The West Gate
4:15 P.M.
Redgrave and Tantalus sat alone in the office of the highest-ranking NPC of the West Gate. The office was strangely similar to the kinds of offices Redgrave would see on TV shows about expensive lawyers. The windows looked out at the City of Osiris below. They were on the fifth floor, and Redgrave could see the tall buildings of downtown Osiris far in the background. In fact, he would have sworn he was sitting inside of a tall building rather than a city-spanning wall if not for the gargantuan slabs of concrete that stretched for miles in Redgrave’s peripheral vision. If he squinted, he could see the wall on the other side of Osiris.
Inside of the office was a large mahogany table, two visitors’ chairs, one comfortable-looking chair behind the table, a coat rack, and a filing cabinet off to one side. A name plaque sat on the table, though Redgrave could not be entirely sure that the text it bore was a name. The text on the plaque was written in the usual inscrutable text that the NPCs used. The plaque read:
ꦑꦜ’ꦩꦔ ꦕꦮ’ꦨꦦꦑ
Redgrave couldn’t even begin to try to read the text. It clearly used no European alphabet. As far as Redgrave knew, the letters could have been Asian, African, or even completely made-up by GM. Redgrave didn’t even know if “letters” was the right word to describe the text.
Tantalus had propped the pump-shotgun he had looted from a dead goblin up against the wall. He had completely disassembled his 1911 and left many of the gun’s parts on top of the table.
Just as Tantalus began to reassemble his pistol, the NPC officer walked in. The officer was a middle-aged Middle-Eastern-looking man. The NPC’s hair had not yet begun to turn grey, but the lines on his face indicated a wealth of experience. He was wearing a thick gambeson shirt under a green coat that bore the symbol of a dragon in flight. At the officer’s belt was a cavalry saber and three throwing knives. Above the officer’s left breast pocket was a symbol of a crown. Redgrave knew that this was the insignia for an officer with the rank of Colonel in the British Army. Based on the officer’s expression and body language, he didn’t look happy.
The NPC officer walked to his seat, conspicuously passing by Tantalus and Redgrave such that he could put as much distance between himself and the shotgun propped against the wall. Both Tantalus and Redgrave got to their feet as the officer entered, though Redgrave rose significantly slower.
“Colonel Dozok,” said Tantalus, “it’s nice to meet you.” Tantalus held his hand out for the Colonel to shake, and the Colonel shook his hand with only a moment’s hesitation.
“And you must be the Butcher of the West Gate,” Colonel Dozok said evenly. “The soldiers have been talking about how you killed all of those Deluvians.”
“I already have a title, I see,” said Tantalus, chuckling. “You can just call me John Tantalus.”
After shaking Redgrave’s hand, Colonel Dozok took his seat, and the two players soon followed suit.
“I hear that you’re something of a leader among the Revenants. Is that right, John Tantalus?” Colonel Dozok said.
“Command was somewhat foisted upon me,” said Tantalus, “but you’re right.”
“Then perhaps,” Colonel Dozok said, his tone of voice becoming dire, “you can answer for some of the actions that other Revenants have carried out over the past six hours.”
“Perhaps…” Tantalus said casually. As he said this, he snaked his sidearm’s recoil spring back into the removed slide on the table.
“To begin with, it is my understanding that you ordered some of my soldiers to burn down several dozen civilian homes,” said Colonel Dozok. “Private Cald claims that you gave this order for tactical reasons, but I don’t see the purpose myself. Why did you decide to ignore the chain of command and the laws of Osiris when you sent this order?”
“Well, to explain that,” Tantalus said coolly, reconnecting the 1911’s slide with its frame, “I need to explain to you how guns work.”
“Guns?” Colonel Dozok asked.
“Uh…” Tantalus said, unsure how to explain. “What do you call these?” Tantalus then gestured to the partially reconstructed sidearm in his hand and the shotgun in the corner.
“Firemakers,” Colonel Dozok said matter of factly.
“Well, we sometimes call them firearms,” said Tantalus. “Just know that when I say ‘guns,’ I mean ‘firemakers.’ Anyway, the point is that guns can easily kill when the target is more than a thousand feet away. Us Revenants can fight much more effectively when the Deluvians need to spend a long time out in the open to reach us. If they need to spend a minute charging us, then…”
“Enough,” Colonel Dozok interrupted. Tantalus had locked the recoil spring in place with his slide stop. The sidearm was reassembled. “Fine. I’ll accept that you had your reasons, but you can’t completely ignore the chain of command when it suits you.”
“With respect, sir,” Tantalus said, slapping a fresh magazine in his sidearm, “more people would have died had I not had those houses burned down. If I was in that same position again, I’d do it again.” Tantalus racked his slide, and the sound of metal-on-metal filled the office.
The implied threat was lost on Colonel Dozok, who did not understand how guns work. “I should have you arrested for insubordination right now, Private,” the Colonel snarled.
“That’s your right,” said Tantalus, “but I think you’re gonna want me to answer your next question before you do that.”
“Why?” Colonel Dozok said, fuming. “I can just have you answer the question from the brig.”
“Trust me,” Tantalus said, his voice oozing with the promise of death.
As Tantalus spoke, Colonel Dozok felt the shadow of death pass over him. As a career soldier, the Colonel had felt afraid for his life many times before, but he had never been made to feel that way by a man peacefully sitting in a chair. The Colonel could sense the Revenant’s absolute confidence in his own skill. This man, John Tantalus, truly believed that he was in no danger from anything that Colonel Dozok could do to him. Either this Revenant was completely insane, or he was a true threat to all of Osiris.
A part of Colonel Dozok wanted to take his sword and stab Tantalus in the heart or conjure fire to burn him to death, but another part was terrified of what would happen if he did.
“Fine,” Colonel Dozok said, managing to hide the fear from his voice. “I’ll humor you and not have you confined to the brig… yet. The second topic I wanted to talk to you about was the North Gate. All of the regular defenders at the North Gate were reported dead two hours ago. All fifty men were found dead. They had been killed with firemakers and swords. Observers on the scene report that they had most likely been dead for several hours before the deaths were reported, meaning they were killed long before the current incursion. High Command believes that the defenders were killed by Revenants. Do you know anything about this?”
“Yes, I do,” Tantalus said. He turned his head to the side and swore at Ashcroft venomously.
“Ashcroft?” Colonel Dozok asked.
“Yes,” said Tantalus. “He was the one who killed the NPC… the defenders at the North Gate.”
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“How do you know this?”
“He told me,” said Tantalus. “He said that he asked an officer for his sword and, when the officer said no, Ashcroft killed him. According to Ashcroft, the situation ‘escalated’ and ended with him killing all of the non-Revenants at the North Gate.”
Colonel Dozok reached into his desk and pulled out an old-fashioned tape recorder. He clicked a button to begin recording and said, “So, to reiterate what you just told me, this man ‘Ashcroft’ ordered the Revenants to kill the defenders of the North Gate.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“What are you talking about?” Colonel Dozok shouted. “You just said…”
“I didn’t say that Ashcroft had the defenders killed, I said that Ashcroft killed the defenders,” said Tantalus. “It’s my understanding that he killed all fifty of them himself.”
“How?”
In response, Tantalus pointed to his sidearm.
“May it be noted for the record,” Colonel Dozok said shakily, “that witness John Tantalus pointed to his firemaker in response to my question.”
“Sir,” Tantalus cut in. “I highly advise against trying to pursue any substantive criminal action against Ashcroft. I know him very well, and he will resist any attempts you make to arrest him. It would only result in dozens of unnecessary deaths.” By Tantalus’s tone of voice, it was clear that he sincerely wanted to prevent unnecessary deaths. “The Revenants don’t need to be your enemies. I will talk to Ashcroft and make sure that this won’t happen again.”
“Out of the question,” Colonel Dozok said, remembering his position. “We can’t just allow a mass murderer to go free. In fact, I should have you arrested, Private John Tantalus, for not coming forward with this information earlier.”
Tantalus sighed deeply. Redgrave had heard this sound before. In preparation, Redgrave subtly unholstered his pistol. Tantalus quickly made a symbol with his left hand using the battle-language created back during the days of the Scions of the Blue Flame: Stand Down.
“There’s something you should know,” Tantalus said with a smile. “The Revenants have a ranking system. Of the ten thousand Revenants in this city, less than fifteen hold the highest rank. Ashcroft holds that rank… and so do I.”
“What’s your point?”
“You’re free to try to arrest me,” said Tantalus, “but I will tell you right now that I won’t go quietly.” Tantalus rose from his chair, pistol in hand. Colonel Dozok hurriedly got to his feet a moment later. “Earlier, you called me the Butcher of the West Gate. Personally, I’m not a fan of the name. If you try to arrest me, I’m afraid that the name will stick.”
“What?”
“This can go one of two ways, Colonel,” Tantalus said. “Either you can work with me, and we can all go home unharmed, or you can become the next victim of the Butcher of the West Gate.”
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Central Osiris
Meanwhile, Pixie sat at a table outside of a restaurant in downtown Osiris. She was sipping on a sugary drink through a straw. The drink’s coloration was very similar to Coke or Pepsi, but the product name was written in NPC script. The cup read:
ꦨꦫꦗ
Pixie held a greasy half-eaten burger that was still half-covered in the bright yellow tissue paper that it came in. The burger’s packaging was also covered in the same unknown text as the soft drink cup. In terms of taste, the patty was a bit chewier than Pixie would have liked, but the flavor made up for the texture. Pixie couldn’t tell if it was the meat, the new mouth, or the fact that she hadn’t eaten anything greasy in several months, but Pixie thought the burger was delicious.
A paper bag sat on the table that held four more burgers and two smaller bags filled with slices of some plant-based food that most closely resembled french fries. This bag contained the food that Pixie intended to bring Tantalus and Redgrave.
Elias, who had taken the most damage during the fight, had just finished his second burger. He washed the burger down with a huge gulp of water from an opaque plastic cup.
Sitting around the table were Rachel, Volta, Elias, Pixie, and Cadmium, who had come to the restaurant after receiving a message from Volta regarding the death of Dendrite.
“Why is Tantalus even in charge?” Elias complained loudly. “Everyone in this damn city seems to buy completely into this Great Strategist crap. He’s supposedly so good at this game, but the people closest to him end up dead! Him being good at strategy didn’t save Kevin, Enoch, Bebop, Enzo, or the other seventeen people that died at the Gates.”
“Elias…” Rachel warned.
“Enoch, that’s Dendrite’s real name, right?” Pixie asked.
“Yeah,” Elias said offhandedly, “Enoch Smith.”
“We really have to stop learning each other’s names after we die,” Rachel muttered.
“Elias is my real name,” said Elias, “so you know mine.”
“My real name is Hannah Lee,” said Volta.
“Linda Brown,” Pixie said offhandedly.
“IRL, my name is Jack Watson,” said Cadmium.
“Anyway,” continued Elias, annoyed at being interrupted, “my point is that there is no real reason for Tantalus to be in charge. He’s just a guy with some name recognition. It’s not like we voted for him to be in charge.”
“I suppose it was Ashcroft that put him in charge,” said Pixie.
“Well, I suppose so, but…” said Elias.
“Enoch handed his dog tags to Redgrave just before he died,” Volta said, not looking at anyone in particular. “Do you think he knew he was about to die?”
Elias was stopped in his tracks by this statement.
“I think he wanted to give us closure,” said Volta.
Elias stared at his hands for a moment. Suddenly, all of the anger he was feeling toward Tantalus and Redgrave transformed into a crushing wave of sorrow. “God…” he said, tears beginning to stream down his face. Elias shielded his eyes with his hand, and he began to quickly walk away from the group.
Volta began sobbing openly, and Cadmium’s expression tightened as he got his emotions under control. Several minutes of grief later, Pixie was able to awkwardly extricate herself from the situation with the excuse that she had to bring food back to Redgrave and Tantalus.
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The West Gate
4:50 P.M.
Redgrave laid down on a recliner chair in a sizable but windowless office on the third floor of the West Gate. The office was pointed in the direction away from the City, so it would be a security hazard to have windows. The chair was at the exact midpoint between a chair and bed. It was the kind of comfortable chair that one would expect to find in a therapist’s office. While he laid down in the chair, Redgrave ate a burger and sipped on a soft drink that Pixie had brought him. Regarding the burger, Redgrave thought that it was fine but a bit uncanny. Everything in the burger was an approximation to something he had eaten before, but nothing was exactly as he expected it. The patty was too tough, the buns were too soft, the cheese was too sweet, and the lettuce was too crunchy. Overall, it wasn’t necessarily a bad experience, but it was slightly different in an off-putting way.
Tantalus sat behind a table that was very similar to the one in Colonel Dozok’s office. A small stack of papers sat atop the desk, and Tantalus had written the words “I CAN’T READ THIS” on the top of the first page. An ancient rotary telephone sat at the side of Tantalus’s desk. Pixie sat at the table across from Tantalus. She was holding a plastic water bottle, and so were Redgrave and Tantalus. Redgrave had already drained three water bottles, and their crumpled-up forms littered the ground.
“So, you told the NPC in charge here that Ashcroft killed the NPCs at the North Gate?” Pixie asked rhetorically. “And then you threatened to kill everyone at this Gate if the NPC in charge tried to arrest you?”
“Basically,” said Tantalus.
“And after you threatened him, he gave you an office?” asked Pixie.
“It worked, didn’t it?” Tantalus said with a smile.
“You’re right, it worked,” sighed Pixie. “I’ll try to keep complaining to a minimum. This is gonna hurt NPC relations, though.”
“It was the Colonel’s fault, anyway,” Redgrave said without swallowing the food in his mouth.
The door to Tantalus’s office opened to reveal a middle-aged man. He was wearing the Revenant uniform, but he didn’t carry a gun. Redgrave was pretty sure the man was a player, but he couldn’t be sure. “Are you Tantalus?” the man asked.
“Yes, that’s me,” Tantalus said, subtly placing his sidearm on the table. “And who are you?”
“My username is Riemann59,” the man said, “but my real name is Dr. Felix Walker. I worked at Far Caster before the Game Master took over. I have inside information that will help us all navigate this game, and I would like to trade this information for protection from you and your followers.”
“Yeah, Felix Walker,” said Tantalus. “I’ve heard of you. You’re an AI scientist. I saw your Ted Talk back in ‘26.”
“That is correct,” Riemann said. “I had secondary duties in game development, but my primary job was the development of emergent AI.”
“Meaning… you helped create GM?” Pixie asked.
“More than help,” said Riemann. “I was the lead developer.”
Pixie got to her feet and Redgrave began to sit up, but Tantalus raised a hand to halt them in their tracks.
“If you are who you say you are,” said Tantalus, “then I will gladly offer you protection. I would like to hear what you have to say first, however.”
“Of course,” said Riemann, “though this might take a while.”
“I’ve got all day,” Tantalus said, slipping deeper into the upholstery of his chair.