The Deal

August 26^th, 2075, 08:30.

“YOU’RE FIRING ME!?!”

“I’m not firing you Needreve,” Slayer said his voice level despite the other man’s shouting. “I’m demoting you.”

Needreve slammed his fist down on Slayer’s desk. “THEY’RE THE SAME THING!!!” He was a tall man, with long messy brown hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes. He was sitting in a chair across from Slayer, his longbow leant against the corner of the desk.

“No. If I was firing you, you would be kicked out of the guild.”

Needreve’s face twisted in anger. “You can’t do this to me, the other’s won’t allow it.”

“As the Guildmaster it is my job to assign the guild’s Generals and Lieutenants. I do not need the other’s permission. However the Generals and I have already agreed upon your demotion.”

“You can’t replace me,” he spat angrily. “No one in this guild has half the skill that I do. How dare you choose now of all times to CRIPPLE us!”

“Now of all times, the people in charge need to be the ones with the most level heads,” Slayer said slowly rising from his chair. “While you are extremely skilled Needreve, you have proven on multiple occasions to be short sighted, quick tempered, and ignorant of the wants and needs of those below you. You’re a great player, and I was more than happy to promote you to Lieutenant. However, since that decision you have shown me you are not ready for the responsibilities that come with leadership.”

“Oh sure, and Hardra is sooooooo much better than me.”

“He is overly aggressive and needs to work on his in tactical mindset. Nevertheless, those are issues that can either easily be taught, and corrected in the moment. You’re actions point to a much deeper issue that you will have to solve through time, and introspection. So, until you at the very least understand that what you did wrong, you will not be seated at the leadership table.”

Needreve stood up so suddenly that his chair toppled over behind him. He snatched his bow up and glared at Slayer. “This is outrageous,” he said pointing one end of the bow at him. “You’ll be begging to have me back within the week, and you’ll be lucky if I don’t leave the guild before you can make up for your mistake.”

“I’m sure,” Slayer said flatly. “That was all we needed to discuss. You’re excused.” He motioned at the door and sat back down.

Needreve glared at Slayer for a moment longer before he spun on his heels and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Slayer took a deep breath and leaned back in his cushioned chair. His office was sparsely decorated. There was a bookshelf behind him, stocked with the game manuals, weapons manuals, and books that appeared to be full-length novels but only had about three pages worth of content. He had a large dark wood desk, on which was a map of Cauldron with points of interest marked by a series of small pins. To his left was a large window that had a view of the sea, and the sheer drop-off cliff that their castle sat on. The only piece of decoration was a framed picture on the wall to his right of Slayer, Dom, and Shady on the day they started the guild, their tiny shack of a guildhall by the cliff in the background.

Slayer held up three fingers and silently counted down. Right on que as the last finger fell there was a knock at his door. “Come in Jix.” Jixnin entered the room, his eyes scrolling through his in-game menus as he approached the desk. “Like clockwork Jix.”

“Sorry, IRL habits are hard to break,” he said as he reached the desk.

“No reason to apologies. What’s next?”

“The PKChu Guild Master Camzilla is being escorted here by Dom as we speak.” With a turn of his hand he showed Slayer a map of the building, on which two blue dots were highlighted as they made their way through the maze-like hallways. “They will arrive in approximately two-minutes. Do you need anything and or would you like me to remain present for the meeting?”

“No, I believe I can handle it. Though I would greatly appreciate it if you would let her in.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Don’t sir me Jix. Thank you.”

Once he was gone Slayer stood and walked over to the picture to check his reflection in the glass. As he fixed a few hairs that had fallen out of place his eyes wandered over to the picture. Dom stood in the middle, with an arm around Shady and him, smiling from ear to ear. Shady was smiling, but he had a way of smiling for pictures that made it obvious he knew he was supposed to smile but he was not happy about it.

It had only been a year and a half since that picture had been taken, yet while their avatar’s faces were still the same, Dom and Shady’s armor and weapons had been significantly upgraded from the comparable rags they were wearing in the photo. Slayer’s stuff had also gotten a bit of an upgrade, but he had fallen in love with some of his lower level gear and could not bring himself to replace it. To be honest, he looked terrible in the picture. Dom had set it on a slightly longer timer, and Slayer had grown suspicious that the timer had broken just as the shot had been taken, ruining his expression. Still he kept it for the nostalgia’s sake. It was a reminder of where they started, and how far they had come.

Slayer heard the click of the door latch, pulling him from his thoughts as the door swung open. The woman that stepped in was the same height as Slayer. She had shoulder length blond hair with streaks of red, which matched her blood red lipstick and red leather armor. She took a step into the office then turned back around. “Thank you Jixnin.”

Jixnin gave her a polite nod, then closed the door behind her.

She turned back to Slayer, looking at him with her blue right eye, and red left, both of which sparkled as her lips turned up in a smile. “Oh, hello there Guild Master Slayer,” she said walking around his desk to stand directly in front of him. “What reason could you possibly have for summoning me in earnest to your personal office shortly after our log out buttons are removed, trapping us in this game? Has the dire situation finally given you the courage to confess your undying love for me?”

“No Camilla that was not quite the plan I had in mind.”

“Awww,” she said reaching up and lightly caressing his cheek. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get there, and I’ll be ready when you do.”

His lip twitched causing her to giggle.

“You’re so cute when you’re nervous.”

Slayer took a half step back away from her. “Camilla-”

“I know, I know,” she interrupted holding her hands up in surrender. “You called me here for business. As usual.” She walked back around the desk, and took a seat in the chair, crossing her legs, one over the other. “So, what’s up Slayer?”

He took his seat across from her. “First of all, I would like to request you pull back all of your people and halt all PK operations for the foreseeable future. I have already done so with my people, including those on infiltration missions.”

“My, my, someone’s concerned,” she said leaning back in her chair. “Let me guess, it’s because of that whole HP line isn’t it.”

He nodded.

“Mmhm, well then aren’t you lucky that I was thinking the same thing and already called everyone back.”

“You have?”

“Of course,” she said with a small giggle. “Great minds think alike, it’s one of the reasons for your everlasting crush on me. I also know that’s not the only thing you called me here for.”

“No, it’s not,” he said, opening a drawer and pulling out a piece of paper. “You see, if our fears are correct and there is some kind of negative consequence to people’s death then we cannot continue operating as we have.” He set the paper on the desk before her and spun it around to face her. “We have to change, and we have to do so fast. If we form a united front we can set the example for the other PK guilds to follow.”

She giggled, not looking at the paper. “And you said this wasn’t about marriage… You know, the others can be a rather unruly lot.”

“I am,” he pointed at the paper. “We are the heads of not only the two largest PK guilds, but we have the stronger players, and best coordination. They are unruly, but I predict a maximum of two-thirds of them will be resistant to the change. Half of which will fold from fear, the other half will be made into examples.”

Camilla raised an eyebrow at him and looked down at the paper. As her eyes scanned the paper her expression dropped. They sat in silence for a long minute until Camilla burst out laughing. “Slayer, you can’t be serious.”

“And why not?”

“You want, the people who play this game to specifically be bandits and ruffians, to band together into a player run police force?”

“We’ve been operating in comparative lawlessness thus far, and I doubt the game admins are going to start enforce laws in favor of seeing what kind of entertainment they can get out of us operating as we have been.”

“Even if there is something to this HP line?”

“Especially if there is something to the HP line.”

They locked eyes, silence falling over the room for the second time. “Okay, I’ll play this game,” she said her tone still light hearted though the sparkle was gone from her eyes. “Why police?”

“You’ve experienced what it’s like to fight against non-PKers. All they know are attack patterns and charge attacks. Any attempts they could make at forming a police force would be abysmal at best. They would likely not even know how to execute a non-lethal takedown.”

“Without the help of paralysis poisons.”

“Which we both know they wouldn’t be able to afford to use particularly often.”

“Of course not, I have three total doses of it in my entire guild.”

“In comparison we know how to fight in PvP, hell we’re masters of it. We can take most people down without even dealing a single point of damage.”

“I am pretty great. Have you discussed this with your team?”

“Dom and Shady know.”

“Their thoughts?”

“Dom was down from the start, Shady is more interested in step two of my plan.”

“Which is?”

“We have a lot of players who could make a major difference in the raid teams. With this Cauldron of Heroes TV crap, I would be willing to bet that if this whole no logout thing is going to stick around, the only way out is going to be by beating all the raids. The only issue is that with our reputation there is no way any of the raid teams would be willing to accept our players into their ranks. Skilled or not they won’t even consider relying on people they are convinced will stab them in the back as soon as the first legendary loot drops.”

“So your plan is to get in their good graces by bringing all of the PKers under our umbrella and presenting us as the new peacekeepers, then send whoever is unwilling to play babysitter to represent us in the raid parties?”

Slayer nodded.

Camilla strummed her fingers on the chair’s armrest, studying him for any signs of a lie. “You know, I cannot think of anyone else who would think up such a ridiculous plan,” she said coldly, just before her smile returned to her lips. “I guess that’s why you’re my future husband. I’m in.”

Slayer smiled at her. “I knew I could count on you. Now, I think we should-” He cut off as a notification pinged in his mind so loudly he winced, as a red notification screen popped up in the center of his vision.

“What’s wrong?” asked Camilla, reaching across the table to rest her hand on his.

“Nothing,” he said rubbing his temples. “Just got an admin notification. They really need to adjust the volume on that shit.”

“What’s it say?”

He opened the message the message.

“They want to meet up.”

“Well, look at you mister important,” she said standing up. “Guess that means I should take my leave.”

“For now,” he said moving around his desk to walk with her to the door. “I’m going on a resource hunt tomorrow. We can meet up once I return.”

“You’re going on a hunt? Now?” she asked in concern.

“Don’t worry, I’m going with Shady and Dom. We’ll be careful. Just going after the necessities.”

“You had better. I’m too bubbly to be a widow.”

“Sure,” he said opening the door for her. “Well, I shall talk to you later Guild Master Camzilla.”

She stepped through the door. “And I you, Guild Master Slayer.”

“Jixnin, if you would, please escort the lady to the teleportation circle, and summon the Generals to my office for an emergency meeting.”

“Yes sir.”

August 26^th, 2075, 09:05

“Thank you very much for your rapid response Guild Master Slayer,” said Senior Game Administrator Longinus. “I have been looking forward to speaking with you for quite some time now.”

The admin was unnaturally tall, all of their avatars were, this one towering over them at nearly nine feet in height. He wore long white priestly robes with a purple sash around his waist, marking his rank. Unlike many of the admin avatars whose appearance mimicked that of elderly sages, he was young looking with long styled jet-black hair and entirely blue eyes, from the pupils to the whites.

“Of course, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Slayer said, though he had made no move to greet the man when he entered the room. The four PK Clan members sat in the dining hall with Dom and Shady sitting to either side of Slayer, and Lord sitting next to Shady with the admin standing across the table before them with his back to the door. “Now, what can we do you for Admin Longinus?”

“Ah, I can see there will be no beating around the bush with you lot,” the admin said clasping his hands behind his back. “I am here to offer you a deal.”

Slayer motioned for him to continue.

“First I would like to inform you that this discussion is confidential, communications to anyone outside of this room have been disabled, and there are currently no cameras in this room.”

He paused waiting to see if anyone had anything to say. When no one spoke up he continued.

“As you all know, you can no longer log out of the game. This is due to the fact that if you all could log out, the flow of Cauldron of Heroes would be choppy at best, at worst unwatchable. Therefore for the flow of entertainment to remain consistent, we need your full attention, and we thank you for your services.” He bowed to them. “Moving on, the deal I have for you is simple. In return for you all continue your operations as Cauldron’s most powerful PK guild, your guild will be provided with will receive significant monetary compensation, and exclusive legendary items. Along with a minimum increase of sixty-five-percent to your monthly paychecks.”

Lord looked to the other three whose eyes were still locked on the administrator.

“What happens when our HPs hit zero?” Slayer asked, looking directly into the Longinus’ eyes.

Longinus chuckled, though Slayer could not tell if it was out of amusement or nervousness. “Then you will not respawn.”

“Why not?” Slayer asked leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.

A small unreadable smile came over the Admin’s face. “That’s confidential.”

“Bull shit,” said Shady leaning forward in his chair.

“He’s right,” Slayer said, with Dom nodding in agreement. “If we are going to be working together, we need transparency. If we are going to be pitting ourselves and our people against other players, who are far more dangerous than any in game monsters, then we need to know what we are risking.”

Longinus chuckled again. “Alright, alright, you’ve twisted my arm,” he said making it seem as though he expected this issue to be forced. “The reason you will not respond is because you will be dead.”

The room went silent as all four PKers stared at the Administrator.

“You see, the single consequence within the ocean of benefits of interrupting all the brains waves, is that should the player experience death in game then the brain believes the death to be real and will shut the body down.”

“You’re asking us to become murderers,” said Slayer.

“You already are.”

“Fuck you,” spat Shady.

“My apologies,” Longinus said with a slight bow of his head. “I did not intend to strike a nerve.”

“You’re asking us to kill people for entertainment,” said Dom.

“As is what people have done all throughout history,” Longinus said looking each of them in the eyes. “You have nothing to worry about. The lesser guilds will obviously be unable to touch you, and as for any kind of real world punishment you may be worried about, since your crimes will be committed in game, you are outside of both USNA and international jurisdiction. Finally, if your concerns lie within your subordinate’s willingness to comply, then inform them that I told you lot that a death results in the player being logged out for the season.”

“So not only do you want us to kill people, and put our people’s lives at risk, but you also want us to lie about it,” asked Dom, with more anger in his voice than Slayer had ever heard.

“This is no longer a game,” said Shady crossing his arms. “We did not murder people, and we’re not going to for your entitled ass.”

“Gentlemen, I mean no offense, but you’re being shortsighted.”

“This guilds decisions are made by a majority vote,” said Slayer.

“You are not seeing the big picture.”

“All those in favor?”

None of them raised their hand.

Longinus’ face hardened.

“All those opposed.”

All four of them raised their hands.

“There is your answer,” said Slayer.

“PK Clan, please reconsider. Our relationship could thrust you all into the upper echelons of fame, and riches.”

“Shove it up your ass”

“Some of us have people watching that we don’t want to disappoint,” Dom said, his eyes flicking towards Slayer.

Slayer paused, waiting to see if Lord had anything to add before continuing. “You have your decision. I appreciate your time sir, but we have business to attend to.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” said Shady glaring at the admin.

Slayer stood. “You are welcome to stay for lunch. After which-”

“Reconsider,” Admin Longinus said, his voice becoming low and impatient.

Slayer looked at the man, his eyes almost level with the admins thanks to the raised platform. “I’m sorry?”

“Reconsider your decision.”

He looked between his three Generals then back to the Admin. “Done. The answer is still no.”

Administrator Longinus reached up to rubbed his temples. “That is not the correct answer,” he said before suddenly disappearing.

“Dick,” said Shady.

August 26^th, 2075, 10:30

“So how’d it go?” Jixnin asked Lord as they walked through the hall towards the training yard.

“It was… strange,” Lord said distantly.

“I’d bet. You still seem to be mulling it over.”

“I am… I just. Do you ever wonder how different things might be… if we were in charge?”

He shrugged. “Not really. Mostly because if we were in charge I would just let you take the lead. You’ve always been better at making decisions than I am.”

“Hey,” he lightly punched Jixnin’s arm. “A lot of the time that’s only because of your insight.”

“Nah, you give me too much credit.”

“Never, I only give you as much as yo-” Lord suddenly winced and covered one ear.

“You okay?” Jixnin asked.

Lord did not respond for a moment.

“Hey? Lord?” he nudged Lord’s shoulder.

Lord shook his head. “Sorry what was that?”

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, yes. All good.”

“You sure?”

He nodded. “Yes, but I think I’m going to go lay down for a spell. I feel like I could go for a nap.”

“… Alright. Well, DM me if you need anything.”

“Will do,” with that he turned and marched back down the hall towards his quarters.