Quill

Quill and Jane were in a good mood as they strode up to the log cabin outside the city walls. They’d already handed in the herbs for one quest. Now they were about to do the same with the wolf pelts that had been collected.

The log cabin was a small, two-room affair a stone’s throw from the walls. One man lived there, so they’d been told by his daughter in the city, a man too old and beaten down by life to be a hunter anymore. And he’d refused on multiple occasions to move into the city and be cared for by his daughter’s family. Which is why adventurer’s had been contracted to bring him fresh pelts, which the determinedly independent old man could stitch into boots or a coat or a blanket or whatever else he needed before winter.

The old man in question stood outside his door, bent over and leaning on a cane in the shade of the fat apple tree growing next to the home. He was gnarled and thin, but had a smile on his wrinkled face.

The sexy woman standing outside of his door might have had something to do with that. Quill admired her as they approached.

The old man noted their arrival. He waved. “Ah! Delivery? And what has my caring but meddlin’ daughter thought of this time?” He chuckled.

Jane held out the wolf pelts. “We were asked to bring you these.”

“Ah! Thank you, kindly. She no doubt thinks of the coming cold season, even though it’s months away yet. Please, leave them by the door.” He waved in that direction.

Jane placed them on the ground.

Quest Complete

Jane

Level 2

Quill

Level 2

Quill saw the words appear in front of him and felt a rush of excitement. He turned to his partner and saw the same on her face. “Level up!”

“Nice!” She high fived him.

It was exciting to grow. It was proof that they’d achieved something. And the nice thing about numerical levels was that it was a lot easier to understand than vague notions of skills growing in real life. In real life, you have a difficult time comparing yourself to your past and future versions, and to others or to what’s possible as a human being. But a number getting bigger was easy to see and put in context. That was probably why so many video games and litrpg novels were so popular. People were drawn to the visible progression.

Quill also felt an immense relief. With his stats, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to level much at all. But at least he’d taken one small step, even if it was the first one. But hey, wasn’t the first step the most important?

The old man grinned and gestured. “Have you met this lovely young woman yet? No? Allow me to introduce Saphire to you!”

Saphire seemed to be vibrating with energy and good cheer. She was dressed in tight, black leather pants, with deep blue belts and pouches strapped to her waist and thighs, including a metallic sheath with a hunting knife, the hilt shiny saphire in colour. She wore a short, blue, leather jacket that bared her flat midriff. The little white shirt under the jacket didn’t cover much and showed some cleavage. She had a longbow in hand. A quiver and, oddly, a large teddy bear, were strapped to her back. Long, black hair reaching to her waist had been braided in loops, with fresh blue morning glory blooms resting in each crossover. The piercings in her ears and belly button glittered, a single, large saphire gem in each.

In Quill’s opinion, she was super cute.

The archer smiled wide, showing lots of perfect teeth. “Hi! I’m Saphire. Nice to meet you!” She stuck out her hand, which both Quill and Jane shook. She radiated friendliness and a positive attitude. “I’m a Storm Scout. We look after the lands surrounding the city of Stormstadt, keeping monsters at bay, hunting, and even helping the good folk hereabouts with whatever they need.”

“I was just telling Saphire here,” the old man said, “about the rumoured bear over yonder.” He pointed away from the city.

“Bear?” Jane asked.

The old man nodded. “Yep. Apparently folks have been spottin’ tracks. Cattle and sheep gone missin’ too. People are gettin’ scared. Thought Saphire here might be able to scare it off or hunt it down.”

Saphire looked unsure. “Don’t know about that. Not on my own at least. Bears are big. And dangerous! I can check it out. But if it’s a big one, or a mother with cubs, I’ll have to bring in more Scouts. Or contact the city guard.”

Quill had a sense that this was a possible quest. So he gave it a shot. “Want some help? We could go with you?”

Saphire beamed at him, her smiling blinding. “Really? Are you guys adventurers? If so, I’d be glad for the help.”

A quest screen popped up in front of Quill:

Quest: Investigate Rumours of a Bear

Accept: Yes / No

He glanced at his partner. When she nodded, he accepted.

“Great!” Saphire announced. “Let’s go!”

The trio waved at the old man as they walked away, heading back towards the road.

“So, you’re a ranger?” Jane asked, making conversation. Quill approved. They might learn something they needed to know about the mission.

“Yep!” Saphire answered. “A tattooed ranger. See here?” She pulled her shirt down a ways and showed Jane the swirling, fluid tattoo between the top of her breasts; it was in the shape of a geyser. The ink looked like blue satin and seemed to flow, as if made of real water.

Quill’s eyes widened at the sight of the…tattoo.

Jane punched him in the shoulder without looking at him. “Very cool!” she enthused.

“And this one, too.” Saphire turned and showed off the one on her lower back, a more tribal design but similarly magical in nature. “I only have two so far. I’m still low level. But these allow me to do really neat stuff with my arrows.”

“Is it…water magic?” Quill inquired.

“Uh-huh. I specialize in the water element. That which gives life! Well, ok, actually, there’s obviously the life element as well, which is actually life force. But water brings life to nature, right? And it can be so powerful: hurricanes and storms.”

Quill and Jane both made appreciative noises. Neither had seen any elemental magic yet. Or any magic at all, for that matter.

“You’ve been a Scout long?” Quill asked.

“Not long. But it’s a great job.” She seemed to skip as she walked. “You meet so many nice people out here, living in the little villages outside the city. And there’s so much nature.”

Jane smiled. “You love it, huh?”

“I do! Although…” She looked wistful. “One day, when I’m stronger and more skilled, I’d love to travel. I want to see the world. I want to see what’s beyond our forests. Meet new people, see new creatures. You’re adventurer’s, right? You know. There’s so much out there to experience. And someday, I’m going to experience it all!”

Quill was about to laugh and say something supportive, but then he glanced at Jane. “Uh, that totally sounded like a doom flag speech.”

Jane made a sad face. “Aw. I hope not. She’s really cool.” She tilted her head as she watched Saphire walk. “You know, is it just me or is there something special about her? She seems…I dunno, different from the other NPCs.”

He studied their guide. And not just her athletic form and tight bum, which looked rather decent in those thin, skin-tight leather pants. There was more to her than that and he also had his suspicions. “Yeah, it feels like she’s on another level. Maybe she has a wider range of behaviour patterns than the others? Probably, right? I mean, the others just do the same thing all day and give out a few lines. But if she’s accompanying us on a quest, she’d have to be able to think a lot more. Do things herself.”

“Mm,” Jane agreed.

Saphire, however, paid no attention to this side dialogue. It seemed she only registered comments directed at her or related to the quest.

“I love your hair,” Jane complimented.

“Thank you!” Saphire gushed, grabbing her braid and turning to show it off as they walked. “These are real flowers. A friend of mine, Risa, she’s a super powerful electro mage who works at Stormstadt Academy, she made a preservation spell so that they always stay like this. I love it!” She dropped her braid and grinned. “Actually, I liked the idea so much that I kept going back to her for more. I’ve got orange and red flowers for the fall and winterblooms for the winter. And all sorts for spring.”

“They’re very cute,” Jane told her, looking actually impressed. “I wonder if I could do that to my hair. Like this braid,” she touched Saphire’s hair, “I’ve never seen that style before.”

“Sure! After we finish this investigation, I’ll show how to do it. It’s easy!”

They reached the road and followed it for a short while. Soon enough, they came across more civilization. It wasn’t a town, but a string of farms, an inn, and a few houses could be seen along the road ahead.

As they strode past the first farm, a small cornfield with a classic scarecrow in the middle of it, the farmer who must have owned it came running towards them. “Saphire! Saphire! I need your help!”

The young woman’s eyes lit up and she eagerly jogged over to the fence along the road. “What is it, Mr Jenkins? Monsters? Goblins? I’m ready to fight.”

He slowed and stopped at the fence, laughing. “No! Don’t be silly. We have the city guard for problems like that. No, I need you to give my field a good soaking. Been too hot these past couple of days.”

Saphire’s face flickered, but the smile remained determinedly in place. “Sure. Sure, Mr Jenkins, I can do that.”

They watched as Saphire pulled an arrow out of her quiver. She aimed into the sky. “[Rain]!” she shouted.

The arrow flew high into the air in a soft, blue streak. Then it burst, energy forming a dark cloud. A steady shower came down, dousing the field.

The farmer nodded in approval. “That’s the stuff. Thanks, Saphire. Can always count on you.”

“Sure, Mr Jenkins. Glad to help. Well, we gotta be going.”

The farmer waved as they carried on their way.

When they were safely out of earshot, Quill nodded back in the direction of the farm. “That’s a cool spell.”

She looked at him and smiled. “Yeah? Thanks. Leeroy, er, Mr Jenkins, he asks for it now and then. It really helps during dry periods. All part of being a Stormstadt Scout.”

They were passing a small, stone house next to the road when the curtains in the front window shifted. An old woman came shuffling at top speed out the front door. “Saphire, dear! Saphire, a moment.” She looked very anxious.

“Mrs. Olston?”

“Oh thank goodness you’ve come by. I’ve been so worried.” She huffed and puffed even after such a short distance.

Saphire face brightened. “What’s wrong? Did your grandson run off again? Have thieves broken into your home? I’m ready to—“

The old woman laughed. “Don’t be silly. Nothing like that. It’s my garden. Such nice weather we’re having, but hot and no rain in a week. My garden needs water and it’s so hard to haul buckets from the stream these days. My old bones, you know.”

The smile on Saphire’s face drooped slightly before being fixed back in place. “I see. And you want—“

“One of those lovely rain arrows of yours, dear. It would be so helpful.”

“Sure, Mrs Olston. No problem.” Saphire strolled around the house to the garden out back. She fired another arrow. “[Rain]!” Another shower fell, turning the soil dark.

The old woman clapped her hands. “Oh, Saphire. You’re the best. Thank you, thank you.” She continued to thank the young woman as she immediately ushered Saphire back to the road before she turned and went back inside with a distracted wave.

Jane frowned at the house. “Well, that was kind of rude.”

Saphire shrugged. Her smile had definitely faltered. “It’s ok. That’s just how Mrs Olston is. I don’t mind. Just…happy to help.” She forced the smile back in place. “Just another part of being a Stormstadt Scout.”

Quill actually felt bad for her. He knew that she was just an NPC and that her feelings weren’t real. And yet, he couldn’t help but react as if they were. After all, everything about Saphire felt just as real to him right now as Jane did, albeit except for the more limited conversation ability. “You do this a lot for the people around here?” he asked her.

This time the smile definitely faded. She sighed. “Yeah. It’s actually pretty peaceful around here and so there’s not much call for getting involved in anything too dangerous. And if there is, the city guard is usually called out to assist.”

“Do you help them out then?” Jane asked.

Saphire shook her head. “Nah.” She seemed to struggle with something. “Well, you’re adventurer’s so I’m sure you know. Water elemental magic isn’t nearly as popular as fire. Fire tends to make a bigger impact when used. It’s more destructive. So if there’s ever trouble, they usually call on someone else.”

“Why’d you choose water?” Quill hated seeing her down like this.

“Well,” she shrugged, “I thought it would be fun. And so few people pick water, especially archers. So I figured that would mean I’d have less competition and be able to help more. Plus, you know, fire reacts with water, creating dangerous steam clouds. Unfortunately, turns out there’s a reason nobody becomes a water ranger. We don’t really work well with fire spells compared to mages. We either don’t produce enough water to cause a reaction, or we put the fire out, like with my [Rain] spell. Or, maybe it’s just me. I dunno.”

“What about working alongside other elements?” Jane inquired.

“Yeah. I can combine by arrows with electro and cryo. But, like I said, I’m kind of weak, I guess. At least, there always seems to be someone better than me, more useful than me maybe. Anyway, I don’t get asked to help much. Except with crops and gardens. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

Quill shared a sad look with Jane. “Ok, this is just heartbreaking. Whoever created her background was just mean.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I feel bad for her. I wish there was something we could do to help.”

By the time they arrived at their destination, though, Saphire’s good cheer was back. Three men and a woman stood around in serious conversation at the side of the road. Next to them was a heavy wooden fence that had been torn to pieces. A single cow stood in the remains of the enclosure, as far from the damage as possible. From the way it rolled its eyes, something had put the fear of death into it.

“Got to be a bear!” one man heatedly exclaimed.

Another argued back. “It’s not a bear. Print’s too big to be a bear.”

“A bear’s a bear,“ the lone woman snapped. “Just look at it. Any fool can see what it is.”

“The prints just look big in the wet muck is all,” the first insisted. “Unstable footing. Makes it look larger than it is. But it’s a damned bear, I tell you!”

Saphire raised her hand high in the air. “Hey, folks!” she greeted them loudly. “What seems to be the problem?”

The four all turned to her. The woman rolled her eyes and one man just sighed, but the two others strode forward with grim purpose. One of them was the one quite certain it had been a bear at the heart of the issue.

Saphire politely listened to them all. Then Quill followed her and Jane into the damaged cattle enclosure to look for clues.

The muddy soil was all torn up, with deep gouges that looked like claw marks. And yes, there were plenty of paw prints. Even Quill could tell they seemed unusually large. But then again, he was no expert in animal tracks. He raised a brow at Jane.

She just shrugged, apparently not knowing any more than he did.

Saphire, however, nodded. “Yeah, these are bear prints all right.”

The man who’d argued the same turned to give his peers a triumphant, I-told-you-so look.

The woman spoke dismissively. She didn’t seem to be all that impressed with Saphire’s skills. “Clearly, these are too large to be a bear. Any — experienced — hunter or tracker could tell you that.”

Saphire stilled and turned a little red at that.

The woman continued. “It was either a monster, or thieves with a mage trying to make it look like a bear had been here.”

“Seems like an awful lot of trouble for a thief,” Quill noted out loud. He looked at the villagers. “What did they take?”

“My Betsy!” one man said. “Half the age of ol’ Emma there.” He pointed at the other cow. “Why, I was even thinking of having her bred. She was prime breedin’ stock, she was.”

“Nothing else?” he asked. “Did they break into the house or take equipment or something?”

“No. Just took the cow. And made a damned mess of my fence, too.”

“Whoever’s been doing it,” another man added, “they been doing it for a month. Breaking into to farms and ranches, making off with all sorts of livestock. Ol’ Morisson lost fourteen chickens.”

“Mable her horses, both of ‘em.”

“Gajeau a cow one week, his bull two weeks later.”

“Causing all kinds of damage, too.”

Saphire nodded. “Ok. We’ll take a look. Seems like the prints go off that way.” She pointed towards a nearby forest.

Quill squinted. The trees over there were thick and tall. That wasn’t like the area he and Jane had been hunting wolves in. He went over to Jane’s side. “That area is bound to be higher level. I’m not sure we’re ready to do this quest yet.”

She looked thoughtful. “You think maybe we got it early?”

“Maybe? There was no quest mark over Saphire’s head when we talked to her. The quest only came up through conversation.”

“But why would she have been standing there at the end of our low-level quest if we weren’t supposed to interact with her?” Jane argued back.

Quill shrugged.

“Let’s just keep going. If things look too hard, we’ll just run away.”

He gave her a flat stare.

She rolled her eyes. “Ok, fine. You run. And carry me.”

He still stared.

She snorted and bit back a smile. “Right. Don’t we make a pair? I guess we’ll just…hope Saphire can handle whatever we come across.”

Quill grumbled. “We’ve really got to find a way to improve our stats.” An idea occurred to him. “You know, I’ve never seen this in a game, but what if we can increase skills manually?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if you get more stamina from jogging or running around, just like in real life?”

Her face brightened. “Maybe! We should try that later. We can work out!”

The two of them strode alongside Saphire as they made their way past the farms and into rolling grasslands. In a half hour they were finally at the edge of the forest. It was decidedly creepy. It was also dark, and a huge change from the sunny grasslands. The temperature became cool, the air humid.

The first animals they saw were wolves. But these were larger and gray of fur. But though they look scary enough, it was nothing compared to what they saw next.

“Giant spiders,” Quill breathed. An arachnid standing as tall as his waist slowly ambled along between the trees. It was black and hairy and had huge fangs.

Jane froze.

He shuddered. “I fucking hate spiders.”

She gulped and nodded. “Me too.”

Saphire hefted her bow and nocked an arrow. “Um…let’s go around those, huh? Way around.”

“This is definitely above our level,” Quill whispered as they crept along, feet placed carefully on the soft soil. Hmm. Really soft soil. He marvelled at the way he sank and kind of bounced on it. This was old forest indeed.

“Let’s just find out where those tracks lead and get out of here,” Jane whispered back. “We just levelled. We don’t want to die in here and lose XP and go back to level 1.”

They continued on for a while.

Saphire’s head swivelled back and forth. “Looks like there’s fewer monsters around here.”

Jane smiled and seemed to relax. “Good.”

But Saphire remained serious and shook her head. “Bad.”

Jane straightened, face turning worried. “Why?”

“Because it means something here is scaring off all the other monsters. Something big enough to intimidate and kill stone wolves and giant spiders.”

Jane’s eyes widened. “Oh. True.” She started looking in all directions even faster than before.

They crested a slight rise. Before them a great oak had fallen, probably years, if not decades ago. They stood at the base and the exposed roots reached higher than the roof of a house. The trunk was wider than any of them were tall. Saplings grew out of the the top and the sides were covered in moss. In the center of the roots, a tunnel led into the hollow trunk. Whether it had simply rotted that way or the tree had been manually excavated, they didn’t know.

“The tracks go right to that hollow tree,” Saphire pointed out.

“The hollow tree that looks perfect for something large to make a home out of?” Quill half joked.

They all stared at it.

Jane pushed Quill’s shoulder. “You should go check it out.”

“Me? No. Ladies first.” There was no way in hell he was going over there alone. There were monsters in there. Huge monsters. There had to be.

“No no. Gentlemen first.”

“I’ll go,” Saphire bravely announced. “I’m the trained Scout.” Arrow at the ready, she stalked closer, approaching at an angle so anything inside wouldn’t be able to see her. She had to pick her way around large roots. Then, at the entrance, she very slowly peeked around the corner and peered into the darkness. She frowned, then took a step inside.

“What are you doing?” Quill hissed, freaking out a bit.

“Get back here!” Jane called in a hushed voice.

Worried, they instinctively went closer.

“Saphire!” he hissed.

She backed out, a puzzled look on her face. “It’s empty. But there are remains. A lot of remains.”

“Empty?” Jane paled. “But then that would mean that whatever normally lives in there, is now…out here?”

Saphire seemed shaken. “Bones. Rotting flesh. It’s not just the cattle. There are wolves, spiders, wings from a wyvern…” She scampered over the them, frightened look on her face. “Let’s go. This is too much. We definitely need to call the city guard for this.” Her eyes darted in all directions.

Quill was only too happy to agree. The three turned and sped back the way they’d come.

Something cracked and Saphire yelped.

Quill turned to see one of her legs sunk to the hip in the ground. “A sink hole.”

Saphire tried to pull herself free. “I’m stuck,” she whimpered, fear getting to her. She wrenched her leg and cried out in pain.

He and Jane both rushed to her side.

Something huffed nearby. Something large. Then it sniffed.

They turned to look in the direction they’d been going. Hair stood on end.

A chill went up Quill’s spine.

A huge, shaggy brown head came up over the rise. Dark brown eyes studied them. Then a monstrous beast plodded into full view.

“A grizzleclaw bear!” Saphire screamed. “Run! Leave me and run!” She pushed both of them away from her.

The grizzleclaw sniffed and came closer. It was the size of an SUV, and probably just as heavy. It stood up, three times the height of a man, and roared.

Jane took a step away, then hesitated. She glanced down at the trapped woman.

Quill wrapped his arms around Saphire and yanked.

She screamed in pain. “Forget it. I’m stuck. Just run! Save yourselves!”

He hesitated. Then he asked why he was hesitating.

What was he doing? She was just an NPC, not a fellow player. They should abandon her and save their own skins. Save themselves from dying and losing XP. It was the logical thing to do. This wasn’t just a game for them. They couldn’t afford to keep dying and losing progress!

He looked away from the bear and down at the terrified woman in his arms. He couldn’t leave her. It might be practical, but it wasn’t him. “Jane, get out of here.”

She glanced at him. Something seemed to be on her mind. Then she came to a decision. “I’ll distract it. Get her out.”

He didn’t even bother to answer. As Jane raised her sword and went left to draw the monster away, he wrestled with Saphire, ignoring her cries, using what meagre strength he had to twist and wiggle her free. It was difficult though. The ground was soft and he felt something under him crackling and giving way when he put too much strain on it.

Jane shouted at the bear and danced around, waving her sword in the air.

The grizzleclaw came back down on all fours and regarded her. Then it turned her way.

Something shifted with Saphire’s leg. “I almost got it!” she squealed. Then her leg popped free.

The two of them tumbled backwards then scrambled to their feet. Luckily, it seemed like Saphire was unhurt.

She wasted no time. Reaching over her shoulder to her back, she pulled the stuffed animal free. “[Teddybear Knight]! she shouted and tossed it forward.

The simple, traditional brown teddybear rolled through the air. For the first time, Quill noted the plain wooden shield and sword in its hands. Then the teddybear landed on its feet, and it somehow did it gracefully.

It stood tall. Well, about a meter tall. It raised its sword and pointed it at the grizzleclaw,black, button eyes calm and focused, as fearless as any knight of legend.

The grizzleclaw, arm raised high to strike Jane down, turned and gazed at the teddy knight. Something about the stuffed animal seemed to draw its ire. It growled and came at it hard, great paws swinging.

But the teddy knight danced out of reach. It was nimble. It was fast. It poked the bear in the foreleg, then in the face with lightning-fast jabs of the wooden blade. They did no damage, but they were annoying, and humiliating.

The grizzleclaw roared and pounced, only to have its paws tear into the dirt while the teddy knight easily dodged and gave another poke to the ear.

Quill bodily hauled Saphire away. “Come on!” he shouted at Jane.

She ran over, but her eyes were on the distraction. “What about the teddybear?”

Saphire looked choked, a tear in her eyes. She shook her head. “I can’t stop him or call him off. Not until the threat is defeated. We…we’ll have to sacrifice him.” It was obvious she didn’t want to.

Quill looked at Jane. She, too, was conflicted. He kicked his brain hard, seeking an answer. But what? Looking around, there were no weapons. No other creatures. No way to get help. And they certainly couldn’t hope to outrun that thing.

The sinkhole.

“Saphire, use rain arrow,” he commanded her. “Lots of them. Now!”

“W—what? Why?”

“Just do it. Above the sinkhole. Trust me!”

She pulled an arrow out and fired it into the branches above. Even as the arrow burst into a cloud, she fired a second, then a third. The spells combined, forming a deluge in an oddly isolated area.

The teddybear knight took a hit. A claw caught him in the belly, opening a large tear. White stuffing pushed out.

“Teddy!” Saphire screamed. Tears in her eyes, she held an arrow by her ear for two seconds until it glowed with blue energy. Then she released it.

The arrow punched the grizzleclaw in the side of the head. But the beast only grunted and continued its attack on the teddybear knight.

But its HP had gone down a tiny, tiny bit. It also revealed the monster’s level.

Normally, you could see a target’s level when fighting it. The number would be in yellow if it was difficult, green if it was the same level as you, or gray if it was too easy to fight and would yield no experience.

The grizzleclaw was blood red. And the number was simply ??.

Quill refused to think about that. He dashed forward, trying to step lightly on ground that was already growing soggy from the rain.

The grizzleclaw bellowed.

The teddybear knight fell back.

He dove under a swipe of the beast’s claws and snatched up the teddybear knight, then rolled away. He managed to get to his feet, took a single step, and leaped over the sinkhole. Only to have both feet go straight through the earth as he landed. He came to a halt, buried to the waist.

“Quill!” Jane screeched. She ran forward.

“No! Stay back!” He waved at her. Then he looked over his shoulder. This was all part of the plan. All part of the…

The giant grizzleclaw’s features had twisted in rage. It stood, looming impossibly high. Then it came down with both paws, intent on crushing its prey.

Quill leaned to the side, drawing it that way. Then, at the last split second, he leaned the other way.

The paws came down next to him with a splash, and something shattered underneath the soil.

Quill frantically tried to extricate himself. He twisted and pulled.

The teddybear knight wriggled free and danced to the opposite side of where the giant bear had struck.

The grizzleclaw rose up again, and again it came crashing down, this time on the other side of the sinkhole.

And the earth opened wide, swallowing Quill and grizzleclaw alike.

Quill - Level 2

Jane - Level 2