A lot of people play online games, right?

  True, some were more intense than others. Sliding bricks around to save a king is different than slinging spells, sniping enemies, or driving “borrowed” cars…fast.

  And some of us play intense games…intensely.

  And that’s where Shallowlands comes in. You get to enter the game and play. No more console, keyboard, or mouse. If you want to jump, run, turn, swing, crawl…whatever…it’s not a key combo. It’s you.

  I got to do this in advance of most of the other players because I chose a wicked cool mage guild that nobody else wanted to play.

  Okay, it is slow, and my previous ramblings prove that out. But it is also cool, or you wouldn’t be here listening to me.

  Entering the Shallowland game and creating a character that somehow had a life and memories before he was created was unusual, to say the least. Going through an orientation, acquiring equipment, magical gems, and taking on a solo adventure was terrific. Competing in the guild champion Arena games was incredible.

  But right now, I have a problem.

  I needed to convince a table full of friends, many of whom have been close friends for many years in the game…and I just met minutes ago in real time…that I needed their help on a quest that was not only super dangerous, but it was the night before we were all supposed to go through our guild journeyman trials.

  Oh, and to add spice, if they didn’t help, one of them was likely going to die.

  Of course, I don’t know which friend, so no free rides. Thanks, Shallowlands.

  The game let me slide right into my character with only a few mental hiccups that I won’t get into, and the emotions tied to friends and experiences were every bit as real as my life before the game. And that was good, except the part about one of them dying.

  My character, which I probably should mention, is a mage with some very special gifts around making certain types of magical items. Especially those involved with gems.

  Which were crazy hard to find and expensive to buy, I might add.

  But I managed to create rings, gems, a magestaff, and some other stuff which, once again, maybe I’ll discuss later since, as I was walking across the open grounds in front of all the guild halls, I was getting close to my destination and facing my problem…

  The last steps I took as I came to the heavy oak door of the Double Dragon Inn and Tavern, a centuries-old fixture in the southern port city of Keelwell, allowed me to set my mind and face things head-on.

  I hoped.

  I pulled open the door with my usual grunt of effort. It was heavier than it needed to be, but it has withstood weather disasters and invasions, so who was I to complain?

  It was brighter inside than it was outside, so my eyes didn’t need time to adjust. That’s not to say there weren’t shadows. This old bar had more nooks and crannies than anywhere I had ever been.

  Still, the interior was well-lit, and the laughter and noise were a welcome relief to the tension that had been building within me.

  The main bar had wobbly swivel seats, which were an adventure just by themselves, based on what you might be drinking at the time. There were booths along all the walls, and a range of tables across the great room. We would have a large table near the back.

  I spotted the group easily, and it looked like I was the last to arrive.

  Our table was one of the larger ones, and it was located in the rear section, which was taken over around this time each night by game enthusiasts. A pair of older sages huddled over a set of tiles playing a game of Sevens. They seemed pretty intent, which suggested it might be for serious stakes.

  The game of Sevens was one of three honor games that mages sometimes employed when a conflict had arisen between them, demanding justice but not at a level where a magical duel was called for. It was basically a game of dominoes with tiles going up to double sevens rather than double sixes. I enjoyed the game and played it many times with other apprentices for practice, fun, or some stakes, which usually involved humiliating ourselves if we lost.

  Besides the two sages, the room was occupied by enthusiastic members of the university’s All Night Club. They could play role-playing games, 3D chess, cards, tiles, and a wide range of board games. Tonight’s game of choice was Conjure Snap!. The game used mild conjuring magic on a deck of collectible hand-painted cards, creating small, life-like creatures that battled each other. I had seen the game but never played it. The creatures were harmless to the players but deadly to one another. My father never allowed me to play it when I was younger because of rogue games, allegedly cursed and fatal. Of course, that rumor made the game even more popular, but it tended to push it underground, and kids played it away from adults.

  The All Night Club members were not kids but college students who were game enthusiasts. The game was lively tonight, and there was a lot of noise around us. The roguish nature of the Double Dragon lured the college students away from campus, and the fish and chips were some of the best in the city.

  As I settled in at our table, I saw a young man with glasses at a lone table snap his fingers, and a hairy creature, perhaps three times larger than the typical tiny conjurations of the game, leaped off his table, ran over, and started gnawing away at the leg of another boy’s chair. In seconds, the chair collapsed on top of the beaver-rabbit-looking creature, and the boy fell over with a surprised shout. The conjured creature vanished when it was crushed beneath the chair, and the boy sprawled upon the floor, yelling at the lone boy at the back of the room, “Keeper, you’ll have to pay for that if I get in trouble!”

  The young man, whom I recognized from an earlier adventure at the Keelwell Gauntlet and must have been the club’s Keeper, just smiled to himself, saw that I was staring at him, and lifted his mug of draft root beer high to me in a recognition salute.

  An area of specialty for one of the sages must have been conjuration because, with a wave of his hand, he had restored the chair at the table where the waitress scolded the college students for the prank. He went back to his game immediately thereafter.

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  The others greeted me warmly, and the main topic of discussion was the Guildfest games that had taken place earlier in the day. Several of us at the table had participated, and I had given a good accounting of myself, but had not won.

  Biff and Bido, one of my oldest and newest friends, were hotly debating my getting penalized for saving the life of another mage.

  But I should go around the table and introduce my six companions. It’ll take a bit to remember them all, but each is worth a quick intro.

  Biff was a brawler, a kind of warrior who specialized in combat with whatever weapon was at hand. We met at a young age when we both began apprenticeships with a nearby jeweler. I was learning the craft; he was learning how to spot thieves and eject troublemakers. His height and bulging muscles made him look menacing. His dark armor, darker skin, and nearly perpetual scowl didn’t help soften the look. But he was soft-hearted and as loyal a friend as you could ever hope for.

  Bido was a red-robed thaumaturgist. That meant he was a mage who specialized in object-oriented magic along the lines of symmetry and opposites. I was still learning what all that meant, but he was solid. He was the newest member of the group, and we met and had bonded during my entry orientation.

  Sitting next to Biff was the silver-robed illusionist, Wilma. She was always near Biff, who had a mad crush on her, but never said a word. It was both sweet and a little sad. But that was Biff.

  Wilma used magical wands to augment her spells and was very kind and generally protective of us all.

  Addie was a gray-robed elementalist who also used wands over staves, but unlike most elementalists who favored one of the five elements, she generalized across all of them. It was a rare path to take and a challenging one. Her success had earned her a recent apprenticeship with the archmage, which grandmaster mages would have killed for.

  Steven was the healer in our group. He was a cleric, and that meant he had strong combat and magical abilities. He had the heart of a saint and the arms of a warrior.

  The other holy man in our group was our monk, Simon. He was quiet with a sharp wit, and had more speed and skill with his hands and feet than anyone I had ever met. He sometimes used a staff to fight, but as often as not, just relied on his hands and bare feet.

  And I was a yellow-robed enchanter who played with rings, gems, and sockets in objects where stones and gemstones could fit. I had magical rings on all my fingers, a magical staff in my backpack, and a problem to solve.

  The meal started as a couple of the wait staff brought us trays loaded with appetizers, and there was a lot of good-natured teasing among my friends. Bido showed us some of his mirror magic and two special compacts with replaceable metal mirrors, which he explained were much like wands but with a bit more versatility.

  The jab at wands, unintentional as it had been, put him a little at odds with Wilma and Adriana. When the topic of elemental magic arose, Adriana insisted that orange was the actual color of fire and red was the color of blood, but Bido explained that while that was true for her guild, it was not the case with his own. For his guild, orange symbolized far different magic, such as strong emotions. While there was indeed an aspect of energy imparted with the color orange, it dealt more with positivity, motivation, and rallying people than setting objects on fire.

  In a break between their lively back-and-forth as our soups arrived, Bido whispered to me, “Are you okay? I sensed that you were in danger earlier.”

  I thought about that and decided it had to have been when I was at the pond.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll get into what happened in a few minutes. Although I had better get us started since time will be limited tonight.”

  And so I began a discussion about our objectives. They still had no idea what I hoped to do, so I laid it all out just as I had rehearsed it. I had just finished explaining the three alchemist quests to everyone as our main courses were being served. This followed a round of joking about enchanters as pretender mages…the arrival of our stew… and arguments about whether martial combat or magical combat was more effective…followed by bread and cheeses. When I finally got a deep discussion underway, they listened attentively, and my brawler buddy Biff was the first to respond as I explained the third of the three quests.

  “Are you nuts?”

  It was not the reaction I had been hoping for, and my body language got defensive.

  Biff continued. “You plan to dive into Shark Bay at night, hours before you have to defend yourself at trials on Springtide?”

  The comments around the table were much the same. They felt it was a crazy plan. Only Bido remained silent; perhaps, as the newest member of the group, he thought he should earn a little right to question such a decision. But the way he squirmed in his chair, he didn’t seem too keen on it either.

  “It’s all voluntary, so if you want to back out–” I started to say.

  Biff got indignant. “I never said I would back out. Just that your plan was a bad idea.”

  Adriana chuckled. “Actually, you said it was nuts.”

  Steven chimed in. “I don’t usually agree with Biff, but he has a point. Two, in fact. The timing is tough on all of us and seems a bit out there, Gwyd.”

  I didn’t expect so much opposition. I had thought they would be as excited as I was about the adventure. I may have gotten a bit defensive. “Well, I am going even if I have to do it alone.”

  I sat back and crossed my arms. I had to force myself to relax, realizing that they were all making sacrifices to prepare for their upcoming trials.

  Wilma turned to Simon, the monk. “Simon, talk some sense into him.”

  Simon was quiet for a moment, and everyone watched him. Although he was naturally quiet, his words were always worth listening to.

  “I have already given him my word.” He looked at me in mild chastisement. “Granted, I did not see something quite this…interesting. But I will be joining him, to whatever end.”

  I nodded to him.

  Bido cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him. “He fed us. I feel obligated to help. Although we should probably avoid Shark Bay for at least an hour after the meal.”

  Biff snorted. “Whatever. I think you are going to owe us for this hair-brained idea, Gwyd.” And he took a large bite out of the double slice of pie he was served for dessert.

  The others quietly dug into their sweets, wondering what the evening held for them.

  As everyone settled down about the quests, I said, “I have a couple of gifts for each of you.”

  I pulled a small leather pouch from my robe’s inner pocket and gently poured the contents onto the table. “I made a magical ring for each of you to express my appreciation for your sacrifice tonight.”

  “Sacrifice?” Biff asked, startled.

  “For helping him, you big dolt,” Wilma said impatiently.

  “Oh, well, thanks, Gwyd.” Biff smiled, showing a newly missing tooth he had never bothered to get magically repaired or replaced. I think he liked the look; it was a bit more menacing.

  I picked the rings up individually, studied them, and handed them to their owners. “Once you place them on your hand, you will know what they can do. These are yours whether you accompany me or walk away.”

  I knew they would not abandon me now; they were all friends. Even Bido, who was new, was a good guy, and I did not want any harm to come to any of them. But I felt that each would play a part in this quest.

  They oohed and complimented me on their rings. Each got a special ability along with some general effects. Only Steven and Adriana had seen theirs in advance because they had helped me create many of my ring effects, although each of my friends had contributed toward my ring collection in spells or skills at some point.

  By now, my ring collection was considerable. I had personally spent around fifteen hundred magic casting points on rings and my staff over the past month. I had mapped out what needed to be done and taken into account my natural recovery of casting points. I had a spreadsheet and timings around the staff, rings, and my magical plans. It was a bit much, but it worked for me. In addition to my own casting points, many others also contributed a lot.

  Biff was once again the first to pipe up. “Hey, you said a couple of gifts.”

  Wilma smacked him on the arm. “Be polite, Biff.” She exclaimed.

  “What do you mean? That was polite. For me.” He said indignantly.

  Everyone laughed.

  “My other gift is only temporary,” I said.

  Biff frowned.

  “I am going to cast a spell on your primary weapon that will enhance its ability to hit and do damage to opponents for the next four hours.”

  “What opponents?” Simon asked cautiously.

  Biff snorted. “Dude, we are going into Shark Bay. What kind of opponents do you think?”

  Simon nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

  I cleared my throat. Everyone looked at me speculatively. Biff shoved more pie into his mouth, thinking I was hinting we should get going.

  “There is another small favor,” I said slowly.

  They all moaned.

  It was time to face the issue that had been worrying me. “This could benefit one of you, however…”

  A note from cqTrooth:

  This first chapter in the second volume helps transition new readers who may have jumped into this book. You can totally start reading here and benefit from a lot more action in this volume, but a lot of the relationship-building and early progression happened in the first volume. Either way, enjoy volume two released today…