“Let’s go get some answers,” Cora said, zipping her coat.
I pulled my winter parka on over my tights and purple spaghetti strap dress, picked up my shoulder bag with my journal in it, and nodded.
“I think I understand why Pitch is handwriting Unknown Cosmos,” I confided to Cora.
She patted her own bag as we stepped onto the sidewalk. “Definitely. This is far too precious to backup to the air where anyone could pluck it out and see what we’re doing. I mean, Sam, we’re lucid dreamers now, and I think we actually met in our dreams this morning, don’t you?”
I nodded confidently, “Yep! And who knows what we can do if we keep it up, Cor? But god, I hope nothing happens to my journal.”
Cora asked softly, “Do you think there’ll ever be a time when we don’t have to look over our shoulders, babe?”
I wrapped my arms around one of hers and kept walking, pondering that a minute. “Well, Cor, it was you who said that everything changes. I think you’re right, and it would probably change faster if people didn’t resist it so much.”
“Yeah, seems like a constant tug o’ war. Some of us push forward; the rest balk. How will anything ever be different?”
I had no answer to that question, so I giggled instead, “Deep thoughts already, and we haven’t even seen Jax yet!”
“Oh lord, what’s in store for us tonight?” Cora laughed.
Thirty blocks later, we stepped into Encore—the sister of Chopping Block—but with bigger tables for six. And in the corners of the restaurant, there were a lot more plants obscuring the large half-moon tables that sat ten.
There was a gentle din of conversation in the background, but overall, it was as quiet as advertised. Perfect for a meeting. Cora pointed with her chin, and I looked over to see Jax and Ree setting down salad bowls.
We made our way to them, and they surprised me with open arms. Okaaaay. We were doing hugs now. Friendly affair, apparently. I noticed their glasses full of a purple liquid.
“That’s not an alcoholic bevvie, is it?” I wondered, hopeful.
“Ice berry ade. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’ll want to. Never met a person who didn’t love it,” Jax assured.
“We have hot meals ordered for an hour from now—“
Ree cut Cora off, “So do we, but we’re gonna start with salads.”
I nodded, “Me too.”
Once Cora and I were seated with colorful salads and ice berry ade—yes, it was as amazing as Jax claimed—I started in on the questions.
“Ree, I know you’ve already explained a lot more than I should expect, but I still have questions. And I’m hoping you’ll tell me more—especially about Discord.”
She sighed, but nodded for me to continue.
“I was wondering how much of what happened to me came from you? What exactly do you do on Discord and Purple Road to help people like me?”
She gestured to herself with a metal hand, “Every time you saw the name SassySword, it was me. I never let anyone else use my names. So the reviews, the DMs, the General chats? All me. I try to say things people will recognize later, like ‘What ‘dis phonk?’ You know? And if I find something easy to remember, like you saying ‘food teleportation,’ well, that’s gold. So I hang onto it. And the toe-eating cricket story. I mean, who could make that shit up?”
“I searched for it, by the way, the cricket story. And it was original. Not copied. So SpiritdeCacao is either a genuine human or an augment playing the game, but I have no idea which side they’re on.”
Thrilled and saddened by that news, I reminded myself not to get attached. Even though I wished Cacao were a friend.
“That’s how the game is played, Sam. I find people who fit the profile I’m looking for: creatives like you. Then I interact and watch. I knew they’d turn up the heat when you blocked Smak_pans.”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“What I didn’t know was how you were actually doing. All I could see was that you didn’t DM HC Merrin, and you stopped chatting. Then you joined other servers. So I wanted to give you as many clues as possible, in case you’d already caught wind of something foul going on.”
My hand gripped Cora’s under the table. Ree had no idea that I’d been spiraling, drinking myself silly, and falling to pieces while she watched from the sidelines, hoping to help me.
She kept recounting her side of the story. “You joined GrimWail’s server, and the voice chat with DickDaddy singing ‘Toxic Love’ wasn’t me. I put that Special Streaks parroted chat there so you’d see it. Tried to make it obvious that something was wrong. I did the same on a server HC was in to make it as clear as possible. I saw him DM you, so I knew he was putting things together.”
“But Sam, I didn’t send you those blank DMs,” she said adamantly. "That’s a very bot thing to do. I’d bet money it was an augment playing for the other side who sent you HC’s song with a date from centuries ago and then DM'd your real name from CoralineAsIs. A fake out. That’s the sort of devilish shit they pull that drives people over the edge.”
I steadied my breath. No, I wouldn’t get lightheaded remembering all of that. I’d stay right here in the awesome restaurant, drinking ice berry ade and holding my girlfriend’s hand under the table.
Ree went on, “You went offline for a while. I didn’t hack your financials, but I could see you bought some dresses in Miami. No airship tickets or hotels, though, so I didn’t think you were there in person. I hoped for it—saw HC was going out for large dinners. Then I finally got a real clue. Something tangible: you won the poetry contest, and Bitsy Joon messaged you, outing herself as Sibsil Creed. A calculated risk on her part.”
My eyes bulged. I’d totally forgotten about Bitsy’s message, and if Ree’d been watching it, the cyber mafia must’ve too.
“Then I saw you searching the stream for Sibsil Creed info. I figured you were probably putting the pieces together, so I wasn’t too worried about your mental health. Didn’t understand why you were on a flight from Nashville to Cheyenne when I hadn’t seen you purchase tickets, but when I found out who else was aboard that airship, it made more sense. You and your friend Rhoda traveled all over the East with HC and Paddy, then went to Colorado for a Coraline As Is concert at Red Rocks.”
God, it was really that easy, wasn’t it? All you had to do was buy shit, and someone could piece together your life story.
Ree kept going, “Paddy was the one who bought the cross-galactic starliner tickets, so I knew you went to Shurwinn. It wasn’t hard to figure out why, but I didn’t know what you’d do next. I took the chance you’d see a review on Purple Road. I loved your book Moons Dancing, by the way, so I really meant what I said. It wasn’t ’til you ordered curry on stream ahead of time that I knew for sure our paths would cross here in Nineton. How likely was it that you’d buy your first meal on Uno at my mate’s restaurant?”
“What?” I gasped.
Jax chuckled, “A hobby, mostly. Little diner I own. Makes me look nice and normal.”
But Ree wasn’t done, “So I went to work, hoping you’d show up for dinner, and there you were in the flesh. All the way from Earth. And now you know exactly what I did behind the scenes, hoping against hope that you’d be one who made it out of Discord unscathed.”
Cora’s voice was tight, not adoring, “And do you reveal yourself like this frequently?”
I shoveled salad I couldn’t taste into my mouth.
Ree shook her head, “No.”
Her gaze drifted over my head, looking at something I couldn’t see. “All I can tell you is that I wanted to meet someone I’d encountered on stream in real life.”
She looked me square in the eyes, “I really like your writing, Sam. And I may not know exactly what you’re doing with Bitsy, but with your sense of humor and the heart you put into your characters, I think you’ll have an impact. A good one, for a change. And that’s something I’d really, really like to see happen.”
I sat back, taking all of that in as Ree drained her glass. My next questions would not be easy ones, but I had to ask them. Ree had gifts and access to information no one else in the Cosmos would, so maybe . . .
“At what point did you know my real name, Ree?” I asked confidently.
She set her glass down and stabbed her salad with a fork. “The first time you sent HC your beta-reading notes. Your document’s author was ‘Sam Mooneyhan,’ and yeah, I reconned you and saw what happened to your parents. I figured you had a vested reason in uncovering the truth behind the Tech Guild. And honestly? I thought your ‘I-have-no-idea-what-Discord-is' personality was a con. You were so good at feigning innocence.”
Cora and I erupted in laughter. “Oh gods! Did you ever figure out that it wasn’t a schtick? That I’m really clueless?”
Ree chuckled, looking at her partner, “No. Jax managed to convince me you’re not a mastermind last night. Your online personality matched who you were in real life, but I was confused, for sure.”
Cora sniggered, “So awesome. Sam looking like the most deceitful thing on Discord, all whilst just being herself.”
I giggled, loving it. Oops! Accidentally looked like such a great actress that I fooled the fooler.
Well, that had to work for my benefit, right? If I’d tricked SassySword, then maybe the Tech Guilds were confused about my purpose too. Grand schemer, that was me.
My eyes narrowed. “I believe you, Ree. That you didn’t hack my financials or private messages, but what about the Guilds? Do they have those scruples?” I asked, having no idea if she could honestly answer.
“I’ve done it. Not to you, but elsewhere. So it’s possible. But the rare occasion I did, I followed behind someone else who I suspected was working for the other side. Hiding in their tracks, you could say. Looking like I was a backdoor virus, not a person."
She took a sip of her drink, then went on, "So, I know they can do it. But probably not often to avoid outing themselves. If they got found out, the public wouldn’t stand for it. They cross a lot of lines in the shadows, but fucking with money? Hacking banks? It’s a dangerous game. Same with private messages.”
Jax butt in, “I wouldn’t take that as a carte blanche on-stream safety signal, however.”
I agreed with Jax wholeheartedly. I took a minute to munch my salad, bracing myself for what I wanted to ask next. Maybe Ree had answers to a seventeen-year-old secret.
And maybe I’d finally get the truth about my parents.
Dragon Keeper: And the Eternal Quest for Rent Money
by Wyatt_Wriots
? ? ?
“
Stuck out of place.
Stuck out of time.
You really f’d yourself now, Ike.
Alone.
Forgotten.
Dragons-eye. Just beneath its silver surface, an ancient being slept—now awakened by a portal leading to another world.
? What to Expect ?
- [+] Weak → Strong → VERY STRONG!
- [+] Portal-hopping to different worlds.
- [+] Powers, powers, and more powers.
- [+] A S*** talking Dragon.