Chapter 2: Quests and Questions
“The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure.” - Joseph Campbell
Avery tried to leap out of the way, but she was still a little unsteady from her injury and the run. She tripped over an uneven part of the concrete and would have planted her face into the sidewalk if Leo hadn’t caught her. The other students had scattered as well, and the two rats homed in on their targets. One of the rats charged at Greggori, who had been the closest, while the other leapt at Trevor. Trevor was able to dodge the flying ball of fur and teeth, though, and when the rodent landed, it turned, nose twitching. Then it turned his face towards Avery, clearly smelling the blood from her wound.
Avery barely noticed the new attention, though, as a new window popped up into her vision, startling her.
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Quest [In Progress]: Save the Students
Description: You and your students are being attacked by a pack of dire rats, and more are certainly on their way. The only way to escape the rodents is to get inside the school and close the doors.
Objective: Defend the students and get them to safety inside the school.
Status: 0 out of 3 students saved
Reward: 200xp, 30 copper coins, possible additional awards based on performance
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A cry broke through Avery’s distraction and she shook her head, willing the window to disappear. Just in time, she saw the rat lunge at her and she kicked out with a scream of indignation, kicking the creature hard in its side. The height of her kick took out some of the power behind it, but she was able to surprise it long enough to knock it back, at which point, Trevor appeared and swung his backpack at it. Out of the corner of her eye, Avery saw Greggori and Leo fending off the second rat while Jasmine stood by, wringing her hands.
“Jasmine!” Avery yelled. “Get to the door and open it! We need to escape inside!”
After an instant’s hesitation, Jasmine bolted for the class doors that led into the front office of the school. She tugged at the door, but it didn’t budge. “It’s locked, Miss!” She yelled back.
Avery mentally cursed. The doors should not have been locked - not at this time of day. As she thought about it, another realization struck her and she glanced around. With all the chaos, she hadn’t thought to notice that something else was very wrong. It was early in the morning, and there should have been an influx of students and faculty arriving for the school day. But the only people in sight were her and her four students. The world itself had gone eerily quiet while Avery had been distracted. Now it sent a chill up her spine and she felt like they might be the last people alive in the world.
“We can break the glass.” The words from Greggori caused Avery to once more refocus on the immediate problems.
“No,” Avery shouted, even as she pulled her leg away from the snap of vicious jaws, then tried to stomp on the long tail of the rat. She missed and it swiped at her shin with long claws, shredding long gashes in her slacks and slicing deep into her skin. Avery grunted and stepped back, wincing as she put weight on the injured leg. She kept a wary eye on the rat, even as she pulled her school ID from around her neck. “Here!” She tossed it to Trevor, who caught it deftly. “I’ll keep this one’s attention. Take this to Jasmine. It should unlock the doors.”
Trevor hesitated for a moment, then he dropped his backpack and ran. The rat tried to snap at him as he dashed past, but Jasmine kicked the backpack, heavy with Trevor’s laptop, with her good foot. She had played soccer for years as a child, and while her sister had become the semi-professional, Avery still remembered the basics. She gritted her teeth against the pain as she put her weight on her injured leg and threw all her frustration into the kick, driving the backpack into the rat. It didn’t injure it, but it did knock it over, and Avery didn’t give it time to recover. She grabbed the backpack by the strap and swung it over her shoulder to slam it back down on the rat, then followed up with a stomp on the creature's ribs with her good leg. Unlike Leo’s attack earlier, Avery wasn’t able to kill it with a single stomp, and the rat screeched and squirmed out from under her, then bolted away in pain and self-preservation.
Avery turned to watch it go, then her eyes went wide as she saw the movement on the street behind them. Two more rats were scurrying quickly in their direction, and she could see movement in the shadows further back. They were out of time. “Quick! Get to the door!” She turned to swing her impromptu weapon at the second rat that had been attacking Greggori and Leo, but she found the creature lying dead against one of the concrete pillars that supported the overhang to protect the sidewalk from weather. It looked like one of the boys had gotten a hold of the rat's tail and swung it at the concrete with all their might. Avery was impressed with the strength it must have taken - those rats must have weighed 20 pounds!
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With a nod, Greggori and Leo made dashes to catch up to Trevor, who was holding the door open, a look of horror on his face as he stared behind Avery at the approaching swarm. Avery could hear the scratching of claws on the pavement behind her as she followed the others, but she grabbed the door from Trevor, forcing her inside in front of her. Her delay allowed one of the rats to reach her, and it latched onto her calf, causing the teacher to cry out in pained surprise. She kicked back, but the rat wouldn’t let go. Avery could hear more rats coming up to join the fray, and she almost stepped back outside, determined to close the door and keep the students safe, no matter the risk of her own life. Then a small red ball flew past her out of the doorway and smacked the rat hard, right between its eyes. The attack surprised the rat and it let go, snarling, as the apple that had beaned it between the eyes fell to the ground. Before the rat could regain its senses and attack again, Avery dove inside, slamming the door behind her. No sooner had the door clicked shut than a loud smash shook the doors behind Avery and one of the rats fell back, stunned after slamming full-speed into the glass.
“I’m guessing bullett-proof glass is also rat-proof,” Leo muttered and Avery couldn’t help but nod, wearily. She straightened and turned, then stopped, frowning.
“Where are the others?” She and Leo stood in the front office of the school, alone. There was no Greggori, Trevor, or Jasmine, nor any of the other people who should have been in school at that time.
Leo frowned as well and looked around. “They vanished. When I came inside, they just… disappeared.”
Avery frowned and shook her head. “This is crazy. What the hell is going on?” Limping on her injured calf, Avery moved to the second set of inner doors that led to the school propper and peered in through the glass. The halls beyond were completely empty, though the lights were all on. There was no sign of either students or faculty, and she couldn’t hear any of the sounds she would have expected - voices and footsteps and that layer of white noise that comes from electrical power. The school was silent and empty.
“Hey, I have another quest!” Leo exclaimed and Avery turned, frowning. She opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again and furrowed her brows. She’d gotten a quest, too, she remembered. Could she…?
She hadn’t finished the thought before a window popped up in front of her.
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Quest [Complete]: Save the students
Description: You have delivered your student charges to safety.
Status: 3 out of 3 students saved.
Reward: 200xp, 30 copper coins, Opportunity to become a Champion
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Avery frowned as she was finally able to take a moment to consider the words. She didn’t understand why the quest had only asked her to save 3 students. There had been four of them with her. But now, three of them were missing - was it connected somehow? If they were safe, but they weren’t here, then where were they?
Finding few answers and just more questions, Avery kept reading.
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New Quest [Optional]: A Champion’s Invitation
Description: Gaia’s awakening has caused beauty and chaos in equal measure across the planet. You have been invited to become one of the Everblossom’s champions, to help protect humanity from the dangers that will no doubt follow.
Object: Complete the Champion’s First Trial.
Reward: Ability to choose a class, access to second trial
Note: This is an optional quest. If you refuse it, you will not be allowed to accept it later.
Accept quest? Yes No
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Avery’s frown deepened and she looked up at Leo. “Something about a champion’s invitation?”
Leo’s eyes were wide with surprise and awe and he nodded. “Yeah. I got a quest before to save the other students. Are they actually safe now, do you think?”
Avery shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. Why was I given a quest to save them, but not you?” She spoke aloud, but wasn’t actually expecting Leo to answer. Even so, the boy frowned.
“I don’t think they could see the messages.” Avery’s gaze sharpened on him, and Leo shrugged. “When the first message came? About the reboot or whatever? It surprised me so much I tripped. The others… they didn’t notice anything was wrong. I mean, they saw that I tripped, but they didn’t understand why. I don’t think they were getting any messages.”
Falling silent for a moment, Avery moved over to the couches that were arranged at the entrance and sat down, hissing at the stinging in her injuries. She let her thoughts meander for a time, then looked up at Leo. “The quest talks about being one of the Everblossom’s champions. Have you ever played Tales of the Everblossom?”
“The MMO?” Leo shook his head. “I’m not really into MMOs. I like Lords of the Arena.”
Avery chuckled. Lords of the Arena was one of the most popular fighting games. “That explains the stomp.” She grew thoughtful again, “There’s a reason you and I can see the windows, but the others couldn’t. Maybe we’ll find some more answers as we go. Will you accept the quest?”
Leo didn’t answer immediately, but finally nodded. “Yes.” His eyes unfocused and Avery assumed he was looking at his quest screen. Then his eyes widened an instant before he… vanished.
“Leo? Wait!” Frantic, Avery pulled her quest back up and selected “yes”.
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Quest: A Champion’s Invitation accepted.
Teleporting to the first trial.
Loading…
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And then Avery’s world went black.