It was no secret that Travis was the main character; he had seen other people's journal entries telling their owners exactly that. It was a surprise, however, that this man knew the person who just walked into his academy was in fact, the main character.
Since he could not sense the aura of the man, it was fair to assume that maybe he was stronger in spirit magic than Travis was, hence the reason he sensed him walking up the hallway. That was the first question he asked after the man greeted him in that odd way.
“How did you know I was him?” Travis asked in an amicable tone.
“We will get to that; first, we must go inside and address other matters.” He turned to Patrick, who was surprised but also miffed to be kept out of the loop. He had seen this from his master before though and shouldn't have been surprised.
“Make sure we are not disturbed. When this man's companions arrive, make them comfortable and ask them to wait patiently.”
Patrick wanted to push back, but he also felt a strange sensation to obey when his master was around; he wondered if that was related to how he knew this man was the main character. What did that even mean anyway, there was a main character? All he said was, “Yes, Master.”
The older man walked back into the door he had come out of, and Travis followed. This man had the legit robes of a fantasy mage. They were a thick cloth of some kind, but it wasn't obvious what type. They were royal blue with a silver trim running around the edges. He also had on a chain with some type of medallion on the end.
All that was missing was the long grey hair and beard; instead, this man was slightly balding and looked to have shaved everything but a small mustache recently. Travis thought maybe this is what happens when the trope meets real earth biology. He actually had to stop himself from laughing when the thought came to him.
They walked into a room that appeared pretty normal except for the thick brown carpet. There was also a bookcase that took up the entire wall across from the door. Otherwise, there were two walls both made from the same white brick-looking material.
There was a table and two chairs in the middle of the room; the man sat and motioned for his guest to follow suit.
“You must be wondering what is going on, young man,” he spoke in an even but gravel-sounding voice. Not unlike what you would expect from such a man, the difference is they were in some type of massive modern building instead of in the Shire or some other common fantasy trope.
“I have been wondering that since a man delivered a magic journal and bag to my apartment,” Travis said with a chuckle, but his face read dead seriousness.
“I can only imagine. What do you suppose is happening since that day? Why do you think this is all happening?”
“I mean, I can only speculate; my companion and I have done so on numerous occasions.” He was prodded to go on, so he did. “We talked about the possibility that this is some kind of alien social experiment, or maybe Gods are real and they needed some entertainment. We know that there are people that think we are in purgatory or some other nonsense.”
“You do not rate the religious explanations highly?”
“I do not. I am not a religious man myself, and I just can't see how turning the world into a role-playing game fits with the agenda of a God or Gods,” Travis answered. He was annoyed but wanted to do less talking about what he thought and more listening to what this person knew because he got the sense that he did know things, important things.
“So, one day the world went from what people considered normal, and the next, more than half of the world's population was wiped out. While this was happening, 500 souls were given journals, marking them out as player characters, or in your case, the main character.”
Travis went to ask how he knew those numbers, but the man waved his questions away and continued.
“Then people were given missions, and magical powers were granted. Monsters started to swarm out of the world's major cities. This is inside what was referred to as 'safe zones,' although I don't know how places flooded with dangerous creatures could be considered safe.”
“Who or what would do something like that is quite the question because, of course, this is not any type of random or natural phenomenon.” he said in a methodical tone as Travis nodded his head, agreeing.
“You are familiar with the werewolf mage named Torak, are you not?”
Again Travis nodded. “Whoever put these events in motion made a critical mistake when they made him. He is far too intelligent and powerful to not question how he came to be. The attractions are not supposed to question their existence. Isn't that the main point of conflict in most AI-based stories?”
Travis finally got a chance to answer, “I was not a big reader, but yes, that makes sense. How do you...” He caught himself; he didn't think this man thought the why was the most important part; it was the what. What is this world, what are we, and what are we supposed to do? He figured he might get answers if he stuck with those questions.
“What does Torak plan to do?” he went with as his next question. The mage smirked a little, but it was nearly imperceptible. “At first, he wanted to learn why he came into being. He is the only non-human to question its existence so forcefully, at least the only one still alive. Why has he not been deleted, I do not know, but that question will trouble people long into the future.”
Now what he wants, and what he has achieved, is to become so powerful that he can read the building blocks of this world, only he doesn't understand what he is looking at. That is where he will need your help along with your companion Clyde. Once he explains what he has learned, you and Clyde will both know who and what you are; the truth will not be easy to hear.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“What is this truth?”
“That is for another time, young man.”
He started to go on, but Travis pushed out hard with his spirit magic; he was tired of this long-winded conversation. It reminded him of the Sheriff, a bunch of innuendo but nothing substantial.
“Enough bullshit, what the fuck is going on? Who are you first off?” he was pissed, and it showed in his tone, demeanor, and aura. Even though he couldn't read the man next to him did not mean he couldn't affect him with a strong push, and a strong push is what he sent out. Things were being dragged out and Travis was a military man, he wanted to find a target and achieve his mission, not sit around talking philosophically. That is why he had Clyde.
At that moment, Patrick burst in the door looking haggard and sweating; Travis's concentration broke somewhat, and the old man looked visibly relieved.
He starred daggers at the intruder, “why are you disturbing me pupil?!” the old mage angrily asked.
“Master, forgive me, but the scouts have reported a large undead army approaching the compound.”
This was a new side of Patrick for Travis; he was subservient to the extreme after being a bit of a stuck-up dick before. He looked like he had been running, and he could sense the worry in his aura.
The man did not seem concerned. “You think a few zombies coming to die against our walls is good reason to barge in on my session?”
Again, Travis was done with this guy's shit, “Patrick, Patrick!” He had to yell to get his attention; the journeyman mage reluctantly pulled his eyes away from his master and looked at Travis.
“How many and what type of undead, I fought an undead army once before. Is it just zombies or the bigger ones, and how long before they are here?”
Patrick hesitated somewhat until the older man told him to answer the question.
“The guards from where we just came from said if we had come through the portal 20 minutes later we would have transported right into the middle of a horde of zombies. There are hundred coming from that side.”
The master cut in, “see it's just zombies; we will use them for training.”
Travis hadn't taken his eyes off of Patrick, who he could tell had more to say, “Speak, man. What else have you heard?” the other man sighed but looked at him waiting for more information.
“They also have 3 large monsters that are a cross between gorillas and werewolves, he said, or something like that.”
“Vargiests, they are very dangerous. What else?” Travis asked a little more gently.
“That is everything from that direction, but from the west, an advanced scout reported large columns of skeletons; he had to retreat before seeing the end of it. There are other scattered reports that speak of more undead heading this way from all over. The mayor has deployed his eagle scroll to do a full recon.”
Travis looked at the old man with a face full of “I told you so,” and the man nodded. “Looks like we will have to continue this conversation another time. I must speak with the mayor and get my forces ready. I suggest you do not go far; you may stay in the other room with your companions when you are not preparing and fighting. Good day, Travis Porter.”
This was supposed to elicit a reaction from Travis since the man had no reason to be aware of his last name, but at that moment he could not have cared less about it.
Walking out of the room, he saw his party members walking into the main room. Clyde looked harried while Omar had a nervous expression. The other two just seemed to be along for the ride at this point. Not really understanding what they were expected to do.
Clyde looked at Travis, “you heard?”
“Just now, have you seen anything?”
“Yeah, out of the window on the side we came in, you can see them. I know you weren't a big movie buff, but you had to have seen the second Lord of the Rings movies, right?”
Travis thought for a second, “um, the one with the talking trees or the one with the ghosts at the end?”
Clyde chuckled, “the trees, yes. You remember at the end when they attacked the stronghold?” He continued as Travis nodded yes, “well, looking out from the battlements in that attack is pretty much what I felt like seeing the enemy outside of the window.”
“Except this time there will be no Elves coming to help us,” Patrick said wistfully, fully ready even during this troubling time to get into a discussion of the famous trilogy.
Until the old man in a grave voice started to speak, “to help us, probably not, but I wouldn't be shocked to witness the first part.” He kept walking as he said it and left the room.
They all looked at each other until Omar actually spoke up first, “wait, there are elves?”
***
It was a coincidence that the Lich was attacking the building where Travis was, but not really. Events were set to come to a head, and this was the location where the powers that be had decided would be the center of the new world if that were to come to pass.
After the meeting with the werewolf, if it could be called a meeting, the Lich was shaken. He had been given two ‘gifts’ from the creature. The bag that could hold anything and not gain weight would be very handy, but he still wasn't sure what to do with the powerful human.
Torak thought very little of the Lich, but he needed the information, and no one else could use death magic like him in this part of the world. By giving him the player character, he thought it would occupy the undead leader long enough to not be a nuisance. The fact that the PC he gave him had known the MC was merely happenstance.
One thing that the wolf did not consider was that the Lich might get divine assistance. After his interaction with the Goddess, who stopped him from further interference in the affairs of the MC, he was quite bitter. Lucian was not an entity to be dictated to.
He would, however, keep his pact that was made with the other two Gods. He would just make sure to do it by the letter of the law if not the spirit. Speaking of spirit, since before the council of the Gods, Lucian had some experience in transferring one's consciousness into the body of another.
The Lich also had some familiarity with the practice. What he was not aware of, though, was how he could transfer his being into that of a more powerful vessel, keeping both his power and that of the body. This was high-level magic, stuff that wouldn't be done until levels 20-25 and beyond.
Unfortunately for everyone not essentially evil, Lucian believed in one particular human saying, but changed up a little. To him, “hell hath no fury, like a deity scorned,” and scorned he believed he was. The evil always need to blame someone for the shitty things they do. For Hitler, it was the Jews, for Nero, it was the Christians, and for Lucian who in the future would become known as the God of evil and destruction, he blamed his two rival deities.
In the end, what transpired was a marriage of many things, none of them just or peaceful. All of them done in the pursuit of power over others or perceived slights.
In very little time, due to the help of a God, the Lich King was able to transfer his being into the body of the former PC known first as Brandon O’Malley, then known as Destro. It was with this new vessel that the Lich raised and gathered his forces to march on the largest and, in the area at least, most powerful human city.
Retaining some of the human's memories was quite a change, for reasons unknown the Lich found it hilarious when he said to himself, “there will be blood.”