Steel Orc- Player Reborn

by Deck Davis

  And a thought hit him. He hadn’t won yet, had he?

  Summoning the last of his energy, Tripp pushed himself to his feet and crossed the battlefield, headed toward the artificed poles that kept the last orb weaver imprisoned.

  CHAPTER 76

  “I’m not going to be completely blind,” said Tripp, talking into his cell while standing under the protection of an apartment doorway.

  Icy bricks of rain battered down and pooled on the city sidewalk. Puddles reflected the red, amber, green of traffic lights, the flickering deli sign boasting the world’s best baguettes, and the bright red silhouette of an hour-glass figured woman on the strip club sign.

  All of these, Tripp saw as just a blur. Shapes and patterns of light. He’d never been to Lambert city before, and in a sense, he still hadn’t, because he wasn’t seeing it properly. He was seeing 50% of it, the amount of his vision the pod had restored.

  “They’re hopeful another round of treatment will help?” said the voice on the phone.

  “Might get me up to 80, 90 percent. Depends how lucky I am, and how much luck I’ve used up already.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Keaton. It must be difficult being in limbo like that.”

  “You can call me Tripp, Lucas. I’ve seen you on enough streams that it feels like I know you.”

  Lucas laughed. “The streams. Wonder if I’ll ever get back to that.”

  “There are more games out there waiting to be made,” said Tripp.

  “True. Nothing is ever an end, and you can always try again as long as you have your health,” said Lucas. Then he coughed nervously into the phone. “Sorry, I didn’t mean-”

  “Don’t worry about the eggshells, Lucas. I already swept them away so people would stop walking on them. I can still work. I saw a guy online. The Blind Carpenter. He’s completely blind, but you should see his videos. His workmanship. You know, here’s a funny thing, something Boxe taught me.”

  “Oh?” said Lucas. He had tried to sound casual, Tripp could tell. But there was an edge to his voice.

  “Yeah. Things can stack up on you. The universe can punch you in the gut, trip you up, then start shoveling dirt onto you before you can even get up. The trick is to keep pushing it away. Eventually, the universe will get bored and move onto some other sucker. I figure that it must have gotten tired of messing with me by now.”

  “About Boxe,” said Lucas. “I have to be honest. There was a reason for my call.”

  “I figured there was.”

  “I was wondering if I could interview you about Boxe? About what he did, what he said to you. I have the chat logs, the video feeds, but it isn’t the same.”

  “Why not ask him? Boxe’s insight will be way more fascinating than mine.”

  “Boxe is decommissioned as of last week, and Soulboxe is running on procedural quests. Scripted dialogue, characters. Feedback has apparently been positive, but I wouldn’t know.”

  “Huh?” said Tripp. “On your streams, you’re obsessed with data. Surveys. Feedback.”

  “I don’t work at Soulboxe anymore. Are you telling me that you haven’t noticed the change in the game? Things have changed since the Blood Wave.”

  “After I left the hospital, I haven’t played Soulboxe. If Boxe is gone, does that mean the orbs are?” said Tripp, thinking about Clive and the others.

  “Not exactly. I’m out of the loop a little, although one of the interns is good at listening through keyholes, and he owes me a favor. Boxe was sold to somewhere more appropriate for his talents, and some of the assets I created will be used along with him.”

  Tripp was about to say something when he heard a woman holler his name. He looked up and saw the glare of the city lights around him. Then, way at the end of the street, he saw darkened shapes approaching.

  “Gotta go,” he said, ending the call.

  The shapes stalked toward him, and Tripp felt a curious vinework of anxiety spreading in his stomach, the thorns making him feel sick and excited in equal measures.

  “Tripp!” said a voice.

  And they were beside him now, the three of them. The woman hugged him first, and Tripp couldn’t make out her face properly but he smelled her perfume, and her hug was a strong one.

  The next hug was a little more awkward. More of a quick clinch and then a manly slap on the back. The third wasn’t a hug at all, but instead was a handshake, but there was still a warmness to it.

  “Lizzy, Warren, Jon,” he said. “I’d say it’s good to see you, but you’re all blurs to me. In fact, I’m just gonna imagine you as you were in Soulboxe.”

  “I hope not,” said Lizzy.

  “In fairness,” said Warren, “Tripp doesn’t look much better than his game self.”

  Lizzy and Jon laughed, and Tripp felt a smile creep on his face. He’d been edgy about the meeting, but since leaving the hospital, he’d become a little lonely. He’d logged into Soulboxe via a VR set in the mall, and found a message from Lizzy waiting for him. After that, the meetup was arranged, and Tripp didn’t feel as lonely anymore. Tidus was staying with Dr. Benner for the weekend, so Tripp had nothing to worry about.

  “First things first,” said Tripp. “How about you take me to the nearest bar?”

  Warren slapped his back. “I know lots. Thanks for coming, Tripp, but you know we would have come to see you.”

  “I know, but it’s good to see a new city.”

  “Wasn’t it hard? I mean with your sight problem and stuff?”

  “Everything’s gonna be hard from now. It’ll be downright impossible if I don’t fight against it.”

  “Let’s get you adequately inebriated, then.”

  As Warren and Lizzy walked ahead, Tripp saw a darkened shape that could only be Jon fall in line with him. Tall, thin, but probably not carrying a bow. He wouldn’t have said it before, but Tripp felt a kinship with Jon now. That was the thing; everything in Soulboxe felt so real that his mind and body reacted the same way as if he’d experienced all of those things. And you didn’t get through the Blood Wave without developing a comradeship with your fellow players.

  “What did you ask for? I never got a chance to find out,” said Tripp. “I was surprised enough that they decided to give prizes to whoever made it into the last twenty players.”

  “I had to check the auction sites and find out what was selling for the highest price. Turned out to be a pair of twin swords called Abyssal Shard and Frost Carver.”

  After beating the wave, the Soulboxe developers had reached out to the players and explained their prize; they could choose any in-game asset they desired. Any weapon, any armor, any ultra-rare spell scroll. Tripp hadn’t really cared about the prize, in truth. It was getting to the end that he cared about.

  “I take it that you sold the swords?” said Tripp.

  “I transferred them to Warren and let him handle that. He’s the loot expert, after all. But we got way more than expected. Enough for a car each. Crappy runabouts with more miles on the clock than Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but still. It meant we could meet Lizzy. And that we could pick her up and meet you.”

  “It worked out great, then.”

  “What did you choose?” said Jon. “Some kind of mythical crafting hammer or something, I’m guessing.”

  Tripp grinned. “Not quite. Their prize was that I could choose any game asset. So I figured I would push my luck a little. “

  “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

  “Watch this,” said Tripp. He shouted ahead of him. “Hey, Warren, what’s the name of the bar we’re going to?”

  “The Salty Beggar,” said Warren. “Best craft beers around. Perfect for our crafter.”

  Tripp raised his wrist and tapped his watch face, then waited for the chiming sound.

  “Bee,” he said. “How do I get to the Salty Beggar pub?”

  “You’re getting out of the house! And you have friends! What a day. Take the left at the end of the street,” said a familiar voice.

  Jon laughed.
“Is that Bee?”

  “Not exactly. A version of her. I can’t carry Boxe around in a watch, so I couldn’t have the real Bee. This thing has her quirks though. I had Lucas set it up for me for my wave reward.”

  “So what’s next?” asked Jon. “Another treatment?”

  “One. Maybe two. I guess I should thank my dad for it, but I don’t know…small steps. What about you?”

  “They accepted me at Red Rose college on the computer science program. I’m gonna have to work my ass off while I study, but I can get through it. Besides, they give work placements that actually pay you while you learn. I can do it.”

  “And Warren?”

  Jon shrugged. “He’s just happy to meet Lizzy in person. To have a big sister around. I haven’t been much of a role model. Besides, she’s moving to Maystock, a couple of hours drive from our house.”

  “Maystock? Why does that sound familiar?”

  “Because it’s where Soulboxe HQ is. They’re rewriting the game, and they need people to come up with quests, characters, lore. Lizzy loves that stuff, and she hated teaching. Seemed like a good switch.”

  “Turn left,” said Bee, her voice drifting from his watch. “And hurry up. Hell, this is more boring than watching you craft things.”

  Tripp rolled down his sleeve and covered his watch, and he and Jon caught up with Warren and Lizzy, following them to the Salty Beggar. When they got there, the pub was quiet save for the jukebox, alive with the twang of country and western guitar riffs. The smell of smoke drifted from an open door at the back, where the bartender took his break by staring into the rain and dragging on a cigarette.

  It wasn’t long before their table was full of empty pint glasses. Then empty shot glasses. If Tripp could see, he’d have been seeing double. Then treble, quadruple.

  As it was, he couldn’t see his new friends, but he imagined them as they were in the game, and he let himself imagine something beyond today, beyond the Salty Beggar and the treatment pod and all the work ahead of him, and he imagined something simple. An old lady’s house in the country, and the wardrobes he’d make for her. It was the easiest smile he’d worn in a while.

  The End

  Thanks for reading Steel Orc, I really hope you enjoyed it.

  If you’d like to know when my next book is out, you can join my newsletter list here. All you’ll need is your email address. Click here or go to http://eepurl.com/gjWw6j

  My next book will be the 3rd in my Necromancer series. If you want to check the series out, here it is: https://amzn.to/2XHNO9U

  Finally, if you want to meet me and my dog, I’m on Instagram. Find me here: https://www.instagram.com/deckdavis_fantasylitrpgauthor/

  Until next time, take care and thanks for reading!

  Deck