The game landscape spilled out in front of the players. Lexi, Charlie and Sampson marveled at the rugged mountain that pierced the sky both to the east and the west. From their vantage point an immense valley stretched to the vanishing point on the horizon. Trees on the valley floor billowed upwards like vividly colored cotton buds. A river twisted its way through soft valley bluegrass and glacial boulders.
Sampson turned around looking for the doors that appeared earlier that morning, instead he found himself standing at the edge of a sharp vertical drop, an overhanging cliff of basalt. For a minute he felt himself a victim of vertigo and wondered if he might lose his footing and fall forward. But he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and slowly turned back to face West Savage and the others. Any thoughts he may have had of returning to Lake Union were now banished.
" OK. Now what?" Sampson heard Charlie question.
" The Rule Maker will present you with its guidelines after you have time to adjust to your new settings," West responded. " It won't be long."
"Hey guys, the entry way is gone. How are we supposed to take breaks, or go home at the end of the day?" Sampson interrupted West. "I nearly fell off that precipice. Sampson pointed in the direction of Gasworks Park.
WHEN YOU ARRIVED HERE TODAY, YOU AGREED TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE GAME.
Each of the players saw the message appear in front of them, once again in electric green font. A deep masculine voice spoke as the letters continued to scroll.
ON THE BACK OF EACH OF YOUR COUPONS YOU MAY HAVE NOTED THE FINE PRINT. UPON ADMISSION TO THE GAME YOU WILL FORFEIT THE RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS THAT YOU ARE ACCUSTOMED TO IN THE REAL WORLD FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN BIG. ONCE INSIDE THE GAME, YOU WILL REMAIN IN THE GAME UNTIL IT COMPLETES. THERE IS NO ESTIMATED TIME FRAME FOR COMPLETION. FINAL LEVEL SUCCESS WILL BE A RESULT OF HOW WELL YOU ARE ABLE TO WORK AS A TEAM TO REACH YOUR GOAL.
As the script slowly faded away Lexi shouted at the voice. "I didn't agree to those terms. I studied that coupon and there was no fine print."
An image of the entry coupon materialized in front of the three players. The system had clearly highlighted the fine print.
"That's a lie!" Lexi burst out. " We have rights, you can't keep us here against our will."
"Speak for yourself princess," Charlie stepped forward. "I'm in. I'm ready to play. If these two want out, fine. It just means more for me to win."
Lexi glared at Charlie. He wasn't making it easy for her to like him. She knew she could play this game. She figured she could deal with the short blond and his big ego. Her dad was the problem, how was she going to explain her disappearance to him.
"I have a family. They don't know I'm here," Lexi said to West.
YOUR FAMILIES HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. WE HAVE ENSURED THEY WILL NOT BE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR WHEREABOUTS.
NOW IT IS TIME TO COVER THE RULES OF THE GAME. THERE ARE THREE.
1. YOU MUST LEVEL UP WITHIN THE GIVEN TIME FRAME, IF ONE OR ALL OF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO LEVEL UP THE ENTIRE TEAM WILL REGENERATE AND START FROM THE BEGINNING.
IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO COMPLETE THE LEVEL IN THE FIRST ATTEMPT, REGENERATION CAN BE PAINFUL.
YOU ARE ALLOWED THREE REGENERATIONS DURING THE GAME, THE REMAINING NUMBER OF REGENERATIONS WILL BE PRESENT IN THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF YOUR VISION. SHOULD YOU USE ALL YOUR REGENERATIONS YOUR LIFE FORCE WILL FAIL TO EXIST.
2. THE GAME CONSISTS OF NINE, FIVE LEVEL SEQUENCES. THE FIRST FOUR LEVELS OF EACH FIVE LEVEL SEQUENCE WILL FEATURE A TIME REDUCTION. EACH REDUCTION WILL BE GREATER THAN THE PREVIOUS LEVEL.
IF YOU REACH THE FIFTH LEVEL WITHOUT BEING REGENERATED YOU WILL RECIEVE A TIME BONUS AND A LEVEL PRIZE.
3. YOU WILL ENCOUNTER MANY CHALLENGES DURING YOUR PROGRESSION, YOU MUST FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS AND CLUES PRESENTED TO YOU. BEWARE, HACKING THE SEQUENCE OR FAILING TO FOLLOW THE CLUES WILL RESULT IN REGENERATION.
THE ODDS OF WINNING THIS GAME ARE 1 IN 15300, ROUGHLY THE SAME AS BEING HIT BY LIGHTNING AND MUCH BETTER THAN WINNING YOUR STATE'S LOTTERY.
IT IS OUR SINCEREST HOPE THAT YOU WILL SUCCEED. WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU ON THE WINNERS PLATFORM.
MAY FORTUNE FIND YOU.
RULE MAKER 1
The text once again faded from the player's view, It was now replaced by a small number three. The number was a tranparent blue in the lower right hand corner. New information began to scroll in front of each player. Charlie quickly reviewed the data on his screen, it was a statistic sheet and it contained his player information.
Name Charles Newell the Second Age 32 Height 5'9 Weight 195 lbs. Physical Strength 14 Intelligence 11 Agility 12 Class Warrior Level 10 Race Human Experience 15000/45000 (experience increases by 1000 for each level completed. It falls to 0 if regeneration occurs) Hit points 140 (Physical Strength*Level) Equipment Long sword, shield, leather armor, explorers pack(1 bedroll, 1 mess kit containing a soup bowl, knife and spoon) tinderbox, 5 torches, 50' of rope, small hammer, 2 light wands, 10 days rations and 1 waterskin, a paper game map)
"Are you guys seeing this?" Lexi exclaimed. "It looks like a player sheet in my forward vision.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"Yea, I have got mine. I'm a human warrior level 10. " Charlie returned.
"Reviewing mine, I think I'm a cleric," Sampson added. "What do you see Lexi?"
Lexi watched the information unfold in front of her. A simple grid outlined her details. She was hoping for something more. "I'm a rogue, a thief, a bit disappointing. I was hoping for something more exciting….like…a wizard or sorceress."
She heard Charlie chuckle to himself and then add "A rogue is not so bad, you should be able to sneak around undetected."
Lexi rolled her eyes and ignored his comments. She silently read her player sheet.
Name Lexi Green Age 31 Height 5'7 Weight 145 lbs. Physical Strength 12 Intelligence 15 Agility 12 Class Rogue Level 18 Race Human Experience 15000/45000 (experience increases by 1000 for each level completed. Falls to 0 if regeneration occurs) Hit points 216 (Physical Strength*level) Equipment rapier, leather armor, explorers pack(1 bedroll, 1 mess kit containing a soup bowl, knife and spoon) tinderbox, 5 torches, 50' of rope, small hammer, 2 light wands, 10 days rations and 1 waterskin, a paper game map)
"Well guys, I can confirm I'm a cleric. A level 12 cleric, I have 10 for strength. Giving me 120 hit points, I'm gonna have to do better than that." Sampson added.
"Who's your god Sampson?" Charlie inquired.
"My God? I have never been religious." Sampson thought Charlie's question was too personal. Who asks people about their faith anymore? He thought to himself.
"Have you ever played a game like this Sampson? Clerics are usually loyal to some kind of deity it must say somewhere on your screen."
Sampson search the grid . Then he saw it. How could he miss it? it was right there in bold letters "RULE MAKER 1"
Name Sampson de Bouvier Age 26 Height 6'1 Weight 175 lbs. Physical Strength 10 Intelligence 14 Agility 16 Class Cleric - Deity: RULE MAKER 1 Level 12 Race Human Experience 15000/45000 (experience increases by 1000 for each level completed. Falls to 0 if regeneration occurs) Hit points 120 (Physical Strength*level) Equipment priests pack( the book of the deity, insense,
holy water, 5 blessing sticks and a deities amulet) an explorers pack(1 bedroll, 1 mess kit containing a soup bowl, knife and spoon) tinderbox, 5 torches, 50' of rope, small hammer, 2 light wands, 10 days rations and 1 waterskin, a paper game map)
" It's the Rule Maker, the Rule Maker 1 to be exact." Sampson answered Charlie. This revelation troubled Sampson, why was he supposed to be loyal to the Rule Maker. Sampson thought the Rule Maker was a neutral body and not some kind of devotional.
Charlie and Lexi exchanged surprised glances, Lexi mouthed to Charlie. " That seems like an unfair advantage."
Charlie nodded in agreement. Even though he doubted that Sampson would know what to do with his player sheet.
"West I don't get it" Sampson said. " I'm not sure I want to continue."
" I'm sorry Sampson, you are bound by your agreement, and I can't help you with your player sheet. That was all predetermined before you arrived. It is meant to give you the best chance of winning this game. Each player sheet is designed the same way to provide the best potential winning combination "
"But the Rule Maker, that sounds kind of ominous to me."
"It is, but it is not the worst you will encounter here. Alright everyone, gather round." West gestured for the players to come closer to him. "It's time to travel to the Valley, Master Kinto awaits you. He is the game tutor and you will need to meet with him before your first challenge."
West offered his hands to Sampson and Lexi. Charlie close the circle between them. Beneath their feet, soil and stone retreated as if being pulled away by some giant magnet. A circular stone revealed itself. On its surface were the same intricate carvings that grace the gateway. Each carving pulsated in a blood red glow.
"What's that?" Lexi called out over a rush of hot air. She felt drawn to the strange script, its pulsating flourishes snaked their way upwards and away from the basalt surface.
"Ancient scripture," West shouted over the growing turbulence. "Hold tight everyone!"
Lexi looked out over the precipice focusing on the horizon. Her entire body felt feverish and beads of sweat formed on her brow. The last thing she remembered seeing was the horizon dissolve into billions of cascading pixels before it all went dark.