Jace did so and Charlena hurried out of the chamber before turning around and walking back into the room. She stopped at the entrance and then slowly walked in.
“Keep going,” Mordred said. “Keep going. Stop. Right there! That’s the point I’ll be able to see him and have line of sight.”
Jace looked where Charlena was standing. It was about four feet into the chamber and only a little over ten foot from where he and the girls would be. Not much room to maneuver or get around Damian, if things went wrong. Then Jace chuckled mirthlessly. If things went wrong, they didn’t have a chance against Damian anyway. “That’ll do.”
“How quickly do you want me to cast the scroll?” Mordred asked.
“As soon as you can,” Jace replied. “He’ll have something up his sleeve. I know it.”
Mordred grimaced. “Yeah. He’s definitely the sort to have some sort of nasty surprise.”
Jace looked at Charlena. “If she’s here, she’ll need to stand with us. Unless you have another one of those amulets.”
Mordred swore. “Darnit! No! I didn’t even think of that.”
“I just thought of it myself,” he replied. “She can’t hide in here, especially around you. Damian will be able to pick her out and that might give away your position.”
Charlena looked from Jace to Mordred. “But I should be with you….”
Mordred looked at Jace and his face grew grim as he turned to the red-headed elf. “He’s right. We don’t want anything giving away my position or even the hint of my position. We’ll only get one shot at this.”
She frowned but Charlena nodded her head. “Okay, fine. I just want this to be over.”
Mordred raised an eyebrow. “Want me out of your place?”
The red-head blushed. “No! I meant, I want this constant worry that Damian is going to track us down and do something to you, or us.”
His other self-nodded. “I know. Me too. I’d kind of like to get back to whatever I can scavenge of a normal life.”
Everyone was quiet again for a long minute. Finally, feeling the silence stretch into uncomfortable nervousness, Jace cleared his throat. “I guess that’s our plan. We set up the meet for Sunday, but we should expect him at any time.”
“What do we do if he shows up while … uh… other Jace isn’t logged in?” Diana asked, looking from Jace to Mordred.
Jace’s mind raced, going through the various scenarios. There was no way for them to contact anyone outside of the game. If Mordred wasn’t on to cast the scroll, they’d be screwed and completely at Damian’s mercy.
Mordred must have seen the deer in the headlight look on Jace’s face. He glanced over at Charlena and she nodded. “Charlena and I will be taking shifts in the game. As soon as someone spots the ship, whoever is on will log out and get the other person.”
Jace felt himself relax and he nodded. “That sounds like a great plan.”
“I’d say you owe me one,” Charlena joked. “But considering how much money will be in my account in a couple of days, I guess we’re more than even.”
Jace chuckled. “We definitely appreciate you two taking turns like that. Now, let’s hope we see him before he sees us.”
The companions looked from one to another and then Jace shrugged. “I guess it’s time to set up our watches.”
“And wait for the little weasel to show up,” Diana muttered and one by one they filed out of the room and returned to the surface.
Chapter 51
It was dark when they reached the surface of the island. Jace quickly assigned each person to a part of the island. Since Charlena and Mordred were splitting their shifts, they were both assigned to the same area.
The plan was simple. Each person would keep an eye open for a ship. If they saw the ship, they would run to the person next to them. Once they told the person next to them, that person would run off and tell the next person and so on until everyone was informed and they all met in the cave. Two issues immediately presented themselves when Jace had finished explaining the plan.
“How do we find our way without killing ourselves?” Diana asked, motioning around the dark landscape of the island.
Mika made a pained face, as if she wanted to ask something but didn’t want to spoil Jace’s plan. He motioned her talk. “Looks like you have something to say too.”
The asian girl gave an apologetic expression. “How do Diana and I see the ship? We cannot see in the dark.”
Everyone looked at Jace. He sighed. Why did they always think he had all the answers? He looked around the dark landscape and over the dark waters. The twin moons were climbing into the sky, casting pale light across the island and the ocean. Jace could see just fine with his Cat-Vision. Charlena and Mordred both had the ability to see at night as well. That left Diana and Mika.
“This is going to be a problem,” Diana frowned. “If half the group can’t see in the dark.”
Running his hand through his hair, Jace struggled to come up with a solution. He was still thinking when Mordred spoke up. “Sorry Mika and Diana, I don’t really know your capabilities. Do any of you have any magical way of making light?”
The two girls looked at Mordred and then each other. Mika’s eyes went vacant as she looked at her HUD then quickly came back into focus. “One of the priest spells is a light spell. You have it too, right Diana?”
“We have a magic sword that sheds light too,” Jace added. He thought he knew what Mordred was going to say but he let his alter ego finish.
“You can’t use the light to find the ship or even while you’re looking for it because it will kill your night vision,” Mordred explained. “The ship will most likely have running lights so that the crew can work. So, you want to keep your eyes open for a moving light on the horizon. With everything else stationary, it should be hard to spot. Once you spot it, cast your light spells to make it to the next person.”
“So, we’re supposed to be looking for a moving spec of light on the horizon?” Diana asked.
“Yes,” Jace said. “Like Mordred said, it will most likely stand out since it should be the only bit of light moving. This is supposedly a cursed island, avoided by sailors. There shouldn’t be anything with lights on the horizon. Anything you see moving will mostly be Damian’s ship.”
Diana let out a breath but nodded. She didn’t seem convinced. “Fine. Look for moving lights. Got it.”
Mika smiled, her unwavering optimism a sharp contrast to Diana’s more pragmatic and almost pessimistic attitude. Was it her youth that made her more optimistic and trusting? Or was it just their personalities? Jace would probably never know.
“Alright,” Jace said after the girls had agreed. He pointed to the southeast part of the island. “Mordred, you and Charlena head to the southwest tip of the island. You should both go over now and one of you log out. That way, when you change shifts, the person will already be ready to take over.”
“Okay,” said Charlena and took Mordred’s hand. The two of them turned and headed to the spot Jace had indicated.
“Diana, you will take the northeast and Mika, you will take the northwest,” he told his companions. “I’ll take the southwest. I’ll walk you both to your spots and then come back here to mine.”
“We can make it.” Mika smiled and looked at Diana. “Right?”
Diana looked like she was about to object but the other girl’s enthusiasm seemed to win out. “Yes, we’ll manage.”
“You guys can do this,” he told them, trying to sound encouraging.
“I just want all this stuff to be over,” Diana said, her body sagging. “This may be a young body, but mentally, I’m still the same old woman I was when I died. I can’t take all of this stress. It’s just too much. This constant running and looking over our shoulders.”
“Once we have him trapped,” Jace told Diana. “I can use the ring to transport us all back to gnomish capital. At minimum, we’ll have a week to explore the parliament building and find the Help Desk.”
“And that will magically solve our problems?” Diana asked, throwing her hands up in frustration. “I thought they were supposed to be doing something after the first time we contacted them!”
“I know, I know,” Jace said in the most soothing voice he could muster. “You’re right. I thought they’d be able to do more. If we hadn’t been interrupted by Damian moving the Help Desk, I think I could have given them more information to go on. This time, hopefully they have a file open already. I can fill in more details and let them know that Damian is after us in the game.”
“And that will make a difference?” Diana asked, her voice almost pleading.
“I don’t know for certain,” Jace admitted. “But it’s the only thing I know to do.”
“So, we could be in the same situation again?” Diana said. “And have to go to another city and find another Help Desk? When does it all end?”
Jace opened his mouth to respond but realized he didn’t know what to tell her. His plan was to keep trying until they got a solution - or until Damian caught up to them and did whatever nasty stuff he could to them. The prospect of giving up had never even entered his mind.
Mika looked from Jace to Diana. She bit her lower lip as she seemed to be considering something and then seemed to come to a decision.
“If this doesn’t work,” Mika walked over and took Diana’s hand in her own. She looked to Jace. “Can we just go to a deserted island somewhere and stay there? Some place where Damian won’t find us?”
Jace didn’t like the idea of running away and letting Damian get away with it, but he realized there was nothing else he could do without putting them in more risk. Knowing how this “adventure” was affecting Diana, he realized he had no choice. He nodded. “Sure. As soon as I talk to the Help Desk, we’ll take a ship as far away as we can and get lost somewhere.”
“See,” Mika told Diana. “One way or the other, you won’t have to worry about this after we trap Damian. No more running.”
The older woman said nothing but nodded to the younger girl. Mika flashed him a smile and then led Diana away towards their part of the island.
Jace watched them go for almost a minute before looking over to where Luna was lying down. “Let’s go to our spot.”
Luna hopped off the ground and padded next to him as he made his way to the southwest part of the island to begin his watch and think. Think about their next moves and how those moves might affect Diana.
***
Morning came and went, turning into afternoon without any sign of a ship. He hadn’t spoken to anyone else in the group since they’d parted but he had checked up on them with his spyglass. He cursed himself several times through the night for not having the foresight to get them all spyglasses, but hindsight was always 20/20.
He’d checked in on Mordred and Charlena several times and was happy to see that they were taking turns in four hour shifts. He knew it had to be hard on them, getting so little sleep, but he didn’t see any way around that. Without a way to get an instant message to the outside world, they needed someone in the game at all times.
It was late afternoon, 4:30pm by his gnomish timepiece, when he heard yelling. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Diana and Mika running towards him. One of them must have seen a ship!
Jace immediately started running towards them, not wanting to wait the few extra minutes for them to reach him. Luna, who had been playing with a crab near the water, saw him break into a run. The powerful cat bounded after him and quickly caught up to him, running alongside him.
“Boat?” the cat asked in his mind. Jace had explained to her last night that he was looking for a boat on the water and that Luna should tell him if she saw one. He wasn’t completely sure she’d understood what he wanted but two sets of eyes were better than one.
“Hopefully,” he replied to her and suddenly felt anxious at the upcoming confrontation. So many things could go wrong and they could end up trapped themselves. Or worse. The idea of Damian torturing any of them made him angry but especially Diana, who already seemed near her breaking point.
If things came to it, he promised himself he would either teleport himself away or kill her somehow so she respawned back in Nynymmost. The same with Mika. One way or another, he’d figure out a way to save them.
The three of them nearly collided with each other but slowed down just in time to avoid a collision. They were all breathing heavy and Diana started to speak but then stopped and had to catch her breath. Finally, she looked up. “Ship!”
Jace opened his mouth to ask a question but Diana held up a finger to silence him. He shut his mouth and waited for her to finish.
“Ship,” she said again and pointed towards the northeast. “Flying ship!”
Jace’s eyes went wide. An airship? Damian had hired an airship! Jace wanted to smack himself. Of course, Damian hired an airship. He had almost unlimited money. He could probably buy an airship. He cursed himself for not considering that as a possibility.
“It’ll be here soon,” Mika said. “It’s really fast!”
Jace nodded. Having never ridden in one, he didn’t have first-hand experience, but he’d read on the forums that they were nearly twice as fast as regular ships. Suddenly, their response time was cut in half.
“You two get to the cave,” he said, already turning towards where Charlena was on watch. “I’ll go tell Charlena so she can get Mordred.”
They nodded and ran off towards the cave. Jace raced towards where he knew Charlena was and began yelling. Her elven ears picked up his voice quickly and he saw her lithe form running towards him.
As they came closer, he yelled out again. “Get Mordred! Tell him Damian’s coming on an airship. Tell him to Stealth as soon as he logs in and come to the cave.”
Wide-eyed, she nodded and in the next instant she was fading to blue and then disappeared as she logged out of the game.
Left alone with Luna, he glanced down at the cat, who was looking to the northwest. Even without the spyglass, Jace could see the sleek airship coming at the island. Mika had been right. It was fast.
Jace turned to the cave entrance and ran back. He just hoped Charlena and the real Jace were able to log back in and get to the cave before the ship got close enough to make them out. If Damian saw Mordred, they would lose their element of surprise and the whole plan would be down the drain.
Chapter 52
The airship was still several miles out when Mordred and Charlena logged back in and ran up from the shore and ducked into the cave. His alter ego paused at the entrance and gave Jace a thumbs up before running down the tunnel to get into place.
Jace glanced out at the approaching airship. Even if Damian had been looking out at that exact moment, he doubted the hacker would be able to tell exactly who it had been running. Spyglasses in VEIL Online just weren’t that good.
Jace looked down at Luna, who was rubbing against his leg. While they were waiting for Mordred and Charlena to login, Jace had convinced the cat to shrink back down to normal size. It hadn’t been easy. The cat sensed the tension and must have guessed a fight was coming. He’d finally explained that he wanted her big size to be a surprise and she had relented and shrunk down.
“You ready for this?” he asked the cat.
Luna looked up at him as she rubbed herself against his leg again. “Yes.”
The plan was simple. He just needed to sell it. He needed to make Damian believe they wanted to make a deal. A simple deal. They’d stay silent and not try to contact the Help Desk and Damian would leave them alone.
Jason knew his former co-worker would never truly agree to that. He had too much at stake. Damian simply couldn’t afford to have anyone who might reveal his plan. The man would have some plan of his own. Some way to neutralize them. The key was to use the scroll of imprisonment on him before he could do anything to them.
Looking up, he saw the airship circling the island. Jace stepped out of the cave and waved at the airship for severa
l minutes before retreating back into the entrance of the cave. The airship was still almost a mile out. He didn’t really believe there was anything on the ship that could affect him at this range, but he needed to act like the paranoid player. He needed to bait the trap.
The airship circled two more times before finally dropping to about 100 feet from the ground. It came to a halt and hovered for several minutes before a long rope ladder was dropped down. Did that mean the airship wasn’t going to land? Jace frowned as he realized Damian wouldn’t need the airship to stay around. He could just teleport back to any town he’d been to after things were done.
Looking up at the hovering airship, Jace waited. He expected to see Damian climb out onto the ladder. Instead, he saw some sort of commotion near the ladder. It was too far up to make out what was being said but it looked like there was an argument going on.
He took the opportunity to look down at Luna. “Remember. Go up to him and then lead him back here. But make sure you stay small until I say so.”
She just looked at him for a long minute. “Yes.”
Jace knew Damian would recognize the familiar since he had pointed her out last time they had met. He needed the hacker to come to him without exposing himself to whatever Damian might have up his sleeve and Luna was perfect for it. If anything happened to her, Jace could always resummon her.
Luna looked up at them, then over to the airship and the ladder. The little cat trotted over to where the rope ladder was dangling and sat down on her haunches. She stared up, waiting for Damian to climb down the ladder.
Damian didn’t climb down the ladder. Instead, as Jace watched the commotion aboard the airship, a figure hopped over the railing of the airship and plummeted to island. As it was falling, Jace could just make out the inky black skin and realized it was Damian.
Part of Jace would have liked to see Damian’s character go splat on the ground, but then they would have had to wait until the hacker respawned and made a second trip. But instead of seeming to take any damage at all, Damian landed on the ground a few feet from Luna. Jace heard the crash of Damian hitting the earth but if it caused any damage or discomfort to him, the hacker didn’t let it show.
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