by Alex Mulder
I don’t think the Veloth mean us any harm. But I also don’t trust any of what’s been going on.
The ramp led deep into the ground, and the light slowly grew dim as they dropped further. Luke pulled out his sword and set it aflame, giving them a makeshift torch to see by.
They reached the bottom after a couple of minutes. A tunnel, smaller than any of the ones they’d seen so far, was chiseled into the ice.
“The Veloth wouldn’t be able to fit through this one,” said Tess. “Do you think it’s here?”
“I don’t know…”
There wasn’t any way for Luke to keep using his sword to light the narrow space. He extinguished it and tucked it into his scabbard.
“Stay here,” he said. “I’ll be back.”
Tess didn’t say anything and she made no move to follow as Luke dropped to his stomach and began to squeeze through the narrow opening.
This is the type of tunnel that I used to read about spelunkers getting trapped in…
Luke had never been claustrophobic, but the thought of becoming trapped made his heart beat faster. The tunnel grew even tighter. The only way for him to move through the ice was to wriggle like a snake, using muscles that he hadn’t known existed to push himself forward.
He felt like he’d been crawling for an eternity but in reality it hadn’t been more than a couple of minutes. Finally he spilled out to the other side. The room was small and at the center of it was the white rune circle of the Elemental Well.
Luke walked forward cautiously and stepped into the center. White light filled his vision, and in an instant, he was in another realm.
The same plainly dressed woman that he’d seen before was at the center of an endless infinity of white. Luke took a few unsteady steps toward her. The ground underneath his feet gave off a strange, unsteady pulse.
“Welcome, hero,” said the woman. “You have once again entered the realm of the Universal Truth.”
Luke sighed.
“Yes,” he said.
The woman was quiet and watched him carefully. Luke found himself wishing that he could claim the well and be done with it. Her eyes were full of wisdom, intelligence, and the slightest hint of judgement.
“Hard choices will always be a part of your path, Luke.” The woman held her body unnaturally still as she spoke. “At times, they will be black and white, between good and evil, but you must always be prepared to navigate through the grey, to make decisions even when both options are less than ideal.”
“And this time?” asked Luke. “Was there any way for me to resolve this without killing?”
The woman said nothing.
“Marina and her husband left on their expedition, in part, for the sake of their daughter. They were a poor family with few prospects, and they wanted to give their child what they could never have had for themselves.”
Luke chewed his bottom lip and ran a hand through his hair.
“The Veloth communicate, love, and live just as the people of Stark Town and Kantor do. They’ve never attacked out of aggression, or waged wars in any capacity beyond self-defense.”
“Why couldn’t I have gotten them to talk this out?” asked Luke. “Marina didn’t have to die. None of the people in her expedition… had to.”
“The question is not ‘why couldn’t you’, but rather, ‘why didn’t you’.”
Luke gritted his teeth, his fingernails digging into his palms as he tensed his hands into fists.
“What’s the point of this?” Luke shook his head, his frustrations seeping into his voice. “Have I even done anything? Will all this just be reset for the next group of players to come through?”
The woman smiled.
“Yvvaros doesn’t work that way,” she said. “Not here and especially not now.”
Luke didn’t say anything.
“You have claimed the second Elemental Well. Find the last one and restore the city of Markorin.”
“Hold on,” said Luke. “I-”
“Marina’s daughter’s name is Mina. She lives in the house next to the Stark Town inn.” The woman raised a hand out to Luke, and the entire realm began to glow bright white. “Suffering and sadness to not discriminate by physical origin, and I would not wish for either upon one so young.”
Luke’s vision shone bright white, and vertigo seized his stomach as the cold, hard walls of the ice cave reappeared around him.
LEVEL 20 ATTAINED
“What happened?” shouted Tess, from the other room. “Is it done?”
Luke took a deep breath and pushed it out.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s done.”
A blue crystal sat on the ice next to Luke, and he picked it up and dropped it into his satchel after examining it for a moment. Tess was frowning at him, more out of concern than displeasure.
“What’s wrong?”
Luke shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t do that, Luke.” She walked over to him and gently grabbed the edge of his armor to gain his attention. “You can tell me. I won’t let you keep me at a distance.”
“Tess…” Luke shook his head.
I barely even understand it myself.
“Yvvaros,” he said, forcing himself to continue. “There is so much more to what’s going on than we can see. Even the little things, the people and events in the background, it all matters.”
“We’re doing what we’re doing for all of Yvvaros, Luke.” Tess smiled at him. “It’s not just about you, or me, or liberating players from permadeath.”
Luke sighed.
What’s going to happen once we’ve done that? Will other players treat the Veloth with the same respect that we did?
“We have to find the next Elemental Well, Tess,” he said. “There’s no time. We have to move fast.”
She nodded, and then pulled him into a hug.
“I’m right here with you Luke,” she whispered. “Don’t you ever forget that.”
The Veloth offered little in the way of goodbyes as Luke and Tess made their way out of the main cavern. The two of them stopped to eat lunch by the exit. They ate some of the fruit that Tess had left over in her bag along with a few scraps of bread.
“We don’t have to walk,” said Tess. “Just so you know.”
Luke raised an eyebrow at her.
“What”
“I hit level 25 back in the last fight.”
Luke suddenly remembered his own attribute points, still waiting to be spent. He brought up his character record and dropped two of them into strength and three into luck.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I can cast the ‘Transfer to Kantor’ ability, now,” said Tess. “We’re all set.”
Luke thought about it for a moment.
Kantor is still occupied by Arbiters. We’d save time, but also be taking a huge risk.
“Can’t you teleport us anywhere else?” asked Luke.
Tess shook her head.
“I’m not at a high enough level yet,” she said. “Assuming other teleportation abilities even exist.”
Luke could hear the icy, cold wind whipping across the entrance of the cave outside. He scratched his head and frowned at Tess.
“…I guess we can give it a try,” he said. “Stay close to me, alright? We’ll have to make a dash for the rune circle and hope that the Arbiters don’t attack us before we get there.”
Tess nodded.
“The spell will bring us directly into the Temple of Rygon,” she said. “Even if the Arbiters are around, the rune circle will be right outside. We just need to keep our eyes open and move fast.”
Tess started chanting, and Luke stepped a little closer to her.
I haven’t been to Kantor since the government takeover. I wonder what-
A bright light surrounded both of them, and the walls of the ice cave disappeared. Luke blinked. It took him a couple of seconds for his mind to register what had just happened. A sense of nostalgia washed over him as
he looked around the Temple of Rygon, the first area to greet new players after the tutorial.
“We could use this…” said Luke. “The spell could be another way for us to attack the Arbiters.”
Tess shook her head.
“It doesn’t work with more than three players,” she said. “But it would be a good idea, otherwise.”
The Temple of Rygon’s vaulting geodesic roof hung above them. The Light streamed in through the numerous stained glass windows giving the place an aura of warmth even though the colossal room was empty.
“Kato and Tess…” A familiar voice spoke from behind them, and Luke turned around to find the High Priestess Azalene walking toward them. “What are the two of you doing here?”
She remembers our names?
Tess bowed slightly to the woman.
“High Priestess, I used my magic to bring us back here,” she said. “We were questing far to the north and-”
“This is not a good place for you to be.” Azalene moved quickly, walking over to the temple’s front door and peering out of it. “We must get you back to the continent.”
“High Priestess…” Luke felt a question brewing in his chest, and he couldn’t stop himself from asking. “What do you know about the Universal Truth? Does is often speak with people directly?”
Both Tess and Azalene frowned at him. Luke scratched his head awkwardly.
“The Universal Truth’s methods are beyond the reach of my knowing, child,” she said. “Come now. The Arbiters have punished players for doing much less than what the two of you have done.”
Luke walked over to where she stood, staying a couple of feet behind her as she watched the rune circle from the door. Tess grabbed onto his arm and gave it a light squeeze, and he smiled at her reassuringly.
Outside, two Arbiters stood in front of the rune circle. A moment later, several Arbiters appeared in the circle and the group walked off into Kantor, followed by a second group teleported up behind them.
They saw a player in the middle of the second group. His hands were bound by rope and his head was downcast. Immediately after him came an Arbiter that stood a head taller than the rest. He had white gold spikes extending from the shoulders of his armor and the eyes that glinted through the slits of his helmet were ice cold.
“That is the Head Arbiter,” whispered Azalene. “He is the one that you should give the widest birth.”
Luke nodded and watched the Head Arbiter carefully. Arrogance and brutality radiated from him, like an executioner walking amongst the condemned.“As soon as this group passes by, the two of you need to sprint to the rune circle,” said Azalene. “Don’t stop for anything, and once you arrive in Stark Town, head for the most crowded area you can find.”
Luke nodded.
“Got it,” he said. “Thank you.”
The High Prisetess gave him the same kind of reassuring smile that she’d given to all the new players at the start of the game. The Arbiters stopped teleporting and moved away from the main square. Then she pushed them forward.
Making sure that Tess was directly alongside him Luke crouched low and moved as fast as he could to the rune circle. One of the Arbiters turned back just as they reached it and pointed accusingly toward them.
“They aren’t authorized to be up here!”
What an astute observation…
Luke pulled Tess into the rune circle with him and a single blinding moment later, they were back in Stark Town.
CHAPTER 22
Stark Town was bustling with activity. Luke and Tess had no trouble slipping away from the Arbiters that had followed after them. They darted down an alley and then doubled back around toward the inn.
Something feels off here…
All of the players they passed had downcast eyes, and wore defeated expressions on their weary faces. Luke had felt an undercurrent of the same depressing vibe the last time that they’d been through Stark Town but it hadn’t been nearly as pronounced.
He paused, holding out his arm at the edge of an alleyway to stop Tess from stepping out into the street. A group of Arbiters was speeding past on the street in front of them. For a moment he feared that they had been discovered but the Arbiters stopped a short distance before reaching their hiding spot and grabbed a different player.
Surprisingly, the player made no noise, he barely even reacted. The Arbiters pulled him past where Luke and Tess crouched. Luke saw the player’s face and recoiled. His expression was blank and hopeless.
He’s given up completely.
“We have to put a stop to this, Luke!” Tess grabbed his hand and squeezed it painfully. “This… this is insane.”
“We will, Tess,” said Luke. “Don’t worry.”
Despite his reassuring words, doubt tore at the edge of Luke’s confidence. There had been a lot of Arbiters on Kantor, far more than he’d been expecting. Even the High Priestess Azalene, one of the games essential NPCs, had seemed defeated.
Luke stood up and felt a wave of fatigue wash over his body. He checked his stamina bar and found that it was still almost full. They’d eaten just before Tess had cast her teleportation spell. Still, he was exhausted.
“Luke? Are you okay?”
He set his hand on his head and waved the other at her.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I just… am getting a bit tired.”
Slowly they crept out of the alleyway, vigilantly watching for Arbiters. The main square of Stark Town, usually filled to the brim with player and NPC merchants hawking their wares, was nearly empty. The merchants who remained were quite. None of the usual boisterous banter that was such a large part of the marketplace trade was present.
The Stark Town Inn was across the street from them. As they walked toward it Luke remembered the words of the Universal Truth at the second well.
Marina’s daughter, Mina, lives in the house next door.
“Tess…” Luke took a deep breath, his guilt over the expedition leader’s death hitting him like a ton of bricks. “I have to make a stop.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” said Luke. “I’ll be right back. Wait here.”
I’m the one who killed Marina. I need to handle this on my own.
Even with all of his resolve, it was hard for Luke to make his feet carry him forward. Each step was a battle of will against his desire to turn back. A pounding began to echo inside of his temples.
He stood in front of the door of Marina’s house for several seconds before slowly lifting his hand to rap on the door frame. A couple of seconds went by, and then it opened.
“Hello?” The girl that answered it couldn’t have been older than eleven or twelve. She frowned at Luke, clearly picking up on just how uncomfortable he was.
“Are you Mina?” asked Luke.
“Yes?” The girl shook her head. “Is this about… the expedition?”
Luke nodded, and swallowed a painful lump in his throat.
“You can come inside I guess,” said the girl. “My mom and dad… did something happen?”
Luke nodded again.
I can’t do it. I can’t tell her…
“There… was an accident.” Luke took a deep breath, his heart and shaky hands betraying the emotion underneath. “Mina… your parents…”
The girl began to shake, too. She turned away from Luke for a moment, and when she turned back tears crested in the corners of her eyes.
“No…” Mina’s lip quivered, and she shook her head. “No!”
What the fuck am I doing here?
“Mina, your mom died…” Luke ran his hands through his hair. “She died because-”
The door opened behind them. Tess was standing there, and next to her was Katrina. The two women walked over to Mina and crouched down next to her.
“I’m so sorry,” whispered Katrina. “Mina, I am so sorry. It’s going to be okay, though.”
“You…” Mina seemed to recognize Katrina, and reached out to take her hand as the guild leader o
ffered it to her. “You’re the one who helped my dad last week.”
Katrina nodded. Tess leaned in close to Luke.
“Katrina did a quest for her father. She helped with outfitting the expedition for the trip,” she whispered. “She knows Mina. Not well, but better than we do.”
“Mina, I’m going to stay here with you, okay?” Katrina was blinking back tears of her own. She looked at the girl and set both hands on her shoulders. “I won’t let you be alone.”
“I am alone…” whispered Mina.
Luke opened his mouth, finally finding the courage to say what he’d come there to say. Before he could, Tess was pulling him back out through the door.
“You can’t tell her, Luke,” she said.
“What?”
“She doesn’t need to know.” Tess shook her head and wiped moisture away from her cheeks. “It’s not fair for her to know.”
“Tess, I-”
“It’s not about you,” said Tess. “Telling her is only going to make you feel better. This time… it’s not about you.”
I killed her mother…
“She’s going to wonder, Tess.”
Just then, Katrina poked her head out from the door of the house. She looked sad, as though she’d absorbed some of the girl’s loss as her own.
“I’m going to stay in Stark Town for the next couple of days,” she said softly. Luke nodded.
“Alright, I understand.”
“Silverstrike is over at the inn having an ale,” said Katrina. “Can you let him know for me? I’m sure he’d also love to check in with the two of you.”
“Yeah, of course.” Luke took a deep breath and tried to clear the chaotic thoughts circling in his fatigued brain.
Am I just seizing this as a chance to run away from responsibility?
“We’ll have someone from your guild stop by to bring you messages and keep you filled in,” said Tess.
Katrina forced a smile.
“Speaking of which, I used that money you gave me to make some upgrades to Dunidan’s Rest, Luke,” said Katrina. “I think you’re going to like what I’ve done.”
Luke smiled.
“Thanks, Katrina,” he said, nodding toward Mina’s house. “For everything.”
Katrina ducked back inside the house and Luke and Tess headed next door to the inn. Compared to most of the other times when Luke had stopped by the gathering hall, it was practically empty. Silverstrike was easy to pick out, one of the few patrons seated at the bar instead of at a table.
