“I don’t know,” Jace frowned as he thought about her question. “We’ll have to play it by ear. Follow them around and look for opportunities.”
“If we can even find them,” Diana retorted.
“We can find her,” he replied. “She’ll meet us at the first tavern inside the main entrance of the city, just like we told everyone to do to meet us.”
“Too bad that groll hunk couldn’t meet us,” Diana said wistfully. They’d freed another player named Yosyp, who had looked like some sort of eastern European male model. Jace still remembered the way the girls practically drooled over his body when he had morphed.
“But Damian can’t do anything permanent to her,” Mika protested. “Not like us.”
“True,” Jace admitted. Mika was right, of course. Anything Damian did to Charlena could be nullified if she just deleted her character. She was still in the real world after all. Then he remembered what Damian had done to him with the car accident. “Except, we don’t know if he might do something to her in the real world.”
“The real world?” Diana asked. “Can he find out that information about her?”
“I’m not sure if he can look that up in the company database,” Jace told him. “Player demographic information is well protected because of government regulation. But nothing’s to stop him finding some other way to weasel it out of her. He can be charming when he wants to.”
“So, she could be in real danger?” Mika said in a quiet voice.
“Possibly,” he said. “I’d rather not take that chance.”
“But she abandoned you,” Mika protested. “When you needed her.”
“Maybe,” he nodded. “But are we going to do the same to her? Knowing what happened to me in the real world? I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t live with myself if I let something happen to any of you.”
Diana sighed. “There’s another possibility too.” She paused dramatically while Mika and Jace both turned to her. “He could recruit her. If he’s as manipulative as you say, he could come up with some story about you that might turn her against you and us.”
Jace frowned. He hadn’t even considered that possibility but Diana was right. Damian used to boast about always being three steps ahead of everyone else. Could he come up with some plausible story that might make Charlena turn on Jace? Would it even take much? She had turned her back on them right before they went into the castle to find the support center.
Since he’d met Charlena, he’d been attracted to her and it seemed like she had been attracted to him. But then something had changed when she first found out he was dead - or thought he was dead. And then, it changed again when she thought he was alive. They’d kissed and he thought that she actually cared for him.
Had he not paid her enough attention? Had he been too focused on his goal of getting to the Help Desk and contacting support? At the time, he’d thought it was critical. He’d thought he might be trapped inside a medical pod with no way to logout.
But then she’d told him about his real body, back in the real world. He was in a coma, but not in a medical pod - not hooked up to the game at all. That was when she’d left. When she’d thought he was a liar or pretender.
Was it really so difficult to believe that she could be swayed by Damian into believing that he was a rogue program or some sort of experiment gone wrong? His ex-coworker was good at finding people’s weaknesses.
He looked to Diana. “You might be right. We have to at least consider the possibility.”
Mika looked torn. “Do you really think she would turn against us? She was our friend.”
“We have no way of knowing. He could be feeding her lies about us right now,” he told Mika. “As I look back at it, I can see he did that with the other team members. Turning them against each other, creating strife. I think he’s the kind of person who thrives on that.”
“He sounds lonely,” Mika said in a quiet voice. “Then what do we do?”
Both the girls looked to Jace and he realized once again that he’d become the defacto leader. He didn’t mind it so much when the stakes were just whether or not his group would wipe and get death penalties. He was starting to realize that being the leader wasn’t a glamorous job
“We’ll have to play it safe,” he told them. “Until we know what’s going on with her. Until we know for certain she hasn’t been compromised, we have to treat her like she has the plague.”
“Are we still going to meet her?” Mika asked.
“Yes,” he told them. “But we’ll need to come up with some plan. Some way to observe her and the area without being seen. Damian seems to have nearly unlimited money. He’ll be able to afford any magical item he needs to obscure himself from us.”
“Sounds very cloak and dagger,” Diana approved. “I like it.”
“Yeah, “ he replied. “But the stakes are high. If she betrays us to him, it could mean that all of us end up in some eternal torment.”
“Do you really believe he can do something like that?” Diana asked him.
“I think he caused the accident that put the real me in a coma,” he replied. “I think he was aiming to kill me. Or... him, the real Jace. If he could do that, kill someone in the real world. Not to mention trapping people inside monster bodies to be killed over and over, I don’t think he’ll have any qualms about causing us eternal suffering.”
“And you have a plan?” Diana asked dubiously.
“I’m working on it,” he said. “Hopefully, we can think of something before we get there.”
“We’d better,” the older woman, “because I have no desire to spend an eternity in a literal hell.”
Chapter 28
They arrived in the Nynymmost harbor in the early evening of Weeksend, or Saturday in the real world. Being from the evil faction, Jace had never seen the gnomish capital before as Mordred. But he had heard stories of it.
The gnomes were tinkerers and delighted in building things, then improving on them and then improving on them some more, well past the point where any sane human would have stopped. As he looked upon the gnome city, he realized the stories didn’t do it justice.
From his vantage point on the deck, Jace could see the oddly-shaped buildings rising from the main city. They were far taller than any human building, save the castle towers. They were also strangely positioned all around the city, as if someone had just randomly selected spots to build up.
To make the spectacle even more bizarre, Jace could see plumes of colored smoke coming from most of the buildings. The plumes stretched high into the sky where they blended together in a strange cacophony of colors that made the sky above the city look like some sort of mad painter’s canvas.
Jace held his hand up to shade his eyes as he caught sight of the most famous gnomish building, the High Altitude Docking Station, or H.A.D.S. The HADS looked like some sort of misshapen, mechanical tree that jutted out of the center of the city. He guessed it had to be three hundred feet tall, easily the tallest building he’d ever seen in the game, except possibly in old ruins left over from the Veteribus, or Ancient Ones.
While the building itself was both a wonder and an eyesore, it was what was attached to the building that captivated their attention. Attached to the main structure at odd intervals were long, branch-like appendages that were wide enough and tall enough for an ogre to walk through. At the end of most of those appendages were gnomish airships.
The gnomish were famous for their flying airships that looked like small normal ships attached to one or two giant balloons. Jace knew there had to be some magic involved as well since as large as the balloons were, there was no way they should be able to hold up a ship that size. It had to be magic. Or, the devs had made an exception to the physics laws regarding airships.
No matter how the gnomes had accomplished it, the flying ships were a sight to see. And he wasn’t only one to think so.
“And people actually go in those flying deathtraps?” Diana asked, looking at the HADS
with morbid fascination. “How many of them actually stay in the air?”
“All of them,” Jace replied, “as far as I know. They don’t actually build regular ships like the other races. Only air ships.”
“Can we ride in one?!” Mika asked with wide eyes. She seemed to remember their predicament and her face fell. “I mean, after we meet Charlena and defeat Damian.”
Jace chuckled at her characterization of defeating Damian, as if he were just some game boss who needed to be vanquished. He really loved her enthusiasm and zest for life. It reminded him of himself before his family had been killed. It was only seven years ago, but it seemed a lifetime ago now.
He still blamed himself, of course. They’d wanted to take him out to eat after his high school graduation. Instead, he’d insisted on going out with his friend. They’d died when a truck jumped lanes and hit them head-on. And it was his fault. If he’d just said yes and gone out with them, they’d still be alive.
“Are you okay, Jace?” Mika asked and he started.
“What?” he looked over at her. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been lost in his own thoughts, but they seemed closer to the city than they had been.
“Are you okay?” Mika asked again, her face a mask of concern.
Jace forced a smile, trying to bury his dark thoughts and the emotions came with them. “I’m fine.”
Diana looked at him and gave him a dubious look. “You don’t really expect us to believe that?”
“I’m fine,” he told them, more forcefully this time. “Just a bad memory.”
Mika put her small hand on his shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” He smiled, genuinely this time. “Maybe some other time.”
Both girls eyed him but, thankfully, neither pushed the issue. They looked back to the city, as they drew closer to it and Jace did the same.
As he watched, one of the airships disengaged from the tower and began to slowly move off to the east. The ship moved slowly at first but then quickly picked up speed. It circled around the city and then accelerated out of the city to the west.
“I really want to ride one!” Mika said excitedly as she watched the airship growing smaller.
Jace chuckled as he watched the craft shrinking in the distance. “That would be fun.”
“You two can have all the fun you want,” Diana said. “I’ll pass.”
“Pass?” Jace asked.
“The thing looks like it could fall from the sky at any moment,” the older woman replied. “No, thank you.”
“You wouldn’t really die,” Mika said. “You’d just respawn.”
“No thanks,” Diana shook her head. “I’m just not interested.”
“Are you afraid of heights?” Mika tilted her head at Diana.
Diana gave the younger girl a hard look but it quickly softened. “Yes, if you must know. I really don’t care for heights. Flying was always so ghastly! And my coping mechanisms usually involved enough alcohol that I didn’t wake up until we got to our destination.” She chuckled. “I ended up at some strange airports because I didn’t wake up and change connections.”
Mika listened and then looked away wistfully. “I never drank much. I never had enough money to spend on drinks.”
“You wouldn’t be paying for any drinks in an American bar,” Jace told her. She was an extremely attractive girl and if she looked anything like her avatar, she’d have guys lining up to buy her drinks at any bar. He also remembered Mika had died in an airplane crash before being inserted into the game. He was surprised she didn’t have a fear of heights.
Mika blushed and cast a sidelong glance at Diana. She gave him a slight smile. “I don’t believe American men would be lining up to buy me drinks.”
Jace waited for her to elaborate or make it into a joke but she just turned away. Diana flashed him a look that told him not to pry and he listened to the older woman.
He didn’t understand it though. Avatars were usually very similar to the original person since they were based on the person’s DNA. Sure, they were the perfect version of the players’s DNA in the best shape, but it was still the person. Most people were recognizable as long as they took a human-like form. Once you applied some of the more exotic player race templates, the person could get lost in the racial alterations.
He glanced at Mika. Jace tried to figure out what she could possibly mean by her statement about not getting bought drinks. He just couldn’t imagine her as anything except an attractive Japanese girl with a great personality.
“We’re coming up on the dock! Make ready!” yelled Colette from behind them.
The sailors began to leap into action around them, tying and untying things, unfurling sails and all the mundane actions that needed to be done to bring the ship into the dock. He only half noticed all of the action.
Jace and the girls heard a heavy cranking sound and then watched as the dock in front of them began to move towards them. Looking around, he saw a small section where a gnome sat at some sort of control panel that was attached to several large gearboxes that whirred and whistled. Occasionally a burst of steam would emerge from one of the many pipes that stuck out of the contraption.
Finally, the ship and the dock were close enough that the pirates tossed down mooring lines to the gnomes below, who quickly fastened them to some sort of elaborate looking mechanism built into the dock.
As the little gnomes went scurry around, tying up the boat, Jace couldn’t help but be reminded of an ancient vidstream he’d pirated. He couldn’t remember the exact name now, but it was about a boy and a candy factory. Under his breath he began singing “Oomba...oomba…”
“Lower than gangplank!” yelled the first mate, once the boat was secure. The men did so but rather than immediately head down onto solid land, they stood back. Jace saw something zooming along down the dock towards them. It raced down their section of the dock and then made a sudden turn and shot up the gangplank.
As it reached the top, Jace got a better look at it. The thing appeared to be a steam powered unicycle. And sitting atop of the thing was a gnome with wispy white hair sticking out of a leather cap and wearing goggles.
The gnome didn’t move his head, but instead manipulated a control on the unicycle and the seat rotated until he was looking at Colette. “Are you the captain?”
“No me,” the first mate pointed at Jace. “Him.”
The little gnome pulled another lever and he spun around so fast that Jace thought he would fly off. Amazingly, the gnome stayed on the steam unicycle. “You are the captain?”
“Aye,” Jace said, keeping in character. “Captain Jynx Knightly, Baronet of Whitecliff.”
“Oh, sir,” the gnome blinked. He inclined his head. “I am Gluthec Oversprocket, Chief Berthing Collection Accumulator. It is my great pleasure to ask you for your berthing fee of 500 gold.”
The gnome’s words were punctuated by a sudden expulsion of steam that came out sounding like a train whistle. It was loud enough that Diana and a few of the crew members covered their ears. Reaching into his inventory, Jace pulled a small pouch of 500 gold and handed it over to Gluthec.
The gnome took the money and then pulled out a pad of paper and began scribbling on it furiously with a large writing contraption that looked like someone took a thick ballpoint pin and glued a bunch of random objects to it.
Nearly a minute later, the scribbling stopped and the Chief Berthing Collection Accumulator ripped off the piece of parchment he’d been writing on and handed it to Jace. “This is your receipt and berthing license. Keep it with the ship at all times and must present it when asked to by any officer of the Docking Guild. Got it? Okay. Good. Welcome to Nynymmost, sir.”
The gnome had spoken the entire sentence without taking a pause or a breath. Once Jace took the parchment from his outstretched hand, he threw a few levers on the unicycle and zoomed back down the gangplank with several pops, bangs and a trail of steam.
“What an odd little man,” co
mmented Diana, and Jace could only nod in agreement.
Chapter 29
They left the ship after giving Colette orders to sail back to Haddare Reef if they didn’t return in two days. Their respawn point was on the pirate island and if they were killed before they could reach the bind point for Nynymmost, they’d need to be picked up.
Before leaving the ship, he altered his appearance with his hat and made himself look like a tall gnome. It was an interesting change, as his vantage point was now two feet lower than it was when he was a human. Both girls had a good laugh at him, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
“Do you really think that’s necessary?” Diana chuckled as they left the ship. It was clear she was still amused by his gnomish appearance.
“The last time we were in a normal city, Mika and I were assassinated,” he replied, recalling the incident in Lasthaven.
“Yeah,” Mika said and drew her finger across her throat, “and the assassin killed the messenger guy too.”
“Better safe than sorry, I guess,” she said and looked down at him. “My husband, the little person. Who would have thought.”
Jace smirked. “When in Rome, do as the Romans… or gnomes, in this case.”
“You’re so small, you could ride Luna!” Mika exclaimed, her eyes flicking from his small form to his giant familiar.
Luna, who had been eyeing a bucket of fish next to a wary gnomish fisherman, suddenly perked up. She looked at Jace, sniffed, and then pointedly turned around and looked forward.
“I think that was a no on being my mount.” Jace chuckled. Too bad. For a moment, he imagined himself atop Luna with his sword raised high yelling “I have the power!”
They wandered around the strange, moving docks until they finally reached dry land. There Jace asked a passing female gnome for directions to the graveyard. The female looked him up and down and then glanced at the two human women with him. She made a face and then rattled off a bunch of street names before turning and continuing on her way.
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