The World of Crimson: Logging Off [Episode 129203]

“Ah, what just happened?” asked Lord Azure of the Distant Sky, umpteenth level heavy blade as he was respawned.

“You should have seen it, Poppa,” enthused Firefly, mid level wavemaster and rare item collector. “Crimson had a cunning plan.  A plan so cunning even Blackadder’s Baldrick would recognise it as cunning.  It even worked too!  … Mostly…  Weeell, kinda…”

“He took care of a Lich King on his own?” Lord Azure blinked and looked around.   Ah, yes, there was a pile of bones that could have been the undead’s remnants; most likely already thoroughly ransacked for rare items.  “Colour me impressed.  So where is he?”

“He’s over here, Poppa,” Firefly answered and lead the way down the dungeon corridors.  “Er… and a little over there.  Some more down there, and there’s a whole lot scattered over that wall …”

“So much for his cunning plan then!” Azure emoted derisively.  “I take it he’s more than a little bit dead?”

“Oh yeah, lots, but hey!  It was way cool, Poppa,” Firefly defended.  “Really, really, cool, just… uhm, a little messy towards the end, that’s all.  I mean, sure it would have been better if he’d managed to, like maybe, get out of the chamber before triggering the traps and all, but still…  The way he lured the Lich King in was impressive… He must have sunk heaps into his Taunt skills.   Could have used some of them on his reflex bonus when all the traps went off, but still…”

“Traps?  Plural?”

“Yeah, well,” Firefly answered as she scruffed her slippers on a patch of floor.  “We really wanted to make sure we got the monster —even if Crimson didn’t think it was a real Lich King—, so I used my whole collection of traps.  … and I had almost completed the set too.”

“Good thinking,” Azure nodded.  “Wait, you used your entire collection?  Not just one rare item, but an entire set?”

“Uh, yeah, well…”

“Well, now, colour me impressed indeed,” Lord Azure murmured.  “I have to tell your momma about this!  Truly.  She’s going to want to met the boy who got you to part with your precious collectibles.  If he can talk you into that then there’s no telling what else he can talk you out of…”

“Poppa!”

Ranma removed the TVR^™ helmet and rubbed his head.  Today’s lesson: dying freaking hurt!  Even in True Virtual Reality^™ dying was a pain.

Ping! “You’ve got mail!” anounced his computer.

“Huh?  How’s the computer know that?” Ranma wondered, and clicked the message closed.  “Amazing.  I’d better go outside and check the box.  Oh!  No time for that now.  What’s this thing doing now?”

“Buh, wha?”  Ranma made a most perplexed face as he girned over the message.  “Is that some sort of secret code?”  If it was it wasn’t very good; he thought he could read it.  Mostly.