That was good. If Damian was busy talking with the king, then he wouldn’t spot Jace. But he needed to take advantage of the situation and try to sneak out of this room into the palace proper and start searching for the Help Desk. It was more important than ever that he talked to support.
Having previously scoped out the ballroom, he knew there were two exits on the south wall that led into the rest of the palace. There was also an exit on the west wall. There were also exits to the east, but that was where the king was and there was no way to get to them. Unfortunately, all three of the exits he had access to were blocked off by guards.
He’d need to use his cloak and risk sneaking by them. If he could get past the guards at the doorway, it should be much easier. At least, he hoped any guards inside wouldn’t be nearly as alert.
Taking a moment to examine all of the doorways, Jace chose the west most door on the south. That doorway was further away from the floating chandeliers, so it was the most dimly lit. Hopefully, that would enhance his chances of sneaking by.
With his attention on the door, Jace wasn’t fully watching where he was going and bumped into one of the guests.
“Sorry,” he muttered but then looked down to see that it was Thedrir, and the dwarf was with the rest of the band. It was then that Jace realized that there was no music. The band had obviously stopped playing.
The dwarf looked at him for a moment, his eyes going glassy, before a look of confusion crossed his face. “Jace? Burton? Did you change your appearance or are there two of you?”
Jace sighed. Obviously, Thedrir had looked at him in his HUD. Despite the hat’s magic masking his appearance, it couldn’t mask his name. At least, not to a player who examined him. He nodded to the dwarf. “It’s me Thedrir. I’m… incognito.”
“Jace,” Thedrir grinned. “Imagine bumping into you again.” The dwarf winked. “Pun intended. Incognito, huh? Some sort of cloak and dagger stuff? Very cool. My lips are sealed.” The dwarf made a gesture with his fingers over his lips. “While I have you here, let me introduce you around.”
Thedrir motioned to each dwarf in turn and introduced them. “Jace, this is Valatum Flinthead, who plays the flute, Khoukreag Flaskmaster on the mandolin, Thadmurim Oakenthane on the bagpipes, and that sourly looking dwarf sized orc is my brother, Utolir Ironbelly. He’s on drums.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Jace said. He noticed they all wore similar outfits, a dark green shirt over which they wore a short, brown leather tunic. They also all wore kilts with an orange, blue and tan or brown tartan. They looked very Celtic.
“How did you like the music?” Utolir asked. He looked similar to his brother but had sandy blonde hair and beard.
“It’s good,” Jace smiled. “I’m not a big celtic music person, but maybe Dwarven Thunder will convert me.”
The dwarves grinned. “We have a lot of converts, both in the game and out.”
Jace was intrigued. “Do you play outside the game too?”
“Aye,” Khoukreag answered. He was an inch or two taller than Thedrir and Utolir and had a shorter, more trimmed beard. “We were playing in the real world long before we thought of doing it in the game. We have our songs on all the major online stores.”
“Right,” grunted Thadmurim. The bagpipe player was shorter than the other dwarves with a larger belly and jet black hair. “The hard part is dividing our time among both worlds. The women want us in both worlds.”
The other dwarves chuckled at his joke. But then Utolir nudged Thedrir and gave him a meaningful look. His friend nodded and he looked at Jace. “Sorry, we have to go while they’re on break. We’re about to get the grand tour.”
Jace did a double-take and he cleared his throat. “Grand tour?”
“Yeah,” Khoukreag bobbed his head. “Part of the doing the show was a tour of the palace in between sets. And we're not going to have much time if we don’t hurry.” The dwarf motioned for them to move along.
“WAIT!” Jace said, more loudly than he had intended and lowered his voice. “Wait. You’re going on a tour of the palace?”
“That’s what he just told you,” grumbled Thadmurim. “And we’re running late.”
“Thedrir,” Jace pleaded with his dwarven friend. “Can you take me on the tour too?”
Thedrir looked skeptical, as did the other dwarves.
“Please. It’s important. REALLY important,” he told him. “One could say, it’s a matter of life or death.”
The dwarves’ expressions went from skeptical to disbelief. It was obvious they weren't buying his story.
Jace tried to think of something to convince them but without taking the time to explain everything but came up blank.
“I think you’ve been hitting the mead too hard, friend,” Utolir said and gave his brother a stern look.
Then an idea hit Jace. He took off his gnomish timepiece, which was worth thousands of gold. He held it out to Thedrir. “If you take me with you, I’ll give you this. It’s a…”
Thedrir held up his hand, his eyes wide as he stared at the gnomish timepiece. “I know what it is. And you’ll just give it to me if we take you with us?”
Dwarven Thunder was looking from Thedrir to Jace, their eyes wide as well. Jace wondered exactly how much the timepiece was worth and then decided it was better if he didn’t know. “Yes. If you get me on the tour. It’s yours, no strings attached.”
Thedrir considered that for a second, his eyes darting from the watch to Jace’s face and then back. He looked at other dwarves, who motioned him to take the deal. The dwarf sighed. “If you’re offering me that thing, you must believe this is really important.”
“I wasn’t exaggerating,” Jace told him.
“Fine,” Thedrir said and just pushed the timepiece at him. The dwarf waved it off and shook his head. “I’ll try. I can’t guarantee I can get you on the tour. It was really just for the band members.”
“Too bad you ain’t a dwarf,” Khoukreag chuckled. “No one ever counts the dwarves!”
Jace gave him a lopsided grin and a thought later, he was a dwarf, complete with dark, braided beard, green shirt, leather tunic and kilt. The dwarves started for just a moment and then Thedrir smiled. “That might work. Fine. Get in the middle of us and if anyone asks, you’re the uh…”
“Harper,” Thadmurim snickered. The other dwarves shrugged and that seemed to be decided.
“Okay, okay,” Utolir gestured for them to move along. “Let’s go, before none of us go on a tour.”
His merry band of dwarves marched back the way he had come, towards the first entrance on the south wall. When they reached the double door, they halted and Thedrir stepped forward to talk with one of the guards.
The conversation went on several minutes, with Thedrir gesturing at the dwarves and then the palace before finally walking back to the group. He had a grin on his face. “They’re going to get the chamberlain.” He lowered his voice and nudged Jace with his elbow. “And you’re in.”
Jace let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding in and returned the dwarf’s grin. “Thanks, Thedrir, I owe you one.”
“You owe me a gnomish timepiece,” the dwarf winked. The dwarf looked around, presumably to see if anyone was watching, and then held out his hand.
Jace handed it over to him. It was a lot to lose but if he found the Help Desk, it would be worth it. Besides, he grinned inwardly, he had a second one back at the manor.
A middle-aged man in fine livery appeared on the other side of the guards and spoke to them for a few minutes before the guards parted and he stepped through. The man had brown hair, streaked with gray but he wore a floppy hat with a feather that hid most of his hair. The chamberlain wore a sleeveless velvet tunic in the king’s colors, under which he wore a plain, white shirt made of silk. On his legs, he wore dark hose and tall, black leather boots completed his ensemble.
The chamberlain looked over the dwarfs and smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Master dwarves, I am
Parlan Geadasach, palace chamberlain. I was informed that you wish to conduct your tour now?”
“That is correct, Master Parlan,” Thedrir replied. “If it’s not too inconvenient.”
The chamberlain’s practiced smile didn’t falter as he replied. “Of course not, it would be my great pleasure to guide you on your tour of the palace and educate you on its marvelous history.”
“Excellent,” Thadmurim muttered. “Let’s get moving so I can get some mead before we have to get started again.”
The dwarves chuckled at Thadmurim’s comment, but the chamberlain didn’t share their mirth. He simply nodded and maintained the same fake smile he’d put on in the beginning, reminding Jace of an oily salesman. He had a feeling none of them were going to enjoy the tour very much.
Thedrir looked at the chamberlain and nodded. “He’s right about hurrying it along. We need to be back to start the next set.”
“Yes, yes,” the chamberlain nodded. “As you wish. We will begin in just a moment. We’re waiting for one more person who wished to see the palace and was given permission to do so by His Majesty.”
“Another person?” the dwarves muttered. “I thought it was just us.”
“Originally it was,” the chamberlain nodded. “But when a visiting Ambassador asks for a tour, it’s rude to decline.”
Jace’s blood went cold at the mention of an ambassador. But then again, there had to be many ambassadors at the party. It didn’t mean Damian. He couldn’t.
“Ah,” smiled the chamberlain and Jace noticed this time it was a genuine smile. “Here he is now. Duke Alalorn Shadegazer, thank you for joining us.”
Unable to breathe, Jace turned to see the dark elf he’d seen earlier. His old co-worker, and the one that had betrayed him. It was Damian. And he was coming on the tour as well.
Chapter 57
Damian smiled at the dwarves. Even though it was a different face, the face of a dark elf, Jace recognized the cocky grin as belonging to his co-worker. There was no doubt this close up.
“Nice playing,” Damian told the dwarves.
“Thank you, your Grace,” Thedrir inclined his head. “We’d be happy to play at your manor some time, for the right price.”
Damian smirked. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Ahem,” the chamberlain cleared his throat. “Shall we begin the tour?”
Despite Damian’s proximity, Jace had the presence of mind to pull out his glasses again and put them on. He still needed to find the Help Desk and he wasn’t going to do that if he couldn’t find the secret room that held it.
Assuming he did find it, he’d have to work out how to slip the group and Damian so he could contact support. Moving with the line of dwarves, he followed the chamberlain as the man began to talk about the different rooms, paintings, and statues.
They’d been going through rooms for about five minutes when Damian’s dark elf walked alongside him. The dark elf looked down at him, eyes narrowed. “Jace Burton, huh?”
Jace swallowed involuntarily. Damian must have scanned all of them with his HUD. Why, Jace didn’t know, but he’d seen the one thing Jace couldn’t disguise. His name. Forcing himself to remain common. “Yes,” and then belatedly added. “Your Grace.”
“All of the other dwarves have names that I might expect from dwarves,” the dark elf continued. “All except you. You have a more… curious… name.”
“Thank you, your Grace,” Jace muttered and tried not to look at Damian. He was afraid his face would betray him and that his former co-worker would see how nervous he was.
“I knew a Jace Burton once,” Damian said. “Terrible programmer. Couldn’t tell a for...next loop from a multidimensional array.”
Jace swore internally. Damian suspected. He wished he’d never changed his name. Now that he knew Damian was the culprit, his name felt like a giant neon sign that pointed him out. Still, maybe he’d just think it was a coincidence. “Programmer? Like a computer programmer? Huh, I’m a musician. I don’t know anything about programming.”
“Really?” Damian said. “That’s interesting. It’s also interesting that you are a rogue and yet you have a familiar.”
Jace looked down at Luna and Jace swore under his breath again. Damian might be a jerk, and if Jace was right, a criminal, but he was still sharp. Still, it wasn’t completely unheard of for other races to multiclass. They just had to deal with the 25% experience penalty. But they’d do it to get a special prestige class and Jace suddenly remembered one that might just save his butt.
“I multiclassed to Mage,” Jace replied. “So, I can get the Runemaster prestige class.”
Damian was quiet for a few paces but then retorted. “If I remember correctly, Runemaster requires a Fighter based class and a Mage based class. And yet you have Rogue and Mage. Curious, don’t you think?”
He felt like Damian was toying with him, but maybe he was just testing him. Jace needed to keep his cool. Damian loved word games and trying to trip people up. He needed to think before he responded. “Yeah, I didn’t realize that until I had changed. But now it’s too late. Unless I want to delete the character and start a new one. I’m still considering that.”
“Hmm,” Damian responded and then went quiet for several more steps.
Jace hoped his former co-worker was satisfied. Maybe his answers had at least put some doubt in Damian's mind. Of course, that hope was completely crushed by Damian’s next words.
“I know who you are, Jace,” Damian whispered. “I don’t know how you got out of where I put you, but I know what you’re trying to find.”
“And what’s that?” Jace whispered back, doing his best to feign ignorance.
“It’s what you’re using those glasses to locate,” Damian replied. “You’re looking for the Help Desk.”
Jace felt the blood drain from his face. Damian knew.
“Nice try,” his former co-worker said smugly. “But it won’t do you any good. I’m going to log off, go into the work and move the Help Desk some place where you’ll never find it. Or, at least, some place you’ll never get to. Maybe… the king’s bedchamber or… better yet, the princess’ bedchamber. Maybe I’ll do that and then tell you where it is and watch your pathetic little attempts to get to it.”
Jace clenched his teeth. He wanted to punch Damian or throttle him, anything to wipe that smug expression of his face. “I’ll make it.”
Damian actually laughed at that. “No, you won’t. You’re nothing. You’re less than nothing. You’re dead and there’s nothing you can do to change that. And after I move the Help Desk, I think I’ll come back in and see what trouble I can get you into. I’m sure I can think of something creative.”
“You…” Jace was so angry he couldn’t even finish his words.
“See you soon, Jace,” Damian grinned evilly. “And when I get back, I’ll find you. It shouldn’t be so hard with you using your real name. Idiot.” And then, Damian disappeared.
Jace felt the icy grip of despair pulling at him. Damian was right. The developers had a way of changing the location of the Help Desk whenever it was discovered. Damian shouldn’t have access to it, but there were a lot of things Damian shouldn’t have access to. At the moment, he had to assume that his former co-worker could move the Help Desk.
“Did that guy just log out?” one of the dwarves said, but they all turned back to the chamberlain who was explaining a painting of two dragons.
If that were the case, Jace had very limited time. It was late. Damian had to be at home. To move the Help Desk, he’d need to go into work. He’d need to be at his work computer. He couldn’t just do it from his home computer or from a FEVRE pod.
Jace racked his brain. How far was Damian from work? A half hour? He took the train, didn’t he? Or did he have a car? Jace remembered the car accident that Charlena had said he’d been in. Had it been Damian driving the car? Had he tried to kill him?
He had to assume Damian had a car. That meant, there wouldn’t be any
extra time while he waited for a train. So maybe he had 30 minutes. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less.
That meant he had no time to spare. As the group began to head into the next room, Jace bent down on the pretense of adjusting his boot. Luna stayed with him and they let the other dwarves go into the next room before Jace pulled out the cloak and equipped it. Immediately, he went into Stealth.
Jace looked down and saw Luna. She’d be a dead giveaway. He doubted there were many orange tabby cats in the palace. Anyone who saw her would know something was out of place and they might investigate.
“Luna,” he told her mentally. “I need to carry you under the cloak, so you’re hidden. It’s really important.”
The cat looked up at him but seemed to hear the fear and desperation in his voice. “Yes.”
With that, he reached down, picked her up and then cradled her under the cloak. “Sorry Luna, but we have to move quickly.”
“Yes,” the tabby replied.
With Luna tucked under the cloak, Jace moved as quickly as he could while remaining in Stealth. There were surprisingly few guards around and he went from room to room. With each new room, he paused only long enough to scan the room with the glasses and then he was off again.
He quickly lost track of time and wished he hadn’t given away the gnomish timepiece. Or that he’d brought the second one with him. It didn’t really matter though. He had to keep looking. He had to find the Help Desk.
He wasn’t sure exactly how long it had been, but he was pretty sure he’d covered the entire downstairs. He’d even poked his head into the throne room, which was currently empty. There was no sign of any secret room on the first floor. It was time to move up.
He retraced his steps to one of the staircases. There was a guard at the base of the stairs, but he managed to slip by. At least the cloak was working better than he’d expected. So far, no twitched an eye at him as he’d passed. He hoped it stayed that way. He didn’t have any time for any distractions.
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