After handling something with a guard, Huntsman Ken paid the teleportation fees for him, Dancing Princess, and Jericho the Bard to warp to his former starting town. He didn't mind going back to the low level areas if it meant he could game with his friend.
They appeared at the entrance to a town built both on the ground and in the trees.
"This is Pren!" Ken exclaimed.
"Wow, it is so pretty!" Moria replied.
Jericho admired the resident's bravery/stupidity for not installing guardrails on the tree platforms. "Hey Ken? What happens when someone dies in the game?"
The pre-teen stopped. "Has nobody told you?"
The adult nodded. "Correct and it looks like it would be quite easy to fall to your death in this town." He pointed to the upper landings.
Kenneth chuckled, realizing the potential danger. "I guess nobody thought it was important. When someone is below level 5, death is negligible. I looked up the death rules on the official site when I first started. These types of games are usually cruel with a lot of fierce competition. However, in order to help maintain people's desire to play, Free Corp made it so any player below level 5 would be exempt from character death penalties except for the 'resurrection exhaustion' state that lasts between 10 minutes and an hour, depending on how you died."
"The resurrection exhaustion state?" Jericho inquired further.
"From the experiences from previous VRMMO's, they wanted to avoid having a character die in a fight and then be able to rush back in before the fight was done to help finish things off. They created a status effect that reduces you to about 1/2 your combat power. If you die again while in this state, you don't undergo the the other penalties a second time but the exhaustion state extends."
The bard nodded. "Continue."
"When someone dies, they can re-spawn at any resurrection point they have ever been to. If they have a special item or special conditions are in place, they can rez right where they died. These resurrection points include that teleportation gate we traveled through to get here. They created this to avoid the excessive PKers making people's lives miserable. While the company doesn't want to restrict people's choices, they also wanted to give people the freedom to escape."
"PKers?" Princess asked, unfamiliar with the turn.
"I forgot, games have a lot of their own terminology. PK means Player Killer or Player Kill depending on how it is used. That rouge that the armored friend of yours and I killed? We 'PKed' her. But now we are off track a bit. Just know that there are benefits and detriments to killing other players if you were into that sort of game play."
"Right, sorry." Princess replied.
"When a player that is level 5 or higher dies, their level drops by one."
"That sounds harsh." Jericho replied thinking about how many days it took them just to reach level 5.
"It sounds harsh but it isn't. Many games are much crueler. That is not the only death effect. In addition to the loss of a single level, every skill you know will drop 1/10 from wherever they are. Princess told me you have skills that are already at tier 5. If you experienced character death any skill that was 0/10 Grandmaster would drop to 9/10 Master reducing your skill tier back down to 4."
Jericho frowned. "So death means all skills will drop by 1 value, a level will be lost, and you will enter a state of exhaustion for anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour?"
Ken nodded. "That is how it works with most deaths. The company said there are other special types of death that will end up with different penalties, for example if you were on a special map then you would be ejected from that map."
{If you died in your water elemental form you would have experienced a conditional death.}
"And this is not as harsh as other games?" Jericho inquired.
The hunter nodded. "There was one game where you lost levels depending on how much over your health you were killed by and lost over half you skill proficiency. There was another game where when you died you had to start a new character. There was another game where leveling from level 9 to 10 took the average person two weeks to achieve and the death penalty was the same. What was worse, in almost all of these games, you could lose valuable items from your inventory. While these games were popular with the hard-core gamers, they were too brutal for normal people."
"That does sound a bit extreme. I would hate to lose any of my instruments." Jericho agreed.
"Yeah, that would be hard considering how difficult it is to get them. This game company learned from the other's mistakes. For example, when you PK someone, the 'drops' don't come from their inventory or equipment. However the drops do make sense for the type of character they play. Also, they read the intentions of the players performing and receiving the PK so people can't cheat their way into obtaining items. While they still dish out spoils for the killer, they got rid of the 'punish the victim further' features that other games had. Of all the games you two could have started playing, you two chose the best one. There isn't an insurmountable chasm between a great player and a decent player."
Jericho nodded. "Thank you for answering my questions. Where are we off to then?"
The blond hunter smiled. "Follow me, I know the NPCs to talk to in order to obtain good quests." He escorted them to the town mayor.
"Greetings travelers!" The short bearded mayor, who for some reason was not busy with office work and could chill outside to talk with the players, smiled when they approached.
Ken smiled back. "Hello mayor. We were wondering if you had any knowledge of strange things happening in the area."
The mayor stroked his brown beard. "Well, ever since the fox population has dwindled there has been an increase of rabbits eating our crops. Do you think you could go kill 30 of them and bring me proof of their demise?"
Jericho, Princess, and Ken received the quest notification. [Mayor Elmer would like to you to slay some pests known as rabbits. Accept?]
Ken grimaced as he turned awkwardly towards Jericho. "Well…"
Jericho patted the blond pre-teen's head. "Mr. Mayer, we are peaceful adventurers, do you have any requests that do not involve killing things?"
Mayor Elmer frowned. "So you won't go help the poor farmers out by killing the pests?"
Jericho shook his head. "If all the help you want is to have things killed, then no. We would love to help out in other ways."
"What type of adventure isn't ecstatic about bringing death to things? If you aren't here to kill nuisances, you are useless to me. Leave!" He shouted, drawing the attention of other nearby players.
A new notification appeared. [You have lost favorability with Mayor Elmer.]
"Farewell then." Jericho replied and started walking away.
Princess followed. "Ken, come on." She called to her friend who had clenched fists. Despite the fact that they didn't want to kill things, rejecting the mayor caused him to lose favorability with one of his former go-to NPCs.
The three headed towards the large tree in the center of town. They climbed to the upper platform.
"Here will be good." Jericho smiled as he stared out over the town.
"Here will be good for what?" Ken replied.
"A short performance;" Jericho smiled. "Music touches the soul. Moira warned you, didn't she?"
He sighed. "She did, how will that help? You just rejected a perfectly good quest." He mildly complained.
"Listen, and hear. Watch and see." Jericho replied in a mysteriously playful tone as he split himself. He looked over to his sister and pulled out his ocarina, guitar, and violin. "A Celtic Dawn?"
"Sure, I'm up for a little workout with a mix of ballet and clogging." She replied.
The first Jericho picked up his ocarina and started playing a smooth song that gradually increased in tempo.
The second Jericho picked up the violin and after a slight delay started playing in sync with the wind instrument.
Moira calmly but rhythmically walked forward.
The ocarina wielding Jericho put it away and picked up the guitar. Right as he started to strum, Princess started to clog in a strange manner. Her body spun. Her feet hopped, kicked and collided with the wooden platform in sync with the melody creating a heavy rhythm.
People gathered. Some had heard rumors from their friends about such performers existing but this was the first they had ever seen or heard it.
Ken watched in awe. "To gather so many strangers with just a single performance… Is this what Moira has been wanting me to see this whole time?"
The crowd cheered when they stopped.
Jericho came forward. "Greeting friends! I'm Jericho and this is my sister Dancing Princess. Our journey has brought us to Pren. We are new here so any information that you could share with us would be helpful."
"If we tell you stuff will you keep playing for a bit?"
"Jericho, Dancing Princess, where did the two of you come from?"
"Absolutely!" Jericho smiled. "We just came from Trillith."
"I knew it!" One audience member shouted. "This is the famous pair of performers from Trillith my friend was boasting about! Guys, hurry and message your friends they won't want to miss this!"
Ken was stunned in silence. He originally thought Moira lauded her brother because she looked up to him. His expectations were shattered. Here was a man that these strangers looked up to, and for what? Some music?
The audience member that had shouted came forward. "Jericho, Princess, it is an honor to meet the two of you in person. My name is Michael Rune. If you want to know the common knowledge here, I can tell you. If you want specific knowledge you will have to ask."
"Thank you Michael." Jericho replied. "Please start with the general knowledge."
The fan started to explain. "Pren is surrounded by forests on all four sides. If you go to the North you will find higher level creatures like the satyrs that are around level 10-15. You have to pass through the northern forest to leave the starting area here. The creatures there use some sort of music to mess with people's minds. A lot of experienced players have suffered character death because those monsters are crafty. I don't recommend spending much time there unless you have a powerful healer and a good damage dealer on your team. Their strategies can be quite exhausting. To the south are the common hunting grounds for us. There are a lot of creatures there. It isn't overly dangerous until you go into the deeper parts of the woods and there is an abundance of materials. Because of the amount of trees, herbs, and hunted animals Pren has a lot of lower grade herbs, leather, and wood for sale. It is quite cheep to buy them here if you are in the market. If you follow the forest path to the east you will find a small elven tribe. They are very picky about who they let into their village. If you can gain access, I have heard they have a lot of interesting things to see." He stopped.
Jericho nodded to indicate he understood. "What about the western forest?"
Michael sighed. "The western forest, just beyond the farmland created by the villagers of Pren and has become a danger zone. It used to be nicknamed the vulpine woods since it was filled with all sorts of foxes. You have probably seen the news on the forums, but a while back the creatures were almost all wiped out. A few days ago, a strange poisonous fog appeared. Many NPCs entered and never returned. Among the players, many said the fog contains some sort of toxin that will greatly increase the risk of player death. Once they were exposed long enough they died and respawned back in town. If you go in, the thing you should know is that it affects you more the longer you are in it and it takes a while for it to leave your body once you are away from it. Healing magic seems to do nothing against it. Strangely, nobody has seen what it actually does. We are waiting for a high level player to come back to solve this problem. It is something most of us have given up trying to solve. The more people enter the fog and don't return, the further it spreads. If it were to spread much further, the fog would start encroaching upon the town."
"That's interesting." Princess replied. "It makes me kind of curious what it is."
"I don't recommend you go in. It would be dangerous for you and for us." He sighed again.
The 12 year old girl frowned. "But I want to see it…"
Jericho placed his hand on his sister's shoulder. "I understand." He turned to face the informant. "Anything else we should be aware of around town?"
"If you head back down the tree and go east, you will find the market. There are quite a few great woodworkers and leatherworkers there. You may be able to find some decent items and quests there if you are looking. But that is about all the general knowledge you should know being here for the first time. I can answer any other questions you have."
Jericho nodded. "Thank you. What you have shared is great. It looks like your call to gather people worked. We should continue our performance."
Michael laughed. "Sure thing!"
"Princess, I'm going to play Adventure of the Young Green Dragon and Hunters. Can your shoes be my drums?"
"Of course!"
The bard looked over to his clone thinking it would be better to play the next song with three instruments instead of just the two but he couldn't split himself that many times yet. He pulled out his zither and the violin. A melody soon formed. His own movements were playful yet dignified.
The lightly regal yet bouncy tune created by the two string instruments was further amplified by the well placed timing of his sister's clogging.
The two gave off the impression of a young dragon playing in the canyons near its home.
The audience clapped as the composition ended.
Jericho switched his zither for the guitar and started plucking a calm tone like a creature starting to hunt. His voice rang out once again as he sung in an unfamiliar language.
The violinist calmly added an undertone of seriousness to the song.
Moira continued to provide rhythmic sounds since her brother lacked drums.
Partway into the song, the plucking of the guitar switched to full on strumming and the singing grew louder.
Moira's shoes picked up speed sending chills down the audience's spines as if the hunter was chasing down her prey.
The sounds of the hunt came to an end.
Ken sent a message silently to his friend. [Wow. Sorry for doubting you. Your brother seems to know what he is doing. Does he have an idea about how we should continue our adventure?]
She smiled and messaged back. [I don't know. I think my brother was just excited to find an excuse to use his new instruments. He has been itching to play them all evening. But I really want to know what is in that mysterious fog!]
[I didn't bring you here to die. I brought you here so we could level you up a bit and have fun. The fog sounds like it would be a waste of good time.] Ken replied.
Princess frowned slightly. [Then what do you suggest?]
[It might be best to try our luck with the elven village to the east. They seemed pretty against me being there, but the two of you might have better luck getting us quests.]
Jericho received the notifications he had been waiting for. [Skill Zither has been acquired. Zither 8/10 Expert] [Skill Guitar has been acquired. Guitar 9/10 Master]
The two performed for another 10 minutes playing compositions that Princess wanted. Jericho received one last notification.
[Music skill: Composition of (Specified skill) has been created. 1/10 Adept. You can play a piece while focusing on amplifying the effects of a specific skill you are aware of. Your music will amplify that skill's effect for all allies that hear the song and have the skill (or equipment with the skill). Once the composition ends, they gain a powerful 1 time boost to the skill which must be used within 10 seconds. You cannot use this to boost your own skills. Adept bonus: If only one ally or object has the targeted skill, the effects are twice as strong.]
"Remember to support us!" Princess called out. "Look up Jericho Maestro and buy his music so you can listen to it all the time!"
© J Eranoth