by Natalie Grey
“Oh?”
“Well, what he actually said was ‘Kev id drubk sad we should cheer hio op,’ so I paraphrased. I’m pretty sure I got it right, though.”
Jay was laughing on the other end, his character’s shoulders shaking. “Yeah, I’d say that’s a solid interpretation.” He switched back to the main channel. “Kev. Didn’t you have some quests to do?”
“I don’t think so.” Kevin’s voice was still slurred. “Lemme check. Moment. Why the fuck can’t I open my quests? Goddammit.”
Gracie grinned. They had gotten to the huge gates that led into Kithara, and she could see Caspian and Fys standing in the very middle of the road. Since it was midday in real time, the servers weren’t very full, but a few people were looking at the tabards the two were wearing.
Everything associated with Gracie was becoming noteworthy.
“That’s interesting,” Kevin said after a moment.
“What’s interesting?” Gracie got closer and waved.
“Did you check your messages?” Kevin asked. “Because I just did, and I just caught a glimpse of one about a new king…which disappeared a moment later.”
“Of course, he did that,” Gracie said, rolling her eyes. “Of course he set the server up to send everyone a message about how he was here to rule over them like a benevolent dictator. I bet he expected everyone to go into paroxysms of joy.”
“’Aa sounds dirry,” Caspian slurred.
Gracie gave a somewhat exasperated huff of laughter. “All right, no more tequila for you two.”
“No,” Caspian agreed. “’S all gone.”
“You drank a whole bottle?” Jay said, sounding horrified. “Good God, how are you two upright?”
“He’s really big,” Kevin explained. His avatar gestured widely, opening her arms like an alligator’s jaws. “Just…really tall. Lot of person there. Doesn’t get drunk easy.”
Caspian said nothing but he was swaying drunkenly.
“Right,” Gracie said. “Well, I’m excited to see what’s different about my character, because it looks like I have some new menus available. Also, someone should keep an eye on you two, so you don’t…I don’t know, rob a bank or whatever.”
“Is that what straight people do when they get drunk?” Kevin asked suspiciously. “What is even going on with the heteros?”
“I’ve never robbed a bank,” Caspian said.
“Mmm.” It sounded like Kevin had more to say on the matter, but he didn’t share it, whatever it was.
Gracie tabbed through her menus as the rest of them came up with a location, so she set her character to follow Fys—the Piskie was so short that it felt like she was walking around on her own—and examined the tools she now had available.
She couldn’t believe she hadn’t looked last night. The setup was completely different now. There were actions to ban players, unban them, mute them, and hide them from one another. She could award ranking points or take them away. She could dissolve guilds. There were also controls that looked as though they dealt with the internal metrics of the game’s various playing and non-playing races.
“This is crazy,” Gracie said quietly.
“Come on through the portal,” Jay told her. “Then you can show us the crazy.”
“Right.” Gracie nodded and stepped through the portal. She barely took notice of where she was going and laughed when she saw that it was Night’s Edge. “Of course, you chose this.”
“Of course, we did,” Jay said, sounding pleased. “I still think there’s more here than we found the last time.”
“Hmm.” Gracie looked around, then put away the menus. “One second, I want to try something. Wait here.”
She trotted off down the sloping streets until she found one particular alley. Here they had once found…
Ah, yes. A rustling sound came from the dark. Gracie tilted her head to the side and unsheathed her sword and shield. “Hello. Let’s try this again, shall we?”
The spider came at her in a rush, easily twice as tall as she was, mandibles clicking and eyes glowing red. Gracie gave a yell she hoped would pass as being warlike instead of frightened and bashed her shield into its round body before thrusting the sword straight in. There was a scream and a lot of glowing blue blood, and the spider’s body disappeared.
Gracie turned, trying not to hunch her shoulders. She wasn’t actually covered in blue spider blood, after all. Not really. Nope.
Ew.
“So, I one-shot things now,” she reported as she sheathed her sword. “But apparently, I do not have a magic clean-up button.”
“Let me tell you,” Jay said queasily, “those liquid dynamics animations are really realistic.”
“I’ll be right back,” Caspian managed. There was a thud as his VR headset dropped to the ground.
“Huh,” Kevin mused. “I guess the kid gets drunk after all. What d’you know? I’ll be right back. I’m going to bring him more water, and maybe some saltines.”
“Solid,” Jay said. He wandered over to one of the lanterns on the walls and glanced at Gracie. “Hope you don’t think I’m a coward, but there is no way I’m hanging out in that alley.”
Gracie laughed and came to join him.
“So,” Jay said. “Tell me about the new controls.”
“They’re insane,” Gracie replied. “You can ban people, mute them—specifically mute connections between them. It’s like a dictator’s wet dream, honestly.”
Jay must have taken the opportunity to take a sip of water because there was a snort, then the sound of someone trying desperately to clear his throat. “Okay, file that with sentences I never thought I’d hear.”
“It was the easiest way to describe it.”
“Easy, hell.” He crossed his arms. “You have an uncanny sense for when I’ve decided to try to drink something, and you do your utmost to have me get it up my nose.”
Gracie looked away airily. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Ooooof course, you don’t.” Jay had his character lean against the wall. “So, you’re basically a god and now you can wrath-of-god anyone who disagrees with you.”
“That’s Harry in a nutshell,” Gracie said grumpily.
“There’s…something else you should know.” Jay recapped his phone conversation with Harry, speaking quickly. He shook his head when he was done. “I should have tried to get more out of him. Played along.”
“Maybe,” Gracie said after a pause. “But I think that’s a fine line to walk. He’s smart, Jay. He might just as easily play you as having you play him. And it’s not necessarily bad for him to see people being loyal to one another. I’d rather have him wondering if he’s missing something. If there’s another way to be.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I think it was for the best. Just don’t play his game.”
Jay emoted a smile at her. “It’s a weight off my mind to hear you say that. Honestly, with everything else that’s been going on, I forgot about Harry being a jerk.”
“I see what you mean,” Gracie pointed out. “I often forget to mention that the sun is shining.”
Jay guffawed, but when he spoke, he sounded worried. “Gracie, you know he’s not going to give up. Him, Dan, and Dhruv… Hell, I don’t know, even the other guilds.”
“I’ll just ban all of them,” Gracie said with a shrug. She shuddered. “Ugh, even saying that made me feel greasy. Blech.”
“Yeah, you don’t have that villain flair to you,” Kevin said. “Good news, guys, Caspian expelled the demons.”
“Hi,” Caspian said weakly.
“Are you okay, man?” Gracie asked. “You could go to sleep if you wanted…”
“Nah, I feel much better,” Caspian said. “Really. Better out than in, as my grandfather always said.”
“He sounds fun,” Gracie commented. “Well, if we’re looking for something strange. What do you say we head to the water?”
Everyone agreed at once, and they trooped down the hill, Kevin singing a sea shanty
that started on the topic of Barrett’s privateers and segued mid-song into The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
He had a surprisingly good voice.
When they reached the water, Gracie hesitated only a moment before wading into it. The sounds of sloshing greeted her, and she almost imagined she could feel the cold water swirling around her.
When she plunged underwater at last, she gasped.
Above the waterline, Night’s Edge was a study in life after disaster. It was hopeful and heartbreaking all at once.
Below the waterline, it was entirely different. The world lit up. Stately architecture showed a city that was still whole, with merpeople swimming to and fro along the streets. Ahead, in a temple, something shone a deep, steady blue.
“That’s disappointing,” Jay said. “When I heard you gasp, I hoped there would be something cool down here.”
Gracie turned to gape at him. “What are you seeing?”
“Old ruins.” He looked around. “Why, what are you seeing?”
Gracie didn’t answer. She turned around and swam for the blue light, afraid that if she didn’t find out what it was now, the illusion would disintegrate and leave her with only the ruins Jay saw.
It was so bright inside the mer temple that she could barely see. She swam closer to the light with her head down and her arm over her face. Luckily, the suit knew where her arm was and gave her a bit of respite, but the light was still streaming forward.
When it disappeared, she flailed and looked around.
She was inside a bubble. She could see it around her, shining out into the water.
In front of her was an altar draped in blue cloth. She walked forward, eyes locked on the object that lay there: an axe, plain and unadorned, very clearly meant for death. Never forget what a weapon is, her mind told her.
She reached out to pick it up and smiled when green runes skittered across its surface.
I’m going to find all your secrets, Harry. Every one of them.
Chapter Eight
“No one else is ready!” Thad’s fists clenched in mid-air. He clenched his teeth too, doing everything in his power not to snarl at the Brightstar executives that they didn’t have the first idea of what was going on.
“We’re not telling you how to do it.” Richard, the VP of Strategic Marketing, was by nature a patient man, but his voice had the crisp edge that meant he was beginning to lose his temper. “We do not micromanage. We are simply telling you what needs to happen.
“And I am telling you that it isn’t possible. Not this month, not this quickly. We can’t get a new top-tier healer onto the team in that timeframe without spending a lot more than you want to spend. We’d have to get one from Blood Magic or Shrinra Corp.”
“We’re not telling you how to do it,” Richard repeated. The edge in his voice was stronger this time. “We are simply saying that we are not getting the return we expected. We had a clear goal of becoming the leading guild within six months. We thought you had achieved this, but it was clearly not a lasting success. That is what we need to see.”
“You need to build,” Thad told him desperately. He wanted to run his fingers through his hair, but Evan was there—because of course he was—and Thad knew he couldn’t appear weak. He stared at the speakerphone and fumbled for something to say. Anything that would buy him time. “There’s no competitive e-sport where one team dominates consistently. The top-tier teams sometimes have streaks, but it’s always a toss-up.”
There was a pause while he allowed himself to hope that Richard understood. It wasn’t even a lie, but Thad knew there was desperation in his voice. He had a vivid memory of assuring them that he could make the Demon Syndicate a dominant guild in Metamorphosis Online, that they would have winning streaks no other guild could replicate. They’d been impressed, and he’d gotten the job as guild leader.
“So you’re telling me you can’t do it,” Richard said finally. He put an ever-so-slight emphasis on the word “you.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” Thad replied desperately.
“Then what are you saying, Mr. Matthews? This meeting is going in circles.”
“I’m saying I can build a strong team,” Thad replied. An icy cold was spreading through him, which would have been welcome if he weren’t sure that it was panic instead of calm. “First of all, any team will have turnover. People will leave, and adaptation needs to happen. Second, we are in an unusual situation, as evidenced by the fact that Dragon Soul cannot control the rankings anymore. What I need is time to adapt to this. To raise another strong healer so that we can be top tier again.”
“Mr. Matthews.” Richard spoke so quickly after Thad did that it was clear he had not cared a whit for anything Thad said. “When you were hired, you promised to give us a dominant guild in return for our investment. Brightstar does not have a small advertising budget, but running this guild is expensive. We need to see measurable results, or we will need to iterate. To be absolutely clear, the first iteration we will attempt will be a change in leadership. Do you understand?”
Thad swallowed hard. “Yes,” he said quietly.
“Excellent. You have until the end of the month, Mr. Matthews. We expect Demon Syndicate to win the next Month First badge. If you do, we will consider continuing your contract. Thank you for being on this meeting, everyone. I will talk to you all later.”
The call ended and Thad stared at the speaker incredulously, shame heating his cheeks. He’d been treated like a child. Richard had not allowed him to say another word after the pronouncement of that ridiculous goal.
Month First. Without a top healer.
“I know you have several healers on the team,” Evan said hesitantly after a moment.
Thad’s head whipped around. Evan was always saying things like that. He didn’t understand anything about guilds or video games or even basic logic.
“If they were as good as Jamie,” Thad said, gritting his teeth, “one of them would have been our top healer. Do you understand that? And even Jamie wasn’t good enough to compete with Red Squadron. We’re up against someone who has an advantage even the game’s developers can’t get rid of. How are we supposed to win?”
Evan said nothing.
“Are you going to explain that to them?” Thad asked dangerously.
Evan looked at him now, and there was irritation in his eyes. He knew what Thad thought of him, clearly. He knew the team saw him as incompetent, bumbling, never authoritative enough to take a stand. They hadn’t exactly made it a secret of what they thought, Thad most of all. He had no time for useless people.
Now he felt the familiar annoyance warring with disquiet. He needed Evan to help him.
“You did explain it to them,” Evan said after a moment. “They did not seem to change their minds. No, I do not think I will explain it to them again.”
Thad gritted his teeth. “You’re just useless, aren’t you?” he said, his tone falsely pleasant. “No wonder we’re losing. We don’t have the resources to win.”
Evan did not rise to the bait. Instead, he smiled, and for the first time, Thad had the sense that maybe the other man did know what he was doing—and was deliberately getting under his skin.
“Nothing’s ever your fault, is it?” Evan stood and gathered his folio and pen. He gave Thad a distant smile like one might give to a very insignificant underling.
Or someone who was about to be out of a job.
“This isn’t,” Thad shot back.
“Of course not,” Evan said. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with you that your top healer decided to side with a rival guild over you. Just like it has nothing to do with you that you have no other healers good enough to take his place. I’m sure it’s all coincidence.”
He left, with Thad staring after him in quiet fury.
No one was going to help him. He saw that now. They were going to hang him out to dry and he was going to wind up as a sacrificial lamb, the first to go before they cut the program entirely.
They were going to blame him, and they wouldn’t listen to someone telling them that their expectations were wrong.
If Jamie were here…
Thad’s lip curled. If Jamie were here, Thad could just picture his strained expression. Jamie didn’t like conflict, which was why he would never make a good leader. He shied away from disputes and wanted everyone to get along.
Thad had thought Jamie made a good second in command, given that he was always willing to do the tedious work of listening to people whine and calming them down.
But the more he thought about it, the more Thad realized that Jamie had always been trouble. He said he didn’t want to lead the guild, but he had never said no when Brightstar wanted to use him for promo photos. He had never challenged Thad outright, just weaseled his way into everyone’s confidence.
Lying bastard.
Thad paced around the room. They had three other healers: Ixbal, Wentworth, and Eris.
Wentworth was out; he’d been missing his numbers for two straight weeks, and wasn’t following the training program.
That left Ixbal and Eris, both of whom had clearly been at the top of their respective guilds before, and who had failed to show the reaction times and strategic thinking necessary to be the primary healer. When shit went sideways, Jamie had always been able to prioritize effectively. The other two, not so much. They had relied on Jamie’s judgment in order to structure their own responses.
Frankly, Thad didn’t think either of them had it in him.
He left the conference room and took the back stairs to his bedroom, not wanting the rest of the guild to see him. They were all feigning concern lately, trying to placate him, and it only made him angrier.
In his room, he paced, dug his nails into his palm, and tried to think. He wanted to tip over the shelves, throw the chair, and scream his fury at Jamie, but he couldn’t let the rest of them hear. If they found out there was blood in the water…
If he was going to make this Month First, he needed a new healer, and fast. Thad sat down, pulled up one of the alt accounts he used on the message boards to look at what people were saying about the Demon Syndicate, and began researching the top-rated healers. Metamorphosis Online had not only dungeons, but also battlegrounds where players could battle one another and, while there had always been a divide between the PvE and PvP players, he wondered if he might tempt one of them to join him.