Beginner's Luck (Character Development Book 1)

by Aaron Jay

  “I’m the fool? Who has been caught…” he started to reply. Arneson looked around to the Clan Leaders, expecting them to be with him in his accusations. But my father’s confidence and more importantly his reputation had made them cautious. Their caution brought Arneson up short. Arneson had clearly been relishing making his mark in front of the movers and shakers of our fallen world. That his audience wasn’t as confident as he was confused him and threw him off his rhythm.

  My father had stopped paying him any attention. He was locked in a stare with Tasha. Neither of them showed any expression whatsoever. It might as well have been two statues, two stones arranged towards each other. The rest of the council watched on as the game was getting interesting.

  My father withdrew from their mutual gaze.

  “You are willing to testify to this under nano-compulsion?” he asked Arneson.

  “Yes,” he said much more slowly and looking towards his patron for guidance. She ignored him, still locked onto my father.

  “Good. Amulius, make it so,” he commanded.

  Amulius gestured and a cloud of silvery fog drifted over Arneson.

  “Has everything you said previously been the truth, GM Arneson?”

  “Yes!” Arneson said glad of the chance to prove himself. With the nano confirmation he expected to get the Party council members back onto his narrative. To his frustration, they were looking at Numitor and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “In your previous investigation you were found to be, and indeed were, operating outside the bounds of your professional duty. Correct?”

  “I already said so. Didn’t I?”

  “Patience. What was the result of that professional breach?”

  “I was suspended for two months.”

  “Yes. Yes. I am not referring to what happened to you. I meant for my son.”

  “He was cleared of suspicion of illegal nano trading,” admitted Arneson.

  “And? Anything else happen to him?”

  “He was held in jail during the investigation for two months without access to the game,” Arneson offered.

  “Yes. Quite useful for the Eastmans and the wager. But let us leave that bit of skulduggery aside. What else?”

  “What do you mean what else?” asked Arneson.

  “What else happened due to your professional malpractice?” prompted my father.

  “We let the kid go. Gave him an apology and recompense.”

  “Yes. That. What did you give him?”

  “He got the top drop from the last mob he offed. If he hadn’t been stuck with his mutant build and farming rabbits in a noob zone it might have been quite the payday.”

  “Indeed. And what was the last mob he ‘offed’?”

  “I told you. He had just started in a newbie zone. He was hunting Desert Hare. Drops a lucky rabbit’s foot. Quite an apology… for anyone else.”

  I allowed myself a smile as I stared at Arneson.

  “Miles. Did you receive a lucky rabbit’s foot?” he inquired of me.

  “No sir. I did not.”

  “That is a lie! I personally oversaw the input. He got the top drop of his last killed mob,” he looked over at Amulius. “Am I lying?”

  Amulius shuddered. “You are telling the truth.”

  “Indeed,” rumbled my father. “You did indeed implement the recompense you mentioned.”

  “Well then?” said Arneson.

  Knowing where this was going I was watching my father, and while not being obvious about it he was clearly keeping Tasha under his observation as he made the big reveal.

  “You made an obvious error, GM Arneson. In fact, my son had just killed the local mini-boss. A giant scorpion.”

  Arneson’s face went pale. He looked at Tasha Eastman but she still wasn’t paying him any attention.

  “I… I didn’t know that, no.”

  “Indeed. I didn’t think you did. Hubris and bad assumptions go together like a fool and dunce caps. We have nano confirmation that once again you jumped to a false conclusion--just like you falsely detained my son. For your edification, the top drop from that mini boss is a minor enhancement crystal.”

  After a moment’s pause Arneson said, “I don’t see how that changes anything. A minor enhancement crystal is no more able to let Miles solo that dungeon than a lucky rabbit’s foot.”

  He looked around at the council, supposedly the best players of the Party. Certainly the most connected and powerful players. They were thinking through the problem. That they seemed to be considering the possibility at all was a blow to Arneson.

  “Did you know that the more specific you make your enhancement, the more powerful the effect? Add a specific element rather than general damage or protection and it is more effective. This instance is full of kobolds, correct?”

  “Still… Solo. Over twice his level… Even if he made his weapon a minor bane of Kobolds. It just isn’t possible,” Arneson said trailing off.

  “Correct. My son used the enhancement crystal with the Bane enhancement. What you mistake is that he not only targeted the kobold race but further targeted the very tribe of kobolds infesting the instance. The Wyrmmdiggers.”

  The large viking clan leader banged the table and bellowed a laugh breaking the tension and spell holding Arneson in place.

  “Still. That is impossible. He was level three,” stammered Arneson.

  “Impossible? No. Merely difficult.” Replied my father. Easy for him to say “merely.” Arrogant bastard. Well, I was likely going to be an arrogant bastard just like him when I grew up, if I didn’t end up a slave of the Eastmans.

  Arneson knew that his prosecution and audience were getting out of his control.

  “What about his collapse?” the GM said. “How do you explain that, just based on the fact that it is perhaps theoretically possible for Miles to have done what he did? I say you helped him cheat.”

  My father looked at him but I could tell that he was still watching Tasha out of the corner of his eye. He sighed and set his shoulders.

  “Well. A simple and direct accusation. I did not help Miles cheat.”

  Tasha finally entered the proceedings.

  “GM Arneson was willing to testify under nano-compulsion. You will recall that I also stated my willingness to prove my honesty under nano-compulsion. Are you willing to do the same?”

  The Party was just about licking its chops at the prospect of getting my father under nano-compulsion controlled by their pet AI, Amulius. Amulius himself raised his eyes looking intent. It seemed clear that this was Tasha’s game. If my father authorized Amulius to inject nano into his system, more than just his testimony would be coerced.

  “I will not allow your creature access,” my father stated.

  “What shall we make of that, Numitor? Without Amulius vouchsafing your word I think we have to side with those of us with nothing to hide. If you have nothing to cover up then why complain about an intrusion on your privacy?”

  “Nicely done, Tasha. An argument put forward by thugs and tyrants over and over throughout history. As if only criminals have any need for privacy or autonomy,” he grated.

  She merely smiled back at him.

  He looked over the Party, looking to see if anyone was uncomfortable with this set of events. Mencius looked unhappy but I had no idea if this was because his rival seemed to be getting the upper hand or if he had some vestigial sense of affection for my family or sense of ethics. Whatever it was, it wasn’t enough for him to step forward against her. The rest seemed unconcerned or even hostile to the idea that privacy should trump security as they defined it.

  “It seems like we have a consensus. If you are unwilling to prove your innocence we must assume your guilt.

  “Another oldie but goodie. I must disprove your accusation rather than have the burden of proof rest on the accusers. We really have devolved.”

  “Always with the holier than thou self-righteousness, Numitor. This is all being done according to the laws a
nd agreements.”

  “More the pity that this attitude has become formalized.”

  “You are the one who set yourself against the Party. We were willing to work with you. Work for you. You turned your back on us. Don’t complain about your choices at this late date. Now choose. Submit to nano-compulsion or your son is convicted of cheating.”

  I couldn’t let the Party get my father under their thumb. I was sure that more than just truth verification was going to be imposed onto my father. No one but my father and the council knew the exact details of the stalemate and subsequent agreement. The Party was in control of Amulius and largely had the game stacked in their favor but they still had to play in large measure by the rules. They couldn’t just assign themselves stacks of gold or epic level gear. They could weight the dice. They could bend the rules and suborn the referees. But they still had to play the game. If my father fell under their control they would be in full control of the game. I believed my father that this would lead to the death of humanity. The game was keeping us alive, barely, and in their greed and arrogance they would lose the game for us. The charges against us were ironic in that one of the absolute rules my father established in our struggle with the wild nano is that cheaters cannot tame wild nano using the Game. Eventually, if humanity cheated we would forfeit our lives. It put real teeth into the old saw about cheaters never prospering.

  “Dad. I’ll be fine. I’ll survive whatever punishment.”

  “Punishment for cheating in the Game is restriction to basic nano in the crib for life,” purred Tasha. “All earned nano is confiscated for the public good. So, life at hard labor.”

  I glared at her.

  “So, about the same as if I lost this damned wager. I was probably going to lose anyway. Dad, what are we really losing? It isn’t worth it. I’ll be fine.”

  My father looked at me with pride and laughed.

  “Indeed, you will. I appreciate such a noble gesture of sacrifice, Miles. And as I have said to you before I have confidence in you,” he said and turned to the Party council. “I see no reason why it needs to be me testifying. Miles Boone will submit to truth telling. His verified testimony should clear this up.”

  “I can? Oh. Yes. I can. I do. I will.”

  “Not sufficient,” said Tasha.

  “Let us see what Amulius rules,” proposed my father.

  The Party digested this and looked to Amulius. He struggled between their obvious desire not to accept my testimony and the constraints of the Game’s programming.

  “That… is sufficient,” Amulius said eventually.

  Tasha stiffened. Mencius looked pleased.

  A cloud of nanites flew from Amulius and enveloped me. My heartbeat tried to rise but somehow it was forced to stay calm. I wanted to be nervous but I couldn’t.

  Arneson, as the responsible representative of the GMs, was given the task of questioning me. He swallowed and proceeded to interrogate me.

  “Miles Boone. Have you cheated at the game?”

  “No.”

  The GM paused at that flat denial but kept on after a moment.

  “Have you received aid from your father?”

  “Yes.”

  “What?”

  “The most valuable thing was his advice.”

  “What advice was that?”

  “To follow my intuition guided by my experience.”

  “Very endearing. We are all touched by your family bonds. Did he give you any nano or technical help that let you alter anything in the game?”

  I thought about this question but my mouth was already answering and I realized that what I was saying was the truth.

  “No. My father did not give me any technical aid that altered the rules of the game or changed the mobs or anything in any way. He did nothing that made the game any easier for me than anyone else.”

  That was the truth. Whatever hardcore mode was, it changed me. It did nothing to the game at all. It was within the rules. It might drown me but it wasn’t cheating. Most importantly, it sure as hell didn’t make the game any easier.

  “Enough of this. All has been answered. My son and Amulius both confirm that there has been no cheating. The question of how my son managed to solo the dungeon has been answered: it was merely a piece of exceptional game playing. Let us finish this farce.”

  There was that merely again.

  “I agree,” came Tasha Eastman’s concurrence. “We have wasted our time on the empty accusations of GM Arneson.”

  Arneson looked green as the Eastman Clan Leader threw him to the wolves.

  “I… I… I…” he mumbled.

  “I think it is only fair to offer some recompense to young Miles for once again dragging him through official investigation even if the reasons for the investigation were sound and innocent of malice. Arneson offered his testimony under nano-compulsion so we have proof positive that his actions were justifiable.”

  “That is right!” he gulped desperately. I couldn’t help a small burst of laughter at his puppet strings whipsawing him. He glared at me but then thought better of showing any personal animosity and brought himself into some sort of military brace. He was the kind who was either at your feet or at your throat. What a putz.

  “Very kind of you, Tasha. But Miles does not need any recompense. Just allow him to continue playing his game,” my father said grimly.

  “No no no. I can’t hear of it. Recompense must be made! Any objections?”

  The sentiment was unanimous. My stomach started to clench. This wasn’t going to be good.

  “Miles shouldn’t have to solo this instance. I move that we allow his former party members to rejoin him in finishing the dungeon. The other players all happen to be Eastman clan members. We will happily pay the penalties of reconnecting the party.”

  “So, that is your endgame?” my father asked.

  “You were the one who told us all that the way to beat anyone, including the wild nano, was to play the Game, and that even if we lose in the Game we still win. I am just following your strategy. Sure, if you had nobly sacrificed yourself for your son I would have been ecstatic but this is a fine outcome. Don’t you think?”

  My father looked at Tasha with a mixture of pity, frustration, and contempt.

  “You think this is how I play my games?”

  “Don’t be a sore loser, Numitor. You taught us how to play. Don’t complain now that others can now play as well as you.”

  “Means and ends, Tasha. I make no complaint…and would be a hypocrite to complain of working to ensure that all paths lead to victory. It is your definition of what constitutes a victory that I condemn.”

  “Because Miles is your son.”

  “I’d feel the same about your play style no matter whose son.”

  Tasha snorted in disbelief.

  “So, you are pretending to some sort of innocence? I was there, Numitor. I know what a vicious son of a bitch you are.”

  “Means and ends again, Tasha. But you are right. When aroused in my ire and feeling justified in my cause, I am a son of a bitch,” he addressed Amulius and the Party. “We have the unanimous consent that recompense should be paid. Recorded and accepted. This is twice that GM Arneson has shown himself to be unfit for his office. He should pay for his malpractice or be let go from service. Amulius, according to the core rules can a GM interfere with a player’s game without substantial need? We have the unanimous vote of the Party that his actions were incompetent enough to demand recompense. A ruling please.”

  Amulius’ eyes shone with an odd light. There was a delay in his response, but it wasn’t necessary. Just another gesture by an AI to give us emotional cues as it did things and decided things that changed our lives. Rewards and punishments needed to seem like something given with deliberation, even if the deliberation happened too fast for us to perceive.

  “GM Arneson you must make recompense or lose your position in the GMs,” Amulius intoned.

  Arneson went pale and choked.

>   “Let’s see, the last time you unethically interfered in my son’s game the top drop from his last killed mob was deemed a reasonable compensation. You didn’t learn your lesson. At least the same again seems reasonable. At your expense this time rather than from the system.”

  “Or he can resign from the GMs,” Tasha smiled brittlely and stared at Arneson.

  Arneson was frozen to the spot. It was clear what she expected from him. The cost of even a top drop from a low-level instance was nothing much to him. Conversely, losing his position was an incredible blow. He’d have to survive on whatever skills he had as a player and whatever gratitude he could inspire from Tasha Eastman. Betting your future on the warmth of Tasha Eastman’s heart was a pretty bleak bet.

  “Ms. Eastman…?!?” he implored her. But she looked back implacably. Her gratitude might be scant but her vengeance was as reliable as the stones of the earth.

  I almost felt sorry for him but my father didn’t raise a soft-hearted fool. Ride a tiger and you will find getting off a dangerous endeavor that will cost you for sure. I gave it even odds that I’d get some gear that I could desperately use. Quite the testament to what a scary bitch Tasha Eastman was.

  Arneson crumpled.

  “I resign from the GMs,” he trembled.

  “Noted,” said Amulius. “GM Arneson has been terminated from his position with the GMs for cause. The previous players may return to the previous instance of The Mines of Madness! with the caveat that any death will boot them from the party and instance.”

  Tasha ignored him and looked at me and my father.

  “So, what? GMs who wish to curry favor are as common as the sand. You haven’t won anything or hurt me and mine,” she informed him. And it was true. She had lost nothing of much value to her.

  “I reminded us all that I am still a son of a bitch. Come after me or mine and I will return like for like. I just don’t need to lose my integrity or self-respect to do so. That is because I am a genius. Remember this Tasha. I do not forget a slight and I am still someone to be feared. Do you feel it yet Tasha? It takes me a while to get moving these days but when I do--well, I suspect you will envy Arneson here.”

  My father took my arm and we made to leave the council room.