It only took a few minutes for Silas to unlock the gate and unchain Drew from the wall. We welcomed him warmly and as soon as the business of getting us free was out of the way I eagerly asked, “How did you make it down here safely?”

“They didn’t look at me much when we first met them at the Bee and the Barrel,” Silas explained, “So I didn’t think they’d notice me gone. I followed from a distance and since I knew the layout of the castle it was easy to get in. I knew they’d bring you to the dungeon.”

Drew rubbed his wrists as he joined all of us outside the cell and said, “Well done Silas, I think we’re all impressed but how did you get the key ring?”

Silas looked to the key ring in his hand as if it were the first time he saw it, “This is a set Cletus had.” I jerked my head back in confusion.

“Cletus?” I said. Silas nodded as if I were to understand and as I grew silent he realized I required more information.

“Cletus is the jailer, remember?” he said and I searched my memory.

I shrugged after a minute and said, “Fair enough, you pick pocketed him?”

Silas shook his head no, “he wasn’t there.” I raised an eyebrow but showed my appreciation regardless.

“Thanks Silas, you saved our skin.” Jessica nodded in agreement and Killian slapped him on the back, “Did you notice anything else while you were on your way down here?”

“No one is here.” He said flatly,

“What do you mean?”

“Cletus’s set was on his desk but no one was there, there isn’t anyone in the castle I could see.” I turned to the others.

“You didn’t hear anyone when they were wheeling you in here?” They shook their heads no. I thought on it curiously and after a moment said, “Well I guess let’s look for Mom and Dad.” Silas looked around as if to see them.

“They aren’t in the prison.” He said more a statement.

“No and there are still three stories above us…” I started to move and Drew cleared his throat, “what?” I said.

“Well, maybe we should get the backup from the library first.” I was feeling nervous about the empty castle and concerned about my parents.

“No, let’s keep moving,” I shot back.

“Well, hold on now…” Kappa said holding her hands out, “let’s be rational about this.”

“I am being rational,” I said with a fire on my tongue, “Our parents have been missing for days, Kap… days. If Millicent hasn’t already killed them it’s possible that he’s putting them through an untold amount of other terrible…” Kappa took a step forward and put a warm hand on my shoulder. My heart was beating fast and my face was flustered, I looked around at the others and saw only concern, care and kindness and I could feel myself calm.

“I know Lester, I can’t imagine what you’re going through.” She nodded as if to reinforce her point and held my eyes for a long time as I could feel myself melt beneath her finger tips.

I took a breath and said, “You’re right Drew.” I nodded as I spoke, “let’s get the backup first and then when we find my parents we can get out right away.” It was of course the right plan, while we had the time and with Drew’s hand now free, it was possible to access the library. I turned to Silas and said, “Okay brother, where is the library?”

We entered the main floor of the Castle after ascending a set of stone steps that grew increasingly more and more ornate with each floor. The main floor of the castle had a large double staircase in the lobby, a library, a dining hall, bedrooms, a garden, kitchen and a courtyard. With Kappa’s help Silas had calculated out the approximate area that the library existed within and the courtyard seemed to be our best bet. With a nervous energy we exited the tight hallway of the stairs towards the foyer. The tall white stone of the pillars was magnificent as the sun soaked through the large open passage that lead to the courtyard. The stairs, which ran up either side of the doorway to the courtyard, were wide enough for ten people across and had an ornate and eccentric feel to them.

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Walkways led to the east and west from the lobby towards the various rooms on this floor and as we began across the decorative stone floor work, I stopped,

“There is no one here.” I said almost in disbelief, Silas shrugged and slowed to a walk. I pursed my lips in thought and after a beat said, “maybe we’re going about this wrong.”

Jessica turned around and said, “I know your parents…” I shook my head no.

“I mean, what is this is, a trap?” I looked to Drew and he nodded, “Millicent was smart enough to know exactly how to capture us and has been a step ahead for some of it.”

“We should prepare.” Silas said and I nodded understanding where he his mind was heading.

“Prepare how, for battle you mean?” Kappa said earnestly.

“He means The Alder Arrow,” I said, “It’s the most powerful weapon in the game.” Jessica’s eyes grew wide and nodded in agreement.

“Anything that will help us is a smart idea.”

I could see hesitancy wash over Drew who had seen the least amount of combat and I said, “This is a one hit, one kill type of world Drew.”

“Then wouldn’t that mean the same for them?”

I nodded but said, “Yes, only, the arrow, if it’s anything like the game, eats through armor and magic like it’s nothing.” I looked at him and after a beat said, “I don’t think we can beat him without it.” Drew nodded and we diverted our path to the library and the area which held the Arrow.

The library of Millicent’s castle was as breathtaking as the marble stone work and decorative ceilings that existed within each room. Shelves upon shelves of dark oak covered the walls, filled to the brim with scrolls, spells, manuals and tomes. It stretched three stories high and the ceiling had an illusion spell cast upon it to give the appearance of a sunny sky. We entered and all caught ourselves staring at the sights for a few seconds before focusing on the task at hand.

The Alder Arrow was hidden and part of a quest reward for beating Millicent. A note on him would reveal the location of a hidden staircase behind one of the bookcases in his library. If you pulled the right book, the bookcase would open and following the stairs down would lead you to his study. It was all end game stuff that came after you killed him but since we knew the game and were the ones who built it, we could skip over the mess of trying to kill him and get the arrow first. I walked to the large bookshelf in the middle of a long line on the right and looked for the book,

“It was on this shelf, right?” I said to Silas who shrugged and looked back towards the sky. Silas knew I had hidden it in the library but since I had tried to keep the story away from him as much as possible, in order for him to enjoy the game when I finished, accessing it was entirely on me.

Jessica walked up after a few minutes, “Need help?”

“I can’t remember the name of the book I hid it behind…” I said searching them with my eyes, “I remember it being something personal to me – a bit meta – but can’t for the life of me…”

Jessica stood next to me and searched as well, as she did she said, “Hey, I may have been too harsh yesterday. I think maybe calling off a friendship over a terrible, terrible mistake is a little premature,” She turned to me, “mainly because I do think you’re a good person who made a bad choice.”

I looked at her and smiled. She turned back to the book shelf and let out a little ‘aha’ sound, stepping forward to pull at a book. Which a click the bookcase sprung forward.

“Amazing!” I said excitedly, “which book was it…” I said and eyed the spine which read Carver Welles and I turned to her as the others began stepping through the open bookcase, “how on earth did you guess that?” I said with a confused expression.

“It was your DnD character’s name,” she said with a smile before following Silas in, leaving Kappa and I.

I turned to her and said, “She remembered my DnD character,”

“I know,” Kappa said with a pained smile, “I don’t think you ever needed to edit her.” She walked into the bookcase and started down the stairs leaving me and as I was about to follow I saw Sarah.

“Oh, hey, I keep forgetting you’re here.” I said. She walked past me and down the stairwell towards the basement leaving me with alone with my thoughts. A few moments later I shook the thought from my mind and followed.

The study was exactly as I had imagined it only, as was the case everywhere else, real. It was clear that Millicent hadn’t used it since being transported into this “reality” as it was the first place we had come across that had dust on everything. I reached the bottom of the stairs last to see the dim, orange hue of the Alder Arrow coming from the far end of the room. I pushed past the others and walked to the glass case that held it and studied it. Silas walked to a small shelf and picked up a small trinket and, pulling a sheet of paper out his pocket, crossed something off. Then he turned to me and said, “I levelled up.”

“Good job buddy,” I said but was looking at the arrow. The shaft was carved black wood and the tip was made of diamond. The actual feathers were of an orange material that I had never bothered to describe but in my mind it was exactly how I imagined it look and after a moment I picked it up and put it in my quiver.

I turned to the others and with a smile said, “Alright, let’s do this thing.”