Liliana took a seat upon a rock that was next to the door, “Then we wait until they die or come out victorious.”
The others looked at her, as they knew there was no other option.
An hour past and the heat in the tunnel grew from the heat that the dragon’s fire gave off. The clashing of a single sword still rang against the hide of the dragon. But no sounds from the person who was wielding it. Tuomas paced back and forth in front of the door, waiting for it to open.
At last they heard a cry of pain from the dragon and the doors slowly opened. The room was on fire, the heat and smoke poured from the room. A figure exited the room and looked upon the group of six.
They stared at the figure, it wore a mask that had Nordic inscriptions on in. It wore a blue cloak and had two swords hanging from his back, and one on its hip. A quiver hanging on the opposite hip, but no bow in site. The figure looked at them and began to walk out toward the tunnel.
“Who are you?” Donovan asked demandingly towards the figure.
The figure did not respond, but it threw him a crumpled parchment and continued out of the tunnel out towards where the others had come from. Donovan opened the crumpled paper, and read:
Revelation 21:6
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Donovan looked up and passed the paper to Tuomas and spoke, “What are we going to do?”
Tuomas skimmed the words, and smiled, “We are going find out who he is.”
“But the note-” Donovan stated, looking up at him.
“Guys!” Alissa butted in, “The hilt of the sword on his hip, it’s glowing!”
They looked, but by the time Alissa had said something, the masked figure had disappeared beyond their view. Tuomas looked over at her, “Are you sure?”
She nodded in confidence, “There is now way that I made that up, it was just like a flashlight that was turned on in someone’s pocket. The illumination was there.”
“Well that is another piece to add to this puzzle.”
***
The group made the three-day trek back to Crystle, having to fool Dracus and Liliana once again. Tuomas spent most of the time thinking and looking at the parchment that the masked man had left them before swiftly exiting their view. He had suspicions that Drake had figured out what was going on and sent someone to deter them from continuing on. “There are too many variables right now to account for…” he whispered to himself. He kept his mind on his plan that was now set in motion. Why can’t anything go right for once, just for once? He sighed at the thought. The air was cold on his face still, the night had not been kind to him.
Donovan and Alissa spent much time talking. Alissa really stirred Donovan’s perspective when they had talked that day at the forge. Donovan was really starting to understand things that he had begun to give up on since being in the virtual world. Alissa had grown on him and she was making his life better by being the positive one between the two of them.
Charlotte sat with Tuomas around the campfire on the second night before they reached Crystle, “Do you think it is possible it could be Drake himself running around in nerve gear?” She asked after Tuomas ran his theories at her about if his contact was caught out in the real world that Drake could be running around himself, he was a fantastic gamer, skilled able to catch on quick to new rules and style. Tuomas really didn’t want to think about that level of possibility.
“It is plausible, or someone who also is in on this plot on keeping us here.” Tuomas looked over beyond the campfire, “There is also the possibility that someone figured us out and knows what is going on, and they want to prove it.”
Charlotte looked at him, and he responded before she could ask what he knew she was about too, “I doubt it would be Scott.” he said sternly, “It isn’t right minded to do something this insane, and it would be him asking to truly die if he had survived that fall. And since my contact has yet to get back to me at all, I can’t give you a solid answer.”
Charlotte frowned, “I still hope that he is playing us all… and he will come back, like they do in those cheesy love action movies that everyone sees it coming.”
Tuomas looked back over at her, “So do I. As much as you do. We are falling apart without him, even if it is slowly. Our morale hasn’t been where it was with him, I guess that he really did more than we ever thought.”
The firewood cracked under the heat, and the moonlight engulfed the night sky. Donovan walked over to the two of them, “So I know you all have been speculating who this masked man is.” they looked at him, “That face mask was not a normal mask, I know, there is nothing like that sold in Crystle, and another thing is it was carrying three swords, why three? And the quiver but no bow.”
“You have excellent points Don, I too have been contemplating that as well, not so much the mask, which I now need to factor in…” Tuomas said. “I have to make contact with the outside world, this is becoming too much for us to handle alone.”
Tuomas stood from where was sitting, “I need to contact the one person I know I can trust out there… Liz.”
***
The sun arose and Dracus and Liliana appeared before them, “Ready?” Dracus asked.
The others nodded and they made their way back to Crystle from there. Liliana and Dracus took point of the group while the others made up the rear. Tuomas kept a contemplative look on his face the entire way back down the mountainside.
“You know it’s weird.” Liliana said.
“And what would that be?” Alissa responded.
“Why all of you were sleeping on the ground when I came back last night. I came to check on something that a friend said they had gifted me and I show up to you all lying there, fast asleep.”
Everyone’s face became pale, “You want an answer, don’t you?” Tuomas asked.
“Quite an extensive one at that.” She demanded.
Without hesitation Tuomas began, “Very well, remember the fact that I am Tuomas Fidlin and I own Virtual Industry. What we are doing is a study on the suits, we are here feeling those effects. We are beating the game to collect sufficient data give the medical practitioners for study. We have been here for a while, before any of you even had a chance to enter. We are all in hospital beds at Virtual Industry HQ under watch twenty-four seven. I can’t give you full detail about why or for how much longer, that is classified, it is a government project that we were contracted to do. For the time being does that answer satisfy your curiosity?”
Liliana looked at him, “Yes. For now at least.”
Charlotte looked over at Tuomas, He has had that speech tucked away since the cave if he had it flawless as that. Tuomas shot her a glance, and she looked forward and continued on.
They party made it back to the city, “Dracus, Liliana, we know how to contact you both when we need you again, you are free to leave,” Tuomas said as they passed through the gate.
Dracus and Liliana acknowledged him and went their separate ways. Charlotte looked over at the group, “We should tell Nick and get the rumor mill started so we can track the guy we ran into.”
The others agreed and they headed for the Inn. The streets were more crowded since they had left. More beta testers made it to the city to look for more quests. The city had grown bigger to compensate for all of the new digital signatures that it was having to deal with. The digital world that was now a beta test zone for a game was moving in the direction that Tuomas had planned for and the next few steps were going to be set in motion to hunt for the masked man.
***
Two days past and the rumors that Nick had picked up had begun piecing themselves. There wasn’t too much yet on the masked figure yet, but his whereabouts were spreading.
Charlotte and Alissa were following up a lead of where people had been seeing the figure coming and going from frequently. It was on the outskirts of Crystle in one of the small villages. It was
a quiet village with only three hits and a single farm field no larger than a small street block. There were a few villagers tending to the farm and the few animals at the barn. There was nothing that suggested that the masked figure was there. Charlotte and Alissa split up and began to search the area. They found nothing out of the ordinary in most places, bit no real clue to where the masked figure may have been hide.
Alissa had given up this lead when she heard a twig snap to her left and she jerked her head around to see what had caused the sound. She saw a manly figure standing there, with his back facing her. “Don’t move.” Alissa ordered.
The man chuckled, “I don’t think so.” he said as he spun around drawing a sword and lunging at Alissa.
It was him. The mask was covering his face, the same cloak that covered him in their last encounter. Alissa tried to draw her sword but she was to slow, and the man hit her with the hilt of his sword, knocking off her helmet and forcing her to the ground.
Charlotte had turned the corner around the building when she saw Alissa collapse and the man grabbed her and set her on the ground. “Do not hunt me, you will regret it if you do.” the man’s voice was muffled.
He looked up and saw Charlotte then quickly ran off into the tree line before Charlotte knew what was going on. When she came to her senses, she ran over to Alissa to check how she was. Alissa was lying there unconscious. “Damn it.” Charlotte said as she hefted Alissa up and carried her back to the mansion.
19:
Two more weeks went by as Tuomas, Charlotte, Donovan and Alissa hunted for the masked figure they had run into in the cave. Tuomas seemed frustrated that a message he was hoping to have receive had yet to respond to him. They had no luck in locating anything about the figure, the beta testers in the city only knew rumors that he was a man, taking on boss like beings single handedly and never failing once. He never talked according to most people who had ran into him.
The city elections came around for the King’s council and Elana won a place on that council which had a hand in the city’s congressional affairs. She, with the aid of Charlotte and her persuasion skills, helped get an article passed for more villagers to be trained for combat as city guard and military servicemen. They help raise the base count to over one thousand soldiers, something that Sir Belthor was grateful for. He claimed he had been trying to get more of the men in the city to help protect it, or at least learn their way around some kind of weapon, it being a sword or bow. He knew that Donovan’s smithing would help with the guard being better equipped. And with the King’s approval, and his coin purse, was able to have more equipment made for the guardsmen. Sir Belthor had re-tasked the original blacksmith they used to build up a siege equipment arsenal.
Tuomas also began speculating leaving the game, they had been gone for a few months now this will have changed and their way to get back at Drake and Deborah, and he had the capability to get them thrown into jail, and keep VI for himself. However he had more on his mind of the ideology of the atomizer and the further uses that it could provide. His original hypothesis was that anything could be taken back and forth between the two worlds, such as if someone lost a limb and a game had a working prosthetic it would be usable in the real world too. He was thinking that since Elana was an actual person not a program originally, that she should be able to pass through with them back to the real world, but for him it was all theory until they tried. He was going to try and get them all out. All of them, if he could.
Another day had past and a new rumor of the masked man spread through the city. He had beat the next god like creature, which had been to destroy another Chimera and Hydra hybrid in one of the lost forts that the city military lost two weeks ago. He was now ahead of Charlotte and the gang; they needed to get his help or stop him before he ruined the plan Tuomas was trying to keep on track. If he got to the sorcerer without them, all would be for nothing for them, all their work getting the guard up and the equipment, training all the bodies that they would need against whatever the sorcerer summoned. It would leave them all stranded, stuck there forever living in an unbeatable world with no way out.
Charlotte doubled her efforts to find the masked man in the city of Crystle. He always seemed to be opposite of her position every time she asked an NPC or other beta player. He was purposely staying away from her and the others. She had thoughts of who it possibly could be. She had the thought it was Scott, but she knew it couldn’t be because she knew if he was alive, he would’ve come back to the mansion, come back to her.
Charlotte was making her normal patrol through the city trying gather intel on the mask man, everything always led to a dead end, places he was staying and where he normally went for supplies but each one claimed they never seen him. A young teenage boy came running up to her, she recognized him. He was one of the servants from the mansion. He was out of breath trying to get out his words to her. “Calm down, take a few deep breaths and then tell me.” Charlotte told him.
He did just that, before saying, “Ma’am, Nick needs you at the Inn he says there is something there that a rumor came in that you need to hear from his mouth.”
“Thank you.” She answered, as she set out in a jog down to the Inn.
***
Nick was still the only one who really worked the Inn, it wasn’t what he wanted to be doing but, it was keeping him busy as his leg and arm healed from the ice giant encounter. He was able to walk without too much help now but he still could not lift too much with his left arm. Elana was working with him, keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn’t push himself too far. It was tedious work but all of Charlotte’s leads came from the rumor mill at the Inn.
The sound of her armor gave away her position as Charlotte entered the Inn and saw Elana talking with a few beta testers while Nick was out of sight for the moment. Elana noticed her and excused herself from the others to step over the greet Charlotte. “Anything new Elana?”
“Not really.” She responded.
“Then why did…” Charlotte was cut off.
Nick appeared from the backroom, “I did hear something, it sounded like the masked man is supposed to come around here in a little bit, through the gate. I thought it was too specific, but it is so far out there, that it couldn’t be wrong.”
“You’re right that is too specific, let’s see how it goes.” Charlotte replied, looking at where the best place for her to wait would be.
Could I get some water, it is really warm today, and the fact that I just ran my way down here.”
The two of them walked over to a table near the window so Charlotte could keep an eye out for the masked man. Elana dismissed herself to get back to working and to get Charlotte’s water.
About half an hour past and Nick came over and sat down next to Charlotte, “You know that it was just a rumor, right?” His voice having some minor concern behind it.
“Yeah,” Charlotte sighed, “But I need to follow every lead I can find, we haven’t been able to find him let alone engage with him at all.”
Nick nodded at her answer, “You know if anything comes up signal me and I will send a servant to fetch Tuomas and the others to back you up.”
Charlotte nodded and looked back out the window, “Yeah…” She then noticed a figure walking by with a cloak like she saw on him. “Send for them now!” She kicked back the stool she was sitting on and ran past Elana and out the door to try and catch a glimpse to see if it was really the man in the mask.
She saw the mask; it was him, she waved at Nick through the window who quickly moved from it to get a servant. She yelled at him, “You, stop!”
The masked man looked back at her and stopped, “I have no business with you.” his voice distorted from behind the mask.
“But I have business with you, masked man.”
“Is that what you all are calling me?” he smirked, “Very well, but do not have time to…” he paused, “Wait you are one of the women at the fire drake and at the farm, I told you to stay out of my way, or
suffer dire consequences.”
“Then you shall suffer me.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“It is.” Charlotte taunted.
The man laughed, “Very well, if you beat me, I will leave you all in peace and maybe even help you, but if I win, you leave me be and I will destroy all the god tier beings in this world.”
Charlotte looked at him with anger, “Deal, but I won’t be losing today.”
The masked man swung his arm out from underneath his cloak and drew a sword from his back. Charlotte drew her sword, the sound of it leaving the sheath echoed in her ears, and the blade glistened in the light as the sunlight hit the metal: I will not falter.
She pulled up her shield, preparing herself. The man stood there waiting for her to strike. She felt like she has had this fight before, but she charged in head on anyway. The man side stepped her and brought his sword up her side, Charlotte quickly shifted dodging his blade. “You are fast.” She commented to him.
“Faster than you know.”
She reset her footing and went into a defensive stance. Her mind kept wondering to where she had done this before. She felt like she knew how to beat him, but there was something that was holding her back. Her blade collided with the man’s as he went for a strike. She countered and he stepped back as she went for the mask: I need to know: were the only words that flooded her mind. She desired the answer to the riddle that was before her.
The man went for another strike, Charlotte blocked it with her shield and shoved him back trying to force him off balance. Her fuel to know the truth took her over, she needed to know who was behind all of this mess. She reacted and swung her sword out at the man he blocked it but she came up on him and swung a punch at his face. The man moved his head back just enough that Charlotte’s blow didn’t move the mask too much.
Charlotte noticed Donovan and Tuomas running up to the circle of people that were watching the two go at it in front of the Inn. They made their way up to front of the circle and they watched as Charlotte seemed to begin to take her anger out on the masked man, Tuomas knew she wanted to confirm only one thing with that. She kept attacking the masked man trying to get him so submit but he would not yield. She kept trying to go for the mask and kept failing. They could see it was making her frustrated. “You cannot make me falter.” he said, “I will win.”
The Seeds of Evermore Page 17
