‘No, what?’
‘Say a few words.’
Although I had opened my mouth to object, to point out I was tired, that we were all tired, I closed it again. Braja was right and despite the fact it was about four in the morning, no one was really that exhausted, not when the prospect of victory and a big payoff was in the air.
This time, when I took the podium, there were several rounds of ‘Tyro!’ ‘Tyro!’ before the noise quelled enough for me to speak. While encouraging, of course, this display didn’t warm my heart to any extent; this crowd were mostly fair-weather friends. As far as I knew, only Braja, Grythiss, Sapentia and Raitha were genuinely supportive of me and, curiously, as I scanned the room I noticed that although my real friends were all smiling, they were not joining in the chants. That was the way I preferred it.
‘I hope you all enjoyed the raid.’
There was a big cheer. And it struck me how unusual it was to gather everyone together after a successful raid. Normally, we didn’t even stay together online for that long, let alone meet up to celebrate.
‘I’m glad to say that we’ve removed the only serious obstacle to our being able to produce Arrows of Dragon Slaying.’
Another cheer.
‘There’s still a certain amount of grinding and gathering to be done.’
Boos, of a mock-grievance sort.
‘Within a week, Raitha and I will take those arrows and attempt to kill Mikarkathat. Then, we can all go home, having made history, saved Epic Two, and with a substantial bonus in our bank accounts.’
There was a huge cheer for that, as I had anticipated. And since there was no more positive message I could give, I hopped off the podium to more handshakes. One was from Watson. ‘Fantastic job, Tyro, I knew I was right to stick with you.’
For a moment we met each other’s gaze and while Watson’s startling blue eyes carried pleasure and excitement in them, I also read something else. Judgment? Was he measuring me up? In any case, the jostling, enthusiastic crowd didn’t allow him the opportunity to say anything else. With a nod, he stepped back, so that other players could come forward.
Having congratulated everyone who approached me and shaken their hands, the atmosphere in the Den calmed down, with most of the players taking a well-earned break from the game and - due to the late hour - leaving for their hotels. In front of me was Sapentia who took two steps and to my great surprise and no little embarrassment, gave me a very strong hug. Her scent; her soft breasts against my chest; I was bewildered.
‘When you lead raids’—she broke off at last and I realized I hadn’t taken a breath for the entire experience—‘you are the man I came to find. Such a shame you are so young.’
‘Does that matter?’ My heart was sending waves of heat around my body and all the way to my ears. Even in the moments of crisis during the raid, I hadn’t felt anything like this: a dizzying wave of hope and desire that nearly overwhelmed me.
Then, she simply said, ‘Yes.’ And I involuntarily let out a sigh, like I’d been punched in the stomach.
With a laugh, Sapentia took my arm. ‘Come, let us drink coffee.’
Downstairs, Braja, Grythiss and Raitha were sitting together, so naturally Sapentia and I joined them.
‘Welcome,’ said Raitha, pulling out a chair for me. ‘Braja was just explaining his theory of the universe.’
‘Oh?’ Sapentia raised one eyebrow sceptically. It was an impressive expression that must have taken her hours to practice.
‘These peas are black holes.’ Braja drew our attention to his plate. ‘And inside each one is another universe.’ He borrowed Grythiss’s half-full plate and put a few peas on it. ‘Now as you can see, each new universe has a different proportion of black holes. Some don’t have any at all and these are dead ends. Some have too many and these collapse. Most are in the middle and have the potential to create life. It’s an evolutionary mechanism at the level of multiple universes, but without having to invoke the quantum multiverse theory, which is of course nonsense.’
‘Did I miss something?’ I asked, looking from the peas to Braja and back. His moustache was twitching with amusement.
Raitha leaned over excitedly. ‘Braja claimed to have an answer to the meaning of life and when I said that it cannot be explained why the universe - the laws of physics - are so precisely conducive to life, that there were mysteries beyond the boundaries of known science, he came up with this crazy theory.’
‘His point, as I understand it,’ muttered Grythiss, looking out from under his long fringe, ‘is that life has no meaning. Nothing has been created with purpose.’
‘Well…’ Braja leaned back, satisfied. ‘It’s certainly a theory that puts things in perspective. Even what we are doing here and the success or failure of our raids. Despite all the excitement, it’s really not that important. Not when you think about the enormity of the rise and fall of universes.’
‘Ha! You are most foolish.’ Grinning, Sapentia suddenly began squashing peas with the back of a fork she had picked up. ‘We make our own meaning. And it is most important. People die for concepts like nation, race and gender. Concepts that do not matter to the universe but are everything to the individual.’
Braja immediately shot back at her, ‘And what concept would you die for?’
‘Not me. I do not die for any concept. For people, maybe.’
Braja shrugged. ‘Fine. All I’m saying is that there is no need for Raitha’s mystical notions about the universe.’
As though offended, though I knew he wasn’t really, Raitha threw up his hands. ‘You attempt to demean me, but I accept the label mystical with relish. Because there are deep mysteries when one contemplates the universe. It seems, however that my beliefs are shared by Sapentia. Because what matters in both her philosophy and mine is love.’
With a deep sigh, Grythiss looked at the two plates.
‘Thinking about love?’ I asked him.
‘No.’ He paused. ‘My dinner.’
The following evening, my friends and I were gathered together near the Tower of the Jewelled Skull, staring incredulously from the cover of a copse at an army of hill giants: some fifty or more were camped on the hill, their bivouacs rising three stories high.
‘This cannot be a coincidence,’ observed Raitha.
Pulling back from the bush I had been hiding in, I turned to him. ‘You mean, they are here to stop us?’
‘Yes. After all, Port Placida was invaded soon after we used it.’
‘You’re right,’ Braja sounded grim. ‘We have an enemy within.’
‘One of the Yuno team?’ I asked him.
‘Yep. Their intel is too good.’
Sapentia moved away from a tree she had been using to shield her from the view of the giants and joined us. ‘It could just be most smart AI.’
With a shake of his head, long moustache swinging wide for emphasis, Braja disagreed. ‘I don’t think so. Because whoever is sabotaging us knows stuff that can only be gathered outside the game.’
‘Like what?’ Sapentia sounded curious rather than confrontational.
‘Like where our spawn points are, what towns we are trading at and what zones we are playing.’
‘What’s their motive?’ I was thinking of Blackridge. Even though that bull-headed man didn’t hide how resentful he was of me, I couldn’t see him wrecking the company that paid his wages.
With a tut, Braja’s cleric avatar waved his mace at my head. Of course it couldn’t damage me, since we hadn’t enabled PvP. ‘That’s easy, you dope. Any of the other big games companies would pay to see Epic Two crash before launch.’
‘Could it be Blackridge?’ I wondered aloud.
‘Possibly,’ Braja’s tone was thoughtful now. ‘More likely a player though. Someone who doesn’t lose anything. If the player was smart, they would have contacted Go Games or one of the others as soon as he was recruited by Yuno. Then he’d be earning double at least. Hey, Tuscl, you didn’t do that, did you? Sell o
ut to another company?’
There was a long silence and our shaman’s avatar was absolutely still, a few strands of long hair being lifted by the breeze the only motion on her figure. ‘I am offended. I will leave.’
Oh dear. I hurriedly intervened, ‘Wait, wait. Braja, apologise please.’
‘Sorry. But answer the question will you?’
‘No is your answer. I am loyal to Yuno.’
‘You are stupid, Braja.’ Sapentia put an arm around Tuscl’s shoulders. ‘Only game AI could move armies around. Even devs have lost control.’
‘Ah…maybe a traitor who is in communication with the dragon,’ Braja muttered, not too confidently.
‘And Tuscl. I trust you,’ Sapentia continued forcefully. ‘You are player who excels. But don’t be loyal to Yuno. Be loyal to fellow players. It’s important difference.’
‘Why do you say that?’ asked Raitha.
‘Because we don’t see the full picture. Because Japanese Blackcoin founders are behind the game.’
‘Now you’re being dumb,’ said Braja, who sounded hurt. If I knew anything about Braja, it was that he felt a need to match himself intellectually to those who had a better education than he had, so he would have been particularly stung by Sapentia calling him stupid. ‘Yuno are paying us and are going to give a decent bonus that I, for one, need. Their cause is our cause.’
Before Sapentia could reply - and I heard her draw a deep breath as she readied herself for the argument - I stepped in. ‘Let’s not argue any more. We need more information. I’ll go chat to the giants and find out what I can. Meanwhile, Raitha, can you look up another zone for us to level up to fifty please?’
‘Good idea. I shall unclip and read the guide.’
‘Wait just one moment, before you do, can we all agree that Tuscl is one of us: that we trust her?’ I knew I did, simply from her commitment and effort during our raids.
‘Agreed,’ said Sapentia at once.
‘Agreed,’ from Raitha.
‘Lizardman proud to be in same group as Tussscl the ssshaman.’
All of us turned to Braja. ‘Agreed. I’m sorry I suggested otherwise, Tuscl, I sometimes get carried away with conspiracy theories.’
‘Is okay. I understand.’ Her reply eased my fear we’d lose her from the team.
Happy that our group was in accord, I swapped my gear for the pirate clothes, then, with a wave farewell, backtracked down the hill until I found the path up to the tower.
Two giants, holding enormous, thick clubs stood guard as I approached their camp. Both were looking at me and I raised an arm in what I hoped they understood to be a gesture of greeting and peaceful intention. They raised their clubs in a gesture that seemed to have the opposite meaning. Oh well.
When I was just out of reach of their weapons, I stopped and smiled. ‘Good evening, friends. I have a message from Mikarkathat for your leader.’
‘What’s his name?’ the giant on my left leered at me.
‘Pardon?’
‘How come you don’t know the name of King Rockthrack? You said leader instead.’
‘You idiot,’ said the other giant. ‘Now you’ve told him King Rockthrack’s name, we can’t test him.’
‘Well, we just kill him then.’
The second giant grunted with approval.
‘Gentlemen, or wait, on closer scrutiny, I mean gentleman and lady. This is no way to greet an ally and friend of the dragon…’
Before I could say another word, the giant on my left (the male) leapt up and gave me the most enormous wallop with his club, the rushing sound of it descending made me feel like I was caught in a whirlwind, that and the fact I’d been knocked over.
You have been hit by a club for 0 damage.
You have been affected by Knockback and are stunned.
Both giants watched with curiosity as, after several seconds passed and the stun wore off, I stood up. ‘Giant hospitality is…’
Then the female smacked me down.
You have been hit by a club for 0 damage.
You have been affected by Knockback and are stunned.
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘Hi, I’m glad you are clipped up. I have that raid loot for you.’
[Channel Scarlet/Klytotoxos] ‘Thanks. I’ll get back to you soon. Just in the middle of something here.’
‘Tell me,’ I said, this time stepping away from the guards. ‘Why are all you giants here?’
Then I triggered Read Thoughts on the female, whom I was looking directly at.
The giant is thinking that she is here to stop Blackcoin Seekers. She is not sure if you are a Blackcoin Seeker. She is surprised to see you stand up again apparently unhurt.
‘To squash half-elves in silly hats,’ said the male giant and then made a noise that I first thought was a roar of anger but quickly realised was a laugh.
‘Ahh. In that case, I’ll be off. It’s been a pleasant conversation. Goodbye.’
Unexpectedly, they let me back away without trying to chase me. That was a shame, because we would have probably gained some juicy experience if I could have drawn them away from their army. When I was out of sight, I ducked back into the woods and found my way to the copse in which the full group was waiting.
‘I have somewhere!’ Raitha said enthusiastically.
‘Where?’
‘The snow-covered mountain passes of Fang Island.’
‘Sounds good.’ I’d noticed them before, of course, but hadn’t read up in too much detail about the region.
‘Ssounds cold.’
Undeterred by the murmur of our lizardman tank, Raitha carried on enthusiastically. ‘We’ll be able to use our Read Tracks spell to find bears, lynx and snow spiders, all mobs in their low fifties.’
‘Right.’ I trusted him to find us a region in which we could safely and efficiently level up. In all probability too, Fang Island was far enough away from the dragon and her armies that they wouldn’t bother us or even notice our activities. ‘Sapentia, can you teleport us to the nearest stone ring to Fang Island?’
‘I need some gold to buy that one.’
‘That reminds me to collect the raid loot. Excuse me, I’m going into private chat with Scarlet.’
[Channel Klytotoxos/Scarlet] ‘Hi Scarlet, sorry for earlier, I was in the middle of trying to talk to a pair of giants.’
[Channel Klytotoxos/Scarlet] ‘No worries.’ She gave a little laugh. ‘Sounds fun. Shall I just link the items?’
[Channel Klytotoxos/Scarlet] ‘Sure and did you get any coin?’
[Channel Klytotoxos/Scarlet] ‘I did, a hundred and thirty gold.’
[Channel Klytotoxos/Scarlet] ‘Great.’
[Channel Klytotoxos/Scarlet] ‘Macuahuitl. Macuahuitl. Breastplate of the Smoke God. Gauntlets of the Smoke God.’
[Channel Klytotoxos/Scarlet] ‘Thanks.’
With a flick of my index finger I pulled up the pop-ups on the items. Both of the god’s weapons were +2, which was handy. They had good damage-to-speed ratios, nearly as good as a longsword (but not quite, meaning that they were not an upgrade on Grythiss’s longsword with its blessing from Nemain). Still, the fact the Smoke God’s drops were categorised as blunt weapons rather than sharp meant that not only could they be used by clerics but also that they would come in handy against certain types of mob where sharp weapons did reduced damage. I’d give one to Grythiss to have in reserve for such fights and the other to Braja.
The breastplate was sweet, +4 AC, Resist Fire, and +3 spirit regeneration, which made it ideal for a tank with spells, aka Grythiss. The fact that it was weight 0 was interesting too and something that might become important should Grythiss ever become overburdened with gear. Lastly, the gauntlets (which were also weight 0) were +2 AC and Resist Fire. These I’d assign to Sapentia, in case she found herself in a wizard’s duel and needing to mitigate fire-based spells.
After a bit of hopping around to collect these drops and get the spell Sapentia needed, our group arrived at a frost
y stone ring on a small island in the cold, northern seas. Across a short but bleak and dangerous-looking stretch of water was Fang Island proper, a dozen severe mountains stretching as black silhouettes against the stars, right up from the water’s edge, covered in moonlit snow from peak to base. A wind swirled flakes of ice around us and a message appeared on my UI.
You are experiencing the condition Bitter Cold. You are unaffected.
‘Bitter Cold,’ said Sapentia.
‘Same,’ came a chorus of the rest of the group.
‘What does it do?’ I asked. ‘I’m immune.’
Braja grumbled, ‘I wish I was a vampire.’
‘“You cannot regenerate health or spirit until you are warmer.”’ It was Raitha who read out the effects of the condition.
‘I see. Well, perhaps we can buy a tent or make a fire later, when we have set up to fight.’
Grythiss, who looked absolutely splendid in his new breastplate (it was a shiny grey that shouted of magic in the way the fine scrollwork constantly changed, as though the metal were slowly swirling about him), shook his head. ‘Lizardman hatesss this already. Letss’s get it over with.’
‘Warmer climes for you, eh, my cold-blooded friend?’ I gave him a pat. ‘Come on then.’
A short trail made where the island’s half-covering of moss had been worn down to the shale beneath led us down to the water’s edge. There, on a shingle beach, where grey waves slurped over slick, black lumps of rock, a damp-looking jetty pointed towards Fang Island and at the end of the construction was a copper bell, turned dark green with age and salt water. With just a glance at me first, Raitha skipped out to the bell, found the clapper and gave it a good strong pull. The resulting chime was surprisingly loud, echoing off the rocks. He kept it up, until I waved at him. There was motion on the far shore.
Across the waves was a settlement of dark huts, roofs covered in snow and so natural in appearance as to seem part of the landscape. A flicker or two of light and a few streams of smoke, barely discernible against the night sky, indicated life and warmth, as did the boat being rowed over towards us.
It took perhaps thirty minutes before the slender craft drew up beside the jetty, where Raitha was thrown a rope by a greasy-bearded dwarf who was clad in a dirty-white fur coat. A young human boy, in fur waistcoat, leapt from the back of the boat to secure it with another rope. While the waves lifted and dropped the ferry, the dwarf shouted across at us. ‘Come on then, while the weather’s good.’
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