The Crafting of Chess

by Kit Falbo

  As I catch up, I remember not to get caught up with the special effects and to get down to work. First, figure out how to use my abilities. Then gawk. I don’t want to regret not going to the training fields.

  I know that everything I’m seeing is actually a display on the goggles I’m wearing. I shift my focus from my surroundings to the three glowing blue dots in the upper right-hand corner of my vision. Not sure how to interact with them. I try to touch them, and nothing happens.

  The game advertised new advanced display interactions but hadn’t put out the details. I kind of flick my eyes to the first dot and think hard on it in my mind. Suddenly the classic health and mana bars display there, as well as ahead of me letting me see the name and health bar of my companion. No one else in the crowd has one, but I suppose that’s because they aren’t my companion and I’m not fighting them. Maybe this will let me see players. I’ll have to try this later. I will that one closed, and the bars fade away.

  I focus on the next dot. Most of my vision is assaulted by an almost transparent status display. It doesn’t quite block out my vision, but it’s certainly not comfortable while I’m moving. I focus on my starting stats and they suddenly solidify like subtitle text and the rest fades out. Both my strength and charisma have tiny *i symbols next to them. I focus on the symbols, and suddenly an information window pops up.

  Strength: important for work and fighting. Every five levels, a bonus for Strength action is given. One bonus achieved.

  Then there is another i symbol if I want to get more info. That window closes by my simply being annoyed at it and wanting it closed.

  In the lower left-hand corner, there’s an action log. Only one action is listed.

  Charisma influence used (Jasper) success.

  There is another info tab there, and I focus on it next.

  Players can influence interactions with NPC using their attributes.

  I read on for more information.

  ● By flexing, players can use their Strength to influence situations.

  ● By placing their hand on their temples, players can use their Intelligence to influence situations.

  ● By placing their hand on their hearts, players can use their Wisdom to influence situations.

  ● By smiling, players can use their Charisma to influence situations.

  I guess Dexterity and Constitution-heavy players are out of luck here. I’ll delve deeper later. Reading while walking is hard enough.

  Closing out of all the status sections, I focus on the last dot. This time the Skills display pops up. I see the subsection on spells and focus on that. This first bit describes the skills and how to use the info dots to delve deeper. I see a little tab. Focusing my attention on that causes the spell display to fade and shrink down to three small icons in the lower left-hand side of my vision. The first icon, a purplish ball of flame, must be my sorcerous bolt spell. The other two are glowing objects, but at this resolution are too small to tell what kind.

  I keep walking as I focus my hands and vision towards the sky (I don’t want to hurt anyone) then concentrate on the fire like spell, just like I did the other tabs. A ball of purple energy shoots into the sky. The crowd around me screams and ducks to the side. Shit.

  Jasper does an about face and grabs my arm. “Hey! You can’t do offensive magic in the city! The guards will grant some leniency for you Touched for now because you’re new, but if you keep doing that there will be fines, and you could be banished for a time.” He’s shifted into what sounds like a script. A second later he comes off more naturally. “If we had gone to the training grounds like I suggested they would have taught you that, and hopefully more control.”

  “Sorry,” I say weakly, giving a halfhearted smile.

  His glare softens a little, “Just don’t do it again.” We continue, but instead of walking ahead of me, he leads on from beside me. I guess so he can watch me better. We walk in silence for several minutes.

  Not wanting to mess up again, I leave my display options alone. “So Jasper, what made you want to be a companion?” I wonder if he even existed yesterday.

  He gives me an uncomfortable look that leaves me even more impressed with the NPC, “I guess it would be nice to be the next king,” he says with little conviction.

  I chuckle. “You guess it would be nice to be king?”

  There are thousands of thousands of companions for the Touched who will be led into dangerous situations. Death will be more likely than becoming king. And sure, we’ll look after our companions the best we can, but if we die, we’ll just be reborn. Not companions. Which means the situations companions are being led into will be more dangerous than not. “Come on, why did you choose to be a companion? You don’t look like you’re eager for the adventure and danger.”

  I know the real answer. It’s because it’s a game and he is programmed to be one. According to the playtesters, bad things happen if you attempt to push that reality in the game. It makes people think you’re crazy. I’m curious though. How does an NPC respond to things like this?

  He lets out a long sigh, “It’s a job. I was an apprentice bookmaker until I got pushed out of that. There were no other jobs. Refugees from the east with more experience took them. Then the military and mercenaries disbanded because the funds used to support them got diverted to supply the Touched.

  “While you’re here, I have a job. I’m bound to help you in any way I can. You can assign a job for me and assuming some requirements are met, I will be guaranteed a spot. I get room and board and a small stipend, which is better than sleeping on the street. Most Touched will only be here a few hours each day and be gone for days at a time”. He lifts his right hand displaying a thick silver bracelet with a purple gem set into it. “Whenever our Touched enters this world we can get summoned to them. A little danger and not a lot of work is better than my other options.”

  It is a surprisingly well-reasoned response. I guess many of the NPC companions have similar sob backstories. A few are probably eager for adventure. Even fewer must be stupid or conceited, thinking they will become king. “Don’t worry Jasper. I share your lack of desire to run headfirst into danger and the need for a steady paycheck.”

  A few minutes later he stops me in front of a shop that looks like it has been splashed with as many colors of paint as possible. There are lots of gaudy, shiney items in the window. There are bags, dresses, and daggers that sparkle with gems and gold. The sign outside just says Laslow’s. “We’re here. I don’t know why, but here’s the artificers.” Jasper eyes the door nervously, not entering. Maybe he’s afraid I will try to rob the place.

  I look at him, “You can wait outside until I am done.” He lets out a breath I didn’t know he was holding.

  When I enter the shop, a chime rings. From the entrance, I get a good view of the strange “general store” sort of shop. It’s filled with just about everything you can imagine, from weapons to household utensils, to clothing. A tall, older man with gray hair and a strong body stands in the middle of the room adjusting a half-made suit of armor on a dummy. He has on a thick leather apron with pockets overflowing with tools, bits of ribbon and pieces of metal. The fingers of his hands are stained a rainbow of colors, much like the outside of the shop. My plain white robe is a complete contrast to him and the bright, gaudy shop items.

  I give him the biggest smile possible, hoping to bank on my charisma and give him a half bow. “Laslow, I humbly ask for training to be an artificer.” One of his eyebrows arches up on his face, and he walks over to me, carefully looking me up and down the way he looked at his dummy.

  His words come out clear crisp and precise, almost a British type accent except there is no Britain in this fantasy world. “A Touched, here? This is the first day we welcome you to our world, not that the whole mess of it matters to me. I wasn’t expecting to see any of you in my shop for a while. You must have come straight here. Bold. I do see a touch of the talent in you. There needs to be more than that though. To be
an artificer, you need to create. As you stand here, I can see you have done nothing. Go and create something good, bring it back here and I may help you. I don’t want to see you until you do.” He leaves me standing there and goes back to his work.

  In front of me, a quest notification pops up.

  Laslow has instructed you to bring him a good quality item you have crafted yourself. Failure: returning without such an item. Rewards: possible training in your profession. Do you accept?

  “Yes,” I say softly. The window closes, and I turn and leave the store.

  Jasper is waiting for me outside, watching me leave empty handed. “You get what you want?”

  “Yes companion, I think I did. Do you know where the closest smithy is?”

  “Of course. There’s one two blocks that way.” He takes off, me in tow. In contrast to the Artificer’s small shop, the smithy is large, with multiple open forges surrounded by anvils and several smiths working away. It is set up perfectly to accommodate multiple players or companions working on the profession. I have no money. I’m hoping they will take me on without it.

  “Jasper, do you think they would take me on for some apprentice work? “

  He gives me a look of exasperation, “If you’re strong enough they’ll give you a crap job to see if you’re willing to handle it. The pay is one of the worst though. You could go gather horse droppings and make more. Don’t tell me you want us to work there?”

  Us. I’d forgotten that I need to assign my companion some work. Not that I don’t have plans for him, he did say he guessed it would be nice to be king. “No, it will be just me doing that crap work. So, as my companion, what can I have you do Jasper?”

  “Anything.”

  I raise my eyebrows at him.

  “Well not anything, you can’t tell me to kill myself or to go attack anything out of my league.” He shifts uncomfortably, “The specifics are covered as part of the training. You could tell me to become an archmage, a bishop, a member of the High Council. If you did that you would be wasting my time and I wouldn’t even know where to start. You want me to be sworn to carry your burdens, I can do that. You tell me to do something, I am sworn to try my best. You get me a profession, I’m even required to stick to it even while you are departed.”

  I spend a moment pondering. Top priority is not to risk losing my companion. I’m going to need him for the final quest. At the same time, I need some time to figure out how things work in this game. And… I know I’m going to need crafting materials. “I have two tasks for you today. The first one will be for you to go around looking for small jobs people need help with. Carry groceries, deliver a message, paint a fence, whatever you can find. While you are doing this, I want you to be on the lookout for things I might be able to craft with, buttons, leather, shiny stones, a hunk of odd metal. If someone offers to pay, say you prefer materials. If you do get money, feel free to give a quarter of it to the needy. What I don’t want you to do is any fighting.”

  I pause. Is there any way that assignment could come back and bite me? I add, “Don’t outright refuse any job. I don’t care if there is a scary spider in a bathroom or rats in the cellar that someone needs help with. Tell them you’ll see if you can find someone to help with that. Then go tell a Touched nearby. We usually love stuff like that.”

  “So, my job is to be an eccentric?” he says with a sour look on his face.

  “No, your job is to be helpful to the community and look for things I might find useful later. Do it politely and with a smile. You can be as grumpy as you want with me or in private, but I want you to leave a good impression as you work. I’m going to be busy today, so you can find me tomorrow and tell me what you did and gathered. Is there a place we should meet?”

  He holds up his bracelet, “With this, I can find you whenever you enter our world.”

  “Well get started, I have some work to see about.” I shoo him off and start walking to the smithy entrance.

  There is a half wall encircling the whole area and a small waist high gate to go with it. I suspect to prevent small children and animals from wandering in. The whole area radiates heat and smells of ash. Four men with big muscles and one woman each work on different projects and the sound of metal on metal assaults my ears. I open the gate and go in. No one greets me. I’m ignored until one of the smiths reaches a stopping point.

  He’s a large man. Of course, all the smiths here are large, but he’s the largest. He has a mop of ash streaked blond hair and an air of indifference. “What do you want,” He pauses for a moment, “Touched?”

  “I was wondering if I could work as an apprentice some?”

  He looks me up and down. “Can you pick up that hammer?” he asks pointing to one of the larger hammers resting next to an unused anvil.

  I walk over and pick it up. It’s heavy but not frightfully so.

  “Then you can pick up a shovel. I need you to add coal to each of the furnaces until they all burn with a bluish orange glow.”

  I pick up the shovel.

  He grunts at me, “You can’t work wearing that. A floating ember and then we’ve got to deal with you running around screaming while on fire. You’re lucky we lost most of our apprentices. Ran off to be companions with foolish dreams of being king. Some didn’t take their work clothes. He points to a wardrobe in the back, “The bottom left hand shelf should have a pair you can use.”

  I smile at him. “Thank you, smith.”

  He pauses a moment, “Call me Byron, and now that I think on it, the clothes in the shelf above that one might fit you a little better. Their owner actually frequented a laundress.”

  I walk over to the wardrobe and peek into the first shelf he mentioned. I nearly gag from the smell. Immediately I get a prompt asking if I want to equip the soiled work clothes. I think No and open the shelf above it. Inside is a set of worn leather clothes. Inspecting them shows they have some heat and fire resistance. I choose to equip those. I really should smile more often.

  A quest box pops up in front of me.

  Byron has asked you to get the furnaces to the proper heat. Rewards: 5 copper and more smithy work. Failure: leave before the task is complete and not be invited back. Do you accept?

  I think yes and pick up the shovel.

  There are five furnaces I need to feed from a single mound of coal. I load the first furnace up until it glows the bluish orange glow that Byron had mentioned, and then move to the next one. After loading up the third one, I notice the color on furnace one is no longer the ideal blue orange. I sigh, it’s a game. They just can’t have everything be easy.

  Switching tactics, I move faster, almost running. I give each furnace a little bit of coal with the farthest getting the most until they are all almost the right color, then I top them off making them all have the blue orange flame.

  I’m panting a little as the Quest Complete notification pops up.

  Prove your worth: quest complete. You will now have access to more productive work at the smithy, 25 experience gained.

  The whole process had taken me almost fifteen minutes. To think, instead, I could have been at the training grounds chasing rabbits and throwing dark energy balls at them!

  Byron grunts behind me, “Not bad, do you want to work on shields or swords?”

  “Swords,” I say. More player builds require weapons than shields.

  He nods. “You’ll get 6 copper per finished sword, and you may keep one sword for every four you make.” He points to a barrel filled to the brim with rough sword blanks. “Start here and use the anvils on the south side.”

  I walk over and pull one out, inspecting it. It’s basically a long rectangularish piece of metal, flat along the edges instead of having any edge at all. No one in the shop is giving me any directions or any help at all. Each of them is working, focused on their own projects. I’d ask for help, but I get the feeling that if they are going to help me, they would have done that already. “How do I do this?” I mutter to myself. “How about l
et’s start with common sense.”

  I grab a hammer in one hand and the unfinished blade in the other. I shove the blade into the furnace. A color gradient display bar shows up, brown at the bottom and white at the top along with different shades of yellow orange and red in between. An arrow at the bottom pops up in my vision. It starts to rise slowly. I guess that shows the heating of the blade. I wonder how to figure out the ideal temperature. There will certainly be a too cold and too hot. I decide two thirds of the way up is good before I pull it out. A small +2xp floats up, and I move the blade to the anvil.

  Do I just bang on it now? A ghostly hand appears moving up and down. I start trying to move my hammer with it matching the movements and striking the blade. Completely failing to line up nets me +0 xp, to +1 if I do it partially and +2 if I’m successful in matching the movement. After a few hits I see I’m just hitting the same place on the blade. I start moving it slowly, guiding it across they anvil so that my hammer strikes a path along the edge, which rewards me with another small xp bonus.

  Yay, common sense is king. I work my way along the edge of the blade trying to keep up with the movement properly, every few strikes they would add in a hesitation making it difficult to match up. I almost finish making my way around when I notice the blade has lost much of its color from the furnace. I wonder if it isn’t hot enough and I need to heat it again during the process.

  With one more hit a prompt pops up.

  Crafting complete.

  I look at the sword, its information displays.

  Poor iron sword. Poorly crafted, poor quality iron blade. 20 durability, Damage 4-6 slashing. Crafted by Chess.

  It asks me if I want my name to be displayed publicly as the player who crafted this, I wave it off with a no. That would be embarrassing. I look at my spell abilities in the corner I guess this would be a good time to try them out.

  I cast True Nature and Strengthen on the blade. Two small +3xp bonuses float up. Now I check out the blade again. It now lists as enchanted, and the bonuses of +1 rending damage and a trait of 30% resistance to breaking. My heart drops when I see the next note on the item.