Shadow Gambit Read Free Page A

aware, not often. Hence their namesake.” He grinned in anticipation at me.
 
    I frowned. If Ogden was after Legendary quests, and he was now talking to me...
 
    My eyes went to the scroll in my hand. I unfurled it and scanned it again. This time I saw it. There, at the bottom of the parchment were the words 'Legendary Quest'.
 
    “ Oh, wow,” I said.
 
    Ogden said, “Do you intend on selling the scroll? I'll pay you a handsome sum.”
 
    I blinked several times, gathering my thoughts. “I dunno. This just kinda of hit me. I didn't know what I had until now.” A Legendary Quest. Here in my hands. No one would believe me!
 
    “ Well,” Ogden said, “I will buy it from you at top dollar. Did you have an amount in mind?”
 
    Amount? How much could this be worth? Quest scrolls were not sold on the auction house as a game rule. They had to be sold off-market.
 
    “ I dunno, I've never been on a Legendary Quest before,” I said. How exciting would that be? A Legendary Quest! But all major quests above uber required groups of four just to activate them. I would need help to do it.
 
    “ If you intend to take the quest, then I will pay you three times the market listing cap for the reward item,” Ogden said. When first introduced into the game, Legendary items which appeared on the auction house sold for incredible amounts of money. So much that it negatively effected the game economy. Cap limits on Legendary items were created and you couldn't bid a copper higher for them.
 
    This led to off-market sales at even higher prices than the market listings cap.
 
    “ Three times the listing cap?” I asked, not sure I heard him right.
 
    “ Yes. Once the item is obtained, the game will generate the cap. I will triple it, paid in full upon transfer of the item to my account.” Ogden arched a brow which looked odd on an owl. “And I know what you're thinking. Why not just hold onto the item for a higher bidder?”
 
    “ Yeah, that crossed my mind.”
 
    “ Well, to ensure I am the only person in the running I will pay you an upfront deposit immediately upon signing the contract. Five hundred thousand gold. And even if you don't get the item you keep the deposit.”
 
    I nearly fainted and had to adjust my game visor. Five hundred thousand gold pieces! I'd never imagined having that amount before. And I kept it all even if I failed.
 
    How could I lose?
 
    “ Interested?” He asked, as he watched me consider my options.
 
    I grinned at my new owl friend. “Mr. Trite, you got yourself a deal.”
     

     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    Gate travel within the game was equal parts convenience and aggravation. On one hand, you could travel instantly anywhere in the game universe, across oceans to different continents, even to other planets, of which there were tens of thousands. On the other hand, it couldn't be too easy. So most times when you traveled through one gate you had to hoof it the next one, as no single gate went everywhere, you needed to find the one going toward your destination.
     
    I stepped through the gate at the base camp and into a whole other place. The dark ash clouds of the volcano environment changed to perfect white fluffy ones against a pale blue sky. Tall trees and lush greenery momentarily assailed my vision. I had spent too long in the grim volcano zone. This new setting fed my soul.
     
    The small clearing where the travel gate sat was empty of people. In the distance, perched on a tall mesa, were an array of buildings. Zeppelin shaped sky-barges floated to and from there. Fenway Port and the next jump to the quest location.
     
    A wide cobblestone path led in that direction. I started walking with Phlixx at my side, this time without worry. This was a safe zone.
     
    I reviewed my employment details with Ogden Trite. He had sent me via in-game mail a contract of agreement which I had signed and returned. It was boilerplate legal speak. If I got the Legendary