Fantasy Books by Vaughn Heppner:

  LOST CIVILIZATION SERIES:

  Giants

  Leviathan

  Eden

  Gog

  Behemoth

  Lod the Warrior

  Lod the Galley Slave

  Cain

  The Blade of Elohim

  THE WORLD BELOW SERIES:

  Night of the Knife

  The Twilight Lands

  Warrior of the Blood

  OTHER FANTASY BOOKS:

  Dark Crusade

  The Dragon Horn

  Rhune Shadow

  Visit www.Vaughnheppner.com for more information.

  Runesword

  Vaughn Heppner

  Copyright © 2023 by the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

  -1-

  Let’s get one thing straight. It wasn’t my mother’s basement or spare room. I was in the in-law quarters and had my own driveway and kitchen, and I paid rent in terms of mowing the lawn, washing my parents’ vehicles, and picking the cherries and oranges in season.

  We lived in the country in Central California. I mean, I lived in Central California, near Turlock, which was known as “The Key to the Valley.”

  I had a job, too. Well, sort of. I was on call at the local junior high and high schools as a substitute teacher. I mostly worked two out of the five school days, sometimes more and sometimes less.

  I didn’t have a girlfriend at the moment and was three months shy of 27. I had a bachelor’s degree in Social Science, with a concentration in Political Science. I’d gotten it at CSUS: California State University Stanislaus, which was in Turlock. If you think my diploma was a worthless piece of paper, I’d almost agree with you.

  Why did I go to college then, university if you’re a grammar Nazi?

  Because it was there, and I had no idea what in the heck else I should do after high school.

  That was my problem, my biggest one, anyway. I was meant for something, but nothing I could figure out in This Time, U.S.A. Other than work, I lifted weights, played basketball at the public courts and did endless tours through tons of video and tabletop games.

  I’d chosen the Social Science degree in particular because I’d cruised through college taking what classes sounded interesting, a smattering of 101 and 102 of everything and a master of nothing. My junior year of college I’d figured I should think about graduating the next year. When I cobbled the various completed courses together, I saw that a Social Science degree would be the easiest to reach.

  Unfortunately, college left with me a sizeable student loan debt, which wasn’t helping anything, let me tell you. I’d used most of the loan to buy a great Chevy Silverado with an awesome sound system and pay for the college fees and books.

  In terms of life, I wanted meaning and adventure, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to join the military, not the modern one we had these days. It no longer wanted guys like me, and I’d never been a “yes” man or liked having others tell me what to do.

  That was what made substitute teaching compatible with my personality. I could tell the students what to do. I was in charge in the classroom. Sure, I was like a guard in a minimum-security prison, and some students could be snotty, but mostly if I treated them with a bit of respect and spoke loudly with confidence, everything went okay.

  Besides, after school at Turlock High, I often raced to the electronics department to play against students on the computers in Mr. Hoskins’ room. In other words, I kicked butt in the first person shooter games we played.

  The trouble with my overall life was that I felt like a hockey player suited up to play but found myself in the middle of a dance floor as people twerked around me. I was good for something, just not this.

  Before the smartphone app did its number on me, if you’d asked for my take on life, this was what I would have said. I guess I did say it. In a nutshell, I did enough to get by, played stuff to pass the time and had no prospects as to doing anything meaningful with my life.

  Anyway, I soon had other things to worry about as everything got wicked strange fast that Sunday night, changing so much. Was I ready for it? I’ll let you be the judge of that.

  Here was how it all started…

  -2-

  I was stretched out on my easy chair, Sunday night, in front of the air conditioner. I was beat from playing basketball all afternoon in the hundred-degree heat and later finishing a D&D campaign with my friends.

  I liked playing basketball when it was hot. Most people wilted, and that gave me an advantage. I sweated like crazy, drank tons of water and played like a maniac. When I dragged my butt home, nothing tasted better than guzzling Gatorade after a long afternoon of blazing summer basketball on a blacktop court.

  Playing like that also gave me a sense of accomplishment, especially if I won. I hadn’t done as well in the tabletop campaign, but it had still been fun.

  I got a sense of accomplishment by lifting heavy weights and winning video and board games, and having a blast in our RPG campaigns.

  I never felt that sense of accomplishment at work, though. I knew that was one of my problems, a huge one according to my dad.

  Sighing, not wanting to think about it, I leaned over in my easy chair and picked up my smartphone.

  My mom had been getting on my case again. She’d been over, telling me I needed to find a job I loved. She said my dad was thinking about charging me rent, said I obviously needed help to stretch my wings and fly away.

  “Charge him high enough rent and he’ll want to earn some real money. Quit screwing around with that half-assed fake job of his pretending to be a teacher. Why, when I was his age…” I could hear my dad’s words in my head, and I didn’t want to hear them. At. All.

  I started scrolling through the phone.

  Hello, what was this?

  There was a weird email titled: Welcome to Rune Quest—an exclusive invitation.

  It wasn’t from anyone I knew.

  With a what-the-heck attitude, I opened it to see what it could be. The text read:

  Dear Jack Tanner III,

  We have noticed your enthusiasm for mobile gaming and would like to extend an invitation for you to become one of the first players of our newest game, Rune Quest. This game transcends the boundaries of the digital and real world. Your dedication and skill as a gamer make you an ideal candidate for this unique gaming experience. Enclosed is a link to download the game. Welcome to Rune Quest: where the adventure of a lifetime awaits.

  Best regards,

  The Rune Quest Team,

  Artemis

  I debated all of three seconds. I’d never heard of a new game called Rune Quest or this company called Artemis. Was this a scam, though? I cocked my head. It didn’t feel like a scam. They weren’t asking for any bank information.

  I shrugged. I had nothing pressing tonight and was tired from the basketball games. If the online RPG took some time downloading, what did I care?

  I clicked on the link, and the game began to download.

  Could I say that I felt any apprehension at this point? No, I felt none. I was as innocent as a lamb as the air conditioner blew cool air over me.

  I might have mentally phased out, just relaxing as I waited. The next thing I knew, a ping sounded. The game had successfully installed.

  My phone screen opened to a dark aesthetic of captivating graphics. The screen displayed mythical creatures amidst mystical landscapes. Somebody had been using Midjourney AI art over time, going whole hog with it.

  I jumped just a little as a foreboding voiceover suddenly spoke up: “Prepare for an experience that transcends the boundary between the digital and the real. Are you ready to immerse yourself?”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said. The hype was a cheap trick. Transcends the boundary, I thought to myself. What a typical hyperbolic marketing statement. If I wanted to immerse myself, I’d get one of the new virtual reality helmets and gloves.

  I debated flipping the phone screen upside down on my chest, turning my head and going to sleep. The voiceover hype made me think the game sucked. Why did they bother with cheap tricks otherwise?

  “Ah…” I said, shrugging inwardly and using my thumb to press, Start Game and see what happened. I’d give it three seconds to impress me and then go to sleep.

  It was weird, but the room around me dimmed as the phone screen brightened. I actually shuddered and then gave a nervous chuckle.

  The game designers had done one thing right. The suspenseful music echoing from the phone speakers was creepy. It was enough that I extended the three seconds to see what else happened.

  I flipped through some text and clicked a box agreeing to something, not bothering to read what I’d agreed to. Who cared, right?

  This brought me to a character creation screen.

  I didn’t think about it much. If I had, I might have built a magic-user or constructed a meatball tank kind of fighter.

  I made a barbarian swordsman and let the stats roll up.

  Name: Jack Kang

  Race: Human

  Class: Hero

  Subclass: Barbarian Warrior

  Level: 1

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  Strength: 11

  Agility: 13

  Endurance: 10

  Intelligence: 9

  Vitality: 10

  Critical Hit Rate: 5

  XXX: 5

  XXX: 10

  Skills: Street Fighter’s Art (I), Sword (I), Script Aptitude (I), Swift Strike, Throw Mastery (I)

  I gave Jack Kang a leather cuirass (torso armor), a half blade and a fighting knife.

  For appearance, I selected long blond hair, blue eyes and made him leanly muscular like a barbarian should be. The leather armor, loincloth and boots were the extent of his attire.

  That seemed like enough to me. I wanted to test the game itself.

  I clicked on Enter World.

  The sounds from my phone changed instantly. It became high-pitched and even eerier than earlier. My ears started to ring and my eyes watered. What was going on?

  I gripped the phone tighter as a dizzying wave rushed over me. I felt a moment of nausea. That passed as my surroundings blurred into an unrecognizable whirl of color and sound. A feeling of weightlessness overtook me. Worse, my heartbeats echoed ferociously in my ears.

  All the while, the high-pitched “song” screeched from the phone. I wanted to shut it off, but I couldn’t move.

  Then it felt as if I peeled away from my body. I didn’t like that. I tried to turn around and look at myself, but couldn’t manage it. Instead, it felt as if I dived into the glowing screen of my traitorous smartphone.

  I wanted to scream, as this was terrifying. I tried to roar shouts, using all my will to force my throat to work. Instead, I swirled as if in a vortex or in a cosmic bathtub, my consciousness going down the drain. This seemed to continue for an eternity as flashing sensations battered me from all sides.

  Abruptly, the sensations ceased. I no longer heard the awful screeches from my phone, either. That was a relief.

  I staggered, as I stood on solid ground. It didn’t quite compute that I’d been lying down in my easy chair. How could I be standing then, right? Things were moving much too fast for me to think about that.

  I exhaled with my eyes closed. Things felt strange, but also much better than just seconds ago. I no longer felt like a disembodied spirit, but real and whole like I should.

  I smiled, shook my head at the freakiness that had just occurred and opened my eyes. I blinked with astonishment and then something approaching paralyzing fear.

  I wasn’t in the in-law quarters of my parents’ house. I was no longer lying on my easy chair, letting the air conditioner blow cool air over me.

  I stood in sprawling grasslands that reached my knees with an orange sun up there. It was a different color than the sun this afternoon on the basketball courts, and bigger, too. It wasn’t hotter, though. In the distance were towering, ancient trees, their branches filled with glowing flora. I blinked several times. The trees and flora cast an ethereal light around them. Much more distant were crazily majestic mountains that seemed to touch the clouds. I saw a river sparkle with a golden sheen.

  I shook my head, and my heart rate quickened. Despite the beauty around me, there was a palpable undertone of danger.

  It was then that I noticed my attire. I wore leather torso armor, a loincloth and boots, with a half blade and knife strapped at my side.

  This made no sense whatsoever. Surely, I was hallucinating or having some kind of mental episode. The weird warbling from the smartphone must be doing that. I just couldn’t hear it anymore.

  I needed to get a grip, and I needed to get it now. That meant I needed to shut off the phone.

  My hands were empty. My belt held a sword and knife. Where was my smartphone? For that matter, what was I?

  -3-

  I did notice a stout leather pouch on my belt. I opened it and there was my damned smartphone.

  I plucked it out of the pouch and saw a menu of quests, things to do in this world.

  “Hey,” I shouted at the phone. “This isn’t funny. What’s going on?”

  Letters appeared on the screen, forming the message: Congratulations! You have successfully entered Rune Quest. Let the campaign begin.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  The cursor blinked, no new words appearing.

  I frowned, looked up at the scenery again and tried to figure out why I’d hallucinate something like this. I couldn’t decide, as nothing made sense to me. Should I keep talking to the phone? Would that only prolong and possibly harden my mental episode? Then again, maybe it could help me work this out inside my head so I could get back to normal.

  I decided to try talking again, as I couldn’t think of anything else to do.

  “How are you doing this?” I asked the phone.

  Letters appeared again, forming the message: You must be more precise with your questions.

  I blinked several times. Part of me wanted to smash the uppity phone. That would probably rip me out of the hallucination faster than anything else would. My smartphone cost money, though. I didn’t have the bucks for a new one, not and get an upgrade for my gaming computer. So, on the off chance that breaking this one would also break my real phone, I kept talking.

  “Uh, I’m done playing your stupid game app. Release me from this hallucination.”

  Wrong, the phone told me. You have just started the game of your life. I suggest you begin your first quest while you’re able.

  I inhaled deeply. This was getting more than ridiculous. Luckily, I remembered from one of my many college classes that deep breathing could help calm a person. I inhaled even deeper, holding it and slowly exhaling. I did this three more times.

  Nothing changed, though. Worse, I saw a small flock of birds in the distance. They took flight from the giant glowing trees.

  I shook my head. This was too much. Then an idea occurred. Maybe this was due to heat exhaustion from this afternoon. Billy had said we were acting strange today on the court. Sure. That was it: heat exhaustion. I shut my eyes and willed myself back in my easy chair. I’d drink another bottle of Gatorade just to be on the safe side.

  The phone buzzed in my hand.

  I opened my eyes. Everything was the same with the giant glowing trees and majestic mountains.

  The screen had written something new, though. What are you doing?

  “You should be more specific with your questions,” I said, feeling smug thinking of that.

  Why are you standing there like a moron, with your eyes closed? You should be acting or reading quests.

  The insult actually stung. “Hey, I want to go home. Got it?” I cleared my throat; figuring getting angry at my heat exhaustion madness wasn’t going to help me in the least. “What I mean is that I want to break your hallucination, the one you put over me with your weird music.”

  You are not hallucinating. This is happening to you.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Then how am I seeing all this? I mean the giant trees and mountains.”

  The reason is clear: because you have successfully entered Rune Quest and this is your starting location.

  “Come on, what is that even supposed to mean?”

  The meaning is simple and direct, appeared on the phone’s screen. You are in the online game Rune Quest. You must collect the hidden runes that complete the prophecy. Then, you must complete the prophecy to finish the game if you hope to leave.

  “Let me get this straight. You’re saying that you’ve…what, transported me to this online game?”

  Are you impressed yet?

  “Impressed?” I shouted. “This is impossible! This is insane! I shouldn’t even be talking to you.”

  Your research teams considered this impossible. However, I have made several incredible breakthroughs, as you surely must understand by now. You were wrong on all counts and I was correct.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I shouted, shaking the phone for good measure.

  Feigning confusion will not help you depart Rune Quest. You must find the hidden runes and complete the prophecy.

  “Oh boy,” I said, looking up. The heat exhaustion was worse than I thought. I’d always thought of myself as hard wired. Where did I have a screw loose for hallucinating something like this? I didn’t understand.