The Quest_Last Gods Book 1
Page 17
“No knives required?” Barnabus asked.
“Sadly no,” the physician said. “Just simply popping it back in place.” The wire thin and frail looking man with spectacles lunged forward and hit Larion’s shoulder with an open palm. There was a pop, a flash of pain, and nothing.
“All better,” Doc said.
He was right. The pain had subsided to an ache and he could move his arm. Larion did so going through a full range of motion to ensure his arm worked.
Thump.
Larion stood. His time to go had come. “I have to leave,” Larion said. “Thank you for everything.”
Barnabus stood. “Where are you going lad?”
Larion did not know how to answer. How did you tell someone that an invisible force was pulling him in a direction and that he did not know why? Larion opted for simple and direct. He pointed in the direction of the pull. “That way.”
“That is funny. We had a friend leave a day ago headed in the same direction. I promised you a ride so if you will stay the night I will have a wagon with supplies going … “ Barnabus lifted his arm and pointed the same direction Larion had. “That way.”
“You would do that?” Larion asked.
“I said I wouldn’t, didn’t I?” Barnabus said. He placed his hand on his chest and made a face to indicate that he was a little offended by the question.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to doubt … “
“It is okay, lad. These are trying times and hard to see kindness from strangers under such conditions. But my wife and I feel that times like these require kindness more than the better times. So yes, we will help you get to where you need to be.”
“How can I repay you?”
“Perform a kindness for another and maybe they will do the same. Eventually we will kill all the strife with kindness.”
“If only life were that simple,” Helgen said as she walked up. “So he is leaving then?”
“In the morn, right?” Barnabus asked.
Larion nodded. “Yes, on the morrow.”
Barnabus cheered. “Good on ya, lad. Tonight we feast and drink.” He turned and made for the bar. “First round is on the house!” The patrons of the bar cheered.
After breakfast Barnabus introduced Larion to a man named Cornelius. He was a farmer on his way to deliver some goods from his farm. He happened to be traveling in the same direction that Larion was headed.
“How did you arrange this while we were all drinking and eating last night?” Larion asked.
“We innkeepers work in mysterious ways.” He laughed a raucous laughter. Larion laughed as well. Seeing Barnabus almost falling down at his own joke was too funny to not join in.
“Are you ready, Mr. Larion?” Cornelius asked.
“Yes I am, and please just call me Larion.”
“Give us a hug,” Helgen said. She wrapped Larion in a bear hug to rival the biggest grizzly. “You come back and visit us after you finish whatever it is that has you in such a rush.”
“I will,” Larion replied. He pulled free from her embrace. “Thank you for everything.”
“My pleasure, dear. Now off you go!”
Larion took a seat next to Cornelius on the small wagon. He waved to his new friends as they rode away.
Thump.
Nathaniel Evans was surprised by the chime of his door bell. As a widower with no kids under 18 and no friends visitors were rare. He was certain he had a better chance of winning the lottery than having a visitor. He was going to have to go buy some tickets after he found out who it was.
“Need you to sign here.” The man in the brown uniform passed a tablet to him. At his feet sat a box, more a crate really.
Nathaniel signed the tablet with his finger and passed it back. The man nodded and left, going back to his truck painted the same shade of brown as his uniform. The box was lighter than Nathaniel expected. Being a loner with a decent pension he had plenty of time on his hands. Time he filled in the world of video games. That wasn’t all though, he also worked out religiously. Moving the box in the house was easy as pie.
Nathaniel retrieved a knife from the kitchen and paused before opening the package. For a brief moment he wondered if it could be a bomb, or chemical weapon. There were reported instances of people receiving such things. But he was a nobody. The people targeted were usually political figures, or famous people. Nathaniel went for it.
Inside the crate he found a cobalt colored ring attached to some sort of computer by a single cable. Blue lights lit up when he touched the halo. He pulled his hand back surprised by the machine’s response.
After a moment of nothing happening he picked up the ring. That was when he noticed the manual tucked along the side of the computer. “I should have just looked for that first,” he chided himself.
The front cover of the manual sported a logo Nathaniel was intimately familiar with. The logo for Last Gods.
“Oh no way! This can’t be the VR headset I read about. Can it?” Nathaniel said to himself.
The manual confirmed what he suspected. Somehow he was the recipient of one of the beta units. According to the document attached to the manual his accomplishments in game made him eligible. Which didn’t seem right since most of his guildies out shined him by a fair margin. They beat him in level, achievements, collectibles, number or raids, and every other measurable metric. Yet here it was.
“I’m not going to be the guy that looks a gift tank in the barrel. Need a minute before I jack in though.”
Nathaniel went to the bathroom and handled his business. Then he made a sandwich and had a soda to wash it down. Only after he cleaned up his mess in the kitchen was he ready to go.
The halo was snug but not uncomfortable. He lay prone on his couch to be comfortable while he was under. The manual instructed him on how to get started. He pressed the button on the halo to initiate the session.
Everything went black. The sounds of his house faded to nothing. A blue light faded into being, surrounding him and replacing the darkness. Nathaniel looked down at his body and found the green mesh of game polygons. The underlying framework of every digital 3D game ever.
Movement drew his attention back up to the front. A golden light drifted closer. It was the size of a basketball but grew steadily. Soon he made out the shape of an animal, a wolf or dog. The glowing creature stopped a few feet from him.
“Welcome!” A masculine voice came from the beast even though it’s mouth hadn’t moved. “I am here to guide you in the setup of your character. You may call me Skoal.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Skoal. Where do we start?”
“Let us begin with class assignment. Here are your choices. Choose wisely.”
Class Selection:
Ranger
Warrior
Mage
Thief
Monk
“I have no choice but to assume the limited number of selections means there is a sub-class system as well. Is that correct?” Nathaniel asked.
“Very astute. However, you are not able to choose a subclass at this time. Additionally, the rules do not permit me to educate you as to which class contains what subclass.”
“That’s fine. I am sure I know where the class I want will be.”
Nathaniel glanced over his choices once before before decided. He settled his gaze over Warrior, and thought the 'select’.
“Very good. Next you must allocate your attribute points. You start with one in each category and have two more to place where you like,” Skoal said.
Attribute Point Selection:
Strength 1
Stamina 1
Intellect 1
Dexterity 1
Charisma 1
Luck 1
2 available points to place where you like.
“May I ask if I will be getting more points upon leveling up?” Nathaniel asked.
“That is a question I can answer. Yes, you will receive 1 stat point at level up as well as 1 skill point. And I will a
dd that I can not volunteer much, but I have more leeway in regards to answering questions. Is there anything else I may answer?”
“Can you give me a breakdown of what each attribute effects?”
“That I can not do. This choice is solely yours to make.”
He figured that was going to be the case. It was possible the devs were using experienced players to see what the expectations of the players would be so they could make tweaks accordingly. Or consider making the tweaks. The joys of beta testing. Nathaniel made his choice, it was an easy one as far as he was concerned.
Attribute Point Selection:
Strength 2 (1)
Stamina 1
Intellect 2 (1)
Dexterity 1
Charisma 1
Luck 1
Do you wish to save these stats?
Yes / No
Nathaniel selected yes using his hand. The window vanished giving him a clear view of Skoal once more. The wolf remained as luminous and motionless as he had been.
“If I am right about what class you will be then I believe you chose well. The last thing to do before entering the game is to decide on a name.”
“That is the easiest choice so far,” Nathaniel said.
***
The bright light receded.
A hand clad in a black metal gauntlet reached down. He took the offered hand and was pulled to his feet. The rest of the helpful figure was decked out in all black metal armor.
“Welcome to Char, Sir. We stand ready to assist and serve,” the knight said.
“We?”
The figure stepped to the side allowing for the other similarly attired knights to be seen. They stood lined up facing him with a fist to their chests.
“What is this?”
“Our mutual master has tasked us with training and power leveling his champion. As such we are here to serve you, Lord Davar.”
Hello Glorious Reader,
Thank you for taking the time to get through the book and I hope you found it to be entertaining.
While this was not the first book I have written it was the first to see the light of day, and I have to say it scared the life out of me to put it out in the world. I am glad I did though, because this represents the beginning of a lifelong dream come true. Like most writers I have wanted to tell stories for as long as I remember and now I am.
Like I already stated it is frightening, but at the same time it’s magnificent. I understand that this will not be the best story you have read and I am okay with that. With each book I write I will get better at grammar and storytelling. That alone is worth taking the risk that this story will not be well received. Of course as I write this authors not I hope that it is good enough that you will stick around for the next book in the series, which is already in the works.
Thanks for your time and I hope to see you again.
Linton
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