‘Because the darkness is full of pitfalls and abysses. Some of them you will not emerge from unscathed. Some of them swallow a person forever.’
It seemed to Nick that Emily had forgotten his presence completely. She stared at the man’s words, her hands floated over the keyboard, and finally she asked the question that Nick had asked before her.
‘Who are you?’
The man put his head to one side thoughtfully, without taking his eyes off Emily.
‘I am a dead person. Nothing more.’
Nick heard Emily draw breath.
‘If you are dead, what are you doing here?’
‘I am waiting and keeping watch. Do you wish to proceed? Or will you turn back?’
His eyes were green, Nick noticed, and they were so lifelike that he could almost swear he had seen them before. In a flesh-and-blood face.
‘I will proceed,’ Emily wrote. ‘That is what you were expecting, isn’t it?’
‘Everyone proceeds,’ the dead man said. ‘Turn left and follow the stream until you come to a ravine. Walk through it. After that . . . you’ll take it from there.’
The dead man said that to me too, Nick recalled. But that wasn’t all.
‘And watch out for the messenger with the yellow eyes.’
Nick warned Emily about the hostile toads that had given him such a hard time, but when she reached the ravine the attack came from above. Small yet extremely vicious bats swirled all around her Nameless, snapping at him with sharp teeth. The red bar on the life meter was sinking steadily.
‘You have to use your stick! Press the left mouse button!’ Nick had to restrain himself not to take the mouse out of Emily’s hand and kill the bats himself. ‘Shake them off with Escape. Jump with Space.’
It took a while and cost Nameless a lot of blood, but finally Emily had killed all the bats.
‘You can take the meat with you,’ Nick explained. ‘It can be sold in the city later on.’
With a shrug of her shoulders Emily stowed the remains away. ‘And now?’
But her words already mingled with the sound of approaching hoof beats. Nick couldn’t help ducking. What would the messenger say if he saw him here? The next minute he shook his head at himself. He can’t see me. He can only see Nameless. I’m a complete idiot.
Emily sent her game character further along the ravine. There, up ahead, was the rock face, with the cave yawning in the middle, and on the ledge right in front of it the familiar figure of the messenger, waiting on his armoured horse.
‘Wow, is he creepy,’ Emily whispered.
The messenger regarded Nameless without moving. The horse seemed restless; it pawed the ground and snorted.
‘Greetings, nameless one. You have made a good start.’
‘I’m glad,’ Emily typed.
‘However you should continue to practise your fighting skills, otherwise you will not be destined for a long life.’
‘All right.’
The messenger turned away from Nameless and looked at Emily, who couldn’t help sliding her chair back.
‘It is time you are given a name. Time for the first rite.’
‘What must I do?’
The messenger pointed with his bony finger to the cave behind him.
‘Enter. All else will follow. I wish you luck and the right decisions. We will meet again.’
He pulled his horse around and galloped away along a small, barely visible path high above Nameless’s head.
‘I assume I have to go up these stairs, right?’ Emily asked.
‘Yes. Up the stairs and into the cave.’
Nameless disappeared into the darkness of the mountain and the computer screen darkened.
‘This will take quite a while again,’ Nick said. ‘You mustn’t get nervous.’
Emily jerked the mouse back and forth, but the cursor was nowhere to be seen.
‘It’s amazingly real,’ she said after a while. ‘I felt as though that messenger was really looking at me. As if he wanted to show me he’s perfectly aware that it’s not the game character that matters, but the person controlling it.’
‘You’ll find that happens a lot.’
They looked at their reflections in the monitor.
‘Is this first rite difficult? As difficult as the thing with the bats?’
‘No, quite different. You’ll see in a minute.’
Tap, tap! Tap, tap!
‘Sounds like a heartbeat. What is it?’
‘It means it’s about to continue. Press Enter.’
The black screen created red letters.
‘This is Erebos. Who are you?’
Would Emily lie? Would she enter a false name?
‘I am Emily.’
‘Tell me your whole name.’
‘Emily Carver.’
Ghostly whispering. ‘Emily Carver. Emily. Emily. Carver. Emily Carver.’
They do that to welcome you, and before they throw you into the abyss, Nick thought wistfully. Emily sought his gaze, and he smiled at her: all quite normal.
‘Welcome, Emily. Welcome to the world of Erebos. Before you start playing, acquaint yourself with the rules. If you don’t like them, you can end the game at any time. Understood?’ ‘I wouldn’t have expected that,’ Emily murmured, while she typed ‘okay’. ‘Any time. It actually sounds fair.’
‘Good. Here is the first rule. You have only one chance to play Erebos. If you squander it, it’s over. If your character dies, it’s over. If you break the rules, it’s over. Okay?’
‘Yes.’
‘The second rule. When you play, make sure that you are alone. Never mention your real name in the game. Never mention the name of your game character outside the game.’
Emily took her fingers off the keyboard and looked at Nick.
‘That means I need to chuck you out now, doesn’t it?’
‘Just type “yes”,’ Nick said. ‘You could still do with a little help at the moment.’ Was she really going to throw him out? He didn’t want to go. He wanted to be there for the first rite. Maybe even for her first fight.
A small smile tugged at her lips as she wrote ‘okay’.
‘Good. The third rule. The content of the game is secret. Do not speak to anyone about it. Especially not to people who are not registered. During the game you can converse with players around the fires. Don’t pass any information on to your friends or your family. Don’t post any information on the internet.’
‘A few things are becoming clear to me,’ said Emily.
‘The fourth rule. Keep the DVD somewhere safe. You need it to start the game. Don’t copy it under any circumstances, unless the messenger asks that you do so.’
‘Okay.’
Light streamed across the screen, almost out of the screen. Nameless sat in the sunny clearing. The ruined tower, in which the first rite would take place, was waiting behind him.
Emily had scarcely touched her game character with the cursor before he stood up, peeled the face off his head and walked towards the tower.
‘These are important decisions now,’ Nick said. ‘You mustn’t rush them. I’ll help you.’
Emily’s Nameless stood before the first copper tablet. ‘Choose your gender.’
‘It’s not so important what you choose here, although the men are stro —’
Emily had already clicked on ‘Woman’. Nameless’s body changed, became narrower overall; the chest and hips swelled.
‘Sorry, Nick, but this is going to be my character,’ said Emily.
‘Choose a race.’
‘Fine, I won’t interfere, but barbarians are ace,’ Nick said. ‘They are incredibly strong and have fantastic endurance. If I had the choice again, I would choose a barbar —’
But Emily had already made her choice.
Human? Disappointed, Nick gave her a sideways glance. Why did she choose a human?
‘I do know my own species best, you know,’ she said in answer to his unspoken question. ‘I like being a
human.’
‘Choose your appearance.’
Emily gave her human woman short tousled red hair that stood up on her head, and dressed her entirely in black. Boots, trousers, shirt and jacket. Only the belt was red, but then, so was everyone’s.
She spent more time on her facial features, made them soft and friendly, with a sense of humour, brown eyes and high arched eyebrows.
‘Choose a vocation.’
‘There’s nothing much that appeals,’ Emily declared. ‘If I decide on a bard, does that mean I have to sing?’
Nick didn’t know. He’d been a knight, but he’d never had to solve any special knightly tasks during the game.
‘I don’t think the vocation is all that important,’ he pronounced, and Emily decided on bard.
At that moment a gnome entered the tower. Nick had forgotten all about him – the disagreeable visitor during the first rite.
‘A human, now, how original. And ridiculous, don’t you think?’ he says.
‘No, not at all.’
‘Oh, oh, oh. And a bard to boot. Don’t think much of battles, hmm? Rather warble the day away?’
Emily ignored the gnome and looked for the next copper sign.
‘Choose your abilities.’
‘Healing is rubbish,’ Nick said at once. ‘That comes off your own life energy. I chose it; it was a big mistake.’
The cursor hovered over the words: Strength, stamina, death curse, sneaking, lighting fires, ironskin, climbing . . .
‘Healing seems the best of them to me,’ Emily said after a time, during which the gnome had been hopping from right to left and left to right pulling wild grimaces. ‘After all, you play with other people, don’t you? I heal someone one time, and the next time he heals me. I think it will be quite convenient.’
‘But that’s not how it works!’ Nick yelled. ‘First of all you have to make sure that you make progress yourself. It’s no good if you make yourself weaker.’
The gnome turned his head. ‘Are you alone, human woman? Are you following the second rule? Answer!’
‘Of course I’m alone. Why wouldn’t I be?’ Emily typed.
All at once she was pale, and Nick suddenly felt chilled, too. What made the gnome ask such a question? After all he couldn’t see them or hear them; it wasn’t possible. The messenger hadn’t been able to either.
‘I’m taking too long,’ Emily murmured. ‘If I were alone I would decide faster. That’s why he’s asking, I think.’
Now she hurried. Chose healing, speed, lighting fires, ironskin, jumping power. After a short pause she added far sight, stamina, water walking, climbing and sneaking.
‘Not bad choices,’ the gnome declared. ‘For a human. It’s a shame you won’t live for long.’
‘That’s life,’ Emily answered, and concentrated on choosing weapons. She selected a slim, curved sabre with emeralds on the handle. And then a small bronze shield.
‘Very pretty, but unfortunately just playthings,’ the gnome sniped.
The last tablet. ‘Choose your name.’
‘It’s going to be an ugly human name,’ the gnome bawled. ‘Petronilla, Bathilda, Aldusa or Berthegund? Well? I’m waiting! We’re waiting! You must know a name!’
Emily hesitated for a moment. ‘I did actually think about one. Let’s see what he says about it.’
‘Hemera,’ she typed.
Nick was disappointed. Hemera didn’t exactly sound illustrious. It reminded Nick of the name of a kitchen appliance. The gnome, on the other hand, made it obvious he was impressed.
‘O-ho! Someone’s been doing some research, have they? This could be interesting. Hemera! Don’t fall out with my master, little human!’
He hopped and limped towards the tower’s exit. Nick almost expected that he would stick out his incredibly long green tongue as a parting gesture, but the gnome wasn’t in the mood this time, apparently. Wordlessly he slammed the door shut behind him. Plaster trickled down from the tower walls.
‘What did he mean by “doing some research”?’
‘Find out for yourself.’ Emily was obviously having fun. ‘And I’d like to find everything else here out for myself, too. I’ll see you in the morning, okay? I’ll carry on alone from now on.’
But it’s just getting exciting! Disappointment settled like a lead weight in the pit of Nick’s stomach.
‘Listen, you’re underestimating this. You’ll get ahead much faster if I help you, and you won’t get so many injuries. Just take my word for it, hmm?’
Emily removed the headphones from her iPod and plugged them into her computer. ‘That was one of your tips, wasn’t it? If I’ve got these in my ears I won’t be able to hear what you’re saying any more.’
‘But . . .’
‘It’s fine, Nick. You saw how suspicious the gnome was. I’ll manage, okay? For now I’ll stick to the rules like everyone else and play alone.’
Nick conceded defeat. ‘If you go berry picking, be careful,’ he said. One last cryptic comment couldn’t hurt. ‘And if you get stuck or need help – I’ll be glad to. Honest.’
‘Good to know,’ Emily said, smiling. ‘Thank you, Nick.’
At home he consulted Wikipedia. He discovered that Hemera was the daughter of Erebos, and, what was more, the complete opposite of her father. Hemera was the goddess of day, of morning, of light.
Some say one must be born to victory. The longer I think about it, the more I am inclined to agree. I put my disappointment at not being one of those chosen few behind me a long time ago. Nonetheless I do not feel equal to a further defeat. If I should triumph in the end, I will not be present. That is deliberate. My presence at the finale is not required. Others will be the actors. They will pursue my goal with all their strength.
The time has nearly come. Then my part will be done and I can go. At the end there will be winners and losers. Who the winners will be is irrelevant. What is crucial is who the losers are. I pray that they are the right ones.
CHAPTER 24
The goddess of the morning was the first thing Nick thought of when the alarm sounded the next day. Hemera. He could hardly wait to hear Emily’s report. What things she’d seen, how she’d gone, whether she’d received any orders. He would help her, and he’d soon be able to watch her play again. Perhaps it would be easier to recognise motivations when he wasn’t in the thick of it. Patterns. He whistled in the shower, and sang as he dressed. It was going to be a good day.
Most days Emily was at school before him, chatting with her friends – or with Eric – however today he couldn’t spot her anywhere. He did see Eric chatting with a few girls from Year 10. He looked more relaxed than in recent days, and seemed to have got over the shock Aisha had given him. But would he take action against Erebos again? Nick doubted it. Presumably he was glad not to be the centre of attention any more.
Then Emily arrived. She was walking quickly, as if she was in a huge hurry. Eric waved hello, but she barely nodded back, and kept walking. Nick caught her just before the school gate.
‘Hi, Emily!’
‘Hi.’
It was obvious that she couldn’t talk about Erebos right there in front of everyone, but a wink, a conspiratorial smile . . . surely something would be forthcoming? Nick searched her face for a sign, but it was as expressionless as a blank page.
‘Fourth period? Library?’ Nick whispered uncomfortably. Emily shrugged her shoulders. ‘We’ll see.’ She left him standing there without another word.
Further on, Rashid was standing with Alex; Emily headed towards them both. What did she want with them? Nick didn’t understand it at all. Incredulously, he watched Emily hanging on Alex’s every word as he spoke with extravagant gestures and a mysterious expression. What could he be saying? He could hardly be broadcasting details from the game.
All day long he kept an eye on Emily, but she avoided him, looked past him, or through him – not once did he manage to catch her on her own.
Probably it was because he was
so focussed on Emily – but for whatever reason Nick didn’t notice till the afternoon that Colin was trailing him. It didn’t matter where Nick was, Colin was nearby. He couldn’t tell whether Colin was actually watching him; he was just hovering like a dark shadow. Nick considered approaching him and sorting out yesterday’s argument. After all, they’d been friends not all that long ago. But simply the thought that Colin had planted the threatening letter on Jamie, and maybe even sabotaged his bike, kept him from doing so. If Colin made one wrong remark, Nick would break his nose.
With every passing minute of the day he’d been so looking forward to, Nick felt more lost. His best friend was lying in a coma, Colin and he didn’t trust each other an inch, and Emily was pretending he didn’t exist. And even people he’d been reasonably friendly with, including Jerome, were looking at him warily. The people Nick knew had been kicked out of the game were trying to make themselves invisible and had no wish to talk, especially Greg.
At some stage during the afternoon, Nick encountered the jacket with the fluoro orange badge in the schoolyard. The girl wearing it must be Darleen Pember. He only knew her by sight, but he remembered that she’d caught Jamie’s eye. There was a lot he had to make up to Jamie for.
Nick glanced around, tried to spot Colin. There was no way he would talk to Darleen if his pursuer was nearby. But Nick didn’t see any sign of him. Right then, quickly.
He drew her away from the two girls she was talking to. ‘Tell me, Darleen, did you find a hand-written note in your jacket pocket yesterday? Or somewhere else, say in one of your books?’
She looked at him with a mixture of fear and curiosity. ‘No. Why?’
‘No reason. If you happen to find one, keep it. And give it to Mr Watson, but don’t let any of the others find out about it.’
She chewed on her bottom lip. ‘A note like the one Mohamed got? Or Jeremy?’
Who were Mohamed and Jeremy?
‘What sort of notes were they?’
She shrugged. ‘I couldn’t see properly. They certainly weren’t hand-written though; they were typed, I know that. Mohamed called in sick afterwards; he’s been away for two days. Do you know what’s on them?’
Nick shook his head. ‘Not exactly. Can I ask you something?’