Dea whispered to young Adam. Spoke to him of the vast world beyond Sanctuary. “The Wildlands are terrific, don’t you want to explore them?” Adam trusted in the gods, trusted their words that the wildlands could not be tread upon. He said “No” and Dea cursed. Adam remained in lands provided by the gods where he and his fellow kin could flourish, for Amma had blessed him with siblings in her joy at seeing his.

Adam met his mate Uli and she bore him six children. Of the children Jasic was loyal, Het was clever, Fen was gentle, Bann’an was brave, Leta was practical, and the youngest child, Erin, was curious.

“The Wildlands are terrific, don’t you want to explore them?” whispered Dea to Erin. The young girl smiled and laughed while shaking her head.

“Papa said I should never go there.”

“But what is there to be afraid of?” tempted Dea.

“What indeed?” asked the curious girl as she followed deep into the trees.

*****

“Hey thanks for bringing me along today, I don’t think I could have sat through all those stories on my own.”

Aiden shifted on his feet trying not to look awkward and failing. Always say thank you, it was one of the few lessons that stuck, though maybe not for the intended reason.

“Daww.” Morrigan made a dramatic showing of getting embarrassed, which Aiden appreciated. “Thanks for coming along with me. I just know Arthur gave up after the third grandma he talked to; our old granny used to drive him insane with her stories.” And a savage grin replaced her theatrics.

Aiden chuckled at this. He’d never met a person whose expressions would change so rapidly. Any expression beyond ‘politic smile’ and ‘sincere regret/condolences’ was quite novel, well, those two and ‘Aiden you idiot’.

A glance at his UI clock told him it was approaching dinner time, and Aiden noticed he was getting hungry. More brain shenanigans; he wasn’t hungry at lunch or the entire day before. Why should he be when his real body was entirely taken care of? Food did sound nice though, virtual or not.

“You want to get dinner together?”

“You're hitting on me?” Her grin was now downright predatorial.

“No! I mean, not that I don’t find you attractive, I mean—since I don’t know anyone else on the Abeona, and I never did get contact information for Arthur...”

“I’m just messing with you. Sure, it sounds like fun. I’ll just message Arthur and… there we go.”

You have been invited to the [Hexagonal Table] group chat. Accept Y/N?

“Thanks,” Aiden said and thought yes.

Hexagonal Table

Morrigan: Hey Aiden invited us to dinner!

Arthur: The Awkward kid from yesterday?

Aiden: Hey! You didn’t look all that much older, and I’m not a kid.

Arthur: 20, right? That’s the minimum age requirement to be on this ship.

Aiden: Not a kid!

Morrigan: Stop teasing the poor guy.

Wait. No. Scratch that.

I want to see how red he gets.

Aiden: So, dinner?

Arthur: Right, sounds good. Where should we eat?

Morrigan: How about the Star Lounge? It will be nice to see the solar system while we still can.

Aiden: It’s just a recording.

Arthur: We can still pull it up from the library later.

Morrigan: But this is Live and we’re here! It’s just not the same later.

Aiden: Time?

Arthur: I’m good whenever; logged off a while ago to recover my sanity.

Morrigan: Knew it!

See you in 10?

Arthur: Yup

Aiden: Sounds good

“Let’s get going!” Morrigan led Aiden by the arm back to the town hall, not even waiting for him to close the message window. He smiled and let her have her way, wondering how Arthur dealt with having a sister like her.

*****

“Hey, Elder, got another quest for you.”

“Why, good morning, Hero!”

“Please, it’s Aiden”

“Of course, yes. Here’s your reward”

Quest Completed

Save the Past: Talk to, and record the stories of 15 Villagers

Reward: increased favour with Cairn Village, Journal

Renown Increased!

Favour with Cain village now at [Familiar Face] (positive)

journal

Records the story of your journey in Vos:

Use to recall fond memories of past quests and see the roots of future greatness

“Thanks, got anything else for me?”

“Not I, but there's always someone that needs something doing, or you can go hunt celties to make more pillows—you’ll get a couple of aes a piece for that.” He said this innocently enough but Aiden could have sworn there was a teasing glint in his eyes.

“I might just do that.” Catching celties sucked, but it sure levelled up skills fast. The other quest only got him two lousy points in Conversation. A glance at his character sheet confirmed that.

Name: Aiden [not yet earned]

Skills: Athletics: 4

Capture: 4

Sprint: 3

Dagger: 2

Identification: 2

Conversation: 2

Talents: ----

Gifts: ----

Renown: Cairn Village: Familiar face (positive)

Granted, Morrigan did most of the talking and he still had a skill point to assign, but apparently it was common practice to save it until better talents unlocked later on. Aiden turned toward the general store, thinking if he was going to chase after celties all day, he was going to need the stamina potions.

*****

“Next!” The shopkeeper called Aiden forward.

“Morning! How many stamina potions can you get me with a denna?”

The Shopkeeper didn’t respond, only looking forward with a vacant stare, “Excuse me?” The shopkeeper jumped slightly and asked with a weak smile, “Right, what can I do for you this morning?”

“Well I was going to ask for some potions but…” Aiden paused, confused by the heavy circles under her eyes, and noticed how her shoulders sagged and unkempt hair poked from under a sky blue shawl. “I’ve never seen a shopkeeper that looked as exhausted as you. I didn’t even think it was possible for NPCs to get tired.” Oh, there was the ‘Aiden’s an idiot’ look, she even cocked her left eyebrow up the way his sister did.

“Of course, I get tired, just like any other person. Shopkeepers aren’t mage tech, despite any stories you Heroes may have heard.”

Aiden even recognized his sister’s irritated, sleep-deprived, tone. “Oh right, sorry!” he quickly apologized and muttered under his breath, “damn these NPC feel lifelike.” She just looked at him blankly and Aiden relaxed; this NPC was not his sister—she would go full lecture mode on him. “Say, you don’t suppose I could help you out here in exchange for some supplies? I’m a bit tight for cash.”

“Sure, help me through the morning rush and I’ll give you ten potions; stamina or health, we can decide that later. Now get behind the counter next to me and watch me deal with the next few. After that, you can ask me any questions if you need help.”

New quest

Help in the shop: help tend the shop until the end of the morning rush

Reward: 10 potions Failure: Decreased reputation with Maya

So this was the Maya he'd heard about, thought Aiden, stepping to her side. He watched her actions intently as she called her next patron over, and followed along as she pointed out the locations and prices of various items.

“There are more potions in the back; if we run low, tell me, and I’ll fetch us some more.” She finished her explanation before turning back to the woman and completing the exchange only to quickly turn around once more. “Are you going to tell me your name at some point or will I have to start calling you Hero-one?”

Aiden felt his cheeks redden as he gathered himself and replied sheepishly, “A-Aiden. My name is Aiden.” Damn that stutter. Big sis would not be impressed.