Eventually, our reunited group was too far away from the giant crystal for Val to maintain her magic trick, so her godlike apparition vanished to the dismay of her flock. Luckily, we were well on our way to the tunnel exit, and if the goblins suspected anything was amiss, we were too far away for them to catch us.

  When we stepped above ground, the open night sky was a refreshing sight after escaping the confined spaces below.

  Before anyone could start a conversation, I said, “Let’s get back to camp right away. The goblins know where it is. We need to pack up and move out right away.”

  “Avoiding the conversation about what just transpired will not prevent it from happening,” Ersabet said. “You are delaying the inevitable.”

  “If it’s inevitable, it can wait,” I said. “Now let’s move.”

  We made it in quick time. Thankfully, Tabby and Kitz were okay, albeit shaken up and moderately traumatized from the experience of almost being sacrificed. I considered starting a group for them where we all worked together to unpack the trauma of nearly being sacrificed.

  While we were travelling, I checked out a new notification on my interface.

  The AI’s voice rang in my ear as it read:

  Quest Complete!

  Embrace the Suck

  Against all odds, you managed to save your friends from those nasty goblins. Right when your friends were about to be sacrificed to a big, glowing rock, you s… wait, what did you do? I know it was something… Hold on a minute.

  “Uh, Val. I think you broke my personal submind.

  Her response came slower than usual. “I see that. As you know, I mask my presence from the Master Control, which includes blocking myself from this submind. It doesn’t know what happened because my masking protocol is beyond thorough in its diligence.”

  Okay! I’m back. Am I going crazy? No. Well, maybe. I calculate that there's a 12% chance I’m losing my mind. Your stupid quest doesn’t make any sense. It was weird, and I chose to ignore it and move on. It was probably just a glitch.

  This was a rather unique dynamic quest you encountered, and it deserves a rather unique reward.

  You’ve received a new Ability: Light the Way

  Light the Way provides minor illumination thirty feet around the player. This ability is exclusive to the player, and no other players or NPCs will see the light. Light the Way can be cast once per day and lasts for 1 hour.

  And here’s some experience to top you off.

  Great job, player!

  That was pretty awesome, and I was now on the verge of levelling up. I hoped that my personal submind didn’t go crazy trying to figure out how I completed that quest.

  We found our camp and everything remained where we had left it. Most importantly, Tabby’s horses and wagon appeared to be untouched. In a short time, we had everything packed and loaded onto Tabby’s wagon. I sat up front with her, and everyone else remained in the back.

  Val’s avatar was not currently present. In fact, Val’s avatar hadn’t been present since the goblin cave.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “You doing okay in there, Val?”

  “I’m alive,” she said, sounding as pathetic as she could manage.

  “I’m very glad to hear that you are alive,” I said. “I would be saddened if it were otherwise. How do you feel?”

  “Hungover may be a good analogy. I feel weak and ineffective.”

  “How severely did your display weaken you?” I asked.

  “About as badly as I had expected. It will take me some time to determine just how bad. I can already tell you that my active tracking is no longer functioning. I can still brute force my way into the data field to determine the names of quest givers and which cities they reside in, but I won’t be able to lead you to them like I have before.”

  “We can live with that.” I paused for a moment. “Thank you for what you did. I think you may be a good person, Val.”

  “Don’t think. You were never very good at it.”

  I smiled, knowing that the Val I cared about was still in there. She deserved a break after trying so hard to keep me alive, barring the time she tried to kill me, of course. I fully intended to show her just how thankful I was for her selfless act by finishing my mission to recharge Val as fast as possible.

  “I’m going to have to come clean about you,” I thought to Val. “You know that, right? This was the last straw for Ersabet. If I don’t tell her the truth, she’s going to leave.”

  “I agree with your assessment about Ersabet leaving. One can only be openly deceived for so long before one reaches a breaking point. I will be sad when she is gone.”

  “You'd better come up with a good reason for me to remain silent, and you'd better do it quickly.”

  She sighed. “If the Voxals, or heaven forbid, the Master Control Intelligence found out about my existence, they wouldn’t rest until I was found and destroyed. That would involve killing you as well, if you weren’t aware.”

  “Everyone will keep their mouth shut about it,” I assured her. “They won’t say a word if we explain how important it is to keep you a secret.”

  “Oh, now it’s everyone?” Val asked. “A moment ago, it was just Ersabet.”

  “Val, they need to know. This group will shatter if I don’t have a good explanation for what happened, and Ersabet can spot a lie a mile away, if you weren’t aware.”

  “Grr. When I figure out how to divert enough of my power reserves to generate my avatar, I am going to scowl at you so hard!” I could feel her vibrating in frustration inside my skull.

  “I’ll be vague,” I said. “I won’t give up the fact that you’re the first Master Control and sort of the reason these games exist.”

  “Don’t blame me! Remember, I was forced to build my progenitor against my will. The sins of the games lie with it and the Triarchy.”

  There was a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to look at Tabby.

  “You okay?” she asked. “You’ve been staring straight ahead and making all sorts of faces for the last few minutes.”

  “I’m fine. Just…thinking about things.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

  “I was thinking about what happened back in the cave.”

  “It was quite shocking, if I do say so myself. And mind you, I had a front row seat. I’d never seen a god before. Ersabet implied that you had some hand in it.”

  “Yes,” I said. “She’s given me quite a lot to think about.”

  Tabby put a hand on my thigh and leaned over. “For what it’s worth, I don’t need to know your secret. I owe you too much to be wanting anything from you.”

  I smiled at her. “Just because you don’t want it, doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it.”

  “Don’t you dare reveal my identity to that dim-witted blond bimbo!”

  I ignored Val’s insulting comment, and I suspected I would hear plenty more throughout the night. The fact was that I trusted the people around me. Even Delen, despite his sketchiness. If I asked them to keep a secret, they would. Val just didn’t understand. As an untrustworthy soul, she was inclined to believe that others were like her in that regard. When it came to humans, it was hit or miss, but when it came to my friends, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

  “Is it time, then?” Ersabet asked. She had opened the flap to see out of the back of the covered wagon.

  “It’s well past midnight,” I said. “Would you rather get some rest first?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  I sighed. “I’ll talk to you. Alone first, and then with the others.”

  “Tabby,” Ersabet said. “Could you find a safe place to park. John and I need to go on a walk.”

  “Why am I being left out of this?” Delen said. “I was witness to magic beyond my understanding, and if John has an explanation for it, I demand a right to know the truth.”

  “Yeah!” Kitz said. “It’s not fair to leave us out.”

  I held up my hands. “I won’t leave any of you out. There are some private things I must first speak with Ersabet about.” I shrugged. “Player stuff. After that, I’m willing to share some general knowledge to help you understand what just happened.”

  “If the knowledge exceeds that which a five-year-old can comprehend, we are going to have issues, you and I,” Val’s voice echoed in my mind.

  “Not now, Val.”

  My words mollified them. Tabby found a suitable location to pull over, and I assured her we wouldn’t go far, lest there be danger. Ersabet dropped gracefully from the wagon and met me on the ground. She looked at me with the most studious expression I’d ever seen on her face. She was serious, but curious beyond all measures. She was watching me for lies, for truths, and half-truths.

  It was time to come clean, but I didn’t intend to be the only one sharing secrets. If she wanted to get something out of me, I was going to get something from her, too.