“So what do you think?” Frank asked as they stood at the intersection of a stone roadway that headed around the western borders of the swamp. It branched off and headed into the mountains, where it entered the region given to Lydia. The land was unclaimed and relatively flat, with the mountains in the far distance and Quinny's forest just to the north.
Idris walked across the space, turning in circles with her dragon friend Zillix flying above her. She looked pleased by the region and asked how far down the road it went before it reached Lydia's vampire region.
Heather watched as Frank fawned over the woman, the two discussing plans for her village and how the undead attacks would take place. Quinny was eager to use her forest as part of the adventure, offering to create a farm where another stage of the clues could be found.
“So, how long before she’s married to us?” Breanne asked as she and Heather enjoyed the sight.
“Our husband is attracted to women,” Heather replied. “And this one wants to build a grand undead-based adventure. She's his perfect female counterpart.”
“She does seem to be a good match,” Breanne agreed. “But aren’t you worried about her desire to find a necromancer to play with?”
Heather considered the issue and ultimately shrugged it away. What could she do about it? Idris came to New Eden to be a strong support player for the undead, particularly a necromancer. She had no idea they had been banned from the world and that her desires made her unpopular with others. All Heather could do now was keep her secret and hope that playing with Frank, Breanne, and Quinny was enough for Idris.
“So what will your lair be like?” Quinny asked as they looked over the site.
“I wanted to make a ruined church with a small graveyard,” Idris said. “I plan to build it around a hill and create a maze of ghoul tunnels underneath.”
“I can help you design your tunnels,” Frank offered. “If you want, you can see the tunnels under my graveyard to help you with ideas.”
“I would love that,” Idris said as she smiled at Frank.
“Yep, she’s going to be another wife,” Breanne sighed.
“Are you two married?” came the dragon's voice as he flew to Heather and Breanne. “I heard you say Idris would be a wife.”
“We are getting married,” Heather corrected before looking down as Webster tapped at her legs. “Oh, and this is Webster,” she added and picked him up. “He's my familiar, and he wants to know if you are one too.”
“No, I am what you call a player,” he replied, looking at the spider. “But I guess I am the right size.”
Webster chirped, and Heather shook her head before assuring him that Zillix wasn't edible. Zillix flew to Breanne and settled on her shoulders, causing Breanne to turn her head at him curiously.
“Do make yourself right at home,” Breanne said mockingly.
“Do you think Idris will be happy here?” Zillix asked without acknowledging the statement.
“She should be,” Heather replied. “It sounds like she wanted a place to build her adventure and some undead players to play with. So, now she has everything she wanted and some friends to help her along.”
“And you want to be her friends?” he asked.
“Well, sure,” Heather said. “We need more time to get to know one another, but I think she will be a good fit.”
“I want her to be happy,” Zillix said. “She was very kind to me and doesn't like to be alone.”
“Why are you so concerned about her?” Breanne asked.
“I like her,” Zillix replied. “She let me be her master for a little while.”
“Oh,” Heather said as she understood. “That’s why you two are so close.”
“It's more than that,” Zillix replied. “I have tried to make contact with your kind before. Some of you treat me like a pet, some see me as something to kill, and some believe I have treasure hidden nearby or that I will provide ingredients for magical items. I have been attacked, hunted, and killed several times.”
“Oh, I am so sorry that happened to you,” Heather said. “Players can be very cruel in pursuit of wealth and experience.”
“It's probably because of your size and our fascination with small animals as exotic pets,” Breanne said. “Not to mention those games where you throw balls at animals.”
“Oh, I remember that,” Heather said. “Pokeme something.”
“I made Idris angry at me at first, and she summoned some kind of ghost to find me,” Zillix said. “But when she saw me, she took pity on me. She was the first of your kind to treat me like an equal. She didn't want me to come with her at first, but I took a risk and told her I was alone, and she said I could come. Then after a while, she said she would ask if I could build a home with you. She and I became friends, but I was becoming very fond of her. She kept talking about Roric and Jaina and what they offered her, but she was upset that she couldn't catch them. I did what I could to help her, even offering to act as a master so she could get some relief.”
“It seems like a lot of us are in search of that these days,” Heather said with a look at Breanne. “Have we all gone insane?”
“Probably,” Breanne remarked. “But at least we are having fun.”
“It is oddly fun,” Heather agreed. “I like being his slave girl.”
“I hoped Idris would like being mine,” Zillix said. “But she was committed to finding Roric.”
“Well, give her some time to settle,” Heather suggested as she reached up a hand to stroke his side. “She will think more clearly once she has her roots down. I know I did.”
“You think she might consider me?” he asked.
“I don't want to say what she will do,” Heather replied. “But if you feel that strongly about it, you should tell her.”
“I am concerned about this idea,” Breanne said. “No offense, but you are kind of small.”
“Oh, I don't have to be,” Zillix replied, fluttering from her neck. He landed before them, and his body glittered brightly with colors. Instantly a cloud of rainbow hues grew before them and faded to leave behind something very different.
“Now that makes more sense,” Breanne said as they gazed on a tall man with powerful muscles and broad shoulders. His skin was covered with leathery greenish-blue scales with a metallic sheen. He had a long thick tale that reminded them of an alligator's. His head was distinctly draconic, with a long snout, lizard-like eyes, and a crown of short horns.
“You have a human form,” Heather said.
“Not really,” Zillix said. “This is an illusion.”
“It is?” Heather asked with a raised brow and reached out to poke him. “You feel solid to me.”
“My illusions are solid,” he replied. “Well, if I want them to be.”
“So, are you still the little dragon, or is this you now?” Breanne asked.
“I am inside the illusion, but I feel everything the illusion does,” he explained. “I can even use the illusion to pick things up. I carried Idris in my arms when she was too upset to walk.”
“Ohh, that’s sweet,” Heather said with a smile.
“I am still struggling to see how this is an illusion if it's so solid it can be touched and used to move things,” Breanne remarked. “If you made an illusion of a bridge, could we walk over it?”
“Yes,” Zillix replied.
“Then it’s not an illusion,” Breanne insisted. “It’s more of a temporary creation spell.”
“It is part of our magic,” Zillix insisted. “The created object isn’t real.”
“It may not be real, but it is tangible, which makes it less of an illusion and more of a temporary effect,” Breanne argued.
“This is making my head hurt,” Heather complained. “It’s a real illusion that isn’t real, but you can touch it.”
“It’s hard to explain,” Zillix insisted and turned to see Idris pointing across the road as she explained the layout of her village. “But it was enough for her.”
“Well, you had better explain your feelings if you want her to know,” Heather said.
“I will try,” Zillix said. “But maybe it’s not to be.”
“I would say that if you are looking for a woman to love you, you need to look no further than Gisley,” Breanne said. “She is infatuated with you.”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“She treats him exactly like he said he didn’t want to be treated,” Heather protested. “Like a pet.”
“That’s just Gisley being Gisley,” Breanne argued. “She was much better with him last night once she had a chance to talk to him.”
“Quinny and Umtha were having fun watching his illusions,” Heather remembered, then had an idea. “Can you change something about another person?”
“I can make you look different,” Zillix said, waving a hand at Breanne as he flashed with color. A moment later, Breanne was like him but a female version with a dragon-like head. Heather was shocked and had to touch the face as Breanne turned her hands over.
“I can feel this,” Breanne said. “Are you sure this isn’t real?”
“It’s making you think it’s real,” Zillix replied.
“Can you do something more simple?” Heather asked. “Can you make my skin blue?” With a nod, Zillix made her skin tingle, and she looked at her arms to see she was blue. “Now, this has possibilities,” Heather said.
“Possibilities for what?” Breanne asked. “You can already turn your skin blue. In fact, you can make yourself look any way you want.”
“I am thinking of potential problems for the future,” Heather said. “Despite my cunning plan to tell the truth, I have put a target on my back from the local kings and queens. I lied to them about not being chosen and offered proof. Sooner or later, they will come knocking and ask how I managed that.”
“And being blue helps you with this. How?” Breanne asked.
“Not blue,” Heather sighed and looked to Zillix. “Your illusions make people see what you want them to see, right?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“So if I were to hand Breanne a blank piece of paper, you could make her see a document I described to you?” Heather pressed.
“I could, but unless I knew exactly how you wanted it to look, it would look how I thought it should,” he insisted. “People who know what they are supposed to be looking at won’t be fooled.”
“Hmm,” Heather replied as she smiled. “And how strong are your illusions?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean, if a player is higher level than you, can you still fool them?” Heather asked.
“I am not sure how this works,” Zillix admitted. “I don't understand these systems as your kind does.”
“What are you concocting in that dangerous mind of yours?” Breanne demanded.
“That he might be able to solve our problems once and for all,” Heather replied. “He's an unknown entity, so nobody will think to defend themselves from his illusions.”
“You are still not explaining yourself,” Breanne insisted.
“It’s complicated,” Heather said while shooting Breanne a suggestive glance. “I will explain it later.”
“Suit yourself,” Breanne replied and looked over. “Well, it seems while you were being so cryptic, we missed the foundation of a village.”
Heather looked up, and sure enough, there were small village buildings laid around a few short roads. Idris had placed it along the route to Lydia's territory but close enough to be easily seen by those traveling to Quinny's forest. One by one, buildings grew out of the ground, shaping and settling into the landscape as if they had always been there.
“I never get over how easy it is to build,” Heather commented as fences began to appear, creating small outlying fields for a farming village. Most of them were stone, but a wooden post fence ran along the road for a bit, containing hay fields with bales stacked as if freshly harvested.
Before her eyes, people walked out of thin air, the village coming to life with NPCs going about their programmed purpose. Heather reasoned that Idris had the entire village and its people already created and just needed to place it in its new home. She would spend a few days tweaking it to the new location, but otherwise, most of the work had been done long ago. Now that work came to life as Idris ran to her village, explaining every small detail to Quinny and Frank.
“Well, let's go see her village,” Heather said and led the way. She carried Webster in her arms, holding him tightly to her stomach as they entered what appeared to be a small farming village. It had a market yard with five small wagons with canopies and tables covered with simple wares. Most of the buildings were wooden or earth walled, but a few stone structures did stand, with the only significant one being an inn. Heather guessed it couldn't have more than three or four small rooms, but it fit the small village charm Idris was looking for. One interesting thing was that every door looked stout, and every window had heavy oak shutters or were too narrow to be used as a point of entry.
“So, how does this quest work?” Heather asked as she joined the group and took Umtha's hand. She noticed the goblin woman smile and take a step closer, excited to be shown some attention.
Idris was animated as she explained how the village was normal during the day. However, asking any villager anything about dangers, problems, or just for advice will reveal cryptic clues. They will warn people not to be out at night and to avoid the roads after dark. If players ask why the villagers get nervous and would say things like, “They come out at night.” All of this was meant to make players curious enough to linger until nightfall and see what happened.
“I spent a lot of time customizing the attack,” Idris said as she nearly danced in the center of town. “It tries to calculate how strong the players in the region are, then sends an undead attack to sweep the town. It always includes a few zombies, but if the players have some reasonable levels, it can include ghouls or even a few stronger things. A fog rolls in right before the attack, and it always comes from the direction of the graveyard. It's meant to point the players in the right direction.”
“You really put a lot of thought into this,” Frank said as he appreciated her effort.
“So what if players don't take the hint?” Heather asked, knowing she might not have thought to follow the fog. Idris explained that the villagers would be more forthcoming once players fought off an undead attack. They would tell a story about a priestess who came through the village a week before the attacks began. She had been asking questions about a graveyard in the area and even threatened a villager to get the information. They last saw her heading down the road that went to the old graveyard.
“So you make sure people can’t miss it,” Heather said with an approving nod.
“I want them to find it,” Idris explained as Zillix flew to her and landed on her shoulders in his tiny dragon form. Heather noted the smile and the touching way she raised a hand to stroke his side. There was something special between them that was a little stronger than just friendship. She had a natural infatuation with the undead, but something about the tiny dragon made her face light up.
“Do you plan to fight the players yourself?” Quinny asked as they headed down the road.
“Sometimes,” Idris answered. “Other times, I have an NPC to stand in my place and finish the quest.”
“What about adding a step to the mystery in Quinny’s forest?” Frank asked. “Are we still doing that?”
“I was thinking we could place another step there,” Idris said. “Instead of me being in the graveyard, the players could encounter some acolytes of mine, who summon undead to repel the intruders. Then we leave a trail to follow to a third location in Quinny's forest.”
“Honestly, you might be better off leading that trail closer to Lydia,” Breanne suggested. “She even has a haunted tower about five miles down the road.”
“Aw, I want her adventure to go into my forest,” Quinny argued.
“Your forest is already a heavily played region,” Breanne argued. “While few people see any reason to visit Lydia’s area. Besides, Idris’s adventure is more serious, whereas yours is often more silly.”
“But I can add zombies to her stuff and make it more exciting,” Quinny insisted.
“I was only trying to suggest that placing it in your forest would likely lead to players finding it without having done the other steps,” Breanne said.
“She’s right,” Frank agreed. “Unless we expand Quinny’s forest into the hills a bit more so she can create a new unexplored area.”
“I would be happy with that,” Idris agreed. “But what kind of structure to put there?”
“It should be a shrine to a god of death,” Frank suggested. “Maybe even a small temple complex build into the hills.”
“I love that idea,” Idris said happily.
“You could change your quest to suggest that you are preparing to summon a death god and start an undead plague,” Quinny suggested.
“This is going well,” Heather said as she cradled Webster. “I am glad your ordeal has ended with a new home and a good friend.” She said this last part with a nod to Zillix, and Idris turned to regard him.
“He’s my best friend,” Idris agreed before kissing the side of his head. “Without him, I would have slipped into depression. He carried me on when I couldn’t carry myself.”
“He told us he literally carried you,” Heather said.
“Yes, he annoyed me at first, then asked things that were too serious for somebody I had just met, but after a while, he proved he was sincere,” Idris replied.
“His illusions seem to defy the laws of physics,” Heather commented. “We are still debating if they are real.”
“He's explained it to me several times, and I still don't understand it,” Idris agreed. “It's an illusion, but it's so solid you can touch it, even stand on it.”
“Hmm, can you kill with it?” Heather asked.
“Why do you always think of things in terms of combat effectiveness?” Breanne asked.
“I was wondering that too,” Frank said. “If the illusion is solid enough that you can touch it, could it kill?”
“Yes,” Zillix replied, fluttering off Idris's shoulders to land a dozen paces away. Before their eyes, he changed to grow to the size of a large horse, looking more like a proper dragon. “This is an illusion,” he said, holding up an arm to show them his powerful claws. “But they can still wound.” He demonstrated his point by raking the ground and cutting deep furrows. “I can make illusions that aren't solid and are much easier to maintain, but they are just a trick, and weapons will pass through them.”
“So, the more real the illusion is, the more taxing it is for you?” Heather asked.
“Oh, yes,” he replied as he shrank back to his normal size and flew into the air. “Size, density, complexity, it all matters. Making my humanoid form solid enough to carry Idris is very taxing. I can only manage that for a couple of hours. If I made it a pure illusion, I could manage it for a dozen hours.”
“What happens when you reach your limit?” Heather pressed.
“The illusion fades, and I can't make more without a few hours of rest,” he replied.
“Hmm,” Heather said as she worked on the idea.
“That's your evil genius, hmm,” Frank stated as he studied her.
“She's up to something,” Breanne said. “She's got an evil plan beating around in her head.”
“It’s a plan in progress,” Heather stated. “It has a fatal flow I haven’t figured out how to overcome yet.”
“You are scheming something?” Idris asked as she looked at the others.
“This is her natural state,” Breanne commented. “She is devilishly brilliant but prone to overthinking.”
“Heather is brilliant,” Quinny agreed. “She can solve any problem.”
“She is very smart,” Umtha agreed. “But maybe too smart for her own good.”
“Alright, you can all stop,” Heather insisted as she squeezed Umtha's hand softly. “I was just considering a possibility. Why don't we focus on setting up Idris's adventure.” They agreed and proceeded down the road, heading toward Lydia's tower. They went about two miles down the road, and Idris created a side path leading over a hill where she would establish her graveyard. With the push of a few buttons, a large ruined church appeared on a shallow hill in the center of what looked like an ancient graveyard.
Heather commented that it was impossible to tell how old anything was when it could be created to look ancient. Frank wanted to know why that was important, and she said she would explain it later. She didn't want to say too much in front of Idris and Zillix until she knew them better. However, in the back of her mind, she wondered if there was a way to date how old some of the structures they had seen were. She was beginning to wonder if New Eden might already be hundreds of years old. Players could be reset and spawned according to a timetable to appear as if they had just arrived. They already knew the visitors could wipe memories and had strong evidence that entire worlds had been destroyed. That meant significant time had passed, not the ten years players believed.
Idris showed them the entrance to the church to a small network of tunnels under the church. She said this was her home and as much as she could afford to build. Frank immediately offered to give her enough gold to sacrifice so she could build much more.
Idris's reaction was one of shock and joy as she thanked him profusely. She even shed a tear of happiness as she tried to articulate her excitement. Heather was proud of Frank for bringing such happiness to the poor woman whose fortunes had reversed in such a short time. Quinny and Idris began to plan how they would lay out the temple area and the roads beyond. Idris would add a gate to the far side of the graveyard, going down an old path into the north. This would wind into the hills where Quinny would expand her forest but create a more sinister area with real dangers. She would also add thick thorny brush and cliffs to make it hard to enter the area by any route other than the road.
They spent the whole afternoon working on the project, and Idris was given enough gold to add a thousand points to her pool. She quickly expanded her tunnels under the church and built the road into the hills. Quinny expanded her forest and turned the hills into a dark landscape of twisted trees and prowling beasts. Zombies prowled the mists, and undead animals attacked anyone foolish enough to leave the roads. Skeletons wandered in small packs, stalking from the trees and waiting to ambush.
Frank helped Idris plan her temple of death and the dangers that would be inside. When the sun finally moved to the setting position, they called it a day, and Idris was invited to Rajeen's inn.
“That was so much fun,” Idris said happily. “You are so very generous.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Heather replied.
“You know, I have always wondered why the visitors programmed the sun this way,” Idris commented. “Some people say it used to work normally, but it broke.”
“Oh, ha,” Heather said nervously. “It's, umm, always been this way for me.”
“Me too,” Idris said as they passed between two trees and emerged in the city gardens. They walked down the streets as people waved and called out to get Princess Heather’s attention. One tall man even called out that he loved her, and Heather nervously blew him a kiss.
“People really like you,” Idris noted.
“Yeah, we just had a special event,” Heather said as they rounded a corner and realized she needed to tell Idris more. For the time being, she wouldn't share her full secret, so she told her the same story that had been given to the people.
“So you used to be a necromancer?” Idris said in awe.
“I was, but it was a curse,” Heather sighed. “People kept coming after me trying to kidnap me so they could turn me in for the reward. I’m lucky an army of paladins didn’t come marching south to burn everything in their path.”
“I can imagine how hard it was. I was persecuted just for being too similar to a necromancer. But how I wish I had known you back then,” Idris groaned. “I would give anything to play with a necromancer.”
“I'm sorry, but I had to give it up,” Heather insisted as Webster chirped from her arms. She looked down at him and used her telepathy to tell him that she couldn't tell Idris the truth yet. She needed more time to get to know the woman, and when the time was right, she would explain everything.
They went into the inn, and Heather pulled Breanne aside, asking her to find Roric and explain that they wanted to keep Heather's secret from Idris for the time being. Breanne nodded and hurried off the deliver the message so one of Roric's girls didn't accidentally reveal the truth.
Heather was brought a glitter bomb without even having to ask, and they all sat at a table in their private area. Zillix was given a cushion on the table beside Idris, who fed the small dragon from a plate of roast meat. The conversation shifted to the city and its future plans, with Idris showing great interest in the topic. Frank explained that they had a lot of building yet to do, but their primary focus was to encourage monster players to settle around the city and make homes.
It felt like a happy ending as Idris absentmindedly played with Zillix's long tail. The lost woman had been found and had a home with friends nearby. She would make an excellent addition to the theme of undead haunted lands. Heather was happy for her, but her mind was focused on Zillix and his power of illusion. She had a plan to use that power and solve a problem once and for all, but she needed a few more pieces of the puzzle. Hopefully, she could work them out in time, or her secrets might not stay hidden for long.