by Matt Ryan
But now, for the first time, I felt as if these two actually would have my back, and that felt more valuable than all the money I could earn in the game.
We headed to Trinity Hall with the mangled flowers and just hoped they had low standards.
The hall didn’t have any signs to announce what it was, but when we got there, we knew why. The building itself was a monument to end all monuments. We stopped outside the pearly white gates to take it all in. The massive building must have been a hundred feet tall. Much taller than any other building in the city. It was longer than a football field, and just as wide. The outside gleamed with marble walls and carved columns.
It was a statement building, and their statement was decadence—wealth and power.
The downside was the amount of guards they had, along with the massive wall surrounding the hall, not to mention the patrol of three walking around it. I tried inspecting them, but they all just had question marks instead of names. I’d seen this before, it just meant I wasn’t a high enough level to know what they were.
“Hey, flower boys,” a guard said near a steel door. “Over here.”
We handed him our delivery slip. He looked at the wheelbarrow and opened the door. From there, a woman looking at a clip board waved us over to the main building. She opened the door to the hall itself and we entered Trinity Hall.
Chapter Thirteen
We entered the service hall of the Trinity building. I couldn’t help but smile. This was the place where the end was. This is the place that held my riches and whatever else Sephorus needed.
The service hall itself wasn’t anything special, but I did see a few people working here and there. One appeared to be a tailor, while another had what looked like a book press. Then we got to the end of the hall, where two finely detailed wooden doors stood. The woman pushed one open and made a noise in the back of her throat, as if telling us to follow.
We entered the main hall and I couldn’t help but look around in awe. The inside somehow made the outside look dull by comparison. I’d seen pictures of the Sistine Chapel, but this took spectacular to another level. There were golden statues, marble walls, intricately carved arches, and murals inlaid into the marble floors.
People lingered around the hall in small groups. The armor and weapons they all held were glowing, moving, and shiny. The Casters held staffs, or short rods, while the others had varying degrees of blades, bows, and guns. One even held a set of guns at his sides that looked too large to be functional.
A woman cleared her throat and lowered her clipboard. “Just set up the arrangement right here.”
“Okay,” KILLian stepped forward and picked up the least mangled bunch of flowers off the top.
A gorgeous woman came walking up, wearing a sleek gown that reached the ground. A slit in the dress ran up so far it exposed her leg to the top of her thigh, where an ice-blue dagger with a large, pink crystal hilt could be seen. The fabric she wore shimmered in the light and almost seemed to switch colors as she moved. I had trouble focusing on the moving fabric. Her long stark-white hair was pulled back tightly. I didn’t usually notice a woman’s nails, but hers were a light blue color that seemed to match her eyes perfectly. I had to remind myself to breathe as she approached.
“What the hell is this?” She pointed at the flowers in our wheelbarrow.
“We’re delivering these fl—” I started to answer, but the woman with the clipboard interrupted me.
“These are just some travelers on a quest, your grace.” She bowed.
I wasn’t sure if I should bow, but I sided on caution and gave a slight bow from the waist up.
“Is this some kind of joke? These look like they’ve been drug behind a horse all the way here.” She reached for her icy blue dagger.
“We’re sorry,” KILLian said. “We can get a fresh load.”
“You address her as your grace,” the woman with the clipboard muttered in anger. “This is Queen Opal.”
“It’s okay, Lucy. They are guests of the realm.” She held onto the dagger and the blue steel started to frost over. “I can see in your heart you want to fight me.” She pointed at Gor.
“I don’t,” he said, putting his hands up.
“Then why bring me such rubbish?”
“I guess we thought you wouldn’t notice,” Gor said.
“You think I’m an idiot?”
“No.”
“I’m looking for something and I believe it’s here,” KILLian said, jumping into the conversation. “If I can just have access to the hall, I think I can find it.” When she finished, she looked horrified, holding her hand over her mouth as if she couldn’t believe what just came out of it.
The woman with the clipboard took two big steps backward, wincing. I thought I saw her mouth the word, “Run.”
“So, you’re one of those. Here to steal from us, huh?” A wind picked up in the room and a swirl of snow surrounded us.
“Uh, we’ll just be going,” I said, trying to push Gor and drag KILLian toward the door.
Then I turned to the queen and saw the burst of cold come out of her dagger, hitting all three of us.
Magoton is frozen.
-150 HP
-10 rep points with Trinity Hall.
You are now unfriendly with them.
“Guards, take them out of here.”
I couldn’t even blink as they lifted me up like carry-on luggage and carried us outside and past the main gate of Trinity Hall.
They dropped us on the dirt road and the second we landed, the freeze spell released. I tried to get up, but my body hurt and wasn’t responding to my commands. I fell back on the dirt, and lay there until two sets of hands pulled me to my feet.
“Sorry, man. You took the brunt of that,” KILLian said.
“I feel like it.” I looked at my stats and saw I only had 35 HP left. “You got anything to heal me?”
“I saw some flowers back at Esme’s. If this game is anything like Day’s End, they’re healing roses.”
After a few blocks, I was able to walk unaided.
“I know that kind of sucked, like super bad,” KILLian grimaced, “but did you see how bad-ass that queen was? I can’t wait until we can freaking raid that place. I am so going to put her in her place one day.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t want to be unfriendly with them. I wanted to loot that place with stealth—in and out, without them even noticing it. And what the heck did you want in there so bad, anyway?”
“Nothing, just loot,” KILLian said, folding her arms and glancing up.
“Yeah . . . just loot,” I echoed, unbelieving. Did she have a benefactor as well? At least our goals were aligning.
We got back to the flower shop and had to deliver the unfortunate news to Esme.
“You did what?” Her face turned red in anger. “That is my best client! All you had to do was deliver the flowers.”
“It wasn’t us, some stupid player ruined our quest,” Gor said.
“You just better hope they don’t cancel our contract. And don’t think I’m not taking the damages from you. You won’t get away with that crap. Now, pay up.” She extended her hand.
“We don’t have that kind of money.”
“Fine, you are in debt to me then.”
I checked my bank and saw that I was in the hole for $74.
“And don’t forget. While you are in debt to a merchant, no other merchant will give you another quest.”
“How can we make money if we can’t do quests?” I asked.
“Not my problem.”
“Umm, can we have a few roses? Magoton took a good shot from the queen.”
“If you’d like to add ten more dollars to your debt, sure.”
Killian agreed and took the flowers, mashing up the petals in her hands. Then she smeared them over the back of my neck. It sent a tingling sensation down my spine and I quickly felt much better.
+50 HP
Reality was sinking in. We couldn’t quest.
We had bad rep with the very place I needed to get into, and now I couldn’t do the quests associated with my spec. This was all because of Trevor. He sabotaged me, knowing what would happen.
“I think it’s time we split up,” I said, thinking about the next place I had to go.
“Okay, fine, we do our own thing for a while,” KILLian said, sounding annoyed.
I see them drop party, leave the flower shop and fall off my map.
Feeling depressed and not having a clue what to do next, I asked Esme for directions to Bill’s Bar. She gave me the location and I marked it on the map.
Chapter Fourteen
On my walk, everything I passed by slowly became high-end looking. The shops were fancy and expensive, and even the guards were high-level. They were so high, I couldn’t inspect them. It just displayed:
???
We’d spent almost the whole day gaming, and I didn’t have much to show for it, except for an embarrassing scene from Trevor. Gaming worlds were my worlds, not his. And now he’d come and taken that from me as well.
I passed a shop selling different drinks. I slowed down long enough to inspect a few prices, and the cheapest I saw didn’t get lower than a hundred bucks. Discouraged, I noticed the sun dipping below the buildings I headed toward, casting a shadow over the city street. The temperature dropped and I wondered if I might need a jacket for the nights here. Could the cold hurt me here like it did in Auspicious Online? The game mechanics in this game seemed to follow real world physics for the most part, so I imagined it could.
As twilight hit, I saw more NPCs walking around, probably heading home. Some of the stores were closing and locking their doors as I passed. A street light flickered to life overhead. It looked like a gas lamp, but it wasn’t dark enough to make any difference. The fancy shops ended and a row of residential houses flanked each side of the street. Mansions would be the better term, with each complete with a pair of guards at their doors. I imagined there could be substantial wealth in those houses.
The dot on the map showed I had a-ways to go still, and I probably should have been running . . . but I wanted to see this world and how it worked. As I left mansion row, I stopped seeing finely dressed people walking around, and the houses got smaller and the guards less numerous. After a few blocks, the houses were tighter packed, small, but adequate.
In a neighborhood that could be best described as middle class, a kid stood on a threshold of a house, jumping up and down as his dad came home. The dad hugged his boy, lifting him off the ground and carrying him into the house, with a happy wife rubbing his back as they did.
This place wasn’t just a game, it was a world. I only imagined the players were just scratching the surface of this iceberg. I had a feeling I could knock on any one of these doors, get to talking with them, and eventually get a quest. It might even lead to something cool that was unique to that experience. I might even be able to befriend a guard from Trinity Hall . . . .
I took a deep breath. I had to stay focused and stop dreaming of what was in Trinity Hall. First up would be the heart of the Spider Queen. I just needed a permission slip from a master I didn’t even have. But with Trevor angling against me in the Shadow clan, I wouldn’t be surprised if they wouldn’t even let me in. I needed to find another way, and I hoped Sephorus could help with that. He seemed to know the game better than anyone.
The sun finally gave off its remaining light, and darkness overtook the city. The street lights burned with a soft light that cast moving shadows over the last of the homes. I reached the edge of the stone road. Looking out to the next street, I could see it didn’t have any lighting or people moving around. The buildings were single story and square, with single doors on them. More like a storage building than housing. The dot on my map told me Bill’s Bar wasn’t far from here, so I crossed the street into the darkness. I busted out my flashlight and used it to see where I was walking.
I heard noises from the box houses—voices—some screaming at each other, others were moans of pleasure. I kept my head down and walked faster. One more block and I saw Bill’s Bar. It had a large neon sign lighting up the area around it. How the hell did they have a neon light here?
A quest popped up.
QUEST: Survive Bill’s Bar.
Nice. I didn’t think I’d be picking up a quest.
Jogging across the street, I went into the bar. A live band played on stage with a set of drums and two singers, all male. It sounded a bit like rock, but had a country feel to it with its story-telling verses.
I could feel eyes turning to me and the room getting quiet.
“Whatcha doing here, traveler? This bar isn’t for your kind,” a man said sitting on a barstool near me.
“Sorry, just looking for someone.”
“Ain’t nobody here you know, boy. Why don’t you head out and gather mushrooms for the merchants?” A chuckle ran through them.
“He’s a service boy,” one said with a bit of a laugh. “Why don’t you come over here and mop my ass, it’s filthy.”
“Screw off, fat ass,” I said.
The room went silent. About ten men stepped away from their stools and nearby tables, men of all shapes and sizes, each headed for me. I only wished I was about a hundred levels higher and I could wipe this whole group out in one epic AoE attack.
One of them grabbed me by my shirt. “I’ll give you one chance to get out of here.”
“I told you, I’m here to see someone.”
“I’m about to see your mom,” one said from the back of the growing crowd to a mixture of laughter.
“Who are you looking for, traveler?” an older man said.
“I’m looking for—”
“It doesn’t matter who you’re looking for.” Another man grabbed my shirt and twisted the cloth tight against me. “You entered the wrong bar tonight. I’ve had it with you travelers, coming into my city, taking up all the jobs and ruining our peace. I hate your kind, and if I can kill one of you a day, it’s a good day.” He pulled out a long kitchen knife and I inspected him quickly. Level 42. I had no chance against him.
I looked at my skills. No. But these were NPCs—dumb by design. I could fool them.
“Hey, what’s that?” I pointed past them.
All of them looked in the direction I pointed and I darted for the door. One step away from it, and I felt a large hand on my back. The person behind me yanked so hard, I flew in the air and landed on the floor. A dozen men stood over me, sneering with their foul breath and unshaven faces.
“Maybe we can work this out,” I said, but then I felt the first kick to my side.
- 5 HP
After that, I felt as if the whole group were kicking me. Boots landed on most of my body and I watched the HP meter falling as the small damage dings were adding up.
“Bareback bears!” I yelled.
The barrage of feet slamming into my body stopped, and the men looked dumbfounded. A man with an apron broke through the mob, grabbed me with one arm, and picked me off the ground. He carried me right through the crowd and into the back rooms. He plopped me down in front of a door marked Clean.
“Thanks,” I said, giving my HP a quick look. Twenty. Those freaking maniacs almost killed me.
“I didn’t do it for you. I hate you travelers as much as them, but you said a name. What does it mean to you? And don’t you dare say it again.”
“A friend told me to meet him here.”
The large man rubbed his stubbly chin and looked at the door again. “He’s waiting for you,” he whispered and then opened the door.
“Got it,” I said and walked into the familiar room, feeling that shimmer of air pressure change as I crossed the threshold. It was the same room as in Tommy’s inn, with a single desk sitting in the middle.
The door behind me closed and the hooded man appeared.
“This better be important,” Sephorus said. “Stupid to come to me so soon. I told you she’s watching.”
“I have a prob
lem. You hired Trevor? Do you hate me? That guy’s a complete lunatic.”
“We didn’t plan on him, but he used your equipment in the room we thought you’d be in. A mistake perhaps, but maybe an opportunity. If you two work together.”
“No way.”
“Listen, this is the best chance you have of getting out of the Slabs. Do you really want to go back there?”
“No.”
“Then stop being a little bitch. You killed two men right at the start of the game. I know you have balls, kid. I’ve seen you play, so I know you have the skills to back up that mouth. Stop messing around and start taking what you want. This game rewards the bold and punishes the foolish. Get to the Spider Queen before Trevor does. Kill her and bring me her heart.”
“There is more to this than treasure, isn’t there?”
“There is always more than what there appears to be in Avarice, but for you, stay focused and let’s get to the prize at hand. There is the greatest treasure, sitting not a few miles away from here, waiting for a player to take it. Are you going to be that player?”
I had a hard time believing I could take out that many guards, patrols, and one badass frost queen, but I assumed Sephorus knew what he was talking about. “I need to get into the Shadow clan to get a permission slip from a clan master. I can’t do that with Trevor bouncing around, blocking me.”
“Just take him out.”
“He’s several levels above me.”
Sephorus sighed and rubbed his chin. Then he raised a single finger. “There is another way. A dungeon isn’t too far from here. If you can kill the boss, there is a door hidden in the last room. There is a shadow trainer beyond that door. But don’t take it lightly, that dungeon is no joke for a player of your level.”