Keeper

by Tom Larcombe

  Once more as they paddled, Eddie was sure he saw humanoid figures under the water, although nothing tried to snatch his paddle away this time at least. Allie, on the other hand, commented that something had yanked at hers this time.

  The walk back to town was uneventful and he was back at the inn before the dinner rush was over. He pitched in to help Liv out, despite her comments about him not being able to stay away from work even when he had someone to take over for him.

  Eddie waited impatiently for Opron to either show up at the inn or at least message him back, but neither had occurred before it grew dark out. He was beginning to worry when Opron walked into the inn, a serious expression on his face.

  Opron motioned for Eddie to follow him, then headed for his room. Eddie trotted to catch up with him, then shut the door once they'd entered Opron's room.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Fifteen

  Tom cursed as he crawled out of his car.

  “I can't believe it. He gets us later shifts so we don't have to be up so early in the morning, but then he contacts me from in the game and tells me I need to get here as soon as I can?”

  The car door slammed shut as he let some of his ire out on it.

  “I told him the readings had been mostly nominal. I told him we'd been keeping an eye on things, but no, I have to go in and manually check the pods because one of the guys had some weird stuff happen in game. He probably took some of those in-game drugs, or maybe a spell went bad, or something.”

  Tom shook his head, scanned his ID card and hopped into the elevator. He finished his latte as the elevator made its way to his destination, then tossed the cup in a trash can as he left the elevator and scanned his ID again to get into the warehouse-sized room containing all the pods for the R&D section.

  “Alright, I'll check the one that showed those fluctuations first. At least I might get to leave early tonight since I'm here early.”

  He grabbed the small toolkit and started loosening the screws holding the side panel over the innards of the pod. When he felt a hint of dampness on his knee he paused for a moment.

  “What the hell? What did I kneel in?” he asked.

  Then he lifted his knee and looked. The clear fluid was mostly tacky on the surface but when he scratched his way through the hardened portion on top, took a bit of it on his fingertip, then sniffed it, all griping was forgotten.

  Shit, that's nutrient solution. How did it get on the floor here? he thought.

  He removed the panel as quickly as he could. As soon as he had the bottom of the panel opened his knee wasn't just damp, it was soaked. Nutrient solution came pouring out of the cavity that held all the electronics for the pod. Wide-eyed, he reached up and hit the emergency logout button, then peered inside the cavity.

  Everything was soaked in nutrient solution. Some of it had hardened into a tacky covering over all the electronics and the semi-solid nutrient solution held the heat, so it was hot as hell inside.

  No wonder the poor guy was complaining about weird stuff happening. He's lucky he's alive and his brain isn't fried. What the hell happened here? Tom thought.

  He wasn't going to touch anything, not yet, not until the subject was out of the pod. If the computers were still working the way they were supposed to he didn't want to mess up the logout sequence, especially not on one of the pods that had been modified so it did the logout itself. He'd leave everything alone until the subject was up and about and then try to figure out what had happened.

  He made a quick note in the file with the results from the testing, making the suggestion that any new long-term pod that was designed to do the logout sequence itself have a redundancy installed that could route the logout to the standalone logout servers in case of problems with the pod's equipment. Then he rolled a privacy screen over and pulled the side panel off the other test pod to check it while he waited.

  ~ ~ ~

  “So, that's what happened to Karl?” Eddie asked.

  Opron nodded.

  “I told Tom, my head researcher, to get in there and check the pods as soon as he could. I got a message back from him, but it didn't have a lot of details. Just that Karl's pod had a serious issue, he'd used the emergency logout button on the pod, and was waiting for Karl to wake up. It normally takes ten or fifteen minutes for someone to wake after they've been in game for twenty-fours hours or more so I imagine he shot the message off while he was waiting.”

  “Anything else?” Eddie asked.

  “No details other than that, the readouts said Karl was still fine, but those same readouts didn't detect the issues Karl experienced, so...”

  “Well, he had the problems yesterday, but he seemed fine today, so hopefully it's just like a normal logout.”

  “Although I can't tell you when he'll be back in,” Opron said. “Definitely our issue, and not his, so he will be back in if he's willing, but if that pod is having serious problems we'll need to put him in a different one. The other pods haven't been completed yet since we're trying to determine the absolute best and most efficient layout of the components, so it might be a bit before he's back.”

  “Well, at least I can tell the others that someone used his emergency logout button. That'll soothe some worries about why he disappeared like that, and it won't break the NDA. I'll tell the rest to the others that know more about the situation later on when we're alone.”

  Opron nodded.

  “I'm just going to stay at the inn for a bit. I left Delgar with a bit of an extra workload since I was in the middle of some stuff, but I think he can handle it. He's not bad for a beginning smith. Has a decent character setup for it. Anyway, I'll stay here so I can update you as soon as I know anything else.”

  “Thanks Opron, it's a load off my mind already, but knowing more will be good.”

  The smith nodded.

  “I'm going to grab something to eat, then spend some time nursing a series of ales. If I'm not working, I might as well relax as best as I can and that'll keep me here for when I hear.”

  “Alright, I'm going to go tell the rest of the group about the emergency logout. Karl will have to make his own story up about why it got hit, warn him about that before he comes back in game, okay? Because Becky will ask, I'm sure of it. Nosy as all hell, that girl is.”

  After Eddie got back down into the common room he informed the rest of the group that someone else had hit Karl's emergency logout button and that's why he disappeared. That seemed to soothe Becky's curiosity, but he got strange looks from the rest of the group. He mouthed 'later' at them and got nods in return.

  He sat down and tried to relax a bit, the day having gotten to him and left him all tense. As he was sitting there Charles came over and plopped down in a chair at his table.

  “You built this place, right Eddie?” Charles asked.

  “Well, I built the bunkhouse next to it, got Paul to build this one.”

  “But you can build?”

  “Yeah, I can, why?”

  “Because I think we need some sort of defensive structure out at the edge of the campgrounds. I know you were defending in one of the goblin attacks. Did you know we've had two more since then?”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, it's new, that's for sure, but we keep getting small to medium groups of goblins attacking out of the blue. I was thinking we could use some sort of wall at the far edge of the field. Maybe two or three gates in it, and a step along the back. Then when they attack we can have a bit more defense. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I don't think those attacks are going to stop. One could be a random encounter, but three? In the exact same spot? I think there's something going on.”

  Eddie sighed.

  As though I didn't already have enough on my plate. It's not like I'm going to tell him no though.

  “Yeah, I can do that. I don't know exactly when I'll get to it, but I'll make it as soon as I can,” Eddie said.

  “Thanks, man,” Charles said, standing. “I guessed you would once you knew what was
up.”

  “You're welcome, but I may draft a bunch of the adventurers just hanging around in the field to help. I can put it up a lot faster if I've got people handing me the materials I need as I need them.”

  “I'll help, so will my group if I had to guess. Don't know about any of the others though.”

  “We'll see, I can always hire some of the NPCs for it like Paul does too, I just figured it would be faster with players since they tend to be stronger.”

  Charles nodded, then turned and left.

  Eddie sighed again, then pulled up the auction screen and started searching for blueprints.

  ~ ~ ~

  By the time Opron came over an hour later Eddie had several possibilities. One was a wooden wall that was used for small forts. It was about twelve feet tall with a step on the back of the wall so defenders could man the walls. He was pretty sure that was what he was going to go with. He'd been searching for defensive walls and the search had pulled up some other simple defensive structures. The blueprint for the wall was only five gold, so he'd kept looking to see if there was anything else he could add in to help.

  He'd just pulled up the description on a wooden defensive tower, twenty-five feet tall, with room for archers at the top when he felt someone tug on his sleeve.

  He dismissed the auction screen and looked over to see Opron's smiling face.

  “He's okay, well at first glance anyhow. The onsite doctor insists he stay out for a whole day and get examined right away and again at the end of the day before he'll okay him to get back in a pod.”

  “That's great, so we'll see him in a day or so?” Eddie asked.

  Opron looked around at the adventurers and shook his head. He gestured back towards the hallway and Eddie followed the dwarf to his room.

  “Well, that was the good news. The bad news is that Tom doesn't trust the components in that old pod. Evidently the nutrient hose somehow sprang a leak. It started as a razor thin slice, but Tom thinks it happened when we were in a rush to get all the components in and get you two back in the game. He thinks someone got careless with a tool, or the sharp edge of some component sliced it open and no-one noticed at the time.”

  “So, not enough nutrients or something?”

  “Oh no, if only it were that simple. Every time we add nutrient solution the system repressurizes itself, and that kept widening the slice. By the time Tom opened it yesterday, all the electronics were covered in the nutrient solution, it had even hardened onto some of them. It also triggered part of the emergency medical system in there and Karl received a half-dose of a stimulant that's contained in it. That's why he was so out of character a couple of days ago.”

  Eddie grimaced.

  “But he's okay?”

  “As far as we can tell,” Opron said. “That's why the doc wants to examine him though. Make sure there's no problems from the stimulant, that he was getting enough of the nutrient solution, and so on and so forth. Personally, I think if he wants back in he should be allowed right back in, but that brings us to the other problem.”

  “The other problem?”

  “Like I said, Tom doesn't trust the components that were in that pod any more, so we've got to get all the modifications made on another one before Karl can come back in.”

  “You did it in an hour last time.”

  “Yeah, but like I said, we've been modifying the other Mark IIIs for efficiency and that means that they're partially disassembled. We have a potential layout, but we'll need to get all the initial components back in, then add the ones that allow for the long term testing.”

  “So how long are we looking at?” Eddie asked.

  “Well, it could possibly be finished by the time the doctor's done with Karl, but I'd guess it'll be another twenty-four hours after that even.”

  “So, two days? Still not horrible. Not good, but not horrible.”

  “Well, I figured you'd want to know. You can tell the others when you get a chance. I'm sure Allie, at least, will want to know as soon as she can.”

  “You got that right. You wouldn't know it to look at them in public, but those two are really tight now. I'm sure Tiana will want to know too, Dominic's naturally curious, so I'll tell them all as soon as I can. As a matter of fact, if you'll excuse me I'll drag them all up to my room and tell them now.”

  A few minutes later he'd brought the group, minus Becky and Jern, up to his room on a pretext, and he let them all know what was up.

  “Two days?” Allie asked, exasperated.

  “Yeah, but remember we're doing experimental stuff here, so things like this are possible, not common I hope, but still possible.”

  She groaned.

  “Well, I'll keep his shop running for him while he's gone, won't have much else to do.”

  “That's the other thing,” Eddie said, then he related Charles' request to them also.

  “So, I'm going to spend a day or two building some defensive fortifications on the far end of the field.”

  “You'll need to wrap those around some or they'll immediately flank the walls and come in from the sides,” Dominic said.

  “Yeah, but for now I'll just try to get a wall across the far end of the field. I'll expand it from there if I can. But I was thinking about putting a couple of small towers in there also, back from the wall a bit but close enough to get plunging fire onto anything that's not right up against the wall.”

  Dominic broke into a grin.

  “I like how you think. Put those up and staff them with archers and wizards that have spells with long range effects. Although who knows what the rest of the adventurers out there will do. They might just log out and ignore the attacks.”

  “I thought most of them were thirty day players?” Eddie asked.

  “Yeah, but you can log out and pretty much nap in the logout screen without technically leaving the game. Then come back in when you think everything is clear.”

  Eddie shuddered. The description sounded far too close to the blackness he'd experienced when he tried to sleep right after coming into the game.

  “Well, maybe we should retreat and let those idiots log back in right in the middle of a goblin attack,” Eddie said. “Kidding, mostly, but you like the tower idea?”

  “Yeah, make sure you can bar the doors and get plunging fire straight down to the doors on the towers, and those will still be really good even if the goblins get past the wall. Just make sure you can bar the doors of the towers from inside.”

  I need to make sure to talk to Dominic more, first brewing and now siege stuff? I want to know what else this guy is interested in because it sounds like he's got a clue, Eddie thought.

  “So, anyone interested in helping?” Eddie asked.

  “I'm going to focus on trying to finish the temple. If there are a lot of attacks, then having a temple might help. It's supposed to get buffs for the entire area once it's finished,” Tiana said.

  “I'll try to find some time to come help more,” Eddie said. “I've only just started on the third wall of the temple, so it's going to take more of my time there, but I have to do the defensive wall first. If I find myself waiting on more lumber or something, I'll come over and do a couple more sections.”

  Tiana nodded and smiled.

  “Dominic, it sounds like you know something about this stuff. Want to help me figure out where the defensive areas should go?” Eddie asked.

  “I'd be happy to. I'm assuming the brewing will have to wait a while since you said you'll be building some of that stuff as well.”

  Eddie frowned, but nodded.

  “Sorry, but if Charles is right then this is important. If they keep attacking the same spot and we can build it up some then that should keep them from doing things like getting through to the inn. They aren't players, so they could potentially burn it down.”

  “Not to mention all the other buildings players have started putting up,” Tiana said. “Those all fall right in with your plans, but if they get burned down then the players aren
't likely to pay to put them up again.”

  Eddie shook his head. He hadn't even thought through that.

  “And if they come in at a new spot once we get the wall up, what then?” Allie asked.

  “One thing at a time,” Eddie said. “For now I'm just going to start working on the wall and maybe a couple of towers.”

  ~ ~ ~

  The next morning Eddie was up bright and early. After grabbing a quick breakfast, fresh from the baker's efforts, he had the stable boy hook up the ox to the cart. He scratched the critter's head, having discovered that the pseudo ox liked that, then headed out. He had lumber here and near the smithy. He was going to start by hauling all of that out into the field. Then he'd start building.

  He was hoping that Paul would volunteer some raw planks for the effort. When they'd swiped a few logs the day before Eddie had noticed that Paul had a substantial stock of them. If not, he'd go ahead and buy some also, maybe ask for donations from some of the adventurers he was building the wall to protect as well so he could get more.

  He'd gone ahead and purchased the blueprint for the wall as well as the one for the wooden defensive tower he'd been perusing when Opron had interrupted him. Now he pulled out the one for the wall, then stopped.

  I wanted Dominic's input, so I'll need to wait for him, Eddie thought.

  He'd been up early enough that a second breakfast sounded like a good idea. He knew Dominic would show up at the inn for breakfast too so that seemed like the best option to him. He glanced around the field, noticing how torn up it was at the far end where the goblins had been attacking.

  If only Karl were here, maybe he could set up some traps out there, assuming he knows how. But I bet there are other scouts or even thieves in the area. Maybe I could recruit them to do it?

  When he got to the inn he overheard a pair of the daytime adventurers complaining. They were waiting for two party members who'd gotten killed, but whose spawn point was back in Brightport.