by K. T. Hanna
She frequently had about four to six enemies under her control. Usually stun locked. While it was amazing because their opponents couldn’t do anything and couldn’t move even if they were hit, their eyes locked onto her with a hatred so fierce, it made her skin crawl. Not that she could blame them. She’d effectively removed their bodily autonomy. They were trapped within themselves, unable to move no matter how much they might want to. She’d hate that if it happened to her. But then these were viciously attacking her entire raid party, and they deserved to be frozen in place so it was easier to farm experience off them on the way to the drain.
While a part of her laughed at the very notion, another part made her stop and think. Telvar, Emilarth, even Dirsna. Those were AIs who weren’t dicks. They also weren’t trying to hoard game and mind-altering getashis so they could rule the fictional world or whatever. At least not to her knowledge.
These gnomes, these wide-eyed, morphing, kind of cool gnomes were also a portion of the AI. Whether or not they’d had a chance to gain any sentience was beside the point. Murmur had seen that they might be able to, and she concluded that it really bugged her to have them regarding her with such open hostility.
Damn AIs evolving. Previous games had been so much easier because she didn’t have to contend with that shit.
Finally, the sea of gnomes in front of them began to thin out. The last three gnomes fell to the ground, their corpses glowing faintly, and Murmur stood, panting and glaring at her mostly mana bar.
“Shit.” Devlish was also panting. “I couldn’t take a step in a different direction without alerting another group of those things. That was exhausting.”
“Try healing your ass,” Sinister grumbled as she flicked one of the corpses with her toe.
Her lips turned down, and Murmur was pretty sure she could see a tear in the corner of her eye. She stepped forward and gave Sin’s shoulders a squeeze, leaving her hands there to provide moral support and reassurance. Her friend could see it too, the reality behind these creatures.
Instead of his usual quip, Devlish nodded gravely. “I’m well aware we’d all be toast without you and Ver. Not to mention Mur and Dansyn. Thanks, guys. But hell. Regardless of how long things stayed stunned, that AoE fest got us some damned fine experience.”
“Shit!” Mellow let out a bit of a whoop. Their voice was filled with surprise. “I’m almost thirty-seven. I can’t tell you how relieved I am.”
With all the other shit they kept getting thrown at them, she wasn’t surprised. They waited for a short while so that everyone could organize their inventories and make sure they were set for more fights.
In the meantime, Murmur decided to take a look around. She was very conscious of the timer the quest had set for them. It ticked in the corner of her vision like doom and gloom hanging over her. It had already been about forty minutes. Just over two hours left for them to complete the daunting task, which included jumping down that drain.
She sighed and took a step toward the middle.
In hindsight, she should have known this was too good to be true. As she put her weight on her foot, she heard a clacking noise. Like gears shifting and clicking chains into place. It whirred, and suddenly the floor began to spin very slowly in an anti-clockwise direction.
As it did, it began to slope toward what she’d assumed was the drain. A huge booming voice echoed throughout the chamber.
Congratulations. You have passed the first stage. You have defeated the impregnable gnome wall. Now that you have blood on your hands, you must be cleansed by passing through the drain. Don’t worry. If you truly mean to do the right thing, you will not be harmed.
Watch out for the drop. It’s a doozy.
And then water began to run out of the walls through a slit at the bottom and travel down all of the huge tiles that paved the floor and made up the area around the drain. It made them slick. It made them slippery.
It made them treacherous.
Snowy howled in surprise as even his sure-footed steps slipped on the dangerous slope.
Despite their collective scrambling to try and reach any measure of safety, they all slid toward the huge opening in the middle of the floor. Beyond it all they could see was darkness, like a kitchen sink drain that went down into an insinkerator.
Murmur gulped. She was still getting over the lingering pain from the last death, so dying now really wasn’t an option. All she could do was hope that whatever had spoken thought they were nice enough and didn’t let them fall to their deaths.
“It’s like an amusement park ride!” Dansyn shouted out. “That gravity thing, only with water and a hole…you know what I mean.”
Murmur tried to look at it his way and started to grin. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on something like a ride. Surely, she hadn’t even been in high school yet. The memories were vague, and she glanced around at the rest of the group and watched as well as sensed that their attitudes changed slightly. She nudged them just a bit, trying to lend them some confidence and a sense of fun. Sure, they could enjoy this. After all, hadn’t they fully intended to head down the drain?
Finally, the slope became far too much for them to balance against the incline, and they began to tumble down the steep surface, falling with the water into the drainage hole. Havoc managed to shoot right through, a scream of glee tearing from his throat before it was abruptly cut off.
Murmur skin crawled with the sudden silence from her friend. But it was a drain and she was fairly sure it was a long way down. A couple of them, Beastial, Devlish, and Rashlyn, managed to hold onto the lip of the drain for several moments, but with the rushing water, it was difficult to hold onto.
“Just let go!” Sinister called, her eyes gleaming with excitement as she too approached the drop yelling, “Ready or not, here I come!”
Snowy was still trying to backpedal, frantic in his actions, and Murmur placed her hand on the back of his neck, trying to exude calmness. It didn’t work for the wolf, but it sort of helped her.
She forced herself to settle and follow Sinister’s example, treating the drain like a wet, slippery slide. Snowy sat on his haunches next to her, determination in his eyes. They slid forward, almost like time had stopped. There was nothing around them they could latch onto or even hold.
The rush of adrenaline as they approached the dark hole surprised her, and Murmur only had a split second to hope she’d made the right decision as both her and her wolf plonked off the edge of the drain and down into the darkness below.
The fall was somewhat like what Murmur imagined Alice going through when she fell down the rabbit hole. Maybe not quite as floaty and able to examine everything on the way down though.
The landing, however, was more in line with falling into a garbage disposal and onto a sloppy mess of ground waste food. Except this wasn’t food. The jolt jarred her, and the minor ache in her head reminded her it was there.
She gagged at the smell, wishing she didn’t have to sit in such filth and muck. As she moved, trying to right herself from the store of waste, a disembodied hand caught on her robe. It took her several shakes of the panel of her robe to dislodge it. By the time she managed to, she was gagging, and both Dansyn and Sinister were throwing up over to the side.
The pale sheen of her armor was brighter for all the copper-tinged brown blood that adorned splotches of it. Once they all stood to the side of the muck, Mellow began to cast their armor saving spell.
At the same time, the ground began to rumble beneath them, and they all backed up and away from their landing spot as it began to bounce slightly. She’d never seen a pile of body parts start to jiggle. It’d be comical if it wasn’t so gross.
The muck they’d landed in began to twirl slowly. It went around in a fascinating and macabre whirl of limbs which ended up half chewed up and mangled. Worse than the floors and walls had been upstairs.
&nb
sp; Cracking sounds echoed up from somewhere in the middle of the pile, like grinders in an insinkerator doing their work. She couldn’t help the shudder that crawled up her back and noticed that those around her reacted in similar ways.
“Well.” Sinister cleared her throat. “Liked the ride, not the landing.”
Dansyn barked out a surprised laugh. “I’ll second that.”
Murmur reached out with her Earth Shielding allowing her Thought Shielding to extend and protect the group with greater density. If they had landed in Noichu’s mind, then Murmur had no doubt they’d need protection.
It left her less MA than she’d like, but what good were her abilities if her friends got afflicted by everything because she wouldn’t spend the MA on it?
Merlin tried to light one of his fire arrows and cursed under his breath. “I can’t light my damn arrows again.”
Murmur frowned. “Must be something in this zone then. Maybe something that snuffs out fire.”
“You think, Mur?” Merlin turned to her, barely discernible in the dim light, the sarcasm thick. “Seriously. Of course there is.”
Taken aback, Murmur took a breath before answering, trying not to snap in retort. “I was just thinking out loud.”
“I know, I know…” Merlin seemed tired, and Murmur realized she was too. They probably all were. “Sometimes we just don’t need to hear it too.”
“And sometimes we do,” Havoc pointed out. “Sometimes this place fucks with our heads all too well, and it’s nice to know that if I’m thinking something, others are too.”
“Then why don’t you let her yell it into your mind,” Veranol inserted, a level of acidity to his words that Murmur had never heard before. “Because that’s not intrusive at all.”
Murmur blanched. She hadn’t meant anything by it, just to be silent so it was easier for nothing to overhear them. It was the first time she’d realized that she might unsettle people.
Sinister’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “No, it’s not intrusive when she’s saving your ass.”
“Saving my ass?” Veranol chuckled, but it was devoid of mirth. “We’re in a game, sweetheart. I’m just going to respawn.”
The words were flat in the darkness. Their only accompaniment the grinding flesh and bones next to them.
“Sorry. Didn’t realize I’d upset you. Just thought it was safer.” Murmur felt oddly defeated, like why bother. She had this world in her head and these strange abilities at her fingertips. But maybe she didn’t understand anything.
Veranol sighed, his expression changing to one of regret. “I didn’t mean it like that. It was a shock, sure, but we’d all expected it eventually. It’s more—I don’t think this area is good for us. I’m on edge, I’m more tired than I should be, and frankly, it feels like something is fucking with us.”
Uncertain how to respond, Murmur sent her sensors out again. “I think something is.”
Dansyn stomped his foot. “Of course!”
When everyone looked at him like he’d grown a second head, he elaborated. “Noichu. Brain shit. She probably doesn’t know we’re here to help and not harm?”
“That’s actually not a bad point.” Rashlyn grinned as a ripple of relief passed through the group.
It made sense, but Murmur still paid closer attention to her friends through her shielding of them. A little bit of energy, a bit of positivity wouldn’t go astray. It took mere seconds for them to perk up visibly, and she heaved a silent sigh of relief.
“Timer’s ticking down,” Devlish said gruffly. “Best be moving.”
The slow churning of metal grinders from the middle of the floor still played as their background music, lacking any type of comfort.
Mellow heaved a sigh of relief, their ethereal cauldron dimly floating in front of them as they pulled out a softly glowing vial. “Can’t get it to glow as brightly, but at least it’s something.”
They handed out their vials to everyone. The light was only good for so long. Murmur wondered if the inability to maintain flame was because the creatures down here needed to absorb light. And so when flame was lit, it was pulled away immediately.
As they moved slowly away from the garbage disposal and its overwhelming stench, Murmur struggled to find footing. She wasn’t the only one. Most of them slipped and slid except for the pets who were better off. Two of them had four legs, and well, the specter sort of floated over everything.
Finally, on firm ground, or as firm as she could expect given where they were, Murmur tried to take stock of their situation.
Glancing around, all they could see were walls, decorated much as they had been when they initially entered this part of the fortress.
“So, our quest is to like…free this Noichu’s mind?” Havoc ventured the question in a soft voice, directing it to Sinister. “And the rest will follow?”
The blood-mage shrugged. “I think so. If what I’ve read of the quest is correct, then yes. But I got this at level four, and I only remembered it because it got flagged when we entered here. I don’t even remember why I have it.”
“So, if Eon was the small type of gnome, then I guess Noichu is the larger greenish colored type?” Veranol changed the subject, diverting the conversation from its focus on Sinister who was obviously frustrated.
“Makes sense to me,” Jinna piped up.
The dwarf had been pretty quiet ever since Murmur had made it back into the real world. It was like he seemed unsure of what his role was now. She’d have to ask him about that later. He was an awesome rogue and a great friend. Good with stabby things.
They stepped cautiously along the hall. The bodies of these gnomes all stared at them, and Murmur understood now why the eyes just appeared to be eyes. Since the gnome’s faces were tiny by comparison. But how they still partially lived while entombed in the walls, she didn’t want to know.
Just who was Noichu, and what had she done to deserve this? Surely it wasn’t just because she’d married someone from a warring tribe and had a kid?
The ground shook, but this time it wasn’t from the garbage disposal. This time it sounded entirely different. Murmur had to steady herself before she fell to a knee. Exbo and Beastly didn’t manage to do it.
Murmur scowled, knowing that something was about to come. What use were her mind powers if the bloody things couldn’t give her a premonition every now and again?
You dare disturb my slumber?
“We dare.” Sinister’s voice rang out, and Murmur cringed, hoping she was following the quest, because if not, Murmur was fairly certain they were all about to be smashed.
A loud bark of a laugh echoed through the massive hall. Even the eyes of the gnomes in the walls opened wider, dismembered limbs flailing. You have guts. How about we see what color they are?
“Shit.” Beastial dropped into fighting stance. “You just had to go and taunt it, didn’t you, Sin.”
Storm Entertainment
Somnia Online Division
Game Development Offices
Day Twenty-Four
Laria stared at her sent folder. Reading and rereading the message she’d sent back to Thra.
Received. Trying to figure out how you are where you are. Can you get out? How can we help? Keeping an eye on Mur and Rav. Rav is still in the Isle.
Laria
She’d tried to keep it as brief as possible. The less text, the less likely it was to be flagged to one of the AIs. She’d tried to hide the sending of the email in a firmware update for Thra but wasn’t sure she’d pulled it off.
Granted, it had been like ten minutes since she sent it, but it didn’t mean it felt like that. She pushed her chair around as she waited, the inbox following her through augmented reality. She would have laughed at the funny dizziness it projected being spun like that if she’d had the energy left.
“Laria?” Shayla’s qu
estion was filled with concern, and Laria brought her spinning chair to a stop and blinked up at her friend.
“Yes?”
“You didn’t go home last night? Again?” Shayla sounded stern this time, like she was irritated enough to lay some serious talk down.
“Oh.” Laria looked around her and realized sunlight was creeping through the blinds. “Shit. I didn’t even call David.”
But that meant that more time had passed than she thought. And it made her even more worried, because shouldn’t Thra have answered by now?
“Spill.” Shayla pulled up a chair and leaned forward on her hands. Laria could see how tired her friend was too. There were bags for days under her eyes, almost hollows even. With a tinge of shadow around them. She wasn’t getting enough sleep even when she was trying.
“So. It seems—” Laria paused, trying to figure out how to deliver the news without completely freaking out her best friend. Like a bandaid would have to do it. “As far as I can tell, Sui infected Rav with the virus, and Rav is fighting it.”
“Wait, what? How did Rav get infected? They’re invulnerable in the game. Like gods. How…” and her eyes opened wider like it had just clicked for her. Shayla fell back into her chair.
Laria gave her a few moments to digest it and then moved on.
“So, while in their limbo, Sui infected Rav. Rav exited to the game world and inserted himself somewhere he can’t escape unless he gets control of shit.” She paused, giving her boss a few moments to catch up. “Thra, not being stupid, won’t go into the limbo anymore. Sui has taken her to a room that didn’t exist in any iteration of the plans.”
Laria paused again to let that sink in.
Shayla’s eyes grew even wider. “Wait. He literally created a space that was never intended?”
