Sphiel's Song

by Alara Branwen

  “Interesting.” Mandy rolled her eyes.

  “Hey, don’t blame me. I didn’t come up with it. The higher ups thought it sounded good and that’s what they made me memorize.”

  “Wait, are you real?”

  “Yep, a real person. Mindsplosion studios likes our game to have a personal touch, so they get the poor slobs, like myself, in customer support to introduce new characters into the game, especially for the beta test. They want to give the best impression of the game.”

  “That sounds like a nice touch. Are a lot of people playing this game?”

  “Oh, lots, even for a closed beta test, but our world is big enough to accommodate them all, and then some. You’ll find no end of exploration in Unexplored.”

  The thought of so many people made the acid freeze in Mandy’s stomach. The gnome noticed the face Mandy made.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know if this game is for me. I’m not good with people and they uh, scare me.”

  A little smirk came on the gnome’s face. Mandy assumed he thought her reaction was humorous and a burning rage melted her trepidation.

  “I understand how you feel, I don’t like people either. It’s not a joke. Sometimes coming to work scares the piss out of me.”

  This quelled the fires in Mandy’s stomach. “It does?”

  The gnome chuckled again. “Oh my, yes. I don’t know how I made it to shift manager. I honestly think the higher ups felt sorry for me. But anyway, that’s what makes virtual reality so great. It’s not real. This is the realest MMO you’re going to find, but the people, the places, even the realistic grass beneath your feet, is all fake. If you ever feel afraid, you can just log out. Unless you’re in the middle of being attacked or having sex. You won’t have to worry about a thing, and if a situation gets out of hand for you just throw your hands up and say ‘Gods why’ and a customer support person will come down to help you.”

  Mandy pulled herself up. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “It’s not, and there are a lot of places in Unexplored where you can be alone. Sometimes I like to go into the Wilderwood forest and do a little meditating. Course, I know where all the safe spots are.”

  “That sounds kind of nice, and peaceful. Could I find one of those places?”

  “It is, and if you’re real nice to me I can spawn you there.”

  A relaxing evening in a place that wasn’t her room sounded like a good proposition to Mandy. She mulled it over in her mind and nodded. “Okay, how do I start.”

  “First you have to make your character and select your starting items.”

  A large mirror came up that showed Mandy in her current state. She reached out and found her hand passed through the glass and touched her character. She gave herself blond hair that fell to her back and a nice, curvy body, one she wished she actually possessed.

  She fiddled with her face until her nose was elegant and thin and her lips full and red. She made a mistake and accidentally made her breasts large. The young woman was about to switch it back, but when she looked at them, they made her character look nice.

  Mandy finished by choosing her race. She wasn’t sure what to choose, so she chose a race that looked like the magical girl she admired in her youth, an elf. Her ears became pointed and face angular. She looked it over when her avatar was finished and was happy with the result.

  When she told the gnome she was done, a white light enveloped her and Mandy took the form of her Avatar, complete with a bright green tunic and breeches.

  Another screen came up with an assortment of items. After choosing a backpack and a coil of rope, the screen pulled away. She reached out for it.

  “I’m sorry, but you’re only allowed to start with two items,” Jaelmuth said.

  “That’s kind of stingy,” Mandy said.

  “It is, but it’s the nature of things in Unexplored. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to get more during your adventures.”

  “Okay. Is there anything else I need to do?”

  “Nope, other than your name.”

  Mandy tried to think of an elven name, something flowery and fantasy-like, but all of them sounded bad. She wanted something unique, and a little silly. The word “spiel” stuck in her mind. That was certainly unique but didn’t sound like a name. She played around with it and found a variation she liked.

  “Sphiel,” Mandy said.

  Jaelmuth bowed. “Lady Sphiel, welcome to Unexplored. I’m going to spawn you in the Wilderwood. Have fun on your quest and remember, if you have any questions, reach out for the gods.”

  The world around Mandy, now Sphiel, twisted and bent, and she found herself in front of a faded wooden door. She reached out for it and sunlight washed across her face. A cool breeze wafted across her face. Before her was a grand forest filled with tall trees.

  She shook a bit and her foot froze before it touched the ground outside. “It’s not real,” the elf whispered to herself as she heaved a sigh and planted her foot on the dirt.

  She stepped into the light and took in the sight of the world around her. A large stone building behind her wavered and disappeared.

  Distress from the grand open forest ran through her as she took her first steps into the game world.

  FOUR

  Sphiel walked down the many natural causeways through the tall oak trees surrounding her. A soft wind blew through the leaves, rustling them. The elven woman closed her beautiful blue eyes and let the gentle breeze caress her dainty features. The minute stirrings and far away bird cries put her mind at ease.

  She found a small clearing by a little pool glistening in the sunlight. She took a seat on a small rock and looked up. Wisps of clouds stretched across the crystal blue sky as birds circled overhead, hawks most likely, looking for a meal.

  Sphiel closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. It was amazing. The feel of the cool rock beneath her, the soft breeze and the gently waving grass. She leaned down and splashed her fingers into the pool. Small fish scattered as she made little ripples in the water. It felt wet, like real water. Everything was real.

  She closed her eyes and allowed the sweet scent of decaying foliage and the gentle swishing wind carry her away. But the most amazing part, it was peaceful.

  All thought left her mind. She revelled in the dark behind her eyelids and meditated on the rock. Jaelmuth was right, this place was relaxing. Sphiel didn’t know how long it had been since she felt this at ease.

  Sphiel had no idea how long she sat there, taking in nature. After a short time passed, she opened her eyes and decided that it was time to go back home. It was probably getting late and Natalie would probably want to head to bed soon.

  The elf hopped off the rock when she heard a rustle behind her. She turned to see a squat green creature half her height with a long nose and very hairy ears. Yellow eyes rested beneath thinning grey eyebrows.

  It walked forward on flat feet and drew a knife. Sphiel stepped away, dread grasped her throat as the unknown creature came forward.

  The creature stopped and pointed the knife at the young woman. “You there, pretty elf. Give me all your pretty things.”

  “W-what pretty things?” Sphiel said.

  “You know, silver, copper and all those things.”

  Sphiel took another step back and gripped her tunic. “I don’t have any of those things.”

  “You lie, all elves have those things.”

  The creature quickly bolted toward her. Sphiel’s anxiety froze her in place. Her assailant grabbed her wrist and pulled her down. He placed the point of his knife against her throat.

  “I’m not lying.”

  “Prove it,” the creature snarled, baring yellowed teeth.

  Sphiel lowered her backpack down her arm and the fiend took it. He dropped his dagger and dug into it, only to find a coil of rope.

  “What is this? Where are your shiny things?” The creature said.

  “I told you, I don’t have any.”
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  “You are lying. I bet you have shiny things in your pockets.”

  “I don’t have anything in my pockets.”

  “Then let me see,” the creature flexed its fingers in a squeezing motion.

  Sphiel wrapped her arms around herself. “Keep away from me.”

  Her assailant stepped forward, still making the motion with his fingers. “I’m gonna search you all over until you give me what I want.”

  “You won’t touch me.”

  The little green creature reached out with a lanky arm and grabbed her breeches, pulling her toward him.

  “I will touch you where I want.”

  Sphiel’s fight or flight instinct took over. She grabbed the beast’s arm and turned her body. He was lifted off the ground and thrown several feet.

  He picked himself off the grass and his hairy nostrils flared. “You bitch, I make you pay for that.”

  He rushed forward, head down. Sphiel took a step back and raised her knee. His head connected with it and he fell to the ground again.

  The elf placed her rope into the backpack and turned to run, but she felt a clammy hand take hold of her ankle. She turned and the creature smiled up at her.

  “I’m gonna cut you real good,” he said as he reached for the knife he’d dropped.

  Sphiel’s hand darted down. Her elegant fingers closed around the hilt of the weapon before the goblin’s could get to it. She tore her ankle away from the beast and turned toward him.

  It stood and launched itself at her.

  Sphiel thrust the dagger in front of her. The green creature brought its hand up to stop the blow, but he wasn’t fast enough. The blade pierced the creature’s eye and went into his brain.

  The elf pulled the dagger from the now bloody socket and her adversary’s body fell to the ground with a soft thud.

  You’ve made it to level 1! You’re no longer a newb. Good job!

  Her body was trembling as she sat down on the rock. She was breathing heavily.

  That just happened, right? She didn’t imagine it. She was just attacked by a goblin, and she survived. More than that, she killed that little jerk. Served him right, trying to rob her. Sphiel pressed her hands against the rock to calm herself down.

  Sphiel searched the creature's body and found a small pouch with a little tobacco and four copper pieces in it. In one of his pockets was a poorly carved wooden pipe.

  The elf woman took the goblin’s scant treasures and stowed them in her pack. It’s body faded and a blue flame rose to the sky.

  A little clear screen popped up in front of her.

  Warning: A person outside the game world has entered your playing area.

  That could only be one person. Sphiel placed her new possessions into her backpack and logged out.

  FIVE

  Mandy returned to see her sister sitting on her bed, the younger girl’s face a mask of worry.

  “You okay, sis?” Natalie rested a hand on Mandy’s knee.

  “I’m fine, why do you ask?” Mandy said, her face puzzled.

  “You were squirming around on the bed and screaming a little bit. I thought something was going on.”

  Mandy didn’t realize that her heart was beating so quickly. She brushed her hand across her head and found that she was covered in cold sweat.

  “Wow, I guess it was that intense.”

  “What was?”

  “I was attacked by a goblin.”

  Mandy told her sister about the goblin attack and her encounter with Jaelmuth during character creation.

  “That sounds really cool,” Natalie said.

  “It was,” Mandy drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, “but it was a bit scary. I didn’t know I was moving around like I was.”

  “You’re not going to. The VR band Unexplored has is really good, from what I’ve heard.”

  “So I could’ve had a panic attack and not even known it.”

  “Right, that’s why Dr. Braun told me to watch you while you played.”

  Mandy swallowed hard. If she had a panic attack while she was in the game it was possible she could’ve been thrown into cardiac arrest. There were a few VR sims that were so good that their players didn’t know they were dying while they were in the game.

  Mandy chewed her cheek. “My God, I wish I knew how I was going to react before I started playing.”

  Natalie squeezed her sister’s shoulder. “I wish I would have too. I didn’t think the game would stimulate you so much.”

  Mandy took off the band and her sister reached for it.

  Mandy looked at her sister. “What?”

  “I don’t think you should be playing this game. It’s really dangerous and I don’t want something to happen to you.”

  Natalie was right. She shouldn’t be playing the game. If it was going to make her react like this then she needed to ship it back to the company and tell doctors Thames and Braun the experiment was off. She looped the band around her sister’s fingers. Her sister tried to take it from her but Mandy didn’t let go.

  Natalie’s brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”

  What was she doing? Why wasn’t she just letting the band go? All she had to do was give the band to her sister and things could go back to the way they were. She could just stay comfortably in her room while her sister and father looked after her, taking time out of their lives to make sure she was okay…

  Mandy pulled the band back and snapped her sister forward. She placed a hand on Natalie’s shoulder so she wouldn’t fall on the bed.

  “Mandy, what the hell,” Natalie said.

  Mandy sighed and clenched the VR band. “I can’t give it back to you.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I can’t do this to you anymore, or anyone else.”

  “Do what?”

  “Destroy your lives. You don’t have to say it but I know I’m the reason you were replaced on the soccer team and I know for a fact dad got reprimanded because he took so much time off at work for me.”

  Natalie pulled back and looked at a dark corner of the room. “Mandy.”

  Mandy shook her head. Tears welled in her eyes. “You don’t deserve that.”

  “But I don’t mind.”

  “I do. I’m not going to see you suffer anymore, and I damn sure won’t let myself suffer either.”

  Natalie looked into her sister’s eyes. “But you can’t help this. It’s not your fault.”

  “No, but maybe I can do something about it. If this works out, maybe I can go outside again. At the very least, I’ll have something I can do to help me cope with all this so you and dad don’t have to spend so much time looking after me.”

  “But I like spending time with you.”

  “I know you do. I like it too. But I refuse to crush your dreams because I can’t handle my problems.”

  Natalie opened her mouth to respond but no words came. She wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders in a hug. “You don’t have to do this to yourself. There are other ways.”

  “Maybe, but right now this is the best way I know of.”

  “But you can get hurt.”

  Ice sprang up in Mandy’s chest when she felt her sister’s tears on her shoulder.

  Mandy pulled her sister back at arm's length and looked her in the eyes. “Tell you what. I went through a lot today. How about we just watch some anime and hang out until I calm down. I’ll tell Dr. Braun I’m gonna wait a couple of days before I go back into game, that way I’ll be nice and steady before I go back into it.”

  The following day Mandy had her consultation with Dr. Braun and despite her reaction, he seemed pleased. He told her to take her time with the game so she wouldn’t overstimulate herself.

  She spent the next couple of days watching anime with her sister. Natalie came home a lot earlier than she was supposed to, and this upset Mandy. However, she knew her sister just wanted to look after her, so she didn’t say anything.

  The night of the second day
she lay in bed looking at the little VR band illuminated by slanted moonbeams. She reached out and touched the stretchable plastic let let out a long breath. She hoped that little band would be able to help her. She wished it could just burrow into her brain and rewire it so she wasn’t so messed up, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. She just had to keep playing, and hoped it all worked out.

  SIX

  Sphiel arrived in the peaceful clearing that she was in when she last left the game. She sat down on a rock and watched as birds flit between the trees. She found the dagger she’d taken from the goblin in her inventory and rolled the handle in her palms.

  It was crude, but serviceable. If she ever needed to defend herself, she could use it. Her heart raced as she thought about the battle. She felt anxious thinking about it, but her reaction wasn’t as bad as before.

  She could probably use that dagger to attack another monster as well and get better weapons. The thought made her smile, a bit sadistically. These kinds of thoughts surprised her. She wasn’t a violent person by nature, but the idea of stabbing a monster in a fantasy world that wished her harm was a little exciting.

  Sphiel sat on the rock and meditated, listening to the rustling leaves and the sounds of birds. She promised everyone she’d take it easy, and she would. She wouldn’t put her real world body through any more strain. So she would just relax and let the gentle sounds of nature carry her away.

  There was a rustle in a bush nearby. Sphiel turned toward it. Through the bush came a goblin. This one was taller and a little hairier than the last. The goblin scratched his pot belly and smiled. Many of his yellowed teeth were missing.

  “Hello pretty elf,” the goblin leaned against a tree and winked, a gesture that somehow made him look more disgusting.

  “Hello good goblin, how may I help you?” Sphiel said as calmly as she could. Her fingers closed around the handle of her dagger.