Complete - Winter Help

Madison didn't need to flick open her menu to know that food was a good idea. A warm place to stay on top of that was also very smart.

The trek through Brisshal had been pretty miserable thus far, even with Zaendal's company--possibly because of Zaendal's company, but the two beginners didn't have much of a choice but to stick together. At least, until she had some experience under her belt and a few coins to rub together, maybe some upgraded magic as well...

The woman leaned back in her seat, legs crossed and hands firmly clasped in her lap as she tried to suppress the lingering shivers from being outside in the cold. "Food and shelter are nice enough," she began with a nod. "But in this weather?"

Seemingly on cue, the wind picked up outside. A howling gust rattled the windows and pushed a few errant flakes of snow through the cracks in the doorway.

Madison did not break her gaze away from the old man. "I do hope there will be some additional compensation. With the two of us risking our lives out there, and all."

Even if it's just the heaviest set of furs you got, ya' idiot. Who the hell drags their daughter out to the middle of nowhere like this and doesn't home-school her?

And then she remembered, oh, right, it's a game. All quest-giving NPCs have a few screws loose.

She cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Just how far away is this school?"

 

How long had they been in the cold? Clearly directions had gotten confused somewhere along the line, and being dragged into a warm cottage was a welcome transition from the growing discomfort of wet pants. Zaendal was really starting to crave his usual heavy armor adornments, at least you don't get soaked in snow with metal clothes.

He quickly took a place on the ground near the fire. His hair had been tucked into the back of his shirt; the wind had been whipping it around and nearly gave the man whiplash. Rubbing his hands together, he listened carefully to the man's tale, turning around only to see the bite revealed on his leg. Trying not to make jokes from a nearly ancient online card game he used to play growing up, Zaen considered the proposal. Spending the night on the server could give him time to familiarize himself with the menus, and he hadn't yet tried eating. Did they really simulate taste buds, too? Would they match his normal tastes in the real world? Hm.

Before he could say a word, Madison spoke up in a very "what's in it for us" fashion. It wasn't enough to just get out of the cold and get some directions on the way out? I'm sure this character has some insights into the game's lore as well, which would be nice to pick up on. He sighed.

"What I think my companion here is trying to say is that we have concerns about the beast that gave you that wound on your leg," choosing his words carefully so as not to deny that more would be welcomed, but would not be necessary. "I'd just like to make sure we're prepared. Perhaps we can discuss it over a bite to eat?" Taking the AI's queue for food as an invitation to begin, Zaen would stand and begin walking wherever the innke- *ahem* fine gentleman would direct him.

 

"A fine idea," the old man exclaimed as he slowly, painfully rose to his feet. Madison watched on silent and still, as if she were a part of the shack's decor.

"I have a stew going right now, shouldn't be five minutes before it's ready to go. Couple spoonfuls of this'll melt the ice off ye' bones!" With a heavy limp and the assistance of a makeshift cane crafted from a tree branch, the hobbled over to the pot hung over the roaring fire.

She had to admit that whatever was bubbling inside it smelled pretty good. But was that the game just telling her as much? Or was that actually a pile of carrots, beef, potatoes, and spices simmering? Developers had been playing with more than auditory and visual stimuli in their games for a couple years now, but if the aches and pains of her landing in Terrasphere were any indication, this may as well be an actual dinner.

Madison shook her head. No, impossible. She was playing a game. All of this was in her head. Nothing more than an endless string of coding simply telling her what she was experiencing. No matter how delicious it ended up being, she was only replenishing a meter in the game's world. Eventually she'd need to log off and dig through her cupboard for another Cuppa Noodz (Pizza Flavor).

"While you're finishing up over there, let's get back to your daughter." Madison glanced down at Zaendal, who for some reason was still sitting on the dirty shack floor, unaware that there was a freshly-vacated seat, pre-heated and ready to keep his ass warm and comfy.

"Of course, of course," the decrepit old fart muttered as he stirred the broth.

"How far away is this school?" Please don't say fifteen miles away, uphill.

"Only a couple miles southwest, if ye' go straight there."

"Why wouldn't we?"

He turned to face the novice adven--well, novice eveything, really, pointing at her with the dripping end of a wooden spoon. "That would mean the two of ye'd have to march through the woods, where the bastard that bit me lives."

Madison wasn't opposed to a fight, even if it were in thigh-deep snow. It'd give her a chance to get a better handle on the combat mechanics. Also, punching things was fun!

"Ye'd have a four mile hike if the two of ye' were to go 'round, mind. Less dangerous, but with all this snow..."

Madison exchanged glances with Zaendal. There was no friggin' way she was going to make this longer than necessary. She'd drag him through the forest by his nostrils if she had to.

 

It hadn't felt like particularly long since these two had been at the entrance to a cave, figuring out how to even get around the world. Now here they were, in the middle of nowhere, being asked by a rather humble-looking fellow to get his daughter home. He almost felt a twinge of compassion for the NPC, but he also knew that these out of the way quests usually paid some pretty good unspoken rewards. He shrugged to himself as he walked to the table, listening to the quest details as Madison took over the conversation. This didn't seem too bad, though it'd probably the last thing he'd do in this game day. Zaen took a seat and opened his palm menu, holding it in such a way that it would look like he was just trying to warm his hands. It was still pretty early in his day, but this could take a bit.

"No offense, but we're adventurers. I wouldn't feel right leaving here without taking out the beast that caused you harm, if only because it would leave you at risk for another injury later."

"Aye, but no offense lad, the two o' ye look greener than yer hair," the man shot back. "Don't go lookin' fer trouble jus to play hero. I wanna see me lass returned unharmed first thing. Well, other'n yer meal, dig in!" The fellow placed down a meal as warm as his digital heart, steam rising from the bowl of stew. It looked amazing.

Zaendal put on a stern look and nodded. He figured that was perhaps a quest prompt that the beast would be slightly above their level, but that didn't matter. With the look he'd seen on Madison's face earlier, they'd take the direct route anyway. He took a few bites, the first bite... burning his tongue? This was so peculiar. He didn't expect to have to be careful of temperatures in a game. Regardless, he would make short work of the delicious meal, placing his utensil on a cloth next to bowl as he finished.

"The meal was wonderful, thank you. But if your daughter is in danger, we really should be going." He got to his feet and gave a short bow to the man. "We shall take our leave now, and return shortly. Thank you for your hospitality." Zaendal would waste little time waiting, only pausing to make eye contact with Madison, give a nod, and walk to the door. When she was ready, he would take point and open the door for the two. Perhaps it was Zaen's tendency to jump into a situation ahead of others that had made Madison's time with the green haired man uncomfortable, but he'd been rather enjoying the experience.

The wind had died down a bit, which was good. The air felt even more frigid after the time spent near the fire and the warm food in their stomachs. Regardless, Zaen set out to the southwest, frozen footstep by frozen footstep. The last thing he wanted to do was make this a long trip. He liked cool temperatures, not being a popsicle. After what felt like a solid hour of walking that was probably akin to fifteen or twenty minutes, a gathering of trees came into view. Zaen simply called out over his shoulder to his companion.

"We goin' in?"

 

Madison licked her teeth as she surveyed the path before them.

The snow was still piled up higher than she'd like, but they've managed the trek so far without issue. Surrounded on either side by clumps of trees blanketed in white, the way forward was still clear and wide enough for five or six people to walk side by side as it wound towards their goal. A chill crept through her, and she pulled her coat just a little tighter. This was the last place she wanted to find out what would happen if her temperature meter dropped too low.

"We're going in," she confirmed with a nod. And with that, the two adventurers took their first steps into the forest.

Ever since downing the bowl of soup at the old man's shack, Madison had been deep in thought about Terrasphere. She knew it was a video game, nothing more than a program plugged into her VR headset, but everything still seemed a bit too... real.

The whole crashing into the world bit that bruised her jaw. The biting cold of the winter air, the warmth of the fire in the cabin. The lingering burn on her tongue from assuming she could just shove a spoonful of boiling stew fresh from the pot and raise a couple meters. It was all a bit too convincing, all a bit to real for her.

It was rather exciting, she had to admit.

What wasn't exciting was the complete lack of anything happening so far. In fact, it was slightly concerning. The pair of them, walking silently in the open, with who knows what skulking outside their field of vision? The sounds of their movements muffled by the deep snow? The witch (as she was content to think of herself as, for the time being) was starting to worry that they had bitten off a bit more than they could chew by taking on this little rescue mission.

Her thoughts drifted to the nasty bite marks on the old man's leg. Whatever did that was lurking in these woods. Could be anywhere. Could be around the bend, could be behind those trees over there.

Could be right behind them, fangs bared and ready to pounce.

Madison needed to distract herself. She turned her head to look at her companion. "So, tell me. What's your story?"

 

Regardless of the fact that it was clearly a cry for something to do other than walk through bitter cold darkness, Zaen couldn't help but let loose a small chuckle. He had met a lot of people in his VR gaming career, and most, even in these situations, would have difficulty forming even that social of a sentence. Maybe she wasn't as much of a shut-in as she had seemed when they met in front of Beginner Cave.

"My story... I'm a gamer," he said as though it would be a surprise. "I grew up on video games, learned how to work computers from a young age, and learned from my parents how to build communities. I was actually the guild leader of a..." Zaendal paused. He took a sharp breath, held it for a moment, and let it loose in a deep sigh. "Towerstorm was my pride. It wasn't as large as Ragnarok, but we trained some of the best tanks in the biggest MMOs out there, VR or otherwise. You might have heard the story about it, if not... we'll talk later." He took a few slow breaths, watching from side to side as they marched through the softly lit wooded ground, stepping over the occasional protruding root. The ground was thankfully much lighter on snow here thanks to the canopy.

"Outside of gaming, I'm a boring guy who makes sure numbers from big company ledgers are in the right place. Make a decent living, and a wonderful future wife who is as much of a nerd as I am. Couple of mutts... speaking of." His stance tightened. He could hear the growling and loud sobs as they reached the clearing. Mere steps outside of the woods, what appeared to be the backside of a rather ugly-looking wolf was staring down a young girl, no doubt the child they'd been sent after. There was no doubt in Zaen's mind what needed to happen. He pressed his fingers to his temple and -- without even a moment to open his menu to equip something -- ran forward, charging the beast as he let out a powerful yell. He noted the blue tint of the name: "Primal Frost Gnoll." Seemed a bit long for a glorified hyena. Regardless, while the player hadn't picked the widest of builds for Zaen, any creature being ambushed from behind has an instinctual fight or flight instinct, and there was still a fair bit of learning to be had. This was as much an experiment of the AIs' programming as it was the potential combat scenario.

Much to his surprise, this 'gnoll' chose the flight option. Looking back over its shoulder, it almost seemed to scoff as it turned and sprinted away into its wooded domain. Almost disappointed, he approached the girl more slowly, lowering his demeanor. "I don't know if that's the last we'll see of that thing," he called back to his partner in crime. The young man knelt down, still a bit away from the girl so as not to scare her, and spoke gently. "Are you trying to get home to your dad? He sent us to look for you, he's got a bowl of stew waiting for when you get back." He presented a hand forward, still kneeling, to let her take the initiative to come to him. Zaen wasn't quite sure if this was a beginner quest at this point, but he could hope that the beast wasn't regrouping...

 

"Come on," the witch hissed at the pair of them. "We need to get going before that thing gets some backup."

Madison scanned the clearing, looking for any signs of trouble. The little girl glanced at her, then back at Zaendal, a single tear frozen on her porcelain cheek as she tried to gauge how much she could trust these two strangers.

It was too quiet for her tastes. Middle of the forest, with who-knows-what-else besides cyan hyenas (cyenas?) that looked like something out of those old F2P RPGs she played on her iPhone lurking in the drifts, behind trees, hidden in the brush. The only sounds that hit her ears were the soft flicking of a tarot card ready to unleash a spell and the trio's shaky breathing.

The chill of winter was setting into her bones. She suppressed a shiver and wished she had asked for a coat or something back at grandpa's cabin.

"Let's go," she said with urgency. Zaen shot her an unreadable look over his shoulder and turned back to their charge.

"It'll be okay," he offered with a warm smile. "We'll get you home safe."

With a look of relief in her eyes, the girl took his hand and pulled herself onto her feet.

"T-thank ye, th' both of ye. I-I don't know what I would've d-d-done if the botha' ye hadn't shown up..."

Madison's mind took a quick turn down a dark path as she wondered how thoroughly the developers rendered tattered, bloody scraps of chewed flesh.

Quickly and silently, they made their way back through the forest. The fresh snow silenced their footsteps, but also those of any creatures that might be stalking them. Madison's heart pounded out of... No, it definitely wasn't fear... What was it, then? Anticipation? Yeah, that sounded right. Anticipation that the beast would spring a surprise attack on them as they reached the edge of the woods.

The witch flicked open her palm menu, checked the map, and closed it. She continued to play with her cards, performing flourish after flourish, ready to unleash the power contained within.

Her hands were like ice cubes. She was finding it harder to keep the deck together, with all the shaking and fingers deciding to lock up and other unfortunate things that happen when you're a solid fifteen minutes from frostbite, probably. After one cut in particular, the bottom card of one packet slid out of place and hit the snow. A bouquet of thorny vines erupted from the ground, shooting into the air and flailing around for several seconds before withering away to nothingness.

"Dammit. Sorry," she whispered as she picked the card back up, wiped a few errant flakes off on her shirt, and slid it into the deck.

The rest of the trip, almost disappointingly, went without incident. As the outline of the cabin formed in the distance, Madison mused to herself that maybe she and Zaen were too low of a level for the beast to have respawned with a few friends. As much as she was happy she didn't have to, she felt a tinge of regret that there was no need for her kill anything.

Oh well. There's always next time, right?

The little girl, with a renewed spring in her step, bounded the last few feet to the doorstep and threw open the door, revealing the smiling face of her father. Many hugs were had, tears were shed, and thanks given.

And the rewards. Rewards were always nice, too.