“You’re saying that Cornelius is your grandfather?” Finn asked, arms folded across his chest. He had picked up a piece of straw from the side of the road and chewed it in the curve of his mouth.
“Maybe. Or at least he’s connected to my grandpa in some way,” I felt like I was coming across as a crazy person. Having explained to Finn about the username, my grandfather’s disappearance, and then hearing his voice in the darkness before I woke up. That last part seemed to really pique Finn’s interest as he commented that no one in Phyrelia knew anything before they first opened their eyes in this world. They only had notions of their previous lives almost like a dream of a fading memory. He shared how most people in Phyrelia knew this was some kind of game or system and they weren’t originally from this world.
“Has anyone tried to leave?” I asked as we stepped under the shifting leaves of a golden oak tree.
“The Gatefinders tried, and they’re still trying as far as I know,” Finn said as he kicked a small rock into the underbrush that folded over the path.
“Who are the Gatefinders?” I asked.
Finn looked up at the shimmering light pooling through the thin overcast of shaking leaves. The wind had picked up a few minutes prior and had made the trees whistle. It reminded me of the long days trudging through the northern woods of Montana watching the sun turn the forest into a blaze of orange and red. It was a wonderful memory and one I thought of frequently. However, it did bring up a question I never would have thought of before. What would my life be like if I didn’t have any of my memories? Would I even miss something I couldn’t remember? Would I try to seek some unknown treasure no longer significant in my life?
Finn finally spoke, but his eyes never left the treetops. “The first few weeks after everyone woke up a group of players got together to form a guild known as the Gatefinders. They called themselves that after the leader found the first gate.”
“Gate?” I asked.
“There’s a rumor from the Guild that if we manage to find all the gates hidden throughout the world and activate them, we could return home,” Finn hopped over a long root curving down from a small edge of dry grass. He let out a stifled laugh and then continued. “A lot of people joined the Guild hoping to find a way out of here. After not finding anything during the first year… many gave up. They decided they didn’t want to put their lives in danger for a life they no longer remembered. Many of us found life here to be pretty good. If you stay close to the towns or stay away from the higher difficulty areas.”
“What about you?” We came across a small stone bridge taking us over a gentle dancing creak. I saw fish swimming in the water and bobbing their heads for low-flying bugs.
“What about me?” Finn asked.
“Did you ever go looking for these gates?”
Again, Finn hesitated to answer. He reached up and scratched behind his tall ear and then spit the straw from his mouth. “I did. For a while. I used to be a member of the Gatefinders too. Left them a long time ago to go out on my own.”
“Why?” I felt like a prying student whose questions were starting to annoy their professors, but I had so many running through my mind, and I had to get as many answers as possible.
“You hungry?” Finn hopped over to the edge of the path and sat down on a fallen tree. He reached around and pulled out his pack. He opened the bag but didn’t reach inside. He flipped his paw-like hand in the air and a red apple instantly materialized out of nowhere. The whole action almost made me laugh. It was like the magician pulling a rabbit out of their hat, only this time the magician was a rabbit.
“How did you do that?” I asked as he tossed the apple into my hands.
“Everyone can do that. Even you can. It’s part of the system,” Again he motioned with his hand and this time a thin cut of dried meat appeared. He started chewing it while talking at the same time. “Look… I’ll tell you how to do it. Grab your pack.”
I did as he said and pulled my pack out. He instructed me to open it up by loosening the long strap. Once the bag was opened a line of green text wrote itself out in the air.
Traveler’s Bag
Common Loot Chest
Uncommon Loot Chest
Starter Loot Chest
“Woah,” I exclaimed in a breathy voice.
“Pretty cool huh?” Finn took another bite of the cured meat. “Let me guess. All it has are a few loot chests?” I nodded. “I’ll show you how to open those later. For now, focus on the apple in your hand. Good, now imagine it inside the bag.”
In a flash, the apple vanished. I couldn’t help but smile in excitement. It was really gone.
“Alright. First try!” Finn stood and patted me on the back. “Check your bag in the system.”
Looking at the Traveler’s Bag notification in the air, underneath the loot chests was the apple.
Red Apple
This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Now with the apple in your bag imagine it showing up in your hand. I like to add a little twist of the wrist when I do it. Makes it look more interesting in my opinion,” He ripped a piece of meat with his rabbit-like teeth then holding out what remained he twisted his wrist, and it disappeared. I flicked my hand around as if I was performing my own magician’s trick and the apple popped back into my palm.
“There you go,” Finn clapped his hands, then sat back down on the log. He twisted his hand out and instead of an apple or piece of meat, a blade popped into existence. The weapon was as long as his arm and reflected the light of the setting sun. “You can do it with basically anything. If you still have space in your bag that is. Your first bag won’t have much space. You’ll eventually get a better one as you level up but don’t worry about it right now. It will be some time before you’ll need the upgrade.” He made the blade disappear.
I returned my focus to the loot chests in my pack. I had three of them. An uncommon, common and one noted as starter loot chest. I decided to open the starter one first. I imagined the chest appearing in my hand and immediately regretted it. A large wooden chest similar to what I thought a pirate would bury, popped into existence above my palm. The chest dropped and I failed to catch it. It hit the ground hard with a crunch.
“Woah!” Finn exclaimed. “Have some patience. I was getting to the loot chests.”
“Sorry, I said,” I knelt before the chest and examined it for any damage. It was still intact and I didn’t see any cracks in the wood. The starter loot chest was rather plain besides its golden metal brackets holding it together. The front of the chest had a spot where I thought a keyhole would go but it was blank. I tried to lift the lid but it was sealed shut. “How do I open it?”
“You don’t open loot chests like normal a normal chest. You see the loot chest is tied to you and only you. No one else can open it so there isn’t a key. You simply need to tell it to open. Go ahead.” Finn said, waving to the chest.
“Open,” I said. In a subtle glimmer of light, the chest popped open. It rose with a soft creak and then snapped back. Inside the chest was nothing but a base of bright light. I received a notification upon its completion.
[Items Received: 5 Gold Coins, 50ft Rope, 3 Traveling Rations, and Fire Pack]
“Looks like it gave me a rope, food, a fire-making kit, and… five golden coins. Is that a lot?”
“It’s not, but you should get a week or two at the local taverns and a few good meals. Now take a load off I’ll give you some wolf jerky I smoked myself and you can take some time opening the rest of your loot chests.” I went and sat on a rock on the other side of the path under a bent pine tree. It had dusted the rock with dried needles. I brushed them away, adjusted my tail, and sat down. We had only been walking for about an hour and already my feet hurt. I lifted one of my long feet and started to rub it. The fur was smooth and the padding thick but soft to the touch. I realized despite not wearing any boots I hadn’t noticed any pain from sharp rocks or needles. I placed my staff down against the broken bark of the pine tree and retrieved my apple.
I opened up the common loot chest next. This one was simpler than the starter loot chest. Its metal banding was dull and the polished wood was fading. The chest gave me another two gold coins, a bundle of sticks, and an apple. The last loot chest I had was the uncommon one. It was similar to the common chest but the main difference was the quality of the metal banding and the condition of the wood. It was better kept and looked newer. Inside the uncommon loot chest, I received another five coins, a silver ring worth ten coins, and seven iron arrows. Finn asked if he could have the arrows since I didn’t have a bow. I agreed and took the arrows from my pack and handed them over.
Finn and I sat and ate for half an hour. It was quiet for the first few minutes as he sat with his head back and was looking up at the sky. Once he finished his own green apple, he started asking me questions about my grandfather. I told him how I lived with him since I was a kid. How he taught me to work hard and study harder. He taught me how to hunt, clean a fish, and carve a pointed stick by cutting away from yourself. Memories of us going camping and of him making me hot chocolate in his work trailer came to mind. I couldn’t help but let all these stories flow out of me. I think it was something about the rustling leaves, the gentle breeze, and the distant sound of the bubbling brook that brought out the nostalgic side of me.
When the conversation began to die, I thought about asking Finn a few questions about his life in Phyrelia but before I could he stood up and told me we needed to keep going. “We’re about to reach the low fields of the Mireglades. You don’t want to be caught out in the marsh when night comes. Let’s go.”
The tall alley of white oaks and verdant pines curved around a high hill to our left reaching up and over a low valley that opened to a bright sky. Large billows of clouds stretched across the horizon like fluffed cotton alight with fire. A deep crimson and tangerine light was beginning to stretch across the long fields dotted with sunburst flowers of white and yellow. Beyond a spread of squat downs, I watched a fluttering flock of birds fly against the building wind. Every few minutes the songs of hidden robins seemed to cut through the buzz of whipping leaves and brushing grass.
We started down a prolonged decline leading us past a few tumbled stone buildings. Finn mentioned the world was filled with thousands of years of history which could be found in books, tapestries, songs, and the ruins of ancient civilizations. All part of the system Lore. The area used to be part of an old kingdom of Blackwings with towering fortresses stretching higher than the peaks between Riverbend and the Sunflare Sands. Hidden relics could be found among the old ruins for those who were brave enough to venture into their dungeons. Finn said the dungeons were meant to be tackled by a group of at least four or five adventurers. However, even in big groups, they were risky ventures. Death was still a thing in Phyrelia and there were plenty of things looking to kill you.
As the descent finally flattened, I started to hear in the distance the chirping of crickets and the buzzing of flies. The earthy scent of still waters and shallow mudflats touched my whiskers. The air transitioned from a crisp autumn breeze to a humid, stale draft. I could taste the subtle flavors of spoiled leaves and drifting cattail cotton. All my senses seemed so sharp and well-defined since taking on this new form. The details of the world were being painted before me. I thought it would overwhelm me at first but once I found I could tune it out my senses cleared, and the world sharpened.
“About another hour before we get past the Mireglades and judging on the light we should get there before it gets dark,” Finn said as the dry path softened under our feet. We made it twenty minutes before we heard the singing. A low guttural voice blending into the songs of the mire. Coming around a short bend in the tall reeds we saw him. A stout, frog-like man sitting on a turned-over crate. A large carriage was set off to the side of the road with the back end sunk deep in the earth. The frogman was smoking a long pipe and was twiddling his grey beard. Do frogs grow beards?
“I forgot about him,” Finn said as he came to a stop and started scratching his ear again. He turned to look back at the way we came then with a huff turned to me. “Alright, Miles. The choice is yours. We can either turn around and set camp back up the way we came before the glades, or you can take on your first quest.”