didn't see that before.” She squints at the screen. “Oh, I see.” She looks at Vol. “They've been doing things like this to me all day, modifying the schedule constantly. I figured it was a hazing ritual, but it appears to be disorganization. Anyway, it's a man. The Mod, I mean. I'm not sure what they've done with your Suryan but she's not here and from what I can tell, she's not going to be.”
“ Thanks anyway.”
“ Good luck.”
Ariel returns to the reception area, leaving Vol alone, so she knows she's been dismissed. She walks to the cubicle Ariel pointed out and hesitates at the doorway. She thinks she hears a hushed sound. A footstep, maybe, muted by the carpet. Vol glances over her shoulder and then slams the doors hut behind her, walking over to the chair to submit herself once more to the machine-induced thrall.
She is in the forest again. Green, still, and calm.
Vol is crouched on her knees, the leather encasing her legs stretched so tautly across the knees that it creaks when she moves. A tattered bandeau is secured around her waist with three heavy buckled belts, and a cloak with a cowl completes the outfit.
Was she dressed like this in the previous round? She didn't notice how revealing it is.
She stands, drawing the hood over her face and the cloak over her body, and accesses the archives through the data-link.
Program: Bounty_Strike_4.exe
Class: Bandit
The Empire's high taxes and oppressive reign have forced its inhabitants to take to the streets to survive. Bandits have overrun the countryside, holding up travelers and obstructing trade relations with neighboring kingdoms. Bounty hunters have been employed to detain and capture any highway men- and women- they find. Alive … or dead.
Mission objectives: River
River?
Vol probes deeper into the archives, seeking more information. The archives flicker and abruptly disappear as her access to the data- link is cut. Well, crap. Does that mean she doesn't have a hunter this time around? No, she isn't that lucky. She probably has two.
She bets that Kira heard gossip that Vol finished the game early, and made a few subsequent additions, because gods forbid anything around here ever be simple. That's okay, though, because Vol doesn't mind a good challenge. Provided she can win it, that is.
The rules may have changed, but the gamescape hasn't. Vol still sort of resembles the route she took before. Since she isn't being chased, she has a chance to study her surroundings on a level less superficial than what kind of camouflage they are capable of providing. The scenery has definite aesthetic appeal. Kira's boyfriend Jade, a Weaver, outdid himself. Vol is sure that it can't be easy, keeping up with Kira's erratic and fanciful ideas.
Jade is from Meridan, and she can see the influence of his native Helix Forest in everything from beech trees standing sentry like soldiers, to the rowans and the oaks, to the graceful ferns spreading their fronds like grasping hands, to the bluebells that seemed to reflect the sky — and the river. She is here.
Vol steps over the slippery rocks with caution, grateful for her heavy boots and the traction they provide. Downstream the water flows faster, culminating in frothy whitecaps that churn up foam and debris. The rocks form a natural dam that keeps this upstream section somewhat tranquil. Vol doesn't like to think about what will happen if she slips and gets caught in the current.
Keeping close to the river's edge, Vol walks against the flow of the water, following it to its source. Except for the burble of water, the forest is silent, and soon she finds herself growing relaxed. She wonders where the other Players and Marks are. The game arena isn't so big that sound couldn't carry. She heard that boy and girl fighting, after all.
That makes her think of Tash and she smiles against her will. She pities the poor soul stuck with the fiery Arbatian as his or her partner this round.
Once or twice an
“ Thanks anyway.”
“ Good luck.”
Ariel returns to the reception area, leaving Vol alone, so she knows she's been dismissed. She walks to the cubicle Ariel pointed out and hesitates at the doorway. She thinks she hears a hushed sound. A footstep, maybe, muted by the carpet. Vol glances over her shoulder and then slams the doors hut behind her, walking over to the chair to submit herself once more to the machine-induced thrall.
She is in the forest again. Green, still, and calm.
Vol is crouched on her knees, the leather encasing her legs stretched so tautly across the knees that it creaks when she moves. A tattered bandeau is secured around her waist with three heavy buckled belts, and a cloak with a cowl completes the outfit.
Was she dressed like this in the previous round? She didn't notice how revealing it is.
She stands, drawing the hood over her face and the cloak over her body, and accesses the archives through the data-link.
Program: Bounty_Strike_4.exe
Class: Bandit
The Empire's high taxes and oppressive reign have forced its inhabitants to take to the streets to survive. Bandits have overrun the countryside, holding up travelers and obstructing trade relations with neighboring kingdoms. Bounty hunters have been employed to detain and capture any highway men- and women- they find. Alive … or dead.
Mission objectives: River
River?
Vol probes deeper into the archives, seeking more information. The archives flicker and abruptly disappear as her access to the data- link is cut. Well, crap. Does that mean she doesn't have a hunter this time around? No, she isn't that lucky. She probably has two.
She bets that Kira heard gossip that Vol finished the game early, and made a few subsequent additions, because gods forbid anything around here ever be simple. That's okay, though, because Vol doesn't mind a good challenge. Provided she can win it, that is.
The rules may have changed, but the gamescape hasn't. Vol still sort of resembles the route she took before. Since she isn't being chased, she has a chance to study her surroundings on a level less superficial than what kind of camouflage they are capable of providing. The scenery has definite aesthetic appeal. Kira's boyfriend Jade, a Weaver, outdid himself. Vol is sure that it can't be easy, keeping up with Kira's erratic and fanciful ideas.
Jade is from Meridan, and she can see the influence of his native Helix Forest in everything from beech trees standing sentry like soldiers, to the rowans and the oaks, to the graceful ferns spreading their fronds like grasping hands, to the bluebells that seemed to reflect the sky — and the river. She is here.
Vol steps over the slippery rocks with caution, grateful for her heavy boots and the traction they provide. Downstream the water flows faster, culminating in frothy whitecaps that churn up foam and debris. The rocks form a natural dam that keeps this upstream section somewhat tranquil. Vol doesn't like to think about what will happen if she slips and gets caught in the current.
Keeping close to the river's edge, Vol walks against the flow of the water, following it to its source. Except for the burble of water, the forest is silent, and soon she finds herself growing relaxed. She wonders where the other Players and Marks are. The game arena isn't so big that sound couldn't carry. She heard that boy and girl fighting, after all.
That makes her think of Tash and she smiles against her will. She pities the poor soul stuck with the fiery Arbatian as his or her partner this round.
Once or twice an
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