Arvium

26: Library

Aella gasped as the figure vanished without a sound, leaving the alley silent.

She took a deep breath, pulling her hands into fists to calm her trembling figures.

"Luke?" she whispered.

There was a crackle in her headset before his voice came through her earpiece. "I saw. I think you should find Prince and tell him what happened."

Aella shook her head, frowning. "I want to find out what that was first. Where is the Library located in Arvium?"

She heard Luke sigh, and almost smiled.

"As you wish. If you go back down to the main square, there should be a map on the side of the High Council's Main Building. It will tell you where most of the main landmarks are located."

"Thank you," she said. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she turned around and placed her foot on the ladder, and started to make her way down to the ground below.

***

Aella stopped in front of the door to the small library, looking through the wide double doors at the dozens of glass hand pads on the bookcase in front of her and to the nooks with cushioned chairs behind it. The receptionist in the Atrium had told her that the Game Library was a virtual copy of the Consortium Library in the Capitol Complex, where hard copies of the books were stored in over twelve different buildings.

She made her way to the console on the wall just inside the entrance and tapped on the screen, waiting as the keyboard loaded. She flipped between libraries and chose the one labeled I.L.S. Game, and typed in wraith and I.L.S. Chronicle. Within seconds, several entries popped up. She clicked select all, then scanned her wrist under the scanner. She turned to the bookshelf and watched as one of the hand pads beeped and glowed with a pulsing green light.

She pulled it from the bookshelf and headed to the back of the large room, curling up in one of the chairs in the nook farthest from the doorway. She tapped the pad and the surface lit up with sections from the I.L.S. Chronicle, a daily gathering of posts from players on monsters, quests, and items found in the Alpha Game. She selected the first one, and began to read.

Player 165 (Lero): Month 7, Day 5, 17:35:02; World Four, Oedipus Mountains

Was ambushed by a player or NPC made out of smoke in Sector 36. Lost two teammates to the demon wolf that accompanied the wraith. Both had glowing eyes. Be on alert for any sightings, and beware as none of my team's attacks seemed to have any effect on it.

Replied to Player 165 (Lero)

> Player 53 (SkySong): Month 7, Day 7, 17:35:05; World Four, Oedipus Valley Region

Saw wraith mentioned in earlier post, but two death wolves were present. Our team was ambushed, the wraith used a two-handed sword with a fireblade, common to the Volcan Oedipus Mountain quest which may mean the wraith is a player. The wraith seemed to be able to teleport from one area to another, and knives, arrows, and magic seemed to have little effect. Every blow it gave drained both magic and life meters by 10 units. Possible weaknesses is healing potions: when our healer teammate accidentally spilled cleaning fluid on a weapon, the weapon disappeared into the wraith's smoke and the wraith vanished.

Player 87 (King'sGambit): Month 7, Day 8, 18:20:58; World Four, Oedipus Mountains

Saw wraith on the ridge located at 31°26'56"S, 14°50'12"E. I was 200 meters away and saw the wraith through a scope. No attempt was made to engage the figure, and it disappeared in a cloud of smoke several minutes later. Ability to teleport verified when I spotted it lower down the mountainside.