By Mike DC Current
From NPC: The Bard of Aztaeron
Josh, Zelda, Rory, and Jackson didn’t feel like the Four Warriors of Prophecy. They felt like four baristas starting a LARP campaign. Their mood shifted when they ran past the Carbonwood City gate.
They each got a notification:
Leaving Carbonwood Safe Zone. Good luck!
A new mission appeared: Daily Quest – Joining the Hunt.
A pounding midnight adventure theme began to play, like something out of Super Castlevania IV mixed with something off The Cure’s Disintegration. A thick, gothy bass line buzzed, followed by a haunting chiptune melody. New horizontal bars appeared in their vision. Green bars floated above each team members’ heads, visual indicators their health and stamina. The health bars disappeared after a moment but reappeared when they focused on one another.
Josh kept his eye on the tree line beyond the fences and addressed the group. He brushed his dark bangs away from his eyes with a heavily tattooed arm. “Ok. Let’s talk strategy. For now, we’ll stick close to the border. Try and stay in a circular formation, so we don’t get outflanked. If someone’s health gets low, I have a few healing potions. If you need healing, yell out ‘Health!’ and everyone else should fall back and protect them. If necessary, we can escort injured party members to the invisible barrier between the forest and city outskirts while their health recharges.”
“I picked up a new Heal skill with my staff,” Zelda said. She didn’t look like Hayley Williams from Paramore, but she didn’t not look like Hayley Williams from Paramore. “It says it’s at Level 1 power and can heal 20% of any team member’s total health. It has a… two-minute cooldown.”
“Even better! So, if you need health, shout it out. Zelda, if you’re on cooldown, shout ‘Recharge!’, then we’ll know they need a potion instead.”
Rory looked as white as The Beatles’ self-titled 1968 album cover. The light from Zelda’s staff reflected off his glasses, giving his preppy look an unwelcome Gollum vibe. “How hard do you think this is going to be? We’re still low-leveled, so it shouldn’t be that hard…should it?”
“Just worry about watching our right flank, Rory.”
“…I’ve never even been in a fight before.”
“Shocking.”
Rory rolled his eyes. “Ok. We know our health strategy. What’s our fighting strategy?”
Jackson chuckled. With her olive skin and raven hair, she looked like Cristina Martinez from the punk band Boss Hog. “Hit em first. Hit em hard. Until they stop moving.”
Josh held up a hand. “Don’t hit them first. Remember what Wanda said about creatures’ levels. If the creature’s level is lower than ours, let them initiate the fight before you attack, or else they’ll grow stronger.”
“How do we know what level they are?”
“When Rory and I traveled from Murkovmarth to Siúl-Farraige, I noticed that if you squint at a creature, you can see more information about them. Those were docile animals, but it showed the animal’s name and their health. It should be the same for creatures. I bet it also shows their level and works as a target lock.”
Rory’s voice shook. “D-did anyone else start seeing a mini-map? W-wait, those green dots are us! Oh, mother’s milkshake…all those red dots…”
Josh raised his sword. “Yup. Enemies.”
Ahead in the forest, Josh’s mini map was dotted with red spots. When he looked at the mini-map and pictured a wider view, the map zoomed out. Even more dots appeared. He focused on a smaller area around them and the map zoomed back in.
Suddenly, from behind the nearest tree, three floating eye monsters appeared, each the size of a kick drum. They had wings like bats and sharp, jagged teeth. Their lower jaws stuck out in an underbite. Josh focused on one and saw Bugaboo. Level 6. Creampuff.
I’m Level 8. Enemies at the beginning of games usually level with you. I wonder if it’s at a lower level because the party average is lower…
“Quick,” Josh said, “what level is everyone at? I’m Level 8.”
“Level six,” Zelda answered.
“Also six,” Jackson grunted.
Rory sounded embarrassed. “I’m level five.”
Josh nodded at Rory. “Alright, dude. You’re up.”
“Huh?”
“You’re up. Start the attack.”
“Wait, what?”
“You’re lowest level. We get the best boost if you attack first.”
“D-do I need to actually hit it, or will just swinging at it work?”
“How the rootdepths should I know? This is the first battle for us all. Just…hit it. There’s three of them and four of us. I’ll be right beside you.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
Rory inched towards the Bugaboos. The lead Bugaboo’s single, bloodshot eye lingered on him. It decided he wasn’t a threat and continued on its meandering flight. As soon as the creature’s back turned, Rory swung back his flail. As he began swinging it forward, a red exclamation point exploded over the Bugaboo’s heads. As if sharing one mind, the three Bugaboos formed a triangle and snarled at the four baristas.
“Crap!” Rory yelled. “That got his attention. Crap, crap, crap!”
The closest Bugaboo charged Rory. He shut his eyes and swung his flail blindly, knocking the monster to the ground. It shook off the hit and sheltered behind the other two.
Josh squinted at it.
Bugaboo. Level 5. Creampuff.
“It’s at Rory’s level now,” Josh said. “Just like Wanda told us.”
Zelda cheered. “Nice hit, Rory! You took down half its health!”
Rory had no time to thank her. The three angry eyeball monsters closed in on him, their jagged mouths foaming. Rory kept one eye open and whipped his flail maniacally. His stamina plummeted.
The Bugaboo leader is distracting him. But the one on the left is about to attack…
Josh locked on the left Bugaboo. As his sword swung back, he saw two words: Attack and Thrust.
Thrust must be a special Weapon Skill like Zelda’s Heal.
He aimed his body at the attacking Bugaboo and aimed his mind at the word Thrust. A grinding, metallic noise rang in Josh’s ears and the word Thrust exploded around him. He shot forward like a cannonball. He brought his blade down on the Bugaboo attacking Rory. It flew backward and slammed into a tree. It bounced twice on the ground in a puff of dirt before its pupil was replaced with a red X. It showed Bugaboo. Level 5. Creampuff. Deceased.
The Thrust skill left him within reach of the Bugaboo with half its health. Without a moment’s hesitation, he swung his sword. The creature flew back like an infield fly ball and landed, defeated. Jackson used her own Weapon Skill on the remaining Bugaboo. She charged forward with her daggers. The words Fatal Strike exploded around her, and she smashed the Bugaboo as it was about to spit on Rory. The one-shotted creature hit the dust.
Rory panted. Jackson looked at her daggers. Zelda clapped.
“Good. Good. Good,” Josh said, adrenaline charging through his system like he had just mainlined How to Clean Everything by Propagandhi. “Now we just have to do that about a thousand more times, then we might be ready to fight the dragon.”
***
Creatures didn’t appear out of thin air. They crept. Tentacles beckoned from behind trees.
As the four baristas ventured further away from the city outskirts deeper into the forest, the dark woodsy environment made it harder to detect the monsters. Josh’s ADHD finally met a purpose. Watching for concealed enemies required a hyperfixation that his brain was more than ready to provide. He began using his mini-map strategically and charging into battle before the others even saw what he was attacking.
Once they locked onto a creature, its name, level, and health bar appeared. If they were a higher level, the team coxed them into attacking first, causing their level to drop. This made fighting higher-level enemies much more manageable.
Josh was not a natural fighter, but, as an experienced gamer, he observed enemy movement from a distance, watching for patterns. He struck at the precise moment they were vulnerable. He became formidable with his Cavalier sword class within hours. The others followed his lead.
Jackson caught on soon after. As an Assassin class, she fought with precision, power, and little wasted movement. Rory’s Berserker class was wild like a honey badger. His tension eased up after a couple of battles, but then he became so aggressive that he tended to get overwhelmed and isolated. Zelda held back as a Vitaeamender, tossing her Heal skill when needed and calling out when they were about to get flanked. Her heart was with the group, but she had no stomach for combat. Still, after using Heal a few times, she was the first to see one of her Skills get leveled up.
“Hey guys!” Zelda said after the group cleared a mob of five Squirrples. She just healed Rory again after three of the rabid purple squirrels swarmed him. “Have you ever had a Skill Up?”
Josh and Jackson shook their heads.
Rory misheard her. “Scallops? Never had them. They’re not kosher.”
“Check your hunger meter, dude,” Josh said, rolling his eyes. “She said SKILL Up.”
“Oh. Well then, no.”
Zelda made a few hand movements. She was manipulating her inventory in her UI to inspect her Weapon Skills. “Yeah. It says my Heal is now Level 2. I can heal up to 25% at once now! And at Level 3, I’ll be able to heal 30% for one party member or 15% to the whole party.”
Josh smiled. “That’s awesome! I guess skills level up based on usage? So, use your Weapon Skills every battle, that’ll keep them getting stronger.”
Rory huffed. “You and Jackson yelled at me the last time I used my Weapon Skill.”
“Yeah, dude. Because you hit me in the head,” Jackson said.
“The game just said that PVP was off. It didn’t take any health away…”
“It. Florping. Hurt.”
“What’s ‘PVP’ anyways?”
Everyone looked to Josh. He felt honored that he was such an expert here. “‘PVP’ in video games stands for ‘Player-versus-Player.’ Some multiplayer games allow for PVP, which means that any player character can attack and/or kill any other player character at any time. Some video games have PVP turned off in all towns and settlements but allow PVP in the open world. So, it’s not allowed here?”
Rory shrugged. “I guess it’s turned off. When I uh…”
“Almost knocked my head off?” Jackson grunted.
“…right. When I accidentally hit you, a message popped up asking if I wanted to turn it on. I just ignored it.”
Josh laughed. “Good. That’ll save us from getting injured until you know what the rootdepths you’re doing. Careful with the friendly fire.”
Josh spoke too soon. The next battle, this time with two Bugaboos and three Werebeavers, nasty little creatures that caused stunning earthquake damage by pounding the ground with their wide tails, Josh used a new Massive Swing Weapon Skill for the first time. It swung wide and broke Jackson’s helmet.
Josh’s vision flashed red, and he was admonished with the text: PVP is OFF. Do you want to turn on PVP?
Then a dialogue screen appeared:
“Do you want to turn on PVP?”
- Yes.
- No.
The default answer was “no.” A five-second countdown timer appeared, but Josh clicked “No” anyways. When he looked up from the closing dialogue screen, Jackson was holding her broken helmet with a look on her face that would have made a killer Rage Against the Machine album cover.
Josh smiled sheepishly. “My bad?”
“…your bad?” Jackson replied.
“Here, I have 2 Armour Repair items. This one’s on me.” He opened his CNAPsack inventory and transferred an Armour Repair to Jackson.
“…I hope you don’t expect me to say thank you.”
“I would ask for your I.D. if you did, Jackson.”
Zelda couldn’t help herself and started laughing. She made eye contact with Jackson and began apologizing, but the awkwardness made Jackson laugh, too. Soon Josh and Rory joined in.
“‘Dude. Careful with the friendly fire!’” Rory said in a spot-on Josh impression. They all laughed then continued on their path. But Josh’s face soured once no one could see his reaction anymore.
****
They fought packs of Bugaboos, Werebeavers, and Squirrples for the next couple of hours, gaining a few extra Levels. Soon they began encountering new enemy types. There were Gummies, gelatinous creatures that moved with a swish and lope pattern and looked like deformed, colourful blobs with eyes, and Chippunks, which were swarming, rabid chipmunks. They lost all track of time while fighting, but Josh guessed based on the location of the moon that it was past midnight. They decided to make their way back to the inn and get some rest, but they found themselves in a confusing knot of trees and couldn’t figure out the way back to Carbonwood.
Josh looked at his map. “I’m telling you, we’ve haven’t been here yet.”
Rory huffed. “We passed that same tree twice in the last 10 minutes.”
“If we passed through here already, there would be defeated creatures on the ground.”
“Maybe there’s no creatures here.”
“I don’t buy it. We hit encounters at every clearing so far.”
Jackson yawned. “Can’t you guys chill? It’s too late for arguing.”
“I’ll chill. If Rory just admits he’s wrong.”
While Josh and Rory bickered and Jackson struggled to stay awake, Zelda stood on the opposite side of the clearing. She was looking up at the moon, lost in a reverie.
The moon of Aztaeron. Did it have a name? Did it have predictable monthly phases? Instead of a rocky, cratered, dull grey surface like she was used to seeing on Earth, this moon was blue and red. Did it have land and water contrasts? Was there life up there?
She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t realize she was walking directly into a trap.
The moon was bright, but the vegetation on the ground was dark beneath the canopy of trees. The spinney at the edge of this grove held bushes with white flowers. A stealthy creature slept inside the brush, while its feelers sat on the ground, camouflaging itself as white flower petals. Zelda, lost in thought, stepped on one of the feelers…
Snap!
Something like a floating, many-armed jellyfish sprung out of the brush and wrapped a milky translucent tentacle around Zelda’s bare ankle. She screamed in pain as it sank its venom into her skin.
At the sound of her scream, Josh dropped his argument and ran to her. His crow black bar pulsed. He squinted at the floating jellyfish.
Medusaped. Level 16. Average.
“Level 16?” Josh asked. “What the rootdepths? Hang on, Zelda!”
He charged as he saw the tentacle wrapped around Zelda’s leg, saw her wincing in pain as she screamed again. She began emanating a soft purple aura, like the wind was blowing a violet mist off her. Then her health was draining, and bursting red text appeared above her head.
Status Effect: Poison!
The Medusaped was pulling her into the brush. Zelda fell on her face as the Medusaped yanked, and the creature turned a menacing, glowing red. Her health was already below 50%.
“A little help here!” Josh shouted, but Jackson and Rory were on their way. Josh reached into his CNAPsack and pulled out a healing potion. He hadn’t tried this yet, but the situation called for drastic measures. Her health was below 33%. He opened the potion and threw it at Zelda. Her health sprung back up above 50%, but it was still draining fast.
“Does anyone have any kind of antidote or antivenom?”
“On it!” shouted Jackson.
“You guys heal her and take away the Poison,” Josh said, lifting his sword. “This thing’s mine.”
“It’s level 16!”
I don’t care if it’s level 99. I’m killing it.
Josh gritted his teeth. “I’ve got it. Now!”
He threw another potion at Zelda just for good measure, then aimed his sword at the tentacle attached to Zelda’s ankle and used his Thrust skill. He flew forward and slammed his sword down, severing the tentacle. He unwrapped the tentacle from her leg, and the violet mist turned a softer orchid colour. The poison effect attacking Zelda’s health slowed down. He turned his sword ninety degrees in his hands and hit the Medusaped with the flat part of the blade, sending it flying back towards the nearest carbonwood tree. It hit the tree with a dull splat, like throwing a wet sponge at the ground. He turned the blade again and hit the beast with a Massive Swing, slicing it three times as it floated pinned against the tree trunk. It was at 20% health. Stab. 15% health. Stab. 10% health. Stab. 5% health. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab.
Jackson shouted. “Josh, stop, it’s dead!”
Josh stabbed again. The Medusaped disintegrated into a myriad number of dark red ones and zeroes, like a ruddy version of Neo’s vision at the end of The Matrix.
Stab. Stab. Stab. St—
Suddenly Josh had no air in his lungs. His Stamina was at 0% and blinking. He dropped his sword, dropped to his knees, and struggled to regain his breath.
After a gasping three seconds, air re-entered his lungs. He croaked as the first bit of oxygen came back. He reoriented himself with his surroundings. Jackson knelt next to Zelda, who was wincing in pain, but her health was stabilized. Green words exploded over Zelda’s head.
Poison negated!
“Oh my god, Josh,” Zelda said, breathing deeply. “That thing came out of nowhere. I think you saved me. I mean, if you didn’t hit me with that potion and cut off that tentacle…”
Josh blushed. “No problem.” He couldn’t make eye contact.
Rory was looking at the ground where the Medusaped lay. “Woah! What’s all this?”
Josh squinted where the Medusaped died.
Medusaped. Level 16. Average. Dusted.
The ground below it was empty but for a burst of red dust and a nondescript leather bag held closed by a yellow string.
Loot.
Up until now, every creature they defeated would fall to the ground once their health hit zero, giving a status of Deceased. This was the first time they saw this new status: Dusted. Then again, no other creature had been beaten to a pulp like Josh had just done to the Medusaped.
“Wait,” Josh said. “Wanda mentioned Loot. But so far none of the creatures have dropped anything. We don’t really need to…”
Jackson laughed. “Slap the monsters into oblivion?”
“Right…”
“We’ll check for loot next time we come across a dead monster.”
“I don’t get it,” Rory said. “Why was that thing Level 16? It totally snuck up on Zelda.”
Zelda was still on the ground but sitting. She shuddered. “I stepped on it. I wasn’t paying attention, I was looking at the moon, and… I stepped on one of its tentacles. Almost like it was waiting for me…”
Josh stroked his chin. “Huh. That’s exactly what it was doing. It set a trap for you. For us, in this clearing.” He offered his hand to Zelda and helped her back to her feet. “You ok?”
She gave a thumbs up. “Yeah. Just shook up. My health is full again. I don’t…feel anything. My ankle’s a little sore where the Medusaped grabbed me, but other than that, I feel fine.” She flashed a tired smile. “And I’m not glowing purple anymore, you know?”
“Good! That’s good.” He was visibly relieved. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve had enough fun for one night.”
“It’s weird. I was in so much pain a minute ago.”
“We can wait…”
“I’m good.”
“So this is life in a video game, huh?” Rory asked. “You know, I’m starting to side with concerned parents here, that got really violent.”
“I’m just glad this game isn’t M rated,” Josh said.
“Like Dragon Age: Origins or something?” Jackson asked. “Barf, we’d all be covered head-to-toe in blood.”
“I said ‘I’m glad it’s not’, I didn’t tell you to picture it.”
Josh tried picking up the Loot, but as soon as his hand touched the bag, a small screen appeared.
Medusaped, Level 16
Contents:
Coin (62)
Medium Health Tonic (1)
Antidote (1)
Antidota Woven Bracer (1)
Josh transferred the contents to his CNAPsack and checked the stats on the Steel Bracer. “Holey ship you guys, Level 16 loot is legit. This has a B armour rating and nullifies effects of poisons and venom. Zelda’s healer class has the lowest Endurance out of all of us. I vote she should get it.”
Consent made its way around the group, so Josh pulled out the Bracer and handed it to Zelda.
“Are you guys sure?” she asked. “That poison was really painful, you might change your mind if it happens to you…”
Jackson shook her head. “That’s all you, girl. Josh’s instincts are right, we should give the best equipment to whoever needs it most.”
Zelda equipped the new gear, and the goldish bronze Antidota Bracers appeared on her forearms. They glowed faintly in the dark. She clacked them together and grinned. “A perfect fit! I feel like Wonder Woman.”
Josh pulled out his Map again. “Ok…if we head this way, we can retrace our route back to Carbonwood. I want to see if the other monsters we defeated dropped any Loot.”
The four baristas — now well on their way to becoming four battle-hardened warriors — navigated their way out of the clearing, being particularly watchful for white flower petals on the forest floor. Before long, they were back on the battlefields they fought on earlier that night. Josh discovered if he opened his CNAPsack within five meters of a Deceased creature, most beasts had loot which could be transferred to his inventory. The Creampuffs gave less loot than Average enemies, but even most Creampuffs had at minimum 5 Coin and sometimes gave items worth up to 20 Coin. If there were multiple creatures in close enough proximity, they could be looted en masse. They retraced their steps and grabbed all the Loot they could find.
Their Sleep bars were all low by the time they trudged back through the Carbonwood gate. They each earned a few Level Ups that night. Zelda walked with a slight limp on the ankle where the monster poisoned her, and Jackson was helping her.
“Well, gang,” Rory said. “I guess this is our life now.”
“For now,” Jackson replied.
Josh couldn’t help but grin. “Come on. The first step is always the hardest. You guys should be proud. You did great tonight!”
Zelda patted his arm. “That’s really generous of you.”
Her touch made him feel tingly. “No trouble. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you.”
Jackson smirked. “What if you needed to form an Eagles cover band to stop Ahazgul?”
Josh winked at Zelda. “I’ll do almost anything it takes to help you.”
Mike DC Current is a former writer and lead editor for Mask and Cape Comics, a now-defunct independent comic book company that appeared at San Diego Comic-Con. He is querying his first novel, NPC: The Bard of Aztaeron. His writing reflects his neurodiversity and his background as a barista and a hardcore scene kid. As an autistic author, he appreciates stories with neurodiverse representation, and his writing reflects that. When not reading or writing, he loves exploring stories in video games, playing rock music with astounding mediocrity, and spending time with his family.
Academy of the Heart And Mind 