Chapter 3: Isonar
“Sometimes we can only find our true direction when we let the wind of change carry us.” - Mimi Novic
Avery didn’t actually pass out when her world went black. She was still fully conscious, fully aware. Instead her entire world simply dropped away. She hovered in darkness, bereft of all senses of anything outside her own body. She could see herself, as if she was lit up from some unseen spotlight and she stared down in confusion and her form. She no longer had the professional slacks and blouse that she wore to work, but tan cotton leggings and a white linen blouse under a brown leather tunic that was laced in the front and cinched at the waist, then flared out to her knees. Her shoes, no longer the flats she wore to school, were simple brown boots, and when she wiggled her toes, she found them surprisingly comfortable. At her waist hung a small leather pouch that clinked lightly with a few coins - the copper coins she’d earned from her last quest, perhaps?
Avery had barely enough time to marvel at the strange garb (it was all very… medieval) when a sound caught her attention. Multiple sounds, actually. She looked around, but saw nothing except the darkness, yet still the sounds continued. From somewhere in front of her, she could hear the murmur of human conversation, calls of raised voices that sounded distinctly like peddlers or shopkeepers calling out to customers or advertising their wares. There was a baby crying, and the rhythmic clanging of hammer against anvil. Avery could hear more rhythmic banging, like multiple hammers on wood, but it sounded further off. A construction site, maybe?
Behind her, Avery could hear a different set of sounds. They were subtle and highlighted by a gentle quiet. She could hear the chirping of birds, the rustle of plants shifting in the wind, the buzzing of insects going about their daily lives. It was the sounds of wilderness, so soft and yet just as busy as the city life she heard in the other direction.
There was one more sound that caught Avery’s attention. From below her, Avery heard a whistling that reminded her of the time she had visited the Grand Canyon as a child. There had been smaller gorges that branched off from the main attraction, and in those canyons, she could hear the wind as it flowed through the narrow gaps in the rock. This sounded just the same, an airy whistling, and it gave Avery a moment of fright as she imagined herself appearing above one of those canyons. She wasn’t afraid of heights, but even Jason Grace had been leery of walking across a glass bridge over the Grand Canyon, and in this moment, Avery could very much understand the feeling!
In the next moment, Avery was distracted by a new sense. She could now smell the world around her. She caught the smell of pine needles and moss and wildflowers, which warred with the scents of baking bread, roasting meat and chimney smoke. Combined together, the two sets of aromas reminded Avery of the renaissance festival that came every year to the wooded area just outside of her city. But if this was an actual medieval or renaissance town, there should have been the scents of rotting meat and human excrement. Avery felt immensely grateful that this city seemed to have mastered sanitation at least.
The next sense that returned to Avery was the sense of touch. She still could see nothing except the empty black, but she felt her feet touch down gently onto a flat cobblestone ground, which was a relief after she imagined herself hovering over a deep canyon with nothing beneath her but wind. Her skin prickled with the brisk breeze and when she sucked in a breath, she found the air cool and crisp and thin. She was in an area of high altitude, likely a forested mountain, she presumed.
At last, the darkness faded and Avery’s world came into view. The whole experience had lasted only a few seconds, but the sequential return of each of her senses after losing them so abruptly left Avery a little disoriented.
She stood on a wide stone bridge which did indeed seem to span a narrow gorge. From where she stood near the center of the bridge, Avery couldn’t see the bottom, but at least the bridge didn’t appear to sway from the wind that she could still hear beneath her. In front of Avery, the bridge ended at a gate that stood 30 feet high with a pair of marble statues representing two androgynous figures - one warrior, one wizard - on either side of the gate. Each figure had no face and Avery got the impression they were intended to represent an archetype rather than a famous person. Beyond the gate, a high wall surrounded what appeared to be a large city nestled between two mountain peaks. Over the walls, Avery could see two towers to the left - the west? Based on the position of the sun, Avery guessed it was the west. And in the center of the city, Avery could see a great spire ringed with colored glass that caught the light and reflected it back with a rainbow of colors. On the far side of the city, Avery spotted several giant airships high in the sky, dark shapes moving to and from as they loaded or offloaded the vessels.
When Avery glanced behind her, she saw that the bridge narrowed into a stone road that continued through the peaks and wound down to a lush valley barely visible between the mature copse of evergreens.
For a long moment, Avery stood, swallowing hard. She turned back to stare at the city gates and took a deep breath. She knew this city. She had spent countless hours here in virtual reality. But this… this wasn’t virtual. She could feel, smell, and practically taste it.
Avery had arrived in Isonar, the capital city of Thuria, largest kingdom in Galanthrial. She was inside the game world from Tales of the Everblossom.
Avery probably would have stood there, stunned, for a long time if a window of text hadn’t popped up in front of her.
----------------------------------------
Quest: The First Trial
Description: As a new adventurer, you have arrived in Isonar to seek a cure for your younger sister, who is deathly ill. You have heard that the local crime lord is in possession of an artifact called the Stone of Destiny that is said to cure any illness or injury short of death. It is up to you to gain the artifact, or find some other way to cure your sister.
Objective: Find a cure for your sister 0/1
Reward: 500xp, 50 copper coins, access to class selection
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Note: Class options will vary depending on how the trial is completed.
----------------------------------------
Avery remained where she was for a long moment. She read the quest over twice, then dismissed the window and looked up at the city. She needed to find a cure for her fictional sister. If this was like any other major quest in Tales, she would likely find several other quests along the way, and some might even grant her clues to passing the trial. But how she passed the trial was important, too. It seemed the classes she would be able to choose from would depend on her actions here in Isonar. If she snuck into the underbelly of the city and stole the Stone of Destiny, she’d probably get access to a rogue class. If she fought her way through the criminal hideout, she’d probably get a warrior class. While both were classes that Avery had played before, she wasn’t sure she was up to the task of actually sneaking into the lair or fighting all the criminals. Aside from the fact that this was entirely too real, she also had no actual class abilities at the moment, and no items or weapons. Avery decided it would be better to ignore that part of the quest and just let her own tendencies and instincts lead her forward.
How would she solve this problem in real life? Start with gathering more information? That sounded right to Avery. She had a lot of questions, and she wanted answers. With that in mind, she took a step toward the gates.
And then she stumbled, grunting in pain.
Hissing, Avery looked down at her leg where large gashes ran across her calf and thigh. Her leggings weren’t torn, unlike the slacks she had worn when she fought the giant rats, but her right leg was stained with blood. Avery had completely forgotten about her injuries, and in fact hadn’t felt the pain until she moved. The injuries didn’t appear deep, thankfully, but they burned like fire and Avery worried that the rats may have been carrying diseases that would cause infection, or worse - rabies. She grimaced at the thought, but since she didn’t have anything to treat the injuries with, she forced herself to continue towards the gate.
The city gates were guarded by a pair of soldiers who just nodded her way, the youngest looking sympathetic as she limped by. The bridge had been mostly deserted, but once Avery got inside the walls, she found the streets bustling with activity. People moved in and out of shops that had the advantage of sitting right off the main street and other peddlers had set up carts in small courtyards to either side, calling out for customers to see the finest silks or freshest fruits in all the kingdom. Once again, Avery marveled at the magnificence of it all. She was in awe at the city, so alive, so… real. Everything looked familiar, with the shops and many of the people matching those in the city of Isonar in her game. But there was a… life… here. She never could have accepted that this was a VR simulation.
“Psst! Hey, lady! Hey!”
Avery blinked and turned, glancing down an alley between a grocery and a tailor shop. Peeking out from behind a pillar was a young boy, clutching a bundle to his chest. He was looking right at her, so Avery glanced around, then ducked into the alley and knelt down, wincing as her leg continued to sting. The kid was maybe 6 or 7 years old, with dirty blond hair that hung down into his deep blue eyes.
“Hello, there,” Avery said, keeping her voice soft and calm. “I’m Avery. Who are you?”
The boy seemed to measure her carefully before answering. “I’m Andy. Can you help me find my cat?”
Avery felt her heart melt, and she felt a quick pang at the thought of her own kitten at home. With all the chaos and insanity, she wasn’t sure when she would see her Serafina again. Maybe all of this was a dream, and she had passed out and was hallucinating. Then, she could hope that her best friend would at least make sure that Sera was taken care of until Avery came to herself. Otherwise… if this was all real? What would happen to her sweet cat, stuck in her apartment while the world went crazy?
Avery had to clear her throat before answering. “I would be happy to help you find your cat. What do they look like?”
“Her name is Bianca. She’s white, but she’s gotten a little dirty. Miss Kiygo hates cats and made me take her outside, but her yelling scared Bianca and she ran away. I have to find her!”
----------------------------------------
Quest: The Lost Cat
Description: The little boy, Andy, has lost his pet cat and needs your help to find her.
Objective: Find Bianca 0/1
Reward: Unknown
----------------------------------------
“Alright,” Avery soothed, mentally accepting the quest. “I’ll help you find Bianca.” She shifted and winced as her leg reminded her that it was still injured. “But I’ve hurt my leg, so I need to take care of that first.”
Andy looked down and noted the blood, frowning. “You should go to the temple. They can heal you.”
Avery had seen the temple’s spire rising above the city walls with all of its colored glass, and she nodded. In truth, the temple was just one building in the great park, the center of the capital. The park took up nearly a quarter of the city and was where all of the gods of Galanthrial were honored and worshiped. “That’s a good idea. I don’t have much money, though.”
“Priest Falore is nice,” Andy said with a shrug, “He likes helping people,” After a pause, he added, “What will you do then?”
Avery considered her small friend before deciding to start her quest for information here. “I need to find a cure for my sister. She’s sick. I’ve heard the local crime lord has something that could heal her.”
Andy’s eyes widened. “You want to take the Stone of Destiny? Cipher has it. He doesn’t let just anyone use it.”
“Cipher? The crime lord?”
Andy hesitated, then nodded. “He runs the local thieve’s guild. I guess you could call him a crime lord, though he doesn’t hurt kids. That’s his rule. And he gets really angry when the other thieves bully or hit us.”
Interesting, Avery mused. “Does he have other rules?”
Andy shrugged, “I dunno. Maybe?”
Avery eyed Andy. There was something there… On a hunch, she asked, “Can you take me to him?”
The boy bit his bottom lip for a moment, then shook his head, “If he wants to see you, he’ll find you.” A mature statement for a young boy, but Avery let it go.
“Alright. Thank you.” She pushed to her feet, but the boy caught her hand.
“Don’t forget Bianca!”
Avery smiled warmly and gave Andy’s hand a squeeze. “I won’t, I promise. I’ll find her.”
Andy let go of Avery’s hand and she stepped back into the street, then moved towards the great park.
The park was easy to find as almost all of the roads in Isonar lead there. The walk wasn’t long, but by the time Avery entered the park through one of the gated pathways, her limp was worse and she was having a hard time putting weight on her injured leg. She stopped, though, and her pain was momentarily forgotten as she gazed up… and up… and up… at the spire that rose high into the sky, piercing the few clouds that floated there and lighting everything up in reds, blues, and golds from the colored glass that reflected the sunlight. It was even brighter here than it had been from outside of town and Avery found herself momentarily speechless. She had arrived at the Temple of Light inside the great park, sometimes referred to as the Garden of the Gods.