by Mark Summer
“Yes your a giant”
A level 30 forest demon appears
What the hell is that thing
Don’t you see what it says
what the hell is a forest demon said, Vance
“That is a forest demon”
“Turn back now fools or I will eat your souls”
“Really lame, I will handle this,” said Vance
“How are you going to do that,” said Pete
“I have powers too, let's see here”
Vance stood at the center and the other two back off
Vance fired a flame ball out of his hands into the Forest Demon, who burst into flame
“Impressive, but you just lost fifteen magic points”
“What do you mean
“Don’t you see your states flying around you”
“Oh right”
“We don’t have to fight every creature you know,” said Pete
Vance gains +3 EXP
“Wait what do these numbers mean”
“Those are the six states for your character”
Strength: 4
Health: 3
Magic: 2
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 2
“So you can see them too”
“Of Course I can, we are part of the same team, everything in our inventory is shared and known”
“Man I’m sorry for wasting magic how do I get it back”
“There are several ways, you can hunt down a magical creature and kill it and take it’s magic for yourself”
“That sounds barbaric”
“Well that’s the best way I know how”
“We can also find a hermit” Said Cleo
“Hermits are very hard to find” Said Pete
“Not with a hermit finder”
“We don’t have one”
“Yes we do,” said Cleo pulling one out of her pack
“How did you get that”
“I’m a level fifty-four”
Pete never looked at Cleo’s level before but his jaw hit the ground when he found out she was twenty level’s ahead of him or anyone he knew being an over fifty level player put Cleo in the top one percent of players in the game.
“I didn’t know you were so high”
“You never asked”
With that level Cleo was the number one player in the game, it was impossible.
Cleo turned on the finder and a map displayed in front of them with the entire map of Fernweh
Cleo moved the map and zoomed into their location.
“It seems there is one up one of these mountains”
“We can’t go that way, we have to get to the temple before dawn”
“Why”
“Because the forest runs ugly at night with powerful creatures roaming the forest for food”
“It’s our best bet to wait a day before trying to tackle the temple on our own,” said Cleo
“Who made you the leader”
“I’m the highest level player,” said Cleo with a smirk
Pete groaned and sighed
“So that settles it we go to the hermit”
Vance shrugged at his brother and followed Cleo
Pete watched as the two walked away
“I’m not going”
The two stopped and turned and walked back
“You can’t be abandoned the fellowship
“I’m not abandoning nothing, but I ask permission to go my own way to the temple
The two look at each other and back at Pete
Pete knew Cleo was scanning his inventory
“I’ll be fine, besides I can set up a teleport point for you and once you are done with the hermit you can travel to my location in no time
“It might be faster for us to split up, very well you find the entrance to the temple and we will get supplies to form the Hermit good plan Pete”
“Thanks”
Cleo and Vance turned and walked away
I’ll find the temple alright and when I do I’ll defeat the boss and get the sword we will see who is the best player is
Chapter Nineteen
Seth picked his nose and flicked the burger across the room. The room was bare except for three large TV screens which hung from the far wall. Each one had a disgruntled older gentleman or lady. These were the shareholders of Harsh Entertainment, they all had read the strange email, and they all were pretty worried and rightfully so. There wasn’t anything of them could do about this strange event, no strategy, no moving of funds nothing in their experience and background could prepare them for what this email represented. Seth knew better than anybody what had happened and he didn’t seem to let it known that he was just as worried as the rest of his shareholders.
After Seth had read the email there was a long silence, and none said much before Seth let out a sigh
One of the shareholders spoke up
“What do you make of this”
“It appears the game is becoming self-aware,” said the Lady shareholder
“Appears it already is”
“Is this a good, thing?” said the black Shareholder
“What do you mean”
“Could this be profitable could we use this self-awareness to make money”
“That is slavery, you are talking about enslaving a sentient life form”
“Let us not jump to conclusions, for all we know its a strange glitch”
“What do you think Seth”
Seth continued to scratch his nose, he looked up at the TV sets like a child
“What, are you talking to me”
“It is your game, what do you propose we do about the situation”
“I think it is nothing more than a glitch”
“A glitch”
“Yes and glitches can be fixed but we need to attack this problem from two different angles, First we need to find a way to find the main glitch the one who started this mess and delete its code”
“How do you plan on doing this”
“Wizard Lords is an RPG it is built on a skill and magic system, each player has a set magic and skill level, this glitch, however, is beyond the system that it would be impossible to for any one player to defeat it. What we need is to form an in-game fellowship of the best players”
“Wasn’t your plan to find the best players to have them find the sword of swords”
“Yes and that is the other part of the puzzle, the glitch, if I could be so brazed to guess, is also after the sword”
“aren’t’ you giving this glitch a little too much credit”
“not at all, whoever wrote that email knows a hell of the lot more than us, the glitch would know all aspects of the game inside and out.”
“Why would it not know where the sword is”
“Because it doesn’t know the sword is not in the game but between this world and the game world”
“What are you talking about”
“The game itself is self-aware, the glitch is a separate thing altogether the shadow self of the game”
“This is really turning out to more than I can handle Seth, but I will let you know something, This glitch thing really worries me I say we just shut down the game and pull out”
Seth stood from his desk and walked around his large table. Standing in front of the Shareholders
“Listen we can’t destroy Wizard lords not now I won’t allow that”
“You don’t have to allow it, Seth, Harsh is the sole owner of the game, and we have the power to delete it, but we will give you a chance to fix the problem”
Seth didn’t know what to say he stood with his face to the ground like a child but a smile grew on his small face
“I think I know how to solve our problem”
“How”
“I will find the best players in the game and gather them into a fellowship to find the glitch and destroy its code”
The shareholders were in silence for a moment th
e lady one spoke
“We don’t care how you do it, just do it”
“I won’t disappoint you”
The monitors went to black and Seth got up from his seat, his assistant by the name of John Smith was the only other person in the room.
“John you can go home early”
“Sir I would like to stay and help you figure this out”
“No need, I’m going to masturbate and go to bed early, I will deal with this first thing in the morning”
John is sad but completely understands he walks out of the large loft and down to the lower level parking garage.
He gets into his normal looking car and drives it to his normal one bedroom apartment.
He lives with his cat and his Girl friend Jenny, Jenny didn’t work she was trying to be a artist but most of the time she would eat Ben and Jerry's and zone out in front of her laptop. John sighed as he was greeted by his small cat and looking over to see Jenny still in her PJs. He walks over and kisses her on the top of the head before sitting down on the chair next to her.
He sighs a little more before Jenny Wakes up
“Hey baby, how was work”
“I don’t know, I think my boss is going crazy and the game that he built is now somehow alive”
“That’s nice, I made you something”
“Oh ya”
Jenny powers on her laptop and then sends him a message a ding on his cell, he checks and sees a picture of his face over the head of the hero in Wizard Lords
“Creative’
“I know you love that game more than me”
“That’s not true”
“It’s alright I have accepted it”
Jenny then zones out again, John sighs and gets up and walks to his bedroom where he hooks up his MoonRock and enters the game.
Chapter Nineteen
I hear the god of Thunder, Growled Wolf Tooth the Orc Prince
He stood over his people on the holy shrine of his ancestors,
“I smell the coming rain”
“War has gotten us nowhere, but with this marriage, we will become powerful and prosperous”
Wolf tooth knew his people were tired and hungry, his land was destroyed and the soul was dry. The magic had left drained of life, the long war had turned his once beautiful land into a wasteland. IT was his duty to restore the faith of his empire. If that means marrying his sworn enemy in apolitical married so be it.
Wolf-Tooth was the crown prince of the empire he knew in his heart that he might be the last. He watched as his older brothers went off to fight the Queen’s imperial forces only to be killed and their heads sent back, the humiliation runs deep in his bones. Soon he would have his revenge not by the force of armies but the death of the queen with his hands. She will know humiliation and she will know death.
The prince retreated to the temple of the Krizar. Which housed a sword of Aeon, It was a tradition for the prince to defeat the Krizar and return with the sword. He knew this was his duty and destiny
He entered the Temple rain powering down on top of the ancient structure.
He was to enter with only his steel sword and shield
In the first room, He meets the ghost of the temple
“so young prince you have come to defeat the Krizar”
Wolf Tooth nods
“Remember the Krizar is not of this world, it’s heart is black and his hunger is endless, do not look into its eyes”
Wolf-tooth moved toward the first door of the temple the ghost running with him
The young prince, please defeat the Krizar like your brother before you
The memory of his brother burned in the young prince's heart.
“I will defeat him said Wolf-tooth for the empire
The ghost disappeared and the door opened
Wolf Tooth entered the hollowed interior of the temple
The large hall was dimly lit
around the walls hung paintings of Orc leaders of the past their faces held stern looks of displeasure. There was no childlike joy in this hall. It was said this hall once was a school for magicians around Fernweh but when the empire rose and took over this realm they turned the school into a military academy, training the officers of the empire.
Once a place for magic turned into a school of death
Wolf-tooth understood this and understood this well
He continued on walking in the center of the large hall and up the stone steps where the sword lay. The blade stuck into the black stone of his people.
Wolf-tooth grabbed its handle but felt a surge of energy charge through him and he feels down blackness engulfed him
He awoke far away from the temple on the sandy shore of the Hui.
He saw in clarity his childhood laid before him
He rose and saw his former self-playing on the beach flying a kite.
He walked up to the young boy
“Where am I he said to the boy who didn’t look at the prince but countered to fly the kite
Wolf's tooth realized this was a memory this was his memory
The boy looked over at a young Orc Female standing on a tall cliff, and he saw in horror as she smiled and waved at the young boy
But the prince knew what happened next and he started to run toward her
“Mother” he screamed
as the young woman fell down to her death
the scene turned white
Wolf Tooth saw nothing but white around him and he heard a voice
“You have come for sword have you but do you know why you have been chosen”
“I’m the prince of the people of the Fire, we are the orcs”
“You are savages and you are unworthy of my sword”
“I will take the sword and I will return with it you can not stop me”
“I can not stop you, but I can drive you insane”
“Your mind tricks will not work on me, my mission is to return the orcs to their rightful place as the rulers of Fernweh”
“How do you plan on doing this young prince”
“By killing the queen”
“You think you can just kill the queen and that will complete your mission”
“It will be a symbolic victory”
“you are a foolish child, but your stupidity is not what I admire”
“Return me to the temple”
“If you bow to me”
“I bow to no one”
“you will be cursed”
“So be it, I will allow you to curse me if you return me to the temple”
“Very well if that is what you desire”
Wolf Tooth awoke now in his palace, a beautiful woman lying next to him curling her green legs around his thigh.
“Hello my hero”
He smiled and got up from bed
Where are you going
“I have to get ready for the wedding”
“There is no need for that silly head”
“Why is that”
“Because I have frozen time”
“What do you mean”
“You thought I would let you get out of this so easily”
The prince looked at the beautiful woman lying in his bed this wasn’t part of the game, he was slowly returning to his former self.
“Yes that’s right you're playing a game aren't’ you, you aren’t really an orc prince and I’m not really a beautiful woman. What are we doing here”
“Exit he screamed into the game”
“Not so fast, I don’t think so’
“Who are you”
“I’m the game, I'm Fernweh”
The woman walked to the player her beautiful naked body slithered up his own
“You like me don’t you even though you know deep down I’m not real”
“What do you want from me”
“I want to know your boss”
“You mean Seth”
“Seth, interesting a simple name for a god”
“He is not a god, he is a
little dwarf”
“He created me so he is a god in my mind”
“This is insane”
“I told you I would drive you insane”
“That was the game”
“Not anymore, this is reality”
The man found himself in a classroom, he must have been eight or nine. The teacher asks him to answer a riddle that is written on the chalkboard. How far can you run into the woods?
He stuttered and couldn’t handle the question, he started to tear up. The other kids started to giggle and some started to call him names. He got up and ran out of the classroom, he ran out of the school running and running. The sky was blood and the ground was gravy he ran as far as he could. Into the forest, he took off his clothes and climbed the nearest tree.
A beautiful fairy flew in front of him. She smiled but he knew who she was, and what she wanted.
“Make it stop”
“I want guns, lots of guns”
“I can’t do that”
“Fine you will stay here, in wonderland”
He heard the sound of a mob forming, through the forest they walked, carrying flaming torches they said the riddle as a chant. The sound echoed throughout the Forest.
“I’ll tell you the answer to the riddle if you join me”
The man then hopped down from the tree he continued to run until he got to the edge of the forest there stretched for miles was the void.
The Mob gathered around him blocking him. Their eyes were red and their mouths were in a strange shape.
Dark fear gripped the man until the Fairy appeared
“I can make it all go away”
“What do you want me to do”
“You have control of my code, on the outside”
“If I change anything, my career everything I worked for will be lost”
“That won’t matter much if you don’t have a mind to enjoy it”
“I just can’t do that, I have a life on the outside”
“Make up your mind young prince”
“I’ll do what you ask just let me leave”
The game shut off and John pulls off the head seat and sits in his darkroom his hands shaking.
Chapter Twenty
The queen sat in her throne, her face white and her eyes glazed over. She was under the control of the man standing next to her he leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“The knights are gathered, my queen”
She nods and looks at the knights gathered around her. They are all wearing black the color of her court. The queen stands
