Chapter 26: Channia at the Riverside

When Ricky snapped into awareness once again, he could immediately see that he was now on the other side of the river – the forest side. There were tangled trees all around. A large, red-feathered bird was in a tree branch ahead of him; it shrieked once and then flew away. The sky was light; it was dawn.

Looking around, Ricky saw three faces – Channia, Xarok and… after a moment’s hesitation, he also recognized Big Mindar, Gabriella’s halfling driver from the wagon.

“What... what happened?”

“We found you in the marshlands last night,” said Xarok. “I saw your icon on the map, that’s how I saw you. You were battling a half-dragon, but it fled before I got there. I guess that meant you were winning – but you looked in bad shape.”

“You found me,” repeated Ricky, feeling at his body to check on his multiple wounds. “I am pretty sure I was getting my ass kicked, actually.”

Every part of his body hurt. He looked up again to see that each member of the small group was sitting on a fallen log, while he was leaning against one, half lying.

> *Quest 041 complete: Identify the ally nearby. +20XP

Ricky then pulled himself up to a seated position with a grunt. Guide – status please.

> Time: 06:12

>

> Location: Outskirts of Triptych Forest

>

> Hit points: 12

“It’s morning,“ said Ricky. “I don’t remember the end of the fight.”

Xarok nodded. “You had a bad case of wolf brain, my friend. Don’t stay in beast-form for too long in future, yeah? You need to transform back within an hour, or better still, straight after combat. It’s much harder to retain your normal thoughts in that state – though the wolf form also has its issues in that regard.”

“Okay. Thanks – I’ll bear that in mind.”

> *Quest 040 complete: Find out more about the limitations of beastform. +20XP

Channia giggled gently. “Uh – so do it then, genius!”

Ricky looked down to see the clawed paws, wide canine feet and modified armor of beast form. Of course – he was still in the altered form, ever since losing consciousness. “Right, right.”

Guide – transform me back to human, please!

“Please confirm.”

I confirm, Guide.

The pain wracked his body again for a moment and he slumped down and began to writhe, though the agonizing crunching and shocks eased much more quickly than he had expected. As he felt the last changes take place, he briefly wondered whether he could be getting used to it, or if the fact that his body was already covered with minor injuries was enough to confuse his digital senses?

> *Achievement: Old friend! You have re-connected with an NPC. +10XP

>

> *World event: You have transformed into the form of a human.

After just a few seconds he was sitting up again looking around at his companions sheepishly. “Thanks again.”

“Wow,” said Channia, standing and walking over and then reaching out to touch his face. “It really is you. I only half-believed Xarok when he told me. I thought I might have wasted the last of my healing spells for the day.”

Xarok laughed darkly.

“It’s good to see you alive and well, Xarok. And Chan, uh…” Ricky glanced around, noticing that the river was close by to his right, and the bulk of the forest to the right and behind him. “I never forgot about you. It’s just that I had to travel to Doomstar, and from there…” He tailed off, looking at Xarok.

The spellcaster narrowed his eyes. “Yes, Ricky. What did happen? You actually went into Doomstar, as planned? I am glad to see that you survived the experience at least.”

Ricky nodded. “I met with Gabriella on the road, and she helped me to escape from some korapta lizards.” He pointed at Big Mindar. “I saw that guy, and Gabriella gave me some instructions and directions. Then I transformed into lizard form, and made it to the tower that she had told me about. I think I have what we need...” At this point Ricky tailed off, and began to rummage into his satchel. Soon he had pulled out the orb – still wrapped in the old map of Barrowdale – and held it out for the others to inspect.

Xarok whistled, standing up and looking at it. “Wow. May I?”

Ricky nodded, and the spellcaster took the orb, holding it up and looking at it against the light of the sky. “This is great work, Ricky. We now have the orbs that we need. As you know, the safehouse was attacked, and we lost three core guild members in the attack – real players like us, that is – as well as a lot of NPCs. It is under threat still, but our comrades are still holding on. Victory grows near.”

“That’s good news, man. But what was behind the attack on the safe house?”

Xarok nodded grimly. “Enemies are everywhere. That’s why your work with the orb is so important. The guild is under pressure, there can be no doubt. There is one new recruit that I have my eye on, a demonkind, but...”

“We have been badly hit,” finished Ricky.

Xarok nodded. “What’s worse, the gate is of course inside Imperialis, and the city is now just about to be besieged. We won’t easily get back in to complete what we started.”

“Besieged! By whom?” Ricky looked again at Big Mindar. “Was this the army on the march that Gabriella spoke of?”

The balding halfling shrugged. “Aye. But do not worry – a plan is underway. We need to get you safely back to the safe house, and open the gate. Don’t worry about this army or anything else. Everything will take its course, my friend.”

Ricky noticed Big Mindar fiddling with his ring as he spoke, and wondered if the item conferred any special powers, like Xarok’s neck chain. Something that would explain Big Mindar’s elevated reputation as a warrior among his fellow guild members, perhaps?

Xarok was now scratching at his chin thoughtfully, looking in the direction of the river. “This army, in truth they are not really marching any more. They come from Roker Bridge, but the first wave is already attacking Imperialis as we speak.”

Ricky looked down at the ground. “Things sound hopeless.”

Xarok paused again, looking him up and down. “That, my friend, is very negative outlook. If we have the gate and the orbs, there is no reason to fear the Rokerians, or the Green Hand Guild members that walk among them. I will explain more when we return to the safe house, but you will see, I swear – they cannot beat us if this plan is put into action. You must keep faith.”

Ricky looked up at his guild brother. “By the howl of the wolf,” he said.

“By the howl of the wolf,” Xarok echoed. “Now, come – let’s eat. You must be hungry.”

Ricky made a face. “These days? Always.”

As Xarok and Big Mindar made a fire and pulled several juicy-looking steaks – each one wrapped in a strip of oilcloth – out of a sack, Ricky stepped over to Channia, smiling at his one-time travel companion. “It’s good to see you, Channia. I tried to follow in the forest, but I lost track of you and the girl.”

She chuckled. “And to think that I spent all that time teaching you tracking skills.”

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He smiled ruefully. “Well, it was kinda dark by that point. Anyway, I pressed on, and eventually found myself on the road to Imperialis.”

Channia frowned, glancing over at Xarok and Big Mindar. “You joined their guild, then.”

He nodded.

“But you owe me a favor, remember?” she added.

Ricky sighed and sat on the log beside her. “I haven’t forgotten. I seem to have spent a lot of my life on long journeys, looking for a better place. All too often, there are complicated tasks that needs to be completed before I get to where I really want to be. It’s frustrating. But believe me, I would love to come to Triptych Forest. I intend to honor my promise.”

“It’s a wonderful place – truly.” She took a swig from a waterskin that was clipped to her belt and then looked directly at Ricky. “Where are you from – originally I mean? Something tells me you are no native of Barrowdale.”

Ricky swallowed, wondering how best to explain his entry into the game to an NPC. “Well,” he said, “You probably won’t have heard of it. My city was largely abandoned when I was just a baby, and most of my childhood was spent living in a rodent-infested attic.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah. But my grandmother looked after me well, I have to say. For all that she had to barter away almost everything that we owned.”

“You were with family,” said Channia. “Besides, an attic – that’s the top of a building, right? Apart from the rodents, it doesn’t sound so bad. My people live in homes that are constructed high in the trees.”

“So – tree houses?”

She smiled. “Sort of. We have ways of growing very large redwood trees to form chambers, bridges, and so forth. You will love it, I promise you.”

“Okay. And Sami, is she still alive?”

“Yes. She made it back safely with me, and is staying there for a time. When I can, I will return her to her parents. Although...”

“Yes?”

Channia appeared to be on the verge of saying something, but the she sighed and shrugged. “Well, you will see when you get there. Sami has become quite fond of the forest. It is a lot nicer than Barrowdale, I suppose.”

Ricky chuckled gently at this, recalling his experiences with goblin raiders and the bear-like monster. Channia looked over at the fire, which was now burning fiercely and with very little smoke, the steaks sizzling enticingly. “So, tell me more about why you left this attic of yours?”

Ricky licked his lips, and then looked up at her again. “It was a long time,” he said, “but by the time I reached my teenage years I knew we’d have to move soon, and try something else. Try to find a better, a more viable place to live, for we had nothing left, nothing left to barter for food, fuel or clothes. Most people had already gone by that point, but some remained, trying to eke out a living of sorts, and assuming that things would have to improve eventually. It wasn’t always miserable, but it was hard, there’s no doubt about it.”

“So you had nothing? No musical instruments, no weapons?” asked Channia.

“Well,” he continued, thinking hard, and trying to piece together the fragments of memories that remained from that time, “almost nothing. Grandmother clung onto a set of books until the last. They were a strange mix of comics, academic journals, a couple of geographical magazines, children’s stories, a few novels, and technical manuals. The events on those pages, particularly the novels, and the human behavior that they showed...” He shrugged. “Well, in some ways, it was all I had. At least until I traveled away, and was able to interact with people a bit more.”

“So...” she said, frowning, “these books and scrolls... that’s how you learned to survive, and to fight?”

“I’m not sure how well it prepared me, but I learned some things, yeah. To be frank, this is one of the first times I’ve spoken to someone for more than a few minutes in what seems like an age.”

“You didn’t speak to people on the road?”

He shook his head. “Not like this. Where I am from, travelers didn’t stop to chat, and they certainly didn’t talk about their childhoods.”

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Soon the companions were all sitting on the logs again, munching on the meat. Ricky was opposite Channia, with Xarok on his left. On the other side, Big Mindar had filled a clay jug with water from the river, and Ricky gratefully accepted a hand-sized cup from the halfling, and refilled it several times as they ate.

The halfling then began to boil some water, and as he did so, Ricky recalled the yagga root tea that he had been given back in Barrowdale. He reached inside his tunic – sure enough, there were still two parcels of the herb, together with the bale leaf which he had been told that he could smoke to boost his social skills.

“Can I have a cup of that hot water?”

“Of course,” said Big Mindar. “Want some black tea to go with it?”

“I have my own.”

And soon Ricky was seeing the benefit of the healing brew:

> *Healing report: You have gained 10 hit points (22 remain).

>

> *Healing report: You have gained 8 hit points (30 remain).

As he finished the brew, Ricky reflected on his conversation with Channia. Why was his memory of his childhood so mixed up? The first he really remembered of coming to New Baravia was when he had regained consciousness. In a way, it wasn’t so very different from the moment when he had emerged into the Dark Framework.

And then...

If he were to go from this world into a deeper level of the Dark Frame, and his memory was somehow to be fractured, would he even know which level was real?

Guide. I have something to ask you about. Are other levels of the Dark Framework? Portalis is just this, place, right? So, are there different worlds that I could travel to? Like if I went through the gate in Imperialis?”

“Ricky, I can’t tell you about other levels.”

Then there must be other levels, correct.

She paused. “I can tell you that this is a level. It is called Dark Framework: Portalis.”

Okay... so by inference, there are other worlds, too. Unconnected. I would need to find a way to get to them.

“You are always entitled to your own inferences.”

So these other worlds, or other levels – are they deeper down? Is this world on the surface?

“I can’t discuss other levels, Ricky.”

He gave a wry smile. Fine. That’s all right.

Ricky stood, and stepped over to Xarok, who was drinking his own brew from a cup that steamed gently in the dim early light. “Xarok... can I ask you about something?”

“Shoot, Ricky,” said Xarok, speaking with a mouth full of meat.

“It’s just... perhaps I’m freaking out here a bit. But it occurred to me, if this is one of many levels, and there are levels below as well as the level above with the refugee camp, then well, how can we know where it all begins and ends? How can we know which levels are real?”

“What do you mean, man?”

Ricky took a breath, trying to stay calm despite a sense of dread that was starting to fill him the more he thought about this matter. “The thing is, Xarok, I came into the Dark Framework, into a simulation, and created this character, this avatar.”

“Uh huh...” Xarok looked puzzled.

“Well... I’ve been through a portal since, man, and it moved me. This entire place is called ‘Portalis’. So, we are on a level of something.”

“I know. And we need to get to a different level. That’s why we’re collecting the orbs.”

“Right. But I was thinking... What level is this? Level one? And are we aiming to go to level two? And what then? Are we going to keep doing deeper? Where does it all end?”

Xarok raised his eyebrows, and looked off to the side. “I think – though I can’t be sure – that we only need to go to the next stage in order to get the key, and become citizens at last. But it’s hard to be sure. We only have one report from a former guild member.”

“So we get the orbs, open the gateway in the Tooth and Claw Guild’s base, and let ourselves in.”

“That’s the plan.” Xarok was now staring directly at Ricky, leaning back slightly as if he expected his fellow guild member of being on the verge of a psychological breakdown.”

“But did you see those doorways back at the base? They looked very similar to the gaming pods that allowed us into the Dark Framework in the first place, at least the ones in the older building where I am now. Which makes me think... what if this is just one level of many? We get to a deeper world, with a new set of NPCs who think that that’s the only possible reality. And then, maybe even another. Deeper and deeper, each one a new world that leads to the other.”

“Well...” Xarok began.

“I mean, it’s all so realistic,” continued Ricky excitedly, gesturing towards the forest. “How do we know that the outside world, the refugee camp, all of it... That it’s not all just another level, too? That when we are in that world, we’re not just like the NPCs in here?”

Ricky realized that he was speaking rapidly and nervously once again. Xarok narrowed his eyes in response. He put down his cup, and then raised both his hands, palms outwards. “Calm down, brother. This – here – it’s a simulation, a game. Outside, that’s the real world. I remember. I lived my life out there.”

Ricky pointed over at Channia. “But Channia remembers living a life, too! And the truth is, man, I don’t recall much of the outside world. I hit my head or something, blacked out. The next thing I was in a queue for the camp. As for everything before that, my memory is patchy, for whatever reason.”

“Right. All right, but come on – tell me something. There must be details that can show you that it was all real.”

Ricky paused thinking back to what he could remember of his journey to New Baravia. “Well, the last think I remember before that was climbing onto a ship. I had been working. I was a skilled mechanic. And climbed into bunks at night. But there were also times that we hooked ourselves up to simulation games. What if one of those never even ended?”

Xarok now reached out and put his large red hand on Ricky’s shoulder. “You’re right, Ricky. It’s pretty hard these days for anyone to know where reality ends and a highly realistic simulation begins. But I do remember, and I don’t recall being wired up to a gaming pod before coming to live in the outskirts of New Baravia. Anyway, what would be the point in such an elaborate facade? To keep the population docile?”

“Maybe. How do we know that we’re not all wired up to VR machines, while the small minority of the population help themselves to everything they want inside a relatively empty world?”

Xarok chuckled. “It would solve the population problem, right enough. But no, I can’t quite accept that as a possibility. Listen. My real name is Marek Cerny, I am a second generation immigrant, and I was born in a small village fifty miles from New Baravia. I trained as a guard four months ago. What lies outside of here, it’s all real, I promise you. I don’t know how I can prove it, but it is.”

Ricky sniffed. “I hear you.”

He knew that somehow – despite the impossibility of absolute certainty – his childhood felt real, too. No matter how patchy the state of his memory or how realistic the game simulation was, he just couldn’t quite believe that the attic where he had grown up with his grandmother wasn’t the real world.

So that meant that Europe, New Baravia, all of it – it was the outer layer of the onion. It just had to be.

Didn’t it?

“To some extent, you’re just going to have to believe it, at least for now,” said Xarok. “But by all means, keep your doubts – cherish them. That should help you keep your wits about you. We are going to need to go deeper, get to the heart of the machine in order to win this game. What will we see when we get to the center of the maze? I can’t tell you, my brother. Perhaps things will get really crazy. Perhaps you’ll fall through a vortex and find yourself back in what looks the real world again, but it will all be a trick. Who knows? But for now, we are going to need to go deep, as deep as we can until we find the key, and then we’re going to have to climb out again. So keep your head, man – stay with me. We’re all going to need to stick together as a pack if we’re going to win this thing.”

Ricky nodded, staring at the ground. While nothing Xarok told him was conclusive – how could it be? – he felt reassured, his purpose and determination returning.

Yes. He would win. He had to.

And he would do it by helping his guild. Alone, he would fail. But together? There was a chance.

Accumulated XP: 1640 (unspent: 140)