I lean over the griffin’s neck. Its feathers are rainbow colored, and they glisten in the sunlight. His muscles undulate below me. We’re not flying so far above the ground that I can’t make out the details of the lands below.
The land spreads out below me like a painting. There are trees and cottages, and creatures that scatter at our approach. I’m attached to the saddle like I’m glued to it. I don’t think I would fall out if I tried, but I don’t exactly want to test it.
I decide to try out what I can do while on griffin back. Is it like the gloves and goggles version of game I know? I try to attack my ride, but get an Invalid Target message that I have to wave away. I would try to change my clothes, but I have nothing to change into. I check my bags. Yup. Nothing. No change to the contents at all, except my gold supply has dwindled a bit. After a few minutes we come to the edge of the forest, which borders a river valley. And in that valley is Silverkeep City. My heart pounds a little faster as I see its crystal white spires jutting into the puffy white clouds that dot the blue sky for the first time. It looks like a fairy tale.
My griffin swoops past the city gates, through the opening made by two giant elfin statues of tree-gods. They’re made of crystal, though, like the elven buildings, so I don’t fear for my life. In between the crystal spires are roads made of cobblestone, and more modest dwellings and shops with stone fronts and thatched hay roofs, clay at best. The crystal spires I know from the game. But here, in person, they take my breath away. Some are in the magic sector in the west, some are on the cathedral in the east, but most decorate the royal palace in the heart of town. They rise into the clouds, gleaming white crystalline towers that catch the sun and send out rainbows all over the city.
I get off the griffin and have no idea where to go to find Catriona. I take a moment to catch my bearings. I’m a bit overcome. Everything in three dimensions, just like gloves and goggles, and I can hear the sounds, but it’s more than that. I can smell the city. I can almost taste it, everything is so palpable and wonderful and real.
There are inns scattered all across town. But I do know how to get to the rogue’s quarter. I decide I’ll start there. I’ll find the best gear for me there anyway. For shits and giggles I stop at the quest board. That’s where they put the wanted posters. I stop to read the first quest. My whole world is taken over by a vision. I recognize the feature; it’s VR World’s version of an in-game cinematic. I even hear glorious music playing alongside the feed.
Except I recognize the players in this one.
A group of elves are reporting to the queen of Arcadia, Layora Lunacaller, in her throne room. I’ve seen it often enough on the news. “Milady, we’re sorry to report we’ve lost sight of the rebels and now they’re spread throughout Silverkeep City untracked, a danger to all.”
The queen looks right at the screen, her face fills my vision. “Fidelius wants what’s in Leeroy Jenkinz’s head. You have to find him. We have to keep Fidelius from getting that knowledge or all will be lost, our world will sink into chaos. I can’t have that. Order is key to our survival. You have trusted me to keep the peace so far, hero. Help me to keep it now. Find the members of the rebel alliance, the so-called followers of Fidelius, and bring them to me.”
Quest offered: Find the Rebels!
Turn in any member of the rebel alliance, especially Leeroy Jenkinz, to Queen Lunacaller’s forces at the palace.
Reward: 5 gold pieces and a pair of leather boots crafted to your specification with a +2 bonus/level to a chosen stat.
Do you accept?
That’s weird. I’ve never seen a quest in gloves and goggles calling out a specific player character like that before. I wonder if everyone who chose the same faction as I did, and who makes it to this point in the game, receives a similar quest with their name in place of mine.
The screen displays a badass money reward, as well as a pair of legendary boots as an enticement for completing the quest. Even though I have no intention of fulfilling it, I decide to accept the quest.
I walk my way through the city, which is a PVP-free zone. I’m safe here, quest or no. People might be looking for me, but they’re going to have to use subterfuge, not violence, to capture me. I know where I’m going, after all.
I relax a little, take in the sights, and am taken aback by how familiar and how real everything is. There’s the shop where I’d get my leathers cured for sewing, if I had either of those professions, there’s the place I’d get my blades honed for a price. The canals wend their ways through the city and they’re much dirtier than I expect, with shopkeepers throwing their slop in there and, the current not being all that strong, the sludge has built up.
The buildings are all cobbled together from river stone, and the roads are too. There’s a surprisingly developed and cosmopolitan feel to the place, and of course everything is familiar. I’ve walked these streets before. But not like this. This is amazing. It’s all come to life around me. I feel like I’m in a movie.
I stop in at a leatherworking shop and ask to see their wares. Finally, I’m able to dress the part of a rogue. Now my character pane looks like this.
LEVEL 20 CHARACTER STATS
NAME Leeroy Jenkinz, CLASS Rogue, RACE Human EXPERIENCE (EXP)—Max.
CORE ATTRIBUTES
20 + 38 (modifiers) AGILITY (AGI) = +58% to dodge and critical hit
1 SPELLPOWER (SP) = 10 spell points
8 + 3 FORTITUDE (FORT) = 110 health points
14 +12 POWER (PWR) = +260 damage
ARMOR/ENHANCEMENTS
Chest—Breast Plate of Power +3 PWR
Head—Cowl of Deepening Shadows +4 AGI
Hands—Gloves of Deepening Stealth +4 AGI
Forearms—Bracers of Strength +2 FORT
Legs—Leggings of Fortitude +5 FORT
Feet—Boots of Power +4 PWR
Rings— Ring of Dodge +5 AGI (2)
Necklace—Of Protection +1 FORT
WEAPONS
Dual Wield Heirloom Daggers +1 AGI/level
SKILLS
Stick’em
Slash
Slippery Fish
Shadow Cloak
Fangstrike
Cut Purse
Lock Pick
The Claw
Shadowslide
PROFESSIONS
Fishing
Poisoncrafting
Mixology
Woodlore
ACHIEVEMENTS
Keys to the City
Level Twenty—You’re Maxxed Out!
Level Ten!
Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!
Say my name!
Phew, Level Five already?
It was this big!
You’ve arrived!
Bardic Credit: 15
I’m pretty pleased with myself once I’m all decked out. My leathers are all jet black and studded with menacing looking silver accents. I think my bracers make me look badass. Based on how I look, I would respect me. I get back out on the road to keep heading for the rogue’s quarters. I hope to the devil that Catriona is still there, waiting for me. At least, I think that’s what the quest message said. It all feels like so long ago now.
I get tired of walking and flag down a flying carpeteer to take me to the guild bank I’m supposed to access in the rogue’s quarter. The carpeteer is unusually talkative. “I can tell this isn’t your first time in Arcadia,” he says. “Tourists don’t go straight for this district.”
“Oh, I’m just meeting an old friend at the pub there,” I say.
“Sure, sure. Well, I’ll hang around these parts in case you need a ride home from there,” he says.
“That’s kind, but I don’t think it will be necessary,” I say.
The Rogue’s Den is nestled next to The Blue Door, a pub with an unsurprisingly faded blue door. I get through the multiple twists and turns to the true front door of the guild, glad that I remember the passage from gloves and goggles, speak the same remembered password, and I’m in.
> The room is long and rectangular. I spot the guild vault, a chest, in the back corner, and notice a bar window cut out of one of the walls, taps clearly visible behind the counter. A smattering of tables is arranged around the “window.” A few dark figures linger at this time of day, but the place is mostly empty.
A message shows up in front of me when I tap the rogue’s guild vault in the back corner of the room.
Leeroy Jenkinz, make haste to the inn and find me. First see your guild trainer who will know which inn I speak of and can direct you there once you’ve passed his tests. I’m sorry for this, but it must be done. We have to know we can trust you. Find Will Fast Fingers and you’ll find me.
It’s from Catriona. A picture of her avatar is attached in the mailbox. I could stare at that image for hours. But there’s only one way to get to her, so I memorize the name of the guy I’m supposed to find and wave the message away.
Quest offered: Locate Will Fast Fingers
Find Will Fast Fingers and agree to undergo his evaluation.
Reward: 4 silver, 20 copper pieces
Do you accept?
“I accept,” I say.
I make my way deeper into the rogue’s hideout. I duck through a doorway, go down a hallway, up a staircase, and come out into a great room. There’s another bar at the back, which seems as good a place as any to make the acquaintance of Will Fast Fingers, if Billy the Dodger is anyone to judge this by.
Sure enough, there’s a shady looking guy slumped in a chair in the corner with a cowl covering most of his head. When I do an ident check, the blue letters above his head spell his name. So, it’s pretty obvious who I’m supposed to connect with. I walk up to the guy.
When I approach, he lifts his head up and greets me. “Leeroy Jenkinz. Long have I been waiting for you. Long have we all. Will you prove yourself the hero you have promised us you are?”
I remember making no such promise, but I nod anyway.
Locate Will Fast Fingers Quest Complete!
Congratulations! You have received
4 silver, 20 copper pieces
“I have something to teach you, and then I’ll challenge you to master it. Come here. Let me whisper in your ear.” I do as he asks. The words are in no language I’ve ever heard. A variant of Elvish?
Congratulations! You have learned a new combat skill: backstab.
I consult my character pane and see that backstab turns shadowslide into a double strike when rage points are built up, so it can do double that massive damage on a second opponent if I build up my rage points fighting someone else. Wicked.
“And now you can practice,” Will says.
Quest offered: They Put Up Such A Fight Though
Try out the new backstab skill on ten training dummies.
Reward: 4 silver, 40 copper pieces and reputation bonus with the rogue’s guild.
Do you accept?
“Yes,” I say, and wave away the quest.
“Which way to the training dummies?” I ask, and a map appears before my face with a flag on my destination and an X on my current position. I love this place.
I get outside again and start walking. The dummies are just around the corner behind the building. I jump a little, feeling this enhanced body out, flexing my muscles. This is what it feels like to be healthy and in shape. God damn, it feels good. I am a strong, powerful version of myself, and I’m stealthy as the mutherfucking wind.
I backstab the hell out of those dummies. They never saw me coming.
They Put Up Such A Fight Though Quest Complete!
Congratulations! You have received
4 silver, 40 copper pieces and 800 reputation points with the rogue’s guild.
Note: 2,400 more points will elevate you to a friendly status.
I wave the notice away and return to my friend Will.
Will puts me through my paces. “You’ll demonstrate you know your craft,” he says to me next, and the holoquest page appears before my eyes.
Quest offered: How Crafty Are You?
Create a charisma enhancing potion—or a poison—and provide a feast fit for a party.
Reward: Special.
Do you accept?
Secondary skills. I can do the poisoncraft no problem, I have the skills for that. But the feast? I really don’t want to take and level up my cooking skills enough to be able to produce that. Buying one at a vendor would be a viable option except that I just spent all of my money gearing up and can’t possibly afford a feast.
“Look,” I tell him. “I have to get a move on. Can you at least cut me some slack?” I see a brief +1% Bargaining notification blip across my vision. I didn’t even know that was a thing.
I feel a bit emboldened at this development in my skills. I like it here. This is just fun. I feel like I’m home, in a way I haven’t felt for far too long.
“Choose one of the two tasks,” Will says and I choose the poison-making task because I figure he’ll let me keep what I make and the poison might come in handy later. Plus, cooking. I dig through my recipe book to learn the ingredients, then go hunting for them. I might slaughter a few boars or cats while I’m gathering. Maybe some wolves. It doesn’t matter. I am in my element, and my pack is brimming with a collection of reagents for different chemical recipes.
Still, I can harvest more. I love the forest here. Everything is blue-hued and moss-covered, soft and muted. I make my way back to town and find an apothecary who sells me crystal vials, and lets me use his fires.
The shop is a small thing, not much more than a few tables with wares on it, a workbench, and a roaring fire. That’s all I’ll need, though.
I pull open my spell book and gather the ingredients from my bag. It’s uncomfortably warm in here; I want to get this over with. I cast the making spell and my hands work like crazy before my very eyes, doing things before I request them, and, before I know it, I have a flask of poison. I do it again and again until I have five of them, and these I pocket in my bag. I thank the apothecary and return to the guildhall to present my poison to Will, having completed that mission.
He nods at me and uncorks one of my bottles, sniffs at it, and recorks it. “Smells right,” he says, “but I don’t actually need any of these. You can keep them.”
Bingo. That’s what I wanted. “So you’ll tell me how to get to Catriona now?” I ask. I need to know where she is. Who knows how long she’s waited for me, or how long she will wait for me?
“Of course,” he says. “A bargain’s a bargain.”
Another holo screen pops up before me.
How Crafty Are You Quest Complete!
Congratulations! You have received
Map to inn
I don’t know why I feel so drawn to her. She’s just an NPC in the gloves and goggles version of the game. Plenty of grown men fantasize about her, I guess. I’m not alone. But in this version of Arcadia, where I know the NPCs and the avatars of other races are all played by actual Arcadians, I feel like I can connect with the real Catriona. I can bring my dream girl to life.
I wave the message away and check my bag. Sure enough, there’s a map in there. I saunter to the back of the guildhall, but not before Will says to me, “There’s a room here, if you want one. Best to attune your homestone while you’re here, before you need it. There are worse places to stay in the city, but there aren’t many better for holing up in.”
“Right.” Of course he’s right. I should do that thing right away. My steps follow where he points, down in the belly of the cellar, where, among the wine casks, are beds and bunk beds on strong oaken frames. The rough-hewn blankets are soft to the touch. Some of the “rooms” are even cordoned off with a sheet hung from a rope strung between two casks.
I seek out the innkeeper and ask him to attune my homestone. While I don’t intend to actually get a room here, it’s nice to have a bolt hole set up. The innkeeper waves a hand over my stone and it glows a murky amber and holds that hue. I flip the innkeeper a gold for his trouble—as we
ll as for the bread and cheese he provided—and head back out to the street.
Chapter 19
When I leave the Rogue’s Den, the same flying carpeteer is lingering on the corner where I left him. He smiles at me and I hop on his carpet and direct him to the Elven district.
As we draw near, I give him further directions. “Two streets down you’ll need to turn left.” I sound sure of myself, and calm, but inside I am secretly exalted, enthralled. This is my Arcadia! I know these streets, how to navigate them. I am home.
Boom! Chaos erupts. There are explosions in the marketplace the carpeteer is flying us through. Screeching noises and screams hit my ears at the same time as the carpeteer shouts “Rebels!” back to me. “I’m going to take evasive action. Hold on!”
The carpet begins to swerve, seemingly out of control, but we do manage not to be hit by any of the rebel bombs, which are going off all around us. There’s a stench of smoke and fire, burning hair and wood filling my nostrils. Gusts of heat rocket past me. I duck and swallow hard as the carpet weaves, hoping this first day in Silverkeep City won’t be my last. What are they doing bombing here? It’s hard to think amidst the screams, but there’s something here I have to chase. They must be really desperate if they’re attracting attention to their cause this way.
“What do the rebels want?” I ask the flying carpeteer when he gets us to a quieter area.
“What does anyone want?” he answers. “More freedom. More money. More babies.”
A sudden explosion below tears through the front of the carpet and we come to a skidding stop and roll onto the stone walkway, one atop each other for several revolutions.
“Are you okay?” I shout to the carpeteer.
“I’ll live,” he says.
Arcadia Unlocked: A LitRPG Novel (Arcadia LitRPG Book 1) Page 12
