Jamie and Evie are still stuck in an RPG called Duriell. After being unsuccessful in getting out of the human world of Pardem, they’re off on their next adventure—Andrina, home of the elves.
There are lots of new places to explore, monsters to kill, and items to loot. With each quest they complete, they hope they’re one step closer to finding their way home. Things start to look up when they meet an NPC who might have the answers they’re searching for. But is this the information they need or are they being sent on a wild goose chase? And when one of their lives is in danger, they wonder if there is any hope of ever getting back to Earth.
Excerpt:
My name is Jamie Clarke. I’m fifteen years old and live in Brooklyn, New York.
Wait, scratch that.
I am Sir Magnus FireMage. A level 12 mage, currently on a ship en route to Andrina, the home world of the elves.
The thing is, I got sucked into an RPG called Duriell two weeks ago. I have no idea how I got here or how to get back home. For days I wandered around, killing monsters, looting items, and completing quests. Until I met Evelyn Lane, a fifteen year old girl from Florida.
Rather, Alleria Silvermoon, a level 30 archer.
She’s been stuck here for four months and doesn’t have any clue how to get back, either. Looks like we’ll be trapped in this medieval fantasy, open world RPG for a while—that is, if we ever find our way back to Earth. I’m being positive. I mean, we’ve got to get back home someday. Right?
The wind smacks my face as I stand on the deck, nothing but the dark blue ocean before me. My character—me—has dark hair down to his shoulders, blue eyes, pretty buff, and has a small scar near his left eyebrow. If I knew I would turn into my character and get trapped here, I might have chosen a different look. Maybe a male model or something.
An NPC runs up to the railing and bends over, puking right into the ocean. Blergh. I jump back before any of it gets on me. One thing Duriell is famous for is how authentic it feels. Back when I played it on the PC, it felt like I was actually in the game. How ironic, huh?
The guy falls back on his feet and wipes his mouth. “I shouldn’t have eaten that roasted chicken.” He turns to me. “Hey, you’re that boy who lost to Opel twelve times in row. Care for a game?”
“Hell no.” I dash away before he tries to change my mind and go down to the cabin I share with Evie on the second floor.
“Evie?” I open the door and walk in. “I’m telling you if this was real life, I’d be up to my eyes in debt. How many times will a guy let himself get owned by a NPC before he learns to quit? And did you know game puke looks identical to real life puke?”
The game I’m talking about is called Cherish. It’s sort of like chess. I suck at it IRL and apparently I suck at it in this world, too. And yeah, since Evie and I are the only humans in this place—as we know of—the only people I can socialize with are NPCs. There’s nothing like getting your butt handed over to you by a programmed character. Though, I guess they’re technically not “programmed” anymore. Evie and I managed to get them to adapt when we deviated from the normal gameplay. It’s kind of like we’re creating our own programming codes as we continue living in this world.
No reaction from the girl who’s become my best friend. When I look at her, I find her sitting on her bed, propped against the wall. Her arms are looped around her legs that are pressed to her chest. She stares at the wall with an unidentifiable expression on her face. A mix of worry, stress, hopelessness.
“Hey, you okay?” I lower myself next to her.
She blinks, snapping her head to mine. “What?”
“You okay?”
She forces a smile. “Of course.”
Liar. I don’t know her that well, but pretty well enough. At least, I know the game version of her. “You miss Frizzball?”
Her eyes get some shine when she thinks of the little blue and purple creature she found in a cave. Frizzball is the same size as a Chihuahua and likes apples. Evie had to set her free when we left for Andrina, since we don’t know how long we’ll be there and we don’t want the poor thing to be cooped up in a house or starve to death.
“Yeah, I do miss her,” Evie says. The shine in her eyes diminishes and is replaced by that some hopelessness.
“Homesick?” I ask.
She presses her cheek to her knee and nods.
“Me, too.”
I lean back against the wall and stare at the spot in front of me. We don’t have to say anything. In this silence, we share an understanding. She and I are in this together, through thick and thin. Whatever happens, we have each other’s backs.
Mom’s face flashes before my eyes, followed by my best friend Frankie. I don’t know when I’ll get to see them again, if I ever will see them again. For all I know I may be stuck here for the rest of my life. I won’t age, won’t die. I’ll just…exist. For all eternity.
“Just another day until we reach Andrina,” Evie says after a few minutes. “I can’t believe the game is actually making us travel two days.”
“Yeah. I hope we can fast-travel once we get there.”
She gathers her dark red hair and ties it into a knot. Then she glances at me. “What are you looking at?”
“Do you have red hair in real life?”
She raises an eyebrow. Why? Do you think red hair is prettier?”
“Why do you always attack me?”
Her mouth snaps shut. She shakes her head. “Sorry. I guess I’m just used to…um…I don’t have a high self-esteem.”
“Who does at our age?”
She plays with the hem of her shirt. “I have green eyes and brown hair. It’s dark brown. Almost black. But I’m going to dye it red when I turn eighteen. My mom is so strict.” Her eyes flick to my face, then trek down my body. “I’m guessing you don’t have a six pack in real life.”
I shrug sheepishly. “I’ve got light brown hair and brown eyes. Pretty ordinary. Sir Magnus isn’t my fantasy self or anything. Just a character I created.”
“Uh huh.”
“So why red hair?”
“I don’t know. Why the scar?”
“Because a scar only looks good in a game?”
She thinks for a second. “True. Because if you really existed in real life, you’d get locked up just because of the way you look.”
I slam my fist to my chest. “That hurts me right here.”
She grabs a pillow off the bed and shoves it at my face. She’s got like 60% more strength ability than me, so it’s no surprise that I topple to the floor.
She laughs as she peers down at me. “You weak little thing.”
I knock my head against the floor. “You only have an advantage here in Duriell because you’re a higher level than me. Let’s see you take me in real life.”
“Hey, I worked hard to get to my level. And are you insinuating that you’re stronger than me IRL?”
“And if I am?”
At first, I think she’s going to jump on me and start a wrestling match. But instead, she holds out her hand, helping me to my feet. Just as I’m about to say something, I hear shouts outside.
“What’s that?” Evie is off the bed and at the door. I follow her outside.
More shouts, coming from the deck. Clearly it’s the NPCs. What on Earth…?
Evie and I hurry up the stairs. Suddenly, the left hull of the ship explodes, throwing us against the opposite side. We’re practically buried under pieces of wood.
My fingers touch the gash on Evie’s cheek. “Ally, you’re bleeding.”
Another bang, sending more wood at us. One stabs me in the arm. “It sounds like…”
“Canons!” Evie shoves the wood pieces aside and stands. “We’re under attack.” A red potion appears in her hand—a minor health potion. After gulping it down, she pushes aside the rest of the wood so I can get out.
“Who can be attacking us?” I ask as we move past hysterical NPCs and more pieces of wood.
“One guess,” she says.
The answer dings in my head just as we make it to the deck. A smaller ship floats right next to ours, a black flag hanging off it.
Pirates.
Dee J. Stone 