World At War

by Dave Willmarth

  All three men in room looked shocked. Michael recovered first. “And you believed him?”

  “Of course I believed him! Why would he lie about such a thing? And the pain in his eyes. There was no way he was faking that. You rich people, you think you control the world. You sacrifice us like we’re peasants, then pay for the best lawyers and buy off judges and politicians so you never pay for your actions!”

  “ENOUGH!!” Richard’s voice thundered through the room as he slammed both hands down on his desk and rose to his feet. He leaned forward, his face growing red and his expression deadly.

  “You stupid little bitch! A cute boy told you a sob story, one that he made up, by the way, and you agree to help him kill people who’ve never done anything to anyone?” He looked as if he were about to crawl over the desk and strangle her. She tried to step back, but Talbott held her in place.

  “Matthew’s mother was indeed killed. She was a great lady, and beloved by all of us. One of our original crew. She was family.” Richard’s voice grew ragged, grief warring with his anger. “There was no war zone. She attended a tech conference with my wife, here in the US. A simple industry conference to discuss trends in VR tech, among other things. My wife was a speaker. There was no threat, no reason to suspect any danger whatsoever.” He stopped leaning over the desk and sat back in his chair.

  “Seshat… Miriam. Matthew’s mother. She was upstairs in the hotel while my wife was speaking in one of the ballrooms. A crazy man with a bomb walked in, shouted something about technology being evil, and set off the bomb. My wife was among the first killed. Matthew’s mother was trapped in the rubble for a while before she died as well. He blames us for her death, because like the rest of us, he can’t wrap his mind around the senseless nature of it.”

  Jenni growled and tried to lunge at him. Again, Talbott easily restrained her. “Lies!! You’d say anything to save your own skin!”

  Michael snorted. “Save it from what? From you? A foolish little girl who’s thrown her life away for nothing? An angry boy who thinks killing innocents will somehow erase his pain? Or that vengeance will bring back our loved ones?”

  He motioned for Richard to get up from his chair, then for Talbott to put Jenni into it. When she was in position, he activated Richard’s desk interface. Pulling up a search engine, he said, “Go ahead. Type in her name. Miriam’s. Read for yourself.”

  Jenni sulkily typed in the information and hit ‘SEARCH.’ Immediately, several holographic windows appeared in front of her. News stories about Jupiter Tech that featured Miriam in some way. Stories about awards she received from women’s and business associations. And several stories about the bombing. The young woman read them, one after another, shaking her head. “This can’t be right. You’ve done this! You’ve paid for fake news articles!” She swiped her hand to the left and cleared all the windows away.

  Richard, still fuming, took a step toward her. Talbott held him back with one hand. “Easy, boss.”

  Michael answered, “Why? Why in the world would we do that? The bombing was carried out by an anti-tech terrorist organization called Light of Truth. We were not suspects. Were not involved in any way, other than losing our family members in the blast. You think we’d go to all the trouble and expense to create fake news stories just to convince a stupid little girl like you?”

  He was interrupted by Richard. The man’s voice growled out his rage. “You are only here because I wanted to know why you would help a psycho like Matthew. And because we want to know his plans. Other than that, you are meaningless. I don’t care what you believe or don’t believe. It’s clear you’re just another of the morons that Howard and Matthew have conned into doing their dirty work. I’ve no need to convince you of anything. This is what’s going to happen. You’re going to sit there and tell us everything you know. Write it down. Draw us pictures if you have to. And in return, I’ll recommend that you only receive a life sentence. Refuse to help us, and I’ll become exactly the rich asshole you’ve accused me of being. I’ll pay the best investigators, the best lawyers, the most prestigious professional witnesses to make damned sure you get the death penalty. Then I’ll attend your execution. Do you have family? I’ll bring them to watch you die, and laugh as they push the drugs into your arm. My laughter and the shocked tears of your family will be the last thing you hear.”

  Jenni leaned back in the chair as his face inched closer and closer. Her eyes were wide and tears rolled down her face. Michael and Talbott both looked shocked as well. The two men glanced at each other, both wondering if they should interfere. After a moment, Michael shook his head.

  Jenni looked up at Michael and Talbott, avoiding Richard’s accusing gaze and hoping for some help. Both men just gave her hard looks and remained silent. Her gaze dropped to her hands as she removed them from the desk and clasped them together in her lap. Her shoulders began to shake as she broke down and cried quietly.

  Richard showed no mercy. “You can cry later. Start talking. What did Matthew want you to do for him? How are you helping?”

  Jenni didn’t speak for a while. Talbott reached down and touched a button on the desk’s interface to start recording what she had to say.

  After a few deep, ragged breaths, she began to speak. “I’m… I’m sorry. I believed him. I believed you were killers. He was just so…” She trailed off, not bothering to finish the sentence.

  “He plans to blow up Olympus. He’s been smuggling explosives into the compound for months. Stashed here on the grounds. He used some of it in the lab where Dayle was killed. But only a little bit. He’s got twenty times that much still. I hid it for him in the woods near the lake. He just told me to plant bombs that would take out the servers and this tower, and a few other places, making sure to kill you and Alexander. And to take out as many others as possible.”

  She actually sounded ashamed as she finished the last part. “I was going to do it, too. For him. For Matt. I’m not even sure why.”

  Talbott stepped in, interrogation being part of his job. He began by asking, “Where exactly are the explosives?”

  He pulled up an aerial map of the compound and zoomed in a bit on the lake region. “And how is he getting in and out of Olympus?”

  *****

  Chapter 13

  Into the Belly of the Beast

  Alexander put all his unshaped dragon pins into a cloth bag and dropped it off at the smithy. The apprentices there knew what to do with them by now. He left instructions for them to be finished as quickly as possible and given to Lola for distribution.

  The sun was nearing its drop behind the forest treetops and the evening meal would be served soon. After dinner, they would hold a memorial for the friends and fellow citizens they lost in battle.

  Alexander was surprised to find Blix sitting alone at a dining table. The little gnome banker was looking glum. “Blix. What is wrong, my friend? You look like somebody just cleaned out your bank.”

  Blix looked up and gave Alexander a half smile. “No, no. Everything is fine with the bank. In fact, many of our citizens just deposited significant sums of gold they received for defending the keep.” Blix passed a log book over for Alexander to inspect.

  Alexander took a quick look, not really interested. He did see that something like a hundred Elysians had each deposited several hundred gold that day.

  “It looks like business is good, Blix! Why the long face?”

  “During the battle, I sat in the bank. Safe and secure while so many of my fellow Elysians gave their lives. I wasn’t always a banker, you know. I used to be an adventurer, like you. Until I took an arrow to the knee. After that, I became a banker because it runs in my family.” The little gnome produced a pair of daggers out of nowhere, showing them to Alexander before making them disappear again. “But I still know how to fight. I should have been out there today.”

  Alexander had to strain not to laugh at the phrasing. He looked up into the sky, winking at whatever devs might be watching. He quietly
whispered, “Well played, working that in!”

  Turning back to Blix, he tried to offer some solace. “We all have our jobs to do here, Blix. Yours is to run the bank. To protect the financial health of our kingdom and its people. And yes, sometimes that may mean physically protecting the bank. You did the right thing, staying there. If the enemy had broken through the inner wall, it would have been up to you to defend the bank building and the gold inside.”

  He patted the grieving gnome on the shoulder gently. “We lost good people today. And that is hard to accept. Each of us will blame ourselves in some way. That’s only natural. But none of this is your fault, Blix. You bear no responsibility. If you wish to help, then work with Lola to make sure that the families of the dead are taken care of.”

  Blix brightened up at that. “I can do that! You have funds set aside for death benefits? Bah! Of course you do.” The gnome jumped up, happy to be given a chance to be useful. “We’ll set up accounts for the families who don’t have them. Transfer the funds immediately! Give them some gold now for immediate needs. Maybe loan them funds and help them to start new businesses…” His voice faded as he hurried off to find Lola.

  Alexander watched the gnome until he disappeared inside the donjon, his heart lightening a bit to see the once-businesslike and standoffish banker embracing his new life as an Elysian.

  Jules appeared at his side, seemingly out of nowhere. Alexander barely flinched, growing used to his girlfriend sneaking up on him. “Well, hello there.” He smiled at her, pulling her into a hug. He held here there until she began to squirm. The moment he let her go, she stepped back a half step and held up a bundle.

  “I… thought maybe we could put this up somewhere? Near the grove, I mean. If you don’t think they’d mind…” She sounded unsure of herself as she handed over the item.

  Alexander took the cloth and began to unfold it. Seeing that it was quite large, he moved to a table and unfurled it across the surface.

  It was another banner, with a light grey background and bordered with black and red scrollwork. In the center, a vibrant green hatchling surrounded by a faint golden halo. The dragonling had a faint dragon smile on its rounded snout and eyes that seemed to gaze directly into Alexander’s soul.

  “Jules! This is… this is beautiful! I mean, I know you’ve been practicing your tailoring with your dresses and banners and… wow!” He reached out to touch the dragonling. The stitching was amazingly compact, making it look almost as if the image had been drawn onto the banner instead of sewn.

  Jules smiled softly at him. “Thank you. And yeah. This actually leveled my skill up to Journeyman. It… gives a buff. I’m not even sure how I did it.”

  Alexander used Analyze on the cloth.

  Tribute Banner: Green Dragonling

  Item Quality: Unique

  Stats: Morale +10, Keep Defense +10

  This beautiful tribute to a life cut short will serve as a reminder to all Elysians of their victory over the forces of darkness. And the evil deeds of those who serve the dark. In times of battle, the banner will boost the morale of Elysia’s defenders, making them more effective and increasing the keep’s overall defense rating.

  Alexander put an arm around Jules and pulled her close as he admired her work. Remembering what she’d said a moment earlier, he reassured her. “I’m sure Kai and Lia won’t mind a bit. Thank you, Jules. This is wonderful.”

  She gave him a peck on the cheek and disentangled herself before disappearing. He gently folded the banner and went to find Silverbeard. The old dwarf was in his office, dealing with the inevitable reports and paperwork that followed a battle.

  Alexander handed him the banner. When the chancellor had opened it and nodded in approval, Alexander asked, “Can you make sure this gets properly displayed somewhere near the memorial obelisk?”

  “O’course, lad. This be a fitting tribute to the young one. I’d be proud ta help.”

  “Anything you need me to take care of right now?”

  “Aye. Two things. First, ye need to figure a plan to replace the citizens we lost today. Elysia be growin’ fast, and her population be growin’ along with her. But we ain’t so big as to be able to shrug off the loss o’ so many at once. A dozen or so o’ those killed today were guards here at the keep. Both human and dwarf.”

  Alexander sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “I know. And I have no idea where to find them. The other cities will all have lost people too. And trained fighters are hard enough to find among the citizens without those kinds of losses. I’ll think about it. If you have any ideas, please speak up.” Silverbeard stroked his beard and nodded thoughtfully.

  “You said two things. What was the second?”

  “What? Oh! Ye need to be gettin’ yer raid party ready. Ye should go tomorrow, first thing.”

  “We’re ready. In fact, the party will be bigger than I originally planned. We’re going to take some minotaurs with us. And orcs, if they wish to join us.” Alexander frowned as he continued, “But shouldn’t we wait until we’re sure our allies survived their fights? I mean, I can’t activate any of the portals right now. But they might need some aid from us when the portals do open.”

  “Aye lad, they just might. But they don’t need yerself or yer fighters to deliver aid. Lola and meself can handle that. We need you lot ta put an end ta them drow once ‘n for all. Before they have time to organize another attack.”

  Seeing that the old dwarf was right, Alexander didn’t argue. Instead, he opened up guild chat. “Alright, folks. We’re gonna hit the drow stronghold in the morning. So get yourselves ready. We’ll be taking some minotaur fighters with us. Maybe orcs, too. Probably orcs, too. Doubt I could stop them from coming at this point. As well as the dragons.”

  With that settled, he went up to his chambers. He wanted a little alone time before dinner. His people would be looking to him to set an example. To be strong and kingly. Whatever that meant.

  There was an itch in the back of his brain. He was worried about Stormforge and the other allied cities. The ring he wore allowed King Charles or Captain Redmond to speak to him, but not for him to reach out to them.

  The RING! Alexander smacked himself on the forehead. The Ring of Communication you made and gave to the captain. You never tested it. Now’s as good a time as any!

  Alexander pulled out the last of the three rings he’d made. Putting it on his finger, he said, “Captain? Can you hear me?”

  There was no response. He tried channeling some mana into the ring and spoke again. “Captain? Are you there?”

  Still nothing. Alexander shook his head. This was the disadvantage of experimenting with skills and spells. One doesn’t get the mental instruction manual that comes with the spell when it’s taught by a mentor or trainer. He’d figured out how to make the rings, but didn’t have a clue how to use them.

  “Ah, well. Guess it’s time for more experiments.” He took the ring off and placed it in the palm of his hand. Closing his eyes, he channeled mana into the ring. At the same time, he pictured the ring he wanted to reach. He focused on the memory of handing the ring to the captain. Then he tried to picture a sort of thread connecting the two rings.

  For a long while, nothing happened. He began to worry that channeling too much mana into the ring would cause it to explode. Just as he was about to quit, he felt a sort of give in the pressure of the built-up mana.

  Skill Level Up! Enchanting +5!

  You have managed to connect two enchanted items that were created by you. Normally a difficult task for beginners in itself, you managed to connect items physically separated by ten miles or more.

  Alexander pumped a fist in the air as he felt the connection between the two rings take hold. When the flow of mana equalized, he spoke again.

  “Captain! Can you hear me?”

  This time there was an answer! He heard the captain’s voice, along with the sounds of battle in the background.

  “Alexander? Is that you? Where are yo
u?”

  “I’m at my keep. Just figured out how to make these rings work. We have defeated the drow here, but the portals don’t work. I think Odin wants us each to fend for ourselves.”

  There was a long pause, filled only with screams and grunting and the sounds of metal on metal. Finally, the captain spoke again. “Things are rough here, but we’re holding. We held off one wave, barely. A second wave has hit us. Many of the adventurers were killed in the first wave, and are only now returning. My men are holding the wall with the help of the mages. It will be a close thing.”

  “Please let me know the moment it’s over. We’ll send every healer we have.” Alexander began to pace. Stormforge was like a second home to him. He and his original guildmates had started the game there, established their guild house, and become friends of the realm. Now its citizens were being killed and there was nothing he could do. And at this point, even if he and his players rode for the city, he doubted they’d get there in time to be useful.

  “AAAAARGH!” Alexander shouted at the room around him. He kept trying to tell himself the citizens who were dying in these battles were just bits of code. But it wasn’t working. His mind treated this world as being just as real as the world outside the pods. His adrenaline was pumping, his brain telling him to get into the fight!

  Looking up at the ceiling, he said, “GM1, we need to talk about this immersion. Or, I guess, the sync level. Maybe put some kind of governor on it. I don’t think whatever level I’m at is healthy.”

  Sitting at the desk in his study, he tried to think about anything other than the battle happening at the walls of Stormforge. When that failed, he imagined ways that he might help. A nuke would be good. Or at the very least some grenades.

  A thought struck him. He removed a few of the larger diamonds from inventory. Holding one in his hand, he filled it with Wizard’s Fire. But not the standard spell. As he poured mana into the gem, he imagined the fire being so hot that it would melt stone. Turn flesh to ash. He focused on that heat, fanning it until it glowed white-hot. When he felt the gem push back against the flow of mana, he stopped. Opening his eyes, he found the diamond glowing with a flickering purple light.