Sasha asked, “How do you want to level up? And where do you want to go first? I vote we deal with PWP first. I don’t like the idea of them targeting the village!” Lainey nodded her head emphatically in agreement.
“I think the village will be ok for a little while. With three dozen guards, plus two dozen masons and whatever villagers can fight, they can hold off an attack the size of one we saw today. The two guild mages stayed when we ported out. I have a feeling Millicent's treats and the dwarves’ alcohol will ensure the village has protection from the Mage’s Guild as well!” The others smiled at this.
“Plus, I think we took down most of PWP’s current roster. Only a few escaped to respawn. With the videos that I’m sure have already been posted of the child being killed, and the players being burned, I’m guessing they’ll have a harder time recruiting. PK’s are cowardly shits at heart. While lots of them are willing to take on weaker players or NPC’s, or even stronger players one on one… now that they know the kings themselves are willing to torture and kill them, and to go to war to get at them, I believe they’ll think twice before joining PWP. I think that guild has pretty much become useless to this Dark One. What I’m worried about is what he will do next.”
“We’ll find him,” Lainey said with a growl in her voice, “and when we do, I’m shooting him in the balls till I run out of arrows!” They all smiled at this, Brick giving her a fist-bump.
With nothing else to discuss, the friends all drifted up to their rooms to sleep. In the morning they’d be back at Olympus for their usual round of testing.
Alexander awoke in his pod, and began his usual post-immersion ritual. Once he’d showered and dressed, he headed out to the living room.
Lainey and Sasha were there, with serious looks on their faces. There were also three of his father’s security team. The men were dressed in black combat gear, holding automatic rifles. Two were keeping watch out the windows, while the third was talking with Lainey.
“Our instructions are to bring you to Olympus ASAP, ma’am. As soon as Alexander is ready, we’ll head out.”
“I’m here, sergeant… Wilson, right?” Alexander said. He vaguely remembered the man from a weapons training course his father had put him through a few years back.
“Yes, sir. Good to see you again. We need to move. We can talk in the car.” The man headed for the door, motioning Alexander and the ladies to follow. The other two men brought up the rear as they moved through the house.
Exiting the house, they found three armored SUV’s waiting for them, along with five more armed guards in various positions around the vehicles. The three didn’t have time to take in much more, as Wilson all but shoved them into the back seat of the middle SUV. He joined them, sitting next to Alexander, as he radioed for the team to move out.
As the vehicle began to move forward, Alexander asked, “What’s going on, Sergeant?”
The man’s face was grim. “There was an attack on Olympus last night. At about 4:00am a car bomb struck the front gate and exploded. Behind it was a van full of people with assault rifles and rocket launchers. They were well armed, but not professionals. They misjudged their explosives, or the strength of the gate. The bomb didn’t do its job, and they didn’t get in. They managed to shoot a few rockets over the gate from on top of the van before we took them out.”
“You killed them all?” Sasha asked, her eyes wide.
“We killed a couple of them. The ones with the rocket launchers. As far as we can tell, one of them detonated a grenade or a vest that took out the rest. The FBI is investigating. It’s only been three and a half hours since the attack, but we should have preliminary findings soon.”
“Were any of our people hurt?” Alexander asked, afraid to hear the answer. This was way too much like the attack that killed his mother.
“Two of our guys took some minor shrapnel hits from the second explosion. They’ve been treated and released.” Wilson grinned at him. “I’ll let them know you asked about them.”
Alexander had always been a favorite among the Jupiter employees. When Olympus was built, he and Sasha would run about the compound playing “Cowboys and Indians”. They were always the Indians, sneaking up on the guards at the security stations to “ambush” them and take their scalps. Those men protected him and his father like they were family. They were very well paid, well trained, and given the best equipment money could buy. After Angela was killed, Richard and Michael took security extremely seriously.
As they traveled up the mountain toward Olympus, Wilson continued. “The boss has opened up the hab wings, and initiated Chelone protocol. For all of our facilities, everywhere.”
“Chelone?” Lainey asked.
Alexander shook his head. “Chelone was a Greek god, and a tortoise. Chelone protocol means we’re “turtling”. Gathering everyone together in the compound for protection. All employees have assigned rooms in the habitat wings at Olympus. If they feel the need, they can bring their families in as well.”
Wilson nodded. “Bosses made sure there was plenty of space for everyone. We have a whole team that does nothing but keep track of employee numbers and family sizes, and works out logistics for housing, food, etc. When Olympus was built, they added six wings of apartments, three above ground, and three below. There are more than 400 separate living spaces, along with an extra cafeteria and some common rooms. That’s separate from the two guard barracks. All told, we can comfortably house close to two thousand people here for a good long while. Another thousand with folks sleeping on cots or doubling up in housing spaces. If necessary, we can add tents within the walls.”
Just then they reached the turnoff from the highway to Bifrost Lane. There was a new guard checkpoint here. Cars and occupants were being thoroughly searched by about a dozen security team members, while an armored vehicle with a machine gun mounted on top stood off to one side. Two bomb-sniffing dogs were being led around by men in FBI jackets.
Their little convoy was waved through with just a cursory sniff from the dogs. As they traveled up the nearly mile-long Bifrost Lane, Wilson pointed out additional security teams moving through the woods to either side of the road. “Your dad brought in extra guys this morning, and more are on the way. By noon, a mouse won’t be able to fart within a mile of here without us knowing.”
Reaching the gate, Alexander felt sick. There were the twisted remains of the car that had exploded at the gate, as well as the slightly less damaged van. There were sheets draped over bodies and body parts scattered around the area. Teams of people in FBI jackets were moving about the area, taking photos and bagging bodies. Others were working inside the two vehicles.
The gate was still operable, as it had not taken much direct damage. Heimdall had apparently activated the steel posts that rose up from the driveway about a dozen feet in front of the gate. These posts rose 4 feet above ground, and extended 12 feet below. They could stop a moving tank in its tracks.
With the area outside the gate being an active crime scene, the vehicles could not pass through, so they parked off to the side and a team of six escorted them on foot around the edge of the scene and through the gate. There were three gator ATV’s waiting for them inside to shuttle them the rest of the way. As they moved across the compound, they could see areas of scorched walls and debris where rockets had impacted the buildings.
They parked at the usual tower entrance and were escorted inside. Bethany was not at the reception desk, probably stuck in the traffic jam back at the checkpoint. They proceeded down the elevator, and were led to a conference room where Richard awaited them with breakfast.
Before Alexander could even ask, Richard said, “Brick and Max are on their way. Should be here in ten. And I sent a security team to watch over Brick’s family at their new house.”
The three of them sat down at the conference table. Lainey and Sasha began to help themselves to bagels and fruit, but Alexander couldn’t even think about food.
“Do we know who they were? W
hy they attacked?” he asked his father.
“Not yet. We ran the vehicles, but both came up stolen. The FBI is going to run DNA on the bodies, and trace the weapons they used. So far our theory is that they’re an isolated group. None of our other facilities anywhere have been attacked. For the rest, let’s wait for Brick and Max so I don’t have to cover this twice. Try and eat something.”
Morris Talbott, Jupiter’s chief of security, stuck his head in the door and motioned toward Richard, who excused himself and left the room.
Lainey handed Alexander a plate of fruit and a bagel with peanut butter. “Eat. Your body needs fuel.” Her tone made it clear she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He picked up a bit of cantaloupe and popped it in his mouth, chewing slowly.
They ate mostly in silence, Lainey and Sasha making a few awkward attempts at small talk that quickly faded. After a few minutes, Max and Brick walked in and sat down. “Holy shit,” Max released a long breath. “Have they told you any details yet?”
Alexander shook his head. “Our security chief was just here, and I think dad’s getting an update now. He should be back in a minute. Brick, they told you a team’s watching over your family?”
Brick nodded. “Thank you for that.”
Alexander smiled at him. “Grab some food.”
Brick didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly had a bagel in each hand and was trying to decide between cream cheese, peanut butter, or salami and cheese to top them.
Again the room drifted into silence as the friends consumed their breakfasts. Richard re-entered the room and sat at the table. He looked slightly shaken. The others all instantly forgot their food, waiting for him to speak.
“They found a wallet on one of the bodies. One of the guys that had been on the roof with a rocket launcher. He fell to the other side of the van before the explosion.” Richard set a photo of the dead man on the table. He looked familiar.
“His name is Delbert Simms,” Richard said.
“Delbert! That’s the same name as…” Sasha didn’t finish. She put her hand over her mouth.
“That’s the PWP warrior from that first group. The one in the video that got banned for threatening the GM,” Alexander finished for her.
Richard leaned back in his chair, looking exhausted. He must have been up all night. “Of the more than one hundred PWP members you’ve managed to lock up, 14 have been banned from the game for reasons similar to Mister Simms. We’ve given the FBI the names of each of them, along with the names of all the PWP members we’re aware of. All of them were on a local server.”
“But… it’s only a game…” Lainey whispered.
“For many people it is much more, Lainey.” Richard explained. “There are millions of folks like Max and Brick here, who earn their living in the game. Being banned may have taken away their livelihood. And then there are those who just can’t separate the game world from real life. To them, the game IS their life.”
He leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the table. “Right now, I’m hoping with all my heart that those bodies outside are just that. Players who are… were… angry about being banned. Because the alternative, that they’re part of some organized effort, I don’t even want to think about that.”
END OF BOOK ONE
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents. They gifted me with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was just a level 9 human. JRR Tolkien’s Master-level Storytelling skill opened my young eyes to an amazing world of elves, dwarves, orcs, dragons, and magic. My love of fantasy was born there and then. My folks encouraged me to read, and to write. I began a quest to devour every fantasy and sci-fi novel I could get my young hands on. I wanted to be like Tolkien, Asimov, Heinlein, Hubbard, Piers Anthony, Salvatore, Jordan, and so many others. And though I started several novels over the next three decades, I never found the time or motivation to finish them.
It wasn’t until I stumbled across the LitRPG genre a year or so ago that I found that motivation. The books I read, the combination of standard fantasy fiction with elements from MMORPG’s, they spoke to me. Being a long-time gamer, I have a love for the questing, the fighting of monsters for epic loot, and working with friends and guildmates to take down a boss. As well as the city building and crafting elements found in some of the best MMORPG’s. And I spent more than my share of time cursing game devs for what I perceived to be fatal flaws in their games, or for nerfing my beloved characters.
The amazing authors in the LitRPG genre showed me a way to create my own game world exactly the way I envisioned it. And to share that world with others who might enjoy it as well. Or curse my name for perceived flaws and plot holes.
I want to thank my folks again for being my alpha readers, and for the continued encouragement (demanding more pages to read). A big thank you to Jo Hoffacker, editor extraordinaire. She took on a draft that was certainly hard to read, and poked and prodded it into becoming something better.
A big thank you to my very busy sister, her fellow beta readers (and my guildmates), Michael Waters, Gina and Jeff Williams, whose feedback and suggestions helped me see the story and the characters from different perspectives.
Much gratitude to Robin at mycustombookcover.com for her amazing cover art work. She took a rough outline and character description from me, and turned it into two awesome cover designs.
And lastly, thank you to the group of authors I found in the LitRPG groups. Several of you motivated and encouraged me personally. Ramon Mejia, Dawn Chapman, Eden Redd, Blaise Corvin, Aleron Kong, Michael-Scott Earle, Daniel Schinhofen, and too many others to list here. Your participation in discussions with readers, your willingness to answer questions and offer advice, have been inspiring, and appreciated. Now hurry up and release your next books!
GameLit (LitRPG) are relatively new genres. At least in the west. As with anything new, they have growing pains and challenges. The largest challenge is getting the word out to potential fans. So please, share some of the links below with friends whom you think might appreciate these books.
And MOST importantly, if you enjoyed this book, PLEASE leave a review on Amazon. Let others know.
You can visit my author page on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Dave-Willmarth/e/B076G12KCL
Or check out my own Greystone Guild page for information on upcoming books https://www.facebook.com/greystone.guild.7
You can also get great information and reviews from Ramon Mejia’s LITRPG Podcast at https://www.facebook.com/litrpgpodcast/
I’d also like to recommend you check out some of my favorite authors within the genre.
Daniel Schinhofen https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Schinhofen/e/B01LXQWPZA
Blaise Corvin https://www.amazon.com/Blaise-Corvin/e/B01LYK8VG5
Michael Chatfield https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Chatfield/e/B00WCAOQME
Ramon Mejia https://www.amazon.com/R.A.-Mejia/e/B01MRTVW3O
Dawn Chapman https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Chapman/e/B014A0RUBC
Eden Redd https://www.amazon.com/Eden-Redd/e/B00I8X8BCK
Aleron Kong https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0176S6G6A
D. Rus https://www.amazon.com/D.-Rus/e/B00LYQO4XI
Alexey Osadchuk https://www.amazon.com/Alexey-Osadchuk/e/B01AFCEV5W
If you enjoyed this book, or even if you didn’t, but you DO enjoy the LitRPG and GameLit genre, then I recommend you check out the following Facebook pages where you can interact with fellow readers and authors:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/GameLitSociety/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGBooks/
Just be careful. Some of the authors bite.
Also, the first of the LitRPG groups that I joined (and was promptly kicked out of for misbehaving) after reading the first of the Chaos Seed series, “The Land” which was my first experience with LitRPG. I followed a link in the back of the book and found some of the strangest
, and coolest, folks.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGGroup/
If you’ve never played an RPG game…
Here’s what you need to know. This story takes place (mainly) inside a game that was created in a virtual reality (VR) environment. Players of the game enter the game world using various types of VR gear and internet access. To the players, it seems as if they’re in a whole new environment that has cities, nations, even entire continents filled with characters and monsters.
Completing quests, killing monsters (mobs), and even discovering new lands, all grant the players experience points (xp) which cause their characters to grow. This is called leveling up. Players play the game in many different ways. Each player chooses their own individual path. There are quests to complete, and monsters to fight, which is called playing against the environment, or player versus environment (PVE). There are players who choose to craft useful items via skills like blacksmithing, carpentry, alchemy, and the like. They can use these crafted items to enhance their own game performance, or sell them to earn money. Some players choose to open shops and play as full time merchants, buying and selling goods or services for profit. There are battles between players, one-on-one or in groups as large as several hundred. This is called player versus player, or PVP. Most of this is sanctioned and organized within the game in duels, tournaments, or guild versus guild battles. But there are players who, through laziness, immaturity, or just some twisted need, focus on targeting and killing weaker, lower level players. These are called Player Killers, or PK’s. They are generally detested in any gaming world. We especially don’t like them. Boo!
The Greystone Chronicles: Book One: Io Online Page 46
