Quest Accepted, page 28
All of their new friends were lined up in front of them. They made quite a formidable team. They were friends, something neither Evan nor Audyn had in the real world, and never would’ve thought they’d find in this game.
Robere dusted off his long robe and approached them, his small bird circling at his feet. “Well, have you searched the chest yet?”
Bert pointed her crooked middle finger at the sparkling chest across the room.
“We must have missed that!” Evan said excitedly.
“Well, you guys go check it out,” Aerin said, pausing for a moment as if he wanted to say something else. ”We’ll stay here.”
“Uh, thanks,” Audyn responded, looking at Aerin with suspicious eyes.
Evan and Audyn walked together over to the chest. It was about the size of a coffee table and sat at the bottom of the stairs. “It’s probably locked,” Evan said while preparing his hammer.
Audyn reached the chest and inspected it closely to check for any traps. After she was comfortable it was safe, she lifted the lid of the chest, laughing slightly at her brother. “You nerd,” she said while shaking her head. “Come here and let’s see what we got.”
Audyn looked in and noticed there was only one thing in the chest. A key. Evan reached in to pick it up. It was too heavy. It looked like it was glued to the bottom of the chest. Audyn reached in and tried to pull it out as well but had as much luck as Evan did.
“Maybe try together,” Robere said from the middle of the room. Evan and Audyn reached in together, each grabbing a side of the large key. It lifted, and both were hit with the same notification:
Congratulations, Quest Complete!
Defeat the Darkness
You have saved the southern kingdoms from the darkness!
You have earned: 4000 XP
Audyn looked over at Evan with a smile. She was so proud of her brother.
As she turned around to face their friends once again, she realized something was off.
“Goodbye, Half-Blood. Don’t forget about us,” Bert said in a sad, shaky voice. Cami had tears in her eyes. Robere stood in the back with Linc, Aerin, Holcash, and Ganrol, each with their hands in the air, waving goodbye.
“Wait, what?” Evan asked with confusion in his voice.
“No, wait!” Audyn shouted, but it was too late. Silver essence started flowing out of the chest from where they had just removed the key. It swirled faster and faster, spinning around Evan and Audyn’s legs. They stood in place, unmoving. Audyn had tears running down her face, watching her friends as the essence quickly engulfed them. I’m not ready! I haven’t even had a chance to say goodbye! Before she could continue her thoughts, all went dark.
***
“Evan?!” Audyn yelled into the darkness.
“Over here!” he responded, although he could not see her. “Where are we?” he yelled back to Audyn. Before she could respond a familiar voice cut through the darkness.
“You did it!” Karl’s voice rang out. “Just a few minutes and I’ll have you out of there!”
“Yeah, I guess we did,” Evan responded, the reality that it was over was finally beginning to sink in.
Evan and Audyn stood silent. Both overcome by the exhaustion of the day.
Evan thought about everything they had gone through over the past few days. He was proud of himself. He’d proven that he was just as capable, if not more so, than anyone else. In Serein he felt wanted, appreciated, and valued. For the first time in forever, he felt like he was a part of something. Even if it was a game, he didn’t care. He was almost sad that he had to return to the real world that had always felt so empty.
***
Audyn shivered in the darkness. An overwhelming sense of loss took over. She couldn’t believe that after eight years of not trusting anyone, she’d finally made friends. She knew that the relationships weren’t real, but they felt genuine. She’d never been able to make that same connection from anyone other than her brother outside of the game.
There was a flicker in the distance. Straining her eyes, she saw a small light become brighter and brighter, until it was as if the sun were placed right over her head.
The light dimmed, and a translucent door opened in front of them. She looked at Evan, who met her eyes and nodded his head.
They grabbed hands, took a deep breath, and stepped through the door, together.
***
They were both a little weary as they exited the immersion station. The humming of liquid running through the tubes was still noticeable. The pale blue light still lit up the room, casting strange shadows on the wall.
Before they could walk any further, they were rushed by three people. Audyn reflexively tried to channel her essence, forgetting for a moment that she was no longer in the game. She looked down and noticed Evan trying to reach for his weapon that was no longer there.
It only took Audyn a moment to realize who had rushed them.
“Mom, Dad?” Audyn asked, completely confused.
“Hi Sweets,” Jay said with a remorseful smile, touching her cheek gently. The dark-haired man seemed more gaunt than the last time Audyn had seen him, with new lines on his face and specks of gray starting to show in his hair.
“Evan, Audyn… oh, my sweet children,” Alison said, crying as she wrapped her arms around Evan and Audyn. She seemed smaller than Audyn remembered, more frail. Jay walked around to the other side and embraced them all.
They stood that way for a long time until Evan finally spoke up, looking over his mother’s shoulder at his uncle Karl.
“Karl…Mom…Dad…Do you mind telling us what is going on? We had been there before, why didn’t you tell us?”
“We couldn’t. If you knew you had been there before, you would’ve changed how you approached the game. It could have led to you making potentially fatal mistakes,” Karl explained.
“Karl, I died like ten times,” Evan said sarcastically. “How could it have been any worse?”
“We needed you to play the game, level up, and join up with the others. That was the only way you were going to defeat Ruelle. When you were little, we pulled you from the trials before you made it that far. We had no idea the consequences. But honestly, if I had to go back and make that choice again, I wouldn’t change a thing. What they did to you children was not okay and I would die before I let it continue even a moment longer,” Alison said quietly.
“You had to reenter the game if it was ever going to unlock,” Jay added.
“If what was going to unlock?” Audyn asked, still not sure what all of this meant.
“This.” Karl held up a small pill bottle with a thin circle that looked like a button off of a dress shirt. “Feel right here,” he continued, pointing to the back of his neck near the top of his spine.
Evan and Audyn both reached back and searched their necks for any sign of what Karl was talking about. After about a minute Evan stopped and gasped. “Here, I feel it. What is it?”
“From what we’ve gathered, it was used to integrate you with the game’s AI, tying your vitals to the game, interacting with the game programming, manipulating your memories,” Jay continued.
“Manipulating our memories? Tracking us? How, why?” Evan said, feeling very violated at this point.
“For their game. For Serein. You were their Guinea pigs,” Karl replied.
“Kros lied to us. Saying they were providing private schooling for you while we worked. We didn’t have many options. We both had to work to pay the bills. It seemed like such a great idea. You were both so gifted and public schools were a nightmare for both of you. It was an incredible opportunity but turned out to be too good to be true. Your Uncle Karl was the one who found out what they were actually doing when he stumbled onto one of their trials,” Alison explained.
“The bastards had you hooked up to all sorts of machines. I ran and told your parents right away. They came in and pulled you guys out mid-trial,” Karl responded, his voice becoming grim.
“We didn’t know that we would be setting off a chain of events when we pulled you from the trials,” Jay added.
“What chain of events exactly?” Audyn asked, a sense of urgency starting to rise in her voice.
“When we pulled you two, it triggered an error which made your chips malfunction. Luckily, when we unplugged you from the machines, you woke up, but the others...” Alison trailed off, her voice hitching with emotion.
“Listen, Kros has been trying to find you two since we pulled you from the trials. They have hundreds of millions of dollars sunk into this project, and will do anything to ensure that their release isn’t prevented. That’s why we have had to stay on the move. We thought we had finally managed to shake them and that they had given up,” Jay explained.
“So, why not just take out the chip?” Evan asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “Wouldn’t that have just solved everything?”
“Not exactly,” Karl began, glancing worriedly at Jay and Alison while choosing his next words carefully. “Your chips are tied into the system. Removing them would make the whole game crash, taking everything with it, including anyone who is in the game at the time the chip is removed.”
“But the game isn’t released yet, so what is the problem. The only other people in the game are Robere and Ruelle. Couldn’t you warn Robere to get out?” Audyn continued urgently.
“Not quite…” Karl trailed off, and with a slight glance behind Evan he gave himself away.
Evan turned and followed Karl’s gaze. It was one of the stations that Karl had said was a test station, and didn’t actually work.
“Wait a minute, are you telling me…” Evan started as he walked over to the station next to the one that he and his sister just came out of. He examined it closely. It looked just like the others, no door was visible. He walked over to the control panel. On the top of the panel, in red letters it read, “Camilyne.”
“No, it can’t be,” Evan said quietly, in shock. Audyn rushed over next to him and had the same reaction. They moved down the line from station to station reading each name out loud as they went. “Aerin…Holcash…Ganrol…Linc…Robere…Creswell…Bert…”
Karl ran over and stopped them, pulling them away from the stations.
“You can’t mean…” Evan started.
“Yes, but what matters right now is that by you defeating Ruelle we finally have a chance to unlock them,” Karl replied before he could go any further. “You two have completed the first trial and hopefully unlocked the key to getting the rest of them out.”
“How did they get here?” Audyn asked, heart pounding in her throat.
“When they became comatose, Kros was ready to wash their hands of them. They sent them to a special facility, tried to make them go away. Over the past few years we’ve managed to free each of the members from Kros’s grip, bringing them here and getting them back into Serein, opening up communication with them once again, by way of these,” Karl waved his hand toward the stations.
“So, they knew the whole time?” Audyn asked, feeling used.
“Yes, but they couldn’t let you know, it could have caused you to approach the trials differently. We only had one chance to get it right,” Alison replied, trying to calm Audyn. “What is important now is that you are safe, and you will be able to return to somewhat of a normal life. Your dad, Karl, and I will work to free the remaining members of the trials. You two did great, we are so proud of you.”
“We will work to have each of them complete their trials to earn their release, but since you two were the trigger point, we needed to have you complete your trial first,” Karl explained while adjusting his glasses. “I’m hoping it will be much easier now that the first trial has been completed.”
Evan looked over to Audyn. He knew she had the same idea. Looking at their parents and Karl, they spoke at the same time. “We’re going back.”
FINAL CHARACTER SHEETS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A huge THANKS to Jami for being so patient with me while I attempt to figure this whole writing thing out!
Also, the amazing people that have supported me throughout the Gamelit and LitRPG communities.
A special shoutout to Boo, Tanner, Katy, Ash, Hondo, Angel, Dawn, and KT. You have helped me more than you may ever know!
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Map of Serein
1. Serein
2. Audyn
3. Evan
4. Onward
5. Respawned
6. The Crimson Vale
7. Umeric
8. Windchill Village
9. Elixirs
10. The Swamp
11. The Eye
12. Ruelle
13. Return to the Vale
14. The Heart Tree
15. The Darkness
16. Elrala
17. The Companion and Toad
18. Regair
19. The Path to Helmere
20. The Scouting Party
21. Yar’nel Trench
22. Helmere
23. Cambria Keep
24. Robere
25. Reunited
26. Stones
27. Unlocked
Final Character Sheets
Acknowledgments
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J S Grulke, Quest Accepted
