Forge of Eternity: Alpha Testing, page 11
“Was that really necessary,” I asked, through clenched teeth. “You’d be dead if I hadn’t lost the grip on my sword.”
“Then I was fortunate you failed in your retaliation,” he beamed for a moment, but when there was no reaction he continued. “My power comes from a fickle deity who rewards followers proportional to their faith. In order to make a good impression, I took a calculated risk. The risk was a demonstration of my faith, which was rewarded by way of a more powerful effect.”
“So, you need to take risks in order for your deity to grant you spells?” Amalie asked, leaning forward with her elbows on the table.
“The specifics are slightly more complicated than that, to be honest,” Gavin admitted, waving his hand back and forth in a considering gesture as he spoke. “I have not had enough practical application to know how often my demonstrations of faith are required to stay in favor.”
“And if you’re out of favor?” I asked, concerned.
“My magical prowess will be greatly diminished.”
“Do you have numbers for that?” I pressed for something more quantifiable.
Gavin produced two small stones from the fold of his robes and threw them on the table. I leaned in and recognized two ten-sided dice, designed to return a percentage value when rolled together.
“Oh no,” I said involuntarily for the second time since meeting the cleric.
“Indeed good sir, my spell effects will be reduced by a random percentage should my faith falter.”
We were interrupted by a barmaid’s arrival. I was not expecting table service and fumbled for some coin to tip her. Since I was already spending more money, and I was not liking how this day was shaping up, I got another round of drinks for the table. Despite his antics, I even included one for what I assumed was going to be the world’s least reliable healer.
Hopefully, a shitty healer was better than no healer.
The Hook and Anchor had been filling up steadily as we ate, with strangers joining our table as open space started to run low. I got the impression we were starting to hit whatever passed for the end of the workday in this town, and we still had plenty to do. After begrudgingly adding Gavin to our party, I sent Amalie to bug the innkeeper for any leads on other players. With any luck, we could add a find another before the day ended. Hopefully, someone who didn’t speak like they were an actor at a Renaissance Faire.
Amalie returned with a smile and immediately led us out the door and in the direction of the mostly empty market. She explained that the innkeeper had seen a couple of new arrivals looking for work and magical training. Since potions were the closest thing to arcane magic the town had to offer, he’d sent them to the apothecary as a starting point. They hadn’t returned, but he wasn’t exactly concerned about their well-being since if there were issues they’d have reappeared at the inn.
“Do you think the apothecary will have health potions?” I asked, matching the term up with my expectations from other games I’d played. “Or is that more of an alchemist thing? Or do you think they’re synonymous here?”
“I’m not sure,” Amalie gave a casual shrug, “I assume we’ll find health and mana potions, considering the innkeeper sent those adventurers this way for magical training.”
“If they’re not too pricey we should probably stock up on health potions,” I said, checking over my remaining currency. 15 silver probably wasn’t going to go too far.
“You know Gavin is right there?” Amalie sent, pointing his way in theatrical exasperation.
“Aha! A skillful jest!” Gavin said with a loud laugh for emphasis. “Joking aside, it would be prudent to have a backup method of healing in case something happens to me during a fight. I happen to have a generous amount of coin from that card game if we need to purchase provisions.”
We arrived at the apothecary just as a woman closed and locked the door, heading off in the opposite direction. I couldn’t tell if she didn’t see we were headed for her shop, or if she were intentionally ignoring us in the manner of most retail employees after closing time back in reality. It did look like she glanced our way before trying to hurry off but I couldn’t be certain.
“Hey there!” Amalie greeted loudly before the woman could make it more than a couple of steps away. “I see you’re closing and I promise we won’t take too much of your time. Can you tell us anything about the adventurers the innkeeper, Errol, sent your way recently? We’re just looking to meet up with them.”
“Oh, of course,” she said, looking relieved that we weren’t asking her to reopen. “They were looking for training, so I have them working as apprentices. Sent them out about an hour ago to hunt for mushrooms, they’ll be back in the morning when I open shop. I’m Willow, by the way.”
“Well met Willow. Sounds like we should just head back to the Hook and Anchor and see if anyone else is interested in testing their luck at cards,” Gavin said, turning to leave. Amalie caught him by the shoulder and spun him back around.
“Do you think we could get the same quest? How many mushrooms do you need?” Amalie asked with a smile. “We would be happy to help.”
“I don’t think I’ll have the time to instruct all of you in potion-making,” she shook her head sadly, “and I don’t have much else to offer as a reward. I can aim you in a similar direction, but I can’t make an official quest of it.”
I found it interesting that she was aware of the mechanics of questing and interrupted Amalie’s follow-up question before she could get started. “Do you mean you the game can’t create a quest if you aren’t able to offer up a sufficient reward?”
“What I mean is it would be bad manners to ask you to work for free and I’m sure I’ll have enough material with just the two adventurers I’ve already sent out. If you want to try to go find them that’s your choice.”
Disappointed, I let Amalie continue the conversation while I pondered on how much of the game mechanics were ingrained in the NPCs as manners. Or, was it possible that the game was just creating the mechanics on top of the requests that came about. The latter felt more like what was happening, but it didn’t match with the ready-made respawn mechanism in the mines. I halfheartedly listened as Willow gave vague directions to the area she’d sent the other adventurers and politely excused herself from the conversation.
“So, look for the adventurers or call it an early night?” Amalie asked, looking toward the swiftly setting sun. “I don’t think we have much daylight left so we’d need to move now.”
“Not worth the trouble,” I shook my head, “we won’t be able to take off until tomorrow anyway. I figure we catch them in the morning and see if they’re interested in joining us, grab a few potions, and go kill some bugs.”
Amalie let out a disappointed huff but nodded. “You’re probably right, but in that case, I’ll probably just log out until tomorrow.”
“Are you saying our company alone is not sufficient reason to be here?” Gavin asked with mock outrage. “Just for that, I’m insisting you join us for cards. Unless you’re not really committed to this team, that is.”
“Twist my arm then,” she said with a laugh. “It’s not like I have anything planned outside the game.”
“Splendid! Do you know how to play Omaha? I figure with a few people who know how to play it’ll be easier to teach the commoners.”
“She’s broke, just so you know,” I said, earning a slap in the arm from Amalie. “What? I’m not going to fund your new gambling habit. I live here, and right now I’m poor.”
“Oh, not to worry friends,” Gavin said with a wink. “I’m more than happy to offer credit if you’re interested.”
I said “no!” at the same time Amalie excitedly exclaimed “yes!” while clapping and hopping up and down. I groaned and rolled my eyes as we shuffled back into the crowded public house. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the gambling on credit, I did have to admit that a couple of drinks and a card game after a day like this sounded like a good idea.
Deacon - Herding Cats
The sound of snoring woke me from an uneasy sleep. I opened my eyes at the unexpected noise and I learned two things right away. The first thing I learned was the Forge of Eternity had faithfully replicated the feeling of a hangover. The second thing I learned was that halflings snore at the same volume and intensity as an adult human.
“Gavin? What the hell are you doing in my bed?” I threw the blanket off me and sat up, despite the discomfort in my head.
“Hmm? Morning already?” he asked, sliding out of the tall, packed-straw bed and onto his feet with a yawn. “I suppose we should begin our day early to make the most of it then.”
Gavin tugged the edge of the curtain on the window, flooding the room with the early morning light.
“Why were you in my bed?” I asked again, letting frustration into my voice then averting my eyes. “And where are your clothes?”
“Oh, right, you did overindulge last night so it’s not surprising you don’t remember. The Hook and Anchor was over-booked, so I couldn’t secure my own accommodations. We made a wager and you lost,” he looked around and grabbed his clothing and equipment off a small stool in the corner of the room. “As for my clothes, I didn’t have pajamas. Lady Amalie had already logged out for the night and you were very much unconscious when I came in.”
“Let me get this straight,” I said, messaging my forehead. “You didn’t have a room, and bet me something in return for sleeping in my room? What would have happened if I won?”
“Oh, I would have had to break character, or ‘stop talking like a jackass’ as you so eloquently put it. And, I would have had to sleep on the floor.”
“Okay, that sounds like a bet I would make,” I said, less annoyed now that the world seemed to be making more sense. I wasn’t feeling quite all together yet and checked my character status with a mental effort of will.
Hangover (Debuff) - You made bad decisions the previous night, -1 to Dexterity and Intelligence. Time remaining: 2 hours 12 minutes…
Rested - You received the bare minimum amount of sleep required to avoid negative status effects.
The hangover debuff likely accounted for the mental fog, putting me under ten ability points. Now that I stopped to think about it for a minute, I had no idea how these statistics stacked up against the average human. At nine intelligence was I ten percent dumber than the average person, or ten percent dumber than baseline me? Or was the point not equal to a percentage? I should probably ask Amalie if she has any details on this. Shaking myself out of the digression, I quickly glanced over my inventory and took in a sudden sharp breath seeing my coins had multiplied to 125 silver sometime overnight. Strange, I’m not normally one for gambling. Or getting blackout drunk for that matter.
“Can you fill me in on anything from last night?” I asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.
“Yes, absolutely,” the cleric agreed with a nod and a smile. “You refused to play cards against me for our wager. You picked a drinking contest instead. I won, and you made a lot of friends. In a way, we both won.”
I put my head in my hands again, shaking it slowly. “How did I lose a drinking contest against somebody a quarter my size?”
“There were no stipulations in the rules about magic, and alcohol is technically a poison.”
“Okay, well, glad to see your spells work then,” I said, standing to find that I was still wearing my dirt-encrusted clothing. “Alright, I’m going to wash up and get breakfast I guess.”
“What a splendid idea, I do think I will be joining you.”
“Is this going to be an everyday sort of thing?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the small man.
“You will be pleased to hear that a ship is heading out today and taking some of the crowd along with it. Thus, I will be able to purchase accommodations of my own.”
“That is lucky,” I said dryly, reaching for the door. Then I stopped, realizing someone was missing from the conversation. I turned, scanning the room, and noticed Amalie sitting on Gavin’s side of the bed, her legs dangling and lightly kicking as she stared off into space. Tapping her on the shoulder resulted in a quizzical, yet disturbingly vacant stare.
“Did Amalie say when she would be back in?” I asked.
“She did not. However, she did note that she was not entirely fond of mornings.”
“Wonderful,” I said without enthusiasm as I gave Amalie’s character an even stare. “You just catatonic or can you move under your own power?”
The avatar cocked its head to the side but made no effort to move. With a sigh, I leaned in to lift her off the bed, receiving a kick in return. A kick in a sensitive location.
Amalie Valeth strikes you in a critical location for 5 damage.
“That was rather uncalled for,” Gavin said, eyes wide in shock.
I staggered back a step, barely upright between the persistent headache and sudden impact to the family jewels. Closing my eyes, I leaned my back against the wall and gritted my teeth. After a few seconds, the pain started to subside, completely replaced with a strange numb feeling. A new notification bounced for attention when I opened my eyes.
Gavin Outbuffs heals you for 5 damage.
Hangover (Debuff) has been removed.
Still wincing a bit at the phantom pain, I gave a week thumbs up to Gavin as I stood upright and assessed the situation with a clearer mind. Calling up the full heads-up display overlay, I confirmed Amalie was still in my party. I drilled down to her character in the menus and found that logged-out players have an idle setting. The options menu includes full autonomy, partial autonomy, or none. The option to change this value itself was locked, which I assume means it’s something the player chooses at logout. I did find, however, that the party leader can still delegate actions from a limited pool of commands. I tinkered with the options and enabled verbal commands.
“Let’s try that again,” I said, receiving a concerned look from Gavin. “Amalie, follow me.”
She stood and waited for me to begin moving. That was easier than having to carry her and significantly less painful. It was still annoying that I had to enable that option manually.
We all left for the well and privy behind the inn, using the blinds set up in the area for privacy. Initially, Amalie tried following way too closely and I assigned her to stand guard for us, mainly to get her creepy lifeless eyes pointed elsewhere. Even though she wasn’t logged in, I didn’t exactly want her staring at me. Gavin went back to the inn’s main room while I rinsed out my clothes with a couple of buckets of well water. I did my best to wring them dry before putting them back on, then gave Amalie detailed instructions to do the same and meet us in the inn.
Sitting at the bar, we took our breakfast of porridge and sausage made of unidentified meat. Both Gavin and Amalie ate in glorious, peaceful silence. I hadn’t heard so much as a “m’lord” out of Gavin since we left the room and Amalie was still logged out.
“Why am I soaked to the bone?” Amalie asked, pulling at her wet robes. “And why do I smell like old coins?”
“And just like that,” I said around a bite of sausage, “the nice quiet morning comes to an end.”
“Rude,” Amalie punched me lightly in the shoulder. She went quiet for several seconds, her face tense with pain. Then she started laughing. “Okay, the soggy clothes were fair punishment for kicking you in the crotch, I think. Also, thanks for not being a creeper.”
“Uh, thanks,” I shrugged, “didn’t know it gave you a recap at login. The clean clothes weren’t meant to be a punishment. That being said, you should probably not leave your avatar as a creepy attack-mannequin when you log out in the future.”
“I don’t trust the game to make decisions for me quite yet,” Amalie shook her head. “I’ve only been playing for a day, no way the AI knows me well enough to play my character yet.”
“Hmm?” Gavin perked up at that. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that the game will model my actions while away after my actions taken in-game. All I’ve done so far is get caught in a trap, light a bear on fire, and nearly die in a mine. I’d rather not log in and find out my character was doing more of the same without me.”
“Really painting a good picture of us here for the new guy,” I said, standing. “Let’s go before he thinks better of joining up with us.”
Neither of them seemed inclined to move quite yet, but I wasn’t interested in fighting whatever morning traffic looked like here on the narrow streets. I lifted Gavin off the stool by the back of his robe, resulting in laughter from him and Amalie, and ushered everyone out into the cool air of the morning.
Amalie - Party Up
Wind whipped through the streets, pressing the icy, damp linen robes against my skin as we walked to the apothecary. It seemed like a storm was brewing some ways off the coast, increasing the mild sea breeze to impressive gusts. While I was happy to have mostly clean robes when I logged in, I would have much preferred waiting until the sun had been up for a while before committing to wearing wet clothing. Luckily the robes were built for adventuring, loose enough in the right places to prevent chafing.
Despite the bitter wind and early morning chill, the streets were the busiest I’d seen them yet. I assumed the number of ships at the dock had something to do with that. The awkward spacing we had to maintain as people passed with hand-drawn carts or small wagons made conversation difficult. Gavin was humming a catchy tune as we walked instead, which made me wonder if he was really just a bard pretending to be a cleric. Either way, it was better than silence or having to speak over the din of the town.
A small queue of people had formed outside the apothecary by the time we’d arrived, many of the people shifting their weight from foot to foot or glancing back toward the docks. I guess they were sailors expecting the shop to be open early with the rest so they could pick up some last-minute items before heading out to sea. Deacon looked at the line, then shrugged and tried the door anyway, confirming it was locked.
