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Nieni: I think I like past tense.
Nite: Me too.
Nieni: Reading Eoin Colfer books is improving my writing quality too. That man's a friggin' genious or something!
“Ugh...” Mark wrinkled his nose. “I thought I told Jake adding smell sensors was too much!”
Reaching down to his wrist, Mark felt for the control bracelet that should have appeared upon entering the game… Nothing. He checked his other arm. No buttons, no bracelet, no nothing. “How did.... Where the hell are the controls? Is this some kind of glitch?”
Each player to enter the game should automatically be given a virtual bracelet, to control objects, save games, and exit.... It simply wasn’t possible for the controls to just disappear, or not be there. They were part of the program.
“Looking for thissss?” A hissing voice asked, startling Mark into turning. A goblin grinned through the dungeon bars, dangling a very familiar golden band from one scaly finger, luminescent green buttons gleaming in the near darkness. Odd, there should have been an Elf NPC guard there, not a goblin.... unless, maybe, this was the sixth level, during the goblin raid? But, either way, Mark did not recall ever programming any goblins in this section.... and how did it get his bracelet? Those were non-removable!
“Hey! Give that that back!” Mark barked, beginning to get unnerved and not liking the feeling at all. “You’re not supposed to have that!”
The goblin chuckled, a sickening gurgling sound. “Ssssorry. Queen’ssssss ordersss...”
“Queen?” Now Mark was stumped. There was no queen. Period. It had never even occurred to him, or any of his co-creators, to add a queen in to the RPG. “Sure,Pull me another one. There’s no queen!”
“Oh, I asssssure you-“
“Jake! Benny! Ok, you guys, the joke’s up! Unlink me now; I’m not in the mood to play anymore!” Looking up at the dark, crusty ceiling, Mark spinned around a few times, as if it would make his friends’ smiling faces appear and say “Got ya!”
No such luck. It only earned him an amusedsmirk from the goblin and another chuckle thathad his stomach making theleap into his throat. Clutching a bar with one hand, Mark reached the other out imploringly to the disgusting green creature. His face pressed uncomfortably against the metal. “Please- please give me the controls...”
“Hmmmm.... Letsssss think about that, sssshall we?” The goblin smiled horribly, large ears lifting with exaggerated mock excitement. “Yesss! I will free the dirty human filth to run amok in the cassssstle which took usss fifty yearsssss to acquire! Not to meanssssshion my inevitable exacussssshion for doing sssso!”
Mark’s breath caught for a few seconds, his mind daring to hope.... then whooshed out silently as his chest constricted in almost-panic. This NCP certainly wasn’t going to help.
“Awww...” The goblin crooned. “The human doessssn’t underssstand what’ssss happening? Don’t worry, you’ll learn sssssoon enough and all will be well.”
“... You’ll let me go?”
“If you behave and do as you’re told, yessss, you will be released.”
“And the game will stop?”
The goblin laughed outright at this. “Oh no, thisss game never stopssss...” He crushed the control. “Thisssss game’sss been going sssssssince before you were born, boy. Welcome to the real ssssshow.”
Nite: Has he finally realized it’s not just a game?
Nieni: Yea, I think he just might be starting to add two and two together, which is more than I could say for meif I were in his place. XD I’d probably have just sat there sulking, refusing to listen to anything the goblin had to say cuz I’d think it was all a mean joke.
Nite: .... You’re a paranoid little peanut, you are.
Nieni: I’m grumpy in the morning too. That goblin would’ve gotten an earful, indeed.
