Chapter 36: The Secrets of the Gate, part 2

Gabriella stood gazing into the gate, and as Ricky looked on, she slotted the magenta orb into one of the empty spaces on its frame.

Now, unlike before, the shimmering energy that filled the space inside the gate was starting to give way. Rather than a blanket glowing yellow that filled the entire entranceway, there remained only the purple lattice pattern. This only partially blocked the gate, and although the gaps between it were still too narrow for anyone to pass through, they looked much narrower and weaker than they had before.

This change also allowed the companions to gain a much clearer view of what lay beyond. The scene with the street and its high side walls had taken on a new brightness, as if glowing from within. In addition, the area within now appeared like daytime in contrast to the shadowy midnight image that Ricky had seen before. The two walls gleamed, and the doorways off to one side were now obviously made of solid bronze, their pattern of interlocking triangles now gleaming in the light, while the stone cobbles of the road shimmered and sparkled like granite in the sunshine.

Ricky dragged his gaze away from the scene and looked again at the rune-inscribed stone surround of the magical gateway. He turned the white orb over in his hands, enjoying the smooth, satisfying feel of its shape in his hand one last time. As he did so, Gabriella stepped back out of the way, pausing to clap one hand down upon his shoulder.

“Okay, Ricky – you’re up.”

All of the guild members were watching. Even their new recruit, the beautiful demonkind rogue Shattara, was back on her feet, though she was still looking very weak to Ricky, and was leaning back against the chamber wall alongside the gate.

Ricky turned, rotating the orb in his hand again, and looking down at it again. “I’ll be a little sorry to leave this thing behind, I must admit,” he said. “After all I’ve been through to get it. But tell me – who will guard the gateway and the whole guild house if we all pass through?”

“That won’t be our problem, my friend,” said Xarok. “Nor will anything here in Portalis. We are going deeper into Dark Framework to get to the prize. To its very heart.”

“And the orbs can be accessed and removed from the other side, too,” added Gabriella, pointing to the slot holding the magenta orb, “allowing us to secure the gate from others”. Ricky now saw that the holes where the orbs were located did indeed run right through the stone, a feature which would allow the magical gems to be pushed in or pulled out from either side.

“Right,” he said, taking a step closer to the gate. ”But I mean, how do we actually get into New Baravia? Does this achievement provide us with, like... an entry pass, or something?”

Shattara now moved away from the wall, and stepped forward towards Ricky. “Hey, come on,” she murmured, partially slurring her words. “Let’s just find out, shall we?” With this, the demonkind rogue placed an arm on Ricky’s shoulder. Leaning heavily on him, she gestured towards the gate.

“Yes,” said Gabriella, nodding down towards the white orb that Ricky was now holding and coming to stand at his other side. “We should hurry, my brothers and sisters. I, for one, refuse to spend any more time being beaten and mistreated in the refugee camp.”

Ricky nodded, frowning at the memory of her treatment by the guards, then took a step closer to the gate and slid the orb into the one remaining gap. It settled inside the stone-lined cavity, as if it belonged there. As it did so, it began to shine and glow from within just like the other three were already doing, whether by taking on energy from the gate or through its own power.

> *Achievement: Mystical energy! You have used an object of power. +20XP

But much more startling was what was now happening to the gate. The rods of purple light had previously blocked all passage and also lent a sense of the unattainable, the unreal to what lay beyond. But those rods had now gone entirely. The gateway was empty, and the eerie scene of a single street with high walls around it now felt entirely real, as close as the passageway behind them. Ricky now knew – on some level – that he could now walk through unobstructed. That he could stoop to touch the road’s cobbled surface, or try the handles of the metal doors set into one of the side walls.

And stepping closer, he could also see what lay beyond. Long, low buildings could be seen in the distance – towers, residential blocks, offices perhaps... and in the center, a pair of huge, vertical columns with a perpendicular bridge of sighs between them around two thirds of the way up.

“I know that place,” said Greenbow, stepping ahead of Ricky and pointing up towards the linked twin towers.

“Yes,” said Ricky, frowning. “This does all look strangely familiar. But what is it?”

> *Quest 056 (level 2): Find what lies beyond the gate.

“This is New Baravia – there can be no doubt,” said Xarok, as he, too, clustered around the gate with the others. “That tall pair of towers is the New Baravian city hall.”

Ricky nodded uncertainly. “You could be right. That does look like the building as I’ve seen it in books. But still, we are still in the Framework, so even if we leave Portalis, how...”

“Come, let’s go,” urged Shattara, still leaning on Ricky’s shoulder but now pushing gently. “We need to enter the city at last.”

“But... none of this can be real, surely?” said Ricky, remaining where he stood. “We are all still in the camp – our real bodies. What we see can only be a simulation, designed to tempt us into thinking we have entered the city.”

“Yeah. I don’t think you’d see those over the real city,” said Xarok. He reached out just above Ricky’s shoulder and pointed up to the cloudy sky. Looking in that direction, Ricky saw that strange reptilian birds were circling in the sky above the otherwise familiar-looking city landmarks. They looked dangerous – and hungry.

Circling for food, so a predator’s instincts told him.

“But after a while, who cares?” said Gabriella thoughtfully. The tall warrior was staring through the opening as if transfixed, with hardly a muscle moving. “If we can live there as citizens, then what does it matter where our true bodies are located?”

“But it’s not real,” insisted Ricky, “and it never will be. That matters. It matters to me, anyway.”

“Shut up and move,” muttered Greenbow, elbowing Ricky as he moved forward.

Stepping in front of the others, Xarok now turned with the newly-opened gate to his back. “Calm yourselves, everyone. Ricky’s right. This isn’t the real city, and we should care about that. We need to use our heads. But as for me, I still believe that this is a necessary level of the Framework. It must be a puzzle, a challenge. It’s where we can find a key to the true city, with Vespucci’s text to guide us.” The demonkind man patted his cloak pocket as he spoke.

“Then why does it look like the real city?” asked Greenbow, looking suddenly downcast. “Perhaps this is truly the way to enter New Baravia. You all seem to believe that the camp is real and that this is a simulation. But what if the opposite is true? The camp and everything so far could be the true simulation, while this gateway may be how we wake up from the dream and re-enter reality.”

Still hesitating on the threshold, Xarok paused for a moment, and then shook his head sharply, a magical glow forming around his fingertips. “No, Greenbow,” he growled, “though I suspect that this is all a test of some kind. Finding the key isn’t going to be easy, and we need to be organized in our hunt, like always. So the question is, now that the gate is open, do we all go through and explore what lies beyond, or just some of us? And if we are all entering as a pack, then who is going to be first to take the risk?”

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“I’m up for it,” said Ricky. “I haven’t been in the Framework as long as you, but I’ve been waiting a very long time to walk the streets of New Baravia, even if they are only a simulated version. Waiting all my life, it feels like...”

The others were now pressing forward to get past Xarok too, and it was clear that while their view of the situation that they faced was varied, all were enthusiastic to take the leap.

“You two first, then,” said the spellcaster, pointing to Ricky and Gabriella. You deserve that honor for having brought the final orbs to this place. “I’ll follow next, in third position.”

“Shattara and Greenbow, can go after that,” said Big Mindar hurriedly, speaking up from the back, “and I’ll bring up the rear, for you will all need...”

But Ricky didn’t hear the rest of Big Mindar’s words, for he was already stepping through the doorway and onto the wondrous streets of New Baravia at long last.

----------------------------------------

He was in.

Ricky took a deep breath, spinning around and trying to take in the evidence from all of his senses all at once. There was something different about the air, certainly. It felt more real.

But why?

Again he reminded himself that he couldn’t actually be standing in the mighty city which was ringed by the refugee camp. Yes – despite the change in atmosphere, he still felt certain of that in his own mind. He agreed with Xarok; this was only a simulation of sorts, and a step towards the path towards his true goal.

But all the same, it felt so realistic – the breeze on his cheeks, the smell of ozone mixed with chemical soot, the gritty feel of the paving beneath his feet... Overall, it was not very different at all from real life back in the camp.

The assumption that he was still immersed in the Framework was rapidly confirmed by several notifications appearing across his vision:

> *Achievement: Deep diver! You have reached another level of the Dark Framework. +20XP

>

> *Health update: You stopped bleeding.

>

> *Quest 056 update: Understand what lies beyond the gate. (This quest is now level 7).

>

> *Quest 057 (level 5): Explore your new surroundings.

>

> *Quest 058 (level 4): Maintain control of the gate.

So – the notification for quest number 56 appeared to confirm to Ricky that his speculation had been on the right track, at least in that he appreciated the potential complexity of their new surroundings. Perhaps to get the key to New Baravia, you had to enter the simulation of the city, and understand its layout and its pitfalls. A weird, deadly sort of citizenship test, he supposed?

Or just some developer’s sick joke to cause more suffering to refugees and to keep them in the labor camp for longer.

He looked back. Gabriella had now stepped through the doorway too, and Xarok was following close behind. But just as Shattara put one foot on the threshold, the demonkind rogue’s face stiffened, a look of shock quickly followed by one of agony as she sank to her knees and then fell to the ground, a grievous wound visible on the back of her neck. She lay still, slumped half in and half out of the gate. Xarok turned, and began to pull her clear.

And the halfling Big Mindar was behind her, holding a bloodied dagger.

The remaining Tooth and Claw guild member, Greenbow, lay on the floor behind him, his throat slit, a spray of blood across the chamber enhancing the macabre scene.

“I’ll be taking these,” said Big Mindar with a sly grin, and reached for the first of the orbs. “Imperialis is ours, now – or soon will be.” And as he pulled the white orb clear, the purple lattice reappeared.

They were trapped.

“Big Mindar!” cried Xarok. “Why?”

Gabriella lurched backwards towards the gate, scrabbling at the two-way socket which held the magenta orb.

The halfling sneered at his former comrades. “I have never been a true member of your disgusting animal pack,” he said. As he spoke, Ricky saw Big Mindar remove the wide jeweled ring that he wore on his left hand, and as he removed it, the traitor began to transform. Where before he had appeared as a stocky and armored halfling, he grew very much taller, claws appearing from his fingers, and his posture becoming stooped, and his clothing and armor giving way to dark purple scales.

“He is a half dragon,” gasped Ricky, stepping back towards his comrades and pointing. “That is a ring of transformation!”

“A member of the Fire Heart Guild,” hissed Xarok. “Somehow, they managed to infiltrate us.”

“The scum!” cried Gabriella. She shot out with a crossbow at the doorway, but her bolt fizzled and fell to the he ground.

“Mindar must have killed Garbon,” snarled Ricky. As he spoke, he hurried over to where Xarok was tending to Shattara, whose body now looked limp and lifeless.

“This one’s in bad shape, but she still lives,” the demonkind said.

Ricky frowned. “Are you joking?”

Xarok shook his head, holding one hand over the wound in Shattara’s neck. “The ceremony brings with it certain healing properties that normally offset the damage caused by the transformation.”

“So she will heal?”

“If she can rest, then yes.”

> *Quest 059 (level 2): Find a place to rest Heal the player known as _Shattara_.

Meanwhile, Gabriella had tried to pull the final orb from its void. But before she could grasp hold of it, the treacherous half-dragon had taken hold of the yellow orb and pulled it out from its slot. As it was removed, the gate once again shimmered, and then blinked out of existence, leaving only a featureless block of solid stone behind, set in the same door frame and with the four gaps for the orbs, all now empty, still clear to see alongside.

> *Quest 058 update: Maintain control of the gate. (quest failed).

Xarok was still crouching over Shattara. Without comment on this latest series of setbacks, the spellcaster now pulled his dagger again. “This place isn’t safe,” he said, glancing behind him as if he was being hunted. “This is all some kind of test, and I don’t know whether we can use our transformation powers here. Even if we can, they won’t be available to us for almost another twenty-four hours.”

Gabriella’s eyes were narrowed in anger; she was still staring at the area where the open doorway back to the Guild safehouse had been until moments before. “Mindar,” she said quietly. “The gateway. Garbon.”

“It’s done, Gab,” said Xarok. “Big Mindar betrayed us. We’re going to have to find another way out.”

Gabriella shook her head, appearing stunned – in shock. As the three of them looked at each other in dismayed silence, Ricky focused on questioning the guide.

Guide?

“Still here, Ricky! Well done on your progress.”

Hmm... We’ll see whether this counts as progress. Tell me – how do I get out of here?

“I still can’t give you directions, Ricky.”

But where exactly am I?

“You are in New Baravia, Ricky.”

So you’re saying that I’m not actually in the Dark Framework?

“This version of New Baravia is part of the Dark Framework. It’s another level, like you suggested before.”

Okay, then – as I had suspected. So I am not in Portalis anymore?

“No. I couldn’t tell you about other levels before we entered them. Now, however, I will guide you as best I can.”

But now how do I... How do I get through the Framework itself, and escape? And get free?

“That is, indeed, the true challenge of this game, Ricky. And you have just unlocked it.”

> *Quest 060 (Level 20): Free yourself from the Dark Framework.

Gabriella was still looking bereft, staring down at the magenta orb which was once again in her hand. “All those days of travelling with Big Mindar,” she said. “I really trusted him.”

Xarok put a hand on the warrior’s shoulder. “He played us, that’s for sure. Mindar – or whatever his true name is – swore to our guild, even handed over information on his fellow half-dragons. He went through the ceremony, or somehow faked it, even the drinking of the blood.”

“I was a total idiot,” snarled Gabriella.

But Xarok shook his head. “We were all taken in – all wrong about him. I think Ricky is right – Mindar must have been with the Fire Heart Guild all along. He played a long game.”

“So, let me get this straight,” said Ricky, thinking hard, and trying his best to suppress a rising, consuming anxiety over the situation that they now found themselves in. “Mindar has tricked us into going through a gateway that our greatest foes now control. Or, at least, one that they are able to watch over, and to stop us from using. We no longer control all four orbs. It presumably won’t be long until The Fire Heart Guild has control over the safehouse, and perhaps the whole of Imperialis...”

His mind was still reeling at the implications

“Right,” growled Gabriella. “And what is left of our guild, now? I don’t know what to say. Our hopes...” The warrior was clearly still struggling to make sense of the betrayal of her close companion, as well as the deaths of Greenbow and Garbon.

“Four members,” said Xarok, and then pointed down at the stricken Shattara, “and soon to be three, if we don’t act fast.”

At this, Gabriella stepped over to Shattara, crouched, and raised the wounded demonkind woman in her powerful arms. “You’re right, old friend. We need to get this one to some place safe – the pack comes first, always. Has anyone tried those metal doorways?”

Xarok moved over to try first one and then the other of the doors on the side wall, but neither moved even a fraction. “Locked,” he growled.

It had occurred to Ricky that although they were on a city street, they hadn’t yet seen any people. And as he looked around, he saw something that helped to explain why. “Oh shit, guys...” he said, taking a step back and pointing.

A huge striped cat – twice as large as a wolf – had moved around the corner of the building and then stopped, looking at them. There were smears of blood around the creature's mouth, and it had narrowed its eyes, crouching and eyeing its prey hungrily.

Xarok had clutched at his necklace of mana and was making the same hand gesture he had previously used when freezing people in place. But the beast kept moving forward, stalking them and ready to pounce.

“Freeze! Shit... light,” called Xarok, and as he spoke the latter word, a dazzling sphere left his outstretched hand, floating towards the monstrous animal and covering up its eyes, at which it yelped in distress, and began to claw at its own face.

“That will slow it a little,” he called. “Now – run!”

> *Quest 061 (Level 2): Escape the Zephyr Cat.

The companions ran.

Accumulated XP: 2655 (unspent: 155)