And now I understood why those players in the woods kept going back over and over again. They weren’t losing any experience by dying.
Several more characters that had been out in the field fighting rabbits began popping into the square. I was guessing the rare mob just started attacking everyone. I hoped no one noticed that it was my group that “spawned” this mob, as that would make my plan to sell the sacks all the more difficult.
I looked over to my comrades and was about to suggest ways to get our bodies when I heard a voice yelling in my ear. It was Sayhey, and he was yelling, “Taking this beast to the guards! Everyone get inside the gate!”
After 10 more seconds there was another yell by Sayhey, “All clear in the field. Recommence with the slaughter.”
My group and I returned to the field to collect our bodies. While we were retrieving our items I noticed a number of icons that allowed you to collect your items. I specifically looked for one that would let me retrieve everything at once. I hovered over each icon until I found the desired one and blinked to activate it. My dagger and Bloody Rabbit Foot were reequipped and the 13 sacks went back into my inventory. I relayed this information to my teammates and was happy to see that if it came to it, I could recover my items quickly and get back in the fight.
For the next hour we continued to kill rabbits. This time we went back to pulling rabbits to us along the wall. This way we wouldn’t accidentally have another rare spawn on us. Since Dan was pulling the mobs, and his Chance was 1, there was little chance a rare was going to spawn around him.
After we had collected the 20th sack I began moving around the remaining groups. I pitched the same line over and over again. And I met with the same result. At first they tried to haggle. But I knew the worth of these sacks and I knew the frustration the characters were going through. In the end, no one turned us down except for the group that still had no sacks and couldn’t possibly afford the five they would need to advance.
With 20 silver in hand, Dan, Jason, Wayne and I all went off to the market place to get us some improved gear and get ready for the next adventure.
* * *
We had to go to three different stores in the market area. The first was for armor. Luckily one person sold both leather and metal armor. Dan and I would require leather. Wayne and Jason would need metal. There were plenty of options, but we didn’t have that much cash. In the end we made sure to get Jason and Wayne the most armor, and Dan and I just a little so that we at least had an armor without Jason’s buffs. For Wayne and Jason, we purchased all Rusted items, as this is what we could afford. And for myself and Dan, it was Tattered items.
As I said, Wayne got the motherlode of items. We purchased a Rusted Breastplate, Rusted Leggings, Rusted Boots, and a Rusted Helmet. Each sold for 1 Silver 50 Copper. Jason received A Rusted Breastplate, Rusted Leggings, and Rusted Boots. Dan and I both got Tattered Leather Jerkin and Tattered Leather Leggings. Each item gave an Armor bonus. It was still unclear how this would negate damage, but that is what we were going to find out. When opened the items looked like this.
We had 3.5 Silver from the 20 sacks we sold. We also had 7 additional silver from our rewards, the original two sacks I sold, and an assortment of Copper from the rabbits. So with 10.5 silver in hand we went to get Wayne a mighty weapon and Dan a new bow.
We found a Novice Bow for Dan that would give a +5 Atk Modifier for 3 Silver. A huge increase to his current +1 Modifier. The only problem was the level limit was set at Level 5, so Dan would not be able to use the bow until he reached his next level. Wayne went the same route getting a Dulled War Hammer that had a +7 Atk Modifier and sold for 5 silver, but also couldn’t be used until level 5. Finally, when I was ready to go, the guys suggested I also get a new weapon. I found a Dulled Dagger with a +4 Atk Modifier for 2.5 Silver, also with the level restriction. When opened in our inventory the items looked like this:
That was all of our money, but I thought we were likely the most well equipped level 4 adventurers on the game. And that led me to my next point with the guys.
“We’ve got the best equipped players in the game right now, I would bet,” I said.
“I know man; I can’t wait to just strut down the main square like a peacock. I may walk backwards so everyone can see my tail feathers!” Dan said.
“You don’t have tail feathers. All they would see is your Tattered ass,” Jason replied.
“Nice one Alli!” Dan exclaimed while putting his hand out for a high five. Jason didn’t even turn his head to look at Dan’s hand. But Dan’s smile never went down. You had to love this brilliant, yet entirely idiotic, ass clown.
“Actually, that is the point I am trying to make here Dan. I want us to put all of our new stuff in our Inventory. I want us to walk out of this store with only what we had on us when we entered,” I said.
“Awe man, why would we do that? You seem to forget that TheClaw has a reputation he needs to make out there. I conceded to your staying in the field and farming the rabbits, but I can’t agree to this, no matter what your reasoning,” Dan replied.
“I agree with him here Dan. We walk out of here all decked out, and everyone is going to realize that we took advantage of them and we had more than just “a few extra” sacks,’ Wayne explained.
Dan started giggling and then started apologizing, “I’m sorry Wayne, I just can’t stop laughing every time you start talking about our sacks.”
“But he is right Dan. We didn’t just run around saying we had all these items,” Jason said. I was betting he was avoiding the word “sack” on purpose. “So we need to sell the story that we only had a few extra. Alex, how about after we do the next quest we show off our gear. I doubt anyone else has finished the next quest so we would look like we got it from that.”
I nodded my head. This seemed reasonable. Dan looked like he was about to argue again so I beat him to the punch. “And when we do come back, we will be sure to spread extra love for TheClaw and how his awesomeness got us this gear.”
Dan thought about it some more, and then finally agreed, however with one more caveat. “Ok. But if we find and kill something with feathers, I am totally learning how to add them to my butt.”
We all stashed our gear in our inventory while laughing with Dan. Or laughing at Dan. Seriously. he didn’t care either way.
We returned to Sir Kenyon at the main square. We planned to ask for the next quest. Only we planned on doing it when we logged back in. Each of us were tired and we had been playing for hours on end. I had not received anything from the IT folks about my log on issues or my faulty Chance score. I hoped the next day would find us lots of adventure and an answer to my repeated bugs.
CHAPTER 12
August 10th, 2043
I logged in at 10AM per our usual routine. Once again, just before the download bar hit 100% I saw the same ERROR message flash briefly across the screen. Almost unnoticeable, but now I was looking for it after the last time. Upon entering the game, I was immediately greeted by the following message:
Thank you for your recent report. Our IT representatives are actively checking to determine what, if any, problem you are accounting. We request you continue to send reports as you or your group find additional problems in the game.
Additionally, we have reviewed your character and have found it to be reflecting your skills accurately without any problem. We hope you continue to enjoy your experience in ResurgenceBeta, and thank you again for your assistance in this matter.
IT Team
After reading this I opened my character screen to review my stats and see if the problem was fixed. When I did, I indeed saw a difference, but not the one I think I was supposed to find.
Instead of finding my character with the appropriate 6 to Chance, I now had 60. The game was still giving me 10 times the chance modifier. And with my Bloody Rabbit Foot, I still had a +1 to Chance. According to the IT team at AltCon, everything was running normal. I decided to continue keeping this to myself.
It was at this time I took in my surroundings. I was indeed in the town square, but I was still a short distance from my log-out point. The difference now was minimal, as long as I didn’t log out right next to a spawn point for a bunch of aggressive mobs. The variation still worried me though. I was going to have to start documenting this a little more diligently. Start looking at exactly where I log-out and seeing how far from that point I am arriving. Also, I needed to determine how much that decrease between log in and log out were decreasing.
A few minutes later all of my team had logged back in, and we immediately grouped up. Once again, I was the group leader. I offered the leadership role to the other guys, but they said with my Chance, I had to be the leader in order to loot and get a better chance for rare finds. If they only knew.
“Let’s get to it boys! I want to get this quest, get started, and check out all this new gear we got,” Wayne said.
“I am fully in agreement with Naugha on this one. I too want to get back to adventuring and discovering new areas of the game,” Jason agreed.
“Ditto all that,” Dan said.
“Sounds good guys. Let’s engage Kenyon and get this quest,” I said while approaching Sir Kenyon. “We are here to answer the call.”
Sir Kenyon looked at me and my comrades, and after several seconds said, “I see that you have the hearts of warriors, but I still fear you are not prepared enough. Please come back when you are ready and I will have a task for you.”
We all looked at each other, totally crestfallen. We were sure that getting level 4 would get us the next quest.
“I guess we need to level up more. I hate just grinding for levels man, at least with no reward in sight,” Dan said.
“Often, my friend, the journey is the reward. Enjoy the new sights and sounds we find around us and embrace the discovery of new things and new knowledge,” Jason said to Dan.
Dan looked at Jason for several seconds before saying, “At what point in our relationship did you come to the conclusion that reciting phrases you find on inspirational posters would have a positive effect on me Alli? It’s like you just saw right through my soul.”
“I hate you so much right now,” Jason replied.
Between giggles, Wayne said, “Alright guys, let it go. We actually do have an option you know. And one that I doubt anyone else has gotten yet. There is always the gnome.”
“Dude! That’s right! The gnome merchant totally had a quest for us. Let’s go get it!” Dan said waving his arms around and pointing toward the market area.
Dan led the way, saying he remembered exactly where the merchant was. Dan’s memory was perfect as always, which is weird that he didn’t remember the gnome and his quest, and had us back in front of the shop in no time. I went in and engaged with the merchant. He remembered our group, which was shocking to me. The AI on this game was really something else.
“Ah, young adventures, have you returned to help me with my task?” the merchant asked.
“Yes fine sir, we are here to help you with your task,” I said, hoping that repeating his words would trigger the quest to begin. It did.
“Excellent! As you know I am a merchant in Port Town, but many of my goods come from a far, and I rely on shipments from other towns to supply my goods. Recently, one of my shipments was taken by a bunch of goblins. The deliverer was lost and believed these goblins when they said they could help him arrive at Port Town. The next thing he knew, he woke up on the edge of the forest near the gates of Port Town. Obviously, he did not have my goods. He said the goblins did not seem like fierce foes, but would have been too much for just him, and as such declined to retrieve my wares. If I give you the location of their camp, would you be able to return my wares? I would of course reward you handsomely. I am sorry for putting this burden on you, but I have very few other options.”
I looked at the guys and raised my eyebrows in question. They all nodded their heads “yes.”
“Of course fine sir, we will help you recover your wares,” I said.
We were surrounded by the golden glow that informed us we had begun a quest, and started to head out. “You will likely have to slaughter many goblins before you can recover my goods. I hope you boys have the stomach for that.” We stopped and Wayne turned back and looked at him and us, and the mention of taking it to the mobs had brought the glimmer back into his eyes.
“I can’t overstate just how much such a thing will be our pleasure good sir.”
We continued out of the shop and we could hear the merchant rambling as we left, “I still can’t believe that delivery boy fell for that, there is no such thing as a trustworthy goblin!”
* * *
We headed out the main gate and made our way toward the forest. We all had the indicator on our maps that informed us where the camp was, but we could not tell what lie between us and there. In fact, with the exception of what I saw around me, my map showed nothing else terrain wise into the forest. However, the areas of town where we had been, still showed on my map despite my not being able to see those areas at the moment. I took this to mean that once I had been somewhere, my map would update, but new areas would be covered until I ventured into them. This was the same for Wayne and Jason, but not for Dan.
“Guess it is a part of my unique Race/Class combination. I seem to be able to see on my map twice as far as I can actually see. This is good for scouting for sure. I mean, I can see places on my map for the town that we never went to, but are next to those areas we visited,” Dan explained. “Wait, what is this? Oh holy mother of hope, there is a tavern! And taverns have beer. And wenches! Please, please, please Alex can we go back for just a bit and get some wenches?”
“You can go see the wenches on your own time Dan, now is time for questing and leveling,” I replied.
Wayne was nodding his head along with Dan until I spoke, and then started shaking it. This made me laugh again.
“Alright man, but me and Wayne are totally going to smash that place. When we are done, the ladies will know TheClaw.”
“More like ThePinky.” Jason whispered to me.
I would have shot water out of my nose if I had been drinking, I laughed so hard. Dan knew the joke was likely about him, but let it pass. I knew he was mentally preparing to get back at Jason at some point though. This is one of the things that made me love my group.
We continued on into the forest toward the indicator on our maps. Dan scouted ahead and made sure we avoided any mobs. We found a clear area where we could likely pull mobs to in order to fight, and let Dan go scout ahead to the camp.
“Well if that isn’t a sack of caterpillars,” we all heard Dan say.
“That isn’t a real phrase Dan, you can’t just go making things up,” Jason responded.
“It’s Norwegian Alli, I wouldn’t expect you to know it, what with spending all your time reading inspirational posters,” Dan said. “But seriously, look at the guy I am targeting right now. He is one of the mobs at the camp.”
We all linked to the mob that Dan was targeting, and just like that we were all laughing out loud. The mob Dan had selected was called “A Trustworthy Goblin.”
“No wonder that sap had been conned by the goblins. Poor guy never had a chance,” Wayne said and then followed it up with, “Dan, target each of the mobs you can see. According to this, the A Trustworthy Goblin you have selected now is white. So it’s our level and will give us experience, which is good.”
Dan continued to select the mobs that were in the camp. There were 15 total and half of them were white and half were blue. This would be good experience. Only I was worried that without snare, Dan would pull too many. But I didn’t have to fear, as Dan had a plan.
“I have a fairly good idea on the range of this bow, and I believe I can step just to the edge of its range and hit a mob. That should only aggro the one I hit, or at most one other. I am ready when you are, so just give the word.”
“Get back here first Dan, I want Allister to hit
us with his buff and then give him time to get to full mana. Also, have you equipped all of your new gear?” I asked.
“Good call Alex, be right there. And yeah, I’ve got all my gear on.”
After we buffed fully, everyone was equipped, and Jason had full mana, we were ready. Dan headed back out and informed us he would be bringing the A Trustworthy Goblin he had first spotted upon arriving at the camp.
After a few seconds Dan said, “Incoming one A Trustworthy Goblin!”
Wayne was ready for when Dan got there and immediately began beating on the goblin when it arrived. Wayne was yelling out hits as he took them, “Hit for 65. Hit for 75. Riposted for 64. Make sure you stay behind these mobs so you don’t take riposte damage guys.”
After 10 seconds, Wayne was down 250 hit points and we jumped in. After another five seconds, Jason shot Wayne his first heal. The mob was hitting for more, but not terribly fast. Also, with our new weapons we were all hitting quite a bit harder. We each were taking off 40-50 damage each hit. The mob looked to have about 3,000 hit points, but with our faster weapons we ended the mob fairly quickly. And we received experience, which was a nice change from the rabbit farming we had done before.
I looted the mob and found 4 copper pieces and nothing else. This also was a distinct raise in money compared to the 1 copper the rabbits had.
I was a bit shocked at how fast the mob went down and how little trouble we had with it. I wondered if the gear improvements were really making that much of a difference and asked if we could try an experiment.
“Alex, please understand that I say this with the greatest amount of respect, but go eat a dick,” Wayne said.
I was a bit taken aback by Wayne’s response, “What the fuck is that for man?”
“Your experiments usually involve me getting my ass handed to me so you can satisfy your curiosity”
“That was only that one time!” I retorted.
“You’ve only done one experiment!” Wayne exclaimed.
Resurgence: The Rise of Resurgence Book 1 Page 9
