With no knowledge of where to hunt boars, Luke decided to head towards town. Up the white sandy beach and through the cove’s rock formation, along the lonely dirt path until the signless branching road, back down the main path and he arrived at the fork in the road with the town’s signpost. During the journey, he thought, “Shofuto sent me to get his dinner..? Guess it’s no different from me using him for a class. Even still it rubs me the wrong way, not even giving me a quest related to the class.”
Following the signpost, he walked on the path towards the town of Littlegrove. The road was completely covered in dirt and marked with deep lines from the wear of carriages. Luke estimated the width to be eight feet, enough for two carriages to traverse. Lush green grass grew on both sides of the street, up to his knees. The odd tree loomed above the grassline every so often, yet the warmth of the sun overhead radiated through his body. He continued forward, sweat began to form on his forehead. He had been walking for a long time. Luke’s feet felt heavy.
On the horizon was a fence, spanned a good distance, yet was only made of wood. It looked old and rickety- as if an invasion of termites would knock it down. Along the road was a gate through the fence. A man was standing in front of the gate and blocked the path forward. Luke thought, “That must be a guard. Maybe he will know?” He continued to walk onward until he finally reached the man.
Luke studied the man up close. He looked younger than he thought. A red bandana was tied around his head. He had on worn leather armor that looked like it had been passed down many times. On the left of his belt laid a sheath, inside it housed a longsword. His boots were scuffed up and falling apart.
“Halt! By the order of Littlegrove! Identify yourself!” Shouted the young man, as Luke drew close. The guard unsheathed his sword clumsily and held it out in front of himself. The glint of the sun reflected off the blade.
Luke stared down the longsword. The blade matched his clothes, old and the edge of the sword was chipped many times. The right side of the hilt was completely missing. He stood firmly in front of the guard while he responded, “I am Luke Silts, highborn hero. You’re a guard right? I’m working on a quest for Master Shofuto. Do you know where boars are located?”
The man sheathed his blade before he answered, “Guard Theodore Edgewood, protector of Littlegrove. A little warning for a highborn, Shofuto is lost amongst the waves of the sea. Be careful. I have never seen him leave the beach, some folk think he is mental. As for the boar, I’m surprised you didn’t run into any on the way here, they live in the fields ‘fore the fence. Though you may want more than a rod.”
Thoughts raced inside Luke’s head, “How will I kill the boars? The guard probably won't leave his post to help me…”
He asked, “Are there people in town you can pay to help?”
“You mean mercenaries? Yeah there's some, but I doubt you have the coin. If you wait till after my shift, I’ll help you,” answered Theodore.
Luke cheered, “Thank-you! I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you, I’ll try myself first. If I can’t do it then I’ll be in your care.”
“You’re as crazy as him, going to tackle boars with a pole... Have you no wit!?” Theodore shouted as Luke turned around and started trodding off.
He left the guard and ventured back towards the tall grass. Luke parted the grass and disappeared beyond the green curtain, as it closed it signaled the start of his adventure in Arcadia. It was time for a path beyond real life. The step into the virtual.
Crouched over, Luke searched around for awhile and thought of the possible ways to catch the boar with a fishing rod, it seemed like an impossible task. He settled on the straight approach and treated the boar as if it was a fish. Fish needed bait. Luke remembered the contents of a book he read when he was a child that listed the diets of wild animals. This game was based on real life as much as it was fantasy. Wild boars were omnivores, they would eat almost anything.
Luke tried to find a rodent to act as bait. He was leaning against a tree hidden in the brush as a bush behind him rustled and made a noise. Luke turned around and prayed it wasn’t a beast of some kind, all he had was a pole. Only if some middle aged woman jumped out suddenly, did he stand a chance to defeat her. The bottom of the bush parted and out came a tiny little mouse the size of an acorn. After an hour of searching on his hands and knees, he had finally found his bait.
Quickly, he took off his shirt and used it as a makeshift net to capture the tiny creature. Luke held it with one hand while he grabbed the glowing hook from the line connected to the fishing pole. He thought about tying the tail around the hook, but some mice can shed their tails in an attempt to escape. He prayed silently to himself that the mouse wouldn’t take enough damage to die from a shallow insertion. He swallowed his reluctance.
A sound of desperation, part screech, part hiss, and part chatter drifted in the wind. The hook had been inserted. Today was a sad day for mice, another use for their kind was discovered. The hook had easily slid inside and took hold of the poor mouse. He was properly equipped to the hook and string. Luke was ready to continue the hunt.
Pressed onward through the grass, careful not to make noise, he didn’t want to scare away his prey. Luke caught sight of the first boar in a wide open clearing, through the center ran a small stream. The boar seemed to be drinking and unaware of Luke’s presence, even with his lack of a stealth skill. He very gently took hold of the fishing pole he’d been carrying around. It didn’t matter if the mouse made noise, it would only add to the realism to bait the boar.
The rod was in position. It was time to make his move. Luke stood up and gently, and slowly swung the mouse around behind him, by moving the string attached to the pole. The mouse swayed in the air behind him trying to break free. A pointless struggle. Luke held the rod at an angle to the side that was free of any unwanted obstructions, trying to avoid getting snagged on the foliage. With a firm but delicate flick of the wrist, Luke swung the pole forward and the mouse flew straight through foliage, through the open air, over the branch and landed directly behind the target. The boar was startled.
It turned around suspiciously and eyed up the tiny mouse on the ground. The boar’s eyes took a sheen of ruthlessness as it gazed at it’s meal, but little did he know, soon it would become the nutrients in the belly of an old man. The boar watched the mouse for awhile even while hungry, he was cautious. Many of its kind had been captured by humans recently through different traps. It was not the time to be careless, but the boar was dumb.
“Reeeeee.” The mouse made one last screech as the boar gobbled him down.
“Crunch crunch” The sound of munching continued until the boar felt a piercing pain deep in the mouth. It was at this moment he knew he messed up. The pain shocked his entire mouth, he was hooked! This was a disgrace to his entire species! Never had a boar been hooked since they waddled out of the sea many eons ago as entirely different creatures. Luke pulled straight up on the rod forcing it in as deep as it would go.
Hook was set. Now it was time for the fight. The boar used his entire force to run, but Luke was ready for this. He had wrapped the fishing line around a tree branch when he swung the rod earlier. He pulled straight down and up went the boar. His basic ten strength was just enough. Dangling straight in the air like a fish out of water, flopping around. A mammal in the sky. He waited until the boar exhausted itself and then he approached. Luke thought it would be harder, but this was not a battle, it was just a hunt.
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Another problem arose, he had no weapon to kill it. The boar was still alive. Without any other weapon being allowed to be equipped during this quest, he had to find another way. He tied up the boar’s feet with the leftover string on the rod, while he considered his options. With no other choice Luke wanted to drag the boar back to the road and ask the guard for assistance, but which way was the road? He had gotten lost.
Thankfully, this game had a map and it automatically filled out as you discovered the world. Unlike most games however, it was hidden in a menu and not always on screen. This game choice brought more realism to exploring. The map itself or just pieces could be traded or copied to another player.
Luke held the rod under his armpit. He clicked on his map and a blue screen materialized in his hands containing the space he had already explored, the rest was covered by a fog. Luke discovered the way he needed to go to get out of the brush and continued on, dragging the exhausted, bound boar behind him.
Finally, he made it back to the path and caught sight of the gate. Theodore was nowhere to be seen. No one was there. There was no guard, guarding the gate! Luke thought, “Could it have been a shift change? Would they have left the gate unguarded like that though…?” He was completely worn out from the hunt and dragging the boar all the way here, yet he mustered up the strength from inside him and walked fastly down the path to the gate.
Upon reaching it he saw Theodore. He was laying in the grass, seemingly asleep. Luke was shocked by this and thought, “What kind of lazy guard would sleep during his post?” He thought of a way to get back at him on behalf of the townsfolk and to have a little fun. Luke shouted, “Aaaaaaahhh!!! The town is being invaded by boars!”
Theodore’s face shot up straight up off the ground before he could realize the last word. He was ready to go, hand on his sheath, everyday Theodore was waiting eagerly for his chance to defend the town, to prove himself to them. Today was not that day. He stared at Luke and spoke sarcastically, “Haha very funny! Did your mother teach you to be a gnat!?”
“So much for protecting the town, you lost to yourself,” Luke berated him.
Theodore defended himself, “I’ve been up for two days, I’m tired!” He noticed the pole in his hand, following the line it went straight to a boar. He didn’t believe it and shouted, “You actually caught a boar with a rod!?” He brushed himself off, got up, and approached the boar to see if it was real.
“Haha impressed by my greatness? Now, now, Theodore, you too can become an amazing man like myself. First you’ll have to get yourself a gigantic rod if you know what I mean.” Luke boasted as he put his hands on his waist and stretched his neck upwards.
Theodore smirked and commanded, “I am a guard of Littlegrove. I declare: you must now pay a passage tax! Haha!”
Luke looked at him with pity as he snickered, “Not only do you snore instead of protect, you also abuse your power. I will inform the townsfolk.”
Theodore’s composure changed instantly and mumbled, “W-wait! Surely we can work out a deal, you need help don’t you?”
“Heh. It’s simple really. I’ll keep quiet about you sleeping during guard duty, if you help me butcher this boar right now. Not a bad deal is it?” Luke offered.
Theodore said, “I-is that all you want!? If so then I accept!” He scratched his head before he continued, “I will assist you, but I want you to swear an oath to the gods! To protect myself from the possibility of you being a liar. That is the only way.”
Oath of Silence
Theodore Edgewood has requested an oath sworn to the gods. Say the words below if you accept the terms and conditions. If you do not agree, you can decline or revise the oath. Both parties must agree before continuing and then state their oath to a god
I, Luke Grimwater, hereby swear to the gods, should I betray this oath I have forsaken myself. I swear to keep silent about Theodore Edgewood sleeping during guard duty. In exchange Theodore will assist me in butchering a boar.
Acceptance: Theodore will butcher a boar for you. You must keep the secret of him falling asleep during guard duty to yourself.
Abandonment: You will be shunned by Theodore and he will seek revenge upon you.
Decline: Theodore won’t help you.
DECLINE
The Oath system bound two requests together with a penalty. Anything two people agreed to could be sworn upon. The entire thing was a contract and was negotiable, but there was always a clause for abandonment, a penalty you could pay in case you couldn’t complete it. There were ways to create near ironclad oaths, for example: players making the penalty character deletion. However, it was doubtful many users would accept that kind of clause.
Luke didn’t want to get in the middle, but he needed help. He had no money to pay someone to cut up the boar. He thought, “I could try to ask a player, but I don’t really want to depend on a real person. If I had to I’d much rather choose an NPC, it's much simpler than a reward a player would ask for. Ugh...”
He double checked the specifications of the agreement before he swore the oath, “I, Luke Grimwater…” Theodore then swore to his side of it as well, thus an oath was formed between the two men.
Theodore retrieved his longsword from the sheath and killed the boar as humanly as possible. Using a longsword to butcher was not ideal, still he sliced up the boar into steak sized pieces. The boar ended up giving five big steaks, he handed them to Luke.
Luke stored away three into his inventory while he asked, “Can you make a fire?”
“Yes? But why?” replied Theodore as he stared curiously.
Luke stated, “If you make a fire I’ll give you one of these steaks and we can both eat some boar meat.”
Theodore got up and started to gather some wood right away. He was going to eat good today after his daily nap. He retrieved logs and small dry leaves to use as tinder. Theodore pulled out a piece of flint and stone, struck them together until an ember sparked and flew out, igniting the leaves and then the wood. The fire was roaring.
The sun was just starting to go down, Theodore grabbed two sticks and skewered the steaks. He placed one in front of his side fire and the other in front of Luke’s, angled into the fire to cook.
Luke said, “I can’t wait! This will be the first food I taste from here. What about you? I’d imagine you’d have already eaten boar before right? What’s it like?”
Theodore answered, “Of course I have! It is juuuuuicy. The best I’ve had was an eight-foot boar, biting into it was like biting into pure liquid.”
Luke continued to stare at it until Theodore reached for his and said, “It’s good to eat now! Best dig in before it gets cold or burnt.”
“Mhm that's true.” Luke replied as he brought the skewered meat straight to his nose. The scent of burnt oak logs mixed with the smell of luscious fleshy meat. The juices sizzled straight up his nostrils. The texture looked perfect, the interlacing of the fatty tissue resembled that of Waygu beef, it looked like top quality meat even though it was just wild game. He brought it to his mouth and decided to place his tongue gently onto the meat to tease his taste buds. The flavor that lingered was divine.
It reminded him of the time his mother and father had a cookout outside. The autumn wind blew gently, whooshing away any lingering scent of meat being cooked, but when the meat was brought to the nose it overwhelmed your senses. Smoke, fat and meat, the purity of the three combined created a shockwave through the body. His father cooked the best meat.
Theodore shocked him from reminiscence when he said, “Aren’t you going to eat it? You’ve been just sitting there with your tongue on it… Is this some kind of highborn custom?”
“Haha… No, I was just daydreaming.” Luke opened his mouth around the delicious smelling meat. It was finally time to enjoy this boar, he paid his respect to this digital creature inside his mind momentarily. His teeth were about to pierce the crispy outer skin when his vision went black.
Logged out: Daily connection limit reached.