Hemirtal, Draft 01, CH 15 (Patreon)

James walked back to Shimmerland, satisfied. Retrieving Ferdinan had earned him two levels in tracking, seven gremlin meats and twine, a fame point, and three breads. He’d expected a level in his sword skill, having to take on the seven gremlins by himself, but skills increase had to scale faster than he’d guessed. Or the game counted levels earned through guests. He’d research that before returning to the game.

He received the message as he entered the town zone, with the town still in the distance, and he hurried. He had another quest to get going.

“Hey Aaron,” he called to the guard once he was close enough to recognize him.

“Greetings William.”

James turned to the other guard, who he didn’t recognize. “Mind giving me your sword?”

William uses Persuasion (22 + roll 45)

Barry Resists (Base Will 3 + action not within the NPC’s capability 99 + roll 13)

Barry wins.

On top of practicing his skill, it was an easy way to learn people’s names.

“I can’t do that,” Barry replied, with an NPC’s lack of offense at being asked to give up the tool of his trade. James wished there was a way he could raise his persuasion skill high enough in the time he had to win against the ninety-nine bonus the NPC had, just to see how the game reacted.

“That’s okay, Barry, I just wanted your name.” He smiled at the guard before turning back to Aaron. “I heard about how Hendrik sacrificed himself. Can you tell me more about what happened?”

Aaron shook his head. “I wasn’t there, thankfully.” The shift was minor, but the NPC was more expressive as the script providing the information kicked in. “From the stories I heard from the survivors, it was horrible. The goblins just appeared out of nowhere and started decimating them. Hendrik and part of the unit held them back while the rest ran for reenforcement. When they came back, it was too late, they were all dead, and the goblins were gone.”

James waited a few seconds to see if the quest would update, not that he expected it to. It wouldn’t be this easy to complete, but it might add details. “Did anyone track the goblins, to make them pay?”

Aaron shook his head. “We don’t have the people for something like that. We just doubled the patrols in that area. Fortunately, there hasn’t been another attack since, so Hendrik and those with him must have done enough damage to convince them not to try again.”

So the quest could aim for revenge. Find the leftover goblins and kill them.

“Is there someone I can talk with to get more information on what happened?”

Aaron’s face clouded over. “You could go talk with Xavier. He was the last to leave for reinforcement, he saw the most. But don’t expect much. What he saw left him…. You’ll find him at the Crossed Swords tavern.”

Before Aaron was done talking, a green light appeared in James’ peripheral vision. “Thank you for the information.” He headed into Shimmerland.

The light guided him to a tavern near the training grounds, and inside half the tables were occupied by men and women in armor. At the back, in the stereotypical dark corner, sat a lone man out of armor, highlighted in green.

James went to the bar, haggled two mugs of beer down to the price of one, and persuaded the barwoman to include a bowl of stew for Xavier in it, earning himself her name. Esmeralda, and a glare. A quick insight check confirmed she was driven by profit. As had the plus-fifty modifier, but James’s skill was now high enough that with a low will on his opponent’s part and a bad roll in their random side, he could beat that bonus.

He took the mugs to Xavier’s table. “Greetings, I’m William. Can I offer you a beer?” he offered the mug to the seated man.

Xavier looked up and James was momentarily surprised at how old he looked, then realized it was a combination of the bad lighting and the haggard expression. Adjusting for both, the man couldn’t be more than in his late twenties, as seemed to be most of the militia.

He took the mug. “If you’re giving it away, I’m taking it.” He took a long swallow of it.

James took that as the invitation it wasn’t and sat. Xavier confirmed it by glaring at him.

“I’m new in town,” James started, deciding not to give himself an unfair advantage by looking at what motivated Xavier, and immediately calling himself an idiot for it. Taking advantage was what James excelled at, and the build he was going for. “A lot of people here talk about what happened. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Like a stranger like you cares.” Xavier took another swig of the mug. He didn’t sound drunk. Was he kept sitting here in perpetual gloom, or did the game let him sleep?

“I understand what loss is like,” James said, slumping his shoulders. “I left Stormborough because of it.” He forced a smile. “I lost someone dear to me when her caravan was attacked by bandits. Let me offer you something to eat,” he added as he saw the serving woman approach with the stew. “Food’s always been a comfort.”

Xavier eyes him suspiciously and refused to look at the bowl placed before him.

“Eat, Xavier,” the serving woman said. “You’re not doing anyone any good by letting yourself waste away. This stranger is being nice, don’t insult him by refusing the food he paid for.”

Persuaded for, James mentally corrected, not that he expected the NPCs would care.

Xavier looked down, mumbling something that sounded like an apology, but to her, not James. He caught her name as being Sophie. When she left, Xavier eyes James suspiciously again, but he began eating, with enough gusto James figured he hadn’t eaten much recently.

“What do you want?” Xavier asked between spoonfuls.

“I’d like to know what happened. I met Anton, Henrik’s father, on the way here, and he’s torn up by his son’s death. I’m trying to find out what happened to I can at least offer him the comfort of knowing it wasn’t in vain.”

Xavier looked like he’d be sick. “I should have stayed. I should have helped them hold the monsters back. Maybe…” James waited, and Xavier sighed. “Hendrik ordered me to go with the others. Said my mother wouldn’t survive my death.”

“You went for reinforcement.”

The anger in Xavier’s eyes surprised James. “Is that what they said? We ran away. Nothing more. We froze when the monsters showed up. Hendrik and four others were the only ones to react, but that wasn’t enough to keep them away. Before I snapped out of it, two were dead, the rest was gone. I wanted to help those still fighting. But Hendrik was the leader, and he ordered me to leave. I was following orders.” He looked down. “Not that it makes me any less of a coward than the rest.”

James hadn’t expected that. Someone was going to a deeper story if the survivors were lying about why they’d left. With no one to claim otherwise, other than Xavier, they could say they’d been dancing a jig the entire way back for all anyone cared.

So, was this quest about calling the survivor out on their cowardliness? Getting Xavier to come clean with what had happened? It might be one aspect, since quests weren’t as straightforward in Hemirtal as they were in other games James’ played. But would that bring closure to Anton? That was what James felt the main purpose of the quest was about.

“Where did the attack take place?”

Xavier shook his head. “You don’t want to go there. No one does. The patrols go around the battle to avoid seeing the results. Those we when back for a rescue saw it and refused to talk about it. I went back with them and trust me, you don’t want to go there.”

“I have to. I promised Anton I’d find out.”

Xavier sighed and ate silently for a minute. “You’re making a mistake. Hendrik’s father doesn’t want to know. Go back and tell him something. Tell him what we’ve told everyone else. He died cleanly, giving us the time to escape. None of us would have survived if not for him.”

James shook his head. “He deserves better than a lie, Xavier. If you’d died there, would your mother have been happy with a lie?”

The man shook his head. “It would still be better than the truth.” He sighed. “But since you don’t believe me, you can go look for yourself. The battle took place to the northwest of here, where the forest thins into a plain before turning into the base of the mountains.” The glow disappeared from the man. “You’ll know the site when you see it.” He looked up, fixed his gaze on James. “Go there on an empty stomach.”

Exactly when had this fight taken place? The way people spoke of it, James expected it to be at least a year old, but Xavier’s warning implied it was much more recent. How long did it take to carve a statue like the one in the center of the town?

Reality check, he told himself. This was a game. For all he knew, the statue had been programmed in as he headed for the town, and the back story built on the spot, with plot holes and inconsistencies. He’d ask someone about the time frame, but not Xavier. Talking about it had been enough strain on the man.

“Thank you,” James said, standing. “I’ll take your warning to heart.”

Xavier snorted. “No, you won’t. You, strangers, aren’t here to be cautious.”

Was that part of the learning algorithm? Which implied James wasn’t the first player. Or just something programmed in because they knew players would rush out to continue the quest as soon as they had the information? Regardless, Xavier wasn’t entirely right. James was going to take the warning to heart. He’d go to the battle site, but first, he was getting himself armored.

* * * * *

The quartermaster building, at the back of the training grounds, was a wooden structure with a small lobby and a counter blocking the rest of the building. The man standing behind it was definitely an old soldier, salt and pepper hair shorn close to the scalp, scars on his face. An eye milky instead of the brown of the other.

“What can I do for you, Stranger?” he demanded in his gruff voice.

“I’m William,” James replied. “I’m part of the militia. I need a set of armor for my patrol.”

“I don’t have you set for any patrols today,” the man replied, his tone brusque, but not even asking for confirmation William was part of the militia.

“I have a special arrangement with Charles. I get to set my own schedule and I’m going to join the next patrol.”

The quartermaster harrumphed and stepped through the door behind him. The glimpse James caught of the room there showed something too small to hold everything a militia for a town like this required. He smirked and decided the room used the fame kind of slop system that let him hold twenty-five loaf of bread in a bag that barely hung off his belt, along with ten other items, each of which should make it bulge to capacity by itself.

The man returned with a bundle and handed it to James. “There’s your set. I want to see it back here once you’re back from your patrol, or there will be consequences, am I clear?”

“Very,” James said, taking it and examining it

Full set of Leather Armor

You are holding a set of militia leather armor. Its crafting looks simple but sturdy. It is composed of hardened strips of leather connected by flexible ones. While your knowledge of armor is minimal, you expect this serve as better protection against swords and clubs than arrows.

Do you wish to equip the Full set of Leather Armor?

Yes/No?

Yes.

System note: you currently have two of your three clothing slots filled. To switch between sets, simply bring up your character sheet, access your appearance, and activate the set you wish to wear. To acquire more slots, please visit a tailor.

Clothing effects are only active on actively worn clothing. Go into the setting menu to set your quick change parameters.

Clothing slots. Good to know. He’d have to build a higher quality one. When he was back in the game, he reminded himself. So he could easily switch between being a common working NPC and a better placed one. He really wished he could keep this character.

“Thanks. I’ll see you when I get back.”

The man harrumphed again. Maybe he saw something of James’s true nature? Or people in the militia weren’t good about respecting their words.

Outside he called up information on how armor worked.

Armor

Armor is a piece of equipment providing protection against attacks. At its base, armor reduces the damage caused by attacks. Higher quality armor, armor made with stronger material, built with a specific effect in mind, or enchanted, may provide extra effects. Armor starts with 10 points of durability for each point of damage reduction they provide. The loss of 10 points of durability will reduce the protection by 1 point until it is repaired using the appropriate skill and materials. Quality of the work, better material, and enchantment can modify this ratio.

He looked at his character sheet, locating the armor rating next to his hit point boxes. The leather armor provided him with three points of protection for each of his boxes. That felt on the low side for going up against monsters that had decimated a militia led by someone like Hendrik.

He reminded himself that he was in a tutorial area so as bad as the attack sounded, it wouldn’t be something he couldn’t handle now that he was properly equipped and skilled.

He looked around until he saw the beam of light and headed in that direction, not bothering with talking with the townsfolk. He didn’t want to burden his bags with stuff that would be worthless compared to what he’d get in the quest.

He stepped out of the town, and immediately into the forest. There was probably a path somewhere since it happened on a patrol route, but James didn’t feel like searching for it, and he had the light as a guide. He was still in the forest when he received a message.

You are leaving a town. Remember that outside of towns, you can die, ensuing the usual penalties.

System note: You are leaving the tutorial zone. Any death will now incur the normal penalties in time locked out of the game and in FAME point loss. Ensure you are properly armored and armed before leaving the tutorial.

Once you leave a tutorial, all tutorial protections are disabled going forward.

James sighed. “Well, that sucks.” The last line felt redundant unless it meant that reentering the town wouldn’t put him back within the tutorial zone, or at least provide the protections again. Once he stepped out, he was ending all protections the tutorial offered permanently.

“Or until I return with a new character. But for anyone listening, your tutorial section needs work. I hardly know how to do anything.” Other games had a more regimented tutorial, taking him through everything he could do, step by step. This had just let given him the chance to try stuff as he felt like it. Granted, if he’d expected to have more time, he could have spent longer in the town trying stuff, instead of rushing to adventure.

And adventuring he was going.

He took a step forward and stopped as something growled before him. A brindled colored wolf appeared from the underbrush, with a red hungry tag over its head.

James stared at it in surprise

Hungry

Barkley is hungry, so hungry. There are not bunnies to eat. Hungry, hungry, hungry.

“Barkley?” James exclaimed, and the wolf raised its head, canting it to the side, then went back to growling at him.

James pulled the gremlin meat and threw it at Barkley’s feet. “Eat up. I guess you weren’t any more successful hunting here than in the other forest.” He stepped closer, still surprised to see Barkley. He’d expected the world to return to the woods for whoever the next person to do that section of the tutorial was, but he was happy he was here instead. Whoever came next would probably have a fighter build, and just kill the Barkley instead of making friends.

The tag turned orange, then yellow and green, when James placed a hand on Barkley’s head. “And how have you been, boy?”

System note: as an NPC you have previously manipulated into being your companion and the release took place under good condition, you do not need to manipulate the NPC again

Do you wish to set Barkley as a companion?

Yes/no?

James smiled. “How about it, Barkley, do you want to travel with me for a while? I’m going on an adventure.” Barkley didn’t look up from the meat he was wolfing down.

“Yes,” James said.

Warning: you have now filled the 2 active companion slots you have. If you wish to have a new active companion, you will have to either deactivate one of the current active companions or raise your charm to increase the number of slots at your disposal.

“Now there’s a reason to raise that stat,” he told Barkley. “You know, other than making me the most charming guy in the game.” Barkley licked his face and James pushed the wolf down, laughing. “I know, I know. I’m already far too charming. Your breath stinks, by the way. I’m going to have to train you to use a toothbrush.”

Barkley sneezed and shook its head.

“Okay, no toothbrush for you.” James stood. “But how about we go fight goblins? You think you’d like eating some of them?”

Barkley looked at him before trotting ahead. James made sure the light that was his guide was in that direction, and followed Barkley.

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