by Matt Moss
“Sometimes you have to get close to the fire to feel the heat,” she tells me as a matter of fact.
“Careful. Too close and you might get burned.”
She smiles and puts on a masquerade mask. “It’s a chance I’m willing to take.” Her arm takes hold of mine. “Take me to the party, Ace.”
I cock my head, curious at her change of heart, and even more curious as to why she’s even here. What would make her want to be here with me, on this night?
“Don’t worry. I won’t cause trouble. I just need to talk with someone. A person that I knew a long time ago.”
She smells of jasmine, and her body is dangerously close to mine as we ascend the stairs. Behind the mask, she commands intrigue and makes anyone desire to know what lies behind the facade. Even me.
“Suppose we’ll be parting ways once inside, then.”
“Maybe,” she says. “Or maybe you’ll be handing me drinks all night.”
“I don’t drink.”
She laughs. “Are you serious? I noticed you didn’t drink the first time we met. What are you, recovering?”
“Na. Just never touched the stuff.”
She stops and forces me to do the same. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
I turn to her. “Why? Is it so strange that someone has never consumed alcohol before?”
She nods with enthusiasm. “Yes. And damn near psychotic. I don’t trust someone who says they haven’t drank before.” She tugs my arm and pulls me up the steps. “Well, we’ll remedy that tonight. You’re going to drink with me. Tonight, I’ll be your first.”
Her words and her will pull at me and pique my curiosity. “Do you feel it in the game?”
“Of course you do. But there’s no hangover. It’s amazing.”
I stop her. “So it doesn’t affect you in the real world?” I gaze into her eyes that lie hidden behind the mask.
They dance behind the white plaster. “Ace, it’s a game.”
Right.
I show the guards my mark. “This is my plus one for the evening,” I tell them, referring to the woman on my arm in the red dress.
They step aside and open the doors.
We walk in and immediately draw looks. Apparently everyone knows what I look like and who I am. Like celebrities, we walk through the gawking crowd and through the murmurs until we reach the bar on the far-right side of the hall.
“What'll it be?” the barkeep asks.
“Two whiskeys,” Deana tells him.
Sure, why not? I’ve always wanted to try whiskey.
I take a moment and look around. The tents and tables of the vendors has been moved, leaving the space clear for tables and chairs. A wooden stage is placed in front of the temple.
The man brings the drinks and Deana raises her glass to mine. “Cheers to losing your liver’s virginity.”
“Cheers.” I tap my glass against hers and watch as she shoots it down, and I do the same.
She sets it down. Her face is melancholy and mine instantly beads with sweat as it flushes hot. My mouth and chest feel like they’re on fire and I’m questioning why I ever did this to myself. Coughing ensues.
“Lightweight,” she chides.
“Whatever…” I choke out.
She holds her hand up, signaling for two more. The second shot goes down smoother. The third, even better. An hour later, the effects hit me good, and I’m grinning like a jester. She goes to the bathroom and I take a moment to scan the room. Everyone’s dancing in the middle of the great hall while the band plays on the stage. Tables line the sides of the hall covered with every delectable food you could want.
Think I’ll go grab me a bite.
I stand up and feel the looseness of my current state.
This is awesome.
Why did I avoid drinking for so long? The intoxication is like nothing I’ve ever known. I forget about all my problems and am contently living in the moment.
Inside Faldron’s Reach, the party is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Think Great Gatsby. Everyone’s living the good life, and toasting to the good life. Everything is champagne.
Deana returns and pulls me onto the dance floor without saying a word. I follow her lead.
We keep our distance at first, but between the mental haze and the jovial music, we draw closer to each other and I can’t stop it from happening. She twists and moves around me like a masked viper.
I follow her lead.
When she’s had enough dancing, we go back to the bar. “Two more,” she tells the barkeep.
“I’m done,” I say.
“Done? Aww, c’mon. One more won’t hurt.”
It’s getting harder to focus. “No, Deana. I’m done.”
She nods at the barkeep to continue with her request and I turn to the crowd. The band stops and Cervial takes center stage.
He announces the guild. “We gather in celebration of the Black Knights and the great prestige that they hold in Alterlife!”
Everyone cheers and raises their glasses.
The few who came fully equipped raise their weapons and clang them together.
I shake my head and laugh, thinking that used to be me in my early days of gaming.
The Amulet grows strangely warm against my chest. Odd.
“Here are your drinks,” the barkeep says.
I keep my eyes on Cervial and know that he’s about to announce me any moment. My heel taps anxiously.
“Here, Ace. Last one, I promise,” Deana says and offers me the drink.
“And without further ado, allow me to introduce to you the newest commander of the Black Knights, Ace,” Cervial announces with an outstretched hand, pointing in my direction.
Shit. I’m not ready for this.
“Liquid courage?” Deana insists with the whiskey in hand.
I snap out of my daze, turn to Deana, and take the drink to solidify my resolve. Together, we shoot them down.
She places her hand on mine and smiles. “Go get ‘em, commander Ace. Everyone’s waiting.”
I give her a pointed look, adjust my collar, then walk towards the stage. Everyone applauds as I do, and they raise their voices as I join Cervial on stage. He humbly holds his hands out towards me and sinks back to the side, giving me my moment in the spotlight. I stand in front of everyone and gaze out into a crowded hall, all their eyes fixed upon me. I’m nervous, but I won’t lie… it’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced. I can feel every ounce of their respect, their admiration, and their jealousy. It’s all mine.
I put my hand up to stifle their applause. “Thank you.”
What can I say? That I’ve only been online for a week? That I’ve gained items that are considered lore on the lips of the masses? That I have accomplished more in my short time here than most will in their entire life?
I raise my voice to be heard. “Yes, I am the new commander, but let us not forget the one that came before me. Strider was a great man. A true leader.”
Everyone applauds and I nod my head in agreement. “I only hope that I can live up to half of who he was.”
The cheers continue. I raise my hands.
My vision starts to blur. My legs feel like lead, but I grip my senses and hold fast.
“And the Black Knights are not only the first to slay a dragon—now we are the first to slay a Daemon!”
The guild roars at that and I smile with clenched fists raised high.
The room begins to spin faster.
Against my skin, the Amulet burns hot.
Sweat beads upon my brow and I stumble backwards, barely able to catch myself before falling. I stand up straight.
What is this? What’s happening to me?
My hand reaches to Cervial for help. He’s clapping and smiling like the others.
By the time he realizes that something is wrong, my eyes roll inside my head and I fall to the floor.
Darkness.
Flashes of light.
Hands gripping me, dragging me acros
s a stone floor.
Outside the keep, I come to. They throw my body, and I hit the ground, shivering in a cold sweat.
My body convulses.
I gasp for air as the poison runs through my veins.
My mind struggles to comprehend.
The last drink…
Deana…
I thought you were my friend…
I die.
I know that because the words pop up on my HUD and everything turns red.
“Son of a bitch!” I scream as I unplug, my body shaking with rage, a strong urge to throw the system across the room.
Grady comes bursting from his room. “What is it, man? What the hell’s going on?”
My hands are shaking. “No! I’ve got to go back. I’ve got to get back in the game,” I stammer and plug back in.
Desperately, I log back into the game and find myself standing in nothing but a gray bed sheet in the middle of Condren, outside of Faldron’s Reach.
Except I’m now a ghost and the world is gray.
The people around me are gray.
I mumble words and run to anyone for help, but most of them just ignore me. I know they can see me by how some of them react; they just want nothing to do with me. I’m in another world.
On the opposite end of the street, I see another ghost running in earnest. I follow it.
Like a banshee from hell, it runs into the sanctuary and towards the healer that’s inside.
“Res,” it says to the NPC healer, and then comes back to life.
“Bless you child,” the healer replies.
She runs back outside.
I run towards the healer and tell him to resurrect me.
“Bless you child.”
After granting my request, color comes back into the world and I feel a rush of relief wash over me. Thal’s Amulet still hangs about my neck and I was sure to place my most valuable goods, and my money, inside the guild’s bank instead of a player’s bank as Cervial suggested. What little bit I did have on my person before dying is gone.
Oh, and whatever skills and stats I had accumulated are cut in half.
Damn it to shit.
I see why most people give up after dying. All the time and effort put into building your character… poof, gone.
At least I still have my legendary items in the bank and on my neck, and can recuperate what was lost rather quickly.
I run up the steps of the Faldron’s Reach to get my things out of the bank. The guards won’t let me in.
“C’mon guys, you know me.” I raise my sleeve to show them the mark, but it’s not there. It’s gone.
One of the guards speaks. “Ace, you have been removed from the guild.”
I jump in the guy’s face. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m the commander of the Black Knights. This is insane! On what charges?”
“On charges of conspiracy and treason.”
Before I can protest, three guards detain me and drag me into the keep. Inside, I say the word bank, and my account appears. It’s surprising that I’m able to access it if I’ve been removed from the guild.
A wave of terror.
All of my things are gone.
Thal’s sword, the cloak, the money, all my items, gone. Stolen.
I can’t believe this is happening. The gravity of my situation sinks in when they lock the cell door of iron bars behind me, confining me deep down somewhere beneath the keep. A torch burns on a wall outside my cell.
When the guards leave, I’m alone.
“Fuck!” I unstrap the NueView and have to restrain myself from actually throwing the thing across the room this time.
Grady jumps from the seat next to me and holds his hands up. “Whoa, man. Chill. Don’t do that. You don’t wanna do that.”
I focus on him, catch my breath, and place the system in my lap.
“You do realize how much that thing costs, right?”
I set it down on the floor and drop my head in both hands. “Yeah, man, I do. But I just lost everything. I’ve got nothing left.”
He offers me a beer and chuckles. “Bro, it’s just a game.”
No, it’s not. It’s so much more than just a game. And I just lost.
Just like I do in real life.
I was born to lose.
Forks clatter against the plates. My oldest talks about his day at school. My youngest talks about some kid that bullied her in daycare. I’m staring at a plate full of hamburger helper that I’ve been picking at because I’m not hungry.
“John, what’s wrong?” my wife asks.
“Nothing.”
She lets it slide and goes back to eating and talking to the kids. But I’ve been married long enough to know that she won’t let it go. I know I’m distant and depressed. And I know she can tell. I can’t help it, God knows I’ve tried. But I can’t help it.
I was so close to everything I’ve ever wanted…
“Kids, wash up, brush your teeth, and get ready for bed. I’ll come tuck you in shortly,” she tells them.
After they leave, she pushes her plate away and turns to me in her seat. “What’s going on, John? I know something is wrong. Talk to me.”
I shake my head, not ready to tell her about the game. Ashamed that I lost myself in it, and even more ashamed that I lost in the game.
“John, we’re a team. If you don’t talk to me, I can’t help you.”
I’m still struggling to understand what happened. Someone betrayed me, but who? Was it Deana? She always eyed my items and talked about them often. And she was the one who gave me the drink.
Or could it have been someone else? I can’t find a reason for anyone else to want me dead.
No. It was you Deana. Damn you, bitch.
I raise my eyes to meet my wife’s. “I’ve just got a lot on me at the moment.”
“I thought you said everything was going good. What happened?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. But I’m going to find out,” I tell her.
And I plan to reconcile any injustices with whatever means necessary.
She stands from the table and gathers the plates. “Please do whatever it is that you need to do to figure this out. You know I hate it when you’re distant. You barely spoke to your kids today. Did you know that your son’s report card came back with straight A’s?”
“No, I didn’t know that. That’s great.”
“If you were listening to him, you would have. But you weren’t. You missed that moment to praise your son, John.”
My eyes cast down. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” she says and takes a plate to the sink. Fed up with me, she doesn’t just place it within, she throws it, shatters it to pieces. After a moment’s pause to gather herself, she goes to tend to the children.
She goes to take care of her family.
I bury my head in my hands.
10
A PRICELESS GIFT, A DANGEROUS DEBT
I do some of my best thinking in the shower. The heat, the steam, the pressure of the water beating down as I sit on my fiberglass bench seat that I had put in with the new bath install last year. I’ve always wanted a seat in my shower and finally was able to give myself that after all the overtime I worked last November.
I breathe and think about what my options are.
I’m not going to let them take everything away from me.
I’m going to get it back.
Somebody set me up and I’m going to find out who it was. I know Deana was in on it, but there had to be more. Was it the Guildmaster, Professor D? I got a bad feeling about that guy and trust him about as far as I could throw him. And he said that he’d been looking for Thal’s sword for quite some time.
Was he behind this?
If he was, then why promote me to commander? It just doesn’t add up.
I gotta get back in the game to find some answers. I need to summon Gamemaster Deakins.
He’ll help me.
The
thought of losing all that money still makes me sick. Luckily, I had the good sense to put an extra six hundred bucks in my bank account after I made the transfer and paid my boss back. Sure, the kids could use some new school clothes, but I can’t afford to lose any more money right now.
One thing’s for certain; I don’t want to go to Grady’s apartment anymore. Especially since he’s there in the evenings. I don’t want him using my system anymore.
I’ll just have to put the time in here while the wife’s at work and the kids are at school. I’ve got some sick time I can use at work. It’s all unpaid, so I’ll have to make some money quick. That six hundred bucks won’t last long.
This is my last chance.
I can’t afford to miss another week of work after this. Hopefully it won’t take me more than a week to recoup what I’ve lost, minus Thal’s sword and the cloak of invisibility. I got to where I was at in only five days before, and I can do it again. Maybe get some even better items. At least I still have Thal’s Amulet.
After the wife and kids leave the next morning, I call my boss and tell him I’m sick and won’t be in for the rest of the week.
A quick trip to retrieve my console, and I’m plugged back in at home an hour later.
Inside the cells, I say the word ‘Gamemaster’.
Nothing.
I try five more times to no avail.
I shake the bars and yell at the top of my lungs. Nobody comes. I’ve got to go check the forums. There must be something; some way to get out of this mess.
One last time, I call out for a Gamemaster.
Deakins appears.
Not physically, but he speaks to me from somewhere and I can hear his voice. His tone is urgent. “Ace, what have you gotten yourself into? I’m breaking protocol by even talking to you right now.”
I look up and cry out to the cold-stone ceiling. “Help me, Deakins. I don’t know what happened, but someone poisoned and framed me. Accused me of treason and locked me down here. But I’m innocent. Please, Deakins, how do I get out of here?”
“Unfortunately, you’re on your own. Gamemasters, as powerful as we are, still have rules to abide by, and there are some areas that we can’t tamper with. And the place you’re in is one of them. I’m sorry, Ace. Truly sorry.”