Ascension

by B F Rockriver

  A group of bandits have attacked and robbed Kelly and his father, William. They have tasked you to find and retrieve a “special box,” without questioning its contents, or opening it. William has forbidden his adopted son from answering any further questions about the item until you accept their quest.

  Quest Difficulty: Medium | Quest Time: 48 hours | Rewards: 200 exp, 25 silver, Reputation gains + 300 Kelly Spidersmash, +500 William Stormcaller, reputation gain with an unknown faction, unknown item/s |

  Failure: Time expires, or box is opened - Loss of 1000 reputation with Kelly Spidersmash, Loss of 10,000 reputation with William Stormcaller, Loss of reputation with an unknown faction. *If the box is retrieved, but not returned, a bounty may be issued for your capture.

  Do you accept: Yes / No

  “We’ll find your damned box,” Don’s voice called into their small clearing, its scratching tone startling everyone. “But first, I need some food, water, and my damn quest rewards.”

  Everyone looked to the green-skinned man, who was now propping himself up against the log Eli was sitting on.

  Eli patted him on the shoulder and spoke gently. “Rise and shine gorgeous. How was your nap?”

  “Oh, fuck you, dude,” Don said, brushing himself, finding a bit of vomit on his chest. “Uh, what happened?”

  “You threw up on me is what happened,” Eli said, pointing to a stain on his hide leggings. “You drained your mana and stamina to zero and started seizing. You could have died.”

  “Oh. So, that’s what happens.” Don stood and stretched, wiping crusted filth from his mouth. “Sorry, dude, had to do it. That guy would have died, and who knows if he would have come back.”

  “What language is that?” William asked, staring at the two players in confusion.

  Eli and Don both turned to face the scholar, Eli, speaking first, “What do you mean, what language. We’re speaking common.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s a new language, the language of Gods. It’s only spoken by adventurers; you wouldn’t be able to learn. Sorry, bro.” The Turta brushed the question off with ease as if he’d answered it a thousand times.

  Wait; what? We didn’t speak any new language. Eli thought to himself.

  “When speaking about game mechanics, the game itself, the outside world, or anything that might create logic errors within the system, such as re-spawning, your voice becomes encoded. To NPCs, it sounds like a different language. Within the game’s lore, it is often referred to as the Language of Gods.” Aida said, quickly filling in the blanks of Don’s explanation.

  While William summoned a piece of paper and started scribbling, Don continued, “But, as I was saying. I got the gist of the quest. Find some bandits, get this dudes stuff back, and don’t look in the box. But, first food and loot.”

  Before accepting the quest, Eli motioned to Don and spoke, “Before accepting your task, we need to ask you something. And, if you can help us, we will get your lost items back.” He looked at Don, who was nodding in approval. “We need a cure for the Blight. Don and I have both been infected.”

  To Eli’s surprise, William smiled before replying, “I was expecting as much. I thought telling you I studied magic would be a big enough hint.”

  William explained that he had noticed the signs of the disease on the two adventurers as soon as he had seen them. Their markings were distinct and growing with each passing hour.

  “Trading wasn't the only reason I came to these islands. I’ve been investigating the rumors of the Blight. I was about to leave because the rumors had seemed to be just that, nothing but hear-say. There are no signs of blight anywhere south of Dawnport.” He said, with his face scrunched up and his eyes narrowed, “But this, this changes everything.” William motioned for Eli to roll up his sleeve and show the extent of the damage.

  While rolling up his sleeve, Eli also rolled up his pant leg and lifted his shirt. “It seems to spread from the point of infection. It started off small and has been growing ever since.” The black weblike markings had spread. The once localized infection had crept from his forearm to his clavicle, his calf to his waist, and covered his entire back. The thick black lines seemed to follow his veins, burrowing into his core.

  “It really seems to be sinister magic. It’s corrupting your essence, changing your very nature.” William spoke as he moved closer and began turning Eli’s arm over in his hand. “This is bad, terrible even.” The scholar whispered, walking his fingers from the point of infection to his neck. “This isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen. It’s not your body that the disease is attacking; it’s your soul.”

  “What?” Don shouted, “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Exactly what I said. It’s not really a disease, but more of a corruption. It’s changing you from the inside out. These black marks,” William said, pointing at the inky black lines on Eli’s back, “Where ever they are, your essence has been transformed into something new. Something not connected with nature. I can’t explain it completely, without testing. But, if you don’t stop its progression, you will lose your connection with the flows of mana and natural order.”

  While accessing his inventory, pulling the remaining chunks of diseased wolf's flesh into existence, Eli contacted Aida. Can you explain what he’s saying?

  “It sounds like he’s saying your code is being re-written. But, I cannot be sure unless you give me permission to run a complete scan.”

  Do it.

  “If I do, I may have access to memory and emotion files that I don’t normally have access to. Is this okay?”

  Just do it. We need to find out exactly what is going on.

  An excited gasp sounded off from the Scholar, followed by a groan of disgust from Kelly. “This will do just fine. Where did you get these?”

  “Some wolves attacked us in the Wildwood. They were about an hour northwest of Dawnport, by some cave,” Don’s said, his voice coming out unbothered as if he had been expecting this exact conversation.

  “I see. I must get my supplies and,” William said, his voice trailing off as a green glow enveloped his hand, before pulsing through the chunks of meat. “We must do some testing.” The man spoke, his words quiet as if he had forgotten entirely about Eli and Don’s existence.

  Before the man could be consumed by his work, Eli snatched the scholar by the wrist, staring him in the eyes while speaking in a harsh tone. “You’re forgetting something, William. We only have a little time left. The timer -” He corrected himself, “I mean, my intuition is telling me we have less than fifty-five hours to get this cured, before turning into some unnatural horrors and losing ourselves completely.”

  “Well then, you better go get that box and the rest of my supplies. The only things I have on me are mundane items. Scraps of parchment and my travel papers.” William said, snatching his hand back. “I’m sorry, child. Without my tools, there’s not much I can do. It would take days just to discern the exact magical properties of this cursed disease without them. And, as you said, you have little time.”

  Before heading out, the group rested, ate, and regained strength. After making a small fire, Eli and Don pulled out a handful of travel rations and passed them out. As Don ate most of the over smoked, and under seasoned, venison jerky, Eli asked about who had attacked the two travelers. According to William, there were two bandits; one was a human wearing simple metal armor, a sword, and a shield. The other was a Gladekin wearing leather armor and twin daggers. Somehow the Gladekin had snuck up behind Kelly and stabbed him in the side, as the fighter charged and stabbed the scholar through the back. William thought it off for a Gladekin to attack without provocation, but couldn’t think of any explanation.

  The young-folk, as William called them, were usually docile and inquisitive until violence was necessary. Most did not use melee weapons except as a last resort. It was odd to find one in the woods, attacking and robbing people. When found outside of their glades, they tended to stick to larger cities, or find
work with merchants.

  “After they attacked me, the two grabbed my hand cart, stripped me of most of my goods, and ran off down the wagon trail. They won’t be able to open my box, it’s warded to high heavens, but the rest of the tomes and scrolls are probably long gone. I just need that dang box back; it’s the only important thing they took.” The man shook his head, and a hint of sadness filled his eyes. “But, I need to reward you, kids, for coming all this way to help me. Is there anything I could do to repay you?”

  As Eli sat, listening to William finish his story, the beginnings of a plan started to come together. He knew they needed to find the stolen goods and return them, but he also needed to ensure that William would help them find a cure. Thinking about the wagon, Eli wondered if the scholar might even be able to help them restock Alyssa's medical supplies.

  Before Eli could voice his thoughts, Don spoke, “Actually,” he said, his mouth full of half-chewed jerky, “We have an entire list of stuff we’re looking for.”

  “We’re on a quest to restock the medical tent in the slums of Dawnport. If you have an extra sheet of paper, I could make you a list. If you have anything extra that you could deliver to them for us, we would appreciate it.”

  A few moments later, William was looking over a list of quest items and mumbling to himself. After he had looked the list over, he began rummaging around in the same pocket of his robe. Before long, he had a ten-foot by one-foot strip of pristine white cloth, a fifty-foot length of rope, and two sets of tools. Eli looked at the goods in astonishment.

  How. What?

  “That is no ordinary traveler's robe,” Aida said, reading Eli’s thoughts.

  “This is everything I could spare,” William said, his rummaging coming to an end. Kelly started reaching for the goods, but the scholar brushed away his hand. “It would seem like they are trying to make some bows, arrows, and healing salves. Most likely, the cloth is to create bandages. If you would like, I can take the cloth, rope, and parchment to them directly, while you two search for the bandits.” He looked to Eli while handing him the tool kit. “I have a feeling that you would be better suited to hold on to these tools.” Eli accepted the tools and nodded, before untying a draw-string and opening the sturdy leather pouch. In it, he found a small sharp knife, a fletcher jig, some thread, a few arrowheads, and a small vat of glue.

  “Hell yeah,” Don shouted, snatching a mortar and pestle from the pile of goods. “I could use this.”

  After stashing his new tools into a pocket in his tattered leggings, a window appeared notifying that he had finished his quest. The experience that followed was a full sixth of what he needed to level, but what excited him was the reputation gains he earned. Saving someone’s life was significant, apparently because he gained one thousand reputations with William and five hundred with Kelly. Two more notifications flashed into his vision.

  *Congratulations your reputation has increased with Kelly Spidersmash*

  +500 reputation. Reputation is now 1050.

  950 reputation to next level - Ally

  Your reputation level with Kelly Spidersmash is now Friendly. He will offer his aid when asked, as long as it does not pose a danger or severe inconvenience to himself.

  -20% cost when buying goods from Kelly Spidersmash.

  +10% increased sale price when selling to Kelly Spidersmash.

  *Congratulations your reputation has increased with William Stormcaller*

  +1000 reputation. Reputation is now 1150.

  Your reputation level with William Stormcaller is now Friendly. He will offer his aid when asked, as long as it does not pose a danger or severe inconvenience to himself.

  -20% cost when buying goods from William Stormcaller.

  +10% increased sale price when selling to William Stormcaller.

  Confused as to why his reputation scores did not add up, Eli looked over his logs. As far as he saw, he had not received any reputation increases with Kelly or William before now.

  Hey, Aida, can you explain this?

  “Small reputation increases and losses are not vital to gameplay, and I have been auto-minimizing them. This is the standard setting if you would like I could show you every increase and decrease that occurs, but this may get overwhelming.”

  Uh, no. That’s okay. Eli thought, not wanting to see every tiny reputation gain. Actually, can you only inform me when I go up or down a rank in reputation? Other than that, I should be able to judge how people are reacting to me, I hope.

  “Sure thing.”

  With his settings changed, he asked William where he might find the bandits. The scholar had no clue, other than deeper into the Wildwood. Without a general location to travel in, the search for the thieves could take days. They could follow the wagon trail, hoping to stumble onto some tracks, but if the attackers had any sense, they would be covering any signs of their passing. After thinking over his options, Eli’s hopes of finding the vagabonds before sunset were nearly dashed.

  Before, when Kelly spoke, “I think they were headed southwest, towards a hideout. I heard the Human speaking of a camp or something. It’s in a small clearing near a hill.”

  At the gladekin’s words, Eli’s thoughts immediately flashed to his cabin and his family. The descriptions and location were different, and the people that attacked him had been adventurers, not citizens. Just as Eli’s memories subsided, Kelly said something that reignited his pain.

  “I don’t know if this is important, but I heard them speak that weird language. The Language of the Gods, or whatever you call it. I think they were adventurers.”

  Chapter 13

  Eli and Don stood at the edge of their makeshift resting area in shock. Kelly’s words had rocked Eli to his core. Adventurers were hiding out in the Wildwoods, attacking people. As thoughts of revenge coursed through Eli’s mind, his hand reached for his axe. With a grin forming on his face, Eli gripped the wooden handle, his knuckles turning white from strain. While he knew that the likelihood of these players being the ones who attacked his family was slim, his mind latched onto the thought like a vice. Beads of sweat ran down Eli’s brow, and his chest heaved with rapid breaths. Anxiety, fear, and hatred overtook him. It took everything he had just to stay in one place. Before he could make another hasty decision, Don’s voice rang out through the clearing.

  “Oh, dude! It’s a PK quest; this is going to be rad.” The Turta’s words caged Eli’s growing fury attack like a tamer at a circus. “I’ve heard of these before, but I’ve never actually done one. Let’s go get these fuckers.” The man had unknowingly given Eli some hope. Hope that he would find and kill those who had wronged him. “If there’s one thing I can’t stand its asshole players, who think they can just rob everyone.”

  Without a word, Eli rose to his feet and started off down the small wagon path. The sound of heavy steps became the beat to the cadence of his rage. As Don stood to follow, rays from the setting sun danced across the thickening cloud. Darkness would come soon. If they wanted to find these players, they would have to move fast.

  Calling after Eli, Don picked up his pace, shouting, “Hey man, wait up. And give a man some warning before you walk away all menacing-like. It’s kinda creepy.”

  An hour later, Eli spotted a set of narrow grooves in the ground, roughly three feet apart from each other. While kneeling to inspect them and the surrounding area, he spotted two sets of footprints. One set was much larger than the other. The human-sized prints seemed to have been made by military-style greaves, most likely metal with hardened leather soles. Whoever made them was wearing decent quality armor.

  “Your survival skill has increased, and you have learned the sub-skill tracking.” Aida’s voice rang in his head as his notification icon flashed. “Keep up the good work, and you might not die immediately.”

  After the AI’s timely notification, a faint green aura surrounded the tracks. Focusing on them brought up a new notification.

  *Would you like to track Human (Unknown)? Yes / No<
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  After signaling his intent, a small arrow appeared and began slowly moving between north and southwest, while always pointing in a westerly direction.

  At the sight of the wavering arrow, Eli reached out to Aida; Hey, what’s going on with this arrow? I think the skill is broken.

  “It’s not broken. You’re just bad.” Aida responded, “As your tracking skill gets better, your ability to track will become more accurate and detailed.”

  Got it, is there anything else you can tell me?

  “Yes, there is. You should start thinking more about what type of class you want to be and what role you want to take in your party. This game isn’t usually played alone, and the closer you get to level ten, the harder it will be to learn new skills, gain new abilities, and grow into your class. At a certain level, you will have to sacrifice skill points in certain skills to learn new ones.”

  Wait, sacrificing skill points? What do you mean? Is the system going to start wiping my memory?

  “No, nothing like that.” Aida responded, “As players learn skills, the progression of new skills slows down and eventually comes to a halt unless they sacrifice other skills. Each level of a skill a player learns counts against an overall total. That total isn’t shown to the player. Think of it like this, you have a pool of skills, and each new point is a drop of water. At first, each drop seems inconsequential, and there’s enough room to hold them all. After a while, the water level rises. Eventually, the pool fills up, and the excess flows into a stream.”

  So, what you’re saying is, I can only learn so many skills. Then I’m done. Will I just stop learning? That seems unfair and illogical. How can a person just stop learning?

  “Yes, and no. Let me give you an example. If you spend all of your time and energy developing your cooking skill, memorizing recipes day and night, you won’t have the time or mental capacity to learn how to play the flute. Correct?”