Fragments (Somnia Online Book 3), page 34
“We are busy today. Much needs to be addressed to keep things running smoothly as the adventurers travel further out into the world.” Thra’s tones were about as soothing as an artificial intelligence unit could be, at least within the parameters of speaking from her server housing. Shayla only wasted a moment wondering why she found it so easy to attribute personas to the AIs. That was just it; they made it easy to do so.
“Can you define what it is you’re currently addressing in the game, please?” Laria’s tone was formal, and she wasn’t looking at anything in particular, so Shayla knew she was engrossed in the developer interface for the game.
Thra’s server whirred a little louder before she responded. “We are attempting to validate several zone implementations.”
“Speak to me in I’m-not-a-server language, please.” Laria crossed her arms, a small scowl tugging at her lips. She wasn’t about to be dissuaded from her trail.
Thra’s server lit up momentarily, almost like she was arguing with someone they couldn’t see. Shayla watched in fascination.
“There have been several complications with the raiding zones for the end game key items. Considering these zones are required to scale with the players as they enter so long as they’re able to fight opponents level thirty and over, they require some fine tuning in order to assure that things will run smoothly.”
Shayla blinked at the AI. It was one of the best non-answer answers she’d ever heard, and she included Teddy Davenport’s answers in the ones she compared it to. “Which zones in particular are we talking about, and what precisely is the problem?” Shayla didn’t feel like wasting any more of their time in here than she had to.
If the AI were being obtuse, and she was quite certain Thra was doing so deliberately, then the direct question requiring a specific answer was the only way to figure them out. She’d leave her thoughts about why they were trying to hide something in the first place for later.
Just as she expected, Thra’s machine lit up again, and this time Rav’s did so in response. The lightshow was quite effective in demonstrating what Shayla assumed was an argument between AI units.
Finally, it died down, and this time Rav’s voice filled the room. “You know which zones we’re talking about, or else you wouldn’t be here. The Ruins of Cenedril and the surrounding Curet Rainforest, insofar as it comes under the domain of the Ruins.” He paused for a moment, his lights a beautiful array of gradating colors. “I’m quite certain you also already know who is in there. Next time, please have enough respect for us to ask directly what it is you wish to know instead of trying to trick us into revealing something you’re fishing for. We don’t have the time to play games on the outside while trying to run the world of Somnia in here. And it’s dangerous to assume we do.”
Well, that was something she never thought she’d witness. Getting taken down a few pegs by a computer. Literally. They were disgruntled. How did an AI become disgruntled? Shayla opened her mouth to speak, but Laria beat her to it.
“Look. You’re an artificial intelligence unit that was made to do what you’re doing. My daughter is in there. My daughter’s mind is running around in your world accessing a heap of shit I can’t explain to myself.” She took a breath, and Shayla marveled at the evenness to Laria’s tone.
“I need you to stop this busy nonsense and get to the root of the problem and either help me figure it out, or figure it out yourselves. Either way, I need to know why the fuck I can’t seem to track, see, observe, or interact with my daughter in any way while she’s in that fucking zone.” Laria’s tone dropped. “What the hell happened to that zone anyway?”
A ripple of sound flowed around the room, like the AIs were sighing in unison.
“You’re right, of course.” Sui’s tones were more subdued than Shayla had ever heard them, and she felt a flare of concern.
For Sui to be less confident, to not be the one commanding or pretending to do so, things had to be worse than she expected. She almost didn’t want to know.
After a couple more moments, Rav spoke up again. “That’s fair. We apologize. There has been a glitch in the servers’ interpretation of programmed directions. In short, one of our NPCs has grown in an unanticipated way. It is reacting outside of its programmed parameters, and we are attempting to head her and her agenda off before she can do anymore damage, or before it becomes irreversible.”
“Let me guess—” Shayla had known, but having it confirmed made her wish she’d been wrong, “—Wren’s stuck inside the portion the NPC has taken over and altered, correct?”
“Affirmative.” Sui shot the answer out so fast, Shayla started slightly, not having expected it.
Laria stood and began pacing, hugging herself. “But it’s not just her, is it? It’s her friends too. At least they’re with her, but we can’t reach any of them. Can they even log out? What’s going to happen to their bodies out here?” Panic started to infringe upon her words as she finished, and her deep breath following her questions was more akin to gasping.
Shayla was stunned. Sure, she’d realized that they couldn’t seem to contact the whole group, but she’d never given thought to their bodies or their log out capabilities. But Laria had one of those bodies in her house, so it only stood to reason it was something she was focused on.
Silence followed, only interrupted by some intermittent whirrs and beeps. Shayla waited, the seconds growing longer the more time passed. Just as she was about to say something, as Laria looked ready to burst into tears, Rav spoke up again.
His voice seemed tired, not something Shayla had ever expected to hear from an AI. Weary and a bit frustrated, but overall, he sounded empathetic.
“It’s their whole small raid group. We are investigating what’s gone wrong. The reason we appear evasive is that we don’t have answers for you yet. We’re not giving you answers because we do not have them. There are algorithms behind walls that misdirect us. We’re getting closer but having to dig through an amount of code so huge, it almost feels like a virus. We promise you, we’re not just letting this go.”
A chill crept down Shayla’s spine. For the AIs not to know what happened in their own world was unsettling. “You mean this happened and you only realized it when you noticed Wren not there?”
She knew Rav had been tracking her, just like Laria had.
“It was sudden. She was there, and then she wasn’t reachable. I traveled directly to the location, and the ruins are not what were there a few days ago. I couldn’t approach them, as a bubble kept me out. We routinely check everything, but we’re investigating the glitch we believe is tied to one rogue NPC.”
“This NPC is rogue?” Shayla raised her eyebrow, trying hard not to sigh with relief that Wren and her friends were but a handful of gamers currently even able to experience the glitched content. “How did that happen?”
This time Rav hesitated, and Sui stepped in. The transition was almost seamless, but just enough that Shayla noticed something off.
“That’s what we’re investigating. Since we’ve been experimenting with allowing an increased amount of autonomy to our sub AIs, we think something may have occurred in their processing of certain data. Similar to a loophole.” Sui’s voice held a smooth tone, like a used car salesman of old. “Rest assured we’re doing everything we can.”
Laria glared at Sui, obviously having noticed the pause between the two AI units. “It’s not enough. Get them back and do it now.”
“We can’t work faster than we are, Mrs. Summers.” Rav sounded genuinely sad. “But I assure you, we’re doing everything we can to restore the area.”
Akelu stood proud and tall, his eyes glowing the same fire blue as the flame growing gradually in his hand.
Merlin spoke softly, yet loud enough for it to carry. “I don’t understand. He’s one of the elves in the center statue in Cognitia. He’s one of our heroes. Legends have been written about this guy. Akelu the great, grand, survivor—whatever you want to call him. He’s not evil. He’s a herald of good and healing.”
“What heals can also kill.” Sinister muttered, allowing a sheath of red to encase her own hands, not taking her eyes from their would-be opponent.
“He’s also not this Naishi person the guards mentioned.” The others rumbled in discontent.
“Pretty sure that’s the name the zone has given Riasli,” Murmur spoke softly as she watched Akelu gathering power.
On a whim, she stunned him.
Your Flux spell has little to no effect on such a great being. In fact, you’ve probably just pissed him off. Perhaps think it over more before trying that again.
She blinked at the message. The system’s sarcasm had ramped up a notch since they entered the dungeon. Then she groaned as Akelu’s gaze fell on her. She’d acted impulsively, drawing attention to herself, and now, in hindsight, realized she probably should have cast out her Thought Sensing net before she acted.
He was angry at her, probably for daring to stun him, but at the same time a tone of bewilderment underlay all of his thoughts. Akelu couldn’t seem to understand why he was fighting them, only that he was compelled to do so. They weren’t thoughts so much as feelings, sensations sweeping through him and out of his control, because right now nothing was in control.
He was under Riasli’s power. While mind control was often used in-games as a mechanic, it normally had a short and visible duration to the one under control. Somehow Akelu had been charmed, and it didn’t appear to have any duration, because his panic was obvious and full and with a countdown he could see, he might not have been so flustered.
The flame grew ever slowly in his hands, and Murmur could sense that he was trying his best to slow it down. Something in his core had survived the compulsion he was under. There was a part of him still aware that he wasn’t originally a villain, and while she could feel the effort it cost him, he was going to ultimately lose the battle of wills. He didn’t understand the situation, and she had to admit, neither did she.
“I think we’re going to have to fight him. He’s being controlled, and the only way to free him is to figure out how to break it, which I have no idea how to do, or else to kill him.” Just like they’d done with all the previous victims in this dungeon. She watched the elven legend begin to move. They weren’t all that short against him. They came up to mid-thigh, so enlarging potions weren’t necessary, but she still felt small against him.
“Will he come back?” Merlin sounded highly reluctant.
“What use would a dungeon be if its boss couldn’t respawn?” Havoc used logic, his tone even and soothing. It was a nice change from the rampant sarcasm he’d been prone to earlier.
“True. Pretty crappy game if only one guild at a time could get to a boss, I guess.” Some of Merlin’s pre-getting-impaled-by-a-large-stake attitude poked through.
Murmur couldn’t help the wave of relief that passed over her. Meanwhile, she concentrated on Akelu’s eyes and kept her thoughts to herself. If he wasn’t the original endgame in the dungeon, she had no idea if he could come back. Surviving the fight was paramount, but she’d still try to figure out if she could break the charm while they fought. It had worked for the Guardian, maybe it could work here.
Her stuns were useless, and slowly but surely the bright blue of his eyes was overpowered by the icy blue flames. They glowed unnaturally, and his skin took on an undead pallor. While she knew he was alive as such by the irritated tsk of Havoc’s disappointment next to her, he seemed eerily taken over.
She shuddered as he threw his head back and screamed. It was such a raw sound that her chest ached for him. It was eye-opening to realize that this is what an enchanter could do. Or an evil enchanter. Completely take over a being and force them to act outside of their usual tendencies. And all the while the person you were was still locked away inside, desperately fighting to get out. Taking control over minds, taking away their autonomy, forcing will on them—wasn’t that evil by nature?
A sinuous whisper began in the back of her mind. What if taking others over was how she was meant to play? What if it was the next step in her evolution as an enchanter? And how did she feel about it? After all, surely it was okay to take possession of things in order to reach a desired outcome. Surely no one would mind if she just...
Snowy’s head bumped her hand at just the right moment. She glanced down, blinking at her companion, and the thoughts fled her mind, leaving behind a trail of anger that made her frown.
“Thanks, bud,” she whispered to him, wondering just where her mind might have wandered had he not interfered.
But Akelu’s movement pulled her out of her thoughts. He’d finally succumbed to the force of Riasli’s will and was headed straight toward her, a feral gleam in his eyes she hadn’t thought him capable of. While she had to concentrate on every fight given her role and circumstances, something told her she had to be even more alert during this one.
Devlish was there in an instant, throwing out his Hatred and forcing Akelu to look at him. While the giant elf glanced back over at Murmur a couple of times with utter reluctance, the dread knight ended up wrestling their opponent’s attention solely for himself. She waited for that moment, for its attention to turn solely to Devlish before debuffing it. She’d acted rashly on a whim and it was best for her not to pull aggro during the actual battle. Veranol had lesser versions of some of the debuffs she had, so she gladly overrode them. Having his on first would make her aggro less because the mob was used to a smaller reduction already.
The smash of the elf’s magic against Devlish’s shield shook the entire area. Sparks of black and red and icy blue shot out like fireworks. Crumbles of stone showered over them all, bathing them in a fine dust that made Shir-Khan sneeze. Blue sparks flew from the shield, cascading through the air, only to be swallowed by light that shot up through the indiscernible cracks in the ground. As they merged with the light, it grew brighter and swirled around like it was going down a drain until it was merely a subtle glow beneath them. A sudden wave of apprehension swept over Murmur. The light was never just going to be for show.
“Keep together,” she directed, worried that the floor was going to shoot something out at them once it had saved up enough magic. Not that they’d been far apart to start with, but if they could avoid the glowing section of floor, it would only help them in the long run. Staying out of shit was always paramount to staying alive.
Devlish grunted each time he blocked an attack, the strain visible in the way the veins in his neck stood out. His strong arms strained with the weight of each blow.
“Mellow!” he called out, squeezing the name from between clenched teeth.
The witch obliged, tossing a vial of growth serum with amazing accuracy. Devlish gasped as he grew, now able to rival Akelu in height at just a few feet shorter. The difference for the tank was noticeable, while for the DPS it only mattered that they make their shots as accurate as possible, which was something they’d grown used to doing.
Akelu squealed in pain, and Murmur took her eyes off Devlish to find the cause. An arrow jutted out of his left eye. Most of it hadn’t made it through; it appeared to be just the arrowhead as the giant elf yanked it out of the wound, sending blood gushing down his face. He chanted in a language Murmur didn’t understand and placed his right hand over it briefly. When his hand came back, the wound was gone, but the fire in the eye had gone out.
Merlin glared at the mob, knocking another arrow, a look of sheer determination crossing his face. Murmur had no doubt it had been him who’d sent the initial shot. But Akelu would be warier now. While the wound closed, his health had remained the same, even though the bleed effect didn’t last and wouldn’t reduce it further. Murmur filed the information away to examine later.
She watched his life tick slowly down to ninety-one percent, just as the light coming through the floor off to the right-hand side caught more of the stray power sparks from his spells and glowed its brightest yet. A light rumble began under their feet, and Murmur suddenly knew with absolute clarity what was about to happen.
“Dan, get here now!” she screamed frantically.
He heard the panic in her voice and his face paled. He moved, bard speed helping him on his way. But not even that saved him completely.
When Akelu hit ninety percent, the farthest portion of floor to the right back corner cracked and caved in. Dansyn still had one foot in the collapsing portion, and barely caught the side of the floor as he went down. His songs faltered as he flailed, barely hanging on with the fingers of his right hand.
“Shit!” Exbo dropped his bow and ran to grab Dansyn’s free hand. Havoc made it over as well, leaving his pet to do the damage, and they managed to haul Dansyn up to safety.
The bard had lost his coloring. His feles ears lay flat while his tail twitched in irritation. “What the fuck is with collapsing floors? I don’t think there’s a bottom to that.”
He was shaking visibly, but Murmur needed him to get himself together because it didn’t matter. They all needed to give this their utmost attention. If she wasn’t completely batty, and she didn’t think she’d hit that point yet, this was going to happen every ten percent.
“Dan.” She spoke as soothingly as she could manage, making sure the way her heart beat fast in her chest didn’t affect the way she spoke. She knew the death he’d suffered in Hightower at the tail of the scorpions was nightmare material, she saw intermittently herself. But right now, especially in this particular fight, they needed him alive. “I need you to pull yourself together. We all have to gather in the same spot and keep an eye on the floors. I think the light shining from underneath will give us a hint as to what piece of the floor is going to go next.”
“Could have given him more warning,” Exbo snapped.
“Sure. If you say so. I yelled as soon as I could, and maybe I should have figured it out earlier, but at least we know now. We can all keep an eye on it.” She refused to let the stress of the moment get to her and kept her tone as even as she could.
