Lost Lands: The Game - Atlantis Read Free Page B

you.” He gestured at the chest before him. “Here is your reward for completion of the Tomb of Immortality; one legendary item of your choice. You may take it and depart.” With a wave of his hand, the chest opened to reveal sixteen glowing items. “Or you can choose not take it and bet on a chance at an even greater prize but you must make your decision before we go further.”
    John, the gamer who played Marrok the Knight, moved forward and pulled forth a new sword which glowed with a yellow light. Sparks of electricity could be seen as they raced up and down the blade. “Sorry guys, I have to go. The wife is calling. Good luck if you take his offer.” He turned to face Whitney and the two avatars hugged. “Princess, tell your mother hello for me and make sure you do all of your homework.”
    Whitney stepped back. “Dad! Tomorrow’s Saturday, I don’t have any homework.”
    “Okay. Love you girl.”
    “Love you too Dad.”
    Stepping away from the rest of the group, John used his recall stone and disappeared. Recall Stones were a magical device which all guild members carried that would teleport them back to their respected guild halls. Several members of the Society of Night followed suit, grabbed their prize and departed to their own guild hall. In the end, there were only ten left. Seven of the Keepers and three from the Society: Arieal the Necromancer, Tariq the Assassin and Cozad the Dreadknight.
    Al Shaytan smiled. “I’ve been developing a new expansion for Lost Lands and I would like you to Alpha test it for me. If you agree, each of you will receive the new expansion disk tomorrow morning.”
    Whitney typed quickly. “Will it cost us anything?”
    Al Shaytan shook his head. “Negative. It is my gift to you for your accomplishment.”
    Marvin asked, “What’s the expansion called?”
    Al Shaytan grinned. “Atlantis.”
    “What is it you want from us?” asked Arieal.
    “Simple. Install the disk and enter the game normally. Tomorrow shortly before noon, Eastern Time, a portal will open in your respective Guild Halls which will bring each of you to the gateway. I will reveal the rest of the quest at that time.” Al Shaytan gestured to the chest and added, “Go ahead and keep these. They may aid you in your quest and I will see each of you at noon tomorrow.” With that, the wizard faded from view.
    Mac moved over to the chest and pulled out his reward. It was a katana of immeasurable beauty. Drawing the blade, it flared to life with a pale-white light and radiated an area of frost. “Wow! A Frostbrand and look at the stats on this thing.”
    As each of the remaining raid members pulled forth their weapons and chatted about the possibility of exploring a new expansion. Mac only vaguely listened. Now that the raid was over, he once again felt the loneliness of the real world pressing in at the edges of his consciousness. Realizing that someone had asked him a question, he turned his attention back to the group. “What was that? I’m sorry, my mind was wandering.”
    Earl asked again. “Do you think Al’s offer is on the up and up? I mean, we’re supposed to have the expansion disk tomorrow morning? Come on, get real. Kaslene and I are in Alaska. Snail mail isn’t the quickest reaching us.”
    “ I don’t know. Only time will tell but either we will have the disks tomorrow and the chance to explore Atlantis or we won’t. It seems pretty simple to me.”
    Tariq said, “Now I see how you chose your name. You sound like some sort of Chinese fortune cookie.”
    Mac had his avatar shrug his shoulders . “Could be one reason but it is true. Either we will or we won’t. There is no use worrying about it. But it’s late here and I need sleep, so I’ll see everyone tomorrow.”
    Arieal said, “Good idea. Goodnight Tao. Thanks for the fun.”
    Everyone else said their farewells and teleported back to their guild halls and logged out.
    As the screen went dark, Mac looked around his empty