by Alex Mulder
Shouts of frustration began to come from the crowd. Something struck Luke on the shoulder. He turned around just in time to see another object headed for Tess’s head, and pulled her out of the way.
“He’s going to leave!” shouted a loud voice from the crowd. “He’s going to log out and leave us here to die!”
Luke shook his head. An overripe fruit splattered on the sand in front of him. Despite himself, he at least wanted them to understand.
“There’s nothing to log out to,” he said, raising his voice for the crowd to hear. “I can’t save any of you. There’s-“
“Coward!” A man pushed out from the front of the crowd, rushing toward them. Luke thought he was going to attack for a split second, and then he saw the man pull his head back, launching a globe of spittle at him. It landed in Luke’s hair, and he didn’t flinch away.
I’m the one who doomed all of them. They have a right to be mad.
Katrina was staring at him from the edge of the crowd. She caught his eye for a moment, as though looking for confirmation. Luke didn’t react, and apparently that was enough to verify her fears. She shook her head and walked away from the crowd, waving her guild members after her.
“Really…?” Kaoru had her fists balled up in anger. “Really, Kato?”
Luke turned to Tess. He half expected her to pull away when he took her hand into his, but she didn’t. Her expression was unreadable as Luke pulled her forward toward the gate.
“What you said before… you’re right.” Kaoru shouted after him. “You aren’t a hero!”
Luke felt another rock strike against his back. He pulled Tess in front of him and pushed forward out of the gate.
CHAPTER 3
Tess didn’t say anything to him as they headed north, at least not at first. The Sarchia Desert was calm, with no players or Tymians in sight. It wasn’t until they reached the border of the Inner Plains that she finally began to give voice to her feelings.
“Luke…” she said softly. “It’s okay if you don’t want all the responsibility. I understand.”
Luke looked over at her, a little surprised. He’d been expecting a similar reaction to the one Kaoru had given him, subdued slightly by her emotions.
“Tess, they’re better off without me,” said Luke. “The reason why they’re in this situation to begin with is because of me. Whenever I try to help, I just end up making things worse, and getting people killed.”
“I’m still alive.” Tess looped her arm through his and leaned against his shoulder.
“I know. And I intend to keep it that way.” Luke pointed to the northwest, toward where the grassy plains met with the ocean. “We’ll find a new zone to claim, and call our own. The Inner Plains are safer than the desert, and with just the two of us, we won’t draw as much attention from the Tymians.”
Tess nodded slowly and smiled at him.
“I’m with you, Luke,” she said. “And I love you.”
Luke leaned over and kissed her.
“Come on,” he said. “We should stop by Stark Town on our way to buy the supplies we’ll need.”
They walked quickly. Luke kept Tess as close to him as he could. The Inner Plains didn’t feel like they had even under the reign of the Arbiters or the developers. The few player inhabited zones that they passed were locked down, much as Kaoru and Katrina had done with Dunidan’s Rest.
It’s as though the world is ending. Everybody is hunkering down for the oncoming storm.
The situation in Stark Town was even more severe. The small settlement looked abandoned. The only merchants still operating, as far as Luke could see, were NPCs. The streets were quiet and empty, and only Kantor hovering in the sky above showed any hint of activity.
“Stark Town must have been attacked, too,” said Tess. “I can’t imagine why else it would be this desolate here.”
Luke looked down the street ahead of them, toward the inn. A single warrior stood outside, dressed in a set of high level armor and clutching a battle axe as though expecting enemies to arrive at any moment.
“What happened here?” asked Luke, as they approached him. The soldier shook his head.
“Death,” he said. “The Tymians attacked. Nobody realized what was going on. They’d all grown so accustomed to being able to log out at the first sign of danger, but not this time!”
The warrior let out a dark laugh. Luke briefly considered heading into the inn, and then shook his head and continued walking with Tess.
There were no bodies in the streets, but the more Luke looked, the more visible the signs of the battle that had taken place became. Windows were smashed, and a number of doors were splintered or set askew in their frames. Many of the NPCs that usually sold their wares during the day were also missing, he realized.
“They don’t even have walls here,” said Luke. “They didn’t stand a chance against a Tymian attack.”
Tess looked a little worried. Luke squeezed her hand and pulled her in a little closer.
We made the right choice. I can protect her better this way.
The merchants that sold crafting materials usually stood in the center of Stark Town, near the rune circle. The rune circle itself was the only transport to and from Kantor. Of all the places in Stark Town to be abandoned, the rune circle was the last he would have bet on.
And as he expected, there were a few players around it, some heading up to Kantor, and some coming down from it. It was nothing like the crowd that Luke was used to around the transport circle, but it was more of a player presence than the rest of the town had.
The merchant Luke was looking for stood underneath a market stall made of sticks and animal skin. Luke walked over, stepping up to the man as he scanned his wares.
“What can I get for you, good sir?” asked the merchant. “Sales have been quite slow lately, as you might expect.”
Luke smiled.
“I need building supplies,” he said. “Nails, glass, and clay, mainly. Also, what have you heard of the Tymian presence in the area?”
The merchant turned and started pulling out supplies and setting them next to his stall.
“Nobody’s managed to pin down exactly where they’re coming from, if that’s what you’re asking,” said the merchant. “There have been sightings of a city in the sky. Not Kantor, obviously. A red city, and some say that the monsters teleport down from it using rune circles.”
Luke nodded.
That makes sense. Makorin was full of Tymians. But if I could make it back up there…
Luke chewed his lip, pulling his gold pouch out of his satchel to distract himself. It wasn’t his responsibility. Each time he tried to push beyond what he was capable of, he’d only made things worse. Doing it again would only set the entire world up for catastrophe.
“Thank you kindly,” said the merchant as he took his money. “Your supplies. I think the both of you will need to carry them…”
He trailed off, staring at something over Luke’s shoulder. Suddenly, he pulled away, abandoning his merchant stall and rushing into a decrepit building in the background.
A dark shadow appeared in the sky. Makorin hovered in the distance, as if it’d been summoned by the mere mention of its name. It looked like Kantor’s evil twin, with each of the two floating cities slightly off to either side of Stark Town.
“Come on.” Luke stuffed his half of the building supplies into his satchel and then began helping Tess with hers. “We have to move.”
“Luke, maybe there’s something we can do to help?” Tess stared up at the red city. The few players left in town scrambled to find cover in buildings, and even the NPCs were moving to safety.
“I can’t,” said Luke. “I can’t help these people anymore. Not through fighting.”
Tess stared at him, but didn’t object. She followed as he hurried down a nearby alleyway, leading her toward the western edge of town. Behind them, they could hear the gurgling, inhuman battle cries of the Tymians.
They didn’t
stop running until they’d reached the outskirts of the city. From what Luke could see behind them, it looked like the Tymians were moving to attack Kantor, rather than Stark Town. The lower settlement had already been subdued. It was one of the few worthy targets left in Yvvaros outside of player run towns.
“Why is all of this happening?” asked Tess. “It doesn’t make any sense…”
Luke thought for a moment. They were in the grasslands now, headed across the sloping hills toward the western coast.
“She’s fighting a war,” said Luke. “The Universal Truth wants control of Yvvaros.”
“But… why?” asked Tess. “She already had it, essentially.”
Luke shrugged. A new question popped into his mind, one that he’d never thought to ask before.
“She can trap people in Yvvaros, but she can also keep people in the outside world from logging in. Why didn’t she do all of this to force players out first?”
“I went all in before this, Luke,” said Tess. “She’d still have to deal with players like me.”
“Why did she only take control of the Tymians? Why not other NPCs, too?”
Tess shook her head.
“I don’t know, Luke,” she whispered. “All of this… it’s scary.”
Luke put his arm around her shoulder.
“If it makes you feel any better, the real world has been getting scarier, too.”
Tess rolled her eyes.
“No, that doesn’t make me feel better,” she said. “But thanks for trying, at least.”
A thin strip of forest separated the Inner Plains from the coast. As they went through it, Luke used his wood chopping axe to cut through trees. He didn’t have the carrying capacity left in his bag to bring the wood with him, but it would save time later.
“Are we just running away from our problems, Luke?” asked Tess.
The question should have caught him off guard, but it didn’t. Kantor, Stark Town, and Makorin were tiny blips on the horizon behind them, but Luke could still see thin tendrils of smoke rising from them, giving the emerald grass underneath an ominous aura.
Luke shook his head.
“I promised you a long time ago that we were going to live together, in-game,” said Luke. “Tess… this might be the last chance I get to fulfill that promise.”
“What are you saying?” Tess blinked her eyes in quick succession. There was too much sadness in her face, so Luke pulled her against his shoulder and hugged her tight.
“I’m saying that I want to try being happy, for a change,” he said. “I want to be happy instead of carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. Is that so unfair?”
Tess stared at him.
“…No,” she finally said. “I don’t think it’s unfair.”
They continued on through the forest. The enemies in the area were weak, barely worthy of Luke’s attention. A small pack of Yvva Wolves moved in front of them as they reached the edge of the trees. Luke pulled his sword out, and the creatures slowly backed away, apparently deciding against confrontation.
I’ve come a long way, but somehow, I feel like I’m back where I started.
The zone they exited the forest in was a small, grassy bay. A small clearing stood at the cleft of it, and the trees dipped back in close to the coast on either side, creating the effect of walling the area in with forest. Luke watched the waves crashing against the sand for a minute before turning to Tess. She looked happy, happier than he’d seen her in days.
“This is perfect, Luke,” she said. “We can have an even better garden here!”
“That’s always where your mind goes to first,” said Luke, smiling.
There were a couple of enemies in the area, and out of necessity, Luke tracked them down and slew them. It was the way ownership was granted over a zone in Yvvaros. It had made perfect sense to Luke back when it was still just a game to him, but now, it just felt like pointless violence and brutality.
Is this why I don’t want to fight anymore? Have I grown soft, developed an allergy to death?
He cut down the last of the enemies in the area, a small Yvva Wolf that was retreating from him as he moved toward it.
ZONE 27 CLAIMED BY THE CONSULATE
Luke smiled. The waves continued to crash against the sand, creating soft ambient noise on the air. Tess was pulling some food out of her bag and setting it on a blanket she’d spread out on the grass. It was easy for him to forget about everything, and he did.
CHAPTER 4
The sun slowly traveled across the sky as Luke set himself to work. He wanted to build a house, somewhere that he and Tess could call home. A home that was just for the two of them, limited in scope and easy to protect.
Tess watched him with a smile on her face as he slowly started working on the foundation, setting wood into the frame on a level section of the grassy clearing. Luke had forgotten how simple building was in Yvvaros. The planks snapped together easily with the nails, each one perfectly sized and sanded.
This is part of what attracted me to this world in the first place. The rough edges of life are smoothed out.
Tess helped him as he went through the process of assembling the walls. The NPC merchant had given them more supplies than they needed, and he could tell just from looking that they’d have enough left over to build a bed, a storage chest, and possible even a couple of chairs and a table.
“Right here?” Tess was standing on her tippy toes with a wooden plank in her hands. Luke smiled at her girlish posture and admired her figure. She’d been Emily in the real world, just as graceful and cute and beautiful.
“A bit further up,” said Luke.
“Here?”
“No, keep reaching…” Luke moved into position behind her, waiting for her to reach her arms up a bit further. He snuck his hands underneath them and began tickling her with a vengeance.
Tess shrieked and dropped the board to the side.
“No, stop, please!” She laughed and curled around defensively.
“I’m just trying to help you find the spot,” said Luke. “It’s-“
His words were cut off as Tess pushed her lips against his, kissing him passionately. She pulled back after a second and set her eyes into an exaggerated glare.
“That was dangerous!” She stomped her foot and pouted. “I could have dropped it on my head, or yours.”
“I couldn’t resist.” Luke pulled her back into a hug, feeling her soft, warm body against his chest. He sighed.
It’s so simple when it’s just the two of us.
It took another half hour for them to finish up the house. Luke used his conjured swords as midair steps to get himself up high enough to finish the roof. As he set the last one into place, the entire structure flashed white for a split second, suddenly seeming much more solid than it had been during construction.
“And that’s it,” said Luke. “It’s done.”
Tess looked at him for a moment, and then glanced off to the south, in the direction of Dunidan’s Rest.
“This is what I’ve wanted, Luke,” she said. “This is what I asked you for… but-“
“Come on, let’s check out the inside.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him, heading inside the house. It was empty, but it felt warmer than the guild hall or any of the other buildings back in Dunidan’s Rest had.
I’m not going to lose her. Not this time.
Tess was watching him carefully. Luke felt a bit self-conscious under her gaze, almost like she could see right into him.
“This matters to you, doesn’t it?” She flicked a couple of strands of hair out of her face. “Being here with me?”
Luke nodded. The sides of Tess’s mouth slowly turned up into a smile.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll get started on the bed.”
As expected, they had enough crafting supplies left for a bed, a table, and two chairs. The sun was setting on the horizon as they finished. Luke was completely exhausted, in the form of both depleted stamina and me
ntal fatigue.
He sat outside with Tess, on the grass just above the shore of the ocean. Tess leaned against him. She reached into her satchel and pulled out a small bundle.
“I forgot to buy food on our way through Stark Town,” she said. “But I still have some fresh fruit and vegetables from the garden.”
She passed him what looked like a small head of lettuce, along with a larger, melon shaped yellow fruit.
“Thanks,” said Luke. He started eating.
For a minute, the only sound was of the waves, rhythmically crashing against the surf.
“Luke.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you worried about me dying?”
Luke flinched. He looked at Tess.
“What?” He shook his head, trying to keep his voice steady.
Tess met his gaze with an intensity that Luke hadn’t realized she had.
“We left Dunidan’s Rest so suddenly.” She shrugged, and then looked out into the ocean, toward the setting sun. “Luke, I love you. I’m with you, whatever you decide to do, and wherever you decide to go.”
“But…?”
Tess shook her head and then sighed.
“You’re acting like you don’t even care,” she said. “Like you’re still planning on, well… You can still log out, Luke. If people die, if all of Yvvaros goes to hell… you’ll be fine.”
“What? Tess, why would you think that’s what’s going through my head?”
She didn’t say anything for several long, condemning seconds. Finally, she turned her eyes away from him and looked out into the ocean.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
Luke watched the sun. The light around it was scattered in brilliant shades of orange and purple.
“Hey, can you do something for me?” Tess reached over and set her hand on his.
“What?”
“I need you to check on Ben,” she whispered. “For me.”
Luke took a deep breath. Ben, Silverstrike as he was known in-game, had been in the hospital when the Second Severence had occurred.