Dreaming Orora Page 11

  He looked back to check on her but saw no one. A roar echoed ahead and the archers scurried away. The guards in front of him followed the shouts too. A chance presented itself.

  He slipped through the guard covering him and thrust his sword towards the other. The stab connected and the guard fell. His dark body evaporated leaving nothing more than a heap of metal. Bale raised his shield blocking a slash from the other guard just in time. He stabbed and slashed twice before Varga crushed the guard to the ground. Below her big axe, smoke columns raised leaving no more than a vapor and bent armor.

  “You are slow,” she said heading for the gate.

  “You were supposed to wait for my orders,” Bale followed after keeping pace.

  She stopped, turned around and stood face to face with him, “Listen, I really appreciate you helping me escape, but I take no orders from you soldier boy.”

  “That’s Warden of the East for you. I was wrong for releasing a beast like you.”

  “You can try and kill me now,” Varga raised her weapon. Bale stood guard.

  “And you ask why I loathe your kind? You tried to kill us, to conquer our cities, kill our families. Your heroes tried to end us.”

  “Oh, this again,” Varga said, “The battle of heaven and hell? The hate poison they keep feeding you. Were you there? Did you see it?” Bale did not answer, “Did you see anything from us now that resembled those tales?”

  “You keep fighting us and sending wave after wave of soldiers.”

  “We are barely defending our territories from all the Recruits. And if I recall correctly, you were the ones who solicited their help.”

  “Because of your attacks.”

  They stood face to face for few more moments before Varga snorted and marched towards the gate. Bale sheeted his weapon and crossed his arms watching the stubborn orc pushing the unmovable gate. He shook his head and walked, dragging his feet enjoying Varga’s suffering, towards one side of the room where a leaver stood peeking from the ground.

  He put his hands on the grip, “You might want to move.”

  Varga looked back at Bale and removed herself away from the gate. With some groans and clanks the doors slowly budged inwards, “I was going to open it,” Varga said.

  Bale passed her heading towards the now open doors, “I’m certain you were. Though I’m sure the door is just as stubborn as you.”

  He stepped outside breathing in some fresh air for the first time since Gods know when. The wind blew strong, but tolerable. The air, unlike in his beloved outpost, a bit salty. It had some wetness to it.

  A blue carpet covered the ground merging with the sky in the far distance. Bale looked down to trace the ground. It stretched few feet ahead, then nothing. The ground disappeared. He approached the cliff and saw nothing but water at the far end of a steep drop. His heart sunk. He looked back at the fort they just got out off. This thing was built on the edge of the land. He looked at Varga who came to the same conclusion as he did and started running to one side of the fort.

  Bale followed after. The wall continued for few hundred feet before taking a sharp turn, all within few feet off the edge. He took the turn and saw Varga just standing there. Bale passed her and gazed at the horizon behind. More water, nothing else.

  “We are on an island,” Varga said, her voice carried the same defeat back in the cell. “We came all this way for nothing.”

  Killing himself sounded like a good idea now. At least he’ll be back in his home point. His beloved outpost. He looked at Varga, her head hung low, defeated. She knew what was coming.

  “Listen, we can still make it,” her head perked, “They must have a way to reach this place.”

  Most activities in Orora have more than one way to do it. Want to view your items? There is the good old menu way, or the real display before you way.

  Want to cook? You could go the menu way or the more immersive, more involved real cooking.

  Immersion is not the only benefit here, you would get more XP and might learn a thing or two for the real world.

  15 – When allies meet

  “So, we wasted our time here listening to this, commoner, talking about containment.” The bold man pushed his chair back and stood up, both hands on the table, “it does not work. It does not exist.”

  The young man was the commanding General of the Army in Ladara. His looks betrayed his demeanor to any outsider. The man, more like a bronze-junky teenager, headed the meeting between Ladara and Aargal. The supposed meeting between the two royal families turned to a standoff between Generals. Ladara, after realizing that Aargal sent their Army General, decided to appoint their counterpart, Ivan, to chair the meeting.

  The man stood in his white shining glory of an armor set with a sword to match. The purple color of Ladara splashed on his chest with the silver snake slithering on it. Halvar and his men on the other hand, including Hok and Eric, were asked to remove their weapons and armor for the meeting.

  Hok wore an undershirt and khaki, so did Eric. Halvar and his team wore decorated casual clothes. Hok thought about asking him where he could go about getting the same after the meeting. This standard undergarment looked ugly. He never thought he’d need to wear them in public.

  Next to Ivan sat two more high-ranking officers opposite Halvar and his three other partners. Hok and Eric sat next to Halvar. Around them stood several soldiers from each party, each side had their own soldiers at their back. An onlooker would not have guessed that this was a summit between allies. The air was thick with tension and every word so far was calculated and weighed ten times over before it was uttered.

  Hok looked around, analyzing the area. A big brown table sat oddly in a shimmering white room. Only nine chairs to accommodate the invitees while the table could easily host more. Above them, a second floor walkway on each side of the room led to other closed doors. Any self-respected designer knew not to have a walkway atop a meeting room. It looked like an improvised meeting room, probably just a connecting hall any other day. Did they have a more important meeting taking place in the proper room?

  “The man is saying it does,” Halvar said, “We have to take the chance.”

  “We have to do no such thing,” Ivan said. “This plan of yours has no merits and no proof of it being true. Not to mention that you are banking on something that does not exist. Need I point out that you are trusting a well-known notorious outlaw hated by his own people?” he looked at Hok from the corner of his eyes.

  Hok sighed and reached inside his bag. Ladara soldiers on all sides of the room took notice and reached for their weapons. “Relax,” Hok said grabbing a small artifact from his bag. He placed it on the table.

  DARK PILLAR – EAST.

  A dark smoke pillar with black marble on each end rotated on the table in front of everyone. Everyone just stood there for few seconds till Ivan reached out and the item shrank to his palm.

  “By the Gods. It does exist,” Ivan said.

  “That’s what we’ve been telling you,” Eric said. “All we need is the other four. We actually have one more and know the whereabouts of three others.” He lowered his head, “One is, unfortunately, a total mystery.”

  Ivan returned the pillar on the table and placed a hand on his chin, “so you are lacking more than half what it takes to contain this Dark One, and you don’t know if this will actually lead to his defeat.”

  Eric stood up, “True, but it’s so far the only remotely viable option to bring this man down.” He looked around the room, “do you want to wait here until he attacks? Do you want to wait until he lay waste to all that you hold dear?” fire burned in Eric’s eyes, passion in his voice. Hok saw a man fighting for his loved one. He saw the Eric he always knew.

  “Relax young man,” Ivan motioned for Eric to sit down, “we know all of this. And we got news as we speak that the dark army is marching north from their headquarters. Gods only know what are they up to.”

  “This is all the more reason for us to make haste,
” Eric said. “We are setting idle here while they are laying waste to Sheab. Where do you think they’ll strike next?”

  “Who said we were just setting here idle?” Ivan said, “Who said we didn’t take any measures to guarantee our safety? And who said fighting him was the only option?” a smile slowly crept on his face. The others exchanged puzzled looks. Ivan grabbed his sword, threw his chair behind and jumped towards Aargal’s men. The sword inches away from Halvar’s throat.

  The other soldiers drew their swords and charged the rest, including Hok and Eric. The door swung open and more Ladaran soldiers poured in. Archers lined up on both sides of the above walkway, their bows at the ready. Hok felt a hand on his shoulder and a kick to the back of his knee, “On your knees.”

  “What is the meaning of this Ivan?” Halvar said.

  “You see my dear Halvar, why fight them when you can join them?” Halvar’s eyes widened, “The Dark One needs armies to conquer the world, and Ladara needs someone to rid her of all those awful, awful people around her.”

  “You are betraying your people. Your allies. Your race.” Halvar said.

  “For far too long you looked at Ladara as cowards, traitors even. Not anymore. We will rule this world.”

  Hok could not reach for his weapons. The soldiers were ready to impale him the moment he moved an inch. Time to use the menu option. He went through his inventory and equipped his armor. Before trying to fight back, he needed to survive. Then he went for his weapon. He tried once, it didn’t work. Again, no dice.

  Ivan turned his head towards him noticing the change in armor, “Oh my dear Recruit. You take us for fools?” he drew closer to Hok, “Not only did we disable the weapons, but I’m sure you didn’t try to teleport yet, did you?”

  Hok eyes widened, he jumped through his menu and tried to port back home. Did not work either.

  “I’ll save you some time. Magic won’t work either.” He looked at Eric, “I’m sure your friend figured that out by now.”

  “Why the hell would you do this to us?” Halvar said.

  “Oh dear Halvar.” Ivan walked to Halvar who was forced to his knees by two soldiers. Ivan put a hand on Halvar’s chin and raised his head so they see eye to eye, “Dear stupid Halvar. You are just collateral damage. We got you here because we so very hate you and your countrymen. How I wish your royal family were here in your stead, but they were right in not trusting us,” Ivan laughed.

  Halvar spat on his face, “then what are you after?”

  Ivan wiped his face away and smiled, “them,” he pointed at Hok and Eric, “Well, not them per say, Recruits to be exact.”

  “What do you want with us?” Eric said.

  Ivan started to walk around the table, “You see, we were approached by the Dark One’s soldiers to seize all Recruits in Ladara? Why you ask? They are the biggest threat to his plans.” He approached Hok and Eric, “but why Ladara you ask? Well, the tournament of course.”

  “So what? You intend to hold us hostages here?” Halvar said.

  “You? Yes my dear Halvar. Them,” he pointed at Hok and Eric, “we’ll kill.”

  “And? We’ll just port back to our home point,” Hok said.

  “That’s the idea, my dear Hok,” Ivan lowered himself slowly to meet Hok’s eyes. “Did you make it your home point?” he stood and guffawed, then continued walking around the table. “What a stupid, stupid logo, but it should prove effective. The best fighters are already in town, let’s hope they were stupid enough to have set their home point here.” He stopped and looked at Hok and Eric, the smile died from his face, “we’ll kill everyone. Every single Recruit. Whoever ports out, then good riddance. Less people for us to manage.”

  “And you think the people outside won’t descend on you and raise this city to the ground?” Hok said.

  Ivan smiled, “we disabled magic, weapons, items and teleports. Even private communication channels are cut off.” The smile left his face, “I’d like to see them try.”

  “Less you forget, we have other means of communications you idiot,” Eric said. “You just declared war against everyone.”

  “Everyone? Who is everyone?” Ivan said, “Tell me, when was the last time you saw all Recruits pulling together?” Hok and Eric offered no answer, “Exactly, we might even have some helping us. The Dark One already has. Sheab is too busy fending themselves from the sweeping dark sea coming their way. Top fighters in the world are trapped here with no means to fight back. And the rest of the world is miles away to even pose a threat. Like I said, I’d like to see them try.” Ivan looked at the two soldiers holding Halvar, “take him and his soldiers to the cells,” he pointed at Hok and Eric, “and kill those two. I have work to do.”

  Ivan stormed out of the room followed by Halvar and his men escorted by the Ladaran soldiers. Hok and Eric looked at each other knowing what’s coming next.

  “Hey Eric, I’ll call you in few,” Hok said.

  He didn’t get an answer. The amount of arrows and swords hitting him blocked any reply that might’ve come from Eric’s side. The next thing he knew, the timer ticked down and the option to port back home flashed on his display.

  The VRR you purchased is the portal that allows you to Dream Orora. It’s designed to keep you online as long as it’s powered. Even after losing the power source, the VRR would permit a period of 15 minutes for a graceful shutdown in order to prevent any hardware damage.

  That being said, please play responsibly and do Wake out of Orora from time to time.

  16 – Ending the quest

  “Man, are you reading this?” Oz said in the party chat.

  “Did before logging in,” Paragon said, “seems Ladara went full on crazy.”

  “And we are missing it,” Oz said, “we better do this fast and go there.”

  Tala had a confused expression on her face, “this does not make sense. Why would the dark army be heading north if they are planning to take Ladara on the west?”

  “Well,” Paragon said, “between yesterday and now, they might’ve reached there.”

  “Doubt it, it’s a big army and navigating them is a chore,” Tala said then stopped her mount, “ah that’s our bridge.”

  Their plan to cross the canyon downwards did not pan out, mainly because when they logged back in today the dark army had vanished to, according to the rumors, Ladara. So they doubled back and continued on their way to the bridge, which should save them plenty of time.

  An amalgamation of many small ropes and wooden constructed suspension bridges posed as a bridge before them. “This is supposed to be a bridge?” Fitch said, “Are you sure it’ll hold?”

  “Yes,” Talion said jumping off his Vagrant, “just dismount to be sure.”

  Oz jumped and followed without hesitation. Fitch waited few beats to assess how the others faired. His doubts went away when Oz jumped on the so-called bridge without falling through.

  Fitch took few careful steps making sure his hands had firm grips on the railings. With every step the slabs below groaned and squeaked. The whole thing swayed back and forth with the wind. Fitch looked down to see nothing but darkness. The big gorge in the land expanded on both sides and around the rickety bridge. A hint of fear chocked his heart. Fear of death seldom existed in Orora, but the fear of heights followed Fitch nonetheless.

  Oz stood from a distance, hands on the bridge railing with a big grin on his face. He jumped and the bridge jumped with him, so did Fitch’s heart.

  “Oz,” Paragon snapped at him, “not now.”

  “Ok, ok,” Oz said raising both hands. He tapped his index finger at the side of his head, the grin still on his face, “I’ll remember this for later.”

  A wave of relief washed over Fitch once his feet stood again on solid ground. The others waited for him on their mounts.

  “About time slowpoke,” Oz said.

  He looked back at the bridge, still swaying. He hoped he wouldn’t have to go through it again any time soon.

  In the d
istance, the Mythic Mountains gradually swallowing the horizon. The next hour or so they passed through dead lands. Grey grounds and sandy gusts followed them all through. It looked like a tornado just passed through, or an angry stampede. Few places had the remnant of small settlements evacuated not long ago.

  “What is this place?” Fitch said.

  “Plain of Paneela. Not long ago this was a lush area,” Tala said, “A carpet of green covered the ground all the way to the mountains. Few guilds had their headquarters here.”

  “Few unlucky guilds,” Talion said moving forward.

  “Damn,” Oz said, “it’s amazing how such drastic changes can happen in the game.”

  “You’ll be surprised,” Talion said.

  “Well,” Tala looked ahead, “if all goes well, another half an hour maybe and we’ll be at the foot of the mountain. From there it should be an easy way to the quest location.”

  “Ah, then our journey would come to an end” Oz said, “I’ll sure miss you guys.”

  Tala smiled, “don’t miss us just yet. Let’s move.”

  Maybe they did not pay attention or the howling wind concealed their approach, but the next moment they failed to notice two Vagrants passing them full speed. Fitch stopped alongside the others. Everyone looked on with an understandable fear and hope they didn't notice them.

  “Hide?” Fitch said.

  “Too late for that, let’s just hope they have no interest in us,” Talion said.

  The Vagrants slowed down and turned to face them.

  “Should we, go to them?” Oz said.

  “No, dismount and buff. Prepare for the worst,” Tala said.

  Fitch jumped off his mount and pulled on few buffs. Paragon threw few party buffs while the two Vagrants trotted towards them. By the time Fitch was done, the two strangers stood close enough for Fitch to realize that they were a man and a woman. A Samurai, Fitch deduced from his armor, and a female with a job he could not tell. Both were anon.