Into the Game

I wanted to kill him.

After we shook on our deal, he ordered us coffee. I found it strange that the inn keeper had a small pot of coffee hanging next to the stew, but it was warm and energizing. I had thought that we would leave after that, but we hadn’t.

While I was enjoying my coffee, Michael left me to go run some errands. It had been two hours and he hadn’t come back. I got tired of him wasting time, so I got up and left.

The scene outside had changed a little. Instead of a deserted town, there were two guards walking around just inside the fence. They were wearing the same leather armor as Michael, except theirs had a blue circle on the chest, and instead of the dagger on his belt, they had swords. The Captain sat in front of his house, but I was the only actual person outside.

I walked up to the closest guard. "Have you seen Michael?”

“Welcome to the Bear Outpost!” The guard was too happy; it made it obvious he was a computer program. "What can I help you with?”

“Have you seen a man?” I asked

The guard pointed into the woods. "He left a few hours ago.”

“Did he say when he was coming back?”

The guard shrugged.

I walked away. There was no point in trying to find Michael. He had a head start and knew the terrain.

I walked past the Captain’s hut on my way out. . The Captain was still lounging in front of his house. He waved at me. "Good morning traveler!”

I stopped. "Good morning.”

“Is there something I could help you with?” he asked

“Do you have a map?”

His belly jiggled as he laughed. When he saw I wasn’t laughing with him, he stopped laughing.

“You lost your map?”

I shook my head. "I never got one.”

“Every adventurer received a map in the beginning.”

“I’m new.” I admitted

The Captain just stared at me. I wondered how the computer would process the new information. Each computer character was supposed to have its own personality, but I wondered how it would deal with a problem with the routine.

He reached behind his chair and pulled out a paper the size of a postcard. He handed it to me. "I have an extra map I can let you have.”

“Thank you.” I took the map. "There is one more thing.”

“I will do what I can.”

I unfolded the map. It was bigger than the table I had sat at a few hours ago. It was a good map, full color with all the towns, caves, dungeons, and special places labeled.

“I’m looking for a young player named Billy.” I looked at the Chief. "Do you know where he is?”

The Captain pointed at a camp five zones away. "That player registered that he cleared this Ogre camp two days ago.”

“Thank you.” My heart sank. I had hoped that Billy would be safe, though I should’ve known better. I marked the camp and folded the map. At least I knew where I needed to go. I got up and walked out of the camp. It was going to take a while, but I would find my brother.