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  Alterra is the online game launched by the alpha-citizens of New Atrium and the last little island of civilization known to Jack. The alphas were so kind, in fact, that they even allowed the ghetto inhabitants to play — the ones who huddled around the protective Barrier of New Atrium. So that omegas, like Jack, got the idea that the world just might be bigger and cleaner than the piss-poor reality. Actually, as far as Jack was concerned, his own world was a bit bigger than that of most omegas.

  Jack was a Walker. He wandered the Wasteland and searched the debris for something useful, anything that could be sold or used. He found mostly dust. But then, there was a lot of it. Wherever he looked — only dust. That, and the rubble of a red-brick house. It was a two-hour walk from here to the ghetto borders. Pretty close, and these ruins had been searched probably a thousand times. They called this place Simon's House. Why? Jack didn’t know. When he was still just starting to get out into the Wasteland, the ruins already went by this name.

  Jack made for Simon’s House and with every step, little clouds the ever-present dust puffed up from under his boots. Nothing here but dust... Though, what was that? Between the piles of bricks, sprinkled thickly with the same dust as everything else, something white peeked out. Jack involuntarily clenched the stick that he always kept with him while wandering the Wasteland – on the doorstep of Simon’s House, white human bones were stacked in a neat pyramid. A skull topped the pile. In many Alterran dungeons, these types of little bone pyramids come back to life and turn into walking skeletons, guardians of the caves. Ugh! But this wasn't the game; it was reality... Here, bones don't come alive. They just placidly lay where the wild dogs had dragged them. This was just one of the Walkers, who decided to play a prank.

  Well, the prank worked because everyone was familiar with Alterra. For some it was just for fun, but for many, Alterra was their only source of income. In-game gold could easily be converted into real money. Jack belonged to the minority and earned his money in real life. Alterra should remain a wonderland. He shook his head and walked past Simon’s House. Today's haul was smallish, but it would be enough for a few days so he would not have to worry about food and could play at his leisure. Even a beer in the Rusty Rose would do. This seemed like a reasonable idea to Jack, so he adjusted the straps of his backpack and strode off to New Atrium. Go home, wash off the dirt, and then off to Alterra to drink a beer. That was the life.

  It was a two-hour walk along the grey plains, then another hour and a half through the ghetto, where there was considerably less dust due to the wet winds from the sea. From here, the high wall of the Barrier was easily visible, New Atrium hidden behind it. They said that, once, the island had been called Manhattan... Once, very long ago, before the Gendemic, before the old world fell into the belly of hell. It was unclear what life is like in New Atrium. But most importantly, somewhere there, the alphas, residents of New Atrium, maintained Alterra. They kept the game on the servers, eliminated bugs, and once a year announced the Battle — the big quest, the prize for which was alpha-citizenship. And what omega, inhabiting the slums surrounding the Barrier, didn't dream about this? To leave behind the dirty trailers, the piles of rusty junk, the ruins of the old city — and enjoy all the amenities of civilization. A real beer, for example, and not the swill that they made in some places in the ghetto. The kind of beer that tasted like the beer they poured in Alterra.

  Virtual beer tasted good and gave a small buff, but a temporary improvement in performance or taste weren’t important. Jack went to the Rusty Rose to relax, distract himself, and overhear the news. At the next table, a group of players was loudly discussing their finished quests, recent in-game events, and occasionally, the goings-on in the real world. Jack went to the bar, where a burly barkeeper-NPC was pouring beer, took a mug, and settled into his favorite spot under the shadow of the wall. Where his back was covered and he could see who entered. Svetlograd – that's what they called the city – was a PvE zone, but habits are hard to break. Jack preferred these kinds of spots in reality, too.

  He had arrived at the tavern a bit early — the crowd usually started to gather in late afternoon. At the moment, there were no more than ten people in the tavern and the musicians had only just started playing. Nighttime here would be lively, with songs and the drunken hubbub, but for now, everything was quiet. Just the thing after a difficult day. He sipped his beer, listening the outcome of the latest skirmish between the Kingdom of Maxitor and the necromancers of Nightmare, and simply enjoyed the peace and quiet.

  A new group entered the tavern hall — three players, a Cleric and two Merchants. They were all regulars of the Rusty Rose and Jack knew them by sight, had even crossed paths with one of them in real life. The trio looked around the empty hall. The Cleric noticed Jack, smiled, and headed toward his table.

  "Jack the Drifter! I thought you'd be here!"

  "Hey, Mike."

  One of the three went to the bar for beer while the others, without waiting for an invitation, sat themselves at Jack's table. Mike got right down to business.

  "Jack, I have an offer for you. Wanna earn ten coins? A monthly quest opened up today — it's basically doing nothing for an hour. So?"

  Jack swished the beer in his mug a bit, admired the elaborate patterns made by the liquid, and took a swig.

  "What kind of quest? And why are you asking me?"

  "We need someone with high-level strength. You're a Warrior. You fit the bill. I wanted to invite Jenkins... Do you remember Jenkins? But he's not in Svetlograd right now. Went off to Maxitor to fight necromancers and still hasn't come back. And we need someone stronger."

  "But if you've all completed this quest already, then how will they give it to you again?"

  Mike's second companion appeared and placed beer mugs in front of them.

  "I haven't accepted the quest yet," explained Mike, grabbing his beer. "The other two in the group have taken it, but not me. So I'll take it this time. True, the game doesn't give the same quest to the same player. But those who have already finished the quest can stay in the group, and can repeat the task again that way, get it?"

  They got distracted for a minute. Jack figured, why not? Not that he needed the coins. He'd just given the loot from the Wasteland to a buyer and taken his payment in game currency, so his wallet had more than two hundred gold. But if it was only for an hour, why not check out a new quest, eh?

  "Alright," he nodded. "Tell me about it."

  "Nothing to tell," Mike answered quickly. "There's a NPC merchant complaining that he bought his wife a bracelet and as soon as she put it on, she went ballistic — started attacking everybody, eyes crazy. Pretty much a typical case of possession. There was a spirit or demon of some kind locked in the bracelet... Here we showed up, two of us were holding her, the third was holding the husband, who was torn, wringing his hands and shouting at us not to hurt his dove. A dove, who, by the way, pushed me up against the wall and took off ten hit points. This was the first time we accepted the possession quest and didn't know what was going on. We've already gone through it twice, you know?"

  Mike took a swig of beer and continued.

  “In short, we need to hold the husband, too, so that he doesn’t get in the way. And, well, like I said, someone should have high-level strength. The Cleric will hose the broad with holy water consecrated in the temple of Shining Vecta, she’ll pass out and the ghost will come out of her, talking a lot of crap, but it's no big deal. The husband will shell out some coins..."

  "How many coins?" asked Jack.

  "Fifty."

  "And I only get ten?"

  "So what? This is our quest. We found it, explored everything we hadn’t already checked; it was me that fat NPC beat against the wall. We're calling you in after everything's done."

  "Okay, okay," Jack didn't want to argue. What a shame that the quest wasn't very exciting. "And what about the bracelet? What happens to it?"

  "We also get that because the husband yells, ‘I won't let my darl
ing touch that dreadful little bauble. Get it out of my sight.’ It really is just a cheap trinket. I'll take it to a merchant later and get three coins for it. So, are we going?"

  Jack finished his beer and nodded. The three prospective quest participants exchanged their contact information with Jack to create the group and went outside. Svetlograd was amazing, as always. On the streets, there were richly dressed players and NPCs walking around, a priestess of Vecta in white here and there, sailors who brought rare items from the islands, merchants from Mal-Zaire dressed in exotic clothes and brightly colored feathered hats, and soldiers wearing heavy armor. Mages in voluminous robes were socializing, multicolored gems sparkled on sorcerers' fingers, and young beauties in low-cut dresses peeked out from coaches to check out the cavaliers' stats.

  A few players were riding on mounts. Not really to use their pets, but to show off in front of the crowd. A knight in gilded armor on a huge white stallion watched jealously as a priest of the warlike Ged rode importantly by on his battle rhinoceros. Winged mounts were flying over the rooftops, their riders looking down at passers-by from above... Oh, yes, this place was something to be amazed by. And Jack delighted in the vibrant scene. He simply enjoyed the loveliness of the virtual world. In comparison with this splendor, what was the mud of the slums or the dust of the Blighted Wasteland? No, that wasn’t real life. Alterra was.

  Mike led the party through the center and went deeper into the poorer areas, where the artisans and small-time merchants lived. Here, of course, there was no particular splendor, but it was also something to see. All the houses were well kept with beautifully decorated facades and it was very rare that one saw two buildings that looked alike. The designers did first-rate work when they created Svetlograd.

  "We're almost there already," Mike said over his shoulder to the rest of the group. "Only, when we start, you, Jack, stay on your toes. This chick will seem mellow, but then she'll tear out of their hands. Stay frosty."

  Jack soon saw their future employer. A townsman was standing in the middle of the street and was speaking anyone who happened to pass by him too closely:

  “Help me, good people! My wife's out of her mind! Taken over by some evil spirit! Someone help! Save her!”

  Jack took a peek at his stats, out of pure curiosity:

  Jacob, Scand

  Expertise: 25

  Health: 30

  Scands were a warrior people. They should be tall and broad-shouldered. Jack himself was playing a Scand and fit the racial characteristics quite well. But this NPC wasn't much to look at. Flabby, even. As a matter of fact, people of the game's Achaean race usually became merchants, but it seemed the developers decided to be original.

  Mike walked up to the poor guy and blurted out,

  "What's happened, good man?"

  Then turned around and winked at Jack.

  "Woe is me!" — Jacob wailed, now addressing a particular companion. "I bought a bracelet for my wife, thought I would treat my little dove. A beautiful one, with engraving. But as soon as she put the bracelet on, something emerged from it, like a kind of smoke or steam. And my darling became someone else, lunging at people, babbling nonsense. We were only barely able to force her upstairs and lock her in the bedroom. Now I don't know what to do. What can help her? She's possessed now."

  "Don't worry, we'll fix it," snapped Mike, who had already heard this dialogue twice before. "We can help your wife by expelling the evil spirit that has taken hold of her body. You see, I'm a cleric, servant of the gods. I know about such matters. But this will not be an easy task."

  "Help us, kind man! Save my wife!" Jacob begged. "Money is of no matter — I'll pay you fifty gold, if you'll only help her!"

  Mike quietly reached an agreement with the NPC and just a minute later Jack received a quest group invitation.

  Join group

  to complete the quest "Healing the Possessed"?

  Yes / No

  He took the quest. Jacob brought the four saviors into his home and pointed out the ladder to the second floor. Measured, booming strikes resounded and the door at the top of the ladder shuddered.

  While the distraught husband wailed, his eyes fixed on the door shaking under his wife's blows, Mike quickly assigned the roles. Jack and the stronger Merchant were supposed to hold the woman, while the second Merchant blocked interference attempts from the anxious Jacob, and Mike would cast out the spirit.

  "Don't be shy," Mike issued one final instruction to Jack, "You can't hit this chick, but hold her with all you've got. All holds and sweeps are allowed. You'll see for yourself. This chick is as strong as a troll."

  "Just be gentle with my beautiful girl," whined Jacob, "She is delicate!"

  But no one paid attention to his pleas — they were preparing for the battle. All during the discussion, Mike was hammering home that this was a real fight; the quest only looked like a peaceful campaign. But the possessed woman actually was a dangerous enemy.

  Finally, everybody was ready. The Merchants sucked down elixirs for buffs and Mike nodded at Jacob.

  "Open the door, sir, and we'll take a look at your wife."

  Jacob, glancing warily at the team of exorcists, climbed the ladder and pulled the latch. The door immediately swung open, nearly knocking him to the floor. A woman stomped determinedly down the ladder. She was much younger than her husband, round faced, and quite pretty. Jack barely had time to check her stats:

  Milena, Scand.

  Expertise: 15.

  Health: 35.

  He didn't get any further than that because, when he tried to intercept the woman, she tossed him aside with impressive force. However, Jack had been ready for such a turn of events. Mike hadn't repeated himself for nothing. Jack immediately blocked his opponent's path, grasped her around the waist with one hand and caught her wrist with the other. He’d wanted to disorient her with this hold, but it didn’t work. If you grab a person like this, he will stop struggling whether he likes it or not because, otherwise, he'll twist his wrist and only cause himself pain. But this NPC was completely unfazed by it. Jack was swept out of her way. He had felt Milena's wrist breaking free of the hold.

  A bracelet caught his eye. Probably the very one that had caused this mess. Indeed, just a trinket, a copper strip embossed in crude workmanship. The only thing that gave the little knickknack any value was the red gem. Inside the stone, a pale flame flickered rhythmically. Nothing happens by accident in Alterra. This flickering was probably supposed to mean that the stone was unusual, enchanted. Jack squeezed the woman's arm harder, but Milena still managed to push him out of the way and began to drag both Jack and the Merchant who gripped her other hand.

  Jacob, watching this, was bouncing up and down, hands wringing.

  "Oh, be careful, good people! Oh, you're holding her so roughly."

  Milena twisted her left shoulder and shook the Merchant off, instantly making it more difficult for Jack to hold her. Jacob rushed in to help. Only it was unclear who to help. Either his wife or Jack. But it was much easier to hold him, since the townsman wasn't very strong and wasn't being impelled by a spirit dwelling inside him. The second Merchant held Jacob in place.

  Jack felt the soles of his boots skidding across the floor. He rode behind the woman who powerfully and single-mindedly placed one foot after the other, never stopping. The interesting thing was, though, that when no one was standing in her way, Milena did not attack. She only tore away when someone tried to seize her hands. What for? Where was it taking her? There must be some purpose.

  Mike the Cleric was fussing with a vial of holy water but couldn't find a good position.

  Still grasping the wrist wearing the enchanted bracelet with all his might, Jack glanced at the wall the NPC was ploughing toward with the players clinging to her back. That had to be it! A luminous spot appeared on the wall, about hip high. It looked like a sunbeam, except the light from the windows didn't reach that far and there were no visibly shiny objects to reflect light. In fact, the p
ulsing of the light matched exactly with the rhythm of the twinkling stone in the bracelet.

  At this point, Mike had finally managed to splash Milena with the water and shouted,

  "In the name of blessed Vecta! Be gone, evil spirit!"

  When the droplets fell onto Milena's face and chest, she froze on the spot, and Jack let out a sigh of relief. And then something happened to the NPC. She began to shake, her face turned white, while a thin haze appeared above her, like a bluish mist. The haze thickened in the air over the crown of her head, took on the silhouette of a human figure, and in a quiet, sepulchral voice said:

  I, Beleth, have given an oath, vowing that I will neither deviate nor depart from this place so long as I have not obtained the Crown of Thergal for Annabelle the Beautiful... The oath lies in this bracelet, given to me by Annabelle. My oath is sacred and eternal.

  "Alright, alright, you've made your point. Now take a hike," grinned Mike. "I mean, out with you. In the name of Vecta of the Light, leave here."

  The misty figure grew faint and began to dissipate. Milena's eyes started to blink, looking around and noticing Jack and the others with surprise.

  "Who are these people, Jacob? Why are you letting them touch me?" she babbled in a weak voice.

  Your group has completed the quest "Healing the Possessed".

  A reward of 50 gold can be received from the townsman Jacob.

  Jack quickly released the NPC's arm and stepped back. The bracelet on the woman's wrist no longer gleamed and the flickering on the wall had disappeared, but Jack noticed that in the place where it had shone, a small stain remained. Not very noticeable, but still visible. Mike, grinning cheerfully, announced that the spirit had been exorcised, accepted the payment, took the bracelet from Jacob, who, as expected, wanted to be rid of it, and the entire party left the house.