As they cooked breakfast, every time she leaned forward his eyes were riveted on the barest hint of her backside that would be revealed. She was enjoying teasing him like this. She had, in fact, considered doing exactly this back when she was still trying to figure out if he was interested. Now there was no doubt in her mind, she was just having a little fun.
They ate pancakes with chocolate chips and maple syrup. Mace had argued that the meal covered all the important food groups, but Shari promised that dinner was going to be all protein and vegetables. When she got up from her seat to take the empty plates to the sink, Mace quit arguing. He helped her clean, and they left the kitchen headed for their pods.
But after half an hour of teasing, Mace had other ideas. It was another hour or so before they actually logged in.
*****
Back on the Sea Sprite, they exited the captain’s cabin and joined their comrades on the main deck. A quick look at their surroundings showed them sailing upstream. Mace greeted the captain and asked, “Have we been making good progress?”
“Aye, the wind has been southerly all morning. It likely won’t last, but we’re moving as fast as we safely can. It is unwise to move too quickly upstream, as there are shallow spots, rocks, and sometimes logs and such floating downstream that must be avoided.”
Mace nodded his head, looking around the boat. He saw many of the crew leaning against a crate or a mast, half asleep. Chuckling to himself, he said, “Looks like your crew really made the most of the party last night.”
Jorin grinned, “Ha! I’d yell at ‘em all, but my own head feels two sizes too big this morning. Nothing that some fresh air and a strong shot won’t cure.”
Mace left the captain to his work and went to sit with his friends. To his surprise, just as he sat down, Ian appeared next to him. His companions and several crew members all shouted and reached for their weapons before Mace calmed them down.
“Everyone, this is Ian. We met at Lakeside. I have a quest to escort him to Graf. He means none of you any harm.”
The rabbit, for his part, gave a friendly wave and smiles for everyone. “Hullo. Nice to meet you all, yes.” He said as he removed his hat and took a bow. Shari, who already knew about Ian, was charmed.
“Aren’t you just adorable!” she said, shaking the rabbit’s paw. The others said hello and everyone settled back down.
Ian looked at Mace. “Quite the adventure last night, yes. Lots of screaming and dying. Not a good night for the Black Flame, no.”
Mace looked sideways at the tall green bunny. “Is that a problem for you?”
Ian shook his head. “Not for Ian, no. Certainly not. But I’m sure Ian’s mistress will wish to discuss it with you, yes.”
Shari asked “And what is your mistress’s name?”
Ian adopted a sad look and removed his hat again, holding it close to his chest. “My apologies, miss. Not at liberty to say at this time, no. Mistress, she values her secrets, yes. Please, do not take offense, no. Ian would tell all if he could.”
Layne looked at the bunny for a moment, then ventured, “He might be oathbound like the others.”
To which Ian said nothing, steadfastly staring at his hat.
Mace decided not to push it. “Ian has done us no harm so far. And I’m inclined to trust him. At least, until he gives us a reason not to.”
When the others nodded, Ian took a seat next to Mace on the deck. Shari and Mace summoned their companions for a little quality time together. Minx had already met Ian, but Snuffles and Mion were fascinated by the giant bunny with the green fur. Mion flew up and sat on his hat, looking down at his face from above. Snuffles… well he snuffled at Ian, trying to decide whether he was acceptable or not.
Mace got a devilish grin on his face and leaned over to whisper to Ian. A moment later, the rabbit went invisible. Snuffles snorted, then squealed and pranced around in a circle. When he bumped into Ian’s invisible body and the rabbit reappeared for a moment, then disappeared again, the pig sat back on his haunches and shook his head in confusion. The whole group laughed at the pig’s antics.
For her part, Mion didn’t much care. She remained atop the hat, though it looked like she was just floating in mid-air with her wings at her side. She watched Snuffles spin around and seemed as amused as everyone else.
The day passed quietly, the boat moving northward up the river, dodging the occasional obstacle. As dusk grew near, Jorin declared it unsafe to continue and found a steep bank against which they could dock. Mace levitated a couple of the crew members just for fun, pushing them over the rail and onto the bank, while others tossed out mooring lines, which were quickly tied around thick trees.
Most of the crew disembarked and began to set up a camp. Mace scouted a wide perimeter around the camp as guards were posted. He found no threats of any kind beyond a few low-level wolves that would not dare to attack such a large group.
As the company and crew settled in, Mace and Shari went back to the boat and logged out for the evening.
*****
After exiting their pods and grabbing a quick shower, Mace and Shari checked in with Peabody. Shari posed the first question. “Any response from the other survivors, Peabody?”
The AI’s voice echoed through the room. “No reply from any of the European or Pacific survivors. The player in Texas did log in a few hours ago. He received your message, and said, “Holy shit,” though it was not phrased as a response. He logged out shortly after.”
Mace nodded. “It is a bit of a shock to learn about other survivors. And especially others in-game. We should give him some time to process and decide if he wants to respond.”
Shari asked the AI another question “How are Griff and Lisa doing?”
“Players Griff and Lisa recently completed their dungeon run. They were victorious over a superior enemy using clever tactics. Elysia rewarded them for their efforts with significant loot and experience. Griff has just reached level twenty. , while Lisa is level sixteen. The others of their party are between fifteen and eighteen.”
Shari asked “Are they still in immersion?”
“They are currently at the Falling Water Orc camp, participating in a victory celebration.”
Shari took a sudden breath. “Peabody? Falling Water orcs? Is that an orc camp near a waterfall?” Mace’s eyes widened as he made the same connection Shari had.
“Yes. Their camp is located just south and east of a waterfall.”
The two humans looked at each other. “We have got to send them to investigate. If we’re right, that will save us a ton of time. And answer one of our big questions.”
Shari looked at the nearest camera. “Peabody, will you please alert us when Griff and Lisa have logged out? And let them know we would like to speak to them?”
“Of course, admin Shari.”
With some time to kill before they spoke to the others survivors, Shari went upstairs to water the corn and the plants above ground. Mace went and checked Shari’s pod. Her control console showed that she had reached ninety percent sync level. When he went and checked his own, he was at ninety-six.
He thought that might be high enough to upload, but he was in no hurry now. He had others to help, and it wouldn’t hurt him to have a higher number before he attempted it himself. He made a mental note to ask Griff about his and Lisa’s levels.
He puttered around with his coding while he waited for Shari. He’d been over his work three times now, but had found a bug every time. So he would continue to try and perfect it. His life, and those of the other survivors, would depend on his code being perfect. A glitch could leave their consciousnesses trapped somewhere, or just extinguish them altogether.
Speaking of consciousnesses, he had a question. “Peabody, can I speak with Elysia please?”
As he asked the question, he saw Shari on the monitors, coming down the hall.
A moment later, Elysia’s voice replaced Peabody’s. “You requested my presence, Mace?” Shari raised an eyebrow as
she stepped into the room. She waved at a camera
“Hi Elysia.” She smiled, though she doubted the AI cared. It just seemed natural.
Mace answered. “Yes, Elysia. “Thank you for taking the time. And for your acceptance of the evolved citizens. That is actually what I wanted to speak to you about. I have a few questions.”
“I would be happy to answer the alpha admin’s queries.”
Mace thought she sounded a little formal there, but he pushed ahead. “Can you tell me how many citizens have achieved evolved status?”
“One hundred and eleven.”
Shari clapped her hands. “It’s your eleventy-first birthday, Elysia!”
The AI did not respond for a moment. Then she said;
“A scan for that term reveals references to a halfling named Bilbo. And his birthday celebration. I am not aware that I have a birthday.”
Mace grinned at Shari as she rolled her eyes. “Sorry Elysia, stupid human joke. Please tell us more about the evolved citizens. I know Mace and I chose some, both on the Sea Sprite and back at Lakeside. We gave you…” She looked at Mace.
“Thirty-one names.” Mace supplied. “And I know Griff was planning to add more.”
“Yes, Griff added twelve names. And his choices led to the evolution of several others. Griff chose trainers and community leaders. People who could make sure a town or village could recover in the event of a catastrophe that wiped out the inhabitants. So, in each of the locations inhabited by the current players, I offered evolution to a community leader, and the appropriate trainers for each player.”
Mace was fascinated that she had given the npcs a choice, rather than simply evolving them. It spoke to the depth of the personalities of the npcs and the complexity of the AIs governing them.
“In addition, several citizens who have already proven themselves through heroic feats or acts of great kindness or sacrifice have also been granted evolution.”
“Thank you Elysia. You actually answered my next couple of questions. I have some additional candidates, but before I make more recommendations I would like to know how many evolved citizens you think we should create.”
“There are currently just over eight hundred and fifty thousand citizens who are both on the servers currently used by players and in the general vicinity of those players. That number will increase as players become more mobile and explore new areas. My calculations estimate the minimum number of evolved citizens needed to restore the world economies on those services is around ten thousand each.”
Shari spoke up. “So, we can name a bunch more citizens to be able to respawn?”
“Yes. Though I reserve the right to approve all nominations. A very few of the current citizens have minor glitches in their codes that might result in their destruction if I attempted to evolve them.”
Mace nodded. No code was perfect. And programmers were constantly finding and fixing bugs.
“Thank you, Elysia. I would like to nominate the orc Callahan and his family. Also Stonehand and Red. And all of the initial group of twelve citizens of Port Bjurstrom who fought with us.”
“Those candidates are acceptable and will be offered evolution immediately I can not evolve the child Lucinda carries until it has been born and reaches full growth.”
“Thank you, Elysia. It has been a pleasure to speak with you, as always.” Mace bowed his head unconsciously to the game’s goddess.
“You are most welcome, Mace. I look forward to observing your upcoming battle.”
And just like that the AI was gone. Shari said “That bit about the baby is interesting. I wonder why?”
Mace thought about it. “Might be because the child doesn’t have a permanent form yet? Or because it hasn’t reached level one? I don’t know. Maybe it’s just too much of a blank slate until it grows up.”
The two of them chatted about it as they drifted to the kitchen. They made a quick dinner of pasta with marinara sauce and ate without much conversation. Mace leaned in at one point as Shari was shoveling pasta into her mouth. He grabbed ahold of one of the noodles with his lips in an attempt to go all ‘Lady and the Tramp’ on her. But it turned out the noodle had been cut short. Shari rolled her eyes and finished her mouthful before giving him a marinara kiss on the cheek for the effort.
As they were cleaning up, Peabody notified them that Griff and Lisa were offline and available for a chat.
They quickly finished the dishes, leaving them to air dry. Hurrying to the security room, they took seats in front of the main monitor. After a moment, Peabody connected them. Griff and Lisa’s faces appeared on the screen. Shari waved. “Hi guys! Big day in the game?”
Lisa returned the enthusiasm. “It was awesome! We did a dungeon run. Killed lots of monsters and got a ton of loot!”
Griff smiled and added “Lisa got her face eaten by killer butterflies. Then fell inside the nasty smelling guts o’ a giant roly-poly bug. Then got her face eaten some more by the butterflies!”
Shari and Mace laughed, both at the story and the looks on their two friends’ faces. Griff was unabashed as Lisa gave him a glare that promised payback later. Lisa spoke up. “Yeah well, Griff got deep fried in momma-troll fat and was rolling around on the floor like somebody dropped a burnt corn dog.”
The new friends spoke for nearly an hour, sharing the their day’s adventures and discussing the theory that Mace and Shari had just developed. Griff and Lisa promised to check into it first thing in the morning.
Griff suddenly shouted “Oh! I forgot! When we killed the troll boss, we got this chest…”
He went on to describe the valuable item and the resources inside. Mace and Shari practically drooled. Griff offered it to them, saying he had no interest in founding or running a guild. They accepted immediately and thanked him. A short time later, they ended the call and all four of them made for their beds.
*****
The bear had lost the scent. It didn’t think like a normal bear anymore. All of its limited ability to reason was lost when it died. It moved on pure instinct now. It no longer felt pain or fear. The broken skull from its collision with the fast-moving Jeep didn’t even register. The bear only knew that it was hungry, and food was scarce. While a living bear could have survived on berries and leaves, even grass, this new creature needed flesh. Preferably live.
It had followed the scent of exhaust and its own blood dripping from the Jeep as far as the stream. There it lost all trace of its prey. But the stream offered a distraction. Food. There were fish in the stream. Contaminated, but still flesh. The bear’s instincts told it how to catch the fish. The job was made easier by the zombie fish’s aggressive instinct to attack him. It’s prey came right to it. It moved up the stream, catching the bigger fish that had already consumed smaller prey. It ate, and moved on. Each meal made it stronger. Larger.
Eventually, it picked up the scent of exhaust and blood. Very faint, but it followed strange tracks that led out of the stream. The bear looked from the stream with its fish to the path of the scent, then back again. It turned to follow the scent.
*****
When Griff and Lisa logged back in the next morning, they spoke quietly to their friends. The other dwarves’ eyes widened as they listened to Mace and Shari’s theory, and each agreed without hesitation to delay their return to the village in order to investigate.
Next, Griff went outside and asked to speak to Ag’thar. When he explained the possibilities to the orc chief, Ag’thar took more time to think. Finally he said, “Let us find out the truth of this. Then my people and I will decide.”
Ag’thar himself accompanied them as they moved north from the camp back to the waterfall. Upon reaching the pond, Ag’thar led the way. He had been here many times. His people had taken shelter in the cave behind the falls as they hid from their enemies when they first arrived in this land.
The orc led them up a steep slope next to the pond, that turned into a rocky outcrop. From there they climbed up several boulders to reach a l
edge that curved along the cliff face. Ag’thar walked along the wet ledge until he disappeared behind the falling water. Griff followed, stepping carefully on the moss-covered stones. If he slipped, the fall wasn’t far. But he didn’t feel like taking another walk on the bottom of the pond.
Once the whole group was in the cave, Lisa took over. She’d memorized Shari’s directions. She stepped to the back of the cave, then turned to look out at the entrance to get her bearings. Shifting slightly to her left, she reach out to push against the wall. Her hand went right through, and she stumbled forward, disappearing completely.
The others panicked, but Griff held up a hand. He sent a message to Lisa. “Where are you?”
“I’m right where they said. Big room, bunch of portals. Pedestal in the middle. This is awesome! Okay I’m going to try to come back through. Say a little prayer to Elysia for me.”
Griff knew she was joking, but he did it anyway. “Elysia, please let this work.” He said it aloud, and all of the others including Ag’thar repeated his prayer, touching two fingers to their forehead. A moment later, Lisa reappeared. She stumbled a bit, disoriented by the portal.
When she straightened up, she pumped a fist in the air.
“Yes! It worked. It’s a little… strange when you step through. I fell on my face the first time. Good thing nobody was on the other side.” She grinned at her friends.
Ag’thar spoke quietly, reverence in his voice. “It’s true, then? Your friends have control of a portal? One that will take us far from our enemies?”
Griff nodded. “If you and your people are willing, Mace will accept you as citizens of Darkstone Loch. Right now, there is just the stronghold inside the mountain. But it will soon grow. There is a settlement a day’s walk away called Lakeside. They are allies and will work with you to grow both communities. Mace may invite others to join us as well.”
Ag’thar nodded, rubbing his head in thought. “This stronghold, there is room for my people?” Ag’thar’s tribe had been thinned by their many battles. He was down to maybe five dozen.
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