> LOCATION: VELDENREACH SQUARE
Ren stood at the edge of the square, foot tapping, eyes scanning. He pulled up the UI:
> TIME: 1:07 PM
Where the hell is this guy?
"Perhaps he got delayed by monsters?"
Ren scanned the square again, then he saw it – a massive wooden wagon peeling around the corner, and driving it? None other than Haruki.
He gave a stupid grin and a dramatic wave, nearly toppling the wagon as it lurched over a bump.
"Heya, Ren!" He called out from across the square, still making a snail's-pace in progress.
It's going to take him forever to get here. Should I just run over to him?
"That'd be the wisest course of action."
"Hold on! I'm coming just–"
"Von? Is that what you said?"
"No, just– wait! I'm coming!" Ren shouted, jogging to the wagon.
He arrived after thirty seconds – a task that would've taken the wagon at least thirty minutes.
"So, Haruki. What's this cool quest you've got planned for us, and how does the wagon play a part in it?"
Haruki leaned over the cabin, "Alright, so get this. We take this wagon from here, up to Camp Columbus."
He paused expectantly like he'd just solved world hunger.
"...So, a delivery quest."
"Not just a delivery quest – THE delivery quest!"
…
"Yeah, I'm out."
"No, wait Ren! You can't leave now. I've already put your name down for it, so you'd get docked if you leave now!"
Ren pulled out the UI:
> ACTIVE QUESTS:
> DELIVER WAGON FROM VELDENREACH TO CAMP COLUMBUS
He sighed.
"Let's get on with it then."
Haruki pulled Ren in for a hug. "Yes! You're the best, seriously!"
***
> LOCATION: EASTBOARDEN MOUNTAINS
"This is so boring, dude."
"I dunno man. I love it. Being in VR, no matter what, is awesome to me. I'm just… so busy. It gets overwhelming sometimes, y'know? So this is great."
"We have gone from slaying warlords to… glorified mule work. How dignified."
Tell me about it.
…
Haruki broke the silence. "This place sure is beautiful, huh?"
Ren peeked out of the wagon's cabin and looked around. He wasn't wrong.
The Eastboarden Mountains stretched endlessly in all directions – towering peaks stabbed through wisps of cloud, draped in green and grey, while narrow paths coiled around cliff faces. Here and there, waterfalls spilled down sheer rock walls, feeding into glittering, winding rivers that cut through the valley floor like glass.
Every gust of wind carried the scent of pine and something old – something untouched.
Ren thought: he had always been busy doing other things that he'd never actually stopped and paused to take it in. A shame really.
"...Yeah," Ren said softly. "It kinda is."
Haruki smiled. "Bet it'd make a great date spot."
Ren turned. "You asking?"
"Only if you're buying lunch."
"Pass."
"You're missing out, man. Moonlight, stars, deadly orc ambushes – it's romantic. I could definitely see myself here with someone."
"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have a problem choosing between one of your 'Fan Club' members."
"Nah. Not my type," Haruki smiled, but this time more deranged. "Foreign girls are way more my type. What's your favourite, Ren? Mine's Germans! No, wait, Swedes! No, wait, Spaniards–"
Their beautiful moment of introspection was swiftly broken by Haruki being Haruki.
"How do you allow this buffoon to stand beside you in combat?"
No clue, Soren. No clue.
"And, may I ask a question?"
Shoot.
"What merchandise are we transporting?"
Huh. That's a good question. What are we actually hauling around?
"– British girls have a cute accent, but Italian girls can cook so nice! And French girls can dress–"
Ren cut him off. "Haruki."
"Huh? Oh yeah, what's up?"
"Do you actually know what we're transporting?"
A pause.
"Uhhh. No. Not really."
"So you took a quest, and didn't even bother to check the details?"
"...I just thought the wagon looked cool."
Two synchronised sighs. One from Ren. One from Soren.
Ren pulled up the UI:
> DELIVER WAGON FROM VELDENREACH TO CAMP COLUMBUS
> INFORMATION: N/A
That's weird. Why would a quest like this not have any information at all?
"Perhaps you should confirm it visually."
Good shout.
"Hey, Haruki. Stop the wagon. I'm going to check the back and see what cargo we're actually carrying."
"If you say so, captain!"
Ren hopped off the front, and made his way to the back. He climbed up into the wagon, only to be greeted by a bunch of crates.
Guess this is what we're carrying.
He approached a crate, and started to peel the lid off.
CLANG!
What was that?
CLANG!
The sound of whistling steel and rapid clashes could be heard at the front of the wagon.
"Give us the wagon."
"Wagon's mine, asshole!"
Shit. Haruki.
Ren dashed out of the back, and turned to the front, only to see over half a dozen masked men, cloaked in crimson, confronting Haruki.
"Bandits."
CLANG!
Haruki was holding his own, but there were too many.
Ren stepped out of the shadows, cape fluttering in the wind, drawing his sword. "You mess with him, you mess with me."
Everyone paused.
"Is that… Emerald Flash?" one of the masked men cried out.
"Shit… it is. We better get the fuck outta here." another added.
Three of the crimson-cloaked assailants ran straight for the treeline.
"Aha! The cape! She commands again!"
"Cowards! Get back here!" a bandit from the front commanded.
"His aura. It's different."
He stood tall at the center, crimson cloak heavier than the other, trimmed with jagged stitching and clasped with a crude wolf skull. His mask wasn't like the others too – it was metal. Rusted iron, hammered into the shape of a snarling beast.
His eyes glinted beneath the slits – not with rage, or panic, but pure nothingness.
This guy went full on evil villain mode.
"Do not underestimate him. I sense something. He's killed before – not beasts. Men."
PKers.
"So you're Emerald Flash," he muttered. "You're just a kid."
"And you're about to get smacked in the face," Ren replied, getting in stance. "Haruki, can you handle the others?"
"Yeah, dude."
"Okay – Darth Vader's mine."
The wind howled through the trees. The air was thin, taut – it knew what was coming.
A beat of silence.
CLANG!
Both figures met in the middle. Speeds matched. Swords parried.
Both figures jumped back, now pacing around each other in a dance to the death.
"Careful. He's trained."
FWOOSH!
Both dashed in again.
Slice – Parry – Roll.
Steel kissed in bursts. Neither landed a blow. Their blades met like they knew each other – two styles clashing in rhythm.
Ren ducked low, brought his sword up – air. The figure twisted, reversed grip, and struck from above.
THWACK!
A follow up.
The figure brought his sword up – intending to finish it.
CLANG!
Parried.
Ren backstepped, heart pounding, and looked to his shoulder – a graze. Not deep. Enough to sting.
"Impressive. You're not just some grunt."
"Neither are you," Ren muttered.
"I don't wish to kill you, but I'll do what I must," the man said. His voice was muffled behind the iron, but clear. Calm.
The fuck? He's a PKer. Of course he wants to kill me?
"Focus. He's not an orc. He's unpredictable."
They charged again.
CLANG! CLANG! SCRAPE!
Sparks flew. The masked man struck fast and low – forcing movement. Ren's stance held. He flowed. Just like training.
"An opening. Wait for an opening."
The masked man struck again and again. Ren held firm – again and again.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
I don't have much longer…
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Slowly but surely, Ren was breaking under the weight of his opponent's relentless steel.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The figure sliced up – air…
An opening.
…then brought his sword down, leaving a gap. His center was wide open.
Vulnerable.
Ren dashed, inverting his grip, dragging his sword against the masked man's side.
He cried out, stepping backwards. He muttered. "Very impressive indeed"
Ren watched as all light seemingly left the ravine, until he was engulfed in darkness. Then, a whisper. Almost inaudible – but Soren heard it.
"Shadow Sword."
"No."
What?
"Ren you must run, he is–"
Too late.
The figure charged at Ren, sword pointed – sloppy. Ren got ready to parry.
SLICE!
The sword passed straight through his guard and into his shoulder.
"Fuck!"
Ren's sword was now slick with blood. He jumped back.
Soren? What the hell was that?
"Shadow Sword. It makes his sword a phantom, yet it still cuts. I have crossed blades with it before – a resistance fighter."
Wait, what? So I can't parry this guy?
"No. But he cannot parry you either."
So what actually is it?
"An exclusive sword technique."
Hold on – a signature ability? Like yours? Like Steelthorn Lockdown?
"Yes."
How's he unlocked it then? No one's been able to get theirs to work?
"I have a suspicion, but cannot tell you. It may jeopardise your usage of Steelthorn Lockdown."
Great.
FWOOSH!
The masked man launched forward again, sword dragging through the air – dark, deadly.
Ren gritted his teeth. Eyes sharp. He ducked. Just barely. The blade whistled over his head.
"Again!"
Ren rolled as the shadow sword slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust around him.
"He cannot see! Swing!"
Ren swept low, blind, and clipped the masked man's shin – not enough to break him, but enough to stagger.
The man fell back, panting, ready to charge again…
Then his blade flickered back to steel, stained faintly red, and light returned back to the ravine.
They locked eyes – not hate. Not fury. Something else.
BOOM!
A body crashed through the trees. A bandit. Out cold.
Haruki appeared seconds later, 'Celeste' over one shoulder, grinning like a maniac.
"Alright! That's the last of them. You good, Ren?"
Ren didn't respond – eyes focused on the figure in front of him.
The masked man exhaled. One deep breath. Then, calmly, he sheathed his sword.
"You're not the enemy I came for."
He turned.
Ren didn't move. Didn't lower his guard.
A beat.
He vanished into the treeline – swift, silent, gone.
Haruki walked up beside Ren, who was clutching his shoulder. "So… wanna talk about what the hell just happened?"
Ren let out a long, shaky breath. "Not really."
"Alright then – say we get this quest on the road?"
"Preferably if there aren't any bumps."
***
> LOCATION: CAMP COLUMBUS
The wagon rolled through the wooden gates of Camp Columbus, its wheels creaking with every turn. A faint red glow roared across the evening sky and, unlike last time, the place was alive – tents re-pitched, fires roaring, vendors yelling over one another, and players crowding around quest boards and cooking pots alike.
Haruki whistled. "Well, looks like they finally respawned civilization."
"Yeah, but, what now?"
The UI pinged:
> WAIT FOR COLLECTION
How convenient. Hey, Soren.
"Yes?"
How about we quickly check the goods before this gets snatched away?
"I wouldn't be opposed – I've been intrigued to see what our cargo is."
"Yo, Haruki, I'm going to quickly pop round the back and see if everythings accounted for."
"Sure."
Ren walked to the back of the wagon and climbed in, approached a crate, and finally lifted the lid.
Crystals. Magic crystals. The kind that the UI tells you is available to collect at every quest. The kind that vendors pay out a few pelds for.
Huh. Crystals.
"Strange."
You know anything about them, Soren?
"Not much. I know they hold magical energy, but that is the full extent of my knowledge."
"Delivery complete?" a voice from behind asked flatly.
Ren turned around. It was a figure – no name tag. Weird. Was he hiding it? Just a figure with a pristine, grey, hooded cloak obscuring his face.
"Yeah. One slightly traumatised wagon, and ten crates, delivered as requested."
The cloaked figure hopped into the wagon with Ren, inspecting the crates.
"These are sensitive materials. They seem to be in adequate shape. You have done your part. Relinquish control of the wagon to me."
"Uh, okay."
***
Ren and Haruki stood silent and watched as the cloaked figure rolled the wagon into a less busy, fenced-off outpost located under the recess of a cliff connected to a greater mountain.
> QUEST COMPLETE
> + 500 XP
> + 70 PELDS
Haruki broke the silence. "Well that was awesome."
Ren stared at the outpost. "Your definition of awesome is way different to mine."
That feel right to you, Soren? The cloaked guy? The crystals? That Shadow Sword guy?
"I do not know."