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Ch 21, SElf: Space Elf

After the initial surprise, Ozar invited everyone to take a seat at one of the many empty tables; Logan accepted the invitation and sat down, joined by the others. Looking across the table at a tall, portly Orc and a lithe, goddess-like Elf, Logan had to double-take then add in a triple-take as he forced himself to come to terms with the strange directions his life had taken.

Traveling several hundred years into the future only to go on a vacation and find himself in a 'fantasy world' setting, things had moved so quickly without any real downtime that he had to stop for a moment to parse his predicament. Out of everything that he came up with, the most prominent was the fact that they knew him despite him not introducing himself.

And, out of all the issues, that was the only one he knew he could remedy, and did so in the best way he could think of: by using the hab's rules against it. "Well... I guess you both already know I'm Logan Bradshaw... but isn't it a little out-of-character to use that info without a proper introduction?"

The two Transhumans seated at his table glanced at one another and, simultaneously, began to laugh. It was Daliah who spoke up first, and elbowed Ozar to accentuate her statement. "He's got us there, Ozzy... maybe you should get us started."

The Orc's greenish cheeks turned an ocher shade of brown-- a blush, apparently. Smiling around his tusks, Ozar stood and offered a casual, informal inclination of his head-- almost a bow. "Welcome to my esteemed Tavern, noble adventurer. My name is Ozar Loreholder, the esteemed proprietor of 'The Eight Shannons', the fine establishment you now find yourself patroning... and by what name shall we call you?"

Although Logan felt like he had the upper-hand for the length of the introduction, he realized immediately thereafter that he was, once again, put on his back foot when his implant displayed an input prompt in his vision, asking that he create his character persona. With some lightning quick thinking, he was about to input the old gamer tag he used to use back when he played online in his original century but, in a stroke of inspiration, he replied calmly and collectedly "Nagol."

Daliah grinned wryly at Ozar; Logan could tell she realized that his chosen name was just his real name spelled backwards, but at least she had the courtesy to not mention it aloud. Looking to him, the Elf didn't bother standing, instead leaning further back in her chair and lifting her boots up onto the table, leaning back as she casually stated "And you may call me Daliah Windbloom, Commander of the Northern Forces, Slayer of the Bagenohl Wyrm, Master Archer of the Slorhinwood Depths and Princess of the Ehlrythine Elves."

The prompt identifying her originally as 'Daliah' immediately grew many times larger as it included her entire honorific. Logan immediately regretted the formal introduction and wished he could have just kept the shortened version; his implant, thankfully, was able to comply. Once his vision had cleared of text, he offered a trite "That's quite a list of accomplishments."

She reached for a glass situated several feet from them on the bar; her fingers glowed softly, as did the cup, and it crossed the air and nestled into her grasp. Taking a sip, Daliah then let it float over to the table and take its place next to her feet. She shrugged at Logan's assessment. "Eh... I get bored easily."

Logan could tell the moment Ozar dropped the 'in-character' act, returning to the discussion at hand. "It also helps that she has an employee account... even if she's not actively logged in with privileges right now. Daliah has been here almost since the beginning. She's one of the first round of staff I hired."

Taking another sip of her drink, Daliah offered a wink. "Spend almost half my time as a player... makes it a lot easier to level up when I'm here all the time-- well... almost as much time as THIS guy."

Ozar offered a sheepish, tusky grin in response to her calling attention to him. "Hey! I don't have to explain myself... this is MY Hab, after all."

The Elf grinned snarkily around the rim of her glass. "Never said you did... Boss."

The difference between the two seated with him was undeniable as Logan looked between the Orc and the Elf. Ozar was dressed like a casual innkeeper and, in all ways, seemed rather unremarkable... almost like he wanted to fit into the background. Daliah, on the other-hand, would have likely been impossible for anyone to miss. Aside from being a gorgeous beauty, there was a supernatural appearance to her every feature, as if she were too impossibly perfect to be Human. It made sense, of course, considering she was an Elf.

Daliah had armor that both sparkled and seemed to absorb light at the same time. It was pure black, yet somehow had the faintest blue reflection... when it wasn't bathed in shadow. The bow casually strapped to her back looked as if it had been carved out of pure white ivory and, although Logan hadn't got the best view of it, he saw that it appeared to be intricately crafted with reliefs of animals and plants to serve as hand-grips-- its bow string appeared to be made of pure golden light. He presumed her sword was equally magnificent since he couldn't see any more of it than its hilt, which was etched with gold. He inwardly chastised himself for his bland compliment. "You have some really impressive... uh... stuff."

Almost as if poking fun at him, she kept her response equally as nondescript. "Thanks. I'm an Elven Archer, so I spend a lot of time outside the safe zone."

While she hadn't said much, she said something that got a response from his implant; after she had spoken, Logan saw that the words 'Elven Archer' appeared beneath her name. That surprised him. "Oh... so, 'Elven Archer' is a class or profession or job or whatever?"

Her smile seemed almost chiding. "Something like that."

Ozar was much more helpful. "Ozar's Realm is all about adventure, and whether you have it staying here in the bar, or going out there and fighting monsters and bandits is entirely up to you. Stories are as varied as the visitors!"

Daliah, once the topic had been brought up, likewise chose a more useful and beneficial approach. "Everyone who visits get a loaner Corpus uploaded with learned skills, aptitudes, and traits, customized with prowess and techniques based on their account level and their visitor category."

Logan rubbed the top of his head as he considered what she'd said. "So... 'account level' and 'visitor category'.... what're those?"

Ozar tackled that question. "A visitor category determines the type of account you have. People who try out Ozar's Realm usually get an Entry Level account, which keeps things simple, gives them enough time to experience some of what we have to offer here, and keeps them from getting overloaded with advanced activities. Everyone can have activate traits and specialized skills no matter their character level. Account Level, on the other hand, can only be earned by spending time here and leveling up. No way to speed up your account level aside from visiting."

Even as things were explained to him, Logan began to utilize his implant to see if he could get a good read on his situation. Almost as if guiding him to the right destination, his implant helped pull up what he realized was a 'Character Sheet'. He was identified as 'Nagol the Human Guest'; it didn't take much thought to realize that his name, race, and (lack of) character class were included in that detail. He reiterated that fact. "I don't have a character class, do I?"

Daliah quickly spoke up "Most first-timers don't... they get started on a limited account so they can learn the ropes, stick to the safe zones, and get a taste of different character options before making one. Once you choose a character you can work on leveling them up every time you visit."

Although the word 'friend' was a little generous when referring to Noah, Logan wasn't really up for complicating the issue so he spoke simply. "But... you can have more than one character, right? A friend of mine from Luna talked about how he switches up sometimes."

Ozar nodded thoughtfully. "Then your friend probably has an advanced account. Some players like to switch up their character and so they get more than one. Each character has their own advancement, though there are some account-wide unlocks that they can all share. A few select players at the highest tier have an Account Level shared by all of their characters across the board, but they're about as rare as visitors who get their own custom Corpora."

The explanation seemed straight forward enough, and some of the information granted Logan a fair amount of insight into Noah. "Oh... he must have the highest level account then because he got a custom Corpora... some kind of wolf-man."

Ozar and Daliah spoke at exactly the same time. "Noah."

Feeling his cheeks blush, Logan nodded, realizing too late that of COURSE the larger-than-life Dog would probably be recognized anywhere he went regardless of his Corpus. "Yeah... he was really encouraging when it came to suggesting I visit... he and Star, and another friend of mine-- Pete."

Daliah waved away the topic, sitting up straight as she returned her feet to the floor. "Well, you've chosen to heed the advice of your friends, which is a good thing because you're here now. At this point, you can spend your days hiding in your room and treat this like any other vacation, or you can take the time to learn about Ozar's Realm-- most Virgins do that by sticking to the safe zones... especially 'The Eight Shannons'-- there's far worse places to while away the hours."

Logan remembered TIBOR talking about safe zones, so, since Daliah brought it up, he figured it was the time to ask a question. "So... safe zones... they follow the whole 'immersive theme' thing, but magic doesn't work unless everyone lets it?"

Daliah shook her head and snapped her fingers, causing a ball of light to appear in her open hand. "No... magic doesn't work on you unless you let it-- you can't stop others from using magic unless it affects you."

Ozar provided more clarification. "Anyone can use skills, abilities, talents, and magic on themselves, but it can't target or affect any other players unless they give their permission. Also, nobody can be injured in safe zones either."

The Elf smirked. "That's why a lot of Virgins learn how to fight by dueling in safe zones-- no harm done."

The Orc shot her a glance, and clarified. "You have an entry level account, which means you can explore your options here in 'The Eight Shannons' and, if you want, you can also go out on adventures. There are plenty of people coming this week who will be more than happy to show a Newbie around."

Logan was much more familiar with the term 'newbie' than he was Virgin and, truth be told, he preferred it. "Thanks... maybe I'll take them up on the offer... once I learn a little more about how everything works."

Daliah smirked, slapping the table with one hand as she finished her drink, downing it with the assistance of the other. "Hell... once you're familiar with your Corpus I'll be happy to take you out on your first quest if you want, Logan."

The young man felt a little overwhelmed at the offer, but also realized that it seemed both genuine, and highly valuable. "Uh... thanks. I think I'll start with getting used to this place, like Ozar said. Right now, I'd just like my stomach to settle."

Both of his companions laughed, and Ozar stood up. "Oh... that's perfectly normal, Logan... anyone who doesn't have experience with occupying different Corpora can get thrown for a loop when they're in a new Corpus. It gets easier the more practice you have-- not all that different from jet lag back in the day."

Considering Ozar was familiar with Logan's time period, the young man had to admit that the Orc was much easier to speak with. "Yeah... I didn't do much flying back then either."

Chuckling, the Orc held out an enormous green hand. "Well... I think you got your introductions out of the way. The rest of the visitors will be here in about 20 hours; Star asked that we let you in first so you could get a chance to figure things out. How about I show you to your room so you can settle in and get used to things?"

Daliah smirked. "Not EVERYONE gets a walk-through by Ozar himself, Logan."

Spurred on by the Elf, Logan realized he couldn't possibly say no. "Oh... uh... okay. I was just going to use the auto-pathing feature to find my room, but..." he didn't bother finishing the sentence, realizing there wasn't really a point to it.

Ozar shot the Elf a look. "Mind the bar?"

Daliah laughed, disappearing in a black blur only to reappear on the opposite side of the bar. "Like you said: nobody coming for almost a full cycle but, what the hell? May as well improve my Laborer trait, right?"

As Logan followed after the Orc, the young man was surprised to realize that Ozar wasn't wearing a shirt beneath his apron. Having only really paid brief attention to him, Logan passed it off as his already overloaded senses just didn't take stock in it. The situation did, however, remind him of a saying that used to be used at least a generation before his grandparents were born and he found himself mumbling it under his breath. "No shirt. No shoes. No service."

If Ozar noticed it, the Orc didn't comment, leaving Logan to continue following him. Despite being shirtless, the hab's proprietor still wore what looked like leather breeches, and a pair of cloth shoes. As they ascended the steps, Logan finally felt comfortable enough to raise the question. "So... no dress code or anything here?"

Acting as if he could read Logan's mind, Ozar chuckled like he was hearing a joke. "Most of Ozar's Realm's zones are open to any gear or equipment configurations, and that includes clothing. Unless otherwise posted in zone rules, all of it has to match the aesthetic but, beyond that, you're welcome to wear as much or as little as you like. The exception is the Crystal Ballroom, which has [Mercantile] quality gear or higher as a requirement."

Logan found himself wondering what about the word [Mercantile] caught his attention in such a way or, why when he was thinking about it, the word did the exact same thing. "What exactly is [Mercantile] quality gear?"

Ozar continued down the hallway past several rooms, speaking over a shoulder as he did so. "Weapons, armor, and other equipment have levels, quality, and ratings, and they are identified by those traits. Equipment level tells you how powerful it is-- high level armor has great defensive power while high level weapons have a lot of attack power. Ratings start out at [Common] and go all the way up to [Mythic]..."

The young man had a hard time figuring out how he could associate words with colors, but [Common] 'felt' white while [Mythic] felt like gold. He couldn't help but compare it to the old (or, at that point 'ancient') method of providing visual differences in gear names back when equipment was provided on console systems, computers, and visors. Thankfully that was nothing new to Logan. "Okay... that makes sense. But what about quality. That involves the [Mercantile] thing?"

"Yep."

It was a very basic acknowledgement, and the Orc said it as he pushed open a door, leading to a generously sized room with absolutely nothing inside. Logan looked around, noticing the bare walls, empty floor, and unremarkable ceiling. A single lone window covered in what looked like waxed paper graced the opposite wall, and presented itself as the only distinguishing feature of the room. Logan couldn't help but comment. "Pretty bare bones, I guess... so... I sleep on the floor, or something?"

Ozar rolled his eyes, offering a smug, tusky smile as he reached out to rest a hand on Logan's shoulder. "Smart ass... commere."

Pulled into the room, the young man paused when his implant announced to him that he had 1100 credits for customizing his space. Logan realized very quickly the significance. "Wow... so... I'm supposed to build this place out or something?"

Letting go of him, the Orc offered a nod, leaning back beside the door against the wall. "Yep. Right now, since this is your first time here, you get a welcome packet to help with setting up your room. Normally you get 100 credits to start, but Star wanted you to have a little more flexibility in your room. Just make sure you spend it all-- this is just for your room so there's no sense in not spending anything... besides, you get a full reimbursement for changing things out, so if you build it up now and want to replace something later there's no loss for exchanging it."

It didn't take Logan much time to figure out how to edit his room and, before long, the young man was flipping through flooring options. While he liked the simplicity of the wooden floor he contemplated hard wood instead, then wall-to-wall carpeting, before settling on a nice marble tile with a large rug in the center. After that he moved onward to select a bed, changes occurring real time around him as he inspected his options. "This is pretty cool... talk about giving power to your guests!"

Ozar let out a hearty chuckle. "It's like I said: I want people to be comfortable here and to be the engineers of their own experience. If you get a kick out of the room customization I'm sure you'll love exploring what else Ozar's Realm has to offer... when you're ready, of course."

Even as OZar spoke, Logan continued flipping through the bed options. He was surprised when he realized that, while there were more options, he couldn't select them. "Hey, Ozar? I see there's, like, over fifty beds to choose from, but I can't get past twenty two. Any reason why?"

The Orc had an answer ready. "You still have a new account and, even though Star opted to make sure you had bonus credits, you have to unlock more options by spending time here. Once you log enough hours you'll progress through the tree. If you notice, all of the bed options you have range in quality from [Serf] to [Mercantile]. Most first timers stick with getting a nice [Commoner] or [Townsfolk] quality and go [Peasant] or [Serf] for most everything else. Since you have extra credits you can get [Mercantile] level for almost everything, unless you want to add some vanity items like art or display cases."

Logan very quickly understood what Ozar meant; a low quality bed was a pile of hay with a cloth atop it as the [Serf] quality item, and also went up to a padded mat. Higher quality included [Peasant], which was a bedroll up to a simple stuffed mattress on the floor, and options improved from there through [Commoner] and [Townsfolk]. Eventually Logan selected a respectable looking four post bed with a comfortable-looking mattress and bedding with a pair of fluffy-looking pillows; it was one of the higher-end options at the [Mercantile] quality. "Man... I'd love to see the higher quality options."

Ozar offered a tusky smile. "Join us here often enough and you will... eventually."

That statement made Logan laugh. "Man... reminds me of some of the MMORPGs I used to play on my visor."

Ozar quirked a bushy eyebrow. "Oh? Used to be big into Visgames, did you?"

Surprised that a Transhuman would be familiar with the term 'Visgame', it was Logan's turn to arch a brow. "I figured the term 'Visgame' would almost be as antiquated these days as those big black plastic things they used to store AV data were in mine."

The Orc grinned wider. "Do you mean VHS, or Betamax?"

Logan stared at him. "Beta-what?"

Ozar winked. "Never mind... let's just say know all the technology stuff. I used to work for Quadsense Unlimited."

The matter-of-fact statement made Logan freeze mid-thought. "Quadsense? You used to work at Quadsense?!"

Quadsense was one of Logan's favorite game development studios. If Ozar had actually worked for them-- The Orc interrupted his train of logic. "Yeah... I was a junior creative designer for some of their better known titles... toward the end before the war I had been tapped to run an entire team for Hell-Light Razor 5."

Logan usually tried to hide his geekiness, especially when it came to games, but, in that moment, he couldn't help himself. "You're KIDDING! I LOVED the first four!"

Ozar chuckled mutely. "Yeah... those were... interesting."

The young man's mind began to move a mile a minute. "So... wait. You're Kirk Malone? ...or Dillan Rogers? Wait-- you're Transhuman, so you could have been what's her name... Felicity VanClark? Were you--"

The Orc's gaze slowly slid down toward the floor and he held a hand up. "I don't really spend much time thinking about 'back then', Logan. I understand that was maybe about a month for you, but I've been in THIS life for a lot longer now. I was one of the first Class 1s awakened through Corpus Verto."

The simple statement caused Logan to skid to a halt immediately; not only had he started rambling, and waxing nostalgic, but he hadn't taken Ozar's thoughts on the matter into account. "Oh. Right... s-sorry... uh... so... what else can you tell me about Ozar's Realm?"

Ozar returned to his affable, open nature as if a switch had been flipped. "My suggestion is to spend your first visit learning more about this hab by spending time experiencing your new Corpus and getting used to it. Explore the safe areas and maybe give some of your innate skills a try. Since this is your first visit you get free respecs, so get a feel for how things interact and start considering how you want to build yourself up."

Logan raised his hand, opening and closing it as he examined it closely; it was his hand, despite not looking like his hand, and there was something slightly off about how it responded to his directions. "I guess getting used to this new Corpus would be a good idea... and, you said back downstairs said I'm on an Entry Level account, or something like that?"

The Orc nodded. "Yup. You have some account blinders on and some noob-assist functions to help out... for example, if you've having trouble talking in character in areas where it's required you can turn on 'Voice Assist' and your implant will do all the work. There are some Hab functions which will be offline for anyone with an Entry Level account, but you can upgrade between visits whenever you're ready. Most visitors upgrade after their second or third time here. Going to a standard account helps you get more into the game aspect if that's what you're after."

That brought up another question for Logan. "What about if I want to try some of the game aspect of this Hab on an Entry Level account?"

Ozar shrugged. "Well... no one's stopping you, but first timers usually have it kind of hard... especially since you can't get a class until you leave the Entry Account status. If you really want to get a taste, though, I'm sure Daliah could show you around."

Logan thought for a moment the abject frustration she'd probably face if forced to babysit a 'noob'. "Uh... thanks. I think I'll just take some time to get settled in."

The Orc winked. "Not a bad choice. Figure out your room, and maybe get some rest-- if this was your first Iactis you're probably tired, and running on adrenaline will only get you so far. Once you're up and about you can come downstairs and get something to eat. Heck... we might have a few more visitors by then too. This place can get pretty wild once we're up to capacity."

The young man tried not to sound dejected; as more of an introvert, he was never much for parties. "Wild, huh? I bet, considering everyone here's on vacation."

Ozar gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Feel free to keep customizing-- your room is looking good. I'll hang around for awhile yet, so we can pick up the discussion later, Logan. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Yeah. Thanks." The owner of the Hab showed himself out, closing the door as he left, leaving Logan to his own devices.

The next almost-hour was spent by Logan fine-tuning his room. He started off seeing just how much he could put together with what was supposed to be the initial starting credits for an account and he very quickly came to appreciate the bonus amount provided by Star's intervention. In addition to the nice bed, Logan created an opening in a side wall so he could have an adjacent wash room and toilet; far better than the small table with water bowl and a chamber pot.

He also added a small light fixture which, according to the description, was lit with 'Mage Light', one of the many every-day magical items throughout the world of Ozar's Realm. That, in and of itself, was worth studying, but he didn't spend much time on it as he continued filling out his living space. A writing desk, table with two chairs, and an arm chair with small book case filled out the rest of his room and left him with a feeling of contentment. A moment later, fatigue hit him hard.

Concluding his room work by replacing the small wax-paper window with a large single-pane window complete with curtains and shutters, Logan decided it was time to call it a night; it helped that the view beyond the window showed a city street with lit light poles. The young man glanced to the magically powered clock that came with his book case and saw that it was almost 11pm-- apparently Ozar's Realm stuck to a 24 hour, Earth-like schedule.

Doffing his simple [Peasant] quality clothes (they had somehow replaced the gown in which he awoke back in the Iactis clinic), Logan climbed into bed, relishing the feel of the fine fabric that embraced him. He didn't know what the following day would bring but, in that moment, he was surprisingly content.