There were gasps all around the cave, from everyone except Varian. He stared at me with an unreadable expression.

"Keli!" Brecki scolded, astounded by my callousness. I waved her off.

"You had no right to summon us with out asking us first." I snapped at Varian, jabbing a finger in his direction.

"There was no way to communicate with you," the king replied. "And I didn't know who the patch would bring."

"Well, that makes it all better," I snarled, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Look, I know it wasn't fair to you, but it was the only chance I have."

"And what about our chances?" I retorted. "What are our chances, your Majesty?"

Varian winced, but replied, "If all goes to plan, we'll all be back in the real world by next Tuesday."

"If all goes to plan." I closed my eyes. I didn't even have the energy to argue any more. Falling into a pit of despair, I slid back down the cave wall to sit next to Brecki.

"Why Tuesday?" Tori asked.

Varian answered her, but I could still feel his gaze on me. "I have a plan, but it requires another patch to succeed. And Blizzard installs its patches on Tuesdays."

"What makes you think there will be a patch next week?" Brecki asked.

Varian hesitated. "Because this last patch had some... problems. Blizzard will be trying to tweak the bugs next week with a supplemental patch."

I opened my eyes. Varian was still looking at me. "What aren't you telling us?"

The king shot me a grin and for just an instant I saw the handsome computer mind he must have once been. "Because I bugged the main patch. I made sure that there would be problems for Blizzard to solve."

I closed my eyes again. There was a long moment. I'm not sure why everyone was waiting for me. Finally, I sighed. "What do we need to do?"

I could have sworn I heard a sigh of relief from Varian, but when I opened my eyes, he was all business. "The patch that Blizzard releases next Tuesday will provide the road for us all to get back to the real world, but we'll need a… vehicle to pass through the gate."

"What kind of vehicle?" Vrand asked, all of us frowning as we listened.

"A very special one. The pieces for it are new, introduced in the last patch – yes, my doing –" he added before I could ask. "You just have to get the pieces and put it together."

"What exactly is it that we are making?" Tori asked. "A car?"

Varian shook his head, "No, a mount. A very special mount. More specifically, these pieces will allow you to make the tackle for the mount. Special reins will allow it to make it through the gate. And an epic saddle will allow us all to ride it."

It made sense. Short and sweet. Or so I thought.

"Where do we find these pieces?" I asked. To my dismay, Varian shook his head.

"I don't know."

"What?" I half stood again before Brecki held me down. "You said you programmed them."

Varian nodded. "But you were right earlier when you said I'm just a mob. I don't know more than my programming. I have set it up as a quest that you are all capable of doing. That is the best I could do within the foundations of the game."

There was a small silence. Tori asked, "Can you give us any clues? Any at all? What do these things look like? How many are there?"

Varian nodded and looked relieved. I have a feeling he couldn't give us the information until we asked for it. "There are five items. You'll know them when you see them... I hope. The only other thing I can tell you is that each item represents a different spirit of the world."

"I beg your pardon?" I asked.

Varian shook his head and said, "The elements. Each item is made up of a different element."

"I thought there are only four elements?" Vrand asked. "You said there were five items?"

Varian shrugged, "I don't know how the fifth item works. You'll have to figure that out yourself."

"So, these items will be in areas fitting their element?" I asked. "The water-based item will be in a sea or some water-based area?"

Varian nodded and took a deep breath. "Yes. Exactly. Will you find them?"

A pause. "We'll do our best," Tori promised. "How long do we have?"

Varian glanced at all of us for a long moment, then replied, "You must find all the items, piece them together into the reins and saddle, and then come get me. I can show you where the gate is. We must be at that gate, waiting by Tuesday morning."

"And what happens if we can't do all that in five days?" I asked, already dreading the answer.

The king's voice turned foreboding. "There will not be another gate patch. This is our only chance."