Quest Accepted Read online

“Just find your brother and I’ll get you out of there as soon as possible.”

  “Where do I find him? What should we do?”

  “I’m not exactly sure. You’ll have many choices to make. Please don’t lose sight of who you are.”

  “Karl, what happens if I die in here?”

  “Okay, I have to catch your brother now.”

  “Wait, where’s Evan?” Audyn asked, but there was no reply. The screen in front of her had one sentence and a timer counting down from five:

  Prepare to reenter Serein...

  Audyn stood there for a moment, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Here we go...

  3

  EVAN

  Evan stood motionless for a second. “What the…”

  A screen appeared before him:

  Character Creation: Choose your Path

  Error:/./

  // Restarting:: //

  /Error: //

  Make your Selection:

  Evan loved these types of games, and spent hours creating and recreating characters to play. He usually only made it a few levels before he’d start over with a new one. The fear he’d felt earlier regarding Kros faded as he contemplated his options.

  “Decisions, decisions,” he said, ignoring the error for now. If he was going to be stuck anywhere, he couldn’t think of many better places than a game.

  Evan had always loved elves but typically leaned toward human when playing similar games. Deciding to go with his gut instinct he reached out, touched the word “Elf,” and stood there for a moment.

  “All right, let’s do this,” Evan said as he gestured at the menu, trying to figure out how to proceed. The screen remained.

  He waved and jumped up and down. Nothing. “Erm...Hello? Am I missing something?”

  He stared into the darkness beyond the character creation screen, straining his eyes to find any sign of a doorway, light, anything. “Hello?” he asked, voice echoing in the nothingness. I think I had a dream like this once.

  He figured he was doing something wrong. He tried contorting his face, throwing a couple of boxing punches at it, snapping his fingers, running away from it, and finally kicking at the unmoving screen, yet, nothing seemed to work.

  Just as he was about to release a stream of obscenities, he heard a familiar chuckle.

  “Elf? Fitting choice, Evan.”

  Evan froze and looked around, searching for the source of the voice.

  “Hey Evan, it’s Karl. I just finished talking to your sister. Seems we have a little situation on our hands.”

  “What’s up? What do you mean…situation?”

  “You should be relatively safe in-game, but I’m not exactly sure how to safely remove you.”

  Evan turned in a circle, still stuck at the same screen. “Safely remove? Can’t you just enter your little cheat code and get us out of here?”

  “Not this time, amigo. Just try to work your way through the game. You’ll be confronted with some, well, unique situations, just try to use your head.”

  “Karl, did you forget who you’re talking to? I can focus on like, less than one thing at a time, how am I supposed to use my head?!”

  “Eh, you’ll be fine. Evan, you’re the most emotionally intelligent person I’ve ever met. I know you’ll be able to use that to your advantage. You may find your lack of focus is not necessarily a bad thing.”

  “How!?” Evan shook his head in exasperation.

  “No time to explain. In about twenty seconds, you’ll enter the game. Serein is huge, and, unfortunately, very dangerous. Find your sister and I’ll do my best to get you two out of there safely.”

  “Where do I find her? Where should I go?”

  “You’ll figure it out. Listen, there’s so much to do and explore, but please keep in mind, like I told your sister, you’ll be able to feel pain. I haven’t been able to eliminate that, so just try to lay low.”

  “Pain? How does that work? I doubt it’s that bad. It’s just a game, right?” Evan asked, but Karl offered no response. Evan thought about Karl’s “lay low” comment. Over the past few years, Evan had become great at blending in. He was never one to cause issues and was often overlooked or ignored. No one really liked to talk to the overly emotional hyperactive kid anyway, so he learned to fade into the background.

  He’d played simulation games before. The “pain” was nothing more than a little added pressure applied from his headset, or the annoying rumble of a handheld controller.

  Besides, Karl would have him out in a couple of hours. He wanted to take advantage of what time he did have in this new game. If Karl had a hand in it, it had to be awesome.

  Karl was gone, and Evan returned his focus to the character creation screen, a vague sense of deja vu washing over him. Where have I seen this before? His thought was cut off as the screen changed.

  “Welcome back, Dwarf”

  Prepare to reenter Serein…

  5...4...3...

  “Wait! Dwarf? No, no, no. That’s not what I picked. Wait, go back!” he said aloud, as the screen completed its countdown.

  The prompt disappeared, and Evan’s world began to spin and blur around him. Moments later, the spinning stopped as he braced himself on a nearby rock, fighting the urge to vomit.

  Where am I? he thought. It was freezing, and his hands quickly began to numb. Worse than the cold was the realization that he was now completely alone.

  4

  ONWARD

  Audyn opened her eyes. Feeling like she had just jumped off a cliff and taken off in a jet simultaneously, it was hard not to vomit. It took a minute for her eyes to focus and to regain her balance.

  A new notification was flashing in the top left of her vision. She focused on the blinking light and a menu appeared:

  Congratulations and welcome back to Serein, Audyn!

  //reset//error

  It’s time to continue your journey, half-elf. From here on out, what and who you are to become is decided only by you.

  Stay alert, explore, fight, live!

  Audyn paused at the message. Welcome back? What’s that error all about? she thought. “Whatever, Karl, I’m going to get you back for this, just wait!” she shouted, kicking at the dirt.

  She looked down at herself as she tried to regain her balance. “Half-Elf? I guess it could’ve been worse. I don’t know if I could have handled being a dwarf or a troll.”

  Audyn thought back to the days when she would join in with her dad, Karl, and Evan in old tabletop role-playing games. That was before she realized how “lame” it was. She refused to be lumped in as one of those kids and would never admit she actually sort of missed it.

  Her dad had bought her gaming dice when she was about eight years old. They were a translucent pink and blue and seemed to glow from within. She cherished those dice and would pretend they contained mystical powers. Even when she believed people would treat her differently if they knew she was a nerd, she still kept those dice close to her bed… well-hidden, of course.

  For the first time in forever, she missed her parents. She’d rarely seen them since they left their jobs at Kros. The phone call telling them to go to Karl’s a few weeks ago was the first she had heard from them in almost four months.

  So what now? she wondered, shaking her parents out of her mind.

  She reached up slowly to feel her face, remembering she was now a half-elf. She started at her lips, moving her hands up to her nose, and through her hair, and eventually stopping at her ears.

  It seemed so strange. Everything had pretty much felt the same except for her ears, which were now slightly pointed. She wanted nothing more than to be able to see her new “half-elf” form. Although, she was worried she had a crazy face tattoo or something along those lines. She wasn’t entirely sure how she’d handle that.

  She was glad her pointed ears could be covered by her hair if they were hideous. If she was going to have to live in this body, then she wanted to at least look badass.

  Before she could explore further, another blinking light appeared in her peripheral vision. She focused on it and a menu opened.

  It was a list of characteristics and numbers that reminded her of the last character she had designed playing D&D with her dad. She figured these must be her stats, even though she was not exactly sure what they did or what they meant. Wait, didn’t it say Welcome Back? Shouldn’t I at least be a higher level or something? How am I at zero?

  Character Sheet:

  Audyn studied the sheet for some time. It all seemed a little confusing, especially the essence portion. Is this good or bad?

  She panicked noticing only a couple pieces of armor were listed. She quickly glanced down. To her relief she had a pair of shorts on. Running a hand over them, she knew they didn’t provide any protection whatsoever, but at least she didn’t have to run around half naked until she found some. While she didn’t have many clothes, she was happy the ones she had fit well.

  Turning her attention onto her attributes, she focused on each one individually. As she did, a short explanation appeared for each one:

  Intelligence

  Decides total amount of spells that can be learned. Also impacts total mana available to cast spells.

  Stamina

  Determines fatigue. The lower the score, the faster you will fatigue from movements.

  Strength

  Increased strength means melee attack power, as well as weight able to be carried.

  Willpower

  Mental resistance to spells. Also, increases spell effectiveness and mana regen.

  Constitution

  Your overall health points and poison resistance.

  Agility

  As Agility increases, your chance to hit and dodge increases.

  Dexterity br />
  A high dexterity results in increased movement and attack speed.

  Charisma

  Affects your social skills. A low charisma will affect your interactions with others.

  Luck

  The luckier you are, the higher chance of success in all aspects of your life.

  Waving away the descriptions she returned to her skills and bonuses. What the heck is the Curse of the Half-Blood that’s reducing my charisma and luck?! She hated starting out with an automatic disadvantage.

  She tried to tell herself she was only going to be in the game for a couple hours, and to “stop borrowing trouble,” as her mom always said. She couldn’t stand that phrase.

  Well, Karl did mention I could become whatever I wanted to be in this game. Guess we’ll see, she thought.

  Audyn waved the character sheet away and glanced around. When she finally took a moment to survey her surroundings, it took her breath away. She had never known someone could create such a beautiful world.

  She stood in some sort of grove completely surrounded by trees so tall and full of foliage that the sun was effectively blocked out. The leaves glimmered in the faint light with shimmering teal, peridot, and amethyst branches rustling lightly. A gentle wind created an oddly soothing symphony as it wove its way through the forest. She held a hand up and felt the breeze swirl through her fingers. The air was warm, which felt really nice.

  She took a deep breath, noticing the air smelled sort of salty and fishy like the ocean, but in an oddly comforting way.

  She moved her eyes to the ground and noticed the grass under her feet was faintly illuminated. She took a couple of steps. As each step landed a new pool of luminescence appeared under her foot.

  “Oh, I like those!” she said excitedly as she noticed her crude black boots. They reached the middle of her shin and had two straps across the base and a small rise of the heel in the back. They were the favorite thing she was wearing, although they were a bit uncomfortable. The rest of her clothes were crude and a drab brown, but they fit well. The only thing she had for a weapon was an ancient-looking dagger with a simple carved wooden handle hanging at her waist. It looked too dull to pose a threat, but it was better than nothing.

  The ground was covered in a moss-like plant that was actually very pleasant to walk on. She jumped in place, testing out a theory. She could jump a little bit higher than in real life, but not as high as she'd hoped.

  “Oh well,” she said, preparing to jump again. “Maybe I’ll get some other ability that would be even better. I wonder if I can fly?”

  “Not likely,” said a small, gravelly voice from behind her.

  Startled, Audyn looked around. “Wait, what? Who’s there? Hello?”

  “Huh? What’s the problem?” the voice responded. She caught movement as something shifted to her left, lowering itself to the ground.

  She thought it looked like a chubby, winged, miniature version of a female goblin or something. It was too awkward for her to be scared of.

  Audyn looked a little closer, trying to figure out what she was looking at. As she focused, a blinking prompt appeared.

  “Inspect?”

  “Yes?” she said quietly, and a translucent menu appeared in front of her.

  Name: Bert

  Race: Forest Imp

  Class: Unknown

  Level: 4

  “What are you doing!? Why are you here!? Why are you staring at Bert!?” Bert shouted, eyes bulging and spit flying.

  “What’s your problem?” Audyn asked, sternly folding her arms across her chest.

  “All of your jumping, you woke Bert up from Bert’s nap. You need to be more careful, Half-blood!” she huffed.

  “Ok, listen, you little asshole. You need to calm down.” Audyn was about ready to kick the imp out of the way.

  “Why?! You are the one in Bert's way, in Bert's forest, wasting Bert's time, Half-blood!” she shot back.

  “I have no idea where I am, or what I’m doing! Give me a break, you angry little runt. Since you’re so smart, where should I go?”

  “Bert doesn’t care, just go!” She plopped down closer to Audyn, leaving a large irregular pool of light under her potbelly pig-esque body.

  Audyn turned and walked away from the imp. “Ugh, whatever.”

  Glancing back, she noticed the imp was watching her, but looking away sharply every time she turned. Audyn decided to ignore the imp. She had more important things to worry about, like getting out of this stupid game.

  She wandered down the pseudo-worn path, marveling at the beautiful landscape around her. Huge trees towered on each side. The sounds of birds and chittering of small animals echoed throughout the forest. She caught the occasional sweet smell of cotton candy, confirming it was coming from the bark of the nearby trees. Wonder if it’s safe to eat. She broke a small piece and tasted it, promptly spitting it out. Nope, definitely not cotton candy.

  Ahead, she heard the rushing of water that sounded as if there were a river or possibly a waterfall nearby. She continued, glancing behind her, gratefully noting Bert was no longer in sight.

  “Stupid imp,” she said angrily. “I wonder if every creature I’m going to run into is going to be as pleasant as that little beast.”

  She came to a small clearing and stopped, breath taken. A shimmering pool of swirling violet and deep blue took up most of the clearing, fed from a shimmering waterfall cascading from a large cliff face covered in mesmerizingly bright flowers. She could hardly look away.

  The air was fragrant, with hints of gardenia and plumeria reminding her of the brief time they had lived in Hawaii. A sense of calm fell over her as she approached the pool.

  An overwhelming feeling of thirst came over her as she reached the pool. Peering in, she was only able to see a few feet down before the water swirled dark violet, obscuring the bottom.

  The longer she stood there, the more she realized how incredibly parched she was. When was the last time I had anything to drink?

  Despite her uneasy feeling, the overwhelming thirst won out. She was being ridiculous, worrying about drinking virtual water. It wasn’t like this was real-world stream water where you risk disease if you don't boil it before drinking. Ugh, I’m acting as neurotic as Uncle Karl! She reached into the pool and took a sip.

  Icy crystals formed on her hand as she reached in, the water was near freezing. She instantly felt refreshed. It was almost as if the water had the power to cool her blood. She continued kneeling at the edge of the pool, mesmerized by the crystals forming on her hand. Staring into the depths of the water, she thought she saw movement, and leaned closer.

  As she peered intently into the water, an overwhelming sense of dread came over her, a shiver shot through her body and small hairs stood up on her arms. As she began to stand, two hands with long delicate fingers and razor-sharp nails shot up from the depths. The hands grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her violently down into the ice-cold water.

  She struggled as it dragged her farther and farther down, deeper and deeper. Her lungs ached. Audyn couldn’t hold her breath any longer. She longed for another breath of that sweet air she had breathed only moments earlier.

  Looking down, she met the eyes of her assailant. Her attacker was a beautiful woman with hair that shimmered in the inky-violet water. The woman was calm, staring into Audyn’s eyes as she dragged her down. Audyn looked toward the top of the pool, seeing the faint light disappearing in the distance. Trying to pull free of the creature’s grasp proved to be impossible.

  Audyn couldn’t breathe and the pain of drowning was blinding. As her world began to fade, she focused on the woman’s face. The woman’s hair waved between them, covering her features. When the hair waved back out of her face, a haggard and deformed creature was in her place. The wretched hag let out a scream that Audyn could feel deep inside of her. She stopped fighting as the pain overwhelmed her. All went black.

  A message appeared:

  Didn't anyone teach you not to drink untreated water? You have died…

  Evan gasped as he tried to catch his breath from the joy ride he experienced as he entered the game. He looked around, noticing everything was blanketed in snow.