Lost Portals

by Bruce X Brown

  The voice continued:

  New Quest: Explore Forever Forest Earth (Tutorial)

  As a portal mage, you are at the bleeding edge of human exploration into the multiverse. Walk around and explore!

  Reward: 15% of the total experience points needed to get to a level 2 portal mage; 10 system credits.

  Difficulty: Easy

  Samantha looked up at the hole she had fallen through and in the rippling pool of energy she could just make out a blurry face.

  She ran. She got to a large slab of rock and hid behind it. Samantha sat there breathing hard with her back against the rock clutching the toy gun. Peering over the rock and back at the shimmering circle of light, she snatched her keys and wallet out of her coat pockets and put them into her jeans. She took off the coat. It was too hot and weighing her down.

  She sobbed, “What the hell is going on!?”

  “You have traveled to Universal set .0043,” the voice said. “Earth; Forever—”

  “What the hell does that even mean?!” She asked. “And what the hell are you?!”

  “I am your portal device interface.” It said, “I am the navigation system of the portal device used by the portal mage. You are now a portal mage.”

  Samantha thought about Gina and the others trapped with that gang of killers. She’d left them there. Maybe she could run for help. But where the hell was she. She looked around. A national park? She’d gone from night in an abandoned part of downtown to daytime and in a forest of pine trees surrounding a grassy clearing. Straight ahead there was a worn dirt road, which meant people.

  “Maybe run and get help,” she thought. “Just go to the nearest police station.”

  The portal device spoke to her again, “I am a navigation system for the multiverse and I can —”

  “Shit! How do I get them out of there?!” she said. Her mind was racing. Should she run to get help or go back? According to the voice in her head, she was in another universe on a different Earth with different humans.

  She shook her head, “No way.” She said to herself gripping the gun tight, “No. Way. Voices in my head. Fire magic in that guy’s hand. Gotta be a dream. Wake up, dude.”

  The portal interface spoke to her:

  New Quest: Join or Suffer

  Lady Blades and her group are on their way and they mean business.

  “What?!” She looked over the rock and saw them hopping out of the portal and on to the grass. They were about 100 meters away.

  Chapter 15:

  Welcome to First Town

  The voice continued, “The Quest: Join or Suffer gives you three choices: escape from Kali, join Kali or fight them. Reward: depends on your choices but one of these choices may result in death. Hint: do not fight them,” the voice said.

  The portal device had more to say but she ignored it. She got up and ran on the dirt road that led into the forest. The road made a sharp turn through the trees but she stopped as she heard a sound coming around the bend. She heard the clop, clop, clop of a horse coming down the path.

  The portal interface spoke to her again:

  New Quest: Ask for Directions (Tutorial)

  Stop Elrich Firstton, the merchant, and ask for directions. This is one of the easiest quests you will ever have. It serves as a tutorial and a way to show you that this is an Earth of another universe and not a dream. Elrich transports goods in and out of First Town. The merchant will give you the map and continue on his way. You will still have time to go back to the portal whether you join the group Kali or not.

  Reward: A map with a current system market value of 200 credits; 10% experience points toward the total amount needed to attain portal mage level 2; 10 system credits

  Difficulty: Easy

  She did not know what was going on with the voice in her head. All she knew was that she had to get away. Had to wake up. It was too real.

  Samantha dove into the brush then hid behind a tree. Her beanie fell off of her head and onto the dirt path. A horse-drawn cart passed by. It was being driven by a small man. He looked like an adolescent cosplaying a medieval elf farmer. A large floppy straw hat shaded his face. He wore a filthy green tunic. He hummed tunelessly, chewing on a long blade of grass. Over his head, she saw the words “Elrich Firstton, the merchant” with a small green bar under his name.

  She waited for the cart to pass and then cautiously snuck out of the brush and back on the road. The road led to the entrance of a small town.

  There was a wooden sign that said, “First Town”

  Beyond the sign were small buildings made of rough-cut stone with thatch rooves. A horse-drawn cart slowed to allow a lady and her baby to cross the road. There was an Amish looking farmer plowing his land with an ox. There was an open-air market of farmers, fishermen, and vendors selling vegetables, fish and wares. Not a single person was over 5 foot tall.

  The portal interface spoke:

  Quest Complete: Congratulations! You have completed the quest ‘Explore Forever Forest Earth’. You have earned 15% more experience points for a total of 20% toward achievement of level 2 portal mage; you have earned 10 system credits for a total of 20 system credits.

  Difficulty: Easy

  The portal interface spoke, “You have reached midland of First Town. You will need to provide the proper travel authorization scrolls to the First Town guardsmen.”

  Samantha ambled into the town. Her mouth opened in awe as she marveled at the sheer size and level of detail. It looked like the most epic theme park attraction she had ever seen.

  “H-halt. S-Stop!” she heard someone say.

  Samantha looked around to find the source of the voice. She saw a 4 to 5-foot soldier in a wooden chest plate. He had huge mustachios curling from his bucket helmet. Over his head, she saw the name, “Pol Pin, First Town guard”.

  Level 1, Warrior

  HP: 50/50

  There was a small guard shelter facing the entrance of First Town.

  The portal interface told her, “This is Gate Shack 1, the main entrance of First Town.”

  Another soldier walked out of the guard shelter, “What’s going- OH MY GOD!” He scrambled to grab his spear as his eyes travel up the never-ending height of the armed giantess looking down on him.

  Samantha noticed that he was wearing the same wooden chest plate. He was the same height, but with no bucket helmet. Over his head, she saw the name “Pip, First Town guard.” She saw words above Pip’s head:

  Level 1, Warrior

  She saw a green bar with “HP: 50/50”.

  “You have HP,” she said out loud staring at the guard. “Like an RPG.” She thought about what Priest said, “A simulation… an RPG”

  Samantha realized that she towered over both the guards, all the people in the town and even some of the horses. At 5’10, she was already taller than the average woman but in this place she was massive. Their eyes were wide as they looked up at her. She put up her hands and backed away to show she was not a threat.

  “Hi?” she said.

  “Put down your weapon,” one guard said moving in with his spear.

  “Ok. It’s ok,” she set the portal gun down and put her hands back up. She lowered her head to reduce the intimidation factor.

  “Y-you understand common? I think she can understand us,” one of the guards said.

  She nodded, “Yes, I understand. I’m not here to cause trouble. I... think I’m lost. I just need help. My friends need help. Others may be coming here to look for me… very big men with guns.”

  “How did you get past the barrier?” Pol Pin asked.

  “Barrier?” Samantha asked. “I just walk through that path. There was no fence or anything.”

  “P-please come with us for q-questioning,” one of them said out of breath. He used effort to lift the portal gun then realized it was much lighter than it looked.

  With one guard behind her and one in front, they led her deeper into First Town. The place smelled of horse dung and pine. A cool breeze rustled
the nearby trees and stirred dust through the streets. The place felt peaceful and nice. People looked up at her as she passed by. Some backed away in dumbfounded fear, tiny children pointed and nudged their friends, and mini-horses neighed in agitation and steered to avoid her.

  They took her to the biggest building she’d seen so far in First Town. Unlike the simple stone and thatched rooves, this was an all-white building that had a high domed roof with columns lining the outside entrance. She had to dip her head to get inside.

  Chapter 16:

  Welcome to First Town Jail

  They labeled her grey toy looking portal gun and placed it on a desk. She was put in a cell. She had to duck her head to fit. They called it a “waiting area” but it had bars, a sliding door made of bars that locked from the outside, a food slot and the pungent smell of urine emanating from a corner. If it looks like a jail and smells like a jail…

  Samantha sat in the small cell on a child-sized bed. There was a sink… or maybe it was a toilet... whatever it was, it was too small to use.

  The guard, Pip, had offered to put her in a larger adult sized cell but others they called “Wild Land Tribesmen” occupied it. She didn’t want to be in a cell with them. There were two of them, a man and a woman. They looked like people from her world except they were dirty, naked and speaking what sounded like guttural French. Maybe they were Canadians... nudist Canadians from Ontario?

  The Canadians kept staring at her. The woman squatted and peed in the corner of the cell staring. The man was trying to talk to her from his cage but she could not pick out a single word. The only French she knew was “omelette du fromage” and her French-Canadian volleyball coach told her that wasn’t even the right way to say ‘an omelette with cheese’.

  She looked around. The stats were gone. Samantha looked at her hands and then at the portal gun sitting on the guard’s table. She closed her eyes and thought, “Please wake up.”

  She opened her eyes to the staring eyes of the Canadians. She stood up and walked over to the cell doors to address the guard, “Hey, how long do I have to wait?” she asked shaking the door and glancing over at the people in the next cage who were still staring.

  “Oh, not long,” the little bald guard said through a mouth full of leaves. He was crunching on something that looked like berries and salad using chunks of bark to scoop the contents of a clay bowl.

  She lost track of what was real. How could it be a dream if it feels more real than physical reality? Could this be a simulation? Some kind of game? Maybe it started when she went through that light?

  Samantha cried, “Did you tell anyone that the others are coming? They are from where I am from but they’re bad and they have weapons. They’re looking for me. They’ve been holding people captive—”

  The guard stopped eating for a moment and wiped his hands on his uniform, “No need to worry. There’s a magical barrier. Stops Wild Landers.”

  “I’m telling you there was no barrier. And how did THEY get here?” Samantha asked pointing at the Canadians.

  The guard took off his wooden chest plate and laughed, “Good point. We don’t know how these two got in… The theory is that they were here before the barrier was evoked… We hold them here until we can figure it out. I’m not sure how you got in either. That’s why we need to talk to the boss. But bad creatures don’t make it through the barrier that’s why we don’t worry about it.”

  Samantha collapsed on the floor crying.

  “Hey, are you… ok?” The guard asked. “Oh no, don’t... no need for that. Hey, hey,” he said softly. “No need to cry. You didn’t resist us. We just need to get with the boss to see if we need to talk to the governor or something… There is really no need to be sad. I-It’s just procedure that’s all. Once we talk to the Elven Reich folks... Awwww, well you’re just a little girl, aren’t you? a Giant... Little girl. Ok, look, I’ll talk to my boss about letting you—”

  He was interrupted by some commotion outside. He took a peek outside the door and saw people screaming and running from strangely dressed Wild Landers. His heart leapt in his chest as a he heard a whistle. The call for reinforcements.

  He locked the door and backed away. Pip put his chest plate and helmet back on, “They’re dressed like you. Are those the ones you were talking about? But how did they get through the barrier? It must be down.” He grabbed his spear.

  Someone banged on the door. Pip reluctantly glanced out of a peephole in the thick wooden door. It was a young runner.

  The boy was winded, “Pip, a message from Gate 1: First Town is under attack by Wild Land savages. Stay on Arrest Post #1 until you are relieved. Full stop.”

  Pip nodded slowly and closed the slot muting sounds of men yelling in battle. It sounded like the entire First Town Reserve Army had been called.

  “Do you know these Wild Landers attacking?” Pip asked Samantha.

  There were explosions down the street.

  “I told you they are coming for me!” Samantha grabbed the bars. “Please let me out! I’m not safe here!”

  Pip looked around. The horns sounded. This was not good.

  The dirty naked people in the cage next to Sam were yelling in their own language. Then they went silent as the winds from a huge storm shook the entire building. The sudden storm was so violent that the bars were rattling.

  A sense of real terror swept through everyone as the sky went dark and the wind picked up.

  This had to be a nightmare. She kept pinching herself. Any moment she would wake up in her bed snuggled up to “bear bear”. Her mom would be at work...

  Lightning was striking right outside the building.

  Chapter 17:

  Priest the Cleric & Game Master

  Priest saw Samantha point the plastic gun at the ground in front of her. A beam of light projected a pool of rippling energy. Samantha was a portal mage.

  Lady Blades was smiling, “Priest, how is it possible that you found another portal mage. Did you know we’d have a portal device?”

  Priest was also surprised but didn’t show it. He looked at Lady Blades through blackened eyes and said nothing. Priest didn’t know for sure that she would turn out to be a portal mage. He had a strong hunch. D-6174’s search application was certainly a huge help. It had taken months to find her and get close to her. He had infiltrated the school to become a substitute in her class just to get close. He had sent out Gina and Noelle to befriend her to find out more. Priest had finally gotten to talk to her hoping to earn her trust just as he had earned the love and trust of Noelle, Gina, Ebony, Shiori, and others. Once he had a team, the next step would have been to imbue them with mana and/or skills that came with system-realization, which he could do with his Game Master role. None of this would work if he could not get the power of his GM role back.

  Everything he’d done so far was with wit, charm and a developer he’d talked into hacking into their personal lives. Now, after months of planning and positioning, he was about to get Samantha and everyone else killed before they could realize their full potential.

  The portal mage role was rare. Few NPCs and player characters could use the role. In Universal Set .0001, D-6174 calculated that maybe one in a couple of million people fit the criteria to be chosen to take on that role. But it could be rarer than that because no one knew what the system’s algorithm for choosing the role. For all they knew, it was completely random.

  Samantha closed her eyes and drop down into the portal.

  “Wait!” Priest yelled.

  Priest closed his eyes. He had hoped to have the chance to convince Samantha to join his party so that once he got his powers back, he could guide them to level up then try to right the wrongs of the lost portal. Once in the lost portal, he could save his brother and friends if they were still there. He didn’t think Kiera would ever forgive him and that is what hurt the most.

  Who knows where Samantha was or what danger she would get herself into. Even if they could get to her before she was either l
ost forever or killed, she would join Kiera and he’d have to start all over again.

  Lady Blades walked forward and looked down through the portal.

  “We’re going through,” Lady Blades said. “Priest, you know how dangerous it can be going through a portal. We need to go get her. What’s her name?”

  Priest was silent for a moment as he considered what she was saying, “Samantha,” he sighed.

  “Ok, get ready. Bring everyone. Let’s go,” she said.

  “Lady, what about all this?” Jah said pointing at the loot. “Should we leave someone here to continue to sort through it?”

  “There is nothing more valuable than that portal mage,” she replied. “Keep a few guys here to guard the facility. Bring everyone else.”

  She tossed a blue marble to Jah, “Hold on to this. It’s a backup copy of the database. Don’t lose it.”

  Lady Blades took out her swords and dropped through the portal.

  Jah nodded and looked over at the ten soldiers, “You heard her. You five stay here,” he gestured to five soldiers in the corner of the facility. “Everyone else comes with us through the portal.”

  Xavier, Ebony, Shiori, Gina, and Noelle were shoved toward the portal. They were reluctant after seeing two people disappear through the pool of light.

  Xavier protested, “Wait-a-minute, what is that?”

  Skull pointed a gun in his face and said, “It’ll be your grave if you don’t keep walkin’.”

  Xavier stared passed the barrel and into Skull Face’s dark eyes.

  “X, don’t,” Priest said. “Go through. It’s a portal. We’ll figure it out on the other side.”

  Ebony whimpered, “Other side of what?”