~ CHAPTER 6 ~

THE MAGIC OF EMPATHY AND CONNECTION, PART 2

Good! It’s questing time. I breathed out a little sigh of relief as I left the bustle and weirdness of the player town behind me. I looked back and noticed the grubby-bubbly Balar was trundling behind me, still frowning but with a slightly concerned look now. He wasn’t looking at me though, he obviously had some very specific destination in mind and we just happened to be travelling in the same direction. Which was reasonable, given that there was only one direction to be travelling.

I had passed through the gates now, though, so I was officially in the jungle. Technically. The cobblestone road continued past the gates going north until it disappeared into the trees, but I wasn’t sure how much further than that it went. Probably not much. There was a range of about three hundred metres between the city wall and the treeline, most of which was covered with thickly dotted stumps, felled logs, and piles of brush: players were wasting no time in starting to clear the land.

That made sense. Real Estate inside the walls was always going to be at a premium, so most players who wanted to have houses or shops of their own would have to build outside. Building full buildings was probably beyond the capabilities of most players at this point, but chopping down trees in preparation wasn’t, and it had the added benefit of creating a buffer area outside town to stave off monster attacks. Not that the monsters could ever get through the gate: it was pretty safe to assume that was hardcoded.

Standing just outside the gate and looking up, though, I had my breath stolen away. I’d thought the sight earlier had been spectacular, but this was something else! My encounter from a minute ago completely forgotten, I stared up in awe at the enormous bastion towering above me.

The main gates were wide enough for at least six or seven people to comfortably pass through side by side, and must have been twice or three times as tall. It hadn’t registered while I was scurrying away, but the archway was several metres thick, so it was more like a tunnel than a door. I was suddenly very conscious of how very small I was.

The pervasive defining feature of Cowl’s Landing was its nature as a pioneer town. That is, a pioneer town that was literally the only safe haven on the frontier of a highly dangerous continent filled with erratic and unstable magics, huge magical beasts, and a whole lot of unexplored questions. The main industry was the harvesting of magical reagents from the jungle. It was a mage town, built by and for the kind of people who either didn’t want to have normal lives in the safety of the empire, or who couldn’t. Vagrants, criminals, outcasts, treasure seekers, maniacal researchers of dangerous things… people with mysterious backgrounds and things to hide, and mages. Lots and lots of mages. Also a few normal people. Ah, not sure which category I fit into.

Suffice it to say, this wasn’t a normal city gate inside a normal city wall. It was built to withstand anything short of the apocalypse, but it was done so with basically whatever was on hand - mostly magic, in other words. Parts of it were made of stone. Parts were made of sandstone, or wood, or huge sheets of metal. Parts were made of nothing at all, with shimmering rainbow-hued swirls in the air indicating magical force-fields instead. Some of these apparent holes were probably filled with glass, but at this distance it would be hard to tell. Everything was built layered haphazardly on top of one another with no apparent guiding principle or design besides just making it big, thick, and completely impervious to all harm.

Jutting out at frequent intervals were large crystals of various colours, and these continued above the wall as well, floating upwards into the sky. Sometimes little zaps of lightning would drift lazily from one to another, but at this distance they didn’t make enough sound to be heard over the background racket of the jungle.

One of these crystals, a particularly massive one that was white like a diamond but probably three times as large as I was, formed the keystone at the top of the arch. It jutted out like a huge gargoyle and glared down at me, warning that if I so much as dared to be an intruder, I would be squashed, zapped, fried, pulverized, and disintegrated. Probably all at once.

This was my new home.

Deep breath. OMG.

So.

Freaking!

COOL!

I was practically dancing in the middle of the road, looking up with my eyes peeled as wide as they would go and my heart racing. I felt like jumping up and down with excitement. I was jumping up and down with excitement. THIS is why we play VR games!

It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen this sight before from videos of beta, or even that I’d never stood under a really grand building before, but somehow seeing it in person for the first time was a whole different experience. I could feel the awesome ferocity of the spectacle in my heart, and being here in person I had all of the other sensations that went with it: the sticky heat of the jungle, the sun baking down, the feel of the cobblestones under my shoes, the buzzing and hooting of unseen creatures… the feeling of security that here, under the protection of this fastness, I was uncompromisingly absolutely safe.

I heard the sound of voices nearby chatting about something I couldn’t quite make out. I became aware, incidentally, that there were other people around. Other people who could see me staring up at the city gates with my mouth open flailing about like a crazy person. Right. Time to go.

Head held high, I turned left, as per my instructions, and marched towards my first quest. I have nothing to be ashamed about. Nothing. Hang on a moment… After walking a few steps something occurred to me: unfortunately, my left from a moment ago and the left the Keeper had had in mind weren’t actually the same left. I’m not embarrassed. Nope! Something was stinging a little at my ears. I took a quick peek around looking for any bugs to swat at.

Turning around once again, I followed along the wall going west this time. It was a cool feeling having that massive cliff-like edifice at my side, but I wouldn’t be following it for long: it would continue to curve south around the town until it reached the shore, while I needed to be going straight. The Keeper had said that I couldn’t miss Evelyn’s Bog, so as long as I didn’t do anything too stupid like going in completely the opposite direction of the one I was supposed to be going, it would be fine.

After a couple minutes, I entered the jungle proper, and my going slowed down sharply. It wasn’t so thick I couldn’t see where I was going, but there were enough roots and branches and thick wiry bushes in the way that I had to be extremely careful of my footing, especially with the risk of my dress getting caught on something. I even ran into a few intentionally dug traps. These were probably from players trying to gain hunting-type Skills or catch prey to skin or cook, but they really shouldn’t have placed them in the way of where beginner players would be doing their first quests! Somebody might get hurt! Like me!

I pushed forward, keeping a closer eye out for anything dangerous that might spring up under foot. Sooner or later I was bound to encounter a monster, but the ones close to the city like this were probably being hunted practically to extinction right now, and in any case I was confident I could handle it if one did show up.

Here under the canopy I was shaded from the sun, but rather than helping to cool me down I just felt even stickier. It actually seemed quieter now that I had the trees and undergrowth insulating me from the noise, despite my being closer to the source. The ground was kind of squishy underfoot, but it didn’t feel bad. I almost wanted to take my shoes off to feel the squish in my toes.

In the air everything smelled somehow… close. There was the earthy smell of the wood, mixed with the sour moistness of the hanging vines and succulent leaves, and the faint undercurrent of rot from plant matter that had fallen to the ground. Here and there, a sickly sweetness wafted up from some flytrap-like plant underfoot. Another plant had flowers at about my head’s height that gave off a citrusy smell. All throughout there was a strange slightly electric tangy smell that I couldn’t identify.

Everything seemed to buzz about in my head, warm and sweet, tangy, sticky, whistly and squawky, rushing and flushing and roaring and crushing. My vision swam a little, and I wobbled, catching myself absent-mindedly on a thing before I could trip-stumble… fall. Hanging from something. Feet under me… under me? Roaring. Heaviness on my chest. Buzzing.

Roaring.

I weakly shook my head, lolling from side to side, trying to gain some semblance of… what? Where…? My knees were enjoying the softness of the peat, slightly damp. Large black-tipped reeds in front of me, parting for some water. Shallow. Slightly oozy.

Whooshing. Whooshing.

Not good.

“Staausss…” I mumbled slurrily sleepily. Slooo…

Shake head again. More energy. Louder. “Status.”

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Nothing happened.

Of course nothing happened.

Louder. Confidently. “System: display status!”

*ploop*

Status: [River]

Class: [Novice Mistborn Magical Martial Artist]

Location: [Lower Spelltouched Wilds - Evelyn’s Bog]

Health 38/38 ~ Mana 7/40 ~ Stamina 15/41

[Drained (65%)], [Exhausted (27%)], [Confused]

Ah.

I reached out my finger and poked at the icons corresponding to the different status ailments, bringing up more detailed displays.

[Drained]

Constitution and Willpower reduced by 65%. Caused by having severely depleted Mana.

[Exhausted]

Strength and Intensity reduced by 27%. Caused by having moderately depleted Stamina.

[Confused]

Player mental state in disarray. Cause unknown.

This was a problem. I’d been walking for a while, so I guessed it made sense that my Stamina would be depleted, although it was way more depleted than it should be, but that would mostly regenerate on its own after a bit of rest. The state of my Mana was another matter. Regenerating thirty-three Mana could literally take all day and then some, and it really shouldn’t even be depleted at all - I hadn’t cast any spells yet! I hadn’t done anything!

On second thought… as I watched, the [Confused] status vanished from the display. I felt like planting my face in my palm and groaning at my idiocy. I knew where all my Mana had gone.

“System: close local area map.” I sighed.

The offending console vanished from my sight. Slinking away guiltily as if it knew exactly what it had done and wasn’t really sorry, but didn’t want to face my wrath.

Well, that was still a problem, though. I knew what had been constantly draining all my Mana and Stamina and caused me to go all woozy, and now I at least had a sortof clearish idea of what was going on, but that wasn’t going to bring my Mana back. I can’t fight with no Mana. I was a sitting duck. Or a sitting girl I guess. Since I was literally sitting. And a girl.

I sat there in dejected slumpiness, not really sure what to do. What were my options anyway?

Option 1: Go back to the city and beg for some water. Twenty minutes slogging back through the steamy jungle, and there was no guarantee anyone would care, then twenty minutes slogging back if I got lucky. This was not a good option.

Option 2: Drink the water that was in front of me. The oozy, buggy, mucky water. That was oozing. And probably poisonous. This was also not a good option. In fact, I might even say it sounded a bit like a bad option.

Option 3: Log out and wait for my Mana to refill from the safety of the void. This would probably take nearly until supper time. In real life time. Which was absolutely not ok at all. This was a bad option. A very bad one.

Option 4: Continue my quest and pray that nobody big and scary caught sight of me. All things considered, even though I hadn’t encountered anything so far, I judged that was pretty unlikely. This still seemed like it was the best option so far, though, so that was something.

I considered. Was there anything else? I made the hand gesture to open the menu and display my inventory. Maybe something there would stir some inspiration.

*ploop*

Inventory:

[Special Edition Founder’s Token]

[Novice Healing Potion]

[Novice Mana Potion]

[Small Glass Jar]

[Small Pouch]

Another facepalm. I had a Mana potion in my inventory. It had been there the whole time. I started to reach out, but something else caught my eye. It was the [Small Pouch] that the Keeper had given me. I’d never looked to see what was inside, and now curiosity struck.

I extracted the pouch from my inventory, feeling the strange sensation as it slid from being a two-dimensional image in the air to being an object in my hand. It clinked softly as I shifted it in my other hand to open. There was a draw string tied loosely to keep it shut, and I tugged at it, then reached inside.

The first item I felt seemed to be a small glass vial of some sort. I pulled it out and examined it.

[Vial of Silver Gemdust (10)]

A silvery crystalline sand-like magical reagent that is a valuable trade commodity both on the frontier and in the empire. Used as the smallest form of universal currency in Cowl’s Landing.

It was money. A small allowance she must have given me to tide me over for my first quest - about enough to buy lunch or a piece of starter gear. That was… actually really thoughtful of her. I felt my heart warm a little as I reached in for the next item.

[Sugary Biscuit]

A sweet biscuit with absolutely no nutritional value. Enjoy!

I’d seen these before! I giggled. They’d certainly been tasty when combined with the tea earlier, but even the in-game description was clear that they served no other purpose than to make me feel good. The Keeper had just wanted to send along a little happiness, and I couldn’t help smiling. I reached in for the next item.

[Tropical Sunfruit]

An extraordinarily juicy peach-like citrus fruit. Warning: very sticky! Restores 12 Mana.

I squeezed my eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed, before allowing my face to split into a big happy smile. She’d thought of everything. She was taking care of me still, even while I wasn’t there. I wouldn’t have to drink my only Mana potion, I could just sit back and enjoy a tasty fruit instead, and by the time I was done, both my Mana and Stamina would have restored to the point where I was no longed status impaired. Bliss.

There were two other items in the pouch. A [Small Iron Key] that I could only assume was intended to grant me access back into the sanctuary, and another of the biscuits. The key was still heartwarmingly thoughtful, but unfortunately I couldn’t use it without knowing which door it was actually supposed to go into. It wouldn’t be a problem though. I could just get back the way I came the first time and ask her about doors after. In hindsight, she’d probably assumed I already knew the easy way into and out of her sanctuary, assuming I was right that there was one, and now that I thought about it she’d even asked if I had any questions - I just hadn’t been listening.

A myriad feelings washed over me. It had already been a long day, and it hadn’t even really started yet. There had been the weird stares in the crowd and all those squicky comments. There had been hurrying along trying to avoid eye contact, and that person whose hand had gone where I absolutely didn’t want it. There had been that friendly-not-friendly shiny man and whatever-the-what that was all about… And there had been the beautiful- crazy- wonderful cityscape glittering like a fairytale in the early afternoon sun, and the feeling of infallible safety and awe under that immense city bulwark. All of that, and there had been the Keeper.

I lay back on the damp springy earth, took a big sloppy bite of my [Tropical Sunfruit], let the smells and sounds and tastes and feelings soak into me… and laughed.

I loved it.

~ ~ 26/1/1/12:51 ~ ~

Status: [River]

Class: [Novice Mistborn Magical Martial Artist]

Location: [Lower Spelltouched Wilds - Evelyn’s Bog]

Health 38/38 ~ Mana 10/40 ~ Stamina 17/41

[Drained (51%)], [Exhausted (17%)], [Inspired] Equipped Skills (5/8):

[Force Infused Palm]

[Myriad Fists]

[Imbued Defence]

[Unarmed Discipline (Passive)]

[Body Conditioning (Passive)] Statistics:

Defence +8

Resistance +4

Constitution +4 (-51%)

Willpower +4 (-51%)

Endurance +4 (-11%)

Spirit (+1)

Strength (-17%)

Intensity (-17%) Equipped Items (2/8):

[New Arrival’s Simple Dress]

[New Arrival’s Simple Shoes]

[Falkruen Tick]

Other Skills:

[Inscribe: Rune of the Creator Flame (0/1)] Other Items:

[Special Edition Founder’s Token]

[Novice Healing Potion]

[Novice Mana Potion]

[Small Glass Jar]

[Small Pouch]

[Vial of Silver Gemdust (10)]

[Small Iron Key]

[Sugary Biscuit]x2

[Tropical Sunfruit (Being eaten)] Active Quests:

[Acquire Ancient Flame-Seared Ink]

[The Ancient Keeper of Runic Magic (Part 2)]