by Terry Schott
“Wait a second.” Joel reached forward and placed a hand on his father’s wrist.
“What’s up, son?” Isaac asked.
“Just because I can’t stay—”
“Won’t stay,” Isaac said. Tyson made a sour face, but Isaac raised his eyebrows and continued. “Ty, let’s be clear here. He’s refusing to abide by the terms of the contract. Which he agreed upon.”
A low rumbling sound came from Tyson’s throat.
“Wait a sec.” Joel held his hand up. “You’re right. I agreed and then changed my mind. I didn’t want to, but getting bounced every twenty minutes with no end in sight,” he shook his head. “I lost it.”
“I get it,” Isaac said. “No worries.”
“Still, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to be involved with this project.”
“No?” Isaac frowned.
Joel looked at his father. “It’s beta testing. There are bugs.”
“Of course,” Tyson said.
“But when they are worked out,” Joel smiled. “And they will definitely be worked out, then we will want as big a piece of this pie as Isaac will let us have.”
“Oh. You enjoyed the experience, then?” Isaac asked.
Joel’s eyes lit up and he sat forward in his chair. “While I was playing—actually inside the virtual world—it was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had. That I will probably ever have in my lifetime.”
Tyson snorted. “That’s likely exaggerating things a bit.”
“No, Dad, it isn’t. I don’t know if it’s possible to accurately describe how amazing this game is.” Joel turned to his father. “When Blades VR goes live, it’s going to be the biggest money-generator of the century, maybe bigger than anything that ever came before or will follow after.”
Isaac smiled and steepled his fingers together in front of his face. “Good enough that you’ll go back in?”
Joel’s smile faltered. Then he pursed his lips and nodded. “I will. If you’ll let us invest more.”
“It would be my pleasure. Ty?”
“You heard my heir. How much can we invest?”
“I think we can come up with a figure.”
***
Kara entered Isaac’s office and took a seat. “They gone?”
“Yeah.”
“Joel offered to stay?”
“He did, but I decided to let him go home.”
“You think he can keep his mouth shut about game play?”
“I hope not. If he doesn’t light up the social media channels with buzz for Blades VR, then I will consider letting him go a failure on my part.”
Kara laughed.
“The frequency of bounces is too high.”
“Yes.”
“Out of control?”
Kara sighed. “Getting there.”
“He’s making the game unplayable, isn’t he?”
“You still think Sebastian is causing this?”
Isaac nodded.
“How can we stop him?”
“I don’t know, but there has to be a way.”
51
With a loud scream, Fen slashed at the transparent phantom warrior. The blade made a soft whizzing sound, passing through air as the ethereal foe disappeared from view.
“Behind you!” Shale shouted, and Fen spun, bringing his blade up just in time to parry the silver blade as the warrior shifted back into the material plane and attacked.
Fen laughed and kicked out with his foot. The blow made contact and the warrior flew backward, striking the cave wall with a dull thud.
“Want help?” Xander stood near with swords drawn.
“You killed yours already?”
“Two of them.” Mercy joined her apprentice.
Fen grunted. “Then I guess I’d better handle this one on my own.” He lunged forward and swore as the phantom warrior disappeared in another wave of mist. “If the damned thing would stay solid long enough for me to stab it.”
“Help him,” Sebastian called.
“No!” Fen spun around in a circle, sword back and ready to strike when the phantom reappeared.
“There’s no shame in getting help.” Xander took two steps forward and crossed his swords over each other. An instant later, the phantom appeared in the space between the blades. Xander twisted his hands and, like a great scissor, cut the creature in half. The bottom portion disappeared in a flash of smoky mist and the top half struck the ground with a wet thunk against the hard-packed earth.
Fen swore and slammed his sword into its sheath. He opened his mouth, but Sebastian spoke first.
“How many times do we have to go over this, Fen? We’re a team. There’s no shame in someone helping you finish off mobs during a battle.”
Fen bent at the waist and took a few deep breaths. Then he straightened and smiled. “You’re right. It’s just that, I thought as a warrior I would be doing more killing.”
“Trust me.” Xander sheathed his blades and laughed. “Handling three at once wouldn’t have been easy for me. The fact that you kept one busy while I cut down the other two was a big help.”
“Oh. Then, you’re welcome.”
“It is the warrior’s task to make the enemy focus on hitting them, not to deliver killing blows. That is not your role,” Mercy said. “Tanking is a thankless job, but you have done it very well so far. You should be proud.”
Fen’s eyes widened and he smiled. “Thank you, Lady. That is high praise indeed.”
Mercy’s eyes flashed. “Don’t call me that,” she mumbled.
Fen grinned. “We can’t seem to help it, can we?”
She shook her head and turned away.
“Any wounds?” Sebastian asked. No one spoke up, and he clapped. “Well done.”
“Good.” A faint voice came from the entrance to the cave. Aleron sat on the ground farthest from the action, his face pale and breathing shallow. “I’m not sure I could cast a heal at the moment, anyway.”
Sebastian nodded. “You’re doing great, Aleron. Hang in there till we reach the exit and get you fixed up proper.”
“Will he last that long?” Shale asked. “Feels like we’ve been in here forever, and we aren’t even halfway through.”
“We are now,” Sebastian said.
“We are?”
“This is officially the halfway point. Take a few minutes and celebrate, kids. We’re still alive.”
Fen grunted and dropped to the ground. “Well, that’s something, at least.”
“It’s more than something.” Mercy reached into her pack and pulled out a strip of jerky, which she handed to Xander. “Groups of twenty and thirty appropriately levelled adventurers have tried to make it this far, and few succeed. Your accomplishment is the stuff of songs.”
Ezref laughed. “My, my, you’re full of praise today, aren’t you?”
Mercy smiled. “It takes much to impress me. Your feats are worthy of praise, yet it seems as if none of you realize the scope of your accomplishments thus far.”
Xander broke his piece of jerky in half and threw a piece to Fen. “Why celebrate when the worst is still to come?”
Mercy scowled. “Believe that you can overcome it.”
“Well said, and I agree,” Sebastian said. “Ezref, I think now is the time to share your plan with the group.” He motioned to the young wizard.
Ezref stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Sebastian knows this dungeon. At least how it works from the overall point of view.” Heads nodded. “Until now, we have faced mobs that are higher level than Shale and Xander by only a couple of levels. From this point on, Sebastian assures us that monsters will be much higher level.”
“Too high,” Sebastian said.
Fen rolled his eyes and smiled at Mercy. “See? That’s why we don’t care so much about getting this far. If we stand zero chance of walking out of the exit, then this was all for nothing.”
“That’s the thing,” Ezref said. “Any other group would be doomed. Even if they’d man
aged to make it this far, attacks won’t connect with mobs that are so much higher than us in the upcoming encounters. Spells won’t land, and arrows won’t strike.”
“But...” Sebastian prompted.
“But.” Ezref smiled. “We aren’t any other group. We have something no one ever expected a group to have.”
Xander looked at Mercy. “A high-level Death Stryker.”
Fen laughed. “Tell ya what. If she can handle the rest of this crawl, I’m willing to forgo any experience gain in order to make it out alive.”
Ezref nodded. “That’s not what I’m thinking.”
“Oh, by the Dark Lady”—Shale paused to smile at Xander. He nodded and gave her a thumbs-up for cursing correctly— “get to it already. What’s your plan?”
“Not what,” Ezref said. “Who.”
“Okay, who?”
Ezref tipped his chin towards Aleron. “Him.”
52
The meeting was underway when Kara arrived. She slipped into the chair closest to the door and raised a hand in apology when Isaac looked at her. He nodded and continued speaking.
“—And it seems that no matter what we try, players continue to bounce out as fast as we put them into the game. It’s beginning to frustrate the beta testers, which will lead to negative feedback and bad press if we allow it to continue. That’s why I’ve decided that this is a good time to formally end the first round of beta testing.”
The assembled team leaders and programmers nodded their heads. Isaac laughed. “Looks as if this news doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.”
Some of the team laughed, and one member in the front row raised his hand. “When do we start to yank them?”
“We aren’t going to pull them out.”
Murmurs sounded from the group, and Isaac held up one hand. “For the moment, it’s enough to stop sending the bounced players back in. How many are bouncing? Last number I heard was half of them?” Heads nodded. “Okay, we will deal with this group first.” Isaac indicated a woman seated in the middle. “Amanda, you’re up. Once they are given the all-clear from a health perspective, begin outgoing interviews.”
Amanda stood. “No problem, boss. How do you want me to handle the subject of bouncing in the surveys?”
Isaac pointed at the first man. “Ned?”
“Tell them that the bounces were built into the program.”
Amanda raised one eyebrow. “If it was expected, then wouldn’t the techs have told them about it?”
Ned shook his head. “We purposefully left techs out of the loop on this subject.” She raised her eyebrows, and Ned continued. “When the game is live, bounces will be a built-in safety measure, for various reasons that we are not at liberty to disclose yet. As such, we had to know how to process players from a bunch of different scenarios within the bounce protocol.”
Amanda laughed. “Bounce protocol. I like that.”
“Thanks,” Ned smiled. “I just came up with it.”
“Remember, anyone less than thrilled with their experience is to be held back, so that one of our social professionals can speak to them personally,” Isaac said.
“Gotcha.” Amanda sat down.
Another hand rose. “So half of the beta testers will exit fairly soon, but the rest will stay in and play as long as they can?”
“That’s right.” Isaac nodded. “Those playing and not bouncing stay in until their avatars die.”
“What about those who don’t die?”
“They will all die.”
“But not soon.”
Isaac considered the question, tapping his chin. “Will that be many, do we think?”
Men and women looked at each other. Some shrugged, others raised their eyebrows.
Isaac smiled. “I’ll take that to mean there’s a good possibility a good number of players aren’t coming out anytime soon.”
“Sure you don’t want to yank ’em?” Ned asked.
Isaac frowned. “No.”
Ned shrugged.
“Okay then, let’s get to work. Bring out those who are bouncing and those who naturally meet their end during play. When that’s complete, we can see how many players are still inside and decide how to deal with them. Any questions?” No one spoke. “Great.” He clapped his hands together once. “Off to work, then.”
The group stood and began to mill out of the room. Isaac waited at the front of the stage until it was only him and Kara. “What do ya think?”
“I think you covered all the points.” She stood. “I’ll let you know when the final reports come in.”
“How many do you think will remain inside?”
She bit the corner of her lip and thought about it. “A thousand or so.”
“Plus the other 1,200 stuck inside Dryad’s Heart?”
“Right. Plus them. I’m worried about that group. Over a hundred are big dogs—rich men and women. If anything happens to them, it could mean serious trouble for us. Should we try to pull them out, too?”
“After what happened to Aleron?” Isaac winced. “I think the only strategy we have is to wait and hope for the best.”
53
Aleron leaned against the cavern wall, eyes closed, shivering despite the cloak draped over him. Sebastian looked down at him, a frown on his face.
The boy was pale, almost white. He definitely looked thinner than before his brush with death. He opened his eyes and tried to smile. “Are we ready to move out?”
“No.”
“Okay.” His eyes closed.
“Mind if I sit with you?”
“Feel free.”
Sebastian sat cross-legged across from the Scout. “How are you feeling?”
“Like something evil is inside my body and slowly eating my soul.”
“How painful is it?”
His closed eyelids tightened, and he shook his head. “I think I’d be puking non-stop if I’d eaten any real food.”
“There’s nothing Mercy can do?”
Aleron smiled. “Only those who have pledged their souls to the Dark Lady may safely receive her healing. I said I would do that, convert to the Dark Goddess, but she told me it can’t be done at the same time as the healing. The Lady does not make deals with the desperate.”
“Aye.” Sebastian said.
“Mercy did offer to turn me.”
“Turn you … into what?”
“A shard imp.”
Sebastian felt a lump form in his throat.
“It’s a kind offer. Better than what’s going to happen to me when I die, right?”
“It’s not going to come to that. We’ll get out of here and find a priest, quick—”
“It’s okay, Seb.” Aleron opened his eyes and smiled. “I’m not mad that you made the call to have her heal me. You didn’t have a choice.”
“I did.”
“Then you made the right decision.”
Sebastian shook his head.
“Without a healer, we stood no chance.”
“But if you don’t get help soon—”
“Then I become an undead wight that haunts graves and eats the souls of newly dead people.” He nodded. “Doesn’t sound good.”
“No.”
“I hope when it happens,” he stared at the ground, “that my consciousness dies. That I’m not trapped in my head, watching as the horrible stuff happens.”
Sebastian nodded.
Aleron began to cough—short, weak puffs that sounded as if they brought no relief. He stopped and wiped at his mouth with one sleeve. “Take my mind off this, Seb. Tell me about Ezref’s plan. He said I had something to do with it, but I passed out before I could hear the details.”
“It’s pretty straightforward.”
“Good.”
“We’ve earned enough experience to level, right?”
“You haven’t,” Aleron smiled.
“I mean the others.”
He nodded. “I’ve heard Xander ding twice, Shale three times. Ezref twice, and Fen will b
e pleased.” He paused to swallow, the action slow and laboured. “He’s dinged five times.”
Sebastian chuckled. “He will be happy to hear that, for sure. The plan is for you to do your Scout thing.” He wiggled his fingers in the air. “Level the members up.”
“I see.”
“A couple extra levels will bring us closer to the highest-level monsters waiting for us. Most will con yellow instead of red, and that means we have a good shot at defeating them instead of bouncing our weapons and spells harmlessly off of them, as we would at our current levels.” Sebastian crossed his arms. “Good plan, right?”
“It is.”
“I don’t know why one of us didn’t think of it earlier.”
Aleron took a few shallow breaths and closed his eyes once more. “There is one tiny glitch in the plan.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
Aleron pulled the cloak higher around his neck. “I have absolutely no idea how to level someone up.”
54
Nadine sat with one leg tucked under the other and watched the ARC Gaming representative—his name was Jerry—as he typed her answer into the computer. When he was done, he looked up and smiled. “And that was the final question.”
“All done, then?”
He nodded. “Outgoing survey is complete.”
“Great, what’s next?”
“I send it off to the processing department and they add it to surveys from the other beta testers. A pre-screen of your survey shows a green check mark, which means everything is in order.”
Nadine frowned for a second and then laughed. “Oh, you mean I didn’t say anything bad about my experience.”
“Negative feedback does require further interviews. Often, it isn’t that there was anything bad. It’s usually a misunderstanding between the answer and the representative asking the question, if that makes sense.”
“Sure, makes sense. Someone might have had a traumatic or unpleasant experience, but that has nothing to do with how the game is functioning or the realistic value of the simulation.”
“Exactly. If you walked into a den of goblins and got eaten, you might be tempted to give a bad review.”
“When the truth is that the ability to be captured and eaten by goblins wouldn’t have happened if the game wasn’t awesome.”