Matt finished donning the dead man’s clothing and armor. Fortunately, looting and swapping out the equipment didn't take into account the fact he only had one arm. Two main problems remained after he finished changing, however. First, he couldn’t get rid of his cursed pants, so his stamina debuffs would still remain in full effect. Second, his face was fully visible under the kind of helmet he now had.

Stoffel solved the second problem by finding a cowl that worked with the helmet and covered Matt’s face except for his eyes.

“I still can’t believe you want me to hide inside your sleeve,” Stoffel said.

“I have no left arm, and that will be very different from what they’re expecting on the other side of the portal.”

“All right, I’ll be the arm, but I’m going to be invisible too. I don’t need to be discovered while stuck inside your sleeve pretending to be your arm.”

Matt scrunched up his face. “What difference will it make to be invisible if you’re covered by the clothes?”

“For when I jump out,” Stoffel said as if he’d expected the question. “Gives me the element of surprise while they try to figure out what happened to your arm.”

“Just sounds like you’re following your first rule, just looking after yourself,” Matt quipped.

“I’m hurt, come on now, I’ve changed... a bit,” Stoffel said.

The two laughed and then Matt looked at the bracelet on his arm. “I’m ready if you are.”

Stoffel sighed and then turned invisible as he wriggled his way into the left sleeve and somehow managed to hold the empty gauntlet in place. The sleeve looked as though it had a couple bones poking through in awkward places, but overall wasn’t too bad.

Matt closed his eyes and wished he could simply find an exit and leave the game. Still, he couldn’t leave Ben in the hands of the company. The compliance managers would brutalize him mercilessly. “Hang on Ben, we’re coming.”

Matt activated the bracelet and watched as a blue oval appeared nearby. White and silver lightning streaked across the opening as it stabilized itself. The soft humming filled his ears, reminding him of thick powerlines back home complete with crackling and popping as the energy bolts rippled through the portal. He stepped into it and everything around him seemed to become still for a couple of seconds.

Tingling ice slithered across Matt’s body. The portal moved him slower than he’d anticipated, but within moments he was no longer standing in the cave where he’d lost the dragon shard and Ben. He emerged into a room he’d seen before. Cells made of iron bars stood off to one side of the large chamber replete with thick stone walls. A dais with a wooden throne stood to Matt’s left. He’d hoped to find the room empty, but instead he saw a tall man with wire-rimmed glasses and long black robes standing near the execution block. Beside him stood another man with gaunt features and a steely gaze.

Both men turned and looked at Matt. He held his breath until it appeared that the mask was working.

“Did you capture the other player?” the man with glasses asked.

Matt gave a nod. “Caught him, had a struggle, killed him.”

The gaunt man whistled through his teeth. “Management won’t be happy with that answer.”

Matt shrugged. “There wasn’t much else to be done.”

“And where did you get those pants?” the man with the glasses asked. “They’re wretched.

Matt, knowing they were looking at his cursed pants that couldn’t be removed, gave a general response, trying to keep his dialogue short so they wouldn’t notice the difference in voices. “I liked them, and they give more bonuses.”

“More than what you had before?!” the gaunt man said. “Well, that seals it. We must be dealing with hackers for sure.”

“Not that the prisoner will help in our search,” the man with glasses said. The two men parted to reveal a torture rack behind them. Matt’s heart leapt to his throat, but it wasn’t Ben as he’d expected. “This one still claims to have no knowledge of where his master went after escaping,” the man with glasses continued. “Rubbish if you ask me, I know they were in on it together.”

“Filbug Diggleskin!” Matt exclaimed.

The gaunt torturer arched a brow and went to the torture rack. “Well, we already know his name. It’s where his master went that we need to know.”

Matt nodded. “Of course, I just thought he would have broken by now,” Matt said, hoping to recover from his outburst. On his left side he felt Stoffel squirm inside his sleeve. The ruse seemed to be working so far.

"I have an idea,” Matt said as he moved closer. “Let me take a few pieces off with my sword.”

The man with glasses blanched at the suggestion, but the other torturer sneered in wicked delight.

“He’s not a player,” the man with glasses whispered, leaning in close to Matt. “Not an employee either. He’s just your run of the mill NPC. If you kill him with that sword, he won’t come back, and then we won’t get anything out of him ever. We still haven’t the slightest idea where his master went with that imp.”

Stoffel shifted in the sleeve again, but Matt was quick to rub his fake arm and settle Stoffel down. Matt’s eyes met those of Filbug Diggleskin and he couldn’t help but feel compassion for his stalwart steward. Seeing him gagged and stretched upon the rack filled him with regret for not thinking about going back for him before. “I can start with the toes,” Matt said.

“I like this plan,” the gaunt torturer said. “And then maybe we can take the sword to that wizard they have cooped up in the back rooms.”

Matt smiled and drew his sword. “Here, both of you stand here,” Matt instructed, motioning to a spot near the rack. He stepped closer and examined the steward. He had bloody cuts and scrapes, but overall wasn’t in horrid shape, aside from having his limbs stretched beyond mortal limits. Once Matt was sure he was within distance, he raised the sword and readied himself for a strike. He knew he’d only get one shot, but he was hopeful that would be all he needed.

He spun around, the sword arcing not toward Filbug, but at the torturers. One of them attempted to shield himself with his left hand, but a second later there was a severed hand and two heads upon the dais. The bodies fell in heaps and the torturers were no more. Matt sheathed his sword and was quick to release Filbug’s feet.

“It’s me, Filbug, it’s, me!” Matt reached up and pulled the gag free. “Don’t blast me with a spell, my old friend. You’re safe now.”

“Master Orsbin?” Filbug’s eyes welled with tears as he sat up. “What took you so long?”

Matt shrugged. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here.”

“The others,” Filbug started. “The Falchor guards you hired were all executed. I was the only one from the house left alive. They thought I would know your plans.”

Matt nodded and pointed to the fallen men. “We need to hurry. Put on these robes and let’s get moving.”

“Thank you, Master Orsbin,” Filbug said.

“Can you fight?” Matt asked.

Filbug bent down and looked at the bodies. “You want me to loot them for you?”

Matt nodded. “Sure, knock yourself out, but can you fight?”

Filbug smiled wide and touched the two bodies. Instantly everything they had was gone. Filbug held out his hand to reveal several Soul Siphon Crystals.

“I can fight, Master Orsbin. I can fight like a dragon now.”

Matt smiled. “Let me have a couple of those.” Filbug gave two of the crystals to Matt, who in turn slipped them into his left sleeve where Stoffel was still hiding.

“Now we’re talking!” Stoffel shouted.

Filbug cocked his head and fixed his eyes on Matt’s sleeve.

“An imp,” Matt explained. “He’s hiding inside my clothes to assist in the mission.”

Filbug shrugged the notion away and then stopped to look at Matt’s pants. “My lord, you still haven’t learned much have you? That pair of trousers doesn’t match the rest of your ensemble.”

“Filbug, not now,” Matt chuckled.

Filbug shook his head disapprovingly. “I’m only saying you should look the part you are playing.”

The door behind them swung open and in came a tall man with full plate armor. “Has the prisoner --”

Matt didn’t wait for the next thing to emerge from the man’s mouth, he spun around and was about to attack when he saw a fiery lightning bolt blast through the plate armor and leave a hole the size of Matt’s head in the guard’s chest. The sizzling NPC toppled forward, his plate mail clashing against the stone.

Filbug stepped forward, blew on his fingernails and then polished them on the black robes he’d appropriated from the torturer. “Thank you for the crystals, Master Orsbin,” Filbug said with a wink.

“Did you see where they took another prisoner, a wizard?” Matt asked. Filbug turned and pointed to a door at the far end of the chamber. “Let’s go,” Matt said. He practically skipped his way to the door. His lips curled into a smile as his hand turned the knob and found the door unlocked. The hallway beyond was well lit with torches every few feet.

A door on the left some ten feet into the hallway led to a small chamber filled with boxes and crates. The few that were still open overflowed with clothing and low level gear like iron daggers or simple wodden bows.

Matt left the room and continued down the hallway. As the corridor turned to the right they found a guard standing at the bottom of a staircase holding a spear.

“No one is allowed this way, go back,” the guard said.

“Filbug, if you please,” Matt said.

Brilliant red and orange flames spiraled through the hallway before the guard could utter another syllable. The man’s face disappeared and his body fell onto the stairs. The trio continued upward, scanning for doorways as they ascended the stairs and came to an upper level.

Matt spied an open doorway on the right about fifty feet away just as the most blood curdling scream echoed through the corridor.

“Good heavens,” Filbug said. “It sounds like they have a child!”

Matt clenched his fist and then pulled his sword from its sheath. “They do. This is the other person we have to rescue, no matter what.”

Filbug nodded and prepared a ward that quickly vanished from sight. “On your command,” the steward said.

Matt could feel Stoffel preparing himself as well. “Let’s try to surprise them,” he said as he started creeping toward the door.

“This can all be over if you just tell us where your partner went,” a man said loud enough for his voice to carry above the screams.

Ben shrieked once more and then cried, “I don’t know! I swear!”

“Again,” the man’s voice said. Flashes of blue light reflected off the stone and it didn’t take much imagination for Matt to understand what kind of magic was being used. He doubled his pace and reached the doorway a moment before Filbug.

“When my father hears what you did to me you’re all dead!” Ben shouted.

“Your father?” the man replied evenly. “He’ll never hear from you again, boy. Why, if you don’t tell us where your partner went, we’ll fry you until you’re brain dead.”

“You’re all dead!” Ben shouted. The lightning flashed again and Ben’s screams filled the hallway.

Matt peeked around the corner to see two men. One was his compliance manager, he would recognize that voice anywhere. The other he hadn’t seen before. They had Ben on a stone table, his hands and feet shackled and bleeding. Matt turned to his steward, held up two fingers to denote how many opponents were in the room, and then nodded. Matt spun around the open doorway and charged in. His stamina was draining quickly thanks to his cursed pants, but he only needed to sprint ten feet, then he dropped to his knees and slid toward the compliance manager.

“Heeeeeeere’s Luther!” Matt shouted over the screams.

The lightning stopped and the compliance manager wheeled around just in time to catch Matt’s sword tip in the gut. Matt drove it in as hard as his one hand could muster and then he leaned his body weight to try and twist the blade. The manager’s eyes went wide and then he fell to his knees.

The second man spun around, hands up and ready to fire spells. A golden arrow materialized before Matt and then sailed at him, but it crashed against the ward Filbug had put into place. The second spell, however, was a fireball that sailed through the weakened ward and blasted Matt several feet back to slide against the far wall.

The wizard was about to finish the job when Filbug’s signature firebolt streaked through the air and blasted the enemy wizard to bits.

“Yes! I knew you’d come for me!” Ben shouted.

A magical strip of blue energy appeared over Ben’s mouth and gagged him. The compliance manager slowly stood on his feet and put a hand to the gaping hole in his stomach. “So, it was you all along,” he said. “You showed more bravery than I thought you capable.”

Matt summoned his own fireball and shot it at the compliance manager. His enemy waved it away with a laugh. “You can’t hurt me,” he said. “Don’t you remember our previous encounters?”

“Filbug!” Matt shouted.

Filbug entered the room, each hand holding a prepared firebolt, but he didn’t shoot.

“Filbug, sit in the corner,” the compliance manager said.

Matt’s mouth fell open as Filbug moved to the corner and sat down on the floor.

“Filbug, he’s the enemy, shoot him!”

“I told you before,” the compliance manager said. “NPCs can’t attack compliance managers. Best he can do is sit there and watch. They’re programmed to obey all of our commands.”

Matt glanced to Filbug. The steward’s eyes were filled with tears once more, but the firebolts dissipated and the man folded his arms and could no longer talk nor move.

“So, what did you gain for your trouble?” the manager asked. “Working with hackers, was that your plan all along? You were supposed to play dumb and try to help them spring the captive free, was that it?”

Matt was about to reply, but then he noticed something. The compliance manager wasn’t attacking. He was standing there, able only to conjure a gag for Ben. He was stalling for something. Either he was too hurt to cast magic, or his powers were depleted beyond attack capability.

“What was your final goal?” the manager asked.

Matt seized upon the moment to make another attack. He jumped to his feet and rushed with the sword. The compliance manager summoned a spectral sword of his own and parried one, two, then three blows as Matt worked his blade quickly. Matt then shifted, swinging his left side and giving Stoffel the signal to attack.

“NOW!” Stoffel shot fireballs from inside the sleeve, propelling the left gauntlet at the manager’s face.

The manager took a direct hit and backed up just enough for Matt to formulate a quick plan.

“Sword!” Matt shouted. He tossed the blade up toward the ceiling. The compliance manager’s quizzical eyes glanced to the flying blade then back to Matt. Matt used the momentary distraction to throw a single fireball at the manager. The compliance manager took it in stride and rushed toward Matt. Matt summoned his Mythic Dagger and charged in. The two crashed into each other. The manager’s spectral sword chopped in from the left, cutting through Matt’s empty sleeve and biting into his side as the Mythic Dagger dug its way into the manager’s chest.

“Fool!” the manager shouted. “I have no pain receptors in this game! You cannot hurt me!”

“Heads up,” Stoffel shouted from above as his imp form shed the invisibility spell and the small leathery fiend swung Matt’s sword.

Matt let go of his magical dagger and reached down with his right hand to hold the manager’s hands and sword in place as Stoffel removed the man’s head.

“Sorry mate, but middle management is always first to go in layoffs,” Stoffel said with a grin.

“Help Ben,” Matt said as he slumped to his knees. The fiery waves of pain in his body threatened to steal his consciousness from him, but he focused his eyes on the wizard form on the stone table. “Help Ben,” he said again.

Filbug leapt up and rushed to Matt’s side as Stoffel freed Ben from his bonds.

“Sir, I apologize for earlier, I couldn’t move.”

“It’s all right, Filbug,” Matt said.

“Here, I have more crystals left.” Filbug placed his hands on Matt and warm golden light encircled his body, pushing away the pain and helping Matt’s HP stabilize.

Before long, Matt was standing again and able to think clearly.

Ben excitedly moved to a box on the far end of the room and came back to Matt. “Here, maybe you should take this one,” Ben said.

Matt looked inside to see a silver box and smiled. “The dragon shard?”

Ben beamed proudly. “Listen, my dad is already looking for me, I’m sure of it. All we have to do is get out of here and then he’ll fix everything.”

“Well, not everything,” Stoffel said. “We still don’t know where your body is, and now that we’ve taken out a compliance manager, they’re sure to take revenge on you.”

Matt paused and gave a nod. He had understood the consequences before coming after Ben. “Let’s just focus on getting out of here,” Matt said.

“That isn’t going to happen,” a woman said from the doorway.

Matt turned to see the queen of Falchor. Her flowing golden gown filled the door as she stood there and raised an emerald-topped sceptre. A blast of white light blinded Matt and his ears rang sharply. His whole body recoiled from the light as if it would consume him like fire, but there was nowhere to go. His body bumped against the stone table.

He could feel Stoffel, Ben, and Filbug slumping over with him, driven back and crushed by the light. Matt could only think of one way out. He pulled Filbug in close.

“This is your new master, protect him and serve him” he said, placing Filbug’s hands on Ben’s.

“I cannot, the queen compels me to remain still.”

Matt smiled, for he’d expected that response, but he turned to pull Stoffel close. “Can you use this?” he asked, placing Stoffel’s hands on his blue bracelet.

“Yeah, I can, but we can’t outrun her.”

“Not all of us, but you three can!” Matt helped Stoffel remove the bracelet. “Go now!” Matt shouted.

Unlike the previous times, he neither saw the blue light nor heard the humming from the portal, but he could feel the icy tingling as Ben, then Filbug, and then finally Stoffel escaped.

“There is no where they can go!” the queen said, her words booming inside Matt’s head.

Matt laughed. “Rule number one,” Matt said. “Focus on looking after yourself!” Matt then opened the silver box and used the last of his magic to ignite the dragon shard.

Something much brighter and hotter than the queen’s magic erupted all around him, and then everything went dark.