Dream Storm Online

by Jareth Stark

  Rizon looked Henry up and down, seemingly annoyed with his demands. “You know, you can fast travel between locations once you’ve discovered them?” he replied.

  “I know I can,” said Henry, “but not until level 10 isn’t that right? And not when I’m participating in a chaperone quest”.

  Rizon appeared angry, but Henry knew he had no choice but to give in, not if he wanted his stable hand back. It was unlikely she was still alive after all this time, but he knew he had to try. “Fine,” he replied.

  “And the sex…” Henry started to say.

  “What about it?”

  “I’m not having it with you, so you’d better find me someone better” said Henry, pushing his chest muscles out as far as he could.

  “Don’t worry orc, I don’t want to shag you either,” Rizon replied. “Arabella has offered herself for this quest. But if you manage to woo Sara, well don’t let me stop you. She has a thing for adventurers, so I imagine she’ll be overcome with lust when she meets you… if she’s alive that is”.

  “And if she’s not?” asked Henry.

  “You’ll still be paid. Just bring me back something of hers won’t you, so I know you’ve at least found her body. And give her a nice burial”.

  Henry nodded his acceptance and motioned towards the horses. Towards the back was a large, black stallion that looked like it would make a suitable stead for an orc.

  “I’ll take this one,” said Henry. “You can pay me the gold when I return”.

  “I’ll mark the location on your Stormcom map,” Rizon replied. A heavy sigh followed his words. It almost made Henry feel bad, but this was part of the game. Adventurers need to complete quests and have sex to level up… and to complete a quest you need a reward.

  Henry clicked the button on the side of the Stormcom and found the location he was heading to on his map.

  “It’ll be cold up there,” Rizon said. “Make sure you don’t die due to poor clothing choices”.

  Henry didn’t have any clothes other than what he was wearing, but he assumed his thick orc skin would be able to stand the cold better than most other characters. Still, he didn’t much like the snow, so with any luck, he’d come across a dead body or a simple chest on the way that would have what he needed. He wasn’t against looting. Sure, it might have been weird to loot a dead body when you were actually doing it and not just pressing a console command, but needs must.

  Henry nodded once again to the stable master and made his way out of the town of Eelry atop the black stallion he decided to name Shadow. The route would take him north, and he hoped the main road that passed the town would take him much of the way. The map pointer seemed to stop just before the mountains so at least he wouldn’t have to navigate those on this trip.

  Travelling on the stallion was much easier than travelling by foot, and Henry made quick progress. He stopped a couple of times, once to enjoy a cup of mint tea and a pie that he’d found, and once to release his wrath on a gaggle of goblins who seemed to want to throw fire at him for absolutely no reason. After looting their bodies, and finding very little of use, Henry had continued on. He assumed they would respawn by the time he returned.

  The further north Henry travelled, the cooler the weather got, and by the time he could see the mountains in the distance, snow had started to fall.

  God damn ice, thought Henry. When playing the game in the real world, Henry had loved the snowy landscapes, finding the artwork stunning. But as an orc with very little in the way of warm clothes, he wasn’t happy. In fact, had he seen a peaceful mammoth in the wild, he knew he would have stopped right next to it, killed it, and cleaved it’s skin off for a coat. Luckily for the mammoths, he didn’t come across any.

  Just before he reached the path that led up to the mountains themselves, Henry saw what looked like a chest half buried underneath a pile of snow. He pulled his stallion to a stop and leapt down. As he reached the chest, he pulled it out of the snow, dragging it onto the flat ground in front of him. Henry shivered from the cold and hoped this stop would be worthwhile.

  Henry placed his lock pick inside the chest and waited for the difficulty rating to appear. The words ‘Very Easy’ glowed in ghostly yellow letters within a second or two above the chest.

  Knowing he had a chance of opening this chest, Henry fumbled about trying to find the exact location in which to place the bobby pin for success. Lock picking had been easy when he was playing as a thief, but the orc build he’d created wasn’t exactly ideal for this kind of job. Henry knew that if he wanted to find any real treasure in Stormshire, he’d probably have to invest some skill points in his lock picking traits. Maybe that would be what he’d ask for from his next quest giver.

  The first bobby pin Henry used broke within seconds. He calmed himself down and tried again. You can do this he told himself. You’ve done this hundreds of times.

  Yeah, but not in the actual snow, he reminded himself. You try unlocking a chest when your hands are frozen solid and your nipples are sticking out of your armour like daggers distracting you.

  On his second try, the lock pick seemed to still completely. Henry wondered whether it had actually frozen inside the chest; it was definitely cold enough. He wriggled it about trying to find the correct spot, but it was frozen solid. Deciding to give up, Henry tried to pull the pick out of the chest, assuming he could reuse it later if it thawed out, but his large hands just couldn’t grip it properly. They were slipping and sliding, and he could hardly feel a thing. God damnit Henry said out loud.

  “Need any help?” a voice asked.

  Henry turned around and found himself face to face with another adventurer, her level (27) clear above her head. She looked like she might be human, and Henry didn’t know whether it would be rude of him to ask.

  “I found this chest,” he replied. “But my fingers are frozen, the lock pick is frozen, and the chest was buried under the snow so I assume that’s frozen too”.

  “Here,” she said, throwing him a coat. “Put this on, I’ll sort your lock out for you”.

  When playing Dream Storm Online at home, Henry would have never agreed to this. If he left the chest to another adventurer, there’s no way he would receive what was inside it. But out here, near the icy mountains, he didn’t feel like he had much choice. He gratefully accepted the coat, and wrapped it around his large shoulders before stepping aside to let the woman attempt to open the chest.

  Rather than use the lock picking device, Henry watched as the woman muttered a quick spell. Bursts of light flew from the palm of her hand, hitting the lock and opening it seamlessly. Henry knew she must have the ‘Skeleton Shard’ ability. He’d had the exact same spell on his old character and it worked like a charm every single time.

  “Impressive,” he replied, hoping being friendly would be the best option here.

  “You’re welcome. The name’s Nellie”.

  “Henry”.

  “So, let’s take a look at what we’ve got in here; a pair of fur boots, a couple of health potions, a book on ice spiders, and a cooked chicken. Loot’s all yours if you want it?”

  Henry did. He walked over the chest, and emptied it quickly. He pulled on the fur boots, stowed the health potions and food, and opened the book.

  Ice Spiders are not something you want to mess around with as an inexperienced adventurer, the book read. Their only weakness is fire spells. Attempting to use anything else on them will result in you being frozen and cocooned before you can land your second blow.

  “Bloody brilliant,” Henry muttered out loud.

  “You’re not heading towards the mountains are you?” Nellie asked. “That book is a pretty good warning against it”.

  “I’m on a quest that’s sending me that way,” said Henry. “Young stable girl was apparently there looking for spider eggs. Her boss said she hadn’t returned so he sent me to find her. But I don’t know any fire spells”.

  “Sounds like you’re in quite a pickle,” said Nellie, a smi
le forming on her face. “Luckily for you, I’ve already done this quest, so I know exactly where she is and how to save her. Plus, she was pretty cool when it came to levelling up. I wouldn’t mind a second go if you don’t mind sharing”.

  Henry thought over his options and decided very quickly that he would take Nellie up on her offer. Not only would he manage to complete his quest and level up, but he’d be given the opportunity to sleep with two girls at once. And really, what strapping orc would say no to that? Plus, there was also the fact that he’d probably die if he went alone.

  “Sure, thanks,” Henry replied. He pulled himself back up on his horse and looked towards the mountains again. The wind and snow were biting at his face, and he’d never been more thankful for a warm coat and a dry pair of boots.

  6

  As the two began to ride along, Henry decided to ask Nellie some questions. Perhaps she could tell him why they were here, and how they could return to the real world. At level 27, she must have more answers than him. “So, how long have you been playing?” he asked.

  “In this new crazy version of DSO you mean? About a week. I levelled up pretty fast after realising I was going to have to if I wanted to survive. I wasn’t as crazy as you, though, taking on quests like this at a low level”.

  “I like adventuring,” Henry replied, sounding somewhat pathetic.

  “Aye, and so do I, but you’ve gotta think about your life. I don’t know how it works in here yet. I’ve made sure not to die, and I’ve not come across any adventurers who have died and returned either, so I’m assuming it just doesn’t work that way. You die in here, you probably die out there too”.

  That’s what Henry had been afraid of. He gulped, wondering why he hadn’t taken on a bunch of easy quests until he’d learnt some skills.

  “You’ll be okay with me,” Nellie reassured him. “But I’d recommend you learn some skills before doing anything else like this. What have you invested in so far?”

  “Mostly restoration magic and stamina,” Henry replied. “I’m not as new to this game as it seems - I had a high level character before starting over so I know how it works”.

  “Correction,” said Nellie. “You knew how it worked out there. In here, it’s a whole different game. There’s no way I’d be using a stamina character in here. You have to get up close and personal with whatever it is that’s threatening you. If you’re a mage, you can do everything from a distance. Hell, even if you chose to use a bow and arrow, you’d be further away from danger”.

  Henry thought over what she said, but it sounded pretty stupid to him. “How many orcs have you seen with a bow and arrow?” he said. “Or even magical orcs? I don’t want to be a laughing stock”.

  “Well, if what you look like is more important than your life, that’s up to you. But you’re gonna at least have to invest in some better weapons. That axe of yours isn’t going to do shit when we get to the ice caves, not with those spiders around. An axe of flame would be better. But then you’re going to need an axe of ice, an axe of light and numerous other models depending on your quest. As a mage, you can carry all of those around with you without wasting space in your Stormcom”.

  Henry knew what Nellie was saying made sense, and technically he was at a low enough level to change his character build. But he didn’t want to admit this so quickly. “I’ll think about it,” he replied. “Do you know how to get back into the real world?” he asked, wanting to change the subject away from his inadequacies.

  “Yes,” said Nellie. “But I’m not allowed to divulge the information. It was part of a quest see. You’ll find out for yourself once you’ve levelled up a bit”.

  “You can’t tell me anything?” he said.

  “I can tell you that the quest to find an escape isn’t easy, so you should listen to what I’ve been telling you”.

  Henry didn’t respond. Although he was quite happy, at the moment at least, to remain in Stormshire, he imagined it would be pretty lonely long term, unless he found others in his situation. Nellie didn’t seem like the kind of adventurer he could stand to be around for long either, but as she was the only one he’d come across in two days, she was his only source of information… and he supposed his only friend.

  “Hold back,” Nellie whispered as they approached Henry’s quest marker. “That cave over there, that’s where Sara is”.

  Henry tried to look in the direction where Nellie was pointing but he couldn’t make out anything through the blizzard that surrounded them. He began to wonder whether poor eyesight was another negative part of being an orc, but it was just as likely the bad weather conditions that were making things so difficult.

  “As we get closer, a load of ice spiders will spawn. They have the power to shoot beams of frost, and trust me, if you get hit with one you won’t be able to move without a fire spell”.

  “What do you suggest?” asked Henry, knowing he was pretty much going to die if he went in there purely with his axe.

  “We take it slow. I have a blaze spell I can use on them, which should get rid of most of them. You’re really not going to be able to do much with your equipment, so let me take the fight and when it looks like we’re done, you can go into the cave to speak with the Ice Widow. That part, you can do alone”.

  “The Ice Widow?” Henry didn’t much like the sound of that.

  “Yeah. She’ll tell you her story when you go in, and you’ll need to perform a few speech challenges in order for her to tell you where Sara is. If I help you, it may not register as your quest, so killing the spiders is about as much as I can do”.

  Nellie didn’t wait for a reply, she jumped from her horse and ran towards the cave. Within less than a minute, Henry couldn’t see her at all. He knew she’d told him to stand back, but for how long? He decided to follow behind her, and stop once she was within sight.

  The closer Henry got to the cave, the more the blizzard seemed to abate. It was almost like it had been warning them off. He was tempted to turn around, but the promise of an orc orgy sounded too good to miss out on. Plus, he’d come this far already, it would have been a waste.

  Henry could see flashes of light and assumed it was Nellie putting her fire magic skills to good use. As he continued walking towards the light, he could see the entrance to the cave. There must have been 20, no 30, spiders there all attacking Nellie. He wanted to run and help her, but he knew it would mean sudden death. With all the strength he could muster, he stood still, waiting for her signal.

  Henry wasn’t sure how long the fight went on for as he was mesmerised by Nellie’s skills. Even at level 27 she was clearly a much more fearsome adventurer than he was with his current build. Maybe she had been right. Maybe he should change his character and become a mage, at least until he progressed further into the game.

  Every time Nellie sent a bolt of fire out of her hands, a handful of spiders exploded, their bodies leaving black ashen smoke behind. Henry could smell the acrid scent from where he was standing, and it turned his stomach. Even orcs don’t like the smell of burning flesh he thought. Nellie attacked them again and again until the last few ice spiders decided it wasn’t worth risking a fight and scarpered off to where they came from.

  “Come on,” Nellie shouted over to Henry. “I think I’ve got them all”.

  Upon hearing her voice, Henry ran as quick as his orc legs would carry him and quickly used his restoration magic on Nellie, helping her to regain her health in as little time as possible. “That was some fight,” he said when he was done.

  “Yeah, not really something suitable for a level 6 adventurer,” Nellie admonished. “I’m not sure why the stable master even offered you the quest. Maybe you pissed someone off. It would have meant sure death for you if I hadn’t found you”.

  Henry knew it was true. But who he’d pissed off he didn’t know. Unless it was the elf he’d saved on his first quest in Stormshire. Yeah, Henry doubted he enjoyed watching his wife have sex with an orc as repayment, and he had organised his b
oard at Arabella’s inn. But still, it seemed a bit extreme.

  “I really appreciate it,” said Henry. “So I guess my next step is to enter the cave?”

  “Yes, you have a date with the Ice Widow. She’s beautiful Henry, so don’t fall for her charm. I’ll wait for you out here, and kill anything that respawns. It shouldn’t take you too long if you don’t mess it up”.

  Henry gulped. He didn’t know what he was more afraid of - meeting the Ice Widow or showing how poor an adventurer he was again.

  “I’ll try not to,” he replied.

  7

  Henry wrapped his coat around himself more tightly and slowly walked into the entrance to the cave. He couldn’t see Sara anywhere, and he didn’t want to shout out in case he drew more attention from the ice spiders. The cave was so cold that his breath was freezing in front of him, leaving little shards of ice falling to the ground with every exhale. God, he hoped this would be a short meeting like Nellie had claimed.

  As he rounded the corner, the cave began to slope downward. Henry could see some light in the distance, so he walked towards it, the nervousness clear in his body. His breathing was loud, and every step he took seemed to echo around the cave system. Henry knew she would be able to hear him, that she would be waiting for him.

  With his heartbeat pounding through his chest, Henry neared the bottom of the slope and walked into the light. He had to walk down a narrow passage, but the end of it led into a large cavern. That was when he saw her; the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.

  Not used to being around such a beautiful being, the closer Henry got to the Ice Widow, the more he struggled to retain his composure. She wore a dress of the deepest midnight blue, which exaggerated her plentiful cleavage. She had long brunette hair, which was tied back in a band, and long drop earrings in the same colour as her dress. Her skin was pale, matching the surroundings in which she lived, but her features were bold thanks to the dark makeup she wore. Henry couldn’t stop staring, he was absolutely enthralled by her beauty.