The Magic Sequence

by Dawn Chapman

  I was just about to leave her when I noticed the woman’s necklace twinkle in the light. A bright red jewel set neatly in delicate silver. A box popped up detailing its stats:

  MAIDEN’S HASTE – THE GEM INCREASES THE WEARERS SPEED AND ABILITY TO STAY SILENT.

  “No wonder you snuck up on me.” I quickly tugged it over her neck with my good hand, the other hanging limply by my side, useless. Then I popped it over my own neck. It would be my prize, my reward for risking my life.

  As I hurried down the steps and along the corridor, alarms began to blare. I tried to move faster, but pain flared with each step, the damage done to me was more severe than I’d realised.

  The splotch increased in pulse and number.

  I had to get out before anyone else noticed me. There was no way I’d survive another fight, I’d barely survived the first encounter. By the time I rushed through the final door, I heard running footsteps and shouts from somewhere behind, but I didn’t stop to see if they’d found the body.

  I grabbed the rope, still curled where I’d left it, whimpering as the pain flared again. More afraid of being seen than of how I was going to get down from the rope, I gripped it as tightly as my injury would allow, and half ran and half jumped out of the window.

  Twisting my body around, I tried to brace myself against the wall as I swung like a pendulum towards it, but I didn’t move quickly enough. Instead, my good side slammed into it, grazing my skin against a nick in the stone.

  With no ability to climb down, I had no choice but to let go and drop the remaining feet to the ground. Thankfully this part of the escape plan worked, and I landed on my feet, my body folding to reduce the impact. And then I was off, my extra speed helping me get away from the building as shouts and yells rose from behind me.

  Pulling my cloak around me tightly, I rushed into the nearest side street, aiming for the shadows that could hide me. Pain flared so badly my sight went fuzzy and my legs almost gave way, but I kept going, into the safety of darkness.

  It had grown darker and cooler outside, and I stopped to catch my breath and steady my breathing. I had to get back to Keld. Or did I? Could I get away from him? No, I needed him to get back to Gestal. If I didn’t, I’d no doubt he’d hunt me down, somehow, somewhere.

  I tried to ignore the splotch in the corner of my vision, the pulsing 28 was a dangerous indicator of how close I was to death. Somehow, I had to carry on a bit further.

  Sticking to the back alleys and shadows the evening afforded, I slowly wound my way back, praying my guide hadn’t abandoned me.

  Relief swept through me when I saw him, and his concern as he took in my state.

  “Did you get it?” he asked as he caught me from a stumble. I leant on him as I nodded, unable to speak for a moment.

  “Yes. Just.”

  “And no one saw you?”

  “No one still alive.”

  “Good,” he said as he wrapped his arm around me and helped me hobble away.

  With his support, my body struggled against the wound. My vision blurred and my feet stumbled. I lost track of time as we made our way back, but eventually came to a door I recognised.

  Once inside I collapsed.

  QUEST COMPLETED – REWARDS DISTRIBUTED

  I’d done it. I was back, and I had what Gestal wanted. Unable to stand the pain any longer, I blacked out.

  Chapter 5

  I wasn’t sure how long I’d slept for, or if the dreams of a woman helping me, bathing me were just dreams. But images floated past me in a mist of silvery lights. Voices drifted toward me, without a face to them.

  I stirred and tried to focus on the room around me; it wasn’t where I’d been kept before. I felt soft sheets beneath me, and though I struggled, I managed to move slightly.

  “Give yourself some time,” a voice said. “You almost lost your life. I had to provide more than a few healing potions and lotions for you.”

  “Oh, okay,” I mumbled, making sure I stayed lying down and calm.

  “I’ll be back shortly, rest for a while. You need it.”

  So, I did.

  While all the previous hours whizzed around in my head I glanced to the corner of my vision. There was no splotch, and I was able to see a grey box, with AAAA in it. I assumed this might be my main stat window or systems call up.

  I focussed on it some more, and it opened up into four large boxes; the As had obviously been the acronyms. This was quite interesting and I started to read.

  Aspects -

  Advantages -

  Aptitudes -

  Affiliations -

  I clicked Aspects.

  Body — 1

  Mind — 2

  Soul — 1

  Scrolling across with my mind, I clicked on Advantages. That was pretty simple, and I read:

  Advantages — 0

  Visitors may buy Advantages or if the AI deems you fit, you may be rewarded for perseverance.

  There was a little buy button, but you needed Karma points. I clicked on my Karma bank and it read.

  Karma — 0

  I wondered briefly what I’d have to do to earn Karma, or if killing would accomplish that? I realized I was siding with the darker side and I liked it. I’d always played good guys in other games. This was new, interesting.

  Aptitudes were next, and I thought a lot about how this might work. When I clicked it, the information displayed was decent enough:

  The stat scores for Aptitudes determine how many dice the system will roll in the background for any given Challenge (see Challenges). The AI will determine which Aptitude is appropriate. Each Aptitude is associated with one (pure) or two (hybrid) Aspects.

  My scores weren’t that great though. I let out a sigh.

  Combat (Body) —1

  Diplomacy (Mind/Soul) — 1

  Endurance (Body/Soul) — 0

  Faith (soul) — 1

  Subterfuge (Body/Mind) — 1

  Logic (Mind) —1

  And yes, Aptitudes could also be bought with Karma, damned! Was I screwed in this game before I had gotten going? This seemed unfair.

  And lastly Affiliations, which did impress me.

  Affiliations

  Born within the Guild of Assassins you have a natural Affiliation. Your learning curve is reduced for sharp wits and manoeuvrability as it’s naturally in your blood.

  It seemed I needed to work on a lot of things, but I had a much better idea of how this game system worked now. That was good, but I’d no clue how to go about it all. I could almost hear Jessica, “You did what?” She would be highly disappointed in this, in the fact I had begun to like who I was in here. Especially as I’d begun to enjoy playing the opposite role to what I was used to. Despite the pain, I had started to like it here. This darker me—no, this older, stronger version of me—interested every fibre of my being. I could do anything, be anyone. I would be someone now, not just a pawn for Gestal.

  I guess I had to keep doing things that I knew worked in other games and hope that something would stick for me here.

  My work here was nowhere near what I’d hoped for, or maybe I didn’t understand this game as much as some of the others.

  Fully coming around, I was finally able to see where I was and what I was wearing. Fresh clothes? Had someone touched me, dressed me? Shivers ran down my spine over the thoughts of who.

  Then there was a knock at the door. I turned to see Gestal. “For completing your task, you have been rewarded.”

  A strange musical tune assaulted my ears. Little stars spun around and one large one hit me in the chest.

  Awarded — One Karma Point

  Then he was gone, the door closing behind him.

  I was so excited, I had a Karma point! But what the heck was I going to spend it on? Or a better question was, should I? Or should I wait?

  I slipped out of bed, noting proper shoes were laid out for me. I pulled them on and went to try the doorknob. It wasn’t locked, not like my other room had been. Quite an upgr
ade indeed. I looked out into the corridor and saw Gestal waiting at the end for me.

  I followed him.

  “You did well. I have two more jobs for you, but you need to train more first.”

  I understood this, if I was to become anything good in this world. Training would be my life.

  “I’ve brought in one of my oldest friends; he insists that he’s capable of shaping you into what I need. I’ve given him the task. Work with him. Listen to him.”

  We stopped before a door, and he pushed it open to reveal a training room. It was nothing like the arena. Of course, I needed more than that now.

  At the centre of the room was a man in simple looking clothes and footwear. When I glanced back, Gestal had gone. Damn. I wished I was that good at slipping away. That was my next goal. I wanted to be the sneakiest person. Stealth and fighting came hand in hand, but stealth always gave you the quickest opportunity for a killing blow, before the opponent even knew you were there.

  I stepped inside and the door closed behind me with a whoosh. I’d kind of expected there to be something different about it, but when I looked at the man standing centre, there was no room. Just a grassy field.

  “Come closer, Lila,” he said, waving me towards him. “I’d like to get a better look at you.”

  I walked to the centre of the field, head high and shoulders back. I wasn’t keen on being watched so closely, but I was also on guard. I didn’t know him, or how he would take to training me.

  As I drew closer to him, I saw a slight movement from his hand, and a dagger was out and sailing towards me at high speed. Almost as if I watched it in slow motion, I stepped aside and avoided being hit in the face. That was a killing shot.

  When I focussed back on the man, his grin spread. “Well, it seems you have a fair bit of knowledge and reaction already, Lila. I expected to see you again, after a re-spawn.”

  I laughed and held out my hand for him. “I aim to please, Mr…?”

  “I am Shin,” he said, taking my hand in a firm shake.

  “Human?”

  “No, I am able to change my form. I thought this would be better for us, for your training.”

  I almost laughed, but managed to stop myself. “Seriously, I’m not going to balk at anything this world has to offer me.”

  I expected some kind of weird metamorphosis. A mist formed around him—the human form had gone. A silver-skinned person stood before me. He had ethereal green eyes, with a shimmering set of scales that seemed to track down the middle of his arms and the side of his neck. I thought perhaps if he were naked it might be his natural defence. Or armour.

  “So, you’re kind of a lizard?” I said before thinking. I clasped my hand over my mouth and mumbled an apology.

  “No, we’re not lizards.” He smiled. “My species is the airokos. We may have lizard ancestors, but our DNA comes from a long list.”

  There I noticed many tails as they swished around him. I tried to count them, but they were too quick. Then they were gone, and he was back to human form.

  “Thank you for showing me,” I said. “Now, where do we start?”

  He grinned, and with a wave of his hand the room around me vanished once more.

  A silver study appeared, and stretching out for a few hundred feet were thousands of different weapons. I had no clue as to what some of these items were, or how they were wielded, but I was willing to learn.

  “You had your pick within budget from the vaults, now I want you to learn about each of these. They all represent an era of history, and as you learn each one you’ll finally get a sense of the weapon you were meant to carry.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I tapped my foot against the wall “This looks like it will take forever. Can’t we speed it up?”

  Shin’s eyes didn’t waver and I fisted both hands, swallowing. He picked up the first item—a small plain dagger—and deftly tossed it to me.

  “We shall begin.” He picked up something similar, then lunged at me.

  Moving away from the weapons table, I defended myself the best I could, trying to anticipate his attacks. There was a flurry of pings in my head as I started to pick up different moves. It irritated me, though all I could do was try and block them, him. It didn’t work so well.

  The splotch in my vision started to increase in number.

  Eventually, Shin held up a hand, and moved to my side. “Follow my actions, let them sink in.”

  At first, I watched as he graciously moved the dagger from side to side. Then I started to copy him. He started to talk in a language I couldn’t understand, but the way he was saying it seemed to resonate inside me. His motions changed, and he paused between moving, it wasn’t a fluid dance anymore. Accentuated by the pauses my mind started to break down what he was showing me. Defence and attack moves. I grinned. No one had ever thought to teach like this. I wondered what made the AI inside the game think this may be easier, but it was.

  Ping.

  Ping.

  Ping.

  I laughed, and fumbling, dropped the dagger. Shin was quicker than me and swiped it up. A frown graced his face. “Something funny?”

  “No, well.” I still laughed. “I guess. My head’s full of annoying pings. They’re so distracting. I can’t help it.”

  “Pings?”

  “When I learn something, it’s an acknowledgment that I have.”

  “Oh.” He put the dagger away. “We turn off notifications like that when we’re infants. Why hasn’t anyone helped you do this?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not your usual inhabitant of Puatera.”

  By the way he studied me I could sense he was learning this.

  “Your interface has many system settings,” he said. “Let me try and recall how to turn off those notifications.”

  Shin’s eyes dimmed, and his body swayed slightly. Within the next breath, he stared back at me. “Do you see a little spinning wheel near the left corner of your vision?”

  I shook my head, there was nothing like that, no matter how much I focused.

  The lines over his brow furrowed. “What do you see?”

  I clicked my tongue and the AAAA screen popped into view, then the main window I’d seen earlier. I told him what I saw.

  He shrugged, confused. “No systems wheel?”

  “No.” I tried saying Systems Menu and also got nothing.

  Then there was a flicker. Shin stepped towards me, but I was the one to hold up my hand this time.

  “Wait,” I said again “Systems Menu!”

  The outline of a spinning grey wheel slid into view, out, then it stayed.

  “Systems Menu!” I screamed.

  Shin took a step back. But I was excited. It was there, in plain view.

  I looked at him, my smile growing. “I see it!”

  But I also needed to sit down; for some reason the splotch at the side of my vision had shot up to 20.

  When I wobbled again, focusing more on the wheel, Shin was at my side.

  “Stop,” he said.

  But I couldn’t. I tried to swipe at the wheel. Nothing happened.

  “Stop it!”

  By the time I focused on his voice, the splotch was at 25.

  “Crap,” I said, then I saw nothing.

  Chapter 6

  When I woke this time, Shin’s face stared back at me. I was still in the field and felt solid ground beneath me.

  The splotch had reduced to 10.

  “What was that?” he asked.

  I pushed myself up slightly. “I don’t know. There’s a glitch in my coding. Some of it’s been fixed, but I’m broken.” I let out a sigh. “That’s a given.”

  Shin helped me up and I mumbled my thanks.

  “Guess I won’t be trying that again.”

  “No,” he said firmly. “You will. We need to get to the bottom of this and turn off those pings for you. They could mean your death in the midst of battle.”

  I nodded, he was right.

  Ping: “You have
learned the ability Pure Determination.”

  I had to laugh even though I was still feeling pretty ill. I needed these pings switching off.

  Shin handed me some water and indicated to the side of the room. It had changed back from the field in a second, and although I wasn’t fazed by this my feet stumbled as I made way to a bench area.

  I glugged down the water and waited. My splotch had settled at 5, which was better, but not perfect.

  Shin put the weapons away and came towards me holding out a flower.

  I laughed. “Not really into flowers.”

  “Eat it. It should help buff up your functions.”

  I looked at the red petals and smelled the fruitiness of its pollen. Okay, never ate a flower before. I popped it into my mouth and chewed. Fresh fruit exploded on my tongue, and I watched as my splotch vanished. That was a damned handy flower, and it tasted pretty good too.

  “Ready to try again?” Shin grinned.

  I sucked in a breath. Leaned back on the bench and nodded. “Systems Menu,” I said and waited.

  And waited.

  Then on the second attempt, it popped up. My splotch rose to 7. I, however, couldn’t focus enough on the spinning popup to get it to click or open up.

  “Systems Menu!” I said and watched my splotch rise to 16.

  I felt dizzy, but I also felt the Shin’s hand on my arm. “You’ve got this. Focus.”

  So I did. I stared at the spinning wheel, and tapped hard on it with my mind.