The Conduit

by Erik Anderson

  Alicia shook her head. “You’re literally a hunk of rock.”

  Jimmy turned to me and winked. “She called me a hunk, you heard it.”

  Alicia rolled her eyes, giving up. As for Jimmy’s new body, I surmised that he was more powerful because I’d acquired more server resources. I had to channel them to give Jimmy a body, so the effect must be greater now. Nevertheless, it was time to meet up with the others, so we walked over to where I’d left Frank embedded in a wall. Gerald had been revived, and was standing with Gina, who was clutching his arm. Samuel had also come out of the woodwork, and I wondered why he hadn’t participated in the battle. Examining him, I saw he was only level 7, so he would have been outmatched. I approached him.

  “Hey Samuel, thanks for helping Gina reach us. I’m not sure the battle would have gone so smoothly had you not helped.” He smiled at me.

  “No worries! Sorry I couldn’t help more with the actual fighting, I’ve been trying to get stronger, but I don’t have much time to play after classes.” He explained.

  I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it, I’d be a bit behind myself if I hadn’t saved up my vacation time for when the game was released.” It was then that I noticed Frank, who was being threatened by Nareth. Frank was battered and bloody, but was talking to Nareth with a defiant look in his eye. He was bound, and I could see him fidgeting, trying to get loose. I walked over and squatted in front of him.

  “You’ve lost, Frank. Just tell Nareth what he wants to know, and maybe we’ll let you crawl away from here intact.” Frank seemed to lose his edge now that he wasn’t talking to an AI.

  Still, he sneered. “It doesn’t matter, even if I told you what happened, it’s impossible to learn anything now.” At least Frank was admitting he knew something of what happened to Silas. However, I was curious about what he meant.

  “What do you mean it’s impossible to learn anything now?” I asked, genuinely interested in what he had to say.

  A sick sense of satisfaction crossed Frank’s face. He had apparently decided it was worthwhile for us to understand the hopelessness of our situation, and began talking. He told us how he’d met Silas during character creation, just as I’d met Alicia. I asked him why their names were so dissimilar, but he shook his head, explaining that Silas had introduced himself as Francis. This shocked Nareth, but Frank said that “Francis” had suggested they make their way along the river, as it would eventually lead them to Nareth’s village. A dark joy came over Frank as he told us what happened next. They encountered orcs along the way, and Francis immediately began fighting with them. Francis tossed Frank his bow and quiver, but rather than stay and help, Frank let them overwhelm Francis. The last thing Frank saw was Francis being clubbed over the head and dragged towards the mine we’d subsequently cleared.

  “And as well you know, we killed every Orc in that mine, and there was no sign of Francis. They probably ate him, but you’ll never know. Everyone who could have told you what happened is dead.” Frank paused, relishing in this small victory, that we’d never discover what happened to Nareth’s friend. Instead of dismay on our faces, Frank saw looks of satisfaction all around. “What are you all so happy about? You’ve lost. This was all a waste of time.” I didn’t want him to catch on to what we were planning, so I looked to Nareth and drew a finger across my neck. Frank had only a moment to look surprised before Nareth mimicked my gesture with a dagger. Frank tried to gurgle out his last words, but in moments his eyes glassed over and his body disappeared. It was the first time I’d seen a player die. Unfortunately for Frank, he left behind everything he’d been wearing except for his backpack. Most of his gear would go straight to the armory, but Nareth took the longbow that had belonged to Francis, and nobody stopped me when I took the Casque of Command for myself.

  Casque of Command: Sentients and NPCs under your leadership deal 5% more damage and take 5% less damage. +1 Cha.

  I remembered seeing the stats for the Casque previously, but it was before I’d reached level 10, so I wasn’t aware the item had an attribute bonus. Some part of me wondered where Frank went after we dispatched him, but most of me didn’t care. Nareth let out a sigh of relief after killing Frank, and spoke.

  “Let’s find out where the miners carted off those orc bodies. If we can find Krug’s body, maybe we can revive him and have him tell us what happened to Francis.”

  I nodded and replied. “I want to shore up the village’s defenses. If you’re able to find and revive Krug, bring him back here and we’ll all have a chat together.” Nareth took my advice, and left with Alicia, Grith, Emera, Gina, Gerald, and Samantha to track down one of the miners and learn what happened with the orcs’ bodies. Samuel and Jimmy joined me as I surveyed the village. Frank hadn’t accomplished much while I was absent. He had erected another watchtower, and all the buildings I’d drafted before leaving had been completed, except for the palisade. Now that I was the official leader of the village, I hunted through the interface until I found a menu detailing the status of the Village on the Lake, as well as the options available to me in managing it.

  Village on the Lake

  Development:

  Village

  Leader:

  Alex

  Structures:

  22

  NPC inhabitants:

  14

  NPC limit:

  50

  Sentient inhabitants:

  18

  Households:

  16

  Homes:

  10

  Resources (kg)

  Lumber

  5128

  Iron ore

  1142

  Stone

  0

  Food

  809

  A couple things stood out to me from looking at the settlement status screen. First, we had more households than homes. Second, it appeared that stone was a crucial development material, and we were lacking it. Before I tackled those issues, I was curious to check out what was meant by “NPC limit”. In the description, it said I could hire NPCs up to the limit before they would cut into the number allowed by my Leadership skill. Furthermore, the limit was based on the development level of the village, and the cap would increase as the size of the village increased. The village currently had five miners, two farmers, a leatherworker, a blacksmith, an herbalist, a carpenter, a tavernkeeper, a bar wench, and a hunter. Through the village menu, I hired five fishermen, four more hunters, five more miners, five woodcutters, and three more farmers. That should give the village a steady inflow of resources, and the rest of my hires could go towards defense. Fortunately, I could attach the three elite elven warriors to the village, assigning them to the three watchtowers. For the remaining eleven hires, I decided to spend a bit of silver recruiting skilled fighters, attaching them to the village afterwards to keep my leadership cap free for forming raiding parties. NPCs with just one skill were free to hire, but more skilled NPCs cost 1 silver per skill, just like the Elite warriors I’d hired. So, I hired four scouts that each had sneak, archery, and sprinting as their skills. I also hired seven elite warriors with swordsmanship, shield use, and heavy armor use. In total they cost 33 silver, but the advantages they provided over less skilled fighters made the price well worth it.

  The number of homes needed ballooned to 34, so I drafted 24 more cabins to accommodate them. After drafting the extra cabins, on a hunch I checked my skills. Yes! My architecture proficiency was at 3.5. I dumped my free 1.5 proficiency points into it and a notification popped up with a new ability.

  You have unlocked a new Architecture ability!

  Synergizing with Psionics, Server Resources, and Leadership…Success!

  Overlord: You are in constant contact with your settlements, and can view an overhead map of controlled territory at any time. NPCs attached to the village can be ordered remotely, though each command will cost 1 PP per NPC. PP spent in this way will be locked for 1 game day.

  Even if Frank tried to come back, I could fight him off
from anywhere, at any time. I decided to add the overhead map of the town to my interface, so if any threat appeared I would notice it and be prepared to handle it. Wonderfully, I discovered that I could also draft buildings using the map of the village. I wanted to make good on my agreement with Arachna, so I drafted a pasture. While I was in town, I sent the scouts on a mission to find any animals I might be able to keep penned up, and I also told them to keep an eye out for a good place to build a quarry. The three elite elven warriors were on lookout, and I had the elite human warriors I’d just hired patrolling the village. Everyone else could work on the buildings I’d drafted, returning to their normal tasks once everything was completed. Just as I finished giving orders, Nareth and his group arrived with two orcs in tow. I recognized Krug, the giant orc we’d slain in the mines, and the overseer, who if I remembered correctly was Krug’s brother. I approached the group.

  “I didn’t expect you to return with two of them.” I said, surprised.

  “We found the orcs from the iron mine piled up just a couple hundred meters from the mine’s entrance. The miners didn’t burn them, and they were in the same condition we’d left them.” Nareth stated, tilting his head towards Krug. “As soon as we revived him, he realized that we were capable of bringing back his brother as well. He said he’d tell us what he knew so long as we brought his brother back.” I looked at Krug, who was scowling at me.

  “You want Francis. We sold him to the goblins.” Krug stated blandly.

  I furrowed my brow. “What goblins?”

  Krug blinked at me. “The goblins.”

  I was worried this might get circuitous. “Where are the goblins?”

  “In their village.” Krug said flatly.

  “Where is the goblin village?” I asked.

  Now Krug smiled. “I’ll show you.” I shook my head, not liking where the conversation was headed.

  Alicia stated the obvious. “That’s a trap if I’ve ever seen one.”

  I thought of a solution. “The overseer, he’s your brother, right?”

  Now Krug was the one not liking the direction of our conversation. “Yes.”

  I continued. “We’ll keep him here, under guard, while you show us the village. If anything happens to us.” I paused, emphasizing the next part. “We will kill him.”

  Krug furrowed his brow, looking towards his brother and then back at me. “Deal.”

  Chapter 18: Izzwix

  By now it was quite late in the evening, so after we parleyed with Krug, we secured him and his brother, setting three of our elite warriors to guard him. Some campfires were still crackling throughout the village, and the residents were sitting in chairs as they shared tales in the flickering light. The town carpenter must be up and running! I remembered people sitting around campfires when I first arrived, but they didn’t have chairs. There was also a low din of conversation coming from the Inn, which served food and drinks. It wasn’t awfully late, so I went in to see who was there. Walking through the door, I was hit by the smell of cooking meat, as well as the heady smell of fresh ale. I heard rattling dice and gruff curses, interspersed with the metallic cling of coins being tossed into a pile. Samuel was sitting at a table with a couple other villagers and NPCs, so I asked if I could join him.

  “Sure Alex! We’re just chatting and having a few drinks.” I sat down, and the bar wench came to our table.

  “What can I getcha?” She seemed busy, probably due to the large group of patrons gathered tonight, and had a thin sheen of sweat on her brow which she absently wiped with a napkin.

  “The house ale, and whatever meat is on the grill. It smells delicious!” She nodded as she took my order, and when I reached for my coin purse she stopped me.

  “Please, it’s on the house. Frank was a real bastard, always being crass with the women, grabbing at them.” She hunched down and whispered in my ear conspiratorially. “He was constantly passing glances at the men though, I think he was just trying to make a show of being interested in women.” I was stunned for a moment, but then it clicked. Players were psychologically profiled and matched with an AI of the gender most attractive to them. Frank had been matched with a male elf. If he was homophobic and felt that his masculinity was being threatened, I could see why he wouldn’t aid his companion. Still, letting Francis take a beating and get captured, all to assuage his own wounded pride, was a shitty thing to do. If I saw him again I would unhesitatingly send him to wherever he happens to respawn. Instead of following that dark train of thought, I listened to the people at our table. Samuel was telling a story.

  “So I’m out hunting, right? I spot this deer before it sees me, and I change into my wolf form.” Samuel snarls and raises his hands, making clawing gestures. He’s clearly wasted, though how he managed that with booze in a virtual reality, I couldn’t tell. “And I sneak up on it, and this bitch steals my kill!” One of guys at the table, a player I hadn’t met, cut in.

  “Who was it? What did she look like? Was she cute?” Samuel shakes his head, explaining.

  “It was a bitch, a she-wolf! She takes down the deer like lightning, and wrenches its neck. I didn’t want the meat, just the experience and maybe some proficiency in my hunting skill.” Samuel suddenly has a look on his face that could only be called “disturbed”. “So, I leave her with it, but instead of eating, she starts following me and sniffing my ass.” That earned a laugh from everyone at the table, but Samuel went on. “I tried to ignore her, but she started nipping at me and getting feisty. Anyways, the limit for my transformation is up, so right in front of her, I turn back into my human form. I expect her to fight, but she just nuzzles me!” People at the table are losing their shit now with his very near run-in with bestiality. Samuel continues. “Anyways, I get a free skill out of it, animal empathy, except it’s stronger for some reason because I’m a druid. And now, as a pet, I have a bitch who has the hots for me.” Now I’m pounding the table along with the rest of them. Samuel gives us all a deadpan look. “She’s back at my cabin now, and I need advice.”

  At some point, my ale and venison come, so I guzzle the ale and wolf down my steak. I share a bit of my own adventures, and while there were some laughs around the table, nothing can top Samuel’s Lady problems. Yes, he named the bitch Lady. I’m just about to share how intense Alicia’s snoring is when I feel a chill up my spine. I turn around in my chair, and sure enough Alicia is standing in the doorway, fingering her Daggers of Vampirism and giving me a dirty look. Apparently, you don’t need psionic ability to be psychic. I decided to call it a night, getting up and leaving a silver at the table despite the bar wench’s generosity, and followed Alicia into the cool evening. Just as I stepped outside Alicia frowned.

  “Do you hear that?” she asked. I listened, and it sounded like someone was yelling from a distance. We approached the edge of town, and a figure burst out of the treeline. He was screaming his head off, waving a sword in the air, and wearing nothing but a loincloth and a backpack.

  Alicia squinted at the figure. “Is that…”

  “…Frank?” I finished her question. It was indeed Frank, and he looked mad. His face was all red, and his wordless cry got louder as he sprinted towards the town. I casually opened the village menu, looked for the “kill on sight” list, and added him to it. Finished, I crossed my arms and waited. The first arrow fired from one of the watchtowers missed slightly, but having ranged the target, they fired again. The arrow struck Frank in his naked thigh, and he tripped, falling headfirst onto the ground. As he struggled to get up, more arrows came from nearby watchtowers, peppering him further.

  “AAAAGGGHHH.” Frank yelled, he’d almost made it to his feet when an arrow went directly into his eyesocket. He collapsed, and his body disappeared.

  “Loot!” Alicia was clapping, and ran towards the area where Frank had fallen to pick up whatever he was carrying. He looked to have only a sword on him, but it would be more useful in the armory than lying in the field. When she returned, we headed back to the cab
in together to sleep. I didn’t even mind when she stuck a needle in my arm, at least I wouldn’t have to try and sleep through her snoring. Feeling drowsy from the drinks and Alicia’s knockout concoction, I closed my eyes and logged out. After raising the domed lid of my VR setup and getting out of my chair, I stretched my legs and yawned. I felt like eating something light, so I unpackaged a TV dinner that had cost a dollar at the supermarket. I could usually eat two before feeling full, but I was dead tired and just wanted something in my stomach before I went to bed. I checked my messages, but the doctor hadn’t gotten back to me about the Psych appointment. As far as I could tell, the only voice in my head was my own right now, so I convinced myself that I was imagining my earlier conversations with Jimmy outside of the game. I ate my food and drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

  The next morning, I woke up and crammed a few granola bars down my gullet before logging in. Speaking of logging, I could hear the saws that the workers were using to collect lumber even before I opened my eyes! No, that’s Alicia. Rather than terrorize her this morning, I decided to quietly sneak outside and let her sleep. The morning greeted me with butterflies, sunshine, and a commotion just outside the town. As I approached the edge of the village, I saw two very large orcs accompanying something that was also green, but very tiny. It was riding an auroch, which was pulling a cart that looked a lot like a covered wagon from the Oregon Trail computer game. In the village status screen, I marked the group as “neutral”, ensuring that they wouldn’t be attacked before I had a chance to speak with them. The elite archers in the towers stopped training their bows on the group, standing down now that it was determined that they weren’t a threat. I approached, hailing them.