by Dawn Chapman
He studied me, moving his lower jaw back and forth, until eventually he nodded. The gesture seemed to carry a weight of approval, and I relaxed enough to take in more than the steely look in his grey eyes. His ears were pointed, but only slightly, his features stern, but with eyes that held a look of many years and having seen many things.
At a guess, I’d have said he was a half-elf, but something about him wasn’t quite human or elf. Something had given him height and broadness to his shoulders that came from neither race. Whatever race it was, I didn’t dare ask, and I couldn’t remember any Mum had told me about that would fit.
“There’s a natural ability in you. You have a way with animals and a definite… spark… to your soul. I assume you came to learn from me?”
I nodded, still not daring to speak.
“What have you worked on so far? What stats have you increased?”
“I’ve not done anything. My system seems to be broken. I can’t access it.” I felt a stab of fear. This wasn’t how I’d imagined a beginner encounter or session to go. Surely, he was meant to teach me and show me the system. I’d hoped it would work as soon as someone ran me through it all.
He frowned, studying me once more, then reached out a hand. I put mine in his, not sure if he was trying to get me to stand up, but after a moment he closed his eyes and I felt a tingle in the hand he held. Barely a second later several screens flashed in front of me, each one becoming clearer and making more sense.
“There. That’s fixed some of it. Although there’s much more broken beyond my knowledge.”
“Thank you,” I said as a final screen popped up to one edge of my vision. It had three base stats in it: Mind, Body and Soul. There was a 2 next to Soul and the other two were simple 1s. I didn’t know if that was good or bad.
“I don’t think you’ve spent your karma, either,” he continued. “So we should start with you spending that. You might need to try a few things first, though. Come by the fire.”
I let him lead me closer. He pulled several items from the pockets of his long coat and laid them out by the fire. Over the course of the next half an hour, while food cooked and Jarvin watched, I was asked to try several different things, all of them related to forestry care, animal care or the attempt to communicate with animals, some of which Tomlinson called from the woodland around.
By the time he nodded, satisfied, I’d tried to talk to a deer, been taught how to identify a bunch of basic plants, and had the beginnings of a set of discovered stats to work with, each one having popped into my system feed as I’d tried to perform them.
“Good,” he said. “It’s a beginning.”
I nodded, feeling like I’d finally accomplished something in this crazy game, but my thoughts were distracted by the mouth-watering smell emanating from the pot over the fire. Jarvin had stirred the contents a couple of times on Tomlinson’s instructions, and doing so again seemed to attract everyone’s attention back to the food.
“We’ll eat, and then we’ll discuss any formal arrangements.”
“Does that mean you’ll teach us?” Jarvin asked, his face lighting up like a toddler’s who’d just been offered chocolate. Tomlinson frowned, seeming to look at my companion properly for the first time. He looked at me, and I felt the tension grow while he picked up a bowl and ladled the hot stew into it.
“Jarvin led us here. He’s a good scout,” I said as I took the offered food. The wooden bowl already felt slightly warm to the touch.
This didn’t change his face, but he offered the next bowl to Jarvin before fetching a third for himself.
“You can keep a stew from going bad, as well,” Tomlinson said after taking a spoonful of the meal. I raised an eyebrow before I realised he was talking to Jarvin.
“You arrived together. You can stay together. Perhaps taking two apprentices on will mean I can teach stuff once, rather than twice.” Tomlinson never looked up but Jarvin grinned and silently punched the air, jerking hot stew until he spilt some on his leg. He hissed a breath out between his teeth.
I grinned and focused on the food, pleased to see the splotch in the corner of my vision shrinking. It was only then that I noticed the funny squiggle sitting in the middle of it was now a number. As I ate, the mass shrunk and the number grew lower. I made a mental note to keep an eye on it. I would need to work out how high it went and what effect it had on me.
It evidently wasn’t good for it to get too high, but I had no idea how far it could go and what was the best strategy for keeping it lower. Hopefully that would be something Tomlinson would help with.
This game wasn’t the easiest to learn, but I had a feeling that once I got into it, I was going to enjoy it. I just didn’t know how I was going to get back out again. I once more tried to find the log out button, but it just didn’t exist. Somehow, it was missing. And it just seemed to make no sense. For now, I was stuck, but at least I wasn’t alone anymore.
Chapter 3
“Right,” Tomlinson said as he got up. “Jarvin, you can take these to the stream and clean them up.”
Tomlinson practically hurled his empty bowl at Jarvin, the poor boy only just catching it before it would have smacked him in the face. His own clattered to the ground, spilling the last drop of food. No doubt he’d have hoped to eat it.
“Dahlia, you can help me arrange our bedding. It can be dangerous out here, so the three of us will take a turn to watch through the night while the other two sleep. This once, I’ll go first.”
I nodded, hurrying to my feet before passing Jarvin my own empty bowl and giving him a brief sympathetic look. Tomlinson chucked more wood on the fire and beckoned me over.
Over the course of the next half an hour he taught me how to use branches, some leafy and others not, to build a triangular shelter that would be mostly windproof and help keep the rain off anyone sleeping underneath. Finally, he showed me a quick way to make the inside more comfortable.
“And one last thing. When you choose your spot, make sure it’s not on an ant nest. I had an apprentice do that once. He was bitten all over before either of us realised.”
I nodded, knowing I’d hate something like that. But now he’d put the thought of creepy crawlies in my head and I couldn’t get it out. I shuddered, hoping ants would be the only thing to watch out for in this forest. This might be only a game, but everything I touched and smelt seemed as real as day, and I couldn’t bear the thought of having something crawl over me while I lay down to sleep.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of bugs,” Tomlinson said, his eyes narrowing as he studied me again. I bit my lip, not sure how to reply. He sighed. “I’d have hoped the people who sought me out would have got over that particular issue before they found me, but almost none ever have. You will, however.”
Once more, I nodded, not sure how else to respond. His words spoke of a promise that there would be bugs and insects, but if he thought I’d cope, it made me want to, if only to not disappoint him. At least I could trust that he wouldn’t sugarcoat our situation.
As we placed the last few branches, covering one end of the triangular shape we’d created, I sighed.
“So, now we do it all again?” I asked, my arms aching despite my words, but he shook his head.
“One is enough. Two can sleep inside, and with a third taking watch there’s no need for another.
I gulped, looking at the small space underneath. I was expected to share the small space with relative strangers? I thought people were meant to have one of those things for each gender. At the thought of sleeping beside a boy, my cheeks flushed. Tomlinson let out a quiet chuckle.
“Nothing will happen. Just sleep. You have my word,” he whispered, his eyes fixing on mine. I exhaled, trying to calm my emotions and let my skin recover. Just as I managed to regain control, Jarvin returned, carrying everything in his arms.
“All clean,” he said, sounding none too happy about it, his eyes already on the tent-like bower we’d created. It was evident I’d had t
he more interesting of the two jobs. I tried to offer him a conciliatory smile, but he didn’t give me more than a glance, chucking the cleaned pot and bowls down by the fire on the canvas bag Tomlinson had fetched them from.
“Right. You two get some rest. I’ll wake one of you to take watch when I’m done.”
I gulped, not sure how to get into the burrow and make room for Jarvin, but he didn’t hesitate, crawling to one side and slinging his body down with his back towards the middle and his feet at the opposite end. For a moment I felt a wave of relieved gladness wash over me. I’d been about to crawl in the opposite way, putting my head somewhere at the bottom. His eagerness had saved me from at least one embarrassing mistake.
I took a deep breath and inhaled before I tried to do the same as Jarvin. Several times I bumped into him, caught a finger on his clothes, or wobbled as I tried to wriggle into the small gap he’d left me, but after several apologies I was down beside him, our backs just far enough apart it didn’t feel too awkward.
I closed my eyes, the smell of green leaves and dirt almost overwhelming. The bower was far from silent, full of rustles and movement that I hoped was caused by the wind filling my ears. A background of crackling flames kept it from being too scary, but it would take some getting used to either way.
Although I did my best to ignore it and think of sleep, sleep didn’t come. Behind me Jarvin soon made a purring noise, akin to a very quiet snore. I missed my twin sister. She didn’t snore, and I’d never minded sleeping close to her. With my eyes closed, I tried to find a log out button again, desperate to leave this strange game behind and get back to my normal life.
I’d never appreciated my own family, home, and especially my bed as I did right now. But, once again, I could do nothing about it. There was no obvious button, and there were still some glitches. I was stuck.
Fighting back the tears and trying to think of happier thoughts, I lay in the dark. A moment later I heard a ping that almost made me jump. A pop-up appeared in my vision, a small screen that said New Mission at the top in flashing letters.
QUEST — APPRENTICE WITH TOMLINSON
REWARD — LEARN EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO FIND YOUR SISTERS. Y/N
I bit down on the squeal of surprise I wanted to emit. The game knew about my sisters? How did the game know we’d been separated? And how did it know where to find them? Could it really be that clever? I couldn’t remember Mum saying anything about it knowing these sorts of details, but there was only one logical option.
Reaching out with my mind, I clicked the accept button. If there was a way back to my sisters, I was going to find it. Hopefully both of them were somewhere safe, or at least had found someone to help them. I had no way of knowing.
With my thoughts calmed by the game’s recognition of my desire to be reunited with my family, I felt myself finally drifting off to sleep, the crackle of the fire and the rustle of the breeze in the trees now soothing sounds that faded into the background.
It felt like only a few seconds later someone was shaking my shoulder and whispering my name. I tried to ignore it, but it didn’t stop. Blearily, I opened my eyes to see Jarvin standing nearby. I was alone in the burrow, Tomlinson not where I’d expected him to be.
“I’ve done my watch. It’s your turn till morning,” Jarvin said, scooting down beside me before I could protest. Wearily, I lifted my arms and used them to pull my body out of the small bower. My hips and back ached from laying so still on the hard ground, but a moment or two on my feet and the pain began to fade.
The splotch in the bottom left was gone, but as I stood I felt an urgent need to relieve myself. I grimaced when I realised that I didn’t know where was best to go. I was meant to keep watch but I had no idea if it was okay to leave everyone for a moment or not, or if I was expected to hold it.
As I slowly spun on the spot, trying to decide what to do, I spotted Tomlinson curled up against the base of a large tree, half upright, his coat wrapped around his body. His chin rested on his chest and slowly rose and fell with each sleep-filled breath.
Knowing I just couldn’t hold it any longer, I crept as quietly as I could towards the stream and slightly down from the camp. A rock jutted out into it, just a few metres farther down, and I aimed for it, checking over my shoulder a couple of times to make sure I could still see the others.
I crouched down by the rock, and behind a convenient bush that hid my body from their sight but gave me just enough clearance to peek over it and continue to keep watch. Taking a deep breath and feeling my cheeks flush despite being unobserved, I undid the loose fabric trousers I wore and quickly shifted so I could pee in the stream as much as possible.
I frowned as I splashed the stone and ground between my feet a little, wondering how biology could have made it so unfair that men could aim and women couldn’t, but I was soon done. Relief washed through me as I covered up again and crept back towards the fire. I’d managed to navigate my first in-game pee and not made a complete prat of myself in the process.
It was only as I made it back to sit beside the fire that I glanced at Tomlinson. For a second I thought I saw him wink at me, but when I blinked and looked again, his head was back on his chest, his posture very much asleep. Frowning, I watched him until I remembered I was meant to be looking out for other things.
I tried to think of what my sisters might be doing and not about what I might be looking out for. So far, I’d not come across any threats in this game, but Mum had mentioned there were some. No game was complete without challenges, quests and monsters to overcome, after all. I’d not found any way to contact them internally. Broaching the subject with Jarvin and Tomlinson had also led to nothing. They knew there was a message system, but not how to access it for someone they didn’t know or have the ‘signature’ for. I guessed that a signature was kind of like a phone number, an ID mark that would link you together. Most MMORPGs had this kind of chat.
As the fire died down, the horizon began to brighten and the dark shadows turned grey, and then into the greens and browns of the forest. The birds came alive along with the world around me. For the first time since being woken by Jarvin, I felt glad to be awake, mesmerised by how the forest went from a dormant night-like state to the active one before me.
While I sat and watched, my eyes wide, a deer crept closer, just on the other side of the stream. Its head dipped now and then to pull at another tuft of lush green undergrowth and chomp. I kept as still as I could, fascinated by the shy creature’s approach. I’d never seen such a gentle animal up close, and the detail was astounding. For a moment, I forgot I was in a game, caught up in the magic of what I was seeing.
A smile sneaked across my face as Tomlinson slipped silently into view beside me and sat down, also watching. Neither of us spoke, his eyes as drawn to the young doe as mine, while she continued to forage, entirely unaware we were there.
We stayed that way for several more minutes, until a loud cawing from the blackbird I’d helped the night before drew the deer’s attention. Jarvin stretching added to the noise, and then she was gone, running back the way she’d come. I sighed, sad the moment was gone. But at least I had some kind of good memory from playing in Puatera.
Chapter 4
It was a few days and many hours of trudging through the forest later that Tomlinson got really excited for the weirdest reasons. I glanced to Jarvin, who grinned back at me.
“See here,” Tomlinson said, pointing at two small marks in the dirt. I nodded. “This was the deer we saw earlier. The female prints are slightly smaller than the male, and often less deep, unless the doe is carrying a foal, of course.”
Once more, I tilted my head up and down, something I’d done many times that morning. As soon as we’d arisen and eaten breakfast, Tomlinson had decided to show me some scouting and have Jarvin answer questions to prove what he already knew. It was a basic skill he insisted we needed to build upon. Simply knowing the forest around us, what lived nearby and if it was well or something was mak
ing it sick, was a foundation.
“Right. Now, for some more interesting prints.” Tomlinson used a walking stick to make marks in the dirt, drawing an array of different tracks.
“What are all these?” I asked, astounded by how many there were.
“The kind you’ll want to identify so you don’t get yourself into trouble you don’t want.” As he finished talking, a glint flickered in his eyes and a smile played across his face. I couldn’t help but grin back at the concept. Some trouble was worth getting into, and it seemed despite Tomlinson’s age, he had the childlike desire to find himself in trouble occasionally.
“This large one with the pointed toes is a Tromoal. You’re going to want to go in the opposite direction to those,” he continued. I looked long and hard at the marks, not wanting to forget. I had no idea what a Tromoal was, but if he said to avoid them, I’d avoid them. The rest grew smaller in size, most of them given names I didn’t recognise, but there was also a bear claw mark and a basic wolf. At least some things were normal in this game.
As Tomlinson was going through the last few details, talking about differences in the firmness of dirt, partial prints and all sorts of other details that might make it harder to track clearly, Jarvin’s stomach rumbled. He looked sheepish and wrapped his arms around his stomach.
“Well, that brings me nicely to the next part of staying alive in the forest. Foraging for food. I don’t agree with hunting unless necessary and used to control an otherwise cumbersome population of a particular creature, but there’s always good food to be had if you know where to look.”
Thinking of the different dinners we’d had over the previous nights, I had no objections. Tomlinson had carried everything we’d eaten in his arms the day we met him as if he’d found it earlier that evening. I knew I would like this next part of the lesson.
Tomlinson got to his feet again and led us back towards the stream, although we’d not strayed far yet, to my surprise. The need for his lessons had been obvious. Everything here was dangerous to us. Near the base of a tree, he pushed the bushy leaves of a plant aside to reveal the base and the top of the roots.