Neroon stirs a cup of tea and sets down the last cup for Orund. Sitting in the main lobby of the study hall was Kaylin, Tucnin, Yuki, Orund, Neroon, and myself. The main lobby was large and spacious, it resembled a library with many bookshelves and chairs for relaxing. Large tinted windows lined the front of the study, facing the center of Giovia. It had a second level which was for files of Giovia and the welcome center. The Lobby stayed fairly busy with many travelers.
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Our team sat in a cozy corner of the study out of sight. It was situated just a short distance from the Sorcerer lounge where Neroon, Kaylin and I lived. Sitting on elegant couches the team discussed what they saw at Ekrund Mountains. Neroon thought for a moment before answering.
Exhaling deeply and rubbing the stubble on his face, he answered.
"It seems my son is alive and making his move."
The others looked at each other, as Kaylin and I held hands.
"So he is alive then?" I asked.
"Yes, but the question is, where is he?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa....wait a minute. These cloak guys, taking over people's minds and causing who knows how many to dissappear....is your son?!" Said Tuscnin.
"The cloaked individuals are not, but it seems he is how they are able to control their minds." Said Neroon sipping his tea.
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"What should we do then?" I asked Neroon.
"I say we find and fry him for all those he has slaughtered." Yuki said with his hands glowing red.
"No, that won't work. By now he has more power and would easily detect Luke. But he can be tracked and overwhelmed." Neroon said looking at everyone.
"This will not be easy and lives will be lost. He seeks power and will do everything he can to get it. If he discovers Luke, then he may try to capture and turn him corrupt." He continued.
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"What is the next step then?" Orund asked.
"We need to prepare, and find out where he is and what he is doing, then we have to corner and overwhelm him. But he is very powerful and seems to being gathering a large army for something. That something is what we need to know." I said assure of the situation.
Neroon agreed and responded.
"The guild must be informed, also Lia Empire will need to be notified. Then we wait for an answer."
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After a brief discussion, the team set out to the guild. Informing the guild master, he gave the direction to wait from a response from Lia. The guild master said, "When I have received word from Lia, I will return to update you. Until then..." Handing me a large sack of coins, he continues. "You can fulfill any local quests or rest until our return."
The team agreed and went back to the study.
"We need to settle things in my world, while we await Lia's determination." I informed Neroon.
"What about us? We...I don't have anywhere to go?" Yuki said.
"My home is crawling with the cloak people so I need to stay away until this is over." Said Orund.
Neroon opened the study to the rest of the team until I returned.
"So are we a team then?" I asked everyone.
"I'm in, my home land needs to be recovered and I will not rest until they are at peace." Said Yuki.
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"Same, I just need some tools so I can start working on some weapons, as I lost mine during the captivity." Orund said.
"Wait! You can forge weapons?" Kaylin said.
"Amongst other things, yes. I am a member of the blacksmith guild in the Dwarven kingdom Ekrund." Everyone's eyebrows were raised in shock.
"Well, I will see what we can get you. What all do you need?" I asked.
"A furnace, anvil, hammer, workbench, and some raw material. I can do the rest." He said crossing his arms.
"I think I know someone who can help." Tucnin said.
"I just need a quiet place for meditation and fight training." Said Yuki.
"The study will be a perfect fit for you. I have a meditation and fighting area deeper in the study. Here let me show you to your rooms." Neroon said getting up.
"Neroon, Kaylin and I are going to go to my homeland. We will be back in a week." I said.
"You will use the portal this time?" Asked Neroon.
"Yes, I will have an established place back home." Neroon nodded as he showed the men their rooms and the places for their training and workshop.
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Kaylin and I went inside the Sorcerer's Keep. Gathering our things, we setup the portal in our Chamber temporarily until we return. Opening the portal to Chris' we entered into his front yard.
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The apartment seemed fairly empty, most people must have been at work. It was about noon, when we knocked on Chris' door. Looking through the window, Chris had a huge smile and quickly opened the door.
"H-Hey! Luke! What's good brotha. How's everything? By the way I meant to ask you, where do you go when you leave?" He greeted us.
"Long story, but I will tell you before I leave this time." I said as we came inside.
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His apartment was crowded with wires and a large desk, with a dual monitor. He had a big comfy chair and a few lights. A soldiering station and some reels of wire, with what looked like a box of circuit cards.
"What is this, you live in a cave?" I joked.
"I got a prototype ready for Arcadia Defense Inc." Said Chris.
"Arcadia Defense? Ok, what you got?" I said.
Pulling up a program, the screen opens to a lush tropical menu. Chris clicks on scan, immediately the program checks all the files. Being that it's clean, it showed that all files are clear.
"We need to test this out. Do you have like a way to test it?" I asked.
"What do you think that box of circuit cards was for?" Chris says pulling out a tablet with an adapter built onto the side. It was a little bulky, but looked cool.
"Let's go, I got an idea." I told everyone.
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We packed up our stuff and locked Chris' apartment. Calling the realtor, we headed to the new house which was about a half an hour away.
"Luke where are we going?" Chis asked.
"Hello?" Said the receptionist from the realtor.
"Hello, this is Luke. I was calling about my house I am buying. I just got back from my trip and wanted to see if the house was ready to close."
"Is this Luke Cadell?"
"Yes, this is him."
"Great, let me pull up your file...ah yes, we are ready. I'll send someone out to the property right now. We will see you soon." She hung up the phone and I turned down the street toward the new place.
The realtor was quick, and before long we unlocked the door and walked inside.
"This is your new place? Luke, this is nice man. For real though. My man comes back from the dead and just starts living it up." Chris said looking at the inside.
"Chris, I need you to move your stuff here, if that's ok." Chris was looking out a window and responded.
"Sure bro, where you want the desk at? I mean you got plenty of room. So it's not like you can't setup an office somewhere." He joked.
"No, I mean, you move here. Don't worry about rent." Chris turned and looked at me as the realtor got the final paperwork to sign.
"Bro, come on stop playin'" He half smiled.
"No, seriously. You need a break man, you didn't help me out all those years at Brain tech for nothing. It's time to do this right." I said finishing the last signature.
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Chris wiped his eyes without much to say. "It's ok man. You have been through alot. It's time to turn things around for once. Let's start over Chris. The past is gone, the future waits for us. Arcadia is going to help many, but I need the Chris I once knew. Come on man. I can't do this alone."
Chris grabbed ahold of me and gave me a big hug.
"Thank you Luke."
Looking around we decided to move Chris' stuff in there after we visit the girls.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" I asked the realtor agent as she was walking out the door.
"Yes sir." She said turning around at the door.
"Do you mind if we perform a quick scan of your tablet. We are a network security company, and can do a free scan to see if your device is safe and clean?"
She agreed and handed us her tablet.
Chris took her tablet and hooked up his device. The scan showed a few potential threats, identified, and isolated it.
"Yes ma'am, you have two threading viruses that if you open these two programs will capture your information.
"We have, a network security team that can take care of this. Thank you very much for your help."
"No problem, well if you run into any problems or know of anyone who is in need of help. We will gladly help." Chris said, handing her a business card.
I'll keep that in mind. Thank you. Have a good evening." She said walking out the door.
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Locking the house, we got in the car and drove to Dan's.
On the way, I called Karen.
"Hello Luke."
"Hello Karen, I got me a place and am ready for joint custody of the girls. Are they available to get them today?"
"Uh yeah, but you have to come pick them up. They will be ready when you get here."
"On my way."
Pulling up to the gate, I could see a few cars parked just inside the driveway. Ringing the intercom, Karen opened the gate to let us in.
Parking the car, Chris decided to stay in the car. Going into the front foyer, we waited for the girls. The house was pretty big, much larger then mine. It had a luxurious presence like a museum. Everything was on display, show casing some type of art or artifact that looked expensive.
The girls came to the front area, as a few men walked from some back room, then exited out the front door off to our side. They all had suits on with dark sunglasses. One thing I noticed, was when Dan stepped in the front area with Karen, they all had a large ring with a symbol on it. Dan followed up with them last and stood next to Karen.
"Well Hello Luke. Welcome to my house." He said with a smirk.
"Thanks, I'll just be leaving now." I said getting the girls bags.
"I would have come out sooner to greet you, but I had an important meeting to attend. An expansion to the company."
This intrigued me alot, and had to ask.
"What happened to Brain Tech when I was gone?"
"Brain Tech was a dieing programming company. So before we lost it all, we turned what we had into an advertisement software production. To make my story short....we are expanding due to the amount of work we are bringing in. Business has boomed and so we are no longer a small company, but rather a large corporation and growing."
Dan said so smugly.
"So Brain Tech is an advertising software developer?" At this point I just wanted to keep him talking, his arrogant attitude wouldn't let me be better then him.
"It's not Brain Tech anymore, it's Draven Inc. Where we make dreams come true...." Dan said waving his arm towards the sky.
"Draven Inc...Sounds like a curtain manufacturer."
"It's not a curtain manufacturer, we provide advertising services for major companys, banks, dealerships, and even military contracts. Now if you'll excuse me, I got to catch a meeting at the office. Maybe your programming assistance will one day help some grandma's virus filled computer. Enjoy your time with the girls." He said adjusting his suit jacket, grabbing his briefcase and heading out the front door.
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Draven Inc. Huh? Yep, gonna have to research that one. We loaded in the car and left to a rental truck agency.
"Guess what girls, we got a new house!" Kaylin told the girls.
"Yay! When can we see it." They asked.
"Soon, I gotta setup everything. But that's not the best part..." I said.
"Tell us, we wanna know!"
"Kaylin and I are getting married. And we are taking you to Arcadia."
They were so excited.
"Wait a minute, Arcadia is an actual place?" Chris said confused.
We pulled up to a rental truck store and walked inside, leaving Chris baffled.
"Hello, we need a medium sized truck please for a one bedroom apartment move."
The clerk began booking a truck for us as Chris asked questions.
"Is it in Europe and you just been hiding out. Oh I got it, you faked your death and went to the Amazon jungle to get a new outlook on life. Be one with nature. That's cool man. But Luke, when we're you going to tell me." Chris rambled.
Finishing up the rental, I handed Chris the keys and walked outside to inspect the truck.
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"Daddy this is going to be so cool. I can't wait to go." Said Nadia
"I wanna see the Elves, and then the mystical birds..." Alana went on.
"Well you girls are gonna have to wait until we finish. Plus we still need to ask Karen if we can take you on a trip." Said Kaylin right on time.
"Elves, mystical creatures...what is this, some fantasy book?" Chris asked.
"I told you I will tell you later. We need to head to your place to get your bed and stuff before it's dark out." Chris tried asking more questions, but I got in the car with everyone and drove away.
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I didn't let Chris talk really, I worked hard and directed traffic with everyone to get all the stuff Chris needed and the computer to the house. Getting unpacked enough, I explained a little to Chris before dropping off the girls.
"When I get back from dropping off the girls, I'll tell you about Arcadia, and what happened to me in the big accident. But for now, can you get settled in while I head to Dan's?" I asked Chris.
"Yeah, sure. But I gotta hear this when you get back. No more dodging my questions." He said pointing at me.
"You got it. See you soon."
Driving to Dan's was fun. The girls were excited about going. They asked about what we were going to do and see. But I told them I have to see if you can go first.
Pulling into Dan's gate, Karen met us outside.
"Hey girls. I got your bath ready, so head inside while I talk to your dad."
The girls ran inside as Karen asked to speak to me privately. Kaylin got in the car as Karen got out of earshot of Kaylin.
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"Luke, I'm not telling you this because I want to get back with you. I honestly was done with us a long time ago, before I met Dan. But I fear for the girls safety. Things are much different now. I can't tell you much, because we are being watched. But I want you to take the girls on a vacation. Can you take them with you tomorrow and stay gone for like a month or even two, it might even be longer. I don't trust Dan anymore. He has changed alot since you came back."
"Yes, that would be fine. What time do you want me to get them tomorrow?"
"Come by around 8 and I will have them ready. Thank you so much. And uh...take care ok." Karen leaned in to give me a hug, but to be safe, I turned my body and stuck out my hand.
"I will take care of them. Please, be safe Karen."
She was flustered, but shook my hand.
"What was that about?" Kaylin asked, as I buckled my seatbelt and backed out of the driveway.
"She was trying to make me feel sorry for her, but the good news is, we got the girls for at least two months or more."
"If she ever goes to hug you again, I'll cut her head off and burn her remains." Kaylin threatened. I laughed, she is still an orc by nature.
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Getting back to the house, Chris had setup his bed in one of the smaller rooms.
"Chris what are you doing? Why didn't you take the master bedroom?"
"The real question is, what is Arcadia really? We were told you were dead. But then you show up with a business plan and then dissappear for a week at a time. Why?"
Breathing deeply, I knew it would be too much to explain. So Instead I made a deal with him.
"Listen, let's set everything up tonight. Launch the business tomorrow and then I'll take you on a little vacation to Arcadia."
"A vacation to Arcadia? Hmmm...well while we setup, at least tell me what happened to you."
It was about 9pm and it was going to be a little later before we got to bed. I started at the vacation in Colorado, then told him of the accident and the cliff. As we started setting up the office, I went over the cabin and then into Arcadia. At the mention of the portal, Chris was awe struck and sat down. He intently listened until I stopped at Giovia.
"And the rest you will have to see for yourself." I said Abruptly.
"I-I...uh...so this isn't some movie or something you saw....I mean, portals, falling off a cliff and surviving..." Chris said just staring at nothing in particular.
"Got it!" I said suddenly, breaking Chris out of his trance.
The computer system turned on and started to boot up. I had just the computer system setup in the Living room. The house was very big for a standard home. Four bedrooms and two full baths. A two car garage and decent sized backyard. It was your typical family sized house.
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Going through all the files on the network, I decided to look up Brain tech and see what happened. Chris began to explain what happened to Brain Tech as I followed an old website and searched.
"When you left, Dan promoted a guy from some team. Said he had a special project to do."
"Promoted some guy? What was his name?" I asked.
"Harold Avery, he took over the code 50. Immediately he started making alot of changes."
"Harold Avery? That sounds familiar." I said while finding a link to an advertisement company.
"All our programs were being deleted and everything converted to marketing. For us that were lead programmers, we were given a month to find a job. They selected a few programmers and let the rest of us go."
The link opened to a short advertisement video.
The video showed a couple of people talking in an office setting. It was your standard bank commercial, but at the end was a sales pitch for an advertising company. From your head to your heart, Draven Incorporated. Before the ad ended the symbol from the cabin flashed on the screen and then went blank.
"That was the company name, they talked about having a huge change in business strategy and was the reason I got laid off. They didn't need programmers" Chris said.
"Draven? Hmmm....let's see what we can find."
Searching as much as I could, there wasn't a trace for the website. I could only find a phone number to customer service. This was our only option. But before I did anything, my phone rang.
"Hey Daddy, we're ready when you get here in the morning. Can you pick us up early?" Asked Nadia.
"Uh, sure. What time do you want to start?" I asked Yawning.
"Can we start at seven please?" She said begging.
"That's fine." I said. We said good bye and hung up.
"Well we have an early morning, so we better get to bed." I said.
Chris got up and went to his room, shaking his head. Kaylin and I found some blankets and made a bed on the floor by the computer. It wasn't long before I fell asleep.
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