Chapter 15: Bone Puzzle

We were back in the mage’s dusty little tavern, and I watched for a long spell as he tinkered. From my hexagonally fractured vantage point within the scepter, I could see my vines splayed out on tables, jars of what I assumed was my ectoplasm, and an old wooden target dummy where Azwold was lashing me together bone by bone.

The mage talked at me as if I were barely there half the time. I was unsurprised to learn that he liked to talk to himself. He prattled on under the assumption that trans-scepter communication was impossible. I wondered how he had got that notion.

My several attempts to howl at him from within had failed. But I had heard most of Azwold’s talking, and some of his whispering.

Keeping my dealings secret from Azwold while he was offline promised to be difficult. I planned to rely on my lack of facial expression to play innocent.

Warden Ralos was conspicuously absent from the scepter. This allowed me to acquaint myself with some of the "malevolent” denizens. I hardly thought them all that vile, though my opinion was arguably biased.

And thanks to Azwold’s self-chatter, I learned he was aware Ralos was gone. The mage was none too pleased.

“This is gonna take a while, Eld,” he said to my empty skull on the target dummy. “Don’t worry. I can do it. It’s just way easier with inside help.”

I was more nervous about the mage cobbling me together on his own than I was of him logging off. That was the truth of things. The idea of zapping out of existence was more merciful than hobbling around as a botched experiment. And sadly, I knew he was unlikely to seek help.

“Why would Ralos disappear on me now?” he sat down to rub his forehead. “First his low level alt’s in-game messages got shorter, less useful, then stopped altogether. Now he keeps leaving my forum messages on ‘read.’ What am I supposed to do, Eld? We put this whole plan in motion together. You know I’ve never met him in person? Don’t even know where he lives. I hate to say it… but I think I’m being ghosted.”

I was uncertain of exactly what he meant. But I may learn more than is comfortable, if he ever managed to summon me from the scepter.

As Azwold connected my left hand—Prize of the Oubliette—I noticed that he was careful to overlay the vines. He positioned the tips to look like claws. The power to permanently boot players from the game was overpowered, in my opinion. And I was glad he valued it too greatly to deny me it.

When he came to my rib, we both noticed something new.

“What’s this?” he asked, holding my [Eld Rib] in front of the scepter.

The question was rhetorical, of course, but I had no answer. There was a span of time I could not account for. The likeliest thing was that DarkNeon had used her Gem Craft to trifle with the rib.

Azwold tried to twist and tug the silver band inlaid with a yellow gem, but it did not budge. He found a knife and attempted to pry the metal.

“It’s really on there,” he complained. “What did you get into? Alright, never mind. Let’s get you fixed because I have questions.”

Before he turned to add my rib to the bone puzzle, there was a bright flash. Dozens of citrus yellow light beams zapped at the rib. Azwold stiffened, surprised. He donned his [Mantis Goggles], turning the [Eld Rib] over in his hands. The light died moments later. I realized it was a singular, concentrated beam, distorted by the hexagonal panes of scepter glass to appear barrage-like.

“WTF was that?” said Azwold, “Looks like Gem Craft? How have I not seen this before? Bright ass laser beams that can shoot through walls? Kinda hard to miss.”

He sigh-growled at me. I detected notes of disappointment. However, my list of grievances against the mage was lengthy, so I was unbothered. Perhaps someday we would be even.

He returned to his work, periodically scanning the room. His vigilance was understandable, and I wondered what he might do if the Light Rogue found us here.

“Alright,” said Azwold, “I’m ready here. Are you?”

I did not know if I was, but my willingness seemed relevant to few.

“Ready or not, here we go,” said Azwold opening his tablet to began reading [Spell: Summon Skeleton].

Shadow and glitchy pixels swirled and I was once again inside my skeletal body.

[Player minion has reached level 10!]

There was a flow of information into me, electric and invigorating. I sensed my horizons of perception widening in real-time. Flashes of insight or eureka moments paled compared to the feeling.

I was more structurally complete now than I had been within memory. Both hands, both feet, and now a rib. But of far more importance was new understandings attained.

I knew what I was:

The spirit of a real human being, locked inside of a video game character.

I fell to my knees. It was all I could do to fathom this concept without screaming. My fear had come true; more bones, more insight… and more questions. My self-awareness had leveled up, but my consciousness was still interwoven with a quest NPC’s data.

I understood better what the mage meant by terms like ‘game data,’ ‘programming,’ and the like. I also understood better why Telemoon was such a problem. But my concept of ‘self’ felt like mixed paint; too blended to untangle.

“Welcome back,” said Azwold. “Grats on double digits. Have a nice little stroll?”

I composed myself enough to untwine from the target dummy. I gazed around the room, feigning disorientation. “Where am I?” I said.

“Just don’t,” he said. “You promised to stay in the car and wait.”

I recalled no such promise, but I said, “Did I not?”

He rolled his eyes at me.

“I must have fallen asleep at the helm. Yes, now I remember. Within an hour’s half, I think, I grew deeply tired. Away from the keyboard? The game must have thought me idle and commanded me to sleep.”

He squinted suspicion at me.

My quandary was: convince Azwold I deserved autonomy while he was offline,—an uphill battle given recent mistakes—or keep my dealings without him secretive and acquire a second [Helm Wheel] or [Hive Scepter Ring]. The Light Rogue was a little more adventuresome and divorced from consequence than the mage. With her, I could follow a wider variety of leads.

The mage’s obsessive nature came with its own benefits. For now, dealing with the two of them separately might yield the most progress.

“Fine,” Azwold said, “if you won’t tell me where you went, how about the data? You got a new bone. Any new memories?”

The knowledge that I had died in the real world—his world—and was now a ghost trapped in Realms of Lore… such knowledge could be the single most useful piece to our questline puzzles. My bond with the mage required I lend him my trust, and truth be told, mayhap he had earned some by now.

“Azwold,” I said, “I am a human ghost trapped inside the game.”

There was a clatter behind the bar. A ceramic mug fell to the floorboards, cracking into shards.

“Hold that thought,” said Azwold, dashing to grab the [Hive Scepter]. “Who’s there?”

“Okay,” came a voice from the bar. “I was just gonna tail you guys and snoop, but WHAT.”

There was a glittery shift and DarkNeon appeared, sitting atop the bar.

“Great,” said Azwold. “How much have you heard?”

“Most of it?” the Rogue shrugged. “But please, keep going. I’m all ears.”

“I formally invite you to take your ears and scram on outta here,” he said. “This is my place.”

“Dude, listen,” DarkNeon leapt to the floor, “you’re messing this all up. You need my help.”

Azwold laughed so hard he almost dropped the scepter. I was taken aback. Had he ever laughed like that? Not that I had seen.

He caught his breath. “Help from a Light Rogue? That’s rich.”

DarkNeon just leaned against the bar waiting for him. “You done?”

“Thanks for that,” said Azwold. “I’ve had quite a week. Needed a laugh.”

Ignoring his insult the Rogue grew serious. “My old guild disbanded recently,” she said, “and it’s all Telemoon’s fault. A few of my friends joined them.” She slammed her fist on a table. “It’s a cult! The Eld told me you’re going after them. I want in.”

“Everyone wants to take them out,” said Azwold. “What do you suggest? Storm their HQ with a level 10 skeleton and a level 31 Light Rogue? C’mon… gimme a break.”

“You’re really gonna sit there and lord two whole levels over me? Nothing short of a max level, full party would stand a chance. We might even need a raid.”

“A raid?” Azwold stopped to ponder, then shook his head. “Listen. Thanks for bringing the Eld back to me. I can look past you stealing him and galavanting off to who knows where, but I think we both know Telemoon can’t be beat head-on. I work in the shadows.”

“Ppphhhfff! I’m a Rogue, man! Helllloooo? If you think going at them covertly is best, then what’s the prob? Let me join you.”

“She is more capable than you think,” I said. “Also, I just had some major revelations, and it feels a touch unwell inside my skull. No more outbursts, please. Instead, I have a proposal for the both of you.”

“For the record,” said Azwold, “one of my top suspicions turned out to be true. I also had ‘consciousness uploaded,’ or ‘super AI.’ Among others. Anyway, go ahead?”

“You can’t seriously accept ‘I’m a ghost trapped in a game’ as reasonable?” said DarkNeon.

“I’m open to more compelling theories.”

“Ahem!” I interjected. “I barely believe it myself, but reality is whatever persists over time. Am I wrong? For me, this is the reality. I’m a ghost in a game. I promise it is more conceptually difficult for me than you, so calm yourselves.”

“Yes, fine,” Azwold waved a hand. “Let’s hear your proposal.”

“Duel,” I said.

Azwold’s cheeks puffed out, holding in muted air.

“And if I win?” said DarkNeon.

“I will friend request you on the spot and formally invite you to drive my Sweet Baby on our way to the next leg of my epic, class-specific questline. But when I win, you buzz off and keep quiet?”

“Done!” the Light Rogue brightened and the entire room lit up along with her mood. “Let’s step outside, Spirit Boy!”

“C’mon Eld,” said Azwold smiling, “watch me mop her up.”

“As you say,” I bowed and followed.

“Okay,” Azwold whispered to me, “now that I’ve put you together again, it’s possible for me to summon a different minion for this fight. I only have to take you to the tavern for repairs if you pull that stupid wandering-far-away trick.”

“Why must you repair me? Why can I not be summoned like other summoning spells?”

“Because players and minions can’t be separated. Using range-extending items like the [Hive Scepter Ring] is a risk/reward choice. If something happens to the minion while on an errand, the player suffers big setbacks.” Azwold shrugged. “I can summon you normally most of the time, but if something goes sideways when you’re far away it becomes a problem.”

“What happens to me if you summon alternate minions?”

“Well, you should revert to an icon among my minion summoning abilities. We haven’t tested your skeleton’s object permanence enough to say for sure what’ll happen, though.”

“Is everything one big experiment to you?” I said. “The stakes are rather high for me and I’ll thank you to keep that in mind at all times.”

“Yes, of course,” he whispered more closely. “So I’m thinking… you wanna last hit her? Get rid of her for good?”

“While I appreciate your willingness to fight dirty on my behalf, I would rather not.”

He sighed deeply. “Eh, okay. I dunno why I’m overthinking this. We can take her even with you only level 10. Let’s have a look at your abilities. [Spell: Tooth Rush I]? Really? We can work with that, I suppose. Decent versus stealthies. What about now, though? We’ve got unspent skill points.”

“We? I will choose my own abilities, thank you.”

“Any day?” DarkNeon was tapping her foot.

“Whatever,” said Azwold, “pick some, then. Let’s go!”

The duel challenge flag dropped at a mid point between them. Azwold and DarkNeon grinned at one another, both engaged in pre-fight preparation. Potions quaffed, ability buff spells cast, and strategies considered.

I hurried, choosing the safest-looking spells: [Spell: Tooth Rush I], [Spell: Regen III], [Aura: Wisdom Tooth I], and a new spell that had opened up at level 10, [Spell: Thorns I]. Damage reflection.

And then, though I preferred to stay neutral, Azwold compelled me to attack.

“Have at thee?” I said.

And quick as a flash, I was rendered dazzle blinded.