World of Eternia: The Complete Collection (49 page)

“Hello everyone!”
the co-moderator says and offers a beaming, bright smile for the
camera to capture. She has emerald green eyes, sun kissed skin with
freckles on her cheeks, and she is wearing deep red lipsticks. “We
are just moments away from the start of this historic online event.
Sitting to our left is Charles Winter, CEO of Virtuous Gaming Co. and
to our right is Richard T. Gibson, CEO of Eternia Development &
Entertainment, Inc. We want to thank you both for joining us.”

“Thank you for having
me,” Charles says promptly and remembers to smile for the camera.
He is dressed in a pure white robe and sandals, taking the monk class
for his avatar. A wooden staff is laid on the floor next to his
chair.
Hopefully, I come across
as humble in front of the viewers
, he thinks.

“I’m glad you
invited me to join this panel,” Richard adds quickly. In sharp
contrast to Charles, Richard is dressed in golden armor for his
knight class avatar. His helmet is on the table in front of him; his
golden shield and long sword are likewise on the floor beside his
seat.

Antoinette turns her
head over to face Charles, her curly long hair wavering slightly with
the sudden movement. “Everyone wants to ask you this question: why
did you decide to challenge EDE and bet your ownership stake?”

Charles smiles at the
question, since he expected it to come up for discussion. “I’m
glad you asked. I think EDE and VG offer complementary pieces that
could combine to create a rather formidable company. And I’ve been
pursuing a merger deal with my old college friend Richard here, for
quite a long time as he can tell you. However, this guy is a stubborn
old goat who refuses to even consider joining forces, and I decided
this would be a great way to ensure a merger of two great gaming
companies,” he explains.

“And how do you
respond to that, Richard?” Evan asks quickly.

“Frankly, the
challenge was a surprise,” Richard answers. “I held an emergency
meeting with my Board of Directors to consider our options, and we
felt that the opportunity was simply too good to pass up.”

“How so?” Evan
prods.

“The Board believes
that the combined company would offer tremendous growth
opportunities, particularly when our patented virtual reality
equipment is carried over to a different gaming market than we are in
currently. As you know, our company is focused on MMORPGs, but the
virtual reality equipment could be modified for use in casual gaming
as well as sports related activities even. Simply put, Virtuous
Gaming would give us a foot in the door for the casual gaming market.
The combined company will deliver tremendous further growth to our
shareholders, and that’s why our Board gave its blessing to accept
this challenge,” Richard explains.

“Enough with the
business stuff. We’re here to watch an exciting match between a
hundred players. Please tell the audience what the event is about,”
Antoinette requests.

The EDE boss nods.
“Certainly. This event is a modified version of the traditional
tower defense. In a tower defense the player is provided with pieces
to place around a tower to prevent the enemy troops from entering the
tower. In this competition, the champions of Eternia will defend a
portal connecting the We Tang Kingdom to Eternia. If my players can
keep the invaders out for four hours, then we win. If a single
representative from Virtuous Gaming manages to enter the portal, they
win,” he explains.

“What are the rules
and conditions of this event?” Evan asks.

“Well, the obvious
one is that each side will field fifty players,” Charles answers.
“In addition, each side gets ten mounts or pets. There is no
resurrection allowed. And the use of potions and scrolls are
forbidden.”

“That sounds like a
challenge for the spell casters in this event,” Evan remarks.

“Indeed,” the VG
head nods in agreement. “Each player on the battle field has to
conserve his mana, and carefully decide when to engage in spell
casting and healing. This tournament is essentially a Massive Online
Battle Arena (‘MOBA’) between players, and turning it into a
spell slinging contest will take the fun out of this event.”

“We fully expect a
majority of the participants to engage in hand-to-hand combat,”
Richard adds, “with some fancy spells mixed in to turn the tide.”

“Thank you
gentlemen,” Evan says and then turns to face the camera. “We now
have five minutes until the start of this tournament. Get your
refreshments, bathroom break, whatever you need to do, because you
don’t want to miss the next four hours! And now we have a few
messages from our sponsors . . .”

* * *

Wesley walks to the
front of the waiting room, where the fifty champions of Eternia are
waiting anxiously for the tournament to begin.
I
need to make a good speech to pump up our morale,
he
thinks as the man takes a deep breath. “My fellow Eternians, you
are here today because you have the ability to save Eternia from
total destruction. You are the best of the best, the most powerful,
determined, and experienced players the World of Eternia has to
offer. When you step foot into the We Tang Kingdom, you know exactly
where to go and station yourself around the portal. You have
memorized our plan to defend the portal, and you know what role you
have to play. All you need now is to have faith in yourself and in
your teammates standing together with you in this room. If we execute
our plan, we will win!” The cavalier pulls his long sword out of
its scabbard. “For Eternia!”

The other forty nine
players raise their weapons in unison. “For Eternia!” they cry
out.

* * *

The waiting room for
Virtuous Gaming representatives is split into two equal groups—past
and present players from Eternia, and mercenaries from other online
games hired for cold, hard cash to participate in the tournament,
along with VG employees.

Virgil Santos looks at
the former WoE players with utter disdain.
I
have to share the stage with this trash?

Marcus Stanberry
catches the disgusted look from the leader of the mercs and returns
the same look. The mercs’ avatars are wearing white, black and red
face paint typical of traditional Chinese opera actors, with gaudy
costumes to match.
Thank God I
don’t have to appear in public like that
because
EDE unfroze my banned player account
, he thinks silently.
“If you got a beef with me, we can settle this right now,” Marcus
says quietly as the former WoE player rests his hands on the twin
scimitars at his hips.

Virgil chuckles at the
challenge. “What’s in it for me? Unlike you I’m a professional
player. I’m participating in this so-called ‘Hundred Man
Tournament’ because the folks running Virtuous Gaming can’t find
enough traitors like you to join in and take over Eternia,” he
sneers. “If you losers are the best VG can come up with, I should
have asked for more money.”

The players standing
behind him laugh at the insult. “Virtuous is getting a bargain with
us,” a merc chips in.

Marcus smiles thinly at
the insults. “If you’re that confident in your in-game abilities,
care to make a wager?” he asks.

“Oh?” the mercenary
narrows his eyes with interest.

“It’s really
simple. Which group will enter the portal first—yours or mine?”
the head of The Returned alliance suggests.

“I like that idea,”
Virgil quickly understands what Marcus is offering. “Easy Money is
unstoppable,” the mercenary points a thumb at his chest. “If you
want to throw money at us, why not?” the mercenary shrugs. “Let’s
make it a side bet between you and me though; some of my boys here
need the money to pay rent. If a member of The Returned manages to
hit the portal first, you win. If a member of my Easy Money crew gets
the honor, then I win. The wager is our compensation for this event.
Winner takes all.”

Marcus winces at the
bet. A piece of Virtuous Gaming and Eternia Entertainment &
Development will be very valuable.
I
can’t back out now, and imply that I lack faith in my comrades.
“Very well,” he says confidently. “You have a deal,”
he announces.

Virgil grins like a
shark. “We have a deal,” he confirms.

Evan stares straight at
the camera. “And welcome back everyone!” he says with a smile.
“This Hundred Man Tournament will be streamed live. As mentioned
before, the duration for this event is four hours. At the top middle
of your screen our technicians inserted a digital countdown clock
showing exactly the amount of time remaining. If the clock winds down
to zero without a single Virtuous Gaming player entering the portal,
then the Eternian side will win. If a VG player manages to break
through, the match will end immediately,” he explains.

“Also, on the top
left corner of the screen is a number ‘50’ in red. That
represents the number of Eternian players still alive in the
tournament. Top right corner has a number ‘50’ in blue, to
represent the headcount of Virtuous players remaining,” Antoinette
adds.

“Remember, there is
no resurrection allowed during this event. Once a player dies, he is
out of the tournament,” Evan explains.

“Exactly, Evan. This
tournament will essentially become a battle of attrition as the two
sides try to whittle down the number of players remaining in the
game. That said, I think the defenders will have an advantage because
of the terrain involved,” Antoinette opines. “The portal is
blocked from the back by a mountain that is impossible to climb over,
meaning that the attackers have to come in from the front and go
through the buzz saw of a defense set by Eternian players.”

“My take is
different, Antoinette. Virtuous players have a number of options in
reaching the portal. They could take the direct approach and test the
defense head-on. They could sneak in and by-pass the guards. Heck,
they could even catapult a player through the air and shoot right
into the portal like a basketball through a net. It will be
interesting to see what method Virtuous takes to reach the portal,”
Evan says.

“Yes,” Antoinette
nods her head in agreement. “In the end though, it boils down to
the strategy that each side uses, and how the players respond to the
ever changing conditions on the battle field. Well, the tournament is
about to start, everyone. Enjoy the game!”

A moment later,
fireworks explode in the sky to signal the start of the event. The
players on each side appear in their designated starting location—the
Eternians in front of the portal and the Virtuous players at a We
Tang village a mile away.

* * *

Wesley turns around.
“Okay, everyone! Let’s follow the plan!”

High Priestess
Kassender, the ranking member of the Church appearing in the
tournament, walks over to stand on the left side of the portal. She
stares at the simmering, white colored circle floating in mid-air for
a moment. “Let’s set up the Divine Lodestone at this spot,” she
orders.

The remaining nine
members of the Church, carrying the black marble pillar in unison,
set the stone down gently at the designated spot.

Kassender holds the
cross on her neck, and the other Faithful join in unison. “Oh Great
Gods of Eternia, Hear our pleas! Please share Thy Strength with Thy
Servants in this heathen land! Amen.”

The ten Faithful touch
the marble pillar in unison and pour their mana into the lodestone.
It begins to pulse like a beating heart. Babum-babum-babum! When the
stone drains one-third mana from each priest or priestess, a gentle
force emanates from the artifact. The force knocks each respective
hand down and away from the now living lodestone. The divine artifact
continues to beat like a heart, and begins to replenish each
Faithful’s mana bar as the Gods of Eternia pour energy back into
their servants through the living conduit.

Meanwhile, the fighters
begin to add defensive layers to the outer perimeter. The two
designated teams each take over a guard station placed next to the
path leading to the portal.

Heimdall pats the horse
in front of him gently on the side. “Time to head out,” the
warlord orders.

“Yes sir!” Maximus
replies. “You heard the Guild Master, ladies! We’re gonna hit
them fast and hard! Let’s give the audience watching this show back
home some shock and awe!” He urges his steed to head straight ahead
into We Tang Kingdom’s territory.

The other nine riders
quickly follow after Maximus. The cavalry attack group consists of
eight lancers, one priestess and one mage.

Two crews of five
fighters each start setting up rows of abatis around the perimeter.
The interlocking pieces of wood are firmly held together with wire
and nail, and the end facing outward is sharpened into spikes. An
earth mage accompanying each crew uses the Move Earth spell to
magically dig trenches in front of the field fortifications. An
accompanying fire mage adds a minor enchantment to the interlocking
wood to resist fire.

An air mage flies up
the cliff on either side of the path carved into the mountain, with
rope tied around the waist. After each mage reaches the top on his
respective side of the mountain, he starts hammering a spike into the
plateau on the mountain top and then ties the rope to the spike. Once
the rope is secure, Eternian defenders assigned to positions on the
mountain top start climbing up the cliff, one player at a time, using
the rope.

Each mage then pulls
another spike from his respective backpack. The spell casters slowly
walk away from the central cut into the mountain and head towards the
outer edge of the mountain. Each mage hammers the spike down, pulls
out a second rope from the backpack and ties one end of the rope to
the spike. The other end of the rope is still wound in a tight bun.
Once this task is accomplished, the two air mages remain on top of
the mountain, and look out into the distance for signs of the
opposing players.