Adam Drake - Blackout

With a steady grip I aimed at the only exposed part of the dragon’s body I had a hope of piercing. One of its eyes.

A chat request suddenly flashed at my lower vision. It was from Mudhoof, a fellow player and friend. Annoyed, I dismissed it and focused on the dragon.

At the end of its inhalation, the dragon’s eyes widened. This was it. It was going to exhale death upon us all.

I fired.

And in the next moment the dragon shrieked in agony, and reared back, the demon arrow jutting out of its left eye. The beast, confused and in pain, blasted fire upwards toward the sky.

Then the dragon turned away with a roar.

Phlixx cheered and shook a fist at the retreating dragon. “That’ll teach you to mess with my love!”

Relieved, I resumed climbing. No sense sitting around in case the dragon came back. When I finally pulled myself over the lip of the cliff edge, I found Phlixx standing on a boulder, hands on his little hips, looking proud.

“Did I do good?” He asked eagerly.

I laughed. “You did superb, Phlixx. Thank you.” I reached down and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Now, the egg please.”

“Of course!” He said, beaming and pulled the egg out of his pack with both hands and handed it to me. “What will we do now? Defeat another dragon?”

I looked at the glittering egg which reflected my avatar’s face across its gold surface. “No more dragons. Not for a while. We need to get out of here and back to the safety of the travel gate area.”

We walked in the direction of the base camp, where I had entered this adventure zone to finish the golden egg quest.

I hefted the egg in one hand while keeping an eye on the murky sky above. “Then we’ll find out if this thing was worth almost having to re-roll a new character for.”

Heading back to base camp was another dangerous ordeal entirely.

I picked my way down the sloping side of the volcano, avoiding steaming crevices and vents which belched hot ash. All the while I kept an eye on the cloudy sky.

Only on one occasion did I feel the need to hide behind a huge rock as a loud screeching echoed from every direction. Phlixx shivered dramatically as he clutched at my shoulder. But when a vengeful dragon did not making a fiery appearance, I continued on.

At the furthest edge of the volcano the terrain opened to a series of hills covered with the remnants of a forest. Blackened trees smoldered and what little vegetation existed was buried under mounds of ash.

Now I grew more cautious. The relative open area of the volcano gave me a clear view of anyone approaching. But here in the burned out forest things got to be close quarters. I was in a player versus player area. A PvP zone. Another player could come along and attack me with impunity. If I died, they would have access to all the items in my inventory; weapons, gold, the contents of my backpack and the golden egg. I’d worked hard for the egg and had no intention of giving it up to anyone without a fight.

A path led the way through the blackened trees toward the base camp. As the main artery to the quest area of the volcano, it was from the camp’s direction I was likely to run into other players. So I walked to one side, through the trees while keeping the path in view, Phlixx skipping along by my side.

But by the time I reached the base camp I’d encountered no other players heading in either direction. As I passed over the edge of the camp’s perimeter a message ‘Safe Zone’ appeared at the top of my vision, then faded away. Here, no one could hurt or kill me. Even casting helpful spells on someone, like healing, could not be done unless specifically permitted by the receiving player. I relaxed.

The base camp wasn’t much to look at. It was in an open area cleared of trees with a large bonfire at its center. To one side hunched an old crone with various wares and goods splayed over a mat on the ground.

I wandered too close, and she keyed in on me. “Hello, weary traveler! Would you like to look at my wares?”

“No, thanks,” I said, mostly out of habit as something I would say to her in the real world. But here, the old crone was a simple construct of the game, one with a single task, to sell me goods.

“Are you certain?” She continued hopefully as I passed by. “Salve for your wounds? Ale for your aching mind?”

I ignored her and walked past, but she caught Phlixx’s interest. With the old crone’s attention on me the ferret crept behind her and lifted the back of her robe. He peered underneath then shrieked in dismay.

The crone whirled on him, waving her hands. “Begone, rat! Or I’ll throw you in a cooking pot!”

Phlixx had pinwheeled away, wide-eyed and aghast. He collapsed to the ground and made a show of retching up air. “I’ve seen your wares, lady, and they cannot be unseen!” he wailed.

I walked around the bonfire and stood before the clearing’s only other feature.

A travel gate.

The gate was a huge circle which stood on its edge, mounted on a base with a short series of stairs leading up to it. Its edge was marked with various ruins of an ancient language my avatar did not understand, and these emitted a soft yellow glow. The middle surface diameter of the circle was silver and shimmered like a pond. My avatar’s reflection played across its strange surface.

I’d arrived through this gate to search for the golden egg.

Not yet ready to change areas I turned away and sat on a fallen log next to the bonfire. Phlixx bounded over to sit at my side. “Can I see the pretty egg, again? Please?” He begged.

I glanced around. Other than the old crone who still stared at me expectantly, there was no one else. “Why not?” I said, wanting a better look at it, too.

I fished the egg out of my backpack and cradled it in my hands. Its surface had the bumpy texture of a real egg, emphasizing the power of the game’s detail, and glinted with the light of the fire.

“Looks like an egg,” I said. “But is it worth anything?” The goal of the special quest was to get the dragon’s egg but nothing specified what happened after. Usually the reward was gold and experience points for my avatar.

“Maybe we can cook it?” Phlixx said, drooling with his tongue hanging out.

“Now there’s a thought.” Perhaps something was inside? I shook the egg close to my ear but nothing rattled. Holding the egg at an angle I examined it closer with the light of the fire. A thin groove circled around its middle. “Looks as if we don’t need to crack it open.” I gripped the egg at both ends and twisted.

The egg unscrewed into two halves. It was hollow within save for a rolled up parchment. A quest scroll.

“Oh, crud,” I said. No gold, or gems, or magical items this time. What I needed was something to sell at the auction house.

“Huh? What is it?” Phlixx said peering at the scroll. “Can we eat it?”

“Nope,” I said, removing the scroll from the egg casing. “Just means we’re not done, yet. This silly quest is far from over.”

Phlixx frowned and so did I. I wasn’t keen on following an extended chain of quests. But if I wanted a reward completing them would be necessary.

The rolled scroll had no markings on it other than a red wax seal. Pressed into the wax was the symbol of what looked to be a sword, one I could not identify.

“Let’s see what we’ve got,” I said and broke the seal to unfurl the scroll. A simple map was drawn across the parchment’s surface. Examining it closer I recognized it as an area somewhere in the Southern Kingdoms. A red ‘X’ marked a spot at the end of a valley in a mountain range. With the help of my avatar’s map reading skill names of landmarks and towns appeared.