by Tom Larcombe
“It's not exactly my own choice, more like circumstances beyond my control,” Eddie said. “But right now I need to take care of some business of my own. Feel like a cart ride Jern? Sorry, but I don't know you well enough to leave you alone here at my farm. But you'll have lots more people to talk to where we're going, at least if you want to talk to them.”
Maybe if he's down here for a quest someone will get the information for it out of him. Better chance with lots of people talking to him, we'll just have to keep an ear out.
Jern took a step back.
“Lots of people? How many is that, and how many are dwarfs?”
“A hundred or so maybe? I haven't actually seen any dwarfs in that crowd though.”
“No dwarfs? Sure, I'll ride your cart,” Jern said, looking much happier now.
Well that's odd, there's a story there I bet, Eddie thought.
He loaded up his cart with produce, a dwarf, and a priestess. Then he hopped onto the seat and got the oxen moving down the road. Eddie decided that Tiana's interest had been piqued as well since she was asking Jern questions.
“So, what happened to you anyhow?” Tiana asked Jern. “How did you end up there with a broken leg?”
“Aye lass, it's an easy, short story. My family didn't want me out hunting orcs, said I was too young for it still. So I snuck out after acquiring myself some armor and weapons. I was doing just fine too, had already leveled twice hunting those green scum, but then I found a group of 'em.”
Jern went silent for a moment, but when Tiana started to ask a question he held up a hand for her to stay quiet.
“One on one I had no problems. I even took out a couple of pairs, but this time there were five of 'em. I managed to kill a couple, but was about to die myself, so I fled down the tunnels. Ended up going the wrong way and heading away from Hammer Hold. Got myself good and lost, but they were still following me. Finally I discovered that little ravine you found me in, nearly fell in head first before I saw it. Put my back to it and had decided to make a last stand.”
The dwarf flinched a bit when he came to this part of his story.
“I killed two more, but the last of 'em rushed me. He knocked me off my feet and into the ravine. That's the one whose body was down there with me. I barely survived and had been calling for help for quite some time when you two arrived.”
“Your family said you were too young?” Tiana asked, speaking the question that he'd silenced her on earlier.
“Aye, I'm only twenty-eight. In the Hammer Hold dwarfs reach their majority at thirty-five, but I didn't want to wait that long.”
“So what do you want to do?” Eddie asked. “Should we try to get you back to... Hammer Hold was it?”
“Aye, it was Hammer Hold, but I can't go back, not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I'll just have the same damned problem. They won't let me go out and do anything for years yet. I need to be more powerful before I return, if I get powerful enough they won't be able to naysay me my desires.”
Eddie grinned.
“Hey Tiana, weren't we saying we needed a tank?” he asked.
“Yeah, ask and ye shall receive I guess?”
“Jern, we aren't strong enough to go after orcs ourselves, but how do you feel about goblins?” Eddie said.
“Little green rodents. The orcs use them as slaves sometimes.”
“Would you like to help us kill a bunch of them? Might give you a chance to get some levels, grow more powerful, you know?”
The dwarf only considered the offer for a moment before accepting.
“I think that sounds like a grand plan. Just the three of us then? Plus your cat?”
“No, there are two more we planned on going with. They're off mapping the area right now,” Tiana said.
“When do we go then?” Jern asked.
“Either tomorrow or the day after. The devs... err the gods require something of me tonight, and possibly of one of the others that aren't here. Once they return us, then we'll be good to go. Shouldn't take more than one day at the most.”
“I said it before and I'll say it again, that type of thing never goes well. Watch out for yourself when dealing with the gods Eddie Hunter,” Jern lectured.
Eddie didn't even try to contain the smile at his words. Since he was facing away from Jern, he didn't think it mattered.
Adventuring with this guy is going to be like adventuring with a cross between a grandmother and one of those teenagers that's chafing at their parents' restrictions. Should be fun, or at least amusing, he thought.
The sales for the evening were right in line with what he'd been getting lately. Although he did find himself wondering if he wanted to keep cooking and selling the food.
If they're going to be paying me a grand a week, do I really need to keep doing this? he wondered.
The swarm of adventurers buying from him made the choice for him. He knew, intellectually, that they were just game avatars. They weren't going to starve or suffer at all if he stopped. But the eager, happy chatter that surrounded him when he was manning his food stall told him just what they thought about it.
Not really that many bad apples in the bunch. I mean the two we chased off and I'm sure there are others, but I haven't seen them here at least. Or maybe they just behave themselves when they're over here. Either way, I'll keep doing it. At least until I get the inn done. And thinking on that, I wonder how Paul is doing? He ought to be back in game by now. I'll send him a message before I log out for Aaron.
The evening passed uneventfully, Eddie pocketing a pile of copper and silver coins in the process. On the way back to the farm he sent off a private message to Paul, asking him how things were going. He also asked for a price quote on a blueprint for an inn since his new wages let him feel as though he could actually spend more of his in game money.
When they got back to the farm, Karl and Allie were already there. They introduced Jern, and Eddie took Karl aside, explaining what Aaron had told him.
“You say you actually read this contract?” Karl asked.
“Word for word. It's just what he said, maybe with a little Legalese mixed in, but it was still simple enough to get the gist of it.”
“Alright then, when he shows up I'll read through a copy myself, but if it's like you said, I'm in also.”
Aaron arrived about a half hour later, shimmering into being in the kitchen where Jern had been complaining about the beer.
“This stuff is orc piss compared to a good mushroom ale. If ever we go to Hammer Hold, I'll make sure you get to try a real drink,” he said.
Aaron cleared his throat and everyone but Jern jumped, he just kept on talking. Aaron motioned to Eddie and Karl and they followed him out into the main room.
“I've no idea why they programmed it so NPCs couldn't see someone with a dev flag, but it's funny as all shit from my side,” he said.
“Eddie told me you guys are offering a new contract?” Karl said, eagerly.
“Yeah, did he also tell you that you'll have to do more of what the normal players do? Adventuring, combat, that type of thing?”
Karl glanced sideways at Eddie.
“Nah, he didn't mention that part.”
Eddie shrugged.
“I figured it didn't matter. We're starting in on goblins tomorrow and if we want to find those two, then we'll probably be there for a bit, no?”
“True, but since this is for the long run, it would've been nice to know,” Karl said.
“Well, now you know,” Aaron added.
“Let me see the contract, I want to read it,” Karl said.
Aaron nodded and produced a contract and pen from his inventory. While Karl read it, Aaron prepared to log Eddie out. The actual log out button was still grayed out for Eddie, but Aaron said he could get around that now.
“I'll be back for your decision in a few minutes, Karl. I just need to get Eddie out of his pod so we can get baseline readings and make a few adjustments to the
pod itself.”
Aaron disappeared in a shimmer of light and a few moments later Eddie felt himself go light headed. He sat down in a chair quickly before everything went dark. A moment after that he felt himself horizontal and when he opened his eyes everything was black.
The blackness only lasted a few seconds before the hatch of the pod opened, showing him his surroundings. He was glad Aaron had warned him that they'd moved the pods, otherwise the unfamiliar warehouse style room he stepped out into, after all the attachments were removed, would've freaked him out.
Aaron, in a full VR suit with the helmet off, was standing right next to the pod, as was a privacy curtain on a rolling frame. There was a team of what looked like technicians standing there, equipment in hand.
“There should be a towel and robe hanging inside there,” Aaron said, gesturing towards the square curtain. “Get yourself decent, then I'll go check on Karl.”
Eddie toweled off. He hadn't realized that the inside of the pod would be that moist, but when he thought about it, dehydration was a potential problem so it made sense. He tossed on the robe and stepped out from behind the curtain. As soon as Aaron saw him, he slid the helmet back on.
Aaron wasn't doing anything at all, so Eddie looked around curiously. The warehouse-sized space was separated into multiple sections. Equipment and other pods lined the walls of the room. There were six pods here where he was. In another section of the room, there were five pods lined up against the wall in a row. The farthest corner from him held a good twenty pods arranged in rows.
The twenty pods were different than the rest, they looked larger somehow. The area between those pods was filled with equipment. Where the five rested, it just looked like monitors. The twenty pods had a lot of other things as well, things that looked like they might belong in a hospital in many cases.
Aaron's helmet was still on so Eddie started to walk, thinking he might need to stretch his legs. He paced towards the far corner, wondering about those pods. As he got closer he saw that they were all Mark Vs that had been modified heavily. Monitors that showed almost every type of vital sign were scattered amongst the pods here. These pods had a clear panel right over the face, he assumed that allowed people to not spend a few moments in blackness before they went under or got out of the pod.
Which would be nice, really.
He shivered a bit.
Because I'd prefer to not deal with anything that reminds me of that dream state. But a grand a week? I can handle a few seconds of darkness going in or coming out of the game for that kind of money. Plus I shouldn't be logging in and out that much at all, not with what they want me to do.
He'd been idly peering in through the panels on the pods, noting the utter relaxation that showed on the faces. Then he stopped dead and took a step back.
Tiana? I mean, she'd have been able to customize her avatar, unlike me, but this woman looks enough like Tiana to be her sister. Is this her and she just didn't do much customization or what?
Knowing that he had no way to get an answer, Eddie turned and walked back towards Aaron, who was just removing his helmet again. Another pod was opening just beyond Aaron and Eddie wasn't surprised in the slightest to see Karl step out of it. He was just as moist as Eddie had been coming out and stepped into another privacy setup on the other side of his pod.
While Karl made himself presentable, Eddie talked to Aaron.
“What are all the other pods in here?” he asked.
“Oh, I told you we had out own test group, right? They do thirty days in and one day out. They've been doing it constantly since before the game technically opened. That's those five pods over there,” Aaron said, gesturing.
“The cluster of pods in the back corner are all medical experiments. The pods can be tweaked to do a lot of different things medically, and we've got doctors that keep an eye on them all day long, checking readings, trying subtly different combinations of treatment. With all the readouts they can see exactly how the patients respond. We've got a line of medical devices that aren't full pod immersion that we've developed based on those tests. Pretty cool that a programmer can do almost as much as a doctor that way, right?”
“Uh... yeah sure, Aaron,” Eddie said. “But I thought you wanted baseline readings. Where's the doctor for that?”
“He's on his way. I told him as soon as you came out of the game. He'll probably be here before Karl's ready.”
As if it were a cue, a door on the wall of the room opened and a man in a white lab coat walked in. He went directly to Aaron.
“I thought you said two?” the man said.
“The other one is right there,” Aaron said, gesturing towards the privacy curtain.
“What, someone looking for me?” Karl called.
“The Doc's here for our baseline measurements,” Eddie called back.
Karl walked out from around the curtain, his hair still damp. He was still tying the belt around his robe.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Karl said. “I got a hot chick waiting for me back in game.”
Eddie cocked his head.
“You and Allie?” he asked.
Karl shrugged.
“Not yet, give it a little more time though and just maybe...”
The doctor shook his head at the two them.
“Ah, I see they're both still young, dumb, and full of cum,” he said.
“I resemble that remark,” Karl replied.
Aaron just sighed.
“Listen, the sooner we can get them back in for the duration the better, so can we get on with this?”
“Follow me,” the doctor said.
He led them back past the medical pods, to the corner there which resembled a normal doctor's office, but with only two walls. Eddie submitted to being poked, prodded, measured, and a variety of other indignities. Finally the doctor was done.
“They both look to be in decent health. Average anyhow for their age and generation. The long stay in the pod will do them good, I bet they both lose about twenty pounds and their muscles will tone up some with the setup you described to me. I'll give the authorization for them.”
“Thanks doc,” Eddie said. “Especially for being so quick. Karl isn't the only one with pleasant company waiting for him in game.”
“What?” Karl said, “you mean, you and Jern?”
He burst into laughter as Eddie scowled at him.
“Aaron, can we get back in game right away?”
“Yeah, I had the doctor stay so you wouldn't have to wait like normal. There shouldn't be any issues, technically you only have to be out of the pod for an hour before you readjust properly, then you can go back in. But a day just seemed much safer, in case there were those out there who wouldn't adjust as quickly.”
“Good, let's go then,” Eddie said.
He dropped the robe before climbing back in his pod. Aaron refilled a container near the head of it, then ran some checks on everything inside. Apparently the techs had finished their work. The pod looked slightly different but Eddie couldn't remember it well enough to see what had been changed. Karl's pod was still being worked on, but since two-thirds of the techs were already done and just watching, Eddie didn't think it would be too long.
He laid back down in the pod and Aaron started to close the lid, checking to make sure everything was going to land in the right place when it was fully closed. When he was satisfied, he looked at Eddie.
“See you in the game,” he said. “Don't forget, you need to do the stuff the rest of the adventurers do so we can get the appropriate readings.”
“I already told you, we'll be going adventuring tomorrow. Going to hit the goblins in the Forest of Fools.”
“Good,” Aaron said, “that's one of the more common low level zones for people to hit. There's a few assembly points for it scattered around its outside so there isn't normally a crowding issue either.”
Hey, I'll have to remember that. Sounds like that forest is even bigger than we knew, Eddie thought. I
wonder if there's a way to capitalize on that information?
Then he sunk into blackness for a moment before experiencing the log-in process again.
~ ~ ~
Chapter Twenty-three
Aaron stared eagerly at the log files he'd just set up. So far Eddie and Karl hadn't been doing that much, but they'd promised they were planning on adventuring today, so he was sure he just had to wait.
The head tech called him over for a moment, asking for clarification on one of the alterations they'd planned and Aaron found himself drawn into a conversation with the tech, debating exactly what these changes would mean for the game.
By the time that conversation was over and he checked the log files again he could see that the two men had entered the Forest of Fools already, but things were going slowly there.
~ ~ ~
After what he considered not nearly enough sleep, Eddie was up again. Karl was also blinking and rubbing his eyes as they geared up to head for the forest.
“So, you got the mapping done yesterday?” Eddie asked.
“Yeah,” Karl said, “once everyone is grouped up I'll share my map with everyone, that'll give you the areas along the road that Allie and I mapped as well.”
Eddie remade the 'Farmers' group he'd made before and then extended group invites to everyone else.
“Farmers?” Allie asked, smirking.
“What can I say,” Eddie said, returning the smirk, “hope springs eternal. We're kind of going to farm the goblins, right?”
“Yeah, I'd believe that if we weren't standing in the middle of an actual farm,” she replied.
“Fine then,” he said, entering the group interface and changing the name.
Your group name has changed to: Gobs
“Better?” he asked.
She laughed and waved him off. Another prompt showed telling him that Karl was offering to share his map. He opened his own map and accepted the offer, then stared at the newly revealed areas.
Looks like they really did map all of the east-west road. Maybe I can convince him to get the north-south one also when we take time from the actual adventuring. He did say he wanted to map the entire Meadowlands, so I'll just be asking him to prioritize that section and it shouldn't be too far either since that's supposed to be the narrowest section of the zone going north and south.
