by Cate Ryan
Racquel dropped the hand that covered Taysia’s mouth. Dark blue met pale white in a fierce hug. Racquel struggled before pressing a finger to her lips. Taysia nodded, they needed to be quiet. On the ground next to Racquel sat a rope and grappling hook. Taysia looked to her and then to the looming stone structure.
“You can’t be planning to climb it,” she hissed.
Racquel didn’t answer, her attention on something in the distance near the wall.
“Shift change in 40 minutes. This side will be unguarded for about 90 seconds while the old guards leave, and the new ones get here. That’s my chance.” She paused and looked to Isaac and Taysia. “Our chance. If you’ll come.”
Taysia looked to the giant stone walls. They were awfully high. “How we going to get all the way up that in 90 seconds?”
Racquel shrugged. “Tricky but not impossible.”
Isaac sighed. They’d need to be ready. Run to the edge as soon at the guard looked like getting ready to leave. They’d only have one shot to throw the grappling hook. They’d have to climb two at a time. Isaac and Mack. Racquel and Taysia. That was the only way they’d make it. And to make matters worse. There was a chance that the guards would see them anyway. The ones on the ground.
It seemed like a suicide mission.
Taysia thought back to the squid meat she’d found. That might help skew the odds in their favor.
With 10 minutes until the shift change, they crept forward, every twig an obstacle and every sound could mean death. Taysia held her breath, terrified that even breathing would give away their position. She was crouched behind a thick bush, ripe with some kind of berries she’d never seen before. She resisted the urge to pick one. She spent the last 10 minutes resolutely watching a beetle traverse the stem of the bush. She could barely hear the others breathing beside her.
Racquel tapped her knee. A foot patrol was just visible disappearing around the structure towards the main gate. The guard nearest them, had been restless for some time, his eyes darting behind, fiddling with his bow. Racquel gestured to a thinner group of trees. They had good cover from above but with spindly little trunks that couldn’t hide any of them. Racquel ran forward, keeping low. When the guard turned behind him again Isaac followed. Taysia waited. Finally, it was her turn.
“They’ll switch over the same time. They’re heading back to switch over now.” Racquel gestured with her head to the guard nearest them.
“We need to get ready. Now.” She was hyper focused as if she’d trained for this day her whole life.
Maybe she had. Taysia realized she knew almost nothing about the strange woman who had made her life hell for the first few days here.
She looked to the woman’s tag:
[Racquel (76)
Ljósálfar Evoker, Rolling Wave]
How could she not have bothered to ask Racquel anything about herself? Ljósálfar were a type of elf, she remembered that much.
She’d need to find out after they got out of this mess.
“How do you know all this?”
The question had been on her mind since they’d found her.
“I came back here for some reason and when I tried to find the camp you guys had gone, so I’ve just been watching this place all day. Looking for a way in.”
“I hate to point out the obvious,” it was Mack. His voice slightly louder than the others, but still a whisper. Racquel gestured for him to continue. “What the hell is the plan once we get in there? Sneak around. Find that artifact. Sneak back out? There must be hundreds of Stone Soldiers in there. There’s no way we’re not going to be seen.”
Taysia nodded her agreement. That was the first sensible thing anybody had said in hours.
“That’s exactly the plan,” Racquel confirmed.
“Well it’s a bad plan.” Mack had settled himself onto the ground and seemed to have decided it was not in his best interest to move from that spot if the plan amounted to nothing more than a suicide mission.
“I have to agree with him,” Taysia heard herself piping in, “I think we need help. We need to go to the other HQ’s and see if they can help us. We need to storm this place.”
Isaac looked to her with a new-found respect. “That’s actually not a bad idea, you’re learning.” He paused and turned to Racquel. “Look, we already missed our chance. We should get out of here and do what the young ones suggest. This is too big for just us now.”
Racquel sighed. They were probably right. She threw up her hands in a tiny gesture that admitted defeat.
Quietly the four of them retreated away from the impenetrable stone structure.
The walk back to Greece was a long one. They needed to get all the way back to the docks at Athens, charter and boat and head to the nearest HQ to find out what had happened to everyone.
Chapter 18
“Why is everything so goddamn far away in this game?” Racquel complained loudly as they made the long journey back to Rolling Wave Headquarters.
“If it weren’t for that pesky issue with the respawning, I’d just get you to kill me and respawn there,” she continued her complaints in a long stream for much of the afternoon.
Taysia walked the path lost in thoughts of what her family might be doing without her.
“Hey. Over here.” The voice was quiet. Taysia could see a tag above a head barely visible in the bushes. She gestured for the other three.
The man gestured them closer.
[Misgin (44)
Bakenoko Monk, Rolling Wave]
Rakishly thin and pale as milk, but he was from their fellowship.
“You guys. Something happened. I was fighting this bunch of orcs or something way over in eastern Europe somewhere. I got killed and I expected to end up back in HQ in eastern Europe. Only—”
Taysia interrupted him, “Only you ended up in the underworld?”
He shook his head. “No. I woke up in HQ. Only, everybody was dead. Blood everywhere. It looked like something enormous had gotten in and slaughtered everyone. But HQ is meant to be pretty safe.”
“I tried to go to the next closest HQ but when I got there. Same thing.”
“I made it to the one here and it was almost empty. Just a few low-level newbies in there.”
Isaac gestured to the group. “Yeah. That was us. We left them there.”
The man nodded. “Well, they told me that you guys were looking for what had happened and that I should find you.”
“Okay.” That sort of made sense.
“They said you guys kept talking about some artifact. Well, there was an artifact missing from our HQ as well.”
“Interesting. What type of artifact?”
The man described something that sounded awfully similar to the one Mack and Isaac had described going missing in Greece.
“So, there’s more than one of the artifact. I’m guessing you’ve got no idea what it does?”
The man shook his head.
“Not a clue. I was hoping to come here to head to Midas because there’s a rumor that there’s some weapon there that could help. I’m probably not strong enough to fight them. But I figured I should get it before they did anyway.”
Isaac had never heard of a weapon in Midas, but it seemed if anyone in the group would be able to use it, he would be the one.
“I guess we should go check it out. How did you end up here though? Midas is a separate island?”
The man shrugged. “I was never great at geography man. The map I found just said it was in the Greek region, so I headed for HQ.”
“Okay. Sure.” Isaac didn’t really like the guy. Taysia could tell from the way he spoke to him. He clearly didn’t trust him either. As it was, she got a bad feeling about him though she couldn’t figure out why. His story seemed kind of plausible she supposed.
But why had he regenerated when everyone else had gotten stuck in whatever the eastern European version of the afterlife was?
Weird.
“I think we can take it from here.�
� Taysia heard Racquel telling the man. “How about you log off for a bit? We’ll deal with this and then you can come back like nothing ever happened.”
The man shook his head. “Hell no, something like this is going to give some wicked XP.”
Racquel sighed. “Fine, let’s go. But if you slow us down, I won’t hesitate to end you. Permanently.”
The man looked to Taysia, she nodded. Racquel would definitely do it. There was no underestimating her.
He shrugged. “Okay. Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“So Misgin. You gonna let us in on what this weapon is meant to be?”
They’d managed to charter a boat. Steered by a little old Greek man who would take them to Midas.
“I don’t know the specifics. The person who told me said it’s a really powerful weapon that can be wielded by someone high enough level to cause a lot of destruction. And it’s meant to be gold.” The man’s eye glinted at the end there.
“Wait. Midas, as in the city of gold, ruled by King Midas. That’s where we’re going?”
“Yep. I thought you got that part.” Isaac confirmed.
Taysia looked around. Nobody else seemed surprised by this revelation. Except maybe Mack.
“Do you mean the whole city is made from gold? What about the crops? And the animals and the people? What about the water?”
Taysia laughed, he might have grown several feet, but he still reminded her of a toddler sometimes.
Isaac clarified, “Well, not everything is made from gold. Though I heard the king accidentally turned his daughter to gold by touching her. So, there’s that.”
“Yeah, I remember that part in the story too,” agreed Taysia.
“So um, don’t get too close,” Isaac warned.
It was a very odd sight coming up to the shore in Midas.
The dock was clearly made from gold. It didn’t quite glint in the sun having been worn a little from daily use. It sagged and warped in places owing to the soft nature of gold. Taysia climbed out of the boat treading carefully for the first few steps before breaking into a run, eager to make it to the shore. The road into the town had been wrought from gold as well. Made from stone. Each one touched by the king.
All the houses were gold, sagging in places too, as if one swift wind storm would knock them down. A fountain stood in the town square. Once a beautiful structure, now it had been warped by the passage of water on the soft metal.
“So, any idea where we should be heading?”
Taysia secretly wondered if a weapon made from gold would even be a smart idea given how it had warped everything in the town, but she kept her doubts to herself, eager to have the whole mess behind them. She wanted to find somewhere nice to settle down with Mack. She remembered the little house in Athens and wondered if it would suit them. Perhaps somewhere else now that she was stuck in the game permanently. A castle in England sounded lovely. Or a pyramid in Egypt. Pantheon offered plenty of choices and for the first time since the farmer’s basement she felt eager to discover them.
Perhaps she could stay at the headquarters with Isaac.
Misgin shrugged. “I was going to try the blacksmith and if that didn’t work, I figured I’d go straight to the king.”
“Well, I for one am eager to stay as far from the king as possible. So, let’s go with the blacksmith.” Racquel decided for them.
It was hard to tell which building belonged to the blacksmith given that everything looked the same.
People stared at them from behind half closed golden doors, Taysia couldn’t tell if they watched out of fear or curiosity. Their little group looked out of place in this town that was filled with everything gold.
“You ought to head that way. Turn right at the fountain,” someone told them. They hadn’t asked where the blacksmith was. But his instructions were better than wandering around vaguely.
As it turned out, the instructions did lead to the blacksmith. As they got closer, the building became easy to spot. The only building in town that hadn’t been made entirely from gold. The building itself sported the same golden architecture and sagging roof but the weapons and such strewn about the place had been made from other materials. They were a stark black against the gold that took up the rest of this strange town.
“What can I do for you?” The blacksmith stood working at his forge, shaping an axe into a perfect deadly weapon. He pressed a final hit with the mallet, looked at his handiwork. Nodded and put it aside. He wiped dirty hands on his pants before giving his full attention to the group.
“We’re looking for a weapon.”
It was Misgin who answered, quick to show his importance.
“Well.” The man gestured behind him ‘you’ve come to the right place. “What’s a fellow like you need a weapon for?”
“Not just any old weapon,” Isaac interrupted, “We’re looking for a special weapon. Made from gold. It’s maybe, magical?” Even as he was saying it Isaac trailed off, glaring at Misgin.
The blacksmith laughed “Well laddie, I don’t know what you’ve heard, this is the city of gold, but I don’t work with gold weapons. Not a great material for crafting with if you ask me. T’is all right for jewelry and such but it’s useless in an axe. Much too soft.”
Taysia nodded feeling vindicated. Thankyou. She thought internally.
“Well um, thanks.” Isaac turned to leave. The rest followed.
“Wait!” the blacksmith stopped them , “I’ve heard of some pretty crazy weapons. But,” he paused, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this. But all of them belong to gods. You might find the type of thing you’re looking for if you’re willing to go to Mount Olympus.”
[Congratulations, you have learned a new skill
Metal Work – Rank 1 (Novice)
This skill is useful for crafting metals into more useful shapes. At higher ranks new crafting recipes will become available to you. In addition, this skill can be used to assess the quality of a metal item (more effective at higher ranks).]
[New Quest – Find a weapon on Mount Olympus to defeat the Stone Soldiers and return order to Pantheon
Reward – 500 XP and Uncommon Weapon. All Rolling Wave players returned from the Underworld]
“Well. I suppose we better get on it.” Taysia sighed.
“Thanks.” Racquel turned to the blacksmith.
Misgin looked to the four of them, his eyes pausing on Taysia. “I don’t know what weird shit you guys are in to but there’s no way I’m going to Mount Olympus. You guys are on your own for that.”
He shrugged and suddenly he disappeared, his body fading into nothingness before their eyes. Taysia figured he must have logged out.
In the distance Mount Olympus rose high above any other land feature. Even so far away it was visible to the naked eye.
Her mind pictured a cartoon character climbing a giant mountain going in circles on a nicely laid out path. She doubted that reality would be as simple.
“We’re going to need so much rope.” Racquel looked up to the mountain too. She seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“Yeah. That’s one big ass mountain.” Isaac agreed.
“You know there are rumors that if you get enough XP you can go up there and the devs will change your class to God and you pretty much get whatever powers you want.”
Racquel was looking longingly at the mountain now.
“Pretty sure that’s just a myth Racquel.”
Isaac looked to the mountain as if trying to solve a puzzle.
“Look around you. This whole place is a myth.”
Isaac laughed. “Yeah. Let’s get going. I don’t want to get turned into a statue.” Taysia nodded agreement with that one. She definitely did not want to be turned into a golden statue to be warped by the elements. She was having a shitty enough week already.
The boat floated exactly where they’d left it, and thankfully it had not been turned into gold in their absence.
“Think you could take us back to the mainland. As close
to Olympus as you can? There will be extra in it for you,” Isaac sweet-talked their Greek captain.
“Waters there, very dangerous.” The captain shook his head. His words said no, but Taysia knew that what he really wanted was an even better bonus.
“Ah yes, that’s why I’m including a bonus for you,” Isaac went along.
The man shook his head. “Double.”
Ah, that was what he wanted.
Isaac shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” Taysia watched as he pulled a huge wad of money from his inventory and handed it over.
She wondered how much he had in there. He’d been playing for ages after all.
“All right. I take you,” the man agreed, grasping the wad of cash.
He muttered to Taysia on his way past, “I would have done it for a little less, but this is better ah?” Taysia grinned, Greek charm at its finest.
The little boat lurched away from the twisted dock and Taysia was not sad to see the back of Midas. She dreaded the climb up the mountain, but Midas was a different story all together.
Taysia spent the afternoon perched on the top deck enjoying the wind whipping through her hair and the salty brilliantly blue water spraying onto her arms. A few tiny islands dotted the horizon but Taysia was happy to be carefree for a few hours. As the sun dropped below the horizon it became too cold to stay on deck and she retreated to the bowels of the ship where they would spend the night.
She slipped into an uncomfortable sleep. Her dreams filled with climbing a rope, she’d climb for what seemed like hours, but the top never got any closer. And she’d look down and find she could still touch the ground. She woke half expecting to see her hands covered in rope burns. Instead it was just the sound of Mack’s snoring.
She forced herself back to sleep after tossing and turning for far too long in the tiny bunk. The feel of being tossed about by the sea helped.
When she finally awoke, it was to Isaac shaking her awake. “We’re here.”
He sounded less than excited.
She pulled herself up and set to running her fingers through her knotted hair. Why did she still have to brush her hair? She was entirely virtual, shouldn’t it take care of itself?