The Greystone Chronicles: Book One: Io Online

by Dave Willmarth

  “Your observations are correct, mortal,” Odin had read his thoughts. “And before you ask, intelligence will have a slightly greater impact for this avatar. Mainly in its stealth related abilities: its chance to avoid detection; and its chance to successfully pick locks or disarm traps.”

  An interesting possibility. Alexander had played a rogue in other games, and had quite enjoyed it, but no hasty decisions here. He moved on to the next alcove. This one was dressed in a white cloth robe with a hood. It wore a golden amulet around its neck, and there was a staff in its hand. So, a caster, probably a priest class, based on the amulet. Alexander disliked “holy” classes like priests and paladins as they received their power from worship of a deity. That meant they had to act in accordance with that deity’s dogma, or risk failure of their powers, making them all but useless. They often had extremely powerful abilities, but the limitations weren’t worth it to him. The next alcove held another avatar in full plate armor with an icon on the breastplate. Another holy symbol? So a paladin, then. Next. Another caster in cloth robes. This time green. And a gnarled wooden staff. Druid? That was Sasha’s job.

  Alexander paused and looked to Odin. “All-father. Which of these do you think best suit me?”

  Without speaking, Odin waived his hand, and all but one of the alcoves vanished. Alexander walked over to the remaining avatar.

  Mage: Alexander

  Build: Ranged magic/Melee dps

  Health: 100 Level: 1

  Mana: 100 Experience: 0/100

  Stamina: 4 Dexterity: 6 Armor: ? Health Regen: ?

  Strength: 4 Wisdom: 10 Defense: ? Mana Regen: 0

  Agility: 5 Intelligence: 10 Phys Attack: ? Magic Attack: 0

  Luck: 10 Charisma: 9 Stamina Regen: ? Race: Elf

  Ok, a caster. With maxed out intel and wisdom. So large mana pool and quick regen. Also good spell power, and it says melee. So, like Gandalf swinging his sword and staff? Cool! But 4’s in both strength and stamina, and only a 6 in agility. I’d get crushed in melee.

  “You’re forgetting your gear, mortal,” Odin nudged him with a giant elbow, causing him to stumble a bit. “The chest piece you received for your first kill provides boosts to strength, stamina, and agility, your three main melee stats, as well as your crit chance, and luck, which will help you in melee or ranged attacks, among other things. That item is bound to you, and cannot be stolen. Its benefits will increase as you both level up. So while your melee DPS would be much lower than your previous avatar’s, this one would allow you to enhance your melee damage with magical attacks, or your defenses. There are other potential benefits that will reveal themselves as you grow.”

  “I KNEW it!” Alexander began to pace and wave his arms at the god in the room. “You and dad cooked this up! I told him those loot drops were suspicious. Too overpowered and customized to fit each of us perfectly. The loot drops, this avatar build… you’ve been planning this!”

  “SILENCE, MORTAL!” Odin’s voice literally shook the room as he leaned over Alexander. His face was a thundercloud, lightning flashing in his remaining eye. “It is not your place to question the actions of the All-Father! Nor your elders!” Odin’s hand made another flicking motion, causing Alexander to actually flinch. The alcove with the avatar disappeared, and another took its place. “Perhaps you would prefer this, instead!” Odin turned and stomped over to sit in a massive throne that appeared in front of him. He crossed his arms and glared at Alexander.

  The alcove contained a female likeness of Alexander. It wore a leather breastplate over obnoxiously large breasts and a short leather gladiator skirt. Leather boots rose above her knees, and she wore a winged metal helm. The weapons included a longbow, one handed sword and shield, several knives, and what looked like a magic wand with a heart on the end. The cover of the book said “Valkyrie”.

  Alexander got the point. “I’m sorry, great Odin. I did not mean to offend. I simply wish to earn my successes, rather than have them handed to me because of who I am. Please forgive my rudeness.”

  Uncrossing his arms, Odin spoke, “Make no mistake, mortal. Any players who accomplished that first kill would have received epic loot. You and your team not only completed the dungeon, but did so at nearly twenty levels below the boss. In addition, you found a way to quickly end a fight that all before you had failed, and in doing so killed the boss without losing any of your group. You earned the drops you received!”

  “And allowing us to keep our gear when we’re starting over at level one?” Alexander challenged him, getting a little tired of the way Odin was talking down to him. “Is that is an option being offered to all who agree to beta test the immersion pods? In gratitude for their assistance, and in recognition of their courage?”

  Odin’s stern visage actually darkened. “You still question me?”

  Alexander sighed. “No, all-father. I was mistaken. Again I apologize,” he said.

  Odin jumped up from his throne. “Good!” He was smiling again. He waved a hand and the original dozen avatars returned. Though the Valkyrie was somehow still there as well. “It is time to choose, mortal. Your friends await you in Io!” So. Clearly Odin’s anger was just a show. But Alexander was done arguing. He was excited to get into the game and experience full immersion. He walked toward the rogue avatar he had examined earlier. This would be a change, but not a big change from what he was used to. A lot of “stabby stabby” as Sasha called it. It would fill his normal role within the team, with a few additions like disarming traps.

  But he was curious about the mage. He could still do some melee DPS, and ranged too. Maybe some up close magic damage? DoTs?. So he could be more flexible in his play style. And if it really did have some defensive magic, that would offset the normal caster squishiness. What the hell. Why not?

  Before he was even able to speak his choice, Odin and the room disappeared. Alexander was suddenly weightless again, and in total darkness. This lasted a few seconds before he felt solid ground beneath him. Above him, light slowly increased to reveal an early morning sky. Dominating that sky was the enormous brown and blue striped marble that was the planet Jupiter. Partially visible behind it were the unmistakable rings of Saturn. Io being one of Jupiter’s moons, and one that was tidally locked to the planet, Jupiter was visible in the skies of Io day and night. Alexander loved that view. His father’s artists had created it as a tribute to his mother. She’d have loved it as much as he did.

  Lowering his gaze from the skies, Alexander noted that he was lying on the side of a small hill. A forest surrounded him on three sides, while directly in front of him the hill sloped gradually down to a wide meadow. Though it was still night, the sun’s light reflected softly off Jupiter’s surface, providing enough illumination to see by. It was rarely truly dark on Io; only during an eclipse. Beyond the meadow in the far distance, Alexander could see the lights and silhouettes of Stormforge. His memory triggered, and he recognized that he was in the starter area he’d first entered as a noob. It was a decent walk to the city, maybe 3 miles.

  He rose to his feet, and took stock of himself. He was wearing standard noob gear. Grey cloth pants and shirt, a small belt knife, and sandals. Not seeing any of his friends, he decided to move to the top of the hill and look for them. Turning uphill he went to take a step, and fell forward. He instinctively threw his hands out to catch his fall before his face planted itself in the grass. What was this? His fingers were longer than normal. Pushing himself back up to a standing position, he held his arms out in front of him. His hands were further away than they should be! Looking down, he thought he was slightly taller than normal as well. “Odin! What have you done to me!?” he called out to the emptiness around him. Walking carefully, he managed the few steps to the top of the hill without falling. Looking around, he saw no sign of his friends. He must have gotten here first.

  Having a few minutes to himself, he moved his arms around a bit. Lifted each leg. Walked around in a circle atop the hill. Trying to acclimate himself to this ne
w body.

  New body! How am I supposed to improve my condition if the new pathways I form while playing the game are meant to move a DIFFERENT body? This is just going to make me more clumsy in real life!

  Angry at Odin and his father, as he suspected they were behind this, he sat down to inspect his character sheet. He lifted his right hand in the familiar gesture to bring up his user interface. Nothing happened. So, different interface with immersion? “Interface,” he said. Immediately a screen popped up in front of his eyes. Slightly opaque, but clear enough that he could see the trees beyond. He noticed in the top right corner of his vision was a map, currently showing just a few feet of the hilltop surrounding him. And in the upper left was a small icon of his face, with green and blue bars beneath it.

  Would you like to begin the player tutorial? No! He didn’t want the tutorial. He’d had just about enough!

  As soon as he thought “no”, the message disappeared and was replaced by another. If you would like to access the tutorial at a later time, simply close your eyes and think the word “tutorial”. We hope you enjoy your experience here on Io!”

  Interesting. So just think what you want? No hand motions? He decided to test it out. Closing his eyes, he thought “Status”. Immediately a screen popped up on his interface. To the left side was the same stat sheet he’d seen in the alcove, with a few changes. The question marks from before were filled in.

  Mage: Alexander

  Build: Ranged magic/Melee DPS

  Health: 100 Level: 1

  Mana: 100 Experience: 0/100

  Stamina: 4 Dexterity: 6 Armor: 1 Health Regen: 5

  Strength: 4 Wisdom: 10 Defense: 1 Mana Regen: 12

  Agility: 6 Intelligence: 10 Phys Attack: 2 Magic Attack: 3

  Luck: 10 Charisma: 9 Stamina Regen: 2 Race: Elf

  The right side of the status screen showed an image of Alexander’s avatar. It was dressed in the noob gear he was currently wearing. When he moved his hand, the avatar’s hand moved as well. He couldn’t resist. He waved at himself.

  Looking back to his stats, he reviewed them carefully. His noob clothes were providing him with a pitiful one armor and defense. The 2 physical attack came from his belt knife. He’d regenerate 5 health per minute when not in combat. Ok, pretty normal. And 12 mana per minute. So. He was going to have to learn how to manage mana usage. If he depleted his mana completely, it would take roughly 8 minutes to be fully restored. He’d played casters as a kid, so this wasn’t a totally foreign concept. He was just very, very out of practice. Continuing to read, his eyes got wide.

  “Well, shit”

  He quickly looked back to the avatar section of the screen. He reached up his hand and lifted the hair from the side of his head. “Annnd there they are. Elf ears. I’m a damned elf.” He hadn’t noticed when he was reviewing the avatar in the alcove that the mage was an elf. He’d been focused on the attributes and just never looked that far. “That explains the long limbs and fingers. Brick’s never gonna let me hear the end of this,” he signed.

  “The end of what?” Sasha was walking up the hill toward him. Looking toward where his hand was still holding his hair, she squealed, “You became an elf!” She grabbed a hold of the pointed ear tip and waggled it a bit. “I think it might be an improvement!” she grinned at him, letting go.

  “Yeah, and a mage, too. Odin sort of strongly suggested it.” He said, watching her eyes widen.

  “No more stabby stabby!?” she exclaimed.

  “No, I’m still melee, but I’m also a caster. So stabby stabby and whoosh, pow!” he chuckled.

  “Well, that’s certainly a big change,” Max was now standing just down the hill. Close enough to have heard them talking. “I think Odin might have changed all of us, at least a little bit. Myself, I’m still a ranger, but I’ve focused on Scout abilities, which give me better stealth, mapping, and trap abilities.”

  “I stuck with druid healer,” Sasha said. “But my intel is much higher than before. And I focused on a branch of nature magic that will allow me to control plants and trees. I’ll be able to make things grow, and move!” She did a bit of a happy dance there on the hilltop.

  “What’re ye dancin’ about like a fairy for?” Brick’s voice rolled up from the start point.

  “We were just discussing changes to our toons,” Max said as the dwarf reached them.

  “Aye! Odin gave me a chance to improve meself as well!” Brick smiled mischievously. “I’m stronger than before, based on my real life body. Faster, too. And I be a pally now!”

  The others all groaned.

  Brick looked defensive, and slightly angry, “What?”

  Alexander answered for the others, “Paladins have to pray to their gods for powers every day. And follow the belief and morals systems of that god. If you anger them, you risk losing your powers.”

  “BWAAAHAHAHA!” Brick laughed even louder than usual. “Ye be thinkin I’m daft? I know all that. That’s why I picked Durin as me new boss!!” when the others looked confused, he explained “Durin. Lord o’Dwarves? Every ale I drink, every mob I kill counts as a prayer to him! His demands are simple. Bravery in battle. Loyalty to me friends. Pursuit of honor, pretty women, and parties!”

  The others stood there for a moment with their mouths open before all of them began to laugh nearly as loudly as Brick himself. “I gotta hand it to you, shortness. You found the perfect god for yourself!” Max patted him on the back.

  “Aye! And even better, I can heal meself a bit during battle. And once per day I can resurrect one of ye!” The dwarf was clearly proud of his choices, and so were his friends.

  A quiet voice drifted up from below, “Hey, guys”. Lainey waved to them as they all turned.

  Sasha leapt down the hill and tackled her in an enthusiastic hug, nearly toppling them both down the hill. “Lainey! I’m SO glad you’re here! So c’mon, tell us! What class did you pick?” Lainey, Sasha, and Alexander had spent the previous evening in their living room, discussing classes and abilities, and answering questions about the game for her.

  “Well, it took me a while to decide. I guess when they tested me, I scored high in strength and agility. Probably because of my years training. I also scored high in intelligence, so Odin said I could play pretty much anything well. I kind of like the rogue, with all the sneaking and badass whirling around stabbing everything, but it also seemed kind of exhausting. And I liked the idea of being able to shoot fireballs at Alexander when he misbehaved!” she winked at him, “but Odin says I can’t shoot him unless we’re dueling, so that’s no fun. Anyway, there were so many choices, and I don’t really know what I’m doing, so I asked Odin for help. He showed me the Valkyrie. I can stand back and shoot with a bow, or use a sword and shield to kill stuff up close. And Odin said as one of his servants he’d grant me some magic abilities for attacking and healing. But what really decided me, was when he said that once I get to high levels, I can grow wings and FLY!”

  The friends all looked at each other, then at Lainey. Surprise evident on their faces. “Woah!” Sasha exclaimed. “that’s a whole new class! And being able to fly? I mean, sure, at level 50 we can all buy flying mounts. But being able to fly on your own? That’s AWESOME!” she hugged Lainey again, and they both sort of hopped up and down.

  “Nice choice, Lainey,” Alexander said, looking up at the sky and making a face at Odin. He was thinking Odin probably created that class on the spot, just to mock him. “Ok guys, we should get moving. It’s a bit of a walk to Stormforge, and it’s not exactly healthy for a bunch of level 1’s to be out in the woods at night, even in the noob zone.” As he started to walk down the hill, he patted the dwarf on the shoulder.

  The dwarf froze, and looked up at him. “Alexander, did you get taller? Or am I shorter?” He looked at himself, then down at the ground, and up at Alexander again.

  “Ooooh, watch this!” Sasha whispered loudly to Lainey.

  “Yeah, buddy, I’m taller,” Alexander confirmed, still walking.r />
  “Why are you taller?” The dwarf persisted, catching up to him.

  “Yeah, Alexander, why ARE you taller?” Sasha added helpfully.

  Alexander stopped walking and turned toward the dwarf, trying to think of a way to admit his elfy-ness and still retain some dignity. He absently scratched his head.

  “BWAAHAHAHAHA!” the dwarf burst out, bending over and holding his gut. Too late, Alexander realized that scratching his head had revealed his elven ear. “Yer an elf! A big scrawny elfy elf!” Brick was laughing so hard he actually fell over and began to roll down the hill. This only caused him to laugh all the harder, and got everyone but Alexander was laughing as well, mostly at the dwarf. They followed him down.

  At the bottom of the hill, the dwarf rolled into a clump of tall grass, apparently landing on a rabbit. The poor bunny squealed, and tried to hop away, but its leg was injured. This apparently counted as an attack, because suddenly Brick was in combat! “What the…?” the dwarf had time to wonder before the bunny let out a what must count for a bunny battle cry, sounding more like a terrified squirrel, and leapt at Brick. Its sharp front teeth sliced through his noob pants and cut deeply into his thigh. Definitely no longer laughing, Brick retreated toward his friends, keeping an eye on the deranged rabbit. “A killer bunny?” he looked confused “Bunnies never attacked when we were here before!”