Chapter 13 Family

The morning had begun with a simple but tasty meal of cheese and roast meat on fresh bread, with clear cold water to wash it down. I had left the dining hall to go explore both the keep and the town of Caraway port. I was literally free of any responsibilities, I had food shelter and a status that was above the common person. I was a King's Squire, not quite a knight, but not a commoner. This status afforded me to have my physical needs met, but I was not content to remain at level 5 and that meant I would be leaving the keep to explore the Island sometime soon.

My self-set schedule was to become proficient in weapons skill and spell prowess, along with trying to master the life magic I had discovered. I had to make it all fit into a schedule that included trying to find some quests here. I explored the keep, only keeping out of restricted areas, it was not that large but built to last. Unfortunately, I found no quests available at the keep so my hope was in the port of Caraway.

The port was built into a natural harbor that offered shelter to the large ships, it could almost be called a fiord, but the mountains were actually small hills. The harbor was wide and deep with a beach on the right side and the docks on the left. The docks had clearly been built with a busy ship trade in mind, however with only three ships in port, I would guess that the distance, danger and lack of resources had effectively stopped most of the traffic.

Up from the docks were the warehouses, along with several of the Inns and Pubs that sailors frequent. Further uphill, the business district laid claim to several blocks and then past that the homes of the populace, with the more well to do homes located near the top of the hills and the poorer dwellings located closer to the business area. At the top of the largest hill was the Keep, strong and defensible with a running stream that began in the courtyard and flowed down through the city in a series of manmade canals and dams. The city itself was surrounded by the Wildwood with several areas that had been cleared for agricultural use.

There was only one road that left the city, it went into the Wildwood and was built to service the two forts that had been established about 20 miles deep into the forest. The road went out about 10 miles and they split like the letter y with each arm going another 5 miles. There were cart trails that led off the main road that serviced some of the farms that were located closer to Caraway, the ones farther out had been abandoned. I discovered all this information by buying a round at a pub while looking for a quest. Of quests, it quickly became apparent that there were none. This was not good news for me as the two main ways to earn xp was to complete level appropriate quests and run dungeons.

No dungeons had been found on the Island but it had not really been explored. I had one old retired sailor regale me with tales of a ruined city on the east side of the island. His ship had apparently beached on that side of the island to affect some repairs during a low tide and several of the men had gone inland to stretch their legs. They had come over a ridge and discovered an abandoned city, ruined by years of neglect. I gave him 1 gold and received his map, scanning it I added it to my interface map and then had a closer look at it. The ruin was about 35 miles along the coast, and I judged it to be about 25 miles by foot. Slugging through what looked like dense rainforest was not going to be easy. The beasts were all supposed to be level 5 to 10 but I had heard that before. Still, this gave me something to think about, I could not just hang out at Caraway, I needed to work at leveling.

I was still not in a hurry but I suspected that trouble was coming to the human Kingdom probably in the first big patch that the game would introduce. The shadowy presence I had encountered was at least a world boss and would take a serious effort by a lot of players to defeat it. I had seen this before, a call to arms to defend hearth and home, it would probably wait until at least half the players made level 50 and began to gear up in blue and purple gear.

I wanted to get in on the action when it happened, I was really getting into the game and was amazed by all that I had seen and done so far. There were bugs and glitches but what game does not have them especially at the beginning. Most games were released at what some internet trolls would call beta testing. The gaming company would make money and the players would find all the problems. My problem was I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do.

Having moped and sulked enough I walked back to the keep and made my way towards the barracks, behind the building a number of dummies were set up to be attacked, there was also a ring for dueling and the armory was nearby. Stepping up to the dummies I noted that they were made with wood, I did not recognize it but judging by the scorch marks it did not burn. Walking back 30 paces I began to work on my rotation, I had two offensive spells and one stun along with a heal. I discounted the portal spell, in order for it to work you had to key yourself to the portal pillars located in all major cities, foolishly I had not done that before I was banished. They were all level one spells and the only way to level them up was practice. The Icy and fiery blast spells had a 1 second cast time and 1-second cooldown, but it was not concurrent, I could spam them until I ran out of mana and then I would use my physical dps on the target until my 700-mana regenerated.

Considering that each spell used 50 mana at level 5 I was able to cast off 7 attacks in 10 seconds, with practice I would get it down to 7 seconds. Using the interface to cast spells was possible but players could also verbally say the spell and point at the target. Eventually, I hoped to be able to simply think about my attack and have it work, it was how my life magic seemed to function and it should work for every spell in the game. I was gaining 10 ticks of mana every three seconds along with the natural mana regen of 300 mana a minute at level 5 I should be fully recovered with mana in less than two minutes.

I began to experiment with both Icy bolt and Fiery blast, and immediately felt frustrated. If I cast Icy bolt the Fiery blast would melt it, if I cast Fiery blast the Icy bolt would extinguish the flames. I had to admit the two spells looked cool as hell, Fiery blast would produce orange flames which would envelop my hand and then be instantly propelled out at the target at the speed of a fastball, the same with Icy bolts, my hand would turn an icy dark blue color and mist would appear than a sharp icicle would fly out and hit the target, enveloping it in mist and freezing a layer of ice half an inch thick on the bottom of the target.

The problem was they canceled each other out. The damage meter on the interface showed that the average was equal for both spells. In one on one combat, I would have to choose one or another depending on what I was fighting, if I was in combat with multiple targets than strategy could take place with me immobilizing one target while finishing off the other, hopefully. The day was drawing to a close and I had not leveled either spell, but I was at the point where I could just point and say Fiery or Icy to cast the spell. As I turned around to grab my cloak I noticed that Belgrad was leaning on the fence and watching me.

“Hey,” I said as I walked up to him, “What’s up?”

Belgrad smiled and said, “Man, you sure were working those spells, and then doing white damage with your daggers in between mana regen. I have not seen anyone take their skills so seriously.”

“Yet that’s me, Mr. Serious,” I laughed as I spoke but I was not joking I had to do this, it was the only way to improve myself. Being banished sucked. Belgrad laughed and said, “What are you doing tomorrow? If you have some time I can show you around Caraway, I know you wandered around town for a bit but there is more to this little town than can be seen by a stranger.”

Why not, I thought and nodded then said, “That sounds great, I am planning to do weapons practice in the morning and then spell work in the afternoon, maybe at lunch we can go?”

Belgrad smiled at this and said, “That sounds good, I will meet you at the portcullis at 12 bells, I think you are going to have fun.”

I left him to go wash up before dinner, it was a semi-formal affair with his father and all the lesser nobles from the keep and a few from town. I enjoyed a brisk wash up in the baths and then made my way to my room, I did not have any semi-formal clothing but resolved to grab something when Belgrad and I went to town tomorrow.

Dinner was alright, nothing to write home about, I was briefly questioned by the nobles but once it became apparent I was banished they lost interest, I did not blame them, I had nothing I could tell them really, except that the world that they lived in might be under attack by a shadowy world boss sometime soon. I recalled the old saying “Loose lips sink ships.” It was from WW2 but still could be adapted to my particular situation. I suspected if I began to talk I would receive a visit from a graduate of the Waterworks. No thanks.

After supper, I retired to my room and lit a candle and then made myself comfortable. I began to try to clear my thoughts, I started with my toes and began to mentally visualize and push my bodies energy up. From the toes to the waist, it was a mental game but at some point, I began to feel something. I continued and finally arrived at the top of my head, my skull was somehow buzzing and I felt little electrical discharges coming offmxy body. With a final effort, I pushed the energy out of my head and for a moment I seemed to hang above my body, floating like a ghost myself. I blinked at this strange occurrence and suddenly I was back in my body, it was cold and shaky but felt somehow purified.

After a moment, I opened my eyes and could see the golden motes of energy, magic, of life, I did not know what they really were. It all seemed Star Wars like, with the midichlorians and all that but this was somehow a part of the game and I could see feel and use them. Maybe I was becoming a Jedi, I laughed to myself. Magic, I loved it, no matter what you called it, it was one of the reasons I loved gaming. Focusing my thoughts, I began to call to the motes and compress them in my hand, it took some willpower if my thoughts ran off I lost them all, but it was easier than it had been.

I fired off the motes in what I decided to name the golden boom attack. It was still not much of a boom more of a fizz this time but I was using magic in a way not mentioned in the forums. I may have found something that no one else had yet or it might be another glitch, for now, I would keep this to myself. I practiced for a couple of hours until the candle faded and the room went dark.

Waking up I felt a tingling throughout my body and when I opened my eyes the room was filled with the golden motes, I could see well enough in the dark and as I stood I watched the motes swirl around me like dust in the sunlight, I could feel a light play of energy as the moved. Leaving my room, I walked to the Baths and cleaned up, everywhere I went I could see the motes, and have a sense of motion and distance. As I approached others heading towards the dining hall I felt them if I concentrated their movements stirring up the motes which almost seemed to be sending out little charges to other motes until I felt them.

This was interesting and I wondered if somehow the motes could be bound to a weapon or a piece of gear like an enchantment. If that could happen would it be a magical battery or could it be used as a defensive item as well as a weapon? I would try to experiment tonight, I thought as I shoveled in the last of the sausages and eggs on my plate. Leaving the dining hall, I made my way to the entrance and then out to the city. I walked to the edge and greeted the guards there, explaining that I was going for a run left them shaking their heads and muttering about damn fools from the city.

I had decided to run each morning, I ran in the real world and it kept me in shape, by running virtually I hoped it would help increase some stats and provide a boost to me. It could not hurt and it was something I liked to do. Besides this gave me a chance to look at life outside the city walls. I needed some preliminary information if I wanted to travel to that ruined city.

I began to stretch to the guard’s amusement, but once I felt limber enough I set out and quickly found my pace. The sun felt warm and the first two miles went by fast, I could see where the small farms were located, they looked pretty defensible, with a tall fence surrounding the main yard. I suspected the building had thick walls and narrow windows they were built for defense. Once past the farms, I settled into my distance lope and began to cover some ground. As I ran I could see the golden motes, they would fade from view unless I tried to see them, they were everywhere. As I ran past the Wildwood I could see even heavier concentrations of them all around all the trees and bushes.

After I hit what felt like ten miles, I turned around and began to head back. I had decided to go down one of the trails to an abandoned farm and check it out. I felt confident and safe, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. I turned left and went down the overgrown trail until I reached the gated farm yard. Time had taken its toll and the gates hung broken and crooked. The house itself had the main door open and dirt had blown into the entrance. The barn was still in good shape, the first 10 feet were stone, then the timbers began.

I walked the perimeter of the yard, noting that at the back of the house there were 4 graves, I read the stones, a young farmer, and his wife, with their son and daughter. A patrol had found them, it was a weekly check in with all the farmers that had been going on from the beginning of the settlement. The graves were covered in wildflowers, a pretty mixture that made the sad sight somehow more bearable. It may have only been a game but it was strangely moving, at least that is how I feel.

I went back to the house and entered it, the dust had made its way into all the rooms. The personal belongings were still all there, in fact, it looked like the supper preparations had just begun when whatever happened occurred. Seeing nothing in the house to explain what had happened I went to the barn and opened the door. There were a number of stalls that lined one side of the barn with a small forge and workbench on the other. Out here if a tool broke you fixed it or did without.

As I stood there I could hear a gentle murmur, it seemed to be coming from the far end of the barn in the last stall. It was dark in the barn, but my vision was clear. I walked over to the stall and looked in, there was a young woman with two children snuggled close to her, she was covering their faces and looking scared herself. It was the young mother and the two children but the husband was not there.

I stopped and stared at them for a minute, finally the woman looked at me. As we stared at each other she began to weep. I hunkered down onto my heels to be at her level and said, “Don’t cry, you have nothing to cry about. My name is Anon and I am here to try to understand what happened to you. Do you understand what I am saying?”

Seeing her nod, I smiled and said, “You can let the children peek at me, I won’t bite. I am pretty harmless actually, just a low-level explorer looking for adventure.”

The young mother actually smiled at that and I slowly began to coax her story out. She had been preparing supper with the kids in the kitchen, she had seen her husband in the yard and then heard him as he came into the kitchen, her back was turned so she did not see what happened but she heard her son yell out, “No Daddy no.” then she saw blood falling from her head to the floor as she keeled over and that was all she could remember.

The boy, who was about 8 interrupted and said, “Daddy was bad, he hit mommy with the short shovel, over and over, then he smiled and he came over and hit us.” His sister then said, “It was not daddy, it looked like him but it was not him. I heard the voice and it said, “I am not your daddy, then it laughed and laughed as it hit us.”

Wow, this was almost too much, a tad surreal, an evil spirit that had taken over the young farmer and had him murder his family. Did the spirit kill the farmer or did it leave him and once he realized what had happened did he kill himself? If so where was his ghost? I asked, “Have you seen your husband's ghost, or have you been all alone here?”

The poor thing responded with tears but said, “We have not seen Jebul here, it is only us three hiding in the barn.” I nodded, and began to stand up, seeing me standing the mother quickly stood up also and then begged, “Take us with you, I don’t want to be here like this with my kids, they deserve better, please help us?”

I looked at her tearful face and the faces of the two kids trying to be brave for their Mom. I thought for a moment and then said, “Roll with it Anon. They need your help.” Turning to the mother I said, “All right you can come with me, but you might meet two other characters, an Imp, and a ghostly gnome. If you come with me I expect that you will listen to me, hellerrrheck even obey me if I need you to. If you can do that then you can come with me. We good?”

They all nodded and we turned to leave, I led the way out of the barn and away from the house, and as we followed the path I felt a shiver go across my back. I had the feeling I had just done something that would have an impact, I could only hope it would be a good one. We made it back to Caraway and I showed the ghosts, Mara the mother, Sian, the daughter and Gudok the son my room. I told them they could explore but not to be seen and no scaring the guards. I was running late for my lunch with Belgrad and left as soon as I cleaned up from my run, the kids were already running around the keeps halls, and Mara was laying on my bed resting. A fricken ready-made family I thought.