It took less than thirty seconds at full speed to cross the field back towards his people. Unbelievably, he saw a lone figure in white robes. It looked like the emperor was right there in the open. He looked almost casual, in no hurry, standing around with a crowd of western players around him.

Mason had his Claws out ready to dive straight into the bastard. But as he got closer, he could see it wasn’t him. A terrified looking young man turned and stared at a charging Mason with wide eyes, holding up what looked like a square piece of plastic.

“Explain. Quickly.” Mason growled and sprayed dirt and stones as he slid to a stop. Becky held up a hand to wait. Every fiber of his being wanted to plunge a sword into the idiot’s chest. But he managed to hold off.

“I…” the young player was pale and sweating. “I have…”

“The idjit walked up and hit us with some pitiful thing, think it was a stun.” Becky showed him what looked like a grenade. “Then he put up his hands and said he’d no choice. Like he was a prisoner, or somethin’. Said he was just doin’ what he was told. He’s like…tier four, or some shit. Out of his damn mind.”

The player nodded with terrified enthusiasm. Then he went to click a button on the plastic square, and half a dozen players flared with power or put weapons to the guy’s throat. He swallowed and licked his lips.

“Just…a message. I mean. Video! It can’t…it’s just a system tablet. See?” He expanded it until it looked familiar. Mason expected it would be nothing good. But there was a chance it was Blake and one of his schemes, and he wanted to know for sure. He considered turning around and just charging right back towards the palace, but he sighed and gestured for him to go ahead.

The tablet blinked to life, and the young player held it up. Jeong shimmered onto the screen in a room full of people. Half sat in plastic chairs, the other half stood behind them. Mason’s gut dropped.

“Ah! There you are, Baron. I expected you’d kill my first messenger. Call this a back up. And these devices aren’t cheap. Thank you for not destroying it.”

Mason couldn’t help but notice the man wasn’t worried about his player. He took a breath and looked at the seated people, knowing exactly what he was looking at. It wasn’t more than a few seconds before he heard the first gasp. Saw the first player squint and go wide eyed as they recognized someone.

“I thought we should make the stakes…clearer,” said Jeong. “It’s one thing to hear it. Something else to see it. I’m told Miss Walker here wanted to say something to her father. Oh I’m sorry, were you married dear? No? Good, I didn’t intend any offence.”

A chair screeched. The thirty-something woman on it flinched. She didn’t look hurt, but her hands were tied behind her back.

“Dad?” Her voice cracked, and she struggled to see through the screen. “They said…they’re going to…you have to do what they say. Please. I don’t want to die.”

Carl wasn’t doing well. He stepped forward as if to reach for the tablet, but then changed his mind.

“It’s gonna be OK, Elly,” he said, his voice hardening as he blinked. “They know if they hurt you guys, we’re going to kill them all. Every last one of them.”

The girl looked like she wanted to say something else, but Jeong stepped back into view, smiling as if all were right in the world.

“A father and daughter reunion. So nice. And such a strange oversight, I always thought—that the system should think we’d just ‘forget’ all bonds previous to the game. Though I sometimes wonder if it really was a mistake. With such endless power, it could have wiped our minds, surely. Started us fresh. But it didn’t. Curious, don’t you think?

“I don’t see Blake,” Mason said. “You said you had him. Another lie?”

Jeong’s infuriating smile only grew.

“He’s a bit detained. But I have him safe and sound. Or at least alive. Did you know he was trying to kill all my most dedicated followers? Poor, innocent civilians. Men and women who merely want a better future. So you’ll forgive me if my heart doesn’t melt at your shows of emotion. Now, perhaps it’s time to negotiate like civilized men?”

Mason walked up to the new messenger without a word, took the device, and snapped it in half. He could smell urine and hissed at the eastern player.

“Run away now.”

The kid bolted, and Mason put him from his mind. His people were silent, many looking at the ground, or staring off at the horizon.

“He’d make us like the people in that city,” Mason said, looking away, too. “Broken. Afraid. Slaves. He won’t keep his word. He won’t give us anything unless we force him. Power is all a man like him understands.”

He could tell they believed him. That they understood. He didn’t know if Becky or Demi had seen someone they cared about, but for that moment he didn’t want to know. Chinua in particular gave him a sympathetic, empathetic look. No doubt the man had already had to sacrifice to escape.

“I say we all walk in there and kill him together,” Carl said, jaw clenching. “I want to be there, kid.”

Mason took a breath. It would be dangerous as hell. Almost impossible to imagine not losing people. But he didn’t have the right to tell them no. Not to this.

“They might swarm us. I don’t know how many players are left in there. But it’s a lot.”

“Let ‘em,” Becky said, slapping her mace in her palm. A few others grunted agreement and damn near growled. Phuong looked thoughtful.

“I suggest we pay a visit to their crafting quarter, Patron. If Jeong and his people stay hidden in his fortress, I see no reason to rush. Harming our people gains them nothing. We might have time for a little shopping trip.”

Mason snorted, then realized he was serious. “You mean go in and get power gems and items? From inside

their city? Like it’s a nice Saturday stroll?” His Minister of War nodded, as if he meant exactly that. A few people laughed darkly, but Mason still wasn’t sure how they’d pull it off. “We can’t just push their civilians around and take what we want. There’s rules.”

“Yes. Rules for commerce. System and patron points. I see no reason why they wouldn’t take our money. We are rich, Patron. I suggest we simply walk to their merchant streets, and buy whatever we want.”

Mason blinked and stared. A few others laughed. Chinua looked at them all like he was observing a rare species of animal.

“You people are crazy,” he said, “in the most admirable way possible.”

Their laughter covered up the sadness and rage. There’d been a lot of people sitting in those chairs, but no one had yet to say a word about friends or family. Mason had the distinct impression they didn’t want him to know. Like they didn’t want him to carry that weight.

He fought back the emotion and nodded. They needed him now to be strong. To drive them forward even if they wanted to turn back.

“OK,” he said, shaking his head. “We go in and try to buy a few toys. And then we finish this. Let’s make some rules of engagement. If you see any player from the house of Jeong, you don’t need to think or ask questions, you just deal with them. Any other player, especially if they look like they don’t want to fight, you just let them go.”

People seemed comfortable with that, and he was about to leave it there when he considered the people standing behind chairs. Most would be ‘civilian killers’. People who’d broken the rules and put themselves at risk to get in with Jeong. Who’d lost their system protection to act as his murderers.

“I expect them to hide like rats,” he said, “but there’s another group you can kill on sight. If you see any civilians with killer aura, you end them. No questions asked. Other than that, stick with the group, and be ready for changing orders. Any issues?”

He got a few hard looks, but nobody said a word. He went to the goblins and told them the plan, not surprised when they offered to stay on the hill and protect their retreat.

“I’ll come with you,” Lodie said, pulling up her scooter. Mason shook his head, doing his best to give her an encouraging smile.

“Not this time. This is human business, Lodie. And it’s dangerous as hell in there.”

“Big lord Mason’s business is my business,” she said, giving him a stubborn look that was almost ridiculous considering she was barely above his waist. He took a breath and glanced at Becky and Demi, both of whom just shrugged.

“I thought goblins preferred to hide in the back,” he said, trying not to worry about her. Lodie pulled down her goggles and grinned.

“Lodie…I mean. I was never a very normal goblin. Gizmatic?”

He grinned, actually glad she was coming. Glad they all were. It felt right. And their presence would…make him more human. He wasn’t alone and hadn’t been for some time. These were his lovers, his friends, his family. And they’d be there beside him, risking and sacrificing with him, right to the end.

“Alright,” he said, walking towards the city walls for the second time. “I changed my mind once I got on that wall. I don’t feel like bashing through fifteen feet of stone. Unless you all feel like climbing, we’ll have to knock down or open a gate.”

It might have been a tall order, once. But when his people shrugged or said nothing, like taking a city down was just another Tuesday, Mason couldn’t help but smile.

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