Gracie had managed to play the battle in the Gilded Swan and the fight in Ironfel once. Over 3,000 players were watching, with more joining every second. She was halfway through the second showing of the brothel mayhem when Drescher and his crew showed up. Hans and Frans were watching from recliners since Conor still owned the couch. The nurse hadn’t left Conor’s side and didn’t care about the game.
A dull thump came from upstairs, and the Germans looked at each other. “There are supposed to be thunderstorms tonight,” Hans said. “Either way, you should go check it out.”
Frans motioned at the screen in protest. “Not now.” Dresher’s team was climbing slowly up the rise toward the open doors of the cavern, cautiously looking for traps.
“Then be fast. If it’s just the storm, it won’t take long.”
Frans cursed in German, pushed himself from the chair, and jogged up the stairs. Gracie removed her headset to see if she could hear anything. The last thing they needed was a power outage. Chicago summer thunderstorms were legendary, and while they had a generator backup, only Conor knew how it worked.
Another dull thud sounded upstairs.
“Stop fooling around up there!” Hans shouted.
Then the lights went out.
Gracie screamed involuntarily, and all hell broke loose.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs like a herd of dear running into the basement. A laser light show flashed before her as what looked like navy seals flooded the small room, carrying handguns with laser sights. The computer system was on a battery backup, and the screens illuminated the room with a soft glow. Hans reached for a gun but was shot three times before the weapon cleared. He fired a bullet into the floor before he fell next to it. The nurse and Gracie each raised their hands in surrender, and it was all over.
Several men shouted, “Clear,” and the lights turned on. One of them hurried up to Gracie. “Are you Gracie O’Brien?”
She nodded.
“I have a phone call for you,” he said, handing Gracie a cell phone.
“Hello?” she asked hesitantly as she watched the men move methodically through the basement. Hans was dead, and they also secured the nurse as their medic looked over Conor.
“Gracie! Gracie, is it you? Are you okay?”
She recognized the voice instantly as Agent Ross Fordier, their government handler. “Ross. It’s so good to hear you. Where have you been? We’ve been kidnapped this whole time. Drescher’s men got to us.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” he said, sounding apologetic. “I expected an update from you, but when I didn’t hear anything, I went online to follow your paladin, Sir Wilhelm Stark, right? Well, the game said he was dead, so I guessed you had failed again. I didn’t want to bug you immediately because I know you guys don’t like to dwell on it, and I figured you were just figuring out how to do better next time and would call me. I mean, it was only one day.”
Gracie took a breath and tried to see it from their perspective. Yes, Jace made a splash in the game and drew attention, but there was no way for Ross to know that was them. He was an orc, and the knowledge that he had the Level 50 crystal wasn’t public until a few minutes ago. “I guess you’re right. Then what tipped you off?”
“Your guy sent his . . . uh . . . his woman to Safe Haven. She made a bunch of noise asking for CIA agents, and eventually, someone called me and woke me up. She dropped your name and knew the Chicago address, so we sent men to investigate.”
Gracie smiled as she imagined Esther running through Safe Haven, asking for US government officials. “Good plan Jace,” she said to herself. She looked back to the screen to see how his next plan was working out, but Drescher and his people were still outside the cavern, casting boon spells on each other.
“She had more information too,” Ross continued, “but I didn’t really understand it.”
Gracie nodded. Ross was a CIA agent, not a gamer. He had a character but only went into the game to have meetings.
“I’ll let you talk to Stephen, and he can explain.”
Gracie listened as the phone changed hands. Agent Stephen Dexter was a 25-year-old rookie with the agency, making him uniquely qualified for a position on this task force. He was the only one in Washington who was any good at the game. She recognized his nasal voice a second later.
“Hey, Gracie. Good to hear you made it okay. So, your man ripped Esther out of her MIM? Amazing. How did he . . .”
“Not now, Stevie,” Gracie answered. “You and the rest of the realms want to know, but for now, let’s focus on the plan. What else did Esther tell you?”
“She said we needed to issue three bounties but should talk to you about the timing of when to release them.”
Gracie shrugged but knew he couldn’t see it. “Jace hasn’t told me anything about that yet.”
“Well, you better find out because from what I can see on my screen, he’s going to be pretty busy soon.”
----------------------------------------
Jace watched the four players enter his home cautiously. He didn’t have the benefit of everyone else in the game who got to watch them buff themselves before entering, but he didn’t care. His plan relied on their personalities, and he didn’t think any spells in the game could alter those.
{Jace!} Gracie screamed in his head, almost causing him to flinch. {We are safe. Thank you. Everything is good here now. I got Washington on the phone, and they want to know when to release the bounties.}
Jace smiled. “I’ll tell you when,” he said quietly.
His guests were barely through the door when Axilia, the priestess, reached out toward the middle of the room and cast Dispel, which would reduce all time-sensitive enchantments to zero. Jace was in orc form already and didn’t have any other active spells for the priest to counter. He smiled as he guessed she had just wasted a ton of mana. He wished he knew what a level 22 priest character sheet looked like so he could have some idea of what he was up against, but he just had to hope this would work. All he had to go on was their HP. Gwen was at 550, while Axilia and Pieter were at 572. Drescher was the only warrior in the group, and he was at a whopping 912.
“Nice place you have here,” Drescher said. He was the only one who walked calmly into the hall. The other three looked like cats, searching for some type of trap or hidden door that would pop open so hundreds of orcs could pour out.
Pieter was dressed in wizard robes and had one of the True Sight devices the half-orc guards had used to prevent Esther from hiding in the shadows. Gwen had Esther’s armor on with black leggings and her stylish hat. Her eyes were scoping out the several tunnels looking for traps or hidden doors. Axilia wore light blue pants and a blouse under a tight-fitting holy vestment with no hint of armor, but Jace didn’t think she was defenseless.
Drescher was the only one who looked like he was ready to fight. He wore chainmail with a large shield on one arm and an axe on his hip. His equipment looked familiar, but Jace figured it was standard issue in Ironfel since all the half-orcs had been similarly outfitted. Jace had expected more. Surely someone at his level with his resources could have dragon armor by now, with a glowing shield of fire and a sentient sword that spewed magic with every swing.
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{He is taking you for granted,} Gracie confirmed in his head. {Other than his two rings, that is not his standard equipment.}
“Welcome to my home,” Jace offered. “So nice of you to come. Please make yourself-” he started to take a step toward them, but Axilia was ready with another spell. Jace assumed it was a hold spell and tried to think of a bird flying on the mountain breezes but figured it was pointless. The difficulty of the spell was probably twice his magic defense. The priestly hold spell differed from the arcane paralyze or stun spell as it did not initiate combat. Jace found he could still move about slightly and talk. He held his halberd in his hand and could tell he couldn’t swing it, but he wasn’t totally frozen.
“You can stay right there,” Drescher said.
Jace stood in the center of the hall, the crystal behind him over his left shoulder. The four visitors kept their distance, moving along the room’s perimeter and pausing at each open hallway they came to.
“They are warded to prevent entry,” Gwen said. “I don’t think they are trapped.”
“Can you dispel them?” Drescher asked, turning to the priestess.
“Only one at a time,” Axilia said. “My first two spells took half my mana. We aren’t in combat mode right now, so it will take a while. No way to know which room she is in or if she is even here. She wouldn’t even be in this module if he was smart.”
Drescher smiled and turned to Jace, who could hear everything they said. “Oh, I know he is smart, but he told the whole realm that we would be negotiating for the crystal and Esther. I see the crystal. Esther better be here too.”
“She is,” Jace confirmed. “But I want to hear your offer. The world wants to hear your offer.”
Drescher frowned. He watched as Gwen and Pieter continued checking the other doors, moving in opposite directions that would meet up at the crystal on the far side. He knew what Jace was doing. The level 10 player had no chance to win here. The only thing he could legitimately do was destroy Drescher’s reputation. He employed many other PCs, and they would all see this. If he just killed Jace and took what he wanted, no one would ever work with him again.
“I’ve played this module before,” Drescher said. “I know the crystal is locked in place, and we can’t get it until the owner of this cavern is killed. How about I burn you slowly where you stand?” Drescher asked. Pieter came to attention and readied his spells if he was needed.
“Not very convincing,” Jace said. “You know I won’t feel the pain.”
“When we met before,” Drescher replied, “you offered to let me kill you in exchange for the crystal if I sent a friend to Chicago. I know I kept up my end of the bargain. Are you backing out now?”
“I thought you wanted Esther,” Jace said. “You are free to kill me and take the crystal anytime, but if you do, Esther will run. If she leaves this module before you do, she will not be deleted when you leave. You will not get her.”
Drescher frowned as he realized Jace wasn’t bluffing. “How about I don’t burn you,” he said. “How about I burn that stained couch back in Chicago? You might not care about it, but I hear Gracie does.”
Jace smiled despite the threat against Conor’s life.
{He doesn’t know his men are dead,} Gracie said, realizing part of Jace’s plan.
“How could he,” Jace replied.
“How could I?” Drescher questioned but recognized when someone was talking with their operator. “Fritz,” he said to his own man. “Get Chicago on the line.”
Jace watched as Drescher’s evil grin turned placid and then into a frown over the next minute. “As I said,” Dresher grunted. “We know he is smart.” He listened for a few more moments as his operator tried desperately to get a hold of anyone in Chicago, but Drescher knew it was pointless. “So, what am I left with?” Drescher asked. “You call me down here to trade, but you made sure I didn’t have anything you want.” He paused. “Money? Do you want a million? I already offered that five hours ago, and you turned me down.”
“I want you to give up. Leave here and rescind the bounty on Esther. Understand that you lost, and it is over.”
The German laughed long and hard. “How is that a negotiation? My alternative is to kill you and take the crystal. Even if I lose Esther, someone out there values money more than you. They will catch her and bring her to me. I will pay them and get what I want at a fraction of what I offered you.”
“Are you ready to live like that?” Jace asked. “The way you walked in here a moment ago, petrified that a 120-pound level 10 woman might leap out and attack you. Is that how you want to be for the rest of your time in the game? She has access to Ironfel. She has no fear. If you four are ever apart, she will kill you. She will be loose in this game like a virus, a ghost in the machine, and you will never be safe again.”
“Boss,” Gwen said. “Don’t listen to this idiot. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve played this module before too. I can get the crystal without killing him. If Esther is supposed to run when he dies, then we keep him alive. There is only one other way out of this cavern, and that is through a window outside. If we go in through that, we can corner her, and she has nowhere to run.”
Jace saw the thief was busy casting several boons on herself, bolstering her lock-pick ability. “Gwen,” Drescher said, moving toward the rogue. Jace had to turn to follow him. “You can’t pick that lock; everyone knows it.” Pieter and Axilia closed in from the other side of the cavern, all looking at the rogue as she finished her last spell.
“Nonsense,” she said, taking a few more steps toward the pedestal. “I’ve done it before.”
“Gracie,” Jace said softly. “Now.”
Drescher, Axilia, and Pieter all stepped toward the crystal and were going to protest further, but bounties for each of them suddenly flashed before their vision. It took them a few confusing moments to dismiss the alert, and none of them did so in time to stop the rogue from successfully bypassing the lock and grabbing the crystal.
The crystal that Jace had filled with his Righteous Judgement spell.
The crystal that he had put a trap on.
“No!” Dresher cried, leaping away from his rogue.
Lightning ripped through the hall, rending the air in a tremendous thunderclap that shattered their senses. Three of the visitors fell to the ground. Gwen was knocked unconscious but looked stable, the crystal orb slowly rolling away from her, still glowing with untold power. Axilia was dead, her body motionless on the ground, her HP registering 0. Pieter was gone. His body, robes, and equipment were obliterated in the intense flash of light. Drescher stood aghast, staring at his party members and trying to figure out what had happened. Fritz, his operator, was still working the situation in Chicago but now changed gears and tried to explain this shocking turn of events to his boss.
Jace knew what had happened, but he needed Gracie to give him the numbers later.
Gwen had several protections in place that saved her life. She knew she was a jump-first, look-second thief, and so she had taken the Trap Level Protection feat, which limited a trap’s damage to that of her current level. It was a necessary feat for an early-level thief, for if she triggered a level ten trap, but was only at level five, then the trap could only do five levels of damage against her. In this case, it was a level 0 trap, but it was prepared to unleash 50 levels of damage upon her. That would have been over 3,000 mana. Instead, it was restricted to level 22, which was 814 mana. That translated to 162 damage. Gwen’s alignment was the middle of the road, Pragmatic, Balanced, and Liberal, so no additional multipliers affected the damage.
The spell difficulty had nothing to do with the trap, which was still at level 50, translating to a score of 110. But Gwen had protection from that as well. Most traps did elemental damage, and she had taken several feats that gave her bonuses to save against elemental attacks. Her base magic defense was 31, but against elemental spells, like lightning, it was 63. After a good roll of 16, she had an 79, which was 31 points below the difficulty resulting in three critical failures. Each critical increased the damage by 50%, so the 162 damage became 405. This was over half of her 550 HP, but she had another feat that protected her against death from traps. If the device did enough damage to kill her, she would die, but if it triggered a Death Save and she failed it, she would be protected from death and take the next worst penalty. This meant she lay unconscious on the ground with a stable 145 HP remaining.
Axilia was next in line and wasn’t so lucky. Half of the 405 damage jumped into her, but since she was Guile, Balanced, and Progressive, the damage jumped from 202 to 808. She didn’t have the elemental protection the thief did, but her magic defense was even higher as a priest. With a +10 protection ring she wore, it was 100, but after a roll 8, she failed the difficulty of 110, by 2 and took full damage. With her health at 572 HP she died instantly.
Because Drescher had leaped away at the last moment, Pieter was the next closest. A bolt of 404 points of damage zapped into him. His alignment was the same as Axilia’s, so it was also multiplied by four, skyrocketing to 1,616. His magic defense wasn’t bad at 50, and he rolled an 18, but that still left him 42 points short of the target difficulty, and the four criticals increased the damage by 200% to 4,848. This was over five times the mage’s HP, and he was annihilated.
Half of that damage then shot over to Drescher. He had the lowest magical resistance in the group, and his saving throw would have multiplied any damage he got into the tens of thousands, but he was a German weapons engineer. He was Ordered, and the zero-multiplier sent the damage to nothing.
Fritz explained this to Drescher as quickly as possible, and the shocked player stumbled over to the crystal lying on the floor. Knowing the spell inside couldn’t hurt him, he picked it up and tugged at the energy. It wasn’t trapped anymore, but he knew how to operate a device like this and drained it in a second. Lightning flashed, and thunder roared, but the warrior took no damage.
After he was done, he tossed the item on the ground and pulled his axe from his hip. He was furious, but he wasn’t about to walk into another trap. Jace was now free from the hold spell with Axilia dead on the ground. All the boons she had cast on her boss were gone too. Dresher gave the other player a second to run or enact another safety spell, but he just stood there.
“Is that all you’ve got,” Drescher asked, hoping it was. “Was that your plan? An all-or-nothing spell to kill my crew that banked on Gwen’s impulsive nature? Well, it worked. They are all out of commission. It’s just you and me now. Just like you wanted, I’m sure. The whole realm is watching. Let’s do this.”