Chapter 28: Chapter 28: A Warm Welcome

The sun was completely down when Jace and his party arrived at the travel node outside of Ironfel.  The scenery was different than what he was used to.  Trees, rolling hills, and distant mountains were gone.  Instead, it looked like a wasteland of rocks, crags, and brown grass.  They stood on a small hill overlooking the valley below where the town sat almost two kilometers away, lights glowing faintly in the darkness.  Jace couldn’t help but compare this scene to the Mos Eisley reveal in Star Wars.

“Ironfel,” he said in his best Alec Guinness, “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

His eyes left the distant town and looked around his immediate vicinity.  No curtains hung in the air.  Everywhere was hostile.  Six half-orc guards, each at level 15, stood around the raised wooden platform that held the travel node.  The top of the hill was not level, filled with rocks and thorny bushes.  A solid wooden structure had been built to receive visitors that was 20 by 15 feet and made from solid wooden planks.  If a group larger than four arrived, they would feel cramped.  Four stood on the platform now.

“You’re late.”

Jace turned to the gruff voice and saw an elf standing ten feet away, leaning against the wooden railing.  He was taller than any elf Jace had seen before, not that he was an expert.  He assumed he was a ranger by the massive bow on his back, but his broad shoulders and bulging arms let Jace know the character could just as easily be a fighter.

{That is Psycho,} Gracie said in his ears.  {Esther might be the most sought-after NPC in the game.  Psycho is undoubtedly the most formidable.}

Jace saw he was level 20 with 620 Hit Points.  Gracie had said they would have an escort into the town.  He assumed this elf was it.  He wore fabulous golden armor that Jace was willing to bet had been made from dragon scales.  A large 2-handed katana hung from his hip.  Snowy growled at the ranger, and Esther stepped toward the wolf to calm her as she led her to the opposite side of the platform, 20 feet from the ranger.

“That is a vicious animal you have,” the elf said, eyeing the pair as they kept their distance.  “You shouldn’t bring her into town.  She might bite someone.”

Jace thought it an uncharacteristic thing for a ranger to say about an animal, even if Snowy was a winter wolf.  “Trust me,” Jace replied, “She will defend herself when attacked but is otherwise well-behaved.”

Psycho laughed.  “You can never truly tame an animal like that.  I don’t care what tricks she performs for you in private.  If it were up to me, I would put an arrow through her head right now and end it.”

Jace took a step toward the character, perceiving the comment as a threat.  The elf just laughed again.  “Good, you protect your own.  I respect that.  Drescher has made an exception for you, so don’t worry.  I will guide you safely to him, and nothing will happen.  Don’t give me a reason.”

Jace relaxed.  He had been without Snowy in his divine quest and then again in the Gilded Swan.  He was beginning to think having this powerful of a familiar was worthless if she was always restricted access.  “I can bring her with me into town?”

Psycho nodded.  “Drescher insists.  He’s very curious how you got her.  But first, show me you have the item.”

Jace had no choice but to enter his inventory in front of this dangerous ranger.  The elf had promised his safety, and even though he felt he was a vicious killer, Jace trusted him.  He looked at the elf again within a few seconds, holding the Level 50 crystal.

Jace saw one of the half-orc guards speak into a pendant on his neck once he saw the item.  Drescher must be able to communicate with them.  Jace didn’t see a similar amulet on Psycho.  This NPC didn’t want to be controlled.  He followed orders but without the leash.  “Step off the platform.  I am expecting someone else.  And put that crystal away.  I can’t protect you if everyone tries to attack you at once.”

“Another visitor for Drescher?” Jace asked as he led his group down a few short steps to the rocky ground below.  “Related to our visit?”

Psycho shook his head.  “Opportunistic timing.  Say what you will about him, but Dresher is efficient.”

Gracie had said the German was a gun runner.  Could he be meeting with another client?  Would this be a terrorist from the Middle East, Asia, or Eastern Europe?  Possibly a munitions supplier or factory manager.  Jace had been in several important meetings in his life with high-status clients.  He had been told to wear a suit or to make sure he drove an American car or was clean-shaven.  He had never been told that to meet with a customer, you needed to log into a video game and make it to level 10.  Jace wondered if these criminals hired proxies for them.  They could be sitting beside an operator, able to hear and see everything that happened but not have to play the game.

Jace didn’t know exactly what to expect, but when a scared-looking kid appeared right in front of the travel node, that was definitely a surprise.  In his mind, Jace instantly labeled him a kid, but the character’s face was adult, with a close-cut, black goatee.  He wore plate armor with a medium shield and a sword on one hip.  But something about how his eyes looked like a frightened mouse made Jace guess he was barely a teenager, entirely out of his depth in a dangerous place like this.  He knew what he was doing in the game, as he was up to level 12, but he shockingly only had five Hit Points.

“Welcome back, Sir Wallace,” Psycho said.  “I was hoping I wouldn’t see you again after the last time.”

“Let’s just get this over with.”

The voice sounded old and deep, but Jace detected a slight waver.  The ranger led the knight off the platform, passed Jace without a word, and then started toward town.  Wallace gave a brief look at Jace, a much longer look at Esther, and then hurried after the tall elf.  Jace followed the pace, sensing that Snowy and Esther were close behind.

“You’ve been here before?” Jace asked once he caught up to the paladin, reasonably confident this was not an international terrorist.

Wallace looked at him hesitantly, not eager to talk.  “I know who you are, Jace Thorne.  I want nothing to do with you.  I’m here to do a job, nothing more.”

“What kind of job?  What did Drescher hire you for?”

{He’s a sacrifice, Jace.  He probably isn’t proud of it.}

Jace didn’t know what that meant.  “Just leave me alone,” Wallace said and hurried ahead.

Jace let him go, hoping he would figure it all out once they arrived at Ironfel, which still looked like a fifteen-minute walk away.  “Why would they have the travel node so far from the city?  It would make it a nightmare to get in and out of town.”

{A couple of reasons,} Gracie explained.  {It makes it much harder to invade, for one.  When we first started attacking terrorist strongholds, we could organize so that 30 characters would travel there simultaneously and make an immediate assault on the town.  Now, most city strongholds have the entry node so far from the city that they have at least fifteen minutes’ notice anytime someone pops in, and they have all their defenses in place by the time the attacking force arrives.  Plus, it makes people more willing to stay.  If you want to go city hopping and visit a bunch of taverns, gaming houses, brothels, and the like, but you have to walk fifteen minutes to leave the city you’re in and then another fifteen to get into the next one, you’re more likely to stay where you are.  It encourages the owners of the towns to make them a one-stop shop for everything you need.

{Lastly, Drescher and his companions don’t need to walk.  They can set up private nodes within the city and jump directly to their home or offices, so it isn’t difficult for them.}

Jace nodded as he understood the strategic and logistic advantages of the setup.  “What can you tell me about Psycho?”

{As far as I know, he is the only NPC that starts at level 20 and never moves.  Level 20 is the maximum for any NPC companion, but most adjust to your level when they join your party and then level up with you.  I mentioned the Psycho Module as the one that took the longest to crack when we introduced you to the game.}

That felt like days ago to Jace, but he realized it was less than 24 hours.  “If I recall, you said no one actually did solve it.”

{Correct, Drescher pulled a YOU and cracked the game.  The whole module is too long to get into specific details, but Psycho is convinced his sister is somewhere in the realms, either captured by orcs or running from them.  Once he finds her, they will be able to restore their homeland.  No one has ever seen the sister.  So, Dresher got a high-level mage to cast an illusion spell on a female elf he found to make her look like his sister.  Psycho was tricked, and he swore on his native homeland to join Drescher and serve him faithfully.  The German bound him to that oath and then revealed that it was all a lie.  Still, it worked, and now Psycho is Dresher’s slave.}

“And his name is Psycho?”

{No, his name is Nal Saikol, which no one can pronounce, but since it kind of sounds like Psycho, and the elf has some severe issues when it comes to dealing with people, the name stuck.}

“Yes, he seemed all warm and fuzzy when we talked.”

{That’s nothing.  He’s been known to shoot people dead for the slightest infractions.  When Drescher sends him on errands, everyone who interacts with him walks on eggshells.}

“Has anyone gotten a look at his stat sheet?”

{Other than Drescher? No, and he isn’t telling.  Don’t worry; if the past 24 hours have told me anything, you’ll find a way to have him join your party, and we can look at it together.  You two would make a great pair.  You’ll never guess his alignment.}

Jace already knew.  A character that would keep his word even after being told they’d been tricked had to be Honest.  His views on Snowy weren’t surprising coming from a Traditional player.  And he complimented his boss on his efficiency, so he was likely to be Ordered.

“Gracie, I want you to look up that kid too.”

{What kid?}

“Sir Wallace.  I can’t believe he is older than 14.  Something about him seems off.”

Esther knew he was talking to Gracie, but she spoke up.  “I recognize him,” she offered.  Jace gave her a look.  “Not like that.  He was never with me, but he met with Tami a lot.  She said they just talked and went swimming.”

“Swimming?” Jace asked.  “Is that code for something?”

{How am I supposed to look him up?} Gracie asked, not caring that she was forcing Jace to have two conversations at once.

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“They have message boards for this game.  Find out what he talks about.  Are there social portions where people can talk about sports or life?  Do they ever talk about high school?”

Esther patiently waited for Jace to finish before answering his question.  “You do know that Tami is a mermaid, right?”

Jace looked at her dumbfounded.  “I do now.  A mermaid, a witch, and a vampire.  What was Delly?  A fairy?”

{She is a succubus,} Gracie answered.  {And your buddy Wallace isn’t in high school.  I found some discussions he was in about hiding the game from his teachers and how it will be easier next year in high school.  Also, he doesn’t talk like any 8th-grade boy I’ve ever seen before.}

Jace slapped himself on the forehead.  “Right, what 14-year-old boy do you know goes to a brothel to chat up the girls and swim with mermaids?”

{Sir Wallace is a girl.}

“Yes,” Jace repeated out loud for Esther’s benefit.  “Sir Wallace is a girl.”

Esther looked confused.  “I don’t think so,” she said slowly, looking at the two men walking 30 feet in front of them.  They were both a few inches over six feet and broad in the shoulders.

How could Jace explain this?  “Remember I said that the gods bless some people in the realms, and if they die, they can come back?  Well, that ability is based on how they exist in the other dimension.”

“The dimension Gracie and Conor are in?” Esther asked.

“Exactly.  Do I act like any orc you’ve ever met before?”

Esther shook her head.  She hadn’t met many, but she had heard stories.

“That is because I am not an orc in the other dimension.  I am a human.  In that dimension, Sir Wallace is a 14-year-old girl.”

“Why does she look like a man in the realms?”

Jace shrugged.  “So people take her seriously.”

“Oh . . . I see,” Esther was now wondering if anyone took her seriously.

Jace let her think about that while he turned his attention to Gracie.  “What can you tell me about Drescher?”

{Only what our government has told me.  It is a sad story, really.  He was a brilliant weapons engineer in Germany.  He got wind that cutbacks were coming, and he became bitter.  When he was let go, he managed to reroute a shipment of small arms and stole them.  He considered it his severance package.  He sold them on the black market, and the military found out.  They raided his house, and his wife and son were killed.  Since then, he’s been a full-bore anarchist, supporting any anti-establishment terrorist organization he can find.}

They were getting close to the city now, and more half-orc guards were standing before the gates.  They knew Psycho and began to wave them through but snapped to attention when they saw Snowy.  “Halt.  You can’t bring that wolf in town with you.”

Jace stopped short, and Esther clutched at his arm.  “I am here for a meeting with Drescher.”

The guard looked between Psycho and Jace to show that he already understood that.  “No animals in the city.  No exceptions.”

Jace turned to his escort, assuming the ranger would solve this problem, but he only stood expectantly, waiting for Jace to dismiss the wolf, perhaps not realizing Snowy wasn’t a summoned creature.  “You said Drescher made an exception for me.  That he would allow Snowy into the city because he was curious.”

“I wasn’t talking about your wolf.”  The elf’s voice was deep and cold.

{Bastard.}

Luckily Esther didn’t seem to pick up on the exchange except to know that Snowy would have to wait outside.  She squatted before the wolf, gave her a few calming words about the mean old elf, and told her they’d be right back.  She stood, ready to go, but saw her leader in a staring contest with the ranger.

“Had I known you were talking about Esther . . .” Jace said in a low voice, letting the threat hang, knowing there was nothing he could have really done.

“Just remember,” Psycho said, as he continued into the city, “if anything happens.  I thought she should be left outside.”  Jace wanted to draw his sword and run him through in the back, but he held his anger in check.  Instead, he looked at Esther and hoped this wasn’t a big mistake.  She returned the look and sent him an interesting chat message.  Clever girl, he thought to himself and followed Psycho into town with Esther at his side.

Ironfel was unlike any of the cities Jace had been to yet.  It had the same main street with shops, inns, and taverns, but it expanded well beyond that.  It wasn’t just a single street but had houses and more significant buildings spreading out for kilometers in each direction.  The other characters that moved about were a mix of NPCs and PCs; not all of them had their level and Hit Points over their head.  Some just had their class or occupation, and others had nothing.

“Tell me about Ironfel,” Jace said quietly as they moved through the streets.  People looked at them, and Jace got the impression that just as many of them recognized him as Esther, but with Psycho walking in the lead, no one approached them.

{It is as close to a real city as you can find.  Everything is real here.  Shop owners won’t just buy your goods from you unless there is a demand for them.  They don’t have endless arrows or leather armor to sell you.  Everything has to be made.  This means they have dozens of craftsmen all over the city making goods to sell.  The food they have has to be grown or butchered.  The buildings must be built from wood or stone harvested from the land.  This whole city is a massive resource management game.}

“How does it make Drescher money?”

{Ever wanted to eat a 96-ounce steak without getting full or fat?  Ever wanted to try 30 different shots in one night without dying of alcohol poisoning or waking up with a migraine?  Ever wanted to have a 4-way with an elf, dwarf, and halfling?  Here you can.  It isn’t free, but people are willing to pay.  The town will spawn NPCs for him.  If he supplies the city with the right amount of food, fuel, water, gold, and raw materials, half-orc guards, dwarven smiths, halfling chefs, and buxom hookers will spawn within the city.  He can control the stats of these characters based on how many resources he puts into the city.  The better NPCs he maintains, the better the goods they provide, the more money people are willing to spend, the more they spend, the more he makes, and the more he can put back into the city to make it better.  Every house you see has someone living in it.  Every barmaid, shop clerk, and bellhop in this town has a home, and they do things outside of their job.  In most MMORPGs, you can go to a store at any time of day, and the clerk will be there.  Not here.  Most gaming houses are open 24/7, but other shops close down.}

Jace absorbed all the information, seeing the game within the game, and understood how a German weapons engineer could excel at it.  He enjoyed playing German designed boardgames, and this was standard worker-placement resource management dialed up to 11.

{PCs can work for Drescher too.  You can spend time as a craftsman or prostitute, but you can also be an adventurer.  Crafting most high-level magical items require unique components like gems or other precious metals that aren’t lying on the ground.  You can go on quests to find these and bring them back to Drescher, and he will pay you.  He hires people to camp out at the entrance to a SIM and then pays them for magical items they bring back.  Working for Drescher means you get to live in this town and get discounts on all the entertainment.  Many PCs do that.  If it is known that you work for Drescher or one of the half a dozen other high-level terrorists in the game, people leave you alone.}

“Yes, but your actions are supporting terrorists.”

{And buying oil from the Middle East doesn’t?} Gracie bit back but then realized she didn’t want to argue with Jace right now.  {Yes, it is wrong and needs to stop, but instead of cutting off the hydra’s heads, we usually aim for the heart.  But don’t think about that right now.  You should be focused on staying alive.  Trade the crystal for our freedom, and then we can worry about how to get it back later.  Now is not the time to fight.  You’ve been outmatched before and survived, but this is different.  Drescher is at level 24, last I checked, and he will have at least three other PCs with him, all above 20.}

Jace nodded, already developing a plan to negotiate his way through this meeting without giving away too much.  He was still interested in Wallace and noticed the youth not looking to the left or right as they walked through the throng of people.  The nightlife was eccentric in this town, and any 14-year-old boy or girl would typically be amazed by what there was to see, but she was laser focused.  Before Jace could ask Gracie to explain what a sacrifice was, Psycho angled toward one of the largest gaming houses they had seen so far, ironically named The Lion’s Den, and walked up the wooden steps onto the large wrap-around deck and waited for his entourage to enter with him.

Jace saw Wallace pause at the entrance and tried to step past her and into the establishment but was stopped.

[Settings not compatible.  Access restricted.]

“What does that mean?”  The question was aimed at Gracie, but Jace saw Wallace roll her eyes out of her inventory and look at him.

“You can’t enter until you turn all your settings to Severe,” the knight explained.  “Drescher insists his guests get the full experience.”

Jace shrugged his shoulders and entered his inventory.  Most of his settings were set at mild or medium.  He pushed them all to Severe and exited his screen.  Even before he entered the building, he was assaulted with sounds, smells, heat, and a variety of other sensations he had grown accustomed to avoiding.  Esther climbed the stairs, smiled at him, and stepped past and into The Lion’s Den, not needing to adjust her settings.

“I’m guessing I won’t be able to talk to you openly,” Jace said to Gracie.  “I don’t have Snowy to ask you questions either.  Please tell me everything you know about what is happening.  Just give me a running commentary.  Drescher will assume I’m an expert.  Even if he knows I’ve only been active for 24 hours in this character, he will think I have more experience than I do.”

{Understood.}

“Thanks.”  Without further delay, Jace took a deep breath and followed Esther inside.

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