by Dean Henegar
Trey looked down at his father, and for the first time in years had a smile on his face as he left room 51. “Goodbye, Dad. See you tomorrow,” Trey said as he left the room.
Chapter 12
GamerVR tv had decided to run an update episode after the first day of the Limitless Lands Beta launch. Millions of viewers watched to find out the latest about the game and to view some video that GamerVR said they would show. The game still had a non-disclosure in place for all beta participants and a few had even been banned for life from the game for trying to share video. GamerVR had been given access to some streams and would choose a cut to show on their program. The Qualitranos public relations manager Gloria Treese had agreed to come back on the show and answer questions from the audience and from Maxxo the host.
At show time, millions tuned in once again to catch a glimpse of the game that had intrigued the world. The show opened and Maxxo walked onstage dressed in animal skins and carrying a large foam battle axe. He wore a wig of black frazzled hair with bits of leaves, twigs, and dirt imbedded in it. On his bare chest was written in red ink “Maxxo Rage”. He sat behind his desk which was sculpted as a large rock and waved his axe toward the audience, giving his best impression of a barbarian roar. The crowd ate it up and cheered loudly. After the applause had died down, Maxxo leaned his axe against the rock, adjusted the microphone on his rock desk, and began the show.
“Welcome once again to Gamer VR! We have a great show, so don’t you go, and you should know that we have a guest today. Once again, and after having had me ripped limb from limb, I welcome Gloria Treese from Qualitranos!” Maxxo waived his battle axe in the air, and the audience cheered as Gloria walked in from back stage to the guest couch. The couch today was a large skull with the open mouth as the seating area. Two skeletal claws made up the arms of the chair and Gloria hesitated in mock fear before sitting down.
“Thanks for having me back on, Maxxo,” Gloria started. “I see you’re better prepared for ogres today than the last time we met,” she said, gesturing to his foam axe and barbarian getup.
“Yes I am, Gloria,” Maxxo said with a smug look while flexing his skinny arms to some chuckles from the audience. “Yesterday you launched the beta, and I’m sure you brought the data of how the game is performing.”
Gloria nodded and began again. “Maxxo, Limitless Lands beta launch has exceeded our expectations. Just over one hundred thousand players began playing yesterday, and the game is performing better than anticipated. The AI, which is named Clio after the Greek muse of history by the way, is handling the load with capacity to spare. While we aren’t quite ready to lift the non-disclosure, I did have your team here at GamerVR browse game footage, and I understand you picked a clip to show the audience? If they want to see it, that is.” Gloria waved her hand toward the audience and shrugged her shoulders as if asking if they wanted to view the video. The studio audience of several hundred people erupted chanting “show the game,” over and over.
Maxxo stood, raised his axe, and gave a roar that the sound tech enhanced to a booming volume. “Yes! Barbarian Maxxo and his team,” Maxxo gestured to the audience, “are ready to view the scene that we selected. I had our techs analyze, prioritize, and trial size the cut we’ll look at now. This is the cut that made me wear this getup,” Maxxo said while showing off his outfit once more. With that the studio darkened and the large screen began to show the clip.
A party of 3 players walked down a familiar path. In the lead was a large half orc female, dressed in leather armor and carrying a two-handed bronze axe easily in her right hand. Her two companions were a skinny, elf male in robes carrying a staff, and a short, halfling male dressed in the same starter-zone type leather that the barbarian was wearing, except they were dyed in dark greys and black instead of the natural brown of the barbarian’s leather. The forest path they were on narrowed into a canyon and the audience began murmuring as they recognized the trail that Maxxo had spawned at and been torn apart by the ogre on.
The group halted just before the point on the path where it narrowed and began preparing. The halfling walked to the narrow point of the path and began to pull items from his pack, moving between the trees and digging on the path itself. He spoke to the barbarian. “Vickie, I’ve got 2 traps strung across the trees and one here at the end of the path. I put a red cloth next to each, so you know where they are and don’t hit them when you run back.” The halfling then faded into the woods and hid from view. “Thanks, Nedley, I can see the markers…Jovak you’re up.
The elf began to chant, moving his hands in a simple gesture. A white glow lit his hands and he touched the barbarian on the shoulder. A faint white glow surrounded her form for a moment then faded from view. The elf then repeated the same process on himself and he spoke to the barbarian. “Vickie, the shield spell will absorb some damage. It’s not much, but it’s the only buff I have so far. Don’t let that thing catch you before you make it back to us,” the elf said. “Don’t worry, Jovak. I’m pretty sure my speed buff will keep me in the lead,” the barbarian replied, and she avoided the halflings traps and jogged further down the trail. The mage walked off to the cliffside, and out of view of the path.
The barbarian hefted her axe and began to jog down the path, yelling and causing a ruckus as she went. Her challenge was soon answered. A roar was heard, and the ground began to tremble as the large ogre appeared down the path. The same ogre that had ripped Maxxo apart the other day glared at the half-orc. The ogre stopped on the trail about fifty feet from Vickie, the barbarian, and glared at her in hatred while using one large finger to pick his runny nose. The ogre apparently found a tasty morsel and pulled his finger out of his nose and plopped it into his mouth. With a slurp, he removed his finger from his mouth and glared once more at the barbarian. “Still hungry,” the ogre muttered and then grinned at the half-orc in front of him. The ogre gave a gravelly chuckle as he began charging toward the barbarian.
Vickie saw the charge begin, and ran back down the path toward her friends. She activated some ability and her speed increased, easily outdistancing the ogre. She zig-zagged at the end of the path, deftly avoiding the traps the halfling had set and once she was 20 or 30 feet from the narrow part of the trail she turned and held the axe over her head. She shouted a challenge to the ogre. “Eat my favorite host, will you! Feel the wrath of Vickie!” The ogre bellowed in rage at the puny creature that would dare challenge him. He continued to charge down the path oblivious to the traps laid there.
The ogre hit all three traps in succession. The first two were simple trip wires that released a large dart. The first dart smacked into the ogre’s right arm, causing little damage, while the second hit it in its distended belly, causing more pain than the first, but also limited damage. A health bar appeared above the ogre once it had taken damage. It was nearly full, the darts appeared to do little, but then a small green skull appeared to the right of the health bar showing what appeared to be a poison debuff, small fragments of health ticked off the health bar, but it was not much considering the huge health pool the ogre possessed. The ogre stepped on the third trap, which was a simple small hole with sharped stakes in it. Most of the stakes were unable to pierce the nearly rock-hard soles of the ogre’s feet. The skin of the bottom of its feet offered the same level of protection that hardened leather boots would. Two of the half-dozen stakes were able to pierce the foot, and one stuck all the way through the top. The ogre howled in pain and rage, slowing his charge, and causing him to hop briefly on one foot. The green poison symbol next to his health bar moved a shade darker as the poison on the stakes was added to the darts’ poison.
The barbarian chose this moment, while the ogre was distracted, to make her attack. She activated an ability and closed the gap to the ogre in one leap. Her axe thudded into the shoulder of the ogre, opening a large wound and causing a stream of green blood to flow. Before she could recover her axe, the ogre reacted, backhanding the barbarian and knocking her twenty feet away. She
crashed to the ground, grunting as the wind was knocked from her. A white shell shattered around her as the ogre struck, the shield spell on her breaking, while it absorbed the damage it could. The spell likely saved her from a one-hit kill as her health dropped to one-half despite the damage the shield absorbed.
The ogre ripped the axe that was embedded in his shoulder and tossed it on the ground. On his health bar, a red drop symbol appeared next to the poison counter, indicating that there was a bleed effect in place. Blood dripped steadily from the shoulder wound but the ogre seemed unconcerned as he looked for the barbarian he had thrown. As he looked around a small white light appeared next to him and coalesced into a creature of light resembling a small dog. The light creature began to bite the leg of the ogre. The ogre quickly swatted the light dog away, but while he was doing that two more appeared and attacked.
The elf, Jovak, finished casting the last Summon Creature of Light spell and yelled to his companions, “Hurry up, you two. That was my last summons. My damage spells stink, and my mana’s almost out.” With that, Jovak began to chant and cast once more. The red health bar above his head was much shorter than the barbarian, but it was full. The blue bar beneath his health bar showed his mana was down to one-fourth. The barbarian had made it back to her feet and charged toward her fallen axe, while Nedley activated an ability teleporting directly behind the ogre. Nedley drove both daggers into the lower back of the ogre, scoring what must have been a critical hit as a good-sized chunk of the ogre’s health was removed and the poison/bleeding counters refreshed. Nedley dodged the ogre’s backswing, his high agility and dodge ability saving him for now. A small dart made of light hit the ogre as Jovak finished casting his only direct damage spell, Bright Dart.
The ogre howled in pain and fury, swiping away the last of the summoned creatures as his gaze zeroed in on the mage. Jovak’s eyes grew large with shock as the ogre tromped toward him. The mage finished casting one last bright dart, hitting the ogre in the face with it, as the ogre’s hands closed on Jovak. The ogre hefted Jovak in the air over its head. One of the ogre’s hands held Jovak’s legs, the other held him by the chest. Both hands squeezed and pulled with the prodigious strength that all ogres possess. The light shield around Jovak collapsed immediately and with ripping sound, Jovak was torn into two halves.
Nedley used the time gained by his friend’s death well, setting up for another critical strike on the ogre. He drove both daggers deep into its right knee, tearing tendons and muscles as he sawed the blades back and forth to do more damage. The ogre fell to one knee, his other leg now useless. The ogre swung Jovak’s torso like a club, swatting away Nedley and dropping the halfling’s health to only a tiny sliver. Nedley struggled to stand as the ogre, dragging its now crippled leg behind it, crawled over to the halfling to finish the job.
“Didn’t forget about me, did you ugly?” Vickie shouted as she attacked the ogre. The barbarian had recovered her axe and rejoined the fight. She activated her rage ability, glowing a faint red and filling her health bar back to near full with temporary hit points. With her enhanced strength from the rage, she hit the ogre in the chest with her axe. A meaty thwack sounded as the axe head penetrated the bones of the ogre’s chest and devastated the organs beneath. The ogre’s health dropped toward zero as it got one last blow in. The ogre’s fist hit the barbarian on top of the head causing her to drop and her health bar to once again hover just above death.
There was no hovering for the ogre, however. It let out a final grunt and died. Vickie lay on the ground and said in a final clear voice, “That one’s for you, Maxxo.” With that, her heath buff from the rage ended and the barbarian died. Nedley stood on shaky feet and rubbed his hands together as a greedy sneer lit his face. He began to loot the ogre while he waited for his friends to respawn. The clip ended, and the studio lights came up once more.
“I found some new personal heroes as that party took the ogre’s heath to zero,” Maxxo stated, as the video ended. “Gloria, is there some way we can find those three, because I’d like to give them free…a trip to the show? They defeated my nemesis, so I couldn’t do anything less than reward them,” Maxxo asked.
“Maxxo, while I can’t give you the players info, due to our privacy policy, I can notify them in game of your request and have them contact you directly. There’s also one more thing I would like to announce today, if you have the time,” Gloria added with a mischievous gleam in her eye.
“Go right ahead, let it not be said, that I didn’t give you the time to speak your mind,” Maxxo answered in his strange way of speech.
“Maxxo, we’re announcing that due to the success of the first day of Limitless Lands, we are adding an additional one hundred thousand beta keys starting tomorrow. I also would like to announce that all your studio audience members will get an invite, and we’ll randomly select another thousand of your viewers for their own beta keys. They will also receive an additional thirty days of free game time and a twenty-five percent off voucher for any of the three major brands of VR gear.” Gloria smiled as the audience burst into cheering.
“That’s very awesome, my friend. Let me state once again that you are watching GamerVR. This is Maxxo, the Barbarian signing off,” Maxxo said while raising his foam axe over his head.
People logged in to the Qualitranos website by the millions to apply for a beta key. The keys were all randomly assigned throughout the day as people around the world began to get access to the most advanced game ever created. Several people were caught trying to sell their beta keys and were given a lifetime ban from Qualitranos, the beta keys that were up for sale were confiscated back and then auctioned off by Qualitranos to benefit various charities and Universities.
Chapter 13
There was no loading screen or time sitting in the 80’s living room safe space for Colonel Raytak when he reconnected back into the game. He awoke with a start, laying on his army cot in the command tent. The small tent that was his home in the field had a wooden stool to sit on, a cot for sleeping, and a portable desk to write order. Raytak shook off the fleeting memory of his age ravaged physical body and went back to work. The guard, sensing his commander’s distress, poked his head inside. Raytak waved him off, then quickly thanked him for his attentiveness. It always paid to reward good behaviors, and an alert guard is definitely a good behavior.
The time on the trail began to work itself into a familiar routine. Shortly after the noon break on the sixth day of our travel, the caravan came to an abrupt stop. I was sitting on the front bench, next to our driver as he struggled to get the Mukok stopped before we ran into the wagon in front of us. Standing on the seat I still was not able to see the front of the caravan and whatever had caused the delay, my vision blocked by the crest of the small hill the wagon train was crossing over. To my left the grass plain stretched for about 200 yards before a dense forest began. To our right were a few small copses of trees and more grassland. Knowing that Daegan was a stickler for his timetable something must be up.
“1st squad dismount, and get your gear. We’re heading up to see what the delay is. Sergeant Brooks, have 2nd and 3rd squad dismount and cover the rear of the caravan,” I ordered.
I ran toward the front of the caravan with 1st squad right on my heels. Cresting the small rise, I saw what appeared to be the remains of another caravan. Over a dozen wagons were in a line on the trail, still smoking from being torched by whoever, or whatever, had attacked the caravan. A half dozen wagons had pulled off the trail, trying to get away, but they were also smoldering, having met the same fate as their companions. Large birds that resembled buzzards feasted on the corpses of burnt humanoids strewn about the destroyed caravan. The smell of woodsmoke and burnt meat permeated the still air. Daegan and Bhurke, with a handful of guards, had dismounted and were moving to investigate. I hurried forward with my squad to lend what assistance we could, but it looked like it was way too late for whoever was in this previous caravan.
Daegan nodded in my direct
ion as we approached the destroyed wagons on the trail. My men spread out to provide security around us as we approached. Bhurke and his men rushed right up to the wagons and began to sort through the fire damaged goods. He let out a shrill whistle and the rest of his guards came forward as well to help the search, leaving the caravan unprotected.
“Bhurke, don’t you think you should leave some men behind to protect the caravan?” I asked while glaring at the mercenary captain.
“Guard ‘em yourself, if you’re so worried. Just stay out of our way. A destroyed caravan is up for salvage rights. Finders keepers, and I plan on being the finder.” He got back to rooting through the wagons. His other men began to head toward the wagons that were pulled off the trail.
“Bhurke, we need to get moving. There’s nothing of value there and the caravan’s a sitting duck while you look for unburnt trinkets. I’m in charge of this caravan and I say we need to move out!” Daegan demanded, his face red with anger. “Whatever happened here happened recently. Look at the wagons; they’re still smoldering. The danger here is not passed Bhurke!”
“You’re in charge of the wagons, Kofi put me in charge of security, and I say we loot anything of value before we go. If you want to leave without guards, be my guest, depending on what we find I may or may not join back up with you further down the road.” Bhurke got back to rooting through the wagons. Daegan looked like he was about to explode when one of my soldiers shouted a warning.
“Contact left! Goblins leaving the wagons!” Turning to my left I saw a band of five goblins fleeing from the burnt wagon closest to the tree line. Three of the goblins had their hands full of what looked to be bags of whatever they had looted from the wagons and the last 2 had a small metal chest held between them. The whole group began sprinting for the nearby tree line, squawking and barking in their guttural, goblin language.
