He looked around but couldn’t see anything in the distance other than those bright lights. The sound of cheering, however, suggested that he was sitting in front of a studio audience, or perhaps some kind of holographic representation of the millions or even billions of Dominion citizens watching the show from wherever the hell they all were.
A figure moved out from the shadows to Pete’s left, dressed in a garish silver suit that reflected the light as though the woman had been clothed in chunks of mirror taken from a mirror ball. She was tall, with pointy ears and stunning features that had an elfin quality, along with deep green eyes and long blond hair that had been tied into an intricate plait that reminded Pete of some of the Nordic styles he’d seen in various TV shows and films over the years.
“Well, friends, we have ourselves a real treat here.” She turned, motioning toward Pete and smiling, the light glinting off her suit and making it difficult for Pete to see.
“We have in our presence the latest superstar of the Dominion Ultrimax Competition, the one and only Vault Breaker himself.”
A cheer rose up from the crowd, rising to a violent hiss of applause combined with shouts and whooping and what sounded like the thudding of boots against floorboards.
“That’s right, folks,” the elf woman went on, “we’ve secured quite the prize. He’s earnest. He’s a firecracker. He’s either brave or stupid enough to go against the Mammon System itself! And for those who missed his first outburst, here’s a reminder.”
While Pete was watching, a screen appeared ahead of him, showing his appearance on the previous feed show while he was in mid-rant. Pete’s eyebrows were arched, and his cheeks were red as he spat words at the screen.
“You throw your own damned people at us like they’re worthless, forcing us to cut their heads off or blow them to smithereens like it’s all a sick fucking game. But this isn’t a game! It’s our lives! We’re more than just contestants in your crazy-ass contest. We deserve better than to be slaughtered for your fucking entertainment!”
The screen disappeared, and an even louder round of applause followed. The host nodded, waiting patiently for the shouting and cheering to die down a little before raising her hands for quiet.
“That’s right, folks, he said the inside voice thing out loud! In open defiance of the Mammon System and High Baron Tongsly Belch and just about everything else our grand Dominion holds dear, Pete the Vault Breaker drove his standard into the ground and decided that enough was enough.”
She turned to face him, still smiling, her eyes twinkling.
“Quite a stand to take given that you’d only been in the game for less than a full day at the time.”
The elf woman turned back to face what Pete now recognized were floating robotic cameras hovering in the darkness ahead of her.
“Well, we thought we’d test our fiery Vault Breaker’s resolve here on…” She paused, waiting for the crowd to catch up. “PUKE AND PAY!”
She punctuated each word precisely, with the crowd saying the words at the same time. It seemed to Pete like the whole thing was modeled after the game shows that were big in the eighties.
“Your first challenge,” the elf went on, “involves facing one of your greatest fears.”
She lingered on that comment for a few moments, turning to face Pete before continuing.
“That’s right, Pete, we’ve trawled through your personal history, conducted virtual interviews with digitized representations of childhood friends, family members, teachers, and colleagues, and we’ve put together a comprehensive list of your greatest fears.”
A list appeared in front of her, hovering above the stage and written in reverse so that, obviously, the crowd could read it, but Pete couldn’t. A lot of oohs and aahs rose from the crowd as the elf continued.
“We’ve narrowed the list down to three items, and the choice of which fear to face first will be down to our player. First, though, here’s a word from our sponsors. And remember, use the code PUKE20 to get twenty percent off any Tongsly Belch merchandise for the duration of the show!”
A cheer went up again but suddenly stopped as though it was being piped through a speaker that someone had just turned off. Silence filled the room, except for the sound of shoes tapping on the floor and muffled conversation coming from the shadowed exterior of the chamber.
The lights that had been flooding the room with luminescence were shut off, and Pete waited for his eyes to adjust. He began to make out shapes in the distance. There were a pair of hobgoblin guards dressed in ill-fitting uniforms by a door to the rear of the room and several goblins walking around dressed in fancy suits. In the place where the crowd had been, hundreds of small mechanical devices floated in the air, arranged in a manner so that they sloped backward like cinema seating, providing a clear view for each unit of the stage.
Pete presumed that they were cameras, recording the show and disseminating it to different locations throughout the Dominion. There must be speakers in each camera, which allowed some portion of the crowd to interact with the show and voice their approval.
Pete moved to stand but found that his legs and arms were held in place. When he turned around to inspect them, he saw nothing obvious on his limbs that was holding them in place, but when he tried to move, he was unable to. It was as though his body had simply forgotten how to move itself.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
[Pete-Private-Nero] What the fuck is going on here, Nero? I can’t move.
[Nero-Private-Pete] You are not physically here. Well, you are, actually, but you will not be free to act in the way you usually can while you are taking part in the show. You will be able to speak, of course, and you will see and hear everything that goes on, but you won’t be permitted to stand or complete any physical action other than speech unless the show’s director allows it.
Pete looked over at the elfish woman, frowning heavily.
[Pete-Private-Nero] So, I need to convince her to let me stand?
[Nero-Private-Pete] No. I believe that she is just the host of the show. You will need to speak with the director. Even so, if you are restricted from moving, I would suggest that they will not allow you to break your bonds until it is time to ‘perform,’ as it were.
[Pete-Private-Nero] Like a dancing fucking monkey.
[Nero-Private-Pete] I do not understand.
[Pete-Private-Nero] Forget it. Let’s just get this over with.
The elfin woman turned around, and her smile dropped. All the levity seemed to leave her as she walked over to one side of the stage to meet a squat goblin figure that was sitting in a mechanical chair with crab-like metal legs. The goblin moved the machine with a series of controls on a panel in front of him and looked like every other goblin Pete had seen, except for the diamond-studded eyepatch covering his right eye.
He gathered that this was the director of the show, a suspicion that was bolstered by the fawning group of goblins standing behind him with datapads in their arms and fearful expressions on their faces.
“Good,” the goblin spat. “But not great. You need to show more emotion, Liandra.”
The goblin motioned with one finger, and the elf woman bent down to his level, bending forward so that her face was level with his. The goblin reached out with a ring-studded finger and tapped her cheek lightly three times.
“You need to smile more. Make the people think you’re actually glad to be here. And get excited! You do a good job here, and I’ll let you out of your cage for a full two hours once we’re done.”
She nodded, standing back up straight, her right hand moving to what looked like a silver shackle that was fixed around her left hand. Now that the lights had dimmed, Pete could see that she wore a shackle on each wrist, connected by a thin thread of silver. There was a similar object around her throat, and it seemed to cause her pain as she moved.
Pete could see the way her jaw was tightening each time she tugged on the silver thread. She was clearly pushing through the pain, however, trying to ensure that she smiled all the while and put on a good show for her boss.
>> PERCEPTION PROFICIENCY +1
“Three minutes, people!” the director shouted, clicking his fingers as one of the goblins nearby approached and held something up to him while he sat in his mechanical chair.
The subservient goblin was holding some kind of metal bowl, which looked like it had shrimp on ice inside it. No, not shrimp. There was some kind of creature in there, but it was more worm-like, and there was a good amount of mucus sticking to each worm thing.
The director plucked up one of the creatures and slipped it into his mouth, then started chewing noisily as he twirled a finger in the air.
“Get it moving, people!” he shouted, turning to face the elf. “And give me more pep, Liandra, or I throw you back in your cage without removing the restraints.”
The elf bowed as the repulsive figure moved away, the legs of his mechanical chair tapping on the floor as he scooped up another of the worm things with his chubby fingers, forcing his attendant to run alongside the chair holding the bowl above her head.
>> STAMINA PROFICIENCY +1
Pete blinked as the notification showed up. Stamina? That didn’t make any sense because he wasn’t doing anything. As he relaxed a little, Pete realized that this wasn’t strictly true. The entire time he’d been sitting there, his muscles had been straining, fighting against the invisible bonds holding him in place. It was only now that he’d relaxed that he understood just how hard he’d been pushing, and that must have been recognized by the System and been enough to slightly increase his endurance.
[Nero-Private-Pete] Your supposition is correct, Pete. You have been pushing against your bonds since you arrived, expending significant energy even though you have been sitting in place. Given that we don’t know what this gameshow will entail, I would suggest you try to relax. Hold your energy so that you can access it when it counts.
[Pete-Private-Nero] Yeah, good idea. I honestly didn’t even realize I was straining.
[Nero-Private-Pete] It is quite obvious by the look on your face, Pete. In addition, your mind has been agitated since you arrived, even more so when you noticed the exchange between the director and the host.
Pete nodded.
[Pete-Private-Nero] I hate pricks like that. Treat people underneath them like dirt and think they’re better than everyone else. I guess it’s not just a human trait.
[Nero-Private-Pete] Far from it, I’m afraid. Most of the races that reside within the Dominion have their fair share of individuals like this. The goblins in particular seem to excel at cruelty, however. As do orcs and various other species, but for different reasons. Goblins, and particularly those born of royal blood, seem to take great pleasure in the suffering of others. In a strange way, it nourishes them. Again, that is not the case with all goblins, but those who are connected to the High Baron and his kin tend to demonstrate this tendency.
Pete looked over at the shadowed corner of the room where the director was still eating while he berated one of his assistants.
[Pete-Private-Nero] Is that what this guy is? Some relative of the Baron?”
[Nero-Private-Pete] A third cousin, I believe. That is why he was given such a prestigious role.
Pete found himself tensing up again and had to remind himself of Nero’s words. Then again, maybe racking up a few extra proficiency points in stamina wouldn’t be a bad thing. Pete figured it was unlikely that he was going to face a life-threatening enemy on a show like this, so perhaps letting his inner rage take over for a while wouldn’t be a bad thing.
He still wasn’t altogether sure how much difference the proficiencies actually made. He certainly felt stronger, faster, and a lot more nimble on his feet than he had when this all started, but Pete put that down to his Agility stats and the insane bonus he got as a Penny Pincher. His archery certainly improved the higher his proficiency level got, but he wasn’t sure whether the number increased simply because his skill got better or vice versa. Maybe a little of both.
Pete was about to ask Nero about that when he caught sight of the elf walking straight toward him. She was smiling, but he could sense the strain within her eyes, the tightness to her lips.
“Oh, I just have to speak with you myself!” she said, far too loudly. “The Vault Breaker, here in my studio! Wonderful! Simply wonderful!”
She bent down in front of him, still smiling but speaking in hushed tones so that no one could overhear her. Pete noticed that she touched something on the back of her left ear before she spoke, and he heard a strange humming sound coming from all around him, like the buzzing of bees.
“I haven’t got long, so you need to listen,” she hissed, still smiling but with her eyes boring into him with dark intensity. “We can’t be overheard, and I’ve disabled communications with your AI tutor. Nod if you understand.”
Pete nodded.
“Good,” she said, leaning forward. “They’re going to try to kill you, but if you listen carefully and do as I say, there might be a way out of this.”