Acrion- Cascade

by Scott Seier

  Learning The Ropes

  We made it back to the town with more than enough time to spare before nightfall. The rest of the group moved off to their respective trainers, but seeing as the only place I'd seen Kara so far was on the wrong side of the walls...I figured it wasn't the best idea to try and visit her until morning. To distract from the excitement of getting a new spell I decided to check out some of the shops before heading back to the Blue Banner to find a room.

  I was halfway through the gates when an irritated grumble stopped me in my tracks. "Sir. Your...pet will not be permitted within the boundaries of the town proper, as to say... within its walls." I'll show you a pet you smarmy bastard. The imp's words surprised me. He hadn't spoken much unless I initiated it. I guess computer programs had feelings too.

  A man wearing cloths very similar to the priest I had met earlier stood next to the gate guard. The same guard that had seemed uncomfortable with my imps presence that afternoon. Apparently the guy hadn't liked the little white fuzz ball so much, that he'd called in the church as back up. The new smug looking man wore a dark navy blue version of outfit I'd seen before, which consisted of a straight cut pair of pants topped with an interesting jacket that seemed to have a short cloak sewn right onto the back of it, creating the effect of a very short cape.

  I just shrugged at his words and glanced at the imp. That would not be the problem, I could easily evade the pitiful predators in this area. The imp said with gritted teeth. Or at least he was very effectively able to convey that sense through our weird mind-speech. The issue is that you are too weak for me to wander very far from you. The binding that keeps me in this plane would weaken, and eventually, I would be sent back automatically. the imp shuddered. Not even mentioning the fact that you don't have another core as a reagent for my return, I would be very preferential to a plan that involved me staying in this world as long as possible.

  I thought to myself for a few seconds. If the odd extended silence bothered either the guard or the priest it didn't show. I guess they were programmed to ignore players doing oddly out of character things. Can't have them eavesdropping on a conversation about the donut shop down the street from where you lived in real life and later request an invite to said real-world establishment. It would be pandemonium!

  Shaking myself out of my own revelry for once I looked over at the gate once more and then glanced at the setting sun. The imp sighed. I assume that our chances of successfully subverting their rules are even slimmer when taking into account this buffoon in our way, correct? I agreed. The imp sighed again. If it is truly a last resort we can try a binding spell. It would seal me into a shard, similar to the one that was used to conjure me, but it would not send me back completely. Essentially trapping me until a point in time in which It would be safe to release me. A speedy release on your part I hope. I was game the second the little guy insinuated that he could teach me something new. I'd never heard of a companion teaching a player an ability, but I really had never asked if it was possible, so the blame was most likely on me there.

  Without saying a word to the priest or the tattletale guard we moved off and around the walls of the town, out of sight of the gates, but not nearly as far as the grove that I had been introduced to Kara in.

  I said, practically drooling at the idea of learning a new spell. Who knows where the itch came from, but I was down to catch them all... spells I mean, not imps. Although I wouldn't mind having an army of imps... stop day dreaming. Jeez you can barely keep a single coherent thought in your head! How do you live? The imp whined, rather rudely I might add. ugh, spare the victim act, it's written all over your face. No need for a mind reader. Before I could formulate a scathing retort he pressed on. The binding spell is not difficult, it's predicated on the concept of balance. You put forward some mana, or a couple crystals or anything really, and then the scales are measured. If the scales tip in your favor, then the binding will succeed and whatever you are targeting with it will be trapped. In this case I will not resist in the slightest, so we should be able to confine me to an object, rather than immobilize me, or trap me in a location as most basic bindings are used for. I absorbed the info with gusto and after a few minutes of further explanation and a few questions on my part I was rewarded with a couple shiny new notifications.

  Spell Alert!

  New Spell Learned!

  Fade Seal

  Skill Alert!

  New Skill Learned!

  Binding Art.

  Very satisfied with the result of the imp's training I didn't waste any time trying out my new spell. With some direction from the little guy I pulled out a rock that I'd stashed in my bag while in the mines. He spent a full minute making fun of me for looting a simple rock, but See! I knew it was worth having... using the rock as a focus and the imp as a target I activated Fade Seal! The leverage that I offered up was five mana and the stone itself, I worried briefly if it would be enough to complete the seal, but the spell went off without a hitch, due entirely in part to the imp putting up no resistance at all, as promised.

  With a droning pop, the rock in my hand was replaced with a shiny, light purple, shard made of some kind of crystal. The imp was no where to be seen. Checking the properties confirmed that the imp was now sealed within the shard.

  Binding Shard

  Imp

  Level: 6

  Stability: 10/10

  Impressed at the results and content to start my night without having to argue with a priest, I tossed the shard in the air and caught it, admiring how the light glinted off its facets before stowing it and returning to the gate, where the man in question proceeded to look me over quite closely. Suspicion clearly shown in his eyes, but didn't extend to his sickly pleasant smile.

  Not wanting to be overly helpful, I walked away after the first five seconds of his inspection, before he had a chance to clear me for entry. No need to let this guy think he had that much power over me. He called after me to return for further inspection at once, but I ignored him completely, already thinking about what I would spend the rest of my waking hours doing.

  In Four Flags there was one street that housed all of the stores and stands. It was a brightly colored cacophony of sound, smells, and interesting sights. I was glad to see that the street had emptied from when I had glanced down it earlier, the hundreds of players having gone off to fulfill their individual whims. The shops had names like "pots,pints, and potions" and "CE Enchanting co." Each one making me more excited than the last. I didn't know anything about this entire world. A clean slate to form new opinions and thoughts. I grinned and picked one of the storefronts at random.

  "Welcome, to Relics to Relics, my name, is Broxly, how may I be of assistance?" the older man had a guff, yet flowing voice that reminded me of someone who could be speaking calmly, but suddenly burst forth with impassioned sentiments out of the blue.

  "I'm new to the area, just browsing at the moment, unless you have some advice for a new player? I'm learning as I go." I said this happily enough, wincing slightly at calling myself a player. The general rule was to call all players either heroes or adventurers. I scanned the dusty shelves and cases that cluttered the small shop. My vision sometimes helpfully adding small descriptions to items, but most were completely blank to me.

  "That is a noble notion my friend, noble indeed." Broxly said nodding sagely while scratching his scruffy white beard. "I myself was an adventurer, years ago now, but that's another story. The point is that I can do more than give some advice, I can o
ffer a few things that not many heroes think to pick up in their first few weeks. I have something here that will, when coupled with some training from your tutor, increase your spell casting effectiveness very nicely." my ears perked up at this. Unfortunately the seasoned salesman noticed my sudden interest and I cursed myself for not playing it closer to the vest. He knew he had me.

  "I happen to have an intellect focus here." Broxly walked around several of the cases, tapping his fingers on the tops of displays as he passed. "Ah yes, here!" he said, rapping the display in question. "This will allow you to grasp at the ethereal threads of knowledge that much more effectively!" Walking over I peered through the pristinely clean glass and spotted what he was pointing at. A quill. A large feathered quill that was resting on a velvet pillow. I was about to question the usefulness of a writing instrument in a fight, but then I started reading the description.

  Quill of Mindful Growth.

  +1 Intellect

  Off-Hand

  Allows the user to increase the effectiveness of their intellect boost by a noticeable margin.

  I didn't know what it meant by an 'intellect boost', but the extra stat was definitely of interest to me. It seemed to be similar to Gleer's wand. "Any chance you have something that increases spirit instead?" I asked, watching the old man closely.

  "Spirit? Hmm, an interesting choice for an attribute of interest my young friend." He said raising his bushy eyebrows and working his jaw as he mulled over my request. "I believe that I may have something in storage. Are you comfortable waiting for a few minutes while I retrieve it?" he said glancing at me absentmindedly and then trundling off before an affirmation ever left my lips. "Sure thing..." I said to the now empty room.

  Tapping my toe, I ran an eye over the rest of the shop as I heard the odd rattle and bump from the shop's back room. I was surprised by this places lack of players. Even though the street outside was much clearer than it had been earlier I still could see a semi-steady stream of players walking past the place, yet not one of them entered Relics to Relics.

  As I looked around my eyes fell on a small glass flask on a shelf behind the counter. Moving closer, I rummaged in my bag and extracted a small vial that Gleer had given me and that I had filled with spider venom. Yes, I know I said I would never get near the stuff, but after killing a few dozen of them they really lost their scare factor for me.

  The two containers gave off the same faint glow, but the flask on display was a deep midnight blue color, while my venom was a light green. Broxly decided to return at this moment and froze, eying my vial expertly.

  "Venom of a small, minor Arachkidar." He stated in a mater-of-fact tone. "very useful stuff, valuable too in the hands of the right person. I would be willing to trade that venom for this if that was your intention." He laid a box on the counter and opened it with a flourish that was honestly a little much. Inside was what looked like a tiny dream catcher that was embossed on a ring.

  Ring of Abundant Soul

  +2 Spirit

  Finger

  Allows the user to increase the effectiveness of their spirit boost by a noticeable margin.

  Well the descriptions weren't exactly creative, but it was exactly what I had asked for. I didn't know much about the value of the venom, but I didn't get the feeling that Broxly was trying to scam me in the slightest. I reached into my bag and pulled out three more vials. Setting them all in a row on the counter to Broxly's great delight. "What do you think I can get for these?" I asked, the tables turning as I now knew he had a definite interest in the stuff.

  Broxly put a hand to his beard encased chin and struck a pose of intense pondering. "I'm sure we can come to enough of an agreement to make all parties happy." He grinned, clearly relishing the haggling to come.

  As I left Relics to Relics I couldn't contain the smile playing at the corners of my mouth. I'd gotten a couple health potions along with a proper mace with an unknown enchantment on it for the three vials of venom. Broxly'd been transparent about the fact that he knew nothing of what the magic contained within the weapon did and that It could potentially be dangerous, but I was happy with it for its sheer novelty and the fact that it replaced my basic stick with a chunk of metal on it.

  Frightener's Song

  Mace

  Binds when equipped

  Main Hand

  4-6 Damage/Speed 2.5

  Enchanted

  As for the ring, I removed it carefully from my bag and slipped it onto my thumb. I always hated the feeling of wearing rings so the thumb was the best I could do. The item constricted slightly to fit perfectly. As it settled I honestly couldn't even feel it. Huh, now that's a useful in-game feature.

  Spider fang x 18

  Cloth scraps x 4

  Healing Potion x2

  Simple Hammer

  16 copper

  That is what was in my bags as my first day of adventuring came to a close. Instead of spending more time (and potentially all the money or items of worth that I had left) exploring the market street further, I decided to get a head start on nailing down a place to sleep for the night.

  Heading back towards the Blue Banner I couldn't help but smile at how long ago it seemed to have been since I got here. The idea that it had honestly only been a few hours was incredible. I silently thanked my lucky stars that I wasn't still trapped in the Terminal, and took another moment to wish everyone still trapped a swift escape.

  Waking up in my tiny room in the Blue Banner was perhaps the most stressful thing that had ever happened to me. You know how when you fall asleep at a friends house or in a hotel and then wake up, only to have completely forgotten where the heck you were? Yeah, multiply that by not sleeping for two weeks straight in the Terminal and then add in the strangeness of a virtual body offering tiny improvements over your normal one.

  In my case, I woke up and the small ever-burn candle that sat next to my bed, and acted as the rooms only light source during the night, flared a full foot into the air as my enhanced spirit happily greeted the new day. So from my point of view I woke up in a strange location, and then during the momentary confusion, my chest seemed to fill with a massive bubble of random excitement and general good will, which I, of course, thought was me either having a heart attack or experiencing extraordinary gastrointestinal issues. Then, during my medical crisis, a candle exploded next to my head for good measure. Needless to say it was the fastest I'd ever left the comfort of a warm bed in my life.

  Regardless of how I woke up, I still earned myself a nice rested xp buff that lasted four hours and I felt a certain level of optimism permeating my mental state. The Cascade was the biggest negative event to effect my life to date, but since being able to tramp around Acrion? It almost felt more of like a forced vacation from the hub-bub in the real world. Well...if I ignored the fact that no one in Acrion had any idea what state their own bodies were in, and that the overall prevailing theories were that we all died and this was some kind of screwed up afterlife...

  leaving the Banner, I looked around the beautiful town as it slowly woke up from its peaceful slumber to greet the new day. The stores were starting to re-open and the sun was just peaking over the distant mountains. A light dew covered most surfaces and the air held the scent of fresh baked bread and pine wood. I couldn't help but briefly think that maybe, this was a little like an actual gamers heaven.

  I walked to the gates as quick as I could manage while still enjoying the gorgeous environment. I knew that Hael had specifically said 'bright and early' and I assumed he wasn't being poetic about it, if a guy as seemingly high strung as him says bright and early you could probably bet your favorite pet that he meant nothing later than false dawn.

  Sure enough as I rounded a corner I saw our impatient group leader already outside the gates and tapping his fingers on the sheaths of his daggers. When he saw me it looked like he was going to run over, pick me up, and drag me to the mine. "Thank god! Did you see the others at the inn? We're burning daylight, and until we c
an survive at night on our own we need to maximize our productivity with the limited time we have!" He looked half tortured at the thought of missing out on a few minutes of questing and mob grinding. "I didn't notice them at the Banner, no." I looked at Hael for a second. Something was different about him. "how did you hit level 7 already?" I asked, wondering if he had been out all night killing rats around the town. Hael looked at me closely. And collapsed to his knees. "Uuuugggghh. Please tell me you already handed in those spider fangs. And please do not tell me you haven't seen your class trainer yet."

  Whelp, that's what happens when you go sight-seeing the night before and get woken up by a candle. You forget some stuff. Hael looked like he was going to die as I jogged away to find the quartermaster in the town square that gave out money and xp for the spider fangs. The resulting turn in netted me another level and a full silver in reward. Now level 7, I set a point into spirit and rode the wave of exhilaration that the investment gave me all the way out of the town at a swift run, passing Hael on the way and giving him an encouraging thumbs up. None of the other group members had shown up yet. He looked sick to his stomach.

  I laughed as the cool air ruffled my hair. That rogue is gonna need to chill out or he'll have the first ever virtual stroke. I made the run to Kara's trees in record time and wove my way into their inner grove. I didn't even fall on my face! More than once... twice..

  "About time you made it back!" a happy voice greeted me. Kara was sitting on the ground surrounded with several different rune-circles drawn into the dirt.