Lost Lands: The Game - Atlantis Read Free

your plan.”
    Mac turned back to the dwarf and said over the guild chat. “Give it to me.”
    Guessing what he had in mind, Gamble passed off the pulsing orb. “Here you go.” Free from the orb and the attention of the chasing mobs, the dwarf used his rogue skills to slip into the shadows and fade from sight.
    “ Arieal, on the count of three; One…two…”
    “Three…” came her response as she pitched the white orb toward the gaping hole in the center of the room.
    Mac threw the black orb.
    E veryone watched in fascination as the two halves collided and exploded into a brilliant flash of light, destroying the cloaked monsters. Mac’s screen flashed white, rocking him backwards in his chair. Judging from the gasps and curses over the raid chat, he guessed everyone’s monitor had done something similar. As the screen refocused on to the room they saw the fuzzy image of a very large beast glowing with an inner light in the direct center where the orbs had collided.
    Mac glanced at the health meters of the raid members on his interface. No one was dead but everyone was injured and their power levels were critically low. If it came to another fight, it was going to be a slaughter, short, brutal and very lopsided against the gamers.
    Once the image cleared up, they were confronted with a huge beast with the face of a man, the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle. Mac recognized the monster as a Sphinx, a creature from Greek and Egyptian mythology which typically parlayed wanderers with riddles. When it spoke, its words echoed across both voice channels and scrolled up the chat windows also.
    “Greetings mortals . Only the cooperation of the twin forces of Law and Chaos would allow such as you to reach this point. You are not the first but only the latest. Now, you must pass my tests to gain your reward. The challenge shall be three; one for the Light, one of the Darkness and one for all. Answer the first or second and gain a great reward. Answer the third for a chance at immortality; fail all and your lives shall be forfeit.” Without waiting for a reply, the Sphinx turned his body to face Mac’s avatar and spoke. “Taote Ching, you are the leader of the Keepers of the Flame. It shall be you who gives the final answer for the followers of the Law.”
    The Sphinx shifted his body to face his counterpart . “Arieal De’Morte as the designated leader of the Society of Night, you shall give the final answer for the minions of Chaos.”
    Once more turning h is gaze back to Mac. “Taote Ching as raid leader it is your responsibility for the final answer. You shall have one minute to answer per riddle.”
    Unsure if the Sphinx would respond to a voice chat answer, Mac typed his answer as he spoke. “I understand.”
    Arieal did the same.
    The Sphinx looked at Tao and said, “I am four letters and can be seen in the sky, yet I cannot fly. I am found in the ocean, yet I cannot swim. When you are down I am around. What am I?”
    The Sphinx switched his focus to Arieal and continued, “I’m as smooth as any rhyme, I always fall but never climb, what am I?”
    The two guilds began to talk amongst themselves over the guild chat channel. As raid leader, Mac could actually listen in to the Society’s chat if he wanted to but didn’t. He needed to focus on his guild’s riddle. Bjǿrn suggested ‘fish’ but wasn’t truly convinced that was the answer. Mac had panned his camera controls to stare at the image of the Norseman. There was something in his image that tugged at Mac’s subconscious. Suddenly, it hit him. Bjǿrn’s kilt was a blue tartan and his surname was ‘Bluebear.’ He had named his avatar after a character in one of his favorite books and the answer came to him. Mac typed his answer. “Blue. The answer is blue.”
    “Correct,” replied the Sphinx.
    It was about that time when Arieal’s answer was seen on the local chat channel, “A waterfall.”
    “Correct,” answered the Sphinx.
    Turning