Orc Wars 2 : Lazarus

Chapter 33 - Letting Go

Zen the Games Master was worried. After a few exciting weeks, Lazarus had become boring. For the last few days, he had done nothing more than log in for the required time, taking out the cursed saber and sitting on his bed or sofa. The Ghost Lord would sit for hours in his chambers just holding and staring at the weapon, caressing it lovingly. Then he would log out.

His wolf would accompany him. Sometimes laying at his feet, sometimes pacing restlessly around the room. She had also left him alone, wandering out to play with the NPCs in his City. The children always had something tasty for her to eat.

What had happened to him? Simtrixx had become excited when the assassin had shown interest in a low level Healer, sending her resources for her to build her village, helping her level up. It was the same Healer who he had killed with Valentine during Kirana, the Berserker Gatekeeper's Trial. Was it some kind of compensation on his part? Could they count on him for some romance? Action was good but romance was better.

He and Valentine had chosen Familiars. Constantine had chosen one a few weeks ago. After that, Lazarus had completed several dungeons with his new Familiar, testing out her strengths and weaknesses. Valentine had done the same. Then, Lazarus had confronted an assassin who had been stalking him and befriended her. Zen had smiled knowingly when Lazarus had invited her to a dungeon. They were the same class, with the same set of Skills. It was how they Researched and utilised their Skills that made the difference. Lazarus was going to train Nyx. Awesome! No other gatekeeper had taken on an apprentice. Zen wondered at his reasons. This guy is different. He keeps surprising them.

The assassin and his apprentice had gone into the Harpy dungeon, one of his personal favourites. She had fallen into one of their traps and was paralyzed. Lazarus had no choice but to complete the dungeon on his own and save the girl. His wolf was awesome too providing them excellent footage of a loyal familiar in action. Other players would strive to level up now, just to own one. They could use that footage to promote Familiars and start a new drive in the game. Maybe he should consult the Director. He jotted down a note.

What happened next was a complete mystery to the Games Master. The trio had exited the dungeon and confronted the Healer (love interest!!) and her group. Lazarus and Althea had some kind of one sided show down, ending with the Gatekeeper dying (Umm, on second thoughts, scrap the romance). What had stumped him was that the gatekeeper assassin did not even fight back!

Then, nothing. Lazarus had gone into a funk.

Should Simtrixx give him a few more days? If he kept this up, they would have to do something to stimulate the Hero. They wanted more footage. Even if the romance did not pan out, Simtrixx would settle for the continued thrilling action. The fandom was growing. They needed more to feed the hungry masses. Zen typed his report to Nadine.

Nadine's response was to request the latest footage on the Hero. After reviewing it, she typed a note in her 'Orc Wars Season One - Gatekeepers' file with simple instructions.

1. Send message to all Gatekeepers. Increase their wage by 5 per cent.

2. Remind Lazarus of his condition and reason to complete the Trials.

She called Zen into her office.

"Increase the Gatekeepers wages, that will encourage them to play more. Money always does." She looked thoughtfully at him. "Also, Make Lazarus suffer. He needs to be reminded why he started his personal mission. You know what to do."

Zen raised his eyebrows. "You are going to kill him?"

"No, I am just reminding him why he must continue with Constantine's Trial and get through the Portal. Right now, he thinks the cure to his malady is in the Orc realm. Give him some kind of confirmation to lure him on." She drummed her fingers on her desk.