by L. R. Wolf
An excited smile broke across Ray’s face. “The Dreamscape Techs pinpointed the issue that affected you. They’re quite sure they’ve fixed the issue and they’ve added fail-safes on top of fail-safes on top of fail-safes so that what happened to you will never happen again!”
Something about his smile and the excited look on her face told her there was more. “Well, that’s a start. What else? I know there’s something else.”
Ray’s eyes sparkled a bit as he fought back tears. “Dreamscape is going to let the immediate family of those affected into the world tonight!!”
Aya blinked, not quite believing what her husband was saying. The disbelief was clearly evident on her face, she didn’t dare believe that she might actually get to see her family tonight. “Really?!”
“Yes, really! They stopped in this morning to give me an update about what was going on and delivered the newest Lucidity visors. They told me to give them a list of family members so that they could deliver new visors to them as well since they will open the world to extended family tomorrow.” A tear escaped the corner of Ray’s eyes at the thought of being able to hold his wife once again, if only virtually, but within the Dreamscape, everything felt so very real.
Tears tinged the corners of Aya’s eyes at the very thought of being able to see her husband and children tonight and the rest of her family tomorrow. “What about the kids? Jean is probably old enough to understand some of it, but how will it work with little Donald?”
“The techs gave me visors especially made for young children. I will be letting them both wear it throughout the day to get them used to it. Once they fall asleep, they will gently be eased into the Dreamscape and then directly into Infinity. I’ve been explaining the Dreamscape to them and telling them that they will be able to see you but that you wouldn’t be able to come home just yet. I’ve also been letting them watch your non violent streams so they won’t be scared by the different races you have around there at the moment.” Ray had always been thinking ahead, a point he’d proven time and again, this being no exception.
“Where will you all spawn in, though? Will I have to summon you or get you a portal?” Aya was hoping that she could bring them here so that they could see the city that would likely end up being a second home to them when they were asleep and within the Dreamscape.
“They told me that because we have young children that we would all spawn in close to you. They will be restricted to ‘safe’ areas so they can’t wander anywhere that might be hostile.” Ray had thoroughly grilled the Dreamscape Techs on what they could expect. “The kids will also be on a delay as well so that they don’t appear before I do. Don’t want there to be too much of a shock.”
Aya nodded. She knew that if the kids were to, in essence, wake up in a strange place without mommy or daddy near by they might panic. “And their avatars? What will they be?”
Ray chuckled a bit and shook his head as he thought about what his four year old wanted to be. “Well, Jean wants to be a ghost, but the techs are going to make their Avatars as close to what they look like as possible with a few changes here and there.”
Aya’s mouth pulled up into a grin as she imagined her daughter as a ghost. While it was quite possible for her to actually be one within this world, it would defeat the purpose of being able to hug and cuddle her. “Sounds good to me! Please tell them I love them and can’t wait to see them!!”
“I will and I will see you tonight! Love you!” Ray pursed his lips together and made a kissing noise, a habit he had picked up from his young daughter as she liked to blow kisses to people.
“I love you, too! See you tonight!” Aya blew him a kiss right back. Excitement flooded through her as she disconnected the call, the green walls of the tent coming back into her view. She noticed Elohwa sitting up in her cot, a smile on her face.
“Sounds like good news.” Elohwa swung her legs over the side of her cot and got up. She deftly reached into her satchel and pulled out the bundle of fresh fruits and vegetables that Rhia had given her earlier.
Aya rose from her own bed feeling refreshed and excited. “I get to see my husband and kids tonight, and the rest of my family tomorrow night!” She was trying desperately not to start jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas morning. She reached into her own satchel and removed her own bundle of goodies. She removed some grapes from the stem and popped them into her mouth, the juices exploding in her mouth as her teeth sliced through them. “Damn, these are good.”
Elohwa chuckled a bit and chewed on some berries. “Good, I am glad that you will be able to see them. Is there anything we can do before they get here?” Elohwa bit into a red apple as she waited on Aya to finish chewing on some strawberries the Dreamer had found in her bag.
“Umm, I’m not really sure. I think I might talk to Brackerd and see if he can’t spawn in some toys or something for them for when they get bored and start trying to explore.” Aya finished off the strawberries she had been eating before diving into the raspberries within the bundle.
Elohwa nodded in agreement as she finished off the apple. Both women opened their interfaces while they finished off the rest of the bundles Rhia had given them. Aya opened up the notifications she had received while she was sleeping informing her that Va'lore had hired both the Dwarven Stone Masons and the Gnomish Engineers to check the integrity of the keep. They would be marking down where repairs would be needed, the extent of the repairs and areas that it would just be better to demolish and start over. The Gnomish Engineers also doubled as cleaners as they set out all sorts of devices and contraptions to aid with the cleaning, but Va'lore had hired a specialized cleaning crew consisting of an avian type race. They had the head of different birds, the feathers flowing down and across the shoulders, but from just beneath their shoulders they were human looking. Wings were folded at their back and covered with a cloth to keep them relatively clean and out of the way. What made these particular workers so effective was the fact that they couldn’t smell very well, but their eyesight more than made up for it. They could see a speck of dust from ten feet away. As the three groups had to work in concert with one another, the Dwarves and Gnomes had been given face masks to block the smell while they worked and cleared areas of the keep so that the cleaners could safely do their work and the dwarves and gnomes wouldn’t have to smell the stench.
Aya finally felt full and started to put the few remaining fruits and vegetables back into the bundle and then dropped that back into the satchel that lay across her chest and hung at her waist. She made a mental note to check in with the new temporary kitchen to see if they had started to make use of the fish, meat, fruits and vegetables that should have been coming in by now and making the new hearty meals. She was sure they would be much better than the dried cold meat and rations they had subsisted on the last few days.
Aya closed the city interface and opened her friends tab. There was only Voksil and Brackerd on her friends list, but whereas Voksil’s name was greyed out since he couldn’t get online just yet, Brackerd’s name was green indicating he was on.
Private message to Brackerd- “Hey there! My husband told me that he and the kids will get to visit tonight. I was wondering if there was any way to spawn specific objects into the game like toys or something for them?”
She sent the message off not really expecting an immediate reply when a new message popped up.
Private message to Aya- “Hey, back! I’ll see what I can do about toys and such for the youngins. Sorry, I didn’t tell you about them allowing family in tonight. By the time I found out about it, I figured I’d let your husband give you the news. I’ll be right there.”
“I think Brackerd is going to be showing up in a bit. You want to join us?” Aya quickly glanced at Elohwa who was still going through the city interface.
“No, thank you. I have some chests that I need to set up for your trap disarm skill.” A grin spread across Elohwa’s face. .
“I’m gonna regret you teaching me tho
se skills aren’t I?” Aya had the distinct feeling this training would be far more fun for Elohwa than it would be for her.
Elohwa just continued to grin as she turned her attention back to her interface. Aya sighed and pushed the door flap aside and headed outside. The smell of rain was heavy in the air, fortunately the ground was mostly covered in paving stones throughout the city so the workers wouldn’t have to trudge through mud within the city limits. While moss and grass had grown over the stones through the years, all of the recent activity within the city had worn them down to nothing revealing the paving. About a minute after she left the tent, Brackerd’s short stocky frame appeared in front of her.
Aya suddenly wondered how it was that Brackerd was always online. “I meant to ask, but how is it you’re always online?”
Brackerd frowned a moment, hesitating as he fidgeted with his long blonde beard. After coming to a decision he shrugged. “Well, I’m actually in much the same position as you.”
Aya’s eyes widened as she looked at her personal caseworker. Suddenly it made sense to her why he always seemed to be on. “So, you’re in a coma too?”
Brackerd nodded as he continued to play with his beard. “I was in an accident, oh, six years ago now I believe. Fortunately, this was after they had already had Dreamscape technology up and running, so I was able to immediately start talking to my family and friends. Unfortunately, my hospital bills and time on the Dreamscape was racking up the bills, and my family was falling behind in paying those bills.” Brackerd paused a moment to wrestle with long dormant emotions before continuing. “One day, a Dreamscape representative pulled me into a private area of the Dreamscape and offered me a job. All of my hospital bills would be taken care of, I would be moved to one of their much better facilities and I would have unlimited access to the Dreamscape if I became a Game Master. How could I possibly turn down a job like that? I accepted immediately and started to monitor the various games under the Dreamscape umbrella. With comatose patients as their Customer Service Representatives they received absolutely massive public goodwill, not to mention that their dreamscape services could be monitored by people twenty four seven three sixty five without fail.” Aya sensed a but coming so remained silent, letting Brackerd continue. “For awhile, it was actually quite pleasant. Being able to jump from game to game and help players who needed it felt good. I felt useful again! But you know how players are.” He frowned again, a dark look passing across his face.
“Eventually, I started getting called in to settle incredibly petty childish disputes. It became more about being a referee than actually helping people. I was so very tired of it all. Then, they asked me to become what I am now, a Specialized Game Master. I would once again be able to help people on an individual basis, I just never realized it would mean breaking horrible life altering news to people such as yourself. Honestly, if it wasn’t for you demanding me to be your personal case worker, I most definitely would have lost this job and all of the benefits that come with it.” Brackerd sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.” When he had mentioned being comatose for six years, Aya’s heart had fluttered a bit until she remembered that coma’s were generally different for everyone, and the fact that her brain was perfectly fine since she hadn’t been in a horrific accident as Brackerd had been eased her fear if only slightly. “If you ever need or want to talk you know where I am.” Aya smiled reassuringly at Brackerd who smiled softly at her.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m quite sure I’M the one that’s supposed to be saying that to YOU!” Brackerd stopped playing with his beard as his anxiety faded. He actually felt better now that Aya knew his story. “Oh, before I forget, I’ve been watching you ever since that day. You should probably know that when the servers come back up to the general populace in a few days, you might feel a bit weaker. You were given a buff to your damage as well as an incredibly high luck modifier.”
Aya’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Wait, what? So everyone like me has this uber buff?” It appeared as though Aya would have some competition in the market if the other trapped Dreamers had been thinking about doing the same thing, disappointment clouded her face briefly.
“Not exactly... as soon as they got over their initial shock of the situation and realized they had VIP access across all of the Dreamscape services, some were more than happy to indulge in some of the more, err, risque services I suppose you would say. Others jumped to some of the more well established games that they had already been playing so they could gain things there they normally wouldn’t be able to get with the servers up.”
Aya shook her head in disbelief. Infinity was brand new. If anyone was going to make bank on this game, it would be those who were able to play all day every day and start gathering materials and items to sell for incredible amounts of money to those who could afford it. As it was, she was already planning on selling the trade items that she had hired people to gather as well as some of the loot she and Elohwa had gained over the last few days. Brackerd was able to read the expression on her face.
“Now I know what you’re thinking, so I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” He looked around the area conspiratorially to see if anyone was watching or listening. “They may or may not have been under the impression that if they were to stay within Infinity they wouldn’t be able to do anything because the game was technically down. Since Infinity is brand spanking new, my bosses didn’t exactly want people coming back to the game and seeing that a select few were suddenly level capped and decked out in ancient and unique gear, that would raise too many questions with the public. That was also why an artificial cap was placed on your account. The others took the opportunity to jump ship to the other games where they already had a presence or took the dream vacation they always wanted.”
“But….why….?” Aya was still dumbfounded. For the last several days it appeared as though she was the only Dreamer within the whole of Infinity. Not only that, but right now she had a buff that was super charging her and her abilities and her luck modifier was through the roof, albeit the changes were server side and not visible to her.
“Why you? Why did you get to stay and no one else?” Brackerd already knew what she was going to ask so finished for her. “Well, it’s actually because I let the cat out of the bag to you that you weren’t alone here. Everyone else was convinced they were the only one, and though some of them had the idea to try and stay and get a headstart on everyone else, they were told that would not be possible because that would raise too many questions and it would invalidate any of the offers on the table for them. They may also have learned that with all of the Dreamscape servers coming down, that they’d be able to get into the games they had been playing, so they could gain access to things they had previously been denied. If they had tried to leave and go out into the world they would be teleported back to their spawn point so they decided it would be best to just leave for now. YOU on the other hand knew you weren’t alone, also, you don’t appear to have any other Dreamscape or Lucidity Tech games that you would have been able to go back to. Mr Reese thought it would be best to just let you remain here and do whatever you liked.”
Aya blinked, the thought of having the entire WORLD to herself made her head spin. Brackerd got her attention by coughing. “Now, I should warn you, that along with the empowerment buff going away when the servers come back up, you will lose the luck buff. Also, none of your server wide achievements will be broadcast to the forums or news sites. For all people know, if someone else discovers something you already have, they will be the first.” Brackerd could see Aya’s face falling as sudden realizations dawned on her. “Now that’s not to say you don’t get to keep everything you’ve obtained already!” Brackerd smiled as Aya perked up a bit at that. “Everything you’ve done here,” He spread his arms out indicating the city. “This will still be yours as well as any loot you’ve obtained, but,” he trailed off again making sure t
hat he had her complete and undivided attention. “You will NOT be able to sell anything beyond what you would be able to obtain normally at the skill level you were before this happened. I would also highly recommend that you keep any special loot,” He pointed at her hand where the Ring of Unity (Dreamer) adorned her finger before continuing, “hidden. I would also advise that you stay quiet about owning this city. It will take people months to even get this far, so we’ll be able to slip in a server wide announcement at a later date and before anyone else gets too close to the city.”
“Ok, but what do I do with the ring and other uniques until then? Does this also mean that I can’t give some of this gear to my husband?” Aya rather liked the ring that she and Elohwa had found since they amplified one another. She had also been gathering quite a bit of warrior centric gear specifically for when her husband returned. Now that she wouldn’t be able to show it, or any of her other gear off until she grew into it caused a frown to pull down the corners of her mouth.
“I would recommend picking up some of the vanity item sets from the marketplace. Those will allow you to cover up your gear so no one will be able to actually see what you really have on. You can go ahead and give your husband the gear you have so long as he grabs a vanity pack or two and dons them before he actually equips anything.” Brackerd opened the cash marketplace window in his vision so that he could see exactly what Aya would see.