On the Lost Continent

by Andrew Novak

  The flame cloud collapsed into the boiling river and released a pillar of steam, through which the light blue light of the emitter was still visible. Wherever it struck the water, steam instantly curled.

  Jack jumped up, yanked a dumbfounded Goodwin to his feet by his collar, and gave him a shove. Then Jack himself rushed to the destroyed bridge to take shelter there. The blinding blue thread of the emitter slid along the shore, spotlights on the Barrier wall began moving again. They were searching the scattered stones on the embankment. Goodwin fell to his knees, quickly working with all his limbs, and squeezed into a crack under the a leaning piece of slab. But Jack was caught in the spotlight. For a heartbeat, everything was white — the rocks under his feet, demolished buildings on his left, pitted edge of the bank to his right.

  The emitter hissed and crackled as it crawled over the ground after Jack. Where it touched the ground, stones began to shake, vibrate, and blur. Whatever the blue beam rested on, whether it was stone, concrete or iron, it all bubbled and popped… The ray shone even in the dazzling white scene under the powerful searchlights. It was brighter, more defined. A black scorch mark trailed behind it.

  Jack darted from side to side, but the searchlights had converged on this part of the riverbank, making escape from the cold white light impossible. He found himself standing at the top of a precipice, which looked over the wreckage of the downed airship. Tongues of flame still danced along it. Meanwhile, the crackling behind him was getting closer and louder.

  The sound was overwhelming, the shore under his feet vibrated and fell abruptly away. It gave way and fell down, and Jack dropped together with crumbling concrete slabs into the East River. Cold water took him, neutralized all sounds, and crushed him from all sides and overhead.

  Chapter Ten

  A Fiery Death and the Rebirth in Fire

  THE BED OF THE EAST RIVER stretched out underneath him. It was littered with chunks of crumbled buildings, rusted automobile bodies and pieces of concrete from the fallen bridge. The light from the spotlights dulled as it shone through the greenish muck.

  Next to Jack was the torn hull of Ruger’s airship, drifting in the current and sinking to the bottom. Its rear portion, which took most of the damage, was torn apart, but the cabin had suffered less.

  In the water, he could see the shining beam of the emitter chasing its prey. It was still thin and bright in the deep water, although no longer light blue. Now it shimmered with the full spectrum of color. Muddy bubbles billowed around it but instead of bursting, they vibrated and scattered in every which way.

  The black metal shuddered as the beam touched the ship. Its teardrop body suddenly burst open like a bubble. For a moment, Jack saw Ruger in his chair, dead. A concentrated, almost dissatisfied expression had frozen on the old general’s face.

  The air that had been in the cabin had formed a giant bubble, then exploded, catching Jack in its wake and forcing him up. The spotlight disappeared. Jack found himself in the shadow of a toppled section of the bridge under the water. And here it pushed him up to the surface.

  After a few gasping breaths, Jack glanced around, spotted a crooked piece of metal that almost reached the surface and started paddling towards it. He clutched the rusty metal, spent a minute clearing his throat and spitting, then looked around again. The emitter was no longer firing, its spotlight slowly prowling the shore.

  Maybe things had calmed down a bit? But Jack wasn’t ready to come out just yet. Why should he? It was nice and cozy under the rubble of the Williamsburg bridge. And no one would stick their head in here. Omegas generally did not meddle in zones exposed to the Barrier emitters, and anyone chasing him was long gone after this unexplained attack on the ship.

  Jack felt with his feet for footing and, holding the mangled rebar, waded toward the shore. A collapsed portion of the bridge hung over his head blocking the spotlights from this area. It was cold and quiet.

  Jack sat and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. What happened to Ruger? He’d seemed invulnerable. Everyone trembled before him. Who’d killed him? Who was even capable of doing so, out in the open, along with an airship? In full view of the defenders on night guard duty? Was this the work of the Inner Circle?

  Jack now had only one alpha citizen acquaintance residing in New Atrium. Sartorius. It would be nice to ask him, but Jack could only do it in Alterra.

  Infuriated, he punched the rebar. Everything fell apart at the last minute! No, Jack wouldn’t give up. If he survived tonight, then he had to do something. He had to find a new way to salvation. And, above all, find a way to take care of Brandt. That one couldn’t wait. If he came up with a way into New Atrium, then his window of opportunity for revenge was closing quickly. So, he must find something, anything. Something unexpected. Well, if they killed him, it would make things easier since nothing would need to be done. But if he lived, he had much to do in a hurry.

  A noise among the stones distracted him from his musings. He wasn’t alone here. Something else was moving in the darkness under the bridge. Not a rat; it was rather large. He could hear it stumbling over the piles of rubble and the crunching, rolling rocks.

  Jack felt around for a piece of concrete that fit comfortably in his palm and crept toward the noise. You didn’t just meet with a random stranger in a place like this. It was probably one of his pursuers. His skills as a Walker gave him an advantage — he was used to moving silently over gravel. And here was the night traveler. Jack could make out a rather small person scrambling over the rubble. He crept behind him and had already lifted the stone over his head… then recognized Goodwin.

  “Hey!”

  Goodwin nearly jumped out of his skin and spun, swinging a piece of rebar. Jack even had to hop back.

  “Wow, you’re so aggressive, attacking people like that!” after everything that had happened, Jack felt a sense of feverish excitement. He just couldn’t be serious right now. How could he, after a night like this?

  “Jack? You’re alive?”

  “Well, now, that’s an interesting question. On the one hand, of course, yes. I’m alive. On the other, I don’t quite believe it myself. Here,” Jack held out the stone he’d almost used to bash in Goodwin’s skull, “keep it as a souvenir.”

  “What’s this?”

  “Just a piece of concrete. Or, rather, your potential death. I was going to use this rock on the head of the suspicious man crawling around down here. But I realized it was you just in time.”

  Goodwin tossed the rock aside. “So, you’re alive? I watched you fall under the emitter beam.”

  “No, no, I’m supposed to die from radiation, not shot. I thought we agreed on this? Let’s stick to the original plan.

  “What? What are you talking about?” Goodwin eyed him anxiously. “You off your rocker? That’s it! Your eyes are insane.”

  Jack waved him off, but then forced himself to focus. His thoughts were running all over the place and thinking coherently wasn’t easy. Not to mention he was still shaking, and not from the cold water but from nervous excitement. He shook his head, rubbed his hand over his face and, trying to enunciate his words, asked:

  “Okay. Did you save the backpack? Is the console intact?”

  “And you’re still thinking about the game!” Goodwin exclaimed, exasperated.

  “Still haven’t found better topics to reflect on. I want to contact an alpha, who lives in New Atrium and was one of Ruger’s acquaintances. We need to find out just what the hell happened here.”

  “Yes,” Goodwin shivered, “I didn’t think that was possible. To just shoot down an airship over the East River, right next to the Barrier… It was them, the Inner Circle. I told you — I warned you! — about the kind of power they hold over the alphas. They’re capable of anything. I wonder if Ruger spilled the beans about me to anyone?”

  “Do you think this happened because you’re a super important person?” Jack gave the old man a measured look. “No, I doubt it. I didn’t tell Ruger anything specific abo
ut you. And he wasn’t too interested, either. He didn’t even ask your name. Besides, I’m pretty sure you gave me a false name. So, relax and don’t be so full of yourself. This isn’t about you. Give me the console,” Jack began peeling off his wet, clinging clothes.

  “You planning to log into Alterra right this moment? Or is this some kind of joke?”

  “What’s so funny about it? Yes, I’m logging into the game. What else is there to do at the moment? By the way, do you have any spare batteries on you? The charge on the console won’t last long.”

  “Listen,” Goodwin began hesitantly, “I suggest we spend some time figuring out how to proceed from here, where to hide. One of my hideouts isn’t far from here. You can connect to the network there. ”

  “Yeah, look around you.”

  Goodwin cast a glance right, then left. They were sitting under a sagging overhang of the Williamsburg bridge. It was dark, barely any light penetrated here. But the spotlights still patrolled the riverbank, bringing the charred ruins into sharp relief. As soon as they showed their faces…

  “Right now, they can still see us from the Barrier. They’re probably keeping their eyes fixed on this shore,” Jack explained. “We’ll leave at sunrise, just as it starts to get light. After some time, they’ll stop searching for survivors and we won’t be as noticeable under the spotlights. Well, and it’ll give me some time to dry out, so that we don’t attract too much attention. Wet people are just a little too conspicuous.”

  “Oh, there’s no one here,” Goodwin remarked. “This place is my secret, right on the riverbank. Fine. At least, let’s move a little deeper under the bridge.”

  So they settled in a quiet, dark nook. The old man handed Jack the console and headset.

  The familiar Rainbow tunnel opened up in front of his eyes. His consciousness slipped through it into the magical world.

  In Alterra, Jack was again healthy and full of vigor. No radiation sickness, no diseases at all, really, and no final death. In the game, if you couldn’t win on your first attempt, you were able to respawn and try again.

  Life didn’t offer these kinds of opportunities. Lisa, Ruger… Players were dying around Jack. He himself felt vulnerable and disgustingly mortal. And now he was the last of those, who had set foot on the shores of the lost continent. This was exactly what he could offer Sartorius. The fewer players who knew a secret, the more valuable it became.

  Sartorius was his last hope. And hope was looking pretty flimsy right now. Sartorius was milk toast, not a formidable fighter, like Ruger. Did he dare risk it with such a wimp? Could he ask him for help? What if he offered Sartorius something more substantial than just access to Gaerthon?

  On the other hand, he was the one who explained the Great Mysteries of Alterra to Jack. Jack recalled a conversation with the man in the mage’s tower… Sartorius wanted nothing more than to solve one of these mysteries — the disappearance of Chronos. And Jack just happened to be on the hunt for Dark Necta’s husband. The key to that mystery should be at the end of this quest. He should find something of importance in the game, some proof that he was on the right path.

  Yes, that was it. That would be what hooked Sartorius.

  Jack exited the cabin of the Dead Wind. Before him lay Scand island where he’d saved the elder Nevil. This is where Theokrist’s Journey began.

  So, let’s start from the very beginning. The memory of Ruger’s dissatisfied face in the cabin of the fallen airship came back to Jack. Why had he been angry? Because he had to deal with nonsense? Or was it from impatience? The old man wanted to battle the War Hound.

  Oh, the Hound! Jack squinted at the distant Lahitte island. Above it was a faintly smoldering speck of orange color, like the tip of a cigarette. Yep, the Hound was there. But not for long.

  After walking past the sleeping village, Jack began to climb up the mountain while occasionally glancing to see if the fiery dog had taken off. Not yet. The path meandered over the mountain until, finally, the dilapidated gate to the ancient city appeared.

  Jack entered. The temple ought to be in the main square in the center. But the entire city was just piles of stone. Where was the square and the streets? They didn’t exist.

  Winding through the rubble, he slowly moved toward the center. Finally, he heard the clapping of wings and the crackling of fire.

  “Excellent,” muttered Jack, “It means I’m already near the temple. Better than any map.”

  He readied Veseloth’s wand and mana elixir flasks. Before now, he hadn’t bothered with magic and didn’t pay much attention to his mana, but now it was necessary. It was good that his mana bar had increased. At level fifty, even Warriors had a decent mana reserve.

  Jack retreated into the shadows and raised the wand. Now to wait until the War Hound landed because Jack didn’t know how to fight it while it was in the air because ice spiders didn’t fly.

  The Hound still wasn’t visible, obscured by the walls, and only the red glow wandering around the ruins and the clapping of its wings told Jack that it was close. He wondered if the beast sensed the approach of Theokrist’s gear near the temple or if it simply saw a stranger?

  Jack quickly pulled Theokrist’s Cloak from his inventory and flung it over his shoulders. How about that, huh, dog?

  The fiery flying hound folded its wings and dove toward the pile of rubble. Raising its head, it issued a roar. Its throat blazed with fire; its fangs gleamed white like molten metal.

  In its fiery light, Jack spotted the dilapidated temple behind the beast. Judging by the mutilated statues, it was Ged’s temple. The dog turned its muzzle, sniffing out its enemy. Which meant it couldn’t see the person standing in the shadows, hidden under Theokrist’s Cloak.

  Jack aimed the wand at the fiery beast and clicked the weapon icon. He kept an eye on his mana bar out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, the bar plummeted sharply, growing shorter.

  The tip of the wand glowed with an icy ball of light. It burst open and released the horde of spiders which then leaped at the Hound, instantly covering the distance between them. Scores of icy threads crisscrossed and entangled the Hound which roared, tossing its head, and tried to extend its wings, but the webbing held. The Hound strained, raised its hackles, and moved its head to the left and right, spewing a stream of fire. Jack was momentarily struck blind as the bright flame passed through the ruins.

  You receive damage!

  You lose 4 hit points!

  The webbing thinned under the rush of flame, streaming water. Although it hadn’t extinguished it completely, the Hound’s fire dimmed. The spiders also melted a bit, but continued to spin new filaments, though those too were beginning to diminish.

  “Take that, dog!” Jack bellowed, sending a new wave of ice spiders.

  His mana reserves dropped again. The blue bar had shrunk to fifteen percent, so Jack hastily drank all of his elixirs in rapid succession.

  The Hound struggled inside the icy web, still spitting fire. Spiders scurried around it and melted, but the web grew thicker and thicker. Old threads melted away and flowed down the beast’s sides in transparent streams. And so, the bright crimson glow of the War Hound began to fade. The creature struggled within the transparent web, trampling spiders with its clawed paws, all the while dimming, fading…

  “And another!” Jack fired a third round of spiders from the wand. He drew his sword and ran to the animal. His mana depleted, now he would have to settle things with steel and courage as usual. Those were the two things Jack liked much better than magic.

  The fiery dog, seeing a new opponent, instantly forgot about the spiders and tore free from its fetters, exhaling pale tongues of fire.

  You receive damage!

  You lose 2 hit points!

  “Is that all you’ve got?!” Jack barked, slashing out at the gray snout now devoid of flame. Now the Shadow of the King would show everyone what one of Necta’s weapons could do!

  Bereft of its fire and unable to fully shake off the icy web, the
War Hound no longer seemed invincible. He hacked at it with his black sword, cutting away pieces of the animal’s hide. The ice spiders, now quite tiny, bustled under Jack’s boots and tried to shoot new strands, but they were no longer needed.

  The dog freed a paw from the web and slashed at Jack with its claws.

  You receive damage!

  You lose 8 hit points!

  Jack felt quite an unusual shortness of breath and weakness. Oh, so the disease found its way through… That is, his game character was in order, except for a small amount of damage from the Hound. But the virt-equipment perceived Jack as he really was in reality. Sick, poisoned. He’d have to end this soon, so he came nearer to the Hound, hacking straight from the shoulder. The beast raked its claws again, so Jack chopped off the threatening limb.

  The creature, having lost its support, collapsed forward. Jack grabbed the sword hilt, raised the weapon with the tip pointing downwards and, leaning sharply, pierced the dog’s huge head. Red textures gushed from under his sword and from the severed paw. The Hound snarled and howled…

  “This is for Lisa!” Jack shouted, not really understanding why. He lifted the Shadow of the King again. “And for Ruger!”

  The severed head fell on the stones. Jack stepped away, breathless. Blood and water from the melted webs formed puddles at his feet. The tiny ice spiders, all that remained of Veseloth’s magic, dissolved quickly.

  Afterwards, something was different. He felt it clearly. As if someone or something were staring at him… from above? And not just one. Several strange, distant beings. Jack raised his head, focusing on the starry sky, then looked around. The strange feeling gradually passed, but he still felt a shiver, rolling in waves along his spine. It was as if he’d shifted something in the hidden mechanisms of the game… and had drawn the attention of something alien. Strange.