The Tainted Wood Page 3

  “It does, and if you want to back out you can. We haven’t signed anything yet, and I’m sure we’re not the only ones Mindsplosion has talked to about this. I’m sure they can find someone else to take your place.”

  Mary giggled. “Now this is irony. I’m scared to share this, and you’re putting yourself out there like it’s nothing.”

  “Of course. Putting myself out there is old hat now. At this point, I’m kind of used to having to stand up and be a hero or stand up for myself. A few months ago, I’d be pissing myself; but now playing a game in front of a bunch of people isn’t really a big deal. This isn’t like quitting my job or trying to ask you out. It’ll be kind of like back in the old days when you used to watch me play games, but instead of you just watching, it’ll be a whole bunch of people like us. So, yeah, not a big deal.”

  Mary propped her head on a fist and smiled. “I never really imagined you’d say something like that.”

  “Neither did I.” Clint shrugged. “Then again, I never saw myself actually hooking up with you, so I guess life is full of surprises.”

  “Guess it is.” Mary sighed and closed her eyes. “I know I’m going to regret this.”

  “Regret what? Introducing me to rope play? It’s only been a few hours, and I already regret it,” Clint rubbed his quads.

  Mary chuckled and threw a soft punch at Clint’s chest. “No, dumb ass, I mean doing this game thing. I’m gonna regret this; but I’ll do it.”

  “So you, me, and Krug are gonna adventure in front of an audience?”

  “Yep. I’m gonna gather up my balls and put myself out there.” Clint grinned, and Mary shook her head. “And don’t even think about making a joke about me having balls.

  Clint looked a bit disappointed, and Mary wrapped an arm around his neck. “Okay, okay, one joke.”

  “Hmph, I don’t want to do it now. You stole my thunder.”

  “Well get it back soon, because soon you’re gonna be displaying your thunder for thousands to see.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m ready to show the world my expert sword play.”

  Mary looked at Clint incredulously. He cleared his throat. “Uh, well at least show the world I know how to not decapitate myself.”

  Mary giggled. “Much better. Well, we had better get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”

  “Aw, you want to go to sleep already. I wanted another romp.”

  “I do too, but something tells me we’re gonna have all the sex we can deal with while we’re in game, whether we want it or not.”

  Mary snuggled up to Clint as he laid his head on his pillow and situated his body on the bed. Even though he’d been this close to Mary more than a hundred times by this point, he still felt his heart rapidly beating.

  FOUR

  The knock on the door came much earlier than both Clint and Mary wanted. Clint opened bleary eyes to look at the floating red holoclock beside the bed. 7:58 PM it read. He groaned and rolled over. He had two minutes. Two more precious minutes of sleep.

  There was another knock on the door. Clint grumbled and burrowed into the covers. Another knock came, more persistent than the last. Clint tried to drown it out with a few groans, but it wouldn’t go away. He tried to escape into the land of nod, but the portal closed with another wrapping on the door.

  Mary reached over and shook him. “Hey Clint, I think that’s them.”

  “Who?” Clint said groggily.

  “You know, the guys who want to do that game thing,” Mary groaned and rubbed her eyes.

  “The game thing?” Clint’s tired mind vaguely recalled the conversation he had with the Mindsplosion employee yesterday. “Oh, the game thing. Damn uh, can you tell them to give me a few more minutes? I’m not even awake.”

  “Me either. Maybe if we stay quiet they’ll think we’re dead and go away,” Mary said.

  Mary and Clint stayed silent and groggily looked at the door. For a brief moment, their tired minds believed the ploy worked; however, another sharp knock soon stabbed the quiet air.

  Clint grunted and reached at the base of the bed for his pants. He struggled to put them on as he stumbled to the door and opened it. Standing in the doorway was Phil wearing a T-shirt with the Unexplored logo, an overly muscular Minotaur, and an underdressed catgirl shyly showing off her womanly assets.

  “Good morning Clint,” Phil said with a chipperness that shouldn’t be allowed so early in the morning.

  “Ugh, well, it’s morning, I guess. Sorry we’re not ready.”

  Phil smiled and held up a carrier with two coffee cups. “Don’t sweat it. Here, I brought coffee.”

  “My hero,” Mary grunted behind Clint. She reached for the carrier, took one of the cups and chugged it. After several drinks of piping hot coffee, Mary took a deep breath and blinked several times. “Oh yeah, that’ll do it.”

  Clint took the other coffee cup and slowly nursed the coffee while his brain attuned itself to the realm of the living. “Ugh, so hey, Phil, about yesterday - Mary and I didn’t get any details about how all this was gonna go down.”

  “Right,” Phil reached around and pulled a sheaf of papers out of his back pocket. “Sorry we didn’t get a chance to go over all this yesterday. This was kind of a last minute thing, but I’ve got everything situated, and you should be ready to go.” Phil shoved the papers at Clint, and he carefully took them.

  With one hand, Clint flipped through the stapled document. Even if he was fully lucid, there was no way he could understand any of the document’s legalese. Mary peered around his shoulder and looked over the document as well, equally confused.

  “So, what does this thing say?” Mary said.

  “It says a lot of things,” Phil said, “but in a nutshell it’s a promise that you won’t act like an asshat and break anything, that if you die in game, your family can’t sue us, and the promise that we’re gonna give you a ton of cash for playing our game, and you’ll receive a royalty from all revenues.”

  “A royalty from all revenues?” Clint said.

  “Yes. Since you’re both essentially actors you’ll be subject to the Internet Actor’s Guild act. So you’ll not only be paid for playing the game, you’ll be getting other monies as well.”

  Mary grabbed the contract and flipped through it. Toward the end, Mary found the clause Phil was talking about, and her eyes bugged out. “Oh God, uh Clint, we need to sign this. Now.”

  Mary pointed out the part of the contract to Clint, and his eyes were equally as wide. Clint fished in his pockets for a pen, only to be stopped when Phil handed him one.

  “I didn’t mention it yesterday because I wanted to make sure the players I chose for this task would do it for more than the money,” Phil handed the pen to Clint.

  “Of course,” Clint said as he hurriedly signed the contract. “My main motive is to spread word of the game. I’m sure Mary feels the same way.”

  “Uh yeah,” Mary said as she quickly signed her name.

  Phil received the signed contract and smiled. “Awesome, well I’m sure that you two will be excellent players for this project.”

  Mary and Clint looked at each other. There’d been stories of gamers that took deals like this. Sometimes players that did these sorts of things went on to be big internet celebrities. They received sponsorship deals, appeared on talk shows, and even had parts in VR movies. Mary and Clint could become superstars and make more money than they could ever dream of. This was a dream come true!

  Phil looked over the contract once more and stuffed it into his back pocket. “What I also failed to mention, is that your characters will have to go through the virtual equivalent of hell. You’ll be taking part in a big quest that will shape the Wilderwood, and even the whole world of Unexplored itself. You’ll face a level of danger you’ve never faced before, and if you fail, it could mean the doom of your friends and everyone else you know.”

  “That would’ve been nice to know,” Mary said, “but that still wouldn�
��t dissuade us. We face Wilderwood altering scenarios all the time.”

  “You do, but have you ever faced a problem that would completely wreck another players’ life in game? If you fail, other players will have you to blame for wrecking their existence.”

  Clint nervously smiled. It was one thing to put his character in danger, but to harm others made him feel very uneasy. “I’m not so sure about this anymore. I don’t want to ruin anyone else’s experience with the game. I want to help people experience Unexplored, not mess it up for them.”

  “I don’t want that either Clint, that’s why I’m hoping you’ll succeed,” Phil smiled.

  Mary’s face darkened. “How many people will be screwed over if we fail?”

  “Hundreds,” Phil said gleefully, “hundreds of sad, depressed people that will have to completely start their characters over from scratch if you fail. And it will be broadcast all over the net, so if you do fail, those players will know exactly who to go after. Some of those players will even be watching at the con.”

  Clint tucked his head a bit. “That doesn’t sound too fun.”

  “It sounds very fun! It’s not really a quest if nothing is on the line, is it?”

  “Yeah, but isn’t that bad for business?” Mary said. “You’re gonna lose several customers if this doesn’t play out right.”

  “Yes, but we’ll get thousands more either way, so Mindsplosion is willing to take that risk.”

  Clint crossed his arms. Ever since he started playing Unexplored, he’d had nothing but the utmost respect for Mindsplosion studios. However, now that he knew they were willing to throw several people under the bus for a profit, he felt nothing but hatred for them. They reminded him of the company he used to work for.

  Phil slapped Clint’s shoulder. “Oh, don’t be like that. A possible catastrophic event like this is just part of the game. It’s in the disclaimer that players agree to when they sign up for the game. Granted, it’s in the small print, but it’s there.”

  “Doesn’t stop it from being shady,” Mary said.

  “True, but it’s still in the agreement.”

  “Doesn’t make it right,” Clint said.

  “What’s right or wrong doesn’t matter at this moment. What matters now is that there is a world altering catastrophe that’s gonna happen if Cleave, Tarka, and Krug don’t do something to stop it,” Phil said.

  “I’d feel much better about it if everyone knows what’s on the line,” Clint said.

  “They’ll know. If you fail, they’re characters will be irreparably hampered by your failure.”

  “You know, money or no money, I have half a mind to tell you to shove it,” Mary said.

  “And I have a whole mind to tell you that you’ve signed a contract, and if you renege on it, Mindsplosion will sue you.”

  Mary sulked and drummed her fingers on her leg. “Well then, I guess I have no choice. Tarka will do what she can to stop whatever it is you throw at us.”

  Clint wasn’t excited about this, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. He was unemployed, and if he broke the contract, he’d have no way to pay back the damages. He grimly nodded. “Fine, I’ll do it. I’m not excited about it, but I’ll do what Mindsplosion tells me.”

  Phil grinned. “That’s the spirit! Now, I need you both to put these on.” He reached into a satchel at his side and pulled out two Mindsplosion t-shirts like he wore and handed them over. “When you’re dressed come meet me down in the Viewing Room and we’ll get started. On behalf of Mindsplosion studios, I’d like to thank you for your participation in this project. We’re all very excited.”

  “I’m sure,” Clint said and grabbed the t-shirt.

  Mary and Clint changed into their t-shirts and followed Phil to the elevator. They reached the convention floor teeming with people and weaved their way to a large set of double doors. Phil opened them and the lights came on.

  Red carpet was rolled out between two rows of padded chairs that led to a large, elevated half-elliptical stage. On the stage was a podium, behind which stood a woman wearing large glasses. To her right were three large, white, plastic pods.

  The woman behind the podium smiled and motioned at Phil, Clint, and Mary. “And here are our heroes now, ready to brave new challenges in the world of Unexplored. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Cleave and Tarka.”

  Applause erupted from around them. Phil led Mary and Clint toward the stage while the latter shyly smiled and waved to the large number of people on either side of the red carpet. When they arrived, they were turned toward the audience who cheered them on.

  Fright flared up in Clint as he observed all the faces of the many people he didn’t know. All of them cheered for him and his girlfriend. Clint put on his best smile and waved at the audience, and the cheering grew. Mary did the same thing, and she was similarly greeted with several cheers, along with a few wolf whistles.

  Soon Clint and Mary got lost in the crowd’s adulation, and for a moment, they forgot about the agreement they’d signed with Mindsplosion. A few minutes afterward, Ned entered the Viewing Room and joined them on stage. They received cheers for a few more minutes before Phil walked behind the podium and addressed the audience.

  Phil called for everyone to be quiet, and slowly, the spectators quieted down. Clint, Mary, and Ned looked at each other. They didn’t speak, but from the worried look Ned wore, Clint and Mary knew that he’d learned the terms of his contract, probably after he’d signed it like they did.

  When the audience was quiet, Phil grinned and spoke. “Good morning adventurers, how are you doing this wonderful morning?”

  There were a few scattered acknowledgements from the audience.

  “Thank you for coming to the viewing room for this event. Today, three of Unexplored’s most beloved heroes will brave the Wilderwood in an epic adventure filled with dangers beyond their wildest imaginings. They will face a great evil that, if they fail, could alter the world of Unexplored as you all know it. Ladies and gentlemen please welcome our three guinea pigs, oops, I mean brave, renowned heroes for this event, Cleave, Tarka, and Krug!”

  There was a silence among the audience. Some mumbled to each other, trying to figure out who the three people on stage were.

  “Who are they?” Someone finally said.

  “Why they are great adventurers who saved the Wilderwood from the evil Crimson Kingdom countless times. They’re the players behind Cleave, Tarka, and Krug,” Paul said.

  “Who’s the Crimson Kingdom?” Another audience member said.

  “A mighty guild who is bent on the Wilderwood’s destruction, or so it seems,” Phil said.

  “I don’t know who any of those people are,” another player said.

  The crowd mumbled to each other. Clint looked away bashfully. He figured that not many people knew of their adventuring party; Unexplored was a massive world after all, but having his unknown status put on display made him feel awkward. He thought the hosts would at least tell the audience who they were.

  Mary rolled her eyes and called out. “For those that don’t know, I’m the slutty kobold that hangs out in the woods.”

  The crowd stopped for a moment and a murmur of recognition travelled through the room.

  “Oh yeah I remember you,” one of the audience members said. “You guided me through the woods and after that we went behind a barn and…”

  “Okay,” Phil quickly piped up, “so a few of us know each other, that’s nice. Anyway, these three adventurers will be risking life and limb in order to save the world of Unexplored from a great evil. But it’s not just the world of Unexplored that’s in danger, but some of your characters as well.”

  The crowd stopped mumbling to each other and turned to Phil.

  “I thought that might get your attention. Yes, if these three fail in their quest, some of your characters that are located near the Wilderwood will be infected with a disease that will give your characters a permanent minus twenty to all stats.”

&nbs
p; A small rabble arose from the audience. A few of the players gasped and some stood up. Many objections and questions were raised, all of which were dismissed by a wave of Phil’s hand.

  “Yes, some of your characters are in grave danger, but there is nothing you can do. The lives of your characters rest squarely on the shoulders of these three heroes.”

  “What?” yelled an audience member.

  “That’s bullshit,” said another.

  Phil grinned. “Indeed, it is, but that is the nature of Unexplored. Before you all ask, no, you can’t help them. These three must face the evil alone.”

  The small rabble rose in tempo. Many of the players approached the stage in protest, but beefy men wearing Unexplored T shirts turned them away. Mary, Clint and Ned looked at each other nervously. Ned was about to say something but Phil cut him off.

  “Now before we begin there is one rule. During this adventure, if one of these characters die, they are out of the adventure. It will be up to their friends to succeed, and if they all die, well,” Phil shrugged slowly, holding the audience in suspense, “hope those affected will enjoy their new defective characters.”

  There was another rabble from the audience and more members tried to approach the stage, only to be turned away by large men. Icy lead sank into Clint’s stomach. He surveyed the worried faces of the players in the audience, and it grew heavier.

  When the audience quieted down, Phil continued. “We won’t tell our adventurers what they’ll be facing, as it would ruin our fun, but we can give them a hint. It involves the ring of power they seek.”

  The uneasiness in Clint grew. He and his party had been searching for the Ring of Treesoul for about a month. He thought it was just another magic item in the game that he and his party needed to find, just another quest they had to go on. He didn’t think it would have widespread implications.