Orc Glitch- The Mad King

by KJ Harlow

  Beyond The Trees

  20,155th Cycle

  4-Karst

  “Grandmother!”

  A group of curious werejaguars had gathered by the river at the west side of the village to see them off. Word had gotten around that Kai and the orc were embarking on a quest together.

  “Are you ready?”

  Gram’s steady, cool voice jolted Cal back into focus. He pulled his eyes back to the snowy werejaguar just as Kai bent down. Kaizen slipped something around his neck.

  “I guess so.” Gram was standing right in front of Cal, a little over a foot away. He could feel warmth emanating off her fur.

  Cal wasn’t ready. He wanted to tell Gram he didn’t know what the hell he was doing, that he barely slept a wink, going through every single option in his settings screen, poring through the “HELP” and “FAQs” to find a way to exit. He wanted to tell her that he was conflicted because he wanted to go back, but he also wanted to go on this adventure because he knew that it would be the most fun he’d have since… well, ever.

  “I went through the loot we had taken from intruders in the past. This is the best we could find for you.”

  WEAPON: Iron Axe

  LVL: E

  BONUS: NIL

  The lowest level of combat axe.

  Cal held still as Gram slipped it into his holster for him, right next to his hatchet. She tightened the holster and Cal grunted. “I’m surprised your axe didn’t fall out earlier.”

  “So there’s no chance that you’re coming with us?” It was the third time Cal had asked since he had risen, but Gram’s response hadn’t changed.

  “The direwasps from the last moonshift are a bad sign. If they’re being driven down from the Valley of Anguish, it’s possible that more are coming this way, not to mention anything else which may make its way down. I have to be prepared to protect the village.”

  “If they’re coming down from the Valley of Anguish, there’s a good chance that we could see them first.”

  “Which is why Keizen has given Kai that amulet.”

  Cal looked over at Kai again. He was hunched slightly over, trying his best to shrink himself as Keizen gave him another public dressing down. The amulet was turquoise in colour, and in the shape of a diamond with rounded corners.

  “There’s also this.” Gram bounded over to the west wall of the village. In both arms, she picked up a dark olive-green set of armour. “We haven’t fought that many orcs recently, so we don't have any armour to give you. We custom-made some for you instead.”

  Cal took the front and back plate with both hands. It was waxy, lightweight and obviously plant based, but it was surprisingly hardy. It also felt strangely familiar.

  “Is this…?”

  “Rubberoak, yes.” Seeing the look on Cal’s face, Gram smiled. “It’s not just for bedding. I managed to persuade the smithy to let me use his furnace and help me create this armour. It’s been tempered since you were asleep.”

  Gram watched Cal expectantly as he closed the front plate around his chest. “Would you mind…?” Gram had already slipped behind him, collected the back plate and pushed it onto Cal’s body. Cal grunted again when Gram tightened the ties holding the two pieces together before closing the clasps.

  Cal ambled over to the river and looked in. The orc that stared back at him was as ugly as the first day he logged in: mottled, dark-green skin, bald, scabby head with a wild shock of black matted hair that erupted around his face. He stroked his beard, trying to ignore the sporadic tufts that grew like dry grass on a sparse plain on the back of his hand. Was it him or were his undermaw tusks getting longer?

  “It looks good,” he said, not at all looking at his armour.

  “Doesn’t matter how it looks, orc.” Kai was standing closer to Gram now. He too was wearing armour: also a light front and back plate, though his looked like it was fashioned out of something sturdier than rubberoak. His spear was hanging loosely from one hand. “It has to work in battle.” He grasped his weapon with both hands, pointing it at Cal.

  Cal took a step towards Kai. “Wait a second–”

  -2 Damage!

  Kai had driven his spear so hard that he had winded Cal, sending him flying into the river. Underwater, he ran his hand over the front. There was a dint in the armour, maybe half an inch deep, but the attack hadn’t penetrated Cal’s abdomen. Not bad, not bad at all.

  Cal rose through the water and Gram pulled him up and out.

  “I was doing him a favour!” Kai retorted. “Tristan’s furnace isn’t suited to making armour; I had to make sure that–”

  “No more attacking Callahan, you hear me?” Keizen’s snarling command silenced every werejaguar in the vicinity. “You and he are comrades. Form a party with him, now!” Head bowed down, Kai did as he was told.

  Form Party Request

  You have been requested to join Kai’s party. Accept?

  Y | N

  Cal hastily selected ‘Y’ just as Keizen started shuffling towards him. “Callahan.”

  “Elder, I…”

  “Keizen is fine.”

  “Keizen.” Cal looked down into the elderly werejaguar’s red eyes. They burned with something… not anger, but youth and excitement. He had forgotten what he was going to say to her.

  “I have something for you. Could you come over here?”

  Cal didn’t know how tall he was, neither on Earth nor on Terrafaytum. It didn’t matter in the former, since he wouldn’t – couldn’t – stand. As he got down on one knee, he realised that he had been looking slightly down at the werejaguars as he spoke to them. So this was what it was like to feel tall.

  “Bend down for me.”

  Cal silently did as he was hold. Keizen was also putting something around his neck. She chuckled as it got caught on his right tusk. Eventually it slipped into place. Cal straightened up. Slung around his left shoulder, a roughly hewn bag sat on his right hip. It was crumpled up as if it had been drenched in something sticky and dried.

  “It’s an Adventurer’s Satchel,” Keizen said. “I used it myself when I was much younger, over 200 Karsts ago.” Whoa, so Keizen was over 200 years old? “It’s a bit worn, but I knew the maker personally. He was an expert at weaving craft and fiber together.”

  Keizen looked lingeringly at the bag before looking up at Cal again. “I’ve left some things inside there that should be of use to you.” Cal stared at her, he tried to surreptitiously grope the bag, but Keizen’s curious smile told him that he had failed.

  “OK you two,” she said, as if sending two grandsons away to run some errands. “Find that lucentleaf. Zkar is relying on you.” Her demeanor suddenly became somber. “Don’t come back empty handed.”

  A notification pulsed in the corner of Cal’s vision:

  Gong!

  Level Up!

  You have been allocated 10 points. Use these to improve your base statistics.

  Skill Up!

  Skill Up!

  You have gained two (2) levels for your Skill Earth Wall! Mana Usage -2%/sec.

  Must have been from the duel with those direwasps with Gram earlier. But if his points were still here, that meant he hadn’t died after that direwasp got him. He made a mental note to ask Gram when he got back. “Not going to let these points get taken away from me this time,” Cal grumbled. He quickly allocated 2 to Strength, 3 to Defence, 2 to Agility and 3 to Intelligence before opening up his status screen:

  NAME: Callahan Rogers

  AGE: 29 (Earth)

  CLASS: Orc Fighter

  LVL: 7

  HP: 110/110

  MP: 110/110

  AFF: Earth (x1)

  STR: 12+2%

  DEF: 13+1%

  AGL: 13+3%

  INT: 13+1%

  ABILITY: Examine, Verdant Whisper

  SKILL: Earth Wall – Level 3 – Next Level in 72%

  WEAPON: Axe – Level E – Next Level in 87%

  A new page option pulsed on the navigation. He swiped across:


  SUPPORT

  Gram: Level C – Next Level in 70%

  When you form a party with new members and fight foes with them, you can increase your Support level. The higher your Support level, the greater the stat bonuses. Level up your Support and you may unlock devastating new moves!

  “Orc.”

  Cal closed the page. “Werecat.”

  There was a rush and the snarling feline’s face was inches away from him. “I’m a werejaguar.” Kai fanged face was inches away from Cal.

  Cal pushed back. “Well I’m a…” they stared at each other as the retort never made its way out of Cal’s mouth.

  “I don’t care that you can speak Common Tongue. You look like an orc. You stink like an orc. I’m going to lead this mission. If you don’t stay out of my way, you will find yourself on the end of my spear again. Got it?”

  Cal’s eyes had glazed over. He was too busy scouring through his comrade’s stats:

  NAME: Kai

  AGE: 47 (Terrafaytum)

  CLASS: Werejaguar Warrior

  LVL: 13

  HP: 149/149

  MP: 137/137

  AFF: Fire (x26)

  STR: 36+2%

  DEF: 37+1%

  AGL: 33+3%

  INT: 23+1%

  ABILITY: Examine

  SKILL: Flaming Spear – Level 7 – Next Level in 18%

  WEAPON: Lance/Spear – Level D – Next Level in 93%

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes sir.”

  The odd couple continued walking through forest, not saying anything to each other. Every so often, Cal would catch a glimpse of moonlight breaking through the canopy. Gram had no idea what the sun was. Surprisingly, Cal didn’t find that too hard to accept. Maybe it was the filtering in game, but the brightness of the moonlight seemed to be turned up high enough that he had never struggled to see, not even in the dense forest.

  Not that it was dense anymore. The trees with surfboard-sized leaves had started to relax their grip, allowing the two travellers to pass through with less and less difficulty. Cal had been trudging behind Kai a fair way back, not even daring to step on his shadow in case he bit his head off. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any more direwasps – or worse – to show up in the forest. Kai nonchalantly picked a flapping bat out of the air. He squeezed it until its little bones broke and it emitted a tiny screech and gurgle.

  Cal kept quiet, focusing on keeping the five yard gap between them. Up ahead the trees finally relented. Kai slipped his spear back onto his back. He fell forward and, on all-fours, started weaving through the rest of the trees out into the open. Half a minute later, Cal also emerged.

  “What took you so long?”

  Cal fingered his new axe in its holster. It hadn't been that long and he was already getting sick of the princeling's attitude.

  There was a whistling sound, like air rushing through a small tube. Cal spun around, looking back into the forest. No wind… so where did it come from? The rushing sound abruptly stopped and after a second, there was a deep chime.

  “Hello Grandmother.”

  Cal turned back to Kai. The amulet was pulsing gently on Kai’s chest. So it was a communication tool. What Gram had said made sense now: their secondary mission would be to warn them of beasts making their way towards the forest.

  “Kai. Callahan, are you there?”

  “Yes Keizen.”

  “Has Kai been causing you any trouble?” Kai’s eyes gleamed dangerously in the light of Karst.

  “No, not at all. We got through the forest unscathed.”

  There was hesitation from the amulet. “Good. You let me know if Kai tries to kill you again, alright?”

  And how was I supposed to do that with the amulet around Kai’s neck?

  “Yes Keizen.”

  “This amulet isn’t just for me to keep track of the two of you. I am also able to see what’s happening, with limited visibility. It holds the memories of past wearers, mainly past battles they have fought. Every beast, creature and fiend that its wearer has come across will have been automatically logged in it.”

  “Sweet, sort of like a Pokedex then.”

  There was silence again as Kai – and presumably Keizen – had raised their eyebrows at Cal.

  “…Nevermind.”

  “As I was saying, you can think of it sort of like a virtual bestiary. It’s like the ‘Examine’ Skill, but better. You can replay past battles from the point of view of the user at that point in time.”

  “What if we come across a beast that hasn’t been sighted before?”

  “Well the amulet won’t be of much use then will it, stupid cub?”

  Kai visibly cringed at the chiding remark.

  “Callahan, Gram tells me that she explained how the moons of Terrafaytum work.”

  “Right. She also told me about Lis.”

  Kai looked sharply at Cal but didn’t say anything. A pregnant silence clung to the air.

  “…Let’s not talk about Lis now. Perhaps when you finish this mission.” She cleared her throat. “You may have noticed in your status screen a Multiplier next to your Elemental Affinity.”

  Cal quickly brought up his status screen again. “Yes, I’d been meaning to ask about it. Gram also explained that the moons can imbue your craft.”

  “Correct. The moons, Sibelle, Karst, Hyten and Flulia will cycle in that order. The start of a moon’s cycle is when it’s just touching the land. We call that one-Karst, or whatever moon is currently at the front until thirty-Karst, by which time the moon has already descended completely under Terrafaytum and the new moon is bearing down.”

  This was a lot to take in. How long did one-moon last for? Was it close to a day, since there were 30 days in a month? But if that were the case, that would mean that there would only be four months in the year. Cal hadn’t really been paying attention either, but he was pretty sure that the moons moved relatively quickly, a lot quicker than the moon on Earth did, anyway.

  “Kai, can I rely on you to teach Callahan how to read the moonshifts?”

  “Yes, Grandmother.”

  “Good. Now, I know that I’ve been going on, but I promise that this is the last of it. If you are where I think you are, you’re on a plain and you should see a wide mountain range ahead of you.”

  Cal cast a sweeping gaze. Sparse trees sprung up sporadically here and there, gnarled and dry, as if they had been banished by the trees in Rawdriad Forest. Unlike the grass on the other side of the forest closer to Mercat Lake, the grass here was short and prickly. In the distance, no fewer than a dozen ominous mountains charged up towards the heavens.

  “Yes. Is Gresshia on the other side of those mountains?” Kai asked.

  “It is. You might get there before 1-Hyten if you keep up a good pace from now. That’s what you should aim to do. Many of the valleyfiends thrive during Hyten. Expect to be blown off your feet – literally.”

  “No problem. As long as the orc can keep up with me, we’ll be fine.”

  “What did I say about calling names?” Keizen snapped.

  Kai shut his mouth, jaw clenched.

  Keizen sighed. “I shouldn’t think there would be too many creatures in the field; it’s too exposed. Once you get to the valley, you’ll be in greater danger. Callahan, have you had a look inside the satchel yet?”

  “No.” Cal opened the latch as Kai watched with a raised eyebrow. It was limp, he was sure there was nothing inside. His amethyst eyes opened wide as his arm went in to his elbow. It felt windy inside, as if he was sticking his hand out the window of a car speeding down the highway. The environment blurred again and a screen opened up.

  “As you can see, this is no ordinary satchel. It connects to an unknown realm where items can be stored until you need them later. It grows as the user grows. As you’re only level 7, the satchel’s capabilities haven’t been truly realised yet. Having said that, you can still store a lot more than you could with a normal satchel.”

  Cal looked
through the very brief list of items:

  MISC. Healing Potion x3

  MISC. Rations x2

  He focused on the Healing Potion. Out of nowhere, he felt a ridged bottle materialise in his hands. Eyeing Kai, he pulled it out and looked at it. It glowed a faint green.

  “Beasts you defeat will drop loot. Make sure to pick it up. Some beasts like to steal things from other travellers. Defeat them and those will become yours.”

  “Elder Keizen.” Gram’s voice could be heard in the background. “It’s Zkar.”

  “Be safe. Reach out if you need anything.”

  “Yes Grandmother.”

  “Karst imbues you.” There was the rushing of wind again before the amulet stopped glowing, a chime marking the end of the communication.

  Kai started walking towards the mountains. A gentle breeze ever so slight had picked up, rustling the trees dotting the valley.

  “Wait,” Cal said.

  “You heard the Elder,” Kai said. “We need to get to the valley before Hyten starts. You can catch up.”

  Cal noticed there was a new notification. He opened it up, skimming through it.

  Check Points

  Check Points are scattered all throughout Terrafaytum. When you die, you will automatically return to your last Check Point.

  You can create a Check Point here at the Plains of Anguish, outside Rawdriad Forest.

  Create Check Point now?

  Y | N

  Gotta save my progress. Cal selected ‘Y’.

  Check Point created!

  “Hey, wait up.” Cal started jogging. The cool breeze that massaged the plain slipped past, like water. Cal couldn’t help but smile, thoughts about being trapped in the game momentarily forgotten.

  Cal and Kai ventured across the plains towards the valley. Cal counted the seconds as best as he could, watching the moon carefully but it was no use. They would enter a cave, defeat the bats and gremlins inside and he would lose track of time. He was certain that two, maybe three ‘real’ hours had passed. Yet he felt his circadian rhythm adjusting to a new beat. He felt tired at regular intervals and often needed to lie down for a nap.