by Sam Ferguson
[CONFIRM CHOICE (THIS CANNOT BE UNDONE)]
He confirmed the choice and the onyx flashed bright for a second as the number beside it changed to two out of ten.
[Sneak +12.5%]
Brian then zoomed out of the rune and focused on the image of the sword. It glowed lightly and he confirmed his decision. The sword zoomed in, a hole in the pommel and several more along the cross guard and blade. Because the pommel as of yet was empty, none of the other skill bonuses were open to him.
He applied and confirmed his choice to spend two skill points on the initial hole. A flash of red light appeared before him and then a ruby was set into the hole. Next to the ruby, the number two of five appeared.
[+4 blade damage]
Brian was happy with that. He zoomed out and then selected the shield to the right of the sword’s image. He spent and confirmed one point on the center hole, which was the prerequisite to spending any additional points along the shield.
A blue flash of light played before him as a sapphire was set into the center of the shield. The number then changed to read one out of five.
[+2 to armor]
Just to check and make sure he understood correctly, Brian exited his tapestry and moved to his inventory. Now his feathersteel dagger boasted nine piercing and slashing damage, and each of his armor pieces would add thirteen to his defense instead of eleven. A couple more levels, and he’d be a silent killing machine.
Brian went back to his tapestry and viewed it. The sparkling gems definitely added to its uniqueness, but he was anxious to see what earning an achievement might do for its appearance.
Going to his map, he highlighted the library where the Scholar of Anorit was supposed to be. Then he exited the user interface and moved on his way. He cycled through his stamina bar four times and then almost completed an additional half cycle before he reached the library.
[Athletics +1]
Brian saw the note and wondered if Mike was still jumping around in the game to increase his acrobatics. The thought left as quickly as it came though, because an NPC emerged from the glass double doors where Brian’s marker indicated the library was located and called out to him.
“Over here!” the excited man said. “Come quickly! Hurry!” The man wore a white tunic and tan pair of trousers, but over the top he had on a gold striped cloak. A long white beard stretched from the NPC’s chin down to the top of his protruding belly which seemed to bounce with each word the man spoke. “Come here!”
Brian jogged to cross the distance between him and the foot of the short set of marble steps that led up to the library, then hopped them two at a time to stand before the scholar. He smiled expectantly.
“I have been waiting a long time,” he said. “Much longer than I had hoped, I’m afraid.”
“I was busy,” Brian replied.
“Busy, yes, yes. We’re all busy. Listen here, follow me inside.” The NPC turned and disappeared through the door, Brian following.
The foyer was a twenty-by-twenty room covered with stone tiles of various colors, each cut to create a series of overlapping circles with a rounded diamond pattern between them. A bench lined each side, and a large pedestal in front held up a globe of Terramyr. An abundance of light spilled into the room from a glass-domed ceiling high above him and through the glass double doors, reinforced with a swirling pattern of metal bars designed to look like vines with leaves sprouting from them. Impressed with the location, Brian moved slowly through the space. He approached the globe in the center and discovered it to be a highly detailed piece of cloisonné artwork. Admiring the glittering blue of the oceans and the braided gold that served as outlines for the continents, he found Prirodha near the southern-most reaches of the world.
“Ah, a lovely piece, isn’t it,” the scholar commented, looking at the globe. “Would you like to know more about Prirodha?”
“Sure, why not?” he figured a little tutorial on the bigger game environment couldn’t hurt.
“Prirodha is a creation of Terramyr herself, the very world having spawned both the natural races intended to protect her from harm and the living sanctuary on which they dwell. This is the lore of the native inhabitants of this continent at any rate. They protect their lands all the more fiercely for the belief. The first explorers to discover the continent were the Sprey Sisters. They commanded a fleet of seven vessels and had been charged with the daunting task of mapping the oceans and seas west of Kelsendale. They made landfall, established a short-lived outpost, and lost half their crew to sea monsters and another third to the beasts of Prirodha.
“They barely made it back to Kelsendale with one ship, spreading the horrors of Prirohda and its monsters far and wide. Eventually, they rebuilt their fleet and sailed northward, discovering many of the island nations and a few other continents as well. Explorers have come to Prirodha over the centuries since, but there was never a serious expedition made until about thirty years ago, when the Greencaps were founded by seven noble families in Kelsendale. Mainly interested in scientific discovery and physical resources, the Greencaps established Fezhik, which sits here in the center peninsula.”
The scholar pointed to the area and then traced his finger westward to tap on a small city on the western coast. “On this peninsula the Rionans made their settlement. They are a savage and brutal people. They come from the island nation of Riona some thousand miles to the northwest. They primarily seek to conquer the land and expand their empire.” The scholar’s finger traced down the western coast and then tapped on a city just inside a large bay. “This is Pythos. The city itself was founded by satyrs and acted as the seat of the satyr kingdom here on Prirodha.” The shorter NPC turned to Brian and squinted at him.
“Don’t think of the satyr kingdom in terms of land, though,” he explained. “While they had cities, their kingdom shared lands with the minotaur and centaur kingdoms. Think of it more as the capitol of an ethnic kingdom with a shared history and purpose where people populated various regions and intermingled with other civilizations.”
Brian nodded. “I understand a lot about the natural races,” he said.
“Good,” the scholar commented with an approving nod. “Now, Pythos was overrun by the orcs when the cursed races made landfall on the western coast. The satyr king had called for reinforcements, but the other satyrs, unencumbered by any loyalty to the city itself, chose not to come to Pythos’ aid. The city fell in less than a week, and has been an orcish stronghold ever since.”
“And the Baltanians?” Brian asked.
“Ah, they are a peculiar faction,” the scholar said as he twisted the globe slightly to reach a point east of Fezhik. “They are mostly motivated by profit, being a trading and shipping group sanctioned by the Baltanian government. They not only have all sorts of humans in their ranks, but satyrs as well. Farther east still are the Stonefists, they—”
Brian knew the Stonefists. He held up a hand and interrupted the tutorial. “I’m very well versed in Konnon history,” he said. “No need to continue.”
“Oh, I see... well,” the scholar tugged at his beard and frowned. “There is one more faction to the south that...” he stopped speaking when Brian shook his head. “Very well, another time perhaps. I suppose we mustn’t dawdle,” the scholar declared. He waved a hand and led Brian farther into the library. “Come along, follow me.”
Past the globe and beyond the foyer, the building opened up into a massive room filled with row after row of bookshelves. Most of them were sealed with glass doors and locks. The space was lit at the moment by the light streaming in through stained-glass windows set high in the walls all along either side of the great library and running parallel to the center aisle, where there were a few tables leading up to a large desk stacked with several books and rolled parchments. The scholar was busily waddling toward that desk. Brian kept looking up to the colored glass of the farthest window. A trick of the light had made the waved pattern in one of the panes of glass appear to flow like water. H
e tried to maneuver his head to get the effect to repeat itself, but realized after a moment that he had better things to do.
As he followed after the scholar, he looked at all the bookshelves and wondered if any of the locks could be picked to reveal hidden skill-boost books. In any case, he might need Mike’s help for that. Mike would surely have increased his lockpicking skill several times by now.
“Come quickly!” the scholar shouted.
Muttering under his breath, he caught up with the scholar at the back of the library. “All right, what do you need?” Brian asked, glancing back up to the windows, for a moment catching the same effect on a yellow section of glass, marveling at how it seemed to ripple and flow like water.
The scholar snapped his fingers to gain Brian’s attention and then pointed down to a single piece of paper. “There are four missing books,” he said. “Each of these books are overdue and I need you to track them down. I have the last known location of the four people who borrowed the missing books. Please locate the books and return them as soon as possible.”
“Overdue library books,” Brian sighed. “Not exactly the flashiest of quests.”
“The Order of Anorit must have these manuscripts back. They are highly important, nigh irreplaceable in fact.”
“If they’re so valuable, why did you loan them out?” Brian asked.
The scholar looked up from the list and frowned. “What good is knowledge if it isn’t shared?”
Brian shrugged. “Most of the library is locked up, so...”
“Ah yes, we do lock our books against thieves, but borrowing is permitted. Most research is conducted within the library, but on occasion we loan out the books to trusted individuals.” The scholar sighed and shook his head, causing his extra-long beard to sweep across the top of his tummy. “Unfortunately, even the most trustworthy book borrowers can forget to return them. Or sometimes they are beset by danger and prevented from returning the books when they otherwise would have done so.” The scholar smiled and pointed to Brian. “That’s where you come in. You go and help the poor book borrowers. Save them if needed, and bring the books back at all costs.”
The scholar reached down into a large drawer and hefted up a heavy cloth sack that jangled with the telltale metallic sound of coins as he plopped it onto the desktop. “The Order of Anorit is prepared to pay the Greencaps handsomely for the recovery of our books. One thousand gold pieces per book.”
Brian’s eyes shot open wide. “Four thousand gold for four books?”
The scholar smiled and gestured to the coin bag. “One thousand gold pieces per book,” he repeated. The scholar then replaced the bag into the drawer and locked it beyond Brian’s reach.
“I accept,” he said.
The scholar jumped and clapped his hands together once. “Excellent. Here is the list with the most recent details I have. Please hurry. These books are too valuable to be lost to the beasts beyond Fezhik.”
Opening his inventory, he read the list. The clues were your basic quest-starters—names of borrowers and last known locations. None of them were inside of Fezhik, so it promised some world exploration. Curiously, none of the book titles were listed, but Brian assumed that would clear itself up once they found the specific borrowers listed on the sheet. He closed his inventory screen.
[QUEST ADDED: OVERDUE BOOKS]
Brian left the library and realized he still had about twenty minutes to kill before the nightly meeting. Suddenly, he remembered he hadn’t yet checked in on Freya. Opening his map, he highlighted The Finer Points shop. He again spent his time sprinting through the streets and cycling through his stamina a couple times before reaching his destination.
He found the shop, a modest, two-story building with a wooden sign over the front door and two mannequins with fine hauberks on display in the window. Stepping inside, he saw Freya in the back behind a waist-high counter.
“Welcome to The Finer Points,” she said as he walked in. “You won’t find better prices or sharper blades anywhere in Fezhik.”
Brian looked around briefly and admired the several swords, axes, and war hammers on display before walking up to Freya and initiating conversation.
“I’d like to train.”
“I can train you, but it won’t be cheap.”
[TRAIN BLADE MASTERY FOR 100 GP?]
Brian thought about it for a moment. It would drain him down to nothing, but it would give him a skill point he could use for blade mastery, something he could only get if he reached a higher level. He accepted.
[-100 GP]
Brian was forced out of his avatar’s body for a moment while a short cut scene ensued. Freya and Bob the avatar each spun around and attacked each other with swords a few times. Freya called out commands and gave some tough-love criticism about Brian’s lack of speed, and then it ended. The scene faded and Brian was pulled back into his avatar.
“Not bad, but you will need to practice more if you want to survive out here,” Freya said.
[+1 blade mastery skill point]
In the top right of the HUD, a sword crossed over an axe appeared with the numeral 1. Brian quickly opened up his tapestry and selected the blade mastery icon. He spent the point on blade mastery, taking his blade damage up another two base points, then reengaged Freya in conversation.
“Any more luck flowers?” he asked. Not that it mattered, since he had spent all of his coins on the training session.
“No,” Freya said. “I only had three. They are rare and difficult to find.”
“Where are you from?” Brian asked.
Freya sighed. “Originally... from Kelsendale like most people in Fezhik. I was a city guard captain in Lockleer.” She sighed and shook her head. “That’s all in the past now.” She gestured to her shop. “Now I am here in Fezhik, and I make a good living outfitting adventurers and guilds with the weapons and armor they need to take down the monsters of Prirodha.”
Brian tried to think of something else to say, but realized the time was getting late. He’d need to head over for the team meeting. Excusing himself, he left the shop. He walked only four feet away from the door when a massive shadow fell over him.
A nearby NPC woman screamed and pointed upward. Brian’s mouth fell open when he saw the hideous face of a manticore snarling as it glided through the air above him. The monster dropped down and attacked the female NPC, biting her back and swinging its massive, spiked tail. The creature was easily fifteen feet long from face to tip of tail, and the wingspan was twenty feet wide. The powerful, lion-like body went to work on the NPC, pinning her down as it snarled at her.
Brian pulled his dagger and thought to rush forward, but the manticore turned its bloody face toward him and grinned.
“Beg for your life, and I might grant it back to you.”
Brian stood there, unsure what to do. Were manticores supposed to talk?
The creature flicked its tail, and suddenly a pair of ten-inch-long spikes hurtled toward Brian. He ducked and rolled to the side, avoiding the spikes as they crashed into Freya’s shop behind him. As he stood up again, several guards charged the monster. Two pulled bows and fired at the creature, while three others produced spears and rushed it, poking and stabbing.
One of the guards caught the spiked tail in the chest and went flying through the air, slamming into a nearby building and sliding down the wall.
“For the Greencaps!” another guard shouted as he rushed in with a spear.
Brian almost rushed in, but then he realized he had taken his armor off. If the dead civilian and guard were any indication, Brian would be no match for the beast.
“Kill the manticore!” one of the bow-wielding guards shouted as he fired another couple of arrows.
Now that the game recognized that Brian knew what the monster was, the word manticore appeared above the beast in yellow letters. Yellow indicated that it was a challenging fight, but Brian had a slightly better than fifty percent chance of winning.
He decided to try
a different tactic—letting the guards engage the snarling manticore, Brian made a dash for the downed guard. He looted the man’s body and removed the armor and sword.
He then opened his inventory and equipped his newly gotten items.
[Hide helmet equipped. Armor +14]
[Chain mail shirt equipped. Armor +15]
[Chain mail greaves equipped. Armor +15]
[Studded leather gloves equipped. Armor +14]
[Studded leather boots equipped. Armor +14]
[Iron longsword equipped. Slashing damage +14]
Exiting the inventory menu, he wheeled around to face the manticore. He found the beast looking directly at him, keeping a watchful eye on his movements despite the city guards slashing at its sides. Another tail spike was already being launched through the air in his direction. The spike struck true, knocking him back toward the wall, nearly making him trip over the looted guard under foot and reducing his HP bar by about ten percent.
“Oh no, you won’t kill me that easily!” Brian rushed in and slashed with the sword. The manticore was already at half health thanks to the guards. Brian’s attack hit home and drove the bar down to twenty-five percent. The manticore roared and attempted to flee. It knocked three guards back with its wing and launched into the air, but the two guards armed with bows each fired at the beast. The HP bar dropped to barely more than a sliver.
A guard armed with a spear flipped his weapon over in his hands and hurled it at the beast, nailing it in the stomach before it could get more than fifteen feet in the air. The monster’s tag turned black and it fell to the ground.
