Know Thy Enemy

by Dawn Chapman

  “I owe you for killing Zelak.”

  “Ugh,” Drayk let out a moan. But, when the goon leant over him, and Drayk thought the killing blow was coming, the man held out a green stick. On the top of the stick was a yellow flower. The scent coming from the flower was so overpowering that Drayk started to sneeze.

  “Eat it, you idiot.” The goon said.

  Drayk reached out and took hold of the offered plant. He stuck it in his mouth and gagged only the once as he started to chew.

  The taste wasn’t unpleasant, but it was dry and like chewing cardboard. The goon snuck his arms under Drayk’s and tugged him into a seated position.

  “My name’s Graylin,” he said. “I want to thank you for killing Zelak.”

  “You just hit me because I killed him, so why thank me?” Drayk was totally confused.

  “The man was a jerk. He thought he owned me, always getting me into trouble.”

  “So, you wanted out of his control?”

  “Yes, I did.” Graylin offered Drayk a hand. “Can I join you on your mission?”

  Drayk stared at the man while his health bar turned green once more.

  “I am not sure this is something anyone else can be a part of; I’m trying to free myself.”

  The goon grinned from ear-to-ear. “From someone else’s control?”

  Drayk laughed; they were almost in the same situation, and that was funnier than anything he’d heard in a while. Graylin let out a belly chuckle.

  Drayk held out a hand, “I’m Drayk Vellis.” With a swipe of his eye, Drayk brought up a stat screen for himself. Scrolling through quickly, he found what he was looking for.

  INVITE GRAYLIN TO JOIN YOUR QUEST?

  CORRECT—Y/N

  Drayk selected, yes, and then he waited for Graylin to accept.

  Graylin did so, and he clasped Drayk’s hand with a strong shake. Drayk then went to check out his new partner’s full character sheet.

  GRAYLIN MOSA—MALE

  AGE 29

  LEVEL 16

  HEALTH—100/100

  STAMINA—60/100

  FOCUS—70/100

  EXP—1781— TO NEXT LEVEL 17172

  Drayk was impressed; Graylin was a decent few levels above him. But he didn’t have access to see and view his skills. He could only think the brute had developed himself to be as strong as possible, given his actual size.

  “You’re only level 2?” Graylin quizzed, with disdain in his voice.

  Drayk nodded and grinned. “Sorry to disappoint, yes.”

  “You were lucky we’d been involved in a major fight. Without your sneak attack on my master, you’d never have taken him down. Nor hit me.”

  “I can see.” Drayk swallowed, and reaching behind him, he pulled out some snack bars from his pack. It seemed he’d been very lucky indeed this day. Without Keriy healing his ribs, he wouldn’t have made it to the Mountain range.

  “What is the quest?” Graylin asked.

  “I think we’re to just get to the mountain for now. I’m expecting an update later or once we arrive.”

  Graylin looked to the mountain range; it was still a fair distance. “Level 2 needs some training along the way, methinks.” Grasping onto Drayk, he hauled him to his feet, still munching on his snack bar.

  Drayk felt renewed with energy. “How far do you think we’re off now?”

  “At your slower pace, maybe a couple of days.”

  “Then there’s a few days’ worth of training you can give me. Thank you Graylin.”

  “No need to thank me. I’ve a funny feeling, when we get to the mountain, you might need it. There are dungeons in all of this sector, and there are not many creatures less than level 5—20.”

  Drayk let out a bellow of breath; he’d hoped not to uncover any more creatures, but it was a naive thought. There was going to be fall-out. If there wasn’t there would be no fun in the game, and why should people actually come to play it?

  As they walked into the forest once more, Drayk chugged down some water, and Graylin did the same, this time from his own pack. They didn’t talk much, both contemplating the way ahead.

  Drayk didn’t like silence and, wanting to get to know Graylin some more, he asked, “How long have you been in the game?

  Graylin let out a whistle. “I’ve been here off and on over the last year.”

  “You think it’s a good game?”

  Graylin nodded almost catching his foot on a branch. “I’ve done okay so far, managed to keep the bills paid and a roof over my head.”

  “You were never drafted into the war?”

  He shook his long hair. “No, I’m too dumb to be in their war.” He laughed at this. His own stupidity had kept him out of the war, which is what every single person could only hope for. This interested Drayk. “Why?”

  Graylin tapped his head. And then he spoke in a totally different voice, and accent. “You see Drayk, I’m actually not stupid. I might…” he pointed down his body and then flexed his arm muscles, “be on the larger side, and most people assume I’m stupid. But, I’m not. Do you know the hiquates tables?”

  Drayk paused and turned to look him over, with more scrutiny than he’d first done. Drayk noted the way Graylin carried himself, the fold of his clothes, and the backpack he carried.

  “I know the tables, why?”

  “Ask me any equation, and I’ll tell you the correct answer.”

  “Right down to the smallest decimal point?” Drayk raised an eyebrow when Graylin agreed.

  Drayk quickly came up with a tough question. Even he wasn’t so sure on the answer without double checking. Within thirty seconds, to his surprise, Graylin gave him the correct answer. “You just gained my deepest respect. Even I wasn’t sure on that one.”

  Graylin nodded. “Thank you. I don’t usually tell the people I party with, but you already have intelligence on par with me. How?”

  Drayk glanced to Graylin’s large chest. Muscles bulged beneath the surface. He tapped his own. “I’ve a device in my chest and raging nanites throughout my body. To actually stay in the game, Altus and I re-wrote the code to the nanites. It actually incorporated an older version of the hiquates conversions.”

  Graylin squinted at Drayk. “So, the nanites are increasing your intelligence?”

  “I’m not 100% sure, but it seems so. They see a lot more of this world than I do. And that translates to something in me. At least it is doing so now.”

  Graylin moved on ahead, pulling a long sword from his back, and then hacking at the trees ahead. “There’s no other way around or into the mountain. I believe we’ll just have to keep going.”

  Drayk nodded and followed him as he made his way deeper. “Here, take this.” Graylin handed him a smaller, thinner sword. Drayk took it, and it instantly popped up in his stats. “It’s a loan,” Graylin said, “I need it as my second weapon, but we can practice with it when we camp for the night.”

  “We’re going to camp in the middle of these trees?”

  Graylin nodded. “You don’t want to be anywhere near the mountain in the dark. We’ll sit here, ‘til first light, then head in. We’ve a fair bit to go yet, but we’ll get there in a few hours tomorrow as long as these darned trees don’t get any thicker.”

  Drayk joined him and started to cut their pathway. With the two of them doing so, it was quicker, but Drayk’s stamina ran dry rather quickly. He then had to rest while Graylin continued. Between bouts of chopping and hacking, however, the more he worked, the longer he lasted. That could only be a good thing.

  Darkness settled above them, and Graylin stopped.

  “We should camp now,” Drayk said. “It looks like rain is coming again, and I really don’t like getting wet, it’s too cold out here.”

  “Not as cold as the other side of the mountain,” he said, and then pulled his pack off his back. “Temperatures over there, are way lower than here. You could literally die without shelter.”

  “Climate here is really on the strange side th
at’s for sure. I think the whole game just likes to test you.”

  “Yes, I also believe it’s part of the game, but I also think it’s New Ararat that does this to us, just to keep us on our toes, and from winning.”

  “You think the actual planet is against us?”

  Drayk watched as Graylin pulled out some tenting equipment, and started to erect a shelter. Drayk didn’t have much in the way of equipment. So, Graylin threw him something. When Drayk caught it, he realised what it was: Zelak’s backpack.

  “Didn’t think I’d leave his gear lying around for someone else to take, did you?”

  Drayk shook his head. “I guess he’ll respawn and come looking for you?”

  “I have no doubts he will. After all, I still owe him. It’s just that I broke my tie to him to join you. So, if he does come back, you might well have to fight him for me.”

  Graylin grinned again as Drayk felt his face flush.

  “You want me to fight for you?”

  “Yes, of course. I don’t come cheap, and if you can’t win me, then you don’t deserve to have me.”

  “I can’t fight him. He’s a mage.”

  “I know.” His grin faded. “But you’ve beaten him once, you can do it again.”

  Drayk tried to tuck himself under the small sheet that Graylin had erected, the two of them started to pull twigs toward them in an attempt to start a fire. “I’ve some meat to offer for dinner, seeing as you fed me before.”

  “It was only a ration bar.” Drayk tried to dismiss the gesture.

  “It was still kind of you. You presumed I’d nothing to eat, and that meant a lot to me.”

  Drayk arranged the twigs in a pile, and Graylin started the fire.

  “Damned that smells good.” Drayk’s mouth started to water. Drayk hadn’t smelled anything as good as the meat that slowly started to roast as he turned it.

  “Do you know anything about sword fighting?” Graylin asked.

  “Honestly, no. My sword skills are lacking, but I can use these.” Drayk lifted the daggers out from their sheaths to hold them up for Graylin to see.

  “Where did you get those?” Graylin asked, then made sure the fire was hot enough to turn over the meat.

  “I was gifted them by a friend.”

  “People don’t usually gift something as rare as those. May I?”

  Drayk turned the blade inward and carefully handed one over to Graylin. “They are in need of some TLC, but the quality is good. I have some tools, if you wish to learn how to care for these babies better. I’ll show you how to sharpen the blades and tell you a little more about their origin.”

  Drayk nodded. “I’d like that. I’m here for the long haul, this game is meant to help me and my family, but…” Drayk thought back to his brother’s last chat and stared into the fire. “I don’t honestly think it will.”

  “Your brother is still at home?”

  “Yes, but he’s been drafted. He leaves in three weeks.”

  “So, you got yourself stuck in this game, attached to a player you knew nothing about, and sent on this awful quest so you could die and still be stuck, with your bother off at war.”

  Drayk looked out to the tree line. The night’s sky was growing even darker, and there was something about the edge to the lighting that scared him. Almost as if he knew exactly why Altus had given him this: to teach him a lesson.

  “I want to believe Altus’ heart is in the right place. I love what he’s done with the village, and the people there.”

  “But…” Graylin prompted him, holding out a flask.

  Drayk took the flask expecting water but got a shock as the burning alcohol slid down his throat. “Yes,” he spluttered. “There’s a huge but. I think there’s something else going on here. That woman you almost killed….”

  “The Araratian mage?”

  “Yes. Well, she showed me things. Aliens, and spaceships, and this planet being terraformed, physically and into the game world that we see right now.”

  “It’s all part of the gaming system,” Graylin said, totally believing his words. “The Maxol designers company, BroakLords, keep sneaking in rebels to try and get us to lose focus. I’ve come across them before.”

  “And you don’t believe they’re telling the truth?”

  “No.” Graylin’s brow ruffled. It was almost as though his scales stood on end. The design, obviously of his family tree, moved and swirled. “Actually, there’s a couple of things I’ve seen that don’t make sense.” He stared at Drayk, wanting to say more, but he didn’t.

  “The fact I’m not supposed to be here, should be one of them.” Drayk added for.

  “What do you mean? You’re still a guild player, right?”

  Drayk shook his head. “No, I’m here through a back portal.”

  “That tells me a lot.” Graylin stuffed some meat into his mouth, testing it. He smacked his lips. “So, the device in your chest, the one you mentioned, is for what reason?”

  “I honestly don’t know.” Drayk paused, thinking, before he added. “And then there’s the huge alien creature I saw back in some weird science base a few days ago. It vanished and no one else saw.”

  “A figment of the device in your chest, and the nanites?” Graylin asked. Drayk could see the concern for his sanity stretched across his forehead.

  “I’m not crazy.” Drayk sighed as Graylin dished out their supper. “At least I don’t think so. Honestly, I think there’s more to this game than we can see.”

  Graylin nodded. “I’ll say for your sake that there’s something going on. Maybe we’ll get to learn more if we complete this quest.” He stared him directly in the eyes; his gaze didn’t falter. “You’re meant to die here; you know that right.”

  Drayk knew it. He knew the place he was heading was the biggest trap for a new player there ever could be. But, he also felt there was no choice. He pointed to the meat on the fire, “If you cook like this for every meal, I might just keep you around for good. This is delicious.”

  Graylin laughed and piled some more meat over toward him. Drayk ate as much as he physically could. With a pat of his full stomach, he settled down in front of the fire, glancing to his character sheet once. Reading carefully and noting how the smallest of things like his mana skill had changed.

  Character Name

  Drayk Vellis

  Age

  18

  Level

  2

  XP -

  2915 – XP to next level - 85

  Stat Points

  5

  Talents—Empathy

  4/20

  Talent—Eeksah Trained—

  Kildros Daggers

  25/100

  Health

  100/100

  Mana—Level 1—Trainee

  5/100

  Stamina

  30/100

  Armour

  10/100

  Strength

  10/100

  Intelligence

  50/100

  Wisdom

  10/100

  Constitution

  10/100

  Agility

  10/100

  Luck

  20/100

  Charisma

  15/100

  He was impressed with several plus scores for the days traveling, talking, and tree chopping. He was close to the next level, and he hoped the more he did, the quicker things would pick up. If he ever wanted to make it in this game, he had a long way to go yet.

  #

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Pierce

  This was bad. It felt like playing in a stone-age computer. One with a broken screen and a keyboard with a dozen keys that didn’t work. It was like playing basketball with a ball that didn’t bounce. Like a bowling alley with curves. Pierce could write a whole book with metaphors for what he was experiencing, but even that couldn’t cover the worst part: he only had one try, and losing could literally mean the end of the world.

  The whole game was red now, di
fferent shades of red. He had to find a way to differentiate the blocks from the monsters, the pits from the fire.

  He took a step.

  Then another one.

  It had to be done.

  He was going to do it.

  Pierce thought back to when he woke up in the hospital bed, with all those brackets and tubes around his body. Even his eyes ached. He couldn’t move, he could barely talk and felt it was going to be like that forever.

  There were tubes for things coming into his body and others for things going out of it. How could he ever recover from all this? How did he? His eyes could only see the brown ceiling of his hospital room, a tedious landscape where nothing ever moved. The only things he could do were to breathe and to listen. From time to time a nurse would come in to clean him, but that was all.

  The feeling was pretty much the same now, even though he could move and the brown ceiling was replaced by multiple shades of red. Every move he made felt like it was destroying him. Like he was back in that bed, and someone had removed the brackets, clamps, tubes and plasters and ordered him to walk and win a game.

  Pierce was afraid.

  Afraid he would fail completely, and he wasn’t going to be able to fulfil such a simple task. He knew fear could be useful. Losing the fear would mean getting overconfident, and that was something he couldn’t afford at the moment.

  So, he went on and played the game.

  Inch by inch, pixel by pixel, he went on.

  Walking was hard.

  Jumping was even harder.

  The first time he saw something that looked like a monster firing at him, Pierce almost froze on the spot. But he jumped, and the ball of fire passed under him. Then he jumped another one, and then the monster. Attaboy! He congratulated himself but didn’t let that hinder his concentration. There was still a long way to go.

  Mr. Kaleidoscopius would be watching from his cave, and it felt good imagining that grotesque devil getting mad as hell while Pierce managed to go on even with all those limitations.