Hero's Squall » Places

         Suddenly as Tom was addressing Moonranger and the others a group of guards walked up to them. There were three in total and they said, "The High Lord of all that is Good has proclaimed you leave the area. We will handle the rest from here you troublesome knaves. You have angered the Dark One." At the time, they were referring to both the Administrator and the hacker because they had to be reprogrammed to believe that the hacker was some kind evil creature so that the Administrator could buy time for himself. His game was in ruins and there was new reports of game players missing in game. He had fortunately moved the guards out in an attempt to find straggling game players. They all needed to get inside for their safety from the hacker.

         "Ah, alright. Town for the updates then back here for slaying Goblins then?" Kaliska said to Tom, he seemed like he was the one in charge.

"I got loot from the other Goblin, so don't worry about me expecting to be included in the spoils on this one..." After all, she had just arrived, though she knew that some people were like that, saying it would be unfair if they were given nothing even though they did just that, nothing.

         Commander Taurus took the scroll from Galleta and pocketed it. "You know I've been thinking you sent out the message world wide, but the sender is anonymous, so why don't I take the fall for you and say I sent out the message after becoming a rogue and infected NPC, and that I nor my companions know you." Commander Taurus suggested, "All you have to do is revive me if I die somehow and make me twenty of your player levels stronger. On another note, what will we be able to do with this strategy upgrade pack? I have a few knights already wandering around some of the areas in the game, but not in large numbers I feel."

         Archers sat along a wooden wall twiddling their thumbs and wondering what to do when a strange energy bypassed the wall they had built and dispersed in the castle. About five of these archers, NPCs stood up and ran to the side closest to the castle. "What was that!" they cried in unison. One of the archers stood up and said as he put his hand on the should of one, "Don't worry about that my artificially intelligent comrade. We are just peons, and that... That was our new boss. She goes by the name of Galletta, we'll be serving her under that witch Karena Wix, so be smart and don't make a fool out of yourself."

The guards quickly went back to their posts and waited for players to come. Watching from high parapets. This was the extent a normal NPC could go to in the game of Hero's Squall. That extent was the recognition of players and some other NPCs. They had never or would never have been able to do what Galletta had made them do and that thing was to build a wall; that is say without her help and making Lucretia, her assistant, program them to do so.

         Lucretia waved her off quickly and disappeared from the game. As little as she knew about Sophia's full plans she understood that they now controlled an area in the game called the Dark Castle. She had kind of wished they had taken over a more pleasant sounding place, but she supposed when the time came it would be an excellent place for mounting attacks and harassing players. She wasn't into the whole military tactics things. That was what boys were normally interested in, but the NPC in control of the castle, Commander Taurus, still scared her even though she was actually a much higher level than him now. For that reason she clung close to Sophia and his assistant NPC Karena Wix.

The one thought that went through her head was, "What were those two NPCs up to?"

         Kazma had just successfully finished another round of the lower-tier Brass Knuckle tourney. It wasn't a very satisfying victory as the opponent had turned out to be a newbie to the Colosseum that didn't quite grasp the change in how combat worked there. Disappointed in the pairing, she was too impatient for the minimum wait time between requesting matches [she needed to raise her tier level to lower the time limit]. Back in real life, Kitt, the player behind the avatar, lay lazily in bed, having already done his homework for the day. His parents wouldn't be home from work for most of the rest of the day. It'd been the same story for the past week or so. He'd be bored out of his mind if he hadn't "convinced" his big brother into getting this game for him.

So far, Kitt hadn't even had Kazma do much other than socialize in the Colosseum lobby and participate in the tourney [the latter being the manner in which she obtained the boxing gloves]. Heck, he had so much free time that he spent the entire first day with the game setting up all the stats and appearance for his Kazma avatar. Figuring it was time to test her out in the field, Kitt brought her to the quest board in Camaraderie. "Goblin Perils: Kill five goblins in the pillaged farm lands?" Sure, she could do that easy... at least she thought. Accepting the quest, she made her way to the place specified on the board.

         After an hour, the Administrator stopped their cutting and removed their sword from the a now split in half rock wall. The to slabs of rock fell forward, but fortunately did not cut the Administrator. The Administrator looked at his handy work before seeing something troubling in the distance. "Oh boy, I don't think think I built that into the game at all."

What the Administrator was looking at was a large, wooden barricade ahead of him before the castle. mounted on top were are least fifty archers read to shoot down, it looked like, anyone who stepped foot beyond the edge of castle road.

"I think I'm going to need to talk to Lloyd, I can see this barricade being quite the problem." the Administrator sighed before logging off.