by Jamie Davis
She turned in place searching for reassurance she wasn’t insane or hallucinating. She needed to know she hadn't somehow been taken to the imaginary world of her early childhood. It couldn’t be real. Her parents had told her again and again Fantasma wasn't real, paying a lot of money to send her to several child psychologists over the years to cure her of her obsession with the fantastical world of her imagination.
If Fantasma wasn’t real, though, why did her father have that program with the same name on his old computer and how was it still active after all these years?
Cari had too many questions and not many answers.
If this was a return to an imaginary world of her childhood, it didn't feel imaginary. Everything she'd seen and experienced so far had been all too real.
Cari still stood in the middle of the cobblestone street when she was jostled from behind and someone grabbed a handful of her right butt cheek through her pants. Spinning in place, Cari landed a solid open-handed slap to the face of a mustached man wearing some sort of green and gold uniform.
"Get your hands off me, pervert!"
She raised her hand again to strike him a second time, but the man blocked the blow and pushed her backward.
"How dare you assault a guardsman of the Duke of Charon? You must've decided you wish to die today. I'm sure my companions and I can oblige you.” He stabbed a finger at her chest pointing at the red ribbon tied there. “It will be especially satisfying to kill a supporter of that hag sitting on the Crystal Throne."
He reached to his belt and started to draw his sword.
Several other men, all clad in the same green and gold uniforms as the first man, stepped up next to Cari's assailant. One placed a hand on his arm halting him with the blade half-drawn.
"Raden, you can't fight her here, we are right outside the Empress's Rest. We'll be swarmed under by other supporters. Bring her to the dueling grounds behind the central bazaar. We'll deal with her there."
"Deal with me how? Are you all perverts like your friend here?" Cari snapped.
She hated men who assumed since she was a girl, they could take advantage of her and push her around. The disorientation of trying to find out where she had found herself was lost in the heat of the moment as she confronted these rude men.
"If you all want a fight, I'm more than happy to take it out on you in a duel."
* * *
Quest accepted - Defeat the Duke's guardsman in a duel
* * *
Cari ignored the message, she was so angry at the gall of these asshats.
"Tell me where to meet you and I'll gladly show up to teach you a lesson."
"You'll be the one learning the lesson, insolent wench,” the one called Raden snarled. “You'll learn the hardest lesson of all. Meet us in the dueling grounds. If you don't know where that is, ask someone to show you to the central bazaar. You'll find us there behind the building waiting for you."
The man who'd groped her looked up at the sun as if checking for its position.
"We'll see you there in a few hours at dusk. Don't be late. You won't like it if I have to come looking for you."
"Oh, I'll be there. It's time someone taught you what happens when you try to have your way with this particular girl."
The man fixed Cari with a grin showing a lot of teeth as if he thought it would intimidate her. She responded in kind as his friends hustled him away through the crowd.
A few members of the crowd around the disturbance shouted jeers after the Duke's guards while others shouted words of encouragement to them. Cari saw those who were on her side wore red ribbons or sashes while those who were on the side of the green-clad guardsmen wore green badges of one sort or another.
After some more shouting and insults hurled back and forth, the crowd dispersed as people returned to their business of the day.
"You sure know how to make friends fast," a voice behind her said.
Turning, Cari saw Rodrigo standing in the street behind her. Merry stood next to him.
"You know those guardsmen mean what they say," Merry said. "If you don't show up at the dueling grounds this evening, they'll turn this city upside down looking for you."
"I don't back down from bullies. I've found it's a bad habit to get into."
"These aren't just bullies," Rodrigo said. "They're members of the Duke of Charon's personal guard. Since the bulk of the Imperial Dragoons were sent east to fight in the war, the Duke's men have the run of the city. They're supposed to be keeping the peace but what they really do is harass supporters of the Empress and find excuses to lock them up, or worse."
Cari's hand rose to touch the red ribbon tied to the buckle of her sword belt across her chest.
"And this marks me as a supporter of the Empress, and the green badges and ribbons I've seen in the crowd represent the interests of this Duke of Charon?"
Merry nodded.
"Things have gotten much worse since the Duke and the rest of the privy council voted to commit the Dragoons to the war effort. The Empress couldn't argue against it or they'd claim she was playing favorites with her household troops over the common soldiers from elsewhere in the Empire. Charon has been stirring up unrest in the countryside against her saying she was bleeding their sons and daughters dry to fight her petty war while her pet troops remained safe and sound in the Crystal City."
"Merry," Rodrigo said. "You don't know for sure it's the Duke who's sowing the seeds of rebellion in the outer provinces."
"Who else could it be, Rod?" Merry asked. "He's got the most to gain from a revolt against the Empress. He's tried to get her to step down from the Crystal Throne on several occasions now. She refuses to do so, knowing she only has one heir left to her name. The rest of her family has died off in one freak accident after another. I'm convinced Empress Kareena is holding on long enough to ensure her last remaining grandson, Timron is safeguarded from the mysterious accidents that befell the others in her family.”
"Kareena? Princess Kareena?" Cari asked. She knew that name from the games she used to play as a little girl. It was one more link of familiarity to this place, reminding her that her Mom and Dad must have deceived her about this imaginary childhood world in some way.
"She used to be a princess once upon a time, according to the old stories," Merry said. "Her family was deposed from the throne when she was a child. When she grew older, she was joined by the mythical Opponent of legend who helped her regain her throne."
"Those aren't just stories, Merry," Rodrigo corrected. "My uncle is a captain in the Empress's Dragoons, those stories about the Opponent really happened, at least the regimental histories of the Dragoons say so."
"I find that hard to believe," Merry replied. "You're telling me Bloody Hal did all the things the stories claim he could do? The tales don’t make sense. They can't make up their minds about who or what he was. Some say he was a master thief or assassin, others claim he was a warrior and a general of great renown, and still more claim he could control more magic than anyone who ever lived. Which is it?"
"The regimental histories claim they are all true. Each tale has a basis in fact. They claim that Hal Dix came from another world and because of that, he could do things no one else could do and taught himself things nobody else could learn."
"Excuse me," Cari said, interrupting the discussion. "What was that name again?" She couldn't believe her ears. It sounded like they claimed her dork of a father was some sort of super hero or something.
"Hal Dix," Rodrigo and Merry said in unison. The two of them laughed at the look on her face.
Cari wasn't amused. None of this made any sense. She had too many questions and no way to find the answers she needed.
"Cari, you must know the stories," Merry said. "After all, your parents named you after Bloody Hal's daughter, Princess Cari."
That was it for Cari. Everything started to spin, and she felt like she was going to fall down again. She walked back toward the Empress's Rest Inn and sat down beside the bu
ilding on a ledge at the base of the inn's stone foundation.
Her new friends followed and sat down beside her.
"What's wrong, Cari?" Rodrigo asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I think I figured out what is going on." She said it more to herself than to her companions. Things started lining up in her mind and she started ticking them off one by one: her father's position as the senior developmental executive at a software giant that made the world's premier virtual reality gear; his claim that games represented more than just a diversion for entertainment that they could create real life skills if used in the proper way; the presence of the Fantasma program in his old computer and now her presence inside that world, somehow transported or living simultaneously inside it and at home.
Cari considered the list. Everything added up for her. Somehow this was all real. She had been here before as a child and her parents had taken her away from it, telling her it was all just a figment of her imagination, telling her to stop thinking she lived in an imaginary world.
Despite everything they’d told her, Cari had always believed deep down it was all real. It was why she took up the sword. It was why she became active in cosplay and in the Ren Faire community. She wanted to prove to her parents she was right all along.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She clenched her fists. Mom and Dad had hidden this whole wonderful place from her. They knew it existed and knew how she felt about it, but they’d hidden it from her just the same.
Cari pounded her fist into her hand, clenching it until her fingernails dug into her palm.
"Cari, I know you're angry about what happened in the street with the Duke's guards," Rodrigo said, misinterpreting the cause of her angry gesture. "Maybe I can help get you out of the duel with the guardsman. I can go to my uncle and see if he can pass orders to break up the fight before it starts this evening. We could tell the Duke and his men you're under the protection of the Dragoons and they have to leave you alone."
"I don't need anyone's protection. I'm not some little girl in need of a hero. I'm my own hero and I plan on going to this little duel. I’m going to teach this guy a lesson he'll never forget."
"Cari, that guard is one of the Duke's best," Merry said. "He's an accomplished swordsman and duelist. Let Rodrigo help you. His uncle can keep anyone from getting hurt or worse."
Cari shrugged off the sympathetic tone from her new friends. They didn't know how skilled she was with a blade. She was surprised at how concerned they were. They acted as if someone was going to die in this little sparring match with the Duke's guard. Cari stood and turned to face the other two.
"I think you’re both overreacting. I'll be fine. Maybe I'll see you later after I deal with this situation. For now, I'm going to explore the city a little before I head to the dueling ground. I need to make up for lost time and see the city."
* * *
Quest accepted - Explore the Crystal City
* * *
Cari spun in place and hurried off into the crowd, ignoring the new message for the moment. She didn't want to hear any more protests about her plans to participate in the duel later. She also needed some time to figure out why she kept seeing these text alerts. The way they acted it was like she was in some sort of game.
Chapter 5
Despite her bravado and what she said, part of Cari wanted to stay with the only two friends she'd made so far in this strange place. The other side of her, the part that was burning with anger at her parents, needed to break away for some time to walk and collect her thoughts. Cari also needed to track down why these game-like messages kept appearing in her vision. The way they appeared without any headgear or visor made this all seem like the best virtual reality game simulation ever.
Cari slowed her pace after she'd put some distance between herself and the inn, giving herself a chance to disappear into the jostling crowds. While she walked, Cari tried to make the messages appear again. If they acted like a real VR game, they should respond to voice commands.
"Game Menu," Cari whispered so no one around her could hear.
She was rewarded with a visual display of common game menu items.
* * *
System Menu:
Character Stats
Inventory
Quest Status
* * *
Curious about what she saw, Cari decided to try something else. Rather than speaking the menu items aloud, she focused on one, trying to open the Character Stats item from the menu.
* * *
The system menu cleared and a new set of displays popped up. It was her personal character stats.
* * *
Name: Cari Dix
Class: Duelist
Level: 1
* * *
Attributes:
Brawn: 8
Wisdom: 8
Luck: 8
Speed: 8
Charm: 8
Health: 10/10
* * *
Skills: none
Experience: 200/300
Attribute points: 10
* * *
Entry level attribute points still need to be allotted. Points may be placed in any slot. Once allotted and accepted they may not be changed. New attribute and skill points awarded with each new level.
* * *
Cari examined the different attributes, realizing she had a basic character layout and could build up the scores to focus on whatever skills she thought were most important. She scoffed at the idea of spending anything on luck. She agreed with her father’s view on luck and thought people who relied on their luck were idiots.
Speed was an attribute which served a swordswoman well in sparring and competition. Men might focus on pure strength and increase their brawn but she knew it usually slowed them down in the long run. Flexibility and quick reflexes were far more valuable to a duelist.
She decided to dump six points into her speed attribute. On a whim, because it was so silly that these random stats had anything to do with her actual abilities, Cari put all four remaining points into her “Charm” as if that changed her appearance in any way. After spending her attribute points, she considered the blank space next to the skills area. Focusing her attention on it brought up a new message.
* * *
Skill points may be used to learn new skills or advance existing skills based on your class or social position. Some skills may be learned by completing quests or accomplishing tasks within the world. One new skill point acquired with each new level. Once spent, they cannot be changed.
* * *
She assumed she'd need to level up while getting new experience points from some random quests. She remembered getting 200 experience points for exploring the inn. She only needed a hundred more to acquire the next level. Her current quest to explore the city might be enough to knock her to level 2 and then she'd see what kind of skills she could learn as a duelist.
Cari dismissed the display and stepped out into the flow of the crowd once again. She continued strolling along and tried to decide if this was a game simulation like the menus suggested. It must be some sort of new VR tech her father was working on or maybe it was all a real fantasy world from her childhood. She hoped it was more like the latter. That would be the best option in her mind because she thought this was the kind of place she really belonged. If this world was real, it was like she'd trained for this her whole life. Cari smiled to herself as she walked. Whether this was real or a game, she was going to make the most of it. She explored the rest of the afternoon, walking down the broad avenues, taking in the Crystal City's sights and sounds.
After strolling along for several hours, checking out the fine, handcrafted wares in some of the market stalls along the way, a chime and notification awarded her exploration.
* * *
Quest completed - Explore the Crystal City
100 Experience points
Level Up!
* * *
Cari pulled up her stats an
d saw she had two new attribute points to spend and a new skill point. She still wasn't sure exactly how upping her stats worked, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to have more speed. So, she dropped the two attribute points into her speed bumping it up to sixteen. She noticed that after putting two new points into her speed, her bonus only increased by one. It appeared each stat required two new points before her stats were really upgraded. That was good to know.
Once she'd taken care of that, Cari looked over the new notification below the stats menu with a list of skills.
* * *
Duelist skills - Acrobatic dodge, Acrobatic lunge, Ambidexterity, Bladesmith, Defensive stance, Disarm, Feint, Multi-foe tactics, Prescience, Taunt, Two-weapon combat
* * *
She scanned through them all, looking over their descriptions. There were several she considered selecting. Each of her choices offered definite benefits to supplement her fighting style. She hovered over two final choices before she selected two-weapon combat to add to her skill set. It fit her usual fighting style when she sparred, utilizing both her sword and dagger in combat.
Cari closed the stats menu and noticed it was starting to get dark. She’d found the grand bazaar an hour before and knew the dueling grounds were located behind it so she retraced her steps until she found the huge building that housed the indoor marketplace.
Walking through the building she looked over the wares in the stalls. There were many wonderful items for sale along with several food choices. Her stomach growled and Cari wished she had some coins in the local currency. She'd tried to purchase some food earlier with her credit chip and the vendor laughed at her and sent her on her way with an empty stomach.