The waters within the Ocean city of Atlantis was a little bit cold, or it could be that it wasn"t the water that was making me cold, but rather the fact that I was encased in a big ball of ice by Persephone. This was the method they came up with to have us gain entry into the city, by having Persephone pose as a bounty Hunter looking for a place to lay low. For the most part, it seemed to have worked. The loser city was brightly lit and was huge a marvel of architecture, here coral reefs at the edge of the buildings that gave the entire city a bright feel, it was like Vegas but underwater, and it was also quite huge too.
The buildings there either stretched downwards from the bottom of the island, or where actually floating islands within the sea itself. There were a variety of races going about their business, but surprisingly enough, many of them were players. And with how each and every single one of them was running about, I would say that they were probably completing one quest or another for the denizens of the city. But then again something felt...off, the city just somehow seemed to be a little bit more busy than I imagined, almost as if something big was about to go down.
Now to an obvious eye, they wouldn"t notice anything wrong, but players and AI"s alike where all placed on watch at strategic locations, others were busy moving crates or weapons and even tiny underwater jet skis that could only fit on person. It was a weird vibe, but I get the feeling that they were preparing for a conflict of some sort, what kind I have no idea, but it was coming none the less, I was feeling a little frantic and would very much like to get the f.u.c.k out of here.
However everywhere I turned, there seemed to be eyes watching, so it would take a little bit of finesse to be able to slip away. Persephone swam with the ball of ice in tow, drawing much attention to herself as she made her way to the central district. Normally such a sight would a cause for bullies and gang bangers to try and intimidate away what belonged to her, but no one seemed to care, plus Persephone didn"t look like a pushover either, so no one wanted to be the one to make a move against her. She moved until she came to a central tube almost a 100 meters in diameter an 300 in length which shot upwards into the bottom of the island this was probably the path that connected both the upper and lower cities.
"Halt! Pa.s.sage between the upper and the lower cities have been restricted indefinitely. Please return and find lodgings within the lower city, it would be quite a while before the path is opened again."
As if I needed anymore confirmation that something was up, the guard who had just spoke was a merman, but much like the mermen I"ve seen in this game so far, the idea of using tridents to fight doesn"t sit well with them, so he was carrying a big a.s.s gun that was hoping at the sides, kind of like some sort of plasma gun. A shot from that would not just hurt, it would probably vaporize the person it was used against. Now normally I wouldn"t give a s.h.i.+t about what"s happening or about to happen, I still don"t to be honest, but now this whole thing has gotten my interest piqued."Please is there nothing else I can do, no amount of money I can pay to get through? I"ve been underwater for a while and I would really love to feel the sun on my skin."
"Sorry I can"t help you, please leave or I"ll be forced to use lethal force against you!"
Now that dude is just mean, but it was obvious he wasn"t playing around, so it was time from plan B or our plan A which now that I"m thinking about it should have probably had a plan C and D. Since there was no way up from here, we had to look for another alternative and it couldn"t be anywhere close to this guy, we"ll be looking for another way up, so we"ll have to avoid the familiar face of the grumpy guard.
Persephone turned away from him and made her way towards he Eastern edge of the city, when the Acheron was mapping this city, we discovered that the city had a barrier that was extended a little over two kilometers from it"s edge, and that the edges had power or relay stations of sorts that kept the barrier active and powered. Currently since the city was not under attack the barrier was in an inactive state where all it could do was surveillance.
However we also noticed that those power stations were drawing power from the top of the island and seemed to have direct access to it. And luckily for us there were a few hotels around the stations as they seemed to be some sort of tourist attraction with their glowing towers of light blue energy. It was also considered the waters part of the city due to how stringent the security measures were, it would take a little more than just talking to get our way through them.
Persephone made it to a small hotel called the Forgotten Sh.e.l.l, it was the closest inn to the edge and the stations, however it was filled to the brim with other players and AIs who had the same idea about a way to get to the upper city. That brought upon the startling realization that there was more to whatever the f.u.c.k was happening here than I thought, but we couldn"t stay here either. There were just too many people around that there was a ma.s.sive chance that we could get caught up in a conflict we"re not supposed to give a s.h.i.+t about. It was annoying, but I hope the others were having much more luck than we were.
>>>>>
ZARETH & RAVEN SONG
The two unlikely partners drove their jet skis over the billowing waves of the Atlantic. The ride was much more smoother than expected, speaking volumes about the power, speed and balance of the jet skis the Acheron had created or rather a.s.similated and upgraded during her evolution. Raven was quite interested in how they worked, but all Zareth had in mind was a single minded focus on how to get on the island.
The dwarf was never one for fun and games, his reddish brown beard swayed under the onslaught of the rus.h.i.+ng wind, which was pus.h.i.+ng his hair backwards, having his thick braided locks sway under it"s buffeting pressure like a piece of paper in a wind storm. Raven Song on the other hand found the whole thing quite comical, the dwarf was not a conversationalist, which was weird since all dwarves liked to talk, but he had been keeping stoic since they left the s.h.i.+p and in turn nature has been kicking his a.s.s by sending his beard into his eyes, nose and mouth and having the wind pull at his thick hair as If he was being rode upon by something...or someone.
But Zareth"s unfortunate situation came to an end once the harbor of the island came into sight. It was build into a cove and further in was a ma.s.sive cavern that served as the entrance to the city and had tunnels that led further in. Not a lot of people paid attention to Zareth or Raven Song individually as quite a few new and strange faces have been coming and going over the last few weeks. But the sight of a dwarf with a Lance and a dark elf with golden heavy armor, a tower s.h.i.+eld and a one handed war hammer was quite a sight. They were weird, but once you think about it, there were too many things in this world, and adding two more freaks into that equation was a need for alarm. So everyone went back to what they were doing and ignored the unlikely duo.
"Welcome to the upper city of the Ocean City of Atlantis! It"s one silver dollars to dock your skis in this harbor. My name is Mongo and I"ll be your guide and the valet responsible for keeping your vehicles safe. Now what brings you here gentlemen, business or pleasure?" the overly chipper voice that just a.s.saulted them asked.
Zareth didn"t even think as he just answered "A moon elf!"
*Cough* *cough*
Raven son started coughing really hard as he was caught of guard and so shocked at Zareth"s audacity. What kind of idiot would give away the reasons for their arrival so easily, especially when it"s supposed to be a secret. This could throw the whole mission in jeopardy, this was why he like his desk job of being an a.n.a.lyst for the CIA in real life. Every field agent always acted c.o.c.ky and stupid thinking they"re James bond or some other s.h.i.+t like that! If now this Zareth seems to be that big of a fool.
"oh moon elves! We have lots of those hanging around, we have the best elven brothel on the planet, heck it"s the only elven brothel in existence. And moon elves and high elves are the ultimate s.e.xual experience!" Mongo said with a dog tilt to his voice.
Raven song s.h.i.+fted his gaze to have an idea of who or what they and been talking to, and there floating above their heads was a red ugly thing with purple horns, yellow eyes and a forked tail, h.e.l.l it even had a pitchfork to top of off the whole mini devil look. Raven song had played the game for quite a while and even was once a part of a top guild, but he had never come across this tiny little thing before.
"And what the f.u.c.k are you supposed to be?" Raven asked, temporary shelving the discussion he was about to delve into, or rather it was more like a berating.
"I already told you, I"m Mongo!" the guy red devil replied.
"I think what he meant to ask is, what are you little one?" Zareth chipped in, asking the question smoothly as he s.h.i.+fted his gaze across the cove and subsequent cavern that served as the island"s harbor.
"Oh! I"m a demon! Or to be more specific an imp! This is the only place in the world where you can find us. Anyway I"m working here for now until I"m able to get contracted to a master that would teach and train me into becoming an all powerful demon, maybe even evolve me into a devil!"
"We do not care about that, small thing called Mongo. I"ll Have Ye deliver me and me companion to some lodgings, but better yet give we weary travelers a tour through the city. But do make sure to tell us more about them moon elves while you"re at it." Zareth said, taking on an entirely different persona that shocked the h.e.l.l out of Raven Song.
But the Dwarf didn"t care, he wasn"t as stupid as he made himself to be. There was a ma.s.sive neon sign a little ways to the right that was advertising the services of a brothel, and one of the highlights was the variety of elves it had to offer. Elves were known for being really beautiful and well endowed, however to get an elf to lay with you, is even more harder to look for a needle that fell right in the middle of an ocean, during a storm. Zareth had every intention of using that as a cover for himself and Raven Song.
It wasn"t until they were well on their way, following behind the tiny Imp that Raven Song noticed the sign and realized what angle Zareth was working from. Dwarves were boisterous and wild and loved a good old s.e.x marathon every now and then, dark elves are known as the Masters of depraved s.e.x.
They were so into BDSM and the very terrible habit of g.a.n.g.b.a.n.ging anyone unlucky enough to fall into their traps. So a dwarf and a dark elf asking about a brothel filled with numerous races but who"s main attraction where the moon and high elves...to everyone here it was obvious they were just a pair of pervert here to get their d.i.c.k wet.
It took off a lot of heat and suspicion from their backs, but in all honesty Raven Song wasn"t so sure about how he felt at being seen as a depraved s.e.x addict. It made him feel weird since the relations.h.i.+p between him and his wife was as simple and missionary as it gets. He wasn"t like the captain who was obviously having fun role playing the role of a heroic/anti-hero pirate captain trying to do right by his crew with the ultimate mission of preserving the dragon race. Raven was just Raven, and now lots of people thought he was a pervert, he half expected the people around to turn around and start screaming hentai!
"This is going to be a long day." Raven said as he followed behind Zareth and the Imp, his head hung considerably low.