Initializing

by K. T. Hanna

  Telvar suddenly appeared at her elbow. “I thank you for that consideration. Would it be helpful if I scanned recruits for dishonesty?”

  “You can tell if they lie?” Murmur stepped back and eyed the attractive lacerta with respect.

  “So can you, once you figure out how.” Telvar winked at her. “What do you think?”

  “If you can do it in lacerta form so they don’t know you’re a dragon, then sure.” She watched him with an eyebrow raised. “I love that you’re a dragon with a hoard and a spare castle to give us, don’t get me wrong. But if people find out too soon what we’re essentially defending is a dragon with a lair, then we’ll have poachers here ready to zerg and bum rush you regardless of life or limb.”

  Telvar turned his body to face her head on. “I promise that I do not seem at all dragon-like in this form.”

  “Do to us.” Beast shrugged.

  “Ah, but I didn’t before you fought me. You all thought I was just a lizard man.” Tel held up his hand to stop either of them speaking. “I also have my own agenda to pursue, and that includes keeping myself and my followers strong and protected as much as I can. Which, right now isn’t something I can do as well as I would like, but let me gain more experience, let me level before your eyes. I will be an ally like none you have seen.”

  “All right, all right.” Murmur said, raising her hands in mock defense. “We get it, Tel. Trust me, we get it.”

  She turned back to Beast, aware of Tel’s eyes still on her. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking, because she could hear faint echoes of it in her head, like a lulling song in her mind trying to pull her into safe waters. Focusing on Beast, she got her thoughts in order regarding the members. “Make sure everyone we have with us now, knows that Telvar’s true form is a secret. Anyone else that meets him will get introduced to him as the lacerta we know. We’re going to need tight security around here until we at least get a few levels on others.”

  “Sounds reasonable to me.” Beastial smiled and then reached out and squeezed Mur’s hand quickly. “Remember, you’re the one we ask to lead because you’re good at juggling threads through delegation. Don’t try to do everything yourself. It always gets you into a bind, okay?”

  “Yes, big brother that I never had—” he laughed at her words until she finished her sentence, “—and never wanted.”

  She poked out her tongue at him and ran back to the others who were still cleaning out the debris. Their experience had bought them a little time, and made it so that they got a free four hour nap, but soon they’d need to head out again. Sadly, they could no longer level on the island. Killing their ally’s followers wouldn’t be very good form.

  Sinister was finishing off some strange dance-like moves while Murmur watched her. To be fair, Mur didn’t think Sin was entirely aware she was being watched, because her mind was focused. When her friend finally finished the kata-like movements she’d been making, Mur spoke up. “So, what’s that?”

  Sin turned around, glaring at the interruption. “Mur, don’t sneak up on me like that.”

  “What are you doing out here next to this lonely tree, practicing what looks like a very weird kata.” Mur sat down next to her friend and gently rocked into her shoulder. They’d done this when they were kids, when one of them was having a hard time with something. Mur found Sin’s hand and squeezed it.

  For a second, Sin hesitated, and then she turned toward Mur with brightly shining eyes. “You wouldn’t believe this. I think I unlocked one of those hidden skills. If I concentrate on a person, I can tell how much health they have. So I was standing here practicing from a distance.”

  Murmur smiled in response. “That’s a pretty cool ability.”

  “I know, right?” Sinister looked inordinately proud of herself. “I triggered it, I think, because I actually listened to what the NPCs were saying for once. After you told us that’s how you thought it worked, I figured it was worth a try. But I didn’t remember until I went back after we hit level twelve.”

  “Do you have to dance to trigger it? That might get tricky in a fight?” Murmur tried really hard to keep a straight face.

  Sinister scowled. “It helps me concentrate and learn how to focus, idiot.”

  “Please don’t ever change, Sin.” Murmur hugged her friend impulsively, and for a moment it seemed like Sinister didn’t want to let go, her grip was so tight, so she held on for a little while longer than intended. “We need to figure out where to get some levels. There’s no way we’ll be able to keep this little plot if people level too far past us.”

  They both stood up, brushing off their robes. Sinister looked down and frowned. “You’re so right, we need to get pants.”

  “Right?” Murmur agreed wholeheartedly. “Every time I take a step up a small incline I almost fall flat on my face. Robes are so cumbersome, especially when a dragon is blowing gale force winds in my direction.”

  Sinister laughed and they made it back to the others arm in arm.

  Tel stood with Jinna, apparently rejuvenating now he had sealed the deal. Somehow Murmur wanted to figure out how he was benefiting, how he was gaining energy from them. After all, they weren’t leveling right now. She frowned, wishing she could read minds already. But even then she was almost as sure that it wasn’t anything harmful. Maybe he just didn’t want to let them know he had to take a shit. These new senses of hers had a horrible way of confusing her more than they helped.

  “Guys.” Murmur cleared her throat. “We really need to figure out where to level now. While this island is an awesome perk, we now don’t have a leveling plan, and while we got a nice boost, we also took a nap.”

  “Mur?” Havoc stepped forward and took her hand, squeezing it gently and making her look down at him. “Take a breath and do a who all.”

  Sending out the command, Murmur obliged.

  All Players Level 14: 0

  All Players Level 15: 0

  All Players Level 13: 14

  Havoc waited patiently, watching her eyes. “The two who are also thirteen are people Beastial is about to invite on a trial basis.”

  Murmur narrowed her eyes, and sent out another inquiry.

  All Players Level 12: 325

  “So.” She started slowly. “Are we recruiting the hundreds who are level twelve too?”

  Havoc laughed. “Don’t be silly. The point is, most of us are over halfway through this level. We’ll get there. Let’s just not be stupid.”

  Grudgingly, she had to admit that Havoc was right. Damned logic. She reined back her admonitions. “Well then, does anyone have any ideas for where we could level up to fifteen?”

  Tel leaned forward, a smile on his face. It reminded Murmur of a meme she’d seen with a laughing gecko. “Why fifteen? Sixteen would make more sense as you’ll boost another level and have an abundance of new abilities. You should all check for them. Sixteen makes much more sense, trust me. If you think it’s a good idea to gain that level, I may have the perfect spot for you.”

  Murmur blinked at him. She hadn’t thought NPCs were supposed to help like this, but then the event they’d triggered followed by the reward was also severely unique. A nagging feeling in the back of her mind muttered that they didn’t deserve this, and karma was going to be cruel. Still though, hadn’t they earned it through fair and well-planned combat? Maybe if she thought it often enough, she’d convince herself it was true.

  “Sixteen sounds like a good plan,” she said carefully, still waiting for more of an explanation.

  “I have to agree, it’s probably a better idea.” Devlish winked at his fellow lacerta. “Us lacerta are full of good ideas.”

  “Once your hearthstone is set here, you will be able to Gate back to this location by thinking home gate. This will allow you to keep a bind point at some other location in the world.” Hiro piped up, standing next to Jinna.

  “Hiro’s help has been amazing. He’s designing our hearth right now. Should have it done soon.” Jinna beamed with pride,
patting the NPC on the shoulder.

  “Thank you, Hiro.” Murmur was starting to feel overwhelmed. She hadn’t expected them to get a damned guild plot so soon, let alone a freaking island on top of a bloody dragon hoard. It wasn’t exactly normal game play as far as she was concerned. The thing was, she felt quite certain that other people would have the same experience. They weren’t doing anything other adventurers weren’t going to do, or weren’t capable of doing, they were just getting there slightly earlier than anyone else.

  “Where’s the place, Tel?” She asked the dragon, realizing the prostpect of having him as a part of the team held endless possibilities. The kindness he’d shown so far made her eager, if still a bit wary, to learn what working with him would be like.

  “You might want to sell in Ululate first. The luna are an amazing people and will pay you well. Either way you set out, it’s relatively close to here. There was a crossroads you took on your way here. Had you taken the right-hand fork, you would have headed into a point where it branched out, and a wood began. In those woods are gnolls. To shorten a very long story, there were some really nasty people a long while ago who performed experiements on dozens of luna. Those experiments went awry and created the gnolls. They are nasty and fast, spiteful and intelligent. Off to the south in the back of the woods is their territory. They live mostly on the ground in huts, but their lookout towers are impressive. They’re a strong group of gnolls, just right for you to level with. That is where I suggest you travel to.”

  “Is there anything you need from there?” Murmur asked suddenly, still suspecting ulterior motives.

  Tel blinked and shook his head. “No, not technically. But I would like for you to come back stronger, and thus for me to also gain strength, so perhaps there is.”

  She smiled, because that was something she wouldn’t mind sharing. “That, we will gladly bring back.”

  Murmur turned around to the group and clapped her hands. “Let’s finish up whatever tasks we were doing here, and head out. Daylight’s a-wasting.”

  She watched as the others moved back to their tasks, and tugged at the uncomfortable skirts she was wearing. The thing was, she didn’t want some crappy tunic. She wanted something that afforded a little protection. Idly an idea began to form in her mind. Perhaps they’d be able to have a crafting station or something.

  “Jinna!”

  The stocky dwarf ran over to her. She’d never seen him so happy before. He was in his element. She cleared her throat. “I think you need to be like the guild hall foreman or something, because you understand this shit way more than I do. Also,” and she paused, unsure quite how to phrase it. “What does it mean to have a guild hall?”

  His eyes widened in surprise, and he chuckled. “In this game it means you have a safe haven, unless you’re at war, that provides you with a calmness buff that can last several hours. With enough construction, you can raise your guild hall’s ranking and include crafting tables, herb patches, vegetable and food gardens. Not so sure about breeding animals for meat or such, but basically you make your guild self-sufficient.”

  Murmur pondered that for a moment before calling out to Beastial. “Beast!”

  He trotted over, and she could see that he too was brimming with excitement as he mock saluted her. “Yes, ma’am!”

  She rolled her eyes. “Gods, no. See if you can reach out to any crafters. I get the feeling we’re going to need them, especially wood workers.”

  “Sorry for the interruption, but...” Hiro approached, his lacerta eyes reflecting the gold of his scales. “Actually Jessup over there is a master woodworker. As a general rule, we should have every craft you need covered.”

  “Really?” Murmur was having more and more misgivings. She felt like they were cheating. “Well, I guess that solves that.”

  Jinna watched her as Hiro left. “You still want to get the crafters, don’t you?”

  “Yep. I’d still like to put out a call to pure crafters. There will always be player made armor we’ll need, or potions, or weaponry. Please, Beast?” She smiled at him.

  “Sure. Sure.” Beastial said as he rolled his shoulders.

  Jinna nudged her. “You feel like it’s too easy, don’t you?”

  “That transparent, am I?” She shook her head. “I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, I keep feeling like we’re having it too easy.”

  “Maybe we are, but we did fight well. Had we been assholes, Telvar could easily have killed us after we ran out of ammo and shields, but he didn’t. Thus, our actions spoke for us. We earned this.” Jinna squared his jaw and stood proud.

  “When you put it like that.” She reached over and gave the dwarf a brief hug. “Thanks, Jinna.”

  She watched as everyone finished their tasks, thoughts still racing through her mind at nineteen to the dozen.

  “He’s right you know.”

  Mur didn’t even have to turn around to know it was Tel speaking. “I know he is, and yet.”

  “And yet you think you don’t deserve it.” Tel stood next to her, watching everyone. “He was right; I could have just killed you. But the effort you all put in, the teamwork it took with all twelve of you contributing, with each of you trying to make everyone else’s jobs easier, and with all of them not wanting to force your hand and make you use the powers you have that you still don’t understand—the powers that you seem to fear right now.

  “Yes, you deserve what I have given you. I was left with full autonomy to decide to whom I would gift this land. There were criteria I required to be met before this occurred. You fulfilled it. This wasn’t an idle choice, nor was it a rushed one. I fully doubt that I would have met anyone else I’d have been happy with. And you do realize I’m not the only one in this world who can gift something like this? I’m just the first who has. It’s not really a leg up, or a benefit, it’s just that you got this first.” He patted her head. “There is only one thing I wish.”

  “And?” She smiled at the calm thought waves that always emanated from him, even though she technically knew he could modulate his psionics far better than she could hers.

  His smile was sad, and Murmur couldn’t help the gasp of shock that escaped her. “I wish that you’d reached me before Belius reached you.”

  “What do you know about Belius?” She whispered, her eyes darting all around to check who could hear them. No one seemed to be paying attention.

  “I don’t want to influence your mind too much. You have such a great platform in yourself. And you’ve embraced psionic abilities I didn’t think possible for someone such as you. Everyone knows Belius. He is the locus enchanter master. Adept at weaving illusions and telling you just enough of what you want to hear.” Telvar’s smile was still just this side of sorrowful, and frustration boiled inside Murmur at the fact that no one ever gave her a freaking straight answer.

  “He never tells me what I want to hear. No one in this damned game is actually direct. But with Belius I know where I stand. I can tell there are many things he has yet to share with me, and so I’m careful. But you, Tel,” she paused and studied him, leaning back to get a better view. “You, I can only get a general and well-intentioned feeling from. I can’t tell whether my Thought Sensing has gotten better, or whether you’re just projecting what it is you want me to feel.”

  Tel raised an eyebrow and this time his smile was happier. “I didn’t realize you’d come so far. No, I’m not projecting, not deliberately anyway. I do find that keeping my thoughts to the more mellow side of my temperament helps me escape those who would do the other side of me harm.”

  That made sense, and relieved some of Murmur’s tension. “Well, if it helps you, you definitely don’t exude raging screech dragon.”

  Tel laughed. “That was a mental shriek. Your reactions were so fast, and during the second one you managed to shield a couple of your friends. It seems your psychic abilities are beginning to manifest some kinetic ones. Quick thinking mixed with compassion and tactics is a rare find, and
an admirable quality. Most of you react in a way that means they’ll protect someone they care about, but you and your friend Sinister, you are of a different ilk.”

  “We’ve been friends since kindergarten. Our families used to live side by side.” Murmur watched as Sin practiced her ability across the grass. The movements were fluid, and Sin was so focused, she was biting her tongue again.

  “It is a good thing to have a long-term friend. They can help us see ourselves when no one else does. They are more honest about who we are, than we realize they can be.”

  “Now you’re just going philosophical on me, Tel. Don’t do that. It makes my head swim.” Murmur laughed.

  But the dragon just looked at her, a thoughtful set to his jaw. “Your head is how you are here, correct?”

  Murmur raised an eyebrow. “Technically it’s how I travel to Somnia, yes.”

  “Interesting,” was all the lacerta said, and his face remained perfectly impassive, hiding any expression from her. “I must venture below and get some coin for Hiro. No one but me can retrieve it, on pain of death. I promised compensation, and I will help rebuild this beautiful castle.”

  Mist fell over his eyes, like he was remembering a distant past with a fondness he no longer had for any living thing.

  “Anyway,” he continued. “Make sure you avoid the opposite side of the forest where the bandits are. Make sure you veer off to the left instead.”

  “What’s on the right-hand side?” Murmur couldn’t help herself.

  He laughed and turned around just as he was about to enter the basement area, and yelled across the way so everyone heard him. “Spiders! Enormous level seventeen to twenty spiders!”

  “Shit,” muttered Murmur. She’d just had to ask.