(c) 2007 - 2008 by LFox
A World Apart
Chapter 12: Echoes of the Past

As the gang log in they quickly meet up with Elwyn in the street.  Nearby them they overhear a strong male voice talking.

“Forget it I am not going there.  I don’t care if it is a C grade location or how much you’re paying that place is bad news”

The gang quickly turns to see a dark elf woman in skimpy common dark elf clothing arguing with a male human in heavy B grade plate armor.  The man turns away and starts walking off.

The dark elf woman reaches a hand out toward him as he leaves.  “But…”

Seeing he’s not stopping she slumps down looking utterly depressed.  Nathan quickly glances at Elisha who cracks a smile and nods.  The four of them quickly go over to the woman to find out what’s wrong.

“Excuse me we couldn’t help but overhear.  Is there something we can do to help?” says Nathan.

The dark elf woman looks up at them with wide eyes.  “You mean it?  You’d really help me?”

Jessica smiles.  “Sure”

The dark elf woman’s quickly starts beaming as she smiles.  “Oh thank you, thank you so much”

“Why don’t you tell us exactly what it is you’re after” says Elisha.

The dark elf woman quickly nods.  “Well you see I’m after a unique bracelet its one of a kind.  After searching for it for months I finally found it.  Unfortunately it’s in an old crypt called Kelofyn it’s in a ruined cathedral in the Glade of Sorrow it’s a C grade location outside the dark elf city Reladur.  Everyone calls it bad news but I really don’t think it’s that bad besides there’s four of you.  You see it’s packed with ghosts and wraiths and…well I’m…I’m, kind of afraid of ghosts.  Not to mention I have a lot of work to do lately and I’m worried if I don’t get it now I’ll lose my chance at it”

“So that’s what it is” says Nathan.

“Look I’ll pay you.  Five hundred thousand if you get it for me”

The gangs eyes go wide and they stare at her in utter shock.

“Fi-Fiv-Five hundred thousand?  You’re kidding right?” asks Jessica.

The dark elf woman quickly shakes her head.  “I won’t lie to you the truth is the actual value of the bracelet is probably two or three million, assuming you find an interested buyer.  I really don’t have that kind of money though.  You seem like trustworthy people and it’s in a rather low location so…”

Elisha stares at the dark elf woman with cold eyes.  “What exactly is so special about this bracelet?”

The dark elf woman quickly turns pale and waves her hands in front of her.  “Uh, never mind that, it’s…it’s embarrassing”

Elisha glares at the woman somewhat angrily not seeming too amused by her aversion of the question.

“Can you give us a moment to talk it over?” asks Nathan.

The gang turns around and quickly huddles close so they can discuss the issue.

“I say we take it” says Jessica.

“I was thinking we could use the money to buy Elwyn a house” says Nathan.

Elisha smiles.  “That’s actually not a bad idea.

Jessica nods.  “That is a good idea.  It’ll give us a place to hang out”

Elwyn looks at them dumbfounded.  “Wait, wait a minute I can’t let you guys buy me a house”

“Never mind that now” says Nathan.  The gang quickly disperses and turns around to face the dark elf woman.  “We’ll do it”

The dark elf woman’s face lights up.  “Oh thank you, thank you so much.  The bracelet itself is silver with various designs and patterns on it.  I’m afraid that’s all I know you’ll have to search through Kelofyn until you find it.  I really have to go now I’ll meet you back here tomorrow the same time as now if that’s alright?”

Nathan nods.  “Sounds good”

The dark elf woman turns to leave then suddenly stops and turns back around.  “Oh one more thing.  Whatever you do, no matter what happens.  Do NOT put the bracelet on”

Elisha glares at the woman.  “And why is that?”

“It’s, it’s cursed.  If you put it on you won’t be able to take it off for a week”

Nathan rubs the back of his head with a hand.  “Well, that’s good enough incentive not to put it on”

The dark elf woman smiles.  “Thanks again, bye”.  With that she quickly disappears as she logs out.

Elwyn stares at her friends.  “Would you mind explaining this house business to me?”

Nathan smiles.  “Well I was thinking you’re a good friend of ours.  You live here, but you’re always staying at inns in filthy little rooms”

“But I can’t have you guys buy me a house”

“Well I think it’s a good idea and like I said it’ll give us a place to hang out” says Jessica.

“We can also use the house to store things.  It’ll be better than buying a warehouse although it’ll only be accessible from one location” says Elisha.

“Still…” starts Elwyn.

“It’s what we decided” says Nathan.  Elwyn hangs her head down in defeat.  “Let’s teleport out to Kelofyn now and get the bracelet”

Several moments later the four of them arrive in a forest.  Unlike the other forests they’ve visited though the one they arrive in is dark, the trees, the plants and the bushes are all dark and dismal in color and they don’t hold the same vibrance the other plants they encountered did.  To add to the dismal atmosphere a thick blanket of fog envelopes the area and almost all light is blocked out by the thick trees overhead.

“Are we there?” asks Nathan.

Jessica’s face turns pale as she looks around the area.  “This place is, creepy”

“So where’s the crypt?” asks Elisha.

Elwyn points over to the side with a finger.  “It’s down that way.  I put us a short distance from the crypt”

The four of them quickly start walking to the crypt as they do Elisha speaks up.  “Open Eden handbook”.  A console prompt quickly appears in front of her which moves with her as she walks.

“What are you doing?” asks Nathan.

“I just remembered you can open the handbook while in the game.  That bracelet should be listed in the index of items in the handbook.  I’m curious what it does” explains Elisha.

She presses on the prompt a few times then reads over a section with her eyes.  Her face suddenly turns from her normal expression to a rather surprised look.

“What is it?” asks Nathan.

“What’s it do?” asks Elwyn.

“It makes female characters grow a dick” says Elisha.

Jessica’s eyes go wide.  “WHAT?  You’re kidding right?”

Elisha turns and stares at Jessica with a straight face.  “See for yourself”

Jessica peers over at the console and quickly turns pale.

Nathan scratches his head nervously.  “Well, I guess we know why she didn’t say now”

“That’s a…interesting item” says Elwyn.

Jessica shakes her head.  “Whoever made items like that is a real weirdo”

Elisha presses something on the console making it disappear.  “Well regardless of what it does she’s paying us good money to get it”

After continuing through the dark forest a short while they suddenly come to a stop.  In front of them is a massive grey stone cathedral with glorious glass windows depicting hero’s.  Unfortunately through age and being abandoned the once glorious cathedral is left with shattered windows as a moss and vine ridden pile of rubble that’s slowly begun to collapse.  Even where the cathedral stands the sky cannot be seen as the trees tower over it blocking almost all light from above.

“Wow what a place” says Nathan.

Elwyn nods.  “It’s a shame such a beautiful building was abandoned like this”

Elisha suddenly turns and stares into the tree line with killer eyes.  As she does she draws an arrow and just as she turns she fires it.  The arrow flies off into the tree line and lands with a loud thunk.

Jessica stares at the tree line then turns to Elisha.  “What was that about?”

“Sorry, I thought something was there” says Elisha.

“Let’s go inside” says Elwyn.

A short distance from them between the tree line a dark elf woman is standing against a tree with Elisha’s arrow mere millimeters from her face.  Needless to say the poor dark elf is practically white from fear.

The dark elf herself has long black hair down to her shoulders with white streaks through it and a set of bluish white eyes.  Her clothes are all black with a set of four inch high heel boots, gloves, a skimpy skirt that barely covers her panties and tight little top that stops below her breasts with a small vest over it.  Finally on her sides she has a set of curved daggers sheathed on her belt.

“That was, that was too close” says the dark elf.

Back with the gang the four of them head down a staircase in the back of the cathedral leading down to the crypt.  As they come to the bottom of the stairs they come into a long torch lit hallway.  Unlike the other crypts they explored the hallway is covered in thick cobwebs and thick layers of dust.

“It doesn’t look like anyone’s been down here in a long time” says Elisha.

“Yeah but why’s there torches lit?” asks Jessica.

“A lot of places such as this use specially enchanted torches that don’t burn out” says Elwyn.

“Oh”

Nathan draws his sword and walks ahead.  “Come on”.

With that he slices one of the large cobwebs in half that was blocking their path.  The four of them continue through the hall brushing away or cutting webs that are in the way.  As they near the corner a pair of female voices can be heard talking.

“Hey you hear that?” asks Nathan.

“Yeah” says Elisha.

“It’s coming from up ahead” says Elwyn.

As they continue around the corner their footsteps suddenly lose their echo and the atmosphere around them turns grey and grainy like a classical movie with odd flashes in the lighting on some areas.  Standing in the hall are two female elf ghosts wearing heavy plate armor talking to each other and on the floor is a massive pool of blood.

One of the ghosts waves her hand in the air.  “I don’t care what Varen’s order are I’m not letting him get his hands on Estathra”

The other ghost glares at her angrily.  “Why are you protecting her?  She’s a dark elf”

The first ghost shakes her head.  “You wouldn’t understand.  Go back to Varen, tell him I’m not going to dance for him anymore like a puppet”

“You know I can’t do that.  Besides Varen…”

“What are they talking about?” asks Nathan.

Elwyn shakes her head.  “I have no idea”

“Hey you two” yells Elisha.  Neither of the ghosts move or even flinch from her voice as they continue talking to each other.  Elisha quickly runs over to them and stands between them.  “Hey…hello?”.  Elisha waves a hand in front of each of them to get their attention but nothing seems to work.  After several moments of trying she walks back over to the others.

“What’s going on?  Is this a glitch?” asks Jessica.

Elwyn puts a hand to her chin.  “I’ve heard of this before.  Their restless spirits.  The spirits relive events prior to their death over and over and over again in a never ending cycle”

“So what, we’re going to meet more ghosts like them?” asks Nathan.

Elwyn nods her head slightly.  “I guess so.  They won’t all be the same though.  Some will be angry, very, very angry.  I’ve heard of spirits getting so blinded with the anger of their deaths that they wander around mercilessly killing anyone they come across”

Suddenly the ghost that was objecting Varen’s orders turns to leave.  The other ghost glares at her for a moment then draws her sword and walks up behind her.  She grabs the other ghosts shoulder and thrusts her sword in her back cutting right through her spine and coming out the other side.

“What the hell?” says Nathan.

Jessica puts a hand to her mouth in shock.

The ghost that was stabbed looks back at the other.  “You, you fucking coward”

The other ghost glares down at her with cold eyes.  “I’m sorry but I can’t disobey Varen, I have orders”

“Then go, try to take Estathra you backstabbing bitch.  Dance for your master little puppet”

The other ghost violently wrenches her sword out and sheaths it.  She slowly walks off leaving the other to die in a pool of her own blood.  After several steps though both of the ghosts quickly fade from existence and the atmosphere goes back to its normal colors.

“Just what the hell happened in this place?” asks Nathan.

Elwyn shakes her head.  “I have no idea.  My only guess is that this place is left over from the great war”

“What great war?” asks Jessica.

“Well as history goes the five races weren’t always on good terms.  Several hundred years ago there was a massive war that raged on for years between humans, elves and dark elves.  Eventually the humans allied themselves with the elves to get rid of the dark elves.  After some time the dark elves realized they were losing and feeling threatened they turned to the demons for help.

The demons had no real interest in helping the dark elves but decided it was best to get involved before the humans and elves got cocky enough to attack them.  With the demons backing the dark elves they quickly retook entire regions and pushed back the human and elvin armies.  After several months of this the humans and elves amassed a massive army and marched it toward the dark elf capital with the intention of killing their matriarch.

The demons single handedly stopped the army though.  The demon matriarch went with three hundred of her elite royal guard and intercepted the army.  What happened wasn’t a battle but a slaughter.  Not a single demon was killed but the humans and elves lost three quarters of their army.

After that battle the demon matriarch called a meeting and with a heavy set of non negotiable terms she set to forcing peace on all the races.  The alternative to her terms was she’d march one million demons out and annihilate every other race from the face of Eden”

“Wow that’s quite a history” says Nathan.

“How do you know all this?” asks Jessica.

“I read a lot of books” says Elwyn.

“You realize this is a virtual world that’s only been around for about five years so none of that really happened right?” asks Elisha.

“Elisha…” starts Jessica.

“Sorry, just figured I’d point it out” says Elisha.

“So anyway why did you say this place was left over from the great war?” asks Nathan.

“Well A LOT happened during the great war.  A lot of backstabbing, assassinations, slavery…the list goes on and on.  Judging by what those two ghosts were saying earlier on it sounds like a group of the elves allied themselves with the dark elves to help protect a woman for some reason.  Since they were at war at the time I have no idea what their intentions could have been” says Elwyn.

“I guess we’ll have to find out then” says Jessica.

Elwyn, Jessica and Nathan quickly continue on ahead.  Elisha watches them a moment and shakes her head.  “I guess we’re role-playing now huh?”.  With that she quickly walks after them.  After walking for a while Elisha turns her head slightly and glances behind them.

“Something wrong?” asks Nathan.

“I got the feeling we’re being followed”

“You’re just being paranoid” says Jessica.

Elwyn shakes her head.  “No, I think she might be right”

After a short distance the gang comes to a stop at a crossroad.  Elisha kneels down and marks an arrow to the left.

“Elwyn can you lift us in the air so we’re against the ceiling?” whispers Elisha.

Elwyn nods.  A few moments later the four of them are hidden against the ceiling just around the corner.  After several moments the dark elf from earlier runs over to the crossroad and looks at each direction then looks at the floor.  Seeing the arrow pointing left she quickly runs off in that direction.

“So we are being followed” says Jessica.

“Think she’s after the bracelet?” asks Nathan.

“I’m sure of it” says Elisha.

“Do you think she’ll try to kill us for it?” asks Elwyn.

Elisha and Jessica turn to each other with smirks.

“If she does we’ll call a world keeper” says Jessica.

“I’m sure Death wouldn’t mind adding another body to the cemetery” says Elisha.

“Jess will you let go of my arm?” asks Elwyn.  She turns to Jessica who’s clutching her arm tightly.

Jessica turns a little pale and let’s go of her arm.  “S-sorry I suddenly got the weird notion that I was gonna fall”.  Elwyn quickly lowers them to the ground.  “I guess we’ll go in the opposite direction”

Jessica turns deathly pale as she looks at the crossroads.  “G-g-guys”

The others turn around quickly to find a set of three Elvin ghosts, one female in the middle with two males on either side of her all in heavy plate armor with a set of dual swords in their hands.  Unlike the last two ghosts these ones look heavy battered, their bodies are in shambles with large cuts and streaks of blood across them.

“That fool Varen’s still sending people here?” asks the female ghost.

“We’re, we’re not with Varen” says Jessica.

“Kill them”

Jessica turns pale as the ghosts run towards them.  “I said we’re not with Varen”

“They’re not going to listen to reason” says Elwyn.

They all quickly draw their weapons and prepare to fight the ghosts.  One after another their weapons flash over with energy as they activate soulshot.  Nathan quickly dashes ahead to engage one of the males.  Jessica dashes ahead and engages the female while the remaining male is left to contend with by Elisha and Elwyn.

Jessica violently smashes her sword downwards at her ghost.  The ghost quickly raises her swords in an X blocking Jessica’s attack with ease.  Jessica puts her strength into her sword trying to overpower the ghost.  Seeing her plan the ghost suddenly eases up and ducks, she pulls her left sword out to the side and strikes at Jessica.  Jessica quickly spins her body to the side just barely avoiding the sword as it strikes the air.  Realizing her error in fighting a person with two swords Jessica quickly takes a few steps back and gets into a fighting stance to try again.

Meanwhile one of the male ghosts rushes Elwyn and slashes his swords downwards at her.  She quickly raises her staff to block him and tries desperately to hold it there as he presses his strength into his swords.  Elisha quickly runs over and kicks at his face but her foot flies right through.  She smacks herself in the face with a hand as she realizes using anything except her bow isn’t going to work.  She quickly changes her grip on her bow and swings it like a bat smacking the ghost in the side of the face.

He stumbles backwards several steps then raises his swords again as he prepares to fight.  Elisha quickly steps between him and Elwyn to protect her.  Elwyn breathes a sigh of relief then quickly motions her hands around and throws her right hand out.  A burst of air flies out from her hand and hurtles towards the ghost.  Seeing it he quickly shields himself by crossing his swords in front of him.  The burst of air hits him head on and cuts quickly appear across his body from the force of it.

Meanwhile Nathan is busy exchanging blows with the other male.  The ghost slices horizontally at him so he quickly raises his shield to block it.  Instead of the shield blocking the sword though it passes right through.  The sword quickly comes into contact with Nathan’s armor but like the shield instead of blocking it, the sword passes through.  The sword glides through the armor slicing a deep cut along Nathan’s stomach.  Nathan yells out in pain and backs away clutches his side with his sword hand which quickly gets the attention of his friends.

“Are you alright” says Jessica.

Nathan grits his teeth in pain.  “Their swords can pass through everything except your weapon when it has soulshot on it.  Don’t let them touch you because your armor won’t do anything”

“Can you keep it busy?” asks Elwyn.

Elisha smashes the ghost in the face with her bow again.  “Why where the hell are you going?”

“To help Nathan”

Elwyn teleports behind the ghost Nathan’s fighting.  She grips her staff tightly around the base and it quickly flares with blue energy.  She swings the staff like a bat smashing the ghost in the face and knocking it aside.  As the ghost begins to get up again Elwyn motions her hands around then swipes her staff horizontally in the air.  A curved ripple of air flies out and cleaves the ghost in two as it stands up.  As the ghost begins to fade away the ripple of air slams into the wall leaving a huge streak across it.

Elwyn quickly rushes over to Nathan to check on him.  “Are you okay?”

Nathan nods.  “Yeah, thanks.  Help Jess I’ll help Elisha”

Elwyn nods and quickly takes off to help Jessica.  Nathan turns and runs over to help Elisha.  As the two busily deflect each other’s blows Nathan runs up behind the ghost and jams his sword in its back.  The ghost yells out and pauses in its attack.

Seeing an opening Elisha quickly draws an arrow and fires it into the ghost’s forehead.  As the arrow comes to a stop in the ghost’s forehead its body goes limp and as the flash of energy from the soulshot dissipates the ghost quickly begins to fade away.  As its body disappears Elisha’s arrow drops to the floor.

With the ghost dead the two of them quickly turn their attention to Jessica and Elwyn.  Despite teaming up the female ghost manages to avoid or deflect their every attack.  Even Elwyn’s heavy air flashes are cleaved in half by one of the ghosts swords.  As Elisha and Nathan come over to the ghost she quickly escapes the girls and prepares to face them all.  Nathan and Jessica stand in front of her on opposite sides with Elisha and Elwyn between them.

At the same time Jessica and Nathan step forward and strike at the ghost.  She blocks them each with a sword then begins to fight with both of them at the same time.  Despite that she manages to block every single attack without problem.  Elwyn quickly motions her hands around preparing another air attack while Elisha draws back an arrow on her bow.

Together they fire their attacks at the ghost.  Without even losing her defense for a second she positions the sword she’s fighting Jessica with to block the arrow.  With the other sword she swipes it to the side cleaving Elwyn’s attack in half right when Nathan pulls his sword back.  Elisha’s arrow clangs to the ground after hitting her sword and by the time Nathan’s able to strike again she’s already reguarded herself.  Completely unphased by their interference she continues fighting both Nathan and Jessica.

“That didn’t work at all” says Elisha.

Elwyn glares menacingly at the ghost and activates the soulshot on her weapon then starts motioning her hands in the air.  “Let’s see her dodge this”

Elwyn thrusts her staff forward towards them causing a massive jet of fire as big as the hallway to fly out.  It quickly engulfs Nathan, Jessica and the ghost and continues down the hallway like a massive explosion.  When the fire finally clears Nathan and Jessica are standing next to each other but the ghost is nowhere to be seen.

“Well I guess she couldn’t dodge that” says Elisha.

“You sure she didn’t disappear through the floor or something?” asks Jessica.

Elwyn shakes her head.  “She’s gone”

Nathan sighs out and sinks to the ground.  The girls quickly rush over to him and kneel down to check on him.  As they look him over they quickly notice blood seeping out between the armor plates around his stomach.

“I’ll teleport us back to town” says Elwyn.

Nathan grabs her hand before she can start casting the spell.  “No, if we leave that woman will get the bracelet.  Besides we can’t run back to town every time we get a small scratch”

Elisha quickly moves behind Nathan and forces his back down on her lap then looks up at Jessica.  “Get his armor off”

Jessica nods and quickly begins to remove his chest plate.

“Hey what do you think you’re doing” says Nathan.

“Taking care of your wound now lie back and relax” says Elisha.

As Jessica removes his chest plate the massive bloody streak across his stomach comes into view.  The girls all stare at the massive mark silently for a moment.  Jessica quickly grabs some bandages out of her side bag as well as a potion.  She quickly uncorks the potion and holds it over the wound.

“You better hold him” says Jessica.

Elisha grabs his arms tightly and Elwyn presses her hands down on his chest.  With him secured Jessica begins to pour the healing potion over the wound.  Nathan yells out and shuffles around slightly as he tries to escape the pain.  As Jessica finishes pouring half the vial out she hands the remainder to Elisha then grabs a bandage.  While Jessica bandages his wound Elisha helps him drink the remainder of the vial.

As Jessica finishes tying off the bandage Nathan groans out.  “That hurt, A LOT”

Elisha smirks at him.  “We know”

Jessica quickly helps Nathan put his chest plate back on then helps him to his feet.

“Are you going to be okay?” asks Elwyn.

“I’ll be fine.  More importantly we better get moving” says Nathan.

“You sure you can fight still?” asks Jessica.

Elisha whacks Nathan on the back.  “He’ll be fine, he’s strong”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence” says Nathan.

Once again the four of them head down the hallway bypassing several empty rooms.  As they continue their footsteps suddenly lose their echo again and the sounds of faint whispers and phantom footsteps begin around them.  The atmosphere quickly changes again becoming grey and grainy.

Jessica turns around as she feels something touch her shoulder then squeals out and turns as white as a sheet as she comes face to face with a male ghost that has massive wounds across his body and heavy bandages.  As the others turn around to see what the problem is the ghost disappears and the atmosphere goes back to its usual colors.

“I, I think I almost peed my pants” says Jessica.

Nathan grabs Jessica and pulls her over so she’s in the middle of the group.  “Stay in the middle okay?”

“Y-yeah, thanks.  This place gives me the creeps”

“Me too”

Elisha shakes her head.  “Honestly you’re supposed to be the guy here”

“Yeah like that means anything these days.  You’re braver than I am” says Nathan.

Elisha smiles.  “I just don’t scare so easy”

Elisha takes a step ahead to continue walking when suddenly a black energy flashes up from the floor and emanates around her briefly.  She turns and glares at her friends with black mist hanging around her eyes as they glow unworldly.  She bares her teeth at them like a dog then a moment later black mist seeps out of her body and disappears.

Elisha looks at her friends looking genuinely scared.  “Okay, I’m officially freaked out now”

“What, the hell, was that?” asks Jessica.

“Something, jumped into me.  I lost control of my body for a moment there”

“Let’s just get out of this place” pleads Jessica.

Elwyn nods silently looking rather afraid herself.

“No, we came here for the bracelet and we’re staying until we get it” says Nathan.

“Well look at you Mr brave” says Elisha.

“You disagree?”

“Hell no but after that I don’t want to stay in this place a second longer than necessary”

“Well let’s make this fast then”

With that Nathan runs off ahead closely followed by Elisha.  Not having much of a choice Elwyn and Jessica quickly follow after them.  As they turn the corner they come to a stop.  In front a dozen elf and a dozen dark elf ghosts are busy fighting each other to the death over a section with large blood streaks along the floor and walls.

“Don’t attack them, let’s just sneak past” says Elisha.

The others nod in agreement and quickly sneak alongside the wall.  One of the ghosts suddenly strikes out against the wall inches from Nathan’s head as she draws back her weapon.  As the blade is pulled away he quickly dashes past as do the girls.

The four of them continue on through the hallways for several moments until they come to a stop at a corner.  Suddenly the atmosphere turns grey and grainy again and a female dark elf spirit appears at the corner walking away with a sword lodged through her chest and heavy cuts along her body.  The gang quickly runs after her and watches as she stumbles down the hallway.

“Where’s she going?” asks Jessica.

Elwyn’s eyes suddenly go wide.  “Oh god, quick follow me”

Elwyn dashes off ahead and passes by the ghost.  The others look at each other briefly before rushing after her.

“What’s wrong?” asks Nathan.

“She must be someone who escaped the fight we saw earlier I’ll give you one guess what she’s trying to do” says Elwyn.

“Help, she’s going to warn the others” says Elisha.

Elwyn nods.  “If she reaches the others they’ll probably see us as enemies and there’s no telling how many we’ll have to fight”

The four of them dash past a room, as they do dark elf spirits starts appearing inside.

“Listen I think if we’re serious about getting that bracelet we should just rush through this place.  I’ll try to teleport us past any dangerous ghosts” says Elwyn.

Elisha glances to her side into a room as they pass by seeing almost two dozen dark elf ghosts inside.  “I think she’s right.  This place is crawling with ghosts.  It’ll take us hours to get through here, that’s assuming we can” says Elisha.

“That wasn’t the part I was worried about”

“I think we’re all forgetting where in the hell is the bracelet?” asks Jessica.

“It’s a unique item my bet is it’s either with the leader or in a vault of some kind” says Nathan.

“Or it could have been mistaken as a crappy piece of jewelry and lobbed down a hole” says Elisha.

“Look we’re getting closer to the back of this crypt so I think we should try to find the leader start there then look for a vault.  If we still haven’t found it by then, well, I say we get out of here but if you guys really want to continue we’ll start going room by room” says Elwyn.

The four of them continue through the ruins rushing past rooms and dozens of ghosts.  They ignore any spirits repeating moments before their deaths and any dangerous spirits they either deal with as quickly as possible or Elwyn teleports them far past completely avoiding them.

“This should be it” says Elwyn.

They’re about to dash inside a room when suddenly the atmosphere turns grey and grainy again.  A female elf and dark elf ghost wearing heavy armor quickly appear in front of them facing each other.  The gang quickly backs off in fear and stands at the ready to draw their weapons.

“Why exactly does Varen want Lady Estathra dead?” asks the dark elf ghost.

“He’s afraid, he’s afraid of her visions and what they could do for all our races” says the elf ghost.

“That’s it?”

“We’ve already bypassed the transgression of our races to protect her.  If that can happen to two races as opposed as ours think what it could mean for the other races.  Varen wants this world ruled by humans and only humans.  He doesn’t want the war to stop until everything that isn’t human is dead.  You know all her visions have come true.  The last thing Varen wants is for her to see the war come to an end in peace and then make it happen”

“I’m not going to let Varen get a chance to harm her”

“Neither am I.  I’ve made my choice, I’ll die to protect her if I have to”

With that the two ghosts fade away and the atmosphere returns to normal.

“All this happened because she was a prophet and someone didn’t like that?” asks Jessica.

“That’s how war is” says Nathan.

“Never mind that, let’s check inside before those two come back for real” says Elisha.

They quickly dash inside the room and come to a stop.  Along the walls are massive bookshelves, toward the center up against a wall is a desk and chair with a quill and paper to study on.  The floors, walls and bookshelves have large streaks of blood across them and lying about the room are Elvin skeletons in various types of armor and clothing.

Up on the far wall an Elvin skeleton is strung up with a massive spear through her chest.  For her clothes she has a black blindfold and a skimpy black top with a skimpy two piece cloth around her waist.  Finally on her arm she has a brilliant silver bracelet with various designs and patterns on it.

“That must be her” says Elisha.  After looking at the skeleton a moment she notices the bracelet and points at it.  “Is that the bracelet?”

“Looks like it” says Nathan.

“Well grab it so we can get the hell out of here” says Jessica.

Nathan and Elisha quickly rush over to the skeleton.  Nathan fumbles around with the bracelet for a moment before he manages to remove it.  He turns around and holds it up with a smile.  The blood quickly drains from his face as he looks behind the girls and around the corners of the room where dozens upon dozens of Elvin ghosts have appeared including the two they saw talking moments ago.

“Let’s ge…” starts Elisha as she turns around.  She quickly turns pale seeing all the ghosts.  “Oh shit”

Jessica and Elwyn quickly turn around and squeal in fright.  They quickly back up toward Nathan and Elisha.

“What do we do?  We can’t fight all them” says Jessica.

“Elwyn can you teleport us out?” asks Elisha.

“Y-yeah” stutters Elwyn.  She turns to her friends and breaths deeply then motions her hands but nothing happens.

“I thought your teleporting us” says Elisha.

“Shut up I’m trying, it’s a little hard to concentrate right now”

The ghosts around them slowly start moving towards them with their weapons drawn.

“I don’t think we have a whole lot of time” says Nathan.

Elwyn closes her eyes and takes a deep breath then motions her hands.  The four of them teleport out just before the ghosts get a chance to attack them.  Several moments after they teleport out the dark elf that was following them runs into the room.  She looks around at the ghosts and quickly turns pale as they turn to her with angry stares.  Safe in the streets of Ralion the gang all let out a huge sigh of relief.

“For a second there I thought we were dead” says Jessica.

“Sorry” says Elwyn.

Elisha shakes her head.  “No, I’m sorry.  It must be very hard to concentrate your magicka in situations like that”

“Well, I think we’re done for the day” says Nathan.

Elisha grabs Nathan’s hand and drags him off.  “Come on let’s go get you healed”

“It doesn’t really hurt too much anymore”

“Too bad we’re still getting you checked out”

The next day as the three of them log in they quickly find Elwyn in the streets and just as they’re about to look around the dark elf woman that wanted the bracelet from yesterday approaches them.

“I’m glad to see your all alright.  I don’t suppose you managed to get the bracelet did you?” asks the dark elf woman.

Elisha takes it out of the bag on Nathan’s side and holds it up.  “It’s right here”.  The dark elf woman’s face lights up and she reaches out to grab the bracelet, before she can though Elisha pulls it away.  “Not so fast, there’s the little issue of our payment.  Not to mention I think we deserve a little bonus”

“Elisha” starts Nathan.

She motions a hand at him to shut up.  “You neglected to mention some of the more important details about the place not to mention we had someone following us the whole time who was after this thing as well”

The dark elf woman looks at them somewhat hurt.  “I’m sorry but if there were details I didn’t mention it’s because I didn’t know about them myself.  As for the person following you they must have heard us talking in town”

“We almost got killed by dozens of pissed off ghosts.  I even got possessed by one briefly.  I’m willing to overlook the fact that you neglected to mention what this thing does.  But you said it yourself this things worth millions so what’s an extra hundred thousand for a bonus of a job well done?”

The dark elf glares at Elisha angrily.  “You’re a cold bitch you know that?”.  She sighs out heavily.  “But you’re right.  Had I known the crypt was so dangerous I would have tried to offer more money.  Since it was more trouble than I quoted and you had the bad luck to have someone else after it I’ll give you seven hundred thousand.  I literally cannot give you anymore because that’s every cent I have”

“Sounds good”

The dark elf unstraps the bag around her waist and holds it out to Elisha.  Elisha holds out the bracelet and they quickly exchange and check over their items.  Both satisfied they look at each other with a smile.

“Thank you” says the dark elf woman.

“Thank you, and sorry to be such a bitch but that’s just me” says Elisha.

“Well take care”.  With that she quickly turns around and walks off.

“That was dirty and underhanded” says Jessica.

“Yeah…good job though” says Elwyn.

“You shouldn’t praise her for that” snaps Jessica.

Elwyn turns slightly pale.  “I know, still it was rather impressive”

Elisha smirks.  “Well with this we can buy a really really nice house”

“By the way does anyone know what that woman’s name was?” asks Nathan.

Jessica’s eyes go wide.  “Come to think of it I don’t think she ever told us”

“Who cares lets go look at some houses” says Elisha.

“Hang on I think we should get a house in a different city” says Nathan.

Elisha glances around at the buildings around them.  “Come to think of it this place is a little bland”

“If we really have to get a house how about we get one in the city of Shalielaith it’s an Elvin city.  It’s really really beautiful there” says Elwyn.

Elisha smiles.  “Alright that sounds good.  Can you teleport us over there?”

Elwyn nods and motions her hands.  Several moments later they appear in the streets of Shalielaith.  The city of Shalielaith looks very similar to Salandee only with the addition of a massive white stone wall at least fifty feet high around the town.  The streets and buildings of the city are all made out of beautiful white stone, large trees hang overhead along the streets and small channels of water run between fountains in the city.  The streets themselves are bustling with activity as dozens of elves go about their busy lives.

“Wow this place is even nicer than Salandee” says Jessica.

“You’ve been there?” asks Elwyn.

Jessica nods.  “Yeah it was really beautiful”

“Hmm, I wonder where the real estate agency is” says Elisha.

“More importantly I wonder if there’s any houses for sale in this city” says Nathan.

Elisha waves a hand.  “Don’t worry about that.  There’s always someone selling something”

Later in the late afternoon they follow a young male elf dressed in fancy elegant clothing.  He leads them over to a beautiful two story white marble house with a lovely garden in front with dozens of flowers and a nice balcony on the second floor.  He walks up to the door and opens it up leading them inside.

“And this is the last one it’s by far the biggest and it even comes fully furnished.  Two stories tall, balcony, garden, four bedrooms, bathroom, study, kitchen and lounge room.  Unfortunately it’s more expensive than the others, this one’s five hundred and ninety thousand” says the male elf.

“Wow pretty classy place” says Jessica.

“Have a quick look around and tell me what you think”

The gang looks at each other for a moment before spreading out and looking around the house.  The kitchen is all beautiful white with white wooden cupboards, stove, counters and dining table complete with chairs.  The living room has a couch, several chairs, a coffee table and a lovely fireplace.  Each of the bedrooms is brilliantly decorated, each with double beds and drawers.  Finally study has its walls lined with bookshelves filled with books with a small desk in the center for studying.  When the four of them finally finish looking around they make their way back to the living room.

“We’ll take it” says Nathan.  Nathan quickly hands him the sack of money from his side.

The male elf takes a quick peek inside then smiles.  “Pleasure doing business with you”.  He reaches into a bag on his side and takes out a scroll which he hands to Nathan.  “Here’s the deed.  Just don’t forget to sign it”.  With that the male elf takes his leave.

Nathan looks over the scroll a moment then hands it to Elwyn.  “Here”

Elwyn reluctantly takes it.  “You guys really shouldn’t have done this”

“You needed a place to live.  Besides it’s a good investment.  This is a nice town and good house” says Elisha.

“I suppose we better get going.  It’s getting pretty late” says Jessica.

Elisha nods.  “Yeah browsing through houses ate up a lot of time”

Nathan comes up to Elwyn so their only a foot apart.  “You wanta go for a walk together tomorrow around town, just the two of us?”

Elwyn smiles.  “Sure”

Nathan smiles.  “Great, I’ll see you later”

As Nathan disappears as he logs out Elisha shakes her head and sighs.  “There’s no helping that idiot”

“Yeah” says Jessica sadly.

Elwyn looks at them blankly.  “What are you guys talking about?”

Elisha shakes her head.  “She really is oblivious”

“Nathan likes you” says Jessica.

Elwyn nods.  “Yeah I know”

“No no no no no, Nathan REALLY REALLY likes you” says Elisha.

Elwyn’s eyes go wide.  “You, you mean he loves me?”.  Elisha nods.  “But, but I’m not real.  I’m just an NPC”

Elisha sighs.  “Well apparently that isn’t enough to stop him”

“Do you like him?” asks Jessica.

Elwyn blushes and nods.  “Yeah, I REALLY REALLY like him”

Elisha sighs.  “Honestly”

“I gotta go” says Jessica.  With that Jessica quickly rushes out the door.

“Uh we’ll see you later” says Elisha.  She quickly runs out the door after Jessica.  “Where are you going?”.  Jessica ignores her and keeps walking so Elisha grabs her hand and pulls her around finding she has tears in her eyes.  Elisha looks at her in shock.  “You, you really love him don’t you?”

Jessica wipes some of her tears away with her hand.  “Yeah, but he’s so thick headed he’s never noticed.  I knew they were close but, I kept telling myself, their just good friends.  But when you said it, I couldn’t fool myself anymore.  How can I lose to a computer program?  She’s just electronic data, she’s not real”

Elisha sighs heavily.  “Look I’m not going into the whole ethics and stupidity of it but, you can’t change it.  He loves who he loves.  I know you love him but, I think you’re going to have to come to terms with the fact that it’s never going to happen”

Jessica nods and wipes some of her tears away again.  “I hate her…and I like her.  I’m so confused”

Elisha grabs Jessica and hugs her.  “I know, I know.  It’s okay”

Later that night Nathan’s sitting on his bed in his room with Elisha across from him in a chair.

“So…what did you want to talk about?” asks Nathan.

“Jess” says Elisha.

“What about her?”

“She loves you, she really does”

Nathan sighs and puts a hand to his face.  “I know”

“But?”

Nathan looks up at her and shakes his head.  “I don’t love her.  I thought I’d made it clear already that I’m just not interested”

“You know Jess she’s pretty thickheaded sometimes and I don’t think she ever really took it too seriously”

“The problem is now I’ve found someone I really do love”

“She’s…not real”

“She’s real enough for me.  I know I know it seems stupid I’m an idiot ect ect but I can’t change how I feel.  And I honestly hope no one later is going to hold an intervention or something trying to stop me seeing her”

Elisha smiles.  “Well that would be a smart course of action.  But…I’m sorry to say regardless if she’s real or not I’m not going to stop you because of what I think”

“I appreciate it”.  Nathan holds his hands in front of him as he tries to form the words.  “Look, could you, talk, to Jess for me?  Just, I don’t know, something”

“I already told her it’s not going to happen and she should try to come to terms with it.  Cold I know but it was the best way to put it”

“She doesn’t hate me does she?”

“Well I’d say she probably has the vengeful hate of a turned down lover but aside from that I’d say no.  And she still likes Elwyn which makes it REALLY confusing”

Nathan sighs heavily.

“Don’t worry about it.  She’ll get over it in time”

To be Continued

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