Last Horizon: Beta

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Terets listened and nodded as she spoke, making sure she was aware she had his full attention. “Okay, I want to ask but I will not push you. I would like to know what happened if you will speak about it.”

  Amythyst seemed conflicted as the tears continued to pour down her cheeks. Finally, she started to speak again, her voice barely a whisper, “The accident...”

  Terets sat there listening without moving, afraid to scare her off.

  “It was almost twenty years ago now, but seems like yesterday at times. I'd just finished my final for my computer science degree. I flew through the test, it was so easy for me. So I went home to the apartment that I shared with my fiancé. He was supposed to be at work, but his car was in the lot and I thought he came home early to spend it with me. When I got to the door I heard something but didn't understand what it was. The door was unlocked, which was unusual but I didn't think about it. I was so excited to tell him that I was done. When I entered the apartment I saw clothes strewn across the living room. Female clothes from the front door leading to the bedroom along with his work clothes.”

  She paused and took a few deep breaths, “I went to the bedroom which was wide open and looked in. He was there with a woman and...” She shuddered as if reliving the memory.

  Terets stretched out a hand and opened his mouth to speak.

  Amythyst slashed a hand downwards in an angry arc, “No, I will speak. They were having sex in the bed that I'd bought for us. She was screaming like a banshee as she rode him. They didn't see me. I felt the heat in my face and the anger at that point. I opened the hall closet and pulled down the gun from there. It was an old starter pistol with a blank in the case with it. I loaded the blank as she kept screaming his name and fired it at the ceiling.”

  Terets wanted to speak, but was afraid of interrupting her at this point and just nodded slightly for her to continue.

  “I know it was wrong but I didn't grab either of the shotguns or the six pistols from the same gun safe. The sound broke them and they started and looked at me with the smoking gun in my hand. She screamed and he started yelling but I wasn't listening at that point. I ran for the door, dropping the gun as I went. I flew down the stairs and ran through the complex and ended up on Flamingo road. I wasn't paying any attention. I was still seeing her on him and screaming. Which is why I didn't see the truck.”

  She sobbed and shook but continued, “They tell me I was lucky to survive the accident. It broke my spine just below the L1 vertebra, paralyzing me below the waist. The impact threw me and my face impacted with a hydrant, leaving it as you saw. It cracked my skull in a few places and it took six surgeries to pull me through from the internal damages. He never came by the hospital. The doctors tell me my sister flew out the same day to be there for when I woke a week later.”

  Terets had a few tears on his cheeks as she spoke, but nodded for her as he knew she wasn't done yet.

  “I pulled though, barely. According to the doctor it was as near a miracle as he'd seen. My sister lost the job she'd had for coming out to be with me. She was there for me when the cops came and charged me with a few crimes. I didn't do any jail time, but did plead guilty to a few misdemeanors to get them to go away. Ever since then I haven't had any support besides my sister. The friends I thought I had didn't talk to me any more. They all sided with him and shunned me. Then, with my new disabilities it became increasingly harder to make friends. I also have had issues trusting people since then.”

  Terets nodded and slid himself across the ground to be knee to knee with her. “Okay Amythyst. I have listened and all I can say isn't nice or friendly.” He watched her tense up as he rushed his next few words so she wouldn't log out before he could finish. “I would have probably shot him and her. You showed way more restraint than I possibly could. As for your current disabilities, we all have our own issues. While yours are worse than mine, I still find you the person to be beautiful. Please stay and don't run off. I can't promise anything else but being your friend at the moment, but I am not against maybe being more than that one day.”

  Amythyst started to sob hard, deep racking sobs as he spoke. She wanted to speak but couldn't, so she flung herself forward and clung to him, knocking him backwards. She clutched him tight and sobbed into his chest. He gently put his arms around her and stroked her hair trying to soothe her.

  After many minutes her sobs began to subside and she let her clench loosen. When Terets didn't disengage right away she settled in with just a hug and murmured into his chest. “Thank you Will.”

  Terets just smiled down at the top of her head and kept holding her, “You're welcome Amythyst. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. Just one thing, please. If you decide that you do want more in the future please tell me. Don't hide from it if you really feel that deeply. We'll talk and see if we're are good for each other, but give you and me the chance, okay?”

  He felt her head move in a small nod and felt her sniffle, “Yes.”

  “Do you want me to keep this a secret? I don't have many from David and Miriam but if you need me to I will guard it close. I would suggest you either speak with them or let me do it, though. They will not judge you badly for it, trust me.”

  He felt her tighten up as he spoke and just kept soothing her and waiting. “I... I... are you sure?” her voice was that of a scared little girl afraid of monsters in the closet.

  He kissed the top of her head, “Yes, I am. Trust me.”

  “You can tell them then. I don't want to have to think about it again please.” Her voice was still frightened.

  “Let us stay here alone for a few more minutes. I'll email them telling them they can come back then. It's been less than two hours. I won't have to leave for a break if we keep the same travel time, since that will only push me to eight hours. So I can stay with you, okay?”

  She hugged him more tightly, then disengaged herself and nodded, drying her eyes. “Thank you.”

  Smiling, Terets sent emails to his friends telling them to come back in ten minutes and just sat there with Amythyst.

  SOUTHERN BOUND

  Smee stood by his gate as they approached a day later with a smile on his face. “Greetings again adventurers, and you brought more friends, yes. It is so nice to meet new people, yes it is. I am Smee.” He gave a half bow.

  Felton and Emelia blinked and looked at Smee before replying. “It's our pleasure to meet you, Smee. Our friends have told us about you and we were going this way so we decided to stop and pay our respects,” Felton finished with a bow of his own.

  “Oh, so polite and nice you are, yes nice and kind to Smee. Please, come into the garden and relax for a time. I have things to take care of inside my cabin so I can't stay and be a good host, no.” Smee opened the gate for them and moved off towards his cabin.

  The group watched him go, “Let me get some of the well water for some of my potions and we can head out.” Kittish went into the garden, grabbing some water and leaving a couple of Deathhead mushrooms by the well for Smee. “It's too bad he didn't want to stay and talk more. He is a little weird, though.”

  The group chuckled and headed south again, making sure to close the gate behind them, “Still think that is a massive understatement. He's very weird, but in a mostly harmless way,” Terets laughed, “just be careful of any gifts he offers.”

  Two more days of traveling south with breaks for logging out got them to Stoutbank. As the group came into the main square, many of the town folk moving about greeted them either as champions or by name, causing Felton and Em to look askance at their friends.

  “We did a bit here at the start which got us enough rep to become champions of the town. After we cleared out the goblin cave we got the various gifts we told you about, like the steeds. All in all, pretty cool and interesting.” Dumadin moved them towards the Inn as it was getting close to time for another break. “Let’s greet Bjorn Tankardson, then we can take a break for the night and meet back up in the morning.”

  T
hey entered the Lonely Wood Inn and were greeted by a loud voice, “So the champions return. Welcome back my friends! Find a table and I'll bring your drinks right over.”

  Felton and Emelia followed the others to a table as Bjorn came striding up to them with a tray full of mugs. “Greeting to you, new comers. I've brought the house mead for you all.” Setting the mugs down before each of the group, he pulled a chair over.

  Kittish made introductions. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Felton and Emelia. If you are friends of our champions, then you must be good folk indeed.” Bjorn then turned to the others, “What brings you back to Stoutbank this time? I would have thought that you'd be out helping Thallien still.”

  Terets nodded, “Yeah, we are but he said he needed time to think and to come back in a week or so. In the mean time we decided to head south and kill some spiders for their venom.”

  “Ah yes, the Lonely Wood widows do have a potent venom if their fragile glands don't rupture in combat. It has been a long time since I even thought about the venom and its uses. I take it afterwards you'll be heading back to Thallien then to recover more of his journals? Did you already bring him the one from the Skullcrusher clan?”

  The group started to regal Bjorn with the attack on Evergreen and the ensuing cleansing of the village of Skullcrushers. They had attracted an audience of adventures by the time they finished, who cheered at the end of the telling of the chieftain's death.

  The group started to field questions about how the event was and if they thought one might happen here. The questions and answers went on for a bit with laughs and good times being had. When it became known that Felton was a journeyman weapon smith people began to ask if he could furnish them with better weapons. Felton rolled his eyes and moved off to another table to handle the transactions without disrupting his friends. Soon after Terets had to do the same as his proficiency with leatherworking was discovered. Seems a number of the crowd had skinning but hadn't actually tried crafting yet and wanted to get better leather made for them.

  Two hours later the group thanked everyone there for the conversation and the good times but they needed to take a break for the evening. Saying last goodbyes to Bjorn the group went to log out, but Bjorn stopped them.

  “Now, now my friends. You have kept my Inn full all night. I must insist on paying you back. Take these keys and use the rooms upstairs for your sleep tonight.” Bjorn said, presenting four keys to the group, one for each couple and singles for Terets and Amythyst.

  The group tried to decline but Bjorn would have none of it, so they accepted the keys and made their way to the rooms upstairs. “See you guys in ten hours for the journey south,” Dumadin called out to his friends as they entered their rooms.

  The rooms each contained a king sized bed and a few tables, an armoire, and a shelf with basin and pitcher on it. Taking in the room, Dumadin and Kittish stripped off their clothes and used the water in the pitcher for a quick sponge bath before deciding to test out the bed for a little bit. An hour later the clock told them they had been on close to eight hours so they logged out, exhausted and sated lying in bed holding each other.

  The next day the friends logged back in and met up in the main room of the Inn, giving their keys back to Bjorn and thanking him for the rooms. “If you're heading south be looking out for the Matriarch Widow of the Lonely Woods. There is an alchemist in Veno who has been trying to get her venom gland and offering a fair bit of coin for it. Her lair is supposed to be west of the goblin cave somewhere.”

  As they left the Inn Dumadin turned to the others, “Did you guys sleep in the bed?” When they said that they had he continued, “Did you notice the well rested buff that we have then?”

  “Yeah it's a nice little thing. Sleep for at least two hours in a secure bed and get a 10% bonus to xp for six hours.” Terets chuckled, “I'm sure this was an idea for pulling a little bit of currency from the economy while giving something back. The six hour duration means you need to be able to get where you're going in a hurry though.”

  Felton agreed, “Yeah, but for fresh characters it will be a nice boost if they drop a little money into the game at launch. They did say they wanted to have a ten gold to one dollar ratio so people could ease their way in the early going. I love the idea of being able to convert the other way as well, getting real money for in game currency. I wonder how they're going to fight the inflation that's bound to happen.”

  Amythyst spoke up quietly, “I think they're planning for taxes when housing goes live as a means to help. Property taxes and up keep of buildings and such. I'm not certain though, my sister didn't go into that part much. Larry is the one in charge of the idea behind the player housing. They didn't address it outside of wanting to implement it at some point.”

  “Should we check on this Matriarch Widow while we're heading this way?” Emelia asked the group as they mounted up and headed south.

  “Might as well. We still have a few days before we need to speak with Thallien, and it's still eight days before I need to go back to Vegas for my results.” Dumadin replied as he guided his horse off the road and due south leading the group.

  “Do we want to go back to Thallien for the quest before that? Or do you want to wait until after your doctor’s visit?” Terets inquired of his friend as they rode.

  “Meh, it doesn't really matter. I'm sure it is going to be 'here take these meds' or a 'we need more tests' thing anyway. So let's just see him and find out where we're going and make plans for the next dungeon.”

  The group agreed and rode on in silence for a bit until Kittish spotted a woodsage. The group dismounted and got ready as she went for the plant. After quickly dispatching the one spider that attacked and looting it they moved on.

  “No venom gland, but a silk web sac, which is nice for me.” Terets said as they continued on foot. “A few more of these and I might attempted some silk lined gloves. If we get enough I can try to make sets for the four of us without such nice things.”

  Kittish waved her gloved hand in acknowledgment and they walked on to find more spiders. The next five hours they spent finding and slaying all the spiders they came across. Final tally when they took a break was eighteen silk web sacs and four venom glands. The thirty spiders they slew were enough to push each of them up a level, bringing Felton and Em to level thirteen and the others to twelve.

  The next day and a half they cut a swath through the spider population of the Lonely Wood making steady progress south and slightly west. They took their breaks and inspected their take each time before logging out. The total of two days had netted them over one hundred silk web sacs and eighteen venom glands. Kittish was busy for a little while every night turning the venom into poison so they would have a supply on hand.

  SISTER TALK

  The next day when they logged in they found Jazzy sitting there waiting for them. She smiled and greeted each player as they logged in, refusing to discuss her reason for being there until the group was all there. The group was all there except for Amythyst, who appeared a moment later.

  “Before I say anything else, I need to apologize sister for interfering. I've only wanted to help you. I love you and if you wish to talk later I'll come to you anytime you want. Just let me know.” Jazzy said with a soft smile on her lips, “I am sorry.”

  Amythyst just nodded, “Okay, later then. You had another reason for appearing the other day and I'm sure that's why you're back now. I do thank you for giving me the time to get my head clear again.”

  Jazzy nodded and turned to the group, “As I was going to say before I put my foot squarely in my mouth the other day. You've caused quite the stir in the offices so far. Your group has been busier and done more than any other. With all the reports you send in everyday you've given us invaluable information. My team wanted to thank you and see if you had any other insights that we should be aware of?”

  The group looked at each other and Terets stepped forward. “Not yet, but after our next dungeon we might have a sugg
estion or two. We're going to test something and once we have that info you'll be notified about what we find. Also as a personal note, thank you for abiding by my request.”

  Jazzy smiled and nodded, “Of course, and thank you for being understanding, Terets. My team brainstormed what to do as a thank you for your hard work and dedication and we didn't have anything solid. Is there anything you were wondering that I might be able to fill you in on as a reward?”

  “Unless you can tell us about housing at the moment, I can't think of anything.” Kittish spoke up with a gleam in her eye.

  “Sadly I can't. Larry is all over that portion of the upcoming feature. We hope to have it in place not too long after launch, but we don't know yet. Outside of planning some form of property tax to help balance out the economy there's a lot still up for debate. Even the tax is being hotly debated by his team at the moment. One of my friends keeps me appraised as much as she can.” Jazzy smiled and stood, flexing her wings. She gave her sister a quick hug and whisper then disappeared in a flash of light.