Masadorraed crouched low and peered around a tree trunk. Markus, faintly detecting sounds, boosted the volume of his headset. The stereophonic effects were incredibly realistic; he could distinguish rushed footsteps as they crunched on the snow and twigs snapping underneath. Someone was running... A few seconds later, a girl ran past and he could hear the sounds of her pursuers - horse's hooves rapidly approaching followed by howling wolves.
The scene faded and was replaced by another. This time he saw a horseman hold the girl by her hair as she dropped a green stone in the snow... Fog rolled in and tumbled out... A snow covered cliff, the girl near the edge, the man on the horse riding towards her... she jumped. The horseman stopped, a bright green glow, a sudden flash of white. The scene returned to reveal the man as he stared over the cliff into the distance... Then, he vanished. All that remained were footprints in the snow as the black void crept back to dominate the screen.
Finally a town emerged into view. It was populated by villagers, low ranked players and such. Probably the newbie town... Smaller carts were pulled by what he figured were Non-Player-Characters, NPC's. It was night. Lit torches were held in stands scattered around the village, barely lighting the paths, buildings and people... of sorts. His character was the only human in the street, most others were elves or dwarfs. He spotted a few gnomes, unicorns and phoenix, but they were the minority.
Markus admired the sword in his character’s hand. It was the brightest thing around. Its glow shimmered, illuminating the area around him, which resulted in every character nearby to shift their gaze towards it. “Time to try out these controls,” Markus unconsciously said aloud. Instantaneously his voice transmitted through the microphone on his headset to his character and sounded through his headphones. “Awesome!” he exclaimed, drawing even more attention. OK… let’s give this a go, and this time, without the commentary.
He was just about to take off running when he noticed an exclamation point floating above a nearby NPC's head. So instead, Markus manipulated his controller to direct his character over to him. As he approached, the NPC smiled and gave a cheerful greeting, "Welcome to the world of Thaihaelon! I'm Scrololing. Would you like a map? They can be rather useful." Scrololing scanned Masadorraed. He’s probably evaluating my character...
"Yeah, I don't have the slightest clue where I am!" Markus replied, his voice one of many that resonated in the area.
"Well here you go. Hope you don't get lost, it is a big world after all." Scrololing smiled as he handed a map to Masadorraed, who received it gratefully before placing it into his inventory bag. This guy seems nice. I officially like this NPC.
"Say, that's an interesting name you got there lad. Masadorraed, where did you get a name like that?" Markus noticed the name floating above his character’s head.
"I just made it up."
"Mmmm… Well, have fun adventuring. Nice sword by the way." Scrololing briefly glanced at the sword with a mystified expression before he averted his eyes back to Masadorraed, waved farewell and continued his stroll around town.
Markus rotated his camera view up until he saw stars sparkling in a clear dark blue sky and a giant silvery glowing moon floating in mid-air. Wow, now THAT is cool. I can't wait to see what sun-rise is like. This game is amazing! He returned the camera view to normal and began to test the game controller’s others operations. Masadorraed began to run, leap, stop, jump and grab hold of things as Markus pushed various combinations of buttons, triggers, joysticks and gamepads. That’s useful. It works just like most other games. Other players looked and laughed as he performed the classic little newbie dance. A couple of them began to follow... Why are they trailing me? Wait a second, that elf girl and the dwarf; they look familiar… like Kara and Saarod! He stopped running and turned his character to face them.
"Markus, is that you?" The four foot short dwarf inquired.
"Yeah, I kinda forgot about looking for you guys. Sorry about that." Markus began to blush at his forgetfulness; he was quite well known for his memory at school.
"We were beginning to think that you had completely forgotten!" The elf girl eyed Masadorraed with a penetrating stare that couldn't be avoided.
"I kept reminding myself while I was making my character. I didn't COMPLETELY forget..." Intuitively, his character’s gestures matched his teasing tone. "Maybe just momentarily..."
"Well at least you’re here now. Say, how did you get a sword like that? I mean, you couldn't have found it anywhere. We only just saw you appear over by that tree and talk to an NPC." The dwarf pointed south, towards the town centre where Masadorraed spawned.
"I dunno exactly, all the other swords were dull and just.... plain! Sometimes there were slightly better looking ones, but none like this! As soon as I saw it, I grabbed it and so… here it is." Markus swivelled it around, swinging it slowly from left to right. That’s cool, how it glows like that. I'd bet if I swung it fast enough, I’d see a motion blur! Kara could see a glimmer in Masadorraed’s eyes. A playful childness took over as he swung the sword.
Markus brought the sword downward powerfully with a slicing motion strong enough to chop wood. The elf stepped back just in time, she had seen it coming... Saarod... well... Oops! I swiped his shovel right out of his hands! I guess I'd better go get it. The dwarf rolled his eyes, crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground. Markus walked over to the shovel and picked it up. It was plain, brown, and wooden... like all the other newbie items. As he trotted back to his friends, he noticed their character names, Karisia and Saroheed. As he handed the shovel back he commented, "Hey guys, we should use our characters’ names.”
"True. Good point Mas-sa…Masa-do-raid? How DO you say that?" Karisia asked quizzically. She was truly confused.
"My character name, Masadorraed?" He glanced at Karisia, "Mus-a-door-raid. Believe me; I couldn't say it the first time either."
Saroheed laughed. The dwarf was a belly laugher, loud and hearty. "Mus-ta-dor-id... I see what you mean." Saroheed gave a hard pat on Masadorraed's back.
"Hey guys, how do you level up in this game?” Surrounding characters turned and stared at him, again. Probably shocked by my stupid question... "What? Did I say something?" Masadorraed looked around as he addressed the crowd.
"You’re saying you chose to be a swordsman... and you don't know what to do?" Karisia rolled her eyes. "Come on," she sighed as she grabbed his arm and began to walk. "Follow me. If you’re a swordsman, you fight things... And another note, don't refer to this as a game. Some people here get upset at that... They must be really addicted."
Everyone stared as she dragged Masadorraed towards the northern gate; it was starting to annoy him. Note to self: take side routes, I look like an idiot being dragged around by a girl, holding a glowing sword and dressed in potato sacks. She let go as they passed through the gate. “Whoa, check it out, my camera view just set itself to first person mode as soon as we left the town. The graphics are amazing,” Karisia exclaimed with awe.
“Mine too. This is incredible. No wonder it took so long for the updates to download,” Saroheed responded.
“I can see why everyone raves about this game; the detail is out of this world.” Masadorraed added.
The trio circled around to the west of the town. In the distance, the moon reflected over the sea. Behind him, to the north, a glow of lights emitted from another town - more of a city actually. Probably where all the pros go... To his left, a dark stone wall stared him in the face and a few small insects crawled along it. Karisia stopped. They must be at the place.
In front of them stood a giant tree, bigger than any he’d ever seen. Snow piled on its branches glittering in the moonlight. Masadorraed looked down. He had been unaware that the ground was covered in powdery white stuff. First, he kicked it. Then, he lay down in it, making snow-angels. This is awesome! I never thought you could do stuff like this in computer games! Saroheed just rolled his eyes. Masadorraed got up and shook the snow off him. Each and every little speck drifted in the wind towards Saroheed, piled up on him and turned him into a blinking, shimmering snowman. Karisia couldn't help but let a chuckle. Saroheed stepped out of the pile; his clothes slightly damp from the snow.
"Ugh, I'm freezing!" Saroheed exclaimed, shivering as he rubbed his hands up and down his quivering arms.
"How can you be freezing? It’s only a computer game! Grab a blanket or something!" Masadorraed took a step towards him.
"I dunno. Any-hows… Try attacking that slug over there." Saroheed pointed a few meters away to a large, fat, green slug that sludged and slugged along the ground, slower than snail pace.
"A slug? B-but I don't like slugs!" Masadorraed complained. Images came to his mind of slimy slugs, oozing, gurgling, and sludging around him. It reminded him of the green skin he joked about getting.
"Al-alright, I'll do it..." he said quarter confidently. Wait, was I just shivering?
He trod over to the nearest big fat lumpy slug. Lovely name... ‘Lumpy Slug.’ What next, the ’Long Legged Spider?’ Pulling back his sword, Masadorraed closed his eyes; he definitely didn't want to see this thing pop. He let loose with his swing, flying around and leaving a motion blur of glowing aqua blue. Why haven't I hit it yet? He twisted around, spinning on the spot... Aimed to high. I think I'm gonna throw up! He opened his eyes and tripped over himself mid-spin... landing, SQUELCH, POP, BEWLCH, right on the slug. Its squishy insides now all over the ground like jelly, although that was the worst part, it also ponged like rotten doggie doo-doo left out in the sun.
"YUCK! THIS IS DISGUSTING!" he shouted in a little girl kind of shriek. Karisia and Saroheed fell over backwards laughing, dropping their equipment.
"Wanna- heh- try agai- heh heh- again?" Karisia barely got out before another fit of the giggles came on.
Masadorraed got up, now sticky, wet and smelly. He plodded over to an even bigger slug... The ‘Big Lumpy Slug.’ Oh great... I guess I'll give it a go though. Masadorraed held his sword - that last slug popping had officially cleared him of any fear of slugs. It can't be any worse than covered in slug guts... Do slugs even have guts? His friends started shouting...
"NO MARKUS DON'T! THE GIANT SLUG CAN EVEN BEAT US! DON'T DO IT!" They shrieked in unison, but it was too late. The slug turned and reared up. Markus saw every squiggling line on its underbelly. As it started to slam down, Masadorraed shoved his swords up... POP!
"Buh-bye sluggy!" Masadorraed said as he walked back to his friends.
Karisia and Saroheed sat upright; they stared at him, blinking in unbelief. Masadorraed wiped his blade in the snow until it shimmered in the moonlight.
"Ma-Markus?" Karisia's eyes stared right into his own. They were confused, querying... You can't feel stuff like this in computer games... The two got up from sitting in the cold, powdery snow.
Saroheed grabbed Masadorraed’s hand and lifted it so he could see the sword. Now clean, the aqua blue glittered as it bathed in a purple glow. The purple part of the glow seemed more like a mist. Masadorraed had seen a mist like that before... It was almost like... Fog! it's just like the fog! Masadorraed looked over the sword. A deep blue gem rested in its hilt, and in the gem, a fog swirled and curdled in a rich blue haze.
With his gaze still locked on the sword, Masadorraed queried, "Hey guys... Doesn’t this fog in the gem look like the fog in the cut-scene at the start of the game?"
"What cut-scene?" Saroheed asked as he looked up at Masadorraed's.
"The one in the forest..." Masadorraed paused and slowed his speech. "With the cliff..." He looked at Saroheed and started to realise that he didn't know what he was talking about "… the man on a horse..." He turned towards Karisia; she looked curious.
"I don't remember any cut scene... So, what happened?" Puzzled, Karisia tilted her head slightly to look at him. Saroheed released Masadorraed's sword hand - which didn’t seem to make any difference as the sword maintained its position, even with reduced support.
"Well, like I said, a girl ran through a forest, a man on a horse chased her, she jumped off a cliff, then the man disappeared… It was a bit random really... "
Masadorraed's focus returned to the blue gem. It looked like he was trying to stare though it when the fog parted, clearing in the middle.
"Guys, guys! Did you see that?" Masadorraed said as quickly as a rabbit darting into its burrow. Once Karisia and Saroheed looked however, the hole in the gem closed instantly; the gap, gone.
"I don't see anything... It was probably your imagination." Saroheed turned to look around. Other than the lumpy slugs, they were alone.
Masadorraed pulled out his map, they were south of the town, Calasrie, by The Great Tree. He examined the compass rose, an eight pointed star tinted from gold to brown, the northern spike the longest. Now, where's the place that cut-scene happened? Masadorraed looked over the different areas. How about Marieshore? That looks to be a bit north-west of the city... Nope, no forest, so it couldn’t be there. Wait, up here. Further north, where the grass goes to the sea. That's more like it!
Masadorraed stared at the map. There was no way to be sure without actually going there. He had to find another way. Out of nowhere he heard a voice.
To look, to see, where it is, be
Raise the shining blue
You’ll need the gift from a friend
To show its perfect hue
Masadorraed looked at his friends; they obviously hadn't heard the rhyme nor had they given him anything. He raised his sword, looked through the gem and, once again, its fog cleared while his friends weren’t watching. ‘You’ll need the gift from a friend…’ The only thing someone’s given me is this map. I wonder… The fog maintained its gap. Am I the only one who's supposed to see through it or something? On a hunch, he held his sword over the map and looked through the gem at the crusty thin paper. Mysteriously the gem’s fog clouded then swirled to the edge. Masadorraed couldn't believe it; he was right.
Through the gem, he saw a perfect three dimensional image of the area, revealing everything that was going on. Must be auto updates! Masadorraed moved the gem over the map until he found the cliff, forest and ocean. It was just as it was in the cut scene, only darker due to the time.
“I found it! I found the place where it happened!” Masadorraed jumped up and down enthusiastically as he pointed to the map. “It’s in the Shacolren Cliffs!”
Saroheed turned to face Masadorraed, “What? Where?” He queried as he grabbed the map.
“The Shacolren Cliffs, that’s where it was, I saw it through the sword’s gem.” He replied pointing to the map.
“Karisia, have a look at this. I think he’s right.” Saroheed motioned for Karisia to come look. She shuffled around in the snow and peered over Saroheed’s head to get a better look.
“And you call yourself a newbie.” She laughed in agreement with Saroheed; Masadorraed had indeed found the place.
“So, how do we get there?” Masadorraed wondered. “There will be monsters on the way, right? How are we gonna def-” He was cut short... I heard something... I know I did. He looked around, slugs to the north, east and west - well, nothing but slugs and slug guts that is. There it is again! Something or someone else is here, just a little to the south...
“Shh,” he motioned to the others and guided them slowly towards the colossal tree. They could all hear it now. It was someone else’s feet crunching as they approached the tree from the other side. The trio stopped. Saroheed turned to face Masadorraed and Karisia on his right. Taking command of the situation, he held up a hand to show four fingers and a thumb as a signal to countdown an ambush:
Five - Saroheed’s fingers stood as he slowly lowered his thumb. Four - his index finger folded pale, cold and numb. Three - his tallest finger tucked down into place. Two - a thick ring finger slid down keeping up the pace. One – the last lone finger stood then folded like the rest. Zero - time to confront the spy, and see who comes out best.
Charging towards the tree, Karisia, having already pulled a rope from her bag, sped around the right side while Saroheed and Masadorraed darted around the left. Both Saroheed and Karisia were surprisingly quick, as by the time Masadorraed arrived on the scene, they had already lassoed and tied the spy up. Not very diplomatic.
They had caught a girl, older and taller than himself. She wore a pirate costume and was armed with both a sword and bow of high quality, indicating that she was definitely higher levelled than all of them put together times two! How on earth did they capture her? He glanced at his friends. They were proud of their catch. She could escape any second if she wanted and probably send us all back to the spawn point...Why hasn’t she? Now he stood before her.
“Who are you and why were you listening in on us?” Saroheed growled in a low gruff tone.
She laughed as if she was teasing. “That is for me to know and you to ponder, little dwarf.” She stared directly at Masadorraed; her gaze revealing her experience and skill.
Karisia challenged her. “To spy is wrong. We could send you back to the spawn point this very moment. What are you doing here?” She glared at the girl - it was like watching a Chihuahua growl at a wolf.
Lowering her voice, the pirate girl replied, “Go right ahead and try. It won’t work.”
Saroheed’s eyes remained locked on to her. “Who are we to be tempted by a pirate? You could be deceiving us,” he growled.
“You are wise not to trust me. To trust a stranger is a brave act, and a pirate is beyond that further. I am here only to talk to the boy.” She kept her focus on Masadorraed. Why is she so interested in me? Is it my sword? Masadorraed took a step forward. “What is it you want with me?” Still not knowing much about this game, he was curious what would be of such importance for her to discuss with a newbie.
“I will speak to you, and only you, Masadorraed. The others may not hear it for it is you who bears the sword. I have come out of my way, and my ways, to speak with you.” Her tone was low, focused, commanding, yet calm.
Saroheed didn’t like the sound of this one bit... “We don’t trust you. You could send him back to the spawn point. Why should we leave?” He held his shovel up, pointing it at her head.
“If someone was after you, would you refuse the help offered by another? I will say this much to all of you; someone IS after Masadorraed - an enemy he doesn’t even know about. My name, is Izifaris.”
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