Silvertroll

Augmented Reality

I buy the kids lunch.

Burgers for the boys.

A salad for Phlox.

It's the least I can do. They've taken the time to help me out, and even though I'm a novelty to them, a big fun adventure, I can appreciate their efforts. I drive down to the river and find a spot near the footbridge, not too far from where I found the van, and settle down for a feed. I sit on the grass and begin eating my burger. Phlox sits next to me, nibbling at the spinach leaves, watching the river filled with rubbish, mostly bottles floating in the brown water. Arlan and Connor remain inside the van, having already begun eating.

"Where's Libby?" I ask.

"She took off," Phlox says, "I don't think she wants any part of this."

"I bet she doesn't." I turn to face the boys, tuning into the conversation they are having.

"I don't think so," Arlan is saying.

"Why not?"

"Cause she's out of your league," Arlan doesn't let up.

"What?" Connor sounds genuinely offended, his tough-guy image shattered. "You think she's closer to your league?"

"I wasn't..."

"Yeah. Right." Connor is back to his old self.

I yell out, "Meadows of mourning. What does it mean?"

"I don't know," replies Connor. "Look it up."

It's Arlan who gives me a straight answer. "It's a DLC to a game."

"What game?" asks Connor.

"What the fuck's a DLC?" I say.

They look at me, both of them astonished. Phlox glances at me as if I'm the cutest thing ever.

The next thing I know, I'm crouching in the back of the van, awaiting instructions from Arlan and Connor seated in the front.

Arlan explains, "The game is called Hellscape."

"Hellscape," I repeat. "Okay, how do you play it?

"It's an augmented reality game."

I have to ask, "What kind of reality?"

"Augmented."

Conner chimes in, "Come on, dude. Augmented."

"Augmented."

"Yeah dude, augmented."

Phlox reaches into the van holding a pair of wraparound sunglasses. They have wider than usual lenses and have a thick, extra thick frame. "Put these on."

"What for?" I'm hesitant and don't care to show it. Plus, those things look ridiculous. I've seen pranksters wearing them. On the train. In shopping centres. On crowded footpaths. I've seen idiots run over after crossing the street wearing those stupid things.

"They're augmented reality glasses," says Arlan. "Try them on."

"Okay, I get what it is."

"Just try it on, dude."

"I'm fine," I say. "I understand how it works."

"I don't think you do?" says Arlan.

"Put 'em on," pesters Connor. "Come on."

"I'm not wearing those fucking things."

Next thing I know...

...I'm standing in the middle of an alley wearing the⁷ AR glasses. The colour is desaturated. The video is surprisingly sharp and in focus. "I feel like a moron." I turn to see Phlox and Arlan standing by the van.

"Look up," says Arlan.

I look up. The sky is seamlessly red, from horizon to horizon. "Okay. I'm impressed."

Arlan explains, "The game works with the virtual world of Hellscape superimposed on top of a user's actual environment. You can control your avatar from any computer terminal, or you can be the avatar." He opens the van's door, revealing Connor on a laptop. "Go."

"I'm in," says Connor.

Arlan turns to me. "Do you see it?"

I look around. "Nah."

"Look behind you," taunts Connor.

As I turn, a demonic avatar appears in my periphery, causing me to jump back. I hear Connor laugh. Arlan and Phlox exchange looks, both are amused. I take off the goggles and look at the empty air next to me, trying to imagine the invisible avatar. I place them back over my eyes and see the demon again. "So what do I do now?"

"We now know that Silvertroll plays Hellscape," Arlan explains.

Connor takes over, speaking from the avatar, at least from my perspective. "By looking at his profile..."

"Could be a she," interrupts Phlox

"Or she, it appears they've been active only recently. The player's account has been dormant for a long time beforehand.

"What's this mean?" I ask the demon.

"I don't know," the demon says.

I look at Arlan. He shrugs at me.

"So... What next?" I ask.

Phlox answers, "If Silvertroll's a player..."

Arlan finishes her sentence, "...then they have assets in the game."

"So....?"

"We're gonna steal 'em assets," says Connor's demon.

"We're going to what?"

Arlan walks up to me, his confidence growing with each step. This is clearly his territory. "It's a feature of the game. Added during the Meadows of Mourning DLC. Silvertroll must own territories within the Hellscape open world. We can find them and loot them. We might be able to use what we find to learn more about the Silvertroll. But ya going to need to fight a horde?"

A horde?