Episode 13: The Fourth Circle
"Mmm, these gnome meat sandwiches are really good. Leaves a bit of a greasy taste though," Nexii commented. Now that she was back in the boat, away from the foggy air, it was easier to recollect her thoughts. It was hard for her to remember the fine details of the Third Circle, but the lessons of the sins of apathy and ignorance were ones she wouldn't forget.
"Wash it down with some Fuzzlecutter Formula 5000." Sirken offered her a clear bottle filled with pink liquid. "It's super effective...I mean enduring."
"Ahh, much better. And this? Jumjum pie? I thought that was contraband." Nexii commented.
"It is, but you're worth it." Sirken said.
"Pssh. Don't get all mushy on me. You know I'm not into romance." Nexii sat cross-legged by the Jumjum pie. She took a bite and shivered. It was incredibly sweet, much unlike any drow cuisine.
"We're making good time, but we must get on to the next Circle." Sirken said, motioning for Braknar to continue on. The Styx flowed onward and deeper, and began to widen as they arrived at the base of a wide stone corridor. The corridor was lined with torches on each side. As they got closer the din of shouting could be overheard. As if hundreds of voices were expressing their desires for the world to hear.
"This place looks to me like...a replica of EC tunnel?" Nexii guessed.
"Correct. Braknar, we'll get off here. Miss Nexii, this is the Fourth Circle. You might have guessed already but this Circle is for players who have committed the sin of Greed." Sirken got out of the boat and stood at the tunnel entrance. "Unlike the Third Circle, whose players have the desire to simply play, players here have the desire to simply acquire wealth. They never see the world outside the EC tunnel, so we found it adequate to keep this Circle simple and just include the tunnel."
"I see many low level players here. And...ah! It's kind of loud?" She held her ears with her hands, trying to filter out the overwhelming sound of auction chat. "Ah...much better." After muting auction, she made her way down the tunnel. Here she could see all the reknowned EC tunnel rats. Arleigh, the trader formerly known as Stockmarket, offering every piece of jewellry one could imagine. There was Sprawls, selling Velious junk gems for outrageous prices. Other famous buy and sellers lined the tunnel walls as well: Blackmarket, Fedex, Warrenbuffet. One arbitrage expert named Kauh seemed to have more platinum around him than all the rest. "So what's their punishment?" Nexii asked.
"I thought you'd never ask. We prefer to keep the punishments as simple as possible. We simply turned buffs off in this zone. Without SOW or Selo's, these avaricious souls cannot move. They must suffer the encumberance of their own greed, and stay in place. Although many may think this isn't so bad, remember that only these players trading accounts have been banished." Sirken pointed out.
"Mmm, it's pretty fitting...and watching them suffer the weight of platinum is pretty hot. Not one of them would ever drop a single platinum piece either. I gotta say, I never cared much for tunnel rats. They always drove up the prices of items." As she made her way to the Shady Swashbuckler, she was surprised to see some tagged toons in addition to the traders. "<Dial a Port>? Really? I thought everyone liked the convenience."
"Anyone who would sell their tag in the sole search of platinum deserves to be here."
"Mmm, but...but?" Nexii felt a bit uneasy, realizing that she'd tagged <Aftermath> in the sole search for pixels. "I suppose I don't platinum farm though. I've always been lucky and just won everything I ever wanted. So I'm safe right?"
"We will see. Items are not platinum, however." Sirken said flatly. He knew that the dangers and punishments ahead only would become more disturbing and severe. But both knew they had to continue on.