by Randy Thao
"I can get right on that. Leave it to me," Derma responded. "I also have a group of my elite men, who should be returning soon. They are on a special quest west searching for other possible ways out of RTU. As for the quest, you will find it in the lower level east of the city. The place called the Rolling Stone."
"Thank you Derma," replied Dee. "I suggest that all of you go and accept the quest sometime within the next two days, so you can share it with one another. Derma, I will leave you in charge of group formation. I will call everyone back here in two days for a final meeting. By that time, we will have the necessary individuals in which I should have a strategy figured out. Is there any questions?"
At once, everyone broke from the meeting carrying out their duties as directed. Inconveniently, Derma would have to carry his out later that night. Having been in raids before in previous MMOs, Dee knew how they worked, but leading one was a totally different experience. He would have to play with the raid options to get the best view of the five groups and the players within them. He would have to see how he could direct people into position or when to fall back. It was like playing football, but instead of playing his usual position of wide receiver, he was now the quarterback.
Dee made his way immediately to the Rolling Stone, east of the city. The tall towers of the city reminded him of Minneapolis back home. The only difference was that the time period was set to match that of the game. It was like an old 16th, 17th century look with a touch of technology hidden underneath it. This gave the game a sense of adventure that every gamer dreams to embark on. It removed them from their everyday lives and set them in something out of the ordinary, unique and dangerous. This is what all players are called to do, to discover the hidden secrets of the maker.
He approached some stone steps that led to an underground city tunnel. NPCs and players were moving about back and forth. Players stared at him whispering, "Isn't that the guy who defeated Gen?" to one another. Dee, trying not to draw any attention to himself, lowered his head as if that would somehow hide who he was. The tunnel was dimly lit with lamps aligned along the top of the walls on both sides. It was amazingly clean and free of graffiti and trash. There were many different shops and vending machines that lined against the walls. General open areas for dining and conversations were provided for player's convenience. Dee read the signs that hung above the entry ways. Those that were hard to read were displayed in this view as a popup. This made it a lot quicker to filter through the many shops in the underground tunnels.
Dee came upon a rather narrow entrance. On the right side of the entrance hung a long wooden board that read, "Rolling Stone" in bold painted letters. From what Dee could see inside, it had no resemblance to the name that hung before him.
"This must be the place," Dee whispered to himself.
An old NPC lady was sitting sewing a cloth. The room was filled with rolls of thread and silk of all colors. He set focus, and his view popped up. The old lady's name was Mina.
Without turning to Dee she spoke, "What can I do for you today?"
"Hello, I came to get a little more information about the quest for the end game boss," Dee replied. "I heard that I can accept the quest here."
"You came to the right place," Mina responded, still without looking up.
Dee then tried looking for the lotus design on her neck, but it wasn't there. Dee walked around her like a cat stalking its prey. Confused, he stood trying to figure out what commands he needed to say.
"Menu....uh, options? Quests.." muttered Dee feeling pretty dumb.
Mina then stopped sewing and froze in her crouched position, not even a breath was exhaled. Dee's eyes opened wide thinking that he must have triggered the right command. Her squinted eyes open slowly now staring straight at Him. Those blue reflective eyes. That smile.
"K, Keeper?!" gasped Dee.
Her smile ever so vibrant in the midst of this location. She got down from where she was sitting and started walking to the back room. The bead curtain dangled and clattered as she pushed them to the side. She signaled him to come with her crippled fingers. Keeper led him to the back through a rather dark hallway. The figure of the old lady started to straighten and grew taller in size. Her long straight hair dropped from a bun and rolled down below her waist. When they had reached the fully lit back room, Keeper had appeared before him.
Keeper stared intently and stated, "You came for the end game quest."
"Yes, why are you here?" questioned Dee.
"Ha ha ha!" laughed Keeper. "To give it to you of course. I knew you'd make it."
Sensing something was not right, Dee swallowed and cautiously looked around the room.
"Don't worry, I know you also came to seek for more information about the final boss. I won't waste your time. You and I know how that goes, so here it is. Once the quest has been accepted, the raid group you have devised will be able to enter into the Black Hole Cavern north of here. It is located at the base of the mountain. You will be facing up against the great cave dweller, Aftmantu. He is a giant beast towering taller than the buildings of this city."
"These city buildings?! That's insane!" cried Dee.
"What did you expect for a final boss?" replied Keeper. "I hope you have a solid team for this because Aftmantu does not work alone. He will call on the rock monsters, Zeys, to aid him around 70% health."
"The perk. That must mean he has another one?" assumed Dee.
"That is correct. Two more actually," answered Keeper as she walked around the back room cresting her fingers on the many items in the back. Her hair floating behind her as she moved about. "The second perk is the cavern ceiling. He will start to manipulate the battle ground to get you where he wants you by slamming the walls causing the stalactites to fall and separate the group members. This will make healing terribly hard. Just watch out for that."
"Well, that would be around 30%-40% health. What about the 10% perk?" questioned Dee.
"I don't know," shrugged Keeper.
"Huh?! What do you mean you don't know?" exclaimed Dee.
"I don't know, because I wasn't part of the third perk development of the end game boss. Remember, I ran away into the game, because I knew what Nye Montgomery was up to," reminded Keeper.
"Ok, ok...it can't be that bad right? I mean, it's the last 10% of the battle. What can it possibly be?" Dee spoke out loud.
"You'd be surprise," leaned in Keeper now face to face with Dee.
Dee stared back saying, "Are you sure the final boss holds the secret that will release us all out of here?"
"Like I said before. I hid it with the end game boss. Don't worry about that. You haven't beaten Aftmantu yet," frowned Keeper. A sudden attitude changed in her facial expression. "Dee, only you can save us now. I must be going. My time is up or else, you know what will happen."
Keeper tore a rip in space, stepped in and was gone. There was a sudden sound that came from the front counter. Dee quickly went back to where it all started. The NPC Mina was stationed where she was before. Her voice could be heard as he approached from the back.
"How may I help you today?" spoke Mina to a customer. Dee came through the beaded curtains. He was met with a man in a cloth cloak pretending to shop around.
"I knew you'd be here at some point," said the man.
Dee nodded. "I have somethings I would like to discuss with you, if you don't mind?"
The man turned around revealing who he was. "No. Not at all."
Chapter 26 - The Last Supper
The next couple of days proved to be most rigorous with recruiting and raid formation. Though not everyone could go, players of all levels granted whatever they had to aid in hopes that the defeat would help them all return home. Never had Dee seen so many people come together with one mind, one purpose and in one spirit. Humanity seen throughout history had always proven good at coming together for a common cause.
Players chosen for raid are as follows with their position:
Leads | Healers | Tanks | DPS
| DPS | DPS
Dee Amy Chuck Dee Lilli Thomas
Mara Mara Karen Shaoli Mando Sunny
Bu Dobson Bu Akira Jones Dubby
Derma Fero Kong Derma Ponto Mimi
Tim Lei Melic Tim Bone Donna
Today was the last day before the departure north. Dee stood at the edge of the open field observing as players of different backgrounds and abilities came together. They sharpened their weapons, stocked up on potions and laughed with joy, but most of all they shared about their lives. The city provided high level items for all to prepare in advance. That night, the final meeting was held once again in the Court of Kings.
All twenty-five members, including the group leaders, arrived for dinner. The show of a variety of foods was that of a banquet. Dee, Mara, Bu, Jessie, Derma, and Tim all sat together enjoying the night. They ate and drank and when all had had their fill, Dee stood up and held his cup in the air.
"I just want to thank everyone for your hard work. Tonight is more of a celebration of the dedication from the leaders to those who have been chosen to fight alongside with us. Thank you!" announced Dee. An applause was given in respect to his words. "We will be heading north at the break of dawn. Be ready. It will be about an hour hike to get there. We will wait outside of the cave and then get into formation as was directed by Derma during practice. Enjoy yourselves tonight."
He sat down and turned to Derma and complimented him saying, "You did a great job putting the groups together. I assume you've had experience leading a raid before"?
"Yes, I have led a raid before. It's tough, but I believe that we have a good core group of people. I can visualize it, but just not physically carrying it out. That's where you come in," Derma confessed.
"About the same raid size?" questioned Dee.
"It was a twenty-man raid. So, yeah similar, yet a lot different. The groups in a raid are basically your ordinary five-man party. They all come with a healer, tank and the rest are DPSers. Unlike regular groups, those in the raid will receive all special effects or buff from other players regardless of which group they are in. Every group must watch out for their own members, but if members of the other groups start to perish, the raid must help them out until all members are restored," Derma explained. "How do you like the raid interface?"
"I spent a good amount of time setting the groups in the proper places of my view. It recognizes hand gestures and voice. I can call out 'group one' and group one will be set in focus. In the case that I am in battle with my hands tied, I can still view any of the groups. It's actually pretty neat. Warnings will catch your attention as well when player's health are at risk," described Dee.
"You seem to have this all under control," spoke Derma. "I'm afraid I won't be able to come with you, but I sure had fun helping you in any way I could."
"We will surely miss you," Dee added. "If.....that were the case."
Derma lifted an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"Well, you see, the other day I went to grab the quest from the 'Rolling Stone' where an old lady was sewing. I happen to come upon some rare cloth that can prevent sunlight from piercing through. The old lady said that its use is good against casters who manipulates the elements that causes physical harm unseen to the eye," smiled Dee.
"There's such a thing?!" exclaimed Derma.
Dee looked at Jessie and signaled her to come forth. From under the table she pulled out a surprise for Derma. It was a patch of cloth. The cloth, white in color, contained crystals woven into the fabric reflecting beams of blinding light at certain angles. It practically lit up the table the more it was being handled.
"It will take an eternity to collect enough met-coins to pay for your healing, yet we can find ways around it. Once we get to the cave, you can remove it." Dee encouraged.
"Dee, this is awesome. Thanks everyone! How do I use it?" replied Derma,
Jessie signed to Derma the directions. He nodded in understanding and very impressed with such an item.
"I see. I just have to place it on my white suit, and it will merge with it," Derma spoke while rubbing his chin. As soon as he placed it on his chest, it fused with his suit covering every inch of his body with a black UV protective mask covered his face. He stared at his hands and legs wiggling them and then at everyone at the table. "This is so awesome! Thanks again everyone. I better get ready for tomorrow. I can't wait to try it out," Derma said excitedly. He hovered off into the hallway.
"Dee, so sweet of you to do that for Derma. I'm sure he appreciates it a lot," Mara added.
"It's the least I can do. Some of us were fortunate enough to get healed. I give back, because I was once in his shoes. You'd do anything to get life back to normal again. Even something as simple as this could change your whole outlook in life," stated Dee with confidence.
"Old guys like me have to make the best of our time. I've had my share of food and drinks tonight. Besides," Tim leaned down to Bu's right ear, "I'm not paying for this tab. Hehehehehe!"
"Goodnight Tim," everyone said seeing him off.
Bu waited until Tim left and whispered to all who were still there. "Hey Dee, what exactly are we looking for? I mean, you said that Keeper hid Adrenaline's secret files with the last boss. Are we talking about a physical file of some sort? A disk? Paper?"
At this comment, Mara got a little uncomfortable. She reached over for a napkin, but instead tipped over her cup of wine. It spilled over the edge of the table and onto the floor. She tried grabbing it in an effort to save it. Her clumsiness fell upon her, and she set off a chain reaction of hitting her knee against the table, juggling the cup and dropping it instead. She ultimately gave up and just stood there in utter defeat. Everyone at the table stared at Mara awkwardly at her sudden out of character behavior.
"Boy, they sure make these things pretty durable eh? Hehe..." Mara laughed as she sat back down.
"Yeah so, to tell you the truth, I don't know either. I guess we'll know when we get to that point. It's some sort of evidence that will destroy Adrenaline Corp. if leaked. I would assume that Mr. Montgomery has no idea. His main goal is to capture and possibly destroy Keeper for what she knows and her disobedience," recalled Dee.
Bu nodded his head, "So in the case that she does get captured, would that free us from the game?"
"I'm afraid not, Bu. They already know that we have made contact with her. To assure our return home, we would need to get ahold of it," replied Dee. "I still haven't figured out why Mr. Montgomery would allow players to enter RTU and then abandon us. What was his purpose risking other people's lives?"
Jessie looked around and shrugged her shoulders and started to sign.
"She says that Nye Montgomery has not showed up since the introduction. He's hiding something," interpreted Mara.
Mara still feeling uneasy, added, "The best way to know for sure, will be tomorrow. Let's get a good night's sleep in preparation. I'm going to call it a night."
Everyone agreed and headed off to their own rooms. Though Mara initiated the split, she did not make a move. Dee also stood his ground waving as the others left.
He headed over and sat across from her. "Are you ok?" Dee asked. "You're acting weird tonight."
"Nothing at all," lied Mara. "You think...Um... You think we will still be together when we return home?"
Dee could see that Mara was blushing again. She wouldn't make eye contact either. He hadn't really thought that far out because of their current situation. The end game boss has been on his mind these past three days. To Mara's question, the first thing that came to mind was that they would always be together. There was no doubt it in his mind.
He smiled at Mara and whispered, "Of course we will still be together. I can't think of any other person who I want to be with after all this is over with."
"Dee?" Mara looked up and locked eyes with him. "Thank you. I really wish I could repay you for your sincere heart. I..I"
"Hey," Dee interrupted, "You need only to be still. Let's get some rest. You look like y
ou could use some. Tomorrow will be the day we all get to go home. I promise."
Mara agreed, and she gave Dee a big hug. In her heart, she wanted to tell Dee about the conversation she had with Keeper, but she didn't want to risk losing the opportunity to get her face restored. If anything, that would be what she wanted to do for him, so she kept her mouth shut. They departed from the Court of Kings and off into their rooms. Dee sat on his bed and swung his legs onto the bed lying flat. He then swung his legs out of bed again. He hadn't been able to do such a simple thing since his accident. He smiled and swung a couple of more times. The smile soon faded away. Many thoughts ran through his head. At that moment, it was his legs, Mara and the final boss. There were no guarantees if the healings would remain after they had all returned home. He had to admit, this was probably the best time of his life since winning the Golden Bowl at the U.S Bank stadium. Then the flood of memories came flowing back.
"No, I have to focus," Dee spoke to himself. "The raid."
The ceiling had a nice decorative pattern of squares of three different colors. The smooth straight edges caused his eyes to follow it up, down and sharp left and right. With his left hand, he rubbed his face and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes still seeing the squares from memory and soon just their outlines. Before he knew it, he had fallen fast asleep.
Chapter 27 - The Cave Dweller
The dew from the morning fog had dampened the whole city. Everyone was waiting at the front gates ready to march north to the cavern. A chilly morning it was as the rising breaths of the raid members floated upwards and faded into thin air. The dull colors of the gloomy day made everyone feel tired and uneasy. Other players crowed outside of the city to see them off. They shouted words of encouragement as the raid departed north.
Dee could see that Derma had on a full armor on top of the special UV protective skin suit he had given him the day before. "Nice armor," complimented Dee.
