Crimson Sands

by J. Arthur Klein

  We mounted our camels and followed along, riding to the left of the wagon so we could watch the desert for potential raiders.

  Several mercenary scouts ranged out to either side, mounted on something that resembled a cross between an ostrich and a velociraptor, complete with nasty claws and sharp, pointy teeth.

  Again, the game’s database provided the name of the exotic beasts: Re’lix.

  I turned my attention to Kjara. “You know, I just realized that I have no clue how this is supposed to work. How long is it going to take us to get there? And how do we log out while moving? If we leave the game will we log back in alone in the middle of the desert?”

  “I don’t think so,” she answered. “When I was in the back of the wagon before I noticed that it was flagged as a safe area, the same as an inn. A little strange but I guess the devs thought about that. Plus, the caravan is likely to stop for the night when it starts to get too cold. These giant lizards are cold blooded so probably need some sort of special care when the temperature crashes at night.”

  I hummed in consideration. “Yeah, if they’re cold blooded then the temperatures at night would probably be quite an issue. I’ll try and find out the travel time from Haegir and try and modify my playtime accordingly. I hope it won’t be that long. I don’t think the developers would want players to spend all of their playtime just trying to get places. Unless we are going to be attacked every few hours by some wandering mobs.”

  I spotted Haegir coming towards us and waived him over. “Haegir, I know it’s a bit late to be asking this, but how long is the trek to the northern coast, and then to Sehkem?”

  He looked at me and laughed. “You think we are walking across the entire desert to get there, Priest? They must have knocked something loose in your skull when they captured you! We’ll reach the Sun-gate to Arven’s Folly tonight and make camp until dawn. When it's our turn we’ll go through and then head east from there along the coast. We should be in Sehkem tomorrow afternoon.”

  He shook his head and continued on his rounds and called back, “You should use some of that healing on yourself, Priest. Fix whatever they cracked.”

  I looked back to my companion and found her covering he mouth trying to hold in a laugh. “Your friend is certainly a character, Kheph. But at least we know what’s going on. It’s always strange how these important mechanics are such a mystery until they smack you right in the face.”

  “Oh definitely,” I agreed, trying to draw on my virtual memories to fill in the gaps on Sun-gates. The info flowed easily to the top of my mind.

  I sighed, “The information is there in my memory database but unless you know to look for the specific info or something triggers the recall functions, it may as well be hidden.”

  I wrote up a quick bug entry on the process letting the developers know that there was a flaw in the system. There was so much work that had gone into this technology, but currently the process that triggered the memories seemed to be a little restrictive.

  I suggested creating some sort of system that would allow the memories to trigger when they might be of use. Like when booking travel on a caravan, knowing how long-distance travel worked in the world would probably be a good thing.

  At the end of the report I added an apology if it was not an appropriate place for such feedback, but figured they would want to know if there was a part of the game that was frustrating.

  Seeing my unfocused stare, Kjara waited until I was done before asking, “Another bug report?”

  “Sort of? Just letting them know about the system and the frustrating bits and offering a suggestion. If nothing else maybe it will spark an idea that will allow the memory flow to be a little more context appropriate? Have you submitted any reports yourself?”

  Her lips tightened and I could see her shoulders tense slightly as she replied, “There were a few in my tutorial,” she began, her expression growing pained.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, concerned that I’d brought up something that upset her. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

  She sighed and shook her head. “It’s okay. It’s just that my tutorial was far from a pleasant experience. Whoever decided on a prison break themed tutorial needs a swift kick to the teeth. Looking back on it now, I realize where and how I messed up, but the last thing I needed was to dive into the game looking for a good escape from my own real life issues and ending up being manhandled by digital soldiers and sold off to some asshole nobleman.”

  Resting my hand on her shoulder in sympathy I replied, “That really sucks. I’m sorry you had a shitty time of it. I’m glad you stuck around after that.”

  She gave me a weak grin and continued, “I’ve had enough of being treated like an object in my life, and I was so furious at having that happen to me in here…”

  A tear spilled down her cheek, but she wiped it away, her hurt expression transforming into one of resolve. “In the moment I froze, but when the rescue squad arrived, I saw my chance and took back my freedom.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I remained silent, letting her work through what she needed to in the moment.

  After a few seconds she chuckled, “And that wasn’t even the end of the tutorial. After they freed us, we stopped by the lake in the Veil of Dreams to recover before heading out. The lake was breathtaking so I decided to go for a quick swim. Wash away the negativity of the whole thing, you know? So I walked into the lake… and fell through the world.”

  I winced. “Talk about bad luck.”

  “Oh yeah. I was stuck down there for at least an hour before my help request was answered, and I used that time to let them know quite explicitly my thoughts on the whole tutorial, the world geometry, and the time delay until issues are addressed.”

  We shared a small laugh at that while she went on, “They fixed the hole in the last patch. I think the admins spawned a giant rock to plug it up after I reported it as a temp fix, but I never looked to see. The tutorial ended when they pulled me out of the hole and I ended up in Tael’va somehow. At that point, crossing the desert back to the Veil didn’t seem like a fun plan.”

  “Well now we know there's likely a Sun-gate or something we could use to visit there eventually,” I said. “Maybe we can invite Fae-bio to go for a nice swim.”

  She laughed and said, “Are you still getting xp from that quest?”

  “Oh no, once it was completed a bunch of times I got a nice achievement and the quest was removed. So the sun elf’s dangly bits are safe once again, at least from my influence.”

  I laughed at that thought and continued, “So, let’s see what Sun-gates all are about,” focusing on that information while she did the same.

  *** Relics of a forgotten age, the sun and moon gates are scattered throughout the continent of Orva. Powered by sun or moon light, this network of portals can be utilized to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye. The Sun- and Moon-Gates are highly guarded by the rulers of the areas in which they reside. Fees to use the gates are a standard practice, but the convenience is well worth the cost. ***

  I brought up my map and could see that markers had been added for the Sun-gate near Tael’va and a city on the northern coast named Arven’s Folly.

  We rode on in silence, taking in the desert scenery. I spent the time trying to draw out any other useful information from the memory database, but as with any open-ended knowledge source, it was only as useful as the questions asked, or in this case, the information sought.

  For example, when I wanted to know the hierarchy of the priesthood of the Saa Empire, the knowledge was there. Or if I wanted to know the names of the Saa creator deities, again, easily recallable. But without a conscious effort, or some predetermined triggering thought, it might as well have been empty.

  I was broken out of my musing by the sound of a horn in the distance, one long wail followed by three short notes.

  Blinking the grit out of my eyes, I looked in the direction the call had come from
and tried to determine its source. A second horn sounded at the head of our caravan, responding with another series of short and long notes.

  No one else seemed to be alarmed, so I settled in and relaxed once again.

  A few minutes later I spotted something coming towards us over the dunes. I squinted and tried to get a better look but couldn’t make out the shape.

  One of our scouts rode out to meet whatever it was as the caravan came to a stop.

  “I wonder what that’s about,” I mused.

  “If the Sun-gates are as important as they seem there’s probably some sort of armed guard. It would make sense for them to have their own scouts I guess,” Kjara replied.

  “The dwarves don’t seem alarmed, so that’s a good sign.”

  The scout returned and held a short conversation with the lead wagon and then we were moving again.

  As the last rays of the daylight were fading from the sky, we arrived at a large stone mesa. Two other caravans were camped on the plateau, each in their own designated space.

  Our wagons headed towards another marked off area that was currently empty and formed into a circle around a large, permanent looking fire pit at the center.

  The lleven were unhitched and gathered around it while a group of dwarves began to build up the fire. Several other communal campfires were built throughout our camp, but none seemed very welcoming, so I decided to make my own and try out some of the cooking recipes.

  I had a couple hours until I needed to log out for the night, and my viewers wanted some crafting vids, so I would not disappoint.

  “I’m going to build a fire and try out the cooking system and could use a taste tester if you’re game,” I said, looking over at Kjara, who had been quiet for a while.

  She glanced up and blinked. “What was that? Sorry I was reading some of my skill info.”

  “I asked if you’d like to be a guinea pig for my cooking ventures.”

  “No thanks,” she answered. “I think I’ll wait ‘til you get the hang of it first,” and grinned. “Plus, I have to get going. Real life calls. See you in the morning?”

  “Aww, okay. I’ll try not to poison myself then. Have a nice evening, Kjara.”

  “Good night," she said and headed towards the wagon but paused for a second. “Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. I may be able to make the convention after all! I’ll let you know when I find out for sure.”

  I gave her a wide grin and a double thumbs up. “Awesome! Maybe I’ll see you there.”

  She smiled back as she climbed into the wagon and laid down, her avatar fading from view after a second or two.

  ...

  Chapter 17

  Finding a good spot near my wagon, I took out the recipe book and started to review my options. The starter book I'd purchased contained four starting recipes.

  -Travel Cakes (Basic)

  -Lentil Stew (Basic)

  -Baked Potato (Basic)

  -Meat Skewer (Basic)

  Since I wasn’t quite confident that the meat I'd purchased would keep for very long I decided to start with the meat skewer recipe.

  First things first, I needed to figure out how to start the crafting process. I tried mentally opening a crafting menu and was rewarded with a system message.

  *** Congratulations! You are about to begin your first venture into crafting! The Sosaku Online crafting system has been designed to provide both the enjoyment of working with your hands and the enjoyment of the traditional game mechanics that MMO players have grown to love. Many of the actions required to complete a crafting task within the virtual world are the actual actions that would be required in reality, with the time requirements vastly cut. Some actions have been added to introduce game elements, and active skill development. To begin a specific crafting, focus on the recipe that you want to begin and mentally select the craft option. ***

  I nodded to myself, and mentally issued the command "Craft Meat Skewer".

  *** Step 1 - Establish your crafting station. ***

  A new overlay appeared in my view, showing a series of ghostly placeholders on the ground in front of me.

  There were images of where I needed to build a fire, set up my ingredients, place the grill, etc.… It was almost like some older RTS game tutorials where they would show you where to place certain buildings.

  First, I needed to make sure I had all of the pieces necessary, so I gathered my fire-starting equipment from my pack and opened up my cooking kit to see what was inside.

  -Cooking frame, check.

  -Skewers, check.

  -Sharp Knife, check.

  -Cutting board, check.

  -Three wooden plates, check, check, and check.

  The kit had some other things as well: a set of bowls, pots, etc... but none that were needed for this recipe.

  “Alright,” I said. “Let’s see how Iron Chef Kheph handles today’s not-so secret ingredient… Meat!”

  Drawing on my survival skill I dug a firepit and started a small fire to cook over where the overlay indicated.

  As soon as the fire was burning steadily the overlay snapped into the actual fire and disappeared.

  I assembled the grill over the fire and placed all of the other items in the kit in their respective locations, with similar effect.

  As I placed the last item from the kit into its designated spot, another system message appeared.

  *** Achievement Awarded: One Cook in the Kitchen! ***

  *** Congratulations! You have established a field crafting station! Field stations allow for the production of crafted goods when a permanent crafting station is not available. Goods created at a field station have a higher difficulty than at a permanent station. Certain items cannot be crafted at a field station due to the lack of specific required equipment. ***

  *** You have established your first field kitchen! You have gained 100xp! ***

  *** NOTE: Some stages may not be required for all recipes, or may be more involved for some. ***

  *** Step 2 – Gather your ingredients. ***

  One of the wooden plates I had set up near the cutting board began to glow slightly, with images of the ingredients needed for the recipe barely visible in ghost form. I retrieved them from my pack one by one and placed them on the plate.

  -Meat, check.

  -Small onions, check.

  -Salt, check.

  -Ground Pepper, check.

  The plate pulsed with each ingredient added and then stopped glowing when they were all there.

  *** Step 3 – Preparation. ***

  A ghost image of a slab of beef appeared on the cutting board, with a grid of lines overlaying it. The knife was glowing green next to the cutting board. Okay, so I need to cut up the slabs of beef into cubes. No sweat.

  I unwrapped one of the chunks of meat and put it onto the cutting board. As soon as I let go, the gridlines appeared over the actual steak and a timer appeared in midair, counting down.

  *** 15…14… ***

  “Shit!”, I cursed and grabbed the knife, cutting as close to the gridlines as possible. When I managed to cut on the line, it glowed green, but when I let the knife go off course the lines turned red.

  I managed to finish cutting up the steak before the timer hit zero, but had more red lines than I really wanted to see and wondered what that would mean.

  *** Preparation complete. Accuracy: 66%. Cubed beef created: 16 out of a possible 24. ***

  The actual steak that I had cut up disappeared and was replaced with a pile of sixteen uniform pieces of cubed meat.

  Interesting, I thought. I’d lost almost half of the meat because I couldn’t cut straight. It didn’t make a lot of sense from a realism perspective, but as a game mechanic it fit pretty well.

  *** Step 4 – Assembly. ***

  The image of a skewer hung in the air, ghost pieces of meat and onions sliding onto it in a pattern: onion, meat, meat, onion, meat, and onion.

  When the skewer was full, an animation of sprinkled salt and then pepp
er appeared and then the other wooden plate glowed briefly.

  Remembering how the timer started in the last stage, I prepared myself, reached out and picked up a skewer while simultaneously grabbing the first chunk of meat.

  *** 10…9…8… ***

  I slid the meat onto the skewer, then an onion, then a chunk of meat, and an onion until I had a full skewer. Then I sprinkled the salt and pepper and placed it on the plate, which flashed red.

  “What? Why?” I grumbled, and then watched the next ghost skewer. Onion, meat, meat, onion, meat, onion, then pepper, salt, and plate. It repeated the same pattern and it hit me.

  The pattern actually mattered. I wondered if it was possible to salvage the one I had screwed up and reached over to take it off of the plate but as I lifted it the meat and onions slid off and into the dirt.

  I sighed and shrugged. It was definitely as unforgiving a system as some of the others I had played.

  Okay. Here we go. I grabbed the skewer and watched the timer start, impaling an onion, then meat, meat, onion, meat, onion. Then sprinkling on the pepper and then the salt, and then to the plate and…. green!

  I checked my ingredients and I had enough for two more tries. I made sure to focus on the pattern for each one and was able to complete both successfully.

  *** Assembly complete. Accuracy: 75%. Uncooked Skewers created: 3 out of a possible 4. ***

  *** Step 5 – Cooking. ***

  Three ghost skewers appeared on the grill, each with a small glowing green ball below it. One of the balls turned red and the ghost skewer rotated a quarter of a turn.