“You never know,” Mika smiled.
“True,” he agreed. “You never know.”
They each retreated into their own thoughts as the line of carriages slowly progressed towards the palace gates. He wasn’t sure what the girls were thinking about, but he began going over scenarios in his mind of the conversation he was going to have with support about their situation.
The most important thing was to explain the bug that was happening to the people being inserted into the system. If he accomplished nothing else, if he could get them to fix that issue, then he would feel good.
His second priority had been to get their help in getting access to the medical pod’s HUD so he could wake himself, but that wasn’t an issue anymore since he now knew he was an uploaded consciousness.
Now his second priority was to explain that the dragon was a player and that there wasn’t a bug into NPC AI routines. He guessed they were probably going through that AI code with a fine toothed comb, or at least a high powered debugger. But they wouldn’t find anything since the flaw wasn’t with the AI.
One of the keys to his interactions was now for him to say as little about himself as possible. Originally, he was going to tell them all about himself and working as a programmer for WorldCog. But given the recent revelations, he needed to bring as little attention to himself as possible.
The time seemed to pass quickly and soon they were close to the gates. Looking out the windows, Jace could see men in royal livery standing at attention alongside the road. Each one of them held a torch on a long pole, essentially acting as human lampposts.
The gate, which Jace hadn’t paid much attention to on his previous visits was also lit up with candles and torches that gave off a warm, inviting glow. Before they knew it, it was their turn to through the gates and then another ten minutes before they reached the castle itself.
The sun was just dipping towards the western horizon, but the castle was already lit with what Jace guessed were either magical spotlights or gnomish mirror lights. That magical castle in the mouse park in Orlando had gone out of business decades ago, but he’d seen pictures of it in some of the vintage retro vidstreams and books he’d collected. As he looked up at the light illuminating the various towers of the Royal Palace, he thought it might give the mouse castle a run for its money.
Then their carriage stopped in front of the Royal Palace and he and the girls exchanged excited glances. Finally, it was their turn to join the party.
Chapter 53
A man in livery opened the door and placed steps in front of the carriage door. “Milord, miladies.”
One by one, they exited the carriage and then, offering his arms to Diana and Mika, he escorted them up the walkway to what appeared to be the entrance. This was a different entrance than he’d used during his audience with the king, so everything was unfamiliar.
Jace looked around and saw that this side of the palace was some sort of garden or lawn, or possibly some combination of both. There were tastefully arranged shrubbery, flowers and small trees positioned about the area along with numerous stone fountains.
The fountains were dimly illuminated with some sort of magic, allowing them to be easily seen from anywhere in the lawn. Even from the walkway, Jace could see that the fountains had been enhanced with illusions to make it appear that watery creatures swam around the fountains. He looked down at Luna who seemed captivated by the illusions of fish, dolphins and even sea nymphs.
“It’s not real,” he sent to her through their mental link.
“Fishes,” she sent back longingly. “Not real?”
“Not real,” he emphasized but guessed that before the night was over, Luna would slip away and try catching one.
He could see couples and small groups of people scattered about the garden, but he was too far away to tell if they were players or NPCs. Even as he watched, he saw servants moving around the garden, serving food and drinks on silver and gold platters.
His group continued down the walkway, which was lined with statues of lions. In the mouth of each lion was a glowing orb of light. The magical light danced and flickered, almost like it was a torch. They bathed the entire walkway in a soft illumination.
“They really went all out,” Diana murmured.
Jace couldn’t help to agree. “Yes, but this is probably how every function is. That’s why people pay millions of dollars for a noble title.”
“Too much extravagance,” Mika breathed.
Looking around at all the opulence, Jace couldn’t help but to agree. Having lived his entire adult life scraping by, he found the entire thing excessive. If he’d had a tiny fraction of the wealth being displayed, he wouldn’t have had to hold down multiple jobs to get through school.
They were following a line of people who had disembarked from their own carriages. They’d step forward a little, then they heard a herald yell out a name and title, then the line advanced. Finally, it was their turn and a herald took their invitation and then announced in a loud voice. “Sir Jace Burton, Lady Diana Burton and Lady Mika Burton.”
A few heads turned their way but for the most part, they were ignored. Jace might very well be the only knight or baronet in attendance and his announcement did not attract any attention. In a room full of counts and barons, no one cared about a lowly baronet.
The entrance ballroom they’d entered was enormous but was nearly packed. It was also much more lavish than Jace had expected. The floors were polished white and gray marble. They were so shiny that the entire floor looked like a mirror. It was actually a little disconcerting.
The walls were a white stone, most likely marble, but inset with gold trim designs. The walls were also rippled, creating small alcoves that held various statues or simply a place for two or three people to withdraw from the crowd.
Looking up, Jace could see that the center of the ceiling had been painted to resemble a summer’s sky, complete with clouds. It wasn’t until he stared for a moment that he saw the clouds were moving. More illusions. Outer part of the ceiling was gilded carvings.
Every ten or twenty feet, large chandeliers seemed to be suspended in midair, about 10 feet above the heads of the party goers. Jace squinted at the chandeliers but could not find anything holding them up. More magic, no doubt.
All the good races of the realm were represented. Jace could see multiple fairies hovering around the room, as well as gnomes, dwarves and even a werebear in a very large and tight-fitting gold trimmed jacket. That was in addition to the humans, elves and halflings that littered the room.
One thing Jace was glad to see was that most of the wizard players had their little faerie dragon familiars with them, either flying near them or sitting on their shoulders. It made Jace feel slightly less conspicuous having his own familiar nearby. Even as he thought of her, the orange tabby moved between his legs, to avoid the people moving around.
“Stay close,” he told her.
“Yes,” she replied, keeping a wary eye on all the moving people.
He began systematically scanning the crowd in his HUD to see who the players were and who the NPCs were. To his surprise, it seemed the vast majority of them were players. When he thought about it, that didn’t really surprise him. The nobility really had been designed in a way to entice real people (or their brain backups) to spend lots of money.
“Mmm,” moaned Diana as she bit into something which appeared to be a chocolate covered jelly treat with red fruit filling. “This is so good.”
Mika perked up and snatched one from the tray of the servant who had just passed. She bit into it and grinned. “Very good. Cherry.”
Seeing how much the girls enjoyed the candies, Jace looked around for another tray of them. As he was scanning the crowd, he saw flashes of what he thought was red hair. And they were getting closer. Could it be Charlena?
Out of the crowd came a broad, red-headed dwarf. He was dressed in a ruffled shirt with a bright red surcoat and his beard was exquisitely braided. The dw
arf looked very familiar but Jace struggled for a minute until he realized who the dwarf was. “Thedrir?”
The dwarf grinned broadly and held out his hand. “Milord Jace, I didn’t realize I had been fighting with a count! Or is it an earl? Maybe a baron? Surely not a duke?”
“Baronet,” Jace corrected, smiling. “And I wasn’t one then. I was just given my title. You clean up well.”
“Aye,” the dwarf said, fingering his braided beard. “I might say the same for you. And the lasses!”
“And you brought both of the lovely lasses,” the dwarf looked at him questioning. “How’d you manage that? I’m the manager of the band and I barely got in.” He leaned it close. “It’s all the big wigs. Normally they don’t like my lot but apparently quite a few nobles recommended our band.”
“Your band is here?” Mika asked excitedly.
“Oh yeah,” Thedrir nodded. “By special invitation. Very hoighty-toighty!”
“I can’t wait to hear them!” Mika told him, her eyes bright with enthusiasm.
“So, you bought a title?” the dwarf said, looking Jace up and down. “No offense, but I didn’t figure you for the type.”
Jace shrugged. “I’m not and I didn’t. The king gave me the old Baronet’s title after, I suspect, he beheaded him.”
The dwarf’s eyes opened wide. “Really? For what?”
“Apparently, arranging the theft of the princess’ tiara,” he told the dwarf. “I recovered it and helped the guard apprehend him.”
“Whoa!” exclaimed the dwarf and then lowered his voice. “Sounds like quite an adventure! And he made you royalty. That’s crazy!”
“I’m not technically royalty,” Jace smirked. “Basically, on step above a knight. I’m only here because I recovered the crown... Er… tiara.”
“Still. That’s cool! I think knights get some special privileges and stuff too, right?” Thedrir asked.
Jace shrugged. “Maybe. Anyway, it’s good to see you. And it’s very cool that your band got invited to play here.” He dropped his voice. “Are they paying you well?”
The dwarf smiled and winked. “And then some!” The dwarf looked over to an ornate clock that stood in one of the alcoves. “Time to get back to the band. We start playing soon! See you later!”
The dwarf turned and disappeared back into the sea of people. Looking around, Jace pulled the girls in tight. “There’s a lot more people than I thought. It should be easy to get lost in this crowd and then find our way to some other part of the palace.”
“There are also a lot more guards than I thought,” Diana said, gesturing with her chin to the armor clad guards than stood at intervals on the far side of the wall.”
Jace glanced around the room and saw the guards were almost exclusively at the far wall. “I’m guessing that’s where the king will appear. For now, we should fan out and at least search the room. For all we know, the Help Desk is hidden in a secret compartment somewhere in the ballroom.
“How do we get into the room if we do find it?” Diana asked, looking at the throngs of royalty.
“Very carefully,” Jace told her. “But first we have to find it. Split up and meet back by the entrance in say… half an hour.”
Mika gave him a long glance before turning and disappearing into the crowd. Turning away, he blended into the crowd and made his way to one of the walls. Luna had followed him, and he looked down at her. Mentally, he sent her a message. “If you smell a secret passage, let me know.”
The cat looked up at him. “Yes.”
Slipping on the Glasses of Revelation, Jace scanned the wall. Slowly and methodically, worked his way around, looking for any sign that there was a secret door or some sort of secret passage.
Every now and then, he’d look down to Luna to see if she had picked up and smells that might indicate a passage behind the wall. But each time she showed no indication that she had found anything. While he trusted the glasses, Luna’s nose had saved him too many times to discount.
They made the slow circuit around the room until he got close to the line of guards. He’d seen a few other people try to get close to them, but each time the guards rebuffed them. They were keeping the area free of players and NPCs alike.
Jace was about to turn to go back to the entrance when the crowd suddenly began to grow quiet. In only a few breaths, the whole place had grown silent as they’d prearranged it. That’s when he noticed the herald coming through the crowd to the line of soldiers.
The herald was dressed in silk livery, similar but much more expensive than what the servants wore. He walked right through the line of guards and up to a raised dais before turning around. By now, everyone was quiet and when he spoke, he wasn’t shouting.
“My lords and ladies, may I present,” the herald called out. “His Highness, King Roulant, and her Highness, Queen Ariella. And, my lords and ladies, it is my great honor to present, her highness, Princess Emma-Rose.”
Everyone in the room, including Jace, took a knee as the royal family appeared from behind a curtain and walked regally to the dais. The king was dressed in a fine, deep purple velvet coat with gold and silver trim. Under the coat, he wore white silk shirt and ascot with a sparkling gold sash around his waist. He wore the same crown Jace had seen on him the last time.
The queen was a middle aged woman but very beautiful. She had honey blond hair that was piled on top of her head in an elaborate style. Just above her hairline, she wore a slender tiara of gold decorated with diamonds and sapphires. Her dress was pale blue and looked like something straight out of a fairy tale book. It was layers of transparent blue mesh fabrics that must have been extremely thin. Even though they were transparent, there were so many layers that you could only make out the outline of the shapely legs underneath. On her feet were blue crystal slippers that could have given Cinderella’s a run for their money.
The princess looked much like her mother, but her hair was fairer and her complexion paler. Her hair was piled on top of her hair, similar to her mothers, but had the addition of small blue flowers in her hair. Also like her mother, she wore a blue dress, but much more conservative. It was a more traditional off the shoulder blue and white gown with a low V-cut necklace - but not too low - and a thin waist. The bottom of the gown was blue and white silk layers.
The king surveyed his subjects and after a moment gestured with his hands. “Arise, all of you! Welcome to my daughter’s birthday party! Everyone eats, drink and enjoy!” He looked to the very back of the room, where now Jace saw was another dais. On the opposite dais were several well-dressed and well-groomed dwarves and with various musical instruments. The king gestured to them. “Let the party begin!”
With that signal, the band known as Dwarven Thunder, began to play.
Chapter 54
Everyone turned to the band as they began playing a fast paced, upbeat Celtic song. At first, no one moved as everyone seemed to be entranced by the music. Then one or two couples walked onto the floor. They began to do some sort of couples dance that looked like a polka as far as Jace could tell. But they looked like they were having fun and soon more and more couples joined them.
Jace wasn’t a huge fan of Celtic music, but he did find the energy of the song infectious and looked down to see his foot tapping in time with the beat. While he was looking, he saw Luna next to his leg with her ears back. Apparently, she didn’t like Celtic music. Or perhaps it was simply too loud for her.
The royal family had taken seats on their thrones and very wealthy looking people were starting to come forward, one at a time and talk to the king or queen. Jace guessed they must be the upper tier of nobility. Was that Dukes and Duchesses? If they were players, he couldn’t even fathom how much money they must have paid to get their titles. Ten million? Twenty million? Whatever it was, it was far beyond what Jace could ever hope to have.
As the first song ended, the band weaved one song into another song with a similar tempo and the dancing continued. Jace resumed his examination
of the wall and alcoves but found nothing. He made his way back to meet the girls. By the time he got to their meeting spot, the band had ended its second song and started a new one.
This new song was slow, and some dancers left the floor, while new ones took their places to slow dance with their partners. Jace was looking for the girls when suddenly Mika appeared out of the crowd and grabbed his hand.
“Come on,” she grinned. “Slow dance!”
Mika pulled him onto the dance floor and pulled him close. Her arms went around his neck and his arms dropped instinctively around her slim waist. She seemed to have a natural rhythm and her hips and feet moved to the slow beat. Jace on the other hand struggled to keep up with her.
He was looking down at his feet, trying not to step on hers when she spoke. “You look very distinguished with your glasses.”
Jace looked up and saw that she had taken hers off before deciding to pull him onto the dance floor. “Thanks… I think. Isn’t distinguished just another word for old.”
“You are not old Jace Burton,” she said. “Neither of us are. We are like spirits now. Without age.”
“I guess that’s true,” he admitted. “Assuming they don’t kill me off.”
Her face grew pained, but she seemed to master it quickly and smiled up at him. “They will not. You will live in the game with us.”
Jace didn’t know what to say to that, so they danced the rest of the song in silence. Her big brown eyes stared up into his and he found it hard to match their intensity. He’d probably feel much more flattered - and much more nervous - if his mind wasn’t preoccupied with their mission tonight. He needed to stay focused. But it was hard with a beautiful girl in his arms.
The music ended and they stepped apart and applauded the band with the rest of the dancers. Dwarven Thunder broke into another spirited Celtic song and Jace took Mika’s hand and quickly led her off the dance floor.
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