The Bathrobe Knight: Volume 2 by Charles Dean Read Free Book Online Page A

Kass laughed as she sipped her coffee again. She wasn’t fully awake, but the caffeine was definitely starting to kick in.
                  “Sorry, sweetheart, I have to get back to work. After everything that's gone on lately, things are really starting to get a little hectic and pile up again.” He took another sip of his coffee and stood up. “Someone in the fight went around casting a petrification spell that was way more powerful than anything a player in the game should have access to at the moment. We had to dedicate a ton of time and resources to try and fix the problems it created.”
                  “Wait, a petrification spell?” Kass almost spit out her coffee at that little bit of news. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a Gorgon?”
                  “No," Robert shook his head with a small laugh. "It was definitely a petrify spell, but whoever cast it used such an advanced version that it permanently froze NPCs and turned players to stone for a full twelve hours.” Robert was doing the best he could to grab his coat and pour his coffee into a travel mug at the same time as he began moving around the kitchen. “Even the hardest bosses in the game shouldn’t be capable of freezing a player for more than a few hours; and, even then, they can be countered with high level magic. Those spells don't even last longer than a three- or four-hour timer when used on players.”
                  Wait, Stephanie was the one who froze everyone. Isn’t she a Gorgon? Why would she need to use class-based magic? Kass’s brain scrambled for a second. “Are you sure it wasn’t a Gorgon?” she asked again.
                  Robert stopped moving about getting ready and looked at his daughter questioningly. "Yeah, I'm almost positive. Why would there be a Gorgon? Oh, don't get me wrong, they're in the game alright, but only much later on. How would it get to the starter islands and just happen to show up at the moment that huge fight broke out?"
                  “Just . . . Just call it a hunch and look into it for me. Please.”
                  "I'll . . . See what I can find out." Robert promised, but he still looked curious. "I'm supposed to have a meeting with the illustrious Grand Poobah Charles this afternoon, but I'll try and work in some time to check it out afterwards. The last thing I need is to be late for my first private meeting with the mysterious owner of several multi-billion dollar corporations and have it be under bad circumstances. Not very many people have ever had the chance at a private meeting, and, even then, they wouldn't say much about what was discussed. It's almost like it was a very taboo, clandestine meeting or something.”
                  “Wow, and you want me to sign up and work for him?” Kass laughed at the horribly cliché TV boss figure.
                  “Well, the dental is pretty good," Robert flashed a big smile showing lots of teeth to prove his point as he reached for the doorknob on his way out. "Not to mention, you’d have the best carpool buddy, and he comes pre-equipped with all the cool dad jokes.”
                  "Yeah, okay, Dad, whatever you say."
                  Robert had just begun to turn the handle he was holding and leave when there came an abrupt knocking from the outside of the very door he was about to open. He paused, clearly shocked and uncertain about the unexpected surprise.
                  Her attention turning to the door, Kass suddenly realized that the sunlight which normally filtered into the kitchen through the opaque curtain hanging over the window was blocked out almost entirely by a shadowy form.
                  Robert cautiously opened the door halfway before saying, "Yes? Hello?"
                  Kass couldn't see who was behind the door since her father blocked her view, and it