Lost Lands: The Game - Atlantis Read Free Page A

his attention back to Tao, the mythical beast spoke again. “This last riddle is for everyone and for a chance at immortality. F ail and spend your days in mediocrity.” The Sphinx paused for a moment before asking, “I walk on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night. What am I?”
    The raid voice-chat channel went wild with answers, ranging from a cat to a bird. Mac just sat back in his chair and let them guess. Finally he leaned forward and asked, “Hasn’t anyone ever read Greek Mythology?”
    There was a chorus of nays and only a few ayes but only Matthew elaborated. “I did back in High School but that was many years ago and only because it was required reading.”
    “I did too but mythology was always one of my favorite subjects in school. As a matter of fact, it got so bad that I was forbidden to do another book report on mythology while in High School.” Mac grinned at the memory.
    Kaslene asked, “Interesting but what does that have to do with this situation?”
    “This is the original riddle of the Sphinx from Greek Mythology. I can’t remember which hero it was who confronted the Sphinx, I want to say Oedipus but I could be wrong. However, I do remember the answer…Man.”
    “What?” came several responses over the raid chat channel.
    Mac typed his answer. “Man. The answer is man. He crawls on four in the morning of his life; walks on two during middle-age or the afternoon of his life and three, with a cane, during old age or at the evening of his existence.”
    “Correct,” replied the great beast and w ith the completion of the riddle game, the Sphinx bowed his head once before fading into nothingness.
    The sound of clapping echoed through the empty chamber as a red robed figure appeared in the center of the room next to a large iron bound chest. One feature of the game that was consistent with every character or monster was a nametag floating above their heads and this one read: Al Shaytan < G ame O perations D esigner>
    “Outstanding….absolutely outstanding .”
    Since he wasn’t in their raid or guild voice chat, it was odd that they heard his words on both voice channels while his words scrolled up the chat box. Al Shaytan was thin of frame with pale skin, black hair, red robes and had the unmistakable look of a wizard. However, after his opening remark the wizard fell silent and waited.
    Unsure of what to do, Mac fell back on his default action and decided to be polite. Many situations in real life and in the game could be diffused by a simple conversation. “Well met Al Shaytan. I am Taote Ching, a humble Ronin and speaker for the Keepers of the Flame.”
    Al Shaytan pivoted to face him. “I know much about you Taote Ching. Actually, I know much about all of you. I am here because you managed to defeat this dungeon.” Gesturing to everyone gathered. “You are the first, both server wide and game wide, to do so. Your names shall become legend.”
    “Anyone ever heard of this guy before?” asked Arieal over the raid chat.
    There were a great many nays but Whitney spoke up. “I think I’ve seen his name on some of the game forums.”
    Mat thew agreed. “Now that you mention it, I think I’ve seen it also. He must be legit, look at his nametag. I’ve never seen that before…ever.”
    Al Shaytan continued speaking as if he hadn’t heard their exchange. “This particular dungeon has been my pet project for several years. Many have made it to this room but only one other group has ever made it past the orbs but they didn’t make it past all three riddles. You are a special group and I have need of your skills.”
    Mac moved his avatar forward slightly . “Pardon my directness but who are you and what are you talking about?”
    Al Shaytan pointed at the nametag floating above his avatar. “I thought this would explain who I am but you are a straight speaker, so I too will be blunt. I’m one of the designers of Lost Lands and I have an offer for