Awaken Online (Book 3.5): Apathy

by Bagwell, Travis

  That thought gave her pause. Eliza didn’t have much longer to continue playing this game. Yesterday evening, her mother had started harping about one of her co-worker’s kids. Apparently, she had already been accepted into an ivy-league university – at sixteen no less. Her mother apparently viewed this as some sort of competition and had not-so-subtly urged Eliza to return to her studies.

  “Why the troubled expression?” a voice spoke up from behind a nearby hedge. Eliza couldn’t help but wince as she recognized the speaker – her fears confirmed a moment later as the Hippie’s inquisitive face popped up over the line of leaves. Yet she supposed she should be thankful. The idiot god had left her alone for a grand total of a day this time.

  “You wouldn’t understand,” Eliza grumbled, returning to her work and pulling at the weeds that had grown up around the Willowbark in front of her. Each leaf of this plant was roughly ridged – imitating the bark of a tree. She knew that, when the leaves were ground up, they could be used to create a Fortification Potion, which increased a player’s natural damage resistance.

  “You might be surprised!” the Hippie exclaimed, deftly hopping over the hedge and taking a seat on the ground beside her – spreading out and lounging among her plants. “Fluffy says that I’m a fantastic listener.”

  As though he had summoned the sheep, Fluffy trotted around the hedge and up to Eliza, demanding his usual attention before finding a nice sunny spot to take a nap.

  “Although,” the Hippie continued, tapping his lips, “I suppose he might have been asleep for several of our conversations.”

  “That isn’t exactly surprising,” Eliza murmured, trying her best not to respond to the god’s teasing. She was beginning to think he was deliberately trying to get a rise out of her.

  A finger suddenly touched Eliza’s chin and gently encouraged her to look at the Hippie. She found his face hovering much too close for comfort, the amusement gone from his eyes and replaced with concern. “Nope. Something is definitely wrong. You look positively glum.”

  He retreated slightly rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. Then, before Eliza could respond, he snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it! You just need something to distract you! Perhaps another glorious quest. Let’s see. I’ll need to get creative with this one.”

  The god bounced to his feet and began pacing next to Eliza as he mumbled to himself. She couldn’t help but note that the Lashtail seemed to lean away from the Hippie as he crossed back and forth in front of the plant. For once, she could sympathize with the irritating bush.

  “I really don’t think that’s necessary…” Eliza tried to say.

  “Nonsense!” the Hippie interrupted. “I just came up with a splendid idea. You’re going to love this one. Fluffy’s coat now has a fantastic sheen – see, it positively glows,” the god said, gesturing at the sleeping sheep. From Eliza’s perspective, it looked about the same. She wasn’t really sure how you could improve on black wool.

  The Hippie frowned as he noted Eliza’s less than glowing reaction. “Anyway… I’ve been telling Fluffy that we need to accessorize. You know, add something to really make his eyes pop?”

  “He looks fine to me,” Eliza replied cautiously.

  The young man leaned forward, cupping his mouth with his hand and whispering conspiratorially, “Just between you and me, he has been looking a little frumpy, and he has been acting self-conscious lately. I’m thinking a makeover would do the trick to rouse him from this slump.”

  Eliza noticed Fluffy’s ears flick slightly and he opened one irritated eye behind the Hippie’s back, glaring at the god. Eliza tried her best to stifle a laugh as the Hippie stared at her expectantly. She opened her mouth to give him her usual response – that she was too busy, and she had no interest in his inane quests. But then she hesitated, remembering the game footage she had witnessed last night and her secret yearning to do something as meaningful as Jason. She also couldn’t help but recall her mother’s incessant nagging.

  “You know what? Sure, I’ll help out,” Eliza replied finally, meeting the Hippie’s gaze firmly.

  “Oh, come on! It really won’t be so bad,” the Hippie began and then stopped short, a confused look on his face. “Wait. Did you just accept?” He glanced at Fluffy. “Am I going mad? Or was I already mad to begin with…” the god trailed off, clearly flustered by Eliza’s response.

  She would normally have savored the moment a bit more, but Eliza was genuinely curious to find out what the Hippie had planned for her next. The encounter with the troll hadn’t exactly turned out the way she had been expecting.

  “I’ll help,” Eliza repeated before the god began inspecting his own sanity too closely. That was a rabbit hole that she would rather avoid traveling down. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

  The Hippie’s head whipped back toward her, his mouth splitting into a huge grin. “Oh, you’re going to love this one. I think that Fluffy needs a new collar!” He held up a finger. “But not just any collar. We can only use the finest materials for a sheep of his majesty and royal demeanor.”

  Taking a deep breath, the god leaned in close and continued in a theatrical whisper, “In the deepest parts of the nearby forest, there is a beast that is rumored to wander among the trees. Its coat is said to be made of starlight, and its grace and speed are unparalleled among this world’s creatures.”

  The Hippie raised a finger. “But take care! Many hunters have sought this prize, only to come up shorthanded. This beast is as elusive as it is beautiful.”

  Eliza raised an eyebrow as she listened to the god’s description of the creature. “So… um, what exactly is it? Is it going to be some sort of dragon? Or maybe a basilisk that will turn me to stone? There has to be a catch.”

  “You wound me,” the Hippie said, straightening and placing a hand on his chest. “Are you implying that I would somehow send you into peril without sufficient information?”

  Eliza just stared at the Hippie with a deadpan expression. That was exactly what she was trying to say.

  His face split into another grin, and the god continued, “Okay, fine. Perhaps that’s fair after the encounter with the troll.” He sighed deeply. “It’s a deer okay? I want you to go hunt a deer. Is that so bad? I think the local townspeople have begun calling it the Silver Stag.”

  “Is it an acid-spitting deer with razor-sharp fangs?” Eliza asked, her expression dead serious.

  “Where do you get such… No. No, it’s just a deer. Fluffy tail, little hooves. You know, a deer. Do they not have these animals where you come from?” the Hippie demanded, looking annoyed.

  “Of course, but they usually don’t breathe fire…” Eliza said, trailing off as she saw the Hippie’s face growing red. Teasing him was rather fun.

  “Fire? I didn’t mention any fire,” The Hippie snapped, before suddenly looking confused and glancing at Fluffy. “Or did I? Maybe I forgot?” He began to pace again and grumble to himself. Then he suddenly whirled on Eliza. “You’re messing with me aren’t you?”

  “Perhaps a little,” Eliza replied with a small smile.

  The Hippie snorted in frustration. “Well, do you want to take the quest or not? Not that it likely matters to you, but Fluffy’s wardrobe hangs in the balance while you make jokes!” The sheep took this opportunity to glance at Eliza, and she could have sworn she saw amusement in his glassy eyes.

  “I’m not sure…” Eliza began. “I haven’t really seen any of the details yet.” She waved at the air in front of her in mock confusion.

  The Hippie looked like he was about to say something, but he must have thought better of it. Instead, he snapped his fingers. A prompt immediately appeared in front of Eliza:

  New Quest: Fantastic Fashion

  The Hippie would like you to hunt down a creature that lives deep within the forest beside Falcon’s Hook and that the local townsfolk call the “Silver Stag.” It’s definitely a deer, and you would be incredibly ungrateful and rude if you were to keep challenging the Hippi
e’s honesty. He has always shown himself to be an upstanding and forthright god…

  Difficulty: A

  Success: Slay the Silver Stag and return its pelt to the Hippie.

  Failure: Fail to kill the stag or return its pelt. Continue to question the Hippie’s unwavering integrity.

  Reward: Unknown

  Eliza couldn’t help but smile as she reviewed the quest text. Apparently, she had really struck a nerve with the capricious god. She glanced up to ask if Fluffy would vouch for the Hippie’s honesty but discovered that the Hippie and Fluffy had vanished and she now stood alone in the garden.

  Her eyes moved back to the notification hovering in the air, her hand hesitating to accept the quest. Despite her teasing and the god’s promises, she expected that this was going to be more complicated than the Hippie had let on. The troll quest had taught her that much at least. Yet she could feel a small buzz of excitement pulsing through her veins. For some reason, the thought of another quest wasn’t as terrifying as she had expected.

  Before she could hesitate or talk herself out of it, Eliza’s hand slammed down on the “accept” button, and the screen vanished. There were no fireworks and no epic music played. Alma’s garden was just as she had left it, the breeze gently rustling the leaves of the plants. Her gaze shifted to the dense trees that ringed the compound, and she suddenly realized that the god hadn’t given her much information – like where she might find this Silver Stag or how she was going to kill it.

  “Now what do I do?” Eliza murmured.

  Chapter 10 - Adventurous

  Eliza hefted her pack and eyed the tree line next to Alma’s compound skeptically. With a sigh, she pulled up her inventory menu and checked her crafting supplies. She had been putting off the journey for the last few hours, telling herself that she needed to prepare more potions and spend just a few more minutes getting ready. However, she knew the truth. She was just procrastinating.

  “Going somewhere?” Alma asked, causing Eliza to jump slightly. She turned to find the elderly woman exiting the garden, a basket filled with rather ordinary-looking vegetables in her hand.

  “I… I was going to go into the woods,” Eliza said, struggling to come up with an explanation for her odd quest that didn’t involve mentioning the Hippie or his pet sheep.

  “Well, that’s good. We could use some more Ferntail if you find any,” Alma replied with a nod of her head. “Just be careful. There are many wild animals in the woods – some of which aren’t particularly friendly.”

  “I will,” Eliza murmured as she watched the older alchemist shuffle up to her cottage. For a brief moment, she considered just going inside with Alma and helping her cook lunch.

  No! You don’t get to cop out that easily, she reprimanded herself. You agreed to this – you wanted this. Now follow through!

  With that thought, Eliza took a tentative step toward the woods.

  Then another.

  Before she knew it, she had walked much deeper into the forest than she ever had before. The trees towered around her, their branches crisscrossing in the air and creating a thick latticework of leaves that blocked out the sun and cast the forest in a gloomy haze. It almost seemed ominous the way the light had begun to recede, but Eliza shook off those thoughts. It didn’t help to wring her hands at this point.

  She had been following a small hunting trail away from Alma’s compound, the thin path winding its way between the trees and undergrowth. Eliza struggled to make it through some parts of the path, having to climb over fallen trunks and wedge between several bushes. A real dagger or machete would probably have been useful.

  Despite her endless preparations, Eliza hadn’t thought that far ahead. In fact, as she thought about her weapons, she realized she was relatively defenseless. She had the little knife she used around the garden, and, at some point, she had picked up a walking stick – a habit from another world. However, she didn’t expect that the roughhewn branch would provide much help if she was attacked by something like the troll.

  What she did have was her magic.

  Her Ice Bolt might come in handy, but it took a few seconds to cast. She hadn’t tried Cold Grasp yet, but the Hippie had explained that it was some sort of area of effect ability. There hadn’t been much need for the spell in Alma’s garden. Finally, she had her mist – which she now knew she could imbue with poison – assuming her hypothetical enemy let her call a “time out” so that she could suspend the spell and pull out a poison vial. The problem was that all of her spells were time-consuming. If anything were to actually attack her, she’d probably have little opportunity to react.

  Great. I’m going to die. Again, she thought bleakly.

  With that happy thought, Eliza turned a corner on the trail and almost ran smack into a group of players. As soon as they caught sight of her, the group had multiple weapons leveled at Eliza, flames curling around the head of a staff and more than one projectile pointed at her head. The player in the lead was a burly warrior wielding a wicked-looking one-handed axe.

  Eliza pulled up short, her mouth forming a small “O.” “I… I’m sorry,” she stuttered, raising her empty hands. “I’m just collecting herbs.”

  The lead player dropped his axe, waving a hand at his teammates. “Relax, it’s just one girl. She doesn’t look like a PK’er.”

  “PK’er?” Eliza echoed, her heart still beating rapidly. “What do you mean?”

  The player cocked his head at her quizzically, causing his mail armor to clink gently. “How long have you been playing? Nevermind. It means ‘player killer.’ There are quite a few people out in these woods hunting and leveling. Most don’t mind killing another player and taking their equipment.”

  Eliza inadvertently took a step back, eyeing the players with a newfound suspicion. She hadn’t considered the possibility of players killing one another for loot – although it seemed obvious in retrospect. Perhaps she had been worried about the wildlife when she should have been focused on avoiding other people.

  “Don’t worry,” the mage said, the woman noticing Eliza’s expression. The player looked at Eliza kindly, and the flames around her staff began to dissipate. “We’re not going to hurt you. We were just out here leveling. I guess we’re on edge. This game can be a little… intense.”

  The warrior nodded in agreement. “My only point was that you should be careful out here by yourself.” The man hesitated for a moment, looking back at his teammates and receiving a few not-so-subtle nods. “Actually, do you want to group up with us? An alchemist might be useful if you’re carrying a bunch of healing potions. Plus, you could gain some experience.”

  Eliza almost said yes, but then stopped herself. She couldn’t really explain why she was out here. What if they ran into the stag? Would they just let her keep the pelt? It was difficult to imagine that the players would simply go along with her explanation that a homeless god had told her to kill some sort of magical deer.

  “I… I appreciate it, but I’m almost finished,” Eliza explained timidly. “I just need to gather a few ingredients, and then I’m heading back to town.”

  “No worries, we were actually thinking of heading back to town soon anyway,” the warrior said with a nod of his head, before motioning to the group around him to continue forward. The rest of the players trudged past her, heading back the way she had come. “Stay safe,” the warrior called over his shoulder before they disappeared around the bend in the hunting trail.

  Eliza’s eyes lingered on the trail for a few more seconds as she considered what the players had told her. She had just gone through the process of cataloging her weapons – or lack thereof. Other people might be useful. Apart from her victory against the troll, she wasn’t exactly combat worthy, and even that conflict had been a little lopsided. She wasn’t certain that ambushing a sleeping monster really counted as a “battle.”

  Yet there was little she could do about that now. As usual, the Hippie had placed her in another precarious position. Not that she
was surprised. He seemed to enjoy tormenting her. Grumbling under her breath about lazy idiot gods, Eliza decided to keep pushing forward.

  Perhaps it was for the best that she had to handle this quest alone. Even in the real world, she didn’t exactly attract friends. If anything, the students in her prep courses just viewed her as competition – making nasty little comments and snubbing her from joining their groups. Why should it be any different in-game? People were still people, after all.

  Lost in her gloomy thoughts, Eliza didn’t notice the bear until she had almost walked into it. The creature’s rumbling growl was the first indication that she might be in trouble. She glanced up quickly to find herself face-to-face with what appeared to be a real-world grizzly bear. The massive creature stared at her with red eyes and a snarl reverberated its lungs. A quick Inspection revealed the following:

  Grizzly Bear – Level 22

  Health – 500

  Mana – Unknown

  Equipment – None

  Resistances – Unknown

  Weakness – Unknown

  Without thinking, Eliza began to back away slowly, taking a few tentative steps. This was apparently the wrong move, and the bear reared up on its hind legs, towering almost eight feet into the air before slamming its clawed paws back onto the trail – causing the ground to tremble slightly. The creature was only standing a few yards away, glaring at her menacingly. How could she have missed it? She should have been paying attention!

  “Oh shit,” Eliza murmured, her mind wheeling. She tried to recall the little she knew about confronting bears in the real world – something about yelling at them or posturing… That didn’t seem like it would be effective here. Although, fighting the hulking beast also seemed like it would just result in her untimely death.