Continue Online (Part 2, Made)

by Stephan Morse

  Edward was up and looking around. He picked over fallen monsters and portions of their bodies disappeared. Soon the room was strangely free of enemies.

  “We clear?” TinkerHell had managed to barely hold onto her smile.

  “Think so.” Elane said. “Edward? How’s it look?”

  “Like pure gold.”

  “Count it up. Make sure Grant gets a share.” She waved one hand in my direction.

  “Yeah. Good job, Hermes.” TinkerHell said. She fell to the ground and just laid there.

  At the end, pieces of monsters and rubble lay around us. TinkerHell lay collapsed on the floor and SheHulk was grumbling while bandaging wounds. Edward cheerfully announced all the skill increases he received. I myself felt conflicted with both exhaustion and elation.

  “What the heck were you humming?” Elane asked again. Her cleanup was complete. One arm hung over the shield as she recovered from the battle.

  “I don’t know.” Something catchy. Something filled with bangs and explosions. It was probably a symphony from ages ago. The beat helped me move, helped me zone out just a little from the violence.

  Boxes hung off to the side of my screen. They were the only thing that separated this game from what was real. That was their function and I had utterly disregarded them during combat. Even now, there were so many pointless pieces of text being displayed. Skills went up, stats went up, but none really mattered. I flicked them away, even one about a [Battle Hum].

  What did that say about me? That I didn’t care about all the system messages? This, game, wasn’t about the game. It was about trying to make something of myself here in another world. One free of what I was in the past.

  This was my first deliberate step in a long, long time.

  Session Twenty Four – Light’s End

  We managed to spend the next few hours winding through tunnels before reaching a place that TinkerHell knew. During that time, I learned that all three had been playing this game since near release. Which is why they seemed so comfortable handling anything coming our way. TinkerHell made us stop and rest up while we discussed the best course of action.

  “How much further?” SheHulk asked.

  “Too far. We need to go through the town.” The blonde shook her head slowly.

  I was just happy with being able to see. Joining them in combat was getting a little bit easier too. Nothing, so far, involved more than a pack or two of the monsters at one time. Progress was being made. There was something amazingly cathartic about hitting stuff with a giant sword. The woman I had met in [Haven Valley], HotPants, had the right idea with regards to that. Edward took it to a whole new level with his constant stream of skill announcements.

  “The town is a death trap. You know it, I know it, even with Grant we’ll never make it.” SheHulk said.

  “Ladies, it’s there or failure.” Edward was pressed against one of the passageways that led out of this cavern.

  “The town?” I asked.

  “Gobbler town. They all come from a central point in this wing of the dungeon. It should be along this tunnel.” TinkerHell waved the staff at the left most exit. “We go through, skirt the edges and get to the right path.”

  “Straight on ‘til morning.” Edward sounded happy. “Let’s do it.”

  “We’re going to die.” SheHulk grumped. She had been taking off pieces of armor and rubbing some liquid on them. The items seemed to be in better shape afterward. Did armor repair come in potion form? My poor cloak could use some magical healing.

  “I’m all for it. Edward’s for it, what’s your vote, SheHulk?”

  “I’m just here to protect you, if you want to go, I’ll go,” She said. Elane’s face twisted up a little bit while she spoke. Something about the line bothered her.

  My mind was only half paying attention. I was still hopeful for the future. Maybe the Voices would let me get to a city soon. This destination of ours, [Broken Mountain Pass] hopefully would have people. Trainers, anything that let me work for a few more useful skills. This Blade Dancer Path was kind of neat. I had been trying to activate the skills during our last few fights. Continue had shown me a class, or whatever, that was very much up my alley.

  “Your call, Hermes,” TinkerHell said.

  Crud. Today, as loosely defined in reality, was shaping up to be a long day. In the real world, there were roughly ten hours left to reach the pass. Game time equated to a day and eight hours. There was no way to do this without running a risk.

  Plus, what would happen if I lost the title? My choices, according to TinkerHell’s explanation, were to fail, or risk it and maybe succeed, maybe fail. I wouldn’t bother asking the Voices above any questions until they answered my other one. Dusk’s survival was still a questionable factor.

  “I’m on a time limit, so I don’t have a choice.” I paused. “Only, if I die, can you guys make sure Dusk gets out okay?”

  Dusk gave an inquisitive chirp of noise from my shoulder. He paced for a moment, tiny claws digging through the uncovered spots of the starter armor. My fingers reached up to rub the little guy’s head and try to calm him down. He nipped at one finger but gave in.

  “Is the tiny devil not bound?” Edward asked.

  “No. I’m still not sure what will happen.” And that kind of pissed me off. James, my personal Voice, should have provided an answer by now. The fact that he hadn’t made me worried.

  “Pets should have a summon spell of some sort. Doesn’t yours come with that?” TinkerHell said.

  “No. Dusk isn’t a pet, he’s a companion,” I said.

  “Ohhhhhh.” The blonde smiled. “That’s cool! I’ve never met anyone with a companion before.”

  “Nor have many others. They’re rare.” Edward said with a shrug. He seemed more interested in our conversation than the hallway he was guarding.

  “Please, just try to keep him alive for me, if things go south,” the [Messenger’s Pet] was distracted by the head rub. Only a cupcake would break him away from the moment.

  “Fine. Let’s go, we’re wasting game time.” Elane said. She rolled one shoulder and got the shield and mace ready to go. TinkerHell and Edward marched off fairly quickly with me taking up the rear. They decided that even though I carried a big sword, I was still too much of a newbie to front line anything.

  Honestly, they seemed more comfortable with their own group tactics. Inserting me into them was difficult. That or I was being subjected to the role of Carver once again. My back must have an ‘Escort me I’m clueless’ sign on it.

  “It’s about an hour’s walk down this tunnel. My map has a few turns but nothing too difficult.” TinkerHell was saying from up front. “We should be able to get your boy toy to the other end in time.”

  “She’s calling you a toy, mate.” Edward fell back a bit to talk to me.

  “I’ve been called worse.” Being an accountant all those years ago had subjected me to some rather creative names by angry rich people.

  “You and SheHulk then?”

  “No. We never did.” I answered Edwards question.

  “Good, I wouldn’t want to, you know, step on any toes.”

  SheHulk, or Elane, was grumbling in front of us. She could probably hear Edward talking about his intentions. At least the man was vaguely subtle in his wording. Declaring that he was out to ‘hit that’ would be disastrously funny.

  “That’s between you two. Elane and I gave it a try and failed.”

  “We didn’t fail, Grant, you killed any attempt we might have had by rambling about your dead ex,” SheHulk said. The gap between our party members had grown smaller as we walked.

  Both my eyes clinched shut. A tempo crawled into my brain as attempts to keep calm were made. Elane was just stating the truth, rudely, that’s all. My brain tried to formulate angry retorts. Each one was interrupted by thoughts of foot placement and arms. Dancing was a complicated task, and sometimes amazingly simple.

  “That’s rude, SheHulk,” TinkerHell said.


  “It’s still true.”

  “She’s right.” I admitted.

  “Still rude.” TinkerHell responded.

  “No. I, uhh, I wasn’t much fun to be around back then. Life, you know?” Airing my dirty laundry to a bunch of strangers wasn’t new but this also wasn’t the setting for it. Beers at the local inn would be better. Wait. No. Drinking was a bad idea. The fact that the thought even crossed my mind was a sign of how far my recovery had yet to go.

  “No worries, mate, we’re all here because of life issues.” Edward said with a twitch of his mustache.

  “I told you, Elane’s my sponsor.” Tink whispered.

  “I hope things are going well.” My response was vague and noncommittal. There was no good response to such an open-ended admission. TinkerHell could be sponsored for any number of issues. If Elane was doing it, then the issue was probably anger management.

  “They are, Hermes.” She responded.

  “Tink, your appointment’s today isn’t it?” SheHulk said suddenly talking over TinkerHell.

  “Oh. Oh yeah. You’re right. We’ve got time, I think.” The blonde said while tilting her head. She also seemed skilled in avoiding self-harm with that giant staff. I probably would have smacked myself twice just trying to make my face resemble hers.

  “No, you better not be late this time.”

  Now they were on a subject I knew a lot about. Being sponsored meant she had some sort of problem. Making appointments meant she was trying to fix the situation. Missing those would make recovery harder.

  “I don’t mind if you have to leave.”

  “No worries, Hermes, let’s see what we can get done. We’ve still got eleven hours to try and make it through before I have to go.”

  “We’re all decided then, we cut near the town?” Edward asked. He was etching a small pattern into the wall to pass the time.

  “God I hope the Gobbler Atlas isn’t in.”

  “It could be the Huck Twins or that petrified oak.” Edward and TinkerHell were talking back and forth too quickly for me.

  “Stupid. We don’t have a second tank.”

  “Or three healers.” Elane muttered.

  “Simply say the word, my dear ladies, I’ll provide all the healing…” There was a smack of Elane’s shield bashing into Edward. Stars once again formed above his character.

  “What’s his deal?” I asked.

  “Which part?” Tink’s head tilted in question which caused her hair to spill into a new position. Elane wore hers much shorter than the blonde in front of me.

  “All of it?”

  “The accent comes and goes because he’s trying to be British, plus he hasn’t managed to land SheHulk yet.” TinkerHell whispered. She was being much quieter while the other two walked down the cave pathway.

  “Oh, hold on!” TinkerHell suddenly yelled over my next attempted question. The whole thought process was none of my business anyway.

  “What?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Ghost Mushrooms! Finally. I thought we’d never find another batch.”

  “Really?” SheHulk seemed pleased. Edward was lost somewhere in the distance. “Well, this trip’s not a total waste. Divvy them up. We’ll watch your back.”

  “Alright.”

  [Ghost Mushroom]s made no sense to me. Their value was an unknown as was the location. Part of me wondered what they might taste like. TinkerHell seemed to be fiddling around with air on the wall nearby. SheHulk and I stood on either end of the hallway.

  I hummed mindlessly and tapped one foot. There was just enough hallway room to shuffle down and maybe do part of a line dance. It wasn’t the same without people around to clap. A tango was out. Swing would be a no go. The list went on and on.

  “Grant, knock it off.” Elane snapped.

  “No thanks.” I hummed happily. Dancing was what kept me going. Plus something about her was pissing me off. TinkerHell was at least friendly.

  “It is kind of catchy.” TinkerHell said from her place along the wall. She was bent over looking down near the ground. I squinted and tried to see whatever it was that had caught her attention.

  “Really, Grant?”

  I sighed then spread my arms helplessly. “I don’t see any ghost mushrooms.”

  “You don’t belong to any mage paths, so that’s standard.” Elane turned back and glared down the hallway. At least she didn’t outright accuse me of staring at TinkerHell’s rear end.

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “Because you’re new, and if you had learned any magic, you wouldn’t be blind down here.” Elane responded.

  “I’m blind down here because Dusk wouldn’t light a torch for me.”

  “It’s a good thing he didn’t. Fire is bad. The Ooze is attracted to heat.” Elane said. One of her feet was grinding into the dirt.

  “And body heat?” I asked. Dusk had implied through his chirps that there was a reason but the explanation was unclear. At least some of his thoughts were coming through clearer with the thought bubbles being present. They were probably tied to the Rank two unlock for him being a companion.

  “It’s not enough. At least for standard players.”

  We made a bit more small talk but nothing important. TinkerHell seemed perfectly willing to chat about all sorts of things in exchange for information about Dusk and how I got him. Most of my answers were vague because explaining that my boss had awarded me an Ultimate Edition was awkward enough. Following that with information about the Voices and my interactions there would sound insane.

  I stuck to simple things. Dusk attacked everything his size zealously. He loved sweets. He did not respond well to Sniffles the Second. The [Messenger’s Pet] was asleep and draped over one shoulder with his tiny tail latched around my neck.

  Completely out of the blue everything went haywire. There was a snap and my vision blurred sideways. Static crisscrossed my mind. Then the world went black. I tried to speak but couldn’t. My mouth wasn’t forming words correctly. The room spun. Room. Wait. That ceiling was familiar.

  “Nnnnghhh.” I fumbled one hand above my head. There. Small raised numbers signaling a countdown timer. For some reason, I had been ejected from the ARC device and brought back to the real world.

  “User Legate.” A voice said from the doorway of my bedroom. “User Legate, once you have regained complete awareness please let me know.”

  “Jeeves?” I croaked.

  “I understand if you are confused. There was a disconnect command issued from headquarters. If you have forgotten, I am your assigned Hal Pal unit.”

  “Nnngh.” I felt sick to my stomach. Part of my body was numb. An arm was completely unresponsive. Everything ached. I had forgotten how bad forced separations from the ARC could be.

  “Why. Why.” The questioning tone wasn’t coming to my words.

  “I have been advised there is an important message for you from Vice President Riley.”

  “Why. Why?” There. That did it. Clearly the fourth time was a charm. My fingers were still tracking the countdown. One minute, no, two. Eight minutes in-game.

  “Once you demonstrate significant coherence, a call will patch through.” Hal Pal said.

  I rolled out of the ARC and stumbled to the backroom. Nausea swept through me with each step. The Vice President of Trillium wanted to speak to me? There was no reason for that. No way had I done anything…

  Oh. My brain was working now. Trillium owned Continue Online. William Carver had been one of the game’s key players. Plus somehow I had gained a trait from the Voices. Either of those things was enough to warrant some attention. That was probably it.

  I scrubbed at the side of my face. A shave would be nice but there wasn’t enough time to fire up the equipment. One glass of water and a bite of energy bar went into my stomach rapidly. I paced, got some stretches in, and chewed quickly. Hal Pal hadn’t moved but he was watching every action.

  “Are you optimal, User Legate?”

  “Close enough.”
Lights behind Hal Pal’s eyes bobbed in time with a nod. Equipment in my front room fired up.

  “Affirmative. Confirming readiness with Trillium AI.” A logo for Trillium appeared on the wall. There was a slight bow to the projection. “Vice President available. Call projecting now.”

  “Mister Legate.” A female voice said. The woman on the screen was still vaguely fuzzy due to my recent ejection from the ARC.

  “Good-” I paused for a moment and tried to remember the time. “-day, Miz Riley.”

  “You are being scheduled for an in-person meeting at Trillium headquarters. Attendance is mandatory.” Miz Riley said.

  “Okay. When is the meeting?” My mind sputtered and barely kept together. Only years of practice dealing with customer insanity saved me from a breakdown.

  “Tomorrow. A shuttle will be sent to your home. Clearance for the TRANS tunnels has been approved. Headquarters will be paying the bill.” Her face didn’t change from its stone expression.

  Tomorrow. Okay, that wasn’t too bad. Headquarters was a few hours away even if I took the tunnel. It would also be my third time riding cross country using one. The last time had been when my fiancée passed. I tried not to let emotions cross my face. Now was not the time, nor the place to grow morose. Humming and tapping my foot would be equally unprofessional.

  “You are available, correct, Mister Legate?” Trillium’s vice President was a woman I had only seen in company papers. Her face was plain, hair shoulder length, and expression very passive. Almost like this routine was beneath her.

  When a woman like Trillium’s Vice President asked a question, men like me answered in affirmative. Especially since I enjoyed the perks of Trillium’s equipment.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. A reminder is being sent to your ARC. Forceful ejection will occur if you do not heed the alarm.” She said.

  “I will.”

  “I’ll expect you tomorrow, Mister Legate. Good day.” The screen clicked off and left Trillium’s logo splashed across my wall. My foot started tapping immediately and a song sprang to mind. Right foot out, left foot back, move opposite the other dancers.

  Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes she had pulled me out of Continue Online with something that could have been done as a message. An email or other reminder would suffice. Twenty minutes that could have been used completing this absurd quest from the Voices.