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by R J Triveri

  “When they try to escape, they aren’t in total darkness anymore,” Martin explained pointing to the windows that were no longer obscured by the dust. “They lose their advantages and are easier to pick off.”

  “We’re keeping them from overrunning the area until we can find a way to isolate the problem.”

  Athos simply nodded. It made sense, with the world based on old MMO’s and their systems, any number of events could occur without notice if the conditions were met or the random generation wanted to be a dick. The books did prepare him for that at least. “Is there anything I can do?”

  Martin brushed him off, but Auxi took a moment and thought. “Rank one… have you opened your starter kit yet?” Athos shook his head, “Then open it up. We could use a few Sol Arum.”

  “Sol Arum?”

  She nodded, “Sol Arum is a portable, liquid light. We used the last of it up when they charged us last night and our shipment hasn’t arrived yet from Graywall. Should be something you can do, even at rank one.”

  His fingers raised again and lowered quickly to return his floating opaque screen. A few more movements dropped the large box in front of him again. “This is the starter kit, right?” She nodded and handed him a small knife from her side. Up close, he could see the soft blue sheen of the metal and the way the light didn’t quite do it justice. It felt strange in his hands as he worked the blade against the twine, but eventually, the lid was free and the twine vanished just as the strange creature had.

  The contents were curious. He recognized a lot of the items from chemistry: a few vials with stoppers, cotton-or at least its digital counterpart, what looked like a chemistry book, beakers and stands to complete a set of distillation equipment, and paper. Some of the smaller things were as strange as the land around him: a trio of green, blue, and silver marbles on what looked like a bracer, a jar of white powder, and a pair of goggles tinted the color of his eyes trimmed with what could be best described as small dials. Among the strange things, he also found a rather large wooden cabinet to store all the materials. For each material, he clicked his inventory spaces to unclutter the area.

  Martin kept the watch as Auxi turned to him. “Do you have your skill guide?” He assumed that it was the book he had found earlier and nodded. “Good, go to the index and find Sol Arum. Be quick!”

  The ground rumbled again as Athos clicked the inventory box and opened the book that materialized in his hand. Opening the book, he was surprised to find another screen. He was greeted by the skill guide’s title screen in flowing font. Tapping it sent him further in past the screen to a list of different items. A few flashed, but his fingers tapped on what he was told. The book did the rest, reading aloud as Athos listened.

  Tutorial Engaged.

  Welcome new Alchemist, Athos. At this point, you should have found your welcome bag and the materials within. Your bracer supports three storage cells: Organic, Inorganic, and Alien. As you find materials, they will be stored within the bracer’s cells. These can later be upgraded. Within, you have enough for three Sol Arum.

  “They used to give out enough for five,” Martin groaned despite the sounds of an approach.

  To make this simple mixture, click your bracer and select the green orb. Assign three lumis petals into three of your flasks. As he did as he was told, the tutorial continued. Next, select three flash powder and repeat the process. Mix with water and shake well. Sol Arum can be used for many things and is the basis…

  “Turn it off by clicking the recipe again. Unum, it’s like the world is catering to your kind more and more. When I was first compiled here, I had to figure everything out on my own during the population boom,” Martin’s voice held no love for the way he was being catered to, and honestly, Athos didn’t like it either, “Now, hand me the Sol Arum, Alchemist Athos.”

  He did, just in time for the rumbling to arrive at the entrance. “Martin, we’re out of time!”

  Martin nodded and threw the bottle at the approaching horde of black oozes only to have them screech and back off back down into the depths of the city. “Almost out of time,” he corrected before tossing a few shimmering coins to Athos. As he picked them up, they simply put themselves into his inventory. “That wasn’t bad for an Earther. Kept your cool. Now, unless you want to stick around, head south. It’s about a two day’s trip to the next town. It’s not as big as Tenebrae was, but it gets the job done. A lot of Earthers went there when the city fell, so you might find some of your own kind there.”

  “My own kind? Other humans?”

  Of course they were, and Martin was about to tell him so before he held his tongue and simply nodded to Athos, “I’d send Auxi with you, but without her, I’d be fragmented in a few hours.”

  She smiled, “It’ll be fine, Athos. Stick to the roads, and stay at the inns. Camping isn’t a good idea for anyone that’s rank one.”

  Just like real life, one wrong move and death was already there. Then again, what made him alive here? “Thank you, I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

  From the hissing and screaming beyond the Sol Arum shimmering across the entrance, he doubted they really needed him for anything more. The voice of Auxi confirmed his thoughts as she gave him a once-over. “You couldn’t have done more. No weapon, no other materials, what more could you have done without suffering degradation?”

  With a nod, he looked at the door on the opposite end of the entrance hall and smiled. “Two days?”

  “Two days,” the gruff voice assured him.

  Giving himself a final dust off, Athos waved goodbye and started on his way out the door. Two days of travel in an unknown land with no food, no water, and no one he knew?

  “May The Unum protect you,” Auxi offered before turning her attention down the tunnel, “and don’t forget to re-latch the door.”

  The Unum? Well, hopefully, someone would keep an eye out for him. Incipere was all there was right now for him, so he really, really hoped that whatever ran the program was watching out for him as he stepped back outside into the warming daylight. Taking one last look at his map, Athos oriented himself and began the long trek towards the promise of civilization.

  Oh, Deer.

  Two days my ass, Athos sighed as he took another step.

  Two days without food, without sleeping, and without anyone for company other than a few wayward deer... if they were deer, yet there was still no sign of a city or even another person. To their credit though, the deer listened quite well as Athos talked to himself - at least until they tried to stab him with their retractable horns when he got too close.

  As he walked the past two days, his train of thought went through the same pattern hour by hour:

  What’s that thing do?

  What is going on at home?

  Is that thing over there trying to kill me?

  Repeat.

  He had taken a little time to make himself familiar with what he had, but it really didn’t help to give his thoughts anywhere else to go. The soft ping of his gauntlet picking up any wayward, useful plant or loose stone was starting to get on his nerves. If Athos had been keeping track, he had already run out of his starter set of vials, having crafted a simple concoction called Cholorethium, and to make matters worse, walking was starting to really get unnerving. His muscles were supposed to tire. His feet should have started to hurt, and he should have been forced to at least sit down at some point during the last day and a half, but he hadn’t. Nothing felt out of place or worse than the moment he had arrived. Well, maybe he was a bit strained.

  There was one good thing that came out of the walking: it gave him something to look at. Nature was something he hadn’t been exposed to often. Back on Earth, there was so little of it left. Trees were nonexistent outside of the few remaining national parks. The weather had been strictly controlled since the ice caps split, and anything else could be perfectly synthesized, from food to fresh air, with 98% accuracy. What use did people have for nature anymore? Maybe there wasn’t a real
use, but it was beautiful.

  After raising his fingers again, he pulled them down to reveal his info-window. Plenty of plants now... plenty of minerals… and a notification? Instead of the armored feline from before, a frowning orange face flashed at the top of his window next to a flashing, half depleted bar. Curious, he pressed it.

  Data Integrity: 58%. Dropping below 50% will begin to impede performance. Please find a location to rest.

  Well, shit. At least that explained what that bar at the top corner of his screen was.

  Frustrations began to come to a boil as the message faded from his vision. “I would rest if I could, but where do you suggest I do that? Do you want me to go sleep in a pile of leaves in the woods?”

  “And why not? It’s a very nice place this time of year. The leaves are still very soft and make for a plush mattress.” The voice was rather cheery and unexpected, so unexpected that Athos fell forward through his screen and flat onto his face with a firm thud. “Did I scare you? I’m sorry!”

  Great first impression, Athos. With a little effort, he managed not to die of embarrassment and sat himself up. “Sorry, I just haven’t seen anyone since I arrived here. You just startled me is all.”

  As his eyes rose from the ground, he noticed that his companion wasn’t quite what he expected. Half deer, half human… with pointy ears, chlorophyll-green skin, and a real lack of modesty from the way things were. Long, ivy-like hair complete with leaves were all that covered the half-woman. A pack dangled from her left side, seemingly made from large ivy leaves as well, bulging with whatever she was carrying. He tried to smile at her, but he decided that the ground was much more interesting in that exact moment.

  “Well, Earther, you won’t meet people in the dirt. Well, not since Tenebrae fell anyways.”

  “So, I’ve heard.” Was it really that easy to tell he wasn’t born here? “How do you know I’m an Earthling anyways?”

  Her four legs carried her quietly closer as she inspected him. Slowly, she bent her knees and lowered her head to his eye level. “You aren’t looking me in the eyes.”

  “You’re joking.” That was it?

  Her laugh sounded a little like a babbling brook. “Your kind are so tied to appearances. When you see a shapely woman, you look away and apologize for looking when you meant nothing by it. Honestly, how do your people talk to each other?” A grin danced on her face as he finally made eye contact. Soft, friendly hetero-chromatic green and brown eyes stared back, “There we go. From your garb, I assume wizard?”

  “Alchemist,” came the correction.

  “I thought alchemists were shorter.” She moved her hands closer, taking him by the hand and examining his wrist knowingly. “Ah, that’s where they went… your collectors have been taking a lot of my herd’s plants. A few of them came to get me when you got too close to them.”

  Freaking deer.

  “They tried to stab me.”

  “Well, you must have startled them. They’re normally quite gentle.”

  “Blades came out of their head and tried to stab me.”

  Her feet dug into the ground as she stood up, “That’s how sharp deer defend themselves.”

  “But…”

  She held her hand to his mouth and sighed, “You said you needed to rest. Yes?” He nodded. “Alright, what is your integrity level?”

  “58%”

  56%, his status updated to a moment later.

  A frown crossed her face as she seemed to examine him. “How long have you been traveling, alchemist?”

  “Almost two days.”

  “Two days? Without rest? You’ve eaten though, right?” What was there for him to eat? Grass? “Oh, that isn’t good. You need to come with me.”

  Her hand rose to offer him help from his earthen seat, but he pulled back and looked up at her, meeting her eyes this time. “I don’t even know your name. Look, I was told there was a village near here. I should be fine to get there…”

  She recoiled just a bit, “I forgot how untrusting your lot could be. My name is Ioh Porta, a dryad if you can’t tell already. My people live in and guard these woods. We always love meeting new people, so please, come join us for a spell.”

  Athos let out a slight sigh before composing himself from his dirt mound of a position. “I’m Athos.” He searched a moment for the right words, but sometimes it just wasn’t meant to be. “I’ve been here two days. I’ve been almost murdered by deer, eaten by shadow monsters, yelled at by guards, and to top it off, I’ve fallen through a roof. I’ve not had a good few days.”

  As she stepped back, her expression towards him softened, if only a little. “I’m sorry for that, Athos. I didn’t know.”

  “No, you didn’t, but still… I’m sure you can understand why I’m a bit jumpy.”

  She nodded and offered her hand to him for assurance, “I can and do. I don’t doubt you are having a rough time. Your people are social creatures, so what brings you so far from them?”

  “A sharp circumstance beyond my control.”

  Athos waited for a response, but all he received was her face contorting a bit as she thought, “Was that a joke?”

  Right. Inside joke, Athos. A very personal, inside joke. “Yes, but I don’t really feel like explaining it right now. I just want a warm bed, some food, and somewhere to sit.” Now that he knew he could have such things, his mind pressed him to find them - even if it didn’t feel like he needed them.

  “I wasn’t joking about the leaves. We make our beds from them.” Her expression softened a bit as she took her hand back. Athos just wasn’t willing to trust someone that had pet deer with knives in their heads. Her tone deepened slightly as she continued, “That… town is still well over a half of a day’s walk from here, and your integrity may not last that long.”

  55%

  Wiping a bit of dust from his coat, he looked into her eyes. “Data integrity wasn’t in the books. It said the world worked on an HP and MP system still.”

  Her hands ran though her vine-infused hair as rose filled her eyes and she ground her foot. “Do they not teach anything before people come here anymore? That was changed years ago here. If I explain, will you come into the forest? I promise my herd will behave.” After a moment of thought, Athos nodded his head. What else did he have to lose at this point? Even if he died, death from walking was a way worse story to tell the guards of the pearly gates than death from knife-stabbing deer-people. “You may not feel it at first, but you need to rest just like you did in the real world. The more you work or get hurt, the more damage your data takes. It must have time to recompile. Data integrity shows you how fragmented your data has become.”

  “Makes sense.” In retrospect, it should have been that simple from the start.

  “Now, would you care to join me, Alchemist Athos?”

  Her hand extended again, but this time, it was not left wanting for long. His hand tentatively reached for hers, only to have her grip it. To his surprise, she wasn’t warm, but cool to the touch. Her hand’s soft green skin felt human enough but had an odd softness that bones shouldn’t allow as she pulled him up.

  “You promise your pets will behave?”

  She nodded, forcing her hair and ears to flop a bit. “River and Brooke will be on their best behaviors. Just offer them a little mint when you see them next. Sharp deer love the scent.”

  “Right. Lead on, Ioh.”

  Dryad Leaves

  Despite the wear not taking a noticeable physical toll on his body, Athos was getting rather bored with walking. Each step should have felt labored, but the longer he went without that feeling, the more he began to miss the stress it put on his body. The deeper they got, the more it bothered him. His attention shifted from the lack of stress to the offerings of the forest. It wasn’t that the forest wasn’t an entertaining place to be or that the wildlife wasn’t a well-concocted blend of lovely and Lovecraftian. Athos knew that if he wanted to do anything, he needed to learn. If sharp deer weren’t already enoug
h to unnerve him, the other creatures he met were well suited for the job.

  “What’s that one?” he asked pointing to a rather large, bush looking creature with faceted eyes and a leafy green coat. Its eyes never leaving the pair as they passed by a few feet away.

  “A sumac beast, not particularly dangerous, but it causes an irritation in your compiled data that could range from a slight itch for a few days to a complete breakdown of your code. Of course, that depends on whether you have an allergy to its type of poison, and don’t get me started on what it does if you get close to its nest. Those tails aren’t just for balance. Well, they are for balance, but you understand what I’m trying to explain, right?”

  He didn’t always like the way that Ioh explained their dangers.

  “I wish I could say I did.”

  She sighed a bit as they crossed another small stream. It felt much further than she explained, but seeing as he wasn’t used to his tools, he wasn’t quite ready to try opening a map while walking, listening, and talking at the same time.

  “To put it simply, they can double as whips to more effectively deliver its poison.”

  Athos had heard a whip being used in old action movies and the crack that it made as it recoiled. A shiver ran through his spine as he imagined the sound of it connecting with his skin. “Ah.”

  “It’s not pleasant, but it’s not supposed to be. These creatures were designed to survive and hunt down predators of all sorts. Your kind seem to always underestimate the Wild Ones when it comes to combat.”

  “I’m supposed to fight that thing?”

  Another sigh, another rather embarrassed feeling rising inside of Athos’s chest. “Did you even read the material for coming here? More than half of all materials used in this world come from the regenerating Wild Ones.”

  “Wild Ones?”

  She thought for a moment, processing the question until, “Like your wild animals.”