“Don’t do that,” she scolded me.
“Don’t do what?” I asked, playing dumb.
“That!” she snapped. “Treat me differently! That’s why I didn’t tell you I was a girl in the first place!”
“Gah, I know…” I said miserably. It felt as though a wedge had been driven between us, and I wasn’t sure how to handle things anymore. D’s friendship was one of the most important things in my life, and I wouldn’t know what to do if this ruined that.
“Hi, Jack. My name’s Jane and I’m 17,” she said quickly as though the words tasted horrible. “I’m a Libra and I’m from Rhode Island.”
“Wow, Rhode Island, really?” I asked her. “I’m like—so close to you, I’m from Boston. The Sprawl.”
“Oh, no,” she groaned.
“What!? What is it!?”
“Now it’s going to be so awkward!”
“What? Why?”
“Because now it’s going to be like—do we meet in real life? When do we meet? Is it going to be like a date or something? If we don’t meet up is that like one of us being awkward—?”
“Whoa, slow down!” I told her, holding out my hands like she was a horse about to charge. “None of that is going to happen. In case you forgot, we’re stuck in Carrethen?”
“Yeah…” D replied sullenly. It was like the persona of the D I knew had fallen away—hopefully just temporarily.
“Speaking of which, who the Hell is this Norman guy and how do you know him, and why the Hell is he The Ripper?!”
“Well, that is a long story,” D replied. “But I’ll give you the short version if you promise not to tell the others.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Promise me, Jack!”
“Okay, I promise, geez,” I replied. D sighed and put her hands on her head.
“So… Norman is this guy I met back in Glorious Online—this was before I knew you,” D explained. “He was a senior and was this insanely talented programmer. I told him I was a girl and I could tell he started to like like me. He’d ask me to voice chat, and then he started e-mailing me pictures of himself and stuff.”
“Like… picture pictures?” I asked.
“Ew, no.” D grimaced. “I was 15 at the time, that would have been majorly messed up. Just like pictures of him smiling, pictures of his cat and stuff. Eventually he wanted to meet up with me.”
“Did you?”
“No,” D shook her head. “I kind of wanted to, but there was no way my parents would have let me do that anyway. I told him and he—he really freaked out about it.”
“Freaked out how?”
“Like, started calling me a bitch and stuff in voice chat,” D replied. “Telling me I was just using him for in-game gold and things like that, even though I totally didn’t need him to give me stuff.”
“Yeah of course, I mean—you’re D. King of all games. Or should I say queen now?”
If looks could kill, D would have liquefied me on the spot.
“Anyway,” she continued. “Norman apologized and asked me to meet up with him again. He told me he thought we could be a great couple and asked me if I liked older guys.”
“Do you?” I asked. I just couldn’t help myself.
“Ew, why? Are you like 30 or something?”
“No. I’m 17 too,” I laughed. “But Cavey is. He’s 36!”
“Anyway,” she repeated. “I told him no, deleted my Glorious Online character and started playing under another name. He wouldn’t stop e-mailing me and trying to get me to voice chat with him, and so finally I had to block him on every form of communication I have.”
“That’s why you called him a stalker?”
“That’s right.”
“How did he find out you were friends with me?” I asked. “And how is he The Ripper now!?’
“I don’t know,” D replied, shaking her head. “The only thing I can think of is that he told me he was applying for an internship at Wellspring and if he got it, he wasn’t going to go to college. I mean, he may be a creep, but he’s an insanely talented coder.”
“He must have gotten it then,” I replied grimly. “And somehow he got control of the game and made himself god. And that’s why he has it out for me. Because he thinks you and I are—are a thing.”
“Yup,” D replied awkwardly.
“I just realized something else…”
“What’s that?”
“The Wellspring contest I won,” I replied. “That was him. He rigged the contest to make sure he got me here.”
“Wow,” D nodded. “You’re right.” She awkwardly kicked a stone at her feet. We were both silent for a while. You could cut the awkwardness between us with a knife.
“So, uh…” I said slowly. “I really don’t know what to say. I mean—you’re a girl!?”
67
Don’t Tell The Others
“Gah, this is so awkward!” D exclaimed. Her tone of voice had even shifted, as if she’d given up pretending in front of me. The revelation that my best friend wasn’t actually a dude was a heavy one to come to terms with, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do—if anything.
“You’re so like—not girly,” I said. It seemed like the right thing to say but based on D’s reaction—it wasn’t.
“What the Hell does that mean!?”
“Uh…” I stammered. “I—I dunno!”
“What, just because I didn’t make my character a tall hot chick and try to get my armor dyed pink I’m not girly!?”
“No, I didn’t mean that—”
“What, because I’m not a healer I’m not girly?”
“Wait a minute—”
“Because I’m not always saying things like cute, or fluffy, or adorable, I’m not girly!?”
“Shut up for a second!” I bellowed. D actually did and took a step back.
Great, now you’re yelling at a girl, I thought. This is so messed up!
“I just mean…” I said slowly, trying to collect my thoughts. “I just have never met someone so aggressive when it comes to gaming as you are. You’re like, the PvP King—or Queen?”
“Shut up.”
“Okay, sorry,” I said quickly. “I just—you’re such a frigging badass. I’ve never run into a girl-gamer like you before.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s a compliment, D!” I protested as she glared at me. “I mean—I would never have guessed!”
“That’s the point,” she replied, slightly less venomous. “I don’t want people to know that I’m a girl. The first MMO I played—guys were always trying to win me over by giving me stuff. I don’t want to be treated differently, I just want to be treated the same as everybody else. I don’t play MMOs to find a boyfriend!”
For some reason, even though I knew it shouldn’t, that last comment sort of stung. D was my best friend, but somehow at that moment, it felt as though she’d just completely shut me down as a potential suitor.
Of course, I had no reason to be bummed out by that. I’d never even met her in real life. Maybe I wouldn’t even be attracted to her, or maybe she was completely different, and I wouldn’t even like her. But either way, no guy likes to be immediately crossed off of a girl’s list, and that’s how I felt hearing her say that.
“Oh, don’t take it like that!” D gasped, sounding absolutely miserable. “I mean—it’s not like I’m rejecting you or something!”
“Well, that’s how it feels!” I replied.
“Can you not be such a boy!?” D asked, practically pleading with me.
“Oh, you’re one to talk!” I snapped, motioning to her male character model.
We both stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. I was bent over with both hands on my knees, and D literally collapsed to the ground and lay down as she laughed.
“Oh, God,” I gasped as I cracked up. “This is crazy.”
“Jack,” D said, trying to get control of herself.
“Yeah?”
“Just—j
ust promise me you won’t treat me any differently,” she said. I could see she really meant it, so I decided to mess with her.
“Okay, I won’t,” I replied. “But only if you sent me pictures when we get out of here.”
“Stoooop!” she protested, leaning over and slapping me on the shoulder.
“I’m joking!” I laughed.
“I know,” she chuckled. “Just—just don’t tell the others, okay?”
“Okay, I won’t.”
“Especially Baltos,” she added. “I just get the feeling that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from flirting with me.”
“Oh, no doubt. I get the feeling he’s probably like 13.”
“So do I.”
We picked ourselves up and headed out towards Cavey’s rock hideout. Things were still a little awkward, but I kept telling myself it would pass and to stop thinking about what D looked like in real life. But as any gamer-guy knows—once you’ve met a girl online that you like, it’s hard not to wonder.
Was she tall and blonde? A short Asian otaku? Was she crazy ugly but super cool? A tomboy? A girly girl? Maybe she was lying about being in high school and was actually a mom? The possibilities were endless.
Don’t think about it, I told myself. I wonder—is she thinking the same things about me?
“So,” D said, breaking the silence. “Where’d you go for so long?”
“Ah, god,” I exclaimed, kicking the ground.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly and uncharacteristically. “You don’t have to go into it if you don’t want to.”
“Hey, I thought we weren’t going to act differently to each other?” I reminded her.
“What do you mean?”
“The D I know would never let me off the hook that easy,” I explained. “Let alone give me an apology first.”
D thought about that for a second then grinned. “You’re right, allow me to rephrase.” She put a hand to her mouth and pretended to clear her throat. “Where the Hell were you, dickhead?!”
“That’s better,” I chuckled. “Mountain Retreat. Ever heard of it?”
D shook her head. “No.”
“It’s up North,” I explained. “No one else up there. I just—I didn’t know what to do after I killed Chaucey. After The Ripper killed The Mercenaries. I couldn’t handle it.”
“It’s the world now, Jack,” D replied, sounding more like himself—herself.
“I know, D,” I grumbled. “I just couldn’t handle it. I needed time.”
“You sound like a girl after a breakup.”
“Nice.” I laughed. “Thanks for that.”
“I—I understand,” D said. Her answer surprised me, and I turned to look at her. “That doesn’t mean I’m still not mad at you, though!”
“I can live with that,” I joked as we approached the boulder. They had obviously sealed the door from the inside. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I did what you normally would, and knocked… on a boulder.
“Uh—anybody home?” I asked.
I didn’t hear anything from inside, but after a moment the rock rumbled, and the crack began to open, and I saw the faces of my friends looking out from inside.
“Hey, guys,” I said with a wave. “Uh, how’s it going?”
68
A Big Risk
It felt like some sort of secret club with all of us being clustered together in the secret hideout inside an enormous boulder. It was like being a little kid again when you form secret societies with your closest friends, play pretend, and get up to all kinds of trouble.
Except this time, we weren’t pretending—not really. And the trouble had serious consequences.
“The Ripper,” Baltos said solemnly after I had finished relaying what had happened back at Stoneburg. “So—I guess you were pretty lucky that he showed up when he did, huh?”
I glanced at D who was shooting me a look that said: if you say anything, I’ll kill your whole family!
“Uh, yeah…” I replied slowly.
“He definitely likes messing with you,” Xavier chimed in. “Any idea why?”
“Nope,” I answered instantly. “Maybe if I knew who he actually was, but I don’t.”
It felt wrong to lie to them, but at the same time, revealing any information about The Ripper—Norman—would also reveal D’s secret identity so to speak. I also didn’t want all of the friends I’d made in Carrethen to know that the reason The Ripper had taken control of the world, was to get back at me and D over some crazy, real-world, personal vendetta that was a result of his insanity. So, I changed the subject.
“What we need now is a plan,” I told them. “We need to level up. We don’t have time for anything to get in our way anymore. PK guilds, Bleed, or anybody else.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Xavier replied. “But where do we do that? Stoneburg’s overrun, and I don’t know of any great spots around here, do you?”
“Uhm, by the way, Jack,” D interjected, looking across the chamber. “What the Hell is Og doing here?”
“Give Og fish,” Og joked, taking a fighting stance, his nekode aimed towards D.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I laughed. “He’s just messing with you. Og got us the portal to Keth. He’s a good dude.”
“He’s a roleplayer,” D scoffed.
“So?” Og replied indignantly. “You play your way and I’ll play mine!”
“Mmmm, okay,” D replied, rolling her eyes.
“What about the Crimson Catacombs?” Cavey asked, interrupting the tiff.
“No,” D said, shaking his head. “Most of that stuff is in the 40s. Only a few high-level ones at the bottom. Jack could clear the entire dungeon and not even get a quarter of a level there.”
“Where were you leveling, Jack?” Baltos asked.
“Mountain Retreat,” I told him. “It’s up North. There’s Ice Golems and other stuff, but I’m not sure there’s enough spots for six people to level efficiently. The spawns are slow.”
“And you didn’t find anything else up there?” D asked. “A dungeon or anything?”
“No, nothing like that—”
I stopped midsentence when I remembered.
“What?” Baltos asked excitedly.
“Did you find something, Jack?” Cavey asked.
“Yeah…” I said slowly, scrolling through my inventory. “But not a dungeon.”
I found it.
Sparkling Arlan Stone.
I pulled the item from my inventory and held it in my hand for everyone to see. It glowed slightly, but other than that, it didn’t look too impressive.
“Uh…” Xavier said skeptically. “Okay? You found a rock.”
“Not just a rock,” I smiled. “D, do you know what this is?”
D shook her head. “No. Should I?”
“Sparkling Arlan Stone,” I told them. “Remember the NPC in Stoneburg?”
“Boddry!” Cavey replied quickly. “Yeah, Boddry’s always going on about one of those.”
“Oh, right!” D replied. “We figured it was some sort of low-level junk quest.”
“Yeah, well I found it in a cave up North,” I explained. “Guarded by level 65 plus monsters, hidden behind a wall that you could only see when it was completely dark, in the most incredible chamber I’ve ever seen.”
Quickly, I recounted my adventure into the room with glowing gold and purple walls and finding the stone on the pedestal at the center of the enormous room. When I was done, I could see I’d gotten everyone’s attention.
“Okay, so what do you think the quest reward is?” Baltos asked eagerly. “An artifact weapon? Armor? Some kind of magic item to boost your stats?”
“Absolutely no idea.” I smiled. “But I guarantee you it’s something awesome. A quest in a starter town that most people would ignore, with the quest item being hidden away in a cave in the middle of nowhere? It’s definitely not just a bunch of Pareals, that’s for sure.”
“Okay, but how do we turn it in?” D asked. “St
oneburg’s completely overrun with Bleed. And in case you don’t remember, we just got chased out of there.”
“Maybe they’re all still frozen?” Baltos suggested. “From what The Ripper did?”
“Wouldn’t bet on it,” Cavey replied.
Xavier nodded. “Agreed.”
“I could just—run in there and try to turn it in,” I suggested. It was a weak idea, but I couldn’t think of anything better.
“Yeah that’ll work,” D scoffed.
That’s the D I know! I thought.
“What we need is a distraction,” Og pondered. “Enough to distract them away from the town square so Jack can go turn in the Arlan Stone.”
“Yeah, but what kind of distraction?” Baltos asked.
As if on cue, I heard a sound outside the cave. It sounded like somebody moving around.
“Shit!” Xavier hissed, drawing his halberd. “Someone’s out there!”
“It’s Bleed!” Baltos panicked. “They followed us here!”
“Impossible,” I said, shaking my head. “They were all still frozen when we left.”
“Who is it then!?”
“Chill out,” D said, sounding annoyed as he drew his bow and nocked an arrow. “Open the door and I’ll nail them.”
“Just wait until they go away!” Baltos suggested. “Maybe they don’t even know we’re here!?”
“Why are they out there then?” D snapped back. “Open the door.”
Hesitantly, Cavey moved to the switch on the wall as I drew my Froleal’s Sword. Flame Strike was no longer needed, so it was back to pure damage.
With a rumble, the cave walls began to open. D drew his arrow back and was just ready to fire when a familiar voice rang out.
“Whoa, whoa, wait a damn minute! I’m friendly!”
“Kattenschind?” I couldn’t believe it, but there he was, standing in front of us like nothing had happened. “How’d you know about this place?”
“I didn’t!” he laughed. “I just barely saw you guys going over the hill past Stoneburg. I ran after you but after I crossed the river, I had no idea where you went.”
“See?” Baltos chimed in. “Told you they didn’t know we were here!”
D flashed Baltos a dirty look as he put away his bow.
Call of Carrethen: A LitRPG and GameLit novel (Wellspring Book 1) Page 29
