That Wasn't the Plan

by Jason Cheek

  THAT WASN’T THE PLAN

  BOOK SIX

  OF

  THE WORLD

  Copyright 2020 Jason Cheek

  Published by Jason Cheek on Amazon

  Cover Art by Leonardo Black

  ISBN-13:

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Amazon.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Note from the Author

  Changes to the Story

  Map of the World

  Chapter One

  Chapter One.Two

  Chapter One.Three

  Chapter One.Four

  Chapter One.Five

  Chapter One.Six

  Chapter One.Seven

  Chapter One.Eight

  Chapter One.Nine

  Chapter One.Ten

  Chapter One.Eleven

  Chapter One.Twelve

  Chapter One.Thirteen

  Chapter One.Fourteen

  Chapter One.Fifteen

  Chapter One.Sixteen

  Chapter One.Seventeen

  Chapter One.Eighteen

  Chapter One.Nineteen

  Chapter One.Twenty

  Chapter One.Twenty-One

  Chapter One.Twenty-Two

  Chapter One.Twenty-Three

  Chapter One.Twenty-Four

  Chapter One.Twenty-Five

  Chapter One.Twenty-Six

  Chapter One.Twenty-Seven

  Chapter One.Twenty-Eight

  Chapter One.Twenty-Nine

  Chapter One.Thirty

  Chapter One.Thirty-One

  Chapter One.Thirty-Two

  Chapter One.Thirty-Three

  Chapter One.Thirty-Four

  Chapter One.Thirty-Five

  Chapter One.Thirty-Six

  Chapter One.Thirty-Seven

  Chapter One.Thirty-Eight

  Chapter One.Thirty-Nine

  Chapter One.Forty

  Chapter One.Forty-One

  Chapter One.Forty-Two

  Chapter One.Forty-Three

  Chapter One.Forty-Four

  Chapter One.Forty-Five

  Character Sheet

  Startum Ironwolf’s Gear

  Character List

  Glossary

  About Jason Cheek

  Connect with Jason Cheek

  Post Credit Scene

  A Note from the Author

  I hope you enjoy the story and apologize in advance for the grammar and proofreading mistakes that are sure to be a part of this work. Being an ‘Indie Author’ typically means that you do not have the extra money to pay for a professional editor or proofreader and end up doing all of the work yourself. While I do the best that I can to find mistakes, I know well my lack of ability in the proofreading, spell-checking, and editing arena. At the same time, I have done my best with the tools available to clean up the story for publishing to the best of my ability.

  Luckily enough, I had help from Eric (Totenliste), a friend who freely offered his expertise for editing my books and getting them cleaned up for release. Steven (Zeven) is another friend that helps with the ideas and concepts that makes the series so great. The two of them beta read the story to make sure everything sounds right, besides listening to me when I’d have those bad days that writers get, especially when you have a group of authors ganging up against you to do their best to block your work on Amazon, Goodreads, and Audible.

  This issue was something I was ignorant about as a reader of the genre. Now though, the more I learn about how a number of established authors try to block new authors from entering the genre, or learn about the groups of authors ganging up on new authors and choose to say nothing against it. It’s depressing, to say the least. Truly, this book would have never been written if not for the fans who enjoy the series. Your continued support truly makes a difference and you have my heartfelt thanks.

  As you enjoy this story, I ask that if something does stand out grammatically that you let me know at jasonacheek@gmail.com so that I can make the necessary corrections needed to make this book as enjoyable to read as possible. Also, if you enjoy the story, please make sure you post a positive rating on Amazon. Even with book five, it makes a difference. Only in this way does this let us ‘Indy Authors’ know that our stories are appreciated and helps to motivate us to write more. It also enables new readers to find our works and helps to stop these established authors who would stop ‘Indy Authors’ from breaking into the writing field. Also, I’d like to thank Stephanie and Naz for the Aussie slang help!

  Also, I want to offer a quick apology for ending this book earlier than anticipated. There is just so much story that it couldn’t all be told in one telling. At least, not as an Indie Author who doesn’t have complete control of my audible books. The books can’t be too long or I’ll have issues with getting voice actors to do the audiobooks. The good news is that this story is as long as book four and full of adventure. Also, I’m already well into the next book, so you can expect book six to follow this one relatively quickly and know that it will be of a similar length.

  Books five, six and seven are about a PKer war between guilds. Some parts of the story will focus on the details needed to take out a group of players, which can be very difficult in an MMORPG and include a lot of fighting. At the same time, there is a huge PVE story that goes along with the PKing action that will affect this part of the world. Please understand that not all of the proceeding novels will be this war focused, but when there is a massive war underway, I will always do my best to write the full story. In my mind, there is no other way to write the scenes and do them justice. At least, not if you want to keep true to the gaming MMORPG genre.

  Also, I would like to thank everyone for allowing me the freedom to explore a number of different adventures and topics in these stories. Whether it’s Star’s romantic misadventures with Fylreh, the disturbing Meer Lizards, the real-time strategy aspect of the story, self-aware NPCs, dealing with his abusive ex-girlfriend, or the new types of monster empires I’m introducing. Many of the ideas and adventures cover concepts I’ve never read in other stories within the genre. I want to explore every exciting dream I’ve ever had of gaming. Like a Captain Kirk of a fantasy MMO universe. As long as everyone finds the stories interesting, I will keep on writing about Star’s exploration of The World.

  I’d like to thank any other fans who made comments that allowed me to tweak the story or go back and correct the more notable mistakes that needed to be corrected. For those who can’t see the updates, please delete the book from your device’s local cache and re-download it or Amazon has an area in your account where you can force the updates onto your device. My books always tend to be a work-in-progress for the editing side.

  Lastly, I’d like to address a few points that came up in reviews: (This won’t be an issue for the next several books, but I think it’s important to list part of this again.)

  There are some people who think that Startum Ironwolf disrespects women and thinks they are inferior to men. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The one great thing about video games is that there are no differences between the sexes, ages
or races. Men and women are absolutely equal on all levels. It is your choice of starts, your choice of class, how you distribute your stats and how you treat others in the game that is important.

  In most online games, the golden rule is you have no idea who is really on the other side of that computer screen. Women play men, men play women and players play themselves. There is no prejudice except for what you bring with you into the game world. On the field of battle, you slaughter your enemies, period. There is no consideration of sex, race, religion or age. Over many years of gaming, I’ve had so many online friends from all around the world that it is truly amazing at times when I think about it.

  Please understand, Startum is a guy in his early twenties. He likes women, he finds them beautiful and he enjoys seeing that beauty. There is nothing wrong with finding someone desirable, pretty, or sexy. In my experience, women do this the same as men. Enjoying beauty is not judging the worth of a person or their capability. How you treat those people though is important. In Startum’s case, you have a first row seat to his every private thought. Also, as the game progresses, Star’s thought processes changes along with his exploration of The World, especially after experiencing the horrors in books four and five, not to mention the need to prepare for the coming war that he sees looming on the horizon. Also, in many ways, he’s growing up as a person throughout the series.

  Also, for pictures of the concept art for many of the characters, the in real life LAN parties, and the friends that are the concept personalities for many of the characters in the story, you can find that here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007596607095

  One final point, if you like the story, please leave a good review on Amazon and Goodreads for the books. Not just mine, but any Indie Author you like, especially if you want to see new stories coming out that are not the cookie-cutter-copies that seem to be so rampant in the genre. The only way you will encourage this to happen is by leaving reviews for the authors you like. It lets everyone know that they’re telling a good story, besides being the only way to protect them from the established authors in the genre that try to block new stories from coming out.

  I have personally experienced this type of harassment and trolling since releasing The World series. Every book, whether audible or eBook has been repeatedly attacked. Not just book one, but every proceeding book in the series. Even now, they continuously check my blog to know when my newest book is going to be released to leave bad reviews. Truly, it’s like battling an in real-life Syndicate guild. Your support has been all that has stopped their bullying from blocking my stories.

  Map of the World

  Chapter One

  (Wednesday, May 7th / Day 17 of The World.)

  It took me a moment to realize that the ringing sound on the other side of the room wasn’t my alarm going off, but someone trying to call me, as I blearily stumbled to the bureau. Plopping down on the foot of the bed, I fumbled for a second, before the phone accepted my swipe.

  “Jason here.” I incoherently mumbled as I fiddled with the screen to read the time. Who the hell was calling me at five thirty in the freaking morning? Seriously, this was the first day in nearly two weeks I’d gotten to bed at a decent time.

  “Jay, what the hell happened in Telrain?” Domenic asked, the annoyance clear in his voice as I fumbled for the button to put it on speaker phone. “Everyone on the forums is freaking out and calling for our guild to be banned from the game!”

  “I didn’t do anything … we didn’t do anything to Telrain except evacuate the civilians and save a bunch of people.” I said tiredly, trying to force my brain to work. Realizing that this wasn’t going to be a quick conversation, I staggered to my nightstand and grabbed my glass of water, before heading to the bathroom.

  Obviously, there was no way I was getting any more sleep this morning. Fuck! I silently swore as I sat down on the toilet. “Telrain was all Julie. She got her hands on some level 200 scroll called Meteor Strike and wasted the city.”

  There was a bunch of inappropriate noise as my bowels released and I filled up the toilet with an audible sigh. While frozen dinners were useful, they definitely weren’t easy on the digestive track, I silently thought as I suddenly felt immensely better. I was just contemplating if I could get away with a courtesy flush, when Domenic paused.

  “Seriously Jay, are you talking to me while you’re dropping the kids off at the pool?” He distastefully asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Hmmm, do you want me to lie to you to make you feel better, or …?” I noticeably paused as I waited for Domenic’s reaction.

  “You’re definitely a class act Jay,” Domenic said, heaving a tired sigh of exasperation. “Let’s pretend this never happened, but yeah thanks for that mental image before I head to bed.”

  “What the fuck ever, Dom.” I said unapologetically. “If you’re going to freaking wake me up at the butt crack of dawn, then you get what you get.”

  “Don’t give me that shit, pun intended” Domenic grumbled irritably. “At least you got some sleep. I haven’t slept all night.”

  “Then chill out and get some shut-eye.” I said, turning suddenly serious. “Everything’s good to go. Julie is the bad guy here.”

  “Bad girl.” Domenic corrected me automatically.

  “Dude, you know what I freaking meant.” I grumped back, ignoring the obvious joke. I wasn’t going there with a ten-foot pole. Unlike me, the guys still talked about how hot Julie was. While she was indeed physically attractive, the hot really referred to the whole gaming girl aspect of her personality. While I admit that was a huge plus for gamers like us, the rest of the package wasn’t anything you wanted in your life. “She blew away the city. The rest of us were able to save everyone who’d survived her take-over, besides resurrecting a lot of people who hadn’t.”

  “Well, the forums are saying something completely different.” Domenic unhappily said, understanding the situation for what it was. “They’re calling for Requiem to be banned from the game.”

  “Fucking, Julie,” I swore out loud. I immediately knew what the problem was. “The level 200 spell forcibly locked her and her entire guild out of the game for twenty-four hours. So, all she’s been doing-“

  “Is stirring up the pot while we’ve been busy playing.” Domenic finished for me, understanding the situation immediately. “I wonder why the spell had a twenty-four hour lockout for players?” He mused thoughtfully.

  “It’s a siege spell.” I explained, recalling what I’d read on the in-game wiki. “They want to keep players from being able to be resurrected and rejoin the fight. So, you hit them with this spell to break through their defensive fortifications and fight the survivors for their fortress.”

  “Damn,” Domenic whistled as he considered the implications. “It sounds like end game wars are going to be epic events, we need to be prepared for that.”

  “You think?” I agreed wholeheartedly. “Looks like they don’t want players turtling up behind their defenses.”

  “Not with spells like that,” Domenic agreed. Turning serious again, he went back to our current situation. “I wonder if we’re going to have any problems with V-MMORG trying to ban us?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said confidently. “They had one of their in-game Admins watching everything go down. Besides, with how loose they run the rules for the game, I’d be surprised if there’s anything done about the issue, except for maybe a few Hot Fixes.”

  “Heh, talk about calling it,” Domenic gave a hard bark of laughter. “Word on the developers forums is that they have a list of Hot fixes they’ve just implemented at five this morning for anyone logging into the game.”

  “Eh, it really wasn’t that hard to figure out,” I replied knowingly. It’s not like I hadn’t been doing this rodeo at one level or another for nearly half my life. “It’s the standard method for any MMORPG wanting to make emergency changes or bug fixes.”

  “Yeah, I hadn’t thought about it that way,”
Domenic agreed. “We’ve been too busy fighting to keep these assholes out of our area. They’ve been hitting us harder than ever all night so I’ve been focused on that.”

  “It’s Julie,” I said unhappily. “She’s trying to pay us all back by ganking us in-game and taking away our fortresses.”

  “Julie?” Domenic exclaimed incredulously. “You’re telling me she’s the guild leader of Chaos Storm?”

  “I thought you caught that when I told you about Telrain, but, yeah, she’s still pissed off that the rest of you didn’t drop me like a rock when we broke up.” I said with a sigh, before explaining. “She started monologuing when she thought she had me beat.”

  “Uh, I’ve been a little preoccupied to do that math, but yeah it makes perfect sense. I can’t believe she is still doing that shit,” Domenic stated coldly. “You’d have thought she’d grow up and not be so petty.”

  “Guess she’s a slow learner,” I agreed. “She was going on about how the siege was just a way to draw me over here so she could PK me continuously.”

  “While the rest of her minions took over your lands, I bet.” Domenic said, following the logic to its conclusion. “Now that the cat is out of the bag, she doesn’t need me around as bait. That’s why they’re trying so hard to take me out now.”

  “Yep,” I agreed. “You holding out?”

  “We are holding our own, for the moment,” Domenic answered, before explaining further. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s because Mike and his people arrived earlier tonight and started giving us a hand. Not that we’ve had a chance to talk or coordinate any of our in-game attacks, but he promised they’d focus on taking out the respawns at the graveyards and work at creating as much general havoc as possible. Whatever they’re doing seems to be helping. At least, it was until the next wave of Chaos Storm alliance reinforcements showed up earlier this morning. Now we’re in a semi-stalemate, but I don’t see that lasting for more than a day or two tops. Once they manage to whittle down my NPCs, it’s going to be a hell of a fight for us unless you get here soon,” Domenic’s voice turned gruff. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to tuck tail and run. If I’m going down, I’m going down swinging. I fully intend to make them pay … to make her pay for this, one way or another.”