by Randy Nargi
But she wasn’t really worried. Pari had ridden back and forth between Rathenhall and Holgate dozens of times. Even as a healer, she could handle the mobs here—as long as she kept her wits about her and didn’t get swarmed. And, honestly, would it be so bad to die today? Maybe she would end up at the hotel with Iniya. Maybe they’d let the two of them start again together. She’d even play Star Rim Empire if it meant that she could be with her sister.
She sighed to herself. She couldn’t do that; she’d be letting everyone down. She’d be a failure. And it was stupid to think that she’d be able to reroll with Iniya. Even putting aside the responsibility she had to Lazarus and the gang, the timing wouldn’t work at all. No, Iniya was already on her way to whatever game she chose next. And maybe it was Greystrand. There was a chance that they’d see each other again. But it was a long shot.
After another hour, the Dark Tree started to thin, and the countryside opened up to gentle rolling hills and fields dotted with spring wildflowers. The road wound out of the forest and northeast along the banks of the Erslo River. Pari passed an old mill and waved to some men who were loading sacks of grain on to their cart beneath a gigantic willow which shaded the mill’s yard.
She road past more cultivated fields bordered by hedgerows with cottages and farmhouses in the distance and before long, caught a glimpse of the sight that greeted all travelers coming in from the south: the gilded dome of Holgate’s Library of Globes.
The town huddled next to the river; it wasn’t more than four narrow streets and a couple of dozen buildings, most of which were much less grand than the Library of Globes. But Holgate was buzzing with activity—especially today which was the first Monday of the month and the day when the newbies arrived.
They didn’t all arrive in Holgate. Out of the 250 or so new players that entered the game every month, some would show up here, others in Cotter’s Mill, and still others in Skelheim.
Ideally, Lazarus would have sent team members to the other starter towns to recruit, but there just wasn’t anyone left. The fellowship was down to the six of them: Pari and Mariel who were healers, Benet, a warrior, Sato, a guardian knight, Celia, a scout, Donagher, a battle mage, and Lazarus who was an enchanter as well as the leader of their fellowship. And today, everyone but her was at the Temple of Xyurn trying to find Tolman’s journal and next clue.
Normally, Celia and Benet did the recruiting for Wood and Silence. Celia was tall and beautiful with white-blonde hair and newbie guys would fall over themselves to talk to her. Likewise, Benet with his quarterback bod and French accent never failed to reel in the girls. He would strut around town in his high-end armor, looking like a real-life Lancelot, chatting happily to everyone he saw. He was definitely a natural.
Talking to strangers came a lot harder to Pari. Except NPCs, of course. But she was working on it. Maybe Lazarus was right; maybe this would be good for her.
Pari rode through Holgate, looking around. It seems like the newbies were starting to arrive already, which was a bit surprising because they normally started to appear at around noon.
She saw a bunch wandering around the town square, looking like lost children. Some were doing the typical stuff you do when you first enter a game world: jump off a building to see what it’s like to die, try to kill NPCs or steal from them, try to burn down a building. Basically, act like an asshole.
Lazarus called it “the first phase of immersion.” He said that even though the hotel was supposed to acclimate players to the paracosm, they didn’t really start to immerse until they arrived in Greystrand. And then they would test the boundaries. Just like a small child.
According to Lazarus, after a few hours of goofing around, most newbies would then enter the second phase of immersion. They’d embrace the fact that they were actually in a fantasy world, so they’d start acting like a part of this new world. But they’d also realize that they’re free of the restrictions of their old world. Kind of like when you leave home to go college and spend the whole first week partying and getting into trouble.
In fact, Lazarus had told her that the game designers anticipated this and actually removed a lot of the normal interpersonal restrictions on players—but just for the first night. So basically, all the newbies would spend their first night in Holgate getting drunk and having experimental sex with each other. Kind of like a frat party.
Pari didn’t want to have anything to do with that, so she avoided the inn altogether and rode through town to its northern outskirts. She made her way down a narrow country lane to a cute little two-story farmhouse with a brightly painted fence and a pristine front garden.
She dismounted and called out, “Lena?”
The door opened and a plump villager twice Pari’s age peeked her head out. Lena broke into a big grin at the sight of Pari.
“Pari, for heaven’s sake, I haven’t seen you for weeks.”
The two women hugged on the doorstep. Even though Lena was an NPC, she was also kind of a friend and Pari would try to stop by for a visit whenever she was in the area. Plus, Lena was a weaver and would often help Pari raise her textile crafting skill up a few points by showing her new techniques.
“Come in, come in,” Lena said. “I was just making some dandelion tea. May I offer you some?”
“That would be nice, thank you. But I can’t stay long. I’m here recruiting.”
“Oh yes, I’ve seen the newcomers already,” Lena said disapprovingly. “A bunch of troublemakers if you ask me. I had to lock all the sheep in the barn.”
Pari nodded. “Yes, it seems like each new group gets rowdier and rowdier. So I definitely don’t want to stay at the inn tonight and I was wondering if I could rent one of your upstairs rooms.”
“Of course, dear. Happy to have you. Go ahead and bring your horse down to the stables and by the time you get back, I’ll have our tea ready.”
As she tended to her horse, Pari decided not to tell Lena about Iniya’s death. She just didn’t feel like talking about it anymore—even to a well-meaning NPC.
She lugged her heavy saddlebags up to the room and stowed them behind the bed. They should be safe enough here. Lazarus had given her all sorts of gear she could use to bribe any suitable recruits to join the fellowship. She did make sure to fill her belt pouches with gems—just in case she needed some this afternoon. Most of the ordinary monetary transactions in the game were conducted with a magical ‘money bag,’ but everyone was impressed with gems—especially newbies.
Pari fixed her hair in the big oak-framed mirror in the upstairs hallway. She didn’t have to do much. Everyone’s appearance in the game was tweaked a little so you looked like the best version of yourself pretty much all the time. She wished she had that in the real world. It would save her a lot of time in the morning.
When Pari returned downstairs to Lena’s sitting room, she saw that the older woman was standing in front of hearth and sipping a mug of herbal tea.
“How’s the arthritis?” Pari asked.
Lena unconsciously rubbed the elbow of the arm holding her mug. “Oh, it’s fine I guess. Acts up in the mornings a bit when it’s damp out.”
“Let me take a look.”
“Oh, you don’t have to bother, dear. I know you’re busy with your recruiting and such.”
“No bother at all.” Pari moved closer to Lena and laid her hands upon her. She closed her eyes and focused on casting the treat disease spell. When she opened her eyes again Pari saw the little magical shimmer effect and heard the chime that indicated the spell was successful.
Lena smiled and flexed her arm. “You are a miracle worker, dear! It feels as good as new.”
“Keep eating that kale you grow. It’s good for inflammation,” Pari said. It was interesting how healing worked in Greystrand. Her treat disease spell would completely cure another player for good, but NPCs could only be cured for a few days, then their affliction would recur. Maybe it was because their ailments were programmed as part of their personalities.
After a half hour of visiting with Lena, drinking tea, and chatting about everything under the sun (except what had happened to Iniya), Pari said goodbye and set off for town.
She got within a hundred yards or so of the town square before encountering her first newbie.
:::::. Dieter Wiegel has invited you to spar (to the death). Accept? .:::::
He was a baby battle mage, and he was pulling a typical dumb newbie move: just throwing out a sparring invitation without bothering to talk to the person he wanted to spar with.
“No thanks,” Pari said.
“C’mon, why not?” he whined.
“I said, ‘no thanks.’” She glared at him.
“Well, about a screw then? Make love not war, right?”
“Beat it, you little perv!”
The newbie laughed and ran away.
Ugh. It was starting already.
She made her way into the square proper and started looking around. New characters would spawn in buildings all over town, but most would appear in the Keep if they were warriors—or the Henge if they were mages. That’s probably where she should start. As she walked across the square she randomly inspected the newbies she saw: warrior, guardian knight, guardian knight, healer, scout, healer, battle mage, enchanter, and…
:::::. Justin Boone. (Sage). Player, Level 1 .:::::
A sage!
He was a guy about her own age and not much taller than her. Tousled sandy colored hair and an intense expression on his face. Serious.
That was good. Serious was good. And a serious sage was even better. They had lost Tolman and his clue and now they didn’t have any sage—which was a big problem. Until another sage joined the fellowship, it would be almost impossible to make progress in finding the next clue to the Lance.
Lazarus had told her that finding a sage was her highest priority, but she didn’t actually think she’d see one here in Holgate. Only one out of a hundred players were assigned to be a sage, so every month only two or three max entered the game. And they were usually snapped up like candy by the fellowships. She needed to get on this.
Chapter Four
The beautiful Indian girl was staring at him. Justin was sure of it.
He had been standing at a weapon vendor’s stall, perusing an array of daggers laid out on a wooden plank that served as a countertop. When he glanced up, he had seen her looking at him. Now she was coming over.
Wow. She had long blue-black hair and full, lush lips. She had to be a player. From what he had heard of the game, Greystrand wasn’t supposed to be very culturally diverse. It had been designed as a fantasy medieval version of England, and the game designers thought they were being authentic, so no people of color. Except players.
“Don’t buy any weapons yet,” she said in a hushed voice that was kind of deep and husky.
“What?”
“You get much better weapons as quest rewards. Save your money. Trust me.” The corners of her mouth turned up in a half smile.
“Uh, okay.”
“Madame, I don’t appreciate you interfering with the customers!” the shopkeeper complained.
“Let’s get out of here,” the girl said.
She motioned for him to follow and led him to a side street off the town square.
“I’m Pari, by the way.”
“I’m Justin.”
“Nice to meet you, Justin.”
“Don’t you mean ‘well met?’”
“Ha, ha. No one really role-plays, so don’t worry about getting the lingo down.”
“That’s a relief. I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but are you an NPC or a player?”
“Didn’t they tell you how to check for that?” she asked.
“Yeah, but—”
“Then go for it. Nothing rude about inspecting someone. Besides, only you can see the overlay.”
“Good to know.”
He popped up an overlay on her.
:::::. Pari Kintala. (Healer). Player, Level 5 .:::::
“Whoa, you’re level 5,” he said. “That’s like halfway to max level.”
“Don’t be too impressed. I’m a brand new level 5. Just dinged last Friday. And I’m a February, so…”
“A what?”
“That’s what they call our group. I’ve been playing since February. You’re an April.”
Justin wasn’t exactly sure what she was talking about, but then she explained further.
“Most of us Februarys are level 5 now. The Januarys will hit level 6 next month. Lazarus is a January. He’s the leader of our fellowship.”
“Is that like a guild?”
“Yeah, that’s what they call them in Greystrand. We’re The Fellowship of Wood and Silence.”
“Wood and Silence? What does that mean?”
Pari shrugged. “I don’t know. I think Lazarus just thought it sounded cool. What about you? How do you like your first day in the game?”
“Well, it’s more like my first hour. And I think I pissed off my trainer really bad. He refused to give me any quests.”
She laughed. “Wow. I haven’t heard of that before. Did you try to kill him or something?”
“No. I didn’t do anything to him. He was giving me attitude the second I walked into the library.”
“You came from the Library of Globes?”
“Yeah.”
“Impressive. And you’re a sage. That’s cool.”
“Is it? I really wanted to be a battle mage.”
“No way. Much better to be a sage. You guys are rare.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re going to be the most popular guy in this entire town. Everyone’s going to want to hang with you.”
Was she serious? He still didn’t get what the big deal was.
“Anyway,” she said. “Your quest chain is going to start with Marshal Swart. You know where he is?”
Justin shook his head. “No clue. I told you, the library guy just shut me down.”
“That’s okay. I’ll show you. He’s at the training grounds. That’s where most people go after they’re done exploring the town. It’s not far. See that big building there? It’s on the south side.” Pari pointed down the street towards a massive stone structure that looked like a low castle.
Without even thinking about it, Justin somehow knew that the structure was called ‘the Keep,’ and it was an old fortress built upon the ruins of an even older Pycerian citadel. The Holgate town guard kept a small garrison there. Marshal Swart was the commander of the garrison.
“This is so freaky,” he said.
“What?”
“Things just pop into my head. Information. Like the names of things. Or where they came from. Does that ever happen to you?”
“Yeah, that’s either your knowledge or lore skill kicking in. My knowledge is pretty low, but sometimes I’ll be out in the forest and I’ll see some random berry and I’ll instantly know it’s good for menstrual cramps or something.”
“It’s so weird.”
“Yeah. You’ll get used to it. Every profession has some special abilities. Yours is knowing stuff. It’s a big one.”
They walked along the road to the Keep which had a fair number of other players on it. Justin didn’t feel so bad about inspecting people now that he knew he could do it without them knowing. Pari was right. Lots of mages and warriors, but not a single other sage.
“That’s Marshal Swart.” Pari pointed to a tall man in his 40s wearing armor and sporting an eye-patch.
“He certainly looks the part.”
“You’ll see that the game designers pay a lot of attention to detail here. C’mon.”
They walked over to the grizzled old soldier, who stared at Justin with his one good eye.
“We’ve bee
n waiting for you.”
“You have?”
The man nodded. “Don’t mind Desiderius. He hasn’t been himself since his top student was lost in Hell’s Gate. I’m glad you’re here. We could use your help, son.”
“Sure, I guess.”
“Follow me, then.”
Justin looked at Pari questioningly.
She said, “Go ahead. I’ll be hanging around here. Find me when you’re done, okay?” She smiled at him.
“Definitely,” he said.
“Have fun!”
As they walked, Marshal Swart asked, “What weapons do you wield? Just the sword?”
Justin had forgotten he even had a weapon. He patted the scabbard and wrapped his hand around the hilt.
“This is what I have.” He drew the sword and held it out in front of him. It was a plain-looking straight blade around two feel long, sharpened at both edges.
Swart nodded. “Training blade. That’s do fine for now, but we have much better in the armory.”
About a hundred yards behind the Keep, on the edge of the forest, were a series of rocky mounds ten feet tall and overgrown with weeds.
“Hold,” Swart said. “That’s their lair.”
“Whose lair?”
“Ratkins. A bloody nest of them.”
“I’m not familiar with ratkins—”
“I’m sure you’ve seen them in your travels, son. Little buggers. Half man, half rat. Vile creatures, dripping with disease. No?”
Justin had expected his knowledge skill would kick in, but it didn’t.
“Uh, we don’t have anything like that where I’m from.”
“Count yourself lucky, then. At night they get into the grain silos. Infect our foodstuffs with disease and pestilence. We have no idea where they’re coming from, but they need to be taken care of and you’re just the man for the job.”
