by Dante Doom
“Yes, invasion,” Van said as he straightened up. “This town is in Rosethorn, one of the Contentious Kingdoms. That means that other kingdoms will occasionally declare war and try to attack. Right now, it looks like we’re fighting against the Kingdom of Ceren.”
“Oh, so this is an event?” Sang asked as she watched the dragon land on one of the buildings and begin to bite at nearby adventurers.
“Yeah, it happens all the time,” Van said. “It’s good experience points if we join the fight, even if they lose. Let’s jump in!”
“We’re not here to fight in events,” Sang said. “We’re trying to learn more about Draco.”
“And we’re not going to be able to do that without being at a sufficient level. Remember, this ain’t like the real world. If you don’t have a high enough level, you can’t kill anything!” Van said as he unsheathed his bagpipes. “Onward, to victory!”
Sang gritted her teeth as the terrible tune of his war ballad forced its way into her ears. It was so rough that she was worried it might cause damage to her. But on the contrary, the words War Ballad Bonus appeared above her, granting her an increase in her stamina regen and boosting her strength. She pulled her bow out and loaded it with an arrow.
“Alright, let’s do this!” she said as she followed after Van. There was a small group of Orcs standing by one of the burning stores; it was a smithy. They were busy looting a few corpses, grunting and snarling as they worked.
Sang fired an arrow right into the skull of an Orc. The words CRITICAL HIT! floated above the green monster man, causing his health bar to drop to zero.
“Nice shot!” Van said as he blew into his bagpipes some more. Jet was busy running around Van’s legs, apparently irritated by the music.
“Kill the Rosethorn lackeys!” cried one of the orcs. There were five left and they all had the exact same words above their heads: Orc Warband Level 17. One of them raised his long warhammer above his head and roared in rage as he charged towards Sang.
Sang released a few more arrows, but the words DODGE! DODGE! kept appearing over the Orc’s head. The snarling green man managed to run right up to her and swing his hammer down hard. Sang narrowly avoided the blow, dodging to the left. Before she could drop her bow and grab her short sword, another Orc was next to her, stabbing at her with his sword.
“Van! A little help here!” Sang called as she swiftly leapt over the assailant’s head and unsheathed her sword, blocking a flurry of blows. The clanging of the blades was nearly overwhelming as she desperately tried to defend herself. There were more Orcs surrounding her and she knew that she couldn’t keep her defenses up forever.
“Ahem!” Van shouted. “Behold the Hypnotic Power of the—ACK!” his words were interrupted as one of the Orcs stabbed him from behind. The Orc had apparently snuck up behind Van and killed him instantly.
“Van!” Sang shouted as she watched her companion slump to the ground, dead. She felt the crushing blow of a hammer smash against her jaw, knocking her backwards. She fell to the ground as blood gushed from her mouth. She knew she was beat, so she quickly activated one of her ranger skills, called Feign Death. Immediately, her body became translucent and she also slumped to the ground, completely motionless. The Orcs around her quickly lost interest and went right back to the area where they had been looting earlier.
Sang sighed as she glanced at Van’s dead corpse. A message quickly arrived at her user interface.
Respawned at Termali ten miles from here. Lost it all. – Van
Termali wasn’t an easy place to reach by foot, but with the battle raging on, it was doubtful Sang would be able to steal a horse to ride there. She’d have to meet him halfway. As she laid on the ground, waiting for the Orcs to wander off so she could leave, Jet crawled over to her and nestled atop her chest.
“Damn it,” the little dragon said, snorting out a puff of smoke.
“You said it,” Sang whispered. “You said it.
Van walked down the road, grumbling the entire time. All of his gear had been lost. His gold was gone, his awesome magical flute was gone... all of it. He knew Sang would probably be able to recover some of his stuff, but whenever a player died, half of their gear vanished randomly. It was a measure created to ensure that players didn’t spend all of their time killing each other over gear. Each step on the ground was painful, as he had no shoes. He hadn’t been able to afford anything in that small village where he’d popped up. Without a single gold piece to his name, he was being forced to walk now so that he could reunite with Sang.
As he moved, he shivered a little. The pain he’d felt when the Orc ran him through had been intense, but it had also been very different from the pain he’d felt when battling against Trefor for survival. The sharp sensation of a sword had been far from pleasant, but it hadn’t felt real. Van had wondered if he was going to die for real when the sword cut through him, but sure enough, he’d just popped up in a random town—alive, healthy, and shoeless.
A sharp whistle brought his attention to the tree line to his right. He could see that Sang was crouching down by the bushes. He had almost completely missed her, but for the fact that she’d whistled to him.
“Sang!” he said as he trotted over to her, wincing with each step as he felt sticks and twigs digging into his feet.
“Keep it down!” she whispered as she threw him a pair of boots and his bagpipes. “I think we’re being followed.”
“By who?” Van asked as he hopped around on one foot, desperately trying to get his boots on.
“I dunno, I heard them off in the distance. Laughing about how Rosethorn will never get their act together.”
“Hmm, sounds like players to me. Unfortunately, when we attacked those Orcs, it flagged us as combatants, making it perfectly legal to kill us as long as the war event is going on. There’s a pretty hefty bonus to killing enemy players, too.”
“Wonderful,” Sang said as she sharpened one of her arrowheads with a knife. “We were torn to shreds back there, and those were just NPCs. Imagine what actual players will do to us!”
“I’m sure they’ll give up once they find you and murder you,” Van said. “As for me, since I died already, I’m no longer tagged. So, this is exclusively not my problem!”
“Not my problem!” Jet echoed as he stuck his head out Sang’s satchel.
“Hey, I gave you shoes! You owe me!” Sang said.
“Oh right, I forgot the old sole-bond rule,” Van said with a chuckle. “Come on, if we get moving, they’ll probably lose interest.”
Sang shook her head. “I say we ambush them. Attack from the trees, rain down arrows on them hard and scare them off.”
Van shrugged. “I dunno; seems risky. If they are tough enough, they’ll dig in and fight back. Then we’re in real trouble.”
“I think I’d rather fight than run. No guarantee they won’t keep following us. I used my stealth skills to escape from the area, so if they’re following me, it means they have a tracker with them.”
Van nodded. It was true that, if these players had a ranger or a hunter with them, they’d be able to find Sang no matter how hard she tried to hide. He gritted his teeth with the conundrum. Fight or run?
“Wait!” Van said, “I’ve got it! They were following you, right? I’m not tagged as a kingdom member, so they won’t attack me on sight. I’ll tell them you went somewhere else!”
Sang nodded emphatically. “Genius! I’ll hide up in the trees; you find them and then, if they turn out to be bandits, you can distract them while I shoot at them from above!”
“Uh, pretty sure me distracting them would involve them stabbing me dozens of times,” Van protested.
“Van… that’s the risk I’m willing to take,” Sang said as she began to scale up one of the large redwood trees.
“Ha ha,” Van grumbled as he walked deeper into the woods. The chirping of the birds in the area and the gentle rustling of the winds created a feeling of calm and peacefulness in him. So far, returning
to the game had been pretty fun. Apart from the chaos, it was nice to be back home, in the game that he had loved so very much. Ten long years, he had already been playing this game, and now as he trudged through the forest, feeling the cool air press against his face, he had nearly forgotten how much he’d missed playing it.
Sure, the trip to Asturias had been a fun little vacation, but there were so many restrictions on him in the real world. He couldn’t run endlessly, he couldn’t climb without fear of dying, nor could he grab a weapon and fight a fierce animal. Instead, he had been stuck huffing and wheezing as he had tried to keep up with Sang during a day hike in the mountains. The pain and frustration of living in a world full of consequences had been far too much for him. While Sang had ooed and awed at just about every little thing in the scenic countryside, Van had only been able to compare it to the equally incredible realms that he had seen in Dragon Kings of the New World. To him, the real beauty of life was in being an uber powerful warrior, travelling through the dark realms, and fighting evil—all of which was far more fun than just strolling around taking in the sights. It was funny... for as much as Sang had rambled on about the pleasures of the real world, all his vacation had done was solidify the fact that this game was and forever would be his first choice when it came to fun activities.
“Don’t move!” called a voice from the trees. Van stopped in his tracks immediately. He could see that there were about four people slowly creeping through the woods, all of them armed with bows. They were players, all of them Level 20. One of them, a strong jawed barbarian-looking fellow named Cleaver, stood tall and approached Van.
“Greetings, Semimodo!” Cleaver said, stretching out his arm to shake Van’s hand. Van grasped the strong barbarian’s grip and felt his bones pop a little as the man squeezed it.
“Hi there, folks,” Van replied. He could see that the war party seemed relatively relaxed for being so heavily armed.
“We are seeking out something; perhaps you can assist us!” Cleaver said, clapping a hand on Van’s shoulder.
“Sure, sure, what are you looking for?”
“We are seeking out a fugitive who served the Kingdom of Rosethorn in battle! Have you seen anyone out here? We’ll pay you for the information!”
Van was hurriedly sifting through all of their stats, looking for the scout. Finally, he saw that one of them was a ranger. The character’s skill display popped up.
Name: Ferdinand
Level: 20
Class: Ranger
Sneaking: +10
Foraging: +10
Sniping: +5
Tracking: +8
Spotting: +8
Van grinned when he saw those numbers. The tracking was high enough for them to be able to follow Sang, but the spotting score was just a few points lower than Sang’s hiding ability, meaning that they could follow her, but they wouldn’t be able to see her.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t seen anyone out here. I was killed earlier and was just trying to get back to a decent city,” Van lied.
“I see, well, you’re currently heading west, there aren’t any useful cities over there. Just useless towns belonging to the Rosethorn Kingdom. We’re heading back to our home base. It’s a glorious season, brother! The Season of War and Flame is upon us!” Cleaver said, raising his battle axe high. The others cheered triumphantly.
“Season of War and Flame?” Van asked. “Already?”
“Yup! The devs decided to start it earlier than normal—a great way to shake things up!” Cleaver said.
The Season of War and Flame was a massive in-game event where all kingdoms were considered to be at war, regardless of their ruler’s disposition. It was a huge event that normally happened near the later part of the year, but it seemed that it was happening now. This would drastically change the landscape of the game, as many armies were made up of player characters, and people without allegiances were usually offered large sums of gold to participate in campaigns. This would bring a considerable boost to the amount of opportunities that Van and Sang would have to earn experience and cool magic items. The best part was that, with so much chaos involved in the wars erupting everywhere, the change would give the pair ample cover for traveling around without being detected. Van still wasn’t sure how much Draco knew about them, but with the business of running a war, most pro players would be required to serve in various military campaigns to keep the game interesting.
“So, since we’ve got you here, how about you join our cause? The Ceren Kingdom was one of the top kingdoms last season, and that was without the incredible leadership provided by our brand-new king, Lemuel. Join us, and you will enjoy the spoils of victory! As we speak, our forces are gutting Rosethorn like the weak dogs they are!” Cleaver said with a wide grin.
“Unfortunately, like politics and religion, I don’t like to pick sides during wars,” Van said as he shuffled back half a step. “I’m going to have to pass.”
“Sounds like something a Ceren supporter would say…” Cleaver said, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes. Van could feel the man’s gaze piercing a hole right through him. There was a stilted silence until finally Cleaver let out a big laugh. “Just kidding! The offer is always open; if you want to join the winning side this year, come to the capital of Ceren, Bloodrock.”
“Bloodrock?” Van repeated as he let out a sigh of relief due to the fact that he was not going to be hacked apart by this hulking barbarian. “Isn’t that place insanely dangerous and hard to move through?”
“Oh, it sure is, but King Lemuel is the real deal. A pro player, insanely driven, highly focused and, above all, incredibly organized. Showed up about four weeks ago with an army and a plan. Took hold of the entire area, filled it with pro players, and opened up the recruitment to anyone who’s qualified to join! It’s been packed ever since.”
“Seriously?” Van asked.
“Yeah, it’s amazing. We’ve got at least 14 pros on our side. Never seen anything like it!” Cleaver said with a grin as he shoved a map into Van’s hands.
“Recruitment’s open for another two days before we seal the tunnel leading into Bloodrock up for the rest of the campaign. Tell them Cleaver sent ya.”
“I’ll think about it,” Van said as he pocketed the map. It might come in handy at some point later on.
“Farewell, bard!” Cleaver said as he sheathed his weapon and waved to his team. The rest of them followed after him in silence.
After a few minutes, Van glanced up into the tree line to see Sang watching in silence.
“I think we’re clear,” Van said.
“Nice work,” Sang replied as she dropped down from the trees. “You get any useful information?”
“Yeah, big time. Every year, there’s a big event where every kingdom has to go to war, and it looks like it’s starting this week. So, it’s gonna be purse chaos, which is going to make it easier for us to move around without detection,” Van said.
“That is good news,” Sang replied as she opened her satchel, allowing Jet to crawl out. He began to puff little bursts of flame at the falling leaves around him. Van watched in amusement as the dragon explored the world. It moved like a real creature, not like an AI. He still wasn’t sure what this thing was, but the more he watched it, the more he hoped that it really was an alien of some kind.
“Yeah, tell me about it. So, we’re alive and kicking, no one murdered you, and we’re smack dab in the middle of absolutely nowhere,” Van said. “What’s the plan, El Capitan?”
“Well, I just got word from the team that a CIA raid on Draco headquarters in Venezuela went well. They managed to get in, breach the building, and examine the facility.”
“Awesome! What’d they find?”
“Not a damn thing. A few accountants, some financial records, but nothing else. No computers, no leadership, nada.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Actually, it does. Draco used their base in Venezuela as a cover, a place to appear legit. They
had a few people working inside, just providing basic customer support and answering questions when the occasional reporter would break in, but that’s all they needed there. They put a lot of effort into making the base look like it was real, so no one would be suspicious of a company with no home address. They hid in Venezuela because that country doesn’t traditionally have a great record when it comes to working with the CIA.”
“I see. So, the whole thing was a waste of time?”
Sang shook her head. “On the contrary. It was incredibly useful for us. I’ve gotten a couple of orders. Originally, we were just supposed to investigate and keep our heads low, but now we need information. Those accountants who were, uh, detained, indicated that they were required to meet with certain key members of leadership inside of the game. They’d log into a haptic pod in the building and briefly meet with whoever was in charge of the PR and accounting divisions.”
“Interesting, so the people in charge were in the game itself…” Van mused, his mind darting back to the silver building that had thousands of desks floating in the air.
“Even better news—after some, uh, you know… gentle questioning, the accountants gave us a name. All we gotta do is track him down and see if we can steal some plans from him. Maybe even figure out his real-world identity and send someone after him.”
“Perfect! What’s the guy’s name?” Van asked.
“Lemuel. He’s a pro player or some kind of king. He was the last point of contact for the physical Draco base.”
“Lemuel… well, I happen to know where he is,” Van said.
“Are you serious?” Sang said as she jumped up a little. “Where is he?”
“He’s leading one of the biggest armies in one of the deadliest areas in all of the game. It’s a place called Bloodrock, and it’s hard to get into without the right kind of team.”
“Oh, and here I was thinking we’d be able to get there in an afternoon,” Sang said with a sigh. “How bad is it?”
