This is becoming a habit, he thought as he returned to consciousness, wondering if concussions passed on any permanent damage to a players real brain. Either he had been knocked out longer than he realized, or the impact with the branch had not been as bad as he believed it to be, because he felt no pain at all. He could feel the dried leaves beneath him, feeling them break and crumble with the small movements he made, allowing him to determine he still lay where he had fallen, then remembering his final thoughts, those of something chasing him, he tensed up, panic filling his mind and body. Was he now a zombie, infected for the next twelve hours ?

He cracked open one eye carefully, seeing it was still nighttime, the area where he lay illuminated from the light of a dancing fire. Turning his head, he could just make out the shadowed back of a figure seated on a log, any distinguishing features hidden in shadow. His slight movement must have alerted the person, because he could see the head turn in his direction. The shadowed figure placed something down on the ground in front of it and stood up, and from the outline he knew it was most probably human, or elf, but too tall to be a dwarf.

As the figure approached him, he closed his eyes far enough to give the impression they were fully shut, but leaving them open just the slightest bit so he could observe his surroundings, reaching surreptitiously towards the blade at his side. A brief flare up of the fire illuminated the approaching figure, allowing Gordo to see that the person was dressed in tight green leathers, and he relaxed, knowing the person was not affected by the zombie virus, but still unaware of his own condition, but his hand still gripped his weapon.

“I know you are awake, so why don’t you come and join me at the campfire.” Came a deep masculine voice. Gordo tensed again, but made no other move to show he had heard this, or was even awake. “If you want to stay there, playing possum, you go ahead and do that. When you are ready to talk to me, or are hungry, I have a nice haunch of rabbit roasting over the fire.” The figure retreated back and took up his position on the log.

Gordo lay there a few minutes, considering his options. He could stay here, hungry, pretending unconsciousness with a man who knew he was only pretending, or he could go over to the fire and see what the man was doing in the woods, and have something to eat as well. Sighing, he pushed himself up and walked towards the fire, but kept his hand near the hilt of his swords hilt.

As he took a seat on a log located on the other side of the fire from the man, he looked up from where he held a piece of meat impaled on a stick over the flames, the fat from is dripping into the fire and hissing. He nodded at Gordo and, reaching around the flames, handed him the stake he was holding. “Here, take this one, I have another here.” From his side he picked up another piece of meat on a stick, and positioned it above the flames.

While he was roasting the meat, he took the time to examined the man opposite him. As he had noticed before, he was wearing green leathers and had a pair of gloves tucked into his belt, also dyed green. To his side was strapped a sword and a longbow lay on the ground beside him. Short, black curly hair lay above bright blue eyes, and a pair of slightly pointed ears could be seen poking through the curls. He already knew that man was about six foot tall, fairly short for an elf.

Gordo looked into the eyes that had also been examining him and held the gaze. “Thank you..”

“You can call me Tam.” The man replied, smiling at him.

“Tam ?” Gordo replied and tried an identification on him. The information he got back was not what he had expected. “You’re a ranger in the kings guard ? What are you doing out here in the forest at night, don’t you know there’s zombies in this forest ?”

Tam poked one finger into the meat, testing it, then lifted an eye enquiringly at Gordo. “I am a ranger, yes, where else would you expect a ranger to be You, sir, know my name but you are yet to tell me yours.?”

“Oh.. my name is Gordo, sorry about that. What I meant was I didn’t expect to see any of the cities militia out here in the forest at night, it just surprised me, that’s all. Aren’t you worried about the zombies that have appeared here ?”

Again Tam smiled. “No, the zombies do not cause me any concern. I was already out here on another task given to me by King Alamond when the news of the zombies presence was announced. I was on my way back to him in regard to this outbreak when I happened upon you, running through the forest being chased by one of the foul beasts. It only took me a few seconds to dispatch the creature but by then you had already run into that tree.” He squinted his eyes at Gordo. ”You were already far out here when the zombies appeared, so tell me, do you have any knowledge of the cause of this outbreak.”

Considering this request, Gordo decided he wasn’t going to just give away free information, he wanted some in return, not that he needed it, but because it may prove helpful one day. “Yes, I know a little about the source of this outbreak, but I want information in return for giving it to you, elf”

Tam laughed. “Just like a human, always negotiating, always bargaining. The first thing I will give you, for free, is I am not an elf, I am a half elf. I will allow you to ask me one question after you have told me what you know… agreed ?”

“Agreed.” said Gordo, then proceeded to tell his story, starting from the point the had left the caverns, all the way up to where he had run into the branch. Tam sat quietly throughout, without interrupting, listening intently.

After Gordo had drawn his tale to a close, Tam sat back, thoughtful. “So, this Melbert was the cause of the zombies. Hmm… this situation may not be as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Pardon ?” said Gordo. “Not as bad as what ? A player running around with the power to spread a zombie virus, I think that is as bad as it could be.””

“Player ? I know nothing about player, whatever that is, but no, it could be worse, much worse. My first thoughts on this may have been the start if an invasion by the Darklanders.”

This puzzled Gordo. “Darklanders, what the hell are darklanders ? This was the second time he had heard the word darklander since he entered the game. He thought back trying to remember the first reference he had overheard. “Is this something to do with someone called Lord Voltanus ?”

Tam reared back, his hands darting towards his sword. “What do you know about the dark Lord Voltanus ?” he demanded, his voice displaying his suspicion and distrust at hearing these words. “Speak, now, or feel my blade.”

Gordo backed up in sudden fear, slipping off the log he was sitting on, and sprawling to the ground. In a flash Tam was standing over him, his sword drawn and pointed directly at Gordo’s throat. “Nothing, “Gordo stammered out, ”I only know the name. I overheard it at Lady Gisselles place. The said Lord Voltanus was due, and something about Darkland spies. That’s all I heard.”

Tam scowled, the sword tip remained unwavering at Gordo’s throat. “Lady Gisselle, eh, the Kings favorite. What were you doing at her residence.” he asked

“Returning a ring to her, she had lost it.”

The scowl on Tams face remained, but after a brief moment of contemplation, he withdrew the blade, sheathing his sword. “Get up. If you were doing a task for Lady Gisselle, then you wouldn’t be an agent of the darklanders.” He held a hand out, and Gordo grasped it, allowing himself to be drawn up to his feet. “I think I will take you to the king, he needs to listen to what you have to say.” He turned and started packing up everything around the campfire

Gordo looked on is dismay as Tam threw the partially roasted meat into the darkness. It had been a while since he had eaten and he knew that a hunger debuff wasn’t too far away.

“Come, we will be travelling fast, so try to keep up with me. If we encounter any undead, don’t stop, we have no time to deal with those, there will others to deal with them.” Then he took off at a run, and Gordo followed him, stumbling over unseen forest detritus in the dark.

There was one benefit from the two hours it took to return to the city, other than the numerous breaks they had to take to allow Gordo’s fatigue to drop, this being an unexpected announcement that he had just gained a general skill called night vision.

Night Vision

This is a skill that anyone can learn. Night sight allows the possessor to see more clearly and further while in darkened locations. Each level of night vision gained will improve a players vision by 0.5%. Dwarvern characters will gain 1% per level. This skill can not be trained, but will gain experience through use

At level 50, this skill will include an infra-red capability, allowing players to detect heat sources around them,

He read the message as he ran, before wiping it away. It didn’t look like it would be much use to him for a long time, then concentrated on keeping up with the fleet footed ranger.

Tam didn’t stop at the city gates, but did slow his pace to a jog, much to Gordo’s relief. Tam took the time to glance over his shoulder a few times, almost as if to check he was keeping up but didn’t speak. This silence lasted all the way to the castle at the heart of the city, a tall imposing structure constructed along traditional medieval lines. Gordo had not been here before, so his first reaction was to slow down, gaping in amazement at the crenellated walls and towers, all built from large grey stone blocks. A this display of tardiness Tam tossed an angry glance his way, so Gordo quickly picked his pace up.

Four militia stood guard outside the gate to the castle, and Tam slowed to a walk as they drew up in formation, alerted by their approach. Coming to a halt in front of one who seemed to be in charge, Tam snapped off a salute “Reporting in to see the king. I have a civilian here with me that has information the king needs to know.”

The soldier, a militia sergeant by the look of him, snapped back a crisp salute in return, “I’ll send one of my men to alert his chamberlain immediately.” He turned and gave instructions to one of the soldiers behind him, then turned his gaze upon Gordo. “You are not permitted inside the castle while carrying arms. Place all your weapons against the wall and you can retrieve them when you leave. No one will touch them there.”” He kept his eyes on Gordo, follwing every move until Gordo had done as requested..

The soldier who had departed a few minutes before, came jogging back out of the gates and back into line. The sergeant nodded at Tam. “You can proceed.” Tam nodded back and they entered the gates to the castle.

The walk to the king, or actually to the waiting room to wait for the king to call for them, travelled though many corridors, richly furnished with colorful paintings in gold frames and silk tapestries, They passed many statues set in alcoves, as well as palace guards, stationed at every corridor intersection. These guards eyes followed them, suspicious of every move, and prepared for action if the interlopers into these corridors started any trouble.

Their trip ended when a finely dresses NPC met them at a pair of double doors, made of a pale wood and ornately carved. He bowed deeply to Tam, but ignored Gordo completely, not even sparing a glance in his direction. “The king will see you shortly, if you could wait in the right antechamber, I will come for you when the king calls for you.” he indicated the door to the antechamber with his hand, and watched as they entered it.

The room they entered was cozy, with a fire burning in a fireplace, and comfortable chairs positioned near it. Between the chairs was a low table, a carafe of wine standing on it, along with two goblets.. Nest to these was a fine china plate, gilt-edged, loaded with a fine selection of pastries, the smell alone making Gordo’s mouth salivate.

Tam dropped himself into one of the chairs and poured some wine for himself. “Take a seat, Gordo, you may be here a while, depending on how busy the king is. Help yourself to the pastries, too, if you’re hungry.” With that, he slumped down in the padded chair, pulled his cap down over his eyes, and appeared to nod off.

Feeling uncomfortable just standing there, he followed tams example and took a seat in the other chair, finding it extremely comfortable, much more that it should be from how it looked, just another benefit of a virtual world. He considered the enforced period of inactivity we was going to be made to suffer, and decided to use it productively. He hadn’t had time to check his profile since entering the caverns, quite a while go, and thought it was time to see what changes had been made.

The first thing he checked was his announcements, the ones he had turned off, and found quite a list of them. His trip through the caverns had increased his overall level to six, rewarding him with two more attribute points to distribute. He placed one in intelligence and one into constitution. A quick check also showed him that his class level in Sword Master had increased to level 4, and his skill in Small Arms was now up to level 5. Progressing nicely.

After leaving the castle, he would sell the gems he had stored and use the money to get some more skills, and, hopefully if there was enough, transfer some out so he could purchase a month of access to the forums, automap feature and the auction house. That, he knew would cost him five dollars, but didn’t hold out much hope of having the fifty gold to transfer out for that.

He had also received a number of achievements, mainly for being the first to help Lady Gisselle and the first for Completing the Green Forest Caverns. Not many, but he had only been playing a few days. He didn’t check to see if this would improve his standings, for he was sure that other players had already gained more than he had so far.

His contemplations were brought to a halt as Tam shook him by one shoulder, how much time had passed unknown.. Gordo looked up at Tam. “What ?”

“Come, its time. The king has called us to attend him.” He could see the chamberlain waiting at the door to the antechamber.

He stood up, grabbed another pastry off the plate and followed them out. In the corridor outside, the chamberlain turned away from the double doors to the main audience hall and proceeded down the corridor. Gordo looked back at the audience hall doors in confusion before jogging a bit to catch up to the other two. He whispered to Tam. “Isn’t the audience hall the other way ? Why are we going this direction ?”

Tam gave him a quick glance before speaking. “The king will be seeing us in his private chambers, Gordo. If you had been taking any notice, you would have already known this.” The chamberlain gave both of them a look of annoyance.

After a few minutes walk,, they finally arrived at a door, two guards posted on either side of it. The door was fairly ordinary looking, with nothing to indicate it was any different than all the other ones in the corridor. One of the guards reached across and opened the door, allowing the chamberlain to enter. Tam looked at Gordo, and followed the chamberlain, leaving Gordo standing in the corridor, uncertain of what he should do.

“Go in, you fool.” hissed one of the guards. “Don’t make the king wait for you.”

A hand reached out from the door, Tams by the color of the leather, and grabbed him by the collar of his own armor, and jerked him forward, through the doorway.