Tavin struggled to stand as Lachlan gasped for breath, his sword falling from his limp hand.
Bishop glanced to the side and the Tavin from his time had tears of rage burning in her eyes. Lachlan reached out for the Tavin beside him as she clutched at his hand, even as Valen held him up before the crowd.
“Here is your King!” Valen screeched. “See how weak he truly is! Now he and all of Samar will be mine!”
She threw Lachlan into the mass of guards behind him and Tavin rushed to his side. She pressed her hands to his open wound as he trembled and struggled to breathe. His veins turned black as whatever Valen did to him spread. Bishop moved closer, realizing this was the moment he was transformed into a necromancer, one held under Valen’s power. But for how long? How many years passed since this tragedy occurred? And why the hell did Godfrey claim no demon had ever set foot here in his kingdom?
“Stay with me,” Tavin pleaded with Lachlan. “Please, stay with me.”
“You will soon join him,” Valen informed her as she moved closer.
Valen reached out with her one hand, but horns blowing from outside the walls distracted her. She whipped around with a snarl as swords clashing and explosions rocked the castle walls. Tavin glanced up towards the windows, smiling through her pain. The smile turned into a snarl of vengeance a she stood, picking up Lachlan’s sword in her hands, the sword, Bishop noticed she fought with in the present time.
“We were never alone,” she snapped. “You will burn! I will kill you, I will have your head for what you’ve done!”
Valen’s eyes narrowed in disbelief and she appeared ready to flee when, suddenly, her gaze shifted.
And landed right on Bishop.
“Ah, there you are my pet,” she crooned. “Come to play a little game with me?”
She cackled as she reached out a hand with lightning fast speed and grabbed Bishop around the neck, lifting him off his feet. He expected his health bar to start dropping, but he had none in this moment in the game. She squeezed harder and he clawed at her hand. Tavin’s blade appeared through her chest and Valen shrieked in pain as she fell backwards. Tavin grabbed hold of Bishop hard, and a portal of purple swirling mist appeared behind the thrones. She threw him through and jumped at the last second as Valen’s hand swiped at her heels.
They landed with a loud thud back in the room of the Inn in Hillside, panting for breath as Bronson rushed over to check on them both. The portal closed with a snap, Valen’s scream of rage echoing through after them.
“What happened?” Bronson asked. “Tavin?”
“Valen, she saw us,” Tavin said. “She nearly took Bishop from me.”
Bronson’s face paled as he hauled them both to their feet. “Her power grows. Bishop, you and the other heroes must stop her. You’re running out of time.”
“We can’t move much faster,” he argued, rubbing at his sore neck. It hurt, actually hurt. “And I still don’t understand. Demons have been here before. They attacked, they killed the king! Why does everyone act like demons have never set foot in Samar until now?”
“Because that is what they’ve been told,” Tavin replied.
“But the horns, someone came to save you.”
“The army had been away, making tracks to try and find Valenastrious’ fortress and kill her there, but they turned around at the last second when Sir Jenson Winston sensed something was wrong,” Bronson explained. “Sadly, he was killed in the battle that managed to save a handful of people from the Demon Queen’s attack.”
“But you were the Queen,” Bishop said, shaking his head. “Are the Queen. How did Godfrey rise to power?”
Tavin paced around the room, leaning heavily on the table at the far side, her shoulders slumped. “I lost Lachlan, the love of my life, and my King. She didn’t kill him, though. That would have been torture enough. She cursed him to live as one of her undead slaves for all eternity and, no matter what I did, I could never set foot back in that place to save him. She cursed me, for all time. I vanished for many years, unable to cope. During those years, Godfrey came to power and, when I finally returned, thinking to reclaim my throne held for me by the people, he had turned everyone against me. Well, most everyone. A few remain loyal.”
Bronson bowed his head solemnly. “Godfrey never let word get out of the demon attack on the old capital city. He instead claimed sickness took everyone and left Lachlan’s queen deranged, ranting about demons.”
“And Lachlan knew you are half-demon?” Bishop asked.
“Aye, that he did. Why should he care? The Raijin family had their own secret, one as I told you the people forgot a long time ago.”
Bishop’s eyes widened as his jaw fell open, remembering the green flare of Lachlan’s eyes in the memory. “Holy moly.”
Tavin smirked as she turned around to face him again. “I would be in agreement with that phrase. Now you know.”
“When we met with Godfrey at the castle, he knew who you were and yet he didn’t say anything about it, about anything that happened.”
“Of course he wouldn’t. He is in control now. If the people realized their beloved queen was clearly not insane, they would want me back on the throne. What Lachlan and I did for Samar changed the course of history. We created the alliance between the races and we allowed the half-demons refuge here as we should have, seeing they are our blood. Granted, we gave them more land than what they hold now, but Godfrey saw that diminished the moment he took over. He hates half-breeds for one particular reason.”
Bishop nodded. “Because he is one, just as Lachlan was.”
Tavin held out her hand. “Now you understand me a bit better I think, Bishop.”
He shook her hand and XP points flashed around him as several prompts popped up.
You have received: Dagger of the Vengeful. Damage 30-40. Agility +12, Strength +8.
You have received: Bow of the Hated. Damage 50-75. Agility +15. Vitality +10.
“Dang,” he whispered, staring at the blue level bow in his bags. “Thanks.”
“No, it is you who I must thank. You have put Lachlan out of his misery, something I could never do,” Tavin whispered. “Now I must ask so much more of you.”
“Anything,” Bishop replied, his blood pumping with adrenaline.
“You must find a way to break through to Godfrey, make him see he can no longer hide.”
“And how do I do that?”
“It will take time,” Bronson added, stepping forward. “You will find items to help you along the way, items to remind Godfrey of what was lost and what we can get back if he only faces the truth.” Bronson handed Lachlan’s Lost Journal back to him. “Start with this. Show him that the memory of his brother is not lost.”
Bishop took the pages, and a new quest prompt appeared to start the second main storyline of convincing King Godfrey to step down from power and return the throne to the rightful ruler. He could only imagine what the others saw on this quest, at least the ones who were half-breeds like him.
“You will be facing Helenex soon,” Tavin said, once he accepted the quest. “Call on me if you have need. My sword is always hungry for demon blood.”
“I will.”
“Afterwards, you will meet me in Burning Glade. We will have more to discuss then, especially with the Demon Lord you will face next.”
“Is he that bad?” Bishop asked.
“He is… an old friend,” she said with a leer Bishop sensed was not meant for him. “Now go, we will see you again soon. And Bishop? Remember what you have seen.”
“Should I be worried about Valen?”
Tavin and Bronson exchanged a glance that clearly said he should be, but she smiled reassuringly. “No, not at all. She will not dare attack you while in Hillside. The priests here have heavy warding all throughout the city. Her Demons would have to break them all before she was ever able to set foot here.”
He left the room and hurried up to the main taproom of the inn. He needed to find the others and te
ll them everything he found out. However, he had barely made it a few steps when a hand landed on his shoulder and whipped him around.
“Did you just finish that quest with Tavin?” Benji asked, bouncing on his feet.
“Yeah, you?” Bishop replied, just as excited.
“I can’t believe it! Godfrey isn’t the real King!” he yelled, and everyone in the taproom turned to glare at them. Benji smiled even wider and waved his hands over his head. “Just teasing! Just a joke everyone.”
“Maybe don’t say that so loud next time,” Bishop murmured. “Come on, we should wait for the others. Did everyone come here to do the same quest?”
“I saw you duck into the room a few seconds before I did, but I’m not sure about everyone else.”
Bishop pulled up his map. Since they weren’t in group, he couldn’t track where the rest of their guild was, though. “I’ll send everyone a message to meet us here.”
“I’ll get us some drinks. I need one, a real one after that.”
Bishop agreed, but he wasn’t about to fall off the wagon in the real world, not when his life was finally turning around for the better. Benji grabbed them two beers and they sat at a large corner table to wait for the others. One by one, they came out of the basement of the inn and Bishop called them over. The few in their guild who weren’t half-breeds—Maverick, Jimmy, and Shamus—stomped inside not long after, looking confused and frustrated.
“Can someone please explain to me what I just saw?” Jimmy asked, as he plopped down in an empty seat. “I just got thrown back in time.”
“To the old castle?” Bishop asked.
“Ah no, no, back to the main city in the elf territories,” Jimmy said.
Maverick and Shamus nodded. “Except I went back to my territories,” the first explained. “And from what the two elves tell me, they saw pretty much the same thing I did, well sort of.”
She ran through the scenario she had witnessed, and Bishop leaned back in his seat, amazed. Instead of being taken back to the attack on what used to be Weston, she and the elves were shown the moment when their leaders had been informed that the King had fallen to a horrible illness in the south which drove the queen mad. Godfrey would be taking over in his stead, and the old city of Weston was to be abandoned. The leaders were suspicious of what happened and sent soldiers down to investigate since they never heard of an illness that would wipe out an entire city in a night. However, their men and women never returned. They stopped sending troops after the third time with no word, afraid the place had been cursed by some dark power.
“So? You guys going to share with the rest of us why you’re grinning like mad idiots?” Maverick asked after she finished her explanation.
“Turns out King Godfrey is not who we thought he was,” Bishop whispered, keeping a watchful eye on the NPC patrons in the taproom. “He’s been lying to everyone this whole time, about everything.”
Benji picked up the tale and, as he spoke, Bishop realized he was the only one in the room who knew of Godfrey and Lachlan’s true heritage. Benji told them what happened in their version of the quest and with Godfrey’s cover up. When he neared the end of his tale, Bishop listened intently to learn if he had the same experience with Valen, but of course he was alone in that. Benji and the rest of the half-breeds did not have Valen actually trying to strangle them. And since no one else had the journal, he supposed they weren’t supposed to know about the half-breed part, at least not yet.
“Well, our next quest makes sense now,” Jimmy muttered. “We’re supposed to find clues as to what actually happened in Old Weston, searching for things and people along the way who might know the real story. Sounds like it might take a long time to gather all the right information.”
“And once we think we know what really happened, we’re supposed to confront King Godfrey. I’m hoping that’s a guild quest, though. I’m not sure I want to face that NPC alone. Something tells me he’s going to turn into a baddie,” Shamus chimed in.
Bishop had to agree. “Well, now we’re all caught up on our storylines, right?”
There was a solid nod from everyone around the table.
“We might have time to start on that ingredient list,” he suggested, and he glanced at his level. “I’m a sliver away from eighteen.”
He had noticed several quests pop up when they first entered Hillside, but everyone was too excited to meet with the priests to pick them up. They had to hit twenty before they could attempt the next dungeon, and he and the others made a plan to accept every available quest in Hillside before logging out. They would spend the next few days grinding until they reached level 20. Then, they could get their individual wards against the sirens and head out to find the door to the dungeon down at Dead Man’s Bay.
Bishop sent a message to Trajan, but he and his guild were finishing up some random repair work and crafting, so he agreed with Bishop’s plan to take it easy for whatever little time they had left and start out fresh in the morning.
In the end, Bishop and his friends hung out at the taproom, drinking and laughing as they relaxed the evening away. When time finally came to log out, Bishop followed the others out of the game and made ready for another fun night at the Valen Games facility.
Chapter 04
Harrison opened his eyes and yawned, stretching as Tyler unhooked him from the gear and tilted the table back up. “Well, that was certainly an interesting day.”
“Yeah? Anyone get seduced by another siren?”
“I heard that,” Jimmy grumbled from the other side of the table.
Tyler grinned until Harrison stepped away from the table. “Oh hey man, what happened to you?”
“What, what’s wrong?” Harrison asked, panicked.
“Your neck. Hold on a second.” Tyler reached out and gently prodded Harrison’s neck. He flinched and Tyler drew back. “I’m going to have Dennis take a look at that. I didn’t see you thrashing around while you were playing. Does it itch?”
Harrison gently reached up and touched his neck as his chest tightened. “No, I think I’m fine.”
“That doesn’t look fine,” Jimmy agreed. “Dude, it looks like you were strangled.”
Tyler was already paging for Dennis before he could stop him. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Dennis said to meet him upstairs,” Tyler informed him.
“I guess I’ll see you guys in a bit,” Harrison told Jimmy with a cheerful pat on his shoulder. “Really, I’m sure it’s nothing. Could just be an allergic reaction or something.”
“This far into the testing? I doubt it,” Tyler said.
Harrison left the lab in a hurry before anyone else could spot his neck, and he rushed up to Dennis’ apartments. He barely knocked before the door opened. Dennis dragged him inside, closing the door behind him.
“Huh, interesting. Care to tell me if anything out of the ordinary happened today?” Dennis asked as he examined Harrison’s neck closely.
Harrison tilted his head for Dennis and gritted his teeth. He knew there was no use lying, not to this man. “During that quest where Tavin takes us back to her memories, I saw Valen.”
“You are supposed to see Valen,” he murmured, circling behind him.
“I’m pretty sure she’s not supposed to see me though, even less attempt to strangle me.”
Dennis hurried back around to face him, brow furrowed with worry. “No, that is certainly not supposed to occur. What happened?”
“She saw me,” Harrison answered. “And then she tried to choke me out. Tavin ran her through with her sword and shoved me back to the present. She didn’t try to follow, though, so maybe it was some sort of glitch with the quest?”
One that left marks on your neck? Yeah, right, he told himself.
“Perhaps,” Dennis agreed. “There is a chance these were created by your mind.”
“How does my mind just create bruising like this?” Harrison stepped up to the mirror on the wall and twisted his face to examine his n
eck. The bruises certainly looked like someone had tried to crush his windpipe. Could his mind just have made the bruises appear because he was so engrossed in the game? He had heard of the mind affecting the body by thought—psychosomatic disorders they were called, or something. But if this resulted from an in-game strangling, what would happen if one of these times Valen went so far as to stab him… or worse?
“I see you starting to grow worried,” Dennis said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Because I shouldn’t be?”
“I don’t think so, at least not quite yet. We’ll keep an eye on you more closely during your gameplay.”
“Why would you do that if there’s nothing to worry about?” Harrison questioned.
Dennis smiled. “A precaution, nothing more. You are my favorite player, Harrison, and I do not wish any harm to come to you. If your neck bothers you this evening, please see yourself to the infirmary.”
“I’ll be fine,” he replied, and he stepped out the door. “I’m sure you’re right, just my mind playing tricks on me. This game of yours, it’s getting pretty intense.”
“As is the plan,” Dennis informed him. “I trust you enjoy the twist?”
“Yeah I do. Definitely didn’t see it coming, but something tells me there’s more about to happen.”
Dennis shook his head. “For that, my friend, you will simply have to keep playing.”
Harrison waved goodbye and walked to the cafeteria, his mind racing. He reached a hand up to his neck, cringing at the pain. His voice wasn’t hoarse at least. But the soreness, that was clearly real. Tomorrow, he would keep his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary and try not to let himself be injured. The idea that the game could hurt him in real life was absurd.
But then again, so was the idea that these NPCs were intelligent enough to break away from their designated paths to come after him specifically. For the first time since coming here and speaking with Dennis, Harrison wondered if the old man was being truthful with him.
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