Ingame: Virtual reality enabled

by Kieron Uchee

  Anger (rage)

  Gluttony (excess)

  Fornication (copulate)

  Pride (amour propre)

  Avarice (greed)

  Sorrow (sadness)

  “What, I have seen that or something very close to it.” Looking at me Raik spoke up, “No you have not seen these before, the sheer gluttony of the food, the Succubae who deal with fornication, man if you had ever seen those girls, believe me, you would not forget. This whole instance is supposed to show individuals what they are really like.” Looking at Raik I nodded, and then looking at the castle I spoke up, “Only one way to tell what I am like I guess,” and with that said I started to walk across the bridge.

  Chapter twenty eight: The chef

  Raik led the way as we walked through the portcullis and into the open space in front of the keep. I was busy looking around at the yard,the earth dried out and dead with the black sand piling up against the buildings. It was a barren looking yard,there were some buildings scattered around the yard,butted up against the keep's wall. Nothing living seemed present,I was not sure if I was glad or not about that.

  “Here we are,” Raik spoke in a quiet tone of voice. “The main floor will be the first challenge,I am not sure what it will be but.” Suddenly Raik stopped and began to sniff the air,“Do you smell that?” He asked. “It smells,it smells great,I mean it smells delicious. Like the best meal, I have ever had.”

  Sniffing the air,I too could smell it,it was the smell of bacon and eggs with toast with jam a freshly brewed pot of kavaa.Tantalizing was the aroma of peeled potatoes, onions and butter being cooked. I could smell sausages cooling off in a pan,and pancakes. Suddenly my stomach growled,and not a gentle little growl. It was a loud and demanding sound with feed me now intonations that could not be ignored.

  Looking over at me Raik smiled and said,“I think I know what this second temptation is,I do not know how this will all play out,but damn it smells good.” I nodded; it did smell good,“What do you think it is Raik?”

  “Gluttony,” he replied,"After all, who can resist these smells,and I am drooling as I stand here. Let’s get this over with, if nothing else we will respawn with a full tummy." Reaching out Raik pushed open the double doors and we entered the keep itself.The light was dim and dust covered someofthe floor, there wasno sign of guards, but down a side passage, we could hear pots and pans banging and smell the food.

  “Right,I think I will go first,” I spoke as I began to walk down the hall. “Right behind you,” Raik replied. After walking for about 20 paces we came to a set of swinging doors. Pushing my way through the doors I saw a large kitchen,very similar to what the Hearth home Inn had. Standing at the far counter buttering toast was what looked like a dwarf,who was rapidly spreading the butter as he grabbed more of the toasted bread.

  Raik and I looked at him,and then at each other. Stepping up I waved my hands and then spoke,“Hello are you the chef who is cooking all of this great smelling food?” Looking startled,the Dwarf glanced over at Raik and me. “An imp and a human,what in the world,you yes you two,what are you doing in my kitchen?”

  Suddenly my stomach growled and rumbled,it was clearly not happy that the food was on the counters and not going inside of me. I felt myself blushing;it is embarrassing when you tummy yodels like that. “Sorry,we smelled the aroma of your fine cooking and we ended up here.

  “We are here to make our way through the keep,defeating each challenge as we progress.” I was babbling as the smell of the food had me off balance. “Interesting,very interesting,are you boys’ hungry?” The dwarf looked at us with a gleam in his eye. “I have been cooking and baking and it would be a shame for it to all go to waste,what do you say? Will you sit at the table and try some of my cooking?” Glancing at Raik I saw him give a small nod and with that, I addressed the chef.

  “Sir it would be an honor to partake of some of these treats to the palate.” I could not help myself,I love food. The Dwarf looked at me and nodded. Gesturing towards a small table in the corner he quickly ushered us over and then began to fill up two plates with more food than even I thought I could eat. As we began to gobble up the food the Dwarf came over and joined us with the largest cup of kavaa I have ever seen.

  “The name is Gluzzie and I have been cooking here for a long time,you two are my first visitors in a few thousand years. I nodded politely and continued to eat;walking long distances in a desert with no food had given me an appetite. As the Dwarf spoke Raik cocked an eye at him and then asked,“Hey why are you disguised as a dwarf?”

  Gluzzie laughed,and said,“Dwarfs are great in a kitchen;they do not mind the heat and hard work does not bother them.Believe me cooking is hard work,I love it now,but the first hundred or so years,will I would burn the water I was so green and the dishes,the damned dishes. Even now after all these years,I still hate doing the dishes.”

  Slowing down the take a sip of my kavaa,I asked “If you are not a dwarf what are you? You look like a Dwarf;if that is a disguise it is the best I have ever seen.” Having asked my question and contributed to the conversation I went back to eating several maple flavored sausages. After gulping two of them down,I briefly told Gluzzie,“These are the best sausages I have ever had.”

  Gluzzie looked at me and gave a big smile,“Thanks, lad it means a lot to me to have someone appreciate my cooking,it truly does.” “To answer your question,I am a demon,much like the imp here. Not physically or in this realm of course. But believe me, lad I have tentacles on my body and a beak my head.I sometimes miss the old body and swimming in the lakes of fire. Good times those memories.”

  “So why are you a dwarf here,I mean I can see that it would be useful as you said to work in a hot kitchen,but how did this come about?” I glanced around at the kitchen,still full of baked items and cooked entrées all cooling on the counters.Shaking my head I went back to eating.

  “I will tell you, lad,it makes for a fine story,but before I begin,you don’t have some tobacco and a spare pipe?” Gluzzie had a sad look on his face as he asked this,and once again,I stopped eating. Reaching into my bag I pulled out the makings and began to roll six cigarettes. Gluzzie stared at me dumbfounded as I lit one up for him and one for Raik.Seeing Raik inhale and then blow three smoke rings one inside the other as he exhaled Gluzzie began to smile. Taking a puff he let out a contented sigh.

  “Boys if I was not commanded to tempt you by gluttony,I would happily let you pass on by. You have complimented my food,shared a cup of kavaa with a lonely old fellow and now this marvel,this tube of smoke. Looking at us with a tear in his eye he said,“Thank you.” This has been the best day in ages,and I mean that literally.”

  Having finally eaten my fill I also lit up and taking a deep drag I blew out a puff of smoke. We sat in companionable silence as only smokers can,each one of us intent on nursing the tobacco down to the last drag. After a few minutes I asked Gluzzie,“Why do you stay here,it sounds like your story is the same as Raiks,stuck here in this instance waiting for challengers who will never come again. Were you put here by the Gods?”

  “No lad,it was the Dragons that brought me here,this place was made to help determine the character of the offspring of the Dragons. They would come in human form and try to pass all the temptations that availed themselves to all who pass through the keep. All of the beings whoworkhere in the castle are demons, I was told thislong ago;I guess we met the requirements of the Dragons and Gods when they set this place up.”

  “What do you mean,” I asked as I grabbed another piece of apple crisp from the counter. Looking at me a little strangely,Gluzzie responded. “Well lad,we are eternal,we will be here forever.We being demons of the lower levels had not the power to fight off the beings that brought us here. And once here there is no escape for us,all we have is the keep here and the endless desert outside.”

  “Where do the supplies come from,” I asked “does someone deliver them?” Both Raik and Gluzzie shared a look and then laughed. “Boy, it is just a minor miracle th
at the Gods set into motion. Gluzzie pointed to the cupboards hung on all the walls. “Each morning these cupboards are full.”

  I slowly nodded my head,the Gods had thought of everything. Looking over at Gluzzie,I cleared my throat. “Gluzzie” I began,“I want to thank you for the food and drink, and clearly Ineeded to eat. I am not sure why but I don’t feel like a glutton,maybe cause I stopped eating when I was full.” Gluzzie’s eyes widened at that as he looked at the table and calculated how much food I had eaten.

  “Regardless,I do not want to fight you;I would rather befriend and hire you.” “What do you mean befriend me and hire me, to do what? How are you planning on hiring me,where would I work?” His eyes staring at me Gluzzie spoke again,“If you can get me the hell outof here I will work for you,but really all I know is how to cook.”

  “My friend,” I began,"I work at an Inn and we are very busy but a little understaffed. I will have you cooking in the kitchen the day we get back home. Let me tell you something,you are one of the finest chefs I have ever seen. I would be honored to work with you at the Inn." Staring at me with the beginning of hope in his eyes,Gluzzie said: “If you get me out of here I will follow you to the worst soup kitchen and cook there.” Grasping arms we sealed our deal.

  Chapter twenty nine: Down the stairs

  Gluzzie, Raik and I were sitting outside on the steps of the keep. Just having a smoke and chatting. The guys wanted to know what had been happening for the last few thousand years. I could only give them a brief outline of the city and kingdom and how people were supposed to follow the Gods and go beat the crap out of other kingdoms.

  Gluzzie laughed at this and then asked, “What about the Dragons, they still in charge of everything? They were the real brains, they sort of ran everything under Gaiatoci. The Gods were just the visible ones, nothing happened without the Dragon’s approval.

  I thought about this interesting fact, it sort of made sense to me, but it gave me a funny feeling. I told how the Gods had moved all the races to the Topland and how they were then abandoned there. How the eldest Dragon went up in the form of a man and began to help. I explained how the Gods had seen this and came back, and set themselves up as the celestial rulers.

  Gluzzie looked at me and nodded then he spat to the side. “Don’t know what game the Dragons are playing my friend, but believe me when I say, they are still running things. Tomorrow comes quick lads, I will have breakfast waiting and then off we go.” Raik and I nodded, I was tired.

  “If you go up the stairs and turn to the right there are six rooms, do not enter the first three that is where the girls sleep. I have the next room, and the last two are open. The girls keep everything clean and ship shape boys, but one warning, lock your doors. They are curious as a cat.”

  “What girls,” I asked. Gluzzie just looked at me and smiled. “The Succubae girls, they are stationed at the next level. They come up at night and have something to eat from my kitchen and then off to bed. Not easy being sexy all day you know, takes it out of a gal.”

  I nodded my head it was all somewhat surreal in a strange way. Succubae, I knew that that they are the temptations of lust, but did not really know much more about them. Later that night in my sleep I dreamt of a pretty brown haired girl. She just opened the door and walked into the room. Standing beside the bed I felt her hand brush my hair back, then I heard her say something, it sounded like Latin. The only word I could clearly make out was fornicatio, and then I was in a dreamless state.

  As I was telling this to the guys at breakfast, Raik laughed and said “Any bruises, I have heard that the Succubae don’t just show up and walk away. Seriously if one of them went in to see you I wonder why. It has been a long time since they have seen a man, and honestly, you look human but have a Dragon's eyes. Thinking about it, chicks, you know they love mysteries, and tall dark handsome guys like you, well I am not surprised one came to eyeball you.”

  Hearing the exchange Gluzzie came over and nodded, then spoke, “I have been meaning to ask you why your eyes are little balls of fire. With your looks and those flaming eyes, you could pass for one us in human form. So what is the story, I know you are not a Demon, but there is something, you smell human, but I can smell the fire in your blood. You do not smell quite like a dragon, but it is clear you are not human.”

  I was not sure how to express myself; I did not want to tell them that I was playing a game. I had no intention of mentioning my Google glasses. Talking about the unknown God would not earn me understanding. In short I did not know what to say. “Boys,” I began I am not sure how to tell you my story; it is almost like I cannot put into words all that has happened to me.

  I came to this land to seek adventure, and I have found that and more. If we can get out of here and back to the Topland I will try my best to let you know. All I can tell you is I have Dragon blood but I am not a half-breed.

  Looking at me both demons nodded and Raik spoke, “You might be under a compulsion to not tell what you know, pretty common at one time, both Gods and Dragons would force them upon people. I nodded the explanation Raik had given would suffice. I had a few questions of my own, that I wanted to be answered.

  As I began to eat, I looked at demons, the smiling dwarf and the grinning imp. “Where the hell do you guys come from?” I asked. Then I began the serious task of shoving in the food. Gluzzie spoke first and looking pointing down said, “Hell is down, deep down. If you go to the place of the dark ironstone, there inside the caverns and tunnels lies hell, the home of the demons.”

  I thought for a minute, on the surface hell is usually thought of being downwards, and here in this bottom world, it was the same. It was apparent that hell was the center of gravity on this world and the place that demons came from. I could not do the math in my head but if a layer of this dark ironstone stretched all around the earth, and was a couple of hundred kilos thick it could house a lot of demons. I also recalled how very few things could pass this barrier, if the Demons were inside this Darkiron zone, they would have a hell of a time to get out, no pun intended.

  Clearly some demons could get through and the Gods, Dragons and Elementals did not seem to have a problem. Taking a moment to swallow some hot kavaa, I asked about that, and then began to eat again. Raik looked on with amazement as I finished my third plate and grabbed more. Gluzzie just smiled.

  “Well,” Raik began, “Hell is an interesting place and it is full of interesting people.” It is huge and never seems to end, I really do not know if it has ever been fully explored. I know that there are huge tracts of emptiness, we have rumors, that lot of humans will be joining us one day.” Both Raik and Gluzzie laughed at this, and I was reminded that these two ancient beings as friendly as they seemed, were demons.

  “How do people get through or get past this Dark Iron? Is there secret tunnels, or passageways, there must be some way.” My mind at this point was entranced with what looked like a round bit of donut. It wonders in the presence of food but this seemed different I was thinking. It reminded me of a marble. It tasted delicious and I reached for more as Raik began to speak again.

  “None of us lesser demons really know how they do it. The higher beings seem to be able to come and go yet the characteristics of the dark ironstone are absolute, once you are surrounded by it, you cannot escape. It has magical properties that have never really been explained, but the one thing we do know is that if it surrounds you, you are not going to get out.”

  “That is interesting,” I said as I stood up, “Gluzzie is there a little chest waiting for me, as a reward for overcoming the Temptation of Gluttony? I believe that the cooking you are doing is reward enough, but if you have something for me I would accept it. Gluzzie nodded at the corner of the room, hidden out of site was a small chest.

  We all walked over to it and I reached out and opened the chest. Inside was a small bag, I scanned it and it read the title on my interface.

  The Bottomless bag of goodies.

  This bag will always be ful
l of the good stuff.

  Enjoy, it won’t be wasted with someone like you.

  Opening the bag I reached in and pulled out some fruit, I then reached farther in and pulled out a cake. Opening the bag wide I saw that it was full of goodies. I turned to Gluzzie and handed him the bag. “Here this is something that you probably can make better use of them me.” We walked back to the table and sat down as Gluzzie went through the bag. He finally stopped and said with a smile, “There is just no end to it; it really is a bottomless bag of goodies. Thanks Tor.

  I finished off the little round donuts I had grabbed a moment ago and stood up, “Well gentle demons, are we ready to do this dungeon?” Seeing the two nod their heads I asked Gluzzie to lead the way and we began to descend the stairs. The lower we got the more the light faded until it was black, after a few more steps in the darkness that I assumed the Demons could see into as well as I, we began to perceive a faint light beginning to glow on the roof and walls.

  There was also a scent in the air, it smelled of lilacs after a fresh storm. Once we arrived at the bottom of the stairs we were confronted with a double door, looking at it, I stepped forward and pushed both doors open.

  Chapter thirty: Marriage

  As I opened the door I began to hum an old tune, knocking on Heaven’s Door, the original song done by Bob Dylan. It somehow seemed right to me and I went with it. As we stepped into the second level of the dungeon I again smelled fresh lilacs, reminding me of walking down some backstreet alleyway after a rain shower, with the lilacs in full bloom.

  We had stepped into a large cavern, full of beautiful furniture and tapestries with three large four poster beds placed opposite from each other. Sitting on a sofa chatting were three pretty girls. They were not exceptionally beautiful but were very pretty. As the three of us entered they all looked up and smiled.