Yvvaros: The Digital Frontier (4 page)

Silverstrike was faring worse than he was. His daggers were extremely limited in range, and even though he was up against fewer of the creatures than Luke was, it was impossible for him to effectively play defense. One of the beasts nipped at the back of his calf and he let out a cry of pain that sounded a little too realistic.

“Just hold on!” yelled Luke. “I’m going to make my way over.”

Unfortunately, he had problems of his own to deal with. The wolves were using swarm tactics, approaching from every direction at the same time. Luke began to spin and swing in a circular pattern to push them back. It worked, but each time they moved forward they would gain a little bit of ground on him.

“Nooooo!” Silverstrike fell to one knee as one of the creatures took another bite out of his leg. Luke could only watch as two of the wolves pounced on him, followed by another from the group that had just been attacking him. He took advantage of the distraction and killed one and wounded another before rushing over to his friend.

“Silverstrike!” he yelled. “Ben!”

The creatures were tearing him apart, pulling off big chunks of flesh with each bite. It was a gruesome scene, rivaling the opening sequence. This time though it was happening to an actual player and his best friend, not an NPC.

Luke hacked away at the creatures, moving faster than he had thought that he could. The opening he’d been given by his friend’s fall was enough for him to turn the tide of the battle. Unfortunately, it was too late. He finished off a fourth wolf creature from the group and watched as the rest fled into the hills. His friend’s avatar lay still on the grass.

40 XP GAINED

“Oh man,” said Luke. “How do you revive people, anyway?”

He knew that if he could make it back with the right potion or spell within a couple of minutes, Silverstrike would still stand a chance, even with an empty health bar. But new to the game as he was, Luke was unsure of where to even start looking.

He glanced around one last time to make sure there weren’t any wolf creatures nearby and then began sprinting back toward Stark Town. His stamina bar was down to about half of its normal length and dropping fast, but he didn’t care.

There was one building that Luke had seen that looked as though it was some type of shop. He figured that even if they didn’t have any potions for sale, it was as good of a place to start looking as any. He rushed toward the door, faster than he should have been going. Fast enough that he couldn’t stop when it opened and somebody came out of it.

“Oof!” Luke tried to pull back at the last instant but still ended up in a collision that sent him tumbling to the ground. He slowly stood up and turned around, ready to apologize.

“Are you okay?” The voice he heard was soft and feminine. Luke stared for a moment at the girl that he had collided with.

“Uh, yeah, I'm all right,” said Luke. The girl was shorter than him, with a soft face, warm eyes and a sweet smile. She was smiling at him, and stepped in a little closer and held out her hand.

“I’m sorry, I guess I wasn’t really looking where I was going,” said the girl. “My name’s Tess. I’m just starting out in the game.”

“Same here. My name is uh, Kato.” Luke smiled and found that he was at a loss for words. He remembered Silverstrike and the wolves, and his sense of urgency returned.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go!” He moved past her with an apologetic nod. “If you’re new, be careful of the wolf creatures around the town. They’re a bit more dangerous than they look.”

The girl watched him with curious eyes as he hurried into the store.

The NPC behind the counter was an older looking man with glasses and white hair. He had an empty potion bottle in one hand and a rag in the other that he was using to polish a sheen into the outside of it.

“Hi there,” said the man. “What can I-”

“I need a revival potion or a spell!” Luke spoke in a loud, fast voice, and nervously tapped his hand on the counter. “Quickly!”

The man nodded and reached for something under the counter.

“Alright, that will be 50 gold even.”

Luke scratched his head. He wasn’t entirely certain, as he hadn’t checked at all since starting the game, but he was pretty sure that he didn’t have any money.

“Can I just have it put on my tab?” he asked. “Or maybe work out some kind of payment plan?”

The NPC shook his head. He opened his mouth, looking as though he was prepared to let Luke down gently when a familiar voice spoke up in the background.

“I can lend you the money if you want.” The girl from before, Tess, was peaking in through the crack of the door. She had a guilty look on her face, as though she was a little embarrassed about listening in.

“Wait, how do you have 50 gold if you’re just starting out?” asked Luke. Tess smiled at him and then shrugged her shoulders.

“I got the preorder bonus,” she said, “500 gold to start out with, along with a couple of other extras, including this nifty cloak.”

Tess grabbed one of the edges of her cloak and spun around, flourishing it as she did. Luke stared at her for a moment, smiling despite his urgency.

Is everyone in this game incredibly generous, or am I just lucky?

“Anyway, here.” She reached her hand out and dropped a small bag of gold coins into his hand. “Just be sure to pay me back, okay?”

Luke nodded.

“Of course,” he said. “Thank you such much.”

Tess reached into her satchel again and pulled out a small piece of parchment and a quill. She smiled and passed it to Luke.

FRIEND REQUEST FROM TESS: Sign to accept.

“Friend… request?” He looked at her dumbly.

“So we can find each other easier in-game,” said Tess. “This way, I can make sure that you pay me back.”

Luke’s smiled broadened, and he signed the paper.

“If you’re trying to revive somebody right now, you should hurry,” said Tess. “The potions only work for up to five minutes after death.”

Luke nodded and tossed the coins to the NPC. He took the potion and then hurried out of the store.

“Thanks again, Tess!” he yelled over his shoulder. “I owe you one!”

He rushed forward back into the grassy hills, pushing his legs into the ground as fast as they would go and hoping he had enough stamina left to make the round trip.

Silverstrike’s body was no longer on the ground when Luke made it back to the spot where the encounter with the Yvva Wolves had taken place. Lying where it had been was a massive amount of blood and a couple of the beast’s corpses. Luke crouched down next to the scene and felt his heart sink. He spent a couple of minutes looking off into the distance, feeling as though he’d let his friend down.

When it became apparent that Ben’s avatar was no longer there to be revived, Luke crouched down and skinned the rest of the wolves. A small pop-up message floated across the bottom of his vision as he dropped the fifth one into his satchel, letting him know that he could complete the quest. He skinned the last few and took them with him, along with his fallen friend’s equipment.

At the very least, I can give these to Ben as a “sorry for letting you die” gift.

The sun had just set in-game, and it made Luke wonder what time it was in the real world as he made his way back toward Stark Town. He walked slowly, and by the time the settlement was within view, there were stars out in the sky.

Two features even larger and more dazzling came into view against the black of the night. Luke could see a medium sized moon, bigger than the one in real life, and colored azure blue instead of white. Slightly behind and below it was a smaller red circle, and it was hard to tell whether it was a second orbiting body, or a far off planet. Either way, together the two objects were beautiful.

“About time you got back!” Silverstrike was waiting for him in the middle of Stark Town, frowning and watching Luke as he approached. “I waited in spirit form for as long as the game would let me. I bet you got back to where I died just seconds after my soul returned to its bind point.”

Luke nodded. He felt relieved to see his friend walking around again. He knew it was ridiculous considering the rules of the game, but a part of him had been expecting his death to be permanent, especially after witnessing the violence that had been inflicted on his avatar.

“Sorry about that,” said Luke. “Here’s your stuff. And here, take these, too.”

He handed Silverstrike his equipment, along with a couple of the Yvva Wolf pelts. Silverstrike clapped him on the back, pulling his armor back on after tucking the quest trophies into his inventory.

“Much appreciated,” he said.

Luke looked around Stark Town. It felt different at night, and many of the NPCs he’d seen wandering around earlier had disappeared into their houses. There was a large inn just down the street from them, and Luke could hear music and laughter coming from inside of it.

“Let’s hang out in town for a little bit,” he said. Silverstrike nodded.

“The monsters usually come out in larger numbers at night.” Silverstrike waved a hand toward the town’s northern entrance. “So yeah, I think it might be a good idea for us to stick to safe areas in the evening, at least while we’re still at a low level.”

The two of them kept walking over to the inn and pushed through a group of players loitering out front to make their way inside. It was filled to the brim with people, all of them chatting with each other or experimenting with the game’s food and drink system. The atmosphere was similar to that of a bar or a restaurant in the real world, but there was an intangible element of unpredictability to it.

“Let’s grab seats at the bar,” he said to Silverstrike. “We might as well see what happens if we buy and drink the in-game ale.”

“Now you’re talking!” Silverstrike had a grin on his face that reminded Luke of the way his friend handled alcohol and substances in the real world. He tried not to worry as he led his friend over to take a seat.

“What can I get the two of you?” The NPC bartender was a gorgeous woman with a broad smile. She was wearing a low-cut green and white dress that looked like it would be right at home on a serving wench in a medieval pub.

“We’ll each have, uh, a mug of ale…” Luke smiled at her and felt a little foolish at the way his eyes were drawn to her figure.

Calm down, she’s just an NPC, probably not even aware enough to hold a real conversation.

The mugs were set down in front of Luke and Silverstrike. He looked over at his friend, who paid for the ale before eagerly taking a sip.

“Huh…” he said. “Well, I can’t taste anything, but it’s definitely having some kind of effect, I think?”

Luke took a “sip” of his own. It felt a little strange, as though his mouth in the real world was expecting to taste the liquid, and simulated a bit of the feeling automatically. He set the mug down and noticed that his vision had blurred ever so slightly around the edges.

“Is there anything else the two of you need?” asked the bartender. Luke started to say no and then paused, a thought forming in his head.

“Can you tell us more about the area around here?” he asked. “What should we keep in mind if we’re going to be in Stark Town?”

The bartender crossed her arms and looked as though she was thinking hard. Luke was surprised by how convincing the gesture looked, and for a moment, it was impossible for him to see her as just a mindless NPC.

“It’s funny you should ask that,” said the bartender. “Rumor has it that there has been some trouble happening deep in the Underground, in the caves that supposedly connect to Stark Town’s sewer.”

THE UNDERGROUND: The complex cave system that runs underneath much of Yvvaros. It is suspected of housing Tymian bases. Many locations connect to The Underground throughout Yvvaros and occasionally groups of intrepid adventurers voyage inside on raids.

Luke looked over at Silverstrike, who was deep into his mug of ale.

“I think that’s a dungeon for higher level players,” said Silverstrike. “It’s not claimable like  other zones on the continent, at least I don’t think.”

Luke scratched his head.

“Zones? Claimable?” he asked. “It’s been a while since I’ve played an MMORPG. Can you clue me in?”

Silverstrike set his mug down and wiped his hand across his mouth. There was a look in his eye that was a mixture of condescension and good humor.

It can’t be that surprising that I don’t know about this stuff, can it?

“The whole point of the game is to push out from Kantor and Stark Town and claim the zones for either yourself or your guild,” said Silverstrike. “There are still quests in Yvvaros, and you can level up through combat with monsters, but the real focus is on the interactions between players. Trading, wars, politics, that sort of thing.”

Luke nodded.

“Just like the TV show,” he said. Silverstrike winked at him.

“Now you’re getting it. Tomorrow, I think our focus should be on taking advantage of the fact that we have most of the basics down and trying to claim one of the closer zones for ourselves.”

Luke took another sip of his ale and smiled. He hadn’t really known what to expect when he first decided to try out the game, but he had to admit that he was having fun.

“Hey.” A familiar voice came from behind him and to the left. “Did the potion end up working out for you?”

Luke turned to look at Tess. She wasn’t wearing the starting equipment he’d seen her in before, but rather, a slim fitting, eye-catching purple dress.

“I didn’t make it in time to use it, unfortunately,” said Luke. “This is the friend I was headed to resurrect. Silverstrike, meet Tess.”

The two shook hands, and then Tess sat down next to Luke. He was happy that she was there, but at the same time, he felt almost like he’d been put on the spot.

She’s cute, or I guess I should say her character is. I wonder what she looks like in real life?

“I am still expecting you to pay me back, you know.” Tess’s tone was playful and made Luke suddenly feel as though he’d known her for much longer than he actually had. She smiled at him and flicked a couple of strands of hair out of her face. Luke smiled back.

“Well, it’s not exactly as though I’m drowning in money at the moment,” he said. “Maybe I can find another way to repay you?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she replied. “You were one of the few players brave enough to head outside of Stark Town, today, you know.”

Luke nodded, feeling as though she’d just given him a compliment.

“I think the intro may have put a lot of them off,” he said. “It’s different playing this game. You don’t feel quite as insulated from the action.”

“My point is,” said Tess. “If you want to pay me back, but don’t have the gold, there are other ways in which you could do it. I could use somebody to show me the ropes of combat.”

Luke’s back straightened at her suggestion. He looked at Silverstrike out of the corner of his eye. His friend was waving the bartender over to refill his mug.

“Uh, yeah, why not?” said Luke. “It might have to wait until tomorrow, but I’d be more than happy to. Especially if it means saving me from having to pay you back the gold!”

He felt stupid immediately after the words had left his mouth, but Tess just giggled and set one of her hands on his shoulder.

“Tomorrow, then,” she said. “I’ll send you a message in the afternoon when I’m in-game.”

“Yeah, tomorrow,” said Luke.

For a moment, neither of them said anything else. Luke was aware that he was only looking into the eyes of her avatar, and the voice he was hearing was only an approximation of hers. He also knew that the room they were in was just a three-dimensionally rendered set, but there was something underneath it that made it all feel real.