“I wonder what Paval will say during the interview tomorrow?” Terets mused as the group started to circulate among the caravan. The others also wondered, but let the matter drop as they greeted other players and NPCs alike.
An hour later Alvira came over and tried to take Dumadin and Kittish to her wagon with her. Dumadin begged off, explaining as Alvira looked upset, “I would love to, but can’t right now. The main thing is making sure everyone is safe. I will not begrudge you and Kittish going off to ‘sleep’ though. Have fun and I shall guard the camp until the sun comes again.”
Kittish giggled and whispered to Alvira, who smiled broadly and walked away with her arm in arm. Their hips swayed side to side, knowing he was watching as well as drawing quite a few others player's eyes as they walked away. Dumadin sighed and dropped his head, shaking it.
“Oh, not going yourself?” Terets asked as he came over to his friend.
“Got to keep our guard up, besides I hope they can form a bond before I go. This way maybe Kittish will still have someone to make her happy, even if it is just inside this game.” His smile was bittersweet, but his friend heard the truth in the words.
“Ah, thinking ahead again. Does she know this?”
“Kittish is smart, as we both know. I’m sure she knows. The question is, will she admit it to herself,” Dumadin shook his head and started to walk away. “I’m going to check on the people watching the gaps.”
Terets watched his friend go and sighed, muttering to himself. “A month or so left and still you push yourself to try and help her have happiness after you go.” Terets turned on his heel and went to find Amythyst to help break his mood.
Dumadin walked through the camp for some time after his conversation with Terets. He stopped and greeted the other players who called out to him. He made sure to thank each of them for taking the time to help out with the event.
Almost two hours after Kittish left with Alvira she turned back up, finding Dumadin as he wandered the camp. “Alvira says hello hun, she wanted me to extend you an invite.” Kittish smirked as she finished speaking.
Chuckling Dumadin shook his head, “I’m sure she did, tonight would not be the best time though. I’m sure we’ll see an attack of some kind tonight.”
Her smile faltered slightly as she hooked arms with her longtime lover and started walking him toward the wagons. “I wouldn’t doubt your thoughts on the matter. However, I still think you should grab life by the horns here.”
A smile flitted across his lips at her words. Just as he opened his mouth to reply a cry went up from outside the wagon ring. Dumadin put his shield on and grabbed his weapon as he ran through a gap in the wagons.
Thirty people wearing the emblem of Vengeance were cutting down the four players who had been trying to save the single NPC that had been attacked. As Dumadin charged toward them he noted that most were level five or six. Kittish cast her Chain Lightning, hitting the group and stunning them briefly as Dumadin closed the distance. Using her jewelry, Kittish recast Chain Lightning to keep them locked in place as Dumadin crossed the last few feet to the mob.
Just as Dumadin started his swing on the first attacker, a Fireball hit the mob. Amythyst had gotten past some wagons and was just in range of the attackers. Terets was running forward when Kittish cast her third Chain Lightning, knowing she wouldn’t be able to keep the group stunned now. However, between Amythyst and Kittish they had taken a good fifty percent of the life off of the Vengeance attackers.
Dumadin started attacking with fervor, enjoying the two seconds of stun from the Chain Lightnings. As the stun wore off, he triggered Anger Howl and the mob turned on him, raining blows down as fast as they could. Terets came barreling into them, not even bothering to aim, just stabbing the closest two he could as he bodily pushed a number of them off his friend.
Amythyst and Kittish had both taken to healing Dumadin as the attacks, while not as powerful as they had seen before, added up from sheer volume. Dumadin disengaged as best he could to keep a minimum number of attackers on him as he and Terets went back to back.
“Glad I didn’t miss all the fun,” Terets called, lashing out with his blades.
“Close call,” Dumadin grunted as he swung at his closest attacker.
A wordless yell sounded a second later as the other players from the camp came surging out, launching offensive spells and attacks at Vengeance. The fight was over with quickly after that as the almost one hundred defenders were easily able to swarm the attackers. Once the attackers were dead, the defenders checked to see what the tally was at the end. Six friendly players dead, thirty attackers all dead and the single NPC who had been ambushed.
Dumadin stood over the lifeless form of the NPC and let out a deep breath. Remorse filled him as he took in the scene, as he looked around it became apparent what had happened. The NPC had been dragged out of his wagon. It was his cry Dumadin had heard, the four friendly players who had died had been close by and responded first and gotten mobbed to death. Shaking his head, he knelt down next to the body of the NPC.
“Fuck, this sucks,” Terets muttered, “two weeks like this is going to be hell.
“I should have known better,” Dumadin said shaking his head. “If I was the attacker I might have done something similar.”
Kittish shook her head and gripped Dumadin’s shoulder, “We can adapt and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Yes, we’ll talk with Bjorn when he gets up in the morning,” Amythyst said, seeing the grief on Dumadin’s face.
Trying to keep his emotions in check, Dumadin just nodded and touched the body of the dead NPC. A single item was all that was there, a ring. Checking the ring Dumadin found it was a quest item.
Quest: Hank’s Ring
Give this Ring to Hank’s sister in Veno.
Reward: Five thousand experience and Hank’s tale.
Dumadin declined the quest but held onto the ring as he stood back up, watching the body disappear as all bodies did when looted. “When the four who died trying to defend Hank show back up I want to give them this quest.”
Before his friends could reply, Dumadin began to move amongst the other players asking for their cooperation. Getting agreement from enough of the other players he had them set up in groups of two all around the wagon circle. He made sure they covered the entirety of it and had eyes on multiple others groups at the same time.
Kittish grabbed him and pointed out the four people who had responded to the attack first when they showed back up. The pair walked over to the four who were obviously a group. “Excuse us for a moment, folks,” Dumadin said as he approached them.
The foursome turned to him and grinned, “Of course, Dumadin. Sorry we couldn’t help the guy enough, but thirty on four is bad odds.”
Dumadin nodded and held out the ring on an open palm, “This is for you. A quest item that you deserve for trying your best.”
One of the other group gingerly took the ring before smiling and pocketing it. “We thank you for that. Most would have taken the quest for themselves.”
“That isn’t our way. You are here helping and were the first to respond, as such you deserve this. I’ll be speaking with Bjorn once he rouses so we can reconfigure the camp at night so this doesn’t happen again. My thanks for your effort, though,” Dumadin gave them a full bow before turning, and taking Kittish’s arm walked off.
Kittish smiled at him as they walked away, “That was the right thing to do.”
Dumadin nodded in silence as he angled them towards Bjorn’s wagon thinking the dwarf might be waking soon. “I just hope we can stop a repeat of that from happening again.”
“What are the odds of them trying the same attack tomorrow?” Kittish asked as the sun just began to peek over the horizon.
“Knowing who leads the attackers, close to a sure thing,” Dumadin snorted. “I just hope they don’t keep getting more people.”
The pair found a spot near Bjorn’s wagon and settled down to wait, b
eing joined by the other pair of friends. “So what are you thinking?” Terets asked once everyone was seated.
Shaking his head Dumadin replied, “Wait for Bjorn. My plan isn’t perfect but it should help and I don’t feel like repeating it multiple times. Though I will say I’m glad you can’t damage wagons, otherwise this really would be a nightmare.”
“Oh, burning wagons, yeah,” Terets agreed and shuddered.
“I’m just glad the horses can be stored in figurine form at night,” Amythyst opined. “Imagine if they spooked the horses and scattered them on us.”
“That and burnt wagons would really make this difficult,” Kittish agreed.
“Well, aren’t you lot a cheerful group today?” Bjorn called out as he stepped down from his wagon. “What bad news do we have from last night?”
“Hank was killed during a night attack,” Dumadin said. “Some of the others will be taking his ring to his family in Veno to inform them.”
Stroking his beard, his face set in stone, Bjorn nodded, “I thought we might lose some more. The stupid bastards can’t just let us go it seems.”
“Considering who leads them it isn’t surprising,” Dumadin agreed. “I have an idea about a way to set night camps for the rest of our trip that should help stop a repeat of last night.”
Picking a spot, Bjorn sat with the group and listened as Dumadin explained his idea. “Aye, that should work at least for a bit, and should give them a rude surprise the first time they attack again at night. I will pass the word to the other townsfolk before we set off again. Still be a few hours before that happens, though.”
The group stood up with Bjorn and watched as he began to move from wagon to wagon speaking to the other townsfolk. “A little less than three hours left for us,” Terets said idly as they stood there. “Did we want to meet up for a late lunch?”
“Sounds good to us,” Kittish replied, “What about the new deli that opened up in the middle of town?”
“Works for us,” Amythyst said.
“I am going to go apologize for standing a lady up last night,” Dumadin said as he moved towards Alvira’s wagon.
Terets watch his friend walk away and turned to Kittish. “Me and him had a talk last night right after you went off with Alvira.”
Not saying anything Kittish watched her lover pause outside the wagon before climbing into it. “And?”
“He wants you to be happy after he goes,” Terets said softly.
“I know, we have skirted the subject before. I am sure he is hoping me and Alvira will find comfort with each other.” Kittish wiped the single tear that fell from her eye.
Amythyst seemed torn, uncertain of what to do or say. Terets just nodded, “Pretty much. I wonder how you have done it, though.”
A sad smile crossed Kittish’s face, “Work. We’ve had three major arguments in our time together. We have never yelled or hit each other, though. Even with the occasional play partner added in we never fought because of them. We have always been able to talk and work out the issues that come up. Sometimes it’s taken multiple conversations for one of us to understand. Love, while maybe the greatest power in the universe, takes the most effort from both parties.”
“If you need anything, we will help you,” Amythyst said before grabbing Kittish and hugging her.
Kittish let out a surprised squeak as Amythyst grabbed her followed by a muffled sob as she buried her face into her friend’s shoulder. “Thank you,” was all Kittish said after a few minutes of crying and recomposing herself.
A minute after she regained her composure, Dumadin stepped back out of Alvira's wagon and rejoined his friends. “Well then, let's help get them all ready for travel and wait for our friends to show.”
Paval Interview
Will looked over at the door as it opened, a smile on his lips as his friends entered. His smile faltered for a second as he watched David limp slowly into the deli. Watching David wincing with each step Will’s eyes crinkled slightly, knowing his friend was in more pain then he had been admitting to earlier this week.
David sat down with a sigh and looked up to meet Will’s eyes, which were back to showing no sign of having seen David’s pain. “Sorry we’re late again, the pain meds haven’t kicked in yet,” David said, his eyes tight with tension as he tried to mask the pain as best he could.
“It’s fine, figured you might be a little late. I still recall how much you used to hassle me when I was late, maybe I should return that with interest now.” Will said, trying to keep the conversation light.
Miriam cut in, “I brought the tablet so we could watch Paval’s interview live while we eat.” She placed the 3D holographic tablet in the middle of the table and punched in her code. GNN came up and the tablet produced a 3D image of the reporter talking above it.
“Oh, wish I’d thought of that,” Lavender said as she flagged down the waitress.
Miriam muted the volume as the group ordered their drinks. The waitress returned quickly with their drinks and took their food order. As the waitress left again Miriam unmuted the tablet, just in time to hear the anchor say that the interview with Paval was about to begin.
“Welcome to GNN's exclusive interview with one of the creators and lead developers for Last Horizon, Paval Romonov. I'm your reporter tonight, Ashley Mason. Welcome to the broadcast, Paval.” Ashley Mason had her best smile in place as she finished speaking.
“It's good to be here again Ashley. I think the last time I was here was just before Beta launched. It's been quite the ride since then.” Paval flashed his smile in return.
“Oh yes, I remember it well. Today, we have you here to talk about Last Horizon since it launched and also to cover the unique event currently running in the game.”
“Well, I shall give as much information as I can Ashley.”
“Great, first why don't we start with how smooth launch day was for you. No one reported any major issues on any of the online forums. How did you manage such a smooth launch with your first game?” Ashley leaned forward slightly, as if eager to hear the reply herself.
Paval leaned back, smiling, “It was not as easy as it seemed, trust me. I am not going to go into specific issues we had at the end of beta and the day of launch, other than to say we had them resolved before we went live. As the older gamers know, DDoS attacks used to be a very big threat for games. We had a few probes in that direction but we had the very best people we could get on board to make sure that wasn't an issue. In fact, the biggest issue we had on launch day were the mass of tickets asking for more than one character slot.” He laughed, shaking his head as he finished.
Ashley smiled with his laugh, “I’m not surprised. For many people having multiple characters is a big draw to MMORPGs.”
“Yes, but as we covered in our past interview, we felt it detracted from the immersion. At the moment offering more avatars to people isn't even on our drawing board.”
“Have you seen any major issues since launch day?”
“We have had a bug or two, but nothing game breaking at this point. Really, our beta testers were top notch. They found and helped us with so many issues we didn't even know we had.”
“Any word on the rumors that a major content patch is imminent?” Ashley said, her smile slightly predatory.
Shaking his head, Paval chuckled, “Even if were true, this would not be the time or place to talk about it, Ashley.”
“But you are not denying the rumor that you are close to a major patch at this time?” she pressed, hoping for some kind of hint.
“We are an MMORPG, we are always working on patches. Anyone who said otherwise would be lying. At this time we have no plans to announce such a patch, though.”
Ashley paused sensing she was starting to irritate Paval, something her producer had explicitly told her not to do. “We hope to have you back when you do get to such a point. Let's get to the big news though, the current event in the game, right after this word from our sponsors.”
An adv
ert started playing, so Miriam muted the sound. As the second advert ran, the waitress brought their food to the table. As she walked away, Miriam unmuted the sound while everyone munched on their sandwiches. As the third ad ended, the GNN logo flashed before Ashley and Paval filled the view again.
“Welcome back to our interview with one of the creators and lead developers of Last Horizon, Paval Romonov.” Ashley said, her smile bright as she looked right at the camera.
“Paval, currently Last Horizon is seeing something that has never happened before. An event almost entirely sparked by the players of your game. The speculation is that this is possible due to the AIs you have running the game, is this true?”
Paval smiled nodding, “That is one of the major reasons. You see, our game has a few AIs devoted to it to help the world seem more alive. There are even fragment, or smaller, AIs for some of the major NPCs in the game. For instance, the few real Kings in the world all have a smaller AI devoted just to them. As such, it allows the NPCs to be more alive and real than any other game until now. Without AI technology, our game would be much like every other game out there. Well that and the groundbreaking Immersive VR tech we patented.”
Last Horizon: Live Page 15
