I had gotten so used to talking and working with characters that I had forgotten I would eventually meet other players. I guess I started to assume that each player would have their own Apprentice area and we wouldn’t meet until we finished in our own space.

Then one day I noticed a new face with the Druids. I hadn’t paid much attention to them before, but she stood out as being quite a bit younger than most of them and more… Intense?

She stopped and stared at me with what? such? a wide-eyed look that I had to assume was the same look I was giving her.

***

“I’d suggest you take a picture, but that’s not really an option anymore, is it?” She said, an eyebrow raised and just a touch of snark in her voice.

“Wait, if you know what that means, then you’re not from around here either.” I answered, in disbelief.

“Guilty as charged.”

“Holy crap. How long have you been here? How did you get here? Where is here? Is your guide any more useful than mine? How come I haven’t seen you before?” Questions spilled out of me. I wasn’t alone any more.

“Whoa whoa whoa. Slow down there cowboy.” she held up her hands. “I was going to ask you the same questions. I’ve been here what seems to be a couple of weeks. I don’t know how I got here. I don’t know where here is. My guide seems to be missing a few pages from the manual, so I’m guessing it’s about as useful as yours. I figure we haven’t seen each other because I’ve spent most of my time training in the town, not out here in the bush, and since then I’ve been out making the rounds with the Druids as they visit their various sanctuaries.”

“What were you training to be in town?”

“You know, just training stuff.” she said evasively.

“Okay, I get it, Ms. Mysterious.” I let it drop...for now.

“How about you, Mr. Questions? What’s your story?” She eyed me up and down.

“It sounds similar to yours. I got here a week or so ago, no idea where ‘here’ is or how I got ‘here’. My guide is helpful sometimes, spectacularly not so at other times. I get the feeling it’s laughing at me every time I turn my back, but then it says or does something crazy useful. The only time I’ve been in town was on my first day, and a couple of brief visits to pick up supplies. Otherwise I’ve been out here the entire time. I’m training as a Ranger,” I said maybe too proudly, “but I recently picked up something that put me on the Sorcerer path as well. How about you?”

“I ‘wish’ my Guide would have useful outbursts, but so far it’s like trying to learn the rules when someone forgot to put in an index. Mostly I ignore it these days. Otherwise, I’m training to be a Druid. It sounds like I spent more time in town than you did, so we should swap some tales about what we’ve been up to.” she decided.

“I’d like that.” I agreed eagerly, “You’re the first player I’ve met since I got here, and nice as some of these folks are, sometimes it’s good to have a conversation that isn’t geared to getting you on your next quest.”

“Yeah, I hear you on that one.” she laughed, “Sometimes you forget that they’re part of whatever is going on here, and then ‘Bam!’ they’ve walked you right up to a door you have to go through if you want them to say or do anything else.” she sighed.

I wiped the dirt off my hand onto my shirt, and offered it, “Ixion.”

“Saelyn.” she took it and shook it warmly.

***

Soon after meeting Saelyn and realising I wasn’t alone in what passed for this world, I was deemed barely competent enough to take part in raid between the town and the apprentice dungeon. Parties of goblins had been sighted near the town again, and one of the tasks of the Rangers was to intercept these raiding parties before they made it to Springbrook. My job was primarily to watch and learn, but also to protect the primary archers and to attempt to pick off stragglers that the full Rangers may have missed. We took along a trained Druid, but unfortunately it wasn’t Saelyn, who wasn’t advanced enough to accompany patrols. I tried not to be preoccupied with thoughts of her.

I had advanced far enough in my bow making that I had several bows for different occasions. I selected my composite shortbow for its versatility and power, and tucked my composite longbow in with my equipment in case I needed its longer range. Composite bows had more power and range than standard bows of comparable size, but required more knowledge and time to create, as well as more strength to draw. I carried three quivers on me each with two sheaves of arrows. Several more loaded quivers went into my equipment in case we needed to engage in a long pursuit. Normally this would have been overkill, but with the growing size and number of the Goblin raiding parties, no one wanted to be caught out short of arrows.

I was assigned to one of several hunting parties that rotated through the area and soon it was our turn to set up an ambush. Rotation of our hunting parties and ambush locations helped to keep us fresh and also enable us to make our presence known over more ground. Anyone wanting to make trouble for Springbrook would take the risk of running into one of our hunting parties.

Soon I was gliding through the underbrush following my instructors. Every time I worked with one of the senior Rangers, I realize just how far I had to go in my training. Where I was quiet, they were silent. Where I was stealthy, they were invisible.

Silently one of them indicated where I was to set up and what I was responsible for. I was covering the left flank of the party, protecting them from any strays or stragglers that might escape or circle back while they were focused on the main party. Once we were in position we settled in and waited. Watching. Silently observing.

After what felt like several hours, we could hear chattering coming down the path. Soon many dozens of Goblins came into view. They seemed to draw confidence from their numbers, because they didn’t have any scouts out or flankers. It looked as if they assumed no one was prepared to deal with a party of their size, and perhaps if all they had to deal with was the citizens of Springbrook, they might have been right.

However they would have to deal with us first.

The first volley sliced into the goblins before they knew what was happening. Even before a cry could be raised, the second volley took more of them. Yellow numbers flickered above their heads as they crumpled. Several goblins near the front broke and ran shrieking into my area. I concentrated my focus and my aim zoomed in again. My first arrow took the lead goblin square in the head and dropped him in front of two others. They tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Red and orange numbers pulsed above them. One after another I continued to let arrows fly until there were no more goblins fleeing in my direction. A notification appeared, but curiously it was grayed out.

[Skill: Lv 1 - Rapid Fire]

I looked back along the ambush site and saw nothing but dead goblins. They hadn’t even had a chance to return fire, making sure none of the Rangers were injured. It was as if the forest itself attacked them in its indignation at their intrusion.

Once the lead Rangers signaled the all clear, I moved forward to salvage as many arrows as I could. We searched the bodies for anything of value, including information, for that was one of a Ranger’s most important tasks. Knowledge of our enemies plans and actions was vital to us.

The junior Rangers collected what passed for loot. Anything of monetary value was set aside for the leaders to allocate, while what passed for weapons was evaluated and separated into groups according to quality. None of them were suitable for Rangers to carry, but some of them were in decent enough shape to be sold or used for practice weapons by apprentices. The rest would be turned over to the crafters to be melted down and turned into useful weapons.

***

“Why did the numbers appear in different colours above the Gobins other Rangers shot, as opposed to the ones I hit?” I asked one of my instructors as we made our way back to the encampment.

“Numbers? Why would numbers appear above Goblins when we hit them?” came the puzzled reply. “Perhaps it is part of your Sorcerous Fae heritage to see such things?”

“Perhaps.” I temporised. I would ask my guide later. My instincts were that it had more to do with the difference between players and characters than my Fae Heritage.

***

“The numbers are the amount of damage players are doing to their opponents.” my Guide answered. “Orange is Non-Lethal, and red is Lethal. Yellow appears for characters, regardless of the nature of the damage.”

“So why didn’t I see any when I took out those first Goblins?” I asked, looking puzzled.

“You weren’t skilled in anything, so the system recognised those as ‘incidental’ damage, like tripping and falling. It didn’t recognise the intent at that time. Because that damage isn’t assigned to anyone, it doesn’t get a colour. This also applies to damage against non-opponents. When you hunt a wild animal, the same happens. You don’t notice because you can’t see it...yet. Players of sufficient level or with certain Skills can see those indicators under the proper circumstances. In this case, after you gained ‘Lv 1 - Quarterstaff’, you would have been able to see the damage as Non-Lethal, but by then the fight was over.”

“Hmm..” I thought aloud, “...and the grayed out Rapid Fire Skill?”

“That is the beginning of a skill path available to Rangers after they complete their apprenticeship. Once you meet the requirements, the Skill will become usable.”

I wondered how many other skill paths would become available over time, as I idly played with my staff.

***

“Saelyn?” I called out, venturing into the Druid’s Grove.

I couldn’t find her anywhere, or many of the Druids, come to think of it. I knew it was early, but Druids seemed to always be up and about, doing Druidy things. One of the few still in their common area saw me and pointed down a path that led away from their camp. I nodded my thanks.

“Hello?” I called again, walking in that direction.

“Oh.” I stopped abruptly.

Saelyn sat cross legged on the edge of a small cliff facing out across the valley towards the sunrise. The sun was coming up between the mountains to the west, golden rays bathing her in an almost angelic aura. I could hear a soft chanting coming from her in her meditative state.

I watched, not knowing what to do. I didn’t want to interrupt, but I was starting to feel uncomfortable watching her without her knowing.

“It’s a courtesy to knock, you know.” she said quietly.

“Oh um..” I said as I looked away, my cheeks warming. I stood there with my hands at my sides, looking anywhere but at her.

She let out a soft laugh, “I’m just teasing you.” She didn’t make to move, “I’m chanting to ask the earth for my spells for the day. You’re welcome to take a seat.” she offered. “Just don’t stare, it makes me self-conscious.”

I sat on a rock near her and watching the valley come to life, seeming in tune with her rhythmic voice. It was beautiful and hypnotic.

***

“So, what was it that you were chanting?” I asked after she had finished and we were walking back to the grove.

“It’s how Druids draw their power from the environment. Kind of like communing with nature, but in terms of the system, it’s more like a reset. Apparently the system works more smoothly if we do a kind of ‘reset’ every day. We purge the residual energy from the previous day, and effectively recharge.”

“Don’t we do that when we use our abilities, and faster with potions during combat?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yes, but this slower release and build up seems to make those fast pulses work better. If we don’t do this every day or so, it can interfere with how things work during combat. Sometimes things get...stuck...if we go too long without taking the time to do things properly.”

I nodded, wondering if my Fae abilities would benefit from something similar. I needed to find an Arcane user who could answer my questions.

“It’s also during this time that some of our new abilities and spells manifest. The Druid Elders say it’s because we are taking the time to relax and allow the Sylvan energies to infuse us. Personally, I think it might be a little less that, and a little more...technical...if you will?”

“What do you mean?”

She looked around like she had a secret to share, then leaned in closer and whispered. “Do you ever get the feeling that there is more to this world than we know? ...and that there may be something wrong with it?”

Puzzled, I whispered back. “Well sure, there’s got to be more to it than the Apprentice area. Once we defeat the Apprentice Dungeon, we’ll be ready to leave here and see just how big this world really is.”

She looked at me like she couldn’t believe I was missing something really obvious.

“No, I mean even in here. The ‘system’, our guides...there is so much about this place that doesn’t make sense. Why do only certain people have guides? Why are we called ‘players’ and the ones without guides are ‘characters’? What are we playing?”

“I never put much thought into it.” I answered with a shrug. “I just figured it meant we went on adventures, and they stayed at home. But now that I say it out loud, that sounds kind of dumb.”

She nodded.

“I think we need to do a little more exploring than we have been so far.” she suggested.

It was my turn to nod.