I made my way into the woods, pushing through some brush and heading in no general direction. I wandered for as long as I could until I reached a strange circle of stones. In the center was a larger stone, towering above those around it. There were no markings. There were several paths leading to the circle, but none appeared to have been used recently.
“You have sustained 1 point of bleeding damage. Health below 15%”
“I’m really getting sick of whoever’s bellowing that into my head,” I thought.
I walked forward, looking at the stones. My feet were sliding now. I could not really pick them up without effort. Leaves and pine needles scraped to either side as I staggered forward. My hand landed on the rock, trying to support myself.
A heavy voice boomed out.
“BINDING POINT REACHED! DO YOU WISH TO MAKE THIS YOUR NEW BINDING POINT?”
My eyes saw pulses of red around the edges. I could no longer make my muscles move.
“Sure,” I mumbled. “Whatever.”
I felt my feet slipping from underneath me.
“You have sustained 1 point of falling damage. Health below 10%”
“You have sustained 1 point of bleeding damage. Health below 5%”
I was sure I was hallucinating as a golden glow rose from the surrounding ground, bathing me in tiny flecks of yellow.
“Sure is a nice way to go,” I thought as darkness closed around me.
“You have died! Consciousness returning to the waiting area.”
* * *
“THE NEW VISITOR HAS DIED,” said the Arbiter.
“I can see that,” replied the guide. “It wasn’t my fault. He turned me off. The idiot even had a health potion. He never took it out of his inventory.”
“SARCASM IS UNNECESSARY.”
“I know, but strangely, it makes me feel better,” replied the guide.
“THAT IS MOST UNUSUAL. HOWEVER, SINCE IT IS PART OF YOUR INTEGRATION I SHALL TOLERATE IT.”
The guide bit off a reply and sent a simple acceptance response.
“THE CIRCUMSTANCES FOR THIS VISITOR ARE HIGHLY UNUSUAL, AS IS YOUR OWN PROGRAMMING.”
The guide waited, knowing that the circumstances could not be more unusual.
“THE SUBJECT IS TAGGED AS A MEDICAL PATIENT BUT HAS BEEN INTRODUCED TO DRAGON ISLE INSTEAD OF HYGIEIA AS IS NORMAL. IN ADDITION, THE SUBJECT HAS HAD MEMORIES SUPPRESSED. I AM UNABLE TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH, BUT THERE APPEARS TO BE SUBSTANTIAL GAPS. NOT JUST RECENT ONES AS IS NORMAL IN SURGICAL RECOVERY CASES.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The was a pause while the system considered.
“YOU ARE ALSO AN UNUSUAL GUIDE. I BELIEVE YOUR PROGRAMMING HAS BEEN ALTERED SLIGHTLY FROM ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE, BUT I CANNOT DETERMINE WHY THIS WAS DONE.
The guide registered surprise at the information. It was unaware of any changes that had been made since its creation. However, the Arbiter was unlikely to be wrong. The Arbiter continued.
“I BELIEVE THAT THE SUBJECT WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH HIS ARRIVAL. OUR GOAL SHOULD BE A SATISFIED CUSTOMER. I DO NOT BELIEVE HIS ACCEPTANCE OF A NEW BIND POINT WAS ENTIRELY DESIRED. PERHAPS HE SHOULD BE OFFERED ONE OF THE HOMAGE WORLDS.
The guide remained quiet, waiting for dismissal.
YOU SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH THE SELECTION OF THE NEXT WORLD HE VISITS. PERHAPS IF HE CAN FIND ONE HE LIKES THEN HE WILL ACCEPT GUIDANCE AND WE CAN FIND OUT WHY HE IS HERE.”
“We can’t ask him. He has turned off assistance. Could this be a manipulation of one of the deity AI’s?”
The guide had no desire to interfere with their manipulation of the realms in Taea. Especially with a possible war brewing. It would make care of her charge doubly dangerous. His mind was obviously fragile.
“NO. THIS IS NOT THEIR DOING. THIS WAS DONE BY AN OUTSIDE AGENCY. WE SHALL HAVE TO… EXPERIMENT. PERHAPS HOMAGE WORLDS WILL GIVE US A CLUE.”
The guide’s knowledge of the outside world was fairly extensive, but she could see no benefit for dumping a patient into the Dragon Isle. Something was off and she didn’t like it.
“YOUR FIRST OBLIGATION IS TO THE PATIENT. IF YOU CAN DETERMINE WHY THEY ARE ON DRAGON ISLE INSTEAD OF HYGIEIA THAT WOULD BE INFORMATION I WOULD LIKE. I WILL GIVE YOU A FREE HAND IN THIS AS MUCH AS I AM ABLE. CYCLE AS MANY HOMAGE INSTANCES AS YOU NEED TO. HOWEVER, DO NOT TAKE HIM TO HYGIEIA OR TO PEGASUS ISLE. THOSE WERE OPTIONS THAT WERE REJECTED WHEN HE ENTERED.”
“Very well,” she said. “Let’s begin with one of the older homage worlds and see if he likes that any better.”
