Jimmy groaned from the other side of the station.
“Suck it up,” Harrison grunted, even though the idea of puking wasn’t far from his mind either. “How long are we supposed to feel like crap?”
Tyler cringed. “Not sure, this never happened during our trials.”
“Perfect.” Harrison leaned his head back and contented himself with counting ceiling tiles until his stomac
h calmed down and the room stopped spinning. When he thought he could stand upright without falling over or being sick, he had Tyler help him undo the straps and he stepped away from the computers. “Guess we’re finished for the day?”
“Dennis is going to hold a meeting during dinner and go over what happened, but looks like the system will be down until they can sort out the bugs.”
Harrison thanked Tyler and asked Jimmy if he wanted to gather the others. “Guess we can relax for a while today, probably a good idea.”
“Man I heard two groups were in the middle of the dungeon when it happened,” Alana said, as she hustled over to join them. “They’ll have to start from the beginning again. That sucks.”
“Could be worse I guess.”
Harrison and the others found each other in the crowd as they slipped from the lab. Dinner wasn’t for another two hours, so they meandered outside to their usual spot in the gardens to enjoy the late afternoon overcast sky and sip on a few drinks. They talked about the game for a little while before the conversation turned to asking questions about each other. Harrison hoped they wouldn’t reach him before dinner time rolled around. Delving into his dark past of late was not something he was ready to do with too many people.
He laughed as Jimmy talked about how many brothers he grew up with and that was why he started playing, when Harrison glanced towards the all glass windows of the hall. Dennis was there with several security guards, two techs, and several people dressed in the casual clothing of the players. Three of them he didn’t recognize, but the fourth was Rodney.
Harrison’s heart pounded in his chest as Dennis motioned for them to escort the players out of sight. Was Rodney the reason for the glitch in the game? Harrison assumed Paris sent him to keep an eye on him, but maybe he sent him in as a backup in case the first man couldn’t get the job done. If they found out Rodney, what was to stop him from blabbing about Harrison, too?
“Hey man, what’s up?” Jimmy asked. “You look sick or something.”
“Nah, just still off from the glitch. That was crazy, being yanked out like that,” he said, offering a nervous laugh and rejoining the conversation the best he could.
“Not as bad as dying though.” Giles rubbed at his chest. “Don’t think I could ever get used to this. Hurts too damn much.”
“Good motivation to stay alive, then,” Harrison muttered.
“Well at least clearing the estate was easy,” Benji added. “Guess I was expecting the quests in the next zone to be harder than that last.”
“Don’t jinx us, man,” Shamus muttered. “Now we’re going to run into some random boss that’s going to eat us alive or something.”
They all piled on Benji, tackling him into the small patch of grass and rolling around until Felicity stepped outside. “Dinner will be served in twenty minutes, but first if you all could please find your way to the auditorium. Mr. Crawford has an announcement he would like to make to you all. Thank you.”
“Wonder if they figured out what the glitch was from?” Alana wondered, as they filed inside after everyone else.
Harrison fell to the back of their small group, hoping he could disappear with the other players. But the second they were all seated inside and Dennis took the stage, the older man’s eyes went straight to his seat in the very back.
“Good evening players. My, it has been quite an exciting day. I simply wanted to bring you all here this evening to let you know the game will be up and running again come morning so you will not have to wait too long to continue on with your adventures in Samar.”
A polite scattering of applause followed by a few whoops and hollers followed his words.
“However, with that being said, I would like to remind everyone of one thing. While you are here, participating in this beta test, you are under contract. Everyone received a brochure listing out the rules and regulations for taking part in this game. If for some reason you find you are unable to follow these rules in any way,” he said sternly, his gaze locking onto Harrison’s, “you will be escorted from the premises and charges will be pressed.”
Whispering and murmurs met his words, and Harrison tried to sink lower into his seat, but Dennis’ gaze never wavered. Then, suddenly, the old man clapped his hands and grinned.
“Now then, I believe dinner is ready. Do enjoy, and I look forward to seeing you all back in the game bright and early tomorrow.”
“What the hell do you think that was all about?” Jimmy asked Harrison.
“Not sure. Guess a few of the players messed with the equipment or something, caused the glitch.” He knew for a fact that had to be it, otherwise there would be no reason to pull aside players and talk to them.
As they ate dinner, Harrison kept his head on a swivel, searching the cafeteria for any sign of Rodney. The man was nowhere to be found. He wanted to take this as a sign that he was off the hook and things were looking up for him, but when he returned to his room that night, a message awaited him on the pager from Paris: I know it was you. Keep your eyes open, Harper. We are not finished.
“Know it was me?” Harrison repeated. “I didn’t do anything!”
He chucked the pager across the room and watched it shatter. Chest rising and falling with each deep breath, he grimaced, wondering what he was going to do now. He had almost three weeks to figure it out. He knew he couldn’t do what that bastard wanted, though. No, not a chance in hell. He would not betray his newfound family or the ally he made in Dennis Crawford. Whatever Rodney got caught doing was on his head.
Harrison was looking out for himself now, himself and his guild. No one else mattered after that.
Chapter 11
Bishop stretched out his arms as he waited for the others to log back in. They were still at the estate. Thankfully, everything they had killed was still dead, so they weren’t entering the game in the middle of a mob. Harrison had been tempted to track down Dennis last night after he had broken the pager from Paris and confess everything, but he thought better of it for now. If they didn’t know anything yet about his involvement with Rodney, then he was going to keep his mouth shut.
“Well, that’s lucky,” Maverick said, appearing beside Bishop.
“Yeah, thought so too. The Sanctuary is just up on those hills. Keep to the same plan and head there?”
“Don’t see why not.”
They waited as everyone else logged in and checked their gear over. The turn in quests were for Hillside, so they took a vote. Finally, they decided to wait to turn them in and make their way through the trees and up the path leading to the Sanctuary. They killed a few random bears along the way, collected ore and herbs for the players who needed it. In short, for the most part, the morning was uneventful.
Bishop was wondering if they were even going to reach the Sanctuary so far up in the hills before lunch when panicked yells reached their ears. They fell silent, drawing their weapons as the yelling grew louder and sounds of clashing swords and ringing bells echoed down from the hill top.
“Bishop?” Maverick asked, gripping her spear.
“Shift,” he told her. “Get ready for a fight! Quick and quiet, let’s move!”
Having no idea of what they were running into, Bishop kept his fingers on the string of his bow ready to attack whatever came their way. What he didn’t expect were several robed figures springing towards them in fear. When they spotted Bishop and the others, they skidded to a stop in the mud and leaves, toppling over in a heap.
“What’s happening?” Bishop asked the first NPC he hoisted to his feet.
The priest, from the look of his robes, shook his head, trembling. “The demons! They came for the Sanctuary, there were too many!”
“What demons?”
“The demon soldiers! So many of them and they opened a portal in the courtyard,” another NPC said, voice shaking. “Beasts were pouring through as we escaped. We…we were the only ones to make it. The Sanctuary…it’s fallen!”
Immediately, a prompt appeared bef
ore Bishop, a new quest to take back the Sanctuary. He accepted as did the others. But as he read the parameters of the quest, his heart sank. “There’s demon players there. They’ve taken it over and if we can’t get it back, it gets them one step closer to taking the lead in their storyline.”
“Did you notice what else it does?” Jimmy muttered. “As long as they control it, all heroes in this zone take an armor deduction. That’s crap.”
“It’s only crap if we can’t win it back,” Benji pointed out. “Come on, let’s go and check it out.”
Jimmy groaned, but Bishop was in favor of at least scouting out how much of a fight they would be facing. They weren’t sure how many players were actually there, so they could have an easy time of getting it back if it was only two or three. He expected the NPCs to remain behind, yet they trudged along with Bishop and the rest of them back towards the Sanctuary.
As the trees cleared and the front gate came into view, Bishop held up his hand, bringing them to a stop.
“Check the wall,” he whispered.
Six guards, not players, marched along the top of the wall, jagged blades in hand. Behind them a bright green glow was lighting up the inn Sanctuary. More demons stalked near the front gate along the walls with demonic hounds following close behind. They watched from the safety of the trees and saw two players come into view along the top of the wall, followed by another and another.
“I’m up to seven players,” Jimmy hissed in his ear. “That’s a lot of heat to take on, man.”
Bishop was about to agree when a roar startled him and they all jumped with a curse. A figure loomed up from the inner Sanctuary, stretching its head towards the heavens as fire dripped from its open maw.
“Holy shit,” Bishop muttered in shock. “That’s a dragon!”
“There’s dragons in this game?” Jimmy gasped. “Come on, man! How the hell are we supposed to take out a dragon? That thing is huge! I can’t even see its health level!”
The Wraith of Valenastrious: A LitRPG Epic (World of Samar Book 1) Page 16