“Ugh,” Van groaned as he appeared next to her. “At least Bidane built the camp so we’d pop back in here.”
“I am going to die,” Kenwar whispered. “I… I thought I was going to get out of this alive. I’m gonna die!”
“Calm the hell down,” Sang said, rubbing her temples with her fingers. “You’ll be fine as long as we get through this thing okay.”
“Okay? Okay!” Kenwar repeated. “We’re not gonna be close to okay! Draco is going to kill all of us! We’re dead! Dead!”
“Maybe,” Van said, “or maybe we’ll survive this thing. Stop fussing and get in contact with your Draco team. Inform them that we’re moving toward Lemuel’s castle from the front. If we’re lucky, they’ll take the bait and focus all of their attention on finding us in the battle.”
Kenwar sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell them. But you better pray to God that they fall for this; if they don’t, we’re all screwed.”
“From how I see it,” Sang replied, “we’re screwed no matter what we do. Jail time or death.” She paused for a moment to take a deep breath. The consequences of her choice to go back in were dire, but something deep within her was compelling her to move forward. Was it that contact with the Xevov technology that she had made long ago? It had burrowed its way deep into her mind and, while she didn’t have random flashes of information anymore, she certainly felt a powerful compulsion. Maybe it was just her desire to be a hero for once. She couldn’t tell, but all she knew was that she had to keep going forward.
“So?” Van asked. “What’s the plan?”
Sang shrugged. Wait until everyone logs back in; then you rally them into attacking the castle from the front. We sneak into the spaceship during the chaos.”
“Why not just use the army to attack the ship?” Kenwar asked. “A surprise attack would be strong enough to overpower it quickly.”
“No,” Van said. “That region’s where the biofeedback system is fully engaged. If a character dies, the player dies in real life. So, no, I’m not going to order a team of gamers to go willingly and carelessly in and die for our cause.”
Sang nodded. While they certainly could use the numbers, there was no way they’d be able to explain to the players involved that it was a real and true life or death situation. No one would believe them and, even if they did, they certainly wouldn’t choose to risk everything for some strangers.
“Alright,” Sang said. “Van, you do your magic. I’m going to head down to the ship to scout it out and make sure the area is clear.”
Van took a deep breath. “Don’t engage, please. I know we’re in trouble here, but if you get into a fight with them, you’ll lose.”
“Don’t worry,” Sang said as she pulled her bow free from its resting place on her back. “I’m just going to investigate.”
“Good luck,” Van said. “Kenwar, did you message them yet?”
“Yeah, I told them everything that you wanted me to,” the manhunter said glumly. “I cannot believe this is all happening to me.”
“Neither can I,” Sang muttered as she walked off toward the forest. She felt her legs wobble a little as she headed down the slope of the mountain. She was beyond exhausted, and each passing moment felt more and more surreal. But she kept pressing on because this was more important than anything that she had ever done before. Draco was a true threat, she knew. She had to press on.
Never before had she ever thought she’d play such a pivotal role in history. All her life, she had strived for excellence, but never on a historical level. Her desire had been to be the very best that she could realistically be, but she’d never imagined herself on the national stage or affecting a sweeping level of change in the world. That was changing now. For the first time in her life, she would really be changing the world. Who would have thought? The pressure was immense, for certain, but there was something about the fact that she was in charge of saving the world that felt validating. Maybe it was in her blood to be a hero—who knew?
Sang reached the clearing where the cottage and the invisible ship were located. She crept up quietly and hid behind a tree as she watched the area like a hawk. A few NPCs were shuffling around the chicken coop, but other than that, there was no one around. The sound of hissing caught her attention and she focused on the cabin. She could see that there was someone standing inside, but it was hard to tell who it was. The figure stood by the window and shifted a little. Sang wanted to get closer, but there really wasn’t anything she could hide behind to get a better view.
“Fine!” said a voice from inside of the cottage. “I’ll go. But you know it’s just a distraction, right?” There was more agitated hissing, and Sang could practically feel the annoyance.
“Okay, okay,” the voice replied. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
There was more hissing, followed by the door to the cottage opening. A lizard creature emerged from the building and walked toward the ship. Following after it was the man who had been familiar with Van, Draumed. He was cursing up a storm as he shuffled in Sang’s direction.
Sang tensed up as he walked right past the tree where she was hiding, but he didn’t seem to notice her. He was busy grumbling about having to leave the area and find King Lemuel.
“Stupid friggen job. I ain’t no errand boy. Gonna be a freakin’ king and they treat me like this?” Draumed mumbled.
Sang realized that he was completely alone, meaning that if she jumped him, she could get all of the information that she needed about the ship. She pulled out her dagger and looked at it. The weapon carried a different kind of weight in this realm. She knew the biofeedback systems were fully engaged, but did this apply to everyone? Would Draumed be affected? There was only one way to find out.
Sang crept up behind him, carefully avoiding the twigs on the ground as she walked, not making a sound. It seemed that her Stealth skill activated as soon as she began walking silently, which was different from the other parts of the world. With a swift move, she leapt forward and wrapped her arm around Draumed’s neck, pressing the blade right to it.
“You move, you die!” she hissed. Her arm was pressed so hard against him that she could feel his heartbeat. It was hammering away rapidly, indicating that he most likely could die in this game. That was just the kind of leverage that she needed.
“Take it easy,” Draumed said as he slowly raised both of his hands. “I surrender.”
“I want answers,” Sang spit back. “What’s in that ship?”
“It’s a Draco data center,” Draumed replied. “It’s where they keep information stored, based on the division they are assigned to.”
“Division?” Sang asked. “Spell it out for me.”
“Yeah,” Draumed said quietly. “A division is the focus that has been given to a certain group of Draco’s and professional players. There’s hundreds of them. This division is part of what’s known as the Inciting Division. We’re responsible for monitoring and preparing the Sleepers who work outside of this game.”
“Inciting division? Sounds like you’re the first step in causing the end of the world,” Sang hissed.
“You say the end; Draco says it’s the beginning,” Draumed replied.
“Semantics I suppose,” Sang whispered. She pressed the blade a little harder to his neck. He hadn’t resisted at all and was very relaxed. Was he confident or just completely submissive?
“Look,” Draumed said, “I know you’re trying your best to stop Draco and I admire it. If I were on the outside looking in, I wouldn’t understand why they’re doing this, but you’ve got to realize that this is for the greater good.”
“Greater good? Sorry, pal, but if the greater good requires the majority of humanity to be eradicated, then I would much rather prefer to be on the side of the lesser good.”