A sob from my left reminded me of the miserable creature over there. She was still sitting on the ground where I first saw her. Her wounds, however, were beginning to close—she was an NPC, after all—that and the fact that the game had a humane policy against causing psychological trauma.
“Here,” I said, tossing her an apple from my bag. “Eat it, you’ll feel better.”
She caught the rosy piece of fruit and gazed at me with enormous green eyes that looked out of place in her wrinkled, ape-like face.
At the same time, I went over to the remains of Gvegory. I couldn’t decide if I should collect his things or leave them lying there. “Whatever, all’s fair in love and war,” I said, adding my voice to marauders of all times and peoples, and reached out my hand.
He didn’t really have much. The saber was just average, and everything else was blue or even colorless. In a word, nothing.
A ding told me that I had a new message. What a surprise!
“I’m going to find you. I’ll find you here in the game, and I’ll find you in real life. And you’ll die a slow death! I hate you!”
I was really starting to get a following. That was already the third person to promise me a fun rest of my life—in just a couple days. Sticking around for a couple more weeks would accumulate enough for a whole new clan created just to hate me.
Gvegory’s letter didn’t bother me in the least. It made me feel better, in fact. First, it meant that he hadn’t logged out, grabbed a knife, and started slashing everyone he could find with it. Second, let him hate me. What did it matter? If he found me, we’d see who was better. So far, I was up 1-0. And after the army, nothing in real life scared me. Except a shovel. And churches still put the fear of God into me…
“Why?” the creature’s voice rang out quietly, if distinctly. “Why did you stand up for me?”
I turned toward her. She was still sitting there clutching the apple, which she hadn’t taken a single bite of.
“Well, how do I say this, my green friend,” I began with some puzzlement. I hadn’t expected her to wonder why I behaved the way I did. I thought she’d just thank me and crawl up into a tree to lick her wounds or gallop off somewhere. I didn’t have a quest to protect or kill her, after all. “Well, we don’t like it when people kill women. At least, as long as the woman didn’t attack you first.”
“But you two are the same. Why did he torture me and you didn’t?”
“He’s a psychopath,” I explained amiably. “He’s crazy.”
The creature scrunched up her face, apparently not understanding.
“You’ve seen how plants get sick, right?” I asked, and she nodded in response.
“He’s sick, too. In the head. But hey, don’t worry about it too much or you’ll get sick, too.”
“I’d like to reward you for your kindness and for saving me,” she said quietly but firmly, her eyes flashing.
I perked up—some kind of freebie. I hoped it would be something I could use. But still, I wondered who she even was.
“Ah, don’t worry about it, I was just helping,” I said modestly. She was still an NPC so her code wouldn’t let her change her mind. “But hey, who are you?”
“I’m a dryad. Keeper of the Western Ranges,” she responded with a proud tilt of her head.
“Are there other keepers?”
The dryad looked closely at me and said, “You should know the history of the world you’re living in. Anyway, nobody remembers us anymore, just the Ancients. You may not have heard of us. There are four keepers, each responsible for their own lands. Though we don’t have much power remaining…”
“Yeah, I see that. That guy just about killed you. And you’re the keeper…”
“Yes, that’s how it is now,” the dryad answered sadly.
I hadn’t come across mentions of dryads anywhere, and there was another thing—she didn’t have a name, a level, a class, or a race above her. I only then noticed that…
“Ah, don’t get so gloomy,” I said cheerfully. “Don’t worry. So, what did you want to give me? And what’s your name?”
“I’ll tell you about my name later,” the creature said busily. “I’d like to give you a friend who will be your devoted and helpful companion. And a strong one, too. Which would you like, a wolf or a bear?”
“Oh, wow, you want to give me an animal to defend me?” I asked.
“Yes. Warriors value them highly!”
“Yes, but,” I hemmed and hawed, “they’re such a hassle—feeding, watering, cleaning. No, thanks, I don’t want to deal with all of that!”
“So you’re refusing?” The dryad was amazed.
“Well, yes!”
“You don’t like animals?” She frowned.
“I like them,” I said to cover my bases, making sure I didn’t get her angry unnecessarily. “I just don’t have time for them. I forget to eat sometimes as it is, and you can’t forget to feed them. And they need walks I can’t spend time on. I mean, we’re responsible for the animals we have in our care, and I’m not even that responsible when it comes to myself…”
“That makes sense,” the dryad said. “Spoken like a responsible man! And well said! Then I’ll give you a different gift.”
She stood, waved her arms, and three flames appeared in her palm. “These are the seeds of the great tree Tserlusii. Its wood is rare and unusually strong. And valuable, too—it costs three times its weight in gold. Nourish it, and you will find yourself with untold wealth.”
Well now, that was something new…
“Thanks, miss. But you have to plant them, water them, take care of them… And more. I’m a warrior, and I don’t have time for that. I don’t know how to, either, and I don’t really want to in the first place.”
“You’re saying no again?” The dryad’s eyes were as big as saucers.
The whole thing reminded me of an old story. A guy found a ruble, ran over it with an iron, and was surprised to find it turn into three rubles. He ironed them again and found himself looking at five. Then ten. Sadly, it didn’t end that well. He ironed them once more and was left with just that first ruble. Maybe, I could avoid repeating his mistake.
“Then I’ll offer you one more reward: I’ll teach you the Forest Paths ability, so you never again get lost anywhere in a forest…”
I stopped to think. On the one hand, that wasn’t a bad ability. On the other, getting lost in local forests wasn’t a big deal, and, after all, I had the built-in map… I decided to see what I could get for dessert—the third offer couldn’t have been the last.
“No?” the dryad asked again.
“No, my dear. I told you: I didn’t save you to get a reward,” I answered, but I felt my soul dying a little.
As soon as I said that, trumpets blared, the dryad was enveloped in a golden radiance, and above her golden cocoon appeared a name: Eiliana the West. I sat down on the grass in stunned surprise. Five seconds later the cocoon exploded in a cloud of gold sparks, and in front of me was a stunningly beautiful girl with green hair. She looked nothing like the miserable beast I had been talking to, with the exception of her eyes.
“The prophecy was fulfilled that was spoken by our protectress, Her Highness the Goddess Mesmerta. Before the Exodus, she said that my three sisters and I would be given our freedom by a warrior who would protect one of us out of the goodness of his heart, and would not accept a reward. There were warriors who protected me, but none of them declined my rewards. You were the first to stand up to the temptations of power, gold, and magic.
“That’s all great,” I said, a bit dumbfounded, “but what does it mean?”
“It means you have the power to fulfill the divine prophesy and free us!”
You unlocked History of Eiliana the West, a hidden quest.
This quest is the key to a series of hidden quests.
Task: Hear the dryad’s story and agree to her request.
Reward:
5000 experience
Hrólf the
Walker’s Sword
Children of the Goddess (series of hidden quests) unlocked
If you do not agree to her request
Reward:
2000 experience
Forest Power Ring
Accept?
Fantastic! I didn’t end up with one ruble! Of course, I accepted.
“Many chasms in time ago, the gods were forced to leave Fayroll. With them, left the goddess Mesmerta, who had created my three sisters and me to protect her ranges and had served as our patron. We wanted to reunite and leave with her, but she said, ‘I created you in and for this world. You cannot leave with me, as that would contradict the testaments of the demiurges who created it. But I can give you a chance to follow me, yourselves. The path is long and difficult, full of weakness and pain. You will lose everything—your power, your dignity, yourself. You will die a million deaths before the day of salvation comes. Only after suffering can you call to me and hear my voice.’ The goddess explained that only the pain of her children—she created us, and we were her children—could grant her the opportunity to rejoin us here in this world. But we had to freely agree to that suffering of our own accord, and here you are. So, I ask you: will you help us?”
“Help you how?” I asked.
I wasn’t about to just agree right off the bat. Maybe the final quest was to slit open your own veins or eat a rotten tree stump. Or a boiled snake. They were dryads, after all—children of nature.
“You freed me, and now you have to free my three sisters. Only then will you find your way, as the last of us will tell you what to do.”
A pig in a poke, I thought. Although…
“Is there a time limit? It’s just that I have other things to do too…”
“My heart wishes for you to hurry,” said Eiliana, “but I understand…”
Well, if I could take as long as I wanted, and there weren’t any penalties, then why not? If worse came to worst, I could just forget about it.
“Okay,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Why not? I’m in!”
As soon as I said those words, I heard a distinct boom, after which the golden smoke erupted again and the dryad twisted into the air with a cry:
“May the prophecy be fulfilled!”
You finished a quest: History of Eiliana the West.
Reward:
5000 experience
Hrólf the Walker’s Sword
Set of hidden quests unlocked: Children of the Goddess
You unlocked a set of hidden quests: Children of the Goddess.
Reward for completing the entire set:
Experience: variable
Items: variable
Skills: variable
Opportunity to receive epic quests: variable
Once accepted, you cannot decline the quest.
Accept?
And immediately afterward:
You unlocked Heroes of the Gray Days… Level 1.
To get it, receive 9 more items belonging to heroes of days gone by.
Reward:
Lucky, a passive ability, Level 1: +0.6% chance of receiving elite or legendary items
+1% chance of getting hidden or epic quests
Title: Scholar of Legends
To see similar messages, go to the Action section of the attribute window.
Well, that was interesting. The action was sure nice. But that quest…What was that about? And why all the variables? Everything was “variable.” Although, I was sure I would get more than just some trash. And a choice between good and good is always good.
I clicked Accept.
I expected another boom or whoosh, but I was mistaken. The dryad nodded her head, returned to earth, and sat down next to me.
“Look, hero.” There wasn’t a smidgeon of irony or sarcasm in her voice. Apparently, that’s just who I was to her. For the first time in my life, at least for someone… “The first thing you have to do is find my sister, Ogina the East. She’ll give you your next instructions.”
You unlocked Find Ogina the East.
This is the first in the Children of the Goddess series of hidden quests.
Task: Find and save the Keeper of the Eastern Ranges.
Reward:
7500 experience
Piece of dryad armor: variable
Wolf Soul ability
Accept?
I agreed and immediately asked, “But how do I find her?”
“I marked the spot on your map. Look for her. And hurry—the goddess is waiting for us.”
And with that, the dryad evaporated. Naturally. One second she was there, and the next there was just a light haze and a “psh-sh-sh” sound.
“Well,” I said to myself, “that wasn’t too bad. All right, let’s see what we have here before we go looking for dryad number two.”
I opened my inventory to check out the sword and was struck dumb, first from elation and then from anger.
Hrólf the Walker’s Sword
Belonged to a great warrior known for his strength and valor.
Legendary item
Damage: 320-360
+38 to strength
+32 to stamina
+18% to critical strike chance
+15% gold looted from dead enemies
+56% damage done by the Triple Blade ability
+24% of damage done is added to the health of the sword’s owner
Durability: 760/760
Minimum level to use: 110
For class: warrior
The sword becomes a personal belonging as soon as it is received.
It cannot be stolen, lost, broken, sold, or given to anyone else.
It is not lost when the owner dies.
It is destroyed when removed from the owner’s inventory or personal room.
What, you don’t get it? I had a super-sword, but I couldn’t use it or cash in on it. I imagine that I would have been able to get good money for it at the auction—it had great attributes, and would have gone quickly and for a high price. But it was only mine! And I doubted I’d play long enough to reach Level 100. I was almost positive.
Nice job, developers. Well played…
I sat there for a few minutes watching the darkening sky, then headed back across the plain. I’d done everything I could do in the forest, though I wished I hadn’t gone in at all…
I’d gone a good distance when, for some reason, I turned and saw a figure running toward the forest in his underwear—probably Gvegory trying to find me.
“Go ahead, go ahead, you’re a dead man. Good luck! I doubt the dryad will let you chop her up anymore this time,” I chuckled.
And sure enough, a minute after the figure ran into the forest, I saw a burst of flame.
“Well, there’s some justice in the world, at least,” I said. I spat and turned back toward the ruins.
Chapter Ten
An Earring for Every Sister
It was already dark by the time I got to the castle ruins. Enormous stars littered the sky, and the moon was as large and flat as a pancake. Cicadas chattered away in the grass—or whatever it is that chatters away in the grass at night—beauty and splendor, in a word.
But I couldn’t care less. I was dog tired. It had been fifteen years since the last time I’d walked so much. But even there, we didn’t walk that much. Back then, my friends and I went on hikes. We just trekked along until we found a spot we liked, pulled out our fishing rods and vodka, and plopped down. That was it.
I walked through the archway, exhaled, and said, “Finally! I’ll sit here for 10 minutes and then head for the trees. I can sleep there.”
Rattling bones and chattering teeth I remembered so well from our trip to Grinvort told me someone was happy to see me. And, yep, there it was. From a pile of boulders that probably once made up the entrance to the castle, came a Level 22 skeleton, its bony knees happily banging together and its rusty sword waving in the air. In its eye sockets, cheerful, inviting green lights shined.
“One-way ticket coming right u
p,” I said, pulling out my mace in a smooth, already practiced gesture that covered my right side at forearm level. “I jinxed it. Figured they’d come out at night, the restless buggers. I just hope a leech doesn’t come check to see who’s visiting.”
The skeleton got to me and swung its sword with all its might. I reacted automatically, catching the blow with my shield, and smashed my mace first into its ribs from left to right. In the same motion, I swung upwards, catching its wobbling jaw. The double strike took off about 60 percent of its health and knocked it backward. From there, however, it quickly jumped back to attack me again, this time, taking a wild swing at my head. I ducked, the sword whistled overhead, and I buried my mace in its hip. The skeleton crunched and collapsed.
“I’m getting better—that just took me three hits!” I grinned happily and looked around. “Anyone else?”
There were no takers, and the quiet night above the ruins remained undisturbed.
I was just bending over to see what I could scavenge from the last watcher in the proud and daring (if dead) landlord’s castle when the silence was interrupted.
From behind the wall dividing the castle from the graveyard, cries rang out, “I’ll attract them!”
“Cast, cast!”
“Vitya, you idiot, what are you waiting for?”
“What are you running all around the graves for? You woke them all!”
“Be afraid! Be very afraid!”
A minute later, I saw what there was to be afraid of. The reflections told me that the voices had cast a fireball—and a big one, by the looks of it. It had exploded, apparently, somewhere in the middle of the graveyard. The sky exploded into all the colors of the rainbow.
“It’s like Victory Day,” I said, grabbing what the skeleton had without even looking at it and running for the breach in the wall.
I looked through it to see exactly what I expected—a group of players had come to put the restless to rest. Three tanks, a hunter, a mage, and a cleric standing off by himself, the latter of which was apparently healing the rest. The group seemed to be playing the Evil Dead, with the only difference being that they were the ones scaring the dead.
More Than a Game Page 13
