Calista fell in behind Lefty and Narene as they entered the passageway. Behind them, they could hear the knight yelling through the doorway as he tried to force it open. Then the wall closed behind them and the noise died. You’re in for a bit of a surprise if you do that, buddy, Calista thought as she remembered the magical trap Lefty had set on the door.

They had entered a crevasse of natural rock so narrow that Lefty and Calista had to step sideways to follow Narene. The crevasse then turned and led them into a small, square room that had just enough space for the three of them to stand.

“Severin keeps these passageways on every level so that he can keep an eye on everyone,” Narene explained. “He has several players under his employ and so he likes to be able to hear what they say when they don’t know he’s listening.”

“So he’s paranoid.” Calista shook her head. “That’s great. Just great. My fiance is a paranoid cheater.”

Narene’s golden eyes turned to Calista. “Well, he’s my boyfriend too …”

Calista interrupted her. “He’s not your boyfriend, honey, he’s mine. Which is why I’m going to be the one who kills him.”

“Hey,” Narene stomped her foot. “I thought you said we could kill him together.”

Calista crossed her arms and set her jaw. “I said no such thing. All I said was that if you helped us out, then we wouldn’t kill y …”

Lefty placed his hand over her mouth, “What she means is that so long as Severin dies, we’ll be more than happy to let you participate in any and all combat.”

Calista pulled her partner’s hand down. “No, we don’t. I’m calling ‘dibs’ on Blake’s head or deal’s off. I don’t recall this being a polyamorous relationship. Just because you found out you’re the side piece doesn’t mean you have rights over his dead body.”

Neera the goblin glared, “It doesn’t sound like I’m the side piece anymore.”

Lefty stepped between the two women. “Listen, we have to stop fighting. If anything for practical purposes. They know we’ve disappeared again and will be looking for us.” He turned to Calista, “So unless you want to get into another fight already, you need to calm yourself down.”

Calista refused to back down. “Is your boyfriend cheating on you? No? Then how about you shut the hell up. I get to kill him and she gets to watch. And then maybe we both light his body on fire. How’s that?”

Narene replied first, “I want to tie him up and make him confess as to why he did this.”

Calista cocked her head when she heard this. “You know, I hadn’t thought of that one. You might have an idea there.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I know I have a point there,” Narene continued, “and all I’ve been trying to do is get you to listen but all you think of is me, me, me, me, me, me.” The little goblin girl tapped her chest for each ‘me’ until she finally pointed at Calista. “And now I need you to think about ‘us’ because me and Junior are going to need to find a new home after this.”

“What is it with you and that dog?” Calista asked.

“He’s still a puppy!” Narene cried. “Don’t you have any feelings, girl?”

Calista rolled her eyes as Lefty cut in again, “Hey, if Junior can help us get out of this dungeon, then I’m all for it.” He turned to their goblin guide. “So, now that’s settled … Narene, can you tell me if Severin can log out as well, or not?”

Narene shook her head. “No, Blake said he can’t figure out what’s going on either. He said this wasn’t a part of the new patch and that it’s probably a bug or something.”

“Is he worried?” Lefty asked.

There was a pause as Narene took a deep breath. Finally, she said, “Not really.”

“And what about you? Are you worried you can’t log out?” He asked.

Narene bowed her head. “Not really, but kinda … Or, I wasn’t that worried until I met the two of you, but now I’m not so sure about this.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Lefty looked up at the ceiling. “Calista, did you know there was a patch coming in tonight?”

Calista suddenly remembered Nylvani, the prisoner she had rescued, and their strange conversation. “There was a prisoner I met when we were separated. Really strange girl. She stabbed me in the back and then ran off by herself, but before she did that she said something about how there was a clock that was being unwound and that it meant the end of the world or that reality was being undone or something.”

Lefty grew a worried look, “What did she mean by that?”

“Something about how this world was going to become real. About how reality was being remade. She said that some players were going to be selected and others weren’t.”

“What else,” Lefty said.

Calista shook her head, “I don’t know, I don’t remember a lot because I only half listened. She seemed pretty insane like she had been trapped here too long.”

“How did she say she knew all that though?” asked Lefty.

“She said she overheard Severin talking about it,” continued Calista. “She said she heard him say he had gotten his name on the list, whatever that meant.”

They both looked at Narene.

The little goblin shrugged, “Don’t look at me, I don’t know anything.”

Lefty held up his hands, “Okay, not gonna lie, I’m just a little creeped out right now.”

“Look,” Calista sighed, “she was a nut job. She stabbed me in the back with a dagger the first chance she got. The guards who found me told me she’s incredibly dangerous and that

she escapes all the time, so she was probably just trying to distract me or something.”

“Let’s hope it’s that,” Lefty said. “But all I know right now is that I can’t log out and this game is starting to feel a little too real for comfort. So whatever we do next, I’m going to stick with the path of caution, alright?”

Calista glared at Narene. “Are you sure you don’t know anything else?”

The little goblin woman raised her hand, “I swear this is the first I’ve heard of this. I don’t know anything more than you two do.”

Calista rolled her eyes, “I guess at this point the only answer is to capture Severin and tie him to a chair until he tells us everything he knows and then we cut him up and light him on fire.”

An evil gleam came to Narene’s yellow eyes as her mouth twisted into a smile. “Agreed.”