by Terry Schott
“I hope so.”
“We will.”
24
Sebastian watched the Dominus approach the camp site.
“Good morning.”
“Dominus.”
“There is no need for titles. Ansko will do just fine.”
“Ansko, then. What can I do for you?”
The man lowered himself to the ground. “I’d love a cup of coffee.”
Sebastian reached for the metal pot, retrieved a clean cup, and poured some coffee into it. “Here you go.”
“Thank you kindly.” Ansko accepted the mug with both hands and brought it to his lips. He blew across the cup’s surface and then took a sip. “Ahh. Travellers make better cups of coffee than locals.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmhm.” He took another sip, smiled, and then lowered the cup to rest on his knee.
“Interesting.”
“I understand you had an episode yesterday.”
Sebastian shrugged. “I fainted. Nothing to worry about.”
“I heard Ezref describe it to one of the other crafters. Didn’t sound like nothing to me.”
Sebastian frowned. I’ll have to instruct the group not to gossip, he thought. “It was a strange thing, but I feel perfectly fine now.”
“I’m glad to hear that. If it happens again, send someone to my house. I have a healer who has experience with this type of thing.”
“What type of thing?”
He raised the cup to his lips. “Signal loss.”
Sebastian watched the Dominus take a drink of coffee. “I find it surprising to hear you say that word.”
Ansko’s gaze remained fixed on the cup as he lowered it to his lap once more. “I’ve no clue what it means, but that’s the term my healer uses. I’m told it is a term of significance to Travellers.”
“Yes.” Sebastian stroked his beard.
Ansko frowned. “Am I not pronouncing it properly?”
“Oh you said it perfectly.”
The man smiled. “Good. It took me a long time to do so. A combination of using different regular words that combine to sound like the Traveller expression. I don’t know why it’s impossible to pronounce some of your words when heard or read directly.”
“Neither do I.”
“Yes.” He stood. “Well I wanted to stop by and make certain you were okay. If the feeling returns or you have another episode, please send someone to me and I will dispatch my healer to you.”
“That is very kind. Thank you.”
The Dominus smiled. “Thanks so much for the drink.” He held the cup toward Sebastian.
“You are welcome. And thank you for the advice.”
“Think nothing of it.” Ansko turned and began to walk away. After three steps he stopped and turned. “Oh I almost forgot. I think your group is ready for more than critter cleanup.”
“I agree.”
“Good. Send someone to Tyce before you go out tomorrow. He will give you a new mission.”
Sebastian nodded as the Dominus walked away. Ezref emerged from his small tent and stretched. “Good morning. Did I hear you speaking to someone?”
“Yeah.” Sebastian scratched lightly at his moustache.
“Who?”
“Dominus Ansko.”
“Hmm.”
“Signal loss.”
Ezref frowned. “What?”
“Signal loss.”
“I can’t understand what you’re saying.” The apprentice raised one eyebrow and then shook his head. “Must be a Traveller word.”
“How ’bout this. Shingle.”
“Shingle,” Ezref repeated the word.
“Gloss.”
He was able to hear and say that word also.
Sebastian watched the other man closely. “Shingle gloss.”
Ezref laughed. “Shingle gloss? Are you having another seizure?”
“Nope.” Sebastian frowned and shook his head. “Doesn’t sound even close.”
“To what?”
“The Traveller word that I’m saying.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Dominus told me something and I wasn’t sure if I could believe him.”
“And?”
“And now I’m positive that he was lying to me.”
“About what?”
Sebastian poured himself another cup of coffee and took a sip. “I’m pretty sure that Dominus Ansko is a Traveller.”
“Did you ask him?”
“No, but I think he slipped up and then tried to cover.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because any Traveller in a position of power would not be a new Traveller.”
“He a Scout then?”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow and sipped his coffee.
***
Ansko locked the door of his small house, moved to the bedroom, and stood before the rectangular mirror mounted to the far wall. He placed a fingertip against the mirror in the bottom left corner, spoke words of magic, and swiped his finger along the smooth surface.
Seconds later, his reflection blurred and was replaced by the live image of Kieran Aenelis. “You visited Sebastian?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“How is he?”
Ansko shrugged. “Seemed perfectly fine to me.”
“How much time did you spend with him?”
“Few minutes.” Ansko caught the look that Kieran gave to the woman beside him. “Long enough to assess his condition. He was coherent, aware, sharp-witted.” He frowned. “Maybe too sharp.”
“What do you mean?”
The Dominus laughed. “I mentioned something about signal loss and he challenged me, asking how I could know and pronounce such a word.”
One of Kieran’s eyebrows rose.
“Relax. I dealt with it.”
“How?”
Ansko blinked slowly and made his gaze go steely. “Properly. Don’t start doubting my abilities, Jeff.”
Kieran’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t get cute with me, Francis.”
Ansko sighed. “I’m sorry. Trust me. He doesn’t suspect that I’m a Scout.”
“I know it could get easy to become star-struck, Ansko. Sebastian is the creator, after all.”
“We aren’t noobs here anymore, Kieran.” Ansko ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve kept that entire group at arm’s length and minimized their involvement in the adventure so far for that very reason. To keep him from getting too close or suspicious.”
“What do you mean, ‘so far’?”
“I told Sebastian I would give them a better assignment tomorrow.”
The woman beside Kieran leaned forward so that she was in better view. “I don’t think that’s wise.”
Ansko shrugged. “I do. They are all very green. Sebastian can’t even craft.”
“At the moment,” Kieran said. “His abilities could return.”
Ansko scowled. “I think we should take advantage of the opportunity. Learn as much as we can about him.”
“Okay. Thanks for the update.”
“Any orders?”
“Would you follow them if there were?”
Ansko opened his mouth to reply, but Kieran held a hand up and smiled. “That was off-base. You’re doing a great job. Honest.”
Ansko smiled. “Thank you. I’ll report in tomorrow night.”
Kieran touched the mirror’s surface and waited for Ansko’s image to fade. When his own reflection was staring at him, he leaned back and looked at the other two Scouts.
“What do you think?” The woman asked.
“Sebastian is definitely onto Ansko.”
The other man chuckled. “That wasn’t nice of you. Calling him Francis.”
Kieran grinned. “He started it.”
“How do you want to proceed?” The woman asked.
“There’s only one option. We yank Ansko out of there as fast as we can and replace him with another.”
Everyone else nodded, and th
e woman spoke. “Good idea. I’ll make it happen.”
25
Ezref returned to camp as breakfast was being served.
“So what did we get?” Xander scooped a portion of scrambled egg onto a plate and handed it to Mercy.
Ezref snorted. “Critter duty, same as always.”
Heads turned toward Sebastian. “Must be a mistake.”
“That’s what I said.” Ezref held his plate towards Xander and waited for a scoop of eggs.
“You told Tyce that the Dominus said we were to get a better job today?”
“I did.” He nodded at Xander and then moved to a spot near the remains of the campfire. “Even talked to the Dominus myself.”
“And what did Ansko say?”
“Ansko didn’t say a thing, because he wasn’t there. He’s gone.”
“Gone?”
“No longer the Dominus, apparently.” Ezref took a bite of eggs and chewed.
Shale whistled and Mercy sighed.
Sebastian’s tongue touched his lower lip and he frowned.
Ezref stabbed a sausage with his fork. “The new Dominus is a guy named Hadrin.” He took a bite and spoke while he chewed. “Seemed nice enough. Bit shorter than Ansko. And bald.”
Sebastian stood. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Don’t bother,” Mercy said.
Sebastian turned to face her. “We no longer earn experience from the wildlife.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Dominus Ansko assured me that we would be given different work.”
Mercy scooped a forkful of eggs. “Which likely cost the man his job.”
“You think so?”
“Absolutely.” She turned to Ezref. “What did the new man say about Ansko?”
“Nothing. I asked and Tyce just shook his head and told me that Hardin was our guy now.”
Fen laughed. “They have good business instincts. When I fire a top person, they disappear quickly and their replacement is welcomed into the fold with minimal fanfare. Smooth transition of power. Less disruption that way.”
Sebastian stroked his beard. “Think he’s a Scout as well?”
“Huh?” Aleron looked up from his plate. “Ansko is a Scout?”
Ezref pushed the beans around the plate with his fork. “That was Seb’s theory.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Aleron shook his head. “I would have sensed if he were.”
“Who’s saying that you didn’t sense it?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
Aleron laughed. “If I had, I would’ve told you. Trust me, this group comes first.”
Sebastian pressed his lips together.
“It does.”
“Okay.” Sebastian nodded at Ezref and repeated the question. “Think he’s a Scout?”
He shrugged. “Not sure, but it won’t hurt to assume that he is.”
“Is that good or bad for us?” Xander asked.
“I don’t know that it’s either. The Scout class is new to me, but I’ve seen enough to know that, overall, I’m not thrilled with it so far.”
Fen laughed. “There’s no one to blame for them but yourself.”
“They are nothing like I imagined, nor coded for.” The corner of Sebastian’s mouth twitched into a grin. “Maybe they are harmless, but my gut says they are up to something.”
“Don’t trust them?” Fen smiled.
“Not for a second.” The group leader turned to Mercy. “You were saying not to confront him?”
“That’s right.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Take our orders, ignore them, and head into the woods in search of the creature that killed Varnix’s group.”
Sebastian raised his eyebrows and laughed. “Sounds good to me. Anyone object?”
No one spoke.
“Then let’s get to it.”
***
The group followed the newly worn trails to a clearing and made their way to where Shale waited for them. Fen removed the lid from his canteen and pointed toward the deep growth of forest behind her. “We venture into new territory from this point.”
“About time,” Xander muttered.
“New for us,” Shale said. “More experienced groups have been going deeper since before we got here. Don’t worry, there will be trails and paths to follow.” She smiled. “For you guys.”
“Groups are likely in there now.” Ezref rubbed his cheek. “What happens if we run into any?”
Aleron laughed. “Nothing. They will not suspect that we are in the wrong place if we don’t act like it.”
“Aleron’s right.” Sebastian said. “If anyone does ask, tell them that we were promoted.”
“No one’s going to ask.” Xander said. “We don’t know anyone else’s missions, why would they know or care about ours?”
“Exactly.” Sebastian smiled. “This operation is organized, but not well enough that they will wonder at our being out here with them.”
“In case it happens again and we don’t have time to discuss it,” Shale repositioned the bow slung over her shoulder. “What are we doing if we run into another party being attacked?”
Sebastian shrugged. “We will figure that out if and when it happens. Lead us in, Shale.”
26
I can promise you one thing right now, sitting here as we talk about Blades VR years before it is developed enough to even begin beta testing.
There are many diehard gamers who will not enjoy playing it.
You look surprised. When Isaac and I came up with the idea for this version of the game, he reacted same as you. You’re wondering what makes me say such a thing. My reasoning can be found in the actual name of the program. Virtual Reality. Trust me, people are going to hate the realism.
The average gamer is not very fit. Sure, they aren’t taking their current body in with them, but their avatar will experience all the demands that a physical body would. Their avatars will be in top physical condition for the most part, but their muscles will burn, lungs will ache and beg for air, and they will feel the sun, stinging rain, cold mist, and myriad other combinations of physicality that I intend to build into the experience.
Of course they will marvel at it when they first log in, but I’m talking about how they will feel after hours, maybe days, pass. When they’ve finished training and are slogging through the woods or a dungeon. After they’ve experienced what dying actually feels like and don’t want it to happen again. When the cold mud has dried and their skin itches, driving them insane, but a dragon is around the corner and they dare not make a sound or twitch for fear of alerting it.
Trust me. If I deliver what I have promised—what everyone expects me to give them—a lot of players are gonna hate Virtual Reality.
They won’t unsubscribe, though. Oh no, they will all line up to keep going back, again and again. Because as much as they dislike things, they are also going to be hooked.
Interview with Sebastian Darndhal, two years before Blades VR beta testing.
They returned to camp in complete silence.
Each went about their unspoken duties as dinner was prepared. Shale and Aleron made the fire. Xander brought three pails of clean water from the main building. Ezref went to get the daily ration of meat and vegetables. Fen split wood to replenish the pile. Sebastian extracted plates and cutlery from the backpack where they were stored and set them near the fire. Mercy inspected and cleaned her weapons, even though she had not needed to draw them today.
When dinner was ready, each took a portion and sat quietly at their place around the campsite, attention fixed solely on their meal.
At one point, Shale cleared her throat and drew a breath as she looked toward Sebastian. He frowned and shook his head. Her eyebrows furrowed into a scowl as she looked down at her plate.
They finished dinner and cleaned up without a word.
It wasn’t until the sun was going down that Mercy stood and moved to a small ring of trees near their site. As the rest came to joi
n her inside the ring, she pulled small pieces of a black tar-like substance that was in a ball in her hand, sticking each tiny glob to a tree at eye level and whispering a word of magic before moving to the next trunk and repeating the process. When she attached the final piece to the last trunk, the air between emitted a faint crackling sound, which grew to a hum. The hum grew and then disappeared with a sudden pop. Mercy turned to face the group. “No one can hear us outside of this space.”
“Thank you,” Sebastian said. “And well done, everyone. I know it was no easy thing to stay quiet until now, but we couldn’t risk being overheard.”
Shale raised a hand and spoke right away. “What. Did. We see out there today?”
Xander laughed. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Which is the problem.” Aleron rubbed his forehead. “They’ve been telling us that the farther we get away from camp the more dangerous it is, but there was nothing. Not even the annoying squirrels, racoons, or birds.”
Xander raised an eyebrow. “And what about the other campsites out there?”
“Yeah.” Sebastian nodded. “Why empty, and why so many?”
“Maybe they had better luck cleaning that area out and decided to build new sites for us to occupy once we get there.”
Shale shook her head. “Those camps are way older than this expedition.”
“Weeks?” Sebastian asked the ranger, interested in her opinion since she had been the only one to venture close enough to the sites.
“Most likely,” Xander agreed. “There have been more groups joining each day. They must be putting them somewhere, because they aren’t staying in our camp.”
“The new groups go out and never come back.” Mercy crossed her arms and leaned against the tree nearest to her. “I thought they must have other campsites like ours, but if they are all empty ... something feels wrong. I have been on the field of battle as death enters the fray.” Her eyes seemed to sparkle and her mouth twitched as if she was fighting the urge to smile. “I feel a slaughter coming.”
Sebastian shook his head. “I’d like to avoid that. For this group, at least.”
27
Fen turned and smiled as Sebastian approached from the campsite and sat beside him. Fen handed him a cup of coffee, which he accepted with both hands. “You’re a saint, thank you.”