Private - A Twist of Fate

The Jolly Otter was bustling.

It appeared that the world of Terrasphere did not care that it was a Tuesday evening. The tavern exploded with movement and sound, as lively as a Saturday night in the real world. Men and women, both players and NPCs alike, were having the time of their lives. Amber liquid sloshed over the rims of mugs as they were raised high. Laughter filled the cramped space, some like the high-pitched titter of birds, and some like the low rumble of thunder. Regardless of pitch, it was a joyous sound, and one that brought Magdalyn quite a bit of comfort.

Outside of the game, Lena rarely frequented establishments such as these. On the contrary, she avoided them whenever humanly possible. They were, she decided, somewhere where she felt wildly out of place. Never one to drink enough to lose her inhibitions, Lena was often given the honor of designated driver to her few friends and family members. So instead of enjoying herself, she was put on babysitting duty, cleaning up after people, and feeling impossibly embarrassed for their poor behavior.

But Terrasphere was different. Here, she could be someone different. She could be Magdalyn, the blue-haired swordswoman with no responsibilities, no obligations, no reservations. The mere thought put her in such a good mood that she caught herself humming along with the rowdy bar song being sung. She was happy here, and much to her joy, everyone else seemed to be as well.

Well, except for the man at the table next to her. Hunched over the edge of the table, the man was muttering to himself, face twisted in an expression of exasperated confusion. His hand moved wildly, flicking at the wrist as he stared intently at the empty air. Probably playing with his HUD, Magdalyn mused, taking sudden interest in the distressed man. His silver hair seemed to shimmer in the flickering light cast by the crackling fire, and his clothing screamed "brand new player." Hell, for all she knew, this was his absolute first time logging in. She could not leave him like that.

In one easy movement, Magdalyn plucked herself from the chair at her table, and plopped into one at his. "Hi there," she greeted cheerfully. "You look like you might need some help. My name's Magdalyn, but most people call me Mags." She offered a warm smile, then motioned toward him with her right hand. "Trying to get the hang of your HUD?"

 

"Fuckin clunky ass, useless POS software. A fourth grader could create a more useful and intuitive design in their sleep." Vince muttered under his breath. He'd ducked into a bar of all places looking for a decent place to sit down and figure out exactly how this game and its mechanics worked. He'd been drawn to this game via the allure of true immersion, something he'd spent his life pining for in a video-game, and here he was having it broken by the HUD of all things.

He'd logged in not a matter of hours ago, reuniting with an old friend over their shared love of video-games, closing the gaps of miles with the help of deep dive technology. Unfortunately, she had work the next morning and had to log off early, Vince wasn't due back at the office for another day or so and had plenty of time to sink into tackling this game and learning its secrets. Figuring out travel had been the first thing to tackle. With a lack of fast travel or teleportation from as far as he could tell, he'd need to be careful how far he went and when. It was all a rather puzzling dilemma, worsened by the fact that he couldn't read his fucking heads up display. That's when she swooped in.

"Trying to get the hang of your HUD?" the words hung in the air as he snapped up to look at the blue haired woman in front of him.

"Oh, uh, hello Mags...Im Vince." He looked up to her and shot her a warm smile. "Yeah, stupid thing is a pain in the ass. I'm really feeling the lack of a wiki to go digging through"

 

The words tumbled from the man with the reckless abandon of someone royally pissed off. She could hear the frustration in his voice, and practically feel it rolling off of him in waves. It tugged at her heart strings, and the smile that she offered him was full-to-bursting with warm, soft reassurance.

"Hey now," she countered, reaching out to give his arm a pat, "no stress. It took me ages to get the hang of it too, and that was with the help of a veteran player." Her concern, and her expression, were both genuine. It was important that she not press too hard, lest run the risk of coming across as condescending. But it was difficult for Magdalyn to avoid "teacher mode." Even outside of Terrasphere, Lena found herself slipping into the comforting, familiar pattern of a teacher guiding her pupils. In game, things were no different.

It was difficult for her to demonstrate, considering she could not see his HUD, and he could not see hers. But she pulled up her own for reference. Her summoning of the nearly-transparent guide was far less obvious than Vince's, but that was easily explained by her own months of practice. She had grown very skilled in the art of nonchalance.

Slowly, Mags pointed out a couple of key points, using her own HUD as a guide. Vince proved to be a quick study and patient listener, despite the ebbing frustration. Only after she had given him a pointers did she pause to glance around the table. Save for herself and Vince, the seats were not occupied.

"Are you here alone?" she asked him.

 

Oh, wow, this is really intuitive

Not that Vince would catch himself ever saying that out loud. Despite all his initial anger and frustration, he found the woman's teaching to be quite easy. She seemed borderline maternal in the way she spoke and instructed him, walking though everything as simply as possible. Finally, apparently done with her instructing, she moved on to a more personal topic.

"Are you here alone?"

The question caught him off guard, he was, but he wasn't sure the ramifications of sharing that info on the equivalent of a Chinese bootleg nerve network. Wait, she's not hitting on me is she? We are in a bar...what if she wants to get me drunk and steal my identity? His mind whirred for a moment, before finally he decided that he could get himself out of danger easily enough if needed, he could always quick log, plus this woman seemed way too nice to have negative intentions.

"I was on with a friend a little bit ago, but she had to go to work, so I was trying to figure out the game a little bit so I could speed out learning curve up a bit when she got back on"

 

There was long, pregnant pause before he responded to her. Hesitation? Magdalyn's smile faltered just the slightest bit as she studied the man's face. Was it something that she had said? Still, the woman knew how to stay in character, even when her mind was racing. Lena had spent enough hours in front of a classroom full of expectant students to know how to keep up the momentum. Besides, a burst of applause and joyous shouts from the bar rekindled her good mood.

"Well," she began, her voice remaining chipper, "I'm glad you're not alone here." She wondered if her golden eyes betrayed the smoke-thin sadness that rest just beneath the surface. Lena had bought Terrasphere with the sole purpose of making friends, but many people had entered the game with someone else. It seemed she was one of the few lone wolves, and that made adjusting a bit difficult for her. Focus on the happiness, she reminded herself, before the melancholy could seep into her bones.

Suddenly, she asked, "Do you want anything to drink?"

 

Vince perked up.

Holy shit I'm being hit on.

"Uh, sure. Are you drinking anything? I don't know how the money system works but I can get us a round of drinks, I think..." His face settled into a calm, friendly smile, masking the sudden panic racing through his mind. His heart rate picked up rapidly as he quickly remembered all those banal pieces of advice his father had given him about picking up women in bars. Gotta keep your shoulder square, maintain eye contact, fake it till you make it...

Wait, what the hell am I doing? The question struck him oddly. I just met this lady, what if she wants one of my kidneys, or what if she's like my moms age?

 

The blue-haired woman shook her head, the motion sending the unruly mop into her face. She absently shoved it back with a practiced raking of fingers. "Keep your money," she commanded. "I remember how it was to be a poor newbie. Besides, I haven't taught you how to use the transaction feature yet." Her smile remained warm, lighthearted, though it did not reach her eyes.

Excusing herself with a small nod, Mags pushed back from the table. The scrape of her chair was barely audible over the Jolly Otter's other sounds, and she knew she would need to shout to be heard over the crowd gathered at the bar. Fortunately, by the time she had weaseled past the bodies, the barkeep was watching her expectantly from the corner of her eye. Her order only took a few minutes to process, thanks to the owner's attentiveness, and efficient way of running things. When she returned to Vincent, each hand clutched a tall mug filled to brimming with rich, brown liquid.

"Not sure the brand," she informed him. "Don't suppose they'd stock Coke or Pepsi here, but it's some kind of pop. Good too." There was a sharp thud as she placed the drink before him, and settled back into her own chair. "This is my go-to in-game."

 

“Gotta love Cola” he nodded in response reaching for the drink. He supposed it was fine, he’d watched her the whole time she had the drink, and he was relatively sure E roofies weren't a thing.


Maybe.


He took a quick sip and chuckled. “Tastes closer to the original kola nut soda, like that promo coke they had out a while ago? It's good” He absently ran a hand through his hair, bar conversation was not his strong point. “What brought you to this game?”


An innocent enough question, but perhaps he could learn more of her intentions through casual conversation, he just needed to avoid divulging simple information, like his mother's maiden name...or his favorite color.

 

"Kola nut soda?" Magdalyn said, her face screwing up in feigned disgust. "Soda?" Then her face relaxed into a good-humored grin. "I guess I can rule out American Midwest as your place of origin."

At his question, the young woman blinked in surprise. "Oh," she breathed, before she realized what she was doing. She had spent months in the game now, and no one had ever flat-out asked her what it was all for. Mags knew the answer, of course, but she hesitated to let it spill, unabashed, from her lips. Was there any way at all that she might answer without coming across as a pathetic mess? Could she avoid giving off those desperate, lonely vibes?

I'm a teacher, Mags thought to herself. That's only one step away from actress.

Then, she mirrored his casual shrug. "This and that," she answered nonchalantly. "It looked like a pretty cool game. Seemed like a lot of neat people would be playing, you know?"

Did he know? Or was he one of those "play to win" types?

 

"Well based on that answer, Im assuming you're from the Midwest yourself then." He chuckled. "Me, I'm from the best state in the union, Texas." He continued taking a sip. Her answer was non-convincing at best, and blatantly shady at the worst. She was either desperately lonely, desperate to phish for some info, and just straight up lying to him. He casually glanced over her avatar wondering if maybe she really was a woman, or just some sort of Trap with a really girly voice and...he banished the thought.

"It is a cool game, I'm a super big fan of the deep dive tech, and this is the only game running around that isn't neutered to hell, so its the closest thing to...true immersion."

 

Magdalyn nodded along as the man spoke. Texas, huh? She had never been herself, but she had heard it was hot and dry. Basically, not a place high on her to-do list, despite her love for travel.

"Best state in the union?" she echoed. "I guess it depends on who you talk to. I'm pretty fond of my home state. Living in -"

She was cut short by a distressed cry. The noise of the tavern ebbed, dropping from a lively rolling to a low, eerie murmur. Heads turned to the woman in the open doorway. Her arms were splayed wide, hands on each edge of the doorway, her chest heaving as if she had just run a marathon. Even from her seat at the other end of the room, Magdalyn could tell that the woman was an absolute wreck. Her face was splotchy, pale white of shock mixing with the flush of exertion. In the dim light, her cheeks shimmered with spilled tears.

"Someone, please," she croaked, her voice now too loud in the hushed building. "My son is gone. I need help."

 

Rp? Or a...really convincing quest NPC? Vincent mused to himself as he rose to his feet. This was his chance, he downed his drink and turned to Magdalyn. "I think I hear a call for a hero, want so see what this is all about?" he asked raising an eyebrow. Thank god for expressive facial features or this game would be disturbingly creepy.

He wasn't sure about this Mags woman, she could still be after his kidneys after all, but he also couldn't afford to miss out a chance to experience what this game had to offer. She was a valuable source of information, he couldn't let that go to waste. Without waiting for the woman to respond, her weasled his way through the crowd towards the door, finally approaching the distressed woman.

"What's wrong ma'am?"

 

The woman's relief was palpable as she seemed to deflate like a balloon. While her face remained haunted, and her deep-set brown eyes still held a mother's concern, her shoulders had hunched forward. It was as if some of the weight had been removed from them, simply because someone had offered to help.

They did one hell of a job with these NPCs, Magdalyn found herself thinking as she moved up beside her new acquaintance. The woman, and her plight, were incredibly realistic. She was also incredibly compelling, and Mags immediately found herself ready to help. Perhaps it was simply her own bleeding heart, but Vincent seemed just as eager to offer aid, and that said something.

"My son," the woman began, as if struggling to find the words. But by then, the noise had begun to increase in volume.

Not wanting the woman to have to shout to be heard, Mags directed them outside. Only once the threesome had exited were they able to hear her story.

She started again. "My son, he's run off. We had a fight. He's only twelve, but he's taken the mare and run off." Her lower lip quivered as she added, "There's a storm coming."

 

Wow, it's like everything Todd Howard ever promised in an elder scrolls game

Vincent frowned as he listened to her speak. Her facial expressions, her tone of voice, everything about her was...eerily real. It was like watching an Oscar worthy performance. It made the...tension feel real. These people seemed real, their problems seemed real, and that awful storm in the distance seemed even more real.

"Which way did he go? I'm pretty sure he's not gonna want to be out there when the rain falls, hell, I don't want to be out there when the rain hits"

 

The woman sniffled, a trembling hand rising to rake back her hair. Once, Mags suspected that it had been a deep, stunning brown, a shade similar to that of her eyes. Now, it was dulled to a more muted color, and streaked with gray. If she were to venture a guess, it would be that this was not the first time the NPC’s son caused her grief.

That same hand moved to point down the road. “I didn’t see him go,” she confessed, “but I imagine he rode for the woods. He’s always liked it out there.” And that is where he had run before, Magdalyn mused, reading between the lines, and learning from what was left unspoken.

“What does your son look like?” Mags inquired. “If you would not mind describing him for me. Height, build, hair color?”

The question seemed to pain the woman, but she put on a brave face, and answered. “About this tall.” She held her hand flat, palm down, around five foot from the ground. “He is very thin. Brown hair, brown eyes. Like mine.”

“Great,” Mags said, giving the woman a small nod, and a reassuring smile. More questions, she knew, would only make things worse. Besides, they had little time before the storm reared its ugly head. Even she could smell it now, and feel the change in the air as the temperature and pressure dipped. “We’ll take it from here, don’t worry.”

With that, Magdalyn went striding off, but not toward the forest. Instead, her long legs carried her the opposite direction, toward the stable. “Can you ride?” she called over her shoulder toward Vincent.