I stood up in the grassy clearing. Hoarfrost still covered the pine trees, and I could feel the cold pulling me into its cold embrace. I blew into my hands, trying to keep warm. The first thing I noticed was a small sack, wreathed in a vague, shining glow. I bent down towards it, and a small pop-up materialized in front of my eyes.
Bag (not searched)
I opened the bag, and the popup vanished. Two screens appeared in front of me. On one screen, four squares. Two of them were occupied by a dagger. On the other screen, there was my own inventory. An image of me was off to the side, changing as I moved. There were nine squares in my inventory. God dammit, this is gonna be one of those stupid tetris systems, isn’t it? I’m probably gonna be spending …show more content…
I heard the flowing water before I saw it, smelled the freshness of the river. When I finally saw it, I took a moment to absorb the beauty. It was twenty meters wide, slow-moving water with a peaceful, small waterfall off to one side, and mossy stones sticking up from the river. It looked like something you would see in a postcard, a picture taken for an Alaskan tourism advertisement.
I took a single step into the water. It was cold, colder than it looked. Maybe it was mountain runnoff, or something? Damn, this game really was next generation. The other “full immersion” games I had played didn’t have anything like this. I waded into the water, taking in the feeling of water splashing up up my leg and draining off the fabric of my pants. It didn’t feel good, but I could handle it. Besides, I’m a sucker for realism.
The water was crystal clear. The fish darted away as I took step after step, disturbing the mud and stirring up clay. I bent down and picked up a small, flat rock on the riverbed. As I examined it, a white tongue darted out and then back it. It was a clam, of all things.
I put it in my sack. You never know when these kinds of things will be useful, after all. Maybe it was an alchemical ingredient or something. Anything, really. You never …show more content…
Last I checked, this game didn’t start you off deaf. Give me your dagger. I’m not having you stab me in the back, I spent weeks getting this gear. Tylurvian leather and all.”
I scoffed. “I’m not giving you my only weapon! What, you think I’m an idiot?”
She shrugged in a sort of “eh?” I shook my head. “Not giving it to you. If you’re really so concerned, I’ll walk beside you so you can see me at all times. I’m still adjusting to this game, so I doubt I could even kill anything that attacked me first.”
“Yeah. Sure. A hundred other people use the ‘adjustment syndrome’ excuse. And a hundred suckers fall for it every day. Sorry to say, but I’m not a sucker. Give me the damn dagger.”
I drew my dagger and flung it to the ground. “Take it.” She squat down, looking me directly in the eye as she took the dagger. Every action she took was cautious, almost too cautious to be healthy. It was almost like she thought everything and everyone was out to kill her. Either way, she seemed content now that she had my dagger. I certainly wasn’t. In fact, I was rather pissed. Hours spent wandering, only to be found by a slightly less than sane woman, telling me I was an absolute idiot.
“Thank you,” she chimed. “What’s your
Bag (not searched)
I opened the bag, and the popup vanished. Two screens appeared in front of me. On one screen, four squares. Two of them were occupied by a dagger. On the other screen, there was my own inventory. An image of me was off to the side, changing as I moved. There were nine squares in my inventory. God dammit, this is gonna be one of those stupid tetris systems, isn’t it? I’m probably gonna be spending …show more content…
I heard the flowing water before I saw it, smelled the freshness of the river. When I finally saw it, I took a moment to absorb the beauty. It was twenty meters wide, slow-moving water with a peaceful, small waterfall off to one side, and mossy stones sticking up from the river. It looked like something you would see in a postcard, a picture taken for an Alaskan tourism advertisement.
I took a single step into the water. It was cold, colder than it looked. Maybe it was mountain runnoff, or something? Damn, this game really was next generation. The other “full immersion” games I had played didn’t have anything like this. I waded into the water, taking in the feeling of water splashing up up my leg and draining off the fabric of my pants. It didn’t feel good, but I could handle it. Besides, I’m a sucker for realism.
The water was crystal clear. The fish darted away as I took step after step, disturbing the mud and stirring up clay. I bent down and picked up a small, flat rock on the riverbed. As I examined it, a white tongue darted out and then back it. It was a clam, of all things.
I put it in my sack. You never know when these kinds of things will be useful, after all. Maybe it was an alchemical ingredient or something. Anything, really. You never …show more content…
Last I checked, this game didn’t start you off deaf. Give me your dagger. I’m not having you stab me in the back, I spent weeks getting this gear. Tylurvian leather and all.”
I scoffed. “I’m not giving you my only weapon! What, you think I’m an idiot?”
She shrugged in a sort of “eh?” I shook my head. “Not giving it to you. If you’re really so concerned, I’ll walk beside you so you can see me at all times. I’m still adjusting to this game, so I doubt I could even kill anything that attacked me first.”
“Yeah. Sure. A hundred other people use the ‘adjustment syndrome’ excuse. And a hundred suckers fall for it every day. Sorry to say, but I’m not a sucker. Give me the damn dagger.”
I drew my dagger and flung it to the ground. “Take it.” She squat down, looking me directly in the eye as she took the dagger. Every action she took was cautious, almost too cautious to be healthy. It was almost like she thought everything and everyone was out to kill her. Either way, she seemed content now that she had my dagger. I certainly wasn’t. In fact, I was rather pissed. Hours spent wandering, only to be found by a slightly less than sane woman, telling me I was an absolute idiot.
“Thank you,” she chimed. “What’s your