She had a strange collection of armor, some of it silver and gray, other elements emerald and gold.

  Rodrik fell to one knee, bowing low before Valoric_Warrior_219. “Mistress.”

  Valoric_Warrior_219 turned to Asyra, who reluctantly dropped to his own knee. “My lady.”

  Valoric_Warrior_219 gave a grin not dissimilar to Rodrik’s, no ounce of pleasantry or happiness hidden inside. She strode forward and placed a gauntleted hand under each of the fighter’s chins, lifting them to their feet.

  “I trust your expeditions were fruitful?” she said.

  Each shook his head, updating Valoric_Warrior_219 that they had reached dead ends. Rodrik looked hurt, as though he had truly failed her.

  “That’s okay,” she said unconvincingly. “Every dead end found takes us one step closer to the correct route. Lucky for me, I believe that my route is the correct way. My men have kept moving ahead and will blow the horn should they encounter any speed bumps, but for now, let’s press on. Time is against us, and I can feel her presence near.”

  “Who?” Asyra asked before he could stop himself.

  Valoric_Warrior_219 stood in front of Asyra, studying the ranger with keen eyes from beneath the helmet. The other fighters straightened, not used to their mistress being questioned.

  After what felt like hours, she said nothing more than, “The enemy.”

  With that, she strode down the tunnel she had come out of. She paused only long enough to turn to Asyra and add, “And should you ever question me again, I will destroy you. Remember that.”

  Asyra gave a curt nod, which seemed to satisfy the woman. She signaled for the others to follow and disappeared back down the tunnel.

  As Rodrik shouldered past Asyra, he gave another wicked grin, running a finger across his neck before taking gigantic strides ahead of the pack.

  “Man!” Tag cried out, reaching yet another dead end on their travels.

  When they had first stumbled across the cave entrance, they had been beyond excited. Not only were they one step closer to attaining another piece of KieraFreya’s armor, but dungeons were familiar territory to the players, who had crushed through the storyline of Relic Hunter and lived to tell the tale.

  “Goblins, trolls, maybe some bats,” Ben had answered after Chloe had asked what other types of creatures lived in the dungeons.

  “I meant what types of creatures we haven’t come across yet. You realize I was with you when we ran into those creatures before, right?”

  “Don’t forget the skellies,” Gideon said, shuddering at the memory of the skeleton swarm they had battled in the first dungeon they had tackled as a group of four.

  Well, five if you counted Decaru.

  Six, KieraFreya added. Don’t I count? Jeesh!

  Ben thought hard, working through the dungeons he had visited in his head and reeling off the creatures. “Let’s see. We had vampires in Relic Hunter 3, Weres in RH4…”

  “Don’t forget the giant snake things,” Tag added. “What were they called again?”

  “Basilisks,” Gideon said.

  Tag nodded. “Right. They were creepy as hell.”

  “Why would vampires live in caves?” Chloe asked. “Surely they’d stalk villages and live in basements and stuff?”

  This time Veronica answered. “You’ve got to remember, Chloe, that these fantasy games try to shake things up a bit from the norm. You’re not dealing with Count Dracula, here. These are half-animal, half-human hybrids.

  “If I remember rightly, the vampires in RH3 were actually shunned by the local village, chased out in the vampire hunts of yore. Every fortnight, they inspect the cave entrances, refresh the rims of garlic around them, and set bonfires before them.”

  “Oh, yeah, that’s right,” Leonie said, remembering parts of the quest. “Didn’t one of the town’s children get stolen? A small mage girl with incredible power?”

  “That’s the one,” Ben said, grinning because they could reminisce about the old plot line. “Man, can you believe what gaming used to be like? Linear storylines that every player had to face. I still can’t believe how sophisticated the AIs have become, that they can build…well, this…” He widened his arms, indicating the world around them.

  “Yeah, it’s nuts,” Therese confirmed.

  The only person not enraptured in the telling of the story of Relic Hunter was Jessie. Born and bred in Obsidian, she just could not understand the mechanics of what they were talking about, no matter how often Tag tried to explain it to her.

  The idea of electricity firing into small metal chips and creating images on devices called televisions seemed like alien science she would never comprehend.

  “You can’t understand technology, but people firing magic out of their fingertips is fine?” Tag had bellowed at one point, throwing his hands into the air.

  “Well, yeah,” Jessie had answered, unsure of what the problem was.

  They turned back on their heels, deciding to mark each tunnel attempted with a small rock or other indicator placed in the middle of the entrance so they wouldn’t get lost. As they worked their way down the next tunnel, already overwhelmed by the dark labyrinth, the rest of the KieraSlayers returned to their reminiscing about what Tag had termed the “good ol’ games.”

  Chloe, on the other hand, got lost trying to keep up with the countless adventures they had been on, and instead turned her attention to her inbox. The caves were quiet ahead, and she thought that now would be a perfect opportunity to check in on the doc and Mia.

  Chloe

  You know I was only joking about the THOUSAND other messages I sent. I get it. You’re too busy with your new friends in Obsidian to care about us [wink emoji].

  Joking…again.

  Glad to see you’re excited about your newfound viral fame. It makes it all the more interesting that people have NO idea who you are, eh?

  Speaking of which, you are shooting up the ranks of the most viewed players in Obsidian now. There are a few guys from a party that apparently has spent hours gaming online and building an audience who are ahead of you, but the gap is closing. It won’t be long until you’re number one.

  Something we always knew you would be. You are a Lagarde, after all.

  The income generated by your sponsorship is pretty decent, too. I’ve attached a royalty statement so you can see how it’s going. It’s definitely on the rise, along with the stocks. Mia has heard through the developer grapevine that Obsidian is being entered into a bunch of indie awards this year for most innovative VR/AR game of the year. That’s going to help with press attention.

  And not to mention that it’ll help you in your conquest to piss off Henry and Henrietta, who have now doubled their investment in Oculus in a bold attempt to try to speed up their own development. I’m not sure how it’s going to pan out for them, but we’ll certainly see.

  I’ve also attached a picture of Mia and me in our t-shirts. She’s made a few tweaks to the communication program to make it easier for us to view images and docs within the message window. Hopefully you can see a preview of the image below.

  I would’ve waited until you were in the White Room, but considering you’re #bossing (did I use that correctly?) the campaign, I figured this’d be faster.

  Chloe hovered over a small image of Mia and the doc, beaming smiles on their faces as they pointed a hilarious illustration of Blueballs with fuzzy blue testicles and a caption above.

  She stifled a laugh as she continued with the message.

  And, of course, I understand that the move wasn’t ideal. We honestly would have consulted with you if there had been time, but I can assure you that everything is running more smoothly than ever here now.

  (Don’t talk to Mia about this since it’s a sore subject, but my wi-fi is faster than hers ever was, so our stream of you is running crystal clear! There’s also so much more space to watch you here. She won’t admit it yet, but I can see she loves the apartment.)

  Oh! I almost forgot. I followed your advice and told Mia I love her. She said it back. Woo!

  You rock.

  Your battle mage self rocks.

  Keep on pushing.

  Watch out for bad guys.

  Doc

  Chloe couldn’t hide her grin as she began composing her reply.

  The doc had changed so much since she had gone into Obsidian and he’d reunited with Mia. Sure, before, she had mainly known him in the capacity of a psychological professional, but there had always been something else underneath their sessions.

  He had always seemed extra interested in Chloe. Had provided encouragement and nurturing in a way that her parents lacked. In a funny way, he had been more of a father figure to her than any of her family, even though they only had two sessions a week together.

  And now, the doc seemed to have come out of his shell. The corporate drone who had hung around the Lagarde Tower halls was developing his own life independent of his work. Sure, he still went to his sessions and performed his duties, but he had really come out of his shell since reuniting with Mia.

  It was great to see, and yet another win to consider since entering Obsidian. If she could somehow provide more opportunities like she had for the doc and Gideon, who knows where she’d stop?

  The idea of sharing and helping others had never been something she really relished. Buying drinks for her girls or occasionally lending a credit card when shopping had been the limits of her altruism.

  Now, though…

  Now she was spreading the benefits of her generous nature.

  And was loving reaping the rewards.

  “What are you smiling at?” Gideon asked, trotting beside her. The tunnels were large but narrowing all the time, making Chloe wonder when they would all have to dismount.

  “Nothing.” Chloe blushed. “Just…I’m happy, I guess.”

  Gideon smiled back. “Good. You look it, too.”

  Chloe stared ahead into the tunnel, too embarrassed to meet Gideon’s eyes. She wasn’t sure why, but it somehow felt wrong to feel happy—like she was working a muscle she had never flexed before.

  Her smile slipped when she saw the litter of corpses in the darkness, her Dark Vision picking up their presence before the others could.

  Goblins.

  Dozens of goblins.

  Dead and waiting to be looted.

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Mia already had the table set and a steaming cup of coffee waiting for Demetri when he walked through the door.

  He smiled, the apartment smelling of cooked meat and slightly overboiled veggies.

  He was in high spirits, having shaved almost forty minutes off his commute after work just by moving, and he snuck over to Mia, wrapping his arms around her waist as she paused from busying herself around the kitchen.

  She jumped in mild surprise. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  Demetri kissed her cheek. “You were in your own zone. It’s cute. I like it.”

  “I bet you do. A woman at home for cleaning and cooking while you gallivant around the city doing whatever the hell you want to do?” Mia said playfully.

  “You’re working, too, I hope,” Demetri said, letting go of Mia so he could hang up his jacket.

  “Always.” She winked.

  They ate dinner on the small table they had dragged into Demetri’s study, the space looking more used than it had in ages. When he had originally bought the place, he had intended to spend large amounts of time reading and winding down in the study, but that had never panned out.

  Work was a steam-powered machine that constantly needed his sweat pouring into it.

  Or so he had thought.

  As he sat and squelched mushy broccoli between his teeth, he wondered if that had ever really been the case, or if it had been his own hubris and drive that had glued him to his work.

  Perhaps, he wondered, it was my own fear of never finding love in such a busy city with such a high-level job. When would I have had time? When would I have found her?

  But she had come to him in the end. In the romantic way that poets and bards spun tales of love and fate, she had come to him. A chance meeting. A union of destiny.

  Something he would never have believed to be true.

  “What’re you thinking about?” Mia asked, toying with her steak.

  “Nothing much.” Demetri grinned. “Just how glad I am that you’re here.”

  “Me too,” Mia said with a glint in her eye.

  After dinner, Demetri helped clear up and wash the dishes. They checked on Chloe, seeing the adventurers riding on horseback through the cave. Mia filled Demetri in on the fight with the wolves and their journey up the mountain, detailing the missing white wolf that had vanished into thin air.

  And then they were on the floor, in each other’s arms.

  They made their way to the bedroom, and a short time later lay and stared at the ceiling, small talk coming from their lips like misting breath in the afterglow of an early morning jog.

  When they returned to the study, they saw Chloe on the projected screen, virtually at a standstill. For half a second, Demetri was worried the feed had frozen until he saw Gideon talk to her.

  “What are they stopping for?” he asked, raising his now tepid coffee to his lips.

  “Who knows?” Mia replied.

  Demetri shrugged. “Any more static sessions?”

  He was referring to the bouts of feed failure that had occurred during the high points of some of Chloe’s biggest battles. The live comment feed had gone crazy with angry viewers who were missing out on the action.

  Demetri hadn’t told Chloe, but her viewers had dropped by 2% in the hours following those situations, only to rise again a few hours later after a clear patch of no disturbances.

  Mia shook her head. “None. I can’t figure it out.”

  “Any word from the development team?”

  “A few messages, but no conclusive idea about the bug.”

  Demetri turned to Mia, gauging her response as he said, “You don’t think it’s anything we did, right? Anything that might’ve happened after we…meddled with the code?”

  While Demetri said “we,” they both knew he meant Mia. He didn’t have the advanced knowledge in computer code to hack into a live video game and update the system to help Chloe. While the development team was bound up in bureaucracy, priorities, and support tickets, Mia had the capacity to make a change here and now.

  Even if it was sometimes a little bit risky and against her contract.

  “Can’t be,” Mia said. “I only altered elements of the pain receptors and the communications module. They’re both isolated sections of the code that can be changed without interfering with the rest of the gaming experience. It shouldn’t cause any kind of problem with the main visual interface.”

  Demetri nodded, pretending he had understood what Mia was talking about.

  So, what the hell was it?

  “My only guess,” Mia continued, thumb on her chin as she thought out loud, “is that maybe there’s something going on with the artificial intelligence the game is built around. It seems too coincidental that all instances have happened when Chloe cranked her badassery up to 11 and fought in combat, don’t you think?”

  “What does that even mean?” Demetri asked. “The AI is interfering with the gameplay experience of Obsidian?”

  Mia shrugged and said, “Maybe.”

  What Mia didn’t say was that she had tried to review a log of the code from the moments when the static had occurred, only to find that entire sections of the code base had gone missing. For at least two minutes on the last occasion, there was nothing to log the elements of code which had built the infrastructure of the gameplay, meaning that there was no digital trail to run diagnostics from.

  Something the developers were hesitant to admit, even though Mia had asked on several occasions.

  “Whatever’s going on, we need to keep an eye on it,” Mia continued. “I have a funny feeling it’s bound to happen again.

  “And soon.”

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Chloe’s heart beat faster in her chest as they followed the trail of destruction.

  In one way, she was glad the journey was easy and they didn’t have to fight half the monsters that had been destroyed. On the other hand, she knew that this could all mean a stronger fight ahead of them.

  Whatever had taken out these creatures had done it without mercy. These killings were brutal, and it looked as though additional damage had been dealt long after they had ceased living.

  But that wasn’t the worst part of the trail they followed. The worst part was that strange feeling inside, where she somehow knew she was going to come across the destruction. As though she had lived the experience herself.

  Already she was sure she could feel the aura of the next piece of armor, yet a niggling doubt told her it shouldn’t be possible. According to her map, she still had a short way to go before she found it.

  But she could feel it, couldn’t she?

  She could feel something.

  Be wary, Chloe, KieraFreya thought. Something stinks here, and it definitely isn’t the horse’s rear end.

  Chloe’s nose wrinkled. Thanks for that.

  The thing that made Chloe the most cautious was just how alert KieraFreya now was. It was as if she were standing to attention inside of her, scanning the area like a meerkat searching for danger.

  This wasn’t like the last few times, where KieraFreya had been excited to find another piece of armor. It felt more primal. Somehow Chloe could smell a battle ahead.

  The others, meanwhile, felt none of this. Sure, they were disconcerted by the sight of the fallen monsters, but to them, that just meant that a bigger challenge awaited them ahead.

  As they rode onward, the tunnels getting tighter and tighter, Tag and Ben took great joy in regaling the new people with their encounters with the previous monsters, the sandworm and the volcanic titan.

  Veronica and her party oohed and ahhed at the right moments, Therese looking at Tag with a newfound respect that Jessie didn’t like. Every time she added a part of the story, she made sure to emphasize “we” as she made googly eyes at Tag.