~Aldwin~
As Aldwin grappled with the verifiable shit sandwich that this glitched NPC was, his mind drifted back to the past. Back to when his journey in Baherune had begun.
“Alright, Aldwin. When you are ready, press the button and the process will begin. You will feel a cooling sensation in your veins and will fade off to sleep. When you awaken, you will be completely healthy and in a new world.” Dr. Goatee said.
Aldwin couldn’t remember the grey-haired scientist’s name, so he always referred to him as Dr. Goatee because of his unruly grey facial hair. He knew that the man had introduced himself and he had forgotten. He’d been simply calling him Doc in conversations. It’d been going on for so long now that it would be really awkward to admit the truth. I really need to start remembering people’s names. As soon as I port out of the game, this is going to be a change I make.
He glanced over at Natalia one last time. As always, her beauty struck him. Her green eyes glinted like emeralds, and her smile drew one in. The cancer had taken a lot from her. Her hair, energy, her features had sunken a bit, but it couldn’t touch her beauty. She had that in spades.
They’d met at Midstate University, a small private liberal arts college in the Midwest. She’d been one of the few people that looked past his congestive heart failure and saw him, the person. Shortly after he had worked up the nerve to ask her out, they had diagnosed him with a hereditary heart condition that would eventually lead to heart failure. He’d insisted on finishing college and getting his pre-law degree after his CHF diagnosis, and they had only grown closer through his battle. It was during one of his visits checkup visits that her cancer was discovered. They supported each other through the trials of battling a terminal illness. They had both been told that they had anywhere from 6 months to 2 years and were determined to live as normally as possible.
One of her gamer friends, Sierra, had introduced them to one of her adjunct professors. Aldwin remembered how giddy she was when they met with Professor Mullen. Professor Mullen was a graphic designer who had gotten into video game development and was working for a company called Liberty Gaming. The professor was their gateway to the experimental procedure they currently found themselves in.
After being accepted into the program code named Baherune, Aldwin had proposed to Natalia. She’d unhesitatingly said yes, joy radiating from her, but insisted on a post Baherune wedding. They’d done some initial planning, but would have to complete everything on their return.
He crashed out of his daydreaming. “See you on the flip side, beautiful,” he said with a wink.
“First one there wins!” She said, pushing her button.
“You cheater!” Aldwin said. He laughed as he pressed his own.
~Thorben~
It’d taken Thorben a while to process the fact that Aldwin was an over 2,000-year-old semi-immortal. During this time, they had paused the existential crisis discussion, and Tanrin had come over to check in. I’d let him know I was making progress and would loop him in when I had a better understanding.
“How’s Mia doing?” He asked Tanrin. “She hasn’t made it down for dinner and it’s getting a little late. Someone should check on her.” Thorben saw a smile creep onto Tanrin’s face, and he stifled a chuckle.
Tanrin didn’t break his stride towards the stairs. “You’re right. I’ll be right back.” He said.
Thorben smiled and turned back to Aldwin. “So, I understand why you are so perplexed by me, but how can you help me?”
“I never claimed to have the ability to help you. I am explaining the impossibility of the situation. The crystal that I broke in your hand shouldn’t have done anything. I don’t know why it did. I chalk it up to sheer luck that my Grand Soul Stone pulled you back from the brink. They don’t always work.” Aldwin said grumpily.
Thorben sat and tried to think of another way to approach the situation when Tanrin came barreling down the stairs. “She’s gone!” Tanrin rushed over to where Alfred had placed their belongings. “Some supplies are missing, as is that package we are supposed to deliver.”
Quest Available - Keep Your Hands Off My Package! Will you accept this quest?
“Quest?” Thorben muttered before a blinding pain shot through his eyes and he passed out.
~Mia~
Finally, she was free of that tavern! It hadn’t been easy to sneak the pack full of supplies that Tanrin had given her out the window behind the crates. It had been even more difficult to find and stash the trialium in the same pack. That innkeeper had eyes like a hawk! She had wanted to make her escape as soon as she had accomplished securing supplies, but knew that they would notice her. Waiting until the dead of night, when Martha had retired to bed, she snuck out and liberated her new horse and headed towards Eleytol.
Guilt nagged at her mind like an old housewife. My mom and I need this more than those men! She spun justification after justification in her own head, but that sense of guilt wouldn’t leave her. Finally, she decided she would ignore that feeling and continue on. It would fade in time. She was thankful for them saving her life, and ensuring her safe passage thus far, but that didn’t mean she owed them anything. Right? She hadn’t asked them for anything. She had to provide for her mom, and nothing could stand in the way of that! Mind set, and resolve hardened, she pressed on. She had a token and a package to deliver.
~Thorben~
Thorben opened his eyes to see his brother and Aldwin kneeling in front of the chair, staring at him. Before he could do so much as utter a word, Aldwin said, “think no, think the word ‘no’ and mean it with everything that you have.” Seeing his brother’s worried face, he did just that. The pain behind his eyes diminished and he let out an involuntary sigh of relief.
Tanrin spoke up first. “Are you better?”
“I feel better. The pain behind my eyes lessened. How did you know what to do?” Thorben asked Aldwin.
“You said the word ‘quest’ right before passing out. Which I took to mean that you had seen a prompt informing you had a quest that you could add to your journal. I can’t deny it anymore, you have a HUD, it’s the only way I could think of to reduce the tax on your soul.” Aldwin said, seeming more lucid than he had been moments before.
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“I am going to track Mia. We can’t lose that package.” Tanrin stated.
“Help me upstairs and I will get ready,” Thorben said to his brother.
Tanrin met eyes with Aldwin, and an unspoken communication passed between them. “We talked while you were recovering. You are in no condition to ride. It’s best if you stay here and heal up. I will track her down, recover the package, and return.”
Thorben knew his brother was right, but didn’t want to accept it. He tensed up in anticipation as he started to rise, but a hand appeared on his shoulder, pushing him back down. Alfred was behind him with another herbal tea.
“Sit down and drink. Your brother will find the girl. From what I gather, he is both capable of tracking and handling any trouble that arises. You will heal up, get a good night’s sleep, and then Aldwin will train you on what you’ve been talking about.”
Aldwin looked at Alfred with a shocked look on his face, “You heard all of that?”
Alfred turned his gaze to Aldwin. “You’ve been a blabbering drunk in my bar for nigh on 20 years. I’ve heard all of this, in some form or another, many times. This is just the first time I’ve ever seen a reason to believe you.”
Common sense broke through stubbornness, and Thorben relented. “Fine, but I am going to find you as soon as I am healed up.”
“I’ll scout and determine which way she headed, and circle back to let you know before tracking her further.” Tanrin shook his brother’s hand and transferred half of the bandit’s coin, gathered his pack, and made his way to the stables.
Aldwin seemed to recover from his shock. “I’ll take another ale,” he said.
Alfred shook his head and replied, “You will head to the second bedroom upstairs and go to sleep. I’ll give you more ale, depending on how training goes tomorrow.”
Thorben had to admit sleep sounded good, and didn’t even recognize that it claimed him a heartbeat after this thought.
The sunlight of morning filtered through the windows, gently waking Thorben from his slumber in the chair. Aside from a stiff neck, he felt slightly improved from the previous night. His emotional turmoil at the unknown lessened, as he had at least started on the path that led to answers.
Thorben noticed Alfred making his way over. He must have seen that his patron was waking up. Did this man ever sleep? The scent of breakfast and caife perked him up. Alfred handed him a piece of parchment written in dwarfish and placed his meal on the side table. The parchment simply said: “Eleytol. See you soon. -Tanrin”
“Eat up. You have a busy day in front of you.” Alfred said without preamble.
~Aldwin~
Aldwin dreamed that night, which was a highly unusual occurrence. Nightmares weren’t uncommon and plagued him more often than not, but dreams were another matter. More strange was the clarity that he could recall the dream with, now that he was awake. He had been just arriving in Baherune. Natalia was sitting in a chair across the room and was the first thing he saw as he slowly opened his eyes. He was in a simple room with unadorned wooden walls, a floor with a humble, worn, red rug, and a single window to allow for light. The furnishing comprised two beds, two chairs, and two side tables. They were all homely and worn, reminding him of his father’s favorite chair from his childhood home.
What really stuck out to Aldwin was his fiancé. Gone was the turban to hide her lack of hair. Gone was the sunken appearance of a malnourished body. Gone was the remanent of her cancer ravaged body. Instead, he stared at the girl he remembered from before the disease infested their lives. A tear slowly trailed down his cheek as he heard her say, “I won!”
She stared at him as if understanding every thought that was going through his mind. He stood to go to her, but let the reality of the situation sink in. He savored every moment, his eyes taking in every detail as she held up a hand, gave a slow approving glance from head to toe, and then dashed out the door. “Let’s go explore our new world!” He could hear his own laugh reverberating off the walls as he rushed after her. Just as he exited the door, he woke up.
~Thorben~
Aldwin made his way slowly to his spot at the bar with not so much as a glance in Thorben’s direction. Alfred saw him and put his stool up on the counter before Aldwin could claim it. Alfred then marched another meal with caife over to the chair next to Thorben and set it down. Not needing any additional directions, Aldwin sat next to him and began eating.
“What does the training regiment look like this morning?” Thorben asked.
“Can’t a guy eat in piece. I haven’t even had my first ale. Now I’m stuck washing down this food with this bitter concoction, and you can’t even wait until I’ve forced it down my throat?” Aldwin said. His complaint had merit. Thorben himself didn’t like to dive into conversation until the grogginess had dissipated.
Slightly chastised, even though the man was having an ale with breakfast, he waited until Aldwin was near finished with his meal. “So, what are we going to do?” he tried again.
“We are going to sit in here and talk,” Aldwin said. “The training you require is of the mind. I am going to help you access your HUD and hopefully navigate the level up process. If you’d ever played video games, this would be a lot easier. You need to learn how to navigate your HUD, understand the information it provides, and then use that information to maximize your build.”
They spent the next few hours discussing what Aldwin described as the basic principles of RPGs. He started with a “character,” and their health, mana, and stamina. Moved to experience points, and then advanced to skills and attributes. As Thorben did his best to absorb as much of this information as he could, he kept thinking that this was awfully intensive for a so-called game.
“Alright but how do I access any of this stuff?” Thorben said after Aldwin completed a lengthy explanation of the magic of Baherune.
“You don’t until I am convinced that you have a solid understanding of the game’s mechanics. As soon as they ported me into Baherune, I floated in a space between my previous life and this one, where a robotic voice spoke to me. It gave me class choices and attribute points to distribute, all of which were based on my life experiences on Earth. It wasn’t until I completed this that I awakened in Baherune as a character. I do not know what will happen when you open yours, being as you have no life experiences on Earth, but I want you to have as much knowledge as possible to set yourself up for success. If you want to rush it by all means, you do you.” He ranted animatedly. I watched as Alfred handed him another cup of caife, as he had done anytime Aldwin became overly spirited.
I watched as Aldwin relaxed and began talking again. He explained the difference between mana and stamina based classes, clarified a primary vs sub class, and even gave a brief introduction to crafting. As he talked, I found myself increasingly focused on absorbing any lesson I could from him. The time transformed from one of a lecture from a parent into more of a question-and-answer session of an apprentice to a master. Aldwin’s words transfixed Thorben. It surprised him when Alfred put their dinner plates down, and he found he needed to relieve himself. He hadn’t noticed that the day had passed in the blink of an eye, but he felt his understanding of his new reality grow.
He ate his meal in silent reflection, pondering all that he had learned. Despite the large amount of information he’d gained, there was still a cloud of anxiety hovering over him. The fact remained that his situation was unique and nobody knew what was going to happen. The pressure threatening to push his eyes out of his skull was a constant reminder of the price of failure. Would he be able to figure everything out? If he did, what would his class choices be? His profession options? He felt as if he was being bombarded with critical life choices. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and forced himself to refocus.
They finished their meals and dove right back into their discussion with an enthusiasm from Aldwin that surprised Thorben. It seemed as if there were two of Aldwin co-inhabiting his body: a cranky old man who was angry at the world, and an eager expert in what he called ‘gaming’ who wanted his pupil to not bring dishonor to his name. Grateful for the advice of the latter, Thorben hoped that the former would stay away for a while. Again, the sun fled from the sky, and a fire in the hearth provided comfort. Deep into the night they continued, Aldwin’s frequency of rapid fire review questions increased. Finally, as Alfred cleared the dishes and banked the fire, Aldwin said, “Rest and perhaps I’ll teach you to access the HUD tomorrow.”
Alfred assisted him up the stairs, as he could tell something was still not right with his soul. Physically, he felt okay. It was something deeper, something profoundly more troubling. Yet, he now had hope. A bright star in the empty sky of his mind, he was ready to become a character. He just hoped that was what would happen.