Yvvaros: The Clash of Worlds (5 page)

“That’s why I sent my messenger here in the first place,” replied Silverstrike. “We could have settled all this with a couple of letters, Megwin.”

“Nevertheless, you are here, and we’re all businessmen, are we not?”

Luke and Silverstrike said nothing. Megwin nodded, and then continued.

“I’m interested in both the skin and the oil of the Dunidan, your settlement’s namesake. Is that something that you can get me a constant supply of?”

“For the right price, we can get you anything,” said Silverstrike. “What we really need right now are raw resources, mostly iron and copper. Anything that can be put to good use by a smith.”

He’s thinking about what the settlement needs, even though that’s not why we came here. He’s serious about developing our place in this world.

“Done,” said Megwin. “I’ll even give the smithing materials to you at a little less than market price. My shipmasters need that skin to patch the hulls of their vessels.”

Luke suppressed a yawn and glanced out the window of the guild hall. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon.

“Megwin, we didn’t come here to talk about trading.” Luke was surprised by the tone of his own voice, deep and direct. “The Arbiters. Tell us what you know.”

Megwin had a thick, dark brown beard, and he took a second to scratch it, avoiding Luke’s gaze and instead peering out the nearby window.

“I heard a rumor from another guild settlement that I’ve been trading with, far to the north of here.”

“In the Blue Void?” asked Silverstrike. Megwin shook his head.

“Farther north. On Wrye Island.”

The statement gave Luke pause. Wrye Island was one of the most remote locations in all of Yvvaros. He hadn’t heard much about it beyond the basic rumors from some of the NPC bartenders. It was a place that he’d been expecting to be one of the last colonized by players.

“What was the rumor, Megwin?” asked Luke. “Tell us what was important enough to necessitate us meeting with you in person.”

Megwin looked a little offended, but only for the briefest of moments. He waved a hand through the air.

“Donovan, the guild leader that controls Wrye Island, told me that he’s been harboring a player who killed an Arbiter and took its armor.”

…What?

Silverstrike shook his head.

“That’s insane,” he said, frowning. “Arbiters are equipped with the best equipment in the game. Nobody could have gotten to a high enough level to be able to stand a chance against one of them in a one on one fight.”

“I’m just telling you what I heard,” said Megwin. “But Donovan is not a player known for passing off lies as truth. If he says that he has a player in his settlement that’s wearing Arbiter armor, you can bet your ass that it’s the truth.”

Nobody said anything for a moment. Luke’s thoughts were racing, and he felt his excited heart beating in accelerando.

The Arbiters can be killed. This changes everything.

“Give us a ship.” Luke stood up as he spoke, feeling as though he couldn’t contain the sudden burst of energy running through his body. “I’ll pay for it. Get us to Wrye Island, immediately.”

Megwin laughed.

“Now that’s what I expected of the Hero of Kantor!” he said. “I’ll tell one of my ship captains to take you up there, for free. Just remember this little kindness the next time I come knocking on your door for a new trade agreement.”

“What?” Silverstrike also stood, though with hesitation. “Luke… uh, Kato. Are you sure about this? What about Tess, and Katrina, and Dunidan’s Rest?”

“This is more important,” said Luke. “We have to check it out, even if it’s out of the way.”

Megwin had already disappeared through the door of the guild hall. Silverstrike turned to face Luke, folding his arms and shaking his head.

“This is the most spirited I’ve seen you in almost a week, almost since…” Silverstrike trailed off in midsentence, and then shrugged. “Will you at least tell me what you’re thinking right now?”

“I think that we’ve been given a sign,” said Luke. “And we need to get a closer look at exactly what it says.”

CHAPTER 5

The ship that Megwin had prepared for them was unlike any that Luke had seen before. It looked similar enough on the surface to a real world ship. It had a large wooden hull, jutting mast, and white cloth sails. However, attached to the back of it, in the place usually reserved for an onboard motor, was a gigantic blue crystal.

“It’s a crystal channel.” Megwin walked up behind where the two of them stood on the pier. “The same kind of magic that powers Kantor and keeps it in the air. It channels the Universal Truth.”

“So, what, does it let your boat fly, or something?” Luke scratched his head and leaned in a little closer, admiring the way the crystal gave off a light of its own. Megwin laughed.

“Not quite,” he said. “But the winds here in Yvvaros are… unpredictable, to say the least. The crystal channel serves as a backup on days when the weather is being uncooperative.”

Luke looked over at the boat. Silverstrike was already moving to climb aboard, excited for the trip they were about to go on.

Something feels off about this.

“Why are you helping us, Megwin?” He crossed his arms and studied the richly dressed man.

“I’m not helping you, I’m helping the mystery man,” said Megwin. “Killing an Arbiter… it’s captivating mental imagery.”

“I don’t buy it,” said Luke.

“Why not? Some of us take this game, this world, more seriously than others, Kato.” Megwin paused and waved a hand through the air. “I’m not interested in living under the thumb of the Arbiters for a minute longer than I have to. I think this place is special. I think it should belong to us.”

Belong to us?

Luke waited for Megwin to continue. When it became clear that he didn’t intend to, Luke walked down the pier and joined Silverstrike on the boat.

“Are you ready for this, dude?” Silverstrike was grinning from ear to ear, and pointed off in the distance. The sun had set, and the azure blue moon was out on the horizon in front of them, hanging in the sky like a celestial quest marker.

The boat pulled away from the dock. Luke looked back toward Megwin’s bay and saw that the crystal was glowing a bright blue color that almost matched the moon.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” said Luke.

Am I ready? Where is this going to lead us to?

The two of them stood on the main deck as the boat slowly made its way across the dark, shifting surface of the water. Luke could see the edges of the western islands on the horizon, and the air was humid and tasted of salt.

An NPC shipmaster stood at the rudder next to the crystal. In the center of the ship there was a small staircase leading below decks. In the back was a small cabin.

“We should look into getting a ship like this,” said Silverstrike. “This is sick!”

“Our zone is in the middle of the desert. What the hell would we do with a ship?”

A small red envelope icon appeared in the bottom of Luke’s screen. He nodded to Silverstrike and then made his way over to the front of the boat before stopping at the edge of the railing to dig through his satchel. The letter was from Tess.

Dear Kato (Luke),

We didn’t really get a chance to talk before you left. We haven’t had many chances to talk lately. I feel like you’ve been a little distant, and I want you to know that I’m here for you. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not going anywhere.

Tess

Luke sighed.

I have been distant lately. It’s hard to be present when the world is upside down.

“Hey, are you okay man?” Silverstrike had snuck up behind him while he’d been reading. Luke frowned and stuffed the crumpled letter back into his bag.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “I just got a letter. From Tess.”

“Oh…”

“She thinks I’ve been acting distant lately,” said Luke.

“Well, it’s understandable.” Silverstrike shrugged.

Luke wasn’t the only one who’d been acting distant lately, at least not from Tess’s perspective. She’d confessed to Luke a couple days earlier that Silverstrike, her brother, was still struggling with her real world death. Luke had made a mental note to talk to him about it, but there had never been an opportune moment in-game, and the two barely spoke outside of it anymore.

“I still can’t believe she did it.” Luke leaned against the railing, alternating between watching the waves and the stars. “She’s a part of the game now, Ben.”

Silverstrike took up a spot next to him.

“She had a pretty shitty couple of years, and she’s always been a little bit more vulnerable than she looked.” Silverstrike smiled sadly. “I just wish she’d stuck around for a little while longer.”

Luke frowned at him.

“You can still talk to her,” he said. “She’s Tess. She’s gone in the real world, buried in a cemetery, even, but that doesn’t make her dead.”

For a moment, only the sound of the cresting waves and creaking wood of the boat could be heard. Then Silverstrike sighed.

“I’m not sure it’s that simple. She… something feels a little off about her, Luke.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“How do we know that… well, that it’s really her?” Silverstrike ran his hands through his long, silver hair.

“I know it’s her.”

“It could just be her memories and her personality in an NPC,” said Silverstrike. “The game… we don’t know how it simulates players that have gone all in.”

“I know that it’s her!” Luke slapped his hand down on the wooden railing a bit harder than he’d been intending. “Have you lost your mind?”

“No…” whispered Silverstrike. “Just my sister.”

Neither of them said anything for several long moments. Silverstrike’s words reverberated in Luke’s head, and he felt like he was still arguing.

She’s still Tess. Nothing has changed… right?

“I almost lost you too, Luke.” Silverstrike put a hand on his shoulder. “This world we live in, both of the worlds we live in, feel like they’re on the verge of catastrophe.”

“I’m still considering it, you know,” said Luke. “Going all in.”

“Killing yourself, you mean?”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it. I’d still be here, in Yvvaros. And despite your doubts, I know that I’d still be me.”

Wouldn’t I be?

“But you would be dead in the outside world,” said Silverstrike. “We’d never be able to hang out again, talk about school or life. We wouldn’t get to be normal teenagers.”

“Are we normal teenagers anymore?” asked Luke. “I haven’t seen you in person in days. And neither of us is going to school regularly anymore.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that,” said Silverstrike. “But there are definitely some things that I would miss.”

Luke blinked. His friend’s avatar disappeared in front of him, as though it had suddenly been switched off. He looked around for a moment, confused. And then, as suddenly as Silverstrike had disappeared, he was back.

“Where’d you go?” asked Luke.

“Just topping myself off.” Silverstrike was grinning a little too broadly. He walked toward Luke on unsteady legs.

“Dude…” Luke shook his head. “You should be careful, man. Do you really need to be blitzed out of your head every second of the day?”

“I should be careful?” Silverstrike laughed. “You’re the one who took a dive onto a hunting knife.”

Luke didn’t say anything.

“We live in crazy times,” continued Silverstrike. “Let’s both just keep moving forward.”

Luke watched the bow of the boat as it did just that, cutting through the waves and bringing them ever closer to their destination. The air was starting to get cold. The landscape on the continent to the east of them had shifted into the ice and snow of the Blue Void.

“What’s wrong with the world?” asked Luke. “We take this game so seriously. What is it about real life that makes this so appealing?”

“You’re in a really deep mood tonight, man,” said Silverstrike. “But anyway, to answer your question, I think it’s a matter of control.”

“Control?”

“Yeah…” Silverstrike coughed into the crook of his elbow, and then inhaled deeply through his nose. “Control over ourselves. Control over our surroundings. Control over our place in the world.”

“I have that in the real world,” said Luke.

“Do you really?” Silverstrike laughed. “You haven’t seen your dad in a week. Unless you’ve secretly been doing your homework and turning it in to your teachers outside of school, you’re probably flunking all of your classes right now.”

“Hey…” Luke folded his arms, feeling suddenly defensive.

“All of that applies to me, too,” said Silverstrike. “My parents don’t give a shit about me, and I don’t give a shit about anything.”

I do give a shit. About Tess, about Dunidan’s Rest. Even about finding my dad.

“When did your outlook become so bleak?” asked Luke.

Silverstrike didn’t answer, and Luke realized that he didn’t need to.

From his perspective, his sister abandoned him. Thousands of people have gone all in across the country. Maybe something is happening…

The ship had shifted direction a couple of minutes earlier, and Luke could see Wrye Island slowly growing bigger on the horizon. It was medium sized but larger than anything else in the Yvvaros, next to the continent or Azanora Island.

“We’re doing the right thing,” said Silverstrike. “By looking for this guy, I mean.”

“I know,” said Luke. “Both for Yvvaros and for Tess. The Arbiters have to be overthrown.”

Luke reached over and squeezed his friend’s shoulder and Silverstrike nodded in return. The ship slowed as it neared the long pier. Luke prepared himself for what was to come.

CHAPTER 6

“Is that… smoke?”

Luke stared off into the distance at Wrye Island, trying to make out where the thin trail of smoke on the horizon was coming from. The NPC shipmaster was lowering the gangway. Silverstrike was standing next to him and squinted to get a better look at what he was talking about.