Dakkon decided that he would cross the bridge of dealing with Gullen when he came to it. For now, he wanted to focus on getting stronger. Not fifteen steps away from the front gate of the aeromagi compound where Dakkon had emerged, Dakkon heard the unmistakable call-to-arms of an event.
“…the brave. Tian seeks the dutiful. After nine years, another spirit metes out vengeance for the injustice of men against it. The great wolf hunts indulgently—and no one, not even child, is spared from grim fate. We cannot sit idly as our neighbors are hunted and slain for actions we have been tasked to prevent….” A crier continued his art, notifying the general, spirit venerating townsfolk of Tian that an ancient spirit’s shrine had been defiled. The spirit was lashing out at nearby townships and would surely hunt every man, woman, and child to extinction given time. It was paramount that the city of Tian stop the spirit—a wolf—quickly, so an expeditionary force was to be formed of soldiers, shamans, exorcists, and as many volunteers as the criers here and in nearby towns could persuade to join the cause. The rewards weren’t apparent, as they weren’t mentioned. This seemed to be a call to arms out of duty.
After a bit of inquiry, Dakkon had discovered that the cave in which the beast’s shrine was located was over a week’s march away via established roadways, or a few days march north by northwest through the forests. Exorcists and shamans, despite having somewhat contradictory roles, both had ties to spirits which alerted the factions to the rise of the rampaging, malevolent wolf spirit. This sort of expedition was apparently quite rare, the last one having taken place before any players had yet entered the game world. The city would reward the victorious factions—the soldiers, shamans, and exorcists—from its rather deep coffers, but volunteers would receive only a pittance besides what they managed to collect along the way. If the volunteers managed to help subdue the spirit rather than slaying it outright, the bounty would be substantially greater. While the spirit needed to be stopped, it would be a tragedy to lose the wisdom of a thousand plus year old ancestor spirit which had the ability to empower shamans with magic.
Convincing Dakkon to join the quest wasn’t a difficult feat. He wanted to find out firsthand what sort of rewards one could expect for the type of event that freely hired players to go on a multiple-day march.
[You have accepted the quest: Madness of Geh`hen]
Dakkon noticed he had a barely noticeable, flashing message icon in the corner of his vision and pulled up his interface to see who had contacted him. He had two. The first message, from Cline, said that the word about the spirit expedition had reached him in Turlin—where he had recently returned. Cline would be heading to Tian to help out and show Dakkon a thing or two about why bows were superior to other weapons. The second message was from Letis and, Dakkon determined, it was likely meant to reach him before he went into the mages’ restricted area. It read:
|1st message — Sender: Letis
| I remember the passphrase to get in. It’s ‘Anoo-ket.’ I told you it was jargony.
C
HAPTER 23:
T
HE
M
ARCH
Dakkon spent the next two days provisioning, learning about the city, tasting the various local delicacies, riding his horse, practicing thermomancy, and watching as more and more players arrived to be a part of the boar-slaying gold rush, only to find that the hunting was limited and the demand had almost entirely collapsed.
Some angry players had, indeed, taken up pitchforks in search of “that damned big-mouth bard Finnegan and those merchants,” as one player put it, but the fervor was short lived. A lot of the players managed to make extra money because of the ice that they bought—and now it was locally known that collecting krimmer glands fetched considerably more when the goods were kept on ice. Though the concept was common sense, it was somehow foreign in a videogame world. If Finnegan and Letis were to show back up then, only a few days after the ice sale, the worst they could likely expect was a stern talking to. Most players had simply moved on.
Nightshade was a wonderful horse. Dakkon had been worried that a krimmer might catch the dark-colored steed unaware, but now that he had spent more time with the animal, he found that to be extremely unlikely. Perhaps due to when they were ambushed on the road to Tian, Nightshade was alert to any incoming danger well before Dakkon was. When a krimmer tried to chase after the pair, the horse swiftly and easily outran it. Nightshade was agile, too. He was able to dart around trees in a manner which Dakkon found strange for such a large animal. He frequently had to duck for fear of being brained by a slant tree trunk or low-hanging branch. Dakkon was doing precisely this when an incoming message came to him from Cline.
Happy to take a break from the perilous ride, Dakkon read his message:
|1st message — Sender: Cline
| I just got signed up for the expedition. Where you at?
Dakkon smiled, then sent a brief response:
|To: Cline
| On my way.
Dakkon took off on Nightshade back to the monastic stables at the east side of Tian where he knew Nightshade could rest in capable hands.
In the past few days, Dakkon had explored the city, largely in a diligent search for delicious new foods to try. Everything he ate was incredible compared to his usual fare in the real world. Every bite of every food was as good as the first. Eating in Chronicle had become a sort of hobby for him, which he was happy to indulge in without real world repercussions. He was unable to properly visit the north side of Tian, however, as it was off-limits to non-residents. Dakkon didn’t find the tug of curiosity particularly irresistible at the moment, since Tian had a lot of other things to offer—too many for only a couple of days’ worth of walking around. The city was vast and its attractions were numerous.
The center of the city held a grand, expansive square with roads heading north, east, south, and west. Around that crux at the city’s center, large shops and a few banks were clustered, vying for real-estate. All along the road from the east side of town to the west, there were areas to shop for any convenience. The city prohibited merchants from setting up on the street, unlike in Correndin, which served to keep the streets cleaner, and their uncramped nature made them feel much larger compared to those in the capital city.
Taking the south road from the center of town, toward the area where groups were formed to hunt krimmer, there were several bars in line with one another on both sides of the street. The establishments were large and each was uniquely themed, with plenty of floor space, loud music at night, and an incredible number of visitors until the wee hours of the morning. Dakkon spent a night stumbling between various bars, listening to incredibly talented musicians—many with their own fan followings—and talking with various patrons. He enjoyed himself well enough, but didn’t figure he’d make a habit of the night unless he had something to celebrate and several friends to join him. At the end of the evening, he was surprised to see that despite the rowdy and bustling nature of the area, the streets remained spotless.
Having just received Cline’s message that he’d just gotten signed up for the quest, Dakkon headed into the west side of town with the rare luxury of completely understanding where to go and what to do. Soon after passing by the entrance to the wind guild, a familiar figure caught up to him. Ramses was no longer marked with the red player-killer’s skull on his left cheek. The rogue beamed.