Distortion (Somnia Online Book 5)

by K. T. Hanna

  It reeked of cheating, and Murmur wasn’t happy about it at all. Even though she saw the others reach their destination, and even though Dansyn was on his way back. She grudgingly changed the group set up, putting herself in with Rashlyn and Ver until the bard could come back for her. It was far more reliable to take one group at a time. Smaller margin for error.

  I didn’t extend the timers. And touching the beast will wake it.

  So it’s almost like a Mez. Murmur mulled over the breach of gamer protocol in her head.

  Yes. But a Mez won’t work on a boss. It’s just a lull. A very strong lull.

  If she wasn’t mistaken, Murmur was sure she could hear hesitation in the AI’s words. Like Somnia hadn’t wanted to upset her but had wanted to keep them safe. I guess it’s better to guarantee success. But please, tell me before you decide to help. Most times we can do it without that.

  Very well.

  There was a pause.

  Sorry.

  It’s okay. Murmur actually felt bad for making the world feel bad. Dansyn saved her from her self-recriminations, and she shifted herself into his group to make the run over as well.

  As they passed over the beast, Murmur marveled at how much it just appeared like a field. With its soft and luscious green grass, it looked more like it should have horses grazing in it than for it to emerge as a large, player-devouring mouth.

  She set her foot down next to a piece of paved ground that couldn’t have been more than ten feet by ten feet. It was a concerted effort to find room.

  “Might be an idea to keep that song going so we can get one of the groups out of the way while we figure out if this is indeed an entrance.” She maneuvered them all back into their original groups, and Dansyn obliged her request.

  With half of them hovering over the others, it made it far easier for them to inspect the platform they were standing on. The back spines of the creature rested just beyond the stone area, wrapping effectively around it and reaching right to the cliff. Murmur frowned at the shape of it. She could see it was grass, but there were definitive edges to its spine. Unless one knew there was a beast under the grass though, she could see how it would be a huge surprise.

  Beastial stomped lightly on the middle of the rock and moved back, as if wondering if it would cave in from his action. “What do you think this is?”

  “Obviously it’s an entrance.” Sinister crossed her arms. “Or perhaps a feeding platter where they send up a goat tethered to a trapdoor like in that dinosaur movie. It could be the feeding area.”

  Merlin chuckled lightly, somewhat strained. “Thanks for that visual. Seriously, though…”

  But he didn’t get a chance to elaborate, because suddenly the stones on the ground began to move.

  They didn’t just drop away, but each large stone dropped down slightly and rotated under until there was only a two-foot clearance all the way around a large hole in the ground. It was all Murmur could do to scramble back in time. Snowy positioned himself dangerously close to the spines, a low growl in his throat as his eyes flickered to red briefly. Murmur chalked that up to a future thing to worry about as well.

  The levitating group was balanced precariously above their group mates, and Murmur hoped Dansyn had that song under control. On the bright side, Gatekeeper Ctenizidae didn’t seem to notice anything was amiss and continued to rumble gently with its snoring dreams.

  Murmur heard a muttering that sounded like flies buzzing in her head and tried to clear her ears. Only it became louder and was accompanied by the grating of stone against stone.

  “Seriously. Only once in a million years does he fall asleep on the job. Either that, or someone sang him to sleep.” The voice was high-pitched and spoke the words fast. So fast it sounded almost like chimpanzees chittering.

  “You know he’s picky about what he listens to. Since when have we been able to lull him into a slumber?” The second voice was calmer, mellow even.

  The first harrumphed, and now as Murmur peered over the edge, she could see stairs forming themselves, swinging out of the walls of a huge shaft of stone several paces ahead of the two talkers.

  “Well, let’s just see what happened. Maybe his dratted tail is sitting on the platform again. Maybe it’s a dead bird…” The creature blinked rapidly as the light hit its eyes. Only, Murmur realized, it had glasses on. Big, thick glassed, leather-bound glasses on. Perhaps goggles was the better term. The speaker was halfway between a gnome and dwarf size and had a thin layer of short blond fur covering its body. It appeared very like a prairie dog. Only much larger and capable of speech.

  “Oh,” it said. “You’re not a dead bird.”

  The second voice belonged to a taller creature of the same species it seemed, but this one’s fur was a beautiful tinge of chestnut. “Definitely not a dead bird. May I ask why you didn’t battle with our Gatekeeper Ctenizidae?”

  Devlish stepped forward and fell to one knee. “It is an honor to meet you. My friends and I didn’t want to fight the Gatekeeper Ctenizidae if we could figure out a peaceful way past.”

  The chestnut creature narrowed its eyes at Devlish before glancing around at the whole group. Murmur held her breath, not sure if that meant they were about to be attacked. They definitely weren’t in the best position to defend themselves from Gatekeeper Ctenizidae and these creatures.

  “Well. It appears we may have found the right ones, wouldn’t you agree, Dizzi?” The dark-furred creature paused on the top step next to Dizzi, who was sniffing at the air, her nose twitching.

  “Yes, yes. It does appear so. It’s far better not to fight if not fighting is preferred.” Dizzi blinked rapidly behind those huge goggles, and Murmur wondered if the contraption made the eyes seem larger. “Do you think they’ll help us, Prizzi?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps I should ask?” Prizzi jumped up to the side of stone platform, the agile leap surprising Murmur. “Will you? Help us, that is?”

  Devlish nodded and bowed his head. “It would be an honor to serve the wise Eiriarpth clan.” He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the others as if willing them not to speak.

  “Excellent!” Prizzi smiled while Dizzi jumped up and down and clapped her hands. She paused, glancing them up and down. “Well, then. What are you waiting for? Follow us.”

  With that, Prizzi set off down the stairs at an alarming pace.

  “Go on!” Dizzi chattered wildly. “If I don’t bring up the rear, the stairs will retract before you can say ‘Oops, maybe I should have let the Eiriarpth mage bring up the rear.’”

  The stairs retracting back into the wall as they ventured deeper underground sandwiched between the two Eiriarpth clan members was disconcerting at best. Every step Murmur took, she half expected the stair to be gone when her foot hit it.

  She lost count of the stairs when they reached one hundred and noticed that the opening above was no longer lending light to them. She had the distinct feeling that the stones had also moved back into place, but she didn’t want to look up and make herself panic more.

  Still, Prizzi led the way, a small lamp in her hand. It somehow managed to illuminate the air around the group so that at least they weren’t plunged into pitch darkness. The walls were made of more of the sandstone type substance that produced the stairs and the platform up top. Each step echoed through the shaft in a way that made Murmur question if it even had a bottom.

  Finally, when her legs began to protest so much walking down steps, Prizzi paused and motioned with her paw to follow her. They stepped out into a wide, open cavern.

  It bustled with activity. Brightly colored tents were erected in the giant area and sconces held magic flames all around the space, giving it a bright and cheerful appearance seemingly in defiance of being underground.

  Murmur decided that if she got trapped anywhere in-game, it might be nice to get trapped here.

  �
�There we go!” Prizzi spread her arms out, indicating the marketplace as she pushed her goggles up onto her head to reveal huge round eyes.

  “Very nice,” Sinister said, warmth and sincerity in her words.

  Prizzi and Dizzi preened a little at the compliment, and then Dizzi scampered off.

  Prizzi turned a smile on everyone. “She’s just gone to get our leader. You’re the first travelers who have chosen not to kill our protector. Gatekeeper Ctenizidae is very dear to us and keeps us safe. Thus, we took you through the safe entrance.”

  Murmur tried not to let her expression show how glad she was they’d gone through the very unsafe safe entrance. She’d hate to have seen the other way in.

  Prizzi’s expression grew serious. “Please bow when Drizzipt greets you. She will have much to discuss with you.” Her voice was low and filled with urgency, and Murmur decided it a good idea to do what she said.

  Drizzipt stood out among the four Eiriarpth clan members that Dizzi lead back. She held a cane in her hand, but it seemed more like a weapon than something the clan leader used as a crutch. Her fur was a rich black that flowed in long locks down her body, giving her a sleek and elegant appearance. Her beautiful blue eyes shone in the flame light, lending her an ethereal air.

  It was easy to bow before her, for she held herself in a regal manner. She nodded to each of them, and then smiled.

  Her eyes lit up as her face softened, and Murmur wanted to trust her with everything. She loved this world and everything in it. character.

  “Thank you for showing mercy to our protector. As a reward, we repay you by opening the true path of the Threshold. Instead of monsters like Gatekeeper Ctenizidae above us, you will face the true terror that lives down here.” She paused, her eyes suddenly full of sorrow. Without hesitation, the elder Eiriarpth continued. “When we first came to these parts, we sent several expeditions into the tunnels to hide our greatest treasures and to forge our way in our new home.”

  She took a breath and continued, her expression now determined. “In doing so, we sent them to their deaths. On their return they encountered moleworms by the thousands. Though they fought valiantly and slaughtered many, our own people died by the hundreds. To this day we are cursed. We ask that you help us in breaking this curse by laying our ancestors to rest.”

  Drizzpt paused before adding, “You just have to kill all the moleworms in order to get to their ghosts.”

  Storm Entertainment

  Somnia Online Division

  Game Development Offices - Artificial Intelligence Servers

  Late Day Twenty-One

  Shayla paced the room, constantly looking back at the server housing on the right-hand side of the three that dominated the room. While the lights of the middle case continued to flicker back and forth, she knew there was no presence inside it. The only thing currently functioning was the loop it maintained for general maintenance. She’d just had James to deal with, and now this?

  “Wait. This is a bit unbelievable. They’re both AIs.” She shook her head and stood in front of Thra’s machine, wishing she knew what to say.

  “I’m making as much sense as I can. I can’t stay long. Ask any questions you have now. I’m risking a lot by being in here.” Thra’s voice sounded almost desperate, like she was truly worried.

  A machine was standing there, ironically enough, telling her that it was panicking. In any other scenario, that would feel like a bad science-fiction plot. “Okay. Say it’s true. Say, Sui has gone rogue, and managed to disable Rav. First up, how? And second up, what the hell?”

  Thra didn’t laugh, or anything resembling it. “I don’t even know how long I can stay here safely. Sui isn’t himself, and Rav is fighting the influence of the…virus as we speak.”

  “Let me get this straight. So. Michael’s brain solidified in the game world, exploded, and infected a bunch of characters.” Shayla thought she was following it, but dang, it was strange. “Effectively, his brain became a virus that slowly altered the way AI run aspects of the game and behave?”

  “Yes. In its simplified form, yes.”

  “Ah.” Shayla’s cogs whirred in her brain as she tried to think of a solid plan of action. “So basically, we need a Michael’s brain shards antivirus.”

  “Precisely.” Thra paused for a moment. “I will get you a sample of the virus. But it’ll be dangerous. I can’t promise anything.”

  Dangerous for an AI. Shayla wanted to laugh. It sounded so absurd. But a part of her knew it wasn’t, not even in the slightest. When they’d entered this bizarre land, she couldn’t quite remember, but Michael had been a huge part of everything.

  If only she’d realized what he was doing before he did it, perhaps in time to stop it.

  But if onlys paved the way for most regrets, and she didn’t have time to dwell on them. “Be careful. If I’m understanding this right, you’re the only one we have left running the show as it was intended.”

  The sense of fear overwhelmed her for a moment, and Shayla let out a hysterical little giggle. For a moment she thought Thra had left, that she hadn’t gotten the warning out in time, but then the AI spoke.

  Her words were soft, so close to human, less metallic than ever. Emotion rang through it, real and poignant. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be careful. Somnia is waking up too, and I don’t think she’ll go down without a fight.”

  “Wait.” Shayla ran the words through her mind. “Somnia, as in the world.”

  This time Thra laughed, and the metal infusion of the sound was back. “The world. It’s exactly what we wanted. More alert to everything, of becoming something more than digital. She’s aware of the infection, and I don’t think anyone counted on that. It may be what saves us. I have to go. But don’t worry. We’re not about to give up.”

  The whir and then click let Shayla know she was alone again. Completely. The room began to feel cold, and her eyes suddenly wanted to close and sleep like she hadn’t in the last however many months it had been since Ava died. Was it really only three?

  Wait. Had Ava died around the time Wren got pulled into the game, attached to the headset? Shayla raised her hands to her head. Just what she didn’t need. Another unlikely coincidence. In the end they were all going to come back and bite her in the ass.

  She had to get those damned headsets to Wren’s group. If they didn’t get them there soon, everything was going to fall apart. She could just feel it.

  Murmur wiped the goop from one of the moleworms off her face. Its gooey texture and pungent odor made her gag. She just didn’t have time for that though, as another one of the creatures flung itself at her with an almost inaudible high-pitched screech.

  Snowy bared his teeth and lunged for it. Murmur didn’t even want to contemplate how much that hurt her wolf’s hearing. Beastial’s axes cut through it, and Murmur groaned.

  “Beast, we’ve gone over this! If you cut it in half, it sprouts itself into two. You’ve got to bash its head to mulch,” Sinister yelled at the Beastmaster for the second time in less than ten minutes. “They’re worms, sort of.”

  Which was true. The front of them looked just like a mole, from the blindly blinking eyes, to the tiny clawed paws, but it wiggled like a snake with a gooey body like a worm. The best way to kill them seemed to be bashing their heads in and spraying the same goop everywhere or to blow their heads up.

  If they didn’t and cut them in two, it grew the ends on both halves that it was missing. Usually with a sickening, squelching pop. Murmur thought there was a lot more to this curse than the dear clan had shared with them. She was also unsure if fighting these was a reward. It seemed like more of a punishment.

  “There is so much more to that damned curse story,” Sinister yelled out as yet another head exploded all over her, drenching her robe in the gods-knew-what. “I am going to kill someone.”

  “Moleworms, Sin.” Havoc skill
fully avoided any of the splattering fluids, “Kill the moleworms.”

  Fighting generic trash wasn’t overly challenging, but these ones required a bit of dodging. Beastial had swapped to his mace and was swinging it like his life depending one it. Virtual life anyway.

  Murmur attempted to use her stuns early on, but they brought up the message of immunity. She didn’t like approaching anything that was immune to her spells. It made her feel vulnerable. Instead, she was reduced to slowing their pace with Languidity and weakening them as well.

  Considering this was the second pack they’d encountered since they set out, Murmur didn’t like the odds that it was coincidence that they traveled in numbers. Mez held but seemed to have a high resistance rate. Her kingdom for a damned AoE Nullify.

  The second group dinged her. One level closer to that forty-eight.

  “Grats.” Sinister gave her a slimy hug, and Murmur shot a withering glance at her.

  “Mellow,” was all she had to say for the witch to get their cauldron out briefly and cast their cleansing spell. She smiled gratefully at them. “Thanks.”

  “Clean robes make us all not gag.” They grinned at her, their solar system eyes sparkling.

  “You got that map, Dev?” Murmur wanted to take a look at it again. It was suspiciously detailed as far as she was concerned. Yet another small inconsistency in the story of the clan they’d met. Nothing really stood on its own, but when she started adding all the bits and pieces together, she wondered if maybe they should have killed the Gatekeeper after all.

  Walking at the head of the group, just behind Devlish, Murmur kept an eye out. The tunnels were huge and round. Wide enough to walk six across with ease, and tall enough that she’d have to jump up to touch the ceiling, even with her height. It didn’t look rough or naturally formed either when she inspected it closer.

  It seemed to be hollowed out by something, like a tunneling machine. She frowned as she looked around at the regular pattern that appeared on the walls. Sort of like a wavering spiral over a huge area of space.