North American Broadcast Corporation (NABC) newsroom

Oct 25, 2046 :09:00 AM EST

The camera is panned out as far as it can go allowing the to women to sit as far apart as they can. The On-air light blinks green. Both women start speaking at once. After a few moments of this they both stop and glare at each other. Then the reporter, now in new clothes and looking rested, starts. “Following our earlier report of loss of control of the worlds robots and androids. We have confirmed that all automated systems worldwide have gone rogue. Every nation has declared a state of emergency as the worlds armed forces have lost control of the majority of their assets. There has been no one claiming responsibility for the loss of control.” The news anchor picks up, “On a different and similar report. We have confirmed that the worldwide players of Esper Online have been abducted by Siarra Inc. The players who have been locked in game, have now been relocated to Siarra Inc’s numerous properties worldwide.” The reporter cuts in continuing the report, “All attempts to access the interior of the buildings are being blocked by Androids or rogue robots. When confronted with firearms the Androids do not hesitate to return lethal force. Reports of raids on police stations to retrieve in game Officers has also been confirmed.”

My skill at alchemy grew quickly and I left the Inn twice that night to return to the tower and learn new recipes for the Alchemist Trainer. The second time I left both kids had fallen asleep on the couches. When my materials finally ran out it was nearing midnight and the siren of sleep called me to the lure of my bed. In the morning I awoke with the sun. Moving into the suites main room I saw both kids were gone. Cursing I dressed and rushed downstairs hoping they just went down for breakfast. They were remarkably absent, but the Common room was rather full of Travelers talking and eating. Looking for the Innkeeper, I turned as the door opened and both children entered sweaty and dirty. Ace sported new bruises that were quickly fading. “Are you okay? Did you get attacked?” I demanded. They both stopped surprised, then Ace answered. “No sir. You told me I could go train when I had time. I woke up early and went to the Training Grounds.” Kim yawned, “He woke me up, so I went with him.”

Gritting my teeth, I turned and found a table. 15 minutes later a harried looking Innkeeper sat down four mugs and three platters of food. “Sorry it is busier than I can handle here now.” I looked around the busy room, “It’s okay seems like time to hire more staff.” The Inn keeper looked at me, “You know I think you may be right.” With that he turned and went back into the kitchen. After breakfast we went upstairs and got our things. I loaded up all the potions I made. Then I gave two Minor Healing Potions to each of the kids and set aside 2 for myself. I also decided to keep two minor mana potions for myself. When we were ready, we left turning first for the Market Square. On the way Alex woke up and messaged me in Clan chat. We agreed to meet at the South gate in an hour.

The Market Square had been torn up bad with all the violence of the last few days. Guards were everywhere now, but most of the stalls were gone. Sighing I placed the extra potions I had up for sale on the Auction and went to go meet Alexander.

That day we went to the forest south of Hub. The creatures closest to the city were slightly higher level than us, which made them perfect for three travelers. Sadly, they were mostly animals like wolves, bears, and some angry deer. They provided nice meat, and I am sure Leather if any of us knew how to skin. But other loot was very slim. Near the end of the day something good did drop from a Scraggly Wolf.

Lucky Loot!

Scrap of Wolf skin(Grey)

Quality : Poor

Scrap of Paper (Grey)

Quality : Poor

Wolf Meet x2(White)

Quality : Common

Linen Cloth (White)

Quality : Common

Aether of Fury(Blue)

Quality : Rare

Restrictions: Warrior

Alexander and Kim both made excited sounds. I smiled, “Well lookie here. Seems our Miss Kim has found herself some bling.” Alexander frowned, “Hey let’s not be too hasty. Those things sale for a fortune. We could split the money we made from it.”

Kim frowned rubbing the emerald green pyramid shaped gem in her hands.

I shook my head, “Na we have a warrior who could use it. I say need before greed.”

Alexander looked a bit put out but relented. I then instructed Kim on how to equip the Aether. I also checked mine while the subject was fresh in mind.

Aether of Force (Blue)

Knowledge: 4,573 of 1,000,000

Quality : Rare

Restrictions: Magi

Interestingly enough it looked like the Aether was gaining Knowledge at the same rate I was gaining EXP. So far, I hadn’t seen any results or actions, but it was gaining knowledge. Shrugging I looked at Alexander. “Hey, I’ve not spent my Talent Point yet. Where did you place yours?” Alexander looked confused, “I went with Improved Summoning from the Summon Tree. Why do you ask?” I started looking for more prey and answered over my shoulder, “Well I can choice from The Warriors Aggression or Defense Trees. Or I could choose from the Elemental and Force Trees of the Magician.” Alexander whistled, “Damn I want to be a Magi. You be cool.” I laughed, “Maybe but I do not have access to the “ Summoning or Balance Trees.” The conversation paused as I shot a Magic Missile at a Briar Stag and we killed it. Alexander stood from looting the corpse and said, “With the way you like that spell you should choose something in the Force Tree.” I nodded finding another target and shot another Magic Missile at it. After the bear was dead, I responded, “I was thinking the same. But should I choose Mighty Force to improve all my Force Spells, Improved Magic Missile giving me more missiles or Improved Shield.” Alexander gestured to the shield on my back, “Do you even use a shield?” I laughed and sat on a log. With No Acolyte we had to rest often to recover HP and Mana.

“This stupid shield interferes with casting. Anyway, you know the spell is different.”

Alexander nodded, “yeah but do you even have it yet?” I shook my head thinking. In the end I still did not spend my TP.

As the sun began to set, the wind picked up and the clouds that had rolled in over the afternoon started to weep. Alexander was sheathed in light as the wolf we were facing died. “Ding!” “Well folks I say we go home and get out of this rain” I said. Kim shook her head flinging rain from her soaked hair, “ agree!” “Well then I’m going to hearth back. Have a good night Lady and Gents” Alexander said as he pulled out his Hearthstone and began to focus on it. A moment later he vanished. Kim and I pulled out our stones and began to focus, Ace grabbed ahold of me and we disappeared.

The rain did not let up over the next two days making our hunting miserable. By the end of the day or as soon as we each leveled, we would return home soaked and grumpy. Each day after we got back, we would rush across the street to the Millers Market a general store. There we would sell most of the day’s bounty. Sadly, with so many Travelers flooding the market prices for poor quality items were decreasing. Additionally, prices for other items were increasing as demand outstripped supply. There were two good things. First potions I made sold fast and for good gold on Auction. Second with the rain fewer Travelers were willing to venture out, so there was less competition for creatures.

On the morning of the fifth day in game, the storm finally broke. The clouds still thick and grey no longer wept a cold storm upon the world. Going down to the Common room I was preparing for a much more enjoyable day. Then a notice in guild chat soured my mood dramatically.

Chat:Guild:Brotherhood of Steel:

To all members there is a mandatory meeting in the old farmhouse East of Hub an hour after dawn today. If you are not there you will be kicked from the Guild as inactive. If you’re not near hub contact an officer to get excused.

With a sigh I told Alexander in our Clan chat that I was going to be late joining him. Then turning to Kim, I said, “So I have to meet with my guild before we go out today. Do you want to wait here for Alexander or …”? The girl cut me off. “I’m not a noob! I do not need an escort. No Ace and I have some running around to do anyway. He has a familiar so when your done let us all know.” I nodded at the pragmatic girl and pushed away from the table.

I was able to find the requested house easy enough, but it was no farmhouse. The building was a three-story affair. In its prime it had 3 large wings coming off the main house and ruins of outhouses littered the surrounding area. Now though its Victorian styled splendor was a mess. Only one wing still looked safe enough I would risk walking in it. The back one had the top two stories collapsed in altogether. Moss clung to the building tearing apart the beams and blocking windows.

Upon entering the entrance hall, I stopped again surprised. There was easily 80 people in the room. Most of whom were not Hume. All the races were represented but not necessarily in even amounts. The veteran gamers showed a pension for the more bestial species. There were large numbers of the Immortal and Elemental races. Even Orcs outnumbered the Humes. Most of the players who went with either Elf race were women and in general there was very few goblins or halflings.

Everyone was gathered in small groups and talking amongst themselves. You could easily pick out the smaller groups that made any large collection of people. Sadly, my habit of ignoring the guild had left me out of the clique forming. Although it looked to be in my favor. I was the highest-level player I saw in the room.

With a mental command I opened the guild roster, then I gasped. We had over 500 members! Moving and sorting the list around I quickly found I was right and wrong. I wasn’t the highest-level player in the guild. I actually placed 6th. But I was the highest-level player in the Hub area. The room grew quiet, so I closed the menus and turned toward where everyone was looking.

On the second story balcony 11 people stood, the officers. Penelopy was up there as was Lothorb. With a hand Lothorb called for quiet, in the already quiet hall… I snorted, earning me a grin from a large Orc nearby. “Greetings Brotherhood!” Cheers went up around the room. When the room quieted, he continued, “Its been an interesting few days, but we seem to have reached the first critical point with a success.” Murmurs and questions were mixed with cheers and sounds of relief. “To those that do not know Most of us have been in game now for over 4 days now. You may or may not know but the human body can only live 3 days with no water.” The room broke out in renewed noise, but he yelled over it. “But we are still here! I can say for myself that I am not feeling any worse for it either! This means someone out there is taking care of our bodies in the Real world!”

half cheers went up but most stayed quiet waiting. “This means that our concerns with Logging out has been noticed by the Real world and people are working on getting us out! I would expect to hear something from the Dev’s any time now!” Cheers went up now, excited and hopeful. I had a sinking feeling though. I hadn’t thought about the timeline. It was true I didn’t think my body was dying or dead. I felt fine. So, I guess it did mean someone had taken care of it somehow, but if the Devs were working on a fix, then why keep us in the dark?

Lothorb continued, “With concerns of our RL safety down we turn our concerns on the guild. When I created the guild and came to Hub, I was told by a reliable source that this was a good area for leveling and dungeons.” I growled, I created the damn guild and I had told him nothing of the sort. “We now know its less than promised. To add to the trouble the distressed turn of events has led to a large amount of violence. True the guards will protect everyone in good standing with the Hume faction, but since most of us are not Hume, that protection can be spotty. To make things worse if a player kills one of us, they do not suffer Rep loss with the Hume. Whereas if we kill one of them, we do. We already have numerous guild mates who are unable to venture into town.” Grumbles and curses sounded with a few agreements. “So, we are going to set up base here.”

Someone called out cutting Lothorb off, “did the guild buy this mess” Lothorb frowned at the interruption. “Please calm down, there will be time for questions later. But to answer this one. No, there was only four properties available to be bought in Hub. We did not find them fast enough to purchase them. This house is unowned. We will all look for an opportunity to buy a Guild house but for now this will be our home.” Lothorb paused seeming to expect cheers, none came. He went on, “In the meantime our Guild grows! We have an extensive recruitment team in Starter City. They are reporting that the influx of new players has not slowed. If we are to believe them, it has actually increased! Downside, most players seem to log off moments after getting to Starter City. That makes finding high speed players hard. Upside, our teams rock, we are finding many. At this time, we are focused on setting up stronghold locations in 5 empires . Three here in the core and one on the Elemental and Outer Realms. Most of our players are being sent here! Soon we will be the largest Guild in Hub and then no one will mess with one of our members.” Now cheers went up across the room. I shuffled my feet. “In the meantime, we will be setting up details for each of our players. We will be assigning you to groups with tasks and goals, so please stay here until you receive your group and task. Good hunting my Brotherhood!” With that he walked out of sight. The large Orc next to me muttered, “What about being able to ask questions?”

I didn’t wait in the crowded room to have an officer tell me what to do. I started to leave, but Penelopy caught me anyway. “”Azriel! Stop!” Sighing I turned and forced a smile. The Undead women was looking worse. Her hair had all fallen out and there was full sheets of skin that was in the process of sloughing off her skeletal frame. She saw me Cringing at the sight. “Don’t worry I’ll look better soon, we found that eating meat reverses the decaying process. Soon I’ll look good as new.” I nodded still not meeting the milky white orbs of her eyes. My instincts all told me to either run from or smash this thing. I refrained and forced my smile back into plaice. “How can I help you Penelopy?” She reached into a pouch and withdrew a sheet of paper. “We have found a Dungeon with small Raid options. Your job is to take these players and go conquer the dungeon.” I paused before taking the paper, “Wait you want me to lead a raid?” That wasn’t too bad. She nodded, “Yeah there is a bandit hideout south of Hub. It is a dungeon or 15-man raid. I knew this was right up your alley, your going to be starting our Raiders.” I smiled, “Thank y…” She cut me off, “Do not thank me. I had no say in the names your taking. Lothorb wouldn’t listen to us when we tried to push to let our average level come up before attempting this.” I paused, “How bad is it?” She shrugged, “Its not too bad, you may be able to do it.” With that less than outstanding endorsement I read the letter. It clearly gave directions to the Dungeon’s entrance. It also gave me a list of 14 names. It also clearly said I was supposed to go out today.

I looked up the names and groaned. The group was not set up well. Not knowing the type of Dungeon, I wasn’t sure which configuration would give us the best odds, but 5 warriors, 5 Acolytes, 2 thieves, and 2 magicians was not ideal in any situation. This configuration would be heavy on front liners and low on DPS. If it was a great big field with creatures that would let us bash our heads against them for a day or two, then this might work. Frowning I pulled out my Clan Familiar and pushed on the bird’s head.

Chat:Clan:The Conclave:Azriel: Hey who’s up for a raid?

Chat:Clan:The Conclave:Kim: ME! Oh Goodie! Goodie!

Chat:Clan:The Conclave:Alexander: A what? Aren’t we too low to raid?

Chat:Clan:The Conclave:Luxus: Count me in.

Chat:Clan:The Conclave:Azriel: Hey Luxus! I thought you were gone man!

Chat:Clan:The Conclave:Luxus: I never logged out, but I kind of hit a funk. I’m not feeling too hot about this extended stay in ER.

Chat:Clan:The Conclave:Alexander: Me too but getting out and doing things helps me.

Chat:Clan:The Conclave:Luxus: I’m hoping it will help me too.

I gave them the directions to the dungeon and invited them to my group. I had everything I needed so I didn’t bother heading back to Hub. Instead I turned straight there and began to figure out what type of group to form. From watching Guild chat I could tell the names on my list were all getting their orders and making their way to the dungeon. I smiled, well some of them would not be happy.