“Yeah, that crossed my mind.”
“Well, to ensure I am the only person in the running I will pay you an upfront deposit immediately upon signing the contract. Five hundred thousand gold. And even if you don’t get the item you keep the deposit.”
I nearly fainted and had to adjust my game visor. Five hundred thousand gold pieces! I’d never imagined having that amount before. And I kept it all even if I failed.
How could I lose?
“Interested?” He asked, as he watched me consider my options.
I grinned at my new owl friend. “Mr. Trite, you got yourself a deal.”
CHAPTER THREE
Gate travel within the game was equal parts convenience and aggravation. On one hand, you could travel instantly anywhere in the game universe, across oceans to different continents, even to other planets, of which there were tens of thousands. On the other hand, it couldn’t be too easy. So most times when you traveled through one gate you had to hoof it the next one, as no single gate went everywhere, you needed to find the one going toward your destination.
I stepped through the gate at the base camp and into a whole other place. The dark ash clouds of the volcano environment changed to perfect white fluffy ones against a pale blue sky. Tall trees and lush greenery momentarily assailed my vision. I had spent too long in the grim volcano zone. This new setting fed my soul.
The small clearing where the travel gate sat was empty of people. In the distance, perched on a tall mesa, were an array of buildings. Zeppelin shaped sky-barges floated to and from there. Fenway Port and the next jump to the quest location.
A wide cobblestone path led in that direction. I started walking with Phlixx at my side, this time without worry. This was a safe zone.
I reviewed my employment details with Ogden Trite. He had sent me via in-game mail a contract of agreement which I had signed and returned. It was boilerplate legal speak. If I got the Legendary item, I would transfer ownership to him directly. A few moments after I signed the agreement and returned it Ogden sent the deposit.
For long moments I sat and stared at my new bank account balance. Several hundred thousand gold pieces now threatened my sanity, and I had the overwhelming urge to pull up the auction house view screen and go on a spending spree. But I resisted. I had a quest to complete. I can shop after. Maybe with a triple market cap to sweeten the deal.
“I will send you a mage,” Ogden had insisted. “One who will come in useful. He’s worked for me before and can be counted on in a tough spot.”
Sure, I thought. Ogden wanted his own person in the group as a spy and proxy. Fine with me. I didn’t know any high level mages anyway, and from what Ogden said this mage was extremely powerful.
Which left me to recruit other players for the remaining two spots in the four-person group. Preferably muscle. We would no doubt need it.
I sent Mudhoof a chat request as I followed the path to a stone bridge which crossed over a chuckling stream. A flock of birds flew over head and the sun shone brightly. Yeah, I stayed too long in volcano-land. No more dark and gloomy for a while.
My request was accepted. A large view screen appeared before me with the massive head of a bull on it. The bull wheezed and grunted as he appeared to by doing something physically strenuous. “Hey, Vee!” Said Mudhoof.
“Hey Muddie,” I said.
Mudhoof glanced into the camera for a moment but his focus shifted elsewhere. “Been too busy to talk with your old friend, huh?”
“Kind of,” I said. “Sorry about that. Got sidetracked on a quest and was sucked in until I finished.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” the minotaur said. The view screen was zoomed in too close to his head for me to make out his location or who he fought. “I’m a completion geek as well.” He grunted again, and this time the severed head of what looked to be a kobold passed over his shoulder to vanish out of view.
“You’re completing a quest now, I see,” I said with a knowing smile. Sometimes it’s tough to shake the need to reach the end of a quest, a feeling I was all too familiar with.
“Yup,” he said. It looked like he was hacking away with his mighty ax at an off-screen horde of kobolds. “Thorm is here with me. We’re farming for… Well, I forget, but it’s fun doing it, anyway.” Another severed head spun over his shoulder to ricochet off a tree.
“If you guys are busy, I’ll look for someone else to group with,” I said as a tease. Mudhoof was a minotaur warrior armed with a double bladed uber ax. Thorm, a holy knight, had top notch healing and shielding abilities. A perfect pair to complement myself and the mage.
“Why, whatcha got?”
“A Legendary Quest.”
The minotaur stopped hacking and turned to look at me through his view screen. “A what?!”
“Look out!” Came a shout from off to his side. It sounded like Thorm. Mudhoof blinked in surprise as if remembering he was in the middle of a battle and resumed slashing again.
I waited in anticipation as he and Thorm cleared their immediate area which didn’t take long.
Finished with his grizzly job, Mudhoof looked to me. “Okay, we’re in,” he said.
Surprised, I said, “Don’t you want the details? We’ll split everything equally. But it will be dangerous. Maybe even have to re-roll your character.”
Mudhoof shrugged. “That doesn’t bother me at all. I’ll just power-level using auction house loot. Done it before. Besides, I don’t do this for the gold, I do it for the glory!” It was no secret Mudhoof had wealth in real life. So much so that dying and losing a high level character only meant an investment of cash. He used real money to buy large amounts of in-game gold then ‘twinked’ his new character with the best gear, upgrading as his level rapidly increased.
“Count me in, too” shouted Thorm from off camera.
I laughed. “Okay, I’ll send you the quest location and we’ll met there.”
“A Legendary Quest,” Mudhoof said, shaking his head in amazement. “You get all the luck, Vee, you know that?”
“Luck has nothing to do with it, Muddie. I’m all skill!” I said and closed the chat screen.
It was a relief to know I had a solid group backing me on what could be the single most important quest of my gaming life. I’d been on many quests with Mudhoof and Thorm and they were both upstanding players. But as for Ogden’s mage, named Feign, I had no idea. Looking him up on the gargantuan player search engine came up blank. Not unusual as many people paid a fee to keep their character details hidden. This kept enemies from seeing what their current level was and what their previous quests had been. For the mage I’d learn more about him soon enough.
I sauntered into Fenway Port with a bounce in my step. As I passed other players I wondered how many of them had been on a Legendary Quest, let alone heard of one? It took a lot of self control to keep myself from shouting my good news from the rooftops.
Fenway Port bustled with players and characters transiting to other locations. From here there were dozens of places the sky-barges traveled to, unlike the single location travel gates. Many goods were also transported through the port which made this place a focal point for thieves and criminals. Before entering I placed Phlixx on snoop mode, keeping his eyes peeled for trouble.
As I made my way down the little town’s main street and turned off toward the first set of sky-barge docks Phlixx, who perched on my shoulder, whispered in my ear. “Got a tail, my sweet.”
I frowned. Why would I have a tail? A pickpocket, perhaps? They were quite bold, even in broad daylight. But then I had another thought.
“Are you sure?” I asked the ferret.