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Ch 23, SAdventure: Space? Adventure

If Logan was expecting some kind of grandiose store complete with staff, display counters, and a front desk with a cashier he was sorely disappointed when he was led into what basically amounted to a hallway with open changing rooms. Daliah ushered him into one, at which point a single shelf emerged from the wall with a keyboard on it, awaiting his command. Looking over his shoulder he saw that Daliah was standing at the opening, leaning in so that she could point past him. "Eyes front. The interface isn't back this way, Nagol."

Following her advice, he looked back to the keyboard and saw that the wall was a monitor, which welcomed him to the Equipment Shoppe (it even had the superfluous 'e' at the end). Following the introduction was an ANCIENT interface system that electronic games had used for centuries including an actual menu with a cursor. He remembered studying them back in his humanities class in high school and used the arrow buttons on the keyboard in front of him to move the cursor, speaking back over his shoulder as he selected 'WEAPONS'. "So... there's a difference between weapon categories, right?"

She rattled them off quickly. "Axes are good for solid strikes that bypass armor; blunt weapons do bonus stance damage and can stun your targets; short blades are very fast but don't do a lot of damage; swords tend to be the go-to for most new players since they're relatively balanced and can do solid damage... and that's just melee weapons. If you're looking for long ranged combat you can always--"

Logan had stopped listening at that point; if Nagol were going to be a capable combatant he had to be able to engage up close. With that in mind he flipped through the options, carefully considering what Daliah had said about each one. He knew his Corpus was relatively average physically, neither incredibly strong nor speedy, which meant that axes could give him an extra punch of power while short blades would improve his capacity fo quick attacks, but in both cases he'd be handicapped in the opposite direction. He honestly liked the idea of doing a lot of damage, but he needed something a little more middle-of-the-road.

Flipping to two-handed swords, Logan was pleased to see that weapon stats were provided on the screen as he reviewed his choices. It didn't take him long to scroll past the [Peasant], [Serf], and [Commoner] gear. He wasn't the as restrictive with his funds as he was when he was considering how to equip his room and, upon deciding he wanted to be prepared, Logan went straight past [Townsfolk] until he was looking at [Mercantile] quality two handed swords. Although he wondered what he would encounter beyond that level, he was still in a new account and the shop wouldn't show it to him.

A call from off to the side snapped him out of his musings as Bellever announced that he was done with his own shopping. "Ready!"

Daliah responded. "Nagol isn't. He's still looking at weapons."

The Wolfman let out an audible huff. "Yep... the age-old problem for new players. I don't have to worry about that with THIS character-- I'm perfectly happy with tooth and claw. I have speed plus damage, weapons that don't cost me any credits, I'm always ready for combat, and there's no change I'll get disarmed!"

The Elf woman gave Bellever some grief but Logan was too focused on choosing between the three options of two handed swords available at the [Mercantile] quality, ultimately settling on the one that was able to do both slashing and piercing damage-- it also happened to be the most expensive. Plus, he had to admit, it was pretty cool looking. Bellever also seemed to agree as the Wolfman's voice piped up quickly, interrupting Daliah. "Oh, a classic long sword. Good choice. One of my characters uses a Falchon... more damage overall, but it doesn't have a piercing attack."

Nagol glanced behind himself to see both Daliah and Bellever squeezed together so they could both look into his shop stall. The Elf's expression was unreadable. "I honestly didn't figure you for the two-handed warrior type."

Bellever, on the other hand, had his heart on his sleeve and his tail was wagging like mad, tongue hanging out of his muzzle as he nodded his head in obvious approval. "And a [Mercantile] level too... with an expense that great I guess you don't plan on wearing any armor or getting any consumables, huh?"

Daliah just rolled her eyes, batting an errant paw away as Bellever reached for the hilt of the weapon which had appeared strapped to Nagol's back. "Star got her uncle a premium package... he should be able to get a few [Mercantile] rank items and still have coin to spare."

The Wolfman's smile widened even more. "Oh. Nice. You better thank Star when you get home. The initial cash grind is a bore and you get to skip it entirely."

Logan had never been a huge fan of people running a play by play commentary when it came to his gaming choices but he could readily admit to himself that he needed a little guidance so he was willing to let the frustrations of their attention slide. Looking back to the monitor, he prompted them for where next to focus his attention. "So... armor next?"

Despite their obviously different play styles, his two 'mentors' were unanimous in their agreement, each acknowledging his decision with a simple "Right."

Before switching to armor, Logan noticed that he was able to select a backup weapon and so he quickly grabbed a [Townsfolk] rank hand axe just in case. Once that was purchased he flipped over to armor and jumped in surprise when, in addition to the 'Leather Curiass' appearing on the monitor, it also immediately materialized around his torso. He also noticed that, since he was on [Townsfolk] quality that the armor maintained that rank. He quickly upgraded to [Mercantile] and flipped through options before finding one he liked. "Chain Hauberk?"

Both of his companions wore expressions that suggested they didn't approve. Bellever was very straight-forward with his critique. "Nagol, my dear, dear friend. No. Just... no."

Daliah was a little more helpful in her objection. "If you are going to be in melee with a two handed weapon you may want something a little more protective. Look at brigandage, or at least a set of banded mail."

Following her advice, Logan flipped through both options, noting that the banded mail at [Mercantile] quality had a much better defensive score than the hauberk while the brigandage was further reinforced and a significant improvement. He liked the idea of added protection, even though it was a lot more expensive than the leather he'd been looking at. Based on its statistics it wouldn't create any great speed penalty but it provided a lot more protection. He selected the garment. "Yeah... this looks good."

Once he'd selected his armor, Daliah continued onward with her suggestions. "You have a two handed weapon and medium armor, which means that you can fill out a combat line in a number of ways. You haven't spent your character points yet, have you, Nagol?"

Even though he'd read about them the prior night, Logan realized that he hadn't. "Oh... no. Should I just keep them split evenly?"

The Elf scowled. "At some point doing a middle-of-the-road build will mean you can do everything but can't do anything well so, yes-- you could, but no-- you shouldn't. If you're going to be up close in combat you should focus on Strength and Stamina, or Agility and Stamina, and then pick up whatever attribute for your third that you didn't choose as your top two."

Bellever let out a soft growl, flexing his incredibly well-sculpted body, muscles easily visible even beneath the layer of fur. "Go for strength... we can CRUSH everyone who stands in our way!"

Daliah scowled. "Bellever, you chose Strength and Agility as your top attributes; you're going to do all the damage until you get hit."

The Wolfman countered with a wink. "What can I say? Works of art are fragile."

Considering Bellever was not a new character, and Logan wanting to remain relevant, he realized going with a Strength choice meant that he'd be left behind with two other agile party members. Being relatively lightly armored, he would benefit from a higher Dodge stat which he remembered reading was based on Agility. He made his decision. "Okay... I just put two of my three points into Agility and one into Stamina."

Daliah nodded in approval. "Good. That puts you at what?"

Bellever interjected "Been that long since you started a new base level character? He's a Human on a fresh account, Dal-- all his stats started at 10, so that means 12 in Agility and 11 in Stamina... everything else is 10."

Nagol offered a nod of his own. "Right. Twelve is pretty good to start, right?"

The Wolfman grinned, revealing all of his teeth. "Mine's 16. Strength of 16 too."

The Human nodded respectfully. "Yeah... you're definitely higher level."

Daliah rolled her eyes. "He gets racial bonuses... Ozar made him a custom Corpus and his own race. He's actually only a few levels higher than you, Nagol."

Bellever nodded vigorously, his jowls making a fleshy waggling sound as he did so. "Right. When you level up just keep focusing on your primary attributes and you'll be buffed up in no time."

Nagol was thankful for the guidance. "I'll do that... and I bet Daliah has some really CRAZY stats."

She shrugged. "My strength is about equal with Bellever."

That surprised the Human. "Really? If you just use bows, why bother increasing your Strength stat?"

Daliah gestured forward. "Get the rest of your gear." Once he started flipping through miscellaneous equipment she answered his question. "I haven't put any points into Strength. Every ten levels you gain a +1 in all attributes."

Knowing better than to stop flipping through equipment once instructed to 'get a move on', Logan knew better than to glance back, but he still spoke over his shoulder without making eye contact. "You're over level 60?"

Bellever snickered. "She's definitely level 99, friend-o. Elves start with a lower strength score than almost all races."

Paying more attention on them than his shopping, Logan decided to make it easy, and he bought Nagol a 'packaged kit' of equipment at [Townsfolk] quality, then polished things off by purchasing a few healing elixirs. As ready as he could be, he turned back around. "Okay. Ready--" then quickly added, "--so you're level 99?"

Heading straight off down the hallway that was designed convincingly to resemble a small village side street, Daliah spoke as she walked. "Been 99 for over a decade. It takes awhile to make it to level ten, then twice as long to get to 20, and twice as long to get to 30, and so on and so forth. I have a few different characters, but Daliah is my main."

Logan was impressed. "Wow... how many level 99 players are there?"

She smirked. "Wrong question, Nagol-- remember: character and visitor levels are two different things. Visitor levels go up to 250. If you want to know how many CHARACTERS are level 99, there are..." she pauses for a moment, her fair features scrunching up in thought, "I would guess maybe 100... most of us are employees. Some regular visitors are getting close."

Bellever interjected "My two highest level characters are a level 87 Dwarven Crusher and an 82 Lamented Warlock."

Doing a quick check with his implant, Logan realized that a Lamented was an undead character available only to players who had an account level over 100. "Wow, Bellever... what level player are you?"

Both of his companions shut up immediately and it took the young man a moment to realize what was going on; he then saw that there was another person on the street coming their way. Although the three of them had been pretty lax when it came to speaking "out of character" he did recall that Ozar's Realm did have some specific rules against it. Moving into the busier part of town, unfortunately, Logan wasn't able to get his question answered.

As they approached a large archway leading out into an open grassland, it was readily apparent that his curiosity would go unsatiated as Daliah got down to business. "It was a good thing you got some healing potions since we don't have a dedicated healer."

Bellever grunted to the affirmative, reaching down to the simple cord that held up his loincloth; Logan was surprised when a pouch appeared so that the Wolfman could dig into it, pulling out several vials. "I have three... that should last me awhile. What about you, Dal? You all set?"

She raised her hand in response, little green motes of light appearing at the tips of her fingers. "I have some basic healing magic-- at my level even a low power cast should fill either of you up without a problem."

Bellever winked. "Hmm... maybe I should get hurt on purpose if you're here to 'lay hands' on me, eh?"

Daliah responded flatly "Bellever, you're lucky we're not flagged for PvP, otherwise I'd be more than happy enough to hurt you."

The Wolfman winked a second time. "I wouldn't mind-- you know I like it RUFF."

Rather than actually saying the word 'rough', Bellever made the equivalent sound. The two continued their banter even as they stepped out into the grassland and their continued dialogue faded into background noise as Nagol came to a complete stop, surrounded by greenery and nature for the first time in what felt like years (but was, in fact, centuries). Moreover, he was able to look up and see the sky; it had been absent during his time on Luna. "This is AMAZING. Ozar's Realm has a SKY!"

Daliah stepped up to walk with Nagol to his left. "Well of course it does. Ozar's realm is full immersion so, yes."

Glancing back behind himself at the walls of the city they'd just left, Nagol faced forward again, looking at the long, meandering road stretched out before them. "This place is freaking HUGE!"

Bellever pranced up to take a position to Nagol's right, keeping pace with him as they walked along the road. "It would have to be in order to house the entire 'game world', Nagol. Ozar's Realm is a mega-hab in space."

The statement took a moment to register. "In space? So... we're not actually on a planet?"

Daliah responded by simply repeating her earlier statement. "Full immersion."

The Wolfman snorted. "Whatever. Whatever! We should all be in character anyway. We can talk more about this tonight back at the tavern... it's time to PLAY, folks! Let's GOOOOOOOO!"

Bellever's last statement was as much a howl as it was a drawn out word. A little shiver went up Nagol's spine as he heard the muted sound the open area had on the exclamation and the sensation went double as he felt a cool, spring time breeze ruffle his hair, flowing across the tall grasses and flowers on either side of the pathway. In that moment, Logan had to admit that his visor games had absolutely NOTHING on Ozar's Realm, and he was beside himself with excitement to see even more.

Their walk to what Daliah described as "the best quest hub to start" was a long one, but not excessively so. The elven archer used the time to make sure Logan was familiar with the interface, helping him figure out things like his implant's map command. Although he'd already uncovered it back at the inn, she was able to assist with bringing up the 'over world map', which functioned as far more of a navigational tool in the travel sense and much less like the electronic travel assistant that helped him figure out where in a building he was.

The discussion took up the empty time of their walk and came to a conclusion just as they crested a small hill, revealing a moderately sized frontier encampment complete with wooden fortifications surrounding a combination of tents, pavilions, cabins, and a small fort. The camp was set off a short distance from the road, connected to it by a gravel path which lead up to its large, open gate. Nagol didn't miss the guards standing on either side of the large opening, and that got him thinking.

His thoughts ultimately coalesced into a question. "Hey... Daliah? What's the deal with the NPCs?"

Bellever gave him a friendly elbow. "They're PEOPLE, Logan... everyone here's a person!"

The statement seemed beyond weird, and Nagol had a hard time parsing the significance. "Everyone's a player?"

Daliah clarified. "No. Quest givers, peace keepers, brigands, story villains... they're all staff. Any of a number of staff can CV into the Corpus of the role needed. Newer staff have the boring positions like gate guards, while long-term staff spend weeks practicing for different, meaningful roles."

Nagol only really had one response for that. "Wow."

Bellever snickered at the response. "That's dedication, Nagol. They enjoy Ozar's Realm so much that they want to become part of it. Lots of them have their own characters to use during their off hours... like Daliah here."

Turning off the main road and onto the gravel, Daliah cleared her throat and flicked her hair, addressing them aside. "Speaking of dedication: it's well past time to get back in character, gentlemen."

Approaching the entrance to the encampment, the group was hailed by the guards; one appeared to be a dark skinned Human while the other was an even darker skinned Dwarf. The Dwarf spoke up first. "Welcome travelers. Looks like you made it across the plains safely... good thing too, seeing as the highwaymen have been busy as of late."

The Human guardsman spoke up second, offering a snappy salute. "Commander Windbloom. Good see you again! It's been awhile!"

Daliah offered a casual nod to the Human guard in response. "Indeed it has, Guardsman. I'm here providing some guidance to some up-and-coming adventurers. The message boards back in Trylon mentioned that the Captain is looking for scouts... and I've brought two."

The two guardsmen followed Daliah's gesture toward Nagol and Bellever. The Wolfman offered a wink, wave, and tail wag, while the young man took a half second to consider the best response and, rather than say anything, he mimicked the salute that the Human soldier gave Daliah. Both soldiers mirrored it back to him and the Dwarf spoke. "Welcome to the Foothold. Report to the Lieutenant when you're ready for an assignment."

Despite how 'real' everything felt, Logan couldn't help but think how much it also felt like one of his visor games. There was a certain 'tempo' to a game and Ozar's Realm had that down to a comfortable level. The three of them did as directed and were ultimately introduced to Lieutenant Alewise Gearspinner, a Gnome of stalwart demeanor, standing very nearly four foot tall-- an impressive height for a Gnome.

Even his task was predictable, and he wasted no time speaking his mind. "As fresh recruits, you will be given the responsibility of clearing out jumping spiders that infested the storage barn. When you're ready, speak to the Quartermaster. You'll need to kill a dozen, and then return to me for your reward, and your next assignment."

Nagol didn't really know what to expect but, judging from the smirk on Daliah's pursed lips, the young man presumed that it was either going to be incredibly easy or incredibly difficult. As it turned out, it was neither. Logan's first experience with combat was mind-blowing. The creatures in question were indeed jumping spiders, each larger in diameter than a dinner plate. He was hardly prepared for the experience, but he was immediately in love with how Ozar's Realm handled it.

Although Logan had no real experience with warfare, Nagol did, and combat was surprisingly intuitive.... almost as if his Corpus was ready for it in ways he couldn't have possibly imagined. The moment he'd seen the enormous jumping spiders, Logan would have thought his heart would have been banging away in his rib cage in fear and yet, he was calm and collected-- but the adrenaline was pumping. Combat was quick and decisive, however, as, between Bellever and himself, the two made quick work of their foes; Daliah remained in the back and observed, but they did fine without her.

Nagol had been hit several times but, rather than the sharp, searing pain of injury, the impact registered somewhere in Nagol's mind, and he was aware that he'd been hurt; it lacked the immediate trauma of being actually damaged. It was a quick and rough first experience into the world of Ozar's Realm, but it left Logan hooked. By the time they returned to the Lieutenant with word of their victory, the young man already knew how he'd be spending his day, and that is precisely what he did.

The group ended up completing three quests at camp, concluding the 'storyline' established by the Lieutenant, and also did what amounted to a simple 'fetch quest' for the Quartermaster, at which point Lieutenant Gearspinner vowed to introduce them to the Captain of the Foothold in the morning; the Captain's quests did not take place at night. Only once Nagol heard that did he realize just how much time had passed; it was already dusk!

Bellever apparently recognized the expression. "Hard to believe how much time passed, isn't it, Nagol?"

The Human just nodded in response. "I think I finally have a hang of things... and gaining a level was pretty helpful too."

Daliah shot Nagol a glare, silently reminding him to stay in character. She then pulled the group off to the side, seating everyone down on a set of barrels before talking quietly. "Congratulations on the level... did you spend your points?"

Logan, in fact, had. "Yes. More into Agility, and, as for the skill, I selected 'Ward' in order to help parrying."

Bellever nodded thoughtfully. "Not a bad idea... get a little more defense since you don't have a shield."

Nagol glanced to the Wolfman. "What about you? Did you level?"

Bellever shook his head. "Probably tomorrow... assuming you're up for more adventuring?"

Daliah stands, dusting her legs off. "You can worry about that tomorrow... for now, let's get back to 'The Twelve Shannons'. We COULD get a tent out here, but it's definitely not as nice as an inn, and I don't like the idea of burning any camping kits out on the road."

Before Nagol could ask, Bellever explained. "At higher levels you can get magical items that let you set up a really comfy camp just about anywhere. They're expensive resources though, and you use them up when you activate them."

Nagol couldn't argue, thinking back to the appeal of his room waiting him back in town. "Sounds good to me. Will we be okay out on the road?"

Dalian led them toward the exit to the Foothold. "Safe enough. True, traveling at night generally means more difficult combat if you find anything. Still, you have me and, even if you didn't, encounter chances are a lot lower on the road."

As it turned out, the three of them did make safely back to Trylon City without a single encounter, though Nagol did recall seeing unpleasant-looking beasts meandering around at the edge of view off in the tall grasses; fortunately they didn't have to deal with that and, before long, they were gathered around a table waiting for their drinks. There was a sense of levity to the situation; in truth, they were celebrating Logan's first day adventuring in Ozar's Realm but, casually, they were just enjoying the fruits of their labor; for low level quests, they sure paid well!

One of the servers back by with the three drinks; Nagol had ordered a stew as well, which was dropped off with his drink. Daliah accepted a goblet which contained an amber-colored wine while Bellever's tankard was filled with a rich-looking frothy brew. They all raised their drinks and toasted to a first successful day, and then Nagol dove into his meal as Daliah and Bellever began considering how to proceed with their next day out. The planning didn't last long; it ended the moment Bellever's gaze locked with a red skinned Humanoid that was passing by the table.

Grinning wide, the Wolfman stood up, causing Nagol to look up from his stew. "Everything okay, Bellever?"

Winking, the Wolfman grabbed his mug and sauntered off after the passer-by. "Better than okay, Nagol. See you in the morning... don't wait up."

Nagol looked after the Wolfman, who followed the stranger like a puppy, tail wagging. The Human didn't notice Daliah had also taken stock of the situation until she let out a bland 'ha', followed by a casual statement of "I'm honeslty surprised he lasted all day... normally he goes off on a personal conquest after only a few hours."

Glancing back to her, Nagol was only mildly disturbed. "So it'll just be us tomorrow, do you think?"

She waved away his concern. "Nah... he'll join us well before we leave. We'll go monster hunting tomorrow but tonight I believe Bellever has different 'prey' in mind."

The two shared a laugh at that. Something about Bellever channeling Noah made things feel somehow more 'normal'. It was nice to think that the Wolfman was the same Dog that Logan knew from back on the Spire. With his first official day in Ozar's Realm complete, Logan couldn't wait to see what awaited him the next day.