Chapter 21 - Repeat

“Hey Pete.” I say after he invites me to a group and joins voice chat.

“Hey.” He says, and nothing else.

“What’s wrong bud?” I ask, noticing the tone in his voice.

“I uh, saw the stream.” he admits.

“Ah.” is all I say in response. He doesn't say anything back. I left him in Masstaoir, so I use my Hertston to return to him quickly. I find him inside of the inn, sitting next to the fire. I take the seat next to him, watching the flames dance.

“How are you feeling?” He asks.

I arch an eyebrow, confused.

“Fine, I guess. Why?” I watch him open his mouth to speak, closing it instead. I wait in silence as he formulates his answer.

“It’s just such a… violation,” he begins. “Thunderspank broadcasted your intimate moments to the whole world.”

“Helga said it was thirty thousand people.” I tell him.

“How could he do that? Why is he getting away with it?” he balls his fist.

“Peter.” I call his name, waiting for him to look at me. Tears run down his face when he finally does. “I’m ok, Peter. But this seems more personal than you just being worried about me.”

“It is.” he says quietly. He takes a deep breath before continuing. “When I was a freshman, an older boy and I…” He pauses, taking in another deep breath. “He recorded us. Come Monday, everyone at school had seen it. Not very many people cared that it was with another boy, but a sex tape still paints a huge target on your back for bullies.” He sniffs back more tears, struggling to keep it together. “Then the messages from people I’ve never met started coming. He didn’t just spread it around, he posted it publicly.” he has to stop to let himself cry. I tentatively place a hand on his shoulder, he does not force me away, so I try to comfort him, gently rubbing his back.

“Take your time.” I tell him. He takes a few moments to let it out, breathing evenly when he’s ready to continue.

“I had to delete all of my social media profiles and move. My parents got lucky and found a place closer to work, but in a different town. Both of them can work remotely, but after the RTO layoffs, nobody lives very far from the office, you know?” He asks, and I nod. He makes eye contact to tell me “Millie is the only one who knows at my new school.”

“Only Millie?” I ask in surprise. He confirms by nodding. She couldn’t keep a secret to save her life when she was nine, but everybody grows up I guess. A pang of loss hits me, almost making me tear up right alongside Peter. I keep it together for him. “Peter, thank you for being worried about me. I promise I’m ok. Not to… minimize what happened to you, but what Thunderspank did is the least of what I’ve been through.”

“You haven't been harassed about it yet?” He asks

“Nope. Thunderspank showed up to give me grief but Helga sent him packing.” I tell him.

“I saw.” He smiles. “I didn’t watch the whole thing by the way, I was actually asleep while it was happening. I watched a recording, skipping all of the… embarrassing parts.”

“Hey, I’m not embarrassed. Call it a benefit of age.” I shrug. “What happened to you is awful Peter, and I’m so sorry it did. Personally, I couldn't give two shits who saw.”

“Even me?” he asks. It’s clear the guilt he feels for watching my nemesis’ broadcast is eating at him.

“It’s a little weird I’ll admit.” I chuckle. “But you tuned out as soon as you knew what was happening. Even if nobody else does, you care about my privacy. Thank you, Peter.”

“No problem. Thunderspank lost a ton of followers after he live streamed you, and getting his ass kicked. Helga’s numbers are all skyrocketing, though there’s always a huge draw every time she’s involved.” Peter informs me.

“Oh yeah?” I ask

“Ohh yeah. She’s by far the most popular adult streamer for this game. She’s trying to ‘go legit’ as she calls it, but her followers have come to expect a certain kind of content from her. She’s actually suing Thunderspank, because he broadcast it without her consent. She hasn’t made an adult video in a year.”

“She didn’t seem too bothered the last time I saw her.” I say, concerned she’s hiding her feelings.

“She’s live right now, chatting with her viewers about it outside of the game. A lot of support is coming her way, people know how much her ‘clean streak’ meant to her.”

“I’m glad she’s got support. I’ll be another person cheering her on!” I pump my fist in the air, Peter smiles.

Iwanttobelieve says: Do you have time to chat?

“The media guy is messaging me. Do you want to deal with that right now?” I leave the decision to Peter.

“A lot of people want to know your side of the story.” He tells me. “Two Paragons hooking up is nothing new, but nobody knows who you are.”

“Alright, guess it’s time to clear things up.”

Earl says: Sure. Where?

Iwanttobelieve says: We can just use voice chat.

Earl says: I’d prefer to meet in person. In game in person. You know what I mean.

Iwanttobelieve says: If that's what it takes, sure. The typical meeting place in the Halls of Honor.

Earl says: I’d like to have Peter with me.

Iwanttobelieve says: Between the two of us we can give him temporary permission to enter.

Earl says: Sounds good, see you there.

“We’re meeting in the Halls of Honor.” I tell Peter, standing.

“Oh, catch you later?” He says, seated.

“Nah, you’re coming.” I grin.

“Really?” He launches out of his seat. I gesture for him to take the lead. We walk out of the inn, mount up, and arrive at the hall shortly after. Iwanttobelieve joins our group, and true to his word, Pete is given access to the halls. After we’ve loaded in, Peter immediately starts oohing and aahing, marveling at the interior decorating. Somebody put a lot of effort into making this place feel like a meeting place of heroes, and they succeeded. “This one is the battle of the bridge.” Peter says, running his hand over one of the murals. “The first warrior Paragon led an army of players to the human capital, but they got delayed on the drawbridge. Player versus player combat went on for hours, it still holds the record for both time and number of players.”

“Who’s the warrior Paragon now?” I ask.

“Thunderspank” Iwanttobellieve tells me, suddenly next to us. “This way, please.” He guides us to a private room meant for interviews. We pass somebody I haven't met yet, judging by his attire, he must be an agility Paragon of some sort. I practically have to drag Peter, he’s too enthralled to make his way on his own.

“So what’s this about” I ask Iwanttobelieve once we’re seated around the wooden table. I can guess, but I’ll let him tell me.

“You were recently featured in one of Thunderspank’s streams. The nature of this stream has made it a hot topic, both the non-consensual nature of the recording, and you.” He says. “Let’s start with the topic of consent. Did you know you were being recorded?”

“No.” it tell him flatly.

“Did you know Thunderspank assigned his stealth-specialist followers to stalk you, and that is now the recording was obtained?”

“No?” I say, looking around.

“They can't access the private rooms without explicit permission, even if they’re Paragons. None are.” he reassures me. “Were you aware that Helga knew you were being filmed?”

“I was not.” I say. That changes things. That does explain how she knew about Lagakh and I being together. I knew her timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. She warned me about Thunderspank’s ambush, but I didn't connect the dots until just now.

Paragon’s perspectives are warped, though, so she may not have thought of it as a violation worth mentioning. I’ll have to talk to her about it. “I do not hold any ill will towards her, though.”

“That’s evident enough” Iwanttobelieve comments. He clears his throat. “Helga, real name Daniela Rodríguez, has publicly stated that she will be pursuing legal action regarding the recording. Thunderspank maintains that her actions imply consent to recording on her part, but your complete ignorance to the outside situation would likely challenge his attempt to dismiss her claims. Will you be joining her in suing Thunderspank?”

“Huh.” I say. I have to think about it. “I don’t think I could, given my situation. It’s just in-game characters, though, does the law have any bearing on it?”

“Crossroads Online content is big business, Mister Earl. If nothing else, robbing Ms. Rodríguez of the opportunity to profit from the recording is grounds enough to pursue legal action.” He tells me.

“Is that what she wants?” I ask.

“No, currently she is only interested in Thunderspank being reprimanded for his actions, and the recordings being removed from his possession.” he informs me.

“Daniela Rodríguez” I say. “Is there any rule against you telling me her real name?” I inquire.

“There is no reasonable expectation of anonymity for Paragons. You are the only one the general public is ignorant of.” he says, moving on to the next topic. “You were the primary subject of the recordings. To the audience, a brand new Paragon with no fanbase to speak of bed the number one Paragon, and the eldest daughter of the Honorlord, a notoriously difficult accomplishment.”

“Difficult? So she’s been with other players?” I ask

“No.” Peter finally chimes in. “By difficult he means impossible. All other players were killed in the attempt. Mostly by her.”

I lean back in my chair, arms crossed, with a smug look on my face.

“Moving on.” Iwanttobelieve cuts in. “This has gained you a not insignificant amount of fame in the Crossroads Online community. Many wonder who you are behind the character, why you haven't started streaming, how did you get ahold of identical armor as Thunderspank, seemingly from him personally, and use it before you reached level ninety?”

“I’ve already told you I’m not hacking.” I tell him.

“People have mostly moved on to the subject of your… relations. They’re starved for information. Investigations have not been fruitful, at least not public ones. As I told you, my colleagues were putting the pieces together. They have managed to put two and two together, and are ready to make the announcement.”

“What!” I stand, making my chair clatter to the floor.

“This is the main reason for our meeting, Mr. Earl. I can’t keep them from exposing you, unless you sign an exclusivity contract with my publisher, A.M.” He steeples his fingers.

“You’re taking advantage of the situation” Peter points out.

“Yes.” Iwanttobelieve says, unashamed. “It is in both of our best interests that you commit to only working with us.”

“What would that entail?” I ask without taking my seat.

“You would only ever take interviews with our company, with the expectation that they would occur regularly, especially under special circumstances like these. You’d participate in sponsored streams and other recorded content. You keep any disparaging comments about Paragons who have also signed with us to yourself. There is more of course, someone can go over all of the details with you if you wish.” He pushes a modern tablet across the table to me, a signature line at the bottom.

“How are you going to stop them from exposing me?” I ask, not even looking at the tablet yet.

“We issued a cease and desist to all relevant parties. We claimed ownership to the announcement of your identity, should you choose to go public.” he taps the tablet. “As far as our competitors are concerned, you’re already signed with us.”

“You’re a snake” Peter tells him.

“Yes.” he responds in the same way to the new accusation. He keeps eye contact with me, patiently waiting. I look down at the tablet, then Peter. He seems just as unsure about this as me, but what choice do I have? He shrugs, guessing my thoughts. I place my hand on the tablet, signing it with my full palm. “Thank you, Mr. Earl. I will be in touch.” he stands to leave.

“Wait, doesn’t he get paid?” Peter stops him.

“Yes. Given the circumstances, I took it upon myself to open a trust in Millie Walton’s name. Your signing bonus of twenty five thousand dollars has been deposited for some time now.” He walks around the table to the exit. “Good day, gentlemen.”

“What.” I say. Peter and I just look at eachother, mouths hanging open in disbelief.

“That guy is like, ten steps ahead of us and everyone else. It’s scary.” he tells me.

“He must be psychic or something.” I shake my head. “Did I just sign my soul to the devil?”

“His company isn’t so bad, I’ve seen their stuff. I’ve never heard of him though.” Peter says.

“Anyways, let’s get going. You need to do the dragon quests, right?” I move for the door.

“Don’t you?” He asks

“Finished them just before you logged in.” I tell him. He doesn’t get up. “What?”

“Who did you group with for the elder dragon?” deep confusion twists his face.

“I did it by myself.” I tell him.

“What! How?” he exclaims, wide-eyed.

“Tell you on the way.” I say, motioning for him to follow me. We make it five whole steps before somebody blocks our path.

“What's up, Captain kirk?” The guy stopping us asks me.

“Wait, I know this one!” I stop Peter before he tried to fill me in. “Star Trek?”

“You’ve got it. Hilo, by the way. Thief Paragon.” he bows.

“That’s different from a rogue?” I ask

“Yeah, it’s an agility class with a minor investment in intellect.” Peter tells me. “They take stuff, obviously.”

“Right on the money” Hilo points at Peter. “Anywho, just thought I’d introduce myself. Hit me up if you ever want to collab.”

“Sure.” I say. We move on after he steps out of our way, finally leaving the hall. “Is that going to happen a lot?”

“Probably more and more often.” Peter shrugs. I sigh. We manage to escape the city without further incident, I describe my fight with the elder dragon as we ride. Peter simply can’t believe I managed it on my own, the quest typically requiring a full party. My strategy, if you could call it that, of luring the dragon out by getting its attention myself, was terrible. Most players use a big pile of fresh meat, or a treasure chest full of gold as bait to draw the dragon out.

“So you picked up the bolt and threw it?” Peter asks

“With my mind, yeah.” I tell him again.

“Does it have a mind of its own, and floating? Like every other weapon that qualifies for your spells?” He inquires.

“No clue. It worked though, so maybe?” I shrug. we cross the border into the highlands, no ambush this time. “I just did the same thing to the bolt as I did with Esquire during Helga’s duel with Thunderspank.”

“You know I was wondering how his sword ended up in his own back. The stream was in first person so you couldn’t tell.” Peter informs me.

“Nobody else saw what happened?” I ask

“All of his lackeys have to turn over any footage to him. It’s one of the terms of use to watch his stream, he’ll copyright strike you in a heartbeat if he’s in anything you post without his permission, which he rarely gives. He prefers to post it and keep all the profits himself.”

“Sounds about right.” I say. We arrive at the camp, making a beeline for the command tent. “Where’s Lagakh?” I ask, noticing her absence.

“Honored Daughter Lagakh is ill. I have assumed command over this operation while she regains her strength.” A nameless character called ‘Orc Commander’ tells us.

“She’s sick? Do you know what she has?” I ask, concerned.

“She has been unable to keep her meals down.” the commander says, elaborating no further. A memory shouts at me from far back in my mind. I can’t connect the dots right now, so I let it go. I lean over to Peter, whispering “Why is this one talking like a person?”

“He’s filling in for a real N.P.C. so he’s suing a portion of her A.I..” Peter whispers back.

“Huh.” I say. It’s so weird to think of her as an artificial intelligence, a mind that can fragment and manage many processes, in this case characters, simultaneously. “How often do the R.N.P.C.s take sick days?”

“Never.” Peter says, giving me a look that says except when you’re involved. I chuckle. “You need me to clear out the whelps, sir?” he asks the commander.

“Yes. See to it, beastman.” he turns his attention elsewhere.

“Did that feel racially charged to you?” I ask Peter outside of the tent.

“Yes.” He says, walking with me to the hillside. “They treat you with respect because you’re playing an orc.”

“Yikes.” I say, hurling Bolt at the nearest whelp. It kills it on the return trip.

You’ve reached level 53!

Strength increased by 64%!

Agility increased by 64%!

Intelligence increased by 64%!

“Finally!” I invest the final point needed into Wall of Swords, tier three replaces the swords with my equipped weapons. “Sweet, I just got an electric fence.”

“New spell?” Peter asks

“Nah, the blades in my Wall of Swords are going to all be lightning bolts now instead.” I demonstrate, summoning a wall of bolts. The whelp that makes contact with it fries instantly.

“Hell yeah!” Peter cheers. “That was the last one, by the way.” We return to camp for Peter to turn in the first quest and pick up the second.

“You get any cool new abilities lately?” I ask

“Check it out” Peter says, turning invisible to sneak up on a drake. He appears and disappears rapidly, teleporting in circles around the young dragon, stabbing once each time he does. When he finally stays in place, the drake collapses, bleeding from wounds beyond count. “It’s called ‘Death By a Thousand Cuts’.”

“That kicks ass!” I announce. Peter smiles, turning invisible to sneak up on the next unsuspecting lizard. It’s a lot easier for the two of us than it was for me alone, I can take damage, but I struggle to dish it out, at least compared to Peter. He can’t take a hit, but he can deal a lot of damage very quickly. Just as nature intended, I keep the monster’s attention while Peter stabs them in the back.

“One more.” Peter informs me. We unleash upon the final drake, reducing it to electrified swiss cheese. We walk back again, ready to finish out this quest chain.

“Do you want to find other people?” I ask Peter.

“Nah. You can handle it, right?” He gives me an assessing look.

“I wouldn’t call what I did ‘Handling it’. More like I desperately struggled to protect royalty and myself, up against a much more powerful foe.”

“Drama king” Peter says, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated way. “I want to witness this supreme Weaponmaster telekinesis personally.”

“Alright smart guy, let’s do it.” He accepts the quest, and we are once again cut off from the wider world. It’s just us and the two orcs in this pocket dimension, a dragon waiting to eat us under the mountain. Peter waves me over to a basket in the corner of the command tent. It has an item in it called “Pile of Meat”. Next to it is a chest I can pick up, “Chest of Gold”. I’ve really got to start paying attention when I’m questing by myself. We pick them up, I let Peter guide me to the ideal spot to place the bait. We leave it there, and return to base. We don’t have to wait long for the dragon to take to the sky, using a different exit from the one it used last time. This quest really is totally different when you do it “the right way.”.

“Here it comes!” Peter tells the siege crew, they aim the ballista toward the bait. Lever thrown, the bolt flies through the air and strikes home, piercing the dragon in the shoulder as it bent down over the bait. The beast howls, health bar perilously low already.

“Man, that's some shit.” I comment, fists on my hips. “My ballista crew missed.”

“They find it very challenging to hit a moving target.” Peter tells me. “No offense” he adds, looking at the crew. They do not react, being typical N.P.C.s with no consciousness to speak of.

“Let’s go finish it off.” I say, brandishing Bolt.

“Is that one still talking dirty to you?” Peter asks, nodding at my weapon.

“We came to an understanding. They are going to sacrifice themselves to become part of the hammer I can craft at sixty.” I tell Peter.

“That’s sad,” he says. “Wait, Don’t half of your abilities mention using a second weapon?”

“Oh shit you’re right.” I say. Dumbass, now I’ll have to wait even longer to take advantage of those options.

I’ll stay silent by your side for as long as you’ll have me, master.

Is that fair to you, though?

What is fair to a weapon made to love?

Well, ‘All’s fair in love and war’, as the saying goes.

…

Listen, I’m not inviting you into the bedroom, but you’re like, french, right? You must like other things than just ogling women. Fine wine?

I have no mouth but I must drink, oui?

I chuckle aloud at the reference. Listen, let’s figure something out that will make us both happy.

After we turn this dragon into our lightning rod!

Hey, implication is an improvement! See, you can be subtle.

I Wasn’t implying anything.

Sure, Bolt. I try to communicate a wink with my thoughts. It doesn’t go well.

…

Peter and I reach the dragon, the poor creature on its last legs before we’ve laid a finger on it. I open our fight with Illusory Clone, sending Bolt behind the dragon, followed by Telekinetic Taunt, routed through the clone. This way, I don’t have to get knocked around. Peter appears on the dragon’s back, driving his daggers into it. I stab it in the legs just to say I did something. The blades barely penetrate, between Bolt, Peter, and I, we barely move the already depleted health bar.

“This isn’t working! Use your O.P. Weaponmaster powers!” Peter shouts down to me.

“Here it goes!” I reply, sheathing my steel sword and shield. I concentrate on the bolt, willing it to follow my commands. No dice. “I can’t do it!”

“What did you do last time?” Peter asks two words at a time, waving around two stories up.

“The dragon attacked Lagakh, and it made me really mad!” I tell him.

“So get mad!” he orders me.

“I can’t just ‘get mad’!” I say, squeezing my eyes shut trying to will the damn thing to obey me.

“Misappropriated taxes! Inequity! Inaction by those in power to address global warming!” Peter shouts random things that could make me mad. Instead of taking any of those options, I decide to turn my thoughts to my imprisonment in this game. My family is out there in the real world, living a life without me. They could be in my arms at this very moment, if not for the god damn Monitor.

“YOU MOTHERFUCKER!” I scream so loud my vocal cords feel damaged. I push the bolt straight though the dragon, in its shoulder and out its flank. The beast collapses immediately, having sustained too much damage.

I don’t stop.

I lift the bolt into the air, willing it to impale the dragon, over and over. I scream, and stab, and keep on screaming and stabbing until Peter’s voice finally breaks through the haze.

“Earl! stop! It’s dead!” He shakes my shoulders. My focus abruptly breaks, causing the bolt to fall into the dragon with only the force of its own weight. It collapses onto the ground, like a felled tree. “Remind me never to bring up climate change around you, holy moly.”

“Sure.” I say, breathing heavily. “Sorry.”

“Hey it’s alright dude, clearly you had some shit to get out.” Peter pats my shoulder.

I nod, ready to leave. We once again return to the quest giver, both of us turning it in. I was a little distracted the last time I completed this quest.

The Big One Completed! Experience gained.

You’ve reached level 54!

Strength increased by 64%!

Agility increased by 64%!

Intelligence increased by 64%!

Peter has reached level 52!

Neato. I put a third point into Circular Saw, unlocking tier two; the ability to cast the spell once for each weapon I have equipped. Further evidence that Bolt and I need to have a heart to heart.

“What now?” I ask Peter. I check the next steps and find no further story quests available.

“Now we grind to sixty.” Peter tells me.

“Dragons?” I inquire

“Dragons.” he confirms. We march back out into the hills, ready to rid the world of the dragon menace once and for all. Until they respawn, at least.