Continue Online (Part 4, Crash) (50 page)

Session Eighty Seven - In Sunset

People were screaming all around. Mostly NPCs. The Travelers wore grim expressions or looked downright excited. Multiple people were charging by while others yelled out words in [
Lithium]
. So many spells going off turned the air heavy with energy.

Dusk’s urgent chirps made me turn. I had no idea when the
[Messenger’s Pet]
had arrived. Two dead
[Coo-Coo Rill]
s were on the floor and his tail was sliding back and forth in happiness.

“I’ve got to help them!” I said to the little guy. “We have to beat those monsters back before they swallow everything.”

Dusk’s face twisted a bit and his head shook. His mouth opened wide and I took a step back. The larger
[Messenger’s Pet]
wrapped teeth around my toga’s edge then pulled.

“We’ve got to stop those things!” I shouted.

“Go!” Xin was pushing me too. Three skeletons were assembling behind her as white runes burned up on her robe’s hem.

I panicked. Xin couldn’t go off to fight some data deleting monster without me there. If those huge shadow people creatures were an embodiment of the system crashing then even being near one would be life threatening.

“You can’t go!” I tried not to sound desperate. One day with her wasn’t enough.

Dusk kept pulling and Xin moved closer. Her hand came up to my face and I leaned into it relishing the contact.

“It’s okay, Gee,” she said softly as her accent grew a bit stronger. “I’ll be using the minions to pull people out or shuttle supplies.”

“You won’t go near it.”

“I’m not going to risk my life if I have a choice.” She leaned in close. Xin’s hand pulled my toga down. “Besides, we still have to catch up on our Saturday.”

Whispered words turned into a desperate kiss. I held my fiancée close with one hand around her waist and the other in silky black hair. Xin’s lips felt soft and her body like a dream. People running around us banged into me but I barely noticed.

I had Xin, and I was terrified to imagine losing her again. We separated slowly. The perfect words to part with failed to come to mind. Dusk’s weird mix between a bird chirp and cat meow broke my concentration.

“It’ll be okay. I’ll stay safe,” Xin said while putting
[Wild Bill]
back on my head.

“Please.” I nodded and tried to keep my voice steady.

Xin walked away first and moved without hesitation. The woman had always been mentally strong and brave. I had to be equally strong, quick, and clever. Xin and Dusk were right. I was in a unique position to understand William Carver. This time failure and partial success weren’t options.

My eyes blinked rapidly and I tried not to chew on my lips. Fingers tingled with the lingering sensation of holding her close. The taste of her sat heavy in my head.

There were times where I struggled to remember this world wasn’t real. I was safe, sitting inside the ARC. Nothing here could hurt me beyond repair, physical pain and disorientation was transitory.

But that little woman held all my sanity in her tiny digital body. She was real, and in here. My mind flashed to James’ voice, asking me, ‘what is reality anyway?’ repeatedly during that nightmare.

Dusk hopped up and down. I looked around feeling dazed while trying to find a new direction to move. William Carver’s daily routine had to be the key.

Where did I spend the most time as William Caver? His house would be the best place to start. Dayl normally escorted me home. The pastry shop was only a stop along the way.
[Haven Valley Orphanage]
didn’t fit since Mylia only invited him over occasionally. I didn’t know entirely what qualified as random events, but I needed to keep moving forward.

Wyl might know. Maybe he would be able to offer help.

“Wyl!” I ran toward the guard captain. He was kneeling in front of a cot with his hands together in prayer. There were a lot of people under the tent, with a few people moving among the wounded.

Two guards stepped in my way. There was no time to deal with their issues. I simply
[Blink]
ed past them to the tent’s center.
[Morrigu’s Gift]
was ready in one hand.

“Can you heal?” a young Traveler reacted to my new location first and pulled on my arm. “I need more healers, there’s so many wounded.”

“Hermes is a DPS build,” Awesome Jr. said to the other player. He stood behind SweetPea while his fingers worked her shoulders. The young woman looked tired but her arms glowed with a healing light.

My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. DPS probably meant focused on harming monsters rather than being a defense, magic caster, or healer type. The label didn't quite fit since I could sneak around or tank well enough with my items.

“I’m sorry. I just need to talk to Wyl.” The guards I had bypassed came running up to intercept but Wyl waved them off. He didn’t turn to face me.

“How is he?” The captain looked up toward SweetPea.

“Mending. It’s going to take a lot to undo the stacks of curses on him. It’s a miracle he lasted this long.” She took a breath then shook her arms. The glow faded but Dayl was clearly breathing.

I stared down for a moment and tried to understand what had happened. This town was a war zone and two giant creatures were about to make it worse. Yet, there had clearly been waves of hell visited upon this place already.

Dayl’s body looked worse than Wyl ever had. Discolorations from fresh bruises were all over. Splotches of blood lay under skin in multiple places. Nearby were rags that were stained with red. Part of his ears and cheeks were torn from sharp implements.

“My boy comes from a long line of fighters. His mother was a tough one too.” Wyl shook his head then stood. His movements were slow and gaze unfocused. “What do you need, Hermes?”

“There’s two monsters, like the one I fought. They’ll destroy any Locals in their path.” I pointed behind us. “We need all the guards to pull civilians away from them.”

He took a deep breath then let it out slowly. Wyl’s eyes were coming into focus as the situation made itself apparent.

“They should already be doing so,” Wyl said while glaring at the few who stood under our tent.

I could see the guards glancing at each other. Their faces twisted with confusion and worry. Wyl didn’t say anything but after a moment all of his subordinates put fists to chests then bowed. They marched out without saying anything. Was that part of my luck, or simply things working out?

“And I need to find whatever William left behind,” I said while trying to think quickly.

“I have no idea where to look. William worked hard and said very little about himself, which you well know.” Wyl lowered his eyebrows while lips tightened.

I glanced down and scanned the room. People’s feet were apparent but an answer to my problem was not. My next stop would be desperately running up and down William Carver’s daily path in hopes of finding an answer.

“I can do one thing for you,” Wyl said. My head jerked up in curiosity. Maybe
[A Kiss For Luck]
had triggered something else?

“What?” I asked.

“I will remove the brand marking you as a convict.” He pointed at my neck. “You are no longer in King Nero’s jurisdiction, and as a high ranking member of Haven Valley it is within my power to mark your debt paid in full.”

“That would mean a lot to me.”

“You kept me alive when other Travelers would have killed me. You brought me home to my boy. You gave an old friend a warrior’s death.” Wyl took another deep breath followed by a calm exhale. “And if your story is to be believed, you fight for the safety of all of us. I could not in good conscious allow you to be known as a criminal.”

There were other people in the room but none of them spoke up. Awesome Jr. stood in the background giving me a thumbs up. His goofy grin ruined what felt like an awe inspiring moment.

Wyl reached out to one side. His hand landed on a pile of clothes along with a sheathed sword.

“By the trust placed in me as an upstanding member of Haven Valley, I judge Hermes’ debt to society paid in full,” he said while holding the small badge. Wyl’s head shook briefly and he set the badge down. “If it ever existed. Damn Nero for taking me away from home.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Part of me had been worried about running across another one of those binding stones or whatever was used to keep
[Criminal]
s in line. My next task required running around town and there could have been one near the old guard post, or anywhere in town. Now there was no need to be concerned.

“Thank me by finding whatever Carver left behind.”

“I will.” I nodded to Wyl again and tried not to feel overwhelmed by the kindness. While the
[Convict Brand]
hadn’t hurt me much, it felt good to have my actions acknowledged.

“Hermes!” Awesome Jr. shouted as I turned to leave. “I’ll get the other Travelers to fight those creatures. If you can nearly solo one, I’m sure a mess of us can take down two.”

My head shook and eyebrows went wide. It hadn’t occurred to me that we had an army of Travelers who were probably all skilled in some regard. “Don’t let yourself fall into that pit.”

“Of course not, based on what you’ve said we don’t know if that might be game over or not.” The teen shrugged.

“What?” the boyish looking Traveler that had been begging for healers asked.

They could sort it out. I waved good-bye to Awesome Jr. Now that the
[Convict]
status was removed I could freely send messages. A flood of icons displayed on my screen as people talked.

One cheek came up in a slight smile. Beth sounded carefree a lot of the time but she managed to prioritize correctly. Part of me still expected her to be a little girl asking me to play games.

I looked around trying to figure out which way to go. It had been almost a year of game time since my quest in
[Haven Valley]
.

“Hey!” a young man shouted. The familiar person’s voice cracked from puberty’s onset. “Need a ride?”

I looked over. There was a shiny looking metal contraption with round wheels. Behind it sat a cart with worn but comfortable looking cushions. Atop the seat was a grumpy youth wearing loose clothes with a hole in one knee.

“Neat!” I ran over. “Yes, Voices above. I need to get to Carver’s house!”

Hitching a ride would let me save my stamina and energy. I could run around quickly but would probably get lost. Most of the city had been on William Carver’s map, but all the old landmarks looked to be half destroyed.

“Seven copper,” the young man said.

“I don’t have any money,” I said while struggling to remember his name.

“Rides aren’t free, and you don’t look like a freshie.”

The attitude finalized my guess. He had grown a bit recently and the clothes on him were a step up from before. My mouth flattened and I felt old annoyance pass through me.

“Help or go away, Phil!” I grumped.
[Morrigu’s Gift]
sat in its original cane form and I used it to bop Phil.

He tried to duck away but took a light rap on the head. Phil rubbed the sore spot while glaring at me.

“Jeez. You’re just like the old man, what are you, his son or something? Plus you got the lizard. At least I think it’s ‘im. Though the last one was smaller.”

“People grow up,” I said.

“Ain’t that the truth, mister.” Phil’s feet kicked the bicycle pedals around. The chain link spun and rattled.

I wanted to bop him once more. Doing it as William Carver had taken too much work, but my Hermes body was faster by far. Dusk clacked his jaws then ran down the road.

“No time, follow Dusk!” I leapt into the back of Phil’s cart and pointed.

“Voices,” Phil grumbled but went anyway. He moved the carriage swiftly past Travelers and Locals alike. People were talking and pointing in the distance. Guards were trying to get people evacuated.

I looked around as Phil drove. This place looked a wreck. The bakery stall where I had purchased a number of goods was in pieces. Cobblestones were uprooted or shattered. The trees which used to branch overhead lacing together to shade walkways had been burned in places.