by KJ Harlow
“Certainly, my orcish friend.” With a twinkle in his eye, Javal led the two journeymen out the door and into the streets of Bracewell.
“Mayor Javal! What a pleasant surprise!” The merchant had a big nose and an even bigger smile. His deep voice mismatched his slight frame, but that didn’t make it any less welcoming.
“Brendan, good moonshift to you.” Javal greeted. His furry, blue hand enveloped the human’s. “This here is my grand nephew, Kai, from the Rawdriad Forest and Callahan, a fellow adventurer.”
Brendan nodded amiably to Kai then peered at Cal over his half-moon spectacles. “Cal was the one who saved me the other day at the square when that ‘king’” – he spat the word – “tried to make an example of me.”
“Oh that was you! You have my sincerest gratitude.” Brendan bowed deeply.
“Yes, well if you could give your ‘sincerest gratitude’ in the form of discounts to these two, I’ll continue to make sure your bazaar is the first I recommend to all new visitors.”
“Yes, of course!” Brendan piped.
“Thank you, Grand Uncle.” Kai whispered, as Javal clapped him on the shoulder and squeezed out of the front door.
“Now gentlemen,” the shopkeeper clapped, his eyes drifting from the orc to the werejaguar, “what can I do for you this fine night?”
Cal flipped open his satchel and felt around for each item. He could feel Brendan’s eyes on his axe the entire time. “We acquired some loot some time ago and would like to exchange them for shards.”
“We would also like to view your range of weapons and armor,” Kai said.
Cal plonked the Noble Sword on the counter. “Neither of us can use this. I’m sure it would come in handy for a knight of some sort.” Or a maniac with an eryn that can create tornadoes.
Brendan picked up the blade, peering down at it through his spectacles. He brought it to within a few inches of his face, inspecting the shaft, guard and blade.
“It’s a fine weapon, but relatively common. My price is 120 shards.”
Cal kept his face as neutral as possible. He didn’t suck at negotiation, but he wasn’t a hard ass either. “OK, how about these?”
He proceeded to pull out the Healing Staff and his old Iron Axe. Kai was already bored, stepping around the store and inspecting things on the wall.
“Healing Staff goes for 50 shards. This Iron Axe will probably break with its next use, but I think the material can be salvaged. I’ll give you 7 shards for it.”
Cal ran a finger over the blade of the Wild Axe. “Do you have any axes in stock?”
Brendan stepped aside, casting an arm at the stock behind him. “Nothing as good as what you currently have equipped,” he said, eying the weapon on Cal’s hip.
“Shopkeep,” Kai barked. Cal and Brendan looked over at the werejaguar. He was holding a long, thin weapon fashioned from a wood of dark brown. At its tip was a long, flat triangular blade with a serrated edge that glimmered dangerously. “What is this?”
Brendan bustled out from behind his counter. His head came up to just above Cal’s stomach. “Ah, a fine eye you have, Kai. May I?” He extended both hands out and Kai gave him the weapon. “This is the Blood Lance of Agony, a rare weapon. It grants its wielder a higher change of critical hits. The trade-off is that it can’t be used as a spear.”
Kai’s pupils expanded as he stared at the weapon. Cal put his hands on his hips. “How much is it, Brendan?” He knew that the person who usually won the negotiation was the one who stated their price first, but Cal had no idea how much this weapon was worth. It looked expensive, but what was expensive in Terrafaytum?
Brendan stared at the weapon for several moments. “1,800 shards.”
“I thought you were meant to be giving us a good price,” Cal said, crossing his arms.
“That is a good price. For walk-ins, I would charge an extra 500.”
Cal stared at the shopkeeper, neither of them were willing to be the first to blink. He could feel Kai dying to get his hands around the weapon.
“1,500.”
Brendan spluttered. “That’s ridiculous. This is a rare weapon.”
“Yes and aren’t there also epic and legendary weapons as well? 1,600. Final offer.”
He watched the shopkeeper fight the internal battle of getting a sale versus getting ripped off. “1,700.”
“Thank you for your time Brendan.” Cal inclined his head. “Come on Kai, let’s go.”
“Once an orc, always an orc!” He squawked, balling his fists. “I don’t care if you rescued the mayor, you’re just using him!”
Cal moved quickly, making sure not to turn back.
“Are you crazy? That weapon would help us so much in battle! Maybe I could do 300 damage if I land a critical hit…” Saliva dripped from the werejaguar’s maw.
“Don’t look back. We are getting the lance.”
“Wait, but–”
The door to Brendan’s shop flew open, slamming into the outer wall. “1,600!” The diminutive human said, huffing and puffing, “1,600.”
Cal stopped and threw a glance at Kai, a wicked gleam in his purple eyes. “Now the real negotiation begins.”
17
The Admin
20,156th Cycle
2-Karst
“Thank you Brendan.” Cal closed the door behind him with a quiet click. He looked across at Kai. The werejaguar was cradling his new Blood Lance of Agony as if it were his newborn son.
“People say that werejaguars are cruel for the way we torture hostages.” He jabbed a finger back at the bazaar. “What you did in there was–”
“Ssssh. He might still be able to hear us.” Cal picked up his pace, walking down the cobblestone path away from Brendan’s store.
Once they were far enough, Cal flipped open his satchel:
MISC. Health Potion x5
MISC. Mana Potion x8
SHARDS x841
He also opened up his equipment summary screen:
WEAPON Wild Axe of Power - +50% to STR (Orcs only)
HANDS Craft Gloves - +25% to MP
BODY Orc Captain Armour - +10% to DEF
FEET Featherfoot Boots - +7% to AGL
He flipped across to Kai’s:
WEAPON Blood Lance of Agony +30% to CRIT
HANDS EMPTY NIL
BODY EMPTY NIL
FEET EMPTY NIL
“Still don’t know why you didn’t want even basic protection for your body. It’s not like we couldn’t afford it,” Cal said, raising an eyebrow.
“I’d never seen someone in such intense pain,” Kai purred, not hearing what Cal said. “The shopkeep was in tears.”
“You don’t always need to draw blood to hurt someone,” Cal chuckled. “You just need to find their weak point. Brendan’s was his desire to make the sale, even if it meant making a loss.”
Cal had lost track of the amount of time they had spent inside there. He looked up at the fire moon. “It’s almost the next moonshift.”
“I’m going to break this in. Find some beasts outside town to try it out on.” Kai gripped the new weapon and it came alight with a burst of fire. It could have been Karst’s light, but the flames seemed to burn redder and hotter, lighting up the werejaguar’s furred face.
“Alright. I’ll see you back at the manor. Remember, we have to meet with the brigade leader…”
The werejaguar dashed off, his Blood Lance dispersing the shadows as flames licked around it. Doesn’t matter the species, the age or the world. There will always be toys for us boys.
Cal looked around. They had only been here for three moonshifts, but already he was starting to feel at home. He had navigated his way from Brendan’s store back out to the main thoroughfare without getting lost.
A group consisting of a human, a werejaguar (who looked like he had come from Gresshia) and a very attractive male being with silver hair walked past Cal. “Good evening,” the human greeted. Cal nodded and smiled at them. They continued walking, not any
faster, dissolving into the darkness behind him.
It was easy to tell if it was ‘day-night time’ or ‘night-night time’ in Bracewell. When the moonshift was young, people were out and about, shopping in the market and filling the street with chatter and life. When it was late, fewer people were outdoors. Even though there had just been an attempt on the life of their mayor a few moonshifts prior, there wasn’t a sense of fear amongst the town folk. In general, they seemed positive, upbeat and hopeful.
Cal wandered through the streets, familiarising himself with the alleys. It was ironic: as wheelchair-bound Cal, besides the move back to the suburbs, he had never been anywhere outside the city. As orc-Cal, not only had he visited three different towns, but he was in a whole, new world altogether.
He sighed and looked into the sky. You’re in a video game, Cal. A video game. He didn’t know what concerned him more: the fact that he had to keep reminding himself of this, or the fact that he started to not care that ValorVale wasn’t real.
He brought up his settings screen. No cigar – exit button was still greyed out. A notification blinked in the top-right. He opened it:
Hello Cal. Come to the Falls.
The notification closed and deleted itself as soon as he had finished reading it. That had just happened, right? He scrolled through the notifications again but there was no trace of the message. He looked around again, this time watching for shadows that didn’t belong. Nothing moved; everything was where they should have been.
“Excuse me,” Cal said to an eryn passing by. Was he there that day I stopped Fetter from killing Javal? “Do you know where the Falls are?”
The eryn looked at him, as if he had asked him to tell hand over his shard wallet. “Go back toward the town square. Take the eastern thoroughfare. It will lead out of Bracewell. Turn right, travel south. You can’t miss it. It’s right next to the Arena.” The winged being turned on his heel and left before Cal had a chance to thank him.
Cal retraced his steps to the square. He lingered for a moment, revisiting the chaotic scenes. The cobblestones looked pristine and clean, like they had never been used as projectiles to kill the mayor.
He kept his axe in his holster. No point alarming the locals if the danger was all in his head. Moments later, Bracewell was behind him. The buildings were lit from the inside, keeping their inhabitants warm. A sudden squall blew across the plain. The way the wind moon bore down on Karst, it looked like it was trying to hurry her out of the sky.
Cal looked to the right. An arena stood in the distance, a brown-grey smudge against a fuzzy backdrop. The squalls continued to buffet Cal in the face as he made his way across the plain. No shrubcritters, riddlewrens or other damned creatures wanted a piece of him. It was almost as if a ward had been placed around him, making him invisible to them.
The arena was an amazing structure. The devs had clearly modelled it against the Colosseum in Rome, though unlike the actual monument in Italy, this one was completely intact. Metal clashed with metal; Cal could just make out a couple of figures duking it out in the middle. He started walking through the arches.
Come to the Falls, Cal.
The notification popped up on his screen again. Cal circled round the right of the arena where he could see silver mist clinging to the air. It got so thick that he gave up on following the path. He moved closer to the roar and hiss of falling water. Suddenly, the mist parted like giant, silver curtains.
Cal had never seen a real waterfall but as he craned his head up, he was pretty sure this was as big as Niagara. It was certainly tall. So tall in fact that it looked like the water fell straight from the sky. Of course, he knew that wasn’t possible; mountains nearly as tall as those in the Valley of Anguish proudly stood like the legs of titans while the waterfall was like a mystical blade of water driven into Terrafaytum itself.
Cal edged closer to falls. The water crashed into a huge, bowl-like indentation. It overflowed and spilled out into… nothingness. There was a ring around the bowl that the water cascaded through, a couple feet wide. Cal peered down into the ring and saw blackness. The water flowed over the bowl and fell and fell and fell. Cal lay on his stomach, making sure his weight was stable before he reached out. The water splashed onto his hand and continued down. He then reached down as deep as he could, scooping at thin air. If Terrafaytum wasn’t otherworldly enough, this absence of matter definitely made it seem alien.
He stood up, put his hands on his hips and continued staring down into the ring of abyss. When other kids were climbing ladders and playing on slides, he was being told he would eventually never walk again, his mom trying not to cry. He had never had a chance to climb; as such, he had never developed a fear of heights. Why did the hooded being ask him to come here? Did she expect him to throw himself into the darkness? He took half a step forward, his boot hovering over the endless drop.
I am behind the waterfall – come and find me.
Cal pulled his foot back and stepped on solid ground, looking up at the waterfall. He jogged back a few yards then ran towards the stone bowl. He leapt over the darkness and straight into the giant, stone bowl of water.
For a second, he was in Mercat Lake again. He was surging up towards the surface, Mercats dragging him around his arms, water pouring down his throat before he slammed onto the bank. That time, he wanted to experience dying.
Cal broke through the surface, gasping for air. This pool was a lot deeper than it looked. He flailed and paddled his way towards the waterfall. It pushed him back so he flailed harder, getting closer and closer to it. His hand collided into stone beneath him. He scrambled for purchase, pressing himself into the stone face behind the waterfall. There was nothing here – what gives?
He looked to the right and could make out a flickering torch standing in a hollow just inside the wall. He sidestepped along the stone face, slipping back into the water a few times. Once he got close enough, he threw himself onto the dry, stone surface. On his back, he spluttered and coughed. I hate water.
“Hello Cal.”
The voice was small and clear and despite the roaring of the waterfall behind him, Cal had no trouble hearing it. He lurched up and sat on his haunches.
The maiden from the square was facing Cal. The torches that flickered further in didn’t – couldn’t – illuminate her. Her robe was so black, it seemed to steal the light from the fire and darken the entire cave. It had a purple hem an inch wide.
Cal got to his feet but kept his distance from her. “You were with Fetter the other moonshift.”
The hooded maiden dipped her head slightly. “Yes, that was me.”
Cal pulled the axe out of its holster. She angled her head up slightly in response, but Cal still couldn’t see her face.
“Who are you?”
“Tell me, what stopped you from jumping into the ring of darkness that surrounds the waterfall?” Cal squeezed his axe tighter. “You know ValorVale is just a game. If you were to die, which I can see has happened to you a few times, you would just respawn at your last checkpoint. So let me ask you again.” She pulled the hood back over her head. “What stopped you from jumping?”
Her hair was silver with black streaks through it and seemed to give off its own light. Her face was youthful, long and sharpened at her chin. She regarded Cal with her grey eyes that looked emotionless, but he could feel something immense and heavy sitting beneath them.
Examine.
NAME: C????????
CLASS: Arc Druidess
LVL: 744
HP: 10,424/10,424
MP: 8,704/8,704
Cal’s eyes widened. “Holy shit,” he said slowly, sheathing his axe. Her mouth twitched as she watched him put his weapon away. No point trying to attack or even defend yourself against someone this powerful. All he could do now was play her game by her rules.
“It was your voice that stopped me from jumping, actually.” He stared at her. “I was going to drop down and see where it led to.” Cal turned his body to the to
rch on his left. “Like you said, it’s all just a game. I’d just respawn by the arena.”
“But what if it wasn’t a game? What if that abyss took your life away from you, permanently?” Her voice didn’t echo around the cave.
“Not sure how that would happen in a game, but I guess I’d be permanently dead, wouldn’t I?” Cal watched for a reaction from C, but none came. “You’re… some sort of admin in the game, aren’t you?” Cal clapped, the sound bouncing off the cave walls. “You are! You put yourself into the game to find out what this orc glitch was doing running around and wanted to ask how I hacked the game. Am I right?”
C just kept staring at him. Cal went on: “The orc thing was weird at the beginning, but I’ve gotten used to it. Yeah I thought I was fugly as hell at the beginning, but seriously, if I had to choose between looking like a baboon’s anus with gangrene and not being able to walk, give me the diseased monkey’s ass any day.”
“You have Muscular Dystrophy,” C said. Cal was very still for several seconds.
“So you’re an admin of ValorVale and a private detective,” he said slowly. She neither nodded nor shook her head. Cal stared at her unblinking eyes for several seconds. “If we’re done here, I’m going to get a little shut eye. I’ve got a tournament I need to prepare for.”
Cal turned around and extended a hand towards the waterfall. C did the same; the falling water turned into falling fire.
-10 Damage!
“Argh!” Cal yanked his arm back. His hand stung from the flames but thankfully, Keizen’s brand protected him from the burn status. He swung back around; OP or not she was starting to piss him off now. “What do you want from me?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she said enigmatically. If she was an admin of the game, that meant that she had to be human. Her hair was nothing like he had ever seen before and her almost translucent skin seemed otherworldly as well. Guess if she was an admin, she could have made herself look like any damn thing she wanted.
