Shepherd's Wolf

by M. Andrew Reid

  Haymaker turned to face the remaining three men. He found them full of arrows and in various stages of death and dying. Athena thundered past on a flamestrider with her bow drawn. She was aiming for the Brutalli, who was out of stasis and charging at Bishop.

  Haymaker chuckled and called out to her, “He’ll be fine.”

  Bishop showed little concern. He flicked his hand, and the Brutalli’s sword was ripped free from his grasp. Another flick, and he tumbled off his mount. The mighty Brutalli was little match for Bishop and his defensive abilities. Bishop lifted him into the air with a wave of his arm. He stepped close to the floating Brutalli and brought his staff up like a baseball bat. The staff charged with blue light. Bishop swung with all of his might, and the Brutalli was blasted away. When he finally rolled to a stop, he did not move.

  “That was kind of unnecessary,” Haymaker said, kicking through a pile of armor on the ground left by a dead Conqueror.

  “You have all the fun: beating things, smashing things,” Bishop replied. “I’m allowed to indulge once in a while.”

  “I guess.” Haymaker turned to Athena and the man in black, “Hello Athena. Who is he, and why does he hold the sword that killed Kogan?”

  Wisp was stunned. He stammered out a response, “I uh, did some work for the Conquerors and received it as payment. I’m done with them though.” He paused and looked at Athena, “I’m one of the good guys now.”

  “Oh please,” Athena scoffed. “You are only interested in the secret of Verdia.”

  “Is he safe, Athena?” Haymaker asked. His eye fixed on the Spark Katana’s hilt.

  “I believe he is. There is also the old proverb that says to keep your friends close...”

  Bishop nodded, “Wise words. If he causes harm to anyone in the Haven he will be dealt with. Is that understood?”

  “Of course. Call me Wisp. My name is Sean,” Wisp gave the most genuine response he could muster. He meant no harm to any of these folks. Getting them to believe that would be a hard task.

  “Pleased to meet you. I am Haymaker, Rex Yeager. My elderly friend is Bishop, Charles King. Speak slowly, he is senile and has trouble understanding things.”

  In response, Bishop flicked his hand at Haymaker. Haymaker’s legs were pulled from under him and he landed flat on his face. Bishop laughed, and Athena giggled. Wisp smiled cautiously.

  “Thank you for your help, gentlemen.” Athena said. “I believe we should catch up with the wolf rider. I trust he and the wolf will find sanctuary in the Haven?”

  “Of course,” Bishop replied. “But I do not know how long it will be safe.”

  “Let’s meet inside,” Haymaker said. He picked himself up. “We have some decisions to make, and we need to see if we can help the wolf.”

  …

  Several hours later, the group met in the Haven’s main hall, a large gathering place with rows of chairs facing a raised platform. Haven members would conduct seminars and their weekly meetings in this building. These meetings required generous amounts of food, and the air was filled with savory smells as NPC cooks prepared for a meeting to be held later that evening.

  They were seated in a loose semicircle facing the platform. Gabe rested on his side, and Ben and Laura sat with their backs against his warm flank, rising and falling with his belly as he breathed. Attempts had been made to fix Gabe’s leg. Athena’s weak healing spells had absolutely no effect. Bishop tried his own slightly stronger spells with the same results. It appeared that Gabe was immune to any magic effects whatsoever.

  An NPC that tended the Haven’s livestock had been called. He was very excited to see Gabe, and petted the wolf lovingly as he looked him over. NPCs had their way of getting news around, and Gabe was a hero for saving Morter’s Point.

  The NPC veterinarian diagnosed a severe compound fracture. He set the bone as best as he could and used several strong splints to immobilize the leg. He could give no prognosis on recovery, as he had no prior experience treating giant friendly wolves.

  The hall was empty except for the group. Bishop climbed to the top of the speaking platform and stood over them. He looked to the heavens for guidance and gestured at Ben.

  “You are the Shepherd?”

  “It’s my last name. I had to pick a nickname when I started. I like Ben, though.” The boy was visibly nervous.

  “So you aren’t an NPC?”

  “No!” He laughed, “Do I look like one?”

  Bishop scratched the spot where his topknot met his scalp, “Well, you are a child. Most players pick an adult form.”

  “I never really thought about it.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Eleven?” the boy’s response sounded like a question.

  Haymaker slapped his thigh with a clang, “How does an 11-year-old boy find time to become a master blacksmith?”

  “Don’t you go to school?” Wisp asked.

  Laura remained silent throughout all this. She knew more than these people, but not much. She had been too preoccupied with her research to spend much time getting to know the boy. Her lack of game knowledge also made her blind to how much of an oddity Ben was. She watched Ben intently as he answered questions.

  He shook his head, “I had lessons before they made Verdia.”

  “Nobody makes you go to school?” Wisp grinned. “That’s awesome!”

  Athena gave Wisp a disgusted look and gently asked, “Do you make time to go outside and get fresh air?”

  “Outside?” Ben paused. He looked down for a brief second before responding, “I’ve seen outside through cameras but I’ve never been there.”

  The awkwardness made the huge hall seem suddenly tiny. Bishop tugged at his beard anxiously. He looked hopelessly at Haymaker, who slowly shook his head. There was some silence before Laura finally spoke.

  “Your parents won’t let you go outside, Ben?”

  “I can’t. I don’t move. I can see myself in the camera and I’m just lying there. They could roll me out of the room but I would still be inside.” He gave a nervous laugh. The others did not realize that he had never had to explain this to anyone, or even put thought into it.

  “Oh my,” Athena whispered shakily.

  The room became smaller yet. Bishop sat down quickly and let his legs dangle over the platform. Haymaker looked at his feet.

  Bishop’s eyes were moist, “Do your parents play with you, Ben? Does your family?”

  Ben shook his head, “No. I’m not sure I have parents. I live in a place...” Ben trailed off.

  Bishop took the opportunity to question Laura, “How did you wind up here?”

  “I met Ben after the sparkly guy stole my camera.”

  Athena chuckled, “Sparkly? I assume you are talking about Viper?”

  “Ben told me that Gabe had saved him one day,” Laura continued, “and they became friends. The bad guy, Viper, lured them into a pit using me as bait. Athena and the ninja guy...”

  “Wisp.”

  “-and Wisp saved Ben from Viper. Why doesn’t anyone have normal names?”

  “Normal names are boring,” Athena replied. She finished the story. “A group of Conquerors came upon our trail. I sent Fletch ahead to you, and we did our best to delay them to give time for our three friends to make it to the Haven.

  Bishop stroked his beard, “They know where the wolf is. Everyone wants the wolf. We have maybe twelve hours before they are here in force. Haymaker, did you speak with any Haven members on our way in?”

  “No,” he replied. “Some of them saw the wolf but I’m sure they are expecting to hear about it at the meeting tonight.”

  Bishop’s face was somber, “Tonight will be the last meeting I’m afraid. We will have to disband the Haven and they will have to move.”

  “It’s been coming for a while,” Haymaker admitted.

  “Ben, I must ask you something.” Bishop approached the boy and knelt in front of him.

  “Yes?”

  “How many friends do you hav
e?”

  “Do you count as friends?”

  “You can count all of us if you want.” Bishop’s voice cracked and he smiled at Ben, “How many besides the people in this room?”

  “Well Gabe, but he’s not a person, and Slip.”

  “Who’s Slip?” Bishop asked.

  “He trained me.”

  Haymaker mouthed the letters NPC. Athena nodded in agreement. Bishop stood for a time in silent thought. His eyes clouded, and a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

  Bishop broke free of his thoughts and spoke to Ben again, “Would you go far, far away in order to protect Gabe?”

  “Are more bad guys coming?”

  “I believe so,” Bishop replied. “If you want, I will help you go somewhere safe.”

  “That sounds good,” Ben said. “Gabe can’t run away until he gets better.”

  “I bet you are tired, Ben. Would you like to sleep?”

  Ben nodded, and Bishop motioned for an NPC servant to take the boy and the wolf to his quarters for some rest. When they were out of earshot, he spoke again.

  “I believe that Gabe is all this boy has in this world or any other. Before I lost my wife, I would have said that the Lord puts people in your path to test you. If that’s your thing; ponder on that.

  “What I do know is that I am an old man who has felt the pain of many losses, and I will do what I can to prevent someone else from experiencing that pain. If any of you wish to help me find a safe home for Ben and Gabe, you are welcome to join.”

  His eyes searched from face to face. In turn Athena, Wisp, and Laura nodded with diminishing levels of certainty. Haymaker was in deep thought, staring into space. His participation was a given.

  Bishop smiled grimly, “Very well then. I have a plan of sorts forming. You can all leave now. Does anyone have any problems meeting me back here in five hours?”

  “It’s a Saturday,” Wisp replied as if this answered the question - which it did.

  “I will lay out the plan. You can decide then whether or not to accept.”

  The three newcomers stood up. Laura took a brief moment to thank Athena and Wisp before leaving. She would have to cancel a date later that night, and do some soul searching for the next few hours to decide whether she wanted to invest any more of her sanity in this game.

  Wisp nodded awkwardly at Athena and left. The Huntress watched him with a wry smile. She turned back to Haymaker and Bishop.

  “What is this plan exactly?”

  Bishop strode to a large map of Verdia on a far wall. He placed his finger on the map.

  “This is us.” He moved his finger far northward to the very top of Verdia, “This is the White Plateau. It’s a huge, flat taiga that’s only accessible from one point. Everything there is white snow except the trees, and it’s the most remote part of Verdia. There is nothing of value there, and no reason for anyone to go there.”

  “How do we get up there though?” Haymaker asked skeptically. “That’s quite a trip.”

  Bishop bobbed his head in agreement, “Yes, yes it is. Two-thirds of the journey we can complete by sea. There’s a tiny port in Southbay,” he pointed to a spot on the map due south of the Haven, “and we follow the coast east, and north, and up the Sweet Lady to the Great Inner Sea.”

  “Why not take a ship the entire way?” Athena asked.

  “There are terrible storms this time of year north of the waterway. Also, there are no safe harbors that far north, and no entrance to the plateau. It’s all cliffs.”

  “Ok, that’s the easy part.” Haymaker pointed north of Bishop’s finger, “How do we cross the Central Range? There are two passes. One of those is controlled by the Conquerors. The other one...”

  Bishop grinned.

  “No! You’re nuts, old man!” Haymaker threw his hands up.

  Athena gave a dismissive laugh, “Your heart is in the right place Bishop, but we would not survive a trip through the Agilar. Limerick and his party only made it a few rooms in. No one has been crazy enough to enter for some time. I dare say that were you to step inside you would find the armor and weapons of all of the fools who entered, lying untouched. I’m not afraid of many things, but I would never set foot in that place without an army at my back.”

  “I am aware of this,” Bishop replied. “This is why we will bring someone who is an entire army in one.”

  Haymaker scoffed, “You would need some serious muscle to carry our pathetic crew through there. And even if we survive the ship, north of that is heinous country.”

  “You would need Kogan, and even then it would be difficult.” Athena mused. She shook her head, “I do not think he would help, though. He is busy with pressing matters. Also, he is very high profile and would be missed. It would be hard to sneak anywhere with him leading the way.”

  “I’m not thinking of Kogan.” Bishop responded.

  “Well, it’s a pretty short list,” Haymaker said. He began counting on his fingers, “Nevaeh is a high enough level- she’s scratching at Thirty-One from what I hear- but we can’t just heal and shield our way through that sort of mess. No one else would do it pro bono. Grave is absolutely out of the question. He is Tungsten’s pet, and he would sell us out in an instant. Most of Kogan’s Heroes are mid-level guys like me. We would need all of them, and from what I’ve heard the ship’s security systems scale up with the size of any group that enters.”

  “Think outside the box. I intend to make payment to our escort. I have something he will find very valuable.”

  The color drained from Haymaker’s face. He struggled to find words, “No, no, no. Bishop, why would you give her away? That’s just ridiculous. We’ll find another way. We have to find another way.”

  “You know it’s the only way. He is powerful enough. Kogan would be a great defense but we need offense. We need speed. We need terror on our side.” Bishop’s eyes were determined, “I am willing to sacrifice for this boy. So much of what we do in this place is pure silliness. I thought I had done some good here at the Haven and I was proud of that. But now a neighbor has fallen at my feet and it is my place to pick him up and carry him home. Are you willing to swallow your pride and do the same?”

  “I am so confused,” Athena said. “Who are you talking about?”

  Haymaker continued to shake his head, “He’s going to hire Viper. He’s going to pay him by giving away Christine.”

  “Who’s Christine?”

  Chapter 12

  Gathering Storm

  Dalton HQ

  Seattle, Washington

  Alex pushed on the heavy oak door to Brook’s office, and it slowly swung open. Dalton’s headquarters grew more ostentatious by the day as money poured in. Brook watched Alex walk across the hardwood flooring and nodded to a man seated in front of his desk.

  This newcomer briefly turned to face Alex. His gray hair was cropped close, and he was wearing a military uniform. Alex did not know enough about the services to tell which branch; it could have been a Coast Guard uniform. What he did know is that the man did not look friendly.

  Brook had a negative aura about him. His usual fake smile was missing - replaced by a grimace and a furrowed brow. He pointed a remote at a large TV hanging on the wall.

  “Have you seen this, Alex?”

  A recording of a nightly pundit show began to play.

  “...a storm is brewing in the land of Verdia, and that means trouble for parent company Dalton Incorporated. Dalton stock has been anemic the past several weeks largely due to turmoil in their online game Verdia. This game is touted as a crucial experiment in the process of harnessing the first true Artificial Intelligence. Investors are beginning to question the stability of Omni, Dalton’s primary moneymaker and the world’s first “strong AI.” Germany and France gave notice this week that they are temporarily halting their defense related research projects citing security concerns should Omni prove unreliable.

  “Here with me tonight are Steve Campbell, Director of Public Relations for
Dalton, and Frank Washington from the Consumer Protection Association. Mr. Washington, why is your association concerned with developments in Verdia?”

  After a brief satellite delay, the man responded, “We have been concerned with Dalton’s neural interrupter technology from the very beginning. It was released to the public with very little in the way of human trials and its effects on the brain are still largely unknown. Unfortunately, there is so little data available on the device that its safety is virtually a huge question mark. What we can prove is the social impact that Verdia is having, the countless ruined marriages and families - careers wasted as people spend all their time in the game...”

  Campbell interrupted Washington, “Dalton tested the neural interrupter using FDA approved protocols...”

  Washington interrupted Campbell, “Protocols designed by Dalton and rammed through with Dalton’s considerable lobbying power. If I can finish answering your question- this wolf problem represents a different concern altogether.

  “This wolf represents something that has been at the heart of many a science fiction tale and is fast becoming a reality. What happens if you develop a computer system so powerful that you can’t control it?”

  “That is ridiculous,” the Dalton man interrupted again, “Omni is fully functional. The wolf is the result of a server-side glitch, and we are currently in the process of removing it. Omni has not been compromised, and the neural interrupter is a safe and proven technology.”

  Washington laughed and shook his head, “My association has information from Dalton insiders that says they have no clue how to deal with his wolf. They say there is a strong possibility that it represents a virus implanted into the system. The Consumer Protection Association is greatly concerned that this virus, or any other malfunction of the neural interrupter equipment, could interfere with a user’s nervous system. What Dalton will not tell you is that in the early days of trials several people received permanent...”