The Dragon's Wrath: Shadows in the Flame

by Brent Roth

  There was no need for it here.

  Four steps forward and out the door, the loud droning of the computer fans still running inside The Cube were left behind as the sound of a fan attached to the window sill replaced it. The smell from the kitchen which was twenty-three steps and a half turn to my right was faint but there was clearly garlic involved.

  Walking down the hallway, the sounds of utensils scraping against the metallic pan reached my ears as I made my way into the kitchen and stopped short of the counter. The sounds of my mother cooking gave her position away as I placed my hands on the cold tile-top counter, waiting for the break in her motions to ask my question.

  “Mum, I was thinking of going to dinner with Emily if that was all right?” I asked while facing the direction that I believed she was in. “Were you far along?”

  “Oh it’s not a bother,” she replied. “I only just started.”

  “You’ve yet to add the vegetables or the meat?” I stated as the lack of certain sounds and smells told me everything I needed to know.

  “Could you hand me the meat? It’s on the first shelf, far left.”

  Leaving my cane on the counter, I walked towards the fridge and opened the door on the right. With countless hours of experience, my hands reached out and grabbed the package of meat mainly by texture. Checking via smell, dinner appeared to involve beef.

  After setting the beef down near the stove, I made my way towards the sink to wash my hands of the faint slimy texture that had contaminated my hands. Once finished, I grabbed my cane and made my way back down the hallway and past the location of The Cube as I headed towards my room.

  Everything was organized specifically in a way that made it easy for me to find, with clothes separated first by type then by style and colour. It wouldn’t do to dress myself in odd colours that were poorly matched, only to look the fool. A visual confirmation from my mum, dad, or nan would serve to correct any mistakes made as well.

  “Mm,” I mumbled to myself as I tried to decide on what to wear.

  Life in the programme was certainly different.

  In a way virtual reality had spoiled me with the gift of sight and in turn it left a hole in my current life that couldn’t be filled. My needs remained the same but my wants had changed. I wanted to look at the outfits that I would be wearing. I wanted to be able to look out the window and see what others saw on a regular basis. I wanted to see if something was coming my way when walking out on the foot path or pavement.

  To no longer have to fear the unknown was something I wished for.

  Putting my life in the hands of strangers every time I step foot outside of the house was taxing on me emotionally and mentally. If I could only see as I did inside the virtual world, then there would be nothing to fear in this life.

  Em had been helping though, I thought to myself.

  Emily had been involved, along with a researcher from the company, with taking the data from my gameplay and compiling it with other individuals in similar situations in an effort to create a better system that could possibly help us out in the real world.

  According to Em, the gustotopic map was where research began on recreating taste, with electrical signals being sent from the tongue to different regions of the brain in order to report the proper taste. Seeing how each section was responsible for the type of taste, such as salty or sweet, it became a game of mimicking signals.

  The same ideas were prevalent in other fields of research and after nearly two decades they had finally made their breakthrough and a true-to-life virtual reality was born. Sending signals directly into the brain instead of relying on screens to project images, we could now experience everything in a modified dream state.

  We were essentially dreaming everything that happened inside the game, replete with all of the senses and connections to the outside world. To think a lucid dream, a virtual dream, could be so effective.

  My dreams had always been based around my sense of touch, smell, and hearing with those three senses being heightened. Now, I had begun to dream in colour… in picture, with images of the world that I had seen within my mind, within the game.

  Life was no longer the same for me.

  I was content with life before but now I sometimes missed being in-game. My family and friends were outside of it but… life felt empty outside. Inside the game I felt complete. That was something that I had yet to tell anyone though, afraid that they might misconstrue my words as me being unhappy with my current life. I was content after all.

  There was just another alternative now that happened to be a little better.

  “Val! Em’s here!” called my dad as he must have recently returned.

  “Be there in a minute!” I lightly yelled back.

  After all was said and done, I was glad for the programme.

  * * *

  Chapter 88: A Village Reborn

  (Saturday, December 25th Game Day / Saturday, May 1st Real Day)

  “Grab the other end would you?” I said to the warrior that was closest to the other side of the large log. “Right, lift it to your shoulder then get in position, we’ll need to walk it up next, make sure your footing is solid. Take your time, we’re not in a hurry here.”

  With the large log resting on my shoulder, half of the weight of the roughly three-hundred pound log was now being balanced and held by a single arm as I got into position. Waiting for the warrior to do the same, we then took a step up the makeshift wooden platform with a rough one-legged step-up. Repeating four times brought us to the top as we now stood four feet above the ground.

  “On three, shift the log and get both hands underneath,” I began to explain as I waited for the warrior to catch his breath. “Lift it straight above your head and then we’ll take one last step and lay it down in one motion, you can set it down first.”

  Counting off and lifting at the same time, the three-hundred pound log was hoisted above our heads as we took the last step and leaned slightly forward, pushing the heavy log onto the roof supports that had been finished only an hour before.

  “Good stuff,” I said after we had finished with the first log. “We’ll repeat for the rest of them, if you get tired let me know. I don’t want any injuries here.”

  Thirty minutes later and with a switch through three different warriors, my temporary laborers had aided me in completing the roof to the third lodge. The underground tunnels had been finished and there were now three interconnected buildings with one-floor above ground and two beneath.

  The outdoor central market had been completed a while back but still lacked a canopy. Though that didn’t really matter at this point in the weather cycle as the constant snowfall had turned Dragon’s Breach into a winter wonderland and all of the goods were being kept indoors and in storage to the last the winter.

  The weaver’s hut had been completed along with a larger spindle and loom being crafted for her to use. And with more afforded space to work with, Mari was able to recruit a few extra hands to help offload some of her tasks when she received a backlog of orders.

  Her situation was a good one and after finishing my inspection it was time to move on to the next building. Kaia had also received a new structure, a barn much larger and more insulated than the previous shack that she had been using. Another dugout with half of the building underground, the soil worked as an insulator while more dirt was packed onto the roof. Snow covered the roofs for now but in the spring grass would be visible and the green rooftops would be a pleasant scene for the eyes.

  Inspecting the building for the first time as it had been constructed while I was away, everything had been completed in a timely manner without any corners being cut. My populace had received a tall list of things to accomplish while I was away and they had knocked out most of them… to say I was proud would be an understatement.

  These were my NPCs, working hard to build our kingdom.

  “Sigurd, what brings you here?” asked Kaia as she poked her head out from behind a small wooden
wall that served as a pen. “Come uh, to visit me have you?”

  “Just doing the rounds, wanted to see how everyone was doing.”

  “Oh? Well I’m doing fine with this new setup here, much warmer nowadays,” she replied with a strange smile. “Is there um anything else you needed?”

  Sensing the strange atmosphere with her stilted replies giving her away, I decided to activate my [Keen Sight] to see what was going on behind the curtains. The wooden pen only covered so much but in the shadows it was hard to clearly make out the details. It didn’t take more than a second for two glimmers to appear where Kaia was, with one clearly of another humanoid.

  My best guess was Roald had finally moved on from flirtatious behavior to a little more sensual behavior. The thought was a curious one as I had yet to see any in-game romance between NPCs but it made sense. There were children in this game and full families that came with the recruited NPCs so it wasn’t exactly a stretch to think that there was indeed some romance going on behind the scenes.

  Well, what happened behind closed doors was none of my concern. Stifling a laugh as I kept a relatively straight face, I figured it would be fun to tease them a little before heading back out into the cold.

  “If there’s anything you need,” I said with a slight pause as a grin appeared on my face. “Let Roald know… he’ll be able to take care of it, I’m sure.”

  A slight blush appeared on her face as I turned around and tossed a light wave over my shoulder. Leaving the two behind to resume their activities, I couldn’t help but wonder if the two could copulate.

  It was expected in a way.

  Hm, would it affect productivity? I thought to myself.

  A pregnant NPC… how long would they be pregnant for and would they be able to work? I didn’t want to put a damper on any of their freedoms but if all my females became pregnant and unable to work, then my village would be in trouble.

  “Wait… what about me?” I mumbled as I froze in place, snow falling lightly on my shoulders. If NPCs can actually get pregnant, which was still a hypothesis for now, then did I have to worry… ah, damn.

  Opening up the in-game browser, I began searching for cases of NPCs getting pregnant within the game and found a few comments about players seeing baby bumps on females in some of the more crowded regions. The North was harsh and childbirth was a rarity if my assumptions were correct, yet for the rest of the continent that had an abundance of food and good weather it made sense.

  My next search was one that put a little fear into me as the thought of having a virtual child bothered me deep down. A fake living, breathing child that shared your genetic traits as far as the game was concerned… I wanted no part in that.

  The question was a simple one, NPC pregnancy in brothels.

  There were thousands of brothels in this game world and they were by far the most active places during the alpha and beta phases of the game. If any of that popularity carried over into the main release then one could figure that the question would have come up at some point along the line.

  Gulping down the lump of saliva that had accumulated in my throat, the results were in. The hard answer coming from a blue post… a moderator had chimed in to alleviate the fears and curiosity of many.

  [The inhabitants within the game cannot be impregnated by Adventurers from the other world, due in part to their mysterious presence within the world of The Dragon’s Wrath. In short, it’s okay to copulate, as you won’t populate, the world within.]

  Breathing a sigh of relief, the thought had never really occurred to me as I had never intended to get involved with that aspect of the game. The brothels weren’t on my list of things to do. Having any relations with an NPC also never made it onto my radar until it had already happened. A part of me wondered if the NPCs knew of the situation. Did Selene and Kate already know what the end result would be, that there was no end result?

  “Meh,” I muttered as I looked up at the sky.

  Why was I being bothered by this, it was only a game.

  None of it was real and none if it mattered in the long run, the game was for my enjoyment and would stay that way until I decided to part ways with it. There was no reason to fret over these inconsequential details.

  Resuming my stroll around the town, the next stop was the blacksmith’s hut that had been remodeled and enlarged. Sturdier walls and with a second forge on the opposite end with an open workspace left in the middle, there was enough room for six men to work simultaneously. Only three filled the space for now though.

  “Ansgar, Enok, how goes it?” I asked as I entered the smith.

  Not hearing a reply, it turned out that the men were out on break or somewhere else and the smith had been left unattended. It was a little unexpected but it didn’t matter too much.

  Taking a step back out into the cold air, the next building that I wanted to check was the one for the Tanner and Leatherworker. A single man that took care of both jobs for now, most of his time was spent preparing the hides that we would bring back from a hunt. Since most of the decent furs were sold, only the ruined furs or loose pieces were turned over to him for leatherworking. In a way he almost served as a recycler or salvager, saving and using parts that would otherwise be thrown to the side and discarded.

  Multiple methods were used to cure and strengthen the hides as various bits of armor were created out of the remnants. The bear hides were the thickest and was what we used for the larger pieces that covered vulnerabilities, while the more plentiful wolf hides were used for everything else. Every soldier was equipped with a full ensemble of leather armor, starting from their feet and on up to their shoulders. The only thing lacking was a helmet, as I found fur caps more aesthetically appealing.

  Safety be damned.

  “Horik, you in?” I asked as I knocked on the door and entered in the same motion, only leaving two-seconds between the two actions.

  “I’m here, always am,” he replied with a dull voice.

  “How’s the new facility?” I inquired while looking around the room.

  The walls had been adorned with hooks and racks to hang hides as tables and triangular racks littered the floor. The building itself was roughly thirty by twenty feet across, a standard rectangle shape that seemed to work without issue. Off to one end though there was a hole in the roof where the smoke was allowed to vent, often billowing out during the day when Horik was hard at work.

  “Eh, would rather have had an extra hand,” he said while placing the piece of leather he had been working on down on the table. “You’ve got me tanning the leather, working it, shaping it and cutting it to size for everyone and then you tell me to prepare hundreds of furs to ship every month, all by myself. But yes, the facility is better than the previous one. It has walls, a roof, and I’m no longer surrounded by a hundred others watching my every move. Now I can truly work by myself.”

  Throwing a piece of ruined leather into a scrap pile with agitation, Horik’s anger was well warranted and was something I had made note of. Though my ability to relieve him of some of his hardship was a bit far off at the moment, as there simply wasn’t enough money to truly go around.

  “Ah, I see,” I said after waiting for him to calm down. Thinking over his situation, it seemed strange that he was unable to find any help. Deciding to ask as it couldn’t hurt, I hoped that he simply was too busy to look.

  “Is there no capable apprentice amongst the youth here?”

  “None,” he replied curtly. “They aren’t proficient.”

  “Ah,” I replied.

  “I cannot keep up this pace for much longer, I am drained. If quality is to be maintained, I need another hand or the volume must be decreased,” he pleaded with hands clasping his head. “I am far too tired to keep this up.”

  “I hear you,” I said softly while standing at the edge of a tanning rack. “You’ve produced fine work and have done so while shorthanded and with poor equipment. I was hoping that this new facility would ease your burden but I se
e I’ve made an error.”

  Walking towards the door, I turned my head to the side to face him as I made up my mind. If an NPC was visibly upset and making reasonable complaints, one would be wise to appease said NPC. There was also an important message being delivered.

  “You’ll have an extra hand by this time next week,” I said as I gave him a nod and headed out the door. The message was clear to me. My NPCs needed a way to relax and let off steam after a hard day’s work.

  They needed entertainment.

  We had lost the makeshift tavern and had yet to replace it. The fact that the loss of the morale boost from such a building could be so easily noticeable after it was removed was rather surprising. All of my efforts thus far had been on ensuring the defenses were significantly improved and then my focus shifted to rebuilding the infrastructure.

  Pleasure buildings were planned for later.

  At least, that was the old plan. The next building to be constructed would be an inn with an underground area for serving food and alcohol. A separate tavern would be built as well, specializing primarily in food and drink while lacking the additional lodging that would classify it as an inn.

  A pub would be nice as well but I would need to recruit a brew master of sorts to produce the alcohol. That particular NPC was on my list but I had yet to see one available within the NPC-Recruiter. Actually, there were a lot of NPCs that weren’t available the more that I looked.

  There was a sneaking suspicion that NPCs were actually limited in the Recruiter by some hidden requirement. Since the current list of NPCs available took a little while to reach the public’s knowledge, it struck me as highly likely that there could be a different list that wasn’t publicly known yet.