For once.
“Does she truly not have a chance captain?” asked Fer’shad.
“There is always a chance,” he remarked as he walked towards the instance gate leading out of the cave. “Her’s is just very thin. But that is her journey, and we have ours. Then he smiled at his crew. “Let’s go home.”
Then Kel’Van with his battle-worn group crossed over the instance, finally leaving the cavern depths behind them.
CHAPTER 25
The sky was just dark enough to see the moons in the north end of the horizon. So it had to be about 5 or 6 pm. All eyes were just spent staring at it though as if it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Standing here was a triumph in itself, and the smiles on their faces had given Kel’Van that proof.
“I will never take how beautiful open sky is for granted again,” said Fer’shad.
Belar and Voresh both tapped the shoulder of Fer’shad in amusement. Kel’Van stepped ahead of them. Although the sounds and creatures running around the jungle was almost welcoming, they weren’t home yet. So he looked around, trying to find a path, and estimating how far he was from their home. He tapped his D.S. and accessed his map for the whole team breaking their solidarity moment.
“Can everybody see the map on their D. S.? Good, although it doesn’t show a direct path toward the village, it looks as if we could reach it within a day or two. So Voresh, go out and see if you can find a natural path for us to follow. Belar, I need you to follow him this time instead of the big guy. Let’s see if we can get your stealth up to level 3 before we get home. Any questions?”
“If we are not going to get home today, should we be looking for a campsite for the night?” asked Belar.
“Yes, if you spot a good place that’s defensible, then remember it, and we’ll head back there and hole up for the night.”
Voresh started scratching his chin as he looked around. “I’ll also look for another place to forage food. Definitely some wild game. We can now eat something besides fish and soup.” He grinned to himself, thinking of what spices he could add to it.
Fer’shad shoved Voresh in the back with his elbow and laughed at the orcs penchant for finding something to put in his gut. Kel’Van just palmed his own face at the man’s gluttony. Trying his best not to snort with laughter.
“All righty then,” chuckled the captain. “Now that we got that settled, let’s get moving, times a wasting.”
As they started marching, he switched to his character sheet. The battle with Ter’Abran had pushed him to level 11. With almost enough points left over to reach 12. He put 1 point in health and the other in stamina. That fight alone made him realize how vital the health stat was after getting the ever-loving crap beat out of him.
They traveled without much incident through the mostly jungle environment. The trees and underbrush were expansively thick. There was a vast amount of wildlife both amongst the trees, and in the marshes they had to navigate through. But the team was mostly in good cheer about it. Voresh found some wild type of boar and poked his sword into it. He grinned from ear to ear, salivating about how he was going to make delectable slices of meat on sweet bread he had saved in Kel’Van inventory. Belar gave Fer’shad a quick, meaningful look. Fer’shad just looked at the ground like a dog that got caught tearing up the newspaper. She didn’t have the heart to tell Voresh that Fer’shad ate the last of the sweetbread back in the caves. Kel’Van wasn’t too excited to tell him either. He learned a long time ago at home from his mother that the last thing you wanted to do was upset the person who is making your food.
“Ahhh…. Good job on the meal Voresh,” Kel’Van said as he patted his now full belly. Belar had spotted a good campsite near the end of some tall trees atop some moss-covered boulders. The tall trees provided needed cover from any flying predators while also providing camouflage from people far away. The boulders were above ground enough that it would take some effort to reach them. They could also see below them quite well against anybody trying to attack them in their sleep, while a rocky hill was at their backs. An all-around great defensible position. Belar had chosen their campsite well.
After Voresh had deemed the area safe, Kel’Van had begun emptying out the camping gear to eat and bed down for the night. Voresh immediately set up his kitchen utensils while Kel’Van lit up the fire stones in the camp center for heat and cooking.
“Do you think they use fire stones in the kitchen?” asked Voresh as he poured himself another bowl.
“Who?” asked Belar.
“The orcs who cook the meals in the camp. Do you think they use stones like the Holmgren?”
“That’s actually a good question,” mused Fer’shad. He tried to fill his own bowl up with the food in the pot, but Voresh smacked his hand with the ladle handle.
“Come up with some sweet bread, and you get some more food,” Voresh admonished underneath his breath. Fer’shad rubbed his hand and stared at the empty bowl and frowned.
“I don’t think any of the younglings were allowed in the kitchen to find out,” Belar said. She absently slipped what was left of her bowl behind her back. She gave Fer’shad a side glance, then at the bowl. He then silently pulled the bowl with two fingers while somehow keeping his face interested in the conversation.
Voresh continued wiping his bowls down with one of the rags. “Are we even considered younglings anymore?”
“No,” said Kel’Van emphatically.
”We have survived on our own, in the depths surviving all manner of monsters. Not only that, but we had to fight off Holmgren of different factions for weeks on end. Then get past a level 12 instance boss just to get out the depths. All without any skills that are awarded for the level we have.” Kel’Van adjusted his position on his make-shift bed in order to look at his crew. “I’m not sure what or how they choose their rankings, but as far as I’m concerned, we stopped being “younglings” the moment we escaped out of the depths. Anyone who thinks different can kiss our asses.”
The party members visibly puffed up with pride after hearing Kel’Van’s rant. “Good” he thought. They should feel proud of what they have accomplished. It was no small thing they did by anyone’s measurements.
“Thank you, captain, for saying so, but I don’t think we’ll be considered younglings. The orcs that went with us on our first patrol were level 10 I think, and Meatgrinder did not call them such,” said Fer’shad.
“Truth be told, I’m more worried about getting our classes and skills,” said Belar.
In all honesty, that was a very good question to think about. What classes would they be awarded? Kel’Van remembered the class descriptions quite vividly, and his team make-up right now hardly fit any of them. Voresh was the only one who would closely resemble his initial class, which was a Slayer, but did that class include night vision? Was the class reliant on stealth as strongly as Voresh was? Hell, all three of them had stealth maxed out to at least 2. What about Belar’s’ high unarmed combat skill? Or Fer’shad’s sword and shield skills? He didn’t even want to think about his own skill sets. With just a cursory review of his team’s attributes, he just didn’t know.
“What do you think captain?” said Fer’shad
“Huh?” Kel’Van said, turning his attention back to his crew. They were all looking at him expectantly. It seems he got lost in his own thoughts while they were talking amongst themselves about classes and skills.
“How do you think the classes will be given? We were hoping that your…well, prior life could give us a clue on how it works?” asked Fer’shad rather quietly.
Having the big guy talk timidly was unnerving on his own to him. But the way they were all looking at him was even worse. He didn’t know if it was uncomfortable for them to talk about or if they just didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. He just started talking, just to deflate that oppressing air out from among them. If nothing else, talking about the classes might help him figure out how things would play out when they got home.
“What is ethereal,” asked Voresh as he piled up all his cleaned kitchen utensils.
“The ethereal is just the connection to what we call the source. In a real sense, it’s a connection to Gaea or G.A.I.A as the Terrans call her.”
Kel’Van was trying his best to keep the terms “game” and “player” out of his mouth. He had told him that he had a prior life, but telling them they weren’t real in the same sense he was would just cause him to complicate things he just wasn’t ready to answer.
“That makes sense actually,” nodded Belar. The others seemed to be in agreement by the way their faces were looking. No questioning stares and puzzling looks about that bit of information.
“Hmm, that is the reason you are so adamant about us leveling every skill we have as far as we can go,” stated Fer’shad
“Correct, it’s good to have an assortment of classes to choose when possible I believe,” answered Kel’Van. But it gets a little complicated after that. Once you choose a class, you get the initial skill or spell that personifies that class. But every level after, your skills or spells you receive are no longer in your control.”
Confused faces erupted from all around the camp. He expected as much though, it was the same when he read the specs for Avarice Online when he got hired as an in-game tech. But in effect, it had revolutionized how virtual gaming was done. Kel’Van smiled as he tried to picture the best way to explain it.
“Okay, to make it plainer to understand, let’s use Ora’El as an example. She was a level 10 Earth mage before we beat Ter’Abran. Does anybody remember what her powers were?”
“She was able to raise walls from the ground,” answered Voresh.
“She was also able to keep people stuck in the ground. That power proved enormous against that elemental,” Belar added.
“Hmm,” said Kel’Van. Does anybody remember an actual attack that hurt the elemental or anyone she fought for that matter?”
Silence. Not a word from anyone about the offensive capabilities of Ora’El.
“I’m sure she has at least one, but most of the abilities you guys described were crowd control or manipulating the environment at best. I’ve seen the offensive capabilities of an earth mage. They range from throwing rocks, creating jagged spikes of rocks in the ground, or even fists encased in rock hitting enemies. She displayed almost none of these abilities.
“She did say she was a, wait…That’s right! A support role,” said Belar.
“That’s right. Those are the spells that fit her best, at least according to G.A.I.A. When you pick your class, you open up yourself for her to see. She decides the spells you receive according to your inner workings. You may become an earth mage, but that doesn’t mean the spells one person gets will be the same as another. Whatever makes Ora’El her, is the same thing that gave her the spells she has now. The Terrans have a saying that explains just this. “You can lie to yourself, but not to G.A.I.A. or Gaea…”
The other nodded to themselves, lost in thought at the knowledge he had just imparted to them. Kel’Van, however, was thinking just as deeply. This mechanic of the Avarice online was first met with skepticism. One of the core things that made MMO’s of any kind great was the level of control and type of spells and skills you could choose. It was the basis of creating a particular build for combat that made these types of games great. Now we were leaving that in the hands of an A.I.? Even the thought of having a computer reading you intuitively like that seemed extremely intrusive, and many people avoided the game at first. But after people starting playing it, that criticism became less and less.
How many times did a person roll a healer just so that their group could clear dungeons? Not that healers were not fun. Some people actually liked playing a support role. But not as many as say fire mages who wanted to burn everything down. A person who picked a strong healer type magic like water or light spells would get the initial “heal another player” spell. But the rest of their spell retinue would be either attack spells or another type of support spells if that role was something they didn’t really have a passion for. Power and skills that the player would actually enjoy engaging in, was one of the defining perks of what G.A.I.A. was made for. To provide optimal enjoyment and fulfillment and experience for its gamers. It made healers more valuable and less of them than ever, but it also made the game more enjoyable too. That rewarding experience is what caused Avarice Online to slaughter most of its competition. 95% of all VMMO players were on Avarice for the past 4 years and climbing. That is where the “you can lie to yourself but not G.A.I.A” came from.
“So, that is what you think is going to happen to us when we get back to the village?” asked Belar.
Kel’Van simply shook his head. “I don’t rightfully know, but it’s what I’m preparing for. I mean look at us, we are all level 11 now. I’ve never known any person to wait this long before getting a class.” But there is no sense worrying about something we can’t control, right? So, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
On Que, the group started getting ready to bed down. Kel’Van always took the first watch, so he was on his way off to the edge to stand guard. Then looking at Fer’shad talking to Belar brought back Fer’shad’s actions near the end of that boss fight. He almost let it go and started toward his post. He was no longer an NCO, and this wasn’t the military. The problem was that he was still their leader, and if he let this slip of discipline slide, the next time may cost someone their life. Making his life easier wasn’t enough to justify his negligence or hesitancy to meet out discipline. Kel’Van closed his eyes, sighed, and went back toward the camp.
“Hey, before I stand guard, there are some things we need to talk about,” said Kel’Van as he sat down on his makeshift bed.
“Is something the matter captain?” asked Fer’shad.
“Funny you mention a problem, even more so since the problem is you, Fer’shad” the captain said rather quietly.
Fer’shad’s shocked face was almost comical enough to elicit a laugh if the situation wasn’t so serious.
“Yeah, I’m talking about you. But to illustrate my point better, I’m gonna tell you a story my captain told me when I was…a youngling,” smiled Kel’Van. He was actually an airman first class,but he might as well have been a youngling compared to the NCO who was their leader.
“My captain and his party were pinned down during a battle. The enemy was firing...well...let’s just say magic spells to keep it simple. The enemy couldn’t see them; in fact, they weren’t even sure they were there. The enemy was just firing off in all directions hoping to hit them. Their captain ordered them at the time to stay down for a while since the enemy was firing blindly. But one of the younglings decided they weren’t going to listen to the captain and decided to stand up and fire spells back.”
“What happened to the youngling,” asked Voresh quietly.
““Humph,” said Kel’Van as he eyed Fer’shad. “The enemy's spells tore that youngling apart.”
“What was worse though, was that the youngling’s actions gave away their position to the enemy. Now that they knew where they were, they shot all manner of spells at them. Forcing the embattled warriors to fight off superior numbers from a hole in the ground,” he said quietly. He picked up a couple of sticks and threw them on the fire stones. “By the time reinforcements arrived to help beat the enemy back, the party of ten became a crew of three.”
The group eyed Kel’Van with rapt att
ention. Fer’shad was guiltily keeping his eyes on the fire in front of them.
“All this death because one young warrior couldn’t follow orders,” Kel’Van said while holding a twig and pointing it at Fer’shad with a grim face.
All was quiet within the camp. Then Fer’shad looked up quietly at his captain and spoke.
“I was only concerned for Belar’s well-being,” said Fer’shad with gritted teeth.
“Yeah, so was Voresh and I. But you know what Voresh DID that you DIDN” T?! Followed orders!”
Fer’shad said nothing as his captain’s anger started to seep into his words and body language.
Kel’Van stood up from his bed. The heat and light from the firestones giving him an eerie look as he spoke. “So, tell me Fer’shad, what do you think would’ve happened if all of us decided to just run over to Belar like you did, hmm? “
The giant orc continued staring daggers in the direction Kel’Van but remained silent.
“What? Nothing?! Well, let me complete that scenario for you. Ter’Abran wouldn’t have waited to make sure Belar was okay before butchering everyone, including Belar. But let me tell you what happened to the guys who actually stayed and fought the elemental. Instead of forgetting a level 12 instance boss was standing over us, Voresh attacked the elemental from the rear, while me, the guy with no shield, or heavy armor, played tank. Fighting that thing, while in rage mode, mind you, I got chopped up to pieces and almost died!
Kel’Van walked around the center of the camp to stood almost toe-to-toe with the large orc.
“The worst part of this whole thing was that this isn’t the first time you’ve pulled this shit. Our very first mission, YOU, a guy who was barely a level 4 whelp with no experience outside of the camp, decided to tell a level 30 TRAINER in charge of us what to do…and I quote “Ulgo Meatgrinder, we must help him!" He had to tell you the same thing I’m having to do with you now… Follow orders! If this is something that’s too hard for you, then you need to leave this group sooner than later, because I’ll be damned if I let you get this group get killed because you thought you knew better than the guy with more experience than you!”
AVARICE ONLINE: KEL'VAN RED HAND Page 23