Matt was home just long enough to stash his gold and fully equip himself when Filbug knocked on his door and stepped in.

“Pardon the intrusion, but one of the royal porters is here.” Filbug gestured to the sack of soul siphon crystals on the bed.

“One of the who?” Matt asked, reaching for the crystals and shoving them into the foot locker and securing the container.

“Apparently you are late for an execution.”

Matt sighed. “What? Saving the queen’s life wasn’t enough for the first week on the job?”

Filbug spun to the side and went rigid as another man walked into the room. Matt eyed the so-called porter from head to toe. He certainly dressed for the part with silks and fine cloths fitted neatly on his athletic frame.

“You’re late,” he said.

Matt made a show of looking at where his watch would be. “Sorry mate, I guess time got away from me.”

The porter snapped his fingers and nodded to Filbug. “Leave us.”

Matt started to argue, but Filbug spun on his heels and left without so much as a glance backward.

“I’m not a player,” the porter said.

Matt’s brow drew into a tight knot. “You work for E.M.?”

The porter nodded. “I’m a compliance manager,” he said. “Let me break it down so you can understand. You need to show up for your job.”

“You mean the one that lasts for ten years?”

The man chuckled and shook his head. “You don’t get it.” He raised a wand and pointed it toward Matt. A green bolt of lightning shot out and blasted Matt in the chest, throwing him through the air and into the room’s far wall. “Your steward won’t help you, neither will your guards.”

Matt slid down the wall and barely managed to keep himself on his knees. His lungs burned, both aching for air and unable to fill themselves. It consumed nearly all of his energy to turn his face upward toward the compliance manager.

“You’ll notice your HP bar didn’t appear. My actions don’t read as an attack within this world. That’s why no one else will help you. More importantly, it’s also why I can use this for as long as I deem necessary until you are... compliant.”

Matt nodded his head and held his hands up in surrender. “This isn’t right.”

The manager sneered. “That’s the first intelligent thing you’ve said. In fact, you’re correct. It isn’t right that you’re off gallivanting around while our paying customers are expecting to see an execution. You get paid to play your part. Fail to do so, or try to break character, and you’ll answer to me. Understand?”

“I want to talk to a real manager.”

Fiery pain ripped through Matt’s chest. His muscles contorted, twisting his body into unnatural configurations while flashes of green washed over him. He tried to scream, but his body wouldn’t let the sound out, instead smothering him and crushing him into the ground.

When the lightning finally released its grip, Matt was motionless on the floor in a pool of sweat and blood. Meaningless blood that was little more than a digital representation of the hell he’d just gone through. He let out a groan and tried to get up, but his avatar wouldn’t respond.

“That happens after a bit,” the manager said. “See, the avatar knows you should be dead, but without the input from your HP bar, it tends to glitch out a bit. It’s kind of like a dead leg or hitting your funny bone, except, this is much worse.”

Where did they find this sadist?

“So, what’s it going to be?”

Matt could hear boot steps coming closer. A shadow stretched over him, and then he watched as the manager knelt in front of his face, tracing the wand across his forehead and over the bridge of his nose.

“Just blink once for yes, and twice for no.” The manager tapped the wand to Matt’s forehead and laughed. “This can all end right now if you give me the right answer, so choose wisely.”

Matt felt the first breath fill his lungs, and for half a second he was relieved, but then a wave of nauseating pain ripped through him. Feeling was slowly coming back to his extremities, but it was anything but pleasant. It was like an army of roided-up ants were feasting on his fingertips and toes. His lungs burned as they struggled to function once more, and his heart couldn’t find a steady rhythm.

The manager leaned in close, squishing Matt’s nose with his wand. “Are you ready to get to work?”

Matt hated everything about this. He hated the contract he’d been tricked into, he hated the world he was stuck in, and he hated this disgusting monster in front of him. Still, Matt wasn’t dumb enough to invite another round of shock therapy. He blinked once.

The manager’s wrinkled his nose and puffed a bit of air while shaking his head. “I was kind of hoping you’d say no.” There was a flash of light and all of Matt’s pain was gone. “But, a deal’s a deal. Now, let’s go, shall we?”

Matt rose to his feet, checking his avatar as he did so, and then motioned for the manager to lead the way. “One more thing you should know about compliance managers.” The man put away his wand and held his hands out to the side. “Punch me.”

Matt hesitated.

“No, really, go ahead. You may as well know now. In the past I’ve had employees try to sneak up on me and ambush me. It’s better to learn the lesson while I am in a forgiving mood. Go ahead, hit me, I promise I won’t retaliate.”

Matt shook his head. “No, it’s all right. I understand.” He guessed the manager was somehow impervious to damage or pain. No need to test the theory.

The manager scowled. “I gave you an order, hit me, NOW!” The manager pulled his wand back out and waggled it.

Matt sighed and gave a three-quarter strength swing. The manager laughed as the fist passed through his avatar. “Now, use a weapon. Try to take my head off.”

Matt shrugged. “I get it, you can’t get hurt.”

ZAP! A small green bolt bit him in the shoulder.

“I gave you an order. Comply!”

Matt equipped his axe and swung it directly at the manager’s neck. It bit half way through and the manager grabbed the shaft, eyes wide and mouth agape. The manager started to scream. Matt let go and backpedaled until he tripped onto his own bed.

The manager then tossed the axe down and started laughing. “Ha! Gets ‘em every time!” Matt swallowed and put a hand to his thumping heart. The compliance manager chuckled a bit more and then scooped the axe from the floor and held it out for Matt. “Nothing you do can ever hurt me, but be forewarned that I can manipulate any object I wish. Understand?”

Matt nodded.

“Now, let’s go and perform an execution.”

Matt’s shoulders slumped as he followed the manager downstairs. All of the guards were oblivious to the man, or at least they were indifferent. Filbug sat in the corner, looked up, and offered a smile and wave as if nothing had just happened.

“All NPCs are programmed to obey all compliance managers. They will never be tricked, hired, or compelled to attack us.”

“And even if they could be, you’d be impervious,” Matt said aloud.

The compliance manager stopped at the door, turned to face Matt, and smiled. “Precisely.”

“The time between executions...” Matt stopped mid-sentence, unable to figure out exactly how he wanted to phrase his question.

“You can spend free time in the town or in the nearby areas. So long as you’re on time to your in-game duties, we will get along just fine. Oh, but don’t break character with anyone either. If I walk into a room and hear you chatting about something from outside this world, you’ll be in trouble.” The manager slowed his pace and laid a heavy arm across Matt’s shoulders as they walked. He leaned in, keeping his voice soft, but that only seemed to make him more threatening. “And, do keep in mind, there are things worse than the wand. If you get out of line too many times, I’ll put you into the rotation.”

“Rotation?” Matt asked.

The manager snorted and broke away. “Think of it as a loop where you can’t escape.”

Matt frowned. A time loop didn’t sound nearly as bad as lightning torture, but he wasn’t about to argue with a sadistic boss who had a literal Emperor Palpatine complex.

When they arrived at the palace’s southern courtyard, there were three people chained to large stone pillars. In front of them was a platform with a chopping block in the middle, complete with a bucket to catch the heads.

“Act the part,” the manager warned. “Solemn, a little bit of flare, and a whole lot of blood. Got it?”

Matt nodded. The manager escorted him up to the top of the platform and then three trumpet blasts pierced the air. Within seconds there were NPCs and players alike flooding the courtyard.

“People of Falchor, before you are three condemned to death,” shouted the manager. Moments before he’d been torturing Matt with lightning, and now here he was MCing a frickin execution and hyping the crowd. “Their guilt has been established.” He turned and pointed to the first person, a skinny looking human with oversized blue eyes and a bright golden mohawk. “Jessop Fasetti, you have been found guilty of sedition. Your sentence is death by beheading.”

Two guards unlocked the manacles and seized the human by the elbows. Matt expected to see the man resist, but he seemed to be resigned to his fate, walking in step with the guards up to the platform and silently kneeling before the chopping block while the guards tied him in place.

The manager turned to Matt and nodded.

Most of the crowd cheered and hollered, some of them booed and shouted, but it was impossible to tell if they were booing him or the condemned. Matt presented his axe and slowly stepped toward Jessop. Solemn and a bit of flair. Matt counted out his steps and controlled his breathing. He concentrated so hard on trying to walk solemnly that he nearly stumbled over his own feet. When he was within striking distance he lowered his blade to rest it just above Jessop’s neck. After all, he didn’t want to take a swing and miss. There was no part of him that wanted to see how much shock therapy he’d get for a botched execution.

Matt took in a breath, raised his axe slowly, and the world around him seemed to go still. The shouting and booing stopped. He could hear the gentle breeze and the gulls along the coast beyond the walls. He locked his eyes on his target, a small freckle on Jessop’s neck, and then he swung down. He hardly felt a thing as the blade easily severed the head, shooting it off beyond the basket as blood geysered out into the crowd. The guards untied the headless body and then unceremoniously tossed it off the side of the platform.

“WOOOOOO!”

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Matt backed up two paces while the guards went for the second prisoner. The compliance manager read out the next name along with the crimes and sentence. Matt didn’t pay any attention to the man. He just focused on his part. Once the prisoner was in place, Matt made a show of walking to the other side of the chopping block and took the next head.

Again the crowd erupted in cheers.

The guards and manager repeated their bits for the third and final time. The third prisoner, unlike the first two, cried out for mercy. One of the guards punched the prisoner and then shoved a gag into his mouth. Matt sighed and went through the motions, barely allowing the guards to back up after tying the prisoner to the block before swinging his axe.

Trumpets blew out as the last prisoner was executed, signaling that the show was over.

Matt put away his axe and turned to face the manager. He took a couple steps toward the man when he noticed a form rushing the platform. Matt reacted out of instinct, pulling his axe and turning to face the attacker.

A cloaked man took the stairs two at a time then leapt toward Matt. Matt sidestepped and jabbed the axe shaft into the assailant’s stomach. The man doubled over and fell to the platform. Three more were ascending the stairs.

“Guards!” the compliance manager called out.

Oh sure, save your lightning for me and just sit this one out why don’t ya? Matt shot the manager a dirty look, but the manager just shrugged and then gestured with his chin toward the attackers.

The crowd erupted in commotion. Some tried to flee, others took advantage of the chaos and started fighting. Matt focused on the immediate danger. He kicked the first attacker in the face and then stomped the man’s groin on his way to meet the others.

A man with a beard lunged in with a rapier, Matt, figuring the weapon wouldn’t hurt nearly as much as the manager’s wand, took a direct stab to the left arm, then lashed out with a savage front kick that launched the attacker into the others and had them all tumbling down the stairs.

Arrows rained down from above as guards appeared on the surrounding walls. The two guards on the platform joined in, leaping down and demolishing the three attackers with a show of exploding heads and gushing blood.

Matt turned back to the first attacker and noticed a familiar face.

“Shadowfingers 9,000?”

The man struggled to his feet and shrugged. “You didn’t think I’d forget about you, did you?”

Matt started in, breathing heavily, axe at the ready.

BOOM!

A flash of light erupted on the platform and suddenly Matt couldn’t feel his avatar. Had the manager zapped him for using the player’s gamer tag? No, this was not lightning. There was no burning pain, and his muscles weren’t convulsing. In fact, they were limp. He blinked a couple of times before he realized he was flying through the air. A column of smoke was rising from the platform, but Matt was now twenty yards away from it and falling fast.

He crashed onto the cobblestone and tumbled a few more yards before his avatar came to a stop.

Shadowfingers 9,000 was running straight for him.

Matt saw his health bar drain to just a little more than twenty percent, but his stamina was entirely gone. He doubted he’d recover enough for more than one counter attack. He’d have to time this perfectly.

The assailant was ten yards away...

...seven

...three

Matt shot his right leg up, heel catching Shadowfingers 9,000 in the groin. He locked his knee and kept his back rigid, allowing the idiot’s momentum to push him up and over. Shadowfingers 9,000 landed in a heap about two feet beyond Matt, groaning and rolling from side to side on the cobblestone.

By the time Matt rose to his feet, two guards had managed to send arrows into Shadowfingers 9,000’s back. The rest of the courtyard was cleared now, except for the corpses littering the cobblestones and the guards pouring in to secure the area. Matt couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he'd brought his soul siphon crystals along for the fight. He'd have to make sure he had them for the next execution.

He turned to Shadowfingers 9,000 and shook his head. “You need to find a new hobby,” Matt said. “This is getting tiresome.”

“I won’t give up,” Shadowfingers 9,000 snarled.

“You should,” Matt replied as he brought the axe down and cleaved Shadowfingers 9,000's skull in twain. “You suck at this.”