The words caught Eli off guard. A missing stonekin expedition would have weapons and supplies. In his momentary confusion, the woman grabbed Eli’s dagger and threw it on the ground. Before he could react, she sheathed her blade and held up her hands in a show of peace.
As he went to open his mouth to question her, she spoke, cutting him off, “Don’t interrupt a lady. Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners?” Michelle remained on the floor, looking up at the still battle-ready Wolffen while wagging a finger as if shaming him. “As I was saying. I’m sure you’ve heard about the ongoing quest that Emperor Oct’hul put out to reclaim that damn fort.” Eli shook his head, showing that he hadn’t, and Don replied with a curt, “Uh, kinda. A bit. Saw it on the forums,” before relaxing his stance a little.
“Well, I was on my way up there, by land,” she said, shaking her head as if frustrated. “But, something strange is going on north of here, on the other side of the Clutches, and I got turned away. I figured I would avoid going through Dawnport, because, ya' know. I’m a Troll. So, I made my way west, and here I am.”
Eli grimaced, thinking of the hike this woman made, and what would motivate someone to travel so far. She was an ocean away from the safety of her faction, “Okay, say I believe you, that still doesn’t explain why the hell anyone would risk coming this far for some stupid quest. Why wouldn’t you just land at the fort? It also doesn’t explain if you are a threat to us or not.”
“Okay, I get it. I’m some big scary Troll. I’m out here to eat your babies, savage your animals, and accidentally send nudes to everyone.” She held out her hands in a mocking claw-like motion, before thrusting her hips in Eli’s direction.
Don burst out into laughter, sending flecks of spittle flying onto the back of the woman’s armor. She either didn’t notice or care, because she continued without pause, “Let me break this down for you.” She said, keeping a slow tone. It sounded similar to one Eli heard Kata use with the twins, “The Emperor put out a quest to claim a stronghold. The reward was a butt-load of money, the fort itself, and an automatic alliance with the Empire. Anyone who pulls it off is set.” The large, thick woman brushed off her pants slowly and looked Eli right in the eyes, “What makes you think I care about or have time to bother with you two perverts?”
Eli pressed closer, unfazed by any of the woman’s mockery.
Lowering his guard, lettering her to her feet, he searched for answers,“So, what about landing at the fort itself, or going through the Clutches?” Eli said, lookin her in the eyes, “Why come so far out of the way if you’re in such a hurry.”
Her smirk and jovial attitude vanished as her temper rose, and her voice grew cold, “Look ass-hole, I don’t need to explain myself to you. But, your cucumber looking friend over there amuses me,” she motioned in Don’s direction with a wave, “So, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Everything is fucked. Like, literally everything. On the way over here, by boat, we ran into some crazy Cthulhu lookin’ motherfucker covered in black slime. It sprang up out of the ocean like it owned the place. The crew of the ship I was on barely got us to safety. A lot of those NPC’s died to save me.” At her own words, her fists tightened. A second later, she punched a tree, so hard Eli heard the wood crack. As blood dripped down her hand, she whispered, “Fuckin' noble-ass Mist Elves. I love those little fuckers.” She said, waving off the drops of lime-green liquid, “But, where was I? Oh yeah, the pass. As I made my way through the woods towards that pass, what's it called the grasp, or is it the clutches? Yeah, that’s it, the clutches, the one that cuts through the mountains northwest of Dawnport. Anyway, as I was trying to avoid murdering a bunch of civilians at Dawnport, I ran into a horde of fucking undead.”
“Undead,” Don asked, enraptured by the woman's story.
“Yup. A bunch of em. Guarding the pass. It looked like they were rebuilding some guard towers or something at the far end of it. Well, not even an hour later, I stumbled into a group of weird-looking gap-toothed, Orcish motherfuckers. Thinking they were on the level, I tried to see if they would help me. Nope, they were mutants or some shit. Almost died.” Michelle paused, before reaching out and snatching her club from the ground, “And now, I’m stopped out here, in the middle of who knows where, by you two dumbasses, while I look for another way around.” Her arm stretched across her chest, releasing a loud pop from her shoulder.“Either way is fine by me. A bunch of people have already tried to land at the fort. They all died. I heard an entire guild wiped as soon as they landed. That means people, a lot higher level than myself, are making their way here and failing. I have to catch up. So, what’s it going to be?”
As Eli started to speak, Don cut him off, “Look, Eli, I know what you’re going to say, she can’t leave, she could be dangerous,” he said, looking at Eli with pleading eyes. “But, look, man, if she wanted to, she might be able to take us. She’s armed to the teeth, and I don’t feel like dying to prove a point. Even if we won, she would just respawn at the closest non-hostile location, but way more pissed at us. And, I kinda' like the idea of making more friends. Especially if it’s a tough-ass troll.”
Eli started, “But.”
“But what? If we fight, one of us could die. You and I cannot let that happen right now.” He said, looking Michelle up and down, eliciting a grin and a wink from the Trollish woman. “But, if we let her go, she may just run into those necromancer goblins’ buddies, or clear a path for us. Either way, she’ll probably die, and help us do our job.”
Understanding where his friend was leading the conversation, Eli had to relent. Letting this capable warrior wander into a trap set for them was most likely the best-case scenario. If she survived and became a threat later, they would deal with it then.
“Fine, but if she causes any trouble, you’re going to be the one who fixes it,” Eli said with a forced laugh. “You’re free to leave, but if you cause us any problems, we won’t be so nice.”
Michelle’s eyes grew large, and she laughed, “Ooh, I’m so scared.” she said in a mocking tone as she gathered what little belongings she had before sauntering off towards the temple.
“Hey, watch out for tiny goblin wizards!” Don called out after her, “they don’t play nice!”
Waving the words off, as if he had been joking, Michelle kept walking, “Yeah, yeah.”
The two adventurers waited in silence, scouting the area for anything left behind, watching for new threats. After twenty minutes of searching, finding nothing, the two started moving.
Scratching his head, Don spoke, “So do we not want her to join the party, because I kinda want her to join our party. I mean, I set that up for you to invite her, but you just pushed her off immediately,” a hint of confusion on his face.
“Wait, that’s what you were trying to do? Why would I want to do that? Do we need some vulgar Troll with us, especially that one?” He asked, scouring the ground for the Trolls tracks. “She has no reason to help, no reason to stay. I figured we could use her as a battering ram. You know, send her into danger. Weaken our foes and all that. You said it yourself. Didn’t you?”
A snap rang out, as Don smacked himself on the forehead, “Dude, you need to think about this. We are two people, two low-level players. We’re going up against what could very well be an army of undead and mutant hive-minded goblins. We don’t have a tank; she’s a huge fucking tank.” Don said as Eli felt the sudden gentle grip of his friend’s hand on his shoulder. “Look, man, I get it. You don’t trust her, and you don’t trust anyone. But, sometime soon, you’re going to have to pull it together and realize that you need help. Not everyone is out to get you.” Don’s grip tightened as he spoke, “I mean, did you not see her wounds heal up almost immediately? You need to take some time to process things before taking action and even more time to learn about this game. We need a person like Michelle on our side, that’s how this system works. You make friends, form parties, and go on an adventure. You explore, kill, and loot. Then wake up and do it all over again. That
’s what players do, and you have to start thinking like a player. If you try to go through life alone, you’ll end up as some strange hermit as the rest of the world passes you by.”
After taking a moment to think over his friend's words, Eli spoke, “But I don’t want to explore, I don’t want to adventure, and I don’t want to kill.” He said, raising his hand to grab Don’s, before sliding it off of his shoulder, “The only people I want to kill are those who attacked my family. And, I want to stop whatever the hell is going on with the Blight. I want to protect those people back there.” Eli yelled, pointing toward the far off Dawnport.
Don smacked him in the back of the head so hard his vision went blurry, and he almost expected a notification. As he stood, Don spoke, “You don’t fucking get it, do you? You stubborn idiot. What happens if the Blight takes over this forest, huh?” Eli felt both of his friend’s hands on his shoulders, anchoring him to the ground. He could break the restraint if he wanted to, but part of him knew that he needed to hear what his friend had to say. “What if you fail,” his friend said, a somber tone in his voice. “What happens to all of those NPCs back in the slums? As far as we know, we are the only two people who have this quest. You told me, not too long ago, that we need to fight. That we need to be the ones to protect the things we care about. To do that, we need help.”
All the fight left Eli’s body, his shoulders slouching forward. What had he been thinking? Could he take on the blight by himself? He knew he stood little chance alone, but refused to admit that he needed help. Most of all, he didn’t want to think of life as a game. This world was his home. These people, his friends, his family, Eric, and Savannah, were all real. He would never accept the system, or that his world was actually a game, but he could learn the rules. He needed to learn the rules, and he needed help, or lose everything he cared about.
“Okay, I get it,” Eli said with conviction. “You’re right. We can’t just charge in there and try to murder everything we see. We wouldn’t survive. So, what do we do from here? From here on out, we work as a team. Any suggestions?”
Eli felt the pressure of his friend’s hands lighten, then heard a loud clap before Don spoke, “Well, we have a few options. Option A, we catch up with ole Batty Mc’Batt-face and work together. A tank is an invaluable asset in a fight, and she’s a troll. They can take some serious punishment.” Eli nodded along, as his friend continued, “Option B, we sneak in behind her and scout the place out. I’m almost certain that there’s going to be some big bad at those ruins. It’s a standard game design. The big scary broken-down temple, filled with enemies and evil adventurers looking for it. Yeah, it’s a prime location for a boss fight,” He smiled, “And a ton of loot.” The monk’s metaphorical wheels were almost visibly spinning as he stood, tapping his finger to his lips in contemplation. Eli wondered if his brain had broken.
Then Don snapped his fingers, “Or, there’s option C. We could take our loot, gather some herbs, and the rest of the items for the Shadowstalker Pack quests. Then we find help.” A soft jab hit Eli’s shoulder, as Don finished, “I mean, hello old ruined temple that for sure has an altar in it. It’s a prime location for a stronghold. And, it’s far enough into the woods to not bother Dawnport or the other Wolffen clans. It’s textbook game stuff. It could be their new home or something. This is why you need to learn about what you’re dealing with. The protecting the pack quest probably would have led here eventually, anyway. They need a new home, and there just so happens to be an abandoned temple hidden deep in the woods. The more you understand your situation, the better equipped you will be to deal with messed up situations.”
Eli stood, stunned at his friend’s ability to plan and think ahead. The turtle-man had mentioned two plans that he had already thought of. Following the troll or using her as bait was his first option. Getting the warrior woman to help was his second. Until she mentioned the army, Eli had never imagined fighting more than the strange golems. If there were a horde of undead or blighted creatures, it would be too much to handle. The most dangerous things he had seen at the temple itself were spriggans and those weird stick creatures. Michelle had mentioned that the blight was in the pass and sea routes, and it worried him. They might not be able to handle the situation, even with all three of them.
“But, do we have time to walk the two full days back to Dawnport and seek help? The blight is already spreading over the mountains and into the pass. We are losing time by the second. If they push south with no resistance, they could march straight to Dawnport. Hell, we might get ambushed, and die before we ever make it back,” Eli said, not wanting to say what he knew he had to, “We need to catch up with Michelle and ask for her help. Beg her, or bribe her, if need be. If that doesn’t work, we head back immediately. We cannot risk dying out here. I’m not sure what will happen, but it won’t be good.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Don said with a huge grin on his face. A sign that he was getting things exactly how he wanted them. “Now, let’s go get her. And you,” Eli felt a knife-hand jab him in the chest, “It’s time you searched through the help menus and dug deep with your guide. Aida, or whatever you called it. I’m done playing teacher.”
“It’s a she, but okay. I will do what I can, I promise.”
Eli and Don ended the conversation and set off after the Trollish warrior, her tracks easily found by the former woodsman. Along the way, Eli mentally selected the still flashing gear icon in the corner of his screen. He saw a few options, but some were inaccessible, unable to open. Log out, Internet, Forums, and Messages were all locked. Eli skipped the unavailable menus without question. They could wait. He needed to get into what he could access and learn everything he could.
The only options available to him were the Help, Settings, Guide, and Menus. As he jogged, he kept a steady pace, staying just behind Don, who was acting as a lookout while Eli’s attention was elsewhere. Between glancing down to stay on track, and glances at his surroundings, Eli gave the settings menu a cursory scan. What he found could be helpful if Aida wasn’t already doing his work for him.
He could adjust what notifications showed up, what one's auto-minimized, where they would show in his vision, and their transparency level. There were options to apply audible triggers to individual notifications and to give Aida specific instructions. These would sound off even if the notification closed automatically. He immediately set audio notifications for when he was below fifty percent health, twenty-five percent health, ten percent health, and if he suffered any kind of debuff. To minimize distractions, he decided on simple, but distinct chimes for each status. He also gave Aida instructions to notify him of any new status changes, and their effects. Rather than leaving it up to him, he told Aida to use her best judgment on what was important.
Next, Eli looked into and expanded the help menu. He saw one more blocked option, Call Support. He didn’t know exactly what the unavailable option would do, but he assumed it would contact someone on the other side of the game for help. It would be a useful tool, one that could help fix his situation, but he didn’t have access to it. The thought made him kind of upset, and he made a note to ask Don about it later. Maybe the Turta could contact someone for him. Other options were available, but one stood out immediately, Game Manual.
Scanning through the manual, he found information on classes, skills, abilities, attributes, and many other vital components of the system that he was unaware of. Finding the information was faster than he could have imagined. He simply thought of a topic, and Aida's voice would read any available information. He focused on party structures, classes, magic, and strongholds.
Eli selected an option to have information read to him at an increased speed so he could pick up his pace and focus on his surroundings. His first topic was the party system and common party structures. The standard party size was four to eight people and could grow into a raid group or military. A raiding party was a unique party that could have up to fifty people, and four captains under one party lead
er. Military parties were everything from fifty to one thousand people. Militaries could incorporate NPCs into their ranks as support roles. It also allowed for its leader to select up to ten commanders. Standard parties were just as Don had described, tanks, damage dealers, support classes, and magic users. As he looked over different roles, a tool-tip appeared that explained the importance of each role. It emphasized structure, while still maintaining versatility. That stuck with him.
He refused to follow standard party arrangements. If everyone followed the same patterns, it would be difficult to gain an advantage without superior numbers. Battles, where both sides were nearly identical, usually came down to luck and equipment, not skill and planning. There are only so many formations and tactics to use when the composition of a military formation, of any size, follows an arbitrary standard operating procedure. He had to be different. His party had to be different. Anyone he teamed up with would have to understand him, his situation, and his goals. They would also have to fill multiple roles. While jogging, he kept another idea stored away to go over with Don.
Nearly two hours flew by, as Eli studied. It was easy to pay attention to Aida’s voice in his head while following the ever-shifting green arrow that followed Michelle's tracks. Her footprints were heavy and stuck to the easiest path in straight lines, allowing him to multitask. While sifting through the manual, he learned that party leaders controlled nearly every aspect of a group, from who was invited to the something called the Nemesis System.
To his astonishment, a nemesis was essentially a declaration of war between two individuals, groups, or nations. This option could be chosen, or given to, a person, party, faction, or government. It was often used to declare war and establish certain victory conditions. Sometimes, the title and rewards would be issued by the system itself, and knowing that the game or system could influence his actions, terrified Eli.
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