The Quest #1: rise of darkness

Chapter Three

"Lemme guess." Max cut in again. "You guys couldn't defeat him, so you had to drag us here, right?"

"We tried." The captain continued, staring into the fire as he spoke. "But we were outnumbered. We got news that Dredd was going after a city and we rushed down to defend it. But little did we know that our enemy was well prepared to meet us. Before now, we had consulted The Oracle for help, just in case things got worse. But the Oracle's message was that we would need help from outworld; from two TEENAGERS. In objection, we all pushed the Oracle's message aside and concluded we could handle Dredd ourselves. We didn't need some petty teenagers fighting our battles for us. But during our last battle, when Helius saw that we were losing, he ordered me to go to the oracle and summon you two."

"Uh...hum." Max rubbed his head. "So that explains the weird colors earlier, the vortex, the beam and the thunderstorm. Such a cruel way to send an invitation."

"I'm sorry for any inconvenience." The captain apologized.

"So what are we supposed to do now? What about Helius? Can't he stop Dredd?"

The captain stared into the fire for some time, and spoke

"King Helius was killed by Dredd in yesterday's battle. The fate of our world and your world now depends on you two."

"Huh? Our worlds?" Max and Easton spoke the same time.

"If Dredd gets hold of the dragon jewel, he would merge it with his dark staff, allowing him to harness the powers of the jewel. He would become invincible, a god, and he would have access to all worlds and realms, and he will seek to take control of them all. Your quest is to stop Dredd and secure the dragon jewel."

"Quest?" Max scratched his head, trying to remember something. Then it clicked! "That's it!" Max exclaimed. "All this is just a VR simulation game called The Quest. None of this is real!"

"Huh?!" It was now Forge's and Easton's time to stare.

* * * * * * * * * *

"What are you saying?" Easton asked with a bemused look on his face.

"Do you remember that game I told I play every day that was giving me a tough time? Well, this is it! No wonder this forest, the orcs, & Forge looks familiar. But everything seems so real. The soil feels real, the plants, the air, & even Forge seem to consist of real human flesh. But urr... if this is a game, then how come we're inside the game? And how can we be playing a game if we ain't even close to any computer?"

"Good question." Easton replied. He had never liked video games, and he sure wasn't going to accept the idea of being inside one. "Good question." He repeated. "Because I was about to ask you to explain the thunderstorm, the vortex, the light beam and the pain we FELT a few hours ago. Besides, Forge is right here with us. How would you feel if someone told you your world was just a digital construct?"

Forge placed a hand on Easton's shoulder & smiled at him.

"Max may be trying to make a point. You see, Nature has a way of reflecting her offspring in diverse ways. Before now, I didn't believe that a world called Earth existed. Nature had used different writers to reveal your world to us through books, stories and poems. Some even portrayed your world as a mystical world where something called Technology was so advanced that any work was done with ease. Others portrayed your world as a boring place, full of crises; a place where the struggle for survival was high. And others portrayed your world as a place full of life, natural resources, and golden opportunities. But we all thought it was all fantasy and mere imaginations of the mind, until today. My only disappointment however is that Nature chose to portray our world in the form of a computer game. I don't know what a computer game is, but your friend mentioned something about it being a digital construct."