by Terry Schott
“Someone has now died, Isaac. Playing your game.”
“He isn’t the first.”
“The others are permanent log-ins; people who were terminally ill, debilitated, or old. Volunteers.”
Isaac raised an eyebrow. “A bit cold, don’t you think?”
“They are different, and you know it. The permanent log-ins knew what they were signing up for. This was a young man in the prime of his life.”
“I know it’s bad, Kare, but my mind enters crisis mode when news like this hits my desk. Yes, he died. It’s unfortunate, but my brain jumps to these points. One.” He held a finger up. “Every beta tester understood there was risk, and each signed a waiver to absolve us of any liability should something like this occur. Which means that the project is safe, from a legal point of view.”
Kara pursed her lips.
“Two. Valuable information was gathered. It’s difficult to pull someone out of the game, at least from a locked instance. We have a lot of new information and data to review that will help us determine the viability of trying it again. He didn’t die for nothing.”
He cleared his throat and looked at the report. “Three. The player we lost was not significant.”
Kara’s eyes widened. “Now just a minute.”
“You know what I mean.”
She sighed. “He wasn’t wealthy or related to one of the wealthy.”
“Exactly. Which means that there is no danger of having a big contributor try to pull out due to grief from losing a loved one.”
“That is a good thing, I suppose.”
“Four. He was an anomaly. The only player to somehow unlock the Scout class. That was a huge pain in our butt from the start. If he’s removed from play, then that helps us by removing an unknown and potentially dangerous variable—which was always out of our control—from the beta testing.”
Kara took a breath and paused. “Wait a minute. You said, ‘if he’s removed from play.’”
He extended his thumb. “Five. There’s a very high probability that the bugger is still alive and well inside Blades.”
“As a permanent log-in?”
Isaac nodded, a wry expression on his face. “Based on how our luck has been running. Yes. As a permanent log-in.”
***
“You okay, lad?”
Aleron frowned. “I don’t think so.”
Sebastian sat down beside him. “What’s the issue?”
“I haven’t felt right since I got dizzy and almost passed out.”
“You don’t look right.”
Aleron smirked. “Thanks. That helps.”
“You’re still able to craft magic, eat and do everything else normally?”
“Yes, everything seems fine in those ways.” He shrugged. “I just feel ... off.”
Sebastian felt his muscles tense. “Off?”
Aleron nodded. “That’s the word that comes to mind. Nothing wrong, but not quite right, either.”
Sebastian stood. “Everyone, listen up for a second.” All heads turned his way. “I’m making a tiny change to the way we do things from now on. As of this moment, Aleron stays as far from danger as we can keep him.”
“He does that now,” Fen said.
“I want him protected even more.” Sebastian paused and stroked his beard. “Let’s call it a dying order.”
Fen laughed. “As the tank, I don’t think I like the sounds of this.”
“You knew what you were getting into when you chose that class, buddy boy.” Sebastian winked. “If things go bad—as in, we are about to wipe—Aleron must be the very last person to drop.”
“That makes sense anyway, doesn’t it?” Shale asked. “He’s the healer. Always protect the healer.”
Sebastian stared at Aleron. “That’s true, but sometimes healers get a bit aggressive and step into the thick of things when they should not.”
Aleron grinned.
“From now on, that cannot happen.”
“I assume there is a reason for this new order,” Mercy said, and Sebastian nodded. “May we hear it?”
Sebastian smiled as a lie came to mind. “We are entering a new phase of the dungeon. There is a chance—very small, but still something—that if the healer of the party dies last, they will spontaneously resurrect outside of the aggro area.”
Mercy raised one eyebrow. Sebastian met her stare with confidence. Finally she nodded. “That’s a generous addition to this hell crawl. It gives us an opportunity to be defeated and get a second chance to succeed.”
“Indeed.” He regarded Aleron. “Think you can manage this task?”
“Absolutely,” Aleron said.
“Good.” Sebastian sat as the group went back to their tasks. He retrieved his pipe and loaded it with tobacco, wondering if his hunch that Aleron had somehow become a permanent log-in was correct.
41
One moment the party was moving through the dimly lit tunnel, and the next it was completely engulfed in blackness.
Sebastian was familiar with offensive spells. He had played enough and researched even more to be able to program such effects into the game, but this was more than he’d ever imagined. So much more.
A monitor went black when your character was hit by a darkness spell. A silence spell caused the speakers to go mute.
As “real” darkness and silence swept over them, Sebastian was forced to his knees, one hand reaching blindly for the ground, as if thousands of litres of water had crashed onto him from above. The blackness was total. He raised a hand up to his face but could detect no trace of it.
“Am I blinded?” He knew that he was asking the words out loud, but he couldn’t hear any sound. He took a deep breath—difficult due to the sensation of pressure against his body from all sides—and screamed as loud as he could.
Not a peep.
Panic set in as he realized the danger they were in. He could feel the blood pounding in his ears, the fabric rubbing against his skin—such was the totality of quiet.
He sat down, rotated, and pushed backwards, pumping his legs until he felt the hardness of the corridor wall touch his back. Head darting left and then right, one thought filled his mind.
This is it. We’re dead.
***
The darkness splashed over Xander and he sank heavily to one knee. Before he could wonder what was happening, a strong burst of chilly iciness exploded from his eye socket. He let out a cry of pain but heard nothing as he looked up.
The area was bathed in a faint blue light, curls of slightly darker blue drifting like heavy cigar smoke through a room. He could see the other group members; most lay flat on the ground, eyes wide and unseeing. Fen had pushed himself forward and was standing in the middle of the corridor, shield and mace drawn, head twitching from left to right. Sebastian leaned against a wall, hands sweeping the air in front of him and mouth moving but no sound escaping.
Suddenly he felt a hand grip his shoulder. It was Mercy, and it was obvious from her expression that she could see him. She flicked her fingers in an intricate pattern, and a whitish blue globe of sizzling light burst outwards to surround them. Sound returned in a rush that made his eardrums pop.
“This is bad.” Mercy’s tone conveyed her annoyance.
“Can you extend this bubble to allow the others to see and hear?”
“No, and I won’t be able to maintain it at all for more than another minute. Strong magic is counter-attacking. You must find the source on your own and destroy it.”
“Any idea what is causing this?”
“A thraze.”
“Oh god.”
She slapped him, eyes blazing. “You’re going to need the Dark Lady’s help. Stop sending the power of your curses and prayers to a random and undeserving male deity.”
“Sorry.”
She raised her hand and pointed to a bend in the tunnel ahead. “We are inside a stationary trap. The thraze will have woken when we triggered it and will attack soon. Select one member of your party
and drag them out of the area of effect.”
Xander’s mind raced as he considered the abilities and weaknesses of a thraze. He nodded, and she dropped her hand. The bubble of protection fizzled out of existence and silence washed over him once more.
Xander ran toward Fen, touched him lightly on the shoulder, and began to lead the man forward.
***
Fen jumped at the touch, but quickly guessed it was friendly as it began to lead him gently forward. He counted the paces. At thirty-two, he stepped from the oily blackness into light as though he’d passed through a curtain. A quick glance over his shoulder showed him Xander, eye socket pulsing with cool blue light.
“Quickly.” Xander was whispering, but to Fen it sounded like a roar in contrast to the silence from a moment earlier. “Look for a black sac the size of a football.”
“What’s attacking us?”
Xander moved to one wall, eyes scanning. “Thraze.”
“Oh god.”
“You mean, by the Dark Lady.”
Fen frowned. “What?”
“Invoking a specific deity matters in Blades VR.” Xander found a piece of rock sticking out from the wall at waist height and stepped onto it. “If we survive this, it’ll be thanks to my deity. So start cursing and exclaiming in Her name.”
Fen laughed and moved to the other wall. “Okay, then. By the Dark Lady, we’re gonna die a painful and horrible death.”
“That’s better,” Xander grunted, as he pulled himself up.
“Where’s the thraze gonna attack from?”
“It’s already attacking.” Xander thumbed toward the darkness. “Crawling toward our friends back there. So find the damned sac. Fast.”
***
Sebastian sat with his back pressed to the wall, dagger drawn, prepared to move if attacked. One part of his mind screamed that a touch could be friendly, while the other warned him that he wouldn’t have time to decide, should it come to that. The heavy drumming of his pulse was overwhelming; feelings of growing claustrophobia sawed at his nerves.
He blinked and then frowned. In the time between flitting his eyelids the darkness and silence had disappeared, replaced by light and the almost deafening presence of—not sound, but the absence of silence.
Sebastian scrambled to his feet and surveyed the scene. Shale lay splayed on the earth, Ezref in the same state a few feet from her. He looked down the corridor, and his brows furrowed. Mercy was also on the hard dirt, unconscious.
Then he saw Aleron, and the muscles of his body tensed violently as he sprang forward.
A man-sized figure robed in tattered dark cloth hunched over the Scout. White, bony hands were visible beyond the edges of the sleeves. One held an amber-coloured ball the size of an orange. In the other was a curved blade pressing into the boy’s skin, bright red blood pouring from the thin line of the cut.
“Hey!” Sebastian screamed as he began running toward the thraze. It didn’t pause or look up. Unable to hear or see, the return of light and sound was the creature’s weakness.
Sebastian grabbed the thraze by the robe and yanked backwards. It fell, shiny black eyes searching blindly as white teeth bared in a snarl.
Filled with rage, Sebastian drove his knife into the monster’s stomach. A sickening wave of disgust filled him, accompanied by painful burning all over the skin of his face and hands. It flared and spread like molten liquid over his body, but he kept plunging his blade into the thraze. Sebastian’s eyes began to water, and then his vision was filled with bubbles and foam as the heat from the creature’s spell transformed the moisture to burning steam. Sebastian screamed but did not loosen his grip, did not stop stabbing. In an attempt to block out the pain, he focused on counting stabs, his left hand as tight as he could keep it to prevent the monster from escaping.
As he counted twelve, he could bear no more and was about to let go. Just then, a silver flash of light sprang from the monster’s neck, and its head tumbled to the ground. The body crumpled forward and Sebastian let go, falling onto his back, screaming, as the burning sensation ceased and was replaced by heavy throbbing across his skin.
“Don’t move, Seb.” He recognized Fen’s voice, felt strong hands holding his head. “I know it hurts but we’re gonna heal you up quick. Go ahead and let the pain make you pass out.”
“Aleron—” Sebastian could hear his own voice, crying the word more than speaking it. “Bind his wounds. He can’t die.”
“Xander’s on it, don’t worry.” A cool hand stroked his forehead, causing the burnt skin to flare with jolts of agony. He screamed, and the hand stopped. “Sorry, man. Just hang in there.”
“We’re in trouble,” he gasped. “This could be it for us.”
“A bit of trouble, but don’t worry, we got it. Xander saved us again. We’ll fix both of you up. Don’t worry.”
Sebastian tried to sit upright, but the pain overwhelmed him. He dropped back to the ground, and that was the last thing he remembered.
42
Kieran placed his hand against the stone wall. The rock began to shimmer and wiggle, vibrating outward from his palm until a wavering view of a path appeared beyond. He stepped through the portal, exiting the dungeon and stepping onto the mountain path. He glanced over his shoulder to confirm that the doorway was gone, and then began his descent.
Fifteen minutes later, he saw a figure approaching. Ansko stopped a few feet from Kieran and turned, waiting until the Scout reached him before matching his pace.
“Out for a walk?” Kieran asked.
Ansko snorted. “There are way better places to take a stroll. I came to get you.”
“Already on my way back.”
“So I see. How are things going inside private dungeon number seventy-four?”
“Same as the rest.” Kieran shrugged. “The group is taking a crack at it, but they are not balanced enough to get past the third trial.”
“They have a conjuror?”
“Nope.”
Ansko smiled and shook his head. “So few crafters bother to learn to create food and drink.”
“Player characters. Native crafters are all smart enough to make it part of their basic repertoire.”
“Thankfully we don’t have many native crafters in these instances.”
“Only one.”
“Sebastian’s group. Good luck for them.”
“It’s definitely helping them. So far.”
Ansko rubbed at his nose. “All it does is prolong the inevitable. Especially considering what just happened to them.”
“What happened?”
“The player Scout went down.”
“Is he dead?”
“I wish.” Ansko smiled but wiped the expression from his face when Kieran scowled. “He’s still kicking, but not sure for how long. They wandered into a thraze nest.”
“They’re that far in?”
“Yeah. Mildly impressive, I suppose.”
“Way further than any other group has managed.”
“They had a good run, but if the boy doesn’t get up they’re dead in the water. He’s their only healer.”
Kieran laughed. “You know that isn’t true.”
Ansko snorted. “I can’t imagine that they’d consider the other option.”
“Let’s not underestimate Sebastian or that group of his. That could be a very dangerous habit to fall into.”
“They’d have to be crazy to even consider it.”
Kieran shrugged. “When it comes down to life or death, tough choices might be made.”
“I would expect them to wipe instead.”
“We’ll see.”
***
“I guess this it,” Fen sighed. “Great effort, but a wipe after all.”
“One thing I admire about you new Travellers,” Mercy said, “is that you face death without fear.”
“You like that, huh?” Sebastian wheezed. It was an effort to speak or do much of anything. The thraze’s magic had burned a significant portion of hi
s body, and he was in agony.
“I do. Your mindset is that of a Death Stryker.”
Sebastian turned his attention to Aleron. “He’s in bad shape.”
“I closed the open wounds with my salve spell,” Shale said, “but I don’t think that’s enough. He needs healing.”
“That’ll be a good trick,” Fen spread his hands. “If our healer can regain consciousness in time to heal himself. Like I said, it’s a wipe.”
Sebastian pursed his lips, concentrating on getting a few good breaths despite the pain it caused him. “Mercy, is there any way you could fight your way out of this?”
“Solo? Depends on what waits beyond.” She smiled, the expression conveying self-confidence. “I would certainly do my best.”
Sebastian sighed. “If it comes to that—if the rest of us can’t go on—then you should leave. We all wish you luck.”
“If.” The Death Stryker crossed her arms. “Not ready to give up, yet?”
“I’d like to survive a bit longer. You are able to heal wounds.”
Heads turned to stare at Sebastian.
“My healing gift is only available to those who belong to the Dark Lady.” Mercy shook her head.
“You could try, right? On Aleron?”
“It is better that he should die.”
“She’s right, Seb,” Fen said.
“With Aleron up and able to contribute, I think we can make it out of this instance,” Sebastian said, “but without him...” He shook his head.
“If I heal him, the price will be high.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” Mercy raised one eyebrow. “By asking, you understand the commitment that you bind him to?”
“I do.”
Mercy stared at Sebastian, waiting for him to change his mind. When he did not, she moved to kneel beside Aleron. Her hand touched his forehead. “I can attempt a minor healing first. Perhaps that will be enough to kill the infection. The price for that alone is steep. If he requires more...” she spread her hands.
“Then you will do it?”
Mercy’s eyes were flat as she nodded.