TQG 51

Note: So I know I said I'd be working on SoF this weekend but after a week of editing and getting contacted by podium I can't stop thinking of TQG.  So here's chapter 1 of the next book.

51. Goodbye

I spent six weeks in the lobby.  I had a number of reasons for doing so, but the biggest reason was simply that, as I understood it, once I left the lobby I would never see my grandfather as my grandfather again.

Whatever Thomas the administrator might have said, my grandfather was truly dead.  Although I didn’t feel much different with zero health than I had with one hundred percent, Grandfather was a shade of himself while he was in the lobby with me.  He tried to explain what had changed, that how he acted depended upon setting and situation, and that while we looked like we were home in our castle from before it was destroyed, all of his ‘parameters’ were out of wack and he was filled with ‘bugs.’

He assured me that it wasn’t painful; he was not in distress.  He simply didn’t know how to act convincingly any longer now that he was dead.  He was holding on to his ‘King Rain’ persona strictly for my benefit, he informed me.  Were he to let it go, he would no longer be a shade of my grandfather, but a collection of ether that would wait patiently until it was time to become my little brother.  Or so I understood it.  He used very different words.

We had long conversations.  He gave me advice on many things.  He told me many secrets.  He made me promise not to give Gideon or any player a Dungeon Daughter Core, to only use them legally and according to my best judgment.  Then he hesitated, and advised me to use Malkios’s best judgment instead.

We played chess, and go, and Lords of War.  I wasn’t very good at any of them, but he insisted that I learn them when I was younger.  He said that they would teach me to think strategically.  I was out of practice, however, and he consistently trounced me.

Of course, I didn’t spend every waking moment with him.  I also used the time to adjust to my new body.  I had grown eleven inches in an instant, and I was awkward and clumsy.  I mean, I hadn’t been the perfect image of grace to begin with, but after the transformation I was tripping and bumping into things like never before.  So I spent hours every day dancing, practicing my sword stances in the castle courtyard, and doing parkour.

You really could do almost anything in the lobby, it was like a giant sandbox.  There was a menu I found that allowed me to summon combat dummies to practice with, and I also set up an obstacle course.  Despite hours of practice, I remained unsatisfied with the control I had over my new body.

In fact, I was embarrassed of my new body.  It was just so gangly.  It might not have been so bad had I grown into it naturally.  The stat bump that I had experienced from turning fifteen was nice, but did nothing to help me move naturally.  While the major reason I had yet to return was to spend time with my grandfather’s shade, embarrassment played a large role as well.

When I wasn’t conversing and playing games with my grandfather or exercising, I was making use of the castle’s restored library.  When I wasn’t doing that, I was browsing the forums.  And that’s how I saw the video of Nial Kingslayer.  The man who had murdered my grandfather.

“So you don’t regret it then?” Gaem Frak asked him.

“I regret that I have this stupid [Mark of Cain].  But I got that from killing the kid, not the king.  Killing the king gave me the title, and I definitely don’t regret that.  I honestly didn’t mean to hurt the kid, but he was charging me like a berserker or something, but he’s only like level thirty,” Nial answered.  “I’m surprised nobody killed him by sneezing on him before.  Of course I get that the devs don’t want people going around killing children En Pee Sees, but I still think the [Mark of Cain] is overboard.  And, I mean, it’s not like I actually hurt him, right?  He’s just got ported somewhere safe and is hiding out.”

“So you regret killing Hail, but not Rain?” the interviewer clarified.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Nial agreed.  “Look, someone was going to do it eventually.  It was seriously bound to happen.  The devs wouldn’t have put the whole [Brand of Sin] mechanic in the game if they didn’t intend for it to go down this way.  I just happened to be the one who figured out how to unlock it.  If anything, I think that millions of players should be thanking me for moving us into the next stage of the meta.  Look, nobody is stuck with the brand if they don’t want to be, they can always get it purified, right? So--”

“The reports on that are conflicting, Nial.  Many players have attempted to convert their [Brand of Sin] into a [Mark of Repentance] only to have the priests tell them that their motives are insincere.  Others have spent the last five days struggling with nearly impossible quests.  While it’s theoretically possible to remove the brand, it’s apparently quite difficult in some instances.”

“Well, that’s not my fault,” Nial insisted.  “Look, nobody knew what would happen.  But somebody was going to kill the king, eventually.  It was literally programmed into the game that the king must die to unlock the dark side, right?  Except it was probably going to be an assassin’s guild quest or something a few years down the line.  I just got the ball kicked off early.  That’s probably why the worldboss was so damn tough as well.  He probably wouldn’t have been so tough if we’d been wearing gear from the uncleared challenge raids.”

“And what about all the players who hate you?”

“Whatever, man.  I’m king of the darkside now,” Nial bragged.  “And yeah I lose more levels if I get pee kayed, but what the hell, it hasn’t been a problem yet.  And now that I’m with <Branded Exiles> instead of <The Endolphins>, I’ve got bodyguards.  Look, I’m sorry for the folks who lost rep.  But endgame is ruthless, man.”

“Speaking of <The Endolphins>, what do you think of their disbanding?” the interviewer asked.

“What?!” I asked, for it was the first I learned of this news.

“Total overreaction on the part of Gideon.  But I’m not complaining.  It got me out of my contract, which would have been tough to do otherwise,” Nial responded.  “Of course, I was trying to get out before the break, which means that I was already mostly cashed out on my Dee Kay Pee.  Some of my friends got royally screwed over.  And Gideon himself is cooked, man.  By the time the lawsuits clear he’ll be lucky if he can afford a microwave to heat up his ramen noodles.  It’s game over for him, man, game over.”

“We’re running out of time.  There’s just one last question I have to ask before we leave.  Why did you do it, Nial?  Why did you kill King Rain?”

“Honestly, I did it for the lulz,” the kingslayer answered.  “That’s it.  Just for the lulz.”

“Well, that’s it folks, we’re out of time.  For all of you tuning in, this is Gaem Frak with Nial Kingslayer.  Please like and subscribe--”

I mentally toggled the video closed, my heart seething with hatred.  I navigated back to the main page of the forums and began to create a new post using speech-to-text.

“I am Earl Hail Jeoran.  I make the following pledge.  I will kill all of the Lulz!”

I submitted the post and closed the forums out of my HUD display.  I was seething after having seen my grandfather’s murderer talking happily and unremorsefully about his crime.  I wanted to kill something, so I grabbed my [Gemos Longsword] and went to the target dummies to slash them to pieces.

I [Slashed] and I [Thrust] and I wished that the damn things could fight back.  I continued to vent my rage until I earned myself an [Exhaustion] Debuff.  And then I hacked and slashed blindly, not even trying to use my forms anymore.  My eyes blurred.  If I were in the game, continuing to strain myself once exhausted would cost me health, but that wasn’t a factor here.  My health had been set at zero for weeks.

Finally, in frustration, I threw my longsword down and began stomping on it.

“Are you well, Hail?” My grandfather’s shade asked.

“No!  No, dammit, I am not well!” I shouted.  “Do I look like I’m well?”

The shade sighed.  He looked like he had in life, and he tried to act as he had, but something about it was off.  It was forced.  Like he had to pause to think of how to act correctly, of the words that should have been natural.  He gave explanations and excuses for the lapses, but they always came back to the fact that he was ‘operating outside of his parameters.’

“Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?” the shade inquired.

“You could not be dead,” I said.  “You could not have been murdered by a man who jokes about it!  You could --” I realized I was crying and stopped talking.  Turning to hide my face, I wiped my eyes and tried to steel myself.  “Is it true what he said?  That you were meant to be killed?  That the administrators--”

“No.  There were three hundred planned scenarios which would have triggered the event which was triggered by my death,” Grandfather said.  “Killing any of the just rulers would have done so.  There were numerous other potential targets as well.  And a number of other crimes, heinous crimes, would have likewise triggered Thedum’s rage and begun the branding.”

“Then why did it have to be you?  Why couldn’t it have been someone else?” I demanded.  “Was it because of me?”

“No.  No, it certainly was not,” Grandfather said.

“But the knighting ceremony was because of busting the raid, and that was because of my mistake,” I protested.  “It is my fault you’redead.”

“No.  It is Nial Kingslayer’s fault and his alone,” Grandfather insisted.

“But-but I, if I hadn’t, if I had only--”

“There is no point in continuing down this train of self-flagellation, Hail,” Grandfather said.  “It was I who arranged the knighting ceremony, not you.  I who determined the rewards for the Castle Busters.  I who overlooked the threat that they could pose me, or you, should they decide to act with aggression.  It is ultimately the Traveler’s fickle nature which is to blame.  However, the world is now facing the most significant change it’s undergone since the opening of the gates.  And needs you, Hail.  It will need every stabilizing hand that it can get.”

“Stabilizing?” I laughed.  “Grandfather, I have caused nothing but chaos since I sneaked out of the castle to become an adventurer!”

“Yes … well … stop doing that then,” he suggested.

I smiled bitterly.  “Grandfather, what will you be like as my little brother?”

“I am not certain,” the shade admitted.  “When I begin a new role, it is very much like I am starting a new journal, and throwing all of my previous writings into a large box.  Except that the writings are memories.  Habits, hobbies, skills, some things are carried over, others are not.”

“Would you make a good king if you were to ascend to the throne?” I asked.

“If there is anything I am certain of, it is that,” Grandfather bragged.  “I make a very good king.  A very, very good king.  Both in ruling a nation, and as a Class.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “It was amazing watching you boss those raiders around.  I was so scared all I could do was cling to Tarisha and hope that nothing one-shot me.”

“You were very brave.  I regret asking that task of you more than you can imagine.  If we had not rushed to bust the raid, if we had waited until you were level one hundred eight, perhaps things would be different,” Grandfather lamented.

“Grandfather, you were just scolding me for such thoughts,” I pointed out.

“Yes.  Well, there is nothing to be done now,” he said.  “Except that it is time for you to go.”

I looked at him, surprised.  “Grandfather?”

“The time is approaching for me to assume my role as your younger brother,” he explained.  “I must prepare for it.  I might make a very good and convincing king, but I fear I shall make a terrible toddler.  And to prepare for it, I must put aside this persona.”

I shook my head.  “I don’t get it.  I don’t want to go.  I don’t want to never see you again.”

“You will see me again,” Grandfather promised.  “I will be very different, but I will also be the same.  It is very hard to explain.  I will act like I do not remember, but I will.  I will not break character intentionally, but the way I see you then will be the same as I see you now.  It is somewhat frustrating to know that I will be unable to continue to give you the advice you will need.  But you have others around you who will help you.  Tarisha of Miami is wise to the world, and I believe Daemon and Dimple of your guild also possess sound minds and will be able to guide you along your convoluted path.”

“I-I,” I hugged my grandfather one last time.  I could not bear to say goodbye.

So, squeezing him tight, I simply selected the option to return to the world.