Chapter 47: A Stranger No More

Alex’s mouth was hanging open.

“Wait…Spade? Chase? Is that you?”

“Yes,” said Guy. “And also very much no. I am an apparition of Xem’s imagination. I guess she made me in Spade’s image. Who is Chase?”

“No one,” said Alex, glancing at Amelie. “So you’re actually Spade?”

“Again,” said Guy, stroking his chin curiously. “I look like him and talk like him and maybe fight like him. But I am not really him.”

“This is all very odd,” said Amelie. “I started to suspect it was you when we met, but thought it was impossible. The mask was a good idea.”

“Thanks,” said Guy, looking down at the broken mask. “I had grown rather fond of it myself.”

“So why has Xem sent you here?” Said Alex, shifting nervously. “It seems she is really trying to help us out.”

“I am to get you both to the temple,” said Guy, jabbing his thumb up the stairs. “Or at least, I assume. It’s not like she talks to me very much.”

“What the…” Alex just let his incredulity hang. He seemed at a loss for words. “Guy, where the hell are we? Is this Esem?”

“That, I can answer,” said Guy with a cavalier smile. “This is not Esem. We are in the domain of…Xem…I guess. It’s a simulation separate from Esem, yet I know for a fact that it is much smaller and not nearly as complex.”

“I’m starting to think she is not a normal NPC,” said Alex grimly.

“Not at all,” nodded Guy. “She is very powerful, but if you play the game then I think she won’t hurt you.”

“Can we trust you?” Said Amelie.

“Depends, do you trust Spade?”

Amelie looked at Alex. This turn of events was shocking, to say the least. What game was Xem playing at?

“Can you get us to the temple?” Said Alex. He looked resigned but wary of this strange NPC who was Spade but also not Spade.

“Most definitely,” said Guy, nodding his head. “Don’t suppose either of you brought a light of some kind? This stairwell is indoors and will be pitch black until we reach the top.”

Amelie held her hand out, palm up. She thought back to the passage in her book that she had read to Chase months previous. A light soon appeared and illuminated their path, casting their shadows in every direction.

“That will do,” said Guy. He then quickly drew his bow and fired an arrow into the air. A screech sounded from above and then one of the bat monsters plummeted to the ground, an arrow in its breast and its tongue lolling out of its head.

“I didn’t even hear it coming,” said Alex, looking to the darkening sky.

“The light will attract them,” said Guy. “Let’s get going before more come. I wan’t to save my arrows for something bigger.”

The stairs were cut into the mountain itself and bore from a giant tunnel that had been seemingly carved from hand, which Amelie decided was unlikely as Xem had likely spawned it that way. Without her light they would have been in pitch black after a dozen steps, but her spell was a soft bluish glow upon the steps and kept them from tripping.

“How long is this tunnel?” Said Amelie. Guy was in the lead and looked over his shoulder at her.

“It’s at least half an hour of walking up,” he said, then motioned to Alex. “But with this one we might have to take longer.”

“Say what?” Said Alex, stopping in his tracks. “What do you mean by that?”

“What do I mean?” Said Guy, stopping as well and turning to face him. “You’re gonna gas out before we get halfway there, won’t you?”

“No,” said Alex. “Why would I?”

Guy looked him up and down and smirked.

“Because you’re the size of a small whale, that’s why.”

Amelie and the guild had learned early on that the one thing Alex hated more than anything was jokes about his weight. Chase had once had to stop Alex from fighting Brent after a joke he made when climbing into the wagon. The wagon would sag from one side until Alex was sitting down and Brent had said he worried they may capsize if Alex put on any extra weight. Alex had been so incensed that he had challenged Brent to a duel then and there.

“Alex, don’t,” said Amelie, but it was too late.

With a grunt Alex threw the first punch with all his might. Guy smiled and it seemed as though the world moved in slow motion. Amelie saw her friend ready his stance, saw his shoulder retract the arm, his fist ball up, he spun on his hip just as Chase had taught him, and let his blow fly.

Guy caught the fist with one hand and squeezed. The blow hadn’t even moved him an inch and soon Alex was on the ground, groaning in pain.

“If I let your hand go, you have to promise you won’t attack me again, got it?”

“Okokokok!” Sputtered Alex, his face twisted in agony. “I won’t!”

Guy released the hand and then shook his head.

“How is it that you are apart of my guild back on Esem yet you haven’t been taught about fighting your betters? Should I show you my contract marks again?”

Amelie rushed to Alex’s side.

“Alex, are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s not broken,” said Alex, massaging his hand. He looked up to Guy. “You may look like Chase but you don’t really act like him.”

“Then you have a lot to learn about your leader,” said Guy, his blue eyes flashing in the light. “I’m basically a snapshot of him. If he seems different then he’s either changed, or, more likely, is putting on a show for you all and hiding who he really is.”

“Chase would never make fun of Alex like that,” said Amelie, feeling a fury build inside of her. Seeing her guild mate hurt was not something she had been ready for.

“Well I don’t know what to tell you but that is exactly what he would do.” Guy placed his hands on his hips and sighed. “Look, how old is Spade in Esem?”

“Does it matter?” Said Alex, coming back to his feet. “35, maybe.”

“I’m Spade at 33,” said Guy. “Maybe he’s changed a lot in the two years. Has anything significant happened in his life in that time?”

“Amelie,” said Alex. “Don’t tell him anything he doesn’t need to hear.”

“Fine,” said Guy, throwing his hands up in mock frustration. “It’s not like I care. But the person I am would never had even let you join my guild. Know how many fat guys the Old Guard turned away? Countless.”

Alex let the comment slide and simply brushed past Guy, trudging back up the stairs. Amelie followed her friend and managed the best glare she could at Guy who rolled his eyes.

“Alright then,” said Guy. “Just remember: I was designed this way. Don’t take too much offense.”

Amelie decided it was best not to say anything at all. They began to walk in silence up the stairs, her light bobbing on the walls and casting their shadows to bend and warp against the stones. Despite herself she couldn’t help but glance at Guy occasionally. Was this really what Chase was like, before he became a respawn? There were certainly aspects of Guy’s personality which she found familiar to her guild leader. The cavalier attitude, for instance, but mocking a guild member was not something that he tolerated much. Perhaps Guy was right and the events of his life recently had just changed him utterly.

“You seem like a clever one,” Guy said softly to her after they had been walking for some time. The entrance to the tunnel staircase was far behind them and try as she might Amelie couldn’t yet make out the exit ahead of them.

“Meaning?”

“I am your guild leader, I know that much,” sad Guy. “Were I you I would be asking me lots of questions. Might be able to dig up some dirt on the real me.”

“Why would I ever want to do that?” Said Amelie, feeling bewildered.

“Might be useful for the future,” said Guy with a wink. “Never know what the real Spade is keeping from you, too.”

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“Can’t you just tell me?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Amelie sighed. Suddenly the similarities were becoming fewer the more they talked.

“Ok,” she said. “Where is Lord Oscuro hidden at?”

Guy stopped walking and grabbed her arm. His eyes were wide and for the first time he seemed off kilter and not in control.

“He you told that?!”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Said Amelie innocently.

“I…It’s just…” Guy shook her head in disbelief. “Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting that. I thought you were gonna ask about his love life or something.”

Amelie pushed his hand off his arm with a huff.

“Why would I care about that?!”

“Because…well,” he glanced at her and then looked away. “Never mind. It’s just a surprise that he told anyone about Oscuro.”

“Guess he really did change,” said Amelie. She began to climb the stairs again before Alex was too far ahead. Soon she heard footfalls rushing behind her to catch up.

“If he told you that,” whispered Guy. “I guess he also told you about the curse.”

“Curse?”

“Ah, he didn’t,” chuckled Guy. “I wonder why. Probably too embarrassed.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” said Amelie. “What is this about a curse? Does Ch—Spade have some kind of problem?”

“Strictly speaking it’s not a curse like you may get from a spell,” said Guy. “It’s a result of what we did to Oscuro. There was a name Ghelion gave the phenomena.”

Amelie waited while Guy pondered on those words. She thought she could begin to see a pin prick of light in the distance. Maybe the stairs were nearing the end.

“A glitch,” said Guy with a snap of his fingers. “That’s what it’s called. Some of the Old Guard members encountered a glitch.”

“A glitch?” Said Amelie, thinking back to her magic book. “Is that some kind of rare magic?”

“It’s more like an accident than magic. Actually, you could say AION himself made a mistake and never corrected it when he was making Esem and all its wonderful characters.”

“What did this glitch do?”

Guy grinned and the light from her magic flashed across his eyes.

“It changed the natural course of their lives, is what it did,” said Guy.

“Meaning?”

Guy was opening his mouth to speak when Alex suddenly appeared before them having stopped in the middle of the stairs.

“What are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing, Alex,” said Guy. “Just some friendly banter.”

“Whatever,” said Alex with a frown. He didn’t look at Amelie. “The exit is just ahead though.”

Guy rushed ahead to the end of the stairs. Alex didn’t say a word to her and Amelie felt awkward that she had been chatting to someone who had mocked Alex. When there was time she would tell him what it was Guy had said about the glitch, whatever that was, but right now they needed to focus on finishing this game.

When they reached the top of the stairs they found Guy peering at the landscape, arrow knocked and scanning the terrain. Unlike the narrow path down below this was an open area that had a gentle rise to the top of the mountain. Some boulders dotted the area and Amelie thought she could see movement within the darkness. At the very end was a small building, its edges outlined by a light from within.

“There’s the temple,” said Guy, using his arrow to point into the distance.

“Not too far away,” said Alex, taking a step forward. “We can reach it in 20 minutes if we’re fast.”

“STOP!” Shouted Guy.

“What?”

Guy sighed. He then picked up a rock from the ground.

“Watch.”

He tossed the rock some 15 feet away into the darkness. A loud stomping ensued and soon a giant fist fell from the sky and crushed the rock. The fist must have been the size of a small horse and was grey colored in the light of her magic.

“There you are,” muttered Guy. He took his arrow and licked the tip, spreading saliva across the arrow head. He then knocked, drew, and fired the arrow in one smooth motion into the darkness. There was a deep groan and the sounds of something giant stumbling around, followed by a crash.

“What was that!” Said Alex. “What did you do?”

Amelie cast her light ahead of her to where the fist had been only moments before. The small light illuminated the body of some giant creature that appeared to be dead. It was over twenty feet tall and was made of muscle. Amelie had read about rock giants before but this was her first time ever seeing one. It’s eyes were the size of dish plates of were staring wide eyed and blood shot at the night sky.

“I saved your life,” said Guy. “These giants are able to stay still as stone for hours at a time. They wait for players to walk by and then crush them in a single blow.”

“Then how did you kill it with a single arrow?”

“It’s my Assassin ability,” said Guy with a smile. “I can coat the tip of any arrow or blade with my spit and make it poisoned. A first time assassin won’t be able to fell something so large, but over the years I’ve honed the ability to be able to kill even a giant.”

“Well, thanks,” said Alex in shock.

“Don’t mention it,” said Guy, patting him on the shoulder almost fondly. “Amelie, we will need your light. Can you keep the spell for a while longer?”

“I should be able to,” said Amelie. “But it may make healing difficult if we are injured.”

“We should be fine. Just stay behind me. I know this area better than anyone.”

As they followed Guy past the body of the rock giant, Amelie thought about what Chase had said about their abilities coming to be their bread and butter. If abilities could grow in power then how powerful were the other Old Guard members? How powerful were other players who had been in Esem for decades longer than she? She had heard that Chase was the weakest of his old guild. If that were true, what could the likes of Karkren or Solomon do? She looked at her little light floating before them as they walked and wondered if one day she would be able to cast a light brighter than the sun itself.

“Stop,” said Guy after they had walked some distance past the giant. The sound of skittering past her light came to her ears and she looked at Alex who was white as a sheet.

“What’s that sound?” Said Ale nervously. .

“Just your garden variety Giant Spiders.”

The skittering grew louder and Amelie thought she could hear far more than eight legs.

“Is everything here giant?” Said Alex.

“Xem isn’t known for her originality,” muttered Guy. He placed his bow across his back. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

“What are you doing?” Said Alex fervently. “Take your bow back out!”

“There’s too many,” said Guy. “I have a better idea for this lot.”

Guy held his hand up as though he were trying to pick up something invisible from the air. Suddenly, a small disk that was in the shape of a four pointed star appeared between his fingers. Just as Amelie began to see several sets of gleaming arachnid eyes beyond her light Guy made several quick throwing motions with his hands. Instead of a single star, he threw at least a dozen, and each was answered with cries of pain which reminded Amelie of the spider Alex had killed during their first day on the training island.

“Was that a spell?” Said Amelie. Guy had taken his bow again and was scanning the spiders for any survivors. Amelie thought she counted six, but their still twitching legs made doing so difficult. Alex had turned his back and was forcing himself to take calming breaths.

“Throwing Star ability,” said Guy with a shrug. “From the Ninja class. They are energy projectiles and rather convenient with these spider types. A single star can cut through multiple spiders.”

“Incredible,” said Amelie. And she meant it, too. Seeing an OP or at least a near OP player demonstrate their abilities was something she had wanted to see for a while now.

“Thanks,” said Guy. He looked at Alex who was still turned around. “Though I am sure you have seen the real me do this a thousand times. Alex, what’s wrong? Don’t like spiders?”

“Not really,” said Alex, his voice shaking. “Bad memories.”

“You really need to toughen up, my friend. I wouldn’t blame Amelie if she told the rest of the guild to dump you after this. First losing your sword and now wetting yourself over a few bugs.”

Alex was too shaken to respond, but Amelie saw a look of pain flash across her friends face. She wanted to scowl at Guy and simultaneously go to Alex to comfort him but their guide shushed them both before she could.

“Let’s go,” said Guy with a wave of his hand. “Perhaps we can find some courage for our large friend along with this magical artifact.”

The rest of her journey was spent illuminating the road so that they could follow guy, who always kept an arrow knocked and his head moved on a swivel as he checked for possible threats. Shortly after the spiders they found another rock giant who tried to run at them once it saw the light. Guy impressed her yet again, this time by mocking gravity and running up the side of a rock wall, and then stabbing the giant in the back of the head with a dagger. It fell again with his Assassin ability and crashed to the ground. The ground shook when it landed and Guy landed square on his feet and gave a small bow. Despite herself Amelie was impressed by this old version of their guild leader, but tried to keep the amazement off her face as every time Guy felled another beast Alex’s face grew more and more dour. It seemed that Guy’s words were lingering within his mind.

When finally they came to the end of the area there was another, much smaller set of stairs to climb. They scaled them wordlessly and at the top there was the temple. It was a small building, made of a few pillars of white marble and was open to the elements with only a roof to protect it from above. The light coming from within pulsed with a steady glow.

“We are here,” said Guy. “The item that you seek is within.”

“So what should we do?” Said Amelie, peering inside the temple. She could make out a marble table with a long object bathed in light upon its rock surface.

“What did Xem say?”

“She said we need to find the magical item,” said Amelie. “Nothing more than that. Find it and we win.”

“I see.”

“Thanks for getting us here,” said Amelie. “We wouldn’t have made it without you.”

Guy didn’t respond, instead he scanned the sky. When finally he looked at her his smile was gone.

“No time to waste, let’s get inside.”

They hustled inside. The room was small and there were only two things to see: the marble slab, and a sword glowing with light. The sword was not thrust into the marble, as Amelie might have suspected, but simply laying horizontally as though someone had forgotten it was there. Other than the light it was an unremarkable blade, looking no more special than the sword Alex had lost to the bat.

“Finally here,” said Amelie with satisfaction. The light was bright enough that she ended his light spell and the little orb disappeared. “What now. Just pick it up?”

“You two will have to decide among yourselves,” said Guy gravely. “As you have probably noticed, this is no ordinary sword. This is the Sword of Blinding Might. Whoever picks it up will be so powerful that they will be stronger than Solomon himself.”

“Say what?” Said Alex, eyes wide. “That’s what this is?”

“It’s a powerful artifact; one which AION deemed too over powered to leave in Esem. Don’t ask me how Xem got her hands on it.”

“And whichever of us picks up up will have this power?”

“Yes,” said Guy. “I think its how Xem intends one of you to leave. With this sword you can end this enchantment and go back to Esem.”

Amelie glanced at Alex, and instead of finding confusion up his his face like on hers she saw he appeared pensive. He seemed to be weighing their options. He couldn’t take his eyes off the blade and the light reflected in his eyes.

“What do you mean ‘one of us’ gets to leave?” Said Amelie. “What happens to the other?”

“Unsure,” said Guy with a shrug. “Actually I don’t know why she sent two of you. The sword will only work on the first person who touches its handle.”

“Alex,” said Amelie. “Maybe we should wait for Xem to come back and explain what to do. We’ve finished her game, haven’t we? There’s no reason why we can’t both return to Esem, surely.”

“Yes, Alex,” said Guy. “You should probably wait for Xem to come back. Wait just as you did the whole way here behind me as I slew all those monsters for you.”

“I didn’t have my sword,” said Alex distractedly, still staring at the magical weapon. “If I had it then….”

“Then what?” Laughed Guy, pointing rudely at Alex. “You wouldn’t have been any help at all. You’re the weakest link of your guild. Better let Amelie take the sword and figure out a way to get you both outta here.”

“Alex, don’t listen to—,” began Amelie.

“Yeah, don’t listen to me,” said Guy. He was staring with a manic grin at Alex. He no longer resembled the picture of Spade she had seen in the newspaper. The skin on his face appeared to be pulsating and undulating as he spoke. “Listen to your guild member. I’m sure she has your best interests at heart. She probably never laughs at you behind your back about how weak and fat you are.”

“Guy!” Amelie rounded on their guide. “What are you saying?”

“Im just stating obvious truths,” said Guy.

“No, you’re trying to get inside his head!”

“Amelie,” said Alex. For the first time he took his eyes off the blade and looked at her. “How dumb do you think I am?”

And then he grabbed the blade by the handle.

A flash of light blinded the landscape for miles around. In the light she could see Guy soundlessly cackle, his mouth stretching unnaturally wide. When the light abated Guy and Alex were both gone, and only the sword, dropped on the ground, remained.

“Alex? Guy?” She spun around in fright, unable to see where either of them had gone to.

“That was easier than expected,” said Xem. “How does it feel to be betrayed by your friend?”

“Xem! Where is Alex?”

“He got sucked into the sword, and there he will remain for eternity for his betrayal. You should be thanking me. A man willing to betray his friends is one willing to betray all.”

“He didn’t—.”

“But he did, Amelie,” said Xem. “Guy explained everything before he touched the sword. He knew you would be stuck here. What else do you call that?”

“I…I don’t…” Amelie sputtered. She felt an intense emotional pain within herself. Had Alex rally betrayed her? “Look, Xem. I don’t care what he did. How do I get him back?”

“You really want to see your friend again?”

“Yes.”

“There is but one way. He is trapped inside the sword. The sword will only answer to blood.”

“Blood?”

“Yes. Your blood, in fact.”

“What should I do?”

“It’s quite simple, actually,” said Xem, sounding pleased with herself. “Kill yourself, and your friend will be freed.”

Amelie look at the blade as it’s glow seemed to beat like a heart.

“Kill myself?”

“Kill yourself to free him, otherwise you will never see Alex again.”

“Oh dear,” murmured Amelie.