Load Custom Character

by Tyler R Lee

“Oh, well, then, as I said, I have good timing,” the elder replied with a grin.

  “I’ll say,” Streak said. “Show him the flute, Wiz,” he continued as he turned to Lysander, who retrieved the flute from his inventory and held it out to the village elder.

  “Hmmm,” the elder mused, nearly touching his nose to the instrument in the dark elf’s hand as he leaned in to examine the item. “Interesting. Very interesting.”

  “I knew he was gonna say that,” Peter whispered as he nudged Ariel, who stifled a giggle.

  “Shh,” Lysander hushed, trying to hold back his own smile.

  “This is...the Wanting Flute,” the elder confirmed, still looking at the wooden artifact.

  “That much we know,” NoScope said, not impatiently. “But that is where our knowledge stops, I’m afraid.

  “I’m not surprised,” the elder smiled. “It isn’t a legend many people know. At least, not aside from the very old, such as myself.”

  “What legend?” Ariel prodded, knowing that such a question would be needed to trigger the NPC’s explanation.

  “The Legend of the Hidden Tomb and the Song of the Lost. You see,” the old man started as he stood up straight, closed his eyes, and seemed to fall into deep contemplation, “this village, these people, this society was founded on the idea that separating from the rest of the world was needed in order to stay true to what really matters. Values like love, kindness, family, love, humanity, these things were being taken for granted by the rest of the world. War, plague, cruelty, and much else ravished the land, so a few souls banded together and left, traveling to this island, founding the village of New Beginnings for just that, a new beginning for society.”

  “This sounds familiar,” Peter said, staring hard at the elder.

  “It sounds like what Yoshitsune said he created the game for,” Ariel added as she looked to Peter.

  “The ship they used to cross the Vast Sea,” the elder continued, “was destroyed so that no one would be tempted to leave, and the plans for building a new one were sealed inside the Hidden Tomb, built for the express purpose of making sure a way to the mainland was never discovered.”

  “Seems a bit extreme,” Gunner said. “Leaving the whole world behind.”

  “Perhaps,” the elder responded. “But people have done so for generations. War, famine, religious persecution. Groups of people have many times fled their homes in the hopes for something better.”

  “Yoshitsune was really trying to hammer home a point, wasn’t he?” Ariel commented quietly.

  “So, how does the flute tie into all this,” Lysander asked.

  “Ah, that is where the Song of the Lost comes into play,” the elder answered, raising a finger as if he was waiting for someone to ask this exact question. “While the founders of this society had no wish to return to the larger world, they knew there may come a day when someone would need a way back. Using ancient magic, they carved this flute from the wood of an ancient tree from the very forest you just survived. Then, they had their mages carve these runes into it.”

  “What do they do?” NoScope asked.

  “They allow one to access the Hidden Tomb. Legend says that when the Song of the Lost, named so to signify the wielder’s need to find a new way, is played at the grave of the founders in the ancient cemetery west of the village, the way into the tomb will open.”

  The group took this information in, glancing from one to another. They were getting closer to a way off this island. Though, they held no illusion that the Hidden Tomb would be any less perilous than the Forest of Want.

  “Thank you,” Lysander said to the elder with a bow, to which the elder gave one of his own.

  “I wish you all the best of luck,” the old man said, before he headed in the direction of the cemetery. “After this chat, I think it’s time I paid my predecessors a visit. Pay my respects.

  “We should head to the practice field and meet up with everyone,” Lysander stated. “I think we are going to need all the help we can get for this one.”

  “Agreed,” Peter said. “I don’t see this being any easier than the forest. In fact, game logic dictates it to be much more challenging.

  “The forest was just an isolated area with a boss,” Ariel added. “The Hidden Tomb, that’s a full blown dungeon.”

  ***

  As the party approached the practice field, they saw the larger part of the group waiting for them, punctuated by Glitch leaping up and down when she saw them.

  “What took ya?” Glitch asked as they approached.

  “Got lost in the woods,” Ariel said with a smile.

  “Figures,” ValCary snorted.

  “But we found a way into the Hidden Tomb. We’re one step closer to getting off the island and getting out of this game,” Lysander added. “How is everyone?”

  “We grinded quite a bit,” Tony offered in his overly chill tone. “And we...picked up a few more that want to join us.” The returning party picked up a bit of apprehension in the last part of that statement.

  “New recruits?” Lysander asked.

  “Yes...and no,” Val answered, also a bit hesitant.

  “They mean us,” came an unfamiliar voice from the crowd. When the group looked in the direction it came from, they saw a human clad in blue mail trimmed in red, black hair down to his shoulders, pale skin, and two long swords on his back. “Hello, Lysander, the rest of you. I’m Fernback, and I was hoping my party and I could join you.”

  The newcomer extended his gauntleted hand to the wizard, who grasped it with a smile. “We are always happy for more…” Lysander’s voice trailed off and his smile turned to a scowl when he saw that two of the five new party members were none other than Tucker and Travis. Both returned the scowl through their tiger and wolf snouts, but said nothing.

  “I don’t think so,” Ariel said quickly, stepping forward and pointing at the brothers, who offered their middle finger to the warrior.

  “Yeah,” Peter commented. “They made it clear they couldn’t work with a group.”

  “Maybe if you guys shut up, you’d hear that we’ve had a change of heart,” Travis said with a sneer.

  “It’s true,” Fernback confirmed. “They informed me about what happened and, while I don’t condone their actions, they’ve been very helpful the past couple of days, and seem to genuinely want to help.”

  “Whatever,” Streak laughed as he crossed his arms.

  “Hey, dipshits,” Tucker interjected, failing to charm any of the group. “We want outta this game as much as anyone else. If that means falling in line, then fine.”

  The group held onto their doubtful scowls, but Lysander finally said, “We can use all the help we can get. As long as they follow your lead,” he laid a hand on Fernback’s shoulder, “then I’m cool with it.”

  “You got it,” Fernback smiled.

  “Alright,” Lysander called to the group of more than twenty players now. “The next step is heading into the Hidden Tomb. It’s a dungeon, and we don’t really know anything about it. But, inside is the only way of getting off this island. If we don’t want to be trapped in this game longer than we have to, we have to conquer this dungeon. And we can’t do it unless we do it as a group. It’s going to be dangerous. Extremely dangerous. But this whole world is out to kill us, and if we band together, we can get in there, grab what we need, beat down any big bad that gets in our way, and get out. Is everyone in?”

  There was a loud cry in affirmation as Peter, Ariel, Val, and Tony smiled wide at their friend’s ability to pull a group together and give them hope. “He and Shield were more alike than he wants to admit,” Ariel said, to which the others nodded.

  After some brief discussion of what happened in the forest and what the flute was for, Lysander informed everyone to take a couple of days to rest up. “Two days, at midday, we all meet up here. From here, we’ll head to the cemetery and open up the Hidden Tomb. Take care and get some rest. We will all need to be at our best.”

&
nbsp; ***

  After two days of rest, the large group that had gathered at the practice fields was composed of much higher spirits than previously. They were rested up and had taken the time to think about the adventure ahead. Without much discussion, they made for the cemetery west of the practice field.

  As the large party exited the area, Peter held out both arms to stop Travis and Tucker. After the martial artist had waited until the rest of the group had walked a little ahead, he turned towards the twins in wolf and tiger form.

  “What the hell are you--” Travis started, but Peter cut him short.

  “Understand this,” the martial artist said, not looking at either of them, but speaking very clearly, no humor present in his voice. “These people are my friends. The only friends I’ve ever made. I love them, and would do anything for them. And they have done so much for the people here already, and are desperately trying to help get everyone out of this game.”

  “Yeah,” Tucker rolled his eyes and made to shove Peter’s hand out of the way, but found he couldn’t simply swat it aside.

  “Then let me make something perfectly clear,” Peter continued, now lockin a cold stare onto both of them. “If you cause any harm to come to them, you try to pull something that affects the group or the mission, if you even try to upset what is happening here, and they get hurt because of it…” Peter let his words sink in as his gaze grew darker, more threatening, and more serious. “...I’ll twist both of your heads off, and smile as I picture your headsets frying your brains.”

  Travis and Tucker both took a step back from the final glare Peter shot them. Then, the person they had bullied for several years, turned around and walked to catch up with the rest of the group.

  ***

  Appropriately for a video game, the cemetery was overcast by gray clouds, giving it a darker look than it should have had at that time of day, and had an acoustically spooky wind that blew through the few trees around the graves.

  “Spookular,” Streak commented as he examined the dozens of graves that littered the small plot of land just west of New Beginnings. At first glance, it appeared as any other small cemetery, littered with small gravestones that didn’t indicate anyone of particular importance. However, at the very back of the graveyard was a much larger gravestone, measuring at least twelve feet in height and half that wide. Upon the stone were the words:

  To those who have lost their way, within is your path home.

  “I’d say that’s a good indicator of where we need to go,” Glitch said as she tightened the blades on her wrists.

  “Who would like to do the honors?” Lysander asked, retrieving the Wanting Flute from his inventory.

  “Oh, by all means,” Ariel said, motioning to Lysander as he held to flute out to the group.

  “Alright,” the wizard answered, hesitantly. He looked to the instrument in his hand, runes now giving off a faint bluish glow. He placed it to his lips, not knowing how this was going to go since he had no musical talent whatsoever. To his and everyone else’s surprise, the flute began to play a slow, soft, melancholy tune. As it played, it began to echo through the trees and on the wind, until it sounded like the cemetery around them was producing the haunting music.

  After about a minute of the melody, it stopped, and Lysander pulled the flute away from his lips. The graveyard went completely quiet as the wind died down and the trees became still. Then, the words etched on the large gravestone began to glow the same blue as the runes on the flute. Suddenly, with a loud growl of shifting stone that shook the immediate earth beneath their feet, the gravestone began to move backwards, revealing a large stairway down into what looked like complete and utter darkness.

  “Creepy staircase into darkness, found under mysterious gravestone at the back of a cemetery,” Peter commented. “Truly worthy of being called a dungeon.”

  With barely a word to each other, the large group of over twenty players took the first steps into the Hidden Tomb. They went down the stairs, wide enough for the group to go two at a time, several torches in hand, for what seemed like an hour. Peter noted that the game designers had done well in this area. Dust and cobwebs crawled up chipped stone walls, giving the feeling that no one had been in this area for centuries. Eventually, the stairs came to an end and opened up into a large room of high stone walls crawling with more cobwebs and darkness. Torches hung on the walls, but they were covered in dust.

  "Well...it certainly has the right feel for a tomb," Peter commented as he cautiously made his way along with the rest of the group.

  "Sure does," Streak commented. "Cobwebs, dust, unlit torches, echoey hallways and rooms. It's straight outta the dungeon creators handbook."

  Those who heard gave reserved chuckles that only masked their hesitancy to venture further. Despite their jokes and jabs at the structure, the group felt the unease that the Hidden Tomb exuded as they trekked through its narrow hallways of old stone. This was created with a purpose for a game they had all recently discovered was far more sinister than they could have ever imagined. And here they all were, diving deeper into this deathtrap to face whatever horrible thing Yoshitsune had tasked with guarding whatever they needed to get off this island and closer to bringing him down. To say they were unsettled would have been an understatement.

  In light of this, not much was said among the party as they delved further in, keeping their eyes moving so as not to be caught in any traps that surely awaited them. Despite the impending danger, spirits were kept relatively high due to the size and comradery of the group. If they encountered danger, at least they would encounter it together. Most of these players had been playing together since the announcement. They were, in a sense, a family, and they knew that they could watch each others' backs.

  Their high spirits were first put to the test when they ventured into a hallway that provided a different path than they had encountered thus far.

  "This is twisting and turning a bit more than usual," Lysander noted as he lead the group around sharp angled walls and by small corridors that led nowhere.

  "You're right," Ariel agreed. "And the corridors are smaller, and many of them lead to clearly dead ends only a few yards in."

  "But, what's the point of that?" ValCary asked as she looked around, noticing the odd layout of the corridors and hallways. "If it's a maze, then wouldn’t they want you to think an incorrect path is correct? Not show you a dead end right there."

  The group then rounded a corner and came up against just such a dead end twenty or so feet from the turn. "Hold up, dead end here," Lysander sighed as he turned to move everyone out of the cramped corridor.

  "Get outta there, now!" Tony's voice rang through the hallways as he rushed through the group towards Lysander, his red robes twisting as he shoved people aside. "These aren't just hallways!"

  Before he could finish his realization, a stone slab slammed down from the ceiling, closing off the dead end Lysander, Peter, ValCary, and a few others had wandered into.

  "They're traps," Tony said, his voice heavy, his eyes wide with panic.

  "Dammit!" Peter cursed. "We walked right into it." He had already started running his hands over the new wall keeping him and his companions separated from the rest of the group.

  "Peter! Lysander! Are you all okay!?" Ariel called out as she ran over to the new wall and also began running her hands over it. She was quickly joined by Glitch and Tony, desperate to get their friends out.

  "Dammit!" Lysander spat as he struck his staff against another wall. "I should have seen this."

  "Now's not the time to blame yourself," Peter called back. “Everyone, on both sides, look for a switch or something. We all know this has the potential to get a lot worse if we don't get out of here, quick."

  With that, the group began following Peter's lead, feeling around all the walls and the floor, searching for a switch, a lever, anything that would release the door and let them out. However, they had only been searching for a few seconds when they heard the subtle s
ound of running water, when they felt the wetness touch their feet, more panic set in.

  "Uh, guys," Val called out as she looked down, her head darting from wall to wall to examine the rising water. "I think Peter's prophecy of things getting worse just came true."

  "Why can't I ever be right about good things?" Peter growled as he also looked to the rising water with apprehension.

  "Oh, god, no," Ariel whispered as she heard the voice on the other side and the sound of splashing as her friends moved around. "The room is filling with water!" she cried as she turned to the rest of the group.

  "Has anyone found anything on the outside? Lysander asked in his best impersonation of a calm man. "I don't think the release is in here."

  The group outside began their search once again, and Tony found an odd pattern upon the wall that had fallen. "What's this?" he asked, more to himself.