Don't Fear the Reaper [Tetrosabier and Vexx]

Tetrosabier sat in the golden sunlight as it cascaded off the mid-fall trees.  The lush plains waved as the winds ebbed through them.  Tetrosabier took a deep breath of the brisk air and sighed heavily, the remains of his lunch scattered around him.  His stomach full and his outlook positive, he sat in the serene beauty of the landscape in awe.  It all looked so real, and life-like.  He was glad he took this moment.  He thought back to the real world, though it felt so far away.  

He packed up, taking care as to leave no trace.  As an assassin he couldn't risk being discovered.  The small clearing in the grass was cleared in an instant and any remnants were quickly removed.  He added the litter to his inventory, checking his surroundings once more.  The landscape was dotted with trees, all varying colors.  The green grass stood tall,  almost as if it had never been bothered.  With one last breath in he started on his way.

After his last job had brought him a fairly large pay, he was looking for something fun to do.  He figured that some dungeon diving might be enjoyable.  After a couple days of research, he discovered that one of the older dungeons were still in the game,  back from the earlier parts of development.  Having run this dungeon almost religiously,  Tetrosabier couldn't wait for the opportunity to visit the old mission.  While the traps were changed regularly, one thing always remained the same...  The epic battle with the lich.  That had been what had brought him back.  

He continued on through the forest as the sun faded from the sky, the golden sunlight reflecting off the leaves in a cascade of colors.  The chilly air did not seem to affect Tetrosabier, as he continued walking.

Late into the night, Tetrosabier stood at the mouth of a cave.  His destination stood before him with an eerie feeling radiating from the dim glow inside.  The trees blocked the view of the cave from almost all angles, leaving Tetrosabier alone.  The decrepit cave entrance beckoned for Tetrosabier to enter.  Tetrosabier contemplated entering the cave,  finishing the quest as soon as possible, the bags under his eyes made him decide against it.  He looked around,  scouring the ground for tinder in the darkness of the night.  After minimal issues in the starting of the fire,  a small blaze shimmered in the shallow hole he had dug.  Tetrosabier basked in the heat as he made himself comfortable.

It was a beautiful night. The soft wind whispering through the edge of the trees and whistling where it caught the edges of the cave. A lonely low sound that made the trees in the dark seem more like sentinels sent to look over this place. Which, given the nature of the game they might well have been. There was no movement out in the dark however. Only the long shadow of the night cast over the trees and hills save where the light of the fire sent them to dancing.

Then, a blue door appeared. The light of the door was difficult to look at, the bright color in the darkness made one more inclined to look away lest they be blinded by it.

A figure appeared in that bright light, a shadow oddly shaped and then the light vanished leaving the odd shadow standing there for a moment until it resolved into the figure of a person. The person however was strange enough in appearance that he was worth a second or even third glance.

He was tall, but it was a tallness that was made up of how gaunt he was. Gaunt because he was little more than bones, and in some places he was just that. His skin was a blue-gray color, the color that flesh turns without blood to fill it. Long clawed hands were folded over his arms, and there were strange symbols emblazoned on the flesh of his face, turning and twisting around the raw bones that lay where the flesh was not stretched across it. Golden horns rose from his brow and held back long stringy white hair that fell around his shoulders. His look was completed by green and black robes wrapped around his bones.

"Tetrosabier. Or do you prefer Derik?"

The warm fire crackled as Tetrosabier slipped unconscious,  the world fading into a haze around him.  He relaxed and let his mind wander, the sound of the crickets softly chirping lulling him to sleep.

Snapping awake, Tetrosabier was aware of an obscured presence, appearing suddenly.  The bright blue doorway appearing, the cascading glow turning the grass a mint green.  A shadow emerged from the blinding light as Tetrosabier squinted, the glaring effect blinding him.  The light faded just as quickly as it appeared and Tetrosabier was left waiting for his eyes to adjust.  By the dim light of the embers, Tetrosabier could barely make out the figure that stood before him.

The tall man that skulked before him stood with presence.  The figure had narrow proportions that seemed almost to narrow to be alive.  Looking at the face of the creature, Tetrosabier jumped to his feet with his blade quickly appearing in his hand.  The skull faced creature stood before him emotionless.  His finger was already on the power switch when the creature spoke.

"Tetrosabier. Or do you prefer Derik?"

Tetrosabiers jaw dropped.  This was no lich NPC.  Not only did he speak, but he knew his name.  He had not heard anyone use that name in years,  Tetrosabier almost didn't recognize it.  His stance fell,  taken aghast by the strangers knowledge of his life.  Tetrosabier shook his head and stretched his back upwards coming up to full height.  Looking down he confronted the lich with all emotion void from his face.

"You can call me Tetrosabier.  Who are you and what do you want?"

Each word had been chosen with care and Vexx could tell immediately that they had indeed had their intended effect. Not only did he have Tetrosabier's total attention, the other man knew that he was not some non-player character. Knew that he was not some random player either. Certainly would have remembered giving such a name to such a memorable avatar. So, clearly Vexx had knowledge that he should not have. Personal knowledge.

"You can call me Vexx." The lich did not blink, only looked upon Tetrosabier with the burning blue light flickering in his eye sockets. It was disconcerting to say the least, but Vexx did not seem aware of this fact.

"I wonder Tetrosabier, have you heard of the hacker attack?" Vexx moved in closer, his robes sweeping along the ground and rustling through the grass with a dry eerie sound. His voice was deep and echoed when he spoke. Clearly he was using some kind of voice modulator, and it gave him a voice which matched the body he wore.

It was a too-casual question for the setting, for this man who moved clearly unafraid of Tetrosabier who loomed over him. Vexx was clearly not intimidated, and not in a way that gave an impression of someone who was impetuous. Rather he moved in a well of his own power and self-assurance. He was a man who knew that nothing here could harm him. Knew it with the same certainty that anyone might know that the sun would rise tomorrow.

"You can call me Vexx."  The darkened figure spoke without emotion,  casually walking up to Tetrosabier as though not intimidated by his size.  Tetrosabier closed his eyes, allowing them to adjust quicker.  Opening his eyes he saw the figure to the fullest.  He saw all the six arms, and the billowing robe.  His skull face was matched by the skeletal ribs that replaced his chest.  The robes he wore sat tightly against his arms and chest.  His feet were visibly obscured by his robes.

"Vexx...  Okay so what do you want?"

"I wonder Tetrosabier, have you heard of the hacker attack?"

"Of course I heard of it,  every person from here to Lanthurm has heard of i-.  Oh." A wave of realization hit him like a semi-truck.  His expression softened for only a moment before returning to its emotionless mask.  Tetrosabier slipped the golden ring from out of his back pocket and put it onto his finger.  Just a precaution. He returned his weapon to his back, knowing that at a seconds notice he could have it back in his hands.  Outstretching his hand he reached for Vexxs closest hands and offered a handshake.

"Nice to meet you Vexx, what can I do you for."

Every motion that Tetrosabier made was watched through the lens of those strange blue flames which Vexx used as eyes. The hacker observed silently the clear shock on the other man's face which was not wholly obscured by his choice of lamian avatar. Nor was the realization that followed in the wake of shock. The moment that Tetrosabier realized that Vexx must be one of these hackers was one that Vexx filed away for later reconsideration.

What he noticed most was that the fact that he had revealed himself as a hacker did not seem to instill even a little fear in the other man. It was surprising, particularly given that Vexx had clearly demonstrated his knowledge of the man's personal life. Perhaps...

Tetrosabier offered a hand to shake and a few of Vexx's hands reached out automatically to take it. One shook the offered hand, and another held the hand in place while a third hovered in midair as if it might somehow help the situation along somehow. When Vexx's hand withdrew they all did, folding back over the hacker's chest comfortably.

"Consider this an interview. I know a lot about you and your situation. Perhaps more even than you do." Vexx motioned for Tetrosabier to sit down with a pair of his hands, moving in closer as he did so as if he might follow the other man into a more comfortable position. "You see, the SCCO wants to implement more and more paid options. Micro-transactions. This game was meant for people like you and their families. Not for profit."

Burning blue eyes peered into Tetrosabier's green. As if Vexx could see past the lamian to the man beneath. "I wonder, if you might help me keep the game from turning into something else."

Tetrosabier shook hands with the hacker as the three hands reached towards his own.  As Vexx motioned for Tetrosabier to sit, he leaned over the fire and started piling sticks back onto the burning embers.  "Consider this an interview. I know a lot about you and your situation. Perhaps more even than you do." The skeletal figure spoke with an altered voice.  It was apparent that whom ever this person was, they were going out of their way trying to keep whatever semblance of a cover they had.

"It honestly wouldn't surprise me,"  Tetrosabier chuckled.  He hadn't seen what the outside world was like in years.  It could be an apocalyptic wasteland and he would be none the wiser.  "So why do you want me?"

"You see, the SCCO wants to implement more and more paid options. Micro-transactions. This game was meant for people like you and their families. Not for profit."

"I hear you there buddy." Tetrosabier stoked the fire,  the small flames rose as they caught on the nearby sticks.  He watched solemnly as the flames tried crawling out of the pit, only to stay there, trapped.

"I wonder, if you might help me keep the game from turning into something else."

Tetrosabier paused from the small fire crackling in the hole beneath him.  For the first time he looked directly into Vexx's eyes, or rather what should have been his eyes.  The brilliant blue flames that occupied Vexx's eye sockets burned past Tetrosabiers very being, or at least this being.  This man clearly understood his feelings towards the newest additions to the game.

"What would you be implying?"  Tetrosabiers eyes shimmered as he looked towards the hacker,  hoping this strange person would give him an opportunity to help.

Between them the fire popped and crackled back to life, its flames would soon be a warming fire to sit at, but Vexx had never taken the seat that it seemed he might. Instead he stood to the side of the flames as they cast long dancing shadows over the area. The hacker stood mostly in darkness, so that only the edges of him were caught in the light. They highlighted the rounded edge of his skull and the gruesome curve of his nails. The light made a monster of him, but this monster was offering something. Something dangerous perhaps, but something perhaps necessary.

Long clawed hands reached out. Three of them towards Tetrosabier. "I know you are not a hacker. But that does not mean you can not help. Come with me Tetrosabier."

Even as he spoke he took a small step backwards, a blue light appearing behind him. A roll of illumination harsh and yet beautiful. No way of knowing what lay behind it. Just the promise of something. "Help me change this world."

The figure slipped into the darkness and Tetrosabier admired the dramatic effect.  The outstretched hands sank into the darkness, beckoning for him to follow.  Tetrosabier had not thought that he could do anything.  Anytime he had gained any power beyond what SCCO had anticipated, they patched out it all.  The only thing he had kept through it all,  the item that weighed heavily on his back,  and even then it had taken a lot of bargaining to prevent them from removing it from the game.  These hackers seemed to be the only people who managed to keep their abilities.  Tetrosabier did not believe that he could be a character powerful enough to have any influence in the decisions of the higher powers; at least not without having some power beyond what SCCO allowed.

Looking down, Tetrosabier saw the golden ring hanging solemnly from his finger.  I wont need this he thought as he removed the heavy ring and dropped it into his pocket.  Looking back to the figure,  he saw nothing but the grotesque nails and the two illuminated blue bulbs hanging in the darkness.  As the fingers reached the edge of the blackness, Tetrosabier stepped over the fire, making his way to follow the figure through the blue doorway that reappeared.

Through the veil of blinding light the darkness of the night was replaced with the total emptiness of void-space. There was nothing on the other side except for Vexx and enough illumination of that darkness to see the undead avatar by. Here there was no real source of light or shadow. Nothing to obscure vision or enhance it, and so they were oddly plainly visible to one another in a way that was only possible in a place like this.

Vexx stood in the void as if it had substance to stand on, and so too did Tetrosabier. They clearly had air to breathe, and weight to their bodies that they didn't just float around, but there was nothing to it. No scent to the air. No feel of a breeze passing by. They simply existed in this space and when Vexx spoke again his voice still held that strange unnatural echo that it had in the game.

So what was this then? Part of the game? Somewhere else? It begged an endless parade of questions and yet the hacker did not seem inclined to answer any of them. Instead he had a few things to say to the man that he had brought to this place. "We can give you power Tetrosabier. Give you the ability to move about unknown to the SCCO. Give you the code to alter reality around you. But we will not allow someone unstable to wield this power. So I must ask you; what would you do with it? With the power to alter reality to your whim?"