‘I’ll try.’
Then it was a quick handshake with Grythiss and a delicate hug from Tuscl and my friends were behind me.
I felt giddy as I returned to the light and sound of the Den. The raucous party feeling there was at such odds with the conspiratorial discussion I’d just been part of that it felt like I had just entered a game, that I’d clipped up to a completely different world.
Smiling people moved aside to let me up to the microphone.
‘Hi…er. Hi. First of all.’ There was a faint rebound of my voice from the walls, which was audible once the conversation subsided and everyone’s attention turned to me. ‘I want to be clear that it wasn’t me who killed the dragon, or Raitha. A player called Kraken, one of Yuno’s investors killed her. Though he used the arrows we made through our efforts, so I believe everyone should still be entitled to the bonuses.’ I looked at Watson, who nodded.
A wave of cheers broke out that took some time to die down. As I looked out over the room full of happy faces, temptation grew in me to tell them everything. This was an important body of top players. If even a few of them believed me, they might help sway public opinion. And I remembered how awful I had felt after deceiving my comrades about the shield. Was it the same now? Would it be best to be honest with them all and tell them what was going on? No. It wasn’t the same. This time, I had to mislead the Yuno staff and Watson especially. This time I had a cause that wasn’t selfish.
‘The actual battle with the dragon was something of an anti-climax. The arrows worked perfectly. So I’m not going to talk about that. Instead, I just want to say it was a great honour to have met you all. Everyone, especially those who farmed for crafting materials over and over again for hours, it wasn’t very glamorous but it was absolutely essential. You deserve a round of applause.’
And they got one, loud and sincere.
‘Personally, the highlight for me was the ziggurat raid—’
Several cheers and whoots.
‘—and that’s it really. It’s been an honour and I hope to meet you in the game in the future.’
Lots of happy faces looking at me; a genial, paternal smile from Watson. Pretending I was another Tom Watson, one who knew nothing about Blackcoin scams and who had just led a successful project, I shared their happiness with as warm a response as I could manage.
After I stepped down from the podium I was thronged. Pretty much everyone wanted to pat my back, shake my hand, or give me a hug. I had a smile for them all, even those like Tombalinor, who were now unreservedly friendly and seemed to have completely forgotten how they froze me out in the early days.
There was one person who was waiting patiently for me who I also wanted to talk to, Oveidio/Blackstorm. Eventually, as the players began to give me room (some leaving to get ready for a party Yuno had arranged in a nearby bar), Oveidio came over. He took my shoulders in his hands and gripped me tight. Making sure I was looking into his grey eyes, Oveidio stared at me earnestly from under his brown and gold fringe. ‘We are brothers now, Tyro. You understand. Brothers.’
‘Thank you. I understand.’
‘This is my card. Stay friends. We raid together soon in Epic or maybe Epic Two. My guild will vote whether to move games.’ Oveidio had passed a rectangular piece of cardboard to me, on one side of which was a picture of a dreadnought, guns ablaze and on the other was simply an email.
I pocketed it carefully and with genuine sincerity said, ‘I am honoured, brother.’
I got a thin smile for that, then with a last nod Oveidio left me with Watson.
‘Mind coming to my office?’ Watson looked at me over his glasses, affable, friendly and yet I felt troubled. ‘We’ve a few things to discuss.’
As we left the room and the hubbub of cheerful players, Blackridge fell in step, riding the lift with us. Just his physical presence this close to me, even though his head was tilted forward, gaze on the floor, caused my chest to constrict. When the lift doors opened I took a deep breath.
Once in Watson’s office, sat in front of his desk, I reminded myself I was a successful raid leader, who was delighted with how things had turned out. Therefore, I even had a smile for Blackridge, who was sitting beside Watson. A ‘no hard feelings’ sort of smile. It didn’t shift his sullen, block-headed expression.
‘Just a moment.’ Watson had a laptop open on his desk and was tapping the keys with the tips of his thick index fingers.
There was silence in the room and I didn’t even have the view to distract me from a growing nervousness. The blinds were down.
‘There!’ Watson turned the laptop around. ‘I believe you know Kiro.’
A Japanese man faced me from the screen: thirties, slick black hair, strong eyebrows, unfriendly expression. Immediately, he challenged me, ‘Why didn’t you kill the dragon?’
A frantic, panicking part of my mind knew that everything came down to this moment. Our plans depended on my giving this man a good answer. The truth, of course, I shoved to the side. If they were alerted to the fact I had learned about the Blackcoin farming, my life might even be in danger. What was a plausible lie? Fortunately, years of improvising excuses to teachers and - I’m sorry to say - Mum, meant I hardly hesitated.
‘Mikarkathat said she was alive. Said if I killed her, it would be murder.’
With a sneer, Kiro leaned back and brought his fingertips together. ‘And you believed this?’
‘Yes. That made sense of why her armies were conquering spawn points.’
‘No.’ Kiro shook his head. ‘It’s just smart AI. We trained it to win and it was just playing a strategy. Even claiming to be alive was a clever strategy. She’d have killed you if I hadn’t got there first.’
‘That was…How did you survive the ivy monster?’
‘My escape skill. Maximum. All right, Tyro, despite making a bad mistake, you have earned your money. Watson.’
Giving me a thumbs up off screen, Watson turned the laptop. ‘Yes?’
‘You can pay him.’
Was that it? Had I passed the test? It seemed so. Watson folded away the laptop and looked at me.
‘Although you didn’t kill the dragon or lead a victorious raid on her, we’ve decided to award you an extra bonus. You’ll receive fifty thousand dollars.’
He waited for me to respond. What would I say if I didn’t fear Yuno and their plans? If I didn’t hate Kiro for killing Mikarkathat - for an act of murder - and if I really felt like I’d done a great job.
‘How about making it a round hundred?’
Watson chuckled and glanced across to Blackridge, who did not look amused. ‘No.’ With a sudden change in humour, Watson stared at me, serious now. ‘And remember our non-disclosure contract. You’ll lose it all and be liable for damages if you talk about what has happened here.’
‘I remember.’
Yawning now, Watson lifted a fist to cover his mouth. When he was done, he gave me a measured look. ‘You have a big online following.’
‘Not bad,’ I was still alert, on guard. Now what?
‘You’ll be tempted to tell your followers what happened. To increase your celebrity status with the inside story.’
With relief, I realised that Watson wasn’t worried that I had learned about the Blackcoin scam. His concern was that I’d go public about the project for selfish reasons.
I shook my head. ‘Not in the slightest. You’ve seen my house. You know what fifty thousand dollars means to my mum and me. I’m not going to throw that away. And in any case, there’s no footage. My followers want to watch raiding action.’
With a shrug, Watson leaned back. Then he stared at me for a little too long for comfort. ‘Tom. I’ve gotten to know you over these past weeks. And I like you. Why don’t you stay here and work with us? Become a manager at Yuno?’
Listening to Watson make me this offer again, I was struck by the lack of passion in his voice, the coldness in his eyes and the quick glance he gave to Blackridge. Despite the fact he was a hard
man to read, after all this time with him I felt I had an insight into the real Watson. This wasn’t a compliment, it was a trap. Watson wanted to keep me close, where he could control me and then get rid of me when I was no danger. It was like being offered a governorship by Cesare Borgia.
‘I appreciate the offer. It’s very generous. But no thanks.’
‘No?’ Watson wanted more. A reason. I didn’t give him one. What could I say that rang true? Nothing really. It should have been my dream job. So I resorted to the tactic I’d employed dozens of times in school and said nothing.
The three of us waited. In the end, realising I wasn’t going to speak, Watson turned sour. ‘There’s an insubordinate streak in you, Tom. It caused you to get on the wrong side of Paul.’
A dozen responses sprang to mind, all making the point that the problem lay with Blackridge - currently staring at the carpet, as if he wasn’t present and wasn’t listening - being too arrogant for the role he’d taken on. I said nothing.
‘I can’t put my finger on it. But I find myself reluctant to let you go. I don’t quite trust you. I don’t like the way you undermined Paul, even though it worked out. What’s bothering me, do you think Tom? Why do I feel like this?’
‘I’m sorry you do. I like you. I’ve had a brilliant time here and I’ve been paid very well. I want to go home, I miss my home, but I’d like to leave with us as friends. I owe you so much…You’re the first person who has ever really believed in me.’
My prompt response seemed to surprise him and Watson’s severe expression relaxed. ‘All right then.’ He even smiled as he stood up. ‘Let’s part as friends.’
We shook hands and it felt okay. I was nearly in the clear.
Blackridge stood up too, although neither of us moved to offer the other a handshake.
If there was a danger that my loyalty to Yuno might be exposed as a ruse, it was created by Blackridge’s aggressive expression as we took the lift down. Again and again, Blackridge met my eye, forcing me to look away. At last he said, ‘You think you are smart, don’t you? Some streetwise kid who has all the moves? You’re nothing, Tyro. Really, I wouldn’t bother to scrape you off my shoe if I trod on you. Just a dry, little, insignificant shit. You got a lucky break with that vampire condition and everyone thought you were a star player. They couldn’t see through you the way I can.’
Fortunately, the lift opened before I lost my temper. Too much more of this and it would have been impossible to hide the depths of my anger and the lengths I would go to in order to bring him, Watson, Kraken and the whole set-up crashing down.
I walked away, leaving the lift to carry Blackridge away. As I heard the doors closing, I looked over my shoulder. ‘You should know,’ I said, ‘that Watson offered me your job.’
It wasn’t true, of course, but I hoped he would believe it and brood on it.
Having made a few formal goodbyes to some of the players in the foyer outside the Den (where the sounds of a party could be heard), I found myself in front of Braja.
‘Where’s Raitha?’ I asked.
‘He’s clipped up.’ Braja lowered his voice, ‘I told him to. He’s ready to get your dragon loot while we still have access to it.’
‘Oh, right; good thinking.’ I went to the nearest game room and I clipped up for what was going to be the last time on these amazing rigs. Back home, my one-foot tracker was going to feel clumsy and slow in comparison to the harness and two-footed pads. And this was probably the last time I’d be Klytotoxos. Shame. I loved being a vampire. There were negative consequences to the condition but the abilities were amazing, not to mention the immunities. And it was fun, too; life as a vampire had become part of Klytotoxos’s identity.
Once back in the game, I ran out of the castle without seeing any guards or the ivy-monster. Above me, the night sky was becoming lighter. We didn’t have long.
[Channel Raitha/Klytotoxos] ‘Hi, Tyro.’
[Channel Raitha/Klytotoxos] ‘Hi, Raitha. Where are you?’
‘Here!’ Raitha fell as a dark blur, checking himself just in time to land on a rock and stare at me with his wild, yellow eyes.
I passed everything to him, including the letter and all my own gear.
‘Thanks,’ he said with a smile in his voice. ‘Some nice items, these will help us level fast.’
‘I’d better go. What’s the password to get the stuff back from Tuscl?’
‘Swedish meatballs.’
‘What?’
‘Braja had a theory that nothing worthwhile had come out of Sweden. Grythiss refuted him with a variety of excellent examples but nothing impressed Braja until the mention of meatballs.’
I shook my head. ‘Oh well, it least it’s easy to remember.’
Back in the Yuno headquarters, I joined in the festivities as enthusiastically as I could. My concern, though, was that it would be obvious my heart wasn’t in them. Not only had I developed a distaste for Yuno and a desire to get out of there, part of my thoughts were occupied with the question of what character would I create for the next challenge, that of sabotaging the Blackcoin operation by destroying the ledger. Legitimately pleading tiredness, I left the building at last, with a long series of goodbyes to Braja, Raitha, Grythiss and Tuscl (Sapentia had already left). Of course, we all knew we were going to meet again online, but we acted as if this was the parting of the ways. Pushing it more than I was comfortable with (was this all being recorded somewhere?), Braja even wiped away a pretend tear.
The following day, my exit from Yuno, San Francisco and the USA was abrupt: car, airport, plane. I was in the air and everything fell away.
So, that was that. Adventure over.
I was looking forward to returning to Dublin. Most of all, it was my mum that I wanted to see. But I found that I missed my school mates. I even missed Seanie Howlin, who felt like an honest kind of gangster in comparison to the sinister, powerful investors in Blackcoin.
As the powerful surge of the aeroplane lifted me skyward, I felt like I was a different person to when I had arrived in San Francisco, just over a month ago. Coming home, I had a cause and I felt a moral strength I had never experienced before.
I was going to be the dragon’s revenge
About the Author
Conor Kostick is a writer and historian living in Dublin, Ireland. When the world’s first commercial Live Action Roleplaying company, Treasure Trap, started out in Peckforton Castle, Cheshire, Conor was fortunate to get work there, helping administer the fantasy game and create scenarios. That experience and a love of gaming has stayed with him and led to the international success of his 2004 novel, Epic, in which an entire society play a fantasy MMORPG where gains in the game translate into real financial and political power.
Having won several awards as a writer, Conor became involved in the writing and publishing community in Ireland; he is a board member of the Irish Writers Centre, the National Library of Ireland and the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency. He is also an executive member of the Irish Writers Union and an advisory board member of National Braille Production. In 2018, Conor became commissioning editor for Level Up.
Conor welcomes feedback and questions from readers. He can be found online at:
Twitter: @conor_kostick
www.litrpgforum.com/
www.facebook.com/groups/litrpgforum/
www.reddit.com/r/litrpg
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