“Secondly…death,” Al continued. “Since this is a special test phase if you die, you are out of the game. There are no respawn points and third, money. Lost Lands: Atlantis has the standard conversion rates but I have strived to make it more of a free-market economy.”
Whitney asked, “What does that mean?”
Matthew answered. “The law of supply and demand, the more something is in demand the higher the cost. Simple real world economics.”
“Oh,” was all she said.
“And lastly, your quest. There’s an ancient artifact known as the Dragon Orb and it’s missing. The High Mage of Atlantis was the last known possessor of this item. Perhaps he knows what became of it, perhaps not.” Al Shaytan looked around at the group for a moment before asking, “Any other questions?”
Mac nodded. “Yes. How long do we have to complete the quest?”
Al Shaytan’s smile was fleeting when he answered. “Time is a relative thing. How can one truly measure time?” The red robed wizard shrugged his shoulders. “But suffice to say, you will have plenty of time on the other side of the gateway to complete your quest. Nothing else?” Stepping back, Al Shaytan gestured to the ebony arch. “Then enter brave souls, your destiny awaits.”
Mac typed several commands onto his keyboard which activated his normal pre-quest macro, a set of preprogrammed game commands which executed two emotes and a group message. On screen his avatar held up his left hand over his head and gestured in a circular motion before pointing dead ahead. “All right people, let’s roll.”
Taking his own advice, Mac moved his avatar to the smoke filled archway and stepped through.
If his group mates followed he didn’t know or care at this very moment, because the world went black and his ears were filled with the roaring of the wind. Mac felt his gut churning as the world began spinning incredibly fast, almost as if he was caught inside a tornado and then nothing.
* * * * *
When he awoke, he felt the warm glow of the afternoon sun on his face. That’s when it registered to him that he was laying on his back. The after effects of the spinning were quickly fading and the roar of the wind was gone. As a matter of fact, the birdsong off in the distance and the cool breeze on his face was very relaxing. Only the slight tap-tap of metal on metal marred the perfection of the moment.
Tap…tap.
Tap…tap.
Suddenly alert, Tao kicked his feet into the air rapidly which in turn catapulted his body upright. Landing lightly, he drew his katana and assumed the stance of the mountain; the posture of ultimate defense.
Blinking away the sunlight, Tao looked around only to find himself standing on a dirt road at the top of a small grassy knoll. There was a slight breeze coming from the fog shrouded lake to his right. Glancing down the road, his eyes followed it as it cut through the rolling hills. It disappeared and reappeared numerous times as it traversed the region until it disappeared into a dark forest several miles away. Turning around, the road ran along the crest of the slope as it wound its way toward an ice covered mountain in the distance.
All around him, there was only one indication of civilization and it was the origin of the tapping sound that had awakened him. Several yards away on the side of the road was a gallows-style gibbet with skeletal remains of its last occupant still inside swinging in the breeze.
Glancing down, Mac noticed that he was dressed in red and black Japanese armor and holding a razor sharp katana with frost visible on the blade.
“Holy Shit!”
Chapter 3
Sheathing his katana, Tao scanned the horizon looking for any sign as to where they were. Of course, if the twin suns in the sky were a clue, he knew where he was. He was inside the game but thought, ‘That’s impossible. Get a hold of yourself Mac. Mac? Am I Mac or Tao?’
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Tao moved over to the closest of his companions. It was the armored figure of Cozad. At the present time, he seemed to be the only one who was nearly awake. His helmet had fallen off during the transition exposing his face. He was pale, nearly white and completely hairless…literally no hair, no eyebrows, no five-o’clock shadow, totally hairless. Beyond that, Tao guessed him to be human.
Not knowing Cozad’s real world name and remembering his own disorientation when he came to, Tao tapped the Dreadknight’s metal clad foot and called out. “Cozad! Cozad! Wake up. We’re on the other side.”
The Dreadknight’s eyes flew open and immediately began to glow with a strange reddish light. Snatching up his massive single-bladed battle axe, he rose under some sort of magical power to stand before the samurai. A look of rage contorted Cozad’s face as he raised his axe over his shoulder and prepared to strike.
Reflexively, Tao drew his katana and assumed the mountain stance once more.
Pausing, Cozad cocked his head to the side as the features of his face softened slightly. When he spoke, his voice was deep and hollow as if it was coming from the other side of the grave. “Tao?” He lowered his axe and looked around. “Tao? What…what do you mean we are on the other side?”
Relaxing, Tao sheathed his sword and pointed up. “Can you think of any other explanation for that or what you are wearing?”
Cozad glanced first at the twin suns overhead before looking down at his black plate armor. Red flames were engraved on the chest plate and his helmet’s faceplate looked like a skull, just how it had been described in the game. He felt the buzzing of his spells in the back of his mind and knew that with a simple thought he could summon a gargoyle to serve his bidding or cast a spell that would wrack the samurai’s slender form with disease and corruption. How he knew this, he didn’t know or care. Or did he? Speaking softly Cozad finally said, “Edward. My name is Edward.”
“Please to meet you Ed.” Tao extended his hand. “Back home my friends call me Mac but given our surroundings I think Tao will work just fine.”
Shaking hands, the Dreadknight had the intense urge to crush the slender samurai’s hand and feed on the pain it would bring forth. Ignoring the urge, the Cozad mind-set fought against the more rational Edward mind-set. It was as if the two personalities were at war with each other with control of the titan’s body as the reward. The chaos mindset that was Cozad wanted to crush, maim and conquer all peasants. While the rational mindset that was Edward understood that the urges of chaos and anarchy had a place and time for use and this was not it.
Tao could sense the inner turmoil of the twin sides of Cozad. Instead of resisting or trying to pull back, he took a deep breath and focused on letting his Ki, his inner peace flow, into the struggling Dreadknight.
Whether it helped or not, Cozad finally released his grip and planted his axe deep in the ground. Taking a deep breath, he grinned. “Mac? Tao? You have a thing for three letter names?”
Tao absentmindedly noticed that the smoky glow of his eyes had shifted from red to a deep blue. “Never thought much about it but I guess I do.”
“But you’re right, given our surroundings I think I would prefer to be called Cozad.”
With a nod Tao gestured at the limp forms of their companions. “We need to wake everyone and get this sorted out. We might be safe for the moment but I don’t want to tempt fate by lying around. Do you?”
Cozad shook his head. “No. Waiting to be attacked is about as smart as a screen door on a submarine.”
Tao clapped him on the shoulder. “I think I like you. This sounds like the beginning of a great friendship.”
Cozad grinned and the two moved off to begin reviving the rest of the group.
Whitney turned out to be the easiest to revive and the one who took the least amount of time to adjust to being inside the game. Maybe it’s because she was a teenager and her dreams of magic were suddenly real. Or possibly it was that she was now a faerie with the innate ability to fly, change her size and turn invisible. She also insisted that everyone call her Pixi.
Earl and Kaslene were the slowest to fully come around but neith
er seemed upset at the situation. Earl briefly explained that back home in Alaska, both of them were pushing seventy and Kaslene was completely home-bound due to her medical condition. There was probably a Freudian explanation as to why she chose to play a nature-based healer but Tao had no reason to explore that. They both decided that as long as they were here, they too would go by their avatar names and neither showed any sign of internal struggle with their alter-egos on this side.
Matthew was stressed, plain and simple. In the real world, his fiancé was off at a spa for the weekend getting prepped for their upcoming wedding next Friday. However, as long as he could make it back in time for the rehearsal dinner on Thursday night, he was game. To Matthew, getting a chance to really be Mathias the archer was just the ultimate bachelor’s weekend.
Roland seemed to take the whole situation in stride, as if this was just a walk through Central Park. To hear Steve explain it, “I’m a New Yorker and New Yorkers can take anything dished out to us. Hell, if we can survive Nine-Eleven then we can survive anything.”
Marvin was another problem. His and Mac’s friendship went back over thirty years. They had been friends through many a tough time and Mac could tell that his friend was torn between the excitement of the adventure before them and the guilt of being separated from his family. He was married with two wonderful kids and a third on the way. Of course now he was Gamble, the dwarven skald with skills and abilities he had only dreamed of back in the real world. What that meant exactly, he didn’t know…yet.
Arieal and Tariq remained enigmas. Neither would answer questions about their situation in the real world and would only respond to direct questions with short monosyllable answers if at all possible. However, both seemed to be stable for the moment.
By the time everyone was coherent enough for a meeting, the twin suns were beginning to set. Since Pixi could fly and stay invisible, Tao had sent her to search the surrounding countryside but nothing was within easy walking distance. She had found evidence that someone fished this area of the lake. There were several buoys a stone’s throw from the waterline but other than the dead prisoner in the gibbet, they were effectively in the middle of nowhere.
Clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention, Tao waited until everyone settled down before he began. “We seem to be in a bit of a jam at the moment.”
“Ya think!” snapped Tariq.
Tao ignored the snide remark and continued. “I am unsure how or why Al Shaytan sent us through the gateway but it seems we’re inside the game.”
“Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant,” said Tariq.
Everyone ignored the slender rogue except Cozad who turned a harsh eye on him. The glow around his eyes had shifted from blue to purple and seemed to bore into the assassin’s flesh. After a moment of squirming, Tariq lowered his head and Cozad turned his attention back to Tao who noted that the gleam had changed colors once more. As the Dreadknight relaxed, the brilliant purple was fading to a pale violet.
Unsure of exactly what had transpired between the two, Tao went back to his discussion. “If we are indeed inside the game, we must assume that the rules of the game govern our actions.”
Arieal looked up. “What do you mean by that?”
“Magic, healing, time, money, anything and everything. Don’t forget Al Shaytan made a particular point of mentioning death. He said that there are no respawn points in this realm.”
Roland asked, “So what happens when we die over here? Do we just get kicked back to our computers? That would be an easy way to get out of here.”
Tariq drew his dagger. “We can test that theory easy enough.”
Tao shouted. “Tariq! Put your weapon away. Now!”
The assassin hesitated and shifted to face the samurai with the dagger still in his hand. The fading sunlight gleamed off of the green poison which coated the blade. “Why? Who made you boss?”
“I was the designated leader on the other side and you agreed to it by joining the group.”
“That was the game. This isn’t or even if it is, why do I need you?”
Tao shrugged. “You don’t. It’s simple. You stay with the group, you follow my orders. I will ask for suggestions and advice but the final decision is mine. If you don’t like it, go.” Tao pointed off into the distance. “Strike off on your own.”
Tariq took a tentative step toward the distant forest before turning back. “Why must it be your decision? Why not Arieal’s? I know her. I trust her.”
It was the dark elf who came to defend Tao’s point. “No. I will not stand for leader. I don’t have the skills to get us home.” She glanced up at Tao. “That’s your intention…right?”
Tao nodded. “Aye. But to do so will take some teamwork and a bit of luck.”
Pixi asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“Has anyone else taken an inventory of what you’re carrying?”
Cozad raised his mailed hand. “I have. I seem to have everything I can think of that was in my backpack within the game; spare weapons, food, drink and the few other odd and ends that I carry.”
Tao raised his left eyebrow. “Recall stone?”
Cozad cocked his head to the side as he mentally reviewed his inventory. Seconds later he shook his head. “No. No recall stone.”
Everyone else scrambled to search through their packs but no one had a stone. Tao said out loud what everyone was thinking. “Which means we are not going to be able to teleport back to our guild halls if they even exist in this reality.”
Gamble nodded his head as he understood where Tao’s logic had already taken him. “But if they do exist, then we could use the magic portal inside to port home which probably means back to the real world.”
Tao nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking or hoping for at least.”
Moira asked, “But if this is a new realm, how do we get back to Camelot?”
“Okay, let me ask everyone another question. Anyone other than Gamble play Lost Lands in Beta?”
Only Cozad raised his hand.
Tao continued. “Anyone actually read the history behind the game?”
No one raised their hand.
“Okay, I will try to be brief in my explanation.”
Gamble interrupted. “While you do that Tao, I’ll get a fire going. It seems like we’re camping here tonight after all.”
Tao nodded and organized his thoughts before beginning. “From what I understand, the basic theory behind the game was to find a way to let gamers play avatars from different periods of history and have them adventure together. So, the designers came up with something they refer to as the ‘Bubble Theory.’”
“The what?” Pixi asked as she cocked her head to the side and absentmindedly fluttered her butterfly wings.
“The Bubble Theory. Every Lost Land is contained in a bubble which floats on the River of Time.” Tao pulled out a dagger and began to draw a web-like picture in the dirt to help illustrate his point. “Occasionally, these bubbles touch one another which in turn creates a connection between the two realms. Avalon was the first realm to be developed, based on the legends of the Arthurian Knights. From what I understand it was the only realm in the Alpha test phase but for the Beta phase they added Midgard based on the Viking Age, the Parthenon based on Ancient Greece and Nippon based on Feudal Japan. These became the four original Lost Lands. Over the past three years since the game launched, Infernal has expanded the original realms in size and added two more realms, the Shadowlands based on the legends of Darkness and the Burning Sands based on the Arabian Nights but the one constant through all of this has been Avalon. It seems that every new realm added has a connection to that fabled land.”
Cozad picked up the logic. “So, if this is a new realm and they follow their own pattern, somewhere in this realm there’s a gateway to Avalon. If we can get back there, we can travel to Camelot and to your guild hall which should enable us to get home.”
Tao nodded. “At least that is what I’m hoping.”
&nbs
p; “And where do you think we can find this gateway?” asked Tariq.
“Al Shaytan is the one who sent us here with the quest to find the Orb of Knowledge and suggested that we seek out the High Mage of Atlantis as a contact.”
Mathias said, “You’re thinking that was a hint.”
Tao shrugged his shoulder. “Occam’s Razor.”
Mathias asked, “What?”
It was Bjǿrn who answered. “Occam’s Razor states that when all things are equal the simplest answer is usually the correct one.”
Arieal absentmindedly toyed with her long snow white hair which stood out in drastic contrast to the ebony skin of her dark elf persona. Finally she said, “But we know nothing of this realm and since we are missing maps, we don’t know where we are or where we are going. Correct?”
“True. But I doubt that we were brought here without the means to complete our task. It wouldn’t be logical. Al Shaytan stated he wanted us to test his creation which implies to me that there is a method to his madness. We just have to figure it out.”
Gamble returned and began stacking the wood he’d gathered into a neat pile. Keeping his voice low he said, “Don’t do anything rash but we’re being watched.”
Chapter 4
To everyone’s credit, most of the companions didn’t do anything foolish except Pixi. She fluttered her wings once and disappeared from view. Whether it was a conscious action or not, no one knew or cared at the moment.
Gamble continued to stack up the firewood as he continued speaking in low tones. “There are two groups moving in on our position. One along the shoreline and the other coming from the direction of the forest. I couldn’t get a good look at them without making it obvious.”
Cozad stood up and pretended to stretch. “I can see the ones on the beach. They’re trying to hide in the rocks but doing a terrible job. I would guess that they’re goblins of some sort.”
Roland wasn’t so subtle when he hoisted his shield, drew his silver sword, marched to the edge of the knoll and called out, “Creatures of Darkness! Beware!”
Lost Lands: The Game - Atlantis Page 3
