Arianne was starting to enjoy exploring the Blighted Forest. Every once in a while she would come across a landmark. By changing direction each time she did, she would occasionally cross a boundary which would grant her a small experience bonus. The last one earned her 2000 points for finding Rillimender Glen. She was gradually getting closer to level seven.
It was quiet and peaceful in the woods. The sounds of the nocturnal creatures was different from the daytime ambiance in the game. Amy had to admit she preferred the crickets and katydids. Occasionally a breeze would rustle the leaves. It really made her feel like she was outdoors at night.
Fortunately, low level areas like the Blighted Forest did not have strict visibility rules, so the “moonlight,” so to speak, provided Arianne with a view of everything around her as if it were illuminated by about twelve Earth-type moons. As players got to higher levels, KNC would begin to enforce visibility barriers, and characters would have to provide their own light, especially in underground places or underwater where natural light was either scarce or completely absent.
Arianne had activated every ability that might warn her of sudden danger. She remembered well the stories of the high level demon that had waylaid several of the adventurers that had stumbled too far along the Shattered Sword quest line. Everyone’s first inclination was the suspect the Niners of summoning an attacker, since their apparent goal was not only to prevent anyone from getting too close to the quest’s answers, but also to prevent characters from reaching level ten. Doing so wasn’t particularly difficult, since a character death in Kings and Conquests was permanent absent a resurrection, the rescue of a trapped soul or some flavor of reality-bending arcane magic.
On her way to the other side of the dense copse of wide-leaved plants in Rillimender Glen, she passed by a stonehill and almost missed a hidden treasure chest. She had begun to develop a habit of examining the monuments for clues, since they were obviously constructed by intelligent creatures. The first one she found had provided an initial direction for her search. It would only be a matter of time before she found at least one Littlekin dwelling. There was no telling how they would react to her, however. According to legend, they weren’t all that friendly with strange humans. They also had a habit of quietly relieving humans of their possessions just for fun.
She knelt to test the container to see if it might perchance be trapped or locked, or both. It wasn’t secured at all. Its mechanisms were in a state of considerable disrepair. Inside she found more money and several interesting items. 41 cruss rings 18 copper ven 3 silver ven Taire Blanket Common Cloth Item Coin Value: Six copper ven Painted Candle Common Household Item Coin Value: Five cruss rings Cheap Leather Bag Inventory Item: Six item capacity Coin Value: Eight copper ven Hunk of Tough Bread Food Item: Restores 24 health Coin Value: Eight cruss rings Arianne’s appraisal skills revealed nothing unusual about any of the objects she had found. She collected everything, stored it in the bag and then added it to Nickel’s inventory. Her horse was capable of carrying roughly six times the weight and bulk a single player character could handle. Amy called up the Bairre Encyclopedia of Coin and scrolled back to its first page.
Getting used to the way Kings and Conquests handled money wasn’t as difficult as she thought it might be. The difference between what the game called “ven” and “monarchs” was a little confusing at the start of the game, but once the money reference explained ven were smaller coins meant to be exchanged within a single region or kingdom while monarchs were much larger coins that were the agreed-upon exchange medium between kingdoms, things started to make a little more sense.
At the low end of the currency spectrum were the cruss rings. These were rounded smooth coin-like discs that had been drilled through and left in the shape of a ring. They had the appearance of dull tarnished brass and were roughly the same size as ven. Ten cruss rings were generally equal to one copper ven. They were useful in basic commerce because they were relatively light compared to other coins and much easier for individuals to carry.
The regional coins were made of copper, silver and gold. Based on their size relative to Arianne’s hand in game they looked to be about the size of a quarter, although they were twice as thick. Their faces were smooth but for a shaped punch in the center of each coin. Some were marked with circles. Others were marked with squares and diamonds. The punched shapes did not go all the way through the coins. They were only visible on one side. According to the in-game encyclopedia, ven could be exchanged for monarchs of the same metal type at a rate of 100 to one.
The monarch coins were each decorated with an engraving of a crown. They weren’t all uniformly decorated, however. There were all kinds of different crowns depicted. Some were simple. Others were fairly ornate. Some of the monarchs had writing on them, but the letters were all unfamiliar.
Amy guessed that coins struck during the reign of a particular king or queen bore an engraving of that ruler’s crown. Monarchs were large enough to fill Arianne’s palm: Easily twice the size of the equivalent ven coin. They were available in four metal types: copper, silver, gold and platinum. Ten copper monarchs could be exchanged for a silver. Ten silver could be exchanged for a gold. Only platinum monarchs were excepted from the ten to one rate. Apparently one would need 1000 gold monarchs to obtain a single platinum coin. Amy noted there were no platinum ven, probably due to the scarcity of more valuable metals. According to the encyclopedia, some platinum monarchs were not only engraved, but decorated with precious stones meant to represent the crown jewels of past rulers. These coins were even more difficult to exchange or even find, as many of them ran to 2000 gold monarchs and more.
Arianne stowed everything inside the leather bag, tied it to Nickel’s saddle and continued on her way. As much fun as scavenging around for lost trinkets was, she had ghosts to fight, and that meant she had to enlist the help of the Littlekin.
It wasn’t until she reached the banks of the Mephisto River that she realized she might have already wandered into their part of the forest. The pale blue waters of the wide river looked peaceful enough. On the opposite bank was a gentle slope leading up the side of a range of low foothills. Arianne was still in the same general region as the village of Lantro. By following the river around to the south, she would eventually arrive back at the village at the gate opposite to the one she originally entered through. The far shore of the river looked to be a natural barrier, so Amy was pretty sure crossing wasn’t going to help much.
What she did notice was the sounds of the forest had abated considerably. The plants seemed a little strange too. The flowers had wide petals and were more pastel colored than vibrant like they were elsewhere. There were trees with combinations of blossoms and green fruits. Some had roots that arched up out of the ground and dove back into the black soil. Arianne wandered back into the forest, scanning the treetops as best she could for anything that looked like a creature or encounter.
Amy noticed a new icon had appeared on her character’s status bar. It was brightly colored and had the face of a whimsical little creature. She hovered over it with her mouse and found she was under the effects of the “Swirly Puzzle” curse. Apparently her Intellect and Will had been reduced by 20%, while her Charm had increased by the same amount.
“Well, are you just going to stand there?”
The chirpy words sounded like whomever did the voice acting would have been perfect for the role of a cartoon mouse. Hovering right in front of Arianne was a brightly-colored fairy wearing a jaunty little green hat with a feather and a yellow outfit that looked very much like the petals of a buttercup flower shaped into a sundress. Her hands were on her hips and the look on her little face told Amy she wasn’t in the mood for nonsense.
The cursor told Amy there was a dialogue option for this creature. When she hovered over the fairy, an information pop-up appeared. She was a level 8 Littlekin Blossom.
Littlekin!
Amy took a deep breath and studied the dialogue options. Prominent on her mind was the fact this little creature was two levels higher and apparently had already planted a curse on her. She made her selection from the dialogue options. The game presented the little creature as a named NPC called Bluebell.
“I’ve come on behalf of the humans. We need your help.”
“If you would like a map out of our forests, I’d be happy to draw you one,” the blossom said cheerfully.
Cute. Amy tried a different option.
“I have coin. I can pay.”
“Why would we work for human coin when it’s so much easier to just steal it from you?”
At that moment, a second blossom fluttered up to Bluebell. She seemed unaware of Arianne’s presence until she turned as if surprised, gasped and winked out.
“Fear not, Tulishes. This human is harmless.”
The second fairy blossom peered out from behind the first. Her eyes were wide. Tulishes didn’t make a sound. She was dressed like Bluebell, although the petals of her flower dress were peach-colored. She carried a tiny silver clarion horn at her side.
The leader folded her arms. “Our elders say only the bravest Littlekin reveal themselves to humans, but I say humans are no danger unless they aren’t mindful. You have your wits, I hope?”
“Of course I do!”
“Then you must know our lands are no place for big clumsy flightless brutes.”
“Her face is so pale,” Tulishes whispered. “She looks like a big yellow beanstalk.”
Amy grinned and shook her head. Tough talk for people only a few inches tall.
“The people of Lantro are in danger.”
“We were beginning to wonder if you were just reckless, unwise or both. Flee and save yourselves.”
“Help me rid the Blighted Forest of the Gorian Ghosts.”
“And why should the noble Littlekin confront the angry dead?”
Amy started to suspect this was an important step in her quest.
“To save both our peoples.”
She was pretty certain she had chosen the correct dialogue options. Whether or not the bonus to her Charm that had apparently been granted by the Littlekin curse was helping her persuade the skeptical little creatures remained to be seen. After a few moments, the cursor indicator for Bluebell shifted to the symbol for quest giver. Amy selected the new option.
“A tentative pact was forged that day between the Humans of Lantro and the Littlekin Guardians of the Blighted Forest. Will Arianne and Bluebell set out on their new mission to drive back those who haunt all that remains of the Eastern Gorian Civilization?”
Another quest reward was visible. It was the only selection for this quest, but it was worth it.
Bluebell’s Clarion Varcar Heraldry Rare Magic Item - Necklace Treasure Station Item Requires Level 7 Solid: 250 +8 Charm +6 Brilliance Base Material - Silver/Ducimite Alloy Permanent Arcane Enchantment - Song of the Littlekin Engraved with Varcar Pictograms Blooming Morning Opal Setting Value: 40 gold monarchs
Varcar Heraldry? Amy would have to look that up, but she was pretty sure Varcarel was not only on the other continent, but it was at the far eastern end of it too.
She accepted the add-on quest. Arianne had her help, and if she succeeded, she would be rewarded with not one, but two rare treasures, both of which would improve her Charm and Brilliance. She couldn’t be entirely sure, but it seemed the game was steering her towards gains in Charm and Brilliance for some reason. Perhaps those would have a positive effect on her animal training skills later.
Amy reclined in her chair and gathered her comforters closer. On the screen, Bluebell and Tulishes had both joined Arianne as companion NPCs.
The Kings and Conquests rules used the general term “henchmen” to refer to any NPC that cooperated with a player’s actions. Such characters could be enlisted to help fight a particularly difficult encounter, or they could be hired for their unique skills. One of the favorite pastimes of treasure hunters was to retain the services of NPC thieves, brigands and confidence men at roughly their same level and bring them along to break in to warehouses, safes and coin houses. This meant the player could avoid having to level those skills.
Of course, they would have to give up a significant hunk of whatever they stole, and they would have to guard against the ever-present possibility of being betrayed and attacked once the goods had been discovered. The story of the “Owned Archer” was testament enough to that possibility. Even Amy, who was famous for her disinterest in Internet apocrypha, paid particular attention to the tale of the last survivor of the dungeon party murdered in-game by their Johnny-come-lately thief recruit, and the real-world story of how he took a swing at a cop out of frustration over the loss of his in-game character. Everyone blamed the player, of course. Blessed with their post hoc vantage points, all who heard the sad tale asserted the player should have been prepared, so he had nobody to blame but himself. People were such mercenaries when they were safe in their rented plaster bubbles.
Such acts should have been expected of those willing to roll thieves, rogues and ne’er do wells, but most of the people working their way through Kings and Conquests had not been prepared by their previous experiences in massively multiplayer games to evaluate others by the classes they chose, even though the ever-present potential for becoming a fun-destroying griefer existed for all players. Some believed the personality types who enjoyed massively multiplayer games and fantasy-themed ones in particular were prone to griefing, if only to ruin the experience for others. Amy wasn’t sure she subscribed to that extreme a viewpoint, but she did take the implicit advice for what it was worth. It wasn’t all that likely Bluebell and Tulishes would do anything harmful beyond stealing a coin or two, so no special precautions were taken.
Nevertheless, both Littlekin were now Arianne’s henchmen, and they brought with them some rather useful abilities, one of which, according to their ability bars, was a spell that rendered non-corporeal creatures solid. Amy couldn’t be entirely sure, but that sounded to her like an ability that just might make the Gorian Ghosts susceptible to non-magical weapons, and if that were true, her humble little level six animal trainer just might have a chance.