Gabe:
It’s been a few days since I've been able to actually do much in Dungeon Quest. I log in to water the plants in the PAX Dimension, then log out. I haven't even had time to say hello to anyone. I'm sure Lucia and Grace are concerned… and I feel bad since I’m supposed to be training Grace… but technically she is already a pacifist, right? The training period was to enable the kids to get a proficiency or job and then be over. Becoming a pacifist just happened to be a process I had done recently, and that just required some promises and finding the crystal.
Today I actually have time to play, and Koji and Fred have been messaging me nonstop about a new adventure crystal in the adventurer’s guild. Apparently it's like an instanced dungeon, so you can go inside and beat it. If you get hurt inside, it disappears when you come out. The crystal then rewards you with something based on your performance.
I’ve been wanting to go to a dungeon. And this is a great opportunity to take Grace and Lucia along on an adventure since there isn't any risk to them.
What I really want to do is figure out a way to defeat dungeons without killing any monsters. All I can think of now is putting them to sleep, or avoiding combat, or trying to negotiate with them or something. And while I hate violence… none of those are flashy. I'm in a fantasy game. I want to be able to do something flashy.
I log in to Dungeon Quest. The system message that appeared a few days ago is still unopened in the corner of my vision. I open and read it - it's about the adventure crystal. It looks like the crystal dungeon is a rogue-like experience, where the only thing you can take in or out is your knowledge, experience, and skills.
I begin watering the plants in the PAX Dimension. There are 8 different plant types that have grown in the beds. One looks like tomatoes (from the leaf structure). Another is a long trailing vine that is making a mess everywhere and definitely needed something to grow on, or more space. Another is a weird plant that is growing straight upwards with a tightly curled set of leaves at the very top - sort of like how asparagus grows. The Haruka seed also sprouted. It's a very small plant still, especially compared to the other saplings in the tree section. I'm assuming that the seed spirit seeds grow a lot faster than normal… because otherwise the world would be completely overgrown with plants. One of the trees is already almost half a meter tall! The trees especially get a ton of water when I come by. My appraisal skill isn't high enough to see anything new on any of them, and none of them have started sparkling to be harvested, so I’ll be patient.
After watering the plants and talking to them (well, I talk to myself as I water them. But it can be to them too, right? My grandmother told me that talking to plants would improve their health), I find Grace and Lucia in the church.
Grace is the only kid on the grounds right now. Oh yeah - all the rest are doing apprenticeships to gain skills and stats… and that's pretty much a daily thing. That makes me feel a bit crummy.
But hey. When I have tons of work… I don't have time to play games. Dungeon Quest may sometimes be faster than real life, but some days I don't even have a spare hour or two for myself unless I want to not get enough sleep. And that would be a mess.
Gabe: “Grace! Lucia! We're going on an adventure today. It could be dangerous, but it's a chance to practice our skills! And, if we do well, we can even get something to bring home!”
Grace: “That sounds fun! Let's go.”
Lucia gracefully jumps into the open backpack (I still have no idea how she manages that… or how she even sees for that matter), Grace takes my hand, and we walk to the adventurer’s guild.
We approach one of the counters and ask for help.
Receptionist: “Hello! How can I help you today?”
Gabe: “We’d like to use the adventure crystal. There are three of us… me, Grace here, and… the third is a nonhuman in my backpack. Her name is Lucia.”
The receptionist listens normally until I get to the part about a nonhuman in my backpack. Then her face scrunches up slightly.
Receptionist: “Use of the adventure crystal is limited to registered adventurers. If you aren’t a current adventurer, the fee for registration is 5 copper. We accept adventurers of all races as long as they are able to submit to the adventurer code.”
I pull out a voucher for 10 copper and slide it across the wooden counter.
Gabe: “Here’s 10 copper. The first one to register is Grace - she’s an orphan at the church here in Fountain City. I have permission from Sister Maribel, the administrator of the orphanage, to take her as an apprentice for job training.”
Receptionist: “If you could fill out this paperwork to the best of your ability, that would be excellent. Anything you don't know please leave blank. More information can be entered later. Additionally, guild staff will fill in information according to our networks.”
Grace can't read, so I fill out the form. Most of it gets left blank, as she can't remember almost any of the details. I realize that I don't even know the address of the church.
We hand the form back to the woman, who looks it over, looks at Grace, and then speaks:
Receptionist: “The last step requires a drop of your blood, or something else that can interact with a magic seal. This will create an adventurer token for you that will allow us to easily track your progress as an adventurer.”
Grace looks at me.
Grace: “Will it hurt?”
Gabe: “They only need a drop of blood. But it will probably hurt, because they will cut your finger.”
The receptionist laughs.
Receptionist: “It’s only you teleporters that are obsessed about fingers. Why would you take blood from a spot with so many nerve endings? Wouldn’t it be better to use your tongue or eyelids then? We’ll get a drop of blood from your knee. That’s a much better place, and will hurt much less.”
The receptionist hands me a small tool. I reach down and place it on Grace’s knee, and it collects a drop of blood. Grace doesn't react at all.
Gabe: “Did that hurt?”
Grace: “Is it done? I felt it pinch me but the boys at the orphanage pinch worse than that.”
I hand back the tool and the receptionist places it on the paperwork.
Receptionist: “And for the second account?”
I take a deep breath, then reach behind and pull Lucia out of the backpack and cradle her in my arms.
Gabe: “This is Lucia. She is a prismatic slime, with the profession of a pacifist, just like us. While we don't have a method of communicating with her using words or telepathy, she is a crucial partner and has proven her value multiple times by protecting us from dangerous situations.”
Grace: “Lucia and Gabe saved us - the kids and Sister Maribel! They’re the reason we didn't die!”
The receptionist looks at the prismatic slime in my arms and then looks at my face and Grace’s face.
Receptionist: “We don’t have a ‘Guildmaster’ here at the Adventurer’s Guild. That’s because each receptionist is actually tied directly into the system and can access all information equally. That said, I don't have the authorization to register a creature as an adventurer. If she’s a pet, or a tamed beast, or a summon, she can go with the adventurer responsible for her. That’s what I would suggest in most cases. But it sounds like she is an individual. The concern I have is communication - will she be completing quests on her own and attempting to communicate with Guild staff?”
I look to Lucia, who is emitting colors of varying intensities.
Gabe: “... I … I don't know. Right now we don't have a good method of clear communication, so I'm guessing that she won't be coming alone to the guild to do quests. She also only has one HP, which makes it dangerous for her to go outside alone without me there. I just want to make sure we’re doing what we should for the crystal.”
Receptionist: “I appreciate that. Fill out this form to the best of your ability, and we’ll leave it unfinished. With one HP, drawing blood would normally be a problem, but the tool we use is designed to take blood without causing injury. That said, I don’t know if a prismatic slime has blood. Or if it would interact with the token properly. I’ll do some research, and next time she comes on a quest will hopefully have more information. In the meantime, she won't have an adventurer token, but that should be adequate to enter the crystal as the guards will assume she is a tamed beast.”
I fill out the form for Lucia. It's pretty pathetic… the only parts are race (prismatic slime), name (Lucia), profession (Pacifist), and current Max HP (1). Everything else is blank. I don’t know her stats… and I realize I don't even know if slimes have a gender, so I can't even fill that one out with any degree of certainty. Lol.
The receptionist takes the form, smiles, and indicates the direction of a brightly shining orange-and-black crystal.
Receptionist: “That is the adventure crystal. You're welcome to use it now. I'd suggest using it as soon as possible, as it has already existed for some time now. The crystals eventually disappear, and each adventurer may use it once before that time.”
I thank her and we approach the crystal, standing in the short line to enter. Lucia is in my arms, since I think she has to touch the crystal. Grace and I show our tokens to the staff members, who usher us next to the crystal. We wait our turn, watching individuals and groups touch the crystal and then disappear.
We place our hands (Lucia on top of my hand) on the crystal.
[Entering Adventure Crystal: Halloween]
---
The world blurs, and suddenly it feels like I’m back in the suburbs where I grew up. Black asphalt under my feet, sidewalks with green parkways, trees decorated with the weird orange “Halloween lights” that were somehow stolen from Christmas traditions. I hate blinking lights.
It’s night, with a bright full moon high in the sky. Grace and I are wearing basic clothes. Ironically, the clothes I'm wearing right now are the first real clothes I've worn in Dungeon Quest. Shredded clothes, or metalcloth rings and bracers, don't count.
Interestingly, there’s still a ring on my hand. Not even an adventurer crystal can get rid of something bound to my soul, I guess.
The theme of this adventure is Halloween. Well… I'm here in a suburban neighborhood, with a little kid and a small monster, on Halloween. What else to do other than trick or treating?
Except.
You can’t go trick or treating without a costume. While my normal clothes probably count as a costume of sorts (I’m a beggar… with really expensive accessories? Oh man that brings back modern memories of beggars driving BMW’s…), my current clothes fully match the word “nondescript.” I turn to Grace.
Gabe: “Grace, if you could dress up as anything - anything at all - what would you want to be?”
Grace thinks for a moment, then speaks: “A princess! My mommy told me once that I was her princess. Or a slime like Lucia. Lucia is so cool.”
Gabe: “Well, dressing up as a slime might require more creativity than I have right now. But a princess we might be able to swing. Let's start looking for supplies.”
Since the adventure crystal scores our performance, I don't have much time for costumes. I pick a handful of flowers from someone’s front yard and I begin to start to weave it into a flower crown. I realize after spending 5 seconds that I don't actually have that skill or knowledge. I place the flowers into Grace’s hair in a smooth ring - to simulate a crown. I decide to go as a martial artist since I already have all the material on hand. Looking down with mild regret, I pull off the first nice shirt I’ve had in Dungeon Quest and rip it into long 1-inch strips of cloth. Part of them I set aside to wrap around my hands - turning them into martial artist hand wraps. One I tie around my forehead as a headband. My pants I rip so they end just past my knees, and I remove my shoes and wrap my feet. Thankfully this “Halloween” experience isn't as cold as real Halloween.
I hand a handful of strips to Grace.
Gabe: “You know how sometimes princesses have long dresses and flowy hairpieces that go all the way to the ground? You can use these for something like that if you want.”
I don't bother actually figuring out how to use them. Kids are way more creative when it comes to that, and it's her costume. And I have to figure out what to do for Lucia.
Usually with infants and small animals, they wear one-piece outfits that take advantage of their shape and make them into something super cute. I don't have anything like that except strips of cloth and a pair of shoes. I decide to go with a “gift-wrapped present” for now. Lame, but it's what I can think of on the spot.
I take two strips of cloth and carefully intertwine them underneath Lucia, then wind the four ends up to her top and tie them into a bow with multiple loops. It's tight enough that they won't fall off… but hopefully not so tight that it will hurt her right?
Gabe: “Lucia, right now your costume is a gift-wrapped present. Is that ok? Can you move? Does it hurt?”
Lucia sparkles in a handful of colors, jumps to the right and left, and finally jumps up and lands in my arms. It looks like she is fine.
I finish by wrapping my hands. I assumed that I'd need more dexterity to make the other costumes, and hand wraps definitely limit dexterity.
After only a few minutes, we’re ready. Well, I hope we’re ready. It’s totally possible that this dungeon will kill us in an instant. I forgot for a moment that we’re not actually in a suburban neighborhood on Halloween. We’re in a potentially dangerous adventure crystal where there’s a chance of death.
What am I even thinking?
Well… it still looks and feels like Halloween. I'm gonna give it my all.
We approach the first house on the left. There, right before the porch, are two orange plastic pumpkin-shaped candy buckets. The cheesy ones with black faces that probably glow slightly in the dark. I take one bucket and hand the other one to Grace. Inside are two pieces of wrapped candy. Yes! I think I’m on the right track here. Though I don't know where the candy or the buckets are from. Hopefully we aren't stealing some kid’s Halloween.
Gabe: “Alright Grace. Listen to me carefully. We’re going to go to the door, ring the doorbell, and then when it begins to open, we say ‘Trick or Treat!’”
Grace: “Trick or Treat?”
Gabe: “Yes. And if I'm right, the person will open the door, and give us candy. If I'm wrong, they might attack us. But I think I'm right in this case. If they ask, you’re a princess, I'm a martial artist, and Lucia is a birthday present.”
Grace looks at me: “So we just say ‘Trick or Treat!’ when they open the door?”
Gabe: “Yes. And then you hold out your bucket like this. The first few times I'll be the one in front to protect you though. If it works, then I'll let you be in front.”
The door is a typical old-school suburban door, with a typical brass doorbell with white plastic button in the middle. Not like the video screen black boxes that people often have nowadays.
I take a deep breath and check our costumes. Grace has tucked some of the strips of cloth in her pants, and they trail behind her small body. She also somehow attached a few to her hair, and has one around her neck as a necklace. Lucia is shimmering a mix of orange and black and white to match the theme around us.
I ring the doorbell. It’s the basic “ding-dong” that houses had for the longest time.
A moment passes and we hear motion inside the door. It begins to open, I tap Grace, and together we speak: “Trick or Treat!”