Zone: Central Dewalt
Location: Lemond’s Crossing – Torton Col
Lore: (Specific) Tucked away in the back of Lemond’s Crossing, the Torton Col district resides in the shadow of the area’s tallest peaks. Once considered the most dangerous part of the city, the gangs of Torton Col survived The Emergence by only a scant few weeks, quickly succumbing to the wave of ambitious Incarnate manifested by the city’s Eternal Crystal.(1) However, removing the gangs did nothing to improve upon the neighborhood’s dilapidated state, and despite multiple government incentives, the area is practically empty. Then again, its proximity to the main entrance of the cavernous Vagrant Deeps might have something to do with it...
Starting Town
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Vannin jerked awake, erupting from beneath his ratty blanket like his bed had caught fire. His hand cradled his chest. He could feel the thunderous pounding of his heart through his breastbone, yet despite the disorienting fog of sleep clouding his mind, he almost immediately took control of his breathing.
Long, deep breath in. Slow, controlled breath out.
A tiny voice filled in the silence. “They’re getting worse, aren’t they?”
Nodding, Vannin scooted up against the rotting headboard until he was sitting upright. D floated to his side, its glow softened to give the young man’s eyes a chance to acclimate to being awake.
“Master?”
“I’m okay, D,” he lied.
Every morning now for the past few weeks, Vannin had awoken on the heels of some terrible dream, a dream whose content had thus far eluded him. All he ever remembered upon waking was pain, the kind of pain that reminded him that somewhere, somehow, he was still a being of flesh and of blood. The kind of pain that reminded him of his own fragile mortality.
He knew something was wrong; he just didn’t know what.
The most frustrating part, though, was the soul-draining numbness that always greeted him once the memory faded and he found himself back in the waking world.
“Ugh,” he groaned. “Why can’t I ever dream about pleasant things?”
D bobbed side to side. “Well, maybe it’s hard to dream about something you don’t know.”
“I hate how much sense that makes. If I don’t know anything about it, how can I imagine it? But… at the same time… why do I know that fresh bread smells good, and that I should probably hate the taste of [Stale Bread]? I have no memory of either, of any of the tastes and smells and sensations I wish I could experience. How can I know one thing without having any evidence to support it?”
D didn’t respond, the subject likely having tiptoed beyond what its simple AI could comprehend. Vannin rested his head against the wall and sighed. That light touch was enough to dislodge bits of the aging plaster encasing the room in slowly shrinking patches. The furniture wasn’t in much better shape – a once elegant bedroom set eaten up by termites and dry rot. Cobwebs choked the darkened corners, and dust bunnies had colonized every inch of the floor but for the regularly traveled path to the door.
Had Vannin actually been afraid of death, he might have thought twice about sleeping in the old building.(2)
“Oh,” said D in a familiar tone.
Vannin’s eyes narrowed. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
The little orb brightened, bouncing up and down in the air excitedly. “I have messages for you! Would you like to hear them?”
“Only if you promise to announce all future messages without saying ‘oh’ first.”
D bobbed up and down. “Of course, Master. Now, should I read them, or would you like them in letter form?”
He closed his eyes. “Reading is fine.”
“Okay. Oldest first!” Adopting a stark white glow, the little orb stilled. “ ‘Tired of greasy joysticks? Fed up with sticky keyboards and mice that keep slipping of the edge of your mousepad? Sick of not being able to experience the full dearth of sensation your monthly subscription is paying for? Then look no further than Secondhand Mowry’s, the best bargain on used and refurbished partial- and full-dive VR rigs you’ll find west of the Appalachians!’ ”
“That’s enough at that, thank you. Delete it.”
“Of course!” it said, with a quick flash of light. “Moving on. ‘If you’ve been diagnosed with any form of acute tendonitis as a result of extended gaming sessions, you may be entitled to compensation. At the law offices of Schile-Mize & Justice, attorneys at law, we’ll fight for-’ ”
Vannin waved D into silence. “No. Delete. Next.”
Another flash of light. “ ‘We’ve been trying to reach you regarding your rig’s extended warr-’ ”
“Delete!”
“ ‘You won’t believe how this one small change-’ ”
“D, how many messages are there?”
A brief pause. “Forty-eight.”
“For-”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Oh,” it muttered quietly. “Forty-nine.”
“Forty-nine?!” Vannin blinked. “They aren’t all advertisements, right? There’s no way.”
“I’m not sure I know what an ‘advertisement’ is.”
Of course you don’t. “Okay, well, are any of them friend requests or from the developers?”
“What’s a developer?”
“You know what a…” He trailed off. “Right. I meant, are any of the messages from the shadows beyond the horizon?”
Another pause. “...No?”
“What about Ulrich? Are any of them from our contact in Edacity.”
Pause. “No.”
Vannin wiped a hand down his face. Forty-nine messages, and he suspected they were all advertisements. It had been weeks since he’d received even one, as the devs were continually on the lookout for bot accounts intent on spamming the server with advertising messages and refining their algorithms to help filter them out. To get so many in such a short span of time… (3)
“Shall I read you the rest?”
He shook his head. “Let’s wait until I’ve stretched my legs a bit.”
Yawning, he rolled over and reached out for the small brown envelope sitting on the edge of his water-stained nightstand. As he did, a glint of pink within the cracked top drawer caught his eye. He stared at it for a moment, spinning the envelope in his hands. Slowly, he reached for the drawer handle, a slight tremor in his hand as his fingers fanned out across the rough wood.
The drawer squeaked closed, and Vannin swallowed the lump in his throat.
Not yet. Not while there are other options.
“I wish you’d get rid of that.” D sounded unusually morose.
Vannin straightened, extracting the well-read letter from the envelope. “You’ve never cared before.”
“Well, I care now.”
Vannin scrutinized the letter’s contents, his displeasure with the newly updated information showing plainly on his face. With a soulful groan, his head thumped back against the wall once more, introducing another jagged crack into the plaster. “Aw, crap.”
“Master?”
“It’s a freaking Group Quest now.” He shoved the letter back in the envelope and chucked it across the room. The problem with Group Quests, Vannin figured, was the unfortunate necessity of other people. Most of his progress in Teravitum had been accomplished without even needing to speak to another player, let alone rely on them for help. Players in general were an unknown quantity, an unpredictable element in an otherwise mostly predictable system.
At least when things go wrong when I’m alone, I can only blame myself.
“Oh.”
Vannin glared at the daimon, but his glowing friend actually spoke up on his own.
“You have another message,” it said, almost ominously.
“Okay, this is starting to get ridiculous.”
“No no! This one’s from the shadows beyond the horizon.” D floated closer. “I’m having a bit of trouble reading this one. I don’t understand why.”
The daimon’s warm glow flickered, but only briefly.
He beckoned for D to give him a letter, and just as before, a sealed enveloped popped into existence and dropped gracefully into his outstretched hand. The textured envelope was sealed with a blot of red wax embossed with a stylized ‘S’.
Greetings!
It seems the gremlins from the upcoming patch have gotten a head-start! We’ve already received multiple reports of visual bugs, unexpected A.I. behavior, and connection problems affecting all but full-dive players. In addition, it appears many of our anti-spam protections have been subverted, though those should be mostly restored by the time this missive finds you. We here at Solace would like to wholeheartedly apologize for any negative experiences these problems may have caused you and extend a promise that we are working tirelessly to ensure they are nothing more than a temporary hiccup.
In addition, we have some AMAZING news! All bugs aside, the implementation of Patch 04.2035.01 is progressing far quicker than we could have hoped. As such, players will no longer need to wait almost a month to enjoy the exciting new updates we have in store for them. Patch 04.2035.01 will be online and active in no more than two weeks' time!
“They’re moving the patch up?” Vannin scratched his cheek, perplexed. Minor patches rarely seemed to be released on time, and often experienced numerous delays before being rolled out to players. Major patches were even worse.
Once again, more details on what specifically we plan on changing or adding to the game will be released as release day approaches, but we are now recommending that all players briefly log out prior to the patch going live. This is only a precaution, as we are confident no one will be adversely affected by the changes we are planning to implement.
As always, feel free to jump on the forums with any specific questions you may have, or to stay abreast of the situation as it develops. And being an active participant in our growing community will always ensure you find yourself… ahead of the game!
Your Developers at Solace
Just like before, the envelope held another sheet of folded paper, and just like before, Vannin found only more questions when he looked within.
Patch Notes [https://i.imgur.com/FzTcpwZ.jpeg]
ĹļũTľĥĕĞhļřŶŕŐșśeŵǽřĻrĿĵṙṡḯeṜṎ ḂḳiṀḚḞsḮ
ḃsḢḽṂṑḨ0Ḡḑ ẛẙmẊṯṱẑuẮcṪᶧḨḠḑhṀ
ṠḝtḙḸḬḲṂoṝ ᶧḨdḠḑṀḹoḌḒ.
ḨḊWḃCḯḻiḥḙḹḯḡḮḙlḠḯḫḃḢḽṂṑlṮṤ tḲḢṡhṙḭậẈeẼẟẁrṳṺe
ṊṙbṡḯṜṎṚṪeṟḾ ẾtḾḲḎḷṑḒiṣḺḘṍmṑḊḺḮeḮḻḉ?Ḡ♀
Something about this second note bothered him, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Many of the letters possessed unrecognizable accent marks and were arranged nonsensically. He flipped the paper over. Where the last one simply said ‘Patch Notes’, this had yet another string of jumbled symbols, though these were wholly illegible. Weird.
“Hey!” said D, zooming around in a tight spiral. “I’ve got an idea. You have friends now. Maybe they’ll help you do your group quest!”
Vannin tossed the letter onto the nightstand. The little daimon had a point. Both Atrea and Norik had reached out to him, so they had to see something in him worth keeping around. Still, he knew practically nothing about them. What sort of skills did they have? What sort of strengths? Were they even fighters? Many people in Teravitum never step foot outside their starting towns, let alone pick up a weapon. They could both be master cobblers for all he knew.
He scratched at his forehead and yawned again. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
(1) – Whew! Lot to unpack there! Okay, so, The Emergence of the Eternal Crystals is the event that brought players into the world of Teravitum. The island’s current residents quickly learned that, while they might be a bit odd and rambunctious at times, these ‘Incarnate’ mostly meant well, and though they weren’t entirely trusted, they were generally considered to be a welcome addition to the nation’s populace.
(2) - Buildings didn't actually suffer durability damage back in those days, so no one ever had to worry about a rotting house falling apart around them. If you want to get technical, certain locations would go through various stages of decay based mostly on how often it was visited by PC or NPC. The less often either saw a location, the more decay it would accumulate. Once it surpassed a certain amount, it would graduate to the next stage, though in most case, the damage was merely cosmetic.
(3) - The botters and spammers were relentless. Every time the developers figured out how to get rid of them, they'd figure a new way back in. The really weird thing was...sometimes messages would get tied up in the system while the program attempted to figure out if they were legitimate or not, being released at a later date once the game figured out they were fine...or if the messages fooled their way through. The developers eventually learned how to completely stop the spammers sometime in February 2035.