When the world slowly appears to me I realize it’s still the digital one, and I’m not in the inn anymore. Or even Cutter’s Cry for that matter. Twinkling stars of white and red speckle the black night sky. Two moons cast a dull glow over rolling plains and forest at the base of a mountain range in the distance. The wind is chilly and humid, but the bonfire next to me warms my side and illuminates a looming gray wall not far off. It’s at least thirty feet tall and made of massive blocks that would put the Great Pyramid of Giza to shame. A shadow moves across it and I freeze.

“Hey,” a voice says. “He’s awake.”

I turn to face the voice and realize, with displeasure, that the wizard Finn is holding his hands over the campfire with a devilish smile. Even Lenard is standing next to him, leaning on his staff as he chews animatedly on something. “Yeah,” Lenard says, smacking his lips. “Alloy will be here soon. Figured we’d wake you up before then.”

I shove myself from the ground groggily, feeling as though I just woke up from a coma or a stasis pod. My head is aching, and rubbing my temples does nothing for it. “Where am I?” I mumble. “And what was that? Did I die or something?”

Finn laughs. “No, you didn’t die. If you did, then you wouldn’t be waking up here, smarty pants. Don’t you know that wizards at third level can choose a sleep spell that works on any target that is half or less the casters level?” His spotty mustache curves as he smiles, and I remember that he’s a level 4 wizard, making him twice my level.

“No, I didn’t know,” I say, “but you're admitting that you knocked me out? How long have I been asleep?”

Lenard spits something into the darkness around the fire. “It’s been about 12 hours, I’d wager.”

Gosh, Rin was kidding when she said that this was a PVP game. I’m barely out of the tutorial and I’m already playing the loser.

Thinking about Rin and Cutter’s Cry jogs my memory. I remember what I was doing just before I fell unconscious, the conversation I was eavesdropping on, and my blood begins to boil. “Back at the Inn, what the hell was that talk about taking over the Shield?”

Both Lenard and Finn crease their brows and glance to one another in confusion. They shrug, then Lenard asks, “What’r you talking about? Taking over the shield? Think you hit your head when you fell.” He smiles behind his red beard, but not the sinister kind that makes me think he knows more than he’s letting on. It’s just a smile of general amusement at my situation. Even Finn doesn’t seem suspicious.

I curse under my breath. “You weren’t the ones in the room, were you?”

They shake their heads.

I let out a groan. They’re telling the truth. “Do you have any idea what you interrupted back there? And why? Why would you knock me out and take me away from Cutter’s Cry?”

Lenard shrugs, then wanders over to a tree stump and sits. “I thought you would’ve figured out the moment you woke up and saw us, smarty pants.” With a sausage-sized thumb, he points at the massive stone walls behind him. “We gotta run this dungeon, and we need a tank just like we were saying, so you’re being volun-told to help us.”

“And trust us,” Finn says, “we’re saving you from Rin, not interrupting you. You’ll see that the River Raiders aren’t as bad as she says they are.”

“Ain't that the truth,” Lenard adds.

I’m not sure how to respond. So far, I don’t like these guys one bit, but bringing up Rin like that does make me a bit uncertain. I mean, I do barely know her. If she was lying to me about the River Raiders, I would have no clue. Maybe she was in the wrong, I don’t know. A sigh escapes me, and I turn around to take a better look at the massive stone walls and think for a minute. “So what kind of dungeon is this? A castle?”

A new voice comes from outside the camp, young and smooth, says, “Yes.” From the darkness that surrounds the campfire, a stranger with a long pale face, thin fingers, and about as young as I am, walks towards the fire on long strides. I get the chills all of a sudden; I barely heard him coming. He’s tall, with blonde curly hair, and his black robes flow in the breeze.

Alloy II of the River Raiders

Lv. 5 Necromancer

HP = 105

Strength: 16

Fortitude: 15

Dexterity: 19

Intelligence 30 (31)

Wisdom 16 (19)

Sway 25

I take a closer look at his equipment and a few things stand out to me.

(LV. 3) Wayfinder’s Ring: +3 WIS

(LV. 5) Necrotic Wand: +3 DMG

Made from a goblin’s femur.

I wonder exactly what his combat role in the game is. Based on his stats, I think he’s either DPS or support, but I don’t know for certain what a necromancer does beyond raising the dead. He certainly looks the part. Something about his voice and his yellow eyes is eery and disturbing. It makes me wonder if it’s some kind of character effect from being a necromancer, or if it’s just Alloy himself that’s creepy.

He lifts a palm and motions to the wall next to us and says, “You are just outside Five Roses Keep, a low-level dungeon that’s rarely cleared, but well worth the long trip for its loot.”

“And about how long of a trip is it?” I ask.

“A ten hour journey from Cutter’s Cry.”

My jaw drops. I’m ten hours away from Rin and the mutineers, all for some stupid dungeon? Putting on my best tough-guy tone I ask, “Guessing by your level and the way you carry yourself, you’re the leader of this little group, aren’t you? How could you do this to me? Do you have any idea what you’ve interrupted?”

Alloy’s brow creases in confusion, then he half-nods. “Lenard and Finn are my friends, but I’m not a leader in The River Raiders, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

I shake my head. “Well, since you’re in charge I’ll ask again; do you have any idea what you interrupted me from in Cutters Cry?” A pang of shock runs through me as I put the pieces together. I clench my fists and ask, “Or was it you behind that door, talking about taking down the Shield?”

Alloy tilts his head to the side, looking just as confused as the others did. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about the ship called the Shield. I overheard someone talking about a mutiny, about taking it down or at least gaining control of it by manipulating the captain somehow.”

All three of them shake their heads, and Alloy speaks again, “That was not us, and I highly doubt that you heard it correctly because taking over a ship wouldn’t gain anyone anything. Even when we spend most of our time in a digital world where we constantly learn to better fight each other, no one would be so daft as to threaten an entire ship. You need to re-think what you think you heard.”

I stand up with clenched fists, furious. This whole situation seems just way too suspicious. Right as I was about to see who was behind the mutiny, Finn knocks me out with a sleep spell makes it seem way too coincidental. Grief courses through me as I realize that I have no proof of any of my thoughts. Even if these guys are innocent, it’s still my word up against their trust in me to believe what I’m saying. There’s nothing I can do.

“Fine,” I say. “Don’t believe me. I know you need a tank, but what’s so special about this Five Roses Keep that you had to knock me out and drag me all the way here?”

Alloy walks over and stands by me, heating his gaunt fingers over the fire. The light reflects off his yellow irises. “Long story. As you can guess, there are other dungeons much closer to Anticor’s capital, Birch Castle, that most people do a majority of their leveling in. Five Roses Keep is not very popular, but it’s a dungeon that the Developers are always updating and changing to try to draw new people to. They’ve increased loot, made it easier, but it has one fatal flaw; it’s simply too far away for people to take the time to come here. We’ve come here because the Five Roses Keep has one of the highest numbers of undead skeletons. Necromancer’s like me use their bones to cast a plethora of spells at higher levels, and I’m stocking up.”

“You are going to be our meat shield,” Finn says with smile.

I shake my head, irate that all this trouble is over some digital bones for a video game character. These guys interrupted something that could cost the Shield hundreds of lives, and that’s taking the benefit of the doubt that aren’t involved and that’s why I was really knocked out. With a flick of my wrist, I bring up my HUD and say, “I don’t have time for this. The Shield is in trouble, whether or not you believe me. I have to warn the captain.” The option to log out hovers in front of my eyes in crystal blue text, but before I can concentrate on it Alloy speaks again.

“That’s fine.” He shrugs and meanders a step closer, his robes blowing in the wind. “I understand, but I also want you to know that I placed a spell over you. I know you’re too new to have noticed yet, or know any better, so take a look at the back of your left hand. Necromancer’s aren’t limited to raising dead things. We have power over life, too.”

A faint symbol of a green skull pulses just below my skin, like an eery neon tattoo.

“That is the rune of a marking spell called Identify. With it, I’ll be able to sense your life force across the entire continent. Even if you logout to do whatever it is you think you need to do, I’ll know when you log back in and I will always be able to find you again.” Alloy leans in closer, and his breath washes over me as he says, “You’re going to help us clear this dungeon, whether that’s today, tomorrow, or next week, but I would hope you’d be smart about this and do it now.” He brandishes a dagger from his robe, and while I know his class can’t be proficient with it and there’s no way he’d kill me, I’m still afraid of getting stabbed. He’s three levels higher than me and Finn and Leonard are on his side. They could certainly make Libertas miserable for me. If only they understood. If only I knew the truth.

I want to scream out in frustration and slug the smirk off his face, but I know I can’t right now. I have to tell the captain of the Shield what’s going on. I shake my head and log out.