Patch 17 (Realm of Arkon) Read Online Free Page B

shrugged and pressed Play.
    The picture came on right away. Spread out on a table, bound with chains and whimpering pitiably was a Light Elf female—obviously a player, name Prissy, level 15, health bar in the yellow, numerous cuts on her body, wearing nothing but bra and panties. The decor abounded in blood-red tones, though only several pieces of black furniture and a huge mirror fit in the frame. Standing next to the table was a Dark Elf, level 178, name Kuwaz. He was holding an ordinary kitchen knife and standing sideways to the camera, keeping his face out of the frame.
    "Don't worry, sweetheart," he said with the voice of a good doctor, "we'll play a little more, and then we'll patch you right up." Cutting the bra with the knife, he tossed it aside, put his hand on the girl's left breast like he owned it, and asked, "how's this?"
    Then he turned to the videographer.
    "The hell are you recording for, idiot!" he screamed, his handsome face warped with rage.
    "Relax, Ronnie, don't be so—" the other's voice sounded, but then the footage ended.
    "Where did you get this?" I stared at Ivan. "This is... it's..."
    "Exactly," he took back the player. "Does this change your tune? Is in-game torture impossible? Is rape impossible? Somehow I doubt that she'd consented to her brazier being removed. Oh, and Prissy," he held a pause, "that was the name of Sarah Price's character. She's listed as offline, but she's clearly there! You saw the footage—it's definitely Arkon, and not some Thai porn site. The button layout, health and mana bars..."
    I kept a stunned silence. Torture was prohibited in the game, unless part of the game's story. A quest, for instance, might call for you to be caught and burned at the stake (the dark races sure had it made!), but in those moments all sensations of pain disappeared. But this—slashing and cutting with a knife—this was something else! There was always the option to log out and contact the administration. The offender's account would then be immediately and irreversibly banned. Removing another character's gear was likewise prohibited, including undergarments which could only be removed by mutual consent. The game was 18+, after all, and sex between any humanoid races was possible.
    It was possible that the girl was a masochist in real life, that it was all orchestrated. But then why did her username match the missing employee's, and why was she listed as offline? I was thoroughly lost.
    Ivan's phone rang.
    "Hello?" I watched a frown come over his face as he listened. "Understood. Hanging up now," he said and put the phone away in his pocket, ruminating.
    "You should leave, Roman. You've gotten yourself into a real shitstorm," Ivan declared, fished out a pen, and wrote down an address on a napkin. "We were ordered to lift surveillance off you. This is odd..." He handed me the napkin. "Go to this address. Lay low for at least three days, then call a cab and get the hell out of the state. Forget your phone here, and leave your car, too—my guys will drive it to your place later. Call me at work in a week. Now go, I've got the check. And good luck."
    "Thank you," I got up and offered my hand.
    He rose, enclosing my hand in his, and smacked me on the shoulder.
    "Don't forget to leave your keys."
    I put my bundle of car and house keys on the table, took one last glance at my friend, then turned around and headed for the exit.
    Once outside, I took a look around, raised the collar of my windbreaker and, feeling like a character from a cheap detective story, hurried toward the subway. How quickly your life could change sometimes, forcing you to abandon everything—your car, house, job and coworkers—and run. Immersed in my thoughts, I missed the sudden shift in movement in a man walking towards me... A powerful blow right in the solar plexus and I doubled over in pain. There was a sting in my neck, and as I faded into darkness I heard the sound of doors opening in the van that had just pulled up