"I will! Thanks!" I waved as I turned from the Dwarf NPC, looked at my map and headed toward town.
Thronn Town seemed to be a couple miles away. Taking my time I pondered a few things. First, I needed some kind of back-up weapon in case I ran out of arrows. What to use, though? I was even less familiar with swords. A dagger would put me too close to danger, so that was out. Maybe a staff or mace of some kind? Something to protect myself with when shit hit the fan. And if I knew anything about these types of games, it would be hitting sooner rather than later.
The sun behind me sank slowly in the sky, reminding me that I needed to find a place to hole up for the night. I didn't think my few, measly copper would get me a fancy room, but there had to be somewhere I could stay.
As I was meandering toward the town, uncovering more of the map, a small rabbit hopped directly in my path, causing me to nearly trip and stumble.
"What the hell?" I waved my fist at the furry rodent.
My heart lurched as the innocent-looking rabbit turned, bared its fangs and hissed at me.
I shook my head, wondering what the rabbit was up to. Surely it had better things to do than attack me. But that's exactly what it did.
With one, swift hop, the formerly innocent-looking, red-eyed rabbit leaped to my throat, its fangs bared and its mouth open in a silent war scream. Only my high dexterity saved me. I was being attacked by a fucking rabbit.
Instinctively, I batted the rabbit away with my forearm, but not before it took a chunk of flesh out of me.
A flash of red flitted across my screen. I saw that I had instantly lost a quarter of my health. To a fucking rabbit. Not only that, but I was bleeding.
I didn't have time to worry about any of that. I drew out my bow, activated my double arrow ability and fired two consecutive shots into the wild, red-eyed beast. I prayed to all the gods I could think of that at least one of them would strike the creature.
Luckily, it did. The first arrow caused the evil rabbit to jump aside, but the second caught it directly in the throat. A savage, guttural, blood-curdling scream erupted from the vicious rabbit. It clawed helplessly at the arrow lodged in its throat. But in the end, the rabbit was no match for the arrow.
You have completed a secret quest.
Quest complete: Kill the evil sorcerer's pet rabbit
Experience gained: 200
New quest objective: Return it to the innkeeper for payment
Bright lights enveloped my entire body and a loud ding chimed in my head.
Congratulations, Ivanhoe Darkwolf, you are now level 2!
New quests and opportunities are now available. Happy hunting!
Right. Cool. I was now level 2. And had found a hidden quest. Nice. I looked at my health bar and even though I now had 30 max hp, I was still missing a chunk of flesh from that damnable rabbit. My current hp was 25. I wasn't exactly sure how health regen worked. Did it come back from sleep? Did I need a potion? A bandage?
Covering the wound as best I could, I picked up my pace and headed for town. By the time I had reached the gates, the wound had stopped bleeding. It still hurt like the devil, though.
The guards saw my wound and quickly let me pass. I decided to drop off the fish, then head on over to the inn. Not only to pick up my payment, but to see about a room for the night.
Following the quest marker on my map, I delivered the fish to Elisha Samson, the fishmonger.
"Old Harold couldn't make it, eh?" She took the basket from me with a wide grin on her face.
I explained that gulls were stealing his fish.
"Well, it's a good thing you happened by. We've been curiously short of adventurers lately."
I started to question why, but before I could say anything she shrugged her shoulders and continued, "I'm not really sure of the reason. One moment there were thousands of players online and the next...none. Oddest thing I've ever seen. Anyway, here's your payment."
Quest complete: Take fish to market
Experience gained: 100
New quest objective: End of chain
Reputation boost: Thronn Town Rep +5
She fished out a bag of coins and tossed them my way.
"I hope you'll stay and help out. There are so many unfilled quests that I'm afraid of what might happen to the town."
I took the bag from her and looked at my map. I set a waypoint toward the inn. Hopefully I could get my arm healed up and maybe find some answers as to what the hell was going on here. An MMO with no players? Wtf?
Even though I had only been in the city less than twenty minutes, I could instantly tell that my reputation boost was having an effect. People smiled as I walked by. There was just a general sense of welcomeness that I hadn't seen when I first walked in.
Finding the inn was easy enough. It was called The Dragon's Tale. I walked in, took a seat at the nearest table and poured out the contents of the pouch.
* 2 silver
* 20 copper
* Thank you note
I smiled. Even though this was a digital world, I felt like a real part of it. I was really starting to believe that I could make a home here. It may have been a digital home, but to me it was very real.
The innkeeper saw me come in and wandered over to my table.
"Looks like you've got a nasty bite there, pardner." The tall, human innkeeper said. "Name's Jack. Jack "Patch" Drason. I think you can guess why they nick-named me Patch." He said, pointing to the black patch covering his left eye. "I take it you've met up with Roger, the bunny from hell. I tried luring that son of a bitch with carrots, but he hated them. Ever met a rabbit who hates carrots?" He looked at me expectantly. "There's something wrong with a bunny who doesn't like carrots."
I shook my head. "Here, I have something for you." I rummaged around in my pack and flung the dead rabbit on the table. "Name's Ivanhoe. You can call me Ivan."
"Oh my God!" The innkeeper cupped his mouth. "You actually killed that mofo? He's been terrorizing the city for the last month!" Patch turned and called to someone in the back. "Hey, Jimmy! Get this guy the biggest, juiciest steak you can muster!"
"Can I take a rain check on that?" I asked, rubbing my belly. "I just ate."
"Sure. Jimmy, cut it and set it aside for later. This guy's a hero."
He turned back to me, beaming from ear to ear. "How does it feel?" He patted me on the back.
"To be a hero? I...uh..." Truth be told, I didn't feel like much of a hero. I mean, it was just a rabbit. A vicious, bloodthirsty rabbit from hell. But still a rabbit.
"Oh come on! Don't be so modest! Let me get your payment. We've been waiting a long time for someone to take care of that filthy beast."
Wow! I couldn't believe it. I got attacked by a stupid rabbit and now I'm suddenly the town hero. I looked around to see if anyone else was here to congratulate me, but the place was empty. Too empty. I had a sinking pit in my stomach that something terrible was wrong, but I couldn't remember what.
"Here ya go! I would offer more, but ever since..." He choked up. "Well, let's just say business hasn't been the same." He tossed a large bag on the table.
Quest complete: Kill the evil sorcerer's pet rabbit
Experience gained: 250
New quest objective: Unknown
Reputation boost: Thronn Town Rep +20
This is a large rep gain. The computer chimed in. You will now likely be offered discounts from many merchants.
Cool.
"You know what?" Patch snapped his fingers. "I was given this as payment by someone and just never found a use for it." He ran into the backroom and came out with a bracer. "Here. It's yours."
I took the bracer from him and studied it. It was silver. Probably worth a decent coin. I tried to scan it with the HUD, but it just came up with ???.
Do you wish to pay 1 silver to identify this object? The AI asked.
"Yes, please."
In place of ???, the bracers magical effects were shown. I arched an eyebrow as I realized what they
were.
Bracers of Dexterity +1
Nice! "Thanks!" I said, wrapping it around my wrist. It formed itself snugly against my skin so that it wouldn't be loose. Nice touch.
The innkeeper beamed.
"So, how do I go about healing this?" I asked, pointing to the rabbit bite.
Patch looked at it carefully. "Let's clean that up. I'll give you a room tonight for your trouble. In case you didn't know, the better the sleeping accommodations, the better the healing. Get a good night's sleep and you'll be as good as new in the morning." He grabbed the key and handed it to me along with some cleansing wipes.
Even though there was still a bit of daylight left, I was pooped. I was dog-tired. I had lived more in the past day than I had my entire previous life.
"Thanks. I think I'll head on up to the room and take a nap."
Once in my room, I counted out the reward for the rabbit. I was surprised to see a gold piece in there.
They must've really hated that rabbit. I could see why.
I tucked it away with my other coins. They might come in handy for a rainy day. I used the wipes Patch gave me and washed out the wound. It stung, but if what he said was correct then it would be all healed up by morning.
As I laid my head down on the pillow, I thought about the mystery of this world. Something had happened. Something terrible. I don't know if it was connected to my vague dream-like memory. But if I had to hazard a guess, it did.
According to the fishmonger, thousands of toons instantly disappeared from the servers. All seemingly at the same time. What could cause something like that? A massive power outage? That wouldn't make sense as if the power was out, the game would have gone dark. Right?
What were the other options? A government cutting the game off? What purpose would that serve? Maybe the game devs shut it all down? But that didn't explain why I was here.
Why was I here, anyway? Just to do endless quests for various merchants? Was this my life now?
I fingered the pearl as I drifted off into sleep. At first, my dreams were fine. Bunnies, seagulls, steak. But then things began to turn dark. I started seeing...people, yet they weren't people. Not quite. They seemed to be trapped. They were screaming for help, but I couldn't hear them.
I reached out to touch them, to help them, but there was a barrier - a digital barrier keeping me from them. Suddenly they were all around me, screaming and clawing, their faces twisted and contorted and I was frightened. I'd never had a dream like that before.
I wanted so badly to help them. But...it was just a dream, right?
Chapter 2
Untold hours later, I awoke in a cold sweat. I laid in bed for a long time pondering what I had just dreamt. What did it mean? Who were those people? Why were they screaming?
My heart thudded in my chest so loudly I thought it could be heard all throughout the inn.
Finally, I drifted back to sleep. This time it was thankfully black and I remembered nothing. Several hours later, I awoke and was refreshed. I remembered very little of my earlier dream. Save for one thing. There was a child - a little girl - who had looked at me with soul-piercing blue eyes. She wasn't screaming. She was talking.
Help me. She had said. Over and over.
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I had a lot to do today. First, I needed to see about replacing my arrows. The evil rabbit had snagged the last two. At the moment, I was defenseless.
I remembered the chunk of flesh that the bunny had rent from my body. I peered at my arm and with shock on my face saw that it was completely healed up. A glance at my HUD confirmed it. Beds did, indeed, have regenerative powers.
I ran my hand over where the chunk of flesh had been ripped from and it was as smooth as butter. There was no indication that anything had happened. Not even a scar.
Nice!
A slice of sunlight cut through the curtains and I realized with a start that it was morning. Apparently, I had slept not only the entire evening, but all night, too. That was probably just as well, as I was as tired as a pig.
Stretching and yawning, I dressed and meandered down to an empty dining room. With no one wandering about, it was spooky and eerie. I was literally the only person in the place. Was I the only PC in the entire game?
"Ah, you're awake! How's the arm?" Patch said as he set down a plate of what looked like hash browns and eggs for me.
"It's all healed up! You were right." I beamed and showed him my outstretched arm. "How much for the vittles?" I asked, reaching into my coin pouch.
"For you, our town hero? Half price! 3 copper." He leaned closer and whispered. "I'd normally comp it, but with business as scarce as it is, I really can't afford to."
I fished out 3 copper and placed them into the innkeeper's large palm. I really liked him. So far everyone I had met had been super nice. I'm sure the wizard who owned the bunny wasn't going to be my friend anytime soon, but he could stuff it.
He comped me an ale and when I was finished with my scrumptious meal, I called him over. "Can you point me in the direction of the local fletcher?"
"Oh, you mean John? Sure, let me mark him on your map for you."
I opened my map and he made me a waypoint. It wasn't far. I thanked him for his hospitality, finished up my meal and left.
"Oh, by the way," I said, turning at the door. "How much do you normally charge for a room?"
"Normally?" He stroked his chin. "10 silver. But for you? 5. You've really done the town a favor by ridding us of that infernal rabbit."
I nodded and stepped out the door.
The warm sun greeted my face. Townsfolk walked hurriedly to and fro. Almost every single one of them had a quest for me. Probably because of the shortage of players. The devs likely figured that there would be a certain amount of players in an area at any given time. Now it was just me.
I might check a few of them out later, but first I needed to get some arrows and maybe even a new bow. This one was rather shoddy looking. The moment I walked in to the fletcher's, it was like coming home.
"John Seymore!" The older, gray-haired man behind the counter came around and shook my hand. "I've heard so much about you. You're the one who killed that villainous rabbit, aren't you?" He smiled and nodded, pushing his glasses further up his nose.
"Yes, that's me. Ivanhoe Darkwolf." I said, biting back my tongue. It was just a fucking rabbit for Gods' sake. But, if the locals wanted to treat me like some kind of hero, I'd play along. I could use the extra money.
He prattled on about the rabbit for a few minutes before finally getting around to asking me about my business.
I indicated to my bow. "I'm looking maybe to upgrade this and I'll be needing some arrows."
He nodded sagely. "Yes, that looks to be the starter bow. Very basic. Surprised it hasn't broken on you already." He took me over to a wall display of several different types of bows, pretty much running the gamut from cheap bow to legendary bow. I didn't even look at the price tag for that one.
"Judging by your gear, you probably have very little coin. Might I suggest this one. It's a bit used, but it's a decent bow." He brought it down from the wall and let me look at it.
It was a fairly plain, basic bow. No frills. Sturdy wood. I was no bow expert, but this one looked solid. I twang the string a few times and nodded my head. Bringing up my HUD, I saw that it did 3-5 damage. My old bow was 2-4, so a bit of an upgrade. But it was the price I was concerned with.
"How much?"
The fletcher scratched his head, scribbled something behind the counter, then frowned. "Normally, I'd mark something like this up pretty good. But since you killed that rabbit and all..." He did some more calculations. "How about 10 silver?"
I brought up my HUD and saw how much money I had. Currently it stood at:
Gold - 1
Silver - 3
Copper - 29
With the normal exchange of 10 silver to a gold and 1 silver to 10 copper, I essentially had 16 silver. 10 was a significant chunk
of it.
"I'm going to need some arrows to go along with it." I explained. I really needed to do some more quests or hit up a dungeon to pad my pockets.
The proprietor scratched his beard. "Tell ya what. Make it an even 11 silver and I'll throw in a quiver of arrows. However..." He leaned closer and whispered in my ear. "Anytime you want to learn how to craft your own arrows, bring me a cord of wood, 20 pounds of stone and a pound of feathers along with 5 silver and I'll teach you."
I nodded. That sounded like a spectacular deal to me. And was something I was very much interested in. Though I needed to get a few more quests under my belt first.
A quest objective information box popped up on my HUD.
New quest: Crafting arrows I
Objective: Bring a cord of wood, 20 pounds of stone, a pound of feathers and 5 silver to John Seymore in Thronn Town
Reward: 100 arrows and new skill: Crafting Arrows I
I accepted the quest gratefully and agreed to the fletcher's price of 11 silver for the bow and quiver full of 20 arrows. That left me with basically 5 silver. I was going to have to flag one of the quest givers down and grab a quick quest.
I also needed to get out of these crap clothes.
I thanked the fletcher for his time and, proudly holding my new bow in my hands, walked out the door. What to do, what to do. I quickly spotted an NPC named Jayla Jones who had a simple delivery quest for me. It would take me out of the city, but that was fine. The pay was only a silver, but unless there were more mad bunnies hopping around, the hazards should be light.
New quest: Letter Delivery
Objective: Take sealed envelope to Penelope Whishorn near the beach
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