The three adventurers and their guide materialized in a large domed structure. Sunlight shown through long and narrow stained glass windows casting a kaleidoscope of colors across a highly polished copper floor. In the center of an otherwise empty room stood a cluster of crystals towering more than ten feet tall. The cluster was smooth and free of any inclusions. Its glossy surface reflected the prisms created by the windows. Two orc sentries stood on either side of the cluster. Their spears firmly anchored by their sides. Thick muscled hands grasped the crude but deadly weapons, each spearhead fashioned from the teeth of a small and unfortunate drake. They stared intensely at the new arrivals but said nothing. Their gray green faces were adorned with permanent scowls.
Charlie stepped forward, reaching out to touch the smooth surface of the crystal cluster. Both sentries intercepted him with their spears. They crossed their weapons in front of the stone to prevent Charlie from examining its surface.
" Ah c'mon guys, " Charlie said to the sentries. They looked through him and grunted an unintelligible response. Charlie stepped back. Orcs, he knew, possessed cunning instincts and well honed battle skills. The beasts who blocked his way wearing tattered armor and broken chainmail would make light work of him if he pushed them too far.
A light and lyrical voice broke the tension between the orcs and Charlie. Charlie glanced around the room looking for the source of the voice. When it spoke again he realized its source was the crystal cluster.
WELCOME ADVENTURES TO THE DOME OF DISCOVERY
MY NAME IS MASTER KINTO AND I'M HERE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE KNOWLEDGE YOU WILL NEED TO ADVANCE THROUGH THE RULE MAKERS WORLD OF DUNGEONS.
YOU MUST PROGRESS SUCCESSFULLY THROUGH ALL FORTY FIVE LEVELS.
TO DO THAT YOU MUST HAVE A WORKING UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR VISION SCREEN. WHICH I'M SURE YOU ARE SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR WITH BY NOW.
"Where's that voice coming from?" Sampson asked the others.
Charlie tried to respond to Sampson's questions but the voice continued.
I'M RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF YOU. I'M A PART OF THE GAME'S PROGRAMMING AND I EXIST WITHIN THE CRYSTAL CLUSTER.
LET'S CONTINUE.
UZGAR. THORRK AT EASE.
The two orcs relaxed into their original position, but continued to view the adventurers with caution. West Savage stood off to the side of his three players and observed them as they interacted with the game tutorial. Charlie displayed an over confidence that concerned West. His eagerness to jump into the game without question or common sense might lead him to an early demise. Sampson on the other hand, listened intently to the tutor but always with a lost puppy expression, worried and confused. Lexi was clearly the most analytical of the three. She silently repeated every instruction to herself making mental notes of what was required. West knew it was going to take at least one level, maybe two before these players would be willing to work as a team. A quick battle with a group of hostile kobolds or lizard people might encourage them, and then again it might not. West didn't really care, they were only humans after all and his task was to bring them to the Rule Maker alive. All he had to do was make sure they progressed to the final level.
A chime filled the Dome of Discovery heralding the conclusion of the tutorial. West stepped forward and waited for the tutor to summarize its most important points. It wouldn't be too much longer before he and his adventures would enter the crystalline corridor and the Rule Makers Dungeon.
OK KIDS LETS SUMMARIZE WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED HERE TODAY.
THERE ARE FOUR TABS AT THE TOP OF YOUR VISION SCREEN. THEY ARE:
INVENTORY (EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE COLLECTED THAT IS NOT A PART OF YOUR SPELLS OR ARMORY.
ARMORY AND SPELLS (THIS ONE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF)
BOOSTERS(THE LOCATION WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE ACQUIRED EXTRA LIVES OR WEAPONS AND SPELL BOOSTERS)
AND FINALLY STATISTICS.
YOU CAN ACCESS EACH TAB SIMPLY BY FOCUSING YOUR THOUGHTS ON A SPECIFIC TAB OR DATA BOX.
IN THE LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER YOU WILL FIND THE GUIDE MAP.
GREEN DOTS REPRESENT YOU AND YOUR TEAMMATES, RED DOTS ARE YOUR OPPONENTS AND YELLOW DOTS ARE THE NPC'S. DON'T IGNORE THE NPC'S THEY MAY HAVE VALUABLE CLUES FOR YOU. DON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME WITH THEM EITHER, THEY ARE KNOWN TIME SUCKS.
CHOOSE WISELY.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU ENTER THE CORRIDOR?
Sampson timidly raised his hand and the orcs grunted and grinned at the frail looking human male. Sampson, sensing their disdain, straightened himself and brushed his blond locks away from his eyes.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"Master Kinto," He strained his voice to sound as powerful as it could. "How long will we be in this game? And will we find other players like us?
The program replied.
THE LENGTH OF THE GAME IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU. REMEMBER TEAMWORK WILL TAKE YOU FURTHER AND FASTER.
IT IS LOGICAL THAT YOU WILL ENCOUNTER OTHER PLAYERS. KEEP IN MIND THEIR GOAL IS TO WIN AND THOUGH THEY ARE LIKE YOU, THEY WILL SEEK TO ELIMINATE YOU.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
The adventurers looked at each other. Charlie shrugged. Lexi shook her head indicating she was good and Sampson opened his mouth to say something more.
VERY WELL THEN, LET THE GAME BEGIN.
MAY FORTUNE FIND YOU.
The cluster of crystals changed from a clear icy stone to an intense scarlett. The stones parted to reveal a tunnel leading inward. It was wide enough for the party of four to pass with ease. Torches provided a soft glow that lit the inside of the tunnel. Charlie advanced first into the tunnel followed by Sampson, Lexi and West. The entrance sealed immediately once the adventures stepped inside.
"Great, that's two doorways disappearing into nothingness," Sampson moaned.
"What do you think is around that corner? Sam." Charlie said to Sampson pointing in the direction of the curving pathway.
Sampson recoiled at the thought, he imagined slobbering smelly green goblins armed with poison darts and crouched in the corner preparing to ambush them. Or worse, a giant flesh eating blob of mucus that would trap them against the walls and slowly digest each one of them.
"Monsters," he finally said, forcing himself to stop conjuring images of horrible ways to die.
"That's right, Sam! monsters and we are going to take them down," Charlie said with enthusiasm.
Lexi ignored the two men and their sophomoric conversation. She listened intently to the sounds of the adventure party's footsteps. When they entered the corridor she counted four pairs of footsteps, each one with their own rhythm and weight but now there was something else. It was light, barely audible and it seemed to be following them from different locations in the tunnel. At one moment it was to the side of the party, then it sounded like a rushing breeze coming up on them from behind. Now Lexi thought it was out in front of them.
"West," She whispered to the guide walking next to her. "Do you hear that?"
He looked at her and cocked an eyebrow questioningly. He knew what it was but he wanted to test her senses. She impressed him, Humans normally did not have the ability to detect these creatures.
"There is more than one," She said.
West was even more impressed. While Sampson and Charlie continued their banter Lexi was busy observing her surroundings.
"Yes there are, " He said. " three, maybe four."
Lexi attempted to bring up her vision screen by thinking about the guide map. After several seconds she was able to see four red dots on the map. One dot was behind them, one seemed to be in their midst and two were directly ahead of them. "Opponent information" she thought, focusing on the screen and was surprised to discover the program identify the threat.
"Juvenile mucus blobs, Slow moving creatures that inhabit narrow corridors. They can sometimes be elusive and are oftentimes difficult to defeat. The best course of action is to avoid them or out run them. If you have access to fire, ice or an immobilization spell you can use either of these to buy time. Beware: if the blob attaches itself to you, its acid will immediately immobilize you and you will be slowly digested."
The information faded from Lexi's view. " I have to warn them," she said to West.
He nodded and waited to see how the three of them would handle their first monster encounter.
"Charlie, Sampson, we have blobs, check your guide map for their location."
"Blobs. Are you kidding me?" Sampson shouted. " I was just thinking about blobs trapping us and devouring us!"
"Great so you're manifesting our opponents already, stellar job Sam!" Charlie exclaimed.
"It's not my fault," Sampson retorted.
"Then who's fault is it?" Charlie shouted at him.
"Guys we don't have time for this, blame placing is only going to cost us. The opponent information says to run or avoid these things. I suggest we run," Lexi offered. Sampson agreed and Charlie reluctantly picked up the pace.
"I'd like to kill my first foe," Charlie trotted ahead of the other two." But I guess that will have to wait."
As the adventurers rounded the corner they were greeted by two misshapen mucus blobs, the sticky bodies slowly rolled over the corridor cobblestones collecting dirt and dust on their molted purple surface. The corridor no longer smelled of must and damp; instead it was sickeningly sweet, the scent similar to a row of festival honey bucket toilets. Lexi recoiled in disgust.
"Eeew Wee them things reak!" Charlie yelled and then he teased Sampson again. " Thanks a lot Sammy for your visualizations!"
Sampson ignored him. Instead he focused on the blobs. They really were what he imagined them to look like. Maybe he did create these things. Luckily they weren't much taller than a small german shepherd. It was now or never he thought and decided to go for it. Sampson lowered himself to the corridor floor in the fashion of a long distance runner, his feet positioned behind him, his fingertips barely touching the cobblestones.
He felt the muscles in his legs tense just before he propelled himself forward. Sampson pumped his arms like a runaway freight train, gaining momentum as he careened toward the blobs. Then he lunged himself over the blobs, clearing them by several inches.
A shrill squeal pierced the quiet of the corridor. The blobs voiced their disappointment when the first of the three adventurers jumped to safety.
"Easy peasy guys, just follow my lead," Sampson called out to his companions.
Both West and Lexi were able to evade the blob in the same manner as Sampson. Now it was Charlie's turn. He sprinted toward the awaiting mucus, but he miscalculated when he lunged forward. Instead of clearing the purplish creatures by several inches his left toe dragged across the sticky surface of one of the blobs. Charlie lost his momentum and tumbled to the ground. The mucus mobilized as quickly as it could and rolled toward Charlie's exposed ankle. He tried to stand but his common sense was clouded with panic.
" I'm not going to make it guys!" Charlie shouted " And we are gonna regenerate!"
"Over my dead body!" Lexi ran quickly to Charlie's side and tugged him upwards. All those years training for world fitness championships gave her the advantage over the slow moving mucus.
Adrenalin coupled with her physical strength helped her pull Charlie to safety.
"Not today Charlie," She said. " We are not regenerating today."
Charlie couldn't say anything, he was stunned by what just happened. Sampson smiled to himself thinking Charlie wasn't the hero he tried to project. West watched the players come together in the face of adversity.
When the players rounded the second bend in the corridor they found a holographic message hovering a few feet above the cobblestones.
WELCOME TO LEVEL 2 AND KELLY'S HOLLOW.
HERE YOU WILL FIND KELLY. SHE IS NOT ALL SHE SEEMS TO BE.
IF YOU ARE LUCKY YOU MAY FIND A WEALTH OF THE KINGS CRYSTALS.
AN ITEM NECESSARY FOR PROGRESSING THROUGH FUTURE LEVELS.
IF YOU ARE NOT SO LUCKY YOU WILL BE TRAPPED HERE FOR A LIFETIME.
ONE LAST WORD OF WARNING:
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU IMAGINE, IT MIGHT COME TO BE.
FINALLY, CONGRATULATIONS ON EVADING A MOST DANGEROUS FOE.
MAY FORTUNE FIND YOU.
"Level 2 here we come, ready or not," Charlie said, no longer shaken from his experience with the rolling mucus.
The adventurers stepped through the hologram message and into Kellys Hollow.