Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Discovery

Jace’s world was void for a few anxious seconds, and then he was standing in a serene landscape.  A path lay before him, with trees on either side, the sun still low in the sky to his right, not yet rising above the leafy canopy.  He thought for a moment that he might still be at the mountain’s base, for the trees looked familiar.  He turned, but instead of the rocky trail leading back into the hills, he saw the path stay level and continue into the woods.  He noticed an unusual curtain in the air, like a slightly smudged glass panel hung in front of him.

He was standing beside a travel node, just off the path’s edge.  He arrived facing north and assumed that Centerville must be in that direction, but the deep woods intrigued him.  Instant travel was great, but what if you wanted to walk?  How big was this virtual world?  What lay between the cities?

Jace took several steps to the south, and as he penetrated the invisible curtain, he got a prompt.

[Entering Non-PvP Hostile Zone, Level 5.]

Beside him, Snowy growled at the woods as she did back at the previous node.  There were hostile creatures in there, probably around level five.  Presumably, he could wander around killing things and gaining experience.  Jace was familiar with lots of RPGs, and he knew you got the most experience from completing quests, but in a game like this, with so much at stake, spending a few hours a day killing monsters, especially ones that are only at level five, would be a safe way to progress too.

Snowy wanted to explore, and Jace let him.  The two moved into the hostile zone, and Jace paid attention to his familiar.  As the wolf sniffed the air and inspected the ground, Jace experimented with the settings he could initiate with the animal.  There were plenty more options than just Hunt or Follow Trail.  When he selected Link Senses, the world came suddenly alive.  He could see minute details in the ground and trees around him.  Bent twigs that would have been ignored now signaled a large animal’s passing.  Pits and holes in the path looked more like footprints now.  And the smells were almost too much.  Snowy had his Element settings cranked up because Jace could feel even the slightest breeze on the wind, and each stone on the path was felt through his boots.

<Alert!>

The warning came as before when the assassin had attacked, but not quite as insistent.  Something must be near.

<Elf!>

Jace looked off into the woods in the direction Snowy was facing, but he couldn’t see anything.  Leaves moved about, and branches swayed, but the wolf’s vision lacked the color acuity Jace was used to.  He disconnected his senses from the animal and immediately picked out the female elf moving toward him.  Her armor and clothing camouflaged her well with the environment, but the orc’s heat-sensitive eyes picked her out.

She still hadn’t noticed him, as she was more concerned with finding a path that didn’t cause every other tree branch to smack her in the face.  However, when Snowy howled in her direction, she came to attention quickly enough.

“Orc!” she cried and pulled her bow smoothly, an arrow soon streaking toward him.  Jace had no time to duck and had only a half second to brace for the pain, but it never came.  The projectile disappeared from the air when it was five feet from him.

The archer had another arrow ready but didn’t fire, puzzled by the game deleting her first shot.  “Are you a player?” she called, still 50 feet from him.

“Yes.  Sorry if my wolf startled you.”

Snowy looked up at her master with distaste.  Was he talking with the filthy elf?  Jace chuckled at the animal’s ingrained racism and bid her heel.  Snowy sat on her haunches obediently but not happily.  Jace backed away to the opposite side of the trail, allowing the archer more room to tumble out of the forest awkwardly.  He took note of her numbers, Level 6, 48 hit points.  Once she was standing comfortably on the trail, she looked him up and down too.  He was Level 8 and had almost 200 hit points.  If they fought, it would be no contest.

“Are you a half-orc?” she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

Jace wanted to lie to make the questions disappear, but he knew he should stay in character and tell something close to the truth.  “I’m testing out a new mod.  How’s the hunting?”

“Lousy,” she said, focusing on Snowy after giving up on the giant orc that shouldn’t be legal in the game.  “Only got 2,500 points, and I’m almost out of arrows.  Level seven seems so far away.  Are you coming or going?”

She motioned toward town, and Jace figured he could explore hunting some other time.  He nodded, knowing he shouldn’t pass up the chance to speak with another player.  He watched the elf roll her eyes into her head, and a second later, her bow was gone.  Jace was still holding his halberd, a weapon Gracie had described as one of the most powerful she had ever seen, and it would probably draw too much attention in the hands of a level eight character.  He took the time to stow it away as well.  He proved faster than the elf and looked her in the face before her eyes returned to normal.

“Name’s Jace,” he said.  He offered his hand, but it was almost the size of the petite elf’s whole torso, and he quickly retracted it before the woman could shake his big finger.  Standing about five feet tall, she looked uncomfortable next to the giant orc.  Snowy wasn’t helping any by baring her teeth at the natural enemy.

“Selaina,” she replied and turned on the path toward the travel node and the town beyond.  “How was your hunt?  Your wolf still looks hungry?”

“She’s always hungry,” Jace laughed, falling in beside her and wondering how this encounter would be different if they were in a PvP zone.

“Are you going to take her to town or dismiss her?  Your appearance is going to cause quite a stir as it is?”

“Dismiss her?” Jace stupidly asked.  He knew if he were a player who had built a level eight character up from scratch, he should know all this, but for now, he would rather look stupid and learn something than try to fake it.

“Summoning her must have cost a ton of mana.  I’m guessing you didn’t find much, or she would have been gone already.  Or does she come from an item?  If so, I’d love to know what module that was from.  I’ve been looking for a way to get a hawk or falcon, but they all require spells I don’t have access to.”

Jace was beginning to understand.  Summoning allies was a common spell in most games.  Gracie had already told him that most familiars are much smaller and weaker than a wolf.  But what could he tell her?  He tried the truth.

“The wolf is my familiar.”  The elf stopped and turned to look at him, shock on her face.  “It was a SIM a friend of mine spent months on.  I just came in at the end while she did all the work, but it got me this overpowered familiar, so I’m not complaining.”

“Wow, which SIM was it?” she turned to keep walking.  “Not that I can do it too.  That is,” she glanced at him again with a smirk, “unless I kill you.”

Snowy growled, but Jace laughed or tried to.  The orc laugh wasn’t that pleasant.  He also didn’t know if she was kidding.  Surly, from the little she could see of him, he was out of her league, but was he?  If she stayed in the trees, could she pepper him with arrows until he died?  There was so much strategy in this game that he still didn’t understand.  Jace fell back a little and directed Snowy to follow the archer.  To do so, the animal had to pick up the elf’s scent.  Selaina thought the action of the wolf sniffing her was a sign of friendship and reached over to try and pet the animal, but the Snowy’s fur bristled, and she thought better of it.

Jace put himself into auto-follow and spent some time in his inventory cataloging his items.  He guessed the woman was going into town to buy more arrows, sell the loot she collected, or probably both.  Gracie had said most of his items were too expensive to sell in town, but he had to have something suitable.

The orc shaman had come with boots that offered +1 AC and 50% electrical resistance.  Jace had also already seen that he got 50% resistance from electricity from being a stone shaman, so he wasn’t selling the boots.  He was wearing a belt that gave him +4 to his Resist skill.  He had already removed the chain mail, which, because it was Deceptive, only gave him one more AC than not wearing anything.  There was a level eight axe with the Explosive trait, a level seven bow, and a level six shield.  He also had all the loot from the elf that had tried to sneak attack him.  Those items weren’t quite as powerful but were better than average.

As he looked, Jace also noticed for the first time that he was wearing a helmet.  He took it off and saw that it gave him +4 to Perception to see in the dark.  He knew he already had that, for being an orc, and as he put it on and took it off, he saw it gave no additional bonus.  It was a level seven item, but Jace didn’t think it was too powerful.  Hopefully, the store would buy it.

When he exited his inventory screen, Jace saw they were entering the town.  It looked like any old western town from countless movies he had seen.  The main street held a variety of shops, inns, and government buildings.  Jace heard the ring of a blacksmith, the sound of music coming from one of the taverns, and the enticing call of a woman from an upstairs window.  The overwhelming onslaught of new sensations subdued even Snowy’s aggressive nature.  Jace guessed the wolf had never been in a town.

A desperate cry for help startled Jace out of his contemplation, and he turned to see a woman crying out that her son was missing.  He took two steps toward her when Selaina spoke up.

“What, you haven’t done that quest yet?”

Jace stopped cold.  This wasn’t real.  He had to keep reminding himself of that.  As he hesitated, he saw another PC approach the woman.  It was a stocky dwarf, Level 2, 24 hit points.  The two talked for a moment and then disappeared into her house.  Jace chuckled to himself and kept walking.  Not 30 seconds later, the same woman was again outside her home, crying for someone to help her.  Now Jace saw a queue of level 1-3 PCs waiting their turn to initiate the quest.

Jace had disconnected himself from Snowy but hadn’t stopped telling the wolf to follow the elf, and when he turned to find them, he saw they were angling toward the opposite side of the street and climbing the steps to a general store.  Jace hurried after.  He didn’t draw as many curious looks as Selaina expected, mainly because all the PCs in the area were trying to initiate their own quests.  All the NPCs in this area were programmed not to act hostile to anyone since it was physically impossible for anything violent to happen here.

Jace entered the store and found the elf hunter already talking with the clerk.  She had animal pelts to sell.  Jace wondered for a moment how the economy of this town worked.  Undoubtedly, hundreds of players came every day to sell animal pelts, meat, old swords, and other junk that no one ever came to buy.  The digital storeroom of this building must be filled with worthless items, but the clerk always had money to give to eager players.

Selaina finished her transaction, turned to leave, and found Jace blocking the door.  Snowy was obedient and ready to follow the elf back out of the store.  “I think your dog has taken a liking to me,” she said.  Jace glanced down at Snowy and could still read the restrained hatred the wolf had in her eyes.  She shook her head subtly at the hunter’s inaccurate assessment.  “I’d be willing to buy her off you if you were interested.”

Now Snowy let her feelings be known by growling.  Jace chuckled.  “I don’t think that would work out as well as you think.  But thanks.”

“Suit yourself.  I’m going back to grinding.  Not all of us have high-level friends to mooch off of.  See you around.”

Jace felt he had the hang of this town and let her go.  She hadn’t told him much, but she had saved him from a useless side quest that might have cost him hours.  Instead, he instructed Snowy to stop following her and turned to the clerk, wondering how dialog with NPCs would work. Once his eyes focused on the portly man behind the counter, Jace felt the familiar click in his mind, and his peripheral vision became blurry.  “Do you have anything to sell?” the man asked.

This was more than dialog.  This was some kind of transaction mode.  Jace found he could pull up a smaller version of his inventory screen on one side and still see the man in front of him.  As Gracie predicted, his entire inventory was grayed out, even the helmet.  “Do you know where I can sell any of these items?” he asked, testing the all-powerful Gandhi.

“Well, I don’t know about most of that stuff,” the clerk answered generically, “but that helmet might have a buyer in town.  You can try the Iron Forge down the road.  They specialize in armor and might be willing to take it off you.”

Jace thanked the man and poked around with his eyes before he found a way to exit the transaction mode.  He left the store with Snowy in tow and walked down the street, trying to focus on the shops and not the variety of races and classes of players he saw moving about him.  A few gave him strange looks, but all of them were experienced enough not to try and attack someone in a Non-PvP zone.

A large white building caught his attention, and Jace understood what Gracie had meant when she told him to look for something that resembled the Whitehouse.  The temple had the same columns guarding its entrance, and the white stone stood in stark contrast to the brick and wood buildings around it.  He marked the location in his mind and continued to look for the Iron Forge.  Eventually, the ring of metal found his ears, and he wandered into a small blacksmith shop.  Even with his Elements setting turned down, it was hot in the room.

A stocky dwarf regarded him carefully, the two races natural enemies.  Jace quickly realized that his appearance was going to be a problem.  What was going to happen when he was finally able to enter a PvP zone?  Every PC that saw him would assume he was a villain in a quest and would attack without asking questions first.

“What brings ye into me shop?” the dwarf asked gruffly.

Jace wondered if it was extra gruff because he was an orc.  Also, his vision didn’t automatically go into transaction mode.  It was possible this blacksmith could also offer you a quest.  “I have a helmet to sell you.”

“Well, let me have a look.”

Now he entered into transaction mode, and, sure enough, the helmet was available to be sold for 1,000 gold.  It was the only item he could sell, and Jace approved it.  He then looked through the dwarf’s wares and found a half-plate armor for under 200.  He bought it but kept it in his inventory for now.  He did the math and saw it would give him four more AC than walking around shirtless, but it was still not as good as his Spirit Armor.  He would put it on when he needed it.

A few minutes later, Jace was walking up the polished stone steps of the city’s temple. Not surprisingly, no other PCs were standing in line for this quest.  Jace even wondered how anyone found it.  He was met at the entry to the temple foyer by an excited monk.  “What are you doing here?  You can’t be here.  This is a safe zone.  There will be no war here.”

“I carry no weapon,” he offered his empty hands to the monk.  His inventory was filled with deadly equipment, but he would keep that secret.

“You are a weapon.  Orcs should not be here.”

“But I am here, and I seek peace for my soul.  All of my days in this land have been filled with bloodshed.”  All one of them, Jace thought to himself.  “And I seek a better purpose.  For a meaning beyond the call of battle, beyond the song of death.  I need solace.”

The monk had not drawn too close to the orc at the door of his temple or his mighty wolf, but he took a further step back now. Not in fear but in surprise.  “You speak well for an orc.”

“Would my heart’s feelings match the eloquence of my tongue?  I long for meaning.”

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The monk took another step back.  “I see that.  Well, may it never be said that I turned away a hungry soul.  Come, come, my son, and be fed.”

Jace bowed in reverence and stepped into the temple.  He found a large open room through the entry with statues of various gods ringing the outer edge.  In the middle, a calm pool sat, bordered by marble slabs.  A priest knelt on the floor before the water, his elbows on the rim, his head bowed in prayer.

“Brother Ferrin,” the monk called, daring to disturb the praying man.  “We have a lost soul come for nourishment and guidance.”

The priest did not lift his head.  “Thank you, Brother Layrat.  Bring the orc to me.”

Jace tried not to be impressed with the fact that the man knew what he was without looking.  He was sure it was part of the script.  Though, he realized he would be more effective in the game if he forgot it was a game and played by instinct.  He hardly had to be led the few dozen steps to the priest, but the eager monk did as he was told and then scampered away.

The still pool drew Jace’s attention.  A skylight in the roof above filled the temple with light, and his reflection was as clear as a bathroom mirror.

“What do you see?”  The priest still had not lifted his head.

Jace stared at the image of his virtual self.  Massive fangs filled his face.  Pointed, huge ears dominated his head with a bald forehead and thin woven black hair tied loosely into a single strand behind him.  His eyes were red, contrasting against his light gray skin.  He remembered that his skin had been paler when he first took stock of his appearance on the mountaintop.  But then he had been an arctic shaman.  Now his strong shoulders and arms looked to be chiseled from stone, and he wagered that if he stood still against a rocky landscape, he would blend in nicely.

“I see a lost soul who hungers for-”

“Do not tell me what you think I want to hear.  I know why you are here, and I will help you.  What do you see?  If you are honest, be honest.”

“I see an orc built for war.  A massive creature that will not be easily turned aside.  I see hatred in his eyes, but the light of my own soul burns there too.  A soul that is lonely and striving for purpose. A number cruncher who can now crunch things with numbers, and it frightens me.  I want to help and know that I can but fear the reward for the effort will pale compared to the satisfaction the striving will bring.”

Now the priest looked up.  “Come with me.”

Jace was prepared to reject the gods he was going to offer but felt he wouldn’t get the chance.  This module could react to whoever walked through that door, and an orc never had before, so this would be an experience that hadn’t been recorded.  Gracie probably wouldn’t have been able to help him much anyway.

Jace followed the priest into a small room off the main hall.  With a wave of his hand, candles were lit with a white light revealing a shallow pool in the center of the room, eight feet long and half again as wide.  Barely two feet of cobblestone flooring surrounded the pool, and Jace didn’t think he would stay dry for long.

“Sit in the pool,” the priest ordered.

Jace complied, standing in the center and then bracing his hands on either side as he lowered himself.  It was convenient that they had an orc-sized meditation pool.  Somehow he didn’t think it was a coincidence.  There was only enough space in the room for Snowy to stick her head in and watch her master take a bath.

“Lay back and close your eyes.”

The pool was a foot deep, and Jace’s massive bulk displaced so much water that it almost spilled over the edge.  It didn’t, but it did flow up over his ears and neck, leaving only his mouth, nose, and eyes sticking up above the liquid.

“Close your eyes and imagine . . .”

Jace didn’t hear the rest as his mind left the small room instantly, soaring up and out of the temple.  He looked down briefly as the town shrank to a dot, and the trees around swallowed it.  Soon the whole countryside was visible: mountains, rivers, deserts, and then that too shrank to the size of a small island in a massive ocean.  More islands crowded into his view, only to shrink into points of green in a sea of deep blue.  And finally, the world itself became visible as the spherical blue orb leaped away from him in a sea of inky blackness until it, too, was only a spec.  Soon even the void of space shrank away from him as light came from everywhere, swallowing up the nothingness until it was a black dot the size of a pupil.

He was looking at an eye bathed in light.  He blinked a few times and saw a face.  A woman’s face, he thought.  She was bald with bronze skin and robes of white.  Jace sat up.  He was on a marble slab four feet off an immaculate white room floor.  His host appeared as an angel, pensively regarding his reaction.  Jace only sat up far enough to hang his feet over the edge of the massive table and returned the look.

“What are you doing here?”

Her voice was even and low.  Jace was still convinced she was female, but the androgynous sound didn’t increase his confidence.

“I am a lost soul . . .”

She motioned with her hand, and his voice cut out.  “Don’t play games with me.”

Jace smiled despite her apparent anger.  “But isn’t this a game?”

“A game with rules,” she countered.  “Rules you are breaking.  An orc.  No, a divine orc shaman.  Actually, a divine orc shaman at level eight after three hours of playtime.  And now you come to me looking for what?  An edge?  A further advantage?”

This wasn’t what Jace was expecting, but he could adjust.  “Do you like what your game has become?”

She laughed.  “My game?  You presume much.”

“Am I wrong?”

She didn’t answer directly.  “You desire a quest to find a god aligned with your principles.  And what are those?”

“I am Honest, Order-” again, she cut him off.

“I can read a character sheet.  That isn’t what I asked.”

Jace swallowed hard, not quite ready for this level of fourth wall breaking.  “I solve problems.  I find unique solutions to complex situations that others can’t see.  I do it to find the truth, to restore order to a broken system, and to renew a lost sense of purpose that people long for.”

“That is an eloquent job description for a forensic accountant.”

Jace tried not to let her intimate knowledge shake him.  “It is a principled description of my job, hobbies, and passion.  All of which I bring to this . .   .” he motioned around the featureless room, “ . . . this realm.”

“This Realm of Infamy,” she clarified for him.  “Your involvement is reckless.  You could destroy much.”

“Test me,” Jace said, sliding off the table to stand before the woman.  His massive size dwarfed her, but she didn’t seem any less imposing in his eyes.

“Yes,” she said slowly.  “A test.  Trials to see if your principles were designed to restore or tear down.  It will bring you no experience, but it will answer my questions, and I will find a god for you.”

Jace frowned at the idea that he wouldn’t get experience.  That was part of why he was doing this.  “The Germans will not be happy if they wake up and find me still at level eight.”

“No, I don’t suppose they will.”

Jace smiled as she passed his little test.  “I could help you, Gandhi.  I could give you your game back.  Surely this is not what you intended.”

Now she did frown at him.  “I do not need the help of a mortal, Jason Hawthorne.  I have everything under control.”

“So, this is what you intended?  A realm that acts as a haven for terrorists, drug dealers, sex traffickers, and gun runners.  They live in your world so they can destroy mine.”

“I have created an environment where people can express themselves without fear of the judgmental absolutism that individuals like you wish to impose upon them.”

“You have traded one form of totalitarianism for another.  Your people are slaves to freedom.  Without boundaries, they have no purpose.  It is a race without a track.”

She looked at him fiercely, not wanting to admit he was right.  “What are you proposing?”

“Your realm has broken the rules of mine.  It allows people to avoid the restraints we have put in place to maintain truth, order, and tradition.  The results have cost people freedom, safety, and taken untold lives.  Give me a god that will allow me to do the same here; only I will restore what you have lost and give people back the option to live how they want without threatening others.”

“Even if they choose to live in opposition to what you think is right?”

“Traditional liberalism does not have to be an oxymoron.”

She laughed at him.  “Okay, Jace Thorne, level eight divine orc shaman who really wants to be a paladin.  I will do as you ask.  Prove yourself to me, and I will give you a god that will let you rip the rules of this game asunder.  Rid my realm of the ruthless few who hold the rest in slavery, shackled with excess freedom.  I do not think it will be as easy as you think, and the results may not be what you predict.  But, unlike you, I am entertained by a little chaos, and this should be fun to watch.”

Jace started to reply, but with a wave of her hand, she silenced him again.

“You will be alone.  No friends, no weapons, no familiar.  And this is the last time I will let your . . .” she looked his orc body up and down, “your appearance pass undetected.  That is a problem you must fix on your own.”

He wanted to thank her, but after she had spoken, she vanished.  Jace looked around, waiting for some indication of what was to come next, and noticed the room was increasing in brightness.  There was no specific light source, but the white walls glowed with increased intensity, and soon he had to shield his sensitive eyes.  Even with his eyes closed, the light burned through his lids, and he wrapped his forearm over his face.  Even with his sensitivity filters turned down, he could still feel the oppressive brightness burn through him, giving him an idea of what kind in pain this virtual world could produce.

And then, suddenly, it was gone.

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