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Eternyte

Part 3: Spawn Point

copyright comidacomida 2020

Death in Eternyte was as common (or perhaps more common) than in the real world, though, for most, it was much less permanent. Any player character had the capacity to return to life after they died, albeit, they lost 50% of their money and every item they carried had a 5% chance of being dropped. A PC would resurrect either at their primary spawn point, or else at a bound 'rez location', a spot within Mytholm to which a player could attune in case they were adventuring far from their spawn point.

In the base game of Eternyte player spawn points were limited to major cities and some larger towns, or else special rune stones located outside of important zones. Later, after the first expansion, players were able to spawn in any town that included a temple and numerous rune stones were added throughout the land. Everything changed further when, in the third expansion, once players were able to found Holdings, the developers decided that players could count their Holding as a spawn point as well.

Despite how much more 'convenient' death had become with the additional options for respawn, the cost of death remained the same, and nobody wanted to lose coins or items. Even though character-specific items like diaries and some of the more powerful items in the game were 'account bound', meaning they could not be dropped or lost, most players were loathed to part with crafting supplies, consumables, or one-use artifacts which were too valuable to randomly lose, thus death was to be avoided at all cost.

The again, if someone DID die, not all was lost, since they had one hour to return to the site of their death and collect the item or items they dropped; coins, unfortunately, were not able to be recovered. Still, even with the costs associated with dying, players had it far better than NPCs, since only companion characters could actually be restored to life after dying and, even then it was so expensive that most players would elect to tear up their Pact and just find a new follower. Will himself had never done such a thing and, on the rare occasion that he got in over his head, he always made sure to pay for resurrections.

Sitting at the empty banquet table with Minotaurus beside him, those thoughts and more flowed through the young man's head as he considered a return to The Eternal Hall. His companion had said that he had no objections to venturing out into the wilderness at night but Will was a little more reluctant; most monsters gained levels after dusk and some of the rarer, more dangerous ones appeared once it got dark. Granted, the woods around Cragglecrawl were considered low level for a max player in the initial release of the game and Will was over twice that, but he was never big on playing the hero or taking unnecessary risks.

Minotaurus was correct in that returning to The Eternal Hall was a perfectly reasonable idea, the only problem was that Will's ability to Recall to a Holding didn't work at night. In the original version of Eternyte, Recalling was available once every hour and would work any time of day under any situation, so long as the player were not in combat. Under that setup, players usually fought until the sun went down and then just Recalled back to their spawn point and then continue things once the next day dawned.

The first expansion after MIM Entertainment took over things changed, and players caught out after dark were stuck in the field, required to make the trip back home on foot or, for those lucky few with mounts, ride overland. Most players hated the change, but, Will had to admit, it did spruce up the night life of most towns, which is where those players spent their time working on crafting skills until the server switched back over to day mode. Fortunately, the night cycle of Eternyte passed three times as fast as the day cycle, and a lot of players usually used that time to log off to take bathroom and meal breaks.

Will found himself wondering if Mytholm's night went by just as quickly. Glancing to Minotaurus, he saw that the massive bull man was staring off into the rocky landscape as if looking for something beyond sight. The moment the young man cleared his throat, his companions attention snapped back like a rubber band. His large fist made an impact against his rock-hard chest in a salute. "You have need of me, My Lord?"

Leaning just a little back in his chair away from the minotaur helped Will look up into the berserker's face; he'd always heard it was polite to make eye contact when talking with someone. Despite how intimidating Minotaurus was, Will found it a lot easier than it had been to try and carry on a conversation with someone in real life. Then again, he reasoned, he'd known the beast man for years. Clearing his throat, Will took a moment to figure out how he wanted to phrase his question. Ultimately, he came up with something that sounded right. "Minotaurus... how long until morning?"

The enormous humanoid cocked his head to the side, temporarily blinding himself as his errant mane slipped over both eyes. Not seeming to care, he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, confusion evident on his muzzle. "Master Etherborn, it is barely past Dusk. We have the entire night to wait through."

It was a reasonable answer considering the way Will had phrased it. 'Hmmm'ing to himself, he tried again. "But how much longer until the sun rises?"

The bull snorted, and tugged at his mane in consideration, ears lilting slightly as their insides reddened noticeably. It was obvious that he didn't quite understand what Will was getting at. "I... I suppose the same amount of time, my Lord?"

Will tried to remember if the people of Mytholm used the term 'hours', and then remembered that days were NOT divided into 24 different portions, but 12, known as Tics. In order, they were Early Dawn, Dawn, Early Morning, Late Morning, Noon, Afternoon, Late Afternoon, Evening, Dusk, Night, Midnight, Predawn. With daylight hours consisting of all but Night, Midnight, and Predawn, only 3 of the Tics were particularly troublesome to players who knew what they were doing. Putting that into perspective, he tried again. "So... we're still early into the Night then, you'd say?"

The Minotaur nodded solemnly, regaining his composure as he appeared to finally get a handle on the question, gazing skyward as he spoke. "Of course, My Lord. There is still a lot of time left until Midnight."

Pip, who had skittered up beside Will with barely a sound, surprised the young man when he spoke. "We have prepared the grand tent for the Master! We would be honored to have him as our guest."

Minotaurus snorted, growling out "The Master is not your guest. This is HIS Holding. No man staying in his own home should be called a guest, lizard!"

In Eternyte, followers were controlled using quick bar commands. Will had always gone the extra distance to program macros, specialized commands that could accomplish multiple keystrokes with a single button press. In the case of followers, Will had a macro for every command they were capable of following. The moment the minotaur stood up to menace the kobold, he did the first thing that came to mind: he issued a command. "STOP."

The 'stop' command recalled any follower who was engaging in or about to engage in combat. Minotaurus sat right back down in his seat, lowering his head in supplication. "I apologies, My Lord. This whelp was disrespecting you and I--"

Will held up a hand and the minotaur went silent immediately. Will reminded himself that, in addition to the Loyal and Devoted traits, Minotaurus also had the Furious trait which, in addition to granting him bonus Grit for combat, meant he was also prone to lash out at non-hostile NPCs. While the young man was used to it manifesting in how Minotaurus slaughtered random level 0 critters they passed by and occasionally trotted out to engage a low level monster, he'd never seen it happen in a town setting before.

Letting out a calming breath, Will reached out and laid his hand next to Minotaurus' on the table; the berserker's enormous palm alone could have dwarfed the human's hand, and yet, despite that, he still somehow still felt like he was the one in control. It was a first for him in life. Remaining silent for many moments, he waited until the minotaur looked his way before speaking. "This is their home, Minotaurus... I freed them; I didn't conquer them."

The rich brown bovine eyes (eye, actually, since the minotaur's bangs were covering one again) staring back at him still had that iron-hard edge to it, but Will knew that the determination behind it worked for him and not against. At length, Minotaurus nodded with a single succinct motion, and drew his hand away from the human's. "Of course, Master... I meant no offense to you--"

"Or the kobolds?"

The minotaur froze when Will asked the question. The bull-man's jaw worked several times, reminding the young man of a cow chewing its cud. Eventually, when he DID speak, Minotaurus turned to Pip. "The Master is always teaching me. This is your home, and the Master is your guest... I am just a traveler who has come with him."

Will smiled; maybe he was better at solving 'people problems' than he gave himself credit for. Then again, he reasoned, in real life he didn't have a charisma score as high as Will Etherborn. Shrugging the thought off, he turned to Pip. "Thank you for the invitation, Pip. Considering it is already past Dusk I trust there is a place here in Cragglecrawl--"

"CRAGGLECRAWL!"

The human let the euphoric cry go by before he continued "--a place here tonight for both myself and for Minotaurus?"

Pip the Herald glanced back and forth between Will and the minotaur before answering. "Master... the grand tent was prepared for you, and there is no large tent that could fit Minotaurus Bloodhorn, Axe of the Etherborn aside from that one."

Minotaurus snorted. "I will be fine here by the fire."

Will thought back to the grand tent. The pavilion in which he awoke was barely a stone throw from the banquet table and he recalled it being more than large enough. "Nonsense... we can share the tent."

The minotaur was taken aback. "My Lord?"

The human laughed at the huge beast's hesitance. "Is something wrong?"

Minotaurus lowered his head, slamming his chest with his fist. "I do not wish to take away anything from you, Lord Etherborn. If they have prepared the tent for you, Master, then it should be used by you."

Will shrugged. "There's more than enough space. Besides..." the young man paused, wondering just how closely aligned what he was experiencing was to the Eternyte game. "... you have acted as my bodyguard before, have you not? Remember the Castleweyer Mountains?"

The young man waited patiently, trying to see how the minotaur would remember that event. It was toward the end of Will's second year playing Ethernyte when he was picked up by a band of players who were one player short for The Deep Delve, a mid-level dungeon. They'd made it as far as 'Shack of the Trapper', a rare out-of-the-way safe zone where the party was able to wait out the night before continuing on to their destination. The rest of the player spent time preparing their strategy but felt no need to include Will in on it because he was just wanted for his passive buffs, and his minotaur companion, who could pull enemies to the group.

Will had spent time writing in his diary while they planned out how they wanted to proceed. The recognition of the event flowed over Minotaurus' face and his lips pulled back into the faint beginnings of a smirk. "I told you humans aren't meant for the cold."

That single statement was all Will needed to hear to know that his follower's memory of events was exactly as it had been written in his game diary. The trapper's shack was safe from enemies, but it had no obvious heat source. Since the group spent the night there, Will wrote in his diary that it was a cold night and, while the rest of the group huddled together planning their next move, Will Etherborn, who was an outsider brought with them due to his magical prowess, spent the time alone with only his bodyguard as company.

Also, according to his post, at some point in the night Minotaurus had pulled Will Etherborn to him, using his own body heat to provide comfort for his master. It was exactly what a Loyal and Devoted follower should have done, in Will's mind, and something else came back to his memory. The Diary appeared in his hand and opened to the exact page. Gazing over it, Will confirmed what he'd thought: alfalfa and mead. Earlier in the night when he'd first really met Minotaurus, he distinctly smelled that same scent on his follower's breath.

The information further reinforced his understanding of what to expect, and he put the diary away. Turning to Pip, he made up his mind. "Minotaurus will join me in the grand tent, Pip."

The Kobold bowed. "Of course, Master."

It was a bold move, not just because Will was still thoroughly intimidated by the minotaur, but also because he knew the implication; then young man hadn't slept in the room with anyone since his first set of friends he made in third grade. Incidentally, it was also the last time he bothered trying to make friends. It was enough to unnerve him but, he reminded himself, technically he'd known Minotaurus for over a decade-- or, more specifically, the minotaur had known HIM for that long; technically he had only just TRULY met the massive bull man that evening.

Heading back toward the great tent, Will pushed the thought from his mind; they were just spending the night in a pavilion together so what why was that even worth being so out of sorts? Still trying to figure it out, the human passed through the opening and into the pavilion, stepping further into the chamber so he could take a look around. Several kobolds were moving the numerous furs and hides to stack them up into what looked like a primitive mattress; when they were done they exited one after another, each bowing to him as they passed while acknowledging him with a succinct "Master.".

Will continued staring at the large pile of furs, wondering just how it would compare to his mattress at home; he'd moved around enough that where he slept wasn't of much importance to him, but he was used to a certain firmness to his sleeping surface. The sound of leather barding hitting the sod floor behind him snapped him out of his musings, and he turned around, standing face-to-sternum with Minotaurus, who had taken off all of his gear except for his loincloth which, as Will watched, the minotaur reached up and pulled that free as well.

The human felt his face tingle as if it were on fire, blushing harder than he'd ever done in his life, but it was tempered slightly once he realized that the bull man wore something beneath. He wondered in surprise why Minotaurus would wear both a loincloth and a fundoshi but, a second quandary struck him as well: Ethernyte was a western flavored RPG, so why was Japanese underwear represented in Mytholm?

Minoturus once again pulled Will's thoughts back to the present. "I will stay near the fire to keep it stoked for you, My Lord."

Just as he'd suggested, the minotaur dropped his enormous bulk next to the fire put with an audible thud, crossing his legs as he began using his bare hands to move around pieces of mostly-burned wood to better feed the fire. Will swallowed through the tightness in his throat as he circled around the opposite side of the fire pit, moving to where the plethora of hides had been arranged. Minotaurus was undeniably devoted, but there was a certain point at which it became a little extreme. "Aren't you going to get some sleep too?"

The minotaur glanced toward him, an almost parental smile on his broad snout. "My Lord... I have said so before, and I will say it again: humans are not meant for the cold. Someone must watch the fire. One night without sleep will not cause me any harm."

Sleeping, just like eating in Eternyte wasn't required for a PC, but logging out in an inn room or at a Holding resulted in a well-rested bonus that provided small status boosts. Not exactly sure if the same held true in the odd version of Mytholm in which he found himself, Will wasn't about to pass up the possibility for free bonuses. "Just... come over here and keep me warm then. I want you to get some sleep too."

The bull-man's ears perked up as if he were a deer hearing a hunter approach. The minotaur's eyes looked almost uncertain for a moment, but he cleared his throat and his iron-hard gaze returned just as quickly. "If that is what my Master wishes."

Despite the elite, fluid grace Minotaurus showed with his every warrior-like movement, he was oddly clumsy as he maneuvered around Will, stepping carefully and hesitantly lowering himself onto the hides. "Are you sure there is enough room, Lord Etherborn? If not, I could still attend the fire while you--"

Before he could lose his nerve, Will laid down on the hides right beside his companion. Granted, Minotaurus took up a lot of room, but the furs were large enough that there was just enough room for the both of them. Pushing the awkwardness out of his mind, the young man spoke in the most casual voice he could summon up. "It's fine."

The minotaur squirmed next to him, moving from back-to-side-to-stomach then back to the side, Eventually Will felt a massive arm wrap around him and, before he could say anything he was bodily shifted several inches until his back was pressed up tightly against the bull man's chest. The rumbling words from Minotaurus could be felt as much in his torso as in his ears. "Is this alright, Master?"

It was strangely comfortable, and Will found himself providing an indistinct "Mmm-hmm" as the weariness from the odd afternoon finally caught up with him. Despite being a massive berserker, Minotaurus was surprisingly gentle with him, and he felt completely and wholly safe. Warm and surprisingly content, the young man fell to sleep almost immediately, surrounded by a strong musk tempered by the sweet scent of alfalfa and mead.

* * * * *

Will's dreams were fragmented that night-- red and blue lights, people calling his name, the world spinning around him; he hated all of it. When he finally awoke it was due to what almost sounded like a lawn mower with whatever component would be akin to the opposite of a muffler-- he wasn't really much into auto mechanics. As it turned out, his 'wake-up call' was Minotaurus snoring and, like all other sounds the bull man made, there was nothing subtle about it. The moment Will shifted the snoring stopped.

Despite it being chilly away from the fire the prior night, Will found himself perfectly warm; he was laying atop an enormous minotaur mattress, rising and falling in the rhythm of the berserker's snores. Minotaurus was sprawled out completely, spread eagle with his back on the furs and his snout sticking toward the tent overhead. Adjusting his position slightly to give some space to the very thick bovine bump pressing against his shin though a fundoshi, Will slid off of his companion.

Minotaurus' eyes shot open, and he was immediately alert. "Is something wrong, My Lord?"

The human was surprised at the instant intensity but he was able to respond calmly. "No. Everything's fine... it's just morning is all, so I thought I'd get up and get ready to leave. You can sleep more, if you like."

The minotaur shook his head, sitting up. He yawned, stretching his arms out to an impressive width before speaking. "No, Lord Etherborn-- if you are rising then I shall as well."

Will was almost tempted to mention that he'd already noticed that Minotaurus had 'risen', but he couldn't possibly push the words out of his mouth without dying of embarrassment. Besides, he reasoned, there was no cause to cause any tension or make his follower uncomfortable. Instead, he said simply "Go ahead and get dressed-- I am going to say goodbye to the kobolds and then we can Recall to The Eternal Hall."

Minotaurus bowed his head. "Then I shall wait here until I am Summoned."

There was something about the way his companion's tone framed the statement that gave Will a moment's pause; he realized why a second later: only players could recall. It was a minor issue, of course, seeing as, just like the minotaur suggested, Will would be able to Summon him once he was safely back at his Holding. Offering his loyal follower a smile, the human nodded. "Be ready then... you won't be away from me for long."

The enormous beast man lowered his head in supplication, fist smacking against his bare chest in salute as he paused gathering his items in order to respond. "I will count the seconds, my Lord Etherborn."

Something about the devotion made Will blush, and his heart beat just a little faster. Passing by his follower, the young man stepped out into the opening, getting his first good glimpse of Cragglecrawl during the daylight. In Eternyte, the kobold village had a fairly linear road players took to get to the great tent where they'd fight the kobold king but, as Will looked out over the gathering of huts he realized that the random non-intractable containers set to block player movement weren't there, allowing for a full traversal of the numerous footpaths that led between the three different level of the warrens-- not to mention a half-dozen little ladders connecting them in a more direct manner.

His inspection of the village was interrupted by Pip the Herald. "Master Etherborn! You are awake!"

The kobold was stating the obvious. "Yes, Pip. I am... and I'll be leaving soon."

The little reptile started talking again, going on about some topic that interested him but he blathered it out so quickly that it sounded like little more than white noise to the human. As Pip spoke, Will's mind began to focus on the kobold. Pip was not normal NPC for Eternyte; he didn't appear outside of Will's diary and yet, there he was, standing in front of him, talking up a storm, and apparently Pip held no small amount of power within the village.

Pip the Herald eventually fell quiet, and Will used that opportunity to ask a question. "Pip? How long have you been in Craglecrawl?"

The expected chorus of elated shouts of "CRAGLECRAWLl!" preceded the Herald's answer.

Once the prerequisite cheer was completed, Pip announced. "My whole life, Master!"

It wasn't quite as specific as Will would have liked, so he tried a different angle. "And what did you do before you were my Herald, Pip?"

The kobold blinked his little beady eyes, head cocked to the side as if trying to figure out whether it was a trick question or note. "Before you, Master? I was a Villager!"

Will remembered that 'Kobold Villager' was the title of lesser npc monsters in Ethernyte. Unlike 'Kobold Warriors', 'Kobold Brigands', and 'Kobold Guards', Kobold Villagers did not automatically attack players that got too close, but would defend themselves if attacked, and they were pretty weak enemies; most players killed them just because on their way through the villge toward the king on the Craglecrawl quest.

Will examined Pip the Herald for many long moments, trying to figure out just where the kobold fit into the lore of the game, or the game mechanics, or really anything he could learn about him. Oddly, the only thing that he knew for certain was that Pip was a level 11 Kobold Herald. Interestingly enough, Will realized, level 11 was one lower than Will Etherborn had been when he came through Craglecrawl so many years in the past. Had he somehow made an unofficial follower out of Pip without actually using a character skill?

He would have focused on it longer if not for Minotaurus finally emerging from the tent behind him. "My Lord, I am ready, and will await your Summon."

Will usually Recalled to a spawn point no less than a dozen times a day; over the course of over a decade that amounted to well more than ten thousand times, but he'd never done so in person. Recalling wasn't really a spell or a special ability or a talent-- it was all tied to a Binding Stone that all players had in their bound inventory; like most character-specific items it could never be lost. If it was just like those kinds of items-- like his diary...

A smooth, disc-shaped rock the size of a tea saucer appeared in his hand. It was light gray with a softly glowing golden symbol etched into the front. The stone was smooth to the touch, and faintly warm. Although he was still no closer to understanding how it worked, Will took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, stating only "Okay... here we go..."

If it was like any of the other effects he'd experienced up to that point he just presumed that it was a matter of focus and intent. He gazed at the symbol, willing to be returned to The Eternal Hall. Unfortunately, the only reaction he got from the stone was the glow disappearing from the rune. Sighing, the young man looked up to address Minotaurus, only to see that his companion was not there-- in fact, the entire village was gone.

Will stood on a granite dais in a large antechamber. The marble ceiling was held up by thick marble pillars and the polished marble floor extended in all four directions so that the cross-shaped room was as wide and as long as two football fields laid perpendicular across on another. Soft, natural colored light shone down from the ceiling high overhead and, somewhere off in the distance, the human could hear the unmistakable sound of a heartbeat, barely audible, and yet impossible for him to miss because it beat at the same tempo as his own. He also heard another sound: movement from behind him.

Turning, Will was startled to find that he was not alone. Facing him was an Ork, a humanoid with green skin and an almost porcine face. Orks were considered savage creatures, and the bestial appearance of the one in front of the human spoke to that, however there was a certain quiet nobility to him as well. Will recognized him immediately. "Durmel?"

A calm smile split the Ork's tusked mouth, further accentuating the left one, which had shattered a half-inch below the tip. Durmel Spirit-Speaker, Voice of the Etherborn was a rare combination of the Ork race and the healing class Priest. Despite being a caster, Durmel was still physically impressive and his body had not softened the least despite his age. The gray haired Ork bowed deeply, his smile widening as his red-eyes caught Will's gaze, and the Ork's voice, which sounded eerily similar to his father's spoke softly "Welcome home, Will."