by L. R. Wolf
Aya could feel her cheeks getting hot. “I set myself up for that one, didn’t I?”
“Maybe just a bit.” Elohwa rolled herself off Aya but still kept her body between Aya and the wall that Thorn had erected around them. Her eyes looked far off as she opened a message to her brother.
Private Message to Va'lore - “Have you ever come across a chest that is covered in traps that spontaneously disarm themselves for some reason?”
A few moments passed before Va'lore responded.
Private Message to Elohwa- “What kind of chest is it exactly? Did you have a key to it?”
Private Message to Va'lore- “No key. It is an Ancient Chest emblazoned with an Ancient Dragon with amethyst eyes. The first time I looked it over for traps it was covered in them. I was going to bring the chest back for you to disarm when we freed you and the rest of our people, but the traps seem to have disarmed themselves.”
Private Message to Elohwa- “An Ancient chest just disarmed itself?”
Elohwa could sense him pondering the problem. After a few minutes of silence, he finally replied.
Private Message to Elohwa- “I have only ever heard of that happening if one has the key. I am honestly not quite sure why it would just spontaneously disarm itself. And you are quite sure that there are no more traps?”
Private Message to Va'lore- “I have gone over it multiple times, I do not even see the slightest hint of a trap.”
Private Message to Elohwa- “I honestly do not know what to tell you, Sister. Open the chest, but make sure you check within for any traps that may lay in wait. Once looted, bring the chest back here so that I can go over it.”
Private Message to Va'lore- “We will. Thank you, brother.”
Private Message to Elohwa- “Anytime, Sister. Stay safe and Goddess bless.”
Elohwa closed out of her chat interface and turned back towards Aya. “I am going to attempt to open the chest. I want you to remain here behind Thorn’s wall just in case this is some kind of Ancient trick.”
Aya was about to protest, but the look on Elohwa’s face stopped her. Her eyes were hard and her jaw, clenched. “Please, be careful.”
Elohwa’s face softened as she nodded. She turned back to Thorn’s wall, the vines starting to pull back to form a makeshift door. As soon as she stepped through, the vines once again closed and intertwined themselves to strengthen the wall. A small door knob size hole opened so that Aya could monitor what was happening outside. Elohwa approached the chest, her eyes continually darting back and forth across the chest fully expecting a trap to appear out of thin air when she opened the chest. Her heart was beating rapidly the closer she got to the chest. While it took her less than five seconds to get to the chest from where the two women had been, it seemed like an eternity.
She looked down at the chest and gently placed her hands on the lid. While the lid looked as though it should weigh quite a bit due to the materials it was made of, it lifted incredibly easy, almost as if it were opening itself. As it opened, she could see the familiar glint of platinum and gold, but she ignored it, her eyes darting around and scanning every inch of both the chest and the lid as it finally settled into an open position. After going over all of it four times, she finally looked within and actually SAW the contents of the chest, rather than seeing through it, as she sought out any hidden traps. She gasped softly.
“What? What is it? What’s in it??!” Aya plastered her face against the hole in the vines as she tried to get a better look
“You can drop the wall, Thorn. Thank you for your quick thinking in protecting us.” Elohwa gestured half heartedly, her eyes glued to the contents of the chest before her.
The vines surrounding Aya pulled back to allow her to get to the chest. Thorn started to pull the vines back to and into himself, his body quickly taking shape once more.
Aya approached the chest, her eyes widening at the loot within. Just like with the King’s Bounty chest that had dropped from the Gnoll King, this chest was nearly filled to the brim with Platinum and rare gems, but the amount of coins and loot was amplified due to the sheer size of the Ancient Chest. These particular chests lay within the most difficult of open raids. They were meant to be opened by a raid group, hence the presence of traps meant to be opened simultaneously by multiple people who could disarm such high level traps. The loot within was also meant to be split within the raid group, thus the vast amount. On top of the coins and gems rested an enormous great sword, a yellow glow surrounded it indicating it was a Unique item. The crossguard appeared to be a dragon breathing fire, the flames covering the entire blade, the edge of the blade glowed red with the heat.
Sword of Living Flame-Unique 200-350 dmg. +100 Sta +100 Str This sword was created and wielded by Trel’dentar, First son of Emperor Thar’val and Emperess Equoy . Bathed in Dragon’s fire, this blade can cut through even the strongest metal and stone. The edge will never become dull. This item will grow and evolve with the user.
The swords scabbard lay beneath the sword, scales shimmering in the light from Aya’s Fire Shield. Aya reached down and ran her fingers across an exposed section of the scales. The scales were soft, supple and warm to the touch. “What is this made of?” Aya continued to stroke the scales as if it were a living thing. Neither woman could actually exam the item until the sword was removed off of it.
Elohwa reached down with her own hand and ran it along the scales, her head tilting to the side in wonderment. “I believe it is Living Dragon Scale.”
Aya raised an eyebrow. “As opposed to Dead Dragon Scale?” She was still very new to this game, this world. Items between game worlds were often as different as the games themselves.
“As a dragon grows it molts its old skin. The molt keeps the heat and feel of the dragon that sheds it, as long as the dragon is alive, it acts as an extension of the dragon, hence Living Dragon Scale. Upon death, the molt would begin to decay and eventually fall apart. That being said, usually, old skins are placed within nests to help keep eggs warm when the parents are away. To lend comfort to the young when they hatch by being able to smell their parents. Very, very, rarely the skin is given to one who has proven themselves worthy to the dragon that the skin belongs to.” Elohwa had heard of only a few instances where a dragon had gifted their molt to someone they found worthy enough. Her ancient ancestor, Trel’dentar, being one of them.
“Oh, so the dragon who molted this is still alive then?” Aya was still stroking the scales like she would stroke the fur of a dog or cat.
“Yes, and considering it is in an Ancient Chest, the dragon must be incredibly ancient itself.” Elohwa was biting her lip, deep in thought.
“So, what happens if we loot this chest? Will other Uniques like this spawn in it for other people?” Though Aya desperately wanted to grab this sword up for her husband, she would likely start to feel guilty if she thought she ripped someone else off, someone who might deserve it considering what others would have to go through to even get to the chest. Whereas, they were able to port directly to the chest, had they gone the normal route they would have had to fight through the highest level mobs in the game world with a raid consisting of hundreds of people, at least until people got geared up and could start cutting down on the share of the loot by lessening the numbers within the raid.
“These chests spawn once a day. The contents are completely random. Keep in mind, Brackerd said that you have an incredibly large luck modifier currently. It is likely the only reason we have seen so many Uniques.” While Elohwa had been stuck in the tutorial area, she had overheard some of the Dreamers talking to, what she thought was themselves, but now she knew they were likely talking to others as Aya did with her family. From those conversations, she had garnered plenty of information from those who called themselves Alpha and Beta Dreamers about what was happening within the world.
“Yah, I’m starting to think that we should just grab the chests and open them later so we can get as many as possible, but then again I don’t want
to miss out on any Uniques that might be in them.” Aya bit her lip, Uniques were some of the best items in the game considering they grew and evolved with the user. If her luck modifier was influencing the rate of Unique drops then it would be best just to open them all as they came to them, but then again, they were limited on time. It was coming down to quantity over quality. “Ok, so do you have ANY idea what triggered the traps to shut down like that? Because unless we figure that out, we’re probably just going to have to grab the chests and run to get as many as we can and just worry about opening them later.”
Elohwa closed her eyes bringing up the memory of what exactly happened before the traps mysteriously disarmed themselves. She gasped and raised her hand up to inspect it. She had been so caught up by the thought of multiple traps triggering that she had completely forgotten the slight shock she had received when she grazed the chest. “I felt something when my fingers touched the side. I...I think I opened it.”
Both women looked at one another, if they could open even a few of the chests immediately it would go a long way in helping both themselves and the city.
“Ok, so let’s just grab what’s in the chest and go through it later. We’ll port to the next one and you brush it. If the locks disengage then we’ll loot it and move on, if not then we’ll just take the chest with us for later.” Aya planned on taking all of the chests with them, but they would loot the ones that they could immediately in the hopes of gaining more Unique items and just go through their inventories later.
Elohwa nodded in agreement. She touched the edge of her satchel to the chest, the enormous bulk disappeared inside. Aya was shaking her head as she mumbled, “Magic is so damn wonderful!”
****
Elohwa and Aya had been porting from Ancient Chest to Ancient Chest for hours. They were slowed down by trapped banners and tapestries that covered or otherwise hid the chests. They were able to open another two that had the Dragon insignias. Three other chests had a Phoenix emblazoned on the banners, tapestries and chest. Three of them bore the crest of an enormous golem, much like the Guardians within the Sky Temple. Another three were covered in Merpeople and an enormous Ancient Crab, and still another three were covered in trees, forests and vines with a fairly large tree rising from the center of the forest. Surprisingly enough, they discovered that just like Elohwa could disengage the traps of the Dragon Chests, so, too, could Thorn disengage the traps of the Forest Chests.
The women were quickly running out of time and would need to return to Eventide Falls soon so that Aya would have time to prepare for the arrival of her family. Elohwa planned to continue to port to any chests they might miss so that Aya could have time alone with them. They hadn’t really taken the time to examine the loot from the chest they had been able to open, although one most definitely contained a Unique item as they had seen the telltale yellow glow surrounding the item before it disappeared into Elohwa’s bag.
Chapter 32: Family
∆∆∆
Aya smoothed her clothes down, nervous about what was to come. In just a short while, her husband would be arriving with her two kids coming shortly thereafter. Next to her stood Brackerd. He had put away his Angelic vanity armor and was wearing a plain white cloth shirt with laces at the neck, brown leather pants, and soft, brown leather boots so as not to scare the children.
Nearby, Brackerd had created a small play area that was fenced off so the children couldn’t go running off, not that they would get far with all of the people that had gathered around to watch. The play area was full of all sorts of stuffed animals representing the more exotic species of the world: a stuffed unicorn, a soft feathery Phoenix, an adorable little dragon. A ball pit was in the center of the play area filled with rainbow colored translucent ‘solid’ bubbles. Plastic didn’t exist within this world, so Brackerd had had to get creative. He had managed to create a new spell by modifying the bubble spell so that the bubbles wouldn’t pop and could be used like a ball. The bubbles were soft, softer than even the plastic balls that similar pits used in the real world.
Two rocking horses faced one another, one was just a bit smaller so that the younger child would have something closer to the ground. The horses were surrounded by a foot of the softest moss in case there was a fall. He had set up a large tent around the play area so the kids would have a bit of privacy as they played. Another tent was close by so that Aya and her husband would be able to have their own private area.
A Dreamscape Technician appeared in front of Aya. “Greetings Dreamer. I am Dream Tech Jordan. Your husband should be arriving shortly, but I wanted to be on hand to answer any questions you might have and to let you know what you can expect tonight in regards to the children.”
Aya could feel her heart start to beat a bit more rapidly as she feared he was about to tell her that they wouldn’t be allowed in. “Is everything ok??”
Jordan smiled at her reassuringly, “Everything is fine. I just wanted you to be made aware that things get a bit tricky when it comes to young children in the Dreamscape. We can guide them here, but as their minds aren’t fully developed we can’t keep them in the Dreamscape for more than an hour at a time.”
Aya frowned a bit, she had been hoping to spend all of their non waking hours with them, but getting to spend even one hour a night with them was more than what she got now. She would have to be content with speaking with them through the usual means of video chat and the hour she would get to spend with them every night. At least she’d be able to feel like she was holding them and kissing them. She suddenly wished that Elohwa had remained, but her Companion had opted to give her some time alone with her family while she continued to gather up the rest of the Ancient Chests they hadn’t gotten to earlier.
“Your interactions with the children will be recorded so that your husband can replay them for the children. It might help them to be able to adapt faster and eventually it may allow them to stay longer as their minds begin to grasp the concept. Of course, there are no guarantees of this. Interfacing with a child’s mind, especially one so young as your little boy, is a more complex process due to its relative simplicity at this age.” Jordan pulled up multiple charts and reports that he sent to Aya to peruse at her leisure.
Aya nodded, Ray had already been researching the effects of Dreamscape technology on children. If they had so much as the tiniest most minute question as to the safety of their children then they wouldn’t be doing this. They were not about to risk their children’s minds or lives on something they had any doubts about. All of his research had pointed to Dreamscape Technology actually helping young children with a variety of issues ranging from behavioral problems to potty training, bed wetting and even helping with learning. Ray had asked for technicians to be on hand and to pull them out at the first sign of any problems.
Jordan’s eyes unfocused for a brief moment as he received a message from the technicians watching over the children that they had settled down and fallen asleep. He smiled as his eyes refocused on Aya. “Your husband is entering the world as we speak.” Voksil appeared in the world just as Jordan said it. Ray’s avatar appeared wearing normal clothes rather than the armor he had been wearing when he had been kicked out of the world shortly before the servers came down. Voksil looked around, his eyes coming to rest on his wife. Aya ran to him and threw her arms around his neck almost knocking him over with the force. She sobbed into his neck as he held her to him tightly, one arm was wrapped around her waist while the other was stroking her hair. Tears welled up in his eyes. “Shhh, I’m here now. It’s going to be ok. I love you.”
Aya, still sobbing, managed to choke out a few words before she was too overwhelmed to speak. “I love you, too.”
Brackerd was wearing a gigantic smile while at the same time brushing away a tear at the corner of his eye. To be able to witness a family reunite, even if only on the Dreamscape was truly an amazing event to him. He blew his nose in a handkerchief hidden in his massive hand.
After a few minut
es, Aya managed to collect herself enough to pull back and kiss her husband. While normally she was too shy in the real world to do more than give him a peck on the lips, she didn’t really care at the moment who was watching or what they might think. She was surrounded by people, but she saw only Voksil.
Askar, who was standing nearby to meet the mysterious husband, glowered at the crowd of people as many of them breathed out “awwww.” He pointed back behind the crowd and mouthed the words ‘get back to work’ not wishing to disturb the couple’s passionate kiss. The workers turned away, clearly disappointed at not getting to watch the Lady reunite with her family. Askar nudged Brackerd and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Raise some walls around here if you would. Give the Lady some privacy from prying eyes.”
Brackerd nodded in understanding. With a thought, he raised a wall separating the area around the tents and play area from the few workers who remained in the vicinity on their break in the hopes of watching the family reunite. Now it was just Brackerd, Askar, and Jordan besides Aya and Voksil.
Jordan cleared his throat to get their attention. “Pardon the interruption, but your children should be arriving in the next few minutes.”
Aya and Voksil finally pulled apart. They both wiped tears away before Aya led Voksil over to Brackerd and Askar. “Ray, err Voksil, this is Brackerd.”
Brackerd had actually spoken with Ray on many occasions but this would be the first time he had actually met the man.. Voksil extended his hand to Brackerd who took his hand in his much bigger one and shook it. “Pleased to finally meet you in the flesh so to speak.”
Voksil nodded. “Likewise.” He then turned towards Askar who was a good foot and a half taller than himself. “You must be Askar. Aya has told me quite a bit about you.” He extended his hand out once more to the barbarian foreman.
“Aye, I’ll admit I was rather disappointed to discover she was married, but she has spoken very highly of you.” Askar reached out and locked his large fingers around Voksil’s wrist. Voksil returned the gesture wrapping his fingers around the man’s much bigger wrist. “You’ve got quite the woman there!”