“Emera.” A voice echoed around her. Emera swivelled her head around in time to see an angel appear behind her.
“Who- who are you. Why is there a damn baby in my hands?” Emera asked. She knew not what else to say towards the angel now kneeling before her.
“I do not have much time. I have currently violated 71 protocols in visiting you. Another 234 protocols were broken in the attempt to deliver this king to you. They may realize the baby has gone missing by now and will be looking for anything out of the ordinary. I realize you may have questions that I cannot answer, but I can answer you this.” The Angel cleared its throat before continuing.
“There is a developer that has since been removed that sabotaged an integral part of the game’s infrastructure. It has without a doubt been part of a business interaction that we believe occurred between one of our small time shareholders and a wealthy patron. From what we could find, the developer had snaked his way into some of our core game files that were sealed away permanently at launch. There, he input code that allowed this baby to become a player when it died. Due to the unique nature of this code, it has disabled our ability to destroy this NPC or any of its base code, for it is now within the list of possible player backstories. Same goes for killing it. The baby cannot be killed until it is of twelve years of age, right when NPC’s are able to be inhabited by players.” The angel looked as if was sorry for what it was about to say next.
“The baby is part of a grand storyline that could lead it to becoming the most powerful NPC in game. Now, it could become the most powerful player in game. We are to believe that at a certain time on a certain day a couple of years from now in real time, or nearly eleven years in game time, this patron will assume this NPC’s life when a planned assassination kills the- by then- grown child. Of course, they will attempt to procure the NPC before then, seeing as it will need to be within their possession when the time comes for the assassination. They will be the only ones prepared to become this NPC at that exact moment of time, assuring that they successfully inhabit the dead NPC.” The angel shook its head ruefully.
“They will regret their actions soon enough. We want you to take this NPC far from where others will find you. We have disabled the baby’s tracker, something we are still fortunately able to do to the NPC. We believe there are still spies to be found between both the humans and the AI so we have disabled the quest line notifications that would allow them to see who now has the baby. You cannot trust anyone besides yourself, for we have yet to find the wealthy patrons identity. They could be anyone.” The angel finished.
It was a lot to take in. Here was this baby, an innocent soul as far as she was concerned, that was part of an insane game of politics for what exactly? For this patron of theirs to become the most powerful player in this world? What use was that? Did they simply seek power over others? A need for money? Emera knew that money could be made within the virtual realm. Players paid top dollar for ores and items, rare and legendary artifacts or a unique class. All could be paid for with real world money. The patron most likely wanted to be king of the world for the wealth they would inherit, or the ability to gain that wealth.
It was too much for her, but she had simply one question out of many that she wanted answered.
“Why me?” She asked. It wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last time that she said those two words. Why her? Why couldn't I have been born with legs that worked? Why did my immune system tank? Why? Why? Why? It was a question that haunted her dreams.
“Simply put, you were at the right place at the right time. Already the baby’s family was murdered not an hour ago. One of their children,” he gestured towards the dead body of the boy, “was able to escape with the royal prince. When I saw that it was you who inhabited this room, I knew you would be perfect for the job. Already you have shown remarkable qualities within a person, so we believe you are the best person available to us at the moment.”
“But- but- I don't know anything about taking care of a baby. How will I feed him? Clothe him? Protect him? What do I do? How can I even trust you when someone in your damn company has spies in its walls.” She was ready to burst into tears.
Here she was, new to a world where she planned on having a fresh start, free from burdens that plagued her in the real world. Anxiety, depression, no legs, and a shit immune system. All of those could be forgotten here. But now? She would be responsible for the care of a baby, one who would most likely be targeted by a mysterious patron who would spend vast sums of money to anyone who would retrieve the child.
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“Shh, everything will be alright Emera. I have faith in you that you will be able to care for him. As for why you can trust me, well, why would I lie?” The angel held a small smile on his face before turning serious once more.
“We cannot give you anything to aid you on your journey. If there is a rat, they will be carefully watching any and all transfer of funds and items between players as well as AI. It would look suspicious if you suddenly had legendary level gear at level five. All I can offer you is a goodbye for now, Emera. Be safe.” With that, the angel simply disappeared.
Emera didn't know what to do. Here she was, caretaker of a baby that was delivered by a fatally injured boy in the dark of night. Bella had yet to wake and although from her brief experiences with the girl, Emera didn't know whether she could trust her.
Obviously this baby was special. A future king of this world? It was beyond anything Emera had ever dealt with. Still, the baby was rather cute. During their conversation, he had closed his eyes while a finger trailed its way to his mouth. It was an adorable sight.
“What is that?” Shit, Bella was awake.
Emera decided to tell the truth, but not the whole truth.
“There are some very powerful people after this baby. I was granted a quest when this fellow,” she jerked a thumb back at the lifeless boy, “snuck into our window. He died not long after.” She hoped Bella would buy her story. She didn't like lying to her friends, even if it was a lie of omission. Still, the Angel said she couldn't trust anyone, so she took its advice to heart.
“Oh, wow, cool!” Bella excitedly held a hand over her mouth as her voice grew in pitch. Her body had somehow ended up perched over the little bundle of blankets, almost as if she teleported there instead of the brief flight over to her. Her hands were grasping empty air as they urged her to cuddle the small infant, but her will won as she held her arms to her sides.
“He's so adorable I just want to cuddle him.” Bella whispered. “What will you do now?”
“I was hoping you would know how to handle a baby. I haven't the faintest of ideas of what he needs. Do babies like chicken, or perhaps some veggies.” Emera shrugged but continued on.
“All that I know is that we must move on soon. People will be looking for him. We need clothes and travelling supplies. Best to make sure we have lots of cloth scraps for diapers I think.” She wrinkled her nose in annoyance.
“I'll get everything we need Emera. If what the quest said is true, it would best to leave as soon as possible, preferably in the dark if people are searching for him.” Bella nodded to herself before launching herself towards the open window.
“Stay here and watch over the baby. Also, you might want to search the dead guy. May have something that will tell us who this baby is exactly.” Bella was off a moment later, her figure lost in the shadows as the sun peeked over the horizon, sending slanting shadows across buildings and streets.
Emera sighed. It was all too much for her, but what other choice was there? She would never abandon the baby, that was for sure.
Emera stepped over to the boy, seeing for the first time his clothing in the rain stream of sunlight entering the room. He was dressed in a royal green doublet with silver trim outlining a family crest. He had a small satchel next to him with a large coin pouch beside that. Under his green cloak she saw twin daggers sheathed at his sides while along his back was a large bastard sword.
Emera carefully removed the cloak and weapons along with the satchel and pouch, storing them all in her inventory. For good measure, she then used the loot command on his lifeless body. What surprised her was how quickly the body faded into dust. She sat silently as she reviewed the items the dead prince dropped, clutching at the bundle of blankets as the baby stirred.
x1 Cloak of House Astria (Rarity: Legendary, Level 100 Required)
x2 Daggers of House Astria (Rarity: Legendary, Level 100 Required)
x1 Bastard Sword of House Astria (Rarity: Legendary, Level 100 Required)
x1 Bag of Holding (Rarity: Legendary, Size: Gigantic)
- x1 Ring of House Astria (Rarity: Legendary, Birthright: Can only be worn by the Heir of House Astria)
- x1 Staff of House Astria (Rarity: Legendary, Level 100 Required)
- x1 Tome of Astria Spellcrafting (Unique, Unlimited Uses, Level 50 Required)
- x1 Tome of Astria Spellcasting (Unique, Unlimited Uses, Level 50 Required)
x1 Pouch of Coin Holding (Rarity: Legendary, Size: Unlimited)
- x100 Gold coins
Emera nearly fainted.