Last Horizon: Beta

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Felton raised a brow and began softly, “Completely understandable, but you are taking a very argumentative stance and we haven't even started to talk.”

  Larry sighed and rubbed his head, “I know, but if something is broken this close to launch I’m going to scream. Okay, sorry I’m being a dick at the moment, but I need the info.”

  Felton chuckled, “As an engineer I can totally understand your position. Here is the how and why of the issue.” Felton described the bonus to crafting they had gotten from Thallien’s quest line and how he had gotten two procs during the competition, which had refunded the mats which he then used to craft more items.

  Larry clutched his head and shook it, “Jazzy you god damned...” he cut off as a flash of light happened behind the group. “This is all your fault Jazzy.” He said as the light faded and the group heard a sigh behind them.

  “I came to greet my sister and find out what was going on and get blamed for something as I enter,” Jazzy giggled. “That is a new record even for me, more so from you. If Paval did that I wouldn't be surprised at all, but you Larry, really.”

  Larry motioned to the empty seat next to him, “Sit down and listen to your prodigal group’s story.”

  Jazzy hugged each of them then went around and sat next to Larry with a smile, “Fine, what did I do this time?”

  Felton related the story again for Jazzy, who frowned and began shaking her head. “No, that’s not the reward I had in place for that quest line at all.”

  Larry looked at her, “Are you sure? If that’s the case then the AI's started changing things earlier than we thought they would.” Jazzy motioned with her head at the group and Larry then looked back at them and sighed.

  “Fucking hell, one of them is your sister. Paval is going to throw a fit, again. Okay, so you need to go look into why one of your first AI's started to change things and I need to deal with stuff at the Carnival.”

  Dumadin cleared his throat, “You can't do that. After your change a bit back with things that happen stay done. Thallien died at the end of the quest chain and left his book behind. We cremated him according to Bjorn's request and took ashes back to him.”

  Jazzy sighed and looked up, “Yes, he was supposed to die and have the group come back and collect their last reward. What a minute, how did you even get the last journal from the Beast's cave?”

  Dumadin laughed, “Wasn't easy. Tell me who thought a fucking yeti should be in Canada?”

  “Paval was in charge of making all the legendary monsters.”

  Dumadin quickly explained how they didn't even try to fight, just get the journal and Jazzy laughed. “I bet he didn't see that shortcut. Good use of your gear.”

  Larry rolled his eyes, “Great, you short cut past one of Paval’s fights. That will improve his mood when he finds out about this.” He sighed and turned back to Jazzy, “Look, back on topic, if Thallien dead then you can't really find out as his program has already been wiped to make room for new stuff. Can you get to the AI for that region and see if the issue has spread?”

  Jazzy nodded, “Yes, but we don't have the time. Paval is insisting we get the game out right after Carnival. We can't make major changes right now without screwing up the events.”

  Larry slammed his head into the table and groaned, “I hate that fucking man at times. Yes, he is business savvy and without him we might not have gotten everything set up to get the capital to really get the game rolling, but fucking hell. So we play it off that you put that in to spite me and he won't think about it. He’s still gonna be pissed with them for getting around the Beast but meh, their issue not mine.”

  Jazzy giggled, “Beta ends and Live will reset all the progress, so he’ll live. It’ll be good for him to get his ego kicked a little anyway. I’ll still check the rest of the system after beta ends.”

  The two devs turned back to the group, who were watching with bemused expressions. “Okay, here is what needs to happen. You guys go have fun and forget what happened here.” Larry said with a tone of authority.

  Dumadin laughed and couldn't stop himself, “I will take it to my grave.”

  Larry winced and looked down, “Yeah, about that. Thanks for helping us with your last days.”

  Dumadin blinked, “What? How the fuck do you know?”

  Amythyst blushed and looked down whispering, “I told my sister. You are going to have a special mention on the web and on the obelisks. Noting that even with your condition you pushed beta for bugs to help others get more enjoyment from the game.”

  Dumadin looked at her then smiled sadly and went to her and hugged her, “I want to be mad at you for speaking of it to others, but I can't. Family is family and as much as Terets is my brother in all but blood you can be my sister.”

  Amythyst sobbed once and hugged him back, “I just wanted you to have a legacy that the world could acknowledge.”

  Terets came over and joined the group hug, followed by the other group members. “The Bananas are a crazy bunch after all,” Felton said with a pun.

  The group groaned then broke the hug and looked at the devs, who had shiny eyes. “We will hold our tongues so the game can go out. For you two, not for that jackass, he seems to like being a Godling a little too much.”

  Larry laughed and came over to clap him on the shoulder. “You might just be my kind of crazy and stupid. Okay, let me kick you all back to the city and I’ll go back to my other tasks. Good luck with the events going forward, by the way.”

  A flash of light had them appear outside the city gates as if they just fast traveled there. “Well, Larry seems okay,” Kittish ventured as they walked back into the city.

  Amythyst shrugged, “Mostly, yes. Did you notice the three squares of cloth and string on the waitresses in his private dev area?”

  Dumadin laughed, “Reminded me of a teenager’s dream. Some people never grow up.”

  The group laughed and walked back towards the main square to watch some more group combats. The next week went very well for them, they won their group and duo combats and Felton won his next two rounds of crafting, weapon specific and overall crafting.

  SO WE MEET AGAIN

  The last two weeks of the Carnival were full of odd events, mostly for fun. Contests such as sack races, water relays, and the like. The prizes for these small events were only five gold to the winners, but it was fun watching so many people give it a go.

  At one point Dumadin turned to Amythyst, “Question that you might be able to answer Amythyst. Why is it that the only language we hear is English?”

  Amythyst giggled and shook her head, “It isn't English at all, actually it’s common. The only language in the game is common. The other players who are speaking Japanese, Russian, German, etc. are all speaking and hearing their own languages. The system translating what you say into what the other players would normally hear as well as translating their words for you. It was one of the things Larry did early knowing it could be a critical stumbling block. He is a genius, even if he is so timid about confrontation.”

  Dumadin nodded, “Makes sense with the game being worldwide. It didn't really register as something until we encountered all these people here and all I was hearing was English.”

  The group made their way to the Colosseum and found places to watch some more of their potential competition if they won their single match today.

  The last match ended as they took their seats and the next match was being prepared. The two groups were announced by the group names that were registered online for this event. The groups were Fairyballs and Vengeance. Everyone laughed at the first name. Fairyballs was an all male elf group dressed in ball gowns, which caused a ripple of laughter through the stadium. Vengeance was an eclectic group in dress but they stood there with an air of hatred.

  Amythyst gasped and pointed at Vengeance, “It’s the Tweedles. With that name it makes me think they might still be upset.”

  Dumadin laughed as he looked at the group then his laughter died as
he realized they had a new member. Talia stood in the arena with Vengeance and Dumadin growled, “I will kill that bitch.”

  Kittish squeezed his shoulder, “If we face them, we will deal with them as we have the others. Until then we act with honor and civility.”

  Dumadin nodded but kept his eyes focused on Talia as the fight started. The fight was over quickly and he blinked and took in the entire group as they collected their cheers. “They made it to level forty?”

  Terets shrugged, “They probably went and powered though quests to get as high as they could to come back for us. It is only a fifteen level difference and we fight better as a team. However, they probably know our tactics by now. Something to think about if we do face them.”

  The group watched the next few fights and were not overly impressed with the other groups. They each tried to think of a way of varying their strategy that would still work as well as their current strategy.

  The next week passed with them winning their events, with some issues. The last duo fight with Dumadin and Kittish almost ended in a loss. Luckily Kittish landed a shock, killing their opponents two seconds before the DoT on her would have killed her.

  Terets and Amythyst didn't struggle as much with her regular heals easily keeping up as long as she got some distance. Felton was moving on to a heads up bracket set up for the top thirty two crafters. Today would set the same thing up for the Duo fights and the group fight. After they won their fights that day, they went and watched Vengeance win their round as well.

  “I’ll check the boards tonight and find out where they stand in the bracket compared to us,” Dumadin told his friends as they logged out for the night. “Have a good night guys, and remember we will chew bubble gum and kick ass.”

  Terets laughed, “There is no bubble gum, the bubble gum is a lie.”

  Kittish giggled, “Just as long as the cake isn't a lie.” Laughing, the friends logged off for the evening.

  The next day they logged in and listened as Dumadin filled them in. “They’re on the other side of the bracket, so we’ll only meet them in the finals if we both make it there. However, Executioner and Blade Master are in the duo bracket as well and you face them today, Terets.”

  Terets laughed and nodded, “They had issues with a healer last time. Let us see if they’ve learned their lesson yet or not.”

  They went off to watch Felton once again dominate his rounds of crafting as his opponents today had only reached journeyman level compared to his Master level. As they walked away Dumadin filled them in on more info he had forgotten to mention.

  “Oh yeah forgot to say earlier. Everyone who’s made it this far in any of the events is getting one hundred gold. The bracket that Felton just got to is two hundred. The final eight get five hundred, the final four get one grand each. That’s for all the events across the board, then it gets fun for the first and second place people of each event.”

  They listened as they walked as he told them the next part. “Crafting for specific weapon types, in your case swords, Felton, second place gets a 5% bonus to crafting better quality items. First place gets a 10% bonus to get half the mats back when crafting a specialized item like swords.”

  “For the general crafting the second place winner gets a fifty slot belt pouch for their crafting profession of choice. That is not in the game anywhere except winning one here, so it is going to be a wanted item. First place will be getting again a 10% chance of getting half the mats back when crafting.”

  Felton's eyes lit up, “That is just like what Thallien gave us, funny that they’re giving away something similar now. Almost like they’re trying to not make it so rare. Oh well. I will take them both,” he laughed.

  “The second place winners in the duo contest will be getting excellent quality weapons suited to their play style. First place winners are getting a unique weapon that will have increased durability. The devs stated they expect the weapon to easily last until level thirty, possibly up to level fifty if it is well cared for.” The group whistled as that made the weapons sound a little overpowered.

  “The best part is the group contest, ready for the real big pay out?” As they all nodded Dumadin continued, “Second place gets a keep.” The group cheered and started making plans on what to call it and talking about how it should be designed. He let them go for a few minutes before clearing his throat. “Nice right? First place is a castle. Both of them will have the upkeep paid for one year in advance, as well.”

  Terets laughed, “Okay, so now we really have to win. Can't stand the thought of the Tweedles with a castle. Just no.”

  The group started laughing and joking about what the castle would be called if the Tweedles won it. As they walked through the crowd making up joke names, they came face to face with Vengeance. Both groups stopped talking and eyed each other with interest.

  Executioner took a step forward, “Oh, the heroes of Stinkbank are here it seems. Excuse us peasants, we have fights to win. Our castle awaits.”

  Dumadin boomed out a laugh, “Oh gods, really? Have you not learned humility yet? Last time I saw you a lady kicked your nuts so hard your voice went up two octaves.”

  Blade Master stepped forward and growled, “Want to try it now shorty?”

  Dumadin laughed again and motioned his group to step aside, “By all means, let us not detain you. Move along and go find your challenges, we waste no more thought on you than necessary.”

  Vengeance walked past them with an air of arrogance, as if proud they made the other group back down. As they walked past Dumadin reached out and tapped Talia on the shoulder, “You should have listened before.” His voice was like freezing rain down her spine.

  Talia sneered as she went by, “Took one of your playthings already, and I look forward to breaking the one at your side.”

  Kittish smiled with sickening sweetness and whispered, “You really should have listened.” In a louder voice for those watching with interest she asked, “So any more guys turn you down when you’re trying to climb on them naked?”

  Talia went scarlet and drew her dagger, as she started to step forward a flash of light blinded everyone in the area. “There is no PvP fighting allowed in the city limits for the duration of the Carnival.” They looked up and saw Jazzy glaring down on the entire crowd, “Move, all of you.” The crowd at large began to hurry away as Vengeance sneered and strolled on away from the group. Jazzy turned to the group, “Stop causing me issues, please.” With that she vanished in another flash of light.

  “Damn, they had to make this a safe zone for the next week,” Terets muttered. “I was going to assassinate them just before the match.”

  Amythyst giggled, “Just think of how much more fun it will be to humiliate them in the arena.”

  Over the next couple of hours the group made their way to the Colosseum where all the last fights were being held. Taking seats, the group watched the next few fights, then Terets linked arms with Amythyst. “Be back in a moment or three,” he said just before they disappeared and reappeared in the arena.

  The announcer introduced both sets of fighters and started the count down. Terets stood next to Amythyst and winked at the other duo trash talking at them. “Next verse same as the first,” then laughed as they started yelling obscenities.

  As the countdown reach five Terets stealthed and simply sidestepped with his blades out and waiting. When the clock hit zero the duo split to either side and started moving towards Amythyst with measured paces. Terets stepped towards Blade Master and waited for him to step just past. As Blade Master's back was facing him, Terets spun and Backstabbed him with both blades. Blademaster's health dipped 10% as he spun on Terets.

  As Blade Master was attacked Executioner charged Amythyst, who waved and drank a potion. As the axe descended Amythyst just smiled and began casting a spell as Executioner’s attack did nothing to her. Executioner growled and tried again with no success to damage Amythyst. Her Healing Light finished casting on Terets, and she Vanished.
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  Terets parried Blade Master, having borrowed Emilia's necklace. His blades flickered as he landed a few cuts on Blade Master. He danced back and Vanished, leaving Blade master swinging at empty air. The crowd cheered and started cat calling the duo who attacked empty air for a few seconds with no success.

  Suddenly two arrows hit Blade Master dropping, him to 75% health. Terets and Amythyst were standing side by side on the extreme end of the area and firing arrows rapidly at Blade Master as he and Executioner charged at them. Blade Master noticed a debuff, Dark Night, that had landed on him and was leeching his life away. Just as their opponents got close to Terets and Amythyst, they ran in opposite directions and there were suddenly two of each of them.

  Blade master and Executioner cursed and turned after Amythyst with Blade Master's life dropping to 50% from the barrage of arrows and the debuff ticking. As they turned to chase the healer, Terets angled back and charged to cut them off. The duo turned just as Terets and his image closed the distance. Sadly, the Tweedles didn't communicate and they both attacked the same image which vanished with no damage done to the real Terets.