Continue Online The Complete Series

by Stephan Morse

  “Dusk, do you know what happens if you run out of health?” I risked asking the small dragon first. He might save me a prodding question from James. Not that hiding things from James was my goal, but my mood was extra shaky.

  My [Messenger’s Pet] shook his head.

  “Shit.” I squeezed my eyes shut. Logging out now was probably possible, but this had to be sorted out.

  I called up my inventory. Aside from my beginner’s gear, [Morrigu’s Gift], and the scroll case, I also had a quill, ink, and paper for writing. Hastily I scribbled out my questions about Dusk. The same heating sensation as earlier came down. James had written out a reply.

  “Are you okay?” James’s voice came through as I read the words. There was a follow-up as well. “Will you continue with your mission, Hermes?”

  I responded with a no, most certainly not. My mind was running a million miles a minute, replaying what had happened. One part spent time justifying the murders with all kinds of defenses. The other kept showing the look on either bandit’s face. Surprise, confusion, hurt, all caused by me.

  To his other question, I replied yes, once my own inquiries were answered.

  The poorly scrawled message went back into the tube. I had to screw down the top as if sending items through an old fashioned banking drive-through. There was no rush of air suctioning the item up, just a freeze that crawled across the tube and vanished moments later. So incoming messages were hot. Outgoing were cold.

  I waited.

  Nothing happened with the tube. No messages, no hot or cold. No pop-up boxes displaying a “Please wait while we service your call.” I pulled the cap off my message container and looked inside. No response had been issued forth. They were probably arguing amongst themselves again for whatever reason.

  Dusk lifted his head and looked into the distance. One ear twitched. I turned to follow his gaze.

  “What do you hear?”

  Both eyes swiveled around and Dusk opened his mouth in a tiny hiss.

  “Did they find us?” My ears weren’t picking up anything. Maybe there was a skill that would help me later on, but this was only day two of my playing a character. I was dirty, rundown, and stressed out. I had been lucky that my acting ability worked.

  I stood, and the small [Messenger’s Pet] bounded to my side and sat on my shoulder. His head was still locked on the distance. He hissed again and traveled behind my head.

  “Let’s go.”

  My stamina bar was mostly recovered. I started off and was almost instantly greeted by a horn sound, this time from much closer.

  “Oh no. Oh no.”

  They’d surrounded us. There were more of them. Or something else was setting off my tiny friend. My feet started covering ground as fast as possible, still aiming for that quest marker in the distance.

  “Over here!” a deep voice yelled.

  I ducked behind the nearest tree and kept moving. This time a bolt of electricity zipped by and splashed into a tall plant, leaving charred remains behind.

  “Dusk, find me a path!”

  The little dragon leapt off my shoulder. His sharp claws made me wince as I concentrated on running away.

  Another bolt of lightning winged me, sending a jarring shock through my body. My leg jerked and foot failed to find purchase correctly. I righted myself using my past experience of slipping up while dancing. There was an art to getting back up quickly. I’d just never before applied it to being nicked by low voltage lightning.

  [Morrigu’s Gift] was back in its cane form, which was mostly useless right now. I shoved it into my belt and kept right on covering ground.

  Dusk chirped for my attention from the side. He’d found a cave of some sort. I wasted no time asking questions and ducked in after him. If that was my way out, so be it. Despite the little creature’s constant desire to tear stuff up, he was helpful.

  The first step was a doozy. I tumbled end over end down a long, steep passageway. My surroundings were dark, aside from system messages.

  Combat has ended! The log-out option is now available.

  Quest: The Shallow End

  Difficulty: Average (Timed)

  Details: Welcome to the Dungeon [Grand World Crossroads (Lerter Region)]. The entrance used is impossible to get back out of with your skills. You will need to traverse this Dungeon to one of the other exits within two days to achieve your other goal.

  The Voices are watching. (Get to work, grunt! – Commander Bloom)

  Warning! Logging out will result in Automatic Autopilot activation.

  Warning! Autopilot synchronization low, results will be poor.

  Warning! Total estimated walking distance toward required exit will take two days.

  “This is your idea of an escape, Dusk?” My eyebrow went up toward where I believed the little guy to be.

  He was busy chirping to himself in the darkness, only the occasional glint of light showing off the rare golden scales on his chest. This would be a bit of a journey.

  First thing’s first, I needed to get more coffee. One finger pressed the log-off button.

  Session Twenty-Two — Deep Cover

  Coffee made me feel great until I logged back in. Then it occurred to me that Dusk had gotten us trapped in complete darkness with no way to go back out the entrance. Dusk could apparently see fine. He kept doing his weird half-bird-half-cat chirp at me. I followed him for at least an hour, trying to do, well, anything aside from bash parts of my body into rocks and other outcroppings. Or think about what had happened to those men in the woods.

  “Are you sure this is the right way?”

  Trills and chirps issued forth from Dusk. He seemed to be in far better condition than he had been. Even I felt marginally better now that lightning bolts weren’t flying by my head.

  “Isn’t there a torch or something somewhere?” The walls around me felt smooth enough. If I were to guess, they were constructions of some sort. This didn’t feel round enough to be a natural cave.

  Dusk made more noise farther up.

  “So that’s a no on the torch. Can you do a little fireball thing?” Did his moves have names at all? Perhaps, perhaps not. I wasn’t about to scream, “Dusk, use flamethrower now!” just to see.

  My complaints of “How much further is it,” “I’m hungry,” and “My feet hurt” were ignored. Endless statements escaped me, and the response was always the same distant and impatient series of noises. The one time I tried to stop, Dusk bit at my heels rapidly.

  Hopefully it was Dusk and not some weird subterranean noisemaker that had eaten Dusk or something. I didn’t know. The game was largely new to me still. We were in a dungeon. Chances that sunshine and lollipops littered the floors nearby were pretty slim.

  “Oh.”

  After roughly two hours of wandering through carved tunnels and following Dusk, it occurred to me that I did have a torch of sorts. Part of me felt ashamed for taking this long. I pulled my tattered cloak out of hammer-space and wrapped it around [Morrigu’s Gift]. The thing had stood up to a dragon. It had to be heat resistant. There were still a lot of mysteries about the weapon due to my low [Identification] skill.

  “Dusk, can you light this up?” I waved the tiny bundle of rags near him. Hopefully near him anyway.

  A ball of fire blasted toward me while completely bypassing my attempt at a makeshift torch. My face took the brunt of the fire. The smell of burning hair filled the air as Dusk’s attack faded. Both my eyes had bright spots burned into them.

  Stood in Fire

  Total health loss: 35%

  “Come on.” I coughed. That damage was piled on the leftover damage from my fall down the tunnel entrance. “At the torch, so I can see.”

  Another blast whipped toward my face. This time, I dodged by falling down in panic. My hand slapped against the ground, and [Morrigu’s Gift] clanked against the wall.

  “Are you not going to help me see?” I quickly grabbed the poorly attempted torch and banged it on anything nearby. Whatever I hi
t sounded solid and thick. Too bad the [Messenger’s Pet] wasn’t one of the things bonked.

  Dusk chirped happily.

  “Seriously?” My head tilted backward.

  The [Messenger’s Pet] chirped again. Clearly that was him agreeing with my revelation. Carrying a torch was bad.

  “Voices.” Reasons meandered through my brain. By the time I stood and brushed myself off, a few possibilities occurred to me. “Is fire bad?”

  He chirped. I heard tiny skittering as he hustled toward me and started nipping at my heels again. This armor really should have come with socks. I shook my leg at Dusk and kept grumbling. Fire would only be bad if he was trying to teach me something, or if something out there would try to eat our faces.

  “Fine. No light.” Having a timed quest meant certain sacrifices must be made.

  We fumbled down the tunnel a bit longer before I twitched. There were probably a dozen spiders around me right now. They must be waiting just a few feet away with clacking mandibles and hairy arms.

  “Dusk, I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

  Being in the dark would have been fine back in my home. Though part of me had to work at remembering this was just a game. Feeling the carved rock around me while hearing the [Messenger’s Pet] making noise kept me immersed. His constant huffing blended in well with the eerily silent surroundings.

  Water dripped nearby, making me twist and turn in panic. Dusk nipped at my heels again to get me going.

  “Just a game. This is just a game,” I muttered.

  More steady drips slowly gave way to a rushing sound. The noise seemed oppressive compared to the silence of everything else. In the distance, a light of some sort seemed to be growing in intensity. My heart sped up in hopes that this might be an exit already.

  In any horror game, this might be where the jump scenes happened. I frequently flipped around due to some noise in fear that a giant creature would leap out of the darkness to eat my face. So far the dungeon had been strangely peaceful.

  We approached the bit of light, and things became better. I could see Dusk nosing around while sniffing at a trail. That was one fear resolved. I had been partially worried that what I thought was Dusk was actually some evil creature leading me farther into the depths of a cavernous nightmare. That fear brought me full scale to my dislike of spiders and worry about being eaten.

  I leaned my head down toward the [Messenger’s Pet] and whispered, “Where are we?”

  The light was coming from water that rushed through this cavern. I could see a carved bridge that spanned across the underground river. Portions of it were knocked out and decaying, and I saw footprints that had to be at least a few days old, judging by the dust piles.

  I leaned over and looked into the clear water. Fish fluttered around below, but they seemed mostly harmless. There were no creatures with exaggerated jaws waiting for stupid players like me to get too close. The light was coming from some moss that clung to the bottom and illuminated everything.

  All in all, this dungeon was a quiet disappointment.

  Dusk had crawled on top of one of the bridge rails. They were at least a foot wide and came up to my chest. He locked his gaze on one of the fish in the water. I could almost see a thought bubble appear over his head as he contemplated diving for one of them.

  “Wait a minute.” I actually could see a little thought bubble. That wasn’t me imagining things. “Dusk, leave the fish alone.”

  His head snapped in my direction as the cloud-like bubble faded away. Dusk had twisted his neck far enough to turn his dragon features upside-down. He huffed, and his eyes caught one of the swimming creatures again. I stared for another moment and saw the same sort of picture appearing. A bubble floated in an almost comical cloud above his head. Inside of it was the fish swimming along.

  “Dusk!”

  He snarled and drew back a tiny cheek. I stared at him. The [Messenger’s Pet] might be able to nip at me and breathe fire, but I wasn’t really afraid of him. Not after four weeks together. Unless the Voices turned me into a cupcake. Maybe one of them was a magical baker or another equally weird category.

  “Can you even swim?” I shook my head. “Leave the fish alone. I’m sure there’ll be gophers or something soon.”

  I sat down and checked all my vitals. The health bar had slowly recovered. There was nothing for mana yet. Something would show up if I ever learned any spells. Learning magic seemed unlikely in an underground dungeon.

  “I’m telling you, I heard something over this way,” a female voice whispered harshly. There was a familiar tone to it.

  “You’re kidding. This way is a dead end, the map says so.” The other voice was also female but far younger-sounding.

  “No, I heard something,” the older one said.

  Dusk seemed oblivious to our impending guests. I still had no clue what would happen if he died since James hadn’t gotten back to me. Now was a bit late to be worried.

  “You sure it’s not The Ooze?” I heard revulsion in her voice. There was a slight clink of armor as they came around the corner.

  “Oh,” the older one said.

  “That’s not The Ooze.”

  “No, it’s worse.” The woman looked familiar. Far too familiar. “Hello, Grant.”

  I blinked and scanned her up and down. It was hard to tell who she was under the plate armor and huge shoulder pads. The piercing in her ear looked vaguely familiar.

  She’d used my real name though. Who did I know in real life who might respond to me in such a disgusted manner? One of my clients? According to Henry, all of them thought I was wonderful. Oh.

  “Hi, Elane.” I scratched my head and shuffled both feet. This was worse than meeting random strangers. The last time she and I spoke was after a very bad date that involved drinking and a broken chair. That had been almost a year after Xin passed, and only because my sister had set us up.

  “Nice to see you, Grant. We’ll be going now.” Elane started forward only to be held back by her much younger companion.

  “Maybe he knows the way out, SheHulk.” The second woman was blond and looked so hopeful she almost shone. Or she was just a lot cleaner than her companion.

  I raised an eyebrow at Elane. She was shorter than the average person, and her Spanish heritage shone through in her hair and skin tone. There was a bare hint of an accent that even the virtual world hadn’t removed completely. The piercings on her face were in the same place in the game and real life. On the eyebrow and ear, both on her left side.

  “Yeah, it’s SheHulk. There something wrong with that name?” She stomped a foot in my direction and drew back her cheek with a snarl.

  “Not at all,” a hasty response escaped me. The broken chair hadn’t been my fault. That was all her, as a result of my one-track rambling during the date. SheHulk was fitting once you got past her stature.

  Dusk was currently wiggling his backside and angling to jump into the water. A bubble above the [Messenger’s Pet]’s head painted a clear picture of his expected results. I looked over the edge at the rushing water those fish were having a hard time swimming against.

  “None of that.” I grabbed the little creature, and he squeaked in alarm before trying to bite at my fingers. At least he hadn’t been paying attention, or catching him would have been impossible.

  “What is that?” the youngest said.

  Concentrating on her figure triggered the [Identification] skill. Her name was TinkerHell. It almost fit. She was a waif compared to Elane. About her was a flowing robe that was bound at her waist.

  “Dusk? He’s a bundle of trouble.” I stroked his head to calm down the tiny fellow. Eventually we would make it to a town and pick up some snacks for him. Cupcakes did wonders.

  “He’s adorable!” the younger girl exclaimed and ran over. She had no problems invading my personal space once Elane had introduced us. “What does he eat?”

  “Cupcakes mostly.”

  Dusk hissed at the small girl, and she dr
ew back with concern on her face. The tiny dragon reminded me of a weird mix between a cockatiel and a ferret. Especially the way he squirmed and his wings fluttered.

  “Hey, look at the water again. How fast is that going?” I held Dusk over the edge. “You want to try to catch a fish and swim against the current?”

  “Can I hold him?”

  “That’s up to Dusk.”

  Players had tried in [Haven Valley], and normally it went poorly. Dusk was perfectly fine leading people but was not a lap-type of creature. I set the tiny dragon down to let him run around as he wanted. Holding a squirming creature was bad enough.

  Dusk ran off down the bridge and got a closer look at the swimming fish. TinkerHell squealed and ran after him. That left me standing fairly close to Elane, who had approached while we talked.

  “When did you start playing, Grant?”

  SheHulk, or Elane, actually looked as though she was doing pretty well. She had been sort of plump during our brief date. Her face reflected ten or twenty pounds lost.

  Xin had been a rather thin woman. I frowned again. Elane had broken the chair because of my comparisons to Xin. What else could be done though? We may not have ever married, but I had known Xin since high school. My head shook, and my entire thought process reset. She had passed on.

  “Is he a baby dragon?” Elane asked. Her shoulder rolled, and the armor clinked a little. A scowl crossed her features.

  “I’m not entirely sure.” I knew exactly what he was. Not that any of the details regarding that were made obvious.

  “Tink, we got any more of that oil? I’m going to need some once we set down for camp. Otherwise this stuff will be making too much noise again.”

  “He looks upset,” TinkerHell said.

  Dusk had wiggled free and was climbing up my back and hissing again.

  “Hey, what’s that guy mad at?” Elane nodded in my direction. “Does he track monsters?”

  I shrugged and tried to rub Dusk’s head. He shied away from my hand and dodged to the other shoulder. Another hiss escaped his mouth. The corner of each cheek was tucked in from worry.