Orc Wars 2 : Lazarus

Chapter 9 - Simtrixx

Simtrixx was in a frenzy.

Nadine, Director of the Orc Wars Project was on deck. Zen, the GamesMaster had buzzed her direct line when he had confirmed the information. A Gatekeeper was finally making a move.

"Which one? There are five of them." Nadine snapped over the phone.

"Who else? It's that Assassin, Lazarus."

She was in the Control Room within minutes. Together they had watched 'live' as Lazarus, Assassin, Level 75 requested the Trial from the Priestess Isis, Level 66. They were very good, keeping to the formal scripts. Nadine smiled in satisfaction. This was usable footage.

They watched as the Assassin proceeded to the Valley of Flowers and fought his way to the golden pavilion. He almost succumbed to the fumes and the sultry seduction of the Nymph's magic. Nadine clapped in glee when he managed to figure out the link between the Nymph and the magic tree. Yes!! Beautifully done indeed.

Even the Nymph had fallen for his charms when Lazarus had taken the time to appreciate the rare beauty of the special flower. He had caressed a rose tenderly, feeling it's velvety texture, breathing in its delicate scent and then later watering her precious tree with a bottle of water.

This Assassin was fast growing to be her favourite among the five. In one Trial, he had provided action, blood and had charmed his way into the audiences' hearts yet again by being the gentleman that he was characteristic of. Oh and he had unwittingly gained their sympathy as well.

Lazarus was physically okay, all wounds had healed. His avatar was still the exotic elusive Assassin they had portrayed in their advertising campaigns. He still hunted and fought, keeping his Orb safe. He did his job well. He tried to be online as much as possible giving first-hand experience and interacting with Players. They loved being able to talk or fight with the Hero. He even helped some with quests and killed Bosses with random Players, No one had realised he was still unwell from the poison from last season. It was something easily overlooked especially when he played it down.

In fact, she had forgotten about it too. Now they were all reminded forcible that he had been suffering in silence. He had not made a fuss. That added to his appeal. Just look at her staff. They sat hypnotised staring transfixed at their screens.

Nadine felt her heart swell up. If he was doing what she thought he was going to do, Lazarus was going to maintain the excitement of Orc Wars and increase the momentum of the Game single-handedly. They would be able to maintain the high price of the Game for a longer period. Maybe she should give him a bonus.

She would have meeting with Adam, Head of Editing and Nadia, Head of Media before they released teasers of his adventures. The Game had lulled into expected patterns after the Reality Show had ended. The other Gatekeepers had maintained the normal ingame hours but nothing out of the ordinary.

Lazarus was going to prove to them that there was life after the Reality Show. The Heroes had settled into a pattern, logging on less and less until only coming on the required hours as real life claimed them. They logged on to defend their Orbs, sometimes, but that was it. They didn't log on to really play anymore, they came on only to fulfil their contracts.

The five Gatekeepers didn't have the excitement of the competition anymore. They had new Quests, dungeons and Bosses to fight but the urgency was not there. The Land was peaceful. The Gatekeepers were on Simtrixx's payroll. Their job was to be the faces of Orc Wars, guard the Orbs and provide Trials for those who wanted to use the Orbs.

In short, it was no more fun.

Lazarus was shaking things up. He was on a mission. Simtrixx would follow him and push the Game for all it was worth.

She signalled Zen. The GamesMaster clapped his hands bringing his staff back to attention.

"You all know what to do. Send the feed to Editing. Every angle, every camera even the one in the Player's VR set. Increase surveillance on all the Gatekeepers. The others might try it too."

Zen nodded and issued instructions to his team.

"Adam, Zen will be sending you some footage soon. I want you to start on this right away! Work with Nadia." Nadine was on her phone. "Nadia? I want to talk to you. Be in my office in an hour. I want you to leak some teasers on the Net ... what? ... No, these are fresh. One hour."

Nadine finished her phone conversation and cut in on Zen, "Keep me informed on Lazarus' every move. I want to know when he logs in and how frequently. How is his avatar doing and when he makes his next move."

"Zen."

"Yes, Director?"

"Send the Gatekeepers an email. All have to prepare a different set of Trail for normal Players. I want to air this one as a Special. We will do a special series. A Gatekeeper trying other Gatekeeper's Trials. Let's see if he manages to get all the Orbs."

"Okay. This is going to be good." Zen was furiously typing the notes in his ipad. "Anything else?"

"That is all for now. I'll be waiting." Nadine walked purposefully to her office. Sitting at her table she tapped onto her touch screen desk. Immediately the glass blank wall to the side lighted up. She swivelled her chair to view the images displayed.

The five Gatekeeper's profiles were before her. They had all levelled up since the reality show ended a few months ago.

They had been so busy with campaigning, marketing and sales. All five had gone virtual, gathering at Simtrixx's ad-hoc virtual rooms for numerous meet the fans sessions, Q&A sessions and promotions. The public could not get enough of them. Their fan base had exploded. They had lived the life of the stars that they were. They were being handsomely paid too. But that meant no exciting new ingame footage for the company. They had used and recycled all they could from Season One. It was getting old.

Nadine studied the five profiles. Constantine, Warlock, Level 78, also known as The Red Warlock. Lazarus, Assassin, Level 75 who was now stirring things up much to her delight. Kirana, Berzerker, Level 70, Constantine's known girl. Then came Valentine, Thief, Level 72. Ah, Valentine had passed Kirana's level. Well boys will be boys. Generally, gaming was thicker in their blood. Last but not least, Isis, Priestess Level 66. She had mastered her potion and poison making, trading heavily for ingredients recently.

She tapped on her desk to bring up their detailed stats. She got to work while waiting for Nadia.