Chapter 5: Learning the Controls

Name Chase Class — Marks

0

Guild — SD 984

The knocking continued until he got out of bed and cautiously opened the door. One hand on the door knob, he slowly open the door a crack. An eye peered at him.

“Time to rise and shine,” said the eye. The eye belonged to an old man with a white beard. As Chase opened the door he saw the man was barely taller than his shoulder.

I remember him being so much taller when I was a kid, thought Chase.

“Good morning,” said Chase.

The old man stared grumpily at him. “Morning. I am your Guide for the first part of your tutorial. Please go sit by the fire. And don’t touch anything while I get the others up.”

“Where am I?” Asked Chase, trying to stay in character.

The Guide frowned at him and then rolled his eyes. He turned away and Chase thought he heard him muttering something about ‘cheats and fools.’

Chase watched the old man hobble over to the next small house and begin knocking. Not wanting to be told twice Chase made his way to the small fire where a couple logs had been cut into rough benches. As he sat he heard the Guide stop knocked and say something—was it more polite? At the edges of Chase’s hearing he thought the Guide was speaking softer to this other person.

What was that in my dream? Chase thought, staring into the fire. He remembered the tendrils of shadow consuming him, and the Emissary’s terror when the sky changed colors. As soon as the tutorial ended and he was on the island proper he resolved to go to Ghelion’s office and tell him everything.

Chase looked down at his hands. He felt…odd. As though he had worn armor all his life and now he was naked. He pulled the sleeve of his left arm up and winced at the missing tattoos. All 9 of his contract marks were gone. Now his arm was smooth and pale. This was the arm of a new man attached to the body of a weak man. He had taken for granted all the strength buffs and agility bonuses his contract achievements had given him. Just walking over to the fire his legs felt less sure, his step more uneven. He would have to learn how to live as a powerless new player once again.

He looked around the camp area and sighed. It was an early morning, and a beautiful morning at that. He heard birds singing in the trees surrounding the glade and though the air was cool he could feel that the day would be warming up nicely. Chase took a deep breath and released it after a few heartbeats. There was no better time to Spawn than in late spring. He took a final look at the beautiful sky and thanked AION it was blue.

“Hello, good morning to you, sir.”

Chase turned around to meet his first Spawnmate. The player was a girl of perhaps 16. She held her hands clasped in front of her self and her face had an inquisitive expression. Her features nearly reminded Chase of his Emissary: auburn hair that was shoulder length and she was squinting her green eyes at him.

“Hello, young lady, what’s your name?” Asked Chase. He stood up and offered his hand.

“My name is Amelie, and yours?” She looked at his hand quizzically.

“You’re supposed to shake hands when you meet, and my name is Chase.”

Amelie gently took Chase’s hand in both of hers and shook it up and down. Chase had to stop himself from laughing. This was an odd girl but she meant no harm.

“Maybe we should sit?” Said Amelie. “I think that the Guide is having trouble rousing another man in the last house and might be a while.”

Chase motioned to the bench beside his own and waited until she had sat to return to his own. He watched her face a moment. She seemed to be talking to herself.

“Everything alright, Amelie?”

“Well…it’s just…where are we?”

“Your Emissary didn’t tell you?”

She blinked. “The man in my dreams? Yes he said we are in a game world and the guide would tell me more later. He helped me choose a name.”

“He didn’t say anything else?” Chase asked, trying to sound casual. “Did anything happen in the end?”

“Happen?” Amelie frowned. “No. I chose my name and then the man told me when I woke up I would have this name and be in this world.”

Was it just in my dream? Thought Chase. Ghelion would want to know all about this.

“I see,” said Chase. He had picked a stick up beside his wooden bench and was poking the fire, watching the coals smolder and burn. “My Emissary told me this world is called Esem by most.”

“Esem? Funny name for a country.”

“Not the country, no. Esem is the name of the entire world.”

“And does this world have countries and cities?”

Chase shrugged. It would not do to reveal he knew much more than her.

“Why don’t we ask the Guide? I am sure he will fill us in.”

Just then the Guide came to the fire accompanied by a large man.

“Looks like everyone is,” the Guide sighed, “finally awake. Alexander, take a seat over there. I’ll pour the coffee and get some food ready.”

The large man did as he was bid and when he sat on the bench Chase could hear it creak.

“Alex?” Said Chase. He stretched out his hand. “Chase. And this is Amelie.”

“Hi,” said Alexander, noncommittally. His large hand engulfed Chase’s as he shook it. Now that Chase was looking at him he realized that he was not quite a man but around Amelie’s age. His stomach was large but by his grip and his shoulders Chase imagined there was quite a bit of strength there. His face was pudgy and he was not a handsome man. The most striking feature were his eyes, which were small and beady and seemed to be darting everywhere at once and drinking in the environment. Chase immediately recalled his Emissary sorting through data in her head.

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“Good morning, sir,” said Amelie. “Alex, was it?”

“Alexander,” he corrected. “May name is Alexander, not Alex.”

“Is that what your Emissary told you?” Said Chase.

“How did you…?” Alexanders face scrunched in a frown. “Did you see the same man? The tall man with the long dark beard?”

“No, I saw a woman,” said Chase. “Amelie?”

“I saw a man, too,” she responded. “But he was middle aged, perhaps. Salt and pepper colored hair and a short beard.”

“Strange,” said Alexander. His defensiveness seemed to melt away. “I was on the top of a mountain when he came to me. He said it was all a dream and I was going to the world of Esem. Is this it? Are we really in Esem?”

“Yes,” said the Guide. He had been riffling through a bag for some supplies. On a small table was a pot of coffee and a pan of uncooked bacon. Chase saw some eggs and toast in a basket beside the old man. “This is Esem. Your dream was real, no, none of you saw the same person, yes, you all chose your own name and no, you don’t need to talk about it all right now. There are more important things to go over.”

The Guide placed the pan of bacon over the fire where a few logs had been assembled to form a makeshift stove. The bacon began to sizzle almost immediately. Suddenly the guide placed another pan next to the bacon and on this one began cracking eggs. The yolk dripped from the shell after an expert crack on a log and began to cook. The guide tossed the shells on the ground by his feet.

“Amelie, was it?” The guide handed her the pot of coffee. “There are some mugs in the basket. Could you pour us all a cup? Thank you, darling.”

I forgot he was nicer to females, thought Chase. Memories of his first Spawn came back to him. It seemed over two decades later and the guide was still the same grumpy old man. Chase realized now the only reason he remembered him as a towering figure was because he had been a small child of ten when he first spawned.

Amelie did as she was asked and passed around some mugs full of steaming coffee. The Guide turned over the bacon with a pair of tongs and scrambled the eggs.

“So,” he began. “The three of you have come to the so called land of Esem. Allow me to be the first to welcome you. I will be your guide for the first day and a half of your life here. I am sure you are full of questions but,” he glanced at Alexander as the young man began to open his mouth, “allow me to provide you with some basic information. Hand me a plate, Alexander, if you would.”

Alexander reached into the basket near his feet and handed over four wooden plates. Soon the Guide had divvied up the bacon and eggs and passed them around the fire. He started on the toast as the trio began to munch on their food.

“I like to make the toast in the bacon grease, any objections?”

“Not at all,” said Amelie, “thank you for sharing your meal with us.”

The guide smiled for the first time that morning.

“You’re welcome, Amelie. Now, first of all, I am sure each of your Dream Emissaries told you that this is not the real world, per se, at least to you. Esem is a simulation of another world which is all but gone.”

Alexander couldn’t stop himself. “Simulation? What does that even mean?”

“It means,” the Guide said. “That you have all entered a game world. I am only privy to certain information, but I will tell you all that I am allowed.”

Chase decided to jump in as innocently as he could. “A game? You mean everything around us isn’t real?”

For a moment Chase thought the guide was going to throw his pair of tongs at him. Instead he sighed.

“As I said, its a simulation. This world was created by a great intelligence called AION. AION made this world for his creations and for humans to explore and grow, and create a life for themselves. Since you have spawned here, it means that AION has seen fit for each of you to live within his creation. So, congratulations, I guess.”

“Wait,” said Alexander. “We are being forced to live here? What about our lives back…” his face scrunched in concentration. “I can’t remember anything before that dream. How did we even get here?”

“I don’t have all the details, Alexander. There is an Old World we call it which I suppose each of you hail from. None of you, however, were forced to do anything. If you are here, then it is the result of your own free will to be players in this world.” He held up his free hand as Alex began to protest. “And I don’t know anything about the Old World. Obviously I’ve never been there. And humans don’t seem to remember much about that place at all.”

“Mr. Guide,” said Amelie. “Why do you keep calling us humans? Aren’t you a human yourself?”

The Guide didn’t answer immediately. He plucked the pieces of toast off the pan one by one and placed them on a tray.

“Eat up,” he said, handing the tray to Amelie to be passed around. He then leaned back and, arms crossed, and examined each of them in turn.

“I am not a human,” he finally said. “I am what is called a ’non player character’. Players usually call us NPCs for short, though there are other names I won’t get into. I was designed to do one thing and one thing only. I welcome newly spawned players and introduce them to the world. As a Guide, I am the first face you players meet in what will hopefully be a long and enlightening journey.”

“You were…designed? By AION?” Asked Amelie.

“Exactly.” The guide nodded and his wavy white hair nodded with him. “Most beings you encounter in Esem are not human. We are designed by AION. All the players however are human.”

“NPC,” muttered Alexander. “That term sounds familiar to me.”

“It does to many,” said the Guide. “I assume it was a common enough term in the Old World that memory of it remains with many players.”

“So your only job is to tell people hello and make them breakfast?”

Chase felt his stomach drop at the look the Guide gave Alexander but the boys expression was so genuine and lacking in malice that he laughed instead.

“Very good, Alexander,” chortled the Guide. “I suppose in a way you are right. I was designed with a select few functions to do. I suppose it’s a better job than some NPCs I’ve heard of, though.”

“Have you been doing this for a long time?” Asked Alexander.

“It’s all I remember doing. AION didn’t make me with a calendar so I haven’t kept track of the time. All I know is I’ve seen tens of thousands of players. And made them all breakfast,” he added.

For a while the trio was quiet as they thought upon what they had just heard. Chase remembered the confusion of his spawnmates all those years ago. They had pestered the guide endlessly but Chase, being a child, had little trouble accepting his new fate. He supposed that Amelie and Alexander were old enough that it was still a shock what they were being told.

“You’re being rather quiet, Mr Chase,” said Amelie after a bit. “Don’t you have any questions?”

Chase quickly swallowed the bite of toast he was chewing.

“Me?” He glanced at the Guide who was looking at him ominously. I suppose he really does know that I respawned, he thought. “Um, well. What happens next?”

The Guide looked relieved at his question. “These first couple days I will be showing you basic concepts about the world. How to do different things which are necessary for living here. There are a couple tasks which you will have to figure out to progress to the next stage of your adventure, which won’t be too trying. After that you will join the other newly spawned players and commence your training on the island.”

“So we are on an island?” Said Alexander.

“Correct. And I would advise not swimming too far away if you want to escape. There are creatures in the water which are not too friendly to humans and are always hungry. Every year we seem to lose one or two players that way.”

“Why would people try to escape?” Amelie passed her empty plate back to the Guide and wiped her hands on a cloth he offered in exchange.

“Well, players are not allowed to leave the island without completing a few things. We can’t just release everyone without a bit of training. You will learn the basics of combat and fending for yourself. How to survive in the wild. Also, every player is required to have a job before departing the island.”

“A job like yours?” Chase queried, trying to sound genuine.

“No, Chase, not like mine.” The Guide began scrapping off the bits of egg from the skillet and cleaning the pan. “But you will learn enough of that soon enough. Now, are there any more pressing questions?”

“I have a question,” said Alexander. Chase noticed that the young man lightly tapping his foot on the ground. His face seemed calm and natural but Chase sensed there was deep turmoil beneath the facade. Alexander was not good at hiding his emotions he realized. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are we here?” Said Alexander.

“I’ve just told you, to experience all that AION has created.”

“That’s it? This great intelligence wants us to marvel at everything he made after placing us here with little to no explanation?”

Amelie was listening intently to Alexander and when he finished his question looked at the Guide expectantly. Chase thought perhaps she was holding her breath.

The Guide smiled for the second time that morning and spread his hands wide as if to say “your guess is as good as mine.”

“I don’t know, Alex—”

“Alexander,” the boy corrected.

“Alexander,” amended the Guide. “I told you all that I know. If anything you have a greater role to play than I. If being allowed to be in this world and do whatever you want is strange to you consider the NPCs who don’t have a choice. To be frank I have no idea how to answer you as I was not designed to answer that question. You,” he pointed at each of them one at a time, “however, have the ability to find out for yourselves why it is that AION created this world and placed you all here. Is that a satisfactory answer for you, Alex?”

Alexander scowled. “Not really.”

“Well, if you ever find out an answer please come back and share it with me.”

The Guide reached behind him and grabbed a long, thin box resting behind him. He placed it on his lap and patted it a couple times with his rough hands.

“Now, here comes the fun part. If there are really no more questions, I have a gift for each of you.”

The guide opened the box.