The Dead Fortress

by LitRPG Freaks

  He didn’t expect her to understand half of what he just said, but she turned to him and the depth of knowing in her gaze froze his hand in mid-air.

  “This was never just a game, Bishop, remember that.” She bowed her head to him and set off through the trees, Willy taking off after her. “I will see you again soon! At the Dead Fortress. I hope you and your friends are prepared for what we will face.”

  Bishop watched her until she disappeared and he no longer saw Willy’s vibrant fur through the trees. He brought up the menu again and forced himself to log out for the day. He closed his eyes and opened them again back inside the lab.

  “Where’s Dennis?” he asked Tyler as soon as the gear was removed.

  “I think he’s in his apartments, why? What happened?” Tyler asked. “I was monitoring you the whole time. Was it the gear?”

  “No, glitch in the game, again. At least I hope it was. Can you check if he’ll see me?”

  Tyler smiled. “Dennis gave me instructions that if you ever need to talk to him, you’re to go to him straight away.”

  “Jimmy? I’ll see you guys in a bit,” he said to his friend and exited the lab.

  He moved through the wave of players exiting both sides of the lab and hurried upstairs to Dennis’ rooms. He raised his hand to knock, but the door opened before he could. Dennis waved him in and offered him a drink.

  “Tyler messaged and said you were on your way up,” he explained when Harrison stared at him curiously. “Don’t think I spy on you now, Harper.”

  “No course not. I just had a question about part of the game today.”

  The old man blinked rapidly before he turned away and Harrison wondered if he already knew what he was going to ask. “I hope your gear is working as it should. Tyler assured me he fixed the issue and it shouldn’t have any more.”

  “No, the gear’s fine,” Harrison said. “I was arrested by King Godfrey in Weston today and thrown in the dungeon.”

  Dennis was smiling when he turned back around and handed him a glass of water. “Ah, I see you have found one of my more interesting quest lines.”

  “Interesting, yeah, I thought so too…until I realized I was trapped.”

  “No, no there’s a way out of those dungeons.”

  “No, as in I was trapped in the game, Dennis.”

  Dennis’ smile fell. “That’s not possible. A player is always able to log out.”

  “Not me, not while I was there. Thought you’d want to know.” A shadow slipped across the living room and he turned to follow it with a frown. “Is someone else here?”

  “We’re alone, as always. Harrison, are you feeling alright? Perhaps you reentered the game too soon.”

  Harrison heard him, but the words were muffled as if coming from far away. Another shadow moved across his vision and he turned to find it as a whispering started in his ears. The words were too faint for him to understand, but they were there. Words spoken from a familiar voice.

  He set his glass down on the counter and moved slowly through Dennis’ apartment, trying to follow the shadow that was forever just out of his field of vision.

  “Harrison? Can you hear me?” Dennis asked loudly as his hand grabbed hold of Harrison’s shoulder. “Look at me, son.”

  Harrison blinked and shook his head. What was he doing? Why was he in the living room?

  “Sorry, that was odd. What were we talking about?” he asked, confused.

  Dennis frowned. “You don’t remember what we were just talking about? The glitch in the game?”

  Harrison scratched his head. “Maybe? Oh, yeah the dungeon quest. Pretty epic, man.”

  “And you didn’t think there was anything wrong with it? Nothing at all?”

  “Nope, nothing.”

  “Do you mind coming with me for a moment? I wanted to show you something in my study,” Dennis said and led the way down the hall towards his office and private gaming room. Harrison felt like he was forgetting something that happened in the game, something important with Tavin and Valen, but then a ringing started in his ears and he forgot it all again. Dennis, he was with Dennis and the old man wanted to show him something.

  “Just have a seat. I left it in the other room.”

  Harrison walked slowly around the study, picking up a few odds and ends to look at, when he reached the liquor cart. His hand paused, reaching out for the whiskey bottle out of habit. No, he stopped drinking. He didn’t need that.

  But you want it, so take it, a voice told him fiercely. Where’s the harm in one drink? Or a few?

  He checked the doorway. He was alone.

  Harrison picked up the whiskey and licked his lips, watching the sloshing liquid in the glass container. He removed the cork and breathed it in, his legs wobbling with the relief of the harsh smell burning his nostrils. He looked around on the cart and smirked when he spied a metal flask at the bottom. Once he saw it was empty, he filled it with the whiskey and managed to slip it into his pocket out of sight and sit down in a chair as Dennis returned from the other room.

  Dennis didn’t even look up as he moved to his desk and sat behind it. “I wanted to give you a printout of what’s been happening to you in the game. My hope is that, on some level, it will help you better understand what’s going on with your mind and your vitals when the game goes off-script.”

  Harrison took the packet of pages and flipped through them. “This is pretty nifty.”

  “Yes, nifty,” Dennis agreed. “Your mind becomes quite active whenever you find yourself in a situation that is not part of the game for everyone else. And beside it, as you can see, is how the gaming system reacts as well.”

  “Thanks, I know what I’m doing the rest of the night.”

  “Good, if you have any questions about it, let me know.”

  “Sure thing,” he said and stood moving towards the door. “I’m going to join the others for dinner unless there’s anything else you wanted to talk to me about.”

  “Go eat. You had quite the day.”

  Harrison bobbed his head in agreement. “Tavin said it had been too long since Daemyn was in the game, by the way,” he said, still not looking up from the paper. “Thought you might want to know.”

  Not paying much attention to Dennis’ reaction, he left the old man behind and, by the time he reached the cafeteria, he couldn’t remember why he’d been up there in the first place, or the last thing he said to the man.

  Halfway through dinner, he felt the metal flask in his jeans and excused himself to hit the restroom before their nightly walk through the cacti gardens. He skipped the bathroom and headed to his room instead, running so he wouldn’t be caught. Safely inside and out of sight, he withdrew the flask and flipped the top open. The strong whiskey wafted out to greet him and he pressed it to his lips, not even hesitating anymore.

  The burning liquor hit his tongue and a warmth spread through his body as he took a gulp and then another. His mind stopped racing and he sank to his bed, closing his eyes and licking every last drop from his lips. How he’d missed this bliss, this sense of relaxation! Harrison had to use every little bit of strength he had to force himself to close the flask and hide it away. He wouldn’t be able to get more without raising suspicion and this amount would have to last.

  He shoved it behind his clothes in the chest of drawers and gargled with some cool mint mouthwash before returning to his friends.

  He draped his arm around Callie’s shoulder. When she asked about the sudden bounce in his step, he told her despite how crazy this game had been he was happy.

  Just so happy.

  Chapter 06

  Bishop tested out his new bow on the dummies outside the Crafting Hall in Hillside. Calista had been at her shop all day yesterday, catching up on items while he and a few others remained in Hillside to upgrade their gear and weapons. Having Trajan and the LongBeards back meant it was a very boisterous Hall the day before, and this morning, Bishop felt good abou
t tackling the fourth dungeon against the Demon Lord Mortagh.

  Bishop drew back on the string of his new ebony and emerald encrusted bow with two blades forming the top and bottom curve. He breathed out and released his new Fiery Arrow shot. It struck dead center on the target and Jimmy whistled behind him.

  “That range is amazing,” he stated. “Nice choice.”

  “The oils are good too. Did you see the damage?” The oil he had bought came from Gorod, up north in the mountains, and was produced by distilling strange plants that only grew in certain altitudes. It upped the damage by ten percent and gave a higher chance for a critical hit. “How’s yours working out? Your new ability. Did you try it?”

  “No Demons around here to try it on unless you’re volunteering?” he asked, swaying back and forth like a kid asking for candy.

  “I’m not sure I feel like dying today, at least not because of you. Try it on Giles.”

  “What?” Giles asked as he joined them.

  “Just say yes,” Bishop told him with a smile. “Really, it’ll be fun.”

  Giles opened his mouth to do just that, but Jimmy rubbed his hands together and started giggling. “Oh no, no you’re not testing your stuff on me again. Nope, Calista will kill me. She got me all new gear this morning! Now, go away!”

  Jimmy chased him around the courtyard as Bishop watched, leaning on his new bow and imagining them doing this in the Demon world they were about to enter. Trajan joined him, shaking his head as several of his players turned it into a game of freeze tag.

  “You would think they were ten years old,” Trajan chuckled.

  “Sometimes it’d be nice to be that young again,” Bishop said. “No real cares in the world except not being the one frozen in a game of tag.”

  “Is that longing I hear for the good old days? Stop aging yourself, man,” he teased.

  “Can’t help it. I’m the oldest one here and moments like these remind me of that.”

  Bishop grinned when Jimmy was caught and had to remain perfectly still because Giles wouldn’t unfreeze him. Despite not having a full plan laid out for this next dungeon, he woke that morning relaxed and ready to tackle whatever Samar threw at him. A few nips from the flask hidden away in his room might be some of the reason, but he told himself that he simply had faith in his guild to do what needed to be done and get out of the Dead Fortress in one piece. He was determined to find a way to save Tavin’s soul, but until they got inside and he saw how crazy it was, he wasn’t sure if that would be possible or not.

  “How crazy do you think it’s going to be? Going into the Demon world?” Trajan asked.

  “I can’t even imagine.”

  “And you’re sure this is a good idea?” he asked. “You being so close to other Demons and potentially Valenastrious?”

  “I’m not sure if anything I do in this game is a good idea anymore,” he admitted, “but I’m not about to start playing. I still think everyone’s overreacting and it’s all in my head.” Some things were in his head, such as the voice he was not about to admit to anyone he’d been hearing on a daily basis since his last encounter with Valen in the dungeon.

  “Hmm, good point. I’ll get the kiddies together and we can head out.”

  Bishop was uncertain how Trajan would treat the news about him and how the game reacted to him, but so far he’d been pretty cool. Not overly suspicious of every action he made like Maverick tended to be, or torn between worry and annoyance at the game like Calista and Jimmy. He was a good solid neutral party. Bishop had taken the packet of pages Dennis shared with him and shown it to the four of them. They took it in stride and read it thoroughly. Bishop didn’t fully understand most of it, but didn’t let it bother him. The whiskey flowing through his body helped him keep a level head when part of him thought he should be freaking out by now.

  It didn’t take long to gather the full guild and, together, they set out from Hillside to reach the Dead Fortress. The trek would take too long by foot so they sent Maverick and Zoe ahead to summon the rest of the guild once they were in Glendow and ready to go.

  Bishop closed his eyes after he accepted to be transported and, when he opened them, no amount of whiskey in the world could have prepared him for what he stood before.

  “What the…,” Trajan whispered, leaning his head back. “This is the Dead Fortress?”

  They all jumped when a wailing burst from the crevasses of the cracked stone fortress towering above them. They spent so much time feeling the cold touch of it from far away, to stand so close rooted Bishop’s feet to the ground. Anxiety filled him and the sudden urge to sprint away and never come back assaulted him, dread dragged him down, and he choked around the lump in his throat. The great doors standing before them were far from welcoming, carved from obsidian and decorated with bones and emerald flames, flickering out, threatening to set them all alight.

  He needed to summon Tavin and Bronson along with her, but he was unable to move.

  “Anyone else have a really bad feeling about this one?” Jimmy whispered, his voice cracking. “Like we shouldn’t be doing this at all?”

  “We have to complete the dungeon or the story line doesn’t move forward,” Maverick argued, but even her voice trembled, increasing Bishop’s own apprehension tenfold.

  “Right then, the entrance to the Demon world is inside?” Trajan said and forced his body forward. “We need to at least get through the doors, see what’s on the other side.” He walked forward and the rest of the group slowly followed, if nothing else to cover his back in case something attacked before they were ready.

  Bishop unslung his bow from his body and drew out the horn to summon Tavin, gripping it securely in his left hand. Trajan was a few feet from the doors, but there was no obvious sign as to how they opened.

  “Bishop, call your friend. Maybe she can help us.”

  He glanced at the horn in his hand then turned to the other half-breeds in the group. “Maybe someone else should summon Tavin.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If I do it, I know exactly what version of her it will be, but if one of them does it…maybe it’ll be the NPC as she’s supposed to be.” He hadn’t wanted to worry anyone, but being just outside the entrance to the Demon world, his gut twisted into knots and where a moment ago he wanted to run away, now he suddenly wanted to charge headfirst through the doors.

  Giles shrugged. “I don’t see the harm in trying.”

  Bishop tucked his horn back in his bags and watched as Giles pulled the very same horn from his to summon Tavin. The deep, throaty sound of the horn rang out and the wailing within the Dead Fortress stopped. Silence fell over the group, a heavy silence Bishop felt he could reach out to and hold in his hands. A form materialized beside Giles and then another beside it. Tavin and then Bronson came into view, their heads bowed towards the one who called them. Bishop held his breath, but when they both raised their heads, neither NPC acted as if they were there to speak to anyone, but Giles, even though they assisted the entire raiding party.

  “We’ve reached the Dead Fortress,” Giles told them.

  “The time has come to enter into the Demon world, hero,” Tavin said.

  “Are you ready to face what is through these doors?” Bronson asked. “You must be strong. Any sign of weakness will surely lead to the demise of not only yourself, but your soul as well.”

  A prompt appeared before them all, asking if they were ready to enter the Demon world and the lair of the Demon Lord Mortagh, Soul Stealer. Bishop watched the others select their answer, but his finger hovered over the yes option. Was he ready to be in the Demon world?

  It’s a game, it’s only a damn game, he reminded himself firmly and hit yes.

  His quest tracker updated and he watched as Tavin and Bronson moved to the doors. They each pressed a hand on one, through the flames, and closed their eyes. The words they uttered were guttural and, for the first time since meeting Bronson, Bishop wondere
d if the man was actually more than just a man or a priest. With their last word, the flames receded and the doors swung inward revealing a swirling portal writhed in green flames.

  Bishop…come to me Bishop…

  “Bishop? You ready for this?” Calista asked, giving his shoulder a shake.

  “Yeah, yeah I’m good.” He squared his shoulders and holding his bow ready in his hand, made ready to enter the portal.

  When it was his turn to walk through the green flames, he held his breath and shut his eyes, afraid the flames would lash out at him. But instead, and worse, they seemed to embrace him as one of their own, pulling him in and wrapping around as if he belonged there.

  Yes, Bishop….come to me…you are so close now, so close to who you should be.

  Once he was through and the flames dissipated, Bishop opened his eyes and sighed in relief when the voice stopped. Valen. She knew he was here. Bishop blinked as his eyes adjusted to the gloom surrounding him. Bright white lightning cracked across the sky overhead and the resulting boom was louder than a cannon going off in his ear. He crouched low as if ducking would save him. He wasn’t alone in his reaction. All but Tavin and Bronson flinched each time a new boom shook the ground beneath their feet.

  “Welcome,” Tavin announced, “to the Demon Realm of Vorgan.”

  “So it does have an official name,” Maverick muttered. “I wondered.”

  The sky was overcast overhead, black clouds hanging low and shadows flying in and out of them. The wailing they heard earlier started up again. When it turned to a high-pitched shriek, a few of them jumped and grabbed hold of each other, but then it died down again.

  “Is that normal?” Jimmy hissed annoyed, clutching at Maverick’s arm.

  She patted his head. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you my little exorcist.”

  He didn’t argue and stayed close to her side. Tavin and Bronson took the lead with Giles behind them. The road beneath their feet wasn’t paved, but it wasn’t normal stone either. It was solid black and glimmered when the lightning streaked above. Dead trees lined the road and, when Bishop glanced behind him, the only thing there was the swirling green flames of the portal. He held his bow tighter in his hand and was happy he had yet to summon Willy to his side. This place was freaking him out. It was awesome but, still, he kept glancing towards the trees, waiting for something to lunge out and attack him.