The Dead Fortress

by LitRPG Freaks

  “What instance are they doing?” Harrison asked, curious as to what they got into up north.

  “Something about the Order of the Fallen Knights,” Tyler told him. “Dennis created it to be almost one full instance in that territory.”

  “Damn,” Harrison murmured, half wishing he’d gone north instead.

  Tyler patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, the next territory you hit is basically the same thing. You’ll love it once you get into it.”

  Harrison bet he would. He watched TJ and the rest for a few minutes and walked to his group to tell them what was keeping the rest of their guild. They hoped to see them sometime during lunch, but an hour later and they were back in the lab, logging in. Tyler said they might not see them for a while. They should be finishing up the instance soon and would be taking a later lunch.

  “I guess we’ll see them this afternoon,” Jimmy said, resting back on his table.

  “I’m sure they’ll have one hell of a story to tell,” Harrison replied. “See you on the inside.”

  He closed his eyes as Tyler hooked up his gear and leaned his table back. Harrison counted in his mind as his gut made the usual flop and his mind transported him back into the world of Samar.

  Bishop stood by the forges where he’d logged out. Calista shimmered into view in front of him. “I’m going to check out the Auction House with Jimmy I guess and we’ll meet in the tavern in two hours?”

  “That should be good. Give me some time to get these weapons forged.”

  Bishop kissed her cheek and she gave him a playful shove. “Get outta here. Let a woman work.”

  He meandered through the Crafting Hall and found the rest of his guild to pass along the message to meet at the tavern in two hours. He caught up with Jimmy and they spent a while watching the items on the Auction wall appear. Jimmy bought a few bundles of runes he could infuse with his staves and Bishop wound up finding some good wood along with oils he hadn’t experimented with yet.

  “Still have some time. Want to just head over there now?” Jimmy asked after picking up his items from the Auctioneer.

  “Yeah, might as well. I can tell you about our next quest.”

  “I thought we were doing the dungeon?”

  “After the dungeon.” Bishop told him about the message he got from the Governor of Chesterville on their way to the tavern. They found a corner table and were just ordering ales when Willy sprinted towards them, eliciting several yells of surprise as he darted out of the doorway leading downstairs.

  “Willy! What were you doing down there?” Jimmy asked.

  “He apparently spends time with Tavin,” Bishop explained, tossing the animal a hunk of meat from his bags. “He keeps her informed on our movements.”

  “Uh huh, sure why not,” Jimmy uttered. “Not like that’s weirder than anything else involving you and this game.”

  “Not like I try to make things complicated.”

  “No, you just attract trouble.” Jimmy shook his head laughing as an NPC brought them two ales. “So, we hit this fourth dungeon in the Demon world and then head south to Chesterville. That is a tragically terrible name. Who came up with it?”

  “I would guess not Dennis. Doesn’t seem his style.”

  “You think we’re going to be ready for this dungeon?” Jimmy asked, sipping his ale and not meeting Bishop’s eyes. “How do you feel about them?”

  Bishop leaned back as Willy curled up on the floor at their feet. “What is that supposed to mean? I was sick last week, Jimmy, and my gear malfunction. That’s it.”

  “You sure that was all that happened?”

  Bishop nodded, but a voice in the back of his head told him he lied. That day had been weird and he was seeing all sorts of things because he was sick. That’s what he told himself and he said the same thing to Jimmy, keeping his face as blank as possible as he said it. He was going to have to get much better at lying if he was going to keep hallucinating Valen in person, or hearing her voice in his head at all hours of the day. Although, since he’d been back in the game, nothing out of the ordinary had occured.

  That’s not true. Tavin’s words, she said the same thing as…

  “Bishop?” Jimmy asked worriedly.

  At that moment, calls from their fellow guildmates cut off whatever else he was about to ask, and Bishop breathed a sigh of relief as they crowded around the table.

  They chatted happily and goofed around until Calista walked in, followed by a dwarf and his booming laughter along with the rest of their guild. “They live!” Jimmy announced loudly, knocking his mug against the table in greeting.

  “We live and, by God, do we have some exciting tales to share,” he shouted. “With anyone who wants to listen and doesn’t care about spoilers!”

  Bishop made sure everyone had an ale and a chair, watching as other players stood around and scooted in closer to listen to Trajan. He was quite the story teller and, in moments of opening his mouth, had the entire tavern enthralled. Even the NPCs appeared to be listening intently to the words flowing from his mouth. They started, he told them, south of the mountains and tracked down a strange man who led them to a cave filled with several members of the Order. They’d been attacked recently and were in need of aid to rescue those captured.

  They faced down a camp of Demons high up in the mountains who essentially built a fortress. They rescued the men and women captured and had to race an avalanche off the mountains. The tales grew grander as they went and Bishop watched several of the LongBeards roll their eyes good naturedly as Trajan obviously embellished wherever he saw fit.

  “But,” he said, holding up his hand as his voice dropped lower. A hush fell over the tavern and he waited until the only sound was Willy’s panting breath; he’d fallen asleep in the midst of everyone’s feet. “But the craziest part was what happened at the end,” Trajan whispered.

  Everyone leaned in closer to hear. “We had to infiltrate the layer of a Demon General, Czarzin, and kill him and his entire army, fighting side by side with the Order. It was a full-on siege, catapults, flaming arrows, the works.” He went into vivid detail about the attack and Bishop found himself smiling despite his jealousy at the adventure Trajan and his group had. “We barely made it out with our lives, but the people of the north are free once again,” he concluded.

  Applause and cheers sounded for him, people banged their mugs on tables and Trajan climbed down from the table he’d stood on for the length of his story. Night had fallen outside the tavern and Bishop was sure they were close to having to log out for the day. Not that he cared. Listening to Trajan talk about their adventures had been thrilling and, in his mind, a perfect way to end the day. Bishop enjoyed another mug of ale with his guild as they made their plans for ensuring everyone was geared and ready to go for the fourth dungeon. Trajan assured him they would be good to go by tomorrow afternoon.

  “Think we can do it in an afternoon?” he asked skeptically.

  “Seeing as how long it took you guys to do that instance? Maybe not, but I’d hate to put it off another day if we’re ready to go.”

  “True. Well then, meet you at the guild house?”

  “Yeah, I’m going with Calista to her shop first, but then I’ll be there.” He downed what remained of his drink and stood. “Willy? You coming or staying?”

  The wolf yawned white, flashing his fangs and thumped his tail once before resting his head back on his massive paws.

  “Right, guess I’ll see you tomorrow boy.” He gave the wolf one final scratch and waved to Calista currently cackling her head off beside Maverick. She hugged the other woman and managed to push her way through the crowd of players surrounding their tables. “You looked like you were having way too much fun,” he mused as she wrapped her arm through his and they left the tavern.

  “Just two women having a talk about our wonderful boyfriends.”

  “Sure, that’s all it was.”

  “You dare doubt me?�
�

  “You? No, but Maverick is usually up to something.” He led her to the center of town and turned her so she faced him, holding her hands. “Ready to get back to Weston?”

  “Yes. I’ve neglected my shop a bit too much.”

  “You’re still making sales, right?” he asked, worried she’d lost out on money because of him.

  “I always have a good solid stock now thanks to you guys,” she said and kissed his cheek. “I’ve made nearly double what I usually make, but I am running low.”

  “Trajan doesn’t think we’ll be able to do the dungeon in an afternoon. Maybe we’ll put it off another day and give you a chance to get caught back up on your merchandise.” The guild still needed to prep their gear, make potions, and Trajan’s group was still needing to use their Demon Shards. “I think I’ll send him a message once we get to Weston and tell him one more day might be best. Then we can tackle the dungeon first thing in the morning.”

  Bishop used his travel ability and they traveled to the guild house. After they gathered what materials they needed from the house, they set off through the streets to her shop. She unlocked it and he said he would watch the front if she wanted to get started on whatever she needed to craft. She was about to go back to the forge when the bell rang over the front door, but it wasn’t a player who walked through the door.

  Six royal guards marched inside, full armor, and armed to the teeth. They slammed their spears on the floor and Bishop started to reach for his bow, but he forced himself to stop.

  “What are you doing in here?” Calista demanded, pushing him behind her.

  “We have come by order of King Godfrey to take one Bishop of Harborage into our keeping,” the guard in front and the only one not wearing a helmet announced. Manacles were clutched in his open hand. “Come with us now, sir.”

  “He’s not going anywhere,” Calista argued.

  “By order of the King, he is coming with us,” the guard repeated. “Stand aside, or we will take you as well for interfering with the King’s business.”

  Calista tried to move towards them, but Bishop stopped her. “They’re not taking you.”

  “If you try to fight them, you’ll just get yourself taken or killed,” he said. “I’ll be fine. They can’t just kill me.”

  “This isn’t right. They can’t arrest you.”

  “I’ll be fine. Maybe he just wants to talk,” he said smiling, but he doubted that was the case. Godfrey must have known Calista was in his guild and he would eventually show up either at the guild house or here with her. “Tell the others, but you guys are not to do anything stupid.” He removed his bow and handed it to her. “For safe keeping.”

  Calista reluctantly took it, her brow furrowed as she glared over his shoulder at the guards. “I don’t like this,” she whispered. “It feels wrong. What if something happens to you? Like all the other times?”

  The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind that Valen would show up if he went with these guards and was locked in a dungeon. “I’ll be fine,” he repeated. “Just don’t let anyone do anything stupid. I’ll see you at dinner.” His gut twisted in uncertainty when the guard grabbed his wrists and roughly placed the manacles around them, locking them in place. The chain jingled as he dropped his hands and the guard shoved him out the door.

  Bishop looked back trying to see Calista, but all he saw were the guards filing out after him.

  Chapter 05

  Calista jumped off her sandy colored mare at the gate to Hillside, not even waiting for it to shimmer out of sight before she sprinted back to the tavern. She checked before riding out to find everyone still there.

  “Trajan! Jimmy!” she yelled, bursting through the door.

  “Calista?”

  She bent over double, trying to catch her breath as they hurried to her side. “Bishop, they took Bishop! He’s been arrested in Weston!”

  “What!” Jimmy yelled. “They can’t do that!”

  “Yeah, we were there,” Giles argued. “Why didn’t they arrest us?”

  “Because this game seems to like messing with Bishop,” Maverick muttered. “We’re getting him out. Let’s go.”

  “Bishop said not to go after him,” Calista informed her, finally able to breathe normally.

  Jimmy and Maverick exchanged a look as Trajan barked a laugh. “He’s joking, right?” the first finally said. “He can’t expect us to what, stand here and twiddle our thumbs while Godfrey does who knows what to him? And what’s to say it’s only Godfrey behind this?”

  “I said the same thing, but he was fairly insistent.”

  “Fairly,” Maverick repeated. “He’s an idiot. What exactly did he say?”

  “That he would see us at dinner,” Calista replied flat and gripped the mace at her hip hard in her hands. “I just can’t shake the feeling that he’s not going to be at dinner because he won’t be able to get out of the game if he’s trapped in that dungeon.”

  “Of course he will be. It’s all part of the game,” Trajan said.

  “Not with Bishop, it’s not,” Maverick corrected. “It never is.”

  Trajan looked from Maverick to Calista and back again. “What are you talking about?”

  “There’s something we haven’t told you yet, about Bishop,” Maverick said.

  “About the alcoholic thing and the loan shark? I hate to tell you all, but the entire facility knows about that mess already,” Trajan said, trying to laugh and lighten the mood, but Calista hung her head wondering how much Bishop would hate them if they finally came clean with Trajan at least. And if they would lose half their guild because of it. “Guys, seriously, what’s going on?”

  Calista didn’t want to waste time explaining but, unless Trajan knew the truth, he would think Bishop was in no real physical danger. It was just a game and logically that should mean Bishop would log out and wake up as Harrison Harper at the end of the day. Calista hadn’t been around him as long as the others, but she knew everything that had happened. Last week, when he was sick, she feared he wasn’t really ill but it was the game getting to him somehow. She knew something was bothering him, but he did his best to hide it from her and the rest of the guild.

  “Bishop and this game have a weird…connection,” she said slowly. “Honestly, it’s a lot to explain and we need to go somewhere a bit more private. And you’re going to want to sit down.”

  In their short time together, she’d never seen that man look so concerned. “There’s rooms upstairs. We can go there.”

  “Just you,” Maverick said. “Bishop didn’t want to worry you or your friends, so we probably shouldn’t be telling you, but you need to know.” Maverick and Jimmy were the first upstairs, followed by Trajan with Calista bringing up the rear. She noticed Willy had disappeared and wondered where the wolf went to this time.

  Once they were all upstairs, she shut the door and leaned against it as if worried someone would burst in and interrupt them. Or worst, drag the rest of them off, too. “Maverick? All you and Jimmy, here.”

  Maverick nudged Jimmy and he launched into the epic story that had become their fearless leader’s life. He started at the beginning, the very beginning, and Calista watched as Trajan’s eyes widened, then narrowed, and then finally his mouth hung open and he looked ready to deny everything they just told him.

  Jimmy ended with how Bishop was acting weird lately, distracted and though he said it was nothing, or blamed it on the gear being messed up, none of them believed that was the whole story.

  “So, now you know,” Jimmy finished, resting his hands on his thighs. “Any questions?”

  Trajan closed his mouth, opened it again with his hand in the air, but dropped it again and shook his head. “I don’t understand. This is virtual reality. It’s not supposed to harm us.”

  “It doesn’t, at least not the rest of us, but even Dennis admitted the game had a certain…attraction to Bishop,” Calista said. “The game reacts differently to him
, as if he’s one of them, an AI, and not a real human player.”

  “It’s not possible,” Trajan argued, but none of them agreed. “This has been going on the whole time? Can’t this permanently damage him, mentally I mean?”

  “Potentially,” Calista agreed, “but you try telling him that. Bishop won’t quit this game.”

  “His life is more important than this.”

  “I think Dennis might have something to do with it, with why he hasn’t decided it’s too dangerous,” Jimmy said. “Pretty sure he’s telling Bishop that since he’s never seen the game react so far off its parameters before, that he wants him to continue and see where it goes.”

  Trajan stood, his steps heavy as he paced around the room. “And your fear is right now, he’s not just with Godfrey, but Valenastrious? You think she’ll hurt him again?”

  “We don’t know, but I don’t want to take that chance.” Calista’s hands rested on the head of her mace and ax, pushing off the door. “You don’t have to come with us, but I swore I’d get him out of that dungeon if Godfrey arrested him. He’s been locked up and I’m not going to sit around waiting until dinner time to see if Bishop is able to log out or not.”

  She reached around to open the door when Trajan was suddenly there, resting his hand on it.

  “You’re not going alone,” he told her. “Game or not, we’re a family and we stick together. If Bishop really is in this much trouble, then we’re going to get him out, together. I’m not going to let anyone go after him alone.”

  Calista nodded and, with the other three behind her, headed out the door. “We don’t know where the dungeons are in Weston,” she explained, “but I think I have an idea of who might be able to tell us.”

  She ignored how to call Willy, but she placed her fingers to her lips and blew, thinking of the great white wolf who seemed to like her as much as he liked Bishop. A few moments of silence passed and she was ready to give up when a burst of white fur weaved its way through the players in the tavern to reach her side. Willy sat expectantly at her feet, waiting.