“Wait,” Bidane said as she threw her long hair back over her shoulder. “You’re meaning to tell me that Sivlander went to college and left you in charge?”
“How else would you explain his sudden disappearance?” Van asked, hoping that they’d buy his lie. There was no way that he’d be able to reveal who he actually was to them. And while he felt a little bit guilty about lying, he reminded himself that the literal fate of the world might hinge on him getting them to follow him on his quests.
“That makes some level of sense. He was really excited about getting this whole city together… but then he just vanished,” Bidane said. “I always thought it was weird, but if he got accepted into college, it would make sense.”
“I thought someone said that he was in the hospital,” said one of the players. She was a wizard, wearing red robes with flames emblazoned on the sleeves.
“Well, a near death experience can definitely make someone rethink their life choices,” Van said. “Look, I’m not sure what his deal is, but even if he does come back, the fact is, I’m in charge and he mentioned that there might be some players still hanging around.”
There was a long pause as the party members exchanged glances with one another. Kylian didn’t seem phased. He merely shrugged and raised a glass. “Don’t try to fool us, Van,” he calmly said. “We know it’s you.”
Sang snorted a little at that, causing Van to shoot an angry glance at her. It was clear that she wasn’t particularly impressed with the web of intricate lies he had been weaving.
“What? No, it’s… I’m not…” Van stammered, “I said I was--”
“His cousin?” Kylian asked. “I just find it troublesome to believe that Van, a player who was days away from becoming a pro player, who worked so hard to recruit a killer line-up of team members, would abandon his dreams to go to school.”
“Well… I…”
“But the question remains, why would you lie to us? You clearly want to adventure with us, but you aren’t playing Sivlander,” Kylian said as he twisted his whiskers a little. “This leads me to believe that you got in some sort of trouble with Draco, and perhaps Sivlander isn’t available to play for a reason.”
Van was surprised at Kylian’s deduction skills. Apparently, he really shouldn’t have tried to lie to a sixty-year-old man who had been a detective for thirty years. “Um… yeah, I, uh…”
“So, what? Were you banned? I can’t imagine that you’d get in trouble over hacking, you were always so straight-laced,” Kylian said.
“Uh, okay, fine, you got me. I’m Van; sorry, guys. I wasn’t trying to pull a fast one—I’m just in trouble with Draco, and Sivlander was removed from the game due to a problem I encountered with one of the pro players. The player had some fierce disagreements with me, and rather than handle it like an adult, he tattled on Draco to me and had my character suspended. I would like to get him back, but you know how bad customer support can be. So, I’m laying low and playing my alt until Sivlander is unbanned. But in the meantime, I don’t want Draco to know that I’m in the game, because they wouldn’t hesitate to permaban Siv.”
Kylian slowly nodded at that. And Van technically hadn’t lied about anything, except maybe for the suspension. Truthfully, he didn’t know what had happened to Sivlander, but maybe there would be some way to retrieve him down the road. “I see. So, you want to keep your town functional, but don’t want to blow your cover.”
“Exactly!” Van said. “Please don’t tell anyone!”
“And who’s she?” Kylian asked, pointing to Sang. Sang had been quietly standing off to the side, trying to avoid drawing attention to herself. Van could see that she was clearly nervous about seeing a bunch of other players. She had reason to be nervous, however, because the last few groups of non-NPCs that they’d met had been murderous thugs trying to kill her.
“Oh, this is Sang. She’s a friend of mine who’s hired me to guide her through the game. She’s got some crazy-good ranger skills and wanted to be a part of a larger team, so I figured she’d be a perfect addition to this squad.”
“Well,” Kylian said, “pleased to meet you, Miss Sang.” He turned his attention back to Van. “I don’t appreciate you trying to pull our legs with that tall tale, but given the circumstances, I understand.”
“I don’t. I think it’s dumb that Draco’s gotta hassle you!” said the wizard wearing red robes. “They banned my brother a few months ago just because he was incessantly messaging girls! It’s not his fault he thought they were pretty and wanted to tell them that.”
“He was banned because he wouldn’t stop messaging under-aged girls,” Bidane said. “Look... whatever, so, you’re back. That’s exciting and all, but this town has fallen apart. If you were hoping to save it, you’re way too late. Everyone’s just about left. There’s just me and Kylian left of your original crew.”
“Yeah, uh, who are these people?” Van asked, pointing to the three others who had been patiently sitting and drinking.
“This here is Sahara,” Kylian said, pointing to the wizard. She promptly stood and bowed.
“I am the master of all magics!” she proudly said.
“Master of nothing,” Bidane said. “Wizards suck, but she’s able to read scrolls, so that’s handy.”
“This here is my nephew, Capello,” Kylian continued, pointing to a short man wielding two axes. He didn’t say anything and was just staring blankly ahead. “He tends to zone out when dialogue is happening. Not much of a talker, but a crazy good fighter.”
“And I’m Dolly!” said a rather tall woman with bright green hair. “I’m the most cut-throat criminal in all the land!”
“You seem a little cheerful for a cut-throat,” Van remarked.
Dolly crossed her arms and frowned. “Well, you’ll see! I’m a clever rogue who kills anyone who comes across my path!”
Van didn’t feel particularly intimidated by the girl, but decided not to press the issue. They seemed like a good enough crew. He glanced at Sang. She hadn’t said much, but then again, he didn’t know if there was anything that she could say. There was a distant look on her face, though, as if something were bothering her. He made a note to check with her later about it.
“So, let me ask, Kylian, why are you guys sticking around here? If the city has been in a state of disrepair, why bother?”
“Well, we were planning on doing an acquisition invasion once the option became available, take Silver Peak for ourselves,” Kylian said. “But with you showing up, it’s way better for all of us. I’m too casual of a player to run this show, and no one else here wants to lead.”
“Well, I wanted to lead,” Bidane said, “but no one wanted me to be the leader.”
“That’s because it would go to your head immediately,” Sahara said.
“I know, but I promised that I would be a benevolent dictator!” Bidane shot back. This elicited a laugh from the group. Van laughed along with them. He enjoyed Bidane and Kylian’s personalities, and it seemed that the small group they had already recruited would make for a good team.
“So, what’s the plan, fearless leader?” Kylian asked.
“It’s simple, we’re gonna patch this town up!” Van said. “Then, we’ll start raising our own army.”
Kylian and Bidane shot looks at one another hesitantly. Van cocked his head.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Well…” Bidane said, “with all due respect, man, this place is a dump.”
“The entire town is in pieces,” Kylian agreed. “If you’re suggesting we start rebuilding this town to attract an army, you’re suggesting months and months’ worth of work. We’ll miss the entire war season.”
“Come on,” Van said, “how long can it take?”