We were interrupted when someone strode briskly across the room toward us. She was only a little shorter than me, with dark red, shoulder-length hair, tan slacks, and a matching open jacket. An FBI badge hung from a lanyard around her neck over a light blue shirt. A quick REVEAL STATS told me she was a Fire Mage named Blaze. Late twenties, maybe. And clearly not happy.

  “Chief. Sheriff.” She didn’t slow down. “Why is there a costume party happening here?” Then she turned directly to me. “And what the hell is a Mana Mage? How the hell are you level six?”

  Judging by the shocked looks on the men’s faces, I guessed they hadn’t believed half of what I’d told them. Maybe now they would.

  Once she got close enough, I could see her badge. “Fire Mage Blaze…or should I say, Agent Hanna Pozarkova? I’m William Bannister. Or as you saw, William of Brinsford. You’re the first person I’ve met who took REVEAL STATS. In your line of work, it’s going to be essential. A Mana Mage focuses on MANA-based spells. Most mages avoid them. They burn through MANA like jet fuel, and once you’re empty, you’re basically a squishy bystander.”

  She gave me a short nod. “That still doesn’t explain the level, Mr. Bannister.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” I agreed. “Turns out, I’m the first Mana Mage in the game. I didn’t even know that was a thing until I finished character creation. Got a five-level bonus and a few other perks. If every new class or race gets a ‘First’ title, like first class, first race, maybe even non-human, there might be a few dozen of us worldwide. Most won’t be gamers. Even with the head start, they won’t last long.”

  She digested that, eyes narrowing, then nodded again. “Why are you here? How did you get in?”

  “Wild Bill over there brought us,” I said, jerking a thumb at the glowering man whose fist was still holding the spent bullets. “I convinced him magic was real. After a SWAT sergeant unloaded nine, 9 mils into my shield and it held, he figured the higher-ups should know. He’s still holding them.”

  Gesturing towards my team, I added. “I’m a long-time gamer. RPGs and most other games. I’ve got a solid guess what’s coming next. I heard the fed report saying to find gamers. So…we just got here ahead of it.”

  Pointing at each of them in turn, I introduced “Bhaarrt, half-Ogre Tank. Ingrid, Valkyrie Healer, level two, and Bhaarrt’s wife. Shadow’s our Ninja. She’s very good at not being seen.”

  “I noticed,” Blaze said. “She was standing on the what had been an empty desk when I saw her. That’s why I followed. Can you actually use that Spanish cup-hilt rapier you’re wearing?”

  “Yeah. Twenty plus years of SCA fighting. Heavy, light, plus western martial arts. I know a thing or three.” “If she recognized the blade type, she knew enough to be dangerous. I liked her already”.

  “Okay then, expert.” She crossed her arms. “How do we fix this?”

  “I don’t know if we can,” I said honestly. “This thing might last years. Generations. Maybe it’s permanent. In the short term, if I’m right, and if monsters start spawning in the next few hours, we’ll need parties, or organized teams to handle them and level up before the big ones arrive.”

  Pausing to let that sink in, I went on. “If everyone does their own thing, it’s chaos. But if government agencies support it, we direct the response. Send parties to where they’re needed. That means fewer dead civilians.”

  “At level ten, Mages unlock WARD spells. The rules say WARDs can prevent monster spawns. That only makes sense if spawns are coming. So, we need high-level mages who can create safe zones. That takes time. Days…maybe weeks. I don't know how long.”

  Finally, I ran out of steam and looked around, giving someone else a chance to jump in.

  Sheriff Harper was first. “Agent Pozarkova, I’ve known Will for years. Always been straight with me. I’ve seen him fight. He knows how to use that sword, and apparently magic now too. He told me regular law enforcement policies won’t cut it against monsters, and people won’t follow laws once they get power. He’s probably right. I say we give him a chance. Half an idea is better than none.”

  “Mr. Bannister,” said Chief Brown, speaking for the first time, “How do you plan to keep these parties of yours from breaking the law? Who’s going to keep them in check? Sounds like a setup for vigilantes.”

  “Bhaarrt know. Put cop in party. XP good too. Cop level up,” Bhaarrt rumbled.

  [William of Brinsford:] [PARTY] [Thank you, Bhaarrt. I didn’t want to be the only one talking. Good idea.]

  The three officers looked thoughtful. I couldn’t tell if the fourth guy was going to pop a blood vessel. I still didn’t know who he was or why he was here.

  “Bhaarrt’s right,” I said. “If an officer is part of a party, they’ll level up too. And they can make sure nobody’s stepping too far outside the law.”

  Turning again to face the group, locking eyes with each officer in turn, “You’ll also be able to locate spawns early. Dispatch can prioritize parties that’ve proven themselves trustworthy. Work with us, and you’ll get more help than anyone else. You’ll want campus police looped in as well. The university and their students are going to be important in dealing with this.”

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  The sheriff and chief were nodding. Pozarkova, though? Her expression gave away nothing. “Note to self: don’t play poker with her.”

  “So,” Chief Brown asked quietly, “You plan on breaking the law?”

  “I expect it to happen,” I said flatly. “If something, or someone, tries to kill me or other people, I’ll stop them. That might mean killing. So yes, I will if needed. My goal is to protect as many people as I can. Isn’t that what you signed up for?”

  I looked him dead in the eye. “I’m not asking for badges. I’m asking for space to do what needs doing. Let us get good at this. That’s all.”

  “Chief,” Pozarkova broke in, “Bannister’s right. I read the spell. Level ten Mages get WARD spells. They stop magic and prevent creature spawns. Costs 250 mana, covers a three-meter circle for an hour. Area and duration scale with level. Bannister has 185 mana at level six. The spells don’t overlap, which sucks. But every level doubles the area. We’ll need multiple high-level mages, probably level 20 or more, to cover this town.”

  “Once we find the spawn points, a low-level WARD can lock them down. One hour at a time, sure, but it’ll buy us time.” I said.

  “Y’all don’t gotta do that,” Shadow said, her soft voice startling everyone. “Once y’all know where and when, jest sit people there to kill ’em. Noobs level fast. Easy kills.”

  The cops all blinked, surprised she’d spoken. I think they’d forgotten she was there. Ninja perks, maybe. I think they’d stopped seeing her.

  “Damn right. I forget she’s even there sometimes.”

  She’s short, female, and dressed in all black. Or maybe it’s a Ninja ability that if you stop paying attention to them, they get hard to notice. “I’ll have to fully read through the class sometime,” I decided.

  [William of Brinsford:] [PARTY] [Great idea, Shadow. Better than mine.]

  [Urako Sarutobi:] [PARTY] [Thnx]

  “Thank you for the suggestion, uh…” Sheriff Harper began.

  “Shadow,” I said. “She’s Shadow.”

  “Right. Sorry. Shadow. Sorry, I forgot your name. That might actually work. Gets people trained up and busy. We spend a lot on officer training. Why not train you player types too?”

  “Why not you too, Sheriff?” I asked. “You’ll need to level up just to keep up. We’ve got a little time, but not much. If this plan fails, try another. But standing around arguing about who’s in charge? That gets people killed.”

  “The government decides,” Hitchcock finally snapped. He'd come over when I wasn't paying attention to him. “You and your freak show can butt out! I never should’ve brought you in. That ‘magic trick’ endangered a woman’s life. You belong in jail!”

  “What if I say no?” I asked. “Assuming you have the authority. No name tag, just a badge, and a uniform. You gonna shoot me? You’re still holding those bullets, right? You’re holding the proof that won’t work anymore.”

  Chief Brown stepped between us, arms out. “Enough. Both of you. Stand down. Nobody’s shooting anyone. The government told us to find people like him. I don’t like it. But if this is real, we need him. Agent Pozarkova confirmed his level and class. We’re gonna need that ability in every officer. We have to know what we’re dealing with.”

  Then he turned to me. “Hitchcock is law enforcement, just not local. He’s here on business I can’t talk about and offered to help. The uniform makes blending in easier. Don’t press him. He has a job to do. Understood?”

  I held his gaze for a moment…then nodded.

  Chief Brown turned back to Hitchcock. “And you. This situation is bigger than your mandate. If we can still handle it, we will. But this is bigger than anything except world wars, and we might end up there too. We’re going to need people like them. If you can’t help, go back to Washington and have them send someone who can.”

  Washington, I thought. Federal agent, maybe Federal Marshal? I didn’t say anything. Just watched.

  Hitchcock deflated a little. “Yes, Chief. I understand. I’ll check in and see what my people want me to do.”

  “Good enough.” He glanced up over his shoulder and further up at Bhaarrt. “No matter how strange they are. If Bannister’s right, and I’m starting to believe he is, we need him and others like him and his friends. We’re gonna have to find out how to use people like them to do our job. Got it?” He put his hands on his hips and stared at him like he had at me.

  [Urako Sarutobi:] [PARTY] [sumthin goin down outside the door. people by door lookin out. 1 went out.]

  Bhaarrt, Ingrid and I all turned toward the hallway.

  [William of Brinsford:] [PARTY] [Disappear and see what’s up. Let us know in chat. Recon only. Ingrid, Bhaarrt, go support Shadow. I’ll follow.]

  [Ingrid:] [PARTY] [Got it.]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [PARTY] [Bhaarrt get to smash?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [PARTY] [Hope not. Try not to kill anyone. Protect Ingrid and Shadow.]

  Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [PARTY] [Roger that.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [PARTY] [Ingrid, if things go bad, triage. Save some heals for civvies. Bhaarrt and I can take hits.]

  [Ingrid:] [PARTY] [On it. Done triage before.]

  [Urako Sarutobi:] [PARTY] [don’t see nuthin’ yet. people in way. got quiet out there.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [PARTY] [Keep me posted.]

  [Urako Sarutobi:] [PARTY] [k]

  “Bannister,” Sheriff Harper asked, “you went quiet and looked like you were elsewhere. Then the others left. Why?”

  “Shadow noticed something outside. I sent her to check. Ingrid and Bhaarrt are backing her up.”

  “How’d you do that?”

  “Party Chat. Mental messages and a sort of mini-map. Only works in parties. We’re still figuring it out.”

  “That could be very useful,” Pozarkova said. “Does it work outside your party?”

  “Maybe. Haven’t tested it yet. Party limit’s five. If there’s a Raid system, maybe there’s Raid Chat too. Something to investigate.”

  She nodded.

  I’d already shifted so I could see the doors. Good thing I did.

  Because that’s when they slammed open.

  Four shirtless men wearing skin-tight black pants, a black leather chest harness, and with black half-hoods over their faces entered. They were carrying a massive black rattan peacock chair on litter poles. Lounging regally on it was a woman straight out of a gothic fever dream, she wore tight black leather, a black half mask, and pale skin. Morticia Addams cosplay meets dominatrix.

  A cluster of blank-faced men and women followed her in like sheep. She toyed lazily with a multi-tailed whip.

  I cast REVEAL STATS.

  My gut dropped.

  “Oh shit! Madame Boudoir.”

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOdtY85UJGw