46. Gemini

“Thank you so much for putting down the rats that were making that racket in my basement, dear,” the elderly Native woman said, leaning on her cane as she doled out the fifteen silver of my reward.

“They weren’t rats,” I informed her. “They were Mikal Burrowers. Which is honestly troublesome, since I didn’t know that they were endemic to Hormonica.”

The tentacle faced rat-like monsters had been easy enough to put down, as although I was level five, they were only level 3, and I had been able to take them on one at a time.

“What? Hmm? Oh, the rats, yes, they all look like that here lately. Not sure why. Used to be we had normal looking rats, but then one day these ugly things started replacing them, and now they’re everywhere! It’s a shame that nobody listens to me, if I had my way I’d put together an expedition to find their nest and exterminate them all once and good. But nobody listens to little old Mildred, do they?”

“I’m listening,” I said. “Mildred, I’m going to gather some friends of mine and we’re going to investigate the tunnels that lead out from your basement, if that’s alright. It might take me an hour or more to put the party together, but if nothing else we’ll clear out all the rats that we can find nearby.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly reward you for something like that,” she objected.

“That’s okay. I just need your permission to use the entrance in your basement, I’ll take care of all the rest of the details, including paying the other Travelers,” I promised.

“Oh thank you, Hagi. That would be a great relief,” Mildred agreed, handing me the last of my coin. “I just so happen to have the key for the first door into the tunnel system that runs beneath my house. I’d gladly loan it to you if you promised to see this trouble through to the end.”

“It’s really no problem at all,” I said, and I was surprised when a followup quest populated in front of me.

Quest:

Investigate the Underground Nest

Levels 5-10 Group (5man)

Mikal Burrowers have been making a nuisance of themselves lately in the city of Torrez, Hormonica, but nobody has put together an active response to the vermin. You, however, have seen the threat posed by these creatures and are willing to place your own reputation on the line in order to investigate their source.

Put together a party, find the source of the investigation, and report your findings to the Korshakai of the city guard.

Goal:

Kill Mikal Burrowers

50/50

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Destroy Burrower Nests

5/5

Investigate Source of Incursion

1/1

Rewards:

Reputation with local guard

Experience

Variable

I blinked, because I hadn’t been expecting the system to generate a quest for me . Rather, I had been expecting that I would have to generate a quest to share with whatever allies I found to help me complete my objective.

I checked the guide that I was following for Hormonica leveling, and there was no mention of this quest. Neither did a more in depth search turn up anything. Putting it down to just something weird that I’d managed to unlock with my very presence, I bid my farewells to Mildred and returned to the Torrez Adventuring Guild to find a party.

It proved surprisingly easy, as the battlegrounds didn’t allow Travelers below level ten to participate and many new people had made the journey through the gates this particular week, for whatever reason. I wasn’t vain enough to say that it was because of me, although the jump corresponding with the start of the battlegrounds was hard to deny. Anyway, I had a full group within moments of advertising the quest. Unfortunately there was no convenient summoning stone, so it took longer for everyone to form up outside of Mildred’s house than it did to put the group together.

Our [Warrior] took point as we entered the tunnels beneath Mildred’s house, holding a torch in his offhand while the healer cast a light above everyone’s head but mine, since I was a [Rogue] at present and doing so would ruin my [Stealth]. As it was, I ended up scouting for my party at the edge of the light, and it didn’t take long to find the first batch of Mikal Burrowers. Nor the Nest they guarded, which our [Mage] put an end to with fiery vengeance.

It didn’t seem like a particularly difficult quest, although with the Burrowers pulling in groups of ten it would have been very difficult to complete without a group. Before I could finish, however, Thomas suddenly appeared, catching everyone by surprise.

“Hagi, it’s time. It’s happening now,” he told me.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Project Gemini; the twins, Charity and Prosperity, they’re being born right now. Charity is already a few minutes old, but Prosperity is starting to wake up as well. I thought you might want to be there,” he explained.

“I definitely do!” I agreed, then I turned to my temporary friends. “Sorry everyone, I’ve got to go.”

I selected the option to log out before they could get too far into their objections. I mean, I’d already shared the quest with them, so they could simply find a replacement. Or try to complete it with the four party members that they had. Either way, the birth of Tarisha and Laurant’s children was far higher on the list of things important to me.

Thomas returned to the lobby with me. “Your other selves are all in battlegrounds, but do you think they’ll want to be there as well?”

I considered for a moment. “I’ll let them know what’s happening, that’s for certain. Would it be a problem if all five of us show up?”

“I don’t know, Hail. The twins sort of caught us by surprise and came early. The only metric we have for this is your own birth, and honestly, we didn’t realize that you’d even been born until a few hours after the fact.”

“I think as long as one of us is there, it will be the same as all of us being there,” I admitted. “And I don’t want to get in the way or anything. I mean, I’m just there for moral support or something, aren’t I?”

“Or something, yeah,” Thomas agreed.

I opened up the chatroom with my other selves and gave them an update on the situation. We mutually agreed to send me as a representative rather than showing up en masse and causing confusion. With Thomas leading the way, I logged out of the Lobby, and into the holosuite where the twins were being born.

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