The newly minted party of The Fighter, The Sorcerer and The Warlock sped up on the path. Soon they were going so fast the stars were simply a blur. Not soon after they were standing in a field of grass at the edge of a forest. The disorientation soon passed, and The Warlock grabbed her tablet to check the quest. What she found instead was a piece of old looking paper.
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Quest Notice
There have been a number of missing villagers reported in these woods. You have been tasked with discovering and possibly solving this mysterious increase in activity. The survivors from the attack mention various creatures from bloodthirsty squirrels to wolves.
Objective: Kill all infected animals
Objective: Find and destroy the source of the infection
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"Ok. That's new.", The Warlock spoke first. Upon seeing what she was looking at The Fighter grabbed for his own tablet and found an identical paper waiting. He frowned and agreed with her. "Yeah. That hasn't happened before."
This caused The Sorcerer to look confused. "Wait. What do you mean? It did the same thing for my initiation."
"What?!" This was uttered by both The Warlock and The Fighter. "When was this?"
"Just a couple minutes ago. Like I said, I accidentally pressed the Delve button as soon as I came back. It was a stone tablet for my initiation."
This was certainly a new development, but The Warlock remembered something. "This must have been the hardware update mentioned when I looked for a party." The Fighter nodded at this. "Strange, but I guess this is normal enough for a magical device like this." He clapped his hands. "Alright. Levels? I'm a level 2 Fighter. You're obviously a level 1 Sorcerer. You?"
"Level 1 as well. I bought this equipment yesterday."
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"Cool, I'll do the explanation then. Pay attention, you might be the senior member next time."
He turned around and looked at both of them. "This is not a game. Pain is real and there is no respawn point. This quest has two objectives, after clearing one, we will have the option to leave or clear the second. It's not always two so this is actually better than normal. Staying means getting possible power-ups such as magical gear and other loot. We still need to eat and sleep so we are on the lookout for a temporary base as well. Getting our stuff together should be step 1 and then we go looking into the actual quest. We need a place to fall back to. Any questions or suggestions?"
He paused for a minute and looked at both of them. He seemed sincere enough, but this speech seemed rehearsed. I guess if this was really common practice, someone must have taught him. The Warlock hoped never to have to repeat it back, she had a reasonable memory, but wasn't that confident to assume she remembered it fully after hearing it only once. The Warlock sighed at gestured at the forest.
"Let's go find us a campsite then, where wasting time."
They moved through the forest on high alert as the quest notice mentioned infected animals. The Warlock really didn't want to find out what an infected squirrel might do or worse and insane bear. It wasn't long until they found a small hill with an entrance. Checking inside they found a bear sitting further into the cave. Backing away slowly the spoke in hushed whispers. The Fighter spoke up first.
"I say we kill it and take over its lair. If it has only the one entrance it is likely our best spot for survival."
The Warlock nodded at this. She wasn't sure she alone could take on a bear, but she wouldn't be on the frontline. That would be The Fighter’s problem. The Sorcerer nodded as well, but more hesitantly.
"On three hit it with everything you've got. I'll keep it occupied."
The Fighter drew one of the axes and walked forward followed closely by his two-party members. The fighter switched his grip and grabbed his other axe in the other hand. With a careful step he threw the axe forward. It hit the bear in its chest sinking deep into the flesh. A ferocious roar followed as the bear swiftly moved forward. Two spells hit it mid charge. One, a blast of force energy that knocked it slightly off-course. The second was a bolt of chaotic energy that constantly shifted colour. It caused a spot of fur to bubble and steam. Acid. This did not stop the bear however and The Fighter just managed to dodge to the side. During his roll he tried to attack again but missed. The Warlock didn't. A second spell hit the axe still embedded in the flesh and drove it deep. The bear shuddered and fell. It tried to roar again, but its voice was noticeably shallower. The Sorcerer fired a bolt of fire and burned its face causing the bear to finally fall.
The three new party members breathed heavily, this was all over in a manner of seconds, but the adrenaline was still very much active. Almost automatically, The Warlock let her bag fall and sat down.
"That was awesome, but now I need to sit down."
"Same here." replied The Sorcerer. "Anyone know how to skin a bear?"
The Fighter had found his axe and looked up. "Not a bad idea. Always wanted to try bear meat."