Klavn's Gate

Why did Zak let his friends talk him into going? Klavn’s Gate didn’t interest him. His friends took all the good roles and left him with no powers at all or as a non-playable character serving or supporting one of their characters. Just once he would like to be an elf, or cleric, that would be an upgrade. Mike was always the warrior priest, Sean was always a wizard.

“I don’t see any open tables. Guess we gotta go,” Zak said.

Mike and Sean pointed to a table at the back of the room. Great, he’d have to stay and play the damn game. The hall was crowded and the space between the tables was tight. It took time to get to the table and the tournament started as they walked back. They sat down and pulled out their laptops, notebooks, pens, game controller, and dice. But Zak hoped they would be too far behind to get into gameplay. They weren’t.

The green light glowing above Zak distracted him. He couldn’t focus. Something about the green glowing Klavn’s Gate symbol made him nervous. “Guys, I think—”

Mike interrupted. “We’ve got to login as our characters and get started. We’re already behind.”

Tonight would be different. He’d stand up for himself, get a better role. There were so many possible characters, the slayer, gnomes, fighters, thieves, dragons, outcasts, bounty hunters. He’d never managed to get any of those roles, not even the outcast.

Zak stood his ground. “Either I’m the Slayer, or I’m outta here. Not negotiable.” He crossed his arms and refused to open his laptop until they agreed.

“You’ve never been the Slayer before. You can’t handle it,” Sean said.

“You heard me. Either I’m the Slayer or—”

“You can’t be the Slayer. Even if we agreed to let you. Remember, we had to give our roles on the registration form. You agreed to be our support. Besides, we don’t need to worry, I’ve positioned us to win,” Mike said.

“What do you mean, you’ve positioned us to win? What did you do?” Zak asked.

Mike laughed. “Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t involve you. C’mon we gotta get started. Boot your laptop.

Zak didn’t like what Mike inferred. He had a bad feeling. “Fine, I’ll play, but this is the last game I’m playing as a support character.”

With the roll of the dice, the game began. Mike and Sean cast spells, Anthony, Jon, and Colin blocked and fought. Weapons were drawn. Zak just sat, slumped in his chair when he saw the game light flash. What did that mean?

“Guys. Guys. The game light is flashing. That means something is going to happen. Pay attention.”

His friends stopped and stared at him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Mike pointed to the logo. “Nothing’s flashing.”

Zak couldn’t believe it. The sign just glowed a bright green. He must be seeing things. Secretly he hoped something would happen. “I know I saw it flashing.”

The guys went back to playing the game, Zak just sat there. “You don’t need me yet. I’ll be right back.”

Before he stood, Mike cast his next spell. At the same time, the room went completely dark except for the glowing Klavn’s Gate logo. Zak pushed back from the table to see what happened.

The green glow from Klavn’s Gate cast an eerie shadow over the room. Zak couldn’t believe what he saw. The room was empty. Mostly empty. Only he and his friends remained.

“What the hell’s going on?” Zak asked Mike. “What did you do?”

“It wasn’t me,” Mike replied.

“Yeah, right. You said you have it covered. Positioned us to win. Is this what you planned. A blackout?”

“I said, it wasn’t me.”

“Well, if it wasn’t you, then great. The power’s out.”

Not only did he have nothing to do in the game, now he was stuck sitting in the dark. But if the power went out, how did that damn logo continue to glow. Something was wrong.

Zak turned to his friends. “We’ve got to get out of here. Something’s wrong. If the power’s out, then how is the Klavn’s Gate logo still glowing?”

Each noise caused them to jerk looking for something, someone. Zak’s stomach clenched. Sweat rolled down his face, his heart beat faster, and hands shook.

Laughter echoed around them. A deep, gravelly voice said, “You have entered Klavn’s Gate.”