by Matt Moss
He clenches his fist. “Yes, you are. And you’re going to bring it to me.”
“I never said that.”
Thal stands up and walks towards me, each step shaking the ground. In front of me, he’s at least twenty feet tall and probably weighs around a thousand pounds. He crouches down, closer on my level, and cocks his head at me. “What did you just say, mortal?”
I really hope that catheter is working right now.
“Look, the way I see it, we both want something. I want revenge on the man who killed me, and you want your sword back. So… why don’t you just go kill him, take it, and do both of us a favor?”
He stands up and walks back to his throne, speaking as he goes. “Gods can’t interfere with mortals.”
Is he an NPC? I would think that a Gamemaster or someone of the sort would control Thal, but now I’m beginning to wonder. The AI in this game is so advanced, it’s hard to tell.
I step towards him. “Is that a no, then? You can’t kill him and take your sword back?”
“Gods can’t interfere with mortals,” he repeats, more aggressively.
Definitely NPC. Okay. Should be easy to outsmart. I just need him to give me something. A weapon. That would help me.
“Then it is clear that I must do this myself. But I am too weak and cannot go against someone who wields your sword.”
“Yes, you are weak. Frail. Dying. I could crush your bones to dust with two of my fingers,” he tells me and accentuates his threat with a dramatic show from his left hand.
I nod and fight back a grin at his daftness. “Indeed you could. But perhaps you might grant me your blessing so I may overcome my enemies.”
He sits back and rubs his chin. “And why would I do that? Why do I care of the affairs of men?”
This guy’s thick as mud. “Because I will return your sword after killing the man if you grant me your strength.”
“Thal’s Sword of Eternity—you will bring this back to me?” he asks in all eagerness, leaning forward in his seat.
He wants it bad. I wonder why? “I will bring it back if I can defeat the Guildmaster who carries it.”
Thal thinks for a moment, then answers me. “Then perhaps I can help you. Take my other sword,” he says and pulls it from behind his throne, tossing it towards me.
After it stops sliding on the floor, I take it and see that it’s pretty much a twin to the Sword of Eternity.
“And take my blessing.” He reaches out and bestows his strength upon me, a wave of red energy emanating from his hand. It washes over me and I see my strength and dexterity both rise a thousand points, putting me higher than anyone I’ve ever heard of. Gage and Deana are only in the five hundreds. Strider, the previous commander of the Black Knights, was around seven hundred in both stats. I’m now at thirteen hundred each.
As I revel in my newfound power, Thal speaks. “Now go. And retrieve what belongs to me.”
“Thank you… god. I will return.” I make my exit but hear his voice echo through the cave as I leave.
“Mortal,” he calls to me. “If you do not return, I will seek you out. And destroy you.”
I nearly snort, mimicking him under my breath. “Gods can’t interfere with mortals.”
Once outside, the door closes with a rumbling force, settling flush with the smooth stone face of the mountain.
I stand there in awe and clutch the Amulet that’s now dim and lukewarm.
Strange.
He didn’t even say anything about the Amulet.
14
CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS
4 DAYS REMAINING
Sitting at the fountain in Eden again feels strange. It’s supposed to be a welcoming place for players who enter Alterlife. And at one point, Eden was my home. Now it doesn’t feel that way. I’m a stranger here, and the warm welcome that I used to feel from the shops, taverns, and noobs running the streets now feels cold. And the thing is, the town hasn’t changed. I have.
I walk to the tavern to meet Deana at the appointed time. She’s sitting at a table in the corner, waiting. The place is crowded as usual, and everyone’s having a good time. I cut through the noise and commotion, making my way to her.
“Mind if I join you?” I ask, walking up behind her.
She turns, grins, and motions me to sit across from her. “Do you remember the last time we were here? This is the place where we met for the first time. And I’ve got to admit, I thought you were crazy, walking in here and offering a sack full of gold to whoever would take you to the Black Knights without a dollar to your name. Now look at you.”
I laugh. “I suppose that did seem out of place. You must have thought I was crazy.”
She smiles and nods at her glass. Then her eyes find mine, a softness there that I’ve never noticed before. “I did. And I still do. That’s what I admire most about you. You’re not afraid to take risks and lay it all on the line. That’s what makes you great, Ace.”
I stare into her eyes, blink, then realize it’s time to change the subject. “Ya. Well, maybe I’m just lucky. Anyway, what did you find out about the next raid?”
She picks up her glass. “They leave tomorrow, Friday, just as normal. I heard they were going back to hunt Daemons because the Guildmaster wants to slay one for himself.”
“The Guildmaster is going on the raid? I was hoping that he would stay behind while most of the guild was busy on the raid. I’ll have to rethink my plan now.”
She drinks then sets the glass down. “Yeah. Might have been easier to take him out at Faldron’s Reach. Now, he’ll be surrounded by, and commanding, hundreds.” She rests her head in her hand. “So, did you find the god?”
“I found Thal.” I show her the sword he gave me and tell her about his blessing.
Her eyes go wide. “Your strength is thirteen hundred? Are you kidding me? That’s unheard of!”
“Do you think it’ll be enough to take on the Professor?”
She nods with excitement and raises her hand to order both of us a drink. “I would dare say it is. But not enough to take on the entirety of the Black Knights.”
“Right. I don’t want to hurt anyone else. I just want the Guildmaster.” Planning it out, I can feel my anxiety rise as we talk about what I’ll have to do. “It’s during the raid, then.”
She purses her lips, thinking. “You’ll have to take him out quick. Before the others have a chance to defend him.”
“But there’s no way I’ll be able to sneak up on him. Some of the others would recognize me from before. I’m Ace the Great, remember?” A thought hits me. “But maybe, just maybe, there might be some that would take my side.”
She leans back against the seat with a grin. “Oh my. How could I forget Ace the Great? I suppose you might be right, though. There may be some that would take your side if you could convince them of the truth about what happened.”
“I still don’t even know what the truth is, Deana. I’m just going off speculation.”
Her hand slaps the table. “It was him, Ace. Look at the facts. You were poisoned… he’s an Alchemist. He wanted your items. It had to be him.”
She’s probably right. And I’ve felt ninety-nine percent sure about it since she saved me in the gazers’ den and confessed that it wasn’t her. Everything points to the Guildmaster.
But that one percent tugs at me.
I need to talk to somebody else. “I’ve got to go see someone. Meet back here in the morning and be ready.”
She looks at me funny, but isn’t too abashed by my rash departure. The drinks come. I inspect the liquor, raising a brow at her. “Poisoned?”
Deana flips me off and we both shoot them down.
She touches my arm. “See you in the morning, Ace. Be careful.”
“See you tomorrow.” I leave her at the bar and make my way to Eldra’s.
A quick knock on the door before entering. “Eldra, it’s me.” A flying leather boot nearly misses my head and slams against the wall.
&nbs
p; “Get out of my shop. You’re a wanted man and I’ll be hanged if you’re seen here.”
I hold my hands up in defense and close the door. “Please, Eldra. I need your help. I’m in trouble.”
Another boot flies and I step to the side, swatting at it with my hand.
“I don’t care if you’re in trouble. Get out, Ace the Great,” she says, mocking the title.
“I’ll pay you for your time. Here,” I plead and withdraw ten thousand gold.
“I don’t want your money. I don’t need your money.” She picks up a hammer and starts to walk towards me. “I don’t care how strong you are or what weapons you got, I’ll beat you to death with this hammer.”
I believe she would if she could. “Eldra, I’m running on a death clock. Not just in the game, but in real life. And someone in this game gave it to me.”
She stops and shifts her weight onto one foot as she regards me with confusion and contemplates my words. “What are you talking about? Alterlife is a game, remember? That’s what you used to say.” She relaxes her shoulders, sighs, raises the hammer, and points behind me. “Close the door.”
Relieved that she’s not kicking me out, or throttling me to death, I close the door and follow her to the front desk.
“Eldra, I know it sounds crazy, but I’m telling the truth. I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but I was killed. Poisoned by someone.”
“Oh, I’ve heard. The whole of Alterlife has heard by now.”
I ignore the fame and continue. “After I came back to life, the Black Knights accused me of treason and locked me in the cells. That’s where I saw him again.”
“Saw who again?”
“The same man who gave me the cloak of invisibility in the woods behind Eden,” I reply, pointing to the direction. “Except, he was in the cells. And much, much older.”
She puts her hands on the desk and leans towards me, exhausted from the day and even more from my crazy story. “That doesn’t make any sense. Are you sure it wasn’t someone else?”
I place my hands on the desk, lean towards her. “It was him. He remembered me, too. Anyway, he told me I had to…” I pause, thinking it best not to tell her about Deakins. He’s well known to everyone and is a friend to Eldra. “He told me I had to kill someone to repay the debt of the cloak. I told him I wouldn’t do it. That’s when he gave me this.” I turn my hand over and show her the glyph mark on my palm.
She waves with her hands, asking to inspect it, and I extend my arm over the desk for her to examine. “Who’d he ask you to kill?” she asks as she leans in close to the mark, bringing my hand near to her face.
“The name was random. Nobody that I’ve heard of before. Probably someone that owes him money or something.”
She lets go of my hand and I gaze into her eyes. “The mark is there in real life, Eldra. Outside of Alterlife. I’m going to die if I don’t do as he says.”
She lets go of my hand, leans back, and shakes her head. “That’s impossible. Other than digital money transactions, nothing is transferred between the game and the real world.”
“I swear it. And I’ve only got a few days left to live unless I kill the mark.”
She looks up to the ceiling, breathes deep, exhales, and rubs her head. “If you’re telling the truth, this is unprecedented to say the least.” A gleam of humor shines in her eyes as she looks at me. “First you wield legendary weapons. Then you slay a Daemon. You always gotta be the first at things, don’t you?”
I grin through the grim. “I try to.” I show her Thal’s sword. “I met a god yesterday. Does that count as a first?”
She observes the weapon in awe and slowly nods her head. “I would say that it does. You met Thal? Incredible. I thought he was a myth”
“Oh, he’s real. Charming fellow, really. What can you tell me about him? And about the gods in general?”
She folds her arms. “The gods are artificially controlled, but their intelligence is far superior to what you would call a normal NPC. They have emotions and can sometimes be very irrational and selfish. I believe in them, but many do not—such is the way of things. But, as far as I know, there are rules that they have to follow, and their realm has never clashed with ours before. Think of them more like lore. And the legendary items you found are placed in the game to increase that lore.”
“Well, it’s not lore. They’re real.”
She smiles. “I believe that. Thal is the God of War and one of the mightiest of them all. It’s fabled that the Creator turned him loose on Alterlife and that Thal was the one who shaped it—the mountains, rivers, and seas. The Goddess of Life created mankind and beast alike, and Thal was the first to protest that decision, thinking mankind to be corrupt and destructive. Seeing that words wouldn’t work, he tried to kill her. The act turned all the gods against Thal, and the War of the Immortals began.”
“How many gods are there?”
“I don’t know how many there actually are, but there are five that most people know of. Thal, God of War. Gela, Goddess of Life. Zena, Goddess of Death. Davi, God of the Land and Sky. And Juno, God of Illusion.”
I sit up straight, folding my arms. “And they all still live? They survived the war?”
“The lesser gods fell. And some lived. But yes, the five main gods all lived and still do to this day, as you can attest.”
I lean on the desk. “You referred to the Creator. Is it a he? Or a she?”
“The one who invented Alterlife? Nobody knows who they are, and the company, NueVision, is very private. Like a modern-day Willy Wonka corporation.”
“Hell of a chocolate factory they built here.”
“Indeed.” She opens a drawer and withdraws some tools.
I’ve been planning on how this conversation would go for a day now, running it over in my mind as I made the trek to Thal. Time to ask her the most important question.
“Eldra, what of the Gamemasters? They are human controlled, yes?”
She takes a piece of leather and starts to hone a blade. “I believe so. What would you like to know about them?”
“Everything. How much control do they have over the game? I guess I’m asking if Deakins could remove this mark. He’s the only GM I know.”
“Hmm. I don’t know, but I doubt it. I’ve never heard of anything like that before, and I’m sure they haven’t either or it would have been patched out in the last update. If that glyph really is a death sentence in real life, that would make for something new and very frightening.”
I look at my hand, hoping that Deakins can remove the mark. That would save me from killing him. But something deep down tells me that he can’t. And the stranger knew that when he gave it to me. There’s only one way to get rid of it.
“One time, Deakins came to me in the cells, but it was only his voice. I called for a Gamemaster, and he appeared. How does that work?”
“A Gamemaster can be summoned by saying the word or calling them by name. Most of the time they manifest themselves, so that surprises me that he only appeared as a voice.”
“He did that once before in the tutorial.”
“Oh, that’s right. It’s been so long, I almost forgot.”
“How do they know your location when you summon them?”
“It’s a ping that comes from your host address. They use that to locate you in the game.”
“If they know someone’s host, then that means they could find them in the real world too, correct?”
She pauses and looks up. “I suppose so. But why would a Gamemaster need to know that?” She shakes her head. “Look, you seem to be in a tight spot, but this is getting too deep for me.”
“Tell me about it. I’m the one living it.”
She stands up straight. “I’m sorry, Ace. But you really should be going. The trouble you’re in, I don’t want to get mixed up in.”
I purse my lips and nod. “I understand. Thanks for talking to me, Eldra. And thanks for everything.”
“I haven’t d
one much. Showed you how to hunt rabbits is all. Take care of yourself, Ace. I hope everything works out and I will pray to Thal for your protection.” She gives a pitiful smile, then goes into the back of her shop.
I place ten thousand gold on the desk when she’s not looking and slip out the front door.
I go to the fountain and wait on Deakins.
I want to look him in the eye.
I want to make myself turn away from the decision I have to make.
I want to ask him what will happen if a Gamemaster dies in the game.
There are so many questions and not enough time.
A new player spawns. Like clockwork, Deakins appears.
“Greetings newcomer. Welcome to Alterlife.” He pauses, finding me sitting next to where he’s standing.
I give him a grin. “Hello, Deakins.”
Befuddled, he turns back to the newbie. “Forgive me… I have something pressing at the moment. Feel free to make yourself at home here in Eden, and if you need any help, say the word ‘Gamemaster’ and one will be along shortly to assist you.”
He turns to me and speaks low while keeping his eyes ahead. “Walk with me.”
I jump up and follow him out of the street and into an alleyway behind two shops where we can speak freely.
“Are you insane? What are you doing here? The Black Knights have a bounty out for your head.”
“Really? How much?”
“One million.”
I raise my eyebrows and nod at myself. “Wow. That’s pretty steep. Are you going to turn me in, Deakins?”
He shakes his head and looks both ways nervously. “We haven’t time for juvenile conversation. I’m close to tracking down who murdered you.”
I wave him off. “I already know who did. It was the Guildmaster.”
He casts a serious gaze. “No. It wasn’t him.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I went back and monitored his activities for the past two weeks. He’s one hundred percent innocent and wasn’t even at the guild the day of the celebration. He only showed up at the last moment, right when you took center stage.”