Erebos Read Online Free PDF Page B

fifth step it rolled slightly to the right. Nick only just got his figure to safety with a daring jump.
    The beam of light was stronger than before, and it was flickering. Straight in front of Nick was a tiny forest clearing, in the middle of which a fire was burning. A solitary man sat before it and stared into the flames. Nick released the mouse button, and Nameless immediately stood still.
    The man by the fire didn’t move. He wasn’t carrying any weapons Nick could see, but that didn’t mean anything. He could be a mage, as his long black cloak seemed to indicate. Perhaps clicking on the character would reveal more. Nick’s cursor had hardly touched the man when he lifted his head, revealing a narrow face with a very small mouth. A dialogue box opened at the same time at the bottom of the screen.
    â€˜Greetings, nameless one.’ The silver-grey letters stood out against the black background. ‘You were quick.’
    Nick took his figure closer to him, but the man didn’t react; he only pushed the pieces of burning wood in his campfire together with a long branch. Nick was disappointed; He’d finally encountered someone in this forsaken forest, and all he got was a meagre greeting.
    It was only when Nick spotted the blinking cursor on the next line in the window that he understood he was expected to answer. ‘And greetings to you too,’ he typed.
    The man in the black cloak nodded. ‘It was a good idea to climb up the tree. Not many nameless travellers have been so resourceful. You are a great hope for Erebos.’
    â€˜Thanks,’ Nick typed in.
    â€˜Do you wish to proceed?’ The man’s small mouth twisted into an expectant smile.
    Nick wanted to type in ‘Sure!’ but his counterpart wasn’t finished yet.
    â€˜Only if you ally yourself with Erebos will you be any match for this game. That is something you should know.’
    â€˜All right,’ Nick answered.
    The man lowered his head and poked his stick deep in the embers of his campfire. Sparks flew up. That looks real, it looks so real.
    Nick waited, but his counterpart didn’t make any move to continue the conversation. Presumably he’d already reeled off all the text assigned to him.
    Curious to see whether he would react if Nick addressed him of his own accord, he typed ‘p#434<3xxq0jolk-    He’s looking me straight in the eye, Nick thought, and suppressed his unease. He’s looking at me as if he can see right through the screen.
    Finally the man turned back to his fire.
    Only now did Nick notice that music was playing softly – an intricate but insistent melody that was oddly moving.
    â€˜Who are you?’ he typed in his text box.
    Naturally there was no answer. The man simply put his head to one side, as if he needed to think. However a few seconds later, to Nick’s surprise, words appeared in the dialogue window.
    â€˜I am a dead man.’ Again he looked at Nick, as if he wanted to test the effect of his words. ‘Just a dead man. You, on the other hand, are alive. Nameless, admittedly, but not for much longer. Soon you will be able to choose a name, a vocation, and a new life.’
    Nick’s fingers slipped from the keyboard. That was unusual – no, it was scary. The game had given a meaningful answer to a random question.
    Maybe it was a coincidence.
    â€˜Dead people don’t usually talk,’ he typed in, and leaned back in his chair. That wasn’t a question as much as an objection. The man by the fire wouldn’t have any appropriate response programmed in for that.
    â€˜You’re right. That’s the power of Erebos.’ He held the stick into the flames and drew it out again, alight.
    Even though he didn’t want to admit it, Nick felt alarmed. He checked whether his computer was offline, or