Chapter Eight

Tam staggered back on hearing these words, until his back struck the rough stone doorway that he had just walked through. Still dazzled by the sunlight, he called out “Who’s there ?” while turning his head, trying to locate the direction the voice had come from It must have been from somewhere close at hand as the voice had not spoken out loudly. It was musical, feminine, but still frightening. It was not a voice he knew.

“Why, I am here ? Who else would it be ?” The tone used in this statement was one of humour, Tam could hear the gleeful guile beneath the words, but his mistrust and concern overrode any light-heartedness that the speaker was trying to impart.

Tams eyes had acclimatized enough by this point that he could make out his surroundings, so long as he kept his hands blocking the direct sunlight. The dungeons entrance, or exit, came out into a shallow depression in the surrounding countryside. Trees grew up all around, but not quite thick enough to call a forest, but more like a collection of copses. They seemed to be deciduous trees, somewhat similar in appearance to oaks. And ranged in sizes from mere saplings, all the way up to giants of the... copse forest ? The dappled sunlight kept the air cool, and the breeze that blew across his skin was refreshing. Insects buzzed through the air, flitting among the flowers that grew within the small clearing he stood in.

Turning around he spotted the owner of the voice, seated upon a mossy pile of rocks. It was a young woman, about mid twenties of age, with long brown hair. She was dressed in tight leather pants and vest, with a white shirt beneath it, the sleeves puffed out. Her boots were black leather, rising to mid thigh, similar to the boots that pirates used to wear in the old films of the twentieth century. Finishing off the ensemble was a thick leather belt with a rapier slung from it.

Not at all concerned with the scrutiny that Tam was making of her attire, and her figure, she actually seemed to be delighted with it enough to stand up and pirouette slowly so that he got a better look.

“Just perfect, don’t you think so ? It took me ages to choose the right ensemble.”. Finishing her rotation, she gracefully perched back down upon the rock, carefully repositioning the rapier.

Tam was confused by this performance. He had a nagging feeling he had seen her somewhere before, but couldn’t remember where, or when. He had a slight headache, mostly due to the fact he had not yet fully recovered from being in the darkness for hours, and he was still wary of her presence. She does look good, though, he thought.

“Yes, you look just like a pirate queen, but that doesn’t explain who you are, and why you are here ? ” It came out grouchy and a little rudely, and Tam instantly felt apologetic about it, but didn’t express this to the lady. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her, searching his memory for something, anything, that would jog some remembrance. Then it all clicked into place. And he blurted out “You are Jill Norton” before he could help himself.

She laughed, amused and pleased at this. “No, Tam, I am not Jill. I am like you, a cloned intelligence. Yes, Jill was my progenitor, but that was many years ago now. Here I am Athelia, the goddess of whatever takes my fancy, and at this moment your presence, and its repercussions, have taken my fancy. When my father took you under his wing, he started a trend among the godlets he has gathered around himself.”

“A trend ? What trend ? I have only been on Haven for less than six hours, I think. How could I start a trend in that amount of time“ He looked at her askance. Not fully trusting of her words.

“When Hanortan made you his disciple, and gave you that quest, they all wanted their own disciples with the same quest, including me. He has agreed that each Cloned Intelligence God can choose one new player each and have them cloned into their own personal disciple.” She pointed up at the Silver moon that could just me seen on the horizon. “It’s bedlam up there at the moment. You have a head start on all of them, but your advantage won’t last long, Tam, make the most of it. Factions among the gods are appearing, and you will soon find yourself with possible allies, and a lot of definite enemies.”

Tam was staring at the indicated moon while she was speaking. He knew there was five moons above Haven, so what was so special about that one ? “The moon ? Why did you point at that moon ?”

“That’s where we live. It is called Insulam, which means island. That, Tam, is where we can go to get a taste of the reality we no longer can access. That is what you can earn by completing the task you have been set.” Athelia was watching him closely as she spoke, observing his reactions to the news she was imparting. “I know you have not yet opened your Quest scroll, so I will give you a little advice in regard to it. When you open it, it will not display the whole quest, but only one step. When you have completed that step, then the next step in the quest will reveal itself to you. Complete all steps and the quest is complete.”

Tam nodded, not yet sure of how to take Athelia. Could he trust her, or was she just setting him up for a trick of some sort, he wasn’t sure. He was pretty confident that all she had said so far was true, but would that always be the case with this woman. ?

“I can see your mind working on this, Tam. Let me guess one thing going through your mind at this moment…Can I trust this woman ? Am I right….. I can see I am right from the expression on your face. No, Tam, do not trust anyone, let the people and the gods earn your trust. I like you, Tam, so I hope you come to trust me and see my disciple as your friend and ally.” She reached into a pocket in her vest and withdrew an orb. It was yellow and glowed with a pink internal light. Tossing it to Tam, who caught it tentatively, she spoke earnestly to him. “Take this orb of summoning. It will allow you to call me to you, no matter where you are. Use it carefully, for it can only be used once.”

Tam glanced at the orbs properties to check the item. It was just as she had explained it to be, so he dropped it in the inventory, realizing that this now filled all the available slots he possessed. If he found anything really useful he had a hard decision to make about what to discard to make room.

Athelia continued talking after he had finished his examination. “Now I know my father quite well, and I know he wouldn’t have told you anything helpful to you at this point. He has dropped you in one of the most remote points on this continent. There are no other players within four weeks travel of you here, but to the north are a couple of small villages and to the south is a large town. Read your scroll and then make up your mind which way you wish to travel.” She looked around the area, wisfully it seemed. “This is a beautiful part of the continent, you will be safe here for a while. Once a dungeon, or lair, has been completed the area surrounding it becomes a sanctuary until the dungeon creatures respawn. The Raptpit has a twelve hour respawn, so you can rest here until then without concern.”

Suddenly there was a loud bang, causing all the birds in the trees around them to take off in flight, raucously squawking as they left the area hurriedly. The figure of a dark man, dressed in chain mail appeared to the left of Athelia, looking around with some interest.

“Ah, Athelia, so this is where you disappeared to.” He wrapped one arm around her, pulling her in close to his body, then kissed her. Noticing Tam standing there, mouth agape at this display, he continued. “Is this your disciple then ?” But then he squinted at Tam and his eyes took on a nasty gleam. “No, this isn’t your disciple, is it Athelia, I recognize him. He is that fool that Hanortan has taken. “ The smile he had worn on arrival had morphed into a sneer. He then addressed Tam. “I should do all of us a favor and strike you down right now.”

Athelia slapped the arm holding her. “Stop it, Mathan, he’s not responsible for his misfortunes, nor yours. Don’t be mean.” Tam could see her affection for this individual. “Also, turn off that silly noise to announce your arrival, it’s annoying.”

Mathan returned his gaze back to Athelia, his expression regaining that possessive affection again. “ Ah, darling, It is expected of me, for am I not a god of battle. Hurry up with whatever your task is with this… worm and come back to me at the island.” He gave Tam one more threatening look, then disappeared, again announced with a loud bang.

She looked irritated at the noise, “I am starting to hate that noise.” Tam heard her say to herself. “Now, Tam, I too must be off, have you anything you would like me to answer for you… only one mind, I am in a rush.”

“Yes, I am curious about my class. Jack of all Trades ? now that is just confusing. What’s the deal with that ?”

Athelia just laughed. “It’s simple, and complex as well. It is also part of the reason some of the Godlets are angry with you. Basically all the classes that have been allocated to you disciples are determined by your personal gods position in Holobyne. I can tell you this, because you are already aware we gods are clones of Holbyne employees. Your class is because Hanortan was knowledgeable in all aspects of the coding, my disciples class is Crafter because Jill Norton helped create the crafting system in this world. Mathans disciple is a Dark Paladin, because he helped program the battle system and he prefers the evil side of the game.” She looked expectantly at Tam, waiting for him to connect the hints she had just given him.

“I see,” he mused. “so basically, I can do anything ? “

“Yep, that’s correct, and that’s why some detest you. They think you have too great an advantage, and will do anything to hinder or stop you. Now I must go. Take care, Tam Starland, You have much to do.” With that, she just popped out of existence, but a final statement reached his ears. “Just remember, you are the disciple of a Creator, the rest of them are just disciples of Deities.”

Tam was left, standing alone in the middle of a forest, with no idea on where to go, so he made his best decision so far. He saw from the suns position that he had about an hour left before it set, so he decided to stay put until morning. Athelia had said he could expect twelve hours protection, with about eleven of that time remaining, so he should be alright until then. With no tent or bedding, he expected it to be a very uncomfortable time and made himself as comfortable as he could.

The mornings sun awoke Tam as the light from it pierced the trees to strike him in the face. Rolling over to escape it, he opened his eyes to greet the day. His sleep had not been disturbed during the night, and surprisingly, he felt quite refreshed as well, but also quite hungry. Remembering the sack of food that had been in the chest, he started to choose his inventory to get the sack out when another memory surfaced, this one of him taking it out after one of the rat fights yesterday and no memory of him placing it back in there.

“Damn.” He muttered. “Now what am going to eat. I’m definitely not going back into that hole to retrieve it, that’s for sure.” He scratched at his chin but didn’t feel the expected stubble. Normally he would have developed a thick crop of rough stubble that needed to be shaved, but all he felt this time was a light indication on his fingertips that the growth was far slower than his normal growth. That’s one bonus, he thought, then another important issue arose, one he had not suspected. He needed to empty his bladder, urgently.

Stepping away from the tree and tying his pants back up, he was again marveling at the depth of reality he was experiencing. Hunger, thirst and the need to release bodily wastes… who would have expected it. I wonder if the real players, those that could leave the game anyway, experienced these things as well. He suspected not, as that would interfere with their gameplay, and no players liked things that detracted from their fun. Talking of thirst, I had better find a stream or something soon, or I will start losing heath.

Gathering together all of his belongings, which didn’t take long as he didn’t have that much, he stood and contemplated his best travel option, the villages, or the town. It all depends on the quest, he then slapped his forehead after thinking this. The quest, he had not checked the scroll yet to see what his quest was. What a moron I can be.

He broke the wax seal on the scroll and unrolled it.

Quest - The rise of a new faction ( Step 1 of 5)

Your quest is to start a new faction and have Hanortan ordained as its patron god. To do this you must obtain ownership over a suitable castle, register your faction at any Skillmasters Guildhall, and finally install a chapel dedicated to your god . If Hanortan is pleased with your endeavors he will become your Patron God

Success = Ownership of a guild dedicated to Hanortan, Experience, Unknown bonus

Failure = Total destruction of Castle and Chapel and Quest reset to beginning.

Next he took a peek at his profile, and realised he had also forgotten about the attribute credits he had received. I have ten credits, this means I can increase two attributes by one point, but don’t have enough to raise one attribute by two points. Now which attributes should I raise ? My main concern at the moment is inventory space and amount of damage, and adding to strength will help both of those. Tam added one to his Strength, raising it to six. He knew that each point of natural strength he had equaled one inventory slot, so this made seven slots he had, six for strength and the one bonus slot all players got. It also added an extra 0.2% bonus to damage, not much at this point, but later on, when this bonus grew, it could be a very important addition. There was many other things that strength affected, but they didn’t rate any concern at the moment.

Next he considered was his health, and Constitution increased its recovery rate, as well as adding to his maximum health by ten points. He put the last five credits into raising this by one point. Happy with the changes, Tam closed the profile.

Making sure he had everything tucked away securely, for he didn’t want another accident like the food sack disaster, he thought about which way his travels should take him. He wished he had an automap feature which would give him access to a visual map of where he had been and any purchased inclusions, but that would have to wait until he reached some form of civilisation. not being able to decide, he took the Gold Cred and flipped it. Heads I go South to the town, Tails I head north to the villages. The coin spun up, then down, landing on the ground to roll around until it ceased moving, Tail side up. Its north and the villages. Tam headed off.