by Dante Doom
“It’s a pleasure to see you both,” Zac said, “although I believe this is the first time you’ve met me in my regular character’s body.”
“Nice to see you,” Van said through gritted teeth.
“You seem stressed out,” Zac said, chuckling. “Relax. We’re just here to talk. It would be a great travesty to come to blows in this area, wouldn’t it?”
“Where’s Kenwar?” Sang asked.
Zac gestured behind him. Kenwar was tied to a tree. At his feet was a ton of kindling. A man with a torch was standing by, grinning. In his hand was a bottle of kerosene.
“It would appear that Draco’s none too fond of Kenwar’s actions. He didn’t do a great job, and is being rewarded as such,” Zac said.
“You bastard!” Van shouted. “Let him go!”
“Oh, I absolutely will let him go,” Zac said, “provided you two do me a favor.”
“What’s that?” Sang asked.
“You can both—” His words were interrupted by a frenzied shout.
“There!” Bidane shouted as she darted out of the woods and pointed. “The ship is right there!”
“There’s nothing here!” Kylian said as he emerged from the woods. A host of about thirty soldiers had followed him.
“Oh crap!” a soldier shouted. “Kyrissians!”
“Orders?” another one screamed as he donned his helmet and lifted his battle axe high.
“Well, this just got a lot more interesting,” Zac mumbled. “I didn’t think that anyone knew we were here.”
“Sang!” Van hissed. “If they get into a fight in this area, people will actually die! We’ve gotta stop them from fighting.”
Sang froze. She realized that she had two choices. She could scream out an order for her friends to attack, and take advantage of the chaos to take Zac down and get the data stick, or she could side with Van and try to organize some kind of retreat. On one hand, innocent people on both sides would die for real, but at the same time, fighting meant that she’d be able to get the information desperately needed to stop this cataclysmic event from happening. Was it worth the cost? Could she willingly sacrifice the few so that the great many could survive? She didn’t know what to say.
Zac held up his hand. “Stay your positions!” he ordered his men. “No one moves until I give the go-ahead.”
“Van!” Kylian shouted from across the way. “What’s the plan? What do we do here?”
“Good question,” Zac said as he spun around to face Van and Sang. “You have a choice, don’t you? It’s an interesting one, too.” He produced the data stick from his pocket and held it up. “I believe you’re looking for this, right? It probably wouldn’t be too hard to wrestle it from me in this zone... I mean, levels don’t mean a thing in this area, do they?”
“Zac, we don’t have to do this,” Van said. “A lot of people are going to get hurt—people who don’t deserve it.”
“I agree with you,” Zac said. “But my hands are tied. It’s really about you two. You have a choice here. You can fight and sacrifice a handful of innocent people, but get your reward, or… or you can retreat. Save your friends. Lose the prize. What will it be?”
Van went to open his mouth, but Sang was faster. “Charge!” she screamed at the top of her lungs as she raised her bow high and fired an arrow at Zac. The arrow narrowly missed him.
Kylian raised his sword high and rushed to fight, his army charging alongside him.
“No!” Van cried. “No! Stop! You’re going to die!”
“Not on my watch!” Capello screamed as he dove into the fray with his axes spinning like windmills. The enemy soldiers advanced forward also, cheerfully laughing as they engaged in the melee.
Zac’s jaw was hanging open, and he looked genuinely surprised. “Did… did you really do that? I cannot… I mean… haha, I… I don’t even know what to say here.”
“Die, you bastard!” Sang shouted as she fired another arrow at him. The arrow bounced off of his armor. He shrugged and drew a long, wicked rapier. The rapier had barbs on the end of it, making the weapon look especially painful.
“This is going to be fun,” Zac said as he slowly approached the two. Sang readied another arrow and aimed it dead at the man’s head. Wordlessly, she released the arrow, firing it right at him. Much to her surprise, Zac knocked the arrow out of thin air.
“How did you do that?” Van asked as he moved to the side of Sang, his spear extended to keep Zac at bay.
“I’ve been playing in this realm for a very long time,” Zac said. “You learn how to pick up certain tricks in areas like this.”
“Keep pressing forward!” Kylian screamed as his unit merged into a large phalanx of soldiers. They all pressed against one another in a square formation to fend off the advancing Kyrissians. Sang could see a few players from both sides lying on the ground, but she tried to ignore the flashes of guilt rushing through her conscience. Her decision hadn’t been ideal, but it had been the only right thing to do. They needed that data stick at any cost.
“Come now,” Zac said. “Two against one? That’s hardly fair. I thought you’d be sporting about this. I haven’t set my army on you, have I?”
Van moved in front of Sang with his spear raised high. “You want some of this? You know full well this place isn’t safe. Do you really want to risk your life?”
“Risk my life?” Zac asked. “Ha! My life belongs to Draco. They will do whatever they please with it! You think that I fear death? There are things far worse than death, and watching fools like you descend into chaos is a pleasure!” He began to thrust his sword at Van with speed and precision.
Van dodged backwards, thrusting his spear forward at the same time. His spear’s tip poked Zac’s chest, but not with a strong enough thrust to penetrate the man’s armor. The words Damage Reduction hovered above his head.
“Things are a little different here,” Zac chuckled as Sang dropped her bow to the ground and pulled out her short sword. “Just because you’ve got the weapons, the armor, and the items doesn’t mean you have the skills. The thrust of a spear will deal damage, but only if you use enough of your strength!”
Sang crouched down and tried to circle around Zac, but he moved in synchronization with her, stepping to the left as she walked. Van was trying to circle on the other side, but Zac seemed good at keeping his attention balanced equally between both parties.
“Come on!” Capello screamed in the background as his axe imbedded itself into the skull of one of the Kyrissians. The words Lethal Blow hovered above the player’s head as blood spurted out of the side of the wound. “Oh man, this is so realistic! Best update ever!” the boy shouted as he pulled his weapon free and began to attack the soldiers who had surrounded Kylian.
“Are you kidding me, Zac?” Van shouted as he thrust his spear a few times, each time hitting only air. “You’re going to let real people keep dying over this?”
Zac shrugged as he lunged forward toward Sang, causing her to back up to avoid the onslaught of blows. Van tried to advance on Zac then, but two Kyrissians wearing heavy plate mail ran to intercept him.
“Truthfully,” Zac said, “I feel like it was you two who chose who would die over this!”
Sang gritted her teeth and charged at Zac, raising her sword high. Perhaps if she rushed him, he would lose his footing. The word Dodge greeted her as Zac leapt out of her way. As she passed him in her frenzied charge, she saw that one of the soldiers fighting against Van had his back exposed to her, so instead of stopping her charge, she pushed forward hard. The momentum caused her sword to plunge right into the back of the armored soldier. The words Momentum Bonus, Lethal Blow appeared over his head.
“Ahhhhh!” the player screamed at the top of his lungs. “Why does it hurt like this?” he gasped as he slumped over. “Why does it hurt?” And with that, he ceased moving entirely. Sang felt a great pang of guilt as she realized that she had just killed an entirely innocent person.
“Hahaha, what savagery!�
�� Zac said, clapping his hands together slowly. “My goodness, I didn’t know you had it in you, Sang.”
“Sang…” Van whispered hoarsely. The other guard had stopped attacking and was looking at the corpse of his ally with horror on his face.
“I… I had no choice!” Sang said. “We’ve got to stop them! No matter what.”
“Yes!” Zac laughed. “Do the right thing at all costs! Now you’re starting to think like Draco! I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming. I’m impressed.”
The other guard snapped out of his surprise and raised his sword high, moving to threaten Sang, but Zac held his hand up. “Get back to the real battle, soldier. This is for me to handle.” The guard nodded and rushed away.
Van still appeared to be in shock over the death of the player. “I can’t believe it… why did you do that?”
“What else can we do?” Sang shouted as she spun around to face Zac. The man had put his sword away and was now watching them with a big grin on his face. “We’re trapped here and there’s no way out unless we fight our way.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” Van said. “Kylian! Get everyone out of here! That’s an order! Move to the mountains as fast as you can!”
The fighting behind them had been fierce, and Sang could see that more causalities had mounted on both sides. Kylian’s forces were slightly larger, but a great many of them were wounded and weak. Kylian nodded at the order and took out his horn, blowing into it hard. “Retreat! Retreat!”
Zac chuckled. “Now you’re really screwed. Ordering your friends to—” His words were interrupted as Van charged forward and leapt on top of the man. The words Grapple Semimodo versus Zac appeared above them with a strength meter hovering above the two of them. Zac grunted and growled as he tried to wrestle against Van.
“Come on!” Van shouted to Sang. “Stab him!”
The meter indicating who was winning the grapple rapidly shifted back and forth from Van’s side to Zac’s. It appeared that they were evenly matched.
Sang rushed over with her sword and pressed it hard against Zac’s neck. He ceased struggling entirely, and Van pinned the man’s arms down hard.
“Give us the data,” Sang hissed. “Or die.”
“Or die?” Zac chuckled. “Or die? My men will make short work of you the moment that I stop breathing. You’d best figure out another course of action.”
Sang glanced up to see there were about twenty soldiers remaining. They hadn’t given chase to the mercenary company, but were instead slowly approaching she and Van.
“One step further,” Sang warned, “and I cut his throat!”
“Just give up,” Van growled. “We’ve won. Either you die with us, or you give us the data stick and we all leave this place alive.”
Zac chuckled. “You really don’t understand, do you? See, this is why we hate you all so much. Your individuality, your desire for survival at all costs, has a tremendous cost. You think that I would so easily betray my own people in exchange for my life? What value does my life have against the collective? There are thousands of us, so what value do I have in the eyes of Draco? I admit, my desire to push you cost me. I didn’t think that you would order your army to attack. But do not think for a moment that I will allow myself to compromise the mission just so that I can survive.”
Sang growled and shoved the point of her sword against his throat hard. The rest of the guards were now backing up to avoid seeing their leader killed.
“He’s tensing up,” Van warned. He pressed his body down harder against Zac’s arms.
“I must say, at the end of the day, I really, truly admire you, Sang,” Zac chuckled. “You understand how it works. For all to live, a few must die. And if the only thing stopping my guards from murdering you is my life… how much more value would I have in death?” He took a deep breath and screamed, “For Draco!” as he thrust his neck upwards hard, pushing his own throat into the blade. The word Suicide appeared over his head as blood rushed from his throat.
“Holy crap!” Van screamed as the man’s body went entirely limp.
“The general’s dead!” shouted one of the guards. “Kill them!”
“Get the data stick!” Sang yelled as she leapt up to prepare to fight against the oncoming horde. Van fumbled around in the man’s pockets for a few seconds before he pulled it out.
“I’ve got it! Let’s get out of here!” Van shouted as he took off toward the trees. Sang followed after him. The soldiers were in hot pursuit, barely a few feet behind them as they ran through the lonely and dark forest.
“Come on, come on!” Sang wheezed as she looked at her stamina bar—it was draining rapidly. It was depleting a lot faster in this area than it had in the rest of the world.
“This way!” Van said as he pointed to a large thicket. The bushes were dense enough to conceal movement. Fortunately, they were both lightly armored, giving them a mobility advantage against their pursuers. Van pushed his way into the thicket and threw himself on the ground. Sang followed after him. The words Concealed 75% hovered above both of their heads.
“Crap, we lost them!” shouted one of the Kyrissians.
“Calm down, we’ll find them,” replied another. This one sounded more firm, and in charge. He was probably Zac’s second in command.
“These woods are huge,” another said. “What’s the plan?”
“Call in for reinforcements,” the second in command said. “Spread out and have forces guarding the exits. And go cut that Kenwar fellow down. He’s a tracker. Offer him his life in exchange for tracking those two. We can’t let them leave the forest alive.”
“Sir… when you say alive, what do you mean? Someone said that—”
The speaking guard was cut off by this new leader. “You are not here to ask questions! Fen, you are so close to going pro, do not make me report you to Draco for being a bad team player!”
“No, no, sir!” Fen replied. “I’ll go get the tracker right away—sorry, sir!”
Sang held her breath as she noticed a pair of boots walking right up to the thicket.
“Listen up!” the leader shouted. “I know you’re out here somewhere!” His voice carried across the forest, echoing throughout. “You’re in a predicament that you probably know won’t end well. We are combing this forest searching for you. I know you’re in hiding. If you surrender the data stick, throw it out from wherever you are, and we will not search for you. You will survive. If we catch you before you surrender, however, we will kill you both. We have eyes and ears all over this forest. We will find you.”
Sang glanced over at Van, whose face was white as a ghost. She could see the sheer terror in his eyes as he lay perfectly still. The man’s threats weren’t that scary, she thought. Why was Van so worried?
“Nothing?” the man shouted as he slowly walked away from the shrubbery. “Very well! When you are caught, we will torture you first, and then we will kill you!” A few minutes passed before his footsteps and empty threats vanished.
“Whew,” Sang gasped. “That was way too close for my comfort. Good thinking, Van.”
Van said nothing in return. He slowly shifted and crawled out of the thicket.
Sang climbed out after him and glanced at the ground. There were footprints of big, heavy looking boots everywhere. She counted out there were at least 12 guards who had passed through this area.
“Okay, we need to keep moving,” Sang said. “The longer we wait, the more guards we’re going to have to worry about.”
“I can’t believe you,” Van growled as they slowly walked through the thickets. “First, you order our friends to attack in an area where they could die for real… and then, then you attack an innocent player? That guard didn’t know what was going on! He thought he was just playing some kind of a game. You murdered someone, Sang.”
“Van, I’m not proud of what I did. I’m sorry. But there are things we have to consider here. We’re not just playing some kind of game, Van, and you know that. The world
is at stake.”
“So? So what? Does that justify needlessly murdering the innocent?”
“Needlessly? Van, that man could have easily killed you. You’re a bard, remember?”
“Maybe I would rather have been killed than see some random kid who got this game for his birthday end up dead!” Van nearly shouted.
“Be quiet!” Sang hissed as she reached out to grab Van. He slapped her hand away from his shoulder.
“I can’t believe you. I really can’t,” he repeated. “I thought you were one of the good guys. I thought this whole operation was supposed to be… to be…”
“To be what, Van? Squeaky clean? Easy? Let me be really honest with you since this is the first time you’ve ever had to deal with an actual conflict like this. When there is war, people die. There is no getting around that. Good people, bad people, innocents, civilians—a lot of people die. Do the good guys deserve to die? No. Do the bad guys deserve to die? Well, they think they’re the good ones, so they would tell you no. Do the civilians deserve to die? Not at all. But guess what? In war, no one gets what they deserve. People die for no reason. I’m not trying to tell you that I did a good thing, Van, but… but I did the necessary thing.” Sang took a deep breath, trying to choke back tears. She felt a deep guilt gnawing away at her, but she couldn’t allow her emotions to take hold right now. She had to keep moving forward.
“The necessary thing? So, you mean you found a solution? Maybe a final solution?” Van shot back at her. “You’re no better than Draco if you think that you can just kill people because it’s part of the greater good.”
“We don’t have time to be fighting!” Sang said as she brushed past him and began walking toward a body of murky water. “We need to go.”
“I’m not over this,” Van growled as he followed after her. “And don’t think I’ll ever forget who you really are.”
