Blackout: Book One (A Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller)

by Adam Drake

  “Are you certain?” She continued hopefully as I passed by. “Salve for your wounds? Ale for your aching mind?”

  I ignored her and walked past, but she caught Phlixx's interest. With the old crone's attention on me the ferret crept behind her and lifted the back of her robe. He peered underneath then shrieked in dismay.

  The crone whirled on him, waving her hands. “Begone, rat! Or I'll throw you in a cooking pot!”

  Phlixx had pinwheeled away, wide-eyed and aghast. He collapsed to the ground and made a show of retching up air. “I've seen your wares, lady, and they cannot be unseen!” he wailed.

  I walked around the bonfire and stood before the clearing's only other feature.

  A travel gate.

  The gate was a huge circle which stood on its edge, mounted on a base with a short series of stairs leading up to it. Its edge was marked with various ruins of an ancient language my avatar did not understand, and these emitted a soft yellow glow. The middle surface diameter of the circle was silver and shimmered like a pond. My avatar's reflection played across its strange surface.

  I'd arrived through this gate to search for the golden egg.

  Not yet ready to change areas I turned away and sat on a fallen log next to the bonfire. Phlixx bounded over to sit at my side. “Can I see the pretty egg, again? Please?” He begged.

  I glanced around. Other than the old crone who still stared at me expectantly, there was no one else. “Why not?” I said, wanting a better look at it, too.

  I fished the egg out of my backpack and cradled it in my hands. Its surface had the bumpy texture of a real egg, emphasizing the power of the game's detail, and glinted with the light of the fire.

  “Looks like an egg,” I said. “But is it worth anything?” The goal of the special quest was to get the dragon's egg but nothing specified what happened after. Usually the reward was gold and experience points for my avatar.

  “Maybe we can cook it?” Phlixx said, drooling with his tongue hanging out.

  “Now there's a thought.” Perhaps something was inside? I shook the egg close to my ear but nothing rattled. Holding the egg at an angle I examined it closer with the light of the fire. A thin groove circled around its middle. “Looks as if we don't need to crack it open.” I gripped the egg at both ends and twisted.

  The egg unscrewed into two halves. It was hollow within save for a rolled up parchment. A quest scroll.

  “Oh, crud,” I said. No gold, or gems, or magical items this time. What I needed was something to sell at the auction house.

  “Huh? What is it?” Phlixx said peering at the scroll. “Can we eat it?”

  “Nope,” I said, removing the scroll from the egg casing. “Just means we're not done, yet. This silly quest is far from over.”

  Phlixx frowned and so did I. I wasn't keen on following an extended chain of quests. But if I wanted a reward completing them would be necessary.

  The rolled scroll had no markings on it other than a red wax seal. Pressed into the wax was the symbol of what looked to be a sword, one I could not identify.

  “Let's see what we've got,” I said and broke the seal to unfurl the scroll. A simple map was drawn across the parchment's surface. Examining it closer I recognized it as an area somewhere in the Southern Kingdoms. A red 'X' marked a spot at the end of a valley in a mountain range. With the help of my avatar's map reading skill names of landmarks and towns appeared.

  I sighed. Nothing else showed what the quest was or what the reward for completing it would be. Typical. As an adventurer you were more or less expected to show up at a quest location and figure things out from there.

  “Not sure if this is worth our while,” I said to Phlixx who had already lost interest and cartwheeled around. “I'll save it for another time or trade it.”

  I was about to slip the scroll into my inventory when a chat request popped up in my vision. At first I thought it was Mudhoof bugging me again, but dollar signs appended the request label.

  Spammer? Couldn't be. My filters were good at keeping unwanted solicitations from gold farmers and other pests from trying to sell me their crap. If it was a spammer, I'd report them to the game's administrators. Let management deal with him.

  I initiated the chat and a large view window appeared in front of me. Within the window was the face of a large gray owl. Beneath him was the name Ogden Trite. “Greetings!” said the owl, ruffling his feathers as he spoke. “Thank you for accepting my chat request. I am most eager to speak with you. You are Vivian Valesh, the Shadow quester, yes?”

  Waving a hand I said, “Yeah. But I'm not interested in what you're selling, pal. In fact, how the heck did you manage to get may chat identification if you're not on my friends list?” My list of in-game friends was short but distinguished. Or so I kept telling myself. In reality I didn't have many friends, in-game or otherwise. I am a solo player at heart.

  The owl's eyes widened to comical proportions. “Oh, I am not selling anything at all. In fact, it is you I wish to buy from, if you are interested.”

  That's a switch, I thought. “What could I possibly have that you want?” Currently, I had little up on the auction house for sale. What items I got from questing sold within minutes of my listing them.

  Ogden chuckled, and his owl avatar's feathers bristled with the motion. “I'm interested in the quest scroll you recently obtained moments ago. Would you be keen on selling it?”

  Shocked, I said, “How did you know I had this?” I looked around the base camp again, but other than the old crone, no one else was nearby. “I haven't even listed it anywhere.”

  Ogden said, “I pay an exorbitant monthly fee to a Locators Guild each month for them to tell when a new quest becomes available. And they just now informed me of your quest scroll.”

  “There are quest scrolls appearing all the time,” I said. “The Locators Guild must charge you a bundle.” There were billions of quests throughout the game's universe. The vast majority of them carefully logged on various internet sites and wikis. And thousands more were added daily. With billions of players the game needed to generate new content all the time.

  “Well, that's true,” said Ogden. “But I don't pay for a daily list of everything. My interests are far more specific. I am only interested in one kind of quest.” He paused.

  Making an effort to not roll my eyes at him, and wanting to end this conversation, I took the bait. “And what kind is that?”

  “Legendary Quests,” he said.

  “Legendary Quests?” I said, surprised. “Do they even make those anymore?” Every quest had a rarity degree assigned to it depending on what the end quest item reward was. From common items that had no real value, to ultra-rare items that fetched huge sums on the auction house.

  Then there were the fabled Legendary Quests. So rare that out of the billions of available quests, the Legendaries numbered only a few dozen. And completing these quests gave the player a unique one of a kind item unlike any other in the game. Most other quests could be repeated by players and finishing them gave you the same reward. Not Legendaries. They were a one time quest. Once completed for the first time, the reward item changed to something more mundane.

  “Yes,” Ogden said. “But, as you are well aware, not often. Hence their namesake.” He grinned in anticipation at me.

  I frowned. If Ogden was after Legendary quests, and he was now talking to me...

  My eyes went to the scroll in my hand. I unfurled it and scanned it again. This time I saw it. There, at the bottom of the parchment were the words 'Legendary Quest'.

  “Oh, wow,” I said.

  Ogden said, “Do you intend on selling the scroll? I'll pay you a handsome sum.”

  I blinked several times, gathering my thoughts. “I dunno. This just kinda of hit me. I didn't know what I had until now.” A Legendary Quest. Here in my hands. No one would believe me!

  “Well,” Ogden said, “I will buy it from you at top dollar. Did you have an amount in mind?”

  A
mount? How much could this be worth? Quest scrolls were not sold on the auction house as a game rule. They had to be sold off-market.

  “I dunno, I've never been on a Legendary Quest before,” I said. How exciting would that be? A Legendary Quest! But all major quests above uber required groups of four just to activate them. I would need help to do it.

  “If you intend to take the quest, then I will pay you three times the market listing cap for the reward item,” Ogden said. When first introduced into the game, Legendary items which appeared on the auction house sold for incredible amounts of money. So much that it negatively effected the game economy. Cap limits on Legendary items were created and you couldn't bid a copper higher for them.

  This led to off-market sales at even higher prices than the market listings cap.

  “Three times the listing cap?” I asked, not sure I heard him right.

  “Yes. Once the item is obtained, the game will generate the cap. I will triple it, paid in full upon transfer of the item to my account.” Ogden arched a brow which looked odd on an owl. “And I know what you're thinking. Why not just hold onto the item for a higher bidder?”

  “Yeah, that crossed my mind.”

  “Well, to ensure I am the only person in the running I will pay you an upfront deposit immediately upon signing the contract. Five hundred thousand gold. And even if you don't get the item you keep the deposit.”

  I nearly fainted and had to adjust my game visor. Five hundred thousand gold pieces! I'd never imagined having that amount before. And I kept it all even if I failed.

  How could I lose?

  “Interested?” He asked, as he watched me consider my options.

  I grinned at my new owl friend. “Mr. Trite, you got yourself a deal.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Gate travel within the game was equal parts convenience and aggravation. On one hand, you could travel instantly anywhere in the game universe, across oceans to different continents, even to other planets, of which there were tens of thousands. On the other hand, it couldn't be too easy. So most times when you traveled through one gate you had to hoof it the next one, as no single gate went everywhere, you needed to find the one going toward your destination.

  I stepped through the gate at the base camp and into a whole other place. The dark ash clouds of the volcano environment changed to perfect white fluffy ones against a pale blue sky. Tall trees and lush greenery momentarily assailed my vision. I had spent too long in the grim volcano zone. This new setting fed my soul.

  The small clearing where the travel gate sat was empty of people. In the distance, perched on a tall mesa, were an array of buildings. Zeppelin shaped sky-barges floated to and from there. Fenway Port and the next jump to the quest location.

  A wide cobblestone path led in that direction. I started walking with Phlixx at my side, this time without worry. This was a safe zone.

  I reviewed my employment details with Ogden Trite. He had sent me via in-game mail a contract of agreement which I had signed and returned. It was boilerplate legal speak. If I got the Legendary item, I would transfer ownership to him directly. A few moments after I signed the agreement and returned it Ogden sent the deposit.

  For long moments I sat and stared at my new bank account balance. Several hundred thousand gold pieces now threatened my sanity, and I had the overwhelming urge to pull up the auction house view screen and go on a spending spree. But I resisted. I had a quest to complete. I can shop after. Maybe with a triple market cap to sweeten the deal.

  “I will send you a mage,” Ogden had insisted. “One who will come in useful. He's worked for me before and can be counted on in a tough spot.”

  Sure, I thought. Ogden wanted his own person in the group as a spy and proxy. Fine with me. I didn't know any high level mages anyway, and from what Ogden said this mage was extremely powerful.

  Which left me to recruit other players for the remaining two spots in the four-person group. Preferably muscle. We would no doubt need it.

  I sent Mudhoof a chat request as I followed the path to a stone bridge which crossed over a chuckling stream. A flock of birds flew over head and the sun shone brightly. Yeah, I stayed too long in volcano-land. No more dark and gloomy for a while.

  My request was accepted. A large view screen appeared before me with the massive head of a bull on it. The bull wheezed and grunted as he appeared to by doing something physically strenuous. “Hey, Vee!” Said Mudhoof.

  “Hey Muddie,” I said.

  Mudhoof glanced into the camera for a moment but his focus shifted elsewhere. “Been too busy to talk with your old friend, huh?”

  “Kind of,” I said. “Sorry about that. Got sidetracked on a quest and was sucked in until I finished.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean,” the minotaur said. The view screen was zoomed in too close to his head for me to make out his location or who he fought. “I'm a completion geek as well.” He grunted again, and this time the severed head of what looked to be a kobold passed over his shoulder to vanish out of view.

  “You're completing a quest now, I see,” I said with a knowing smile. Sometimes it's tough to shake the need to reach the end of a quest, a feeling I was all too familiar with.

  “Yup,” he said. It looked like he was hacking away with his mighty ax at an off-screen horde of kobolds. “Thorm is here with me. We're farming for... Well, I forget, but it's fun doing it, anyway.” Another severed head spun over his shoulder to ricochet off a tree.

  “If you guys are busy, I'll look for someone else to group with,” I said as a tease. Mudhoof was a minotaur warrior armed with a double bladed uber ax. Thorm, a holy knight, had top notch healing and shielding abilities. A perfect pair to complement myself and the mage.

  “Why, whatcha got?”

  “A Legendary Quest.”

  The minotaur stopped hacking and turned to look at me through his view screen. “A what?!”

  “Look out!” Came a shout from off to his side. It sounded like Thorm. Mudhoof blinked in surprise as if remembering he was in the middle of a battle and resumed slashing again.

  I waited in anticipation as he and Thorm cleared their immediate area which didn't take long.

  Finished with his grizzly job, Mudhoof looked to me. “Okay, we're in,” he said.

  Surprised, I said, “Don't you want the details? We'll split everything equally. But it will be dangerous. Maybe even have to re-roll your character.”

  Mudhoof shrugged. “That doesn't bother me at all. I'll just power-level using auction house loot. Done it before. Besides, I don't do this for the gold, I do it for the glory!” It was no secret Mudhoof had wealth in real life. So much so that dying and losing a high level character only meant an investment of cash. He used real money to buy large amounts of in-game gold then 'twinked' his new character with the best gear, upgrading as his level rapidly increased.

  “Count me in, too” shouted Thorm from off camera.

  I laughed. “Okay, I'll send you the quest location and we'll met there.”

  “A Legendary Quest,” Mudhoof said, shaking his head in amazement. “You get all the luck, Vee, you know that?”

  “Luck has nothing to do with it, Muddie. I'm all skill!” I said and closed the chat screen.

  It was a relief to know I had a solid group backing me on what could be the single most important quest of my gaming life. I'd been on many quests with Mudhoof and Thorm and they were both upstanding players. But as for Ogden's mage, named Feign, I had no idea. Looking him up on the gargantuan player search engine came up blank. Not unusual as many people paid a fee to keep their character details hidden. This kept enemies from seeing what their current level was and what their previous quests had been. For the mage I'd learn more about him soon enough.

  I sauntered into Fenway Port with a bounce in my step. As I passed other players I wondered how many of them had been on a Legendary Quest, let alone heard of one? It took a lot of self control to keep myself from shouting my good news from the rooft
ops.

  Fenway Port bustled with players and characters transiting to other locations. From here there were dozens of places the sky-barges traveled to, unlike the single location travel gates. Many goods were also transported through the port which made this place a focal point for thieves and criminals. Before entering I placed Phlixx on snoop mode, keeping his eyes peeled for trouble.

  As I made my way down the little town's main street and turned off toward the first set of sky-barge docks Phlixx, who perched on my shoulder, whispered in my ear. “Got a tail, my sweet.”

  I frowned. Why would I have a tail? A pickpocket, perhaps? They were quite bold, even in broad daylight. But then I had another thought.