“Why won’t you go away? I did what I’m supposed to. I taught you Meditation. That’s what I’m here for as far as you’re concerned.” He puts down his pipe, but doesn’t look at me.
I force the issue. “Cedra, why can’t you so much as look me in the eye ever since you mentioned a reset?”
“Do you even get what that is?”
“I have an idea.”
He huffs and then leans forward out of the chaise. He finally looks at me, and I see spite, jealousy, yet longing. “You’re on track with humanity. Questioning humanity. Humans. Human beings. You keep with that, you might have some true knowledge after all.”
I don’t know what he means, so I press my original reason for coming. “Where’s Kane?”
He keeps a steady lock on my eyes, giving it to me straight. I’m sure he’s thinking. “Why should I help you? You haven’t helped me. You already said you’re not going to.”
“When I said I won’t use Destroy Creation. That’s what you mean?”
He shrugs, never breaking eye contact. “What do you want with him?”
How much can I tell Cedra? I let a few cards show. “There’s a battle in the Snowy Mountains two days from now… against Bane. And others. I’m going to ask Kane to join forces with me and stop the madness breeding all over this damn secretive hell. I’ll consider what hints you dropped about—what? Humanity being a key to some great understanding? Is that what you’re getting at? I need to see Kane, and I know you know where I can find him.”
He looks down at his own Rose Gold Anklet. “It sucks to finally have one of these and not be able to put it to use.” His claws trace the fine rose gold chain. He brings his eyes back to mine. “Kane is in Dawn. He’s hiding out as a Mylop Cabbage maker in the cooking district in Shelba’s Fine Goods. And that’s all I’ll tell you. I have nothing but hate for Bane, otherwise I’d tell you nothing.”
“Why? What have I done to wrong you?”
His face darkens. “Don’t push me. I’ve told you what you wanted to know. Now, leave me be, go fulfill your destiny. God knows I’ve done enough time fulfilling mine.” I’m dismissed as he lights up his pipe.
I guess I will slink out of here, but yes, Cedra did give me the information I need. At the exit to the tent, without looking back, I say, “Thank you, Cedra.”
He doesn’t reply, and so I leave.
I find Shelba’s Fine Goods in the cooking district, just like Cedra said, and enter the little shop that reeks of the awful cabbage. Instinctively, I look around first for the stoves, wanting to know where the Mylop Cabbage grubs are being cooked so I can stay away.
Yep, that’s them. Eh.
“Can I help you?” a male voice says. I turn to the other side of the counter of the deli. A green, significantly ugly Mylop smiles at me from behind a display case of Mylop brisk and quick lunches for stat boosts.
The name over his head reads “Kane.” I’ve found him this easily? What kind of disguise is this when his name is clearly displayed for anyone who enters?
Maybe Kane isn’t known here and now like he is in Elora. He hasn’t made that famous name for himself yet, I guess. But wouldn’t every player in Dark World who came from Elora know who he is?
But it seems he can hide behind a counter and nobody but Bane really knows who he is.
“Hello, Kane. I’m Sid. Do you have a moment for us to speak?” I feel dumb using Nuudle words on a player; having done it with NPCs so long it comes out naturally.
His eyes widen. In a whisper, he says, “You’re the Mystic. The one… oh, I’m sorry. I lost myself there. Can I interest you in some Cabbage Stew? Great for Concentration and Intelligence. Two of your class’ best stats.” He recovers quickly, trying to hide what he already knows about me with his vast NPC knowledge.
“No, Kane. You started out right the first time. I’m here to see Bane’s brother. His real brother. I’ve come to ask for your help stopping him and his army in two days. Have you any allies?”
His face tightens, but I see the light of hope in his lizard eyes. “Sid,” he says quietly. “Please come to the back with me. You’re right. We’ll cut the crap. I’ve been hoping you’d come eventually. And yes, Mystic Sid, I do have allies. Many, many allies.”
~
I’m climbing to the turret to see Master Gronai for possibly the last time. Tomorrow is the big day, the big morning.
Right now, Kane is arranging for his Mylop and allies to be at the Valley of the Gods to take on Bane and Seeker and who knows who else. I’m furious, and I can’t put my finger on why. There are lots of reasons to feel this way, and I can name several, acknowledge them, sort my feelings out about them. That works for me. Silvia makes plans, but I think, think, think to get myself back to right in the head. Today, as I open Master Gronai’s turret door, I’m raging. Sentient reasoning helps not at all, nor would making a plan.
Master Gronai is working on a scroll. I don’t want to interrupt him. He’s concentrating so hard on the scroll that he doesn’t even turn to see who’s here when I enter.
I quietly close the door and wait.
Kane told me he was sixteen, his brother fourteen, when they started playing Elora Online the day the game came out. They’d read all about the game before getting it, thus the names Kane and Bane. They’d shared their real last names as their second names in Elora. The two picked the names Kane and Bane because they loved reading about the history of the ancient battle between the iconic Kane and Bane, and had been pleased they were able to get the names. Only four days later, their parents’ house had caught on fire while they were playing, and you can guess the rest of the story.
Kane spoke plainly with me. I know so much more now, but hope Master Gronai can clarify the rest, verify Kane’s revelations.
At long last, Master Gronai scribbles a last rune, and then exhales gratefully when he’s finished. He swivels around, saying, “Thank you, I really couldn’t have handled an interruption just then.” He sees me. “Oh, Mystic Sid! Always good to see you. Of course, you’re the only one who knows not to interrupt me when I’m in the middle of writing a scroll. Everyone else is too stupid.” He smiles and hops off his stool. “Care for some Hollyweed Tea? I made a scroll this morning just to have a pot this afternoon. Well, I do believe it’s afternoon. Don’t you?”
“Yep,” I say. “Sure, I’ve never had it. I’d love some.”
Master Gronai pulls a scroll out of his pocket, waves his empty hand over his stool as he chants from the scroll. A ceramic teapot and two teacups appear on the stool. “Ah! Delightful smell, don’t you think?”
“It’s… potent.” It smells like poisonous gas, but I’ll choke down a cup anyway. If I know Master Gronai, it might even have some mixed stat boost that makes me less pissed off. I swear I’m an angst-ridden sixteen-year-old again right now.
He fills both cups, retrieves a couple sugar cubes from a container on his desk, and plops them into the sickly green tea. They float instead of sinking. Yeah, this stuff will be hard to get down. He hands me my steaming teacup.
“It’s amazing you can write a scroll to make something materialize, Master Gronai,” I tell him, trying not to sniff while I sip. It tastes like sweetened, steeped moldy kale, but with a bite.
“I’m glad someone thinks so. Here, sit with me on the floor.”
“Why don’t you make a scroll or two to give yourself some comfortable furniture?” I ask, joining him on the hard stone floor, taking another sip in hopes there is that Master Gronai brand kick to the Hollyweed Tea.
“I rather enjoy this stone floor. Perhaps a rug… no. I like my turret room the way it is. But I appreciate your concerns for me and my comfort, Mystic Sid.” He slurps down the teacup-full he has and pours another. “What brings my favorite Nuudle here on such a day?”
Innocent enough question. “Master Gronai, I’ve learned a lot since I last saw you.”
“That wasn’t too long ago. You must have been a busy bee.”
�
�Yes, very busy. Master Gronai, I know about NPCs. The quest line to become an NPC.” I watch him.
He doesn’t meet my eyes at first, and instead, looks at the bottom of the second cup of tea he instantly drank at my words. He says nothing for a moment, and I let time stretch.
“Mystic Sid, these are not things of which we speak. Now,” he looks up, eyes blank, “if I can help you with another scroll, perhaps with the help of some inspiration…?”
“No, Master Gronai. I’m here to learn your story.”
His Nuudle eyes work their charm and innocence. “My story? Why, no Nuudle nor scroll-maker apprentice has asked this. I must be honest, though. I’m an old man. I don’t remember much but how to make scrolls.”
“Master Gronai, you have two names.”
He looks back down at his teacup, and then puts it down between us. “You know, I certainly do.” His voice is quiet.
“Why do you have two names?”
He meets my intent gaze. “Let’s say there is some quest to become an NPC. Let’s say that. Let’s say there’s a scroll one uses at the end of that quest line to become an NPC. Can you follow that?”
“Yes.”
“So, there’s a scroll involved. Who do you think makes that scroll?”
“Not an apprentice scroll-maker.”
He chuckles, still not breaking eye contact. “No, no. You’re right about that. Scroll-making is ancient, and it is the way of the future. All Nuudles and all races need scrolls. Scrolls are of the ancient and of the future, you could say. You of all I’ve met are aware of my skills as a scroll-maker. Yes, you are.” He sighs, looks away and pours both of us more tea.
There is some stat boost in this, and I feel courage. It’s like a swelling of the heart, a feeling you can take on any challenge. Why hasn’t Master Gronai ever made a scroll that emulates Spontaneity? “I’m very aware.”
“You must think about these two names. What they suggest…”
“They suggest you are directly from Elora. Like my friend, Silvia Diamond.”
“More than a friend.” He winks a big Nuudle eye.
“Maybe.” I smile.
“You have spoken with Kane, and I do believe there is a battle soon. Tomorrow?”
“Yes, but how do you know that?”
He shakes his head. “No matter. If you must know, the Nuudle allies of Kane’s are preparing most vigorously. They may or may not know what you and I know. What all NPCs know.”
“Destroy Creation.”
“Ananta and Destroy Creation are the very reasons I am an NPC with two names.”
“What do you mean?”
He smiles slightly. “Manual of Systems. A book I’ve never read. Timelessness, something only certain NPCs are aligned with, as you well know.”
I wait.
He continues. “You fight your fight tomorrow, and I suggest you win. Win whatever way you can. I trust you enough to tell you this. Had any other Mystic come to me like you do, he never would have gained this information from me. This persuasive suggestion. No threat. No threat at all. You, Sid, can offer this existence something that none have done. And it’s about damn time.”
“Watch your words, Master Gronai. They are not words a Nuudle would speak.” I grin.
“You’ve taught me certain expressions, when well placed, have as much power as eloquence.”
“Why do you want me to win?”
“I was afraid for some time, throughout time. But now, I’m not. I trust your judgment completely. You will make the right decisions when the time comes. You, Mystic Sid, will make the correct and best changes for all of us. You have integrity, something not many have. A pure heart and honest integrity. Ananta demands no less.”
“Who is Ananta? Or, what?”
He looks at the stone floor. “I cannot answer that. I’m not entirely sure how to. I don’t have the capacity to understand.” He looks up at me. “You, however, do, and when you make your decisions of pure heart and integrity, Ananta and what he encompasses will be yours and yours alone to comprehend. In a way, as with your other summons, you already do. You simply haven’t the words for it yet. But soon, I do believe you will. Now, Nuudle Mystic Sid, is your time. Your time to make changes, to make decisions for us all. I know you. I know you will make the absolute best of what you face.”
~
Valley of the Gods itself is empty. We’re on the eastern peak, along with Kane’s allies, hiding from view. A few White Elf Blesseds, both NPC and players, as well as Archers, stand sentinel over the valley. My friends and I crouch at the top and peek over into the valley. Nothing. Not even sentinels on the western mountain, but we hear clangs of armor in the distance. All fighting Nuudles, White Elves and Mylop are here, along with a few Humans. There’s not a Siren in sight.
We wait.
If you’re curious…
My stats as of today:
STR: 290
ATT: 301
DEF: 256
CON: 403
INT: 347
CRG: 278
MND: 325
Not too shabby, but I don’t think it’ll be enough.
“I’m here,” says my favorite voice as Silvia plops down next to me.
“Where have you been?” I ask her. “Sorry told me you vanished. We couldn’t find you.”
“I was looking for Anella. Nowhere. She’s gone...”
Of course.
“I’m sorry, Silvia,” I tell her.
She shrugs, eying the empty battlefield. “She has her ways.”
“I hate waiting,” says Days.
“Me too,” adds Sorry.
“It’s the traitor!” I hear a Nuudle call out in a squeaky voice behind us. We turn.
Lucky climbs up the snowy mountain toward us.
“Good lord,” Simple mutters.
“Shit,” says Days.
He’s holding up his hands, one holding a gnarled wand, in a gesture of innocence. “Wait,” he says as he reaches us. “Wait, hear me out.”
We stand out of view of the valley and surround him.
“I’m here with help. Lots of help,” Lucky tells us, hands still up like we have guns on him, ready to arrest him.
Djinn, floating beside me, says, “Do you need a wish, Mystic Sid?”
“Maybe, Djinn. Let’s hear what he has to say.”
“Yes,” Lucky says, pointing at Djinn. “He’ll tell you. Djinn knows. I brought an army. An army of the undead. Look, look behind me. At the base of the mountain. They’re slow, but they’re coming.”
We all turn. Our allies are parting as about four hundred undead mobs breach the path they open up.
“Holy shit!” says Days. “How the hell did you do that? Are you saying…?”
Lucky slowly lowers his hands. “I did something awful to you. To all of you. But because of Seeker’s help to boost my stats, I was able to defeat Necroness, the goddess who holds the Necromancer’s Wand.” He waves the wand. “It makes it so I can catch and command as many undead as I want.”
“Won’t they destroy you the minute they get loose?” Simple asks.
“No, they don’t get loose. I completely control them. Well, kind of.”
“How, kind of?” asks Doolittle.
“They do their own actions, but I tell them who to attack. They leave when dismissed and are warped to HP.” He puts both hands down, with the Necromancer’s wand tip pointing at snow.
“Why the fuck are you here?” Days says. He’s pissed. Don’t blame him.
“I’m here to right my wrong. I’m here to stand with you against Seeker. Them. Them all. With whatever help I can. I know it won’t make things right, but I have to try.”
We glance at each other as the massive undead mobs approach. They make me nervous.
Suddenly, before we have a chance to discuss further, I hear Bane’s voice booming overhead. I look up.
Bane, in Ancient Arcane armor, legendary armor, flies above us on a pitch-black, enormous dragon. I don’t know ho
w he makes his voice amplified.
“You challenge. I accept! I accept because you will all lose and die. That is how this story goes. Forget what you learned in Elora, forget the histories. Now, all of you will know the wrath of The Great Bane and Seeker the Psychic. You have prepared, but you cannot prepare enough for what’s to come. Look into the valley.”
I swing my head around and jump to the peak. Below, massive amounts of Dragonbane swarm. Lucky’s undead are meeting them head-on. Some players of other races join Bane and Seeker’s army, but most are NPCs.
I scan frantically for Seeker, but it’s too late. Kane and his allies instantly go into action, sliding down our mountain of snow into the Valley of the Gods to face the enemy, first taking on Lucky’s undead.
Lucky tweaks his wand. The undead instantly attack Lucky’s targets.
“My God,” says Doolittle as Bane flies to the other side of the valley.
“Where’s Seeker?” I yell in the chaos.
“I’m going down there,” Days bellows as he charges down. Everyone follows but Silvia and me. We wait. She knows I’m watching for Seeker even as I target every single player and NPC I can see from the other fighting side, randomly warping them to HP until I can’t tell who is who anymore. I try to target Bane, but I’m unable to. What is this magic?
About two hundred of Bane and Seeker’s army vanishes with First Wish, and more fall to the undead attacks, but it looks like thousands are still pouring down the mountain. Why couldn’t my friends have had the brains to stick around? Now that the fray is a mash of players and NPCs in the valley, my First Wish is useless.
“Silvia, stay with me. I need to locate Seeker. He’s the target. Everyone else will get to do their thing.”
The gameplay log is ridiculous. I can’t read a single thing. It scrolls like a waterfall of meaningless actions, unable to be read or followed with all the fighting going on below.
I feel panic rise in me.
“Djinn, do you see Seeker?”
“No, Mystic Sid, I do not.”
Keres’ shadowy wraith figure makes an appearance on the battlefield below as she feeds on the dead before they fade.
I don’t know what to do. I can’t tell where any of my comrades are, and instinctively, I grab Silvia around her waist. She’s not going anywhere. I don’t care if she can’t feel anything.
Total Immersion: Dark World: A LitRPG Adventure Page 28
