by M Helbig
You have unlocked the Parry skill!
When they turned toward each other to search their opposite for an answer, I instinctively charged the one on the right out of desperation. Panic lined his face at first, but as I got closer it changed to confidence and he, as well as all his copies, sidestepped into the wall beside him. I barely managed to get my hand out to stop myself. On instinct, I wildly swung behind me and caught the one that had been on my left directly in the neck area. His and his counterparts’ faces went wide as they clinched their throats. Their gurgled breaths were cut short, however, when they looked down and noticed a complete lack of blood or any sort of wound. The ones who had been on the right (but were now on the left) reappeared from out of the wall and laughed at them. The ones now on the right shuffled their feet and stared at the ground in embarrassment.
I thought it might have been my imagination, but the rearmost mirror images on each side disappeared as they connected with the light of the exit. My next step confirmed it was true. The closest copies waved their arms at me like they were asking me to stop. I grinned at them and began walking forward at a steady pace. More and more of the prism-like copies in the back winked out of existence.
The last copies on each side shook their heads vigorously and put their hands above their heads in surrender. I tilted my head toward the doorway and nodded. Being copies of a supremely intelligent individual, they knew what I wanted without me even having to say it. Their hands reached out and twisted a doorknob I couldn’t see. A satisfying click sounded, and they bowed while motioning toward the doorway. I kept my weapon toward them as I passed, but they maintained their bows and I made the few steps safely. This time I gingerly reached my foot out to make sure there wasn’t something there, but it passed through with no resistance. My body was bathed in warmth as I finally exited the dungeon. I breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing could be as confusing as that place.
Where Did I Put the Plan For How I Was Going to Come Up With the Plan?
The beautiful sky and warm breeze were of little comfort. I exited one fight and walked straight into another. Alizia lay sprawled on the ground to my right, and Olaf lay to my left. My eyes easily found the source of their situation. Decrona stood with her arms smugly crossed as her cold, reptilian eyes met mine.
The left corner of her lip turned up slightly into a smirk. “Horus, how good to see you!”
This time I wouldn’t fall into the trap of letting her lie her way out or tell half-truths. I bellowed and charged. She stared at me wide mouthed, not even having the presence of mind to raise her arms for protection. It was too perfect. Too easy. Like killing a nameless, defenseless villager.
As I swung my blade, I mentally tried to insert the name “Nameless Villager” above her head. It didn't happen. The name “Decrona” was still there, and my arm stopped just before the blade found her face. She wasn’t nameless. She was Decrona, the woman I’d shared adventures with and who had saved my life many times with heals or obscure knowledge. At the very least, I owed her the chance to state her case before I executed her.
“Noooo. Don’t stop! Hit her!” a voice called out from behind me. “She’ll look so much better without all of those perfect teeth.”
A bald head appeared at my waist and a pair of tiny hands pushed me back. “What are you doing? Stop this.”
My sword clanged to the ground as I stared dumbfounded at the decidedly not dead and very mobile Olaf. Decrona remained stunned in fear with her mouth still hanging wide open.
“I—uh,” I said.
Alizia came up behind me and slipped my sword back in my hand. “Her vital spot is the butt, particularly the left cheek, but if you can’t get behind her, go for the classics like the eyes or the throat. Don’t go for the ear canals. Her brain isn’t in her head.”
I dispelled my sword and looked between Olaf and Alizia, too ashamed to look Decrona in the eye. “Why were you two on the ground?”
Olaf gritted his teeth. “I wanted to go back in for you and Nanny.”
Alizia shook her fist at him. “And I thought it was a bad idea. Didn’t want to risk losing three of you in there.”
“Her actual reason was fear of Olaf being replaced by an evil twin,” Decrona said.
Alizia shrugged. “Not so much the evil twin thing, more my fear of goatees—especially black ones. They’re the hallmark of any evil twin. If any of you grow a goatee, I’m shaving it off or finding a new group, depending on how much energy I have that day.”
“And as usual,” Decrona said smugly, “you were wrong.”
As terrible as I felt about almost killing her, her attitude was seriously making me reconsider that decision. It was, however, a good reminder of why we were there. “Sorry about that, but why exactly are you out here?”
“As I told Olaf, this contact does not like the risk of being overheard while inside the city. Quite the fortunate coincidence too, considering what is going on in Highwall right now.” She tilted her head upward and smiled sadly. I followed her eyeline to a huge cloud of smoke coming from the city.
Aliza gave Decrona a dirty look and began pacing back and forth. “Quite convenient, Ms. Deccy. Convenient indeed, but there’s just one little wrinkle with this story of yours. And I think you know what I mean.”
Decrona rolled her eyes in exasperation. “As usual, I do not.”
Alizia stopped her pacing and gave Decrona a good long stare. “No more games, Ms. Deccy, if that even is your real name. Where were you on the first of December, around one in the morning? Aha! I knew it. Case closed. Lock her up, boys. Detective-Inspector Alizia does it again!”
Decrona turned to Olaf and me. “Well, one of us does need to be locked up at least. Do either of you know what she’s rambling about?”
Olaf and I looked at each other. I was about to ask the question, but Olaf opened his mouth first. “Well, you see—we were wondering—that is . . . What I mean is, you wouldn’t happen to have seen who unlocked the door behind us, would you?”
Decrona laughed. “Oh, that’s easy. I did.”
“Double aha!” Alizia said. “Now who’s crazy?”
I waited for Olaf to reply but he seemed unable to form words, so I took over. “Still you.” I turned back to Decrona. “Why exactly did you do that?”
Decrona tried to put her hand on my shoulder but I backed away. She looked at me questioningly for a few seconds, but finally shrugged. “My contact told me that if you traveled down that tunnel, you wouldn’t be able to get out. The developers never quite finished it and the doorknobs are unreachable by players, a fact that the three of you can now confirm.”
“Yeah, but your reflections can open it,” I said.
Decrona shifted nervously. “My contact seems to have left that part out, or more likely, didn’t know. My intentions were good. I wanted the best Shadow players to become trapped in there. I was going to be the hero, but then—then they figured it out and exited right in the middle of the city.”
Olaf bought it without question and patted Decrona on the back to comfort her. Alizia, surprisingly, seemed to buy it too, though that might have been so she could torment Decrona for her failure. Alizia’s demonstration on the versatility on the word “duh” was impressive, or it would’ve been if she hadn’t gotten so much spittle on me. I shook my head as Alizia finally stopped after the fourth verse of her “Duh Song.”
“And what about that arrangement you had with the Bass Kickers?” I asked.
“My contacts have informed me that they and most of the rest of the top guilds arrived just in the nick of time to save Fen. A rousing success.”
“Which conveniently put nearly all of our best players away from Highwall when the Shadow attacked.”
“Duh. Duh. Decrona! The savior of the other side.” Alizia knelt to worship Decrona.
“My contact knew the Shadow force was only attacking Fen as a distraction, so they could sneak an elite team in to kill The Scion. The object I showed Cedra was the key t
o The Stairs, the broken dungeon behind you. Our plan was to let them in and trap them there. With their best trapped, the attack on the city would fade and the rest would retreat.”
“That makes sense,” Olaf said.
Alizia pulled out a toy mallet and hit herself on the head. The mallet squeaked in between each new “duh.”
“This is all awfully convenient,” I said. “Every one of your explanations hinge on us believing you at your word, and that you only had bad luck. I want to believe you, Decrona. Can you give us just one thing to prove anything you’ve said? Just one thing.”
Olaf moved between us. “To me, if anyone is to blame it is this contact of hers. She was only following someone else’s plan, so that she could get information to help the rest of us.”
“Friends don’t let friends duh. Duh?” Alizia grinned stupidly from behind Decrona.
I stared at Decrona, doing my best to avoid looking at Alizia. “What Alizia means, is that she still should’ve run all of this by us first. What was the point of being so secretive?”
Decrona gently moved Olaf to the side. “No, Olaf. Horus is right, I do owe you something.” Decrona bit her lip as she looked into the distance in search of an answer. “Something—”
“Could we meet the contact who created this plan?” Olaf asked. “If he or she can confirm this, would that make you happy, Horus?”
“And duh.” Alizia pointed to herself.
“Sure,” I said.
Decrona shook her head sadly. “That’s not possible. He’d never agree to meet anyone he doesn’t trust. I’ve only met him once myself—a few hours ago when we were in Fen—and before you ask, no, I won’t sneak you into my next meeting with him. If you did that, he’d hire goons to hunt us down until we died enough times to be thrown out of the game.”
She waited for my response expectantly, apparently not catching the obvious answer in my flat, motionless glare. Olaf’s sad gaze said he did.
Out of nowhere, Olaf’s face brightened up. “Killed—that’s it! What if Decrona helped us save The Scion, or failing that, defeat those Shadow Players? Can you do that, Decrona?”
Alizia laughed and shook her head. “Duuuuuh.”
“Those players are all level eighty or greater, and my heals are nowhere near enough to keep The Scion up,” Decrona said. “What could I possibly do—ohhhh, wait. Yes! I know exactly the thing.”
“Duuuu—huh?” Alizia asked. “This I gotta see. Why, if Deccy can do either of those things, I’ll even take back most of the bad things I’ve said about her.”
“Only most?”
“Well, it is an awful lot.” Alizia shrugged.
Olaf shook his head and then looked at me. “Will that do, Horus?”
“How could it not? Lead the way.” I pointed toward the door that led back into the tunnel. “Where’s Nanny, by the way?”
Olaf stared into the tunnel. “She did not come out and has not responded to group chat. We will have to look for her.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” Alizia said. “She tends to get lost a lot on account of those short legs of hers. We’ll find her on the way.”
“Usually because you go charging off without her,” Olaf said.
I looked toward Decrona. “What is this plan of yours, by the way?”
Decrona strode confidently in front of me, toward the entrance. “I think it’s better if it’s a surprise.”
If You’re the Betrayer of My Betrayer, That Makes You My Fr . . . No, Wait. Guy I Don’t Let Borrow My Hedge Clippers
Alizia stomped her foot on the ground. “I hate surprises. I demand Decrona tell us her plan right now, or I’m not budging.”
Olaf smirked. “You told me you love surprises.”
“When?”
“When we exited the tunnel a few minutes ago. When we were traveling down the tunnel before that. When we were back at the inn waiting for Decrona. When you woke me in the middle of the night by screaming through the door. Five—no, six different times while we were in Fen. Every morning when I first see you. Do I need to go on?”
“I think you’ve made your point.”
“Don’t forget the singing telegram you sent me when I was in the library,” Decrona said.
“Or when she jumped out from behind you in the dungeon and yelled it right in your face,” I said.
“Fine. But when else? No really, tell me more. I want to write these down.” She pulled out a pad of paper and began moving to the doorway, completely forgetting her earlier demand.
As Decrona got one foot in the entrance, a slow clap echoed behind us. Weapons appeared in hands as we spun to find the source. My instinct was to wait until I could determine if the clapper was friend or foe, but as I took in his face, I regretted not firing immediately. Without the element of surprise, Nyytro easily sidestepped my first arrow. Alizia and Olaf charged him, while Decrona began casting a spell.
“You might want to hear what I have to say before you waste more arrows.” A shoe icon floated from Nyytro’s head as he ducked the next arrow. “Fine. I’ll talk while you slowly kill the blades of grass behind me. You do realize that your alleged friend Decrona has only agreed to help you because she knows you’ll be too late.”
Decrona’s face lit up in anger. “Lies!” She lost her concentration and her spell puffed out.
Systemwide Message: The Scion has fallen! The Sun Alliance has 30 minutes to reclaim the Palace of Highwall or the city will be lost to the Shadow Consortium. To recapture the city, no Shadow players must be present in the courtyard in the center of Palace District. All bind points inside the city now redirect to the nearest bind point outside the city proper.
Alizia and Olaf stopped in their tracks and looked for Decrona’s reply. I kept firing but tilted a little so I could see Decrona out of the corner of my eye.
“I can still help you chase those Shadow players out of the area,” Decrona said. “That will still save the city.”
Nyytro’s smug look didn’t falter in the slightest. He waited until my next arrow whizzed by his head to respond. “Oh, really? And what is this grand plan of yours that will allow four level seven players to defeat the five best players in the game?”
Decrona fizzled another spell. “It’s—I—Why would I tell you? Did you all know he’s been working with the Shadow? He helped set up the attack on the Outpost of Fen.”
“She’s right,” Olaf said. “We saw him talking to that shadow elf riding the lobster. Served you right that he betrayed you.” Olaf charged forward again.
Alizia charged too. “Yeah, why should we believe you?”
Nyytro rolled his eyes as they neared him and slammed a small object into the ground. A thick, black cloud of smoke appeared around them. Olaf and Alizia began coughing uncontrollably. I wasn’t inside the cloud and could make out three dark objects inside it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure which one belonged to Nyytro. I lowered my bow, as there was too great a chance I’d hit my friends.
“You’re quite right to not believe me,” Nyytro said. “I murdered young Horus as well as his father. I’ve consorted with the enemy. I’ve left countless other players as corpses, many of them quite innocent. Why, in only a little over a week, I’ve probably become the most despicable player in the game. Who would trust someone like me? And by extension, who would trust those who have helped me in my devious schemes?”
Now that Alizia was standing fully upright, I was sure I’d figured out which dark figure was his, so I fired into the smoke. I growled, “Nobody,” as the arrow thumped against him. The yelp in response was definitely his, so I fired another.
He spun to face me as the next arrow caught him in the side. “You might want to watch your back, Horus. Why one of my allies might just be behind you.”
I didn’t trust his word at all, but my eyes caught the shadow of someone behind me. As I spun, my memory jumped to the image of the spikey-haired man he’d been meeting in Fen, but I found only Decrona casting another spell. I cursed for believi
ng such an obvious ruse and knew I’d find Nyytro’s dagger in me before I turned back.
While he had used the time to exit the smoke and get well within striking distance, he was unarmed and leaning casually against the rocky wall next to the doorway. I pointed my bow at him, yet he didn’t try to move out of the way; he only signaled for me with his finger to give him a minute. He was at point blank range, but curiosity got the better of me, and I lowered my bow. Olaf and Alizia ran into each other inside the smoke.
“I’m going to have to spell it out for you, aren’t I?” Nyytro asked in that infuriating nasal voice of his. “Fine. Your friend over there has been my accomplice. I had to pull quite a few strings to get that key from some old friends at Pyrite. That key’s not supposed to be in the game, you see. But opening this doorway wasn’t enough. Someone had to use it and use it quickly before Pyrite discovered it was open. Since I was supposed to still be in Fen, I needed some help with that. Help that wouldn’t care if Pyrite found that forbidden object on them.”
Olaf tumbled into a bush on the opposite edge of the smoke.
Decrona completed her spell but launched it into the city wall high above. The spell instantly evaporated in a puff of smoke as it hit. “I’m so sorry, Horus. I didn’t know he was one of my contacts, initially. You’ve been nothing but the most steadfast of groupmates. I consider you a friend, but they needed this key. My brother and I so desperately wanted to join their guild. They told us they’d let us in if we rerolled as Sun characters and helped them get into Highwall. We didn’t realize that in spending all this time as the Sun that we’d make friends—friends that we’d have to betray. My brother couldn’t handle that and quit a week ago. I was going to as well, but then I was introduced to a mysterious new contact who told me he could get the key for me.”
Nyytro wiped a non-existent tear from his eye. “Such a tragic story. Why, the only thing that’d make it more tragic would be—”
