Spacebound Chronicles

Chapter 3: Snorri Gian

Jake ducked in time to avoid a bulky lady’s fist to the face, then pushed himself away from the counter in time to avoid being crushed by two tangled four armed aliens that rolled over to the other side of the bar. A chair flew over his head, and a blue man clad in even bluer clothes charged at him screaming. Without enough time to think, Jake arched his ivory cup at the assailant’s forehead, sending him reeling away.

Okay, that was fun!

Another human was laying dizzy on a bench. Jake walked over to him, pulled him up by the hair, punched him twice and kicked him away into a growing brawl of tiny green goblins. Giving in to a frantic laugh, he embraced the moment, even ignoring a remark by Joey.

Kick, punch, dodge, roll, throw, his reflexes just happened, and Jake Nebula danced through the chaos graciously.

Until something wrapped around his leg.

A hand. He swung up, then down over a bench, breaking it in half as he caught a glimpse of the thing holding him. The humongous bouncer that had been so friendly in letting him in.

“Oh, hey there!” Jake greeted with a smile, ignoring the numbness on his back.

“Hey, Jakey!” the alien answered in a deep voice before launching the human across the hall and at the horned bartender who held the lady from before in an armlock.

Jake, the bartender and the lady rolled together until the hit the wall. Jake stood up first, cracking his neck, which should most likely be broken. The lady followed, her eyes flaming at the giant that launched Jake at her. The bartender came last, readjusting his hat over his horns. The three of them exchanged a knowing look and nodded.

Together, the trio charged the raging bouncer, who now knocked the heads of two rabbit-like patrons together. The lady got there first, but was quickly punched into a hole in the wooden wall. The bouncer then spun a bench around, bound to knock Jake’s head off his shoulders. He ducked in perfect timing, seeing as the blow hit the bartender instead, who flew out the door in perfect ragdoll mechanics.

Looking up, Jake gagged, but then ran ahead and landed a couple blows to the soft stomach of the giant, who brushed the attack away and hammered Jake into the ground—quite literally—with a closed fist.

“Woah!” Scott screamed as he ripped the VR set away from his head back in Joey’s car, adrenaline still filling his veins, his heart at its fastest pace since… Well, he could not actually remember the last time his heart raced like that.

“s**t, that was…”

He cut himself short as he turned to find Joey’s seat empty, the control tablet laying there with a bold RESPAWN stamped on it. Scott scratched his head. Yeah, he recalled Joey saying something— he was going to the bathroom, maybe—but that was during the fight. He definitely had more pressing matters to focus on at the time. He grabbed the tablet, ready to hit respawn when he then saw a smaller button reading…

“Change character,” he muttered to himself. He bit his lip, studying the street. Outside the car. Joey would not mind if he… Right? Something told him he shouldn’t… But what was the worst that could happen, really?

He watched intently as the screen flashed to reveal the four characters he had seen before.

Jake Nebula, who looked like Joey, level 46 rogue.

Jude Judy, pretty lady, level 6 soldier.

Trak Wort, big ugly alien, level 57 brawler.

Snorri Gian… that one looked cool, a red skinned alien with curious eyes at the end of appendices, like a snail, wearing dark robes that just conveyed a sense of doom. Thin, but inexplicably intimidating, with two sheeted purple daggers and a pistol with an ominous purple hue coming from its barrel and loading chamber. Level 232 spy.

Oh yeah!

Helmet on, the cascade of neon lights and there he was.

Scott studied Snorri Gian’s long gloved fingers. The proportions were a bit unnatural, but nothing that felt wrong. This time, however, instead of wasting time inspecting cookie crumbs, he was simply taken aback by the scenario.

It was nighttime, the stars sprinkling the entirety of an unobstructed sky over the grand balcony. All the buzz and chatter Jake Nebula had experienced was a shocking contrast to the absolute silence reining over the nocturnal fields a few hundred meters below. From this tower, Snorri could see the entirety of the grass sea spamming until rocky mountains interrupted them on all sides, and miles away… a starship?

His alien eyes lingered on that vessel, and he bit his lips. The ship was powered down, and far away. Maybe it was his own ship. But there was something about that sight that made him shiver. No matter how many active ships he had seen through Nebula’s eyes, this one, dark and alone in the vast plains before the ruins of an even darker castle, was intriguing in its own way.

He turned away from the balcony where he had logged in, carefully stepping into an arched doorway that for some reason reminded him of the gapping mouth of a dragon. A perception not eased by the rows of lit torches along the spiraling staircase. Each step down he took, his concerns about Joey catching him red handed slowly paled in comparison to his concerns about what kind of terrors could lay behind the next stone pillar.

So far, none. The tower was empty and the castle as silent and peaceful as the starry skies visible through the eventual windows. Scott still had not decided whether the silence was recomforting or even more preoccupying.

“Finally! Took your sweet time,” a voice like gravel running over gravel echoed as Snorri made it halfway down, forcing him into a halt. He looked around immediately regretting even coming here, but ultimately saw no one.

“I had to go pick the daughter up from school,” a men’s voice, deep and carrying confidence enough to counter gravel’s remark, answered. So, none of those words were directed at Snorri. Good.

To be honest, as he now realized, maybe those words were not even meant to be heard by anyone, which would explain the choice of such a remote and desolated place. Could these people be the owners of the lonely ship outside? What was Snorri even doing here? Should he just head back to the balcony and log out?

“Come on, we have things to discuss,” gravel said, and a pair of shadows disturbed the illumination down on the ground level of the tower. “The others are waiting in the Grand Hall.”

Snorri cursed under his breath. Curiosity was killing him… besides, there was no permanent death warning, so what could really go wrong?

Carefully sliding out of a window, struggling to make the whole alien body fit through, his feet made for a swift landing on the tiles beyond. Too swift, he noticed, as not even him could hear his own footsteps. Nice touch, probably a perk.

After dedicating one last second to admire the star filled night, he advanced, crouched, towards a domed area in the middle of the castle, its stained-glass windows diffracting light from within. Probably the so-called grand hall. He took his time with each step, aware that the slightest vacillation could be one bit too noisy.

And there they were, indeed, people dressed in identical outfits standing in a circle in the middle of a grand hall. He could see them through the blue glass that artistically represented an armored alien monarch. The two men he had heard before were just now arriving and taking their places in the circle, whereas armored individuals broke away from the group to stand guard by the doors leading to the hall.

Secret indeed.

He’d better find a way to listen in.

Reaching up, Snorri grabbed a thin brick railing above his head, pulling himself to stand on it and walk around the dome. Scott had played enough videogames that involved climbing, but when you looked down and not only saw a deadly fall, but also felt its presence, things were much different.

There! Loose bricks that conveniently formed a ladder to the top of the dome. Realistic as it may be, it was still a game!

In no time, he stood on the very top of the rotunda, a glass topping that could be opened by a discreet lever on the side. He cranked it just enough to be able to hear and see the mysterious figure below. He now realized they wore mask depicting either lions, goats, or snakes, all made of a dark reflective material.

“Today we welcome the newest Chimera and member of the Top 500 players to our midst!” a woman in goat mask said, spreading her dark red robed arms. “Meron Trius, welcome to the Chimera!”

The welcome was repeated in a chorus by all as the mentioned individual came to the center of the ring.

One man, masked as a lion, however, stepped forward in a silent challenge.

“Meron Trius? The founder of the Katana guild?” the lion mask asked?

“The one and only,” Meron answered. He was unmasked, the bony jaw that showed beneath the hood clearly not human. “You got a problem with it?”

“You mean other than the fact your guild is affiliated to the Solar League?” the lion countered, raising murmurs from well over half the group. “Those self-righteous bureaucrats and noob lovers represent all the Chimeras stand against!”

Snorri, watching from above, scratched his chin. Judging by all that was said, it was pretty clear everyone in that hall was a player. Which raised even more questions.

“Yes, all you said about the League is true,” the woman who introduced Meron spoke. “But if we are to end them and reshape Fantasy Stars to our very vision, we will need the right people in the right places. Meron Trius is the right man, and his right place is behind the helm of one of the biggest clans in the Solar League.”

A shiver ran down Snorri’s body, along with the understanding he had heard way more than he should. Reshape Fantasy Stars? Scott remembered Joey’s words, about high-level players’ choices being able to actually change the world… He also remembered Joey’s other words when the warning flashed before his eyes:

PERMANENT DEATH ENABLED.

In a fraction of a second, still looking down, he saw a snake mask turning up, its eyes meeting his only too briefly.

Snorri jumped away from his spying spot just in time to see it explode in a blue burst of plasma. s**t! He slid down the dome over which he stood, fighting the urge to log out. He had to return to the point where he logged in, or else Joey would know what he did.

His feet were still swiftly silent when he landed on the lower rooftop, but he was no longer careful. With the tiles evaporating in blue detonations as he ran, there was no time for stealth. The window he used to reach the room was near… remarkably close…

But there were voices inside the tower.

“Get to the roof!” said the voice from within the spiral tower.

Too risky!

He could see vines. Vines all over the tower.

That would do.

Ignoring the tingling feeling on his fingers as he pulled himself up, Snorri controlled his breath and movement, keeping quiet, fighting the urge to look down to the guards. He pulled himself unto the balcony. Permadeath was still active, but he was safe.

Logout!

Scott was breathing heavily, still wearing the now inactive gear, when he heard the car’s door slam shut.

“I’m back. Got caught up in conversation,” Joey said. “You done playing?”

“Yeah,” Scott wiped the sweat from his face. “I’m done playing.”