Holo Book 2 Excerpt – Backdoor

Morgan and Blake walked together through the cobbled streets, which they didn’t encounter until they got closer to the center. It seemed as though the city was entering a development stage in expansion, where they wanted to modernize the dirt roads. There were carts of stone and cutters in a zoned-off section, making sure each piece of stone could be easily laid in with another as a makeshift and imperfect puzzle that worked. It might be harder on the horses, but it would help keep the dust off of travelers.

“Blake, I was thinking,” Morgan started.

“About what?” he asked.

“What if Slade and Aubrey died? What if they are waiting for us to complete a sub-quest in order to re-spawn?” Morgan wondered. “What if the dragon got them?”

“Then we really need to get these bandits,” Blake said. “I’m sure this is just the sub-quest we’ve been looking for. If the burlong is the main one, anyway. I think it is. I don’t know. Maybe killing dragon is the main one?”

“Maybe the dragon doesn’t even matter at all. Maybe it’s just a distraction,” Morgan offered. Then she paused, lost in train of thought.

Blake prodded. “Morgan?”

“I was thinking. What if there was a way to hack into the HoloNet from here? Wouldn’t there have to be a safeguard access point in the event of programming corruption? Remember what Slade said about the programs not working correctly?” Morgan churned her thoughts out and Blake attempted to process them.