"Okay, I think I get the gist. There's some kind of glitch in the countryside that spawns these terror-fiends that destroy everything, but they can be hurt and killed. You guys rest up here and I'll get some soldiers together to see if we can put some sort of semi-permanent measure in place to protect our people. You four are indispensable in this matter. Oh, I'll also have to send messengers out to warn people. And they'll need an armed guard in case some already escaped. I'll need to prepare an official statement too... " The four friends quietly thanked the king and excused themselves. At first they were surprised that he was taking the news so well, but considering he was a military general in the real world, he was probably in his element here. They stopped at a small café to group their thoughts.
"What the hell were those things, and how could they exist?" Athemar asked.
"This Chronicle World is a program, so it shouldn't be that strange for glitches to occur. What's strange is that we haven't experienced any glitches until now, and these creatures seem to be made of nothing but corrupted data, yet we can fight and destroy them." Gawain answered sensibly.
"Maybe instead of destroying them, what we're actually doing is restoring the data? Thinking about it, we're programs that would be fairly suitable as a backup option, given what we remember of the area."
"That's a fair shout actually. I don't think that's what happened though, all we really did was get rid of the corrupted program. But it could be useful to remember that point to see if we could restore the area." Sylvia and Nathan were looking back and forth at Athemar and Gawain, completely lost.
"We get you two are boss-level nerds, but we have a decent knowledge here too, that's why we joined the test with you. So why is it what you're talking about sounds more like the plot of a game than something that would actually affect it?" Sylvia interjected. Athemar seemed enlightened at that moment.
"It's actually highly possible that's what this is. It's a bit late, but this world was designed to be like a game, so maybe this is a planned event."
"Even if it is, we still need to treat it as if it were real. It might take a load off our back if we knew that's what it was, but we still need to fight it, and as long as we don't know for sure, it's far safer to be wary of it." Gawain cautioned.
"Okay! I was starting to get frustrated with all the technical speak, but as long as we're talking about fighting, you're speaking my language!" Nathan chimed in. They all laughed and stood up to leave. One of the serving maids stopped them to ask:
"What were you talking about? Did you find some sort of dangerous creature out there?" Athemar calmly explained.
"I'm sure the king will make a statement soon, so you'll be one of the first to know this, but yes. There's a glitch out in the countryside that's spawning strange creatures that destroy everything in their vicinity using what appears to be corrupted data." The maid's face darkened for a moment, then returned to a slightly worried yet cheerful countenance.
"I see. Thank you for telling me. I will inform the rest of the staff and warn them not to venture out of the city."
They decided to head to the blacksmith's for a general weapon checkup, thinking it best considering the fighting they would be doing soon. While they were talking along the way, Nathan posed a question to Gawain.
"Hey, you never did tell us about those swords. They're not something programmed in, are they?"
"No. I took them in with me and the software made them new again. Athemar can explain a little better than I can."
"Yes, well. Obviously you know his real name isn't actually Gawain. We found out about a month before the test that he has a direct line of descent linking to the real Gawain. Because of that, we decided to go on a hunt for anything relating to him. We found the true origin of the legends, the modern location of Camelot and the Green Castle, loads of stuff.
"We went trawling through historical texts and archaeological records relating to these locations and people, and found in particular two swords that had been dismissed by the people who found them as just very nice swords. Of course, we knew that they were most likely Excalibur and Galatin because not only were they discovered in the ruins of Camelot itself, the specific sector they were found in was labelled on our map as none other than Gawain's private armoury. I've said before that Gawain was more the owner of Excalibur than Arthur was, and part of that was that Gawain was the Keeper. Put in charge of maintaining and securing it.
"Anyway, we eventually found them in an auction for a museum, far cheaper than they deserved to be but still at the upper limit of what we could afford despite his unending fortune. When we signed up for the test, we decided it'd be really cool to put them in for him to use, since they told us it would be a game with combat. We also edited his digital body to match his ideal Gawain-like persona, and the developers obliged and scanned in the swords. To their surprise they didn't have to edit the models to make them fit, the world just registered them as a broken weapon and automatically repaired them when they were assigned to Gawain's digital body. The way I understand it at least. So there you have it. The unnecessarily long explanation of how he got those swords and what exactly they are. Leaving nothing out. Right, Gawain?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right to me." Sylvia looked dubious.
"Something about that 'right, Gawain' seems suspicious to -"
"Oh, would you look at that! We've arrived at the smithy. Looks like this conversation will have to wait until another time, fascinating though it promises to be." Sylvia spluttered for a moment before regaining her composure and following him into the building. It was an impressive sight. Gigantic copper pots rose high towards the roof, giving off steam through gaps in the tiling, while small men twice as broad as they were long hammered away in unison below. In the corner were tall gangly men working intensely on minute details, placing and repairing the tiniest of cogs. One of the workers spotted Athemar and rushed behind a curtain. A few moments later, a huge man emerged, chuckling heartily.
"I was starting to wonder when I'd see you again, lad. You've done me a fine honour with those shields, but I hope you're not here for repairs." Athemar grinned.
"As complicated as these things are, I would come here for maintenance every day if you weren't so damned far. No, we need upgrades, McDunnall. I'll tell you why, but it's kinda sensitive information." McDunnall hesitated, then nodded.
"Aye, we can do yer upgrades. I'll need to inform anyone who works on them as to why though. Me own personal rule is to make sure my workers always make informed choices."
"That's fair. If you think it'd keep them safer you can tell the whole crew, but I think they're a brave lot, so the fewer that know, the better." Athemar smiled gently.
"Aye then, follow me. We have a conference room in the back." McDunnall nodded to the group and ushered them through a thick fabric curtain. Once they had entered the large, padded room, he sat at a long table and motioned for the others to do the same.
"What's this about danger then?" He asked interestedly. Athemar spoke up.
"We encountered a strange type of creature in the woods that appears to be made entirely of corrupted data. We fought off two of them but were forced to flee from the third. They all had different forms and capabilities and seemed to come from a huge black fissure. They even spread a trail of black dust when they moved that looked like it was eating away at the land. The king is sending soldiers to see what they can do about it, but we're going to need to improve our weapons so that we stand a better chance when we fight them again." McDunnall looked worried and scratched his chin.
"If even you brave folks struggled against just three, I shudder to think what they can do to us regular flock. Is there anything you can tell me that might suggest the kind of improvements that would work?"
"We know little about them, but although they appeared to be made of data, we could still harm them by hitting them. One was aggressive and like a bear, the other was passive but sturdy and shapeless. If we could make the weapons lighter and more effective at the same time, that should be good enough. We need to improve our endurance when fighting, but we also need to be able to damage them more once we have the chance." McDunnall appeared perplexed.
"Lighter but also more effective? Do you realise what you're asking? We might have Chronosteel here, but weapons are still weapons! The more weight you take out of something, the less weight you can use to hit something else. Making any edges sharper should reduce some weight and improve the effectiveness a little, but nowhere near the extent you need, and even that will reduce their lifespan."
"With respect, sir, Excalibur is both incredibly light and incredibly effective." Gawain chimed in.
"Aye, but Excalibur's a holy bleedin' relic!" McDunnall grew red in the face, but after cooling off muttered: "Ah, but I s'pose you have a point. I doubt the real excalibur was ever anything like that. So there must be somethin' within the code of this world that allows materials to be modified like that. Do you mind if I take a look for a sec?" Gawain looked hesitant, but relented quickly and handed over the sword. "I'm always astounded by its quality. I can't see anything special besides the quality though." McDunnall turned it over in his hands. "It is extraordinarily thin. 1050 steel, pattern welded. Heat treated to 337 Celsius. It is etched, that's good. Brass crossguard, same with pommel. Hold on, what's this? The edge is shining more than usual. Is that silver? No, can't be. That would be ridiculous. Not to mention impossible." he flicked the blade, first on the flat then on the edge. "Whatever it is, that material is less dense, almost like glass. I don't think it's brittle though. I'll speak with my materials provider to see if he knows what this is. If that's okay with you? I'm sure that whatever this is, it's the key to Excalibur's strength." Gawain stepped forward with a pained look on his face. He slowly, jerkily turned to face the wall.
"If it will help us beat those things, do what you have to do." Athemar and Sylvia comforted him until McDunnall arrived with a thin man in tow. Gawain shot up immediately and practically wrestled Excalibur out of the man's hands.
"So, what did you find?" Athemar asked.
"We think - and the emphasis is on think - that it's an alloy of some kind. Probably including Chronosteel. I hope it's not with silver, because that would be a pain in the arse, but that's what it looks like right now. Gawain, you'll be pleased to hear that we don't need to keep Excalibur because we took detailed images, but the bad news is, it'll take upwards of a week to figure this out. We will also need you to bring Excalibur back once we have something so we can compare physical properties." The materials provider stood nodding meekly. After a few seconds, he started. Suddenly realising something, he ran back behind the curtain. He called out to them:
"Chronosteel is closest to copper, but has strength beyond steel. We use the same techniques with it as we do copper. Copper alloys easily with various bright metals. This might not even be that complicated." McDunnall turned back to the group.
"As easy as he makes it sound, it'll still take a couple of days to synthesize anything of the necessary quality and test it. And that's if we get the combination right first time. Go relax, and we'll send a messenger when we have something for you."
"We need them immediately." Nathan complained. "These things are dangerous, and the longer we take to start fighting them again, the more people die!"
"I understand that, lad, but we need time to get the material right, and if we don't get it right, you lot might be the ones to die. If you're really itching to do something, try training harder. Just upgrades probably ain't gonna give you the edge you need." Nathan pondered that for a moment.
"Okay, I'll put our training regimen together then. I know how to go hard, and it was my strikes that put the creatures away." Sylvia chuckled at this.
"Are you sure you know how to go hard? You were the one who nearly collapsed in our race!"
"And yet I wore you out in a fight - and then landed two killing blows against the monsters. If your stamina's really so good, maybe I need to teach you how to fight more efficiently, huh?" Sylvia's jaw hung open, then snapped shut. She wasn't used to losing a bragging match, but there wasn't anything else she could use against him. McDunnall chortled and walked out through the curtain.
"I'll see you folks next time. I trust you can let yourselves out."