Worldshift- Virtual Revolution

by Scott Straughan

  Soon, the team was assembled at one of the city gates, and Lily had found them a guide. He was a young Aknii man wearing a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat. He was also carrying a large backpack and several pouches around his hips. There was a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips as he greeted them all.

  “The name is Eveck. I hear you pilgrims want to head out into the shifting forest for the first time.”

  “And you know your way around out there?” Jude asked him skeptically. The Aknii didn’t seem old or experienced enough.

  “I do. I’ve been exploring the depths of the shifting forest for over a decade. I’m the best guide in the city, which is why I charge so much.”

  “But he’s worth the price,” Lily quickly added. The Aknii didn’t accept game credits, but almost every little item the players owned was worth a lot here, so they didn’t lack for funds.

  “True, you can’t trust anyone cheaper,” Eveck said. “Some of the more disreputable guides have been known to lead pilgrims such as yourselves into ambushes so they can rob your corpses. On the other hand, I have a golden reputation and a name you can trust.”

  “I’m sure that’s a completely unbiased analysis,” Ethan remarked. The Aknii’s overabundant self-confidence was more than a little grating.

  Eveck winked at him. “You know it.”

  “Well, let’s get going then,” Michael replied. “Lily seems convinced you’ll do, and it’s good enough for me.”

  With a nod and a smile, Eveck led the way out of the city gates. The armored guards stationed there let the players pass without a word and then they were outside. Looking around, Ethan studied the walls from the outside. They were tall cobblestone structures that completely blocked entry to the city. They were tall enough that he couldn’t see the buildings immediately on the other side, although farther into the city he could see the buildings sitting on higher ground and atop cliffs. Aknabulis had been built at the base of a tall mountain. Its bleak grey face and snow-capped peak rose into the air behind the city. On Ethan’s side of the wall, a stretch of land about a hundred feet wide had been cleared of brush, and beyond it, the forest loomed.

  “Wow, those are some impressive trees,” Kyle remarked breathlessly.

  “Yeah, no doubt,” Ethan agreed before letting out an impressed whistle.

  The trees at the edge of the forest were unbelievably tall. They rose several hundred feet into the air, and even at a distance, they loomed over the players with a menacing air. A thick veil of vibrant green leaves blocked their sight, but here and there, long branches with reddish bark could be seen poking out from the greenery.

  “Ha, it’s always interesting to see what you pilgrims think of the living maze.” The guide laughed as he studied the players’ faces. “We Aknii grow up with it, so we forget how incredible it can be.”

  The path Ethan and his friends were standing on led from the city gates to the edge of the forest. As everyone walked down it, Eveck pointed at the spot where it met the trees. "Once we reach the forest, make sure you all don’t wander off the path. Please stay close to me.”

  “Hmm, is there something in particular you’re worried about?” Michael asked him curiously.

  Eveck nodded. “I’ll show you when we get there.”

  When the party reached the shadow of the forest, Eveck pointed at a stake set in the middle of the path. The pole looked to have been made from some sort of metal, and the top glowed slightly. There were glyphs and marks inscribed on it which were weirdly circuit-like. As a result, the stake looked like an odd fusion of functional technology and mystical symbolism.

  “That’s a stabilizer. You’ll find them on all the main paths,” Eveck explained. “The spellsmiths make them and they serve to lock down the forest. Without them, the forest might shift around us, leaving us stranded. So close to the city, it’s not a huge problem, but it could separate us if someone starts to lag behind and leaves the path.”

  “The stupid forest can move?” Jude asked in surprise.

  “Yes, although it follows certain patterns. It’s the main reason why my people all live in the city. Settling in the forest is far too dangerous, even with stabilizers. Occasionally, they get damaged or fail, and it can leave outposts stranded.”

  “What happens if you cut the forest down?” Michael asked.

  Eveck chuckled. “It regrows. We already sink too much effort and labor into keeping the forest as far back from the walls as we do. However, letting the trees grow near the walls is far too dangerous to allow. Creatures could use their branches to get into the city. They have before.”

  “Interesting,” Michael replied thoughtfully as he turned to gaze back at the city.

  “But we’ll be safe if we keep on a path with these stabilizers?” Ethan asked. He didn’t want to end up lost and alone in the woods.

  “We should be. Many explorers and adventurers use these paths to search for spoils and resources. There are even several semi-permanent camps out here. The forest is full of valuable resources that the city needs, and occasionally you might even stumble upon some ancient ruins containing lost technologies or spellsmith’s works.”

  The players followed Eveck into the forest. Ethan smiled as he studied his new surroundings. This place definitely reminded him of the Chaotic Plains, although with a lot more trees. Both of them were special zones that shifted and couldn’t be mapped, although the Chaotic Plains had been easier to leave. In the tower, you could only log off in certain safe zones.

  As he walked behind Michael, Ethan looked up. The trees were certainly massive here. Some of their thick red trunks were wider than six feet across, and when he stood at their base, they seemed to stretch forever into the sky. The air was humid but not quite at the level of a true rainforest or jungle, and the plants at ground level weren’t all that thick. The rocky ground was visible in many places and he could see off into the distance in several directions without the greenery blocking his view.

  “This area should be safe, but don’t let your guard drop completely,” Eveck told them as they hiked down a hill. Every hundred feet or so they passed another stabilizer.

  After a few minutes of walking, Eveck told them about some of the most common dangers in the forest and how to recognize them.

  “This is a growler track,” he said as he pointed out a print in the dirt off to one side. “They get quite large and will attack people, but this track is several days old by the looks of it.”

  This continued for over an hour until the forest grew slightly thicker and lusher, and Eveck came to a stop. It may have been Ethan’s imagination, but he thought he sensed a new energy in the air.

  “It looks like this area recently saw some shifting.” Eveck observed as everyone came to a stop behind him.

  “What does that mean?” Michael asked. “Are we still safe?”

  “It’s safe enough here, but now you face a choice,” the guide replied. “Areas like this are ripe for exploring and can be very profitable because they haven’t been picked over. However, to explore the new ground, we will have to leave the path. I have a compass that will allow us to find our way back to the city if we get lost, but we could still easily lose a lot of time if the forest shifts beneath us, and who knows what dangers it might dump us into.”

  “That’s not much of a choice,” Jude replied. “We didn’t come out here to have a nice stroll and a picnic.”

  “Yeah, danger is what I live for!” Kyle exclaimed.

  Rather than respond directly to Eveck, Ethan turned to look at Lily. “You’ve been awfully quiet since we left the city.”

  “Oh, I’ve just been enjoying the stroll. I’ll do whatever everyone else wants,” Lily replied.

  “I don’t think we will gain anything from staying on the space,” Michael remarked. “The key we’re looking for is probably not so easy to acquire. So let us embark into the unknown.”

  “As you wish,” Eveck answered cheerfully as he took an exaggerated step off the path
and into the forest.

  The players immediately followed him into the trees. They had to move slightly slower because the ground was softer off the path, and they had to swerve around the occasional tree or bush, but no danger jumped out at them right away.

  It was after several long minutes of hiking when the environment began to change. The foliage thickened, and their leaves took on a purple cast. It was soon hard to see more than a dozen feet in any direction. Even the air grew heavier.

  A scowl appeared on Eveck’s face as he stopped and looked around. “Now we’ve entered dangerous territory. These purple plants usually attract more than a few types of belligerent beasts. You should all be on guard.”

  “Anything in particular we should be looking out for?” Kyle asked nervously as he pulled out his pistol.

  “Just keep your eyes open,” Eveck replied as he began walking again.

  Ethan drew his own pistol as he scanned the branches overhead for movement or anything out of place. He didn’t see anything but a mix of red branches with green or purple leaves, but he didn’t relax.

  A sudden loud rustle caused Ethan to spin left, and he saw something hurtle out from a thick cluster of branches. Instantly, he raised his weapon and opened fire. His second shot hit the fist-sized object when it had sailed halfway toward him. Unexpectedly, a loud boom startled Ethan as his bullet tore into the target. Everyone jumped in surprise as the blast washed over them.

  “What the frak was that?” Jude yelled as she raised her machine gun.

  “Exploding fruit!” Eveck shouted as he ducked and covered his head. “Look for whatever threw it.”

  “What?” Ethan exclaimed in confusion as he did as he was told. What was he even looking for?

  “There!” Michael yelled before opening fire with his own pistol. The sound of bullets being fired was swiftly followed by another boom when they set off another fruit.

  Ethan spun around too late to see the explosion, but he caught a glimpse of the creature that had thrown the fruit. As he aimed his weapon, a large purple monkey with elongated arms jumped out of sight behind a tree trunk.

  “It’s a bunch of purple monkeys!” Jude yelled in frustration as she emptied a few rounds into the foliage around the area the monkey had disappeared into. It didn’t seem likely that she’d hit anything.

  There were more rustling noises from several different directions, and a wave of fruit flew at the players from every direction. Immediately, everyone began firing, but it wasn’t enough. As fruit exploded in the air, several pieces hit the ground in middle of the group. Ethan barely had time to react before a blast wave picked him off his feet and threw him sideways. He hit the side of a tree hard. His vision went dark for a moment as his head rang like a bell.

  Thankfully, most of the impact was absorbed by Ethan’s armor, and after shaking himself to clear his head, he was able to climb back to his feet. Around him, he saw his teammates also getting up, but Lily looked uninjured. Eveck was nowhere to be seen though. Gritting his teeth, Ethan looked for a target. Up and to his left, a monkey was sitting on branch sneering down at the humans. It was time to take the offensive.

  “I’m going up!” Ethan yelled as he raised a hand and activated his hookshot.

  The hook shot through the air, and leaves showered down as it slammed into a branch above the monkey. An instant later, Ethan was pulled into the forest canopy. The purple monkey saw him coming and tried to jump away, but Ethan still had his pistol out and managed to get a shot off from midair. The bullet slammed into the monkey’s back, blowing a hole straight through it.

  Ethan then reached the end of his line and grabbed the branch he’d hooked to stop his momentum. As soon as he’d regained his balance, he unhooked his line and fell onto the thick branch the monkey had been standing on. Below him, his teammates had retreated to the trunk of a huge tree. They were using it to protect their backs as they shot incoming fruit and unloaded at the monkeys that were scampering through the treetops and throwing fruit.

  Taking advantage of his vantage point, Ethan shot at any monkey that stepped into sight. However, one of the creatures lobbed a fruit his way, and he was forced to dodge. He hooked another branch and swung off to the side. As he sailed through the air, Ethan holstered his pistol and drew his sword instead.

  Momentum carried Ethan around in an arc, and he swooped toward a group of three monkeys from behind. They didn’t see him until the last second, and before they could react, he had landed among them. As they jumped in surprise and turned to face him, he cut two of them down. The remaining monkey screeched fearfully and jumped to the ground. A cry was quickly taken up by many of the nearby beasts. They hooted and screeched to each other for a moment and then all together, they fled. Soon, the forest around Ethan was completely empty of monkeys.

  “Do you see anything up there?” Michael called from below.

  “No, I think we scared them off,” Ethan replied as he retracted his line and climbed down.

  CHAPTER 19

  HIDDEN GEMS

  “You pilgrims are fairly tough and agile fighters,” Eveck remarked as he strolled out of a bush and gave the players a grin.

  “Where were you?” Kyle asked him.

  “Hiding from the beasts. You didn’t pay me to fight them, and unlike you pilgrims, I don’t have such fancy armor,” he replied shamelessly. “Now that they’re gone, I can guide you through the bush.”

  This earned Eveck a few annoyed glances, but when he began hiking further into the forest, everyone followed after him. They didn’t have much of a choice, and he had a point. They hadn’t hired him to fight their battles.

  As Ethan hiked, the terrain around them sloped upward and grew rockier. Instead of trying to go around, Eveck headed straight up the tall hill.

  “Ruins and rare resources are usually easier to find at higher elevations,” the guide explained as he climbed.

  In several places, the way forward grew so steep that the team was forced to scale sheer rock faces. Luckily, there were plenty of roots and vines they could grab. Their armor and Ethan’s cable lines also helped a lot.

  “That’s a handy piece of equipment. I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like it before,” Eveck remarked as Ethan detached a line. Their team had used it to climb up a particularly rough cliff.

  “I built most of it myself, with some help from a friend,” Ethan replied as he finished his work.

  Soon, the party reached the top of a large plateau, and the ground flattened out before them. The trees and vegetation were a little sparser than down below, so they could see farther. Eveck took a moment to look around and then pointed straight ahead.

  “Those rock formations look unnatural. Let’s check them out,” he said as he began walking again.

  When they got closer to the pile of moss-covered rocks Eveck had pointed out, it soon became clear he’d been right. Underneath the thick green moss, the pile was made up of worn down and broken stone blocks that had obviously been chiseled into rectangular shapes at one point.

  “What now?” Michael asked as he studied the stone. “I don’t think this is the temple we’re looking for.”

  “Now we should split up and look for valuables,” Eveck replied. “This is definitely a ruin of some sort, and I see no signs it has been picked over yet, so there should be something here. Just watch out for traps and anything that might be nesting nearby.”

  After a brief conversation, everyone decided to split up into pairs to explore the ruins. Ethan went with Lily, Kyle paired with Jude, and Michael stuck with Eveck. Michael also finally took out some of his drones and sent them to scan the greenery. Before, he’d been worried about the thick vegetation limiting their mobility and losing them to monsters lurking unseen in the trees.

  While searching the area, the pairs soon stumbled upon more ruins. Lily and Ethan found a room in the remains of a large stone building. The roof and upper floors were long gone, but most of the walls were still intact, even if they we
re covered in vines and plants growing through cracks in the floor. There was one huge chamber in the center of the ruins and a dozen smaller rooms around it. Little in the way of decoration—or anything else—was left among the grey stone blocks, except for a relief carved into the wall at the back of the main chamber.

  Ethan and Lily both stopped to study the relief. The artwork was huge and took up almost the entire wall. In the center of it, a warrior was bowing and presenting his blade to a tall robed woman wearing a veil. The goddess or priestess was smiling down at the warrior and was holding one of her hands out with an open palm. Floating above her palm, in a circle of what looked like light, was a key. Ethan frowned as he studied the item. The relief was old, but the key looked rough and uneven, like it hadn’t been made from metal but something harder to work. Except for that, the entire relief was beautifully done and radiated serenity.

  After scanning it and finding nothing, Ethan turned toward Lily. “Do you think it means something? It’s an awfully conspicuous image. It might be a hint placed by the game makers.”

  “I’m sure it means something. The question is what,” Lily replied distractedly as she intently studied the relief. “I can’t help but think I’m missing something obvious. It’s staring me in the face.”

  Since nothing immediately occurred to Ethan, he called the rest of the team and told them what they’d found. Everyone continued to explore for a while, but when they were all done, they met up beneath the relief.

  “It certainly might be important,” Michael remarked as he studied it.

  “It’s just a dumb picture of some skinny lady and her boy toy,” Jude replied coldly. “We already know this isn’t the place we’re looking for, so let’s move on.”

  “What did you guys all find?” Ethan asked them.

  It turned out that Michael and Eveck had found an old sack of gold coins, and Kyle and Jude had found a small stash of crystals hidden in a stone wall. Even Eveck had no idea what the coins were worth, but he recognized the jagged purple crystals.