They crested the hill. The orcs grunted, the A.I. alerting all those defending the Wizard’s Tower. The sun gleamed off of metal, armor and weapons alike. The overridden avatars geared up and took their positions around the stone structure, a sea of people enough to ring it several times over.Each one of them had been boosted to level 99. Their equipment was all the same: a Radiant Dawn sword, a Radiant Dawn bow, a Radiant Dawn staff. Each piece of equipment Hansen’s team had made gave +99 to all stats, easily outclassing almost every other piece of equipment in RFO. This was the wall before the free players. They;d already tried sending in flying players and beasts, but the whole area was a no-fly zone. With so many Archers, Maguses, and Tamers though, that probably wouldn’t matter anyway.

Orlin Goldstar, leader of the Gazelles and public leader of the army rode up front on his Serroking warbeast, a greenish tiger-lizard hybrid. Wally came up behind him, holding a flag.

“Friends! Fellow players! It all comes down to this! We must fight to be free! We must fight or be enslaved! There’s no more save points, this’s the final boss! You know your jobs! I ask for your strength, give it everything you got! Today is the day, we go HOME!” he bellowed, Wally hoisting the Gazelle’s flag up high. A roar went through the crowd of players, unfurling flags of their own and hurtling forward on steeds of varying species or on foot, all weapons drawn. Alex smirked as the digital armies met, the shouts and clash of steel on steel ringing in his ears once more. He’d never thought he’d experience again, not in this era.

“Vell, they seem to be having-”

“FIREBALL!”

“FIREBALL!”

“FIREBALL!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Three Maguses cast the same spell at once, igniting a hundred-foot explosion on the orcs and stolen avatars, eliminating a good chunk of A.I.’s outright. The orcs pulled up catapults, launching not boulders but more orcs into the player’s ranks, trying to tear them apart from within. Several Bards answered with wardrums and bagpipes, avatars glowing as spells were cast and stats were raised.

“-fun.” Alex finished lamely. “Ve should hurry to the Tower.”

“And uh, how exactly did you plan on doing that? I don’t think there’s any secret entrances.” Lina asked. The party froze, turning to the smirking Allocrax. Yes, that was a detail he’d never mentioned, wasn’t it. “You forgot about that, didn’t you?” she snorted. He wagged a finger back and forth.

“Not to vorry, not to vorry! I have a secret plan for situations like this. It’s called, ‘dealing vith it vhen ve get to it.’ Elegant, no?” the vampire bragged, starting down the hill.

“No.” Lina said, following. Jamie looked worried too, and Mayhew just sighed.

“I can get us in. Here we go!” He waved to the players serving as guards, closing rank and protecting them as they fought towards the door. They yelled and charged, Lina trying to cover as many members of the party as she could. It wasn’t easy, as Mayhew was starting to lag behind. The difference in SPD was too much.

“Slow down!” she shouted, covering his body with hers as a rain of arrows fell on them. Their escort Knights raised shields, but enough got through she was glad she guarded him. They stung, taking 47 damage apiece. If that were the Priest, he’d be dead outright. She would, if it weren’t for her armor.

“Divine Recovery!” He slapped her shoulder and the bar refilled into the green, constantly healing damage to full as fast as she was taking it. “Low HP does have some uses, eh!” he cawed. Lina rolled her eyes, checking the others. Minimal damage on Jamie, herself, the guards...she blinked. Where was Alex?

An orc screamed and fell in front of them, pincushioned by arrows. He’d been trying to sneak up on the black blur in the front of the formation, but was used as the vault when PC Archers targeted the advance. The vampire grinned and chuckled, shoving a tall enemy Magus into a Raider’s sword path, ducking and rolling to pop up in a flurry of blows to cow a squad of approaching orcs.

“Come on, step lively! Get to the door, ve need to get in!” he cried, flipping and springing around. The guards watched slack-jawed as they saw he hadn’t taken a hit yet.

“Move! Move!” Mayhew urged them forward.

“He always like that?” one of them asked as they pushed through the throng.

“Usually he’s even more obnoxious!” Jamie said, his staff shaking in his hands but his expression hopeful. They were doing it! They were really doing it! They were actually getting through the battlefield, filled with levels that dwarfed theirs! They might actually have a chance!

With Alex helping to clear a path, they reached the door in five minutes. The Knights spread out, shields up and hacking away at their former allies while Mayhew, since they didn’t do the quest for the key, tried the brass knocker. It formed into an animated lion’s face and began to intone the much harder way to get in.

“Who dares glare like the sun, is the bane of-”

“Cold steel!” Mayhew answered immediately. He’d never wanted a dumb riddle, but Devan had insisted.

“Correct.” The door swung open.

“Go! Go!” The Vampires shunted inside, Alex rolling in like a ball just before they slammed it shut against the brainwashed avatars.

“Voo!” Alex pumped his fist in the air from the floor, panting. “That...vas...qvite exhilarating. Haven’t done that in years.” he said, catching his breath. The fireplace suddenly lit, and he was instantly on his feet. There was an empty room, spindly chairs and a sofa in front of the flames.

“Yeah, this’s it alright. But it’s supposed to look like a homey kitchen, more than anything.” Mayhew said, looking from corner to corner, finding only dust and cobwebs.

The room was a rough circle, filled with broken, empty bookshelves anda derelict sink on the right. The window above it showed the battle still raging, but the first objective was met. On the left was a staircase, leading up to the next floor.

“The wizard should have shown up by now.” Jamie said.

“Verringale’s definitely cut off from everything else here. It’d be too risky to keep him anywhere else, his recall function brings him back here. If he’s anywhere, he’s at the top.” Mayhew said grimly.

“They couldn’t, y’know, put invisible walls or seal the doors shut, could they?” Jamie asked, peering up at the solid oak door at the end of the stairs. Mayhew tilted his head.

“They definitely could, but this’s also a quest. Changing these takes a lot more time and effort, which I don’t think they have a lot of. Adding invisible walls can be tricky in a cramped space too. They probably pumped up the monsters to max level, that’s what I’d do. But we should hurry, before they have a chance to do anything else.” he said.

“Right. Forvard march!” Alex declared, practically flying up the stairs, sword drawn. He threw the door open, and stopped in his tracks. “Vhat the-?”

The others hurried to see the next level, and they stopped too. Rows upon rows upon rows of towering bookshelves greeting them, illuminated by torches. The floors were marble, while the ceiling depicted fantastical scenes in fresco: knights, dragons, pirates, wizards, fairies, scenes from Norse, Greek, Aztec, Chinese, and African myth. Jamie peered up at Anansi winning stories, and gasped when the painting winked.

“This isn’t real, remember. No need to be surprised. Though even I must admit, such a place is very vonderous.” Alex said, casting an eye around for danger while he admired the work.

“Thank you. All the programmers had a hand in the design on the ceiling, I put a lot of work into Loki there.” Mayhew said proudly, pointing to a snickering blond god in the Norse pantheon. “Anyway, be careful around here. This’s the Library Labyrinth, where strange monsters roam the stacks. I know the way, but be careful. And whatever you do, do not read the books.” He set off, cautiously and quietly. Alex shrugged and followed.

The Vampires walked through the library, the only sound their shoes on the floor. Mayhew guided them unerringly, but slowly. It seemed he had no desire to encounter any monsters, and with good reason. Soon after their trek began, he peered around a shelf then immediately pulled back, flattening himself against the case and urging the others to do the same.

“What’re we-” Lina whispered.

“Shhh!” Mayhew cut off quickly, finger to his lips. A minute later, there was a large thumping sound, as if heavy footsteps on the other side. Mayhew was shaking, petrified, while the others nervously raised weapons. Father Mayhew shook his head, white-faced. They saw a long purple tail absently swipe around the corner, knocking into the stack. A great tremble went through the enormous shelf, knocking dust down and rattling the books. The Priest bit his lip as the walking paused. There was a horrible, wet sniffling sound. To Alex’s horror, it was from twenty feet up.

They stayed very still as the sniffing grew louder and closer to the ground. Lina gripped Hellcrusher’s hilt, the tension making her sweat. Suddenly, the books shuddered and parted, a thin, forked tongue poking through the books. Lina raised her sword and Mayhew frantically pointed to keep it down. This was bad, this was bad! They could not afford any encounter, let alone this one! Even if they won, the effort would drain them. He checked the Bookworm Behemoth's stats and there it was: level 99. Oh, this was bad!

The probing tongue tasted the air, sensing something but unable to divine what. After an eternity of stillness, the tongue withdrew from the shelf, accidentally knocking a few books down. The heavy footsteps resumed, and they breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“Hmm?” Alex looked at the title of one flopped down in front of him, To Kill a Mockingbird. He raised an eyebrow. What was a real world title doing in this game? He shrugged. Whatever the reason, Atticus Finch deserved more respect than that. He picked it up to close it-

“No!” Mayhew squeaked.

-and a large, rabid dog leapt out, chomping at his face. He dropped the book, and a rifle pointed from the pages, aiming at the dog.

BLAM!

The dog disappeared, and there was one horrible, horrible moment of silence as the gunshot echoed through the stacks. The heavy footsteps hurried back.

“RUN!” Mayhew screamed, fleeing in terror as the shelf was tipped over. Thousands of books and thousands of pounds fell, but the Vampires cleared the way. There was a giant bellow behind them as they raced forward, Mayhew’s desperation giving him wings.

“The *bleep* was that with the book!?” Lina cried angrily, sprinting for all she was worth. She grit her teeth, actually able to keep pace with the group. This armor’s SPD penalty was so low!

“Special thing here! Open a book, stuff from it comes out!” Mayhew cried, falling behind. Jamie was in the lead, but his accumulating SPD penalty for his class was biting him hard, especially because he never put any points into it. Alex grabbed him and piggybacked the Priest to get away from another shelf exploding, an enormous purple paw retracting as it chased them from the other side.

“So, ve can call anything in the books?” he asked, not even out of breath yet. He’d been splitting his 5 points per level evenly between his physicals and the remainder in SPC. The weight of the single extra person by now was negligible, a fact he exploited now to scramble up a shelf like a monkey.

“Only in this area!”Mayhew said.

“Good enough.” He started rummaging through the books. Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice, Don Quixote, Treasure Island, Three Musketeers… “Aha!” He held aloft his prize.

“The Jungle Book?” Mayhew said. Alex threw the book over the side, and there was a pause. Then trees and foliage exploded into being with a rush of exotic birds. The bellowing increased, along with the snarls and roars of a bear, tiger, panther, and wolf pack.

“I suggest ve go the opposite vay!” he called to the others. Not needing to be told twice, the Vampires turned left at the next end.

They ran on and on, but after five minutes they came to a stop, panting and gasping. That was difficult, even for Alex.

“Vhich...vay now?” he said, trying not to fall over. Damn the need to breathe in virtual reality!

“Let’s see...um…” Mayhew gazed around, orienting himself with the mural on the ceiling. “We’re a ways away, but...that way. And don’t touch any books!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. They’re meant to be used this vay, ve should use our resources.” Alex said, ignoring him and going over titles.

“Uh, A-Alex? I, I think Mayhew’s right. T-These books are dangerous, we should leave them alone.” Jamie said, approaching the vampire carefully.

“Mmm, yes and no, my lad. I qvite agree these books are dangerous. That’s vhy ve need to be exceedingly careful. Look around for the fairy tales and folklore, vould you?” Alex asked, scanning the shelves furiously. The easiest, fastest way through this level was here, if they could find it. Mayhew rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, Alex! We’ve got a lot of trekking to do, and we’re wasting time here. Not to mention endangering our lives!

“Vhich is exactly vhy ve need to do this. Lina, check the left, Jamie check the right. Look for Arabian folklore, specifically.” Alex said, scouting out the next stack. “Have you programmers never heard of the Dewey Decimal system!”

“That’d make it too easy to abuse, like you’re trying to do. Listen, the entire place is randomized, we’ll waste time trying to find whatever you’re looking for. At least let’s start heading to the exit.” Mayhew said.

“Very vell. But keep your eyes open!” Alex said, and they set off again. It was slower going, trying to read and walk, but it was a reasonable compromise. They passed bizarre sections of the library, complete with soft grass and mushrooms growing on the books, veritable cliffs made of paper, and even a bridge over a waterfall. Mayhew led them unerringly through the maze, hiding to avoid encounters, passing many tales of folklore but none Alex wanted.

“No. No. No. No. Useless.” he growled, eyeing the dark shelves with contempt. Was a book with Arabian folklore really that hard to find!?

As they passed, something caught Jamie’s eye, an Arabic name.

“Hey.” WIthout thinking, he picked it up from the shelf. The book shook and fell open on its own. “Ah!”

“What?” Everyone turned to see Jamie closing the book, but it springed open every time he did.

“Oh no! Close it! Close it!” Mayhew exclaimed.

“I-I can’t!” Jamie wailed, slamming it shut and holding it. It shook in his grip, growing stronger. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I just saw an Arabic name!”

“Calm down! Vhat is the book?” Alex barked.

“Um…” Jamie held it up for the party to see. The Necronomicon: The complete collection of works by the Mad Arab, Abdul Al-Hazred, a.k.a. H.P. Lovecraft. “Uh-oh.” he said in a small, small voice.

“Why would they title it like that!?” Lina screeched, but Jamie could hold it closed no more. An enormous tentacle sprung out, swiping at the air. He threw the book as they ran, black horned faceless humanoids flying out of the pages on ebon wings. Water poured out, flooding the aisle. Scaly figures swam past, gigantic red eyes glaring out from the saltwater. The Vampires were swept away by the sudden current, splashing to stay together.

“I can’t swim! I-bllble!” Jamie cried, disappearing under the water. Lina grabbed him and hoisted him onto her shoulders.

“Hold on!” she said, kicking off of a shelf. Her STR was too high for her armor to weigh her down.

“Yaaaaaah!” Jamie screamed in terror, the rising water cutting off escape, a green tentacle reaching out to seize his head and sweet, succulent brain juices.

“Pinpierce!” Thunk thunk thunk! Jamie looked over to see Mayhew standing in a lifeboat, the tentacle pinned to the shelf by darts.

“We’re not having any of that today!” he declared. The group swam over to the boat gratefully and piled in, Jamie hugging his arm.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.” he said in a rush.

“Where’d this come from?” Lina wondered.

“Over there. Fearless leader read it from a book.” The Priest pointed to a large nineteenth-century whaling vessel traversing the stacks. They rowed like their digital lives depended on it. As they came up, they could see Alex skimming books while arguing with the white-bearded captain.

“Off m’boat, or you’ll be keelhauled, blasted botheration!” the captain thundered.

“I told you, I’m trying! All I must do is locate a specific title!” Alex shot back, shaking his fist. He tossed books he didn’t need over the side, and one nearly hit Jamie’s head. “Sorry lad!”

“It’s alright!” he called, noticing the name of the boat on the side. “The Pequod? Why does that sound familiar?”

“Beats me.” Lina shrugged.

“It does sound familiar, can’t recall how though.” Mayhew said, tying their rowboat to the ship.

Suddenly, a whistle sounded. Everyone perked up, and the captain spun around automatically.

“Off the starboard side! Thar she blows!” the captain cried, grabbing a harpoon. “We’ll get the beast yet!”

“At last. Go Ahab, catch your little fish.” Alex said, finally able to put his full attention to the books.

“Did he say…” Mayhew said, eyes wide.

“C-Captain Ahab!?” Lina cried.

“Look!” Jamie pointed. The ship was turning towards a surfacing whale, an enormous white monster currently struggling with a tentacled, dragonlike, humanoid behemoth.

“No! I shall have my revenge! Full sail! Top speed! I will not be denied!” Ahab shouted furiously, frothing at the mouth and waving the harpoon above his head.

“Yes yes, you do that.” Alex said absently.

The Vampires screamed and desperately tried to untie the rope dragging them to the titanic struggle, moored fast to the Pequod.

“Hurry! Hurry!” Jamie cried, trying and failing to help Mayhew’s fumbling to get loose. The ship was moving too fast and the waves were too rough, it was proving too hard to untie.

“Move!” Lina commanded, and they parted as she broke as she swung Hellcrusher with all her might, chopping into the rope and ship in an explosion of wood. Free, the Vampires cheered as they drifted away from the whaling vessel headed straight into the fray, the captain laughly madly as they charged on.

“What about Alex?” Jamie said.

“He’s a big boy, he can-oh.” Lina’s eyes went wide and her voice cut out as Moby Dick rammed Cthulhu head-first, the eldritch abomination clawing viciously at the whale. But they were both tumbling into the ship...and onto the party too.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” everyone screamed. This was it!

“Hang on everyvun!” Something red darted from the ship, slamming into them, grabbing and pulling them as fast as Alex’s impressive SPD would allow. Piled on they zoomed off, flying out of the tsunami splash zone and soaring off into the sky.

Jamie found himself face-down on rich, burgundy fibers. It was soft, with an intricate purple design tracing throughout the entire...what was this?

“Mmmph! Pah! What? What’s going on?” he said as they unpacked themselves on the strange flat surface. He saw gold tassels fluttering on the corners. It-what? Was it-he noticed how high they were, getting away from the spilled ocean and now flying above the stacks proper again. “Yipe!” Alex threw his head back and laughed.

“What is this? Where’d you get it?” Mayhew asked, trying to stay low and flat with a death grip on the fabric.

“You need to read more folklore! I found the book I vanted!” The vampire held up his prized tome. "1001 Arabian Nights!”

He grabbed a tassel on the flying carpet and tugged, veering to the left to avoid the dragon looking up irritatedly from its’ book through its’ reading glasses. The screen proclaimed it to be a Bookwyrm, level 99 of course. It huffed a breath and went back to reading.

“Do not vant an encounter right now. I’ve had enough for three lifetimes. But hopefully our problems vill be over soon.” Alex gleefully turned pages, eagerly searching out the desired passages. “A-ha!” He reached into the book, rummaging around until he pulled an old, dull bronze, beat-up oil lamp. He held it aloft like it was the greatest treasure of all time. The rest of the party oohed appreciatively.

“Nice! What is it?” Jamie said, cocking her head in confusion.

“Are you serious?” Lina said.

“This, my lad, is a piece of folklore that is very, very dangerous...and powerful. Ve may not be out yet, but this is an instant vin button.” Alex explained.

“Don’t get cocky, that’s a powerful A.I., but it only works on this floor. We definitely made sure it only worked that way.” Mayhew tossed at him.

“Ve at least have our ride. This, Jamie, is Aladdin’s magic lamp!” His face lit up in recognition.

“Oh, Will Smith!” he said. Everyone’s faces fell while Mayhew snickered.

“At least say Robin Williams. I know it’s kinda old, but that version still stands up.” Lina said.

“Other version? There’s more than one?” Jamie said.

“Yes. Now ve shall see RFO’s version!” The vampire eagerly rubbed the dull lamp to a polish, making it shine. Then, it began to shake in his hand.

Lavender smoke poured out of the end, acting like a solid object instead of dispersing in the wind. It began twisting in a spiral, until a darkness left the opening, growing thicker and thicker until the cloud burst, revealing a large, dark green-skinned man floating in midair, a trail of lavender mist back to the lamp in place of legs. His chest was bare, a violet sash around his waist, and two massive bracers made of gold was all that he wore. He stroked his long goatee, fiery orange eyes looking down upon them.

“Greetings, Master. I am the Genie of the Lamp. Ask of me for wishes three, and if it is within my power I shall grant it to you. Know this: within RFO, my all-powerful might only extends to this floor. Only three wishes per person who rubs the lamp, and the lamp and book shall vanish afterwards. Only one level-up at a time can be granted per wish. Now, Master. What do you ask of me?” the genie said, bowing low. Alex’s mind raced, analyzing this information and the parameters of the wishes. All eyes were on him, and he narrowed his.

“I vish the emergency eject button vas triggered, getting everyvun out of here.” he said carefully. There was a buzzing sound.

“That vish is not within my power to grant, Master.” the genie said. He frowned.

“You gotta make it more simple, like for items or gold or something. Just teleport us to the exit so we can get outta here.” Mayhew said.

“Hmm. Genie, for my first vish, I vant us all to be fully restored, at full health and magic points. Can you do that?” Alex asked.

“Of course, Master. Granted!” The genie waved his arm, and suddenly all their bars were completely filled, and even the water from the ocean dip dried up. Jamie marvelled at his newly-dried cloak completely mended and stain-free.

“Vunderful! Genie, you can teleport us to the end of this maze, can you not?” Alex asked.

“Of course! All it will take is a wish. Would you like me to grant it?” the genie said demurely. Alex tilted his head, the rush of wind barely a distraction as they flew.

“Can you move the exit?” he asked. Now it was the genie’s turn to tilt his head quizzically.

“I can move you and whomever you wish to it instantly,” he began, but Alex shook his head.

“No, I mean move vhere the exit comes out. Ve leave through the door, ve enter the final floor of the Tower. Can that be done?”

The genie’s eyes were wide, his head twitching and clicking unnaturally, making Lina’s skin crawl. Unlike before, he didn’t answer right away, his body turning a brief lime-yellow as the A.I. calculated.

“I don’t think that’ll work, we made the code pretty rigid and defined.” Mayhew said with confidence.

“That wish...can not...be...granted…” he said, buzzing with static. “ERROR, ERROR, UNKNOWN COMMAND. XP#[email protected]”

“I see?” Alex said with a raised eyebrow, when he clearly didn’t.

“The *bleep*? The *bleep* did these guys do to the Tower’s code?” Mayhew siad with a frown.

“What? What’s going on?” Jamie asked.

“It’s part of the code pertaining to anti-teleportation fields, all the rooms in dungeons have them, at least inwards. You can port out, but not back in.” He pulled up a screen, several of them, flicking between them with his frown deepening. “It seems like...they reinforced the field to make it harder to crack and so that no teleportation will work on the floor period. But it’s so slapdash all the floors below it have been cancelled!” he exclaimed. Alex immediately turned to the genie.

“I vish the exit connected to the floor below the top vun!” he said.

“Wait-” It was too late. The genie turned orange, puce, purple, and red, vibrating and shaking to the left six inches. The shelves below them started to melt and warp, and for a heart-stopping moment the carpet disappeared, reappearing before the virtual gravity could take effect.

“Wish...granted!” the genie said, appearing normal.

“This game sucks. It’s full of bugs.” Lina said sourly, ripping free where the carpet had fused with her avatar.

“It’s not supposed to.” the Priest moaned weakly, adjusting his hat. He didn’t understand it. How was that wish granted? It shouldn’t have been, but with all the changes the Radiant Dawn had made had...mutated the code, for lack of a better term. That was really not good. He looked around worriedly. If they didn’t hurry, the entire thing could crash with them in it.

“For my final vish, take us all to the exit!” Alex proclaimed, and the genie bowed.

“So it shall be, my Master. Fare you well.” The genie vanished in a puff of smoke, and the Vampires sparkled like a glitter bomb had gone off, and they faded into nothingness. A second later, they were at a marble archway between shelves. The party let out a ragged cheer.

“I suppose we can’t bring the carpet up with us?” Jamie asked.

“No, it’ll only work on this floor.” Mayhew said absently, examining the oak door up and down. It shouldn’t be possible, but nothing seemed wrong with it.

“We’re making good time. I know this’ll be rough, but-” Lina started, but a screen popped up in front of her.

A screen appeared in front of all of them.

“Greetings, players of Real Fantasy Online.” It was him. Jet-black hair, smarmy and handsome face, blue-trimmed white coat with white breastplate, sheathed sword slung casually over one shoulder.

Lucien.