by Aaron Jay
Tasha’s voice followed us as we reappeared in his office, “Better hurry, Miles. Jude is eager to see you again!”
We reappeared back in my father’s office.
“That could have gone worse. Of course, it could have gone better,” I said.
“It is good enough.”
“You aren’t the one who has to overcome three higher level Eastmans including my previous best friend and kill the dungeon boss. But, if I haven’t said it, thanks for your help back there.”
“You merely have to play your best.”
There was that merely again.
“You are welcome, Miles. I merely love you.” Merely.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Heading back to my apartment seemed like a bad idea. Even if the Eastmans didn’t have people waiting to break my legs, it would let them know when to expect me to reappear back in the instance. My father’s house didn’t allow for a pod that linked in a typical fashion into the Game. After some conversation and planning with my father that boiled down to different versions of, “use your best judgment based on your experience” nothing was left but for me to find a public pod and see if I could clear a boss and take out three Eastman players who overpowered me by five levels, one of whom knew my play style as well as anyone.
I napped in my old room waiting for darkness to fall. ArchE had spotted a lookout surveilling the house but my father had a hidden exit that was clear of the observation.
I engaged my Eyes of the Hunter. I did it in real life. Using game skills in real life should have felt odder but my entire game experience had been overwhelming from the beginning. Most of the time I felt like I was playing against Maya and Jude and all the rest more than against the damned Wyrmmdiggers. No wonder our borders were stalled and shrinking. The Party had us playing games alright, just not with the AI or nano.
The intermittent lighting in the city didn’t bother me at all. In fact, compared to the last time I made my way through the city at night looking for a public gaming center, I moved in the opposite way. I hurried through the rare pools of light and did my best to keep to the darkness.
The red brick building surrounded by the desolate remains of a barren park was right where Jude and I had left it. Had my story come full circle? That sounded poetic, but really it was just the closest remote public facility that had almost no chance of having a bunch of Eastmans around it.
The door opened easily this time. I didn’t have to knock or anything. Looks like Guttmacher or whoever was running the place now was doing things a little more by the book.
Entering, the door swung smoothly closed behind me. The lighting was adequate inside so I turned off my Eyes of the Hunter. No sense freaking out whoever else was in here. If your father mutates you from human normal, that is something best kept as a family secret.
Turning a corner on my way towards the pods, I ran into a figure in GM whites and blacks. We recognized each other at the same time.
“You!”
“You.”
It was GM Patricia Pulling. Arneson’s partner, of all the luck. We stared at each other, both looking for signs of danger or aggression.
“Good evening, GM Pulling. How are you?” I ventured.
“Player Boone. I’ve been better.”
I put on a polite face of enquiry.
“I’m very sorry to hear that.”
“My partner recently resigned under awkward circumstances. I find myself assigned to this shithole for the foreseeable future.”
“Huh. You have a lot of hard feelings over this?”
She glared at me.
“Because it seems to me that if I were a petty sort of person I might also harbor some bad feelings about how Arneson’s actions have adversely affected my life and game.”
I took in her face. She really was attractive. I think the solitary nature of my game and life was messing me up. But a female face was nice to look at, even if it was set over a GM’s uniform. And somehow, I didn’t think her anger and annoyance at me ran all that deeply.
“I mean it’s not the same as being assigned to a public pod station, but spending a few months in jail so someone can curry some favor here and there… Well, if I wasn’t such an enlightened sort of person, I might be bitter. But you and I are better than that aren’t we?”
Her anger broke.
“Damn Dave. I told him trying to play with the Party was going to end badly. But he was ambitious. He did some good work here and there. Helped some people. Saved some people from some bad stuff.”
I thought about making a crack about how Mussolini also got the trains running on time, but my father had raised me with a bunch of cultural and historical references that no one else got. Not only would she likely not know who Mussolini was, she might not even know what a train schedule was. I think half the reason I became such a contrary, stubborn, lonely SOB wasn’t just the Party having it in for me and my family. A lot of it was that most people didn’t get my jokes.
So I just sighed and decided to see if I could get a pod without the Eastmans showing up and pulling its plug or something equally disastrous.
“So, I don’t know how many details your ex-partner shared with you…” I began.
“He gave me the high points.”
“Where is he now?” I asked.
“He is in an officers’ training program with the Eastmans.”
“Huh. Tasha didn’t just kick him to the curb. He got off lucky.”
“He is actually a pretty damned good player. He’ll hold up his end for the Eastmans. That is half of why he was willing to play on the shady side of the street. He was frustrated that his skills didn’t do him any good.”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t know anything about that. If only there was some sort of organization that was supposed to try to make sure that everyone got a fair shot at the Game.”
She had the grace to look embarrassed. I took that as a good sign.
“So, you planning on giving him a call? Or anyone else for that matter?”
“About what?”
“Running into me. Here.”
She looked shocked for a minute and then flushed.
“No. Your play is private. I won’t do anything like that. I won’t let anything like that happen to you.”
I stared at her, trying to see if she was blowing smoke. I wish that I had been able to just wait. Wait until Jude and the others would leave or clear the dungeon for me. But Tasha Eastman would surely trade nine months of a bunch of level eight players to get her hands on Numitor Boone’s kid and win the bet. Life is risk and you have to play to win.
“Ok. Well I need a pod. And as much anonymity as you can give me.”
“That won’t be a problem. As far as I can tell no one ever comes here. Come on. Let me get you set up.”
GM Pulling and I made our way down to the three game pods.
“You care which one? They are all cleared. I just finished a maintenance cycle on that one. The others are good for quite a while but if you plan on staying under for long then can you take the one I already worked over? “
“Sure.”
The pod’s lid slid back. I climbed in. My modesty was protected as my clothes converted back into their constituent nano, but having her here made me aware of how I technically wasn’t wearing any clothes anymore. I thought her eyes might have a small glint in them as she watched me, but perhaps it was wishful thinking.
“See you later Miles Boone. Good luck,” she wished me.
As soon as GM Pulling’s kind face disappeared behind the cover of the pod I put thoughts of her away. I lay in the dark and tried to get myself prepared for what was to come next. There would be four enemies waiting to kill me when I reappeared. Three players and the chieftain.
It was really too bad that Arneson hadn’t chosen differently, not for Pulling’s sake but for mine. If he had paid the wergild I would have had something to help me. Tasha’s gift was as useful as this horse statue the Trojans once received. Jude and the
rest were going to also be geared to the nines. Or technically to the level eights. I didn’t see Tasha underestimating me anymore. She’d give them the best gear their level could accommodate.
Was Tasha going to give them PvP speced gear? Such gear was possible in the game but it came with serious social stigma. The game is supposed to be about saving humanity. It was necessary because we had to adhere to as many gaming tropes and cultural artifacts as possible to get the wild nano to respond. But having it or using it was seen as really disgusting. Still, the clans all had some in their armories. They even had players who specialized in it. You can’t change people in the end.
My intuition guided by my experience said there was some way to pull this off. Now I only needed to figure out what it was.
The smell of the smoothness of satin linens filled my nose. My ears filled with the sound of twinkling stars. I nearly choked on the taste of a rusty door hinge’s creak. And then I was back in the instance.
I immediately fell into a crouch and looked around trying to get my bearings. Jude and the Eastmans wouldn’t know exactly where in the instance I had logged out from. They would have had to make sure that I didn’t finish off the endboss and escape so they would have had to guard the entrance to the last room. But, did they try and cover the rest of the dungeon?
Yes.
There was Aabid. Right at the entrance where we fought last time. Damn it. There are no sounds or light effects when you log in or out. You just appear. Luckily, he was facing the wrong way. They would have been waiting for hours for me, unsure when I was going to log back in. You can’t keep spinning around for hours on end. You could walk a patrol though, so his sitting on his ass was some pathetic gameplay.
It turns out I was giving him too hard a time. After a moment, he hauled himself onto his feet and started walking. I guess I caught him at the end of a little break. I stayed as still as a statue, barely breathing. He took a few steps and was sure to turn around to find me at any moment. I raised myself into a sprinter’s starting stance then took a breath. Just as I was about to launch I heard a yip and growl. Remus! Faithful friend. I took off, hoping that Aabid would be distracted by the wolf.
Remus’ bark didn’t work much if at all. I was only a few steps into my sprint when I heard Aabid yelling, and his words simultaneously hit my ears and my party chat.
“He is here! At the entrance. I am engaging!”
He is here! At the entrance. I am engaging! - Aabid
Fire and the pain that comes with it washed over my back. Damage notices clamored for attention in the corner of my vision. I changed my vote again. Aabid was an idiot. He should have led off with some form of crowd control. Unless he could one-shot me, going for damage and letting me flee was just stupid. Thank god for stupid enemies.
The actual mine entrance was ahead of me. In a moment, I’d be inside and could make my escape and regroup. Something seemed different about the piled scree and gangue by the entrance. My weeks obsessively studying the floor and rocks of the dungeon gave me a warning. I leapt over the area that looked disarranged from my last walk through. As I sailed over the dirt, it began to blink with the telltale of a trap. Maybe I’d have to change my vote on Aabid’s competence yet again. Aabid had tried to drive me into a trap.
Chuckling to myself, I made my way through the tunnels. My Eyes of the Hunter made carrying a light unnecessary. My weeks and weeks wandering these tunnels made me able to slip effortlessly through the twists and turns, past the traps I didn’t or couldn’t disarm.
A text in party chat slipped past my eyes.
He made it past me into the mine - Aabid
Understood. No more texting. Stick with the plan. Hi, Miles. Sorry it has to be this way. - Jude
Jude’s apologies without changing any of his choices or behavior were almost worse than his hunting me down in the first place. The fact that he refused to accept that he was my enemy while doing everything an enemy would do was maddening. He was such a self-deluded, self-righteous, pompous ass.
Stopping and listening for the sound of approaching enemies, there was nothing but silence. What was their likely plan? They had a few options as I saw it. They could just camp down by the end boss. This was the low risk option for them. If they were willing to just sit in the instance for months on end they could force me to lose the bet. They had time and I didn’t.
They wouldn’t want to do that if they could get away with not doing it. Nine months sitting in a hole not leveling was a problem for them. At level eight they had their own beginner’s quests to think of. Tasha could make good on that but all their peers would be progressing. Tasha and Maya may be grateful for their sacrifice, but out of sight and out of mind was no way to keep feudal leaders appreciating you.
If they were going to use this option then they wouldn’t have set Aabid up at the entrance by my spawn point. They were going to hunt me down. Camp my spawn point and just stay on top of it and kill me over and over as I resurrected until I had dropped all my gear and was level 1. Then they would leave me a naked level 1 player with the level 11 Chieftain to take out. Ugh. Sucks to be me.
This was good news, sort of. One man at my spawn point. At least one man at the end boss. Were they keeping two by the end or was someone roaming looking for me? Only one way to find out.
It was like old times as I meditated, turned invisible and lurked through the tunnels past traps and sites of old fights. I became even more cautious as I came to the last split before the Chieftain. They could be anywhere from here on out.
Without my Eyes of the Hunter I never would have caught them. The eyes, my weeks of obsessive study of the details of the tunnel and the fact that I knew that they had to be near here let me see the subtle darker patches of darkness in the tunnel and showed me Jude and the other Eastman whose name I couldn’t remember. They had set up about halfway down the tunnel leading to the room with the Chieftain.
I retreated and turned down a few corners into a spot from where I knew I’d be able to hear anyone approaching and I settled in to have a good think.
This hardcore mode is pretty good for your mental health. I never would have meditated as a daily practice without needing it for my magic use. Even under tons of stone and rock, hunted by a former friend, old enemies and a giant dog monster, I felt like I was handling my life perhaps better than I had back when I was an ostracized loner hassled and bullied by Party wannabes. I can’t control other people’s choices. I can’t control how I feel. I can only control what I choose to do, so I must choose wisely. I was able to study my options calmly in ways I had never been able to before. Seeking personal enlightenment of any sort wasn’t really on my to-do list back before I started playing this game.
Ok. I breathed and thought. I had a few advantages. First, I had a secret room neither Jude et al. nor the Wyrmdigger Chieftain knew about. Second, they couldn’t kill the chieftain without finishing the instance and allowing my escape. Their gear might even be spec’ed for PvP. It for sure wasn’t going to be anti-kobold gear. One plus one plus one equals three. Then I figured out what I should do. You probably had already figured out my plan long since. You knew what I should do as soon as you heard Tasha Eastman reveal her plot. All I can say is that it is a lot harder to figure this stuff out as you live it. Figuring out effective strategies while a monster leaps for your throat or your family’s enemies reveal plots in the center of their power while you face a lifetime of enslavement is harder than thinking this stuff out in the abstract. Anyway, I liked my new plan. This was going to be easier than I thought. I almost laughed as I made my way back to the end boss.
My preparations hadn’t taken me long. It was time to begin.
You think I’m trapped in here with you Eastmans… Stupid. You are trapped in here with me… hahahahahaha! I texted.
There was a slight rustle as Jude and the other fellow shifted in response to my text. Good. Reputation is a useful thing.
I cleared this instance solo. And you think I a
m scared of you? You should be scared of me. Are you stronger than this entire instance?
One more rustle and Jude hissed for quiet from down the tunnel.
I had one more card to play to get under their skins.
You are playing against a Boone. My father is Numitor Boone. Think of it. You have set yourself against Numitor Boone. He beat the wild nano. He stood off the Party. I am his son by blood. Monsters who killed the world couldn’t beat my family. None of you would have cleared this instance. You thought that you were making the right allies. You are making the wrong enemy. You are going to die.
Silence. Maybe my cage rattling was going to flop. I was about to launch out anyway when a reply came to my text.
The Eastmans will kill you! - Aabid
I smiled to myself. Thank god for stupid enemies. My vote flipped again. Aabid is an idiot.
The Eastman clan can’t come in here. It is just the three of you. All the clans together couldn’t stop my father. I may not be my father but I can handle the three of you.
Think you will keep up with that attitude after we camp your ass into oblivion? - Aabid
Aabid. - Jude
That the idea? Aabid already screwed that up. He has twice my levels and he couldn’t stop me. Of course, he was sitting on his ass. Make sure you let Tasha and Maya know who’s to blame after I smoke you all and finish soloing this bitch.
I didn’t know exactly where your log in point was. I still got my best attack in on you. - Aabid
There you go. This exchange is part of our game logs. You know the Eastmans are going to audit this after you guys screw it up.
So? - Meijas
Now I knew the name of the other Eastman. Good to know the names of everyone I need to defeat.
Goddamn it. Shut up! - Jude
I heard Meijas whisper from down the corridor to Jude.
“What does it matter? He can’t get past us. He knows and we know he has to come kill the endboss. Sitting in silence for who knows how long--possibly months--will drive us crazy,” Meijas murmured.